#i can’t change it now! not after all we’ve been through. and in this mostly mii-less word where else would i see it regularly?

[timeagainreviews]

In Space, Nobody Can Hear You Scream for Your Nappy Change

Few shows have had as many pilot episodes as Doctor Who. From “An Unearthly Child,” to the 1996 TV movie, to 2005’s “Rose,” and now “Space Babies.” However, one could argue that every new Doctor is essentially a pilot episode. There are notable shifts in the show’s dynamic to such a degree that it’s practically a reset. Any major personnel shift is a renewal. The transition from William Hartnell to Patrick Troughton, the transfer of power from Russell T Davies to Steven Moffat, and again, from Moffat to Chris Chibnall, for example. Even series ten began with the cheeky title “The Pilot,” where we find the Doctor earthbound as a college professor with his student, Bill, and his wife, Nardole. But “Space Babies,” is an odd one, for so many reasons. Mostly because it’s introducing us to characters we’ve been getting to know for a couple of episodes now. Then, of course, there’s everything else.

For some, an episode called “Space Babies” was always going to be a hard sale. Back in March when they revealed the new episode titles as a series of vignettes, Space Babies looked and sounded a lot like what we got. Sometimes a very literal title can be a bit of fun. “Snakes on a Plane,” tells you everything you need to know going in. While it may have benefitted from a bit of virality, you could argue that it does more with its premise than something like “Cocaine Bear,” which was little more than its title. I’ve complained in the past that my issue with the concept of the Timeless Child was that you could figure out the story by hearing the words. If I can watch a story in my head from its title, then in the words of Amy Pond- what is the point of you? My reaction to the title “Space Babies,” was very similar. Except in this case, I would say it was closer to a “Snakes On a Plane,” than a “Cocaine Bear.”

We’re off to a great start. I got to mention cocaine and babies in the same sentence. Speaking of awkward starts, why did Russell T Davies decide to open the show with the twee episode for the kiddies? Those types of stories are usually relegated to the mid-season point, after a really good one. I guess they needed a palette cleanser to put some space between “The Giggle,” and “The Devil’s Chord,” as they’re essentially the same story twice. But that’s for the next review. Though “Rose,” has its own brand of wacky weirdness with man-eating rubbish bins and plastic boyfriend doppelgangers with pizza peels for hands. Even still, it’s an odd choice for the “pilot.”

A lot of the episode’s enjoyment is predicated on how cute you think babies are. In my case, it’s not very much. If they had called the episode “Space Kittens,” it would have hooked me. But babies come with baggage. People are weird about babies. Babies are often politicised, which this episode definitely does, but more on that later. Another reason why babies were a hard sell for me is they’re not actors. Child actors are rarely good, so filtering their performances through the vacant faces of babies is like making a bad thing worse. Sure, they animated their mouths with cutting-edge technology straight from 1995’s “Babe,” but their faces gave us no range of emotion unless you count Eric, whose facial expression was that of one constantly bricking it in his diaper. I was reminded of the Gelflings in “The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance,” in that it takes some getting used to the look of their faces. Except in the case of the Gelflings, the Jim Henson Creature Workshop knew their limitations and used CGI where the puppets fell short. A furrowed brow would have gone a long way to sell the babies.

However, I’m not made of stone. I’m not so joyless that I can’t send my critical brain on a little vacay for 46 minutes. I also appreciate that Doctor Who still takes the time to do stories for children. It’s a family show, after all. I was even impressed that the episode was able to sell me on the concept of a booger man (or Bogeyman to be precise) when “Sleep No More,” had so utterly failed to sell me on the concept of eye booger men previously. Even more, I had never expected to feel an emotional connection to said Bogeyman. While a lot of it had to do with Ncuti Gatwa’s performance, I’ll admit I actually got a little choked up at the end of the episode. Even a snotty little freak of nature deserves a place in the world, and I identified with that. It’s nice when a Doctor Who episode ends and it was actually about something.

As mentioned before, Russell T Davies uses the baggage that comes along with babies to stoke the fire of his own story. Through the eyes of Jocylen, the ship’s reluctant nanny, we see the babies in another light- as a constant source of worry. Having never wanted the job in the first place, Jocylen’s part is one of necessity rather than vocation. No one working in the field of charity or crisis aid wants to be doing the work. Sure, it’s fulfilling, but the nature of its necessity is telling of the world at large, or in this case- star system. In a perfect star system, no child would go unhugged, unattended, or forgotten. Yet here she is, forced by circumstance and emboldened by compassion to rise to the occasion. She may not be nailing it, but seriously, who the hell else was taking care of the children they forced to exist? If “Kill the Moon,” was Doctor Who’s pro-life story, this episode stands in stark contrast as the pro-choice story.

An episode with a butt-shaped space station that farts its way to the shores of freedom seems like an odd choice to talk about refugees, but it’s also the episode that gave a booger a soul. While a lot of the tone aligns more with “Aliens of London/World War Three,” or “Love and Monsters,” the message aligns more with something like “Turn Left.” Russell T Davies is giving us a spoonful of sugar with our medicine, which seems the correct approach in a show where Christmas trees are capable of murder. Suffice it to say, seeing a Rwandan refugee playing a British icon on the BBC commenting on the conservative government’s Rwandan bill is better than anything the show could do on its own. You almost have to do it, and more than I’m glad RTD rose to the occasion, I’m glad it was Ncuti who got to do it.

Speaking of things only Ncuti Gatwa could do, I appreciate that his Doctor is emotionally available enough to offer a hug to a child while still being alien enough to scare the bejeezus out of them. I can’t really picture Tom Baker hugging anyone, though I can imagine him scaring the bejeezus out of someone. Maybe Matt Smith would do it. Jodie as well. But Gatwa’s Doctor is an interesting mixture of compassionate and completely aloof. It’s a mixture that is sometimes at odds with itself, but it works. You see it in brief moments like when Ruby’s caretaker instincts take over and she runs head-on into danger, while the Doctor takes a moment to pop around the corner and catch up to her. It’s the classic dynamic of the Doctor being reminded of human nature by his companion.

I really like this selfless defender of the people streak in Ruby’s personality. It reminds me a lot of an ‘80s companion. She’s like a mixture of Nyssa and Ace. She puts herself in harm's way to protect others. She writes songs to cheer up lovesick lesbians. She’s got a very full personality that is palpable very early on. We got this level of character development with RTD’s earlier companions, and it’s nice to see it continue. What’s less nice is how he seems to have also taken a page from Steven Moffat’s book where the companion must also be needlessly complicated. What’s more is it feels less enticing and more like retreading familiar territory. It’s giving “The Impossible Girl,” vibes with an Amy Pond pregnancy body scan to bring it full circle. This is one of my biggest issues with the RTD2 era so far- it feels like a remix of past Doctor Who. That isn’t to say he’s added nothing new to the show, but it does feel a bit Clara 2.0. I’m just saying, it doesn’t always have to be some star-crossed destiny. If you do it every time, it loses its power.  Sometimes people just meet each other. Say what you will about Yaz’s characterisation, but at least she was allowed to be a person.

The story at the heart of “Space Babies,” is ultimately a bit thin. You could argue that there was never any real threat, but that happens sometimes on Doctor Who (take “Listen,” for example). I’ve seen some people online complaining that the Bogeyman doesn’t die, but what does it really do other than scare people? Sure, you see Eric’s pram toppled and find him characteristically bricking it in his diaper, but he’s not got a scratch on him. What if Eric went missing because the Bogeyman “ate” him. They could reveal that he actually was protecting Eric from the dangers of the malfunctioning bowels of the ship. Imagine the bogey bits tearing away out of the airlock, slowly revealing Eric inside. Not only would Jocylen have almost taken an innocent life, but two innocent lives. Pair that with the Doctor's brave rescue and blammo! It could have upped the tension and implied more danger, is all I’m saying.

I was a bit confused by the ship’s computer creating the Bogeyman in the first place. That entire aspect of the plot was skimmed over and very flimsy. I thought they were doing something with the show’s new magical premise, a “superstition of the Bogeyman made him exist,” sort of angle. But no, it was just something the ship did, for reasons. I also expected that to be the reason for Ruby's transformation into the weird scaly lizard woman. I expected it to suddenly be possible through superstition that stepping on a butterfly could change the course of history. But instead, the Doctor forgot to push the butterfly compensator on the TARDIS console. Kinda weird that RTD had two moments to further his own mythology but sided on technobabble. Not bad, just odd.

One aspect that bothered me was how long it took them to reveal the Bogeyman was made of snot. When they took the time to do this whole to do with the babies blowing their noses, I immediately looked over at my wife and said “The Bogeyman is made of baby boogers,’ to which she responded “I hate that you’re right.” They telegraphed it so hard that it made the Doctor seem slow on the uptake. If you recall from my review of "The Husbands of River Song," I felt like they did the same thing to River with how long it took her to recognise the Doctor. However, I imagine it's a bit of a balancing act to know when to reveal something. The Doctor doesn't necessarily have all of the information we have as an audience.

As pilots go, “Space Babies,” could have done better at introducing a new audience to Doctor Who. Much of the expository dialogue about who the Doctor is or where he came from felt rushed and unnatural. My friend Taryn said she enjoyed this aspect of the Doctor being less cryptic and more forthcoming with information. While I agree, I feel like the execution was clumsy, a word we’re starting to see more often in my reviews of the RTD2 era. For comparison, take Fallout, a show that came out only a month earlier. Both are technically first seasons of tv shows based on pre-existing properties with dense lore. Both have eight episodes to tell their stories. And yet with Fallout, we get a trickle of information as things happen. With Doctor Who we have the Doctor stopping his companion mid-sentence to say “Oh yeah, by the way, I have two hearts.” Look, I get it, I’m neurodivergent. I appreciate a good infodump. But there’s a big reason people are calling Fallout a triumph- it respects its audience enough to reveal things over time.

RTD said recently that young people won’t watch black and white. I don’t know if this is true as I am a cusp gen x/millennial. I don’t know much about what kids get up to these days, but I also don’t go around saying what they will and won’t do. It sounds a lot like “Those damn kids with their hip hop video games,” or like “Kids don’t like anything that isn’t Tik Tok or Roblox.” It feels like it misunderstands the appeal of storytelling in the first place. Studio executives have never fully understood what is good about Doctor Who. In the ‘70s and ‘80s, it was “Why can’t it be like Star Wars?” In the Chibnall era, the goal was to compete with Netflix. And now it’s “We need to meet the same standards of Marvel.” But if Doctor Who is always being compared to something else, you curse it into always being behind the curve. When I fell in love with Doctor Who, it was because it wasn’t like anything I had ever seen before. If I want to watch Iron Man, I’ll watch Iron Man.

Not all of the expository dialogue was without merit. I’ve been continually impressed by RTD’s handling of the Timeless Child storyline. As longtime readers know, I was not a fan of that story. Hell, first-time readers probably picked up on it in this article. But I don’t think it’s fair to discount the people who did enjoy that story. And I think it is far more interesting for the show to develop the idea as opposed to sweeping it under the rug. We learned that the Time Lord genocide was cellular, which helps the whole concept of the Master achieving what millions of Daleks couldn’t do make more sense. It’s amazing how much a single line of dialogue can overcome a lot of shoddy writing. I liked the Doctor stating that it doesn’t matter where he comes from, as I’ve been saying that the whole damn time. It’s also nice that despite everything, the Doctor is still a Time Lord in his hearts of hearts. We as fans kinda need those moments so we can collectively move on from what has been a rather ugly time in the fandom.

That’s not to say we aren’t still in an ugly culture battle within the fandom. Racism is still a very real aspect to the conversation. As are ableism, sexism, transphobia. And despite RTD meeting these things head-on with the grace of a fish out of water, we’ve still got some great points of intrigue. Who is this woman played by Susan Twist we keep seeing in the background? Who is the one who waits? Is Mrs Flood the White Guardian to Susan Twist’s Black Guardian? I would love to say it’s the Rani because it’s been 20 fucking years of it not being the Rani, which is also the exact reason I won’t say it’s the Rani. But god I wish it was the Rani. They even name-drop her! Give us this one, please. My point being, despite its daftness and its expressionless babies, “Space Babies,” still gives us a lot to go off of. If you didn’t like it, do what I did and watch it twice. The emotional resonance works better when it feels less like you’re watching a car accident.

Look, if you didn’t like “Space Babies,” I get it. Maybe it’s not for you. There are weird little problems with the episode. The expository dialogue I mentioned, for example. The babies are a bit much. The Bogeyman howling like a werewolf was batshit weird. I guess it was because they compared him to a dog. Even then, why not make it bark? You could ask things like “Why didn’t the Doctor use the TARDIS to fly them to safety instead of setting their space station on a crash course with the planet’s surface?” or "Why didn't the Doctor get sucked out of the airlock? It's air pressure, not gravity." Is the humour still falling a bit flat? Sure. It’s easy to pick stuff apart. But come on, the episode is called “Space Babies,” you knew ahead of time if that concept was going to work for you or not.

_______________________________________________

Thanks for reading! I'm sorry these articles are taking a while. Having two episodes drop simultaneously doubles my workload! I'll have the review for "The Devil's Chord," up tomorrow! Hopefully next week will be more timely.

#Doctor Who #Space Babies #Ncuti Gatwa #Millie Gibson #Russel T Davies #Ruby Sunday #Fifteenth Doctor #Season one #RTD #RTD2 #Susan Twist #Bogeyman #TARDIS #BBC #timeagainreviews

[limewatt]

augh my sense of sentimentality vs the horror of being even slightly known are fighting in my head

#i want. to send a switch friend request. but my icon is of my mii. #and while it’s not really that representational of how i look it still does convey something of how i see myself #and like hell i want strangers to know that!!! like hell i want people to know what i look like in even the slightest way!!! #so i really want to change it to some character or other. #however. how-fucking-ever. #i’ve had my switch icon as my mii for what? 5 fuckibg years now? i’m incredibly attached to my mii #i can’t change it now! not after all we’ve been through. and in this mostly mii-less word where else would i see it regularly? #agony.

[wilwheaton]

fuck you pat robertson

Pat Robertson walks past thousands of souls, smugly and full of pride, and cuts to the front of the line at the velvet rope in outside the entrance to his version of Heaven.

The bouncer looks up from their clipboard, observing Robertson with thousands of eyes in a swirling cascade of light.

"Pat Robertson," they say. "We've been expecting you."

Pat Robertson silently congratulates himself. He swells with joy. All those people who died from AIDS, natural disasters, even 9/11 ... they all deserved it. They were sinners!

The bouncer speaks into their headset. "He's here." They listen. "Yep. At the front of the line."

The bouncer turns most of its gaze back to Pat Robertson. "Just wait here for one moment, please."

Pat Robertson steps to one side and waits.

After one thousand years, he begins to wonder if there was a miscommunication.

"Excuse me," he says to the bouncer, "I am Pat --"

"Robertson. Yes. We know. We're just getting everything in order for you. It will just be one more moment."

Tens of thousands of victims of gun violence walk past him and enter Heaven. The population of an entire village, lost in a typhoon that was intensified by climate change, is welcomed. And still he waits.

They file past him, all the people he looked down on. All the people he hurt, directly and indirectly, don't even notice him as they pass. It's like he isn't even there.

Another thousand years pass. Pat Robertson realizes he hasn't had a thing to eat since he died and he is so very hungry.

"Hey!" He shouts at the bouncer. "What's the problem? Don't you know who I am?"

The bouncer rolls half a million eyes at once. "We know exactly who you are."

"Well, alright, then!" Pat Robertson spits out, exasperated, "if you aren't going to help me, get someone here who will!"

The bouncer speaks into its headset again. "We're ready."

A gibbering mass of what is mostly human flesh -- or was, once -- slithers / rolls / flops into Pat Robertson's view. It is covered with mouths that bleed and weep and click their teeth together. Enormous open sores swirl and burst and close and reopen and drip pus and viscera across blistering skin. The faint memory of a smell surrounds it, something like very old cigar smoke and very expensive liquor.

Pat Robertson tries to scream. Arm-like stalks extend from the quivering shape. One resembles a hand at the end of an arm, dripping viscera.

In a flash, it grabs Pat Robertson's hand and shakes it. Something hot and acidic splashes up on his arm, blinds him in one eye. He feels weak. Afraid. Alone. Confused.

Hundreds of mouths try to speak. Dozens of them vomit acrid bile that splashes across his chest. Dozens more silently spit out the lies they've been cursed to repeat for eternity to an audience who will never hear them again.

One mouth speaks clearly. So clearly, it's inside Pat Robertson's head and everywhere else all at once. "I'm Rush Limbaugh," it says. "I'm your new roommate. Come with me."

And that's when Pat Robertson knows. That's when it all hits him, all at once. He's getting everything he deserves.

The line to get into Heaven does not see or hear or notice him, or the Limbeast. They can't hurt anyone, anymore.

The cancerous mass of hate wraps its arm around his shoulder and just like that Pat Robertson finds himself in a vast parody of a cathedral. It's built of bones and flesh and lies. The walls writhe, and he sees that they are not bricks and lathe but bodies wrapped in confederate flags and wearing red hats.

The pews are filled to capacity with the souls of people who followed him in life, hated who he told them to hate. Only their hate is now focused on him, hot and unforgiving. Relentless.

Pat Robertson looks for his companion, but it has vanished. It has left him alone to suffer.

A sermon rises in his chest and pushes against his throat. Pat Robertson is compelled to speak, and as he does each word tears through him like broken glass. He spews his hate and his lies, just as he did in life. Only in this place, he doesn't feel the glee and the satisfaction he always did. No, he feels the pain and the suffering and the agony of every human being who he deliberately hurt. He. Feels. All. Of. It. He tries to stop speaking. Of course, he can not. He can not ever stop.

And Pat Robertson's eternity begins.

[minkdelovely]

love and power

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chapter three “is this the life that lies ahead now?”

Alastor x Fem!Reader ; MDNI 18+ ; [y/n] used sparingly ; Alias in Hell is Sylvie

tags/warnings: drinking on an empty stomach (do not attempt in real life, but this is hell baby), allusions to poisoning, reader is hungover and has a poor appetite, uh oh art thou pining?, slow burn eventual: smut

word count: 2.8k

prelude ; chapter one ; chapter two ; chapter three ; chapter four ; chapter five ; chapter six ; chapter seven ; chapter eight ; chapter nine

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After getting some water you tried falling back asleep to no avail, tossing and turning for at least an hour before deciding to call it quits.

Leaving the hotel in the middle of the night wasn’t the best idea, but you felt like you’d start tearing at the wallpaper if you stayed in your room. Cliche as it was, fresh air had always helped you relax while you were living. You thought back to the family garden and sighed. You’d give anything to be able to sit there now.

Your thoughts drifted to your father as you changed out of your pajamas. Things had changed so much in your day-to-day after coming to the hotel that you realized you couldn’t remember the last time he had crossed your mind. You felt a tightness in your throat when you tried to remember what he looked like. It was hazy, but he was mostly there; strong with a brilliant smile. How long would it be before you couldn’t remember him at all? Even the way you heard his voice in your mind didn’t seem completely right, an imitation of a memory.

Was he doing okay? Was he still mourning you? Or did he think you were just missing? Did the money go through? Did he know what you did for him to get it? There was no way to know.

“Can’t sleep?” 

You jumped at the sound of Husker’s voice, so lost in thought and determined to get out of there that you hadn’t noticed him at the bar. It wasn’t surprising that he was still down here, though, being just before midnight. In fact, the real surprise was that he was here by himself. You decided to put leaving on pause and made your way over to him, taking advantage of the rare moment of privacy. Besides, what good would it do to dismiss Husker when he had been so discreet about this morning?

“More like slept too much,” you said, sighing as you took a seat across from him. 

“Could’ve fooled me,” Husk jabbed amiably, turning to grab an empty glass. 

You groaned. “Well there goes my hope of looking better than I feel. I was thinking maybe a walk would help, but—” Husk gave you a look, rightly making you feel sheepish. 

“Didn’t go so hot this morning, huh? Thought you’d have better luck at night?” he said, half-joking, and passed you an amber-colored drink. The worry must’ve been showing on your face, as he cooly added, “Don’t worry, it’s been a ghost town in here for over an hour. It’s still only me and Angel who know about what happened.”

“Is he at work right now?” you asked, relaxing a little and took a casual look around. “I really don’t know how I can make it up to you both. This morning I…,” you sighed again and ran a hand through your hair, feeling the exhaustion seep back in. “I don’t know. Hopefully I’ll just forget about it, or convince myself it was a nightmare or something. But I’m sorry you had to see me like that.”

You recalled your reflection in the mirror before you showered, unrecognizable to yourself under the layer of gore caked to your skin. 

Husk waved his hand, but the softness in his eyes felt like a rock in your stomach. “Don’t worry about it, we’ve both seen crazier shit in our time. But yeah, he’s been gone for most of the day. Said Valentino was having an ‘emergency’ but I have my doubts. He’s always pulling Angel in for dumb shit.”

You nodded and finally took a sip of your drink, shocked by how much you enjoyed it. A pleasant bitter taste lingered in your mouth, and you had to actively fight the urge to chug down the rest of it.

“Valentino’s his boss, right? Alastor’s done a pretty good job of keeping me preoccupied, but I think I’ve heard you guys talking about him before.”

“That’s the simplest thing to call him, I guess, though I prefer to call him an asshole,” Husk grumbled and you both shared a small laugh, the alcohol already making you feel lighter. 

A comfortable silence fell between the two of you, Husk refilling your glass as you rested your head in your hand, gazing through the windows to the city below. Would you be able to pinpoint the alley if you concentrated hard enough? Someone had to have stumbled on him by now, right? Like his little sidekick… Did he ever go back for Donny? Something else clicked into place as you thought of him and the events of the morning: unless someone came after you for retribution, you would get away with it. That’s just how life is here.

No missing person report, no investigation, no forensics, no trial, no jail sentence. Weren’t you already “doing time” by being here? It’s not like you could add on to it. Not that you intended to do it again, but it was a step in the right direction of making peace with yourself. Maybe you really would forget about it someday, maybe not. There were some things that stuck with you forever.

The image of your grandmother came to you then, the last time you had spoken with her. She was sitting in her favorite chair near the fireplace in the library, her face set in the ever-present scowl you resented so much. She really was such a miserable creature. You saw yourself place the tray of tea and almond shortbread cookies down on the dark-lacquered, antique coffee table between you, knowing it would the last thing she ever ate. And tried to fight the smile pulling at your lips.

✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧

“It occurred to me in the night that you still owe me something from the butcher,” Alastor said casually, his face buried in the newspaper. Irritation shot through you quick as lightning, but you prevailed against the urge to dump the coffee you were bringing him all over his lap. 

As the grandfather clock in Alastor’s room chimed the hour, the pulse in your head threatened to kill. Apparently hangovers were very real in Hell (because of course they were), and this one was a doozy. Husk had only given you three drinks, but since you had wrung yourself so dry it was  enough to leave you feeling like absolute shit. Beyond some water, the only thing you managed to ingest so far this morning was a piece of plain, burnt toast to try and soothe your aching stomach. It had taken all you had to keep it down. Needless to say, you weren’t starting the day in the best of moods.

Not that you ever thought Alastor would take it easy on you anyway. The look he gave you when you showed up in your new dress was so self-satisfied that it made you want to crawl under a rock. And when he said that you looked like death warmed over, you wanted to use said rock to knock his teeth in. It was the first you had seen of him since the incident in your room yesterday, though you tried not to dwell on the fact that he had returned at some point while you were asleep. In the grand scheme of his behavior you’ve been exposed to, that was really the least of your worries. 

Through the veil of annoyance you found yourself looking at the mug in his grasp, remembering the strength of his hand holding your chin. Your breath shallowed as he brought the rim up to his lips. Fuck. Tearing your eyes away, you did your best to swallow the lump in your throat. This couldn’t be happening.

He was just toying with you yesterday. Nothing new, you told yourself. It’s obvious to anyone with eyes how much he enjoys feeling superior. Not that you had ever seen him pull a stunt like that on anyone else, but who knows? It’s not like you were with him every second of the day. Even in this very moment, he was messing with you. 

Was it your fault that he had only grabbed his clothes off the filthy floor of that alley and left the other bag to rot? Of course he’d see it that way, and if your headache wasn’t as terrible as it was, you might have told him exactly that. Especially considering that you were already out money for the liver, and he was more than likely expecting you to pay again.

“I’ll head out after I’ve finished with your room, unless you’d prefer I go now and clean when I get back,” you answered smoothly, hoping he’d give you permission for the latter. How he had even managed to track in the dirt you saw on the area rug was a mystery. You just knew that it would keep you busy for a decent amount of time and you weren’t looking forward to more scrubbing on your hands and knees. “And if the clothes are ready to be picked up again, I can get those, too.”

Alastor peered over the newspaper, eyebrow raised, his eyes and smile alight with mischief. “My, someone’s eager to be in my good graces today! No need to bother with the laundry, but I hope you won’t mind if I join you going into town. I don’t feel like staying cooped up in the hotel. Go ahead and clean now, I’d hate for those stains on the rug to set. Besides, you know how I despise coming home to a mess.”

✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧

While he waited for you to return after freshening up, Alastor took a look around his room, admiring the results of your hard work. You were turning out to be much more resilient than he had anticipated. Though your expression was hardly ever enthusiastic, you’d never be able to tell by the way you cleaned. Someone taught you well, he thought to himself, breathing in the scent of cleaning products that nearly overpowered the floral almond you always left behind. So pleasant.

Though if he was being honest, he was starting to run out of ideas on how to keep you busy. He would mess up the bed, despite rarely sleeping in it, and leave his housecoat, shirts, and bowties draped over various pieces of furniture for you to pick up and put in their proper place. The mud and dirt on the rug had been a last-minute stroke of genius, but it wasn’t something he cared to repeat too often. God forbid he became predictable. 

There was part of his room you didn’t have access to, and Alastor doubted that he’d ever let you see it — nor anyone else, for that matter. It’s not like it was a space you’d be able to clean in a traditional sense, anyway. After the hotel was rebuilt he thought it would be a nice idea to separate his serene bayou from the rest of the living quarters. Remembering how Vaggie had so rudely barged in on him in the past, it wasn’t something he was keen on happening again. And it was comical to watch you glancing at the locked door, pondering what could be behind it. 

He knew he couldn’t keep you cooped up as his personal chambermaid forever though, unless he wanted to be hounded by Charlie and Vaggie about it. Which he decidedly did not want. And he could admit that this cleaning game was getting stale… How could he switch things up before he tired of you completely? How could he get you to show him another spectacle like yesterday?

A knock at the door snapped The Radio Demon out of his thoughts.

“Alastor? Can I come in?” Charlie said from the other side of the door. By the tone in her voice, he could tell she was here to discuss business. He sighed quietly to himself and went to the door, swinging it open with a charming smile. 

“Why of course, my dear! How may I be of service?” Alastor closed the door behind them and led her to one of the chairs by the fireplace, taking the one opposite her and crossed his legs, neatly folding his hands over one knee. “It’s just the two of us. Sylvie left to go spruce up before we head into town,” he said, noting how Charlie was glancing around the room.

“Oh, good!” she sighed, putting her hand over her chest in relief. “That’s, um, kind of what I came here to talk to you about. I know you’ve been…,” she paused, hands dancing as she searched for the right word, “…acclimating her to working here — and I don’t want to step on your toes — but I think it would be really nice if she could join in on daily activities. No one has really gotten a chance to get to know her yet, and I’d hate for her to keep missing out on opportunities to bond with everyone.”

He had jinxed himself, but at least it was only the princess he had to deal with.

What to do? It’s not like he could say that your cleaning skills needed improvement when evidence to the contrary surrounded them; the room was pristine. He could argue that it would be prudent to keep some level of permanent staff unless they wanted to be in a never-ending state of training new hires, but something told him that wouldn’t be the best approach. At least not for now. Alastor had no intention of letting any souls under his contract be taken from him, for redemption or otherwise. Still, seeing the others develop their relationships with each other had been fun to observe. How would little Sylvie fit into the dynamic?

“I suppose I’ve been a bit selfish with her, haven’t I? I’ll be sure to leave room in her schedule starting tomorrow, but I hope you’ll understand that mornings are sacrosanct,” Alastor said agreeably, straightening his coat as he stood up from the chair. “Unless there was anything else, I’ll go and tell her the good news.”

Charlie followed suit, grin wide and eyes sparkling as they made their way back to the door. “Of course! Oh, thank you Alastor, you have no idea how excited I am!” It was impossible not to. Her enthusiasm was nearly contagious. “Vaggie and I are thinking something up right now as a surprise for everyone, but the details haven’t been totally worked out yet. I’ll let you know as soon as possible though — gah! I can’t wait for tomorrow!”

Alastor merely smiled in response and they parted ways in the hall. He wasn’t thrilled to be losing his monopoly on you so soon, but knowing that he now had to be more intentional with his time was invigorating. Curious to see how you’ll react to being invited to group activities, he made his way to your room, already hard at work thinking of new ways to push your buttons.

✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧

You were surprised to see Alastor in the hall when you opened your door, since you had been instructed to return to his room when you were finished touching up. The quick jump-scare he caused sent a fresh wave of throbbing to your head and you hissed under your breath, unable to stop yourself from massaging your temple.

“You’re up to something,” you grumbled, walking past him to make your way to the elevators. 

He feigned offense, easily stepping into stride with you down the hall. “Chivalry is lost on you twenty-first-century souls! I don’t know why I bother.”

You glared at him from the corner of your eye, taking in the sardonic look on his face as you stepped into the elevator. It was best not to push your luck with him, considering you still had an entire outing in Cannibal Town to get through. You were about to say something when the elevator stopped after going down a couple floors, the doors opening to Angel Dust. He looked exhausted. 

When the two of you made eye contact, he glanced away, the air in the elevator quickly turning nervous as he walked in. Was it because of yesterday? Maybe Angel hadn’t been as comfortable with it as Husk made it seem… Suddenly he hit a button, stopping the elevator in its tracks. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, steeling himself. 

“Hey, so… you know how you came home lookin’ like fuckin’ Carrie yesterday?”

You felt Alastor’s static humming in the space between you; the first reaction he’s had since Angel came into the elevator. 

“I wanted to apologize sooner but—”

Angel waved his hands, cutting you off. “No, no, please, you don’t have to,” he said, a small laugh escaping him. “Look, uh… I’m only bringin’ it up cuz I just gotta know.” He was actively fighting a smile as he continued, “The trouble you ran into? His name wasn’t Donny, was it?”

✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧     ✧     ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧

tag list: @fairyv-ice, @wat4r

#hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel fan fiction #alastor hazbin hotel #alastor x reader #alastor x female reader #alastor smut #hazbin hotel smut #slow burn #song fic #if i can’t have love i want power #love and power #x reader #alastor the radio demon #the radio demon #hazbin hotel slow burn

[pursuitseternal]

Introducing “Our Blood is Thicker:” Enemies to Lovers Astarion x Tav (OC female)

Astarion x Tav (female OC) | E | 4.8 K Chapter

Summary: He can’t remember anything, but she does. The betrothed she believed dead, the source of all her centuries of grief and heartache now in the middle of her path after the Nautiloid crash. He might look mostly the same as the one who stole her heart, but something is different about him. Dark. Changed. Something hidden. But her own centuries of becoming battle-hardened haven taught her wisdom and insight beyond her own elvish abilities. He is a monster she can tame, a challenge she will have to face. No matter the heartache.

CW: angst, heartbreak, enemies, sexual tension you can cut with a dagger, vampire trauma-induced memory loss, calculating manipulation (Astarion), Spoilers for the gameplay

A/N: Prompt fill, 3rd Person POV, female Tav OC, headcanon Astarion as Star elf ✨, our Little Star

Read on AO3 if you prefer

Chapter 1: Wondering

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“Shh shh shh shh,” that sweetened, mellifluous voice whispered in her ear so softly. Lips nearly pressing against her sensitive, pointed ear. Something about it reached into the dark recesses of her memory. Jarring almost more than the danger he posed.

It was a sharp contrast. So caressing in tone. Strange, compared to the way he used every bit of his wiry, lean, overwhelming strength to push that dagger towards her neck.

“Not another sound… not if you want to keep that… darling… neck of yours….”

Shivers, colder than ice, colder than death ran down her spine at his words. Recognition shot right through her. It was a voice that once haunted her thoughts, one she once craved. But that craving had turned sour, that longing had long ago twisted into spite.

That silver hair, those piercing eyes and dangerous smile.

Even the way his arm cradled around her back, bracing her into him as he tried to threaten and destroy her.

But she had been here before.

Destroyed by him once.

Over a hundred years of loathing, resentment, anger, it all came rushing up, pouring out from her. Her hands swift and strong, she grabbed his body where she could, smashing her head right into the bridge of his beautiful, aquiline nose.

His howl of pain as he rolled away made her heart sing.

Her companions watched, mouths open as they stood in a line, some in surprise, some in delight. Karlach’s laughter was especially reassuring to her ear. Making her go just a hint faster as she scrambled for her own elegant blade.

But it was a struggle to keep her stance, to keep up. Maybe that fucking parasite is making me slow, she cursed inwardly, or maybe he’s just become quicker. Faster. But equally mean and threatening as before.

A ghost from her past, just as much of a… threat… as he once was.

Already at his feet, he clutched his dagger in hand, lips pressed in suspicion and cold, calculating spite. “I saw you on the ship…” he hissed.

She squared her shoulders, spinning her own blade expertly in hand. “That doesn’t give you the right to touch me, Astarion Ancunín,” she hissed back.

She saw it, giving her a sublime dark and twisted joy. His shock and doubt the moment she gave his name. A flicker over his face as his concentration, his intense charm and swagger, shattered. He eased on his toes, weapon lowering. Looking for answers, maybe for peaceful conversation. But it was too late for her, swallowing down the bile that had risen to speak his name again.

No backing down now, she sneered. And besides, she wasn’t alone this time. Her party stood behind her, their anxiety palpable as they watched. Waiting for her to choose: attack or speak.

And for every scar on her heart that bastard made, she longed to attack, but her own, ancient elvish sensibilities prevented her.

She couldn’t just kill one of her own. Not when there were already so few Star Elves to begin with.

“I take it, we’ve met before,” he replied. Cold, so cold in his tone. And cautious, as if he weighed every word before he let it out from those sneering lips. Same old Astarion. “At least before you crawled around the Mindflayer’s ship doing gods know what…”

That was it. She snapped inwardly. It was hard to control it, her need to pummel his pale face. “Don’t remember?” She forced a charming smile, narrowing her sharp, silver eyes at him. “Of course not, over a century of chasing your own ambitions and leaving your people behind…” She swallowed the need to mention herself… how he left you behind, her mind hissed at her with all the venom she had tried to bury.

He said nothing, but she could see how his mind was racing, scanning her up and down and all over with those… crimson… eyes.

She paused. Where were those deep violet ones? The ones she would once lose herself in, deep like the night sky she had stared into, abandoning all reason, forgetting her own self in, during those long and lonely years, wishing she wasn’t alone in her bed at night….

Rapidly, she shook her head.

It pulled him back into the tension, the pale elf hardened his form again, back on the offense, a second dagger in his fist now. “Tell me what you know about these parasites, or I’ll decorate the ground with your innards, darling…”

That’s when something pulsed in your mind, the parasite swimming, throbbing as their minds smashed together.

She saw through foreign eyes… crouching in the darkness, the tang of old blood… locked behind walls away from the stars, the sky, forsaking the sun… her stomach burned with a hunger she had never known. And slowly her mind raced, trying to cling to the memories of faces and names and the feeling of grass under her feet and wind on her face.

She wished she had chosen death as the blood on her back began to dry, as the pain of his knife still cut your senses and deadened her mind. She tried to remember anything, but it all faded into the dark…

Her eyes shot open, the glaring sun a relief to her heart as she gasped. As if she had been suffocated by that dank dark prison herself.

Astarion glared at her, so intense and angry as those crimson pools narrowed. “They took you too, I saw it during… whatever that was,” he scowled at her. Confusion, mistrust, wrinkling his porcelain brow. “It seems we have a common goal, darling, even though I could feel your hatred for me clear as… day.”

“Another gift from the Ilithids, it seems,” she scoffed, “glad I didn’t have to waste my breath telling you.” Her lithe fingers resheathed her dagger, turning on her heel to face her new found companions. But they didn’t budge even as she approached with all the confidence of a seasoned commander.

“That's it?” The elf called, voice sharp as he followed in her steps. “You’re going to just… leave me? Even though I am stuck with the same fate as all of you?” He sounded desperate, an edge of true fear flickering in his mellifluous voice.

She scoffed, tossing her shining red hair over her shoulder with a glare. “I seem to remember you always preferred to go your own way,” she jeered over your shoulder, feeling the tips of her own pointed ears growing hot with rage.

“Look, if I remembered anything, I’m sure I would have centuries to apologize for, but as it is…” he cleared his throat. She turned fully at the noise of discomfort, reassured by the closeness of the others beside her. She watched as he put on a well-practiced smile, making his arms soften as he flexed them at his sides. “I… I don’t, I can’t remember much other than my name, and little of my past.” His eyes scanned your company: wizard, cleric, tiefling… begging and pleading with their wide wetness in every way that matched his supplicant tone. “Please, I know you’re trying to find an expert, a solution…” he placed a hand on his heart, smile softening, forcing sincerity, “I’d like to, too.”

The wizard shifted beside her, leaning closer so his voice reached her ear. “It would be.. most extreme to just… ignore someone thrown into our path and bound to the same fate,” Gale’s calm and soothing lilt seemed to only aggravate her.

“We know nothing about him,” she snapped between gritted teeth. Hissing, her mind corrected those furious words: you know nothing about him.

“Do you know anything about any of us?” Shadowheart added, eyes so soft and sparkling, tone so damnably calm too.

Her nostrils flared, her temper beating in her head. Made things difficult to think past all feelings that swirled in her stomach and befuddled her mind. But she forced herself to take a breath, closing her eyes as she turned to face that unsought phantom from her past. “Fine,” she gave a relenting hiss, “for the good of the group, I will allow you to come.”

His brow quirked. Too attractively, too seductively for her own good. “Thank you,” he crooned in reply, catching her fist where it balled at her side and pressing his lips on her fingers.

His mouth was cold, but so was the air, she shook the observations from her head. Trying to keep everything he did at a distance. Hard to do as he smirked down at her, as rakish and roguish as once plagued her dreams. “I always enjoy being allowed to come,” he purred, quietly enough for her ears alone.

“Don’t,” she rasped through her tightly clenching jaw. “Don’t make me regret this spike of altruism on your behalf…” Finally ripping her hand from his chilled hold upon her. “Not that you would know the word at any rate.”

He stiffened, caught off guard again as she mentioned his past… who he was. “For as much as you think I should know you, darling, I don’t…” he squared his frame, rigid and defensive. “And for as much as you think you may know me, of what I once was, I assure you…” he seemed to sneer bitterly, his teeth flashing in the sun, “…you do not.”

Provoking him was fun, she decided. Maybe, making him pay would be a pleasant distraction from the fear of these damned parasites. She made her lips smile, giving her fiery, burnished red hair a toss. Cool and collected. “Then it seems we will have much time to get to know one another, Astarion.”

There it was again, that outward show of being polite, his feral nature just simmering beneath. “Of course,” he bowed his head, closing in so close, she had to push past him.

But the moment she cleared ahead, he was right there again, and this time, she couldn’t fight the aggravated sigh in her throat as he fell in step behind her. His body so close, she could feel the brush of his sleeve—richly colored, decadentally embroidered—with every fucking step. That’s when his sultry voice leaned too close to her ear so as to fill it. “So, since you’re so cunning and sneaky and beautiful, I’m sure you know about these parasites…”

“Certainly,” she threw him her most annoyed and caustic look. “I know enough to tell you they’ll turn you into a Mindflayer,” she snapped her reply. Quick and to the point.

“A…” he stopped frozen in his tracks, shaking his head as he scoffed with bitter laughter. “Of course,” he sneered with disdain, “it’ll turn me into a monster. What did I expect?” he commented, quietly, under that icy breath, almost to himself.

She sniffed, her own irascible, twitching grimace on her smooth face, letting out all the barbs that had piled up as he looked at her, that aloof veneer just… pissing her off. “You were always a bit of a monster, Astarion,” she teased, malice in her words. “Shouldn’t be much of a change for you.”

That did it. That broke into his ice-cold defenses. He roared, hands clawing into her upper arms, his massive strength shoving her little, flexible frame against the closest tree. He’s so close. His breath chilling. His teeth bared in her face, but all she could see was the feral, unchecked wilderness in the shocking red of his eyes. “Look,” he growled, voice barely more than a rumble as he pinned her into that unyielding tree. “I don’t know what you remember, or who you remember. But I don’t know you… I don’t recall your name, your face, your annoying, rash, irritating presence…”

“Funny,” she kept her face relaxed, pleasantly smiling softly, strangely calm as all the bile began to draw from the dark recesses of her soul. At last, her mouth spewed the words that had tightened in her chest since she recognized him. “I can recall everything. An elf’s memory is their curse, you know. I remember the depth of colors in your violet eyes, I remember the way your giggle would turn every head to give you the attention you longed for, even as a youth.”

His pinning frame eased, but he kept them on her body. Still heavy and strong as he pressed over every inch.

She wished he wouldn’t.

But it only kept the poison flowing. “I remember the taste of your tongue in my mouth, the heat of your hands as you caressed me through my gowns… I remember the way your voice cracked with feeling when you gave me your word we would be wed, my betrothed for every age… every lifetime…”

Now it was her silky voice that cracked. And she watched the shadows draw over his pale face. The lines around his eyes crinkling as he winced, as if her words were sucking a venom from sealed wounds.

“I remember that same untamable need for power, for ambition, the same that made you leave your people under the stars, in the woods, to go to Baldur’s Gate for your studies. For you to find a way to take power from society, exploiting the law… becoming a Magistrate so you could discover true power and freedom…”

Those dark red eyes shut completely. His lips drawing slowly in a pained sneer. But now the words just couldn’t stop. Not now.

She inhaled, shakily and deeply. The pain almost overwhelmed her. “I recall every second of waiting during those years, waiting for your letters… for your return to me… to make me your bride but…”

He gave a rattling breath from his chest. “But I never did…” his hands swept down her arms, lingering for a moment before he released her completely. “I couldn’t return…”

She gave a derisive huff, a laugh of pure ire and disbelief. “I know. Well, I thought I did. I went looking for you, Astarion. I found your… grave.” She almost shouted the last word. The full extent of her pain, her betrayal coating her voice, coloring her vision in pure, red rage. “I sought after how you died. Murdered in the streets. Like the traitor you were to me.” Her breath was rough and ragged. “I let you go from that moment, Astarion. So forgive me if stumbling upon you very much… not dead… is a bit painful.”

“I assure you,” he spoke through his perfectly white, gritted teeth, “it might not be as painful as the truth.”

“Well,” she sniffed in scorn, “once you deign to share it, then I’ll stop assuming you faked your own death, just to get away from me. What a sense of humor the gods must have to throw you back in my path now.”

“The gods have nothing to do with it,” he twisted his head, and she could see every muscle in his neck clenching and throbbing. “You’ll learn the truth, I’m sure. Maybe it’ll even come to you in the night…”

Brows furrowed, making her face screw in contempt, too irritated to be confused. “Maybe,” she snipped, “might be faster than waiting on you to do anything.”

He grinned, brows canting, those eyes gazed at her with that same amused stare that once made her thighs wet with need. And dammit, if she didn’t start to feel it again. Especially as that smirk started to twist more rakishly. Her heart skipped a beat. The wind in his hair, tousling those same silver locks, the scent of his skin, citrus and spice, she hated the way it still tugged at her body.

“Fuck,” she cursed, jutting her chin up at him, trying to look composed and undeterred. And unaroused. “I just hope you’re as good of a fighter as you once were,” she taunted, eyes scanning the daggers at each side of his narrow waist. “Seems your body remembers that even if you don’t remember anything important.”

“I would dare to say, darling, I’m even more dangerous now than I ever was,” he preened. Proud. Insufferable. “If you ever felt yourself in danger around me before, perhaps you may wish to watch your back… and your neck.” His eyes raked down her body, that same ancient heat in his eyes even if he didn’t remember it from… from before.

That was enough. She huffed and stalked on up the trail, trying to put as much distance and as many other bodies between her and him.

That’s when she saw it… where the rest of her party had already gathered. Something about the rocks ahead, the massive door in the wall, something inside her wanted to see what’s inside… and without another thought, she shoved on the big, wood planks.

“Locked,” she proclaimed, looking at her sweet Wizard, giving him a soft, pleading look for any help he and his magic could offer.

“Well, I do suppose…” Gale smiled, “anything to help our fearless leader, even if it’s just the gentlemanly thing of holding a door open…”

“Done!” Astarion crowed, his lockpick in one hand, the other gesticulating dramatically as he bowed. The thick door did, in fact, groan on its hinges as it opened into the mountain. “Who needs magic when you have a fine tool to shove in tiny holes, hmm?”

His eyes fixated right on her. Gods, her mind raced at the way he looked at her as if she was bared to the sun. Is he remembering?

“Well, Astarion,” the cleric taunted as she drew closer, “no one is accusing you of gentlemanly behavior.”

“I should certainly hope not,” his eyes shifted that heated, flirtatious stare on Shadowheart. “Gentlemen aren’t known for having as much fun as I tend to… enjoy.”

“Ugh,” that groan came from her, through, totally unplanned. She pushed between them to enter into the dark. But what she tried to ignore, try to distract herself from, was how her stomach knotted, how her blood boiled at the image that was now burned in her mind. Of how he was just… smirking at her…the cleric… undressing with his eyes… throwing those honeyed barbs…. And all he has for you is just anger and blades and pain, her thoughts scratched at those old, heartsick wounds.

As she entered into the dark adventure ahead, she didn’t know what was worse. The enemies in her path, or the traitorous ghost that haunted her with envy within her heart.

With a sigh, she could only hope he was as brutal a fighter as he seemed to think he was. External enemies he could slay, but she doubted he would help, could help, that bitterness and jealousy that had taken root inside her.

___________________

Hells below, she moaned, she made it to the night. Alive and in one piece. And… as she surveyed her companions that fate had shoved into her path, it was thanks to all of them. Even… she groaned inwardly… Astarion. He was indeed vicious. Worse than she remembered. He loved the bloodshed. He thrived in the chaos of battle. He became one with the shadows to sneak up on the enemy.

It was…. Gods forbid… impressive.

She mindlessly sorted through the food that everyone had pilfered on the journey today, every companion busied now piecing together sleeping places. Some of the more ambitious, entitled, conceited companions had begun to construct tents.

Like Astarion.

A heavy sigh, she tried to ignore how he was bouncing on his toes, fairly giddy to make a little abode under the night sky. Rolling her eyes painfully far back in her skull, she settled for a comfy, if austere, bedroll that she settled by the fire.

She looked at her hands as she fluffed her pillow, shifting the thick blanket to cover the leather of its back. So dry, so scarred. Calluses on both her fingers from holding sword and dagger. Seeing Astarion… it made it hard not to remember the days before. The days when pricking her fingers with a needle and thread were the worst she could do… days when she touched the finest silks, softer than starlight, that shimmered just as brightly and just as…

“Shame you can’t fashion yourself a little retreat away for yourself… a little place for privacy, secrecy,” that irritating and silken voice snapped her from her sweet memories, thrusting her right back into the agony of his presence. The reminder of all she lost. And he towered over her, looming above where she crouched.

Turning a look of pure spite up at him, she glared from over her shoulder, unable to miss how his legs stood so close to her rear. Nearly touching her with his body.

“What need would I have of secrecy, Astarion?” She taunted as she stood, carefully putting more room between them as she did so.

“Given how little I do recall about you, I’m sure I have no idea,” he purred, crossing his arms.

Exasperation. It had been a long day, ending it with more of him wasn’t ideal. She needed to… put something to rest. Anything.

“Okay, I get it,” she huffed, crossing her arms too, jutting her chin up as she met his sultry stare of indifference, “I remember much more than you. For whatever reason, I don’t know. And I know after all this time, I doubt I deserve any form of explanation. But my memory is all I have….”

She swallowed, the words you were all I had burning a hole in her throat as she fought them back down.

“But what I do know is that… someday… I would like to know what happened,” she blinked her sharp silver eyes, turning away hurriedly to hide the harsh sting of tears that began to burn. “When you’re ready… if you even remember enough to share that.”

Breathless, she waited for some snarky reply. For some witty rejoinder. But it never came. She turned. He was just… standing there. The light of the setting sun seemed to glow around him, almost making those soft, silver curls on his head incandescent.

Gods, she knew how it was she fell in love with him so easily, so long ago. A lifetime ago. Shadows darkened his eyes, and she saw it then, how he had let his guard down for a split second. Nothing but purest pain on his face.

“Astarion,” she breathed, those long forgotten feelings creeping back up. Timeless affection, boundless attachment, undying devotion.

“I will tell you… but,” he swallowed, giving a heavy, saddened sigh. “Gods, I wish I remembered more, remembered… you.” He looked at her then, really and truly. No squinting or leering or smirking. “You seem so, nice… when you want to be. You sound like you really, truly cared for me.”

“I did,” came her reply. I do, her heart screamed through the cage of spite that she had built.

“I am… sorry,” he kept his eyes fixed on her, so wide and soft. “I… must have cared for you too, I… I can almost feel it too.”

Her lungs burn. No, no. She was past this, for almost two centuries, she had buried herself in serving her people, defending them from enemies, seeking victories on the battlefield. Alone. Prowess with the blade. Feats few of her race have ever attained. No marriage or love to soften her.

And yet…except for his eyes, this was her love… her… gods, she swallowed the words… her betrothed.

“It’s alright, Astarion,” she shrugged, shoving down all that saccharine sentiment, “even if you did feel the same way as you did once, there is still the pain of losing you for such a long time.” Her head hung down, her eyes looking down the front of her well-worn linen shirt, as if she couldn’t examine the creases in her sleeves hard enough.

Then she felt him drawing closer.

“I… didn't fake anything,” he whispered. Standing right before her. Not touching, but staring back in the fading light. “I didn’t fake my death.”

She let out a quiet scoff. “So what, then if you didn’t fake it, you really died?” She couldn’t help the slight mocking edge to her voice as he dragged up all that pain she fought to still keep locked up tight.

He gave a single, loud, bitter laugh in return. Then, his face instantly lost all that softness, becoming all slanted angles, clenching muscles, and spiteful glare. “I was captured,” he hissed, “kept as a slave to a… monster.”

“Astarion,” his name was a sob in her voice, her body unable to stop her hand from reaching out to rest on his arm as it clenched at his side.

“No, I don’t want pity,” he snapped his teeth in rage, “I don’t want your pity. What I want is revenge. Freedom. These tadpoles have obviously affected us, in more ways than I think anyone can simply observe. There is a power here.” He trembled under her featherlight touch, but he hadn’t shaken it off. “And I would like to use it to its benefit for me, for once.”

“Sounds like even with… everything you endured, you haven’t changed all that much,” she tried to smile. Despite his pain and rage on his beautiful face. Despite her heavy heart.

“You have no idea what you are speaking of,” his voice was exacting, enraged, and sharp.

Her head nodded, the soft red waves of her hair falling gently as she did. “No, no I don’t. You’re right.”

And instantly something shifted in his frame. His gaze felt… different on her face. Even though she didn’t look up. Not yet.

“And I would want those things for you too, even once upon a time,” she added, “Freedom. Revenge.” She trained her eyes on the ground between them, feeling his stare’s intensity more than seeing it.

And still, he allowed her hand to rest on his arm.

“When we… once were… together, I would never have said such a thing. But I have changed in these centuries too. Fought enough battles, looted enough corpses to lose the softness of my hand and the gentility of my voice.” She struggled to breathe again. Something around her heart releasing at last. “Maybe it’s best that you don’t remember me.” She gave the hard sinews of his arm a gentle squeeze. “Maybe we just get to know each other as we are now?”

“I kind of like the sound of that,” he hummed. Then he cast that well-practiced smile, the only warning before his other hand came to cover hers arresting it from his body in his soft fingers.

His touch was still so… cold.

“I do still wish I could remember more of you,” his voice dipped low, soft and sweet and tickling in her ear as he seemed to draw closer. “Maybe you can think of some things to… trigger my memory?”

“I could certainly try,” she managed to reply, and as he began to crowd her.

“I’d be open to some ideas of yours, darling,” his hand raised her to his lips, placing a polite kiss on her twitching fingertips. “I also have some… suggestions that you might find… intriguing.” His eyes flashed as she looked into his face, as she felt his breath on her hand where he kept it pressed close to his mouth. “Especially since you say we were betrothed…”

Nope. She gave him a disapproving frown, a bitter chuckle. “If you can’t remember if we have coupled yet, then I am not about to tell you either way, Astarion,” she smirked at him. “If we are getting to know one another again, it seems only fair you should earn such a privilege again as well.”

He shrugged those strapping, broad shoulders. “Can’t blame a man for trying,” he purred. “Not with how… delectable… you smell.”

Her breath burned in her lungs, his hand turning hers slowly, running a thumb over that sensitive skin inside her wrist just once. Pressing it against his nose. Smelling her flesh. Even more painstakingly slowly, his lips caressed it, trailing a few more over those tingling nerves he was igniting on fire now. Then he released her just as quickly as he had stolen her hand to press to his lips.

Similar, but so, so much more daring. Devious. Desirous. Gods, kissing her fingers was one thing, but this. Oh, she felt molten inside, barely noticing just how cold he still was to the touch. Finally he released her. “You should rest, my dear. Tell the others, I will take the first watch to show you all I’m on my best behavior.”

She watched him turn and take two steps towards his tent.

Then he stoped, casting a smirk over his shoulder. Catching her in the glint of his crimson eye. “Sweet dreams… Cordehlia.”

Hells… her name. Her gut stabbed in on itself. Her legs gave out slightly, as she hoped he wouldn't notice.

No one had said it… her name… not within his hearing. How… did he…?

As he crept his way to the treeline, Cordehlia watched him as he stalked away. Wondering just how much he might remember.

Wondering at how much he had changed…

Wondering… why was he so cold, and why were his eyes so red…

💞🗡️💞🗡️💞🗡️💞🗡️💞🗡️💞🗡️💞🗡️💞🗡️💞

Want more? Check out my Masterlist 🩸✨

#astarion fanfic #enemies to lovers #what if: they knew each other #astarion fic #bg3 spoilers #astarion ancunin #astarion angst #astarion x tav #astarion x oc #astarion x original female character #astarion x f!tav #astarion x female tav #astarion baldurs gate #baldurs gate astarion #astarion romance #bg3 astarion #astarion smut #astarion bg3 #astarion #baldurs gate smut #baldur’s gate iii #baldur’s gate 3 #baldur's gate #baldurs gate 3 #baldurs gate #baldur's gate 3 #baldur's gate iii #baldur‘s gate #baldur's gate oc #baldur’s gate spoilers

[sturniozo]

Our Lips Are Sealed IV

Masterlist

It’s been days since the whole debacle. Every time I enter a room that Chris is in, Nate is sure to be there as well. Things have been tense. Chris barely speaks a word to me any more. None of us speak of the event that occurred days ago.

I pack my bag for my last weekend with my father. When I come back we’ll immediately be going camping for my 18th birthday. It’s a tradition we’ve had every year since I was one. We’d always go camping in my birthday, no matter what the weather was like. And since my birthday was in the summer, it didn’t bother Nate or my schedules at all.

Clothes, check. Changers, check. Computer, check. Phone, check. Headphones, check. I have everything I need for my weekend with my father. I swing my bag over my shoulder and slip my arms through the straps before walking out of my bedroom and closing the door behind me.

Nate must have noticed the solemn look on my face as he exited his own room, since he put his hand on my shoulder. “It’s alright.” He says. “It’s the last time you’ll have to spend a weekend with that guy.”

I laugh in response. “I know, but it’s still a weekend.” I sigh. “I hate being there.”

“I know you do.” Nate says as he pulls me into a hug. “It’ll be alright.”

“You don’t know that. We didn’t have the same dad, and even so, you haven’t seen your dad in over a year.” I pull away from the hug.

Nate kisses my forehead. “If he says anything, just let me know.” He says.

“It wouldn’t matter, I’m not seeing him again after this weekend.” I shrug.

“Does he know that? Did you discuss that with him?” Nate asks.

I look down at my shoes. “Well… he knows.”

“Did you talk to him about it?”

I sigh. “He’s not really someone who listens to me.”

Nate gives me a half smile. “I know. But you need to tell him. He’s the one who wanted partial custody of you, so you know part of him cares about you as his daughter.”

I laugh. “Your dad might have cared about you. My dad just didn’t want to pay child support.”

“Y/n you can’t say that.” Nate sighs.

“You don’t get it. I’m trapped in that small room for two days doing nothing but occupying myself with my phone and computer. I have nothing there. No books, no video games, no movies. The room smells like cigarettes and the carpet is matted and the walls are stained.” I rant.

Nate shakes his head. He begins to speak but the sound of a car horn honking from our driveway stops him.

“That would be my dad.” I say. Nate pulls me into another hug.

“It’s just one last weekend. And you have to tell him.” Nate says as he holds me tightly.

“I know.” I mumble back. I give Nate one last tight squeeze before pulling away. We hear the horn honk once again. “I’ll see you Sunday night.” I say as I walk down the stairs.

“See you then.” Nate says.

I hug my mother goodbye before walking out the front door and to my father’s truck in the driveway. I get into the back seat and close the creaky door behind me. Neither my father or I speak a word to each other as he backs out of the driveways and leaves for his house.

I fiddle with my fingers as I think of how to tell my dad I’m not going to be going on these visits any longer. I bite my lip and look out the window. We’ve never been very close, he never really seemed to understand me, or even tried to.

He usually just calls me weird and lets me be. When I was a little kid and he had just found out I was his, he was happy. I remember that. Now I swear it’s like he’s disappointed in who I am. He was so much happier when I was a kid, excited to hang around me and have me for the weekend.

I think the change in his mood is my own fault. I think it’s mostly because I never seemed interested in staying with him when I was a kid. I know I was. I liked being around my father, I just never could show it within my words or actions. Not in a way he understood at least.

I must have been too lost in my thoughts to notice we’ve pulled into my father’s driveway. He opens the door to his truck and gets out, so I grab my bag and open my door to get out as well. I follow silently behind him as we walk to the house.

He opens the door for me to enter before he does the same and closes the door behind me. I stand to the side as he takes his shoes off, still twiddling with my fingers.

My dad looks up. “What is it?” He asks in a gruff voice. I know it’s nothing, but the sound of his voice always startles me. It’s just so deep and gruff, even if he doesn’t mean to sound mean.

“I… I need a moment to think before I can-“ My dad cuts me off.

“Only liars need time to think.”

“I’m not gonna lie, I just-“

“Just what?” He raises his voice a little.

“I’m just not sure how I want to say this.” I tell him.

“Say what? Just spit it out, it’s not that hard.”

I bite my lip and look back down at my feet. I take my bag off my shoulders and set it down on the couch.

My dad sighs. “Why is it difficult for you to talk?” He asks.

“I just don’t want to upset you in any way.” I answer.

“So you know you’re going to say something that’s going to upset me and you’re going to say it anyways?” My dad asks.

I look down. “I- I guess.”

My dad sighs once again, rubbing his eyes as he leans on the side of the couch, sitting on the edge. “Go to your room and think about what you’re going to say to me.”

“I-“

“Just have it figured out by the time I get dinner ordered.” He says and walks away.

That was always a thing with my father. When he walks away the conversation is over, whether you’re actually done talking or not. I can’t count the amount of times he’s walked away when I was trying to talk to him. Explaining an interest I’ve had, the plot of a show I was watching, the backstory I’ve created around a drawing. Every time I tried to connect with him it always ended with him walking away.

I pick my bag back up and walk down the hall to my room. My bland, undecorated room. The room smells of cigarettes and there’s smoke stains on the paint of the walls.

I set my bag down on my bed and close the door behind me. I lay down on my bed, kicking off my shoes.

When I was younger I did everything I could think of to make my father pay attention to me. After I realized he had lost interest of course. At first the relationship we had was ideal. He was the perfect father, going to every school event I had, showing interest in my art. He would plan outings for our weekends together, going to a park or watching a movie or just a picnic. Anything. Now it’s nothing.

Over the last few years I’ve tried to get him to do something like he used to again. To pay the slightest bit of attention to me. I’ve tried to show interest in the things he likes, welding and cars and gory horror films. I’d research and learn all I could about the things he enjoys, and try to talk with him about it, hoping he’d enjoy it. Hoping he’d like me again.

It never worked. He was surprised I knew so much about something he liked at first. He’d listen for a while before walking away, meaning the one sided conversation was at an end.

I’m snapped out of my thoughts by my phone buzzing in a rhythmic fashion. I always hated every stupid iPhone jingle and I don’t see the point in buying one when I’d never like them anyways. So my phone has always been on vibrate.

I check the caller id. Chris. I answer immediately.

“Chris?” I ask, surprised. He hasn’t spoken to me for days since the events that unfolded.

“Hey, I just wanted to check on you.” Chris says.

“What for?” I ask. He’s never wanted to ‘check in’ on me before.

“I just wanted to say sorry.” He says with a sigh.

“For what?” I ask him.

I hear Chris’s breath over the call. “Saying that, you know. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable or anything.”

I realize what he means and laugh. “I’m fine, really. It didn’t bother me.” In truth, it bothered Nate a lot more than it bothered me.

“I don’t want you to think I think about you like that, I don’t I swear. You’re like a sister to me.”

Ouch. That’s nice to know.

“I gotta go, Chris.” I lie.

“What? What’s up?” He asks, laughing a little.

“Nothing I-“

“What makes you have to leave?”

I sigh. Nothing. I stay silent. “I’m trying to think… how to tell my dad I’m not gonna come back here.”

“Oh, that.” Chris says.

“I don’t want to upset him.” I explain.

“I get it. Your dad’s not an understanding person.” Chris laughs.

“He’s not bad I just… I don’t think I’ll come back here since I don’t legally have to and I want to-“

“You don’t have to explain it to me.” Chris says. “Explain it to him.”

“He always either walks away or interrupts me.” I sigh. “I don’t want to hurt his feelings. He always takes what I say the wrong way.”

“I get it.” Chris says. “Do you want to practice with me?”

“What?”

“Tell me, pretend I’m your dad. It will make it easier.”

“Really? You’d do that for me?” I ask.

“Yeah.” Chris laughs softly. “I’d do anything for you.”

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[rhoorl]

Working Title | Chapter 20

Pairing: Dieter Bravo/OFC Series Rating: Mature, 18+ Word Count: 5.4k Series Masterlist | AO3 Chapter 20 Chapter Summary: The girls head to LA for the audition. Chapter Warnings: Brief alcohol mention. Swearing. Alternating POVs. Some angst, Body image issues. People being mean online. Allusions to Dieter's past. A/N: I can’t believe we’ve made it to the penultimate chapter of this series. This has been my first foray into fanfic writing and these two mean so much to me. I hope you enjoy this chapter and thank you for reading and spending some time in this little world!

“Cheers,” Sam smiled clinking the neck of his beer with Dieter’s glass. 

The two made some small talk, mostly about the show and whether or not they thought it was actually going to be picked up or not.

“Do you have anything lined up after this is done?” He studied Dieter, who sat absentmindedly swirling his Old Fashioned in one hand.

“Nah, I haven’t come across anything that interests me. Might take some time off.”

“Must be nice,” Sam scoffed, wincing as he ran his hand through his hair. He hated it when his mouth worked faster than his brain. “Sorry, that probably sounded worse than I meant it. I just…I’m not in a position to take a lot of time off you know?”

Although he had been working for a while, Sam still hadn’t gotten his “big break” so every project felt really important to him.

“No man, it’s all good. I get it, I’ve been there. Hell…five years ago no one wanted to hire me. I’m just now starting to get people to somewhat take me seriously, again,” he chuckled to himself as his mind wandered to a dark place before quickly returning to the present. 

“Well, they can’t take your Oscar away huh?” Sam offered a small smile and cleared his throat to change the subject. “You thinking of going out to see the girls sometime in Toronto? I’m trying to plan a trip.”

“Yeah, I was …ah…actually thinking of maybe renting a house out there. You know, since I’ll have the time,” Dieter scratched the back of his head.

“No way! That’s an awesome idea! Belle must be so excited about it…” he scrunched his face and Dieter took a sip of his drink. “She knows right?”

“I haven’t told her yet, I kinda wanted it to be a surprise,” Dieter smiled softly.

“Oh well, I’m sure she’ll feel a whole lot better taking the job knowing you’ll be there,” Sam offered, taking a swig of his beer.

“She say anything to you?” 

“Not in so many words. But based on what Indy and I were talking about…you know…with she and I…I can only imagine the same applies to the two of you,” he set his beer down and looked Dieter in the eyes. “She’s fallen really hard, you know that right?”

Dieter chuckled, “Well however hard she’s fallen I’m like 10 times worse.”

Both of their phones buzzed at the same time as they both quickly lunged for their respective devices.

“Ah, well looks like they made it on the plane,” Sam smiled, tapping away.

Belle: Made it on the plane!

Dieter: I hope you have a safe flight. Try and sleep. You’ll be there when you wake up.

Belle: I wish I could sleep on planes. I’m checking what movies they have

Dieter: Do they have any of my stuff? That will make you fall asleep. 😜

Belle: No silly watching it would make me miss you too much.

Dieter: 💗

Belle: gotta go - they’re telling us to turn off the phones. I love you 😘

Dieter: Wait! Since I can’t hear you say goodnight, can I get a picture?

Belle smirked, feeling the warmth in her cheeks as she snapped a quick selfie.

Dieter: Good night beautiful. Tell me when you land. xo

Indy sported the biggest smile as she switched her phone to airplane mode. Glancing over she caught you staring at your lock screen — a selfie of you and Dieter from your hike around Waimea Canyon.

“Thanks for coming with me B,” she nudged your arm with her elbow, pulling you out of your daydream. 

“Of course, this is exciting. Are you getting nervous?”

“Nah, I got this,” she winked. 

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Yeah babe, of course,” she turned her body towards you. “What’s up?”

“Have you and Sam talked about things? Like what’s going to happen next?”

Indy looked down, playing with the hem of her shirt with a small smile. “Yeah…we’ve talked about it. Truthfully it makes me a little scared. I really like him B and I…I don’t know what’s next for us. Sure he can come out and visit, but he needs to work too.”

“For what it’s worth, he really likes you too,” you covered her hand with yours, rubbing circles with your thumb. “And I think he’s a great guy so I’m rooting for you.”

She rested her head on your shoulder, “Thanks B. At first I thought this was going to be just some on-set fling or whatever but I can see this going somewhere,” she smirked as you looked at her with a silent squeal. 

“I knew it,” you winked.

“Try and get some sleep, ok? I know how you get,” she smirked as she rummaged through her bag to find the novelty sleeping mask you got her years ago. The “Sleeping Beauty” stitching, a nod to her Disney Princess past, was starting to fade. She put on her noise-canceling headphones and was asleep before the wheels left the tarmac, leaving you to sort out how to entertain yourself for the next five and a half hours. 

You aimlessly scrolled through the various television shows and documentaries given as in-flight entertainment options, unable to find something that grabbed your interest. Once the flight attendant delivered your ginger ale and pretzels, you decided to get serious about finding a movie. Doing some quick math, you figured you could probably watch at least two.

When you reached the “C’s” in the menu, your stomach did a little flip seeing the thumbnail for Cliff Beasts 6. You remember when the movie came out and how you had to drag Indy to go see it, tolerating all of the teasing because you just had to see the latest Dieter flick. You’ve endured so many different films and TV shows just to get a chance to watch him; Cliff Beasts 6 was no exception. His over-the-top, cartoonish accent made you laugh despite the absolute trainwreck of a plot. 

Seeing Dieter on the little screen mounted in the seatback in front of you gave you butterflies. The last couple of weeks were such a whirlwind. Never in your wildest dreams did you think you’d ever meet him in person let alone everything else that’s transpired. You felt like you were living in an alternate reality. 

With a smile now permanently affixed to your face, you watched and focused less on the movie and more on how quickly you’ve grown to love this man. His nervous energy, his smile, his laugh, his hair, of course. The way he knew how to strike that balance of gentle and comforting with a little edge that made you want to give him anything and everything. By this point, you were about halfway through the movie and your eyelids were starting to feel heavy.

The guys decided to call it a night after a couple of drinks due to Sam’s early call time (and the fact that he hadn’t read through his scenes yet). Dieter’s call time got pushed back, but he was desperate to return to his room to wallow and track Belle’s flight. 

Once in his suite, he made a beeline for the kitchen, grabbed a bottle of water along with a box of cookies, and went to his room. Instead of sitting on his side, he settled into Belle’s side of the bed, traces of her perfume and shampoo still on the pillow. He searched for her flight on his phone and studied the route while eating a cookie, the crumbs falling on his shirt and onto the bed. 

The girls had a few couple hours until they were to land in Los Angeles and his mind was abuzz, flipping through various thoughts like a Rolodex. He hoped it was a smooth flight and wondered what Belle was doing, wishing she was able to get some sleep. He was curious about how the audition would go for Indy. He knew she was a lock for the role so he needed to stop thinking of “ifs” and start thinking of “whens.” 

Sleep was a lost cause so he grabbed the remote. He wasn’t going to be able to sleep until he knew she was safe on the ground. Flipping through the channels, he came across Alien and decided to stop and keep it on as background noise as he continued to do some research on his tablet. He found a couple of places in Toronto and fired off emails to Liz so she could investigate further. 

Time crawled by. Something else was on TV but Dieter didn’t pay it any mind. He was scrolling through photos on his phone, landing on a candid he took of Belle one morning. She looked so peaceful, a hint of a smile on her face as she lay on her side facing him, the sheet just barely covering her. 

He closed his eyes wishing she was next to him. He ran his hand over his face, his breath hitched just a bit smelling the smallest trace of her musk still on his fingers. It sent an electric pulse down his body, remembering how just a few hours ago her mouth was where his hand had drifted to. His slow strokes picked up as he replayed some of their more intimate moments in his head. It didn’t take long before he found his release, left panting as he reached for his phone. 

One more hour.

He cleaned himself up and stepped outside smiling as he looked across at the adjacent balcony, remembering that morning. He stared out into the darkness, hearing the rhythmic sounds of the waves crashing onto the beach below. It was lulling him to sleep, but before he closed his eyes he set an alarm on his phone.

You were woken up when the flight attendants made one last pass through the cabin before taking their seats for the approach to LAX. “Psst,” you gently shook Indy. 

She groaned, pulling off her sleeping mask with a pout. “I need the largest, most obnoxious coffee concoction when we land.”

“You got it,” you giggled. 

You reached for your phone, itching to be able to turn it off airplane mode so you could text Dieter. The moment the tires made contact with the tarmac, both you and Indy were furiously tapping away at your phones. You felt butterflies when a message came through before you could send one. 

Dieter: My bed felt empty 😞 Hope you were able to get some sleep. I miss you.

You grinned like an absolute idiot at your phone at the selfie he sent complete with his signature arched eyebrow and pursed lips. He was in bed underneath the covers. His broad shoulders took up the whole frame and his hair was as unruly as ever, but what stood out to you most was his sweet smile and gentle, but tired, eyes. 

Belle: Just landed 🙂 You’re still up?!

Dieter: I took a little power nap 😉 

Dieter: I wanted to make sure you got there ok. 

Beside you, Indy whispered into her phone to Sam using a baby voice. Normally this would have made you cringe, but seeing her this happy was actually really sweet. 

Belle: All good. Safe and sound 🙂 You should get some rest.

Dieter: For later tonight? 😏

Belle: lol whatever gets you to sleep a little

Dieter: Yes ma’am

Dieter: Keep me updated. Even if I fall back asleep it will be nice to wake up to your name on my phone. 

Belle: 😘

Belle: I’ll try not to bother you too much

Dieter: You’re never a bother sweetheart

Dieter breathed a sigh of relief knowing the girls made it safely. The anxiety of the last several hours coupled with the lack of sleep finally caught up to him and before he knew it, his eyes fluttered closed as his phone slipped from his hand and onto the carpet.

Getting off the plane through the airport and to the car service was a bit of a blur thanks to the small gaggle of paparazzi armed with cameras, cellphones, and ring lights. Seeing the paps at a place like LAX was pretty standard given all of the celebrities, but what was uncommon was for you and Indy to be the targets of their attention. Once they spotted you, they descended, shouting both of your names as Rhys tried his best to shield you while ushering you to the waiting car. They yelled all at once and you could only make out a phrase or two from each.

“Are you dating Dieter Bravo?”

“Did you and Dieter break up?”

“Belle, can you give us a smile?”

“What the fuck?” Indy huffed as she scooted into the back of the SUV behind you. 

“How’d they know my name?” Your face scrunched up as you looked out the back window.

“Someone must have tipped them off, I swear I didn’t set that up!” Rhys looked back from the front seat before turning around to furiously type on his phone. 

You and Indy exchanged a confused look. “I can see them knowing you Ind, but me?”

“Well, you are dating Dieter fucking Bravo…” she smirked, before switching to a more serious tone. “I’m sorry B, it sucks. It’s one thing if he were here with you; I know how unnerving this whole thing can be. But you rocked it! Your first paparazzi swarm!” She gave an encouraging smile, trying to make you laugh to get your mind off the path it would inevitably go down.

You sat a bit dumbfounded, trying to process. You are dating Dieter fucking Bravo. You are in love with him and he’s in love with you. But all of this kind of attention wasn't something you wanted. Your mind started to spiral thinking about what life would be like with Dieter outside of your little bubble. Whether going out on a date or taking a trip to the grocery store, he was recognizable and your life would always be on display for others to judge and scrutinize.

Deep in thought, you didn’t even register the SUV pulling up to Indy’s apartment. She quickly unlocked the door and ushered you all in, knowing there was limited time for her to take a quick shower and freshen up. Rhys stepped out to make a couple of phone calls while you laid out your kit on the vanity in her bedroom. Once you were all set up, you plopped on the bed and pulled out your phone. Even though you figured (and hoped) he was asleep, you decided to fire off a message to Dieter.

Belle: Sorry it’s been a bit chaotic but we’re at Indy’s now. Audition is at 9 so I’ll be kinda MIA - Rhys says I have some meetings today too. Hope you're getting some sleep 💕

A notification for Instagram popped up which you ignored, opting instead to clear out some emails. But then another notification came through, followed by another and another, and soon your phone started buzzing with texts and other alerts. As you opened Instagram Rhys sprinted into the room.

“Have you seen them?” He asked in a huff, rushing over to you.

“What? What happened? Is everything ok?”

“Y-yeah, it’s just….the photos of you and Indy are starting to circulate.” He looked a bit worried and you weren’t quite sure why.

“Circulate?” You scoffed, trying to put on a calm exterior despite the anxiety brewing in your chest. You fidgeted with the sleeve of Dieter's sweatshirt you were still wearing.

“Just the typical accounts but some…others picked it up too,” his mouth twitched as he averted his eyes.

You furrowed your brows and Rhys opened his mouth to say more as the en suite bathroom door opened.

“I’m ready!” A bathrobe-clad Indy announced before her face dropped seeing Rhys stressed and you confused. “Wait. What happened? Is everything ok?”

“Yeah, yeah,” he said, walking over to put his hands on Indy’s arms. “It’s just that the photos from the airport are starting to make their rounds.”

You can’t see the look on Rhys’ face but something in his voice tells you he’s trying to tell Indy something without tipping you off. 

“Have you seen anything?” Indy looked past Rhys, her eyes boring into you.

You shook your head, “No, what the fuck guys?! I literally just sat down. Is there something I should know?”

Rhys and Indy exchanged a look before she walked past him, coming to sit next to you on the bed. “Here let me take a look.” She unlocked her phone and started going through her tagged posts.

Indy had the best poker face but you knew her tells. To the untrained eye, they wouldn’t know the difference but decades of friendship made you all too aware of her microexpressions. The slight purse of her lips, an eyebrow twitch, or a shift in her posture – she was uneasy about something.

“You’re making me nervous, Ind.” Your mind started to race through all of the possibilities but had a sneaking suspicion that the reason both she and Rhys were acting weird was because your appearance was being scrutinized. And if that was the case it was honestly so unfair. You had just come off a red-eye and weren’t expecting to have a bunch of cameras shoved in your face. You tugged awkwardly at the hem of Dieter's sweatshirt as Indy kept scrolling.

Indy let out a frustrated sigh as she put down the phone. “I seriously don’t know what gets into people. They act like they know us, know our lives, and they don’t…” She rubbed the heels of her hands into her eyes.

“What’re they saying Ind?” You say with a bit more bite than you intended. You appreciated her trying to shield and protect you from the online fodder but it was completely unrealistic to think you wouldn’t read stuff.

“Look for yourself,” she turned her body toward you, her eyes watching as you unlocked your phone and started scrolling. There was one thread of comments and replies that grabbed your attention.

>>Omg they look like a hot mess

>>They look pissed off

>>It’s early in the morning they’re probably not awake. Jeez give them a break. 

>>How do you look in the morning?

>>They look kinda sad

>>Oh that’s the girl Dieter is dating huh?

>>Do you think Dieter broke up with her? Is that why they’re back in LA?

>>They haven’t posted anything together ever at least Indy and Sam kinda soft launched

>>It’s probably not serious then. Remember his last chick? Dude wouldn’t shut up about her

>>He’s definitely still shooting. I saw a photo of him at a bar in Hawaii last night

>>The guy was probably hammered huh?

>>Oh no that was probably bad news

>>Wait is THAT who Dieter is dating now? Woof

>>Guy must be desperate

>>How do you go from a Victoria’s Secret model to that?

You skimmed through the rest of it as you felt your blood pressure spiking. People were throwing out wild, unfounded speculation and there was a small contingent doing a deep dive about you and your family and friends. Your mind goes into a tailspin as you read through more. You couldn’t make out the words, but you heard Indy next to you on the phone trying to get in touch with Sam, frustrated when she got his PA instead. 

Meanwhile, you felt that all-too-familiar pang in your gut. You experienced a taste of this when you and Dieter were first spotted in public, knowing that it wasn’t going to be the first or last time people would make comments about you. But something about this felt so unsettling and so invasive. You were a normal person trying to support her friend on what was essentially a job interview. It also made you uncomfortable that the focus was on you and not Indy – she’s the star of the show here not you. Why aren’t people coming up with theories about why she’s in LA when she should be on set in Hawaii too?

The conversations around Dieter were also surprising and a bit confusing. You were on what you thought was a Dieter fan account yet people were speculating about everything from the two of you breaking up to him cheating on you to you both getting secretly married. It hurt to see so many quick to paint him in a bad light – assuming that he had done something wrong.

Indy hung up the phone and you could feel her eyeballs on you but you just kept scrolling.

“What are you thinking B?” 

You shook your head, “This is all so confusing. How does us at the airport turn into all of this,” you waved your phone around.

“It, unfortunately, comes with the territor-”

“Can it Rhys!” Indy snapped. “That’s not helpful right now. Look, apparently Sam and Dee went to the hotel bar after we left, had a couple of drinks, and then went back to their rooms.”

“Wait, you don’t think he actually….”

“No, no not at all,” she squeezed your leg. “No. And it’s ridiculous the way these people spiral off the smallest thing…have you tried calling him?”

You shook your head, “I’m pretty sure he’s asleep. He had a later call time than Sam and sounded like he was up most of the night.” Your mind drifted to a negative place briefly before shutting down that train of thought.

“Well, just try, I’m sure Liz is lighting up his phone too.”

“She is. We’ve been texting,” Rhys chimed in.

You called Dieter a couple of times and it went to voicemail. After the third failed attempt to reach him, you took a deep breath, took off the sweatshirt, and looked at Indy, resolved to not let this derail an important day for her. “We need to get you ready.”

“O-ok, yeah, c’mon let’s go.”

Since it was part audition/part screen test, you were thankful to just have to do minimal makeup and a simple blowout, allowing you to go on autopilot and think. You suddenly felt like you were back in your apartment after you found out Ryan left. The thoughts of unworthiness were quick to make themselves known after they’d been dormant for weeks – the weeks you’ve known Dieter. You were happier, and stronger with him, and being apart only made you see how weak and fragile you were. 

You were annoyed at yourself that comments from people you didn’t know could affect you so much. But words hurt. And it doesn’t help that so many of them keyed in on parts of your body you were self-conscious about. But then there was another voice trying to push through to remind you that all of those things they called out were the things Dieter loved. He celebrated your body, eager to show you his appreciation as you became more comfortable with him.

Thoughts then traveled to Dieter, wondering what his state of mind would be like when he finally woke up and Liz brought him up to speed. You smiled a bit to yourself knowing that his first thoughts would probably be about you and wanting to check if you were ok. But you knew his next instinct would be to turn inward. He hadn’t shared everything, but there were demons from his past he still had to contend with every day. And you couldn’t help but think that seeing people attack you because of your relationship with him was going to send him down a self-loathing spiral. 

For a brief moment, your mind wandered to a territory that scared you – whether all of this was worth it. You continued to work in silence, catching Indy’s eyes in the mirror every so often. She acted like she was rereading her lines but you knew she was trying to gauge your feelings and meet you where you were.

“Ok, ready.” You set down the can of finishing spray and fluffed up her hair in the mirror. 

“Wanna talk about it?” She grabbed your hand, stopping you from quickly packing everything up.

“There’s nothing to talk about. C’mon, we’re going to be late.”

“Of course there’s stuff to talk about.”

“I’m. Fine.” You snapped, instantly regretting losing your temper. “Sorry Indy, I…it’s just the same old shit when it comes to,” you motioned up and down your body. “I don’t want to talk about it. It’s not a productive conversation.” 

She didn’t push it and just hugged you, figuring an embrace would tell you more than she could with words. Rhys interrupted your quiet moment urging you both to get a move on so you weren't late. Indy did one last sweep of her apartment, hoping it would be a long while before she saw it again.

Dieter tossed and turned all morning, his hands seeking Belle only to find an empty, cold space next to him in the bed. He was about to close his eyes again and will himself to sleep when the hotel phone came to life with a shrill ring. Covering his face with a pillow he reached for the phone and brought the receiver to his ear.

“Yeah?”

“Well thank fuck you’re alive. Goddamit I’ve been calling you and texting you all morning. I was about to go get them to open the door if you didn’t pick up. Where have you been? Are you ok?”

This wasn’t the first time Liz had woken Dieter up and berated him, but something about her tone this time caught his attention. 

“Lizzie,” he cleared his throat, starting to sit up. “What’s wrong?”

“Were you asleep? You know you’re due on set in like half an hour, right?”

“I forgot to set an alarm…didn’t get much sleep last night. I wanted to make sure the girls got there ok. Are they ok? Did something happen?”

“Where’s your phone?” A slight hesitation in her voice.

“Uh, I thought it was right here…” Dieter felt around the bed before peeking over and seeing the phone face down on the floor. “Ah there it is, must have fallen….holy shit, what the hell happened?”

Dieter turned over his phone and was pretty sure he had a notification from every app. He saw a bunch of missed phone calls from Liz and Belle, hell even Sam and Meredith had rung him. His list of missed texts was from the same bunch with the addition of Danny, Indy, and even Rhys. 

“Goddamit Liz. Gimme the rundown. Are they ok?” Dieter swung his legs around, feeling dizzy as the adrenaline coursed through his veins.

“She’s fine Dee, they’re ok. The damn paps swarmed the girls as soon as they left the airport. Couple of the blogs caught it and it’s what you expect – people talking about her, how she looks, and trying to find out more about her and Indy. Luckily she’s a smart girl and has a lot of her shit locked down so there’s not a ton for people to find. But it’s only a matter of time before someone comes out of the woodwork wanting their 15 minutes.”

Dieter scoffed, knowing that all too well. When he was at rock bottom it felt like every person he’d ever met was willing to go to a gossip rag to talk about him. It was the usual suspects - jilted lovers, disgruntled past co-stars or assistants, all the way to his old dog’s vet. Anyone and everyone who wanted to give their two cents about Dieter found a way to get their story out. 

His annoyance turned into a feeling of helplessness. He knew how these comments would hurt Belle and with her so far away he couldn’t be there to comfort her. Hell, she wasn’t even gone for 12 hours. It was unfair that he couldn’t protect her from a life he’d unfortunately grown accustomed to. He worked a lot on himself to build back a fraction of the confidence he used to have. It still stung to see things written about him, so he could only imagine the negative headspace she was in because of this all.

“I need to call her.”

“That’s not it Dee,” Liz cut him off before taking a deep inhale. “They’re also talking about you. People have no idea that she’s there for Indy’s audition. They’re assuming both girls left set early due to an incident.”

“What incident?”

“Well, no theory has stuck yet, but it’s the greatest hits.”

Liz didn’t have to spell it out for Dieter to know that once again his past was coming around. He ran his free hand through his hair and then down his face as he tried to quell the frustration. It felt like no matter how much progress he made, people only thought of him as that womanizing, drug-fueled party animal from years ago.

“I need to call Belle.”

“They’re in meetings right now. I’ve kept in close contact with Rhys. He was there when they saw the photos and started reading through the comments.”

“How’d she take it?” 

“As best as you can imagine. Rhys said she kind of shut down on the drive over but turned it on once they got there and started meeting with everyone.”

Dieter’s heart sank, imagining the spiral she must be on as she tried to keep it together for Indy. All the studio execs probably had Google Alerts set for both of the girls as a precaution and as a means to suss out any potential liabilities and issues, so they no doubt knew about Belle and Dieter’s rumored, but very real, relationship. It pained him that he couldn’t be there to comfort her; maybe if he was with her the focus could have been on him instead. 

The smallest hint of a smile came across his face. He felt a combination of pride and awe in her strength – that she could compartmentalize all of these feelings and seemingly put on a brave face for Indy’s audition. She was stronger than she gave herself credit for.

“I need to talk to her….do you know how much longer they’ll be?” Dieter tried to sound even keel but he knew Liz could see right through it.

“I mean, they should probably be done soon. They have to get back to the airport, their flight leaves in a couple of hours.”

Dieter took a deep breath, trying to quell his anxiety. “Well, I’ll have my phone on me. Maybe if I can get downstairs Mere can get me ready and I can - ”

“Dee,” Liz cut him off. “Listen, I know your first instinct is to try and fix this, but she’s a big girl. Being with you isn’t going to be a cakewalk, you can’t shield her from this kind of stuff forever.” He stayed quiet for a moment, rubbing his temples. “What’s bothering you champ?”

“I…I just don’t want all of this to scare her off…like it’s going to be too much. That I'm too much. She didn’t ask for any of this, you know? What if she ends up deciding she’d rather not deal with it?”

“Dieter,” Liz paused, knowing she needed to be a bit more delicate than her normal tough love. “You love her right? And she loves you? Shit is going to be hard. I know it’s scary, but you have to just trust in each other. What do you want from her?”

“I don’t want anything from her. I…I just want everything with her.”

“Well, she’ll be back in…” Liz checked her watch, “eight hours. You can profess your ever-dying love then.”

He rolled his eyes and laughed. “Thanks. Hey, did you see those emails I sent you?”

“Yup, we’re checking them out – I’ll make sure we check out potential security issues to see if anything is an immediate no.”

“Thanks, Lizzie. I should probably get downstairs. Hey, I’ll have my phone on me. Anything else happens…anything…you call me. I don’t give a shit if we’re filming, you call me.”

“You got it champ….it’s all going to be ok, Dee.”

Previous chapter / Final chapter

A/N: So I know I haven’t always been the best with updating, but the last chapter is written and it will come out on Feb. 26!

Tag list: @musings-of-a-rose / @legendary-pink-dot / @bitchwitch1981 / @mysterious-moonstruck-musings / @gracie7209 / @amneris21 / @pastelnap / @maryfanson / @sunnywithachanceofjavi / @sin-djarin / @winchestergypsy90 / @for-a-longlongtime /@harriedandharassed / @titlee78 / @midnightraain / @poodlebae / @partyofone3413 / @guelyury / @weho2kcmo / @missladym1981 / @soapjay / @darkheartgatita

#dieter bravo fanfic #dieter bravo #dieter bravo x ofc #dieter bravo fanfiction #dieter bravo fic #working title

[knightyoomyoui]

[SMUT] TWICE Jeongyeon x Male Reader - “Double Fantasy”

Another one-shot inspired from the vibe and some bits of the meaning behind the song “Double Fantasy” by The Weeknd ft. Future aside from the sexual part of it as I created my own story instead. Enjoy reading!

WARNING: contains mature content, R+18 smut

It's a crowded and lively atmosphere around your alma maters gymnasium as it currently held the alumni party tonight where your batch in the mechanical engineering course belongs to one of its features.

You've been meeting up some of your friends and acquaintances after having long time no interactions with them. It still surprises you a lot that some of them still recognizes you but in similarity, they all have just one compliment they gave at you: your look entirely changed.

You weren't the same normal skinny, average looking, four-eyed guy that mostly bullies would come for to tease you or for girls to decline your appearance as not suitable for their liking. This time is different, they expressed their impressions on your improved look.

In the present, you seem way more expensive looking, more neatly dressed, more built body with muscles visible now on your body, and last but not least is your new haircut. All of it are just simply perfect to you.

But those aren't belong to your priorities. You didn't brought yourself here to use it on flirting with anyone. This night is for reuniting with anybody else except for this one particular person you had in mind anticipatingly waiting for her arrival.

"How have you been doing all these years man?" Your college friend since your freshman days named Ryan asked after exchanging typical unique gestures at each other.

"Doing great, man. Well, what I can say? We're now standing right here with the one thing that kept us on going before." You answered after you drank a glass of cold pineapple juice.

"Yeah damn right. Feels like we're living with our hands get to do whatever we wanted, don't we?" Ryan agreed.

"Mmhmm. And I already started plenty of what I could think of to repay myself and my family after all the hardwork we've been through. To be honest, I'm still in disbelief that I can walk around and live with the rest of my life carrying my name now with a word "engineer" on it." You said. "Part of me still can't move on that I finally did it."

You chuckled as Ryan smiled at you proudly. He gave you a soft hit to the shoulder. "Don't be, man. Always think that you deserve it. That opportunity was handed to you on a silver platter, and trust me; I did believe you can make it because you're just simply the best out of us."

"Wow." You gave a small laugh. "Thanks for that awe-inspiring words, Engr. Mun. But seriously, I don't want to take all the praise here for myself. You guys did great too."

"You're welcome, Engr. Park." He smirked.

Your conversation went into a halt as both went silent to admire the happenings around you. Batchmates reconciling with their fellow friends and former teachers, laughing and talking about everything great that happened to them in post-graduation, colorful designated place that adds to the energy inside.

Although, your lips slightly shifted into a frown when you realized that the one you've been looking for is still not around. It's been like 25 mins that long since you came here so far.

"You're looking for her, huh."

"Uh-heh what?"

Ryan sniffled a laugh before exhaling refreshingly over his softdrink.

"I haven't seen any sign of her, dude. In fact, she's the only classmate of ours who still aren't in here. She's the only one left in our batch." Ryan clarified.

Your face couldn't help but to show disappointment and sadness a bit more obviously, puffing your cheeks then huffing a huge warm air in a mix of your desperation just to get a glimpse of her for tonight.

"Yeah, I know." You said with a low tone. "I guess she won't come."

"Damn, mate. After all this time?" Ryan asked unbelievably, leaning his head closer at you.

You only nod. Aside from the countless times you and that woman shared nothing but bad blood from one another, you can't deny that there's this side of you that you can't avoid yourself being attracted from her.

There's so many reasons. It was ridiculous and sure, confusing. Why would you even develop a likedness over someone who hates you so much?

"I'm sorry, man. Who knows, maybe you'll see her again soon?"

You shrugged, you don't have any idea of the possibilities. Sure, destiny could led you both again to cross paths someday; but it will always remain the same as usual: you are the only one who'll enjoy seeing her in front of you. It will always be one-sided.

You attempted moving on and letting go your feelings for her, but she couldn't just leave you alone. She's living in the same world as you are, so you get to witness her sometimes in advertisements or even news sites about some of her contributions and works she's done on her own career as an engineer too.

Her face that always include in all of these doesn't help your stage. The more you get to see her, the more you just kept to like having it again.

"I'm not expecting anymore. You know her, she probably completely forgot about us. She don't need to come here because what's for to visit, you know?" You sighed, taking another sip again of your juice.

"I get your point. I remember how she's always the baddest in our class. Everyone hates her for that, and at first though you sincerely are too but..."

"Me too. I never thought it would end up being one of the things that I love about her." You smiled at the recollection of those memories.

"Excuse me for a while. I'll just head to the restroom."

"No worries, take your time mate."

You left the table and made your way to the direction leading to the restroom of the school. Meanwhile, Ryan who was about to grab some plate for a food; has noticed something he was mistaken of something he thought at first would be very unlikely to happen.

"Speaking of the devil." He muttered.

While you're walking, you grabbed your phone as you felt a vibration inside your pocket. You pulled it up and viewed for any notification, only to fail when a force just collided with your body that sent your butt landing into the ground.

You groaned for a second and checked on your phone that is now laying on the hard ground beside you, before you heard a same aching sound mimicking the level of pain you've felt from that.

"Miss, are you okay?" You noticed that it's a woman who is brushing her arm fron the dust sticked onto her skin.

"Aish, that hurts. Who the h-"

She was complaining about the collision before it got interrupted when you tried to approach the lady and in your both astounishment; you recognized each other instantly just by looking at each other's faces.

Your classmate slash rival who graduated Magna Cum Laude and turned out to be a fellow successful licensed engineer like you and the only crush you had in college named Yoo Jeongyeon... is in front of you.

Your eyes widened as well as hers, surprised that you did got to finally see her even though you almost give up searching and waiting for her to arrive. Jeongyeon on the other hand, didn't expected your immediate contact with you... which rather resulted from a little accident.

But oh well, she still hates you... and everything you do unpleases her which means everything is a big deal when it comes exclusively about you.

"J-jeongyeon?!"

"Y-YN?!"

Both spoke each other's names, befuddled.

"I-I'm so sorry, I didn't n-" You were about to offer your hand from assistance but Jeongyeon slaps it away.

"Get that off from me. I don't need your help." She slowly stood up from the ground on her own instead.

You just observed that she looks undeniably goegous and hot tonight, wearing a black sleeveless dress with her laced coiled around her shoulder exposed, her skirt that highlight those long, smooth legs covered in black stockings that only had her thick thighs remained left alone. Those average height heels tops it all off for her footwear.

"Look at how perverted you are, staring at me like I am a food for you to devour." Your senses got resnapped when Jeongyeon smashed you with her Louis Vuitton shoulder bag as she caught your stare.

"Ouch! I-I'm not thinking like that okay?!"

"You never changed, you sick freak! Ugh, until now you still disgust me." Jeongyeon acted horribly at the sight of you receiving a guilt trip from her, but you have no idea that Jeongyeon was thinking otherwise.

You look great... hell, fabulous or whatever words she can come up to maximize that description and equal the level of how eye-capturing your apperance.

Back at college, she could only tell you secretly after unleashing wrath over whatever you do that you are handsome, cute or leave a positive comment at some of the things she noticed that makes her heart swell atleast.

To be fair, Jeongyeon is just the same as you. She always liked you and probably always will be. Her grumpyness and cold-hearted personality was natural at first until it turns out to be just a strategy of her to prevent herself being too obvious that she was slowly developing feelings from her whenever she observes that your personality opposites from her.

Those smile, those cute tired and irritated expressions you create, everything you do whenever she puts up an act in front of you always gives a overwhelming effect deep inside of her.

She wish she could tell you, how much she wanted to claim you right away and make her yours especially that nobody seems to have an interest on you before; but only if you understand how much she finds it difficult to do so too.

And now that she's looking in your eyes again personally for the first time after 2 years, she can tell that it will be more challenging for her as times progresses further. Any girls out there can fell in love with this new version of you, and her regret and anger to blame not only to herself but to someone else for holding back consumes her more that she couldn't have done it sooner before your roads went apart to pursue your dreams seperately for 2 years.

"Wait, can you just calm down first Jeong?" You tried to pacify her but she only returns an even more aggressive remark.

"HOW CAN I CALM DOWN WHEN YOU JUST BUMPED INTO ME, NEARLY RUINED MY CLOTHES, HAD MY ARMS DIRTY WHEN I JUST GOT SHOWERED AND... AGGHHH WHY DOES IT HAVE TO BE YOU AGAIN?!"

"Okay okay! I deeply apologize for what I did. It's entirely my fault that I was not focusing on my way that's why I didn't noticed you." You calmly said, in order to keep things low as it should be and stop the chances of ruining her night or... both of you if this still goes on.

She scoffed, rolling her eyes and swaying her short bobbed cut length hair behind her ear. "That's because you're stupid. That's what you always are, anyway. Like I said, you never changed... just like how per-"

"Goddamnit, if only you let me finish what I was about to say about that." Your voice sharpened, Jeongyeon observed that you are now building up your own frustration and irritation brought by her demeanor. She shivered a bit, her mouth agaped at the tiny grunt that blended with your voice.

Completely serious and unimpressed, not allowing her to call you that for false accusations or even a joke because you're not even went here to play around especially when you just met her again tonight.

"T-then what is it?! I can see it right through you, don't you dare lie with me YN!"

"I was not thinking at you that way because I WAS MORE FOCUSED AT HOW PERFECT YOU LOOK IN YOUR OUTFIT!" You succeededly raised your volume at the end. Jeongyeon heard that loud and clear, which caused her to blush hardly at your sudden compliment.

"W-what did you say?" She fakely asked.

"I said... I-You look beautiful, Jeongyeon. That's what it caught my attention." You tilted your head away from her, too embarassed and nervous at the same time that you had to repeat saying it to her while concerning at how it would make you seem different because of those words you chose.

She smirked, you heard her footsteps as she goes near at you. You shuddered when she is now standing inches away at you.

"Aww, what is that? Are you trying to hit on me now, YN?" Jeongyeon suspiciously asked in a mocking tone.

She can see how you looked tensed near her and quickly wondered that it was the words you told her that made you like that. Your shyness made her decide to atleast play a little game with you. She missed doing teasing and belittling you like this since college.

"Good thing that I'll allow that, you had to remind but I know it's true..." Jeongyeon said nonchalantly. She pushed her head closer beside your head, lips almost in your ear. "Especially, when it's coming from a handsome man like you, YN." she blew a soft warm breath that gave you a legitimate goosebumps.

You gulped, not even quite sure if you heard or perceived it exactly. Did she meant saying that to you? This Jeongyeon was very weird if that so, you thought. She never heard any praise coming from her because in your side, you believed that from her pespective you are just nothing but a second rate, greedy, unattractive and fake student to her.

"Alright, step aside idiot. I'm already late because of that stupid traffic. I ain't going to waste more time talking to you." She pushed you aside as you watched her walked away from you while having her reddened face and tightlipped smile all over her lips because of what she received from you and did in return.

An hour and a half later, you noticed that Jeongyeon was just sitting alone in her table, playing around with her fork stabbed in a sliced cake that she's eating unappetizingly. You felt bad that out of everyone around in the gymnasium, she is the only one alone and looked completely unamused.

You know that she hates you, but this admirer side of you is giving you the urge to console her and initiate a plan to somehow help her because you can't just stand seeing her like this when tonight doesn't intend to make not a single attendee to be left alone.

"Hey." You called her as you reached her table.

"What do you want?" She glared, her grip on the fork tightened.

"Why aren't you hanging out with the rest of them?"

"I don't feel like it. I got bored already." She exhaustedly said.

"Cmon, Jeong. The night is still young. The party is still ongoing. You can't just stay there like that."

"No need. I changed my mind. I'm about to leave now."

She slowly stood in her seat and grabbed her bag. Your hesitation and unapproval of her choice encourages you further to stop her.

"Wait, Jeong! Are you serious, it's too early?"

"What am I going to do here? Sit here and do nothing?" She looked at you and furrowed her eyebrows.

"Y-you're not. I was about to ask you if I could somehow... join your side tonight." You said to her. She just stared at you in silence. "I don't want you to leave because I... I-I want you see you more, even just for tonight. I know you hate me, but can you just forget about it all for tonight and have fun with me, please?"

Her heartbeat intensified, her uplifted emotions filling up her insides, blood rushing fast as it forms another enormous blush both in her cheeks. She was truly touched and delighted at your pleads.

She loves the idea of that invitation. This is the opportunity right here. It's all free, it's just you and her tonight, they are not around for Jeongyeon to be stopped. This time, she's not going to reject or decline you by forcing herself on you.

"You want to join me?" You nodded. "Good. Then let's get out of here together." It took you aback seconds later that she's now pulling your wrist to drag you with her outside of the campus and throw you in the car.

"Mr. Boo, drive us home please."

"Noted, madame. Greetings to you, sir." The middle aged man complied. He sat in the drivers seat and took control of the wheel as he began to drive ahead to the destination.

"J-jeongyeon?! What is this, why are-"

"Shut up. Be quiet or else I might change my mind and throw you out here instantly while we're on the road."

You got terrified at Jeongyeon's intimidating aura and dangerous warning. You don't want to mess with this seriousness of her, so you listened and watched the view of the streets in Seoul being passed until both of you finally reached her own place.

"Thanks, Mr. Boo. You can rest now for today."

"Thank you, Miss Yoo. Have a good night to both of you." He bowed and went to his room.

"Oh we're definitely are." She whispered, devilishly smirking inside her head. "And you, follow me."

You just trailed with her from behind, still confused why did she have to bring you all the way in her house. She was never like this, was her boredness that intense for her to switch like this that you never imagined she can be doing this to you being taken into her own place.

You two went upstairs, Jeongyeon faced a door of this one room she picked. "Jeongyeon, why do you want me to be-"

"Get in." She opened the door and pushed you inside. Witnessing the interior of the room, you predicted that this had to be owned by a woman because of all the things that can only be owned by-

That's where you paused analyzing the situation you are in. You weren't mistaken that room you are stepping in is definitely owned by Jeongyeon herself. Your curiosity grew as to why did she have to even put you along with her in her private space.

As soon as she locked the door, she pulled your coat and rotated your body around, pushing you to the wall and cornering you in her arms.

"J-jeongyeon?! What are you doing?!"

"You wanted to fun with me, right? Here we are. I was thinking of something we can enjoy the night by just... being alone together."

Her expression had gone completely turned into a sultry and alluring type. She caressed your chest before tugging your necktie.

"I want you. Now."

She tugged your necktie and pulled your head closer at hers, crashing your lips into a messy duel of kiss, brushing and swirling your tongues at one another.

You always find her so enticing, attractive and charming before, and you never thought that this introduction of her new side to you would turn you on right away.

Not wanting to be left behind, you informed her that it's not only her who's also keeping this hungry and needy side, so you decided to join her flow by being the one to take control of her this time.

You seperated from the kiss and spun her around, switching your positions. She is the one who is now trapped in your guard, your hands gripping her shoulders tightly. "You really want this, Jeongyeon?"

"Yes! Please, you can have your way in on me this time. Whatever you want, I'll be the one who'll get low on you. Just please... fuck me! Make me yours!" She begged, squeezing her thighs together at the increasing arousal she's feeling.

"Be grateful that I need you too. Now get off your knees and show me how much you want this."

You pressed your hand to the top of head to help her lower down herself. She meets the level of your crotch as she slowly unbuckles your belt while you helped her strip down your pants and have it left crumpled in your ankle.

She removes your boxers that held confine on your 8-inch cock that sprung out close enough for Jeongyeon to be shocked and salivated at its enormous and delectable size.

Holding your cock with her firm hand, she gave it a little squeeze to feel the softness of your meat before she began stroking your length from the base.

"I didn't knew you were so big, YN." she bit her lips as she continued pumping your shaft as she combined it this time with her thumb circling your tip, giving you a tickling yet satisfying feeling. "Perhaps I belittled you too harshly."

"Yeah you did, now suck that cock for me and show me how accountable you are."

She directed your tip to her exposed tongue, performing a lick to its slip before rotating around your penis' mushroom head and gently pushing your cock slowly into her mouth where she began blowing your cock.

The sounds of her slurps and hums echoed in the room. Vibrations thats she create for those lustful noises passes on to your dick that is stuffed to her mouth which adds to the pleasure and drives you more insane.

Her sight of her hungrily tracing and wetting your shaft with her slick tongue, not wanting a spot uncovered makes you crave more and more of her service. As soon as you felt her head bobbing faster, you matched her pace as you moved your hips back and forth to fuck her mouth relentlessly.

Holding her head to push further, that was enough for Jeongyeon to experience a deepthroat of your payment. "Fuck yeah Jeongyeon keep going. God, such now I know you're such a great cocksucker don't you." You said with chorus of relaxed breaths streaming out of your mouth as you kept on pushing forward as you are now holding her head as your handle to support her.

She removes your cock to her mouth and looked at you intensely while she began to turn her attention now on your hanging full testicles, massaging it by wiggling it using her fingers. "I will always be like that only for you, master."

Master? Did she just called you that?

A bright light twinkled in your head as you finally had an idea. She has now fully presented you her submissive side, so why don't you just love being the dominant and show her how rightful and deserving is the one she's serving for this kind of gift.

"Oh, so I'm your master now huh." You cupped her chin and raised it to point her sight at your towering figure. "That makes you my slave, do you want to be like that for me?"

"Yes! It would be an honor to be your slave, master. Especially to be the one who can get access of your huge cock."

You forcefully opened her mouth and inserted your length again on her as you rapidly had her engulf it over and over. "Then freaking take it, slave. I'm close on cumming, and I want you to swallow every drop of it do you understand?!"

"Mmmhhmphhh mmmphhh!" She just furiously nodded as a gesture of her initiation. Mixture of drops of her saliva and your pre-cum were now tapping the tiles of her bedroom.

Three more strokes to go and you unleashed quite a loud roar as you fired streaks of your natural white fluid into her available mouth. "OHHH... OHHH YES YES THAT'S IT SLAVE. QUENCH YOUR THIRST WITH MY CUM."

You pulled back and slipped your cock out of her mouth, allowing her to gasp, cough and exhale freely from all the air that were restricted by your hardened wood that pre-occupied her.

"Show me." You tugged her hair upwards and silently instructed her to open her mouth which she did. Impressively, no traces of your cum were found.

"Damn, YN... when did you had this side of yours." Jeongyeon chuckled as she stood to face you, breaking the roleplay for a while.

"I don't know, I should be asking the same as you." You shrugged, combing her short hair from behind.

"Have you always craved to have a moment like this, hmm?"

"Maybe. I couldn't tell, but I'm sure I was looking forward more on my feelings I've been keeping in store you since our college days."

Jeongyeon blinked faster as she tried to comprehend what did you just told her. She was about to ask you if that means exactly what she's thinking, but you were so eager to return back to your session and knowing she is willing to join you tonight since she's the one who wanted this, she went back to submit for you rather; setting aside that question for later.

"Enough talking. Let's get this done with."

She yelped as you spinned her body around, taking off her sleeveless upper garment and throwing it aside, revealing her lace clad black bra that is almost doing a good job holding her breasts together.

This is the first time you had to have a closer look of these beautiful pair of mounds of hers. You recalled that you can't avoid before having a glimpse of some sneak peeks of the outline of her boobs due to the tightness of her uniform she picks to wear sometimes.

This is a once in a lifetime moment, so you got into the work quickly as you let her watch you grab her covered breasts, kneading and squeezing it like a dough to your hands. So soft, so bouncy. You heard her moan from your touch before you shut it with your mouth as you kissed her again.

Taking off your hands for a while, earning a slight disapproval from Jeongyeon but she kept it discreet as she discovered where you're heading next.

Raising the hem of her skirt, you kneeled and viewed the line of her black underwear tracing the curvy gap of her handful ass.

Unbuttoning the skirt, you removed it and threw it aside too, joining her unfolded dress to the floor which she was wearing earlier.

Her full view of her body wearing nothing but a set of dark lingerie and some long stockings trailing her long legs and squishing a bit of her fat thighs makes you suffer from the intense horniness you're containing inside of you.

"Holy shit, you look so fuckable Jeongyeon." you muttered as you travelled your eyes around at her.

You stood up, removing your clothes; revealing your jam-packed abs and muscles that made Jeongyeon whimper and bit her lip in hungriness at how mouth watering your jacked body is.

She kissed you again, this time in a passionate style. You grasped her ass and roughly squeezed it before lifting her up and throwing her at the bed.

"I can't help it anymore, master wants to taste you so bad."

"Yes please, I'm begging for you master. Eat me! Indulge my body!"

You grunted at how sexy and seducive Jeongyeon sounded with that. Hooking the bands of her panties, you removed it out of her legs, her prized possession now visible clearly in your eyes.

Spreading her thighs apart, you crawled as you teased her leaking slit for a little, toying the needy and defeated crush of yours before you proceeded to give her what she's anticipating, a long deep licks of your tongue to her velvety walls.

Jeongyeon escapes a long moan at your warm touch, holding and enjoying the feeling of your active buds capturing the sweet tangy feeling of her fluid.

"Oohhh ahhh.... oh yes yes master that's it! My pussy, mmpph suck on those harder! God, I'M CLOSE!"

You want that incoming orgasm of hers to arrive as soon as possible, so you combined your actions with a hyper movement of your fingers, clawing deep beneath her begging hole as you furiously pecked and rubbed her taut clit and her slit until she finally went over the limit.

"I'M CUMMING!!!!"

Sprays of her juice aimed at your awaiting mouth and face, contributing a wet mess that you didn't mind at all. You were just gonna clean that up by drinking as much of it as you can.

You retreated between her thighs before going back only for a different position, kneeling at her thighs with your dick playing with her pussy as you dragged it along to her slit.

"Don't play with me master, give it t-"

You slapped her thigh, causing her to get interrupted. "DON'T RUSH YOUR MASTER! WHO HAS THE CONTROL HERE?"

"I-It's YOU! It's you, master. I'n sorry if I was-"

"Shut up, you want this so badly right? I'll give it to you."

You quickly drilled her pussy with your throbbing shaft without any more build up, her body convulating as she lets out screams and moans from the intensity of your banging into her body.

Splitting her legs apart as much as how flexible they can get, you retrieved it back to your shoulders and leaned closer where you can give Jeongyeon a kiss while her knees are now touching her shoulders as you kept on pounding her roughly.

"FUCKING TAKE IT YOU SLUT! YOU DON'T MIND ME CALLING YOU THAT HUH? I BET YOU WERE THINKING ABOUT ME FUCKING YOU WHOLE NIGHT THAT'S WHY YOU BROUGHT ME HERE. THAT MEANS YOU CAN ENDURE THIS AS LONGER AS I WANT RIGHT?!" You wrapped your hands around her neck as you gave weight into it to slowly choke her during the aggressive fucking.

"YES MASTER!!! OH GOD SO ROUGH!!! YOU'RE MAKING ME SO FULL! UGHHH" She said with a croaky voice as she grasped your arms giving support for your hands blocking her airways.

"SAY IT! TELL ME YOU'RE MY SLUT. I WANT TO HEAR IT FROM YOU."

"I-I'M... OH GOD YES! YES! I'M JUST NOTHING BUT A SLAVE AN A COCKSLUT BY MY MASTER! I'M HIS RIVAL CLASSMATE BEFORE WHO SECRETLY LUSTS AND THINKS ABOUT HOW HARD OF A FUCKING HE CAN GIVE ME..."

"AND WHAT CAN YOU SAY ABOUT YOUR MASTER FULFILLING YOUR WISHES NOW, HUH?" You asked with an animalistic grunt.

"HE REALLY DOES! GOD, I LOVE YOUR COCK SO MUCH MASTER! MUCH BETTER THAN WHAT I WANTED!"

"Good to know." You demonically grinned at her response. Unclipping the cups of her bra, you released her swinging ample breasts and sucked those aroused nipples that added to the shockwaves of the pleasure she's feeling.

"Roll around!" You authoritatively told her. She followed, her back figure are the one that is now presented to you. That bomb of an ass she got for you had you the urge to slap it repeatedly, making her whimper and moan at every reddened handprint you left.

To get her ready, you buried your face on the valley of her cake, tonguing her asshole to make it wet so it can be easily accessible and prevent her from hurting too much. You knew this is her first time just like you and despite you are the one dominating the sex, ofcourse you are still concerned for the safety of your lover.

After giving a practical lube to her hole, you aligned your shaft at it. "Are you ready?"

"Y-yes. Just please... be gentle at first. I'm quite nervous." She said. Her soft tone made you smile. That was completely without any participation of your heated sensation with her, that was simply her expecting her trust to be given by you to not hurt her on this one.

"Don't worry, you can count on me Jeong. We can stop if you feel so." You patted her asscheek as you gently drove your length on her now gaped hole.

You saw her fist curling, probably from the pain. Getting more concerned, your instinct guessed for you the stop for a while and let her sink in the feeling. Fortunately, you were right and she was blushing at how understanding you are as always.

Few seconds later, she gave you to goal signal with a trusting nod. "Go deeper, YN." You listened, fully injecting your cock into the insides of her ass.

"Jeongyeon, you're gripping me so tight!"

"Keep going, master! Make me feel good again!"

It was like a switch she turned on. You shifted back to your beastly side, slowly making your pounds and thrusts in an increasing speed with the help of the force and strength you're pouring into it.

Holding her lips like a handle as you fucked her on her hands and knees, you decided to relocate into the undersides of her arms as you looped it around and locked it, pulling her upright and fuck her senseless in a full nelson grip.

"What now, Jeongyeon? It doesn't hurt anymore, so you're desperately want me to fuck again so bad I may have to bury my cock balls deep in your ass until we sleep." You said straight to her lips as she kept on fidgeting on her hold while she gets ruthlessly being pounded from behind.

She doesn't even notice that her eyes are now rolling from the back of her head and tongue slowly splitting out at how it feels so good being penetrated like there's no tomorrow. "We'll going to train that slutty hole until I can get to use it whatever we want."

"I-I don't care, master. As long as you give me your cum, that's what matters to me."

"Then buckle up because I'm going to shoot it out on you again."

The loud claps of your body began to rise and go faster as well as her vibrating moans and sweats dripping out each other skin, another batch of stickly load were unleashed into her ravaged hole.

You and her let out an exhausted breaths, giving yourselves time to rest for a minute. As you recovered your stamina back, you sat and leaned your back on the headboard. You patted the space beneath you, instructing Jeongyeon on what she's going to do next.

"Suck."

That's it. Very simple. You lend her your still erected cock into her hands as you spreaded your legs wider to give her more space to lay her body on her torso while she gives you the best blowjob and deepthroat she can perform for cleansing.

You noticed that you were about to cum again, but you thought of one more position you would like to do that has to do with Jeongyeon's attractive curvy frame.

"Move aside, I'll lay and I want you to ride me with your back facing me."

"Yes, master."

She gave one last peck of lovely kiss into your cockhead before she allows you to lay down for her to carefully straddle your lower half and direct your pointed shaft straight to her used hole.

Her weight presses down, your cock once again invading her walls as she sat and began grinding on your lap, bouncing further to increases the intensity of the fucking she's giving you.

You had to just lay there and admire the view of her breathtaking back frame, her supple ass rippling at the contact it takes from crashing down to your pelvis.

"Ughhhh... mmm.. o-oh fuck master this is so good... mmmhhh" Jeongyeon keeps on mumbling and whimpering unconsciously as she savors the pleasure of your length rubbing her insides and your tip poking her womb.

"I'm so close, Jeongyeon!" You rose up to grab her body and drag her down to make her lay on top of you. Arms coiled around her midsection and her large breast being roughly squished and groped. Your bodies are now stacked together with your cock still buried into her pussy.

You did the favor to fuck her with all your might until you reach your very end. Jeongyeon was very surprised and impressed at this position that you were still able to make her feel overloaded despite being riled up atop of your body thanks to how big and long your gifted cock is.

Few more strokes to give and again, you fired your last release deep that you can offer inside her for tonight. Both of you breathe deeply at the exhaustion, entirely spent and barely had to energy to engage into another round with Jeongyeon.

You gently laid the collapsed Jeongyeon to the other side of the bed as you slowly stood up and went for her kitchen to grab yourselves two glasses of water.

As you headed back to her bedroom, you were completely astounded at what you discovered.

Jeongyeon is curled, hugging her knees as you heard her noticeable cries being hidden by the positioning of her head.

"Jeongyeon?" You placed the glasses on the top of her small cabinet as you came up to approach her for assistance. "Hey, what's wrong? Why are you crying?"

"I-I don't know..." She shook her head as she felt your weight sink the softness of the cushion of her bed. "I'm just happy I guess... with everything."

"Tears of joy?" She nodded.

"I just remembered what you said to me earlier while we're doing it." Jeongyeon faced you, her watery and droopy eyes observed you.

"What part of it?"

"Y-you said... you were looking forward about the feeling you have in store for me since we were in college." Jeongyeon said. Your eyes widened a little, not because you were shocked that you don't realized you said. You were aware of what you're saying, it's just that you didn't expected that she'll bring that up again.

"Does that mean s-something, YN?" She asked you.

You sighed and frowned, feeling nervous and sad about the call you're about to receive in return when you finally unveil to her about this secret you've been hiding for so long.

"It is."

Jeongyeon's eyes were the ones that showcased a pure reaction of shock.

"I was in love with you, Jeongyeon. Until now I still am."

She confirmed it for herself and she couldn't believe it. The man she was secretly admiring thinking there will never be a chance for her to get reciprocated because of her trashy and evil attitude is literally confessing his love for her to prove her wrong.

"W-what? Y-you do?"

You nodded with guilt. You sat properly beside her who is still eyeing you. "Strange, right? How could I ever fell in love with somebody who hates me with ever fiber of her body, who sees me as a disruptor and a rival in the class to gain attention of the school around us from our intelligence and somebody who will never feel the same as mine. Hell, you can't even stand having me being your friend."

Jeongyeon lowered her head, she was hurt at the slap of reality you did to her. It was all her fault and she's telling the exact same thing she was highly believing in. You were making so much sense on her behalf.

"After we graduated, I lost you... but I just let it aside because I knew you won't mind it anyway. You may be even thanking the heavens that you can finally get rid of me. But ofcourse, it hurts. Knowing that your crush doesn't care as much as you can give for her no matter how much she's causing you pain."

You can't endure the agony and suffering all compiled within you over these years that you dealt with, as your eyelid felt heavy and streams of tears fell in your cheeks.

Jeongyeon was hurt even more at the amount of heartbreak she was unintentionally causing you. She just learnt today that it was not only her who's hurting after all this time. It was like you two are truly meant to feel what you both can feel for one another.

"I tried to to get you out of my heart but it's so hard. You come here after 2 years and you made it even worse. Now I don't even understand why did we end up in your room, temperature rising as our bodies united while we're both trapped between our arms." You looked at her who is staring embarassing on her entwined hands.

"Why did we do it even though it's wrong?" You asked her with a mix of curiosity and confusion.

Jeongyeon wiped out the tears were almost about to mess her face more. She sniffed and swallowed some confidence before she got to eventually tell you the main reason why she was encouraged and left without any other choice to do it with you.

"I... I didn't had to fight it anymore." She shrugged while staring at the unknown, too drowned at the deep trances of her explaination she has to share for you.

"What do you mean?"

"The way how I treat you before, I never intended to continue it longer." Jeongyeon said as she took a trip down memory line back to those times where the entire backstory of what actually happened behind the cold, jealous and hatred shell of hers that she had to wear whenever you're around her everytime.

"I never want to... be harsh or rude about you because, that's the contrast of what I actually want to act whenever I'm having you near me....

YN, I fell in love in you too."

You jerked your head aside, looking at her incredulously, the adrenaline of panic and bewilderment was striking you alternatively as you learnt her revelation that turned your world upside down.

Yoo Jeongyeon was indeed having a crush on you also. You can't process and reevaulate that statement she made you learn about.

"I still can remember the very first time you were the only one to made me smile at your ridiculous acts. Your sillyness you use to share your jokes to me while we were taking a break for our math competition, it was the start of the cracks that appeared on the walls I built around me for so long.

I kept myself away from everyone because I thought at first they will just be a distraction and irrelevant to my goals and accomplishments in class, but ever since I got to met you and discover more about you... I was mistaken. Closeness and connections on other people you find an interest... is what keeps you move forward in many ways unimaginable.

So I observed and checked on you secretly, while still wearing the mask to protect the personality I was mostly well known for. And you were so nice, so gentleman, so handsome and cute that I couldn't help but to reconsider things that I should try... disregard this disguise and try being nice for the first time all because of you.

But suddenly, it didn't happen. M-my parents-"

You leaned closer, looking at her intently as you patiently waited for her next words to say. "What about them? What did they do?"

Jeongyeon sniffed and heaved from the cries she's slightly making again. You guessed that her parents must have brought a devastating impact to her.

"They didn't liked about my growth of likedness for you. They knew about you when I first introduced you them as part of my reports from my studies, and I wasn't holding any signs of strange feelings for you at that time. They portrayed you as my enemy, so when they learnt that you're the one I'm having a crush with... I-I received a scolding from them.

They expressed their dislikedness for you, they reminded me of what I should do rather to you and that is to humiliate and surpass you in our academic status. You aren’t even qualified to their standards.  All they think about was the pressure they're putting on me to my studies just so they can brag something to everyone without sincerely being proud at what I did." Jeongyeon said as she sobbed harder. You didn't waited anymore to let her finish first, comforting her instantly with your warm cuddle.

"I was at this close to make you mine too, YN. I could've told you earlier that I love you too but I'm sorry if I had to make you wait for 3 years with me. It took us so long." She continues to break down on your shoulder. Your heart was tearing apart witnessing the vulnerability of your girl.

"Shhhh... calm your cries, Jeong. Don't drain yourself thinking about it all. That's enough." You murmured, repeatedly patting her on the head and rocking her body in ease.

"That's why when I had to see you again, you made me reminded that we're both grown ups now and we don't have to live from our parent's control. I didn't care anymore if it's inappopriate, it was never like that for me. Loving you was a blessing in disguise, YN."

She faced you and cupper your cheeks. You did the same thing and both were put theirselves into the midst of another kiss filled with nothing but love and freedom that the destiny has also granted both of you to receive at last.

"I just want to join you and follow wherever you go, YN. I want us to last longer. Please, I love you so much." She buried her face on your chest.

"You don't have to worry about that, Jeongyeon. From now on, we'll get to love each other without allowing anyone to get into our way. Our relationship stands tall until we stay strong in the end."

You tightened your hug around Jeongyeon as you took the time of silence between each other to be overwhelmed with joy, gratitude, relief and love for this heartful and wholesome moment you get to experience with the woman you never thought that you already succeeded on winning her heart not even acquiring any efforts to make.

Now you truly believe that she's probably thinking you are the right one despite the prohibited relationship and you are indeed prepared to be there on her side to support her and fight for each other's love no matter what happen.

"Thank you by the way, YN. I really enjoyed it." She said, referring to your first sex with her tonight that you easily understood.

You smiled, glad that you were able to satisfy and achieve the expectations and standards she may be looking for this kind of activity. "I do too, Jeong. That was one of the best things I've ever had."

"Be honest with me though, have you really fantasized or illusioned about this? Cause I'm going to be honest, you really made our sex better with your dominant side. It was like you were prepared for it to occur and you gave it all tonight. That was hot and very unusual of you. I almost didn’t recognized you." She asked while eliciting a chuckle at the replay of what she witnessed from your intimate-crazed self that is unrecognizable to the one she is currently spending time in relaxation to her bed.

You sighed, surrendering yourself from being cornered by her question. "Okay, fine! I do get horny sometimes even before in our college days! I also had a boner couple of times when you wear those uniform that compresses the outline of your bra. Do you even know how busty you are?" You said as you squeezed one of her breasts.

She laughed at your remark while almost getting aroused against your erotic touch. "I knew I was right that you're such a pervert. That's why you loved how I look in my lingeries huh."

"Yeah yeah, you got it correct. Happy?" You rolled your eyes and pouted as you sulk. Jeongyeon found his boyfriend being adorable when he's getting teased.

"Yup. Happy." She smiled and pinched your cheek, causing you to blush harder when you glanced at her shining grin. "Jokes aside, it's pretty fine and completely normal to have that kind of moment. It's part of our puberty to boost our hormone's sensitivity. I'm thankful you never crossed the line before though like... attempting to sexualize or harass me."

"Oh I would never do that. My respect never disappeared for girls like you, Jeongyeon." She smiled appreciatingly.

"I desired about us doing it too before YN, so don't worry."

"Then you admit you're a pervert as what you suspect me?"

"Dumbass, it's not!" She slapped your shoulder which you hissed and ouched at the stinging pain.

"Okay! I'm sorry, I'll stop." You burst out a laughter at Jeongyeon's deadly yet cute glare.

"Thank you for helping me fulfill our fantasies... or should I say our double fantasy together at once, YN."

"Same here, Jeongyeon. And I'm so lucky to have it with you. I love you so much."

"I love you too, babe."

One last kiss is all it takes before both fell asleep to end your memorable night with your former rival and now... your first ever-and definitely the last-girlfriend to have on her own room where you'll be expecting a future intimate scenarios you could make together with her, with Jeongyeon, just as same as what you two did in your own way of celebrating your reconciliation and newly established relationship with her.

#twicejeongyeon #jeongyeon #yoojeongyeon #twicejeongyeonsmut #jeongyeonsmut #twicejeongyeonxmalereader #twicejeongyeonxmreader #twicejeongyeonxmalereadersmut #twicejeongyeonxmreadersmut #twicesmut #twiceoneshot #twiceau #kpopau #kpoponeshot #kpopsmut

[delyth88]

Loki - season 2, episode 6 series finale -immediate reaction

Okay, so this time I’m gonna have to split this into two posts.  This one is my reaction after just watching the finale, but this time it’s going to be mostly my emotional response, and the more considered post with images will have to wait till later.  I don’t have the heart for it right now.

So yeah, spoilers ahead.

Well that tore out my heart and stamped on it!

I mean it was an utterly perfect story for a character like Loki, but I’m still devastated. I love it. And I hate it.

I love it on a story level.  The whole season was beautifully done! Loki developed so much over the six episodes, and really won my heart back. I fell in love with the gang from the TVA, particularly OB and Mobius, and I warmed to Sylvie and just wanted her to be able to live the quiet life she’s wanted for so long.

I loved that they really went into the depth I had assumed I’d only get in a fic about the different attempts Loki made to fix things by going back in time. They didn’t just gloss over things, they really showed him trying.  I was shocked when after he asked OB how long it would take him to learn everything, he went and spent CENTURIES doing it!  My stomach dropped.  Because can you imagine what that means for someone?  Even someone as long lived as Loki?  What that has to do to your mind? And that should have been the first clue things weren’t going to turn up roses.

Then he finally succeeds! But they don’t show it to us like we’re experiencing that moment, but more as though we’re an observer, rushing through it because it’s yet another repeat. And for one brief moment Loki is happy because he thinks they’ve done it. But no, it turns out to have been an impossible task!

And then he finds out that HWR basically gave him his newfound powers, and that he still had a lot to learn, and then we see THAT HE ALREADY HAD LEARNED! The way they kept dropping the sense of time on us, that sense of dread and urgency. And inevitability. *shivers*

How he tries, and tries, and tries to convince Sylvie, but can’t get through to her, and how he has to contemplate whether he’s the sort of man who could kill her. I loved how he visited Mobius to ask for his advice. My god. What a horrible conversation to have to have.  But what trust he places in Mobius! 

And I loved how he kept refusing to take the easy path. How he decided he couldn’t kill Sylvie, and how he realised there was another way. But OMG at what price!? I can’t….

But I hated how much this hurt Loki, what this took from him.  When the gold from the rock trickles upwards to create a mockery of a throne, which is more a prison… just…. 😭 The look on his face once he knows what he has to do. He had to make the impossible choice, and he chose the impossible.

I love that it kept the tone of tragedy that has haunted Loki all through the MCU.  I love how they were true to his character in that way, but AT THE SAME TIME allowed him to retain his new sense of self, all that growth we’ve shared through this series but also the change that he’s experienced while he’s been isolated during centuries trying to find a way to defeat HWR and keep the people on the branched timelines safe. His desperate act to do the right thing.  And finally it is the right thing in the eyes of the universe and the audience, and yet he still loses. My heart just can’t bear it!

It’s perfect and it hurts.

Tagging @woodelf68 @pinkpondofasgard @projectprotectloki @scintillatingshortgirl19 @juliabohemian @galaxythreads @makerofrunevests @ladyofthestayingpower @thelightofthingshopedfor @sparklegemstone @iamanartichoke

#I just want Loki to be okay #that did not look like the face of someone who thought they'd be okay #and those were not the shoes of someone who expects to be walking around much #my poor boy #will they ever let you be? #*wails* #I'm heartbroken #its not as bad as Infinity War but its still going to take me some time to get over this #but I'm so glad they allowed him to be the serious character this season and for his actions to really matter #his intent to really matter #he did it all for those he loves #and i have to assume he was also thinking about his family and all the people he ever knew on Asgard #gah! #I'm gonna go cry some more now #loki #loki series #loki season 2 #loki spoilers #loki s2 ep6 #loki s2 finale #loki season 2 finale #loki series reaction #loki s2 #loki review #also I know nothing of the comics #so I have no idea if this is what happens in them

[ladykailitha]

The Places We Hide Part 2

Shit, shit, shit. Sorry guys. This is the real part 2. Lesson learned. No more posting right before bed.

Part 1

*

Eddie looked down at himself in disgust. “We are positively dripping, dude. I don’t think we can go back to the movie like this.”

Steve looked down at himself and laughed. “Yeah. Come on, let’s see if I can find us a change of clothes in my room.”

“As if you have anything that will fit this waist, baby,” Eddie said, putting his hands on his hips.

Steve shook his head. “I’m sure I can find something.”

Eddie laughed and followed him through the house and up to his room. Steve opened his closet and began digging.

“I don’t understand it,” Eddie said looking at the room. “You aren’t the typical teenager. Your room is cleaner then the rest of the house.”

Steve shrugged. “It’s actually easier to hide stuff in a clean room then a dirty one.”

“Yeah?” Eddie asked putting his hands in his back pockets. “How do you figure?”

Steve stopped digging and turned around. “If it’s clean I can tell when something has been moved. If it’s a mess, I can’t tell.”

Eddie frowned thoughtfully. “I guess that makes sense.”

Steve started laughing. “I do have something that will that narrow waist of yours after all.”

Eddie reared his head back and eyed him warily. “How?”

Steve turned around and showed him his prize. In his hands was a pair of Eddie’s jeans. They were light grey and only had one rip in the knee.

“When did I leave those here?” Eddie asked, taking them gingerly from Steve.

Steve shrugged. “When was the last time you had to change here?”

Eddie thought about it. “I don’t even know, man. But hey, at least it means I have something dry to wear.”

Steve nodded and pulled out a black t-shirt. He threw it at him. “This probably the least offensive thing in my wardrobe.”

Eddie cocked his head to the side. “Awww...they aren’t all bad.”

Steve raised an eyebrow, skeptically.

Eddie laughed. “Yeah, alright. But the stripped polos, man. You really can’t think that’s a good look.”

Steve half shrugged. “On you? Absolutely. On me? I know I look good.” He wagged his eyebrows suggestively.

Eddie just shook his head.

Steve pointed to the door off to the side. “You can change in the bathroom.”

Eddie nodded and closed the door behind him. When he was done, he opened the door to see Steve had mostly changed, but was looking through his drawers for another shirt to wear.

Eddie gasped. He had forgotten about the scars on the back of Steve’s biceps and back.

“Shit, man,” he said coming into the room. “I forgot wasn’t the only one that left the Upside Down with gnarly scars.”

Steve looked over his shoulder. “It’s fine. I forget they’re there most of the time too.” He pulled out a blue and white stripped polo and pulled it over his head. Now that Eddie knew what to look for, the scars on Steve’s arms stood out.

“At least have both of your nipples,” Eddie groused.

Steve turned around. “What? Really?”

Eddie lifted the shirt to show a patchwork quilt of scars all over his torso. Steve stepped close enough to touch. “I’m glad you’re still with us, Eds.”

Eddie let the shirt drop. “Me, too, baby. Me too.”

They came thundering down the stairs and into the front room. Everyone turned to face them.

“Where the hell have you two been?” Dustin cried.

Eddie and Steve looked at each other and burst out laughing.

Eddie grinned. “Sorry, man. I went to go bum a cigarette off of Steve as he’s the only other one that smokes and we got caught in the rain. And then because we’re little shits, we ran around for a bit before coming in and getting into drier clothes.”

Steve snapped his fingers. “That reminds me. I’ll be right back.” Steve went dashing back up the stairs.

“So he wasn’t having a freak out?” Robin asked.

Eddie shook his head. “Just needed a smoke. Sorry I freaked out on you guys, I’m new to this shit.”

“And it’s not as though we don’t care about Steve,” Lucas defended. “We really do. But when he says stay, we’ve learned to trust that.”

Eddie sighed. He knew that despite the mocking ‘babysitter’ title that Steve was more like their commander or some shit. Off the battle field they could be little shits, but for stuff like this? What choice did they have but believe him. Though...his brain helpfully supplied, Robin probably should have known better.

“Okay,” is all he said instead.

Steve came back down with their wet clothes and tossed them into the dryer. “There,” he said coming back to the front room, “now by the time it’s time to go, your clothes will be ready to take with you.”

Eddie smiled. “Thanks, sweetheart!”

Steve beamed. He turned to Robin. “Sorry, I know I should quit but sometimes the craving just hits hard.”

Robin sighed dramatically. “I know...” She got up and gave him a big hug. “I’ll say one thing about the rain, at least you two don’t smell like smoke.”

Steve just smiled.

“You missed the movie,” Mike groused.

“I’m sorry,” Steve muttered. “I didn’t mean to. But it’s one I’d seen, so I didn’t miss much.”

Will looked up at him. “But we missed you.”

Steve ducked his head and Eddie just raised a smug eyebrow.

“I’ll make sure to grab a smoke next time before you come over so the craving isn’t as bad,” Steve said softly.

“Well, that’s as good a compromise as any,” Eddie said. “So come on, it’s the weekend and no one has anywhere to be first thing in the morning, right?”

Everyone nodded or made noises of agreement.

“Great!” Eddie said, clapping his hands together and rubbing them. “I have just the thing.” He went over to the stacks of movies and picked out Labyrinth.

“We are watching this one,” he said, turning around to show them. “And no arguments.”

There was some grumbling but even to Eddie it sounding performative at best.

He put it on and settled back in on the couch. Steve stood in the back, watching the kids as much as he was watching the movie.

Eddie looked back and grinned.

Steve chuckled and mouthed ‘thank you.’

The warmth of that small gesture infused all of Eddie’s chest.

Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6

#My writing #stranger things #steddie #steve needs a hug #ladykailtiha writes

[tsukimino]

Kenzan Substory: Izumo no Okuni

We’re back, and since Ishin now has an official English release, it’s time to move on to other things! Without further ado, below the cut is a complete English translation of Kenzan’s Izumo no Okuni substory – better known as the substory in which Kiryu Kazumanosuke inadvertently invents kabuki. 

[Kiryu walks toward the temple at the east end of Rakugai; right in front of the doors, he runs into a trio of rough-looking swordsmen. Their leader confronts Kiryu.]

Swordsman: Huh?! Is that Miyamoto Musashi? We’ve finally found him! 

[The leader reaches for his blade.]

Swordsman: That’s as far as you go! Die! 

[A fight ensues. Naturally, Kiryu trounces his opponents, but when the fight ends, he’s crouched over and breathing heavily.]

Kiryu: (Was that all of them…?)

Swordsman: He’s hurt! Finish him off now! 

Kiryu: (Shit…! I’ll just hide somewhere until this blows over…) 

[The screen fades to black. When we return, Kiryu has found a hiding spot of some sort in an enclosed, dimly-lit space.]

Kiryu: Hah…! Hah…!

[The camera pans over to reveal a woman standing nearby.]

Okuni: Wh- what the!? What happened to you? 

Kiryu: It’s nothing… 

Okuni: That’s not nothing at all! Those injuries – they need attention! 

Kiryu: Sorry. I’m being chased. Would you mind if I stayed here for a bit? 

Okuni: Chased, huh? 

[We hear muffled shouts on the other side of the wall.]

Swordsman: Where is he!? Dammit! Find him! 

[Kiryu falls dramatically to the floor at Okuni’s feet.]

Kiryu: Ugh…

[The screen fades to black.]

Okuni: Hey, now! Hang in there!

[When we fade back in, Kiryu’s lying on the floor in a set of unfamiliar clothes. Okuni is standing around with a trio of men, having a conversation of some sort.]

Kiryu: Where am I…? 

Okuni: Well, maybe now’s the time… 

Lead Actor: What are you saying, Okuni-san?

Clown: You said we were gonna put on a play like no one’s ever seen! You were so excited!

Okuni: Quiet! This is all happening because your acting won’t cut it!

Heartthrob Actor: H-hey! We’re doing our best! 

Lead Actor: That’s right! We’ve come up with all sorts of things, and you’ve hemmed and hawed about all of them! 

Okuni: But in the end, you haven’t been able to pull any of them off, have you? When you’re all talk, you can say anything you like!

Lead Actor: …

Okuni: If you’ve got time to complain, you’ve got time to rehearse! 

Lead Actor: Y-yes…

Okuni: Ahh, good grief…

[After the actors leave, Okuni looks down at her guest.]

Okuni: Oh, you’re awake?

Kiryu: What’s this outfit…?

Okuni: We couldn’t take care of your wounds the way you were, so we took the liberty of changing you out of your clothes. And besides, if you walked out of here in those bloody rags, they’d find you right away. 

Kiryu: I see… Thanks. 

Okuni: But I can’t guarantee that they won’t find you if we stay here, so…

Okuni: I’ve got it! 

[A full cutscene begins: Okuni grabs a brush and attempts to start painting Kiryu’s face.]

Kiryu: Hey!

Okuni: Sit still!

[Kiryu turns his head away again.]

Kiryu: Hey, quit it!

[Okuni grabs him by the chin and forces him to look at her and stay still. Kiryu finally stops acting like a petulant child and sits (mostly) still while she paints. When she’s finished, she stands up and gazes down at her work.]

Okuni: How’s this? 

Okuni: Ah, it came out pretty good! Now nobody will even know it’s you. 

[There’s a shout from off-screen.]

???: He’s here!

[The swordsmen from before rush in, blades drawn. One of them bends down to inspect Kiryu.]

Swordsman: What the hell? What’s with that getup? 

Okuni: Darn, they saw through it after all. 

[Kiryu grabs an umbrella and stands up. Just to be extra dramatic, he begins to speak without turning to face his would-be assailants.]

Kiryu: You guys sure are persistent… But I can’t let loose in here. Let’s take this outside. 

[Kiryu pushes his way through a set of curtains; the men follow him while Okuni reaches out in a vain attempt to stop him.]

Okuni: Hey! That’s the way to… 

[Of course, Kiryu stomps out directly into the middle of a stage, where we finally catch a glimpse of him in full kabuki face-paint, wielding his umbrella as a weapon. Four enemy swordsmen surround him with their blades drawn and ready.]

Kiryu: You’re gonna break more than just a leg!

[A battle begins, in which Kiryu gives the men a thrashing with his paper umbrella.]

[Afterwards, as he stands in the middle of the pile of bodies, Okuni starts clapping for him offstage.]

Kiryu: Sorry about that – I’ve caused you a whole lot of trouble. 

Okuni: Trouble?! Far from it! Look at that!

[Okuni gestures toward the crowd. The place is packed, and everyone’s cheering enthusiastically for his performance.]

Okuni: Thanks to you, the crowd’s going wild! 

[We fade to black again, and when we return, Kiryu’s in the backstage area once more.]

Okuni: I never imagined I’d see so many happy playgoers. It was one last fond memory – thank you so much!

Kiryu: Last?

Okuni: Yeah, it’s time for this troupe to call it quits. Attendance has been way down, lately. 

Kiryu: You’re bound to have times like that if you’re in this business long enough. Isn’t it a little soon to be giving up?

Okuni: We’ve tried a bunch of different acts, but in the end, the only thing a little troupe like ours can do is rehash old material, and young actors these days think that’s tedious. They get bored. We’re always squabbling, and I’m getting sick of it. 

Kiryu: …

Okuni: If we only had a performer like you… 

Okuni: Oh, don’t worry, I’m just kidding. 

Kiryu: You really want to keep this theatre going, don’t you? 

Okuni: Huh? Well, it’d be nice if I could, but…

Kiryu: Well then, mulling it over on your own’s no good, right? 

Okuni: But those guys still don’t know the first thing about acting… 

Kiryu: Now, I’m just an amateur, but wouldn’t you say it makes for good theatre when everyone’s in step? 

Okuni: In… step? 

Kiryu: Have you ever taken them seriously? From your point of view, they’ve got a long way to go, yet, but those players must have their dreams riding on you. That’s why they’re here now. 

Okuni: …

Kiryu: You can quit anytime – but before you throw in the towel, try putting more trust in your players and talking to one another. 

[We fade to black yet again. When we return, Kiryu’s back in his usual running-around-town outfit.]

Kiryu: (That troupe’s gonna be just fine – after this, they’ll carve out a path for themselves. I should hurry up and get out of their dressing room.)

[The screen fades to black once more. The three actors from before are standing together, mid-conversation.]

Lead Actor: But what a surprise! That fight scene was amazing! 

Clown: Right, right! And that makeup was fantastic! A real transformation! But kind of strange, too. 

Heartthrob Actor: Totally! I’ve never seen such a strange-looking actor before!

Lead Actor: A strange-looking actor…? Or maybe a kabukimono…*

Heartthrob Actor: Hey, why don’t we try making a play out of that fight we saw just now? We’ll call it “kabuki”! 

Clown: Fantastic! Just a sec – let me go tell Okuni! 

Lead Actor: Huh? But she’s already said that the theatre… 

Clown: Let’s give it a shot! That performance was amazing – she’ll definitely get it!  

[We return to Kiryu, who’s standing outside the temple again. A notice pops up saying that Kiryu received 10,000 EXP. Before Kiryu can bumble off to intervene in anyone else’s problems, a guy waves to him from the gates.]

Actor: Hey, you! Hold on a second! 

Kiryu: You’re one of the actors... What do you want with me? 

Actor: I wanted to say a quick thank-you. 

Kiryu: Thank me? What for?  

Actor: For getting Okuni’s spirits up again! Your acting inspired her – and us too, of course! 

Kiryu: Oh yeah? That’s great. 

Actor: Yeah! Your work was cutting-edge! Amazing! We’d never seen anyone act like that before! 

Kiryu: Uhh, that wasn’t really acting… 

Actor: I was completely enthralled by your performance! I’d love to know your name. 

Kiryu: ……Kiryu. 

Actor: Kiryu-san, eh? We’re gonna come up with a new play based on your performance! And we’ll make a fresh start with Okuni. 

Kiryu: Sure. Good luck. 

Actor: Thanks! For now, our troupe’s going to keep playing in this town. …Oh, hey, Kiryu-san! Could you stop by the stage once in a while? 

Kiryu: Huh? 

Actor: You’ll be a real crowd-pleaser if you come out, and we’ll help with the production. And I think it’ll make Okuni really happy! 

Kiryu: Uh, but I…

Actor: Yeah, it’s perfect! Just show up whenever you like – it’ll be great! 

Kiryu: Wait, but…

Actor: How does five percent of the proceeds sound for your performance fee? I’ll talk it over with Okuni! 

Kiryu: Uh, but I’m…

Actor: Huh!? Five’s not enough? Ohh, I’m in a real bind, here… I can’t go any higher than that… Would you settle for five percent – please? 

[Kiryu is then given a choice.]

> My art doesn’t come that cheap!

> I don’t need your money. 

[Kiryu can pick the first option, but when he does, the actor won’t accept it.]

Actor: Uhh… Please don’t say things like that. 

[The game then dumps you back on the choice screen, where Kiryu has to pick the more magnanimous option to proceed.]

Kiryu: Alright, alright, I get it. I’ll help you, but I don’t need your money. 

Actor: Huh!? But that’s no good…

Kiryu: I’ll help you out for free instead – it’ll be a parting gift as you all set out on the next stage of your journey. 

Actor: Really!? Thank you so much! Everyone’s gonna be thrilled! Well, whenever you feel like it, let me know! I’ll always be waiting right here. Oh – but when I say “always,” I mean only at night. We don’t perform during the day. 

Kiryu: Okay, got it. 

[End of substory.]

—

Translation Notes:

*Reader, I’m going to be honest with you: this section of dialogue between the actors is basically untranslatable in a way that retains all the significance of the original, because it involves a lot of wordplay that doesn’t really have an equivalent in English. The three players talk about Kiryu’s performance admiringly, and they note that his appearance and behaviour were like nothing they’ve ever seen before. So far so good, right? But the specific term they use for his performance is kabuku (かぶく): a verb that means “to slant” but that was also used to describe the act of dressing and comporting oneself oddly. It’s this term that leads them to conclude that Kiryu himself looked and acted like a kabukimono (傾奇者): a term derived from the verb kabuku that refers to gangs of rowdy, flamboyantly-dressed swordsmen – mostly ronin – who ran around making trouble in the early seventeenth century. It’s from this last term that one of the actors comes up a name for the new style of play they want to put on; they’re all so impressed by Kiryu’s wild appearance and his rowdy sword-fighting performance that they decide to replicate it in their own work and call it kabuki. (This theatrical term seems, in fact, to have been derived from kabukimono, so Kenzan’s writers weren’t just pulling things out of their asses.) 

This wordplay is difficult to replicate in English because while we have kabuki as a loanword, we didn’t nab any of the other terms in this chain of associations – sure, I could’ve said that Kiryu looked “kooky” or something because that sounds a bit like “kabuki,” but that term doesn’t carry the historical significance that kabukimono does.  

—

Izumo no Okuni is a real historical figure who’s said to have invented the theatrical art of kabuki, which exploded in popularity in the early seventeenth century. As this substory suggests (and as you probably already know), kabuki is known for its flashy costumes and especially for the white makeup and bold lines with which performers’ faces are painted. Initially, the performances were heavily dance-based and were put on by women; Okuni’s own company consisted (in contrast with what we see in Kenzan) entirely of ladies. By 1629, however, lady actors were banned from the kabuki stage out of concern for the potential morally deleterious effects of female kabuki troupes’ often ribald performances. Of course, this didn’t put an end to the art – it just meant that men (often younger men) were left to play women’s parts instead, and while the ban was later lifted, kabuki performances generally remain all-male affairs to this day. 

#rgg translations #kenzan #substories

[marvelmusing]

In Another Life

Future Uncertainty

Pairing: Aleksander Morozova x Reader

Summary: Lingering insecurities rear their head now that everything has been resolved, and Aleksander encourages you to share your fears.

(set mid part seventeen - after peace in Ravka has been established but before Aleksander and the reader are married). Based on an ask from @dreamlandcreations who I think is as obsessed with this au as I am.

Warnings: some angst, spoilers for the In Another Life series

My Masterlist • Series Masterlist

“Something’s troubling you.” Aleksander states as he looks over at you.

Lost in thought, you’ve been huddled in the bath for an unknown amount of time. Aleksander’s voice pulls you out of your mind, and you glance up at him for a moment before you notice there’s a water lily floating in the water beside your tucked up knees.

You must have subconsciously altered one of the rose petals meant to sweeten the scent of your bath.

The petals of the lily are delicate curves of white, with a soft yellow that softens at the centre.

“What makes you say that?” You ask, nudging the water lily into spinning on the surface of the bath water.

“You summon when you want to take your mind off your thoughts.”

Aleksander sits down on the chair beside the bath, leaning over to guide the flower away from your reach which prompts you to look at him.

He gives you a knowing look, and it still seems strange to have someone know you so well.

“And you’ve been staring into nothing for quite some time.”

You blink at him. Then you frown.

“I have?”

He hums lowly in confirmation, and unfolds a towel before he holds out a hand for you to step out of the now cold bath water.

Once you’re standing in front of him, Aleksander wraps the warm towel around your body, murmuring his next words against your ear as he pats you dry.

“What’s on your mind?”

Emotion wells in your throat as all the thoughts that had been hounding you lately swarm through your mind. Doubts and fears that you’ve never been able to fully push aside, even with the beautiful engagement ring sitting on your finger.

Once you’re fully dry you pull on one of Aleksander’s silk bathrobes, and sit at the foot of your shared bed as he leans his hip against the vanity table to watch your expression while you explain.

“We’ve always been on even ground when it comes to decisions, with your experience and my knowledge of the future.”

Looking down at your hands, you spin the ring around your finger, watching the gold glisten in the evening candlelight.

“But now that I don’t know what’s coming, and I can’t help but feel like I’m lacking.”

Aleksander’s face falls, but you don’t see as you’re busy staring down at your fingers. You don’t see how his own fingers curl tight around the edge of the vanity table, desperate to comfort you. But he senses you’re not finished speaking.

“This life is everything I’ve ever dreamed of, and I’m scared that soon my luck will run out. I’m scared of getting everything wrong, and everyone will realise I’m nothing special.”

At that, Aleksander steps closer. He moves your thighs apart, allowing his body to fit between them as he crouches down to regard you face to face. Then you whisper quietly,

“But mostly, I’m scared of disappointing you.”

He cups your face with one hand, and forces you to meet his eyes.

“You could never disappoint me.” He insists quietly.

As if he knows that you will immediately disagree with him, he shakes his head to dismiss any sort of protest.

“Per usual, I believe you’re overthinking this. You might have changed it a great deal, but it’s still the same world, that you understand better than anyone.”

He traces his thumb over your cheek bone delicately, and he rubs his other hand over your thigh in reassurance.

“You didn’t know Sokolov existed, and yet you came up with a plan to stop him and ensure the sea whip for Alina. You didn’t know how to mend the tear at the making, but you found a way.”

His voice is firm, filled with unwavering belief in you. You’ve seen Aleksander lie before, and this is far from it.

“Time and time again, you’ve trusted your instincts and been right.” He adds.

Aleksander isn’t wrong. Everything you had done previously turned out perfectly, but you had the reassurance of knowing future events.

He can see that you aren’t convinced.

“I didn’t fall in love with you because you knew what the future held.”

That halts your internal disagreements, and has you focusing on his every word.

“From the moment we met, you have been nothing but brave, and strong, and so good to me.”

He sits beside you on the bed, clasping your hands between his own as he continues,

“You know every terrible thing I’ve done, and everything I am capable of in another lifetime, yet you haven’t turned away from me.”

The thought of Aleksander believing that you wouldn’t love him because of the things you know has you hurrying to assure him.

“And I never will.”

He tilts his head aside, with a tiny smile on his lips.

“Then why would I abandon you for a mere mistake?”

Swallowing hard, you realise he’s right once again, and you look down at your joined hands, your ring glistening up at you.

“I don’t know.” You admit in a whisper, tears falling down your face.

He hooks a finger under your chin.

“I wouldn’t.”

He brushes your tears away as best he can, cradling your face between his hands as he speaks,

“I know you are scared. This entire world is still new to you, and the last few months are the first taste of normalcy for us both. But, you are not alone in this. You will always have me.”

Wrapping your arms around Aleksander, you press your face against his chest and hold onto him tightly. He cups the back of your head, keeping you close.

“You never have to make a single decision on your own if you don’t want to. But I hope you understand that I trust your judgement. If I didn’t agree, or thought there was a better way of doing something, I would suggest it.”

He presses a kiss to the crown of you head as he smooths your hair down.

“There is nothing stronger than the two of us.”

A smile tugs at your lips, as you grip tightly onto the front of his kefta as you hum in agreement.

“Together.”

He nods, and you tilt your head back to look at him as he smiles fondly. You slide your hands up his chest to hook around the nape of his neck.

“Together.” He repeats.

Smiling, you urge his face down to meet your lips.

»»---------------------►

marvelmusing Tag List: @dreamlandcreations @blanchedelioncourt @idaofinfinity @slytherheign @ellooo0ooo @vixenofcourse @dumb-fawkin-bitch @jane-arthur

In Another Life Tag List: @parabatai-winchester @dangerousbluebirdpoetry @jambolska-grozdova @mxacegrey @budugu @cynthianokamaria @scarlettqueen190 @eloquentree @sharp-cheekbones-locked @sorrow-and-bliss @biblophilefox82 @tartiflvtte @rainbowgoblinfan @savagejane1 @sande5098

Aleksander M Tag List: @nyctophiliiiiaaa @jazmin2211

BB Characters Tag List: @rachlovesactors @noortsshift @aikeia

#in another life au #aleksander morozova #aleksander morozova x reader #the darkling #the darkling x reader #the darkling au #the darkling x you #the darkling x y/n #shadow and bone #shadow and bone x reader #shadow and bone au

[us-the-voices-and-more-voices-2]

9-1-1 (fox) x Hannibal (nbc)

(I would write a fanfic but I’m not in the mood)

All of last night I was thinking of this, anyway.

post fall and having lived in the woods for awhile, Hannibal and Will move to LA and become firefighters on the 118.

why? Well Hannibal didn’t want to go back into psychiatric work (bad memories) and loved doing medicine still, and thought “why not?”

flash forward, to him passing the tests and whatever and being a paramedic firefighter under the name Hans Anderson and does firefighter stuff.

everyone is like “Hans, is.. so weird” “he’s just European, English isn’t his first language” “but.. he’s so weird.”

eventually Will gets bored of staying at home with his dogs, and applies and becomes a firefighter too.

so the duo starts being REALLY WEIRD, mostly the whole

“hanni. Your not cooking them pork”

“Will, but the team would love my recipe”

“I do not want to help you choose a pig, no.”

“But will :(“

“no means no, we will make chicken for the team”

and the 118 mostly buck is like

”guys, what was that about?” “Buck. Just let them fight they will calm down later” “but what was the whole ‘no I am not choosing a pig’ thing about that’s a weird thing to say.” “Buck.. Hans and Will are just weird, don’t look to deep into it, it’s probably a European thing”

will uses his think like a killer thing for emergencies they go on to figure out what happened, everyone is very impressed and freaked out mostly by how well he figures out where when on the run murders take their victims and the whole “this is my design” thing he mutters.

Hannibal despite what the media and chilton pushed he actually liked helping people and saving them from their deaths, he just also liked eating people.

whenever Hannibal runs headfirst into a flaming building to help people? Will is right behind him, whenever Will runs into a flaming burning headfirst? Hannibal is right behind him.

after a rescue, Will changed his clothes in the change room and some of the 118 saw his MASSIVE SCARS, mostly the one on his abdomen.

obviously they didn’t think it was old and were promptly asking questions and trying to treat Will while he was getting ready flustered.

“Guys, please just stop. It’s a old scar, it’s not a big deal”

“WILL WHAT DO YOU MEAN”

“guys, it’s just from someone who hurt me, it’s fine”

“WHO HURT YOU, It LOOKS LIKE YOU WERE GUTTED”

“It doesn’t matter, it’s in the past I don’t care anymore.”

“???”

the 118 start being extra observant when Will gets injured in the stomach.

but when they bring up the whole thing to Hannibal

“Oh, Will’s scar? He got it when a boat rotor he was working on suddenly came on and gutted him, I was there.”

they stopped asking about it, but after awhile they noticed the bullet scars, and the scar on his head, and some more.

then it came to Hans’s odd behavior.

the way he wrapped his arms like they were bound when he was stressed, the weird feelings like they were being stalked by a predator but it was just Hans lounging around reading a book or other things, his odd jokes about food Will always laughed hard maybe they were inside jokes, those times when he was able to diagnose with 100% accuracy patients ill’s and everytime he joked “I could smell it”.

he was weird, and the fights he and Will had were evenly as weird.

one time when most of the 118 was out doing a rescue Will and Hans were getting into a heated argument while they cooked.

buck was kind of the only one there having sprained his knee on a previous rescue and was healing up. Buck was being really quiet mostly just sitting in a chair while he put some ice on his knee when. He heard it.

“Hanni, I can’t believe you. After everything we’ve been through? After everything you’ve put ME through? I can handle be thrown in a mental asylum, I can handle being framed, but THIS? Hanni, I love you but I can’t deal with this right now.”

“Will, I just wanted to make something for you. To show you my love.”

“Hanni, you always have. But this was stupid, I love your cooking I love you, but just can’t you source your meat any other way? can’t you show me your love while not slaughtering our food for us?”

“Will, Bella. I will for you, I will. I am sorry.”

“I can’t blame you, it’s so sweet. But just Stop it, you can’t keep this up.”

“Okay Bella, okay.”

buck just was so confused by the whole thing, Hans and Will were in love??? Will went to a mental asylum and was FRAMED??

buck really wanted to say something but they were quietly talking about the food and it seemed like a private conversation.

it was really weird though, the whole “food” aspect of it.

And it kept happening, these weird arguments about food.

always when Hans and Will thought there was no one around and buck happened to be creeping around because Hans’s cooking was SO GOOD.

he heard these snippets of a life before the 118, and it was just them talking about this girl Abbigail and murder cases?

just quietly lamenting this girl, with grief in their throats.

hans also talked about this other person Mischa, and how they were dead.

Hans and Will never talked much about their time before the 118, they mentioned something about Cuba one time but that was it.

the scars they shared violent and deep, the way they just were able to see and understand grisly killers.

just everything about them was wrong or hidden, they just are strange.

#-pop #9 1 1 #9 1 1 abc #evan buckley #9-1-1 #911 abc #911 fox #hannibal #hannibal fanfiction #hannibal lecter #hannibal series #hannibal textpost #nbc hannibal #hannibal x will #will graham

[qqueenofhades]

My partner and I have a good friend from uni who has become really involved in the Gaza war online. It’s quite impressive, the amount of research and time they’ve put into it. We haven’t talked about it a lot, mostly because we haven’t been talking as much lately with how busy things have been personally, but today they sent my partner and I, out of the blue, a tiktok video explaining the “no commitment movement” (and I can’t help but bristle a little to hear it called a movement) and a link to a website explaining how to register to vote (as if we have never been politically active and conscientious of that in all the years we’ve known each other). I’m a little frustrated, and alarmed, because I hadn’t realized how much they’ve taken to the online left’s discourse, but perhaps I should’ve seen it coming. That said, I know they mean well, and I know I can’t just change their mind. But I’m going to go back and review some of the asks that’ve come through your inbox recently just so that I’m ready in case things escalate in the group chat. Just wanted to share this with you to say thank you for keeping things sane over here in this small corner of the internet. I’ve pulled back from almost all social media in recent weeks because I’ve become more and more aware of how easily folks online can get a reaction out of anyone, and I’m weary of being caught in those emotional traps. Your insight always reminds me to slow down and think things through for more than just a few seconds before having a reaction. I think we can all agree that your work is admired and appreciated, Hilary!

Thank you, that means a lot to me. As it can often feel like draining the proverbial ocean with a straw to even remotely attempt to combat the misinformation, fear-mongering, and bad-faith attacks flying around every corner of the political internet right now, I'm glad to hear that you appreciate the work (of all kinds) that goes into those posts and you find them useful in having direct conversations with people who have been sucked down the propaganda rabbit hole in one way or another. After all, that is what I hope to do when I take the time to answer asks and construct arguments even outside of my very demanding full-time academic job, and why I continue to do it even when it can be tiring and taxing. I appreciate this kind message and I hope you're able to use whatever materials of mine that you can. :)

#imagination-ward #ask

[securityholograms]

I confess I am very curious. What would your ideal casting be for a DJKT production of Cabaret?

oh my god, first of all, I could yap about this for hours so thanks so much for the question! (edit after typing out a bit of it: it’s already very long i’m so so sorry)

For the casting itself, I’m mostly gonna ignore the vocal ranges because I don’t really know how deep or high the djkt people can go so take that with a grain of salt😭 and i’m going off of the characters that are currently in the production in Prague (so only one KitKat boy, but they could easily add “Victor” like some other productions have etc.)

Now the characters:

Emcee: You really need someone who’d be comfortable with the whole exhibitionist shtick and can carry the show on their back. I feel like Lukáš Ondruš could pull it off (it= being a creepy little guy) but my secret wish is Pavel R.😭the reasoning is just that I know he’d lowkey love the attention and he’s been getting all the /sexy leading man/ dudes lately, which is so valid for him, but I also kinda need more from him at this point and this would be it🙏🏻( # PavelForAFreak )

Sally: Naty Dvořáková would be great, after hearing her Mary Magdalene, I think her voice would suit sally really well and she’d drive the emotional ending home. If I wanted to give a leading role to someone who hasn’t gotten one in a while- Karolína Krausová, I really loved her in Píseň pro Ninu and this is in the same category (kind of).

bonus: If she hasn’t aged out of the role.. Soňa👉👈 she’s mother to me and this would fix me (or make me worse)

Cliff: Oh boy. this is a big one for me (clearly lmao) This might be an unpopular opinion but even though Cliff is kind of in the shadow of Sally and the MC, especially in the newest West End revival (soon a broadway revival) I really believe he’s the heart of the show, he’s the audience’s link to the characters, It’s who we relate to and who is, ultimately, the good guy. And so I think he’s kind of quietly what makes or breaks the show in the end (the emotional aspects of it at the very least)….

Ok, that was a long ass way of saying I’d obviously need Pavel Klimenda as Cliff ✨ He’s showed times and times again he’s really good at the “Am I gonna finish this or is it gonna finish me” sad boy agenda, so I think he’d easily pull it off and break all of our hearts along the way. BUT HERE’S where the real conundrum appears⬇️

Bobby: So if I assume we only get one kitkat boy, it’ll be Bobby. He’s the one who’s hooked up with Cliff in London and that affair kind of re-ignites when Cliff comes to Berlin. In the Prague production, Bobby’s wearing fishnets and heels (they’re HIGH heels) and I can’t really see who from djkt could slay in the same way Pavel Klimenda could. We’ve already seen him do the slightly more fem roles in Otřást vesmírem and Fun Home + he’s a great dancer, which works super well for Bobby.. Buuut he’s already my Cliff here so that’s kind of fucked and idrk what to do with this one😭😂

… ok, going back to Cliff, I think Dušan could do Cliff really well too (he has that sincerity about him when he wants to) so maybe i’ll change my answer to that so that it could actually work. And if I go even more crazy, Adam Rezner’s take on Cliff could be interesting🧐

Ernst: if I’m going off of the typecasting that djkt usually does(sorry ok), it’s Hruškoci and it’s not even close😭 My slightly more adventurous pick would be Pavel R., he needs to play a hatable character (that people don’t want to fuck) just once tbh and I think he’d appreciate the challenge.

Fräulein Schneider: (keeping this short) Stanislava Topinková Fořtová

Herr Schultz: hmmm i don’t know the older guys that well so i don’t have anything smart to say on this one 🥲

—

Alright so.. this is a fucking mess, if you’ve made it through to here, I applaud you. I do really hope that we’ll get to see it at some point, though🥲

#djkt #txt #fancast #cabaret

[1moreff-creator]

What do you think about Arei/J switch theory?

I’m not entirely familiar, so apologies if I get some stuff wrong. But the basic gist is that Arei and J disguised themselves as each other at some point, mostly so J could avoid Arturo, and so the real victim of this case is J, right? Well… frankly, while I think it's a fascinating and really enjoyable theory, I don’t believe it.

Let’s start with the base assumptions we have to make for this to work. They don’t necessarily disprove anything outright, but they’re still pretty big assumptions.

•Arei and J’s relationship underwent some major changes, for now off-screen.

•This relationship is so strong now, that Arei practically gives up on her friendship with Eden and her whole “I’ll be nicer to everyone” promise, the line which this entire theory is based on, all for J.

•No one noticed the slight changes to eye color and facial structure.

•Double on the last one because Rose didn’t notice these changes. The girl who noticed a sixteenth of an inch difference in her height between going to Hope’s Peak and starting the killing game, presumably without even looking too closely (because why would she be looking at a mirror for any significant amount of time in her situation?), and has a photographic memory. It’s true she forgets things, but only things she didn’t see. She did see both J and Arei, so it seems odd her weird superpower became unreliable at exactly this time.

•Both Arei and J can make really good impressions of each other voice-wise, and without getting tired of it. It’s not easy to talk with a voice which isn’t yours for a long time, even if they’re not too dissimilar.

•Both of them are pretty good at keeping their personalities consistent. I didn’t notice any lines which seemed OOC for either of them at any point, so it’s odd. I know the line about Teruko stabbing someone 50 times has been brought up as something only Arei would say, but… I honestly don’t have any issues seeing J saying this, so. Different character readings, I guess.

•The wigs in the dress-up room have similar enough colors. The blue one, I feel, is too light for Arei (and I’m not even sure it’s long enough for her braid thing), and the black one may not be fully perfect under closer scrutiny. By the way, remember, this has to go through Rose.

•There is some way to create the green highlights in J’s hair. There isn’t a green wig, and I don’t believe we’ve ever heard of dye in any room, which is odd. Why not set this up?

•The wigs in the dress-up room were restocked before the BDA. This is because Teruko claims to take a look around the dress-up room and the relax room before the trial, and doesn’t find anything noteworthy.

•Arei has some pretty strong reason to not reveal herself post-BDA.

•MonoTV would allow Arei to stand in J’s spot at the class trial, and put up a death portrait of Arei even though she’s still alive. Keep in mind, MonoTV allows this even though I’m pretty sure most theories state the switch doesn’t have anything to do with the murder, so I have genuinely no idea how you convince that dog to allow this.

•If the victim received that note (which I know is up for debate, but for unrelated reasons), then Arei and J must have switched rooms. After all, the note’s sender wouldn’t have left it in J’s room. This implies they had a reason to do this, which I can’t quite envision. Add to that the assumption J went to the playground disguised as Arei instead of, like, telling the real one.

So, with all these assumptions and possibly more, there must be some pretty compelling evidence pointing to the theory to convince people, right? As per the Sagan Standard, extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.

Well, listen. I’m pretty new to the DRDT fandom, and a lot of this theory has changed continuously over time, so I’m sure I’m missing some things. But as far as my scouring through Tumblr got me, I could only ever spot two pieces of physical evidence being brought up.

One is that “Arei’s” hair is longer in her BDA than it’s meant to be. This is true, and a detail which notates some nice observational skills. It’s a good start, but I feel it can’t be used as conclusive evidence, considering the very real possibility the creators just took some artistic liberty. And maybe her braid was done somewhat sloppily since she may have died only minutes after waking up? Let’s call that a counter argument and move on.

The second is that the switch explains “Arei’s” missing glove in the BDA. If you’ve been reading my back-and-forth with thebadjoe about this murder case, you know I would take practically any explanation for this fucking glove’s disappearance in stride…

Except, I don’t actually know how this explains that missing glove? Even the disguised J (which according to this theory is the one at lunch on the third day of the chapter) has the glove, so I frankly have no idea where it went under this theory.

No matter how much I scoured Tumblr, I couldn't find any other piece of physical evidence beyond some minor lines of dialogue I don't find very convincing. I only ever found narrative arguments. Essentially, arguing that the theory is likely because it's what should happen.

Listen. I dislike narrative arguments in principle. I've been in the FNAF theorizing fandom, and let me tell you, I've seen a lot of people go real nowhere, real fast, just because they tried to argue on narrative. Still, I'll address some of these arguments, though keep in mind narrative logic can only really be countered by narrative logic.

"J should be more important to the chapter because she's in the title screen"

I mean, not necessarily. And especially not with such a vague title screen, which contains a long haired shadow figure who fits neither Arei or J. If anything, you could argue it actually makes sense that J doesn't quite fit the murder, because of the secret title. Behind the "All That Glitters" title, you can read "A Good Person" (inverted in the Deadly Life version). J fits the "All That Glitters" title, as her life as a celebrity isn't as good as it seems ("Not all that glitters is gold"), but she has no direct connection to "A Good Person". So maybe "All That Glitters" is self-referential; just because it appears J will be one of the main characters of the arc, doesn't mean she's going to be important for the murder case.

Is that convoluted as hell? Yes, but so is arguing about this theory based on a title screen IMO, so.

"Killing Arei when she's just starting her redemption arc is wasteful"

Well, so would be killing J before we get anything but a hint of a backstory for her. If anything, one could argue it's the other way around; because Arei was going to die this chapter, she had to speedrun a backstory and the idea of an arc. I personally prefer all the characters in the fangan to be interesting and well-fleshed out, instead of just using some people's deaths as plot points for another's story, but I understand it's Danganronpa. You have to kill someone, you're never going to be able to finish all arcs. Arguably, one of the most tragic parts of this series is the amount of potential lost to the senseless killing; it's why Min's death hurts me so much, even though I think it was written fantastically.

So, yeah. I don't find this very compelling, since I think killing Arei would still be decently good writing in the Danganronpa context.

"[Anything regarding the theme of trust and distrust]"

I lump all these arguments together because, IMO, they all fall to the same problem. Because trust and distrust is the theme of the entire series, you can't possibly know where it's going on chapter 2. We know where we started, where we are, and the general place we're gonna end up on in the end. However, there's no way to know the trajectory the story is going to take on this.

The most common thing I hear is that this disguise idea will end up with Teruko needing to trust someone to solve the crime, to counterbalance the first chapter showing the dangers of excessive trust. However, it's perfectly possible the story's going the complete opposite way. Maybe the events of this chapter will end up with Teruko getting "confirmation" that she's right not to trust anyone, only for chapter 3 to slap her in the face hard for distrusting everyone. Essentially, instead of trust and distrust bouncing along the story, maybe we get one big arc where we start by dwelving into the depths of distrust, only to surface again later on.

Basically; let them cook.

-

Those are the main arguments I've seen. Of course it's possible I've missed stuff (and I don't feel like writing any more thousandths of words), but I hope I covered the most important points. And again, I don't think there's any more significant physical evidence, and I'm not going to be easily convinced by narrative evidence.

With all this in mind, I bring you back to all those assumptions I mentioned in the beginning. Occam's Razor states that the most likely explanation is the one which makes the least amount of assumptions. And frankly, I believe there are many other explanations which do not make even half of the assumptions this theory makes. In fact, the only assumption that the "J and Arei never disguised as each other" theory makes is that the hair in the BDA isn't important. At least, I think that's the only assumption. In this context, I find the "switch" theory extremely unlikely, although I did enjoy reading about it a lot!

Hope that answers your question!

#drdt #danganronpa despair time #fanganronpa #arei nageishi #j rosales #j moreno #drdt theory #arei j switch theory