#and then the negotiation that decides his and his wife's futures is actually just couples therapy for the lesbians interrogating him

[ivymarquis]

Garnish

Pairing| Alex Keller x F!Reader Rating| M Content/Warnings| Free use smut (pre-negotiated terms), dirty talk, a brief sprinkle of dummification

For @glitterypirateduck's Alex Keller Challenge!!! lmao idk why I was so intimidated writing this. I haven't really been the biggest Keller girlie so I had no idea where to go with his voice. Obviously the best way to try and get a handle on it was to write a filthy PWP :) "I bet the neighbors know my name"

Alex would know those earrings anywhere.

They are, without question, his favorite pair of hers. And while a part of him has hoped she would decide to don them after his return home, until this morning the jewelry’d remained sitting in her jewelry box. 

Of course they are his favorite for a very specific reason.

The idea of roleplaying a free use housewife fantasy just scratches a deep seated itch inside the both of them. He's already got plans- one day in the very near future- for how he wants to put a ring on that pretty finger. Take the 'house wife' part out of the fantasy by entrenching it firmly in reality where it belongs.

But right now his thoughts are focused less on the engagement band and more on the pair of earrings dangling with every tilt and move of her head. She's taunting him.

The "rules'' are pretty simple. If she's wearing the earrings, Alex has full rein to treat her to like a personal fuck doll whenever and wherever the mood strikes him and she'll go along with it. When she's done playing, the earrings go back in the jewelry box and their sex life is the same as any other couples.

The second he sees her- having walked from the mutual bedroom to their kitchen where he found her upon waking up- he decides that today will be a lot more fun if he takes a slightly different approach to start.

He gives zero acknowledgement of the dangly jewelry despite the fact that he knows she knows there's no way he didn't see them. Just gives a half-sleepy smile and presses an affectionate peck to her temple while murmuring "Good morning, pumpkin." and it takes everything in him to not crack a grin at the indignant look on her face.

No doubt she expects him to jump the moment she gives the go ahead. To pin her down against the cabinets with one arm, lift her skirt with the other and have his wicked wicked way with her.

Oh no, dear heart.

They sit and have a perfectly normal breakfast. Or at least Alex does. His pumpkin looks wild eyed and a little suspicious at his newfound self control. Clearly not expecting it and doesn't know what to do with herself about it.

"Did you sleep alright last night?" he poses the perfectly innocent question. He's being an asshole- he knows it, but he's having too much fun. He knows damn well she slept fine last night because he wore her ass out. Could barely keep her awake long enough to clean everything up.

"Yes, did you?"

"Like a baby. You seem a little jumpy though this morning- might want to watch the caffeine."

Oh she's watching something but it sure as shit wasn't the coffee.

After collecting the dishes and placing them in the sink, Alex whistled to himself while getting ready for the day. Nothing too exciting- just a few 'Honey Do's, after he put his poor girl out of her misery.

She's finding any reason she can to be in the same room as him and it's adorable. Looking for this, needing to place that- she flits in and around like she's worried he'll forget she's there if not in his line of sight.

Eventually an actual task takes her attention off of Alex and that's when he strikes.

She's bent over in front of the dryer, no doubt fishing some far-flung sock that refused to come along quietly with the rest of the laundry.

Well fuck, he can't refuse a sight like that.

He knows her well enough that as one heavy hand lands to grab her wrist, the other fists the back of her hair with enough force to keep her from banging her head against the dryer in case she startles- which she does.

Huh. He'd of thought for sure that maybe a part of her was playing up the whole 'being bent in half in front of the dryer' thing, but from that reaction he's starting to think she was actually just focused on the laundry for a split second.

He doesn't miss the way she relaxes against his hold now that his little game is up. "What a desperate little thing you are. I haven't even done anything and you're ready to roll on your back for me." 

Now that he knows she's not going to split her head open on the edge of the dryer he releases her hair, his newly freed hand now reaching down to flip her skirt up. 

The sight that greets him is enough to draw a low whistle from the man. "No panties? Naughty girl. Almost like you were expecting to get fucked today." he teases, chuckling to himself as she nods and presses her hips against the stiffening bulge in his pants. "And here I was being a mean, mean man and making my poor girl wait. Surprised you didn't have to clean up your seat after breakfast this morning."

"I was starting to wonder if you were ever going to actually do anything today," she can't help herself but to lightly grouse at him.

"That's the fun of me being in charge of when you get fucked today, pumpkin. I might bend you over every singular solid surface that can hold your weight, or I might make you wait. Choice is all mine."

Well, until she says otherwise. Or if she outright safewords. But that is a given.

His pretty girl is getting spoiled though if she's got time to be grumpy about not being bent over to her satisfaction. 

One hand trails over her hip, teasing the exposed skin as he revels in how twitchy she is. 

It takes prep- always does, always will. But they'd been at it for a good amount yesterday and with her presently about to melt into a puddle of desire and neglect after this morning, Alex is mindful but not too apprehensive as he opens his pretty girlfriend up on his fingers.

First one, just to confirm his suspicions- she's primed and wants to go, pressing back against him in anticipation as one becomes two. He knows that two of his is something akin to three of her own, and that finally seems to settle her down as his fingers stroke that spot inside of her that has her grabbing at the dryer for leverage and pushing back against it to press further into him.

"That's it, baby. Nice and fucking wet for me. You know what your job is, hm?" he purrs behind her. 

"Yes," she pants quietly. "Alex, please-"

"You're spoiled, you know that?" he still ends up pressing an affectionate peck to her temple again, pulling out of her warm body to work on freeing himself one handed.

She's all too eager to help get things rolling- standing on her tip toes and arching her back. It makes it easy to slide into her, taking a few shallow, rolling thrusts to work himself all the way inside.

Rewarded with the sound of her pleased moans, Alex is quick to settle into a pace that he knows will get the pair of them rolling their eyes in no time. At this point he knows how to get her going as certainly as he does to get himself off.

"Oh my God- right there," she moans, her own hands scrambling for purchase against the dryer to brace. Alex bands one arm across her waist while the other continues to knead her hip, keeping her close to him as he thrusts.

'Yeah? That's the spot right there pumpkin?" he asks despite knowing the answer. He just likes watching how she'll go from a smart, capable woman to a dumb little cocksleave desperate for his cum with the right kind of prompting.

"Ye-ye-yeah," she confirms as he stays steadfast in his tempo. 

"Fuck,” he groans at the wet heat of her clinging to him like she never wants him to leave her.

Letting go of her hip with one hand but keeping his other banded across her waist, Alex is all too happy to grope at her chest. Fingers plucking at her pebbled nipples- rolling and pinching one before switching to pay attention to the other. Those hitching breaths work in time to his ministrations as he works her up just to pull his hand away from her bust in favor of her clit.

Now that got her attention, each thrust of his hips and slow stroke of his fingers being rewarded with his name a constant chant in her mouth- Alex Alex Alex Alex-

“That good, pumpkin? You gonna- fuck-  make a mess for me? Come on, honey, ask me for it,” he goads.

She’s sputtering and scrambling to get her brain in working order- trying to be a good girl. Fucking adorable.

“Alex- fuck,- hgn- Alex- please! Let me- let me,” her brain struggling to play catch up.

“All ya gotta do is ask, honey. You can do that, can’t you?” Pressing another chase kiss to her temple, the dichotomy is not lost on him paired with the absolute filthy noises coming from where they’re joined. She’s gagging for it- literally can’t get the words out of her mouth in the right order. “Must be fucking you good if you can’t even talk properly,” he teases, a grin escaping him when she shoots him a glare over her shoulder. “I bet the neighbors know my name,” the uppity ones who seem to think they’re above socializing with any of the other tenants in the building- brushing off anyone who tries to get to know them.

God they must fucking hate Alex when he’s home after being sent out on mission.

“Alex please! Let me cum, please!”

His fingers kept up that maddening pace until his ears finally register that she did, in fact, use her words.

And Alex is nothing if not a man of his word.

He knows exactly how to change the quiet strumming of his stroking fingertips from the teasing touches meant to ramp her up, and the ones meant to drag her across the finish line.

Those pretty thighs are trembling as Alex plays her like a fiddle. She cums with a cry, seemingly caught off guard by how intense it is.

It doesn’t take much more to get Alex chasing his own end.

He finishes without much fanfare Pulls out, tucks himself away, pulls her skirt down and kisses her temple again before leaving a shaking mess left to sort out the laundry.

Much like breaking the seal on a night out of drinking- now that he’s given into the temptation he just cannot stop the rest of the day. The second his refractory period is up and he feels ready to go another round, he’s seeking her out within the house and can’t wait to climb on top of her.

He may or may not be the reason that lunch burns that day a few hours later. It’s a worthy reason though, and he happily orders takeout as an apology.

Age in bio/pinned or I will block you ♡

#alexkellerchallenge #alex keller x reader #cod x reader #call of duty #my writing

[sepublic]

Alador the Abomination

           Mind you, I DO like Alador and think he’s interesting, as Dana said, but;

           I also want to be careful about him. Because not only is this the dude who still went with his wife on forcing Amity to cut ties with Willow, but also…

           While Alador does have a sense of honor that he’ll hold his wife towards, it’s worth noting that he also points out that Amity’s strength in Abominations is important and useful, because it means she could become the new head of the Abomination Coven, the way Rayne replaced the first one for the Bard Coven and all that.

           Alador seems impressed by Amity’s work, and thus seems to be a lot more opportunistic about it; And, I think that kind of fits his magic! Alador specializes in Abominations. Like his Abominations, he’s much more go-with-the-flow, the path of least resistance. He’s adaptable, moldable, shapeable, and not very talkative…

           He sees that Amity is stepping up for herself, and instead of trying to fight back, he just goes with it! Alador adapts, he decides to make use of Amity’s growing strength in Abominations, and change the plan from having her join the Emperor’s Coven, to leading the Abomination Coven instead! Not to mention, Alador is the person who makes things happen for Odalia, being the inventor who crafts her tech and helps carry out her will- One might say that in some ways, Alador is Odalia’s Abomination in a sense! Like his creations, simple-minded, easy to distract sometimes…

           But also VERY focused on his own goals. Loyal, obedient, and capable of stepping in to direct his own ‘master’ in a sense. And Alador is, as I said, a flexible person; He can work with Amity’s defiance while Odalia gets angry enough to go back on her own word, because she refuses to be wrong.

           Odalia is strict… Because she’s an Oracle. Oracles expect things to go a certain way after all, what with their visions- So when things don’t go the way she wants or anticipated, she’s very flustered and angry. Odalia hates being proven wrong, her certainty in what will happen, that things will go exactly as she expects and anticipates, it makes her rather lofty and arrogant.

          Odalia is a planner and a schemer, so she really considers and predicts how things will go for the business. Odalia is the dreamer, the leader, the person who comes up with ideas, while Alador? He makes them happen. He makes solutions to Odalia’s problems and desires with his Abominations, but he’ll also provide a solution to Amity’s defiance… Not in trying to fight back, but with rolling with that. Letting it be, and changing this plan they had for years on the spot, because Amity has a LOT of talent.

          Like an Abomination, Alador doesn’t really try to fight back, he just goes along… Except this Abomination does have his own ideas of course. He can make this setback work, like he does his inventions and Odalia’s plans. With how the Golden Guard explained to the couple that Belos doesn’t want a private army used against him, I actually have to lowkey wonder if Odalia and Alador HAD meant or considered it, or if they were just fine with selling to the highest bidder…

           But with how Al is clearly an opportunist in his own right, just a lot more subtle and ignored in favor of the ‘brains’ of the operation, the way an Abomination is… Who knows? Maybe he’s had his own ideas about grabbing some influence for the family. It’d be interesting, as Dana might put it, if in a lot of ways Alador can be more clever and adaptable than Odalia, but even have more imagination when it comes to schemes –he IS an inventor after all- but he’s still happily subservient to her, because Alador is doing this ALL for her.

          He might get the job done for her, it might result in Alador knowing how to handle Odalia’s problems better than her; But it is for HER, and so he acts like a second opinion that his wife takes seriously. Alador is usually content to roll along and make into reality whatever Odalia wants, so if he’s deciding to speak up, if he decides this idea of his is more important; Then it clearly must be worth something. Alador is someone who talks scarcely but meaningfully, putting a lot of weight into his rare moments because this is when he NEEDS to speak up.

          I think Al was being NICE to Amity, but only really so he could use her. Nice in the way you’re nice to someone so you can get them to do something for you, and not out of the actual inclinations of your good heart, or your responsibilities as a good person. Which, Al does bring up Odalia’s honor as a Blight, but he still has that ulterior motive;

           With Amity, he seems to have realized that he needs to give her what she wants, so Al can get what HE wants as well… Maybe that’s what he’s like with Odalia, lowkey? He gives Odalia what she wants, so he gets his own goals accomplished; And that’s why he’s generally so subservient, but capable of putting his foot down whenever he wants? 

          So maybe Alador has a lot more power and control in this relationship than we think. Maybe… He’s savvy enough to recognize that being chill, having compromise, can sometimes yield more reliable results, while Odalia needs control no matter what. In that way, you could argue Alador would make a pretty great beast-keeper as well…

           And likewise, him and Odalia are giving Belos what HE wants with an army of Abominations and automatons… And in turn, getting what they want; Power and profit. They’re a business after all, they give people what they want, providing supply to a certain demand… And they might have other ulterior motives, which the Golden Guard might’ve implied to their faces. Either way, I think Alador could be a neat idea of negotiation not necessarily meaning someone is weaker, just… More adaptable and in some ways clever. He’s underestimated…

          Al CHOOSES to obey his wife, is what I’m saying, because compromise works out better in the end- And that’s not entirely wrong, either! It’s a pragmatic viewpoint, which fits an inventor who has to figure out how to realistically make things work; While Odalia has visions, she sees futures and things, she gets an idea or dream, a scenario in mind, and predicts it. She comes up with an idea, Alador then carries it out. And the fact that he LETS this happen, instead of being helplessly out of control, that he can step in anytime like he did at the end of Escaping Expulsion… Yeah, that’s genuinely WORSE in so many ways.

           Odalia floundered and for a moment was scared and terrified, she was angry and indignant and desperately trying to damage control… And it was ALADOR who reassured her, Alador who showed her what to do in that moment, how this was good- It was Alador who helped Odalia seize control of the situation again, without having to do anything else other than widen her view a bit and adapt. He has her back and manages to salvage this for Odalia, so she trusts him.

           Alador is definitely, as Dana put it, interesting…

#the owl house #the owl house alador #alador blight #the owl house odalia #odalia blight #character analysis #meta #symbolism

[breitzbachbea]

📒💖

Emi, I'm kissing you on the mouth right now, you're so sexy. In general but also for taking the bait.

Put “📓” or some other version of a book emoji into my inbox and I’ll explain the plot of a fanfiction that I haven’t written but daydream about.

The Constantinople AU

This AU is from 2017 and came about because I watched a TED-ED video about Constantinople's walls, relistened to the Aladdin soundtrack and because I had earlier talked with a friend about how I had not really seen people make a genie a woman. I came back years later to explain it to my friend Jonah and add new stuff and this year I showed it to @amber-isnt-a-precious-stone to add even more things. It's one of my favourite AUs for sure.

Dramatis Personae:

- Herakles Karpuzi (APH Greece) as Son of the Roman emperor and heir to the throne - Sadık Adnan (APH Turkey) as Soldier in the Ottoman army and Imposter Prince - Dilan Taş (Human OC) as Jinn and Sadık's unsuccessful wingwoman - Athanasios Karpuzi (Human OC) as the Roman emperor and serial skirtchaser - Salvatore Vento (Human OC) as Advisor to the emperor and Fuckface McBadDad - Michele Vento (APH Sicily) as Herakles' childhood friend

The Happenings™:

- It's set in Constantinople in an alternate Universe, close to ours. It’s the late High Middle Age/Early Late Middle Age (depending on how you want to periodize. I am working with how the German Middle Ages are divided, which is arguably a very bad method for classifying Byzantine. But this is my silly Hetalia AU, not my term paper). Around 1300, I’d say.

- Athansios Karpuzi is the current Roman Emperor, which makes Herakles the heir to the throne. Athanasios is desperately trying to wed his son off to any available suitors to form new alliances, but two things keep getting into the way: 1. Herakles is thoroughly uninterested in playing along with Athanasios’ plans. He’s not a chess piece on his father’s board if he's got anything to say about it. 2. Salvatore Vento is Athanasios’ closest consultant and protests any marriage for whatever reason he can find. For the sole reason that he has been eyeing the throne for himself the entire time and wants to marry his own son, Michele, to Herakles.

- Like in my Hetalia AU "Like Father Like Son", Salvatore and Athanasios trust each other as far as they can throw one another. There is no genuine trust here at all, no sympathy, really, they just stick together because they know the other is useful. Have some assorted banter as result of this:

Salvatore: "Immortal what a name! What a title to bear! Although immoral would have fit you much better." [Athanasios’ etymology is “immortal”]

S: "Maybe you wouldn't have to struggle to find a suitable bride for your son if you stopped dragging every young woman within and from outside Constantinople to bed." Athanasios: "He's into guys too, problem solved." S: "Oh, yeah, me dumbass thought you needed stop whoring around, how silly of me."

A: "If he is into anything at all. But if I have another child, they might keep this empire going." S: "No legitimation to the lineage's claim to power like a gay loner and a bastard child." A: "Ah yes, I hired the man whose wife ran away with his son so he could berate me about family life. How I value your opinion, Salvatore." S: "She didn't run away." A: "No, she just hides and sends you people until she can get her divorce. I'm very inclined to give it to her."

S: "They're childhood friends! They'd make a great couple!" A: "All I can hear is what a great emperor you'd make, ruling on my corpse."

- So. Herakles is staunchly resisting any marriage to anyone and minding his business one day, walking along the great walls of Constantinople. He stops to look out into the surrounding area and suddenly, hears a noise. Confused, he looks down and sees someone scaling the wall. Sadık looks up and sees the most beautiful man he has ever seen … spotting him trying to get into the city.

- Sadık is part of the Ottoman Turks, who’re conquering the area around Constantinople these days. He’s some nobody in the army and thought he’d give it a shot and get into the city by himself to earn some fame (and money).

- Herakles is seriously impressed Sadık managed to actually almost scale the famously impenetrable walls of the city. Not impressed enough to actually let him in. So these two banter a bit, Sadık now distracted by this hunk in front of his nose. Herakles correctly assesses that he’s a Turk and says of himself that he’s the emperor’s son. Sadık: “Hey, hot stuff, if that’s true and it’s so impressive, why don’t you let me in as a reward?” Herakles: “Yes, of course. And then I’ll open the gates for the rest of your people, so that you can just walk in and take the city. What impossible thing do you want to happen next, a kiss on the mouth?” Sadık: “What’s so impossible about that?”

- Either way, Herakles threatens to sick the guards on him, which leads to a “Oh no you wouldn’t” - Herakles grins and definitely would, so Sadık has to retreat. (#Don’tSickTheGuardsOnMyAssYou’reSoSexyAhaha).

- He goes back to camp, having gained nothing but a crush. He gets in real trouble for rummaging around the booty, where he finds an oil lamp and WOULDN’T YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT. Dilan, a Jinn, pops out and Sadık uses his first wish to get out of trouble. Once that is done and the two have a moment of peace, he's thinking about what to do next and his mind circles back to Herakles.

- Dilan: "Ah yes, they always want something with love ... so who struck you and what's the problem?" Sadık: "Well ... I don't really know if it's true but he said he was the son of the emperor. He certainly looked the part! And I didn't really want to wait for him to call the guards to confirm it." Dilan: "Wait ... so you want to get with the son of the Roman emperor?" Sadık: "If that handsome little shit didn't lie to me, then yes." Dilan: "Isn't that a little out of your ballpark?" Sadık: "What, is it out of yours? Can't help me in that case, magic lady?" Dilan: "Psht, don't make me laugh! I can make the impossible happen, just tell me what you need." Sadık: "I dunno ... I guess getting inside the city?" Dilan: "That's it? That's all you need? That's less than a no-brainer -" Sadık: "Oh yeah, if it's so easy then, save that second wish for later. I got past one of the walls already once, I'll figure that out without your magic." Dilan: "Alright, alright ... and what about the wooing of your sweetheart?" Sadık: "That we'll see to once we're there ..."

- Dilan and Sadık chitchat while they make it to Constantinople. Dilan spends some time in the lamp, because walking is boring, but she does tell him that she's pretty sick of being in there. So that's where Sadık learns about her wishing to be free. Dilan in turn learns that Sadık doesn't have such a rosy life either (especially because now he can't return to the army, after he basically deserted).

- So they get to Constantinople and decide to actually factcheck if they got the right guy - and if yes, some general information about the emperor's son. Luckily enough, a friendly trader/tradesman tells them a bit about the city and the imperial family. Dilan: "So, did you by any chance ever see the emperor's son?" Trader: "Oh, well, that's an odd question, isn't it? But since you don't seem to be from here, I can understand the curiosity. Well, let me think ... You often see him only from afar ... during a triumph where he had accompanied his father during the campaign I got to see him up close. What a regal figure there at the head of the troops!" Sadık is too lost in the vision of his crush all decked out in military gear on a horse. And then taking all that gear off and being a regal figure while he fucks Sadık into the sheets … Dilan: "Yeah, yeah, yadda yadda, we need something more concrete. Height, hairstyle, haircolour, what does the dude look like?" The trader/tradesman is a little baffled but does provide a description that lines up with who Sadık saw. So with that information, they start to wonder how to woo a future emperor.

- Luckily, now that the trader/tradesman thinks they're here for imperial gossip, he actually mentions the fact that Emperor Athanasios hopes for his son to follow his footsteps and is currently looking for a suitable match, so that Herakles can be of political use even while he's still in charge. So Dilan and Sadık get an idea how to get into the city and Herakles heart. Or his pants. Milestones are still up for negotiation.

- After the grand entrance happened, where Herakles definitely took offense at either "Heard your prince was a sight lovely to see" or "Heard your prince was hot, where is he?" because either question was accompanied by Sadık's flirty looks, Athanasios actually lets Sadık and Dilan into the palace. There he and Salvatore discuss the entire thing, aka if whoever Sadık pretends to be is a good match.

- While they talk political stuff and snark, because of course Salvatore is against it, Sadık continues to feel very smug in his new princely identity and makes flirty eyes at Herakles. Herakles is just like "ugh" and much more happily plays with his cats. Which tbh sounds like they're 16 or something, but they're not that much younger than in canon (I think they'd be 22 and 24 here).

- Hijinks ensue. Herakles tells his dad that he’s a Turkish soldier that tried to sneak into the city and Athanasios doesn’t believe him, thinking Herakles is now lying badly to not get married. Dilan and Sadık are developing a friendship that is best described as hoes being bros.

- Dilan: "Look, you like cats. Cats are furry. Hairy, if you will. You know who else is hairy? Sadık. He's juuust as hairy as a cat - shhhht, I'm wingmanning for you and it's working great, you can thank me later."

- At first, Dilan mostly employs her magic for some silly little things with Sadık to woo Herakles. It doesn't work very well. Herakles: "I know it's magic, that's not impressing me - Okay, it is kinda cool, but you're still a dick." Dilan: "But a dick with a cool sidekick, come ON! What else do you want me to do to make the nerd viable?!" Sadık: "You call that wingmanning?!"

- Once Dilan realizes dickbags Athanasios and Salvatore are, she also uses little magic tricks to continously make their lives worse. Ironically, this may be what finally endears her and Sadık to Herakles. (If you haven't noticed, he doesn't like his father very much and Athanasios doesn't care for him aside from being a political pawn).

- At one point, Michele shows up at court! Herakles is overjoyed to see his childhood friend, which he hadn’t seen in years! Sadık is absolutely not, because it looks like just when he and Herakles almost had something, this twat shows up and steals the show!

- Dilan: "Well, I can't make him not love this dude, but I could beat the dude up." Sadık: " ... keep that in mind."

- However, when Dilan goes to investigate what Michele is doing here (and wingwomanning again), this ensues: Dilan: "Hey brah, what's up, why so blue looking? Is it because your boo just told you you ain't his number one anymore?" Michele: "I, eh ... no ... May I ask who you are?" Dilan: "Just one of the servants of the insanely charming and powerful - and hairy - Prince who's here to marry the Prince. Yep, he's sooo gonna marry that guy." Dilan: "There was a whole musical number about it, you should have seen it, I was on top of my game." Michele: "Sure heard about it, you stirred up trouble here. Hope it helps ... I'm not saying that Herakles should marry someone his dad set in front of him, but it'd be nice if he found someone at last. He told me he was very lonely the last years ... I don't want to leave him behind just as lonely again." Dilan: "Yeah, it'd be - Leave him behind?"

- Dilan: "Good news! His loverboy is not here to stay! He wants to go to the west, he's just here because of his terrible dad!" Sadık: "Oh, that's good! Wait ... isn't his father that asshole of an advisor?" Dilan: "Yeah. Why." Sadık: "The guy who wanted to marry his son to Herakles since apparently forever?" Dilan: "Yeah, but his son is not going to marry him." Sadık: "I smell a trap 10 miles against the wind."

- There is no trap however. Herakles realizes that the crush on Michele is nothing but a childhood crush and has to be left in the past … and that he wants to move forward with Sadık. When he wants a conversation one-on-one, Dilan wants to make it a one-on-two, but Herakles asks her if she doesn’t want to keep Michele company in the gardens, it’s not gonna take long, an hour or two at most. Then she can also fetch Michele when they’re done, so that Herakles can say goodbye before he leaves for Sicily.

- Dilan thinks about it, finds it’s not a trap (and if it was, nothing she and her fists couldn’t solve) and goes in the garden. There she talks with Michele and makes the mistake to either show off her magic powers, tell Michele of TurGre’s meetugly (#Don’tSickTheGuardsOnMyAssYou’reSoSexyAhaha) or to be like: “Hey, do you wanna know a cool secret? Sadık isn’t a Prince, all of this is my doing. Pretty cool, eh?”

- Unfortunately, they’re not alone. Salvatore was searching for Michele in the gardens, to get his “fucking rotten brat of a son” to play along after all instead of disappearing once again. So he overhears this. Salvatore: "Oh, so Prince Sadık is not a Prince? That's a funny joke indeed and I'll laugh my ass off the hardest in the end."

- So just when Herakles and Sadık had time to talk about their feelings and confess and, also, you know, make out and fumble for good measure, they get interrupted. Literally when Herakles was finally stripped down to his tunic and Sadık slid his hand underneath it.

- Athanasios: "This is gonna be the last wall you breached, you little rat." Herakles: "Dad! Stop it!" Athanasios: "This man nearly ruined our dynasty. Arrest him." Salvatore: "Arrest the man indeed. Go and get the ex-emperor." Athanasios: "Ex-Prince. It's not the right time for your snark." Salvatore: "I'm not talking about that small fish. Guards - arrest this careless idiot who nearly ruined our city by letting a scammer into its walls! Clearly the emperor's been in on this and can't be trusted!" Athanasios: "You've lost your mind." Salvatore: "You've lost yours and it's actually the thing you'll miss the least when syphilis is going to eat away the last of your rotten brain in the dungeons. So get him! And that ottoman faker, too, just get the trash out of here."

- The scene ends rather dramatically, because I love the thought of Michele and Dilan rushing to their help, but they get held back. Dilan maybe gets restrained by some anti-magic stuff. And Dilan begs Sadık to use his last wish to help him. To solve this problem. But Sadık refuses, because he promised to use it to set her free. So Dilan is just livid and upset, distraught, yelling at him to let her do something while he gets taken to the dungeons.

- So now Salvatore’s in charge and setting his plans into motion. PR is of course the first thing that needs to be done, so there’s a speech to Constantinople’s masses: "But, as you know, I respect and regard the royal family, the entire dynasty, more than any of you! So I am not going to assume power, it'd be a crime against God himself who granted us this emperor, if I had removed him for anything but his unstable condition and his tragic mistake of almost letting his lineage being tainted! Not to mention that this would have been the end of our beloved empire, our city, suddenly overrun and ruled by those barbarians! No, of course I'll give my power to the true heir who was merely a victim to his father's incompetence. To prove I really mean it, I'm even going to give up my son to the Prince, to forever bind my loyality to the throne!"

- Michele: "I hold no more respect for you as father as I did when we left. I'm not going to play along your perverted plan." Salvatore: "Well Michele, if you don't respect me as father, then maybe you'll respect me as the Roman Emperor!"

- Meanwhile, in the dungeons, Athanasios and Sadık have some great chitchat. Sadık: "Guess that's some quality father and son in law bonding time, eh?” S:“Though I'm pretty sure your son would rather call me daddy than you." A: "Once this entire drama is over, I'll have you decapitated. Or just kick you back to your people and let them handle this." S: "Ah, but when I came here as a fake prince, your arms and gates were wide open. Should've listened to your son when he told you so."

- Here’s also some Salvatore content: Athanasios: "And now you strut around in my clothes. I'm surprised they even fit you fatass!" Salvatore: "Oh, the entire imprisonment is really getting to you, ain't it, emperor tightlips? Ah, I meant - ex-emperor tight lips. Now you've sunk low enough to insult me with such details. Is it because you have nothing else left now that you're off your high horse?" Salvatore: "I thought so. At least you're enough of a sound mind to not threaten me with 'once I get out of here' hot air. Because we both know you're not getting out of here in a lifetime anymore. And yes, I’m wearing your rags, since I’ve got no time to waste.” Salvatore to Sadık: "Actually, it's sad that you aren't going to be there to watch it. Although, I think a public execution would just spice the entire wedding festivities up, if I think about it."

- Ah yes. The wedding. Herakles: "You look great today, my love. Like a polished jewel." Michele: "Thanks. I'd never seen a man more handsome than you though. Truly, a prince with all his qualities seen right away." Both: -sigh- Ft. Dilan, who’s just watching the kids sadly and is trying to reassure them she got this, she’s gonna find a way, it’ll be fine!!!

- Herakles and Michele wonder why Sadık didn't use that wish. To which Dilan replies he said he'd free her with it, but she didn't believe he'd actually uphold that promise. And he shouldn't have because now she's useless and he's in trouble. (And Hera only falls more in love with Sadık, because being a good person is HELLA swoony.)

- Dilan also tries to cheer them up and I believe she can still do small magic tricks, she just can't get out of whatever shackles/confinement she is in. So when she isn't despairing or raging, she tries to cheer Herakles and Michele up with some silly little tricks. She shapeshifts into their fathers to make fun of them. Which leads them to an idea ...

- I have no idea what it is though. I only know that the grand final and resolution involves shapeshifting. If anyone who's better at plots wants to give me ideas, please do.

- However they manage to stop Salvatore's machinations, this is what follows: Salvatore gets thrown into the dungeons. Herakles decides to not let his father out and instead take the crown himself. He becomes emperor and marries Sadık. Sadık uses his last wish to set Dilan free. Michele goes to travel to Sicily, promising he’ll write letters to them and come visit some day (Dilan promises the same).

- The end of Salvatore and Athanasios rotting in jail together is SO satisfying to me, bc now that they are useless to each other, there is nothing left to do but be a pain in each other’s ass. They hate each other and they DESERVE EACH OTHER.

Sequel Bait:

- Before we get to the sequel bait, let me give you some prequel bait for a change. Here's a little "what if one of the many suitable matches for Herakles had been one of the Beilschmidt brothers" scenario. Plus free medieval history lesson:

- Now for the actual sequel: Three years come and go. Herakles and Sadık settle in their new rules as emperor and ... emperor's husband. (I don't know if Byzantine empresses were "put into office" in the same way the Emperor was. If someone is more knowledgeable about this than me, correct me).

- Their marriage is going swell, however both struggle in their new official roles. Herakles faces all the administrative problems and tough decisionmaking that comes with being a ruler, while Sadık struggles to be accepted by the people of Constantinople. Where Herakles tends to take care of the court, Sadık tries his hand at being a military leader.

- One morning, Sadık wakes up with Herakles in the room. Which should not be surprising, if it wasn't for the fact that Herakles had left the city yesterday. He's oddly nonchalant about it when Sadık asks him and also ... weirdly chipper? Eager? Kitschy in his flirting? He's at first flattered, but soon very confused by everything and wonders if either he hit his head real hard in his sleep or if Herakles fell off his horse when he tried to make it out of the city.

- Turns out none of it, because after some more eyelash fluttering, his "husband" goes POOF! and turns out to be Dilan, who's on the floor laughing. "You should have seen your stupid face! Really! Wait, I'll show you!"

- After Dilan is done shapeshifting into Sadık, absolutely overacting his reaction and argueing with him about it, they finally get to catch up. Turns out that Dilan was bored by travelling around the world and wanted to check in on her old buddy.

- She couldn't have chosen a more opportune time to do so. Once Herakles returns, he ... at first has a weird reunion with his husband. Sadık is kind of wary around him and starts to list his attitude and general personality traits/ticks as proof for ... something. Takes a while for Herakles to get the news that Dilan is back, too.

- Herakles is very relieved to hear that! He wanted to confide something in Sadık, because after he had returned to the city, someone had taken him aside. Natasa Simonides, an old and trusted courtly advisor, needed help. Recently, her husband Ibrahim disappeared and she's worried.

- Natasa also told Herakles a secret: Ibrahim is a Jinn, which is why his disappearance worries her even more. Herakles informs Sadık and asks Dilan if she knows anything, but she sadly hasn't heard anything either. - Before she can zip off and see if she can find Ibrahim, Herakles asks another favour of her - to educate Natasa's twins, Timothea Farah and Omar Veniam instead. Natasa thinks they may be able to find their father, but they don't know they're half-Jinn, so they'd need some guidance. Dilan happily agrees to be their teacher!

- My only more in-depth infos on Jinn and their children with humans comes from this Monstrum video by PBS Storied. I don't think Thea & Omar would need to be taught by anyone to be seers and how to be in communication with non-human spheres, but it makes for a better story.

- So Dilan is off to teach the kids while Sadık volunteers to go and search for Ibrahim. Herakles resumes his imperial role in the city.

- It's not really fun and as the people become more and more agitated with the status quo, more and more people "remember" that the old emperor is still around. Enough people are going "What's that kid knowing anyways?! All those highfangled ideas and useless reforms, for what?" that a select few decide to stage a coup by releasing Athanasios from the dungeons.

- Now, I still haven't decided if Salvatore also gets let out. The problem is that I really would begrudge him his freedom ... but I also begrudge Athanasios his freedom! It doesn't feel fair that one bastard gets to walk free and the other doesn't!

- Out in the field, Sadık isn't having much more luck. No Jinn in sight and the trouble he has with a few of the men that accompany him keeps him thinking about the acceptance problems again. He really wishes at one point that Herakles wasn't emperor at all. You can imagine how terrible he feels for these thoughts when news of the coup catches up to them. Be careful what you wish for and all that jazz. On top of that, he gets into trouble as well - betrayed by some of the men he had taken along. He gets stuck in some place like a cave or an abandoned house he was investigating ...

- Sadık finds a large sealed bottle and thinks 'Well, what's the worst that could happen?' He is greeted by a GIANT cloud of smoke instead of anything edible/drinkable. By the time the cloud is human-shaped, he already has a giant grin on his face. Sadık: "Hah! I have a sixth sense for this kind of stuff!" Jinn: "Greetings, mor-" Sadık: "Yeah, yeah, quick question, is your name Ibrahim? Or do you know one of your kind called Ibrahim who's been passing through recently?" Jinn: "My name is Ibrahim - " Sadık: "Great! You know a Greek lady called Natasa? I take that look as a yes. Okay, so first wish is to get us out of here, second wish we'll see, third is like freeing you from the whole servitude bit - You do the three wishes thing, right? Anyways, your wife and kids are wishing for dad to come home, so get us out of here, you'll get explanations on the way back."

- In the meantime, Dilan and her protégés, along with Natasa and Herakles, have been trying to figure out how to solve the problem at court. It doesn't help that the news of Sadık's troubles also reached them (I know the speed of spreading information may be historically hella inaccurate, but I need it for the drama). So Dilan is torn between helping her best bud and helping the rest at court. The Greeks cook up a plan and assure her that she should go and help Sadık, they've got this.

- The plan is to get Athanasios to do something incredibly stupid that would immediately turn the people against him. They exploit the fact that Athanasios likes to listen to words that fall from pretty lady's mouths. So Timothea flatters her eyelashes and promises to tell him something of a vision she had ... that the divine has something to tell him through her. (Don't worry for her, she may have to endure his fingers under her chin, which is infuriating and nauseous enough, but no more skin contact than this). Thea gets backed by her brother to lend it more credibility once Athanasios considers with his head and not his dick.

- And we can all appreciate that Dilan has been sent away, otherwise the scene would have been like this: Thea: "The spirits are talking to me about you ... " Dilan: "Mhm, mhm, indeed, I can hear them to. They're saying that you're a bitch!"

- Dilan in the meantime reaches Sadık, Ibrahim and those of his troop that haven't betrayed and abandoned him as soon as they heard of the coup. A little happy reunion before she immediately fills them in on what's happening.

- They come up with a plan themselves to finally get rid of Athanasios and the Simonides and Herakles have begun to sweat a little back home, because Athanasios mistake of listening to the twins' advice has bought them time, but not really solved the problem yet. Which is when Dilan and Ibrahim sweep in, concocting an illusion powerful enough to wrap up everyone in Constantinople and make Athanasios seem like the literal devil. Some mass-hallucination miracle bullshit, truly, to assert that he doesn't deserve the throne.

- Maybe for good measure, Athanasios disappears after the illusion is over. Dilan and Ibrahim have no idea where he went, they say with a smile.

- Another grand finale! The four lovers are reunited, Thea and Omar are overjoyed to have their dad back and he is overjoyed to have his kids back. When Dilan tells the Simonides twins that they did a great job, she's a good teacher after all haha!, Ibrahim and Natasa invite her to stay. Dilan says that they don't need her, surely, now that Ibrahim can teach them, but Ibrahim says he could use some help. Herakles also encourages her, saying that he'd love to have her at court - and Sadık also bullies her into staying. "What do you wanna do, see the world again? Didn't do much for your peanut brain the first time around, maybe hit the books together with Hera so that you'll be a passable teacher some day."

- Dilan and Omar also have evolved a crush on one another during this entire mess. That's what I'll leave you with - all well that ends well.

Also hey you! Thanks for reading all of this! Here's a little bonus content if you made it this far!

A wonderful fanart of Michele and Salvatore by my beloved friend C0FFINATED over on twitter!

Here's an amazing commission of the Greeks and Turks by @captkirkland ! I'm not sure if I'm allowed to repost the pictures myself on tumblr & you shoud reblog it from him anyways. Show him and his amazing art some love! From left to right it's Timothea, Herakles, Omar, then Dilan, Sadık and Havva (who's not featured in this AU, rip. Things would have worked to well with their brainpower).

Thanks for reading this! Hope you have a wonderful day!

#aph #hetalia #hws #hetalia au #aph greece #hws greece #aph turkey #hws turkey #aph turgre #hws turgre #hetalia turgre #hetalia oc #aph sicily #hws sicily #storie nostre #hera #sadık #dilan #athanasios #salvatore #miche #natasa #thea #omar #ibrahim #turgre #beablabbers #writing

[mytardisisparked]

Heyyyyy what's the chace you'd be willing to write a DinxOmera fic where Omega adjusts to technically being a ruler of Mandalore after marrying Din? You can do whatever you want I just think I would be cute 👉👈

ANON this is a cute idea!!!! I love it!

This turned out a heck of a lot longer than I planned but I wanted to connect some dots. 

----------

And Everything Was New

----------

The forest path drew her gaze far more than it should have. It was like a magnet; she couldn’t walk past the damned thing without looking down it. Omera knew what her subconscious was looking for: that little flash of silver that had been the last she had seen of the Mandalorian.

It was silly, really, because she knew that he wasn’t coming back. He needed to keep his son safe and, she knew, he needed to leave to keep the village safe too. She rationalized his choice in her head every time her eyes wandered towards the road and her heart lept when something shiny caught her eye. And yet...

Her eyes wandered back towards the road as she stooped by the pool, heart heavy. With a sigh, she dragged her unwilling gaze back towards her work.

She immediately looked back up, however, as she realized someone was coming down the road.

After months of trying to train herself to think that Mando would never return, she struggled to believe her eyes as the beskar-clad man stepped out of the shadows, helmet-ed head scanning the clearing. Despite the fact that his face was covered, Omera felt the moment their eyes locked. 

She stood as he walked over to her, occasionally nodding at others who greeted him. Within a few moments, they were standing toe to toe, exactly as they had been when they last spoke.

“Omera.” His voice was rough, but his tone was gentle, even coming through the modulator of his helmet. 

“Mando.” She smiled. “You came back.”

“I did.” Tentatively, he reached out a hand to take hers. “Do you mind if we speak alone?”

She nodded and lead him to her tent, keeping his hand in hers the whole way.

Once they were safely inside, she turned back to him. he adjusted his grip on her hand and, with a pang of amusement and confusion, Omera realized that the Mandalorian seemed.... nervous.

“You-” he cleared his throat, “you offered to let me stay, back when I was here with my son.” His head tilted up and, once again, Omera could feel him looking into her eyes. 

“I did.” She smiled. “The offer still stands.”

His grip on her hand tightened. “Omera, I- my son is gone. He’s training to be a Jedi.”

She realized the question that was hiding behind that sentence. “My offer still stands.” She lifted a hand to his helmet, not to take it off, just to hold him. “You have a place here, with me, if you want it.”

Mando lifted his hand to hers, and she started to pull away in embarrassment, feeling as if she had crossed a line again. To her surprise, however, he placed his hand over hers and pulled his helmet up.

She found herself looking at the kindest face she had ever seen.

She had often found herself picturing what Mando looked like under his helmet, though it felt wrong to do so. She had never quite landed on a specific mental image, but the vague inklings she had had didn’t do justice to reality; his eyes were a warm, deep brown that matched his dark hair and the scruff around his mouth and chin. As hard as his armor was, the man beneath was softer and more welcoming than anyone else she had ever met.

“My name is Din. Din Djarin.” His eyes flashed nervously, unsure of what to do without the cover of his helmet. 

She moved slowly, leaving the helmet in his hand to reach up and gently cup his cheek. He tensed for a moment at the contact, before leaning into her hand. 

“Welcome home, Din.”

------

It took little time at all for Din to adjust to life in the village. He still wore his helmet outside of their home, but he integrated into the daily work routine with no problem at all. Winta, of course, took to him like a bantha to water in the desert, shirking her chores to pester him with questions and tell him outlandish stories. Omera tried to warn Winta not to overwhelm him, but Din just patiently asked Winta to tell him another story, sending Omera small smile to tell her it was alright.

A year after he moved to the village, Din and Omera were married. 

They had tried to have a quiet ceremony, but the entire village decided to throw a massive party for their favorite couple, complete with dancing and food, and several winks and nudges from the village matriarchs regarding the hopes of future “additions to the village.” The only moment of the whole ordeal that wasn’t filled with cheers was the moment Din removed his helmet to kiss his new wife. 

Of course, as soon as their lips touched and the onlookers had recovered from the shock of seeing the face of their hero, they cheered louder than ever, and there wasn’t a moment of silence till dawn the next morning.

As the newlyweds watched the sunrise, hand in hand, Omera felt Din sigh. She looked up to see his brow drawn.

“Din?”

He looked down at her, face relaxing. “Hey.” He reached a hand up to touch her cheek.

She raised a brow. “What’s on your mind?”

His hand fell away and he looked back out at the sun. “I just... I feel like this, this peace, is about to end.”

Omera’s brow furrowed. “What do you mean?” She rested a hand on his chest and he laid his over it.

“I think-” he sighed again, “I think something’s coming.”

“Well,” Omera reached up and turned his pensive face towards hers, “I suppose we ought to enjoy the time we have, then.”

He smiled and leaned down, capturing her lips in his own. “I suppose we should.”

------

It was another few months before their peace was finally disturbed.

“Din!” One of the fishermen called into their tent one afternoon as they were repairing their krill baskets. “Someone’s here to see you! Says you have something of hers.”

Din looked at Omera from across their lunch table. “Bo Katan.”

His wife’s eyes flashed to his trunk at the end of their bed. “She wants the sword?”

“Yeah.” He sighed. “She wants me to fight her for it.” Without another word, He stood, wiped his mouth on a napkin, and stepped out to reluctantly meet his fate.

“Din Djarin.” 

Din nodded at the three Mandalorians in front of him. “Bo.”

The redhead looked a bit older than the last time they had met, white streaking through the hair at her temples. Her companions looked much the same, Koska practically chomping at the bit to fight as he would expect. 

“I’ve come for the darksaber,” Bo Katan said, tilting her head. “And I will only take it in battle.”

“I don’t want to fight you. You can just take it.”

Bo’s eyes narrowed, wandering around the clearing. “You’ve settled here?”

“Yes,” he paused awkwardly before adding, “it’s a quiet life.”

The woman’s eyes slid back to his. “You are an insufferably good person.”

Din shifted his weight from foot to foot. “I could stage a fight, if you like.”

Bo Katan sighed. “No, I would need to win with honor. Even if I attacked you now, I would know that you were losing on purpose.” She gritted her teeth. “I can’t take the saber from you.”

“Then why are you here?” A subtle note of irritation hung between them. 

“Because if I can’t beat you, I suppose I’ll just have to back you.”

His mouth fell open slightly. “I’m sorry?”

She raised her brows. “Well, you won the darksaber from Moff Gideon, so you’re the rightful ruler of Mandalore. I will support your claim.”

Omera moved to Din’s side, taking his hand in hers to give it a squeeze. “I don’t want to make a claim,” he said, squeezing her hand back.

Bo Katan lowered her head a bit. “We’ve taken back Mandalore but-” she stopped, exchanging a look with Koska, “our people need a leader, Din. They won’t take me back since I have failed them twice.” She chuckled bitterly. “I suspect that, even if I were to win the darksaber in combat, they wouldn’t accept me.” She looked back into his eyes. “Maybe it’s time to let someone else take the throne anyway; a fresh perspective may be exactly what Mandalore needs and, I won’t lie, you are a fair leader.”

Din was stunned. “I know nothing about ruling.”

“I think you know more than you realize. You have a way of bringing people together and making allies. You lead missions with confidence. The rest is just politics and business, which I can help you sort out.” 

“I-” Din took a step back towards their tent. “I need to think.”

Bo Katan nodded and turned back to her own companions as Din pulled Omera inside.

“Omera-”

She quieted him with a gentle kiss. “I had a feeling this was coming.”

His eyes flashed up to hers. “What do you mean?”

She traced a finger down the curve of his cheek. “The scenario with the saber has been on my mind for a long time. This was an outcome that I could see happening.” She smiled. “Bo Katan is right, you are a natural leader.”

His brow furrowed. “I don’t think that qualifies me to lead an entire planet.”

“Maybe not, but I think you could learn very quickly.”

“Are you actually suggesting I take this position?”

Her face grew more serious. “These are your people, Din, and they need you. I won’t tell you what to do, but just know that Winta and I will stand with you whatever you decide.”

He took her face in his hands. “I can’t uproot your life. I can’t ask you to leave.”

“You are my life. And, besides,” her eyes fell to the broken basket on the table, “maybe a change of pace would be good. Complacency isn’t healthy.”

-----

Life in the palace was... different.

Although Din was completely unaware of the politics of the region and how to create trade routes, Bo Katan kept her word and helped him slowly learn the ropes. It took the people of the system some time to adjust to the idea of a no-name on the throne, but, as Bo and Omera said, his natural leadership and ability to create unlikely allies gained him acceptance. Mandalore seemed to appreciate a ruler who took physical action to solve problems and negotiated quickly between the tense clans.

Omera gained acceptance of her own as well. She took to teaching the children of the palace guards during her school sessions with Winta, which the people respected immensely; in a world where family and adoption were key, Omera fit right in.

Omera did not, however, enjoy the subtleties of palace politics.

It wasn’t that she wasn’t able to handle difficult situations with grace, it was just that the feelings of all eyes watching her during political balls and banquets made her squirm. Every fork movement, every smile, every word, was a point of judgment and she disliked it immensely. Frankly, so did Din, but he had the benefit of his helmet during the majority of public events; Omera could not hide.

Besides the discomfort of politics, however, their family still seemed to thrive. Din remained quietly strong and incredibly devoted to Omera and Winta, their bonds growing stronger as time went on. Being in a new place meant that the three of them relied heavily on each other for strength. Omera enjoyed working with the palace staff and visiting the diverse Sundari markets outside the palace doors. Winta charmed all of the visiting dignitaries and clan leaders with her quick wits and clever turns of phrase. The future of Mandalore was never certain, especially in a society of fierce warriors, but people generally liked the prospect of Winta taking the throne after her father one day. Din liked the idea too, and he was tempted to hand the throne to her now since she seemed to take anything life handed her in stride better than he did. 

He was even more tempted to abdicate after he and Omera found out they were expecting.

“You can’t leave the throne now,” Omera chuckled, running a hand through his hair as he kneeled to speak to her abdomen and tell their baby all his woes, “Winta needs to finish school first and the balance of things is too precarious.”

Din sighed good-naturedly. “I know, but that doesn’t mean a man can’t dream.”

She pulled him back up to her level, cupping his face in her hands. “Of course. A woman can dream too.”

He pulled her into his arms, resting their foreheads together. “We need to tell everyone at some point. Cara will kill me if we make it too much further into this pregnancy without telling her she’s going to be an aunt.”

Omera chuckled. “Maybe we should start with Winta, let her know she’s going to be a big sister.”

Din’s face remained soft, but lost it’s spark of humor. “She already was a big sister, in my eyes.”

“He’ll come back.” She pressed a kiss to his forehead. “Someday, he’ll come back.”

“I just-” Din sighed, looking away. “I miss the little womprat.”

“Me too.” Omera looked thoughtful for a moment. “Maybe we could see if he could visit after the baby is born?”

He looked back into her eyes. “I think he’d like that.”

-----

He was right about Cara: she was FURIOUS they didn’t tell her about the baby sooner.

“I’m coming to Mandalore right now to kick your ass.” She spoke with a bit of humor in her voice, even as the holo image of Cara was clearly moving around her room to pack a bag. 

“You can’t come here now, you’re still Marshall.” Din sighed.

“I have like 7 weeks of vacation time built up. I’m coming.”

Before Din could protest again, Omera leaned in. “We would love to have you, Cara. Maybe you can help Winta with her combat classes since I’m becoming less able to assist.” She gestured down at the small but still visible bump at her waist. 

Cara grinned. “How is Winta? What does she think of all of this?”

“She’s very excited for the baby, but-” Din and Omera shared a look. “I think she’s starting to become overwhelmed by change.”

It was understandable, really; the clans had gotten more tense after Din had passed a law preventing infighting on Sundari. The unfortunate result had been multiple clan leaders attempting to convince Winta to talk to her father about repealing the law. That, combined with the sudden knowledge that their family was growing and Winta’s transition into the next level at Sundari Academy, had made the girl quieter than usual.

“That’s understandable.” Cara smiled simpathetically. “Maybe she just needs a friend.”

As it would turn out, a friend was exactly what Winta needed. A Mandalorian boy by the name of Rashel filled that position quite well. 

Rashel Kryze was the son of some old member of Bo Katan’s clan that had left Mandalore following the seige at the end of the Clone Wars and had returned to send his son to the royal academy. Din and Omera had never met the man, but Rashel was a lovely, spirited boy and they enjoyed having him around. His unwavering positivity and curiosity seemed to lift Winta up and restore her former attitude. Her parents suspected that having someone her own age to talk to about her troubles was also a huge relief. 

Once Cara arrived, Winta and Rashel hung around her every available hour outside of sleeping and schoolwork, leaving Din and Omera the chance to spend time together as they prepared for the arrival of the baby.

The respite for the couple, however, was temporary.

“Well, the people know now.” Omera’s mouth drew into a thin line as the holopaper flickered above the table, the title of the front-page article reading: “NEW RULERS OF MANDALORE PRODUCE SECONDARY HEIR - DJARIN LINE EVEN MORE SECURE”

Din frowned scrolling quickly thrugh the article, which made his stomach churn as his quiet family was portrayed as a dynasty. “How did they find out? Do we have a leak in our staff?”

His wife smiled sadly, “No, look at the picture on page three.”

Din glanced up at her before locating the image.

“Oh.” He said, studying the picture of he and Omera standing on their private balcony, Din kneeling before her and gently pressing his hands to the small bump at her abdomen. “Paparazzi.”

“I should have known better than to stand on the balcony without a robe or looser clothing.” Omera shook her head. “I was hoping we would have more time to keep this to ourselves.”

Din set the holo down and took her hands in his. “No, Omera, this isn’t your fault. people shouldn’t tresspass on our privacy like that.” He squeezed her hands and rested his forehead against hers. “I wish we had more time too, and I’m sorry this is all out in the open for scrutiny now.”

She pulled one of her hands from his and rested it on his cheek. “I know, but I suppose we would have had to tell them at some point any way. Maybe this is better.” She grinned. “We both know how you feel about speeches regarding personal matters.”

Her husband winced as he thought back to the speech he gave introducing his family at the beginning of their rule. “Yeah, I would like to avoid repeating that.”

Omera chuckled and hugged him tightly. “For your sake, dear, so would I.”

-----

Having the news of her pregnancy out to the public was harder than Omera had ever expected. 

Suddenly, the scrutiny she had dreaded only at public affairs of state was leaking deeply into her personal life; every food she ate, every store she visited, every dress she wore was critiqued by news stations all over the planet. She did her best to ignore the chatter, to block out the whispers in the marketplace and the palace staff’s quarters, but still, some phrases broke through her defense and hit where it hurt the most.

“She’s really going to eat that much seafood? In her 5th month?”

“I can’t believe her dress is so loose, isn’t she worried about getting it caught and hurting the baby?”

“I can’t believe her dress is so tight, isn’t she worried about it constricting and hurting the baby?”

“You would think she’d know better since she’s done this once before.”

“I’ve seen her walk into the pharmacy before. Didn’t leave with a single box of prenatal vitamins.”

“Do you think she knows about the benefits of yoga? I would think every mother should know that.”

“Why haven’t they gotten the baby tested for any disorders yet? How can they be sure it’s healthy?”

“Doesn’t she care about the future of Mandalore?

Omera was strong, but that last whisper, heard in her favorite flower shop, a place that had alway felt like a safe haven, broke her resolve.

She whirled around to the woman who had spoken under her breath. “You would do well to watch your volume, ma’am. My hearing is better than you think.” She picked up the bouquet she had ordered for Winta and whirled back to the wide-eyed woman. “And, for your information, I gave up everything to come to this place. I left my quiet, peaceful life behind to sort out your wars and petty infighting.” She leaned closer, voice deadly quiet. “I care.” 

She pushed past the shocked woman and the rest of the people behind her in line at the shop and stormed home, barely noticing the way people moved to give her space on the sidewalk upon seeing her terrifying visage. Omera threw the bouquet down on the table, walked straight to Din’s office, and finally let her tears fall as he crossed the room to pull her into his arms.

“Omera, what’s wrong?” He let her bury her face in his chest and ran a comforting hand over her back.

“I’m tired of listening to them criticize me, Din,” she sobbed. “Everyone is watching my every move and I feel like I’m doing this all wrong!”

Din guided her gently over to a couch and helped her sit. “What do you feel like you are doing wrong?” He spoke quietly, running a thumb under her eyes to wipe away tears. 

“Everything,” she said shakily. “Absolutely everything. I can’t figure out how to play at the palace politics, I can’t raise Winta right, I’m not properly preparing for this baby.” She rested a hand on the sizable bump at her waist as fresh tears filled her eyes. “I can usually adjust to whatever life throws at me, so why is this so hard.”

Her husband gently pulled her face up so they were looking into each other’s eyes. “Because we aren’t just living life in the village anymore and sorting through this on our own, we have a whole system of people watching us. I feel the pressure too, but I’m sure not as much as you are and I am so sorry.” Tears gathered in his eyes. “I’m sorry I took you away from your life and friends back home. You deserve so much better.”

Omera’s heart panged. She reached up to cup his cheek, mirroring his own touch. “I chose this life, my love. You did not rip me away from anything, and it is not your fault that I am feeling the way I am. You have been nothing but gentle and patient through all of this.”

They sat is silence for a moment, just enjoying the comfort of proximity.

“Maybe we should visit home for a while,” Din said softly. “We could have the baby there and then come back when we are ready.”

Omera looked up. “Would the people think we are hiding a secret? Would they hate us for not sharing our joy with them?”

He smiled gently. “Maybe a little bit, but we are the Mand’alors. We rule this planet, why should they get to tell us what we can and can’t do in our private family life?”

She smiled back. “Alright. Let’s go home, then.”

-----

Being back in the village was bliss.

The friends they had from before they moved to Sundari were overjoyed at the prospect of Din and Omera’s coming child and Winta’s friends were incredibly pleased to see her again. Although she still called Rashel nearly every night, Winta fell right back in with her old group of friends as if nothing had ever changed, leaving her partens to smile at the unshakable adapatability of their daughter.

Cara came with them, of course, to help increse the security of the village and protect the royal family from those who would wish to take Mandalore for themselves. There were, indeed, a couple assasins that attempted to get into the village, but not even remotely succeeded.

The highlight of their stay, of course, was the birth of their second daughter, Hirah.

After nearly 25 hours of labor, the girl had entered the world with a single cry that could have been one of victory. Her parents laughed in relief, even as tears flowed down their cheeks. She was small, but not concerningly so, and already had a head of thick, dark hair. 

The minute Omera saw her, she realized that the discomfort of critiscism had been worth it and she would go through the past nine months 20 times over if the result was still the little girl Din now hugged close to his chest. 

Din shifted the baby gently, his movemnts so controlled and slight, as if he were afraid.

“You won’t break her,” his wife chuckled.

He looked up at her and smiled. “This is just... very different from a 50 year-old baby who can walk.” 

They both laughed at that. “I know,” Omera leaned into him and gently placed a hand on Hirah’s head, “but I think you’ll find that she’s tougher than you’d expect.”

“I suppose she should be, considering her mother.” 

Omera looked up to find Din gazing down at her softly. She tilted her head upward, inviting him in for a soft kiss, which he provided obligingly. When they broke apart, he leaned down and pressed a kiss to his daughter’s head and then leaned back into Omera with a contented sigh.

“We should probably introduce her to her sister and other adoring fans soon.” Omera shifted to get up, but Din pulled her back in close.

“Eventually, but I don’t think anyone will begrudge us for keeping her to ourselves for a bit longer.”

She laughed. “Clearly you are underestimating Winta and Cara’s sense of familial entitlement.”

He chuckled but shook his head. “They can wait.” He was quiet for a moment. “Mandalore can wait too, if you want. We can stay here as long as you like. Ruling remotely hasn’t been too much of a hassel these past few months.”

Omera placed a hand on his chest. “No, I think we should head back as soon as I’ve recovered enough to travel. Our people deserve to meet their newest member.”

Din titled his head, brow furrowing a bit. “What about all the scrutiny from the people? Are you sure you want to face all of that so soon? I can make it work to stay here a while longer while we adjust to raising a baby.”

Omera looked back into the face of their daughter and thought of their family. She thought of how Din had gotten the people to accept him in his quiet (and sometimes deadly) strength. She thought of how Winta had managed to charm the nobility with her wit despite her inclination to be a bit unruly. She thought about how she had earned some respect by helping teach the palace staff’s children.

“No,” Omera smiled, “I think it would be good for us to return and be amongst our people.” She looked back up at Din’s curious face. “I am confident in my ability to care for Hirah and Winta and any other children that may come in the way that is best for them. I am confident in your ability to be a good father and a good ruler. I am confident in my ability to rule by your side.” Din smiled softly as she eaned forward to place her forehead against his. “I’m the consort of the Mand’alor, and I have this handled.”

#the mandalorian #mandomera #din djarin #omera #winta #cara dune #yep there is a baby #because that's my brand #this is my first time writing this couple so please be gentle with me if they are ooc

[morethanaprincess-a]

Closed, plotted starter for @whitecrowns-blackthrones​ !

"He looks so stern, too stern," As soon as Sonia could hear her mother's voice over her shoulder, she sighed, making every effort not to grimace as she descended the grand staircase between both parents. It was unconventional, but so was a Crown Princess for a country who had, until now, yet to be blessed with a future female monarch and a current, reigning king and queen who spent more time apart than together, and the few instances they did ended up in disagreements at best. "One has to wonder if when the artist asked Prince Slane to smile, he chose that expression out of spite."

Sonia closed the cover over the miniature. Covered in scarlet red velvet, it stood out against the sea of cool tones that swathed the Royal Family and most of the Novoselic Court. Perhaps it was an indication of just how out of place the Camellian royal would be as part of the family. King Alexandre and Queen Valentina both wore the forest green and gold colors that represented Novoselic, while Sonia herself had been chosen a gown of light blue silk, adorned with pearls to match her eyes and, for once, make her parents pale in comparison. That wasn't a challenging feat, once the King and Queen were removed from the spotlight and forced into the same space for longer than the length of a tea. She slipped the tiny portrait of her supposed future husband into one of the gown's hidden pockets. It was already uneasy, the prospect of an arranged marriage that she'd avoided, successfully, for so long. But at twenty-three, she was becoming far too old to remain unmarried and far too old to be the mediator between disagreeable parents.

"You haven't even met him yet, Valentina," King Alexandre pointed out tiredly. Sonia supposed it made sense for her father to look weary nowadays, instead of cheerful and joyous. That had been his reaction to his only child and daughter finishing university, returning home and eagerly taking an interest in the running of the country she'd one day inherit. But since the decision had been made to ally with the Kingdom of Camellia by marriage, the King had been subjected with everything from hesitation and plenty of questions from the bride-to-be to downright disapproval and disdain from his wife, who hardly approved of much of anything he did in most cases. Sonia could swear she'd spotted far more greys in his golden-blonde hair and various crinkles around his eyes, ice blue that matched his daughter's.  "Perhaps meet him first before deciding that you dislike him and he's unsuitable for Sonia?" Not that it made much difference anyway: the King had the final word regarding the marriage of his heir, not the Queen.

"I'm only saying that such a somber nature could lead to discomfort amongst the court, much less the people," Her mother insisted, now taking the opportunity to glance over her daughter's posture and complexion, both deemed acceptable, without the pocket-sized portrait of her future son-in-law to dissect. "We need a beautiful, young Royal couple, a Crown Princess and Prince Consort. Two people in love, or at least appearing to be, who shall inspire our nation to work hard and prosper as well. Prince Slane has that sort of face that could dampen even the brightest of occasions."

There wasn't much anyone could do about it now, and all three of them knew it. The scout had already returned with news of the Prince's approaching carriage and possibly entire retinue, so there was no time for last minute letters of dissolution. At least they'd agreed on a minimal welcoming party, mostly at Sonia's urgency. The full court could be overwhelming even to those accustomed to the life, and her father had been adamant that his brother and family be kept at bay at least for the initial meeting. When the Queen had complained about looking a fool in the eyes of the Camellian Royals without a full party, the King had retorted how the Duke tended to cause some sort of trouble when negotiations needed to go off without a hitch. Something Queen Valentina had clearly depended on, but was now left to fend for her daughter's success herself.

"King John Li and I have allied our countries in battle, and now we shall do so in marriage," King Alexandre repeated himself for what sounded like the fiftieth time in the past month, when the papers had been signed. "It is an excellent decision for both Sonia and this country. I'm not sure why the two of you have such reservations." With a wave of his hand, the various members of staff and security assigned to greet the newcomers fell into formation, forming a path for the immediate members of the Royal Family to proceed.

"It is a possibility that he may just be shy," Sonia finally contributed. Since she was little, she was accustomed to waiting to get a word in once her parents were truly incensed. "And despite the concerns, I'm not sure that this current conversation will lead to any sort of welcome for him. I'm the one who will be greeting him, after all. I hope that for a first impression, I may put my best foot forward."

Valentina's green eyes narrowed some in the direction of her husband and daughter. "You two seem to take great pleasure in going against me whenever possible," She insisted with thin-lipped smile. Out in the courtyard, all eyes were either upon the Royal Family or the line of carriages that had pulled to a stop, doors opening and their inhabitants preparing to disembark.

Sonia smiled in return. It was rare that, in some capacity, she actually agreed with her mother: this arranged marriage was a terrible idea. Even if their reasonings were very different. But she needed to take matters into her own hands without ruffling any feathers, and perhaps making a new friend out of the experience. She could hardly blame the young prince in these matters: for all she knew, Sonia thought as the horns erupted in the Royal Processional, he was just as opposed to the idea of arranged marriage as she was. "Her Royal Highness, Princess Sonia of Novoselic!" The Gerald announced, clearly just as uncomfortable as Queen Valentina was about the Princess, not the King, greeting her new fiancé first. Sonia, however, simply took a deep breath, held her head high, and smiled, walking past both of her parents down the long pathway to the carriages unaccompanied. No matter her feelings on the situation, there was no excuse to be rude and unwelcoming.

"Prince Slane Ying Li of Camellia, on behalf of myself, my family, the court, and the people, we welcome you to the Kingdom of Novoselic," Sonia greeted him kindly, her high-pitched tone clear as she smiled, dipping into an appropriate curtsy before rising back to her feet. From what she understood, it had likely been quite the journey for him after having examined the maps thoroughly. "Though outside of official appearances, please do call me 'Sonia.' The usage of titles in unnecessary situations tends to bring about unease for me, and it would be wonderful if we could be friends." That was sincere, in any case. Even if the idea of an arranged marriage would dissolve, she was quite happy and interested to make a new friend.

#whitecrowns-blackthrones #Historical AU: verse tbd #Arranged Marriage AU #(Please don't worry about matching length! With an official first meeting it gave me the opportunity to write Sonia's parents a bit) #(And show a little bit of her family dysfunction) #(I feel bad for Slane and his family already) #(Please let me know if you need me to change anything too. I thought some of the HCs made sense considering the arranged marriage plot) #(But if not please tell me)

[ohhoworiginalrfaheadcanons]

Zen and Jumin's weddings

ZEN AND JUMIN'S WEDDINGS

ZEN’S WEDDING

Jaehee

Obviously she was very wary about the possibility of Zen getting married, but by the time that Zen and the MC are getting married she knows those two are going to do their thing even if it's maybe not the wisest thing.

Despite her apprehension, she gets super into the wedding prep from the fandom's side, as it's too good an opportunity not to have a public face for it, and she is going to make sure it's a good one.

She almost ends up in the hospital sick with shock when Jumin gives her two weeks off as a holiday for it, so that she can prepare. It's made a little better when he dumps Elizabeth off on her halfway through. Making sure not to let cat hair get into anything related to the wedding felt close enough to 'normal crunch time' to make her feel reassured.

She tries to remain calm and composed, but it's such a beautiful ceremony, and Zen sparkles like an angel in the sunlight, and she ends up crying anyway.

Yoosung comments that she seems like a mother, and for a brief moment, her soul leaves her body. She hasn't gotten that old, has she?

During the wedding photos, MC pulls her in to pose with them for a few. She can't decide if she's more flattered or mortified, but getting a hug from Zen isn't something she'll ever complain about.

Both the couple and Jumin compliment her for the work she puts in to the wedding, and that's all well and good until she hears Jumin muttering about getting into wedding planning. She knows she heard something about cats.

Yoosung

He's soooooooooooooooooooooo jealous!

sob sob he still doesn't even have a girlfriend when the wedding happens.

Seven offering to dress up as his girlfriend there does not help.

In the end, he invites his guild to the wedding as well, and he does feel a bit better when they're jealous he even knows a girl as cute as her. He got to feel pretty smug about how everyone else was swooning and crushing on her while he was his friend! Just pretend he wasn't once crushing super hard on her.

The wedding feels kind of like some kind of celebrity production? It's fancy and flashy, and not really the kind of wedding he'd want to have, but who is he kidding? He's never getting married, ha ha h a.

Zen basically fastball pitches the garter directly at him and he has no idea what to do. He hyperventilates a bit, actually.

There's! Free! Honey Buddha Chips!

He almost vomits from overeating those, and has to sit down and think about his choices during the dance. No more Honey Buddha Chips for him for a good long time. At least a whole weekend.

He gets a little teary-eyed in the end, though, because a few years ago he never would have imagined that the RFA could have lasted this long, that everyone could come back from that cliff he'd seen, where everyone was about to fall off and fall apart. Somehow, ever since the MC appeared, everyone's lives got better, even if Zen was the only one who ended up with a girlfriend (wife! aaaa, so romantic!) out of it, and they could all stand together in a wedding now, with bright futures for everyone.

He can't help but be inspired to follow his dreams, too, even if working for C&R is harder than he expected it to be.

He's still mad that V couldn't be bothered to come and see the wedding, though. Jerk.

Jumin

He insists on funding it. Zen fights with him over it for a bit, but when he points out just how expensive it would be to cater to the rather large fanbase Zen has amassed, given that Zen decided to invite all of creation to his wedding, he eventually wins the argument. Obviously.

It's the first time he's been someone's best man, even if the offer is...unusually angry, for the subject matter.

It's not the first time he's been asked to be one, but it is the first time he actually gets to be one.

He doesn't need any woman in his life other than Elizabeth the 3rd, but he is happy to see two friends of his so happy. Love isn't really something he puts much stock into, but if there were any two people whom he could believe in when it comes to that, it's the two being married.

Although he's not as...expressive...as some of the other RFA around, he's extremely happy for them, to the point that there's a warmth in his chest that feels like it might burst out. Zen says his face looks weird, at some point, and the MC elbows Zen hard enough to knock the breath out of him.

He imagines the photos they pose for in the wedding are much like the ones in the wedding that hadn't had the chance to happen.

He chooses to believe that if V were there, his old friend would have had a wonderful time. Undoubtedly, he would have demanded to be the wedding photographer. Perhaps because of that, he finds himself often distracted by meaningless thoughts, except when MC or Zen would grab his arm or hand and yank him off into some other frivolity related to the celebration.

It isn't so bad to attend a wedding every once in a while, if it's one of his friends'.

He accidentally drinks a little too much, and at some point in the evening he's rather certain Assistant Kang physically pushes him out of a room when he'd been in serious negotiations with Luciel about an intriguing business prospect. His memory of the event is too hazy to be certain, however, so he chooses not to address it later.

Somehow he ends up in the wrong car and falls asleep in the married couple's limousine instead of his own.

Obviously he ignores Zen's annoyed lecture in the morning.

MC makes a radiant wife, and even he appreciates her bashful smile when he says so, right up until Zen forcibly ejects him from their dwelling.

Zen

He can't believe this is actually real!

It's not just a dream, it's not even one of his prophetic ones. It's real. It's actually happening. After looking forward to this and hoping for it for so long, after having to delay this for years and apologize to his disappointed girlfriend, finally! Finally he can put a ring on her hand and declare to the world "Hands off! This here is Zen's wife, and she's perfect!"

His agent and Jaehee were both pretty worried about what it might do to his career to be publicly married, given how important his sex appeal and the female part of his fanbase is...but even if it means he'll never reach his full potential and they'll just have to survive on small gigs forever, he wanted to spend his life with MC. And that meant marrying her. In public. Not in hiding. He wouldn't do that to her.

Jumin of course stuck his nose in and demanded to pay for it...and...whatever. He guesses it's not such a bad deal. Not having to worry about a budget means that it'll give Jaehee the freedom to set things up as she needs to, and it means he can also give MC whatever wedding it is she dreams of. Even if it's a blow to his pride if what she wants is something he couldn't personally afford without Jumin's help.

Why was he even worried? Of course she doesn't. Her dream is just to be with him, no matter what that means, and he clutches his heart and wonders what the hell he'd ever done to deserve someone so perfect in his life.

It's a roaring success, the wedding. Really, it's a huge turn out, and he basks in all the attention and adulation, no doubt.

But it's his love and his friends that really matter to him.

If someone told him years ago he'd ask Jumin Han, Mr. Trust Fund Kid, to be his best man at his wedding he'd have laughed and then punched that person in the face. Because it'd probably be 7. What a wild ride the world has been since meeting the MC. Making up with Jumin Han is almost more stunning than getting married, honestly.

Yoosung looks a little lost and upset, and while he now #cantrelate, he actually can.

He's not sure how much he trusts superstitions like that specifically, but it doesn't hurt to make sure he knows who gets the garter belt. Maybe Yoosung could find a cute gamer nerd girl somewhere in C&R? That's possible, right?!

It's basically picture perfect, but then they could have gotten married in an alley with a bunch of stumbling drunks and it would have felt perfect if she were beside him.

That does not mean he was willing to take Seven's suggestions about how to handle the venue, though. He's a romantic, but he's not crazy.

Has he ever seen Jumin Han drunk before? Has the world ever seen it before? He's not sure, but it's kind of funny, and his wife - oh wow, it's his wife now, he has a wife! - finds it cute. Aside from a briefly terrifying moment when someone gave Jumin a cat ear headband, it's fairly harmless anyway. It's not bad to see even the Trust Fund Kid loosen up and act like a normal person.

Right up until the damn fool ends up passed out in their car and not waking for the end of the world.

obviously he drags the trust fund kid in to sleep on the couch overnight, not in the car, but missing out on a proper wedding night is almost enough to reignite his rivalry with Jumin Han. If he can't handle his liquor then he needs to be more careful about drinking it, dammit!

His wife is, frankly, way too understanding.

But that's not the worst thing in the world for a wife to be.

It means she doesn't have any problem pretending that the morning after is the wedding night before.

707

This venue SUCKS.

If they'd asked him, he'd have set up an AWESOME WEDDING HALL. Maybe on a mountain top in the alps? Maybe in a deep sea submarine? It's be frankly awesome. The wedding guests would have to go on a three day trek through Tibet, a harrowing adventure in a rainforest, and retrieve a hidden treasure for their invites. No one would forget the wedding he planned.

For some reason, he was completely banned from even making suggestions about the wedding.

rude, honestly.

He shows up despite that, because he's just that good of a friend, even though it means sneaking out in the middle of a job and leaving a robot version of himself as a decoy to fool his maid. Okay, maybe especially because it was skipping out on work, but mostly it was just to show up and support his friends!

Also free food.

Obviously he catered all the honey buddha chips! But besides the stuff he brought, there's still a bunch of free food, and a smart man doesn't turn down free food.

Yoosung probably should consider doing that, though, as the poor kid looks pretty green there halfway through the reception. 7, great friend that he is, sticks around and comforts Yoosung until a garter basically smacks Yoosung directly in the face.

It's hard to be comforting when he can no longer breathe. He hasn't laughed that hard in ages!

It feels pretty good, honestly. Seeing Zen succeed, seeing the party coordinator fit in and find her place so well in the RFA. For a little while he'd started to believe that maybe all the good, happy days of the RFA were in the past, but then the MC appeared, and...er...despite that little bomb mishap, things had really turned around and the world had brightened.

Well, actually his life is pretty much the same as it's always been. But seeing the RFA perk up, and watching them all succeed and be happy?

It makes him happy.

The tears in his eyes are from laughter when he accidentally beans the CEO-in-line in the face with a handful of rice.

Oh man wouldn't it be funny if Jumin Han ended up in the wrong car?

JUMIN'S WEDDING

Jaehee

Weirdly enough, she's not expected to do any work to prepare for the wedding. He takes an entire month off for the wedding, which gives her waking nightmares up until he also gives her the time off as well. She's tempted not to agree, because C&R might well burn down if both of them were gone for so long...but the chances of the Chairman actually firing anyone over his son's wedding are low enough for her to go along with it.

She politely declines the offer to be the Maid of Honor, but appreciates the gesture.

Elizabeth is chosen as it instead and she immediately regrets her choices. Partly for Zen's sake. The MC is clearly a bad influence on the corporate heir, given how utterly amused she looks about this, and that it was apparently the woman's suggestion, not Jumin's.

Alas, it's too late to stop the wedding.

It goes without saying that the wedding is so extravagant that she's pretty sure she'd spend half of the budget of her entire year just on the ceremony, even with out the reception. But part of that is because the Chairman chose to sponsor it, as a gesture of approval for his son's union.

It's for the best, because it keeps the wedding from being entirely cat themed.

It's not really her place, but she's never seen the Chairman look so genuinely proud of Jumin before as when he stood in the wedding hall. Well, it's a relief to see that their relationship seems to be repaired.

There's of course plenty of press outside the venue, but there's more than enough security to keep them all outside. Only the RFA and other friends and family are allowed inside, and that's probably for the best given...the cat maid of honor thing.

She doesn't think that's the kind of kiss a groom is supposed to give the bride.

She's never seen her boss so happy.

Maybe this will be the end of cat related business opportunities?

It's not.

Zen

HE'S SO MAD

AAAA WHY THIS TRUST FUND KID?!

She's clearly happy, though. He can't say he approves of how quickly they rushed into marriage - getting engaged after only knowing each other for two weeks?! CRAZY. It's crazy!

He comes to the wedding anyway, and immediately regrets it. Why the hell is the furball there?! It's like the man is turning the wedding into some kind of a joke! It makes him want to pick a fight with the man right then and there!

He doesn't.

But he's tempted to.

It has nothing to do with the fact that Jumin is constantly guarded by the furball, okay?

He sneezes through their vows, and it serves Jumin 100% right. If he could have managed to breathe properly, the deathly look Jumin turns on him would have been returned with a smirk.

But he can't, because he can't breathe.

Because CAT.

DAMMIT THE RECEPTION IS CAT THEMED TOO

CAT PLATES

THE CAKE IS SHAPED LIKE THE FURBALL

THIS IS HELL.

But...it is good to see the RFA happy, especially MC. It's just that he can barely see that through all of his sneezing.

THE FURBALL

ATTACKED

HIM

He doesn't remember what happens after that.

When he wakes up in bed, the Trust Fund Kid and the MC are sitting nearby.

He has literally no idea of how he got home, and neither of them bother to explain it. They're up and out pretty shortly after, because they have business to attend to.

He's really, really, really sure he knows what the smirk Jumin gives him means, and it takes all he has not to drop kick the newly married heir.

What a jerk.

Yoosung

He's jealous!

The wedding hall looks like something out of a fairy tale, even more majestic than the most expensive wedding hall that players can rent out in LOLOL. He's not even the bride and even he feels kind of like a princess going into it!

He doesn't know why, but they ask him to be the best man, and he feels so fancy up there that he almost starts speaking in an old-fashioned way.

Honestly? He's not sure how he feels about the fact that the Maid of Honor is actually Elizabeth...but well, MC gives him such a glowing and supportive smile, and Jumin also seems to be so approving of him that he supposes he can choose not to feel insulted that he apparently is on the same level as a literal cat.

He also gets to pet the cat, which is kind of nice? Now that he's just 'visiting' the cat, anyway, and not expected to take care of it or have it rolling all over his expensive equipment.

For some reason, V is apparently too busy to stay the whole ceremony, but he does show up to take photos anyway. It does make sense that V would be the wedding photographer, though.

Yoosung still disapproves that V can't be bothered to stay the whole time. Surely he would have been the best man otherwise?!

The press outside is pretty scary, but those security guards keep them at bay, and hey! He recognizes one of them! The guard even waves at him.

There's more food than he's seen in his entire life at the reception. There's also honey buddha chip bags! SCORE!

When it comes time for wedding gifts, Jumin actually gives him a gift instead. That's confusing enough on its own, but when he opens it he gets even more confused. Pl-playbo-?!

Oh, no, it's something called "Expert Playboy", which seems to be some kind of a magazine about...how to be high society or something.

Well, the gesture is thoughtful! Even if Jumin is kind of blunt about the fact that he needs to study those to get a girlfriend. But then again...? It's also nice if he could get a girlfriend from it.

He's probably overly emotional because of how the day is, but he can't help crying a little in happiness when he sees how everyone is together again. It'd been pretty hard to believe things would turn out this way back before the MC arrived, or even during the crisis that followed, but...somehow everyone made it through, and even if it was kind of surprising to see a wedding so soon (but it's romantic~! Aa~) it gives him hope for the future.

707

He's happy for them. Honestly. Kinda weird that they rushed into it, but who was he to judge?

He's officially given up the right to judge anyone anymore. Ever. At all.

It's a hard decision to actually go to the wedding, since he's not feeling very joyful even then, but he's done enough of not being there for people who are important to him to last for one life time, he might as well make it for the wedding. Besides, he knows the RFA well enough to know that if he skips out, even with a good excuse, they'll all worry, and someone might actually physically come by and pick him up.

It might be V, which means his security won't even keep them out.

The wedding is on short notice, and he has no idea what to get for The Couple Who Has Everything, so he resolves to buy the first thing he sees for sale on the way to the wedding hall.

It's...a...cactus? He gets them a cactus. MC, angel that she is, takes it like it was actually a thoughtful gift. (hesnotjealoushesnotjealoushesnotjealous)

He gets to realize at least part of his dream: he bursts into the wedding hall a little late on purpose, shouting "I OBJECT TO THIS WEDDING!"

He mistimed it, so it's too early for that. That's awkward. But he rolls with it anyway. At the very least he can still rush the altar and take Elly away by the paw, even if she's not the bride.

Getting physically thrown out of the wedding hall while over the top shrieking is hashtag-worth-it.

He's still let into the reception afterward, because his friends are too good for him, honestly.

It's hard to believe that there's anything but darkness in his future, but seeing even Jumin Han lovestruck and married...maybe it's not totally impossible for things to turn around in a way he never expected, and end up with a happy ending for him, too?

Probably not.

She's radiant, glowing like an angel in the reception, and who is he kidding? He's absolutely jealous that she picked Jumin over him, but...hah. It wasn't really like there was ever an actual competition going on. That whole thing was all in his mind. And anyway, a person who abandoned his other half didn't deserve to find a different other half.

There's a zero percent chance that he's not going to find a way to prank Yoosung about those strange magazines Jumin gave him.

Jumin

The wedding needs to be perfect. No expense will be spared. He's done research, he knows what these kinds of weddings look like, and he's going to make sure it's the most absolutely extravagant and beautiful ceremony possible, because nothing less than that can hope to express his love for her. He wants nothing less than a wonderland that will earn those beautiful smiles from her at every turn.

He'd like for V to be best man, but his old friend is feeling too frail for that, and so while he promises to come and take pictures, he can't accept the honor of being best man.

It's briefly horrifying when MC suggests it should be Zen instead, but they ultimately agree on Yoosung. Perhaps it will give him motivation to further his studies and make a man of himself.

When Assistant Kang refuses to be the Maid of Honor, the MC goes into a giggling fit that ends with her on the floor, suggesting Elizabeth the 3rd do it. It's a thoroughly silly suggestion, but it brings her such glee that he can't deny it. It's probably for the best they didn't choose Zen for the best man.

The wedding isn't anywhere close to the perfect plan. Elizabeth wanders off from where she was meant to sit in the middle of the ceremony and Assistant Kang has to retrieve her before they can continue. Zen purposefully sneezes through their vows in an overwrought protest, and at one point Luciel breaks into the wedding hall and tries to kidnap Elizabeth. Zen almost certainly only drags the hacker out as an opportunity to get away from Elizabeth.

It's a horrifying train wreck.

Yet, he's never seen the MC look so happy before. His father speaks kindly to her, without any hint of his usual philandering nature.

She's the most beautiful creature he's ever laid eyes on.

When she smiles up at him, he forgets anyone else is around, and he needs no prompting to kiss his bride. Although, perhaps, in retrospect maybe he should have been more considerate and conscious of those around him when he does so. But then again...no.

From now on, the concerns of his wife supersede anything else. She will be the #1 in his life, from this point onward. Forever.

This is the life he wants for her: one where she is first in everything. One where she is given all that she could ever desire. One where she will never need to question whether she is loved.

Although he kept them out of the wedding hall itself, the press is waiting outside, of course. The heir in line of C&R and his new wife, alongside the current CEO of C&R would make news no matter what. And that's just fine with him. The world should see his beloved, and how beautiful she is. The world will, in fact, see her. He's sure of that. Never so much to overwhelm her, but enough to ensure no one would ever question that she is his one and only. That he may not deserve her, but she deserves everything.

The reception goes much better than the wedding, fortunately. Assistant Kang ends up with the bouquet, looking quite confused. Luciel behaves better in the reception hall than the wedding one, and even provides a gift.

It's...puzzling, but he seems genuinely proud of it.

His new wife is quite happy with it.

His wife.

This woman, the only one to understand him, the one to help him detangle all the threads in his mind, this woman is his wife.

In a way he already is, but a part of him quite literally wishes to climb onto a rooftop and shout out to the world that she is his wife now, his love, and the one he will spend his life with. No one else but her.

He thinks it's a rather frivolous thought, but V calls it romantic, and smiles in a more genuine and warm way than he's seen his old friend smile in a while.

He fails to convince V to get the eye surgery just yet, but...V does happily take photographs for the wedding, and seeing his friend taking photos again - enjoying himself once more - is a greater gift than he could ever ask for.

It's all quite wonderful, until Elizabeth the 3rd - apparently - hops into Zen's lap expecting attention. He isn't sure why she does this. Perhaps she was confused? Perhaps she simply wondered why the man continued making so much noise and sought to comfort or silence him? Whatever the case, the man has a public meltdown and ends up on the floor in a rather disgusting mess of snot and tears.

It's probably wrong to leave him there, yes.

Instead, he has Driver Kim pick up the man and return him back to his house.

His wife truly is kind, looking over the semi-conscious man and ensuring he has allergy medicine until he comes to.

It doesn't take particularly long overall, but he still cannot help but enjoy watching his new wife as she moves around the room and the bed, taking care of his most troublesome friend. Truly, he cannot measure the fortune and luck that he has stumbled into by meeting her, by loving her, and by her loving him in return. Nothing in his life can truly compare.

It seems he is visibly lovestruck, as he's caught out of his daze by the feel of her lips on his cheek, just before Zen stirs and wonders in confusion as to where he's ended up.

He imagines it's quite understandable even to Zen why he's in a hurry to wrap things up and return home with his new wife.

It is after all, their wedding night.

And he is quite finished with spending nights away from his love.

#jumin han #mysme zen #mysme #mystic messenger #rfa headcanons #707 #yoosung kim #jaehee kang #chairman han #mysme v #zen x mc #jumin x mc #mysme mc #libralita

[tiffdawg]

Just Another Mission | An Agent Whiskey x Reader Fic

Gif: @javier-pena​

Pairing: Jack Daniels/Agent Whiskey x Reader (fem; no y/n)

Word Count: 3.1K

Rating: T | Warnings: None. This is literally all fluff. Fake marriage and sharing-the-only-bed tropes included!

A/N: Hi! Please enjoy this trope-ridden, cliché-filled Agent Whiskey x reader story that popped into my head at 2am the other night and demanded to be written. I blame everything on Pedro Pascal.

Read on AO3

My Masterlist

... . ...

Just Another Mission

Since taking on the mantel of Agent Rosé at Statesman, you’d been partnered with Agent Whiskey on numerous missions over the years. On paper, this was just another mission. It really shouldn’t have been any different from the rest. The two of you were tasked with infiltrating an insider trading ring on Wall Street that was doing enough damage to the stock market for Statesman to take notice. It was certainly nothing out of your ordinary purview.

As such, you and Agent Whiskey were going undercover as the heads of an up-and-coming southern investment firm looking to expand up north. In order to give your assumed identities a bit more depth and secure invitations to the criminal group’s private social events, your handler back at HQ thought it would be helpful if the two of you went undercover as a married couple. A regular twenty-first century power couple, if you will. The men and women involved in the insider trading ring, for all of their faults, seemed to be family-oriented people. Or, at the very least, beach parties for the kids in the Hamptons and private dinners at the Upper East Side’s finest restaurants with spouses served as the perfect pretext to meet to trade secrets, negotiate deals under the table, and discuss illicit plans for the future.

It almost seems odd that after all of your shared missions, the two of you have never pretended to be married as part your cover story before. But, as you stand in the doorway of your luxurious Manhattan hotel room, you were starting to see the benefit of not posing as a couple. You were also beginning to suspect your handler might be playing some sort of cruel joke on you.

Of course, in order to maintain your cover, she only booked one hotel room for the pair of you. It bolstered your cover story with the hotel staff and in the likely instance you were followed back to your hotel, it would help you keep up appearances. And, of course, there’s only one bed.

“Well, Agent Rosé, we are supposed to be married,” Whiskey quips with a wink as he moves past you into the lush, gilded room. Clearly, your displeasure is written all over your face.

You roll your eyes at your hotshot partner’s receding figure before following after him. You do your best to shake yourself out of it because you really don’t have any time to worry about something as trivial as an unexpected, slightly inconvenient sleeping situation. Instead, you refocus on the mission, hoisting your overpacked suitcase onto the downy, king-sized bed. You dig out the dress keeper and peruse your options for a moment before selecting an elegant black gown with matching evening gloves for the gala you were attending that night. It would be your first appearance as Mr. and Mrs. Castillo and the perfect opportunity to charm your way into the inner circle of the one percent. That is your priority.

… . …

Hours later, after an evening of drinking the best champagne, dancing with your fake husband, and successfully socializing with your targets, you’ve finally returned to your lavish Midtown hotel for the night. With your gloved hand still resting on the crook of Whiskey’s elbow, he leads you from the elevator to the door of your shared suite. He’s recounting a story about a time he talked his way out of a rather precarious standoff involving international arms dealers, a former US ambassador, and the disgraced prince of a small European country. You’re so absolutely enthralled by his story and the silky southern accent that drips off of his every word that for a split second you forget that you’re not actually married to the man on your arm. The thought startles you and you quickly remove yourself from your fellow agent, brushing past him when he eventually swings open the door to your shared room.

Aside from the occasional question about something that was said at the gala, things are quiet as you both type up your mission reports for the day. He finishes first, which is surprising for someone who’s known to be a bit long-winded, and disappears into the ensuite. Perhaps you would’ve completed yours by now if you didn’t steal glances at your fellow agent in between every sentence. Your eyes are practically crossing when you finally submit your report. It’d been a productive day, but you are more than ready to sleep for the next eight hours.

 .

“What are you doing?” you inquire with a light laugh. You’d just finished your nightly routine in the bathroom and emerged to find Whiskey attempting to stretch out his long form on the loveseat sofa.

“What does it look like I’m doing?” he retorts back. “I’m going to sleep so I can be well rested for our champagne brunch with the Montgomery’s at the grand old Plaza tomorrow morning.” After a quick glance at the clock on the nightstand he amended with a sigh, “Or rather, later today.”

“On the couch?” you ask, playing with a loose string on the hem of your much-too-short sleep shorts.

“Well, where else would you like me to sleep, darlin’?” he asks in response. You don’t even flinch at the pet names anymore and instead the moniker pulls at something in your chest. Part of you thinks it’d be best for both of you to just leave it at that. He’s trying to be the gentleman and if he sleeps on the couch, all of your problems would be solved. Another part of you…well, you don’t want your partner running on fumes with a stiff neck while you’re in the middle of a mission, do you? Your eyes flick over to the bed and their movement doesn’t go unnoticed by the attentive agent. “Now, I know I may push my luck flirting with you, sweetheart, but I never want to make you uncomfortable. I’m fine spending the night here on the sofa.”

“Who said I would be uncomfortable, Jack?” Your words come out quieter than you intended, but you know he heard you. Rather than wait for him to reply, you crawl into bed, leaving plenty of space for him to join you. After a long moment of consideration, and a forlorn look back at the stiff, overstuffed sofa, he relents. 

Unsure how to position yourself with your fellow agent in bed with you, you toss for quite a bit. When you roll over for the fifth time, finally deciding that facing away from him would be the best option, he reaches out and pulls you securely into his chest. You gasp, surprised at his bold move, but find that he feels warm and solid against you. You’re so close you can feel his heartbeat behind you, drumming a steady, spellbinding rhythm. His arm stays wrapped around your waist, almost reassuringly, and your body relaxes into his.

“You settled now?” he asks, and you can just about hear his grin.

“Yes, I am,” you whisper back. 

“And you’re still comfortable with this arrangement?” His voice is lower, little more than a breath against the shell of your ear but he’s not flirting with you now. His usual confidence is gone, replaced by the slightest hint of nervousness.

“Very much so. I promise,” you answer genuinely, resting a light hand over his  where it sits against your abdomen in the soft space below your ribs. His only response is a slight squeeze around your waist.

With that, your eyes close and you let yourself drift off with the sound of his steady breathing behind you to lull you to sleep.

… . …

Much of your second day in the city was spent wining and dining a pair of your targets, another husband and wife duo. She was the CEO of a Fortune 500 company and he was the sole heir to an old New England fortune. You and the Mrs. stole away for a bit in the afternoon to do some shopping on Fifth Avenue. While Statesman had allotted you quite the budget to keep up the appearance of a certain lifestyle, you weren’t sure how Champ was going to feel about your new Chanel pocketbook. It might not have been a strictly necessary purchase, but it was an excellent way to bond with one of your main targets.

“You and your husband make quite the pair,” she says while running her painted fingers over a stack of silk scarves at Saint Laurent. “He’s so obviously smitten with you.”

You preoccupy yourself with the rows of oversized sunglasses, hoping to hide your uneasiness at her comment. At least you and Whiskey were selling the married couple bit.

“I got lucky,” you reply with a lighthearted laugh.

  .

That night, he’s already in bed when you come out of the bathroom. You can’t help but watch him for a minute from the threshold. He’s sitting up against the headboard wearing a white tee shirt that only accentuates his broad figure and, you presume, he’s reading over mission files on his tablet as his eyes scan the screen from behind thick rimmed glasses. You’d learned over the years that his swagger, while not entirely unwarranted, often covered Jack’s studious, serious side. He is an effective agent because of his hard work, diligent research, and careful planning. It isn’t a side of himself he showed many people, but you are among the privileged few. 

After a moment, he meets your gaze from across the room. His eyes trail over your body, taking in your sleep shorts and oversized shirt, and a soft smile pulls at the corner of his mouth. You were well accustomed to his appreciative looks, but this was different, almost intimate.

“Well, darlin’, are you about ready for bed?” he asks. The question, while perfectly valid, struck you as something so wholesomely domestic.

You nod and offer him a small smile before slipping into bed next to him. He considers you for a moment longer then sighs to himself and tosses his tablet and glasses on the nightstand before switching off the light.

Cloaked in darkness, the two of you lie silently next to each other for a moment. Only the quiet hum of the air conditioning fills the room. But it’s anything but peaceful, and the longer you stir in silence, the worse this tension coiling between you and Whiskey gets.

“Jack?” you finally call out to him, “Can I ask you something?”

“Of course,” he responds. The sheets rustle as he turns to face you. You seek out his eyes in the darkness with only a sliver of moonlight peeking through the drawn curtains to help you.

“Will you hold me like last night?” you ask tentatively.

“Baby girl, I thought you’d never ask.”

You meet in the middle of the bed. His arms wrap around you as you lay you head on his chest, fisting the fabric of his shirt with one hand in a vain attempt to pull him closer as if your bodies aren’t already perfectly flush. You breathe in his familiar scent, something deep and rich and completely Jack Daniels, and you nearly sob at the relief of finally feeling him against you again. You’re almost ashamed to say you’d been craving it ever since you untangled yourself from his grasp this morning. You don’t know how this happened; how this man, your coworker and partner, cast this spell over you so quickly. But as he strokes your back with a gentle hand, you start to accept that it was there for a long time. And you hope that he feels it, too.

… . …

With everyone presumably at work on a Monday in New York City, you and Agent Whiskey decide that’s the perfect time to do some investigative work at your targets’ private homes. It’s no easy task considering they all live in the best (and most secure) penthouse apartments and spacious townhomes money can buy in Manhattan, but things went surprisingly well with only a few minor hitches throughout the day. At least things were going well until you discovered your final mark had recently upgraded the security system for their Park Avenue townhome and then things went south. Fast.

You’d passed most of the evening arguing with your partner, albeit in hushed tones so as not to alert the other hotel guests. While you and Whiskey had your fair share of disagreements in the past, you both have a bit of a stubborn streak in you, this fight is particularly ugly. 

Eventually, you decide you’ve had enough of him and so you lock yourself in the ensuite, hoping to drown your frustrations in a piping hot forty-five-minute shower. You spend most of your shower doing little more than standing directly under the stream of water and counting to ten repeatedly while attempting breathing exercises Ginger Ale had taught you in an effort to reign in your anger. 

He’s gone when you exit the steamy bathroom and for a minute you worry. Then you quickly decide it’s not your place to worry about the man and you throw yourself dramatically onto the bed with the intention of forcing yourself to fall asleep before he returns.

 .

When he finally slips back into the dark room an hour later, you’re still wide awake. Out of spite and stubbornness, you give him no indication of that fact. You are, however, surprised when he climbs into bed next to you. You figured tonight he really would opt for the uncomfortable couch rather than sleep next to you. After some time, you fall asleep with your backs turned to each other. You can’t help but think that the distance between the two of you has never felt greater. 

It couldn’t have been more than a couple hours later when you wake from a fitful sleep with the disheartening realization that you were both a little right and a little wrong. It leaves a horrible, sinking feeling in your stomach until you just can’t take it anymore. It’s the middle of the night, but you have to apologize right now. You reach across him to turn on the light and your light movements jostle the bed enough to wake him. Although, from the look on his face, you suspect he wasn’t sleeping well either.

Jack sits up so that he’s facing you fully and eyes you with an arched brow, patiently waiting for you to speak. Meanwhile, you’re chewing at your bottom lip and struggling to find the right words to express yourself now that you’ve got his attention.

“Do you know why I like working with you?” you finally ask, measuring each word carefully. “You’ve never doubted my abilities as an agent. Not because I’m a woman or because of any other stupid reason. You’ve always made me feel like your equal. Until today.”

“I’m sorry, darlin’. Truly, I am,” he answers seriously. His accent lacks the usual playful tone. “For a moment there I was sure I was going to lose you and I panicked, and I know now I should’ve listened to you. But please believe me when I say that I’ve never doubted you. Not once. The only thing I doubted today was my ability to keep you safe.”

“That’s not your job,” you assert. 

“Like hell it isn’t,” Jack responds sternly. “You’re my partner.” 

You nod, acquiescing. You couldn’t argue with that even if you wanted to; his safety is just as important to you. You take a deep breath before continuing. This is always the hardest part. “I’m sorry, too. For the way I reacted today. I was frustrated and it could’ve cost us this mission.” 

“All is forgiven. You know that.” You sigh in relief when he hits you with one of his beaming smiles. The kind that makes his eyes crinkle in the corners. “You gonna let me hold you now?” he asks as he relaxes back into the plush pillows, gesturing to the space beside him. “I don’t know if I can sleep without you anymore.”

“After two nights?” you ask teasingly with a soft laugh.

“Best sleep I’ve gotten in a long time,” he says with a wicked grin. You can’t help but return the smile, knowing exactly what he means.

“Not yet,” you say coyly, summoning every ounce of courage you have before tentatively brushing your lips against his. You try to pull back so you can gauge his response, but there’s no need as he cups your face in his hands and brings your lips right back to his. This time the kiss is eager, hungry, and you return his enthusiasm with equal fervor. Your lips meld together perfectly and when his tongue slides into your mouth, you can’t help the little moan that escapes you. 

When you finally pull apart, gasping for air, you both break out into a fit of laughter. This was probably a long time coming and yet it managed to catch you both by surprise. He places a few imperfect kisses, warped only by his smile, across your face and you fall back into bed with him. 

The word love imprints itself into your mind as you hold his gaze, but you don’t speak it into existence. Not yet. Even though the look in his eyes tells you he’s thinking the exact same thing. You just know he is because after all these years together you can read Jack Daniels like a book. But this thing between you is new, precious even. Maybe it’s been there for a while, but you’re only just now ready to accept it and there’s no need to rush things. Better to let it mature in its own time because you know it’s going to age well, just like fine whiskey.

“Goodnight, Jack,” you whisper instead. You plant a light kiss on his soft lips, smiling as his mustache tickles you, before snuggling into the crook of his neck.

“I’m definitely going to sleep well now, my sweet girl,” He murmurs as he hugs you against him. In that moment you feel so safe, so cherished, so incredibly happy. Until- “Even if you do snore.”

“I do not!” you gasp and try to wriggle free so you can glare at him. He only laughs and holds you tighter, his arms wrapping firmly around you.

“Yeah, you do. Soft, little snores,” he says, pressing a kiss to your temple, “Don’t worry, sweetheart, it’s cute.”

... . ...

Thanks for reading! 

Edit: find part two here!

#agent whiskey #agent whiskey x reader #jack daniels x reader #kingsman: the golden circle #kingsman fanfiction #pedro pascal fanfiction #my writing #my fic #fic: just another mission

[emotionaldepravity]

Dragon Ball College Au  HCs

-Just for a quick explanation for the Au,  The Au is split between two worlds: the events of West City University and the events surrounding the Saiyan Conglomerate. Specifically the aus go by those names, but its just easier to call this a college au. There is some crossover in the events due to the characters being related, but they also can run separate from one another. 

-Ki doesn’t exist in this world so much of any fighting that is done is purely martial arts or with weapons like guns. Another part is that most of the main cast in DB is around college age. 

-Aliens aren’t really aliens they are just considered different looking Earthlings. This means that the saiyans can keep their tails without turning into giant apes.

-Most of the saiyans are still alive since they were never space pirates under Frieza’s rule. Instead they work for a corporation called the Saiyan Conglomerate. Just as the name suggests, the businesses a part of SC are in a bit of variety. They range from meat processing to furniture to computer tech to more nefarious trades such as, allegedly, drug trafficking. It started out from one person buying up a couple of businesses as a way to keep them afloat. Now they go out and scout for businesses, offering them money for selling the business or paying royalties if the person wanted to keep some of it.

-Also I’ll just go over some of the character’s information in the au under the cut (the one included in this post are Goku, Raditz, Vegeta, Bulma, Nappa and Yamcha) .

Goku

- Goku grew up raised by Gine and Bardock along side Raditz. His birth name is Kakarot still, but Goku is the nickname that everyone calls him except for his family and a few other saiyans. When Goku was in middle school Gine and Bardock got divorced, but he still sees both of his parents regularly. For the most part he lives with Gine up until college in which he moves in with Radtiz.

- Bulma for the longest time was his only friend in school just because he really didn’t know anyone else, and she was the one that made friends with him. It wasn’t until him and his brother got forced into karate classes at the Turtle School Dojo near his house that he made some more. It was there that he met Master Roshi, Krillin, and Yamcha. Later on, Tien and Chiaotzu join his group of friends. 

-He went to elementary school with only Bulma, and middle school and high school with everyone else. In high school, he dated Chi Chi for a while, but since he really didn’t seem that interested in her, they broke up.

-As a terrible student, the only reason why he is going to college is because of his spot on the football team. If he is being honest, he doesn’t really want to go , but he still really wants to play football. Once he realizes that all his friends are going to be there, he is more willing to go. He actually doesn’t have a major starting off and is forced to take random gen eds while he decides. 

Raditz

-Raditz is actually pretty close to all of Goku’s friends and considers them his own despite being four years older than his brother. 

-As a much better student than Goku, he graduated high school with honors and from WCU with a Bachelor's in economics. 

-He got his own apartment while he lived in college as he worked around campus in various TA positions. 

-Instead of finding a job elsewhere, he is more interested in helping Bardock out with various things, and at about the time Goku starts university, Raditz gets a full time job working for his father. Not too soon after he is introduced to the true nature of his father’s business. 

Bulma

-Bulma is ever the scientific genius. Her dad is the owner of the most advanced tech company on Earth, and they are extremely rich. Of course, Dr. Briefs isn’t the only reason that they are that successful; Bulma has been making robots, apps, any kind of device that makes life easier since she was very little. The only reason she is even getting her Bacholer’s in mechanical engineering is because she wants her PE licence so that investors will take her more seriously. Otherwise she would have taken over as soon as she could negotiate grant funding. 

-While she could have gone to prestigious schools as a child, Dr. Briefs wanted his daughter to live a much more normal life at a public school like he did. After all, Bulma proved time and time again that she was smarter than even the most expensive tutors. Also she would be closer to them as she grew up.

-Yamcha is her on and off boyfriend, but by the time they start college, she is mostly done with trying to be anything more than friends with him. 

Yamcha

-Varsity baseball star, Yamcha only is going to WCU thanks to a full ride scholarship. He is looking to be scouted for the pros in college, but he has cooked up a back up plan after that in his future film career. 

-He is mostly interested in his film major for the chance to be famous or meet famous people for it, or at the very least he thinks he’ll get to watch movies the entire four years. However, he also knows that maybe if he looks like he is seriously getting his life together, Bulma might reconsider taking him back.

-Despite his desire to get back with Bulma, he is still is keeping his options open to any pretty thing that takes an interest in him. 

Vegeta

-Vegeta, son of the Saiyan Conglomerate’s current President, is set up to inherit the empire he grew up surrounded by. Due to this, he is working on a degree in international business since the next big step for SC would be to spread out their owned businesses to other countries. 

-Due to the low profile of WCU, it was chosen over more prestigious and expensive schools for the future CEO. He is on a soccer scholarship and is definitely itching to proving that he is the best soccer player there is. He wants to show his father he can be independent from him and be successful without his help.

-He has a good understanding that his life is in danger due to his inheritance, but he doesn’t seem to care. He refuses having more than Nappa follow him around to guard him on campus. 

-Thanks to the initial set up of Bardock’s branch, Vegeta has met Goku and Raditz before and is surprised to meet them again at WCU. He isn’t super friendly to them, but Goku is nice enough to introduce him to his friends. 

Nappa

-For most of his life he has worked at SC doing a lot of the dirty work for Vegeta the third. He believed they were friends, and Nappa would have done anything to make sure that his friend stayed alive.

- When Vegeta the third took over as CEO, things changed. Nappa was much less involved in the business and eventually left the country for a while to get away from everything. 

-It wasn’t until his old friend lost his wife did he come back into the picture. Despite the separation, Vegeta trusted only Nappa for taking care of his son. After that, Nappa was in charge of raising and protecting the boy. When he was little Vegeta was quite fond of Nappa seeing him as an uncle of sorts. They used to play soccer together after school which made Vegeta want to join a team. 

-As he got older, the younger Vegeta was less interested in being around him. Vegeta felt smothered by Nappa’s presence as a teen, and eventually treated him nothing more than a servant. He is hurt by this, but he doesn’t really show it. 

-As Vegeta starts college, Nappa is given an apartment near the campus and is told to follow Vegeta around except for when he is in class. Vegeta is irritated by this, but as long as he doesn’t have to be around him in class then its alright.

-In order to make the time go by, Nappa takes a few classes himself. He never got the chance to do so when he was younger, and he thinks that maybe he could help Vegeta somehow with the things he learns. 

If I ever finish the first chapter I am working on for this Au, I’ll post it.

#goku headcanon #dragon ball headcanon #dragon ball au #bulma headcanon #vegeta headcanon #yamcha headcanon #nappa headcanon #raditz headcanon #goku #yamcha #vegeta #bulma #raditz #nappa #saiyan conglomerate au #west city university au #sc au #wcu au #dragon ball #dragon ball z

[theradioghost]

So I’ve realized recently that I actually really really like podcasts when my audio processing isn’t acting up (thanks tma!) and was wondering what recs you have for completed podcasts. I’m cool with basically any genre and theme, though I would appreciate a warning for tragedy. Thanks for your time!

Of course! I’ll put this one under a cut just so the length is a bit less ridiculous.

Some of my favorite completed shows are

Wolf 359 – a scifi comedy about four squabbling coworkers on a malfunctioning, isolated space station which then takes a hard right into a spectacular, heartwrenching drama. Not a tragedy, but many tears are shed when listening. Probably one of the best podcasts out there tbqh.

Ars Paradoxica – a modern physicist accidentally invents time travel, landing her back at the start of the Cold War and changing the course of history forever. The creators literally described it as “a tragedy” and they weren’t lying, although the finale is sort of hopefully bittersweet.

The Hidden Almanac – a grouchy professor in a plague doctor mask offers bite-sized pieces of history and hagiography from his fantastical world as well as gardening advice, occasionally interrupted and/or dragged off on unwilling shenanigans by his tequila-loving accidental necromancer best friend coworker. Fantasy writer/artist Ursula Vernon and her husband put this 4-minute show out three times a week for SEVEN YEARS, and it’s funny and cozy and poetic and can be found in full here, as there are too many episodes for most podcatchers to display.

Alice Isn’t Dead – lesbian Americana road-trip horror. A cross-country trucker searches for her missing wife while monsters and conspiracies pursue her across the vast empty and abandoned spaces of America. Actually also exists in novel form.

The Bright Sessions – records from the office of Dr. Bright, a therapist who specializes in people with strange and secret abilities. However, her patients aren’t the only ones with secrets. Personally this show never completely absorbed me like some others did, but the character writing is genuinely amazing. The story obviously also deals a lot with mental illness and some other difficult topics and content.

Our Fair City – the eight-season saga of the inhabitants of a post-apocalyptic underground city ruled over by the remnants of an insurance company, featuring mole people, lightning-harvesting sky sailors, giant ants, and a found family of mad scientists among others. Part comedy, part drama, all anticapitalist satire. You kind of have to give it a couple of seasons to find its stride (this was one of the very first shows in the podcast-based audio drama revival) but it is absolutely worth it. Disclaimer that while I am on the final season of the show I have not quite finished it yet.

Jarnsaxa Rising – a unique scifi-fantasy hybrid, in which a vengeful Norse giantess escapes imprisonment with the goal of destroying the gods and bringing about Ragnarok, only to find herself in a post-climate-change dystopian future.

Glasgow Ghost Stories – a Scottish woman begins noticing the many ghosts inhabiting the streets of her city; but the ghosts have begun to notice her too, and not all of them are friendly. Pigeons are involved.

Big Data – an odd little heist comedy about a rogue journalist investigating a spectacular crime in which the “seven keys to the internet” are stolen, leading to a story about hacking in which no actual hacking is involved. There are two fun side notes to it: one, everything that happens in it could technically happen in real life. Two, it involves an absurd amount of cameos from other well-known podcasts (and also Taika Waititi?), which you don’t need to get to follow the story but which make it kind of hilarious on a whole other level when you listen to those shows.

I Am In Eskew – a surreal, intense, disturbingly poetic horror about a man trapped in a shifting, malevolent, impossible city, and a woman on the outside trying to find him. Extremely good but I do recommend thoroughly checking the trigger warnings on this one. (Surprisingly non-tragic finale, although not a typical “happy ending.”)

The Alexandria Archives – half comedy and half horror, in the form of a late-night radio show at Alexandria University, on the edge of North Carolina’s Great Dismal Swamp. Half of each episode is a standalone cosmic horror story set in and around the town of Alexandria. The other half features the antics of the university’s students, including the host MW and her friends who are definitely Canadian exchange students, and not a vampire hiding from his ex and a bunch of stranded space pirates. (A little goofy? Yes, but I love it a ton for all its faults anyway. Also, some of the short stories are genuinely terrifying.)

and also, some completed miniseries!!

The Tower – a gorgeous experimental audio drama in which a young woman decides to climb the mysterious Tower, from which no one ever returns.

Time:Bombs – a comedy by the folks who made Wolf 359 about a bomb disposal squad on New Year’s Eve, trying to survive their leader’s obsession with breaking a record.

They Say a Lot of Things – upon discovering that she can interact with a dropped tape recorder, the ghost of a young girl tells her story, interwoven with the stories of those who have passed through the abandoned house that she cannot leave over the years that she’s haunted it.

Podcaster A. R. Olivieri specializes in microfiction miniseries, ranging from scifi to experimental to fantasy. (Side note, a lot of his work crosses over with the still-running scifi podcast Girl In Space, but you don’t need to have listened to GIS to understand what’s going on in his shows.)

Nym’s Nebulous Notions – a self-declared investigative journalist decides to check out a mysterious SOS signal and finds herself on a mysteriously abandoned ship – or so she thinks. Arguably a tragedy, although not necessarily in the way you might think.

Palimpsest – technically not finished, but each season of this anthology makes up a complete 10-part story, and seasons 1 and 2 are complete. Season 1 is a ghost story about a woman who is suspicious about strange happenings in her new home and her odd new neighbors. Season 2 is a turn-of-the-century dark urban fantasy about a girl who escapes her career criminal mother’s house, taking a job as the companion to what her new employer claims is an imprisoned faerie princess. (Season 3 is ongoing and is about a codebreaker who begins seeing ghosts on London’s streets during the Blitz.) It’s a heartbreaking sort of show, albeit in a very beautiful and moving way.

The Details is a short piece about an office worker who goes in to negotiate for a promotion and finds himself negotiating with the devil himself instead. The number of genuinely surprising and excellent twists it packs into just 45 minutes is really fun.

The London Necropolis Railway – a really underappreciated little fantasy-mystery about a recently-dead detective who refuses to board the train scheduled to take her to the afterlife until one of its hapless employees helps her solve her supernatural murder.

Janus Descending – a scifi horror told in two intertwining perspectives, one in reverse order and one in chronological order, about two scientists who land on a remote planet to investigate the ruins of its lost civilization, only to encounter the thing that killed the former inhabitants. A fantastic story told in a really clever and unique way, but stamp a big old tragedy warning all OVER this one, although because of the structure you technically know how it’s going to end right from the start – what makes this show so good is how you get there. It will make you cry, though.

… and also my show, Midnight Radio, which is about lesbian romance, small towns, old radio shows, the good and bad sides of nostalgia, and ghost stories.

#Anonymous #asks #my posts #podcast recs #bobbie recommends things

[ofregiums]

all the world’s a stage, and HAL WAGNER is merely one of its players. the thirty-four year old hitman is called the broken ace by most that know him. loyal to no one, he’s certainly a force to be reckoned with, considering that he’s resourceful and magnetic. however, if you want to bring him down, i’ll have you know he’s detached and wayward. – played by robert pattinson

— THE BASICS

full name: henry zachariah wagner ii date of birth: may 28th, 1986 place of birth: verona age: thirty-four star sign: gemini reimagined: prince hal from the henriad tetralogy profession: hitman alma mater: not applicable ( dropped out )  faction loyalty: neutral alignment: chaotic neutral mbti: estp spoken languages: english ( native speaker ), french ( advanced ), spanish ( advanced ), mandarin ( intermediate ) talents: interrogations, hand to hand combat, weaponry, negotiations  mother’s name: mary wagner, estranged father’s name: henry wagner the first, estranged siblings, if any: thomas wagner ( deceased ), john wagner, blanche wagner, phillipa wagner  spouse: catherine lewis ( est. january 2008 - may 2009 ) height: 6′ hair colour: dirty blonde eye colour: blue

— BACKSTORY

born as the first child to a shipping mogul and well-beloved actress, hal was placed into a life of luxury and notoriety from the moment he took his first breath. yet, his status as the future heir to a business dynasty was marked with high expectations and strict demands to ensure he would be the perfect successor to wagner industries one day. these standards were enforced by his father. often times harsh and selective with his love, the man typically made a young hal vie for his attention. thankfully, he had his mother to combat any cruelty inflicted by his mother. she was his whole world.

hal was the oldest of five and grew up incredibly close to his siblings. no matter how much their father seemed to make them compete, they instead bonded together. hal had a particularly soft spot for his youngest sister pippa and the sibling closest in age to him, tommy.

at the age of eleven, hal’s mother had reached her breaking point when it came to his father. she promptly filed for divorce and requested sole custody of the children. henry the first refused to take the embarrassment lying down. he reminded mary relentlessly throughout the process that he had more power and money than she could ever imagine. sure, she could divorce him. but she would never get a hand on his legacy. after a nasty array of court battles, hal’s parents divorced but it only left his mother with very limited visitation rights in retaliation for her decision. soon enough, she disappeared as a presence in his life overall.

as he blossomed into a teenager, parties became his form of escape. he had his first snort of cocaine far too young ( and his first drink even younger ) and discovered that these substances gave him a release from his reality for a while. while his father only cared for image sake, hal’s siblings begged him to give up his new habits, absolutely worried by what he was doing to himself.

he was eighteen, on the cusp of graduating from high school, when everything changed forever. hal and tommy went for a drive. but after a couple of beers, it became clear that hal wasn’t the best candidate. concerned, tommy asked for them to pull over -- but hal insisted everything was totally fine. and in a cruel strike of fate, the evening became completely the opposite when he drifted into the opposing lane and made a split decision to swerve into a pole to avoid the head-on collision. panicked and delirious, hal quickly discovered that he got the longer end of the stick when he noticed tommy’s body folded in half in the passenger seat. a boy shy of his seventeenth birthday, his best friend. gone from this world.

after tommy’s funeral, things changed with hal’s dynamic with his siblings. they blamed him for their brother’s death. that much was clear. even when little pippa ( god, she was only eight. . . she didn’t deserve such grief ) insisted that they just needed time to heal, he knew deep down in his heart that things would never be the same. 

hal attended the university of verona. or as some liked to phrase it, hal’s father bought his way into university of verona. he’d never been a great student. intelligent, yes. but far too distracted and bored to actually do something with the smarts. he got through his university years with a party every night and paying some nerd to handle his assignments and essays. getting a business degree was only a formality anyways. he was still primed to take over the family business when his father saw fit.

during his senior year, hal met catherine. for once, someone looked at him and didn’t see all of his mistakes and failures. she laughed at his sardonic jokes. she smiled when he didn’t feel like doing so himself. was there any wonder that he fell head over heels in love with her ? but hal was a terrible partner. far too immature and hedonistic to actually be worth it. in a last ditch effort for catherine not to leave him, he proposed. she agreed, not wanting the relationship to end as much as he did, and the two eloped over night.

henry the first was absolutely livid. coming from a lower class background, catherine was definitely not his fist choice for hal’s wife. plus his recklessness was now on full spread in all the gossip columns ( eloped at 21 ? dear god. ). henry made his son choose: the family or catherine. hal didn’t hesitate to choose his wife. after all, his siblings despised him. he never wanted to take over the company. and now, he could be free from his father’s tyrannical reign. choosing catherine was the only option. after doing so, he promptly dropped out as a final fuck you to his father.

but as much as he loved catherine, he came to realize that he may have loved his freedom more. being tied down and expected to be better was a panic-inducing experience for hal. he wasn’t ready to grow up. that weighed on catherine and after only a year or so of marriage, she requested for the marriage to be annulled. erased as if it never existed.

as if that wasn’t more than enough to drive someone insane, hal received news from his mother that her health was declining.

hal was left with nothing by the age of 24. no wife. no family. no career or even a fucking degree. he floundered around aimlessly, spending nights in bars and eventually in the beds of strangers. one day, he happened to stumble upon a group one night. seemingly, hal just assumed that they were a pack of lads around his age that were enjoying their youth. but as he continued to hang with them more and more, he soon learned that their motives were far darker. they worked as a secret organization that offered an array of services to the shady underbelly of verona. theft, collections, even murder... you name it, they did it. it may have been enough information to horrify anyone else but for a listless hal, it was the excitement needed amongst the trepidation of trying to survive this world alone.

he started off with the most basic assignments. but it became quickly evident that hal had a oddly exceptional talent at compartmentalizing. after so much loss and pain and disappointment, he knew how to detach from everyone and everything without a blink of an eye. that made him a prime candidate to take on a more darker role in the organization -- killing. he relentlessly trained under older mercenaries and eventually was sent around town with assignments. it was never his place ( nor his desire ) to ask for the reasoning behind why he was taking the targets out. in a sick sense, he replaced self-indulgent vices with something far worse. a way to feel alive.

around the age of thirty, hal decided that he wanted out of the organization to work solo. requesting a leave came with a price -- a near death beating as a warning of what would be done to him if he ever exposed the secrets of the organization. it took him months to properly heal but once he did, he began to reach out to the clients that he had previously worked for. offered them a slightly better price than what they were paying and sworn discretion as per usual. after all, he didn’t need his former co-workers on his ass for stealing their business.

now hal walks these streets, alone and strangely work-oriented. though he occasionally has a haunted look in his eyes, he’s not particularly marred with the heavy darkness that some souls that roam verona carry. he simply does what he needs to do to survive and collect a paycheck at the end of the day. he promises zero loyalty to anyone, knowing that doing so means sacrificing a part of himself that died a long time ago. and while he is no longer the wild child that he was in his youth, if you need him. . . you can usually find him at the local bar.

#( * don't you ever tame your demons ; but always keep them on a leash | hal wagner. ) #britt RIGHTS mfs!!!!!!!!! #( * introductions. )

[feistypaants-archived]

Between The Pipes [Chapter 7]

Rating: M Words: 2060 Pairing: Kristanna Summary: When a new owner takes over the Arendelle Ice Breakers, Kristoff isn’t sure about his future with the team. That is, until a PR nightmare throws the newest member of the media team, who also just so happens to be the daughter of the new owner, right into his arms. Kristoff and Anna can’t even stand the interviews they have to do together… how on earth are they going to fix this mess? Hockey!AU.

[Chapter Index]

Where To Read: [AO3]

Notes: hopefully kristoff is a bit more sympathetic in this one lmao. He was a massive dick in the last chapter, but he just is dumb and doesn’t know how to handle himself. Sooooo anyway. :^) 

Enjoy!

Why couldn’t he stop doing that?

Kristoff sat for almost two hours, wondering if she would come back, and not wanting to be the dick who left her stranded if she did. He figured it was the least he could do, considering how he spoke to her. 

Why couldn’t he stop doing that?

It wasn’t like she had done anything, and he had genuinely gone into this lunch with the mindset to be nice . But he didn’t expect her to start trying to get to know him or put him on the spot. He felt his whole body tense with the desire to stay hidden, stay secretive, to make sure that she knew as little about him as possible. Something deep inside of him was wailing to get out and open up. He let something slip. He mentioned his father . The only person who knew about his father was Sven. 

Sven and his real parents. The ones who took him in when his father was too busy playing hockey to care about his young son.

He wasn’t ready for her to know about it. He wasn’t ready for the media to know about it.

He wasn’t ready for the media to know that he was the son of Leif Sørensen, a powerful defenseman in the Super League who was more focused on making it to the NHL than caring about his family. Leif Sørensen, who wanted nothing more than to be the best player in the world and didn’t care when his wife left him and his newborn baby. Leif Sørensen, who would leave his son alone for weeks on end and didn’t even seem to mind when his child got taken away and was sent to live with a new family.

Leif Sørensen, who died young from a heart attack, who never made it where he wanted to, who practically sighed with relief when his son was adopted officially and moved to America.

Kristoff wished every day that his father could see him now - wished that his father knew that his son accomplished what he couldn’t.

But he didn’t want anyone else to know about it.

So when he slipped, mentioned the tiniest little thing about it, he panicked. He threw on the worst attitude he could muster and shut her down. 

But she kept poking at him, wiggling her way into the tiniest crack he had shown, getting deeper and deeper under his skin. That was when he had to shut it down. He had learned from the best how to drive people away. As much as it panicked him, it helped that she did what he suspected she would and threatened to tell her father about it.

Spoiled little rich girl.

He sighed and finally stood, checking how much Anna had left and decided it was only right to try and give it back to her. It wasn’t her fault that this went to shit.

Sven was going to have his head.

—

“What the hell is wrong with you!?”

Kristoff tried his best not to wince when Sven actually punched him in the arm. He deserved it, he knew, and just let Sven continue on his rampage. His cheeks were red, brows low and eyes narrowed as he practically bared his teeth, ready to attack. “She was just trying to get to know you, was just trying to be nice and what did you do? You’re a complete asshole .” 

Sven leaned back, arms crossed over his chest as Kristoff tensed under his glare. He mumbled out something that he knew his captain wouldn’t hear, and grimaced when he felt Sven’s fist collide with his shoulder again. “I’m sorry!”

“No use in telling me that.”

“Look! She…” Kristoff threw his arms above his head with a groan and slumped further. “Something about her makes my stupid head want to open up and I can’t , okay? I’m not…”

Sven softened for just a moment. Kristoff struggled to find his words, mumbling a few non-starts before he finally came up with something he knew would convey all that Sven needed to know.

“She got me to mention my dad. No one knows about my dad.”

“ Dude ,” Sven whined, clapping his hands on top of the slightly taller man’s shoulders. “Isn’t that a sign, though? Your subconscious is literally screaming at you to let her in.”

“I don’t know her… I don’t trust her.”

A scoff, a quiet “you’re an idiot,” and then his hand was practically cupping Kristoff’s cheek, an action he wasn’t sure he was so comfortable with. Then he patted it hard enough to almost be classified as a smack, and Kristoff felt himself relax.

“You can’t get to know her if you keep treating her like this.”

Why was Sven always right?

He swore that he’d apologize the next time he saw her. Sven nodded as if it were good enough, and left him alone. 

Unfortunately, Anna hadn’t shown up to the rink in a few days, and Kristoff could feel the panic rising in his chest like acid with every passing moment. Had he been bad enough that she quit? Or, worse, was she going back to see her father and make him do something about the disrespectful goalie? She had threatened it… but was she really that kind of person?

It would be easier, he thought, if she were. 

He went through the practices, jumping at every person or sound that he thought could possibly be her, frowning when she didn’t come around the corner. He wanted to apologize, genuinely, but her not showing up was making that rather difficult .

But it was a Monday and it was still early, and he hoped that maybe there was a chance of her still showing today. He jumped at the puck that hit the glass behind him, and looked up just in time to see Mattias stalking towards the ice. 

“Bjorgman, my office, please.”

Oh god damn it fucking shit no.

—

Coach wasn’t patient today, so Kristoff just stripped off his padding and jersey before heading to the office. Walking around in compression shorts and a tee-shirt weren’t out of the ordinary, so he hurried onward and hoped it was good enough. He had gotten a low chorus of Oooo ’s as he skated off the ice, and when Coach silenced them with a loud bark of a shut up and practice , Kristoff knew it was serious. 

So he moved quickly, padding down the halls, and frowned when he heard multiple voices coming through the closed door. Knocking tentatively, Kristoff pushed open the door and felt his heart start beating faster when he saw a familiar head of red hair, neatly arranged into two braids, her cheeks red and expression shameful.

She fucking didn’t.

“Kristoff,” another voice said, pulling his attention away from her. Gerda, he thought he remembered her name being, the head of Public Relationships and Media, was standing in front of him, her hand extended. When he shook it, she gestured at the empty chair beside Anna and smiled. “Please, sit.”

He felt like a school kid again, getting scolded for cheating off an exam. 

Kristoff forgot his size for a moment and frowned when Anna’s arm retreated to her lap after his own brushed against it. Was she really that repulsed by him? Was he really that terrible of a person that just his arm brushing against hers made her recoil like that? 

There was an unfamiliar itch on the back of his neck, one he rolled his head to try and get rid of, frustration growing as it just got worse and worse . “What’s going on?” He started, lifting a hand to scratch at the back of his head. It didn’t help.

Mattias sat at his desk as Gerda lowered herself to perch on the edge, arms crossing over her chest. 

Now he really felt like a school kid again. Come on.

“I’m sorry, did…” her voice was meek as her eyes glanced to him for just a second before focusing on the gray carpet beneath their feet. “Is something wrong?”

Gerda smiled and shook her head, and Kristoff almost laughed as he and Anna breathed out a simultaneous sigh of relief. This still didn’t make sense, though. He leaned forward, bracing one hand on his knee as he did, elbow popping out to the side. “So what’s going on, then?”

“Well.” Mattias’ voice was powerful as ever, as he leaned forward on his arms and sighed. “Kristoff… It’s come to my attention that… you haven’t been doing so well with the media side of things over these last couple of seasons.”

What ?

“We’d really like it if you could make an effort to stick around for interviews, and show up to all of the charity events…” He shrugged. “And the fan events.”

Kristoff stiffened, frowning deeply. “I’m here to play hockey , coach.”

Mattias gave him a nod, but shrugged. “Well, unfortunately… part of being in the NHL is giving back, and part of being on this team , is participating in these events.”

He was balking now, his eyes wide and his hands gripping the edge of the desk as he leaned forward. “Come on .”

“This is non-negotiable, Bjorgman.”

He threw himself back into the chair with a groan, arms crossing tightly over his chest. He was too busy pouting to notice Anna sit further forward in her own seat, hand meekly raised in the air. 

“So… why am I here?”

Gerda dropped her hands into her lap with a nod. “We’d like you to be the primary reporter in charge of covering and interviewing him. 

And, in sync, “ What ?”

She let out a soft laugh and sat up straighter. “Anna, I’ve been impressed with how much effort you’ve put into just your first two weeks, and I’d like for you to have a chance to make a name for yourself. Richard quit, and we need an on-the-ice interviewer… so I would like for you to give it a try.” 

Kristoff tried not to be distracted by the movement of her throat as she swallowed, and turned his attention back to the two sitting in front of them. “There’s no wiggle room here?”

Mattias shook his head. “None. You do this, or you’re benched.”

Shit.

Anna still seemed to be processing the information when they were excused, and Kristoff had to slow down his steps to stay in stride with her. “Hey,” he started, trying not to laugh when she jumped as if she hadn’t even noticed he was walking beside her. “I…”

She stopped, looking up at him with those pretty blue eyes, and Kristoff felt his face flush. “I wanted to apologize for the other day.”

He saw a change in her, when she stopped being overwhelmed by the news and was back to hating his guts. Anna crossed her arms and looked up and down his body, her hip cocking to the side. “Go ahead.”

“What?”

“Apologize.”

Kristoff’s eyebrows furrowed, his shoulders rising with confusion as he continued to stare her down. “I did .”

“No,” she dragged out, her lips forming a perfect o as she leaned slightly forward. “You said you wanted to apologize.”

“Isn’t that the same thing?”

“No!” Her arms dropped to her sides, tense and frustrated as she turned and continued to walk off. “You’re unbelievable!”

He was genuinely confused, tripping over his feet as he spun quickly to keep up with her long, angry strides. “Okay, okay! I’m sorry!” She stopped suddenly and he almost ran her over as he did his best to halt his steps. Kristoff took in a deep breath, blowing it out in one slow sigh. “I’m sorry.”

“All right.” Her voice was softer now, as if that was all he had to do to make her give him another chance. She looked down at her feet, suddenly bashful as he towered over her, arms braced on his hips. “Well,” she risked a glance up at him and scrunched her lips to one side. “If we’re going to have to work together, we… should probably figure out how to be civil.”

Kristoff felt a weight lift from his chest as he nodded. 

“I can be civil.”

She laughed, and he flushed again. Even her laugh was pretty. 

“I doubt it, but I guess we should give it a try.”

#btpfic #feistypantswrites #hehe

[serendipitybutterfly]

So... Here we go! Finally I'm posting the hyung line future marriages reading (that's why I said on Valentines or shortly after... 😌). I have done all the readings but I needed to type them up and only got to start late tonight... Because of that I decided, rather than keep you in too much suspense, I'd post Seokjin's and Yoongi's readings today and post Hobi's and Namjoon's tomorrow... After that I'll get a chance to look at the lovely asks I've been getting and start answering them! Thanks so much for all the love! 💜

So... Without further ado...

Kim Seokjin:

Personality: There's a duality to this woman that I find really interesting... On one hand, I feel like we're dealing with a very serious, very mature, very powerful, business woman here. There's something about her that's very rational and practical... Sensible. She could even be viewed as cold or unemotional by some. She's intelligent, creative and dynamic and knows how to negotiate like a boss. On the other hand, there's also this overall impression of youth and vulnerability... Fragility, softness, innocence... Which makes me think a lot of that hard shell is just armor protecting someone who's actually pretty sensitive on the inside. I think this is a very wealthy young woman... Possibly an heiress... But one who has managed to gain some kind of financial independence and / or power. There might've been some events in her past, probably childhood, which made her toughen up or try to hide her soft side publically to protect herself from getting hurt... But this is someone very sweet and kind. Probably very involved in charity. As I was shuffling I also noticed cards flipping over that indicated strong spiritual and / or religious beliefs (as in perhaps she goes to church or temple... Whatever her religion is). There's also an impression of... Nobility... Elegance... Classiness and taste born of a good education and training in social graces. Even though she might consider herself shy and introverted she can cover it well. Incredibly polite and gracious even when unhappy with something... She's good at controlling her emotions. She also might not seem passionate or romantic on the outside but she feels it on the inside. Possibly a bit younger than Seokjin and more inexperienced in relationships... Also veryyyy likely to be Korean I feel.

Relationship: With the star here representing the overall energy of their marriage... You could say this is something written in the stars and wished for. It might take some patience but this wished for relationship is definitely lined up for Seokjin so he should stay optimistic and open to it. From the outside looking in... I feel like some might consider this marriage boring. Because it's so peaceful... Harmonious... Domestic. But it's what these two wanted. This is a marriage between the queen of pentacles and the king of wands. Both are powerful, creative and abundant. I feel like these two don't need to worry about anything from a material standpoint... Like I said, I think this woman might actually come from a wealthy family with a lot of influence, but she doesn't need to ask for any help or handouts from them. These two take pride in making their own money. And they're good at it. Again... From the outside looking in, they might not seem the most affectionate or demonstrative couple.... But behind closed doors I do feel like they are much more passionate than people would think (they're just super private and conservative). They also probably plan romantic special 'events' for eachother's birthdays and other occasions. Wholesome.

Min Yoongi (... Yoongi almost always makes me shuffle for ages I swear!) :

Personality: There's also an interesting duality to this woman. I feel very strongly that this is someone with her own kind of following or fans... I think she's probably very attractive and influencial in society and /or social media. This is someone ambitious to make a change in the world. Her opinions, specifically her voicing her opinions boldly, might sometimes get her in trouble with certain people in society. There's a strong whiff of SJW here. When they meet, she might be wealthy and well known but this is someone who worked hard and transformed their life from lead to gold. Similar to Yoongi himself. This is someone who seeks knowledge and understanding... Especially concerning social issues and spirituality. They want to make a change and be of service to the world. The word 'serve' stands out in a few of these cards... There is even a card called 'servant'... Which is an interesting contrast to all the strong woman stuff. This person really adores Yoongi and wants to help him and be there for him in any way she can. Attractive and Asian are the two main visuals coming through... Feminine (maybe in terms of her figure being a bit curvy or voluptuous), but probably in an edgy or unusual way in terms of style.

Relationship: Mostly very chill, peaceful energy... The Cup of love is overflowing with its soothing waters. There's a strong vibe of quiet comfort in just the presence of the other person. They're fully aware of how lucky they are to have eachother and feel a lot of security in knowing that there's someone always there for them... Someone completely trustworthy and honest and constant. They feel like they have everything they ever wanted. There's abundance both materially and emotionally. I definitely feel like the wife rules here and usually has her way... Lol. Hmm... Yoongi doesn't like to argue so he probably just throws up his hands and goes along with her plans? Something like that... They might have little tiffs over things but it always ends well. This relationship is very... Real... Very grounding when other aspects of life get messy or crazy or seem too much... They are eachother's rocks.

Hope you enjoyed! Last two are coming soon! 💜💜💜

#I thought I'd better at least get these two out before the sun rises on a new day... #I'm very pleased with how positive these two's readings were... #They turned out so fitting for them... #Kim Seokjin #min yoongi #bts tarot reading #tarot card reading #tarot reading #tarot #Bts #Future marriages #happy valentines day #Valentines day tarot reading #hyung line #Eldest hyungs

[heyyyharry]

Chapter 2: Boss

(from the Flatmate Trilogy: Two Hearts, One Home)

...in which Y/N deals with more problems at work, and Harry makes a life changing decision.

Word count: 4.1k

Chapter 1: Honeymoon - Y/N and Harry go to Greece for their honeymoon and run into a couple they hate.

Wattpad link

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Y/N wasn't a workaholic, she kept telling herself that, but it did feel good to finally get back to work after her honeymoon. The trip was doubtlessly wonderful, and she'd never felt more loved in her entire life. If she'd had a choice, she probably would've picked to stay on the island with Harry. But let's be realistic, how could they afford another expensive holiday if they neglected their jobs? Now it was time to focus on what really mattered for their future together. Money.

Besides, Y/N did miss her desk at the office, and even though her co-workers weren't all angels. She was sure some of them missed her, if not all. When she came back, they would rush to her with open arms and said—

"The proposal you sent me was crap."

All eyes in the room shifted to Y/N, who was still trying to figure out what was happening. She'd heard that everyone who had worked with Catherine Daniels had all the worst things to say about this woman. They said that she was terrible to people, that she was afraid of no one and wouldn't take criticism from anyone in this firm, that the only reason she was head of Media Relations was because she'd been here the longest. This was actually the first time Y/N had spoken face to face with Catherine, and she kind of understood why the nickname Catherine 'Dictator' existed.

"But that was what the client—"

"Enough with the same excuses." Catherine scoffed. "You people in Client Service has one simple job, to negotiate with the clients so it's easier for us, the ones who actually have to do the hard work and handle the journalists."

Y/N almost said sorry for something that wasn't entirely her fault, in hope that it might put an end to the tension between them. Thankfully, Kate showed up just in time to back her up. She gave Catherine a dirty look, pulling Y/N to her side.

"Go terrorize the people on your team, Catherine."

"Elizabeth is on maternity leave." Catherine responded with a sarcastic chuckle. "Who else would I blame this for? You?"

Elizabeth was the head of Client Service, Y/N's department. Unlike Catherine, that woman was the sweetest and she would never talk down to any of her team members. While watching Kate and Catherine arguing, Y/N really wished Elizabeth would magically appear and make everything better again.

"Mr. Coleman will take over Liz's responsibilities until she gets back," Kate chided as she put both hands on her hips. "So maybe you should go tell him how crappy you think the proposal is? He'll be in his office tomorrow morning."

Y/N almost forgot. There was someone in this company that Catherine was afraid of after all.

"Feels good to be teacher's pet, huh?" The hateful woman whispered to Y/N before turning back to Kate and said through gritted teeth, "if she doesn't send me a better proposal by tomorrow, set me an appointment with Coleman. He needs to know when to fire his favorite employee."

As Catherine stormed away, Kate turned to her wide-eyed friend, looking extremely pissed off. It couldn't be more obvious that she loathed that woman as much as anyone here; however, Y/N's tolerance of such rude behaviors was the main reason she was fuming with rage.

"You shouldn't have let her talk to you like that!"

"She was just...trying to do her job," Y/N mumbled, giving Kate a shrug. "I mean...it's probably difficult to deal with the media."

"Sis, it's the client who pays you money to deal with the media, so believe me, if the client wants the moon, you give them the moon! No question asked!" Kate slammed both hands onto the table, nearly causing Y/N's coffee cup to fall over. "Catherine always puts herself first and shits on all the others anyway. But don't worry, Jack will definitely defend you."

That was exactly what made Y/N worry. Jack would defend her, or at least try to fix her mistakes. After all she wasn't only his employee, but also his friend and might've been something more in the past. Even though she knew he would always be fair, these people in the office did not, and they might just assume she was getting special treatments simply because she was his favorite. The smartest solution here was to give Catherine what she wanted. Not because she was afraid of Catherine (maybe a bit), but because she didn't want Jack's reputation ruined for helping her, again.

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"Screw. Me!"

"Later, I'm washing dishes."

"Haha, funny." Y/N shot her husband a glare as he turned to check her reaction. He expected her to laugh along. She always would no matter how lame his jokes were. But this time all she did was breathe out and carry on with whatever she was doing on her laptop. She'd been working ever since she got home, and only stopped to eat dinner before getting back to work again. Harry was surely worried. The last time his wife worked this hard, she ended up passing out on her desk after consuming too much coffee, he nearly had a heart attack that day.

"Maybe..." He dried his hands and headed towards where she sat at the table. "Maybe you and I can Netflix and chill tonight?"

Y/N giggled when his breath tickled her neck and he laid a soft kiss on her shoulder blade, throwing in a sweet "I love you" as if she didn't already know. Her husband was just trying to distract her from work, and even so, she let him. She should be distracted for a little while for her brain to function again, and he seemed to be in need of a little affection. When she turned to him, their lips met for an urgent wet kiss which sent him down on his knees by her side.

"Come on," he muttered, all out of breath as his lips curved into a slop-sided grin. One of his hands were resting on her hip, the other on the backrest of the chair. "Play with me and I'll let you go."

"Play with you?" Y/N chuckled as she cupped his face. "Is this why you let Layla and Niall watch Treasure tonight?"

"That's the kind of parent you think I am?" The man faked a faint gasp that made his wife giggle. "Actually, Layla's having dinner with her dad's family, and her stepmother is allergic to cats so..."

"So you let her use our daughter as a revenge tool." She jokingly lifted an eyebrow.

"Are you calling me a bad parent then?"

"Harry! No!" Y/N burst out laughing when her husband took both of her wrists with one hand and started ticking her with the other. She fought to get away, accidentally slipping right off her chair and collapsing right on top of him. Now the table had turned, she blocked his arms and executed the tickle torture until he laughed so hard he couldn't breathe.

"I surrender! Surrender!"

"You cannot surrender after what you did to me, baby. That's not the rule." Y/N knew he could've stopped her easily, yet he still let her win. So she showed some mercy by letting him suffer for a little more before raising her hands to call a truce. Harry combed his fingers through his messy locks, breathing heavily and flashing her a lazy smile.

"I'm done playing with you. Can I please go now?"

When she patted his chest and attempted to move, Harry quickly sat up, fingers clutching her thighs to keep her still. He knew she could just brush off his hands and get back to work, but it was her choice to stay in his lap. So he flashed her a cheeky grin. "But I'm not done playing with you."

"Baby, I'm serious." She sighed, gently stroking his hair. He was like a baby now, pouting and nuzzling her neck, pleading for attention, which she would gladly give him if Jack's reputation and her own weren't hanging by a thread. "I need to get this proposal done by morning."

"You're always working overtime and now you're working at home too," he said with a big frown. "I feel like no one beside Jack acknowledges your effort."

"Exactly! Thank you! I mean, I love my job but I gotta admit most people in PR are assholes." Harry couldn't hold back another smile when she turned serious and started counting on her ten fingers to illustrate her point to him. "So take ten people at my office, four of them will hate me, the next four don't give a damn about me but they love the drama and believe dumb rumors anyway, the two people left are Jack and Kate."

Harry pressed a kiss to his wife's cheek, laughing as he tried to cheer her up, "positively speaking, your two supporters are your boss and your boss' assistant. You still win."

"If you put it that way," she said, beaming at him. "Well, I'm only working this hard because we need money for our future family. So when we finally get super rich, it's over for them. I might even quit the job and we can go on honeymoon every weekend. Sounds great, huh?"

Harry stayed on the floor after his wife had kissed him and returned to her laptop. "Feels good to just imagine," she said in a sing-song voice. However, he knew there was also truth behind that joke, that everything could be much better if they were wealthy people, that she could have the life he'd promised them both, no more extra hours at the office just to impress people who weren't so nice to her.

The opportunity was right on the table, all he needed was to swallow his pride and seize it. And because of her, he might actually consider working things out with his dad.

The next morning, Harry could barely pay attention to anything else. He sat in his office, staring at a half-finished email to his dad's assistant which he'd written last night, trying to decide if he should send it. He just wanted an appointment with Devlin, but then what? What was he gonna say? He didn't want to just apologize for doing nothing wrong only to get this over with. And would Devlin trust him enough to hand him the CEO chair after everything? Maybe he should phone Y/N and ask for her opinion. Even though she'd been on board with this idea since the beginning, and even trying to convince him to go for it, he didn't think he should make this decision on his own. But on second thought, he should wait until he saw her at home, because something like this shouldn't be discussed over a phone call.

There was a knock on the door when Harry was having a debate with himself. He shut the laptop and told the person to come in, Olivia then entered, wearing a massive grin on her face.

"Got you coffee!" She exclaimed happily and placed the cup down on his desk.

"Oh, thanks." He raised an eyebrow as she sat down in front of him. "What's the occasion?"

"Well, yesterday was my birthday so today I bought coffee for everyone."

As soon as she said it, Harry's face scrunched up in guilt. He pinched the bride of his nose and muttered under his breath, "shit. I...I'm sorry, Ollie...I forgot."

"Nah, it's fine." The blonde giggled as she shook her head. It didn't take an expert to see that she was in a much better mood than usual. And Harry was already suspecting a reason behind her strange attitude. "I had the best birthday though," she confessed, the grin on her face grew twice bigger.

Harry recognized that grin. He'd been in a relationship for five years, how could he not? It was as clear as daylight! "Okay, who is he?"

"He?" Olivia arched an eyebrow. Harry knew her better than most people, and that right there was her iconic 'I-know-what-you're-talking-about-but-I'm-just-pretending' face.

"The guy who made this birthday so 'special'."

"Why is the word special in air-quotes?" Olivia giggled. Then it only took a couple seconds for reluctance to wash off the happiness on her face. He was second guessing if it was something he'd said that unintentionally upset her, but he didn't really need to ask as she was gonna tell him anyway.

"There's something I want you to know."

"Okay." He nodded, eyebrows furrowed as he leaned forward, getting a bit impatient. "Is the guy a drug dealer or...?"

"No! Jesus no!" Another soft giggle escaped her red lips. "It's Jack, but—"

"I knew it!" Harry shouted and slammed his fist onto the desk, almost giving the girl a heart attack. Then he started laughing as her cheeks turned pink. "I saw you two dancing at my wedding and I knew it!"

"Okay, calm down," she told him, rolling her eyes even though his reaction was undeniably adorable. "It's not about Jack. Well, it is kind of related to him, but mostly you and...your dad."

"My dad? Are they doing business together?"

"Kind of..." Olivia pursed her lips while fidgeting with the pencils right in front of her. It seemed like she was struggling to find the right way to break this news. "More like...Devlin's selling Styles Corporation to the Colemans."

"You're joking?" Harry's eyes went wide as his mouth hung opened. He was hoping Olivia would crack up and tell him he'd been fooled, but she seemed too serious for him to believe this was just a lousy prank.

"Jack told me last night. I just assumed after...what happened, Devlin wouldn't discuss this with you in advance."

"We don't even talk." Harry blew up his cheeks, tapping his fingers on the desk impatiently. Now their conversation had sunk back to silence. While Olivia was trying to come up with something to say, Harry kept on staring at the email he'd been hesitating to finish. After what seemed like five seconds, there was another knock on the door. A co-worker showed up to tell Olivia that Mr. Davis wanted to speak to her.

"I gotta go now," she said, standing up fast. "Talk to you later, Haz?"

"Sure." He gave her a nod and watched her strut towards the door. But when Olivia reached for the handle, instead of leaving right away, she lingered there for a moment before turning back to him.

"What are you gonna do?" She asked, looking slightly worried.

"I have an email to send," he told her with a smile.

Even though Olivia didn't get what her friend meant, she accepted that simple answer anyway and walked out of his office.

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"Y/N, there you are!"

Kate grabbed Y/N the moment she'd just arrived at the office. She wasn't even late, but from the way many others were staring at her, she guessed she'd missed a whole lot already.

"Tell Catherine I'm gonna send her the proposal right away," she uttered and attempted to walk away, but Kate pulled her back just as fast.

"Haven't you heard?"

Y/N shook her head quickly. She'd rarely seen Kate this excited while at work, and now this girl was smiling as if she'd just won a one-month trip to Bali. So what Y/N hadn't heard might be some actual good news.

"Jack fired the bitch this morning."

"What?" Y/N's jaw went slack as her eyes popped opened. "Is it...because of me?"

"No, silly." Kate snorted, eyes rolled upward. "From what I've heard, she's been selling our ideas to one of our competitors."

"For real?"

"Yup, that's why she got so fed up and asked for a more detailed proposal. The first one you did was great."

"So I just...stayed up all night for nothing?" Y/N's face scrunched up in annoyance, but her question was ignored when Jack stepped out of his office and spotted her speaking to his assistant.

"Mrs. Styles?" He raised his voice, causing everyone to stare at Y/N, who didn't even flinch. As he repeated once again, Kate had to nudge the girl to remind her she was being called, and it was only then that Y/N snapped back to reality. Her whole face turned red from all this excessive attention. It was ironic how she kept forgetting her new name which was probably the one thing she could never shut up about.

"Five minutes," Jack simply said before shutting his door.

Even though Kate leaned in and told Y/N "you're the last person he'd fire, don't worry", the girl was already shaking in her boots. Catherine had been working at this company for ten years and Jack made the decision to fire her in a minute. What if he thought Y/N had something to do with this and fired her too?

Oh no. She swallowed hard before heading straight to his office, ignoring curious stares that were shifting her way. She wondered how many of these people were wishing for her to suffer the same fate as Catherine, still she must put her trust in Jack Coleman.

Right? Right, she assured herself.

Taking a deep breath, Y/N opened the door slowly. The creaking sound caught Jack's attention as he looked up from the computer and urged her to hurry up.

"Okay, before you fire me, you need to hear me out," Y/N spoke as soon as she closed the door. "I have absolutely nothing to do with this."

"With what?" The man looked so confused, and now she was also confused.

"So I'm not here because I'm in trouble?" She asked quietly.

At this point, Jack couldn't keep a straight face anymore. He shook his head and began with a chuckle. "No, why would you be in trouble, Y/N?"

"I...I don't know...Why am I here then?"

"I need to discuss our new strategy with the head of Client Service." His answer seemed to confuse her even more, so he pressed his lips into a smile, and finally told her, "you're promoted by the way."

Those words together had turned Y/N paralyzed. Her limbs became stiff and her expression hardened. Now she could only hear different voices in her head shouting at each other. Was he joking? He can't! It's not April's Fool! But even if it was, Jack's not the type of person to joke about these kinds of things. Am I dreaming? Should I pinch myself?

"Y/N?"

She pinched her own arm when he called her name.

Yup, definitely not dreaming.

"Uhm, I have a question..."

"Sure, go ahead." Jack started beaming when he saw the way his employee was fidgeting with her own fingers and nipping her bottom lip. He had imagined a much worse reaction, so she was actually doing better than his expectation.

"Why?"

"Why?" Honestly, Y/N was very grateful that Jack was patient with her. But his calmness was driving her insane. Now she was on the edge of her seat and she wasn't even sitting down! She was literally sweating when he leaned back and knitted his hands together. "Well, since Catherine no longer works here, Elizabeth will be the new head of Media Relations, leaving her spot empty. And I think you're a great choice for it."

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" This question made Jack lift an eyebrow. He didn't say a word, yet she knew he wanted her to explain. And so she did. "Everyone here said that I got special treatments because you...uhm..."

"Because I had feelings for you?"

She swallowed hard and nodded quickly. Now she was glancing at all directions in the room to avoid looking at her boss when he stood up.

"Well, they weren't entirely wrong," he said, leaning back against the edge of his desk and crossing his arms. Those words were all it took for her eyes to shift back to his face.

"I did have feelings for you, and I've always thought you were a great person. But this isn't high school, Y/N. I don't make decisions based on my feelings for someone. If you can do the job well, then congrats, you get the job. If not, then you have five minutes to pack your things and go."

"But people—"

"When you work in this industry, you should care less about what people think of you, and more about what you think of yourself," Jack asserted, smiling back at her. "Are we good now?"

Y/N nodded to agree without adding anything else.

"Great. Now bring your laptop in here, there's a lot of work for you."

Once again, her answer was a single nod as she hurriedly reached for the door handle. But right before she exited the room, Jack stopped her quickly.

"I almost forgot," he said with a soft smile. "Welcome back, Mrs. Styles."

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"Baby, I'm home!!!"

Harry chuckled as his wife jumped right into his arms the moment she walked through the door. She held him so tight, almost squeezing the air out of him, and he could already tell that something big had happened to her at work.

"I have great news!"

"So do I!" He happily declared while grinning from ear to ear. "But you go first."

"I got promoted!"

Those words pierced right through his ears like a bullet. Speechless, he let her drag him into another hug but this time all that he could show was a half-broken smile. Y/N instantly felt his reluctance and drew back to look him in the eyes. Her grin fell as fast as his when she noticed something wrong.

"You're not happy for me?"

"I am. I am, I'm just—" He paused right there. What could he possibly say now? That he'd had lunch with his father and agreed to take over Styles Corporation in San Francisco? That he'd done it for her but now she'd got promoted and would most likely not willing to quit and move to another country with him? No! He couldn't tell her any of that!

So instead of saying the truth, he gave her exactly what she wanted to hear. "Sorry, I'm just shocked. Wow, baby, this is great!" He laughed, squeezing her hands even though he'd never been more anxious before. "I'm so proud of you. You're a boss now!"

Y/N leaned in and kissed his lips, mumbling a quiet "I love you" as she believed without his support she wouldn't have gotten this far. Her excitement had put him in a much tougher spot and now his heart was beating like a drum.

"So," she pulled back to hold his face, still smiling like the Cheshire Cat. "What's your good news, love?"

Shit.

He widened his eyes at her question, lips pressed together tightly. "Well...uhm...Olivia bought free coffee for everyone at the office today."

"That's it?" Y/N gave her man a funny look. However, there was no sign that showed she was suspecting anything. It was almost normal for him to make no sense sometimes that his excitement over free coffee would actually make sense.

"Yeah. Now that I think about it, it's actually not as exciting as your good news." That was a terrible white lie, but Y/N was too thrilled to see it through at this point.

"We need to celebrate!" She declared, bouncing up and down like a child on Christmas morning. "I'm gonna cook a big meal for both of us and we're gonna get so drunk tonight!"

Harry held his breath as he watched the woman he loved dance her way into the kitchen. She had never looked happier, which made him feel even worse. He was blaming himself, still a part of him justified his impulsive decision by saying he'd been given no other choice. Had he waited to come home and discuss it with her, the Colemans could've sealed the deal and taken the company right under his nose. He thought he was doing it for both of them, mostly for her. But unfortunately, he couldn't have seen this coming.

Now standing in the middle of his living room like a stone statue, Harry asked himself the same question Olivia had asked him before, what are you gonna do, Harry?

#flatmate!harry #harry styles #harry styles fanfic #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles fanfictions #harry styles fanfics #harry styles imagine #harry styles imagines #harry styles writing #harry styles series #harry styles fluff #harry styles angst #husband!harry

[nellie-elizabeth]

The Handmaid's Tale: Household (3x06)

This episode was... well, it was something, alright.

Cons:

I really did like it, just like I've liked every episode of this show. It was powerful and well-made. But I will admit, for the first time in this very symbolism-heavy show, I was a little put off by how much symbolism there was in D.C. Like, I get it... this was the capital of the USA, and now it's under Gilead's control. It's supposed to be this terrifying dichotomy between the former "land of the free" and what we have now. But the contrast didn't quite work because we know it's not a matter of black and white here. It's usually a lot more of a gradual slope. This was maybe an example of less being more. We have the mouth rings for the Handmaids, which is obviously chilling but also a little bit impractical... how do they eat? We have that obnoxious shot of June standing in front of a statue so it looks like she has wings. What is this, Game of Thrones? Those shots are certainly artistically cool to look at, but it's putting things on a bit thick, don't you think? Same with the shot of the Lincoln Memorial with the top of it blown off. Heavy-handed comparisons between slavery in the U.S. and slavery in Gilead are all well and good, but we have to admit that the way race is handled on this show is clumsy at best, so... not sure they want to draw such stark attention to themselves there.

I'm obviously reserving judgment about Nick, because like everything else in this show, there are complexities there. He seems to have tried to help negotiate with the Swiss, but maybe he chickened out, or they wouldn't accept his information, or he wasn't willing to go far enough... and then we get the revelation that he was part of the "holy crusade" that brought about Gilead in the first place. This is brand new information to June, and to the audience as well. The thing is... it doesn't quite track with Nick as a character thus far. If he was an opportunist who, whether he believed in the system or not, decided to keep his head down and accept his fate, then why was he involved in the resistance, even before he fell in love with June? And if he was forced into all of his actions, and has always been a rebel at heart, why is he stopping now? I don't think Nick's characterization thus far is a problem for the show, or at least not a problem that they can't easily rectify. It's just a little unclear to me right now exactly where they're going with this, and I'm starting to get nervous that I won't like the end result.

Pros:

There was one piece of overwrought symbolism that absolutely worked for me and knocked me on my ass, and that was the sight of the Washington Monument turned into a giant cross. I think the reason that this worked better for me than some of the other D.C. imagery was that it was about re-purposing and distorting the meaning of an existing piece of art, instead of just destroying it. Gilead has left the rubble of the Lincoln Memorial there for all to see. They're not trying to hide the fact that they destroyed something. But with the Monument... they didn't shear it in half, or knock it over and leave it lying there... they built from it. They warped and twisted it, and if you didn't know what the Washington Monument was, you'd never know there had been anything different there before. That's the chilling thing to me. Warping history, erasing the past, so that there could conceivably be a future, not so distant, where nobody alive remembers things the way they were.

As always, I want to discuss Serena. For the past couple of reviews I've been noting how interesting it is to have a performance so well done that you feel a bit of sympathy for Serena's plight, despite her despicable actions. This episode continues that thread. Serena Joy really is one of the most interesting villains I've ever seen on any TV show. The moment I want to focus on is when Mrs. Winslow tells Serena that she liked her book. This is taboo, since of course the women aren't allowed to read. But it is also a stark and important reminder that Serena helped to shape this world. I'm not saying it makes her culpable for everything, but she was an evangelical Christian extremist who wrote a book about how women were meant to stay in the home and take care of the children. She did that, and the result is plain to see.

Mrs. Winslow was fascinating to me as well, because she thanks Serena for helping to change her life - she used to work at a law firm, and she and her husband had no time for a family. But look at them now! Six children, and they still have a Handmaid. The privileges of rank. That's an important point to make here - Commander and Mrs. Winslow are both seemingly a bit more casual and down-to-earth than a lot of the other Comamanders and Wives we've seen. They have openly affectionate and goofy relationships with their genuinely happy children. They offer their first names to their guests. Mrs. Winslow hugs Serena and hands her a baby when first meeting her. It's all quite... normal. It reminds me that oppressive systems do not oppress equally - that if you're in a position of power, even as a member of the oppressed class (women), you are given more leeway. I as a white woman still have to deal with the effects of sexism on my day-to-day life, but I have the privileges granted by my whiteness and many other privileges besides.

We should also talk about Fred Waterford. He's such a weak-willed man. He's slimy and annoying and only scary because of the context of this society. As a man, he has so much power. As Fred Waterford, he doesn't know how to actually properly take advantage of that. I think you can see that in how he interacts with Commander Winslow. He's just so desperate for a chance to improve his prospects, and his brown-nosing is really pathetic. I think Fred Waterford is just as interesting as Serena in some ways, although the type of villainy is very different. You don't get the sense that he really cares all that much about Nichole, in the long run. He wants to leverage a personal tragedy for professional gain, and despite some moments of sentimental bonding between husband and wife, I'm not sure Fred and Serena are ever going to repair any sort of healthy partnership... that is, if they even had one to begin with.

To continue the trend of interesting villains... we see that Aunt Lydia is very shaken by what she sees in D.C. I liked the moment when June asks her if she wants them all to be silenced, and Lydia immediately says that she does not. Lydia is one of the more terrifying figures on this show, because unlike Fred, who I really do believe to be just an opportunist, Aunt Lydia seems to have a genuine desire to help people. Her harshness with the Handmaids is in some way an attempt to protect them from even worse punishment. That excuse is flimsy and does not hold up under even the smallest amount of pressure, but it makes for a really complicated portrait of this woman, who could beat Janine one week, and then be genuinely sympathetic to June, and be horrified by the oppression she sees around her. Again, like with Serena, just because I can understand and untangle some of her twisted motivations, doesn't mean I'm on her side or that I forgive her for her monstrous actions.

I liked the idea of the Swiss being neutral negotiators here, because it's another chance to get some hints about world politics. Gilead is enough of a military threat that Canada doesn't want to provoke conflict. And yet Canada has been offering asylum to refugees from Gilead. We know that the gender politics of Gilead seem to be restricted to just Gilead, because we've seen women in positions of leadership in every other country we've interacted with. I'm so interested in how the rest of the world reacts and responds to Gilead. It's sort of a chilling reminder of how much power the United States has, that other countries kind of have to let us do whatever we want, in a really messed up way. When I think about the endgame of this show, of how it's all going to wind up, really the only thing I can imagine is a widening of the scope - does this show end when Gilead is destroyed and balance starts to come back to the world? What does that look like? I don't know, but I want to find out.

So that's that - again, a wonderful episode of a complicated, difficult television show. I had some qualms about the over-abundance of symbolism, because I guess even this show can go too far sometimes. But still... this was great!

8/10

#review #handmaids tale #handmaids tale review #the handmaids tale #the handmaids tale review #handmaid's tale #handmaid's tale review #the handmaid's tale #the handmaid's tale review

[fuwafuwamedb]

Stuck in Sindria P2 (MAGI AU, Hakuno, Gudako, Gilgamesh, Solomon)

The ocean breeze was a nice feeling, Hakuno thought, smiling at the coast in the distance and the feeling of light and happiness that was all around her.

Sindria.

That was what the boy had told her this place was.

She wasn’t sure what had happened to going to America to fight Gilgamesh in New York, but this was fine. For a little while, she could hang out here until the others realized that she had been transported to another place entirely and bring her home. In these situations, sticking close to the rayshift point was best.

“Miss Hakuno!”

Speaking of that boy from before.

“Aladdin!”

The blue haired boy sprinted straight into her arms, hugging her tightly.

Yeah. She had fallen straight into the boy’s room, falling directly onto him. Thankfully, he seemed to think her chest was something special. He’d forgiven her for several moments of simply lying against her chest and giggling away.

More than Archer had ever done, although she had stopped the boy after a few minutes.

He was a kid.

It was like having Child Gil decide to try to take after Caster Gil.

“Miss Hakuno! Alibaba is heading off to train and Yamuraiha is avoiding training since she got caught up in some work. Do you want to spend some time together?”

“Aren’t there others here that can teach you?”

“No one else here knows magic.”

That wasn’t exactly true.

Hakuno hummed. “Perhaps I could show you some magic.”

“Do you know magic?” He was already grabbing her arm, pulling her immediately towards one of the courtyards.

“We could fight, I suppose.” Hakuno told him.

She had a few spells from Caster Gil that were at her disposal. Cu and Merlin had shown her a few moves as well. Pushing a little mana into the earth under her bare feet, she could feel the blooms already come forth.

Good.

She would use the energy from the sun to build up her mana while the fight was occurring. It may come in use to practice anyway, just in case there were enemies here as well.

“YOU HAVE TO TEACH ME THAT!”

“Aladdin, do you want to simply practice or-“

“I actually really like the idea of sparring a bit. Yamu has been trying har to teach me and I think it would be fun to try this out.”

He had his staff out.

Hakuno nodded.

“Let’s go.”

The fighting was immediate, the explosions from the fire blasts louder than she could have imagined. She took off running, setting up runes in the air and sending them in the boy’s direction. She bloomed more flowers around the edges of the courtyard, building up more of a charge for her mana.

She leaped back from another set of attacks, finding a pair of blue hands coming from the boy’s flute.

“Interesting. You’re certainly making this entertaining.”

Was she sounding like Archer? She certainly was smirking like him at the moment.

She leaped at one of the walls, climbing the broken brick and running across the top. She sent more mana blasting his way, surprised at the strange bird-like shape of it.

A figure leaped down before she could hit the boy, throwing him aside and taking the blow.

Golden jewelry, strange tattoos, the strange need to be undressed from the waist up. The newcomer looked more like he had forgotten directions to some Sumerian temple than anything. Hakuno found herself dodging a blow from the man’s hands and dropping back down to level ground.

“Fighting children is a bit under the belt, don’t you think?”

Aladdin was trying to speak up, but Hakuno shook her head.

“Jumping into a fight between two people who are friends is not really appropriate either. Did you miss directions to the nearest orgy?”

He was laughing. A couple blasts went her way, but he was too distracted. She ran around them and leaped up, sending a fist straight into his face.

Or, she had intended to do so. It was more like she had smashed her fist into the wall. Her hand cracked, pain bursting forth as she hissed. It was more surprise that sent the man to his knees, his hand grabbing a fistful of her hair to keep her in place against him.

Her face was smashed against his chest.

“SIN!”

“SIN!”

Two voices yelled out, running forward.

“OH MY GOSH! HAKUNO!”

Hakuno sighed in relief as she saw Gudako kneel down next to them.

“Sin! She’s a friend! She’s my friend! She’s a mage as well!”

“Two?!”

Sin stared at her a moment before laughing.

Yeah. Hakuno tried to pull back only to find the man pulling her closer.

“Ah, you remind me of Ja’far!” The man- Sin- told her.

“Yeah. I’m going to pass on this.” Hakuno tried to pull away again only to find Sin waving to the other voice from before.

“Sinbad, let Hakuno go.” Aladdin moved his staff between them. “She fell into my room from a portal last night and she said she would help me train today.”

“Ah, so the same as Gudako.” Sinbad pulled back, helping her to her feet.

Hakuno moved to pull herself and Aladdin a few feet away from the man. Instinct pretty much said this man was nothing more than a flirt.

She had one overly charismatic man and his duplicates in her life. No need for spares.

A hand pressed to her shoulder, a soft laugh leaving the owner’s lips.

“Don’t mind Sin.”

Sinbad’s clothes appeared, his hair turning a lighter purple color. The white haired man holding her shoulder smiled a bit.

“He’s not that bad,” White Hair told her. “My name is Ja’far. I am one of King Sinbad’s generals. We’re pleased that you decided to come here, although, in the future, please try to use the front doors.”

“We didn’t mean to come here,” Hakuno told the man.

“Yes, well-“

“I am going to stay close to Aladdin if that’s okay,” Hakuno told him. “Gudako and I should return back to our home. We don’t need to be fighting here and we don’t really know you all.”

There was a spark of something behind Ja’far’s gaze.

“Well, I was thinking about having Aladdin sit with me a bit while I work on paperwork outside. If you would like to join me, I would be more than happy to have company.”

Paperwork…

Hmm…

“Do you mind if I help?” Hakuno asked him.

“HAKUNO!” Gudako motioned at the area, at Sinbad after a moment, earning a laugh from the man.

Hakuno bowed to Ja’far. “Please let me help with paperwork. You can cover it in a thick cloth and seal it for delivery if necessary. I just want to be of use before returning home.”

“I could use someone to help write, if you don’t mind,” Ja’far told her.

“JA’FAR!”

Both Gudako and Sinbad squawked at that.

The man wrapped an arm around her. “Let’s get you into some nice robes. The weather here is a bit different from your homeland, I’m sure.”

“It is,” Hakuno told him.

“Sin,” Ja’far gave a wink to the man. “If you would be so kind as to show Gudako to Alibaba or Morgana perhaps? She seems more eager for action.”

“I’ll come to check on you three after I deliver her,” Sin told him.

Those eyes were on her one last time before the man directed Gudako away.

There was a bad feeling running through her again. Hopefully, ja’far wasn’t one to scheme with his king. But then again, the man was smiling and directing her inside. He was ordering for tea and having her help carry some scrolls outside into the bright sunlight and comfortable sitting area under a gazebo.

Aladdin was munching on an apple as the man began to tell her about Sindria.

The man simply seemed to want paperwork done.

“Should I know all this about Sindria?” Hakuno asked, laughing a little as Aladdin was fast asleep nearby.

“They are secrets, yes, but I have a feeling that you’ll come to like Sindria. I don’t think you’ll give away the secrets.” The man told her.

“I won’t. I promise.”

The man smiled a bit more before handing another scroll over to her and beginning to explain.

~

Elsewhere, sitting quietly in a time outside of time, three kings sat awkwardly.

“So you don’t know exactly how to send us to this Sindria?”

The man shrugged, not looking up from his book.

Grand Caster Solomon glanced over at Archer, earning a warning look.

“Do you know anything about this place that they’re at?” Solomon tried. “Look Boy-“

“My name is Solomon.”

Archer busted out laughing, earning a swat from the grand caster at his side.

“Solomon,” Solomon told him. “I am trying to get to my wife. She um… got a bit out of hand and overly eager. Decided to run straight into the fighting without consulting me.”

“I’ve had Sheba do that to me before.” The man looked up from his book finally, those blue eyes meeting his in sympathy. “She’ll come back, I’m sure. My wife hurries back if she runs off. She’s very loyal… although a bit eager about food.”

“Don’t get me started on Gudako with food,” the caster groaned.

The woman had eaten through his snacks before she’d taken off, hence his finding out she was gone immediately.

Gilgamesh looked around the place behind the man, tossing books here and there into his Gates.

The damn bastard was going to get them into deep shit doing that.

“So,” Caster Solomon looked at this blue haired double. “I just need to have your help in getting to this Sindria.”

Those eyes went back to his book.

“She’ll be fine. It’s Hakuno that’ll be stuck there.”

“Say what?”

Gilgamesh paused, holding a book in his hands.

“I said,” Solomon drawled, “That Hakuno is the one in danger. Gudako will be able to easily leave. Hakuno has captured the interest of the king and she’s playing hard to get in his eyes. He’ll be smitten in no time at all… and do put that book back.”

“GET US TO THAT DAMNED COUNTRY NOW!” Gilgamesh barked at the man, tossing the book aside and storming forward.

Negotiations were going to take a while.

#drabble #drabbles

[hellzyeahthewebwieldingavenger]

Spider-Man: Life Story #4 Thoughts Part 3: Pathetic Parker

Aaaaaaand finally....let us discuss you know Peter Parker.

Or the stand in for him in this mess of a mini-series.

Positives should be gotten out of the way first. I like the new Spider-Suit’s look. I’ve liked all the suits’ looks so far.

Okay cool we’re done now with positives.

Soooooooooooooooooooooooooo...Peter is dating Jessica Drew huh.

Hahahahahahaha....fuck off.

Jessica Drew technically speaking existed in the 1960s but only because Bendis picked a random girl from a Ditko issue and decided he would make her his new original character (who was a rewritten Jessica Drew stand in...) Jessica Jones...which happened in the 2000s.

Remember how I said the Stark thing was remixing stuff from the 2000s and how this probably references the Ultimate Clone Saga?

Well between that stuff, the inclusion of Parker Industries, a obvious reference to Slott’s ‘No One Dies’ buzz word, and now Jessica Jones Zdarsky has entirely collapsed the ONE consistent thing about his writing in this series.

You can read my past posts on this series for more detail, but in a nutshell, this series is utterly convoluted in it’s premise and confused in what it wants to be.

However the ONE utterly consistent thing about it was the fact that it remixes elements from Spidey stories that happened in the decade each issue was covering.

Until now.

Now in fairness Parker Industries was a 2010s thing that debuted in the 1980s. I let that one slide a bit because I guess the idea was if Peter age 30 had money and time he could have a company by age 37 which would be in the 80s. Okay I guess.

But with all that other stuff...this issue isn’t remixing 90s stuff it’s remixing 90s and post-90s stuff so what the fuck is the conceit of the story again?

It’s anything Zdarsky wants whilst mostly remixing stuff from every decade per issue oh and Spider-Man ages in real time I guess and mentions various wars.

I (and others) have talked about how this series is fanficion. A time honoured tradition of fanfiction is the wacky indulgent ships that occur.

In professional works though these are best avoided, see MockingSpider.

That’s what Jessica Jones and Spider-Man being a couple is. Yeah she had a crush on him in high school.

Now tell me anything else that’d serve as a basis for their relationship instead of her being with Luke?

How the fuck did this even happen? At least with Peter and MJ you have canon as a roadmap. In this series...nothing. Peter and Jessica just hooked up somehow in the last 11 years!

What’s so insultingly asinine about this ship is that it emphasis another person who is conspicuous via her absence.

So...where the fuck is Felicia!

I know that the important life events of Spider-Man can be debated up to a point.

That point doesn’t cover though whether Black Cat is relevant of a mention or not across his ‘life story’.

No shit of course she is!

But she wasn’t mentioned in the 1970s when she debuted. She wasn’t mentioned in the 1980s when she became a regular. She wasn’t mentioned in the 1990s.

Surely in a world where Spider-Man’s marriage to MJ falls apart and he’s dating a private eye that should be fucking Black Cat not a character who wasn’t even invented until 10 years later! I mean c’mon Black Cat BECAME a private eye in the 1990s!

And wouldn’t that have been way more dramatic too?

In the 1980s instead of Peter being allegedly addicted to a costume or neglecting his family to clean up radiation or asking his wife to kill him if he turned into a brain munching alien the root of their break up involved his affection for Felicia?

I mean c’mon the symbiote was framed as a response to a mid-life crisis, a sexy platinum blonde who actually wants to hook up with Spidey not Peter isn’t prime real estate for a story about a superhero’s mid life crisis? Even the Incredibles did that!

And wouldn’t that have been more worthy of drama in this issue than literally 2 panels of Jessica Jones establishing they’re shagging but also he’s neglectful and she dumped him. I mean at that point you might as well have just had her be a private eye he hired and dropped the romance completely it served no purpose at all.

One aspect of the story that I will praise Zdarsky for even if I think he got it right by accident is that without his family Peter couldn’t keep on going as Spider-Man.

MJ, May, etc, they keep him together, he needs people, he’d fall apart without them.

Running out of gas as he did in this story could be seen as a reflection of that depending on future issues. Or it could just be he’s old and tired and don’t you know all superheroes would feel that way at age 48.

Too bad that seems rather at odds with issue #3 where he was a neglectful jerk.

Another problem inherited from issue #3 was the issue of Peter’s diminished prowess in his old age.

Remember how he wanted the symbiote to stay ‘relevant’ because he was slowing down.

Okay so it’s been 11 years later, he’s held onto Parker Industries and...he’s just accepted he’s gotten slower and weaker.

Remember how issue #3 implied he had a nano-weld suit.

Okay so he’s had 11 years to improve on that tech and...he hasn’t.

In fact his current outfit looks less high tech even.

Now brace yourselves because I’m about to do something nuts and call upon Dan Slott continuity as reference material.

In Slott’s run Peter with HORIZON labs and Parker Industries tech was able to whip up a variety of costumes for himself. These included nanotech.

In fact his MAIN suit in ASM volume 4 was nanotech armour that came complete with all sorts of gadgets.

Are you telling me that a Peter Parker with even greater years of scientific knowledge and experience, with even more time and resources, across 11+ years NEVER made technology like that?

He NEVER invented tech that could offset his diminished powers?

Seriously?

IRON MAN had strength enhancing armour in the 1960s and that technology got illegally distributed to countless people, hence we got Armor Wars. Even that aside there is countless inferior technology that could increase strength, speed, agility, etc, let alone protect from knock out gas.

But Peter in LF is such a jackass he...never employed this. He never considered this. He just let himself grow weaker and more vulnerable?

Either he’s stupid or he’s a sellout on Ben and May’s morals of responsibility because he had a death wish hence he never upgraded.

I mean Jesus Christ the Hobgoblin found a way to make the Goblin serum SAFE. Peter couldn’t investigate that avenue as a way to spike his power levels? Friggin Norman Osborn was in his 40s when he got the formula and it made him almost on par with Spider-Man.

It gets even stupider when you consider Peter hands over his mantle to Ben Reilly.

Ben is physically the same goddam age as Peter. In fact considering he clearly doesn’t crime fight as much as Peter does or else ‘Red Mask’ would be more famous, Peter if anything would be in better shape. So Peter is giving the mantle of Spidey to a less experienced, weaker 48 year old man who’s ALSO got diminished strength and speed.

But it gets worse.

He doesn’t just hand the mantle of Spidey to Ben. He hands Parker Industries over to him. You’d think this is a case of him passing it on to his relative Ben Reilly right?

Nope.

He wants Ben to...literally become him.

Peter wants Ben to literally pose as him forevermore and run his company.

This is the most gamebreakingly stupid thing in the entire issue.

Ben having Peter’s notes doesn’t mean he’ll be able to pose as Peter.

He doesn’t know the in jokes Peter has with people. He has 0 experience of running a big company.

He has less scientific knowledge and experience.

He will be way worse in business negotiations because he hasn’t got the measure of people.

And he’ll be seriously stressed out because unlike Peter who just knows this stuff Ben will have to study for a lifelong performance as Peter Parker every moment of every day.

Not to mention is no one going to notice the sudden disappearance of Ben Reilly?

Didn’t he have friends or colleagues of his own like Lori from the start of the issue?

Peter starts the comic determined to not allow Parker Industries to fall into the hands of the war profiteer Tony Stark but by unloading his entire company onto Ben Reilly he’s placed it in a hugely vulnerable position that makes it MORE likely that it will be absorbed into Stark International.

Oh and of course there the teeny tiny problem of PETER AND BEN NOT LOOKING ALIKE!

Now realistically Peter and Ben Reilly, having lived such different lives, would look similar yet different, like identical twins. Identical twins might look the same at age 1 but they really wouldn’t at age 30 if one of them was a desk jockey and the other was a soldier.

But you know artistic licence and suspension of disbelief can bypass that.

What cannot be bypassed is when Mark Bagley is drawing both characters on the same page in the same panel and you can tell that they clearly look different to one another. Their faces, hair colour and hair styles are not the same.

Did Peter’s notes include the correct shade to dye his hair too?

But the biggest aspect of this which is betrayal pornoigraphy for Peter’s character is between handing over the reigns of Spidey and P.I. to Ben...how...the...Hell...is...that...at.all...responsible?

He claims that he can’t give up his responsibility but he can ‘shift it to where it matters’.

What a crock of shit. That’s some lame ass lawyer talk for giving up and letting someone else do your job for you.

In the 90s Clone Saga Peter’s retirement was justified. He had impending parenthood as a responsibility and he and his wife had nearly broken in recent months. In Spider-Girl he got his leg blown off and had a 2 year old child to care for.

In this? His ex-wife and children are doing just fine without him as far as we know but the city still needs Spidey and P.I. still needs Peter Parker.

So no, retirement under these circumstances is irresponsible and utterly unjustified.

Not to mention wouldn’t BOTH Peter and Ben being heroes be more responsible? Or at least have Ben take over hero work and Peter runs P.I., possibly training Ben up.

There is also this bullshit that because Peter is so loud and public Ben could never live up to his potential.

I’m sorry but what is it with the Spider-Man fandom’s obsession with the idea that success = owning your own business.

As if that is the one and only way Peter or Ben could fulfil their scientific potential. Why not work for Reed?

Why not work with a Think Tank?

Why not start up a company in a different country and establish that Ben is indeed Peter’s relative. He already had his last name in issue #2!

Hell the argument that if they both started up companies and 2 Spider Heroes showed up it’d raise questions doesn’t consider the ideas that:

a)      Ben could WORK for Parker Industries, thereby allowing Peter to be in the lab as he wants or Ben handle the lab work

b)      They could SHARE the Spider-Man identity, which if anything would help maintain their secrecy

 Finally this issue (and the last one) on the recap page and at the end of the story pushes some toxic, dated, bullshit narratives regarding MJ:

a)      That it was grief alone that hooked up Peter and MJ

b)      MJ is Peter’s Plan B

c)       Peter cannot be married/have kids and be Spidey

d)      MJ wouldn’t stay with him if he’s Spider-Man, hence he only regains his family by retiring from Spidey

 I’ve seen an assessment of this story that argues that issue #3 as the halfway point was the low point from which the character will gradually fight back.

In a sense issue #4 goes along with this idea. Peter is at his lowest in issue #3 and his happier by the end of issue #4.

But the narrative structure of this series, wherein each issue is a snap shot of his life in each decade leads me to think that we’re unlikely to have 2 more issues of ending on gradually happier and happier notes.

Rather I think this issue is giving a pretence of happiness before it comes crashing down next issue and then in issue #6 we will get our happy ending or a bittersweet exit.

Regardless writing these long ass posts has actually soured me even more on the issue.

It’s another shit show I’m afraid.

P.S. The solicit read:

“THE REAL-TIME LIFE STORY OF SPIDER-MAN CONTINUES! Spider-Man’s life enters the 1990s! The COLD WAR is no longer cold as PETER PARKER returns to a world gone MAD! But will he let that madness infect HIM and his family?”

Where the fuck was any of that in this story?

Peter didn’t have a family, Peter didn’t return from anything, and the only madness to be found was in Ben and Otto.

#Spider-Man: Life Story #Chip Zdarsky #Mark Bagley #Spider-Man #Peter Parker #mjwatsonedit #Mary Jane Watson #Mary Jane Watson Parker #mj watson #Ben Reilly #Clone Saga #Jessica Jones #Black Cat #Felicia Hardy