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monamourbladie · 8 months

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AHH OKAY SO.. this feels so weird typing out but IF YOU'RE COMFORTABLE CAN YOU WRITE LIKE PROTECTIVE/POSSESSIVE DAN HENG IL? idk how to describe it aaa like.. id imagine because he is a vidyadhara, they stay with their lovers for life, so he's be like very protective over his lover. maybe smut but its up to you!!!!!!!

Possessive Dan Heng/IL head canons

okay firstly i wanna say i was sitting on this ask for days bc i was trying to think of a possible plot but I couldn’t:( so i’m just gonna do some head cannons, i hope you don’t mind! I’ll be including some nsfw ones at the end too don’t worry :)) and thank u for being my first request on this blog hehe~

Dan Heng:

alright, so Dan is a very reserved and kept to himself kinda guy as we can see on the Express. he doesn’t show his emotions a lot and he’s kind of hard to read

you’re one of the few people that can read him like a book due to how close you guys are and how much he trusts you. like, even MARCH couldn’t get him to open up as much as he does with you

so when he’s upset, you just know. like it’s so obvious to you and you alone lol

so let’s say you’re out in Belobog and he’s speaking with March & Stelle when some guy comes up to you and starts chatting with you

initially he wouldn’t think much of it until he starts hearing laughter from you, and then all his attention is on you and him. like, why are you laughing at his jokes? what’s he even doing talking to you??

he’d just kind of keep his distance and just watch. nobody else really understands what he’s doing, but you can immediately recognize the coldness in his eyes as he’s glaring daggers at the man.

eventually he’d have enough when he notices him starting to touch your arm and he immediately walks over, keeping a calm & collected stature

“y/n! there you are, i was wondering where you ran off to.” he’s walk up behind you and wrap his arm around your waist, keeping you pressed close against him.

your cheeks would flush and you’d immediately lean into him, feeling better now that he’s here and can scare the guy off. “i was just waiting for our drinks.”

“and speaking with me. i was offering to give her a tour around Belobog, since she’s new,” the man said with a smile to her. dan’s grip would tighten around your waist and he’s grit his teeth.

your drink would be called and he’d move away for just a moment - (it helped that you were waiting by the counter, anyway) and grabbed your drinks for you, handing you one and kissing your forehead as he did so, “that’s sweet, but we already have a tour guide. let’s go.”

he’d grab your hand and fast walk you away, his heart almost aching from the exchange.

you always understood how sensitive he is about you dating him, since he’s been so heavily traumatized by his previous marriage in his past life. any scenario where you could leave him in any way terrifies him more than he wants to admit.

“was that supposed to be intimidating?” march would comment with a giggle as they walked over. dan simply sighed as he handed march her drink, “leave it, march.”

you’d look up at him with a soft smile and tilt his face to look down at you. you’d grin and kiss his lips longingly, “don’t worry, sweetheart. i was just being nice and keeping conversation.”

this eased his mind greatly - it’s not like he doesn’t trust you, he’s just extremely insecure and fearful about losing his loved ones, even to a random stranger in a planet they have no plans to stay on.

back at the hotel when you’re alone though? that’s another story. he doesn’t feel the need to keep his usual reserved facade up, and you know that.

the moment the door is shut, he’s immediately behind you, his arms trailing up yours as he peppers kisses up the back of your neck, “i hated seeing him speak with you, you know that?” he’d mutter against your skin.

you’d hum and close your eyes as you leaned into his touch, knowing this was going to be a pleasantly long night. “were you jealous, baby?” you’d playfully tease him.

he’d let out a low growl against your skin as his grip on you tightened, moving you in his arms so you’re pressing your chest against his own. he leaned down and started to kiss against your jawline up to your ear, “i don’t get jealous. i get protective.”

“you’re so jealous,” you’d giggle, moving your head so you could kiss his lips instead. he’d kiss you back harshly to immediately shut you up, beginning to walk the two of you slowly over to the bed as you’d kiss

he’d pin you down against the bed quickly, his kisses getting more feverish as his hands start exploring your body, “that’s enough out of you. you’re my girl.”

you’d squirm under his touch in enjoyment, cheeks flushing red from being called his girl. you loved when you got him to act all touchy, especially when he was riled up like this.

he would absolutely tease you all throughout the night just to get you so riled up that you’d just be panting and begging for him to finally let you have your release.

he’d click his tongue and lean in against your ear, his fingers teasing you unbearably slowly as you squirmed. he wouldn’t let you have your release until you cried out that you were his and only his, reaffirming him in the best way.

he’d lean down and kiss you heatedly as he pumped his fingers quickly to push you over the edge, “good girl, that’s right… you belong to me, no one else…”

youd cry out as he helped you through your high, “o-only yours, dan… f-fuck…”

there was literally nothing he adored more than seeing you a sobbing, moaning mess all because of him. part of you wondered if you should get him possessive more often if he would treat you so nicely afterwards…

Imbibitor Lunae:

if you thought dan heng was closed off and reserved, dan feng was another level. we all know everyone described him as cold and uncaring, but when it came to you? he was a total opposite and an absolute sweetheart.

he had his moments of being a typical brooding dragon, but the love he has for you is so immense that it outweighed every once of coldness in his heart and actions

it honestly surprised most of the quintet when he announced that you two started dating, because out of everyone they expected to actually get a girlfriend the high elder himself was last on the list — let alone a short life species such as yourself.

dan feng does not like showing any ounce of PDA in public by any means. in the public eye, he only would have his arm around you if you were walking around, or occasionally held your hand. he would never kiss you if he knew a lot of people would be seeing it

at least that’s how he acted early on in your relationship. this lead to most people thinking you were single, so it was not uncommon that you would have guys flirt with you right in front of him.

the first time dan feng noticed a drunk guy coming into you hardcore, it made his blood boil. unlike dan heng, dan feng was totally cool with showing off his angry side.

he immediately stormed right up and got between the two of you, resting his hand against your chest and glaring at the man, “i think it’s best if you leave.”

the man scoffed as he crossed his arms, “actually, it would be best if you left. i was having a great time with her.”

dan felt his blood boil and he glared at him, “that’s my fiancée, and i suggest you get away from her immediately.”

“or what?” the man spat back. “for being her fiancé, you certainly don’t act like one.” without thinking, dan shoved the man against the wall, his arm pressed firmly over his chest, “you have some nerve to speak to your High Elder in such a way. I told you — stay away from her. you should be thankful i’m not throwing you into the Shackling Prison for being an ass.”

the man’s eyes widened as he started sobering up enough to realize how badly he fucked up. he squeaked and nodded furiously, “i-i’m so sorry, your highness! it won’t happen again!”

he’d step back and let him run off quickly. turning back to you he saw your cheeks burning red with embarrassment, and his demeanor immediately changed back to stoic. he approached you and began to walk away with you, his hand wrapped around your waist, “i believe i owe you an apology. i didn’t realize i wasn’t acting as much of a fiancé as I thought i was.”

and ever since that day, he made sure he always had his arm around you in some way, and made it very, very clear that you were his fiancée.

he’d pretty much be the same as dan heng, except way more passionate and dominating about it. he’s not afraid to entirely let his guard down in private with you, especially about anything sexual, so absolutely be prepared for a long, pleasure filled night

he’d be very dominate but definitely a pleasure dom … most of the time lol, other times he’d just be absolutely rough with you if he was really, really feeling jealous or possessive

he would not be afraid to leave a lot of marks - it made him proud that others would absolutely know you’re taken just by one glance at your neck, and he wasn’t ashamed of it, either. he knew he fucked up early on, and he made sure to always make up for it, especially in bed

and yes — part of the reason why he’s so protective over you is because you are a short life species. it absolutely destroys him that while you will grow old and spend the rest of your life with him, he cannot share the same blessing with you, and he absolutely hates himself for it. it’s not fair.

that’s why any time anyone tried anything with you, he’d get so angry over it because how dare they flirt with his one and only?

he also gave 0 fucks that some vidyadharans did not approve of you, in fact he loves to flaunt it in their faces now and kiss you at public events when he hears people murmur about the high elder and his “short-life woman.”

moral of the story, don’t fuck with the high elder’s woman or you’re a dead man

i hope this is what u had in mind alenfhehddhhd thank you for the request 🫶🏻

#honkai star rail #hsr #honkai star rail x reader #hsr x reader #masterlist #dan heng #dan feng #imbibitor lunae #dan heng x reader #dan feng x reader #imbibitor lunae x reader #dan heng il x reader

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modawg · 24 days

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it’s so sad to me that nico like never learned how much percy tried to help him yk

like percy literally rounded up his closest friends after being the only one to find out nico was the son of hades and decided to at least try to give nico a chance to live his life when the kid literally just tried to kill him, his sister just died, and through everything percy knows hates his guts - like he took all that info and decided to make a suicide pack with his closest friends in order to protect nico when giving nico the prophecy would’ve been the most logical and honestly understandable thing to do

like genuinely do ppl realise how EASY it would’ve been to just give the prophecy to nico his ONLY living relative (other than hades) just DIED they could’ve been like “listen you take this prophecy give it 6 years you’ll be dead with your sister and literally everyone else you know and you’ll be a hero for it” instead even though percy has an entire life, people who love and care for him, and a future wife infront of him he takes it upon himself to DIE in 3-4 years how fucking BONKERS is that

he also almost abandons a WHOLE OTHER QUEST putting himself and annabeth in danger just bc dumbass nico is out doing god knows what in the labyrinth and ends up getting caught (he was doing smth i’m being dramatic but still)

could you imagine being percy your going to war (and from your perspective you’re going to die in the next week or so after methodically doing everything in your power to keep this other random kid who you think hates you from suffering that fate) that kid comes up to you with a plan so you trust him just do be stabbed in the back bc that kids father wants him to be the prophecy child even tho you’ve been mentally preparing yourself to die for the past like 3 years?? id jump that kid too if he randomly came into my deep dark prison cell trying to break me out and then shun him after all that

like i read the way nico talks abt percy and he just seems bitter all the time he’s like “psh percy and his fake friendship what a dweeb can’t believe i had a crush on THAT guy🙄” like you’d be dead if it wasn’t for his friendship gay boy

i want like 5 years into the future annabeth is sitting with nico one day and is like “lol yeah i remember that one time percy made us all pinky promise to keep you safe and we all thought he was dumb bc you hated him sm but he really just wanted you to have a good life and now look at you!! :)” and nico to slow turn to her “…what”

like to this day i get that nico was mad at percy for not protecting bianca and bc of his internalized homophobia or whatever but why not hate on the actual people who sent her on that quest rather than a random kid you just met who said he’d try WHICH HE ACTUALLY DID DO and not idk literally any adult figure who sent her into the fire to begin with

i just want nico to realise that percy is simply just a boy who literally wanted nothing to do with any of this and was trying his best to free nico of that same burden sigh (;_;)

like those two are the fattest example of a miscommunication held together by misunderstood betrayal

disclaimer this is obv dramatic and the prophecy definitely doesn’t work like that but like think abt it ok

#hoo #pjo #heros of olympus #percy jackon and the olympians #percy jackson #hoo fandom #pjo fandom #hoo text post #pjo text post #nico di angelo

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hopelesslyromanticshark · 29 days

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HI, HEY, HELLO can i get leo with apollo!fem!reader? (plsplsplsplspls i'm beggin') where she performs a song like solo concert for camp (for inspiration new romantics by taylor swift) and leo is just so in love

i think new romantics is freakingly well describes her personality and exactly the energy that she wants to give to the camp (y'know about circumstances)

take your time, lovely! ♡

⋆ ˚｡⋆౨ৎ˚ He Can't See It In My Face, But I'm About To Play My Ace

content: leo valdez x daughter of apollo! reader fic warning: language, i believe, but that's about it!! author's note: okay okay, this was the secret fic with the explanation. i do not listen to taylor swift, in fact she's a blocked artist on my spotify, and let me explain why. my best friend is her biggest fan, like huge huge fan of hers. and i love in strange ways. my least favorite colors, colors in which i refused to buy anything in, are the favorite colors of my loved ones. because i associate them with those colors and see it as their thing. and id know how id feel it someone was trying to take something i viewed as mine, i guess??? its the same way with music. i feel like if i become a huge swiftie, then we're competing and i dunno. it sounds stupid writing all this out, BUT me and her have had talks about it and she understands and tbh, that's all that matters to me lmao. sooooo yeah that's just what i wanted to say and i wanted to say it here with the fic because i think it would have been strange as a sort of stand alone comment, ya know??? anyways, to surmise, nothing agaisnt taylor swift, huge fan of her like as a person or human being, but unwilling to listen to her music because i love people weird. okay okay im done ranting lmao (also i shouldn't have to clarify this but i will; IT IS NOT FOR PICK ME REASONS FR IF I HAVE TO BEG A MAN TO PICK ME BY BEING QUIRKY I DO NOT WANT THAT MAN)

admittedly, it had been a stupid bet to take. but the stoll's were egging her on and she really wasn't one to let clarisse of all people walk all over her. plus, she had some minor confidence in the athena cabin to keep their flag out of the ares cabin's grimy hands. apparently, it was misplaced. but, really their were worse bets she could have lost, like shaving her head or getting a tattoo, all bets the stolls have had to follow through with.

"can't wait to see your next show, songbird," clarisse mocked playfully as she marched past with her siblings, laurels proudly set on her curls. you sighed, sticking your tongue out at her back. and really, you weren't sure why you were complaining. you loved to sing! but, it's probably tied to the fact that you hated to lose. then, you started to plot, growing more excited with every passing second.

no one said this bet had to be a bad thing.

leo knew something was up from the moment he sat down for lunch. he could just sense it in the air, glaring over at the stoll's suspiciously. they shrugged and leo couldn't quite tell if they were playing innocent or truly were innocent. damn hermes genes. then a beat started playing through the pavilion, everyone looking around in confusion. chrion and mr. d both stood from there seats, also glancing around in confusion.

"what-" mr. d tried but then you were standing from your table, a played up face of confusion plastered on your face. leo squinted suspiciously at the girl of his dreams, having already caught on that this was her doing from the twinkle in her eyes alone. that twinkle that had his stomach doing flips and his lips curling upwards.

"hey, what's going on?" you called over the music, trying to hide your smile as one of your other siblings shot up from his seat.

"i dunno, y/n, maybe someone lost a bet?!" he called, the apollo cabin giggling among themselves as though they were in on an inside joke. and while the rest of the cabins weren't entirely sure what was happening, they couldn't help but smile and laugh too. except for chiron and mr. d, who were growing increasingly more upset at the interruption to their lunch.

"miss l/n, if you will-"

"oh yeah. i did!" you cheered before using one of your sibling's hands and pulling yourself up to stand on the apollo table, eyes scouring the crowd before pulling a microphone to your lips.

we're all bored we're all so tired of everything we wait for trains that just aren't coming we show off our different scarlet letters trust me, mine is better

as per usually, y/n was an amazing singer with a natural stage presence. she was dancing while singing, her siblings doing some choreographed moves. following the end of the first verse, some sunkissed hands shot up and tugged at the girl's sweatpants and baggy shirt, ripping it off to reveal a sparkly, frilly, and short dress that had leo questioning if he needed to take a 'bathroom break' during the performance.

we're so young but we're on the road to ruin we play dumb but we know exactly what we're doin' we cry tears of mascara in the bathroom honey, life is just a classroom (ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah)

y/n now moved from where she was dancing on her father's table, with the help of her siblings. she was now, basically, prancing around the dining pavilion. clearly, a lot of planning went into this, as the apollo cabin perfectly presented their camp necklaces whilst y/n sang about life being just like a classroom. the group had now danced it's way to jason's table, who looked at the group with a raised brow, causing y/n's giggles to waver her voice in a way that had leo falling deeper in love with her.

'cause baby, i could build a castle out of all the bricks they threw at me and every day is like a battle but every night with us is like a dream

whilst singing about bricks, the apollo cabin presented them to jason, who in turn laughed and shoved them away kindly. this caused an uproar in the pavilion, laughter spewing from most everyone's mouths as someone (leo) had made them aware of jason's past with bricks. you patted the ares cabin as you raced by, singing off battles that was met with kind hearted 'boo's. then, whilst singing of dreams, you dramatically draped yourself across the hypnos table, clover hovering a bundle of grapes over your mouth like you were a goddess. which leo was starting to come to the same conclusion as you shot forwards and caught one between your teeth, quickly swallowing it as your next verse came up.

baby, we're the new romantics come on, come along with me heartbreak is the national anthem we sing it proudly

we are too busy dancing to get knocked off our feet baby, we're the new romantics the best people in life are free

by this point, you were waving over at the hermes cabin, which leo has vague memories of being on your capture the flag team last time, who pretended to be surprised before shooting out of their seats and joining in the flash mob. they weren't nearly as fluid as the apollo kids, but their atrociously bad moves brought a lightheartedness to the whole thing. long ago, chrion had given up, sitting back down and enjoying the show like the rest of the campers. but poor mr. d was attempting to chase the flash mob, which they must have predicted as lou ellen, another capture the flag member of the losing team, shot her hand out and caught y/n's, the girl disappearing for a moment before reappearing, this time standing proudly on the ares table.

we're all here the lights and noise are blinding we hang back it's all in the timing it's poker he can't see it in my face but i'm about to play my ace (ah)

y/n danced around on the ares table, hopping and skipping as they pulled their plates out of the way. she made an exaggerated movement towards her wrist while singing about timing, though there was no watch there. then, seemingly from nowhere, she produced a playing card, holding it proudly up in the air between her two fingers so that everyone could see it.

we need love but all we want is danger we team up then switch sides like a record changer the rumors are terrible and cruel but honey, most of them are true (ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah)

with a wink during the final line, y/n threw down the card. a puff of smoke quickly covered the ares table. when it cleared, the girl was gone, along with the rest of the flash mob. everyone looked around, knowing it wasn't the end, many refusing to be jump-scared by a stupid flash mob. then they came running back, basically flooding the pavilion with how many of them there were.

'cause baby, i could build a castle out of all the bricks they threw at me and every day is like a battle but every night with us is like a dream

baby, we're the new romantics come on, come along with me heartbreak is the national anthem we sing it proudly

once more, y/n waved another group over to join in the dancing and fun. this time, the aphrodite cabin bounced out of their seats and raced to join shouting about heartbreak just a little too loud. and you were smiling so widely that leo couldn't help but smile too, completely enamored by the shameless daughter of apollo.

we are too busy dancing to get knocked off our feet baby, we're the new romantics the best people in life are free oh-oh (oh, oh, oh-oh, oh) so, come on, come along with me (oh, oh, oh-oh, oh) the best people in life are free (oh, oh, oh-oh, oh)

the third and final group was summoned, annabeth proudly pulling her siblings up from their table and linking arms with you and piper. percy was laughing loudly from his lonely table, clearly unaware that this was going on, let alone that his girlfriend was involved. then, with another clasp of lou ellen's hand, you were gone. only to appear before leo, standing on his father's table, your eyes darting around until the landed on leo, who swallowed thickly at how pretty you looked in that moment.

please take my hand and

you presented your hand to leo from your higher position and he wasn't even thinking twice before grasping it and allowing you to pull him up to stand on the table as well.

please take me dancing, and

without needing to be prompted, leo spun you and you blushed, which was blurring due to the spinning and leo just barely caught on that it was happening. you then, subtly, pulled him towards the edge of the table, the boy too starstruck to notice until you rested a hand against his heaving chest, the only thing between our lips was a couple of inches and your bedazzled microphone.

please leave me stranded

you punctuated your words with a push against his chest, sending him falling backwards safely into the arms of your siblings. you couldn't help but laugh at the shocked look on his face and leo couldn't help but look at you like you were the whole world, the only thing that'd ever matter to him, and so much more.

it's so romantic (it's so romantic) (ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah)

#postcards from covey ౨ৎ #all my love ౨ৎ #hoo #pjo #heroes of olympus x reader #leo valdez x reader #leo valdez

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arafilez · 2 months

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☆ ⼂ LOVE, TAILORED ﹗three

ꔫㅤㅤ ❜[ fashion designer khj x ceo fem!reader ] ㅤ⋆ ㅤfluff, crack, e2l 𓏧 for the company assets you have to work with solo designer kim hongjoong. even if it meant him annoying you at every step. ㅤ warnings flirting ㅤ﹢ㅤ3.4k wc ꔫㅤㅤ ❜part one . two . three ⁺

Suddenly you say, “Hey, can I ask you a question?”

“No, I hate mint chocolate,” he replies solemnly and then grins looking at your deadpan face.

“You are very annoying, you know that?” you grit your teeth and he laughs loudly at your sentence. His laughter had a giggling tone like a child’s and sounded so real, unlike the ones he usually gives in an interview. His smile is way too endearing and you find yourself laughing with him.

He steals a glance at your laughing face before blurting out, “You have a cute laugh underneath all that, don’t you?” And the car goes silent, shallow breaths filling up the noise moments ago. Hongjoong quietly focuses on the road trying not to think about your lingering gaze on his side profile while your mind gets fogged.

Though the sentence is supposed to be teasing you can’t help but note that he called your laugh cute. You are always smiling but there are very few people who have actually listened to you laughing. And suddenly Hongjoong has made his place in that small list that you keep so maintained and wrecked it up. And you hate to love it so much.

Hongjoong clears his throat lightly making you come back from your imagination as he asks, “What did you want to say?”

You quickly rack your brain and then remember the question and suddenly feel shy. What place are you two in for you to ask this anyway? But you can ask as a colleague so you went ahead, “What schedule do you have after this project is finished?”

Your voice is hesitant as your shy gaze lingers on him.

He is shocked at your question and all kinds of possibilities run through his head. Flustered even. Should he ask why? No, that would ruin his dignity and image. He quickly replies, “Just some stuff here and there and I might get an invite from Balman.”

“Balman? Wow, that- that’s great,” you reply smiling before looking out the window. You both have been driving for half an hour now and a ten-minute drive to your apartment is left.

Hongjoong is gripping the steering wheel tightly trying his best to focus on the road ahead. He was thinking about all the tiny details he had picked up over your month of working beside each other every day.

How you stare blankly when you don’t understand before he has to explain again and you nod. Not your fault though, fashion designing is a hard subject. How you chew with your front teeth like a kid, and he thinks it’s stupid even though he finds it way too cute.

No, it’s definitely stupid, he scolds his mind. And he isn’t definitely falling for such an organised person. He always needs and wants spontaneity. Someone like you definitely isn’t in his mind all the time

He hears you say to take a right and he obeys, driving inside the apartment after you show your ID at the entrance. He turns his car around to leave when you say, “Do you want to come in?”

“Oh, is this an invitation?” he wiggles his eyebrows playfully as you roll your eyes, slowly opening your seatbelt and waiting for an answer patiently. Okay, not patiently but eagerly.

“Where’s the guest parking?” he asks answering your doubts as you show him around.

Pressing the padlock for your apartment you push the door open and enter along with Hongjoong. Your apartment is nice and clean and you are relieved no stray bra is lying around or else you will have not lived to see another day due to Hongjoong’s teasing.

You take off your coat and look at Hongjoong who is still looking around. His eyes look so round, with his pretty eyelashes that you find yourself staring at his face.

“Your apartment is so cosy,” he whispers and you blink twice to regenerate his sentence in your mind.

“You say that as if it’s a bad thing,” you giggle and he shakes his head looking at you.

“It’s just I thought you would be in a more posh place,” he explains as you find yourself nodding at him. You become quiet looking around your own apartment and realise why he says it. The walls were beautifully decorated with some Polaroid lights, the desks had pictures and some books.

“I don’t like large places, makes me feel all alone,” you say and he looks around again.

“This one is large too,” he reasons.

“Yes, but not like those never-ending apartments with little furniture, like the day ends in just walking from one room to another,” you groan and he giggles the same laugh that makes you feel giddy all over again.

“Just sit down and I will order us something,” you propose and he nods sitting down on the couch and you scroll through the apps to order something.

The food and the drinks were quickly down as you laughed along with Hongjoong at one of the ridiculous stories of his teen crush and later bid him goodbye as he drove away to his own apartment.

You close the balcony door softly and find yourself grinning and biting your lips thinking of Hongjoong. Even though he is “all about spontaneity” his work ethic and after today his everything is making you way too happy.

And now you feel scared because you are falling for him and he isn’t there to catch you.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ————

The week passes over quickly, and you and Hongjoong are both busy preparing for the upcoming ramp walk and event to which your company is invited. You both had your own things to do and barely saw each other. You had to get some files ready and the documents, sign them up and seal some deals while Hongjoong was going over the designs, perfecting them, and a session with the models every day.

You huff in relief as you board the private plane of your company with everyone and slump down on your seat. Your seat was a bit secluded having a partition. You feel Seonghwa’s presence beside you as he sits down.

You hear some shuffling beside you and on the adjacent isle, you see Hongjoong and Mingi settle down. Mingi passes you a small smile which you greet him back with before turning around and closing your eyes.

Halfway through the journey, you find being pushed by someone as you rub your eyes and the familiar scent hits your nose. Hongjoong. You scramble up in your seat as he looks at you saying, “Had a good sleep? Darling.”

“You!” You exclaimed, but your tone wasn’t accusatory like it would have been two weeks ago. You playfully nudge him before your vision stabilizes and you look around and see Seonghwa sitting with Mingi playing what you probably thought was, “League of Legends.”

“Wow, he dared ditch me to play a damn game,” you murmur to yourself.

“Your head is so heavy, it is hurting my shoulder now,” Hongjoong says and you look at him narrowing your eyes.

“Why didn’t you just throw my head off then,” you argue back but before he can answer food gets served and he immediately digs in. You didn’t pay too much attention to him ignoring your question and instead dug in your own food, satisfied with the comeback, however lame it was.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ————

“I will sue this hotel,” you fume as you quietly scream at Seonghwa who is standing there and trying to calm you down.

Mingi is also standing feeling sorry for you and Hongjoong is doing something on his phone but still keeping you company.

“It’s not that bad, you know, only our rooms are not done, and they promised it will be done by the evening, Mingi and Hongjoong even have their rooms,” Seonghwa tries to make you understand.

Keyword- try.

“I don’t care,” you grit your teeth and then continue, “This is a reputed hotel, how can they be so careless?”

“Well not really their fault, how would they know that the couple would have sex in a random room and then check out,” Seonghwa says and you huff. There was no option and you felt like crying. After fifteen hours of journey, all you wanted to do was take some rest in the nice hotel bed and rest. But that wasn’t happening anytime soon.

Unless.

Hongjoong speaks up, “Well our very patient CEO can stay in my room till then while Seonghwa can go in with Mingi,” and looks at you.

You are so tired you didn’t even try to refute or tease him even when you heard him saying, “No we are doing whatever I am saying” to Seonghwa’s “We can do the opposite too.”

You drag your feet towards Hongjoong’s room as he opens the door with the card and you push past him, lying down on his bed. You don’t even feel like opening your shoes as you enjoy the soft bedsheets under your body.

“This is my room and you don’t even ask,” Hongjoong sighs smiling slightly at your slumped figure over his bed, before he takes off his own shoes.

“Shut up,” you reply, your voice muffling inside the pillows as he sees your cheeks getting squished while you speak. The bellman comes right after to leave his and your luggage inside and he closes the door softly so as to not disturb you.

You are aware you were lying diagonally hogging up the bed space so you try to move a bit to make space but stop as you feel a tug on your leg. You feel Hongjoong’s hands untie your Converse highs and take them off. You keep quiet not knowing what to do and after a few minutes you feel him take off your socks too.

Your heart thumps inside your body as you feel yourself breathing erratically at his domestic behaviour and you are glad that he cannot see your face which is probably adorning a hundred shades of red.

“Hello kitty socks under Nike’s Converse, really?” he comments cheekily trying to hide the adoration in his voice which you did not catch anyway because you are dense as hell.

“You just have to say something, don’t you?” you cross your arms sitting up and looking at him.

“What can I say? I love getting you all riled up,” he smirks walking towards the bed and standing in front of you.

You look up at his hovering figure and your breath hitches as you take in his parted hair which was styled with gel, his transparent glasses on his face and his brown eyes. Oh, those pretty eyes that you want to get lost in.

“Shut up,” you reply, your voice coming out as a whisper and he dips his head over you more making you inhale sharply.

“Make me, darling,” he whispers back and you have to clutch the bedsheets to stop yourself from grabbing his t-shirt and pulling him into a kiss.

Suddenly you both jump at your phone ringing as you reach for it and he clears his throat moving away from you. “Hello,” you say but your voice comes out hoarse and you can feel his effect on you already. Voice unstable, hands shaky, mind foggy, heart racing- he makes you go crazy.

You are screwed.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ————

“I’m screwed,” you tell Seonghwa as you share a drink with him in your room the next day. It was eleven at night and after a whole day of attending the event and giving everyone forced smiles and watching the several runways you and Seonghwa were in your room in your pyjamas discussing your own lives.

“Why? He isn’t bad as a person,” Seonghwa said taking in a sip before checking his phone again.

“Hwa, calm down, your wife and daughter are both sleeping, it’s seven in the morning there,” you console him as you see his face. You knew he was missing them badly and you felt sad for him.

“Yeah, true,” he sighed giving one last look at his phone and then looking at you smiling softly. You smile back, take a sip of your wine and look outside through the glass wall towards the blinking city lights.

“About Hongjoong,” Seonghwa hesitates and you encourage him to continue humming slightly and he says, “He is not a bad person as I said and he probably likes you back, I mean he flirts with you too.”

“He flirts with everybody, and I have fallen for it,” you groan leaning against the glass as Seonghwa raises his eyebrows at you.

“Did you really fall because of his flirty behaviour?” Seonghwa asks you rhetorically and you realise that sighing to yourself. He gets up and putting the wine glass down he says, “You need to think y/n, properly.”

Seonghwa leans back on his chair lightly and your eyes drop to the floor, your deep breaths echoing the room. Seonghwa looks up once and says, “You know on a completely different note, Mingi told me Hongjoong never flirts with his clients the amount he does to you. He is extremely professional and only does business.”

He abruptly gets up and leaves the room before you can muster a reply and you sigh locking the door and sitting down on the quiet bed. Looking around you turn off the lights and look outside at the star-studded view of Paris and feel lonely. And confused. And shaky.

It is the city of love.

And here you are wondering if the person you like likes you back or not.

You know Seonghwa’s question had an answer from you- ‘no’. No, you did not fall for his flirting skills.

You fell for his behaviour, his bright smile, his playfulness, his laugh, his sparkling eyes, his honest behaviour, and his work ethic. Honestly, you couldn’t help but admire how much wonderful he is in his field. He proved you right, spontaneity is the right way for fashion, for designing, for creativity.

You fell for his teasing comments, and his patient behaviour as he made you understand what he was doing and how designing works when you visited his room in the after-hours of your office. His laugh when you asked a stupid question was still your favourite as you remember him looking at your curious state with endearing eyes before he explained.

And you? You who always wanted to like a person who is organised, has interests like you, not very random have fallen for the most spontaneous and random person in the world. You knew he was just being friendly and flirting was in his behaviour, yet you fell and now you are alone in this.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ————

The shows are over and you are set to return the next day. Throughout the whole week, you had been with Hongjoong and made no progress with dealing with your stupid crush on him. Except it has grown bigger. Now, Hongjoong was on your mind every damn time of the day and you hated it. Mostly because you can’t be with him.

You pack up your suitcase and get up and hear your doorbell ring. “Coming,” you call out and expecting your food you open the door. You are surprised as you see Hongjoong standing there looking handsome as ever and you suddenly feel all self-conscious.

Like a schoolgirl in front of your crush.

You have your bed hair from your nap, the loose pyjamas you love wearing so much that the prints are basically fading and the prints are of Ninja Hatari. “H-hey,” you stutter out quickly running your hand over your front hair to get the loose strands praying and hoping the twin-braids are somewhat decent.

But all through your embarrassment, Hongjoong’s heart swelled at your sight. You look so fluffy that he just wants to hold you and kiss you all over the face, right then and there. He looks at you smiling lightly and thrusts his left hand towards you.

You are taken aback at what looks like a cover for a dress and look back at him as his eyes land everywhere except on yours. “It’s for you,” he says, letting a cough out again as you take it from his hand slowly and put it on your bed.

You keep quiet, knowing your voice will betray you and you undo the chain and gasp out loud.

There lay the dress of the design you had fallen in love with on the first day, the day he ruined your moment with the drawing by making a snarky comment, in a lilac colour. Your breath falls short as you realise the “mistake” he made of counting eleven models was just to show you this dress and see your reaction to it.

Seeing how you became quiet, Hongjoong panics and starts blabbering, “I asked Seonghwa and he said your favourite colour is lilac. I also had seen how you liked this design of mine so I decided why not make it? And of course, it’s a gift but if you want you can give it back, I mean no pressure, it’s just a small token of appreciation and not much, and again you can always return it or throw it-“

“Hongjoong shut up,” you deadpan looking at him straight in the eye as you interrupt his blabber and he stares back at you, blankly.

“I love it, it’s beautiful, thanks,” you whisper out looking at the dress and back up at him as he feels shy under your gaze and laughs nervously.

You fiddle through the layers of the dress, feeling the expensive fabric below your fingers. “You like it so much, you forget the one you made it,” Hongjoong whines jokingly and comes closer to your back, peering over your shoulders.

You can feel his shallow breath on your shoulder and you turn to face him feeling bold. It was now or never.

Tomorrow this opportunity will have left your hand as you will both go separate ways. Him staying in Paris for the Balman show while you return to Korea.

“I love it because I know it came from you,” you reply. You can see his eyes brighten up like stars as he smiles back, his hands hesitantly hovering over your waist and he looks at you.

Your bold demeanour vanishes as soon as it comes and you look down, fiddling with your pyjama strings. You were hyper-aware of the proximity between you two and you felt snowflakes in your stomachs which made you feel all giddy.

The kick-on-the-bed-while-lying type giddy. The giggling-while-texting-him type giddy. Like a high-school crush.

“I like you Hongjoong,” you speak fast, all in one breath as you see Hongjoong inhaling sharply and shock clear in his eyeballs and you know you messed up. Shit, why did you have to tell him? You could have been quiet and miserable your whole life instead of making a complete fool of yourself now.

You try to spin around and get out of his gaze but his grip on your waist tightens and makes you stay and you look at him surprised and stutter out, “Wh-what are you doing?”

“I like you too, you uptight idiot,” he whispers and you could feel the world spinning. Like what? He likes you back? How is that even possible?

“Do you want to kiss or I can leave and you can stay inside your thoughts,” he teases you and you glare at him. How could he ruin a moment like this? He giggles lightly at your glaring face before leaning in and attaching his lips to yours.

You stumble slightly, from the shock that you are actually kissing him, in a dark room in a hotel, the city lights being your only witness. You kiss him back with fervour and wrap your hands around his neck and he holds your waist and his other hands lands on your cheek. His lips felt impossibly soft and you could have described it as the best feeling in the world right then and there.

Eventually, you two part as he leaves one last peck which makes you giggle, hiding your face in his neck as he laughs teasing you about the calm and collected CEO falling apart for him. “If you do this after every kiss, I am never going to stop kissing you,” he laughs, and his voice fills the room making you feel incredibly happy.

“Shut up, Kim,” you whisper playfully and he looks down at your red face.

“Make me, darling,” he tempts and this time you pull him into another kiss. Yes, you got shy again afterwards and made him almost faint at your cuteness.

ꔫㅤㅤ ❜ [ ara's notes ] ㅤ⋆ ㅤidea credit to @iwishiwasrichasfuck. banner made by @/DathanHamen in wattpad. the story is over but i am not over the couple so expect some afterthoughts in the hongjoong timestamps and drabbles later. tysm for reading. ꔫㅤㅤ ❜ [ taglist ] ㅤ⋆ ㅤ@haneagerr @tunaasan @stellarlune-love @jeonghanfr @soocore @chaotic-floral @loveateezㅤmain mlistㅤ atz listㅤ navi

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ultimateloserboy · 11 months

Text

I’ve been holding back this ramble forever but the food episode makes me tear up and i NEED to talk about it.

The food episode was the only episode I really couldn’t watch as a kid. I remember being horrified by it. to this day i still feel uneasy thinking about it, even though it doesn’t scare me in the slightest anymore. the reason i feel uneasy now isnt because im scared, its because to me its the saddest episode of the whole series and makes me want to punch walls. when i was younger i didnt notice a lot of the things ive noticed now, and every time i watch the episode i notice even more.

a lot of people talk about this episode as if red guy ran away and wants nothing to do with the house, that he’s trying to save the other two by bringing them to his world. while i dont think this is a wrong or bad interpretation, considering it’s understandable, id like to talk about my own interpretation. i dont think red guy even knew how he left. keep in mind he just exploded and then woke up in an office. there’s absolutely nothing suggesting he ran away on purpose. all he wanted was for colin to shut up, he wasnt intending to find the room he found. this itself isnt an interpretation, its a fact, BUT how he feels about it and what he does in the red guy world is completely up to interpretation! mine is that he wants to go home instead of trying to get the other two out of it. lemme explain ok hear me out:

throughout the entire food episode red guy is constantly popping up in the background somewhere. hes drawn behind windows and his head is in the microwave in one shot. when duck knocks the camera over for a split second you can even see his legs as it falls. the leg thing is what really got me, because most other times he was simply drawn. but those were his actual legs standing in the kitchen. to me it represents the fact that he isnt actually there but is “haunting” the other two. they dont really remember him but they can see him out of the corners of their eyes. hes blurry and far away but they KNOW someone is there (or WAS there, i should say). but on his end i think it could represent how hes still there in his head, how hes still singing songs and shit like that despite being out of that world. he says he hated that world, that hes allergic to music, but now that hes gone from it its stuck in his head. he misses the music. he misses his friends. hes still there in spirit.

before i continue id just like to say that, no, the main three INCLUDING RED GUY dont always want to leave the house. especially when they have to leave the others behind. whenever theyre off somewhere they usually want to go back home, yellow guy even said “i want to go home” word for word once. but he also said “no more songs” these things can exist at the same time guys. they can not want to drown in oil but still want to live in their house, yall realize that right? thats a huge theme in the show, that the house and the main three have a very complicated relationship. they dont want to leave their home they just want it to, yaknow, NOT EAT THEM. so i think red guy wanting to come home isnt at all out of character. and he doesnt like the red guy world anyway, why would he take his friends there when theyre wacky as shit and wouldnt fit in there or enjoy it at all? also id like to make the point that he doesnt know what’s happening in the house (at least not the seriousness of it) until he sees the machine. so him trying to save the other two from getting munched makes no sense to me personally. AGAIN THO THIS IS JUST MY INTERPRETATION!! YOURS IS VALID TOO AND I LOVE YOU!!!

But anyway continuing on, ducks reaction especially makes me insane. whenever i see how duck acts in episodes like “jobs” when he starts freaking out and trying to get the first aid kit for yellow guy im reminded of this episode. duck really does love his friends at heart. he doesnt want to leave the house, he sees no point, but to me the reason he doesnt want to leave is BECAUSE of his friends (or at least one of the reasons). in the tv series duck has a whole argument with red guy about leaving, and while some people say this duck is different than webseries duck i have to disagree. i think duck wouldve always argued about staying, but i also think hed always want to leave if red guy did. duck always switches up as soon as something is “wrong”. he always wants to stay until one of his friends is acting weird/hurt/missing and then suddenly the world isnt right and he doesnt want to be there. not only that but he will do everything in his power to fight against the things keeping him from his friends or hurting them, even if it means risking his own life. he knew some weird shit was going on every time he answered the phone, but despite that he continued answering anyway. he interrupted the songs and pushed things away and kept running to the phone, being disobedient and not giving a damn. this isnt unusual for duck, but it makes me especially ill, because he acts very confused as well. hes very upset, not mad like he usually is but genuinely upset and worried. most likely because of how hazy his memory is. my favorite scene of the series is when he pushes over the camera and says “i dont want to do this anymore” it rips my heart apart hes just like me fr. it also comes back to the transport episode, where hes like “well the song wasnt that great but at least it was funny. nobody gets TOO hurt by these songs and stuff so who cares? why leave?” i think hes always thought this way, the reason he says “i dont want to do this ANYMORE” is because suddenly the world has shifted. suddenly things are much more sinister and make even less sense. suddenly he is in genuine danger, and he isnt coming back this time. things have gone too far now, and he tries tearing down reality itself to get out, but unfortunately hes just not strong enough.

i also like to think that the food is singing about red guy the whole time, not actually food, and how he deserves punishment, and if you end up like him youll be punished too (which is exactly what happens to duck for answering the phone) “the bad, not-healthy foods are very rude! and must leave through the catflap!” isnt that what red guy did? he wandered too far and saw what he shouldnt have so he was sent away. also the steak says “you need to know whats right from wrong” which doesnt go with the rest of the song at all and seems to be directed at duck specifically. it seems more like theyre trying to keep duck and yellow guy in line rather than teach them about food. when they say “you shouldnt eat food from a strangers plate” considering the previous lyrics and the context before the chanting i think theyre talking about not believing what youre told by “strangers” (aka the non-teacher characters) theyre saying not to listen to whatever red guy is trying to say, to not answer the phone, to not end up like him. or at least thats what i think anyway.

lastly, the ending. yellow guy sitting in the kitchen alone, in the dark, covered in blood while the phone loudly rings is probably the most haunting part of the series to me. remember what i said about not being scared? well i LIED. this scene specifically still scares the fuck out of me. it fills me with genuinely painful dread. the scene where he looks over at the phone, hearing it but not getting up to answer it and letting it ring until red guy gives up is heartbreaking. im not sure if yellow guy even knows what’s happening in this scene, but hes been taught by now to NOT ANSWER THE PHONE. so he doesnt. and the teachers leave him alone with the phone because theyre confident he wont answer it. and theyre right. it breaks my heart just looking at it. in the next episode he ends up fighting back just like duck did, but just like duck, he cant truly do anything. it really puts into perspective how powerless all three of them are. god it ruins me. all they wanted was to know what the biggest thing in the world was, and now theyve been torn apart for wandering too far. cries and sobs

#dhmis #dhmis fandom #dhmis duck #dhmis red guy #duck guy #red guy #duck dhmis #dhmis analysis #yellow guy #yellow guy dhmis #dhmis yellow guy #dont hug me im scared #dhmis healthy band #dhmis food gang #dhmis tv show #dhmis web series #dhmis 5

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moonpedri · 1 year

Text

paranoid.

summary: it's late at night and kylian id sleeping peacefully next to you, but your mind is plagued with worries and insecurities

pairing: kylian x reader

genre: angst, fluff

warnings: none, reader is just sad

word count: 1.2k

a/n: this is a short little one shot that i wrote while listening to paranoid by lauv. i love the song and to some extent it's really relatable. i always think that it may be hard for some people to be with someone like kylian and that he would be super understanding of it, so this is just self-engulfment honestly. hope you enjoy!! (not proof-read)

────────────

Like most nights you lay in bed next to Kylian. With your head on his chest, you hear his heartbeat slowly becoming one with yours. His soft breaths are tickling your hairline.

Your grip tightens around his waist.

It is like any other night, only that it isn't and your head is so full of thoughts that you can't fall asleep. Thoughts that keep you up all night. The moonlight provides enough light for you to make out Kylian's features.

He is beautiful. His eyes are closed and small snores escape his pouty mouth. There were times where you thought that you didn't deserve him.

He treats you with so much care and love, always making sure you are alright. You never felt better in your life. He is a sweetheart. Just how did he become yours? Kylian is like a book to you, a beautiful cover with so many layers to it, waiting to be read and deciphered.

You are not sure if you are the one to do the job though. To be the owner of this book.

Is he yours?

You sit up quietly. Looking at him, you notice that a slight smile graces his lips.

It makes you wonder what or who he is dreaming of. You? Someone else? You can't help but imagine what it would be like seeing Kylian with someone else in his arms.

You hate it.

And you can't help but think about that gorgeous female friend of his, that you two met today by coincidence. She's an influencer, knows him longer than you do, is absolutely stunning. Kylian denied that there was ever more between them, but seeing them laugh and hug each other brought your brain to dark places.

You already expressed your displeasure to Kylian, and he reassured you - both verbally and physically. It's a closed chapter, so why do you open it again?

He is right beside you, sleeping, like any other night for the past 6 months now, but you never felt more distant.

He doesn't wear a shirt and the blanket doesn't cover much of his toned torso, giving you a perfect view of his chest raising and lowering. The crumbled sheets underneeth him only an indicator what happened hours ago. But while he sleeps so peacefully in front of you, you feel naked, though you are fully closed. You feel exposed and vulnerable and you just don't know why.

Kylian and you have been dating for more than half a year now and you knew each other before that too. He is your best friend. You always thought that you were comfortable enough around him by now to show even your ugly sides to him but sitting here right now just confirms that this was not the case. Not at all.

You are scared. Scared that one day he will wake up and realize that you are actually not the one, not what he has been looking for. That you are not like he imagined. You are scared that he will get tired of you.

You begin doubting yourself. Are you enough for him? Does he even want 'enough' or is he unsatisfied with you?

You sigh. You don't realize how fast the time passes until the first rays of sun appear in the bedroom. You look at Kylian a little longer and then lie next to him slowly, not wanting to wake your boyfriend up. It's time you try to get some shuteye, even with all these demons messing with your mind. You just hope they don't appear in your dreams as well.

Unfortunately it seems like you did, as a pair of strong arms draws you closer and and a hum leaves his mouth. “Good morning, baby. You're up early." he says in a raspy voice, coated thickly with sleep.

You don't say anything.

As if Kylian senses that something is off, he raises his head to look at you. “Did you sleep well?” You avoid his eyes and hesistate, not knowing what to do. Ignoring him would be unfair, after all it's not his fault that you're in this predicament. You don't know if you should tell him that you didn't sleep a wink or if you should lie to not worry him.

"Hm.", you settle for a hum. Neither a clear 'no' nor a clear 'yes'. You hope he's satisfied with that, but he wouldn't be Kylian if he was. He pulls you closer (if that was even possible at this point) and caresses your hand softly. “It's okay."

He pauses for a moment before continuing, “Sometimes we tend to overthink and sleep just doesn't come.”

At that you tense up. Was he awake while you went through this little crisis? Or does he just know you so well? "Want to talk about it?”, he asks gently.

You think about it. It would be great to share your worries with him right now but you are scared of his judgement. That he will laugh at you or just brush over it, which again, is unfair to think about, as you should know Kylian to be better than that right now. Still, you can't help yourself.

You open your mouth but nothing comes out. You can't. “I-”, you begin but your brain can't form a proper sentence. You don't even know what exactly to tell him. It's embarrassing.

“It's okay, baby. I understand.”, Kylian begins upon noticing your hopeless attempt to say something. “I don't know what is worrying you, why you stayed up, but I want you to know that you mean a lot to me.”

Kylian is so cruel; so cruel for saying these loving words to you in your state of paranoia.

“So whatever is worrying you and is stressing your cute little head out, I hope it's going away.” He kisses your temple. “I understand if you don't feel comfortable to open up to me about it, but just know that I'm always here for you. I love you.”

He nestles his head into the crook of your neck and leaves a little kiss there.

For the first time in hours you feel as if you can breathe again. You feel warm and cared for. For the first time in hours your mind feels a little bit more at ease. You feel loved.

You look down at Kylian with glossy eyes, the corner of your lips going up for the first time today. “I love you too.” He looks a bit surprised but then smiles back at you, his teeth showing.

So you tell him. You tell him what kept you up all night. Your fears, your worries. And he listens. He listens to every single word you say.

Maybe you were wrong. Maybe he is not getting tired of you. Maybe you are more than enough for him. And maybe, maybe you deserve him.

Maybe you were just a little paranoid.

────────────

#kylian x reader #mbappe x reader #kylian fanfic #mbappe fanfic #football x reader #kylian imagines #football imagine #football fanfic

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sassydefendorflower · 10 months

Text

For some time now I've harbored the suspicion that Ao3 and fandom in general is pretty anti-abortion. Not in a conscious, malicious way - hell no. I think it is an unconscious thing, something that sneaks into a lot of fiction in a way that isn't actively harmful, but has an accumulative effect.

And i get it.

Fanfic and fandom are escapism. They are there to present happy stories and happy endings, big What-ifs and endless coffee-shop AUs. It is easy to imagine these worlds as perfect enough that no one needs to have an abortion because only people who want children only ever get pregnant.

And on an individual level that is absolutely fine. Nobody has to deal with topics that make them personally uncomfortable, or deal with delicate discussions such as this in their free time entertainment. It's just...

A world without abortion isn't a happy one for everyone. Partially because it is a human right that is being threatened all over the world by conservative governments who want to take away the bodily autonomy to have one. And since such is the state of the world, there should be a room in fiction to explore the implications of this. The horror of some government having this kind of control over your body, but also the fantasy of a support system that is there for you should the need for an abortion arise.

Why am I typing all this? Because I just got a lot of hate on one of my fics dealing with abortion. And I think it is a symptom of a larger problem.

[ID: screenshot of an anon Ao3 comment saying: "Why do you worthless,brainless feminists try to tarnish this perfect stor y with your feminist baby murder propoganda? Why do you try to project your brainwashed,indoctrinated whore behaviour on characters as great as Edward and Winry? An abortion is NOT your decision. It is NOT your body and no amount of feminist screaming will change that. It is the fathers child too and your opinion is irrelevant. Abortion is murder, that's a fact. And no, I'm not religious. This entire story and your propoganda is utter TRASH. Rejected."]

[ID: another screenshot, also from anon: "NOT her body,NOT her choice. Different human being altogether. Keep wishing. Men will fully stop this practice of infanticide." Posted: 2023-06-18 05:09:47 UTC]

[ID: a third anon message that reads: Anonymous responded: "NOT her body,NOT her choice. That's a different, innocent human being altogether. And Ed is a strong,free man with a working brain. He's not your idea of "supportive husband" (aka spineless beta) who will support infanticide. This is not Edward and mlst definitely not Winry. She knows the value of life and exactly how hollow abortion arguments are. It is NOT a womans choice ever. NOBODY gets to decide to murder an innocent baby." Posted: 2023-06-18 05:08:24 UTC]

The fact that you should never send someone these kind of messages non-withstanding, this showcases a lack of respect and understanding that is simply baffling. There is so much hate in these comments. So much ire at women and people capable of having children in these words... it's frightening.

And I don't want to lock these stories behind moderated comments and limited access, because let me tell you something... these stories are for the people who need them most, the people who need positive and loving stories about making a hard choice and sticking with it. And often these people will only tell me about their own journey, their own struggle while on Anon themselves. And looking at the kind of response I've garnered... for a good reason.

Because it still isn't safe to openly talk about abortion.

Apparently not even on a website like ao3, which is generally assumed to be pretty liberal considering the general nature of online fandom.

Abortion is still seen as a taboo topic - in fiction and in real life. And this fear of openly discussing abortion makes people who visibly do vulnerable for attack. Be it authors like me who want to explore the bodily autonomy inherit in a fight for abortion, or the women and people who've had an abortion and are still frightened to talk about it.

If writing fiction dealing with abortion has taught me anything--- it's that people need and WANT these stories. Because no one else is writing them, but I really think some of us should.

The perfect world in which no one needs an abortion is useless, if people in the real world get hate mail for contemplating having one.

The next time your character has an unwanted pregnancy or is already surrounded by six kids or is very focused on wanting success and a career... think about why abortion isn't an option in your story.

Is it because it wouldn't make sense in your perfect fantasy? Is it because actually wanting kids is very inherent to this character? Or is it because deep down some part of you still thinks that having an abortion is some sort of sin?

It's no moral judgement I am making here - but you can only deal with an unconscious bias by examining it.

#fanfic #writing #abortion #ao3 #anon hate #discourse #fma #pro-choice #TERFs Fuck Off #fiction vs reality

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callsignfate · 7 months

Text

Kate Laswell HC's Pt. 2

(Finally posting more Laswell stuff. I always love posting more Laswell stuff. I have plans to finally post more things for her as 'Bonus' posts on top of whatever people vote for)

Part One/ Part Two/ Part Three

♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡

♡ Mom energy to the max. Married or not plenty of people have called her mom on accident. She doesn't mind or care when they do.

♡ There is not official height that I can find but I'm guessing she's 5'7 - 5'9 (170cm - 175cm. I'm using Price's official height of 6'0 or 183cm and the scenes of them walking side by side to compare also the VA for Kate is 5'8 but Kate's height is not confirmed so it's just an educated guess/HC)

♡ She crosses her arms when she's frustrated. She 100% looks like a disapproving and disappointed mother.

♡ When she gets excited she just smiles. If you ask her if she's excited about whatever it is then she will say "I'm excited." That's it she can be so hard to read if you don't know her well enough. She always looks grumpy/mad because she's always stressed because of her job.

♡ People often ask her for advice and she will give the best advice she has then say "But don't go off just what I said" or "I dont know." at the end. She's 100% scared someone will take what she says out of context and will do something stupid. (Price 1000% has done this and did something incredibly stupid)

♡ She will rant and talk about her job as much as she can to keep you in her work life as much as possible because of just how much time and effort it takes in her day to day life. She feels that you and work is her life.

♡ Says the sweetest things and offers the best hugs when you are struggling with anything.

♡ She has medical supplies everywhere. Car, house/apartment, desk drawers, backpacks, purses, EVERYWHERE. She's so stressed someone she cares about will get hurt or die and she wants to be prepared.

♡ Makes you take CPR and medical courses with her. If you are clumsy she will always make sure you know what to do if you severely hurt yourself and she's not around.

♡ She always has her hair up, it's rarely ever down. Ponytail, bun, pinned up, ect. Always up. Makes you wonder why she likes her hair long in the first place.

♡ Loves different eye colors, she looks into people's eyes when she talks and she likes to see their eye colors. She also uses this to see your reactions to things.

♡ She is tech savvy. She doesn't have the newest phone or anything but she completely understands how it all works and keeps up with it. She understands computer talk and if you ask her about a new phone or computer she will tell you the downsides.

♡ She doesn't have a purse really, she may have one she got gifted but she has a wallet. Barely anything in there too. Cards, ID and a picture of you.

♡ She didn't have a wedding ceremony or a honeymoon. I feel like it was a courthouse paper signing and a talk of a bigger "fancier wedding" and a promise of a honeymoon.

♡ Talking about honeymoons she travels enough for work so her dream honeymoon is MAYBE traveling somewhere but really she just wants to go home and be with you for longer than the limited time she gets.

♡ She hates traveling. She hates airports. She hates packing. The whole thing isn't something she likes or enjoys in the slightest. Like I said she travels enough she wants to sit still in her home.

♡ Breakfast? She doesn't know her. Coffee and maybe a muffin if she has the time. It's always a coffee. Always.

♡ She's not a morning person, until she gets her coffee. She's grumpy and barely talks until she leans against the counter and sips on her coffee quietly. She'd rather be still in bed laying with you, why would she want to be up at the crack of fucking dawn working?

♡ She has a contagious laugh, when she laughs she always has a genuine smile. Watching her finally break her serious expression all of the time is like a breath of fresh air. She also loves it when you try to make her laugh.

♡ Loves picking on Price. Any chance she gets she's picking on Price. Loves hearing, "It's football, Laswell.." So she will only tell people how she met Price with him around, so he'll say it. They are best friends, although she doesn't say that or really give their platonic relationship a title. She often says, "We're close."

♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡

Masterlist/ More like this/ Request

#kate laswell #kate laswell x reader #laswell mw2 #laswell cod #laswell #kate laswell x fem!reader

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loversj0y · 9 months

Note

hey its me glonk

talking about siren/clinic!wilbur.

Imagine Sire having a love/hate relationship with a low-ranking hero.

(Now I say "low-ranking", but it doesn't mean they're weak. They're just... really bad at their job. They can fight, but they're a little too brutal for the public eye. Breaking bones, etc..

So the hero committee says they are too violent to move up the ranks. Ironic, considering that they are the only hero that doesn't kill villains. The other heroes do much worse all the time-- they just keep it under wraps.)

Anyway, maybe the hero has some nullification power. Siren's voice doesn't work on them, so they end up duking it out in a good old fashioned fistfight.

Unless its the hero's lunch break. they only work when they have to.

eventually, when one gets a call about the other and an order to go deal with them, neither knows whether its going to be a snog-in-the-alleyway kind of day or a beat-each-other-to-a-pulp kind of day until they lock eyes.

fuck Enemies to lovers, this is enemies AND lovers.

lonemies. lovemies. enevers. Enemivers? Who knows.

(also. imagine the hero getting fired one day because they incapacitated someone in a rather brutal manner-- on live television. Does the Hero Committee care that it allows its other heroes to do far worse, just out of the public eye? No! Boom, they are fired)

you bet that siren goes asking them ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶i̶r̶ ̶p̶h̶o̶n̶e̶ ̶n̶u̶m̶b̶e̶r̶ to join the syndicate.

glonk. you get me. oh my god.

okay i kind of went crazy down below but i love this concept SO much

enemies AND lovers is SOOO powerful. i feel like siren would have a complex about anyone who cant be affected by his power naturally bc on one hand, it pisses him off, but on the other hand, he LOVES it because it allows him to feel secure in knowing they will never think he’s manipulated them and he’ll never have the option to (id imagine growing up, he found it hard to make connections because people who knew his power and didn’t understand it would find it hard to trust him)

i love the idea too of their very first meeting. hero reader is brand new, spiffy, ready to tackle any challenges! and who do they get? literally one of the three top ranking heros. and yeah they’re terrified but they agreed to this so they get ready to fight and siren just is not having it and simply tries to command them and reader is like *oh fuck…wait.* and they both have this mutual realization that he cant use his power and immediately in siren’s eyes. they are rivals. siren manages to get away without any fight due to the shock and processing they both have, but the hero committee quickly hears about it and is PISSED because, from the media’s view, hero reader didnt even try. which is why next time the hero just gets aggressive and physical and the hero committee ALSO gets pissed again and reader is just like ????? already so done with this shit but they’re on a contract fuck.

but oh thats when siren catches them. they’re not really paying attention to patrolling, still pissed off and reeling from the meeting with the hero committee, so it isnt hard for siren to come up behind them and get them pinned down. and he’s all cocky and talking shit, and reader is too tired to actually fight him or be angry, so siren is like. something is wrong here, i want a reaction. so he switches to flirting. and oh boy does that do the trick. and reader is so tired theyre just like. fuck the hero committee. fuck everything. im going to have fun. and they end up making out in the dark alleyway until siren gets called away by the syndicate.

and the song and dance continues, either fighting or making out (though siren does note that the fighting tends to happen more when the media is involved) hero learns more abt the syndicate and is like honestly i cant even hate them bc the hero committee IS bullshit and the committee is up their ass about needing to be better, constantly needing to be better and fight more and help more people, and they let out some stress with thanatos, but it’s more of a “beat each other up until we’re exhausted and can relax” type of fight until hero accidentally knocks him completely cold because his head hit a brick wall. and they look up and the camera definitely caught that. a text about being fired comes quickly, but honestly they dont even care, they’re more just worried that this person is okay, and so they grab his ear piece and tell nemesis what happened and nemesis is like “okay, im going to trust you only because you just got fired. here’s the cafe’s address, ill tell our healer and have someone meet you there” and so hero brings him to the cafe for tommy to heal, and siren is there because of course he’d be there, but it’s for two main reasons: making sure the hero keeps this place a secret, and extending the offer to potentially become a villain (which he notes that they’d need to have a chat about it over dinner specifically, and it definitely is not an excuse to go on a date)

#mar talks #glonk :3 #sirenbur #clinic wilbur soot #glonk you’re so real for this #im literally like. driving halfway across the us rn so this was such a good use of my time while my friend drives #im almost to NC god bless #wilbur soot x reader #wilbur soot

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theywantedplayer · 1 year

Note

Hi!! Could we get a Crosby one with “ i love you the way you are, okay? you don’t need to change. ” where his girl is a little self conscious (coming from someone who feels that way all the time🙃)

Thank you!❤️

You hated it, you hated how it took and how it felt but on the other hand you loved it. You were standing in front of your bathroom Mirror looking at your body before you got into the shower. Just standing in your bra and underpants. You turned around to look at the back side of your body, your hands feeling and touching your Insecurities.

people have always told you that your boyfriend Sidney could have anybody and you knew that too so when you naturally look at other girls you started comparing yourself. Sid has said many times he loves you but you still could stop yourself from wondering why? Why did he pick you?.

“What are you doing?” you jumped at the sound of Sids voice you turned and saw him standing in the door with a confused look on his face.

“I was about to get in the shower” you answered

“Didn't look like it to me” he said as he moved so he was standing beside you leaning on his one hand which was on the Edge of the sink. Your face started to heat up under His gaze, you were so vulnerable,all Your insecurities in his View.

“I- '' You took a breath “I just don't like the way my body looks ok? Wouldn't you want to change somethings I mean id understand why”

When you got no response you turned to look at Sid. His eyebrows were knotted. You Couldn't understand his emotion from his face, making you worried. You hugged your arms around your stomach trying to hide as much skin as you possibly could.

“Don't do that” He said, grabbing your arms and unwrapping them from around your stomach. He took a deep breath through his nose before he responded “Y/n I love the way you are ok?”

He pulled you into a hug by your arms “you don't need to change I don't want you to change” he reassured placing his hands on your waist.

“Are you sure” you asked looking up at his

“Yes y/n I'm sure” he smiled as he laughed which made you smile back “Now you gotta hop in the shower” he said tapping your butt a couple times letting go of you.

“Do you….. Do you wanna join” You shyly asked. No matter how many times you ask him, it makes you nervous every time.

“Sure But no funny business ok?” he told as he starting to take off his shirt “Last time that made us late and the guys will never let me live that down”

‘Yea sure you gotta keep the captain look intact” you joked now fully undressed starting the shower

“Exactly” He told slapping your ass as you stepped into the shower

#sidney crosby x reader #sidney crosby imagine #sidney crosby #sidney crosby angst #nhl x reader #nhl fanfiction #nhl hockey

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pookiebearissilly · 2 months

Note

PLEASE can someone explain the logic of why people think sev wasn’t in love with Lils? It keeps me awake 😭😭😭 it’s stated in the books & on the official site that he was. I genuinely want to understand the logic, it’s a gen ques

i actually can’t even answer you, i’m guessing it’s because of the mud blood incident?

people think he didn’t love lily because he slipped up while she watched him get m7lested and smiled about it, i’d be angry too, i wouldn’t say a slur but damn id be agree and let some shit slip. people also forget he was probably trying to show his pureblood friends he wasn’t just to be pitied on, but back to the main topic..

i also think it’s because ATYD has plagued a lot of people’s minds into thinking severus was abusive to lily. people definitely have a very obvious disregard for canon, considering they like people like barty and james, but i’m not here to hate on anyone, so, go ahead and say what u wanna say in comments. (don’t be rude pls, or use tone tags)

#pro severus snape #pro snape #severus snape #anti marauders #pro snily #i love him #love ya bye #thank you for the ask <3

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helenaheissner · 18 days

Text

Love During Robot Fighting Time: Chapter 14

Hello, lovelies! Hope y'all are doing well :)

Don't forget you can read three chapters ahead on this story, twenty chapters ahead on "A Dream of Summer Rain", and two chapters ahead on "Magical Girl Exorcist Squad", by becoming a paid subscriber on my Substack or my Patreon!

***

Zeke

12 months earlier

I squatted in the Pits, putting the finishing touches on our minibot, Gurren, in preparation for our fight with Team Bottle Rocket in twenty minutes. I was so zoned in on getting all the screws extra tight that I almost missed my phone blaring out a Kendrick Lamar song. I groaned when I saw the caller ID. “Hi, Mom,” I said, attempting to keep the stress and frustration out of my voice. It was better to get whatever ‘conversation’ this was out of the way now- if I tried to put it off and ignore her, she’d just be even more cantankerous about it when we actually got around to it.

“Hellllo, Ezeekielll,” she slurred, her words blending together at the borders of the syllables. Oh, good. “How are you this evening?”

“Uh, a little busy to be honest, Mom,” I said.

“Busy? Busy with what? It’s not like you have a job.”

I breathed in a sharp sigh through my nose. “I do have a job, Mom. It’s just seasonal.”

“Those obnoxious shows you go on don’t count as a-”

“Mom, was there a specific reason you called?” I asked, focusing on keeping the screws tight. “Like I said, I’m a little busy.”

“Too busy to talk to your dear ol’ mum,” she said, her accent starting to slip out. She’d been training herself not to have one ever since she’d moved to the States back when she was a teenager, but sometimes it still flared up. Usually when she’d indulged in one too many Screwdrivers. “That’s a problem, you know- you’ll never get a girlfriend if you hate your own mother.”

“I don’t hate you, Mom,” I said monotone.

“Love the exact phrasing there, Ezekiel. Very gentlemanly.”

The screwdriver, my screwdriver, a literal one, slipped out of my hands. And as I reached down for it, I noticed my breathing- sharp, fast, all inhale and holding my breath, only exhaling when I absolutely needed to. “Thank you, Mother, I try.”

“Don’t you get sarcastic with me, young man- that’s hardly a trait that will do you any favors with the ladies either.”

I reached for the screwdriver on the ground, but my hand trembled when I tried to grip it. It slipped out of my grasp and hit the floor once again. “Look, Mom, my match starts in a few minutes, I really need to finish these repairs on Dai Guren-”

“Oh God, I forgot you gave that stupid thing a name. How asinine.”

Cold, soggy shame dripped off of me, and I let myself inhale and exhale through my mouth.

And of course she kept going: “And that’s another thing- why is it just you doing this? Don’t you have teammates for this nonsense? They don’t appreciate you. If they did, they wouldn’t force you to do all the work-”

“They don’t force me to do all the work, Mom!” I snapped. “And I’m doing these repairs because I’m good at them. They had to go handle other stuff for the match. It’s not actually that complicated, but you refuse to understand!”

A few moments of deafening silence poured out from the other end of the line. “This is clearly not going to be a productive conversation. I think I’m done with you for the evening. I’ll call you back when you’re in a more reasonable headspace.”

“Mom-”

She ended the call before I could get another word out.

It wasn’t quiet in the pits- people were using saws to carve up metal, flames were welding parts together, drills were digging into machinery. All the high-pitched screeches coalesced into a singular plaintive wail.

A tear fell off my chin and shattered on the ground. I tore off my work gloves and wiped my eyes, hoping nobody would see me. I wasn’t much of a crier. No reason to ruin that reputation now, when I had other things to focus on. The bot was ready for the fight, and that was what I had to focus on, not the hollow pit in my chest rapidly filling with anger and resentment and freaking exhaustion-

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

My fingers parted across my visage. I hadn’t even realized my face was buried in my hands. I looked through the gaps to find Calloway there, standing across the narrow middle walkway that ran down the white room. He was standing there in jeans and a black hoodie drawn up over his head, but he pulled it back and shaked out his shaggy brown hair. His eyes always looked… Harsh, angry, aggressive. But not now, not at this moment. Now they looked… Softer. Concerned. And… Genuine, in their concern. I’d gotten pretty good at spotting the difference between genuine concern and artificial; having parents like mine forces you to learn as fast as possible. But right now, here, he…

“I… Just a difficult phone call with my mom,” I said, pulling my hands away from my face entirely, directing my gaze at the floor.

Calloway stepped forward and gave me a hug. I flinched- the guy really had no sense of personal space, but honestly… I needed it, then, so I hugged him back. “Thanks.”

“Of course.”

I mumbled, “I guess I just…”

“What?” Calloway asked.

“It’s nothing, it’s…”

“What?” Calloway said, pulling out of the hug and looking me directly in the face, furrowing his brow.

“I’m… Just surprised that you care,” I said.

He gulped and took a step backward, along with a slight bite to his lower lip that ended as soon as it began. “I, uh… Yeah, yeah that’s fair.”

“I didn’t mean-”

“No, you did,” he said, turning his head so he didn’t have to look me in the eyes anymore. “It’s fine. Really, it is. I just… I really must come off like I’m a lot, all the time, huh?”

“I… What do you want me to say here, dude?” I said, taking a step towards him.

He took another step back. “Just the truth. Just… How you really feel.”

I drew in another deep breath. “Yes. You… You do.”

He gulped again. “That… That explains a buncha stuff. I kinda figured people knew I… But I guess they wouldn’t. Fair enough.”

“Look, Calloway-”

“Don’t worry about it,” he said with a playful wave of his hand, plastering a bogus smile onto his face. “Just means I sell the heel routine well. That’s not a bad thing. And this isn’t really about me- I was asking you what’s wrong. Um… Do you… Do you wanna talk about it?”

My phone alarm hollered inside my pants’ pocket. Ten minutes till the fight. They’d be starting the introductory monologues soon. “I dunno if I have time right now, but… I appreciate it. I really, sincerely do. Maybe… Maybe next time?”

“Next time I catch you crying, tough guy?” he said, the smile edging just a little closer to genuine.

I forced out a little chuckle. “Yeah, I guess so. For now… Can I just get another hug?”

He nodded rapidly. “Of course.”

Then he went in for it and wrapped his arms around my back. And it felt… Good. Supportive. Strong, but not aggressive.

Maybe there was more to Keith Calloway than I thought.

***

NOW

I sprayed some breath spray into my mouth while I paced up and down the hallway of my apartment, my hands wringing together as I tried to keep my mind clear and focused.

I liked Kate. That much was hard to deny. She was bright and funny and passionate, just radiated warmth and empathy, and I felt like I could let my guard down around her in a way I couldn’t around other people. Including Faith.

But I liked Faith. I had for a while now. She was chill and focused and creative, a freaking dancing ray of light that always brightened up my day, who I desperately wanted to protect and take care of.

And they were both incredibly pretty.

Dammit. Dammit dammit dammit what is wrong with me? Just like my jackass of a father, can’t keep it in my pants, can’t be happy with what I have, like a real man is supposed to.

But that didn’t matter. I was going on a date with Katie tonight. I was moving on from Faith, because that was the right thing to do, because she didn’t like me back, because she didn’t swing that way and just wasn’t physically attracted to me. And Kate… She made it really easy to want to move on, and she seemed to really want to be with me, for some unfathomable reason. Holding her in my arms made me feel like the strongest person in the world; the way she’d just slid up to me and put herself there like it was the most natural fit possible… It felt really good. I felt really good around her.

My phone buzzed, and I saw from the caller ID that it was my mom.

My finger loomed over the ‘accept call’ button for a solid minute before the phone simply stopped ringing altogether. Then it immediately started ringing again, because my mom was physically incapable of taking no for an answer.

A spark of anger caught in my chest, burning my insides and sending proverbial smoke out of my ears. Goddammit, I was twenty-three years old, financially self-sufficient, and living in my own place. She did NOT get to keep pulling this crap. She hadn’t reached out to me in months and now, when I had something legitimately important to do, she decided it was the perfect time to interrupt. Couldn’t even be bothered to text first, asking if now was a good time.

I thought about a year ago, and the mess I’d become when my mom called before that match, and Kate, back before I’d known she was Kate, before she’d known she was Kate, before she and I could even call ourselves friends, let alone whatever we were now, had held me and comforted me. Didn’t have to be asked, just offered and did her best to make good on that offer. That was when it had started to dawn on me that underneath it all, she really was a kind person with a big heart.

It was also when it really started to dawn on me that my mom was an absolute bitch. Maybe she wasn’t as unbearable as my dad, but it would be a truly Herculean feat to be anywhere near as unpleasant as that selfish asshole.

I hit ‘ignore.’

I breathed out, slowly and carefully, leaning against the wall. I was emphatically not going to cry right now, because I didn’t want Kate to feel like she had to take care of me tonight. I wanted to take care of her, to show her that yes, she really was the cute, sweet, wonderful girl she was trying to be.

The tumblers of our lock shifted as the front door opened. Faith stepped through, a sad smile on her face. “Heyo,” she said. “Your hot date is downstairs waiting for you. Show her a good time tonight, yeah?”

“Of course,” I nodded, double checking my pockets to make sure I had my phone and wallet. Good to go. “You gonna be okay by yourself tonight?”

She gave an errant wave of her hand and said, “Yeah, I’ll be fine. I can get caught up on my soaps.”

“You watch soap operas?” I said, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah, old ones from the 1960s, mostly,” she said. “They’re really funny when you’re stoned.”

“Fair enough,” I said. I gave her a quick hug, which she happily accepted. “Don’t wait up for me!”

“Will do!” she said as I made my way out the door.

I headed down the stairs and out front, where Kate’s pickup truck sat in the thin driveway that led into the parking garage below my building. I did a double-take when I saw her, leaning against the front of her truck. She wore a red dress that covered her chest wholesale, but beneath, what looked like boobs protruded from the dress in question. Falsies, presumably- Faith must have loaned her old ones out. Still, it couldn’t be denied that they looked real good on Kate, bringing the whole look together. Her dress had a slit going up the side, showing off her long, smooth legs well up her thick thighs. Bright red lipstick was painted across her mouth, and my whole body was screaming at me to cup her face in my hands and shove my tongue down her throat. So, of course, in my infinite intelligence and articulation, all I managed to choke out was, “Whoa.”

She smiled the kind of smile you want to protect with every fiber of your being. “Like what you see?” Her voice was high and breathy, each syllable enunciated slowly and carefully. She’d only been out for a few days and she’d already come so far. It was astonishing. It was… She was…

“Absolutely beautiful,” I said, unable to blink.

Her jaw dropped, and she stared at me.

Then a car pulled up behind her and honked at us- I recognized one of my neighbors behind the wheel, an older, heavyset woman named Nina.

“C’mon, let’s get going,” Kate said. She gestured me into the truck and then we pulled out of the driveway. “So, where are we going?” she asked.

“Uh, Indian place on Lincoln Boulevard. It’s over by my old college,” I said, trying not to stare at her too much and venture into the dubious territory of ‘creepy weirdo.’

“Sounds good, I love Indian food,” she smiled again.

Kiss her, you idiot, my brain hollered. Wait, no, she’s driving. Bad idea. But kiss her before the end of the night! “How’d the appointment go?”

“Fantastic! I’ll be able to start hormones hopefully by the end of the week!”

“That’s fantastic!” I said. “How’d the other one go?”

She spat out a petulant sigh. “Less good. My sponsor is…”

“Is?”

“Let’s be charitable and go with ‘pragmatic,’” she said, her voice dropping low. She grunted with frustration and her eyes peeled wide as she heard her own words.

“Hey, it’s okay,” I said, trying my best to sound reassuring. “I don’t mind if you use your… Other voice.” I managed to stop myself from saying ‘boy voice’ or ‘normal voice.’ Thank God.

“Thank you,” she said softly. “It’s… It’s not that I don’t want you to hear it, it’s that I don’t like hearing it.”

“That’s fair,” I said.

“But yeah, if I want to keep Gaines as my sponsor, I may or may not have to lean into this whole trans thing as part of my ‘brand.’ Ugh, I hate that word. Gag me.”

“Is that a request?” I smirked.

She blushed redder than the Red Comet. “What if it is?”

“Then I’d be happy to accommodate.” What the hell, when did I get this bold?! It must have been my dick talking for me. Made sense- I’d spent… Several years not listening to it. How long had it been since I’d last had sex, anyway? Two years? Three?

Getting ahead of yourself, Underhill. “Do you think you’re gonna stick with Gaines?” I asked.

“Don’t see what choice I have,” she replied as she turned onto Lincoln and started driving west. “I don’t exactly have the capital to self-fund. How do you and Faith raise money, anyway?”

“Uh, a couple ways. Grant from our old college, a loan from Faith’s parents, and the money she and I raise doing temporary engineering jobs during the off-season. Usually like…, four, five months full time work with one of the aerospace companies in the city, then we spend the rest of the year working on the fun stuff.”

“I should probably look into something like that,” Kate said. “I don’t dislike working for my parents, but I’m never gonna make the kind of money I need to keep going in the ‘bot battle circuit working twenty hours a week at an indie retail outlet.”

“I have some contacts at a few places that I can send your way,” I offered. “Might be able to help you get a foot in the door, do some interviews.”

“That… Would be amazing,” she beamed. “You’d really do that for me?”

“‘Course I would,” I said. I want you to keep smiling that smile. “I just… Want you to be happy.”

“Thanks,” she said. “For… Everything.”

“No problem, Katie,” I said.

She giggled. God, her laugh was adorable. So, I said that out loud.

“What are you talking about?” she asked.

“You have a cute laugh,” I said simply.

“It’s not cute… I’m not…”

“If you’re about to say you’re not cute, just know that there’s nothing cuter than a cute girl insisting she’s not cute.”

“... Dammit. You’re right.”

“Gotcha,” I said, snapping my fingers.

We carried on like that until we got to the restaurant, where, to my astonishment, we were seated immediately. I ordered a lamb vindaloo with a side of garlic naan, and she ordered butter chicken with onion naan. We split an order of vegetable samosas as well, and we were seated by the window looking out into the street. A pair of candles sat between us on our glass table, casting a bit of glow in the darkened dining area.

“So, you went to that school over there, then?” Kate asked. “LMU?”

“Yeah, all four years.”

“How’d you wind up there?” she asked.

“Uh, well, I applied to UCLA and didn’t get in,” I said with a self-deprecating laugh. “Which is true of, uh, most of the school, actually.”

“They couldn’t get into UCLA?” Kate chuckled.

“Or USC. Or Harvey Mudd. Or Cal Poly.”

“Ahhh, gotcha. You said you grew up around here, right?”

“For a given value,” I said. “I was raised in Riverside.”

“Inland Empire, I see,” she said. “That place as horrifying as David Lynch makes it look?”

I chuckled. “Only when it’s on fire.”

“So, like, all Summer?”

“Pfft, basically.”

“It’s funny, you know, we grew up in the same neck of the woods but never met till we started doing what we do,” Kate said, resting her chin on her hands while her elbows were propped up on the table. “I know that Venice and Riverside aren’t actually that close together-”

“Especially with the traffic in this town making it a longer trek,” I said.

“Still,” she said. “It’s cool, knowing that someone like you was relatively close this whole time.”

Her eyes…

“Zeke?” she asked. “You okay?”

“Hm? Yeah, why?”

“You went quiet and started staring at me,” she said, raising her head, putting her hands flat on the table, concern exuding from her frown. “Did I lay it on too thick?”

I shook my head. “Not at all.” I reached for her hand. “Honestly, I’m worried about doing the same, so why don’t we just be ourselves tonight, and see how that works for us?”

“I’d like that,” she smiled again. That smile…

The server, a middle-aged Indian man with pot-belly and an impressive beard, brought our samosas and a few different sauces over and set them between us. And with him came, very unexpectedly, some familiar faces.

“Zeke?” Olivia asked. She was flanked by her new teammates, Tom, a medium-height black man in his late twenties with a shaved head and massive hands, and Winston, a white boy with a wild mane of brown hair who looked like he was still in college. And standing next to them were Team Forest Fire and Team Sparky-Sparky-Boom. Forest Fire was three guys all in their thirties, each of them shredded and rocking full beards. Their captain, Lance Masterson, was a behemoth of a white man with a shaved head and some burn marks on his arms and neck; his teammates were Jake George, a tall black man with long dreads and nose ring, and Evan Hernandez, a shorter Mexican-American man built like a powerlifter. Team Spark-Sparky-Boom, meanwhile, was two people, a husband and wife team called David and Eileen Portman. David was comfortably in his early forties, hair more salt than pepper, clean shaven and thin as a rail; Eileen looked like she was in her late thirties, and was shorter and thicker, with long brown hair beginning to spark with silver.

A low-pitched groan escaped my throat, and I was surprised at how loud it was, only to look over and see that Kate was making roughly the same mouth-noise.

“H-h-hey,” I eventually choked out. “How y’all doing?”

“Not bad,” Masterson said.

“Not bad at all!” Hernandez said, snapping his fingers and pointing at Kate.

She blushed, then looked down at her food.

“So, this must be Kate,” Olivia said.

“Um, how do you know about-”

“Faith told me.”

“Faith told you what?” I said, my eyes narrow.

“Oh, just that you’d finally found a girl for you… Wait a sec. Wait wait wait a second. Calloway? Is that you under all that makeup?”

My eyes bulged with panic, and I saw Kate’s lips trembling and her hands wringing together. Oh, this was bad- she wasn’t ready to come out to everyone at work yet, she’d said as much to me in the car ride. She’d been planning to come out in two weeks when she had her next fight, with the same kind of surprise announcement that Faith had been afforded.

And now… Now she was having to come out to her work rivals by accident. For the third time in two weeks.

Goddammit.

“Yeah,” she said, her voice dropping low. Then, in her higher, breathier voice, she said, “Yes. It’s me. My preferred name is Kate, pronouns are she/her.”

Olivia’s eyebrows shot up.

“Oh, so you’re a trans too?” Mrs. Portman said.

I died inside a little bit.

“I, uh, yeah. I’m a trans woman,” Kate said.

“Wow, two of you in the tournament this year, huh? What are the odds?” Mrs. Portman said. “And this isn’t a publicity stunt?”

“Dear, hush, that’s rude,” Mr. Portman said, playfully swatting his wife on the arm, blissfully unaware of the psychic damage he and his wife had just inflicted on Kate.

“No,” Kate said, eyes dropping low, fingers drumming nervously on the table. Oooohhhh dear. “I’m just… I’m a woman.”

“Hey, listen, it’s nice to see you all, but Kate and I were just trying to have a nice, quiet dinner,” I said. “Alone. As in just the two of us-”

“That’s fine, broseph,” Masterson said, “We can all take that big table outside, leave you two to your date.”

“I’d appreciate that a lot,” I nodded, putting a metric ton of emphasis behind each syllable.

“As would I,” Kate said. Practically squeaked. Must… Protect… At all costs.

“No problem, brosephine,” Masterson said. “You look great, bee-tea-dubs.”

They all cleared out and headed for the massive rectangular longtable outside… Except Olivia, who remained standing exactly where she was in front of us with her brow creased and her hands on her hips and her jaw slack.

“Uh, Olivia, you coming with?” Tom asked while standing in the doorway, with an ‘aw shit here we go again’ expression on his face.

“Yeah, I’ll be right there,” Olivia said.

Tom sighed and let the door close as he stepped outside. You tried, Tom. You tried.

“Can, uh, I help you with something?” I said, trying not to get too distressed by Kate’s thousand-yard stare. Given that she’d only a few days prior called out and challenged Olivia in front of a screaming crowd while on camera and then immediately proceeded to have a massive panic attack… I didn’t like what this was almost certainly doing to her brain.

“I just… When Faith said you’d found someone, this wasn’t what I expected,” Olivia said. “Does she… She knows who Kate really is, right?”

“Yeah, she does,” I said, creasing my own brow, “Why do you ask?”

“I just… I really just… Calloway? Seriously?! Calloway?!” Olivia said. “Of all freaking people, you choose Calloway over Faith?!”

“I’m sitting right here, you know,” Kate said.

“R-right. Sorry, I… You look nice,” Olivia said.

“Thanks,” Kate said. “Just, uh, quick question: why do you care?”

“Because I care about Faith,” Olivia said.

“Right, sure you do,” Kate said. “You care so much about the girl you brutally dumped in the most vulnerable moment of her life. Right. Definitely. Absolutely.”

“Also, why would Faith care?” I said, attempting to navigate the conversation away from Kate’s (admittedly accurate) criticism of Olivia. “She and Kate have patched things up- they’re friends now.”

“Really?” Olivia said.

“Yes, really,” Kate said. “She and I hung out literally all day today. She helped me pick out this dress, helped me with my voice. She and I are fine. And she’s fine with this.”

“Oh, honey,” Olivia said. “You don’t… Really believe that. Do you?”

Kate blinked, and her eyes went low again.

“What does that mean?” I asked.

“It means-”

“Don’t,” Kate said, slamming her hand against the table.

Olivia took a step back. “Right. Sorry. It’s… Look, Zeke, I know you and I were never super close, but I gotta ask- is Faith really completely on board with all this?”

“Yes! Why wouldn’t she be?” Did someone slip me a crazy-pill? What the hell was going on?!

“I just… Can’t believe you would choose Ke… Kate over Faith,” Olivia said.

“It’s not a choice,” I said, grabbing Kate’s hand and squeezing it tightly, a fire lighting inside my head. “I like Kate. She’s a beautiful woman, inside and out.”

“Phrasing,” Kate said in a thirsty whisper, eyebrows raised.

“Babe, not now,” I said.

“Babe?” she said with a bright smile.

“Babe? Wow,” Olivia said. “This is… A lot to accept, tbh.”

“And why, exactly, do you get a say?” I said.

“I-”

“That was a rhetorical question,” I said. “You don’t. At all.”

“Okay, okay, I’ll back off,” Olivia said, holding up her hands, palms flat. “I just… Can’t help but think you’re making a mistake. You and Faith would be cute together, that’s all I’m saying.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” I growled.

“You would be,” Kate whispered.

“What?” I said. Seriously, WHAT?!

“Backing away now,” Olivia said. “I’m sorry for saying anything- you’re right, it’s really none of my business. But, uh, Calloway? I still remember what you said last Friday. I’ll see you in the battle box.”

And with that, she walked away. My head spun with confusion and anger at the implications of what she said, the insinuations, the freaking hubris. And on top of it all, Kate looked ready to cry again.

Our waiter finally came over with our food on a tray and set it down, but looked at us with a worried expression. “Would you two like this to go, by any chance?”

“Yes, please,” Kate and I said simultaneously.

We waited till the food was put in takeaway boxes, and we made a hasty departure. I was pretty sure I heard Mrs. Portman shouting something at us as we walked out the front door, but I wasn’t sure what. “Where should we take all this?” Kate asked.

“I have one idea, if you’re up for it,” I said, with a grin I hoped would be the first step to salvaging this evening.

We headed for Dockweiler Beach, only a few miles from the restaurant, basically deserted in the waning hours of the evening before it was closed to the public. Waves lapped against the sand in a steady, drawling rhythm, and the rich, relaxing scent of seawater filled the air. We sat on a blanket Kate kept in her truck, eating our food while watching the tide crashing into the shore and the setting sun casting an orange-gold glow over everything. Kate had tied her hair back while we ate, but loose strands kept blowing about from the seabreeze and colliding with her face.

I reached over and brushed a strand back, and she smiled at me. “Thank you.”

“Of course. I’m, uh, sorry about what happened.”

“Don’t be, it isn’t your fault,” she said. “Honestly, you handled it really well. Way better than I would have in your position.”

“And what position is that?”

“The guy’s. You’re… You’re a really good guy, Zeke Underhill,” she said, wiping her mouth with a napkin.

I laughed in spite of myself. “That’s nice of you to say. I… I’m not really used to hearing it,” I admitted, slumping my shoulders.

“I find that hard to believe. You’re such a gentleman.”

“I… The thing is,” I started. Oh boy, I was about to admit this to her. This was big. I rarely talked about this. Not even with Faith. “... My parents… Are not the types to give out praise often, and a lot of it had to do with them thinking I wasn’t living up to their expectations of what a man was supposed to be. My Mom… Well, she’s English, she’s got all these old-fashioned, old-world ideas about men and women. She sent me to my room when I cried at a movie once when I was seven. My dad wasn’t much better- kind of a rough and tumble man’s man type. When I didn’t make my high school’s basketball team in ninth grade, he reamed me out for half an hour straight. Never mind the fact that I was short and fat back then. Which they both reminded me of constantly.”

“Jesus Christ, I’m so sorry,” Kate said, putting down her food and placing her hand on my shoulder. I gave it a squeeze. She continued, “My parents have always been so chill and supportive. I can’t even imagine what it’s like to… To grow up with that instead of what I had.”

“Thanks,” I said. “Honestly, I’m mostly over it at this point. I moved out for college when I was eighteen and never looked back. The only thing that really still gets to me is how hypocritical they were about everything. My dad… He’s a total pig, cheats on my mom constantly, and Mom just drinks to forget it every time the proof is thrown in her face. They’re both so full of shit, but I still… I still have this fear sometimes, that they’re right, that I’m not good enough, that there’s something I’m doing wrong, that…”

“That?”

“... That I’ll be a cheater like my dad, constantly balancing multiple girls, stringing along someone I’m supposed to be committed to. I think… I think that’s what bugged me about what Olivia was insinuating, like I was somehow being disloyal to Faith. Which is ridiculous, because… I… And she doesn’t even… And I’m not-”

“Not what?” Kate said, wrapping her arms around me.

“I’m not with her. I probably won’t ever be with her,” I said.

“... You really like her, don’t you?”

“... I’m not sure you want me to answer that question, Katie.”

“You already have,” she said. “It’s kinda obvious.”

“I… I’m sorry, I shouldn’t-”

“Hey, it’s okay,” Kate said, nuzzling my shoulder. “You’re allowed to like more than one person at the same time. And you’ve liked her for a while, I’m not surprised I’m…”

“You’re what?”

“... Second prize.”

“You’re not,” I said, turning around and putting my hands on her cheeks. “Listen to me, Kate Calloway. I recognize we’ve only just started really getting to know each other, but in that time, you’ve shown yourself to be… Amazing. Caring. Funny and thoughtful. Beautiful. I… I don’t know if I deserve you, but I’d like… To keep seeing you like this. To get to know you better, and to hold your hand while you go on this journey.”

Tears streamed out her eyes, and she bit her lower lip before saying, “Would you… Would you still say that if Faith liked you back?”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” I scoffed. “Faith is gay.”

“...”

I blinked. “Faith is gay, right?”

“I…,” Kate stammered, pulling out of my hands. “I’ve said too much.”

I blinked one long, sustained blink as the gears turned in my head. Faith… Wasn’t gay? And she… It… This made it seem like…

Like she…

No.

Just, just… No.

There was a beautiful girl who I liked in front of me, and I wasn’t gonna let her slip away. “You’re fine. And even if she did, it wouldn’t matter.”

“You… You really mean that?”

“She’s not here with me right now, on this beach, sharing this meal, this evening,” I said. “Life moves forward, not back. If Faith really liked me, she should have said something. You, though, you said something. You made the first move, and… God, I’ve had to do that myself so many times, only for it to fall apart. Do you have any idea how good it makes me feel, that you like me enough to be the one to push things forward? How special that makes me feel? Because it’s amazing… You make me feel… Amazing, Kate.”

She looked at me with those big blue eyes, shining in the multicolored light of dusk as the sun set over the horizon, her red lips spread wide, hope and astonishment and joy radiating out of every inch of her. She gulped, and then she grabbed my lapel and said, “I’m gonna push things forward again now. Is that okay?”

I didn’t answer. I just went for it, pressing her lips against mine, melting into her as we made out on the beach while the sun finished setting. My heart was alight with ecstasy, my lust burning at maximum temperature. I didn’t know for sure if I liked her more than I liked Faith. I just knew that in that moment, there was nobody I’d rather be with, nobody I’d rather be kissing, nobody I’d rather be getting to know.

For just one moment, everything was crystal clear.

“You really had to ask?” I said as I pressed my forehead against hers, reveling in her aftertaste.

She smiled. Oh, Lord, that smile. “I just had to make sure.”

We carried on like that for a while longer, her hands touching mine, my lips touching hers, our bodies interlocking.

#original fiction #serial fiction #trans woman #trans protagonist #web novel #wlw #bisexual #polycule #polyamory #love triangle #enemies to friends to lovers #first date #romcom #romance

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