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#And I always forget that I used to design clothes for years and would make those designs on a small scale for dolls
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Trying to remember your skills you've accidentally picked up through fandoms and hobbies is difficult when you don't think they're actual skills because you're self taught in them all is so fun.
#I know they're skills that can help me but their origins are what make me think eh I don't need to put that down#Yes you do bitch - if you want a job you better but down that skill or so help me#Anyway I also forget that because I was always so indecisive about what career I wanted I tried out a lot of things to see if I'd like it#I technically have experience in teaching - had my own class despite being in eighth grade - but didn't like it#I designed games levels through a website where they give you the basic tools bc I was bored#And had my family try and test them as a way to revise if they were too difficult or confusing#I've made several websites that I completely forgot about bc they were for school projects lol#And I always forget that I used to design clothes for years and would make those designs on a small scale for dolls#I also had to remind myself that I can use my experience in writing - which can extend to editing#And I always forget I know how to draw#Like am I am expert at any of these? No#But can I do these things? Yes#And that's a good starting point#And I'm sure there's other things I'm forgetting because I don't deem them as an important skill I have#Like the fact that I helped run a suicide prevention through my church in eighth grade#Where I was a spokesperson - I was in charge of advertising it - created posters fliers and had to talk to multiple people#I had to update my school on it bc it was a heavy project for school that they weren't sure if I could handle#I was in all the meetings with my church and would bring their ideas to spread the word to life#We raised money mostly through food sales - I would prep the food and there I helped with concessions#Fuck I forgot how much I did for that project#Because we sorted through a lot of donations - and had to organize by sizes#Like how did I forget about all that#I remember the project bc it's something really close to home but it didn't feel like enough so when I think about it#I don't remember how much work I genuinely put into it bc of how much the church held us back bc it was ''too much work' '#Anyway I do have valuable skills but I feel like an impostor in all of them so I forget I can put all of those down
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Imagine being a new member of the Red Hair pirates eleven years before the main plot
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Benn: This is Hongo, the ship's doctor
Hongo: And who is this ravishing creature?
Benn: down boy, this is the rookie that Shanks dragged home.
Hongo: Oh you poor thing.
You: Shanks picked me for my combat abilities
Hongo: you must be strong then.
You: admittedly my strength is nowhere near the boss's level, but I can go toe to toe with a rear admiral in a fight.
Hongo: I see
Uta: don't sell yourself short, I watched you spar with papa, and he was getting winded. *Makes those grabbie hands that signal she wants you to pick her up*
You: thank you, and who are you if I might ask. *Picks her up*
Shanks: that is Uta, my adorable daughter.
Uta: I'm papa's favorite, and don't you forget it, I'm also the ship's musician.
You: really, what instrument do you play?
Uta: *gestures to her throat* my voice box, I'm a singer.
You: I eagerly await your next performance then.
Uta: wait no longer, places everyone! *Claps her hands*
Hongo, Yassop, and Lucky Roux: *scamper around to clear a spot and set up a stage for her*
You: (ಠ⁠_⁠ಠ) ???
Benn: *scoops Uta out of your arms and carries her to the stage*
Uta: (⁠。⁠•̀⁠ᴗ⁠-⁠)⁠✧ a song for the newbie *starts to sing*
Yassop: *puts a chair under you and gently pushes you into it*
Shanks: *moves his chair next to yours and leans in* isn't she so cute?
You: yes, she has such a beautiful voice. Do you and your men usually allow yourselves to be controlled by the whims of a child?
Benn: ... Yes, but only because we want to
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After the song
Uta: *chilling in your lap* what'd you think?
You: you're an exceptionally talented singer, you must put a lot of work into it.
Uta: of course, practice makes perfect.
You: and you seem to have everyone here wrapped around your little finger. They must love you very much.
Uta: yes... I think they feel guilty, since my parents are dead.
Shanks: it's not that
Yassop: at least not entirely
You: I figured you were adopted.
Uta: what do you mean?
Shanks: how could you tell?
You: because she's talented,
The crew: (⁠(⁠(⁠;⁠ꏿ⁠_⁠ꏿ⁠;⁠)⁠)⁠) ....
You: *quickly adds* at something besides fighting and debauchery.
The crew: *laughs*
Shanks: wow, already making cheap shots at your captain on your first day aboard. It's true, she's talented, she gets it from her mother. We do our best to make sure she's provided for, but there are still some areas we are lacking in.
Uta: yeah, like shopping
Benn: we take you shopping, literally every time we make port.
Uta: Yeah! But it is always to sleazy back alley joints where everything is second hand and not the designer shops that have cute new clothes. All because of papa's ugly mug has a bounty on it. Plus none of you have any sense of style, and can give me useful feedback on my outfits.
Shanks: well that's true, hey! You shouldn't call people, especially your poor father, ugly!
Benn: I have always wanted to take her to those shops too, our little girl would look so cute in those nice clothes.
You: I can take you, I don't have a bounty, and I know a little about fashion.
Uta: *looks over your outfit* your fashion sense, outwardly, appears to be less offensive to the eyes than papa's.
You: uh, thank you.
Shanks: Offensive? What about my outfit is offensive?
Uta: your shirt is wrinkly and stained, and your pants!... Don't even get me started on your pants.
Benn: allow me, they look like you made them out of someone's grandmother's couch.
Shanks: alright, thank you I get it.
You: *grumbles* Sandals are a little worse for wear as well.
Uta: *giggles*
Shanks: y'all are teaming up on me
Benn: yeah guys, he's only got one arm, it's downright unsporting.
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List of Up-and-coming works
Support me on Kofi and Patreon
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twigs-sprigs · 10 months
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I'm so curious about how are Lloyd's hands and legs- like, he always use large clothes and I want to know as far as their animal traits go- ヽ(*´□`)ノ゙
Maybe in swimsuit? Idkk
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my version of lloyd does prefer larger and more comfy clothing when it comes to day to day life! but he's also the kind of dude who would sleep shirtless and with a pair of sweatpants on HJKDJHWJDW one of the reasons he prefers this stuff is because his tail is pretty big and also protrudes from his back, but also i mean, considering his line of work, he gets injured a lot, and tight clothes just wouldn't exactly make dealing with injuries any easier. plus, he's lazy. he has like. one outfit other than his gis. as for animal traits, when he was younger he used to be a lot more creechur-y in his behavior, but as he grew he taught himself to contain his impulses in that regard, but some of his powers include: exceptional hearing, wall-climbing, talking to animals (also oni form and dragon form, but these tend to make him exhausted, so they're kind of a last resort option) (fun fact! he's also in part cold blooded so he does not do well in the cold, and he's very sensitive to temperature in general) i kind of inspired him off of a lot of my interests, especially spiderman when it comes to his abilities, so he does also have kind of a spider-sense power that originates from his oni side (ofc he doesn't call it that but still!) uh he can also purr i guess yeah ! im probably forgetting some stuff but hey this is a nice little post about my lloyd for anyone who cares lol
(also for anyone wondering, this lloyd is my dragons rising design, and the timeskip between this and crystallized is about five years so do with that what you will????)
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decadentfantasy · 7 months
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Could you do headcanons for the MK1 Earthrealmers and Syzoth with a reader who is a professional dancer?
𝑴𝑲 1 𝑴𝑬𝑵 𝑾𝑰𝑻𝑯 𝑨 𝑭𝑬𝑴! 𝑷𝑹𝑶𝑭𝑬𝑺𝑺𝑰𝑶𝑵𝑨𝑳 𝑫𝑨𝑵𝑪𝑬𝑹 𝑺/𝑶
𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔: Syzoth, Johnny Cage, Kenshi Takahashi, Raiden, Kung Lao
𝑻𝑾: brief mention of blood and self-image issues
𝑨/𝑵: omg my first request! thank you so much <3 i didn't know what kind of professional dancer you wanted, so i went with ballet. i hope it's okay!
❥︎ 𝑺𝒀𝒁𝑶𝑻𝑯
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❥︎ Syzoth has seen his fair share of performers, after all he did work in a wandering company for a while and Outworld's culture greatly revolves around dancing, which is considered a sacred art.
❥︎ He shouldn't be impressed, but you? Oh Lord, you take his breath away. You move so gracefully yet easily, as though floating, your every gesture has his mesmerized gaze glued to you in awe. He has never seen anything quite so beautiful.
❥︎ Since your body is your instrument, Syzoth makes sure you take good care of it: he's there to bandage your feet, wiping away the blood staining the inside of your pointee shoes, kissing your legs reverently as he massages your sore muscles with a warm damp cloth.
❥︎ If you were to ever want to perform in Outworld, you are right to believe Syzoth would use his position as emissary to his advantage. He'll talk to Mileena, and in no time you'll find yourself performing for the Empress and her court, Syzoth's adoring gaze never leaving you.
❥︎ 𝑱𝑶𝑯𝑵𝑵𝒀 𝑪𝑨𝑮𝑬
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❥︎ Much similarly to Syzoth, Johnny is accustomed to dancer. He basically lives in Hollywood, he himself studied under many choreographers during his career, not to mention he's also a very good dancer.
❥︎ Jesus... You put him to shame. Your movements are always so flawless, so perfectly timed. He has a hard time understanding your level of expertise, he cannot even fathom how many years it took you.
❥︎ You bet Johnny will want to turn your life into a movie. He wants to celebrate you and your art, his girlfriend is such a marvelous dancer he thinks everyone should see her! Just be warned, it could turn out to be 4 hours long because he puts too much detail in it.
❥︎ If you feel too embarrassed or shy about him making a movie about you, Johnny will back off but that doesn't mean to whole world won't know how good you are. The sole fact that Johnny attends to your every performance makes you gain so much popularity already, not to mention the sheer amount of posts about you on all his socials. You'll basically become just as famous as him!
❥︎ 𝑲𝑬𝑵𝑺𝑯𝑰 𝑻𝑨𝑲𝑨𝑯𝑨𝑺𝑯𝑰
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❥︎ The most of Kenshi's life has been spent in the cruel, gruesome environment that is the Yakuza. As such, he never had many chances to enjoy beautiful things such as dance. Things so soft, so gentle, clashed immensely with his environment, so he didn't dwell on them.
❥︎ And that was his mentality when he met you. You appeared soft and delicate on stage, enchanting everyone with your grace. You almost reminded him of a butterfly, so beautiful yet short-lived in such a cruel world.
❥︎ But then you'd get off and backstage, and that's when he'd see the truth: the sweat on your face, your laboured breathing, your reddened cheeks. And when you take off your shoes the blood staining your pantyhose, the swelling in your feet... He was wrong to think you were delicate. You're anything but: you're powerful, determined and fiercely passionate, and he won't make the mistake of judging you again.
❥︎ Even after he loses his sight Kenshi tries to attend your every performance, sitting in the first row so that you know he's there. He may not see you dance anymore but the way you move is burned in his mind. How could he ever forget something so beautiful?
❥︎ 𝑹𝑨𝑰𝑫𝑬𝑵
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❥︎ Raiden is actually the most aquatinted of everyone with ballet dancing: his sister used to take lessons before switching to martial arts and he was the designated pick up. Of course she wasn't anywhere close to your level, being a child and all, but he picked up a thing or two from her rambling about her classes.
❥︎ Knowing the importance of a healthy physique in your discipline Raiden makes sure to cook light yet nutritious meals for you to eat in between classes: shrimp-stuffed green peppers, rainbow stir fry and jiaozi are his go to choices. He also makes sure you always have a full water bottle with you.
❥︎ What he admires the most is your flexibility. Raiden has become fairly flexible himself since he started practicing tantric yoga in the Shaolin temple, but he is nowhere near your level. The way you manage to look so graceful as your limbs twist and bend like a swan's neck is beyond impressive for him.
❥︎ He brings flowers to your every performance, to the point your dressing room starts to look like a flower shop. He mainly gets them from a merchant in Fengjian, so expect the whole town to know about you within two weeks. Soon enough, half of it is attending: why wouldn't they support their precious Raiden's girlfriend?
❥︎ 𝑲𝑼𝑵𝑮 𝑳𝑨𝑶
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❥︎ Similarly to Raiden, he also learned a couple things about ballet through his friend's sister. Kung Lao has never been particularly interested in it, mainly because his experience was that of a little girl's hobby. When he meets you that opinion quickly changes: the choreographies you can perform blow his mind completely. However, there are some things he can't stand.
❥︎ First off, your instructor. He despised them for the gruelling training they put you through, the way they force your body to bend unnaturally like they want to break every bone in your body. He starts attending your every class only to glare at them, making sure they start treating you more gently.
❥︎ Second off, the constant insecurity over your body. Kung Lao thinks you're beautiful and he can't bear the fact that you don't think the same. To remedy this, he'll do everything in his power to make you feel the prettiest possible: he'll style your hair, run you a hot bath, massage every part of your best that hurts. He won't let you put yourself down, not a chance in hell. He loves you for a reason, and he'll prove it to you.
❥︎ Kung Lao not only attends your performances, he also attends rehearsals. He may never admit it out loud but he enjoys seeing the hard work you put in it: it demonstrates that talent is not only something you're born with, it's something that needs to be cultivated and nourished. He brings you treats and water as well, and it will take some coaxing but he'll eventually cave if you ask him to join you in your stretching exercises.
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oleanderscorner · 7 months
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I offer you, the highest of my ideas
Yandere Twst X Overblot Yuu.
Vibes? IMMACULATE
Everyone’s like “oooh overblot twst so hooot” NO! I WANT THEM TO DO THAT. FOR ME. IN THE WORST WAYS POSSIBLE.
fuck the calculation n’ clever shit. I want them to run onto scene and go 👀👀
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(Specifically if you wanna: Dorm leaders + Leech twins + Ace + Deuce.)
I think I can do this in more of a series—but I’ll do this in this more analysis-like format…let’s start with Vil because I think he would be the most fun.
Yandere!Vil x OB!Yuu
TW: manipulative behavior, obsessing, toxic and abusive themes, self harm—YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
Vil Schoenheit
I think everyone can agree that Vil is often an incredibly misrepresented character—whether or not they know or believe their own interpretation to be completely correct. There’s a lot to his character that doesn’t get represented because it’s hard to represent all of him when he’s incredibly adaptable to his surroundings…
But before we get to him any more—let’s look at Yuu.
Yuu can’t OB in canon but without magic, but a personal theory I’ve had for a long time is that Yuu will gain magic somehow—because like everything else they’re now a part of this world, and while they don’t belong “currently” after saving so many people they’re bound to become part of the world they’re living in, and gain some level of magic or be someone part of the universe who has no magic—which is a little less likely considering where Yuu is placed within this universe.
Yuu’s UM is likely to be more similar to Ruggie’s in that they likely will have some level of control over people and surroundings, however, with the ghost theme of the dorm—it’s better to assume that Yuu’s UM may be to become invisible like a ghost to help in battle same way they always kind of had in game.
An OB would likely be quick as Yuu begins to miss home and just wants to disappear and have everyone forget them—have the world forget them—so that maybe they can go home as they no longer have any remnant of themselves in the universe. Homesickness is a real thing, and if we look at some of the manga Yuus we do know that there is families back home for Yuu to go to, and possibly friends too. It can hit hard after awhile, especially if we go by the year and we don’t know how time there works—which can host so many accidents where Yuu won’t see their family again and as much as Yuu would miss their friends here—home could hit a lot worse.
When not invisible, I’d imagine them covered in cloth similar to a sheet ghost and with ink between the folds and sheets, and nearly translucent—just for the fun of a design.
Now onto the actual OB!YuuxVil
(Might switch Yuu and you because Yuu is the reader, if I say they know that means reader/Yuu)
Vil is observant—he may send Rook or Epel to spy on you or make judgements of character—but he is observant of Yuu and their actions leading up to the overblot. He wanted to prepare for it himself—and hopefully actually stop it. In most instances he would—he knows how to take preventive measures—but…this time he didn’t.
As we know from chapter 5 and his vignettes, Vil is one to get back up again after every failed attempt—and is by far the most adaptable character when it comes to needing to work with a loss. He couldn’t prevent it? Fine—it’s not like anyone else was truly helping (they were), he’ll just have to take extreme measures instead.
He locks you up so you cannot be a danger to yourself and others—likely using something to get you to a secure location (his home if he could help it—it’s incredibly reinforced, his dad and he have crazy fans I’m sure) since Ramshackle would definitely be destroyed and Pomefiore has a ridiculous amount of glass to get you hurt. He normally isn’t the kidnapping type but this situation is incredibly dire, so he has to live up to that role.
Vil struggles with identity and selfishness—he is strict and wants to keep everyone in line, and knows how to battle each person who comes his way with tact and grace to keep people in line. However this is for the betterment of others more than for simple order. This is one of the things where he has to come off as the bad guy in order for people to be better versions of themselves and be better people. He is incredibly used to this role even if he hates it and loathes everything. It’s an identity he doesn’t want but it’s one he’s always going to be stuck with, making it hard to do truly selfish things unless it contributes to his image—something he cares way more about than himself.
All of this is to say that he is certain to try and manage your overblot—and to get you out of it—even if it means he has to be the bad guy and keep you away from things. Even if it means having to use magic spray you can’t hurt yourself and others. Even if it means afterwards you hate him.
Yet there will be times where he calls you beautiful, times where he tells you that you look lovely this way—times where he just praises you. Some of it he believes, but some of it is out of what little selfishness he can manage for himself to not completely be the villain in your eyes. It’s ever so slightly manipulative, but telling him that will only make things worse.
He tries to get you to eat so at least there’s things feeding this magical energy. Some of it is laced with potions to help do just that—because he is incredibly scared that stunting it will kill you or harm you. So he wants to just make sure you don’t completely use it all up.
Vil is determined—but if anything Yuu is the best at breaking his resolve.
Constant egging on about him keeping you here, about him using his magic against you—trying to hurt him for so long. Eventually it can get to be too much—but if Yuu mixes it in with any knowledge they knew of his previous obsession for them. How he wished so dearly to make them the best version of themselves and how he wishes to be a part of the life they had here. How he kept worried eyes on them and made sure more money was slipped into their account for food. Even the jealousy he had to hide constantly around those who also showed interest, and his own plans to outdo them that he constantly overthought and looked over. Or especially how Vil had failed to prevent this overblot? Well, that might just break it.
He’d use his own curses against him to make himself better. Give himself timeframes yo complete things or if there was a certain amount of insults or hits a day something would happen. Pain in his legs—turning old for a few days—a nasty illness—whatever worked to force him to get through to the real you.
Even if he overblot once—he can overblot again—and trust me, it’ll be far worse than it ever was before.
This is a quick take! I’d love to do a full in depth analysis of Vil and how I perceive him, and what I think so many people shove onto him that’s completely unfair of them to do—but I truly hope this does him justice. I’ll probably get to the other dorm leaders and maybe more soon depending on how I feel about an OB Yuu.
Thank you for reading!!
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mysticdragon3art · 4 months
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Faebruary 2024, days 1-9. Experiments in learning to draw chibi Ballister Boldheart fairy.
2 days ago, I finally remembered the Faebruary drawing challenge, which I always look forward to (because I like drawing butterfly fairies), but I always forget (because it's February). So I tried to cram in a bunch of catch-up drawings.
Every Faebruary, I draw chibi butterfly fairies of my current OTPs. This year, it's Goldenheart.
But I still need to learn to draw both Ballister and Ambrosius. And I'm still testing out which of my Copic colors to use for them. I'm especially having trouble drawing Ballister's hair, from a front point of view. I keep wanting to draw the upturn at the back of his hair, even though it's not visible when he is facing directly straight ahead. It's really hard to not draw the upturn, after those years of drawing Claude von Riegan.
This time, I've chosen real life butterfly wings to base theirs off of, instead of making up my own designs. Because Ballister's comic book name is "Blackheart", I'm basing his wings off the "Uranothauma nubifer" or "black heart" butterfly. Ambrosius Goldenloin's wings will be based on the "Wallace's golden birdwing" butterfly, because that was the first butterfly with the word "golden" in its name that appeared in Google search.
The problem is that I think I might have referenced the wrong pictures for the "black heart" butterfly. A Google search shows many different looking "black heart" butterflies. It's difficult to know which pic to reference. I initially went with Wikispecies's pic, since it was specifically labelled "Uranothauma nubifer". But it's also labelled "Uranotauma nubifer, as Lycaena nubifer Trimen", so it might be a different variation of that butterfly. Maybe??? I went with the mostly solid brown wing from Wikispecies's reference, since that would be easier to draw/color. But I later found several other websites specifically labelling photos of the "black heart" butterfly, which look completely different from Wikispecies's mostly solid brown wings. They're mostly gray and tan speckles on white. So I tried to stylize a design based on the more speckled "black heart" butterfly wings. I'm still trying to simplify it in a way that is easy to draw. And I'm still trying to figure out colors that don't get confusing when juxtaposed by Ballister's skin or clothing.
I usually draw my fairies without shoes, but I wanted to practice drawing Ballister's (and Ambrosius's) full outfits, since I'm just starting to learn to draw them. Also, their regular clothes are close enough to the "medieval fantasy"-inspired fashion that I usually draw my fairies in.
I was unsure about adding Ballister's cybernetic arm. How would a fairy get a tiny cybernetic arm? Does their hidden fairy society in the woods, have a whole system of technological equipment and supplies? Does a human use magnifying glass spectacles and miniature cybernetics to make a tiny robot arm for him??? So I skipped the whole subject by not drawing his robot arm.
2/8-10/2024. No pencil underdrawings. Platinum Preppy fountain pen, using Noodler's Ink. Colored with Copic markers and a Daiso Fluently marker. Some corrections made with white-out, Gelly Roll white gel pen, and digitally with Krita.
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petals2fish · 16 days
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Chapter 1: And I never saw you coming; and I'll never be the same
She finds it hard to remember what her mother's perfume smelled like, if only because the memory stings her eyes shut. In the quiet of the night her mind plays tricks on her simply by playing all the good memories with Steven and leaving out the bad, so she won't break down again. Her brain is normally good at leaving all the bad things out, but some things are hard to forget because the emotions involved with them are so intense.
For Lily, everything that happened that summer had tattooed itself into her memories no matter how hard she tried to forget. She remembered walking fast through the New York streetlights blinking red and green. She remembered Steven's lips on hers briefly, fleetingly promising nothing but hope. And she remembered the exact color of her scarf, red against his black jacket.
"Give me my scarf back, Steven."
"I'll keep it as insurance." He jokes, "to make sure you come back from dreary old London."
"I should keep it to make sure you show up to London for my last show." She says pointedly, taking both ends of the scarf in her hands. "Since you hate London so much."
"Hey." He grabs her wrist, and his eyes go dark like in her dreams. "I promised I'd be there."
Steven always promised to be there for Lily, but his promises were as empty as the dresser drawer he used to keep his stuff in. She hadn't seen him yet and she didn't think she could see him. It would only mean facing another disaster and she wasn't mentally prepared to deal with another explosion in her life. When she closed her eyes, she could still hear the screams of children. The smell of smoke-filled Lily's nostrils even when she was standing naked in the shower, alone with her inhibitions.
It's mass chaos happening in the pit.  
She recognizes him, woefully, and she feels her heart break a bit.  
"What did you do?" she asks the boy, "Stay back…"
He looks at her, his face desperate and his eyes pitch black.
"You belong with me!" He bellows at her, reaching for her with his slim pale fingers. "Can't you see?"
Her hands drop her guitar, and it breaks as the boy with the dark eyes and pale face lurches towards her.
Life just wasn't what eleven-year-old Lily had planned for, dreaming about the big city and flashing lights. She looked better off, sure, with fame and riches. Every other weekend was a flight to New York or a trip to the Seine for a radio interview. There was never a need to rewear any of her clothes and fashion designers knew her by name and face. She had four Grammys sitting on her shelf in her New York kitchen and countless other awards were littering her many houses. At face value, life was all eleven-year-old Lily wanted...but under the crushing weight of her own anxiety and dread...fame was a curse.
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queenshelby · 1 year
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Yes! Mr Murphy (Rewritten)
PART FOUR: THE ESSAY
Pairing: Cillian Murphy x Reader
Warning: Angst, Age Gap, Teacher x Student, Mentions of Depression, Anxiety 
PLEASE COMMENT AND ENGAGE!
PLEASE NOTE THAT I HAVE REWRITTEN THIS STORY AND PART TWO CAN BE FOUND HERE (rewritten).
A week had passed and you had settled back into drama school without any problem whatsoever which, to you and your best friend Emma, was a surprise.
You had told Emma everything. You told her about the night you spent with Cillian three weeks ago, you told her about who he was and you told her exactly how you felt about this man being your lecturer now. It bothered you and you desperately wanted to quit, feeling torn about the attraction you still felt towards him while being with James.
Luckily for you, however, Emma was the voice of reason. Like always, she supported you, retained your secrets and reminded you that it would just be for four months and then he would move on and so would you. The semester would be over by the end of November. It was your final one and you would probably not see him again after that.
“Don’t forget that you are on a scholarship. You need this and, no doubt, this class will help you with your acting skills” is what Emma reminded you of and, since you were grateful for the place you were in these days, you agreed with her. She was right. You needed this in order to leave your past behind as, just like Emma, you went through the so called “foster system” in the US which was nothing short of horrific.
Both, Emma and you immigrated to the United States without a family to support you. You arrived as refugees at the same processing centre when you were just ten years old, making you both unsuitable for adoption which was largely due to the fact that most families approved for adoption wanted babies or toddlers under the age of three.
As such, you both moved from one foster home to another and the last of them was the worst for you. Your so-called foster parents were strict and any time you did not obey to their rules, you were punished for it. Food was withheld from you and, on occasion, you were even beaten to the point where your skin turned blue. During this time, you had been to hospital five times and no matter how often you complained, nothing changed until you ran away.
You had nowhere to stay for a while and then, when you turned sixteen, you moved out into a home designed for girls like you. It was a home for young women who went through abuse and this was exactly where, after several years, you reunited with Emma.
The facility provided excellent care for anyone who needed it but, on occasion, you felt somewhat worthless and ashamed about having lived there. Thus, you eventually took not one, but three jobs while furthering your studies at night through a state-run school. You moved out shortly after that and the college you went through helped you and Emma to apply for a scholarship abroad.
Together with eight other students in the state, you received some funding to attend different universities and schools across Europe, for which the ones based in Dublin became your choice.
Unlike London, Dublin was affordable for you both. You were now sharing a tiny studio apartment, and the money you received alongside your scholarship helped a lot.
You were an excellent dancer and, because of it, you now only had to have one rather than three jobs to support yourself, making your life relatively easy in comparison to your past.
In accordance to James and Lorraine however, who were rich and entitled, you still worked too hard. You had nothing in common with them and, even though James had been dating you for years, he always criticised you and your life choices.
He criticised you for having run away from your foster-home. He criticised you for working forty hours per week and he criticised you for saving money almost religiously.
On occasion, he also criticized your looks and the fact that you dressed too plainly. Your clothes were largely second hand, a mix of denim, sneakers, and plain coloured shirts. You owned two dresses, both black and wearing make-up was a rarity for you and you were told by your boyfriend that you should be making more of an effort for him.
But then, why should you? He never made an effort for you and being with him made you wonder whether you could ever leave your past behind. He had no idea how good his life had been while the memories of your past kept haunting you, playing with your mind.
You reflected on your past quite often. It was what kept you grounded even when you were around people like James and Lorraine. But speaking about this pain was something you struggled to do ever since you opened up to James about your upbringing. It was almost like he was embarrassed by you because if it and this hurt more than the bruises you sustained all those years ago.
Unfortunately for you though, reflecting on your past was something you were required to do as part of your first essay in PRAC300. You had to write about yourself, in a creative kind of way, drawing parallels between any painful events you encountered and a fictional character you were reading about. You had to write about how you felt in the midst of a difficult situation and then describe how you would show your emotions about such events in front of others.
Why this was relevant to your acting skills you did not know, but you wrote down what you thought anyway without putting much effort into your work. You made something up and when you submitted the paper to Cillian, you also chose to ask him about the curriculum for this unit moving forward. Again, you were playing with the idea of quitting now, but you weren’t quite sure how.  
Until such day, you had largely ignored him and he had ignored you. In class, he pretended that you did not exist and rarely ever called you out to answer any questions. Without your knowledge though, this was his very own defence mechanism. It was his way of coping while he adjusted to the fact that he was meant to be teaching you now and by asking him about the essay and upcoming unit content, you took him off guard.
**
In addition to your questions about the curriculum though, today was also the day where, even if this particular essay was not in play, you could no longer have ignored him as, just last night, photos of him on a date with a fellow actress emerged on Twitter.
Of course, you took no interest in Twitter, but other disappointed students like Lorraine shared this information with you before class. The actresses’ name was Sophie O’Callum and she was currently filming in Dublin. Sophie was in her late thirties which, to you, seemed like an appropriate age for Cillian. She was blonde, skinny and incredibly good looking, creating a fair bit of jealously amongst your peers and this emerging jealousy quickly became evident to you during class.
Usurpingly, after hearing the news, Lorraine was rather upset about the date. She was now trying it on hard with your fellow lecturer and this, in itself, became amusing when Cillian shut her down.
It was obvious to you that he was annoyed by her and whilst you felt sorry for her, you also secretly enjoyed the fact that he retained his professionalism in class especially when Lorraine made advances towards him.
But, that’s not to say that you were not a little jealous too about Cillian’s date with an equally famous actress and you did not know why. You only ever slept with Cillian once and the fact that he was seeing someone else should not have bothered you. But did it. It upset you and, thus, when you finally walked into his office after class to ask him about the essay and unit content, you had to put on an act. You had to pretend that you did not care about his date and, for all you knew, he probably bought it.
***
“Hey Y/N, how can I help you?” Cillian asked after you walked into his office before shutting the door behind you.
“You look like you had a big night” you observed while watching him rub his eyes for the millionth time that day. He did this all throughout class and now he did it again, right in front of you.  
“What makes you say that?” he wondered.
“You look a bit dusty” you pointed out with a giggle in order to lighten the mood.
“I may have had a few too many pints, but don’t tell the dean, alright?” Cillian teased, knowing that you would not say a word to the school’s principal.  
“As if I would” you pointed out nonetheless before bringing up his date. “Although, you do realise that the pictures of you and Sophie O’Callum are all over the internet, right? You both looked drunk and knackered” you laughed but Cillian simply furrowed his eyebrows.
“Seriously?” he asked after picking up his phone and googling himself.
“Don’t you follow yourself on socials?” you wondered as you watched what he was doing.
“I don’t have social media” Cillian chuckled before telling you that he was too old for it, which was a comment that amused it.
“Oh please” you laughed which was when he quickly and somewhat unexpectedly addressed the rumours he was reading.
“Just for the record though, this was not a date. We went out for drinks and then we went our separate ways” he pointed out and, whilst you secretly felt relieved about what he was saying, you put on your acting hat and furrowed your eyebrows.
“And you are telling me this why?” you asked as if you were not interested in what he had to say and Cillian bought it and snapped out of it.
“Good question” he said before asking why you were in here to see him.
“I have a question about the essay which I handed in earlier today” you said before carrying on. “How are my emotions relevant to this class?” you asked and, before you could point out to him that you felt uncomfortable with the essay topic, Cillian began to explain.
“Well, learning how to act starts with learning about emotions and how to display them on screen or on stage. Often actors can draw from their own experiences and…” he said just before you interrupted him.
“But this stuff is personal” you blurted out to which Cillian simply shrug his shoulders.
“It’s part of the curriculum Y/N. I didn’t write those essay templates. I don’t even get to grade them” he informed you, causing you to sigh.
“But you will read them?” you wondered.
“Yes. I will read them and then pass them on for grading, with my comments…” Cillian began to explain and you interrupted him again.
“Fuck” you spat. “We slept with each other and I don’t want you to know about my past and my fucking emotions” you told him and, to your surprise, Cillian reacted in a gentle kind of way.
“Y/N, I won’t judge you for whatever happened to you in the past. What you write in your essay is confidential and whether we slept with each other or not is irrelevant. We both agreed to put this one-night stand behind us and that is what I am doing, alright?” he said and this was all you needed to hear before storming out of his office.
Three days later…
Three days had passed and, like most Mondays, you arrived at school early that morning. You had just been for a run, showered and sat down with your lunchbox, which is when you saw Cillian walk into the lecture hall with a cup of coffee in his hand.
He was surprised to see you there and, after putting down his mug, he approached you.
“Y/N,” he murmured almost nervously.
“Cillian. Good Morning” you smiled and, after engaging in a little small talk, he addressed the elephant in the room.
“After class, could we, maybe, talk about your essay submission please” was what he said and your heart immediately skipped a beat.
“Yes. Sure. I will see you at your office then? What time works for you?” was your response and, within seconds, you locked in a time while, the truth was, that you had no idea about what you were going to tell him. What was it that he needed to hear from you, you wondered? The truth? You weren’t going to give him that. He was better off failing you and get the professor to give you a bad grade.
So clearly, this was not going to go anywhere and, just as you were sitting in Cillian’s class again, you reflected on all the pain you felt when thinking back at when you were a young teenager.
It was this kind of pain you did not want him to know about so you sat there, awkwardly, like a pathetic loser, raising your hand, answering questions, to make up the credits that you would need after he failed your essay.
You put on act and, luckily for you, he never called you out that day. He left you be, sitting quietly at the back of the class room and then, without giving it any thought whatsoever, you were the first one out the door after a two-hour session, wanting to avoid him at all cost.
Yes, you needed to go and see him at his office. But you had no intention to actually do so, at least not now while your heart was racing and anxiety took over your anxious brain. You had no idea what to tell him and simply wanted to be left alone right now.
“Will I see you in ten?” Cillian reminded you nonetheless in passing as the students behind you were all hanging back, chatting and joking with the others. Lorraine, in particular, attempted to put on an act of her own, flirting with Cillian again.
“Yes, I will see you then” you confirmed nervously before you quickly made your way to the ladies room.
The lady’s lavatory followed a dull theme of light green. It was dated and made you feel a little nauseous.
You were nervous about meeting with Cillian about your essay and thus splashed some cold water on to your face before taking deep breaths. Then, when you looked into the mirror you saw the ghost of a girl who had died a long time ago.
Your face was gaunt and all your features were sunken in. Your eyes, once your best feature, were the only things that seemed to stand out now, as if you were just that, all vacant and lifeless. There was nothing else to look at. You were already disappearing and realised that you were all bones and baggage now, made up of shadows and secrets and nothing, nothing at all.
Then, you recalled what your dance coach had said to you just recently, telling you that you were one of the best dancers in class, but you lacked emotion. You lacked expression and you certainly lacked happiness. It was obvious to him, which is why he suggested an acting class to you. But perhaps acting skills were not what you needed. Perhaps you simply needed some happiness in your life, but felt as though you were not entitled to it.
Then you remembered, that, just a few weeks ago, you did feel alive and happy for one night only and this was the night you had spent with Cillian.
It was strange, exciting and sensual and certainly felt different to when you were with James who did not help the way you felt within your own body. You were insecure and, at least in your mind, there was nothing special about you.
Being with James was like a bad habit, just like smoking. You kept him around and went back to him simply for the fact that he provided something to you which you were familiar with. He provided structure, security and you adored his family.
But he did not excite you. Life did not excite you. It never did. It was painful to be who you were and, thus, you wanted to break every mirror in the bathroom. Every time you saw yourself you saw the sad little girl you used to be and still were, caught in this viscous cycle of negative thoughts. You were afraid to take risks because it had been enshrined in to you throughout foster care that taking risks was wrong. You lacked your very own family and love and often wondered whether your life would change one day.
Then, eventually, you locked yourself into a stall to get away from your reflection. You knew that you were nearing another mental breakdown any minute now and began to scream, quietly, but loud enough for others to hear.
It was quarter past ten now and you had been there, inside the lavatory stall, for fifteen minutes. You put your head in your hands, your fingernails digging into your face, wanting to scream but not having the nerve to do it.
Traumatising thoughts about your past visited you just like bad dreams did at night. You were losing your mind or maybe you have lost it already.
Some time passed, but you could not tell how much. You just let yourself slip away from reality for a bit but then, suddenly, the sound of the restroom door swishing open made you jump, startling you out of your mad, mad thoughts. A familiar pair of brown leather shoes came to stop outside of your stall.
"Y/N? Are you alright?" were the words you heard next and, suddenly, time slowed. Your skin burned and your voice was shaky when you spoke.
"Please go. You are not meant to be in here" you said although you were not even sure if you really wanted him to, but you said it anyways.
"But I am in here now and I am not leaving. Lorraine said that you have been in the lavatory for over half an hour. So, please come out before I tare the door open and embarrass myself in front of the entire school” Cillian chuckled, but with great concern in his voice. He knew that you were simply hiding in there and he was clearly worried about you and your wellbeing.
“Fuck. Seriously?” you stammered as you got up slowly and opened the stall door.
“Yes! Seriously Y/N! Clearly, you are avoiding me and I thought that we talked about everything that we needed to talk about. But, I supppose I was wrong as, first, you submit this ridiculous paper to me and now you are hiding from me…’ Cillian then said quietly as he was facing away from you in what you presumed to be an effort to give you some privacy, but his eyes then met yours when you looked in the reflection of the mirror.
You saw yourself too, standing in front of him with tears in your eyes.
“Y/N, fuck, are you okay? Did something happen? Should I call the student counsellor?” Cillian then asked anxiously when he noticed your tears and you tried to hold his gaze, but his eyes were too intense so you looked down at the tiled floor.
"God no, please. I just had a moment. I am okay” you stammered quickly but Cillian looked sceptical.
"Do you want to talk about it?" he then asked politely but you shook your head.
“I think I embarrassed myself enough already” you then told him but his eyebrows furrowed quickly.
“You are afraid of your own emotions and I get that. Most people are. But you know what I have learned throughout many years of acting?” Cillian said quietly again but, this time, with a warm and gentle smile.
“What?” you asked, wondering where he was going with this.
“That accepting and dealing with your emotions is an integral part of life. Unless you do that, you are not going to be happy and you most certainly will struggle with the line of work you chose. So, if you need to talk with someone about the way you feel, then talk to me. I am here to listen and what happened between us doesn’t matter, alright? I am not the kind of person who sees things superficially and, I don’t know why, but I do care about you. I want you to be okay” Cillian then explained while gently rubbing his palms over your upper arms and you were glad for his words and the way he spoke them, in a gentle and caring way.
“Thank you, Cillian” you cried before taking a deep breath. “Can I redo my paper?” you then asked. You still did not want to talk with him about your past just yet and hoped that he would accept your offer in lieu of an explanation as to why you were so anxious right now.
“I was hoping that you would and I want you to know that, when you do, I will not judge you or think any less of you for what you write” Cillian reassured you and, after you gave him a quick nod and wiped away your tears, he walked towards the door of the lavatory and held it open for you.
“Can you redo the paper by Wednesday? I need to pass it on to the unit co-ordinator” Cillian then said with a slight chuckle and unbothered by the fact that he just came walking out of the ladies’ bathroom with you.
“I can. And I am sorry for my slobby work” you then said and Cillian smiled. God, he was so beautiful and you stared shamelessly at him. He should not have become a lecturer at school full of young female students. Temptation was going to come knocking at his door, hordes of twenty something year olds begging to be noticed, to be loved, to be fucked. It was insanity and, just like Lorraine and some others, you wanted him and that was another form of madness.
 A few days later…
 Eventually, Wednesday came about and, when it did, your first stop was at Cillian’s office. You had promised to hand in your revised paper by nine and so you did.
This time, your effort was six pages long and included a large spiel about the foster care system in the US and how it shaped you from an emotional perspective.
It also included an array of emotions you believed many others like you felt when dealing with every-day life and you drew an analysis about them to the character you read about.
It was a paper which you had prepared with great care and thought and, in the end, the references to pieces of literature within your writing impressed Cillian so much so that, on Thursday evening, he sent you a message on the school’s online portal.
“I am impressed. This was certainly worth the wait” he said with an emoji on the end and his message certainly made you laugh.  
“I am glad, because it wasn’t easy to write knowing that you would be the one reading it” you responded quickly after you saw Cillian’s message pop up as a notification on your phone at around 10 o’clock that night and, the fact that he wrote to you that late made you wondered whether he was thinking about you.
Clearly, he had read the paper on Wednesday morning already before making his notes on it and sending it to the unit co-ordinator, so why did he only message you now? There must have been a reason for it, right?
Unbeknownst to you, there was most certainly a reason behind this message. Cillian had, indeed, been thinking about you and the truth was that he was taken by what you wrote in your essay.
He saw the care you took in writing down your every thought and your very own emotions and, whilst he could sense that you were hurt by the system, he did not consider you to be weak. To the contrary, he considered you to be much stronger than you thought yourself you were. You took matters into your own hands after the system had failed you. Unlike James, Cillian was impressed by your courage and soon realised why it was you who had been chosen for the scholarship.
You were determined and, whilst you struggled to come to terms with your feelings about what happened to you, you were emotionally intelligent. You knew what you needed to do and you knew about the bad influences in your life. You just had to act upon your desires, follow your goals and leave your pain and restraints in past.
As such, Cillian had nothing to add to your paper and thought about it every night since. There was something about you which intrigued him even more now and his thoughts about you were not just sexual anymore. His interest in you was on a different kind of level now and the feelings he was starting to have for you bothered him, causing him to supress his very own emotions.
He had to put on an act of his own, pretending that he was not interested in you but, every time he had a pint with his best mate Dermont, Cillian’s true feelings surfaced as, suddenly, the conversations they shared were about you.
Even though Cillian assured him that he had forgotten all about your short lived fling, Dermont did not believe him as his friend spoke about you with a lot of admiration.
In addition to that, Dermont also knew that Cillian was not the type of guy who would engage in one-night stands and then never think about them again. He must have liked you if he took you home, to his house that night. And he most certainly had not forgotten about you now that you were his student as every conversation about his work was also about you, your talent and the way you interacted with him.  
A few days later…
Eventually, Friday came around and it was another day where you had a lecture in PRAC300 before commencing your on-stage experience for which you were each given an on-stage character role and a script to read.
The roles were allocated randomly and when you were assigned the role of a mother who had recently lost her child, you could not help but sigh. It was not a role you were confident to act out and, yet, you knew that you had no choice. You had to take the role just as the other students had to take theirs. This included James who, also, ended up with a role that he was unhappy about but, unlike you, he spoke about it in Cillian’s class.
“Cillian, man, I think there is a mistake” he said in an arrogant way. “This role should be given to a girl” James determined, causing Cillian to furrow his eyebrows.
“Why?” Cillian asked, seeing that James had been drawn for the role of a character named Tina.
“Because Tina is a girl. I am playing a fucking girl” James laughed but Cillian did not think that his comment was funny and neither did you.
“Not exactly James. The role is non-binary” Cillian explained before telling him that this was an acting class. “It is important for you to step out of your comfort zone” Cillian furthermore said before pointing out that two female students in the class are portraying male characters as well.
“Now, if I can get everyone to schedule a time with me for the next week so that we can go through your role, one on one, that would be fantastic. I intend to allocate half an hour to each student” Cillian said and, of course, Lorraine and some of the other female students were quick to snap up the first available spots, leaving them with next to no time to prepare.
Luckily for Lorraine, she was portraying a young female teacher who was in love with her student. It was a role based on a book you had read quite recently and the fact that she got this role was rather amusing to you. She had an interest in Cillian and it was basically a matter of roles in reverse, if only Cillian had known.
When it was finally your turn to book in a time with Cillian however, you realised that your work schedule clashed with his remaining availabilities and it was at this point that he made an exception for you which was something that got you talking.
“I give dance classes from 3 o’clock to 6 o’clock each day and I cannot get out of them. It pays the bills and I am teaching ten teens for their upcoming dance competition in Cork so I have no idea what to do” you told him after the last student left the room and, sure enough, he remembered your passion for dancing.
“You teach dance? I did not know that. Are you enjoying it?” Cillian asked surprised and you nodded.
“Yes. I love it” you told him while he looked at his calendar.
“Alright, so how about 7 o’clock on Thursday then? It is after hours but I could come in and see you here” Cillian offered and you were surprised by his suggestion.
“Is that not too late for you?” you wondered, knowing that he had children as well.  
“Well, generally speaking, Thursdays and Fridays are good for me. My ex has the kids those days and, even if they were to come over, they are old enough to look after themselves for an hour or two” Cillian responded before telling you that they often do their own thing now that they are older, meeting up with friends after school and playing games at the local arcade.
“So, where do you teach dancing?” Cillian then wanted to know, being more chatty than usual.
“At the Dublin School of Dance. I teach contemporary dance and ballet” you told Cillian who, again furrowed his eyebrows.
“My daughter goes to that school twice a week” Cillian told you before showing you a photograph of her which he took during her last class.
“No way! I think I have met your daughter then” you said while Cillian was sliding through the photographs and you could immediately see the resembles of him in his daughter. They had the same pale freckled skin and light-coloured hair.
“Really?” he asked with great surprise and a hint of concern.
“Yes. She is in Miriam Mill’s class, isn’t she?” you asked and Cillian nodded before telling you that Miriam was leaving soon. She had an offer from another Dance School in London which she took.
“She is leaving, yes. But, your daughter will get another pretty awesome teacher soon, so don’t you worry” you then teased and Cillian furrowed his eyebrows quickly.
“Really? Is that new teacher good?” he asked without realising that you were going to be his daughter’s new teacher.
“She is the best” you joked before telling him that you would be taking on the classes for her age group in a couple of weeks.  
“Talking about awkwardness” Cillian then said with concern, seeing that this may become a little weird but, to you, it meant nothing. If anything, you were looking forward to meeting Cillian’s daughter properly and preparing her for the dance competitions.  
“Yeah, I mean, you could enrol her into another dance school if you like” you said nonetheless but he chuckled.
“And explain this to my ex how?” Cillian asked while cocking an eyebrow.
“Well, you could tell her that you slept with the ballet teacher who also happens to be your student at drama school. I am sure that would make quite a story” you joked and Cillian quickly reminded you to be discreet.
“Y/N, please…” he said while you laughed.
“God, relax Cillian. I am going to make sure that she has fun and excels with her routine for the finals. There is no bad blood between us and, like I said, nothing ever happened right? It was just sex, a one off, that is it. No one will ever know about it. My lips are sealed” you promised him and Cillian gave you a reluctant nod.
“Yes, it was just sex” he repeated quietly after ensuring that there was no one around. “So, Thursday, 7 o’clock then?” he then asked and you confirmed.
“Yes, 7 o’clock is great. Thank you. But I must go now. I am already late for training. Thanks Cillian” you said before grabbing your things and walking through the door.
To be continued… Please comment and engage. I love getting comments and predictions pretty please! Tag List
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lemonlover1110 · 2 years
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𝐓𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐬𝐭
[Chapter 2] Killing Boredom
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Pairing: Satoru Gojo x f!Reader x Suguru Getou
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“Suguru, will you be home early tonight?” You ask through the phone, hoping that you’ll have your husband home for dinner tonight. It’s a pointless wish because you’re always met with,
“We’re really busy tonight, honey.” You hear which makes you sigh. You sigh loud enough so he can hear it, which always makes him mutter an useless apology. He apologizes but never does anything to fix it. Eating all of your meals alone almost every day is depressing to say the least.
Before he can say his apology that ends with an “I love you, pumpkin” you hang up the phone. You take a deep breath to calm yourself down before you go downstairs. You’ll dismiss the staff that works in your house and go out to loosen up. Suguru always comes home late, so there’s no point in staying here, boring yourself to death.
You’ve been with Suguru Getou for seven years. You began dating not too long after you met him. You dated for two years, engaged for one, and married for four. Suguru is a wonderful partner most of the time.
A year into your relationship with him you found out that Suguru’s parents founded the Star Plasma phones, phones that half of the world uses. A phone that you used when you met Suguru, one that you still use to this day. That was Suguru’s source of income– Or rather, his parents’. Now Suguru is in charge of the company since his parents finally retired.
Suguru has a lot of responsibility on his shoulders which means more money. Yet that also means little free time to spend with his wife. Suguru was an excellent lover for the first two years of your relationship but that all changed when he actually started working with his family. It wasn’t this bad before though. He’d at least be home for dinner three times per week.
“You’re all dismissed. Suguru isn’t coming home tonight.” You inform the people that have started dinner. They were making one of Suguru’s favorites considering Tuesdays are one of the only days that Suguru is home for dinner.
You quickly go back upstairs to get ready to go out. You’ll have a couple of drinks and loosen up, trying to forget about your husband.
You rarely go out. Suguru’s marriage was a big deal, landing on the cover of magazines. Your face is known all over the country. Perhaps all over the world, if foreigners actually care about that stuff. You just know that if you were to go out and not even attempt to disguise yourself, you wouldn’t be left alone. 
While you’d love to be flashy and show off the jewelry and designer items that your husband buys for you, you can’t. You don’t want to draw too much attention to yourself because if anyone recognizes you, it’s bad for your husband. The moment Suguru told you who he was, you were forced to stop being a free spirit. Now every decision you make has to be thoroughly thought through because there’s a possibility you’ll ruin Suguru’s image.
So before going out you put on so much makeup to make yourself unrecognizable. You wear clothes that don’t draw too much attention to you, yet they manage to be alluring. Finally, you disguise your hair and put on a wig. It’s a black bob, which would look ridiculous on some people but not on you. You manage to draw people in with it.
You do your makeup, put on your wig, your mini red dress, and your black red bottoms. You go out to order some drinks and get hit on, not much for dancing so you don’t care to think about your feet’s comfort. You mainly go out to get drinks and to get hit on by other people. It’s not like you flirt back, but knowing you’re desired by others is always a confidence boost.
When the sun begins to set, the house is empty. The sound of your heels echo as they hit the marble floor. You walk to the garage to your baby. Well one of many. Suguru’s gift to you for your first marriage anniversary. A red mc20 maserati. Your go-to car ever since Suguru got it. 
It’s a rather flashy car for someone who tries to suppress their identity. But then again, all the cars you have are flashy so you might as well pick your favorite out of the bunch. Especially since your dress matches the color of the car.
You’re quickly out of the house and on your way to the nearest bar– One that’s half an hour away since Suguru decided he wanted to live secluded from the rest of the world. You didn’t care when he initially bought it, you just wanted a mansion. But now since you’re alone 90% of the time, you get irritated that you live so isolated.
In half an hour you’re parked outside the bar and getting out of your car. At least the place is nice because it’s in the rich side of town. When you enter the place you notice how empty it is. There’s maybe two other people in the place aside from the bartenders. Your disguise is practically useless but it’s better to be safe than sorry.
You take a seat and watch as the bartender walks over to you. You smile at her and she smiles back before properly greeting you, “Hi. I’m Rose. It’s the first time I see you come in. Can I see your ID?”
“Ah, you flatter me.” You tell her as you open your purse and pull out your wallet to get your driver’s license. She checks it and quickly gives it back to you, holding back a comment on your recent haircut. Before she can say anything else, you tell her your drink, “I want a negroni.”
“Coming right up, ma’am.”
You zone out listening to the faint music that plays in the bar. It’s a reminder of your husband since the man hates the song. But you find yourself humming the tune because you like it.  You always skip it to not ruin Suguru’s mood, but you like it.
You’ve given up a lot to be with Suguru. Not listening to a song doesn’t seem like a big deal, and it isn’t, but you’ve given up so much more than that. It feels like you’ve given up your whole identity to be with Suguru. Yet he isn’t at fault for that.
“Here you go.” The thump of the glass being set on the bar startles you as it brings you back to the present. You almost felt sorry for yourself for being with Suguru. You mutter a thank you before bringing the glass up to your lips.
You begin to sip on your drink quietly, listening to the new song that plays. Rose is about to talk to you since you seem rather lonely– Unlike her other customers, but someone else walks into the place and she has to serve him. He’s a frequent too.
“Welcome back, Gojo.” Rose smiles like a fool as the man approaches. He takes a seat right next to you, and you tense up. Gojo is a common last name so it’s not necessarily him. “Sex on the beach?”
“I feel like it’s too cold to go to the beach. Maybe some other time– Wait, you mean the drink? Yeah.” He jokes and Rose laughs. You hear his voice and it’s him. It’s definitely him. You just hope that he won’t try to talk to you. You don’t want him to recognize you.
“Whatcha drinking there?” Satoru asks while the bartender makes his drink. You hold back on sighing when he speaks to you even though you were praying he wouldn’t talk to you. When you don’t answer he clears his throat and repeats the question. He isn’t ignored, never. He probably wasn’t loud enough.
“Negroni.” You respond, and your voice rings. It’s definitely familiar. So he wants to keep you talking to remember who you are. But you don’t seem like the woman who talks much. Maybe if he could see your face, he’d remember who you are but your hair is covering it.
“Hmm… Can I buy you another?” He asks and you turn your face to look at him. There’s no reaction from him which makes you assume that he hasn’t recognized you. You get to finally look at him, and he looks handsome tonight. White button up shirt and black slacks. He definitely just got out of work.
“You don’t even know my name and here you are, already offering to buy me a drink.” You chuckle. You bat your eyelashes and give him a smile. He doesn’t recognize you so maybe you can be yourself for a bit. Even if Satoru were to recognize you, he wouldn’t tell anyone. Not even Suguru.
“You’re right, where are my manners? I’m Satoru Gojo. And you are?” He’s quick to introduce himself. You smile at him, yet you remain quiet. You heard him, you definitely did, but you’re not going to answer his question. He can definitely live with the curiosity of what your name is. “I take it, you’re the mysterious type.”
“I just don’t like sharing my name with every random person I meet.” You respond and he raises his brow. “I will take the offer on the drink though.”
You hear your phone ring so you pull it out of your purse for a second, and sigh as you see a message from your husband. He’ll be home much later than usual. You put the phone away again and bring the glass up to your lips.
“Can’t help but notice that you’re married. Is your partner with you tonight?” Satoru asks, and you click your tongue, immediately knowing where this is going. You know what he’s planning but you’re too irritated with your husband to quickly shut Satoru down.
“My husband is working late tonight.” You answer. You watch the smirk grow on Satoru’s lips. His drink is placed in front of him, and he thanks the bartender before he asks for another negroni for you.
“Working late or he’s having-” He begins but you cut him off before he can suggest what he’s about to.
“My husband and I are very loyal to each other.” You state with a smile.
“So I take that we’re not going anywhere tonight.” He sounds disappointed.
“Aside from flirting, we’re not going anywhere.” You tell him. Well flirting is something for him, that’s definitely better than friendly banter the whole entire night. He clears his throat, and he decides he’ll try to impress you.
“I see you own a Star phone.” He comments and you hum. “I’m the executive vice-president of the company.”
You’re supposed to act impressed or shocked by the revelation. But you’re not because you already knew. But you can’t let him know who you are. Not acting impressed will definitely raise some questions. “Are you really? You’re lying.”
“I am.” He chuckles as he pulls out his wallet to get a business card. He shows it off to you, and once you read the name, you nod. You can’t bring yourself to actually be surprised. You can’t bring yourself to act surprised.
“You know what I have to say about your husband…” Satoru begins and you tilt your head to the side in curiosity. “He’s a damn fool. If you were my wife I wouldn’t let no stupid job get in my way.”
“Good thing I’m not.” You chuckle. “My husband is just trying to make money.”
“You don’t have to worry about money with me, baby.” He says, making you laugh. Satoru says anything to get into anyone’s pants.
“Hmm… Really? If I were to leave my husband for you, would you pay for everything?” You question and he confidently nods with a smirk on his face. “Would you actually commit?”
“Sure would. For a woman so beautiful I’ll do anything.” He replies, making you roll your eyes.
“Not sure if a man as handsome as you will keep his promise.” You ask and he chuckles. You’re definitely making yourself comfortable around him. His face is inches away from yours, and you feel his breath on your ear when he whispers.
“So I’m handsome? Will your husband approve of that?” You hear and it sends a shiver down your spine, yet you manage to laugh.
“Well he’s not here now, is he?” You ask. 
For the rest of the night you two speak, thinking that your identity was kept hidden. You flirted with an old friend until it was time to go home. You had more fun than you had in years. And just as planned, Suguru wasn’t home yet.
But Satoru definitely knew who you were. No matter how much you try to change yourself he’ll always recognize you.
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I did a thing
Thanks to @shelobussy for giving me the idea for this little one shot! You didn't think I was serious, did you? But I was, oh, I was.
Desc: Hugo and Varian run into a problem while helping at VBS (vacation Bible school for those unfamiliar. It's literally summer camp but Christian). Warning for minor cursing, past homophobia.
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"And... it's locked." Hugo sighed and slid down the door of the closet. "Who designed this thing? Why would a door auto-lock when you close it?"
"Why wouldn't it?" Varian had already sat down. "If you hadn't dropped the key we would be out of here."
"You're always blaming me for stuff. This isn't even the right closet! This is the damn communion supply closet, and I told you the cleaning supplies were down the hall, but no, Heaven forbid I be right."
"I got turned around! Half the hallways out of the sanctuary look the same anyway." At least they wouldn't starve, though Varian might rather starve than subsist on grape juice and crackers that looked and tasted like Styrofoam. And would it be heretical to eat and drink communion elements outside of the ceremony? Surely God would understand, like that story with David and the sacred bread.
"Uh, earth to Freckles," Hugo's annoying voice cut through Varian's thoughts. "How are we gonna get out of here? The VBS has, like, four chaperones for the middle schoolers including us, we need to get out."
"Can't you pick locks, Beanpole?" Varian had never seen Hugo lockpick, but he looked like the type to know how.
With his long undercut blond hair, piercings, alternative clothing style, and flamboyantly gay demeanor, Hugo wasn't really the sort of person Varian would expect to be a youth group leader, but West Ingvarr Methodist Church prided itself on diversity and inclusion. Varian couldn't help but think, though, that even if it wasn't a sin, Hugo didn't need to make being queer his whole personality. Varian certainly managed not to.
"I can't pick this kind of lock. I don't know the inside mechanisms of the automatic doors. And I'll thank you not to use that tone when asking. I don't why you think you're better than me-"
"I don't think I'm better than you-" Varian began.
Hugo snorted. "Could've fooled me. Anyways, I could maybe figure out how to disassemble the lock, but I don't think Pastor Robin would be very happy with me."
"So we're stuck here," Varian groaned.
"Until someone comes along and sees the key on the ground, yes. Don't look at me like that, Freckles, I'm not pleased about it either. You're stuck in a closet with someone you hate, I'm stuck with someone who hates me."
"I don't hate you. You're annoying as- as heck, and loud, and honestly I don't think you should curse around the kids-"
"They're middle and high schoolers, they've heard the word 'shit' before. Besides, I know what it is. You don't like the way I dress, the way I talk, you don't like when I talk about my homosexuality-" Hugo said the last word like he was an old man deeply offended by it.
Varian rolled his eyes. "That's not it. If it makes you feel better, I'm literally bisexual. I just don't think you need to talk about it as much as you do-"
"Freckles, what would your life be like if you had had an openly queer leader in the church when you were those kid's age? Because I'll tell you right now, mine would have been a hell of a lot better. You can keep your internalized homophobia to yourself, but I'm going to be who I am. And I'm going to be for those kids what I needed." Hugo finished and turned his head away, arms crossed.
Varian couldn't think of a thing to say. He tried not to think about it much, now that he was out of Old Corona, and two years into college, but he remembered growing up in a church very different from West Ingvarr. Forget it being unsafe to be queer, Varian had dyed a streak of his hair blue when he was fourteen and been looked at like he was the devil's child into he finally broke and dyed it black again. Eventually, fifteen-year-old Varian had decided he couldn't take it anymore, and ran away. It'd quickly gone wrong, and he'd fallen in with a very bad crowd before his father found him, and promised they would move away after Varian tearfully confessed the reason for his rebellion.
All that to say, Hugo was right. Varian cringed thinking it. But Varian had been unfair in his judgment of him, and it was the right thing to do to admit that.
"I'm... sorry." Varian finally said. Hugo didn't turn his head, but his eyes flicked over and his eyebrows rose slightly. "I think... I let my biases color how I judged you, and that was... unfair and not very 'Good Christian' of me. I... really don't hate you, Hugo."
Hugo turned his head, and Varian could see him holding back a smile. "Thanks for the self-awareness. I forgive you, I guess."
Varian scoffed. "Thanks, 'I guess'."
"Well," Hugo began, obnoxious grin on his face, before pausing. "I think I hear footsteps! HEY? IS ANYONE THERE?" He yelled, forcing Varian to cover his ears.
"Yes, ominous voice? Wait. Hugo, is that you?"
"Yep!" He replied. "Varian, we're in luck! Okay, Yong, there's a key on the ground. I need you to slide it under the door, alright?"
"I don't see a- oh! There you go!" A second later, the bronze key appeared by the door. Varian and Hugo stood up, and unlocked the door.
"Feels good to be free!" Hugo declared, stretching.
"We were only in there for twenty minutes," Varian commented, grinning.
"Yeah, but twenty minutes stuck with you? Basically twenty years."
"Shut up, Beanpole," Varian pretended to punch Hugo's arm. Maybe he wasn't so bad after all.
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dragonfly0808 · 1 year
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An Incredibly Long and Wholly Unnecessary Disection of How Fate: The Winx Saga Missed the Mark on What Made the Winx Club Special
So, I decided to make this cause I have way too many feelings on this and I saw someone make something similar about a different franchise and loved it so here goes.
DISCLAIMER: If you’re a fan of the Winx Club and enjoyed Fate, I have nothing against you, these are just my feelings and I 1) am really glad you were able to enjoy it and 2) genuienely sorry a show you loved got canceled cause I know how much that sucks
SPOILERS FOR FATE AND THE FIRST 3 SEASONS OF THE WINX CLUB (AND A BIT OF SEASON 4)
One more thing: I’ve only watched Fate once since I’m not about to make myself rewatch it for this so if I forget any certain scene I apologize.
With that out of the way, the themes I will be discussing in this essay will be divided into 4 categories: The Problems I Have In General. Questions That Will Never Be Answered. Character Deep Dives/Character Rants. And finally, How Fate failed to capture the Essence of Winx Club.
These will be the themes of every category (feel free to skip any that may not interest you).
The Problems I Have In General:
The Abandonment of an Amazing World and Dimension for a Hogwarts Rip-Off.
The Erasure of Good Adoptive Parents
Polyamorous My Ass (Srsly What the Fuck was that?)
Fake Feminism and Pitting Women Against Each Other
The Love Triangle Took Years From My Life and I’m Tired
Why Glitter and Love was Essential to the Feminism of the Winx Club
Questions That Will Never Be Answered
What Makes the Specialist Special?
Where are the Witches?
Why are Riven and Sky friends?
Character Deep Dives/Character Rants
From Naive but Loyal and Heroic to Boring and Annoying (A Bloom Deep Dive)
How Stella Became Everything She Stood Against (A Stella Deep Dive)
Why Musa Kinda Works but Really Doesn’t (A Musa Deep Dive)
Was Terra Necessary? What made her unique? (A Terra Deep Dive)
From Hero to Zero (An Aisha Deep Dive/Rant)
Why Sky Somehow was the Most Interesting One but Still Boring (A Sky Deep Dive)
Why Riven will Always Get the Short End of the Stick (A Riven Deep Dive/Rant)
Bea Could’ve Saved the Show, BUT- (A Beatrix Rant)
Why Flora Mattered (A Flora Deep Dive/Rant)
A Retrospective Look at Soft Boys (A Helia and Timmy Deep Dive/Rant)
The Forgotten Protectors (A Brandon and Nabu Rant)
Why Tecna is Often Discarded and Why She Shouldn’t Be (A Tecna Deep Dive/Rant)
How Fate Failed To Capture the Essence of the Winx Club
How Fate Forgot the Most Important Aspect of the Winx Club: Friendship Amongst Young Women
Now with that out of the way, let’s get to it, cause this is gonna be a long one.
The Problems I Have In General
The Abandonment of an Amazing World and Dimension for a Hogwarts Rip-Off
So. I think we can all agree that the world of Winx Club is one that is not only aesthetically pleasing but also very unique and magical.
We have Magix, where the three schools of magic are, all with very different but equally interesting aesthetics and designs that make sense for what the schools teach. We also have the city of Magix, where we have magical ships and a cool toned color pallet that makes us feel like we’re in a futuristic world, Red Fountain also feels right out of a sci-fi movie, whilst the clothing, stores, Cloud Tower and Alfea remind us of the magical aspects of the world.
Further into the series, we see the girls’s home planets, which are all very different, creative and fit the girls perfectly. We have Solaria with two suns, Lynphea as an ecologists utopia with hollow trees for houses and giant ladybugs for transport, Zenith as a sci-fi dream, Melody with its glittering oceans and singing whales, etc.
Watching Winx Club, just looking at the world adds so much to the feeling of magic, the setting just helps the story so much. Also it’s just fucking gorgeous.
Now compare that to Fate… where we get a dark forest… and an old Mansion, that serves as both Red Fountain and Alfea…
I would just like to say, I’m a sucker for dark academia, I love this aesthetic, for other shows, but this is supposed to be an adaptation of Winx Club, where there already was an amazing world where the story was set in, so why didn’t they even try to use that? I don’t know, but it really bothers me that they didn’t try even one bit.
Especially when the vibrant colors and fantastical environment were such a big part of what made the Winx Club stand out.
The Erasure of Good Adoptive Parents
I remember watching Winx Club for the first time and when it was revealed that Bloom was adopted I literally was like… but… her parents love her…
Yep.
We very rarely get good adoptive parents in stories (it’s getting a bit better but still, at least as a kid this was pretty much the only time I ever saw fictional adoptive parents that actually loved their child).
So, the fact that in Fate we get Vanessa (the sweetest mom ever in the cartoon) be a maniac who takes away Bloom’s privacy and tries to live vicariously through Bloom just really fucking pissed me off.
Like… what was the need for that? You didn’t need Bloom to be pissed for her to lose control of her powers and accidentally burn her parents.
In fact, I think it would’ve been even more traumatic and dramatic if Bloom had a good relationship with her parents (like she did in the cartoon) but still lost control, maybe in her sleep, and burned the people she loves most in the world, that would’ve been so angsty it would’ve been great. 
But no, let’s continue the narrative that adoptive parents can’t be good parents.
Polyamorous My Ass (Srsly What the Fuck was that?)
This just… I’m so tired.
We pretty much never get Polyamorous relationships in shows like this and then we get… whatever the fuck this was.
So… Bea is obvs just using both Riven and Dane (it is Dane right? I don’t care enough to check). Riven, only likes Bea and is very biphobic towards Dane and Dane seems to be in love with Riven and kinda like Bea.
This relationship (if you can even call it that) is weird. Sometimes it’s portrayed as toxic, other times it isn’t and it’s just weird.
This also really fucking pissed me off. Because… why? You could’ve had Dane as a separate character, in the original we already had the Darcy/Riven plotline so why did you have to add Dane?
Honestly, Dane could’ve just had a crush on Riven and become genuienly friends with Terra or smth, he didn’t have to be involved with Riven and Bea, that should’ve been a separate plotline. If you wanted a bi character so badly you could’ve just made one of the girls (Flora- sorry Terra, Musa and Aisha are already largely headcannoned to be bi, they could’ve used that) be bi. You didn’t need to introduce a new character for the sake of diversity, especially if you were going to screw it up that badly.
Cause Riven and Bea are already dramatic enough on their own, we didn’t need this poor, horrible attempt at a polyamorous relationship.
Fake Feminism and Pitting Women Against Each Other
Next up… oh dear…
Where can I even start? Okay, one of the first things we see in the series is Bloom telling Sky he is mansplaining… when he’s very clearly not…
The desire to come across as feminist and be an #womenempowerment show is so obvious it almost hurts. But they never do anything to actually show this.
From the very first conversation between Bloom and Stella in the show, it was very obvious to me that they would be competitors, not best friends like in the show.
Throughout the show, we see the girls berate each other, compete and insult one another, and I don’t see how any of that can be seen as feminism.
Stella literally almost causes Bloom’s death out of jealousy over Sky.
How is this anything like the Winx Club?
The closest bond in the group is probably between Musa and Terra. And even then, a lot of the time I feel like Musa only tolerates Terra, and they feel like roommates, not best friends who would die for each other like they were in the Winx Club.
There is very little support amongst the women of Fate, there are few instances when we aren’t being told to compare them or to see who is best. That is not feminism.
Now, it would’ve worked very well if the girls got off on the wrong foot but we got to see them slowly bond and slowly trust each other and become good friends, but I never felt that. The only time that they join forces is to clean up the mess that they made, and even then it never feels like all 5 of them are on the same page, it’s more like the world (and story) is forcing them together.
This was a tad bit better in season 2 but there were mostly moments between 2 Winx not all of them (the only moments I liked were the sleepover and Terra coming out) in season 2 the strongest bond was clearly that of Stella and Bea.
So yeah, with constant competition, fights and very few moments of actual friendship, almost all of which feel forced, I can say that Fate does not feel like a Feminist show at all.
From the moment I saw they were going to ignore the gem that was Bloom and Stella’s bond in the original I knew they weren’t going to try to actually make the girls friends and support one another.
The Love Triangle Took Years From My Life And I’m Tired
Why? Why? WWHHHHYYYYYYY?!?!??!??
What was the reason? What was the fucking reason?!
There was none.
There was not a single reason why the love triangle between Bloom, Sky and Stella should’ve happened or was needed.
They could’ve easily introduced Diaspro, a character we already know and a character whose only purpose in the cartoon was to create drama and tension between Bloom and Sky.
Love triangles are dead. We all know that. You will never be Jem/Tessa/Will, stop fucking trying.
Okay so, first off, I would’ve honestly been okay if we’d seen Sky and Stella be exes and they like ‘Yeah we tried that was a huge mistake but now we’re friends’ and then Bloom comes in and Sky isn’t sure cause she’s Stella’s bestie but Stella is encouraging, that could’ve been cool. But that is obviously not what we got.
Why do we always pit women against each other over a man? I think we all know the answer to that.
The Love Triangle was bland, boring and useless. Nothing came out of it.
We apparently got Stella and Sky realizing they were codependent and toxic which… duh. But nothing comes from this, we never see them get closer and have a healthy friendship, we get 1 scene in season 2 that is never expanded upon and that’s it.
They threw Stella and Bloom’s friendship to the trash for a Love Triangle that absolutely nobody wanted. And even in season 2, Stella and Bloom? They’re not friends. They’re barely cordial with one another and that pisses me of so fucking much I can’t even describe it.
In the cartoon the girls NEVER fought over a man, if there were moments of jealousy they were passing (I can remember exactly 1 with Aisha and Bloom in season 2. That’s literally it). There could be drama with other girls and even that was very little mostly Diaspro and the messes with Mitzi and Crystal in later seasons but the cartoon almost never relied on that to create drama against the girls because they knew it wasn’t really needed.
This triangle did nothing for any of the characters and the drama was petty and stupid. I just… I honestly don’t think I’m really saying anything of substance here but this particular topic just makes me sooooo mad that I can’t even describe the particulars of how this Love Triangle makes me just so mad cause it was FUCKING USELESS, IT DID NOTHING FOR THE CHARACTERS OR THE STORY IT WASN’T NEEDED, IT WASN’T WANTED AND IT WASN’T…. UUUGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!
Why Glitter and Love was Essential to the Feminism of the Winx Club
The feminism of the original Winx Club (especially the first 4 seasons) was honestly very simple. It wasn’t in your face or even really ever called out.
To me, the feminism in the original Winx Club was just… the girls themselves.
We had six very different young women, who were all portrayed as strong, funny, beautiful and just awesome.
We have Bloom, who’s a bit of a girl next door. She can be a bit hotheaded, but she’s crazy loyal and incredibly strong. We see her be naive sometimes and be really nervous and attempting to find her place and we also get to see her step up to the occasion when it’s time for blows.
We have Stella, a fashionista who I will talk a lot about in her section cause I am pissed of what they did to her. We see her be a kind person and try to grow and be dedicated to her passions.
We have Flora who is the girliest of girls but still portrayed as strong and smart. Her softness doesn’t erase her strength. And she doesn’t have these big stand up moments of ‘I’m strong and I will prove it to you!’ She just is strong.
We have Musa, who’s a bit of a tomboy and slightly more rough around the edges but who has a lot of emotional depth.
We have Tecna, who can come across as cold but who we see literally almost die for her friends and who has such a big heart.
We have Aisha, who’s very sporty and who has to seek out her place in the group and kinda learn how the whole friend group works and who we see grow in season 2.
We have a hotheaded girl next door, a kind fashionista, a girly girl, a musical tomboy, a tech girl and a sporty girl who are all portrayed as different and unique but are also all portrayed as strong.
Yes, we see them occasionally butting heads (if I remember correctly Musa/Flora and Stella are the ones that butt heads most often) and fight sometimes, but we see that their friendship is stronger than all of that.
We see them support each other in so many different ways and be the definition of ride or die.
Something I really like is that they don’t really make fun of each other’s interests despite having vastly different personalities. And they also don’t compare themselves and understand that they’re all awesome in their own ways.
The girls are united in friendship in such a deep way that they could probably never stop being friends even if they tried.
And… none of that is included in Fate.
Which is a fucking shame.
We don’t really see the girls’ interests in Fate, we just see them all acting like angsty teenagers who are either lashing out at pretty much everybody or being a bit of a doormat. They’re not really portrayed as strong either.
I can’t see the uniqueness that was there in the cartoon. The girls aren’t really… they’re just not interesting. Especially when compared to their cartoon counterparts.
Also, this part is a bit more petty and something personal to me but I think a lot of you can relate so… 
Seeing girls that were fashionable, girly and weren’t afraid to show off their girlie side was awesome. Especially in a world of ‘I’m Not Like Other Girls’ protagoinsts that just hate dresses and only wear them once.
As a girlie girl myself, looking back on the Winx Club, I love that they didn’t try to make the girls more masculine to make them seem stronger. Even Musa, Aisha and Tecna who are arguably the least ‘girly’ show off their more feminine side in a way that feels natural.
So yeah… that last part doesn’t have to do that much with Fate I just wanted to add that.
Questions That Will Never Be Answered 
What Makes the Specialists Special?
First off, I would like to say that I loved that in Fate women could be Specialists and guys could be fairies, I just thought that was really neat. So kudos to you for that Fate. Enjoy it, I won’t give you many.
Now on to the question. What makes the Specialists special?
In the cartoon, the reason I really liked the Specialists was their weapons, they were colorful, creative and straight out of a sci-fi movie. Brandon’s sword, Sky’s boomerang, Riven’s bolas, Timmy’s gun, Helia’s gloves etc.
It always felt like the Winx got magic and fantasy while the Specialists got technology and sci-fi.
And that is, once again, gone in Fate. The Specialists are now generic warrior driving Jeeps and wearing leather.
Where are the capes? The Owls and Wind Riders? Everything that made the Specialists cool even when they didn’t do much in a fight?
Where did that all go?
This one was more of an aesthetic thing but I still feel like it took a lot away from the Specialists and what made them low-key iconic.
Where are the Witches?
Where are they? Seriously I wanna know where my girlies are?
I get that, since they got rid of the transformation and gave us half assed CGI wings it might’ve been hard to differentiate the witches from the fairies but still… you can’t just not have freaking witches!
I like getting to see evil fairies but still. I don’t like this! 
I just feel like it takes away so much not having the witches. Can you imagine getting Lucy and Mirta in Fate?… actually no, they would’ve been screwed over but you know what I mean.
Yet another topic that makes me so mad and petty that I can’t quite describe it.
Why are Riven and Sky friends?
Okay so, this is actually a genuine question.
Most of the boys were excluded from Fate (which I’m lowkey grateful for cause if they’d done my boys Helia and Timmy dirty there would’ve been blood) so they kinda had to smush Riven and Sky into bestie status.
Now, looking at this objectively, we know that in the cartoon, Sky’s bestie is Brandon. And Brandon and Riven have more things in common than you’d expect.
They’re both good fighters and work hard at Red Fountain, they’re kinda ladies men, they can be jokesters from time to time but take their duty seriously. They’re also pretty competitive.
I think Brandon is what Riven would’ve been if he had a normal childhood.
The main difference is that Riven has walls. He shuts people out and can be a bit of a jerk sometimes. The Riven in Fate is a straight up asshole.
So… why is he friends with Sky?
I’ll be honest, I really wanted to see more of these two, I think the dynamic could’ve been really interesting and cool to explore but… we got… pretty much crumbs.
With the like… two moments we have with them I don’t see why they’re friends and it ruins my sense of disbelief just that much more.
Character Deep Dives/Character Rants
From Naive but Loyal and Heroic to Boring and Annoying (A Bloom Deep Dive)
Let’s talk about our favorite hotheaded redhead shall we?
I’ll be honest, Bloom was always my least favorite Winx and I actually grew to dislike her post season 3, but… she didn’t deserve this.
I’m honestly not sure how to describe why the Bloom from Fate is just… so fucking boring… I don’t really feel many emotions coming from her.
In the original (at least the first 3 seasons) Bloom has quite a bit of personality, she’s a bit naive and impulsive but also THE ride or die bestie.
She��s fun to watch even if I would sometimes get frustrated when she acted a bit stupid or when she was impulsive.
Bloom worked as a protagonist partially due to her impulsive habits (since they make her take the lead/initiative in many occasions) but I feel like with Fate Bloom that impulsive nature comes across as more annoying since Fate Bloom isn’t as friendly as OG Bloom and doesn’t really have anyone to bounce her impulsiveness off of like she did in the OG.
I don’t know, I just never really felt any connection with her but overall I think she’s still the one that was done the least dirty. And the one I’m the least furious about.
I think the main problem I have with Fate Bloom is that she’s got that ‘I have to do this alone’ attitude and it never really changed, so she doesn’t really have anyone to bounce off of to make her impulsive and stupid moments less annoying.
How Stella Became Everything She Stood Against (A Stella Deep Dive)
Welp… I am fucking furious now.
I think most of us will be able to agree that one of Stella’s main purposes in the original show was to break the Dumb Blonde/Mean Blonde stereotype that was much more prevalent in the 2010′s.
Stella could come across as a bit full of herself and could be mean since she didn’t really have a brain-to-mouth filter but she was never mean on purpose and always made up for her mistakes.
We see that Stella is at her core a kind person and soft-hearted individual when we see that after knowing Bloom for a whole of one day and Bloom helping her once, Stella is willing to risk getting herself expelled to give Bloom the chance to go to Alfea. 
We also see there’s more to her than just superficial stuff when, after the Sky-Brandon reveal she tells Brandon that she cares more about the face that he lied than the fact that he isn’t a prince. The quote was along the lines of: ‘My parents are the King and Queen of Solaria, didn’t do them much good.’
And of course in season 3 we learn that Stella is actually very insecure and believes people like her just because of her looks and get one of the best moments/episodes of the entire series.
Yes. Stella cares about her appearance and loves fashion, but there is so much more to her character than that. She is a loyal friend, incredibly kind person and willing to do anything for those she loves.
Now let’s look at Fate’s Stella
………..
I am just… Fate turned our Stella into a bitchy mean girl. That is all Stella really is.
Even in season 2 she still acts like a mean girl to the rest of the girls most of the time. I never felt her bond with any of the girls or even Sky for that matter, her best scenes were easily with Bea.
I just don’t understand how they missed the entire fucking point of Stella’s character and made her exactly into the stereotype she was supposed to subvert. How do you fuck up that much?!?!!?!?!
She tried to fucking KILL BLOOM OVER A GUY!!! The original Stella would’ve killed her with her staff for even laying a FINGER on her bestie.
Stella’s character in Fate might just be the one that pisses me off the most because of how much they missed the fucking mark with her.
They made her literally everything she stood against and then acted like they did something when she did the bare minimum for her ‘friends’.
And I cannot bring myself to care about the drama with her mom because of how fucking pissed I am about this.
Okay let’s think about it. This could’ve worked if Stella was only acting like a bitch because her mom expected that but, in the rare instances when she was sure no one was watching and no one would noticed, she revealed her soft side to the girls and they were like ‘Oh, this is the real Stella, bitchy Stella is just a mask’ but it doesn’t go like that.
Even after the reveal of her mom, she’s still a bitch!
Our Stella would never and I hate whoever thought this was a good idea, you sir or ma’am  are stupid and the whole point of Stella’s character flew right over your fucking head! (No hate to the actress or any actors in the series though)
Why Musa Kinda Works But Really Doesn’t (A Musa Deep Dive)
I was wrong before. Musa is actually the one I’m least pissed off about because I actually kinda enjoyed her character in Fate, especially in the second season. (Doesn’t excuse the fucking white washing though).
I think out of the girls Musa would’ve probably been the easiest to adapt into a more ‘mature’ setting cause she is kinda the ‘angstiest’ of the girls due to her mom’s death and being the tomboy of the group. However… the Musa we know can be a little sassy and get annoyed with the girls from time to time but with Fate Musa, it’s a lot more prevalent.
Which makes sense with the change to a mind fairy (which I hate, can you imagine all the cool visuals we could’ve gotten if they’d kept her as the fairy of music? Also they still could’ve had the empath thing with her being able to ‘hear the songs in people’s hearts’ and just cranking that up to eleven).
I actually don’t have that much to say about Musa. I enjoyed her character, especially in the second season, I feel like she’s the only one that’s reasonably lashing out and it makes sense when she’s annoyed and I feel like we got to see her soft side in a few moments and she was involved with all of my favorite moments of Fate.
The only issue is that she’s angstier than the original Musa but again, it actually makes sense this time.
The only thing I am actually pissed off at is that we lost her dynamics with Tecna and Aisha cause there is no Fate Tecna and Fate Musa doesn’t really interact with Aisha and when she does it’s a far cry from their cool original dynamic and her chemistry with Terra isn’t enough to make up for it.
Was Terra Necessary? What Made her Unique? (A Terra Deep Dive)
So, we all know what happened with Terra. They white washed half the cast realized that we would obviously be pissed and tried to save it by changing Flora’s name to Terra and saying she was a new character… nice try.
Also as a latina myself, fuck you. If you’re going to claim you were going for plus-size diversity you do realize you could’ve just gotten a plus-size latina right? Anyways, fuck you.
So Terra… I don’t really care about her and kinda dislike her. I’ll admit that I am very much biased due to Flora being my fave and my latina rage but I just don’t find Terra interesting.
I don’t know what it is about her that makes her rambling annoying instead of endearing or whatever it is they were going for. They didn’t really give her anything interesting to do, she literally just had the ‘I’m fat self-confidence’ arc. I think I might’ve kinda liked Terra if she’d had something interesting to do.
The only scenes I genuienly enjoyed with her were her conversation with Riven (right before the final fight if I remember correctly) and her talk with Musa while Sam is dying... Coincidentally the moments she reminded me more of Flora…
Then in the second season she had a super weird attitude with Flora, I wasn’t sure if she was jealous or angry or what it just made her that much weirder to me, like, what the fuck was going on there? I don’t really think we ever got an answer for her weird behavior with Flora, cause I’m not buying it was just cause of Riven. That was weird.
The only girl she really bounces off of is Musa, and even then it mostly feels like Terra is following Musa around hoping for some love. None of her friendships really feel reciprocal. And her behavior with Stella is also weird as fuck. Like… you like it when she insults you? What?
Yeah she’s just weird and I don’t really like her. I feel like she brings nothing to the table. There is no real reason for her to be there. If they were going to try and replace Flora, they should’ve at least tried to make her cool and iconic.
From Hero to Zero (An Aisha Deep Dive/Rant)
Pffftttttt… okay let me get this straight. You took Aisha. Icon Aisha who climbed a fortress for her pixy friends, was a Princess that was pretty much a runaway and a sports goddess who challenged the boys and easily had the most depth/cool backstory from the Winx.
You took that Aisha… and gave us *checks notes* ‘Oh yeah, I flooded a hall in my school with literal shit once’ as her backstory.
Okay cool, I see how it is.
But seriously though. They made Aisha into an annoying teacher’s pet who kinda felt a little full of herself from time to time but was also constantly ignored as the voice of reason and had no arc of her own, instead acting as a therapist/scapegoat for the other girls.
Why is that? I think we all know the answer to that…
But yeah, I just… I am so tired. They reduced her to… to nothing really. She doesn’t feel interesting or compelling at all. I felt no connection to her and most of the time it felt like the other girls only spoke to her when they needed something from her.
In season 2 we get a little more about how she feels pressured by her parents to be perfect (which kinda alines with the cartoon) and she talks about not being experienced at relationships, which also makes sense with the cartoon, but it honestly still doesn’t feel like enough.
It still doesn’t feel like she’s actual friends with any of the girls.
They took away a lot… most of what made Aisha into one of the most well-developed Winx. She doesn’t feel fun like cartoon Aisha did, she’s uptight which just doesn’t make sense if she’s supposed to be Aisha.
She was just done dirty. Our Aisha was never so much as implied to be a teacher’s pet. She was more into dancing and sports and exploring. 
Winx Aisha was a girl who’d been trapped most of her life, excited to finally get to be a a free soul and explore the world. Fate Aisha is stripped of all of that and we don’t really see why she’s so uptight outside of that one conversation about her parents where we still don’t get any real depth.
My girl deserved so much more and I will die pissed.
Why Sky Somehow was the Most Interesting One but Still Boring (A Sky Deep Dive)
Sky makes me feel conflicted. I think he (along with Musa) was the only one I genuienely liked and enjoyed watching but at the same time he annoys me.
I loved his dynamic with Silva but I just… I don’t even know how to describe what it is exactly that annoys me about him but he’s just not interesting enough. I’ve literally forgotten almost any scene that he is in.
I’m trying to remember right now and the only scenes I can remember are the mansplaining scene, when Bloom drugs him, when he comforts Stella, one or two scenes with Silva… and when he beats Dane’s ass… and that’s literally it.
He’s not that bad, he’s got interesting dynamics and a cool story behind him and with the revelations in the series, he is one of the most affected, so in paper that should get you to be invested but… he’s just not memorable.
Why Riven will Always Get the Short End of the Stick (A Riven Deep Dive/Rant)
One of the things that annoys me the most from the original Winx Club is how Riven is pretty much reset every season to learn the same lesson over and over and over again.
This is because his scene in the Cloud Tower dungeons when he sees himself as a monster and decides to change is one of my fave in the series and probably my fave scene in all of season 1. So having him be reset was just… such a disservice to that awesome scene and to his character as a whole.
I think we can all agree that Riven could’ve been such an amazing and iconic character if he’d been allowed to slowly grow and if we’d seen him mature over the seasons.
So in this aspect… a part of me really likes Fate Riven. He’s an absolute ass and a bit biphobic but I like the possibility of taking this and allowing him to grow after his whole mess with Beatrix (I kinda loved the chaos of their relationship up until they got Dane involved).
The set up is there and we really see him try to move on in season 2 which I love. He still has his moments of being an ass, but through a few conversations with Sky and his bond with Musa we do see him trying to grow.
However, I would’ve loved to see him be more vulnerable. Sometimes it feels like instead of his own character he’s there to bounce off of Bea, Sky or Musa. I don’t know I just feel like he has a lot of potential but for some reason he just doesn’t feel like a complete character to me. Maybe this would’ve been fixed in season 3 but we’ll never know.
All in all he was one of my fave parts of Fate, especially in season 2. Whether he would’ve been allowed to keep his progress unlike his cartoon counterpart, we’ll never know.
I feel like the more mature setting actually kinda fits Riven. Though I’ll be the first to admit that the writers occasionally tried too hard to maintain his ‘bad boy’ image in season 1 and I cringed a few times at his lines.
But he was one of my fave parts of season 2. So overall I’d say that, in a way, Fate actually improved Riven ever so slightly.
Bea Could’ve Saved the Show, BUT- (A Beatrix Rant)
So, I love Bea. She was my fave character in Fate, she’s just a chaotic gremlin and quite frankly she deserved better.
Her dynamics with Riven, Stella and Bloom were excellent. I love how manipulative she is, it makes her vulnerable moments all the better. When she goes to the Winx dorm crying to ask Stella to hang out but gets rejected and she just looks on at the group having fun like an outsider… That scene got me.
It’s a little confusing how she goes from menace in season 1 to kinda a teacher’s pet in season 2 but it kinda makes sense and she does become a menace again so it’s cool.
I both love and hate her ending. I love her constantly switching sides, being unpredictable, turning around last minute and going ‘I just saved the world, feels pretty great to be a fucking hero’, I love that concept but I hate her just being thrown away and killed like she hadn’t been carrying the show.
I don’t think they saw the amount of potential that Bea had, personally I would watch an entire show all about Bea. Them just killing her shows me that she was only really a plot device to the writers, a way to introduce her mysterious sisters. And I hate that.
Bea was the wildcard of Fate, the character plenty of us thought we’d hate but that ended up being a diamond in the rust. She was cunning and had the best of all the Trix, Darcy’s plot line with Riven and her manipulation, Stormy’s powers and chaotic energy, Icy’s ambition, personality and charisma. 
Quite frankly, she’s probably the character with the most depth and motivations. She’s the most interesting. 
And they killed her off for shock value.
I hate that we lost the Trix’s dynamic and different personalities but for me personally Bea was worth it, she was an awesome character who deserved to be in a better series. But yeah… I love Bea but even she wasn’t enough to save this shit show.
Why Flora Mattered (A Flora Deep Dive/Rant)
Disclaimer, I am very much biased here, even more than before cause Flora was always my favorite Winx. Now with that out of the way…
I think one of the reasons that Flora mattered so much is that she was never shamed for being very feminine. Flora was a cottage core, soft hearted, kind, soft spoken young girl who was still allowed to be strong and a badass. She was never made more ‘masculine’ to show her being strong. Her transformations always involved skirts and dresses, bright pinks, long flowy hair, bracelets and necklaces and cute tiaras. 
She was never shamed for her girlieness nor stereotyped as someone overly shy. Flora could have a few shy moments but they were pretty rare in the large scheme of things.
She was shown to be incredibly smart, especially in seasons 1 and 2 with her love of potions. Flora gives the girls a lot of support and a safe place but we also see her be vulnerable and insecure, but she never changes her girliness nor does she feel the need to ‘grow out of her girly traits’ to gain confidence or confront her fears, she also doesn’t feel the need to ‘toughen up’ keeping her soft heart throughout the entire series.
I love this. I loved that Flora was so soft but never shamed or considered ‘weak’ for it. She mattered cause she was there for the more sensitive girls. The more introverted, soft spoken girls.
The girly girls that can still be just as strong and confident as any other woman despite loving pink and flowers and skirts. 
I think that’s a big part of why Flora matters. She’s allowed to be a heroine with a soft heart that is never forced into an angsty personality because of the events that occur around her. She’s a special kind of softness. She’s not the kindness that comes from naivety but the kindness that is forged in steel from tough experiences.
We eventually got Fate Flora but I don’t think she really captured the essence of OG Flora, she just doesn’t feel like the soft, introverted, gentle soul we know. 
She feels a little… full of herself? In a way?
I won’t talk much about Fate Flora cause I can’t truly put my finger on what it is that just throws me off about her.
But I’m pissed that they truly thought they could get away with tossing Flora to the side, cause we all know they only included her in season 2 to try and save their asses.
Because soft, sensitive girls deserve to see themselves represented without the whole ‘break-out-of-your-shell-and-become-more-wild arc’. Because soft girls can be complete and happy without becoming party animals. That was what Flora was to me. That’s why she mattered so much to me personally growing up.
That is why Flora mattered.
Why Helia and Timmy Mattered: A Retrospective Look at Soft Boys (A Helia and Timmy Deep Dive/Rant)
Now, I am honestly glad that Helia and Timmy weren’t included because they would’ve botched it.
So, I always adored Helia but, looking back on him and Timmy now I almost find them surprising that these two were incorporated into the show the way that they were.
Helia was the definition of a soft boy, he was into poetry and art, he wore loose shirts, had long hair, was soft spoken, loved to meditate and was introduced as a pacifist, but he was also a Specialist. Something I really liked was that instead of a sword he had his strings which incorporated his way of being a pacifist into his Specialist gear.
There were never jokes about him being Helia being gay and he was portrayed as attractive, the second Flora meets him she’s already blushing and giggling. Helia is a poet, a sensitive boy in a school filled with soldiers and warriors, but they rarely make fun of him for it, and when they do it clearly is meant to be in a teaseful way amongst friends. And we see the boys go to him for advise.
And then we have Timmy. Timmy is a nerd. He has a laser gun instead of a sword and is more of a pilot and tech guy. He’s shy and socially awkward, lanky, and his portrayl is very dorky.
In season 2 we see him doubt himself as a Specialist when he can’t stop the Trix, the same happens in season 4 when he is chasing Anagan.
But we see that at his core, Timmy is an incredibly courageous person. He goes after Anagan even when he’s doubting himself. The boys may tease him occasionally but they never treat him as an outsider and in fact try to help him, even when it backfires, it’s done from a desire to help their friend.
Timmy may consider himself as the weak one, but he is never portrayed as the weak link in the Specialists. We see that his role is a crutial one. 
In season 3 we see him break down when he thinks that Tecna is dead, but his tears and despair are never considered to be ‘weak’ or ‘exaggerated’.
We see all the boys break down at the end of season 4.
And that is something important. Especially for a cartoon  in the 2010′s.
Seeing soft and dorky boys be portrayed as heroes was a great thing that we shouldn’t forget.
The Winx Club never revolved around the Specialists, they could’ve all been just the generic hero, but we see the small difference between Sky, Riven and Brandon and then we get Timmy and Helia who are completely different and not what you’d first think off when you think ‘heroes in training’.
This is an extension of Flora’s softness and kindness never being something that she is ashamed of or for.
Helia is allowed to be a poet and to love meditating and to be a bit of a pacifist whilst still being strong and a hero in his own right. Saving Flora in his introduction and Sky later in season 2. He is never shamed for being the sensitive one.
Timmy has a lot of self-doubt. But he is allowed to grow, he is allowed to be a nerd and dorky and socially awkward whilst still being a fundamental part of the group. His intelligence is portrayed as an advantage not a freak trait. He may be teased for being the nerdy one from time to time but he is never bullied or shamed for it.
And they are both allowed to have good love stories. Helia and Flora, two gentle souls that find each other and are like Snow on the Beach, falling for each other at the first time.
Then we have Timmy and Tecna, where it seems that Timmy falls first but doesn’t know how to act and Tecna always cares about him but seems to catch feelings a bit later on. That it takes them a long time to officially become something because they are both unconventional in their own way. And when they go on a date and feel stressed they decide ‘Screw doing this the traditional and ‘normal’ way, we’re doing it our own way’.
From what we see in Fate, I can tell they much prefer angsty characters. And Helia and Timmy would never have been allowed to be soft.
We saw 2 kinda soft boys in Fate. Dane who was just… a bit of a train wreck to me. He was an ass to Terra and was just super weird with Bea and Riven and was just willing to go along with whatever Bea said and then we have Sam who I wouldn’t exactly describe as a soft boy and well… he almost killed someone in season 2 so… yeah. He’s just boring and with zero depth to me.
If they’d been in Fate Helia would probably be emo or very angsty and Timmy would probably have been bullied a lot more. So I’m glad they weren’t included at all.
Because soft and sensitive boys shouldn’t be erased. They are important, especially when the stigma against them is still kinda strong. 
We need this in the media, we need to see boys loving poetry and being proud to be a bit dorky and nerdy. We need to see boys crying and breaking down and not being ashamed or shamed for it. We need boys that are absolutely in love and not be teased for it.
Angsty boys can be fun to watch, but soft boys are also important. We need more of them.
The Forgotten Protectors (A Brandon and Nabu Rant)
When I think about it, I think that Brandon as a character, at his core, is a protector. He is Sky’s squire and is willing to trade places to keep him safe. He tries to keep Stella safe, is willing to risk his life to get Sky back in season 3 and well… he’s a Specialist so this is clearly what he loves.
Brandon was always a support character, he’s never really given a lot of backstory or traits outside of being a dedicated Specialist, being charismatic and sometimes flirty and caring deeply about his friends and Stella.
Brandon is a fun character not because of his depth but because he’s just a great guy. He’s charismatic, definitely an optimist and cracks jokes in the middle of a fight. When Timmy struggles over why Tecna is mad at him, Brandon is randomly punching the air and offers him hair product.
I would classify him as a himbo. 
Brandon worked as this protector character, especially since not many of the Specialists had a lot of depth. And I always loved him,
So I’m glad he wasn’t in Fate cause, again, they would have erased his optimism and just, slightly goofy instances for an angstier attitude.
To me, Brandon’s main purpose in the show was to be a protector and a friend. He was the voice of reasons amongst the boys, especially in seasons 1 and 2. He’s there for his friends and would do anything for them.
I think Brandon could have perhaps benefitted from a more mature setting, mainly to get more depth but I think the Fate writers would’ve fucked it up. I don’t think they could handle having a non-angst, let alone an optimistic character.
Then we have Nabu, our second forgotten protector. I call him a protector mainly due to his sacrifice in season 4. All I have to say is… Nabu was a fun character. He was a bit weird in the beginning but we got to see he was calm, had extreme trust in Aisha.
We only had him for a season so I really don’t have much to say about him other than… I cannot see any iteration of Nabu working with Fate Aisha. I just don’t.
I can’t see either of them in Fate not just because they’d be fucked over but also just because I can’t see their characters fitting the ambience.
I don’t know why but to me Brandon and Nabu just emanate happy calm vibes and I can’t see that working with Fate’s desperate need for shitty angst.
Why Tecna is Often Discarded and Why She Shouldn’t Be (A Tecna Deep Dive/Rant)
I think most of us can agree that Tecna is neurodivergent coded. Most consider her to be autistic.
In the OG, Tecna rarely gets to be the center of attention, but when she does, man does she shine. I love Tecna because her arc throughout the seasons isn’t necessarily about changing to fit in, but it’s more about growing into yourself if that makes sense.
Tecna doesn’t change her personality or who she is, she doesn’t try to mask how she is. The only thing she really does is working on expressing her emotions and showing that she cares about her friends, but this doesn’t equal her changing or suppressing her quirks and more neurodivergent tendencies, which I think is just beautiful.
I think that’s a great example on how to write an autistic character growing into themselves (though I myself am not autistic so feel free to correct me on that if you have feelings about Tecna being seen as autistic),
In season 3, we see the way the club literally falls apart when they think she’s dead. We see that they love her and when Tecna reunites with Bloom in Omega, she is crying cause she knew that her friends would find her.
This is the moment that cemented for me that these girls would truly go to the end of the world for each other.
Those episodes in season 3 may be some of the best, and my favorites, in the entire series. 
Tecna is the character that is underrated, and who some may believe doesn’t add much to the story, but when she’s gone it hits you like holy shit, in a way she is the glue of the group.
She may not always be the voice of reason but the girls know to always listen to her cause when she’s determined to figure something out, she will do just that. They know that they can count on her.
She is a pillar in the group, just as much as the other girls, even if the show doesn’t always give her a spotlight, we know that it’s true.
And… Fate just threw her out the window.
The fucking disrespect.
I personally think they just didn’t want to be bother with a complex character like Tecna.
I just… I hate that they couldn’t even be bothered to try while another part of me is glad that they didn’t ruin her with an angsty hacker take on her.
But my girl deserved better.
Anyways, on to the final section…
How Fate Failed To Capture the Essence of the Winx Club
How Fate Forgot the Most Important Aspect of the Winx Club: Friendship Amongst Young Women
The final section is something I’ve already touched on a bit but, in Fate, the girls aren’t friends. They barely feel like decent roommates.
I will never forgive the way they disregarded Stella and Bloom’s beautiful bond. They were each other’s person, they were bonded for life and truly they were just THE besties ya know?
And Fate just made them into competitors. There is not a single moment in the entire two seasons that they felt like friends, let alone besties. I cannot picture OG Bloom and Stella EVER acting like their Fate counterparts. Like my girls would rather die than do each other dirty like that.
Then we have Aisha. In the OG Aisha had 2 amazing bonds, Musa and Flora. We all know how big SonicWave is. Musa and Aisha immediately connected, they went clubbing and got into a bit of trouble together and Musa was the first to really understand Aisha’s backstory, and we see Musa trust Aisha with her boy problems.
Aisha and Flora feel like besties, they’re there for each other and have casual chats in the middle of the night.
With Stella, especially in season 4, Aisha and Stella can but heads from time to time but they know that their friendship will always prevail because all the girls are bonded for life.
None of that is present in Fate. In Fate when they butted heads I couldn’t care less. I just wanted to slap Stella because she was being a bitch and I was annoyed by Aisha. She doesn’t really interact with Musa and Terra isn’t Flora so it doesn’t work. And she and Bloom don’t feel like friends. Not really.
There is no Fate Tecna so we have no chance to get the amazing chemistry between Musa and Tecna, those two were perfect as besties, they just worked so well. 
It’s just… so many amazing bonds and friendships and dynamics all thrown away for the sake of angst, drama and useless conflict. 
The event that sets into motion the entire story of the Winx Club is Bloom running into Stella and choosing to help her. It’s Stella deciding to help this girl she just met get into Alfea because they just immediately bond and that’s who Stella is.
The very first time the girls hang out, when Bloom is attacked, the other girls don’t hesitate to join in on the fight to save Bloom, not necessarily because they’re close at this point but because all these girls would never just stand back when something like this is going on. But as their friendships and bonds grow, we quickly see that they are all ride or die.
They don’t fight over boys, if they tease or take things too far, they apologize. They may but heads and get into fights but they know (and we know) that their friendship will always prevail.
In Fate… they’re not even friends, let alone besties, let alone ride or die besties that would go to the ends of the world for each other.
All of those bonds and friendships are just… nonexistent .
How can Fate claim to be an adaptation of the Winx Club when they throw away the most important aspect of the show?
In the show, friendships always take center stage, romances always felt like sideplots or add ons, not the main drama, or they were rarely the main drama. And when romance was the main drama, there would be an inevitable scene of the girls comforting each other. (Stella comforting Bloom. Tecna, Bloom and Stella comforting Flora about Crystal. Musa letting out her frustrations about Riven with Aisha. The girls helping prepare Tecna for a date, etc.)
Friendship was the bloodline of Winx Club. And Fate somehow… missed that.
I’m too tired and frustrated to make an actual outro and I’ve been working on this for literal weeks so… that… is the end.
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whumpsday · 1 year
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Kane & Jim BBU AU #3: Erased
Previous / Kane & Jim AUs Masterlist
content: bbu, pet whump, rescue, recovery, caretaking, amnesia, whumper turned whumpee, starvation
takes place 10 years after Liz rescues 913/Jim. don't forget to read ⭐ this drabble ⭐ taking place between #2 and #3 first!!
@bbu-on-the-side BBU Community Days #13: Safety
-
Jim was a person. He'd been a person for almost ten years, now. It was hard at first, but he was used to it by now.
He couldn't legally work, but he'd been helping out where he could. In a way, he was still doing the same things he did as a domestic, just by choice this time, for his family. He was good at it, and even if he wasn't a fan of all of it, he liked cooking. Liz told him he'd always liked cooking, even before. He had no problem believing that. He even did some odd jobs around the neighborhood that worked in cash, babysitting and mowing lawns and shoveling snow.
He wasn't as involved in the pet lib stuff as she was. It scared him, even after he'd started being able to stand up to the voice in the back of his head that repeated everything his handlers told him. Too risky.
Life wasn't a constant walk on eggshells anymore. He still got scared sometimes, or fell into his old conditioning, but he was safe. He was free.
So when Jim was out grocery shopping, he almost dropped his basket when he saw him.
There, right down the aisle. He'd know that face anywhere. Practically the only face he saw for the first five years of his memorable life.
He almost bolted right away, but something was... off. Master didn't look like how he usually did. Gone were the expensive suits and bitter scowl, replaced with plain clothing and an anxious frown.
He was wearing a collar.
Jim ducked into the next aisle, watching him through the gaps in the shelves. There was no way, right? Master- Kane was wildly rich. He'd have no need to sell himself to WRU.
But Kane went missing years ago. No one knew where he was, or what had happened to him.
He watched Kane further, looking down at a list and plucking items off the shelves, eyebrows bunched together with nerves. Jim had never seen Kane look this... unsure of himself.
There was a barcode on his wrist too, sure enough. It wasn't clear enough to make out from this far, but he could see the number, something with a 4 in it.
He wondered if Kane's owner gave him a name.
It was stupid, Jim knew. But he had to. He couldn't just leave, not after seeing this.
Jim hesitantly approached, ready to run at any time. "Master?" he asked, voice coming out smaller than he'd have liked.
Kane turned, eyeing him up and down, only growing more tense. "My master sent me to do his shopping, sir." He shrunk away slightly, as if afraid Jim would hurt him after finding out he was alone.
"Do you remember me?" Jim blurted out, despite already knowing the answer.
"I'm sorry, sir." Kane's hands gripped the cart's handle tight, like it would protect him. "I'm- I'm bad at- at everything. I'm so sorry."
Of course Kane thought Jim was a person. He had taken care to remove every last trace of his tattoo, though the marks on his neck from the collar wouldn't go away, even after a decade. But Kane wouldn't be able to see that under his turtleneck.
"It's alright," he said softly. The words 913 had wanted to hear so, so badly. "I'm Jim. I knew you before."
That certainly got Kane's attention. "I'm- my designation is 110146. Do you mean... before I was a pet, sir?"
"Yeah." Jim could fully take stock of Kane's state, now that he was standing close. Dark circles ringed his eyes, bruises poked out from under his sleeve. He looked thinner than Jim had ever seen him, to the point it was obvious he wasn't being allowed enough food. And-
Something that looked like a knife mark, barely visible above his neckline.
"Yours hurts you?" Jim asked.
Kane seemed to study him, searching for a shred of mocking for a moment. He found none. "Master can do as he likes with his pet," he settled on.
Jim stepped closer, lowering his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "Mine did, too." His heart raced at the revelation. He hadn't told anyone outside of pet lib about his past, ever. And here he was telling Kane, of all people.
Kane glanced at his wrist again, but of course he found nothing. "Yours, sir?" he asked.
Jim tugged his collar down for a moment, revealing the faint outline of a collar that had scarred itself permanently into his skin. "Mine."
Kane's eyes widened. "Oh."
"You wanna get out of here?" Jim extended a hand toward Kane, even as every logical bone in his body screamed at him that he was being a careless idiot, throwing his life away for someone who never cared.
Kane looked around wildly. "I can't just- Master would be furious."
"Life can be better than this. I promise." Jim kept his arm extended. "No more hurting. And I can get you a good meal."
Kane stood there frozen for a long moment, just staring at him, before he broke down in quiet tears. He forced himself to nod. "I- I- Thank you."
He reached forward and took Jim's hand uncertainly, bony fingers wrapping around Jim's own.
"You're doing great," Jim encouraged. Despite a lifetime of resentment, all he could see was the terrified boxie in front of him now. Kane couldn't even remember how cruel he used to be. He couldn't even remember his own name. "Just try and calm down a little. You're gonna be okay."
Kane clung to Jim's forearm like a lifeline. "Yes, s-sir."
Jim tried to calm himself down, too. Having Kane on him like this flipped a switch in his brain that told him to cower and placate, that he was about to be hurt. But he managed to repress it, with some effort. He'd had a lot of practice over the years.
When Kane got himself to stop crying and wiped the tears from his eyes, he nodded. "Thank you for- for being patient with me. I'm ready."
"Good," Jim said approvingly. "I'm just gonna check out what I've got in my basket, and you can follow behind me and pretend to be... you know. We'll get outta here without a second look from anyone. Just follow my lead."
Kane did spare a glance for his nearly-full shopping cart, but nodded agreeably anyway. "Yes, sir."
God, that was still so weird.
Jim eyed the meat section they'd met in. Kane always loved steak. He couldn't afford the fancy stuff he used to make as Kane's pet, but he grabbed a cheap, on-sale cut and threw it in his basket.
"By the way, your name's Kane. Kane de Sang."
-
There was no issue getting out of the supermarket, and Six- Kane, now, or maybe again- followed behind Jim like his life depended on it. Jim from before. He wanted to offer to carry the bags, but he didn't. He didn't want to do anything to disrupt what was happening, this miraculous whisking-away.
He was being so bad. Master would be beyond furious. Master would punish him worse than he'd ever been punished before. But Six was so tired. He had no idea what was in store for him here, but it had to be better than back home.
Jim led him to an apartment building, opening the door and ushering him inside. "I'm home!" he called, setting the groceries down on the kitchen counter. He turned to Six and gestured toward the couch. "Have a seat there," he ordered, his voice gentle.
"Yes, sir. Thank you." Six sat, grateful for the simple, easy-to-follow order.
"We don't have a lot of extra space, so you're gonna be sleeping on the couch, sorry. I'm just gonna go explain what's going on to my sister. Don't worry, she's with us-"
"What the fuck!" a woman shouted as she came out from one of the rooms. She glared at Six, bolting protectively in front of Jim.
Six pressed himself back against the couch, putting his arms up in surrender. "I'm s-sorry, ma'am, I'm so sorry, I thought- he said-" He cut himself off with a sob. He was so stupid to go along with this, breaking the rules. He didn't even know why this woman was angry with him, but at least with Master he knew what to expect. He didn't know how to please these new people. How could he have thought this would work? "I'm sorry!"
Jim placed a hand on her shoulder. "Liz, it's okay."
"You can't have him!" the woman called Liz shouted at Six with a glare, only confusing him further.
"I don't- Ma'am, I'm so sorry, I don't understand!" Six cried.
"Liz." Jim stepped out from behind her and, to Six's great relief, got between the two of them. "Look at him for two seconds. Like actually look."
Liz listened, even though Jim was sort-of-a-pet. Her eyes lingered on Six's collar.
"He doesn't even remember," Jim continued.
Liz eyed him warily. "You're a boxie? You?"
"Yes, ma'am," Six answered, still pressed back into the couch. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize that- that my presence here would be a detriment. I could go back?" He could still make it back to the grocery store and home with the shopping. Master would punish his lateness, but it would be far better than a punishment for an attempted escape.
"You're not going back," Jim said so firmly that Six couldn't possibly argue with him. He turned to the woman. "He's just another rescue. Could we host him? I just- I gotta make sure myself. That he's taken care of."
Another? he wondered.
"You sure? You don't have to deal with him again if you don't wanna. There's plenty of people who'd be willing to safehouse. He's put you through enough."
Six's stomach dropped. When Jim said he knew him before, Six had thought he meant they were friendly. Why would someone he's been enemies with help him?
"I'm sure." Jim stepped forward and gestured toward Six. "Liz, this is Kane. Kane, this is my sister, Liz. Neither of us are gonna hurt you. You're safe now."
Six- Kane, he was Kane now, he had to remember- bowed his head. "It's nice to meet you, ma'am."
Liz wouldn't stop looking at Kane like he was a bomb that could go off at any moment. "We've met," she said coldly.
"C'mon, be nice. He can't even remember," Jim pointed out.
Liz sighed. "Yeah, sorry, you're right." Her gaze softened. "It's good to meet you too, Kane." She headed to the kitchen. "I'll put the groceries away before I head to work."
"Thanks. I'll save you leftovers." Jim sat next to him. "So, you got any questions? I know this is a lot, believe me. I've been through it, too."
"What will be expected of me here, sir?" Kane asked. That was the most important thing. He couldn't do what he was supposed to without knowing what it was first. "What will my duties be?"
"First, you can just rest and recover. It's been a while since you've had a break, I bet, and you look like a strong gust of wind could blow you over. Take a breather. Once you're better, we can split work around the house and some odd jobs I do in the neighborhood, which is mostly just stuff you know how to do anyway. Domestic stuff. If there's anything I want you to do, I'll let you know, so don't worry about trying to guess."
Kane nodded, a bit nervous about not having duties to fulfill. He wanted to make a good impression.
"I mean, I assume you're a domestic, 'cause you were doing the shopping. Unless I'm wrong...?" Jim asked cautiously.
"I am, sir," Kane assured him.
Jim gave him a wry smile. "I was, too."
Liz bopped Jim on the head as she passed by. "See you later. Uh, have fun." She stopped for a moment, looking at Kane quizzically. "Can I see your shoulder for a sec?" she asked, pointing at his right.
"Liz-"
"Yes, ma'am." Kane pulled the neck of his shirt down, exposing the scar there.
She brushed her fingertips against it, gentler than he'd thought she would be. "Does it hurt?"
"Only sometimes, ma'am, when I strain my shoulder too much. But usually not. I've always had it," he reported.
Liz tapped the scar. "I did that." She stepped back.
"Oh." Kane had been told it was a bullet wound. This woman had shot him? Why? Was she going to do it again? His mind raced with fear.
"I don't regret doing it. But I'm sorry it still hurts." Liz nodded at him before leaving the apartment.
Jim shook his head. "She's too much." He stood up. "Let's go to the kitchen. I'll make your favorite. 'Cept I can't get the fancy stuff like you used to get, but I hope you like it anyway."
Food. Kane was going to be allowed a meal, that was what Jim had said, instead of just the scraps. "Thank you so much, sir."
"No problem." Jim led him to the kitchen and indicated for Kane to sit as he started preparing food. It felt wrong. Kane was the pet, he was supposed to be doing the chores. But Jim said he wasn't supposed to yet, so he didn't.
"Any other questions?" Jim asked as he worked.
"What are the rules?" Kane ventured, trying to suppress a shudder as Jim picked up the knife. But he didn't come at Kane with it, he just started peeling a potato.
"Don't hurt anyone or destroy other people's stuff on purpose. Don't go tattling to WRU, obviously. Pretty much as long as you're not hurting anyone, no one's gonna have an issue with you. No discipline. You don't have to be scared of messing up. And you're allowed to want stuff."
It sounded far too good to be true. "Okay," he said, a bit choked up with emotion. "Please let me know if it's rude to ask, but when- when you first got away, was it easy for you, sir?"
Jim paused for a moment, then continued. Kane tensed, worried he'd offended his... new master? But Jim just kept talking. "It wasn't. I was all messed up. I was happy to be out, but I had no idea how to be my own person. And shit was... complicated with Liz. She kept expecting me to be someone I wasn't anymore. And I missed- my master, sometimes. He wasn't good to me, but he was everything I knew. And there were good times too, mixed in with the bad. So it made everything real complicated. But it all worked out eventually. I'm... actually happy now. I'm not the guy I was before, but I'm better." He smiled at Kane.
Kane didn't think he would ever miss his master. There weren't good times too. It was just pain and fear. "I'm glad you're happy now, sir."
"Me, too."
As Jim cooked, it was hard for Kane to restrain himself. When he cooked, he made use of everything he had. Potato peels that he would have eaten raw as he worked were dumped in the trash. He wondered if he would get in trouble for digging those out later. It wasn't against the rules, as far as Jim's description of them went.
At last, dinner was ready. Jim brought over two plates, piled high with food, and set one in front of Kane. He could hardly believe it.
"This is all for me?" he asked, just to make sure.
Jim's eyes fixated on him, watching intently for his reaction. "Yep, dig in."
Kane cut off a bite of meat, practically melting at its delicious taste. It was more than that- it tasted... familiar, somehow.
"Do you like it?" Jim prompted, an anxious look in his eyes that Kane knew all too well in his own. Seeking approval.
"It's the best thing I've ever tasted," he said emphatically.
Jim beamed, picking up his own fork. "I'm glad."
Kane had never eaten this much at once in his life. Everything was so good, better than anything he'd ever been able to make. When he'd finished his plat, he felt full for once, full with food he was allowed to have. It was the best feeling in the world.
"I- I'm sorry if I've wronged you," Kane said. "I didn't know. Thank you for helping me anyway."
Jim stared at him with an unreadable expression. "Oh." He shook his head. "Yeah, I mean, yeah. 'Course. You're pretty much not even the same guy."
A sneaking suspicion had been creeping up on Kane, and he was growing more and more certain of it by the minute, no matter how much he hoped it wasn't true. "Was I...?" He touched his own collar.
Jim glanced away. "Yeah."
Mine did, too. Jim said his master hit him, too. Had Kane been just like Master, but to Jim? Was that why Jim was so anxious for his approval? That's who he was before, that was Kane de Sang?
"I'm sorry," he said again, now feeling the weight of what he'd done. "You didn't deserve that. You're so kind."
Jim wiped at the tears starting to form in his eyes. "Thanks. I never thought I'd- thanks."
"Sir?" he asked, since this seemed to be going well. "You said I was... allowed to want things?"
"Yeah. You're allowed," Jim confirmed.
"I don't think I want to be Kane de Sang anymore."
-
in canon, liz has a good-sized 3-bedroom house, because housing by the vampire territory border is dirt cheap since no one wants to live there. in a world without vampires, i am whisking their comfortable house away. apartment be upon ye
and that's the final part of this AU miniseries! hope you enjoyed!
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taglist in reblog!
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zwy01 · 3 months
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Noble OCs - Volo
More OCs from one of my four original noble clans, the Volo! They are the Clan of the Healers and their current Clan Leader is Zephyrus Volo, whose heir is his daughter Azurine Volo. Their clan’s soul weapon is crystal ball Octavio.
For complete info please check out the link below:
(Just a quick note, everyone is a noble here. There are no hybrids. In my headcanons “pureblood” and “non-pureblood” are just terms that nobles use with each other to broadly describe how affiliated someone is with their own clan. And I say “broadly” because there is much more to it and I think it deserves a post of its own. For now “pureblood” can be seen as a “strong enough and qualified to inherit the clan’s soul weapon and become Clan Leader” and “non-pureblood” as “an ordinary clan member” kind of thing. And being either has little to do with lineage and more of just the individual itself. Again, definitely posting more on that in the future)
Straight to the characters.
Hyacinthus Volo: Non-pureblood. Father/soul fragment donor of Ludis Mergas, husband/lover/friend (?) of Valentina Mergas. Alive in the present day, belongs to the Previous Lord’s generation.
Hyacinthus used to work under Zephyrus’ predecessor, the previous Volo Clan Leader, as one of the many Volo antidote researchers. He got kicked out eventually because he kept messing things up. He did things like throwing out his colleagues’ work-in-progress vials and potions because he thought they were trash, forgetting to do his part thus causing a failed experiment and indirectly forcing everyone back to square one, accidentally knocking over precious ingredients, setting the old records on fire… etc. Hyacinthus got a job as a scribe instead because that was the only thing they could count on him for. Despite his occasional sloppiness and forgetfulness, his fellow researchers couldn’t bring themselves to be annoyed with him for too long because he is a cheerful and amiable man. Outside of work, he is a great friend. His presence alone is enough to lighten gloomy moods and his friends sometimes compare him to a clear blue sky on a beautiful sunny day. Hyacinthus is neither extrovert nor introvert, instead something in between. He doesn’t need to socialize on a regular basis, but he never declines invitations. He’s “that” person nobles with little to no friends would always invite to their parties and events because they can count on him to show up. As a result, Hyacinthus is always busy. Want a hiking buddy? Will be there for ya. Don’t have a dancing partner? Sure can rearrange my plans. Just want someone to vent to? Will give plenty of hugs too. For this reason, Hyacinthus has a powerful network of friends who are more than willing to help him because the effort is mutual. Mostly weirdo friends because he’s one of the only people who would accept them for who they are, but normal friends too. He gets mountains of gifts piled at his doorstep and they still keep coming in. Hyacinthus is humble and tells his friends that they don’t need to give him anything, but they insist on showing their appreciation for him.
Hyacinthus’ hobby is button making. Buttons for clothes, buttons for toys, buttons for collection… just lots of buttons. He carves them from coconut shells, fruit pits, wood, and other common materials. He makes a button whenever there is a special occasion to keep for himself or to give away as a gift. Hyacinthus makes one for his son Ludis’ birthday every year and Ludis has a treasure box full of them. Each one of them has a unique design, and Hyacinthus continues this tradition for his grandchildren.
No one really knows what his exact relationship with Valentina is. They seem to be more than friends but there is no solid answer. Valentina doesn’t answer when questioned and Hyacinthus just says “guess”. Well, that’s going to remain a mystery for now. Hyacinthus misses Valentina very much since the day she entered eternal sleep with the Previous Lord. He too makes a button for her every year on the day they said their final goodbyes to each other, which is the day she died.
Ludis gets the blueish tint in his grey hair from Hyacinthus.
Rurik Volo: Pureblood. Uncle of Zephyrus Volo, father of Malati Volo. Alive in the present day, belongs to Gejutel’s generation.
Rurik was supposed the be the next Volo Clan Leader after his predecessor and mother as her then-only child, but he detested the traditional Volo self-poisoning antidote-researching training regimen so much that his mother had no choice but to have another child because clearly he was not the one. The training regimen is absolutely mandatory and has been the tradition since the Volo Clan came into existence, and rejecting it means forfeiting your right to succeed the clan as the heir. So be it. The position of Clan Leader eventually went to Rurik’s younger sister, who is the mother of Zephyrus. Rurik didn’t want to work alongside ordinary clan members as a researcher either, and in the end his mother couldn’t find a job for him within the clan and he became unemployed. During his youth, Rurik couch surfed a lot and his friends all thought he got disowned or something, but he actually left home on his own accord because he was too ashamed to face his mother and family for failing to fulfill his destiny. He just couldn’t do it. The pain and self-harm is too much for him. He can’t even comprehend how his mother and all of the previous Clan Leaders were able to put themselves through such torture. Rurik’s little sister seems to be willing to do it, and while he is proud of her determination, he also feels sorry for her because he is the reason why she was born. As his replacement, because he chose to escape from his duty. She wouldn’t have needed to do this to herself if he had more courage. For this reason, Rurik can’t seem to look at her in the eye either. He ends up avoiding his mother, sister, and clan members, and became a basement dweller who rotated between the homes of his friends. Fortunately, as an extrovert, he had many friends and they were happy to host their troubled buddy. Rurik eventually finds his passion in music composition. He settles down in a place of his own, far away from the Volo’s main residence because he still can’t bring himself to face his family. In the present day, Rurik writes music for Lukedonia. His work all sound sad, for some reason. Stunning and graceful, but sprinkled with melancholy.
Rurik is a decent fighter and has an extensive knowledge of buff and debuff spells. Despite leaving home at a young age, he worked very hard and secretly taught himself how to use magic as a Volo because he didn’t want to ask anyone for help as he was too embarrassed to do so. He doesn’t even know how impressive this is and continues to think of himself as a loser.
At some point, Rurik had his daughter Malati with an unnamed noble, presumably one of his friends who hosted him during his couch surfing days.
Aeron Volo: Non-pureblood. Alive in the present day, belongs to Raskreia’s generation. No one really likes Aeron. He’s full of negativity and brings that unpleasantness with him wherever he goes. His shortcomings are always the fault of others, and his life is miserable because the world is against him. Aeron has a normal family and his parents did everything they could for him, but he turned out like this anyway. Aeron ends up offending almost everyone around him and he has no friends. He never fulfills the promises he makes, he invalidates people’s achievements, and even goes as far as to say that his Clan Leader Zephyrus’ daughter and heir Azurine doesn’t deserve to become the next Volo Clan Leader just because she “ingests poison” and “makes cuts on her arms”. Anyone can do that. This would enrage his fellow clan members and if Aeron is lucky, he gets an intense scolding. If he is unlucky, he gets a violent beating. Only after they dare him take the poison Azurine takes on a regular basis does he learn that she is doing something incredibly selfless for the greater good of all nobles. Aeron almost dies, and drops to the floor screaming and writhing in pain until they give him the antidote. You thought that was bad enough? That’s not even a third of Azurine’s daily dose. And the antidote to this poison only exists because she put herself through this pain in order to analyze what it does to the body to come up with countermeasures. Aeron finally realizes how much of a fool he was. He’s still unpleasant at times, but he has been humbled and no longer speaks like that about people, especially his future Clan Leader. Aeron’s issues aren’t completely gone yet, but at least he doesn’t invalidate people’s achievements anymore. He even starts to develop a sense of admiration for Azurine. Eventually, with hard work, Aeron discovers that he has some talent for debuff spells. Turns out his nastiness was rooted in his insecurities all along, and hey, he’s not completely useless either.
Aeron is currently training to become a knight, and hopes to become strong so he can serve his future Clan Leader, the Lord, and Lukedonia well.
Esther Volo: Non-pureblood. Entered eternal sleep, belonged to Lagus’ generation. Esther was an eccentric woman. She had a conspicuous sharp-pitched giggle and an unusual obsession with scissors and cutting things up. Her clothes, the curtains, the books on the shelves, the flowers on the hillside… even herself. More like she found pleasure in ruining things and then returning them to their original state like nothing had ever happened. This just felt so romantic to Esther and she never had any other hobby. She cooed and baby talked to things as she cut them up. The vibrations that traveled from the scissors blades to her hands with each and every snip excited her more than anything else. The more the material resisted, the more ecstatic she became. Eventually Esther moved onto cutting off pieces of her own face, fingers, and even legs. Slicing her own cheeks off was just as fun as feeling her femur split into two. Her delicate, soft fingers were nice as additional decorations to the flowers in her vase. Gives it an extra pop of color. And that’s what being a Volo meant to her. She’d just use healing spells on herself. Rinse and repeat. With inanimate objects, she used basic restoration spells. The nobles were aware of Esther’s obsession and most stayed away from her, as they were scared and suspected that she would cut them up too. Those were just assumptions, of course, because Esther never messed with other people or their belongings. She only experimented on her own possessions and body. Reassuring to hear, but doesn’t make it any less creepy.
If Esther considered someone as her friend, she would invite them to her home and show them her massive scissors collection hanging on the wall, arranged by size from small to big. Those who didn’t run away became her best friends.
Esther wore poofy floor-length dresses throughout her lifetime and hid all sorts of scissors under layers of lace. Sometimes the nobles could hear the scissors clack against one another as she walked. She eventually entered eternal sleep because she had already cut up everything she could find in the world and had nothing exciting to look forward to anymore.
Malati Volo: Pureblood. Daughter of Rurik Volo, and cousin of Zephyrus Volo. Alive in the present day, belongs to the Previous Lord’s generation.
Malati is confident and imaginative. As a child, she always went around asking “why?” to every question she could think of. The adults thought she was just another curious child, but in no time it became apparent that she was dead serious about it. Malati didn’t want to live at home with her less-than-confident father Rurik who somehow always avoided her questions, and sometime during her teenage years, she moved to Titus Paradiso’s library tower Minerva and has lived there ever since. Malati misses her father, but knows better than to hold back her true potential to keep him company… plus, he seems more interested in his music anyway. He wouldn’t miss her, it’s okay. Or so she thought, because she was a bit saddened when he didn’t really have a reaction when she announced that she was going to move out. Well, she’s better off chasing her dreams than staying at home with such a mood killer. In a way, Professor Titus felt more like a father figure to Malati, as he would always be brimming with enthusiasm whenever the two of them talked about newest discoveries. Titus and Malati have a close relationship, and when the former’s twins Anabella and Anastasia are born sometime in the future, Malati becomes family to them. The twins call her “Auntie”.
Malati’s current goal is to figure out exactly how two soul fragments merge together to create a new soul, which is the nobles’ way of having children. The old records don’t offer any clear explanation either. The nobles only know that it happens, not how. The mechanism behind it remains a mystery to this day. Malati wants to get her hands on a physical soul fragment so she can dissect it or something, if that is even possible at all. Maybe she’ll eventually discover a way for nobles to have children through soul fragments without having their lifespans reduced so parents can spend more time with their children. Perhaps it is ambitious, but Malati is hopeful.
Eventually, Malati and her father Rurik reconcile with each other and it is revealed that the latter chose not to respond to his daughter’s questions because she was a brilliant child, and he was afraid that he would drag her down because he didn’t have the confidence to match her excellence. Rurik thought that Malati would be disappointed in him like the rest of his family since he was the failed heir. The two of them talk out their misunderstandings and share a tearful moment. Rurik asks Malati if she wants to move back home, which would become an offer she rejects gently because Minerva is her home now. Understandable for both father and daughter, so they exchange letters to keep in touch. Rurik sends Malati his newest sheet music, and she shares with him her research progress on various topics. While they don’t completely understand what each other is talking about, their exchanges are filled with affection.
Malati is currently working to find an antidote to reverse lifespan loss for nobles who had children.
Malati’s partner is a Paradiso scholar.
Thank you for reading and stay tuned for future posts!
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jeon-s-sins · 1 year
Text
Forbidden 1 | The Meeting
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Warning : jk!dom; reader!sub; fingering; eating pussy; sucking; spanking; degrading!names; dominant; public!sex; outdoor!sex; unprotected!sex; cumming!inside; client/waitress
Word count : 11.6k
Chapter's song : Ride - SoMo
n/a: English is not my first language, so there may be some mistakes that I missed while proofreading. Sorry for the delay in posting this first chapter, but it's been a few years since I wrote this story, and when I reread it before posting it here on Tumblr, I didn't like the result at all, so I rewrote it from scratch, which took me longer than I expected. Anyway, thanks for understanding, and I hope you enjoy this chapter, and I'll see you for the next ones. Enjoy reading it; please don't forget to vote and comment 😁.
Translations, republications, and rewritings of my stories are not allowed. Failure to comply with this request will result in legal action.
© Jeon_s_Sins
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Index
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Paradise Hotel Bar/Restaurant | 3:00 p.m. | YN's POV
During this summer vacation, and just like the previous ones, I worked to save money. Originally from Daegu, I am in one of Jeju Island's hugest hotels.
Paradise is one of the most popular Asian hotels for celebrities from all over the world. Actors, singers, businessmen, and even politicians stay on this heavenly island for a while. Last year, I had the great fortune and honor of taking a picture with Queen B herself. 
Beyoncé had just finished her world tour and, accompanied by her family, decided to spend a few days at the hotel. I work in the hotel's bar and restaurant as a waitress, and sometimes I have to take off my waitress apron and put on my barista apron and my bartender apron when we are short-staffed, or someone is unavailable. Beyoncé and her family were assigned to my area, and throughout the evening, I prayed to God that I wouldn't drop the tray, make a mistake with the order, or embarrass myself in front of them. 
It's crazy how people are made, or at least how society makes us act. Beyoncé is a woman like any other. The only thing distinguishing her from the other women on Earth is that she is talented, sings like a goddess, and is rich as Croesus. But the pressure I put on myself was immense. I still get sick to my stomach just thinking about it. 
But I am also lucky to be part of her world. I could even say I am on the same level as everyone in this hotel. My mom is a very famous fashion designer. Many celebrities wear my mother's clothes; some even wear clothes I designed, but no one knows, and I don't want them to know. So I hide behind my mother's name and let her take the credit. 
Contrary to what people might think, I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth. I have struggled a lot in my life. 
Before my mother became the person she is today, we were just ordinary people from Daegu, living in one of the many working-class neighborhoods in the area. Fortunately, when God created my mother, He gave her talent, determination, and strength. During those dark years of our lives, I would sometimes help my mom create pieces for her collections that, once she made a name for herself, she would show to the world after making a few minor changes. 
Looking back, it's incredible how much my life has changed these last seven years. I'm usually very private, and many colleagues don't know who my mother is. The only person who knows is Evie, another waitress I've managed to bond with. 
One day, as our first shift was ending and we were setting up tables for the next shift, taking advantage of the fact that it was just the two of us in the restaurant's large room, Evie asked me why I was working if my mother was a famous fashion designer. 
"To be honest, I don't like depending on my mom. My whole childhood, my mom raised me to depend on myself." I placed the knife on the right side of the plate and the fork on the left. "She always believed that you can't live off your creations. And if one day, for whatever reason, she would leave this world before me, I would only be able to rely on and depend on myself. So I guess if I'm working as a waitress today, that's my way of being independent". 
My independence only grew over the years after my mother's success. As she became both a stylist and a businesswoman, she was hardly ever at home, always traveling from one country to another. So I learned to make it on my own. But I don't blame her. On the contrary, if she is living her dream today, I know that the main motivation for her life change is me. 
My mother is a great woman. She is humble and has a heart on her sleeve. She has sacrificed so much for me, my education, and for me to have everything I need. Today, I fully understand her dedication to her work. This does not mean she is so focused on the work that she neglects me. Not at all, quite the opposite. 
We call each other almost every hour daily and talk a lot via messages and video calls. 
I'm also in awe of how easily she moves between her different lives. She goes from mother to businesswoman to girlfriend with ease. Also, her status will change in a short time. She will go from being a girlfriend to being a married woman. 
It has been a few years since my mother met a man, and they have a healthy relationship. Seeing her smile every time she mentions him always makes me happy. As for me, I haven't been around him much. 
My mother didn't want to impose her relationship on me. I know it's never easy for a child to see their mother - or father - in a relationship with someone other than their parent. So I saw him several times, and he seemed great. 
I know he has a son who is only a year older than me. Unlike his father, I've never seen him. But, like my mom, her boyfriend didn't want to force his new life on his son, so he had my respect. 
They have been together for six years. He has been a great help to my mom, filling her in on many things. If my mother is the powerful woman she is today, it is partly thanks to him.
Right now, they are preparing for their wedding, which will take place in a few months. This will allow me to see some of my family members and meet new ones, especially my mom's boyfriend's son.
By the way, I have very little time left here on the island. I will return to the mainland in a few days, and my landscape will change completely. I will not return to my house in Daegu but to my new home in Busan.
Given their upcoming marriage, my mother finally united the two families. She wants me to meet her future husband's son before the wedding, to bond a little, and not be strangers anymore. So in a few days, I will be on my way to one of the biggest cities in South Korea, Busan. 
To say that I'm excited about the change of scenery and my way of life would be a lie. I will leave everything behind, my friends and the places I used to go. But if turning my life upside down is the price I have to pay to give my mother some happiness after all the shit she's been through, then I'm happy to do it. Besides, what could go wrong? 
By the way, her fiancé is a CEO. I don't know what he does, but I know he has a business, so my mom got some great advice. It also means that he'll be out of town a lot, and I won't have to see him all the time if things don't go as planned, which I doubt, but you never know what tomorrow will bring. As for my relationship with his son, I don't want to bet too much on that either. I'd instead let the universe do its thing—one step at a time. 
"Hey, Park! Are you listening to me?" Just then, she snaps me out of my reverie.
"What?" Evie smiles, realizing I was lost in my thoughts. 
As moving day approaches, it becomes increasingly difficult not to think about meeting the new family member. You could say that I'm pretty anxious and fearful of how the introduction to my supposed step-brother will go. 
"I said the drinks are ready." There was a tray of drinks on the bar counter.
I hope I don't drop anything. Walking on the sand with a full tray is tricky. Even though this wasn't my first rodeo, I still managed to get caught. 
"Thanks." Evie nods and continues to set the tables while I hurry to finish the last order.
Outside, the weather is beautiful. The sky is clear with a beautiful shade, with no clouds on the horizon. The panorama is worthy of a postcard. A blue sky, no clouds, a beautiful ocean, its waves playing with the sun's rays. There are deck chairs all along the coastline - at least on the private part belonging to the hotel, with fine white sand. 
And very hot. 
Sure, the sun is beautiful, and the view is like an island paradise, but the heat of the sun and the sand is not a good mix. My feet burn with every step. I should have worn my slippers. It's very comfortable to wear shoes, but it's really uncomfortable when sand gets in your shoes. 
I was in a hurry to get the drinks to their destination, not only because of the hot sand but also because it was getting heavy. 
Fortunately, the clients are not far away. They are in a more private area of the beach. Arriving at my destination, I thanked the heavens for not dropping anything. Otherwise, I would have had to turn around, and the customers would have waited twice as long, allowing them to complain to my superiors. I wouldn't have had any troubles, but it's unpleasant.
Without putting the tray on the table, which would look bad, I put the glasses and other drinks.  
"Thank you very much." Sitting on one of the chairs watching his friends play volleyball, a very handsome young man thanked me. He was young, in his late twenties. He had an undercut, while his fringe was parted down the middle, revealing his forehead. He had a loose white top covering his torso, wore blue and white trunk shorts, and had sandals on his feet. 
"You're welcome." One thing is done. I can finally go back, finish setting my tables and take a break before resuming tonight's service. 
The evening shift is usually busier than the lunch, so I'll have three hours of a break after setting the remaining tables. 
I started walking toward the restaurant when something hard hit me in the back of the head. I lost my balance and felt myself moving forward, but I managed to regain my balance and avoid making a fool of myself in front of the customers. 
"I'm so sorry." A little stunned, I still heard the male voice speaking to me. 
I found myself face-to-face with a man in a short time. It wasn't the customer from earlier. Sure, the previous man was very handsome, but the one I'm looking at now is gorgeous. 
This one also has an undercut like the previous man, while the top part is slightly longer and darker. I could see the dark eyes despite the sunglasses on the bridge of his nose while his look was dressed by surprise and concern. The jaw is sharpened, while his face is quite childish. 
On the other hand, his body is far from childish. Who are Apollo and Adonis beside him? He should probably be arrested 'cause, for sure, he stole the thirteen' gods and goddesses' beauty. 
Initially, he has tanned skin, but I could see he has taken advantage of the sun because his skin is quite caramelized, well tanned.
He wears a blue and white shirt with some leaf designs printed on it. A few buttons are open at the top and bottom, exposing his torso and muscular stomach, showing some of his abs. Underneath, he wore white swim shorts, and I could also see his black bathing suit.  
A true masterpiece. 
How do people as beautiful as he lives free on Earth? No doubt he already has someone in his life. 
"Take a picture, honey. Will it last longer." A smile was born on his pretty lips. 
He's a charmer. He's certainly made many girls fall for him in a blink of an eye.
"I beg your pardon?" His sentence had the same effect as a cold shower, bringing me back to reality. He was undoubtedly gorgeous, but his attitude had broken the spell. 
"You're not subtle when you give me a makeover." I was so obsessed with his beauty that I didn't realize I was staring at him. 
"My apologies, sir." The last thing I wanted was to get in trouble with the customers. It would have looked bad on my record. I've been working here for a few years, so it would really piss me off to lose my seasonal job and the bonds I've built with my co-workers because of a misstep.  
I kept a low profile, trying to put some distance between us and regain my composure. 
"Don't apologize. I might take it the wrong way. I am flattered that a beautiful young woman like you would look at me that way." I get this flirtation with two bullets at least once daily from male clients who think they are desirable just because they are rich. But this is not often the case. 
Unfortunately, although his attempt at flirting was lame, I couldn't stop my heart from racing. The stranger was a handsome man. He knew it and took advantage of it. He must have charmed a lot of girls about it. But, stupid as I am - and also because of the lack of affection I felt at that moment - I was fooled by his comment. 
Don't blush, don't blush!
Without breaking the contact of our eyes, he comes closer. I could smell the scent of sunscreen on his skin. Without any embarrassment, careful to hide my body with his from the sight of his friends, the stranger caresses the exposed skin of my arm with his fingertips. 
His touch is subtle, as soft as the caress of a feather, causing my body to react to his touch, covering me with shivers from head to toe. My breath catches in my throat as his deft fingers run from my wrist to my shoulder. 
I wish I could figure out where my mind went. This is not normal, letting a stranger do what he wants, let alone allowing him to touch me almost intimately. And yet I don't move a muscle. 
What's wrong with me? 
The hotel's uniforms - at least for the waitresses and the other bistro staff - are pretty revealing. Surely to attract more customers, especially males, and make them spend more time at the bar and money on drinks. Some even make excuses to their partner to offer them a meal, with only the intention of gawking at the pretty waitresses. 
I wore a white crop top with the name of the hotel printed on the left side of my chest and black shorts. As a waitress, I take orders and serve customers, so I always wear a black apron with the hotel's name. Unlike other aprons, waitress aprons start from the waist to the middle of the thigh. 
The man leans forward when his hand reaches my shoulder, closing the distance between us. 
"Behind the rocks, in five minutes. I'll be waiting for you." Without giving me time to say anything, the stranger leaves, volleyball in hand, joining his friends.
Shocked by his boldness and confidence, I stood there for a few seconds, not really understanding what had happened. Had he just suggested - even ordered - me to join him and do what I thought? It's bold of him to believe that I would listen to him and join him. 
Five minutes later, I was behind the rocks waiting for him like the carefree idiot I am. 
This story will only serve to get me into trouble. But in my defense - even though I don't think it's valid - it's been a while since I've done anything with anyone. My last sexual relationship was three years ago when I was with my ex-boyfriend. 
He was a real asshole. I had no feelings for him, but at least I was intimate with him almost daily. Is it wrong to stay in a relationship just for the sex, even if the partner is not good at it? Very bad. But I was young and horny at the time. To err is human. 
Time passed, and the stranger was still not there. Had he stood me up? Was he laughing at me with his buddies? I didn't want to wait for him forever, especially since, unlike him, I was in my workplace. I would wait another three minutes and leave if he didn't show up by then.
As I found myself alone with my thoughts, I began to rethink the situation. We were still in a public place and in full view of everyone, sure the rocks would hide us, but we are never safe from anyone, especially if someone decides to venture behind the rocks for some reason. I can't even imagine the scandal and trouble if my superiors ever discovered that I had a case with a client. I could say goodbye to my reputation and next employment opportunity the following year.
Was I really going to risk screwing everything up just for sex? With a stranger, no less? Apparently so. 
At the moment, the temptation was stronger than reason. Luckily, it was my break before the second shift. Usually, at this time of day, I find myself with Evie sunbathing by the sea, sipping cocktails - free because we work at the bistro - while waiting for the time to resume service. 
A pair of arms encircle my waist, and I tense briefly before I learn the owner's identity. My stranger hadn't stood me up after all. 
"Good thing you told me five minutes," I said sarcastically, which made him laugh.
"Sorry, gorgeous. My friends wouldn't let me go." His mouth had quickly become acquainted with the sensitive skin of my neck. "But I'm here now. So it's not worth the trouble. Instead, let's enjoy getting to know each other better. If you know what I mean?"
His hand settles on my cheek, turning my head, gaining access to my lips. Wasting no more time than we already had, his soft pouty lips linked to mine. 
The kiss is slow and gentle before we both become consumed with desire and take things up. 
When my neck starts to hurt from the position, I turn around while his arm still wraps around my waist, holding me to him. With my chest pressed against his and our private parts finally glued together, I wrap my arms around the back of his neck to pull him even closer to me. If that were possible.
The more he gave me, the more I wanted. His hands ran eagerly over my body. The one resting on my hip began to rise, exploring under my crop top.
It wasn't long before his hand made contact with the fabric of my bikini top. Although it wasn't what he was looking for because, without wasting any time, his hand went under the material and directly touched my left breast's soft, supple skin. 
He grabbed it with his whole hand, although he didn't hold it. Despite my smallness - 1.55 m tall -I had inherited a rather generous and well-rounded breast from my mother. 
My handsome stranger, unhappy with the confinement of my top, pulled my garment over my head in frustration before abandoning it somewhere on the floor. Without hanging around, my swimsuit top follows my crop top, giving the stranger better access and a view of my naked chest. 
"Now that's more like it." The stranger's eyes sparkle with satisfaction and mischief like a child in front of a Christmas tree filled with presents. Then, in the blink of an eye, his gaze changed utterly. I was no longer facing a young man with sparkling eyes but a predator with his gaze fixed on his prey.
A dark veil of need had taken possession of his gaze, leaving me unable to react other than to feel a chill in the pit of my stomach caused by the excitement. 
He was danger, determination, and excitement. 
I was at the mercy of his carnal desires, but that wasn't enough for my lover. Seeing that I still wasn't breaking through the barrier in which I felt safe, the stranger gave me a little push. He took my hand and led it to the member in the hollow of his legs.
It was hard. When I felt the bulge over his shorts, it was as if something had clicked. Without needing his help or thinking twice, I finally listened to the little voice of the little devil sitting on my shoulder and let myself go. 
No more restrictions or limitations. He wanted to tease me, have me for a day? No problem, he would get what he wanted. I'll go with the flow and let the remorse come later. 
"Fuck." He grunts with a sigh as I take his erect member in my hand and stroke it over his swim trunks. 
From that moment on, he had no control over himself or his actions. It was as if, by grabbing his cock, I had activated a mechanism that caused him to lose all consciousness and restraint, releasing the incubus that lay dormant within him. At the same time, the succubus in me awoke, summoned by the incubus in him. 
Not finding it fair that I was slightly more exposed than he was, I removed his shirt, putting us on equal footing. But that wasn't enough. I wanted more, much more. 
My partner dominates me, setting the pace and rhythm of this frenzied dance we are engaged in. His body sticks to mine while my front is against the rigid rock torso.
His lips devoured mine with passion. He takes one of my legs, lifts it up, and presses our hips together, rubbing one against the other. 
My thoughts were obscured by the pleasure that dominated me. I was no longer aware of my surroundings. Only pleasure, and he was present in my mind. The rest was non-existent. The way he dominated me and had the upper hand in the situation made me want to submit completely to him and let him do what he wanted with me. This has never happened to me before, and to be honest, it scares me a little but turns me on at the same time. 
His fearless and naughty attitude turns me so much that even though we are just kissing, I can feel a puddle of moisture forming between my legs and seeping into my underwear. His lips move from mine to the hollow of my neck, leaving hard kisses while his hand tenderly caresses my breast. The contrast in his actions heightens my arousal.
His teeth move down, grazing my neck as his hips rub against my crotch, still pressed against his increasingly swollen bulge. I can barely breathe, and my head is already spinning.
My hand caressed his torso until it reached over his shorts again. Wasting no time playing with the hem of his shorts, I ran my hand right through the hem, finding direct access to the hot, sensitive skin of his cock, eliciting a moan from him.
I let out a moan in return when, without warning, his teeth sank into the sensitive skin of my shoulder. As my fingers caressed the swollen head of his member, he quickly unbuttoned my shorts and stripped me of the last of the clothes in his way. 
Suddenly he slid a finger inside me. "Fuck, you're already all wet for me." My wetness lubricated his finger, allowing it to sink into me and move smoothly back and forth inside me. He then takes the opportunity to insert a second finger. 
I am immediately overcome by heat, and I don't think the sun has anything to do with it this time. My legs start to shake from the pleasure this stranger gives me, burning like the fires of hell. Now that his member is free of his clothes, doing what I have in mind will be easier.
I take over - or so I think - and let us change positions. Now he finds himself wedged between the rock and my body. Surprised at first, then aroused by my actions, he doesn't protest, probably having some idea of what is about to happen.
I kiss his muscular torso, tracing a path from his neck to his sweet spot. As my lips contact his soft, smooth skin, I feel his cock quiver excitedly and slam against his stomach. His cock is so big that I wonder if I could easily take it. Let's hope so.
As soon as my hand touches his member, he grunts. I start pumping while watching him. I don't want to lose any of his reactions. His eyes close, and he leans his head back, completely lost in the pleasure I am giving him without counting. I have never seen such a stunning human being. His ebony eyes contrast perfectly with his caramel skin. His steel muscles make him even more irresistible.
His veiny forearms would drive anyone crazy. His big hands, soft and firm at the same time, would run all over my body, electrifying me. Eventually, his long fingers got lost in my hair. I moved my head to the rhythm he was giving me. A regular cadence that ensured constant pleasure.
If all went well between us and we continued our ménage after today, my goal was to make him crazy about me so that I would have a better chance of seeing him next year. I wanted him to have a good memory of me, for me to cloud his thoughts so that every time he tried to fuck another girl, he would see me instead.
Maybe it's selfish of me, but I want to pollute him. To pollute his mind with obscene and detailed images of what I would do and how I would make him feel. I want that, even if his mind forgets what I look like, his body will still recognize me among thousands. I want his skin to bear the mark of my passage and have an indelible effect on his physical memory.
When he is completely naked, his shorts and swimsuit around his ankles, I finally tease the tip of his cock with my tongue. Caught off guard by my sudden, reckless move, he gives an uncontrolled jerk of his hips. His excited member enters my mouth entirely and hits the back of my throat.
My moan of surprise causes his cock to throb and rest heavily on my tongue. "Oh yeah." He grunts as the pressure of his fingers around my hair hardens a little more. Seeing that he enjoyed it, I pull his cock out of my mouth, leaving only the glans inside before taking it all back in. 
There were moans from him. He loved it and kept asking for more. He even helped me by repeatedly thrusting his cock into my mouth, each time increasing the pace of it. 
It didn't take long for his body to tense up. Not that he had climaxed, but it would be soon. He wasn't too far from cumming, but it was too soon. I didn't want him to cum in my mouth but somewhere else. Before I could stop my movements, he tugged at my hair with his hand in it, pulling me away from his hardened member.
I barely had time to get up before he switched places again and pinned my back against the rock. Without wasting any time, he undid the button of my shorts and pulled down my panties. 
He crouched down and took my leg on his shoulder, giving him better access to my intimacy. As his tongue made contact with the burning skin of my privates, a gentle warmth washed over my body. At that moment, I lost all sense of reality and wandered into the world of pleasure.
He knew exactly what he was doing. His tongue played directly with my clit, without any shame or restraint, causing me to lose my mind. His tongue not only teased my clit, but it also went in and out of my slit.
At one point, he closed his lips on my nerve button and began to suck on it vigorously. My legs are on the verge of giving out, and at the same time, I am in danger of collapsing to the floor, so much so that the sensation of his mouth and his expert tongue gives me. The feeling is exquisite. Nothing like what I experienced with my ex.
To my dismay, the stranger stops all movement before standing in front of me again. His hands go straight to my thighs, squeezing them gently. "Jump." 
He lifts me up, and I wrap my legs around his waist as my hands find their place around his neck. I don't know when he did it. I was so lost in pleasure that I didn't know what was happening around me, but as my handsome stranger grabbed his rigid member and stroked his cock over my slit, I realized he had already put on a condom. At least one of us hadn't completely lost his mind.
He spread my wetness along his entire length and the integrity of my slit to my clit, making us moan. I couldn't wait any longer. I had to have him inside me, and it didn't matter if he only stretched me with two fingers. The excitement was such that I felt I could take him inside. Besides, the wetness from my slit was enough to make it a little easier.  
He stroked my clit once or twice before thrusting it into me once and for all. I could feel every millimeter of his cock pushing into me. The burning was not unpleasant. The sensation added to the pleasure. 
Surely to distract me from the potential pain, my partner kissed me. His tongue caressed my lower lip asking to access mine. Generous as I am, I gave him access without asking. Without wasting time, his tongue found mine and invited him into a wild dance. 
The mixture of his thrusts and tongue battling with mine was so exquisite that I could only moan as my stranger hungrily swallowed my moans.
The thrusts got harder. I was sure that in the end, it would not be me who would leave an indelible mark on the memory of my partner's body, but the opposite.
"You like it rough, don't you?" Usually, I'm not very vocal, but I couldn't hold back my moans with him. I just couldn't do it. 
"I asked you a question." His strokes got harder as his hand spanked my butt's soft, flaccid skin. 
"Yes," I say in one breath. 
The spot where the stranger slapped me burns as tingles run down my body.
"Yes, what?" My whole body shook with the pleasure that built up as he took more and more control, becoming more and more dominant. 
"I love it when you fuck me hard." A smile appears on his sinful lips and disappears as quickly as it appeared, "But most of all, I love it when you spank me at the same time you fuck me hard."  
His eyes change, becoming darker. I didn't think that was possible. His jaw clenches as his tongue pocks the inside of his cheek. 
In less than a second, I find my chest pressed against the hard surface of the rock, my ass exposed and at the mercy of my partner. My whole body shook with excitement and anticipation of what was coming. I knew exactly what he would do, so I waited patiently for him to give me what I deserved, like a good little girl. 
Bam! The first spanking had just landed on my ass. He sank hard into me, and the mixture with the heat and the tingle of the spanking was wonderful.
"Is this what you want? Is this what you like?" Unable to form sentences, I just nodded. 
Bam! Another slap, then another and another. He wasn't going easy on me, adding to the pleasure. Then his hand left the reddened skin of my butt to take care of my clit. He wrapped his muscular arm around my waist as his upper body pressed against my back while his other large hand rested on my belly. 
"Let's see if you'll like this too." He stroked my clit with his finger. A flash of pleasure traveled over the integrity of my body, causing me to lose my mind. I think the fact that someone could catch us in one of the most vulnerable moments of our existence sent adrenaline coursing through my veins.
In addition to the beautiful feeling caused by his actions, the adrenaline pushes me off the cliff of ecstasy. It doesn't matter that we are in a public place just a few feet from where I work. The pleasure is so intense that I can't help but moan loudly. 
As I cummed around his cock, he shut me up with his big hand above my mouth while I let the pleasure wash over me from the depths of my being. I felt like he had just thrown me off a cliff, and I was in free fall. A fall I wanted to last forever.
As my pussy tightened around his dick, he emptied himself into the condom, still buried deep inside me, while his hands grabbed my hips. 
Turning me back to face him once more, we tried to catch our breath. With a goofy smile, he caressed my skin and planted a few kisses on my lips, swollen from his care. 
"I didn't think you were so wild." His comment made me smile.
"I could say the same about you, sir." I returned his remark. 
After ensuring I could stand independently without collapsing, he gently set me down on the floor. When his arms were no longer around my body, he collected our clothes before handing me mine so I could hide my nakedness before pretending nothing had happened. 
Now that the fire of passion has been tamed and my desires have been satisfied, I don't know how to react. Are we going to pretend that none of this happened? Should we continue our escapades? After all, I knew nothing about the unknown men before me and only had a few days left in the hotel. 
Not wanting to show my stranger that I was touched by our coupling, I quickly put my clothes back on and pretended that this wasn't my first rodeo with a stranger. I grabbed his wrist where his watch was to check the time.
"Shit, I have to go. I have to go back to work soon." It's not good to lie, YN. I still had a two-and-a-half-hour break before my next shift, but he didn't need to know that. 
I use my phone's camera to ensure everything is in order before I go out, and before I leave, I check to ensure I haven't forgotten anything. 
What should I do? The discomfort is so palpable that the only thing I want to do right now is going back to my room and not come out. Should I tell him how good it was? Should I give him one last kiss before I leave? Should I say "see you later"? Or should I go without saying anything? 
Not knowing what to do, I follow the last suggestion. I turn my back to my stranger and am about to leave when a large hand grabs my wrist and forces me to turn around.
"Not so fast, gorgeous." He kisses me again. His hand travels down my body but comes dangerously close to my butt. I feel him slip something into my back pocket before he pulls our lips apart. 
"This is my room pass. Meet me as soon as you finish your shift." He plants a last kiss on my lips and leaves first, again leaving me alone.
"What did you get yourself into, Park YN?"
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Paradise Hotel Bar/Restaurant | 1:57 am | YN's POV
I had been trying to get a customer out of the bar for over half an hour so I could close up and go to bed. Unlike him, I wouldn't have time to catch up on sleep tomorrow. 
I only have four hours of sleep left before my next shift because, in addition to making lunch and dinner, we also make breakfast, and that fat bastard is keeping me from getting any rest.
I'm so mad at this client for not getting enough sleep and being grumpy the next day that if I see him again tomorrow, there's a good chance I'll put something in his food. 
I even got scolded by my manager, who was already, when I called him to help me get the customer out. That was not all; I had to mop the floor because the son of a bitch was too drunk and ended emptied his stomach on the fucking floor.
As I mopped, I looked at the clock nailed to the wall. It was already past two in the morning. I was so tired that I was about to fall asleep on my feet. When I finished cleaning, I put the cleaning equipment back in its place, closed the bar/restaurant, and left the keys at the front desk.
When I got to my room, I didn't waste any time. I undressed and went straight to the bathroom. The warm water caresses my skin and instantly relaxes me. 
The events of the day replayed in my mind. I close my eyes and let myself be carried away by the pleasant memory. What happened earlier in the day was wrong, forbidding even, but so exciting at the same time. It's so bad, but at the same time, so correct.
I don't know what to think anymore. It's evident. On the one hand, I feel bad about having sex with a client at work. I could kiss my summer job and reputation goodbye if this got out. 
I can't help but think about the possibility of someone seeing and videotaping us. I don't know anything about my lover, and I don't know if he's a celebrity. If he is, he could be an idol, and I don't know. 
The people on this island are so used to having stars of all kinds visit them since Paradise was built that they are willing to do anything to hear about them. So making a sex tape and selling it to the highest bidder was an easy way to make money. 
Not that I was a famous person in the eyes of the world, but my mother was. It would have a massive impact on her career. And the last thing I wanted was for my mother to be hurt by my mistake. But above all, I would not bear the look of disappointment on her face. 
But on the other hand, he was so good. His gestures were so confident, so supportive, but at the same time, so smooth and comforting. You could tell he was in control; it wasn't the first time he'd done this. 
His hoarse voice was full of desire. When I heard his deep voice near my ear, it turned me on so fast, which scared me slightly. 
I needed him like I had never needed anyone before. The dominance of his movements had me on my ass. He had a significant effect on me. He managed to do what I wanted to do to him. And lo and behold, the spell was cast on the wizard.
Speaking of ass, something that had completely slipped my mind. He gave me his room pass so I could join him. Considering it's too late, he's probably sleeping or fucking someone else. And I should do the same, not fucking someone else, but sleeping. Tomorrow morning - rather this morning - it will be almost impossible for me to wake up on time. I'll be a zombie for sure.
By the way, tomorrow I must go to the reception and leave his room card. I'll say I found it by the deck chairs to avoid suspicion.
When I get out of the shower, I wear a loose T-shirt and throw myself under my blanket. I was so exhausted from the day that it didn't take long to welcome Morpheus with wild open arms while my thoughts were on my handsome stranger.
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Paradise Hotel Bar/Restaurant | 10:00 pm | POV by YN
My shift had just ended. I was at the bar with Evie, drinking a Sex on the Beach, before I locked myself in my room and rested. Unfortunately, summer ends in a few weeks, and I'm going home in three days. In three days, I'll return to my new life in Busan. 
Busan. I've never been there, but I heard it's a beautiful city. It attracts millions of tourists from all over the world every year. 
"So, are you ready for the big move?" Evie was the only one who knew my family situation. 
"I wouldn't say I'm ready, but do I have a choice?" I don't have a place yet, but it wouldn't last long. 
In addition to looking for an apartment, I also had to deal with enrolling at Busan University. At the beginning of the summer break, I transferred my school records to my new university in Busan.  
My next school year will be at Dong-A University. According to my research on the Internet, I will be assigned to the last building to be constructed in 2021, the Bumin Campus. It is located in Bumin-dong, Seo-gu, Busan. In the same building, I will be with the students of law, social sciences, and many others. 
I've seen the pictures, and the campus size is pretty impressive. It has nothing to do with my little university in Daegu.
"Don't worry, everything will be fine. You know that you can call me and vent if there's any trouble. That's what friends are for." Unfortunately, I won't have the chance to have Evie by my side anymore. She's going back to Seoul tomorrow. That's why, despite my tiredness, I still enjoy her presence without renouncing it. Unlike her, I have to work tomorrow. Besides, it is my last day of work, after which I can use the remaining three days to recharge my batteries and play the tourist in my turn. 
"Change of subject. Have you seen your handsome stranger today?" The first thing I did when I came to work this morning told about my misadventure with my stranger yesterday. At first, I didn't want to tell anyone, I tried to keep information to myself for once, but after being haunted by the stranger in my thoughts all night, I couldn't help but tell Evie everything. 
Contrary to what I thought, she hadn't judged me. On the contrary, she even congratulated me. "I thought you were a tightwad because you never shared any juicy information about yourself, but I see I was wrong about you." She told me before adding, "I'm proud of you," with a pat on the shoulder.
Since day one, I saw Evie as a friend and an older sister that I never had. Just like my mother, she was my confidante, and I could talk to her about things that I couldn't speak to my mother about. 
"No, I haven't seen him. And that's a good thing. Otherwise, I wouldn't have known how to react." On the other hand, I had seen some boys who were with him the day before. Although I didn't want to admit it, too ashamed of my moment of vulnerability, I spent the day glancing back and forth, hoping to catch a glimpse of him, even if only from a distance. Not happened. 
The rest of the evening was summed up by Evie and me drinking more cocktails in honor of her departure. I wasn't drunk, and I thanked God for giving me a high tolerance for alcohol. 
At some point, Evie left me to join a pretty customer who kept looking at her from across the room. So I took the opportunity to call it a day and returned to bed, frustrated at not seeing the handsome stranger. Indeed, after he had his way with me, he must have moved on to another victim of his charm. 
I had left my empty glass on the bar and was physically preparing to leave the bar and return to my cozy nest when I felt a presence at my back. I don't have time to react when I hear an angry voice in my ear.
"Better meet me in my room in five minutes." The voice's owner disappears as quickly as they appear. 
Did I dream this? 
Last night I told myself that I had to go to the reception to leave the room card of my unknown lover, but since I woke up late due to lack of sleep, I didn't find the time to go to the reception, as what, it seems that the universe did not want that my way and that of the unknown deviate. 
I put the badge against the black box and heard the unlocking sound. I look to the right and left of the corridor to ensure no one in the hotel sees me entering a customer's room. Before standing in front of my lover's door, I quickly went to my room to change and put on a hoodie to hide my face from the surveillance cameras, thus obscuring my identity in case the security guys decide to look at the images recorded by the cameras. 
When I entered the room, I saw that the lights were off. Only the moonlight was illuminating the room. When I first entered the room, I thought I was in the wrong room because I couldn't see anyone. But as I walked further into the room, I was startled.
"Damn, you scared me." Sitting in an armchair in the darkness of the night, the stranger stood before me. Sitting in all his glory, his legs spread, his body leaned back with his arms resting on the chair's armrests. 
"I thought I told you something last night. Why didn't you come?" His voice was low, deep, and accusatory. "I was waiting for you like an idiot, alone in my bed. Eager to fuck you again." I couldn't see his eyes but knew he was watching me. I could feel his gaze on me. I felt naked in front of the stranger despite being dressed. 
"I had plans for both of us." He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his muscular thighs, his hands clasped under his chin, his gaze still unwavering. 
"We could have had a crazy night." His eyes began to grow heavy. Despite the vastness of the room and the fact that it was well-ventilated, I still felt like I was suffocating within these four walls. "We could have lost ourselves in pleasure before we found ourselves in each other's arms."
I'd never heard anything so lame, but my body ignited because it was him. Why? Nothing was exciting in what he was saying. But I had to admit that the atmosphere between us, the room's darkness, and the fact that he was upset probably had something to do with it. 
"I couldn't," I didn't have time to say anything because my lover had abruptly gotten up from the chair. His gesture, by the way, made me take a few steps back. 
"Shh. I don't want to hear anything." My back hit the hard surface of the bedroom wall. In no time, he's standing in front of me, trapped between his muscular body and the wall. "Keep your excuses to yourself, gorgeous. Tonight the only sounds I'll allow you to make are your delicious moans and my name. The rest you can keep to yourself. Do I make myself clear?"
Who am I to deny it? For a brief moment, I was almost tempted by the little devil sitting on my shoulder telling me to contradict him. But on the other hand, the little angel of pleasure told me to be a good girl and give him what he wanted. So tonight, I decided to listen to the little angel. Anyway, I'm already in trouble. No matter what I say, he would probably make me regret not coming the day before. 
Unfortunately, I didn't have time to answer him. In no time, I found myself again, my back stuck to the front of his body while my chest was stuck to the wall. He spread my legs with his before pulling down my shorts and panties.  
I was left with my ass in the air as his hand came down on the tender skin of my butt. My moan echoed around the room. 
"Shut up, babe. Let's not alert the others. It would be a shame if you couldn't go all the way because you couldn't hold back your sinful moans. Wouldn't it?" The tingling spread to the area where he has spanked. 
"Not a fucking sound." A finger found itself inside me. A moan escaped me. 
"What did I say?" His voice was as dark as the room, but I wasn't afraid. I didn't know him, yet I was confident he would do no harm. He had this aura about him that immediately inspired confidence, comfort, and safety. And that was what scared me the most. "I don't want to hear anything."
He pushed a second finger into my pussy. I moaned, but unlike the last time, this one didn't come out of my throat, barely hearable. But the second finger brought more pleasure. Damn, that feels good. 
He pressed his body closer to mine and nibbled on my earlobe. "Listen carefully, baby, because I have no intention of repeating myself." His fingers leave my slit and begin to caress my clit.
"You have been a naughty girl, and I must punish you. Yesterday I told you to come to the bedroom after you finished your shift, but you disobeyed me." He planted kisses on my neck, making me lose my mind.
"I wasn't happy." His deep, low voice argued in my ear, sending shivers down my entire body, hot with excitement. "I had to jerk off, using my memories of your pretty little pink pussy." His lips come dangerously close to my sensitive area.
"I had to search in my memories, images of what we did earlier in the day to help me get off when I could have created new ones." He found my sweet spot and licked me before biting hard and sucking.
"You forced me to imagine your soft little hands caressing my hardened cock. I had to play your fucking moans against my ear in my head." He ran his tongue over the fresh mark he had just left on my skin.
Between each sentence he said, he pushed his fingers deeper and deeper into me, making me lose my mind.
"But tonight," he stops pumping his fingers inside me. "I don't have to imagine any of this anymore because tonight," he plants a wet kiss on the hollow of my neck before his mouth moves closer to my ear. "You're the one who's going to take care of it." He removes his hand from my clothes, grabs my hair, and drags me to the bed.
I thought he would throw me on the bed, but against all odds, my handsome stranger, who has been very dominant so far - much to my delight - sits down on the mattress without taking his eyes off me. I stand at the foot of the bed before him, waiting to see what he wants. 
"Dance for me, baby." Sorry? I was expecting something else. "Take your clothes off while you dance." 
This is my first time being asked to remove my clothes, but I think it'll be enough. Every day when I'm home alone, I put on music and dance. I always have music on in the shower, cooking, or cleaning.
I can't help but think of the song Ride by SoMo. 
Ever since I first heard it a few years ago, I thought it would be cool to fuck, foreplay, or strip to this song. The lyrics alone were suggestive and left a lot to the imagination. 
Take off those heels, lay on my bed Whisper dirty secrets while I'm pulling on your hair Poison in our veins, but we don't even care Candles dripping on your body, baby, this ain't truth or dare Everybody wonders where we run off to My body on your body, baby, sticking like some glue Naughty, let's get naughty, girl. It's only one or two The fevers fucking running. Feel the heat between us two!
Slowly controlling my movements, I moved my hips to the song's rhythm playing in my head. I slipped my hand under my shirt and placed it on my stomach, simultaneously moving my hand up the shirt before moving it over my head. 
When my top hit the ground, I touched my shoulder, caressing it and sliding the strap down my arm. My eyes never left his face. I couldn't see his eyes, but I could see his body, and I knew that everything I didn't leave him indifferent. 
His breath struggled to leave his throat. One of his hands gripped the duvet as if his life depended on it while the other stroked the growing bulge in his pants. His body was tense, and his tongue played with the inside of his cheek.
I'm gon' ride, I'm gon' ride I'm gon' ride, I'm, I'm gon' ride on you, baby On you, lady, all night, all night! I'm gonna take care of your body I'll be gentle, don't you scream It's getting hotter. Make it softer Feel your chest on top of me I'm gon' ride, I'm gon' ride I'm gon' ride, I'm, I'm gon' ride on you, baby On you, lady, all night, all night! I'm gon' make you feel that loving Getting weak all in your knees Kiss your body from the tip-top All the way down to your feet!
I didn't have my shorts and panties because of my handsome stranger. So, I didn't have much to tease him with, so I used what I had. Me. My body. Moving closer to the handsome stranger, I grabbed my breasts before putting them under his hungry eyes. 
I could see he was itching to replace my hands with his own. Big and powerful. But he couldn't. I wouldn't let him anyway. 
He wanted to play? Fine, we will. But two can play. 
He moved around on the bed, manspreading even more. Probably because his pants were too tight by now. But that was not my problem at the moment. I had a striptease to continue. 
As I kneaded my breasts, I turned my back to him, showing him my well-humped ass after hours spent at the gym. During those hours, I was proud of myself for all the suffering in the gym. 
I undulated my hips and moved them from side to side. My hands let go of my breasts to caress my body. I leaned forward, still caressing my skin, and held my ass up in front of his face, giving him an excellent view of my ass and pussy, which was already quite wet for him. 
"Fuck." Looking over my shoulder, a smile on the corner of my lips, I saw that he had removed his pants, which were already on the floor, keeping my top and bra company. His hand was taking very good care of his already swollen member.
The sun's coming up, oh You're on my side, oh I rub your thighs, oh You look in my eyes, oh And I just see the skies (see the skies) I'm so high, but I ain't smoked yet I'm just coming down from this! I'm gon' ride, I'm gon' ride I'm gon' ride, I'm, I'm gon' ride on you, baby On you, lady, all night, all night! I'm gonna take care of your body I'll be gentle, don't you scream It's getting hotter. Make it softer Feel your chest on top of me
Not happy that he has decided to pleasure himself without my permission, I run to him and unhook his hand from his cock. I sit on his lap and place my lips on his to finally taste him. His hands rest on my cheeks. The contact is electrifying.
With one hand, I hold him. With the other, I grab his hair and deepen our kiss. How could I become so addicted to a stranger's lips in such a short time? He was like a drug I was ready to overdose on.
I had only known him for one day, the second time we had met, and yet here he was, addicting me to his body, kisses, and caresses. 
But I wanted more. A lot more. What he offered wasn't enough. Frustrated by his lack of initiative, I rubbed my pussy against his naked cock. He grunts, making his chest vibrate and mine at the same time.
It feels good, but it's not what I was looking for. Breaking the kiss, I rise from his lap and grab his hand, forcing him to do the same. At this point in the evening, excitement runs through my veins. Right now, I am the epitome of lust.
I ripped off the rest of his clothes, leaving him completely naked. His already hard cock slammed against his belly, ready to be stuffed and jerked until its owner emptied himself entirely into me.
I can't stand all these dirty thoughts in my head anymore, so I push my partner onto the bed, and the next thing I know, I'm astride him, sitting on his erection.
I attacked his lips again and resumed my movements on his cock. 
"Oh, fuck. Go for it, baby." With his encouragement, I continued the movements, rubbing us together. Fuck, I've been dreaming about this all day.
All day I was haunted by the image of his body rubbing against mine.
Our moans blended into the most beautiful melody I'd ever heard as if they were meant to be played together. 
My swollen pussy, excited and quite wet, slid easily over his member. I quickened the pace of my movements, making us moan in unison. As I unleashed myself on him, I tilted my head back, consumed by pleasure. Without noticing, the tip of his cock wedged itself into the folds of my slit before landing entirely inside me.
I wasn't expecting it at all. Neither did he. As if struck by lightning, my lover came to his senses. Suddenly I was lying on the bed, while he was standing at the foot of the bed. 
What had happened? 
No sooner had I formulated my question than I felt hands grabbing my ankles before I found myself on all fours with my ass in the air. 
"Who allowed you to stick my cock in you, you naughty girl?" He brings his hand down on my ass once, twice, then three times. Again and again, until my pussy clenches in the void, begging for his cock to sink back in. My cries and moans are not lost on him as he grunts in response to them. 
"You like it when I'm hard on you, don't you?" He spanks me again. I can feel my wetness running down my thigh. "My needy slut." 
"You want me to sink into you hard, right?" I knew it was a rhetorical question. He didn't need me to answer it to tell himself he was right. So I didn't say anything. The only response he got was a whine. 
"Well, if that's what my baby wants," he steps forward, speaking in a low voice so only I can hear as if he's afraid someone might be listening. He steps away from me. "So this is what she'll get." Again he penetrates my pussy even harder.
Without giving me time to get used to his size, he continued his thrusts, increasing the speed more and more. 
Nothing made sense anymore. My mind was a mess. I couldn't see anything because I was so overwhelmed by the pleasure; the tears had taken possession of my eyes. I had to close my eyes to take in the overwhelming sensations.
I had to bury my head in the pillows to stifle my moans. I didn't want the neighboring rooms to complain about the noise and the risk that they would discover that I was being fucked by a hotel guest when I was only an employee.
My walls were clenching around his fat cock. I'm about to cum. But, he had sensed it. "Not yet, baby." He pulls out of me before turning me over. I am now facing him, my back pressed against the mattress. He grabs my ankles again and draws me closer. Closer to the edge of the bed.
He leans over, and I see his face dangerously close to my eager pussy. His warm wet tongue makes direct contact with my pussy. His tongue shamelessly plays with my clit. 
At times he changes between my clit and my slit. He plunges his tongue in several times, teasing my walls before his mouth settles on my clit and sucks it intensely. 
As I leaned back and clutched the blanket, I saw stars dancing above my head. I didn't know how much longer I could hold back the pleasure that brought me closer and closer to ultimate pleasure with each stroke of my lover's tongue. 
My moans flooded the room and echoed through the four walls. I tried to keep my cries down, but my partner wasn't much help. The coup de grâce came when he grunted against my clit. The vibrations increased my pleasure, but I managed to block the pleasure that threatened to explode. 
I'm about to come, but what should I do?
Should I give in to the pleasure and let the wave wash over me at the risk of making him even angrier? After all, it wouldn't be so bad. It would be another opportunity to be punished again. Or should I be a good girl and tell him I'm about to cum? 
No, that would be too easy. If I cum, it won't be my fault. He's the one who's too good at what he does. So it's decided: I won't tell him anything, and it's too bad if I cum and he doesn't like it.
My walls continue to contract around his tongue buried inside me while my desire threatens to explode like a nuclear bomb, irradiating my whole body. He sensed that I was about to climax because he stopped all movement.
When he stands up again, he inserts his member into mine, slowly at first, letting me feel every inch of his cock, which drives me crazy. When he reaches the bottom, he repeats the previous action ten times. After the eleventh, his movements intensify.
The slapping of our skins, moans, and bed creaking is a beautiful symphony. He was so hard on me that the headboard kept hitting the wall. I hope the room next door is empty. Otherwise, I'm screwed.
"Don't hold back anymore, baby. I'm coming, so come with me." He quickened his pace, which was the last straw. At this point, nothing could stop me from feeling what I felt. My mind was foggy. There was nothing in this world but lust.
This feeling is so unreal that I have no words to describe it.
My lover was also lost in pleasure. At the same time, as he poured into me, his grunts sounded like a sweet melody. His body had collapsed onto mine. His whole being trembled as he came to.
Though breathless, our mouths joined in a wild dance. "I have no words to describe what just happened. I moved a strand of wet hair stuck to his forehead.
"Then don't put it into words." This time I was the one who pressed our lips together. At that point, we were no longer customer/waitress. We were two strangers enjoying each other without worrying about consequences and retribution.
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YN's car | 12:41 p.m. | YN's POV -Five Days Later-
I had been driving for an hour. According to the GPS, I had only 8 minutes left to reach my destination.
During those 8 minutes, I took the opportunity to look at the landscape. I identified a few things that would probably be useful to me.
Since it was hot, I opened both front windows, which created a slight breeze. I stopped at a red light and took the time to look around. The beach was beautiful. The trees surrounding the road made the scenery even more exotic.
I think I'll spend the afternoon sunbathing by the water. I'll try to get some more color. More of what I already had. 
My new life will look like this: spending time at the beach for the few days I have left before returning to school. I will enjoy the beach every chance I get, as long as the sunny days are there. I will also take advantage of the opportunity to meet new people. Go out, party. Drink like never before. Yeah, that's definitely a good plan.
The sexy stranger from the hotel left the day after his "punishment," but I could tell we enjoyed our last night together as we said goodbye. Three days after he left, I couldn't hide the fact that I was lonely. I thought I'd be able to spend more time with him and enjoy potentially hot nights, but that clearly wasn't the case.
In the absence of his presence, I resorted to my faithful companion. My vibrator, which I had taken with me. 
However, before he left, the stranger gave me his phone number and made me promise to warn him of my arrival at the hotel the following year so that we could "start again." It seems that he will be back the next year. 
Let's just pray he doesn't find a girlfriend by then. 
One thing he didn't tell me was his name. But now that I have his phone number, I could ask him later. Since he had given it to me, I had not had the opportunity to contact him. Honestly, I didn't know what to say to him. 
Should I send him a nude picture? Or should I start gently, like a civilized person? 
"You have arrived at your destination." The robotic voice of my GPS warned me.
"Holy shit. Is this where I'll live?" The building in front of me was sublime, prominent, and wealthy. The facade alone reeked of wealth. I wouldn't even be surprised if I ran into a few celebrities. This building looked to be a little over 50 stories high.
I went straight to the underground garage and looked for my assigned parking space. Before I left, my mom texted me to give me an overview of what she had told me a million times: the address, the parking space number, the floor, and finally, the apartment number.
I only took the suitcases that I had in Jeju. The rest of my stuff that was in Daegu had already been delivered. Once inside the elevator - magnificent and luxurious - I dial the code as the golden doors close.
As the elevator rises, my heart rate increases. The stress begins to overwhelm me. My hands get clammy and shaky. Yes, I was nervous about meeting my soon-to-be father-in-law, but what made me even more unsettled was meeting his son. 
I hope he's not an arrogant daddy's boy. If he is, he and I might not get along. 
When I leave the elevator, which alone reeks of wealth, I go down to my new floor and walk to the door of my new home. I ring the bell and wait a few seconds before the door opens. 
Without realizing it, I take a few steps back, dropping my bags as my mother hugs me. 
"My baby, you're finally here! How was your trip? Did you have a good trip? Wasn't there too much traffic?" Typical of my mother, bombarding me with questions without giving me time to answer. 
"Take it easy, honey. At least give her time to get home and unpack. Come on in, YN. Welcome to your new home." My mother's companion is forced to pull her off me so I can pick up my things and enter the apartment. 
I take off my shoes before following them into the living room, which is enormous. "Welcome to your new home, baby." My mom said. 
A man was sitting on the large couch in the living room, and he seemed to be obsessing over his phone screen before his father cleared his throat. I turned to face my mother's companion, who was about to speak. It would be rude of me to turn my back on him when he was about to talk to me.  
"YN, let me introduce you to your soon-to-be step-brother." He gestures with his hand in the direction of his son.
But when I turned to look at the man who had been sitting on the couch a few seconds ago and was now standing in front of me, towering over me with his great height, my eyes went wide.
This is a joke.
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Translations, republications, and rewritings of my stories are not allowed. Failure to comply with this request will result in legal action.
© Jeon_s_Sins
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snelbz · 1 year
Text
Better Or Worse {Chapter Three}
Nessian. Angst. Modern AU.
@snelbz x @theladyofdeath collab
Better or Worse Masterlist
Chapter Warning: This chapter contains graphic depictions of sexual acts and is NSFW. 18+ ONLY.
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Cassian -
Knowing that my loving wife is at Az and Elain’s, I make my way home after the gym. I’ve spent the last two nights with Feyre and Rhysand with no contact with Nesta. I should feel guilty for just walking out, but I don’t. If anything, I’m still pissed. 
The worst part is that she hasn’t even tried reaching out. I know I was the one to leave, but she hasn’t called, hasn’t sent a text, hasn’t scoped me out. It’s almost like unwelcome validation, further proving my point and fears. 
Once I’m home, I unlock the kitchen door and make my way in from the garage. The house is quiet and perfectly clean as if no one had been living there in my absence. If I were to guess, Nesta had been spending long hours at her office in the city. She hasn’t had anyone bitching at her to come home on time and I’m sure she’s been taking advantage of that. 
The bed is perfectly made and a basket of clean laundry sits on top of the blankets, none of it mine. Greg, our cat, is sprawled out on my pillow, sound asleep. 
I raid my closet, pulling together a new heap of clean clothes that I toss in a bag. It doesn’t feel right, but I ignore that feeling. I have to ultimately do what’s best for me and my happiness, even if joy is the last thing I’m feeling right now.
After getting my shit together, I take a look at the time and start stripping down, tossing my sweaty workout clothes in the hamper. I wonder if she’ll toss them in with the next load of laundry or just let them rot as I walk into the master bathroom and start the shower.
I missed my walk-in shower. It was my only request when remodeling our bathroom a few years back. I’m bigger than the average man and our previous shower never let me forget it. In this shower, I was never cramped and it relaxes the hell out of me.
I stepped beneath the hot water and closed my eyes, taking a deep breath, then another.
It wasn’t that long ago that Nesta’s eyes shone when she first saw the shower. She hadn’t fought me hard on its design, only bemoaning the cost once or twice, before realizing just how worthwhile it was. It was big enough for not only myself, but room for someone to join me as well, something she’d taken advantage of often.
If I had a particularly early morning, Nesta would almost always get up with me. While I’d get in the shower, she would go downstairs and start the coffee pot, refill Greg’s food bowl, and check her email, reading over them, but never replying. Sometimes, it took two minutes, sometimes, it took ten, but without fail, before my shower was over, I’d feel her arms wrap around my waist and she’d join me.
It wasn’t always sexual. Sometimes, her emails frustrated her and she needed to vent. Listening and rinsing her hair was something I became good at. Even when I wasn’t inside of her, being with her in such an intimate setting, nothing but our souls, naked bodies, and the water running around us, there was nothing to distract and take away from each other.
But then she started to take longer and longer in the mornings. An email needed an immediate reply or she had to read through some quick edits. Those excuses made sense, they were related to her work, the only thing she loved as much as she loved me. I understood.
Then coffee pot wasn’t working, until I got downstairs and then it worked perfectly. She had been watching a news story and got distracted, but could tell me nothing about it. She had a migraine, four days in a row, that only affected her when I touched her.
By the time she stopped joining me in the shower, I’d stopped hoping she would.
I’m not sure when it all started changing. When I stood with Nesta on our wedding day and said our vows, I never expected to end up here. She was the love of my life, and still is, I think, but it’s…different. Every time I look at her now I feel a sense of sadness, pure loss, like looking at an old memory of when I used to feel alive and invincible, but realizing that it ended in heartbreak. 
We had a hell of a love story, though, while it lasted. We’re too much alike in all the right ways, which resulted in sexual tension that almost always ended in mind blowing fucking.
It wasn’t just the sex. Nesta understood me, and I understood her. We had a bond that I had always thought was too good to be true, and maybe it was. 
I miss her. 
I miss the woman that I had fallen in love with, and even though we were married young, I had no doubt of my love for her, and hers for me.
I miss joking around with her, hearing her laugh because I said something stupid and profane. 
I miss just talking with her about nothing and everything, comforting her, having her comfort me. I miss waking up in the morning to her watching me, still gloriously nude from the night before, with messy hair and a soft smile. I miss the little things that I took for granted, like holding her hand or laying with her on the couch while we watched a stupid movie.
I miss the sex. Not just because the lack of it has me horny and aggressive, but I miss the connection. I miss getting lost in her body that was completely in my possession. Sometimes I still let my eyes linger on her body, and I’m not sure if she doesn’t notice or just pretends not to, but I can’t deny that my wife is gorgeous. A beautiful face, of course, but her body…
Strong and curvaceous, her skin so light that even my fingerprints left soft pink tracks behind them. Her ass was one of my favorite places to grab, to smack, to hold onto while she rocked her hips, while she bounced on my cock, but nothing compares to her breasts. I still catch myself looking at them, catching her peaked nipples through those little tanktops she wears around the house. No bra, never at home, not since we started dating, and I sure as hell never complained. Even now, when she hates me for some unknown reason, it’s still no bra, and my eyes can’t help but drift to how they bounce with every step she takes.
Thinking of those showers we used to take together, of the feel of her skin, of tight tank tops with no bras, sent my imagination into overdrive and suddenly, in my mind, I’m not alone under the spray anymore.
I’m remembering one of the last times we had sex, when I’d come home and found her in the shower. Deciding that surprising her was a good idea considering how tense she’d been, I undressed and slipped into the bathroom without making a sound. I’d startled her and she yelled at me for a solid ninety seconds before I had her back pressed against the cool tile and was balls deep inside her.
The decision to take my cock into my hand wasn’t one I made on my own, but as I remember how good she’d felt, how tight and wet, her nails digging into my shoulders, I’m powerless to stop myself.
The sounds she made, the sounds she always made, the gasps and moans and yelling of my name strung with curses. I swear in the quiet as I pump myself, faster and faster, as I lean my forehead against the cool tile. The image of her head leaned back in ecstasy is all I see behind my closed eyes, the way her brows furrowed as that sensation in her core kept building. 
Fuck.
I’d kill to make her react like that again, to make her feel good, to give her exactly what she wants, just the way she likes it. I know her. I know what she likes. I know what makes her scream, what makes her knees shake. 
I can’t help but groan as I near my release. It’s embarrassing how quickly it’s approaching. It’s been too damn long since I’ve orgasmed, too damn long since I’ve been touched. So long that I’ve settled for myself, but I’m feeling too good to care.
I imagine it’s Nesta’s lips wrapped around my cock, her tongue exploring as I fuck her mouth with no hesitation. She shows no resistance, she never has. She loves it, loves the taste, loves the tease, loves sucking me dry.
At least she used to.
I ignore the fact that she won’t be down on her knees before me again and relive the memory of it. I groan and my hand finds the wall beside my head, grounding me as I jack off to the lust of something that no longer exists. 
I breathe her name, or maybe I yell it, I don’t know. 
All I know is that all I can think about is her name, her body, her eyes on mine, the love and desperation in them as we fucked. It’s been months since this day, months since this memory, and I suddenly feel an overwhelming sense of anguish and guilt as my release comes.
Nesta -
It’s hard to enjoy time with my sisters when my heart isn’t in it.
I feel guilty. I haven’t seen either of them in forever, save for when Feyre has come to pick up Nyx on the days that we watch him, and now that we’re all finally together, I can’t keep my mind in the conversation. 
I tell myself to focus, but I can’t. It’s been days since I’ve seen my husband, days since I’ve talked to him. I know he’s staying with Feyre, but I can’t convince myself to ask her about him. Even though I want to.
I want to know if he’s as miserable as I am.
I pop a strawberry in my mouth before taking a sip of my wine. “Oh, that reminds me,” I begin, even though I’m pretty sure they had moved the conversation along a few minutes ago, when I started to tune out, “I ordered two swings so I can keep one at my place. Because, you know, I’m going to steal this baby as much as possible.”
Elain chuckled, rubbing her growing bump lovingly. “I’m sure she’ll love spending time at her Aunt Nesta’s…and I’m sure me and daddy won’t mind having an afternoon or two to nap.”
“Why do I feel like you call him daddy way too often?” Feyre asks, and Elain nudges her with a scowl, which makes me chuckle. 
My sisters fall back into a comfortable, lighthearted conversation, but I don’t hear much of it. My mind is elsewhere. I wonder what Cassian is doing, what he’s been up to, what he’s been thinking, what he’s been saying about me. I doubt any of it has been good. I’m sure he’s been cursing my name and wishing I was nothing more than a woman of his past. 
“Nesta?”
I blink, unaware of how long I’ve been staring at my wine glass. I look up at Elain and clear my throat. “Hmm?”
Her eyes were soft, full of worry. “You can talk to us, you know.” 
I look to Feyre to try and gauge where her thoughts are at. After all, she’s the one that’s been talking to my husband. Yet, her eyes are just as full of worry, which I hate.
“I’m fine,” I say, and they know it’s a lie the second it slips off my tongue. The room drops into silence, and I close my eyes. “Has he…said anything?”
My sisters remain silent until I open my eyes, but then Feyre says, “He misses you.”
“He has an odd way of showing it.” The hostility in my tone isn’t directed at her, but I can’t help it. 
“He’s sad.” Feyre shrugs. “He hasn’t said much in detail, and I haven’t pried, but I can tell that he’s sad.”
I don’t know what to say to that, so I say nothing. I sip from my wine. I didn’t think that it was possible to feel any more guilty, but now I’m drowning in it. It doesn’t help that my sisters stay completely silent, letting me dwell in my misery. 
“Has he…mentioned when he’s coming home?” I ask, ashamed of how small my voice sounds.
It’s quiet for another moment longer and when I drag my gaze from my glass, I regret it. They’re both looking at me with pity.
I hate it. I hate feeling weak, but the sadness in their eyes isn’t just for me. Cassian has been a staple in their lives as long as he’s been in mine. He’s family to them both, but he and Feyre have always been close, almost stepping into the role of the older brother for her that none of us ever had.
I wasn’t surprised when she was the one who took the lead on this particular conversation.
Clearing her throat, she adjusted her seat on the couch, wrapping her arms around a throw pillow. I couldn’t get the image out of my head that she was putting a shield between us. That made me all the more worried for whatever she was going to say.
“I don’t know that he plans to,” Feyre finally admitted.
I waited for her to go on, not wanting to push, but her silence, and Elain’s, continued. “But that doesn’t— Why wouldn’t he?”
“He asked for a divorce, Nes,” she said, voice gratingly gentle, as if she were speaking to Nyx or one of her students. “That’s a pretty big indication that something is wrong.”
“I don’t need you telling me that something’s wrong.” Neither of them flinch at my sudden fury. They continue to watch me, carefully. I take a deep breath. “He’ll come back. He’s just pissed off and needs to cool down.”
Even as I say the words, I taste the lie.
“He’s given up, Nesta. He’s unhappy,” Feyre said, not unkindly. “And so are you.”
Such simple words, a secret that we tried to hide for so long, but here it is laid out bare: the truth. 
“I know,” I say, quietly, because my anger has faded and now I’m at a loss for words. 
“What about you?” Elain asked, and at my confused expression, she says, “Have you given up?”
If I were to tell the truth, I would say that I had given up a long time ago, I just didn’t realize it. Instead, I shrug. 
“Have you two ever talked about marriage counseling?” Elain asks, adjusting herself on the couch with a cringe. Deep into her last trimester, I can tell that she’s constantly uncomfortable. An annoyance, but a luxury. 
I shake my head. “I can’t remember the last time we had a meaningful conversation, much less a conversation that’s involved any sort of reconciliation.”
The confession flows out of me and my sister's frown deepens. “Well, remember Az and I did couples therapy when we were engaged. It helped so much.”
Azriel used to have a difficult time opening up, talking about his past, and it had created separation between the two of them in the beginning. I remember them doing couples therapy for a few months and only being happier and closer together because of it.
“I don’t really see Cass as…the therapy type,” I say, staring at a loose thread on the blanket thrown across my lap.
“Az was opposed to it at first,” Elain says, “but as soon as our first session wrapped, he already wanted to continue with it. Maybe suggest it. If you want to find your way back to him…” She shrugs and her eyes line with tears. I know it’s her hormones, but I still feel guilty for making Elain cry. She quickly shakes her head. “Don’t mind me. You know I’m an emotional mess.”
Feyre chuckles but I lean over and squeeze Elain’s hand. “I know. Don’t worry. I’ve cried so much the last few days that I don’t think it’s possible for me to cry anymore. Greg has gone into hiding, surely scared shitless that every time he sees me I’m going to be bawling.”
I try to make it a joke, but it’s just pathetic.
“We know you love him,” Feyre says, sipping from her glass. “And he loves you. He really does. He’s just…tired. You know?”
Yeah. I know.
“Do you want to save your marriage?” Feyre asks.
I don’t have the energy for anger anymore. “Of course I do. But I feel like…” Apparently I lied. I do still have tears left to cry, and they come now, appearing so quickly that I can’t even try to stop them. “I feel like so much damage has been done. We’ve drifted too far apart and I have no fucking clue how we’re going to find our way back to one another. I don’t think love is enough anymore. And I feel like I’ve made one too many mistakes.”
“No such thing,” Elain said, dabbing at her eyes. “There’s no such thing as too many mistakes. I’m telling you, marriage counseling works wonders. If you want, I can give you the information of the woman we saw. Suggest it to Cass. See what he thinks.”
My eyes drift back down to that loose thread, although my vision is now blurry. I’m scared of suggesting such a thing and having him laugh in my face.
“What if he doesn’t want to?” I ask, wiping at my eyes with my sleeve. “What if he’s just done? For good?”
This time both of my sisters spoke at once. Elain, trying to comfort as she always did, and Feyre, unafraid to speak the truth, no matter how much it hurt, their words jumbled as they spoke over each other. They gave each other an apologetic smile before turning back to me.
“He won’t be,” Elain promised, taking my hand. “He loves you and he misses you. I’m sure he’d be willing to do anything to get back to how you were.”
“But…” Feyre took my other hand, squeezing once. “If he doesn’t, if this is the beginning of a different chapter of your life, we’re here. You aren’t alone.”
The smile I gave them didn’t reach my eyes, nor do I think it fooled them. I’d been alone for months, but no one said anything, no one noticed.
What would make this any different?
After another hour of talking, clearing my head, and making sure I was good to drive, I headed home. I was avoiding it now, far more intentionally than I had before Cassian left.
Before, I hadn’t been there because I was busy. I came home late, but I always knew the porch light would be on, that my husband was waiting inside, despite our distance.
Now, when I come home, it’s empty. It’s dark and every sound, day or night, makes me jump.
I hate being alone.
But as I approach the house, I see the porch light is on and my breath catches in my throat. When I raise the garage door, it isn’t empty, as I’d expected.
There’s a familiar black truck parked in the spot opposite mine.
He…came home.
For a moment I just sit in my car, surprised and uncertain, not because I’m not happy he’s here, but because I wasn’t prepared.
After a deep breath, trying to calm my newfound nerves, I open the door and head inside. It’s ridiculous, being nervous to see my own husband, but we haven’t spoken in days and our last conversation left too much unsaid. I don’t know if I should be expecting a gentle reunion or preparing for a fight. 
“Cassian?”
The house is quiet. Greg is nearly asleep on the kitchen table, looking like he’d just gotten there and isn’t quite comfortable yet. 
Cassian's keys and wallet are sitting next to his phone on the island. It’s not where he usually puts them when he comes home. I’m finding it much stranger than I probably should.
When he doesn’t respond to me, I start making my way through the house, calling his name once more. I take to the stairs and hear the shower running as I approach our bedroom. 
It must be a good sign, right? That he’s making himself at home?
It looks like he came here right after the gym. His shoes are discarded on the floor, his sweaty clothes sitting on top of mine in the hamper. I drop my purse on the bed and slip out of my boots. I’m just about to sit, to wait for him, to take a few minutes to think about what I’m going to say, but then I hear my husband moan and my entire body locks up.
It’s been a long fucking time since I’ve heard him moan.
He’s having sex in there.
He may be pissed, but to bring some slut into our house— 
My entire body is shaking and I feel like I’m going to vomit. I feel a panic attack coming on, feel my face burning in embarrassment. We’ve had our issues, but I never imagined Cassian to be the cheating one, never imagined he could be unfaithful. 
And then to rub it in my face like this?
Before I even know what I’m doing, I’m storming towards the bathroom and throwing open the door.
A room filled with steam greets me, and before I can start screaming and cursing his name, I freeze.
Cassian’s alone. His back is to me, one palm opened flat against the tile wall, his head thrown back as his body starts to tense. The glass is fogged up, but I can still see enough of the body that I used to explore and pleasure. It’s been so long since I’ve seen him naked, since I’ve let him touch me in any sort of way, since I’ve touched him.
Which seems to be why he’s touching himself now.
He hasn’t heard me come in, and I should walk out, but my feet are stuck just across the threshold, my hand clinging to the doorknob.
He works himself quickly as he moans again, and curses low.
He says my name as he comes.
I must have gasped, must have made some noise as the shock of hearing him groan my name in ecstasy flooded my body, because he turned on his heel, staring at me through the fogged glass. His hand was still around his cock, his chest heaving with each breath that rasped from his lungs.
If I hadn’t been expecting him to say my name, I surely hadn’t been expecting the ire in his eyes when his gaze landed on me. Any heat at what I’d walked in on dissipated as he looked at me.
He may have been thinking of me, but clearly he didn’t want to see me.
My chest felt cold and hollow and empty.
Without a word, I left the bathroom, closing the door behind me, and walked into the bedroom.
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Text
Complimentary Chapter 2
Logan's appreciation day is upon us, and... turns out he doesn't like what's going on.
Note:
This chapter does have a swear in it (the f-word), so apologies in advance. More apologies for all of the The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals references I make. I had it on the brain when I was writing this. Also sorry for the fact that it's way after Logan's "birthday". I started writing it on his birthday, and just kept not finishing it. Here it is though!
Read on AO3
“Don’t forget, Logan, speak up. You’re just as important as the rest of them. Make sure your voice is heard.” Aedus said to Logan before he left. 
“I’ll do my best. Thank you, Aedus.” He responded, and sank out of his room. Aedus returned to a shadow, the faint glow emitting from his orange light disappearing.
Logan rose up into his spot beside the stairwell to find that none of the others were actually there. To add on to that, all the lights in the area were off. A glance at his watch verified that it was the designated meeting time, and though he knew that on occasion one or two of them would appear later, typically Thomas would be there. Just as he was about to attempt an investigation further, and as Logan’s eyes were just beginning to adjust to the lighting, the lights flew on, assaulting Logan’s eyes. He blinked away the bright lights, and saw the living room decorated with indigo streamers and ribbons and such. A banner along the back wall writing out “Happy Birthday Logan!”. The others were all in their regular spots, and they all called out “Happy birthday” in unison, and even Virgil seemed happy to be there.
“Logan!” Thomas called to him, “How are you doing?”
“I would suppose that I am doing fine, all things considered.” Logan said, “Especially seeing as I thought something had happened to you all.”
“Oh, excuse us for that.” Patton said, “I wanted to throw you a little something for your big day and Roman–”
“Yes, well, I wanted to give you a surprise party. Clearly it didn’t take.” Roman said, “Seriously, you were worse than that eccentric emo over there.” He jabbed a thumb in Virgil’s direction. “I tried to surprise him last year and he attacked me.” Roman put a hand to his chest, looking aghast. Then he muttered an added insult under his breath: “For such a dramatic pessimist, I didn’t know he’d hate my flair to that extent.”
“You did show up in my room uninvited, Ramen. And it’s not like I hate an added flair. I just hate yours.” Virgil snapped back.
“Hm, and do you know that Halloween is over? You can stop dressing like you get everything from Dead, Slashed and Beyond.”
“Moving on to my clothing, really? You know this is how I always dress. And that’s real rich coming from the constant LARPer. I don’t know if you got lost, but this isn’t the renaissance faire.”
Roman let out a high pitched scoff, and moved to keep the fight going, until Patton spoke up. “Alright kiddos, how about we save the argument for later? This is Logan’s day after all, and you two had better not make a mess of it.” Patton scolded them through grit teeth, and left them with one last stern glare before returning to his toothy grin.
“Moving on…” Thomas said apprehensively, “Logan, I know you don’t like the whole ‘birthday thing’–”
“Yes,” Logan interjected, “I don’t like it. We are not real, thus we were never born, and we do not have ‘birthdays’. But please, continue.”
“Uh, right, well, I know you don’t like the birthday thing, but it is the anniversary of you– your character’s first appearance, so we threw you a little party!”
“Hmph. So was there ever actually a meeting for us to discuss, or was it all staged so that I would actually show up to your guys' party?”
“Welp, you, uh, you called us on our bluff!” Patton said, voice getting a little higher than it was before as he fidgeted with his hands. “This week's meeting was a bit of a… fib, but we’re all still here! Just for a different reason!”
Logan snorted a bit. “Thank you, everyone, for the thought. But if we aren’t actually here to do any work, I’ll be on my way.” He looked around, but while Patton protested his leaving and Thomas looked a bit upset at all the matter, no one fought him on wanting to go. It was his own volition, and Roman and Virgil seemed… preoccupied with their own silent argument. So Logan, now convinced that no one would stop him if he left, sank out, leaving the rest in an awkward silence.
Logan rose up into his room, seething from the events of the day. Aedus wasted no time in appearing just as he had the first time round, though with less startled introductions. His orange light cast Logan in an odd glow, the shadows on his face still with that orange reflection of the lighting. 
“Hey, Logan, are you doing alright?” Aedus asked softly. “You don’t look too happy.”
“That’s because I’m not.” Logan snapped at him, before catching himself. “Apologies. I’m sorry, Aedus, I… I don’t know what came over me. I’m not typically like this.”
“I know, Logan. And don’t worry about it! You’re upset, and I think it’s a good thing you’re letting yourself feel things. You are the one who goes on about not repressing. I’m proud of you.” Aedus grinned. “So, what did they do this time?”
Logan sighed. “They threw a party. It’s not exactly something to be upset about, but of course Roman had to take everything too far.”
“So you’re mad at Roman…” Aedus said, half talking to himself.
“I wouldn’t go as far as to say ‘mad’, but that’s a fair statement.” Aedus squinted at him, before Logan continued on. “Alright! I’m mad! Happy?”
“Of course not,” Aedus said as calmly as he could, “They upset you. Why should I be happy?”
“You were correct, were you not? I’m mad. I’m angry. I would expect you to have some sense of pride from that, would you not?”
“Logan… I’m not Roman or someone. Yeah, I’m right, but I care about you.” Aedus said with vigor. “You deserve to feel–”
“No, I don’t. I am Logic. Anger will only mess up everything. It’s the same with all… feelings.” Logan said the word ‘feelings’ as though it was the name of a truly disgusting creature, one that brought distaste by the very mention of it. “All of them make me fail at my duty. So no, I don’t ‘deserve to feel’. I reject the notion.”
Aedus huffed for a moment. “Well alright. But you can’t just deny feeling them. Pardon my language, but that’s fucking absurd. You know full well what repression does, so why bottle it up? Don’t you just want to let it out? What do you want, Logan?”
“What I want is to do my job properly. But…” Logan sighed, “If you think I should do something about my– emotions, then I suppose I will. What would you suggest?”
Logan sounded so tired in his question, as if he’d had his moment of anger, only for it to all come falling down as he fell with it, collapsing into a heaping pile of his own failed emotional dam. The bags under his eyes seemed so much more obvious, the orange lighting coming from Aedus casting his face into solemn shadows. His shoulders sagged and he shut his eyes, allowing himself this moment of reprieve. Aedus moved his hand over Logan’s, and Logan looked down at the feeling of the warmth. It wasn’t like he could fully feel it, even their handshake had been more along the lines of Aedus’ shadow passing over Logan’s physical form, but still, Logan could feel a warmth on the area that Aedus’ hand went over.
“Just let it out. Shout, punch something, whatever it is you need to do, let it out! Everyone deals with emotions in different ways, and we just need to figure out yours.” Aedus said, “I’ll help you through it.”
“...Alright.” Logan said, nodding to Aedus. “Where do we start?”
Taglist: @oatmeal-stans-the-trash-rat @dearqueerheart @thegoldenduckie @greenshirtguystuff @nico-the-overlord
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