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fanttasttica · 2 years ago

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One plus one makes three

Rhysand x reader

After your one night stand with the High lord, you hadn't expected to see him ever again, but fate had other plans. You are pregnant, carrying the High lord's first child and you need to tell him. How is he going to react? And what will that mean for you?

Warnings: nothing (I think.. If you find anything, please let me know :D )

Words: 4129

Authors note: Thanks for participanting inthe voting! Since this idea got the most votes, i wrote it first. My next story will be on theme "enemies to lovers" :D

You weren't that type of a girl who got drunk every weekend and had a sex with males whose names you haven't bothered to learn. No.. So why was the universe punishing you for this? It was one night, only one. You were celebrating your birthday with some friends at Rita's, when you spotted the most beautiful male that ever existed. He was tall, seemed strong and there was this dark aura around him. He was undoubtedly powerful, but instead of fearing him, something dragged you to him. After some time you were watching each other from afar, he came up to you and asked you to dance. It was during your time on the dancing floor, when you found out it was no other than High lord or the Night cour, your High lord. It was the first time you saw him, the first time you talked to him and you thought it would also be probably the last. Maybe you ended up in his bed that night, but it was supposed to be only a one night stand, but fate decided otherwise.

You weren't feeling well for a couple of days. Your friends were pushing you to see a healer and today you finally gave in. You visited your healer on the other side of the town, thinking she will brush it off, tell you to rest for another couple of days and eat chicken broth, you hated, but no. This wasn't only some illness you could get rid of after a few days. This would last for at least a couple of months and then the real fun would begin. You were pregnant. Carrying an heir to the Night court in your womb. Your stomach was still flat and if it weren't for your morning sickness and tiredness, you wouldn't have noticed you were pregnant yet. After finding that out, you thanked and said goodbye to your healer, leaving in a hurry. As if running from her would also mean that you would run from your situation. Unfortunately for you, that didn't happen. Symptoms still bothered you in the following days, reminding you about how screwed you were.

“What are you going to do?” Your friends were curious, of course. And honestly you were too. “I have no idea. I am.. I only saw him once.” You answered her while running your hand through your hair. “Yeah, you saw him once. You slept with him once and you ended up pregnant.. I can't believe your luck.” It was hard to say if she was speaking ironically or not, because you wouldn't call yourself lucky. This wasn't some blessing. You weren't against children, you actually liked them and hoped one day you will have one, this was simply quite early for you and certainly with the wrong man. He maybe was a High lord, but you were an ordinary fae. He probably already forgot about your existence. “I don't even know how to contact him. Should I go back to Rita's in the hope I will meet him there? Should I send him a letter and tell him about this? And what should I write in it? Do I really have to tell him?” Not telling him anything and running to another court was an idea you were also toying with. “You can not possibly mean that! He deserves to know. And besides that, lies or secrets are always exposed in the end. He is the most powerful High lord of all times.. Do you really think you can keep this as a secret your whole life? Your kids' whole life?” You sighed in defeat and shook your head. “No, that's stupid.. I.. I just need another few days to collect my thoughts and think about ways to contact and tell him.”

Few days passed by and you still weren't sure what to do. Why does it have to be so complicated? If he weren't the High lord, you would already have told him. It would make everything so much easier for both of you. It was pointless to cry over a spilled milk, but you couldn't help yourself, blaming it on your hormones. One day, you had enough of it. Enough of hiding in your room, crying and cursing on him and yourself. You were determined to find him, tell him about this and return home, so you could finally have some good rest without constantly thinking about this, because currently you were losing your head. You decided to try to find Rhysand again at Rita's. It seemed better to ask him for a minute there than marching to his house and demanding he would see you. You friends were supportive, not leaving you to be all alone. There always was at least one of them by your side, although you weren't finding it necessary, it was a nice gesture you appreciated. The first night you spent here looking for you, you hadn't had any luck, likewise the second or third night. But after sitting on the bar stool for the fourth night in a row, you finally saw him. He was talking to his friends, with a smile on his handsome face, unaware that his life was about to change drastically.

Your heart started beating faster than ever before. In normal situations, you were a calm person, but obviously not today. “You should hurry and go speak to him, before other girls start to throw themself on him.” You swallowed hard.“Yeah.. I am going right now.” You tried to put on a neutral face and started walking towards him, even though everything in you screamed to run away. Suddenly, you were standing right before him and his friends, who were measuring you with interest in their eyes. You simply nodded at them in greeting and looked at the High lord. “You probably don't remember me, but we met here a while ago.. And I need to speak with you. It's urgent. ” At first you were worried he was going to send you away. He raised one eyebrow, but nodded and put away his drink, following you outside. Cold air hit you immediately, so you hugged yourself, before turning to face him. “I remember you, don't worry.” You weren't expecting that. “Yeah.. that's good.” It made a few things easier for you. Now you know there isn't a need to explain to him when you met and what you did together that night. “So? What did you need to tell me?” He was curious, of course. Maybe expecting you to try to seduce him, as many girls certainly did in the past, but there was nothing that could prepare him for this. “I am pregnant and it's yours.”

There weren't many people who managed to surprise the High lord of the Night court. And even the least people managed to surprise him so much that he couldn't think of a reaction for the first few seconds. He was stunned, looking at you as if you were from another unknown world, so you took word once again. “To be honest.. I expected a worse reaction..” You sighed and looked at the ground. “I don't want anything from you. I want and will keep the baby, but if you don't want to, you don't have to be involved in the baby's life. I have people who will help me and also have enough money to take care of it. So.. It's up to you.” And with that, you left him standing outside alone, returning to your friends.

“How did it go? Did he take it well?” Immediately after your return, you were flooded with questions. You shrugged and drank water from your glass. “He was clearly surprised. I told him I don't expect anything from him and assured him it's his choice, if he wants to be involved or not and then left.” They laughed. “You told him this and just left him standing there alone? Oh my Cauldron, I would pay to see his face.” Maybe you would also laugh at this, only if it weren't you who was in this situation. You put one of your hands on your stomach. It was weird and also.. magical, knowing that right now, you are creating a new life. “He returned to his friends and is talking with them.” Your friend whispered to your ears. You could feel several pairs of eyes watching you. Shaking your head, you smiled at them. “Let's talk about something else for a while and try to enjoy this night.” You desperately needed some distraction and opportunity to think about anything else. In the end, the reason why you were here today was done and you deserved some break from this too.

The next day, you were woken up by the Sun. After you forgot to close the curtains last night, there was nothing that could stop morning rays from tickling your eyes. Like any other day before, you were thinking, if you weren't dreaming this whole time, but morning sickness was clear evidence that in fact you were not. After brushing your teeths and hair, you dressed up, put on black leggings and your favorite jumper, you were ready for the day. For the last couple of days, you took time off from your job. It wasn't that hard,since you were running a small bakery with your friends and they almost forced you to stay at home. But today, you were determined to return. You wanted to start living normally again. There isn't a chance that you will spend a whole pregnancy locked in your room. You will take things slowly, so there is no chance for something to happen and it will all be good.

Your day has been going just fine. After coming to work, you could finally be able to feel like a few weeks ago, like nothing was going on. Well, that was until the bell rang, announcing the arrival of another customer you should greet. After you look up, you find no one other than the High lord himself. “Shouldn't you be resting?” You raised your eyebrow. “Hello to you too.. I assure you I am rested well enough.” He came closer, the only thing between you was a counter, behind which you stood. “You don't need to work. I will take care of both of you.” You shook your head. “There is no need for that. I can work, what's more important, I want to work. I love my job.” Something in his face told you, he took this as a challenge. “You are pregnant with my child. I think I should have a say in this matter.” This whole conversation was uncomfortable for both of you. You both were very determined to do it in your way. And the fact that you were strangers had not been helping at all. You didn't know how to treat each other. “Then I guess we need to find some compromise.”

You weren't exactly thrilled with how some things turned out in the end, but on the other hand, it could be worse. After a long talk with Rhysand, how he told you to call him, you end up agreeing to stop working when you are halfway through your pregnancy, but that is not all. During those few weeks you will still be working, there will always be someone with you, during your shift. Practically, members of Rhys's Inner circle were supposed to babysit you. You knew it would be very unusual for you, but you were hoping that in a couple of days you will be able to ignore them or befriend them. You also agreed on moving in with Rhysand and his Inner circle, three weeks before the baby was supposed to be born and staying for at least a couple of months. “Honestly, I am surprised that you want to be so involved..” You mumbled. You two were talking almost your whole shift, which was coming to the end right now. “It's my baby, of course I want to be involved. We have to take care of her or him. Which brings me to my last point today.” He took your silence as a cue to continue. “We should get married.” You weren't sure what you were expecting, but this was certainly not it. Almost dropping a tray with two last gingerbreads, you turned to face him. His face was serious, there was no sign that he was just kidding, but you laughed lightly even so. “Good one. I am not marrying only because I am pregnant.” But he didn't let you brush that off so easily. “Why? It would be better. You would live in luxury for the rest of your life and I would have an heir.” Without this union, this baby would only be a bastard in the others eyes, you were aware of that, but you couldn't do this. “I already told you, I am comfortable with the life I am living. I don't need jewelry or fancy dresses. I was always determined to marry for love or not at all. And I am not changing my mind.”

The weeks passed one by another. As Rhys promised, from the very next day, his friends started accompanying you, during your work. Sometimes, it was Morrigan you befriended quite quickly. It was because of her friendly personality. She was treating you like a friend from the start, promising you to always help you with the baby. Almost every time she came, she was bringing something for you or the baby. You It almost didn't make sense for you to go shopping for things for the baby since she was the one doing it. Then there were Cassian and Azriel. They also were friendly, but it took a little longer to get used to them, but after you started feeding them sweets from your shop, they warmed up to you and you were chatting like an old friend. The last person who you saw maybe two times was Amren. She wasn't rude, but when she was there, she was doing her own work and since you didn't want to disturb her, you hadn't talked so much. As for Rhys, he was visiting you every other day before and after your shift. The communication between you two was better and sometimes, you caught yourself staring at him, when he was talking to his friends and since that was exactly what got you into this situation in the first place, you weren't happy with yourself.

“This is your last day, isn't it?” Morrigan was sitting on a table, smiling at you as you were counting the money before closing the register. “Yeah.. I still can't believe it.” You were half through your pregnancy and your bump was already showing a little. Fortunately, the morning sickness and tiredness have passed you by now. You were feeling great. “I don't know what I am going to do with my free time.” She shrugged. “You can read.. Paint.. Shop for the baby..” You chuckled at the last thing. “Thanks to you, the baby has more than enough clothes. And I pursue all my hobbies even when I am working.. Rhys is thinking that I will only lay in bed, eat and sleep, but that's simply not possible. I would lose my head after one week.” She smiled at you sympathetically. “My cousin behaves sometimes like a mother hen. I believe you, when you say it's annoying.. But you have to endure it only for another couple of weeks..” That wasn't helping. “I am not like a mother hen. I don't know what you two are talking about.” You only noticed Rhysand, who was leaning against the door frame, now. “Yeah, you are worse.” You mumbled, after recovering from the shock he gave you. “You are hurting my feelings, dear Y/N.” You pursed your lips at him. “How are you going to recover from this?” His laughter filled the room and forced you to chuckle a little bit too. “When will you two finally get together? You are perfect for each other.” Neither of you answered her.

As you expected, you were bored only after a week of not working. Sure, you had your friends and also new friends from Inner circle, but it wasn't enough. They also had work and their lives. So you decided to go bother the man who was responsible for your boredom, Rhysand. You already visited his home, he gave you permission to come and go as you pleased, so you decided to pay him a visit today with some sweet desserts from the bakery for him and a jar of pickles for you. The other symptoms of pregnancy passed, but this one, love for pickles, remained. You knocked twice on the mahagon door that led to his office and waited for his response, before opening them and walking in. “I am bored and it's your fault.” Rhys leaned back in his chair and narrowed his eyes. “How is that my fault?” He obviously wasn't understanding your logic. Maybe it was because he was a male or maybe because his brain was not affected by hormones. “You didn't want me to work anymore, so I don't have anything to do and in addition to that, I am already sick of some things that I normally like! It's frustrating.” You sat on the chair across from him. “I need to finish these papers, but once I am done, I actually know what we could do together.. Until then, you are welcome to stay.” You thought about it for a while and nodded. “Okay, I will wait. And I would almost forget. This is for you. Morrigan told me you like this.” You moved the dessert tray across the table in front of him. He looked surprised and also very happy. “Thank you, it's nice of you, but you didn't have to do that.” You shrugged, picked up one pickle and ate it before replying to him. “I wanted you. Sweet is good for the nerves. And you'll need a lot of nerve to put up with my moods.”

There was a comfortable silence. Rhys was working, you were eating pickles and watching him. During this time, you found out some other new things about him. For example, every time he tried to concentrate intensely, he furrowed his brow, when he was thinking about something, he tapped his pen on the table.. “I didn't know I was so interesting to you.” You blinked a few times, before you realized he probably noticed that you were staring directly at him for the past few minutes. “I was just thinking how can I protect our child from inheriting your crooked nose.” He chuckled and looked at you, still smiling. “Your love for me is touching.” You rolled your eyes playfully. “Are you almost done? I am running out of pickles.” He put the papers aside and nodded. “Lucky for you, yes. We can go now.”

You had to admit that his house was beautiful. It was so spacious, but cozy at the same time. It felt like home. During the tour Rhys gave you, you were imagining your life here. Imagining a little girl running around the corridors and Rhysand following her, while they are both laughing.. “There are only two other rooms I want to show you.” You offered him a small smile, “Okay, lead the way.” After climbing a few stairs, you reached the next floor of the house Rhys walked to the end of the corridor. “This is my room and right next to it..” He opened the door and let you walk in first. You gasped at the sight before you. It was a nursery. The walls were white and decorated with painted gold stars. Everything was ready. Closets full of baby clothes and other necessary things. Crib was in the middle of the room, filled with some stuffed animals and more blankets than needed. Tears welled up in your eyes. “It's so beautiful! Did you do it by yourself?” You asked, turning to Rhysand who was watching you with a happy expression. “Most of the things, although Cassian and Azriel had to help me to build the crib.. I am the most powerful High lord, but that thing is terrible.” You laughed at the idea of the three strongest Illyrian warriors having trouble assembling a crib. “And Morrigan got the clothes.” You nodded, recognizing some pieces. “Thank you, really.” He walked towards you and carefully took your hand to his. “You don't have to thank me. I was happy to do it. After all, I promised you that I would spoil both you and the child.” The fact that your child was going to be spoiled was certain. And probably no amount of strictness couldn't prevent that. “As for spoiling you.. I also have room ready for you.”

It wasn't until Rhys pointed them out that you noticed a door not far from the crib. “This door leads to your room. And the door opposite.. to mine, so I can come and help you with the baby during the night or you can easily come to my room, if you would need it at any time.” It was practical, better than having to run to the hall and knock on his door there. “Are you ready to see it?” With this, he caught your attention once again. “Of course.”

You fell in love with your room the first second you walked in. Rhys made sure the walls were painted in your favorite color. There was a table, not so far from the window. On the other side is a bookcase with a rocking chair next to it. The walk-in closet was the same size as your bathroom, which was as luxurious as everything else. “Okay.. Now I am really looking forward to moving in here.” You joked and lay on your big bed. Blanket was so soft you wanted nothing else than getting tangled up in it and never getting out. Rhys sat on your bed, watching you with a grin. “And I thought you said you didn't need a life of luxury..” He said playfully. As a response, you slapped him gently on his hand. “I don't need it. But I have to admit, it's nice.” You sat up and rested your head on his shoulder. He hugged you, with one of his hands, around your waist and placed his hand on your stomach, stroking it gently. “Only the best for you.”

Many weeks passed and now.. As you predicted, you were holding a baby girl in your arms. Your and Rhysand's baby girl. Your birth was quite easy, thankfully. You were happy. Rhys was all over the moon, not leaving you alone for one minute. The others were not better, they pushed each other away, only to get a better view of her, before Madja told them to leave, since you need to rest. So now, it was only you, Rhys and your little star. “I know I already said it.. But thank you.” You looked in his eyes and smiled. “I thank you. Afterall, this takes two.” Although most of the job was done by you, Rhys was amazing to you this whole time. Treating you like a queen. “I am really.. glad for this. Finding out I was going to be a father was shocking, I will not lie, but.. I am just really happy.” Hearing this made your heart jump with joy. “Yeah.. I am too. I am glad I met you. And I have to admit.. I grew fond of you.” He chuckled deeply and kissed the top of your head. “Does that mean you will marry me then? And I assure you.. I am not asking out of some obligation, because we have a child together.” Rhys was ready to give you time to think, but you didn't need it. It wasn't love at first sight with him. You were falling in love with him for a while, but now you were sure that he was your happy ending. Well.. him and your daughter. That's why there wasn't a trace of hesitation when you answered him, “I will.”

#acotar #acotar fanfiction #acotar imagine #acotar series #a court of thorns and roses #a court of wings and ruin #a court of mist and fury #rhysand imagine #rhysand fanfic #rhysand x reader #rhys x reader #rhysand #cassian #azriel #morrigan

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jaehunnyy · 2 years ago

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Fight club

Genre: enemies-to-lovers, brother's best friend!au, angst, fluff, crack, suggestive

Word count: 3.4k

Pairing: boxing-manager!Wooyoung x fem!reader

Warnings: mentions and a few descriptions of fights, fighting settings, mentions of blood, hits, rude people, swear words, mentions of making out, pet names, kisses, allusions to some lines from the actual movie Fight Club and to Bouncy lyrics, possible grammar mistakes

Taglist: @shakalakaboomboo, @cromerteez, @nebulousbrainsoup, @justhere4kpop, @bluehwale, @bluisheye93, @ssaboala, @heesnovia

Networks: @cromernet 🤍

The white, wadded clouds were threatening to cover the ground in sad tears of rain as you were wandering around the strange city you were in, all because of his love for traveling. Your car's engine decided to give up in the middle of the street and there you were, looking for anything that would serve as a roof under your head for the night, until he gave you a sign. Suddenly, your eyes started to beam as you saw a rundown ‘Mtel’ sign, written in red neon lights (one letter obviously missing), one that happened to have a car service on the first floor. You ran there as fast as you could, fearing that it was gonna close or something; and as soon as you got in front of it, you started to wonder if you were in the right place. Two guys were trying to make their parrot talk or something, a few french keys and other tools scattered around the floor as they seemed to be occupied with their pet.

"Uhm… hello?" you dared to talk and get their attention, having two pairs of eyes analyzing you. "My car broke down… and you seem to work with these things so… mind helping me?"

The look they gave each other really had you confused—they were almost surprised with your request.

"Okay, I see how it i—"

"No! We can help, of course. We just… wondered how many other cars we have to repair, you know?" The taller one said, not-so-gently nudging the other one as if he wanted him to support his words.

The younger one jumped a little, smiling weakly as he nodded. "We got it!"

You still couldn't figure if they were honest or not, but you just went with it and let them handle your car as you went to the receptionist to book a room.

The morning came with fast steps as you woke up due to some noisy sounds from outside, disturbing your already not-so-great sleep. You yawned and looked outside the window, seeing how the two mysterious guys were carrying things in their garage. They were getting more and more suspicious, so you grabbed your jacket and went downstairs to see the process. Your car seemed to be intact, they actually put some effort into changing the color of it too into a matte one, which you weren't opposing to at all.

"Is it done yet?"

They looked at you, both trying to cover the car as much as they could as you were approaching it.

"No! Don't touch it! Go eat and then you can come see it." the one with the purple highlights said once again. "Oh, and we're Jongho and Yunho, by the way." He said, a gummy smile taking over his face as you nodded softly and introduced yourself.

As soon as you left the room, they sighed.

"We're screwed. We are supposed to be undercover policemen, not mechanical engineers!" Jongho scolded Yunho, as the oldest sighed softly.

"Then go and tell her this! I actually think we even did a great job… Even our parrot agrees."

"We'll see about that. And let’s hope she doesn’t call the police on us!"

Said and done. You came from the little diner, looking at your now covered car. It seemed promising.

"Tadaaaaa! Here is your car, fresh and new." Yunho said, taking the sheet off of your shiny car.

"Thank you so much guys! Money won't thank you enough for that." you went and excitedly opened the car's door, only for something heavy to drag you down slowly—it was the car's door.

"...I guess no money for us," Jongho said, head down in shame as he couldn't look you in the eyes. "I told you, stupid."

You were still in shock as the door was now standing on the ground, looking at the two boys. "Mind telling me what’s this about?"

"This… is not our job, Y/n, we're sorry for lying to you." Yunho said, trying to reach for you but you went outside, leaving them to wallow in self pity.

This was all because of your stupid companion, one that wasn’t even accompanying you right now, when you needed him the most. You threw your hair back in frustration, going around the busy streets you didn’t even know. It kept getting darker, and the few houses you saw were not giving you any comfort. You were in trouble, in a run down neighborhood you wouldn't even dream of. A blue-haired guy showed up at some point, and as crazy as you must have looked, you followed him into an alley. When you saw him suspiciously entering a back door; you rushed inside just before it could close. The inside was lit by some yellow lights and you swore you could hear loud cheers coming from the basement. You went to the first door you saw and opened it, forgetting about the personal space for just a while, until you saw a long-haired brunette surrounded by money. Oh, and having a rolled-up bill between his teeth. If you weren't in need of help, you would exit the door as fast as you entered it. Feeling that someone was staring at him, he looked in your direction and raised an eyebrow when he saw your unfamiliar face, putting the money in the bag and hiding it under his desk as fast as he could.

"Robbery?" he asked, eyes continuously on the money bag you were amazed of.

"Listen, dude. I'm lost in this hell of a district, my car is screwed by two liars and I just want to find a way back and go home. My last intention is to rob you."

He wore an unfazed look on his face, almost like he didn't understand a thing of what you said; he was getting on your nerves more.

"Also, what kind of people ask someone if they are gonna rob them? And how the fuck do you have so much money?"

He smirked as soon as you mentioned the money—if you looked close enough, you could almost see the dollar signs in his eyes.

"If you wanna know how, I can show you right now. Follow me."

What did you have to lose? You were already lost in your thoughts, you didn't have the energy to say no—so you followed him. As soon as you got inside the room, you noticed the pleasing decorum, but also the fighting ring in the middle of it. And after you took some time to look around and take in the new surrounding, your eyes met his.

"Sa—"

Before you could even finish anything, he was on the floor, mouth full of blood as your eyes widened, wondering what the fuck he was doing there—the one who made you get lost, the one who brought you there. Before you could speak again, you saw the money guy hurry in San's direction, as he got seated on a chair, an exhausted and hurt look on his face.

"What the fuck got you that distracted? You literally let him hit you!"

"Wooyoung… her… protect her…" he raised his hand weakly, finger pointing to you.

"Ha? Her? You know the mysterious I got lost girl?"

"That girl is my sister, Wooyoung!"

Oh.

"Shhh, calm down. Don't waste your energy. C'mon, drink a bit of water, and go back on the ring." he said, splashing half of the water bottle on your brother's face while trying to look unaffected. I didn't sign up for this, he thought, though there was nothing he could have done—they really needed the money.

The cheers only got louder when San returned to the ring, while you tried to make your way in the crowd, squinting your eyes to see something between the pink hair strands of a tall man in front of you.

"You stole my place." you turned back to face a built man, anger visible on his face as you blocked his view—and stole his place.

Words got stuck in your throat as you swallowed the lump inside of it, anger getting over your senses. "What did you just say?"

"I said that you stole my place and that I expect you to go back!" he raised his voice more and your eyes shut together, your fist ready to throw a punch, before you felt a strong arm dragging you behind them—the brunette again.

“She’s with me." he growled, dragging you next to him as you were worriedly looking at your brother. "You're going to have to win double the amount of money for this, San." he mumbled.

Another hit on the ring and he was completely out of it, the three seconds passing and the bells letting the public know who the winner was—and much to his friend's disappointment, it wasn't San.

"No way. No way this is happening. He lost because of you!" he pointed at you, hitting his chair with his foot until it fell down.

You were already overwhelmed by everything you witnessed, tears beaming at the corners of your eyes as your brother came to the two of you.

"Stop trying to control everything and just let go. Let go, Wooyoung! For once!" he said, tiredness audible in his voice as his breath was hitched and slow.

"That's my job, San. And you were supposed to help me, help us." All Wooyoung could do after this was frown, before he left the building to go get some air.

You looked at your brother and dragged him somewhere far from the looks of the curious ones, hitting his chest slightly.

"What the fuck are you doing here, San? Is this the traveling you loved? Is that what our parents would have wanted you to become?"

He looked down, avoiding your stare as he couldn't look at you.

"Why didn't you tell me you needed money?! I would have gotten a job to help you!"

That's when his eyes met yours, finally hearing his voice in the two days you've been separated.

"The first rule of Fight Club…" he started, his gaze becoming stern: "… is you don’t talk about Fight Club.”

He genuinely annoyed you.

"And what are you doing here in the first place?"

"I was trying to find a way to cope with everything that happened after my brother left me so he could go fight some random people."

Auch. That hurt worse than a kick, he sighed.

"I'm sorry, Y/n… C'mon, you can stay with me from now on."

You didn't want to give in, you couldn’t imagine yourself having to stand Wooyoung's tantrums, yet it was better than wandering alone in an unknown city—so, you did what you thought was right and listened to your brother. And maybe staying so much with him (and his friend you won't talk about), watching his matches, that might have opened new horizons for you. You were now having dinner with them, clearing your voice before letting it be heard.

"You know… I wanna join the Fight Club too." you said softly, waiting for any sort of reaction from them; and there were two different ones—Wooyoung's eyes lit up immediately as he saw more money coming his way, whilst San was looking terrified.

"No."

"Yes!"

They said in unison, glaring at each other.

"I'm not letting her join this, it's dangerous, Woo!"

Wooyoung seemed to absolutely ignore the boy as he smiled at you, the first time you have seen him smiling outside of matches San won.

"I will help you become the best fighter out here. We're starting tomorrow!"

All you could do was smile excitedly as San face-palmed himself.

Said and done. You were already one month into practicing, and Wooyoung kept on finding matches for you, the next one being in two days. You were inside the little space he claimed as your training room, punching the innocent punching bag as you heard the door behind you. You thought it was Wooyoung and smirked, turning to face him and kicking, only for your fist to stop right in front of your brother's face.

"Oh… hey San." you smiled innocently whilst all he could do was sigh.

"If you don't get along with Wooyoung, why do you keep on doing this? I didn't even agree!"

You looked at him, deciding to ignore the judging look he threw your way. "I think I am capable of making my own decisions and I sure as hell don’t need my brother to make them for me."

"Do you think our parents would be proud that their daughter chose this path?"

This time, you snapped.

"Maybe you should have thought about this before choosing it first. You are my only role model, San, what do you expect from me?"

"I'm sorry, babes. If that's what you really want… I promise I will support you. But please take care." he said, arm wrapping around your waist as he dragged you into a hug. You hugged him back, the nice feeling of longing surrounding you—before a fake cough snapped you out of it.

"Sorry to interrupt your brother-sister moment, but you're distracting her."

"So now I can't spend time with my sister?"

"Not when she has a match coming. Also, she's getting as good as you. I won the lottery with you, guys."

You smiled at his praise, though he seemed to have something else in mind.

"I didn't like you at first, you know?" he said, looking directly into your eyes.

"I know, it was mutual." you said, a cheeky grin taking over your face as you waited for his response.

"Don't get too excited, I still don't like you. But I like the money you bring." he winked, watching as San's eyes darkened.

"Wooyoung," he growled, "if you think I'd let you talk to my sister like this, you're wrong. We're not your fucking bank!"

Wooyoung flinched a bit at his friend's words, pulling his glasses on his nose and trying to act unaffected when, in fact, he wasn't. Since you joined, he found himself thinking if he was doing the right thing, if you two thought he used you for money—which San kinda confirmed; but he couldn't let these emotions take over him, so he did what he thought was best—left.

He left and you two didn't see him again. Match time was right there and he was nowhere to be seen; and as much as you wanted to lie and act indifferent about it, you kinda missed his antics, his nag, perhaps you missed him. This was maybe, the reason why as soon as you stepped into the ring, you started to have an uneasy feeling. He wasn't there to support you, to hype you up, and it left you with a bitter taste. Despite this feeling, you still tried your best. Tried to avoid your rival's hits, tried hitting more, and you actually thought you were gonna win. That was until you spotted the pair of ebony-like eyes you waited for, being the last thing you saw before everything turned black.

That wasn't the sight Wooyoung expected to be welcomed with. He forgot about the two police officers behind him, running straight to the ring and following San who jumped inside immediately.

"Stop hitting her! Stop fucking hitting, she passed out!" he shouted, shoving the person off you, just to discover it was exactly the reason why the cops were there.

"Yunho, Jongho, it's him!"

Before he could do anything, San pushed both of them and took you in his arms, running to the infirmary as fast as he could. Yunho and Jongho were fast to catch the guy before he could run away, whilst Wooyoung was quick to follow San, who let you on the bed while waiting for the nurse.

"San!" he said, catching his breath as the eyes of the older one sent ice arrows down his spine.

"Don't you dare get closer to us! She was your responsibility Wooyoung, you were supposed to take care of her!" he said, hands on Wooyoung's shirt as he shaked the younger.

"I know San, I fucking know I fucked up! But her rival… he was following you San, I had to let Jongho and Yunho know that you were in danger… I wanted to protect you two…"

"I don't care about myself, Wooyoung. I only care about her and you failed. You failed us and our trust as well."

Maybe it took some harsh words for Wooyoung to realise that he put you in danger, and that he actually cared about you. About his friend, and unexpectedly, about his friend's sister as well.

"San… I'm sorry, please give me one more chance! I'll be more careful and—"

"She's out of this, Wooyoung. We are out of your damn Fight Club."

Wooyoung looked down, tears beaming at the corners of his eyes as he couldn't blame you. He just wanted to get closer with you, heck, he might have been attracted to you all this time—yet look where ignoring his emotions took him.

"You have my number if you change your mind, San."

And with this, he turned in the opposite direction, preparing to leave again. He wanted to be there when you wake up, he was aware that he distracted you when he came in way too late to your match. He wanted to hold your hand and start being there for you, but San was right. He didn't deserve none of you. His wish for money made him realise what he was truly lacking—love.

"San," you whispered, your weak voice being heard by both boys in the room: "San, you were too harsh… He wanted to protect you…"

Wooyoung's heart swelled a bit at your words, ignoring San's warning and sitting on the bed next to you. Right when your brother wanted to tell him to leave, his best friend was faster.

"I'm sorry I was late to your match, Y/n. I wish I was there for you."

"It's okay, Wooyoung. I wish I did better."

"No, Y/n! I'm proud of you nonetheless. You two are already the best for me."

Seeing Wooyoung hug you made San's anger dissipate into the void, joining as one hand caressed your hair and the other one patted his friend's back softly.

Your bond became even stronger after that day. While you met their friends (the ones who screwed your car) and realised how nice they actually were, your feelings for Wooyoung also grew stronger. You thought it was the same for him. The way his hand would softly brush yours, the random forehead and cheek kisses you were given, they had to mean something. And there you were now, plopped on a blanket as the night sky was shining above you.

"Isn't it pretty?" you asked him, looking at his flawless face and brushing his long hair with your fingers.

"It would have been even prettier if I watched it with my girlfriend."

Your heart remained still.

"Your girlfriend…? Do you have one?"

"Not yet, but I am about to. I know it's been quite of a long ride for us, but I'm deeply in love with you. And I know you feel the same, Yunho told me."

You looked at him flabbergasted, hands stopping on their track as he dragged you on top of him. You didn't know if you should be mad at Yunho, or glad that he eased the situation.

"Pfft, do you really believe Yunho? What if he lied?" you teased, grabbing his cheek softly as he looked at your lips.

"Well, let me figure it out." he said, before his soft lips met yours.

You closed your eyes and enjoyed the moment, smiling a bit when his nose brushed your own.

"Thank you for making me realise that love is more powerful than money, babe." he whispered, "I'm still going to be San's manager. And you are going to help me."

You nodded, pressing a kiss on his chin as you laid your head on his chest.

San's next match was going to be interesting. Ten minutes before it started, yet nor you or Wooyoung were anywhere to be found. He was searching for you with a water bottle in his hand, tank top tight on his chest as his muscles flexed under it.

"Wooyoung? Y/n? Where the fuck are you?"

As he stepped further into the darkened hallway, he heard your giggles and sighed—he was already growing tired of how big of a menace you were as a couple.

"For God's sake, can you stop making out and come watch me? I have a match to win!"

You and Wooyoung could only laugh harder as your brother sighed for the nth time that day, but it soon became a chorus of joyful giggles as he joined you two.

"We're coming!"

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kurishiri · 7 months ago

Text

Jude chapter 2 silly but kinda detailed summary

꒰ ִ ֺ ⊹ @ notice ⊹ ֺ ִ ꒱ any pretty translation you may see in here may not be 100% accurate or contain creative liberties due to characterization or narrative flow purposes. this is a sort of summary as well. if you enjoy, though, please consider reblogging, but please don’t repost these or claim these as your own!

for some ungodly reason jude and ellis r in kates room the moment she woke up and judes not lookin very appy hes like how long r ya gon sleep for ya bloody pleb and ellis is like haaii gm kate 🌸✨✨ and then jude like “get ready in 3 seconds” while holdin her chin. again, for some reason lmao

ok turns out we goin to their other jobs at a company called raven co

and ellis tells kate they got shops overseas too (wow jude got a boomin business) and they sell stuff in a lotta places and allat jazz. anw some dude greets kate and the others and thinks that kate is ellis gf. kates like umm no and hes like so ur the boss’ gf?

then he gets judes boot before kate can reply and judes like

Jude: It’s all yappin’ with ya so early in the mornin’, I see.

J: If ya gonna yap useless things, how ‘bout ya use that mouth o’ yours to do a bit more o’ your job?

J: If ya want a pay cut though, that’s a separate matter.

turns out the dudes name is theodore walker. 21 y/o. employee. first impression: bright dude

so kate asks ellis what his role is and hes like “hmm lets see, being a guard, preparing for guests, confirming clients, brewing up a storm…” and kate here thinkin wait a damn minute i have a feeling i heard smth real violent just now and then is like do you do anything else and well ellis responds with more violent words with a 😊 face. kate is like i thought i got myself into an evil org then jude comes in like

Jude: Well this evil company’s boss got some work cut out for ya.

she gotta sort out these letters (a loott of letters…) and judes like “if ya worked as a letter carrier ya mustve had to sort out letters before gettin breakfast”

ok so apparently judes kate just blurts out things w/o thinkin 💀 bc this time shes like well if hes gonna make fun of me (jude calls her princess but /neg) then challenge accepted! and then is like “ok bet i will get this done ez pz 🍋 squeezy” and judes got that shit eatin grin on his face like “that ya will do by the time i get back”

they r indeed still in their enemies era. her only saving grace now is ellis’ kind smile. ellis to the rescue! ⛓️🫶✨

omg ellis is actually an angel here he helps kate when he can sorting out letters and hes like gj today kate. you managed to do sm on ur own, u should be proud of urself and kate is like hes so kind… (yes he is!)

ah yes we cant escape the ellis is sweet as jam™️ allegations here

kate asks ellis why he joined crown and tldr its bc vic reached out to jude and jude said ok

Kate: But did you have to get caught up in all this too…?

Ellis: But——he made a promise with me.

As he said this, Ellis’ eyes narrowed softly.

Kate: …A promise?

Ellis: I’m waiting for Jude to reach the happiest moment of his life.

E: And I need to be by his side to see that moment.

[ insert some lines im too lazy to tl here ]

Ellis: But, it seems that moment just doesn’t want to come. …It’s like Jude is always unhappy.

jude comes in the door like yall so damn annoyin and is like stop yappin bout she don’t need to know. but ellis is like but its her job as fairytale keeper. and kate is like “i have a question for u too jude! why do u have ellis by ur side?” jude responds like “none ya damn business” but one tinie push from ellis and jude lets out a resigned sigh and speaks on it and is like hes got physical strength and a good ability. cant let that sorta value slip by. that said his heads got some screws loose so

and kate is like omg! he answered me!!

(So Jude has Ellis by his side so he can use his abilities at his convenience,)

(and Ellis wants Jude to fulfill his wish, I guess?)

They kept one another by each other’s side to help realize what the other wants.

——If I were to put into words what their relationship would be, it would be ‘a contractual relationship.’

That was the day I had gotten my hands on valuable information on Jude for the first time.

ko-fi☕️ ┊ comms🤍

NOTE: i forgot to mention that i can take comms to tl judes main story chapters, avatar mission stories, and his side stories in full, as ciele, the one whos gonna tl his story, said that i could tl chapters from his story too. the turnaround time per chapter is usually around 1–2 days from the time i start it. (for jude it might be closer to 2 days.)

#ikemen villains #ikevil #イケメンヴィラン #ikevil jude #ikevil jude jazza #jude jazza #ikemen villains jude #cybird ikemen series #ikemen series #cybird ikemen #cybird otome #otome game #otome

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deathmetalunicorn1 · 1 year ago

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may i ask for strawhats with a reader thats like madeline hatter from ever after high or just simply the mad hatter?

-Growing up you could remember so many people calling you odd or strange, but you weren’t, you were just Y/N- bright, colorful, and a bit mad, but then again, everyone was!

-Where you grew up, nothing made sense, everything was wacky, mad, and impossible, but that’s what made your home so wonderful~

-When you made the decision to leave home to explore the world, your family supported you, making you promise to send letters and visit often, which you had no issues doing.

-Armed with your bottomless handbag and umbrella that you used like a boat, you set off for adventure and new experiences.

-And you found them on a pirate ship of all places, with your new crew, the Straw Hats! They found you on an island, having a tea party, but with your tea set, everything would float around, including you!

-When Luffy and the crew entered the clearing, you beamed brightly as you floated on by, “Hello new friend~ please join me for a wonderous tea-party!”

-Zoro, Franky, and Jinbei didn’t really know what to make of this situation, but Chopper and Luffy were quick to rush in, grabbing teacups and drinking down the tea so they started to float, cheering loudly as you giggled, swimming on by.

-Robin and Nami went next, then Usopp and Brook, all of them joining you in the air as you floated on by, twirling Chopped by his hoof, making him squeal.

-Robin spoke to you, “You don’t seem bothered by Chopper or Brook? Have you seen other odd things?” you looked a bit confused, “Odd? I don’t think they’re odd at all, a talking reindeer and a talking skeleton- how -hehe- mad!”

-Zoro commented that you had a few screws loose to which you floated over to him, handing him a cup of tea, “Everyone has loose screws, but missing screws is when I’d worry, that would mean something’s about to break!”

-His eyelid twitched as Sanji floated on by, feeling so weightless, “But if you’re too scared to join us~” they were quickly fighting after Zoro drank down the tea.

-Jinbei and Franky took someone handing them a cup as well and they joined as Franky floated by you, “This is SUPER awesome!!” which made more cheers ring out.

-Jinbei felt a little odd, floating in the air, “This isn’t like floating in water.” You hugged him around his neck, beaming, “Floating in water or floating in air, all that matters is what it does to your hair!”

-You were so unique and fun, Luffy didn’t even hesitate to invite you to join his crew and you immediately accepted, after taking a sip of tea, like you were pondering it, which made him and some of the others laugh.

-Marines and enemies didn’t know what to make of you, with your riddles, your odd way of talking and moving, and they weren’t expecting your bottomless bag to be sentient, chasing after them like a rabid honey badger, snarling and baring its previously unseen teeth.

-Sanji and Nami had been terrified, seeing this, until it came over to you after chasing everyone away and you patted it on the top, like it was a dog, “Good boy Jeoffrey! I hope you didn’t eat too many of them, you’ll spoil your dinner!”

-Luffy begged you to let him see what was inside Jeoffrey, and you agreed, taking his hand and you immediately leapt up and the two of you were promptly swallowed.

-Inside it was like a rabbit hole, spiraling columns of different patterns, colors, and textures, playing cards, desserts, tea sets, strange creatures all floated around, as you both floated down and down.

-At the very bottom was a door, but it was much too small for the two of you to fit inside, so you grabbed a pair of nearby floating bottles, handing Luffy one.

-His eyes went huge as he watched you shrink down to the perfect size, and he did the same, immediately shrinking, letting out a cheer as you both headed to the door.

-Luffy was stunned when you both went through the doorway, being spat out by Jeoffrey as you laughed warmly, enjoying the little adventure while Luffy started to ramble and gush on what he had seen.

-You promised to take the others in, a few at a time, later, as Jeoffrey needed his afternoon nap. You carried your bag like it was a cat, now snoring loudly, inside so it would sleep peacefully.

-You were a weirdo surrounded by weird things, but you were their weirdo, and that was the best compliment you had ever received, other than someone telling you that your hat looked nice!

#one piece #luffy #zoro #sanji #nami #chopper #usopp #franky #brook #robin #jinbei #madeline hatter

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yuri-is-online · 2 years ago

Note

hi, there! :D I hope to be on time for the event can I request :

(Finding a confession letter in your locker) With Silver, Jade and Deuce? Plz

22. Finding a confession letter in your locker

Hi hi you are very much on time of course you can （＾ワ＾）

Also just letting you know here, I did get your other request and do not mind answering it at all (though i am going to post some other ones first), in my og post I mentioned the prompts were limited by ask, so you submitted everything correctly, don't worry!

notes: they/them pronouns used for Yuu, fluff, Jade is a red flag as usual. Check out the rest of the event requests here.

Silver

There is an unfairly pretty looking man asleep in front of the gym lockers, face down, arms at his side, but with the light still hitting his hair just right way to make him look like he has a halo. You know that Silver won't be upset if you try to wake him, but as you kneel to do so, the slight creak of an unkempt hinge draws your attention up from your sleeping senior to your own slightly open locker.

Weird, you could have sworn you locked it at the end of class.

"Silver?" You decide to try calling out to him while you examine your locker for any sign of tampering beyond the obvious. "You good down there?" Nothing seems to have been taken, but something has been left: a letter. Gingerly, you remove and settle yourself on the floor next to Silver, gently shaking him as you open it.

Yuu,

I'm afraid that if I try to simply say to you how I feel, I won't be able to fully convey just how grateful I am to have met you, just how much you mean to me. But I want to try and give you a confession you deserve so please, meet me in the courtyard after your classes. I promise to say the words to you then.

-Silver

"I wasn't supposed to still be here when you read that." A muffled voice draws your attention back to Silver, who slowly pushes himself up to look into your eyes. "But since I am, I like you prefect." The words are simple, but the sincerity of his gaze adds the weight he was so afraid of missing.

Jade

You were screwed. The instant you saw the condition of the letter inside that lavender envelope you knew it was never meant to be seen, least of all by the person it was addressed to. The paper was hastily torn from a composition book, crumpled and lightly stained with what you assume from the scent is tea. No, you can't really picture someone as collected as Jade allowing the messy parts of his thoughts to be seen

You are a mystery I want to unravel

I never get tired of your voice

I want to be the first person they think of in the morning and the last thing they imagine at night. When they are alone I want them to long to return to my side, when someone hurts them I want to be the one who repays their enemies in kind. There is a word for these emotions, something that's as wonderfully unpredictable as it is painful-

A head rests on your shoulder, two strong arms pull you into an embrace that prevents you from seeing his face as a deep sigh tickles your ear, reciting from memory the destroyed portion of the letter-

"That word is love, I am in love with Yuu." Jade smiles into your neck as you shudder in surprise. "Since you are not attempting to run away, can I assume I have something of a chance?"

Deuce

"Is it just me or is Juice acting weird today?" Ace asks, slacking off away from Vargas's watchful eyes behind you and Grim. Not that you haven't noticed, but now that Ace mentions it- "I mean he's sneaking out of class, isn't PE the one he's actually good at?" You both look pointedly towards the lockers Deuce is not so sneakily heading towards with concern.

"Um, I'll be right back." You try to hide your concern but the judgmental faces that see you off suggest you aren't exactly successful. Deuce's broad shoulders disappear into the hallway and you attempt to calmly follow. Maybe he's sick? Or has forgot something? You run through so many scenarios that you fail to pay attention to where you are going and walk right into your target's back.

"Prefect!" Deuce jumps and you fluster, both of you look away from each other to the locker Duece had been standing in front of. "I'm sorry." He looks so embarrassed. You reach to open your locker as Deuce continues. "I really am sorry, it's just I thought really hard about the right way to confess but we have almost every class together..." Sure enough there's a letter sat neatly on top of your things, sealed with a neat spade sticker that leaves little doubt about who it's from.

"Technically you just did." You laugh and bring the letter close to your heart. "Meet me at Ramshackle after school."

"Why?" He asks, clearly nervous.

"Well you wanted to properly confess right? So let me properly answer." Technically the smile on your face already does.

#twisted wonderland x reader #twst x reader #silver x reader #jade leech x reader #deuce spade x reader #did jade destroy his own love letter? or was he set up?#vote now on your phones

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p-artsypants · 4 months ago

Text

Flight of the Valkyrie (2) A Different Perspective

Because of Hiccup's constant screw ups and inability to defend himself, Stoick arranges a marriage for him to the archipelago's greatest warrior. Astrid Hofferson has become famous for her battle prowess and great stature for a 16 year old girl. Who better to protect Hiccup from dragons, hostile vikings, and Hiccup himself?

I really hope this holds up to the excitement everyone had for the first part.

Ao3

---

The axe sunk into the wooden target with a very satisfying ‘thunk’.

Astrid was certain that sound was the perfect balm for a broken heart.

Boys were stupid.

Another satisfying thunk, and the rage in Astrid’s chest was stoked like bellows on embers. A calm, controlled, but intense heat. Just the way she liked it.

The next boy that said anything to her was going to get the curved end of her axe to his face.

“Astrid!” Her mother’s voice called. “Your father would like a word with you, darling!”

Astrid sighed deeply. Well, the next boy to talk to her was her father and chief, and hitting him with an axe wouldn’t be conducive. She left her axe in the target and obediently returned home.

Her father was sitting at his table, quill in hand as he wrote on a large scroll.

“Father,” she greeted, pleasantly.

“Astrid, my dear, have a seat.” He said, warmth in his tone, though he didn’t look up from this writing.

She sat across from him, while her mother sat at the end of the table, working on her mending.

Finally, Chief Axel looked up to her, a warm smile hiding in his blond beard. “As you know, I’ve been in communication with Chief Stoick of Berk to make an alliance and trade agreement.”

Astrid blinked hard, hiding her eye roll. Chiefly matters like this, while ever so slightly interesting, had nothing to do with her. She had no say, no opinions. Why was he bothering?

“The village plagued by dragons? So you told us,” she replied.

“Well, we’ve finally made an agreement. You see, they need aid. Desperately. We’re going to give them supplies to help them last the winter against their raids. In exchange, we’re receiving gold, and a very handsome alliance.”

“That’s nice,” she shrugged.

“And,” Axel paused to gauge her reaction. “We’ll be joining our tribes in marriage.”

“Oh…so Sigurd? Ingrid?”

“You, Astrid. Chief Stoick asked for you.”

“Me? But-but I’m the youngest! Surely he’d want an older girl!”

“No,” Axel said sternly, “he asked for you specifically, citing your prowess in battle as his reason. That was what you were going for, wasn’t it?”

Astrid closed her eyes, hunching her shoulders as disgust overcame her. She whispered, “I had hoped it would have gotten me out of a marriage to an older man.”

Axel laughed. “Oh darling! The marriage isn’t to Stoick, it’s to his son!”

She sagged, a bit of relief leaking through. “How old is he?”

“Your age.”

She fully relaxed at that. Since she was old enough to understand, it had been drilled into her head by her parents that she’d have an arranged marriage. And from that moment, her older sisters had been sure to clarify that her husband would be an old widower. Maybe a drunkard, maybe invalid from battle that needed constant care. Either way, he’d be wealthy but unable to get a wife on his own.

Now that the age gap was substantially reduced, she was able to digest the rest of the request.

“He asked for me…because I’m a good fighter?”

“The best fighter,” her mom added, pride thick in her voice.

“Yes,” Axel said, echoing her mother’s pride. “Apparently his son…” he paused to glance at a previous letter. “Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, is a bit on the scrawny side, and Stoick fears for his safety during raids. Not only from dragons, but their enemies as well.”

“Oh!” Astrid sat up. “So, I’d be his protector? I’d be honored!” To be recognized for her skill and hired to protect the (future) chief, there wasn’t a higher honor for a warrior.

“Yes, and his wife,” Axel reminded. “It would be the most convenient, so you can be with him at all times.”

“I guess that makes sense…” if she had been a boy, she would probably just be his house steward. But a woman living with an unmarried man was improper.

“So you agree to the marriage?”

“I get a choice?”

“No,” Axel grinned. “But I want to let Stoick know if you’re going to behave or go in kicking and screaming.”

Astrid couldn’t help but smirk. “No kicking and screaming. I’ll marry—did you say his name was Hiccup?”

“Aye,” Axel nodded as he wrote on his document. She could see now that it was a reply to Stoick, confirming their betrothal. “In Berk’s tradition, the runt of the litter is named Hiccup. Stoick’s son was born very early, and was very small. They named him Hiccup, not even knowing if he would survive the winter. But he did, and he’s just as small as ever.”

“Have you met him? What’s he like?”

“I met him when he was a boy, several years ago. I suppose he still is a boy…but I didn’t talk to him. He was shy. I saw him at meals, and the meetings, but he was quick to disappear when not required to be there.”

“Okay, a mystery. I can work with that…when’s the wedding?”

“I suppose that’s up to you. We can wait until the fall harvest, but not much longer than that.”

No, Astrid wasn’t the kind to sit and wait, especially in light of a certain situation. “How about as soon as possible?”

“Astrid…” her mother chastized. “Don’t let this situation with Thuggory make you rush into something so permanent.”

“Situation with Thuggory? The Meathead? What happened?” Axel asked, furrowing his brow.

“I’m over that,” Astrid lied, but with a stern look at her mother, asking her to drop it. “Nothing happened. But wouldn’t it be better for Hiccup if it was as soon as possible? With the dragon raids, he needs my protection now, right?”

Axel smiled proudly at her. “Exactly, my warrior! So, I will tell Stoick we will be there the day after this letter arrives. You’ll be wed by Friggsday!”

Astrid felt a little weak in the knees. Sure, she said as soon as possible, but a week?

Oh well.

All the better to get off this hunk of rock.

“Is that fair to Berk? That’s awfully short notice for them!”

“We’ll bring plenty of food to share. Along with ale and mead! That’s what every Viking needs!”

“Guess I’ll get packed?” Astrid smiled weakly.

“Get started, I’ll send your sisters to help you.”

Astrid bit back, “just Ingrid please. Sigurd can find something else to do.”

—

The next few days were nerve wracking. Berk was three days by boat, and that was plenty of time for Astrid to pace and worry about her future.

She was getting married, sooner than she hoped, but that was fine. She was certain as long as he was somewhat decent, she’d grow to be friends with him.

Maybe even love him. How nice would that be?

But the dragons caused concern. The Shivering Shores occasionally were visited by the beasts, but supposedly not as frequently as Berk was. She’d been training to fight men, not fire breathing, two ton scaled harbingers of death.

Hopefully Berk had classes she could take.

“Something wrong?” Her sister, Sigurd, asked.

Astrid glanced at her, shooting a glare, before going back to pacing. And just like that, all of her thoughts were back on the Shivering Shores, where she had hoped to leave them. “Just preparing to meet my husband is all.”

Sigurd sighed. “No no, I get that. I just…did I do something? You’ve been really cold to me since we left for Berk. Once you get married, we won’t see each other very often. What did I do to make you so angry at me?”

Astrid shook her head, “nothing, absolutely nothing. You never do anything wrong. You’re perfect.”

“…is this about the marriage? Because they asked for you, Astrid. You know I’m not anywhere near as skilled as you are in fighting.”

“No it’s not—“ Astrid sighed again, and pinched the bridge of her nose. “You know what? You’re right. I should be spending time with you.”

But as Astrid stared at her sister’s face, jealousy and anger coiled in her gut and she turned away sharply.

“Stupid.” She muttered.

“What did you call me?” Sigurd asked, offended.

“Not talking about you. Talking about me, and what I’m worried about.”

“Do you wanna talk about it?”

“Not particularly.”

“Come on, Astrid. You talk to me about everything! What’s different now?!”

Astrid shook her head again, huffing. She hemmed and hawed, clearly seeing Sigurd wasn’t going to leave her alone. “It’s home stuff. But I’m leaving home, and never going back, so I should be able to just forget about it and move on, but I can’t. There, happy?”

“Oh Astrid, I know what this is about. But you were never going to be able to be with Thuggory. Dad always had an arranged marriage plan for you.”

“I didn’t—it’s not—!” Astrid growled in frustration. Taking a moment to collect herself, she stated firmly, “it’s not about being with Thuggory. I knew that. We had an unpleasant conversation when I last saw him and he said something awful to me and I’m having a hard time getting over it.”

“Oh. What did he say?”

“I don’t want to repeat it. It doesn’t matter. But there. Now you know what’s on my mind. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to get back to worrying about what’s ahead of me instead of what’s behind me.”

Astrid’s oldest sister, Ingrid, approached partway through the conversation, and listened patiently. Once Astrid was done, she offered, “you’re so mature, Astrid. That’s really admirable.”

“Thank you. But I just don’t think it’s worth wasting time fretting over the words of some boy I’ll never see again. And good riddance to him, by the way.”

“You know,” Ingrid began, tactfully. “I came over to let you know that Berk’s on the horizon.”

Astrid bristled. Now it was real. Her new home was within sight. She turned to where Ingrid was pointing.

The island was still a ways out, but the tall point in the center of it gave it away.

“Oh gods,” Astrid’s knees quaked and she made a beeline below deck.

Her sisters followed, ever loving, ever ready to help.

Astrid sat on her cot, nausea and anxiety churning through her like a roiling sea. “What am I doing?”

“What you’re destined to do,” Ingrid assured, proudly. “The best warrior in the archipelago, reporting for duty to protect someone who can’t protect themselves. That’s what you’ve always wanted, right?”

“Yes but—“

“It’s the marriage part that scares you, huh?” Sigurd assumed, sitting beside her. “You don’t have to love him today, or even this year. Just try to be his friend.”

“Ugh,” Astrid rubbed her eyes a little too forcefully. “Feelings are stupid.”

“Yes, but they can also be wonderful.”

She shook her head and buried her face in her hands.

Ingrid went to her luggage. “Do you want to get dressed up? You’ve got this pretty blue dress, or the red one.”

Astrid sat up straighter. “No, no dresses. I’m going to put on my armor. I want to make a good impression, by showing that I’m serious.”

“Let me at least fix your hair,” Ingrid tutted.

The girls stayed in the cabin for a while, talking, comforting, and braiding each other’s hair.

When the boat lurched to a stop, Astrid’s stomach lurched too.

“Oh gods,” she breathed. “This is it.”

“You’ll be fine,” Sigurd petted her hair. “I bet he’s just as nervous as you are.”

“If not more, given your reputation,” Ingrid joked.

“Right,” Astrid breathed. “Why don’t you two go on ahead? I’ll be up in a second, I just…need to psych myself up.”

“You’re not going into battle,” Ingrid giggled.

“Not conventionally, but battle nonetheless.”

As her sisters left to go on deck, Astrid rose to her feet and started stretching. She jogged in place and jumped around, getting her blood flowing.

“It’s going to be fine,” she told herself. “He’s not a gross old man, and he’s not going to trap you in the house. He wants you. He wants you.”

With that, she hurried up the steps and went to join her family. When she saw no one left on board, she panicked. It wouldn’t do to lag behind! Not even noticing the plank, Astrid leapt over the side of the ship and landed on the dock with a thud.

“What an entrance!” A new voice laughed.

She looked up at the man she had dropped in front of. And really, she had to look up. That was a rare experience for her!

Judging by the fur cape and pendants on his shoulders, this was Chief Stoick. Thankfully, he was grinning at her.

Adrenaline still coursing through her, she explained, “I panicked,” and then bowed respectfully. “Chief Stoick, it’s an honor. I’m Astrid Hofferson.”

“A pleasure, my dear!” He held out a hand.

She shook it, steeling her features into something pleasant and calm.

Then he was talking and gesturing to the child beside him, but she barely heard anything due to her heart hammering in her chest. Any minute now, she’d meet her husband.

She may have offered greetings to the boy, but didn’t pay him much attention. She just anxiously looked at Stoick.

Stoick nodded slowly and tried again, this time, she paid better attention. “This is my only son, Hiccup…your husband to be.”

She inhaled briefly at that, and let out a soft, “Oh.” She had messed up. Less than a minute into greeting these people, and she’d messed up!

She looked at the form of the boy, and felt immense guilt. Had she not been so keyed up, she would have noticed he had the face of a young man, and not a child. He was just scrawny and short, but that should have been expected with the way he was described in Stoick’s letter. She exhaled slowly, trying to figure out how to salvage this wreck. She whispered, “I see.”

Apparently, that didn’t help. Hiccup cast his gaze to the ground as he held his arm. He was so small and shy. He looked to be less than skin and bone, with hands that were smaller than hers.

But he had the face of a man, his nose and brow proud. His big green eyes were shadowed by lush lashes, eyebrows thick and furrowed in thought. He had a dusting of freckles on his pale skin and a wild mane of auburn hair.

How a creature could be so frail and delicate while being so devastatingly handsome, she had no idea.

“Is that how you would greet your betrothed?” her father asked.

There it was! The way to smooth this whole thing over!

She may have heard her mother try to cover for her, but Astrid she took a quick stride forward and reached out and took Hiccup’s hand. Then she leaned down and pressed a sweet kiss to his cheek.

“D-Duh?” Hiccup blurted, a blush added to the freckles.

She smiled at him, her own face flushing as she said, “Hello darling.” Hello darling!? That’s what she was going with!? Ugh, way to show you have no experience with romance, Astrid!

“H-h-hi,” he stuttered out. “I’m Hiccup.” His voice was deep, the voice of a man, but also nasally, the voice of a dork.

His nervous answer soothed her a bit. He was obviously just as frazzled as she was. She gave a nod. “Astrid.” Her throat felt dry.

He looked at her, stared at her with those heavenly green eyes. There was a ring of gold around the pupils that made them all the more enchanting.

He gnawed on his thin lips and hunched his shoulders, not hiding his embarrassment or vulnerability for a second.

Gods he was adorable. How’d she get this lucky?

“Son,” Stoick patted his shoulder. “Why don’t you show Astrid around the village?”

Hiccup broke away from his gaze. “What? Oh! Yes! Of course! The village! My village! Where I–where we live, where you will live also…ha!” He damn near shouted.

Astrid felt her smile grow. His flustered expression and rambling was endearing. No showboating, no chest puffing, just a refreshingly authentic boy. “Okay, lead the way.”

After some encouraging shooing, Hiccup took her hand and began to lead her into town. Her new home.

The battleground.

She asked questions when needed, but mostly let him talk and guide her through the town. It was quite a bit smaller than the Shivering Shores. The cliffs that almost surrounded the town proved to be a boon in defense. It was no wonder the Berkians chose to stay in spite of the dragons. The island was beautiful, picturesque, and poised to be extremely difficult for an enemy tribe to take.

But a flying enemy, that was something different entirely.

Hiccup had an interesting perspective on the island. He told her the proprietors of all the shops, when they opened, and what he recommended from there. He pointed out every person’s house as they passed, the names blurring together in her mind as he listed them off.

And boy, were those ever names. Of course, her first clue should have been her groom’s name being Hiccup, but the names just got weirder from there.

Even his cousin and other boy in the ring, ‘Snotlout’ and ‘Tuffnut’.

“And this is Griplout’s house, of course, the name is ironic now, because he doesn’t have any arms—“

“Why is everyone named like that?”

“Huh?”

“Hiccup, Fishgut, Dogface, Snotman—“

“Snotlout.”

“These names are…weird.”

“You guys don’t have scary names?”

“We have scary titles. Like I’ve been called Fearless Astrid Hofferson, and my dad is Axel the Arduous. But our names are just…names.”

“Well, tradition says that we name our children like that to scare off witches and trolls.”

“I’ve never heard such a thing.”

He shrugged. “Hooligan tradition, we’ve got a lot of strange ones.”

“…will…will we have to name our kids like that?”

“Uh…” he blushed. “Um, I don’t think it’s mandatory…let’s just worry about getting married first, and then we can uh…talk about that.”

She knew her duty to her husband, especially as a future chief, was to give him a child as heir. She would bravely do it, but in her own time, when she was ready.

And she was not naming her son ‘Fartbreath’ or ‘Poopface’.

Hiccup continued to blush as he rubbed the back of his head, no doubt her question was continuing to roll around in his head.

She smiled at him. Watching a boy trip over himself and being so hesitant about sex? That was so different from what she was told to expect.

Though, the more she thought about it, maybe he hadn’t been hesitant about it at first and then changed his mind when he saw how big she was.

Maybe he was scared of getting hurt. Or maybe just repulsed at being intimate with a woman so much bigger than him. She’d have to think of a plan to make sure he was comfortable during their consummation in a few days.

The tour was insightful. She would need to scope it out a few more times for certainty, but she had a good idea of where ambushes could be sprung and where a small husband could be tucked away for safety.

Yes, this was looking very promising.

Besides the layout of the town, she got plenty of information on her future husband.

‘Dirt’ some people might say.

Gobber, the double amputee blacksmith, seemed nice, friendly, and forthcoming. She kind of felt bad for Hiccup as Gobber spilled all these secrets about him.

Things started to make more sense then. After all, Hiccup was still young. Most of the kids her age were still growing. None of them quite as small as Hiccup, but there was definitely time for an imminent growth spurt.

But no, his size wasn’t the end of it. Apparently, Hiccup had grandiose dreams of being a warrior and a proclivity for attracting danger.

He was just asking for an early grave.

What wasn’t making sense was his story about shooting down a dragon. Not that she didn’t believe he did it, but what he said about letting it go.

If he had the chance to get close enough to cut the net, why didn’t the dragon kill him?

According to everything she knew, dragons always went for the kill.

Perhaps when they knew and trusted each other more, she could ask him about it again. That would be handy information to have.

He led her up the hill to a house, but didn’t go inside. “This is my house, er…my father’s house. I think o-our house will be around here somewhere…” he popped up to tiptoes to look further up the hill.

“I see some foundations,” she noted. There was a pile of logs by the cliffs and a cleared section of dirt.

“Oh!” He spotted where she was looking. “…all the way back there? Okay…so yeah! Sorry, it’s kinda far from town.”

“No worries. That’s actually better.” She started toward the plot. “This far back, we’re away from the major targets. Catapult fire would aim for big buildings, important buildings, or where a lot of buildings clumped up. Dragons would go for the food sources and whatever is firing at them. So, ergo, our house will never be touched.”

“I…guess you’re right. Odin, you’re really smart.”

“I have a battle mindset. It’s all I think about, really.”

“Are the Shivering Shores at war?” He asked, eyes wide.

“Not currently, we just found peace with Hopeless a few years ago. But you know how Viking alliances are.”

“Shaky at best?”

“Yep. Hopefully our marriage will form a strong bond for our tribes.”

“It will,” he assured. “Berk has no reason to fight anyone. We have our hands full.”

“I can see that.” She chuckled slightly. “Still…it’d be nice to be responsible for a strong, beneficial, long lasting alliance.”

He nodded. “I certainly don’t want to piss your dad off.”

She laughed. “You won’t.”

He didn’t seem to share her enthusiasm as he said, “you’d be surprised.” He cleared his throat. “Anyways, that should be it. Was there anything you wanted to see more before dinner?”

“Is there a bath house? I’d like to wash up after that journey.”

“Oh, bath house? No. We have hot springs in the woods. I could show you later! Wash day is tomorrow, so you’d have them all to yourself tonight.”

“Hot springs? Sounds nice.” And it really did. The Shovering Shores had a bathhouse, which was close to a river. The water was never warm enough, and boys were often lingering outside the girls side, trying to get a peek.

Hot springs, all alone and isolated in nature, sounded really relaxing.

“Then if that’s after dinner, shall we go to the Great Hall and wait for your friends?” She asked, taking his hand again.

His face crumbled. He hunched his shoulders as he pulled a hard frown. After a moment of thought, his eyes closed hard and he confessed, “I don’t have any friends.”

A gasp ripped from her throat, sudden and without her permission. “None?”

He shook his head. “No. I used to, but…um, I’m sorry. Being attached to me is going to tank your reputation. I could introduce you to Ruffnut, the other girl our age, but…yeah, I’m not very popular.”

She decided to take it in stride. Instead of fretting over it, she said, “okay, well, let’s eat with my family then. I want you to meet them, and I should spend time with them before they leave.”

He blinked several times at her before slowly smiling. It wasn’t a very big smile, but showed gratitude all the same.

He squeezed her hand and pulled her along, back to the Great Hall.

They entered, and the smell of food was in the air. In the time they were gone, some dishes were finished and being placed on the main table.

Hiccup led her to the back corner, and sat across from her.

Awkwardness returned as he sat hunched, his hands rubbing on his legs under the table. Astrid simply rested her head in her hands, gazing at him thoughtfully.

“So,” she began. “We’re doing the handsal during dinner right? I think we’re technically engaged now because of the contracts our dads made, but I’m pretty sure my dad said we’re doing the official handsal tonight in front of everyone.”

“O-oh, that’s…that’s…good to know…” he muttered.

“When did you think we were going to do it?”

He shrugged. “I didn’t think about it. I just…I found out we were getting married just yesterday.”

“Yester—!?” She choked on the word. “Well, okay, so you found out it was me, but surely you knew your dad would be arranging a marriage at some point.”

He shook his head, still not looking at her. “Nope, uh, all a surprise. Dad doesn’t really um…talk to me. I’d heard at one point that an arranged marriage was a possibility, but…I never expected it.”

Her jaw dropped. Her whole life, she had been preparing for this. But he had since yesterday to prepare?

It kind of colored the way she saw Chief Stoick.

“Are you…okay?” The answer was fairly obvious, but she had to ask.

He shrugged. “I don’t know how to feel. You’re really nice and pretty, but is that enough for a marriage? I don’t know. I’ve never had a girlfriend, never been in love. I don’t even have a mom or a sister. I don’t know what it’s like to live with a woman. And in a few days, I will be permanently.” He bowed his head further and covered his face with his hands.

She shrugged slightly. “Well, it’s not like I’ve been married before. How about we take it one step at a time? Do marriage our way, whatever feels comfortable? Obviously there’s some things we have to do the traditional way, but don’t worry about it too much.”

“I’ll uh, I’ll take your lead on this then, since you’re the expert.”

“Expert,” she laughed. “Right, well, you have been preparing to become chief one day, right?”

“A little, but dad doesn’t really like me coming to meetings anymore.”

“Why?”

He flinched. “I got a big mouth, and I often stick my foot in it.”

“Oh. And that got you kicked out of council meetings?”

He traced a knot in the table with his finger, still avoiding eye contact. “Yep. We Vikings have a lot of pride, and when you question people…it leads to hurt egos.”

“Ah, now I get it. It’s the same thing on the battle ground, Hiccup. I’ve beaten all sorts of men in fights and they either laugh it off and congratulate me, or deny it happened and throw a tantrum. Those that have the bigger egos get really mad. I’ve gotten some notoriety after fighting in tournaments, but before that, a lot of losers tried to get me banned from the arenas.”

He looked up at her with his big green eyes, and nodded slowly. “Y-yeah, that’s it exactly.”

She smiled. “Well, as I was saying, you’ve probably got more experience in the chiefing realm. While my dad is chief, he never really talked to me about what all he has to do. It was assumed I wouldn’t marry a chief, so I wouldn’t be chieftess. So that part of this whole thing has me pretty nervous.”

His eyes blew wide. “That’s the part you’re nervous about?!”

Not really, but she didn’t want to talk about the other stuff. She chuckled. “Yeah, mom always said I had my priorities mixed up.” She leaned her elbows on the table more, relaxing in the cozy atmosphere of the mead hall. “Anything else I was worried about disappeared when I saw you.”

He turned bashful again, and a bit more subdued. “Because I’m not a threat in any way? I’m a total pushover?”

“Are you a pushover? Because Gobber made it sound like you’re just as hard headed and stubborn as the rest of us. I’ll probably have to man-handle you.”

“I…get picked up and thrown around a lot. I don’t really like it.”

Too bad. She thought. She was definitely going to pick him up and carry him. Mostly out of curiosity. It would be easy to lift him, right? Throw him over her shoulder like a sack of flour? Maybe even bench press him?

The options were endless, she thought, a little ashamed.

Then Ingrid was sitting next to her, and Sigurd next to Hiccup.

The unwarranted jealousy stirred in Astrid’s gut yet again at the proximity of her sister so close to her soon-to-be husband. But she stamped down the anger. It was pointless. Hiccup was to be married to her in a few days. Sigurd could try to seduce him like—

Well, she could try, but Hiccup was marrying her.

“There you are!” Said Ingrid, leaning affectionately on Astrid’s shoulder. “We got a little tour by this boy named Fishlegs. Fishlegs! I mean, can you believe it? Why would anyone name their child that?”

“Tradition dictates it scares off witches and trolls,” Astrid answered, defensively. Of course, she was questioning their tradition too, but she was marrying into the tribe. Who was Ingrid to question them?

“Oh,” Ingrid nodded. “I guess…that makes sense…”

“It doesn’t, and that’s okay,” Hiccup assured. “I’m uh, I’m Hiccup.” He held his hand out to her.

“Ingrid,” she shook warmly.

“Sigurd,” she offered her own handshake.

“My sisters,” Astrid explained. “Ingrid is four years older, and Sigurd is two. I have an older brother, Finn, who’s acting chief while dad’s gone. And I have another sister who’s married to a Gaul.”

“She and Svengard are coming to the wedding,” Ingrid assured. “At least, dad sent the message before we left, so she should have gotten it yesterday. Plenty of time to make it.”

Astrid shrugged. “Perhaps if I had waited until the fall, she would have had more time to prepare.”

“Wait,” said Hiccup. “You’re the one you planned for Friggsday?”

“Sort of. I said ‘as soon as possible’. I thought it would be smart for me to start…uh, protecting you immediately. I didn’t know dad was going to make it for Friggsday.”

“Well…you aren’t wrong. The raids have been getting bad lately…” he trailed off, something on his mind. “There was one a few days ago, so we should be safe until after…after the wedding.” He shook his head slightly and muttered, “still weird.”

“It’ll be weird for weeks,” Ingrid comforted. “I remember when Brynhild was preparing for her marriage. It was extremely fast, faster than this! She didn’t know she was getting married until she was walking down the aisle!”

Hiccup’s eyes bugged out of his head. “They would do that?”

“Apparently, Hamish of the Gauls told dad, ‘you give your eldest daughter to my son in marriage, or we invade in a fortnight. Ba-da-bing, you got yourself a blushing bride.”

Hiccup just continued to stare in horror as he glanced at the girls. “Are all Viking tribes like this? I thought we were the weird ones!”

Ingrid shrugged. “Maybe. You don’t have any sisters, do you?”

“I’m an only child.”

“Weird that a chief would have just one child,” Sigurd said, absently.

Astrid saw Hiccup’s face crumble, but he hid it just a moment later.

“So you wouldn’t be familiar with it,” Ingrid continued. “Our mother was in an arranged marriage to our father, which worked out well. But her five sisters were also arranged and some of them…were not so lucky.”

“Our brother Finn, though,” said Sigurd, “as heir, he got to pick his bride. He chose Helene, his crush since they were in diapers.”

“Very cute couple,” added Ingrid. “Still just betrothed, too. His wedding is in a few months, and they're planning a big shindig.”

Astrid just observed Hiccup as he digested this information. He squinted his eyes in thought, and shifted his jaw.

She reached over and took his hand, ceasing his anxious finger tapping. “Would you have rather us waited? I just thought…besides the whole protection aspect, I just…wanted to get it over with.”

“Y-yeah yeah, no yeah, I get it.” Hiccup bumbled. “Just like, rip the Nadder quill out, right?” He shrugged, his voice filled with an incredible amount of self loathing.

“That’s not—what I mean is—“

“Astrid’s not the patient type,” Sigurd explained, gently elbowing Hiccup. “At the sound of a challenge, she doesn’t wait, just charges into battle.”

“This is a battle?” Hiccup asked.

“Comes with the same anxiety, but not as fun as fighting, right Astrid?” Ingrid asked.

“Uh…yeah, something like that.”

The look on Hiccup’s face made her want to punch both of her sisters out. He looked utterly dejected and uncomfortable. He had since they sat down, and it only got worse.

She tried to find a way to lighten the mood, but was interrupted by a sharp whistle.

She and Hiccup had come a bit early, but as they talked, the rest of the tribe assembled for dinner. Now, the tables were full and everyone was looking eagerly at the feast laid out on the table in the center of the room.

Chief Stoick and her father stood at the head of the table, side by side, and Stoick was the one to call everyone to attention.

It was time.

“Friends, family, and fellow warriors, tonight we celebrate our new alliance with the Shivering Shores!”

There was a rowdy cheer.

“In the wake of the dragon raids, many of our former friends have left our good graces because we asked too much and couldn’t be useful to them. But the Shivering Shores always extended a hand of aid when we needed it. Their generosity has always been greatly appreciated, and weighed heavily in my mind as I thought of how to repay them. I don’t know if Berk will ever be able to fully repay what we owe, for now Chief Axel has given us another gift.” He turned to their table and beckoned them forward.

Astrid saw Hiccup gulp as he shakily got to his feet. He tottered over to stand next to his father, as she stood next to hers.

“We are honored to announce the betrothal of my son Hiccup, to Chief Axel’s daughter Astrid!”

She expected polite applause, as one would for a betrothal announcement.

She did not expect the laughter. Uproarious, gut busting laughter.

“Poor girl,” someone choked.

“Oh that’s rich.”

“That’s what he gets.”

“She’ll crush him!”

Astrid felt her cheeks flame as she picked out the sentiments of the tribe. Her new tribe.

Hiccup just had his face turned to the floor as he shuffled his feet.

Stoick’s hand landed on her shoulder and he squeezed gently. “Ignore them,” he said to both of them. Then he steered her gently to face Hiccup.

He spoke aloud to the room again, once the crowd had calmed. “We make our offering of the bride price for Astrid Hofferson’s hand. This, the agreed upon amount of 1 pound of gold, is to be paid to Chief Axel of the Shivering Shores.”

She expected polite applause again, and yet again, she was met with an unfavorable outcome. This time, there was outrage. People ‘boo’ed and jeered.

Stoick held up his hands. “This amount has been agreed upon!”

“You’re wasting all that gold on that pathetic runt of a son?!” Someone dared to shout across the room.

Hiccup flinched, and his face screwed up in pain.

It set Astrid’s blood on fire, and that careful, intense rage that she always kept at a controlled burn flared.

She let go of Hiccup’s hands and whirled on the crowd. “Who said that?! Who would dare say that?!” She roared.

An older man, with a scarred face, stood from a bench. “I, Spitelout Jorgenson, patriarch of the Jorgenson clan, one of the founding families of Berk, dare say it! And there’s not a single tribesman in this room that doesn’t agree with me!”

There were several men that chimed in with an assenting ‘Aye!’ But Astrid paid little attention to them. Her nostrils flared before she took off across the room, zeroing in on that treacherous man.

His eyes widened slightly as she closed in, and he had a split second to take on a defensive stance.

It mattered little. She knocked him off balance with her shoulder, grabbed his belt and collar and twisted, lifting him off the floor. She spun him once, twice, three times, gaining momentum, before releasing and throwing him into the wall.

He slammed hard against it and slid down to the floor, boneless.

Astrid flicked her braid over her shoulder with a huff, then strode casually back to the front. “Anyone else care to criticize the agreement between two chieftains? Anyone else want to question my honor?”

Silence. Except for maybe a groan from the man she assaulted.

“Good.” She turned back to her betrothed and took his hands once again.

Hiccup wasn’t smiling, but by the widening and twinkling of his eyes, she guessed he was secretly delighted.

She smiled herself, unable to deny the pleasure of adrenaline coursing through her veins. She cleared her throat. “We declare ourselves witnesses that thou, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, bondest me in lawful betrothal, and with taking hold of hands thou promisest me the mundr and engagest to fulfill and observe the whole of the compact between us, which has been notified in the hearing of witnesses without duplicity or cunning, as a real and authorized contract.”

Her father chuckled. “That was Hiccup’s line, dear.”

Astrid huffed.

Hiccup popped his lips nervously and said, “w-well, she did such a good job, such conviction! A-and I didn’t really study or memorize—“

“We will accept your oath,” Stoick interrupted. Then he called out, “I need six witnesses to agree to the contract that was made here today.”

“Aye!” Called Gobber.

“Seconded!” Called a short man.

“Thirded!” Called a man with a bucket on his head.

“Fourthed!” Called a man holding a sheep.

An old woman silently raised a staff.

“Sixthed…” called the man on the floor.

The two chiefs clasped hands firmly, with a solid shake.

“Then I declare the engagement between my son, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III to Astrid Hofferson of the Shivering Shores complete. The ceremony will take place this Friggsday at noon.”

Astrid sighed in relief. The hansal was completed, and her engagement was on. Everything was official, and there was no backing out now.

Hiccup continued to stare with big, soulful eyes, kind of like a puppy.

Doubt and dissent still murmured through the crowd around her, though no one was as vocal as Spitelout had been.

Astrid decided to show everyone where her loyalties laid, and leaned in and pressed a rather loud kiss to Hiccup’s forehead.

She was asked to protect him, and she would do her utmost best to fulfill that duty; whether from dragons, enemies, or the tribesmen of Berk themselves.

On her honor as the greatest warrior in the archipelago, no one would hurt her husband.

No one.

#fanfiction #httyd #how to train your dragon #hiccstrid #hiccup haddock #astrid hofferson #buffstrid #twigcup #flight of the valkyrie

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skrunksthatwunk · 2 years ago

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UGH daigo who pretends to wanna see strip shows and go drinking as a 12 year old because he knows everyone around him isn't cool with him being a kid, so he tries to be less lame, to be more convenient. yeah, you can take me anywhere. in fact, you have to. i'll show you just how grown i am.

daigo who sheaths himself in black clothes, all bark and some bite, all dark and mysterious. all touch me and you'll get burned. playing hard to get. not that he doesn't want to be alone, but he sure as hell doesn't want to be lonely. and for that people have to like him. want to follow him. he's got to be a magnet. leave me alone, i'm not worth your time. so whoever picked him up from the gutter would really have to want him.

daigo who struggles to get his men in line as sixth chairman. daigo who only took the job because kiryu finally needed him. daigo who's never as good as the fourth chairman (who retired after a day, who never had to be chairman). daigo who never holds that against kiryu.

daigo who does what needs to be done, daigo who makes impossible decisions. daigo who rises to the occasion and swears in, daigo determined to be a better man than sohei ever was. daigo who sees the clan as his family, and tries to protect everyone in it. daigo who refuses to screw over kiryu's new family, and daigo who is shot for it. daigo who keeps the clan from tearing each other apart, whose absence brings out the worst in them. daigo who wakes up from a coma and saves kiryu and mine, daigo who comforts mine after, unable to even sit up properly. daigo who takes on a whole baseball team to protect his high school baseball team, daigo who's expelled and thrown in juvie for it. daigo who takes the hit because he knows he'll be yakuza someday anyway. daigo who protects his city. daigo who protects his men. daigo who works a way to offer his broke high school buddy millions of yen and another chance at his dream into his plans. daigo who shows his enemies mercy, daigo who rushes out injured to save the people who've helped him. daigo who tries to get kiryu off charges, who tries to push him to stay with his new family. daigo who loves his father fiercely, daigo who can be relied on. daigo who takes care of people.

daigo who kiryu gives the guidance he needs. daigo who kiryu pulls from depression, daigo who kiryu comes to rescue. majima comes back to the yakuza for, and kiryu who makes him, so he's not alone. daigo who shows mine what it means to care for others, why that's a trait worth dying for. daigo who mine feels he is not worthy of, daigo for whom mine sacrifices himself. daigo whom kiryu covers up mine's betrayal for because he didn't want to hurt him, and because mine was better than that. daigo who's forgiven for selling out majima, for getting caught in something stupid. daigo the "little chef". daigo who kiryu nearly jumps off a building to reach when he's shot, and saejima who holds him back. kiryu who leaves a letter for him, and not haruka, the always-chosen. daigo who's joined by saejima and majima when the tojo crumbles and they have to hide. daigo whose men follow him in the security company afterwards.

daigo who needed to be loved. daigo who loved anyway. daigo who was loved.

#DAIGO APPRECIATION POST DAIGO APPRECIATION POST #I LOVE THAT LITTLE MAN!!!!!!!!!!#rgg #ryu ga gotoku #dojima daigo #daigo dojima #that's him that's the guy #yakuza #nyarla dni

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iamdispleased · 4 months ago

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What’s Happening With Lumon, MDR, O&D, and Gemma

Buckle up, cowboys.

Spoilers: Severance, The Lexington Letters

My theory is that Lumon is a sort of shadow government in expansion. The Lumon building is a military base/bunker. While not the only thing Lumon does, Lumon makes weapons, particularly bombs. They probably made or are making nuclear weapons. O&D designs the weapons and run Lumon’s equivalent to the ENIAC. MDR locate where to use the weapons and deploy them, similar to radarmen. I also think Lumon used MDR to cause Gemma’s car wreck.

02/09/25 Edit: I just read Ricken’s book, The You You Are, and it totally decimated my Gemma theory. So, never mind about that.

03/21/24 Edit: LOL.

Petey’s map of the Lumon building heavily resembles a military base or bunker. The technology and aesthetic they use gives me old school military/N.A.S.A. vibes. The way it’s shot when Mark pulls out his locker’s drawer reminds me of a scene in a war movie or flashback— especially with the way his watch looks like a compass.

As I said, MDR are similar to radarmen. Radarmen first appeared during WWII in the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard. Part of the radarman’s duties was to detect and track vessels through radar equipment, find target locations for attacks (like bombings), and operate the Identification Friend or Foe system, or IFF.

The IFF system, also known as the Mark Identification Friend or Foe system, is an electronic system developed during WWII that military forces used to identify whether an aircraft or vessel detected on radar was friendly or an enemy. This could be why MDR focuses on “scary numbers”. The “scary numbers” represent enemies.

A macrodata refiner’s job description is to “remove impurities from data and reorganize it in its purest form”, and at first I thought MDR was creating atomic bombs specifically, because what is more pure than the atom? But now I could see this as MDR is locating Lumon’s enemies (imperfections) and bombing them (removing them); therefore, making the world/society (data) pure. By ‘pure’, I mean the, “Cleanse the world of our sins,” type pure.

Since radarmen are specifically related to the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Coast Guard, it would make sense as to why Irv is told his outie can swim gracefully and likes the sound of radar, which is what he named his dog after. In the 1970s, the radarman’s duties was split into a few separate jobs. The one MDR seems to resemble the most are Operation Specialist.

O&D design the weapons MDR uses, and seem to be running a machine like the ENIAC. The ENIAC is a big ole computer developed during WWII. It performed calculations for artillery firing tables, the construction of the hydrogen bomb, atomic energy, thermal ignition, and more.

MDR’s file names also clue in on this, with pretty much all of them having events associated with, wars, uprisings and the like.

Pacoima, a file Irv works on, is the name of a neighborhood in Los Angeles. A few screw-ups from radarmen have occurred there, like the 1957 Pacoima mid-air collision.

Moonbeam was the name of a Mustang fighter-bomber aircraft built during WWII.

In the Lexington Letters, Peg, a former MDR employee, thinks that her finishing the Lexington file caused one of Lumon’s competitors trucks to explode, ending with two employees being *burned* alive in the truck and four bystanders’ deaths. The company’s name was Dorner Therapeutics.

I believe Gemma ‘died’ in that accident. The connection to a therapeutics company could be the reason Miss Casey is a wellness councilor.

In 2x02, Mark says that Gemma can’t be alive, because he had to identify her burnt body. My guess is that Gemma’s body was burnt, but Lumon used some sort regenerative technology to heal her. Since Lumon ended up causing Peg to die in a car crash, I wonder if Mark took her job. (Maybe she didn’t die at all, and is in a Miss Casey situation.)

The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first major battles of the American Revolutionary War. If the Lexington file involved Gemma’s accident, then that was the start of Mark working for Lumon. It makes sense for the start of Mark’s journey to be titled Lexington, the start of the Revolutionary War.

One final note— the actual severance chip itself looks like a bomb. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if they are bombs.

And fin.

(I have just started my first rewatch of Severance, and plan to examine it deeper, but I wanted to throw this out there before it’s Too Late.)

tldr: Lumon is a growing shadow government. The Lumon building is a military base/bunker. O&D’s job is to design weapons, while MDR’s job is to locate where to use them and deploy them.

Edit: I rewatched the scene where Mark and Devon are talking in 02x02, and Mark didn’t outrightly say that Gemma’s body burned. He said, “If Ricken died and burned, I’d be sad for you.” I still take this as Gemma’s body burned, though. Mark could have just said, “If Ricken died, I’d be sad for you.” So, the addition of, “… and burned,” feels super specific. Still— my b.

#severance #severance theories #severance spoilers #the need to add 👀👀👀 behind every sentence #gotta think of a specific tag for severance #edit: thought of a tag #unofficial severance post #severance s2 #severance s1 #the lexington files #i do not have special interests #severance theory

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yall-hate-kids-tourney · 5 months ago

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Chris Thorndyke (Sonic X) vs. Cyril (Fire Emblem)

Y'all Hate Kids: Screwed By The Writers

Propaganda below the cut

(edit: added the cut)

Chris Thorndyke (Sonic X)

Chris Thorndyke is THE hated kid in the Sonic fandom and for what??? The whimsy of being sonic's friend?????? Being neglected by his parents but not acting like the sad little neglected child in a gacha movie????? Because the dub writers made him a little more annoying???? For years if you searched the chris thorndyke tag it was NOTHING but vitriol and anger towards this child. His one crime was thinking Sonic was cool and the fandom sentenced him to death for it.

Cyril (Fire Emblem)

cw: Slavery, racism, grooming , Human trafficking, child soldiers, warfare, war orphans

"This boy. This POOR BOY. Would've submitted him to Yall Hate Teens if I could have, because BOY does the fandom rag on him. But thankfully, he applies to this one as well.

Jusr for some background. Okay so we got this 14 year old kid. Born in a (non-white) country with a lot of emphasis on fighting (which is iffy in its own sense too), and he ends up put in a battle at a young age. During this battle, he's captured by the soldiers of a noble family from the white people continent, and made into their ""servant"" (but let's be real, they aren't paying him.) Eventually, he's rescued by the pope, who is secretly a dragon, and he becomes very indebted to her because of this. He becomes almost fanatical in his respect for her, and that's where the main source of people disliking him in the fandom comes from. They think he's annoying. Or make really gross sexual jokes about him (14) and the 100 bajillion year old (that was hyperbole) dragon pope who arguably groomed him according to certain interpretations.

Anyway, for the things the writers did to him! Well, for one, a few of his supports are pretty bad. One particularly terrible one stands out-- his Hilda support. In which he's doing his job, working hard and stuff and she starts saying all these racist comments about how she didn't know that his people were capable of that. He's (rightfully) really rude to her for their first 2 supports, but eventually they have a slightly more friendly relationship. Their A is her bringing home a letter from her brother, telling her that racism is bad. That was what it took for her to realize that, by the way.

Okay, a little iffy, but guess what? You remember the noble family that he was ENSLAVED BY? YEAH. She is a member of that family. And in their paired ending? They get married. He marries the racist white woman who basically decided that he was one of the good ones. You want to know who he DOESN'T gave a paired ending with? Someone who can share his experience of growing up with a complex relationship with his culture. Or the guy who is curious about him and his life and helps to show him the beauty in the mundane, in a really very sweet support that tragically only goes up to B, wanting to go on a trip with him to see his homeland when everything is over. Or the ither person of color who feels questionably indebted to a powerful white person. Also his Byleth S support is really weird and creepy.

Oh, and he was completely cut out of the spin-off game. He was supposed to be playable in it, but they cut him out. You kill him in Scarlet Blaze (or maybe he doesn't die. I forget. You fight him.) And I think he sometimes shows up in other routes but that's it. He was done so dirty by the writers, the fandom, everyone. It's really fucked up."

I was fine with Cyril but a ton of people online SEVERELY hated my boy for just existing so I grew to love him out of spite. Cyril's backstory had him as a child soldier that was captured by the enemy nation where he became a servant to a noble family. Archbishop Rhea noticed Cyril and took him to Garreg Mach Monastery where he willingly works for her out of gratitude for giving him a home when he was at his worst. Because he's a kid (who's also far more mature than some of the older cast) Cyril was one of the few characters who was critical of the protagonist from the get go and I think this brought in the hate. Like- Cyril WAS a kidnapping victim but he's also mature enough to recognize that his home nation wasn't perfect and only encouraged a bloody culture that kept making orphans. Cyril technically doesn't need to work or stay at Garreg Mach but he does so because he feels that he owes Lady Rhea and the localization of FE16 smooths over a lot of that info. Like- leave my boy aloneee he's just living his own life instead of making the protagonist the center of his universe. He's a child soldier that has yet to really find his place in the world after finally being given the reigns of his own life. Cyril my son. Cyril my boy- you are more than all the hate. Be free my child

#yall hate kids tourney #screwed by the writers #round 2 #fire emblem #fire emblem three houses #fe3h #cyril fire emblem #fe3h cyril #chris thorndyke #sonic x #sonic the hedgehog

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teslasucks37 · 1 month ago

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CW: NSFW under the cut (MDNI), afab!Reader (No pronouns, reader wears a bra), Enemies to Lovers, Slight Angst but happy smutty ending, Fuckboy!Troy, Choking, Degrading, Dubcon maybe? (Not really but just in case), P in V Sex, Public Sex, Exhibitionism, Like 4 smut scenes in total? (2 in each part)

A/N: Mmmmmffffhhhhgguuhhhhh (That’s me nutting to this fic) I’m actually cracked???

Troy Lougferd x Reader

Sex For Homework (2/2)

When you thought about sucking dick you worried you’d be terrible at it, but it turned out that Troy just did all the work for you.

He strung his fingers through your hair and told you to take it, so you did.

Down your throat, against your face, he even slid his dick between your tits.

He especially liked that.

But when he reached his end, cumming on your face and in your mouth, watching your lips screw up at the taste, he did something in his post-nut haze that you’d never heard him do.

“Sorry, dude. I know it probably tastes weird.”

He apologized.

You were so shocked that you didn’t even notice the taste anymore.

He never apologized.

You didn’t want to make a big deal out of it, but it was just… Weird to hear him say it.

Weird to hear him care about anyone other than himself.

Weird to hear him care… About you…

But you managed to ignore it, before another weird thing happened.

You’d been reading a book, something for class that you had yet to catch up on, lying in your bed with Troy at the foot of it doing some more Chemistry.

He was eager to actually ace the next test.

But he sighed, scooting up the bed to look over at what you were reading. “What’s it about?”

“The history of Wonder.” You responded without looking up. “You probably wouldn’t like it.”

“Boring.” He confirmed, laying his head on your shoulder.

His weight was heavy atop of you, yet a comforting compression, instead of a suffocation of any kind.

Despite this, you looked up from your book to glance at him. “Don’t you have studying to do?” You grinned, seeing his eyes were closed.

“Mmm…” He mumbled, readjusting slightly to a more comfortable position on your chest.

The softness of his hair, his stupidly quaffed hair, was softer than you thought it would be, tickling your neck and shoulders.

And so you let him sleep as you read, confused, but content.

Then, the strangest thing of all.

You’d been coming back to class, opening your door to find something propped up against your desk.

A gleaming sled, water decals lining the edges still glossy with wax, as if it was just newly plucked from a shop’s window.

It was beautiful.

A note was attached, a large T in the middle of the paper, like a signature, but just the one letter.

Troy…

Why the hell was he doing this?

Why was he being so nice to you?

Did he feel bad for something?

Did he feel like he was using you?

Troy was selfish, a rich boy who did whatever he wanted whenever he wanted.

It didn’t matter how good you felt when you were with him, even if you weren’t having sex.

That would never change…

So why the hell was he pretending like he could?

You shook it off until the steamsledding tournament the next day.

You thought about not using the sled he’d gotten you, but your current one was in complete disrepair, the entire reason you’d considered taking his money in the first place.

Perhaps you’d mentioned it to him once or twice.

You weren’t sure if it made you feel better or worse that he’d remembered.

The day was brisk, like every day was, snow falling softly as competitors prepped their sleds and smoothed out their uniforms.

You met Troy in front of a supply closet before the race, unable to keep your thoughts to yourself any longer.

“What’s going on with you?” You asked before the match, your gaze darting around to be sure no one from either of your teams could see you.

Troy chuckled, almost in disbelief. “What do you mean?”

“The sled?”

“It was just… A thank you for helping me.” He shrugged, like it was the simplest thing in the world.

But it wasn’t that simple.

That sled probably cost 100 cogs.

That was a lot of money, even for a rich boy.

Too much money to spend on a fuck buddy, if that was even what you were.

Friends with benefits?

You weren’t even really friends.

“The money was supposed to be your gratitude.” You frowned, taking on a scolding tone with him.

Troy looked guilty now, just trying to defend his actions. “It’s still money, it’s just… In a different form.”

You scoffed, turning to leave, but pausing for just a moment.

You glanced over your shoulder at him, mumbling discreetly to him. “You’re not my boyfriend.”

Troy looked taken aback, confused at the notion. “I… Know that.”

“Then start acting like it.” And with that jab, you walked away, back to your team’s huddle at the top of the hill.

The words soured in your mouth as you trodded through the snow.

Races always seemed to help you clear your head.

Perhaps you were too harsh with him.

But you couldn’t keep going on like this, like he was the entire world, not when he could command your body like it was a puppet built just for him.

You’d supposed you could find another person to sleep with, just to check if anyone could make you feel as good as him.

But you cringed at the thought.

And that worried you.

“Are you ready?” Mai clasped you on the back, snapping you out of your daze.

“Huh? Yeah…” You squinted through the snow to watch the other competitors.

Mai grinned, readjusting her hat so it was tighter on her head. “You alright?”

She’d never taken off that hat, even when you’d seen her in class.

Your gaze locked on Troy, standing near his team with crossed arms and a hardened look on his face. “I’m fine.” You mumbled to her, pulling your goggles over your eyes before walking with the rest of your team to the starting line.

You could feel his eyes on you.

He always stared at you during these things, even before you’d gotten so close.

And now you may have messed it all up, just cause you couldn’t get your own stupid feelings in check.

Because that’s all it really was.

You understood it now.

As you reared back and pushed yourself and your sled down the mountain, your emotions became clearer.

All the annoyance at his softness, the worry at his gifts, the way your heart fluttered and your smile grew when he would come by to study.

The new sled was something to get used to, spitting back more snow than your old one and needing more than the few hours of practice you’d gotten on it the day before.

Snow flew up into your face, wetting your nose and mouth, and covering your goggles as you seared down the mountainside.

When you brought a hand up to clear your face, you caught a glimpse of red on your left, Troy’s colors.

The two of you were neck and neck in the front of the race.

He met your eyes through his own goggles, sporting a look you hadn’t seen on him since your last race, when he’d nearly flipped you just to make a point.

That made your face redden, more than it already was from the cold.

The racing of your heart made your thoughts quicken, but become simpler, no society, no teammates, no restrictions.

Just you and Troy, together on the slopes, fear and rivalry and love interwoven into the foundation of your lives.

Your sleds, fire and water, opposites, but somehow always paired together.

The finish line came into view.

You looked around for just a moment, seeing just how truly far back the other competitors were, before letting yourself fall back.

You could hear the cheering crowds, the cheering of Troy’s team, and the confused shouting of your own.

You trailed just behind him, letting him pass the line first, letting him win.

You stuck a leg out, sliding over to the sidelines out of the way of the other competitors.

You had to apologize to him.

You shouldn’t have said what you did.

“Troy!” You called out to him, pushing past the referees to hopefully catch up with him, but he just kept walking.

As the officiant placed a second place medal around your neck, you glanced at the man on the pedestal next to you.

Troy’s face was discontent, the most displeased he’d ever looked which slightly surprised you.

Especially considering this was the first time he’d gotten first place in a race.

After your teammates patted you on the back and you’d finished blaming your loss on the newness of your sled, you all decided to go home.

You thought about going to the after party, since you could maybe see Troy there and apologize to him.

And also drink enough alcohol with your friends to require a liver transplant.

But a grip on your uniform startled you, causing you to drop your sled.

“Wha-” You thought about crying out, before you spotted the red of Troy’s uniform through the snow.

Troy’s grip on your hand was slightly painful as he pulled you into the storage closet you’d stood in front of earlier, but you let him.

He closed the door behind you, pressing his palms against it on either side of you and trapping you between his body and the wood.

Both of your helmets fell from your grasps, rolling onto the floor.

You locked eyes with him, trying to get your words out without stumbling. “Troy, I-”

“Why did you let me win?” He asked with a scowl.

“I just… It was an apology.” You mumbled, suddenly shy and failing at your previous goal to be coherent. “I thought that you would… Like coming in first.”

He paused for a moment, before sighing and looking at the floor in disappointment. “It doesn’t mean anything if you let me win.”

You placed a hand on his cheek, bringing it up to look at you.

He wasn’t much taller than you, but he was tall enough where he still covered your body with his in the confined space.

You bit your lip as your eyes met, a fire burning in his eyes that was hot and angry, but also disheartened. “I wanted to say that I was sorry for earlier. I shouldn’t have… Said what I did to you…” You spoke vaguely, shrinking slightly at his gaze.

It had that same harshness to it that you’d seen from afar for so long, dampened with your recent proximity.

It soothed you to see that his fire wasn’t gone, merely left smoldering and needing a poke to get it started again.

Tory’s teeth pulled his bottom lip into his mouth, chewing on it as he analyzed your face, as if he was trying to determine how genuine you were, or maybe he was just trying to determine how to react.

You felt scrutinized under his gaze, just like you’d felt that first time you’d been together.

So much had happened since then.

“So… Could I like maybe… Keep acting like your boyfriend?” He asked casually, despite his reddening face.

You held back a smile at his expression, thinning your lips and nodding.

He obviously noticed your smile, grumbling in embarrassment. “Shut up, dude.”

“Make me.”

You’d meant it as a teasing gesture, but the way Troy’s eyes darkened as soon as you’d said it told you that it was anything but a joke.

“You asked for it.” He scoffed, before smashing his lips to yours.

The pure force pressed your body further into the wood of the door.

The warmth of his lips and his touch always made your brain go dark, only wanting for more of whatever he gave you.

Like it was an addiction.

Your hands trailed over his jacket, feeling the contours of his chest beneath it with a yearning that engulfed your brain.

Were you really going to fuck in a supply closet?

The thought made your mind race.

You’d gotten off with him in many odd places, but this would be a first.

Maybe it was a kink of his, claiming you and defiling every place on campus imaginable.

Maybe it was a kink of yours too.

His teeth pulled on your lip, making a whimper fall from your mouth at the slight pain.

“Couldn’t even stay away for a day.” Troy mumbled smugly against your tongue.

His hands fumbled with the zipper of your jacket, pulling it down just enough for your tits covered only by a tank top and bra to spill out, before they fell to your pant buttons to work them open.

You noticed him struggle, so you took over his motions to unbutton your pants as he tugged your tank top up just over the mounds of your tits.

You yanked your fly open and pulled the pants along with the other thermal layers down to the floor so you were bare for him below the waist.

It was cold as hell, but you supposed you both could find a way to make your own heat…

Troy’s breath was ragged against your face as he dug his cock out of the tight confines of his suit, the undone buckle falling limply to the side.

You lifted your leg over his hip, his hand instinctively coming to grab under it and lift it to his shoulder.

You were pretty flexible, flexible enough to be strong for steamsledding, but even that stretch was slightly painful.

But despite the pain, you grinned as his leaking tip prodded at your hot cunt.

The way he spread you open for him every time never failed to make your heart pound.

Like a predator claiming his prize, because you were his prize in every way that it mattered.

And like a predator, Troy showed you no mercy when his cock slammed inside you.

“Fuck!” You cried out, shoving your face in his jacket to muffle the noise, much like you’d done the first time the two of you’d had sex.

“Ooh~” Troy cooed, watching your pussy contort around him as he rocked in and out of you. “Still so tight…”

You panted, your spine arching back to watch it with him, sometimes glancing up to see his reaction.

His eyes were heavy lidded, yet focused and taking in every detail of how you wrapped around him.

The sheen of slick stickiness stringing between your bodies and covering his shaft practically had his mouth watering, slack in an open mouthed grin.

His hand reached for your clit, his ungloved thumb circling it with precision. “Addicted to this fucking cock, aren’t you…”

Your throat let out a whimper, head lolling back against the wood as you were hurtled toward your first orgasm, your eyes fluttered and rolled up into your skull. “Haaa~”

Troy’s hips pressed you into the door, reaching so deep. “That’s it…”

Your cum squirted out around his cock, your legs trembling as it got all over his uniform.

Fuck, it felt so good.

He always made you feel good.

He’d learned every curve, every spot, every pressure point that had you bucking against him.

If you didn’t know any better, he was your best friend.

But also such a good fuck.

Maybe you loved him…

Fuck that turned you on.

You pressed your face forward, bringing him into a desperate kiss before mumbling against his lips. “Harder~”

His mouth turned into a smirk as his thumb removed itself from between your legs.

“So naughty…” Troy teased, slowing his movements to readjust his grip on you. “I could open this door and show the whole crowd what a greedy slut you are for me…”

His words and his suddenly fast pace made a shock of fire race down your spine, straight to your core to begin the buildup of another mind shattering orgasm as your skin slapped together.

The explicit sounds echoed in the small shed, moans spilling from your lips as he grinned devilishly.

“You love this dick, don’t you…” Troy’s voice drawled out as he pounded into you.

You nodded, head emptying in real time as your mouth curled up into a fucked-out grin.

His hand gripped one of your tits, still cupped in a bra all pretty for him, before moving up to wrap around your throat and squeezing ever so slightly.

“This is boyfriend dick~” He groaned, reacting to the way your eyes fluttered and rolled back again as he lightly choked you.

As if he was threatening you, demanding it.

He was always so fucking demanding…

And you loved it.

“Troy-” You managed to choke out, your drooling tongue almost getting in the way of your words.

Your brain was so foggy, so filled with pleasure, but through the haze you heard his words clear as day.

“Say my fucking name, babe.” Troy pleaded through desperate grunts and moans, pressing his forehead to yours without any shame or concern.

A warmth filled your chest at the nickname, making you want to do what he asked even more.

His grip around your throat didn’t loosen, if anything it tightened, making the small amounts of oxygen going to your brain even smaller.

“Tr- Ahh~ Tro- Troy!”

You almost forgot how to talk, but despite your rapidly declining intellect with you good he was fucking you, you managed to gurgle out a response at the peak of yet another explosive orgasm.

Your cum poured down your legs, spraying on his suit with some of it splashing back onto your skin.

“Fuck…” He panted in pure awe, his grip around your throat and waist tightening and pulling you in faster.

Your wobbling legs threatened to give out below you, but Troy managed to hold you up with just his big strong athletic arms.

“Oh, you love how I fuck you~” Troy’s voice broke lightly at the end of his sentence, moans falling out of his mouth, just as whorish and filthy as yours had been.

Your whimpers died down, only able to silently scream through the thick fog of overstimulating pleasure.

His hips hammered into you, pulling your body in and using your fluttering walls to get off.

Your vision was white, pure void as you felt nothing but the pleasure that Troy was providing you.

Limbs numb, entire body useless as he used your hole for his cock.

And god, did you feel good.

Troy’s mind was on fire, rapidly coming to his own peak at the sight of you completely fucked out beneath him.

Knowing that he’d gotten you to this point, using nothing but his cock and fingers, it filled him with so much ecstasy.

He couldn’t stop himself from capturing your mouth and moaning into it.

But even in your state of frail numbness, he felt your lips press back into his, and that simple motion that you’d both done many times sent him over the edge.

He pushed his cock inside, down to the hilt, pumping his cum into you and claiming you once again.

His hand released from your neck, realizing it had been there for a little longer than he’d realized.

You gasped in a full breath, the world slowly returning around you.

Troy, the storage closet, his dick in you, your cum dripping down your legs, the warmth in your core that had just been emptied into you.

His hips pulled back slowly, pulling his softening cock out of your used hole with more care than he’d shown in the past few hours.

The lack of stimulation was enough stimulation to push a tiny third orgasm squirting out of your already dripping cunt, obviously not yet getting the hint that you’d both finished.

Troy licked his lips at the sight, carefully bringing your leg back down to the ground, making you wince and fold down with it at the searing ache in your joints.

Your pussy quivered at the emptiness, shivering at the overwhelming sensations it had been feeling just moments ago.

Your legs shook, completely incapable of standing on their own, but Troy held you up like a perfect gentleman.

Of course, it was his fault you were like this, but the dizzy smile he gave you didn’t indicate much guilt.

You cringed aloud at the feeling of his cum drooling out of you and down your thighs.

He let out a smug chuckle, rubbing circles into your shoulder. “You okay, dude?”

You smiled to yourself, before nodding for him to see. “Uh huh…”

He stood there for a moment, just holding you, letting you recover and breathe, as if he wasn’t sweaty and panting himself.

It was nice, serene, peaceful even.

“Do you wanna like, go to the dining hall and get food or something?” He mumbled to you, rubbing your back still.

You grinned at his awkwardness. “Uh huh…”

Some things just never change…

#smut #charlie slimesicle x reader #charlie slimecicle smut #slimecicle x reader #slimefucker #troy lougferd smut #troy lougferd x reader #señor babygirl

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generalhumancloudalmond · 2 years ago

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Mister Cyclop

Platonic!Yandere!Tartaglia x Bullied!Child!Male!Reader

How did it become like this? Why did you hit your brother Teucer? Why did you insult him? He... He just wanted to play with you. With his brother, whom he hadn't seen for so long. And you've been waiting so long to meet your family, too. So why did you screw it up yourself? That's not what you wanted at all...

You left earlier than planned. You didn't wait for your older brother Ajax, who was supposed to arrive in two days, but just returned to Fontaine. Initially, you dreamed of studying at Fontaine only for the sake of Teucer, he was not much younger than you and terribly loved cyclops. Once Ajax gave him a toy in the form of his favorite hero and you just can't but wanted to fulfill his dream. Just make a mechanism that would allow his favorite toy to walk.

"It would be great if Mister Cyclope could walk! Oh! And can even shoot a laser! With which he's supposed to crush enemies! Ha! Ha! Ha!"

However, here you are, looking at how other students spit in your shoes, how even one of the elders angrily looks in your direction, maybe it's a teacher.

"Stop crying, Y/n! Do you even know how many people your brother has killed and he...!"

"My brother is not a harbinger!"

"What's the difference?! You're from Snezhnaya! You're all sick in the head there! Invading foreign regions! Torture, kill, you are all monsters! From someone like you, we all have to suffer while you feast!"

Sitting on the floor, you just couldn't help but cry with resentment.

Your mom always told you to be kind to everyone, to always share and not offend anyone. So you did. On the first day you even brought hotcakes, which you made all night with your mother. You thought you'd make friends faster this way, but the other kids threw away those hotcakes and said that they didn't want to be poisoned by food from the north, that they weren't so stupid and naive as not to understand your true motives. They even read your letter that you wrote to your family, hoping to find the secret cipher. Of course, there were no any secret cipher, however, they made fun of you when they saw you admit that you were being bullied in letter.

"Oh! Are we hurting you? Really? What a pity... But you know what?! You can complain to your dad! And I'm not! Do you know why?! Because your fatui relatives killed him! Although I'm sorry! After all, the words "pain" and "loss" are not familiar to people like you!"

"I..."

"Do us all a favor, Y/n! No! Do the whole Teyvat a favor! Go back to your homeland and die with scum like yourself!"

You had nothing to say, as always. Fortunately, it was over in a couple of minutes. The class started and everyone left, everyone except you. You went to your room. You decided to finish disassembling the bag and maybe calm down a little. However, tears fell like a waterfall from your eyes when you saw a jar of condensed milk and a note from Tyuser. In your younger brother 's clumsy handwriting , it was written in large letters:

'Mom said I could take some condensed milk so I wouldn't cry. I don't know how I offended you... I'm sorry, brother. But I hope that condensed milk will cheer you up as much as it does me. By the way, you didn't hurt me at all!'

How... How could you take it out on your own brother... Also a younger one... You really are a monster from the north...

You fell asleep crying on the floor, despite the fact that it was only evening, and therefore woke up in the middle of the night. It was warm and smelled like home, like when the older brother had just returned home after another business trip. Your was nose tickled the fur, and your brother was sitting at your desk... Brother?!

"Oh! Y/n, you're awake... You really scared me, you know. You were lying on the floor, all in tears and with a fever... How are you?"

Ajax came up to you when you started crying again. However, this time your nose was buried in your brother's warm, big and motionless shoulder, and not in your small hands that were shaking nonstop and from which your own tears flowed.

"Brother... Brother..."

Ajax's left hand stroked your back soothingly, and his right hand pressed your head harder against his shoulder. Tonya called Ajax a knight, but for you he was like a brown bear, with big hands and fluffy hair.

"Do you know what I'm thinking, Y/n? About how well we will spend all the time together at home... Go ice skating, go fishing. I will definitely prepare my crown fish soup... However, Tonya will most likely disappear with her friends, as she does every yuletide... But I think they can be invited to us, Anton will definitely be embarrassed because of this..."

Your mouth unwittingly broke into a small, weak, but so tender smile at the mention of your older brother Anton, who was always blushing and shy in front of the girls. And Tonia, who, as she herself said, didn't believe in all this nonsense with fortune-telling. However, at the same time, she was looking forward to cherished days for rituals...

"Brother... I... I want to go home..."

"I know, my little rascal, and we will definitely go home..."

Enjoying a moment of happiness and such a pleasant, domestic tranquility, you do not see Ajax's eyes and do not think about the evil words of other children. you only think about home. When, at the same time, your older brother, seeing how you calm down, he starts thinking about your classmates and teachers again...

"I just need to sort something out first..."

#reader #platonic yandere #yandere #platonic #platonic genshin impact #child reader #yandere platonic #platonic tartaglia #platonic childe #yandere tartaglia #yandere childe #platonic yandere Tartaglia #platonic yandere childe #yandere genshin #genshin impact

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lxrd-ren · 7 months ago

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Dude DUDE

The parallels to Last Life are insane

- Final Girls + BigB are the only 5 person teamup / allyship (if only for a bit) we've had since Last Life's Southerners

- Tuff Guys building multiple towers, one for each person also mimics the Southerners towers

- 1st season since Last Life to have the dark green name available

- Tuff guys is team B.E.S.T minus Skizz

- 1st season since last life to have every member be present (Skizz missing from Double Life, Ren+Lizzie+Mumbo missing from Limited Life, Ren missing from Secret Life) (Gem not being in seasons before Secret Life does not count her as missing from them as she wasn't added to the Life Series yet)

- Bases being references with The Avengers Tower in Last Life and Joel's car in Wild Life

- Even the name of the seasons have the first word containing 4 letters

- The next episodes are literally going to air on the 3rd anniversary of the Last Life finale (knew this curtsey of @desolationcleo)

- Ren letting someone else kill him / gain a life from him in exchange for allyship, Lizzie in Last Life and Jimmy in Wild Life

- BigB betrays his alliance and Cleo shuns him, yknow what happened in Last Life? Oh yeah

SAME SESSION, SIMILAR TITLE AND EVERYTHING

EVEN GOES TO THE SAME PEOPLE AFTER THE BETRAYALS

Not to mention the set up for the other factors??

Like nearly every season, Jimmy dies first in Last Life

In Wild Life, Grian vows to make Jimmy's curse stay true by killing him first

Y'know who killed Jimmy in Last Life? GRIAN. I WOULDN'T BE SUPRISED IF HE DOES PERMA KILL JIMMY AGAIN

Scott won Last Life. His teammate was Pearl, and also Cleo later on when she left her alliance

So, judging by popular opinion..

Joel wins Wild Life. His teammate is Gem, and also (possibly) Etho / Lizzie later on when they leave their alliance ?

Scott won by being honourable, but he can hardly do that this season with all his teammates making enemies quicker than he can make allies

And Joel this season has decided to be more controlled and seek out allies this time around

And don't get me started on the red names

- Mumbo and Skizz both being on red early on and working together to get kills

- Joel was the main red of Last Life; desperate and failing miserably. During this last session I'm sure you can see that same desperation through the red names in Wild Life

However, in particular I believe Tango is going to be the Joel equivalent this season. (Thanks to @tiredfoxtf for pointing this out) Mainly because:

- Tango was one of the first to turn red, which if I remember correctly, has not happened before

- Joel had a very tedious alliance with Scar, and Tango has a very tedious alliance with Etho + Bdubs

- Whilst Joel and Tango both have made many enemies, they both have a particular person that is their main one: Joel had Scott and Tango has Skizz (Or perhaps Joel in the future if it's more fitting for the main red name to rival the (maybe) winner)

- Unlike Mumbo, Tangos traps have failed again and again; just like how Joel's traps at the start also failed again and again. Since Joel did eventually start getting kills, perhaps Tango might also

- Plus, the reason their red and desperate in the first place is due to their respective seasons mechanic; Joel was the Boogeyman twice, both times made him go down to red and Tango got screwed over by the Wild cards snails

- Thinking of lives, they both started out their doomed session on 5 lives and got down to 1 by the end of it

#trafficblr #tangotek #joel smallishbeans

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lifeisabiscuit · 8 months ago

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Link the fics 💕

AO3

Darling

https://archiveofourown.org/works/58618741

My very first acotar fic. Tamsand. Smut.

Summary: A different view of what could have happened when Rhysand visited Tamlin in fas.

Tamlin's sacrifice

https://archiveofourown.org/works/58879219

Tamsand. Feysand. Lucien. Starts with Feyre pov. No smut. Made me cry writing it lol TW: character death. .

Summary: Tamlin spends his last moments with an unexpected person and his best friend.

Solstice morning

https://archiveofourown.org/works/61657411

Just something I threw together Christmas morning. No smut or warnings. Fluff.

Summary: Rhys and his bedmate wake up together on solstice morning.

Sleeping in the bed we made

https://archiveofourown.org/works/62154721

Tamsand. Cheater Rhys. Not a happy fic. (Title has changed)

Summary: How a betrayal ended with the deaths of 2 innocents

Are you my mate?

https://archiveofourown.org/works/64852726

Summary: Rhys meets up with "Feyre" in a break at a high lords meeting.

The one where they get divorced

https://archiveofourown.org/works/65246407

Summary: Aka. How many ways can Tamsand screw in the divorce court bathroom? Or Rhys calls Tamlin everything but his name.

Moments that we stole (ongoing)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/65671873/chapters/169107889

Summary:Rhys is happily dating Feyre but what happens when he can't get her roommate out of his head?

There is no forgiveness without love

https://archiveofourown.org/works/65990950

Summary: Rhys goes to check on Tamlin, he finds a letter instead.

Tumblr

Love is a many splendored thing

https://www.tumblr.com/lifeisabiscuit/782672055767285760/for-mathi?source=share

Summary: Modern teen Tamsand first date at the drive in. Written as a gift based on tags for Mathi.

Soft mornings

https://www.tumblr.com/lifeisabiscuit/784393430449225728/soft-mornings?source=share

Summary: Just a small look into the past, before they were high lords and enemies, when they were just them, together.

WIP

Tamsand: Affair fic

Tamsand: Rhys sneaking into Tamlins tent when they were young. Same timeline as Darling.

Tamsand: Modern au! Tamlin is struggling to make ends meet after leaving his family. Rich man Rhys picks him up in his limousine.

Tamlin x Reader: y/n and Tamlin were happy until he met his mate.

Just starting my fanfic writing era lol. I hope you enjoy reading them! 💕

#tamsand #pro tamlin #tamlin #rhyslin #tamlin x rhysand #acotar fanfiction

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all-pacas · 5 months ago

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house live-ish blogging: paternity (still only here for the Team, sorry old men):

this is i think the only episode chase does a crossword, and he's not even shown to be good at it, and yet. chase and his lil crossword books. you'll never take this headcanon from me. he goes through one 1001 puzzles to stump you! book a month 😌

also add it to the characterization pile, we now know three things about chase: strange accent, nepohire, bad at crossword puzzles

the letter cameron wrote "as" house:

[unreadable] to first say thank you for contacting my office in regards to my son, Daniel. I am sorry […] about your son's present condition. I have reviewed the date you forwarded to my office. There certainly are some interesting re[…] Daniel's testing thus far. I also have some concerns from the CT Scans I reviewed. Although I r[…] the work of the physicians you consulted previously, I do feel it is time that Daniel met […] specialist. I feel it is imperative for Daniel to seek advanced medical treatment immediately. Often […] neurological condition, time is the patient's greatest enemy. I am unable to make appointments in my office at Princeton-Plainsboro teaching hospital. I only consult […] on patients that are referred to my office from within the hospital. I do however see patients daily […] our walk-in clinic. This clinic is designed to treat patients who need to see a physician within Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. We are unable to schedule appointments within the walk-in clinic. I am scheduled to see patients daily Monday through Friday, between the hours of 3-6 PM. Thank you for contacting my office and I look forward to consulting you and your family. Sincerely, [signed] Greg House, M.D.

i love this because it is such a bad house impression. she isn't even trying. i also love the "listen. there is no way you will get an appointment. here is where i, gregory house, will be at the clinic. every day. just show up. no this isn't sketch, i, gregory house, definitely am writing this letter."

i will forgive cameron for literally anything but "the kid is having neuro symptoms, no i did not ask if he'd had head trauma recently" is an mess for sure. like i get it's set up for the episode to happen but. that's bad. love house telling cameron good work and then IMMEDIATELY rescinding it. "you're an only child aren't you?"

"you shoved it in my face just to humiliate me" — this is actually something cameron does a couple times in s1, she takes disagreement very personally; she assumes when house thinks she screwed up in heavy that he's doing it out of personal feelings and gets really upset about it too. she is thin skinned. she does not take criticism well, at all.

(cameron is a fundamentally self-centered person. this isn't a criticism. so is house. so is half the cast. but even her selflessness tends to be couched in external validation and praise: she does want to help people, but she also wants to be recognized for it: she flees situations difficult for her, she is not as selfless as she pretends/wants to be, she is thin-skinned and advocates for patients she sees herself in (or the people she cares about in) most of all. this is not unique to her but it is something i don't see talked about much -- except for by her legions of bashers who of course mean it completely different. she's not a selfish bitch, she's genuinely selfless and giving and kind. it's just her perspective is much more limited than i think even she is aware of. house dismissing this case is an intentional slight against her, not house being house.)

anyway there's a couple early episodes in s1 where cameron is the main whiteboard writer, which i think the show stopped when they realized it was actually kind of weird to make the One Girl office secretary lmao

chase early on wins points by suggesting the kid's parents are lying, and spends the rest of the episode chasing that high lmao. he keeps checking house for answers and guessing (pretty accurately) what house wants them to say and notice. he doesn't have a clue what is happening with the patient, but i love the mix of chase's asskissing/"political talents" and perceptiveness put towards the ridiculous purpose of "impressing the boss" instead of actually doing his job (also something about how chase is a people pleaser, or at least, tries his best to be liked and say and do what is expected of him in every situation)

once again foreman is coming up with most of the ideas and doing most of the work this episode lol, although the focus on him is less intense than in the pilot (chase, if anyone, is getting the most characterization this episode, although it's mostly he's kind of dumb and a suck up). but house actually defers the treatment to him almost entirely -- something house kind of did in the pilot as well.

chase and foreman positive interaction alert!!! joking about the dna test and chase suggesting they pretend the kid has huntington's. love to see it

the kids go to house because they don't agree on the patient having MS, the resulting argument reveals that it's foreman for and cameron and chase against. foreman is wrong, but gets his way with house. i feel like this is a pattern

"[the parents] aren't suing, but i think only because chase asked them" the asskissing powers emerge fully formed from the waves--

house asking foreman if he'd like some coffee and then pouring him some 😳

chase casually sexually harassing cameron by suggesting the patient stare at her breasts lmao. like i should find it annoying but a) cameron also seems to find it funny and b) they're such cute s1 friends okay

generally i love s1 and the episodes but i do feel like this one is kind of weak. i can't really say why, it just doesn't hit for me the way most of the first half of s1 does. i think the case just kind of feels weak; the show usually does a good job connecting the patient or case to at least one of the main characters, but there's really none of that here. nor do we really learn about the characters in any way, or have a dramatic case to make up for it. might be the weakest of the first half.

#malpractice posting #house live-ish blogging

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sshbpodcast · 5 months ago

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Character Spotlight: Charles “Trip” Tucker

By Ames

Screw Jonathan Archer. Trip Tucker is the real hero of Star Trek: Enterprise. He’s more likeable. He grows more as a character. Unlike John, he actually overcomes some of his racism. He commits way fewer atrocities than John too! We testify all the time on the podcast that he has the character journey that Archer should have had. So this week, your A Star to Steer Her By hosts are here to analyze the best Florida Man out there.

Don’t let the accent fool you: Trip knows his engineering shit. This Southern charmer is not only personable to everyone he meets, he’s more emotionally self-aware than most characters across the franchise. We need more Trip Tuckers in the world. So read on below and listen to this week’s podcast episode (tightrope walk over to 45:57) as we highlight our catfish-loving friend. And pass the pecan pie.

Best moments

Challenge your preconceptions or they’ll challenge you One of the early moments of growth we see from Trip comes in “Strange New World.” He spouts some absolutely horrid racist jargon at T’Pol while under the influence of space pollen, but when he snaps out of it, he not only apologizes, but he recognizes that he’s still learning to overcome the systemic racism he grew up surrounded by, which is hella introspective.

I feel like I got caught with my hand in the cookie jar Speaking of Trip apologizing to T’Pol, he knows to come clean to her after he read her very personal letter in “Breaking the Ice.” It’s Trip’s suggestion to Archer to have Hoshi decrypt the message instead of to (ya know) ask T’Pol about it, which is shitty, but then he’s honest enough afterwards that T’Pol sees in him someone she can trust to ask for advice about her arranged marriage.

I am just going outside and may be some time Who other than Trip could get Malcolm Reed, ship introvert, to come out of his shell? Their friendship becomes a show highlight after their misadventure during “Shuttlepod One.” Trip is even willing to Captain Oates himself to give Reed a fighting chance, but then ends up saving their asses when he prolongs their life support and then detonates their engine to get the Enterprise’s attention.

We all scream for ice cream Earlier in “Breaking the Ice,” Trip advised T’Pol to do what’s best for her (and eat pecan pie). Now in “Oasis,” we see him continue the trend when he advocates for Liana to make her own decisions, and it won’t be the last we see him champion others’ decisions. He also introduces Liana to ice cream, which makes him a goddamn hero. Someone, get this girl a bowl of rocky road.

It’s the CAPTAIN’S chair This is one of the cute moments we couldn’t help but include. It’s also a fun little acting showcase for Connor Trinneer when Trip gets absolutely fixated on tuning up Archer’s chair in “Singularity.” And when he’s clear-headed enough again not to redesign the whole thing, he figures out all he needs to do is lower it one centimeter. Work smarter, not harder, friends.

I’m not leaving him here We get even more benevolence from Tucker in “Dawn” when he’s stranded on a moon with Zho’Kaan, an Arkonian with whom he has no way of communicating. Though they’re distrustful and combative at first, the two men learn to help each other survive as the oppressively hot sunrise approaches. It’s just Geordi in “The Enemy” again, but that’s hardly a bad thing.

They would never let me learn those things There was a bit of a debate about which list to put “Cogenitor” on. You can’t deny that Trip is NOT the person to be making the legal and psychoanalytical decisions on Charles’s behalf. Problem is, there IS no such person on the Enterprise and the one person who could have granted them asylum resolutely refused. So that’s on Archer. Trip, on the other hand, is the only person treating Charles like a person, being the most compassionate crew member yet again.

You owe me one Turns out Sim, Trip’s symbiote in “Similitude,” is just as honorable a man as the original. First off, his engineering ingenuity saves the ship from the polaric field it was stuck in. And what a phenomenal job from Trinneer, distinguishing this subtly different character from Trip, and fighting for his right to exist. It’s a gut punch watching Sim accept his fate after his short life. Ow, my gut!

I’ve been putting off writing this for a while Trip’s emotional journey in season three is probably the most profound. We get to witness various stages of the grief he goes through after his sister’s death to the Xindi probe. Most of the season is anger, which is to be expected. But by the end of “The Forgotten,” we see how far he’s come when he writes the condolence letter to the Taylors, reflecting heavily on his own loss.

If I had suffered your loss, I’d feel the same way All the season three growth really does go to Trip! While Archer is torturing people and trying to kamikaze the Xindi, and T’Pol is a junkie for no logical reason, Tucker is here developing as a person. It’s just before Degra’s death in “The Council” that Trip and the Xindi weapons designer come to a sort of understanding with each other. There’s hope in this universe after all!

I think it was called: “The Ship that Couldn’t Slow Down” It may be pure spectacle, but it’s also impressive as hell when Trip shimmies through space between the Columbia and the Enterprise on a skinny little wire in “Divergence.” As usual, Trip is the only person who can save the day when the Enterprise has taken a cue from Speed and can’t slow down. Who else can say they tightrope-walked between ships at warp?

You’re sweet-talking the wrong guy While I would have much preferred if any of the lady crewmembers of the Enterprise did literally anything when the Orion slave girls take over the ship in “Bound,” I guess I’ll take the next best thing and see Trip do it. Because the typical Vulcan immunity is apparently transferable to their boytoys, Commander Tucker gets to save the day because pheromones don’t work on him.

—

Worst moments

Three hours of decompression in each direction Having to undergo decompression to visit an alien ship is a pretty cool concept we don’t see enough of in Trek, and maybe it’s for good reason. When Trip is decompressing during “Unexpected,” he’s absolutely insufferable. He spends the whole three hours whining and whining and whining, and flips the hell out even while Ah’len is assuring him everything’s fine.

Roll a stealth check Though we get some fun guest stars out of “Acquisition,” it feels like it’s missing something all episode long. I posit that what we’re missing is literally any clever engineering tactics from Trip, the only crew member free on the ship after it’s been taken over by Ferengi. Not only does he not do anything “Starship Mine”-y, but he gets himself nabbed by those doofuses!

A Night at the Risa-bury You wanna get your kicks on Risa, you go for it, Trip, but don’t be so disgusting about it. Watching him and Reed ogling all the aliens in the club in “Two Days and Two Nights” gets real gross real fast. But having the two of them get so thoroughly tricked by shapeshifting con artists until they were left tied up in their underwear shows how out of their depths they are.

I’d hate to be responsible for giving the crew the runs Considering how often you see other crewmen sitting in the chair whenever the captain is off gallivanting, it seems peculiar how utterly clueless Tucker is when he’s left in command during “The Seventh.” It’s like he’s forgotten how to make decisions. Or communicate with Vulcans. Or let Phlox and Reed do their damn jobs. Why is he suddenly inept?

Gives a whole new meaning to doing “The Stranger” Like we talked about a lot in our Kes post, some bad moments are actually things that don’t happen when they should. In this case, there is absolutely no pay off when Trip’s arm turns invisible in “The Communicator.” Nothing comes of this! In an episode where it would behoove everyone to be able to retrieve something undetected, wouldn’t an invisible hand work nicely?

Why, you stuck-up, half-witted, scruffy-looking nerf herder! Aside from just plain being a bad episode, “Precious Cargo” also contains a lot of terrible work from Commander Tucker. There is absolutely no chemistry between him and First Monarch Kaitaama, and yet they go to bone town just because the plot needs them to. You’d think someone who’s gotten pregnant before from engaging in less would show a little more restraint.

I was brought up believing you don’t play around with another man’s wife Let’s be clear: Trip does nothing wrong in how he associates with Feezal in “Stigma.” This is one of those moments that’s all on the writers. Someone continuously and gratuitously coming on to another person who displays no interest is sexual harassment. And yet the jokey, cutesy tone suggests it’s Trip’s error in not banging someone he shows no desire to bang. That’s gross.

You can’t do that on the balcony, buddy? This show is pretty much four seasons of white men not listening to a woman, and it’s enraging. T’Pol, as logically as usual, suggests that Tucker not test the Xindi rifle in the middle of the armory (of all places!) in “The Shipment,” but Trip refuses to listen and nearly blows the thing up in the most explosive area of the ship. Go outside and blow things up like a normal person!

This mission is to save Earth, not an alien hatchery I’m not done shitting on “Hatchery,” which I started doing last week. And in our season three wrap. And in our series wrap. I just find it so detestable that the show tries to glorify Tucker organizing a full mutiny because the captain is trying to save the baby Insectoids. Exactly no one on the ship seems to understand that that is the ethical thing to do, even during war time. Especially during war time.

Bugs Bunny sawed off Florida too, you know We just spent a couple points above praising Tucker for overcoming his hatred of the Xindi, but to get there, he first had to be overwhelmed with wrath. It’s understandable after the lancing of Florida, but when Trip just starts riling Degra in “The Forgotten,” it is not the right time, dude. At this point, Degra is working with Starfleet. Save the guilt trip for when you’re less busy.

Taking my ball and going home The will-they-won’t-they shenanigans between Trip and T’Pol have gotten very tired by the time we get to “The Aenar.” The both of them are acting so juvenile because they can’t work through their emotions nor act professionally around each other. So it’s frankly pathetic that Trip runs away from his feelings by asking for a transfer to the Columbia. And the Tri’Pol shippers lament.

Have a nice Trip. See you next fall. No Worst Moments list would be complete without the awful, awful way that they kill off a beloved character. “These Are the Voyages…” does Trip even dirtier than Nemesis does Data in how pointless a death it is. It feels like a slap in the face to fans, ya know, like that whole finale does. The explosion scene is rushed. The acting is subpar. A piss-poor way to go.

—

We, however, still have a long road to go ourselves, with several more character spotlights on the way. So make sure you’re following along here, keeping up with our watchthrough of Discovery over on SoundCloud (among all the other podcast places), get some neuropressure with us over on Facebook, and save us some popcorn at movie night!

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