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bteezxyewriter12 · 4 months

Text

Repair

Pairing- Yunho x Named Reader

Word count- 9.4k

Includes- Tension, Yunho is intimidating, pussy eating, blow job, cum eating, missionary, cock riding, squirting, multiple orgasms, fluff

Tag List- @mingtina @jaxminnie @yeosayang @delightfulmoonbanana @tannie13 @y00nzin0 @marsstarxhwa

@yeosxxx @seokwoosmole @jjongsbebe @wisejudgedragonhairdo @meowmeowminnie @woo-stars @borntowalkaway @usagionthered @san-realblkwife @seonghwasstar @jejeyeppeo @soulseobi05 @kpop-bambi @prayerofthehaim @realisticnotes @pinkies-things @insomniacatiny @stephy-nicole13

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J POV

Pulling up to the body shop, I park my car and get out

This doesn't look like a shop that has a mechanic I'd need

Still, this is the address San texted me and it's open this late at night

Supposedly San's close friend owns it

I walk towards the open garage, peering in, seeing a man wiping a light on a car

"Uh hello?"

He stops, turning to look at me

My heart stops at how utter beautiful and fucking hot he is

This guy's a mechanic?

He should be a runway model

"Uh hi", I wave

He stands up, walking over to me, an intimidating look on his face

Ok he's not happy to see me

I take him in as he stands a few feet away from me with his arms crossed

Super tall, straight black hair parted in the middle, intense dark brown eyes

His lips are gorgeous with a pronounced cupids bow, his jawline so sharp

The chains on his neck look so good as well as the ear piercings

He has a white shirt on under what looks like it could be a kind of mechanic jacket, loose pants and boots

He has some dirt or grease on his cheeks to complete his look

A total intimidating hottie

My eyes find their way back to his face, his eyebrow raising in a question

"Oh uh hi. I uh...I'm Joanne. I know San"

He just nods once

Ok, not a big talker I guess

"I uh...need my car to be fixed? I have no idea what's wrong with it. It's just making weird sounds"

He glances at my car, then back at me, silent

"I uh...San...told me to come here. He gave me this address?", I continue then read out the address San gave me, "Is this...uh...the right place?"

He nods once

Yeah ok, I'm gonna kill San

I don't care how hot he is, this guy is fucking scary

"I uh...do you do...uh repairs? Like the kind I need?"

There's no answer from him and I think I need to go

Even if he does do repairs it doesn't look like he wants to take my car

"I uh...I'm gonna go ok?", I say, starting to back up to my car, "I'm sorry I bothered you. Uh...bye"

I turn and practically run to my car, opening the door

I get in, then turn to close the door when a hand shoots out, stopping the door from closing and giving me a heart attack in the process

"Wait", a gruff voice says, my eyes moving from the hand to the scary guy's handsome face, "I'll look at your car"

"Oh no, it's fine. I'm ok", I say

He rolls his eyes, "I heard your car coming from down the street. It sounds like there's something wrong with the exhaust or the muffler. And there's a clinking sound coming from your engine"

Well I have no idea about the clinking sound but I know about the loud sound when I drive it

"Uh...you don't...I mean this uh...garage doesn't seem to be like a...mechanic garage"

"It's not. It's a body shop. But I'm also a mechanic and I know how to fix cars"

"Oh", I say stupidly

"I'll look at your car tonight and see if I have the stuff to fix it by tomorrow. If not, it'll take a few days"

"You really don't have to, not if you're busy"

"San sent you. It's fine. Give me your keys"

I get out of the car, hand him the keys and he shuts the door

Then he turns and walks back to the garage without a word

I follow him wondering if I'm gonna get a receipt or something

He grabs a paper, handing it to me with a pen, "Fill it out. Ignore the irrelevant parts. Sit there"

He points to a couch where another guy who I didn't see before is sitting

That guy nods at me in greeting and I nod back like a dumbass

I sit and fill out the paper

It's a standard mechanic form

My name, number, make and model of my car, year, license plate- 2000 Toyota Corolla

The rest is a checklist of what body mods you'd want done to your car, paint colors, the amount of something called NOS and other stuff I have no idea about

"Uh here", I tell him when I'm done

He takes the paper, putting on a desk, my car keys on top of it

"I'll call you when you can come pick it up"

"Oh, uh yeah. Ok. Thanks"

He nods once then turns away, sitting back in the chair he was in when I got here and tending to the car he was working on

"Uh ok....bye", I say lamely

He doesn't turn around

Whatever

He's an ass but as long as he fixes my car then I'll deal with it

I turn, pulling out my phone and pull up Google maps to see which bus is closest to here

And pray that it's still running this time at night

I start walking away, out of the garage and to the side walk

The bus to my apartment is five block away but Google maps doesn't even say when it'll show

I could be waiting there all night

Fucking great

I can't call San

He has a fight tonight and Wooyoung is with him

My luck just keeps getting better and better

I sigh and start walking in the direction of the bus stop

"Hey!", I hear behind me

I stop, turning to see the mechanic behind me

"Where are you going?"

"Uh home?"

"You're walking?"

"Well yeah. To the bus stop"

"The bus stop running at 9:30"

Well fuck me then

I glance at Google maps and switch to the walking man

A fucking hour and a half

Jesus Christ

Well, I guess I have no fucking choice

"Guess I'm walking then", I tell him, "I better leave, it's gonna take awhile"

"You can't walk home at night"

I roll my eyes, "Why not?"

"Because this is a bad neighborhood. There's creeps and gangs out who'd love to get you in their sights"

"Well I have no choice", I tell him

"Can't you call an Uber like everyone else?"

I glare at him

Doesn't he think I'd do that if I could?

I'm not stupid

"Unlike everyone else, I don't have money for that. I barely had gas money to get here and now I have a car bill I have to pay for. I can't afford an Uber", I answer, "So if you're done questioning me now, I'll be on my way"

He shakes his head, "No. You're not walking. Jongho will take you home"

And who the fuck is Jongho?

"Jongho?", I ask

"My assistant. The guy who's in the garage with me"

Oh that guy

Well at least he looks nicer than this guy

"He doesn't have-", I start to protest

He just turns from me, yelling for Jongho

God, what is this guy's problem?

"Yeah?", Jongho answers, appearing next to the mechanic

"Take the girl home", he says

The girl?

I have a fucking name

"It's Joanne", I snap

He rolls his eyes, "Take Joanne home. She's San's friend"

"Yeah I heard that", Jongho says, pulling car keys out

To me he says, "Lets go"

He walks to some white sports car, unlocking it

"Go", the mechanic says, nodding towards Jongho, then abruptly walking away, back to the garage

What a jerk

But I really don't want to walk an hour and a half so I get into Jongho's car

He asks for my address, puts it in the GPS and starts driving

--------------------------------

The next day

"You're friends is a jerk", I tell San as I make his coffee

The cafe I work at is in a lull right now

I have about an hour to kill until the high schools let out and it's a mad house

"Which one?"

"The mechanic one"

"Yunho?"

"Oh is that his name?", I say sarcastically

"You didn't know his name?"

"He never told me. He actually didn't talk to me much except to be a jerk", I tell him, "But Jongho was nice"

Jongho made light conversation on the fifteen minute drive home last night

He's really nice

Sweet

And funny

He cracked a few jokes that made me laugh, which is something I needed after the horrible day I had

"Yeah Jongho is usually nice", San agrees, "What did Yunho do?"

Handing him his coffee, I tell him about last night

Which for some reason makes San laugh

"I don't see how that's funny"

"If you knew how Yunho was really like then it'd be funny to you too. He only acts like that when it's someone he doesn't know"

"Well thanks for the fucking warning San"

"Look I'm sorry ok. But Yunnie is not intimidating nor scary. He was probably caught off guard because he wasn't expecting you to show up. And he gets defensive around his shop with people he doesn't know"

"Then why would you send me to him?", I ask in disbelief

If he knows Yunho is like that went people approach his shop why would he send me there alone?

"Because your car was on the verge of dying and Yunho is the best mechanic I know. That guy loved cars since he was a kid and he can fix anything. You need the best with that crap car you have"

"Hey!"

"Ok Jo, it's a heap of junk"

"I can't afford another one!", I exclaim

"Yeah I know. And I also know Yunho can keep it running for you as long as he can. That's why I sent you to him. So give him a break ok?"

I scowl but nod

If he can fix my car then yeah I'll give him a break

"So let me tell you about my fight last night"

--------------------------------

My cell phone keeps ringing and I have to keep silencing it so I can take customer orders

It's the five o'clock after work rush

The worst of them all, with the rude entitled cranky business men and women

And my phone keeps taking me out of my groove

Ten minutes later, I make the last coffee for the last customer of the current line then quickly tell one of my coworkers I'm taking a five minute breath before we're swarmed again

Going inside the cafe, I look at my phone

5 missed calls from the same unknown number

Sighing, I click re-dial and wait as the phone rings

"Hello?", a gruff voice I recognize from last night says

"Uh hi. This number called me?"

"Joanne?", Yunho says

"Yeah"

"Why didn't you pick up the first time I called you?", he growls

Ok WTF?

He needs to take a chill pill

"Because I'm at work and can't pick up whenever my phone rings?"

He sighs like I'm inconveniencing him, "Whatever. Your car is ready. You can come pick it up"

Great

He works really fast

"Oh ok. I'll come after work"

It's silent for a beat, then, "How are you getting here?"

"Bus", I growl, so not wanting to argue with him again

"Fucking hell", he grumbles, "I'll come get you. What's your work address?"

He'll come get me?

Why?

It's not night right now

I mean yeah it will be when I get out of work but that shouldn't matter

"I can get there by myself"

"Yeah you can but if anything happens to you on your way here, San will have a conniption and he'll blame me. So can we just avoid that and give me your work address so I can come get you"

Gee, nice to know he cares so much

Whatever

He's right about San though

He'll flip on Yunho if anything happens to me

Perks of having a protective friend from childhood

"Fine", I snap, giving him the cafe's address, "I get out at 8"

"I'll be there", he says, then hangs up

No bye, no see you later, just hangs up

Fucking jerk

--------------------------------

"Yo, do you see that sick car outside?", one of my male coworkers says to another

"No? What is it?"

"A 1997 Mazda RX-7 VeilSide Fortune"

"No fucking way", one of the guys says, running to window, "That's fucking beautiful"

I glance out the window, seeing an orange red sports car

I guess that's what they're talking about?

I don't know, I'm not really into cars, so I don't care

"Wonder who that guy is picking up?"

Oh no

Is...is that....Yunho?

I glance at the clock

7:58

It's Yunho

"Where the hell did he get that car from?"

I sigh as I grab my bag from under the counter and punch out

"Bye guys", I say as I walk to the door

"Bye Jo!"

"Bye!"

I take a breath and walk up to the orange red car

The window goes down, Yunho's face appearing

"Get in"

I huff but open the door

Looking back at the window to the cafe, like five or six of my coworkers are there, staring with their mouths dropped

I'm so not gonna hear the end of this tomorrow

Getting in the car, I close the door

I put my seatbelt on and Yunho starts to drive

"Is this your car?", I ask

His eyebrows raise, "Who's else is it?"

I shrug, "I have no clue. But apparently it's some big deal. All the guys at work were drooling over it"

I see a smirk on his face and yeah ok it's totally hot

"It's a nice car", he says, "Was in one of the fast and the furious movies"

"Oh", I answer

I saw a few of those movies

The first one was the best but as they go on they get more and more ridiculous

"Is that why you picked it?"

He scoffs, "No. I picked it because I like it"

Ok, touchy

"Is this your only car?"

He shakes his head, "No. I have a few others"

"Sports cars like this?"

"Some. Some regular cars"

"Oh", I answer

The conversation stops there and it's silent for the rest of the drive

We pull into his shop and get out

He starts walking to my car, that's parked in front of the shop

"Your car is a piece of shit"

I huff, "Well not everyone can afford fucking sports cars"

"You don't need a sports car to have a decent car"

"I can't afford a decent car. I can barely afford my bills as it is", I snap, "What was wrong with it?"

"Muffler. And one of timing belts needed to be replaced"

Yeah ok sure

I have no idea what he's talking about

"It's good now?"

He snorts, "Not good. It's running but it will break down again. You need thousands of dollars for this car to be good. It's not worth it. You should trash it and get another one"

"No. Mon-ey", I say slowly, thinking maybe it'll sink into his brain this way

"I. Get. It", he says, copying me

I narrow my eyes at him, "How much is it?"

I just want to pay and go home

"Don't worry about it"

Excuse me?

"What do you mean don't worry about it? You fixed it. You replaced parts. That cost money"

"Not for you", he says, handing me my keys

"What the hell Yunho? I'm not a moocher!"

"Yeah I could guess that", he says, "But still you know San and I don't charge people I know"

I just stand there flabbergasted

"I uh...um..thank you?", I ask more than say

"Sure. Just promise me one thing"

Aha, here's the catch

"What?"

"When it breaks down again, bring it to me"

I raise my eyebrow, "Why?"

"Because this thing will continuously break down and I can keep it running longer than most mechanics. At least until it dies for good", he says, "Plus other places will overcharge you. I won't"

Yeah cause he'll do it for free

That's not what I want

"Fine but I'm paying you from now on"

He smirks again, making me weak in the knees, "Ok. Sure"

"I will!"

"Yup", he says, turning around and walking back to the garage

I scowl at his back then get in my car

I will pay him next time

I'm not a moocher, not by a long shot

I drive my car down the block and realize that it's blessedly silent for once

--------------------------------

Six months later

"Well it finally fucking died", Yunho says, shutting the hood of my car

"Just great", I mumble

He's been saying this for the last month

That it won't be long until it craps out

He managed to get it to keep going for six more months

He was right, it kept breaking down

Water pump, check engine light, belts, chains, tires popping, alternator, breaks

And more I can't think of

I'm here like every two weeks

Yunho fixes my car, doesn't charge me anything and makes me repeat my promise to bring him my car when it breaks down

I insist on paying him but he always finds a way to put my money back in my car before I leave

So instead of paying him, I get him food

That he eats

Other times, I'll stay while he fixes my car

Sometimes I'll hang on the couch with Jongho, sometimes I'll watch him fix it

It's interesting

And I'm learning a bit more about cars

Sometimes Yunho will explain what he's doing, what the part is and what the car uses it for

Other times he'll tell me to leave him alone and stop bothering him

He's so freaking touchy at random times

But the one thing that's happened all these months being around him is that I've stupidly fallen for him

I don't know what's my problem

He's not particularly nice to me

Sometimes he's downright rude

But other times he's... nice, tolerable of me?

Something like that

He can do nice things like pick me up when he finishes fixing the car to bring me to the shop, bring me home when I bring the car to him

Or like I said, explain things to me

Have little conversations here and there, asking about my life, answering questions I have about his

And when I'm here I can just watch him

Watch his broad shoulders move, his long fingers in his fingerless gloves using the tools, handling the parts

His black hair falling in his eyes

The adorable way he gets grease and oil on his cheeks

And I just fell in love with him like a fucking idiot

He'd never want me

I'm just San's annoying friend with the crappy car

I bet he's glad my car finally crapped out so he doesn't have to keep fixing it

And with that thought I realize I'm probably not going to see him again

I don't have a car that needs fixing anymore

That blows

"Sorry Jo", he says, shrugging

"What's wrong with it now?"

"Transmission"

"It can't be fixed?"

"It can but it'll be worth more than the car is worth. And there's no guarantee that even with that fixed it won't stop breaking down. In my professional opinion, the car is dead. You need a new one"

"Goddamnit", I sigh, looking up at the ceiling

"Hey", he says, "I mean I can fix it if you want"

I shake my head

I don't want to cost him even more money

He's doing all this for free and getting the parts with his own money

If the transmission is gonna cost more than the actual car, he's right, it's not worth it

"Nah forget it. It's time for it to go to car heaven"

He snorts, rolling his eyes

Whatever

"Well I guess that's it then", I say, "Thanks for all your help. I really appreciate everything you've done"

He raises his eyebrow, "Why are you making this sound like a sappy goodbye?"

"Because it is?", I say bewildered, "Not sappy but a goodbye. I don't have a car for you to fix anymore so I don't really have a reason to come back here"

"Oh right. Yeah. True", he says, like that hadn't dawned on him

"Yeah. So uh...I'm gonna go", I say awkwardly, "San said he could pick me up today so I'll just call him ok?"

"Uh huh. Sure", he says avoiding eye contact

Whatever

I'm upset I won't see him again but it's not like I ever had a shot of being with him

My phone is in my bag on the couch and as I pass Yunho to get it, I feel his hand wrap around my wrist, turning me to him

My heart beats loudly in my chest as I raise my eyes to his

Uncertainty and hesitation swirls in his eyes and I don't know what that's about

He's so close to me, closer than we've ever been and I can feel the energy crackling between us

I hold my breath, waiting to see if he's going to do something or let me go

His hand lets go of my wrist, disappointment rising in my chest

What did I expect?

I'm about to break the eye contact when he leans down, his lips against mine in a searing hot kiss

My head is spinning, heat floods my body and stars blast in my vision from this one kiss

Holy fucking shit

His big gloved hands move around my waist, pulling me against him

I shyly put my hands on his arms, slowly moving them up, giving him time to stop me

He doesn't and my arms wrap around his neck, holding on

His tongue licks my lip and I open my mouth for his, our tongues brushing against each other's

"Mmmm", I moan at the same time he groans loudly, kissing me harder

His hands move down to my ass, lifting me up, my legs wrapping around his waist as I kiss him deeply

God, I never want to stop kissing him

His kisses are like fucking heaven

Everything I'm feeling, everything running through my body, I've never felt before

Not with anyone's kiss

Just Yunho's

He walks with me to who knows where

I don't care as long as he doesn't stop kissing me

He lays me on top of something hard and cool, his hands moving down my body to my sneakers

He pulls them off, throwing them behind him, then his hands move to my jeans

He breaks the kiss for a second and I take the chance to see where we are

Holy shit I'm on top of the hood of his car

The 1997 Mazda RX-7 VeilSide Fortune

I remember the stupid car's name because my coworkers won't stop asking me about it

Asking me when the guy who owns it is gonna pick me up again

I returned my gaze to Yunho's, his eyes asking me if I want this too

I definitely do

I nod and he smiles, it's beauty taking my breath away, then his lips are against mine again

As his hands get my jeans open, I zip down his mechanic jacket

He shrugs out of the jacket, then pulls my jeans down and off, leaving me in my panties

I need more, my hands undoing the tie on his pants, his legs moving as he kicks them and his boots off

My hands greedily move to his shirt, pulling it up until I can't anymore

He growls against my lips, pulling away for a second to get the shirt off, then he's kissing me again, pushing me down on the hood of the car

He grabs the middle of my button up shirt, pulling harshly, the buttons flying off

The sound of them hitting the floor is so erotic

He pushes the shirt off me, taking the chance to take my bra off too

Then my back is against the cool metal, his big hands squeezing my boobs

He still has the gloves on and I need to feel his whole hand on my skin

Removing one of his hands, he whines in my mouth

I quickly pull the glove off then put his hand back on my boob where it resumes squeezing

I do the same to his other hand, then let myself fall into the feeling of his palms against my bare skin

So good

His mouth separates from mine, only to attach to my neck, kissing, biting and licking

I moan loudly, getting so wet, wanting him

Just him

His kisses drag lower and lower until his hand moves off my boob, his mouth immediately around my nipple, sucking harshly

"Fuck Yunho", I moan, my body arching up against his, a loud groan leaving his mouth

He switches to my other nipple, his tongue licking my nipple, then pulling it in his mouth, playing

I move my legs around his waist, pressing my body against him, feeling his hard dick against me

One of his hands slides down my body, gripping my ass, holding me against him, grinding his cock against my pussy

Fuck, it feels so good

He feels so big

I want him so fucking much, it's driving me insane

He lets go of my nipple, his lips pressing kisses down my body, his tongue licking my stomach before kissing my skin, loving the way it feels

He goes lower, his fingers pulling my panties down, sliding them off

He opens my legs, eyes on my pussy, groaning

His head dips down, pressing kisses to my inner thighs, moving closer to my pussy but not touching

And all I want is his tongue there

"You gonna let me taste you?", he asks, his eyes flitting to mine, desire in them

I nod, biting my lip, waiting in anticipation

His hands hold my legs open, his head moving back between them

The next thing I know, his tongue is against me, slowly licking up my pussy

I moan so loudly, pleasure filling my body

"Fuck", he groans, his tongue licking me again, "You're pussy tastes so good"

I'm surprised at his words but I can't answer as his tongue roams my pussy, faster this time

Pleasure hits me hard, his tongue so fucking good

He uses the flat of his tongue, pressing on me hard, making sure I feel all of it as he licks up

Then the tip of his tongue flicks my clit back and forth a few times, making me scream, my hand burying in his soft silky hair

He repeats all the actions again and again, his face pushing more into my cunt as he goes

"Yes Yunho", I cry, the pleasure his tongue is giving me so intense, "More Yunnie"

His tongue leaves my clit, light dragging along my slit, barely touching me

He does it again and again, driving me insane

His tongue ghosts over my clit, making me move my hips to his face to try to feel his tongue more

He lightly licks my clit, barely touching me, my cunt getting wetter and wetter with each move

His mouth softly sucks my clit once, my body shaking then resuming his gentle licks on it

My orgasm is slowly building as he's going so slow, so lighty

I've never been eaten out this way and it's fucking intense, my entire body tuned into the pleasure, reacting to every swipe of his tongue

His fingers spread my lips open, tongue slowly wiggling inside

"Oh fuck", I whimper, my cunt tightening on his tongue

"Mmmm", he murmurs, "Pretty throbbing cunt. Feels good on my tongue. Soaking my face so well. Feels good baby?"

"Yes!", I cry, good being an understatement

Try amazing, fantastic, mind blowing

He slowly fucks his tongue in my cunt over and over, my pussy getting wetter and squeezing it every time he wiggles in

"Fuck, I don't think I'll ever get enough of eating your pussy", he murmurs, his tongue ghosting up my pussy then lighting swirling around my clit

I breathe hard, my body shaking and arching off the car hood, so fucking turned on, so fucking close

His mouth moves around my clit, gently suckling and that's all it takes

"Yunho!", I scream, intense bliss tidal waving over my body as I cum, my fingers pulling his hair so hard

His tongue slips down into my cunt, holding it there, letting me cum all over it

I can't think, the pleasure taking over, my hips grinding my pussy against his face

And all he does is moan, his fingers gripping my thighs so hard

As I finish, I lay there stunned, out of breath, his tongue pulling out and licking everywhere

After a minute, he stands up, looking down at me, his face soaked in my juice and cum

I feel my cheeks turn red as he smirks, "You taste so fucking good baby"

My eyebrows shoot up in disbelief

"That pussy cream...fuck me...I've eaten my share of pussy before but goddamn, none have tasted as sweet, as good as yours"

"You're fucking joking", I blurt

He shakes his head, as he pulls down his boxers, "No. I'm not"

He grabs my ankles, pulling me down the hood towards him, my legs wrapping around his waist

He leans over me, his dark brown eyes starting intensely, "I'm gonna be thinking about that for a long time. You're gonna have to let me eat your cunt again real soon ok?"

I nod, mesmerized by him

And by the fact that he wants to go down on me again

He smirks, "Good girl. Think you can take my cock now?"

I nod rapidly, "Yes. I can"

"You sure?", he laughs, "I'm pretty big. Thick too"

"I can take you Yunho", I say clearly

God, I want nothing more than to have his cock buried inside me

"All right jagi", he smirks, aligning himself to my entrance

He pushes in, making me gasp as I feel how big his head is

Holy shit

His hands hold my legs open, moving inside more and I moan in pleasure, my pussy getting wetter with every inch that goes in

It stings a little bit but the fucking pleasure is ten times better than that

I want more of him

All of him

"Fuck, look at you. Taking my cock like a good slut, sucking me inside this tight wet cunt", he groans, pushing more of his thick cock in, "How long have you wanted to be impaled on my dick?"

"Long time", I whimper, through the pleasure, my pussy sucking him in, "Since....first...saw you"

"Oh yeah?", he teases, "I thought I scared you when we first met. You looked like you were ready to jet outta here"

"You were intimidating", I say, as he finally slips all inside, his big head right against my spot, my pussy throbbing around him, "But still hot"

He chuckles, his hand moving and pushing hair back from my face, "Guess that's a good thing huh?"

"Being a hot intimidating man?", I ask, pushing my hips up, feeling every inch, every ridge of his cock

God, he fits inside me so well with no room to spare

"Yeah", he smiles

"Definitely a good thing", I assure him

He smiles wider, leans down, his lips against mine in a kiss, stars blasting in my vision

Before I can kiss him back, he's standing back up, his cock pulling almost all the way out, then slamming back inside

"Fuck!", I yell as he moans, "Oh god"

He begins to thrust into me over and over, spreading my hole wide on his cock, his head hitting my spot each time, pleasure taking over

"Oh my god", I cry, taking his cock over and over as he fucks me into the car's hood

"Ok?", he pants, "Does it hurt?"

I shake my head

I feel nothing but pleasure

"No", I cry, holding onto his arms hard, "More Yunnie. Please"

"Fuck you feel so fucking good", he murmurs, his pace getting faster

Harder

Throwing my body into intense bliss I've never felt before

"God, you're tighter than I ever imagined", he groans

That penetrates through the fog of pleasure

He's...imagined this?

Has he wanted this just as much as I have?

"I...imagined?"

He looks down at me, making eye contact as he speaks

"You don't know how long I wanted this", he growls as he pounds his fat cock into me, "Hearing you scream my name as you take my cock deep inside you. Having you cream up my cock just like you're doing now. Fuck, thought about it all the time"

I'm shocked

I had no fucking idea he even thought of me when he didn't have to fix my car

"God, the second I saw you standing in my shop that first day, I just wanted to throw you on the nearest surface and fuck the life from you"

Jesus Christ

I'm also pretty sure that if he tried, I'd have let him

"You would never leave my mind", he murmurs, stroke after stroke of his fat cock driving me insane, "You wouldn't leave me alone. Making me imagine fucking you like this, imagine you on your knees, my cock down your throat. Imagine eating this pretty little pussy and how good you'd be. And fuck, you're even better than anything I could have imagined"

His words only add fuel to the pleasure, making everything I'm feeling more intense, making my desire for him increase

"Could stay in your tiny cunt all day"

"Yes Yunho!", I cry, my body arching, my legs tightening around his waist, "You can stay baby. Fuck, want you to stay. Fuck me all day Yunnie. Want your cock so badly"

I can't control the clenching my pussy is doing around his cock

He's so fucking hard, throbbing in my cunt, so fucking good

I want him every fucking day

"I'll give it to you baby", he promises, fucking me open on his dick

My brain is turning off, all my senses on Yunho, his cock and how good he feels

"Gonna make you cream all over my cock", he grunts, slamming repeatedly right into my spot, "You want that don't you? I can feel your tiny cunt get tighter and tighter"

"Yes", I cry, holding onto his arms as tight as I can

"Yes what?"

"Want it", I moan, tears springing to my eyes from the bliss

"Tell me what you want. Say it", he demands

"I wanna cream your cock!", I shout, so close, "Please, please, please. Wanna cum on your cock!"

"Good girl", he praises, slamming into my spot, "Cum for me"

I scream him name loudly as my mind shattering orgasm hits me like a fucking truck, ecstacy assaulting my body

"Yunho! Yunho!"

I can't think, I can't see, tears blurring my vision, my head empty

I head him moaning loudly about how amazing it feels but all I can do is ride the pleasure out on his cock

My body shakes uncontrollably, pussy clenching his huge hard cock over and over

My god, it's never been this good before

As I come out of it, I hear Yunho praising me, calling me his good girl and I like it

Not so much with anyone else who says it but when Yunho says it, I really like it

I feel him pull out and I whine from the loss of him

Chuckling he says, "I'm coming back baby"

But all that's in my head right now is sucking his cock

As hard as it is, I sit up on the car hood and push him back

He raises his eyebrow but moves back as I slide off the car

I feel his eyes on me as I sink down on my knees

I move my gaze, staring at his rock hard massive cock

Holy crap

"So big", I gape, moving my hand around him and stroking him

He chuckles, my eyes snapping up to his

"Yeah but you took it all up your cunt", he smirks, "And screamed for more"

I absolutely did

I won't deny that

"Yeah", I answer, leaning forward, quickly swiping my tongue up his length, "And it felt so good"

"Did it now?", he smirks, his eyes on my tongue as I lick him again

"You know it did", I answer, licking along his slit, tasting his cum

So fucking yummy

"Yeah I know", he teases, "You came so hard"

"I did"

Wrapping my mouth around his head, I suck softly, making sure to keep my tongue on the underside

"Felt so good", he breathes, "When you came"

I figured since I heard him say that

"And does this feel good?", I ask, then take more of his massive cock in my mouth, my hand jerking the rest of him

"So fucking good", he groans

His cock is really heavy on my tongue, stretching my mouth out a lot and I'm so here for it

I want to suck his dick and I want to pleasure him

I start bobbing my head, taking as much of his dick as I can, my tongue pressing against his underside as I do

I definitely can't deep throat all of him right now, he's too massive

But I can get a little more than half and he seems to be loving it

His face is in pleasure, his eyes on me taking his cock in my mouth, his hand sliding in my hair and holding on

I look up at him through blurry vision as I slip up and down his length, spit running down my neck, dripping from his cock onto my chest

So messy but I actually like it

"Is this what you imagined?", I ask, then slide down his cock, his fat head entering my throat, making me choke

"Fuck that sound", he moans, pulling his dick back a little, "So hot"

I don't mind choking, I like it too so I move down his cock again choking for him

"Fuck baby. You like that?"

I nod, making him groan

"And to answer you before jagi", he pants, "This is better than I imagined"

Moving up and down, I take some of him in my throat, swallowing around his length, making him moan

"You look so fucking pretty with my dick in your mouth", he murmurs, his cock throbbing, "So cute trying to take as much as you can. So pretty all messy"

I feel my cheeks heat up from his compliments

"Just like how gorgeous you look with my cock deep in your pussy", he continues, "So beautiful crying for my dick, begging for more. Fuck, you're like my dream girl"

I try to hold back my surprise as I suck his cock

I never thought Yunho would say these things to me

I thought he didn't like me at all

And maybe he doesn't, maybe it's just a one time sex thing

But it still feels good that he likes fucking me

His hand pulls gently on my hair, moving me off his cock

"Nn..no more jagi. I wanna cum in your pussy. I can, can I?"

I nod, swallowing and wiping my eyes, "Yeah Yunho"

He held out his hands for mine and I place mine in his

He pulls me up, his lips against mine again

I melt against him, kissing him back passionately, never wanting today to end

He pulls away, looking in my eyes smiling, then kisses my cheek

"Wanna ride me?"

"Definitely", I answer

Of fucking course

He takes my hand, turning to the direction of the couch but I stop him

I have a better idea

Walking to the car, I open the door

"Get in"

He smirks, "Gonna fuck me in my car that your coworkers love?"

"One hundred percent"

He nods, sitting in the driver's seat

He pulls the seat back as far as it can go, which isn't much because it's a sports car

He does lay the back part of the seat down which goes down like a normal seat

There's not much room but it'll work

His cock is so hard, straining and leaking cum

"C'mon baby"

I excitedly get in his lap, closing the car door

I run my fingers in his hair, pushing some back, then kissing his beautiful lips

His arms wrap around my waist, holding me to him, skin against skin

He holds his cock to my entrance and I sink down on him

I moan in his mouth as my pussy spreads open for him, every part of his cock rubbing all the right places as I take him inside me

I'm so wet it's easy

When I bottom him out, I move my hips, grinding on him, his head rubbing against my spot, making my pussy constrict around him hard

"Fff..fuck", he whimpers, breaking the kiss, his head falling back against the seat, his eyes closed

He's really fucking beautiful

And right now, he's mine

I sit up as much as I can, starting to bounce on his dick, gasping at how deep he goes in, at how much he opens me up

It feels so good, the drag of his length out of my pussy feeling incredible and giving me shivers

My pussy is so wet, the squelching noises of his cock inside me add to the sound of our skin slapping and are so loud in the small car

Loud and pretty

"Fuck", he moans, gripping my hips hard, "You fit around me perfectly. I don't know how baby. You're so tiny and I'm big but goddamn it's like I was made to be inside you"

I nod because yeah it seems like it

I've never been with anyone as big as him but I take him so easily

Like my pussy, my body craves him

I smile at him, softly stroking his face with my fingers, "Maybe you are"

His eyes meet mine as he whispers, "Maybe"

I don't stop my movements, moving my hands on his shoulder to balance and ride him harder

I slam my pussy up and down on him, both of us moaning from the intense pleasure, my pussy throbbing like crazy

"Fuck fuck, so pretty on my cock", he murmurs, both of us sweating so much against each other

His hair is soaked and he's so fucking hot

His hands squeeze my ass over and over as I keep moving, his cock throbbing so blissfully inside me

I bounce faster on his length, my hand burying in the chains around his neck, using them to keep a hold on him as I fuck him

"Yes baby fuck, cum on me", he whines, "Need you to cum first baby"

I'm close too, his hands now helping me bounce on his dick

"Please baby, wanna cum in your sweet pussy so bad", he pleads, "Cum around my cock now jagi"

She shoves me down his shaft, stars exploding in my vision as his head smashes my spot

I shiver against him as intense ecstasy slams into me and I squirt around his cock

"Yunho! Oh god Yunho!", I scream

"Yes fuck, soak me baby", he moans, his hips now fucking his cock into me, "Fuck, squirt all over me, all over my car, all over my seat baby. God so fucking hot", he chokes out

I can't answer, just moan, pleasure wracking my body

"I'm gonna cum", he yells, his cock throbbing hard, "Oh fuck, Joanne, oh fuck"

He sheathes his cock inside me, his cock pumping hot sticky cum inside me, filling my pussy

It feels so good, my pussy milking him for all of his cum

I watch him, stunned at how gorgeous he is

I'm so full and satisfied by the time he finishes

His eyes open, meeting mine and he smiles

I smile back, his hands pushing the wet sticky hair off my face, his lips pressing a sweet kiss to mine

Then his head leans back on the seat, pulling me against him

I lay my head on his shoulder, one hand against his chest, relaxing into him as he holds me

His fingers softly running up and down my back, drawing shapes on my skin, making me tremble, his other arm firmly wrapped around me

I don't want this to end

I want to be wrapped up in his arms all the time

But what just happened doesn't mean anything

Doesn't mean he feels any way for me

Just that he wanted to fuck me

And I need to stop spoiling it with these thoughts and just enjoy being in his arms

It feels so good

I cuddle into him, us sitting in comfortable silence for a bit

"So, you're my girl now right?", he asks quietly

I lift my head in shock, gaping at him

Did he just ask me that?

"Your....is that what you want?", I ask, wanting to make sure I'm not hearing things

"Well since you made me fall in love with you, yeah that's what I want"

I stare at him while his words penetrate my brain

He loves me?

Oh my god he loves me too

But hold on..

"Wait, made you?", I question, wondering how I could make him do anything

"Yeah made me"

"How?"

He snorts, "How could I not fall in love with you?"

Uh pretty easily, I'd guess or I'd have lines of men wanting me

No such luck on that front

His hand touches my cheek, his fingers caressing the skin there

"How could I not fall in love with those beautiful brown eyes I drown in every time I look in them? With that smile that makes my shittiest day ten times better?", he whispers, "With that snarky attitude? With that adorable confused face you have when I explain how I'm fixing your car? With that annoyingly sweet trait you have about not being a moocher? With how thoughtful and insistent you are in bringing me food when I refuse your money, when most people would take a free thing and ride with it?"

I shake my head, "I'm not like that Yunnie"

"I know jagi. Believe me, I know", he smiles, "How can I not fall in love with a girl who's perfect for me?"

"Perfect?", I whisper

There's no way

I'm not perfect

Not by a long shot

Off the top of my head I can think of ten things about me that are hard to deal with

"Yes perfect", he repeats, "You're everything I could ever want and more. Everything I didn't know I needed until I met you. So I'll ask you again, are you my girl?"

I nod rapidly, "Yes Yunnie. A million times yes. I love you"

"Yeah?", he smiles

"Yeah. You made me fall in love with you too"

He laughs, "I did huh? With the intimidating hot guy thing?"

I giggle, "Yeah. And the sweet things you do, like explain how you fix my car, picking me up, talking to me that break through the intimidating hot guy front"

"I guess that's a good thing?", he smiles

"A very good thing", I smile back, "I love you Yunho and I want to be yours. Only yours"

"You are jagi", he promises, "I'm just yours"

"Yay", I whisper, making him smile wider

He pulls me in for a kiss, his soft lips on mine

Warmth flows through me and I'm so fucking happy

I don't know how long we kiss before there's a knock on the window, scaring the shit out of both of us

We both turn our heads to see Jongho peering in, rolling his eyes and shaking his head

He turns away so his back is facing us but doesn't leave

"You guys finally fucked?"

Finally?

"Fuck off", Yunho growls

"I'll take that as a yes. Are you two finally together?"

"Yes", Yunho growls again, irritated

I run my fingers in his hair and it seems to calm him down a bit

"It's ok baby", I whisper to him, kissing his cheek and his arm just tightens around me

"Well thank god. If I had to deal with the tension between you two for one more day I was gonna murder both of you"

Uh ok

Guess Jongho saw what I didn't

"Do you need me or can I go home?"

"Go", Yunho yells

"Great. See you tomorrow"

He walks away, Yunho's body finally relaxing

"Idiot", he scowls

"He didn't know baby", I tell him, playing with his hair, "And at least he turned away. You know if it was San and Wooyoung, they'd be asking a million questions while staring at us"

He looks thoughtful for a second, "Yeah I guess you're right"

"You'll find that I'm right about a lot of things", I tease

He snorts, "Is that so jagi?"

"It is"

"We'll see baby", he answers, smirking, "I'm normally right too"

I raise my eyebrow, "Hmmm we'll just have to see"

"We will baby"

I kiss him again, then open the car door, both of us getting out

Jongho had closed the garage doors so no one can suddenly pull up, reminding me that we fucked on his car, out in the open where anyone could see

Holy shit

I feel his cum running down my legs and I need a tissue asap

Getting to the couch quickly, I get tissues from my bag to wipe his cum away

The next thing I know, my back is hitting the soft couch, Yunho on top of me, kissing me silly

"Need you again", he murmurs

"Again?", I giggle, so ready for more of him

"Mmm hmmm", he murmurs, "You'll see baby, I like sex a lot and I love making my girl cum a ridiculous amount. Are you ready for that"

"So ready", I assure him

"I can be sweet baby", he says, kissing a spot on my neck that has my body arching into his, "But I can also wreck you"

"Mmm I get the best of both worlds huh?"

"One hundred percent", he says, looking at me, "I love you"

"I love you Yunnie"

He smiles then kisses me again

🐕🐕🐕🐕🐕🐕🐕🐕🐕🐕

One year later

Yunho POV

"Here Yunnie", she asks me, holding the part of the car engine in the spot I need it to be

"Yeah baby. Just hold it until I can secure it in"

"Ok", she answers

I get the tools I need and proceed to bolt the part down where it needs to go

Once it's in, she removes her hands, grease on them

"Eww", she says

I laugh, "You should be used to it by now baby"

She's helped me fix lots of cars before

She works with me now, kinda like a secretary, handling calls, billing, payments and on the side I teach her about cars

Being in my shop with me everyday, she asked to learn how to fix cars

So I have her help me with basic auto repairs but the body work and paint I do with Jongho while she watches

She told me she doesn't want to do that kinda work, just fix cars

This last year she learned a lot and with basic things I can trust her to fix the cars by herself but she always wants me with her

I think it's just to have me there not because she's not confident or doesn't know what she's doing

She likes when I'm around her and it's not a problem because that's where I always want to be

With her

"Yeah but still...", she whines, making me laugh harder

She smirks, then wipes her fingers on my cheek

"Again jagi?"

She giggles, "You know how cute I think you look with grease on your face"

I grin, nodding

She's told me that before

She also mentioned it looked hot the first time I met her, when I was the intimidating hot guy

Now she calls me her big teddy bear

Who can get wild sometimes

I grab her by the waistband of her sweatpants, pulling her into my lap, "And do I look cute now?"

"Mmm nope", she shakes her head, "Right now you look sexy"

I smile, pulling her in for a kiss

Her lips press against mine, fire running up my spine and heating my entire body

It's like this every time I kiss her

From the very first time

That first kiss blew me away and it confirmed what I already knew

That I was stupidly in love with her

I wasn't lying when I said I wanted to fuck her the first time I saw her

I did

But as time went on, I fell hard

It wasn't something I wanted or was looking for

It just happened

I denied it for as long as I could but that day, when she was basically saying goodbye, I knew I couldn't let her go

And here we are, a year later, living together in my apartment, working together in the shop

All the things I never thought I'd have before but I do now because of her

My jagi

"Oh god again? Can you two lay off the kissing already?", Jongho complains as he walks in, "God it's like you two got together yesterday"

She pulls away laughing while I glare at him

He's always doing this

Interrupting

"What do you want?", I growl

"Easy baby", she says softly, playing with my hair, calming me

I know I get really defensive when it comes to her but she always knows how to calm me down

"It's here", he says, throwing me the keys

"What's here?", she asks

"New car", I reply, standing up, her arms flying around my neck while squealing

"You know I'd never drop you", I tell her, kissing her nose and putting her down

"Yeah but a warning would be nice", she grumbles adorably

I kiss the top of her head, taking her hand and leading her out to the front of the shop where the cars are parked

"Oh my god", she gasps, "Is that really the Skyline Brian had in the Fast and the Furious?"

I smirk, "Yeah baby"

She lets go of my hand and runs to it, gaping as she walks around it

One thing I'm happy about, I converted her into a car girl

She knows almost as many makes and models as I do

I even taught her how to drive a stick shift car

And the Skyline GTR R36 is her favorite car

"This is so cool! Who brought it in? What needs to be fixed?"

"Nothing jagi", I answer, "It's in perfect condition"

"Amazing!", she gushes, "It's right side drive too! Whose is it?"

"Jagi", I call

She looks up as I toss her the keys

She catches them, looking at me confused, "It's yours"

"Shut the fuck up, no it's not", she exclaims

"Yeah baby it is"

"But how...what....why...huh?", she splutters as I walk over to her

"Well you always say you need a new car baby"

"That was before we moved in together. We go to the same places now and you drive us"

I shrug, going behind her, wrapping my arms around her, leaning my chin on her shoulder, "But you're right, you need a car to do other things you like to do. So you don't have to wait for me all the time"

"I don't care about that baby. I get to be with you"

I know she doesn't, which is why I will give her the world, the stars and the moon

Anything she asks for

"I know jagi but I want you to have your own car"

"But a skyline?"

"Of course baby. It's your favorite. Of course I'm getting you your favorite"

"It... it's too much Yunnie. This has to cost a fortune"

It was pricey but like I said, anything for her

It wasn't like I couldn't afford it

"You're worth it baby. I love you more than anything and I'll do anything for you", I tell her, "So please jagi, just take it ok?"

She turns in my arms, her arms around my neck, "You are too much Jeong, Yunho"

I smile, "Nothing is too much for you"

She smiles widely, "Thank you so much baby. I love you more than anything Yunnie"

"I love you more than anything Jo. You're my everything"

"And you're mine", she whispers, her lips against mine in a sweet kiss

#yunho smut #jeong yunho smut #ateez yunho smut #yunho fanfic #jeong yunho fanfic #ateez fanfic #ateez smut

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vampirzina · 3 months

Text

˚୨୧⋆｡ ┆ father!tomas vrbada (w. spouse!reader) hcs

tw: gn pronouns, suggestive themes, mdni, domesticity, kuai liang and bi han mentions

notes: for the sake of the story reader has a cooter

masterlist

It’s not all that surprising that you had twins. It’s exhausting running after them both as they grow older, but Tomas cakewalks it and still makes time to love on you as much as he did before they were born. As infants, Tomas hardly ever puts them down except for tummy time and the chores that require more effort than just one hand. As soon as he finishes [the task], he picks the opposite twin up (so that “they don’t feel jealous of the other”). He even picks you up when he has that insatiable urge to just hold someone brought on from parenthood.

Tomas engages in anything his kids want him to, even if it’s overtly ridiculous. Tea parties, house, having to watch over a doll like it’s their baby, dinosaur re-enactments, helping shovel dirt to bury something just to dig it back up again, faux makeovers—just anything you can name. His pride is not easily hurt by something as simple as something he feels is the bare minimum, and if you catch him, he gets you involved, too. When Tomas is busy [working] and he has to deny a child, he is 100% going to make it up to them with lots of snacks and playtime. You won’t have Tomas to yourself until late night; he’s the type of father to want to spend the entire day with his children, but can’t.

Tomas loves to tell stories his mother told him about him and his own twin sister. It’s usually in the spur of the moment, like when you’re both watching them play or after they’ve both fell/went to sleep and you’re talking about plans for them. You’re not the only ear he tells it to, and he says it to his own kids as well when he’s got the time for play with them—Tomas answers any and all questions that they might have, but kids are not all that emotionally mature enough to understand that sometimes you can’t just ask certain questions or say certain things. It makes Tomas sad on the inside, but he toughs it out and waits until you’re both alone to find your comfort.

If your kids show interest in the Shirai Ryu, Tomas is glad to teach them! Even if they’re not, he does want to teach them how to fight anyway. If you’re willing, you’ll have to serve as their model as your husband practices on you to show them how it’s done. If not, Hanzo or Kuai Liang is a good alternative. He’ll be as gentle as possible so that they don’t go hurting each other to bruises, of course, but he always has to reiterate that on real opponents they’ll have to hit harder. To make it fair, Tomas wants them to practice on each other, and he the referee. If one of them get hurt too badly you may be upset more than Tomas, so he’s almost too careful.

As for their uncle, Tomas tries to bring them (and you) around Kuai Liang as much as possible. He’s not really a selfish person in most cases, as he values family a lot. After Bi Han, it’s important to him that the rest of the family he has left gets along well—so what better way to do this by having the whole family in one place at the same time? Tomas’ number one favorite thing to do with Kuai Liang, spouse and children is to have one big dinner at any time of the year. He triple checks the children are properly accounted for first even after you’ve done so yourself before anything else, and then comes back to your waiting arms.

You and Tomas would probably only have twins. Although Tomas is busy at the Shirai Ryu, he wouldn’t be opposed to just one more child if you asked. But if that’s not what you want or see in the future with him, he honors that as if his life completely depends on it. He already worships the ground you walk on and kisses more than just your feet even before you gave him twins, and he couldn’t have asked for a greater gift. However if you agree [to having another baby], Tomas would be ecstatic to try again for as long as it takes. Quickie or not, anything counts, to him.

@𝐕𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐈𝐑𝐙𝐈𝐍𝐀೨

info

#mortal kombat x you #mortal kombat x reader #tomas vrbada x reader #tomas vrbada x you #tomas vrbada hcs #vampirzina #mk1 x reader

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katsusno1wife · 7 months

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Meeting you.

probably a lot of spelling mistakes :/

When he met you, he saved your pretty greenhouse from getting ruined. He thought you was the most beautiful woman to exist, your face stayed in his mind relentlessly for a long long time, filling the quiet walks of his late night patrols.

Until a few weeks later, he was placing through usual post that consisted of panties marriage proposals, new products, merchandise etc.

His hands froze when he saw a pretty handmade letter made by you, his heart skipped a beat, “thank you so much for saving my greenhouse, you are very kind Dynamight, you always have free flowers at my shop.” He looked in awe, has anybody ever called him kind?

she didn’t say about looks, about his hero status, “kind”, you think he is kind?

The next day he’s in need for flowers, of course nothing to do with the fact that he hasn’t got you out of his mind.

He entires the shop after his shift, finally experiencing the floral sent he’s been thinking off for weeks now and he lets out a breath he feels like he had stuck in his lungs. A soft voice was mumbling along to whatever song was playing on the radio behind the counter, he builds up the courage to call out a gruff “hello”, immediately he hears a “one second” and you come running out, hair a mess with dirt on your cheek with a shovel in your hand, now Bakugou has models throwing themselves at him regularly, nonetheless, you are truly the most beautiful woman he has ever seen in his whole life.

“Oh Dyanamight” you squeal when seeing him, suddenly getting embarrassed about your unruly appearance, “you’ve caught me at a bad time” you say flustered. a pause beats between you as he’s still looking at you in awe. He musters out a “you’re good”, instantly kicking himself at his stupid response.

You smile “so are you here for my thank you gift?”

that smile. that carefree warm smile. He can feel his lips turning up, his body unconsciously reacting to the girl infront of him.

“Yeah”

He’s going to need a lot of flowers before he asks you out.

#katsukibakugou #bakugou x reader fluff #bakugou x reader #bakugou fluff #x reader #pro hero bakugou #pro hero bakugo x reader #pro hero dynamight #fem reader

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alltheirdamn · 5 months

Text

A Bounty for Reward (Mando x f!Reader)

CHAPTER 1

Summary: when you discover a bounty has been put on your head, your future and freedom are on the line. Warnings: mentions of death, drugs, weapons, angst, language (future smut, don't worry) Word Count: 6.5k A/N/: this is my first time dropping any sort of writing into the world, so pls be kind & i hope you'll stick around for the rest of the fic <3

Swiping greased hands over your work smock, you looked towards the horizon to see the Twin Suns dipping below the rolling sand dunes. The work day was over, yet you felt you barely made a dent in the new land speeder your parents had bought. You were accustomed to working with older models of land speeders, preferring the engine types over the newer models. The new models were made for looks rather than efficiency, and you didn’t understand how the citizens of Mos Eisley could afford them.

Composed of a ship hangar and various piles of scrap parts, the junkyard overlooked the southern border of the city, your own home barren and abysmal due to years of decline in business. It was rare your parents got business, and if it was… it usually wasn’t the best clientele. You had your run-ins with smugglers, pirates, and crime bosses, and every time, you worried for your family’s safety. It was only you and your parents, after all— you had no one else to call home.

As you tidied your workbench, stowing away the tools, scrap metals, and loose wires, you heard an unfamiliar buzz of speed bikes approaching the junkyard. It was unusual to get clients this late, let alone any visitors. Your family was nearly invisible to the citygoers, barely knowing one or two vendors on the streets that sold food.

In a haze of dust and dirt, the men made laps around the junkyard, their voices loud and violent as they called out for your parents. Heart thudding in your throat, you rushed to the small home tucked in the dunes, frantic to find your parents.

You hadn’t realized your father was already at the front entrance, sniper rifle in his grasp.

“Kono Halcard!” One of the front men yelled, his speeder coming to a halt in front of your father.

You watched from afar as your father stood tall and strong, his suntanned skin glowing in the golden hour of the falling suns. Time had aged his skin whitened his hair, but he was still a force of nature. He had lived in Tatooine his whole life, as had you, and he was no stranger to the scum that roamed the planet. Out of the corner of your eye, you spotted your mother, Mana, peering behind the windows of your home. She was not so much the fighter as your father.

But you were your father's daughter.

Grabbing the hidden blade on your work belt, you followed the trail up to the front entrance, watching the wind kick the billows of dust into tornados of sand as the men’s bikes stopped behind their very vocal leader.

“We want nothing to do with you, Jissard,” your father’s voice was stern.

Jissard, which you assumed was his last name, was a hateful-looking man. He was human, at least from what you could discern, as he stood several feet taller than your father, wearing a tattered tunic and worn leather coat. Most of his face was covered by a low-brimmed hat, the same color beige as the sand surrounding you, but you could still glimpse his piercing yellow eyes. The look of them alone forced your spine straight, nerves electrifying within every inch of your body.

The men behind him wore the same type of clothes– all worn, all dirty. It was obvious from the looks of them that they were a band of spice traders, the residual of the drugs lingering on their fingers and skin. They dismounted their speeders, flanking Jissard on either side, their hands resting carefully on their concealed blasters. You shifted your weight, your grip tightening around the handle of your blade.

“Oh, Kono,” Jissard drawled, a thick accent falling off his tongue. “You’re a few payments behind, aren’t you?”

“I owe you nothing. I paid the Pyke’s back in full nearly three months ago.” Your father straightened his spine; the rifle still lifted at eye level towards the traders.

“If you had, I wouldn’t be here, my friend,” Jissard grinned, revealing a row of rotting teeth. It was a menacing grin, one meant to elicit fear.

It didn’t elicit it from your father, but it did from you.

“Ah, and I take it this is your daughter, no?” Jissard continued, glancing in your direction.

The handle of your blade was cutting into your palm now, your pulse thudding in your ears. You stepped forward, aligning yourself with your father, exchanging a weary glance between one another. He wasn’t shocked you were beside him, but you caught a glimpse of regret in his eyes. A fading sentiment of, I’m sorry, as you gathered the unspoken secrets of your family’s business. You had an inkling that crime would one day touch your family, yet you hadn’t expected it to be already seeping into the foundations around you. How long had your father been mixed up with the Pyke’s? Had this been the reason for the junkyard's business to decline? Either way, you were seeing the truth come to light, but you wouldn’t back away from a fight.

Not when it came to family.

“She does not concern you,” he was firm, words gritted through clenched teeth.

Jissard smiled again, dipping his hat towards you as a gesture of hello.

“Kesi Jissard,” he smiled, “ I’m a friend of your father's here.”

“I wouldn’t exactly label us friends,” your father sneered.

He cocked the rifle back, the sound of it echoing around you. He was done playing Kesi’s games, yet Kesi hadn’t had his fill. The men behind him drew their blasters, your father becoming the target for every weapon. You exposed the blade behind your back, a minor threat you knew wouldn’t do much. Kesi noticed the slight reflection of metal in the fading suns, a small smirk pointed in your direction. It made your stomach churn, seeing the way he welcomed the threat. He wasn’t afraid of you, and you had yet to understand why you were so afraid of him.

You just were.

“I’m not here to collect bodies,” Kesi tossed his attention back to your father, “I would like to settle this as civil as possible. Unless you force my hand, Kono.”

“I don’t think you people know what civil means,” your father bit.

Kessi stepped forward, cocking his head to the side to gesture his men forward. The look of ‘civility’ shot past his eyes, replaced by something far more menacing. His hand grazed over his own blaster, eyes flickering between you and your father. In the distance, you could hear a familiar voice shouting, this one of your mother.

“Ah, Mana,” Kesi smiled, rotting teeth exposed across dirtied skin, “So kind of you to join us. We were just discussing some matters of business.”

Your mother joined your father, her hands twisting together in an anxious manner. There was an expression of fear on her face…yet she held her breath as if she anticipated the worst.

“We have no business with you traders,” she spewed.

It was the first time you had ever seen your mother speak in such a violent manner. She was always coolheaded, kind, and extremely closed off to strangers. She made no part of any business deals the junkyard had and kept herself in the shadows where she felt safest. But now, it was your family against him, his men, and ultimately… the Pykes.

Kesi slanted his head to the side, watching your mother and father with silent regard. The men behind him were growing agitated as they swayed from side to side, their weapons still raised towards your parents. The knife you bared down in your grip was feeling all too heavy; the concept of having to defend yourself grew more likely. You silently begged your father just to comply, to give Kesi whatever he wanted, and to move on as usual. If they were to go broke, they would still be alive.

Maybe.

“Listen, Kono,” Kesi sighed heavily, tightening the brim of his hat over his eyes, “I don’t like wasting my time. So, either you pay up, or we can take payment in a different form.”

His gaze shot to you, shadowed eyes tracing the outline of your body until your skin crawled from disgust. Every vile and unnameable thing washed over your mind– the countless things he could do to you. You pleaded internally to your father, hoping he would just give in and do as Kesi asked.

But your father, like you, was stubborn to the end.

“Fuck you,” your father spat.

Without another word, his gun was aimed at Kesi’s head, the rifle shooting forward yet somehow suspending itself in time. The sequence of events grew hazy as you watched from the ground on which you fell. You didn’t register that your father had pushed you back or that Kesi’s men struck down your mom in several shots; her body lay lifeless on the sands of Tatooine. The sound of your father's cries delayed in your mind as you watched him crumple over, a gaping shot tearing apart his chest. They were gone. Both of them. And you had been too dazed to react, the knife having been lost from your hand in the midst of the attack.

All you could see were the remnants of your parents in the wreckage of brutality Kesi had left them in. Broken sobs erupted from your chest, screams that did not make it past your lips, and yet the world continued moving. Kesi’s men grabbed you, yanking you to your feet as you struggled to breathe. Your eyes couldn’t tear away from your parents, their eyes staring absently at the sky as it faded to darkness. Everything in your world had gone dark.

Everything was gone.

“I guess I’ll settle for you as my payment,” Kesi smirked.

___________________________________________________

Eyes slamming open, the nightmare jarred you enough to catapult you upwards from your sleeping position. This had been the third night in a row you had dreamt of that night, the third night you were reminded of all you had lost. Rubbing your eyes aggressively, you felt the start of tears pooling over your knuckles as you dug into the skin of your eyelids. Sounds of airspeeders and taxis whizzed by in hushed vibrations, the windows of your hotel room shaking ever so slightly. It wouldn’t be very noticeable to anyone else, but you were acutely aware of every sound around you. You were always holding your breath as if the past lurked in the shadows, waiting for the moment to strike and kill.

It had been four standard months since you arrived in the lower levels of Coruscant– four months since you had found an escape route from Kesi. It had taken nearly a year to arrange a meticulous plan that stripped you from his grasp, and you had pulled it off. Gathering—stealing—enough credits to buy your way off world, you took refuge in a hidden identity and made a new life in the capital. The hotel room was temporary, at least until you ran out of credits—or luck. But getting credits was easy now that you learned the ways of the underground. Rich men traveled to the lower levels looking for drugs or prostitutes, and you knew the best spots in the city to track them down. Some small talk, maybe a few drinks, and it was easy for you to card your hand into their pockets and stash away credits while they remained distracted.

Eager to leave the darkness— and the past— you gathered yourself and threw on your heavy jacket, tossing the hood over your head. Strapped to your thigh, you kept your vibroblade, the last thing you kept from all the years under Kesi’s hold. It had been your protection against aggressive clients, yet you never had the courage to use it. They were aggressive, but there was never enough strength or freedom to fight back. Freedom was something you never knew.

Finding your way through the streets, you ventured into one of the run-down playrooms in the center of town. Through a cloud of smoke, you found small groups of men hunched over drinks as they played sabacc fervently. Some turned to scrutinize you as you walked in, but you kept your head low, finding your way toward the bar. Nerves didn’t get to you, but a drink could help suffocate the lingering memories. Nursing your drink, you felt the warmth of someone sliding beside you, their hand tracing your arm. It was enough to tense all the muscles in your body, your free hand coasting down to graze the blade on your thigh.

“Are you the entertainment for the night?” The voice asked.

Concealing your amusement, you turned to him, pushing down the hood of your coat. The man had a devilish grin that was both unwelcoming and horrendous. You had no interest in entertaining him. Downing the rest of your drink, you shoved away from the bar, walking towards an open booth to watch the games.

And he followed.

“C’mon princess,” he crooned, sitting across from you, “Don’t gotta be stubborn.”

“I suggest you leave me alone before I slice open your stomach.” You spat.

He leaned back, clearly alarmed, and stood without another word. But it was as he left something else caught your eye.

A shadow, but reflective, tore your focus away from the games. Whatever it was, the shine alone was enough to stall every player, their motions slowing as they observed the stranger. Walking in the entrance was a bounty hunter clad in shiny armor, his helmet trained on you.

Your initial reaction was to run, but as you took in his silhouette, you narrowed your gaze on the blaster at his hip. Returning your gaze back to his helmet, he cocked his head to the side and slid a hand down to rest on the handle of the blaster.

An invitation to run.

A warning if you did.

Neither sounded appealing.

You sunk further into the cushions of the booth, pulling your hood up over your head. It wasn’t lost on you that he had already scoped you out, but to your wishful thinking, you hoped he was in the playroom looking for a bounty. Why would he be looking for you? A better question: who wanted you? A chill ran up your spine as you considered all the possibilities of why he’d be after you: theft, assault, spice smuggling. Worse of them all… Kesi had placed a high price on your head.

But you would never return to him.

You would fight for freedom, even if it cost you everything.

The bounty hunter stalked towards you, his steps calculated and slow as if he expected you to run. Your fingers twitched against the blade on your thigh, assessing your options.

You could run, fight, or die, and none of them sounded appealing as he grew closer, but you had to make a decision.

And option one it was.

You shoved out of the booth, booking past the game tables and towards the back door. The hood on your coat fell down onto your shoulders as you pushed your body into a full sprint, weaving through the smoke and crowds. The back door opened into a hazy alleyway, and you took off to the left. People stared at you strangely as you belined through the throng of citygoers, shoving through the crowds with curses falling off your lips.

“Fucking move!” You huffed, your feet padding against the asphalt.

Distance sounds of running caught your attention, and you made the mistake of looking back to see the hunter closing the gap between crowded bodies. You pushed yourself harder, your body aching but persistent from the adrenaline rush. You’d had your fair share of spice before, but nothing compared to the rush of being hunted down. Never did you think your freedom would come to this.

A wall of bodies formed before you, onlookers enraptured in a daze of street performers. Their blissful unawareness would cost you your life, and you reached for your blade at the same moment a gloved hand wound around your bicep in a vice. You swiveled to meet the hunter face to face—well, face to helmet— and slashed the blade against the armor. It did nothing to the metal, not even a single scrape. The bounty hunter huffed, amused, and caught your wrist with his free hand. Your skin pinched between his leathered fingers, and you winced as his grip tightened.

“Let me fucking go!” You yelled, jostling against his hold.

But he was firm, and the sounds of the crowd began to flood your ears as you attempted to break away.

“…a Mandalorian…”

“Look at the beskar…”

“Have you ever… seen one?”

A Mandalorian?

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

This wasn’t just an average bounty hunter. This was a skilled and deadly one, and you just happened to be in his grasp. You had heard stories of them while under Kesi’s control; some spice traders talked about how ruthless and dangerous they were. They were sworn to Mandalore, and they had no moral duty to anything but.

The Mandalorian drew your body closer, his helmet dipping close to your ear.

“I can bring you in warm, or I can bring you in cold.” His voice was warm and smooth and threatened to buckle your legs under you. “Your choice.”

Reeling back, you slammed a foot into the center of his boot, only for him to spin you around and pin you against his body.

“Wrong choice,” he growled.

He twisted your arms back, clasping cold binders around your wrists. Shoving you forward, he guided you through the crowds of bodies, his hand tight around your elbow. You twisted your head to look back, seeing his helmet set in a firm line and his fingers wrapped around the handle of your blade.

Fuck, this wasn’t how you expected your night to go.

The Mandalorian’s gunship sat on the city's outskirts, parked in a docking bay surrounded by other speeders and racers. A few docking employees strolled about the platforms, barely paying attention to your struggle against the beskar-clad body behind you. You had attempted several times to rip yourself from his grasp, only to be met by a hard shove forward and a few sharp words.

(Words that flooded your bloodstream like a liquid drug.)

The ramp lowered with a hiss, and your feet stumbled up the metal flooring as the Mandalorian pushed you into the dark cargo hold of his ship. You barely had time to register your surroundings as he led you toward a carbonite chamber. Your heart sputtered erratically the closer you got, and you fought against him harder.

“Please,” you begged, dragging your feet as far as he’d let you.

“Enough,” he barked.

Pressing you against the wall with one hand, the Mandalorian used the other to punch in a code to the freezing chamber. The metal doors opened with an expulsion of cold gas, the air sending shockwaves over your skin. As he reached for your shirt to drag you towards the chamber, you let out a series of pleas in hopes of stopping him.

“You can’t!” You cried, tears stinging your eyes as you pulled away from his grasp. “Please, I swear I’ll do anything! Just don’t put me in there. Maker, please.”

He hesitated a moment, his helmet assessing you.

“I’ll do anything, okay?” You heaved in a breath. “I don’t know who wants me, but please!”

A beat of silence passed as he considered your confession. Tears flowed freely over your face, the shiny beskar blurring as you tried to blink them away. Everything was becoming too hazy, too much. Maker, how did you end up here?

Your body ached from the chase, your wrists burned under the friction of the binders, and the cold air from the chamber beside you was enough to fog your mind. You were teetering on the edge of passing out or dropping dead. It was becoming all too hard to breathe, and you began to gasp for air, sucking lung-fulls in to help ease the pain vibrating through your nerves.

“Just…” You panted. “…Please.”

Your body slumped against the wall, your head hitting the metal sharply, and the world around you blackened.

Mando had his fair share of interesting bounties, but an unconscious girl on the floor of his ship had never been one of them. Her head lulled to the side; her body crumpled against the metal ground. He had checked for a pulse, thankful there was one, and let her lay comfortably on the ground. He couldn’t just toss her into the carbonite chamber when she was unconscious. The gas would be all too powerful on weak lungs, and she would die instantly once the metal encased her. And it wasn’t a part of the bounty to bring her in dead. Nor did he particularly relish in killing women— beautiful ones at that.

It had struck him curious that someone as beautiful as her would wind up in the hands of a bounty hunter. Her face on the holopuck had initially been a shock, and he wondered if he had received the right bounty to begin with. But Greef Karga had assured him it was correct, and the bounty price on her head was high. Too high not to pass it up.

Mando wasn't ‘soft’ by any means. He was used to the brutality and violence that surrounded his lifestyle. He welcomed the silence after a kill and the isolation of the Razor Crest between hunts. Alone. That’s all he had ever known, and nothing would make him give that up.

But, maker, her soft breathing wasn’t helping his cause.

He forfeited all options and made the decision to leave her sleeping on the floor. He’d set the nav to Tatooine and reassess later. Once in hyperspace, she would have nowhere to go, and when she finally woke up, then he’d put her into the chamber. That was his plan.

At least for now.

Mando sat in the cockpit alone, his hand flipping her blade in fluid motions. She was a fighter, he knew that much, and cunning. Her first instinct was to run, but she put up just as much of a fight. Usually, he’d be annoyed by a bounty that fought, but for her to fight that hard… It gave him a pause. And her pleading for help? Maker, he wondered what made her into a big enough criminal for a bounty puck. But she had to have done something to catch the eye of a hunter, let alone a hunter like him.

He tossed her blade up in the air, catching it and flipping it back up for several minutes. Her face danced around his mind the longer he thought about her, and he gave in to climbing down into the cargo hold to check on her.

As he climbed the ladder, he heard rustling between the cargo crates in the corner. She had tucked herself between them, making her body look smaller and more frail than before. She looked utterly helpless— like a scared child— and something in his chest tightened.

“Are you going to kill me?” She whispered, her eyes barely visible in the dim lighting.

His helmet moved side to side slowly as he approached her. Her arms were still bound behind her back, tightly cuffed in bindings, but her small frame fit snugly into the corner against the metal walls. Crouching down, Mando held out a hand to her.

“I’ll take the restraints off,” he offered. “But only if you promise not to cause a problem. I’m not opposed to putting you in carbonite for the rest of the flight.”

She nodded fiercely, twisting her body so that her hands were toward him. Rough hands clicked the lock open on the bindings, and Mando watched as she rubbed the skin of her wrists fervently. Still, she shrunk away from him, pulling her knees to her chest. Her slender arms wrapped around her legs, tucking them closer to her body as she shivered against the bitter cold from traveling hyperspace.

She stared at him wide-eyed and afraid. Every bounty feared him; his beskar was a telltale sign of danger. But something about her fear didn’t sit quite right with him.

Only a few more hours, he told himself. Then she’d be off his hands, and he’d be a few credits richer.

“Do you know who put the bounty on me?” She asked, her voice small. She had been so fierce and loud earlier, but it was apparent she had accepted defeat.

“No,” he said truthfully. He didn’t offer much, but it was enough.

She exhaled, eyes floating around the cargo hold and avoiding the heavy stare from behind his visor.

“I’m afraid,” she whispered.

Fuck. He didn’t want to hear that.

Mando had nothing to respond with, nothing that could console her. He turned from her crouched body and turned back towards the cockpit. The further a distance he could put between them, the better.

She was dangerous.

“No.”

His statement was final, not allowing you to seek answers that you could cling to. The unknown was worse than knowing because there were endless outcomes you could face. You had wronged so many people, a trace of your selfishness scattered across the galaxy. You allowed yourself to lose control of the greed– finding comfort in taking from those undeserving. Too many people had taken what they wanted from you, leaving an emptiness inside you that was insatiable and never fulfilled; you only wanted to do the same to them in return. You could spend eternity trying to find ways to fill the void within you, but you wondered if it was ever enough.

“I’m afraid,” you muttered, more to yourself than to him.

The Mandalorian remained motionless and then turned suddenly back towards the cockpit, silence filling the space between you. A sigh left your lips, and you closed your eyes, hoping to slip away from the moments that pulled you closer to an unknown fate.

You awoke to a distant beeping from the cockpit; you were nearing the coordinates the Mandalorian had punched in hours ago. Unsure of your actions, you climbed the ladder up, peeking into the cockpit to see where he was taking you. It wasn’t until your eyes adjusted to the dimness around you that you realized what planet you were flying towards. Tatooine.

The last place you expected to be taken to, and certainly the worst possible outcome of being captured. You knew exactly what– no, who– awaited you on Tatooine. If you had given up on pleading before, you regained the strength now, taking this as your last chance to save yourself.

“I can’t go back to Tatooine,” you blurted out. The Mandalorian whipped his head around, glaring at you through the visor of his helmet.

Without a response, he leaned forward in the chair, guiding the ship into a descent into the atmosphere of the desert planet. The lower it descended, the higher fear crept up inside you until it clouded all senses. He wouldn’t care what became of you; you were a pile of credits waiting to be collected. If he knew your name, it didn’t matter. All that mattered was the reward and the allegiance to his creed. You may not know him well, but you knew enough about the Mandalorian creed to know everything now was hopeless.

The endless expanse of beige sand came into view, the winds drawing it into waves amongst the dunes. The ship flew further into the terrain, coming to a halt on the outskirts of Mos Eisley. It had been only a few standard years since you had been taken from your home, vowing never to return. Now you were back, existing among the ghosts and regrets of the past.

The gunship touched down onto the rolling sands of Mos Eisley, the ramp opening slowly, giving way to the heat from outside. It flooded through the ship, a light sweat breaking out on the nape of your neck. The Mandalorian rose to his feet, his armored body turning your way. He reached down, grabbing your wrists, easing your body down the ladder. There was no inclination of emotions from his body, the rise and fall of his breastplate the only evidence that he was indeed a living creature.

Creature he was as he pulled you down the stairs, leading you through the cargo hold that was littered with mindless tokens he had picked up along his trails of bounties. The ramp exposed you to the brightness of the sand, your eyes quickly squinting against the landscape. You drug your feet against the metal, hoping to stall your exile from all human existence. If you were certain of anything, your fate was not too far off.

Below the binary suns stood two dark figures, their faces hidden by brimmed hats. The hats were enough of a giveaway to know who they were… and exactly why you dreaded stepping foot on the planet. Your body halted, feet firmly set against the sand, body paralyzed. The Mandalorian slid his hand under the crook of your elbow, urging you forward in silence. He didn’t flinch when you tried to hit him, wrists falling against hard beskar.

“Please,” you begged, tears brimming your eyes. “You can’t give me to them.”

He remained wordless, only nudging your body forward once more. You mustered up enough energy to fight his hold, spinning to face him fully. His helmet slowly rolled to the side, studying your face as tears fell onto your cheeks. Desperation kicked in, your mind reeling with any offer you could give him.

“Please,” your voice was weak, “Kill me.”

He made no reaction to your words, so you tried again.

“Keep me. I’ll do anything you ask. Just keep me from them. You can have me!”

The Mandalorian hesitated a moment, a beat passing before he reacted. The reaction was the exact opposite of what you had hoped; your body pulled further away from the ship… and closer to the figures standing firm within the sand. Tears dried against your cheeks as the warmth of the air burned your skin, leaving your eyes red and dry. The faces of the men came into view as they lifted their heads and exposed their dirtied faces.

“Mando!” One exclaimed. He was the taller of the two, yellow skin nearly blending into the background behind him, purple eyes piercing you below his hat. You knew him as Jado, an employee of your former employer. “Your efficiency is commendable. She is precious cargo for our boss, and he thanks you for your work.”

The other man, whom you knew as Gaff, tossed a satchel of credits at the Mandalorian’s feet. He didn’t break his gaze from the two men, caring very little of the reward now in his possession.

“Please,” you spoke once more. His helmet turned to you slowly, and you hoped he could see life fading from your irises.

“Alright, come on,” Jado spit out your name, ripping you from the Mandalorian’s hold. The bounty hunter freed your wrists from his grasp, only for them to be tugged forward by Jado’s dirt-covered hands. His hands were caked in dirt, traces of spice crusted under his fingernails. The metal restraints you had worn only a few hours ago were now replaced by their own bindings, ones made from rough rope that scratched your skin enough to bleed.

“Kesi will be very happy to see you,” Jado said sarcastically.

Your head turned back to watch the Mandalorian– now understood as Mando– fade into the distance. The shine of his beskar glinted in the harsh sun, splintering into fractures of metal and weapons. The nerves within your body sparked in anger, anger from knowing he brought you to your ultimate fate. You knew it was his job; you were merely a bounty fit for a large reward, but you wanted to believe he was still a man under the layers of armor. A man who battled empathy far beyond the bounds of his creed.

Jado situated your body on the speeder, hauling his own body behind yours. You were all too aware of his body pressed against your back. The heat radiating from his mouth and onto your neck began to nauseate you. Glancing over, you saw Gaff straddle his own speeder, nodding once at Jado– an urge to begin moving. Gaff followed behind Jado’s speeder, the sound of its engine muffling your ears until they grew deaf. Mos Eisley was exactly as you had left it: crawling with slimy criminals and reeking of sour booze. As your heart pounded heavier against your ribs, you watched as each cantina and spaceport drifted out of view. With each passing moment, you grew dreadfully close to Kesi’s junkyard and closer to your death.

The junkyard was littered with newer ship parts; bolts and metal plates scattered the ground. The familiar workstation that sat vacant in the corner caught your eye. It had been your workstation, at least back when your family owned the yard. Now, it was in the possession of Kesi Jissard, one of the most feared spice traders in the galaxy. The same man that forced you into the trading world, baiting you to sell and trade on the promise of freedom. But freedom never came. Not until you found a way to buy it.

The slow rhythm of hands clapping echoed around the empty ship hanger. Your head was on a swivel, eyes wildly searching for the origin of the sound. Emerging from the shadows, Kesi continued to clap, an evil smirk creasing his yellow-tinted skin.

Kesi spoke your name, his thick accent cutting the silence. “I’ve missed you.”

You bit your tongue, suppressing the urge to talk back, knowing it would only lead to more suffering. Kesi had a short temper, usually satiated by bruising skin and smoking blasters. But when you didn’t respond, he stepped forward, reaching for your jaw. His grip was bruising as he wagged your head back and forth.

“You’ve caused me a lot of damage,” he spoke slowly as if every syllable was a drop of poison on your skin. “I’m in debt for thousands of credits, and because you decided to run, I had to spend even more just to hunt you down.”

“You could have let me keep running,” you said, words muffled from his hold on your chin.

Kesi’s dark eyes widened, glistening with premeditated thoughts of harm. He squeezed your chin and pulled away with such force that it left your head falling backward.

“You’ve missed out on a lot of work,” he mused, pacing between you and the workstation aside from you. “There will be a lot of clients happy to see your return.”

“I’d rather die,” you spat, stepping forward. Where you found the courage, you don’t know.

“Trust me,” Kesi chuckled, “I would love to kill you. But you’re far more valuable alive than dead. You’re of more use to me when you’re breathing and working.”

Kesi turned away from you, searching through the remnants of the workstation. With his large body blocking the view of what he found, your heart lurched with uncertainty. He clicked his tongue in satisfaction, holding a black bag up to the dim light of the station lamp. Your heart plummeted into your stomach, nausea coursing up through your esophagus. Turning to you, Kesi donned a broad grin, evil basking in the stretch of his lips against his cheeks.

“We’ve got a new product on the market now,” he began, walking towards you again.

You stumbled as you took a step back, knowing you wouldn’t be able to go much further without someone snatching you and dragging you right back.

Kesi continued, “Since you’re going to sell it for me, you might as well try it.”

You watched as he unraveled the string of the bag, a smaller wrapped bag falling into his hands. The spice was an unusual color compared to the rest; its pigment was closer to black than the usual beige-brown you had been used to selling. Your pulse was rising alarmingly, and you wondered if Kesi could see the fear seeping from your eyes. The fear fell in waves of quiet tears, your lips wavering but never making a noise.

“Why don’t you sit?” he insisted, yanking you by the elbow to the workman's chair by the desk.

All you could do was comply, regardless of the nagging that pricked your brain in sharp pinpoints. You wished you had the strength to fight him. You wished you had the words to beg for a different outcome.

You wished the Mandalorian had listened to your pleas.

But the Mandalorian was gone and a richer man now, too. And here you were, helpless once more and three steps back from freedom.

The second your ass hit the seat of the chair, Kesi was wrapping a hand around your wrists, pinning you against the wooden material. With the free hand he had, Kesi dipped a finger into the powdered substance, lifting it to your lips.

“C’mon princess,” he hissed, “Open that pretty mouth of yours.”

You made no effort to open your mouth, your jaw locked and refusing to fall slack. Kesi’s mood changed into a slow-burning anger, his fingers bruising your skin. You squirmed against the seat, looking around the workstation for anything capable of substantial harm. The desk was nearly clean, sans a few miscellaneous tokens and scrap spice containers.

“Open. Your. Mouth.”

Kesi’s removed his hand from your wrists, only to deliver the most jarring slap across your cheek. It sent your head reeling, leaving you little time to recover. Your mouth fell open, groaning at the severity of the hit, and the surmounting pain replaced every emotion stirring within you. He took your vulnerability as an opportunity, his spice-covered finger slipping onto your tongue.

You hadn’t tasted spice in years. It was not something you enjoyed recreationally, nor did you enjoy selling. In a professional setting, spice was seen as a delicacy for some of the richer citizens in the lower rim. Spice was well sought out, and if you had access to the right employers, spice production would be endless.

But as the product dissolved on your tongue, it didn’t take long for the effects to begin to form. Words from Kesi’s lips grew into jumbles, falling on deaf ears. Your vision began blurring, too, and soon enough, all of your senses were paralyzed. It was as if you were watching from the furthest part of your brain, floating away from the controls inside your body. Becoming all too aware of the heaviness of your body, you slowly felt your shoulders slump over, your body weight no longer supported in the chair. Eyes fluttering shut, you wondered if another side effect of the spice was hallucinations.

Because you could have sworn you saw a glimpse of shiny metal walking into the junkyard.

#mando #mando x reader #the mandalorian #mandalorian fanfic #din djarin #star wars fanfiction

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sibelin · 1 month

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I don't want people to reblog that AI art post so I'll put my addition here:

One thing that will always make me cringe with those AI imitations of middle to late 19th century art is how the intelligence will always try to match ALL the women figures with the current 21th century beauty standards. Now, of course, I wouldn't be complaining if these kind of images weren't plaguing the "classical art" or "oil painting" tags. But since they are, I will show you what 19th century painting of women really looks like. And yeah, I know, some paintings match with current beauty standards but it's still more complicated than that. "Classic" painting is not all about representing pretty ladies. Otherwise historians of art would be bored.

Okay, if it's a "classic" painting, let's go with neoclassicism which is basically a return to the classic inspirations from antiquity and a return to simplicity after years of the wild Baroque and Rococo of the 18th century. Want to see portraits of women in that time?

(Left : Detail of Portrait de madame de Verninac by Jacques-Louis David, 1979. Right : Portrait de Madame Duvaucey, 1809, Jean-Dominique Ingres).

So far, notice how these two women don't look at all like the women in those fake AI paintings. They are portraits of real women, thus real models. But even when they were painting gods, 19th century painters HAD models! Not only that, they were also inspired by antiquity, which wasn't really doing realism either, they had their own ideals like, to cite one exemple, the really straight noses you always see in greek statues. Well, that's also in neoclassical paintings! Look:

(Detail of La Mélancolie by Constance Marie Charpentier, 1801)

On the other side, you've got two strong opponents (and logical responding movements) to this return to classical culture : Romantism and Realism. Once again, look at the diversity :

(Left: Details of Les foins by Jules Bastien-Lepage, 1877. Right: Jeune orpheline au cimetière, Eugène Delacroix, 1824.)

Realism is pretty self-explanatory. The painters were going back to show normal people, farmers and workers. They weren't here to make them beautiful or to conform to beauty standards but to show the world as it is. Result was a lot of controversies, notably with Courbet and Les baigneuses, a representation of a strong woman in an unflatering pose and dirt on her feet that shook the beauty standards so dear to the academic ideals of his times. Check it out if you're interested, there's plenty of articles about it. And romanticism? Once again very diverse. Just look at pre-romantism, with Goya, who loooved representing fucked up little scenes. Or with Delacroix, here with one of his most famous portrait (Jeune orpheline au cimetière) probably because of the expression, the pose, everything that makes that girl look alive, real, unique.

But wait.... You've already seen classical paintings were the ladies looked like all the ladies nowadays, right? Maybe you've seen those very pretty pre raphaelites paintings with those women that look kinda like Florence Welch. Maybe you've seen academic art, the most palatable of 19th century style when it comes to beauty norms. And it's true, it could be similar to these prompted AI classical babes, except once again, it's not. Because once again, they had models, and models were different from paintings to paintings. And this is this systematic same face vibes that makes AI so boring. Because even when real historical art comes close to that, it is always way way way more rich and full of surprises.

(left : The North-West Passage by John Everett Millais, 1878. Middle: Detail of Contemplation by John William Godward, 1922. Right: Detail of La Naissance de Vénus by William Bouguereau, 1879)

Then, you have all these art styles that AI weirdly stays away from : those where the style and process is so strong, so much more important than the subject, that it would be hard to copy without noticing the difference. It could be impressionism, it could be symbolism or better, it could be the avant-garde artists that announces then blends into the wild, colorful and tortured art of the first half of the 20th century.

(Left: Le chemin de fer by Edouard Manet, 1973. Middle: I lock my door upon myself by Fernand Khnopff, 1891, Right: Jane Avril by Henri de Toulouse Lautrec, 1892)

Conclusion/ TLDR : If fake historical AI art becomes more realistic every day, it will never be as rich and diverse as the real deal because it will always be used to appease an algorithm for people who just want to see pretty images that catters to them and never challenge their views. When it comes to beauty norm, this could be dangerous and make people believe that these was always how women looked like. That all girls were born with removed buccal fat and symmetrical faces, even in old paintings. I don't know, it may be nothing, but it may be something. Thank you for those who read all that and I hope see many cool paintings in museums :)

Addition: This is of course a very european centric vision of art but it's what the AI will take inspiration from anyway. For the same reasons, these paintings are very white but I was also trying to avoid the icky orientalist representations that were so trendy in the 19th century. Note that there is an even better diversity in paintings when you open your eyes to non-european centric art.

(If I see a terf reblogging this, i'm blocking on sight)

#history of art #art #classical art #paintings #anti AI #ai #long post

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redrose10 · 2 months

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Here is Part 2. Hopefully I can get the next part out within the next week. Comments and messages are always appreciated!

Inn Keeper Yoongi x Female Author Reader

Summary: You have never experienced true love which is hilarious considering you write romance novels for a living. When you end up staying at The Interlude Inn located in Holly Falls you start to wonder if maybe the answer to your newest love story is sitting behind the welcome desk. Quickly, you find out that Min Yoongi hides a lot of pain and sorrow behind his shy smiles and quick glances.

Warnings: (may get updated) Swearing, character death, very very angsty for a while, mentions of physical and verbal abuse, bullying, a really mean letter, panic attacks, eventual light smut, eventual fluff

Word Count: 3,704

Tag List: @viankiss @kam9404 @igot7fairlyoddparents

Later that evening dinner was filled with laughter and stories. Jimin had countless tales from Milan and Paris, New York and LA, Munich, Seoul, Tokyo. The list went on. You guess that’s what happens when you’re one of the most sought after models. He was charming and charismatic. Mae was certainly head over heels for him which brought many chuckles up on your end.

While you tried your best to stay interested in his stories and be polite your focus often shifted to the sulking Yoongi sitting off to the side next to his grandmother. His shoulders dropped down and he picked around at his food even though you knew it was one of his favorite meals. You hoped he wasn’t still upset with you about what happened after the trip to the strawberry farm and you were just looking for a chance to speak to him about it.

Thankfully after dinner Jimin went off to his room to get some sleep and Mae was going to meet one of her friends for some coffee so that just left just you and Yoongi. You had offered to clean up the dishes and once they were all dried and put away you started making your way around the inn looking for him. It didn’t take long for you to find him out in the garden using the last little bit of sunlight left of the day. Making sure your steps made enough noise to warn him of your arrival you knelt down and gave him a smile once you knew that he wasn’t going to get startled.

“What are you working on so late at night?”, you asked.

“Nothing really. Just pulling some weeds and cleaning up.”

Silence filled the air as he returned to the task he had set out to do.

“Listen Yoongi, about earlier, I never meant to upset you. I just wanted to spend some time with you.”

He gave you a small smile, “It’s okay. You don’t have to pretend to care about me.”

Your brows furrowed, “What’s that supposed to mean? I haven’t been pretending to care about you. I genuinely want to spend time with you and get to know you better.”

Standing up he brushed the dirt off his knees before walking back to the inn. Quickly you chased after him a little surprised at his quick movements.

“Yoongi I’m serious. I’m sorry if you got that impression, but that wasn’t what I was trying to achieve.”

Suddenly he stopped and turned startling you this time.

“Why are you doing this? Is my grandmother forcing you? Wouldn’t you rather spend it with Jimin?”

It might’ve been the lighting or even your imagination, but you swear you saw the start of tears forming at his waterline breaking your heart.

“Yoongi no one is making me do anything. Jimin is a nice guy and I liked talking to him, but he’s not you. And he’s leaving soon anyways. He was just passing through. I really do want to get to know you more before I leave next week and even then I’d like to keep in touch with you. I promise I’m not trying to intentionally hurt you.”

For a few moments you weren’t sure how to proceed. Yoongi stood at the back door of the inn staring at the ground while biting his lip. After what seemed like forever he looked up at you with a tear falling down his left cheek. You had to muster up all the restraint in your body not to reach over and wipe it away.

“Y/N please don’t give up on me. I just need more time.”, he whispered before running back into the inn leaving you staring at the now empty spot. You wanted to give him all the time in the world, but you knew the clock was ticking.

Over the next few days you hardly saw Yoongi other than at breakfast and dinner. Even when you specifically went looking for him he was nowhere to be found. Jimin had already left leaving just the three of you again. After working on your new novel for a few hours you decided to head over to Taehyung’s and see about trying that new latte and maybe getting a slice of pie. On the way there you happened to look over and saw Yoongi walking through the field where you saw the few cherry blossom trees the other day. He was wearing a baby blue colored sweater that made him look so soft and cozy. As much as you wanted to run over and engulf him in a hug you thought it was best to just let him be and head over to the farm as planned.

Jin had convinced you to try his newest creation, a grilled cheese sandwich made with Brie cheese and sliced strawberries with a honey balsamic dipping sauce. According to Jin he wanted to expanded the cafe into more of a restaurant adding more savory dishes. You weren’t 100% sold, but it wasn’t terrible either.

“Hey so what happened with Yoongi the other day?”, Namjoon asked taking a seat next to you.

“I think he just got really overwhelmed by the thought of spending time with so many people.”

“Yeah I could see that. Sometimes even I get stressed out by how hectic things are around here.”, he chuckled.

“Who are we taking about?”, Jungkook asked walking over and taking a seat across from you. Quickly you noticed him eyeing your uneaten sandwich so you slid the plate over chuckling as he inhaled it.

“Just Yoongi and what happened the other day.”, Namjoon replied.

Taehyung having finished up his duties also walked over and joined you guys.

“You know I was thinking of having Jin make him a cake since his birthday is coming up. I thought I could drop it off at the inn. Just something to let him know we’re thinking of him.”, he said.

“Wait his birthday is coming up? When?”, you asked.

“Umm it’ll be Saturday.”, Namjoon added.

You were supposed to leave Sunday, but that would still give you enough time to go into town and get him a gift or something.

“What if we threw a little party for him?”, Jungkook asked while trying to pry the melted cheese off his fingers.

Taehyung laughed, “Come on Kook. You know there’s no way in hell he’d ever come to a party.”

It was a really nice gesture, but you also knew Taehyung was right and there was no way that Yoongi would ever agree to go to something like that. But maybe if the guys helped you get something together then Yoongi could see they meant well you thought.

“What if we put something together for him to walk into but he’s alone? Kind of like a surprise party, but without us all there to shout surprise.”, you suggested.

“You know that just might work”., Jin replied. With everyone in agreement the group started brainstorming different ideas. With a plan set you said your goodbyes and decided to make your way back to the inn. Luckily you found Mae alone in the kitchen and filled her in on the plan and she was thrilled to go along with it.

Once back in your room you were greeted with the faint scent of flowers. You noticed on your desk a vase filled with various wildflowers in different colors. They were absolutely gorgeous, but you weren’t sure how they ended up there. You thought maybe Mae had placed them so you went out to the kitchen to thank her when you found Yoongi sitting at the table sipping some water. You also noticed the bright purple bandage on two of his fingers and his jeans were noticeably dirty. He gave you a tight lipped smile as you took a seat next to him.

“Some very beautiful flowers happened to make themselves into my room today. Would you know anything about that?”, you asked almost certain it was him.

His cheeks flushed red as he nodded, “Y-yes I picked them for you.”

Your heart swelled and you just wanted to reach over and hug him.

“Is that how you ended up dirty and with bandages?”

“Yeah I tripped and tried to catch myself on a tree trunk. It didn’t go so well.”, he chuckled softly.

“Thank you for the flowers. That was so sweet of you.”

“I..I just wanted to say sorry for the way I acted the other day.”

“No need to say sorry. I understand.”

The two of you sat in a silence that was surprisingly comfortable until he excused himself and left to his room. Once back in your own room you tried to get some more work done, but you couldn’t stop staring at the beautiful vase of flowers sitting in front of you. So you opened up a new email to send to your boss begging for more time away from the office so you could continue to stay at the inn for a little while longer. It felt like something was brewing between you and Yoongi and you didn’t want to interrupt that now.

Thankfully the following morning you woke up to a reply from your boss giving you the okay to stay as long as you were making progress. Excited that you were going to be able to stay longer you walked out to the kitchen a little cheerier than usual greeting Mae with a big smile.

Hi Mae, how are you doing today?”, you asked happily accepting a cup of coffee from her.

“Oh you know dear, same old same old.”

“Hey Mae, what do you think Yoongi would want for his birthday?”

She smiled, “Well he isn’t really one for material things. He’s much more sentimental.”

That really didn’t help you much. You were hoping you could just buy him a new sweater or some gardening gloves, but it seems you’re going to have to think a little harder. You thanked Mae and decided to head into town hoping that something there would give you some inspiration.

The little town seemed even busier than when you arrived with tourists from all over the world taking in the scenery. As you were walking up and down the streets you looked into different storefronts hoping something would catch your eye and something certainly did, but it wasn’t any gift.

Quickly you darted back behind the brick wall of the building you were next to trying to stay out of sight when you saw Yoongi looking into a large window with a large gummy smile on his face. Mae must’ve sent him into town for something. You watched as he looked over whatever was in the window. He looked like he wanted to enter into the shop, but after some hesitation he turned and started making his way back to the path to the inn. After you were sure he was gone you walked over to see what he was looking at and you were shocked to the name of the building ‘Fluffy Paws Adoption Center” and in the window an adorable little brown poodle puppy was bouncing up and down trying to get your attention. Your heart fluttered at the thought of Yoongi with a little puppy happy and giggly. You knew that a pet was a full time commitment so wanted to speak with Mae first before you just showed up with a dog that they would be responsible for after you left.

You went inside and asked if you could put the dog on hold and thankfully they gave you 48 hours so you quickly went back to the inn. In your room you hid away the knitting yarn, tangerine candies, hand painted notebook, and fluffy white sweater that you had already purchased as gifts for Yoongi. You thought maybe you were going a little overboard, but you really wanted to make this special for him.

After running through the inn you found Mae sitting in the backyard thankfully no Yoongi in sight.

You explained to her how you saw him looking in the window of the shelter and how you wanted to buy him the little brown dog. You offered to buy several months worth of food and fill an account with the local vet so that the dog could get medical care when needed. You were talking so fast you were out of breath by the time you were done and Mae couldn’t help but laugh at the state of you.

“Y/N, I think that is a wonderful idea. I actually had a little dog just like that one when Yoongi he was younger. He adored that dog. That might be why he was drawn to her.”

You were so ecstatic you could hardly sit still so you quickly called the shelter to let them know you’d stop by tomorrow to purchase the dog.

The following morning was Yoongi’s birthday. Mae convinced him to leave the house under the ruse that she needed him to accompany her to a doctors appointment even though she was fully capable of going herself. When the two of them left the house you let in Jin, Taehyung, Namjoon, Hoseok, and Jungkook who went to work. Jin placed the cake in the fridge along with the meat he had roasted leaving you with specific instructions on how to reheat everything properly. Taehyung and Hoseok hung up a few streamers and placed some balloons throughout the room. Namjoon and Jungkook finished wrapping up the gift they had all chipped in to get him, a laptop with music producing software already installed along with a card that they each signed.

Taking a step back you admired everyone’s hard work and you were really hoping that Yoongi would appreciate it too. After saying goodbye and promising the guys that you’d let them know how it went and hopefully send some pictures you headed off to town and picked up the adorable little poodle along with some food and a few toys. You even grabbed a tiny bandanna that said Happy Birthday.

Once back at the inn you began heating up the food from Jin which was harder than you had thought it would be thanks to the little rambunctious puppy that you were constantly chasing after. Just as you put the last plate on the table the front door swung open. Yoongi came sulking in with Mae not far behind him. You’d hope that he would’ve been surprised or at least gave you a smile, but he didn’t even look in your direction and instead stormed off to his room.

Mae walked over giving you a big smile, “It looks beautiful Y/N. You guys did a great job!”

“Yeah I really thought Yoongi would appreciate it thought. I guess we were wrong.”

She shook her head, “Just give him a few minutes dear. The doctors appointment didn’t go as well as I had hoped and we received some bad news that he is not taking well right now.”

Your heart sank.

“I’m so sorry to hear that. Please, is there anything I can do?”

She gave you a reassuring smile, “No but thank you for the offer. They want me to travel to the main city to meet with some specialists in the coming weeks. They have some high rated oncologist there that they think may be able to help.”

You couldn’t help but feel the mood dampen. You knew that Yoongi must be devastated at the thought of loosing his grandma. You played out multiple different scenarios in your head before you felt a light tap on your thigh. Looking over you found Mae giving you a sly smile.

“I have an idea. Grab the dog and follow me.”

You did as she requested by grabbing the puppy and following her down the hall to Yoongi’s room.

Mae stood at the door and lightly knocked twice, “Yoongi are you okay dear?”

After no response she slowly cracked open the door and motioned for you to set the dog on the ground and then she took one of the squeaky toys and through it in Yoongi’s room chuckling as the little dog went racing in to retrieve her toy. You heard a small yelp of surprise coming from behind the door and you knew that Yoongi was not expecting to see the little dog.

After a few moments the door slowly creaked open revealing a red faced Yoongi holding the small dog close to his chest. His eyes still had the remnants of tears as he sniffled looking around confused.

“Come out to the kitchen. We’ve got a surprise for you.”, Mae said motioning for him to follow. You followed behind him smiling as you watched the little dog he still held close take tiny licks at his neck. As you walked into the kitchen his mouth dropped open.

“What is all this?”, he asked.

Mae nodded to you giving you the push to speak so you did, “The guys from the strawberry farm came over and helped me put this together. Jin made us dinner and there’s a strawberry cream cake in the fridge. They helped me decorate and they even got you this gift and a card. They wanted to stay, but we didn’t want to overwhelm you.”

You noticed how Yoongi bit his lip trying to hide the tremble.

“Yoongi dear, wasn’t that nice of them? Maybe you two could go drop by tomorrow and thank them.”, Mae said.

He simply nodded before looking at the dog that had surprisingly fallen asleep in his arms.

“Oh she is a gift from me. I saw you looking at her the other day in town so I adopted her for you. Shes got food and some toys. There’s even an account set up at the vets office.”, you smiled.

It seemed like that was what broke the dam and he started letting tears fall while his shoulders shook slightly before he gently placed the dog on the floor and ran off to his room.

You stared for a while in shock before Mae came over gently nudging you with her shoulder in the direction he just ran off too. You took the hint and made your way to his bedroom door softly knocking. You didn’t get an answer just like you had assumed would happen, but you cracked open the door anyways finding him sitting on the edge of his bed crying.

“Yoongi I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you upset. I just wanted to do something nice.”, you said taking a seat next to him.

Gently he wiped at his eyes, “I know. I’m sorry. Sometimes I just can’t help it. I do really appreciate all of this. I-I just don’t deserve it.”

Deciding to risk everything you leaned over wrapping your arms around his shoulders pulling him into a hug. When he didn’t immediately pull back you decided to speak, “Yoongi you do deserve it. You deserve it more than anyone I know. Please don’t ever think you’re not deserving of feeling loved and feeling happy. Everyone that put in effort on this just wants you to know that they’re thinking of you.”

He nodded sniffling a little, “Thank you Y/N. And m-maybe tomorrow we could go to the farm and thank them too.”

Before you could speak the bedroom door cracked open slightly and in came sprinting the little brown dog. She beelined it for Yoongi trying to get him to pick her up. You both giggled at her excitement at finally being held.

“What are you going to name her?”, you asked.

He thought for a moment as he stared out of the window, “I think Cherry. Like cherry blossom.”

“I like it. That sounds great.”, you smiled.

You sat there and spoke with him for a while. You were careful not wanting to bring up any bad memories so you were happy to just let him talk. His voice was comforting in a way and you were just taking in the moment hoping that there would be more like it in the future.

After he had finished telling you a story about how he had scored the winning basket at his elementary schools championship basketball game he suddenly got quiet. You were worried you’d done something to upset him.

“Y/N can I ask you something?”

You nodded, “Of course.”

“Why are you so nice to me? I mean we’ve only known each other for a couple weeks. You don’t have to pity me. And if my grandmother is forcing you to do this you really don’t have to. She means well, but sometimes she prods too much.”

Taking a deep breath you continued, “Yoongi it’s nothing like that. I already told you no one is forcing me. I can’t really describe it and I know it sounds so cliche, but I feel a connection to you. I want to spend time with you and get to know you. I’m extending my stay here for a few more weeks. And I just want to show you that you deserve to be treated well and that you deserve to be loved.”

When he didn’t say anything in response you looked up finding him looking at you with soft eyes. He was so close to your face that you could smell the faint scent of his vanilla and musk cologne.

Suddenly he leaned in placing the softest of kisses to your lips. It was so quick your brain almost couldn’t process what just happened and you let out a small gasp. Not because you didn’t want or like the kiss, but because you were so shocked that he had actually initiated a kiss when a couple weeks ago he couldn’t even look you in the eyes. Before you could react any further he got off the bed running out of the room ignoring your pleas for him to stop and come back.

With a sigh you sat back down on the bed giving a confused Cherry some pats as you groaned to yourself. Just when everything was finally going so well and you were beginning to make progress.

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radracer · 7 months

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Old School 🏁 Late Model Race Cars #1

#Old School Late Model Dirt Trackers #modified #tuning #retro rides #tuner #street #vintage racing cars #classic race car #70s #80s #oval track #old photos

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stargazing-imagines · 5 months

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What we had — Conrad Fisher x Model!Reader

Description — after dating Conrad for a few years, you find out that he has been cheating on you with belly, years later you return to cousins beach… but there a different aura to you

Warnings — mentions of reader being known as a slut, mentions of abandonment issues, bad writing, name calling?

Fandom — the summer I turned pretty

A/n — it been a while since I posted a fic. I hope you enjoy this one! Don’t kill me but this one has a sad ending! It for the sake of the imagine so keep that in mind, besides. I got this idea from an Episode story I read, so credit to the authors of that story!

“I can’t believe you!” You shouted to your boyfriend of 2 years, voices echoing from the fishers beach house

“Y/n, it was a mistake I swear!” Said Conrad as he tried to reason with you, you scoffed

“Please… I know what a make out session looks like and I just witnessed you and belly having one just a minute ago!”

“It didn’t mean anything!” Said Conrad “you have to believe me!”

“You know what, I’m done.” You said on the verge of tears “I hope you two are very happy together!”

With that you left, wiping a tear from your face

3 years later

“Y/n L/n!” Shouted the paparazzi “is it true that you are dating Liam Hosterman?”

You rolled your eyes before responding, sunglasses covering your face. Let’s just say that after the whole Conrad and belly fiasco, you went rogue. Parties all night, and ending the night with a new boy on your arm. It was the life you enjoyed… that was until you got an invitation to belly’s graduation party.

“I think you should go.” Said your best friend Nora as she sat opposite side of the couch from you.

“Please, I rather eat dirt then face Conrad fisher.” You said as you sipped on your tea “besides he wouldn’t want to see me anyway.”

“Girl, he sent you flowers 5 months ago apologizing for what he did.”

“Yeah… 3 years to late.” You said “besides I have a hot date that day so I have to politely decline.”

“I think your being selfish.” Said Nora “the girl speaks highly of you, didn’t you say that you were her big sister for the debutante ball that summer?” Asked Nora, you huffed.

“Just think about it.” Said Nora as she gave your hand a pat before leaving.

Here you were, on the plane to cousins beach… hoping you wouldn’t regret a single thing, after your flight landed, you placed your sunglasses over your eyes.

“This is going to be a long vacation.”

“I’m so excited that you can make it.” Said laurel as she gave you a hug “I think your old room is still the same, susannah has been decorating it ever since she recived your RSVP.”

You nodded your head at the thought

“There’s my darling Angel.” Said Susannah as she opened her arms signaling you to hug her, you hugged her

“Look at you! You look way different then you did 3 years ago.”

“Thanks Susannah, Is Conrad around?” You asked

“He just called, he won’t be landing till in the morning.” Said Susannah

Great that gave you perfect time to figure out a plan to avoid Conrad this whole week

“I’m going to drop my luggage off to my room.” You said as you walked upstairs

It was the next day, and you were out back near the pool tanning as belly was swimming in the pool.

“Hey are you going to make up with Conrad this summer?” Asked belly as she got out of the pool, joining you on the loungers, towel wrapped around her.

“Maybe, maybe not, why?” You asked

“I think you should give the boy a second chance.” Said belly

“Why did you kiss him 3 years ago?” You asked

“Honestly… I just wanted to see if my crush on his was real or a infatuation.” Said belly

“And?”

“It was a infatuation… I’m sorry…”

“It-“

“Belly, laurel wants you in the kitc-“

He stops mid sentence when he sees you, you freeze as you hear the voice

“Talk to him.” Whispered belly as she walked away

“Hey-“

“Don’t hey me!” You said as you stayed glued on the loungers, back turned “In fact, don’t even come near me.”

“You look great…”

“Please stop flattering me… that’s not going to work on me this time.”

“Is that because your to good for me? To good for us?” Asked Conrad “you haven’t even visited us in three years Y/n!” Shouted Conrad “Mom was devastated!”

“I was heartbroken Conrad!”

“Oh so sleeping with every guy that you can find is going to mend your broken heart?”

You sighed, you ran your hand through your hair before standing up

“Your the reason that I am the way that I am!” You shouted “if you didn’t cheat on me 3 years ago we wouldn’t be in this position!”

Conrad scoffed

“Who are you and what happened to the girl that I fell in love with 3 summers ago?”

“She’s changed Conrad.” You said “deal with it!”

You stormed off before feeling a hand on your wrist

“What we had was special.” Said Conrad “if your going to throw away what we had then your crazy.”

With that he left, you pondered for a moment before speaking out

“Wait…” you said, Conrad turned around “I’m sorry ok.” You said “I’m sorry that I left, but I did it because I wanted to focus on me.”

“Yeah but leaving?” Said Conrad “that is the most stupidest thing you ever done, we could have talked things out but what did you do? You ran away.”

With that Conrad went back into the beach house, leaving you by the loungers, you sat back down puffing in annoyance.

“He isn’t going to forgive me belly so just drop it.” You said as you snacked on a cracker

“Look. I know what you did was to better yourself, but Conrad was heartbroken when he found out that you were sleeping with the whole city of New York.”

“I know…” you said “it’s just… it was the only way to take the pain away.”

“Did you at least go to a therapist or a shrink, one?”

“Yeah… turns out I have a bad case of abandonment issues.”

“Your parents were pretty much absent in your life.” Said Jeremiah, belly nudged him

That was true, all your life you only had Susannah and laurel as mother figures in your life. Susannah was a good friend of you’re mom, and every summer you would go with the fishers to cousins beach. Turns out, it was your parents way of saying we don’t wantyou around. Who was there for you when you got your first period? Susannah, who was there when you got your first heartbreak at the age of 16? Susannah, she treated you like you were her own daughter. Unlike your own mother.

“Jeremiah!”

After belly said that, a knock was heard. You turned your head and saw Conrad standing in the doorway.

“I hate to budge in but… y/n can we talk?”

You looked back at belly and Jeremiah, who signaled that it was alright as they left, Conrad walked in.

“How much did you hear?”

“Everything… y/n I’m sorry for what I did.” Said Conrad as he grabbed a hold of your hand “do you forgive me?”

You let out a faint smile before cupping his face

“Of course I forgive you.” You said

You kissed his lips for a brief second before pulling away

“How I missed this.” Said Conrad as he smiled, you let out a giggle.

—

The summer I turned pretty masterlist

#the summer i turned pretty imagine #the summer i turned pretty #tsitp imagine #conrad fisher fic #conrad fisher x you #conrad x reader #conrad fisher imagine #conrad fisher x reader #tsitp conrad

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ganondoodle · 5 months

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im pretty sure i mentioned all these things before but its too late to start drawing anything and each time i see someone talk about totk i just get sad and frustrated again

literally by FAR the biggest problem about totk is that it REFUSES to connect to botw in any way beyond reusing the same map and character models, and even taking the things botw had established and ruin them entirely

ancient hero? BAM weird sonau dog thing that remains completely unexplained and out of nowhere eight heroine myster- BAM just some guy long gone sonau peopl- BAM here they are and they have zero connection to the ones of botw mystical dragons gracing the skies with their presence- BAM probably some dude who ate a magic pebble once strange mystical nature god you could rarely encounter in one specific spot and the area was made to feel utteraly unsettling but also divine- BAM now hes everywhere and only serves you as a shorthand for man pointing at cave the strange energy all shiekah tech was powered with with certain locations being ones where alot of it was concentrated including beneath hyrule castle clearly stating that somethings up with that- welp theres evil guy donw there but he has zero connection to all that lol

the whole shiekah tech thing, i just- WHY???? LIKE THAT??? there was so much stuff in botw that seemed deliberately placed that there IS more to it and now it all vanished and nothing of that mattered??? i saw a video of someone comparing certain places directly and on some where towers literally broke away tons of debris where just like .. sanded back down like nothing ever happened???; the fuking mechanism of how the towers and shrines and the pillars around the castle worked AND WHAT THE BOTW BOSS ARENA WAS ACTUALLY FOR?? its all gone and replaced with dirt; tHE ANCIENT FUCKING FURNANCES UTTERLY GONE AND REPLACED WITH ROCKS HUH???? so nothing of all that talk about their mystery and mechanism mattered???? the luminous stoens and its connection to spirits and how concentrated spiritual energy might have been what powered the tech- like you could connect things, and they made SENSE, so much sense that that seemed like it was intentionally setting up- only for it all to be just GONE?? to literally say lol it all vanished and that we shouldnt worry about it- like what the FUCK (and it also AGAIN doesnt make sense in itself bc WE SEE GUARDIAN PARTS in the towers, and some parts of them too are made of clearly shiekah tech stuff so it cant all have vanished- all their mystery doesnt matter bc idk it just works i guess lol and its not even called shiekah tech at any point either its just there and also not lol-)

(and even the smaller things like .. where the fuck does link live if everyone treats him like a goddamn stranger in the town you had to buy a house in botw for it to not be demolished and now that house is there but its not yours and noone knows you??? sth i personalyl found strange too that dumsda, the guy you help build an entire town, taburasa, had a very specific talking quirk i loved, and its all just gone in totk too, he talks like any other person all of the sudden

also at the end of botw finally being reunited with zelda and giving you the taste of being in the game WITH her at the same time in the intro to totk- WOOP away she goes! shes your pretty prize at the end and nothing more, what a way to disrespect her and her character..)

imagine if majoras mask didnt have the opening like it has and it otherwise stayed the same and they tried to tell you that its a direct sequel happening exactly where ocarina of time happened in the same world, zelda who?? ganondorf who??? things seem weird and off? lol dont worry about that :)) that would be weird and not make any sense at all now would it??

... sorry going on another rant again, ill just never be able to accept everything from botw didnt actually matter, and despite what some people might say, its pretty hard to ignore totk bc i LOVE botw, and as much as i hate it, they are connected in canon, even if it makes no sense

#ganondoodles talks #zelda #totk #ganondoodles rants #i know im jsut repeating myself at this point #but some things just #i CANNOT understand why they did it like this #where the hell did kashiwa go man #i miss that funky bird #was he too much associated with botw and so it had to be done away with bc all botw things BAD??#what i would have given for seeing the titans now enshrined as temples to honor their service and their champion #to have broken shiekah shrines in the depths #old research labs with unreadable text but clear hints to how they made the guardians cores #the yiga rediscovering their lost heritage #..#i could talk about so much stuff again and again but i have done that about most thigns already #this game grinds my gears #sand in the maschine #ouch urhg ack gah

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runwayrunway · 7 months

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No. 54 - Ryanair

You are watching a video on a popular video sharing service. It is a full episode of a popular and long-running show, generously uploaded for free. It is narrated by a calm man with a BBC accent of the sort which belongs exclusively in documentaries.

The narrator names a date between 1903 and the current year. It is accompanied by a location - an airport. An airplane is on approach. It has a certain number of people on board, and it flies for some airline. There are pilots, most likely two of them. They make some sort of mistake, and maybe there's an issue with the weather, or the ILS is down, or the instruments are giving misleading information, or some other thing has gone tailcone over teakettle in an alarmingly short timespan and now their approach is tremendously unstable. They aren't on the glideslope. They're too fast or too slow. They really need to declare a missed approach, but for whatever reason they don't.

The plane lands, or 'lands' - finds itself on the ground, regardless - either on or short of the runway. It bounces, or flips over, or just pancakes into the ground. The fuselage cracks, or splits, or peels open, or horribly catches fire. There is an evacuation. It's all very stressful at minimum, and an unmitigated tragedy at worst.

You scroll down to the comments for some reason. "Average Ryanair landing," says one near the top.

Ryanair (not to be confused with Ryan Air, a real but unrelated airline) is Europe's largest air carrier. It has over 550 airplanes and serves over 200 destinations. It is difficult to imagine an airline with a worse reputation - their CEO is a literal troll, their customer service is legendarily poor, and their ultra-low-cost model is one in which you inevitably get what you pay for. They are memetically despised, and their rough landings are the stuff of legend.

And yet their livery is understated, with a certain head-held-high gravitas. It is difficult to describe the legitimate cognitive dissonance which arises from Ryanair's aerosartorial choices, an effect that seems to touch more people than just me. On another airline, I wouldn't find this livery particularly thought-provoking. Enough substance to write a post about, but not something which lurks in my mind and draws my attention. But on Ryanair, it's downright fascinating.

I've said what I've said, but I'm actually a defender of Ryanair. Look, it's like getting a ticket on a bus or the metro. It's cheap (at least in theory - they seem to be getting pricier lately) and it gets you where you need to go and it's probably not going to be that long of a flight anyway so, I mean, whatever. I've flown some pretty long flights before in-flight entertainment was standard, Ryanair is fine. I never even noticed the hard landings until I saw people talking about them, and to be perfectly honest I didn't notice them afterward either. Maybe I'm just not bothered by hard landings, the same way I'm not bothered by turbulence. Who really knows? My point is that I'm something of a Ryanair apologist. I live in the US, where you just don't get dirt cheap flights like that and getting anywhere outside of your home metropolitan area by train (and even sometimes bus) costs even more than flying. Ryanair could make me board the plane by abseiling up it myself to save money on airstairs and I'd be fine with it if the price was right. I'm not a millionaire. I haven't got the money to go jetsetting around Europe on a real airline. So I mean this when I say it: thank goodness for Ryanair.

I mean, I'm not saying this because Ryanair is good, don't get me wrong. They are the Big Bill Hell's of airlines. They are the closest thing we have to John Mulaney's version of Delta. Ryanair is not just no-frills, it's hot-glued fabric scraps in the vague shape of a garment. They are legitimately comical in their commitment to service so Kafkaesquely bad that you almost wish you'd travelled by trebuchet instead! And all this for the low, low price of...well, I mean, they do get pretty low.

When I released my first questionnaire I added a question about Ryanair specifically because of its reputation and my own feelings about the airline. Multiple people did agree with me - well, it's definitely not comfortable at all, you won't enjoy yourself, but it's so obscenely cheap that this isn't really objectionable. You are getting exactly what you pay for. And, well, if you do want some semblance of the full-service experience you can pay an extra fee. Or a lot of extra fees. That's how they get you. The ULCC model relies on stripping out everything possible and then charging you extra for it. That does mean that if you need things like printed boarding passes or the ability to pay by credit card that come standard with literally any other airline you could end up paying a decent amount for your miserable cramped flight, but if you truly want the bare minimum they will charge you appropriately, and that is so important to me, because I have too little money to insist on being comfortable.

I do feel...particularly sorry for one respondent.

It isn't bad press they are legitimately a nightmare. A attendant once lied to me and told me that type of plane just didn't have toilets (it did. There was a working toilet on board) then proceeded to lecture me about 'not planning ahead and going in the airport'

This is kind of hilarious in a sad way and I'm very sorry that this happened to you. Ryanair is infamous for its bad customer service but it's rare you'll hear about cabin crew behaving this poorly at any airline. While this particular incident was a one-off, you probably will have a pretty miserable time if you need to call the airline about literally anything.

One person just answered 'bitches'.

Well, that answers the question "what is Ryanair", but why is Ryanair?

The world is full of low-cost carriers. Wizz Air, EasyJet, airasia, Allegiant, Jetstar, FlySafair, Volaris, T'Way, Azul, Nok Air, Frontier, Lion Air, jetBlue, and SpiceJet are just some of the dozens which fill the skies. They are often colourful, frequently grumbled about, and essential.

Low-cost carriers, and especially ULCCs, are a relatively recent phenomenon. They only sprung into being after aviation stopped being by necessity a luxury product. It's generally agreed that PSA (Pacific Southwest Airlines), an intrastate carrier from California colloquially known as the Poor Sailor's Airline, was the first low-cost carrier. While the large interstate carriers of the time had a sort of detached gravitas to both their services and their prices, and were often prevented from lowering said prices anyway due to federal taxes that didn't apply to intrastate carriers like PSA, a ticket on "The World's Friendliest Airline" was cheap and the service was casual and personable. The low-cost model is built on being an option for a normal person. If you don't have the money to fly TWA, you can fly on an airline which is made for normal people and charges you accordingly.

The model didn't really catch on immediately, though. I couldn't exactly say why - it might have to do with the lack of demand for air travel that wasn't either commuter flights or long-haul. There was some activity in the market, with Loftleiðir (a precursor to Icelandair) offering cheap-as-dirt transatlantic flights in the 60s and Laker Airways having a three-year tenure in the late 70s serving a similar market from a Western European base. Even today the long-haul low-cost market they served is notoriously difficult to make anything work in.

What is generally thought to be the next major player in low-cost airlines, Southwest, emerged in 1971. David Neeleman further refined the model, first with innovations in cost-cutting at Morris Air and later by raising the bar for customer experience at jetBlue. David Neeleman, though, was active right at the turn of the millennium. Low-cost carriers only really began to emerge in real numbers in the 80s and 90s, with examples that are long-gone, like the infamous ValuJet, existing alongside ones US residents have probably seen at their local airport, like Spirit.

Spirit is different from jetBlue and Southwest. Spirit Airlines is not just a low-cost carrier but an ultra low-cost carrier. As the name suggests, the difference is one of scale. A low-cost carrier provides less comprehensive and less ritzy service than a full-service airline, but they do so in the tradition of PSA, trying to provide a comfortable experience that makes people want to choose their airline. The ULCC model, on the other hand, guts out literally every possible feature and then dangles it in front of you on a string, telling you to pay extra if you want it. These airlines do not provide a good experience. There will be no baggage allowances, no extra legroom, and no priority boarding. The base fare, however, is almost absurdly low relative to even low-cost carriers, and as air travel becomes a fact of life more and more the humble ULCC becomes a necessary part of the ecosystem as the only way many people can afford to travel.

Ryanair is technically 38 years old, but it's only been a low-cost carrier since 1990. This pivot is the brainchild of then-CFO, now CEO (and ouster of the eponymous Ryan) Michael O'Leary, one of the wealthiest and most unpleasant men in Ireland.

image: Associated Press Yes, this is actually a real image of the CEO of Ryanair. I imagine this may clear up a thing or two.

Why is Ryanair? Because Michael O'Leary, is the simple answer. Michael O'Leary is - and there is genuinely no better way to describe the man - a troll. If you take David Neeleman's image during his tenure at jetBlue, a sweet everyman trying to improve the experience by sitting in on flights and giving up his salary to employee medical funds, Michael O'Leary is the literal exact opposite of him on every point. A self-described "gobshite" and "obnoxious little bollocks" who has admitted to "not liking" aeroplanes, Michael O'Leary is a cruel, selfish, belligerent, publicity-seeking freakazoid on a mission to piss off everyone in Europe which has so far been largely successful.

I don't want anything I say about the man to come off as positive. Michael O'Leary is a wealthy ghoul (and, yes, he was born wealthy, no rags in his tale) who publicly berates, mistreats, and underpays his staff. He has expressed prejudice against racial and religious minorities, fat and disabled passengers, women, and just about anyone who expects to be treated with some measure of dignity. He has committed legitimate crimes, like impersonating journalists. He denies climate change and has accumulated his massive wealth by abusing the pilots and cabin crew who keep Ryanair adequate. In 2010 Ryanair was named one of the least ethical companies in the world. The fact that he is so absurd as to be hilarious isn't an endorsement or a defense of him.

That said, here is a short, curated list of Michael O'Leary's, and Ryanair's broadly (as their public image is really an extension of his and vice versa) most Ryanair shenanigans:

O'Leary installed a taxicab license plate on his luxury car and driving it in the bus lane to avoid traffic.

Advertisements have taken open and somewhat sneering shots at other major European airlines, like Lufthansa ('bye by Late-hansa'), British Airways ('expensive BAstards'), and the now-defunct Sabena (using a reference to the famous Manneken Pis statue). These have not been simple comparisons but outright name-calling.

One time they advertised sales to 'sunny' vacation destinations, like Norway.

Generally, their advertisements push so many boundaries that they were once found to have committed seven violations of advertising law in just two years, and I'm shocked they didn't begin an ad campaign centring around this dubious achievement.

They frequently misbrand airports way outside of major cities as being in that major city, with the most insane example being "Vienna Bratislava" - yes, Bratislava, the one in Slovakia.

Pilots are forced to pay for simulator checks while cabin crew are forced to pay for uniforms and training. Employees are even forbidden from charging their phones from office sockets, apparently.

Sometimes passengers are forced to carry their own luggage to the planes! Not carryons, luggage.

O'Leary, in a bold move, outright denied that the 2010 eruption of Eyjafjallajökull had created a massive cloud of volcanic ash hazardous to airplanes (it very obviously had).

He also said he would like for there to be a recession, since it would let Ryanair keep costs low. He said this in 2008.

One time he said travel agents ("fuckers") should be shot .

O'Leary claimed that Ryanair would begin offering business class, featuring "beds and blowjobs". I'm personally not sure I would want a Ryanair blowjob. That sounds really horrible.

Also, bold coming from an airline with no seatback pockets.

Apparently they tried to get planes delivered with no window shades (though they weren't able to because of regulations).

They've floated the idea of standing seats. I don't believe this will or indeed could ever happen but it definitely is truly dystopian.

Ryanair keeps trying to buy Aer Lingus. They keep failing, and they keep trying. Obviously, everyone in Ireland has a vested interest in making sure this does not happen.

Fundamentally, Ryanair doesn't care. They can and will essentially throw tantrums to get airports to charge them lower operating fees and if they can't get an airport to do this they just won't operate there. It's like negotiating with a seven-year-old. Except that seven-year-old is Europe's largest airline.

They wanted to buy the C919. This isn't, like, a bad thing, it's just really strange for a hardcore Boeing loyalist airline and I can't imagine how it would save them money.

image: Robot8A This is the interior of a Ryanair plane. Note the safety cards attached to the seatbacks due to the lack of pockets, plus additional adverts on the seatbacks and overhead bins like this is a sports match in a massive stadium. It's also just quite ugly.

Fundamentally, Ryanair is just perpetually doing Ryanair things. Why is Ryanair? Because Ryanair is one giant publicity stunt. A couple of people answered my question by referencing the CEO saying he'd like to charge people to use the toilet, and that's sort of true in the sense that he's said he'd like to do this, but he's always been pretty clear that it's a publicity stunt:

Short of committing murder, negative publicity sells more seats than positive publicity.

Like, it's a bit. He's doing a bit. He's 100% in on the joke. For every one of the more particularly insane claims, like charging to use the toilets, he's outright denied it. Even some claims that are pretty borderline are ones he's contradicted at other points. He's a legitimate bigot who's created one of the most nightmarish work environments out there and just wants to suck money out of people by any means necessary, and he's indefensible, but that's not really what people talk about when they talk about Ryanair. They talk about charging for toilets.

Charging for toilets continues to be the number one story that resurfaces in the press and it’s the gift that keeps on giving. We’ve never done it, but it keeps coming up on social networks every three or four months, the media picks up on it and then someone writes a story on it.

Which I think is misplaced effort when he's also, for instance, a climate change denier who forces disabled passengers to pay for wheelchairs. And I don't believe for a second his climate change denial is based on legitimate convictions - he just doesn't want to have to spend more money. He would absolutely knowingly feed the world into an incinerator if it lowered costs.

Anyway, here is a picture of him having his face violently introduced to a pie.

image: Olivier Hoslet

All of this said, there's no such thing as an ethical airline - he's just playing it up to the extreme for essentially business clickbait.

I feel like the best example of Ryanair's general...Ryanairness is their Twitter account, which I have a sneaking suspicion Michael O'Leary runs himself to save money. It's mostly composed of firing back at complaining customers, Formula 1 opinions, and jabs at everyone from Boris Johnson to the British Museum. (Heartbreaking: the worst person you know just made a great point.) Their description, 'we sell seats, not windows', references the frequent complaints about seat 11A, which does not have a window. (To be fair, their website does warn you about this.) Their weird window situation actually generated my all-time favourite Ryanair tweet.

Here are some other winners.

No, seriously, I think Michael O'Leary might be writing these. I also really don't know how to feel about the fact that it appears someone at the airline - potentially O'Leary himself - has made an edit of a yassified Ryanair plane.

But at the end of the day, it's Ryanair. O'Leary himself has described aeroplanes as "a bus with wings on". As one individual tweeted,

THANK YOU to [Ryanair], for letting me see Europe for Feck All

and that's why I do think I genuinely have primarily positive feelings about Ryanair as a product rather than a company - you truly do see Europe for Feck All. (O'Leary has claimed both that he would introduce $10 transatlantic tickets to the US, and that he would make tickets literally free and make all profits from ancillary fees - while neither has yet happened, it takes one hell of an airline to claim that it's on the table.)

Ryanair isn't affordable, it's dime store. It's an airline you bought from Wish.com. It's the free pen you stole from a cup of identical pens at the bank which stops working within days. You're not just in steerage, you're on a tramp steamer. You get exactly the misery you pay for, and you go from one place to a different place.

And it's worth noting that Ryanair has at least one positive feature - safety.

When I ran my first questionnaire I asked respondents what type of airline they thought was most dangerous. Other than what's shown there was also an option for mainline full service carriers; unsurprisingly, nobody chose this. There were 50 respondents but 5 declined to answer this particular question, so the sample size isn't really significant enough to draw any conclusions from, but it's what I have. (I kind of wish I could stop to re-run this with my current follower count, but this post is actually a request. No, not for my wonderful beloved followers - for my dentist. Not joking. Thank you for making my teeth not have holes in them.)

20% of respondents indicated that low-cost or ultra-low-cost airlines probably had the worst safety records and practices. It's completely understandable why someone would think this, but without going into the actual statistics of plane crashes this simply isn't true, and in fact they're the safest category on here. While it obviously depends on the specific airline, low-cost carriers as a category are no less safe than mainline carriers. This is despite the fact that they tend to fly shorter flights and thus they operate more takeoffs and landings, which are the points in a flight where the majority of crashes occur.

How does that make sense? Well, part of it is that the airline industry has gotten very close to eliminating accidental crashes via innovations in technology and an incredible safety culture built on years of hard lessons. The world has paid in blood for crew resource management and GPWS, but it has paid, and now the sorts of crashes that would have been unremarkable just 20 years ago are completely unthinkable. Actually, in the 2010s it's quite possible more people were killed by planes brought down deliberately than accidents. But beyond that, the costs low-cost airlines cut tend to be ones that aren't safety-critical. They tend to operate shiny new fleets (better fuel efficiency, purchased in bulk) with large maintenance teams (shorter turnaround and less planes grounded for long periods of time) at less congested airports (lower operating fees) and indeed when I think about famous accidents that involve massive cutting of corners it's nearly always full-service airlines, save for egregious examples of low-cost industry pariahs out of business within a few years. Focusing on eliminating operating costs by making the passenger experience cramped and miserable allows for pouring all your budget into running a smooth and well-oiled operation.

The axiom "if you think safety is expensive, try a crash" is often attributed to EasyJet founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou. And it's true. Beyond the cost of writing off a plane, of financial compensation to survivors and families, of lawyers and PR, of having to update your operation to make sure it never happens again...as O'Leary himself said, all press is good press...short of murder. A heinous, clearly negligent crash, on the other hand, can kill an airline as easily as it can kill people. It has done in the past and that threat will never stop being there. Airlines go out of business all the time for any number of mundane financial reasons. In many cases margins simply do not allow for something like a crash. Crashes have even ended the lives of deeply historic, beloved, well-established nationalized flag carriers, so this particular sword of Damocles could cut Ryanair's control cables just as easily. And they've managed to avoid this fate, with zero passenger fatalities and only one written-off airplane - the 2008 crash of flight 4102, caused by a birdstrike during landing.

And I'll be honest, "miserable and safe but a tenth the price of a train ticket from Boston to New York" (I am unfortunately not exaggerating) is a pretty appealing package to my non-millionaire self.

...so why do their planes look like this? I'm dead serious, it vexes me. I don't know what to make of this. Hey, did you remember I'm an airline livery review blog? Look, I can't help myself. Low-cost carriers as a topic, and how they're viewed, is probably the most interesting facet of the aviation industry to me. I feel like if I had infinite time and resources I might genuinely sit down, hit the databases and archives, run a few studies, and write a book about it - it's fascinating, and low-cost carriers are something that only economists and businesspeople seem to want to talk about. I think it's about time someone approached them through a lens of history and social psychology. There's not really academic value to what I do here, on Runway Runway, my tumblr blog where I call Lufthansa planes ugly, but if something doesn't exist I will create it even if my sample size is 50.

So how about how they're literally viewed - like, what their planes look like? Well, here are some low cost carriers I've reviewed. Notice something? They're bright and eye-catching. They don't take themselves too seriously. They're fun. The original low-cost carrier literally painted big smiles on their bright pink and orange planes.

Okay, yes, they don't all look like this. WestJet and IndiGo, for example, are fairly normal-looking. And there are full-service carriers like TAP Air Portugal (and condor. Absolutely condor.) that I would say have a pretty low-costy look to them. There is nothing wrong with that. Low-cost liveries are frequently colourful and exciting, with much more thought put into distinctiveness and charm instead of a passionless appeal to dignity. Indeed a lot of my most highly esteemed liveries, including all the ones pictured above, are low-cost airlines. GOL, for example, is a snappy, eye-catchy design in bright colours that's clearly not meant to look expensive. The same goes for Breeze Airways. There's even more examples out there I've yet to touch on, like EasyJet; ValuJet; Scoot; Spirit Airlines; Frontier Airlines; PLAY (and the late WOW air); Volotea; airasia, so on - to be dignified or clean is not the goal here. Even the names of low-cost carriers frequently are very hastily stapled together and generic, like EasyJet or Super Air Jet or Wings Air; JetSmart; SkyUp; Smartwings; FastJet; Sky Airline (just one!); MYAirlines; the classic ValuJet; flyadeal; and the legendary jet2.com, making no attempt at all to seem as if they have a legacy to fall back on. And there's even more out-there specimens, like Mango or even Nok Air. Many of them have specific themes, like Batik Air, Tigerair, or Buzz, which isn't something you see on full-service carriers, which brand themselves on national identity and the promise of luxury and good service - which is boring. Low-cost airlines, if they want to succeed, have to do something to make people remember they exist.

This is the fundamental shape taken by the low-cost product, which operates with few laurels to rest on and a mission of getting people to remember their website at any cost. Much like a can of Arizona iced "tea" guaranteed to cost ninety-nine cents, literally cheaper than a bottle of water, the package it comes in makes no attempt to look classy. And I am a heavy tea drinker who considers myself fairly discerning, whose favourite type of tea is gyokuro yamashiro (which is absurdly expensive), but you literally can't beat Arizona! It's potable and it's ninety-nine cents and it sort of resembles tea if you don't think too much about it and Massachusetts summers are surprisingly hot and the can is pretty and colourful. Sure, I'd rather have Ito En, but that costs normal money and Arizona costs 99 cents, and sometimes that's all I really have, and it gets the job done even if my teeth aren't enjoying the experience. A Wizz Air plane is a can of Arizona iced tea. It is ninety-nine cents and potable.

This isn't Arizona, this is a box of Darjeeling from Harrods. Ryanair outfits their fleet in handsome navy blue and gold. Their logo, an outline of a woman with harp-like wings taking flight, is simple yet elegant, and that feels so very wrong. I actually asked in my questionnaire what the colours of the Ryanair livery were, because I had seen people expressing casually that they weren't sure they could recognize so much as a Ryanair logo, and the results aren't worth showing in a chart because they're basically as good as random. I do want to specifically appreciate the person who answered "I don't remember but it must be whatever the cheapest colour of airplane paint is", though.

But the truth is that they have such a rich palette, and I do mean that in the sense of 'wealthy'. A deep royal blue paired with a saturated gold used as a sparing trim, these are the colours of an overstuffed plush armchair, not a budget airline. Aside from the name on the winglets and the giant billboard wordmark there is nothing, and I mean nothing, that is typical for a low-cost airline. This is not garish advertising, this is stately.

The layout itself is what I call "Deltalike". Delta certainly did not invent this style of livery but they are the carrier I associate most with it, likely due to the fact that I live right by one of their hubs. The Deltalike is a white plane with a painted tail unconnected to the main fuselage body, painted winglets, painted engines, and a painted underbelly large enough still be visible when viewed directly from the side. While a 'true' Deltalike uses a consistent palette for the engines, tail, and underbelly, there is significant variation. The detached tail is, in my opinion, the harbinger of the Deltalike, and I call liveries with an incomplete presentation of Deltalike features Deltalites.

This scheme is not as common as the Lufthansa Line variants but it is still very common, with its popularity probably peaking in the 2010s. Some examples of the true Deltalike include Air Canada, 2006 Icelandair, Azul, the old GOL livery, and jetBlue. Some colour-varied Deltalikes are the old Flair livery, the SAS red engine livery, and British Airways. An example Deltalite is the old Croatia Airlines scheme, which has a painted tail and belly and engines that are sort of painted. Sure, the engines are just grey and a bit of the tail extends onto the body, but it's got the colour concentrated in the right place and it has the painted belly, it's a Deltalite. A lot of liveries have painted engines and detached tails but no painted bellies, and I do consider these to be on the far end of the Deltalike spectrum, but they aren't what I mean when I refer to a Deltalike. They're what brown dwarves are to actual stars - related but not really the same.

Ryanair is a true Deltalike, but I would even call it an elevated Deltalike. The gold trim, like the cord adorning the hems a of a thick brocade smoking jacket, has an effortlessly shallow curve as it trims the rich blue underbelly, larger than that of a typical Deltalike and with a very deliberate shape to it which at the rearmost point covers half the fuselage by height but fades away to a sort of goatee at the front. This is not a plane which sat in a puddle of blue but an intentional cloak impeccably positioned, visible not just from the side but from the front. The engines, instead of being plain or just one colour with a website printed on, large and garish, are the same white and blue with yellow trim, the last traces of the setting sun melting into a glassy deep blue ocean below a stark white sky with which it inexplicably coexists. Sure, the detached tail still looks bad, it always does, but you can ignore it at most angles.

From below the dark blue creates that distinct cetacean effect, a certain brightness-inverted countershading effect, similar to what you see on airlines like KLM and other blue-side-up liveries. The underside doesn't have a huge, legible logo, visible even from the ground on final approach. One of the defining features of the low-cost livery, in my mind, is a large, prominent website. It's tacky and a little pointless (I mean, surely they can Google your airline's name if your wordmark is large enough) but it is downright ubiquitous. Even full-service carriers frequently heavily feature their website, but it's nowhere on a Ryanair plane. That's so, so incredibly weird.

Just...think about it. Their entire identity is outrage marketing. They are the xQc of airlines - bigoted, constantly in the news, and obnoxious. And nobody remembers what their livery looks like because it doesn't look obnoxious. This is like if MrBeast's thumbnails were lovingly curated aesthetically pleasing shots of scenery that could pass for screenshots from an actual film. It's not tacky and cheap and it's not generic and cheap, it's elegant and cheap. And of all airlines to look like this...Ryanair? Seriously? Ryanair?

image: Associated Press

The CEO.

The airplanes.

Do you see what I mean? Do you see why I find this deeply strange? This is not a clickbait plane. This plane is downright unclickable. It has never been clicked. I bet if I covered the name up and showed it to people (again, I wish I'd had the time to do this) I could fool people into thinking this is like United. Hell, I've learned from my other survey that the average person clearly knows less about liveries than I, the Joker of liveries, do, and can't identify basically any from memory. I could probably fool at least one or two people into thinking this is Singapore Airlines. I may try this on a few co-workers and then get back to you.

How did we get here? I have no clue. While Ryanair did start out as a charter carrier rather than a low-cost airline, and they always had blue and yellow as their colours, their very early liveries were just white planes with wordmarks.

This livery seems to have appeared very early in the history of low-cost Ryanair. Unfortunately, I can't date it precisely - the only thing I can say is that the earliest photograph I could find in this livery was from 1994. Based on the fact that their planes were photographed in different liveries right up to then, including this very brief TAM-like BAC 1-11 livery, I think 1994 is most likely the point they committed to it.

Oh, Adam Rowden, what a different world you lived in.

Even for 1994 this is a pretty conservative livery. Sure, this was before the real boom of bright and venomous flying billboards, but it's still strange. And Ryanair is no stranger to literal flying billboards in the form of logojets for such companies as Vodafone and Hertz, often sort of hideous ones, though I imagine these days nobody would ever want to associate with them like that.

And they never changed it, except that they did - to the modern, softer curve. This I can pinpoint with much more accuracy. It was changed in mid-2003 as new aircraft were delivered, while the older livery was phased out together with the secondhand airframes which wore it. I do not understand this at all. If any airline were to just make the decision to go full circus tent and be as garish as possible it should be Ryanair, right? Ryanair is a brand incapable of cowardly behavior. But they look far more sober than even the average modern flag carrier livery. I guess they don't think they need an eye-catching livery, but I just don't buy that as a full explanation. Imagine the news they'd make for introducing something truly heinous. I think their genuine best move would just be to put a huge picture of Michael O'Leary's face, blown up massively and poorly aligned with visible JPEG artefacts, all over their fuselages. All of Europe would be furious. So why? Why is this the situation?

So what's the verdict? This may be the hardest decision I've made so far. The options here range widely. I'll lay them out.

If I were rating this based on pure visual appeal, I would give it a B-. I am dead serious - this is a visually pleasing, well-balanced livery, simple yet elegant. The detached tail is my only major complaint. But I think Saudia's planes are quite pretty and I graded them low because I think they fail at representing their airline or having a distinct identity, so this cannot be my sole criterion.

I almost want to give them an F because of just how un-Ryanair they are, like how Copa's livery is literally not the Copa livery, but that feels wrong because that's still the Ryanair livery, it's not just a refusal to design a livery at all.

Do I marry these two into a tepid union destined for either divorce or a dramatic act of arson after a seeming eternity of languishing in mutual dysfunction in Tallahassee? I really don't want to do that, because attempting to balance these factors betrays the fact of their contradiction, the mental strain I've been afflicted with over this simple, pointless choice with zero consequences except maybe one of my followers disagreeing with me, which is fine. Unlike certain individuals I will not call you swear words and say you're an idiot.

The final option is maybe my least favourite of them all, because it's capitulation. It's admitting Ryanair is special, just the most annoying golf-ball-sized hailstone in the blizzard of absurd and comical frustrations which is the airline industry. But I just don't know what to make of this miserable little pest, this plague on the patience and knees of the traveling public.

Z. FUCK YOU IT'S RYANAIR.

It defies categories by being good, but being Ryanair. I hate that. I hate it, I hate their beastly little CEO, and I dislike that their planes are sleek, elegant, and could easily pass for an airline that doesn't instruct stewardesses to kick their passengers' shins as they walk down the aisles. If I am buying a ten-euro plane ticket I do not think the plane should look like this, teleologically speaking. At the end of the day I just have no better way to quantify my feelings.

Prick.

#tarmac fashion week #grade: z #era: 1990s #era: 2000s #era: 2010s #era: 2020s #region: europe #ryanair #low cost carriers #ulccs #deltalike #cabin fever #long haul #questionnaire 1 #questionnaires #double sunrise #yeah I guess. it goes in that tag sure

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