#<- sure this goes there since it was technically during our (re)watch
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I just remembered this but a while ago I mentioned to my brother that aang & katara have three kids and at first he was horrified (“aang is twelve!!!”) but then he said he thought there should be one girl, one boy, and one nonbinary kid, and that their names should be gert, geert, and gerda
#elli rambles#bumi? no he’s called geert now. and he’s nb#he’s anab#assigned nonbinary at brother#brother tag#jupiter rewatches atla#<- sure this goes there since it was technically during our (re)watch#also btw those names are somewhat of a meme between my siblings and me. just bc they’re so horribly dutch
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so, i had the very surreal experience of finding out that there were four surprise new eps of grace and frankie this very morning and then watching them on my phone while i sat outside in the pouring rain and 52-degree-fahrenheit-in-august air because the vents in my house were being cleaned and my dog refused to sit outside alone and insisted that both of her human parents sit with her that whole time. therefore i don’t entirely trust my perspective here, since the whole thing feels VERY surreal and if i check netflix again i kind of feel like there won’t be any new eps there and i just hallucinated them.
but anyway, my preliminary thoughts on gaf 7x01-7x-04--
i overall felt really underwhelmed by the writing here, and sort of felt like i was watching the kevin’s-in-the-scene parts of kevin can f**k himself with some of these plotlines. (particularly the ones about the supporting cast, as always but even more so now! oh my god, what do they have against bud these past few seasons??) i was definitely missing the emotional intelligence and nuance of the earlier days of this show; it felt largely absent here to me. the humor is so broad that it kind of makes me feel like i’m going full on bonkers. this is the same show as seasons 1-3? as season 6, even?? WHAT? i get that the writers were working during a stressful time, so i hope they found their groove more as the season went on. alternately: did all the normal writers quit or something?
the idea that i was going to have to watch grace hanson and frankie bergstein become money launderers and THAT was the plotline we were going to be stuck with for our LAST SEASON EVER of this beloved show was really putting me through it. hopefully the end of ep 4 put that to bed? i cannot possibly express how much i do not need “grace and frankie are criminals now” as the final arc on this lovely friendship-and-family dramedy.
i do love getting to see grace and frankie again, which is always a balm for the soul. frankie is pure effervescence with her every second of screentime, as always, and grace is certainly in it in a whole new and very grace way. (i know the writers apparently do not see grace as a lesbian, which, okay. it’s totally fine that her ideal relationship with nick is HE IS LITERALLY IN PRISON AND THEY CAN CHAT FOR AN HOUR EVERY DAY BEFORE SHE DOESN’T HAVE TO HANG OUT WITH HIM ANYMORE. and that she fundamentally hates being a man’s wife. that’s fine. okay. sure. like, she literally loves this arrangement so much that she does not even seem to feel horrified about her husband being in PRISON and what that experience is like for him as a human being. oh, grace. grace.)
VERY EXCITED TO SEE WHERE GRACE LIVING WITH HER TWO SPOUSES (the one she wants and the one she technically has) GOES. OH, IT’S GONNA BE A BIG MESS.
some random thoughts:
i wish they’d given robert and sol a bit more nuance and meaning in any of their storylines; it feels weird to have it not be there when it used to be in the early seasons. the thing with robert and sol living with grace and frankie felt pretty squandered in general; i think that could’ve been mined a lot deeper for meaningful content. i feel like in earlier seasons of this show, we would have seen more actual interaction between robert and sol re: how sol’s surgery was affecting them and i’m kind of disappointed that it wasn’t there, because i think that’s such a true part of life getting older and it’s the sort of storytelling that could be really resonant. i don’t want it just wrapped up a dramatic zoom on grace as her eyes are injected with her own personal nightmare fuel!
i think the one scene that i really appreciated with the kid storylines was coyote and jessica talking about the coin in the car, that was nice. i’m glad jessica and coyote are still together and settling down!
i just spent the whole bunny episode like “wtf is happening” but it was also raining especially torrentially at that point, maybe that warped my perception
i don’t like the money laundering turn of events but i do like the consistent character note that joan margaret is just frickin’ wild and down to clown
also, the visual of grace with her hand in the corn flakes box and just absolutely not relenting was pretty glorious. and brianna and mal watching her put it in the safe, bwahaha! thank you for your comedic service, corn flakes box.
i love carl, he is cute, him peeing on the couch money fully encapsulated my feelings on the couch money storyline and i don’t even care that he didn’t fight that burglar. (if anyone is reading this for some reason despite not having watched the show, i’d like to clarify that carl is a dog.)
i would really like to know frankie bergstein’s take on the paddington movie franchise and it would be so nice if this season could tell me at some point.
i feel like this show often doesn’t know what to do with g&f when they’re on good terms and happy together, and i wish it would figure that out, since clearly there’s still so much more you could dig into there. i do, however, feel like where we left off could bring us some juicy stuff in that department. fingers crossed!
ALSO I REALLY WISH GRACE DECIDING TO GROW HER GRAY HAIR OUT HAD BEEN AN ENTIRE EPISODE PLOTLINE. I FEEL LIKE IN THE EARLIER DAYS OF MORE THOUGHTFUL WRITING IT WOULD HAVE BEEN.
okay, now i’m gonna watch it again on an actual tv, not having the audio drowned out by the pouring rain, and see what i think this time ‘round. HAPPY RANDOM GRACE AND FRANKIE DAY TO ALL! s7 is a little confused, but i appreciate the spirit of gifting us random episodes.
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Hospital Playlist : Season 1
So, I recently re-watched season 1 of Hospital Playlist in preparation of season 2 that’s going to be released on the 17th of June, and I have a couple of thoughts that I want to share. Warning: It’s going to be filled with spoilers, so for those looking to avoid that, please don’t read more. Also, this is a looooonnnnggg one :)
“Hospital Playlist” is a Korean Drama that follows five doctors in their 40s who have been best friends since adolescence as they form a band together. While the log-line appears simple, the depth in the script and acting will enchant any audience. The narrative is free-spirited and quirky, reverberating friendships forged by love and time in a heart-warming style.
This slice of life drama realistically tackles what occurs within the white walls of the hospital. From ungrateful patients to the long wait for donors, it has it all. This drama covered plenty of cases, each of them as sad as the next. I recall when Yang Seok Hyeong, an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynaecology, had a patient who delivered a baby with anencephaly. He was considerate enough to not allow the mother to hear the baby’s cries by playing loud music in the delivery room and quickly escorting the baby away from the mother. I teared up during that scene, and I still tear up just thinking about that. I watched it as a case in a K-Drama, but it is many people’s gruesome reality, and all I can offer are my sympathies.
Despite zoning out during the technical aspects and elucidation of medical terminologies, I could feel the gravity of an operation and the burden of Atlas resting on the doctors when they held the scalpel. I liked the fact that there wasn’t any hospital politics. Rather, the show focused on the doctors, as they tried their best to save their patients. I mourned during the losses of life and celebrated with the characters after a successful surgery.
The ensemble cast for “Hospital Playlist” was flawless. The sincerity of the actors and the efforts they had put into studying and understanding their roles were clear as day. The chemistry between them was organic and the banters, natural. While they didn’t verbalise every emotion, the viewers could feel their familiarity, like they were real-life friends on screen. I was on an emotional rollercoaster as I watched this, rooting for them through hardships and cheering whenever they laughed.
“I wondered why my life was getting so difficult. It was really tough. But all of a sudden, one day, I realised how much time I was wasting. Wasting my life away like this because of what she did to me was doing a disservice to myself.”
Jo Jung-Suk did a flawless job portraying Lee Ik-Jun. This was my second time witnessing a drama with Jo Jung Suk, and while I wouldn’t applaud his performance in “Oh, My Ghostess!” (But in his defence, I found that script to be problematic) I absolutely loved him in “Hospital Playlist”. Lee Ik-Jun is an assistant professor of general surgery. He’s funny, sociable, laid-back, charming, and a dotting, single father to his son, Woo Joo.
The first time I, as the viewer, was introduced to him was gold. Naughty little Woo Joo had managed to put a blotch of super glue to a Darth Vader helmet, which was later worn by his father. During an emergency at the hospital, Ik Jun showed up decked in Darth Vader gear and bravely holding a light saber, demanding that the helmet was unglued from his head. He got his wish, but only after performing surgery while wearing the helmet.
Watching Ik-Jun and his son together is heartwarming, to say the least. You can tell how much he loves his son, as seen by the way he prepared meatballs from scratch, including the ketchup, excitedly for his son, only for the latter to claim he wanted meatballs, causing the former to trip on his way to the kitchen. I also adore how most of the bonding scenes we see between them happens over sandwiches. I find that very precious.
Ik Jun is also very friendly to everyone. He warmly welcomes the medical students, greets his colleagues with a smile, and most notably, plays as a matchmaker between Jeong-won and Jang Gyeo-wool, even if it is so the latter could assist him on more surgeries. His relationship with his sister is also beautiful. I love how authentic they are, from their bickering and the hidden ways they care for each other.
Ik Jun provides comic relief plenty of times— I nearly fell off my chair laughing when he mimicked a train, and also upon seeing how adamant he was to eavesdrop on a private phone conversation of Kim Jun-wan.
“I don’t deserve to be a doctor. I can’t control my emotions. I empathise too easily.”
I must admit, Ahn Jeong Won has a soft spot in my heart and is my favourite from the group of friends. An assistant professor of pediatric surgery, Jeong Won gets overly attached to patients and takes every loss personally. Due to his sensitive nature, he’s detailed in everything he does, earning the teasing nickname of “Buddha” from his colleagues.
Hardworking but overemotional, there have been many instances when Jeong Won swears to quit being a doctor after a patient has unfortunately succumbed, and it’s only through the insistence of his oldest brother does he continue his job. He’s immensely religious and has a close relationship with God, and considered being a priest until the season finale.
His interactions with his young patients tug on all my heartstrings. From the gentle way he gets the permission of small children to check their vitals, to the dedication with which he treats his patients and dissolves their fears.
One of my favourite quotes of this drama was said by him, “Do you know why doctors only give vague answers such as ‘We can’t be sure yet,’ ‘We don’t know yet,’ and ‘We need to observe a bit more?’ Doctors must take responsibility for their words, so we must be careful. There’s only one thing we, as doctors, can tell our patients with certainty. ‘We will do our best.’”
Despite being born from a wealthy family, Jeong Won is nearly broke, spending all his fortune anonymously covering the hospital fees of poor patients.
Chae Song Hwa summarised Jeong Won’s personality neatly in episode 12 when she said, “Lastly, there’s you (Jeong Won). Seeing others enjoy good food makes you happier than when you are eating it yourself.”
“If the doctor gives up on the patient, he isn’t a doctor anymore.”
At first glance, Kim Jun Wan appears cold and scary, but there are so many dimensions to his character. He’s blunt, assertive and has a reputation for telling his patients what they need to hear, not that they want to hear.
However, he’s possibly the most caring person, having allowed Jeong Won to, in his own words, “mooch” of him for years now. He was also always nagging and hovering over his friends, keeping a stash of chocolates for them. He stepped up as the Chief of the cardiothoracic surgery department multiple times, whether it was to act as a shield to his mentee or to reprimand his juniors about the importance of (a patient’s) life and how every single decision taken by a doctor has to be thoughtful and absolute because there’s no way to reverse such things.
A great example of his outer versus inner personality is when he’s questioned by a medical student on why he chose to be a cardiothoracic surgeon. While he claimed that he became a surgeon after asking his professor which job would allow him to get the most money, with a glimpse of a flashback scene, it was revealed that when back as a student, Jun Wan was given the opportunity to witness a surgery and then, to touch a beating human heart, and felt life, that solidified his decision to choose cardiology as his field. Recalling that scene gives me goosebumps even now. That was magical.
Jun Wan is also a huge foodie, his only competition being Song-Hwa.
“What have you done for yourself lately?”
Chae Song Hwa is an associate professor of neurosurgery. Discerning without being too critical, she is intelligent and is often the mother hen of the group. Respected by her juniors, she has also been fondly dubbed the ‘ghost’ due to her busy schedule that has left several of her colleagues wondering whether she has time to eat or sleep. She was everywhere and knew everything, which allowed her to quietly look after the residents of the hospital and the patients.
Despite being buried under piles of work, she still made the time to grade her juniors papers, and I’m reminded of one of the first instances the viewers were given of her, which was when she comforted a patient in the elevators of a hospital. The only female professor in neurosurgery, she is kind to her patients.
I adore how decisive she is, being extremely clear about what she wants, drawing boundaries while still being friendly and radiating professionalism to those around her, despite the hardships she might be going through. She routinely goes camping during the weekend and is the embodiment of positive self-love.
Some of my favourite moments in this drama was literally just Song Hwa and Jun Wan aggressively eating like they’ve been hungry since the dawn of time. Song Hwa might have claimed that the reason she ate so rapidly, so full of zeal was because of growing up with older brothers, but Ik Jun was quick to shoot her down and note that they all looked boney.
“My time is too precious for that. I want to live doing the things I like. And the things I want to do right now.”
Probably the most under-appreciated character, Yang Seok Hyeong is a treasure. My first opinion of him was ‘mama’s boy’ and while I was correct, wow, I had not expected the reason why. In his youth, Seok Hyeong was not close to his mother at all, and we could even see him ignoring her phone calls. But after everything that happened with his dad, he grew closer to his mother, developed a new sense of protectiveness and appreciation for her, and I adore that.
He was also the reason the band reunited in the first place, making that his condition for working at the Yulje Medical Center. Despite seeming aloof, he was an open book to his friends. He didn’t like to bother or intrude on people and usually kept to himself, gaining a reputation for being a loner whenever he was not around his four friends.
Throughout the season, he was trapped in a whirlwind of turmoil, from the news of his unexpected brother to his father’s death and his surprise succession to the company he wants no ties with. He maintains a calm exterior and braces through the troubles.
Seok Hyeong lives up to the sensitivity his job demands from him, softly informing expecting mothers about the risks of their pregnancies while encouraging and empathising with them when things get hard.
He prefers to stay in the shadows and allow people the opportunity to sort their messes out themselves, after reminding them that he’s only a call away if they need him. He’s an excellent confident booster and appreciates those who are responsible.
These characters stayed not only in my mind but also in my heart. Each of them has such vivid personalities I can’t entirely capture in words. Their insecurities, struggles, and feelings were so real and incredibly relatable and easy to empathise with.
As conveyed by the title, music plays an important part in this T.V. serial, by allowing the characters to reminisce their college days and also allowing them a breather from their stressful life. There are thousands of words in the English language, and yet, I can’t string together enough of them to express how I felt when Jo Jung Seok sang Aloha.
The doctors use music not only as an outlet to release their frustrations, but also to express their thoughts and feelings. To heal. Listening to the songs and the covers made by the band lightened my heart. The labour they put into practising the songs made the moments more precious.
Through the music sessions in this T.V. serial, I found my affection for each character increasing. I found myself surprised to recognise some of the songs considering they are quite old, but I hummed along and felt the air around me thrum with glee as they sang.
I also found it rather ironic that Chae Song Hwa is considered to be a bad singer (her pre-routine of gulping down raw eggs fascinated me on an odd level) although the actress who plays her, Jeon Mi Do is a talented singer.
Therapeutic and well-written, I marvel at the writer’s ability to weave together arrays of mundane subplots into endearing bliss, leaving lingering positivity after every episode along with a yearning to watch more.
I’m a huge fan of writer Lee Woo-Jung’s Reply series and was hesitant to start this drama, afraid that it would fall short of expectations. But having watched it, I can safely say that those concerns were unnecessary, and whatever expectations I had were only exceeded. I couldn’t recognise any leading plotline of this drama. To me, it simply showcased the daily life of five doctors.
As it is character-driven, there is a slow progression of the drama, which needs some time getting adapted to. It was also a little hard trying to keep track of the multiple characters initially introduced, but within three episodes, I was able to get a hang of things. The dialogues were witty, impactful and sharp, capturing my attention from the beginning to the end. However, despite containing a plethora of humorous moments throughout this serial, there was a subdued layer that focused more on the community than the plot.
I must admit, however, that I found the first episode to be subtly chaotic and slow-paced. I couldn’t grasp the concepts or connect with the characters until the second episode, after which I had no qualms.
I loved the character arcs in this story. It was a pleasure to observe their journeys and diligence as various storylines diverged or amalgamated, how they grew as individuals while maintaining their core values. The flashback scenes were fascinating to watch and compare how they are now to how they used to be.
The cinematography was stunning. I was in awe at how different shades and tones of light could impact not only the setting of the scene but also the mood of the viewers.
I recommend “Hospital Playlist” to anyone who likes to watch T.V. serials possessing the perfect amount of drama, laughter, angst, warmth and love. This serial is a truly rare gem in a basket of rocks where the storylines are solid without being too predictable.
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Touch me — 1
Type: Series
Pairing: Kim Junmyeon (EXO Suho) X Unnamed OFC
Rated: M (no smut yet)
Summary: He's the manager at the library. Smart, polite, and most obviously, incredibly sexy. She doesn't want the opportunity to pass so she teases the hell out of him. Until he breaks...
Previous: part 0.5
Warnings: a bit of an age gap (30 and early 20s)
Word count: 3.8k
Tags: @fightoh @suhotly @ctc95 @suhowifeuu @smolpeyy @lavellanfriendliness @eggsoyehet @ohsehunxv
—
Monday comes around. Her classes were cut short for the day, so she and her friend decide to grab a bite and hang out.
"So how is it so far? I've heard that professor is no joke."
"Oh god don't get me started," she thinks back on all the crap that's been dumped onto her ever since starting the semester. "It's only week two and it's been hell... I don't know how I'm gonna pass this subject."
"Well unfortunately you know how it is. And if I'm being honest, his tests are even harder." Her friend Jenna grimaces.
"Ugh you're kidding me..." she sighs in defeat, regretting how she didn't take up this general subject earlier and got it over with. But now she has no choice.
"-go back over notes after each class or you'll totally be screwed." She listens to the last part after unintentionally blocking out Jenna's voice, her eyes widening at that last statement.
"But I don't wannaa... not my style." She whines, taking a small bite from her sandwich. Jenna raises her brows at her friend's childish manners.
"...'Style'..."
"Fine okay, whatever I guess. Let's talk about something else." She shrugs it off, changing the topic for now. It stays at the back of her mind though, wondering in what ways can she make this situation a bit more tolerable. She has other classes after all, a shit ton of assignments, and it can be depressing to her if she forces herself and she knows it... that's just the way she is. Maybe a change of scenery while studying?
She thinks back on different places she's been recently, places with a calming atmosphere, possibly quiet...
All of a sudden she's reminded of the library and that one encounter with its attractive manager. It has almost slipped her mind, but now looking back at it she feels more eager to revise today's lecture.
She makes up her mind to stop by the place before heading home.
—
She enters it once again, getting butterflies in her stomach when recalling what happened the last time she was here.
Technically nothing really happened... but she saw this insanely cute guy. And he smiled. And waved. That's something right? To her longer than admitted relationship-less life, it is actually considered something.
She doesn't see him at first glance, so she tells herself to stop acting like a teenager. Later, time to study now. She promises herself.
She takes a seat at the same place as her previous visit, settling down and pulling out her book and notes in front of her. She can't stop herself as she raises her head a little to look, and it's not too hard to find him this time while he's standing by the shelves talking to a customer.
Their eyes meet by chance, and he flashes her that gorgeous smile yet again. She notices how extra warm he's looking today, wearing a sweater this time with some shirt under it. And of course, those damn glasses.
She smiles back 'casually', an exact opposite from what she feels on the inside. Why is her heart jumping like this? She blames his cute looks and that attractive gentleman aura of his.
She forcefully peels her eyes away from him, telling herself to seriously calm the fuck down.
Five minutes go by, nothing changes. Then ten minutes. Then fifteen. She's re-reading the same lines yet to no avail, her mind refusing to absorb any kind of information for the time being.
She feels frustrated when she looks up again, this time not finding him anywhere in sight. She looks right and left, wondering where he had disappeared when suddenly someone from behind her speaks.
"Looking for something ?" She almost jumps when she hears his voice. He comes into view and grins at her reaction.
"Huh? No nothing, I'm studying." She laughs it off, pointing at her displayed papers.
"Ah okay then. Good luck!" He gives her a cute little thumbs up in encouragement then turns to leave. She feels disappointed, knowing this could've went on for a little longer, but no unfortunately it's time to focus back again on her school work.
Fifteen more minutes pass by, and she starts to feel irritated with her lack of accomplishment. She's basically wasting her time doing nothing, and the library itself is so boring and empty, so she decides to just leave. She can't stay here when her mind is this occupied, it might've been a not so good idea in the first place.
On her way out she passes by him leaning against the front desk holding his phone. He has a surprised look on his face when he sees her.
"Oh, finished already ?"
"Well to be honest," she hesitates on telling him what's bothering her, but whatever. "I was trying to go over what I've taken today but I'm just so out of focus. I guess i'll go home and look it up or something."
"Hm..." he locks his phone and puts it away, giving her all his attention. "Maybe I can pull you out a book in here that'll help explain better ?" he offers.
"Sure, if you have anything on this." She shows him her book, making him raise his brows in acknowledgment as he takes it in.
"Ohh." He lets out a laugh, clearly amused. She's confused and he sees it, so he explains.
"I remember studying this subject back in college." He chuckles. She makes an 'oh' face in realisation, and that's when it clicks in her mind. Let's give it a shot.
"Ooh, how was it for you?"
"Hmm, I was pretty good at it actually." Perfect.
"What if... you help me out a little then? I don't think more reading will do me anything at this point." She subconsciously gives him a cute puppy face, and it's not hard to convince him to agree to her.
"Sure. As you can clearly tell," he gestures with his hands around him at the deserted library. "It's a very busy day today."
She giggles at his sarcasm. Wow he's a joker too.
"Hey watch over the place a little, I'm just gonna be over there helping her." He instructs his co-worker, then turns around and heads in front of her to where she was sitting earlier. She skips behind him, mentally cheering herself for her successful plan.
He goes over the pages for a little, quickly getting reminded of the topic before starting to point and explain some key points.
His voice is gentle and his tone is so calm, speaking like he knows what he's saying and putting it into words perfectly. One minute into it and she feels like she's in a trance, the only thing she's focusing on is him.
Then her eyes start wandering, looking down at his lips while they're moving and forming words. She doesn't understand what he's saying at this point, just nodding along mindlessly and agreeing with whatever he's talking about. Until he asks her a question on the topic.
"...Huh?"
"What I just explained now."
"Oh yeah yeah! That..." she thinks for a second, having zero idea on what he just said. He notices and closes his eyes in disappointment.
"Was I not clear or..." he wonders genuinely, in which she quickly starts denying with wide eyes.
"No no no! It's actually the opposite, you're so good," she stumbles, not knowing how to say it. "I guess your way of explaining is..."
"Yeah?" He replies in a lower, more careful tone, and she almost melts under his gaze.
"Um," she laughs lightly, almost nervous, but she dares say it. "...distracting maybe?"
She feels time go by so slowly at that second, waiting for his reaction.
"Oh... I'm sorry then," he rubs his neck in embarrassment and looks down at the book. "Then our time was just wasted."
What? She's shocked that this is just what he understood from her. After throwing all these hints and signals towards him, he's apologising?
"Hey, manager Kim you were literally perfect. I'm the one who should apologise here I told you I'm having trouble focusing today," she feels bad for putting him in this situation, she's the one who wasted his time, just because of her silly crush. "I'm sorry."
"No it's okay, don't worry about it." He gives her a reassuring smile, and her heart does that weird jump again. For the love of god stop being so cute. She says in her head.
"Okay, see you later?" She smiles back at him. He nods and they both get up, she starts putting her stuff away.
"Wait, what is your name?"
"Oh, it's Junmyeon." She tells him her own name, then leaves her things for a second to wrap her arms around him in a hug.
"Thank you Junmyeon." He staggers a little in surprise, standing there taken aback with his hands still in the air. He reacts then and pats her back with a laugh.
"No problem, I was entertained actually." She steps back from him and looks up in confusion.
"Huh? What's so entertaining about teaching."
"Uhm," he glances away with a small smile, before chuckling and shaking his head. "It just kind of reminded me of my college days."
She giggles at the way he's acting like a grandpa, when in reality he looks exactly like a cute little bunny with those cheeks of his.
"Stop I bet it's not that far."
"Oh but it is."
"How far?" She asks him and he takes a moment to think back on it.
"Hmm I don't know, nine years maybe?" She couldn't help herself from gasping, making him laugh in response. "Wow I look that young huh."
"So you're like thirty? Is that right?"
"Yep." She's struggling with keeping her thoughts in her head, her mind running a million thoughts per second. Something about this new info of him being in his thirties makes him more appealing to her, she doesn't know why but she feels even more attracted to him now.
"Thirty is still young by the way." She comments on what he said, and he shrugs it off with a 'sure whatever'. They share smiles and laughs during the whole exchange.
She takes her bag and waves him goodbye, heading back home while her stomach is still feeling all jittery.
She can't stop thinking about him even when she's unlocking the door to her apartment, having spent all the ride home recalling their now second encounter. She remembers how sweet he was to agree help her (even if she was a little shit who kept staring at his mouth), and how gentle and mature he sounds when he talks, and the way he has smiled at her multiple times by now. Seriously? Those precious looking smiles directed at her? What is the intention, to melt her heart into a little puddle at his feet?
She bites her lip from smiling too big, feeling like a complete idiot just standing there in front of her wardrobe still in her day clothes.
Her mind is telling her she needs to see more of that cute library manager.
—
Unfortunately for a week or so, that didn't exactly happen.
Of course life got in the way, and for the past few days she couldn't even think of anything else with how busy she's gotten. Now with an important quiz coming up, she's extra nervous about it and studied it to hell and back.
She leaves all her papers and gets up, wanting to get a breather and just get the hell out for a little bit. It's nighttime, she's still in her pyjamas, she doesn't even know where she's going, hut all she's thinking is fuck it as she grabs her phone and keys. It is kind of reckless to just leave like this, but in her head she says maybe she'll just go to her close-by usual café or whatever.
Just as she arrives at that spot, she looks a little down the street at the familiar place she hasn't thought of these days. What has he been up to? Did he think of me at all? She wonders.
She figures seeing him will instantly make her mood better, so she crosses out her initial plan and heads to the library.
She pushes the door open, looking around and seeing it practically empty again at this hour. What if he's not on his shift? She clearly didn't think it through, but she ignores the voice in her head and gives it a try as she struts around casually.
She passes the aisles one by one, until she finally lays eyes on what she was looking for. Or more specifically, who she was looking for. She wants to sigh in relief, he might just be the highlight in her otherwise miserable week.
"Oh, manager Kim!" She walks up to him as he was apparently arranging some books. He looks up when hearing his name, quickly recognising her and smiling in her way.
"Oh hey," he continues his work on the shelf. "Haven't seen you for a while."
Damn you, heart. Calm. Down.
"Yeah you know, college, life," she stands beside him, attempting at any sort of conversation. "What are you doing there ?"
"Stocking some new books, almost done with my shift now," he puts up another one. "Did you come here to talk to me or to actually study ?"
He says it jokingly without even looking, so she decides to muster up and just say some of the truth.
"Umm, both I guess?" He pauses and looks at her now. She smiles innocently at him, biting her lip subtly, which in return makes him glance down at her lips before looking back into her eyes. He clears his throat awkwardly and looks away, putting up the last book in his hand.
"So you want something from here or can we just..." he means to leave but she quickly comes up with a lie.
"Wait, uh I need a book from there actually." She points at a place behind him randomly. He turns around to look, then looks back to her confused.
"Where?"
"Oh right there I think..." he goes along with her and walks over to where she pointed, somewhere farther behind aisles close to a corner.
"What exactly-" he spins back to face her, only to find her directly standing in front of him. He laughs in surprise. "When did you follow me this fast ?"
"I walked up right behind you." She smiles, now very much close to cornering him against the wall of books.
"Are you sure you meant a book..." he laughs it off, looking visibly more nervous now.
"Yeah, what else ?" She casually pulls out a random book from beside him. "Found it."
She opens it and stares a little, pretending to have interest in whatever the hell she just pulled out on a whim. He furrows his brows as he takes the book from her hand, looking at the title and stifling a laugh.
"10th grade physics. Interesting."
"Does it matter ?" She lets out a little laugh, taking it back from his hands and throwing it to the side.
She's getting more serious now as comes closer to him, looking up into his eyes and giving him that look. Her bottled up feelings are coming up and she just can't stop them, her mind clouded and her frustrations from everything in her life right now is making her act out more than usual.
"Junmyeon..." he looks back at her, not saying a word as she comes closer and closer.
Their faces are so near from each other now, her eyes darting down to his lips then back up, her intentions very clear.
"What are you doing..." he whispers just as their lips almost connect, eyes closed by now.
"Isn't it obvious?" She whispers back, and finally goes in for it.
Their lips touch softly, staying still for a few seconds. She begins moving her mouth so slowly, kissing him and testing the waters. Before realising he still hasn't moved a centimetre.
She pulls back a little, looking up at him while his eyes are still closed. She calls his name in a careful tone to see his response, and he opens his eyes and looks down at her.
"...you shouldn't have done that." Her heart sinks a little.
"Why not ?" She gets closer again, their breaths hitting each other's faces as she tilts her head up to the side, waiting for him to make the move this time. Their lips are so close, all he has to do is press his down onto hers like she did earlier
But he doesn't. He's not pulling away, but he doesn't move in for it either.
When she sees he's not initiating anything, she moves back away from his personal space and looks at him with disappointment.
"What is it?"
"You know... it doesn't work." He looks at her with pleading eyes.
"What doesn't work? Give me a reason." She presses. He seemed into her enough to not pull away, and she caught him a few times eyeing her, specifically her lips, it doesn't make sense that he backs off this way.
"I... you're too young." He murmurs, not making any eye contact whatsoever. She crosses her arms.
"I'm twenty one... if that's your reasoning, remember we're both of age here and we're free to make our own choices." He looks conflicted, like he agrees with what she's saying but still holding himself back. She holds both his hands in hers, leaning in close to him once again and tilting her head.
“Come on, do it," she whispers. "Kiss me..."
Time is moving so slow as he leans down his head finally, getting his lips closer to hers. It is clear that he wants her too, and she awaits the moment that their lips touch once again, but he just stops there.
"I-I'm not sure..."
"Okay then hear me out," she stands back away from him, sighing as she gives it a thought. "Let's go on a date. If you're still unsure, we'll leave it at that for good."
The eye contact feels too strong, and he takes a few second to make a decision as he nods slowly.
"Okay ?"
"Yes, okay."
They exchange numbers and go to part ways, but not before her giving him a sweet smile in reassurance as she's leaving. The corners of his mouth lift up slightly as he smiles back at her, growing more and more convinced in his decision of agreeing to go on this date with her.
In his mind, he has never went for women who aren't within his age range, so this is definitely very new for him. He knows nine years isn't really the smallest number, but like she said it won't hurt to give it a chance since they're both adults here.
He is still looking at where she left with a small smile, shaking his head as he can't believe what had just happened. She knows what she wants... and it's damn hot. He admits to himself.
Finally snapping out of it, he attempts to push all thoughts of her out of his mind for the time being. It's way too early to try and guess what's going to happen on their date...
He continues to pack some stuff up and close the place for the night, with her still lingering at the back of his head against his own will. He might just enjoy their time together more than he initially thought, and he can't help but look forward to it.
So being the person that he is, as soon as he enters his home he types her up a text.
'Hey there, did you get home safely?
Just wanted to say that even though I wasn't sure at first- you shouldn't worry about anything now. I actually can't wait to see you again.'
He looks at it and frowns. Too wordy, very unnecessary over-explanations. Why the sudden nerves?
'Hey there, did you get home safely?'
He goes with just that for now, leaving his phone on the bed as he starts changing into something more comfortable for the night. Just when he pulls off his shirt, he hears the familiar new message sound making him leave his closet open and go check her reply.
'Yup.' He reads her simple answer. He starts typing again but she beats him to it, a picture of her suddenly popping up in a message bubble.
She's lying down on her bed in the dim lights of her room, holding up a peace sign while flashing him her pearly whites in a cute smile. He catches himself smiling back instinctively, quickly typing up a reply.
'Good.'
Send.
'Just wanted to check in on you.'
Send.
He locks his phone momentarily and throws it back on the bed, taking off his pants now and deciding to wear just some sweatpants to sleep. His duvet is pretty thick so he didn't bother.
He lies down finally, checking his phone again to see two new messages from none other than her.
'Aw seriously?'
'Well let me check in on you too... where's my cute pic :('
He laughs out loud at that. That little...
He looks down at himself, very topless, and that gets his mind going.
'Sorry, can't do cute pics atm.'
'Can I ask why, mister?'
'...sure you wanna see ?'
Over at her home she's reading his text once more, her heartbeat accelerating when she thinks on the possible meanings behind what he's saying. He's flirting back, holy shit-
'Bring it on, manager Kim.' And send.
She picks at her nails as she waits in anticipation, and that damn 'ding' rings in her ear as she quickly opens his newly sent photo.
He's mimicking her own picture, lying down on his back as well and holding up a peace sign. But what's very different is his obvious naked upper half, the covers coming up at just below his chest. His chest to her surprise looking muscular and very toned.
Her eyes also take in his shoulders and arms, feeling herself about to drool with this rather suggestive picture. She already found him pretty sexy before in all these baggy sweaters and shirts, but now knowing all of this is underneath takes it to a whole new level.
Her hands start to sweat as she ponders what to say next, feeling her body getting hot overall.
'Saved. ✅'
He smirks to himself at her response, having noticed how long it took for her to type it. Oh well she asked for it.
Time goes by unnoticed as they continue this playful/flirty texting back and forth, feeling more at ease with each other and for him a lot less tense.
Later on they find themselves going to sleep that night with a clichéd smile across their faces, the instant click between them being something of a pleasant surprise. The start of a beautiful and exciting thing perhaps.
—
(A/N): obviously I apologise for how late I posted this. I swear i have commitment problems to projects… dw it’s because we haven’t got to the good stuff 😈 can’t wait to show you what i have in mind
Comment if you wanna be tagged in all future parts! ♥️
Thanks everyone! Xx
#exo smut#suho smut#junmyeon smut#kim junmyeon smut#exo fanfic#suho fanfic#junmyeon fanfic#kim junmyeon fanfic#exo#suho#junmyeon#kim junmyeon
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Pieces Of My Heart
Words: 3038
Square Filled for @buckybarnesbingo : K3, “It’s Not Your Fault”
Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader
Rating: General
Request: “Hello :) I'd like to request a bucky imagine if that's okay. Maybe something like the love story in the Greatest Showman Zendaya and zac Efron? Where it's difficult for them to get together but Buck fights for your love and in the end you end up together? :)” - @tieddown-withbattleshipchains
Summary: Bucky goes away on a mission that’s supposed to last a month. After two weeks Reader gets a call from Steve that things aren’t exactly going according to plan...
“It seems like you’re going away forever.” You sighed, twirling a lock of Bucky’s shoulder length hair around your finger.
“You say that every time I leave.” He laughs, his lips inches away from yours.
“Well, I mean it every time you leave.” You pouted.
“It’s only a month, [Y/N]. I know that seems like a long time,” He apologized. “but I’ll have regularly scheduled check ins and you can call the compound at any time. The team will know how to reach me in case of an emergency. Now can I have my goodbye kiss?”
“If I don’t give it, will you have to stay until I do?” You asked, pulling your lips back a few centimeters.
“If I don’t get it, I’ll have to leave for my mission anyway, but I’ll be doing it without your sweet kisses and your blessing. Which would be bad luck.” He frowned.
“Fine.” You finally brought your lips to touch his.
“There, was that so hard?” Bucky asked once he could finally tear himself away from you. “I’ll miss you the entire time. I promise.”
“I’d rather you promise you’ll come back in one piece.” You told him.
“Can’t. I’m already missing parts.” He held up his vibranium arm. “And every time I leave there’s at least a piece of me still here with you, but I’ll be back in as many pieces as possible. I better go before Rogers & Wilson leave without me.”
“Would that really be so bad?” You asked as he picked up his bag.
“I’ll see you in four weeks, [Y/N]. I love you.” He called over his shoulder.
“I love you too!” You shouted back before he opened up the front door and left for his mission.
You settled into your “Bucky is on a mission” routine after that. There was always an adjustment period whenever he left. You had to get used to eating alone, watching TV alone; it was a lot of doing things alone. A week into the mission you got the usual check in call from Tony. He said the mission was proceeding as planned, and someone should be in touch in a few days.
Another week passed and you picked up a new hobby to occupy your time. You’d seen a lot of internet tutorials that made it seem super easy to create things with resin and some silicone molds. You ordered a bunch of supplies from Amazon and before you knew it, you had a stack of coasters that looked like geode slices. You’d been successfully distracted and didn’t notice that you hadn’t receive a check in call that week. When you did notice, you thought maybe they just had nothing new to report. Often times with the team, no news was good news.
Time moved on to the next week. You decided to re-read your favorite book series as another way to pass the time. Things were slowing down at work just when you really needed your mind occupied. Bucky had been gone for twenty days. You’d been keeping track on a calendar in the kitchen. That night, you were fighting to stay awake long enough to finish your current chapter, when your cellphone rang. It was the compound. You answered on the second ring with a yawn.
“[Y/N]? It’s Steve. Are you at home?” He asked.
“Oh, Steve, are you guys back already?” You questioned. “Bucky said you’d be gone for a month at least. Everything go according to plan?”
“Not exactly.” Steve confessed. “I’d like to talk about it with you in person. I’ll be at your place in five.” He explained before ended the call.
That sure as hell woke you up. You got out of bed and dressed yourself. If Steve would have had good new to share, he would have told you on the phone. Something was very, very wrong. Steve must have been on his way to your apartment when he called because he arrived almost exactly five minutes later.
“Where is he, Steve?” You demanded opening the front door.
“Physically, he’s fine [Y/N].” Steve assured as he stepped inside your apartment.
“Where is he?” You repeated.
“Ah,” Steve rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. “That’s classified.” He answered shortly. “What I can tell you,” He rushed to add. “Is that like I said, he is physically fine.”
“Yes, I heard you the first time. Why do you keep specifying physically?” Your voice was angrier than you expected it to be. The words carried a bit of bite you didn’t usually harbor.
“Because that’s all we’ve been able to confirm ourselves.” You watched Steve deflate in front of you as he sank into one of your kitchen chairs. “Technically speaking, Bucky is considered M.I.A.”
“M.I…You mean missing in action? As in for real missing?” Steve hesitated before nodding solemnly. “Please, tell me how you managed to lose my fiancé.”
“It’s not that simple, [Y/N] and you know that. This was a highly classified mission.” Steve insisted. “What I can tell you is he’s not himself right now. He’s gone full Winter Soldier again. Sam and I had to fall back, we can’t risk him coming in contact with anyone he’ll recognize at the moment. Sam is keeping tabs on him from a distance for now until we can get someone in undercover.”
“Why is Sam there? He’s your best friend, how could you leave him?” You asked.
“I’m going back as soon as I can, [Y/N]. It’s too big a job for Sam to do on his own and we never completed our original mission. But I came back for you.” He explained. “I have to make sure you’re safe, I know it’s what he’d want.”
“You shouldn’t have wasted time. I’m fine here. Whoever you’re worried about isn’t coming all the way to Brooklyn.” You assured him. “You should go back, help him.”
“I know it doesn’t seem like it, but I am helping him right now, just by being here.” Steve said. “It’s not Hydra I’m worried about hurting you, [Y/N]. It’s him.”
“Buck?” You laughed sarcastically. “C’mon Rogers.” But you knew the truth that hung in the air unspoken between the two of you. While the real Bucky Barnes would never allow any harm to come to you, if the Winter Soldier had been activated again, there was no knowing what he was capable of.
“If they’ve been able to find out about your very public courtship, they may believe that killing you could stop Bucky from ever coming back to us. Let me take you somewhere safe.” He asked.
“Where? The compound that has almost as many internal threats as it does external?” You questioned. “Or some type of a safe house somewhere with you who couldn’t protect him from himself in the first place?”
“I can only think of one place safe enough.” He told you. “I’ll help you pack.”
Two years. That’s how long you had been hiding. Sure, Steve had made arrangements for you to be kept in the most secure and luxurious hiding place imaginable, but it hadn’t made you feel better. You never worried for yourself. You only ever worried about Bucky. No one could tell you exactly what had happened to him or where he was. Your every question was met with the same response. “Classified.”
You faced the windows of your guest room, studying the view from the palace. The country of Wakanda reminded you of a planet you might find in a Star Wars film. The architecture in the city below was a strange mix of modern technology with ancient structures. Towers and spires seemed to jut from locations at random. Juxtaposed behind everything else was a backdrop of lush jungles and sturdy mountain tops.
There was a knock on the door. You sighed and looked away from the lively landscape. You hardly left your room since coming to stay in the Wakanda. You didn’t want to be a bother to your incredibly generous hosts. Generally, only the staff came by either to clean or bring you food. On occasion Shuri or even the King of Wakanda himself would drop by, usually to provide a status report if he had one. You opened the door to see T’Challa smiling on the other side.
“Good morning [Y/N]!” He greeted you cheerily.
“Good morning, Your Highness.” You greeted him and invited him in. “You seem to be in a good mood today.”
“[Y/N], I am in a great mood.” He confirmed. “I have just spoken with Captain Rogers.”
“There’s good new then?” You wondered.
“I’m sorry I cannot provide more information at this time,” He explained. “But I am expecting another phone call this afternoon. With any luck, we may finally know the whereabouts of Sargent Barnes. I know you are anxious to be reunited with him and return home.”
“I’m sorry if I’ve seemed ungrateful at all during my stay.” You apologized immediately.
“Please, do not worry. You were taken from your home to a foreign country and separated from your friends and people you love most. You have been rightfully concerned about Sergeant Barnes as well. I am happy that we were able to provide you with security and shelter during this time. Should our services be needed again, the gates of Wakanda will always be open to you.” T’Challa assured you. “Please enjoy the rest of your morning. I will return this afternoon when I have more information.”
That afternoon, you decided to go for a walk. Both to give the cleaning staff room to do their job and to work through your muddled feelings. You thought of what T’Challa had said that morning. It had felt like so long, your stay in Wakanda. You wondered if it could be possible, were you finally at the end of the winding and twisting road? Would you finally see Bucky again? You’d just been about to head back to your room when you heard the exclamations of the princess.
“[Y/N]! [Y/N]!” You heard Shuri excitedly shouting for you. She bounded towards you, full of more energy than usual. “I have just heard the most wonderful news!” She said with a beaming smile.
“Are you going to share it with me?” You asked.
“Of course! But you must promise to act excited when my brother tells you himself.” She told you.
“Shuri, you didn’t happen to spy on T’Challa’s call with Steve, did you?” You narrowed your eyes at her suspiciously.
“It is not spying if he leaves the door to his office open, is it?” She questioned.
“I suppose not.” You laughed. “Okay, what’s the news?”
“They have found him!” She announced, squeezing your arm.
“I suppose it is true what they say. Good news travels fast.” You heard the King’s voice from behind you. You turned to face him. “Sergeant Barnes has been found and extracted. He will be here with within the hour.”
“I can’t believe it.” You said with tears brimming in your eyes. “Will I be allowed to see him?”
“Of course.” T’Challa nodded. “I will gladly notify you once they’ve arrived.”
Your palms were sweaty. You brushed them against the sides of your skirt nervously. Your heart was pounding and you felt like you were struggling to breath in the muggy Wakandan air. You lived anxiously for the past two years and didn’t understand how you could possibly be feeling even more nervous as you waited for the quinjet to land.
“Everything is going to be fine, [Y/N].” T’Challa whispered in assurance as the ramp of the jet opened. Your breath seemed to catch in your throat as James Buchan Barnes stumble down the ramp, flanked by Sam & Steve. He was leaning on Sam partially for support, but his face lit up when he laid eyes on you.
“I promised I’d be back in as many pieces as possible!” He shouted to you with a smile on his face.
“Go get him.” Shuri elbowed you encouragingly. You could only shake your head slightly in response. There was the man you loved. The man you’d worried about, pained over. He was only a hundred feet from you, and suddenly it didn’t feel right. There was a burn in your chest, an ache. As if by saying hello you were actually saying good-bye. Tears traced your face as the three men continued to move closer.
“I have to go.” You told T’Challa and Shuri. You turned on your heels and ran back towards the castle. Once inside you continued running. When you couldn’t run anymore you moved as fast as your legs would carry you. You tore into your room and began shoving your things into your suitcase. There was a knock at the door. You ignored it.
“[Y/N]? It’s Sam. Can I come in?” He called through the door. “I’m alone.”
“I’m a little occupied Wilson!” You shouted back to him, getting your other suitcase out of the wardrobe.
“I’m coming in.” Sam announced before pushing the door open. “What’s going on?”
“Isn’t it obvious, I’m packing.” You huffed. “There’s no need for me to stay in Wakanda so…”
“I meant why did you run.” Sam sighed.
“I don’t…I don’t know.” You confessed. “I saw him and I just…panicked.” You threw the handful of clothes you hold at the bed. “Sam the past two years, I wanted nothing more than for Bucky to be back. But I saw him stumbling out of the quinjet and I don’t think I can do it. I can’t be the person who helps put him back together. I’m not strong enough to do it again.”
“You don’t have to.” You and Sam both looked up at the door where Bucky was standing, slightly hunched. He had deep bags under his eyes and he looked like he hadn’t slept the whole two years. Steve and T’Challa were standing in the hall behind him.
“Buck, why don’t we…” Steve reached forward and tried to gasps Bucky’s shoulder, but his best friend shook him off.
“I love you.” Bucky said very seriously. His eyes locked onto yours and he stumbled a little closer. Sam took a half step protectively closer to you, but you didn’t think anyone else noticed. “I am so sorry that I it took so long to get back to you. Two months apart from you would have been hard, but two years…You lost two years of your life because of me. I know that I cannot apologize enough…”
“Bucky you don’t have to apologize.” You interrupted him. “I don’t know all the details, and I don’t need to, you’re not responsible for what you do as the Winter Soldier. You don’t owe me any explanation or apology.”
“I’m giving one just the same.” He insisted. “I can’t imagine how hard this has been for you and I don’t know how I’m going to begin making it up to you, but I swear I will. I have to. You’re the reason that I’m me again.”
“But I don’t want that responsibility anymore, Buck.” You sighed. You voice trembled and everyone in the room could tell you were hold back a fresh wave of tears.
“It’s okay.” He told you, stepping closer. “It’s my turn to take responsibility. Do you know how I got back? How I broke through the mind control? I fought for you. I imagined how you must have felt, what you must have been thinking when you heard I’d disappeared. I know how much you feared getting that type of call from Steve or someone else. I knew I had to get back to you, so that you knew I was okay. I knew that if I didn’t, you’d never recover from that type of loss. Not because you’re not strong, you’re tough as nails, Doll. But I know you loved me. Even if that’s in the past tense now. I just wanted you to know that I’m alive and I’m okay. That’s all I wanted to say.”
“I-I…You were able to break free of the mind control because of your love for me?” You repeated, trying to make sure you heard him right.
“Well, when you say it like that you make it sound so easy.” He shrugged. “Believe me it wasn’t.”
“Why don’t we give you guys some space.” Steve suggested awkwardly.
“No, it’s okay, I’m going.” Bucky said. “But I want you to have this.” He reached into his pockets and pulled out a small wooden box with hand carved Wakandan symbols on it. “I had some help from the King.” He confessed, looking briefly over his shoulder at T’Challa. It was originally going to have a question accompanying it, but that doesn’t seem appropriate now.” Bucky passed the small box over to you. “Either way, I want you to have it.”
“[Y/N], will you consider staying with us one more night? Shuri will be most disappointed if she doesn’t get to give you a proper goodbye and she’s already returned to her work for the afternoon.” T’Challa explained. “The rest if you are welcome to stay as well. There is plenty of room for everyone.”
“One more night.” You agreed. “It’s the least I can do after everything you’ve done for me.” T’Challa nodded. He, Sam, Steve and Bucky all began filing out of your room. You looked down at the ornate box in your hand.
“Buck?” You called after him. He hung back while the others continued on. “Two years ago, I would have said yes to this in a heartbeat.” You indicated the box, guessing there was most likely and engagement ring inside.
“And now?” He asked quietly.
“How can we be sure this won’t happen again, that you won’t disappear again?” You questioned.
“Are you kiddin’ me? You won’t be able to get rid of me if you tell me that’s what you want.” He smirked. “I’ll get a civilian job. We can move somewhere totally off the grid if you want.”
“I want you to be able to have your own life.” You told him.
“I had my own life for seventy years.” He said. “It only took me two to realize the one part of it that matter was you. I said when I left that I was leaving a piece of me with you, I took a lot more of you with me than I thought.”
#Bucky Barnes#James Buchanan Barnes#Bucky Barnes Reader Insert#Bucky Barnes x Reader#Bucky Barnes Fan Fiction#Bucky Barnes x Fan Fic#Bucky Barnes FF
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Wait so.. link to this quodo fic you mentioned in your tags?? I’m intrigued :DD
its only an idea but i will HAPPILY ramble about it in detail under this read more because i never finish writing fics but i do love sharing my notes.
they get Pretty Extensive considering this clocked in at 2k words. so strap in.
tl;dr: karaoke night gone wild leads to garashir and quodo setting each other up for holodeck shenanigans
so basically quark has acquired a karaoke program. everyone on ds9 is going mad about it and it's keeping the holosuites booked out for weeks
the main squad decides to try it out and they just jam to a mix of human, klingon and bajoran music. but lets be real it's mostly human music because i have a mighty need to see captain benjamin sisko tear up the dancefloor to Earth Wind & Fire’s September. so sue me.
anyway everyone has to sing, even odo, even garak and they all have a blast. the only person who is notably absent is Quark because Quark has a bar to run and Quark can't indulge in mindless fun activities when he has money to make.
Unless… Odo challenges him and he has to prove that Odo is wrong.
so yeah quark checks on the gang to see how they like this “Hooman Kara-oke” and if he can sell them some drinks and everyone is like “hey you should sing. just one song. we won't even laugh about your bad ferengi singing! we promise!"
and quark is about to say "ferengi voices arent that bad. im still not gonna sing tho."
but odo is ahead of the game and insults his grating voice and how it could only be worse in song.
and because this is quark he’s like “actually fuck you. now I WILL sing.”
so he snatches the mic from whoever was about to go next and fucking Crushes It.
while odo starts Looking Respectfully everyone else is just going "woooooo! go quark!" which makes quark just get even more into it
Takes His Jacket Off, Drops It On The Floor, Dances With The Microphone Stand. The Works.
and he's also enjoying himself like "haha! suck it odo! i'm a good performer, it's how I make money!"
until he actually looks at Odo and Odo is Looking Back and then he’s like “wait what the fuck why is he looking at me” and Promptly Messes Up A Step And Falls Off The Stage-
so now quark has a twisted ankle and julian has to take him to the infirmary, which bums out quite literally Everyone and the gathering disperses, leaving only Garak and Odo.
garak as we know is but a simple tailor, but he’s Observant and his little lizard eyes did spy odo looking at quark and making the soup-version of heart eyes. we also know he is the gayest bicth on this station so of course he’s going to poke and prod at odo to see how he reacts.
garak waits until everyone is out of the room and asks odo if he can walk the dear constable home to the ol’ bucket.
because odo looked a little melty during quark’s performance, y’know. it’d be bad if he turned into soup on the promenade.
odo denies this, of course, so garak is like “oh great then we can have a Chat :)”
and odo goes "wait no i hate talking” but then they’re in garaks shop and drinking kanar and garak is getting drunk off his lizard ass and talking about Julian because, again, he IS THAT BITCH!
meanwhile in the infirmary, Julian is trying to take care of quark’s ankle, but since he’s nosy and kinda Knows that quark wouldn’t just mess up his steps for no reason he asks about that.
and quark loudly goes “NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS JUST FIX MY DAMN ANKLE-”
which of course turns the nosyness up to 11 and has julian going 👀
"no i mean uh- i was distracted"
"distracted? by what?"
"nothing"
"distracted by nothing?"
"FIX. MY. ANKLE."
so julian sits him down on a biobed and gets whatever medical thingie fixes ankles in the 24th century. and while he does that he offers quark some wine to loosen the tongue about what made him slip.
anyway one thing leads to another and before you know it quark and julian are wine-drunk sitting on the infirmary floor and talking about garak.
which suits quark just fine because it means he doesn’t have to admit he fell because odo was looking at him like he just revealed all the secrets of the universe along with his bare arms when he took off his jacket.
so we have two sets of gay idiots getting drunk in two locations and the next morning two sets of gay idiots have hangovers.
yes odo gets a hangover. being soup does not exempt him from it.
julian and odo do the right, logical thing and take some meds to go to work and be productive and garak shows up in the bar to fight fire with fire and finds quark Already Doing That.
so they just sit next to each other, beating their hangovers with more alcohol, and they get to talking.
garak goes on about how he took odo home and pretty much only talked about julian all night and quark is like “wow what a coincidence, the doctor and i only talked about you all night.”
and it's all downhill from there because basically quark and garak just figured out that the garashir pining is Mutual.
"wait, julian was looking at me???"
"yes."
"AND I WAS LOOKING AT JULIAN-"
"Yes."
and then they hash out this elaborate scheme to trap julian and garak in one of the Spy holosuite programs until they make out.
this is garak and quark planning. how could they NOT make an elaborate scheme involving holosuites.
anyway i promised quodo so i will keep the ‘garashir makes out in the holosuite’ section a lil more brief
so within the next two days these two gay bitches whip up a new “The Adventures Of Agent Bashir” program, but quark has ‘adjusted’ the program a little so that it only ends when the main characters kiss. fun stuff.
garak and julian go through the program, havin a blast being spies, but at the end garak’s character gets “shot”, and they are so immersed in the story that julian is Actually Concerned and garak Actually Acts like he's in pain.
they kiss, the program ends, and garak- not actually shot- goes “haha gotcha, you wanted to kiss me before i died”
so they walk out the holosuite one hour after their time is already up with a lot of hickeys and untied bowties. hooray.
But That’s Not What We’re Here For.
after garak and julian come down from the high of getting together julian asks Just How and Why quark would agree to help with this. quark Never helps Unless he’s helping himself.
and they realised Quark Has Played Them Like Cheap Kazoos. he just wanted to take attention away from himself and the unanswered question of why he suddenly fell off the stage.
so they go "wait, if odo and quark were both lying and obscuring facts and being weird about this, doesn't that mean- ohhh"
and it boils down to them deciding to help those poor fuckers because they are apparently off even worse than they were in terms of mutual pining.
they also hash out an elaborate scheme. this time it involves odo’s never ending hard on for finding reasons to throw quark into jail.
since quark technically violated the holosuite rules by locking garak and julian in there garak goes over to odo to report the “Crime”
after some back and forth about Why In The World Garak, Friend And Tailor, would report a crime to odo that doesn’t affect anyone’s safety Odo heads to the bar to investigate the holosuites and if there really was criminal activity.
he doesn’t ask quark for permission, mostly because he’d never ask permission to snoop around in quark’s property but also because quark is actually not there at the moment. for Some Reason he’s being held up in the infirmary. Weird.
so odo is looking through the holosuite recordings of the last few days, and he runs through what garak said was the illegal activity of locking them in there and just goes "Ah, alright, i can throw him in a holding cell for that.”
but then he sees a message left by garak.
it was apparently left there today so garak must have prepared this which means something is afoot.
and the message just reads "the karaoke session was recorded and you might wanna check what Actually™ made quark trip :)"
to which odo reacts with "hmph. why should i care. maybe hes just messing with me and quark tripped over a cable."
but Odo looks at it anyway. respectfully.
and he watches the whole performance up until the point where quark falls. Multiple Times.
until he remembers that this is a criminal investigation and he finally looks at the part where he falls from quark’s perspective, which is the important one.
and he just. looks right at himself. looking at quark.
and holy shit. he looked at him like he was going to shove him against a wall, not to beat him up, but to make out with him. he straight up looked like he was going to mess him up but not with his fists.
so he stands right in front of quark and replays that moment to see quark’s reaction and analyse how he fell. and sure enough quark Saw Him and his knees gave out.
after that he really just wants to walk out and spend the next 30 hours as a houseplant to cleanse his mind of any quark-related thoughts but uh oh. when he opens the holosuite door Quark Is Right There.
and odo panics and just pulls him inside, accidentally re-initiating the spy program.
“But how did Quark happen to be there at just the right time?” i hear you ask
well it was OUR MAN BASHIR
while garak was at odos place telling him to investigate quark’s wrongdoings, quark himself got called to the infirmary for a check-up on his twisted ankle.
and julian kept him there, examining his ankle over and over, until garak came in to Insinuate that Someone is snooping around in the holosuites.
so quark, yelling "NO COPS IN MY BAR", hurries over to the holosuites on his totally fine ankle and bada bing bada boom, here we are.
with two idiots stuck in a locked holosuite.
odo is like "QUARK WTF" meanwhile quark is like "ODO WTF"
"YOU LOCKED US IN A HOLOSUITE"
"NO YOU LOCKED US IN A HOLOSUITE"
”well it was you who pulled me in here"
"but it was you who designed it like this"
anyway to get out they have to go through the program somehow. quark and garak programmed this very carefully. unless they follow the general story, there’s no way out.
and at first quark says "listen, its okay, we just have to kiss" to which odo replies with that kinda look you’d get from someone if you told them to swallow a cactus whole, for fun.
"you heard me"
"quark if this is a joke-"
"its not. i made rom pull an all nighter to put in the new sensors."
"you paid him for this???"
"no."
"right of course."
and after a very quick cheek kiss doesn’t end up doing the trick the two actually go through the program properly. except quark knows the script, cheats a little, takes shortcuts and totally doesnt impress odo by shooting a few hologram guards on the way.
so they get to the end, where they believe odo is supposed to get “shot”, but turns out they mixed up the roles and quark is the one who gets shot.
And Odo Doesn’t Know. The Safeties. Are. On.
so he tearfully goes "WAIT NO- QUARK!"
and quark is like "odo...odo come closer..."
"yes, quark?"
"kiss me"
"quark please dont die i'll kiss you and we'll beam you straight to the infirmary and-"
"ODO JUST KISS ME"
and then they kiss. the holosuite controls unlock and quark thinks ‘oh great, now we can leave-’ but odo doesnt stop kissing him
and he doesn’t Stop kissing him until quark actually speaks up and has to go "HEY IF THIS WERE REAL I’D BE DYING BY NOW-"
"what?"
"the safeties are on. I didn’t get shot. you just had to kiss me to unlock the controls-"
and odo is like "QUARK"
and quark is like "ODO"
and then odo gets up and is very convinced that he Must Turn Into A Houseplant For A Ferengi Lifespan To Atone For His Sins.
but quark says “no, wait. can you do it again?”
"yelling at you?"
"kissing me."
anyway odo finally gets to fulfill his fantasy of pushing quark against a wall and quark finally gets kissed by odo like hes dreamed of for like 15 years or however long ago it was that they were first on terok nor together during the cardassian occupation.
the end.
#quodo#ds9#deep space nine#look if anyone reads this whole thing. please talk to me about it. this is my pepe silvia.#ALSO IF SOMEONE WANTS TO *WRITE THIS*#GO AHEAD
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The Perfect Arrangement
Summary: When your father, the king of the southern kingdom, arranges for you to marry the werewolf prince of the northern kingdom to create an alliance, you are less than thrilled. The last thing you expect is to actually fall in love and find a better home than you left behind. Will things go as planned, or will this alliance come crumbling down around you? Will you choose love or your family? [fluff] [royal au] [werewolf au]
Word count: 19k
|Masterlist In Bio|
Astoria is beautiful this time of year. The trees are all turning bright shades of orange, red and yellow. Under any other circumstances you'd be thrilled to be visiting such a beautiful place. But now, today, you're driving toward a future here. A future you didn't choose for yourself and one you cannot change.
Your dad, the King of Highwater, made a lot of enemies on his way to the throne. You were only a baby when your family took the royal position in the Southern kingdom. Twenty three years later and he's trying to make amends with those he turned against. But to do so he needs allies and there is no ally more powerful or larger than the Northern wolf kingdom of Astoria, and what better way to solidify an ally than to marry into their family.
When you were eighteen your older sister, the favorite child, married a man in the east who was set to take the throne of the Eastern kingdom. Danielle was always the pride and joy of your family. She was the prettiest, smartest and highest sought after woman in the South. Your parents doted on her, gave her everything. Danielle was a princess through and through and you...well you just did your own thing. You didn't have to worry about being princess like, and that was just fine. You hated all that proper royal hullabaloo and stayed out of it. Until now.
Two weeks ago your dad announced during a dinner that you would be sent to Astoria and expected to marry the prince. It came out of nowhere and completely shook your world. Never did you think that your dad would try to marry you off for an alliance. It's wasn’t unheard of but...you weren't a princess. Well you were technically, but you weren't a princess that anyone wanted to be a queen one day. You tried to fight your dad on it, arguing that you were not the way to go with the alliance, that you had no idea what you were doing. He gave you a choice. Don't marry into the North and put all of your people at risk, or do it and create an alliance. You couldn't risk anyone's life, so you took the deal.
So now you are in the back of a car on an eight hour ride from Highwater to Astoria. You've never met this prince before, your kingdom didn't generally interact with the wolves of Astoria. Your father was never keen on the wolves, which surprised you even more when he said he wanted you to marry one. Their king is supposedly a hardened man who rules with an iron fist and takes no shit, having been the king in Astoria for more than thirty years. You're terrified of what the prince maybe like. You've heard his name is Shawn but you didn't go exploring much farther. You have no idea how old he is, what he looks like or what he has done. You were too nervous to look into anything. Now you sort of wish you had, not knowing is absolutely so much worse.
The car winds through the hills of beautiful trees and old brick homes. The castle looms in the distance, a gorgeous white stone structure. Your new home. The car enters locked gates and circles a large courtyard minutes later and stops before a set of steps where there are two people waiting for you. Your heart feels like it's going to beat out of your chest.
The two people walk down the steps and you can see it is an older middle aged woman, beautiful as can be, the queen no doubt, and a young man. He is handsome, stunning as he walks the queen down the steps with a hand on her arm. He's tall, lean but fit and as he gets closer you can see the resemblance between him and the queen. He must be her son, but surely he isn't the prince you're meant to marry. He is far too gorgeous not to be married. He can't be the prince you’re meant to marry.
You step out of the car and grip your bag strap across your body nervously. "Hello," you smile at the two before you. The prince is just as handsome as you thought, not perfect, no, but far more attractive then any of the men you’d met in Highwater.
"You must be the princess." The Queen says stepping forward and holding out one delicately manicured hand. "I'm Karen, the Queen of Astoria."
You introduce yourself, and she smiles sweetly. "Thank you for having me."
"Of course. We're excited to have you, Astoria hasn't had a princess in this castle since I was young. A human princess will be a breath of fresh air around here." Karen guides the man beside her forward. He hasn't said anything, just eyed you silently. "Shawn, you haven't introduce yourself."
Shawn. This was the prince, the man you would call your husband soon. He steps forward so he’s standing before you a foot or less away. He is so much more than you expected. Breathtaking honestly. Surely this is a mistake.
"Princess." He takes your hand and kisses it, eyes locked on yours in a very commanding gaze. "It's nice to meet you, I’m Shawn, Prince of Astoria."
"I- yeah." You shake your head and look away from him. He’s too much, you’re screwed. "Thank you?"
Shawn raises his eyebrows and the Queen chuckles. "Come, let's get you settled in," Karen says, putting her hand on your shoulder and rubbing softly. “We’ve got dinner prepared and everything.”
______________________
Dinner is wonderful, and the Queen is an incredible lady. The King didn't make an appearance and you are told he is out of the kingdom for trade negotiations with the West. The night is winding down, you had arrived late in the evening as it was. Shawn was quiet for the majority of dinner, watching you carefully and you couldn't help but feel uneasy but not unsafe. He seemed distant and unsure, thought you couldn’t blame him. He was in the same boat as you were.
“Shawn, why don’t you show her to her room?” Karen says as she finishes her after dinner tea. “I’m sure she’s tired from traveling. Right dear?”
You nod and fold your hands in your lap. It was so strange to eat with people who were not your family. You feel like every move you make is under scrutiny. Nobody trained you for this, nobody showed you how to be a proper lady. You really hope you’re doing a good job.
Shawn pushes back his chair and walks around beside you. “Follow me.”
You get up and Karen smiles and gives you a little wave. “Try to realx,” she chuckles “Astoria welcomes you.”
“Thank you,” you nod and Shawn puts his hand out for you to take. You put your hand in his and he walks you out of the dining room.
The halls of the castle are a delicate blend of modern design and historical architecture. The structure is clearly old, having stood for decades no doubt. It’s not at all like Highwater castle which was far more recent in terms of construction. But Highwater was not nearly as old as Astoria.
"This is our room." Shawn says as he opens a set of large double doors. He steps in and you follow so he can close the door behind him. He goes to the dresser and casually starts to take off his watch and bracelets.
You turn to face him in the expansive bedroom suite. "Did you say our room?"
"Mmhmm."
"Why...why are we sharing a room?"
Shawn turns and pulls his shirt off over his head, revealing his trained chest and you can't help the blush that creeps across your cheeks. This had to be a fever dream, you must be sitting in the garden back home experiencing sun stroke. "Wolves share everything with their partners. It's important to building a bond."
You go over to the side of the massive bed and look at the plush rug covering the dark polished wood floor. There are little scratches, like claw marks in the polished wood. You swallow, putting the thought of why claw marks would be there out of your head. Shawn was fine. A little closed off perhaps but he didn't seem inherently dangerous. You were not your dad. You wouldn’t assume things of wolves, it wasn’t fair.
"I guess I can sleep on the floor."
"You can sleep on the bed." He shucks his pants and you really try not to look over at him, not quite used to the familiarity of changing in front of one another, but you do look. He's got a lovely ass, muscled and rounded just right in his fitted red boxers. You look away.
"Why would you sleep on the floor?" he asks as he stretches his arms across his chest.
"I'm not comfortable sleeping with someone I've just met?"
"I'm your fiance. You're going to sleep with me a lot."
"But...nevermind." You shake your head. He just didn't get it and you assume it's because he had different socialization as a werewolf. You open the top drawer of the dresser you figure is yours. Inside is your pajamas, unpacked and put away by the cleaning staff you assume. You take your clothes and head to the attached bathroom, closing the door behind you.
The bathroom is beautiful. It was as if there wasn't a single less than outstanding part of this castle. Shawn's bathroom, no, your bathroom, is black and white themed. White tiled floors with swirled black and white marble counters. A marble tub and black tiles along the walls and floors of the shower. Even the towels match the theme, and it's all lit by a skylight overhead with ivy growing around the edges of it. This bathroom was straight out of a home design magazine and you couldn't be more thrilled.
The freestanding tub is definitely inviting with its curved back and gold fixtures. You could spend hours in that thing reading your favorite books. Maybe living in the Astoria castle wasn't going to be so bad, for sure it has been a massive upgrade from your place back home.
You change into your pajamas, a pair of polka dot shorts and a t-shirt. It wasn't really fitting for the cool northern weather, but you hadn't exactly known what to expect. Though you should have remembered that the North was always colder, and didn't usually get much warmer than seventy degrees in the summer months, and it was fall.
You know you have to go back out there and face Shawn. You look into the mirror at your reflection and sigh. How on earth did you end up here with a prince like Shawn? Surely you did something right, some Gods must be smiling on you. You fix up your hair a bit and splash your face with water. You can do this. You can make the best of any situation if you put your mind to it.
Shawn is asleep in the bed, arm over his face, when you open the door to step out. He's on top of the blankets, legs open, one knee bent up and to the side with his arm over his chest. He looks so comfortable and relaxed. Must be nice. You grab a pillow and make yourself comfortable on the floor. It was going to be a long night.
_____________________
The first thing you learn about Shawn is that he's so damn quiet it's almost unnatural. Well. It is technically. In the first week he scares you at least a dozen times. It's not on purpose, but you think he gets a thrill out of it because he always does this face, just a little hint of a smirk like he is testing you or something.
On your eighth day you discover the library and the garden it lead to. The library is huge, floor to ceiling with books of all sorts. It would seem the family has collected them for many years. You love reading. It was an escape to worlds you could only imagine and dream of, and they made you feel things you were sure you'd never experience. Though now you think maybe with Shawn you will get to experience some of those things.
You grab a book, a romance novel from a shelf labeled "Karen's favorites" and head out into the garden. The plants are still thriving, the flowers long gone but ivy and greenery living on around the trellises and arches. You stroll along, admiring the stone work that lines the raised beds. Each brick looks carefully carved with roses and peonies and leaves. You reach the center of the garden and there is a large sundial in a pond with benches surrounding it.
The air is nice, the sun comes out to warm your face as you take a seat. Peace and quiet. You open your book and start to read, legs crossed under you as you try to get lost in the world in your hands.
Growling puts you on edge. At first you ignore it, thinking it's nothing more than one of your mom's dogs. But then you realize you're not home and this is a kingdom of wolves. A cold chill runs through you as you close your book and look around the garden. There is no one else as far as you can see. The growling stops and you aren't sure if that's a good thing or not.
Suddenly you see movement, a dark and massive figure to your right and a huge dark brown wolf soars over the bench from the raised garden bed behind you. It lands in the pond and you let out a terrified yell, gripping your book for dear life. The thing is absolutely massive and you are sure it's going to hurt you.
"Go away!" You shout, holding up the book in defense. "I'll scream! They'll find you!"
The wolf splashes forward and you watch as it reaches the edge of the water. It's then it begins to lower it's head and curl into itself. Before your eyes the wolf becomes a human with wet dark hair plastered to his head.
"You took that pretty well." He looks up and you realize it's Shawn. He shakes his hair out and runs a hand through it.
"Shawn!" You drop your book and literally melt into the bench. "I thought you were going to kill me or something."
He chuckles. "No, I won't do that. You've never seen a wolf before have you?"
"No. Not like that, well, like you."
"I'm about as big as they come, so don't worry about seeing anything more terrifying." He stands up and water pours down him. He's naked as the day he was born and you get a full view of his goods. Apparently he has no modesty. “Also, if you see another wolf like me in the castle, please scream. Let someone know, draw attention to yourself.”
"I was about to scream because of you, so no problem."
Shawn walks over to you, wet feet slapping on the smooth stone pavers of the garden path. You keep your eyes trained on his and he squats down in front of you. "You scream immediately. Understand?" He waits for you to nod and you do. "There shouldn't be any other shifted wolves here. Ever. I'm an alpha so I can shift like that, and only alphas can. If there is another alpha in this castle, aside from my dad, you let me know. Please?"
"Y-yeah." You swallow thickly, no longer concerned about his nudity then you are about the way he's speaking. This was obviously some sort of test, or maybe a warning?
He lays his hand on your thigh and squeezes gently. "You can go back to reading now. I'll be in a meeting for most of the day." With that he stands and goes for the path that lead back toward the castle.
You look down at your book on the ground. Reading didn't seem appealing at the moment. You are still reeling from whatever the hell just happened. Clearly you had a lot to learn about wolves and this seemed to be just the tip of the iceberg.
____________________
"Tell me about your family."
You look up from your book to see Shawn where he's sitting not too far from you in the library. You're in a central area with couches and a desk for studying. You never heard him come in and you definitely didn't hear him approach the sitting area.
"My family?"
"Yes."
You close your book and set it aside. "What exactly do you want to know?"
Shawn stands and walks along the book shelves, pacing lazily as he speaks. "Your dad, what's he like?"
"He's okay. Kind of a jerk, but I just stay out of the way."
"Does he hurt you?"
"No. Gods no. He is very stubborn. Pig headed. His way or the highway y'know?"
"Mmmhmm." Shawn stops and leans against the desk. "Your mom?"
"She's okay too, very much like my dad."
"Do you have siblings?"
"One. My older sister Danielle. She's married to a lord already. She's not the greatest, really full of herself."
"You don't like your family much?"
You curl into the blanket you've laid across your lap earlier. It's very warm and almost looks handmade. "It's complicated, but no not really."
Shawn walks over and takes a seat beside you and lays his hand on your covered feet. It's very tender and possibly the gentlest you've seen him since you met. "You're not like other princesses I've met. It's not a bad thing. I was just curious as to why, that’s why I’m asking about your family."
"I wasn't raised like a princess. I mean I am one, I know. But Dani was the golden child. She is the whole package, pretty, smart, sought after. Our parents put everything into her, teaching her how to be a proper lady and educating her on everything from piano lessons to how to eat properly. I was just left to my own devices most of the time. No one really cared what I did."
Shawn smiles softly and your eyes widen. This had to be the first real smile you've seen and it's beautiful. "You just did what you wanted huh?"
"Yeah. I learned pretty quickly that my parents didn't pay attention to anything I did while Dani was around."
"And what did you do?"
"Mostly I explored the courtyards and went to the library. Sometimes I'd hang out in the woods behind castle or just wander around town."
Shawn smiles. "No trouble making?"
"No." You smile and he smiles bigger. "Though one time I did sneak frogs from the fountain in the courtyard into my mom's coat pockets because she made me mad."
He laughs, full on laughs and you can't help the giggle that comes out of you in response. "You're cute, bold, and cute."
"What about you? Do you have siblings?”
“No, I’m an only child. The only kids I knew growing up were the staff’s kids. My parents let them bring them to work sometimes. It was great, but you know how it is. People grow up and they grow apart.”
“Yeah. I didn’t have a lot of friends.” You shake your head and sigh. “My parents didn’t think I should play with the kids in town.”
“Wow. They kept you in the castle?”
“Usually. Danielle was my friend until she got older and started to really understand that she was a princess. I swear when she turned thirteen her whole demeanor changed and that's when I started hating her.”
“I’m so sorry.” He looks down. “I didn’t mean to bring up a sore subject.”
“No, no, it's fine. It’s over now right? I’m here, living a whole new life. Astoria is a fresh start. What about you? I’m sure you’ve got some stories me from your childhood."
"Another time." He pats your legs and stands up. "I have some business to attend to right now. I'll see you tonight."
"Oh. Okay, yeah." You watch as he walks away, leaving you alone with your books. He was an enigma, but one you were slowly starting to unravel.
_____________________
Shawn doesn't come to bed that night. You wait up, expecting him any time after ten. You even take a bath for the first time in that tub of yours. You had held off, unsure when would be a good time not to be interrupted and to be honest you were nervous because it was so exposed, right in the middle of the bathroom. If Shawn walked in, which he didn't seem like he'd ever really do, he would be able to see everything. The bath had been just as amazing as you imagined. You curl up on the bed instead of the floor afterwards and read for a few minutes before falling asleep.
You dream of Shawn. He's a wolf, bigger than he was in real life and you ride on his back through the woods. There's something in the distance, a fire it seems. He's running towards it but you want to turn back. The trees end abruptly and before you is the castle you grew up in, burning to the ground. You grip his fur tightly and make no move to do something about the fire, as if you could do something anyways. A noise from behind startles you and you turn with Shawn to see a large wolf approaching from the dark forest, it lunges and you wake up, sitting up right in the dark bedroom.
The bed remains empty. You push back a blanket across your lap. You don't remember covering up before you fell asleep and the lights had definitely been on. You can't shake the feeling that somehow the wolf in the dream and your burning home in Highwater we're omens of some sort. They felt too real.
You crawl off the bed and your feet land on the cold floor. Your rug is gone. The cleaning crew must have taken it to wash. You grab your robe from it's hook by the dresser and head for the door. The moment you lay your hand on the curved handle, a voice breaks the silence of the room.
"Where are you going?"
A chill runs down your spine and you squint in the darkness to see where the voice was coming from. "I'm going to the library."
A light comes on and you see Shawn sitting on the floor beside his side of the bed. "At two in the morning?" He sounds rough.
"I had a nightmare. I just need to read for a bit and I'll be tired again. Why are you sleeping on the floor?"
"I'm on the floor because you were in bed." He pushes himself up and walks over to the door with you. "I thought I'd let you have some good sleep for once. I know you're still not comfortable sleeping with me."
"Oh. Well you can go back to sleep. I'm just going to the library like I said."
"I'll come with."
"It's just the library. It's fine."
Shawn puts his hand on your lower back and guides you out the door. "I'm going with."
The library is dark and Shawn goes for the lights, finding them with absolutely no trouble though they are along the wall to the left from the main doors. You can’t help but wonder how he does that. You go for your book you leave on the table between the sitting areas. You purposely leave a sticky note on it so the cleaning crew won't put it away. Shawn goes to a couch and flops down, feet hanging over the end as he crosses his arms and closes his eyes. You take a seat on an armchair beside him and open your book.
An hour passes, the large clock near the entryway chimes as it strikes three in the morning. Time flies when you're engrossed in the romantic world of life on a ranch with a hot new ranch hand. Shawn is snoring away and you wonder why he felt the need to go with you if he was just going to sleep. You aren't tired yet but you decide to go back to the bedroom. Shawn stirs when you get up to put your book back on its table. He says nothing and follows you back to the bedroom.
"I'll take the floor." You say softly as he falls on the bed face first.
"Just sleep on the bed." He mumbles into the comforter. "I don't bite."
"You might." You go to your side and crawl on, one knee sinking into the plush mattress.
Shawn pushes himself up and crawls under the blankets, laying so he's facing you on his side. "I won't even touch you without permission."
You lean back into the pillows and look over at him. His sleepy eyes are half lidded and golden amber colored like they were the first time you saw his wolf form. He’s so...interesting.
"Can we talk tomorrow?"
"I'll see. I have meetings with my dad all day."
"What are your meetings about?"
Shawn shifts against the sheets and pulls his pillow down to wrap his arms around. "Governing stuff. Really boring."
"Should I go to these meetings too?"
"No. I’ll talk to you tomorrow, honey." He growls softly. "Go to sleep."
Honey. Your stomach flutters. You lean over him and turn off his bedside light before settling down under the fluffy black comforter. You aren't going to sleep well, mind not yet off the dream despite reading and now his pet name is also running through your head. This sucked.
_____________________
"What're you doing today?" Shawn asks as he gets dressed a few days later.
You look over from the bed where you're still curled up. You and Shawn have started sharing the bed and it's much better than the floor. Go figure. "I don't know. Probably just going to read or maybe hang out in the kitchen with chef Marty. There isn't much else to do."
"Do you want to do something with me?"
You're surprised. He always seemed so busy. "Like what?"
Shawn turns around as he rolls up the sleeves of his button down shirt. "I thought we might go practice dancing."
"Dancing?"
"Yes. For the announcement ball? My mom told you about it right?"
"Well yeah but I have to dance? I don't really know how."
He chuckles. "I'll teach you. Wear something comfortable and meet me in the ballroom in a few minutes."
You roll over in bed as he leaves. Great. You couldn't dance, well, you could a little bit. But in general you could barely walk without tripping sometimes. Oh well.
You meet Shawn in the huge empty ballroom after putting on a pair of yoga pants and a tee shirt, not bothering to do your hair or anything else. It's crazy how Shawn looks like he belongs in the place. Always well dressed, looking like a real prince. You feel like you must stick out.
"You came," he smiles and your heart flutters. His smile is so damn beautiful. "I thought I was going to have to dance alone."
"You don't have to dance alone, but you will have to teach me a little."
Shawn turns on a radio he's got sitting a few feet away and a beautiful piano ballad begins playing, the acoustics of the ballroom making it louder and seem like it's a live piece of music. He walks up to you and puts his hand on your waist, taking your other in his free hand. "Follow my lead."
You swallow thickly at the closeness. He smells so good, you're not sure what he wears but it's absolutely intoxicating.
"Breathe," he laughs, rubbing his hand up your side. "You're going to pass out and we haven't even started."
"Shit, sorry." You shake your head. Focus.
Shawn leans in close, looking down at you, eyes locked on yours. "Here we go." He steps to the right and you follow easily, letting him guide you to start.
The song picks up and you follow along naturally as he spins you and leads you around with his hands in yours in a very waltz like dance. You can't help but laugh and he does one last spin that ends with you against his chest.
You lay your hands on his chest as he holds your hips. "I can't believe I did it."
"You did." He smiles. "I can't believe how well you did since you said you can't dance. You most definitely can by the way."
"I'm surprised too. Maybe you're just a good teacher."
"Or maybe we're really good partners."
You flush as he leans in and presses his forehead to yours, heart beating wildly. "Can we do it again?" You ask softly.
"I'd love to. How about something a little faster?"
"Alright." You smile nervously and he pulls away to go to the radio. An uptempo dance melody comes on and he takes your hands.
"Follow me." He steps back and you step forward in time with the music, footsteps getting increasingly faster as you go back and forth, side to side, hips turning as you change hands. You stumble a few times but he patiently starts over and guides you along.
Once you have the main steps down, he pulls you in and spins you so your back is against his chest. His hands slide down your arms and he turns you out again before the goosebumps can fully form on your skin. He does this two more times until you flow with him easily.
You slide into him as he pulls you in again, this time face to face. His hands go to your hips and he guides you back and forth with him. Your eyes are locked on his and it's insanely intimate. You can't speak, can't breath. He grabs your hips and lifts you up and you automatically wrap your legs around his waist. He holds you up with one arm as he guides you back against the column of the balcony overhead.
The music keeps playing but the two of you have stopped, frozen in time against the cool marble pillar. His breathing is heavy and so is yours. Your chemistry is undeniable. The tension is so thick you could suffocate.
"I wanna kiss you," he whispers, voice lower than usual.
You nod and he leans in, mouth warm against yours. His hand goes to your neck and he tilts your head up a bit. You grab his hair, and he growls into your mouth. A moan escapes you and he slides you down against the column, body trapped between his warmth and it's cool surface.
He breaks the kiss and you stare at each other. A smile creeps across your face and he breaks out into a little laugh. The two of you part ways, Shawn stepping back while you remain against the marble. He rubs the back of his neck and you bite your lip.
"You're a good dancer," you say softly and he chuckles, looking over at you and then down at his feet.
"You are too."
_____________________
You wake up a few days later to find a small package on your pillow. A rectangular box wrapped with a silky black ribbon. You sit up and look around the room. There is no sign of Shawn. The box has your name on it so you pull off the ribbon and lift the lid. Inside is a book. You turn it over in your hands and smile. The back cover describes a princess falling in love with a non royal werewolf and their forbidden romance. How similarly perfect for your current situation. You open the front page and there is a sticky note inside.
I picked up this book in hopes you would like it. I can only hope to be as good of a man to you as the wolf in this book is to his princess. Their romance is incredible and touching and everything I hope we can be someday. -Shawn
"Good morning."
You look up and Shawn is leaning against the bedroom door frame. "Good morning," you hold up the book. "Thank you."
"You're welcome. I thought you might enjoy it. I can take you to the book store one day if you like."
"Really? I'd love to go."
He walks across the room and sinks on to the bed. "I have a meeting this afternoon but I'll take you soon okay?"
You nod. "I can't wait."
_____________________
The next day Shawn finds you in the library by the window seats overlooking the garden. He walks over carrying one of your jackets.
"What's up?" You ask, looking over your book.
"You wanna go to the bookstore?"
“You’re serious?” Your eyes light up and you uncurl yourself from the window seat.
He holds out your jacket for you. "Yes, I promised you I would. It's chilly so I figured you might want this."
You pull it on and zip up the front. "I need shoes." You wiggles your toes in your socks and he chuckles. "I'll be right back!" You run across the library to the hall that leads to the stairs to your bedroom.
When you come back Shawn is waiting for you outside the library doors. He smiles at you and offers you his hand. You take it and he walks with you to the front doors. The two of you drive to the bookstore in downtown Astoria City. The second he parks the car you're gone, running into the small shop. He follows close behind, as you begin to walk the rows of books. It feels like it's been forever since you were in a place like this. The familiar smell of new pages, binding glue and fresh ink is like home to you.
"Good afternoon Prince Shawn!" A small older guy behind the counter says excitedly, waving at the two of you.
Shawn waves back and smiles. You grab his hand and drag him toward the romantic suspense section. "What can I get?"
"Anything you want."
"Anything?"
He laughs softly. "Yes, anything."
You start grabbing books, not even looking at their descriptions. You don't care, you will read anything by the authors you're grabbing. Shawn offers to hold some and you begin stacking them in his arms. He raises his eyebrows as you add more and more to the pile.
"You're sure?" You ask, holding one more book in your hands and staring at the stack he's holding. "You don't mind?"
"Of course not. Enjoy yourself." He carries the books to the counter and asks the clerk to start totaling them up and bagging them.
You sit down on the floor and browse the very bottom shelf. Shawn sits down behind you and you grab a few titles and hug them to your chest, falling back into his lap. He laughs, staring down at you and your books.
"Thank you so much for bringing me here."
He leans down and kisses your forehead. "I figured you needed some more books. I noticed you had started to reread them."
"You noticed that?"
He nods. "I've been reading a few myself, between meetings and after you've fallen asleep."
You giggle at the thought. "Prince Shawn is reading romance novels?"
He flushes a bit and rolls his eyes. "I figured it's something you enjoy, I should try it out too."
You sit up and look at him. He really did that. He really decided to start reading your books because you enjoyed them so much. "That's so sweet. I-I wish I could return the favor."
Shawn stands and helps you up with your last few books. "You don't have to worry about that."
"No, I want to know what you like."
"Well, I like playing piano, and I like taking long runs." He walks with you up to the counter and smiles at the clerk while he hands over his card and you place your last few books on the counter. "I like to read, before you came I did read as well."
"Well, I suppose I'm not too good at any of those things besides reading."
"No worries. I don't expect you to learn to play piano or start running with wolves overnight." He grabs your bag off the counter and you glance into it. There is at least fourteen titles in there.
You thread your fingers into Shawn's free hand and he kisses your knuckles. "Thank you. These will keep me busy for days."
"Anything to make you happy, Princess."
You flush and he swings your hands together as you leave the shop to return to the castle. You are happier than ever. You have new books and your relationship with Shawn is getting better every day. You don't feel like this is arranged at all. It feels like you and Shawn are just dating..
_____________________
For the next few days Shawn gets up very early, usually waking you up in the process and saying good morning with a kiss on your cheek. He always leaves, dressed in his pajamas and then appears a few hours later and heads for the shower.
Curiosity gets the best of you after a few days and you want to see where he's going. You wonder if he's shifting, since once he came back completely naked like he did when he shifted that time in the fountain.
On Wednesday you decide to follow him, camera in hand to try and get a picture of his wolf form. You're curious, you can't help it. He makes his way to the lower level at the back of the castle, past the garden and out a set of doors that lead to the private garages. You hang back, watching him from the window as he strips off his black tank top and shorts. Your suspicions turned out to be correct. He shifts into his wolf form, just as big as you remember, and walks into the treeline.
You zoom in on your camera and snap a picture. You stare at the little screen, enamoured with the way the sun highlights the red and brown colors in his dark fur. You want to touch it. Suddenly, fear grips your stomach. Why would he leave every day to go into the forest? Was he meeting someone? Another wolf? Was he really just running? Why was he doing this now?
You step away from the window and head back into the main part of the castle. You didn't mean to upset yourself like this, you just wanted to see him shift again. Now you're all in your head.
A couple hours go by and you see Shawn pass the library doors that you've left open. You decide to wait until he showers and gets dressed in his regular clothes to ask him what he's up to. It's not long after he passes the doors before you feel something on the back of the couch you're curled up on and you look up to see Shawn leaning against it, his big hands spread out across the cushion.
"Hello?"
"Why were you following me?"
You swallow thickly. Of course he noticed you were tailing him. "Uh...um."
"Hmm?"
"I was wondering what you were doing every day that required you to come back and shower."
He chuckles and walks around to sit on the coffee table in front of you. "And what did you find out?"
"That you are shifting and going into the forest to run I think, because you said you like to do that. I was just curious."
"You're curious? About what?"
You flush. "About you?"
He folds his arms over his chest and his arms look huge. You try not to let the thought of him picking you up like he had when you danced go to your head. Goodness he was so big and you know he's ridiculously strong. "You want to know why I've been going out running every morning?"
"Yeah."
"It's getting close to a full moon. I just need to stretch my legs and burn off some energy." He runs his hand over his hair. "I can...I can bring you along if you want?"
"Really?"
"Yeah. You're curious right? I want you to be comfortable with me in both forms. I know we've spent a lot of time together like this but not so much when I've been shifted."
You set your book aside. "When are you gonna go next?"
"We can go right now if you want. I'll show you where I go in the forest. I think you'll like it."
You stand up and he offers his hand to you. You take it and you feel warm, butterflies in your stomach. Every time he touched you, you felt incredibly alive. This isn't at all how you expected this conversation to go. This is much better.
____________________
If someone told you weeks ago that you would be running through an Astorian forest in fifty degree weather with a wolf at your side, you would have called them crazy. But here you are.
Shawn runs ahead as you start to get tired. Running isn't your forte. You watch as he bounds across fallen trees and boulders. It's the most carefree you think you've seen him yet. He doubles back and circles you, bumping your back with his head to get you to move faster.
"I'm tired," you laugh, pushing at his massive head. Standing, he comes up to your chest. His size was no joke and he could easily overpower you if he wanted, but he won’t. "I'm not running anymore."
He nudges you again and you stumble forward.
"Shawn." You grab his huge face and it's the most surreal thing as you stare at him, knowing behind those eyes is the man you're falling for. "I'm not a wolf, my stamina sucks."
He turns and walks ahead, leading you off the path. There's a cluster of rocks and you can hear water trickling somewhere close by. Shawn disappears and you hear a splash. When you get to a gap in the rocks you see Shawn, human again, treading water in the middle of a large spring.
"Oh wow, this is amazing." You lay your hand on the smooth damp rocks that enclose the water. "Incredible."
"I knew you'd like it. I come here after running to chill out for a while and just relax." He swims over to the edge. "It's warm. Come on in."
"I didn't bring a bathing suit."
"Who needs one? Just strip down and get in."
You pull off your sweater and push down your jeans. Being naked in front of Shawn wasn't something you'd done yet despite your growing closeness. Of course you've seen every inch of him, but he had a very different view of modesty. You still changed in the room with your back to him or in the bathroom.
"I'll just wear my underwear and bra." You put your clothes off to the side and Shawn swims over to look up at you. He smiles and you flush, knowing he's definitely checking you out. "What?"
"You're hesitant aren't you?"
"Of course I am."
"I can turn away if you want to get naked and get in so I can't see anything."
"I'll be fine."
"But you'll have to walk back in wet underwear and it's cold out here."
You sigh. He has a point. "Okay, turn around." You undress completely and get in the warm water beside him, sinking in and going under for a moment. He turns, eyes low as he takes in what he can see of you and you flush. "What now?"
"Are you still curious?"
"About what?"
"Me." He floats closer. "I'm curious about you."
"O-oh."
Shawn pushes a wet strand of hair off your forehead. "Let me know if I'm being too forward. Are you uncomfortable?"
You shake your head. "I'm not used to attention like this...and we haven't really done anything since we kissed when we were dancing."
"I know. Can I touch you?" He asks and you nod. He puts his hands on your waist and runs them up and down. "You can touch me too."
You lay your hand on his chest and it's solid, warm, and you take note of little freckles scattered across his skin. He's broad, much bigger than you, and being this close and naked is so different then when you were dancing. It's intimate in a different way.
"I didn't think I'd like you," you confess suddenly, eyes trained on his chest.
He chuckles. "Why?"
"Because arranged marriages don't usually work out."
"I know I took a while to open up, and that's because I didn't want to rush you. I really think you and I are good together though, great actually."
You smile and laugh to yourself. "Your mom said that too."
"Mmm," he slides his hands up your back and you arch forward, breasts hitting his chest. "Have you heard of the term mates before?"
"Like soulmates?"
"Yeah, something like that," he smiles into his words and you flush. "It's a special bond for wolves, and is what I'm pretty sure humans base the idea of soulmates on."
"Mates for wolves can be humans?"
He nods and cups your face. "Yes, definitely."
You slide your hands down his chest and he cups the back of your head, pulling you against him. You slip your arms around his middle and he lets out a soft hum. The two of you stay in your comfortable embrace for a while, enjoying the new found closeness with each other. You're glad your dad sent you to Astoria, if he hadn't you never would have met Shawn.
_____________________
The next day you decide today you're going to leave the castle and explore Astoria's shopping district on your own, eager to learn more about your new home. The trip to the bookstore was enough to get that itch for exploration in your bones. On your way to the front doors you pass a guard who stops you just as you get there.
"Princess, you need an escort."
"An escort? Why? I'm just going in town."
"Prince Shawn's rules."
You sigh. "Okay, well, who can escort me?"
"Prince Shawn."
"Really? I can't take a guard with me?"
The guard shakes his head. "No ma'am. We're under strict orders. You can't go out without protection."
"Why?" You cross your arms. You don't like being trapped.
"That is not for me to discuss Princess."
You turn away and head for the library. There was a gate you could get out of in the garden. You would go into town one way or another and you sure as hell were not waiting for Shawn to take you anywhere. He was in meetings all day again.
Sure enough the garden gate is guarded too. You roll your eyes and take a left to a trellis that you can climb just out of sight from the gate. A few carefully placed steps and you're on the back lawn of the castle, free to explore the town as long as you sneak around the guards out front.
Half an hour later and you're walking through the streets of Astoria City. The place is busy, bustling with life. There are vendors everywhere as if there is some sort of open air market going on. You wander around taking your time at each stall. You didn't bring any money, in fact you completely forgot your purse. It's fine. Window shopping was just as satisfying.
You approach a booth selling bracelets made of copper like the ones Shawn wore. They're gorgeous, shiny rose colored and intricately designed. You wish you could get one for Shawn. He'd probably really like it, and it would be a sweet gift in return for the books he got you. Just as you pick one up that has a braided design on it, a hand lands on your side and you jump.
"Beautiful isn't it?"
You turn and see a man with dark hair smiling at you. He's close to your age and not bad looking. He's big like Shawn and that makes you worry about what type of wolf he is. "Yeah. It's nice." You place the bracelet back in it's display and pull away from the man's touch to the other side of the booth.
"Would you like one?"
"Ah, no. I'm just browsing."
"Browsing alone?"
You pick up a necklace with your fingertips, admiring it's inlaid obsidian centerpiece, the stone of the royal family. You want to seem disinterested in the man's conversation so he will leave. He's making you extremely uneasy.
"A princess shouldn't be alone."
You swallow thickly and turn to look at him. He's gone, replaced by a woman who is looking at a bracelet. Your eyes dart around the crowd and you don't see him. This couldn't be good. You place the necklace on its stand and leave the booth, hightailing it back to the castle as fast as you can in the throngs of people.
Arms wrap around you just as you slip past the gates and before you can scream you hear a familiar voice. "What are you doing out here?" It's Shawn.
"I-I just wanted to get out of the castle."
Shawn keeps his arm around your back and walks the rest of the way with you up the driveway that leads to the castle's front courtyard. "I can't believe you snuck out. Well, no, I can. You realize that you put yourself in danger?"
"You can't trap me in the castle."
Shawn growls, pulling you aside in the main hall and holding your shoulders firmly. "I'm not trapping you. There are wolves in this kingdom who will try to take you. You're not in Highwater anymore, you can't go unnoticed here."
"Take me? Why?"
"Because you're my fiance. There are people who would do anything to get the upper hand on family right now. Dad and I are undergoing negotiations with other wolves in the north beyond the forests. They’re wild, part of Astoria but never following my dad’s rule. We’re trying to come to terms with them. That's why I have meetings all the time."
"Why didn't you tell me before? Why don’t I know these things?"
"I wanted to protect you, I didn’t want to drag you into all the political bullshit but clearly I just put you in further danger." You look around and Shawn holds your face. "What are you looking for?"
"Nothing, I'm just nervous."
"Oh." Shawn lessens his hold on you and drops his hands to your arms. He looks worried, genuinely concerned. "I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be angry with you. You didn’t know. Please, just...just stay in the castle."
"Okay, I will. For now, but I want to explore soon."
"I promise you I'll take you out again." He cups your face and it's gentle, a loving caress. "Promise you won't sneak out or try to leave without me again until things settle down?"
"I promise."
______________________
Two days later you wake up abruptly to Shawn pinning you down to the bed. Immediately you panic. You thrash under him and he holds fast until you start crying, begging him to let go of you. At that he releases your arms and sits up, thighs bracketing your hips.
"Are you awake?"
"Yes!" You shove him and he doesn't move. He's so much bigger than you and it sucks. "Get off me."
"You were screaming in your sleep and when I tried to wake you up, you started attacking me." Shawn runs a hand over his hair. "I didn't want you to hurt yourself. I was freaking out."
"Oh. I...didn't realize."
Shawn crawls off of you and lays on his back. "You scared the shit out of me."
"I'm sorry. I just had a horrible dream. It's fine, just a nightmare."
"Talk to me about it."
"I don't remember."
Shawn turns his head to look at you and you look away. "You're lying. Why don't you just tell me?"
"I'm not lying."
"You are." He lays his hand on your arm. "You always look away from me when you're lying. You never look me in the eye. What is the big deal if it's just a dream?"
You sigh heavily. "At the market the other day I saw a wolf."
This gets his attention and he rolls onto his side to fully face you. He looks irritated already. "Like shifted or something? Because there isn't a lot of alphas in Astoria."
"No not shifted. He was big like you and he approached me in a stall I was checking out. He knew I was a princess and I was alone. I think he was chasing me in my dream."
"What? Why didn't you tell me?"
"You were already mad at me for sneaking out and I didn't want to make it worse."
Shawn gets up and goes to the window that overlooks the garden. "That wolf was probably from beyond the forest. Remember what I said about someone possibly wanting to take you? What did he say to you?"
"Not much, he just asked me about the bracelet I was looking at and asked if I wanted it. He asked if I was alone and then said princesses shouldn't be alone. After that he disappeared and I left."
"Fuck." Shawn closes the curtains. "He is probably looking for a way to get into the castle. How did you sneak out that day?"
"I went through the garden, over a trellis."
Shawn pinches the bridge of his nose and closes his eyes. The tension is rolling off of him in waves and you can't help but feel like you've really screwed up somehow. "We need to alert the guards and have them start searching the castle."
You twist your hands in your blanket and swallow hard. "Why? What is going on? Did I do something wrong?"
Shawn walks over to you and sits on the bed. He takes your hand and you can feel that he's burning up. He was always warm when he slept and he was generally warmer than you, but this was something different. "That wolf knew you had to of snuck out of the castle if he knew you were alone. He got close to you to get your scent so he could find out how you, a princess, got out without being noticed. He was looking for a way in."
"Oh. I fucked up huh?" You tremble, your dream coming back to you. A man shifting into a big gray wolf and chasing you through the castle, running as fast as you can to get to a hiding place, not knowing your way around suddenly. "I'm so sorry Shawn. I didn't know...I just wanted to go out."
"It's okay." He brushes his hand over your hair. "It won't be the first time someone sneaks in. We'll take care of it."
"What if he's already here? What if he takes me?"
"I would never let that happen. I'll protect you to my last breath." He wipes some tears that fall down your cheeks. "I swear I'll keep you safe."
"Thank you," you mumble, hand in his and he leans forward and kisses your forehead.
"I'm going to go alert the guards. Stay here and lock the door." He gets up and puts on a shirt from his dresser. "And I know it might be hard but you should get some more sleep. I'll see you when you wake up okay?"
"Y-yeah."
"Lock it after me."
You get up and go to the door, holding it open for him. He pauses and lays his hand on your cheek, kissing the opposite one before going out for you to lock the door behind him.
_____________________
The search for intruders comes up empty over the next three days and you're glad. If something had happened you don't know if you would be able to live with the guilt of knowing it was your fault. You wander around in the afternoon, looking for Shawn since you hadn't seen him since last night. He didn't say good morning or anything which was odd.
You hear the sound of a piano playing somewhere near where you're exploring. You think it might be coming from the grand hall. Sure enough there is Shawn sitting at a huge piano, playing a soft melody. Was there anything he couldn't do? You know he said he likes to play, but he just seems so perfect already it is unreal.
"Hey," he looks over at you as you cross the vast empty room. "What're you doing here?"
"I came to find you. You didn't say good morning."
As you get closer you take in his appearance. He's in a sweater and some jeans. He rarely dressed so casual unless he was planning on shifting, and he actually looks super soft and cuddly.
"Sorry. I've been in my head for the last few days."
"Because of the wolf at the market?"
He nods and scoots over on the bench for you to take a seat. "It really worries me."
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner."
"It's fine."
There's a silence between the two of you as he plays a few notes. You feel like you've fucked up. Even though nothing has happened, you feel like Shawn is mad at you.
"You smell really good today." He says softly out of nowhere.
"Thanks. I don't think anyone's ever told me that."
"You always smell good." He looks over with a little smile. "It's a big deal for us wolves. Scents are everything."
"I'm glad I don't stink then."
He laughs and you duck your head and smile. "Can I tell you something else?"
"Sure?"
"I like when you wear my clothes."
"You noticed that I took a shirt the other day?"
He nods. "Like I said, scents are a big deal. When you walked into the dining room for breakfast I about pounced on you."
"Over a shirt?" You giggle.
"No, over my scent on you. It just drove me wild for a moment."
"Oh. Well, you smell really good too. I like your cologne that you wear everyday."
He plays a few keys and mumbles, "I just really like you."
You flush and look away to stare at the white keys. "I really like you too."
_____________________
Your family would be arriving soon for you and Shawn's announcement ball. It's a huge formal event that includes dancing and a dinner for both parties families and other important figures in the kingdoms. You aren't particularly excited to see your parents, it's been really nice being away from home and being paid attention to here in Astoria. At home it had been nice to do whatever you wanted, but your parents didn't actually seem to care about you and when they did pay attention it was usually to criticize you. Here, Shawn is definitely into you and you're very much into him. Even his parents really like you and you love the castle.
The worst part of your parents coming to visit is that they will be bringing Danielle. Just her, not her husband as far as you know. You almost want to rub it in her face that you got Shawn. Even if it is arranged, you do actually have real feelings for him. He's much more handsome than her husband Jackson and overall a better man. You're sure she'll find some way to make everything about herself though.
You walk into the grand ballroom and take in the incredible architecture. You and Shawn had danced together in there not too long ago and you smile to yourself as you remember. There are a few staff members setting up tables and chairs for the guests who would be there in a few days time, but other then the tables obstructing the view, it's absolutely breathtaking. You walk around the outer ring, a balcony overhead. It reminds you of the ballroom from beauty and the beast and you wonder if the wedding will be held there. If not you might ask if it can be.
You go up to the center steps leading to a landing that goes out to a balcony that overlooks the garden. There are big double doors open and letting in the fall air. You step out and run your hand over the smooth stone railing and look down at the trees and plants that are starting to fade. Most of the leaves are gone and fallen, cleaned up and bagged a few days ago. You had grabbed a few to make a collage with before that happened though. It's hanging in the bedroom now, and Shawn loves it.
There is movement below you and you try to see what it is. There's something in the far area by the gate, slinking low to the ground. It's large and a flash of gray fur between the bricks makes your stomach churns. You know what it is. A wolf. As soon as it registers in your brain, the wolf looks at you.
You turn and look for the staff members in the ballroom but they're all gone. You start across the room, jogging quickly as to get away from the balcony to find Shawn as soon as possible. By the time you reach the big wooden doors you hear footsteps. Claws on the stone floors. You tug the left door open and start running.
"Shawn!" You scream, running as fast as you can. There is no way you're looking back. You don't need to, you can hear the wolf behind you. "Shawn!"
You take the main staircase two steps at a time and doing so bites you in the ass. You misstep and go sprawling on to the landing at the bottom, stomach colliding with the ledge of the last step and head bouncing off the floor. The big gray wolf stalks towards you, teeth bared and growl echoing in the entryway.
"Shawn!" You yell, coughing as the force hurts your chest from falling. You pick yourself up to run but your knees are skinned pink and raw. They feel tight and are resistant to moving and you're dizzy, vision spotty.
From the top of the adjacent stairs you see what looks like Shawn. He's shifted and running but he's not quick enough. White hot pain burns through your back and you collapse, head hitting a step. The last thing you see is a gray wolf standing over you growling before you black out.
You wake in your bedroom, the sky through the window is bright orange with the setting sun. You aren't sure how you got here and you're not sure what happened. You vaguely remember seeing a wolf that wasn't Shawn in the ballroom. No. Outside? Everything is fuzzy.
Beside you, Shawn is curled up, hand over yours at your side. Was it a dream? You move to sit up but you can't, a tight binding around your chest prevents you from moving very much.
"Shawn?" You wiggle your hand in his and his eyes open, gold and dilated. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." He closes his eyes for a moment and takes a deep breath. "Are you in pain?"
"No. I'd like to sit up though."
"You should just stay laying down for now." He leans up on his arm and pulls the blanket down your body and lifts up a white tee you're wearing. Your whole mid section is wrapped in gauze but somehow you don't feel any pain. "I'll have to change your wrap soon."
"What happened to me? I remember a wolf and I fell, and then my back burning and then nothing."
"A wolf broke into the castle. I'm not sure if it was the one you saw at the market but it chased you. He knocked you down and you were clawed in the process. I wasn't fast enough to get to you before him." He closes his eyes. "I'm so sorry."
"Hey," you lay your hand on his cheek. "I'm alive. That's what matters. I'm okay."
"I failed you. I promised I would keep you safe and I failed."
"Shawn. I'm okay. I don't even hurt right now. You fought him off didn't you?"
He looks down and nods. "I did, I tore him apart. But you...I'm sorry."
You guide his face up to yours and he looks broken. His eyes are searching yours, desperate to make this right. "You still saved me. That's what you should focus on."
"And I'll keep saving you." He lays his hand on your stomach. "This will never happen again."
"Nothing can be predicted."
"I know, but I can do my best to prevent a future breach." He sits up and crawls off the bed to walk around to your side. "I should check your bandage. Can I carry you to the bathroom?"
"Can you lift me?"
He smiles and chuckles softly. "You're cute." He slides an arm under your knees and one under your shoulders, lifting you up with ease. "You'd be amazed at how much I can lift, remember when we danced?"
"Yes." Your cheeks heat up. "Of course."
"I carried you with one arm, remember?" He chuckles softly.
"Oh yeah..." you smile softly. "I'm constantly amazed by you."
"I could say the same."
_____________________
Shawn is incredibly gentle with you. He sits you on a stool in the bathroom and carefully unwraps your torso from the cotton bandages. When the cool air hits the wounds you feel a tingling pain and cold wetness on your back.
"I'm going to wipe it down okay?" Shawn says softly, showing you the wet towel in his hand. "I promise I'll be careful. If I hurt you please tell me."
You nod and he goes to work, gently wiping your back clean of whatever was on there. It doesn't hurt as he's cleaning but when he's done you can definitely feel an ache. "It's starting to hurt."
"I know." Shawn picks up something off the counter and brings it around to show you. "I'm going to put this on you."
"What is it?" You take it and turn it over in your hands. It's a small jar, round and unlabeled. "Ointment?"
"It's a healing salve. Wolves use it when they get injured with silver."
"I don't understand."
Shawn takes the jar and opens it, walking back around behind you. "Werewolves are allergic to silver. If something silver cuts us or comes in contact with our skin for an extended period of time, it prevents our bodies from healing."
"So you just have open wounds?"
"Yes. But this salve will heal them and numb the pain."
"I wasn't hurt with silver though? And I'm not a wolf."
Shawn swipes some across your back with his finger tips. "I'm aware. It heals your body quickly as well. It’s like an all purpose ointment."
"Oh."
He finishes and grabs a roll of gauze to wrap your middle with. You keep your arms up while he secures the bandage and helps you get a clean large shirt on. When he's finished he holds your shoulders and stares down at you, still taller than you on the stool. "I'm so, so sorry."
"Stop apologizing. I'm going to be fine."
"But your parents will be here soon, and the wedding. You're going to be bandaged up. It's my fault."
"No one can see the bandages. It's not like my face got hurt. I’m sure I’ll be healed over in a week or two. Everything will be fine."
Shawn lays his hand on your cheek and cups your jaw. "I'm glad you don't hate me."
"Why would I hate you?"
"Because I couldn't protect you and I swore to you I would."
"Shawn. Stop." You lean into his hand. "You've been nothing but good to me and so what? Like I said I'm not dead. If you hadn't been there when you were I may have gotten seriously injured. I could have ended up somewhere with someone much worse and gotten hurt and been left to die. I could be miserable. I'm not miserable here, in fact I think I'd rather be here with you than ever go back to Highwater."
"Really?"
You stand with his help and move a bit to get accustomed to the stiffness of the bandaging. "Yes really. Here I am cared for, loved and appreciated. Your parents really seem to like me too. Back home I would go days without seeing my parents and when I did they had nothing to say to me but how I wasn't as good as my sister."
"Your parents sound horrible." Shawn wraps his arm around your shoulders and walks with you out of the bedroom to the hall. "You really want to have them visit before the wedding?"
"Not really, but what choice do I have? Our dads are making alliance negotiations. I'm the biggest pawn he has, though I don’t know what he expects me to do."
Shawn stops and comes around in front of you and holds your shoulders. "Do you want to marry me?"
"Yes."
"I know we've really been hitting it off and getting close and everything but...if you’re marrying me just for the alliance I don’t know if we should do it. I know it’s the arrangement but-"
"Hey," you cup his face and he looks at you with soft eyes. "I would still want to be with you even if the alliance fell through."
Shawn takes your hands and holds them in his delicately, kissing your knuckles. "I feel the same way." He presses his forehead against yours and you close your eyes. "Let's head down to dinner? I'm sure Mom will want to see you."
_____________________
"How is your back darling?" Karen asks half way through dinner. You look up, startled at the sudden conversation starter. The majority of the meal had been silent.
"It's good. Shawn put some ointment on it and it doesn't even hurt."
"The healing balm." She smiles. "He's all too familiar with that himself."
"Mom, please."
You smile at a clearly embarrassed Shawn. "Tell me more?"
"It's nothing."
Karen balks. "Nothing? He nearly died is what he did." You raise your eyebrows and Karen folds her hands readying herself to start telling Shawn's story. "When he was sixteen he picked a serious fight with a boy from the East. The son of a lord there and he nearly lost. The Eastern boy brought a silver dagger and got Shawn right in the lower stomach before Manny broke it up."
"Mom." Shawn holds his head in his hand. "She doesn't need to know what a dick I was."
"Oh psh." Karen rolls her eyes. "Anyway, that salve saved his life. He's got a nice scar to show for it too. Rare for wolves, but it's there."
You look to Shawn with wide eyes. You didn't really peg him as the type to pick fights. "Where is this scar?"
"My stomach, by my hip bones. I'll show you later."
"I'm surprised I haven't noticed it."
Shawn rolls his eyes. "I don't like to flaunt it. It's kind of embarrassing because it never would have happened if I wasn't being a dick."
"Everyone makes mistakes." You take your last bite of chicken on your plate and shrug. "I've done plenty of dumb things too."
_____________________
Two days later you decide to take a bath. Showers were good and all but your body aches and you just feel like you need a hot bath. You undress in the bathroom, carefully unwrapping the gauze from around your chest and wincing as it sticks to your wounds.
"Need help?"
You turn and Shawn is in the doorway in his pajama pants. "I-I got it."
"Let me help." He says softly, crossing the room and taking the balled up wrap from your hands. "I'll be careful." He unwinds the last few feet of gauze off your chest and sets the bandages in the trash.
"Thanks."
"Are you taking a shower?"
"A bath actually."
Shawn goes to the cupboard where the extra towels and first aid supplies are kept. He digs around for a second before bringing out a paper bag. "Start the water and I'll mix this up."
You get in the tub and turn on the water, sitting in the center of it so your tender skin doesn't touch the back. "What's in the bag?"
"It's a blend of herbs for body aches and wounds. Another thing wolves use when burned by silver or after fighting."
"Oh."
Shawn crosses the bathroom and sprinkles a good amount of the mixture in the bath. He swirls it around and you can see dried flower petals and little bits that look like oatmeal. The water turns a soft purple color and you relax as best you can without being able to lean back.
"Do you want me to stay?"
"You don't need to."
"I'd like to." Shawn cups his hand in the water and pours it over your back. It feels wonderful as the warm water flows over your tender skin. "If you don't mind."
"I don't mind." You yawn big and he keeps pouring water over your back.
"Do you want to try sleeping without the wrap on tonight?"
"Can I?"
He leans forward on his knees and touches your back gently. "I think we should probably let it breathe. You'll have to sleep on your stomach."
"That's fine."
"I'll stay up and make sure you don't roll over."
"Shawn, no, you need to sleep too."
"Shh." He pours more water over your back and you hang your head down, enjoying the sensation. The rest of the bath is quiet and he lets you finish up while he changes the bedding so you could sleep on fresh sheets after you were all soaked and clean. When you walk into the bedroom all dressed up in one of his tees and a pair of sweatpants you find he's made a little nest for you to lay in.
"What's this about?" You chuckle as you crawl between the pillows flanking either side of your half of the bed.
"It's roll guards." He flops on his side. "So I can sleep for a while and not have to keep a close eye on you at all times."
"I'm sure I'll be fine."
He leans over and kisses your head. "I'm sure you will be too."
_____________________
"That outfit isn't very flattering."
You look up from the book you're reading and standing before you is your sister. She's got her hair down and it's longer than you remember. She is also pregnant, a few months by the look of it.
"Danielle?"
"Yeah it’s me? Why are you wearing old jeans and a huge sweater? You're a princess and you should be dressed up for your future family. Do you let them see you like this?"
"It's just my clothes." You stand and she towers over you. In heels and pregnant. This woman never took a break. "What's wrong?"
"You look like a commoner. A dirty farm girl or something."
You look down at yourself and pull your sweater out a bit. It was one of Shawn's from the back of his drawer. You figured he wouldn't miss it too much and since it was big and roomy you were more comfortable without your bandages. "But it's comfortable."
"Ugh." Danielle rolls her eyes. "How did mom and dad ever pass you off as a princess to these people? Oh wait, they're animals, no wonder you fit in."
You ball your fists up and walk away from her without another word. You can't believe she's here already and if she is here then your parents must be as well. You stalk down the hall to the main entrance and sure enough your parents are standing there talking to Karen and Manny. You turn and go to the hall that leads to the kitchens. You want to find Shawn because dealing with your family alone is not going to go well.
Shawn is sitting on a counter in the kitchens eating a bowl of cereal laughing at something Marty, the head chef, said when you walk in. He knows something is wrong right away because he drops his bowl in the sink and walks over to you.
"You okay?" He gives you a once over real quick. "You look freaked out."
"My family is here." You cross your arms. "And Dani already came to insult me in the library."
"What? Why?"
"I don't know! She hates me. I guess I look like a dirty farm girl but that's okay, because apparently you're an animal."
Shawn growls. He pulls you into a hug. "Danielle can leave if she's going to call us animals and insult my fiance."
"Yeah, good luck. My parents will defend her to their graves." You wrap your arms around his back and he sways you gently. "I would say we should get revenge but she's pregnant."
"Someone is having a baby with her?"
"Yeah. Unfortunate bastard."
Shawn drops a kiss on your head and looks out the doors behind you. "I guess I should meet them huh?"
"I guess."
"Do I have to be nice?"
"That's up to you."
He growls and you pull your head from his chest. "Well let's go then."
_____________________
Dinner is a shit show. Your parents can't seem to talk about anything but Danielle and her baby on the way. You would think you weren't even getting married in a week. You're invisible as always.
"So we are just ecstatic that were going to be grandparents!" Your mom, April, says, beaming at Danielle. "We always knew someday that Danielle would have a baby. She’s just too stunning not to carry on the bloodline."
Shawn clenches his jaw and puts on the biggest smile. "Never expected much from your younger daughter then?"
Your mom looks over at Shawn and you look up from your food to asses the tension filled room. Shawn just keeps smiling as he awaits an answer.
"What does that mean?" April asks fake politely.
"You don't expect grandkids from us?"
"Well, I hope not."
Karen sets her glass down a little loudly and clears her throat. "Excuse me? You hope not?"
"Well a human and a werewolf have no business having children. It's just unnatural."
Shawn lets out a loud growl that clearly puts your family on edge as they shift uncomfortably in their seats.
"Unnatural?" Manny asks over a sip of his drink. "What's unnatural about cohabitation of races?"
"You know, come on Manny." Your dad, Thomas, chuckles nervously. "It's just not right. The children would be ....well, wolves just shouldn't intermingle with humans. It's always been that way."
"You sent your daughter here to build an alliance and you think so poorly of wolves? What do you think will happen when they have a child? You think she’d going to birth a puppy dog? My people are shapeshifters, we are not animals."
Thomas clears his throat and you stare at him, waiting to see how he talks his way out of this one. "We sent her to create an alliance, yes. But as for children, and intermingling of races, I have my opinions and you have yours."
"You expect my people to live and fight alongside a man who thinks nothing more of them than animals?"
"I expect them to uphold our agreement."
Manny scoffs and shakes his head. "Thomas, I think you need to find a better way to win my favor and alliance. Our deal is off."
"What?! I sent my daughter here to make sure we wouldn't have any issues! Your alliance is critical to me, my people could be attacked and we would have no defenses! I'm offering you my youngest daughter and crop shares!"
"Then offer me something better Thomas. My people will never obey me if I ally with a man like you for just a marriage and minor crop shares. Your alliance is nothing to me, and everything to you. I can get southern agriculture through other means. Thinking your daughter's hand would be enough to over rule your inherently racist mindset was a mistake."
Thomas stands and so does Shawn and Manny. "This is your fault girl!" He points at you, red in the face. "You were supposed to seal the deal you little bitch! What have you been doing here?!"
"Thomas!" April shouts, standing up as well.
Karen lays her hand on your shoulder, as if ready to protect you from your dad.
"I didn't do anything! You didn’t tell me what exactly I was supposed to be doing here. You sent me here for a marriage that I still don’t quite understand! What do you gain from me being here? What do you gain? Wait, I know! You got me out of Highwater and out of the castle because I’m a disappointment to you aren’t I? I’ll never be Danielle and I never want to be! Losing this deal is your fault!" You stand and look around at the angry wolves before you and you’re shaking. Years of pent up emotion is coming out right now and you’re not going to stop it. "If anything you ruined this yourself because you’re an asshole and everyone hates you!"
"Don't you talk back to me! I am your father, I am your k-"
"You are not my king!" Your voice falters and you hate it. "I will not return to Highwater, not today, not tomorrow, not ever. I renounce my title as princess."
Shawn moves close to you and puts his arm around your waist, heat rolling off him in droves. "You can stay with us." He presses a kiss to your head. "Stay with me. You're safe here."
"You're a traitor to our house!" Danielle exclaims. "You’re leaving to ally with a foregin kingdom. You could be sentenced for-"
Karen rises and sets her hand back on your shoulder, rubbing soothingly. "Astoria is a kingdom of non-extradition. She is safe here from outside law."
"Your move Thomas," Manny says calmly. "Make a wise one or you'll have another enemy before dawn."
_____________________
Shawn comes to bed late that night. You can't sleep until you know what's going on. Never in your life had you stood up to your dad like that and now the alliance deal was off and it did feel like it was your fault. It wasn't, no, it was the fault of your parents and their small mindedness of wolves.
"Hey," Shawn says softly as he enters the darkened room. "Are you still awake?"
"Yeah."
His weight sinks in the bed a bit and you roll towards him. "Are you worried about the argument at dinner?"
"How could I not be?"
His hand finds yours and you let him thread your fingers together. "You don't need to worry. I swear I'll keep you safe here in Astoria. I know the alliance deal is off and I guess that means we aren't technically engaged, but I won't stop caring for you."
"Oh..."
"What?"
"We aren't getting married in a few weeks anymore? All the planning your mom and I did, it's all for nothing now? I'm supposed to go to a dress fitting in a few days. I thought we agreed we would stay together in the event the alliance went bad?"
Shawn puts his arm over your stomach and you lay your hands on his warm skin. "You seriously want to marry me still?"
"Yes. How many times do I have to say that I want to be with you? I've gotten used to the idea that we’ll be mates, and I’ll get to wake up to you everyday, and I'll be the princess of Astoria. I never wanted to be a princess, but Astoria is wonderful and I'm really happy here. It's like...it's like I'm living in one of my favorite books but it’s real and you’re real. I’ve never felt more at home and more loved before and I don’t want to lose that.”
"I'd absolutely love for you to be my mine, alliance or not. I definitely think you and I are meant to be together. I don’t want to lose you either.”
You play with his arm, running your nails over his skin. He lets out a low rumble and you grin to yourself. You explore a bit more, hand going up his arm over his shoulder and to his head. You hesitate, fingers poised in his hair. He takes the initiative and leans his head into your hand. Your fingertips meet his warm scalp and you scratch gently, working up and down through the mess of hair on the top of his head.
Shawn lets out a tiny groan, more of a sigh almost. He curls the arm on your stomach around you and pulls you closer, careful of your back. He holds you flush against his chest and you melt into his warmth. He presses his face into your neck as you keep up your scratching. There are tiny little noises coming from him, things you'd never hear if he wasn't pressed against your neck. Little groans and whimpers, half caught in his throat growls. He is putty in your hands and you had no idea he could be so easily broken down.
"Shawn?" You ask after a few minutes, he has started to mouth at your neck, wet tongue leaving warm stripes up and down your skin. "Hey." His attention is making you feel warm, the idea of his tongue on your body going much farther than you should be thinking.
"Yes?" He growls, literally growls and you don't know why but that brings a whole new wave of arousal across your stomach.
"I think we should probably sleep."
"Mmm yeah, but you smell so good." He presses his nose against the back of your jaw. "It's going to be hard to sleep." He runs his hand over your stomach, fingers flexing across your skin where your shirt has ridden up and your bandage ends. "So soft."
You giggle as he tickles you with his fingertips and he chuckles. "Shawn, quit!"
He slides his hand away and rolls onto his back beside you. You instantly miss his warmth. "I'm going to shower." He says and gets off the bed. You watch his figure cross the dark room and he pauses at the bathroom door as the light comes on. He looks back at you before going in and closing the door.
Your heart is racing, pounding out of your chest. That was a very intimate exchange. Now all you can think about is his hands on you, his tongue, his body over yours. You have to stop. He's already aroused and you aren't going to help by being turned on still when he comes out of the shower.
_____________________
You and Shawn head down for breakfast late in the morning, knowing that everyone would be up as well. You know Shawn was up late after his shower because he left the room and didn't come back for a few hours. You're sure your family was up too, well, maybe not Danielle because she never did care about anything but herself. Chances are she doesn't give a fuck about the alliance. She's an Easterner now anyways.
"Look who finally showed up." Danielle says with an eye roll. "I guess I can eat now."
"Sorry?" You roll your eyes in return.
"What took you so long? Because you sure didn't clean yourself up before coming down here."
Shawn wraps his arms around your waist and kisses your cheek. "We were having a little fun.” He grins against your ear. It’s not true but he’s trying to rile her up and her expression says it’s working. “Besides, it's our home, if you don't like how we present ourselves you can leave."
Danielle scoffs and rolls her eyes. "I'd love to."
"Let me call you a cab, or maybe a b- witch like you prefers a broomstick?"
"Excuse me!" Danielle's eyes go wide and she looks to your parents as they walk in from an attached parlor with Shawn's parents.
"What's going on in here?" April asks, eyeing you suspiciously. "Are you bullying your sister?"
"Are you f-"
Shawn cuts you off. "We were just talking. She'd like to leave she says."
"You can't leave until we finish our business here," April says and takes a seat beside Danielle who just huffs and mumbles something under her breath about having someone come pick her up.
The kitchen staff brings in breakfast and begins to set up around you. It's a fairly large amount of food and you're not sure if it's all going to get eaten. Marty only knows how to cook for werewolves. If the food doesn't all get eaten, it goes to the staff for their families so at least you can feel less guilty about not finishing it all.
“How are things with the wild wolves?” Thomas asks as everyone begins to eat.
“Excellent. We made an agreement.” Manny says smugly. He knows why Thomas is asking and it’s because he thinks that he has a shot at negotiations if Manny is under pressure from outside forces.
“Good, good. Glad to hear it.” Thomas sounds drier than an empty bucket in the western desert.
A few minutes later Shawn bumps your hand with his. You look over and he’s grinning. "It's going to snow soon."
"Really?" Your eyes light up, glad for the change in conversation, and shift in the tension filling the room. You've never seen snow before, the south didn't get below freezing. "Can we go out in it?"
"Yeah of course. I'll go out and catch the first snowflakes with you when it does."
"Promise? Even if its the middle of the night?"
"I swear."
____________________
Your parents and Danielle leave without coming to an agreement with Manny. Things didn't get any worse, so Highwater isn't on bad terms with Astoria, but they are not allies either. You know your dad won't give up anything major and the only thing it seemed Manny would accept was open trade and expanding Astoria's border to grow more crops in the southern region. Your dad's dislike of wolves would never allow him to do that, and he would never approve of losing land to Astoria.
Two days after their departure you find yourself sitting in a boutique in Astoria City, waiting for one of the assistants to bring you dresses to try on.
"So you and Shawn are still getting married?" She had been visibly surprised when you came to find her this morning to go to the appointment.
"Yes. I haven't told my family yet since they left, I kind of don't want to."
"I understand. They're not at all like you. I was shocked when April said she hoped you never give her grandkids with Shawn. The way they spoke about us, it reminds me of when Astoria was still a small kingdom of wolves that people didn't understand." She sighs. "The way humans treated us was absolutely disgusting. To think that some people still have such a closed off mindset in this day and age."
"Yeah, I'm still nervous though."
"Why? Well, I mean anyone getting married is nervous."
"The seriousness of it all is a lot to handle."
The attendant brings you three long white dresses with silk accents. They're bulky looking and you already don't like them. "This is our most traditional dress style. All three are by a designer here in Astoria and-"
Karen holds her hand up. "Can we see some more non traditional dresses? Maybe some colors as well?"
"Colors?" The attendant looks to you and back to Karen. "For a royal wedding?"
"Yes. Our bride to be here is not your traditional type, and this won't be a traditional wedding."
"Yes ma'am." The attendant hurries off with the white dresses.
"I don't mind white." You say softly and Karen shakes her head. "It's really okay."
"No. Astoria is entering a new age and with it should come new traditions. I want it to be your choice, and your wedding, not your parents and not following any traditions you don't want to follow. I want you to be comfortable and not worried about it being some uptight affair."
"Thank you." You smile and look down. "It means a lot more than you know."
Karen pulls you into a side hug and leans her head on yours. "You're like the daughter I never had and the carefree princess I never got to be. I want the best for you."
____________________
"You're not technically a princess anymore right?" Shawn says as he walks out of the bathroom towel drying his hair, a second towel slung low around his hips.
"I guess I did renounce my title." You shrug and stand up to stretch, setting your book aside and staring at him. No matter how many times you saw him naked or nearly naked, you don't think you'll ever get used to it. "I guess you're going to be the prince who married the common girl."
He chuckles. "Not quite. You'll be a princess again when we get married."
"How? Marrying royals doesn't change your title."
"I'll coronate you. At the announcement ball tonight, I'll make you the princess of Astoria. I have a tiara picked out already." He smiles shyly and you flush. "It's a new too, not one of mom's."
"You chose it?"
"Yeah. Last night."
You walk over behind him and wrap your arms around his chest, pressing against his back. He's damp and smells like warm vanilla and spice from the shower. "Thank you."
"What's this about?" He chuckles, laying his hands over yours.
"I've never gotten a tiara before, and I've never felt like a princess."
Shawn turns around in your hold and plays with your hair. "Do you want to feel like a princess? Were you ever jealous of your sister?"
"I-I guess I was a little bit."
"I'll treat you like a princess." He drops his forehead to yours. "I'll give you everything you ever wanted."
"I don't want much." You giggle and he bumps your noses. "You've given me more than I've ever dreamed about having."
"I haven't given you much?"
"Love? Attention? Affection?" You run your hands up his bare back. "Protection."
"Oh." He rubs down your back in return. "I'm not sure about that last one."
"You're still beating yourself up about that? I'm nearly healed over. You took care of it."
"I know." He closes his eyes. "I still just can't help but feel like I failed you."
"Shawn." You hold his face, making him look at you. "Do you need me to forgive you? Do you need me to say that?"
He nods.
"I forgive you. I forgive you for everything you feel guilty for."
"Thank you," he whispers, pressing his forehead to yours. "You have no idea how much it helps."
"I'll forgive you everyday if I need to."
He lets out a little half laugh. "No, this is fine."
"Good." You kiss his nose. "Let's get ready for the announcement ball."
_____________________
You step into your dress and pull it up over your shoulders. It’s beautiful, a flowy long black dress with quarter sleeves made of soft lace. There is just enough tule beneath the skirt to give it shape while providing your legs room to move. It was one you picked out with Karen the day the two of you went dress shopping for the wedding. She had recommended getting one for the ball as well since you’d hadn’t gotten one yet.
One of Karen’s assistants, Millie, helped you get your hair and make up done but she had to leave before you got into your dress. You reach back, hand not quite touching the zipper. You can’t finish without someone to zip up your dress. You gather up the skirt and head for your bedroom, you know Shawn is probably getting ready still. He can help.
You knock on the door and wait. Sure enough the handle turns and there is Shawn, standing before you in a fitted black tux, jacket open and blue shirt half buttoned underneath. He looks so good, absolutely outstanding. You realize this is a sort of peek at what he’ll look like on your wedding day and you get jitters in your stomach.
“Hey,” he says softly, touching a curl falling from your temple. “Can I help you darling?”
“I need my dress zipped,” you flush, dropping your skirt and pointing to your back.
“Come in.” He opens the door and you shuffle in until he can close it. He walks over to you and runs his hands up your exposed back. “Your back does look really good.”
“Thanks.” You glance back and him and he’s smiling. “I wouldn't have healed so well if it weren’t for you.”
“Mmm,” he traces a faint scar from the deepest scratch. “The salve and all those herbal baths really made a difference. Your skin looks gorgeous.”
“Shawn,” you giggle and he pulls the zipper closed, looping the top little button to prevent it from pulling open while you danced later.
He wraps his arms around you from behind and rests his chin on your head. “I can’t wait for you to be my princess.”
“I thought I was already?”
He chuckles. “You’re right, I can’t wait for everyone else to know you’re my princess.”
You pull out of his hold and sit on the edge of the bed. “You should finish getting ready.”
_____________________
Your stomach twists into knots as you walk down the stairs from the upper balcony of the ballroom, hand in hand with Shawn. Below you can see all of the most important figures of the Astorian government and their families. There is no one from Highwater, not a single soul and that's the way you wanted it.
"Are you nervous?" Shawn whispers against your ear.
"Extremely."
"Don't worry. You'll have a good time. These are your people now."
The two of you reach the landing at the bottom of the stairs and stand beside Manny and Karen. A man announces the king and queen first and they step down, bowing to the crowd.
"I announce to you Prince Shawn Peter Raul Mendes, heir to the Astorian throne and his fiance..." The man looks at the sheet and over to you before he announces just your name and no title. He is clearly perplexed by the lack of title considering only days ago you were most definitely a princess.
Shawn steps forward and takes the microphone from the man and thanks him for his work. "Lords and Ladies, governors and governesses of Astoria, you'll notice my fiance is no longer a princess." He looks to you and takes your hand. "She has renounced her title and association with the royal family of Highwater."
A soft murmur breaks out across the quiet room and you feel nervous.
"I'd like you all to join me in coronating her as the Princess of Astoria." He grins and people begin to clap. A man walks up with a small white pillow that has a gold tiara adorned with diamonds and obsidian accents on it. It's absolutely stunning. Shawn lifts it off and steps up to you, the delicate adornment in his hands. "Bow your head for me."
You lean forward and Shawn places the tiara gently on your head. You raise back up and look at him as everyone begins to clap, the room explodes in cheers for you.
"How does it feel, Princess?" Shawn whispers with a smile.
"Weird?" You giggle.
He leans in and kisses your cheek. "Get used to it honey."
The rest of the ball is amazing. Everyone takes the time to meet you and congratulate you and Shawn on your engagement. It's incredible, feeling so involved and accepted by the people in charge of your new home. A woman named Alice, the daughter of the head of agriculture, hits it off with you right away.
"So how did you and Shawn meet?" Alice asks when you sit down beside her to take a rest for a bit.
"Um, well...it started out as an arrangement."
"Really?! I never would have thought the royal family would do that here in Astoria."
"It's kind of a long story, but I'm glad I came here. I'm glad I met Shawn." You look over where he's laughing at something with a group of people and you smile. "He's absolutely incredible. I'm so lucky."
"You really love him don't you?"
"I do." You let out a little laugh and pick at the table cloth, it was the first time you've really admitted that to anyone, even yourself. "I really do."
"That's amazing." Alice sighs. "Are you two going to be mates?"
"I think so."
"Are you going to make it official?"
You raise your eyebrows. "We're getting married? Is there more than that?"
Alice grins big. "Well since Shawn's an alpha, he'll claim you."
"Claim?"
"Do you know nothing about wolves?" She asks and you look down. She sets her hand over yours. "I didn't mean to sound so rude. I'll explain."
"Thank you."
"So basically, for a lack of better terms, Shawn's going to want to fuck you senseless."
Your eyes snap to hers and you flush hot. "Alice!"
"What? That's what wolves do! Mates are compatible pairs who are bonded physically. Usually resulting in a baby."
"A baby!?"
"Shh, jeez. You're so loud." Alice looks around and leans in close. "How did you think mates worked?"
"I-I don't know. Shawn didn't really explain it to me, he just said it was like soulmates."
Alice snorts. "Soulmates. That invisible bond that humans supposedly have to another human they've never met? Yeah. Right. Wolves take mates physically. Once he's...inside you...you'll always have his scent on you."
"I-"
"Shawn probably didn't say anything about it because he didn't want to freak you out. He's probably planning on it happening naturally."
"As opposed to unnaturally?"
"No, as opposed to planned."
"Oh."
"Anyway, yeah. But you're getting married and you love him. So a baby is naturally the next step right?"
You nod. Honestly you hadn't thought about kids. Not since the conversation with your family about Danielle. The look on your parents' faces when you tell them you are going to have a child by Shawn...oh the horror. Serves them right. Hell, they'd probably be appalled if you told them you were still marrying Shawn despite the alliance. Who cares though? They left you here where you wanted to be. You have no loyalty to them.
"I need to go talk to Shawn." You excuse yourself and walk out onto the dancefloor to find your fiance.
Shawn actually finds you before you find him. He pulls you aside behind one of the pillars and takes your hands in his. "How's it going?"
"Good. Um, actually, can we talk about something?"
"Anything."
"I was talking to Alice about being mates and-"
"She told you." He sighs softly. "I swear to you I won't push you into anything you don't want. If having a kid isn't what you want, I can just say you're my mate. I'll use condoms. We don't have to-"
"Shawn." You grab his face. "Relax. I just wanted to know if that's the only way to be mated."
"Yeah. I mean, it's okay. I should have told you. I know we haven't discussed the whole sex part of our relationship n detail and honestly if you don't want to ever do it, I understand. I won't think any less of you."
You smile softly and just stare at the nervous man before you. He's so sweet. "I want to have sex with you, for the record. I do trust you and I plan on marrying you next week after all."
"Oh good." He sighs in relief. "Because I really want to as well."
You let out a laugh and he chuckles along with you. "Well now we've settled that. Will you dance with me?"
"Any time." He takes your hands and steps out from behind the pillar. "I'll lead the way, princess."
____________________
The day before the wedding, you and Shawn are separated. It’s some sort of superstitious tradition. You don't like it and you spend most of the day trying to stay calm. You got the bedroom at least, your room with Shawn, so you had everything to remind you of him. All day you spent being fussed over and you’re exhausted. It's after midnight but you can't sleep. If you just had Shawn you could relax.
You roll over for the dozenth time in an hour. Something in the window catches your eye. A flashing from across the garden. You crawl out of bed and pull back the curtain to get a better look. Across the garden in the window parallel to yours, Shawn is standing there. He's got a flashlight and he is literally signalling to you. He stops once he sees you and you pull open the latch on the window. It's just wide enough for you to squeeze through. You fall down onto a hedge and slide behind it.
There are two guards in the garden at all times and you have to avoid them. You sneak around, staying low as you skirt the outer edge of the dying hedges. Keeping out of sight was hard since most of the greenery is gone now. It's also freezing cold outside and you are in your thin polka dot pajamas. There is a guard between you and Shawn's window and you aren't sure how to get rid of him, until you see a loose bit of paving stone on the ground. You grab the stone chunk and throw it toward the fountain. Your plan works and the guard goes to see what it is.
Shawn has the window open when you get to it. He hauls you up off the ground and you collapse on the floor of his temporary bedroom.
"You are absolutely insane." He laughs, staring at you on his floor. "I didn't think you'd sneak out the window! I was just going to try and talk in morse code."
You stand and brush yourself off. "I'm quite good at sneaking, not so good at morse code so that would never have worked. I'm absolutely freezing now."
Shawn latches the window and wraps his arms around you. His warmth seeps into your bones and you melt under his touch. "I couldn't sleep without you," he mutters into your hair.
"Me neither. I'm so nervous I can't relax."
"Me too."
The two of you walk to the bed and you crawl on it with him in front of you, pulling you into his chest. "We aren't supposed to see each other you know? It's bad luck supposedly."
"I don't care." You press your face into his shoulder. "I need you. Traditions be damned."
He runs his hand up and down your back. "I need you too."
"I think I can sleep now."
"Good. Not so nervous?"
"No. Well, just a little maybe."
He chuckles. "I promise tomorrow will go by easily. It's just you and me. Don't worry about anything else."
"I know."
He noses your hair and you relax. "You're my best friend. I can't wait to be your husband."
"You're my best friend too." You hold his hand over your chest. "I love you."
Shawn growls softly, curling around you tightly. "I love you too."
_____________________
Snowflakes. Little white glittering snowflakes catch your eye as they fall against the large glass windows behind the justice as he reads out your vows. You know you should be paying attention to what's being said, this is your wedding after all. But the snowflakes are something you've never seen, not in real life and they are all you can focus on.
Shawn squeezes your hands and your eyes snap to his, tearing away from the windows reluctantly. He gives you a look as if to ask what you are doing. You look back to the windows and then to him and he gets the idea.
"Snow." You mouth silently and look outside again.
A grin spreads across his face and he pulls you toward him, interrupting the justice and pulling you up the steps to the balcony of the ballroom. "I'm so sorry Justice Holland. But I made a promise and it's time to follow through."
You step out onto the balcony into the cold air. The little flakes fall onto your face and arms and you giggle. "It's snowing!" You grin, looking up at the sky.
Shawn tilts his head back and catches some snowflakes on his tongue. "I promised you I would catch the first ones with you."
You stick your tongue out and giggle as the cold little bits melt on you.
"Shawn, we need to finish the ceremony." Justice Holland says as he approaches the two of you.
Shawn wraps his arms around you and pulls you close. "I think we got the point." He brushes some snowflakes from your hair. "We just need to kiss."
"But-"
You lean up on your tiptoes and kiss him softly. It's perfect. The wind picks up and blows a swirl of snow around the two of you and you both laugh as it chills you to the bone. The justice looks resigned as you walk back into the ballroom.
"I pronounce you Prince and Princess of Astoria. Long may you love and reign in happiness and joy." Justice Holland sighs softly.
The crowd erupts in cheers and you and Shawn walk down the steps smiling and covered in snow. You couldn't be happier than this. A romance and love you never thought you would have is beginning before your very eyes. You couldn't be luckier.
_______________________
One year later
"Princess, I have news for you." Shawn sing songs as he walks into the library.
You look up from your book and quickly tuck it into the pillows on your window seat. "What's up?"
"Your father has stepped down from the throne of Highwater. He's realized he's outnumbered by the Astorian forces and our western allies. We're taking Highwater as of this morning."
Your eyes widen. For months your dad has been in negotiations with Manny for land and trade since the south had officially begun to fall apart under his rule. Things escalated with the bad blood between the two rulers and your dad declared war. It was a fruitless attempt to bully Manny into agreeing to his negotiations. Thomas had no idea the size of the Astorian forces or their allies. Today marked the end of that war, no bloodshed needed. Your dad had obviously come to his senses once he realized he could never win against the Northern and Western alliance.
"The south will be Astorian land, Highwater is ours."
"Ours?"
Shawn smiles and sits beside you. "Ours as a kingdom. My parents will be going to the castle to meet with the members of government there and decide what to do. We'll control Astoria proper until things are sorted out."
"That's insane." You laugh, shaking your head. "I can finally show you Highwater! I...I actually have some news for you too."
"Yeah?"
"Well," you smile and bite your lip. "Remember how we talked about remodeling the old nursery?"
Shawn raises his eyebrows. "Yes. I said as soon as you are pregnant we could do that."
"We should start remodeling then."
"But I just said-" his eyes go wide. "You're pregnant!"
"Yeah! Six weeks the doctor said. It's a rough estimate but yes!"
Shawn lays his hand on your stomach. "This is perfect. We can raise it in both of our home kingdoms." He closes his eyes. "This is the best news ever."
You take his hand and he leans in close. "Remember when you promised to give me everything I ever wanted?"
"Of course."
"I think you've made good on that now. I couldn't ask for more."
He presses his forehead to yours and bumps your noses together.
"Thank you for the happily ever after I never thought I'd have. I love you."
He presses a soft kiss to your lips and rubs your stomach gently. "I love you too princess. I love you too."
End
------
Than you so so much for reading! I know this was long but i hope it was so worth it :) Big shout out to everyone who’s helped me write this and gave me feedback in the process. I can’t wait to write more and bring yall more stories!
Please Reblog if you read, enjoyed, or just want to save for later!
Thank you again. You’re all amazing and so supportive. - A
*****Note: none of my works should be posted anywhere outside of my linked accounts. I do not give permission to repost with or without credit to my accounts. Please notify me of any reposted fics.*****
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1161
survey by pichu4850
What color do you think of when I say...
Anger?
Red, or a really bright red-orange.
Confusion?
Gray.
Inspiration?
Sky blue. Both word and color give off calming vibes to me.
Shy?
Something like an off-white shade, and maybe even pastel pink.
Agony?
Olive green was the first color to come to mind, though I have no idea why.
Sleep?
Dark blue, like the night sky.
Chipper?
Yellow.
Beautiful?
Red, the way roses are.
Morning?
Light blue or yellow.
Would you rather be named...
Andrea or Aimee?
Andrea.
Emily or Erica?
Emily. I know an Erycka that I’m not too fond of, so this is an easy pass.
Kelsey or Casey?
Casey, though I’d mix up my name a bit and have it be pronounced and spelled as Cassie.
Madeleine or Marina?
Eh, not really a fan of either but I’d mos likely go for Madeleine.
Alec or Aaron?
Alec.
Ryan or Ross?
Not a fan of both names as well though I’d probably go with Ryan, but only as a feminine name.
Dylan or Daniel?
Dylan.
Jack or Jordan?
I guess Jack, if I have to pick.
Gabriel or Gavin?
Gabriel.
How often do you...
Brush your teeth?
Once or twice a day.
Eat breakfast?
Twice a week, during weekends; though sometimes I’ll end up skipping it for an entire week altogether.
Check your email?
I literally never check my personal email anymore after having gotten hired, but I know I should quit that habit and check it every once in a while just in case an intriguing opportunity might come my way. My work email is a different story; I have to use it everyday. I open my emails even during weekends so that when I report to my shift on Monday, my Gmail won’t look as clogged.
Go to the mall?
When quarantine protocols loosened up a bit I used to go either on Saturdays or Sundays for some me time as well as some much-needed time away from the house, for the sake of my mental health and sanity. But now that we’re going through another surge in cases, no one’s allowed to go out again and malls are back to just keeping the essential stores open.
Go to the beach?
A few times a year, at least before the pandemic. I haven’t been to the beach since 2019.
Play card games?
Only happens once in a blue moon, when I get together with friends and someone happens to bring a deck of cards. This isn’t a usual occurrence with any of my friend groups, though.
Have at least 20 minute phone calls?
Never. I have 20-minute Google Meet and Zoom calls instead.
Paint your nails?
They are never painted.
Wish you were happier?
Every now and then.
Did you ever want to be...
A veterinarian?
Yes, when I was younger. I once stumbled upon an interview with a horse vet on one of my kid’s almanacs and thought what they did was so cool.
An astronaut?
Yup, definitely became a big obsession of mine at one point in my childhood. I still think it would be cool to go to outer space and should the opportunity ever become accessible in my lifetime, I wouldn’t want to miss out on it.
An artist?
Not really. I knew from the get go I wasn’t meant to be one.
A school teacher?
I would guess yes, but I definitely wasn’t as interested in teaching compared to being an astronaut or like a firefighter.
A housewife?
Lmfao yeah. This was the answer I would give when I was like 8 up until I was probably 10 and I knew it stressed out my Asian mother big time. My grandpa got a kick out of it, though.
A firefighter?
Yes. This was up there with astronaut.
A princess?
Not so much.
A lawyer?
I definitely considered law for a brief period, but it was already during my latter college years. There wasn’t enough time to mull over it. But hearing all the law school horror stories from my friends kind of made me relieved I didn’t push through with it; I knew I wasn’t passionate enough about law to want to go through all the hardships that come with law school, so I was fine letting that dream go, and still am.
A doctor?
This was never a dream of mine.
Would you consider yourself...
Materialistic?
Yes.
Pessimistic?
It comes out occasionally, but I don’t think it’s a main trait of mine that people would generally see me as.
Avoidant?
Not so much. I can be shy and anxious sometimes but I get over it at some point.
Sarcastic?
Only occasionally. I wouldn’t say I speak the language.
Talkative?
Definitely not. I hate being in the spotlight, and whenever it’s my turn to share a story or talk in a group I usually have the tendency to rush through it or make it as short as possible so as to return the spotlight on someone else. I’ve always been more of a listener.
Strange?
Maybe not strange but weird to an extent?
Intelligent?
I guess in some ways.
Lucky?
In some ways I am, but I also got handed the short end of the stick in other contexts.
In the next twenty-four hours, will you...
Talk to someone you care about?
Probably. I talk to at least one friend a day.
Go to work?
Yep, I’ll finally be going back to work since the Holy Week break is over. My workaholic self felt kinda unsettled with all the free time, so I’m actually kinda relieved.
Go to school?
I’m not in school anymore.
Be in a different city?
Nope, it’ll be working from home for me like usual. We were initially allowed to book visits to the office if we really needed to go there to pack some goodies and stuff, but because of re-heightened Covid protocols our admin has once again prohibited anyone to go there for the meantime.
Read a book?
I highly doubt it. I haven’t read any in months.
Watch a movie?
Nope. It’ll be a Monday coming from a 4-day break, so it will be incredibly busy tomorrow as there would be a lot to catch up on.
Go to a dentist/orthodontist appointment?
No, I won’t.
Do your laundry?
My parents probably will seeing as our hamper was nearly full the last time I checked.
True or False: Family...
I have two brothers or more.
I only have one brother.
My mom lives with me.
This is technically true but isn’t phrased right in my case. I’m currently living with my parents.
My grandparent(s) live with me.
No, we moved out of our duplex (where I did use to live with my grandparents) well over a decade ago.
I have half-siblings.
Don’t have any.
I am the oldest in my family.
Eldest child, that is.
I am an only child.
I have two other siblings.
I have 15 cousins I can name off the top of my head.
Easily. My first cousins are less than 15 in total, but I know a good number of my second and third cousins as well so this is a cakewalk.
The nearest Aunt or Uncle lives less than an hour away from me.
The aforementioned duplex we moved out of is just at the next village; we didn’t move too far so that we can continue visiting them.
True or False: Food...
I am allergic to chocolate.
I’m not, fortunately. I’m not crazy about chocolate but I’d be pretty miserable if I could never have it either.
I like vegetables more than fruit.
Infinitely more, hahaha. I hate fruits.
I have tried pizza dipped in ranch sauce.
Ranch isn’t a very common dressing where I’m from, so it’s not usually offered in restaurants. Given the chance, though, I’d definitely try my pizza with ranch at least once.
I've never eaten kiwi fruit.
True, but then again I’ve never eaten most fruits and don’t plan to.
I love junk food.
I love to try new food.
Ketchup goes best with fries (chips).
I don’t like ketchup and barely put it on anything.
I like fried rice.
I haven’t met an Asian who doesn’t like fried rice.
I can prepare dinner for myself (using a stove or oven).
I hate sushi.
How many...
Pairs of shoes do you have?
A little over 10, maybe? I don’t feel like counting in my head rn.
Songs do you have on your music player?
I don’t have a music player anymore.
Hours of sleep did you get last night?
Around 4.
Times have you had alcohol?
Like, ever since I started drinking when I was 18? I never kept track lmao but if I would guess, maybe around 50-60 times? I’m not a regular drinker; I drink probably once or twice a month at most.
Books have you read/started reading in the past month?
None.
Windows in your house/apartment are open?
I know my parents and sister have their windows open at the moment, so that’s 2. Mine are usually open as well, but I’ve turned on my aircon so I’ve closed them for the night.
Pets do you have?
2.
Kids do you have/want to have?
I’d cut it off a a maximum of 3 kids, but having just 1 would already be so nice.
Minutes does it take to get from your home to school or work?
I work from home, but in the two times I went to the actual office it took anywhere between 45 minutes to an hour.
Have you ever...
Spilled a cup of grape juice on the carpet?
I don’t think I’ve ever even encountered grape juice in my entire life.
Played spin the bottle?
I don’t think I’ve ever played this. My friends and I usually resort to truth or dare.
Played Twister?
Yes, and there are many fond memories that come with it as well. So when I was 7 years old I befriended Katreen, and her mom and mine hit it off instantly so they started this arrangement where every Friday, her mom picked me and my sister up from school along with Katreen and her sisters, and we’d stay for several hours at their place until my mom would pick us up. Her mom was an amazing host and every week we’d play Twister, watch Pokemon, read books together, etc; anything to keep us comfortable and entertained.
Been caught doing something you weren't supposed to be doing?
It’s bound to happen every now and then.
Walked out of a movie because it was horrible?
I’ve gotten this feeling a few times but I always stayed in my seat because I paid for the damn ticket.
Given the finger to someone on the street?
Oh most definitely, as well as drivers passing by. And it’s always been towards men that are being disgusting pigs.
Been so sad/angry that you started laughing?
Sure.
Been in a wedding?
Yes, but I only got invited as a kid since I was usually picked to be one of the flower girls. I haven’t been to a family wedding since 2007.
Been in a situation where you almost died?
Probably not died but almost substantially injured, sure.
Misc...
Are you stressing out about anything right now?
Just worried about the deluge of tasks that will inevitably come at me tomorrow but knowing how easygoing my bosses are, I know I’ll be able to ease up soon enough.
Do you think before acting or act before thinking?
I used to be the latter but I now see the importance of first considering possible consequences of or how others would be affected by my actions.
Do you act upon your emotions and instinct, or logic and reasoning?
Again, I used to be one of these, this time the former. Now that I’m at a much more stable and peaceful place in my life I try not to let my emotions get the best of me.
What are some personality traits you find appealing in a potential partner?
I had a number of negative experiences in my last relationship so forgive me for scraping the bottom of the barrel when it comes to my expectations lmaaaao – I’d love for someone to be sensitive to my needs and feelings, and for them to be able to own up to their mistakes or hurtful habits and know how to apologize and be open to changing if it’s for their self-improvement.
How have you changed as a person in the last 5 years?
I tolerate less bullshit now. I think I’ve also grown to be happier and a lot more stable, emotionally. I also have a better sense of what I want out of life and where I want to be, and I’ve also learned to be more sociable and open up to people.
If you could do anything you wanted right this moment, what would it be?
Order sushi :(
Is there anyone you can totally relax and be yourself around?
Yes, that’s what my friends are for. If I can’t feel comfortable around my friends, I’d view that as a problem.
Did you ever wanted to say something to someone, didn't, and regretted it?
No.
Are you scared about the future?
I’m scared of the idea of not meeting some of my goals, like having a family; but I’m also excited about what the future could bring me.
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A little random— but I had an idea for a time skip au::
It’s very Steven Universe referential and I will be making characters quoting it- so like be warned—
They're all like- 25+ in this too, they’re fully adults. But it technically starts with them at like.. 16-18 though. Timetagger doesn’t exist/didn’t happen in this universe.
So basically, a huge catastrophe and flat out war between the entire (and I mean whole class) Miraculous Team and Hawkmoth happens— lots of casualties and a lot of people go MIA— Chat Noir is one of these casualties, along with Hawkmoth, but the butterfly is missing.
The miraculouses have been scattered, and so has the broken and traumatized class, who despite their worries and grief, still probably regret running away and want to be recruited again.
Ladybug is still around Paris and still grieving, but she’s got a team with Herself, Queen Bee, and either Viperion or Ryuko to keep Paris from being alone, not like that helps or anything though.
However- There’s one wee detail. The new cat hero.
He’s either Adrienette’s literal son, a reincarnation, or a fusion with Adrien’s heart and blood and the cat miraculous— either way— very Rose Quartz to Steven like. They find him a little after Chat’s ‘death’ Kane realize right away. He’s about 14-15 now.
The remaining team is raising him with stories and memories of Adrien— but Marinette.. is still hurt and grieving- and all her friends are gone and she doesn’t know what to do. Chloe, who despite softening up, is still bitter and absolutely crushed by her friend’s death, but she still has complete faith in Marinette because like- what else can she do?
Miracle Queen is canon in this universe and something Chloe heavily regrets and is shameful for, kinda like the equivalent of Amethyst’s disgust of coming from the kindergarten and being a product of home world that hurt earth.
Whoever the third person is is just trying to be strong for everyone cause they know Marinette can’t handle everything, but they can’t handle everything either and despite it being.. maybe.. I’m gonna say 10+ years since everything happened.. they still aren’t relying on each other, just passing leadership every so often so they can have a break, instead of working together. It’s complicated and they’re both hurt.
Meanwhile the (I’m gonna name him Louis) son/reincarnation, Louis, is basically in the role of Steven, where he’s in the middle of this broken but ‘still trying their best’ family as he unravels the broken and complicated past.
Marinette has unfortunately become a stickler to secrets to cope, and like Pearl, has pulled away a lot of stuff involving Adrien and Gabriel from Louis. Chloe is like a big sister to him, trying her best to be better than she was to Adrien. And the third person keeps everything together and Louis looks up to them. So basically our Crystal Gems.
Meanwhile the other members of the broken miraculous team are scattered around the world.
Alya and Nino went MIA but secretly moved to Marsielle under different names, Nino lost a leg and Alya lost part of her soul watching Nino and Marinette suffer so much. Nino feels absolutely horrible about his ‘failures’ and dreadfully misses Adrien. So the two threw themselves in work and research. For both the miraculouses and normal business. They’ll be the first people the team re-recruits, as they need their help to find everyone else. It’s a very quiet but heartfelt reunion between Marinette and her best friends. Chloe is quiet.
Kim is training. Just training. Always training. He feels like he could’ve done more to help but he just.. couldn’t. He’s with his relatives in Vietnam but hopes someone will reach out to him again.
Juleka and Rose are in Scotland with Anarka’s distant family, trying to heal from wounds they got from the ‘final’ fight. Rose hit it close during the final fight and Juleka is scared Rose will get hurt again. She isn’t sure what to do about Luka because he’s either with Marinette’s small Crystal Gem like team, or missing.
Ivan and Mylene are in Russia, most likely married and pushing down their past like skeletons in their closets, but they haven’t had kids yet because they still want to come back and help.
Sabrina is in New York, became a hacker with Max in search of the new hawkmoth and other criminal activity. Both felt useless in the final fight and decided something needed to be done. They’re almost impossible to find. Chloe’s reunion with Sabrina is rough but it’s because Chloe thought she was dead.
A fight between Chloe and Marinette somehow breaks out in New York, most likely involving Audrey, and its basically that scene from the episode ‘On the Run’ where Amethyst screams about how she wished she wasn’t made because of how she was associated with her insecurities. It’s very personal and it doesn’t end happily, not yet, they’re just hurt but more understanding of each other now.
They find Alix with her father in Egypt. She’s been burying herself in history. They give her the watch but she tells them she can’t fix anything without either deleting literally everything or creating a new ass timeline that won’t help them at all, and that it’s too late to change something so major over the course of 10+ years but.. she can help Marinette fix things with a certain blonde. What she does, I don’t know, but she joins the team and things fix up between Chloe and Marinette. Alix takes Louis under her wing a bit.
I don’t know how the rest goes.
It’s like a giant road trip, hopping around looking for the lost miraculouses, trying to find out who the new hawkmoth is, and making up for the mistakes and pains of the past.
#Miraculous ladybug#steven universe#miraculous team#miraculous au#I don’t know what to name this au#help?#lost gems au
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Movies and the Tracking Shot
In the language of film, there are many ways to place actors, props, or cameras in a way that conveys a message to the audience. The tracking shot is a specific way to include the audience into a situation on film and it really intensifies the experience. Some of the most anxiety inducing horror shots as well as introductions to a new world have happened with the tracking shot. Technically, any shot with camera movement could be described as tracking, but the really good ones tend to follow a character or group through a situation or world that is realistic but in some way other worldly because of the circumstances. Our current film under review for the AFI top 100, Goodfellas, has one of the most famous tracking shots, so I wanted to highlight it along with some other great tracking shots in film history:
THIS IS PRETTY SPOILER FREE, BUT SOME OF THE CLIPS ARE VERY VIOLENT AND INTENSE SO DON’T FOLLOW THE LINK IF YOU THINK IT WILL TRIGGER ANXIETY!!!
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Paths of Glory (1957)
This is one of the first real tracking shots and the camera is literally on a track. You can actually see the track along the ground as you are lead through a trench in WWI along with Kirk Douglas. It is horrifying in that it really displays the British idea of keeping a “stiff upper lip” as hundreds of men who are obviously terrified, as they are surely about to get slaughtered, make way for their commanding officer to lead them over the trench wall. This film was a favorite of Winston Churchill how complemented the realistic depiction of officers in trench warfare. The film was directed by Stanley Kubrick, who later showed his affinity for this type of shot. Here is a link to the clip which also shows the raiding run after the trench tracking shot:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gyyGHHXfck
The Shining (1980)
The initial lack of sound and the steady cam shot by operator Garret Brown that follows Danny Torrance through the halls of the empty hotel is haunting. As the boy pedals his tricycle, creepy music slowly builds until he finally runs into the infamous twins. It establishes the loneliness and the inability to escape. There is nothing for this child to do but explore alone, an activity which will only lead to danger. It is not an intense scene per se, but there are few better ways to establish the world of the Overlook Hotel. Here is a clip that shows the scene:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cy7ztJ3NUMI
Goodfellas (1990)
I love this scene because it goes from a dirty alley back through the kitchen/ backroom and into a fancy club. It shows the lead character progressing from the streets and through the life of a working stiff (paying off people as he goes) and ending at a table prepared just for him at the front. He basically walked his new girlfriend through his life in a single 2 minute shot through the club. An absolute masterpiece of cinematography by Martin Scorsese. Here is a link to the clip as well as a link to the deep dive discussion with the steady cam operator:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCYwcObxl78
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVDC95rprFs
The Russian Ark (2002)
I have seen this film a couple of times and it is more of a technical accomplishment than a great story. The film is made up of a single study cam shot with almost 1000 actors and 3 orchestras all filmed in a single museum in Russia. It is the story of a French aristocrat dreaming about 200 years of Russian history and the constant movement does make it all feel dreamlike. The producers could only manage one day to use the museum and they could not damage anything or add structures to set up cameras so the entire 96 minutes was done with a single shot in a single take. The amount of rehearsals and planning that were needed for this is mind boggling and it is worth a watch to give respect to the effort along. Here is a link to the trailer if you want to get an idea of what the film is like:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZV1kphEEXn8
Children of Men (2006)
This is the most constantly intense movie that I have ever experience and I do not rewatch it because even individual scenes cause me great anxiety. I have seen it once all the way through without pausing and that was enough for me. There are actually many tracking shot scenes throughout this film that last from 5-10 minutes at a time, and this is including my personal most panicky shot that I remember experiencing in the theater. There is a car ambush scene that has the camera in the place of someone in the car swiveling around to try and keep up with what is coming. It is active in that you feel like you are being attacked, yet it is passive in the way that there is nothing the audience can do to help or protect themselves. Straight out of a nightmare. I kind of a hate the scene for how bad I felt afterwards, but I love it because I recognize how good the cinematography was to affect me so strongly. I have a link for the clip below and, although it does not affect me the same since I have watched it many times, I want to give a quick warning to watch at your own risk because it is violent and intense:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVg66ndzfpU
Birdman (2014)
This film won Oscars for Best Picture and Best Cinematography as the entire film is made up tracking shots. The lead character is suffering through a mid life crisis as the character he played as a young man has almost become his identity and haunts him as he tries to re-establish himself as a serious actor director and not “the guy the used to be Birdman.” There are many great tracking scenes, but I think my favorite is one in which he gets trapped outside the theater and he has to run through time square in his underwear to get back around to his dressing room. Here is a link to that scene, but I recommend checking out the movie and try to count how many cuts you can actually see. There aren’t many:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7O8wiwu0elA
The Revenant (2015)
I also saw this film in the theater and it is extremely intense, but I was ready for it because a friend of mine compared the opening to Children of Men. That put me on guard and I am glad because it is brutal and unforgiving like the situation. DiCaprio plays maybe the toughest character ever based on a real person and the man suffers greatly all in the name of vengeance. He is with a group of fur traders and they are attacked by Arikara warriors. Walking along as a bystander as the horrors unfold for six minutes is an amazing way to introduce the savagery and pain of a fur trader’s life in the new world. These men did not belong there and those tribes who did belong were not welcoming to outsiders destroying the food source. There is also a bear attack sequence in this film, but the computer graphic additions kind of ruined it for me. Here is a link to the opening attack scene and, again, it very violent and intense so watch at your own risk:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3x0oa0zyC4A
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There are many other films that utilize this kind of tracking cam and often the effect makes it end up like a first person shooter video game. This is a perfectly viable way to have a tracking shot, but I don’t feel like it gives the same intensity as the above examples. I movie that was done completely in first person was Hardcore Henry (2015) and it is fun to watch; Doom (2005) has an extended first person scene as well. Chase scenes in horror films will have this first person view as well, although a with a prime example being Halloween (2018) does a fantastic job of this during the trick or treating home invasion scene:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iy2kMtJa2q8 (warning! very violent)
The tracking shot is a great tool to bring the audience into the director’s world and it can be used to great effect. Are there other examples not listed that exemplify the technique?
#film technique#tracking shot#film#director of photography#movie production#goodfellas#the revenant#Stanley Kubrick#the shining#children of men#movie critique#introvert#introverts
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...Like one of your French girls
A/N: A side story for My OC Renee West Wells and Sherloque Wells from The Flash. Takes place during season 5. A little back story since I haven’t written that part yet. Thanks to Nora,Renee finds out her long lost love Eobard Thawne aka Reverse Flash is alive in the future but locked up and goes to see him,Eobard manipulates her to his side again,along with Nora,they keep it a secret until Sherloque (who Renee is currently dating) uses his Detective skills and is not too happy with what he finds out,leaving things with Renee up in the air....
Warnings: Smut because it’s a Wells and I can’t help it ♥ Also Sherloque will not stop trying to persuade me to write about him. Slow burn a bit of Cat & Mouse.
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Renee should have known Sherloque would find out,he was a Detective after all. What she hadn’t planned on was him saying something in front of Barry,Iris and the rest of Team Flash. Who,known for being a bit judgemental,didn’t take it well.
If Renee was honest with herself she could understand why Sherloque had made that descion,he felt hurt and betrayed and wanted Renee to feel some of that as well. While Renee hadn’t at first,ultimately leading to Obsidian Storm taking over and joining up with her niece XS,as well as Weather Witch,Bug Eyed Bandit and Rag Doll as The Young Rogues. Eventually after what happened with Nora and Eobard leaving once again,Renee saw the error of her ways and re joined Team Flash.
It was their that Sherloque told them he was leaving back to his Earth,he didn’t look at Renee when he said it but Renee looked at him.Upset but not surprised,if her lover had treated her the way she had treated Sherloque,she would leave too.
But she wasn’t going to let him leave without at least explaining herself or letting him know that she had cared or does really care for him.
Biting her lip,Renee works up the nerve then finally clears her throat to get Sherloque’s attention. Sherloque squints up at her in question,as Renee makes a gesture with her head for them to talk in private. Sherloque at first appears to not want too,then eyeing her up and down,excuses himself and follows Renee out of the room.
Once in the lounge part of Star Labs,Sherloque turns,his hands in his pockets as he regards Renee. “So what iz it you want to talk about?” He asks cooly.
Renee drops her guard then,hating how distant Sherloque is with her now. “Sherloque I...I am so sorry.” She looks up at him,hoping he can read the sincerity behind her eyes.
As a so called master detective,Sherloque obviously can but chooses to ignore it,as he looks away with a tsk. “ Iz that all?’ The Frenchman asks.
“No...” Renee lets out a breath in exasperation,not at him but herself and the situation she had put them in. “Of course not. Look I know you’re mad and hurt and probably hate me,I would too if I were you. But I didn’t mean to hurt you,not intentionally,I do care about you. Honestly I wasn’t expecting to see you again after our one night encounter,then after I left Earth 2,left Harry,I was just lost and you were there but then I started to have feelings for you and then Eobard showed back up and mixed those all up,which I should hate him for but...” The words came spilling out,one after another,unable to contain them or even make sense of them,just wanting Sherloque to know everything she felt in that moment. “I’m sorry you don’t need someone like me,I mean technically you’ve already dealt with me 6 times,why make it a 7th? In fact this was probably a bad idea,I should go.” Seeming to change her mind Renee starts to walk away,when Sherloque,who had been quiet the entire time,grabbed her by the wrist to stop her. “Renee halte’. “
Pulling her towards him,Renee didn’t have time to react before Sherloque’s lips were on hers,kissing her as if he never wanted to let go. When he did,it was to say. “ I forgive you,you `are not something I have to,how you say,deal with. You are ‘Mon indispensable to me. Mon amour.”
Renee gazed up at him,studying Sherloque almost like he did with everyone else,but there was no apprehension on Sherloque’s face only sincerity and love.Renee smiled then, “You’re special to me too Sherloque.”
Sherloque kissed her again,this time slower,as Renee murmured breathlessly between kisses. “Don’t leave Sherloque,I need you,please.”
“Non. I won’t. Mon avenir “ Sherloque promised,placing his forehead close to Renee’s as they held one another.
The Following Day... Sherloque POV
Sherloque had been looking for Renee everywhere, at Star Labs,they had just made up and now she had disappeared without a trace. “Where have you gone Ma Tigresse...” Sherloque wondered,muttering the pet name he had for her. Sherloque knew she hadn’t actually left,it was a game she liked,playing hard to get...Sherloque will admit being a Detective he enjoyed it as well,But he was still perplexed as to where Renee had hid off too. So perplexed he even asked Cisco.
Cisco looked up from the computers and shook his head frowning. “No sorry Sherli I haven’t seen her.”
Sherloque frowned back at the hated nickname but chose to ignore it for the moment.
Cisco stood up then. “I could help you look for her.”
Sherloque hesitated,making a warding off gesture,shaking his head. “Non,that iz not ne’ssacary.”
But Cisco insisted following Sherloque,who was heading down to the lounge.
Sherloque looked back,”Yet you are’ coming anywayz.” He muttered under his breath.
Once they had reached the lounge and opened the door,Sherloque’s eyes immediately fell onto Renee. Ah there she was. ((Here she iz indeed...)) Sherloque thought,trailing his eyes up and down taking in her,very naked,form as she lay across the couches. Then he noticed Cisco catching up with him and immediately rushed into the room,closing the door so only Sherloque’s face was shown as he shouted. “Ah I found Renee!”
Cisco stopped. “Is she okay?” He asked.
“She iz fine!” Sherloque reassured him trying not to appear nervous. “Very fine indeed...” He murmured,glancing back again at her. Then snapping out of it turned back to Cisco. “I can take it from here.”
Cisco frowned,”If you’re sure...” Probably thinking Sherloque was just being weird and secretive again.
Sherloque shook his head waving Cisco off. “Oui,very sure!” Sherloque insisted. Waiting until Cisco had left to fully close the door behind him.
Closing his eyes and Letting out a breath in relief that Cisco hadn’t caught his best friend,and Ex,laying naked in the lounge,all for Sherloque,he forgot for a moment that HIS girlfriend was indeed laying naked waiting for him. Until she spoke up.
“Sherloque...paint me like one of your french girls...” Renee said softly,quoting that very famous scene from Titanic.
But Sherloque knew it wasn’t just a euphemism. As he opened his eyes and let out under his breath. “ Oh Tu es toute simplement ravissante’” Sherloque did paint in his free time and knew Renee was curious about body painting.
“ One moment mon amour.” Putting up a finger,Sherloque looked around then spotted his paints he kept stashed in the lounge,letting out a pleased “Ah!” upon finding it. Once he had retrieved his body paints,Sherloque turned back to Renee,with a wicked grin. “Let uz begin.”
Renee’s POV
Renee had been waiting for almost half an hour,wondering when Sherloque was going to find her. And was relieved when he finally did,glancing at his hungry look now as he held the paints,his eyes roaming over her body,she was glad she had waited.
Renee suppressed a shiver,not out of being cold,as Sherloque advanced towards her.
Then he stopped,setting his paints down as he removed his long coat and rolled up the sleeves of his dress shirt,slowly because he knew Renee was watching. And she was.
Renee watched every gesture and nuance her boyfriend made,admiring his toned arms but also his ability to size her up as much as she was sizing him up,seeming to appear cool yet interested all the same time,damn did the French go to school for Seduction 101? or was it because he was also a Detective and knew by her eyes,everything Renee was wanting in that moment.
Renee surmised it was both. She followed Sherloque with her eyes as he knelt in front of her. “Sit up Tigresse.” Sherloque instructed her with a nod of his head. Renee did as she was told gazing up at Sherloque’s intense expression,who was frowning in concentration already in artist mode,Renee openly shivered this time as Sherloque started painting her chest,brushing alongside her nipple.
“A little excited My pet?” Sherloque smirked already knowing the answer.
Renee cleared her throat,looking away. “No,I’m fine.” She lied.
Sherloque gave a disbelieving sound but continued. “Relaxe’...” He told her. “Close your eyez.”
Renee did,feeling instead of seeing every stroke he made with the brush against her skin,swirling it around her nipples and down her stomach. Talk about four play...
In what seemed like forever,but wasn’t nearly long enough,Sherloque told her to open her eyes,she did looking down and seeing awash of colors in blue,black and streaks of yellow over the front of her body. It took her a moment to realize he had painted a Thunderstorm.
“Sherloque it’s beautiful...” Renee whispered.
Sherloque gave a small smile but he wasn’t done yet,as he ran a hand up Renee’s legs. “Open.”
Renee did,slowly at first until she felt Sherloque’s hands grip her thighs,telling her without words,to open wider. Renee’s eyes closed once again as she felt Sherloque’s paint brush glide up her leg closer to more while intimate parts as he gently pushed her thighs open.
Stopping to admire the view appreciatively. “Perfection...” He murmured under his breath. As he started to paint her inner thighs,then letting out a “Mmmm” of feigned annoyance,rubbed at the spot he had just painted. “Looks like I missed a spot. Don’t worry Mon Cheri I clean it.”
Renee opened her eyes long enough to look down into Sherloque’s own,dark with lust as he trailed kisses up her thighs,every touch was slow and sensual,making Renee moan and drop her head back once Sherloque’s mouth went where she really needed it to go.
Slowly,languidly he licked up her,seeming to devour every taste and savor every moan that came from her lips,as she came with a shudder.
Sherloque let up then,raising to meet her as she said breathlessly,eyes closed. “Make me forget Sherloque.”
“Forget what Mi Amour?” Sherloque asked,though he knew for the most part what she meant.
Renee’s eyes opened then,dark with lust,as she stared into Sherloque’s own lust filled eyes. “Everything.” She murmured.
Sherloque’s lips were on hers then,kissing her passionately,she wrapped her arms around Sherloque as he picked her up and carried her to his makeshift bed.
Once on the bed Sherloque positioned himself above her,giving her a long kiss as he slowly stroked her,Renee was more then ready when Sherloque thrust inside her with a low moan.
The feeling of his cock inside her,made Renee want to come right then as they held each other close. “Eager are we Mon cher?” Sherloque asked in a teasing manner. But stopped moving when he felt Renee clench around him. Sherloque tskd,putting a finger to Renee’s lips. “Non My pet don’t cum yet,I want it to last.” Sherloque whispered seductively into her ear.
At his command Renee willed the feeling to pass,opening her mouth to suck on Sherloque’s finger as he slowly moved inside her again.
He cupped her face then,kissing her slowly as they made love,then gripped her breast to lick her nipple,she shuddered and then those two words low in her ear. “Cum for me Ma Tigresse’” as he slowly fucked her into submission, “Ah yes My love that’s it.” Renee felt every inch as him as she came with a low cry “Sherloque!” and felt him cum inside right along with her.
Afterwards they lay in each others arms,reveling in the after glow. When suddenly they hear a door open,Renee sits up grateful the blanket is covering them. Then her eyes widen as she realizes who was standing there. Harrison Wells,her husband.
“Harry I...” Renee’s words die on her lips,at a loss. True they were estranged but she had never told him about Sherloque.
Harry seems to be at a loss for words as well as he simply stares at them both then turns and walks out.
Renee gets up quickly dressing. “I’m sorry Sherloque,I didn’t know Harry was going to be here. I need to go.” Renee says hastily.
“Of course I understandz.” Sherloque answers with a gesture. “Go.” As Renee quickly walks out the door.
“Harry wait!” Renee yelled,Once she had caught up with Harry in the hall of the cortex. Harry turns around but still says nothing. Thinking he is angry or in shock,Renee tries to apologize. “Harry I’m sorry I know we were apart but I should have told you about Sherloque.”
“No need. I already knew.” Harry finally spoke,but his voice was different some how,raspier.
“How?” Renee asked frowning but then her expression turned to one of realization as she studied him. “You’re not Harry...”
Harrison,or who she thought was,let out a dark chuckle and smirked. “No I’m not.”
“Eobard...” Renee whispered. Not sure how to feel seeing him standing there once again looking like Harrison Wells.
“ I know you have a thing for this detective,he is a Wells after all...” Eobard Thawne said,leaning closer into her. “But just remember YOU belong to ME.” Eobard whispered in her ear then eyes flashing red,he zips away.
Leaving Renee shaken,not sure if that was a promise or a threat and if she really wanted to find out....
To be continued...
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operation omega - mission brief (i)
summary: years after the avengers dismantle HYDRA, the group remerges more dangerous than ever. their modus operandi? infiltrating foreign governments, stealing and reproducing their weapons, and selling them to terrorist groups. when the us government approaches the avengers for help on a secret operation with a secret asset, they are reluctant to agree. it isn’t until their quinjet almost gets shot down in the middle of nowhere when the understand that omega means business.
pairing: bucky barnes x SEAL!reader
words: 2.8k
warnings: swearing (if that’s even a warning), mentions of violence/terrorist organizations
a/n: i binged tom clancy’s jack ryan and thought of this so
taglist: add yourself here!
OPERATION OMEGA MASTERLIST
“Tony, what did I say about calling unnecessary meetings?”
Resident genius-billionaire-playboy-philanthropist rolled his eyes as the Steve who is just barging into the conference room, Bucky following closely behind. Seated in the all-glass conference room are the rest of the Avengers all in different stages of boredom with Tony standing at the head of the table, arms crossed across his pressed dress shirt.
Still sweaty from his run with Steve, Bucky lets out a heavy breath. The pair of super soldiers decided to go for an early morning run out of Midtown towards Central Park, but their run was cut short with an urgent message from Tony:
Tony Stark: Code Red. Conference room. ASAP.
After reading those five words, the two sprinted back to the compound, adrenaline high as the cool, seven AM New York air nips at their face. Adrenaline pumped through their system, thinking of every possible bad thing that could’ve happened—another Ultron, a bomb threat, a robbery, a kidnapping—but upon their arrival, all they saw were their teammates in pajamas or workout gear gathered around the conference room table, sipping their coffees and watching Tony Stark pace relentlessly.
“Not unnecessary. And not a meeting,” he retorts.
“Then what the hell is going on Tony? We all agreed the Code Reds are serious,” Steve bites back, irritated by his attitude so early in the morning. Steve bites the inside of his cheek as a sign of slight regret for yelling at his teammate unnecessarily hoping that Bucky doesn’t notice, but he does.
Tony rolls his eyes once again before pulling out his cellphone—one of the fancy prototypes Stark is working on with a transparent screen and that’s compatible with the building’s hologram projection systems. With a flick of his finger, the glass walls all around them are filled with mission briefs, reports, and photos and videos of military-styled soldiers dressed in all black gear and the signature red octopus on their arm shooting at innocent people and blowing up villages.
The later immediately catches everyone’s attention.
“What the hell is this…” Natasha whispers, looking around the room with furrowed eyes.
“This is a mission briefing,” Tony says, almost too quietly. Bucky notices how his cocky façade immediately falls as soon as the rest of the team notices how serious the situation is becoming.
Bucky can feel his heart beat faster and his hands become sweatier. Out of instinct, the gears in his metal arms begin to whir and recalibrate, a sign that Bucky is ready to fight. Instead, he says, “HYDRA is back.”
Steve’s and Tony’s eyes dart towards him. Bucky was never one to be vocal during mission briefings. It was a habit from his army days: listen in silence, only ask questions for clarification, and execute without making any assumptions. Bucky was even surprised by his own voice, but his subconscious knew that the re-emergence of HYDRA was bad.
“We defeated HYDRA,” Sam spoke up, not taking his eyes off a particular video of HYDRA soldiers taking innocent villagers captive, “And don’t you dare give me that bullshit about cutting of its head and two more taking its place. There’s no way they could recover from what we through at them.”
“Sam’s right, Tony. And this isn’t HYDRA’s MO,” Steve adds on. “This is…different.”
“Evolved…” Bucky mumbles. He hears Steve sigh beside him.
“Barnes is right,” Tony says, calling the attention of everyone in the room. “HYDRA is evolved. Their new MO: infiltrating government agencies, stealing their nuclear weapons designs, manufacturing it themselves, then selling it to corrupt governments, militias, and terrorist groups.”
“So, they want to create chaos. Again,” Wanda states in slight horror. Bucky shifts his gaze to look at her and sees the fear inside her eyes. He’s also sure that the same fear is probably in his as well. Bucky and Wanda became unlikely friends after his joining of the Avengers. Both scarred with very public failures involving the killing of innocent people as well as their past history with HYDRA, they found a quiet solace with each other.
Wanda gives him a look, one that tells him that she’s reading his mind; it was their own silent way of communicating. Bucky simply thought, we’re going to beat them. We’re not gonna let them hurt us. We’re stronger than that. Bucky studied Wanda’s face—the creases in her forehead softened as she felt comforted by his thought, but Bucky could tell that Wanda didn’t fully believe him yet.
“How do you know all this Tony?” Steve sighs, running a hand across his face in frustration.
“Got a message from our good old friend Secretary Ross,” Tony stated with a slight grimace.
The room shifted uncomfortably while Bucky heard Steve let out a, “Jesus, Tony.”
“I thought we were done with Sokovia. We’re out,” Bruce mumbled.
“I’m with Banner on this one. After what happened with Zemo, I say we presented a pretty good fucking argument as to why we need to be independent,” Clint sighed.
“Technically, we aren’t working for Ross. He actually came to ask us for help…covertly.”
A beat.
Natasha set her coffee mug down with a thud. “Well don’t be a dick, tell us what the hell you’re talking about.”
---
Y/N’s alarm goes off at 5:00 AM.
After fifteen minutes of stretching, she’s in an all-black running ensemble and she’s out the door of her room by 5:15 AM.
By 5:25 AM, she’s made her way through the dark halls of the compound, her black running shoes making little sound on the concrete floors. She’s finishing up a single banana, a glass of pre-workout, and a handful of granola.
By 5:30 AM, she’s out the large, steel compound door and running through the trail in the woods.
The cold air and the damp forest ground doesn’t bother her as much it used to. When she started this tradition of 5:30 AM runs, she usually needed to listen to music or a podcast to distract her from the less than ideal weather. But now, she finds the sound of her breath, her heartbeat, the sound of this wind against the trees, and the sound of her shoes hitting the forest floor similar to meditation.
By 6:00 AM, she’s reached the stream. When the compound was first being built, the Commander Clark insisted the best gym and training equipment inside. But Captain Y/N Y/L/N and the rest of the crew insisted outdoor training area as well. It was comforting for all the ex-military to have some alone time outside.
The compromise they came up with was building an expansive, underground bunker in the middle of nowhere, using nature as a form of natural defence.
The bunker was built in the side of a mountain, surrounded by trees, trees, and even more trees. Slightly downhill form the bunker was a small clearing, large enough to land helicopters and vertical-takeoff jets, but not big enough to look suspicious. Even then, the cover of large trees and the mountains in the tiny valley made the landing area impossible to find, unless you were really looking.
Uphill from the bunker was where the lake was. Y/N finds it funny that the rest of her team calls it a lake; it’s really a large pond that collects water runoff from the waterfall further up the mountain. The pond, however, does create a well-sized stream from the water runoff the weaves its way down the mountain.
Her running trail ends at a waterfall. Covered by the foliage, the beams of sunlight hit part of the decently sized rock formation where the tiny waterfall from the stream launches from.
Y/N lets out a single breath before she begins to scale the rock formations. She’s done it a thousand times; without really paying attention to what she’s doing, her hands automatically jam themselves in the correct crevices and her feat avoid all the slippery ledges from the water as she free-solos the wall.
When she reaches the top, she sits on her usual ledge and lets her feet dangle over the side of the wall. From the top of the formation, all she can really see are leaves and the stream falling off the edge of the formation, but if she positions herself just right, she can see past the tree line and down the mountain below.
At 6:08 AM, she feels her phone buzz. She pulls the device out from her sweater pocket and reads a message from her Lieutenant:
Lieu. Jackson Daniels: Clark is on secured line 1 for you
Y/N furrows her eyes and glances at the time. It’s 6:09 AM now, she normally doesn’t get mission briefs until seven in the morning. She quickly types back:
Capt. Y/N Y/L/N: did he way what he wanted?
Lieu. Jackson Daniels: No. Said it was an order from DC
Y/N sighed and rubbed her face. She wasn’t at all surprised; it’s been months since Omega has been deployed. The last time, it was a reconnaissance mission for the Germans on behalf of the World Security Council. At the time, no one really questioned why the world’s most elite and secretive military team was being sent on a simple reconnaissance mission, but she had a feeling it would come back to bite her in the ass.
She picks up a jagged rock from beside her and adds another tally to the hundreds of other tallies on the rock beside her thigh, one to mark every time she completed this run. She sent a quick message back to her Lieutenant:
Capt. Y/N Y/L/N: omw. be back in 15
Lieu. Jackson Daniels: I’ll meet u in the command room
At 6:11 AM, Y/N quickly scales down the rock formation and sprints her way back to the compound. The run back is mostly downhill, so she gets there by 6:26 AM.
At 6:30 AM, with a water bottle clutched in one hand and another wiping the sweat off her forehead, Captain Y/N Y/L/N walking into the command room.
This early in the morning, not many people are in the room. Out of the six members on her team, only one of them—Lieutenant Jackson Daniels…yes, like the whiskey—is in there. Much similar to her, Jack is in all-black workout attire, but instead of in a gym, he’s doing push-ups on the floor beside her command station.
“After living here for five years Jack, I’d think you’d know where the gym was,” she mumbles, walking around his figure on the floor and taking a seat in front of her command station. She always felt quite cool sitting up here. With monitors to her left and right and a screen tabletop, the elevated seat overlooks the five other control stations below her. She presses her hand on the tabletop, and the biometric scan unlocks the entire system, lighting up the room.
“You know I’d be there if it didn’t take you so long to get here,” Jack says as he pushes himself off the floor. He reaches over to take a swig of Y/N’s water but she slaps his arm away. He snorts before walking out of the room, presumably to find water of his own.
The icon on the corner of Y/N’s tabletop indicates a pending call on the secured line, so she taps on it, broadcasting the face of her commander on the wall across from her. The collage of other surveillance videos and maps disappears and is replaced with a ginormous live video feed of Commander Clark’s face.
“This is Omega. Captain Y/L/N speaking, sir,” she says, straightening her back in her chair. She hopes the redness in her face has gone down from her run.
“At ease, Y/N,” Commander Dickson Clark says, and Y/N lets her shoulders fall slightly and gives a nod to the commander in charge of connecting her team to the international allies that know of the existence of the secretive and illusive Omega Team. “What took you so long?” he adds on, amusement laced in his words, “I’ve been waiting for nearly half an hour.”
She offers him a smirk, “As much as I enjoy sprinting through the forest to be at your beck and call, our mission briefs are usually at oh-seven hundred hours, sir.”
“Desperate times call for desperate measures,” Clark says, amusement fading from his voice. “I sent you a briefing packet, I’d appreciate if you took a look at it now and we’ll discuss logistics.”
Y/N nods, opening the file Commander Clark sent to her. Every screen in the room then rearranges to a collage of files, maps, photos, and videos. The largest one is beside Clark’s face on the big screen; drone footage of soldiers in all-black gear loading crates of equipment from an American military base to a jet with a distinctive symbol on it.
“HYDRA,” Y/N whispers, her eyes widening in shock as she scrolls through dozens of photos and videos. “Sir, if I’m not mistaken, the Avengers dismantled HYDRA. They need to be stupid to be stealing from foreign governments to rebuild themselves. Why put an even larger target on their back?”
“Remember the intel mission you went on a couple months back? The BND confirmed it yesterday evening; HYDRA is infiltrating allied governments, stealing nuclear weapons and weapons plans, manufacturing it themselves, and selling it to the allies’ biggest threat,” Clark explained.
“Fucking hell, Clark. What do you want us to do?” Y/N mumbled. Her eyes were glued to a particular video of a little girl being ripped away from her family in a small village by HYDRA soldiers.
“Take down HYDRA.”
Y/N’s mouth drops, “Sir?!”
“We have intel about where HYDRA is manufacturing their weapons. The brief goes more in depth, but your mission is to use the weapons factory as a lead, find intel about who the head of HYDRA is and information of the moles in allied governments, and then the World Security Council will take it from there,” Clark stated. Y/N’s brain is going a hundred miles a minute, but she manages to fabricate another question.
“What’s the World Security Council gonna do with the intel on the moles?”
Clark sighed, “That one’s a little above my paygrade.”
Y/N purses her lips and looks around at the photos and videos around from her. Omega was used to covertly taking out terrorist leaders, gathering intel from the most hostile places in the world, and rescuing hostages from near impossible situations, yet no one knew about the existence of this team aside from the international leaders of the allied forces who used Omega as an asset. Omega bore no flag, rather it was the collective weapon of the allied countries. And most importantly, Omega worked best out of the limelight.
Y/N knew that a high-level mission like this would expose her and her team.
“With all due respect, sir, this mission is a little above our paygrade. Actually, it’s way above our paygrade. We know nothing about HYDRA and we have no experience with them. This is an extremely high-level mission and even the slightest screw up puts me and my team in the spotlight. Sir, I think the last thing the World Security Council needs is for Omega, a secretive, international military group that operates in places they do not have jurisdiction in from orders of the allies, to be known by the public,” Y/N rants. She runs a hand across her face and looks to Clark with eyes of worry.
Clark sighs before leaning a little closer, “Look, I don’t like this anymore than you do. But I’m not going to lie to you, we need this done secretly. Foreign military forces can’t do anything because it’s almost guaranteed that it’s going to get out somehow. And besides, we don’t know who’s a mole and who’s not. As soon as this information gets in the wrong hands, every single mole scatters and we’re back to square one.”
“Okay, so you’re using us to be secretive and not attract any attention to the moles inside governments. Fine, I get it. But we’re going to be ridiculously outmatched. You want the six of us to take down an entire terrorist organization with assets inside foreign governments, access to nuclear weapons, and enhanced individuals?” Y/N nearly shouts in exasperation.
She doesn’t hear Jack walk back into the command room, a glass of water in hand. “What the hell…” she hears him mumble beside her.
“It’s a suicide mission, and there’s no way in hell I’m letting my team go in this alone,” Y/N says firmly, jaw clenched at Clark’s face in front of her.
Clark furrows his eyebrows in response, “I never said you were doing this alone.”
Jack, seemingly unaware of the tension in the room and more focused on the intel around him, says, “This is some Avengers-level shit, Y/N…”
At Jack’s words, a small smirk makes its way to his face. Y/N raises an eyebrow at him in confusion before the connection formulates in her mind. Her jaw unhinges and drops as she widens her eyes at Commander Clark.
“Holy fucking shit.”
TWO: AV-616
#operation omega#bucky barnes#bucky barnes imagine#bucky barnes fic#bucky barnes x reader#sebastian stan#sebastian stan imagine#sebastian stan fic#sebastian stan x reader#bucky barnes fanfiction#sebastian stan fanfiction#steve rogers imagine#wiener soldiers
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The World is Cruel, Beautiful, and Chiastic
Or, because I see people talking about this and I wrote this during Tokyo Ghoul:re’s final arc (which ended up being accurate), I wanted to be a nerd and outline just what Shingeki no Kyojin’s chiastic structure is.
A chiastic structure is a narrative structure used for millennia in storytelling. It refers to a paralleling structure, wherein events or motifs parallel other events and motifs. If you chart it out, it forms a chiasm or a ring (depending on if you feel like charting a triangle or a circle. (It’s also referred to as ring structure if you go with the latter; hence “come full circle.”)
Chiastic structure has been used for ancient epics (the Iliad and Odyssey, Paradise Lost), religious texts (many narrative books of the Bible, including Ruth, Jonah, Samuel, Genesis, and the Synoptic Gospels use it), and modern classics in both literature and cinema like Harry Potter and Star Wars employ it. In anime/manga, Tokyo Ghoul used it, and Bungou Stray Dogs strongly appears to be using it (but it’s harder to say definitively or to chart it out because we seem to be in upwards end of the middle arc right about now).
So, what’s SnK’s chiastic structure?
A) Fall of Shiganshina: The World is Cruel (and beautiful)
B) Training Corps (yes, it belongs here): Cruelty to Children
A) Trost: Cruel Loss, Beautiful Hope
C) Female Titan: Cruel End to Friendship
ABC) Clash of the Titans: The World is Cruel and Beautiful
C) Uprising Arc: Beautiful Beginning to Friendship
A) Return to Shiganshina: Cruel Loss, Beautiful Hope
B) Marlay: Cruelty to Children
A) Final Arc: The World is Beautiful (and cruel)
Of note, this is not me saying that none of the other arcs parallel each other--they clearly do. This is just a look at the chiastic structure in particular.
A note about the AB pattern. Arcs that have A all have common elements even if they most directly parallel the arc they line up with. The central chiasm contains elements of all three.
Fall of Shiganshina Arc: The World is Cruel (and also beautiful)
I’m not sure I need to say much here lol. The story’s opening chapters are renowned for their horror and display of cruelty. Yet we see beauty too in the Jaeger family having taken in Mikasa, in Eren defending Armin from bullies.
And we see it in how Hannes saves Eren and Mikasa.
And there’s more cruelty in the vow Eren makes, which, of course, he’s now bringing to fruition:
The Training Corps Arc: Cruelty to Children
Yes, this one belongs here. I know that it technically occurs post-Trost in the manga, but it’s the only flashback arc in the entire story, and I think we’d all agree that pacing-wise it’s... not well placed post-Trost. The anime did a good by moving it to immediately follow the intro arc.
Basically, the main theme here is that innocent kids lose innocence. From the humorous to the cruel, we see it. The kids shouldn’t be joining the military; it’s awful that they are.
It introduces Sasha:
And makes sure to show us them just being kids:
Additionally, it shows us the determination Eren has to work hard and be the one to destroy the titans:
Eren’s determination leads to his success in his training, but as we’ll later see, his obsession is destroying him.
Trost Arc: Cruel Loss, Beautiful Hope
Or, the arc that contains one of my favorite moments, but also almost led to me stopping watching SnK when I first got into it.
The arc begins with our first rematch: humanity vs. the titans, round two. (Thus, it parallels the Fall of Shiganshina).
So let’s discuss that favorite moment of mine: when the 104th teams up to defeat the titans. Even Annie, who is later revealed to be an enemy, saves Connie.
Trost, of course, contains the first big “WTF” plot twist of the story: when Eren is “reborn” out of the belly of a titan. When a character is in an enclosed space in literature, especially one with liquid, viscera, and blood, it’s probably a symbolic rebirthing scene. From, at that point, Eren’s lowest moment of defeat, Eren realizes he has the powers to change things.
But Eren is not the only one who comes to an important realization this arc. Like the Fall of Shiganshina, Return to Shiganshina, and the final arc, there is EMA focus. Mikasa makes a decision to live on despite loss:
And Armin receives affirmation of his self-worth and realizes that even if fighting isn’t his skill, strategizing is just as valuable:
This arc also contains Marco’s death, marking the first time the 104th have to cope with the loss of one of their own.
The arc’s final fight is concluded with Levi Heichou shows up to save the day.
And, of course, the concept of blocking the hole in the wall is first brought up (this time with a boulder), and the military needs to make a choice about whether to use Eren or exterminate him; Armin is able to convince them to trust Eren.
The Female Titan Arc: A Cruel End to a Friendship
The arc contains a notable moment of Eren deciding to trust his colleagues--Levi’s squad--only to lose them all.
Additionally, Eren’s relationship with Annie ends poorly (obviously. Should Annie be in the paths right now, as she likely is, I don’t think she’ll respond well to Eren either and is more likely to help take him down). Like Eren taught Mikasa to fight and to live, Annie taught Eren how to fight as her father taught her.
What’s notable about this is that Annie’s relationship with her father is cruel and beautiful--he clearly wanted nothing more than for Annie to survive and he’s still waiting for her. Annie embodies this dichotomy as well: Armin notes that she is exceptionally kind, yet the world doesn’t give her a choice. She is so kind that she spares Armin and goes along with his plan to capture her despite knowing it is a trap, because she does not want to hurt friends, because she wants to be a good person. Annie wears a cold mask, but she is truly kind.
The Female Titan Arc concludes when Eren accepts the monstrous part of himself, using everything he has to fight Annie. It’s not a coincidence that the arc ends with Annie ripping off part of the wall, revealing the titans within. This symbolizes that the structures that ostensibly were erected to protect society are built around the monstrous, and thus sets up the Uprising Arc.
Clash of the Titans Arc: The World is Cruel and Also Beautiful
My favorite arc.
It contains several important elements: it’s where Ymir hints at the true enemy of the story, and it’s where we start to see that the Survey Corps might be capable of cruelty as well.
Erwin sacrifices his arm, foreshadowing his later sacrifice of his life, Ymir and Historia assure each other of their love (almost like love, connection, and humanity are braided themes)...
It’s also where Eren is revealed as the Coordinate, and where the central relationship of the story as @linkspooky writes (and theorizes) about here develops in a moment that is truly beautiful and cruel. Mikasa declares her love for Eren, but Eren pulls away because he needs to fight titans to keep living.
It also foreshadows and acts as an inverse to Eren’s tragic current choice: he chose to fight instead of to accept love, but he had little choice then and was acting heroically. He had choices now.
Additionally of note, since this arc is the central chiasm of the story, it contains elements from both the A and B parallels. Such as, for example, Sasha receiving development and the focus on the suffering of children, from Sasha saving Kaya (beauty) to Nanaba and the others dying to protect the 104th:
Also, the Hannes storyline reaches its conclusion with Hannes’ death, proving for once and for all that Hannes is no coward:
The death of Hannes is symbolic of the EMA trio moving from a child stage to an adolescent stage in their metaphorical development. It parallels Carla’s death, and Levi’s (the final mentor figure for EMA) current near-death experience (I don’t think Levi needs to die nor do I think he will at this point, because he seems to have survived the parallel incident).
The Uprising Arc: A Beautiful Beginning to a Friendship
There are quite a few parallels here with the Female Titan Arc. We have two parallels with Annie’s complex relationship with her father: Historia and Levi (with Kenny for Levi). Like with Annie’s father, Kenny is not a great father figure, but he did want Levi to survive and gives him a life-saving tool right before he dies (the titan serum). Historia has the direct opposite relationship with her father as Annie: Annie’s father loves her but treats her harshly to teach her to protect herself; Historia’s father appears to treat her kindly, claiming he’s always wanted a relationship with her, but he actually does not care about her at all.
Historia and Eren’s relationship also foils Annie and Eren’s: if Annie and Eren’s relationship leads to Eren accepting the monstrous/titan part of himself, Historia and Eren’s relationship leads to Eren accepting the weak, unspecial part of himself.
Additionally, this arc focuses on the new Squad Levi, replacing Petra, Oruo, and the others--and this time, Squad Levi really does come in clutch, saving Eren and Historia. These scenes are deliberately paralleled--as in, there is a literal flashback in the Uprising Arc to Eren having to make a decision re: Squad Levi. When Eren acts on his own instincts this time, he saves them.
Return to Shiganshina: Cruel Loss, Beautiful Hope
Like the Trost Arc, it contains a rematch between humanity and their enemies; this time, however, it is not mindless titans who are the real enemies, but Bertolt and Reiner (and Zeke), demonstrating how personal this fight has been (going from a journey of strange monsters-->friends-->your own internal heart in the current arc). It also, on a more basic level, contains the goal of plugging up a hole in the wall, this time with Eren’s hardened shell.
It also contains the 104th teaming up to take down an enemy. Only, this time, instead of Annie and Mikasa dealing the killing blows to titans about to kill Sasha and Connie, they are teaming up to kill Reiner, a former friend.
Like in Trost, when Eren was “reborn” out of the belly of a titan, Eren experiences a moment of awakening here. He realizes he is not the hero of this story: Armin is.
And likewise, Mikasa makes a decision to accept loss and live on.
And Armin receives affirmation of his self-worth and his strategizing doesn’t just save Eren this time, but potentially humanity:
This arc also contains the flashback to Marco’s death and, of course, Bertolt’s death, which heavily, heavily parallels Marco’s. Like with Marco, Bertolt’s once-friends are watching and weeping, but they choose not to help him for the sake of their mission (again: you become the monster; this is however NOT a commentary on the morality of such decisions, but instead is an observation. Bertolt’s death, even if you choose not to blame the Survey Corps, is horrific and agonizing and cruel).
And of course, guess who saves the day and determines the future of the story? Levi Heichou. However, again, in keeping with the motif of conflicts getting more personal, Levi does not have to kill a monster titan (in fact, he fails to kill Zeke, though he does take him down). Instead, he has to choose to let his best friend die. Like in Trost, where the military needed to make a choice about whether to listen to Eren, Levi chooses to save Armin (though not because of Eren’s please necessarily, but because of his own care for Erwin).
The battle of Shiganshina, like how the Battle of Trost ends with Eren emerging as humanity’s hope, ends with a revelation to change the story forever. Humanity is not extinct.
The Marlay Arc:: Cruelty to Children 2.0
Innocent kids lose innocent in both the past and present in this arc. The arc sets up copious Reiner and Eren parallels, showing how they both worked hard in training to become heroes.
Additionally, we see that being perpetuated to the next generation in Gabi and Falco, Zophia and Udo. They are just children, but they are killed horrifically and fight in wars as part of their training (it’s even worse than the Paradis military):
Like all other B parallel arcs, it also contains focus for Sasha. She chooses not to kill a child, providing a beautiful counter from the cruelty of Eren’s actions. Yet, she pays the price for this beauty, as she is cruelly murdered. Sasha may not be a child herself anymore, but she is still a person, and the focus on food for her in the moment of her death reinforces this.
We also see that our grown-up children are losing innocence as well. Eren becomes the monster he swore to destroy, becoming a titan to murder innocents.
Final Arc: The World is Beautiful (and cruel)
I know the emphasis right now is on cruelty and I don’t mean to minimize it. From Historia to how Eren treats his friends, to what Eren’s currently now doing, it’s painful.
It contains a return to Shiganshina, like the Fall of and Return to Shiganshina arcs. And like the first arc, it irrevocably changes the world. On this day, humanity has received not a grim reminder, not a choice.
Instead of Mikasa and Armin receiving help from an adult to save Eren (Hannes), they are the adults this time. It is up to them to save Eren from himself, which likely is not going to be kind enough to spare Eren’s life this time. That said, I do think/expect a moment of Eren remembering his humanity in the end. And we already know it ends with life and freedom.
#snk meta#chiastic structure#aot meta#shingeki no kyojin meta#attack on titan meta#snk 123#eren jaeger#mikasa ackerman#armin arlert#ema#levi ackerman#yumihisu#historia reiss#annie leonhart#sasha blouse#reiner braun#marco bodt#bertolt hoover
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Re-watching Lizzie Mcguire: Episode 1.31 (Gordo’s Bar Mitzvah)
Here we have Gordo with his never-before-seen therapist parents
- Walking along the school hallway are Lizzie and Gordo who are talking about a movie they’ve just seen (Planet of the Apes I’m guessing?). Miranda interrupts them and informs Lizzie that Ethan is getting a dirtbike for his birthday.
- And of course, Gordo still doesn’t care. Will he ever stop complaining about his friends talking about Ethan in the way they do or at least stop pretending to be so oblivious towards understanding their attraction towards him? I get it; They tend to act a little over the top but sometimes it’s okay for them to have their fan-girl moments.
They do love a man in a uniform, huh?
- Larry then shows up and asks what all the fuss is about to which Miranda excitingly replies to him saying that Ethan is all grown up. It is revealed that Larry has already started to shave. Hence why he has little bits of would tape all over his face to cover his cuts from the razor blade I suppose. Yikes!
To me, he looks like he has zits that he had covered up
- So, it looks like both Ethan and Larry are starting to go through the stages of maturity or puberty, which Lizzie notices as well. And she even compares them to Gordo and concludes that they are maturing faster than him, which is true but she doesn’t need to say it because that kinda low-key offended Gordo.
If You Didn’t Know, Gordo is Jewish
- At the school courtyard during lunch soon after, Gordo starts acting weirder than usual as he calls Lizzie, Elizabeth and Miranda as Miss Sanchez. He definitely feels like he is falling behind the other boys in his grade and is trying to overcompensate.
- He is also facing the added pressure from his parents on deciding when his Bar Mitzvah ceremony should be since he is Jewish. If I’m not wrong, isn’t this the first time that Gordo has revealed to us that he is Jewish? And clearly, his friends probably haven’t asked him much questions about his religion because they are finding out about all of this at the same time as we are.
Lizzie wants that money honey
- Gordo goes on to explain what goes on during the ceremony, which sounds really exciting, especially the getting money part for Lizzie and Miranda lol. He also notes that his parents are leaving it up to Gordo on when he wants to have his Bar Mitzvah because for them, growing up, they didn’t have much of a choice. How progressive of his parents!
- But Gordo feels like he missed his chance since he already turned 13. Plus, they just don’t see the value of being considered an adult at that age just because it’s technically not an adult age.
When Does a Boy Become a Man?
- The next day, Gordo tells his friends that he had actually interviewed a few men about their journey in becoming full-fledged men, which actually includes both Lizzie and Miranda’s dads. How did he manage to do all of that in one night? Impressive.
Hold up! Weren’t these two guys in the episode, Rated Arghh? Like wasn’t the guy on the right choking on a sourball and Lizzie had to perform the Heimlich maneuver on him? And also, why are they always seen together? Hmm....
- Edit: Their names are actually David Rosen and Jeremy Bargiel both on-screen and in real-life. They were actually writers on the show. How neat! And I also discovered that the writers on Lizzie Mcguire considered them to be a couple on-screen but they weren’t given the opportunity by Disney to make their relationship explicit.
- The interview features all of these men explaining the moments in their lives where they felt like they have become men and it’s usually with their own dads. For instance, for Sam, it was when he first started to learn how to drive and for Eduardo, Miranda’s dad, it was when he first met his wife, Daniella.
- Their stories have inspired Gordo to do the same things as them in hopes of becoming a man himself. And we get a compilation of him doing just that from driving a car to attempting to get a tattoo. I thought you must be at least 18 to be allowed to get a tattoo? I need to stop seeing things from our own reality lol.
Whose car is that anyways?
- Unsurprisingly, things don’t go as planned and Gordo is feeling disappointed. He really wants to know the exact moment where he crosses over into manhood. I mean, as an adult myself, you really don’t know when exactly the moment is. For me, it was when I started paying taxes lol and that was at the age of 22. So yea...
- I appreciate Lizzie and Miranda for trying to relate to Gordo and sympathize with him. In some way, boys and girls share similar experiences when it comes to puberty but I guess it’s much easier for Gordo to have an actual guy friend to talk to about all of this stuff. I mean, I’ve been saying this all along; Gordo needs a guy friend his age!
Another emotionally-charged moment between Lizzie and her dad
- At home, Lizzie tells her dad about the issues Gordo’s facing and Sam reminisces to her about his time as a kid and honestly, it was beautiful to hear what it was like for him. It warms my heart because the things he did as a kid that he remembers after all these years were so innocent. He also touches on the responsibilities of being an adult and a dad and how it’s rewarding being able to go to bed at night knowing that he has provided for his family.
We Finally Meet Gordo’s Parents!
This is not a drill everyone! Here are Gordo’s therapist parents in the flesh!
- Gordo is discussing with his parents about the Bar Mitzvah he was supposed to have almost a year ago and he expresses how he doesn’t feel like they should have let him decide on when his ceremony should be since it’s already too late.
- His parents, whose names are Howard and Roberta Gordon tell him that it isn’t too late and they think he is ready because they can see that their son has put a lot of effort into researching about the ceremony. Oh and it’s so cute that they watch every single film he has made to date. Gordo now feels like he’s ready. Finally lol.
- Towards the end of the episode, we are taken to Gordo’s highly-anticipated Bar Mitzvah ceremony!
Lizzie and Miranda always makes great fashion choices
Miranda’s parents are also there as well. Love these two!
- We then see Gordo on-stage giving a speech about his transition in becoming a man. To summarize, he says that the moment that marked his transition should be something that’s right for him. He also mentions about the different stories from the various men he interviewed and how he is able to realize who he is and the kind of person he isn’t. Lastly, he just sees his Bar Mitzvah as the mark of this transition instead of a tattoo, a dirtbike or any other sort of thing.
It’s amazing how Gordo invited all of the interviewees to his special day. Also, Larry and Ethan were invited too! So does this mean that he’s friends with them? Or did he just invite his entire class?
- He then reads a portion from the Torah, all in Hebrew. Despite myself not understanding a single thing, it sounded beautiful.
What a way to end an episode!
B-Plot: Sam Is In-Charge
- What’s an episode of Lizzie Mcguire without having to watch Matt’s crazy (or annoying) antics? This time, he was caught stealing oranges from a tree that belongs to their neighbor, Mrs Robinson...for the 4th time that week.
- When Sam tells Mrs Robinson, “Boys Will Be Boys”, I rolled my eyes because that’s one of the weakest excuses for poor behaviour. I gotta be honest. Even Jo was looking at her husband in disbelief.
- Matt is much more precarious that the average 10/11 year old. He even sold her oranges to his classmates at school to make a profit. I mean, that’s pretty smart of him to do but it all gets crossed out because they weren’t his oranges in the first place.
Look at Sam trying to discipline Matt. You sure showed him...
- Jo, who I actually thought would severely punish Matt pulls the classic move that usually works on Matt, which is basically to not do anything. It’s just like in episode 1.2 (Picture Day), where she went along with Matt pretending to be sick to the point where he actually suffers in the end. This time, she is leaving her husband in-charge of the disciplining. This definitely isn’t going to end well. Poor Sam!
- Later on, we see Sam trying to be the disciplinary of the family and let’s just say he isn’t doing a good job. And it doesn’t help that Matt is being completely uncooperative and coming up with excuses for his actions. I wish Matt would try acting this way in an Asian or African household. He would be running for the hills lol.
- Jo witnesses all of this and decides to stay quiet and let her husband handle it as planned. That’s pretty much what she does for every complaint that they’re getting from their neighbors as one after the other pays a visit to their house with Matt by their side to tell them what pesky little thing Matt had done to them this time. Let’s see how long that will last.
This one takes the cake for me. But hey, at least Coco looks pretty cute with that look
- Sam seems to be a his wits end about all of this but he isn’t doing a good job coming up with Matt’s punishments. The most he can dish out is sending Matt to his room. But Jo isn’t the one to talk; her punishments are that much worse either.
- As this plot progresses, we can see that Sam is surprisingly starting to go a little overboard with the punishments and doesn’t know what the right balance is because for something as small as oversleeping, he punishes Matt by making him clean the house, mow the lawn and wash his car. Wow, that is intense. Sam needs to use a little bit of common sense here.
We can see here that Matt misses getting punishments from his mom and that Jo misses giving him punishments. Umm, okay. Anyways, this whole plot ends with Jo going back to be the main disciplinary for the kids.
Overall Thoughts
- And there we have it! The last episode review for Season 1! This season definitely ended on a high note. This is probably my favorite Gordo-centric episode thus far because I was able relate to Gordo’s personal struggles. And I’m sure a lot of other boys and even girls were able to relate to this as well.
- It’s wonderful to see Jewish culture being portrayed on a Disney Channel show just like how Andi Mack did it years later with the character, Cyrus Goodman and they did a great job introducing the different elements of a Bar Mitzvah and letting the audience know the purpose or importance of having the ceremony. I’ve never seen so much comradery between different people from different walks of life coming together to support someone, which is Gordo in this case. It’s really something special to watch.
- Another thing I love about this episode was how they are able to tie in the B-plot with the A-plot and I’m mostly referring to that sentimental scene between Sam and Lizzie. But I must say that Matt was pretty tolerable in this episode too and I found the way he expressed to Jo that he misses his mom’s punishments to be really sweet.
#lizzie mcguire#disney channel#disney plus#disney#gordo#adam lamberg#hilary duff#bar mitzvah#jewish culture#lalaine#robert carradine#hallie todd#episode review#episode recap#early 2000s#old disney#andi mack#cyrus goodman
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2020-09-25: Juiced! (Part 5)
August 7 (Friday midmorning)
After the events of the previous day, you'd think our lovely band of adventurers would catch a break. BUT YOU WOULD BE MISTAKEN! Messages, insights and calls to action proliferate throughout the party.
Lucky receives a letter from Miss Mavis asking for a favor:
"Lucky, can you and your friends help me find a crystalline energy amplifier? I need one for a restoration project. They're worth a hefty price, but I'll gladly reimburse if you find one."
Norm, meanwhile, has learned that Yance Elbereth is convalescing at SHART HQ. The time to strike against his assassination target is nigh!
Spleenifer has learned through meditation and spiritual attunement that the waterskin from the monk is a type of holy water and the decorative bowl is actually a bowl of Commanding Water Elementals. And on Spleenifer's first day of official work as Mayor Dunwall's assistant, she has been asked for her input how best to solicit donations to help the Mayor with reelection.
Q (going as Jay on this auspicious day) found a note under their door:
"From one bard to another, here's a piece of advice: never trust a Stout you can't drink. I have Stout problems of my own, if ever you want to meet for a pint at the usual bard hangouts. I'm easy to find, since the scales stand out. -Kadana Meristan"
Everyone splits up to start on their respective tasks, so let's follow one adventurer at a time and see where things lead!
Up first we have have Jay, and they strike out for the Juicy Lyre tavern to meet up with the mysterious author of the letter. Kadana, an attractive dragonborn, is nursing a pint while composing a song on the back of a playbill. After Jay takes a seat, she explains that Lawrence Stout was once her patron. But like Jay, she got into some hot water when things got a little too close between Kadana and Russell Stout. The younger Stout seems to have a habit of fraternizing with the arts (as the euphemism goes). But in Kadana's case, her arts funding got cut off as punishment.
Jay and Kadana muse for a bit on strategies to get back at Lawrence and/or Russell. The best way to strike back seems to be breaking up the Stout family businesses, but neither of them are quite sure how to go about doing that. Kadana excuses herself to attend to some other bardly matters, but it's clear that Kadana is playing this as a playful round of hard to get. Folks, we're seeing the beginnings of a beautiful friendship (and possible romance)!
But we must fade to black for now and pick up on Spleenifer's tale! She's back at the Mayoral Manor to discuss the upcoming election strategy. On the way over to the Mayor's place, she found a slightly-charred scrap of paper that probably fell out of someone's pocket during the events of last night. It reads: "You promised me I could use the ring to fix my problem. -Rooney"
Spleenifer stuffs the scrap in her pocket and focuses on the task at hand with the mayor. Since Zaribeth Quickfingers is mounting an unexpectedly strong campaign (though really, any campaign at all is probably unexpectedly strong against Dunwall), the incumbent mayor needs to take the special election preparations seriously. Spleenifer suggests mounting a spin campaign to solicit donations, but her methods are a bit... unorthodox:
"Make it say incontinent instead of incumbent!"
That'll surely take away from the discontent brewing about the mayor's presumed incompetence! What's a giant dung beetle to do? Approve the suggestion and blast it out across town, of course!
Now we switch POV to Lucky, who suggested at the start of the adventure that the party should investigate an unusual announcement in today's Brownstone Bugle where the Meyrick family was looking to hire someone to kidnap their daughter for ransom. But Lucky isn't abandoning Miss Mavis's task! In her words, she's gonna try to kill two stones with one bird.
Lucky is already familiar with crystalline energy amplifiers, and knows they can be found in certain naturally occurring crystal deposits. The catch is that only the biggest crystals (worth at least 1,000GP) can function as a proper amplifier, but she's got a lead on a potential source in a mine about 10 miles east of town. If Lucky can win the audition to kidnap the daughter, she could potentially stash her quarry in the mine while looking for crystals.
She knocks on the the door of the Meyrick estate, and the butler escorts her Mr. Meyrick's study. Mr. Meyrick is a skinny man with wild hair that is graying at the temples. If Gary Busey was a used car salesman and the characters knew what car salespeople were, that's what everyone would say the elder Meyrick looks like.
Mr. Meyrick asks Ms. Lucky Proudfoot what her plans for his daughter are, and she explains the plan. She also plans to scurry off to the mines in a mobile house on chicken legs for extra dramatic flair. The daughter can work in the mines hunting crystals while waiting for the ransom payment to arrive. Meyrick thinks this is an excellent plan and hires Lucky on the spot. He just needs some time to subdue his daughter before she'll be ready for the exchange. Come back later this evening, he says, and she'll be Lucky's problem for the next few hours.
Now's the perfect time to switch over to Norm, who's sneaking his way to where Yance is staying. The recently-concussed trader of illicit antiquities is laying on a cot staring at the ceiling. Norm applies some of the St. Ignatius's Re-Dead Juice to his dagger and moves in for the kill. But Yance rolls over just as Norm enters the room and makes eye contact.
All is not lost, though! Norm shifts into playing the part of an ally who is checking in on him after the concussion. "How many fingers am I holding up?" Norm asks. He goes through a series of simple tests and then "checks for bumps" on the back of Yance's head. That's when Norm makes a tiny nick at the base of Yance's hairline with his poison-coated dagger. Yance passes away seconds later, peacefully slumping back onto the cot.
Sounds of a loud scuffle erupt outside, and from Norm's vantage point, it appears to be a fight between five drunken sailors and a sober-seeming ship's officer. Despite being split up, the rest of the party is close enough to hear the sounds of the brawl and everyone converges on the scene.
Lucky triggers a wild surge and casts Suggestion on one of the sailors, telling him to "make love, not war." Every time she blinks, a duck appears nearby. The sailor under the influence of Lucky's Suggestion grabs a fellow sailor by the arms and pulls him over for a deep kiss. The sailor on the receiving end of the kiss is surprisingly receptive to the romantic gestures, and they stumble away from the fray to keep the passion burning.
Norm exits his building, dashing through alleyways so as to make it look as though he came from a completely different building. There's a drunken brawl and a separate manly make-out session and at least a dozen ducks by this point. What the heck is happening here?
Spleenifer, having been a sheltered woman of faith, has never seen men kiss before. She grabs a duck and announces to her newfound companion: "Let's watch together!" Regardless of the duck's opinion on the matter, it's along for the ride. The passionate pirates are flattered by Spleenifer's audience, but their ships don't really sail that way, if you catch their drift.
While all this chaos is unfolding, Lucky has a bit more fuel to add to the fire. She drops her suggestion and casts invisibility on two pirates and the officer. It's hard to fight when you can't see each other, right? Well, it does stop the fight for the most part, as the two invisible pirates stumble off to rob a bank with their newfound invisibility powers.
The remaining pirate is lifted up by an invisible force (spoiler: it's the captain) and slapped. Now the captain's visible again and orders him to return to the Rising Howl, their ship that is currently docked until the river rises high enough to let them sail. Spleenifer grabs another duck from the flock (now called Prongle), while still restraining the original duck (now named T'Pam) in her sturdy arms. She manages to coax them into pecking at each other like they're kissing.
Norm dashes over to where the sailors were fighting and is nearly overpowered by the stench of alcohol. He pulls out a match lights it to see just how much of a drunken cloud the sailors left behind. Lucky adds a little pizzazz to the situation with a little bit of flammable luck, and the cloud ignites in an impressive cloud of flame in the air that leads in the direction of the fleeing sailors. Jay leaps in front of the two kissing sailors to shield their love from the explosion.
Once things calm down (always only briefly in this town), the party swings by the general store for some pickaxes for their upcoming mining expedition. Not wanting T'Pam and Prongle to feel left out, Spleenifer fashions some miniature pickaxes out of twigs to give to the ducks. Lucky snags a caterpillar cocoon (foreshadowed magical purposes!) on the way to contact the lizardfolk to borrow their house.
At the Meyrick estate, Mr. Meyrick greets the party and directs them to a wagon containing a tied-up sleeping giantess (technically half-giantess, but still LORGE). Once their "hostage" is safely aboard the house, the party contemplates what to do.
"I've never done kidnapping before," asks Lucky "but is it reasonable to ask for her emancipation?" But that is soon answered once the giantess wakes up. Lucky is able to communicate with her, and learns that the giantess's name is Tina. She's well-spoken and her family loves her a lot. This whole kidnapping thing is a publicity stunt to get some sponsorship deals. The house gallops toward the mine, reaching the entrance after about 20 minutes.
Tina agrees to help the party mine for crystalline amplifiers and takes up a pickaxe along with the rest of the party. Lucky uses the cocoon to transform herself into an umber hulk with a sweet, sweet burrowing speed. But after some time has passed, a group of eight drunken brigands arrives at the mine's entrance to hide out.
Norm puts down his pickaxe and sneaks toward the boisterous brigands to assess the situation. One of the group has a rucksack full of books, while the rest carry sacks of more conventional treasure. As Norm listens in from the shadows, he learns that the treasure comes from their recent break-in of Salem's.
The sound of picks against stone catches the attention of the brigands, who drop their spoils and tread deeper into the tunnels. A massive chunk of crystal has just been unearthed, and it could function as a quality crystalline amplifier if it can be completely excavated. However, that's the time the drunkards show up. One of them makes obscene and probably physiologically incompatible advances at Tina and a fight soon breaks out.
Smites, spells, and sneak attacks smash into the metaphorically-smashed sailors. Lucky's burrowing triggers a small tunnel collapse, and her confusing gaze disorients even more of the sailors. Spleenifer smacks at the base of the crystal to uproot it before the tunnel collapses further, and soon the party emerges victorious.
Mr. Meyrick arrives to collect his daughter just as the last brigands flee into the night. He mentions that the sponsorship deal fell through, though he still brought the promised ransom. Maybe they'll be able to collaborate on another scheduled kidnapping in the future? Who knows!
The party searches through the stuff left behind by the brigands and finds wealth of many types. Material wealth in the form of gold and gems is most obvious here, but there is also informational wealth. Among the books that were stolen from Salem's is a copy of Zaribeth's accounting ledger. As in, the true version that depicts all the shady stuff going on with Zaribeth's businesses.
With that realization, the adventure concludes for the night and everyone advances to level 12. Stay tuned next time for more!
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the Smashers and their Host Ch13 Preview
Series: Super Smash Bros.
Characters: Reader, Literally Everyone In Super Smash Bros Ultimate
Summary: You're an inter-dimensional being that owns a huge estate situated on the cusp of spacetime. You've been asked to rent out your mansion for the upcoming Super Smash Bros. tournament. What could possibly go wrong?
Tags: Reader-Insert, Romantic & Platonic Harem, Comedy, Fluff, No Smut
Read the fic here!
[So after a year, I finally finished chapter 11... During my writer’s block, I actually started on what was then going to be chapter 12, but I’ve seen then squeezed another chapter between them in the plans. So, if all goes according to plan, this will be May’s update. Anyways, I feel like posting it so!! It’s not as meaty as the chapter 11 preview - this one is only about 2k words instead of a whopping 13k - but I hope you enjoy regardless!]
You can’t help but stare as the roller coaster above slowly reaches its peak before plummeting downwards, accompanied by a chorus of screams. Just watching the cars zip through loops and corkscrews makes your head spin, and you find yourself grateful that you aren’t on that particular ride. You don’t know if your heart could take it.
The repairs at the mansion finished with accompanying fanfare (well, in your head, at least) and you thought you’d be able to sit back and relax for a bit. Your new life had other plans, of course, and the Smashers were absolutely insatiable, so you had been invited to join them to an amusement park. Honestly, you should have declined - you wanted to! - but…
“Pleaaaaase?” Roy had been the one to ask you to join them, giving you puppy dog eyes as he held the brochure out. The park was in a place called Nimbasa City - recently expanded! grand re-opening! - which you recognized as a place in the Pokemon universe.
“You know you can go without me, right?” you tried, still feeling worn out from all the Social Activities and babysitting you’ve been doing lately. The other day, you found DK using Pac-man as a bowling ball to “prank” anyone wandering the halls. Then the following day, you’re pretty sure Villager and Toon Link had a slingshot competition with the mansions’ windows. And then the day after that, Leaf helped you play detective to find out who was stealing all the speakers throughout the mansion, just to find Diddy Kong using them to create a “gaming set-up fit for a king”.
Why.
Completely oblivious to your weariness, Roy’s expression remained enthusiastic, even when he gave you a mock-frown. “Sure, but, you said we would hang out together next time everyone was doing something!”
“I did?”
“Yeah, you did!”
Oh right, you did. You did say that after he wasn’t invited to the sleepover. Curse you and your desire to keep everyone happy! Now you have to go!
And so, after someone consulted Master Hand about building a temporary transporter directly to Nimbasa City, here you are.
“Whoa, it’s even cooler than in the pictures!” Roy, determined to take you up on your offer to spend time together, arrived via teleporter alongside you. While the mansion has been abuzz over another multiverse outing, you have no idea who actually intended on going. It’s already midday, so there are probably plenty of Smashers already here…
Pulling your gaze away from the roller coaster, you notice that your redheaded companion was also staring intently at the Rayquaza-themed deathtrap. His expression is strained, leading you to believe the both of you are thinking the same thing.
“Why don’t we start with getting something to eat?” you suggest, thinking of the safest option possible. Oh, but if you end up going on rides with a full stomach… Hm, maybe that’s not as safe as you thought. But Roy eagerly takes your suggestion and you have no choice but to follow him to the food court.
“That’s a great idea! I’m dying to see what kind of food this world has!”
You can’t help but agree, but his words have curiosity bubbling within you. “Have you never visited the Pokemon world before?”
“Only once, during Melee!” His grin is almost infectious, though it mellows out as he continues talking. “We never came out here during the last tournament season! ...Or at least, not while I was around.” Roy frowns a moment before putting on another smile, though this one seems a bit more forced. “Melee’s whole thing though was that we were travelling to a new universe for each round of the tournament. For the Pokemon world though, we took a blimp to the stadium, so we didn’t really get to explore…”
That’s right - you forgot Roy was technically only invited to one full tournament, so he wouldn’t have had as much time to relax and travel around with the others. It was only by popular demand that he was invited for the “extra” tournaments, appearing alongside Ryu as a secret opponent for the champions of the mini doubles tournament. They’d both go on to appear in the remaining tournaments and random matchups of the season. While that would have given him a few months to participate in fun activities with the others, you have to imagine a lot of that slows down during tournament season.
“But, a few Smashers and I snuck out between matches to check out the local town.” Roy continues his story sheepishly, smiling fondly at the memory. “And then we uh, went a bit too far… got lost in a cave… We made it back just in time for our next match, but Master Hand really gave us an earful…” He laughs awkwardly, and you find yourself snickering at the idea of Master Hand panicking when he discovered some of his hotshot superstars have gone missing.
“Who all went with you?”
He counts them off on his fingers as he lists everyone. “Me, Pichu, Young Link, Popo, Nana... oh, and Ness. Pikachu ended up being the one who found us lost in the cave.”
You can just imagine the six of them running in circles trying to find the exit, just to have Pikachu show up and use its familiarity of the region to lead them out in mere minutes.
...Huh. Funny, most of those six are Smashers that didn’t get invited back every year afterwards. And you remember there had once been rumours that Ness wasn’t going to be invited back to Brawl…
...Eh, probably just a coincidence. Master Hand wouldn’t exclude someone over an incident like that.
“I’m surprised Pikachu didn’t try to get you even more lost on purpose,” you say offhandedly. Roy’s expression is surprisingly contemplative.
“Nah, Pikachu used to be cool back then. Like, sure he liked to hype up the crowd, but outside of matches he was really chill.” He pauses. “I was surprised to find out he kind of became a jerk. Apparently he’s just been that way since the start of Brawl.”
“Really?” And here you thought the first tournament had been the catalyst to its inflated ego, where the electric rodent had won both the singles and the doubles tournaments that season. Pikachu’s record during Melee was pretty average… maybe something else happened between that and Brawl? An event none of the Smashers would have known about?
Roy shrugs - he’s just in the dark about it as you are - and you notice you’ve arrived at the food court, signalling the end of the conversation. You spot a Pansage, a Panpour, and a Pansear behind a long counter. Pansage takes orders and hands them to the other two monkeys, who then proceed to rush around unnecessarily chaotically to put the order together. This seems like the type of environment where mistakes are easily made, but a lot of people seem to be eating food from here, so apparently they know what they’re doing…?
You end up ordering a Rawst Burger and a lemonade, while Roy gets a corn dog and a soda pop. On your way to finding somewhere to sit, you spot Falco getting his hot dog stolen by the Duck Hunt Dog. You’re glad he’s too far to notice you laughing.
“Look, there’s space at that table!” Your attention is brought back to Roy, who is pointing at a table with only one other person sitting at it. Coincidentally, the spiky blond haired dude there is someone you recognize as part of the Smash crew. Roy takes longer to recognize him - it’s not until you’ve both rounded the table to sit across from the swordsman that he addresses him.
“Oh hey, you’re that guy… uh, Rain, was it?”
When the blond looks up and you see his face, an involuntary snort arises from your throat as you try to hold back laughter.
“It’s Cloud. Cloud Strife.” Apparently they offer facepainting somewhere at the park, because Cloud’s face is covered in ink that resembles a bunny. When combined with his completely serious expression, you have to hide a smile behind your hand as you sit down.
“Right, that’s it. I knew that.” Roy sits next to you, raising an eyebrow at the swordsman across from you two. “What’s on your face?”
“It’s a rabbit.”
“I guess someone is offering facepainting somewhere?” you clarify helpfully, and Roy’s face lights up in recognition.
“Oh! That sounds fun.” He looks to you with enthusiasm. “Hey, what animal do you think I should get? Heh, probably something fierce, like a lion, or--”
“A puppy,” you reply without hesitation, interrupting his own ideas. Roy looked shocked at your suggestion - almost even offended. Whoops.
“A-A puppy? Not like… a bigger dog? A wolf, maybe…?”
“I think a puppy would suit you as well,” Cloud agrees. Roy’s jaw drops as he’s left struggling for an objection, but Cloud moves the conversation before he can say anything. “They also do portraits - look.”
He hands you a large rolled up piece of canvas paper that you’ve been curious about for awhile now before returning to picking at his funnel cake (mm, you gotta get one of those later). Roy leans into your personal space to take a look as you unroll it.
Oh my. That is certainly a caricature.
Roy almost immediately lets out a laugh. “Wo-ow! That would explain your face.”
The canvas blocks your vision so you can’t see Cloud’s face, but you can hear him exhale deeply. Rolling the portrait back up, you place it down on the table.
“I like the style! The art is very clean.” You’ve seen a lot of skill levels in the art found in your mansion, so it’s pretty easy to think outside of “bad” and “good”. Then of course, there’s your own art to consider… yeesh. “I think the artist really captured your character.”
“That’s what I thought,” Cloud responds with a nod, relaxing in the seat. Roy snorts beside you, and you refrain from elbowing him quiet in favour of shooting him a wry look.
“What, you think you could do better?”
Your challenge seems to actually take him off guard, and he fumbles to regain his confidence. “Uh… pfft. Of course. Anyone could do that.” He tries to laugh confidently, but there’s a clear nervous edge to it. Refusing to show him mercy, you play along by feigning amazement.
“Really? Wow, I’d love to see that. Maybe we should have an art show back at the mansion! Wouldn’t that be fun?”
“O-Ooh, I mean… You really think people would be interested in that…?”
Cloud recognizes the game you are playing and chimes in with an immediate “I would”. You do a gesture as if to say “see??”, smiling bright and devious until his resolve finally breaks.
“F-Fine! I’ll do it! But don’t say I didn’t warn you, cuz I’m… really good!!” His voice shakes with anxiety at the end, and it takes all you have not to burst out laughing. This is good. This is so good. You’ll have to file this “art show” idea away for down the road, so you can spring it on him again unexpectedly. Although, torture and humiliation aside, you actually suddenly are curious if any of the Smashers are secretly artists.
“Yes! I’m looking forward to it!” With a grin, you end the conversation by finally picking up your burger and taking a bite into it. Huh, it tastes… fruity. Bitter. Wait, that must be because there are Rawst Berries used in it. Guess you should have seen this coming. You don’t hate it, but the taste has definitely taken you off-guard and you’re not sure you like the mix of meat and berry.
You must have been making a face because Cloud slides his funnel cake plate halfway across the table. “Here. I probably won’t finish it anyways.”
Forgetting about his previous worries, Roy smiles and reaches for the plate. “Ooh, don’t mind if I do--” To his dismay, Cloud hits his hand away.
“I didn’t offer it to you.”
Roy looks torn. You’d feel bad for him if it wasn’t so funny. Likewise, you usually try to politely decline gifts so as to not seem greedy, but you are enjoying having fun at Roy’s expense. “Thanks!” You put down the burger and reach for a piece of the doughy, sugary treat. Ripping it off, you pop it in your mouth and audibly hum in delight. Hehe, you’re a real devil!! If you wanted to be really mean, you could mention how sad it is that Roy can’t know how good this is, but you are not that cruel. Not right now, at least.
Between stealing chunks of funnel cake and continuing to try finishing the burger (nnnnnope, still tastes weird!), you let your mind wander to thoughts regarding the swordsman across from you. Back in the day, Cloud was a popular request to join the tournament despite existing extremely far away from the bubble of universes Master Hand typically picked from. When he was announced as a surprise participant in the final Super Smash Bros. 4 season tournament, fans exploded with excitement. You were honestly surprised to see him on the list for the Ultimate roster - you hear that Cloud Strife is a tough guy to work with and that’s why he doesn’t make many multiverse appearances despite his popularity. Not even the heads of the more local Playstation All-Stars tournament could get him. Master Hand must have really pulled some strings to get him to participate in Smash not once, but twice.
[...and that is unfortunately all I have. See you next month for chapter 12!]
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