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#happy to have it out to you all finally lol
esouliie · 2 days
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– everything comes out, teenage petulance ⋆⟡˖
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– synopsis | someone from wanda’s past interrupts your saturday morning and you’re not happy about it. wanda, however…
– warnings | angst, hurt/comfort, age gap couple, reader is younger & inexperienced and with that comes✨ emotional immaturity✨ but wanda is *chefs kiss* at giving reassurance :3
– notes | not proof read but the writing is rough!!! but but but i tried to write the inexperienced reader in an age gap relationship with the concept of conflicting emotional maturity… and i hate it lol, the dialogue sucks ass :/ i wish i could write reader with better petulant teenager energy!
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You woke up to the smell of fresh coffee and the soft hum of Wanda moving about the kitchen. Saturdays with her are your favorite, a break from the routine of the week. The sunlight filtered through the curtains, casting a warm glow over the room. Wanda's voice floated in from the other room.
"Good morning, sleepyhead," her tone gentle and affectionate. "I've made us some coffee."
You stretched and yawned, making your way to the kitchen where Wanda stood by the counter, her eyes twinkling as she hands you a mug. You took a sip, savoring the rich flavor of your favourite Colombian blend, overloaded with the insurmountable amount of sugar and cream she put in. Usually, she complains about how you take your coffee - constantly complaining how your daily sugar intake was enough to knock out an elephant - but she knew you wouldn’t drink coffee any other way.
And you needed coffee.
"Thanks, Wands," you mumbled as you smiled up at her, noticing her nose scrunch as she mimicked your smile. She's a few years older than you, and she wore it with pride. She was confident in herself, there was never a time she felt insecure about her age, and the most emotionally intelligent person you’ve ever met. In the beginning of your relationship, all of your “arguments” ended with healthy communication from Wanda’s side whereas you’d close up like a clam, refusing to talk or fight or even run away. You’d just switch off. And so, her maturity and confidence used to make you feel a bit self-conscious. But every day was better, because you have an excellent teacher who loves you endlessly.
You and all your emotional problems.
"Ready for our walk?" she asked, reaching for the leash. "Lucky's been waiting all week."
You nodded eagerly. "Absolutely. Let's go."
You both had been watching Lucky for the past couple weeks. Your bestfriend - Kate Bishop - had recently gone to Russia to visit her girlfriend’s parents. You were all for it, an exciting buzz had followed you the whole upcoming week. Wanda was a bit unsure at first, having never owned a dog, she wasn’t sure how to take care of it, but you reassured you had enough experience for the both of you.
The park was just a short walk from your house, and as you stepped outside, the crisp morning air filled your lungs. Lucky, the exuberant golden retriever, darted ahead, his tail wagging furiously. but never too far away from you both. The park was alive with people and their pets, the sound of laughter and conversation mingling with birdsong. Children ran across the grass, their gleeful shouts echoing through the trees.
Wanda took your hand, her fingers warm against yours. "It's such a beautiful day," she said, her eyes scanning the park. "Perfect for a walk."
This week had been especially busy for both of you. Wanda had been tirelessly working as the director of her own gallery, a lifelong dream that she had finally realised after months of dedication and effort. Meanwhile, you were preparing for your finals, which meant spending countless hours holed up in the library or Wanda's home office. As a result, the past few days you had seen very little of each other, making the rare moments like this morning even more precious.
You hummed in agreement and squeeze her hand, feeling a rush of affection for the blonde. “Here! You take this!” She offered, handing you Lucky’s ball in exchange for his lead.
Just then, before you could run off to play fetch, someone called out, "Wanda!" Her grip on your hand immediately loosened, and she dropped it, stepping a few steps away. You turned to see an older man - his mousy brown hair styled neatly with a suit jacket over his arm - approaching with a skip in his step.
There was no ring on his finger.
"Wanda, is that really you?" he asked, a broad smile spreading across his face , showing a bit too much teeth for you, as he hugged her warmly. You almost rolled your eyes as they rocked side to side in their embrace, shared laughter floating between them.
As fucking if.
“Vis! It’s been ages.” Wanda is the first to pull away, and yet her arms are still wrapped around his biceps. Your eye twitched as you notice her brush her fingers along the stretched fabric.
You stood there awkwardly. The pair fell into easy conversation as if they were ex lovers or something, and you waited for an introduction that never came. Their voices became a distant murmur as you drifted away from the conversation, your attention returning to Lucky, who was no longer by your side, and who was dangerously close to the pond, trying to reach the ducks with his snout.
“Lucky! Leave the ducks alone!” You called, grabbing his lead from Wanda’s, albeit loose grip, hurrying over towards the dog who was either ignoring you or hyper-fixated on reaching those ducks.
You’re not sure what happened next. You either spooked Lucky out of his trance or he really was being an ass today, but as soon as you got close enough to clip his lead to his collar, he spun on his back legs, knocking into you and zooming away. You stumbled, your balance slipping as you flailed to stay upright. With a yelp, you tumbled down, your body hitting the muddy bank. Your leg splashed into the water, soaking your entire leg. Wet and cold, you scrambled to stand up but a sharp pain shooting through your ankle had you sinking back on to the bank, before you managed to pick yourself up on your good leg. Tears from the pain and embarrassment blurred your vision as you looked down at the state of you. Your pretty dress Wanda had picked out for you this morning was coated in mud and all sorts of dirt. You watched in grimace as pond water dripped out of your shoe as you moved away from the scene of the crime.
Remembering you weren’t alone, and your girlfriend had probably seen the dog wipe you out, you searched for Wanda, only to find her still with her “old friend.” In fact, they seem to have moved over towards a spare bench as you noticed how close they were sat next to each other. Turned towards one another, their arms were basically brushing. Wanda had laughed at something Vis had said as she threw her head back, almost falling backwards until he grabbed onto her, pulling her closer towards him.
The sight made your stomach churn. Anger swirled in a violent revenge inside, and yet, it was sadness that slipped down your face. You felt a burning sensation in your chest and a lump forming in your throat.
All you wanted to do was go home.
A mother and her young daughter who had watched you fall made their way over to you, the question already posed in the way she looked at you. “Are you alright?”
Your teary eyes shifted back to the bench. Still lost in conversation, you watched and waited, wondering what it was they were talking about, wondering if she had even noticed you’re hurt.
But it’s clear she hadn’t seen you fall… or maybe she just forgot you were even here.
“I’m fine.” You replied, but your eyes deceived you.
The woman followed your gaze, “Oh! Are they your parents?”
You scoffed but there wasn’t any bite to it, and fresh tears rolled off your face, “No.”
You began to hobble forward, in search of Lucky but the stranger was one step ahead of you. She grabbed onto your arm, claiming you shouldn’t put your weight on your injured ankle, as she sent her daughter ahead looking for Lucky. She found him in no time, on the other side of the pond, no longer trying to reach the ducks but sat watching them.
You called for him, and without a fuss, he came. You clipped him to his lead, as he stared up at you curiously. He seemed to sense your distress and was suddenly still, looking up at you with a sorrowful expression, as if he understood the part he had played in this. Before you could return to full height, he leaned his head into yours. His actions saying a thousand words, and you couldn’t help but smile at the pup, giving him a little scratch. “It’s okay, bud. I know you didn’t mean to.”
Meeting the concerned mother’s gaze, you pointed towards Wanda, “I’m just gonna…” You trailed off but she understood, turning away with a genuine “get well soon”, instructions to ice your ankle as soon as you get home, and her daughter in hand. With that, she turned in the opposite direction, heading back towards where you fell.
You walked in the other direction, deciding to go around Wanda. You didn’t want to see her right now. Noticing the park exit in sight, Lucky dragged on his lead, trying to turn back the way you came.
“No, Lucky. We’re going home.” You ushered him through the gates, “She can stay here with him.”
A shout caught your attention. Behind you, Wanda was walking - almost running - towards you. The man was nowhere in sight. “Y/N! Where did you go? Why are you leaving?” You noticed a tinge of frustration in her voice, but that was dropped as soon as she took in your soaked state. “What happened?”
“Oh so you did remember I was here.” With that, you turned and walked away as fast as your ankle would let you.
“What-?” You heard Wanda struggle for words behind you before she caught up, her hand grabbing your cold, still - damp arm. “What do you mean? What happened?”
“You would know if you weren’t so impressed by your boyfriend back there.” You spat, shrugging off any hold she had on you.
She grabbed your arm again, firmer this time. “He’s not my boyfriend. His name’s Vision. We went to school together. I haven’t seen him in years.”
Her tone remained the same soft melody, despite the obvious frustration earlier.
You remained silent, scoffing in reply, as you tried to walk away, but she stopped you again, turning you around to face her.
Her warm hands held your cheeks, forcing you to make eye contact. “Hey, what’s really wrong?”
Her gaze softened, concern evident, and you felt tears pooling again as you fought within yourself, torn between letting go of your anger or clinging to it like petulant teenager.
“Don’t shut me out. Tell me what’s wrong.”
“You forgot about me,” you whispered, your voice trembling as tears streamed down your face. She wiped at them and a hum encouraged you to continue.
“You dropped my hand, and was talking to that guy so much, you didn’t even know I was still there. Lucky was acting up, so I went to get him, and I fell in the pond. My ankle really hurts, I think I sprained it, and I’ve ruined my dress and—” A sharp sob cut you off as your emotions overwhelmed.
Sensing your distress, Wanda pulled you into her arms. “It’s okay, baby,” she consoled softly, her voice remaining gentle and soothing.
Being in Wanda's arms usually helped you calm down. The warmth of her embrace and the gentle rise and fall of her chest as she breathed steadily would bring you a sense of peace. You would listen to her heartbeat, syncing your breath to its comforting rhythm, as her presence soothe your worries away.
However your anger surged, unable to latch onto a single thing as it flailed wildly. You pushed back against her chest, but she didn’t let go. "No, don't baby me! You forgot about me! I fell into a pond, and you weren't even there to help. A stranger did, Wanda. A fucking stranger cared more about me than my own girlfriend because she was too busy with some fucking guy!"
Her grip tightened slightly as she whispered, a juxtaposed effort to your loud volume, “I know, and I’m so sorry.” But you were too upset to care, your hurt and frustration drowning out her words of apology. You tried to close down on yourself, shielding away from the pain.
“Wanda, let go of me,” you said, hands pushing against her as your voice trembled with the effort to hold back the flood of emotions.
“No,” Wanda replied firmly, her eyes searching yours. “Tell me how you feel.”
“I already told you! ” Her persistence had you shouting again, the walls you were trying to build around your heart crumbled. Tears welled up in your eyes as your throat closed up as you started to sob uncontrollably. Frantic images of Wanda on the bench with the man flashed through your mind, tormenting you. You wiped at your face desperately, but the tears kept coming, a torrent of pain, betrayal and immeasurable grief.
“You acted like I didn’t exist,” you choked out between sobs. “It was like you were ashamed of me.”
Wanda’s eyes widened, not expecting that to be your response. “I’m not ashamed of you.” She said, her voice cracking with emotion. “I don’t know why I dropped your hand or why I didn’t introduce you as my girlfriend. It was a mistake and I’m so sorry.” Her own tears began to pool, her sorrow evident.
“I could never be ashamed of you, Y/N.”
She pulled you into a tight embrace, tears falling on top of your head as she whispered a few more apologies, and a promise to do better, to never make you feel invisible again or doubt her love for you.
“I want to go home.” You whispered, with a defeated energy.
Wanda remained unconvinced, though she understood your struggle. She had been tirelessly encouraging you to be more open about your feelings, and she had seen you make significant progress. However, she knew that progress wasn’t linear. Despite your improvements since you first started dating, she anticipated the occasional bad day. Recognising that this conversation wasn't suited for a public setting, Wanda shifted the focus. “I think Lucky does too,” she said softly, nodding towards the enthusiastic dog at your side.
You followed her gaze to Lucky, who was wagging his tail so energetically - despite the tense conversation he had just been present in- it seemed he might take off at any moment. “Okay, boy. Let’s go,” you said, giving him the command he was eagerly awaiting.
As the golden retriever began to trot down the street, you turned to the older woman. “I’m sorry Wands.”
The weight of those few words lingered in the air, before you felt a gentle squeeze on your hand as Wanda had intertwined her fingers with yours, her grip reassuring and steadfast. “I know. I’m sorry too.”
She didn't let go the entire way, and once again, her presence was a silent promise of growth, support and understanding as you made your way home together.
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robintherobiner · 2 days
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i forgot to post about pride month. im such a bad trans person lol so take this
Dick: Happy pride month, Alfred!
Alfred: Thank you, my dear boy, and to you aswell.
Dick: Happy pride month, Bruce!
Bruce: Thank you. Ah, that reminds me, i need to check on Wayne Enterprise's plans for the pride parade.
Dick: Happy pride month, Jason!
Jason: Oh shit is that already? Cool. Go spend this month with your speedster, hah!
Dick: Happy pride month, Cas!
Cas: Thank you! You too.
Dick: Happy pride month, Steph!
Steph: Oh my god! Me and Cas should have waited two wees before revealing our relationship, then we could've come out during pride month! Fuck. Wait, wait, pretend you don't know about me and Cas yet. Now say happy pride again, go on-
Dick: Happy pride month, Tim!
Tim: it's literally one minute past midnight, did you hunt me down during patrol just to be the first person to wish me a happy pride???
Dick: Happy pride month, Duke!
Duke: Thanks, Dick! Now can you move, i just finished patrol and I need shower to wash off all this mustard.
Dick: Happy pride month, Dami!
Damian: Yes, yes, thank you. Congratulations on finally asking out West.
254 notes · View notes
gyuswhore · 2 days
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Never Shall We Die (1)
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«« Nothing is too outlandish when it’s a life of liberty on the line. »» 
PAIRING: kwon soonyoung x reader
PLAYLIST: right here!
pirate lingo glossary (pls refer!)
SYNOPSIS: Deadliest pirate on the high seas or a damn fool? The stupid King and his men have snatched Hoshi's precious pirate ship with their too clean, too soft hands; grounds to question his own vices. Except, when he and his crew land in the quarters of a navy ship, revenge on their roster, they stumble across a princess in its gallows. Hoshi wonders if he's just struck gold, or if you'd become the final tread to his downfall.
GENRES: pirate!au, enemies to lovers, slowburn, angst, fluff, smut [minor dni], some pirates of the carribean vibes but ? idk
WORD COUNT [full fic]: 48.1k
Part 1: 17.07k | Part 2: 15.2k | Part 3 [final]: 15.8k
@highvern's out of context comment box: new fear unlocked: hoshi with explosives, victorian ankle moment, HATE HIM (need him carnally), hoshi covered in soapy water would distract me enough, strip for me pirate mingyu [hes litrally taking off his jacket], your honor hes a bitch, freaks!, mingyu crushes hoshi's head like a grape, WONWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, massive dick, the way i literally gasped like an old scandalized woman
masterlist
WARNINGS: slowburn, plot heavy, happy ending bc no angsty endings in this household, being taken hostage, knives, bombs, and guns, mentions of blood, mentions of SA (does not happen and it is not explicitly mentioned), alcohol, mentions of death (patricide), hoshi is ✨selectively moral✨but kind of moral nonetheless, side character death, [pls lmk if im missing something its alot] smut tagin following parts
[AN]: thank you so much to @highvern for betaing for me and helping out with the plot so much, this fic would not exist if it weren't for her!!!! and thank you reader!!! for clicking on this and reading it, this one's been about 7 months in the works and I would love to hear what your thoughts are when you're done, plsplspls leave a rb or a reply with your brainrot lol <3 happy reading
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HOSHI’S BOOT IS STUCK in the ground. 
No, that’s a branch. 
Or is it a plank? 
He doesn’t try to find out as he yanks his foot out of whatever stopped him from moving. A tree root, he finds as he kicks the remnants of jungle rubbish from the surface of the shrouded root. He kicks it to satisfy himself. 
His crew resides on the beach; where he can see them attempt to build a fire before sundown, the mound of discombobulated twigs making up most of the sad pile of wood. Hoshi trudges up to it and drops another handful of puny branches into the mix. 
Exhaling loudly as Mingyu calls for him, he falls to his bottom and sits cross legged on the sand. Mingyu trudges up next to him to inspect his pile, sighing when he realised this was all he had to work with. He picks up two hefty looking stones and begins to strike them together, putting his faith in the primitive fire. 
Hoshi stares into the horizon, watching the died down waves drift onto the shore, moving closer by the minute. 
Hoshi thinks, which he can’t say is something that he does very often. Perhaps that’s why he was sat on this nature-overrun island as a shipless captain of his shipless crew. He chews on his tongue as he thinks of his Tigress, his beloved hunk of wood and metal; the beloved hunk of wood and metal that he could not see on the shoreline, because she was taken by the royal navy. 
He wonders if Tigress would ever forgive him for letting that happen to her, for letting those clean, soft handed soldiers rip her away from his grasp. 
Hoshi needs to start thinking more often.
Mingyu is frantic over the small flame that erupts in the middle of his leaves, dropping his rocks to blow into the fire, encouraging it to grow. 
“Captain, it’s done! We can rustle up those fish we caught, have supper sorted.” 
“Hm.”
The bustle of the entire crew lasts until night has fallen and they’ve gotten food in their stomachs. Hoshi hasn’t moved from his spot for hours, something the others noticed very quickly, but decided not to mention for fear of waking something dangerous. They understood he was suffering from a broken heart. 
It isn’t until the first of the crew had begun to doze off that Hoshi speaks. Chan is propped up against a tree while Seungkwan and Jeonghan laugh at the dangerously low coconut that hangs above his head. Mingyu readjusts his trousers after a full meal. Minghao stretches onto the sand, feet facing the water. 
His voice isn’t loud, nor is it commanding, nor does it have his usual edge of jest—in fact, it sounds nothing like Hoshi at all. 
Or does it?
“Who wants to steal a ship?”
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YOU'RE AWOKEN BY THE sound of yelling. Which is never a good sign in any case, but especially not when it’s pitch black outside and you’re on a ship in the middle of the ocean.
The grogginess is quick to fade as you try to understand what’s going on outside your quarters. Your room isn’t a mess, all the trinkets and royal seals remaining in their places on the walls and shelves. Nor is the ship lurching or moving in odd angles to indicate an unexpected spat from the skies. A quick peek outside the window shows you clear, calm water amidst the mostly dark expanse of ocean. 
There is only one other answer in your head that would cause this much commotion—especially on a boat where the admiral resides (and a princess). 
Slipping out of the covers, your feet hit the cool hardwood floors of your quarters, a small shiver going through your spine from the cold, with nothing to cover you but your thin nightgown. You’re in the middle of tying your robe to see what the ruckus was about outside when a particularly loud thud hits outside of your door. You immediately freeze. 
Staring at the doorknob, you attempt to move backwards in the space, heart beating faster as you watch the knob move slightly. The back of your knees hit the bedside table with a thud, the sound has you gasp out loud. Whoever it was outside your door jiggles the knob harder, the force exerted having you scan the room for something you could use as a weapon. 
Spotting the letter opener on your desk, you lurch across the room to grab it, holding it in front of you as you back away from the door. The knob continues to bang against the wood as you refuse to take eyes off of it. There’s sounds of men outside, loud and rambunctious, momentarily halting the grievances. 
Until the knob moves again, slower this time, a light click that could be heard as it unlocks itself, opening into the low light of your quarters. 
You recognise the frazzled looking soldier at your door. 
“Lieutenant,” you voice in recognition. “What’s going on?”
He eyes the letter opener that you hold defiantly in front of you from across the room, and it has you retracting your force slightly. 
“Pirates, your Highness,” he breathes out. “We must get you to lower deck—”
“Where is the Admiral? The Captain?” you ask as you take a couple steps forward. 
“They’re handling the situation, your High–” 
An arm has come up behind the soldier that pulls him into a headlock, a swift pull to have him dragged away from your vision. You would’ve gasped if your voice hadn’t been caught in your throat, refusing to make itself known as fear brews in the pit of your stomach. Your hold on your makeshift weapon is tighter than ever before, yet you doubt how it’s going to help you as the culprit finally steps over something to appear in your doorframe. 
His clothes are in a disarray; slashed, torn and covered in grime. There’s a deadly looking machete in one hand, the blood that coats it has you eyeing the trail that drips onto his hand and on the floor. His forearms are perched up on the doorframe as he inspects you, tongue to cheek as he stares. 
Threatened as you feel, there was less hunger in his gaze as you had expected, more like he was trying to figure out who you were. He eyes your tiny letter opener you hold like a knife and lets out a little exhale you think might be a laugh. It has you gripping the handle impossibly tighter. The man moves his face into the hallway, to where you know the staircase to the main deck is. 
“Hoshi!” he yells loudly. “How’s this for bait?” 
Your back is pressed inexplicably against the wall, wanting to sink into the wooden boards as you attempt to gain your bearings amongst the nauseous bouts of mortification that surge through you. Your only exit is blocked.
No. You have one more option. 
The sound of more men bounding down the hall has you praying there were more soldiers here, but the calm regard the man has for the approaching people has your heart sink to the depths of this very ocean itself. 
More faces peer into the room, men with the same haphazard, grimey clothing complete with  equally sinister weapons in their grasps. One of the men breaks out into the biggest grin as he lays his eyes on you. You nearly throw up. 
For the first time in your life, you wish you’d listened to your father. 
“Jun, you savvy motherfucker,” the grinning man explodes, slapping the man who found you on the back. 
Another voice speaks from behind him, “Ships cleared, captain.” 
“Perfect. Bring a spring upon ‘er. Get as far away from those cleans as you can, let them fend for themselves in a tiny boat for once.” 
Captain. The grinning, stupid looking one is their captain. 
He regards the rest of his crew as he finally steps through the threshold, waving them away as he enters your quarters.
It was taking everything out of you to not buckle your knees as you stood, every step he takes is turning your strength into dust. He keeps his eyes on you, eyes on your sorry excuse of a weapon. He registers the mix of fear and determination in your eyes. 
He stops a few feet away from you, looking directly at you past the makeshift knife you hold. 
He says nothing as he drops the knife in his own hand to the ground with a loud clang. He removes a pistol, a couple more knives, a grenade and a sword. Weapons drop to the floor one after the other, emerging from all over his body and clothes. All in a pile on the wooden floors. He puts his hands in the air.
“No weapons on me. I merely wish to talk.” 
The look on his face is not ordinary, some strange combination of mock innocence and jest. You don’t answer him.
He continues, “You can keep your… scalpel… if you so wish.” 
“What did you do to the soldiers?” you finally rasp out.
“They’re not dead, if that's what you’re asking.”
“Yet?” you ask with a slight tremble to your voice. 
“They’ve been shoved into a boat with a map and a compass to fend for themselves. I’m not entirely ruthless,” he adds with raised brows and a hint of a smile. “Admiral, were they calling him? You must be his wife.”
“W-what?”
“Oh, guess not. Daughter? Captain’s wife, Captain’s daughter?”
Your previously stagnant brain is now running a derby with all the thoughts galloping across your mind. He doesn’t know who you are. Yet, anyway.
He’s scanning the room now, nodding at the trinkets and trophies scattered across the place. “Can’t imagine giving a lieutenant’s anybody quarters like this.” He circles back on you, eyes sharp. “Who are you, darling?”
You don’t think you have anything that should give you away, but the way he starts pacing the room has your anxiety going through the wooden roof.
He has his back turned to you. You’re not sure if he’s confident or careless considering you could drive your weapon into his back and make a run for it. But then what? By the looks of it there’s an entire crew of pirates pacing the deck. Perhaps the soldiers haven’t gotten that far; they know you’re still on board, they know it’s their heads on a pike if they leave you here. 
He’s reached your desk during your thinking, inspecting your stationary, picking at the bejewelled quills and paper weights as he mutters nonsense to himself. 
“Oh!” he announces, a little too enthusiastic. “What’s this?” 
He brandishes the loose leaf of paper, and you recognise the print on the back immediately. It was a letter from your father, the King.
“How on Earth did you read this, the writing is illegible.” He flips the paper over, double taking when he sees the royal seal on the back. He looks into the letter closer now. 
You wait with baited breath. 
“The kingdom needs their princess…your father…ah.” 
Should you plunge the knife into him anyway? You almost do it, but stop when he begins to turn around to face you again. His eyebrows are raised, a slight hint of exasperation on his face when he begins to laugh a loud, loud cackle. 
It’s mortifying, especially when you don’t understand what on earth was so funny to elicit a reaction like that. The man is downright hysterical. He wipes a lone tear from the corner of his eye as he drops the letter back onto the desk.
“W-what’s so funny?” you try to sound brave.
“It seems, miss princess, that we’ve gotten more than we bargained for,” he says, looking straight at you as he sobers up. “You’re the King’s daughter, now, are you? What are the odds the first ship I hop onto with a royal seal slapped on it, held the crown jewel of the kingdom in its gallows.” 
And then he starts walking, towards you, for that matter. Imperative because you know for sure that this is how it all ends. 
You know you still have your one last option, the option that is now pressed against your back as you shimmy to it with miniscule movements. The window is cool on your hand that rests on the glass, you know the lamp will be enough to break it, enough for you to push through and fall into the abyss of the dark, dark sea. He knows who you are now, and you’d rather drown than die at the hands of a pirate—or go through whatever it was that’s curling the minds of all the men on this ship. 
He takes another step forward, hands on his hips. “He’s not going to like this, is he? His dear daughter in the hands of the Kingdom’s favourite degenerate captain.” 
What?
He then adds in a whisper to himself mostly, “Or least favourite with all the wanted posters off the churches and brothels.” 
Hoshi. Hoshi. Hoshi. 
The man who had found you had called him Hoshi. Hoshi the pirate. Hoshi the pirate that’s been giving the Kingdom and its court absolute hell for as long as you can remember. 
The man that you are now trapped alone with on a ship is the most feared pirate the Kingdom has ever seen. 
You don’t doubt your face has gone grey, feeling your breathing turn near erratic. “Oh God.”
He smiles wryly as the life is sucked out of your very soul. 
This was bad. Very bad.
“Now, fear not, you will soon be returned to daddy dearest,” he places a mildly dramatic hand over his heart. “Pirate’s honour.”
He paces back to pluck the letter off the table, pocketing it. “All you need to do is relax and tell me a few things so we can part ways as soon—”
“No.” The word blurts out of your mouth before you can stop it, horrified at the thought of giving information to any pirate, let alone this one. 
“No?” Hoshi looks genuinely shocked, his eyes wide, eyebrows raised. He laughs a little incredulously, “Oh, I see, can’t tell all the delicate details to a scary ol’ pirate.”
He smiles a little bit, “Worry not, miss princess, we shall only need a few minor details. Just enough to have your father sprinting to get you out of here. We all win.”
He stares at you almost expectantly, and you wonder if you look as confused as you feel. 
“Well, I’ll be bidding you goodnight now, I’m sure we’ve interrupted your beauty sleep enough. Rest assured we won’t be bothering you for the rest of the morning.”
Hoshi begins to make his way to the door, picking up his pile of weapons off the floor before wrenching the door open. He’s calm as ever, but your mind is in a disarray.
A ransom, but whatever for? Gold could’ve been retrieved by raiding any ship, and it sounded like he’d chosen to hop on a ship belonging to the navy. Come to think of it, as much of a nuisance this man has proved himself, you don’t remember a case where he’s directly meddled with the Kingdom. All of this can’t just be for gold. 
Steeling yourself, you bet your odds against your voice and asked him, “What do you want from my father?” 
You watch as he halts in his tracks, halfway through the door as he finally looks over his shoulder. The look on his face has you wanting to break open the window immediately and let the water flood in, once and for all as you take these bastards down with you. 
“Your father has something of mine. And I intend to take it back,” he says, before finally slamming the door shut. You hear a shuffle and a thud, and you do not doubt that he’s locked you in. 
Your knees give out almost immediately, dropping to the ground as you breathe in quick, shallow breaths. Trying to look past the dizziness, you try not to think about the last thing he’d said before he left, moreso the look on his face as he did. 
The first rays of morning sun are beginning to shine through the windows, casting the beginnings of a glow in your quarters. You think of the supposed assurance he had given you, that they wouldn’t hurt you, that they intended to return you. 
The thought leads to a faraway memory, yet one that’s tucked itself into a front corner of your mind, you can almost hear your father's voice as he says it; never trust a pirate.
You remain on the floor, and you remain wide awake. 
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THE SUN IS HIGH in the sky by the time you put your limbs to work. 
The first hours after the pirate locked you in your quarters were spent trying to reign yourself to earth. You can’t be entirely sure your soul has come back to your body, but whatever little of it that has landed is whispering some very dangerous things. 
The lamp remains, the ornate jewels glinting almost enticingly in the afternoon light. The flame inside it has long died, but you itch to give it another purpose. You don’t note the trembling of your hand as you reach for it, pushing yourself to your feet as you get a feel for the heavy hunk of glass and metal in your hands. 
If there was a level of regard before, it disappears when you set eyes on the bright window and the creases of crystal blue water. With all your strength, you don’t think twice when the lamp makes hard contact, a loud thud erupting as a result, but no damage when you pull away. 
You go again, harder this time, and only vaguely register the glass of the lamp that shatters into your hands. Gripping the metal bit tighter, you swing for the third time, pulling back for the strongest blow yet. 
A hand wraps around your elbow and you’re yanked backwards, landing on the floor. There’s a kick at your hand that’s flown into the air, the one that holds the bludgeoned lamp. It goes flying across the room as you retract your hand into yourself. 
You don’t register a thing as you’re suddenly being pulled back up to your feet. Face to face with the pirate captain, your soul finally clicking back into place. 
“Didn’t think I scared you this bad.” He’s made a joke, but all you can see is his face that’s a mask of rage.
The initial instinct is to move away, pulling your elbow out of his grasp in an attempt to flee. You fail as he tightens his grip to a painful degree, hauling you towards the ajar door of the quarters. 
It’s only then that you realise that there’s more people in the room.You note another big, burly man next to the window you just assaulted, inspecting it with another shorter man. You don’t get to note more as you’re pulled into the narrow hallway, begging the saints he doesn’t take the turn towards the lower decks. Instead you find he leads you upstairs to where the main deck is. 
Walk the plank? Did navy ships have planks to walk on? Not that you’d mind too much, you were trying to drown yourself and this ship in any case. But then there’s a settle of dread in the pit of your stomach, realising death may be the most merciful thing this man could give you. 
The pirate captain pushes you against a mast, one of his other minions rushing in with coils of rope on his shoulder. The sun beats down on the deck, not a gust of reprieve from the wind. 
“Keep the ropes tight, she’s got less wit than I’d thought,” the pirate captain says with a grunt, huffing as he lets go of you. He takes a few steps away, hands at his hips, the image of vexation. 
The person who ties the cords around your hands whispers slowly, “Stop moving.”
But you can’t, not when the panic is near the lip, not when all the possibilities are flashing gore filled images into your vision. It's scary to blink. 
“Why won’t you let me die?” you ask to the back that’s turned.
He turns around, not even bothering hiding the exasperation that paints his face, mouth opening furiously before closing again. “Why won’t—Because you were trying to take us all with you!”
“Kill me!” you all but scream. “They won’t know till you’ve gotten what you want, I’d rather be dead than let you try whatever’s brewing in all your sick heads!” 
He’s silent for a moment, noting your defiant gaze, your pull against the ropes, the heaving of your chest. Taking a few steps forward, Hoshi seems to be attempting to bring the boil in his blood to a low simmer, “Listen, princess. We’re pirates alright, but me and my crew, we keep to ourselves. If your daddy the king hadn’t decided to meddle and steal my fucking ship, you would’ve been home in your pretty palace, asleep in your bed of gold by now.” 
The pirate captain’s face is closer than you’d ever be comfortable with, seething in a way that has you pressing further into the mast. “We may be degenerates but we keep our own morals, as twisted as your people heed them to be.” 
When he finally pulls away, you take a breath and thank the air that simply exists, eyes downcast as you attempt to look braver than you feel. 
“I’m not pushing you overboard. I’ve duped your people once, they’ll be more prepared next time. We need you alive while you’re in our hands.” 
“How are you going to summon a ransom? You sent away your only messengers,” you ask, a sad attempt at a mock, but also because you wanted to know what his plan was. 
“Your useless Admiral’s taken up that job.”
“By lifeboat? You’ve left them all for dead, how do you expect this genius plan to work?” 
“They could’ve swam to shore if it came to it, we were close enough.”
“How are you so sure?” you spit.
“Do I need to gag you too?” he gives you one last irritated look before stalking off towards the lower deck. You’re left alone in the cooling afternoon heat, the sound of the sea keeping your ears company along with your own slowing breaths. 
Everything he said has a good enough chance to be a complete and utter lie. Never trust a pirate. No weapon to cut yourself out of your impossibly tight binds, nothing to protect you or give you reassurance besides a pirate’s word—the worst pirate’s word. 
Your battered thinking leads you straight through the setting of the sun, the orange glow of the sky shrouding the ship in the dreamiest backdrop while you live what you can only sum as a nightmare. Perhaps not, for you doubt your mind could ever conjure up a terror like this. 
This was life, the most terrifying nightmare of all. 
Having managed to wiggle your tied hands downwards, you had seated yourself with your head against the wood of the mast, staring into the translucent skies. So much freedom that taunts you in its illusion of proximity, yet so far still. 
There’s murmurs below deck, the only semblance of life you’ve heard in the past few hours after the stupid pirate captain stormed off. It seems to be on the stairs, a heated argument. 
“Obviously this wasn’t part of the plan, the chances were supposed to be zero to absolutely none. We landed with that scumbag’s successor, that’s just our piss luck and nothing more.” 
“You wanted a woman for bait, this should work the same.”
“Hao, I wanted a woman for bait to trigger a lukewarm reaction, this princess could either doom us all or make our job a fat punch easier, and I’m not betting on the latter.”
There’s a pause. 
“If only she’d cut it with the random hysterics and creepy-staring-at-the-sky we could actually get something useful out of her.” 
“Pray that window holds up or any chance of a miracle is gone to the wind.”
It’s like you’ve woken up with the way the stupid idea begins to form in your head. You think of your father, the kind of man he is, the kind of ruler he is. All the ‘if’s are guiding you to a conclusion. One that gives you a fighting chance, one that may go beyond this massive navy ship and clear into the rest of your life—if you make it that far anyway. 
Your father and his men would come, give this unhinged pirate what he desires so dearly, you know that for sure. But you also know it wouldn’t be for you, but for the crown that’s destined to fall upon your cursed head. 
If it’s his ship that he wants…
The next time you see one of the pirate captain’s goons on the deck, you ask for an audience. 
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“DID YOUR STUPID FATHER drop you on your head as a baby?” 
Hoshi stands before you under the light of the midnight moon, an incredulous expression on his face. You try to keep the scowl off your own but it proves difficult when his voice pierces your skull. 
You ignore him from your position on the floor, “I know my father, and I know he loathes you enough to finally want you and your incompetent crew gone for good.”
He scratches his chin, “Can’t be that incompetent if he hates us so much.”
“I can help you.”
“You were ready to die than to be on the same ship as us a few hours ago. What’s changed?”
“Perspective,” you shrug in an attempt to remain nonchalant. 
“Are you gonna go back to wailing in the morning then?” 
God, this was going to be the hardest thing you’ve ever had to do. 
“You want your ship back and you were hoping for someone less important to exchange it for. But you’re stuck with me and you know it’s not going to end well for you. You need my help.” 
“Why so merciful, miss princess? Are you not on your father’s side?” 
You gulp as discreetly as possible.
“I want something in exchange.”
He raises his eyebrows, staring at you to continue. 
“I want you to kill my father.”
If his eyebrows were raised before, they’ve broken for the skies now. He leans his head back, eyes closing for a moment before reopening, reigning back to you before asking very gracefully, “What?” 
“I want you to kill my father.”
“No, I got that bit,” he snaps. “Your father as in, the King?”
“Yes, as you’ve pointed out far more times than anyone ever has.” You can’t help but roll your eyes despite the weight of the situation and the hammering in your chest. 
He stares at you in an expression you can’t quite read, and it unsettles you deeply. For a moment, you wonder if you’ve gravely miscalculated, watching as he moves around the mast you’re tied to. Out of the corner of your eye you see the metal glint of a dagger, and you nearly short circuit. 
Is he about to cut your hands off?
You feel a distinct tug at your wrists, the sound of slicing, and the voice in your head asking why it didn’t hurt. 
Suddenly your hands are free, intact and free as you achingly bring them in front of you, wincing audibly at the pain of moving them after so long. 
“You can jump into the water if you’d like, I won’t stop you.” He walks back over, sitting cross legged opposite you, at eye level. 
“What?”
“You’ve clearly gone mad, I’ll find another way to get my ship back.”
“I’m being serious.”
“Of course, and I utterly enjoy having a kingdom’s worth of blood on my hands. Shall I take the entirety of the court down while we’re at it? Carry out a fucking waltz with Jack Ketch?”
“Why are you acting like you’re above murder? Another part of your strange moral code?” 
“No, no, not above it at all. But I like my head and rather not have it guillotined. They might skim over the death of some too-nosy soldier but I doubt they’d leave me be after I put a bullet between the King’s eyes.”
“I’ll protect you.”
He looks at you for a moment, “Quite reassuring.” 
You sit up straighter, licking your lips as you prepare yourself. “My father isn’t a good man.”
The pirate captain snorts, “Oh, I’m well aware.”
You try not to stare too hard at the still unsheathed dagger that he digs into the floorboards, knifing out splinters in disregard. 
“My father doesn’t want me home, he wants the crown home. He wants me to be a carbon copy of himself, he wants to be in control long after he’s gone.” You try not to grind your teeth too hard but it’s difficult when your father’s face burns behind your eyelids. “I want control over the throne, full control.”
“And your conclusion is to eliminate him.”
“I don’t have another choice.”
“Then what? You’ll pardon me and my crew after we get our hands dirty for you?” he asks, eyes wide in mock hope. 
“Yes. You can do whatever it is that you sail about doing and no one will be of bother. I might ask you for sparing favours. For a wage of course. But other than that, you can live as lawlessly as you wish.”
“You’re asking me to become your personal lackey?”
“Having a queen’s favour is no small feat I hope you’re aware. Besides, it's a leap better than the hoops you’ve been jumping through during my father’s reign.” 
You realised his face had been shrouded by the dark between your negotiating and the clouds that had veiled the moon. Every moment that was supposed to strengthen your understanding of the man that sat across from you only brought you more confusion. 
“You want your ship and freedom of land and sea,” you continue when it’s silent for a beat too long. “I only ask for a small favour in return.”
“I’d argue the miniscule nature of what you’re asking from me,” he scoffs.
“Nothing is too outlandish when it’s a life of liberty on the line.” 
There crawls in the silence once again, the same one that seems to grab you by the throat for every moment that ticks past undisturbed. 
“We’ll have to see to that,” he says, huffing as he gets back on his boot clad feet. You follow him with your eyes as he walks towards the creaky stairs that lead to the lower deck, utterly confused. 
“Where are you going?” you ask, bewildered at his strange behaviour. 
Turning around, just as he had a mere day ago in your quarters and you feel yourself suppressing a shudder. “I have a crew to consult.”
So he was considering it. 
“But you’re the captain.”
“And?” 
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THE SKY IS A lighter sheen of blue, leaning towards the premature hours of the morning. He’d left you untied, and as you gaze into the duned waters in the minimal light, the urge to jump in and create a ripple that goes beyond just the water is less tempting than you’d thought. The prospect of having a dead father, and a dead king, was enough to snap you out of your hysteria despite it being a plot of your own devising. 
You’ve been alone for a while, little indication that there was other life on this ship at all with the lack of human activity. There wasn’t much that you knew of sailing or ship handling, but leaving the deck unmanned for this long gave you the vague impression that you were on a vessel with poor practising pirates. If they’d thought you’d be equipped to handle any hiccups, they’d either find out the hard way, or whenever it was that you could find the wit to bring it up to the pirate captain and his strangely attached crew. 
Something that sounds distinctly like boots are thudding gradually up to the main deck, the unmistakable blond of the pirate captain himself coming into view. You aren’t quite sure what it is, but the low thuds are sending your heart racing, panic overcoming your senses for a brief moment before you recalibrate. It’s only then that you realise it’s been more than 24 hours since the ship was hijacked. Somehow, you could have believed it was a lifetime. 
He’s disturbingly nonchalant, hand at the sheathed hilt of the dagger at his hip, a casual glance around at the empty abyss of ocean and sky. When he reaches the far end of the deck, right above the prow, he stops. 
“Are you going to push me off the rails?” you ask, half genuine, half trying to fill the silence as you face one another. 
“No.” He said it plainly, the single word reply leaving you even more uncomfortable. 
“Have you thought about what I said…with your crew?” you ask, hand coming up to grab the railing for support. 
“I did.” 
“Do I sense an objection?” you ask, swallowing the lump in your throat
“Not exactly,” he says. “We want to hear your master plan for this heist before we agree to anything.” 
He’s asking for a plan, a plan that you do not have.
You aren’t sure how he figured it out, perhaps it was the slight darting of your eyes as you thought of a response, but he seemed to read you like a book. He snorts loudly, “You don’t have a clue, do you?”
“You’ve done this before, you’d know better.”
“And if I led you astray?”
You look at him, this time right into his dark eyes, “Then you lead me astray.” 
“Your contentment with death is wildly unsettling.” There’s a ghost of a sneer at his lip. 
“I’d rather be lounging in the bottom of the ocean than live with a prospective future with my father.” 
“So I’ve heard.”
There’s a huff that leaves you as you steel your voice. “I’m not trying to set you up if that’s what you’re afraid of.”
“I doubt you’d have that capability,” he says as he leans his forearms over the railing. You briefly consider pushing him over but think better of it. 
As much as you wanted to be a sneaky link, you simply didn’t have that trait. You blame all the dependency your father’s fostered into you, ensuring that you couldn’t rule without his influence. 
“Are you willing to brew a plan or not? I need to time my dip in the ocean accordingly,” you say, sounding almost disgruntled.
He lets out a big sigh, “Follow me.”
He’s made himself familiar with the ship, you soon realise, as he leads you right downstairs to the lower deck towards the war room. When he opens the door, the room is lit with lamps, casting a golden glow on the reddish interior, warmer than the rest of the ship. 
“Stay here, and don’t do anything stupid,” he tells you as he shuts the door behind him, leaving you alone in the cabin. 
You only exhale in response as you turn away from the door, towards the large table in the centre. It’s slightly cluttered, studying the scrawled notes as you realise they’re all from the Admiral, his directions and plans of course littered across the table. Turning towards the map on the walls, you lift a finger to trace the lifted ridges of snow capped mountains, trailing towards the dipped shallows of the blue water. 
It was an exact replica of the tactile map in the war room back home, and you’re suddenly hit with a pang of nostalgia. Not that you’d been away from home for too long, but the end result of what you're about to do, regardless of the outcome, would change your life forever. 
You feel yourself breathing in the lingering scent of mildew, a strange comfort in the warm quarters.
There’s a creak at the door, and you quickly retract to find the pirate captain back at the door, walking in with a trail of men behind him. You recognise them by their faces, watching as they all take their places in the edges of the room. They look relaxed. You note the pirate captain taking his place behind the main drawing table. 
“Your throne, miss princess.” He gestures exaggeratedly towards the lone cushioned chair across from him. You’re hyper aware of all the eyes that are trailed on you, and you feel almost embarrassed to take the only seat. 
It only lasts for a moment. You walk up to the chair with what you hope exuded confidence and take your place across from the pirate captain. His men circle the edge of the room, and you count five other men. 
He sighs, “I think introductions are in order.”
“Mingyu, Minghao,” he points to the two men that had inspected your window right after you tried breaking it open. 
“Jun,” he gestures to the one who had found you in your quarters the night it all went wrong. 
“Seungkwan and Chan,” you recognize the latter as the one who’d tied you to the mast at his captain’s command. 
“They’ll be helping kill your dear father.” 
It’s silent for a moment as you attempt to moisten your mouth. You’re reminded you haven’t eaten or drank for hours, not since one of them had come up with a tray of whatever they could find for you from the reserves. 
“I know I may not be the most admissible person to trust, or vice versa—” You hear someone snort but choose to ignore it. “But I’m willing to make myself useful to you if it means you would help me too.”
“Would it not be easier to lock him up instead?” someone asks, and you turn to find Seungkwan asking the question from next to the tactile map. 
“He has too many people indebted to him, too many that are too loyal for their own good. I cannot truly rule for as long as he’s alive and well.”
“And how do you expect his loyal court mongers to let you bid favour to the people who killed their king?” the pirate captain asks with a raised brow. 
“Which is why it needs to look like an accident.” 
“How do you reckon we go about that?”
“What message have you given the Admiral?”
“You don’t answer a question with another question—”
“We need to be transparent with each other if either of us wants to make it out relatively unscathed.”
He doesn’t look too happy but he answers anyway, “My ship and five hundred thousand for all our trouble. Two months from now at the Green Islands up north.”
The Green Islands were anything but green, the glaciers being near uninhabitable owed to the ruthless weather. It was smart enough, it’d be near impossible to bring as much violent power that far north, no matter how influential anyone is.  
“Is five hundred thousand all I’m worth?” you feel the beginnings of a sneer rise up your mouth. You aren’t sure what prompted it but you don’t want to fight it either. 
“Didn’t know I was bartering for a fucking princess’ case, did I?” he snaps. “Now tell us how you want us to commit the undetected homicide of a King.”
“We need to blow up his ship.” To your surprise (and maybe even a little horror), the pirate captain breaks into a slight grin. Neither do you miss other bits of his crew releasing a bit of a snicker. 
There’s a flare of defiance within you, “Do you have any better ideas then?” 
“No, no. Go on,” he says with his head hung. You’re surprised he has the character to shield his smile. 
“He doesn’t frequent the seas but I’m almost sure he’d be present at the exchange.”
“Almost?” he questions.
You hesitate. The combined chance of needing the crown home and seeing to the downfall of his enemies would be enough warmth to send him to the greenlands himself. You were confident, but your father could also be unpredictable.
“He’ll be there. I’m sure of it.” 
The pirate captain lifts his head, locking eyes with you. You try not to look as weak as you felt, as unsure as you felt, pooling all the remaining confidence into your face. 
He swallows before looking away, addressing one of the crew members. “How big are we talking?”
Jun looks up like he’s only just begun to pay attention, fumbling over the revolver in his hands as it thuds to the ground like a theatrical mistake, “What?”
His captain sighs before replying, “Explosion. How big does it need to be to blow up a naval ship with a King on it?”
The man brings a hand up to the back of his head, scratching his nape. “If it’s anything like this one, we’re gonna need a lot of ammo.” 
“Just enough to sink it,” you speak before you could decide not to. “Even better if they don’t realise it’s happening.”
He thinks for a moment. “We could plant it in the bilge somehow.”
“But how do we get on that ship? When they’re giving us a tour of the lower decks?” The man you recall as Seungkwan scoffs. 
“Throw a grenade on board somehow?” you hear one of them suggest. 
“Real subtle, Chan,” you hear another mock. 
The war room is in shambles before you know it, loud voices talking over threats to slit throats and to shove people overboard. The room is humid and it feels as though the light from the oil lamps are fading. You close your eyes amidst the utter chaos, rubbing the heel of your palm on your temple in an attempt to soothe the throbbing vein. 
“Enough!” The pirate captain has spoken and you have the urge to ask what took him so long. 
Tranquility once again and you almost thank the man. Before anyone can say another word, nausea begins to build in your stomach. 
It takes you a minute to realise the room was spinning and that you weren’t completely losing your mind. The ship begins to rock harder as the seconds tick by, everybody in the room seemingly still as they perceive the change.
“Batten down the hatches,” the pirate captain says to no one in particular.
Chan is the only one who moves to the door to leave before he’s interrupted. 
“All of you. Those clouds weren’t looking too nice up there, we’ve got a storm on our hands.”
By everyone he surely did not mean you, because as the room rushes out and you hear the thuds of boots clamouring up to the main deck, you’re left alone with the captain. Yet again.
It’s becoming increasingly difficult to keep steady, and you wonder how he’s able to remain balanced while on his feet. It isn’t long before your chair begins to slide as well, the legs croning as they slip on the hardwood. You spring up on instinct, hands coming to the bolted down drawing table to stabilise yourself. 
The pirate captain seems unphased, moving the curtains on the far end to try to get a glimpse at where the water breaks. He steps like he knows exactly where the evermoving floor would be, barely glancing below to gauge his footing. 
“Shouldn’t you be up there?” There’s effort in your voice, your grip on the table as hard as ever as the ship banks to a hard left. He barely grabs the wall in support. 
“Huh? They can figure it out themselves, they’re big boys,” he grunts.
“Your big boys were at each other’s throats a moment ago,” you grunt back, stumbling at a particularly forceful lurch. 
“If you weren’t so ill prepared they wouldn’t need to use their brains, that’s always dangerous,” he shoots back. He’s on the other end of the room, pushing the unbolted cabinet back in its place 
“I gave you a job and it's up to you to see it done, I’m not—ah— I’m not supposed to be planning at all!” 
“Are you?” He’s turned to look at you know, mouth hitched in a snarl as his forehead reflects a light sheen. “Because trying to murder a—”
“Trying to murder a King isn’t a normal task,” you finish for him in a hiss. “Yes, as you’ve reiterated a million times.”
“Great, so you know!” Sarcasm is a deadly look on him, you realise as he walks over from the cabinet to where you were in the middle of the room. The waves have given in, the rocking becoming significantly slower. “Now do you mind telling us about a plan that actually has better odds?”
Your white knuckles have relented, the hands that gripped the table coming loose as you stare back at the pirate in defiance. “I should just hand you over.”
“It’s sweet you think you’re in charge here,” the grit in his voice is evident. “This isn’t your turf anymore, miss princess.”
“You don’t trust me, and you don’t give me reason to trust you—ugh.”
The waves seemed to have decided she hadn’t had enough just yet, this particular lurch sending you hurtling backwards into the wall, back hitting the hardwood as the stable pirate himself loses his footing. You could almost believe you’d landed sideways with the gravity that’s lost its way beneath your feet. 
The chair you were once sitting on is hurtling towards you with a vengeance, gaining momentum as you simply watch it approach like a wooden bullet. A boot clad foot kicks it to the other end and you realise the pirate captain’s gotten hold of his bearings before you have. 
“What happened to being transparent with one another?” he huffs, breathless and wide eyed as he attempts to pull himself to his feet. 
There’s another lurch that sends you both skidding towards the table, just short of grabbing on before you’re hurtled into the cabinet that had moved again, and now slams back into the wall with the weight of the sea and two humans with a bang!
“Fine. You give me your ammo to blow up the bilge, let me on the ship with my dear father and one of you scoops in and saves me before I drown with him,” you yell over the sounds of clanging and banging of everything on this cursed ship, and the whooshing and thunders of the skies, winds and water. “And if I riddled the chances of you letting me drown with my father? Where does that leave me?”
“On the bottom of the seabed,” he deadpans. “But that also leaves me without my freedom.”
You find the opportunity to look at him for a moment, and he’s looking at you too. He looks away towards the door, already making moves to walk out and join his crew above deck. The conversation was over, and it was evident in your lack of reply.
Mother nature, however, sends another one in as a surprise and you're both sent flying to the other end of the ship, yet again. 
There’s a cushion to your blow this time as you find yourself landing right into the pirate captain’s chest, hand above his heart in your instinct to save yourself any more bruises. Between your bickering and the staggering of the ship, his shirt had flown open nearly down to his navel. 
Your eyes barely register the nasty scar across his left pec, instead moving upwards to lock eyes with him. It’s insanity, how you instinctively dart your eyes towards his half open mouth. 
“If you wanted me that bad, miss princess, you could’ve just asked.”
Whatever airborne drug that’d been willy nillying in your noggin seems to spin into a rage as his words register a moment too late. Clenched jaw and a vice grip on his shirt, you spit back. 
“I don’t ask for things. They come to me.”
There’s a crash above you and you realise the oil lamp that was suspended above has shattered, raining glass over your forms. 
Expect you don’t feel it, because he’s ducked over you and suspended his arms in the air to catch the crystalline. 
Before you can decide whether it was instinct or not, you hear a yell at the door.
“Captain! One of the—oh.” 
A barely balancing Mingyu, is staring into the now dimly lit war room, his captain and their supposed prisoner pressed against one another in a dark corner of the room. 
Your instinct forces you to take a slow step backwards. 
“Get back up,” he snarls, already pushing past you to stalk towards the door. He actually makes it this time, shoving Mingyu into the hall towards the stairs. 
Not as much as a glance back before he slams the door shut, leaving you in the tattered war room alone, shards of glass at your feet.
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THE STORM SEEMS TO have done its damage as it calmed itself for the rest of the morning and well into the day. 
One of them had come down and escorted you to your quarters, Chan telling you that you could keep it while the rest of them adjusted in the other cots and quarters aboard. Changing out of your ragged, days old clothes felt luxurious, the familiar scent of your quarters putting your tense shoulders at ease; or at least a semblance of such. 
Neither you nor the captain have attempted to speak to each other after the incident in the war room. Having berated yourself for letting your guard down enough, you chalked it up to the lack of food and sleep and put the matter to rest in some deeply buried chest in your head. 
For now you board up the door of your cabin (because you haven’t completely lost it), and burrow under the covers for some much needed shut eye. 
You aren’t sure how long the universe lets you rest, because unless you’ve slept all the way to the Green Islands the banging on the door seems incessant enough to warrant an arrest of its own. The sleep is slow to leave, and it’s hard enough to push an entire drawer against a door, the bleariness paired with whoever the fuck was outside the door isn’t making it easier to push it away from the entrance either. 
By the time you’ve wrenched the door open, you’re thoroughly annoyed, and met with a very alarmed Seungkwan. 
“Oh thank goodness, I was about to try opening it,” he says, looking genuinely relieved. “I thought you might’ve….anyway.”
“You weren’t trying to break in before?” you ask.
He only thrusts a tray of rations and water towards you, “Captain said to give this to you.”
Accepting the tray, you try to balance it in one hand with furrowed brows, “Oh.”
“Um. That’s it, sorry for waking you up.” He makes a move like he’s about to turn around and leave but falters. “If…if you need anything a bunch of us are on the main deck.”
And then he’s gone. 
You take it as your cue to shut the door, kicking one of the heftier pieces of furniture against it before moving back inside. 
When you peer up your tiny window, it’s late afternoon and the beginnings of orange on the surface tell you the sun is beginning to set. You decide it was a good enough amount of sleep. Setting the tray down on the smaller than usual desk, you find that these pirates do not have a knack for subtlety. Many of your letters and papers are haphazardly stacked and shoved into one corner of the table, very obviously sifted through. 
Not that you care too much, there was nothing awfully important that you wouldn't have told them yourself. Ripping off a piece of bread from the tray, you take pleasure in chewing as loudly and as open mouthed as you wished, plucking the parchment at the top of the pile to study. 
It’s another one signed by your father, not a question of your wellbeing in sight as he scrawls ink on paper all the incorrect things you did in the Southerner’s banquet last month. If anything, you were glad the stupid Admiral was away from your presence, his incessant habit of reporting your every breath and turn to your father was becoming too much to handle. 
This was one of his tamer letters, less insults attached to his criticisms but a pain to read anyway. You don’t brush away the crumbs that fall onto the parchment. 
There is not a diplomatic bone in your body. Perhaps move on from drinks and dessert and into more important territories besides the Duke’s son. Our kingdom needs a ruler that’s strong, not one that forgets where she is after a sip of brandy!
If you squint hard enough, it almost reads as a parent scolding a child for a spill, like regardless of what you did, he might just love you the same. 
You wonder how good of a mood he was in when he wrote this. 
Sifting through the rest of the papers you take a mental note of every reason he’s given you to believe that you’d be a hopeless ruler, a few years ago you even questioned why he kept you around before realising his contradicting intentions. As you read, letter by letter, you think of reasons you know are going to make you a better ruler, better than him and better than his stupid court of old men.
These pirates are a blessing, you think, and you aren’t about to let this chance from the universe drown in these waters.
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HOSHI ISN'T IN TROUBLE. No, he isn’t. On his butt on the sleek floorboards of the ship, his own golden dagger glinting in the sunlight as it's held in a threatening hold, except it isn’t in his hands. 
It’s pointed right into his jugular vein, held by some grimy sailor who considers himself something akin to a pirate. Perhaps the stench this sorry excuse of a crew carries around may be their idea of a criteria, but as Hoshi remains inches away from death, all he can think about is the atrocious fingers around his dagger, and all the scrubbing he’s going to be doing after this is all over. 
Mingyu had warned him, told him to take down the flag of the navy from the mast, the royal seal in the smack middle of the ginormous thing. He brushed it off. He wasn’t quite sure if he was tipsy, hungry or just plain exhausted when he made that decision, because he’d forgotten just how stupid some of these simpleton sailors could get. 
They were taken by surprise, their only weapons mops and buckets of soapy water as they were ambushed by some overlooked wherry that had suddenly thrown hooks over their railing and climbed up like uninvited sewer rats. 
In the initial confusion, interrupted mid-chorus of some pretty siren and her pirate prince, the first few intruders had simply crumpled over onto the slippery deck, a few slipping overboard completely from the suds and water on the wood. His crew, and Hoshi himself, could only stand and watch as the newcomers sabotaged themselves for a few incredulous moments before they gained their bearings. 
Chan and Seungkwan swang their mops right into the necks of a couple, sending them into the ocean without waiting for a splash. 
Hoshi slips out his dagger with practised ease, swinging the butt of the hilt over the head of another ambushing intruder, right on the head as he crumpled to the floor with a loud thud. He kicks him over for an indication of where he came from. No ink that shows an alliance, no brooch or jewels with a crest. 
New guys, ones that were clearly still learning the ropes. 
Hoshi’s crew had better senses than required for him to yell out orders, and it only took a few more disgruntled minutes to disable the remaining extra men aboard. 
“Where the fuck did these guys come from?” he asks no one in particular, mostly just annoyed that they were disturbed. 
Minghao, who’s peeking over the railing replies, “It’s a tiny thing. They either lost their actual boat or didn’t have one at all.”
He vaguely registers him making a jerking arm movement over the exterior before he hears a wail and a splash. “Disgusting.” Minghao holds his hands away from his body like he didn’t want it anymore. 
Hoshi’s mistake was keeping his guard down, because before anyone could warn him, the dagger that he held loosely against his hip had slipped out his palm. The next thing he knows, his neck is in some grimy sleeve’s grip, and the point of his dagger is lodged into his own throat. He holds his breath, afraid he might pass out completely from the stench alone. 
“Not a move.” He sounds like a boy more than anything, but his grip indicates a harsher life. “Everybody into that fishing boat. I’ll throw this one in when you’re done.” 
He sounds unstable, but that only makes him more dangerous. Hoshi can’t try to wiggle his way out of this one, one wrong move and it’s the end. His crew can’t do anything as they stand with broken mops and empty buckets as their weapons. 
It was stupid of him to even allow himself to be cornered like this, not when he’s weaselled his way out of more dangerous situations with more ease than this. 
His crew looks at him, and he can only close his eyes in encouragement. He watches as Jun steps over one of the defeated bodies to reach the hooks that’ve lodged into the railing. His movements are slow, and he can tell he notices the unhinged nature of this boy that he doubts is barely over 17. 
Chan follows, then Seungkwan as Jun double checks the integrity of the ropes. He’s stalling. 
“Hurry!” It was supposed to come out as a threat, but it sounded more like a plea from the boy. 
And then Jun stops completely, his eyes trained on Hoshi. His eyes are wide, his grip on the rope so tight he can see the whites of his knuckles from the other side of the ship. 
No, he wasn’t looking at him, he was looking behind him. Before he can register, there’s a loud bang of a gunshot, and Hoshi feels the body of his captor slump against his back, his dagger dropping to the ground with an ominous clang. He falls with him, turning over to push the dead weight of the body off of him. 
There’s smoke in the air when Hoshi looks back and it takes him a moment to realise who just basically saved his life. 
You stand in your nightgown, shawl over your shoulders, and a revolver, Jun’s revolver, clenched tightly in both hands. It remains frozen in the air, hovering as he takes in your face. Eyes wide, mouth open slightly, the colour drained from your face. 
Hoshi scrambles to get up as the rest of the crew swarm both him and you. He grabs his dagger before anything else, looking back to see a bullet lodged in the back of his captor’s skull, blood pooling the deck. 
He looks back at you shoving the revolver back into Jun’s hands eagerly, like you didn’t want to feel the warmth of the metal any more than you wanted to make that shot. 
He looks back at the cooling body, and then back at you, an undeniable warmth overcoming his chest. 
You just saved his life.
“Are you alright?” he hears Chan ask you. You nod slowly, and then quickly. 
“Where did you find this?” Jun asks. 
“Uh, in one of the quarters. Downstairs. I went down because I thought it’d be safer, you were handling it and I didn’t want to get in the way. But then…all your weapons were there.” 
Your voice sounds airy, like you were in a daze. Hoshi comes to the stark realisation that this may have been your first time with a weapon, and then even more horrifying, your first kill. 
“I’m sorry, I just thought it was getting out of hand and—” 
“It’s alright,” Seungkwan says. He watches as you let him lead you back down the stairs below decks. 
It was like the shock turned you into a different person, complacent, less defiant. Seungkwan clearly had more of an emotional range, because it certainly took Hoshi too long to realise you might be on the edge of panic. 
Hoshi doesn’t say a word as you disappear, the smell of gunpowder from the singular shot wafting through the deck. He doesn’t realise he’s staring into space until Mingyu interrupts. 
“Should we—”
“Throw them overboard,” Hoshi says, voice flat. 
“But, this one seems like he’ll come around. We could question him and drop him off wherever next—”
“He’s a shit seaman, if even a pirate, he’s got what came for him. Throw. Him. Overboard.” Hoshi is out of breath, yet grits the words out through clenched teeth. “All of them.”
Hoshi slips his dagger back into its sheath at his hip. All he can think about is your blown pupils and you in your nightgown. All he can think about is how they were almost bested by a child. All he can think about is how you had to make that final shot to save his ass, that he couldn’t do it himself. 
Mingyu senses his mood and asks no more questions, simply pushing the remaining bodies out into the water. He vaguely registers Minghao sending the men a prayer into the sea. Mingyu’s already trying to get the stupid naval flag off the mast, stripping off his jacket and disposing of it at the base to start climbing. 
Chan pushes a clean rag into his chest, and he looks down to receive it and notes a tinge of blood at his collar. Right, he was bleeding. 
They go back to cleaning, except it’s a lot more silent. 
Jun walks back up to help, but this time he has both of his clean, black revolvers strapped at his hip.
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THERE WERE FEWER PEOPLE in the war room this time around, the captain sits beside Mingyu, Jun and Minghao as they attempt to sketch out a crude rendition of your discussion. The pirate captain does nothing but use his dagger to pick under his nails, barely speaking as he listens in on the conversation. 
Not that you cared, you and the rest of his crew seemed to get along better than you did with the captain anyway. Saving the man’s life seemed to hold no weight to him, not that you expected it but a ‘thank you’ would have sufficed. 
“Keep the grenade til the last minute if it makes you feel better, so you’ll know I’m not trying to sink the wrong ship,” you sigh as you clarify. Minghao doesn’t reply as he scribbles the details. Jun rolls his eyes at his meticulous nature. 
“We need to port in the next couple days if I’m gonna finish this grenade in time,” he says, looking at his captain pointedly. 
“We can stop at Port Ash,” Hoshi says. 
Port Ash was no man’s land, which also meant it was every man’s land. 
Being mostly occupied by pirates and other thieves and criminals it was considered dangerous territory for anyone who didn’t speak in lies, deceit and fists. This crew would fit right in, but you worry for yourself. 
“That’s not gonna be till a week and a half,” Mingyu interjects. 
Jun frowns as he looks at Mingyu and then back at his captain, “I can’t wait that long.”
“We’ll pick up what we can at Hasry when we stop for rations,” Hoshi replies. 
“But—”
“Deal with it. There’s nothing we can do about it.”
Jun looks like he wants to say something, and Mingyu has the good sense to interject again to ask more questions about the plan. 
“How much manpower do you think the king’ll have?” he asks.
You sigh, crossing your arms as you lean back in your chair. “I have no idea. Could be five, could be fifty.”
“Not even an inkling?”
“Considering how he wants the lot of you gone, it’s probably on the larger side. But…” you pause. 
“But?”
“He’s smart. Always seemingly one step ahead. I wouldn’t be surprised if he catches us blind.” 
“I know enough about that,” Hoshi snorts. There’s a glint in his eye that suggests something, but you don’t press.
“I was wondering…we should probably change course even if it takes us longer. My father might intercept—”
“Did that. Didn’t take the obvious alternative route either,” Mingyu replies, and you note that he looks proud of himself. “We can take our time too, the ransom note suggested we took the way past Scarsfield.”
“We should be careful of other boats anyway,” you say, gulping down a lump in your throat before continuing. “Those other sailors could’ve been my father’s men too, for all we know.”
“They were on a smaller boat too,” Hoshi adds, he looks like he’s making connections in his brain. “What’re the odds they were dropped farther back into a smaller boat?”
There’s a pause as you absorb what he’s implying. “Are you saying they’re on our tail?”
“I wouldn’t doubt it,” he says, exhaling heavily through his nose. “He’s done it before. It was a sorry attempt then and it was a sorry attempt now.”
“How did you shake him off last time?”
The panic in your chest is barely there, but as you register the possibility, you find yourself breathing increasingly heavy. 
“Circling farther out before going the opposite way so we wouldn’t cross paths.” He shakes his head. “But we can’t do that now, not when we can’t afford detouring. The port stops are as late as I’m willing to go.”
“What if we skip Hasry? It’s our more obvious stop, we’ll just stop at Ash later,” Minghao suggests. 
“We’ll starve, we’ve got no food,” Hoshi gruffs.
“Portwater?” 
“Too far.”
It’s silent yet again as everyone racks their brains. You feel very useless all of a sudden, you didn’t know the names of harbours or ports this far out.
“We’ll just port at Hasry and be extra careful, there’s nothing we can do.” Hoshi sighs at his own ultimatum. 
He gets up and walks around the table to the door, “I’ll update the others.”
You glance as he walks past you, his figure leaving a gust of wind in your face. He smelled nice, which was saying something considering the state some pirates are known to be in. As he brushes past, your gaze is met with the other side of the war room, an empty oil lamp bracket on the wall. 
The memory of the storm floods your mind, and suddenly your cheeks are burning. Snapping your head back, you're thankful they’re all absorbed in the papers and plans on the table, oblivious to the memory that’s flashed before your eyes. Mingyu was the one who saw you in your compromising position, and you didn’t know him well enough to decide whether he’d do something as dumb as dish out his captain’s ‘affairs’. 
You file out the room with them. They don’t escort you to your rooms, make sure you stay in one place, restrict your wandering anymore. Perhaps they’d realised you weren’t actively attempting to sink the ship anymore, or that if you jumped off the edge it didn’t matter to them that much, but you appreciated the space anyway. 
Briefly catching Seungkwan filling Mingyu in on the past couple hours they’d been below deck, you turn over to catch his eye. He waves, and you wave back. You don’t realise what you did till it already happened, noting the smile on his face as he did it. You choose to move past it and find the captain. 
There was something you wanted from him. 
There’s no trace of him on the main deck, eyes scanning the area to no avail. A movement from above catches your peripheral attention, eyes squinting as you crane your neck up to look. Hoshi has leaned his back against the railing of the crow’s nest, arms crossed, visible hand occupied with a brass telescope that glints in the sunlight. 
He isn’t using it though, merely gazing at the horizon with furrowed brows. As though he could see better without the device in his hand. In the few minutes that you’re looking at him, you notice the muraled, multicoloured shirt that blows with the wind, a kaleidoscope of beiges, greens and reds. The crop of his blonde hair blends in with the clear blue-white sky. 
Briefly wondering how he’s managing the impossible heat, a hand coming over your own eyes as a visor, you simply look back down. Seungkwan is next to you. You aren’t quite sure how he got there, but he stands next to you, hands on his hips, a pleasant expression on his face. 
“Is there anything you want when we dock? We’re trying to make a list,” he says. Somehow, the prospect of pirates making lists boggled you a little. It was a little jarring, not quite sure why he asked a captive anyway.
But then again, were you a captive anymore?
“I don’t think so, no,” you reply and then juggle whether you should push it with another measly formality. “Thank you for asking.”
“That was your first kill, wasn’t it?”
“What?” You knew what he was talking about, but you weren’t expecting him to bring it up in the moment when he’s asking you about restocking supplies. And especially not with a smile on his face. 
“That day, when you used Jun’s revolver to shoot the lad.” 
A kid. He was a child. 
“I…yeah I’d never done it before.”
“What made you do it?” he asks, remaining as nonchalant as ever. 
“I—I don’t know, it looked like there wasn’t another option,” you say, not quite sure of yourself either. 
Why did you shoot him? You’d never laid hands on a gun before, your father forced you into the category of archery and crossbows, not that you were very good at them either but it was also because you simply wanted to spite your father by being plain bad. It worked, because it only took a year and a half and an arrow straight into his study window to retire from the sport entirely.
Even then, your targets had been apples, barrels and tree trunks. Never a person. 
You’d heard of what people tended to do in pressuring situations, and with the way the aftermath unfolded, it didn’t seem like you made the wrong decision to pick up that revolver anyway. 
But the feeling lingers, the same one that you saw as you gazed into the back of the boy that held the captain of this ship hostage. It felt wrong. Like watching the pirate captain cornered was a picture you couldn’t quite make sense of in your head. 
So you pulled the trigger. 
“In any case, we’re glad you made that decision. We all owe you for it.”
You don’t know what to say to that, so you gulp, inhale and press your lips in a line. “That’s a lot for a pirate to say.”
“I know.”
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BY THE TIME YOU manage to corner Hoshi it’s already the next day, and you’re only a couple hours away from docking at Hasry. 
It’s an anxious ordeal, the crow’s nest constantly occupied by someone trying to catch sight of a possible tail. There was no sign, yet anyway. 
“I want to learn to use a knife.”
He was piling coiled ropes when you’d said it, pushing the heap to the side, sweating through his clothes. There was a flash of confusion on his face as he registered you. 
“Why? So you can slit all our throats in our sleep?” he grumbles as he pushes a barrel against the railing. He’s too aggressive, and the force has the splashback soaking his clothes in freshwater, tsk-ing audibly. 
You ignore the way his previously loose shirt now sticks to him, ignore the way the droplets land on your boots when he shakes his sleeve. 
“We’ve discussed what we might be up against, I don’t want to be useless when the time comes.”
“Seemed pretty alright with that revolver.”
“Anyone can shoot a gun,” you say, getting the sudden urge to fidget with the front of your shirt. You try to make your voice sound as declarative as possible. “I want to learn to fight. With a knife, with a sword, with my hands if I have to.” 
He doesn’t say anything as you look down, fiddling with the tassels on your shirt. Your excuse was the sun and the way it was beating down on the deck this afternoon, getting tired of squinting to simply look straight. When the silence prolongs you look up to push further, juggling with bringing up the fact that you saved his life and that, as Seungkwan very graciously told you, he owes you. 
The sound your throat makes is unhuman, because when you look up the captain's soaked shirt is now off his back. 
The skin is near white from the glare of the sun, remnants of glazed water that’s somehow made its way to his back as well. The dip in his shoulder blade reflected a dark marking, one that you couldn’t make out. 
He wrings it as you can only watch, mouth gaping like a fish. Hanging it over one of the suspended ropes to dry, he mutters as he walks to the lower decks. 
“Fine,” he says nonchalantly. “We’ll get you a knife at Hasry.”
Hasry. Right. 
The port is quiet, at least as quiet as a port can be. There’s not much to see but fishermen both returning and leaving for another week's worth of fish supply. Minghao manages to pay and convince the harbourmaster that they were merchants on their way back to the Kingdom, stopping for supplies. The naval make of the ship helped, and then the crew pulled lines and ropes secured from masts in ways you couldn’t quite decipher. 
You assumed you would stay on board, yet when Chan knocked and brought you some roughspun clothes from the town, you were informed you’d be joining them. 
Hoshi deemed it safer, keeping the rest of the crew on board while he, along with you and Seungkwan, ventured into the village to get what was needed and leave before the sun fully set. If they really were being followed, the ship was going to be the first thing they seized. 
Pulling the grey shawl further up your head, you attempt to look as blended as you could, Chan pressing down your shoulders to force you into a slouch. 
“Stop walking like you're important,” he had said. 
“I’m a princess,” you snapped back, but he wasn’t listening, only jabbing at you to keep the haughtiness out of your tone before it caught somebody’s attention. 
The town was a quaint little place, something out of what you were read from storybooks, reminiscent of the paintings that you’d run past on the walls of the palace. The streets cleaner than you’d expected, the faint scent of baked goods in the air mixed with, onion soup, was it? In any case you were glad you were past the fish market, the yelling and the stench nearly sending you to the pavement, gagging. 
When Hoshi returns, you and Chan are looking at a jewellery stall that’s selling necklaces, bracelets and anklets that look like rosaries; colours of deep ocean blue and sunset pinks, beautifully vibrant against their grey canvas backdrop. 
You can only observe from afar, instructed to not interact with anyone while he was gone. Hoshi was gone to get food supplies, but returned empty handed. Systems were in place, that the crates would be on their way to the “big naval ship” at the docks for the rest of the crew to receive.
“They said there was a blacksmith up this alley” Hoshi says, eyes also trained on the uncharacteristically colourful jewellery stall, but he does nothing to move towards it. “We can get your knife there.”
“Knife?” Chan asks, confused. 
“Miss princess wants to learn to fight—”
“Don’t!” Chan hisses, eyeing the men in black uniform that patrol the market from the shadows. 
“It’s fine, they’re too far,” Hoshi says. “Let’s get this over with.”
You do find a blacksmith, an older man with a greying beard and bloodshot eyes that presents Hoshi and Chan with an array of knives and daggers. Either they were able to give an excuse, or he gave no mind to the third woman that trailed behind, the blacksmith continued to deal with the two men as they haggle over prices. 
There’s another seller a ways away, and she’s laid out her goods on the floor on what looks like old drapes. It’s a woman, not much older than you were, unravelling a long string of leather cord. She cuts it, strings a charm through and seals the frayed end with a candle flame that burns at her side. 
The curtain she’s laid her accessories on is patterned with bright colours, and you realise you can’t make out any of it from where you stand. 
Glancing behind you, the men are still occupied with their bartering, seemingly forgetting of your presence. Taking a step back, you pretend to skim through the neighbouring stalls, glancing breezily at woven baskets, layers of folded fabric and towers of painted ceramic cups. 
You stop before the laid out array of more necklaces and earrings, scanning the ground. The vendor looks up and gives you a big, crooked toothed smile, urging you to come forward, to take a look at what she has to offer. 
Something does catch your eye, and you immediately crouch down to see it better. Picking up the necklace from the charm, you let the gold and red rest on your fingers as you study the make. 
“That one’s new,” the woman says. “Practical too.”
The small brass letter opener that’s looped through the cord looks like it could do its job just fine despite its miniscule size. 
“It’s quite popular among the busy merchants,” the vendor speaks in a rough tone, almost like she had a perpetual sore throat. “Easier to use this instead of looking for those bulky ones in their neverending drawers and—and in their cabinets.”
She lets out a laugh, “Quite pretty too.”
You stare at it for a moment, “How much?”
“Ten coin.”
You sigh, setting the necklace back down onto the cloth. Standing straight, you turn to walk away before she yells again. 
“I’ll do seven!” 
You consider whether you should speak, but you also doubt you’d be recognized just by the sound of your voice.
"I don’t have coin,” you rasp. 
“How about that pretty thing on your finger then?” she asks. 
The ring on your middle finger is a simple band of silver, a coming of age present from your father’s court a few years ago. You stare at the band, worth boatloads more than what this woman in an alley was offering you.
But you find yourself moments later, middle finger empty, and pocket lined with the long leather necklace with the miniature letter opener charm. 
By the time you return to the blacksmith’s shop front, Chan is handing the man his coin as Hoshi holds an object sheathed in fabric. They turn around just soon enough to make it seem like you never left. 
“Why are you standing so far away?” Chan asks. “Come closer.”
You listen, moving closer to the both of them as they get ready to make the trek back to the docks where the ship waits. 
“The crates have probably been loaded too,” Hoshi says, his hands suddenly empty. You assume he’s pocketed the knife somewhere. “Let’s hurry and leave before—”
“Princess?”
It was your mistake that you turned around to acknowledge the title, something you realise as soon as you register the man that spoke to you. 
Henley was a stout man, dressed even now in the finest suit of a berry colour, hair white as a ghost. There was no reason for a merchant so rich he had ties with the royal family to be wandering in a harbour market, but he also had every reason to be here. 
If it was the recognition in your eyes, or the fact that they were just being smart, you feel one of the pirates wrap their fingers around your upper arm and pull you to walk away from the alley. 
“Princess!” Henley yells and you cringe at his volume. People are looking now, and you briefly wonder why you aren’t running yet. 
Your heart is pounding against your chest so hard it’s deafening any other sound in your ears, you still don’t know which one has a hold of you, but you let them guide you into a speed walk as you exit the narrow alleys of the main market. 
The shawl above your head is pushed further down, shielding your face in a shadow. There’s nothing in your mind other than Clarence Henley and his rich suit, his gold pocket watch, his trimmed, white hair. His face that you only ever saw within palace walls, always accompanied by your father. 
There’s a good chance you’re shaking, because you can feel your body rejecting it with the pain in your palms that you can only consider to be your own nails pressing into your hand. 
The stench of the fish market helps, bringing you back from your daze as you finally register the ground beneath your feet. It’s only a few more minutes till you reach the docks and you’re suddenly being pushed up the ramp that leads to the main deck of the ship.
It’s immediate comfort, the familiar brown of the floorboards, the scent of saltwater and warping sounds of the sails. You’re led to your quarters, where you finally let the makeshift hood and cape fall. 
“Are you alright?” 
Snapping your head up, you’re met with Seungkwan and his concerned gaze. 
“Oh, erm.” Your voice sounds…not like your own. 
“It’s okay, breathe.” It helps, because it really did feel like you’d forgotten to breathe. 
“We’re leaving in just a few, everything’s been loaded. Nobody followed you on board, don’t worry.”
Right. You were on the ship, you were in your quarters with some of the most feared pirates on the seas. 
The way Seungkwan is easing you through your gulps of water suggests legends in the mix, but you appreciate it regardless. 
When you’ve come round, feeling more like yourself, the ship has already left Hasry Harbour, sailing into the deeper waters of the ocean. 
“Captain said they couldn’t run because it just would’ve been more suspicious,” Seungkwan informs you as you nod. “Did you…did you recognise him? The man at the market.” 
The thoughts come flooding back, the colour of his suit, the jarring nature of a man of such wealth standing in a rundown port market. 
“He’s a merchant, one of the wealthiest. A friend of my father’s. If he even has any friends.” 
You pause as you think about the near blackout you’d had, the way the panic more than boiled over, taking over your senses and your rationality. 
“I think…” you trail off. “I think I just felt like it was the end. I finally had an opportunity to get rid of that tyrant and seeing something that was from home, felt…it felt like I was going to end up right back where I started.”
Seungkwan doesn’t say a word as you digest your own words, accepting your own fear that had rendered you useless in the time it probably mattered most. 
“Do you feel better now?”
“A little,” you answer. 
“Maybe a weapon can help.”
At the door stands Hoshi, a stern expression on his face as he looks directly at you on the bed. In his hands, the same fabric covered knife he acquired at the market. 
You know that you asked for this, but the jolt in your stomach still makes itself known. 
“He’s right,” Seungkwan says, lifting from his chair. “Blades have a way of calming you in any case.”
You note the glinting hilt of Seungkwan’s sword sheathed at his hip, remember Hoshi’s own daggers that he seems to be emotionally attached to. 
Lifting your head back to Hoshi, you ask, “Can we start now?”
He smirks. 
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ALL NIGHT, THE STUPID pirate captain had you taking swings at the air. 
“Your opponent’s baked a fruit cake by the time you were done with that swing,” he comments, continuously unhelpful. “Swing faster.”
It’s nighttime, nothing but a few oil lamps on the floor of the deck keeping you and Hoshi in the light. Your shoulder burns, your forearms are liquid, and your non-existent opponent remains forever stronger than you. 
“I’m done,” you huff, thoroughly spent. Crumbling to the floor, you bring your non-dominant hand up to your aching shoulder in an attempt to massage it. 
It’s been a while, the moon high up in the sky when you finally decide to quit it for the night. He lets you go without a fight, and you doubt you’d have the energy to if he decided to do it anyway. 
The following day, he’s tweaked his regiment a little, and you find that you’re finally swinging at something tangible; him. 
He leaves himself open, an invitation to strike wherever you want. You feign for his shoulder, but he sees you coming from a mile away, already deflecting your flattened blade that comes for his thigh.
“Don’t look where you want to strike, you’re giving yourself away.”
Furrowing your brows, you dislodge your knife from his own and back away again. He’s immediately cocking a brow, telling you to come at him again. You go for his middle, slashing your knife in an arc as he simply deflects. 
“Come on, find a pace,” he grunts. 
Coming down with your knife again, he blocks you but this time with his forearm, pushing you back by the wrists. It was a battle of strength, as he forces your wrists down. He was stronger than you, and there was no way you could push away, so you dispel your own force. He stumbles from the sudden forward force, and you pull away to take a swing from above. 
He recovers faster than you thought he would, already coming up when you’re ready to swing. He raises a hand to deflect, half a moment too late as your blade slashes across the heel of his hand. 
There’s a brief splash of red against the blue backdrop of the sky, and you gasp on instinct, immediately moving away. 
There’s an apology ready on your lips, mouth gaping as you watch him inspect the wound. You don’t get to say anything because he beats you to it. 
“Deep enough,” he comments, like he was inspecting a painting. “Keep this up and you might actually be good by the end of the week.”
Oh. 
“Alright,” he says again, moving back into position.
“Are you gonna wrap that?” you ask, referring to the bloody hand. 
“It’s fine, I’ve fought with worse,” he says. 
You blink as you reluctantly get back into position, bracing yourself as you continue to look at his hand dripping blood onto the deck. 
“You’re getting the hang of pacing, but you need to start considering your blade as an extension of yourself—JESUS!”
You’ve swung at him faster than you ever have, putting everything into that single tug of your knife. He wasn’t expecting it, still talking over your glances at his palm. He had his guard down, and you took the chance. He ducks on instinct, but it could’ve been another scar for him to remember if you’d made it. 
You stumble as he circles you to the other end, flattening his blade on your back.
“Nice try,” he says. “Really nice try. But you never turn your back to your opponent.”
“I lost my footing,” you defend, but even you knew that wasn’t an excuse. 
“And I just stabbed you in the back. And now I’ll have to present your corpse to your father and hope he’ll accept it and give me my ship. We all lose.” 
The pressure of the blade leaves your back and you're suddenly left looking stupid despite doing something somewhat right. 
“You’d just swindle another poor sailor off his boat and move on,” you say. “You’re a slippery thing.”
He has a smile on his face that borders a smirk yet is innocently mischievous enough. It’s a strange sight, bloody hand, relaxed face. There’s a clean-ish rag on a nearby closed barrel that he uses to wipe the excess blood off his hands. 
“I keep going because I live without regret.”
You can only roll your eyes as a scoff leaves your mouth before you can stop it. You simply turn around, settling to the floor, going back to massaging your still aching shoulder. That last blow only made it worse.
“I don’t regret things, miss princess. Ask me why.”
You remain silent. 
“Come on,” he urges, that silly smile remaining on his face. He’s washing the wound now with freshwater from the barrel.
Sighing, you ask him, “Why?”
“Because I don’t ever do things I’d regret.”
“That insinuates you think before you act.”
“Right-O,” he declares, wrapping another torn cloth on his cleaned wound.
“Funny,” you answer. “Because I dont think I’ve ever seen any hint of light behind your eyes.”
He turns around to you, sheathing his dagger at his hip, a dangerous look in his eye.
“You’ve looked into my eyes?” 
The clench in your jaw must have been visible, or the look of disgust on your face might’ve been apparent just the same, because the pirate captain simply laughs out loud before retreating towards the stairs to go below deck. 
“I’ll send Jun up, practise with him.”
You wanted to send your knife, point first, hurtling into his retreating form. 
Never turn your back to your opponent, my ass. 
But you don’t, mostly because he’d probably manage to deflect that too. So you resort to sitting cross legged on the deck, staring at your dagger while waiting for Jun to meet you upstairs. 
Hoshi said he picked the knife based on a number of things you’d already forgotten, something about carbon steel and having a good grip. It’s quite pretty, you’ll have to admit. It’s plain silver, but the reflection it makes in the sun makes it difficult to look away. You’d gotten used to the handle and how it fit in your palm, Hoshi assured you that the more you used it, the more the hilt would mould into your grip. 
Jun stomps onto the deck, revolver-less and instead equipped with an array of knives that he deposits on the deck. 
“Should’ve picked a plain old gun,” he grumbles as he holds one of the longer blades in his hand. “Job’s done and you don’t need to get within ten feet.”
“Don’t have to reload a knife, do I?” you comment, taking the first swing. 
Jun may have an affinity for guns and explosives, but his handling with a knife was still nothing below an expert level. He pushes your arm off before spending you into a ballroom spin, flatting his blade at your collarbone. 
That could’ve been your throat.
“No, but by now I could’ve shot you, thrown you overboard, and been on my way to a nap,” he says in your ear, before releasing you as you get back into position again. 
That could’ve been your throat.
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THE FOLLOWING WEEK PASSES with your days and nights muddled into a strange mixture of swinging knives and taking breaks slumped against the deck of the ship, unmoving. 
It’s a particularly hot day, the giant glowing orb beating down on the deck with no mercy. Not that it stops you, because the sun remains unwavering, high in the sky, and you remain unwavering in your wide legged stances as you lunge for Chan again. 
Chan’s entire being glistens in the afternoon light, the beads of sweat that he wipes off his forehead only seem to reappear every couple minutes. His clothes cling to him like a second skin, taking long breaths through his teeth amidst the difficult, humid air. 
You don’t doubt you look the same, one hand in your hair suggesting you just took a bath in your own sweat. But Chan seems accustomed to the heat, and while you weren’t, you couldn’t deny your growing comfortability with it all. 
It’d been a while since your meal, hence your sluggish movements were slowly turning increasingly sharp, having cornered Chan multiple times in the duration. You’re determined to not be the one to call for a time out, so you find yourself pushing beyond what you’ve been doing for the past week or so. 
There’s a particular punch of heat at your sides, and you can feel yourself slowing. 
One deep breath, a slow exhale.
It’s all clangs and reflections of knives, tiny droplets of blood as evidence of both of your tiny, unintentional nicks and cuts. You’re succeeding, pushing the man further and further back. 
“You’re getting sloppy, aim for the blade not my tendons,” Chan seethes through his teeth. 
“I’m trying,” you grunt through the effort. 
You’re set back for a couple minutes before you go back to pushing. Your lungs burn, your entire side is numb from exertion, but you give more than your body is made for, and you succeed—kind of. 
Chan back is against the railing of the deck before he realises it, and perhaps it was momentum, or sheer exhaustion, because one minute you’ve got eyes on Chan’s hands and his blade, and the next he’s gone. There’s a loud splash, and you suddenly realise what you’ve done. 
You just pushed Chan overboard. 
You scream before you can help it, dropping your knife with a loud, resonating clang. Pushing against the rails, you peer down to find a giant ripple on the surface of the ocean, whipping your head around to the stairs leading below deck to find Mingyu and Hoshi bounding upstairs. 
“What? Where’s Chan, he was supposed to be with you,” Hoshi asks, whipping his head around the deck. 
Your wide eyed, horrified response from near the edge tells them all they need to know. 
By the time Chan’s pulled himself on board, soaked and dripping like a wet poodle, you’ve sat yourself the furthest away from the railing to prevent any more trouble. He drops onto the floor, creating a human sized puddle. 
With the way the two men had merely sighed and threw the ladder over the exterior of the ship, you concluded that this must happen enough for them to be beyond the point of concern. It only adds to it when you see Mingyu nudge Chan’s unmoving but heaving body with the toe of his boot, giggling at his expense. 
You make your way over, crouching beside Chan sheepishly. 
“Sorry about that, got carried away.”
He’s sitting up now, quickly pulling himself back to his feet and you spring back from your crouched position. 
“It’s fine, happens.” He has a small smile on his face as he says it and you conclude that he may find the situation laughable as well. 
“Now, Chan,” Hoshi says, not letting Chan move into the deck any further from the railing. “What’s the first thing you learn about brawling on a ship?” 
Chan looks slightly embarrassed as he answers, “Be aware of your surrounding—ARGH.”
Hoshi pushed him into the water. 
You jump as you run back to the rails, watching as Chan’s head re-emerges at the surface after his second dip in the ocean. 
Just as you’re about to say something to Hoshi, he’s stuck his head over the railings as well, yelling at Chan in some singsong voice. 
“One time was a mistake, twice is a problem!”
To your left, only adding to your horror, is Mingyu doubled over in his fit of laughter, heaving as he giggled uncontrollably. He’s also holding onto the railings for dear life, but clearly, for reasons completely different from yours. 
The situation resolves itself as both you and Chan learn a few lessons of practicality. Deciding you’ve done enough damage to your body, you announce that you’d be retiring for the day. 
“Thank goodness, I was about to confiscate that stupid knife, I’ve been hearing clanging in my sleep,” Mingyu mumbles as he pulls the rope ladder back up to the deck. 
In any case, you have the urge to take a dip in the ocean yourself, feeling increasingly uncomfortable in your drying sweat. 
Grabbing a clean washcloth, you fill a bucket of freshwater from one of the barrels on deck and lug it into your quarters. The soaked washcloth does wonders for your overheated body, feeling enormously better after a change of clothes. 
Your scalp, however, remains itchy and burning, so you decide to go back up to the main deck, hoping to manoeuvre a hair wash situation without needing to mop the floors of your quarters. 
Refilling the bucket of freshwater, you set it down before scanning the empty deck for another spare bucket. You try not to scoff at the unwavering determination of the pirate crew to keep the deck unoccupied for such long increments, that last altercation teaching them absolutely nothing. You wonder how they’ve managed to survive for so long like this. 
Shaking the thought, you use the spare bucket as a way to deposit your waste water as you pour cups of clean water over your aching scalp. The feeling does wonders for you, letting the water wash away weeks worth of grime, sweat and stress. 
You’re almost back home in your quarters when the whiff of your hair salts hits your nose, the ones you’d packed for yourself, closing your eyes for a moment as you rub them into your scalp. You don't expect the clench that seizes your chest, but you falter when it happens anyway.
It’s nostalgic, and you hate it. 
It smells like the palace, like the incense your ladies in waiting always burned, the stench of citrus having made its way into your bones from the years of exposure to the scent. It’s too much as you blink back tears, owing them to the suds that have made their way into your eyes. 
The sting helps bring you back, opening your eyes to an orange glow and the waft of seasalt  hitting your nose. You’re more aggressive when you dunk your cup into the bucket this time, too aggressive as you feel the half full bucket tip over and spill water all over the deck as you cause yet another accident. 
Cursing loudly, you try to blink away the suds from your eyes, soap still in your hair as you try to figure out how to get another bucket of water without ruining your fresh change of clothes, mentally kicking yourself at not thinking this through.
“You realise we have to make do with that freshwater till we make it to Ash?” 
Wet hair still in your hands, you attempt to peer up at the voice, only to find Hoshi standing above you, arms crossed over his chest with a funny expression on his face. Huffing, you grumble out in response, “Can you just get me a fresh bucket?”
“Hm, I don’t know, can I?” He removes his gaze and begins to pretend looking over at the horizon and the setting sun. 
Chiding yourself for even bothering to ask, you reach for the tipped bucket yourself, deciding you’d figure it out yourself if this dumb pirate was choosing to be of no help. But before you could latch your fingers on the handle, the bucket’s snatched away. 
At first you think he’s being funny, taking the bucket away to watch you struggle even further. “You—”
Except you watch him as he dunks the bucket back into the barrel of freshwater, lugging it back to where you could reach. “Try not to paint the deck with it this time, I’ve already mopped twice.”
The thank you freezes on your tongue, and for some reason you can’t say it to him. So you make a scene of splashing into the bucket with vigour, sending spills over the rim and taking mild satisfaction in hearing him sigh at the sight of more mopping. 
He’s already gotten hold of the worn mop by the time you’re done as you remerge with clean hair, wringing your own mop of hair to deposit the excess water. Straightening out your back, you take hold of the spare cloth you brought along with you, patting your hair with it. 
The sun remains in its mission to cast its golden glow, but only illuminates Hoshi’s grumbling form as he mops up all the water you’ve spilled. 
“You know, I should really be making you��” He halts as he makes eye contact with you, your hands still occupied with patting your hair dry, flicking the wet strands. You have a rebuttal already prepared, waiting for him to finish his jab. 
“Make me what? you grind. 
You can’t make out the look on his face, somewhere between constipated and on the edge of a yelp, he keeps staring at you. You note a slight trickle of water making its way down your neck and chest, bleeding into your shirt as yet another water stain. 
“Nothing,” he says, to your surprise. 
And with that uneventful climax, you trudge back down to your quarters, a strange brewing in your chest.
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[AN]: congrats you made it to the end of part 1!!!!! reblog ur thots and opinions or send me an ask, id love to hear the turmoil in ur minds lol
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genericpuff · 3 days
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wait wait wait, regarding that Minthe post, you're telling me that Rachel literally wrote the character as having BPD.....and portrayed her as an abusive mean piece of shit??? WOW. fucking WOW. sorry for being so angry, but even if she "retconned" that - it's still so god damn disrespective. as someone who has BPD it hurts so much to see my mental illness villanised :(
ugh I'm so sorry pal. and I don't blame you for being angry about it, like I don't even have BPD and I'M fucking pissed LOL like I can understand why Rachel might have wanted to backtrack from that knowing fully well that Minthe's story wasn't gonna have a happy ending, but writing her with BPD in the first place and then BACKTRACKING from it as soon as she likely got heat for it (or just realized it wasn't a good look) isn't much better because it means now all she's done is written the stigmatized negative effects of BPD into her character without showing the more positive outlooks of healing and managing. Maybe that was doomed to happen considering Minthe is someone who doesn't get a happy ending in the myths, but it begs the question of why she'd write her with BPD to begin with because in hindsight it really does seem like she just wanted to use it as a way to make her "evil".
But like, when you read the actual episode, you can SEE the potential there for character growth, you can SEE that she's aware of her actions - but doesn't understand why she's "like that" which is a VERY common feeling among people with undiagnosed mental illnesses - but it was never meant to be.
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Like jfc not only is it HEAVILY IMPLIED, but again, the episode is literally called "Splitting". And we see exactly that with Minthe, who can't seem to rationalize with herself that she messed up.
But... that leads me to another point that I failed to mention in that first ask response: she DIDN'T mess up. Like, yes, she messed up by escalating it to the point of slapping Hades, but it wasn't her fault that she didn't make it to her date with Hades. Whose fault was it?
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Continuously throughout the first season we see Thetis being an awful influence who manipulates and gaslights Minthe. They're "friends", but it's clear Thetis does not have Minthe's best interests in mind. In this very scene we see Thetis manipulate Minthe and even attempt to get her so drunk that she won't be able to show up to her date. And then of course when that plan works and Minthe freaks out, Thetis spins it around on Minthe in a very passive-aggressive way.
But of course, the narrative has to find a way to turn this whole thing on Minthe being the bad guy. Hence we get the slap which shifts the focus entirely away from what led up to it back onto Hades who has, in a lot of ways, put her in a situation that she can't control. And of course, being in those kinds of situations does not help with mental health.
Like, sorry, I'm really going off here now, but... the slap happens in Episode 76.
When is it finally addressed again? Episode 103.
It took Rachel nearly THIRTY EPISODES to finally bring it back to Minthe, and in that time the reader has spent SEVERAL EPISODES reading about how sad and lonely Hades is, and about how cute and lovey he is with Persephone. The reader has not had ANY time to reflect on Minthe's circumstances, because it completely pivots away from her to focus on H x P as a sort of distraction from the fact that Minthe is a victim in her own right.
And when it DOES return to Minthe in 103, we get this harrowing reminder that her entire life is dependent on Hades-
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And once again, here comes Thetis to the "rescue", reinforcing the negative feedback loop that Minthe is trapped in where she's put in unhealthy situations. She drags her to a bar and the whole time Minthe is not having fun because she's understandably still reeling from what happened.
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Now we DO get some character development here, where Minthe realizes exactly what I've just finished explaining, that Thetis isn't her friend, that she'd rather not have Thetis as a friend than continue being talked down to and manipulated.
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But then, as we know, because Rachel still needs Minthe to be the "bad guy", the breakup between Hades and Minthe winds up being all about Persephone from a POV that attempts to villainize Minthe for being "jealous" (rather than focusing on how shitty Hades actually is for having an emotional affair with Persephone to begin with) and then Minthe goes right back to hanging out with Thetis anyways for the sake of having the "evil other girl" who wants to "ruin" H x P's relationship.
It's not until Season 3 that we finally see Minthe tell Thetis to fuck off for good, but by then it's too little too late, and Minthe has lost an entire character arc. Rachel tries to go "see! Minthe's life is so much better now that she's taking care of children!" but that's an entirely different solution to a problem Minthe never had. She never got treatment for her BPD. She just got away from H x P which, while is a good thing, isn't actually analyzed as such. It's treated more as a "good thing" for H x P and the readers, because now they don't have to be subjected to Minthe's evil scheming anymore, something something "the evil is defeated". And don't even get me started on this comic's problem with constantly resolving female characters' story arcs through motherhood.
It bums me out so fucking much. Minthe deserved so much better. She's one of the many characters in LO who make it so painfully ironic when they're done dirty, because despite Rachel's attempts to write a "feminist retelling" that focuses on "moving on from trauma", she's inadvertently done more damage to feminism and the stigmas around mental health and trauma through her assassination of grounded and realistic and relatable characters like Minthe and Demeter who are shown ZERO empathy or understanding for their actions (unless it can be done so by making Persephone and Hades into the heroes). It happens so often throughout the comic it almost feels like how the comic markets itself as a "progressive feminist retelling" is some sick joke that I'm just not getting.
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lazycats-stuff · 1 day
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Hey can I ask for a batbro reader who begged for a bird and finally got one but the bird ended up hating everyone except for reader and Alfred (he deserves it) and is super protective of reader to the point that it bites anyone other than Alfred who gets close to him and always cuddles with the reader.
Reader is a mama bird and just blames everyone but his bird, can you make it a green-cheeked conure because just look at how cute.
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I'm not a bird person... But they are so damn adorable! The one on the left is smiling!😭 Animals are great and adorable... I won't use a gif for this fic. Also, this is short, but sitting too long in my drafts anyway. And, also got new glasses today! I can see everything in 4k. It's nuts lol.
Summary: (Y/N) has his birds. He is a mama bird.
Warnings: (Y/N) being mad, Earl the bird is a grumpy one.
For years on end, (Y/N) begged Bruce for a bird. He did everything he could to prove to Bruce that he was responsible enough for a bird. Everything. He learned everything there is to know about birds and how to take care of them. Especially with green cheeked conure because they are so damn adorable.
Bruce was hesitant. (Y/N) played the Damian card, saying Damian had all of his animals. Whenever Damian brought an animal it was all fine and nothing. (Y/N) couldn't even bring a damn bird home.
Bruce defended himself in saying that Damian's animals can't fly off and that taking care of birds and four legged animals. At this point, (Y/N) was ready to raise hell and blow the manor up with his rage. Why is a bird such a big deal?!
Bruce isn't an idiot and knows that (Y/N) is close to his breaking point and knew that (Y/N) would bring a bird in the house, sooner or later. So Bruce has devised a plan. He would get a green cheeked conure for (Y/N)'s birthday. (Y/N) has proven himself over the years to be responsible.
(Y/N) was still pissed when his birthday came around, ready to ignore Bruce all day if needed. And when the celebration rolled around, (Y/N) was mad when he came into the living room, more so when Bruce was all smiles.
" I know you and I have been at odds for a while due to you wanting a bird. " Bruce started and (Y/N) crossed his arms, making Bruce smirk. " But, I saw how responsible you are in the last few years and well, your bird is here. " Bruce said, just as Alfred brought a cage in with a gorgeous greened cheek conure.
(Y/N) was speechless before hugging Bruce tightly, saying thank you again and again so fast that Bruce laughed, turning (Y/N) to walk to the cage. Alfred put the cage on the table and (Y/N) opened the door, slowly reaching his hand towards the bird. The bird was a bit hesitant, but moved closer to the hand.
(Y/N) tried not to explode from the happiness, he couldn't startle the little bird, could he?
It has been a month since getting this bird and (Y/N) has named him Earl, since he was grumpy most of the time, just like an old man named Earl who hates kids playing outside. A grumpy old man in a bird's body. (Y/N) loved Earl and Earl loved (Y/N) too, allowing (Y/N) to put him on his shoulder.
Earl loved being on (Y/N)'s shoulder, chirping away and gently pecking (Y/N) with his beak. (Y/N) was over the moon ever since his birthday. He loved Earl and his grumpiness and finally wasn't mad at Bruce.
However...
Earl became protective of (Y/N), even refusing to let anyone get close to his owner. Alfred was the only exception. Earl would bite anyone who would come near (Y/N), making them yelp. Jason was mad, glaring at Earl who almost, seemingly, glared back at him. The two were rivals. Damian has decided to somehow win Earl over, but that wasn't going to happen anytime soon.
Dick and Tim thought briefly about getting rid of Earl, but (Y/N) would lose his shit about it and being murdered by him. Because (Y/N) would do it. They would be dead the moment he would find out and the manor would go kaboom, taking out everyone in it.
And Earl was fully aware of the fact that (Y/N) would protect him. It was comical to see (Y/N) blame his brothers for doing something to his bird, even when Earl was faking it. The boys saw that Earl was smarter and Jason once said that there is a human in that bird body.
Earl recently, however, did something that nearly made (Y/N) explode. Earl managed to fake an injury. He was walking with his wing, as if that wing was in pain and somehow injured. (Y/N) knew that none of his brothers would ever do something to injure Earl.
But he was still mad about it.
But when he saw Earl faking it, it was shocking. He never saw anything like that and he realized that he needed to have some sort of higher IQ to manage to do something like this.
Alfred, the only person that Earl allowed near (Y/N), laughed his ass off when he heard it. He didn't know that birds could be that smart. Bruce on the other hand, questioned why he got the damn bird.
Sure, it was to make his son happy, but still. He didn't expect Earl to be so connected to him, but connections with humans and animals are often strong and Bruce in all honesty, should have seen it coming. It's always one person and maybe a bonus person that an animal respects, loves and protects and the rest are in danger from being pecked by an animal. In this case, it's Earl.
Bruce still didn't understand the name Earl. Sure, the bird might be a grumpy one, but, he wouldn't question (Y/N) and his choice. But that bird does have a beak on him.
But Bruce doesn't regret it in the slightest. Seeing his son happy is the best thing he could ask for. And he wouldn't change that for the life of him. Even if it meant that Earl would hate them forever.
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Text
Passion on the High Seas
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SUMMARY | After running away from your life as a noblewoman to become a pirate, you meet Yunho, a handsome pirate who has an equally shocking past. PAIRING | Yunho/Reader GENRE | Pirate!Yunho, smut with no plot, unprotected sex (wrap it up everyone!), oral, fingering, vaginal sex, RATING | Mature LENGTH | 4758 words AUTHOR’S NOTE | Might make this a series or something LOL. Here’s to my first Ateez fic!
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You stretched your limbs after you had finished loading cargo onto the ship earlier that day. Your hair was tied up in a messy bun so that it didn't fall onto your face as you worked.
Your clothes were tattered, stained with dirt and grime and most likely smelled horrible due to you wearing the same clothing for days on end. But despite all that, you felt pretty damn happy at that very moment.
Happiness. Something that you hadn't felt in a very long time.
You were the daughter of one of the peninsula's most prestigious families that served the king. You grew up in a gilded cage with servants attending to your every whim. You went to fancy balls with nobles and royalty. You wore dresses that cost thousands of gold coins each. Every evening, you went to parties hosted by important merchants or dignitaries where you drank the finest wine and ate the most delectable foods. And yet...despite all that, you never felt happy. Not once in your life.
Until now.
You smiled to yourself as you thought about what it would be like to live life on your own terms. No rules. No laws. No royal decrees preventing you from doing what you wanted. Just you and the sea. The only one that cared whether or not you lived was you. And you loved that feeling. More than anything.
And as far as you knew, it was that feeling that had drawn you to the life of piracy.
You've been living life on the seas for a few years already, rising to the ranks of Captain through sheer determination and blood, sweat and tears. It wasn't easy being an outcast among the noble classes but you never let that get you down. There was no place else you'd rather be than here: sailing around the world, exploring new lands, making friends, conquering foes and seeing sights no one had ever seen before.
The wind blew gently against your face as you looked upon the island that stood in front of you. Sails flapped lazily as the pirate ship moored itself to the shore and as you gazed out over the horizon, you could see your next destination appear in the distance: the City of Thieves. A land filled with thieving pirates and thieves where anyone could do whatever they wanted without fear of punishment or retribution. Where there were no constrictions, no boundaries, no restrictions. You couldn't wait to get there. You grinned wickedly as you imagined running wild and free amongst its teeming streets and crowded alleyways, laughing and partying until the sun came up again.
No more dresses. No more high heels. No more boring noble gatherings. This was going to be a life of pure pleasure, no holds barred. If you weren't having fun, then you weren't doing it right. This was what freedom was all about!
With a chuckle, you hollered to your crew as the ship was preparing to dock. "Looks like we're finally here!" You said excitedly. "Open up those cargoes so we can sell them off. Check in with the Quartermaster to see what jobs he has for you and once work is done, and I really mean done, then you are free to do as you please! Huzzah!"
The men cheered in excitement as they began working on the tasks that were given to them, shouting out commands to their colleagues as they continued to unload crates and barrels onto the dockside. While this was happening, however, you were busy thinking about how you were going to spend the rest of the day. What would you do? How will you spend your day? All these questions swirled around your head like the churning waters of the ocean.
Once the ship was docked, work was done and you had distributed everyone's pay, you led your crew towards the nearest tavern. Once inside, you ordered some food and drinks and made your way to a secluded table where you watched your men frolic about. Soon enough, a buxom waitress came over and placed your order down before giving you a warm smile. You noticed a few of your fellow men giving her a wolfish grin but you paid no mind to it as she left.
You weren't looking for female company but rather the company of men. But all the pirates you knew were old, young, drunk, had missing limbs or were not that attractive to look at, which means you wouldn't be able to pick any of them as potential mates. And as much as you loved taking lovers, nothing quite compared to a cold, hard drink with a handsome man who knows exactly how to treat his woman right. Or maybe someone who had nice eyes and lips? You did like a man with nice features. You wondered if you'll ever find a man like that. Maybe you won't. Either way, you didn't care. You didn't need a man. Not even if you found one. You'd be fine on your own. Better than fine, in fact.
"I hear you've just returned home from a voyage." Said a familiar voice.
Your ears perked up as you turned around and saw another pirate sitting at the table beside you. You immediately recognized him as one of your regular drinking buddies and a captain of his own right. "Are you keeping tabs on me, Hongjoong?" You asked, sipping your drink.
"I just got into town a few days ago. Leave me alone." Hongjoong laughed as he ordered a bottle of rum.
"Oh come on! Aren't you curious about my latest adventures?" You questioned, playing along.
Hongjoong let out a laugh. "If it doesn't have pretty woman involved, then no thank you."
You scoffed and pointed at yourself. "But I'm a pretty woman."
"You're a whole different story, my noble lady." Hongjoong chuckled, finishing his drink and ordering another one. "You're out of my reach."
"Too bad, my friend." You replied, sipping your drink. "Anything new happening with you these days? Got any juicy stories to tell?"
"Apart from recruiting new men?" Hongjoong teased, winking at you.
A frown formed on your lips. "What does that mean?"
"I got a few pretty boys on board." Hongjoong said as he gestured to a few men that were engaged with talks with a few of yours. "Snagged them before you could, so I'm feeling lucky. Are you jealous?"
You shrugged. "Don't care."
"Why don't you join us later tonight?" Hongjoong offered, turning towards you. "We can grab a few bottles of wine and then go somewhere quiet and intimate."
You arched an eyebrow at him. "So now you're interested in me?"
"Nah...you know my type." He chuckled. "But I do know the type of guys you like. I can guarantee you won't be disappointed. Like that one over there."
You looked over to where he pointed and noticed a rather tall, handsome man talking to a few of your crew members. Your eyes trailed downwards to take in the sight of his well-built body and those long fingers that rested upon the wooden chair. God, what you could do with those fingers. They would feel good wrapped around your throat. But more importantly, those legs. Long and strong. Perfect for fucking.
That, and his eyes. Those beautiful dark eyes...they almost hypnotized you.
A low growl escaped your lips before you looked at your friend. "Damn you, Hongjoong. I can't believe I'm saying this, but for once I'm glad we're friends. I'll join your party as long as he's there."
"Good girl." He grinned before he drained his glass. He called out to the tall man. "Yunho!"
His name was Yunho. You liked that name.
Yunho approached the table and turned to Hongjoong. "Captain."
Hongjoong clapped the tall man's back as gestured to you. "Say hello. This is my good friend, Y/N. She's the captain of 'The Aurora'."
Yunho gave you a friendly nod before turning his attention to you. "Hello. Pleased to meet you."
You nodded in return. "Likewise."
Yunho opened his mouth to say something but was cut short when you waved to the others, signaling for everyone to join you.
All the men eagerly moved towards the table and took their places as you pulled up a chair and joined them. "Let's get to know each other, shall we?" You suggested as you raised your glass and gave a toast. "Here's to better opportunities, a brighter future and everlasting friendships."
After you had finished your drink, you signaled for a waiter and ordered two bottles of wine before moving to sit next to Yunho. He immediately leaned towards you and whispered into your ear. "You're awfully forward, aren't you?"
"Can't help it. You've caught my eye." You whispered back. "There's something intriguing about you. What's your story? You seem different from all the pirates I've met."
Yunho smiled as he tilted his head to the side slightly. "How so?"
"You just have a different air about you." You stated. "Not as cocky as the others. More mysterious."
"I could say the same about you, Captain." Yunho let out a laugh. "It's not everyday that I get to meet a female pirate, much less a female captain. You're different from all the women I met. You sit differently, talk differently. It's as if you were born into a different life than the other women."
"I'll tell you my story if you tell me yours." You countered.
"Alright." Yunho muttered, eyeing the group of men across the room. "Do you want to walk with me? We can exchange stories as we go."
"Sounds good to me." You agreed. "Lead the way."
As you and Yunho headed out of the tavern, the men gave you knowing glances knowing that you wouldn't be returning any time soon. Some smirked, wondering what the attraction was between you two while others winked. You ignored them and allowed Yunho to lead the way as you followed behind him. His movements seemed so smooth, almost as if he was dancing with the night breeze as he walked along. With each step he took, you felt like your heart skipped a beat. Just watching him made you weak in the knees.
Damn it, why am I like this? It's not like I haven't fucked hundreds of men already. Why do I feel so drawn to this one man?
"So what's your story?" Yunho inquired, stopping near a tree as he looked at you.
"Tell me yours first." You commanded, still unable to hide the obvious longing that shined through your gaze.
"Would you believe me if I told you that I was the son of a noble? One that went through a lot growing up because of the rumors about his father's involvement in treason?" Yunho asked, giving you a sad smile. "Of how my family had been stripped of our title and exiled instead of executed for being traitors?"
"So you're Minister Jeong's son." You said as you sat down by the tree.
"Do you know of my family?" Yunho asked in surprise.
You gave him a sad smile in return. "Would you believe that I was the daughter of a noble as well? Raised in a gilded cage, unable to live freely as she waits for her father to marry her off for his political gain? A noblewoman who ran away during a shopping excursion when a riot occurred?"
"So...You're the missing daughter of Minister Y/L/N." Yunho surmised, studying you carefully. "It explains why you're different from all the other women I met."
"Does it?" You questioned as you furrowed your brows.
"I think you understand what I'm trying to say." Yunho said, his eyes gazing into yours. "You and I lived the life of privilege and even though it looks like we've adapted to the life of being a pirate, there are things that only people of nobility would understand. Things we both experienced. Things that we know about each other."
"Yes." You admitted. "I agree with you. In many ways, we do understand each other."
"Then why did you run away from everything you know? Don't you miss the life you once had?" Yunho asked as he pulled a few leaves off a branch and handed it to you. "Have you forgotten all about it?"
"I was raised to be a dutiful daughter and if I stayed, my fate would be to marry some powerful man for his wealth and political power." You explained. "I didn't know it at the time but I hated my life back then. I wanted to live freely. To be free. To be myself. So I ran away and never looked back."
"And here you are now, living on your own. No one to guide you but yourself." Yunho added. "Surely that must be lonely."
"At times, yes. Sometimes I miss having someone to talk to." You admitted as you watched Yunho pull a few leaves from the branch. "My crew are great men but sometimes it's hard to talk to them about my life considering we all had different pasts. If they found out that I was a noblewoman, who's to say that they wouldn't look down on me or treat me differently?"
"I get it." Yunho looked up at the night sky. "I haven't told Captain Hongjoong my identity as well. But I'm sure he already knows. The man seems to always be able to read me like an open book."
"He's quite gifted in that area." You mused as you turned to face Yunho. "He found out about my identity the first time we met. But you can count on Hongjoong to keep your secret. That's one thing you can trust in him."
"Now that you mention it..." Yunho stared at you intently. "Why do I feel like I can trust you?"
"Maybe it's because you want to trust me?" You suggested with a soft chuckle.
"Perhaps." Yunho sighed as he stood up and started walking towards you. "However, that doesn't explain why I suddenly became attracted to you. I've had my fair share of lovers in my life and yet I find myself wanting to know you."
"I feel the same. Strange, isn't it?" You smiled at him. "Normally, I would sleep with someone and then leave the next morning without giving them any thought. Yet with you...it feels different."
Yunho returned your smile and bent down so that he could whisper into your ear. "Me too."
As you glanced up at his lips, you wondered how such a large man like him could make you feel so small. As his breath fanned against your skin, you could feel your heart beating faster and harder. Before you knew it, you found yourself leaning closer towards him and slowly moving your body closer towards his.
Your lips parted and he placed his finger on your lower lip, coaxing you to close the distance between you. Instinctively, you leaned forward and closed the gap between you. His tongue swirled around your bottom lip and for a moment you thought he was going to kiss you but instead he nipped lightly on your lower lip.
You pulled back slightly, your hand reaching for his. "Do you want to continue this somewhere else?"
"Wherever you wish." Yunho answered, his voice thick with desire.
"Come on." You grabbed his hand and tugged him in the direction of the inn. "I rented a room earlier and we don't want to waste any time, do we?"
Without waiting for an answer, you led him inside and led him straight to the room you rented. Locking the door, you removed your jacket and tossed it onto the bed as you kicked off your shoes. When you reached for the buttons of your shirt, Yunho stopped you and helped you remove it. He tossed it on top of your jacket before placing his large hand on your naked skin.
Yunho inhaled deeply as he ran his hands up and down your torso, enjoying the smoothness of your skin beneath his fingertips. Suddenly he leaned forward and captured your lips in a searing kiss as his hands explored every inch of your upper body, gently caressing you. "Yeah, you're definitely a noblewoman with how soft your skin is. So supple and smooth."
As he continued kissing you, you lost yourself in the sensation of his touch. One hand reached up to grab hold of his hair, entwining your fingers within it as you held him tightly against you. He pressed himself against you as his long fingers trailed down your body, pausing briefly at the hem of your pants before gently sliding underneath it.
A shudder ran down your spine as he touched you intimately, softly brushing over the sensitive spot below your navel before tracing the outline of your sex. As you arched your back, pushing yourself further against his hand, you moaned as you realized that you were getting wetter with each passing second. A loud moan escaped your lips as he slipped his middle finger into you, exploring every nook and cranny as you grinded your hips against his hand.
You grasped at his shirt, tugging it upwards so that you could feel the warmth of his bare chest against your own. Pulling his shirt over his head, you tossed it aside and cupped his face in your hands, kissing him passionately as you moved his hand away from you.
"Too much clothes on." You murmured as you pushed Yunho backwards onto the bed.
He let out a laugh. "I could say the same since you still have your pants on."
"That will come off later." You teased as you dropped to your knees and began unbuttoning his pants. "For now, you can enjoy my mouth first."
Yunho's hands gripped the sheets as he watched you strip him of the rest of his clothing piece by piece. Taking a deep breath, he allowed himself to get lost in the sensation of your warm breath upon his skin. Your hair brushed against his stomach, tickling him as you slowly worked your way downwards.
When you finally reached his crotch, Yunho gasped as you wrapped your fingers around his hardness. Slowly running your hand up and down his length, you smiled as he visibly shuddered under your touch.
"Just like I expected." You whispered as you lowered your mouth and licked the tip of his cock. "Very stiff and very hot. Very big."
Licking the underside of his cock, you continued stroking him until he was panting heavily. He bit his lip, trying to remain silent as you feasted on his cock. With each flick of your tongue, you drew tiny groans from him. Unable to control himself, he thrust forward and hit the back of your throat.
Moaning as you took his entire length into your mouth, you loved the feeling of his dick slipping in and out of your throat. Squeezing your eyes shut, you imagined him buried deep inside you. Imagining his hands caressing your skin while your breasts filled his palms. Without warning, you felt his cock swell in your mouth as he shot his cum right into your waiting mouth.
Swallowing every last drop, you pulled your mouth away and kissed his thighs before standing up. Grabbing the waistband of your pants, you quickly removed them and threw them onto the floor before sitting back down on his lap. Leaning forward, you pulled him towards you and passionately kissed him again.
Yunho took the chance to flip you on the bed and cover you with his body. Grasping the back of your neck, he gently massaged the base of your skull as he kissed you more intensely than ever. "Your turn to enjoy my mouth."
His lips traveled down your neck, nibbling and sucking every part of your flesh as you arched your back and purred. Pushing you further down on the bed, he took your left nipple into his mouth and sucked on it gently. He flicked his tongue against it causing your body to jolt slightly.
"More." You breathed out, needing more of him.
"If you insist." Yunho answered as he lifted your right breast into his mouth.
The sensations coursing through your body intensified as he sucked on your nipples, gradually increasing his speed. He took turns licking and sucking each one of them, paying special attention to your left nipple. It wasn't until he finally reached your other nipple that he paused momentarily. Gazing into your eyes, he licked his lips and gave you a sexy smirk before trailing his lips further down your body.
Inch by inch, his tongue traced your skin until he reached your belly button. Placing his hands on your legs, he spread them apart before gently grazing his lips across your sensitive skin. You cried out as you felt his teeth scrape against your skin.
Kissing the outside of your pussy, he slowly slid two fingers inside you. He heard you moan as he moved his fingers in and out of you, sliding them deeper with each thrust. The sounds of your wetness echoed in his ears as he tasted your sweetness with his tongue. When he finally reached your inner walls, he inserted another finger and began thrusting his digits in and out of you, creating a rhythm that was driving you mad.
He thrust his fingers in and out of you, pulling your clit into his mouth and gently suckling on it. As you bucked against his hand, Yunho could feel your juices flowing freely from your slit. "God, you taste good."
Leaving his fingers inside you, he dipped his head between your legs and slowly moved his tongue along the length of your slit. He flicked his tongue against your clit, drawing small whimpers from you.
Yunho lifted his head and watched you squirm beneath him. "Can I?" 
You nodded and silently prayed that he didn't stop. Taking a deep breath, he opened his mouth and engulfed your clit into his mouth, sucking on it gently as you cried out in pleasure. Every single sensation heightened tenfold as his lips made contact with your most intimate areas.
You arched your back, moaning loudly as he gently tugged on your clit. Overwhelmed by the waves of pleasure washing over you, you lost all sense of self. Nothing existed except for the feel of Yunho's warm tongue dancing against your most intimate parts.
Suddenly he pulled away, leaving you panting for air. Looking down at you with hunger in his eyes, he sat back up on the bed. With one hand, he caressed your cheek while using the other to grasp his cock.
"Please." You begged. "I need you inside me."
With a look of pure lust in his eyes, Yunho positioned himself at your entrance. Pressing forward, his thick cock plunged inside of you, filling you completely.
Clenching your eyes shut, you bit your lip as he stretched you wide open. "Oh god..." You groaned as he entered you further. "It's so big."
Yunho placed his hands on either side of your head, locking his gaze with yours as he began pumping his cock into you. Each stroke made him go deeper into you as he enjoyed watching your reactions.
Each thrust drove him deeper inside of you, making you cry out louder with each thrust. Reaching up, you placed your hands on the sides of his face, holding him in place as you gazed into his eyes. You could see the heat radiating from them as he stared at you hungrily.
"Fuck, Yunho." You moaned as you felt his hard dick sliding in and out of you. "You fill me up so well."
Taking a deep breath, he placed his forehead against yours and let out a shaky sigh. His breathing was ragged as he savored the sensation of being buried deep inside you. Looking into your eyes, he knew that there would never be another person like you. Someone who understood him without saying a word. Someone who finally knew his identity and did not judge him for it. For some reason, he knew that nothing was more important to him than this moment. Nothing could ever come close to the feeling of having you wrapped around him. Nothing could possibly come close to what he felt right now.
Pulling back slightly, he stared deeply into your eyes before meeting your lips with his in a heated kiss. His lips crashed against yours as he deepened the kiss, exploring your mouth with his tongue. Pressing harder against you, he rocked his hips against yours, grinding his cock against your swollen clit. Both of you moaned loudly as he thrust faster and harder, intensifying the feeling that was building up within you.
Grinding his hips against yours even harder, he could feel his balls tightening. He let out a low growl as he slid his hands up and down your thighs, gripping your ass as he rocked into you faster and faster. You moaned into his mouth as he pumped into you harder, hitting that magical spot that sent fireworks shooting through your body.
"Oh fuck." You whimpered as you arched your back, pressing yourself against him. "Yes, yes, yes. Cum in me, Yunho."
Gripping your hips, he slammed his hips against yours as his cock exploded into your tight pussy. Warm cum flooded your depths, spilling over his shaft and causing both of you to cry out in pleasure. He stayed motionless within you, letting the pleasure wash over him as he slowly slid his softened cock from your body.
Unable to move or breathe, you laid there, trembling in ecstasy. The aftershocks of the orgasm were still coursing through you when he lifted his head and looked at you.
"Are you okay?" He asked you softly, his voice full of concern.
You smiled weakly. "More than okay." You answered as you reached up and kissed him softly.
Yunho laughed quietly, kissing you once more before pulling away. Laying next to you, he stroked your hair as you snuggled against him.
"Remind me to thank Hongjoong later." You said as you ran your fingers through his messy hair. "If he hadn't convince me to stay and join his party, I would have missed the oppurtunity to meet you."
Smiling, Yunho closed his eyes and inhaled the scent of you. "We would've found each other eventually." He mumbled as he nuzzled your neck. "We're pirates that are secretly nobles. How could we not find each other?"
Chuckling, you laid your head on his chest and sighed contentedly. "True."
Yunho rested his chin on top of your head as you lay next to him. "Can I ask you something?"
You turned your head and looked at him. "Of course."
He hesitated for a few seconds before continuing. "If somehow my family still had our title and status, would there have been a chance that we would have met? Would things have turned out differently?"
"If you were still Minister Jeong's son and I was still Minister Y/L/N's daughter, there would definitely have been a chance." You answered honestly. "Who knows, our fathers would probably marry us off to each other."
A slight smile appeared on Yunho's lips. "Maybe they would have. Do you think you would have accepted an arranged marriage if it was me?"
You let out a laugh. "Maybe... if I liked you." You teased him.
"Ah... that might be difficult then." Yunho laughed. "Because I'm pretty sure I would have ended up trying to win your heart."
"That's possible." You agreed with a nod. "But that's just wishful thinking. The past is the past. All we can do now is make our future bright."
"You're right." Yunho replied.
"I always am." You grinned.
Yunho chuckled. "Just promise me one thing."
"Anything." You replied immediately.
"If one day, you or I, were to return to face what we left behind... will you return with me?"
Startled, you looked up at him, surprised by his question. Your first instinct was to answer no. After everything that had happened, you wanted to forget about the world of noblemen and their royalty. But looking into Yunho's soft eyes and sincere expression, you knew that you couldn't say no to him.
You grasped his hand tightly. "I promise. If we get the chance to return to that life, I'll return with you."
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forever-once-gone · 2 days
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Day 5: When they want a romantic night, and instead you’re obsessing over a fictional character; jealousy jealousy <3
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Part of the Love, Amour, Aur Pyaar drabble series for February! (lol)
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Word count: 0.8k, 0.7k, 0.9k, 0.7k, 0.8k, 0.6k, 0.9k (respectively, for a total of ~5.8k) again, wayyyyy too long :(
Content and Warnings: soft yandere (though can be read as not yandere, for most of them), love, jealousy, SPOILERS FOR JJK AND SNK (though I think everyone knows about the current state of jujutsu kaisen and shingeki no kyojin finished ages ago now), insecurity, threats from Y/n, Hoseok's section gets spicy, mature 18+ content, baby talk in Hoseok's, grinding, gn reader for most of them except Hoseok's where reader is very vaguely implied to be afab, kissing, throwing pillows, implied cosplay sex (?) for Namjoon, lingerie in Namjoon's, isolation from loved ones, UNEDITED (I thought this day would be pretty tame, but with with this big paragraph, maybe it isn't?)
Author's note: Beep beep boop. Beep boop beep. Beep boop. Boop beep beep. Boop. Boop beep boop. Boop beep boop beep beep. Boop beep boop. Boop boop. ...Enjoy!
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Seokjin (ft. Levi Ackerman from snk):
“It isn’t fair, you know, the fact that he had to go through so much. He was humanity’s strongest but really he was just an abused boy who did the best he could. He deserved so much better. I mean, at least he didn’t die. God knows that Hajime Isayama loves to kill all his characters.”
Seokjin just gritted his teeth, keeping his eyes locked with the wall.
“But like, still, considering everything, if one person deserved a true happy ending it was him.” You waved around your hand like a professor emphasizing the point they were trying to make as the other flipped through the pages of the manga you’d been talking about for the past fifteen minutes.
“Like, at least most of the other characters from Paradis had somewhat normal childhoods. They had some sort of happy memories, but Levi never got to have that joy. Everything in his life, when he would begin to cherish them, would get snatched from him! Petra, Gunther, Eld, Oluo, Furlan, Isabel, Erwin—all taken from him!” You pouted as you gazed down at Levi’s bandaged face, your frown only deepening at the sight of his missing fingers.
In a hushed voice, you said, “if I were Isayama, I’d have given him the best ending possible.” Then you let out a sigh before moving on from the sad page of Levi’s injuries. “But then again, Isayama barely gives anyone a happy ending, so the fact that Levi even survives is a miracle,” you mumbled near the end.
Jin just hummed, refusing to give you any proper response. 
Just how many times do you need to discuss Levi when he’s right there in front of you? Quite rude of you to be talking about some other man in his thirties when your boyfriend has been sitting beside you for the past twenty five minutes. This should be considered cheating right? Emotional cheating, as you gush over some other guy instead of your handsome boyfriend? Seokjin sure thought so.
“You know the manga has been done for years, right?” Seokjin couldn’t bother hiding his snippy tone crossing his arms across his chest. “Maybe it’s time you get over it, and focus on more important things.”
Your brows furrowed together, looking up at him for the first time since you brought down the small stack of manga volumes from your bookshelf. You were greeted with the sight of you boyfriend sitting at the absolute far end of the couch from you, arms crossed, back straight, as he glared a hole into the wall beside the tv. He refused to look at you, even though you were sure he could feel your gaze with how he momentarily shifted in his seat.
“What’s this ‘more important thing’ I should be focusing on instead of Levi?” you asked, as you shut the book and placed it with the others on the coffee table in front of you.
Seokjin just shrugged his shoulders. “Idk, maybe your handsome boyfriend who finally had some free time today? You know, maybe him?”
His lips were downturned again, as you moved to sit right beside him.
You tried to fight back your smile by pressing a finger to your chin as if you were thinking. “But Levi doesn’t have free time today?”
Jin turned towards you so quickly, you were afraid he’d pull a muscle.
You giggled at the affronted look he gave you, mouth hanging open in disbelief.
“I’m just kidding!” you defended yourself, trying to pull his arms from his chest but failing miserably. “I’m sorry, okay? My gorgeous boyfriend is you, and I shouldn't be talking about some fictional character when he’s gotten dressed up so well for me. Isn’t that right?” 
You managed to pull his arms away from his chest to give you a view of the nice clothes he had put on specifically for you. He wore your favourite clothes today, hoping you’d fawn over him, only for you to spend the better part of the past while talking about some drawing from a book. He thought you hadn’t noticed the effort he had put into today, but hearing evidence if your absolute attention had red creeping up his neck and onto his ears.
You threw yourself into his chest, causing his arms to wrap around you to steady the two of you. You nuzzled into him for a few seconds before looking up at him with a small grin.
“I love you, you know? More than anything and anyone. And I care more about our happy ending than anyone else’s, even if it is humanity’s strongest’s.” You strained up to press a kiss against his neck which left a chill against Jin’s skin, before settling down in his lap. Pleasure coursing through you at the sight of Jin’s pleased smile from below.
His arms tightened around you before he bent down to press against your forehead. “As long as you know who matters most,” he mumbled against your skin.
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Yoongi (ft. Blade from hsr):
You finished up the simulated universe world. Even though you hadn’t gotten great relics this time around, you still got to collect the weekly rewards, so you couldn’t be too mad. But you had to admit, it did sting a bit.
You switched back to the character screen after salvaging the useless relics that you obtained and checking on your stock of stellar jades. Blade stared back at you as you fussed with the relics that you had currently adorned him with and tried to level up the one promising relic you had obtained. When you ended up with defense being levelled up for the second time, you gave up on the relic, instead just salvaging it as well.
You sighed as you clicked back to Blade, seeing him stare back at you before performing his idle, bringing his sword up to his eyes, inspecting it before bringing it behind to his back as it disappeared into shiny gold.
“Bladie, Bladie, Bladie… Why is it so hard to find good relics for you…?” You rested your chin in the palm of your hm gazing lazily at your monitor.
Blade, of course, did not reply. Instead he stared right through your soul as if putting the blame right on you.
“Hmm… I was so lucky when building Kafka, but the relics just suck when I’m farming for you.” 
You clicked out of the character screen and instead ran around the map with Blade, listening to NPC dialogue and fulfilling random small tasks for stellar jade. You were out of trailblaze power and had nothing of significance to do. So you just enjoyed watching Blade’s mechanics as he interacted (being pretty liberal with the definition of “interact”) with other characters and took in his visuals.
He was your favourite character when you first started playing honkai star rail, but with time you realized you should probably try and make him stronger with more elite relics. It was harder than you originally thought. And now, even after a month of only farming for Blade, you had yet to pull what would be a legendary relic for him.
As you lamented your poor luck, you failed to notice the door to your gaming room opening behind you.
Yoongi creeped up behind you, listening to the music streaming its way out of the speakers he got for your set-up on your last birthday. He wasn’t surprised to see a zoomed in view of Blade’s face on your screen when he peered over your shoulder. He had expected it as soon as he’d heard the hsr soundtrack.
He stopped behind your chair, starling you as he began to speak. “Here I was hoping to see my wonderful spouse after work today, but instead I see them on a date with some depressed guy in my own home.” He sighed for effect, placing his hands on the back of your chair as he leaned over you to look at your screen.
“Oh hush,” you told Yoongi.
“What? So I can’t even speak up when I catch you with your second boyfriend now?” He placed his chin atop your head.
You laughed a bit, jostling Yoongi around a bit. “Don’t you know it’s rude to interrupt a date?” You finally played along.
“Not if it's between you and Blade, no it’s not. He doesn’t get to steal you away from me.” He wrapped his arms around your neck, holding you close against him almost as though he was pulling you away from Blade’s reach.
You held onto his arms as you laughed, feeling him press a kiss to the top of your head. Between laughs, you said, “Stop! You’re embarrassing me in front of my date.”
“Fuck your date.” He removed his arms from around you, spinning your chair around so you faced him. “You’re going on a date with me now.” 
He pulled you up and out of your chair into his arms. He pulled you right into him until not even one air molecule was in between your bodies. 
“Get dressed, I’m taking you out for dinner.” He reached a hand behind your intertwined bodies and turned off your pc with a pointed click.
He was willing to entertain your interest in other men so long as they were like Blade: fictional. The day he feels your interest swerving to real men, he wouldn’t take it so lightly.
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Hoseok (ft. Choso from jjk):
“Look at him being all emo but so sweet!” you cooed at the man on the screen.
Choso was speaking to Yuuji about being brothers and just being all adorable, and it was getting on Hoseok’s nerves.
“Like when you look at him, you’d think he’s gonna be all grouchy or mean, but look at him—fuck, I’d ruin him.”
Hoseok’s eye was twitching.
“Like he’s so pure? But so hot? But so loveable? But so destroyable? I’d definitely ruin him.”
Hoseok’s blood pressure was rising.
“He’d be such a good father to my kids.”
Hoseok’s patience broke. “Well too bad Choso’s not real then since you wanna date him over me so badly!”
You jumped at Hoseok’s loud proclamation. You weren’t prepared for the enraged look on your sweet boyfriend’s face. Had you gone too far?
“I wasn’t being serious, baby,” you started, speaking as softly and level as possible. “He’s just a character that I find cute.”
Hoseok scoffed, his lips pulled into a frightening, annoyed half-smirk. “Yeah, a character that you want to have sex with.”
You placed a hand on his thigh, trying to calm him down. “Babe, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”
“Pfft, so now you feel bad? Not when you were talking about how another guy was so hot and how you want to have kids with him? And how cute you find him? Do I mean nothing to you?”
Hoseok’s leg was shaking now, falling and dropping under your palm restlessly. You tried to smooth your hands over his leg to soothe him, but it only seemed to agitate him further.
He scoffed again, not even giving you a chance to defend yourself against his accusations. “You’ve never called me ‘destroyable.’ What, do I not get that right? Do I need to put red eyeshadow around my eyes and paint a black stripe over my nose for you to think me worthy of being the father to your kids?”
You winced. You didn’t think something as harmless as a fictional crush would upset your darling boyfriend so bad, but now you could see how you’d been out of line. I mean, maybe you wouldn’t like it if Hoseok had spoken about some other person, fictional or not, like that in front of you.
You crawled over to him on the couch, straddling his thighs despite how they shook even with your weight pressing down on them. He hadn’t stopped his periodic scoffs, his eyes locked on a point to the side as he seemed to be caught within his internal dialogue. He seemed to only be making himself  madder with each second.
“Baby,” you called him, placing your hands on his shoulders. “I’m sorry. I was out of line.”
Hoseok just shook his head, still not meeting your eyes.
“I was being stupid,” you continued. “Choso is pretty—” 
He scoffed once again, causing you to wince. Wrong way to go about the apology, yet again. Goodness, why did you suck at apologizing?
“—But! I love you, not him. If anyone is cute, it’s you. If anyone is hot, it’s you. If there is anyone who I find loveable, it’s you. If there’s anyone that I want to destroy, it’s you. So don’t be mad, baby, he’s nobody.” 
You did feel a little weird about how you had to make it clear that Choso wasn’t stealing you from your boyfriend, but you hated to see Hoseok so upset. 
And it seemed like Hoseok appreciated the reassurance, because he was finally looking at you.
He watched you for a second, as you continued to massage his shoulders while sat in his lap. Hoseok could see Choso over your shoulder on the tv, and it gave him some sort of kick to know that despite him being on screen, you had your back turned to Choso. Your full attention on him, only him. 
The worry on your face made contentment bubble in his chest, this is exactly how he liked you: fawning over him.
“Yeah, baby?” He asked, pulling you into him by the hips until he had his face pressed into your neck, placing small kisses on your pulse. “You like me more than him?”
You felt heat rise to your cheek as his hands slipped under your shirt, rubbing one hand on the small of your back as the other gripped at your waist, guiding you to grind against him. 
“Yeah…” you managed to get out between soft gasps as he began to move you harder and faster against his hard-on.
He bit into your neck, rubbing his tongue over the teeth marks he left behind possessively. “You don’t sound all that convincing, baby.”
“I, um, I—” you gulped, overwhelmed by how quickly the situation had changed. You could feel him getting harder and harder under you. “I mean it, I only see you that way.”
Hoseok pulled away from the marks he’d sucked and bit into you. Looking up at you with a hooded gaze. “How you gonna prove it to me?”
You didn’t know what to say. Isn’t it proof enough with the way you were panting on his lap with his bulge pressing into you?
“Would you do anything to prove it to me?”
You nodded frantically at the olive branch he had extended towards you. He was giving you an out, and you would be a fool to miss it.
“Yeah, baby? You’d do anything?”
“Yes,” you purred, head falling onto his shoulder as he pulled your shirt off of you. “—do anything for you,” you said between gasps.
“Good,” he said, pressing his lips to yours, reaching down to unbuckled his belt. “Then make me a dad.”
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Namjoon (ft. Nanami from jjk):
Nanami Kento was the living embodiment of a gentleman. The guy you’d bring home to your parents. The guy you’d imagine living the rest of your life with. The guy to buy you a house in the suburbs with a white picket fence. The guy who’d listen to your rants about work drama, or friend drama, or family drama, any drama really.
He was perfect.
And he reminded you entirely of your boyfriend, Namjoon. The man you could always rely on, the only one who you’d brought home to your parents, the man who forwarded you real estate listings every weekend as he’d sweet talk you with the plans he had for your future together.
He was perfect.
And you needed to see Namjoon in a Nanami cosplay.
“Please, baby, pleaseeeee.” You gave him the best puppy dog eyes that you possibly could. “Please, please, please, please! I’ll do anything for you if you do this for me!” You had your hands pressed together as you begged in front of him.
He had just gotten out of the shower after a hard day of dance practice, and with just a towel covering his bottom half, he was bombarded with you and the outfit spread out on the bed.
“Please, please, please! If you do this for me, I’ll even put that lingerie set that you got me as a gag gift, just please, try it on.” You grabbed his hand, pulling him from the ensuite door, closer to the bed. He had to hold onto his towel with the other hand to prevent it from falling from how hard you were pulling him. You’d, in the time it took him to shower, spread out an off-white suit, a blue dress shirt, a set of brown suspenders, and a yellow tie with brown animal-esque spots out for him.
“Love, I do not want to get into a suit right now. I just showered.” His hair was dripping onto the clothes as he looked down at them.
“Baby! Please! It won’t be for long, I swear! I’ll get you out of it as quickly as I get you into it, promise!”
Namjoon raised an eyebrow at your words, a smug smile shining down at you. “Oh~ I see how it is. Me in this outfit, you in that skimpy lingerie—you seem to have a very precise idea in mind of how you want this to go, hmm?”
You couldn’t help the embarrassment from washing over you. You punched his shoulder lightly with a whine, before wrapping your arms around his muscular bicep, pulling yourself into his side. You pressed your cheek against his cool, damp skin as a way to hide your shame. You could feel him chuckling at just how quickly he’d seen through you.
“I wasn’t thinking of only that… I also wanted to take some pics of you in the cosplay ‘cause I thought you’d look cool in it…”
“Fucking liar,” he laughed more heartedly at your piss poor attempt of saving yourself from further humiliation.
“I swear!” you defended yourself, looking up to see his dimples smiling down at you, eyes filled with love. Your heart stopped for a second looking at the handsome man. Did you need to see him in a Nanami cosplay to have some fun? Cause right now, looking at his sparkling eyes and wide smile, you didn’t think you’d be able to give him the chance to put on the outfit before you jumped at him.
He raised a questioning eyebrow at your sudden stillness. “Not gonna beg me to indulge in your fantasies anymore?”
You shook your head before pressing your cheek back into his bicep, only for him to pull him into his chest instead. He was looking down at you with that look again. The look that reminded you of how this was the only mad you’d ever consider marrying.
“I think,” he said, swinging you around his arms a bit teasingly as he continued to look down at you with his wet hair, and glossy skin, “that I could put on this outfit despite how tired I am if you stay true to your promise of that lingerie. Think you can do it?”
You thanked God everyday for blessing you with a man who indulged you as much as Namjoon did.
“A-huh,” you replied, breathless.
“Okay, then get to it.” He gave his head a shake, causing the water from his hair to rain down onto you, making you giggle, the tension easing. “You get as long as it takes me to put on this cosplay to figure out that set of straps that they called lingerie before I come to get you myself, okay?”
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Jimin (ft. Alhaitham from genshin):
“Turn it off.”
“No.”
“Turn it off.”
“No.”
“Turn it off, please?”
“No, thanks.”
“Oh, come on!” He threw his arms up before throwing himself face first onto the bed. He whined into the duvet convulsing around before rolling onto his back when you didn’t come over to him to soothe him.
“You hate me,” he said, looking at the ceiling.
“Nope.”
“You do, I know you do.”
“Nope, I do not.”
“You do, otherwise you wouldn’t be playing that stupid, partner-stealing man’s story quest.”
“Nope, it just means I like the character.”
“It means you hate me.” He shuffled up to sit beside you at the headrest of the bed. Letting his head fall onto your shoulder as he watched Alhaitham’s inexpressive face on the phone screen. Stupid, stupid man.
“Just admit it, you hate me. We might as well break up since you like this guy more than me.”
“Literally when did I say that?” you sighed, trying your best to pay attention to the plot of the quest as Jimin continued interrupting you.
“Just now.”
“When?”
“When you just said it.”
“I actually didn’t say anything, Jimin.”
“You said it in your mind and I could tell.”
“Jimin.” You turned to look at him. He was still glaring at Alhaitham. “You’re always doing too much.”
“Just admit you want to break up.” He weaseled his way from your shoulder into your lap, his head right under where you held your phone, looking up at you with fake teary eyes.
“Baby, it’s a video game.”
“It’s a declaration that you hate me and that you want to break up.”
“Jimin, if you keep saying that, I might actually think this is your way of breaking up with me.” You went back to tapping at your phone and trying your best to recount what you were meant to do next.
“I would never!” Jimin defended, burying his face into your stomach.
You relented to his whining, bringing one hand down to run through the hair on the back of his head. 
He was picking at the side stitches of your shirt absentmindedly though he was still buried face first into your stomach.
You felt him mumble something into your stomach. “Hmm?”
He looked up at you, repeating what he’d said, “I’m gonna delete your account if you don’t pay attention to me now.”
“Jimin!” You turned off your phone, trying to push him away from you only for him to hold onto you tighter, resuming his position against your stomach. “I’ve spent years on that, you can’t just delete it!”
He’d followed through on these sorts of threats before, so you knew he was not just joking when he said this. “I don’t care, I’ll delete it if it gets between you and me.”
He’d deleted contacts of friends, peers, and coworkers from your phone before, but you never thought his jealousy would extend to video game personas.
“Jimin,” you stressed. “He’s just a bunch of pixels on a screen.”
“And those unfeeling pixels are stealing your attention from me.” He looked up at you with a pout that would be cute if he wasn’t being completely disagreeable once again.
“I literally spent the whole week with you, didn’t open genshin once, why can’t I just play for a few hours now? Besides, aren’t you supposed to be at work right now anyway?”
“Can’t go when my spouse is threatening to leave me.” He was kicking his feet now, clearly content with how his threats had worked. Your phone was off now and you were looking at him, speaking with him.
“Goodness, Jimin. I really don’t know what to do with you.”
“You could kiss me for a start.”
“Not after how much you’ve annoyed me today.”
“So you are breaking up with me? For a stupid fictional scholar? A scribe?”
“You know an awful lot about the man you despise so much, why is that?”
“He’s trying to steal you away from me. Successfully stealing you away from me. God forbid I did some research on the man.”
“Just for that attitude, I’m not gonna give you any kisses.”
“Okay,” he straightened out in front of you, sitting between your legs. “Then I’ll give you kisses.”
He pressed a kiss to your cheek with a goofy smile. Then your forehead. Then your other cheek. Then your nose. With each kiss, another bit of your anger subsided.
“Now you kiss me.” He puffed out his cheek, bringing it in front of your face.
“You’re lucky you’re cute.” You grabbed his cheeks, and turned him to face you before giving him the proper kiss he’d been craving all afternoon.
He instantly melted into you, attempting to deepen the kiss, only for you to pull away from him.
“You only get more if you promise not to delete my account.”
He huffed. “Fineeee. I promise… for now.”
You smiled, shaking your head. “I guess that’s good enough… for now.”
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Taehyung (ft. Howl Pendragon from Howl’s Moving Castle):
“Do you prefer blond Howl or black-haired Howl?” You were lying down on the couch with Taehyung lying on top of you, his head resting on your chest as Howl’s Moving Castle playing. You had stopped rubbing his back when you asked him the question, though your eyes remained on Howl turning into green slime over his dyed orange hair.
Taehyung just grunted, half asleep. His arm reached behind him, forcing your arm to move up and down his back again before letting go when you’d resumed your previous ministrations.
“What do you think?” you asked him again.
He was practically asleep, maybe it wasn’t the best time to be asking him about the movie.
Just when you thought he had fallen asleep he replied, “Orange-haired.”
You laughed. “Be serious for a second.”
“I am.” His arms tightened around your back, pressing harder into you.
“Come on, you’re not being serious. Blond or black?”
With his voice heavy with sleep he said, “Black.”
You hummed at his answer. “Yeah, black hair is nice on him. But I liked him blond better.”
“Why?”
“Why not?”
“His actual hair colour is black. It suits him better. It’s his true self.”
You pondered. “I guess so, but I just am a sucker for his blond look. Makes him feel… I don’t know. I don’t really have an explanation, I just like it.”
Taehyung was quiet again, you turned to check if he was asleep now but instead he was looking up at you with a scowl. “Is this your way of telling me you want me to go blond again?”
You brought a hand up to cover your smile, knowing it’d only cause him to be more adamant. “No, Tae. I was just talking. People always seem to discuss which Howl version they like more. Just wanted to know what you thought.”
“Well, I think I should go blond.”
“Literally why?”
“Cause you’re thinking of some other blond man. Want you to only think of me when you think of blond.”
There he goes again. “God, Tae. Forget I said anything.”
“No no, go on about how you hate my black hair and want to see me fry my hair to be blond again.” He was now propped up over you, using his hands to keep him hovering over you. All his sleep whisked away due to the arising fight.
“I wasn’t trying to imply anything, Tae. I love you how you are, I love your black hair.”
“Doesn’t seem like it.”
You were getting angry. Over the past few weeks he was getting more and more accusatory. Accusing you of not loving him. Of wanting to change him. Of having ‘wandering eyes.”
You were tired.
You didn’t even want to defend yourself at this point.
“Come on, say it.”
You closed your eyes, biting at your cheek as you tried to control your frustration. The last thing you want to do is give into his taunts and turn this into a full-on verbal fight. 
You opened your eyes, bringing your hands to the nape of his neck, trying to pull him back into your chest. “Baby, let’s just watch the movie.”
Tae allowed you to play with his hair as he considered whether to drop the topic. With the way you were caressing him, he really wanted to, but the nagging voice in the back of his head urged him to continue.
You watched him analyze your face for a minute or two. And you did the same for him, counting the beauty marks scattered across his beautiful face. His black hair falling into his eyes as he held himself above you. It was hard to believe that this angelic man was the one who would make day-to-day life so difficult at times.
“Can we?” you asked. You brushed his hair back from his eyes, holding his bangs back for a second before letting them fall back to their place.
His eyes flitted between yours, debating. Then he gave in, falling into your arms once again. “Fine. But I choose the next movie, and I’m gonna make sure there are no pretty blonds in it.”
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Jungkook (ft. Gojo Satoru from jjk):
“Nah, I’d win!” Jungkook yelled, running away from you, ducking from the pillows you’d throw after him.
“Stop it!” You picked up the fallen pillow before resuming your chase.
“Nah, I’d win! And then—” he traced a line across his neck with a wide smile, before throwing his head to the side, tongue sticking out.
“JUNGKOOK! Stop it!” You threw the pillow at him again, but Jungkook easily dodged it, running into the kitchen.
He giggled loudly as you chased him around the kitchen island, stopping when you stopped to catch your breath but then giving you another taunt to make you chase after him again.
“What happened to your big strong boyfriend, huh? Couldn’t keep up with Sukuna now could he?” He asked with a wide toothy smile.
“Jungkook!” You called the name through your snarling teeth.
“What did you say again?” He put on the most atrocious imitation of your voice humanly possible and said, “He’s Gojo Satoru! He’s the strongest sorcerer alive! He’ll beat Sukuna easy!”
“Jungkook, I’m gonna kill you!” 
“Oh, like Sukuna killed your little sassy boyfriend?”
You threw the pillow at him again, only for it to hit the Gojo figurine you had placed on your side table. You both watched it tumble onto the ground.
It was still in one piece, but seeing it on the ground made your anger flare up even further. 
“Jungkook,” you sneered, turning to look at his frightened face.
He had his hands up in defeat. “I didn’t hit it, you did.”
“Jungkook,” you bit out the word, stalking towards him.
“Hey, baby, it’s fine! Look, it’s fine.” He picked up the figurine, and to be fair, it was fine. But your anger didn’t care about that now. Your anime/manga boyfriend was dead, and your actual boyfriend was being a dick about how upset you were over it.
You had picked up the pillow again, walking towards him slowly, and as you pulled your arm back to hurl it at him again with a scream, he sped off for your bedroom.
“Y/n! I’m sorry!” He didn’t seem all that sorry considering he was back to giggling again like a child as you ran after him. He jumped around couches and tables before slamming the door closed before you could follow him into the bedroom.
“Open the door!” You slapped your hand at the door a couple of times, jiggled the doorknob only to find it locked. “Jungkook, let me in!”
“Nope!” He popped the p sound, giggling behind the door. “You gonna kill your real boyfriend just cause the inferior, fictional one died?”
He was honestly very happy that Gojo had died. He was tired of not being the only golden man in your eyes anymore. Jungkook was the one who was good at everything that he did, not that dumbass anime man. And he had proved it, didn’t he. Inadvertently. After all, Gojo was dead, so he wasn’t perfect now. 
Jungkook was full of glee.
“Jungkook, if you don’t come out right now, I’m gonna rip your collectible posters.”
He just giggled again. He could imagine your angry frown perfectly. How you probably wanted to destroy all his anime memorabilia as revenge for how he made fun of Gojo’s death. But he knew you were all bark and no bite.
“No, I’m not opening it.”
“Open it.”
“Hmmm,” he pretended to think out loud. Then: “nope!”
“Jungkook, you’re gonna have to come out eventually, and when you do, I’m gonna be waiting right here for you.”
Jungkook laughed, but when three hours had passed and you remained in front of the door, periodically knocking and asking to be let in, he didn’t find it as funny anymore. Well, it was still a little funny, but also it was a bit scary how your anger wasn’t subsiding.
Jungkook listened to the doorknob rattle from the bed, but didn’t bother opening his eyes. It was locked, you couldn’t get in.
So then could someone explain why the door was swinging open and you were suddenly set on top of his supine position. Your eyes red with both anger and sadness, your scowl set deep.
“Hey, Y/n,” he said sweetly.
“Hi, Jungkook. Wanna repeat what you said earlier?” Your hands were pressed against his pecs, face leaning in closer to him with each second.
“I don’t think I should,” he said with an eased smile. His arms were crossed behind his head, as if he didn’t have his angry spouse sitting on top of him at the moment.
“Not gonna gloat that Gojo’s dead?”
He laughed, jostling you around with each breath. “Don’t need to. You already know,” he said with a smirk.
You took your pillow from beside his head and smacked him upside the head with it. The soft downy fluff only made Jungkook erupt into giggles once again, his hands coming up to try (and failing) to prevent subsequent hits. He only laughed louder and louder, until he had wrapped his hands around your torso and tugged you into him.
You continued to struggle against him. “Let me go!”
“Nope!” He pressed kisses all over your face between giggles. Laughing at your half-hearted slaps at his triceps and forearms. “Can’t let you go when I’m so happy to have my partner all to myself again. Fuck that Gojo guy.”
You stopped struggling, exhausted from chasing him around and making a lockpick to get into the bedroom. “You’re so mean,” you whined. “Remember you used to like him too. You said he reminded you of yourself.”
He pressed a kiss to your head. “Not since he made me second place with my own spouse.” He turned you to look at him, giving you a smile before kissing you sweetly.
You returned the kiss before breaking it. You pressed your temple against his pecs, snuggling up into his arms. “So fucking extra.”
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As you can probably tell, I'm still salty about some things lol.
70 notes · View notes
sanospet · 3 days
Text
✩ CHASE ✩
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𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 - yandere!𝘚𝘏𝘐𝘎𝘈𝘙𝘈𝘒𝘐 𝘛𝘖𝘔𝘜𝘙𝘈 𝘟 𝘙𝘌𝘈𝘋𝘌𝘙
𝘲𝘶𝘰𝘵𝘦 : his words were sharp, jagged, barbed, piercing into your misshapenly taped together soul, something you’d worked so hard to mend and heal during your time alone, yet it shattered all too easily once more, it’s dust slipping through your fingers.
“i’m the only one you’ve got left,” he prodded, “and you need me.”
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warnings and notes!
stalker tomura . literal chasing lol . toxic relationship . quirkless au . usage of pet names (“kid) . reader has relationship trauma . isolated reader . tomura being really mean . dacryphilia is you squint REALLY hard, lol . naïve (kinda) reader . short argument . gender neutral reader . readers pronouns/sex/gender aren’t mentioned . proofread but there still may be some spelling mistakes, enjoy <33
authors note:
is this mayhaps also inspired by “chxse - whatsaheart” … yes, also by “if it ain’t me - whatsaheart” but only slightly, i wanna make a dedicated fic for that song, lol. sorry, his music has got a chokehold on me rn and it inspires so many tomura fics…i have so many concepts in my drafts right now, you have nooo idea, lol. anyway, this is kinda a similar tomura to my “kryptonite” fic, except he’s quirkless here, that’s all, lol. there may be an influx of tomura fics because i am in love with that man beyond belief so ummm…yeah, hope you enjoy the fic though, thanks for reading, and happy prideeeee!!! mwuah <33
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a heavy layer of mist hung in place of the clouds, the moonlight failing to pierce through it, wind unwelcoming and cold against your warm skin.
yet a light golden glow of comfort nestled in your chest as the night replayed in your fuzzy mind.
the soft laughter that flowed through the bar you’d spent countless hours at, time gliding by as you met up with some new friends, sharing stories and jokes over drinks. the relentless need to glance over your shoulder dissipating throughout the night, finally allowing yourself to unwind, relax and have fun.
the melody flowing through your headphones kept you in high spirits, a gentle, tired smile stretching across your lips as you walked home.
though, as you continued on, despite your mind pleading for you to stop overthinking, your gut told you otherwise, that strong urge to have a peek behind you as unease settled in, took over, and you did.
neck snapping sharply in the direction, you came to a halt, fingers lowering the volume of your music with a click click click, taking a headphone out just to be sure.
the street was docile, deserted, filled with nothing but the quiet whirring of the tall street lamps lazily illuminating the parked cars and cracked pavement.
a shaky breath slipped past your lips as your eyes finished scanning your surroundings at a rapid pace, lingering just beyond the horizon before finally turning to continue on.
nothing was there, yet the suspicion remained, regardless of how silly your mind made you feel for it.
hands clenched into tight fists, balled at your sides, your heartbeat rose and you couldn’t shake the feeling of a pair of eyes…a sharp, venomous gaze searing through you.
a feeling you knew all too well, you were sure of it.
hot, acidic bile threatened to climb up, core burning as you could almost…hear them.
the footsteps trailing behind you, and your confirmation was in them growing heavier and heavier as they neared.
willing yourself to gain speed, your adrenaline filled body was forced into motion, gazing back for just a moment to reveal a shadowy figure that was hot on your hills, your body moving into a sprint as a result.
the wind almost cut your skin as you ran against it, the sudden gasp you let in setting a fire in your lungs, mind frantically searching for the best solution on how to lose them, going home now out of the question.
your legs gained a mind of their own as they pulled you forward with each lunge they took, earning you enough distance from the person to evade them with your next turn.
it was a tight space, an alleyway sandwiched between two tall buildings,
running down it slightly, soon coming to a stop, wind being knocked out of you at the sight before you, your heart sank to the depths of your stomach as the tall, looming wall came into view.
a deadend.
body tense as the haunting presence made itself known, the harsh footsteps that trailed behind you coming to a stop, boots scraping against the asphalt.
quieting your shaky exhale as much as you could, “what do you want, tomura ?” your voice was as stern as you could currently manage with the raging anxiety that currently encompassed your being, slight trembles pushing through the crevices.
tomura noticed, though he paid it no mind, hands placed lazily in his pockets, demeanour relaxed as he replied, “ahh, and here i thought you’d forgotten about me,” your stomach churned at the sound of his voice, having not heard it in so long, a flurry of horrible memories saturated your mind as he continued, sarcasm laced thickly in the words he spoke, “ignoring my calls and texts like im just some random guy,” scoffing, “im wounded, truly.”
the intense fear you’d been engulfed by began to slowly be poisoned by sheer annoyance at the man’s audacious attitude, shifting on your feet to finally meet his searing crimson gaze.
breath hitching, heart clenching, stomach dropping, that sense of fear threatened to consume you once more, yet you pushed on as best as you could, “we broke up, tomura.”
the statement was bland, harsh, tainted with frustration and it was met with a soft laugh, barely audible, a gentle exhale through his nose.
“you broke up with me,” a slight shake of his head, “i never agreed to it, nor did i accept it,” he corrected taking a few steps closer, you retreated in turn, back soon meeting the wall, him, catching up to you as he continued.
“i gave you time, didn’t i ?” his fluffy white hair had grown much longer since the last time you’d seen him, falling to the side as he tilted his head in question, slight mockery tainting his words, “gave you enough space to figure out your thoughts ?” his hand moved to cup your wine flushed cheek, thumbing gently against it, eyes softening as they stared down into the pretty ones he missed so much, “so let’s go home, yeah ?”
your gaze remained harsh, defensive, “i’m not going anywhere with you, tomura.”
the bite in your words earned the quirk in tomura’s brow, hand dropping down to his side in disgust at your refusal, the warmth the alcohol brought you long gone by now, the unforgiving air nipping at your cheeks.
“yeah ?” he questioned, tone growing slightly hostile, “and what’s here for you, hm ?”
brows furrowing at the question, irritation seeped through your tone as you vented, “i’m building a life h—“
yet his voice cut yours short, “your friends ? your family ? they’re all gone, no ?” rhetorical questions soaked in venom as he spoke, “left you all alone for me to pick up the pieces that is you, to take care of you when you couldn’t do so yourself, right ?” he continued on, warning, “it’ll happen again,_____, you know that. when you’re the problem, they’ll all leave in the end.”
his words were sharp, jagged, barbed, piercing into your misshapenly taped together soul, something you’d worked so hard to mend and heal during your time alone, yet it shattered all too easily once more, it’s dust slipping through your fingers.
“i’m the only one you’ve got left,” he prodded, “and you need me.”
taking in a sharp intake of breath, your heart clenched, eyes stinging, “you’re the problem, tomura…” sighing, “you m-manipulated me, gaslighted me…for years…it’s all on you.” volume growing weaker as you strung the words together, slight cracks slipping through as your eyes welled.
“i see your new friends have taught you some big words, kid, but those are some bold accusations to throw at the person who saved you from yourself,” face scrunched at the comment, octave dropping “you owe me.”
shaking your head at the words, tomura watched as your tense muscles relaxed slightly, the threatening tears in your eyes spilling over with loss, body slumping in defeat and he moved to swipe them away.
“apologise.” he whispered, voice gentle enough to break your will completely, and your body rocked in his grip as you sobbed into his chest, feeling your strength draining, physically and emotionally upon contact, his hand raking through your hair in comfort as the words spilled out.
“i-im sorry,” you stuttered through choked whimpers, it was automatic, a trained part of you jumping out suddenly to satisfy the command.
tomura hummed in response and you continued, “f-for leaving you…for c-calling you such things…” soft pleads slipped past your lips, the part you’d buried so deep within yourself rearing its head again, “p-please, i just…” the fear of angering tomura had you trailing off, but you pushed to continue, “…i don’t want it to be like before,” you spoke in one breath and your heartbeat quickened as tomura pulled away, lifting your chin to meet his gaze.
“it won’t be,” he promised, eyes as gentle as his voice, and though you knew it was a lie, a flowery bouquet of bait that would die out soon, never to be replaced, you accepted them wholeheartedly. your current crave for his touch propelled your ignorance to the lie, your desire for tomura’s approval, for tomura’s praise, for tomura’s satisfaction at the hands of you.
“you’ll be fine, kid.” he continued, eyes shifting to your lips as he neared you, meeting in a harsh kiss full of emotion, muscles relaxing at the contact. his hands found your waist, pulling you in, your own lacing in his lengthy hair as your lips moved, both wishing you could get even closer, give each other more of yourselves.
parting, you remained close as you let out a melody of pants together before he spoke up, “show me to your new place, then, yeah ? we’ll have you moved out by morning.”
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hotmessmaxpress · 2 days
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in your onlyfans!au do you think vale and marc do some only fans content together? trying to make sure that that nobody can recognize vale of course. i was thinking some of these pov videos (like vale holding the camera while marc's giving him head only showing marc's face and his own dick).
Here, have Rosquez OnlyFans AU, part 10 🤍
I don't think they'd ever post anything, because Vale already fucked up once in terms of keeping his identity secret (lol clown). I also think that Marc sort of slows down the onlyfans content (and eventually stops) soon after he and Vale meet irl.
However they do film a lot. They take a lot of videos. If they wanted to sell their sex tapes, they'd make a fortune and they'd have enough to basically start their own streaming service.
When Marc moves in with Vale, he brings some of his filming equipment.
"Is this all of it?" Vale asks, looking incredulously and the massive pile of cameras, lights, and microphones. There are a few black zippered cases that he assumes must hold various sex toys.
Marc shakes his head.
"About half," he says, ignoring the stunned look on Vale's face. "I left some back home so I don't have to take it with me when I go back and forth."
They're still ironing out their schedule-- Marc refuses to fully move out of the house he shares with Alex, so he's splitting himself between Vale's and Alex's. He plans to stay with Alex when Vale is racing and traveling, and stay with Vale when he's home.
Vale reaches for one of the cameras with a raised eyebrow. Marc grins and takes the camera from Vale. He grabs a long black leather case containing a tripod and hands it to Vale. He also picks up a ring light and one of the microphones that matches the camera Vale selected. 
He gestures for Vale to follow him, and he sets off toward the bedroom. 
Vale follows obediently, and Marc focuses on the feeling of his heart picking up and his cock taking interest. Filming for onlyfans has never been a chore to him; he genuinely enjoys every time, but in the weeks between Vale ghosting him and then meeting him, it was just a little bit less fun. There was an element of loss every time he posted a video knowing it wouldn’t be seen by Vale.
Now, though, he’s focused on filming for an entirely different reason. He won’t even consider posting it, but there’s nothing preventing him from making Vale his own little collection to use while he’s travelling. 
He sets the ring light up first, then sets the camera on the bed and takes the tripod from Vale. He’s pleased to see the front of Vale’s pants tight across his bulge, and he can’t help his satisfied grin as he turns to set up the tripod. 
It doesn’t take him long to set things up in a way that he’s happy with; he’s done this so many times in much more difficult settings than a bed. 
When he finishes, he turns to find Vale gripping his cock through his pants. The older man looks painfully horny, and Marc is proud of him for waiting so patiently. 
He rewards him with a deep kiss, pressing himself against Vale’s front. Vale groans into the kiss, letting go of himself in favor of wrapping his hands around Marc’s waist. 
Marc loses himself in the feeling of kissing Valentino for a moment. Vale is the perfect height to make Marc stretch up, and the taste of his mouth makes him want to drop to his knees. 
“What are you doing with your camera, hm?” Vale asks, when he finally drags his mouth away from Marc’s. 
“You’re going to fuck me,” Marc instructs happily, taking on the role of director. “On the bed. We’re going to record it and you can watch it before your next race.”
Vale groans against Marc’s neck. 
“Okay?” Marc asks, before he turns the camera on. Vale nods, and Marc turns the camera on and hits record. He double checks that it’s recording, then guides Vale onto the bed. Vale lets him take charge, and Marc kisses Vale slowly before stripping them both of their shirts. He plants himself in Vale’s lap, rocking his hips sensually against Vale’s. Vale grips his hips tightly, and Marc can’t help but grin at how riled up the older man is. 
“You like this, don’t you?” Marc purrs in his ear. “Knowing that we’re being watched.”
Vale’s eyes flicker to the camera, and Marc grabs his chin to turn his face back to his. 
“Don’t look at it, look at me.”
He rocks his hips in Vale’s lap again, pressing a kiss to his neck, before he scoots back and strips himself of the rest of his clothes. He pumps his cock a few times just to see the way Vale’s neck convulses as he swallows thickly. 
Then he tugs at Vale’s trousers, pulling them off to fully undress his partner. Vale lets his head fall back, and Marc takes the opportunity to lean down and suck and Vale’s balls. 
Vale lets out a strangled noise, and Marc fights a smile as he wraps a hand around the older man’s cock and lavishes attention on his balls. 
Marc isn’t prepped, and for a minute he admonishes himself for the amateur mistake of starting a recording with no prep and without the supplies close by. He reminds himself gently that this isn’t to publish, though, this is for Valentino. 
He presses a kiss to the head of Valentino’s cock, but otherwise doesn’t put his mouth on it. He sees the hungry look in Vale’s eyes, and he can’t stop smiling. His grin is clearly infectious, because he sees a hint of a smile on Vale’s face. 
Marc shuffles over to the nightstand, rifling around for the lube. He considers doing it himself, quick and dirty, but ultimately this is just for enjoyment. It doesn’t have to be perfect. 
Vale makes the decision for him, sitting up to kiss him and slip the bottle of lube from his fingers. He manhandles Marc into the center of the bed, and rolls him onto his back with a pillow beneath his hips. It’s a small but sweet gesture just to give Marc a little extra comfort as Vale sets to work stretching his hole. Marc tugs Vale a little off to the side, hoping that the camera will catch the slide of Vale’s fingers inside him. 
He moans as Vale’s long fingers finally press against his prostate, and Vale takes that for the encouragement it is. It doesn’t take long to stretch him, but Vale punishes his prostate a bit longer until Marc is squirming against the sheets. 
“Vale, please,” Marc pleads. “I need you.”
Vale sucks a possessive mark on the column of his throat, then presses the head of his cock inside Marc. 
Marc groans at the intrusion, fingers never quite comparing to the feeling of a thick cock moving inside. He rocks his hips up, and Vale presses in until he’s flush against Marc’s body. 
“Please,” Marc begs again, and Vale sits up to begin pounding into Marc. It’s a blur from there; Marc forgets about the camera as his thoughts become consumed by Vale and the feeling of his cock moving inside him. All he feels is Vale, above, around, inside him. 
He knows he’s making noise, and he can feel Vale huffing and grunting. Marc pulls Vale down for a sloppy, open mouthed kiss. He keeps his mouth open, pleading with his eyes for Vale to sense what he wants. Vale, ever on the same wavelength, grins before spitting forcefully into Marc’s mouth. Marc whines, tasting Vale on his tongue, and feels his balls tighten. 
“Vale, I’m–” 
Vale bites Marc’s lip then slips a hand between them to pump Marc’s neglected cock. It only takes a few jerks before Marc is arching off the bed, crying out as he cums. He cums up to his chin, vision whiting out for a moment. He’s vaguely aware of Vale grunting and his hips stuttering as he fills Marc with his own cum. 
They linger like that for a few long moments, Vale still inside of him, before Vale collapses next to him. Marc is quickly disgusted by the feeling of cum coating his body, and he knows he’ll have to shower, but he focuses on breathing for a bit. 
“I love you,” he says sweetly. 
Vale leans up on an elbow to kiss him gently. “I love you too.”
Marc eventually gets up to turn the camera off before it fills his storage, and then they take some time to shower together, wasting entirely too much water. Marc idly hopes they’ll have to shower again later, because he knows round two will come when they rewatch what they just filmed.
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Ok, I just caught up on last week's episode yesterday, after a busy week with both a guest and some mild food poisoning, so I am going to take my time and enjoy today's episode, because I deserve this dammit!
Lol, I was thinking sleeping together was a bold choice in a room full of people, and how they must not care if anyone knows...
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Guess Peem lucked out to wake up first. Silly boy.
Haha, Peem is such a little doof, and I relate. I make faces like that when I'm alone too.
Kluen, sweetie, I don't think you're evil, but you do need to learn to pick up on vibes.
God I love Phuwin's physical comedic acting.
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Ok, Kluen does get points for communication.
And Peem, dude, you're just leading Kluen on by pretending you don't like Phum. Give the guy a break.
Arg, nevermind, Kluen backed out of being clear too! These boys!
My heart, these little moments when Fang's sheer delight in Tan slips through.
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Also adoring Fang being happy about his brother's crush.
Gaaaah, the chemistry between these two.
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I love that they are explicitly making fun of the jealous boyfriend trope here.
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If I have time, I really want to do a write-up of all the ways this show is gently making fun of or subverting so many traditional BL tropes, all while utilizing the most traditional of BL formats (ie university).
Poor Q, they really need to stop jerking him around. He's trying to do what Toey said!
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Ok, I still think this plan was unnecessary, but it may be worth it for this shot alone.
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Q really must be in love, because I'm not sure I would be that immediately forgiving.
Finally!!!
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Phum & Peem are the couple I desperately need to make out, these two are the ones where Q just smiling at Toey makes me all happy.
Ok, good, Q is mad, just at his friends. Makes sense to me!
Phum, nooooo. Bringing up the slave contract was the exact wrong way to handle this!
Oh, but the way this show takes every relationship bump and directly spins it into a friendship support moment is just golden.
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Beer once again being the episode's secret MVP.
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Can we please have a Papang cameo where he shows up to date Beer? Our boy needs some smooches.
Totally normal about this hand placement.
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Omg, and Chain lifting him in the water, I'm dead, just dead.
Coming out of a My Engineer rewatch, where the jealousy was just at an absolutely insane degree, can we take a moment to appreciate the evolution of the seme in these stories?
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This is so healthy and mature, I adore it!!!
Oh god, though, the way Phum was surprised his apology was just accepted... this says a lot about his past experiences. Do we think it's his dad who's unforgiving?
Haha, Peem, "don't know" if you like him my ass.
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Omg, Phum's smile, Peem's slip has given him life.
Haha, and then the roses!
And the painting! Oh, this is just perfect.
OMG FINALLY!!!
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fictionfixations · 2 days
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honestly so happy that its easier to grind in hsr then genshin cause im actually able to properly build my characters instead of whatever mess i had in that game (i got the right artifacts but trying to get materials for anything was a bit of a pain to me)
also that the resin (i dont know what its called in this game im using genshin terms) can like. overflow into this other thing??? is. so helpful. (i stopped playing at one point so i just came back to both being full. and then when i realized what it actually did it was a godsend because it made it so much easier to fully commit to grinding. i know in genshin you can make the resin this little thing? condensed?? but thats a thing you have to do yourself i think)
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all im missing is leveling up the lightcones and traces
and im only missing the traces because i already used up weekly bosses. THATS IT.
robin and ratio have the same boss material so all i have to do then is get the other resources which isnt actually that hard (ill only have an issue if i cant material synthesis or exchange or whatever since i need to do it for the robin stuff that you get from enemies that can ambush you, i dont know what you refer to them as, but cause i havent unlocked penacony yet lol)
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and the only lightcones that might give me issue is because highlighted is penacony material stuff
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(yes i put final victor on ratio LMFAO)
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so YEAHH i feel like im doing pretty good in that department. also ive caught up to penaconys story i just havent started in-game because i wanted to see where it all leads up to and then go back to see all the foreshadowing and get a better understanding of what happened since it also confused me, so im waiting for a time i can just sit there for countless hours and focus. i even switched to eng vas so i dont end up misreading something
(anyway i only got to trying to max out my characters as much as i can until i can level them higher because before i got stuck on so many quests that required a fight 😭, yanqing, argenti, i hate battling you oh my god)
actually on that topic everyones relics arent fully maxed out.
ive only been leveling this cause 5 star dan heng is my main damage dealer
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and the healer because im fucked without them (its natasha, but im open to changing it if i find a better healer or shield 🙏)
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on that topic:
i returned to honkai star rail because aventurine. i focused on the story because aventurine. (got spoiled his story, realized 'what the fuck hes cool i like him' and watched someone go through the story) i came back in time for his banner but you know what? i had like zero wishing stuff because id stopped playing so i missed out unfortunately
i have friends who have aventurine as like one of the support characteres thingy tho? like the the where you can get support from other peoples characters
so thats been fun. but also auto is kind of bad with aventurine. or maybe because it thinks 'oh theres already a shield, so i wont e' which is pain. on the other hand actually playing instead of having it on auto is fun with aventurine. i like planning around it and thinking of who to have use their skills while keeping in mind when i should have him refresh his shield. i cant explain to you how it hurts seeing hp missing with a shield around it because i cant do anything about it (im the type of person who likes to keep my characters hp full ngl)
probably not the best decision to want shield over a healer but. i can make it work. maybe. i just want aventurine ok. (except for phantylia who as far as im aware is the only one who can just TAKE hp like that? without even affecting shields???)
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crazysodomite · 13 hours
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older lgbt art and writing is so refreshing because it's just. honest, fun, filled with love for other people in the community... some of this art was made during the toughest times for lgbt people and they still found love and support for each other.
people on social media are so needlessly cruel and mean spirited. its like the only thing people care about is how to let everyone know what they hate and what annoys them about other people and everyone just wants to find the meanest cruelest thing to say so they look like the Coolest Radicalest person in the room unlike those Cringe Lamers :/// its so fucking exhausting. as a person who has no community irl and lives in a place where lgbt people have no rights its so fucking exhausting to see how people in western countries do nothing all day other than talk about how much they hate other people who frankly did nothing wrong other than be mildly annoying (in their own subjective opinion).
people online get off to making others feel bad about themselves.
in my country being lgbt can end up with you being slammed face first into the floor by cops in full riot gear and going to prison afterwards. but full grown adults should talk more how obnoxious they find trans furries or whatever the fuck the "cool thing to shit on and find annoying of the week" is. i dont feel safe talking about anything online. and i don't. there's no community online or offline. just. constant immature bullshit.
i dont really want to tie this into something specific. just the general pattern. people follow 'trends' because they want to interact and be in community with other people. not everyone is trying to be Cool and Not Cringy by being irony poisoned and nihilistic or cruel 😐not everyone is pursuing the goal of being cool and better than everybody else. the constant fucking neverending stream of "xyz is so annoying" "omg finally someone said it i hate them too 😂" "theyre so embarrassing and make me feel homophobic/transphobic😂" (real funny joke btw) is so exhausting.
i really am just tapped out of social media. people (especially in western countries) act like lgbt oppression is basically no longer a thing because in Some countries there are Some lgbt rights. even though even in most 'progressive' countries those rights are constantly under attack. even though lgbt people still are being killed all around the world. people talk about being radical and yet they will not step up when someone experiences oppression because they were 'annoying'. lol. because they are constrained by their own embarrassment and cruelty.
whatever. i consider it quite pointless for me to say anything about this so i usually don't. because nothing i say will change anyones mind or behavior so im just speaking into the void.
i am happy when lgbt people are expressing themselves and idgaf if it's annoying or uncool. because im a fucking adult person living in a place where you cant even go outside as an lgbt person. 😐 social media is not safe and no one is to be trusted.
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milkywaygalaxygurl · 14 hours
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In Another Life - Finnick Odair
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oh lord i did not mean for this fic to end so sadly and turn out so angsty, but i simply don’t think they’d ever truly get a truly happy ending in this situation no matter how much i wish they could:’) i really hope y’all like this
Pairing: Finnick Odair x Female!Reader
Warnings: finnick is possibly ooc?, talk of sexual trauma, talk of finnick’s past, y/n also has a bad past, probably cursing, so much angst and there is not a happy ending
Word Count: 2.37k
Description: (i suck at descriptions i’m sorry if this sucks lol) Finnick meets Y/N and thinks she’ll be just like everyone else, vying to get her hands on him and use him just like all the others. So, he puts on his ever charming smile and flirtatious personality. Y/N isn’t into his advances and walks away. They eventually discover that they’re more similar than they think, forming a friendship and eventually falling in love.
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Being a young girl from the Capitol, you were no stranger to the evil that lived within the rooms of fancy homes and danced at extravagant parties. You weren’t clueless about the hands that never seemed to know boundaries, about the voices that spoke far too loudly and confidently about vile things. You had always seen it, always known about it. It wasn’t until the age of 14 when you became acutely aware of it. It was a memory you didn’t like to dwell on, but it did haunt you.
Finnick was a stranger to these “secrets” that lived within the Capitol walls before he won his games. He naively believed that all burdens, all hardships, were left behind the moment he left the districts and won his games. It wasn’t until the first time it happened that he realized he was wrong. In that moment, Finnick promised himself that he’d never be so naive again. He learned to realize who wanted to use him, taught himself to plaster on a fake smile and offer himself up on a silver platter because it made him feel as if he had some semblance of a choice about the things being done to him.
You didn’t meet Finnick until you were nearly 20 years old. By then you had learned to spot the eyes that seemed to linger for too long and hands that were eager to grab. You had also learned to fight back, you didn’t care of the repercussions and the way you were ostracized because of it. You were finally untouchable, even if it was at the cost of your reputation. You were standing along the wall at yet another fancy dinner party, one your parents had dragged you to because “You need to at least try to salvage your reputation, Y/N!”
Finnick had stumbled out of a hallway, fixing his hair and straightening his clothes, when you first saw him. You knew of Finnick, knew of his lovers that he’d seemed to have an abundance of every single time he visited the Capitol. You didn’t mean to stare at him for so long, you truly hadn’t, but even you could admit that it was hard to look away from him. You understood why everyone called him the Capitol’s pretty boy. Your staring had caused him to notice you, to plaster on a grin as he approached where you stood.
Finnick thought you were beautiful, breathtaking even, but the second he saw the way your eyes lingered he knew you would be just like the rest of the twisted people inside this house. Maybe you were interested in getting your hands on him tonight and though you couldn’t offer any valuable secrets like the woman he left in the other room, at least you were prettier than most of the women he’d allowed to use him. He made his way to you, ready to put on the show everyone loved to watch.
“I don’t believe we’ve ever met.” His voice is sultry, his eyes raking your body. As he looks into your eyes, he feels a split second of familiarity before your expression switches to one of disgust. He can’t quite seem to place why your eyes seem familiar, maybe he had seen you before and just doesn’t remember.
“Don’t act like you weren’t staring at me from across the room, pretty girl. Don’t be shy, what’s your name?” His next sentence causes you to physically recoil from him, stepping away as you ball your hands into fists.
“My name is Y/N and I am walking away from this conversation, do not follow me.” Your voice is harsh as you step back once again, swiftly turning to escape out of the nearest exit. Finnick is taken aback as he watches you leave the party, the smile wiped off of his face as his mouth hangs open slightly.
“Don’t take it to heart, that girl is practically off limits with how vehemently she hates men. I’ve been trying for years, believe me.” An old man chuckles and claps Finnick on the shoulder, causing him to turn and look at the man. He raises an eyebrow, encouraging the man to explain further.
“Only a few people have ever gotten their hands on her, whether she was willing or not.” The man laughs heartily, in a way that only someone purely evil at heart could after saying something like that. Finnick forces himself to laugh before excusing himself from the interaction, suddenly feeling sick to his stomach.
It wasn’t until months later that Finnick saw you again. You look just as breathtaking as you did the last time, though he couldn’t help but notice the way you surveyed the room and shied away from any man in your vicinity. He suddenly understood why your eyes seemed so distinctly familiar, they held the same look as his own when he was on the lookout for people who wished to get their hands on him. For a split second, he was jealous that you had the privilege to fight back and say no.
He never had that choice, the ever present threat of what Snow would do haunting his every decision. Without realizing it, Finnick had began to walk towards you. By the time he stood in front of you, all jealousy of your privilege had dissipated. He simply was angry at the Capitol for making either of you go through these things. It takes you a second to realize he’s standing in front of you, but the second you do your body goes rigid.
Finnick is quickly spitting out a sentence before you have the chance to walk away, not wanting you to be scared of him. “I’m sorry for our last interaction, I shouldn’t have acted like that. Can we have a do-over, one where I don’t make a complete ass of myself?”
You look shocked by his apology, something that causes a harsh pain to stab through Finnick’s heart. Though he can tell your guard is still up, you seem willing to listen to him.
“My name is Finnick, it’s nice to meet you.” He holds his hand out to you, hoping with everything in him that you’d take it. You stare at him for a second before sighing, reaching out to shake his hand.
“I’m Y/N, it’s nice to meet you as well.” Your smile is timid, almost scared, as you take your hand away from his. You didn’t know what this man’s intentions were, but he seemed to be kinder than most about his evil intentions if he had any.
“I apologize again for our last interaction, I’m a little too used to everyone wanting me.” He smiles sheepishly, almost sadly, as he looks at you. Everything clicks in your head when you see that smile, suddenly understanding the boy who stands before you. Your heart aches, your stomach turning as you are forced to wonder the horrors they put him through after he won the games.
You realize suddenly that you are simply two different examples of what sexual abuse does to a person. Finnick sees it all click in your head, the way your eyes become sad with understanding and seeing the walls you built so high crumble. He’s scared for a moment that you’ll turn away again, repulsed by him.
“Would you like to go for a walk with me, Finnick?” Your voice is soft as you speak, as if you’re scared to speak too loudly and scare him away. He nods instead of answering verbally, simply holding his arm out for you to take. Other partygoers watch the exchange, whispering amongst themselves as they watch you leave with Finnick.
The walk begins with the exchange of traumas, things neither of you have ever talked about to another living soul. You both shed tears, offer words of comfort, do anything to hold each other together as you stroll along the dark streets of the Capitol. Eventually, you find yourself walking him to your home. When you’ve both settled into the couch, you suddenly take in the fact that you have never felt so safe with anyone before. Your heart leaps, your eyes welling with tears again.
Finnick notices, reaching a hand out to grab your own. You are struck with the realization that he is the only man to have touched you without the intention to hurt you, to abuse you. This only brings on more tears as you chuckle.
“These aren’t sad tears, I don’t quite understand why I’m crying.” You sniffle, giggling again as you wipe your nose with the sleeve of your dress.
“You’re the first person who’s ever treated me like a human being and it’s causing me to feel a lot of things.” You laugh again and Finnick chuckles sadly beside you, rubbing the back of your hand softly with his thumb.
“If it’s any consolation, you’re the first Capitol citizen to make me feel like I matter for more than what I can do in bed.” You both giggle, neither of you quite understanding why it is funny but laughing nonetheless. You’d learned over the years that laughing about the pain made it slightly more bearable.
“Gosh, look at us.” You guys fall into a fit of laughter again, both of you wiping away tears when you finally calm down. After a beat of silence, the conversation picks back up. You move on to lighter subjects, talking about interests and hobbies. By the time the sun is rising outside your window, you consider Finnick one of your best friends.
“I go back to District 4 today.” He says softly, watching as the sun slowly peaks over a tall building.
“I’d say I can’t wait for you to visit again but I’d feel bad saying that.” Your comment makes Finnick smile, shaking his head.
“I’ll say it then, I can’t wait to come back and visit you. Even if it means I have to play into Snow’s games, at least I’ll see you at the end of it all.” You lunge at him in that moment, holding him tightly.
“Thank you, for seeing me as a human and letting me know I’m not alone in this awful place. I wish I could help you.” You say it softly as you embrace him, trying not to cry before you finish speaking.
“You don’t have to thank me for being a decent human being, sweetheart.” His hold on you tightens, his heart fluttering in his chest.
After arranging to keep in touch through calls, he kisses your forehead and leaves to go back to his home in District 4. You spend months calling and seeing each other in person when possible, the love between you growing with every conversation and every visit. It was nearly a year now since you’d met Finnick and you could confidently say that you were in love with him. He was unlike anyone you’d ever met before, his charm and humor making it hard to not fall for him. He was so intelligent, so loving despite the horrors he’d witnessed and experienced.
Finnick had known since the first night that he was going to fall in love with you, but he had never expected it to be so deeply. You were a beautiful soul inside and out, he admired your resilience and your strength to stay true to yourself no matter the expectations the Capitol pushed on you. You never failed to amaze him with the way you carried yourself so confidently and how you fought to stay pure hearted amongst the evil that festered within the Capitol. Finnick found himself wishing even more that he could escape the clutches of Snow, to be able to be with you properly and to love you without having to continue to exploit himself for secrets.
It was a visit just like any other when you had confessed to Finnick, your hands fidgety and your face red as you told him how deeply you love every single part of him. He swore he had never felt happier in that moment, but it only lasted as long as he let himself live within the delusion that he could properly be with you.
“I love you with every single part of my being, but this just wouldn’t work. Snow would never let me be with you, he’ll never let me out of his grasp. If I’m tied down then it will be harder for me to gain secrets for him, to get some of these women to sleep with me. I want this, I want us, I really really do. It’s just not possible.” His eyes well with tears as he speaks, his voice wobbly and his hands shaking as he reaches out to hold your own.
“My dad is a high ranking official, he knows all of these people you get secrets from. What if..What if we were able to convince President Snow that you could still gather secrets without having to sleep with these women? You’d be marrying into a high ranking family, you’d have access to these people’s home and their whole lives. I would even help you. I would do anything to be with you Finnick.” You squeeze his hands, trying not to cry as you see a tear streak down his cheek.
“I don’t know, Y/N. Snow isn’t exactly the bargaining type and I don’t want him to hurt you or your family.” He looks at you sadly, his heart breaking into pieces at the thought that he may never escape and get to love you like he wants. A sob escapes your throat, the sound strangled and painful, as you accept that this will never end the way you want.
“I wish we could have met in a different time and place, as different people,” Your voice is strained, another painful noise escaping your throat as you shake with the force of it. “I think I’d fall in love with you in every lifetime, if there are others after this one.”
A sob escapes Finnick’s own throat as he pulls you into his lap, holding you tightly. “I hope there are, Y/N. I hope in at least one we get our happy ending.”
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gallawitchxx · 1 day
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weekly tag wednesday thursday <3
omg how is it wednesday thursday again already?! where has this week gone? i've basically been MIA here since the last one lol so thank you to @jrooc @creepkinginc @energievie @deedala @gardenerian
@blue-disco-lights @sgtmickeyslaughter @vintagelacerosette for the tags! i love you all! i love this place! i'm so happy we get to scream about it today!
- - - - OKAY LET'S GET INTO IT - - - -
how did you get into the fandom? i fully fell into gallavich in the spring of 2021 & starting shoving fics in my face faster than ian & mickey took their clothes off when ian went to get the gun back, mickey. then i started noticing that people were linking their tumblrs in the end notes & so i lurked suuuper hard through the summer until i finally made my own blog!
how long have you been here? almost three glorious years <3
what’s the first fandom channel you found? (Youtube, Reddit, Tumblr, Insta, Twitter, FB, other?) i suppose youtube is correct because i watched a bunch of edits that really cemented my obsession, but tumblr was the first place i interacted with fandom friends :)
what’s your favourite now? i'm a tumblrina for life!
which mutual have you known the longest in the fandom? this will always make me so fucking emotional -- my first mutual was @metalheadmickey & now i've been to their wedding *sobs forever*
which tumblerino’s did you have your first fandom crush(es) on and wanted to get to know? oooohalskfj this is a hard one! there have been so many! when i first showed up, i started collecting beloved mutuals like pokemon... but to steal from mel, there was a real HUZZAH moment around getting a message from @whatwouldmickeydo & now i'm gonna go to their wedding *continues sobbing forever*
first Gallavich fan fic you read (or that blew you away that you remember) the holy trinity of my early fandom days were absolutely like real people do by grayola, restoration by @palepinkgoat & the increasingly poor decisions of ian gallagher by @goodkwuestion
first fan art that blew your mind? yooo we are so blessed around these parts & at the beginning it was another trilogy lol - @steorie @psychicskulldamage & @darthvaders-wife
fanfic trope that you were sure wasn’t for you but now you low key (or high key) love? a/b/o! truly shocking to discover & then love & then WRITE A WHOLE MULTI-CHAP FIC OF
What surprised you most about this fandom? omg how smushy soft everyone is! halskfjalfj - like, it's a pretty hard show to watch at times & the characters are all so messy & not saying we have it altogether over here or anything, but everyone's just a kind little marshmallow! :)
moment in the show (or YT vids if you’re one of those) that you fell in hyperfixation with Gallavich? the first one was probably s3 "not everybody gets to blurt out how they fucking feel every minute!" because i was like, OHHH OH THIS IS GONNA HURT ME & then it just kept getting worse....
Ian or Mickey? mickey baby ily so much. but to echo others, they really are two halves of the same brain cell & they've fought so hard to be together. so idk how you choose!
Which Gallagher or Milkovich are you? jeeeez, maybe fiona? lip? liam? hahaha probably none of them tbh, but i love 'em like family!
- - - - -
tagging @thisdivorce @rereadanon @sickness-health-all-that-shit @crossmydna & @heymrspatel if you wanna play! if not, i'm smooching you on your nose <3
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chaysreality222 · 3 days
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The Portkey Method - Shifting Method
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table of contents ⬎
1⌇opening message ⋄ disclaimer
2⌇what and how to do the portkey method
3⌇closing message
hii guys, it's c! i'm back from the dead lol. i wanted to share with you guys a shifting method that i made up that was inspired by harry potter and the goblet of fire. as seen in the first part of the movie, they travel to the quidditch world cup by touching the boot at the top of the hill (which is the portkey). when they touched the boot, they proceeded to spin up into the air and into a tunnel of light. then were lead to let go when they got to their destination. hopefully that is a good explanation on why it would make a great shifting method! let's dive in!
disclaimer: i just had come up with the idea for this method right now! i've never seen or heard of a method called this and is based around the same thing. if otherwise, please inform me as quick as possible! thank you!
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what and how to do the portkey method?
the portkey method is a visual/sleep shifting method (meaning: you will have to visualize a lot for this method and you will fall asleep and wake up in your dr). i want you to do your regular shifting routine before you proceed into doing the portkey method! whether that be reading over your script, listening to subliminals, meditating, etc!
once you are finally relaxed, you will visualize walking to a place where you'll find the portkey. this said place can be a location in your dr or the room you're in now! the portkey will be in the middle of the room on a table, on the floor, floating, or on the wall! it's all up to you. this portkey can be any object you'd like! it can be something you own in your current reality or an item you own in your desired reality.
once you're ready to shift, you will visualize grabbing onto the portkey. when you grab onto the portkey, you'll spin into the air and a tunnel of light will open. you will proceed into that tunnel of light still spinning! then, i want you to let go when you feel the time is right! that's when you should wake up in your desired reality.
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i'll be testing out this method and if you guys would like, you should! if you're successful, please let me know! and if you do share this method, i'd appreciate the credit. Happy Shifting!
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xoxo, c!
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swiftllama · 5 months
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December Compliments ☀️🔍
[Compliments Masterlist]
And so we have reached the last Compliments Post of 2023! Can’t believe we’re here and everything the last 6 months have brought us - it’s been a whirlwind! I shall ramble more at the end of this post, but for right now, let’s get into it :-
December 2023
MY DEAD FRIEND (BTS & Livestream)
To kick off the month we were blessed with what I would consider my favourite sketch of the year, and of course along with that we also got…
Bloopers: My Dead Friend
Ian and Anthony were ON ONE in this, it was wild! Not that I’m complaining!
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I&A: [discussing Anthony carrying Ian in the sketch]
Anthony: “And now we’re going to learn what it’s like for me to hold you, to cradle you like a baby while I’m wearing this stuff [his costume].”
Ian: “Yeah, you seem to really want to do that…”
Anthony: “I do really want to do that. I’ve written it into every sketch and this is the first one that finally made it to camera.”
I mean… WHAT!? Anthony’s written himself carrying Ian into every script 👀 Well glad your wishes came true Anthony - hope you get to do it again!
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Anthony: [climbing up trees to remove wind chimes]
Ian: “Be careful Anthony.”
Anthony: [removes them and passes them down to Ian] “Wow, we’re domesticated.”
Yes, yes you are 🤭
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Then came the moment of Anthony (and us) had all been waiting for - Anthony carrying Ian 🙌
So they tried a few different ways before settling on the one that was in the sketch (bridal/baby style), and Anthony was being so cute reassuring Ian that he could carry him ☺️
Anthony: [lifts Ian up over his shoulders]
Ian’s: “Ohhhh goooo-ohhhh.”
Anthony: “I got you bud.”
Anthony: “Jump.” [lifts Ian bridal style] “Also easy.”
Only reason Anthony works out is so he can carry Ian 😜
Anthony: [carrying Ian over his shoulders again and finds out Ian didn’t want matcha today] “Wait, I’m not carrying a matcha girlie right now?”
Ian: “No, there’s no matcha girlie today.”
Anthony: “You get down.” [sets Ian down on the ground]
Ian: [pouts] “But I want uppies.”
Ian perpetuating the bby girl title once again 💁‍♀️
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Okay, now what to say about the ending of this BTS… I can’t describe it as anything other than Ian and Anthony just basically flirting for 5 minutes 🤭
I&A: [smiling at each other]
Anthony: “Don’t get near me.”
Ian: “What?”
Anthony: “I know you’re trying to…”
Erin: “He still has it doesn’t he?”
Anthony: “Yeah he has it, he’s trying to put it in my pocket.”
Ian: [continuing to mess about trying to put the thing into Anthony’s pocket]
Anthony: “Do you think that I don’t notice when you’re touching inside my pocket?”
Ian: [laughs]
Anthony: “What is so goddamn funny?”
Ian: [still laughing] “Nothing…”
Anthony: [tries to talk about the sketch] “-why do you keep looking down all weird?”
Ian: [laughing] “What…?”
Anthony: “What’s in your hand?” [tries to grab Ian’s hand] “What’s in your hand?! Drop it!”
Ian: “What?”
Anthony: “Drop it!
Ian: “What?”
Anthony: “What’s in your hand?”
Ian: “Nothing’s in my hand…. Nothing’s in my hand…” [shows empty hand] “Nothing’s in my hand.”
Anthony: “This guy has some weird shit in his hand.”
Ian: “There’s nothing in my hand!”
Anthony: “I’m watching where your hands go.”
Ian: [flings what he was holding into Anthony’s costume and points at it] “What’s in there? What’s that?”
Anthony: [shaking his head] “Wow I could have never seen this coming.”
Ian: “What’s there?”
Anthony: “I can’t believe it, the thing I put in your pocket is suddenly- I can’t reach it cause my arms don’t reach, don’t move that much. I literally can’t reach it because…”
Ian: “This thing?” [reaches into Anthony’s chest to pull it out] “I can’t get it, it’s gone forever.”
Anthony: “Some good exclusive members only content right there.”
Ian: “Just violently groping you.”
Anthony: “Yeah, I will not say how hard my nipple is or is not.”
Ian: “Okay…. Well thank you guys so much for watching, thank you so much for supporting this…”
I&A: [laughs]
Anthony: “Smoshtastic and Smosh Royalty members we could not do this without you.”
Ian: “We cannot do- we cannot violently grope each other without you.”
Anthony: “And I know that’s what you came here- I know that’s why you paid $5 to $10 a month.”
And maybe it is Anthony! It’s money well spent! But seriously, that last section of the BTS was a gem! ✨
MY DEAD FRIEND Watch Party
Of course also on sketch Fridays we get a livestream and so this was just a few moments from said livestream that I took as complimentary :-
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Ian: [trying to click something away on the computer] “I don’t know how to put this- get this away.”
Anthony: “Oh yeah, now Ian’s clicking- just click in the text box.” [points on screen on what to do]
Ian: “Oh yeah. Yeah, you’re smart.”
Just a cute little moment I wanted to include 😊
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[discussing Ian’s birthday but then get distracted talking about BTS content]
Anthony: “Anyways, I’m seeing lots of references aside-” [places hand on Ian’s shoulder] “Do you want to speak anything more about your birthday, birthday boy?”
Okay but Anthony stopping mid-sentence when he realised they’d got distracted and moved on from Ian talking about his birthday and checking in incase he wanted to say something else 🥹 he’s so cute!!
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[Chat question: Was it fun carrying Ian?]
Anthony: “Yeah. Did you watch the bloopers? Cause it shows in the bloopers that I tried to do all these different carrying positions…”
Ian: “Uh huh.”
Anthony: “But the baby- I wanted to cradle you like a baby, it’s funniest.”
Ian: “Yeah, it was good.”
Anthony: “It was fun. He’s good- he’s a good… he’s a good object to be carried.”
Ian: “Thank you. Oh my gosh.” [places hand over heart] “He called me an object, guys. Thank you.”
Okay know they’re kinda joking about here, but Anthony’s dug himself this hole that he enjoys carrying Ian so I couldn’t not include them referencing it again.
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[talking about Amanda’s character in the sketch having a horrible date with Ian but still having a good time]
Anthony: “I think she’s just looking for a fun guy who’s willing to switch things up, and you, you really do, you provide that.”
Just Anthony complimenting Ian on being a fun date 👀
And that was it for this livestream! Moving on…
Is Anthony Nervous For His Funeral Roast? | Smosh Mouth
So Anthony was a guest on Smosh Mouth again, this time along with Courtney to discuss his upcoming funeral, and during the podcast they also spoke about Ian (of course) :-
Courtney: [talking about how the funeral, along with all the roasts are, is a celebration of the person in the casket]
Anthony: “Thank you. Thank you. I feel like it is, it’s not just me though. It’s a testament to both Ian and I coming together and reflecting on the beginnings of Smosh and what made it so special. And a huge part of that was Ian and I being able to just have fun together as friends, try to make each other laugh, be passionate about creating little fun projects, getting people excited about little dumb jokes and fun moments. And that’s, you know, going into working with everyone here. That’s what I really wanted to push, is for everyone to have the same kind of freedom to be passionate about creating funny, little dumb things together…”
He’s such a sweetie 🥰
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[asking Anthony what he’s most nervous about for the roast]
Anthony: “Honestly, anytime that I’m roasted about something, even if it’s a little uncomfortable for a moment, I feel actually better about it because it’s not something that’s like not spoken about. Kinda like when Ian and I first came together on camera, and where like I’m reading my angry letter to him and stuff like that. Like, it was uncomfortable for me to see the things that I wrote 6 years earlier. I’m sure it was uncomfortable for him to hear some of that stuff, but because it was out in the open it made it feel like it wasn’t a taboo subject that couldn’t be spoken about anymore. And what’s interesting is that Ian and my friendship started deteriorating because there was so much pressure from every angle to work so much that we didn’t have any line of communication anymore. And I feel like if back then we had ways to even incorporate it into our work like it is now, then we would’ve had a closer friendship outside of work too. And it’s interesting that there are now these outlets for everyone here to kind of get stuff just out there and said. And it doesn’t feel like anything’s really too taboo to talk about within our group.”
Again, he’s so cute. But also bringing up what Ian and his friendship needed back in the day, knowing that they have that now will never not just be the nicest thought and something I’m so happy they now have ☺️
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Shayne: “Who are you most nervous about as far as roasts? Like, is there a person you’re most afraid of?”
Anthony: “Umm… Yeah. Ian. I think he’s gonna go hardest cause he’s known me for so long.”
[Others discussing who they think will go the hardest]
Anthony: “I do think I am afraid of Ian’s most only because we have 20 plus years of history. So he can go anywhere.”
Shayne: “That’s true… Are you worried about him bringing back something up from like middle school or something?”
Anthony: “I have preemptively decided to bring up some stuff from our earliest years because I think he will do the same for me, so I have decided that is where I’m gonna go with some of these.”
[Others saying how they’re excited]
Amanda: “Okay, so Ian is the one that you’re most nervous about. And I guess Ian should be most nervous about you because damn.”
Anthony: “Honestly, yeah.” [points to the camera] “Ian, if you’re watching this, watch out. I hope your roasts are better than mine. I hope they go deeper. I hope you found something that I can’t remember. Likely not.” [taps side of head] “I got everything in here.”
Love how Anthony brings up Ian here, even with it being in the context of him being nervous for Ian’s roasts, Ian’s still on his mind. Even when the others were putting out other people who they think will go hard on him, Anthony still reiterated that Ian’s roast was the one he was most afraid of, and also how cute him bringing up twice how long they’ve known each other 😊
Reacting to Our Best Funeral Roasts
So another bit of promo they did for the Funeral was this livestream with Courtney, Shayne, and Tommy where they complied a list of some of their favourite past previous funeral roast moments that Anthony hadn’t seen for him to react to, to give him a taste of what he’d experienced at his own.
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During the live they also had a board up with different incentives that would be unlocked depending on how many tickets they sold.
One of the incentives was that a fan submitted tweet would be posted off Anthony’s account. They quickly passed this incentive and went through a lot of different options before settling on the one that was tweeted, which was…
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You heard it folks, Anthony loves his Ianussy 😏
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Another cute little moment they had was when they were down to their last two cans they opened each others and then interlocked arms to eat cause besties! ✨
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[Reacting to Ian’s funeral counter-roast and Ian saying to Courtney that “after Anthony left [she] stepped up and became the new person who shuts down every single idea [he] has.”]
Anthony: “I still don’t get that one cause I never shut down your ideas, Ian! You’re going to have to explain yourself at some point.”
Oop 🤭
Poor Anthony hates that bit so much, it isn’t the first time it’s been brought up 😅 HE WANTS EVERYONE TO KNOW HE BIGS IAN’S IDEAS UP 😤 His No1 supporter!
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[reacting to Ian’s [REDACTED] bit from Noah’s funeral]
Anthony: “That’s round of applause worthy.” [clapping] “That was really good. That was definitely my favourite bit I’ve seen so far. That was so good.”
Of course Ian’s bit would be his favourite ☺️
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Coming to the end of the live, they were wrapping up and saying their thank yous and goodbyes, and Anthony had one last thing to say :-
Anthony: “The world knows now that I love my Ianussy.”
I mean, we been knew 😌😉
PARANORMAL EASY BAKE OVEN (Flashback)
Time for another Flashback with Smosh! This time reacting to the classic sketch Paranormal Easy Bake Oven.
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My favourite editor was pulling it out the bag as always on this eps - bless you Kortney 🙌
[Ian eating a taco]
Anthony: “Oh, Ian’s going ham on them already. Oh.” [catches packets of sauce being flung to him]
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Obessed with this!^^
Anthony: “Do you want, would you like some hot taco sauce? It’s for a hot taco.”
Ian: “I am a hot taco.”
Anthony: “Yeah.”
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Ian: [reading what the packet says] “It’s hot for taco.”
Anthony: “Oh.”
Ian: “You thought it said it’s for a hot taco?”
Anthony: “Yeah.”
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Poor Anthony. Your attempts at flirting were still good, babes. I’m sure Ian appreciated it 😘
You can also find a clip of this moment I posted at the time here.
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[Reacting to the scene where we find out Anthony just wants Ian to sleep in his room]
Anthony: “What was the joke we were even getting at? Like, it was kind of a throwaway joke. I have no idea if we were implying that… I want you to sleep next to me?”
Ian: “Yeah, I think you just wanted a friend.”
Anthony: “Aw, I just want a friend.”
Ian: “To sleep next to you.”
Anthony: “Yeah.”
Ian: “You had your stuffed animals, and then you wanted your best friend in the bed too.”
Anthony: “Yeah, of course.”
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Aw Anthony, you just wanna sleep next to your best friend 🤗
I spent a day with SHAYNE TOPP
So Anthony had Shayne on as a guest on ISADW and, of course, Ian was brought up - Anthony cannot help himself 😅 it’s very sweet though ☺️
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[Talking about Shayne doing impressions of people]
Anthony: “Like earlier you did an impression of how you know when Ian’s nervous but he’ll never say it.”
Shayne: “So Ian whenever he’s leading a meeting, he gets like nervous burps I think, maybe.”
Anthony: [laughs]
Shayne: “But he’ll just kind of like, he’ll have the clicker for like the thing and he’ll be like ‘uh, yeah, so, um [covers mouth], we’re.. yeah, we’re doing that and um, it’s pretty good, and um yeah we’re really, we’re really excited.’”
Anthony: [laughing] “These are all the things that I noticed growing up with him.”
Anthony is so adorable, I love it! Also he loves bringing up the fact him and Ian grew up together/how long they’ve known each other, similar to what he done in the Smosh Mouth eps - what a cutie!
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Anthony: [thanking Shayne for sticking with Smosh all this time] “I really, really respect everything that you’ve done, everything that you’ve contributed. How much you’ve um, you know been there with Smosh through so many ups and downs. How you’ve had so much faith in this brand and how you’ve pushed it to continue to be what it has always been at the heart, which like you mentioned a second ago, which has really been about that friendship and that connection that you feel with the people that you’re making this stuff with. You know the way that Ian and I started it was we just loved to make each other laugh, let’s capture that genuine friendship that we have together, let’s see if this connects with anyone, let’s see if it resonates with people and it did…”
Wouldn’t be a Compliments Post without Anthony saying something sappy about their friendship and making me want to cry 😩 I also took him thanking Shayne for sticking with Smosh as him also thanking him for sticking with Ian. I’m sure it somewhat softens the blow a little bit that even when Anthony himself couldn’t be by Ian’s side, Ian still had great people around him 🥺
Anthony's Funeral
So since Anthony died in Food Battle it was finally time to have a funeral for him! This was such a highly anticipated event and it did not disappoint! Of course as the Funerals go, it was mainly about roasting Anthony, but there's still always room for compliments and nice moments in amongst it all.
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So it came to the end of the funeral and our host Pastor lan was wrapping up and after dubbing himself 'the hot one' and roasting baby Anthony, it was time to lay, in lan's words, 'Smosh's 2nd Hottest Member to rest’, but before that, as his script told him, he had to ‘insert a quick genuine comment about Anthony’ and boy did it deliver :-
lan: "But seriously though, I do feel so fortunate to have become your friend again, and honestly like I probably would have still been working at Chuck E. Cheese if it wasn't for everything that you did for Smosh. You are one of the hardest workers, you have such a great eye for content, and I'm so proud to be going down this path with you. Um... I love you.”
АААААННННННН!!!!
IT HAPPENED!!!!! IT REALLY HAPPENED!!!!!
I still cannot believe this is reality and we actually heard lan telling Anthony he loves him. I WILL SCREAM ABOUT THIS FOREVER!!!! And from the reactions of Anthony and the rest of the cast, this was HUGE. I don't lan had ever told him before 😭Also, during that whole speech Anthony was getting emotional after lan told him he loves him you see him trying to hold back from crying which just makes the whole situation even more tender 🥹
Before lan can show Anthony his 🍆 lol, Anthony rises from the dead for his counter-roast, and the first thing he mentions is about having water in his eyes whilst he wipes them away 🥺
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During his counter-roast he keeps teasing lan as if he's next, but of course he leaves his bestie till last. After roasting him about how he hides his emotions, embarrassing stories from their childhood and his flirting techniques, Anthony thanks everyone and says how appreciates everyone welcoming him back into Smosh and how he is proud of everyone who played a part in making the funeral what it was and for showing him love by roasting him.
Anthony: "I am just so grateful for you... lan said when we bought back Smosh, 'If we burn it to the ground I'm happy to do that with you' and after tonight... I think that sounds pretty good, I'm going to burn the place down. You have 5 minutes to get the fuck out and meet us at our VIP Aftershow."
Yes he ended this with a joke but all the nice stuff beforehand still stands, and to bring up what lan said about 'burning it to the ground' is so sweet 🥲
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And speaking of the Aftershow, we got some moments from that too, including another very special moment :-
Sax-Man: "Can I just say, comparing how I look and how you look is the difference between when Anthony was here and when Anthony wasn't."
Anthony: [laughs]
Sax-Man "I'm just like a virgin nerd and all of you are so sexy."
Cast: [laughs]
Sax-Man: "And that's what Anthony does."
lan: "That's what Anthony does."
Just lan agreeing that Anthony brings the sexiness 👀
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[Q: Anthony what was your favourite roast?]
Anthony: "How about the one where lan laid into my baby photo? It's not my fault I got past my ugly phase super quick."
Okay, so slight compliment with a roast, but still, he chose lan's roast as his favourite!
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And here was the special one!!
[Q: Anthony can you say 'I love you' back to lan?]
Anthony: "Aww..."
lan: [leans forward and puts his hands under his chin]
Anthony: "Yeah, and it's not that hard cause l've said it before." [places hand on lan's knee] "I love you, lan."
lan: [touches hand to his heart] "Stop. Stop. Stop."
THEYRE SO FUCKING CUTE!!!! I cannot believe we got an ‘I love you’ from both of them to the other!!! I'll be reeling over this for A LONG TIME!
Bloopers: Bluetooth Speaker Ruins Date
BTS of this sketch and as is a given with the Bloopers videos, a gem as always!
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I&A: [talking about the Anthony shrine]
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Ian: “So even though Anthony is long dead and gone, he’s still there in our hearts.”
Anthony: “I’d like to know that if I died, you would have a little, just a little shrine of me.”
Of course he would, Anthony! That’s your bestie who cannot live without you so you must live forever! 😤
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So this next bit they were just messing about but still funny and complimentary-by-extension (in a way lol). Ian starts doing a bit called Pickleball TV and creating a character for Anthony as he’s on a streak of keeping the ball up, until, he eventually drops it and he falls to his knees pretending to be devastated and everything Ian starts saying he repeats :-
Ian: “I bet he’s never going to recover from that.”
Anthony: “I’ll never recover from that.”
Ian: “I bet he’s really rethinking his life choices.”
Anthony: “I’m rethinking all my life choices.”
Ian: “I bet he thinks Ian’s the hot one.”
Anthony: “I think…” [laughs]
Ian: “Yeah, I bet he thinks Ian’s the hot one.”
Anthony: “I think Ian’s the hot one.”
He said it so I’ll take it! Anthony thinks Ian’s the hot one 😌😜
Bluetooth Speaker Ruins Date Watch Party
Of course we got our usual sketch Friday livestream which included a few complimentary moments :-
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Ian: [mentions gross man who I will not name and his “university course” 🤮]
Anthony: “I don’t know enough about that, I don’t listen to alpha male podcasts.”
Ian: “You don’t need to go down that rabbit hole, my boy.”
Kings! Yes, do not go down that rabbit hole - you’re actually decent men and that’s why we love you! Anyways, just thought it was cute how Ian referred to him as ‘my boy’.
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Anthony: [reads chat comment] “Oh, your sweater is matching your eye colour. Was that on purpose?”
Ian: [leans forward, batting his eyelashes and acts all cutesy]
Anthony: “Was that on purpose?”
Ian: “Maybe…”
Anthony: “Cause it brings out of the colours of your eyes?”
Ian: “Maybe…”
Anthony: “That’s so cute.”
Just Anthony basically telling Ian he looks cute in his sweater 😌
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[talking about the sketch]
Anthony: “Um, but Arasha was amazing and I had such a good time writing it and then getting to direct those scenes,” [looks at Ian] “with you, and Arasha.”
Very cute Anthony just wanting to tell him what a good time he had working with him ☺️
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Ian: [talking about the reasoning for casting Arasha as his date in the sketch and how they wanted it to be more of a short-film feel] “But Arasha is like rom-com lead material.”
Anthony: “I agree. And you’re rom-com lead material too.”
You think Ian is rom-com lead material Anthony 👀
Speaking of rom-coms, this live quickly spiralled into I don’t even know what as Ian goes off on his rom-com plot spiel. I summed it up in this post I made here.
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Anthony: [reading chat comment telling Ian good job on Pastor Ian]
Ian: “Oh yes, thank you.”
Anthony: “Ian, you fucking crushed it.”
Ian: “Aww, thanks.”
And just a full-out compliment from Anthony to finish off this live 😊
Which Friendship Will Win? (Everybody 1, 2, Switch)
Also on the same day we were blessed with this video! It finally happened! The boys played 1, 2, Switch again! And of course the compliments were flowing and the bestie-ism shining through 😁 Like the last time they played this, there were just so many moments that instead of writing them down I thought l'd put together a little compilation of some of the best moments like I done before. Hope you enjoy! :-
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An Honest Conversation with Smosh
So we got another 2hr interview with the boys! This time on The Colin and Samir Show podcast. I quite enjoyed this interview as they talked about some different things and it didn’t just feel like we were hearing about a lot of the stuff we already know this time around so it was interesting getting to learn some new stuff :-
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Ian: [talking about their work/shoot schedule]
Colin: “Is that how your mind kind of works? Like are you the producer mindset?”
Ian: “Hell no.”
Anthony: [laughs]
Colin: “No, you’re not?”
Ian: “No.”
Anthony: “But he does handle a lot more of the pre-production with approving the looks and ideas for kind of what we were thinking while writing.”
Ian: “Yeah, yeah, I try to because Anthony’s got like a whole different channel that he’s also working on so I’m trying to handle like more, generally like trying to handle more of like the shot listing.”
Anthony: “But I’ve got my hands deep in post-production because that’s, when we first started making the videos, Ian was handling a little bit more of pre-production, I was handling more post, and we kind of just fell into that naturally again because I’m obsessed with editing and I love it. I was an editor on all the Smosh videos myself for like 10 years or something and so,”
Ian: “And I hate editing.”
Anthony: [laughs] “So because I did it for so long myself I feel like I have a grasp of how to communicate ideas in that sense, so yeah, he’s more pre-production and I’m more post-production.”
What I was saying about us getting to learn some new stuff, they’ve not spoken much about how they work on the production side of things. But I like that they seem to have worked out a good balance, again goes back to all the talk of their dynamic of working together. I also love how they threw a little compliment in there to each other - Anthony chiming in to say how Ian handles more pre-production. And Ian brining up how Anthony has another channel to work on. Very sweet ☺️
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Ian: [explaining how the original ‘new cast’ weren’t introduced properly at the time and how audiences were (rightfully) not happy but how it panned out alright in the end and how some of the cast have been there 8 years now]
Anthony: “It did pan out but it needed to be a slow, gradual thing and the audience needed to slowly and gradually get accustomed to them and we found places-” [points to Ian] “You know, you found places where the new cast can shine in their own right…”
Just love Anthony stopping himself mid-sentence to highlight and give Ian the praise once again for the work he done with the new cast.
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I&A: [talking about how they didn’t stay in touch much during the ‘between years’ and thought they couldn’t be friends again because they thought they’d became totally different people and grown too far apart]
Samir: “What was the experience of watching each other’s content at that time?”
Anthony: [smiling] “I looked at Ian because I don’t think he’s ever answered this.” [laughing]
Ian: “Um, I mean like I watched it in the beginning, like when he first like split off cause I wanted to like keep eyes on like what he was doing.”
This is something they’ve mentioned before, about the fact they were keeping tabs on what the other was doing, I think it just further adds to how much they were missing each other during those years 🥺
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I&A: [talking about the resentment they felt and how they were trying to prove to people they could make it without the other]
Anthony: “…So I feel like when I kind of, when I started you know going to therapy, learning about myself, learning where these insecurities came from, learning where that like frustration was actually coming from and it was my own insecurity, my own desire to have validation and my own sense of self worth attached this thing [Smosh]. When I learned all those things I started to kind of let that stuff go.” [points to Ian] “Ian had his own personal journey as well, but we each kind of had to have our own journeys apart, accepting what had happened, accepting where we were now for you know when we finally did end up meeting up - one of Ian’s friends, you [Ian] mentioned this before you were talking to them, kind of mentioning me and they were like ‘why don’t you just meet up?’”
Ian: “Yeah.”
Samir: “Diana?”
Ian: “Yeah.”
Anthony: [laughs] “Yeah, yeah. Yeah so we ended up meeting up over lunch and because we didn’t hold on to that resentment anymore at that point we were able to just, really just genuinely connect. I felt him like listening to me in a way that like the past, like the final like 5 years of me being there kind of had disappeared. I was genuinely interested, we were just like had this genuine interest in each other - we were cracking little jokes and we were laughing just like we always had. I had learned a lot also with my own show and how to communicate better, how to listen better, how to have conversations about things that I’m genuinely interested in and every single thing, every single thing that we had done apart I feel like culminated in this moment of us together and reconnecting and realising that we really were at the core still the friends that we’d always been.”
Yes we have heard this so many times but I’ll never stop loving Anthony being sappy about their friendship 🥹
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Ian: [talking about how new entertainers and content creators coming up now grew up watching Smosh] “I think like now with like us buying Smosh back like this is such like an exciting time, an exciting generation for Smosh. It feels like a new sort of like stage.”
Samir: “I hope you feel the and get the credit for sticking it out and believing in it because belief I think is an undervalued component of these creative businesses because you have to work through times where either in the beginning when you have so much belief because like no one’s watching, like you [Anthony] were talking about launching a new format, it’s like you’ve got to believe that this thing is going to work and your creative is good and for you, like the belief through these tumultuous years that Smosh was so important and it was, it had a good storytelling DNA and it was a good comedy brand like as it’s going through this turbulence, that’s hard.”
Anthony: “Yeah, I definitely lost my belief in it.”
Samir: “It’s easier to go ‘forget about it’.”
Colin: “And people are commenting ‘what are you doing?’ and you’re like ‘I don’t know. I don’t know but I can’t tell you that’.”
Anthony: “Yeah, I felt so slighted by Defy that I completely lost hope in what Smosh was. So yeah, I mean the fact that you [Ian] stuck through it, even though I didn’t see it, a lot of people didn’t quite see it.”
Ian: “I mean I feel pretty validated now.”
And you should Ian! 👏
Always here for Ian getting the praise he deserves!
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Samir: “How do you guys ensure that you don’t split up again?”
I&A: [laughs]
Samir: “Like how do you think about that now, obviously you’re at a different maturity level, but you know we’re also, we started the conversation talking about creative partnerships, we’re in a creative partnership, like for other people who are doing this together how do you, what have you learned from your journey and how do you take that into the future?”
Anthony: “I learned that our biggest issue was lack of communication. I was thinking all these things and getting frustrated about things but never just outright saying it. Also I think there was a period of time at the end where we just completely stopped saying ‘how are you?’, you know ‘what’s going on in your world?’ and we stopped just hanging out for the sake of hanging out, it was only, cause we were working so much and we were probably spending like 40 hours a week together but we were just working, working, working the whole time so for me it’s about just having this space where it’s not about work, where it’s about connecting, where it’s about understanding, it’s like ‘how are you? how are things going? what did you think about the way things went today?’, I think even that feels like it’s enough and also I’ve been doing a a lot of work on myself through therapy to understand where certain things and feelings start coming from so I’m not quite as often feeling like it’s external things in my life that are upsetting me and I realise that it really is something that I need to work on myself that’s upsetting me, so that’s helped.”
Ian: “And I think we just have like a healthier approach to the process when we are working together, like when it comes to writing we’re not trying to put this like insane crunch on us where like ‘we need to just get to work right now and we have to write a script by 12:00pm or else we’re going to be-’ like we try to lay a whole day out so it’s like I show up to his place and we hang out, we talk for a little bit, we don’t like get right into it if we don’t have to.”
Anthony: “It kind of feels like it’s necessary now to have those breaths.”
Ian: “It’s just for us, it’s like it’s just finding like a flow, rather than feeling the stress that we sometimes do feel if we are constrained by time - then it like stops being fun, like it’s like you know, it’s like sometimes you do need that, you do need like a little bit of a…” [makes a prodding motion]
Anthony: [laughs] “A prodding?”
Ian: “Motivation.”
Just wanted to pause here for a moment before continuing with this section of them talking about this topic. It’s something I’ve reiterated time and time again, but I love that they take that time now for each other to catch up and see how the other is doing. I know it’s something that has been touched on multiple times but I think it just shows how serious they are about making their relationship work in a healthy way so that their connection does remain strong and they do remain together as a team. It’s such lovely growth between them and just shows how far they’ve come.
[All continue chatting about how it’s important for creative partnerships to have time to connect]
Ian: “…I want to say like when uh, so we carved out an entire weekend, we were like ‘okay we’re going to treat this like a writing retreat’ for when we wrote Food Battle, but like the first, like I think half of the day we probably, we were dealing with like personal issues and we just like talked through that.”
Anthony: “And you were saying that part of you was like ‘[looks at fake watch] okay but we gotta work.” [laughs]
Ian: “Yeah, I mean yeah, but also it’s like ‘let’s get right’ and like obviously you know we had things that were going on and it was like you know, I think it’s important for us to show up as friends first.”
Food Battle Sleepover Weekend 🙌 I’ll never get tired of hearing about this! And I think it’s so special they done that together and from the sounds of it, it’s something they really needed to have a good heart-to-heart 🥰
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Colin: [asks what they want Smosh to be known for in the future]
Anthony: “I mean for me it would be about creating a place where, I mean just creating a really, really great environment for people to work and be creative and have fun and share laughs and create comedy. I want- I would love for people to look at Smosh as a brand as something that still carries those, the root of Ian and my friendship that it was built on with it…”
Anthony being a sap for their friendship once again and making me cry, once again 😭
And with that last little sweet moment from Mr Padilla, that brought us to the end of the compliments for this interview.
The Smosh Episode - 100 Thieves Cast
The following day, we got another podcast featuring the boys. I really enjoyed this podcast also - it felt more like just a laid back chat than anything else so it was a nice change from the other podcasts they’ve done. There were a few complimentary/complimentary-by-extension/just general cute moments that I wanted to include so here we go :-
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Peter: [introducing the podcast - the series being called Boomer Vs Zoomer]
I&A: [waving fists in the air]
Anthony: “Wooo! Let’s go - Am I the boomer or the zoomer?”
Peter: “Usually the couch is for the zoomers, I will say.”
Ian: “Really?”
Anthony: [looks at Ian] “We’re the zoomers, bro! Let’s go!”
[celebratory Ianthony high-five]
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Always gotta include their little high-fives 😊
(Gif quality is horrible I know but I tried lol 🫣)
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Ian: [talking about the women’s skinny, low-rise jeans the girls he liked in high school convinced him to buy] “But I was in cross-country so my legs were like pretty meaty…”
Anthony: [points at Ian] “He had a gyatt.”
I mean do I really need to say anything here 👀👀👀
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Anthony: [talking about when he got into high school and learning that he could just tell people that he was attracted to them and if they didn’t like him back he could move on]
Peter: [asking him how he learned that so young when it took him years to learn that]
Anthony: “Um, I think I just got luckyyyy… I don’t know. I have no idea.”
Peter: “I mean you are extremely good looking which helps.”
Ian: “It helps.”
Ian just agreeing that Anthony is extremely good looking 😏
Continuing on this with same topic :-
Anthony: [talking about how he hasn’t faced much rejection when it comes to asking people out but that he thinks he’ll have a rude awakening very soon]
Ian: “It’s not going to happen, I’ve seen his dad. His dad’s hot.”
Anthony: “Brooo… I’m gonna let him know you said that. He’ll be very happy with that.”
Ian: “That’s fine.”
Anthony: “He’ll be pleased with that.”
Ian: “That’s fine. He’s a handsome man.”
Anthony: “You know he’s let his grey go now too. He looks really good.”
Ian: “Oh hell yeah.”
So Ian what you’re saying is that you know Anthony will still be good looking when he’s older because you think his dad is ‘hot’ and ‘handsome’ 👀 Got it. Good to know your thoughts on Anthony’s looks 👌
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Peter: [talking about having an anxiety dream about the podcast and being nervous to meet Ian and Anthony]
Ian: “Was the handshake good though?” [when he was introducing himself]
Peter: “No, handshake was solid.” [two thumbs up]
Ian: “Yeah, handshake was solid.”
Peter: “I’d give it like a good 9, 9.5. Good, good solid contact. Good amount of time. Not too firm, not to like display your dominance on me.”
Ian: “And I have really soft hands too.”
Anthony: [points to Ian] “He does!”
The compliments on this podcast have been… something to say the least 🤭
And with that, that wraps up another section!
Annoying Orange Creator Breaks Down Controversies
Last Flashback of the year, this time with Dane Boe as a guest. Was the first non-Smosh guest they’ve had on the show so was quite a different eps. They watched some original Annoying Orange sketches and also watched the eps they featured on back in 2010, they ended up getting on to topics surrounding gender and the LGBT+ community and all in all it was a very wholesome but important chat that I definitely recommend checking out if you haven’t.
Now in terms of Ianthony compliments in this video, there weren’t really any besides this one little moment, another complimentary-by-extension moment. Where Anthony makes a pun-y joke and Ian puts his hand up and they give each other one of their little high-fives and because it is also another sub-genre of these posts, and Friendship Always Wins, how could I not include it 😉
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(Again, terrible gif quality but like I said, I tried 😬)
Also another quick shoutout to Kortney - the editing did not disappoint as always 🙌
Anthony’s Nostalgia Kick
So over the holiday’s Anthony got to feeling a little nostalgic, sharing each of these to his Instagram story which I think is incredibly sweet, and complimentary when you think of him reminiscing on how far they’ve come :-
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Ian also reshared the picture of their first business cards to his own story. Just a very cute thing all round! ☺️
Drawing The Smosh Cast From Memory
Anthony wasn’t the only one on a nostalgia kick - as a little holiday bonus, members got an eps of Smosh Is Bored! 🙌 The nostalgia that hit me, and I’m sure many others, when I saw that intro 🥹
So throwing it back to just like old times, they had a drawing competition between them, this time drawing some of the new cast members. We also got a few complimentary moments between them, even if they were laced with slight sarcasm because let’s be real, none of the drawings were good lol. But hey, ho - I’m including them anyways 🤭 :-
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[drawing Arasha]
Anthony: “Our skills are elevating the further we get.”
Ian: “Yeah.”
Anthony: “I feel like I’m tapping into like a secret primitive drawing ability that I didn’t know I had.”
Ian: “I recognise your talents.”
Anthony: “I like the detail that you added to the mouth. I think that was like really above and beyond.”
Ian: [looks at him and smiles] “Thank you.”
Anthony: “Yeah, you’re welcome.”
Ian: “Thank you.”
Anthony: “You’re welcome.”
Double the ‘thank yous’ and ‘you’re welcomes’ lol, they’re so cute.
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[drawing Chanse]
Anthony: “And I made him saying ‘Who’s Anthony?’ cause that’s his one joke.”
Ian: [smiles] “Nice.”
Just them approving of each other roasting their employees, the usual lol.
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Ian: [draws Angela as a feral Guinea pig]
Anthony: [uncontrollably laughs and claps hands]
Ian: [explaing his drawing]
Anthony: “That’s amazing. I love those lips…. But you gave her a flesh coloured face, that’s something I missed out on. For some reason I thought she was just ghastly white. But yeah, she’s got some Guinea pig spots- I like the little tail. That is a cute little tail on her…. I also like how her hair is like, somehow, kind of a mane behind her ears.”
Ian: “Yeah. Yeah… Yeah!”
Anthony: “That is the cutest little feral rodent.”
Anthony was particularly complimentary about this drawing for some reason 😄 but cute nonetheless 🐹
And with that, that brought us to the end of the video and to the last of the compliments of 2023 🥹
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Before I wrap this up, I just want to say a massive thank you to anyone who has read, commented on, reblogged, and liked these posts over the last 6 months 💖 I really appreciate anyone who has left kind words about them, makes it all worth it ☺️
I cannot believe everything these last 6 months has brought us and I’m so happy it’s even a reality that I’m able to make these posts. If you’d told me this time last year about everything that would happen I never would have believed you - we’re truly living in the best timeline and I cannot wait to see what the new year has in store for us 🙌
I want to wish everyone all the best for 2024 🫶 and here’s to another year filled with many more Compliments ✨
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