#but then the main character and his new female partner spent all of one day on a mission and one night reading files in a library

[ikaroux]

How are they with their pregnant companion? Al Haitham, Dottore, Pantalone.

Synopsis: Pregnant, your husband/partner is over the moon. But how would he take care of you during pregnancy?

Style: Cute, fluffy, female reader.

Bonus NSFW (18+) I remind minors to avoid reading this kind of content.

Alert: May contain story spoilers for some characters.

Characters: Al Haitham, Dottore, Pantalone.

Next on the list: Ayato, Itto, Heizou, Cyno.

Part 1 Diluc, Zhongli, Kaeya, Xiao, Venti, Albedo, Kazuha, Childe.

Part 2 Scaramouche, Dainsleif, Thomas.

Note: For this headcanons, I assume that the reader is of age and that she is in a relationship with the genshin boy for a while! For Al Haitham, I don't know the character yet, I haven't met him during the main quest. I wrote him as I imagined him in a serious love relationship, like for Dottore and Pantalone. For Dottore, in the manga he is portrayed as a cruel man, who does not hesitate to play with the lives of others. I like the idea that once in love, he can completely change. You are beginning to know me, I never write anything cruel or violent. Dottore, Pantalone and even Pierrot (if I were to write about him one day), I would always soften the characters in their relationship, so don't be surprised to see no torture, insult or abuse.

PS: I'm trying to do a rewrite of part 1 with Diluc, Zhongli, Kaeya etc… I would like to add more details to what I already wrote…

masterlist

Part 1 Diluc, Zhongli, Kaeya, Xiao, Venti, Albedo, Kazuha, Childe.

Part 2 Scaramouche, Dainsleif, Thomas.

Vomiting, fatigue, late menstruation. Alhaitham would quickly notice the signs of your pregnancy. And, by the archons, if his deduction proved correct, you would make him the happiest man in Teyvat.

He would not tell you immediately, preferring to take you to a doctor first. Nevertheless, he won't be able to hide that sweet little smile every time he meets your eyes. No matter how much you ask him why he looks so cheerful, Alhaitham will just tell you in a calm voice, "You'll know soon enough."

When the doctor tells you the good news, Alhaitham will warmly welcome you into his arms, tenderly kissing the top of your head. "You knew, didn't you?" You tell him against his chest, which vibrates against your ear from his laughter. "Why didn't you tell me?" He gently pulled you away from his embrace to look into your eyes. "I didn't want to see your face devastated if it turned out I was wrong." His lips met your forehead. "But I'm glad you weren't."

Alhaitham was a scholar, a man more often occupied with furthering his knowledge than frolicking about the city. He spent most of his time reading, writing, studying or observing and, of course, improving his fighting skills. He was a man with a cold and distant appearance, often considered an unpleasant person, but as soon as you appeared in his field of vision, his expression would soften and he would stop all his activities to take care of you, and even more so since you were pregnant. The people of Sumeru as well as the scholars who knew the man well will be amazed at the change in his personality as soon as you entered the same room.

The man would personally take care of your meals, preparing each dish with care to ensure your child's good health as well as yours. He would select every ingredient and buy it for you. He would ask (or order, depending on your point of view…) Tignari and Collei to bring him the best fruits of the forest. Cyno would also be part of the game, whether willingly or not…

Alhaitham's hands are perfect for massages. He will use on you essential oils made in Sumeru to massage every painful part of your body. He will also apply it to the areas where your skin is more susceptible to stretch marks.

When he was not with Lady Kusanali, you will find him at the academy, sitting at his desk with several scrolls spread out in front of him. He has always allowed you to visit him, but where once his focus was on his work, since your pregnancy, Alhaitham now wants you close to him, pulling your body into his lap, one of his hands resting comfortably on your now beautifully rounded belly. His lips gently kiss your cheek before one of his hands picks up his quill between his fingers to continue taking notes. The gentle rubbing of his hand on your belly, the sound of the pen against the paper, and the peaceful breathing of your lover will accompany you into a pleasant sleep.

Alhaitham could sometimes see your face light up with intense joy when you felt the baby move. Curious, he would try to understand your feelings by touching your belly. The first time, his child had stopped moving as soon as he put his hand on you. "Sigh why do I feel like this child will be a strong head"; "Because he will be stubborn like his father!" You laughed and reassured him as best you could, one hand tenderly caressing his cheek before kissing him.

Alhaitham accompanied you on every visit to the midwife. She advised both of you to try haptonomy in preparation for the birth. It was a therapy that allowed you to create an emotional bond with your baby. She was to teach you both how to communicate with the baby. Touching was a fundamental thing and your lover did a great job of that, applying gentle pressure to feel the baby move.

With each touch, Alhaitham could feel his child respond as he "played" and stroked your belly, your hands gently placed over his to accompany him. He would often talk to your belly, his deep voice seeming to soothe your baby.

Sometimes he would stop whatever he was doing just to look at you. The more your belly rounded, the more he felt moved… You were so beautiful, standing there in front of that flowerpot you were watering, one hand on your belly while singing a nursery rhyme to your child. You were so precious to him, a jewel in his life.

Since your pregnancy, you had been moody. The midwife had already explained to him that this was normal, so Alhaitham did not worry about it. However, he stayed by your side through every bad patch that came your way, calming your fears. He knew you would be a good mother, and he told you so whenever you were in doubt.

At night, Alhaitham already had a habit of holding you close to him while you slept. Now that you were pregnant, every time you lay down next to him, he would massage your belly and your aching chest until you fell asleep. He will look at your sleeping form for a long time, his hand still on your belly before tenderly kissing your forehead, whispering a warm "I love you". He will fall asleep against you, his hand continuously brooding over your baby, who seemed to react to his father's warmth by giving gentle strokes against you.

Alhaitham was always lovingly tender with you. Throughout your pregnancy, he would bend over backwards for you, taking care of everything in preparation for the birth. He was the one who took care of decorating the baby's room, as well as everything administrative. He wanted to remove all the unnecessary stress from your head and take on his future role as a father.

Alhaitham will be an exemplary father, always encouraging his child to excel, to believe in his abilities. He will show great patience in his education.

NSFW Bonus:

Pregnancy hormones made you insatiable. The first time you begged your husband to take you, he was lying comfortably on your marital bed with a notepad in one hand and a pen in the other. Without him having time to react, you straddled him, gently pulling what was in his hands away to focus his attention on you. He knew immediately what you wanted and was neither surprised nor shocked. His lips met the sensitive skin of your neck as his hands came to rest on your waist to help you sway against his hips. You could quickly feel his sex rising up under his clothes as you rubbed languidly against him. You were driving him crazy. Crazy with desire, and your pregnancy wasn't helping.

Alhaitham would always go easy on you, he didn't want to bully you or hurt the little being in your belly. He would undress you calmly, his lips worshipping the parts of your body that were offered to him. By dint of rubbing against him, you were wet enough to take him inside you, nevertheless, Alhaitham preferred to prepare you for him, thrusting a finger then two between your lower lips, making you moan at the sudden invasion. As he pumped his fingers inside you, you clung to his clothes, begging him to remove them and penetrate you as deeply as possible. He couldn't resist you, but still decided to make you cum once on his fingers before tearing off his clothes and giving you the object of your desires.

As soon as he got what he wanted from you, he withdrew his fingers, leaving you panting and sweaty. He slid his tunic over his head as quickly as possible before opening his pants to pull out his manhood already soaked by his own excitement. His heart pounded against his chest as he helped you stand over him. You straddled him in one go, without giving each other time to adjust. Grunts filled the room. Both of you had red cheeks as you slowly rolled your hips against him, whispering his name over and over in his ear.

It felt good. Terribly good. Alhaitham helped you with your movements, using the strength in his arms to lift your hips up and down with more speed and precision. He was surprisingly loud, moaning loudly, his head pressed against the back of the bed. At this rate, he wasn't going to last long. Knowing you were pregnant, full of desire for him because of the hormones was making him dizzy.

He made you cum several times that night, before retiring to take care of your exhausted, but finally satiated body. After cleaning you up, Alhaitham took you in his arms to let you sleep. His hand, warmly placed on your belly, rocked you. He whispered loving words in your ear to help you fall asleep. Before he fell asleep, he made sure to tell you and the baby that he loved you more than anything.

"Dottore! I have good news for you!"

Dottore never thought about having children. Not with the life he was leading. He was known to be a cold-hearted man with little to no regard for human life. So when you happily told him of your pregnancy, Dottore would cease all movement with a grim look on his handsome face. His ruby eyes seemed empty as they remained fixed on the bottle filled with a strange liquid that he handled carefully before you arrived in his laboratory. "Good news, you say?" His calm voice nevertheless hid a hint of horror. Shivering at his chilling tone, you slowly moved away from him, understanding that he was not happy about the news. Quickly, you ran out of his laboratory, tears in your eyes. "Tsk… Shit!"

Dottore didn't care about people, much less their feelings… Many women had coveted him for his intelligence or his looks, but none of them had interested him enough to make him feel affection. His relationships had always ended in the same way, as soon as one of his suitors started to annoy him, Dottore killed her in cold blood, using her body for his experiments… So why was it so different for you? Why did your distress affect him so much?! Why, by all the gods, did he have to fall madly in love with you? Abandoning everything he was doing, he ran out of his laboratory to catch up with you. Dottore was a man of incredible intelligence, but he always felt like a complete idiot when it came to you. He easily hurt you with his words or his behavior. Yet, you had always stood by him, faithful and loving. So when he finally managed to grab your wrist, he vowed never to be the cause of your tears again.

Without a word, he pulled you into his arms, letting you beat his chest as hard and as long as necessary if it would earn him your forgiveness. Losing you was not an option… "Let me go! " He tightened his arms around you a little more as he heard your words. "I'm sorry…" He whispered in your ear in a broken voice, which stopped all your movements instantly. You weren't used to hearing him apologize. "A baby? The idea's not so bad." You sniffed against his shirt, plunging your face deep into his chest. "You really are just a jerk…"

After that, Dottore had a completely different demeanor with you. Where he was once obsessed with his research and experiments, his mind now wandered to you, often imagining you with a round belly. A gentle smile would sometimes appear on his lips as he tended to a few vials filled with some herbal liquid or poison. Seeing him like this often frightened his subordinates, who would ask him in a hesitant voice if everything was all right, which usually erased his soft, happy expression to find that cold, threatening façade.

Your companion was not a very popular man, either among the Fatui or anywhere else on Teyvat. He was feared for his experiments on humans and hated for being the cause of death of many. He knew that your relationship with him could harm you, so for your safety and that of his unborn child, he decided to have you live near the Tsarina's palace, only a few steps away from his laboratory. The only people Dottore trusted absolutely were his copies of himself, who took care of your protection in his absence.

At your request, Dottore will cease his research on human beings (though not willingly), claiming that your child does not need a murderer for a father. The two of you argued about this for a long time, but Dottore had found someone who could stand up to him, even finding you frightening at times (and even more so since your pregnancy), when you got upset about the methods he used in his experiments.

Dottore would go to great lengths not to upset you. He knew that strong emotions were not good for you during pregnancy. As a doctor and scientist himself, he knew the risks of miscarriage. He refused to have you followed by a doctor out of nowhere and preferred to be the one to follow your pregnancy and delivery.

During the first six months of pregnancy, Dottore would continue to spend a lot of time in his laboratory, asking Pulcinella to look after you and your needs when his clones could not.

Your husband would leave work in a hurry if one of his copies came to warn him of a problem. You'd be surprised to see him come running, breathless and disheveled, slamming the door to your house and calling your name in a hurry. If you complain of stomach pain, Dottore will lay you down on the bed, taking his medical equipment with him to examine you. As soon as he was reassured of your health, his body would relax as he continued to examine your belly with his stethoscope, a small chuckle making his vocal cords vibrate. When he removed the object from his ears, his amused gaze turned to you. "Would you like to hear it?" For the first time, you could hear your child's first sounds. A softly beating heart… Dottore tenderly kissed your forehead as the first tears of happiness rolled down your cheeks.

After the seventh month, Dottore would spend more time with you. It was strange not to see him working on one of his experiments or even just seeing him in a more casual outfit. Now that he was home more often, Dottore personally made sure you rested properly, sometimes forcing you to lie down on the couch where you were sitting and rest your head on his thighs to fall asleep. Of course, you didn't say anything, enjoying these moments of affection between you and him. Dottore was more tender than he wanted to be, his hand caressing your hair until your eyes closed. You were the one who had made him like this, affectionate, tactile, in love… He had become completely addicted to you, to the idea of building a family… He couldn't deny that a little bit of fear was making his heart twirl.

The more your belly rounded, the more your back became painful, often forcing you to sit or lie down. Dottore would work on massaging your back until you felt nothing.

"I'd rather it be a girl." he once told you. You laughed, knowing exactly why he was saying that. "You'll take what comes, honey." Dottore had seen and lived with younger versions of himself, ranging from childhood to adulthood. You had always thought he was a bit of a father to them, even though it seemed strange.

Dottore always made sure to keep you away from his work to avoid any danger from the Fatui. But, when people hostile to Fatui had attacked you during a moment of inattention on his part, you had seen a face of your husband that you had never seen before. Anger invaded his features, distorting his beautiful face into a mask of hatred. You knew that Dottore already had a lot of blood on his hands and you didn't want your child's father to have any more. Just as he was about to kill those who had hurt you, your voice brought him back to his senses. So, since he couldn't punish them himself, he would let the Fatui justice system do it for him. Perhaps it would have been better if he had killed them…

Your child adored his father, you could tell by the way he wiggled in your belly whenever he heard his voice or felt his hand on your belly. Dottore may have told you it was ridiculous, but you could still see his ruby eyes sparkle every time he felt his baby press against the palm of his hand.

Overall, Dottore will be a very strict father, hoping that his child will follow in his footsteps. He won't be strict to the point of being scary or hateful, he was just what was needed to keep his child from straying from the straight and narrow. Nevertheless, his child will love him unconditionally, seeking his approval, attention and affection every time he comes home.

NSFW Bonus:

You had reached the second trimester of your pregnancy, and you were beginning to feel a rather ferocious carnal appetite. Dottore would be the one to claim you first, though, not waiting for you to come begging. Of course, you were happily guided by this man. You didn't know if it was the pregnancy that made you want to be one with him all the time, and frankly, you didn't care. The only thing that mattered to you was to feel him inside you, to have him claim you, to desire you. Maybe it was a subconscious need to feel desirable again as some of the curves were coming in with the pregnancy?

When Dottore came home, he quickly threw his long fur coat on the coat rack before looking for you in the house with the only idea in mind to make you his. You were used to his roughness in bed, but now that you were pregnant, he was more gentle. He'd take the time to prepare (or rather torture) you with his fingers, caressing your slit and then massaging your clit before his lips took over after tending to your sensitive breasts. Even if you were wet enough for him, Dottore would always add extra lube to his fingers and member.

Your round belly prevented you from getting into certain positions during sex. Most of the time, Dottore would dominate you with all his form, just to save you from any unnecessary physical effort. But sometimes he would simply lay you down on the mattress with your back to him, spreading one of your legs to facilitate the penetration of his member into you.

The swaying of his hips would be torturously slow at first. Dottore liked to play with your nerves, putting aside his desire to hammer you to listen longer to the small moans of pleasure that you offered him. You were so sensitive that it made him lose his mind. But there comes a time when his restraint breaks, and as his lips marked the skin of your neck in a possessive gesture, his hips would increase the pace of their thrusts. Your husband's grunts of pleasure along with the moans of your name would eventually send you over the edge.

Dottore would wait patiently for you to calm down before continuing, his hips slowing in a languid circular motion. He wouldn't cum yet, preferring to savor you for as long as possible. His hand would come to rest on your belly for a while, caressing it gently. He would silently claim your lips with his eyes, kissing you deeply, tangling your tongues together. Dottore was a cold and cruel man, but in your arms, passion and warmth would emanate from him like a fire.

"Sweetheart, I have a gift to give you."

Pantalone was a Fatui enforcer, a wealthy banker known throughout Teyvat as a false, calculating and unscrupulous man. Who would have thought that such a person was capable of loving anything other than his money and starting a family?

When you offered him this small rectangular box carefully sealed with a blue ribbon, Pantalone first looked at it with a doubtful air before displaying his usual smile. "Do we have something to celebrate my dear?" Your sweet, innocent smile always cracked him up. As you remained silent and your gaze grew more insistent, the man sighed before one of his hands tugged at the ribbon that surrounded the package. When he opened the box, he was surprised to find inside a small knitted sweater, obviously made by you. He remained silent for a long time, observing the garment in his hands. "Um… isn't this a baby garment?" He fell silent, realizing what he had just said. When his eyes met yours in a silent question, you nodded sharply, confirming his suspicions. Trembling, he dropped the box to the ground, treasuring the sweater in his hand as he pulled you into his arms. You had both been trying to have a child for several months, and so far, it hadn't been a real success. He was going to do everything he could to take care of you both…

The first few months were complicated for you. You had every morning violent and unbearable nausea. But Pantalone always managed to help you get over it, sitting you on his lap after giving you a cool glass of water. He would massage your belly until you felt better.

Pantalone is rich. Excessively rich. It's almost indecent. Next to him, you felt like a smile. Yet your husband had been poor and that was the same reason why he was spending a lot of moras on his unborn child. He wanted to give him a luxurious and comfortable life, everything that he had not had in his youth. The furniture was made of the best wood. The sheets, mattresses, and all the fabrics covering the surfaces were made of the most expensive materials in all of Teyvat. Of course, he also showered you with gifts, giving you clothes, bringing you all the food you wanted. He spoiled you and fulfilled your every wish.

When the two of you go out, Pantalone always keeps a protective hand on your lower back, warning those who would want to hurt you. He wants to keep you from any unnecessary stress, especially if it's work-related.

You'll be quite surprised to learn that Pantalone has told all of his harbinger colleagues about your pregnancy. Sometimes he would sit in Dottore's office and tell him about your growing belly with unconcealed pride. Dottore would often growl at him, asking him to get out of his lab. The man hated to see his colleague, usually wearing a cold, manipulative smile, so gaga over a "baby.

In the early stages of pregnancy, Pantalone sometimes didn't come home all week, too busy managing Snezhnaya's bank. He hated to leave you alone for so long, even knowing that you had bodyguards protecting you. And although Pulcinella would come to see you from time to time, sometimes bringing you some sweets or your favorite fruit, it didn't make him feel any better. Every day he would write you a letter and you would rush to answer it. He was always so anxious to hear from you…

Pantalone is the kind of man who will talk to your belly, hands gently encircling your hips and an ear pressed against you, hoping to feel his movements and hear his child. If you're sitting comfortably on a couch, the man will come between your legs, face against your belly, eyes closed, savoring your hands combing his long silky hair. He would be perfectly capable of falling asleep in this position, totally serene in your hands.

Sometimes your companion would come home late from work and find you asleep on the couch in the large living room, patiently waiting for him to return. The man would let a long sigh escape him before displaying one of his rare tender smiles, approaching you to kiss your forehead, your nose and then your lips. His hand would warmly caress your rounded belly, until he was startled by his baby's movements. "Well, aren't you still asleep my precious? Be good, don't wake up mommy…" Gently kissing the spot where he had felt his child's thrashing. He would eventually lift you gently off the couch, carrying you in his arms to lay you down in your bed.

Every time Pantalone passed you, he would pull you into his arms, kissing your lips and whispering about how beautiful he thought you were with your rounded belly, brooding over his child. "How is it that every day you get more and more gorgeous?" You would often roll your eyes, cheeks flushed and a slight smile on your lips before silencing him with a kiss.

Pantalone has a deep, gravelly voice, perfect for soothing your child's fidgets as well as your nerves. He will gladly lay you on his lap with a Snezhnaya storybook in hand and read it slowly until you fall asleep.

Your mood swings will never disturb this seasoned businessman. He will find the right words to calm you down.

Your husband will be very affectionate with you. He'll always speak softly to you, the warmth in his voice soothing your often frayed nerves during pregnancy. He will put aside his evil eye, wanting to live many years with you and your child.

Pantalone will be a very loving father and like Kaeya and Zhongli, extremely gaga over his child. He would spoil him to excess if you weren't there to temper him.

NSFW Bonus:

Your partner did not hide his desire for you. After all, he never stopped telling you that he found you beautiful and desirable… Pantalone was not in the habit of asking for you at any time of the day, often too busy with his work. But he couldn't help it, your pregnancy made it impossible for him to control his urges.

Your sexual relations were always slow and languid. Pantalone had never been a rough or brusque person. He liked to sit you on his lap in his office, his fingers penetrating your wet slit. He wanted to hear every moan, every whisper of his name in your mouth. His free hand took hold of your sensitive breast, gently pinching and pulling your nipple. His lips would mark the skin of your neck before moving up to your jaw and then your ear, gently whispering to you to cum for him… His deep voice, marked by lust, will make you rock on his fingers.

Pantalone likes to take you from behind, sticking you against a wall before penetrating you. His hips will slowly sway behind you, first in a teasing circle before moving in more forcefully. One of his hands would be under your belly, helping you bear the weight, however lightly, while the other would draw your hips into place. A smirk would appear on his lips as you begged him to go faster. "Oh? Don't you appreciate the way I take you? It seems to lull our child to sleep though, don't you think? " And indeed, it was possible for sex to lull a baby to sleep in the womb. Reluctantly, you gave in to your husband's slow rhythm.

As soon as he felt your walls tremble on his member as your orgasm approached, Pantalone accelerated his thrusts, surprising you in the process with a shrill cry of sudden pleasure. "Pantalone! The baby he-"; "I never said it was enough to be slow to rock him honey." You quickly climaxed, screaming his name over and over until he released his load inside you, his head collapsing onto your shoulder, his breath tickling your bare back. Both of his hands would rest on your lower abdomen, tenderly caressing it as he whispered his love for you in your ear.

#genshin impact smut #genshin impact #genshin #genshin impact x reader #genshin smut #genshin impact fluff #al haitham #al haitham smut #dottore #dottore smut #pantalone #pantalone smut #pantalone x reader #dottore x reader #al haitham x reader #pantalone fluff #dottore fluff #al haitham fluff #dottore x you #pantalone x you

[rahleeyah]

Do you think that by killing off Kathy instead of a divorce between her and Elliot, that El is still not "choosing" Liv? That when EO get together it's more of Elliot being "well my wife's dead so I guess I'll be with you". For many fans the choice of killing her off was not the best choice for the reason I state, and cause to fridge a female character is gross too.

What are your thoughts? Hopefully you understand what I am saying.

No, I don't think that.

I know a lot of people feel that way, but as we've discussed on this blog before I really do feel that Elliot couldn't choose Liv over Kathy while Kathy was still alive, not least bc Olivia wouldn't let him. And yes, of course, he could've gotten divorced from Kathy and then turned up looking for Olivia - and it would've been interesting to see Olivia be able to really vent her anger at him in those early days - but there's something....off, if Kathy's still around. She's still such a source of insecurity for Liv - does Elliot really want Olivia more, did he only come to Olivia bc Kathy finally got rid of him (which is essentially the same as only coming to Liv bc Kathy died, maybe even worse), has Olivia taken something from Elliot's family, do the kids resent her, etc - and Olivia's own reticence I think gets in the way too much if Kathy is alive. Olivia has been telling herself that Elliot is someone else's husband for so long that even a divorce isn't enough to nudge her, I don't think; it certainly didn't the first time. And yes the first time they were still partners but this time he's left her for a decade (why is he only coming back now? Isn't Liv still a consolation prize in this version?) and if she leaps straight into her anger without those months of caring for him maybe they don't ever recover.

And like what's the timeline. Elliot comes for the ceremony while still married to Kathy and Liv is furious and he leaves Kathy? Idk about that. Elliot gets divorced and only then turns up? Yeah I don't love that either.

And yeah, obviously, fridging is a serious issue that we do need to talk about but also characters have to die sometimes. We can't just never have a character die, never have the other characters experience loss; that's ignoring a whole vast swath of human emotion that does need to be explored in media. And if you're gonna kill someone off so that you can talk about grief and trauma and love and healing, pragmatically you're gonna kill a side character. Bc you want to keep your mains around for later. You need your mains. They're the story.

On the one hand, it would've been nice to see Kathy stand up for herself and go out and make a new life and not be beholden to Elliot. On the other hand, life doesn't give us all happy endings. Kathy had just as many choices as Elliot did. She asked him to come to bed, she asked - pushed - him to come back to raise Eli. She was happy in Rome. With him. Maybe Kathy didn't want another life. Maybe she wanted her husband - she worked hard enough to keep him - and maybe her ending is tragic, but life is tragic. A man looking at his cell phone while driving hit my mother head on and we spent a week in the hospital with her, jumping every time her eyelashes fluttered even tho we knew there was no activity in her brain. In the perfect story, her eyes would've opened. She would've woken up. We wouldn't have lost her. We did. The story doesn't have a happy ending. We stumble thru our grief. I kind of like it when the stories I consume reflect things I've felt in my own heart; it helps learn to name my emotions, and find connection and solace in the knowledge that I am not alone in feeling them.

Not every story has a happy ending. Kathy's didn't. That's not a crime imo.

#anonymous #e.o asks #s.vu

[mraprilgf]

theatre production au

chimney is a deputy stage manager. he was interim stage manager once for like 3 days and everyone complains about it but really everything ran smoothly in the end, they all know it's only a matter of time before he becomes stage manager for real (when the current one, eli, moves across the country at the end of next season). used to be an electrical technician, got into theatre production by chance, slowly worked his way up. kevin died bc of a safety hazard, which makes chim triple check everything every time

hen is the playwright and director. she used to be a nurse and the job wore her down completely. found solace in writing, a hobby she took up since a playwright had come to speak to her class one day in middle school. her then partner eva secretly submits one of her works to a writing contest and when she wins it and hears how it moved the judges or something she decides to pursue it for real.

bobby: musical director. was a child prodigy musician, used to play at a virtuoso level. being in that world since little led him into a spiral of drugs. he retired from the scene after a horrible accident where all of his family died. he got sober but was scared to play again for a long time, fearing it was the music that made him an addict. eventually he finds his way back to it and to the peace it brought him, though in the public scene only as a composer and director and only in the theater/cinema scene, preferring to play only in private. has an ongoing playful flirt with the lead actress

athena: lead actress!!!!!! used to study law, switched to theatre halfway through the first year. she had to fight her way through a lot but is now an accomplished and respected actress. she is little known on tv, where she only played small roles, bc her true love is the theater since she was little and her father took her to the local social theater. her favorite director/playwright is hen, they have done 3 plays together so far. she keeps her life very private but she has recently divorced her husband of 20 years with whom she's had 2 kids. the couple seems to have remained in friendly terms. can't help but flirt with musical director

buck: actor. came to it later in life, even though his parents got his older sister and (dead) brother into commercials and tv roles before he was born. no one in his family know about it. he has slept his way through half the female members of the crew causing daily spats and fights, then bobby took him with him to a springsteen concert and he apparently found his way back to the lord as he stopped fooling around. he was also given a very serious ultimatum regarding his employment and had started a very intense long distance relationship with a woman called abby he met on reddit. he has been the understudy of one of the main characters for the entire last season and now that the main actor has moved to another project he feels ready to step up to the challenge and take his place. enter:

eddie: new guy in town. he's been acting for less than 2 years but he's got a real genuine talent for it. is also drop dead gorgeous. used to be a professional boxer, spent all the time traveling bc of tournaments and shit i don't know how boxer works but i wanted him to have a different og job. quit bc of a serious arm injury, became a single dad when shannon left out of the blue and dropped out the radar. christopher is the one who pushed him to try some auditions while he worked as a waiter or something. gets buck's role as main actor, finds himself in the middle of a one sided feud with his understudy

maddie: one of the biggest film/tv actresses around, has only worked in theatre when she was young. married to fellow actor doug, whom she met as a teen on the set of a popular soap opera: fictional love becomes real love, been together for what? 20 years?, #dreamcouple (think brangelina), though recently famously split up (omg love is dead) then got back together then split again then got back together. the details have not been made public, rumor is she cheated on him (truth is: domestic abuse). met athena once for a movie and they got along pretty well, was invited to appear on the show as a sort of cameo, also as a way to boost it, and she accepted happily. she plays a minor role due to her busy schedule, as eddie's character's love interest

ravi: budding actor, understudy of the understudy of eddie's character. buck has taken it as his supreme duty to show him the ropes, to ravi's despair. starts to hang out a lot with chimney to escape buck but is slowly realizing that what chimney does is so cool? like maybe he got it all wrong and maybe what he really loves about theatre isn't being center stage, but backstage?? where the magic happens <3 !! i'm still gonna give him a cancer childhood bc yeah. rn i can't think of anything else

albert, easy peasy, appears on chim's doorsteps one day, is taken in and given a job as a handyman at the theater. decides it's not for him though and is currently looking for what he truly wants to do, changing jobs every few months. lately he's been following nail art classes online just to spite his father, who in an angry call asked him if he wanted to become a nail beautician. he practices on himself and on chimney, who pretends to complain but walks around with jeweled claws beaming with pride

#later ill add about madney #not now though im too tired #theatre production au #also dont expect me to turn this into anything bc i won't lol

[booksandwords]

A Holiday By Gaslight by Mimi Matthews

Read time: 2 Days Rating: 4/5 stars

The quote: It hadn’t been love at first sight. That was too trite. Too simplistic. But something within him had recognized something in her. Had understood that she would be important to him. — Ned

A Holiday By Gaslight is honesty just an adorable second chance Victorian Christmas romance. Appreciate the characters. There is some brilliant forward-thinking that is well suited to the social revolution of the age and the technological changes of the industrial revolution are well represented. The protagonist Sophie is a female readers protagonist. Working to obligations but with a degree of freedom and much intelligence but still with flaws. She's remarkably feminist for the time, the whole book is. Also, she has great style. Many of these traits are suited to readers. They want to be her can relate to her on a level. As a reader, her thoughts on Darwin were unlike what I've seen in fiction but I feel like they suit and make sense, especially for a woman in her position.

Ned feels like a quite traditional historical romance lead. Until you learn his full disadvantages and he loses his shackles. He really is a good match for Sophie. All I will say is to hell with reputation. Give me all the illicit Victorian kisses. Having a male main character who is not only a lower class who has worked his way up but uses an interesting trade is great for me. Ned is the son of a draper and works with material he picks up material as an indicator of class and confidence easily. He is attracted to Sophie's confidence that belies her slightly lower class. Their relationship has something of a power balance in more than one way. Ned by far wealthier but Sophie is of a higher class. In the Victorian time period class trumps all. It does lead to an odd feeling in the ending. I do want to share a line. This is between Ned and his best friend/ business partner Walter Murrey. It's such a perfect exchange between friends, that feels perfect. “You’d like to punch me in the face, wouldn’t you?” “I’d like to disembowel you with a teaspoon.” Walter winced. “Ouch.”

The support cast is rather two dimensional but this is only a short novella it's limited to families and Ned's business partner Walter Murrey. But there are some differences. There are class and financial differences in play that are used to explain cooler personalities and some recklessness. That idea of Sophie and her mother keeping her family as financially stable as possible while Papa and Emmy are more frivolous is a good one. The responsibility of the oldest child. That drive to protect a younger sibling. I do want to say though Papa is a bit of a bastard. I was frustrated at him, he spent his daughter's doweries... just no. You absolute moron.

I will say one thing for new players, persevere through Ned and Sophie's early relationship, especially Ned it does get better after they arrive at Appersett House. Mimi Matthews works with tropes, as said Ned feels like an almost typical historical romance lead initially at least in the vein of a Mr Darcy mould, but there is also the marriage for money, on the shelf, unexpected intelligence and romance in the season. But what I love is the language used. This is just so lovely descriptively. Matthews writes evolving language well too. I like the differences in Sophie and Ned's attitudes. Their time in London vs after they free themselves of social propriety vs when they have to slip back into polite society while at the Christmas celebrations at Appersett House. He's charming and she's intelligent. All show well and all are quite different. Writing suits them both and they suit each other. Their styles differ enough that you can put it down and know exactly which character's pov you are in. Even with the tropey plot points, the writing and the characters just kept me reading from start to end.

#a holiday by gaslight #mimi matthews #holiday reads #read 2021 #ktreviews #book review #novella #historical fiction #booklr

[momolady]

The Mad One: Part Three

Part Three of Six

Out on open waters, Mad One is expecting anything. So when underwater pirates attack, she’s ready. But she’s just not ready for what comes next.

Female Main Character x Multiple Male Characters

Between the mainland and the Island of One Thousand Corpses is the Sunken Sea. But it isn’t just any sea, but an underwater island itself. The Island of One Thousand Corpses once belonged to a race of amphibious beings who decided to live underwater, rather than on land, so they named it the City of the Sunken Island. Here they avoided any and all turmoil that was happening on land, especially in the mainland, which left the island to be used as a graveyard, and then a playground for a crazy scientist.

In any case, sometimes people who traveled between the mainland and the island ran afoul of the aquatic folk, who sometimes took to piracy, raiding ships or taking hostages in order to get what they needed. Due to the Neon City’s port, they were often able to evade the pirates, but the Neon Acolytes rarely ever crossed the sea except to take the dead to the island. This should have been a concern for Mad One, as it should be for everyone who travels by the Sunken Island Sea. Instead, Mad One was enjoying her new husband.

Her body sweaty, her breaths ragged, she rode Hades undaunted by the perils that they could face in open waters. She took him so deeply that his turgid length hit all those pleasurable little nooks she loved. Huni Buni watched, enraptured by the sight of his beloved wife in the throes of ecstasy, his visor glitching as he found himself unable to focus on one expression. Of course, Hades was totally focused on his new bride, her strong arms and muscled thighs. He wasn’t thinking about anything else except how warm and wet she was.

Aside from wanting to enjoy her new partner, Mad One was also trying to avoid thinking about Slasher, her mother’s death, and her own grief. She wanted to indulge in something to make her feel better, rather than what her past had besieged her with. Once she reached the island, she would face her fears in one go.

After Hades was spent, Mad One took Huni Buni inside. It was a comfort she had indulged in for years now, savouring Huni Buni rather than chasing the climax. His hands were smooth, with rubbery pads on his palms and fingertips. His body was sleek and glossy, and he was quite small compared to Mad One, but he was equipped with special attachments that could shift and change as he directed the magic debris inside him. While Huni Buni preferred to be referred to as male, he could really be anything, sometimes masculine, sometimes feminine, sometimes both or neither. He enjoyed this about himself, indulging in fashions as well as roleplaying with his wife. Mad One loved him no matter what he felt one day to the next. He was Huni Buni, and that was all that mattered to her.

“I’m coming,” she moaned to him.

“I know. It’s getting hard to move.” His hands dug into her hips, kneading into her firm rear. “I’m vibrating!”

Mad One bit down hard on her bottom lip, stuck on the ‘f’ of the word fuck as Huni Buni’s member began to vibrate harder and harder inside. It was the final match to light her fuse, rocketing her into her orgasm. “-uck!” she finally coughed when she could breathe again.

Hades chuckled from the bed, having been watching while enjoying a cold drink of Rotten Nectar. “Not a bad show.”

Mad One flopped back onto the bed, curling up in the fetal position as she panted. Huni Buni took a second to recover, his visor blinking and glitching a few times. “You tired her out, or else you would have really gotten a show.” He stroked his hands up Mad One’s back, smoothing her out until she was lying flat against the bed, her head resting on Hades’ thigh.

“I’m sure about that.” Hades petted the top of Mad One’s head as she snuggled against his leg, smiling when he saw the smile on her lips. “We will be at sea for a few days, so I’m sure I’ll get to see the full show eventually.”

Mad One rose, stretching out her back, lifting her arms above her head until there was a loud pop. “It’s been a while. For the longest time it was only Huni Buni and I.”

“How many were there before?” Hades asked.

“Seven, including me,” Huni Buni answered as Mad One took Hades’ drink, finishing off what he had in the glass. Her expression was less than pleased. This was not her favorite topic of discussion.

Sitting up and stretching out his wings, Hades placed his hands around Mad One’s hips, where he had left a few fingerprint bruises. “Is that your goal again?”

Mad One left the bed to pour the glass full again. “I don’t have a goal for that. I just don’t want partners who will leave me again, even if I become powerless.”

“Don’t drink so much,” Huni Buni warned.

Mad One lifted the glass from her lips, turning to look back at her husbands in bed. She was illuminated from behind by the window, and her skin glowed warmly, with shadows finding the curves and crevices of her body. From their point of view, she looked like a goddess. But inside, Mad One felt little more than a blade of grass in dung. “It’s beautiful out. We need some fresh air.” Mad One went to the window and opened it, letting in the cold sea breeze. As she turned away, something flew through the window and struck her in the back of the head. “Fucking hell!” she cried out.

Hades jumped from the bed, going to the window while Huni Buni picked up the object that was thrown. It was a bottle with a message in it. “Throw it back!” Mad One snapped in her anger, still rubbing the back of her head.

Huni Buni turned the bottle this way and that. A small object rattled around inside. “There’s a note inside. Maybe we should read it?”

“It could be the Sunken pirates,” Hades suggested, closing the window pack. “It could be a warning, or a threat.”

Mad One angrily snatched the bottle back from Huni Buni and uncorked it, shaking it until the note began to play it’s recorded message. “Open waters can be an endless horizon or a watery grave. I suggest you follow along if you wish to see beyond the horizon again. I am Captain Lowe, and your ship has been marked as my next target. Surrender your valuables, put them all on the deck, and have everyone move belowdecks. Once that is complete, toss this bottle back over the side and we will take everything. But we will kill all who remain topside.”

Hades brow creases. “They just want our supplies?”

Mad One sneered down at the bottle. “Captain Lowe, is it?” She set the bottle aside as it continued to play its message. She dressed, pulling on whatever clothes she found - Hades’ jacket, Huni Buni’s crop top, and her own pants. She went up on deck, looking over the side of the boat in the direction the letter came from. A dark shape was moving just below the surface, going under the boat and then vanishing. Mad One frowned in her annoyance. But perhaps if she was able to talk to the pirate, maybe even come into his favor, she would know more about the Sunken Sea and those who traversed it, maybe even Slasher and her whereabouts on the island. It was a risky ploy, but she wasn’t making this journey to play safe.

Mad One had everyone go belowdecks while she remained above. Tossing the bottle over the side, she stood back and waited. She didn’t know what to expect - dozens, maybe hundreds of pirates coming above the waters to loot the ship of everything. She was prepared though, having fought with multiple combatants. She would either die fighting, or gain a new ally.

A hand rose over the edge, gripping the side before someone pulled themselves up. It was a single figure who stared at Mad One with shock, then with disdain. “I told you to go belowdecks if you wanted to live.”

Mad One tilted her head. This pirate, with all his scales and ridges and gills, was a watermelon shade of pink. Instantly, Mad One was attracted. She swallowed her throbbing heartbeat and reminded herself to remain professional, and not to give in just because this pirate was her favorite color. “I want to live, but if you’re going to be the only one onboard I think I can handle you.” Her eyes glowed red as she readied herself for a fight. “But first, I wouldn’t mind talking to you.”

Captain Lowe’s eyes looked over the edge again and then back at Mad One. He looked frustrated, even exhausted. The bags under his eyes were a dark shade of magenta, and his mouth was gritted with tension, showing off the sharp points of his teeth. “Why do you want to talk?” he asked with a hiss.

“Because I fight much better than I talk,” Mad One said with a smirk. “And if you’re up here alone, then you really don’t want to see what I can do.”

Captain Lowe sniffed, slipping over the edge and standing there. He was quite lithe and thin, his body and limbs long, but he stood a head shorter than Mad One. He wore a long water-resistant coat that covered most of his body, probably hiding weapons. He had a row of ridges and fins along the top of his head resembling a crown, ranging in color from deep strawberry to baby pink stripes. His eyes were wide and midnight-blue, and blinked nictitating membranes. He stared at Mad One, his eyes both exhausted and alert as he took her in. “Red eyes. Must be a child of Red Witch,” he sniffed.

“You know my family,” Mad One said with a chuckle.

Captain Lowe tilted his head to the side. “What is it you want?”

Mad One took a step towards him, placing her hands on her hips. “What would it take for me to earn you as an ally? As heir to the City of Red Tide, I prove to be a profitable alliance for you.”

“Why offer such a thing now?” Captain Lowe asked quietly. “Why not ages ago, when the Sunken City first offered? Red Witch was just coming into power then, back before the city was sunken. Why did she not take their offer then?”

Mad One was still trying to remain professional. Captain Lowe was handsome, but she couldn’t let a pretty face sway her even an inch. “I wasn’t even born when the city sank. I always thought the city sunk itself to escape the fights and politics of the mainland.”

Captain Lowe sniffed, curling his upper lip so Mad One could see how vicious his teeth were. “Which is exactly why I am hesitant to accept this supposed olive branch.”

“Then why not educate me?”

“Because there is no time for that,” Captain Lowe reaches into his jacket. “Surrender your supplies now, or...”

Mad One was able to strike first, blowing out a cloud of red debris that forced Captain Lowe over the edge. She rushed to follow, but when she looked down Lowe was clinging to the side of the boat, and below him was a raft with several small children on board. Her eyes returned to normal, and Mad One looked into Captain Lowe’s eyes. “What sort of operation is this? These are children.”

“I know what they are!” Lowe climbed down enough to land safely upon the raft, and the children pressed closer around him. “You want to ally with the Sunken? You’re looking at them.”

She looked between the faces of the small children. None of them could have been more than thirteen years old. “What happened?”

Captain Lowe sneered up at her. “If you want to talk, then come down to my level.”

“Fine.” Mad One took a rope to climb down, landing on the raft with Captain Lowe and the children. They cowered around Lowe, looking terrified. She raised her hands above her head. “Why are you using children for your pirate crew?”

Captain Lowe stepped towards Mad One, glaring into her eyes. “Because we are dying. We have been, ever since our city sank. The mainland turned us away when we asked for help.” Mad One opened her mouth to argue, but Captain Lowe silenced her with an angry glare. “They didn’t want to get their hands dirty. They saw us as a weakness, and decided to turn their backs and wait for us all to die.”

“No.” Mad One shook her head. “My mother would never...”

“She did,” Lowe hissed. “I should kill you for what they all did. But all I want is your supplies so I can keep my children fed.”

“You could have just asked,” Mad One murmured. “Had I known it was for kids, I wouldn’t have bothered trying to talk to you. How many do you have?”

“Why do you care?” Lowe sneered.

“Do I need a reason?” Mad One slowly lowered her arms. “Let me make up for the past. Please. My husband is prince of the Neon City, and their port would give you easy access to the land. I would accept you into the City of Red Tide where you could live, grow, and never worry about having to hunt for supplies. We even have a beach.”

Captain Lowe snarled at Mad One before looking back to the kids. “There are six colonies of survivors, some with few adults. Would you have room for such numbers?”

Mad One nodded. “I would see to their resettlement myself. But first, I want to ask for your knowledge about the Island of One Thousand Corpses.”

“A catch, is it? What do you want to know about this island?”

Mad One took a breath before speaking. Every time Lowe showed his teeth, she grew a little excited. “There is someone hiding there who killed my mother and almost killed me. I want to bring them to justice before I take my place as heir of Red Tide. Perhaps we should talk on board? We can prepare a meal for your children, and talk in private.”

Captain Lowe narrowed his eyes. “Forgive me if I have a hard time trusting your motives, little princess, but Red Tide threw us over once before. I won’t allow it to happen again. Before I accept anything that appears to be kindness from you, you’re going to have to do something to prove you’re even willing to offer your hand to us.”

“I am offering my ship and my supplies to feed you, and my kingdom to shelter you. What else can I do for you, Captain Lowe? Tell me and I will try to do it.”

Lowe smirked. “You really want to kill this person, don’t you?”

Mad One looked away.

“What’s this look of doubt I see? You do want to kill this person, don’t you? After killing your mother, I’m sure you’d like to see them dead. Perhaps that is something we could both understand.”

Mad One looked back into his eyes. “I can’t explain it here.” Her voice trembled. “But if you need something else, something only I can give, what if I propose to you?”

The look of shock and disbelief that came to Lowe’s face explained just how he saw Mad One. She was either stupid or brilliant. “Huh?”

“Marry me, and that will assure your people, your children, will be well taken care of. Their needs will be met, and you will be there to assure it. As my husband, you’d be able to take back some of the power my mother stole away.” Mad One gave him a wink and a smile. “What do you say?”

Lowe continued to stare at her like she was an idiot. “You gain nothing from this.”

“I gain a husband.” She glanced at the kids. “And a big family. from the look of things.” She offered her hand to him. “This is a chance to rebuild and a chance to apologize.”

Captain Lowe looked her up and down before he met her eyes. “We should discuss this.” He turns back around to the children. “Go gather the others, and we’ll all board the ship,” he told them.

“I’ll go up and have them start preparing food to serve,” Mad One said. “Thank you for being willing to hear me out, Lowe.”

Lowe turned back to her, frowning as his tired eyes glared. “I haven’t accepted yet. I want my children fed.”

Mad One nodded. “It’s the least I can do.” Once she climbed back onboard she asked that a meal be prepared and for everyone to keep their distance to allow the children comfort while eating. Then she explained the situation to Huni Buni and Hades before Lowe and the children arrived onboard.

“Are you sure about this?” Huni Buni asked.

Mad One nodded. “I know this brings little to the table, but I feel I must rectify a wrong that has been done. If I have power to help, why wouldn't I use it?”

“He could hurt you by using you,” Huni Buni huffed. “Don’t let him be like the others! You have to be certain.”

Mad One looked into his face. “And I will. Just let us talk.”

“Be careful,” Hades murmured. “You don’t know what he is capable of.”

Mad One smiled and gave them both kisses. “I will be. Don’t worry, I know how to handle myself.”

Once the children were served food, Mad One and Lowe went into the wheelhouse, which was private but still offered Lowe closeness to the children onboard. They sat across from each other, with nothing between them. Lowe removed his coat and put it aside to show he was unarmed, so Mad One did the same, stripping off her clothes to show him she carried nothing. “No powers, no debris. I take it you’re as powerful a Thaumaturgist as your mother?” he asked.

“Even more so,” Mad one smirked. “But don’t worry. I won’t pull anything out unless you do.”

He chuckled. “Imagine my surprise when you offered marriage. It’s been a long time since I had such an offer.”

“Oh my, am I speaking to another prince?” Mad One asked. “Your story is getting more and more tragic by the minute.”

“That is why I fight so hard. I am the last ruler of the Sunken City. These are my people, and they look to me for guidance and protection. The least I can do is give it.”

“So you turned to piracy to survive?”

Lowe growled and shook his head. “The waters used to be filled with fish and life, but the same disease that ravaged us took hold of the waters. We had little choice.”

“But what about the island? Could you not go back?”

“The Island of One Thousand Corpses? Are you mad? That place has become infested ever since that fucking lunatic took it over.”

The hairs on the back of Mad One’s neck bristled as she leaned forward in anticipation. “Is the invader called Slasher?”

Lowe’s eyes narrowed. “No. The Scientist.” He rubbed at his chin. “Is that who you’re looking for?”

Mad One sighed. “They were my sister, but now they’re just Slasher.”

Lowe’s eyes wandered, running down Mad One’s body before focusing upon her eyes again. “I may know something about them. I’ve heard the name whispered, but I have never seen them on the sea.”

“That’s impossible,” Mad One huffed. “Slasher has been back and forth between the island and mainland several times! How can you not have seen them?”

“I’m not sure,” Lowe shrugged. “Perhaps they do something that allows them to bypass the sea. Perhaps that’s how they have eluded you before as well.”

Mad One clenched her jaw at the thought. “So you have no clue where they were hiding on the island?”

“I can tell you where the Scientist is, and they might know the whereabouts of this Slasher. But there are things I need to know first.” He rose in his chair, sitting high and proud. “You proposed to me. So tell me why I should accept.”

“I already told you it would offer you a chance to recover. Your children would be safe, and you wouldn’t have to fight so hard for the things you need.”

“Aside from that,” Lowe scoffed. “What sort of wife would you be?” He opens his eyes wide, revealing a ring of baby blue around the darkness. “Would I just be a trophy to you? Something to show off and feel proud of yourself?”

Mad One shook her head. “It used to be that way for me. But now I realize that if I am to marry, I want partners around me who will be my friends and share my joys and sorrows with me. My last partners abandoned me when Slasher first defeated me. All of them but one left my side, and through that I learned what I needed.”

Lowe uncrossed his legs. “You still have one partner?”

“Two. Huni Buni, a LA-Pin Unit, and Hades, son of Queen Mazza of the Neon City.” She smiled at him. “I would like three, if you’re willing to join us.”

Lowe smirked. “I have only ever had husbands. I refused to marry women in my youth because I did not want to relinquish my power. You would be my first wife if I accepted.”

“Do you prefer men?” Mad One asked. “I wouldn’t want you to marry me if you had no taste for me.”

Lowe shook his head. “I like anyone and everyone equally. The Sunken have no gender aside from what they assign themselves personally. I chose male, but I can be anything.”

Mad One smiled understandingly. “My Huni Buni is similar in that regard.”

“I have one request before I accept your proposal, then.” Lowe leaned back in his seat, spreading his legs slightly. “I like to make sure the chemistry between myself and my prospective mates is mutual. If you are willing, I would like to test ours.”

“Are you suggesting what I think you are?” Mad One stood up from her chair.

“A marriage is a union, but so is the act of making love.” Lowe reached down, touching a slit between his thighs that bloomed with pink petals to reveal an opening, and a tendril that began to slip out.

Mad One knelt before him, kissing his thighs and finding the scales silky. “You should know by now I have an affinity for pink.”

Lowe’s eyes widened.

“Both my husbands are pink already.” She kissed again, placing her tongue on the slit and licking up to the tendril.

“You have a type?” Lowe began to moan.

“I do,” Mad One giggled. She noticed the tendril thickened and flared at the base. She cupped her mouth around it, slipping her fingers inside.

Lowe grabbed the top of her head, pulling her hair so she was forced to look up at him. With just a look, she understood. She stood up and sat on his lap, kissing him softly until his teeth began to nip at her lip and tongue. His hands gripped her hips, digging into her firm ass. “You should know I like my mates bigger than me,” he chuckled into her ear.

“I’m a big girl,” Mad One teased. She reached down, guiding his tendril towards her entrance, letting him slip inside.

“Fuck! It’s hot!” Lowe threw his head back, moaning loudly as Mad One took the lead. She bounced on his lap, squeezing around him to feel how strange yet pleasant he felt.

“Not used to this?” Mad One chuckled.

Lowe’s fingers sunk deeper into her flesh and he growled, rolling his hips so he could thrust them upwards into her. “No,” he chuckled. “How could I ever be?”

Mad One kissed him, letting his mouth move down her jaw and bite her neck. She whimpered, moving harder, slapping her rear against his thighs. The two moved from the chair and onto the floor with Mad One riding on top of Lowe. She panted and moaned, gasping for breath as Lowe ran his hands all over her body. He threw her down, pressing her into the floor, biting her thighs as he licked inside her with his long tongue. They took turns like this, letting one or the other take the lead. Eventually, they both succumbed and fell to the floor.

Lying beside Lowe, his body felt cool compared to Mad One’s hot skin. She chuckled to herself, fanning her face. “So, what do you think?”

Lowe huffed. “Fine. I’ll marry you.”

Mad One sat up and kissed him. “Then your children are mine, and I will take care of all of you. I will love you all always.”

He melted, relaxing into the floor. He covered his eyes and began to cry. “What is it?” Mad One asked.

Lowe sat up, keeping his face covered. “All these years,” he whispered. “Watching everyone die, watching my home fall apart. I held on so long. I’m so tired.”

Mad One wrapped her arms around him, letting him rest his head upon her. “It’s okay now. Get some rest. I’ll take care of you.”

#monsterxhuman #monster boyfriend #monster lover #monster romance #polyamory #monster fudger

[messers-moony]

Comics 2 | A.G

Paring: Aidan Gallagher X Fem!Reader

Summary: Aidan meets an unusually pretty girl at a library while trying to find a textbook for school

Warnings: Cursing

Years later, Aidan and Y/n were now twenty-five. All these years and Aidan hadn’t seen her since he gifted her the comic book when they were just twenty. All these years later and he still loved her.

He left a bookmark in there on purpose, one with his number, but yet, she never called. It made his mind wander. Why wasn’t she calling? Maybe she wasn’t fond of calling, but even then, she never texted either.

A certain feeling of defeat lingered in his heart. Maybe she didn’t like him like that. Her words were stuck in his mind; they lagged in his head like a broken record every time he was to fall asleep.

“ Y/n L/n. Remember it. “

Why was he to remember it? She was a comic book artist, for Christ's sake, not an upcoming actress. As far as he knew, there would never be a significance to her name. A new Netflix show was in the making, another one based on comic books.

Of course, Aidan got the call. The call was a producer begging him to audition for the leading role. He would be perfect for this role, swore the producer. Aidan was hesitant but did it anyway.

Aidan wasn’t the only one in the audition room, of course, but he was only here because of the pleading the producer did. He auditioned, and that was that. Within a week's notice, they would notify him.

On his way home, he stopped by a library, the very same library he met the girl at. Sighing, he walked to the comic book section and picked up the series of comics. There were five in the series, and he bought all of them.

He walked home with a backpack filled with his belongings and now new comic books. Walking into his apartment, he unzipped his bag and took out the first comic. The male ignored who wrote and illustrated it. It didn’t really matter. Did it?

The brunette read through the first comic and was hooked almost immediately. He read through them relatively quickly, and when he finished, he was agitated. The books were completed on a cliffhanger, only leading him to assume there had to be a sixth book soon.

Three days went by, and Aidan couldn’t help but reread the comic books for a more thorough analysis. The more he read, the more he saw how similar he and the main character was.

Everything down to the hair, the dimples, the smile, and the eyes were the exact same. The mannerisms being almost identical scared him. But he realized why the producer begged him for this role. He wasn’t exaggerating when he said Aidan was the perfect candidate for it.

He finished the series a second time and stared at the cover. That’s when he realized it and then began to scold himself for how dense he could possibly be.

“ Written and Illustrated by Y/n L/n “

We’re the words written across the top of the book. That’s why the main character was so similar to him, because the girl who wrote it knew who he was. She was observant, hella observant.

Within a week's notice, as promised, Aidan got a call saying he got the role and they would fly him to New York to begin filming. He’d be leaving in a month, probably the least amount of notice he’s been given before filming a show.

Nonetheless, the month went by faster than you could blink, and he was on a plane to New York. The set was much bigger than he imagined and made his way to the producers.

“ Aidan, you came! How wonderful! “ The producer from the phone exclaimed happily, “ My names Alex. I’m so ecstatic you came. “

Alex put his hand out to shake, which Aidan accepted politely, “ I assume you’ve read the comics by now? “ A familiar voice queried.

“ I have, actually. “ Aidan replied, turning around to be met with the dyed-haired female, “ I told you, remembering my name would come in handy. “ Y/n winked.

Aidan snickered, “ Why make your main character almost exactly like me? “ Aidan questioned, fully serious, “ Because Gallagher, you’re intriguing. You also seem to attract the best audience. Not to mention you always put on a show. “ Y/n said with prominent confidence.

The way his last name rolled off her tongue almost made him faint. He adored her and wanted her to be his. Now that she was here, he’d do anything in his power to make her his.

“ So you’re using me to make your show popular? “ The male joked, “ No, don’t take it the wrong way. I used you because you’re hardworking, and you put everything into your role. You, my love, are perfect for this role. “ Y/n responded, and Aidan’s cheeks flushed at the pet name.

“ Now, I must be going. However, I will see you on set tomorrow, I presume? “ She questioned with a soft smile, “ Yeah. Definitely. “ Aidan breathed as she left.

A hand was laid upon his shoulder, “ You are completely head over heels for her, huh? “ A male voice spoke in his ear, making him jump, “ Jesus Christ Robert, where did you come from? Why are you here? “ Aidan heaved as his hand was on his heart.

“ I’ve actually earned myself a role as well as Elliot Page. I’ve never seen you so entranced. “ Robert commented, “ She's been stuck in my head for years. “ Aidan murmured.

Robert had a face of curiosity, “ We met like five years ago at a library, and I talked to her for only two hours, but by then, she had me completely wrapped around her finger. “ Aidan explained, and Robert raised an eyebrow, “ She moved the next week, and I hadn’t seen her since. “

“ Well. Better make your move soon. I’ve seen guys eyeing her up all day. “ Robert replied as he walked off.

Months later, Y/n was right. Aidan was absolutely perfect for the role without even trying. Granted, the character was practically him, but he excelled in making the role his own.

Y/n and Aidan had gotten quite close throughout those months. They seemed pretty fond of each other. She was confident, intelligent, and caring. He was thoughtful, kind, and sweet. The pair made a loving match.

However, the girl's heart was guarded, she had been let down so many times, and she didn’t want to ruin the friendship she had acquired with the famous male. Aidan, in his free time, had been working on an EP. The title and main song on it was held close to his heart.

After a couple of dates and a lot of convincing, she gave in. Aidan Gallagher had now achieved the girl of his dreams, Y/n L/n. She was everything he wanted and so much more. He was captivated by her and made sure he showed the world.

Every chance he got, he posted her everywhere. His fans absolutely adored her, possibly even more than he did. Saturday lives his fans spent begging to see the admirable female when she wasn’t present. It honestly made Aidan quite jealous.

Regardless it made Aidan’s heart feel unbelievably full that both he and his fans loved her as much as he desired. Mornings were spent holding each other with subtle morning kisses. Nights were spent eating take-out and playing the original Mario kart after many arguments that it was better than the newer versions.

Filming was almost complete, and Aidan’s stay in New York was coming to a very prominent close. A day neither lover was looking forward to. His home was in Los Angeles, and hers was in New York. There was no changing that.

“ Do you really have to go? “ Questioned the teary-eyed female, “ Unfortunately. “ Aidan sighed.

They both stood in JFK Airport as close as they could before having to depart. Aidan’s hands held her tear-stained cheeks, and she moved stray strands of hair from his forehead.

“ I promise, I will come back for you. “ Aidan pledged to, and she sniffled, nodding, “ I’ll move in with you if you want. “

Y/n looked up slightly guilty, “ I don’t want to be the reason you leave your hometown. You grew up there. Your entire family is there. I would feel awful taking you away from them. “ She admitted, “ I would be living here willingly. Plus, there’s more opportunities acting-wise here, believe it or not. Hollywood isn’t all it’s made out to be. The United Nations is also home to New York. It’d be closer to everything. “ Aidan explained.

“ If- If that’s what you want, then I wouldn’t hesitate. “ Y/n smiled softly.

Aidan pressed a gentle kiss to her lips, “ Then this isn’t really goodbye, is it? “ Aidan’s whisper left a hot breath lingering on her lips, “ No, it isn’t. “ Y/n replied.

“ Stop your crying then. I hate seeing you cry. I will come back. “ He muttered softly, wiping her tears and kissing her forehead, “ I love you. “

“ I love you too. Be safe, please. Text me when you get on and when you land, okay? “ She requested, “ Always. “ Aidan simpered.

Gently he let her go and walked away with a tiny wave. Now there were only two things left to do. Pack up all of his stuff and play one last show in Los Angeles before leaving his home.

The male pack quickly when he arrived home, way too excited to live with his new partner. His show was scheduled for that night. Tonight he’d be playing his brand new song, the main song on his latest EP, the one he held close to his heart.

Nerves ran through his body like no tomorrow as he stepped up on stage. Screams were heard throughout the entire venue, making him smile brightly.

“ Hello everyone. “ Aidan greeted, getting screams in response, “ As you all may know, I will not be living in LA for much longer. New York seems more like home now than it’s ever seemed, so after this show, I’ll be getting on a plane to my new home. “

“ While I’ll play your favorite’s such as songs like Blue Neon and Fourth of July, there’s a new song at the end I’d love for your feedback on. I hold this song very close to my heart, and I hope you all will as well. So let’s get this started. “ Aidan informed with a gleeful smile present on his lips.

Aidan began strumming the guitar and singing the all too familiar lyrics. Applause was given in between each song, only encouraging his love for music as he continued to sing— his fans sung along with him giving Aidan a sense of love and commitment.

Finally, the last song was due to play, “ I call this last one, Comics. “

#aidan gallagher x reader #aidan gallagher #aidan gallagher imagine #Aidan Gallagher x y/n #Aidan Gallagher x you #five hargreeves #number five #number five x reader

[owo-shenanigans]

Hajime, Korekiyo and Ibuki with a fem reader who’s the ultimate love interest? Basically is really good at being the perfect soulmate both platonically and romantically? I feel like these three would be interesting!!!!

This is so interesting????? Wtf man. Gender ambiguous reader, though I did write this from the perspective of the perfect female love interest at times. It might come across as me dissing your idea and I promise I don't mean it in that way- I just took it in the most interesting way that I could. I loved writing these so, so much- I wouldn’t be opposed to writing more, honestly. If anyone needs a CW or TW on this, let me know please.

Hajime, Korekiyo, and Ibuki with an Ultimate Love Interest S/O

HAJIME HINATA

You were scouted because one of the board members saw you and thought you were the cutest little thing he’d ever seen, and after the board investigated, they saw how everyone you meet can’t help but at least like you as a friend.

When you were told this, you were terrified. These creeps stalked you? For some stupid talent that no one can even quantify?! You were only 15, for god’s sake!

You… Don’t like practicing your ultimate. You try to stay away from the other ultimates, too. You don’t want to brainwash people! Or force them to be your friend!

Hajime came across you hiding in the library from the teacher attempting to make you go to your Talent Development class. He helped you keep a lookout, and, well, your relationship evolved from there.

Contrary to belief, Hajime doesn’t hate ultimates- he hates how the school feels like it only cares about the ultimates and not the reserve course students.

Your relationship develops slowly, and you only tell him your talent after a few months of friendship. How do they even tell you’re the Ultimate Love Interest? So many people have such different standards for their crush… 

You probably confess your feelings to him when they try to take him away for the Kamakura project. You just saw red- first they force you into a little box and pick at any part that isn’t pretty and lovable, and now they want to take one of your only friends away?! Absolutely not. Thankfully (or not), your talent was able to save him from the project- this had the potential to gather more data about your talent, after all, if you have a partner.

Hajime probably helps you study at online school, after you confided that the main course barely taught anything actually useful. What could the Ultimate Love Interest do after high school with no new knowledge and a worthless scrap of paper? The Ultimate Mechanic could open a shop, the Ultimate Nurse work in a hospital- what could you do, write blog posts advocating for deeper characters in dating sims?

You make him reevaluate his perspective on Hope’s Peak, for sure.

KOREKIYO SHINGUJI

You were a lab grown specimen- the brain baby senior project by a whole group of ultimates, directed by the school directors. Could they create a person who holds the ultimate talent of something so subjective as Love? The students were directed to make an artificial intelligence that could make anyone love it. They were directed to make a body that would make no one unhappy. They were directed to make a creature that no one could hate.

You were born.

From the moment you opened your softly colored eyes, you were consuming data from dozens of the top dating sims, romance novels, online websites- carefully vetted by your parents so as not to corrupt you. You downloaded the latest fashion trends and taught how to make everyone happy without being wishy washy. You were perfect.

Your parents graduated, and weren’t allowed to take you with them. You were dressed in a cute school uniform and directed to act as human as possible- if you were revealed as an AI, the directors would pull you from your classes.

You joined the 79th class, and made fast friends with every one of them. Kokichi liked you because you liked his jokes, Miu liked you because you never made fun of her, Himiko liked you because you defended her lazy personality… Everyone liked you.

A month into the school year, your classmate Korekiyo tapped you on the shoulder and asked to interview you.

He asked you dozens of questions about your talent, how it worked, why you were chosen and why others weren’t. It was stressful. But it was the first time anyone had cared about you, yourself, as a person, and not what you did for them. You were hooked.

You spoke to him every day, unable to help yourself. Korekiyo, for his part, was happy to talk to you. Your classmates grew jealous as you spent less time with them and more with Korekiyo. The directors were confused- had they programmed in the ability to love? Or the emotion of curiosity?

They held off taking you in to examine you- if worst came to worst and you weren’t gathering enough data, they could always pull you out and wipe your memories of him.

IBUKI MIODA

You were human, yes, but sometimes you didn’t feel as if you were.

You were blessed with a beautiful, flawless face, and your body was one in a million. You were scouted to be an actor at the tender age of 12, and your life evolved into one of constant watch, constant judgement, constant etiquette classes and diets and everything to make you the darling of the media. You were quickly dubbed the cutest kid in film, which evolved into the Ultimate Love Interest before you hit the age of 14. Your life wasn’t your own. You weren’t allowed to consume anything that hadn’t been vetted for bad influences, you were severely punished for any words that weren’t kind and sweet.

You were a sweet dream living a nightmare. When the invitation to Hope’s Peak came in, you almost weren’t allowed to go- Hope’s Peak was notorious for not allowing outside influences in unless under strict supervision. What if you were corrupted?! You only managed to go because the paparazzi had seen the Hope’s Peak crest on your mail and raised a media storm about it, crying how the Ultimate Love Interest was attending the esteemed Hope’s Peak Academy.

Your manager was forced to let you go. But not without piling up the lessons even more, to make sure you wouldn’t be ruined.

Your first day at Hope’s Peak, you had a breakdown in your bedroom. Your schedule only had 4 things on the agenda- what were you supposed to do? Your purity would be ruined if you did anything wrong.

That was when Ibuki knocked softly on your door. You had never heard of her- you weren’t allowed to know of uncultured things such as rock music. She had heard you crying and offered to help if she could.

Ibuki became your emotional rock, and she helped you organize a schedule for yourself. Her peppy cheeriness was a stark contrast to your deep neuroticism. The rest of your class didn’t know your issues, but Ibuki helped you slowly look out from the walls that your media assigned talent had built around you.

When the photo of you laughing and smiling with Ibuki broke to the media, she helped you weather the storm that your fans sent, and barricaded your room from your manager when they stormed Hope’s Peak to get you out.

After a year at Hope’s Peak, you lost your talent of Ultimate Love Interest. And with it, you lost the cage that had trapped you within your own mind ever since you were 12.

#danganronpa x reader #danganronpa imagines #hajime x reader #korekiyo x reader #ibuki x reader #korekiyo shinguuji x reader

[mandoclan]

SWEET HOME KENTUCKY // Jack Daniels (Agent Whiskey) x F!Reader

A/N: 14.8k. Yes, this is a spinoff of Sweet Home Alabama. I love that movie and I love Whiskey, so here you go! This is Jack Daniels x Female!Reader, but there’s no Y/N mention (unless I missed one).

Warnings: Character Death (mentioned in passing), Fluff, Angst, Divorce, Physical Abuse (a punch and a tight grip), Drinking, Drunkenness, (basically, if you’ve seen the movie, I’ve deviated but no more than normal).

She still dreamed about that night. The one where Jack took her out to the meadow behind his mama’s house and told her he wanted to marry her one day. To which she asked, “Why would you want to marry me for anyhow?” and he replied, “So I can kiss you anytime I want.” Her first kiss. Her first love. And they were only twelve at the time.

It didn’t come as a shock to her when Jack had asked her to marry him right out of high school. She was his first love, after all, and Jack swore he’d loved her since before he ever kissed her in that meadow. But then he never showed up to their reception because he was still drunk from his “bachelor party” the night before, he was always gone on missions and attempted to stop her from doing the same even when they worked for the same intelligence agency, and she eventually got shot in the head in a mission gone wrong, resulting in medical having to use Alpha-gel on her to bring her back.

That fatal injury had broken her and it had broken Jack too. He hadn’t been able to protect his own wife when she was his partner, and that killed him inside. After that, he became almost overbearing in his protectiveness and you’d eventually asked Champagne for a transfer after a whole year of turmoil in your home, explosive fights, and missions spent arguing. Champ loved you and Jack like his own kids and wanted you and your husband to fix this, but he did as you asked and you’d transferred to New York without telling Jack with the instructions that if he were to ask that Champ would tell him that you were safe and in another Statesman office.

That’s where you found yourself now, leading the New York office after the last agent had retired. You’d built up your reputation from scratch, leading missions and directing agents in the Northeast region of the United States. You kept in touch with Champ barely, but it had been seven years since you left Kentucky. You refused to even think about Jack unless you were sending another copy of the divorce papers or unless you had that damn dream about the meadow again.

You woke to the sound of your office door opening, and you lifted your head from the desk you occupied on the top floor.

“How come you let me sleep?” You grumbled to your assistant when he stepped into the room with a mug of coffee and a mission report from one of your top operatives.

“You needed it, boss, but it was only for a few minutes. Long enough for me to grab your coffee and fetch the report from downstairs.” He shrugged. “Y’know, that accent of yours gets a whole lot thicker when you’re dreaming.”

That boy had the audacity to smirk before you narrowed your eyes at him.

“And what exactly did I say?” You demanded.

“That I’m gonna get a raise when you realize how awesome I am.”

“We’ll see how good your coffee skills are, then.” You laughed, finally smiling at him through your exhaustion. In all reality, you liked this kid. He’d just been assigned to you and hadn’t earned his agent name yet, but you had a feeling he would do just fine and you already had plans to promote him come next quarter.

“Enjoy.”

“Mhmm,” you hummed, “I’ll see you tomorrow for that meeting in the conference room, alright?”

The kid agreed and you nodded at him before making your way to the elevators.

Your apartment on the lower levels of the Statesman New York building was modest, but well-lived in. You’d wanted to make it seem as much like home as possible. This time, however, your apartment wasn’t as empty as usual. The entire entryway and living room were filled with rose petals and rose bouquets in glasses of water.

“Goddamn that man,” you swore, stepping around the petals and heading to the panel you had on the wall where an orange light was blinking, signifying you had a waiting message. A button was pressed and suddenly your boyfriend’s voice filled the room.

“There’s a rose for every moment I thought of you last night. God, you must be exhausted. Sweetie, listen, I’ll see you tomorrow at our meeting. You’ll do great. I love you. Bye.” The message ended and you rolled your eyes before heading over to the largest of the bouquets.

You loved your boyfriend, Agent Rum, but this was too much. You hated huge, sappy gestures like this and he knew it, but you supposed it was a bit sweet. Very few other ladies you knew had such attentive men at their sides and Jack had never done anything remotely like this. A sharp breath was inhaled in an attempt to nix that thought from your mind before you headed to your front door and made your way to the ladies’ dorms. You left an embarrassingly big bouquet in front of each door and sighed in satisfaction once you’d swept up and removed most of the flowers in your apartment.

_________________________________________________________________

The meeting you’d scheduled came sooner than you’d liked, this being a collaboration between the Texas office and your own New York one. Rum walked in and kissed your forehead before the meeting could even start and you smiled at him. He could always brighten your day in an instant.

“Thanks for the flowers, babe.” You smiled at him, squeezing his hand in yours. He grinned, asking if you really liked them, and kissed you before sitting in his spot along with a few of your other agents. You both slipped on your glasses and started the meeting, knowing that you could talk properly once the collaboration was agreed upon.

It felt like hours went by before all positions were assigned and the intel was decided upon. You groaned once you were able to remove the glasses needed to see everyone in their remote locations, rubbing your temples. Hands were felt on your shoulders, and you knew it was Rum. Your glasses blinked a light on the side and you sighed, placing them back on your face.

The blinking was due to a message from Agent AppleJack, one of your own agents whom you’d taken a shine to and often spent weekends going about the city with. She was a nice girl from Maine who had an affinity for seafood you couldn’t quite get behind, but you’d consider her one of the closest friends you had in this city.

“Please tell me he has a flaw somehow.” She had typed out. You rolled your eyes before moving your eyes on the on-screen keyboard to type a reply.

“He asked me to go to California for Christmas.”

“He’s gonna ask you a lot more than that,” was her reply.

“You think so?” You were suddenly nervous. You’d only been dating Rum for six months and your divorce still wasn’t finalized.

“Sweetie, let’s go for a walk.” Rum took you from your conversation, and you nodded, slipping the glasses back off your face. “You’re so stressed, but you did so well today.”

You both made your way to the elevator, hand in hand, and eventually you meandered around Central Park just talking about your jobs and how your last missions went. You rarely went on them anymore, but you made sure that Rum had as many as he liked to keep him happy.

“So have you made a decision?” He finally asked, bright eyes boring into yours.

“About what?” Your eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“California.”

“Babe, California? That’s four months from now. We don’t even have to decide right now because we can literally jump on any jet we have and go within 6 hours if we want.”

“I was thinking maybe 200 guests, tops.” Rum continued in his words, but you stopped him with a pull to his hand.

“For Christmas?” You asked, still very confused. “Rum, are you on some kind of medication I don’t know about? Should I take you off of field duty for a bit? Did you get shot or something?”

All of a sudden, Rum was kneeling in front of you in the middle of a pathway in Central Park, and everything finally made sense. He held a diamond ring in his hand, the light hitting it just right and you gasped.

“Brandy, and I should probably know your real name by now, will you marry me?”

“Are you sure? Because if you’re not sure we can just go back to work and forget all about this. It’s only been six months.” You floundered, not even sure what to say, but he looked so hopeful and you really did love him.

“Brandy, I love you. I didn’t come by this decision lightly, and I really hope you’ll say yes. I want to build a life with you.” Rum stood, looking you right in your eyes. “So, I’ll ask again. Brandy, will you make me the happiest man alive and marry me?”

You nodded, not trusting your voice and felt the ring slip on your finger. It felt strange, another ring being there, but you were suddenly overcome with joy that your life was finally falling into place and you had a man who loved you and wanted to build a life with you. That’s all you could ask for. So you kissed him.

He grinned once you’d let yourselves out of his arms and released him from your kiss, hand reaching for his agency-issue watch.

“I’ve got to tell my family.” He gushed, “Wait until you see the look on the guy’s faces!”

“Babe, do you mind if we keep this to ourselves for a while? With this collaboration mission with Texas happening and everything else, I’d rather just keep this quiet for a bit.”

“You don’t want to tell your family?” Rum asked, a bit confused. You cursed yourself in your mind because he didn’t know. The only person close to being a family to you was Champ, and you hadn’t really talked to him in ages. Close to seven years, actually, which was downright awful. The guilt gnawed at you.

“Sunshine, I don’t really, um, have a family.” You stated calmly, fingers soothing the back of his hand as he pulled a face.

“But—” he started.

“I have a mentor who I looked up to as a father, but I haven’t seen him in about seven years. I think I should tell him in person.”

“Okay, whatever you want, sweetie. I’m happy as long as you’re happy.” Rum smiled, and you sighed in relief.

“He’ll love you, eventually.” You reassured him.

_________________________________________________________________

First thing the next morning, you caught a plane down to Kentucky and found yourself driving along the battered country roads to the little farmhouse where you and Jack used to live. Your watch buzzed with an incoming call, but you didn’t answer, knowing it was AppleJack. You’d fill her in later.

You parked the car next to the oak tree that still held your swing. A dog came rushing down the steps, howling at you, but you didn’t mind. It was your dog, after all. A tall man in heavy work boots busted out the door, hollering at the dog and telling you that “he don’t really bite.”

The man looked at you without really seeing you, seeing only a woman in worn out cowboy boots and aviators covering much of her face. Her hair was different, so she didn’t really expect him to recognize her.

“What can I do for you?” The man drawled in his southern accent. You shuddered, not forgetting the way that voice sounded when you were in bed together at all times of day or night.

“Well, for starters, you can get your stubborn ass down here and give me a divorce.” You snapped, pulling the sunglasses off your face. Jack’s eyes widened once your words registered. “C’mon, Jack, I mean it. The joke’s over. We need to finish this so I can get back to my office and take care of my job.”

“You’re shittin’ me, right?” Jack spluttered.

You finally got a good look at him. He had shaving cream on the side of his face as if he hadn’t got a chance to finish before your hound was howling, but he’d kept his mustache. You hated to say that he looked good, but it was the truth. The years had been kind to him.

“You know, I’ve never actually understood that expression, but no, I’m not “shitting” you.” You groaned, pulling a packet of papers out of the glovebox of your rented truck and spreading them out in the bed. “Look, it’s even got these idiot proof tabs so you can’t mess this up. I’ve got one copy for you and I both and one for my lawyer. So c’mon.”

When you looked up at him again, he didn’t say anything but he certainly looked like he had quite a few things to say.

“Well?” You demanded, irritated that he wasn’t coming down off the porch to sign the papers like you’d asked him to.

“You show up here after seven years without so much as a ‘Hey there, Jack, remember me? Your wife?’ Or a “Hi, honey, lookin’ good! How’s the family?���” He had the audacity to laugh, finally stepping closer to the edge of the porch.

“You expect me to tell you that you look good? Bless your heart. Sweetheart, we’ve been separated for seven years. I’ve had it with your bullshit.”

“They like that attitude wherever it is you’ve been?”

“Cut the crap, Jack. You knew where I was. Champ told me you accessed my records.” You spat, moving closer to the porch. “And don’t you dare tell me you’ve spent all this time missing me.”

“Oh I missed you alright, but I’ve been going to the range more and practicing so my aim’s gotten a lot better.” He drawled, leaning against the railing.

“Is that a threat, Jack? I’ve got a lawyer who charges me an arm and a leg. He charged me every time you sent these damn papers back without your signature on the dotted lines.” You lifted the papers as you spoke, but he scoffed at you.

“Well, I’m glad to see you got the message.” He smirked, going to say something else but you were both cut off by the dog howling again due to your hostile tones.

“Shut up, Coal!” You shouted, but Jack shouted a different name. “What happened to my dog, Jack?”

“He died. You weren’t here.” He grumbled, turning to go back into the ranch house. You stood there in shock for a second before realizing what he was doing.

“Where the hell do you think you’re going?”

“I’m leaving!” He shouted, back turned to you, “You done it, so you should recognize the process. I need to finish shaving my damn beard.”

“Jack, can we please just keep this civilized? For God’s sake, we’re both adults and agents. Please just sign the papers so I can go back home.” You sighed, pinching the bridge of your nose. This was a mistake, you thought. He wasn’t going to sign the papers.

“What do you know from home?” Jack spit, finally turning around to face you, fire in his eyes. “Hell, I bet Champ doesn’t even know you’re here, does he? That old man took you under his wing and trained you himself and you have the audacity to avoid him like he’s some annoyance?”

“That’s my business, Jack, so you stay out of it.”

“Honey, he’s the only family you got.”

“Don’t you ‘honey’ me, honey!” If looks could kill, he’d have died about ten times by now with the murderous look you were giving him.

“Get your ass back in that truck, drive over and see him, and maybe we’ll talk after.” Jack demanded, pointing his finger at your vehicle. He was headed back inside before you could even think, and you started shouting at him as you followed him up the porch.

“Jack, you idiotic, stubborn, no good agent! The only reason you won’t sign these papers is because I want you to!” You yelled, hands on the doorknob of the windowed door he’d just slammed in your face and locked.

“Wrong!” He shouted, trying to pull the blinds on the door that he could never get figured out. “The only reason I ain’t signin’ is because you’ve turned into some hoity-toity, wine-drinking, Yankee bitch and I’d like nothing better right now than to piss you off!”

He finally maneuvered the blinds mostly over the door as you dashed to the back of the house, but he locked that too before you had a chance to get there in time. He could hear your frustrated shout from outside and he chuckled in disbelief before heading to his bathroom to get rid of the rest of his beard.

“Divorce, my ass.” He grumbled. Jack came out two minutes later, wiping his face with a towel to find you lounging on his bed. He froze.

“Hey genius,” you smirked, anger still evident in your eyes. “Next time you wanna lock somebody out, make sure they don’t know where the spare key is.” You waved the offending object in the air, and Whiskey made a mad dash for it but you closed your fist before he could snatch it.

“Knew I should’ve changed those damn locks. It’d be nice if my wife had told me where the spare key was!” He growled.

“I’m not your wife anymore, Jack.” You said softly, “I’m just the first girl that climbed in the back of your truck. But you’re right, I have changed. I don’t even know the girl you married anymore.”

“Then let me remind you.” Jack sneered before grabbing his cell phone and heading back into his bathroom, locking the door behind him.

Ten minutes later, Jack popped his head out of the bathroom.

“You bring any clothes with stripes on ‘em?” He asked, and you looked at him in confusion.

Red and blue lights flashed through the windows suddenly and your eyes widened.

“You called the sheriff?!” You gasped, jumping off the bed you used to share with the man looking at you with a satisfied grin on his face. “You know that old bastard hates me!”

“For good reason!” Jack shouted, still in the bathroom.

You made to run for the back door, but it opened to reveal a man you knew.

“Well, hell’s bells!” The man grinned, “If it isn’t our favorite Agent Brandy!”

“Tequila?”

“Hot damn girl, did we miss you! The agency wasn’t the same without you!” Tequila laughed, picking you up and giving you the biggest hug you’d gotten in a long time.

“I can’t believe you’re the sheriff!” You pulled on his badge for a second and knocked his cowboy hat off kilter to mess with him.

“Yep, I get to frisk pretty things like you all day and get paid for it.” Tequila put his hands around your waist and you slapped his chest.

“Aaron, can you try and be at least a little more professional? We got us a crime suspect here.” Jack emerged from the bathroom and you were struck with the fact that you hadn’t known Tequila’s real name until that moment. You quickly snapped back into it, though.

“Now, Brandy, you can’t just go breaking into your ex’s house whenever you feel like it, no matter how much they might deserve it.” Tequila—Aaron, you had to remember that—said.

“I didn’t break in. I used a key. My key, if you must know.” You snorted. Clearly, “Aaron” didn’t know that y’all were still married.

“Well, it still ain’t your house, Brandy. I’m gonna have to escort you out.” Aaron made to take your wrist in his hand, but you pulled away and grabbed the divorce papers you still had with you. You waved them as you heard Jack tell Aaron to use the cuffs on you.

“If you can get that asshole to sign these papers, I’ll let you run me out of town.” You smirked and Aaron laughed at your antics.

“Now that’s none of your concern, Aaron, you hear me?” Jack started, but Aaron was already taking the papers from you to look over.

“Well, what do you know. A bill of divorcement?” He asked. You nodded, and Aaron turned to Jack. “Hell, Jack, I thought you took care of this.”

“I thought I did!” Jack protested.

“Obviously not! Well, if y’all are still married, it’s her house too. This here ain’t nothin’ but a domestic dispute.” Aaron handed the papers back to you, and you smiled at him.

“He didn’t hit you, did he? If he took a swing at you, I’ll take him in right now.” Aaron told you quietly, out of earshot of your husband. You shook your head, because no, that man had never harmed you in ways that were physical. He’d only wounded your heart.

“No, he never hit me.” You replied quietly. Aaron nodded.

“Well, seems y’all got some catching up to do, so I’m gonna leave y’all to it. There’s nobody for miles, so Jack here can make ya scream all he likes.” Aaron winked at Jack, and you shouted in indignation. “G’night, lovebirds!”

“Aaron, I saved your life at least four times back in your Statesman years! You owe me!” Jack shouted, rushing to follow the sheriff’s retreating figure. He wanted you gone from his house in handcuffs if that’s what it took to get you to leave him alone about those divorce papers that he didn’t want to sign.

“Why can’t you just sign the damn papers, Jack?” You yelled after him, and he fixed you with the nastiest stare you’d seen in a long time.

“Listen, Jack. There’s nothing I can do. Your wife’s done nothing wrong, so I can’t just haul her in for nothing. Y’hear me?” Aaron blocked the doorway with his large frame as he lifted his hands in mock surrender.

“I suppose shoplifting steaks at the grocery store’s okay.” Jack spat.

“I took ‘em back and you know it!” You screeched back.

“You remember that vandalism out at the stockyard? Totally her!”

“Like I could tip a cow by myself at sixteen.” You growled, and Jack groaned. He couldn’t hit you with anything from your Statesman years either because that was all “classified information” you didn’t have to answer to. But Jack got an idea.

“Hey Aaron, isn’t there some outstanding warrant for whoever dumped your old man’s tractor in the fish pond?” Jack smirked triumphantly, making eye contact with your horrified expression. And then the cuffs were on your wrists and you were making your merry way to the county jail in the back of his cruiser.

“Now you know I didn’t have a choice, sweetheart.” Aaron smiled ruefully once y’all reached the station. He’d ended up hauling you off in cuffs just like Jack wanted and you were seething.

“This all could have been avoided if he’d just signed those damn papers.” You grumbled. “Can I make a call?”

“Sure thing, sweetheart. You’ll get a couple minutes once I book ya.”

You rolled your eyes, taking the photos Aaron needed to do for “legal purposes.”

“You know that’s gonna get wiped once I make my call, right?” Aaron had the audacity to laugh, knowing exactly who you were going to call.

“I know. Tell big daddy I miss him.” Aaron pointed towards the phone.

It rang for a few seconds before a secretary's voice filtered on, saying the usual crap the Statesman company was supposed to yodel on about.

“Hi, I’ve got a word for you, lady.” You spit out, “Lemon drops suck.” You heard the operator say something about holding on for a moment and then a familiar voice was asking who you were.

“Champ! It’s Brandy,” you shouted, “Listen, I need a favor.”

“Name it, darling. You know I’d do anything for you and that wonderful husband of yours.” He drawled on for a moment and you smacked the phone receiver into the box.

“I need you to pick me up.”

“Well, where are ya? I’ll send a car or whatever it is you need.”

“That’s the thing. I’m in town. But, I need you to come get me from the jail.” You said after a moment. A groan came through the receiver and you winced.

“Alright, darling, I’ll be right there. I’m assuming it’s the usual one, then?”

“Yeah.”

Fifteen minutes later, the man himself was strolling through the door.

“I’m here for my girl, Tequila.” Champ rolled his eyes at you once he saw you waving. He had you out and your record erased within five minutes, and then you were back in his familiar old truck that smelled like whiskey and gunpowder. He accepted a muttered thank you while you drove off towards the Statesman offices.

“So what put you in jail this time?” Champ finally asked.

“Jack and his big, fat mouth.” You grumbled. “It was just a misunderstanding, that’s all.”

“Kinda like that wedding I officiated, huh, darling?” You refused to make eye contact.

“I would hardly call that a wedding.”

“The boy was nervous.” Champ chuckled.

“He was still drunk from the night before!”

“Can you blame him?”

“Yes, I can! We’re supposed to be professional agents and he goes and gets piss drunk the night before we’re supposed to get married. I went to the reception by myself with his puke on the side of my dress while he slept it off at the hotel. And you’re still siding with him!”

“I ain’t siding with nobody, so get rid of that idea. Y’all two are my best agents and I need you both.” Champ stated firmly. “The boy’s changed is all.”

“Can we just not talk about Jack? I know he’s like the son you never had, but you also called me your daughter and all that, so can you just ask me what’s new with me or something instead?”

“Sure. Shoot.” Champ looked disinterested, and you had the feeling that he’d kept up with you better than you’d kept up with him. Curse the archives for always spilling your secrets before you ever could.

“I met somebody. And he’s quite a catch.” You started, and Champ raised an eyebrow beneath his larger than life cowboy hat. “And I’m happy. Really.”

The rest of the drive was held in silence, neither of you feeling like talking much. He pulled into the Statesman gates and led you inside, scanning his ID card on an empty apartment in the back of the warehouses where agents could sleep during the longer missions.

“Sleep well, sweetheart. We can talk about all this in the morning.” He kissed your forehead and you hauled your bag inside. “I’ll take you to get your truck in the morning, don’t you worry ‘bout a thing.”

_________________________________________________________________

In the morning, you were on the phone with your lawyer, walking around the Statesman compound and attempting to avoid the various tour groups that were unaware of the real reason this distillery existed.

“How long does a contested divorce take?” You asked, exasperated that you had to do this now of all times because your no-good husband wouldn’t sign the divorce papers. “18 months? Mr. Collier, I don’t even have 18 days, really!”

The man told you that was how it had to be, you informed him that this arrangement wouldn’t work, and he was informing you of a different option when you heard someone wolf whistle at you, throwing out some jab.

“Ain’t seen the likes of you around this place much!” The man shouted from his horse.

“Mr. Collier, that’s just not going to work for me.” You groaned, trying to block out the man catcalling you from his horse. Clearly this was some junior agent. “Mr. Collier, I’m gonna have to call you back.”

“Listen here, bubba, why don’t you kiss my ass!” You shouted up at the guy, but screamed in happiness once you realized who it was. “Oh my god, Moonshine?!”

“Let’s go inside then, missy, because I don’t do that kind of thing out here in front of the guests.” Moonshine smirked at you, jumping down from his horse.

“I guess your mama raised you right, then.” You laughed, hugging him. You’d missed Moonshine, who’d been one of your first friends in the agency aside from Jack, of course. “I better back off of you before your little lady tries to come beat me up.”

Moonshine looked sheepish.

“There is a little lady, isn’t there?”

“I can hardly afford me and my unhealthy addiction to firearms and whiskey, let alone some high-maintenance babe.” Moonshine laughed.

“What about Cara what’s-her-name? From the class outside of ours? Y’all had real chemistry on some of the missions I supervised.”

“She transferred out to the Alaska branch, and uh, I wasn’t her type.” Moonshine scratched the back of his neck and you hummed, understanding the situation.

“That answers a few of my questions. Guess we all have our secrets, don’t we, Moonshine.” You grinned, your suspicions about him batting for the opposite team nearly confirmed.

“Yeah, we sure do.” Moonshine climbed back up on his horse, tipping his hat on the way. “I gotta get back to work now, missy, but are you gonna be in town for awhile? Me and a few of the guys are going down to our normal watering hole later tonight if you’re up for it.”

“I hope I won’t be here long. I have to go see Champ, but I think I’ll see you boys tonight.”

“Well, I better scram if you’re seeing the boss man.”

“Very funny. I’ll see you later, Moonshine.” You waved the man off and made your way inside, scanning your own ID card on the entry doors and taking the elevator up to Champ’s office.

“Well, look what the cat dragged in. If it isn’t my favorite agent.” Champ drawled from his seat at the head of the conference table.

“Hey boss man, care to give me a ride to town so I can get my truck?” You asked, leaning up against the door jam and waving your keys. He laughed, standing up and grabbing his own keys from his desk.

“C’mon then, little lady. I did make you a promise. You can tell me all about why you’re here on the way over.”

_________________________________________________________________

Once you’d picked up your truck from the jail’s parking lot, you made your way to the bank. You hadn’t accounted for Jack taking as long as he was to sign the divorce papers, so you needed some cash for necessities.

Of course, the bank didn’t have an ATM. You cursed yourself for forgetting as you stepped inside. The bank guard’s eyes widened once he laid eyes on you, telling whoever it was in the teller’s booth that he was going to take a break outside. You winced once you remembered that this was the same man whose farm you and Jack and a few of your old friends had gone rolling pumpkins in year after year. He probably hated you.

You approached the teller, but didn’t recognize her. She clearly recognized you, though.

“Well, if it ain’t the queen of the New York Statesman office.” She grinned. You narrowed your eyes, attempting to figure out who she was when the lightbulb clicked.

“Jenny? Oh my god. I haven’t seen you since you and Tequila got hitched! You look amazing!”

“Thanks, sweetie! So do you. What can I do you for?”

“I need to make a withdrawal from my—“

“Joint account?” Jenny smiled like she knew something you didn’t, which knowing her, she probably did.

“My what?”

“Your joint account. With Jack? From what I hear, y’all are still married.”

“Why yes, yes we are.” You grinned, a plan already formulating in your mind.

_________________________________________________________________

It was after five when Jack got home, but you’d already got to work. You had on one of his favorite dresses that you’d found in a trunk somewhere, one of your homemade aprons, and a wide smile once he walked in the door.

“Hi, honey! Lookin’ good. How’s the family?” You grinned up at him, serving food onto two plates in the dining room.

“Cut the shit. Where’s my stuff?” Jack growled, chucking his hat on the couch along with his whip and lasso.

You smiled where he couldn’t see it, glad to see he’d noticed what you’d done to the place. There were new appliances in the kitchen, a new couch and loveseat, a flatscreen tv, a new rug, and Jack assumed you’d also done something to the bedroom. None of the things he’d had laying around since you left were where he could see it, and the sight agitated him.

“Now what kind of wife would I be if I didn’t pick up after my husband? Dinner’s ready in five.”

“The kind that don’t live here.” Jack groaned, hands raking over his face. “Now, I’m gonna ask you one more time—where is the house key?”

“I had the sweetest talk today with Tequila’s daddy.” You started as you ignored him.

“Nice to see you got your accent back.”

“Oh, I stumbled on a few things today.” You said, noticing Jack had gone to the kitchen, likely in search of a beer.

“Holy shit!” He shouted, and you stifled your laughter. “What happened to the stove?! And where are them little magnets I got from my travels, huh?” He opened the fridge and groaned.

“What the hell is this? Chick food?” He gestured to the fridge that you’d restocked with fresh fruits and vegetables, and new groceries that weren’t stale takeout containers.

“Light beer. Less calories, honey.” You smiled brightly, missing Jack’s murderous expression. He grabbed a can anyway and popped the top off.

“I tried to pick out a new bed today, but the mattress store only had old models. I’ll have to order something from New York.”

“Whatever floats your boat, honey.” Jack muttered, taking a deep swig of the beer you’d bought. He’d have to find his stash of whiskey and hope you hadn’t gotten rid of it.

“Oh, but darlin’, I thought you said we should think of it as our money.” You saw him freeze where he stood, and continued your crusade. “Just a guess, but I’m thinking the words ‘joint checking’ are flashing through your mind right now.”

“How much did you take?” He whirled around, effectively forcing you into the kitchen.

“All of it.” You replied simply, enjoying his facial expression.

“Son of a bitch!” He cursed, chucking the now empty beer can into the trash can and rubbing his face with his hands.

“You wanted a wife, you got a wife, honey,” you spat, “and what were you doing with all that cash? Why don’t you invest it? We work for a perfectly good company with shares for sale, don’t you know anything?”

“I know if you don’t get out of my house right now—”

“Sign the papers and I’ll give it all back.”

“Fine—fine!” He shouted, “gimme the pen.”

You rummaged in your packet for the pen and laid out the papers on the dinner table. You made to give him the pen, but thought better of it.

“Hold on. What are you doing with all that cash saved up? And since when did you tell Champ not to put you on anymore active missions? You aren’t doing anything illegal, are you Jack?”

“So what if I am? I don’t ask you about your boyfriend, you keep your nose out of my life.” He spat out, not making eye contact with you. You deflated.

“Who told you?” You asked quietly.

“Honey, just ‘cause I talk slow don’t mean I’m stupid.” He said in a much quieter tone. He almost sounded hurt.

“Look, Jack—” you trailed off.

“For god’s sake, nobody finds their soulmate at twelve years old.” He mumbled.

“Yeah, I guess,” you murmured.

“Where’s the fun in that?” Jack almost smiled. Your eye caught something on the mantle and you looked up to see a horseshoe and a photo of your parent’s old farm.

“I can’t believe you kept that all these years,” you murmured, eyes trailing over the familiar old farm. It had burned down four years after that photo was taken, taking your parents’ lives with it. Jack looked at you before looking at the clock on the wall.

“Oh, hey sweetie, you know what? I just remembered I got myself a hot date.” Jack grinned maliciously, unbuttoning his collared shirt as he spoke. Your eyes moved from the picture to the skin being revealed and suddenly were at a loss for words. “You don’t mind if I have my lawyer take a look at these, do you?” He tossed the papers back on the table and left the room.

“What?!” You gasped.

“Hell, I’m just a dumb intelligence agent with no regards for the law. There’s words in there I don’t even know. You might be takin’ me to the cleaners for all I know.”

“The cleaners? You? You ain’t been there since our wedding, if you even washed your suit for that,” you scoffed. “Can’t you just sign the damn papers?”

“Nah,” he grinned from the doorway to his bedroom, “but thanks for stoppin’ bye. It’s been a real treat.” And then the door was slammed and you screamed into a newly-purchased throw pillow.

You’d realized after about ten minutes that Jack wasn’t coming back into the living room. In fact, his dramatic ass had jumped out the window and you heard his truck starting up outside.

Tequila had made an offer, though, and you planned to take up the social obligation. Besides, if Jack was as predictable as he’d always been, his “hot date” was probably at his mama’s bar where everyone in that little town went to unwind.

Your phone rang once you were outside the noisy bar near Jack’s truck, and you answered at once knowing it was your fiancé.

“I love you, I love you, I love you.” You smiled into the phone and Rum’s happy voice spilled out.

“Are you sitting down?” Rum asked.

“Why? Bad news? Did the mission blow up or something?” You panicked. You knew putting this in Rum’s hands would only backfire if something happened.

“No, no! Nothing like that. I was just going to tell you that I read the mission reports and everything went exactly to plan just like you said it would. You might be up for another promotion, babe.” Rum reassured you.

“Oh my god, really? Oh, I needed that almost as much as I need to see you.”

“What is that noise?” Rum finally asked, and you assumed he could hear the loud music and shouts coming from inside the bar.

“The sound of my past.” You grimaced.

“Have fun. I love you.” Your fiancé finished, and you returned the sentiments before hanging up the phone and waltzing into the bar. You were immediately greeted by a screech and an older woman who was still spry was pulling you into a tight hug and yelling over the music.

“Batten down the hatches, boys! Trouble done just walked back into my life disguised as my favorite daughter-in-law!” Helen grinned at you. “Honey, gimme a hug, it’s been too long.”

You laughed while you hugged her and stepped back to show her your ring.

“Soon to be ex-daughter-in-law.” You stated proudly.

“Ooh, who’s the lucky guy?” She asked, inspecting the diamond on your finger.

“His name’s Blake and he works with me.” You winked, and she nodded in understanding. She knew about a little of the work you and her son did, but she mostly stayed out of it, claiming that the stress would bring her to an early grave.

“Well, he’s got my vote if he picked out a ring as pretty as that. It’s good to see you, baby girl.” Helen gave you a pat on the shoulder and told her bartender to give you whatever you wanted. You asked for a whiskey on the rocks and nearly laughed at the irony of the situation.

Once your drink was in hand, you scanned the room, looking for your husband. You spotted him in the corner with some young blonde thing and rolled your eyes. A quick march found you standing right behind Jack and you flipped the edge of his cowboy hat.

“Mind if I join you?” You asked sweetly, leaning up against the pool table beside him.

“Actually we do.” Jack said, raising an eyebrow. He was challenging you, but you ignored him in order to set your sights on his date.

“You must be Jack’s hot date.” You grinned at the girl and she put a hand out to shake yours.

“I’m Carly.”

“Hi, I’m Y/N, Jack’s snotty, Yankee-bitch wife whom he refuses to divorce even though I’m engaged to another man.” You shook her hand, and the girl gasped once she saw your ring.

“Hot dog, Jack, look at the size of that thing!” She gushed. You nearly rolled your eyes at how dumb she was acting just in an attempt to impress your husband.

“Honey? Why don’t you get us a couple of drinks, yeah?” Jack turned to Carly and handed her a few bills. The girl smiled, popped her gum, and proceeded to ask you what you were having. You rolled your eyes then. “Not ‘me and her’ us, ‘you and I’ us.”

The girl agreed and scurried off, and then you turned to Jack.

“Why do you make me be mean to you? Is that what you want? To be humiliated in front of all your friends?” You snapped, frustrated that he was taking this so lightly. He shook his head and downed the rest of his own glass of whiskey.

“C’mon, Brandy, they were your friends too.” You heard Jack mutter, nodding towards a few agents who’d just walked over with their drinks. You recognized a few guys who’d been in the class behind you along with Moonshine. He nodded at you and ordered a beer before heading over to say hello.

“Alright, Brandy, you sit down while I teach your husband here how to lose at pool.” Moonshine grinned, pulling a bar stool over to you.

“Now Moonshine, I’m not really a watch and see kinda girl, am I Jack?” His expression was priceless as he took up the challenge.

At least six drinks later, you were definitely feeling the effects of the alcohol and you landed somewhere near Moonshine as he lined up his shot.

“Come on, now, Moony, you got it. Don’t blow this one, okay baby?” You drunkenly giggled and Moonshine laughed at your inebriated state.

“You can take the girl out of the honky-tonk, but you can’t take the honky-tonk out of the girl.” He missed the shot, but you didn’t care anymore, more focused on the conversation Jack was not-so-quietly having with Cognac? Coors? You couldn’t remember his codename, but it didn’t matter. Jack was talking about you.

“So, Whiskey, are you gonna divorce this girl or what?” The agent asked. Jack shook his head.

“She’s waited seven years. A couple more days won’t kill her. Unfortunately.”

“Like it’s gonna make a difference.” You snorted, nearly falling into his arms but stabilizing yourself at the last second.

“You never know,” the agent started, “you might be interested to know that Whiskey here has been—”

“Hey, hey, Cognac, let her think what she wants. She made her mind up about me a long time ago.” Jack cut him off, making you wonder just what it was that he didn’t want you knowing about.

You quickly forgot that thought, though, when Moonshine started yelling and telling Cognac he owed him fifty dollars. Cognac groaned, forking over the cash.

You didn’t really know what happened next, but you got into a shouting match with one of the other agents and eventually asked Helen for another round of drinks, but she quickly cut you off. Then you were shouting again as Jack dragged you out of the bar by your arm, yelling at you, saying that you couldn’t just insult everyone in the bar because you’d made it out of Kentucky but they were happy where they were.

“What makes you think you can treat them like somethin’ you stepped in, huh?!” Jack demanded as he put you right up next to his truck.

“You asked for it!” You yelled in his face, trying to get your keys out of your pocket. Jack quickly grabbed them.

“You show up here, you steal my money, you rearrange my house, and then you insult our friends, actin’ like you’re better than them.” Jack spat. He was angry and you knew it, but you couldn’t seem to stop.

“I am better than them! And you stole my keys!” You whined, wanting to be anywhere but here with your husband who was telling you that you were wrong. He was right, but you wouldn’t admit it.

“That’s all that matters to you, huh?” He asked in disbelief.

You tried to say his name, but he cut you off.

“God, ever since you left, this has been a nightmare. The money, the fancy office, the city, you’re pathetic!” He raked a hand through his mustache and you got lost in the action right before spitting out a comeback.

“Oh, like you’re goin’ places!” You groaned, a splitting headache appearing out of nowhere. “I certainly am once I get my keys back.”

“No, you don’t. No. You want to kill yourself driving, you do it somewhere else. But not here, not on my watch.” Jack said, putting your keys into his own pocket.

“At least I’m doing something with my life. So what if you and I aren’t partners anymore, you can still go on missions. You don’t have to worry about me anymore!”

“Get in the truck, Y/N.” Jack opened the door and guided you inside, defeated. His date was waiting by the door and you noticed them having a quiet conversation before he handed her your keys and made his way back to the truck.

You fell asleep before Jack even got on the two lane highway that led to the Statesman offices where he knew you’d been staying. Champ didn’t say anything when Whiskey carried you inside your temporary apartment, snoring away, but he wished things would work out between the two of you. His hopes were dashed as soon as Whiskey asked for a pen to sign the papers you’d brought with you.

When you woke up, still hungover from the night before, the divorce papers were stuck on top of the pillow beside you. You wished you could say you were happy about it, but you couldn’t deny that a pit was in the bottom of your stomach.

Once you rolled out of bed and had some coffee, the papers were sealed into an envelope and you drove to the post office to mail it out. You’d talk to Jack afterwards and apologize for your behavior.

When you got to the familiar farmhouse, you found Jack’s dog Midnight lounging at the base of the porch. You scratched his ears, and he whined happily at the attention he was receiving. The dog got up and raced up to Jack when he came out of the house with a crate.

“What’s she doing here, huh, boy?” He asked the dog before turning to face you, “Thought you’d have high-tailed it out of here by now.”

“I put the money back in your account.” You said quietly, searching his face for any emotion whatsoever.

“Thanks. Saves me from bouncing a lot of checks.” He smiled at you, a genuine smile, and it caught you off guard. “I like what you did, though, to the house. Should help it sell quicker.”

“You’re moving?” You were surprised. This was the house you and Jack had gotten and fixed up together in the early stages of your marriage and it held a lot of good memories along with quite a few bad ones.

“Well, I’ve been spending a lot of my time a bit south of the distillery, so . . .” he shrugged.

“Oh.”

“Look, hon, I signed your papers.” Jack sighed, finally hauling the crate into the back of his truck.

“Jack, I never meant to hurt you, or anybody else for that matter. And I just came out here to say thank you.” You finally said.

“You might want to move your toes.” Jack nodded towards where your feet were in reference to his truck tires. “Wouldn’t wanna run ‘em over since you need them for field work.”

“You can’t just leave!”

“Sure I can.” He chuckled, hopping into the cab. “You want to come?”

“Where you goin’?”

“I want to show you something.” Jack said solemnly, and you wished you could go. Something made you stop, though.

“I can’t.” You finally answered, defeated.

“Can’t or won’t?” Jack asked you, already knowing the answer but asking anyway.

“Both.”

“The girl I knew used to be fearless.” Jack leaned against the steering wheel to get a good look at you. You looked so much like the woman he’d once known so intimately, and yet so different. A lot had scarred you both and he recognized that.

“The girl you knew didn’t have a life.” You smiled weakly, fighting back tears.

“Well, I guess you better get back to living it then. C’mon, Midnight.” Jack got his dog in the cab with him and drove off, leaving you alone with your thoughts.

_________________________________________________________________

You didn’t know what possessed you to stay in town now that the papers had been signed and mailed out, but you found yourself in the town square that evening for the weekly square dance night.

“Hello.” You murmured sheepishly once you’d spotted Tequila and his wife, Jenny, and Moonshine, and a few of the agents from last night at the bar. “I just wanted to apologize to y’all. Last night was so uncalled for, and I’m sorry. Really sorry.”

“Brandy, forget it.” Tequila told you, a smile gracing his face. “You know we don’t stay mad for long.” The group nodded, and you smiled in relief.

Jenny pulled you to the side and handed you a glass of sweet tea.

“You know, he went up there.” She said, sort of secretively.

“Who?” You were confused about what she was talking about. But then she looked at you oddly and you suddenly knew. “Jack? When?”

“About a year after you left. He doesn’t know I know, but Aaron “big mouth” Tequila over there can’t keep a secret to save his life nowadays.”

“Jack was in New York?” You asked, completely surprised. You’d never seen him. He’d certainly never come to see you and say hello. Jenny nodded.

“He told Tequila he’d never seen anything like it. He realized straight off that he’d need more than an apology to win you back. He needed to conquer the world first. He’s been tryin’ ever since.” Jenny told you, downing her own tea.

“That’s why he kept sending the papers back.” You murmured, and Jenny nodded at you again.

“It’s funny how things don’t work out.” She sighed.

“It’s funny how they do.” You smiled warmly at her, knowing she was happy with her life and how it was turning out.

“Hey, look who I found wandering around the edge of the party.” Moonshine cheered, shoving Jack in the center of the group you were with. He had the nerve to look a bit sheepish, knowing you were there, but you were the one who blushed. After that, it was a whirlwind of everyone catching up on the times and you found yourself smiling at Jack.

The band finally started playing a slow song, and Tequila got up to ask you to dance, leaving his wife to drag Jack into the square. The both of you danced for awhile before Tequila stole his wife back, which left you and Jack standing face to face. Jack held out a hand to you to offer a dance, but you hesitated.

“Maybe we could just talk?” You asked him quietly. He shook his head and walked off, a sigh escaping your lips once you realized you were alone.

The night wore on with you on the sidelines, drinking sweet tea, and finally you made your way down the street towards your truck. Something stopped you, though, and you made your way into the coon dog cemetery on the edge of town. Maybe Coal was in there. You didn’t realize Jack had been watching you and finally ended up following you, and maybe you wouldn’t have been so honest in your talk with your old dog if you’d known.

You knelt beside the dog’s grave, his collar and your old license plate stuck to the stone placed above him.

“Hey there, buddy. Sorry it took me so long. I would’ve come sooner if I’d known you were sick.” You sniffed, fingers running along the etching of his name in the stone. “Actually, that’s probably not true. I’ve been pretty selfish lately. Dogs don’t know anything about that, do they, though?”

“You were always a big old pillow after missions. Like when everything went pear-shaped after I got shot, you never left my side. And then I just left you. Oh gosh. I bet you sat there on that big old porch, wondering what you done wrong.” You sobbed, wiping the tears away.

“I told him it was my fault.” Jack’s voice broke you out of your concentration and you whipped around to see him kneeling behind you.

“Quit bein’ so nice.” You sniffed, a small smile breaking through your tears. Jack offered you a hand to help you up and you accepted it. He led you to a bench right near Coal’s grave and kept holding your hand.

“It’s the truth.” Jack stated.

“How come everything has to be so complicated,” you asked tearfully. Jack smiled softly at you.

“What?” He asked finally.

“Truth, life, this,” you gestured between the two of you and towards the hand he was still holding in his grip. Jack didn’t answer that, not that you expected him to.

“He was one hell of a good dog, wasn’t he? You looked like you were having fun out there tonight before I got there and ruined it.” Jack mumbled. You brushed a thumb over your intertwined hands softly.

“I’m happy in New York, Jack.” You laughed wetly, “But then I come down here and this fits too.”

“Since when does it have to be one or the other, darlin’? You can have roots and wings, you know.” Jack told you. You nodded.

“Maybe I could just fly south for the winter.” You joked miserably.

Jack finally pointed out towards the woods and nudged your shoulder, “Look.”

“What?” You asked.

“There, see ‘em?” You followed his pointing finger until you realized that he was pointing at fireflies illuminating sections of the woods with their blinking behinds.

“Only you,” you laughed fondly, looking up at him. You couldn’t deny it, Jack was still just as handsome as the day you married him even if the years had gone by.

“You know, I still go out there sometimes. To the meadow, I mean. I hear the crickets and I go and sit in the field and stare up at the stars like we used to. It’s like a religion.” Jack revealed, turning to look down at you to gauge your response.

“I had a dream about it the other night, our first kiss when we were twelve. Remember that?”

“You ever wonder what would have happened if you hadn’t gotten shot and died on that mission?” Jack asked bluntly. You were surprised and whispered his name.

“Just, let me get this out before I can’t.” Jack started, “I thought us working together on missions would be an adventure. I loved seeing you be this beautiful badass and I loved being the one who got to love you. And it took me awhile to realize that being tied down to me would be your only adventure.”

“I guess that thug knew what he was doing then, aiming at me. I was so ashamed, Jack, ‘cause I felt so relieved once I woke up and remembered everything. And all of a sudden, I just . . . Needed a different life. Y’know? I had to get away.” You were almost frantic in your story, the painful memories resurfacing of how you just ran away from your husband with no explanation. Gosh, the number you did on him.

“You done real well for yourself. I’m proud of you, sugar.” Jack told you sincerely, fingers brushing your hair away from your wet cheeks. “I’m just sorry I never danced with you at our weddin’. I’m sure this next one’s gonna go better for ya.”

You looked up and suddenly your lips were on his and it felt like you were breathing real air for the first time since you left his home and abandoned him. It felt good, his lips brushing yours in just the right ways, but you couldn’t do this.

“Jack, I can’t do this.” You whimpered through your tears. He nodded.

“I know. Go home, Brandy.”

And just like he’d appeared, Jack disappeared in the dark, leaving you alone with your conflicted emotions.

_________________________________________________________________

The next morning found Jack entering the Statesman offices as a man on a mission. But he found an unfamiliar man with flowers in hand, pacing in the lobby.

“Y’alright there?” He asked. The man whipped his head up and sighed.

“I’m here to surprise my fiancée. The secretary won’t let me in because I don’t have a Kentucky Statesman badge, only a New York one.”

Jack quickly realized the situation, knowing immediately that the man was there to see you without needing to be introduced. He also knew that you were probably in Champ’s office, talking smack about missions like you used to do.

“Well, I’m headed upstairs to see a friend of mine, but you’re welcome to join.” Jack motioned to the elevator, and your fiancé quickly nodded and followed him inside the cab. Jack rolled his eyes at the guy’s eagerness.

“So, fiancée huh? Which one of our lucky agents is it?” Jack drawled, knowing full well who this man meant.

“Agent Brandy.” The man answered, “and you are?”

“I’m Agent Whiskey. Who might you be?” Jack smirked.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I’m Agent Rum.” Rum laughed sheepishly. He was quite a bit smaller than Jack and had to look upwards to make eye contact.

“Ah, so you’re the man Brandy was talking about.” Jack couldn’t help but meddle a little in his ex-wife’s affairs.

“You know Brandy?” Rum asked, surprised.

“Course I know her. I know all about her.” Jack grinned down at the man, “I know her name, her whole life story, everything. She was my partner.”

“She never mentioned you.” Rum stammered. “Are you sure we’re talking about the same girl?”

Jack described you, and Rum nodded, but that description would match a few agents and Rum wasn’t sure Jack really knew who you were. Joke’s on him.

Moonshine got in the elevator and froze once he saw Jack with your fiancé. He’d looked Rum up as soon as you’d mentioned him, and the look Jack had on his face was downright scary to someone who knew him. It was like a lion playing with its prey.

“Uh, uh, hey Whiskey.” Moonshine stuttered.

“Morning,” Jack smiled. “Brandy here?”

Moonshine nodded.

“Yeah, yeah she’s here. She’s with big daddy.”

“Wonderful. I’m just escorting her fiancé here up to meet him.” Jack nodded towards Rum who waved a hand. Jack couldn’t figure out how this man got to be an agent, all timid and shy next to Southern guys. He seemed like a schmuck.

“Oh, that’s great.” Moonshine nodded emphatically.

“I’m sorry, you are?” Rum asked, in reference to Moonshine.

“Name’s Moonshine. I’m Brandy’s, uh—” her turned to look at Jack to figure out what to say.

“Her other partner.” Jack finished. Rum smiled at the two.

“Wow! Two partners while she was here. That’s something.”

Jack rolled his eyes behind the man’s back.

“So what do you like about our Brandy?” Jack finally asked him, directing the both of them to exit the elevator. Champ’s office was just down the way, but Jack wasn’t ready to leave this man with you yet.

Rum spouted off a lot of things that Jack knew you weren’t like whenever y’all were married and he quickly realized that the woman you were with this new guy wasn’t anything like the woman he married. The woman he’d seen in the last few days. This was a woman who had completely changed herself to fit New York, and that just made Jack’s stomach churn.

Finally, he pulled Rum over to Champ’s door and he threw open the doors. You were sat inside, alone, staring at a few photos on the wall before you looked up and made eye contact with your ex-husband. You stood quickly, walking over to the two men standing before you.

“What are you doing here?” You asked, looking at Jack.

“Well, I came to deliver your fiancé.” Jack stared at you real hard.

“I, uh, think she was talking to me.” Rum cut in, handing you the bouquet of flowers he’d been holding.

“Jack . . .” You trailed off.

“Must be exhaustin’.” Jack started.

“What?” you asked softly. Rum echoed the question beside you, finally realizing that you and Jack were talking to each other in a way that wasn’t normal to him.

“Livin’ a lie.” Jack finished, hand shoving his hat further on his head. You shook.

“What’s he talking about?” Rum asked you, and you looked back at Jack, pleading for him to be kind.

“You and I are in love with two different people.” Jack said with a shake of his head as he left the room.

“Who is he really? He said he was your partner.” Rum asked you, staring after Jack’s retreating figure.

“He’s my husband.” You answered.

“Your what?” Rum was dumbfounded.

“I mean my ex-husband.” You gasped, correcting yourself.

“You married your partner?!” Rum was running his hands through his hair, trying to wrap his mind around the situation and realizing just how little he knew about you. Had you up and married another man while you were down here? Were you married before? You interrupted his thoughts with a quiet answer.

“No, I came down here to finalize my divorce.” You sighed.

“Hey darlin’,” Champ burst into the room, “just saw your precious hubby and took his resignation.” He froze once he saw who was with you. “Oh! You must be my baby girl’s new someone!”

You groaned internally.

Rum threw up his hands and made some new noise you’d never heard before then promptly left the room. You scurried after him, trying to get his attention.

“Blake! Wait!”

“I just—” Andrew started as he pressed the button on the outside of the elevator.

“Let me try and explain, you don’t understand!” You tried to wedge your way between him and the door, but he easily slid past you. You slammed your arm against the side of the sliding doors to keep them from closing. “This isn’t who I am anymore!”

“Look, I don’t know who you are or what else you’ve lied about, but I do know one thing. There’s a helicopter parked outside in the field, and I am on it.” Rum’s face was stony as the doors closed.

You stood there for a moment, dumbfounded, trying to grasp the situation. A sigh escaped your lips before you made your way back to Champ’s office to slump down in a chair.

Champ was sitting at his desk, Statesman glasses perched on his nose and a tumbler of whiskey in his hand. He looked up right as you made eye contact and gave you his signature “I told you so” look. You groaned.

“I know you’re thinkin’ I spoiled things real good this time.” You grumbled, chucking your hat on the table.

“Now, sweetheart, don’t go accusin’ me of thinking. I ain’t done anything of the sort.” Champ snorted. “Anyway, I don’t think you spoiled what you think you did. You got a good head on your shoulders kid, and I love you.”

You talked for awhile, catching up on life and missions and things you hadn’t spoken of in years when a knock sounded on the open door of Champ’s office. Champ nodded whoever it was inside, but you didn’t even look up until Champ looked at you with a knowing smile.

“Hey, you two. Look who I found wandering around by the weapons labs.” Moonshine nudged someone forward and you finally looked up. Agent Rum, your fiancé, was in front of you with the sorriest look you’d ever seen on his face.

“I thought you’d be halfway to New York by now.” You said slowly, not sure why he was still here. Your little interlude an hour before sounded like a breakup if you’d ever heard one. You stood up and moved to stand beside Champ, knowing he’d back you up if needed.

“So did I.” Rum smiled sheepishly, nodding toward Champ.

“Oh, this is Agent Champagne, but we call him Champ. He’s basically been my daddy since I started here.” Champ reached up squeezed your hand in reassurance and you moved closer to Rum. “And this is Moonshine. He’s been my best friend for a long time, well, as long as I’ve been good to him. He’s always been a better man. This is where I started, where I grew up, and my home.”

“Well,” Rum started, “it’s nice to meet you both. I’m Agent Rum, Brandy’s fiancé. That is, if she’ll still have me.” You looked at him in surprise. “ Look, I don’t really care what just happened back there. So you have a past. I mean, who doesn’t? We’re all trying to escape something in this life. What I need to know is if there is a place for me in your future.”

“Good Lord, he’s saying all sorts of sweet things.” Moonshine muttered and you laughed at him.

“Well?” Rum asked. You nodded with a small smile.

“Crap, guess I need to plan my vacation days to go to New York then.” Champ grumbled at his desk.

“What vacation days, old man?” You sassed Champ. You turned back to Rum, “Babe, what if we had the wedding here? I have so much history here, I’d like to end it all here and start fresh with you.”

Rum smiled and agreed and Champ started hollering about how he couldn’t believe you were going to do this to him again, how he’d have to officiate yet another wedding, and how many times does his only daughter get married? Apparently the answer was twice.

_________________________________________________________________

A month went by before you knew it, full of missions and planning and setting up temporary groups while you’d be on your honeymoon. In between all you had to do in the Statesman offices, you were also wedding planning. Luckily, you had Champ and his wife to help with all that along with AppleJack and your assistant.

Mr. Collier, your lawyer, had been calling nearly every day, but you’d assured him that you had everything handled and that he could clear the divorce without you. You’d been calling Jack a lot too. You wanted to talk to him about what Champ meant when he said Jack had retired, and why no one seemed to want to talk about what he was doing. But he never answered his cell and your old home phone seemed to be disconnected.

It still didn’t feel real that you’d be getting married on Saturday afternoon as you stepped off your Statesman jet at the airfield in Kentucky on Thursday with Agent AppleJack and your assistant—now newly minted Agent Smirnoff.

“You guys remember that mark from a year ago on that mission I was on for about three months, right? The Spanish one?” AppleJack was telling you. You nodded, remembering who she was talking about. He’d been rugged and good looking, and you’d told her as much when you handed her the mission. “Well, he proposed to me, and I think I loved him despite his obvious attraction to black market trading.”

“Then why didn’t you say yes?” Smirnoff asked.

“Because I hesitated long enough to realize my head and my heart were saying two different things. And he was on the other side of the legal fence.” AppleJack scoffed.

You guided the two of them towards your waiting truck and chucked your bags in the bed of it. Theirs followed as they argued.

“Well, it’s a big decision.” You added in.

“It’s supposed to be the easiest one you ever make.” Smirnoff said. You’d always thought he was a romantic, and now you were sure of it.

“Hey, y’all, I want to stop somewhere before we head to the office. Okay?” You turned to look at the two of them, and they shrugged before agreeing. It wasn’t like y’all had much to do today anyway. Champ had already assured you that the cellar was decorated and pretty for you and Rum to tie the knot, and that he’d already arranged everything for your honeymoon too.

You drove the forty-five minutes it took to get to your parents’ old farmhouse where you used to live before it had burned down, taking both your parents with it when you were nineteen. You hadn’t been there since a few days after the fire when you’d set up headstones for your parents on the property, but you wanted to tell them what was going on.

The driveway was long, but you were surprised to see how well kept it was. Then the house came into view along with Jack’s pickup truck and a familiar black dog lounging on the steps. You slammed on the brakes and parked right off the driveway, jumping out of the vehicle.

“Oh my god.” You gasped, looking at the place. It looked nearly identical to the house that burnt down, but there was a new barn in the back of the house and fence posts as far as you could see down the drive that kept going. Your dad had never cleared that far into the woods, but it looked good. It looked like a really successful ranch had been started right where so much devastation had taken place.

“Brandy, do we know the people who live here?” AppleJack asked, finally catching up to your quick walk towards the house. “What is this place?”

A man walked out of the house and froze once he saw you, and you hardly heard both AppleJack and Smirnoff arguing about if he was single.

“Jack,” you breathed. He stepped down off the porch and came over to you, greeting you with a sad smile. “I tried to call you a couple of times.”

“Listen,” he started, completely ignoring your previous statement, “since you’re here, you and your friends should look around. Say hello to the horses in the barn or something. It’s nice out today.” He tipped his hat towards your two companions and called his dog, making his way back into the house before you could say anything else.

You shook your head, trying to clear your eyes of the tears that had somehow started filling them. As you looked around the ranch, you saw all the little things that Jack had done, as well as the big, that made this place feel so much like home. It was almost exactly the way it had been when you lived there so long ago, and you were reminded of the photo Jack had on your old mantel. You’d asked him why he kept it, but he hadn’t answered then. And the times when the guys you used to work with were trying to tell you that Jack was successful now, but Jack had cut them off. Now you knew why. He’d built this place for you.

_________________________________________________________________

When you got to the Kentucky office, Champ was waiting for you downstairs.

“Hey, little darling, there was a man here for you. He straight up asked about your whole name and everything. Did you have a guest coming for the wedding we didn’t know about who’d know your civilian name?” He asked. Your brow furrowed as you shook your head. “Alright, well we sent him on his way, anyhow. I’m sure it’s fine.”

You introduced him to your two companions and Champ grinned, happy to meet two people you trusted with your life. You asked him if Rum was here yet, to which Champ nodded and guided you all inside. “Got here about two hours before you, sweetheart.”

Once you were inside, it seemed like a whirlwind of things happened as you readied yourself to get married for a second time. The next 36 hours were hell, waiting for everything to be finalized so you could get hitched.

It was Saturday morning and Champ had stationed two low ranking agents to man the guests as they filtered into the cellar where you’d be holding the wedding. So far, only agents were to be in attendance and a few plus ones, but you’d wanted to keep it small. So when a balding man appeared and introduced himself as Mr. Collier, telling the two agents that he wasn’t on the list, they promptly told him that he couldn’t come inside as he wasn’t invited. The man insisted he had urgent business with a Ms. Daniels, but the agents weren’t having it and escorted him out of the cellar.

Meanwhile, at your old house, the one you had shared with Jack, your ex-husband was adding the last few crates and boxes of his and your things to his truck. He groaned once he saw his mama leaning up against her car in the driveway since he hadn’t seen her pull up.

“Hey, sweetheart, there’s a wedding goin’ on.” She said softly, helping him throw a gym bag into the backseat of his truck.

“Yeah, I heard mention of it a time or two.” Jack shrugged, “I sure hope this weather cooperates. It’s supposed to be a big storm.” He didn’t want to give into his mama and tell her how he really felt about all this.

The truth was, Jack was devastated. He’d spent so much time trying to get his wife back, and now she was marrying a man he knew she didn’t love as much as she loved him, and it hurt. It felt like something had died inside his chest, and he supposed something did. His heart.

“You know, Jack, you’re my only son and I love you, but sometimes you are too much like your daddy.” Helen sighed.

“She made her decision, Mama.” Jack set the last box in the bed of the truck and covered them up with tarps to keep ‘em dry.

“For somebody who’s been holdin’ onto somethin’ so hard, you’re pretty quick to let it go.” Helen eyed him.

“You know I can’t control her anymore than I can control the weather. I gotta go. I wanna get these inside before the rain ruins whatever I’ve got left.” Jack tipped his hat at his mama and climbed inside the cab. Helen shook her head in disappointment.

Champ stood in the corner of the apartment you’d been occupying in the Statesman office that weekend, watching you adjust your dress and cowboy boots. He smirked once he realized you’d be getting married, Southern style with the boots and a dress that he swore he’d seen in one of those fancy Southern Living magazines his wife was always reading. Or was it Southern Weddings? He didn’t know, but you looked beautiful. Even more so than the first time he’d officiated your wedding to Jack.

You kept fidgeting, causing Champ to speak up.

“It’s just nerves. You’re doing the right thing.” He attempted to reassure you.

“Am I?” You asked, unsure.

“When I married my wife, Lord, I was a goner for that woman. I couldn’t put one foot down in front of the other, despite being an agent with perfect balance, mind you. I remember standin’ there thinking, ‘Oh preacher, better hurry up before this woman changes her mind.’ And look where it got me. Sometimes she drives me so crazy that I could shoot her, but—”

“But you still love her.” You cut him off.

“God knows I do, and only she knows why.” Champ laughed, his eyes teary as he looked you over.

“Champ, I think I—”

“He can give you a life in this company, honey. You’ve always wanted this. And he adores you.” Champ said firmly, not letting you get back on the confusion train.

“He does, doesn’t he?” You sighed, “Well, even if he is a Yankee, at least he’s sober. Let’s go, Champ. I’m ready to get this over with.”

Champ led you down to the cellars, and then down the aisle. He didn’t get you two very far, though, when a man’s shouts were heard yelling “Ms. Daniels! Ms. Daniels!”

You whipped around, confused about why someone would be calling you by your married name. “Mr. Collier?” You asked in surprise. The two agents supposed to be manning the door had grabbed him by now, but you were quick to dismiss them.

Rum called your name, but you held up a hand to stop him from speaking. You didn’t know why Mr. Collier was here, but it had to be important if he was trying this hard to get in contact with you. The man took a moment to catch his breath.

“You are one hard woman to get in contact with.” Mr. Collier wheezed as he bent over to breathe.

“Mr. Collier, he signed the papers.” You said quietly. “What are you doing here?”

“He did. You didn’t.” You finally noticed the papers he was holding and sucked in a breath.

“What? You mean I’m still married?” You asked, unsure how you felt about this new information. You thought for sure you’d signed the papers when you’d sent them off the day after Jack had signed them. Apparently, you hadn’t. Mr. Collier pointed at the line above Jack’s name, and sure enough, it was blank.

“Well, not if you don’t want to be.” Mr. Collier replied gently as he handed over the papers.

“For goodness sake, Brandy, I thought you took care of this?” Rum groaned as he made his way to stand in the aisle beside you.

“It’s an honest mistake, Blake.” You shook your head in disbelief.

“Well, then, can we fix it? We’ve got agents who need to be on missions soon and we have a honeymoon to get to.” Rum snorted. Your brows furrowed as you watched this normally kind man getting frustrated over a mistake you hadn’t even realized you made.

“Does anybody have a non-deadly pen?” You asked, knowing no one would have one on them unless it had ten functions to kill someone and not one of them being the purpose of a real pen with ink that would actually stay on the paper. You’d made the mistake before of signing something with ink that removed itself within two hours and you didn’t want to make that mistake again.

No one around you had one, not even Champ, until a woman behind you cleared her throat. You turned around to face your mother in law, Jack’s mom.

“These things don’t just happen, y’know.” Helen said with a knowing smile as she held out a fountain pen. You took it and uncapped it, placing it on the paper but not moving to sign it.

“You can’t ride two horse with one ass, sweetheart.” Champ said from beside you. You looked up at him and with a watery smile, you told him you couldn’t sign the papers.

“Blake,” you started, taking his hands in yours, “You don’t want to marry me.”

“I don’t?” He asked, eyes almost looking dangerous.

“No, you don’t. Not really. You see, the truth is—” You hesitated before continuing. “I gave my heart away a long time ago, my whole heart, and I never really got it back. And I don’t even know what else to say besides ‘I’m sorry.’ I can’t marry you, and you shouldn’t want to marry me.”

“So this is what it feels like.” Blake muttered, eyes definitely glittering with anger now. “You can’t just do this to me. That’s it? You’re just going to leave me for the man you haven’t even wanted to be married to for seven years? God, Brandy, what the hell!” He shouted.

You took a step back, attempting to make space and remove your hands from his, but he held your hands tightly. You gulped, knowing Blake wasn’t done.

“In my entire career, and I have a good one, I have never met someone so deceitful and manipulative! I should’ve known, considering our occupations, but this is so disgusting what you’ve done.” Blake spat.

“I’m just trying to be honest.” You whispered.

“You are such a little bitch.” Blake roughly dropped your hands and Champ immediately stepped in, crowding the shorter agent.

“Now, look here, Agent Rum. She said her piece and there’s no need for name-callin’, you hear me?” Champ growled.

“Oh go back to your office and get shit-faced.” Blake spat at Champ’s feet. You saw red.

“Nobody talks to my daddy like that.” You growled, throwing one of your best punches. Agent Rum was soon on the ground and you chucked your engagement ring at his head. It hit his cheek and bounced off somewhere, but you couldn’t bring yourself to care.

“Praise the Lord, my baby’s back.” Champ cheered, pulling you away from your ex-fiancé.

“Hey y’all!” You shouted as you stood up on an empty chair in the venue, “If you’re friends of the bride, stick around! I’m gonna go find me a groom!”

And then you were off, grabbing your keys from Moonshine and hopping in your truck, wedding dress getting stuck in the door. You didn’t care, though. You knew exactly where Jack would be and you planned to go get your man back.

You roared into the meadow, truck chassis bumping around on the uneven ground. The door was flung open and you were racing across the field, dress bunched in your hands. Rain had started falling, and Jack was sitting in the bed of his truck getting sopping wet. He had a bottle of whiskey in his hands, but he hadn’t quite noticed you yet.

“Hey, cowboy!” You shouted above the rain and he whipped around to face you, eyes wide beneath the brim of his hat. Rain dripped off the edges and you almost laughed at how bedraggled he looked, but refrained. “You owe me a dance.”

“Nice dress. Where’s your husband?” Jack finally said as he capped the whiskey bottle and set it down beside him in the truck bed.

“I’m lookin’ at him.” You said, and Jack froze. “Apparently, you and I are still hitched.”

“Is that right?” He asked slowly as he got off the tailgate. He made his way over to stand in front of you, rain still pouring over the both of you to the point where you could only really see him anymore.

“Why didn’t you tell me you came to New York?” You asked desperately, needing to know if he still wanted you, if he still loved you.

“I needed to make somethin’ of myself.”

“About done?” You asked in disbelief. This man was already enough for you, how could he not see it?

“What is it about you Southern girls? You can’t make the right decisions ‘til you tried all the wrong ones?” Jack scoffed. He was sure this was some elaborate joke, that your fiancé would hop out of your pickup truck and laugh at him any minute now.

“At least I fight for what I want!”

“Oh, what do you want, honey? Hell, I don’t even think you know.” Jack shook his head.

“You’re the first boy I ever kissed, Jack, and I want you to be the last.” You said as you stepped closer to him, dress dragging in the grass and dirt. You didn’t even care, not if it meant you could get your husband back.

“Maybe you and I had our chance.” Jack muttered, hoping you couldn’t hear him, but you did.

“Fine! Have it your way, stubborn ass!” You yelled.

“Whatcha wanna be married to me for anyhow?” Jack asked, repeating what you’d asked him all those years ago when you were twelve. You grinned, catching up to his game.

“So I can kiss you anytime I want.”

And then you were in his arms and he was kissing you, his hat dumping water on the both of you but you couldn’t bring yourself to care. You were already soaked. You’d gotten your man back, and you sighed into his mouth. You didn’t want to move again, the feeling of his kiss bringing life back into your lungs and giving you space to breathe for the first time in a long time. He just felt right. Hands wandered up his back and you knocked off his hat in an effort to get even closer to him. He groaned when fingers locked into his now soaked hair, tongue slipping into your mouth when you whined.

You only broke away when you heard someone yelling at the both of you, lights shining right onto your interlocking figures.

“What the hell are you two trying to do? Get yourselves killed?” Tequila yelled. You laughed, breaking away from Jack just long enough to shout back.

“What seems to be the trouble, officer?”

“I’m here to bring you in again, little lady!” Tequila called back, hands on his hips and looking downright hilarious.

“What did she do this time?” Jack shouted. He walked you both closer to Tequila and the man had the audacity to grin at the two of you.

“Well, the way I hear it, seems she run out on a perfectly good cake!”

You laughed and smooched Jack on the cheek before reaching down to grab his hat from the ground.

“Get in my truck, cowboy!” You grinned, “Seems we finally get our reception!”

You raced your husband to your truck, hopping in and laughing at the way you both shivered from the cool air you’d had blasting. Jack swore and turned on the heat as you got yourselves out of the meadow and started following the red and blue flashing lights of Tequila’s patrol car.

You reached a hand over to hold Jack’s and he lifted your fingers to his lips to press a kiss to the knuckles.

“I love you.” He murmured and you returned the sentiments, happy for the first time in a long time.

Tequila led you to the bar Helen owned, and you laughed once you realized where the guys had decided to hold your reception. It was only fitting that the place where you’d originally hosted your first reception was now the place of your second, and with the same man no less.

Tequila made his way indoors first and introduced you, yelling out a “Ladies and gentleman, Mr. and Mrs. Jack Daniels!”

You rushed inside, nearly tripping over your boots and dress, but Jack steadied you, dipping you for a deep kiss just inside the door.

Catcalls filled the air as Jack lifted you back up, a boyish grin gracing his lips.

“I do believe I owe this lady a dance,” Jack nodded at his Mama by the jukebox and she smiled at the two of you.

“You sure do!” Moonshine shouted.

“Hey Helen,” you turned to Jack’s mama, “make it a slow one.”

She saluted you, and then hit a button, playing Tennessee Whiskey. Jack snorted at the song choice as he held your waist in the middle of the space they’d cleared for a dance floor, but you didn’t mind. You’d always joked that the song was about him with his Statesman name, and he hated it. You loved him, though.

You had your husband back and you weren’t ever going to give him up again. You swayed to the song for a moment before leaning up to kiss him. Finally, you were home.

#jack daniels x reader #agent whiskey x reader #jack daniels x female reader #agent whiskey x female reader #jack daniels #agent whiskey #statesman #sweet home alabama #kingsman the golden circle #kingsman #jack ‘whiskey’ daniels #mandoclan #mandoclan writes

[thetravelerwrites]

Henry (Part 2) Lemon

Rating: Explicit Relationship: Female Human/Male Naga Additional Tags: Exophilia, Monster Boyfriend, Naga, Amphiptere, Friends to Lovers, Best Friends to Lovers, Demisexual, Graysexual, Content Warnings: Cam Worker, Cam Model, Sex Worker Words: 4467

The reader breaks a rule and meets Henry’s family, where awkward questions make for an awkward dinner. Please reblog and leave feedback!

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After two and a half months, Henry finally had the money he needed to open up the second location even without renting out the opposite apartment, and the two of you were scouting for the new place. You’d decided that you would run one of them and he would run the other. You were sad that you wouldn’t be working together anymore, but the two of you lived together now, so at least you’d be able to spend time together at home. Henry was also talking about hiring on additional employees if the second location did well, so the two of you wouldn’t have to work so hard.

“What do you think of this place?” He asked. “It’s a little small for what I was thinking, but it’s right next door to a popular wedding venue. We could do special deals for the weddings.”

“That would generate a lot of business, even in the slow season,” You replied. “And it wouldn’t matter if it was small if we had two locations. We could just deliver what we didn’t have here from the main building. It’s only ten minutes away.”

“Right,” He agreed. “So? Is it a yes to this one?”

“Well, it’s your decision, babe,” You said. “It’s your money, your business.”

“And you’re my girlfriend,” He said, pulling you into his arms. “And my business partner. You input matters to me. We make all decisions together.”

You smiled at him fondly. “God, I love you.”

He grinned down at you. “I love you, too. So?”

You looked around one more time and said, “It’s a yes. I like this place. It’s got character.”

“Right? It’s charming. We can work with charming. I’ll pay the deposit on Monday.” He picked you up and swung you around, as well as he could with his long tail in the way. “I’m so excited! Owning my own shop was my dream, and I never expected to be able to expand!”

“I’m so happy for you, babe,” you said, kissing him. “For both of us.”

He kissed you back twice and set you back down on your feet. “So, you’re still up for this weekend? Meeting the parents and everything?”

“Of course, I’m dying to meet them,” You said. “Do… they know about your side job?”

“No, they don’t,” He said firmly. “And I’d like to keep it that way, please. I mean, you know I’m not ashamed of my job, but it’s still my parents. All parents know their kids jerk off and stuff, but they definitely don’t want to talk about it.”

“This is slightly different, don’t you think?”

He shrugged. “It’s still embarrassing to tell them that I take my clothes off for money, even if there’s no touching involved.”

“Well, they won’t hear it from me, then,” You said. “Your secret is safe.”

“Thank you,” He said, smiling. He took your hand and led you out of the vacant building and toward the bus stop. There was a bus for larger non-humans that came twice a day.

“Have you told them much about me?” You asked, sitting on the bench to wait.

“I never shut up about you,” Henry said ruefully. “I’ve been talking about you for years, even before we met. I think they knew I was in love with you before I did. My sister literally told me to shut up once, because I kept gushing about you.”

“That’s sweet,” You said.

“You don’t talk to your folks much, do you?” He asked.

“Not really,” You replied, sitting at the bus stop with him sidling up to coil next to you. “Lots of stuff went down when I left that my parents weren’t cool with, and they said a lot of things that I wasn’t cool with, so we’re just not cool with each other in general.”

“Hmm,” He said. “Well, my sister will like you.” His eyes narrowed. “That may not be a good thing. She keeps trying to steal my girlfriends.”

You laughed. “Well, she doesn’t have a chance. I’m over the moon for you.”

He grinned at you. “That’s good to hear.” He lay his head on your shoulder briefly. “I’m madly in love with you.”

“Yay,” You said softly, kissing the top of his head, careful not to stab yourself on his horns.

“Can we go home and have celebratory sex?” He asked.

“Absolutely. Then we’ll order dinner and play a round of Final Fantasy XIV.”

“It’s a date. I do have a cam session later tonight, though, so I have factor that in.”

“Oh, if that’s the case, we should wait on the sex,” You said, looking down the street and seeing the bus approach. You stood up. “You should be fresh for your clients. We can have all the boning we want afterward. Anything fancy planned?”

“Nope, just a show and share, standard stuff. But it’s a new client, so that’s typical. ”

“Have you dropped a client? You usually don’t take new ones unless one either stops buying slots or you ban someone.”

“One of my old patrons moved on, so I held an auction for his slots. The money from that auction was the final monetary push I needed for the new location,” He said, following you to the curb as the bus stopped in front of you.

“Well, thank you to that person,” You said with a laugh, getting up into the bus. Henry followed you.

After getting home, the two of you ordered some sushi and played video games. Around eight o’clock, he set the controller down.

“Time for the session?” You asked, powering down the game console.

“It will be soon. I need to get ready. Want to help out?”

“Always. That new purple bolero would look lovely, and we can put some spray glitter in your hair.”

“That shit takes forever to get out!” He whined.

“Yeah, but it looks so cute! And I’ll help you wash it out later.”

“Promise?”

“Yes, I promise,” You said. “Come on, I’ll get you all dressed up and looking pretty for your new client.”

“You’re the best, babe.”                 

You had gotten pretty adept at getting him ready for his shows quickly, and honestly it was a great bonding moment between the two of you. He stayed still and obedient like a puppy while you were doing in and he always looked like a total snack when he was done. Not that he didn’t normally, but the costumes were a great garnish.

When you were finished, you kissed him, said, “Have fun,” And left him to his work.

He’d moved his camming desk and rig to the bedroom so that the two of you could set up his and hers gaming stations in his old office, where the two of you spent a lot of time.

You’d just sat down to play some Among Us with friends when you realized that you’d left your phone in the bedroom. You swore at yourself for being so thoughtless. The number one rule was never interrupt a camming session, it could cost him clients if they found out he had a girlfriend. Some might even want you to participate, and that was not something you were up for.

But you also didn’t want your phone to ring while he was in a video chat. You were usually so careful, so this made you really mad at yourself. Henry couldn’t afford to lose customers right now, with opening the new location. He’d need every penny he could earn.

You knew he kept his Discord up when he was working, in case any emergencies arose and you could notify him, so you pulled it up and typed, >I forgot my phone in the bedroom. Can I come get it?

He typed back, >Sure, just try to be quiet, please.

You tip-toed to the bedroom and pushed the door open gingerly. Henry was talking to his new client playfully. He flicked his eyes over to you and gave you a quick wink before returning his attention to the screen.

Henry’s desk was circular and facing inward toward the wall, so there was be a solid background rather than showing his clients your bedroom. Your phone was on the nightstand next to the bed-nest, out of frame.

“So, tell me a little about yourself, sweetheart,” He said sultrily. “What do you like? What do you like having done to you?” Henry was wearing an earpiece through which the client responded. This prevented you from having to listen and the client from hearing you rattling around in the apartment. “Mmm, that sounds fun. You want to show me, or would you like me to show you first?”

You stealthed across the room and picked up your phone, turning it to silent. When you turned back around, Henry had removed the bolero jacket and was touching his chest suggestively and biting his lip.

“You look so pretty when you do that,” He said with a low-pitched growl in his voice.

Watching him in his element was… kinda hot. Instead of leaving, you sat down quietly on the bed-nest and watched him. He flicked his eyes over to you again for a millisecond, and you heard him typing.

>What are you doing?

>Admiring you. You responded. >You look so sexy.

>You’re breaking the rule.

>Then tell me to leave.

You could tell he was suppressing a smirk, but he didn’t tell you to leave.

>Just be as quiet as possible and you can stay, just this once, He texted you.

>Promise.

He continued the session with you reclining in the nest, watching him work. Normally in the first session with a new client, he didn’t go all the way, so to speak. It was more of a peep show and less of a full service. Usually it was a strip tease and some light touching to entice them to continue their subscription.

The way he was putting on a show for the camera, the exaggerated movements, the low, husky voice, the touching, the sly smirk on his lips, did things to your body. You squeezed your legs together and squirmed slightly, but he didn’t notice.

How much would he let you get away with, you wondered? Slowly, you let your hand slip into the sleep shorts you were wearing, spreading your legs a little.

This time he noticed. A minuscule flick of his eyes made them widen slightly, and he turned back to the keyboard while still engaging with the client.

>Stay quiet, He said. >Don’t make a sound.

He lowered his lashes and took a covert look at you, and you nodded.

He continued with his flirty introduction and laid the flattery on thick to the client, while every once in a while stealing a glance at you. You rocked your pelvis against your hand, massaging your pearl and biting your wrist to keep silent, all while watching him. You saw him pull his tail around under the desk and began stroking his slit in circles, the heads of his dual cocks just starting to peek out.

Just as you were getting to your first orgasm, Henry said, “Well, darling, our time is up. I hope I’ll see you again. I had a wonderful time with you.” He dipped his head down and looked up through his eyelashes, pouting slightly. “Come back soon. Until then, you take care, okay darling? Good night and sweet dreams.”

You came hard, gripping the sheets in one hand as you struggled to stay quiet. Henry exited out of the video chat, tore his earpiece off and threw it onto the desk, and darted toward you, pulling your hand out of your shorts and over your head.

“You…” He said with a dark, gruff tone. “You have been very… very… bad.”

This was a new side to sweet, cuddly Henry. “And what will you do?” You taunted, feeling a little thrill up your spine.

Without warning, he flipped you onto your stomach and snatched your shorts and underwear off. He pushed himself into you, not in a way that hurt, but definitely hard and unceremonious. Since you had climaxed already and were a bit sensitive, it was almost sensory overload, but it was so good, and you gave yourself over to it.

He took both of your hands and held them behind your back with only one of his while he used the other to grip your hip to pull you harder against him.

“Don’t be quiet now,” He growled at you. “Make noise. Moan for me, scream for me, let me hear your voice.”

You were happy to obey, being a little louder than you normally were. You grunted and groaned as he pounded into you roughly, a way he’d never been with you before. He was always gentle and affectionate, and you loved it, but this was on another level. It was hot and passionate and wild, and you were enthralled. You loved Sweet Henry, but Feral Henry was incredible.

Henry came violently against you, growling, and withdrew, thrusting the second cock into you and going full-throttle again. You were used to Henry’s stamina by now, so you could hang with it. Another burst of pleasure crashed into your body, and you screamed his name.

“That’s a good girl,” He snarled into your ear.

A third orgasm, and then a fourth, and by the fifth, you were getting tired. He released one last shot inside you and let you go, collapsing next to you in the nest. You lay face down and gasped.

After a moment or two, he got up on his elbow and stroked your back.

“Are you okay? Do you need some water? I didn’t hurt you, did I?” He asked softly.

Ah. Sweet Henry was back. You loved Sweet Henry. He was the best.

“No, I’m okay, babe,” You turned your head to look at him. “What was that? You’ve never been like that with me before.”

“I don’t know,” He said, looking a little shocked at himself. “I’ve never been like that with anyone before. Was it bad?”

“No, on the contrary, it was amazing,” You replied, turning on your side to face him. “I was just playing with you, I didn’t know I’d bring that out.”

“Me neither,” He said ruefully, laughing self-consciously and scratching the back of his head. “You’re sure I didn’t hurt you?”

“I’d have said so if you did, you know that,” You said, reaching up to stroke his face. “I won’t sit in on sessions again, I know it’s bad for business. But… maybe we could roleplay Feral Henry one night. That was fun.”

He grinned wickedly at you, kissing the inside of your hand. “I look forward to it.”

That Sunday, the two of you took a trip across town to see his family. Despite living in the same city, you hadn’t actually met them yet. They traveled often for work, as they owned an advertising company and worked with businesses across the country. Their daughter, Henry’s older sister, was their secretary and did most of their scheduling.

Henry didn’t want to be an executive with the company and preferred to stand on his own two feet… so to speak. Thankfully, his family was understanding and didn’t object when he decided to follow his dreams instead of staying with the family business. After all, the advertisement company had been his parents’ dream.

You and Henry took a large-race cab service out to the richer end of the city, where his parents lived. They’re house had been built with nagas specifically in mind, so it had been built all on the ground level, but it was huge. There were at least six bedrooms, as far as you could tell.

Henry’s parents, Ruth and Richard, met you at the door. Ruth’s scales were a solid bright blue from waist to tail. Her skin was a burnished bronze and her eyes were gold in color. She had a long, lovely set of wings in blues and gold. She wore a long halter top in a deep brown that matched her tumbling hair and complemented her skin tone.

Richard, on the other hand, did not have wings and as such, wore a simple button up shirt. He was grey in color, both scales and skin, with black rings along his tail and grey horns jutting up from the top of his head out of his pitch black hair.

Naga women didn’t have mammary glands, since their diet at birth was strictly meat, transitioning to other foods as they aged, so nagas often didn’t feel the need to wear clothing. Henry didn’t typically wear clothing unless he was camming or in the shop, in which he wore a basic white t-shirt specially made with a panel in the back to accommodate his wings. Sometimes an apron, if he was feeling fancy. Otherwise, he went without clothes. Today, he went super posh with a blue t-shirt, since this was a special occasion and everything.

“Henry!” Ruth said, rushing out to meet her son. “You look so handsome!” She hugged her son tightly, their wings touching lightly. “And is this your girlfriend? She’s so lovely! Come and give me a hug, sweetie!”  

You walked into her muscular arms and she gave you a warm, motherly hug that felt really nice. Since you weren’t speaking to your own family, this was a type of touch you really missed.

“It’s so nice to meet you!” You said as you stepped away. “Henry has told me all about you.”

“Likewise!” She said, cupping your face. “Gosh, he’s talked about nothing else besides you for years!”

“Honey, don’t embarrass our son,” Richard said, coming out to shake your hand. “It is lovely to meet you at last.”

“You too, sir,” You replied.

“Oh, please, call me Richard. Come in, come in, dinner is almost ready,” He said, putting a hand behind your back, stopping just short of touching you, and ushered you inside.

You could smell a savory smell that made your mouth water as soon as you came inside. You followed Richard into the kitchen, where there was a large, high bar in place of a dinner table and a single barstool.

“We actually had to buy a chair!” Ruth said. “That was exciting. We did measurements and everything.”

Her excitement made you smile wide and feel a little shy. Henry grinned down at you and took your hand, leading you forward toward the barstool. You sat down and looked around the enormous, beautiful kitchen.

“Is she here yet?” A voice from the doorway said. Henry’s sister, Rea, entered unclothed, looking much like her brother but having her mother’s coloring.

“Rea, put on a shirt! We have company!” Ruth said.

“No, really, it’s okay, I’m used to Henry not wearing clothes, so it’s totally fine.” You hopped off the chair and went over to greet her and introduced yourself.

“I’m Rea, it’s great to meet you.” She looked you up and down. “You weren’t lying, Henry, she’s as hot as you described her.”

“Hey,” Henry said warningly, coming up behind you and hugging you close to his chest. “She’s taken.”

“For now,” Rea said to her brother, smiling slyly. He growled.

“Don’t fight,” Ruth said. “Come now, dinner is ready.”

Henry helped you pop back up on the stool and the naga family simply sat back on their tails. Dinner was rare steak and garden vegetables tossed in a homemade dressing and a dry white wine.

“Are you both amphiptere?” You asked Ruth and Richard.

“Yes,” Richard said. “But it’s less likely for the males to have wings than the females. Even among our own kind, Henry is rare.”

“Aww,” You said, patting his cheek. “That doesn’t surprise me one little bit. He’s special.”

“In the head, maybe,” Rea said, shoving a large piece of steak in her mouth. Henry shot her a dry look, but his mouth was too full to retort.

“Well, I’m glad he finally found someone who understands and appreciates his value,” Ruth said. “We were beginning to think he’d never get married.”

Henry choked on his wine, spitting it across the table. His parents and sister had to shield their plates.

“Mom, we’ve only been dating for a few months, it’s too early to be talking about marriage.”

“Oh, please, it’s inevitable, you’ve been in love with her for years!”

“Yes, but she wasn’t aware of that until recently!” He responded. “This is all new for her.”

“But you love her, right?”

“Mom, for the love of God,” Henry groaned, massaging his temples. “Yes, I love her, but it’s still basically the beginning of our relationship. You’re going to scare her off.”

“Well, what do you think?” Ruth asked, turning to you. “You’d marry him, wouldn’t you?”

You opened your mouth, taken aback.“I…”

“You don’t need to answer that,” Henry said. “Mom, really, don’t make her feel uncomfortable. Neither of us are thinking about marriage right now. Can we please talk about something else?”

“Mom, really, leave Henry alone,” Rea said.

“Alright, alright, I’m just saying--”

“Honey,” Richard said stiffly. “Please.”

Ruth sniffed and sighed, but fell silent. What followed was a rather awkward dinner.

As the two of you were leaving, Ruth apologized for being so pushy, having thought about her words over the strained silence. You told her it was okay, and that you were looking forward to seeing them again.

Back on the taxi heading toward town, you started thinking about it. Did he really not think about getting married one day? You were kind of hoping that eventually you would. Not soon, but eventually.

“Don’t worry about my mom,” Henry said, taking your hand. “She has that mom habit of not knowing when to stop.”

“No, it’s totally fine, she just caught me off guard, is all,” You replied.

“You sure you’re okay?” He asked, tilting his head down a bit to look at your face. “You seem bothered by something.”

“It’s just…” You tried to think of a way to phrase it that wouldn’t spook him but failed. “No, it’s nothing really.”

“No, no,” He said, bumping your shoulder with his lightly. “Come on, I know there’s something on your mind. I’m your best friend, right? You can tell me anything.”

You sighed. “Are you really not thinking about marriage at all? I don’t mean right now or anything, but like in the future? Maybe a few years from now?”

“Well…,” He began, his brow furrowing. “I mean, yeah, of course I am. I’ve been thinking about marrying you since before we ever met. But our relationship is new and I didn’t want to put that kind of pressure on you. And we’re opening a new shop! Who knows how long it’ll be before the chaos of that subsides long enough for us to even begin to plan a wedding? It could genuinely be years.”

“So… it’s a possibility, then?”

“More than a possibility, I’d say,” He said with a gentle smile. “But we need time to feel this out. Just because we love each other is no reason to rush into something we aren’t necessarily prepared for, you know? Marriage is… a lot.”

You nodded. “Yeah. And I agree with you, but I was just worried that you weren’t even considering it.”

“Well, don’t worry. It’s definitely on my mind.”

“Good.” You laid your head on his shoulder, linking your arm with his. “Do we still have ice cream at home?”

“Nope, I ate it earlier.”

“Boo, you suck.”

He chuckled. “We’ll stop at the store on the way home. Mint chocolate chip and some cookies?”

“You know me so well.” You raise your head and puckered your lips, and he bent down to kiss you.

“I do think that before we start talking seriously about marriage or anything like that, I want to stop camming.”

“Why’s that?”

“Well, when I got into it, I never intended to be a career, it was just a side job to help me pay bills. It’s fun and I like it, but I don’t want to do it forever. There is a risk to it, and I worry that you might be affected by it, and I don’t want that.”

“Risk?”

“Yeah. In fact, I think I’m going to end the camming early this year. I’m booked through the month, but I think I’ll make a post tonight saying that I’m going offline for the season. We’re going to be run ragged getting the new place set up. Some people will be upset about it, but they can deal with it.”

“People will be mad?” You asked. The taxi stopped and he took your hand, escorting you out and down the sidewalk toward the small store near your home.

“Yeah,” He said. “A lot of people get that I have a normal life outside of my side job, but some people can be obsessive. Usually, they just wait until next season opens up and book all of my openings they can afford, but some get personal. I block the ones that are too aggressive or start trying to get too close.”

“Too close?”

“Trying to find out who I am and where I live,” He replied.

“That happens?” You asked, alarmed.

“It’s only happened twice. One of them got the hint when I got angry and I didn’t hear from them again. The second one I had to call the police on. I still have a restraining order out against her.”

“Jesus,” You responded. “I didn’t realize it was so… dangerous.”

“It usually isn’t,” He said off-handedly. “That’s the beauty of anonymity and the internet. But I am a rare breed, so it’s easy for people to match my face in real life if they really dig. I mean, you did, right? I have a VPN and pretty hardcore protections on my computer that prevent hacking it remotely, but people can be persistent.”

“That’s… scary,” You said, frowning.

“Don’t worry,” He said, flexing his arms and stomach muscles. “I can handle just about anything.”

“Just about,” You echoed under your breath, and followed him into the store.

Since my work is no longer searchable, please do me a favor and reblog this story if you enjoyed it. Help me reach a wider audience! To help me continue creating, please consider buying me a Kofi, becoming a Patron, or donating directly to my PayPal!

Thanks for reading!

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#Exophilia #Monster Boyfriend #Naga #Reader Insert

[venusdeus]

Court of Kings - Chapter 1

Summary: Sent to a neighboring kingdom to secure an alliance, forced to give up your dreams and ambitions, disregarded as a means to an end. You however have no desire to fulfil their wishes. And neither does Oikawa.

Pairing: Oikawa Tooru x female reader

Genre: Fluff, comedy, angst, royalty au, arranged marriage au, enemies to lovers au (more like enemies to allies to friends to lovers), eventual smut?

Word count: 2700+

Warnings: All the characters are adults unless specified. This chapter is sfw. Minors do not interact.

Notes: Part 1 of a long series I’m planning to write. This is my first fic in this blog so I would greatly appreciate comments, follows and feedback!

Read Prologue first <...> Chapter 2

August 5th

The first messengers arrived when you were having afternoon tea with your literature instructor in the gardens of your summer residence, as your brother was practicing his sword skills not too far. A maid sent by your mother brought you the news of their negotiation a few hours later, accompanied by some of the strawberry macarons you loved so much.  

If it were up to you, you would refuse such a ridiculous offer even before it was brought to your attention. Now that they had a male heir to the throne however, there was no use of a girl that had no claim to become the future ruler, other than being sent to create diplomatic relations now that you were over twenty summers.

“Where do you think they are from?” your brother asked as he tried to dust off his clothes, quite tired from following the orders of his practice partner all day long.

“I wouldn’t know, I didn’t see any flags with them.” you continued as he looked disappointed “But they were wearing blue, so at least we know it's not from the south.”

He nodded; his eyes wide with worry “I am glad they are not sending you there.”

“No one is sending me anywhere yet Hiro.” you answered quite annoyed, turning your head sharply to glare at the boy.

It was not his fault per see but him being recognized as the heir has left you in an awkward situation for the past twelve years. You loved your brother dearly, unlike the distant relationship you had with your parents. It was not because you had the ambition to rule the kingdom either. Of course, it was unfair as you were the firstborn, and if not for what was between your legs, you would also have been the one to inherit the crown.

Even if that was so, you simply did not find it in yourself to become a leader. You, however, did wish to be able to shape your own future. One that did not involve fulfilling the selfish wishes of others.

“It would be awfully lonely without you.” he sighed, instantly making you feel guilty for sounding a little bit too harsh.

Hiro looked incredibly small for his age, standing there with his shoulders slouched, fingers flicking, a skinny and sickly kid since the day he was born. He took after your father with his dark hair and almost pitch-black eyes, but with your mother's facial features, a contrast to your own looks that bore no resemblance to any of them, another reason for your alienation from the rest of the family.

“And it would be awfully quiet without you.” you teased “Maybe then I would be able to read in peace.”

Several footsteps coming behind you silenced you both before Hiro could retort, cutting the joyful air and replacing it with a heavy feeling.

Your mother was a beautiful woman that much was true, but in a different way to that of her kids. The Queen had extremely sharp features and her painted lips always supported a displeased frown. She acted as her title suggested, prim and proper, she fit her role perfectly.

Renowned for her charm when she was younger, she did not lose much to the ages if not for the wrinkles next to her keen eyes and the white threads on her hair. Likewise, she was as smart as she was alluring. Coming from a family that lost their wealth a long time ago even though they still supported titles, no one would even dream of her being second to the sole ruler of their beloved country. She was a success-driven woman, which made her a threat in the eyes of many in the court, thus she was not given the right to make a decision when it came to the education of the heirs she produced. Although affectionate towards her kids first, she had no say on the time she had with them, causing their family ties to weaken, and mostly spent her time with foreign ambassadors. A responsibility entrusted upon her by her husband.

“I see you received my message.” she declared not looking at you directly “We will talk more about this after our guests leave. For now, I want both of you to go to your rooms and stay there until dinner.”

You could sense the irritation in her voice. It was not for her kids, however, as you could see the dark circles under her eyes, a sign of her losing sleep for the past few days.

“Won’t we meet our guests?” Hiro questioned before you could.

“It is not needed as they are only messengers.” the Queen answered shortly before continuing her walk towards the main hall, her maids trailing behind. “I will see you two in an hour.”

Leaving your brother behind, you decided to head down towards the observatory. You knew that you would get an earful from your maids later for not changing your garments for the dinner, but your head was filled with too many questions and negative possibilities to care about dresses. It was not as if you did not know that this day would come. It even took longer than expected if all things considered. Most in your position would be engaged before they even stopped using diapers. It was a more political alliance than anything else, decided by the respective kingdoms and the advisors.

You even saw the letters that were exchanged since last year with multiple seals supporting different coat of arms. The council of your father must have declined the offers before this. Not for your sake, at least you didn’t think it was, but for not suiting their taste. It was a big deal for the princess of a country, whether being the heir or not, to marry someone as it reassured the ties you would create.

The only positive thing that happened so far was the fact that you would not be sent to the south. The Southern Kingdom was placed across the sea and was an important trade partner to your own.

It was a wealthy country for sure, but also too grim and the people too wild. Other than the traded goods it wasn’t a traveller-friendly country. They kept to themselves and even though the only thing that separated the two port kingdoms was a narrow sea, they had a vastly different culture. These differences resulted in legends and the rumors about the country becoming more and more outrageous over time.

They called their men barbaric, only interested in hunt and the art of war. Their women proclaimed witches, quite beautiful unlike the stereotype, but worshippers of a different God. All just foolish rumors said your history instructor. He was a wise man that travelled a lot when he was younger and according to him these tales were nonsense. Their folk did not originate there but immigrated over a few centuries ago. He taught you that the people of the Southern Kingdom were that of culture and arts. They just did not like intruders. His words didn’t ease your or Hiro’s heart however as you were fed these tales since you were younger.

If you could find a way to escape from this responsibility you would. Yet, since the first time you sensed what was going on you were looking for an answer, just to be disappointed every time.

The dinner was cold and tasteless even though it was made from the best ingredients one could manage to find. “The lady that makes them must hate her occupation with a passion” claimed your brother when you were dismissed “I can’t understand how mother likes it.”

Once again, the King did not join you at the table. It was always the same excuse, politics, responsibilities. But you knew better. You knew why your parents did not share a bed anymore and you could see the looks women of the court gave to your father. It was not because the King was a good-looking man, quite the opposite in fact, but power attracted people.

You were fully grown now and even when you were younger, you knew what these actions indicated. You even had the most unfortunate memory of seeing one of them, who was not much older than you, leaving your father's chamber looking quite flushed. You would have not cared if only the woman did not give you a curtsy while supporting a smirk.

Lady Winna was her real name, daughter of a lord that was close to the King, nicknamed Lady Whore by you. And most of the time, she was the reason your father would skip the meals altogether only to receive a feast in his room later that night. Which was why you knew that you should never hope for a love match. If lucky you could maybe be friends with your future partner.

“She does not hate her job, she hates her life” you replied “Not that it would matter, she will leave soon. I heard she was pregnant with a lord’s child. A married one on top of that.”

Hiro gasped “What if someone were to hear you talking about these rumors” he exclaimed hitting your arm quite forcefully “you could be punished.”

“Don’t act as if you never say such stuff you little bridge troll. I know how you talk behind your instructors.” you mused rubbing the pain off. “And who will punish a princess I ask you? If not for mother or father?”

“Do I need to know what I should punish you for?”

Both you and Hiro jumped at the unexpected voice of the Queen, a gasp leaving your mouths. She was holding a box in her hand and her face was supporting a rare, serene expression.

“Nothing of importance.” replied Hiro quickly “We were just afraid of falling behind our studies.”

The Queen did not seem convinced as her eyes narrowed, but she had a small genuine smile on. “I see. Why don’t you go on ahead and start your nightly studies then? I need to talk to your sister privately in the meantime.”

Hiro let out a snort that he tried to cover with a cough. You are in trouble he mouthed before bowing to your mother and disappearing through the corridor.

“I would like you to know I was just repeating what the ladies in the court were saying. Not that I believe the rumors of course, it is quite indecent.” you tried to explain quickly but the Queen cut you with a shake of her head.

“That is not why I wanted to talk to you dear. It is however quite incident for a lady to talk that way you are right.” she sighed “Why don’t we talk in my study?”

You knew what was coming now, after all you could not remember the last time you had a conversation with your mother alone, the relaxed expression on her face, however, gave you hope. Maybe, you thought, they decided it was not time yet. Or maybe they did not like the offers that came through.

“Close the door, will you?” she asked walking towards the desk that stood before the bookshelves that covered the walls.

“Where are your attendants?” you questioned as you followed her inside “Is there something wrong?”

“I thought you would be more comfortable if it were just the two of us that’s all. I need to show you something.” She answered motioning towards the box she was holding. “It came this morning. For you of course. Go on, open it.”

The box itself was made from heavy oak, painted black with a family crest carved on top of it. The symbol looked familiar enough, but you could not concentrate enough to remember where you knew it from over the heavy beating of your heart. Opening it cautiously you took a sharp breath between your teeth, observing the contents.

Inside stood a tiara that was made from white gems shaped in intricate designs that you have not encountered before and in the middle stood an icy blue diamond so big that you could have sworn it must have cost the yearly earnings of a whole country.

“Not a ring.” You stated matter of factly “A very bold choice for a gift.”

“Indeed. But you cannot expect less from Seijoh.” Your mother replied with a cautious voice, almost as if she was calculating your reaction.

“Seijoh…” the box cluttered on the table as you let go of it abruptly “You are sending me up north? We waged war against them for years! Even before my grandfather! And now you are sending me there?”

You knew the country itself was wealthy enough and that it had a strong military presence. They had many allies within the countries that bordered yours as well.  But they also claimed right on your countries throne by sighting territorial dispute as well as a marriage between the two countries that produced no heir.

Now they were sending you there as a scapegoat. To secure his claim to the throne. And maybe even to theirs. An eye for an eye.

It took another week for your father to send a response and invite the Crown Prince and the King of Seijoh for a short visit before the decision was finalized and another two for them to arrive on the outskirts of your kingdom with their entourage behind.

As you sat in your suite biting your nails and waiting for their arrival, your maids were going in and out with different dresses in their hands looking for your approval. You on the other hand did not have the mental energy to entertain their ideas. It was bad enough that you had to attend a ball given in their honor that very evening, but you also had to be in the throne room soon enough to welcome them into the castle. Not to mention this would be the first time that you were to meet your possible future husband.

You heard of him before of course. How could you not when his reputation preceded him? A very cunning and ambitious young man, yet it was his looks that brought the most gossip. You heard his name whispered among the staff when they did not know you were listening and heard the ladies giggle when they mentioned the time that they spent in their court, with him.

It was enough to leave a sour taste in your mouth. Was it too much to ask that your future partner was a man of intelligence and few words? At least you would know that you could get along with him then. But a sharp and striking Casanova? They had to be jesting. That was the only possible explanation for this mockery.

As if your fathers’ ridiculous behaviors wasn’t enough now you had to entertain another man like him. It was pretty common for monarchs to take on other lovers, but you would not be embarrassed by a man you did not know in your own house, husband or not.

When you finally entered the throne room you could hear the commotion outside caused by non-other than the infamous man that was plaguing your thoughts for the past week. Your mother motioned you to hurry and take your place with a sudden turn of her chin just before the doors opened.

The rumors did not do him justice you thought as he strutted towards you and your family, your breath caught in your throat.

Oikawa Tooru was without a doubt the most beautiful man you ever laid eyes on.

He was beautiful alright.

And with his charming eyes staring straight at your own and his delicate hands placed on his sword, he looked ready to murder.

It might look like a filler episode, but I needed to give background and I love to build anticipation. Sorry not sorry? Reblogs are appreciated! And also this was not edited I posted it right after writing it so if you see any mistake let me know.

Disclaimer:  No portion of this story may be reproduced in any form without permission. I do not own the character of Oikawa Tooru. This is a work of fiction.

TAG LIST: Let me know if you want me to tag you.

@triskoof​ @sassyglassesbunny​ @m-a-r-i-a-s-b-l-o-g

#hqhangoutnet #oikawa tooru x reader #oikawa x y/n #oikawa toru x reader #oikawa series #oikawa scenarios #oikawa fluff #oikawa angst #oikawa #haikyuu!! #haikyuu imagines #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu fluff #haikyuu oneshot #oikawa oneshot #haikyuu angst #oikawa toru headcanons #hq smut #hq x reader #sfw #hq x y/n #hq x you #oikawa tooru #oikawa torū #oikawa toru fluff

[cocobutnochanel]

Dream Boy | 18+

Genre: angst, romance, drama, smut

Main Characters: Oh Sehun x Reader (oc: female)

Summary: On a trip abroad, you meet someone familiar and strange at the same time. What started as a dreamy summer fling contains a sick and twisted turn.

Warnings: pregnancy, spying, obsession, stalking, violence, aggression, harassment, profanity, sex scenes, mature themes, yandere!Sehun, obsessed!Sehun

Kink List: unprotected sex, creampie, body worship

Word Count: 9.8k+ words

You pack your bags as Chanyeol sits on your living room, staring at you the whole time. He heard the news about your boyfriend dumping you for no reason. News travel fast in Seoul, for sure.

“Yeol, I said I’m fine.” You huff once again to your best friend. He was overprotective since you were children and seeing your puffy eyes made him worry even more. “I knew he wasn’t right for you.” He muttered under his breath, getting angry for the umpteenth time today.

You just roll your eyes at him and continue folding your clothes. You were going to Philippines for summer. Your boss, Yixing, thought it’d be nice to bring you and the whole office with him to Palawan after you do some work in Manila.

“Pack your own bags now. You know Baek will give you shit if you’re late for tomorrow.” You try to get him out of your apartment by using his boyfriend as an argument but he doesn’t even budge. Baekhyun was also your best friend and thankfully, the news of Minseok dumping you hasn’t reached him yet. You know he’d react worse than Chanyeol himself.

Speaking of the devil, Baekhyun bursts inside your apartment. You roll your eyes for the hundredth time today. This couple really had no plan on leaving you alone.

“Y/N! What the hell did Minseok do to you?” Baekhyun got on his knees to level his eyes with yours as he asked you this. He caresses your face and gives you a sorrowful look. “Baek, I’m fine. Can you bring Chanyeol with you when you leave?” You ask him, trying to drive the two out of your apartment.

You see Baekhyun stand and pull Chanyeol out from your couch. You sigh when you thought they were finally leaving but Baekhyun’s words made you jump. “Yeobo, let’s go to that fucking bastard. My hands are itching to beat him up!” Baekhyun growled as Chanyeol nodded at him, agreeing to what his boyfriend said.

You quickly get on your feet and block them from going through your door. Baekhyun glares at you but you only cross your arms across your chest. “Nobody is beating anybody, Baekhyun.” You narrow your eyes at him.

“He deserves it.” Chanyeol tried to argue but you narrow your eyes at him too. “Couples break up, Yeol. Not everyone has a relationship like yours and Baek. Now, stay. I’m not going to send you guys away if you promise me you won’t hurt Minseok.” You point at the two scowling faces in front of you.

“Fine.” Baekhyun retreated. “I don’t know what that cat face got up your ass. You’re still defending him after he dumped you for no fucking reason.” He walks to the kitchen, anger still in his eyes. You sigh again at how your besties are acting. This would be worse if you were complete. Thankfully, Kyungsoo wasn’t around.

“Yeol, can you please calm Baek down? Before he does anything stupid.” You plead Chanyeol with puppy eyes. He turns around and follows his boyfriend into your kitchen.

You finally have stopped the two from hurting Minseok and you resume packing your bags while they cook dinner. God, imagine if Soo was here. If he was, he’d rub salt into the wound, making you cry even more and fuelling Baekhyun’s anger too.

Your bestfriends were chaotic. Your bunch was odd: it had Chanyeol who was a 6’1 giant who acted like a puppy to everyone, a short-tempered feisty Baekhyun who looks twelve, Kyungsoo was the mean and judgmental bitch who gave constant backhanded compliments at gatherings and you were the barely five foot tiny girl who daydreams way too much. But nonetheless, you were happy you have them. Going on a trip with them while working with them was a dream come true ever since you were a kid.

“Dinner’s ready, Y/N!” You hear Baekhyun call out as soon as you have finished packing your bags. You head to your apartment’s dining room and start eating dinner with the two. They send you pitiful glances but you ignore it. You finish it immediately and head to bed. Eventually, the two left and went to their own apartment.

You cried yourself again to sleep despite you telling yourself you have to sleep early. The thought of Minseok’s stoic face ending things with you after a year was enough to make you sob overnight. He meant a lot to you. You spent a whole year with this man you fell in love with. Yet he had to break up with you without even telling you why the hell he’d do that.

Soon, you drift off to sleep. Your thoughts now replaced by drowsiness. Once again, you dream about finding love on an island like how they do in Love Island. It was your favorite show ever since.

You wake up to the sound of your alarm going off. You groan and turn it off. You get up and get ready for the airport before Baekhyun arrives in your apartment. He’s very fussy about time.

After getting ready, you, Chanyeol, Baek and Kyungsoo gather at your apartment and got one cab to drive to the airport. Your eyes were puffy again and Baek can’t help but hold your hand throughout the ride. Kyungsoo just kept glancing at you through the rearview mirror. The three of them have always been overprotective, this wasn’t anything new to you. Only Soo was more subtle about it.

You arrive at the airport and meet with your other officemates. The process was much shorter than expected as everyone chattered about the trip. Before you even noticed, the plane was already boarding and you were now off to Manila.

The days in Manila went by so fast. You assisted Yixing as much as you could during the office meetings with this Filipino company that were partnering with Yixing’s company. You were so occupied and busy that you didn’t notice it was done already. It was time to go to Palawan for your vacation now.

You ride another airplane. It was a series of Chanyeol muttering complains about the economy’s seats being tiny, Baekhyun snoring the whole trip and Kyungsoo judging the other passengers. Travelling with your besties was fun but they were draining as hell.

The hotel you were staying in Palawan was beautiful. It made you feel like you were on those dating TV shows you bingewatch. Chanyeol and Baek shared a room while you and Kyungsoo had separated ones. Soo hates sharing his privacy and people touching his things.

The beach was nothing like the ones you see back in your city. The sand here was fine and white. The waves were unafraid and the ocean was a beautiful teal. You finally forgot about Minseok for a moment.

“Mabuhay!” A tanned tall man welcomed you and your officemates. “I’m Jongin, the owner of the resort. Yixing and I are very good friends. I’m more than happy to accommodate all of you here.” He greeted us joyfully, his eyes glinting with happiness.

“Yum.” You hear Kyungsoo comment beside you while staring at Jongin who was in a floral polo with the first three buttons open. You scrunch your nose at the thought of Kyungsoo crushing on someone. “Soo, try to keep your pants on.” Baekhyun gave him a disgusted look.

Kyungsoo smirked in response. “Tell him that, he might have a hard time keeping his hands off me.” He sends a flirty gaze to the tanned man who was now looking at him adoringly. Jongin looked like he couldn’t even break a plate. What the hell was Kyungsoo saying even?

Another tall man in the hotel’s uniform comes to your sight. He was as tall as Jongin but his facial features were sharper. He didn’t look kind at all despite having a jaw-dropping handsome face. He somehow resembled prince Eric but with solid black eyes and stoic expression. His pale complexion made him look even more unfriendly.

“Hi.” The sharp man breathed out, giving a shy smile. Your feel your heart skip and your mouth part. When you thought he was unfriendly, you were totally wrong. He was as innocent as the tanned man now that he’s upclose.

“Can I have your bags?” You snapped out of your thoughts when you hear his deep voice again. You hand him your luggage as he puts them on the rack he has with him. “I’m Sehun, by the way. Your personal bellboy.” He gives you a friendly grin. He waited for this for so long, this must be perfect, he thinks to himself.

He leads you to an elevator with Kyungsoo, Baekhyun and Chanyeol following you. His eyes stayed glue on you as a shy playful smile graces his beautiful face. You get inside the lift with a funny feeling in your stomach as he punches your hotel keycard on the elevator sensor to bring you on your floor.

Sehun looks awfully familiar to you, you can’t keep your eyes off him. You feel like you met him somewhere but you couldn’t exactly say when and how. He feels your gaze whilst on the elevator and gives a tiny laugh. Oddly, that makes your heart flutter. He was handsome and his shy smiles made it worse for you.

“Looks like someone found a summer beau.” Kyungsoo eyed you with his judging demeanor. You notice Baek shooting him daggers and you couldn’t help but roll your eyes at the two. “Shut it, Soo.” Baekhyun hissed when the elevator doors opened and we all got out.

Baekhyun, Chanyeol and Kyungsoo got in their respective rooms. Sehun was now left all alone with you because your room was at the end of the hall. He stops at your room door and opens it for you.

“Thank you, Sehun.” You smile at him as he pushes the rack inside your room. He puts your bags on the cabinet provided and shows you the food available inside the mini fridge. Your eyes scanned the numerous banana milk inside. That’s weird, you silently thought. These type of drinks aren’t usually available in other countries. Also, it was unusual to have it available in a hotel fridge.

You snapped out of your thoughts as soon as you realize he was still with you. You got your wallet out and was about to give him a tip but he cut you off immediately. “No, ma’am. We’re not allowed to receive tips.” He formally said, shaking his head.

You look at him with a pout. In his head, he couldn’t believe you were doing this in front of him. “However..” He starts talking which makes you look at him in the eye. “You can thank me by letting me show you around Coron. Palawan is really beautiful.” He gives you another warm but shy smile.

“Isn’t that another favor?” You can’t help but laugh. He blushes at the sound of your giggle. He thinks it’s the most beautiful sound ever and he missed it. He missed seeing you this happy. “Maybe it’s me asking you out on a date.” He teases you, making you blush successfully.

“Okay..” You can’t help but gush at the fact that you found someone this charming in the middle of this paradise. Life couldn’t get any better for you. He walks to your desk and writes a note there.

“Here. Text me.” He hands you a tiny piece of paper. “I will.” You smile again, your cheeks feeling sore from the happiness you’re having right now. “See you soon, ma’am.” He bows his head and motions to exit but he whips his head around when he heard you speak.

“Stop calling me ma’am, Sehun. I’m Y/N.” His eyes light up at you saying your name. He knew what your name was but the idea of you giving it to him willingly was something that made him truly happy. He couldn’t thank the gods enough for this.

He mutters something incoherent and heads out of your room. You finally take off your travel clothes and change into your pajamas. You know you would just rest and sleep all day. You were tired from work and the plane ride. Before you went to bed, you text Soo to have room service with you for dinner later. You also text Sehun to save your number.

A few hours later, you wake up, feeling much better. You open your phone to see Kyungsoo’s text saying he was going out with the hotel owner. You roll your eyes at the manwhore. Sehun also messaged you that he already saved your number. You order room service and have your dinner while watching cartoons.

Soon, you were sleepy once again. You just decide to be up early tomorrow to make up for lost time today.

‘Sehun, can you take me out tom?’ You sheepishly giggled while typing this and sending it to him. ‘My honor, milady.’ He teased, earning another smile from you.

He was tall, handsome and charming. You knew you completely forgot about Minseok now that Sehun was occupying your mind. You tend to move on real fast and daydream about other guys almost immediately.

You go to sleep with a smile on your face, thinking about the tall bellboy who looks like a model.

The next morning, sunlight peeks through your curtains and you slightly squint your eyes at that. You woke up earlier than you expected. You texted Sehun a good morning and like you, he was up already too. You get in the shower and get ready for your day. Finally, you were getting out of your hotel room and exploring the beautiful island.

You put on a yellow sundress with a black string bikini beneath. It complemented your olive skin but you plan on returning with a tan. You text Sehun before heading out of your room and going to the hotel’s breakfast buffet.

You see Kyungsoo together with Jongin. Chanyeol and Baekhyun were also in the same table. Baek beckoned you to come over. With a smile, you sit down beside Baek.

“Good morning.” You chirped a little too happily that Soo notices. “Get a plate and help yourself, Y/N.” Jongin said, smiling at me. I return his smile but you catch Sehun’s silhoutte by the hotel’s doors. He was wearing a white dress shirt and khaki shorts. The first three buttons were open, exposing his chest with a hanging pair of sunglasses. How he looked without his uniform took your breath away.

Soo’s eyes darted between the tall man and now you. “That’s why you’re such in a good mood.” Kyungsoo sneered in his usual judging tone. “Can you try going for a day without sticking your nose in everyone’s business?” Baekhyun glared at him. You ignored their usual bicker and called Sehun to your table.

You greet him with a smile and introduced him to your friends. “Everyone, this is Sehun.” They all gave their hellos except for Soo who was still being snarky. “This is Kyungsoo, Baekhyun and Chanyeol. I’m pretty sure I don’t have to introduce you to your boss.” You chuckle, referring to Jongin. Sehun greeted them back as if he didn’t know who they were already. You notice Jongin avoid Sehun’s gaze. You knew there was tension going on but you shrugged it off. Maybe workplace complications, you thought.

You pull out the vacant chair beside you but Sehun refuses it. “I’m sorry but I have to take Y/N with me. We’ll have breakfast somewhere else.” He sternly said. That surprised you because Sehun didn’t tell you anything about what will happen today but you let him take the lead. You liked men with surprises.

You stood up, picking up your beach bag with you. “Let’s go?” Sehun said, holding you by the wrist. You blush at the gesture but you hear Kyungsoo say something again. “Day one and he’s trying to get Y/N alone.” He sneered for the second time today. This time, you turn around to narrow your eyes at him. He raised an eyebrow at you, challenging you.

“Cut it out, Soo.” It was Baekhyun who scolded your friend as you walked away with Sehun. He brings you to the shore of the resort. He leads you to a white boat docked by the shore and assists you as you enter. The sea breeze whips at your hair and you smile at the feeling of the sun against your skin.

He single-handedly manned the boat’s engine as it started to move. You look around the beautiful scenery. “Where are we going?” You wonder, getting your camera out of your bag. “Island hopping.” He briefly answered, still busy manning the boat.

You take a few photos of here and there but after a few seconds, the boat stops in the middle of the ocean. You look around and see a yacht docked. You questioned what was happening as he led you inside the yacht. It was obvious that whoever owned this, he must be filthy rich.

The interior of the yacht was similar to Sehun’s khaki pants. It was adorned with gold decorations too. There were attendants walking around and assisting you as you got inside. What the hell was happening?

“Good morning, ma’am, sir.” The attendant greeted, bowing to you and Sehun. Your eyes finally widened as it started to make sense. “You own this?” You ask Sehun as your eyes surveyed the beautiful and luxurious private yacht. “I rented it out from a friend.” His gaze was averted to the tiny boat you were riding earlier. You see his attendant squirm in unease as he left you two alone by the yacht’s entrance.

He holds your hand and leads you inside. His hand was like a large glove as it intertwined between your fingers. You smile to yourself at the warmth of his palms. You see a dining table set by the yacht’s terrace. You could see the beautiful waters of Coron, Palawan as it glinted under the bright sun. This seemed like a dream. To be here, to be with a man who was holding your hand.

He lets you sit across him as food began to be served by the attendants. A variety of seafood were on your table but your favorite, lobster, caught your eye the most.

“Oh my god! A whole lobster and even a risotto with it.” Your mouth watered at the sight. “This is my favorite!” You squealed like a little girl. Sehun’s eyes glow with adoration as you smile at the food in front of you. “I know.” You hear him say in a very faint voice.

“What?” You ask him, still unsure of what you heard. How could he know that lobster was your favorite? “Nothing. Let’s eat.” He said nonchalantly. He started putting food on your plate. You begin eating like what he said and he smiles at you like you put the stars in the sky.

After having breakfast, he lets you enjoy the rest of the morning on the bow of the yacht. You take off your sundress, letting your body soak under the sun. Your eyes find Sehun who was standing behind you. He couldn’t get any luckier, he thought. You were so beautiful and standing this near to him made him feel like he was on the clouds.

You lay down beside him and let yourself get the tan you deserve. You doze off for a few minutes and wake up to Sehun’s nudging.

“I hate to wake you up but we’ve arrived.” He offers a hand to let you sit up. You gladly took it. The scenery in front of you was too beautiful, words could never suffice. The rock formations surrounding the waters made you feel like you were in a movie. It was surreal.

Sehun starts to unbutton his dress shirt and you see his six pack abs peeking through. You try to keep your eyes off his amazing body but it was too hard to resist. His broad shoulders, tall built, rock-hard abs and chest made it seem like he walked out of a Disney princess movie. His pale skin under the sun glowed and his long black hair was now pushed back.

He dives into the water first, jumping from the top of the yacht. You snap out of your daydreaming about him and jump right in too.

You shivered at the contact of your skin with the water. “Cold.” You bit your lip, hugging yourself. Abruptly, Sehun swam to you. His face up close, glistening with seawater made your heart pound faster. “We can do something about that.” He smiles at you, putting his arms around you. You lean against his chest and he smiles to himself. He honestly couldn’t stop thinking how lucky he was right now and how he would do anything to have this forever, to have you forever.

You look up to him, interrupting his thoughts. “Is there something wrong?” He asks. Before you could think for yourself, you find your lips smashing against his. He was stunned at first but after a few moments, he reciprocated the kiss you were giving him. Damn, he thought, he would kill just to have another taste of your lips.

You break off the kiss and you see the amazement in his eyes. “I-I’m sorry. I don’t usually kiss on first dates but this is too beautiful. I want to thank you for showing me this.” You explained as his left hand caressed your cheek. “Anything for you, Y/N. Anything.” He said with so much intensity in his gaze.

You smiled at his sincerity right now. You couldn’t help but notice the adoration in his eyes always. He helps you get back up on the yacht as you both have your lunch by the yacht’s terrace in your bikini and him shirtless.

Your afternoon was spent basking in the sun by the yacht’s bow. It was filled with passionate kisses that only Sehun could ignite that hunger and fire inside you. You have never felt so alive in your life and it was all thanks to Sehun. He was perfect, this was perfect.

Sunset came and Sehun’s bare skin under the pink skies was beyond perfection. You ate your dinner while staying where you were for the whole afternoon. He couldn’t help but think all his efforts paid off as you joyfully sat there with him. It was all he could ask for. You were all he could ask for.

After having dinner, he offers you a towel and brings you your beach bag. You wash up in one of the cabins of the yacht while he supervised the manning of the yacht.

You changed into a sleeveless white dress that took his breath away. He couldn’t move or blink as you stood there, your tanned skin standing out against the beautiful dress you were in. Seeing you in a long white dress made him think of his wedding with you. Soon, he thought to himself.

You finally arrive back at your hotel’s shore. He walks you to your hotel room and carries your bag for you.

You arrive at your door and you were kind of upset that today have ended but nonetheless, grateful for this man in front of you. “Thank you for today, Sehun. It was magical.” You get on your tiptoes and place a chaste kiss on his soft lips. He responded with the same rawness and even held your face while doing it.

He breaks off the kiss and you could see the look of amazement on his face. This man adored you and you loved it. Nobody has looked at you like this nor made you feel alive like he did. It would be too early to assume but you couldn’t deny that falling for this real-life prince charming wasn’t hard at all. He made it too easy.

“Good night.” He places a kiss on your forehead. He opens your door for you and hands you the bouquet of flowers he got for you tonight. It was very sweet of him. He even got your favorite flowers which were red salvia. He got everything right on the first date, it still amazes you how he’s so perfect.

You close your door behind you with an overjoyed smile. It felt like you were on the clouds and you were sure he felt the same. Your phone beeped in your hand and you see a text from Baek saying to have dinner with them.

You reply with a ‘Maybe tomorrow, Baek. Too tired for today goodnight xx’. You change into much comfortable pajamas and sleep with a smile on your face.

You woke up next to your phone beeping. You rub your eyes lightly and check your messages. It was Sehun.

‘Hey, you up? Can I take you out on a date again? :)’

You could only imagine that smile and that fact made you so giddy. You reply with a yes and take a shower. You change into another comfortable sundress. Sehun said he’d take you around town this time. You didn’t bother putting on a bikini and went downstairs instead.

Kyungsoo was with Jongin by the reception. They were flirting with each other and I couldn’t help but roll my eyes at my friend. “Good morning to you too, lover girl.” Soo greeted you with a jeer after seeing you roll his eyes at you. “Sehun has been waiting for you outside.” Jongin said and you said your goodbyes to them.

You see him stand tall by the hotel’s doors in a blue button up shirt and denim pants. You look down on your dress and see that your outfits were acidentally matching. Your heart skipped a beat at that. Still, you couldn’t believe he was this perfect.

“Good morning.” He greeted you with a kiss on the cheek. You blush at the gesture and greet him back. “So where are we going?” You ask him as you started to stroll towards the parking lot. “Let’s get to my Vespa first.” You eyes light up at what he said.

Was today going to be another one of your dream dates? You only talked about these things when you were younger with Baekhyun. Both of you fantasized of having a partner who took you out to perfect dates. The Vespa ride around a beachtown was one.

He helped you up on his blue scooter that matched both of your outfits. You blush again. He wears a helmet on your head, your faces were so so close once again.

He rides the bike himself and starts to drive into town. Woahs and wows came out of your mouth as you gaze upon the beautiful beachtown.

“If I grow old and want to retire, I want to rest here.” You say aloud, your voice full of awe. Sehun looks at you through the side mirror and smile to himself. He was very fond of you and seeing you loving the island made his heart flutter. “Then you know where to find me.” He grins and that earns a giggle from you.

You stop at a tiny cafe that was all-wooden. He guides you inside, his fingers intertwined with yours.

The owner greets him with a bright smile. “Sehun! You’re here! What do you want to get?” The old lady chirps. Even women that age love him, you thought.

“Tapsilog for me, bacon and eggs for the lady. Please let the bacon be honey-cured and the eggs cooked over well. Hot americano too for two.” He gives some Philippine peso money to the woman and leads you to a table by the corner. You’re surprised he knows exactly how you want your bacon and eggs.

Your order arrives and you smile giddily. The smell of breakfast food makes you excited. “Ugh, my favorite! How do you know my favorites? You’re so perfect.” You ask him. His eyes were alarmed for a moment that if you weren’t paying attention, you could’ve missed it. “I just do.” He smiles at you, now in a calm voice, and starts digging in.

You finish your breakfast and Sehun shows you around the antique shops and old churches. He also gives you a chance to see the peaceful parks and the lively market.

“Palawan really is beautiful.” You say, marvelling at the Malbato Chapel’s structure. “Not as beautiful as you.” He whispers, surprising you. He takes your face in between his hands and kisses you in front of the altar. You weren’t a Catholic but you could swear this made your heart burst.

Kissing me in front of a church? Exactly what would make my knees buckle as my hands went to his hair, playing with his dark locks. He ends the kiss with one hard press and leads you back on the scooter again.

He shows you the best souvenir shop in the town, he said. You buy presents and souvenirs for your friends and your family back in Seoul. “That’s really beautiful.” He comments as you hold the shiny shell keychain for Kyungsoo. “I know it’s for Soo. He loves things that shine.” You smile at the keychain but Sehun frowns at that.

He couldn’t help but spite that little guy. He was judgmental and he was ruining his plans. His perfect plans.

You pay for the things you got and Sehun decides to let you go back to the hotel to bond with your friends. You’ve barely seen them in the three days you were here. He also had the night shift for the hotel. You knew Baek and Yeol would be upset if you didn’t spend time with them.

Sehun walks you back to your hotel room and gives you one last kiss for that day. You change into something more comfortable and knock on Chanyeol and Baekhyun’s room. They gladly let you in as the three of you eat room service for lunch.

The day went by idly as you stayed in the hotel. Kyungsoo came for dinner and invited you to a local festival next week. Of course, you said yes to that.

You return to your room by 10 in the evening and you couldn’t help but feel strange. There was something off while you got in the shower. You tried to look around and noticed a little spot behind the sink.

You bent to see what that tiny black dot was. You touched it and realized it was a camera. You just touched its lens. You fall on your butt, you were scared for your life. Who would put a camera on you? You shriek and immediately wore your bath robe. You ran to Kyungsoo’s room which was the nearest.

“Soo!” You pounded on his door, tears welling up in your eyes. He opened it after a few seconds, immediately noticing terror in your eyes. Jongin peeked from his door. “Soo, there’s a camera inside my bathroom! I-I don’t know what I should do!” You were hysterical and crying.

Kyungsoo visibly became angrier as he looked at Jongin now. “What?! What the fuck?!” He growled at Jongin who has eyes as wide as saucers now. He got out of his room and knocked on Baek and Chanyeol’s room.

They opened immediately but was surprised to see you crying beside a fuming Kyungsoo. “Y/N’s room has fucking cameras. Jongin, what the hell is this?!” He looked at the man angrily but Jongin could only look at the floor guiltily.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt?” Chanyeol pulled you into his arms, trying to rub your back. Your sobs softened but Baekhyun wasn’t one to calm down. He was raging mad. He took Jongin by his collar. “What the hell is the meaning of this?” He bellowed.

“I-I don’t know. It must be the employees. I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry.” Jongin continuously apologized. Kyungsoo stomped his way onto your room to find those cameras.

Chanyeol was still trying to calm you down as you were walking back to your room. Kyungsoo rummaged the whole bedroom but he couldn’t see a single camera.

“There’s no camera, Y/N. Were you sure?” He asked, looking at you with so much concern. “Do you think Y/N would lie about things like these?” Baekhyun answered him angrily.

“Whoever installed those, knew that Y/N found out about it so they quickly disposed it.” Baek spoke again, discerning the whole situation. “Soo, can you get my phone? I want to call Sehun.” At the mention of Sehun’s name, Jongin’s eyes widened with horror but you couldn’t point out what it was. Still, you went on and looked for the only person who could provide you comfort now.

Kyungsoo returned with your phone in his hand. You dialed Sehun’s number and he answered on the first ring immediately. “S-Sehun..” You try to calm your crying voice.

“You okay? What’s wrong?” He was lying through his teeth but you were too emotional to think about that. “S-Someone had cameras installed in my room. I-I don’t know anymore.” You bit your lip nervously.

“I’ll be there in a minute.” You dry your tears up as soon as he ended the call. A few moments later, you see Sehun entering in his bellboy uniform. You run to him and wrap your arms around him. You didn’t know how or why but he made you feel safe. His face was stoic. He wasn’t angry like Baekhyun or worried like Jongin but still, he cared for you. That made you feel better.

Sehun and Jongin’s gaze meet. Sehun had a frightening glint in his eyes while Jongin remained stern. “I will investigate my employees about this. I’m so sorry.” You hear Jongin’s voice. You could only nod against Sehun’s chest.

“It’s okay now. Shhh.” He pats your back, slowly silencing your sobs. “Thanks for being here.” You whisper when he finally sees your face. “You’re safe now. It’s okay.” He might’ve said this but still, going back inside to your hotel room frightened you. 

“It’s okay. You should get some rest.” Baek tried to talk to you but you could only shake your head in response. ”I’m scared, Baek. What if someone’s still watching me?” Your voice was shaky as you fiddled with your fingers nervously and it broke your friends’ hearts to see you like this. You were innocent and soft to them. You never deserved anything like this.

“You can sleep at my house for the mean time if that’ll make you feel safer. Just until Jongin finds the culprit.” Sehun suddenly spoke. Jongin was startled at the man’s suggestion but then before you could even see Jongin’s horrified expression, you already said yes to Sehun. He definitely made you feel better.

“Okay, enough now. Let’s go.” Sehun gets into another stare-down with Jongin but you were too emotional to even bother. You cuddle up to the tall man as both of you walked away from your worried friends.

Arriving at his home, it was unusually large. It had a lot of rooms but then Sehun said he lived alone. Despite the number of rooms present, you wanted to sleep beside him so you ask him that. Fortunately, he agreed.

You drift off to sleep in his large t-shirt, cuddling the large man who have helped you tonight. For the first time since earlier, you felt safe. You were grateful you had him despite the shit you were going through. Sehun couldn’t help but feel anger as his plans might get ruined. But you staying in his home might be better than what he had for you.

Days went by idly. You stayed in Sehun’s home and he was there with you the whole time. He never left you alone despite you refusing to go out, still afraid and traumatized. Kyungsoo, Baekhyun and Chanyeol brought your things from the hotel and visited you from time to time. When they weren’t around, you watched movies with Sehun and played board games until you two were bored. One night, he prepared a dinner date for you two.

You gasp at the beatifully decorated backyard. There was a dining set for two in the middle of it and it was surrounded with fairy lights and candles.

“You are so full of surprises.” You smile, kissing Sehun on his lips. “I just want you to have everything you want.” He returned the kiss and gave you a toothy grin afterwards. This was all unexpected but it went his way, Sehun thought once again.

You sit down across him and start eating the lobster he cooked for you. “This is our fifth day together here. Isn’t Jongin looking for you?” He looked alarmed at the mention of Jongin’s name yet it was only present for a few seconds. Confidence took over once again as he answered your questions. 

“He told me to take a leave and watch after you. It’s what your friends wanted.” He smiles, taking a bite of his own food. Behind that smile, he grits his teeth, still angry at Jongin. You could only nod at what he said. 

After finishing your food, he goes back inside the house and returns with a wine bottle in his hand. “Sauvignon blanc. You sure know my favorites.” Your eyes light up at the sight of your favorite wine. He’s so perfect he even gets the tiniest details like this right. He grins at what you said. 

He finishes this ‘dinner date’ with him carrying you to his room. You may have slept here recently but this was the first time you notice the hunger in his lips. 

He opens the door to his room and sets you on the bed. You kiss him with the same intensity as he did. He slowly took off the satin slip dress you had on for dinner. His eyes scan your body with so much admiration. He slowly unhooked the lace bra you had on as his other hand roamed your body with an intoxicating touch.

You moan when you feel the warmth of his palm on your breasts. He tore off the kiss you shared as he hooked his fingers around your lace panty and took it off.

He lets you stand, offering a hand. For sure, you looked bewildered at what he was trying to do. “Let me worship you like the goddess that you are.” His husky voice sent chills down your spine as he whispered this while kissing your hand.

He lets you stand on the bed as he kneeled in front of you. He starts kissing your foot and up your leg. You were barely keeping your balance as he showered you with kisses, swirling his tongue on your bare skin from time to time. 

His mouth was now on your inner thigh and you couldn’t recognize your own voice as you moaned out his name. “S-Sehun! Ah!” You say when his lips touched your wet femininity.

He was sending you over the edge and he knew because you felt his smirk against your pussy. 

He flicks his tongue across your lips, making you gasp for air. You arch your back when you felt his soft lips against your lips down there. “Jesus Christ, Sehun.” You breath out in ecstasy.

You feel his palms now caressing your thighs as he ate you out. You were delirious the moment he inserted his tongue deep inside you. God, that mouth. That mouth is just as perfect and good as this man.

You feel yourself on the edge as you reach for his hair, locking them in your fingers. “Sehun!” You screamed his name as a wave of release came upon you. Your thighs trembled as something gushed out of you. “Beautiful.” He said as he witnessed you come. He placed one last kiss on your pussy and now proceeded up your stomach.

You could never have enough. This man was a drug and you knew it. You pulled him up to your face as his lips met yours once again. You feel his member twitch on your stomach. You quickly reached for it and positioned it between your legs.

“Are you sure about this, Y/N?” His eyes were so dark with lust and his voice was raspy. You could only move your hips against his as a response to his question.

He slowly entered you. It felt like he was tearing up your walls. He was that large. Despite the pain you were feeling, you still moved your hips at your own accord.

Sehun’s eyes widened at your action. He couldn’t believe he was inside you and you were moving yourself. This wasn’t a dream or imagination. This was real. You were his.

He thrusted into you so suddenly, tears formed in the corners of your eyes. “I’m sorry.” His voice was surprised at the sight of you crying.

“Do it, Sehun. I need you.” The moment he heard you begging, he did as he was told. He rocked you back and forth, making you moan. The way you clenched around him made him groan too.

Soon, you found each other releasing at the same time. He came inside you and that was the first time you did it with someone you knew for days only and without protection at that.

After that satisfying intercourse, he led you to his bathroom and washed you himself. You were grateful that he was gentle, understanding and caring. He took care of you and he wanted to be with you. It was weird to feel something like this for someone you only met for a week.

Both of you finish showering and change into pajamas. You both go to bed and rest for the night. Tomorrow was the day Kyungsoo invited you for the festival and you decided to go. You felt safe as long as Sehun was around and he promised to go with you tomorrow.

You cuddle into the man beside you and sleep dreamlessly.

The smell of bacon and eggs frying woke you up. You took a shower before heading downstairs. You changed into one of the dresses you brought with you.

You climb downstairs and see a shirtless Sehun by the stove, cooking your breakfast. How lucky could I get? “Good morning.” You hum, wrapping your arms against his waist. He smiles at how sweet you are first thing in the morning.

“Breakfast is served.” He puts the bacons and eggs on a plate and turns around to kiss you. “Mmmh.” You moan against his lips.

He stopped kissing you and picked up the plate so he can place it on the dining table. You both eat in peace and afterwards, Sehun climbs upstairs to change into something more presentable.

Oddly, your eyes darted to that empty room below the stairs. You’ve never seen Sehun get in there. You’ve never been there yourself either. You were about to stand and see it yourself but Sehun got to you first, all prepared and dressed for the day.

“Let’s go.” He beckons you to come to his side and he puts his arm around you as you get out of his house.

The two of you drive off to the local park that was celebrating the fiesta. There was food, activities and dances everywhere. You even went horseback-riding with them. It was so lively, you’ve never seen anything like it in the city.

You spent the whole day with your friends and it made you happy. You couldn’t have done any of this if it wasn’t for Sehun. If you found out about the cameras and he wasn’t around, you would’ve ran back to your city.

“Are we going to the party?” Soo asked Jongin when he finally joined us by the sundown dance. There was a weird tension going on between the Sehun and Jongin.

“Of course.” Jongin smiled tightly, still uncomfortable with the presence of Sehun. Sehun was now standing taller, his authoritative stance taking over. You didn’t know what was going on between the employee and his boss but you knew you didn’t want to get in between of it so you choose to stay by Sehun’s side all day.

We walked to the party Soo was referring to. It was held at a resort nearby and there would be free drinks.

You didn’t really party hard despite being a city girl but still, you wanted to drink tonight. You just wanted to forget all the bad memories you obtained here and focus on Sehun and your friends only.

You enter the resort and the EDM music was blasting through the speakers while people in their bikinis and beachwear partied in the middle of it all.

Baekhyun, the drinker of the group, brought different types of drinks for us. He knew what we wanted. Jack Daniels for Yeol, a cosmo for Soo, mojito for him and pink vodka lemonade for you. He brought local beer for Sehun and Jongin since he didn’t know what they wanted.

You quickly finished the glass Baek brought you. Sehun was just sitting down at the bar, watching you from behind.

“Trynna get drunk?” Soo asked, dancing a little with the cosmopolitan between his fingers. “No. More like trying to forget the trauma.” You roll your eyes at your friend drunkishly.

He giggled at what you said and gave you a hug. “It’s okay, boo-boo. Nobody would ever try to hurt you. I’d kick them in the balls before they could.” He booped your nose. He was tipsy too, you could tell. You only laughed at what he did. Soon, Baek joined you and pulled the two of you to the dancefloor while bringing drinks.

You danced with Kyungsoo and Baekhyun as the three tall men stayed by the bar.

You felt your world get dizzy as you down your umpteenth glass for tonight. Your gaze was hazy and for sure, tonight was going to be blurry. But you didn’t really care. You only wanted to get drunk.

“Soo..” You lazily called him with half-opened eyes. He laughed at how drunk you and him were. “You’re drunk!” He pointed out way too loud. You shook your head aggressively which made you dizzy. You lost your balance but before you fell to the sandy floor, Sehun caught you.

“I’m taking her home.” Sehun announced when he saw you collapse in his arms. He carries you out of the resort and drives back to his house.

You were at the door of his house when you felt like throwing up. You quickly ran inside and to the common bathroom on the first floor. You faced down on the toilet as you spilled your guts down there. Now, you regretted drinking. “Y/N, stay where you are. I will get clothes.” Sehun called out to you as he ran upstairs.

After puking, you finally felt better and kind of sobered up. You wanted to go upstairs to follow Sehun but instead, you fell to the floor by the room below the stairs. The door creaks open and your curiosity gets the better of you.

You get up on your feet and slowly inched towards the unvisited room. You turn the lights on. At first, you thought you were having hallucinations but then it dawned on you. You sobered up the moment you realized what they were.

The wall was filled with hundreds of photos of you.

You getting lunch with Kyungsoo and Baekhyun at work. You smiling with your parents in your ancestral home in Jeju Island. You sleeping on your hotel bed in Jongin’s hotel. You getting off the cab in Manila. You walking home with Chanyeol from uni. You receiving your college diploma. You applying for the job at Yixing’s company. You having a date with Jongdae, one of your past exes. You crying inside your apartment the day Minseok broke up with you.

You tumble to the floor, your hand on your mouth. How was this happening? He knew me? What the hell?

You inch closer and see banana milk boxes on the shelves and there were monitors on top of it. There were also framed photos of you with dates on Minseok from his point of view. You notice a phone was connected to one of the monitors. What is this? Your mind couldn’t absorb all the information presented to you.

“Do you like it?” Sehun’s deep voice scared you. You were terrified with his presence yet you wanted to ask. What was the reason for this? “What the hell is this, Sehun?” Fear now settling in your soul.

“You don’t remember me?” He sounded broken when he asked me this. You tried to recall if you met him somewhere else but you couldn’t. “It wasn’t Sehun. I was named Heesun and I was fat.” You still couldn’t understand what he was saying but he looked heartbroken when you tried to recall again. But then you suddenly remembered now.

Bingo.

The kid with huge eyeglasses who sat behind Chanyeol in trigo when we were in middle school. This was why he was familiar to you the first time you saw him. “Y-You’re Heesun?” You ask him in disbelief. He only nodded like a puppy. He was the kid you gave banana milk to because he was bullied. You hated banana milk and your mom always put one in your bag. To get rid of it and to cheer up Heesun, you gave it to him everyday.

Everyday until he suddenly disappeared in eighth grade. 

“What happened to you?” Despite being afraid, you cared for him. You couldn’t deny that. “I was sent to child services when my mother died and I was left with my abusive father.” Your hands immediately went to your mouth. You felt sorry for him but then you knew he didn’t need that. He suffered in school, suffered even more at home. 

“I didn’t want to leave because you were the only person who was nice to me but I had to.” He sadly said, a weak smile on his lips. Now, it made sense. The banana milk in my hotel fridge, him being awfully familiar. “I only found you again when I was in college and since then, I followed you around.” You didn’t know how to react.

“You could’ve talked to me instead of doing... this.” You breathe out, trying your best not to offend the man. “I was shy. I simply couldn’t. But back then, I always heard you and your friend Byun Baekhyun talk about your dream guy but none of your boyfriends were like that. I hired one but it looked like he wasn’t any good too.” Hired? What the hell is this man talking about?

“I hired Minseok.” Tears now fall down your face. Surprise, anger and pain entered your system. What you had with Minseok wasn’t real? He was hired?

“But I can love you, Y/N. You saw me for the past few days. I can give you what you deserve.” He tried to persuade you but you had no idea what to say. Your eye caught a specific photo behind the door. You squint your eyes at the image of you naked.

It was you bending down and catching the camera below the sink in your hotel room.

Your eyes widen in horror. It was him. Of course, it was him. He can be Sehun, Heesun or whoever the fuck he was but he terrifies you more than anyone had. Someone was watching you your whole fucking life. You were showering! You were naked! What was he thinking?

The phone that was connected to the monitor suddenly rang. It was Baek’s number. You look at him as if you were asking how he got Baek’s number but when you hear your own phone ring inside your pocket, you knew he wiretapped you. He could hear your calls, see your texts and view the photos you had. The realization made your head hurt.

Before you could think, you ran out of the house and picked up Baek’s call. “Y/N! You left without saying!” He greets you but you weren’t in the mood to small talk. “Baek, hear me out.” You were crying and he was suddenly silent from the other line.

You kept on running away, unaware of where you were going. “Baek, someone’s listening to this call. Please find me and get help.” Before you could end the call, you heard Sehun’s voice enter the conversation. He must’ve answered the call from his connected phone. 

“Wherever you are, Y/N. I will find you. I found you once, I’ll do it again. I should’ve tied you down when I could.” He said coldly and the call ended. A chill runs down your spine. You manage to run impossibly fast. It was the adrenaline and fear doing it.

You finally see a car approaching. You wave, asking for help. The owner opens the car door and you were surprised to see Jongin.

“Jongin, I really really need help please-“ You tried to beg but he quickly pulled you inside the front seat. “I know, get in.” He hisses.

He drives away at 100 km/h. “Did he do anything to you?” He asks, his eyes still on the road. You only shake your head while sobbing.

“Fuck, I knew he’d do this. I fucking knew it.” He smacks the steering wheel while he speeds down the road. You were surprised at what he said.

“What do you mean, Jongin?” You ask him with so much fear in your system. “He’s my best friend. Yixing’s too. He manipulated Xing to hire you and now threatened to kill me if I didn’t force your company to stay at my hotel. He manipulated everything, Y/N. Even the company that partnered with Yixing’s, he owned that corporation.” You gasped at what he said.

Sehun was capable of this? The sweet man who you thought was ‘perfect’? The bullied kid whose face lit up whenever you gave him banana milk? He was capable of such things?

“Trust me, I couldn’t believe it too at first. I mean, he was my best friend. I thought he was joking when he kept on saying that he’d make you fall for him. And he’d make it happen perfectly because you were precious.” He shook his head angrily, shuddering at the exact words of a complete maniac.

You finally arrive at the entrance of Jongin’s hotel and see your friends waiting by the door.

You immediately run to them. Baekhyun was worried sick, he kept asking you questions. Chanyeol was silent but he hugged you and tried to keep you company. Kyungsoo was angry and shouting at Jongin. “Soo, he’s just a victim too. He didn’t do anything bad.” You try to persuade your furious best friend.

The police quickly came and followed Jongin’s instructions. Kyungsoo found a way to book a flight exactly on that moment just so you’d be away from that dangerous man.

Jongin was driving the four of you to the airport and he was panicking. He knew how Sehun could get when it was about you. He was crazy when it came to you.

You arrived at the airport and you left with Chanyeol and Baek as Kyungsoo kissed Jongin for the last time.

Your heart ached for your friend but then, all they were thinking of was your protection and safety. They loved you so much they’d give up a summer romance and a romantic get-away proposal. You knew Chanyeol was supposed to propose to Baek at the end of the trip but he lost that chance after what happened to you.

The plane boarded, your eyes still wet with tears. You were broken for yours and Minseok’s fraud relationship, broken for who Heesun became and broken for your friends who had to leave.

“I’m sorry.” You whispered to Chanyeol when you got in the plane. “Don’t be. You never wanted any of this to happen. It’s okay, we’ll be okay.” He reassured you for the umpteenth time today and that made you break into tears once again. You wonder what the hell did you do in your past life to deserve amazing friends like them.

Finally, you arrive back in Seoul, your original city. Your heart longed for Sehun despite what he has done for you. You couldn’t deny that you fell for him. It wasn’t hard at all, you recall your own thoughts. But thinking of him also meant the fear of him returning too. You had to forget about what you had and get therapy.

After a month or so, your life was peaceful once again. You resigned from Yixing’s company. Baek and Yeol got engaged. Soo was in a loving long-distanced relationship with Jongin.

You were with your best friends right now at the tuxedo store. You were the maid of honor while Soo was the best man for Yeol and Baek’s wedding. It was your job as a best friend to be there for Chanyeol and Baekhyun.

“Here. I think this one looks better.” You hand a black velvet suit to Baek. Soo cringes at my choice. “Why are you here even?” He jokes at you, with a disgusted face. You only chuckle at his reaction. He never changes.

The couple finally chooses what they’ll wear. You, Baek, Yeol and Soo head to the restaurant you loved since college. The Japanese shabu-shabu.

“Hmmm.” Baek hums as we enter the restaurant that was just across the street of the tuxedo shop. It smelled good at first but then your insides churned at the smell of raw fish.

Chanyeol glances at you worriedly. “Are you okay?” Baekhyun asks when you hold your mouth and run for the bathroom.

You puked your guts out in a public restroom. You were kind of dizzy and your head ached. You were feeling just fine earlier. You groan as you wipe your mouth with tissue. Was it something you ate yesterday? You try to recall the food you had.

You walk back to your friends who are now sitting on a table by the door. They look at you with so much worry in their eyes. They even got more protective than they originally were. “Hey, are you okay?” Baekhyun holds your arm in place. “Just an upset stomach, I guess.” You sat down beside Soo who was now eyeing you suspiciously.

“We eat the same thing all the time, Y/N, you know we share the food at your apartment. And my stomach is pretty okay.” Soo comments, earning a questioning stare from Baekhyun. “Maybe you should get it checked.” Chanyeol suggests, breaking off whatever Baek and Soo was thinking.

“I’ll go with her after lunch.” Kyungsoo said with finality despite your uncertainty regarding his decision. Maybe it’s just an upset stomach. There was no need to go to a hospital yet you were too tired to argue.

You eat your lunch with your friends as you discuss the upcoming wedding. You couldn’t help but be excited for the two. You’ve known them for so long and you know they deserve to be happy with each other. You can only imagine the kids Baek and Yeol would have. You’d be the best aunt, you assume.

After eating, you part ways with Chanyeol and Baek because they still had a shift for today while Kyungsoo took the whole afternoon off with you so you could get checked. He drives you to the hospital nearby and asks for his usual doctor.

He logs in with the nurse while you wait beside him. The nurse said to wait for a specific Dr. Kim Junmyeon to get us.

After a few moments, an angelic-faced man in a lab coat enters the lobby. “Dr. Kim!” Kyungsoo greeted the doctor who was in the lobby. “Kyungsoo, long time no see. Are you getting checked?” Soo shook his head at the doctor’s question.

“Actually, my friend is.” You smile at Dr. Kim when Soo gestures you. He nods at you, acknowledging your presence. “Follow me, miss. I know Kyungsoo chose me so he could listen on what I’ll say to you.” He smiled at you. You roll your eyes at your overprotective friend.

We enter his office. Kyungsoo said he was good with everything. Soo has done several general check-ups with him and he was pretty effective in finding out whatever you had. He was that discerning. You sat down in front of him while Kyungsoo just stood by the door. Dr. Kim was asking you questions about your stomach.

“I only started vomiting since the beginning of this week. Happens in the morning usually.” You say while Dr. Kim’s face looks like he’s deep into thinking.

“I’m thinking of a possibility but before we assume, take this with you. There’s a bathroom behind me.” He hands you a plastic cup. “Pee on this.” He advised professionally.

You go inside the bathroom behind him and do as you were told. You get out after finishing it, handing the cup to his now gloved hand. He receives the cup and calls in a nurse. After that, he was still patting your stomach and asking about other symptoms.

A few minutes passed, the nurse returned. Your heart beat against your chest as Dr. Kim examined the result that the nurse brought. You look at Kyungsoo and he assures you with a smile, even though he was unsure himself.

“Ms. Y/N, have you had sexual activity lately?” You blush at the question but still, you answer honestly. “No. The last time was when I went abroad with my friends.” You try to smile but it came out awkward especially when Kyungsoo was listening and was now back to judging you with his eyes.

He plops the paper down on his desk and looks at you straight in the eye. “Well, you are 5 weeks pregnant. Congratulations! I will tell the nurses to give you the vitamins you need and to remind you to come back on your eighth week.” Dr. Kim happily announced but you couldn’t bring yourself to be happy. You sat there, mouth agape and eyes weak.

“Oh shit.” You hear Kyungsoo curse behind you. Then, it hit you. You were going to be a mother? But how? You barely recovered from that trauma. You had to cut off Yixing and the company. You had to go to therapy for a month. How were you supposed to be a mother?

Silence was broken when the nurse called out Dr. Kim for another patient. He bowed at you and Soo, handing you all the vitamins a pregnant woman should get. He also gave you some advice regarding being in your first trimester.

After, you walk out the office with Kyungsoo. Your shoulders slumped and your knees wobbly.

Tears started racing down your face as Kyungsoo, hugged you as you reached the hospital’s entrance. “Soo, how could this happen?” Your voice was weak and faint, like your knees. “It’s okay, Y/N. It’s all going to be okay. We’ll be fine. The baby will be fine.” He pats your head and hugs you even tighter.

You couldn’t picture out yourself with a baby. You barely got better from the trauma. You barely survived. How could this happen? There wasn’t even a father figure present for this kid. You were afraid of the million possibilities you may face.

“Let’s get you home, okay? Stay here while I go get the car.” Kyungsoo breaks away from your hug and now walks to the parking lot. You look up at the sky as your hand goes over your stomach. You wondered aloud, hoping someone would understand. “Baby, what would I do with you?” You ask the child in your womb who was also clueless. You wanted to cry but then it’d stress the baby out. You didn’t want that. You may be unsure of everything but you know you will never hurt the child inside you. He or she was going to be a little you. Or a little Heesun. You couldn’t afford but want to love the kid.

You feel someone watching you. You immediately turn around just to see the man that has invaded your nightmares and stirred fear in you. The man who haunted you everywhere you went for the past month. The man who was supposed to be perfect. The father of this child. Sehun. How could he be here? The police arrested him, right? Horror once again enters your system as you fear your life and the life of the unborn child inside you. Hearing his voice and seeing his face brought back the terror he planted in your heart. Tears started streaming down your face now.

“I just happen to know I’d be an amazing father.”

#exo yandere #exo baekhyun #exo sehun #exo chanyeol #exo lay #exo kai #exo suho #exo chen #exo fanfic #exo au #exo smut #exo #exo fanfiction #exo xiumin #exo angst #yandere sehun #oh sehun #kim jongdae #kim junmyeon #byun baekhyun #park chanyeol #yandere oc #stalker sehun #sehun scenario #exo sc sehun #sehun fanfic #sehun angst #kaisoo #exo kaisoo #exo chanbaek

[sirikenobi12]

This Capt' goes down with her Ship

I’m honestly amazed at how many messages I receive both here and on Twitter that ask me why I ship Obi-Wan with Siri Tachi over Satine Kryze. I guess I’m mostly amazed because I can’t believe people actually care enough to take the time to message me about my character preferences, that’s just really fascinating to me. 

But, since I’m getting tired of writing this out in individual messages I thought perhaps a blog would be a good idea so that way I can just reference/link them to it later - it’ll be much easier. So, bear with me while I get a little self indulgent (and Satine stans please don’t come at me, I will explain below how I really have nothing against Obitine). 

This is going to be really long, and I’m not expecting anyone to actually read this, but here we go! 

I’ll begin by answering questions that are sitting in my inbox:

1. Who the hell is Siri Tachi?? For those who don’t know the character of Siri Tachi, she was a female Jedi who was two years younger than Obi-Wan. She was originally from the Legends young reader book series Jedi Apprentice and Jedi Quest (written by Jude Watson). She was in many of the same Padawan classes as Obi-Wan even though she was two years his junior because of her advanced skills. She could hold her own against him in a lightsaber duel even as they grew up. She was chosen as an apprentice to Jedi Council Member Adi Gallia at age 11 which was very impressive given how young she was and the fact that a Council Member chose her.

(I don’t know why she looks like Brittany Spears in this drawing, not my fave)

She did have a hard time fitting in with her peers when she was younger though because she was so focused on her career as a Jedi which didn’t always make her the friendliest person to be around (it was really her masking her insecurities) and it was only after she was paired on several missions with Obi-Wan that they even became friends. 

She and Obi-Wan over the years grew very close and eventually discovered their feelings had crossed the line from friends to something more while on a mission when they were older Padawans (Obi was 18). They had been separated from their masters and nearly died while on that mission. So, before they “died” they each confessed their love to the other, but when it turned out they didn’t actually die they decided they’d wait and figure out what their relationship actually meant once the mission was over - putting duty above their feelings. But Qui-Gon and Yoda intervene before the two of them could have the conversation and the Masters reminded Obi-Wan of his dedication to the Jedi Order. Obi-Wan argued that he and Siri would be able to find a way to be together while still being active Jedi, that maybe they could be an exception to the rule or even change the rule entirely. Both he and Siri did end up choosing their commitment to the Jedi over their relationship in the end, because each of them realized they’d regret not being Jedi more than anything, but it did put a strain on their friendship for many years. 

At 23 Siri was secretly knighted and her first solo mission was sent undercover to infiltrate and take down a huge pirate slaver operation and she spent 4 years on that mission, all on her own with limited communication with the Council.

In order to do this she had to pretend to have a falling out with her Master and “leave” the Order entirely, everyone thought she had fallen to the dark side. Obi-Wan was devastated, and he spent several months looking for her because he refused to believe she’d actually fall. It was also clear that he was heartbroken that she left, especially knowing what they had given up in order to be Jedi. Upon ending the mission she returned to the Jedi and was then often sent on other undercover missions throughout the rest of her career (including one where she and Obi-Wan had to play a royal married couple which was super cute). Her actually being a Jedi Shadow is not official and is a fanfiction creation - but, it’s one that I 100% headcanon because it just makes sense. 

Siri was very different when she returned from her long undercover mission, she had lived as a pirate for 4 years and so she was not as uptight and rule bound as she had been in her youth. She began to wear tight unisuits/flight suits instead of the traditional Jedi tunics and she had grown to be a bit more irreverent - even showing up late to Jedi Council summons.  Obi-Wan didn’t seem to mind the change and the two became a formidable pair as Knights and they were sent together (with their Padawans who hated one another) on several missions.

Obi-Wan and Siri were always written as being equals, never one more powerful than the other. They often shared flirtatious banter (nothing new for Obi-Wan) and they seemed very much in sync on missions that it was clear they shared some kind of bond. They never seemed to let their failed romance stand between them and their duty, and only brought it up once more as adults to admit that they still loved each other, but were content to just be friends because it would be selfish of them to turn their backs on the Jedi simply for their love. Then upon Siri’s untimely death (she of course died in his arms) she told him that she’d always be with him. And he nearly fell to the dark side due to his anger, but stopped himself from killing the man who was responsible for Siri’s death because he knew she’d not want him to fall because of her. 

In canon there isn’t much about her (yet), except that Siri is said to be the girl Obi-Wan would hold hands with under the table during mid-day meals which suggests that they had a bit of a secret affair/flirtation for many years.

2. Why don’t you like Satine? This is a bit of a loaded question because even though I tend to write fics centered more on Obi-Wan and Siri’s relationship doesn’t mean that I don’t enjoy the character of Satine or that I don’t swoon over their relationship from time to time thanks to some very well written fics ( @mahizli​ I’m looking your way). I just tend to write Siri more than Satine because I can relate to Siri more as a character, but in truth I also feel Siri and Obi-Wan’s relationship is a bit more well rounded than his and Satine’s 

*ducks to avoid things being thrown at her*. 

Satine and Obi-Wan have a beautiful love story, don’t get me wrong. But for me personally I am a little sick of the Romeo & Juliette/star crossed lovers angle. And that’s totally what they are - She’s a Mandalorian, He’s a Jedi, it’s a forbidden love not just because of his code, but because their “families” were mortal enemies. And I guess I’m just not super inspired by it. Not to mention that they met as children (apparently only 15 years old according to canon), confessed their undying love for one another after a year of knowing one another in a life or death situation and then pined for each other for the next 20 years until they were reunited...I just have a very hard time finding this story relatable (and hate to say it, plausible). Not that they couldn’t have felt love for one another as teenagers (especially in that situation), but that they still felt that same level of love 20 years later without ever seeing one another...at least with Siri they still had to interact with one another on a regular basis so it would be harder to push those feelings aside. 

The other reason I have a hard time writing Satine and Obi-Wan is because the romantic love they seem to have in TCW is written to be very one sided in my opinion. While Obi-Wan clearly cares for her, and admits to having feelings for her at one time it’s only ever Satine who actually seems to want something with him in the current sense. Which honestly makes their relationship feels a bit cringy to me, it doesn’t feel like it’s on equal footing - and makes it seem like Satine is a bit obsessive (I don’t blame her, it is Obi-Wan after all). This is a similar argument I have about Padme’s character, I feel like we’re presented with these incredibly strong women characters who for whatever reason still fall apart when it comes to love...I think it’s a reflection of men trying to write women and it ends up being a bit of a fantasy (the sexy/badass woman who secretly needs a man to save her). So, to sum up - I really do  love Satine’s character outside of her relationship with Obi-Wan. 

Again, this is just MY interpretation of Satine and Obi-Wan’s relationship...I get other people tend to feel very differently and that’s wonderful!! 

I will say, the thing I do like about Obi-Wan and Satine’s relationship and very much appreciate is how it is an opposite parallel to Anakin and Padme’s relationship. And it shows what a Jedi should’ve done - how you can’t have both a commitment to the Jedi Order and a marriage, but you can still care deeply about another person. I do very much appreciate that aspect of their relationship and it’s very well done from that perspective.

3. So, why SiriWan after all these years? Well, I’m drawn to Obi-Wan and Siri’s relationship for several reasons, but mostly because they are written as equals/partners (as I had mentioned above), both have moments where you can see the love they hold for one another - their feelings are very much shared and not one sided, but above all it’s not the main defining factor of their relationship. They are Jedi and friends before anything else, and I love that! It may not be as flashy or maybe even as passionate as say Satine or Cody but to me it’s more full and well rounded. I can also see their relationship growing and changing over the years, they aren’t stuck in one place or in the past.  

I also tend to find the Jedi culture more fascinating than the Mandalorians. I know, I know, I’m a heretic. That’s not to say, again that I don’t think Satine on her own isn’t fascinating, I just am a little tired of Mandalore’s importance in virtually every aspect of Star Wars these days and I feel like there is only so much you can do with Obi-Wan having feelings for a Mandalorian, where as him navigating a relationship with another Jedi is more interesting. The Jedi are allowed to be intimate with people, contrary to popular belief they are allowed to love, they just can’t become possessive/attached - I feel like two Jedi would have an easier time navigating that than someone who wasn’t raised with that same code. I think Siri and Obi-Wan have more opportunities to have a more realistic and adult relationship and I like writing/exploring that. 

The other thing I like about Siri and Obi-Wan specifically is the fact that neither ever really considered leaving the Order for the other. They knew how important being a Jedi was to the other, and I think having a love interest that Obi-Wan didn’t consider leaving for is an important distinction. 

Instead he thought they would be able to change the rules/code because he assumed it would be obvious that their love was pure and not an attachment. Now, obviously they both realized later that it was just foolish/young love talking (because I’m sure teenagers have to be extra careful of forming attachments), but what I really adore the concept that Obi-Wan “by the code” Kenobi had loved Siri so much that he’d even remotely consider the idea that he’d want the rules to change for her/them (and Siri “by the code” Tachi felt the same about him). There is something incredibly romantic about that - naïve, but romantic. 

I also believe that romantic love doesn’t automatically equal “true love”. I personally feel that Obi-Wan and Siri have a love that is on such a deep level that their relationship doesn’t always have to be romantic. They simply just love one another, in whatever form that takes at any given period in time throughout their lives, sometimes it takes the form of just friends, sometimes lovers, sometimes romantic. And I wish we saw more relationships like that in various media. But I get why we don’t, they are harder to write and less overtly sexy/dramatic.

Also, when someone says the phrase:

“Forgive me if I still think I know you better than anyone.” (Siri)

And it’s followed immediately with:

“You do”  (Obi-Wan)

My heart just melts, because that to me is love!!

4. So, you actually think Obi-Wan loved both Siri & Satine? Yes, I do...100%. I think they all loved other people at different points in their lives. I personally feel that most of Obi-Wan’s various ships (with exceptions of Master/Padawan ships...sorry, just not my bag) actually happened. I could see a young Obi-Wan having a fling with Quinlan Vos (I doubt they could handle more than that), I could definitely see him have an attraction/affection towards Cody (I don’t think given the power dynamic Obi-Wan would ever allow anything to actually happen between them though), I even believe he and Ventress had a rather confusing and passionate night together (maybe even more than one), I can see him easily having a relationship at one point with Taria Damsin (to which Siri would give him endless crap about because he seems to have a thing for Jedi Shadows). I’m sure he even had a relationship with Annileen on Tatooine to help find some comfort during his exile. To me all of that makes so much more sense than him (and Satine) pining away for one another for 20+ years. 

Allowing Obi-Wan to have multiple loves in his life also helps showcase the idea of non-attachment. It’s not that Jedi promote promiscuity - though they won’t judge anyone for it (I see the Jedi very much in the mindset of: it’s your body/your choice) it’s that the idea of attachment means possessing someone, thinking you own someone and also putting that person’s value over others. The idea that Obi-Wan could find love and value in a multitude of lovers to me shows him capable of loving without attachment - He is able to let these people go when the relationship has run its course...it’s very healthy. 

Not to mention that realistically people tend to have multiple relationships and loves throughout their lives. To only ever love one person is incredibly unrealistic, unhealthy and frankly screams attachment to me *cough Anakin, cough*.

In conclusion: If you’re still reading this (did you not have anything better to do with your time???) I do hope you have a bit more of an understanding why I personally like to write Obi-Wan and Siri’s relationship instead of his and Satine’s. Though if you read my fics (thank you if you do) I hope you realize that I try to not make the stories all about their relationship - yes, it pops up here and there, but I try not to make it the focal point. I believe both Obi-Wan and Siri are so much more than just a romance and that’s what I really love writing. 

But I raise a glass and toast all of those who prefer to ship Obitine or CodyWan or Ventrobi (or whatever Obi-Wan and Quilan’s ship name is) - I love reading your take on those relationships and I hope you don’t mind if an old SiriWan shipper joins the fun!

Phew, rant over...man, does anyone else have to defend their OTP preferences to strangers?? It’s just so odd to me! 

Thanks for reading, and if you’re a Siri, Obi-Wan or SiriWan fan drop me a line - I can seriously talk about them for hours! 

#star wars #star wars fanfiction #sw meta #long rant #long post #sorry yall #my otp for life #siri tachi #obi wan kenobi #satine kryze #siriwan #obi wan x siri #why do people care who I ship? #jedi culture #jedi apprentice #jedi quest

[transthaumaturge]

Squirrel Girl is Super Gay for her Roommate and I Want Everyone to Know

A gay infodump of sensible length by Rachel Tikvah

ALRIGHT, SO The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl was the very first comic that I ever read regularly, back when I was looking for more stories with strong female protagonists but didn't really know why. Back then I just thought I really liked strong female characters and not that I was being gay on main, but now I know the truth. The comic had a 5-year run, and it was the first time that Squirrel Girl, AKA Doreen Green, had had her own series. She had a brief run in the mid-2000's where she was established as someone who could beat up Thanos with her bare hands well, more like squirrel hands but was mostly a joke character that happened to be incredibly buff and had indestructible plot armor. USG decided that Doreen's next major life goal would be to enroll in college to become a computer scientist, because her writer, Ryan North, is really into computer science and they basically gave him free rein over Squirrel Girl canon for five whole years. Like, a solid third of the plots are solved with some kind of computer science smarts. It’s really cool. Anyway this is Doreen in one of the gayest solo pictures I could find of her on short notice, which is also one of the variant covers from the actual series:

And this is her college roommate, Nancy Whitehead:

I'm like, 99% certain that Ryan North intended for them to end up as a couple and Disney!Marvel told him no. So he decided to make them AS GAY FOR EACH OTHER AS POSSIBLE without explicitly saying that they were a couple, and it ended up going under the radar. What follows is evidence for that claim. I’m going to put a "read more” after this so it doesn’t clutter everyone’s dashboards, but please read on if you’re interested. There’s a lot of cute gayness after this point. I’m also going to put all of the image descriptions at the end, since they take up a lot of space and I don’t want to break up the flow of the post. Finally, a quick spoiler alert for one arc in the middle of the series and a couple major plot points from the final few issues.

AND THEY WERE ROOMMATES

So for a while it was just kind of hinted at that they’re in a relationship, mostly because they were basically domestic life partners for like, two whole years in-universe before the comic run ended. But it really came to a head with an arc that was ran about 2/3 of the way through the series. Some pictures of them being, like, so cute together in general and/or talking about how much they care about each other before I get to that arc, though: 

Also Doreen describes her and Nancy's cat as "co-parented" in one of the last issues:

ANYWAY, THE ARC. THE HYPERTIME ARC. So one of the villains created for the Squirrel Girl run (I think they liked making weird shit canon just because they could) was a dude who went by the name "EpicCrimez". He’s a crime streamer. He livestreams his crimes to an online audience. I don't know. *Throws up hands*

He had some kind of laser gun that he built out of scavenged alien tech but didn't really know what it did, so he shot it at Doreen and Nancy for kicks. It shot them into hypertime, so suddenly the rest of the world was moving at a fraction of the pace that they were. They were moving so quickly that they were slated to live out their entire lives over the span of a single weekend if they didn't figure out how to reverse the effects. And...they did. Live out their entire lives together. For the two of them, they were the only two people in the world. There were other people, but they looked like statues unless you spent a very long time observing them. Doreen and Nancy grew old together in a world where they only had each other. This is an incredibly cute domestic scene from a little while after they found themselves in hypertime:

Gosh, I wish I could find more official art from that arc of them just living together, it was so good. But the point is, they were both old by the time that Nancy figured out how to get them out of hypertime. And it wasn't ideal. Their bio signatures were stored in the gun that EpicCrimez shot, and they could essentially "reboot" their bodies from when they were first shot and send themselves back into the regular timestream. But they wouldn't remember anything about the life that they had shared together. Nancy almost didn't want to do it. She raised the possibility of them just living out the rest of their lives together, because she didn't want to forget their life together. This is the conversation they had:

"I don't regret any of it. I don't want to lose it, and I don't want to lose us." "You're not getting rid of me that easily." Every time I look at that last picture, which took up an entire page of the comic, I start to cry. We’re seeing the final moments of two people who love each other more than anything, who were each other's entire lives, savoring their last moments together and wondering what the future holds. Sacrificing the life that they built together so that their younger selves could live a better, fuller one. Dying in each other’s arms, scared but comforted by the fact that they had each other. And then the arc ends, and they can't remember anything, so the status quo is restored. They have some paintings they made of each other while they were living together in hypertime, but they move on pretty quickly without ever knowing the significance of those lived decades. Still, it's clear in the arcs that follow and the adventures they embarked on afterward that they would die for each other. All of that continues until the end of the last arc. Their shared apartment's been blown up at this point by a supervillain who wanted to ruin Doreen’s life before eventually killing her. And in the aftermath of the fight, they're sifting through the wreckage for anything that survived (don't worry, the cat got out in time) when they find the picture that they painted of themselves during the hypertime arc:

They have a really cute conversation about how this chapter of their life is over, but they're going to be okay and they're going to build a new life together. And then Nancy basically tells Doreen that she can't live without her:

And then Doreen says something super queer-coded about how she likes the idea of the world knowing her secret identity now:

On the very last page of the comic, after all of the action is over and the series is about to end, they're talking to each other in what's supposed to be a twitter thread and Doreen asks Nancy a very thinly veiled question about whether she still wants to spend time with her now that her identity's out. She pretends it's about a class project, but it's really not about the class project. Here's how that conversation goes:

With no knowledge of what happened during the weekend when they shared their entire lives together, without ever having heard Doreen say it to her before, Nancy’s heart still knows which words to choose. "...you're not getting rid of me that easily. <3" I believe that the author of the series, Ryan North, did as much as he possibly could to portray them as a couple without saying it outright. And as the last piece of evidence to support that claim, I want to share a response he wrote in one of the series' last-ever letter columns:

"as for more Doreen and Nancy, I hope so too. A Squirrel Girl book without Nancy would feel like--like--like some sort of hypothetical "Super" "Man" book without an equally hypothetical "Lois" "Lane"!" It's easy to write off this analysis as wishful thinking, or as a misreading of the subtext. But when the author of the series says that these two characters are meant to always be together and compares them to one of the most famous couples in any comic series ever, it's clear that there's more to it than that. 

Some Additional Thoughts: 1) Doreen and Nancy are both probably bisexual or pansexual, since they both expressed romantic interest in men throughout the series but they’re both clearly interested in each other too. There might be an element of demiromanticism there as well if part of the reason that they’re into each other romantically is because of how emotionally close they’ve become over the years. I want to make sure that that facet of their romantic orientations doesn’t get erased, because bi and pan folks get erased enough as it is. Neither Doreen nor Nancy are lesbians, just super-cool WLWs.

2) HERE’S WHAT THE ISSUE 50 VARIANT COVER LOOKED LIKE

That’s NOT a fun, totally straight way to pose with your platonic gal pal. They’re so incredibly cute together! I have no words! In Closing If you got this far, thank you so much for letting me talk to you about a comic that’s very important to me, and a couple in that comic that I care about very much. I spent way too long making this (six hours and counting), mostly in writing the image descriptions, and I’m very proud of my work but very tired now. Hyperfixation is a hell of a drug. If this resonated with you, please consider reblogging it so that more folks can see it. If not, even a like is nice. I’d also love to engage with people who have their own thoughts, so feel free to leave some comments in the notes if you’ve got an idea/a reaction/any additional cute Doreen/Nancy scenes that you’d like to share with me. At any rate, this post has gone on long enough and I don’t want to ask y’all to read any more than you have to. So have a great day, good morning / afternoon / night, and stay safe. Thanks again for reading! ~Rachel Tikvah, AKA @transthaumaturge Image Descriptions: Image 1: [ID: Squirrel Girl, a young woman with light skin, is posing in front of a brick wall that she seems to have crashed through, leaving a perfect outline of her body. She’s facing away but looking backwards over her shoulder at us and smiling. She’s flexing upward with her right arm and has her left fist resting on her left hip. Her sidekick, a squirrel named Tippy-Toe, is standing in the cutout she left in the wall and is making the same exact pose while wearing a light pink bow around her neck. Squirrel Girl is wearing brown lace-up boots, fur-lined hot pants over grey tights, and a brown fur-lined jacket with sleeves that come up to her forearms and a symbol of an acorn embroidered into the back. She’s also wearing a hairband with fake squirrel ears on it over short reddish-brown hair. She has a large squirrel tail coming out of her hot pants that sweeps down in a curve behind her lower legs. The illustration is drawn so that everything is bathed in the light of a sunset, and Doreen is casting shadows on the wall in front of her.] Image 2: [ID: Two frames depicting a scene between Doreen and Nancy in their college dorm room, with many cardboard boxes still not unpacked and sitting on a bare bed mattress. Nancy Whitehead is a young woman with dark brown skin and short, curly black hair. She's wearing black tights, a white dress-top, and a yellow cardigan over that. Her arms are crossed as she holds her white cat, Mew, against her chest. Doreen is wearing grey tights and a black long-sleeve shirt with a wide collar and white stripes across the chest. She's holding Tippy-Toe up to Nancy with both hands so she can see her better. The following dialogue ensues: Nancy: "A squirrel? But weren't you the one who was all about pets not being allowed in--" Doreen: "Yeah, I know. But this really interesting person I met today told me that obeying an unjust law is itself unjust." Nancy: "...You know, I was worried I'd get a weird roommate, but you're all right, Doreen Green."] Image 3: [ID: Doreen and Nancy are both sitting on a lavender-pink couch in nightclothes. Doreen has short, orange hair. She is wearing a loose-fitting grey long-sleeve shirt and steel-blue cutoff shorts; Nancy has cropped black hair. She is wearing a dark purple top with sleeves that come down to her upper arms, and loose-fitting navy-blue shorts that come down to her lower thighs. Doreen is side-hugging Nancy as she says, with an ecstatically happy smile, “Nancy, you’re the greatest. You know that, right?” Nancy gives Doreen a full smile as she responds, “I’d always suspected it, but it is nice to have it confirmed.”] Image 4: [ID: Nancy is shown from the shoulders up. She has short, curly black hair. She’s wearing large, disc-shaped gold dangle earrings, and a red jacket with prominent shoulders and a yellow collar. She’s fixing the observer with an angry, determined stare as she says, “She knows this man wouldn’t dream about betraying her, or he’d have to answer to me.”] Image 5: [ID: Doreen and Nancy are eating breakfast at the brown, circular kitchen table in their apartment. Doreen’s wearing a skin-tight athletic crop top that’s striped in black, red, white, and blue. Her arm muscles are well-defined and clearly visible as she puts a spoon in her mouth, closing her eyes as she does so. She has a bowl of cereal in front of her, and half a banana in front of that. Nancy is sitting to her left in a pink camisole top that’s also exposing her muscles, scrolling through something on her smartphone. Her hair is in a yellow fabric wrap that’s knotted on one side of her head. A cup of coffee sits in front of her. The clear blue sky is visible through the window centered on the wall behind them.] Image 6: [ID: Nancy and Doreen are facing away from the vantage point, walking towards an Empire State University campus building and holding hands with their fingers intertwined. Nancy is wearing a long knee-length grey coat and black knee-high boots, with a baby-blue side bag hanging from her left shoulder. Doreen is wearing a magenta sweatshirt with the periwinkle-lined hood down, light brown form-fitting denim pants, and black ankle-high boots, with a dark brown side bag hanging from her right shoulder. Trees and bushes hem the walkway in on either side. The building in front of them is dark red, with glass doors and a row of floor-to-ceiling windows on the second floor. Doreen is saying “...we’re just going to have to take the long way around.”] Image 7: [ID: Doreen is facing towards the vantage point and is visible from the legs up, standing in front of a pile of rubble in the background. She’s wearing high-waisted light blue shorts over black tights, and a red windbreaker with sleeves ending at her upper arms that’s opened to reveal a white t-shirt underneath. Tippy-Toe is sitting on her shoulder. There are two people facing Doreen, each slightly in frame and silhouetted in black against the light of the setting sun. Doreen is fixing them with an angry, determined expression, resting her right fist at her hip while she gesticulates with her left hand and says, “So! I don’t know about you all, but Melissa kidnapping my friend and blowing up my life and my house and almost blowing up my co-parented cat makes me feel like giving her a piece of my mind. Friends...”] Image 8: [ID: A full comic page. EpicCrimez is looking like a dork in a green and black skin-tight jumpsuit, bright red ski goggles, and a green wig cap with his brown hair sticking out the back in a mullet. He’s standing inside a jewelry store and holding up a fist of expensive gems and pearls-on-strings as holds up his smartphone and speaks into it. He’s facing off against Squirrel Girl, with her allies Koi Boi and Chipmunk Hunk on her right, and Nancy and Brain Drain on the left. The following scene ensues: EpicCrimez: “And for those of you just tuning in, welcome to another successful heist by your boy EpicCrimez, streaming live! Now with 10% more live crime action than any other streamer! Don’t forget to like and subscribe!! I know some of you in EpicCrimez Nation have been forgetting to do that lately. Not acceptable.” Squirrel Girl: “You picked the wrong small business to rob, crime-initiator! Because this mall is protected by super heroes.” Brain Drain: “HELLO” SG: “And also an unrelated civilian friend I brought along too!” Nancy: (Not looking up from her phone) “ ‘Sup.” EC: “Check it out--Squirrel Girl and her miscellaneous friends are here! It’s action you won’t find on any other channel!” SG: “Are you...streaming your robberies?” (Nancy pockets her phone) EC: “Yeah I am! For money reasons! And with you “heroes” in it, I’ll make even more!” SG: (Whispering to Nancy:) “Question: a fight scene just gets him more traffic, which lets him profit from this crime even more--so does this mean we don’t fight him?” N: (Whispering back:) “I feel like letting him go causes more harm, but I look forward to us teasing apart the moral implications of this later.” SG: “Nice.” SG: (No longer whispering:) “I’ll like and subscribe, EpicCrimez! I’ll like fighting crime, and subscribe... to a worldview wherein the strong protect the weak!” EC: “Oh my gosh, are you like wholesome Spider-Man or something??” At the bottom of the page, small text says: “Wholesome Spider-Man, Wholesome Spider-Man/Does whatever a wholesome spider can/Is he tough?/Listen bud/He’s here to hear you talk about your day and tell you it’ll all be fine while taking you out for your favorite meal for dinner because he knows you deserve it.”] Image 9: [ID: Another full comic page. Doreen and Nancy are in their apartment together, and their friends Tomas and Brian (AKA Chipmunk Hunk and Brain Drain respectively) are frozen as they look down at the machine that Nancy is on her knees in front of, working on. Nancy, barefoot, is wearing cerulean-blue athletic pants, a black long-sleeve spandex shirt without shoulders, and narrow-framed glasses. Her hair is partially covered by a yellow cloth head wrap tied on the left side, with black dreadlocks spilling out the side and back. The machine in front of her is made of dull grey metal, about a meter tall and roughly circular. Wires dangle out of a hatch that Nancy is fiddling with. Doreen is wearing a flowing, dark-purple pantsuit with wide, ankle-length legs and a halter top with the sleeves tied off at her shoulders. Her shoes are light-brown ankle boots with a horizontal gap on the bridge of each foot. Her wavy orange hair is parted in the middle and down past her shoulders. She looks incredibly cute. The following scene ensues: Doreen: “What do you think?” Nancy: “I think--come on you stupid screw--I think we’re still years away from this thing working, if it ever does. Who knew time machine construction is really hard, except of course for everyone who has attempted it?” (She wipes her forehead with the back of her hand) D: “Hah! No, I mean my new outfit.” N: (Looking up and checking her gf out:) “Doreen! You look amazing!!” D: “Liberated it from a very expensive department store uptown!” N: (Now standing) “Tony paid for it?” D: Tony will eventually discover he was kind enough to leave some expensive jewelry in trade, yes. I pinned a note to him so he knows.” N: “There really are advantages to being friends with billionaire playboy genius philanthropists.” D: “Right?!” N: (Taking Doreen’s hands in hers:) “It’s a shame we can’t take a picture of you all dolled up.” D: “Not without standing still for a few months, yeah. But I was thinking about that. I picked up something else at another store downtown. Thought maybe it could help us with that.” (Holding up a shopping bag with one hand while still holding onto Nancy’s hand with the other:) “Nancy Whitehead, I thought you and I might take up painting sometime.” At the bottom of the page, small text says: “Tony Stark moves from meeting to meeting, his body accumulating dozens of notes every second. He sighs. Stuff like this didn’t happen before he knew Doreen. But then he smiles, because after all...stuff like this didn’t happen before he knew Doreen.”] Images 10-16: [ID: Several pages worth of comic frames, posted together to depict one scene. Doreen and Nancy are now old women, likely in their seventies or eighties. Doreen has short, grey hair. She’s wearing a tan button-up waistcoat and an orange ascot, brown flats with an olive-green skirt, knee-length and softly pleated. Her tail is sticking out the back of her skirt over the top, bushy and brown but with stiffer, less-dense hair. Nancy has her grey-black hair done up in a ponytail, a mass of tight curls behind her head. She’s wearing thin oval glasses, black dress pants, black flats, and a lavender cardigan with a flower motif along the edges, open to show the yellow-orange top underneath. They’re standing in front of a completed time machine. On either side are tall pieces of machinery, and in the middle is a round, flat metal dais hooked up to everything else with snaking cables. The following scene ensues: Nancy: “So...this is it, babe. The new machine.” Doreen: “Your secret project! Nancy, it looks like you started from scratch!” N: That’s because I did. I finally realized our old machine was never going to work. Maybe if we had a few more decades, but...there’s no time. And given that our backs are to the wall, I took a risk. I disassembled the gun right down to the metal, and examined all the parts. And I did find something: a data chip. Doreen, the gun stored our bio signatures when it us.” D: “What are you saying?” N: “I’m saying my new machine won’t send us back in time, and we’ll still have lost a weekend of real time. But it will restore our bodies to normal time.” D: (Hugging Nancy tight:) “Nancy! You saved us!!” N: (Resting her hands on Doreen’s shoulders:) “Not--quite. There’s a catch, Doreen. Our bodies will make it...but we won’t. Look, Doreen...I’m an old woman. I’ve spent most of my life in hypertime. This wasn’t how I saw my life going, but...I don’t regret any of it. I don’t want to lose it, and I don’t want to lose us.” D: “I don’t understand.” N: “It’s like restoring from backup. Our bodies will be restored to how they were the moment we were first hit. But--that necessarily includes our brains, too. Everything we’ve done since we entered hypertime--our entire lives spent together...we’ll forget.” (She looks at Doreen in distress) D: “I don’t either, Nancy. You’ve been the most important person in my life. But if we do go back--we can do it again. All of it. It might not happen again quite the same way, but--well, like you say...we’ll have all the time in the world.” N: (Their faces inches apart, they both tilt their heads down and smile sadly:) “Twist my arm, why don’t you.” (They both step onto the dais holding hands, and blue energy starts to ripple around them:) “You filled up Spidey’s web-shooters before we go?” D: “Yep. Again.” N: “You and me, saving the world.” D: “Well,” (holding Nancy’s hand in both of her own) "No reason we can’t do it twice.” N: “You know, there’s a chance things could turn out differently, now that we’ll have video games to distract us. In 40 years we might decide we don’t like hanging out after all.” D: (Hugging Nancy even tighter than before as the energy from the time machine starts to envelop them, resting her face in the nape of Nancy’s neck:) “Nah. You’re not getting rid of me that easily.”] Image 17: [ID: Doreen and Nancy are sifting through the charred rubble of their apartment as night starts to fall around them. Doreen is wearing faded blue jeans and a navy blue t-shirt with a Captain America star in the middle. Over top of the shirt, she’s wearing a dark reddish-brown leather vest with four metal studs at the four points of the folded-out collar. Nancy is wearing black tights and a light green long-sleeve shirt with olive-green sleeves. The front of the shirt has a picture of Cat-Thor, Cat God of Cat Thunder’s head on it. The following scene ensues: Doreen: “So I know we’re only a few hours into it, Nancy, but I think my identity being public isn’t gonna be as bad as I thought.” Nancy: “Oh?” D: “Yeah, Tony’s given me lots of tips, and it does honestly help to know that my parents are protected by a robot tree with laser eyes and my friends live in a city with the most super heroes per square mile.” N: “Most super villains too, but--Hold on. I think I found it.” (Nancy lifts a picture frame out of the wreckage, charred around the edges but otherwise no worse for wear. It has a painting inside of it of Doreen and Nancy, arm-in-arm, from hypertime. Doreen is wearing the lavender pantsuit from before, and Nancy is wearing a tight-fitting lilac dress.) “...And it looks like you and I made it through just fine.”] Images 18-19: [ID: Two later comic panels from the same scene. They’re wearing the same outfits, but Nancy’s now cradling her white cat, Mew, in the crook of her left arm while she holds onto the picture frame with her right hand. The following scene ensues: Doreen: “Come on, let’s talk about it! If we’re starting a new chapter in our lives, and we can decide what’s in it, what do you want it to contain?” Nancy: “Doreen...” D: “What are the three things you can’t live without, Nancy Whitehead?” N: (Holding up the picture so that Doreen can see it:) “Fine. If you must know, all this girl needs to be happy are cats and squirrels and knitting and computers and friends and secret tattoos and super heroes and lots and lots of love. Also food and shelter. And water. And internet.” D: “That’s more than three things.”] Image 20: [ID: Same scene as before, a single frame with a close-up on Doreen from her chest upwards. Doreen cups her chin with one of her hands and says, “Honestly--I thought about it. I really did. But I realized that where I am now, I’m safe and I’m loved and I kinda like the idea of not having to lie to people anymore, you know? Even if it is just a lie of omission. I want to share my whole self with the world. I don’t want to have to hide who I am anymore.”] Image 21: [ID: Something resembling a twitter thread, with dialogue between Nancy and Doreen stacked chronologically as horizontal boxes. Their respective names and handles are at the top of each of their comments. Nancy is Nancy W. and @sewwiththeflo, Doreen is Squirrel Girl and @unbeatablesg. The following conversation ensues: Nancy: “You think I’d leave you high and dry??” Doreen: “I think I don’t want our lateness harming your grades and therefore harming your post-secondary education or career choices and therefore harming your ENTIRE LIFE?!” “So yeah I think you should switch to someone else, real talk. I honestly don’t mind, I promise.” Nancy: “Please. If there’s one thing I know about you, about me, and about how we spend our future together, it’s this. Doreen Green...” “...you’re not getting rid of me that easily. <3″] Image 22: [ID: A paragraph of text, black text on a yellow background. “As for more Doreen and Nancy, I hope so too. A Squirrel Girl book without Nancy would feel like--like--like some sort of hypothetical “Super” “Man” book without an equally hypothetical “Lois” “Lane”!”] Image 23: [ID: A group picture of Squirrel Girl and friends sitting down on a grassy hill and watching the sunset together. Kraven the Hunter is in the foreground for some reason, looking almost directly at the camera. In the background we see Koi Boi, Mary Mahajan, Chipmunk Hunk, Brain Drain, and Mew the Cat. In the middle of the shot, Doreen and Nancy sit together. Doreen is in her superhero outfit with Tippy-Toe on her right shoulder, and Nancy is in a yellow cardigan and jeans on Doreen’s left. They’re holding hands, fingers intertwined, as Nancy leans against Doreen with her whole body. Their heads are tilted inward towards each other, the side of Doreen’s head touching the side of Nancy’s, as they look off into the distance together.]

#the unbeatable squirrel girl #squirrel girl x nancy #squancy #squirrel girl #nancy whitehead #queer comics #WLW comics #long post #described #squirrel girl spoilers #thaumaturgethoughts

[nanakibh]

Tokimeki★Final Fantasy Madouin Perystilium Suzaku ~May the Crystal guide me to love★~

※ THIS IS A WORK OF FICTION. ※

A fake project presented on the Square-Enix channel broadcast in September 2012, this is the apparent precursor of the popular fictional YA novel series "Tokimeki★Akademeia" which appears in Final Fantasy Agito. (Which began its own development in September of the same year.)

The following is a translation of the slides presenting the characters and details regarding this fake game.

If you’re a Type-0 fan, this is probably the deepest layer of the iceberg. Enjoy.

Introduction

Khalia Chival XXV, the heroine who recently enrolled, is currently the only female cadet at Akademeia. Entrusted with a "certain role", she encounters cadets with unique personalities as she goes about her everyday school life.

What kind of predicaments await in her future?! And what is the tragic destiny she's shouldering?! May the Crystal guide her through her dokidoki school life!

--

The following are plans for the game

--

◆ Khalia's Destiny

The female protagonist's true motive is revenge.

She was once told the story of the tragic death of her ancestor, Khalia Chival VIII.

She bears the sad destiny to eradicate the descendants of Class Zero in order to avenge her family.

◆ A Day's Schedule

- Wake up - Breakfast in the cafeteria - Class - Lunch break - Afternoon mission - Dinner - Bedtime

◆ Days off (Weekend) are allowed to be spent freely

- Wake up - Breakfast in the cafeteria - Free to do whatever you want - Dinner - Bedtime

◆ ATB System

In this game, the protagonist performs various actions which are all advanced via the ATB system.

- Active Time Lesson - Active Time Talk - Active Time Battle - Active Time Lecture

◆ Active Time Lesson

Active Time Lessons begin when class starts. Do your best to not be outdone by other students by making full use of your magic and abilities to solve the teacher's rapid fire questions.

◆ Active Time Talk

You can interact with NPCs during your free time. These conversations are also managed with the Active Time system.

Grasp your conversation partner's mood and favorite subjects to create an enjoyable back-and-forth to deepen your relationship.

◆ Active Time Battle

Active Time Battles are fought with ATB commands. This will be used in training exercises and other battles. With this system, you'll never lose a battle in this game. You can fight together with the boys you meet by adding them to your party. If one of your party members is knocked out, your other acquaintances will appear one after another to fight.

If you run out of boys, you should run away. You'll definitely be safe that way. This is because the rate of escape in this game is 100%.

◆ Active Time Lecture

If you don't follow school rules, you'll be reprimanded by Kurasame-sensei.

Even when you're being scolded, you can have an Active Time conversation.

- If you're discovered while trying to sneak into the boys' dorm at night, you'll be scolded by Kurasame-sensei.

- If you dress inappropriately, you'll be scolded by Kurasame-sensei.

- If you talk to Kurasame-sensei too much at school, you'll be scolded.

--

Character Introductions

--

Khalia Chival XXV Class: Zero CV: Nishi Asuka (西 明日香)

"I'm going to do my best! Because I want to see everyone in Orience smile!"

The main character. A hardworking, somewhat withdrawn girl. She infiltrates Akademeia to fulfill her mission to eliminate the bloodline of her family's sworn enemy, Class Zero. Through her encounters at the academy, she is torn between her destiny and love.

Aoi Futatsuboshi Class: Second CV: N/A

"The Crystal's guidance... That's just a load of nonsense. The Crystal won't protect you..."

A calm and serious honor student. He is a member of Class Second, known for being at the top in terms of combat strength. However, because of this, he has lost many friends and has adopted a cold attitude to hide his sadness. At first, he acts unfriendly towards the heroine, but as they grow closer, his true feelings come out.

Yotsuba Tokijiku Class: Fourth CV: N/A

"You're trying too hard on your missions. Here, I'll cast Cure for you. Let me take a look."

He gives the impression of someone who's blunt and difficult to get along with, but he's actually an extremely considerate young man. Belonging to Class Fourth which specializes in healing magic, he aims to become Agito because he wants to save everyone. He takes care of the heroine any way he can while she's still getting used to Akademeia.

Mowegi Itsukaichi Class: Fifth CV: N/A

"*yaaawn*... Huh~? Hey, have you seen a pink moogle doing a backflip around here~?"

A mysterious boy who always seems to be sleepy. He never remembers who other people are and constantly makes airheaded remarks, so he does poorly in class, but he demonstrates his genius ability in real combat. The heroine, who he met while taking a nap, is one of the few people whose face and name he can remember.

Sakurano Nanafusa Class: Seventh CV: N/A

"What's with the gloomy face? C'mon, get on my Chocobo!"

He greets the heroine, who is new to Akademeia, in a casual and friendly way. Obsessed with Chocobos, he promotes the Chocobo Research Club, also known as the "Choco Club", where he studies Chocobo physiology. He's sensitive about his height, so mentioning it is forbidden.

Note: This seems to be the same "Choco Club" Izana asks Player to join in FF Agito.

Kohaku Kokonoe Class: Ninth CV: N/A

"Were I to describe you... You are my Megalixer. You will shine radiantly in the final battle!"

A handsome young man from an esteemed family, he's expected to have a promising future as an elite...... But he's kind of overly self-conscious and has an unfortunately strange way of thinking. He has his eye on the heroine and is always exuding an absolutely bizarre energy. In actuality, he's a member of Class Ninth, which takes on Akademeia's "dirty work." His lighthearted attitude is a response to the melancholy missions he must carry out.

Mashiro Tootoichi Class: Eleventh CV: KENN

"Watch this! My Flare Bullets will hit their break sights! ...YEOWCH IT’S HOT?!"

The king of inventions who's always getting ahead of himself. As part of the research class, Class Eleventh, he spends his time working day and night to develop new weapons, though his skill isn't quite up to par yet. He even carelessly loses control of his magic and gets the heroine involved in his mess?!

Asagi Hitotose Class: Twelfth CV: Hiroki Yasumoto (安元 洋貴)

"I would appreciate it if you would refrain from talking in the Crystarium. If you are truly a cadet like me, then behave in a manner befitting of Agito."

Although he's a straight-laced person who receives excellent grades, his uncooperative personality is his downfall, earning him a place in "the oddball group", Class Twelfth. His thorny words make it easy for him to be misunderstood, but he isn't trying to be malicious. He's simply awkward. As a result, he's concerned about having no friends. He gets along with the heroine on a mission, but he just can't express himself...

---

What's in a name?

The names of these cadets seem to be referring to their class number and mantle colors.

Aoi: Blue Futatsuboshi: From "futatsu", two

Yotsuba: Four-leaf Tokijiku: (Not sure. May literally mean “time axis.”)

Moegi: Light yellowish green Itsukaichi: From "itsu", five

Sakurano: From "sakura", pink cherry blossoms Nanafusa: From "nana", seven

Kohaku: Amber Kokonoe: Ninefold

Mashiro: Pure white Tootoichi: Literally "Ten and one"

Asagi: Pale blue-green Hitotose: Literally “one year” or “some time ago"

--

To wrap it up...

--

◆ Girls-Only Gathering Transmissions

With "Girls-Only Gathering Transmissions" female players can improve their girl skills! When you have a girls-only gathering, your girl power will greatly increase instead of being depleted.

When girl power goes up... 1. If you receive a gift item from a male character who likes you, the real item will be delivered to you.

When girl power goes up even more... 2. You can purchase items from Amazon with the gil you've obtained in-game.

◆ Product Information

Compatible Hardware: Smart phones Development Engine: Luminous Studio Release Date: TBD Estimated Price: TBD

※ THIS IS A WORK OF FICTION.

Active Talk Preview Image

Event/Cutscene Preview Image

That's all! Thank you very much!

Production Department 1 Tabata Team

#final fantasy #final fantasy type 0 #ff type 0 #tokimeki akademeia #translation

[alorenawrites]

On Words and Meaning

So I've been thinking a lot about how Loki is being discussed and the words used, particularly by Hiddleston, given his bent for using literary language in his descriptions. There are three words I want to touch on in this little post, one of them definitely rooted in his usage.

So the first I want to touch on is the term "romance." We've heard (often from Hiddleston), that Loki is, at heart, a romance. I think there's a dimension of the discussion missing in these conversations in that is important to consider.

To the layman, a romance is simply a love story, sometimes with a sexual undertone. But in the literary sense, a romance is a much deeper genre. I want to consider that this layer may also be present in Hiddleston's intent on using the term in describing the story arc. It certainly is in mine, as someone with a fascination with literary form and also with an English degree who has spent way too much time exploring genre.

So firstly, we need to define "romance." From literaryterms.net:

I. What is Romance?

In the strictest academic terms, a romance is a narrative genre in literature that involves a mysterious, adventurous, or spiritual story line where the focus is on a quest that involves bravery and strong values, not always a love interest. However, modern definitions of romance also include stories that have a relationship issue as the main focus.

II. Examples of Romance

In the academic sense, an example of a romance is a story in which the main character is a hero who must conquer various challenges as part of a quest. Each challenge could be its own story and can be taken out of the overall story without harming the plot.

Example 1

A knight who wishes to prove himself by recovering a stolen heirloom from an enemy may find himself attempting to make his way through a dangerous wood filled with thieves.

Once he has accomplished this challenge, he may find himself climbing a tall mountain on which a group of people are in trouble. He would save the group somehow, and then move on.

Then the final stage: the enemy’s kingdom. There may be a fair maiden whom he meets and somehow helps or rescues, or perhaps she helps him.

But the fair maiden is not the focus of the story – his quest is the focus. Each story can be taken out, yet each builds the hero’s strength to face his final quest. These stories tend to be serious rather than humorous and touch on strong values.

In considering this, I've thought about Loki's arc as a quest that does, indeed, involve the discovery and exploration of strong values with a three part quest, though I don't think the quests entirely stand on their own. The overarching theme is about Loki discovering his sense of self- his quest to become a full person, not just a trope for the universe to exploit so others can reach their better selves. I divide the show up in to three quests. The first, in episodes 1 and 2, is Loki finding a sense of purpose in the new world- his quest is to discover who this new variant is and where they are hiding. This is resolved by the end of that second episode. The second arc takes place in the next two episodes- Loki discovering his empathy for others is the continuation of the overarching personal development plot, while his quest is to discover Sylvie's goals and to uncover/share the truth behind the TVA. And in our third section, episodes 5 and 6, we get the culmination of the personal growth arc in his ultimate discovery of different facets of himself (illuminated by the different elements of self shown in the multitude of variant Lokis) while the quest is to uncover who is in control of the Sacred Timeline and why. The differences in colour palettes, settings, tones, etc. between the three episode pairings is a part of how I started to distinguish my thoughts on each. And regardless of the visual distinctions, I most definitely see the entire arc as exploring strong values and bravery, though the bravery is multi-layered, showing not only the visible bravery of facing down an apocalypse, Alioth, etc., but the internal bravery of challenging one's self and digging deep into discovering who one really is. This is a theme of queerness that I see lingering in this series- discovering who we are is a process, not an outcome.

I think that this definition of a romance, in the classical sense, is a little oversimplified, as there is often a theme of discovery of self or improvement of self along the way. In a Gothic romance, themes of "the people are the real monsters" come into play (Crimson Peak is an excellent example of this)- there may be elements of the supernatural, but the real thing of which the viewer/reader should be afraid is the person behind the curtain. Gothic romances also often do include a love story arc, but it is often deeply flawed on some level and often also includes some sort of sexual or romantic awakening, often by a female lead, that leads to the discovery of whatever darker is taking place (Crimson Peak turns this on its head in that it is Thomas' awakening with Edith that leads to his turning point and Edith's realization that the Sharpe siblings are the monsters, not the ghosts in the hall). The themes of discovery of self, or of the fortitude of moral values, or of the journey of a person's development, play into both a Gothic romance and its foundations in a classical romance.

So. There's part 1 of this ramble.

On to part 2!

The next word I want to examine is the term "relationship" and its companion, "love." Now, mind you, I come at this from a queer perspective as a demisexual, demiromantic individual, so these two words are ones I've spent a LOT of time pondering, in the quest to define my own identity.

We've heard the term "relationship" tossed around so often with only a romantic implication attached, but in truth, this word is so much more broad than this. You are in a relationship with your barber. You are in a relationship with your cat. You are in a relationship with a spiritual advisor, a professor, your best friend, your partner. Just because it is so heavily used in this way doesn't mean the relationship is only an intimate one (though intimate relationships are also not inherently sexual or romantic in nature, either, so let's remember this as well). Now if we break down what a relationship is, it's just a consistent interaction with someone based on some common interest or goal. It's a remarkably benign word. Its connotations, however, take it in a multitude of directions.

So let's look at it through the lens of an intimate relationship and add in the component of love. We'll start with just a blanket statement that love is not only one single thing. It isn't just romantic. It is our family, our friends, our pets, pie, the colour blue, that feeling of perfection when the waves of a warm lake brush over your calves...love is embedded in the experiences of these things. We love them. Love it as vast and broad as relationships. We love places, people, things, and experiences. We love ourselves (or we try to learn to).

In my world, through my particular brand of queerness, love changes in intimate relationships on a regular basis. I love my partner dearly. But on some days, that love is to my best friend, while other days, it is a romantic love and on others, sexual expression may be involved, but they may overlap in different ways. Sexual expression is independent of romantic attraction and the degree of each isn't tied together in any way. If we can separate these things, I think we can see the relationships in our everyday lives in different lights and with greater complexity.

I also think that looking at these things through the lens of diverse sexual and romantic experiences can inform how we interpret the Loki x Sylvie pairing and why some of us just aren't bothered by it (though certainly not the only reason people aren't).

We've been told Loki loves Sylvie. That much is beautifully clear. But love (and being in a relationship) doesn't automatically mean that 1) both parties are experiencing it in the same way, 2) both parties have the same approach or priorities, 3) the level of romance is necessarily the same between the people involved, 4) that sexual attraction exists at all.

Sometimes a kiss is a form of communication and not tied to the want to shag someone.

So this is where my interpretation of this particular pairing comes into play. I do see the story as a romance, in the classical sense, but also with a slight streak of the more modern sense involved. The focus is still on the quest, even when the love story emerges. And that is where I see the priorities of these characters and their definitions of the relationship differing and I analyze it through these different dimensions of love and relationship orientations.

Loki actually embodies one of the traits I've seen listed for demisexuals- we hold our friendships extremely close and because we hold our friendships the way we do, it isn't uncommon for us to end up with crushes on our best friends (and no, they don't generally develop into other forms of relationships, but they could). This is the phase in which I see Loki by episode 6. He has formed this intense bond, unlike any other it seems he's had, and his heart is breaking over the thought of losing her to her own rage. All he wants is for her to be OK, remember? This isn't a selfish action. But I think it is significant that while he tries to stop her, he's not the one who initiates the kiss. All his actions here are ones that a close friend would also do for their best friend. Like, I'd try to stop my besties from inadvertently destroying the universe. I'd even throw down over it. And for the exact same reasons- the risks are too great, we need to think, and I want them to be OK. Almost everything Loki does throughout his growing closeness to Sylvie is something I'd do for one of the people I've told I'd defend- as in, I literally told some of these people, "anybody messes with you, I'll cut a bitch- just tell me who and I'm there."

So because of all this, I don't see this relationship as sexual in any way. Romantic? Possibly. But not necessarily. Even being in love with one another doesn't mean a relationship has to have a sexual component.

Looking at Sylvie, I see her also as having found companionship with Loki, but her overriding goal is, ultimately, not to bond with someone- it's her mission. And she has sacrificed her entire life because of the TVA to this mission. She tells him repeatedly, in one way or another, that the mission comes first. Yes, she does care about him, but I don't think the way she cares about him is the same as the way he cares about her because they have differing priorities and needs (and hence why she feels betrayed by him when he tries to stop her). Or at least she hasn't allowed herself to express that. When she falls to the ground after she's killed He Who Remains, I think we get a glimpse of what Loki meant to her- she is alone, she grieves, and there is no meaning left to her story. She's done what she dedicated her entire life to and the person who could have given it other meaning is no longer beside her.

I still don't think that the first thing they would do upon seeing each other is suck face and have wild sex. Would that bother me? No, not really. I can headcanon something different than what actually happens, I'm fine with that (just look at all this glorious headcanoning happening right here!) I'd like it to stay a romantic friendship (queer platonic relationships for the win- they're squishes!) because I don't think we hardly ever see those types of relationships and queer platonic relationships are incredibly beautiful and powerful and yes, based on love and maybe even romance, in their own way. They are defined by the people in them, as are all relationships.

And now to address "but she kissed him!"

Yes, she did. And I've kissed my partner when there wasn't romance involved because I wanted to share a moment, to express something deeper than I had words for (yes, even on one of my aromantic leaning days), or just because it's fun. And it doesn't have to "match" up with how the other partner feels it, either, so long as the message itself is what comes across. This is how I read the Sylvie x Loki kiss. It was a message of worthiness. Loki's entire arc, including in that scene, is in discovering if he's anyone different than the monster he's made himself out to be (and encouraged others to see him as). He tells Sylvie that he can't be trusted, falling back on the habit of characterizing himself as the professional liar, the one who can't form those attachments which are built on trust. He also identifies her as someone incapable of trust in that moment, which I think is also a projection of how he sees himself. He tells Mobius he can only trust himself and the show slowly shows Loki coming to trust others, but in this moment in the Citadel, he's falling back on a different perception of himself.

This is where the kiss comes in, for me. Sylvie isn't trying to tell him she'd jump him right then and there, if things were different. Sylvie is trying to tell him that she does trust him, that he can be trusted, and that he is worthy of the affection of a friend, even if she can't have him in her way. She is prioritizing her mission, yes, but not without giving him some sort of reassurance, in her own way, that this rejection isn't personal. That he isn't too broken to be loved. It doesn't have to go into romance (not saying it couldn't, just saying it isn't a requirement). It doesn't have to go into sexual relationship territory.

Maybe I see this so vastly differently because of my experiences exploring gender, sexuality, and romantic orientation. Maybe I see this so differently because at this stage in my life, I would absolutely kiss a friend if I felt something so heavy was going to break them. I have a friend I say "I love you" to every time we talk on the phone or video chat- we've been together for 20 years. I've got photo proof of a snuggle pile of friends when I was a young adult. I've shared a bed with a friend with no reason other than that we didn't want to sleep on the floor and why not. I've had friendships that were awkward to start and intense once they got going that are absolutely still important in my life. I've had crushes on friends that have faded and just shown me another dimension of what it is to love someone. I've watched adults who struggle to make connections to other people discover those moments of awkward "how do I do friend mode?" and come out stronger for them, with that huge sense of victory hidden behind a small smile they don't want to share with anyone else quite yet.

I see so much possibility in how we interpret a television show reduced to "it's a romance and that's sick and incest and he wants to fuck himself!" and it just saddens me that so many people have such a limited understanding and experience of the depth and breadth of human relationships and of how people love one another.

#loki show #loki meta #thoughts on love and relationships #literary genre romance #loki and sylvie

[couldyouspeakmyname]

OK I HAVE A BEASTARS OC AND I AM GOING TO TELL YOU ABOUT IT: (you don’t have to answer if you don’t feel like it, kind of just dumping information for myself and maybe you to share with other people /gen )

(Template made by Mandy on Amino, go check them out :) )

Also, I tried to make this so that there was other canon character, but I realized that I had so many oc’s I might as well make a new kind of universe following the beastars world-building stuff

So basically a fancy furry world but the world-building is based on Beastars

I apologize in advance for the spelling (I didn’t check/edit this :p) and also the long form (I like details lol)

BASIC INFORMATION

Full name: Cecelia Aksha Brown

Pronunciation: Cecelia (s-E-s-e-l-E-a) Aksha (pronounced how it’s spelled) Brown (B-r-ow-n)

Nickname(s) or Alias: Blind One (Given by Doctor Cato, her doctor), Lead vocalist of Athaza (Given by fans), Cece (Given by Naomi, a friend), Dead Legs (Given by Emily, the lead vocalist in the rival band)

Band Name: Athaza

Reason for band name: Cece originally wanted to name her band based off of a phobia she had, so she searched up her greatest fear (the fear of being forgetting, being forgotten, ignored, and/or replaced) and found out that the world was Athazagoraphobia. And that was like a really, really long word (both for her and me, the author, to write down) so she chose to shorten it to Athaza.

Gender: female

Species: Black Tiger

Age: 28

Birthday: September 1st

Sexuality: pansexual, poly, asexual

Religion: Atheist

City or town of birth: Belgum

Currently lives: Belgum (although she hardly even goes home, with her work being on the move and all, it is hard for her to get a break and relax in her own home.)

Languages spoken: Japanese

Native language: English

Relationship Status: single and happy about it (she doesn’t have time for a relationship when she is always on the move, and with her job, she just won’t have time to take care of someone else when she can barely take care of herself)

PHYSICAL APPEARANCE

Height: body length is 4’5, shoulder height is 31 inches, tail length is 24 inches

Weight: 220

Figure/build: she is very small and tiny for a tiger (being the smallest measurements that a tiger can be at). Her eyes tend to be more rounded and bigger then most tiger’s.

Hair color: she dyed her hair a split dye, half a dark and almost dusty blue and the other half black (left half dusty blue and right half black)

Hairstyle: ummm, idk how to describe it but like the Levi styled hair

Facial Hairstyle: N/A

Eye color: electric blue

Skin/fur/etc color: she has a white base color with black stripes, ears, shape on chest that looks like a broken heart, and tail-tip

Tattoos: she has the words “heaven“ written on her knee, and a tongue piercing of a pentagram

Piercings: double piercings and a tongue piecing in the middle of the pentagram

Scars/distinguishing marks: she has a long light pink scar running up the left side of her leg (and she still can’t walk that good on her last leg, causing her to limp), and her right eye has a long scar running down it and she is blinded on that side

Preferred style of clothing: alternative

Frequently worn jewellery/accessories: lots of silver rings

HEALTH

Smoker?Drinker?Recreational Drug User? Which?Addictions: N/A (she doesn’t have any addictions, although she might drink from time-to-time. She doesn’t mind other people doing those things around her)

Allergies: pollen

Any physical ailments/illnesses/disabilities: she can never walk on her left leg again and she is half blind in her right eye

Any medication regularly taken: N/A

PERSONALITY

Personality: funny, smart, protective, loyal, patient, clumsy, fearful, childish, disorganized, and forgetful

Likes: flowers, bee’s, singing, and playing Instruments

Dislikes: arguments, spoiled brats, discrimination (as she should), and sour foods (she has a sweet tooth)

Fears/phobias: Athazagoraphobia

Favorite color: gray, black, dark purple, brown

Hobbies: singing to music, listening to music, picking flowers

Taste in music: she is the lead vocalist to a scream rock band, however, she likes listening folk music more

SKILLS

Talents/skills: she can sing well and learn instruments quickly

Ability to drive a car? Operate any other vehicles?: she can drive a care and that is pretty much it (although she doesn’t usually need to drive a car since her band is on tour 99% of the time and they have a driver to take them places)

EATING HABITS

Omnivore/Carnivore/Herbivore (Vegetarian): carnivore

Favourite food(s): steak

Favorite drink(s): Monster Energy and coffee

Disliked food(s): insects

Disliked drink(s): tea

HOUSE AND HOME

Describe the character's house/home: she has a pretty large home, the house is hidden deep in the forest and is mostly covered by the tree’s.

Do they share their home with anyone? Who?: She shares the house with he rest of her band

Significant/special belongings: a picture of her parents

CAREER

Level of education: high

Qualifications: singer

Current job title and description: lead vocalist in band

COMBAT

Peaceful or aggressive attitude?: peaceful, she hates getting into fights with people

Fighting skills/techniques: she has her claws and her teeth (also carries a taser, just in case,)

Special skills/magical powers/etc: N/A

Weapon of choice (if any): taser

Weaknesses in combat: she is very slow and not skilled in combat

Strengths in combat: she is impulsive and that usually benefits her

FAMILY, FRIENDS AND FOES

Parents names: Chanda (Mother), Sarendar (Father)

Are parents alive or dead?: dead (died by some unknown prisoners killing them in jail)

Partner/Spouse: N/A

Children: she can barely take care of herself, what makes you think she can take care of a living, breathing, child that does nothing but cry?

Best Friend: Galen (best friend, convinced her to start the band, drum player in band), Naomi (enemies turned friends, joined the band shortly after it formed, lead guitarist)

Other Important Friends: Khalo (band member, back up vocalist), Futun (band member, second drum player), Bilwa (band member, any other position that needs to be filled in),

Acquaintances: Davi (driver for the band), Doctor Cato (his doctor for years)

Pets: Root (a yellow tabby cat)

Enemies?: Emily

Why are they enemies?: they are in rival band‘s, and also Emily makes fun of Cece for being half blind and having a limp

BACKSTORY

Describe their childhood (newborn - age 10):

She had a normal childhood (as normal as a main character’s childhood can get that is). Her parents nearly forced her to join their religion but Cece refused. Soon they argued almost every day, some days is was about grades, some days it was about religion, while others it was about her sexuality.

Describe their  teenage years (11 - 19):

The arguments got so bad that she couldn’t bare it any longer, the moment she turned eighteen she ran away from her parents house and went to her friends house (Galen). Soon the two of them formed a band.

Describe their adult:

Once the band got kind of popular, she was living her best life. So she chose to forgive her parents for what they did to her. She went over to their house for Thanksgiving, her parents asked if she could spend the night. Cede was happy to (seeing how she didn’t see her parents in so many years). While Cece was sleeping her Mother got some water and boiled it, adding some sugar and waitI got 15 minutes for it to cook. Once it was done, her Mother poured the boiling water on her own daughter. Cece screamed from the pain, once her Father heard her screams he rushed into her room and called 911. Cece was admitted into the hospital with burns across her legs, arms, and face. The sugar made the burns extra hard to get off and Cece spent multiple weeks in the hospital. Her Father was found guilty of letting her Mother attempt to murder Cece and Cece’s Mother was found guilty of attempting to kill her own daughter. They both got time in jail together, in the jail cell every prison found out what they did and some unknown prisoners beat up Cece’s mother and Father. Cece was left with a blinded eyes and a leg that was doomed to never work the rest of her life

That sounds fun!! I'm assuming it's kind of an AU then?

Also, it's a real shame more characters in Beastars don't dye their fur. It could be fun, but then again...it'd be difficult?

-Maeve

#long post #sorry I can't put this under cut #I love ocs though #this could be fun to do but it's not exactly the kind of format I personally like for my ocs #but it's a nice general one!! #tongue piercing's are fun #I want one...and a lip piercing... #I also want more in my ears #I just want to be a metal detectors worst nightmare tbh