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justagalwhowrites · 1 month

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Halcyon - Ch. 16: You Gotta Do What You Gotta Do

You and Joel look for Anna and find a new balance in your relationship. A continuation of Halcyon from the prologue through Ch. 15, a modern no outbreak AU TLOU fic found on Tumblr here.

Pairing: Joel Miller x Female Reader

Warnings: SMUT! Unprotected P in V sex. Discussion of drug use and addiction. Mention of parent death Modern No Outbreak AU, No use of Y/N, Slow burn, 18+ only, Minors DNI

Length: 10.6k

AO3 | Main Master List | Prologue | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

“You’re sure this is a good idea?”

You kept your voice low, watching as Joel swayed slowly with Ellie cradled in his arms.

“She’ll be fine,” he said quietly. “C’mon. Would I do anything that would put this sweet little thing in harm’s way?”

You sighed, Joel already ignoring you in favor of your niece. Not that you could blame him. In the two months that you’d been basically living with Joel, Ellie had blossomed. She still had her crying jags and was far from an easy baby - from what you could tell, anyway. But she was eating steadily now that you’d found a formula that didn’t upset her stomach so much and sleeping for three hours at a time overnight. She’d gone from being underweight to having charming rolls of baby fat on her arms and legs and she had this tendency to watch whoever was holding her with an intensity that felt uncommon for a baby. You were sure you were biased but you were certain that she was the smartest baby you’d ever seen. Her gaze was keen as she took everything in, her eyes shifting to a deep, rich chocolate brown and it was hard to not just look at her all the time.

“I’d never let anything happen to you, would I?” Joel said to Ellie, his voice high pitched and lilting. “No I wouldn’t! Uncle Joel loves you so much, yes he does!”

You smiled a little, letting yourself enjoy the sight of your best friend holding the baby who had become the most important person in the world before looking back in the direction of the kitchen where you knew Tommy was putting a mountain of junk food into the fridge and freezer.

“Really, Goldie, it’s fine,” Joel said in his more typical baritone. “Tommy watched Sarah for me all the time when she was a baby, he’s actually great with kids, even tiny ones. She’ll be just fine for a night, I promise. We gotta do this.”

You sighed and then nodded.

“Right,” you said. “You’re right, we do.”

You held your arms out and Joel passed you Ellie before his lips brushed your temple, a motion that had become so commonplace over the last few weeks. You glanced at him quickly, eyes darting, as he pulled away from you and he flinched a little before grabbing your overnight bags and heading for the living room.

That was a commonplace occurrence, too. The flinching when he touched you in some intimate, familiar way that seemed to go beyond the bounds of your previous relationship.

You weren’t sure why he kept doing it. Kissing you, putting his hand on the small of your back when you were near, nuzzling into your hair. He always flinched some after, like these little sparks of closeness were nauseating. You had your theories as to why, of course. He’d told you little of Sarah’s mother but it sounded like she had been around for at least the early days of her daughter’s life. Maybe he was used to these tiny intimacies with a woman he was raising a child alongside, maybe the only way he was used to passing off a baby came with a gentle brush of his lips on skin. Or maybe he thought you needed it, that you were still so fragile even months after you’d shown up on his doorstep with a screaming infant and feeling like you were going to lose yourself if you weren’t careful that he needed to do things like touch you to keep you sane.

But you wished he’d just stop. It didn’t help when you knew how much he apparently loathed it, it just stung. Even tempering it with the knowledge that he apparently cared enough for you to tolerate something he so clearly didn’t enjoy because he thought it was what you needed, it hurt.

You and Joel had struck a delicate - if largely unspoken - balance since that first night. You’d all but moved in, Joel giving you two drawers and a corner of his closet, and you’d put a small bassinet in his room. The two of you took shifts overnight, switching out looking after Ellie when she stirred. Since UT’s school year ended a full month before Sarah’s did, you took over making breakfast and getting her out the door in the morning until she was on summer vacation and - now that summer break was in full swing - you watched her and you took care of Ellie while Joel was at work during the day. For all intents and purposes, you functioned like a couple. In all ways except one: you didn’t have sex again.

You should probably be thankful for that, you knew. It wasn’t like you’d ever say no to him if he’d offered. Even if it destroyed you, you’d always fold the moment he touched you like he wanted you at all. The fact that it hadn’t happened since was a blessing.

You tried to remind yourself of that when you were lying next to him at night and he didn’t touch you that way. Not that you expected him to at all, especially not with Ellie in the room but still. You wanted it. Longed for it. Ached for it, taking full advantage of what little privacy you got when in the shower or when Sarah was at a friend’s house and Ellie was down for a nap to fuck yourself hard and fast until you had to bite your lip to keep from moaning your best friend’s name.

Because it was always Joel you thought of now. He was burned into you that way. The first time you’d ever touched yourself had been to the thought of Joel, back before you knew what kissing him and taking him into yourself would be. It had been a losing battle since you’d moved back to Texas, the proximity bringing him to mind so much faster now. Once you’d started dating Stephen, it felt almost like cheating when you made yourself come to the thought of someone else, even though you’d never talked about being exclusive in any sense, let alone in the world of fantasy. Still, you came hard to the thought of your best friend and dealt with the twinge of guilt after. You’d just hoped you’d be able to set this obsession down if you became serious about someone.

The aftermath of sleeping with Joel again had proved, though, that you were going to be stuck here, feeling like this, for what seemed like forever. You cut things off with Stephen then, using Anna’s vanishing as an excuse to end things. Really, it was just because you couldn’t stomach pretending like it could go anywhere, like you wouldn’t spend your entire relationship wishing he was someone else.

Since then, you’d thrown yourself into anything - everything - else you could use to distract yourself. Beyond caring for Ellie and Sarah, you’d made some progress on your next book, shifting the story to be about a family more than a romantic relationship. You’d helped Joel with a business plan for Miller Construction, the contracting company he was hoping to start. But, most importantly, you’d gotten some idea about where Anna might be.

She was, at least, still alive. You’d been able to track down contact information for her sponsor after meeting her once and hearing Anna mention her first name a few times. Marlene had been reluctant to tell you much at all but did at least tell you that she was checking in with Anna daily. She seemed sober, apparently, and Marlene was encouraging her to seek some help but she hadn’t had any luck yet.

“I shouldn’t tell you this,” she’d sighed when you called a few days earlier. “But she mentioned her ex today. I think she might be with him.”

You’d all but flown into a panic at that, fighting to hold it together as you watched Sarah swim and you held Ellie carefully while you sat on the steps in the shallow end of the pool. Josh Williams was the worst possible fucking influence your sister could have. He’s who got her into drugs in the first place, their love affair had been a whirlwind even in the best of times. What would being around him do to her now, when she was cracking under the weight of motherhood and what you were certain was postpartum depression?

“Goldie, take a breath,” Joel said that night after Sarah was in bed and he’d plied you with a margarita. “Here, gimme…” He held his hands out and you passed him the baby and he beamed at her for a moment, making her giggle, before he turned his attention back to you. “Drink more. Let’s think on it. When things went real bad for her, was she with Josh or was she on her own?”

You sighed and took a sip of margarita.

“On her own,” you said. “She definitely got into trouble with Josh but… he didn’t hurt her. Well, not like that.”

“So she’s probably safe,” Joel said gently. “That’s good, that’s the important thing right now, right?”

“Right,” you nodded and sighed again. “Jesus… So what do we do?”

“Well,” Joel shifted Ellie and she cooed at him before he cooed back as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. “Lemme just…” He typed something in, pressing a kiss to little Ellie’s cheek as he did. “Alright, looks like that band of his is on tour and they’ll be in Dallas in a few days. We can go, talk to him, see if he knows where she is.”

You nodded slowly, taking another drink.

“If I can talk to her, I can see if I can get her to get some help,” you said. “Or at least come home… Even if we still keep Ellie for a while, if she was at least home…”

“It’s progress, Goldie Girl,” Joel said gently, putting his phone back in his pocket and shifting Ellie again. “It’s a good thing. It is.”

You drank a few margaritas there on his couch, watching Joel with Ellie. He seemed enraptured with her, making faces to pull little gummy smiles out of her chubby features and peppering her with kisses before coaxing her to sleep on his chest.

“C’mon,” he said quietly after a while. “Let’s get this one to bed and then get you to bed. You need it.”

That night was the closest the two of you came to fucking again. You were tipsy enough that Joel had to help keep you from stumbling between the bathroom and the bed, Ellie sleeping soundly in her crib as she had been the last few nights, the distance from her still oddly foreign to you.

“Careful there,” he caught you. “How many’d you have?”

“Enough, apparently,” you tried not to laugh, worried you’d wake up the baby.

“I’ll say,” he said, walking you to the bed and lowering you to the mattress. “Alright, legs in baby.”

You obeyed and he tucked the sheets around you before turning out the light and climbing into bed beside you. You rolled onto your side and nuzzled against him before he’d even gotten settled, making him laugh.

“Forgot what a touchy feely drunk you are,” he teased.

“Shut up,” you said, pressing yourself closer to him all the same. He laughed and then the two of you fit yourselves against each other, your body curving around his.

“Know it’s not the best circumstances,” he said quietly after a minute. “But… I’m glad you’re here. That you’re not tryin’ to do this shit alone.”

“Me too,” you said, moving somehow closer to him. His hold on you tightened, his nose nuzzling into your hair. Your lips ghosted over the warm skin of his throat. He groaned a little and your leg hitched over his thigh. He pressed a kiss to your forehead and you ground your hips against him.

“Goldie,” he said, a little breathless, pulling back from you enough to look you in the eye. “We… we shouldn’t…”

You groaned in a way that was closer to a whine and his forehead dropped to yours.

“You’re drunk,” he whispered.

“Not that drunk,” you whispered back.

“Drunk enough,” he said, closing his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. “This… you still want this in the morning? We can talk about it. Or just forget about it. Whatever you want, but we can’t right now.”

You fell asleep before too long, feeling achy and needy as you did, and woke up still in Joel’s arms with dawn slipping through the slats of his blinds. Joel was already awake, his large palm resting on the crown of your head, his thumb brushing a gentle trail over your forehead. You looked at him for a moment, memorizing the planes of his face, the scruff on his cheeks, the way his hair was mussed first thing in the morning.

“She still asleep?” You asked quietly, eventually.

“Yeah,” he said, just as quiet. “Don’t know that she’s ever slept this late but checked the monitor a little while ago, she’s still breathin’…”

“That’s good,” you smiled a little. Your stomachs were pressed together, your t-shirt had ridden up in the night so your skin was against his and he was so warm, the heat of him seeping out and spreading over you.

“Goldie…” he whispered, his face drawn and so close to yours and your heart lurched in your chest. “I can’t…”

Ellie’s sharp little cry made you both jump, like you’d forgotten for a moment about the little life in the next room that was completely dependent on the two of you.

“I got ‘er,” Joel said, quickly pulling himself from you and all but running to Ellie’s room.

The two of you didn’t talk about it again.

You carried Ellie to the kitchen, Sarah perched on a counter as Tommy made a huge plate of nachos.

“And we can watch movies and stay up late and…”

“Just because I’m gonna be out of town for a night don’t mean that all the rules are out the window, baby girl,” Joel said, a small smile on his face all the same.

“Hey,” Tommy said. “How late she stays up and what junk food we eat while she does it is none of your concern when you ain’t here, old man.”

“Yeah Dad,” Sarah smirked, leaning over and swiping a chip from Tommy’s plate. “You leave Uncle Tommy in charge? You get what you get.”

“Lord,” Joel sighed, still smiling. “Such a bad influence on my kid…”

“S’why you love me,” Tommy smirked before winking at you. “Alright, let me see the tiny one, c’mon.”

You gave Ellie a kiss on her chubby cheek before passing her off to Tommy and he beamed at her.

“There’s the cutest baby in the world,” he held her with his large hands around her waist, lifting her to blow a raspberry as best he could on her onesie covered stomach. Ellie giggled and he held her to his chest. “There, now I got the important stuff all set. You two get out of here, try to have fun…”

“Not goin’ for fun,” Joel said, almost like a reprimand.

“I know,” Tommy said, still calm. “But still. You two have had your hands full lately. Have a damn drink at least.”

You stepped in before Joel had a chance to try to pick a fight with his brother.

“You know how to hold her when she has her bottle?” You asked. “And where the extra diapers are in case the ones in the changing table drawers run out? And…”

“I got ‘er,” Tommy said gently. “And I got your numbers if I need ‘em. Which I won’t.”

You nodded, not fully able to shake the knot that had settled in your stomach at the thought of leaving Ellie with anyone but yourself or Joel. At the thought of being alone with Joel, no buffer of Ellie or Sarah that had been there ever since you’d slept together again.

“Thank you for doin’ this,” Joel said earnestly. “It means a lot.”

“One day, I’ll have kids and I’ll need you to watch ‘em when I want to get my girl out of town,” Tommy said. “Better believe I’m cashing in.”

You and Joel stopped at a gas station on the way out of town, filling up your car and grabbing snacks from the convenience store and delaying the inevitable awkward silence when the two of you were alone with nothing else to distract you.

It felt like the two of you were halfway to fucking Waco when Joel finally spoke.

“You think she’ll be there?” He asked.

You sighed.

“I don’t know. I hope so, I hope we can get to her and that she’ll listen and…”

You ground your teeth for a moment before looking over to him. Joel was driving - it never mattered that it was your car, Joel always drove, it had been like that even when you were teenagers - and there was something so reassuring about him being behind the wheel.

“Is this stupid?” You asked. “Am I going about this the wrong way?”

He glanced over to you, looking you up and down before turning his eyes back to the road.

“I don’t think there’s a right or wrong way to do this,” he said after a moment. “It’s… it’s a shit situation. I just don’t want you gettin’ your hopes up too much is all.”

“They’re not,” you said quickly. “God, even if she is there, it’s still going to be a fucking mess…”

“It is,” Joel said. “But you’ll help her through it. You’re real good at that shit.”

You scoffed.

“What?” He said. “You are. You’ve been doin’ a great job, Goldie girl. That’s not going to change because Anna actually comes back - or doesn’t.”

You nodded slowly, looking out the window again, trying not to think about whether you were more afraid that Anna would be at the concert tonight or that she wouldn’t be.

“Think you’re ready to throw a pool party for a bunch of preteen girls?” You asked, giving him a little smile.

“Lord,” he laughed once. “No. But thanks for helpin’ plan it all the same. Sarah’s so damn excited, rivals the fuckin’ concert…”

“Your list is coming along,” you smiled a little wider him.

“Speaking of our lists,” he teased, glancing your way. “How’s that book of yours comin’ along?”

“Good, shockingly enough,” you said. “You’re in this one, too. Well, kind of you, it’s not like I named the character Joel but…”

“I am?” He asked, brows raised. You nodded and then he frowned. “Wait, too? What do you mean, too?”

Your face fell before you could stop it, your eyes going wide.

“Goldie,” he said, glancing toward you. “What’d you mean, too? Was I in your first book?”

“OK, don’t start that,” you said. “Come on, I… Look, alright? My first book was more of a coming of age thing and you were my best friend so… yeah, OK, you might have influenced a character a little. Just a bit. That’s all, it’s nothing crazy…”

Your heart was racing but Joel just smiled, broad enough that it made the corners of his eyes crinkle.

“Didn’t know I meant so much to you, Goldie Girl,” he teased.

“Don’t read into it,” you rolled your eyes. “Literally, please don’t read it…”

“Pretty sure it’s above my reading level, anyway,” he winked.

You glared at him.

“I hate you,” you said.

“I know,” he smiled, glancing over at you. “S’why we get along so well.”

The two of you fell into your usual, comfortable familiarity after that, joking and laughing and singing along to the songs from the playlist Joel made for the drive, you trying to forget about the fact that you were only making this drive to try to save your sister from herself.

The room Joel had booked for you this time was not nearly as nice as the one from the Taylor Swift weekend - not that you were arguing. Putting the two of you in one hotel room right now felt like tempting fate as it was, let alone one that could be mistaken for romantic. But still, you were disappointed when he opened the motel door to a room with two queen sized beds instead of just one king.

“Figured you could use some space from me since we don’t gotta listen to a baby monitor all night,” Joel said, carrying the bags in. He dropped your duffle on the bed furthest from the door and checked his watch. “Should probably head out in about an hour if you want to get something to eat first…”

You nodded, fidgeting with your necklace, feeling Joel’s eyes on you.

“Well,” Joel said, his voice a little awkward. “Think I’ll… I’ll just… take a nap. Keep my eyes closed. So you can get changed and shit if you need.”

“Right,” you smiled tightly. “Thanks.”

“Yup,” he said, lying flat on his back on his bed, his forearm over his eyes as you started going through your bag.

You checked in with Tommy, already missing Ellie, before you got changed into something that was good for a rock concert. Well, you thought it was, anyway - this was always your sister’s territory - and did your hair and makeup so that you had a shot of trying to talk your way backstage to talk to Josh. Hopefully. Maybe.

When you gently shook Joel awake he stared at you for a moment, blinking with a look on his face that you couldn’t quite place.

“You really passed out,” you teased, fighting that awkward feeling in the pit of your stomach.

“Yeah,” he shook his head quickly, like he was shaking off the sleep. “Guess so. C’mon Goldie, let’s go see if we can find Anna.”

***

There had to be more Joel could be doing to help you. He was sure there was something he was fucking missing because there had to be something he could do beyond twiddling his fucking thumbs, waiting in line to get into a small concert venue in Dallas on a Saturday night.

You were twisting your hands around on themselves, lower lip between your teeth as you tried to peer around the line as though you’d have any chance of seeing any of the bands right now.

“Is this dumb?” You asked eventually, looking at Joel with wide eyes. “I’m worried this is a stupid fucking idea…”

“How else were you gonna get ahold of the guy?” He asked gently. “You didn’t have his number, it’s not like you can find him in the damn phonebook. You came to him. It’s what you had to do. You have to try, right?”

You took a deep, shaky breath and nodded.

“Right,” you said. “You’re right.”

The words didn’t match your expression, still worrying your lip between your teeth, still knotting your fingers and Joel wondered yet again what the fuck he was missing. It had to be something, there had to be something he could do to make your life easier because, fuck, why was he even here if he couldn’t?

Ever since you’d all but moved into his house, you’d done nothing but improve his life. Sure, you came with an infant and she was nothing if not a challenge but Joel liked having another kid around to take care of. Thrived on it, really. He hadn’t realized just how much he’d missed Sarah’s newborn days until he was faced with Ellie’s.

Joel had been so alone then, drowning in the state of his life, in his new identity as Sarah’s father, in the weight of the future heavy in his hands whenever he held his baby girl. It had been hard to really enjoy that time. He knew he’d want to remember it, the way her little legs tucked up into her stomach and the way her nose scrunched when she first woke up - something she still did now if he woke her up abruptly from a deep enough sleep - but it had been a conscious thing. Remember it because he should, because he knew he’d want to keep these parts of his daughter close, not because it came naturally.

He wondered, sometimes, in hindsight, if there was something wrong with him for that. If he wasn’t a good enough father because his mind had been elsewhere in his daughter’s earliest days, if some vital piece of him was broken because he hadn’t taken naturally to that part of fatherhood even though he loved her more than he realized any human being could love another.

With Ellie, though, he knew he wasn’t broken. He’d just been so overwhelmed by everything else that the best parts of fatherhood hadn’t found their way to him yet. Now, though, it seemed like he had everything he needed. There was Sarah, you, a new little life that needed care and guidance and love. He felt like he had purpose and so much of that was thanks to you.

And of course, once you came into yourself again with Ellie, you’d started doing what you always did: make things better. Of course, you just being there would have made things better. But you stepped right into loving his daughter like she was your own. He’d come home from a job site and find you in the yard with the girls, a makeshift soccer goal set up, Ellie in her bouncer in the shade, you in the goal to give Sarah a chance to practice shooting.

“Dad, look!” She’d yell before Joel even got the door all the way open on the truck.

“I’m watchin’,” he’d smile and look over her head to you and you’d give him a wink. And he did watch as Sarah dribbled the ball toward you and faked out her kick, making you go one way while the ball went the other.

“See?” She beamed, her smile huge. “I’m going to score so many goals next season!”

“You really are,” he kissed her forehead. “Great job, baby girl!”

You helped him with his business plan. You gave him an audience while he practiced playing guitar with a plan to go talk to Jimmy and see if he’d let him play at the bar again, like he did when he was young. You’d kick him playfully as the two of you sat on opposite ends of the couch with your legs overlapping his in the middle, just like you had when you were kids. You made him dinner and made him laugh and made him want to kiss you so bad he wondered if it was possible to explode with wanting.

You did so much for him. Why couldn’t he figure out a goddamn way to give it back to you?

The venue finally opened and you laced your fingers with Joel’s as you worked your way through the press of people, trying to make it close to the stage.

“This is so weird,” you said, looking back over your shoulder to Joel, standing at your back. “What do we do? Dance? Pretend this is a regular concert? Do we get a beer?”

“If you want a beer, Goldie, I’ll get you one,” Joel smiled a little. “I think it’s fine if we just stand here until they come on and try and get his attention when they do. But… well, if you feel like you can have a good time, I think you should.”

Your face pinched at that, like you thought maybe you shouldn’t even consider something as insignificant as your own happiness.

“Think this’ll be easier with a drink,” he said, making an executive decision. Maybe having fun when trying to track down your sister when she was fuck knows where and left you with her infant daughter was insane but fuck it, being miserable while doing it wasn’t making it any easier. “Be back.”

You looked like you were about to protest but he slipped away from you and into the people starting to press into the pit, working his way against the flow of bodies to the bar. He got himself a whiskey soda and you a vodka sour because that’s what you’d get with your fake ID when the two of you would sneak into places like this when you were kids. He smiled a little, thinking about that as he went to find you again, how you’d pretended like it wasn’t really breaking the rules since you were just helping Joel do research for how to break into the music business. You’d smile at him, your eyes so bright from the stage lights and say “Someday, that’ll be you up there” and he thought - even then - that you might be the best thing he’d ever seen.

Joel was working his way back through the crowd to you, living in that time long past for a moment, when he saw you toward the front of the pit. But he didn’t have a chance to really enjoy the sight of you all decked out in your concert clothes. Instead, there was a man next to you, his hand on the small of your back as you leaned away from him and Joel’s blood got hot.

“…just for a little while,” the man was saying, trying to step closer to you.

“No thanks,” you said, your tone sharp.

“C’mon, we’ll get you a drink and…”

“Hey,” Joel said, stopping right behind the man, crowding his space. The guy was tall but not as tall as Joel and he had to tilt his head back to look him in the face. “You botherin’ my girl?”

The man’s eyes darted to you before going back to Joel.

“She didn’t…” the man began before puffing himself up, straightening his spine as much as he could. But the top of his head still only reached Joel’s eyes and he quickly deflated. “Look man, all she had to do was say she had a boyfriend and I would’ve backed off, alright? Think your problem is with your girl…”

“No,” Joel said, jaw tight. “My problem’s with you. Don’t matter if she’s got a boyfriend or not, she says she ain’t interested? She ain’t interested. Learn some fuckin’ respect. Or do you need me to teach you?”

The man looked Joel up and down, like he was weighing his chances. Joel just stood his ground. He wasn’t about to let this asshole just touch you without permission. An excuse to hit him would be welcome.

“Fuckin’ asshole,” the guy muttered, turning to go. Joel watched him leave before turning back to you and handing you your drink.

“You alright?” He asked.

“Fine,” you said, watching him closely. “Thank you for that. He just was not backing off. I forgot what it’s like to go to places like this and deal with guys like that…”

“Shouldn’t have to deal with guys like that,” Joel said, clenching his jaw. “Fuckin’ asshole should know how to take a no. But probably shouldn’t leave you unattended again, apparently the second I walk away some jackass swoops in…”

You laughed a little and rolled your eyes as the crowd started cheering and you turned to face the stage as the opener came out. Joel slipped his hand around your waist to your stomach, his fingers splaying wide over the satin fabric of your shirt and he wanted to touch the silk of your skin below and he tried not to think about that. He tugged you back against him and you frowned, looking over your shoulder to him.

“To be safe,” he said in your ear. “Keep other assholes’ hands off ya.”

You smiled a little and Joel held you close as the first two bands played, your back pressed tightly against his front. The more of your cocktail you drank, the more you moved almost absently to the music and Joel had to focus to not get lost in you.

It was easier to remember exactly what the two of you were doing here when the headlining band - Josh’s band - took the stage. The crowd became deafening when they came out and you grabbed Joel’s arm when the guitarist jogged to his place under the lights.

“That’s Josh!” You yelled over your shoulder to Joel.

He evaluated the man quickly. Your brother-in-law was on the other side of the stage, stocky and shorter than Joel’d expected him to be, in ripped jeans and a tight gray t-shirt, a guitar strapped across his body. He lifted the neck of it and played the first chord, the lead singer running out and taking the mic.

“C’mon,” Joel said, keeping his grip on you and trying to guide you through the crush of people toward the other side of the stage, hoping that Josh would see you and recognize you in the crowd. “Try and get closer.”

It took some time, a few songs passing before the two of you could make it over there and even then, getting to the very front of the pit was basically impossible, fans pressed tight to the barricades and reaching for the band.

Still, it didn’t stop you from trying to get his attention, your arms up over your head and screaming his name. When he thought the set might be winding down and Josh still hadn’t acknowledged you, Joel started looking for where to take you to try to get back stage and, when the band left the stage and you deflated, he took your hand.

“C’mon,” he said. “Think we can try and get to ‘em this way…”

He tugged you along behind him, keeping a tight hold on you as he led you to a side door. He jiggled the handle but it was locked.

“Shit,” you swore, looking back to where people were leaving.

“Any security?” Joel asked, voice low.

You frowned and looked around for a moment.

“No, but…”

He grimaced but forced the handle down with all his weight, the old lock popping.

“Did you just break the door?” You asked quietly, brows raised.

Joel shrugged.

“You gotta do what you gotta do,” he said, ushering you through it and quickly pulling it shut behind him.

“Now where?” You whispered it even though there was no one around to hear you.

“Uh,” he looked around, trying to remember where he thought the green rooms would be as he looked down the hall. “This way, I think.”

He led you down the cinderblock passage, things getting louder as he did - a good sign, he thought. And then, he turned a corner and walked smack into a security guard.

“Sorry,” Joel said quickly, tucking you behind him and hoping the guy would forget it and move on.

No such luck.

“You two supposed to be back here?” The guard asked, looking you and Joel up and down. “Show me your passes.”

“We don’t have any,” you said, stepping out from behind Joel before he could stop you. “But I’m trying to talk to Josh Williams from Shine Anthem, he’s my brother-in-law and…”

“Don’t really give a shit who you say you are,” the guard said, reaching for Joel. “You can’t just come back here so I’m going to have to ask you to…”

Joel was trying to figure out some kind of plan when he heard your name being called from behind you and then the man from the stage was there, running up and damn near tackling you, bending low to tuck his shoulder into your chest so he could lift you into a hug as you yelped.

He put you down quickly, though, a broad smile on his face and a glassy look in his eyes.

“You didn’t tell me you were coming!” He beamed, looking you up and down. “Should’ve called! I’d have gotten you tickets and passes and shit instead of you hangin’ out out there with everyone else!”

“Well, it’s not like I had your number,” you said, a little incredulous as Josh leaned around you to the guard.

“They’re good,” Josh said to him. “This is my girl’s sister! She never fuckin’ visits, this is great!”

You turned to Joel, a look of almost total disbelief on your face as Josh threw an arm around your shoulders and started guiding you down the hall. Joel just shrugged at the security guard and followed, you looking back over your shoulder to make sure he was still there.

“She didn’t say anything about you coming, either,” he said, an almost odd familiarity to his tone. From what Joel knew, you’d only spent a little time with your sister’s husband, it wasn’t as though the two of you were close. “Could’ve called her, too! She can always get ahold of me, always answer the phone for that girl…”

“Have you seen her?” You asked. “Because…”

“Seen her?” He laughed. “She’s here! It’s like old times, s’been great! God I love that girl. She’s with the guys right now, nice to have her around again…”

“She’s here?” You stopped and turned to stare at him. “Right now?”

“Yeah!” He said brightly. “This is great, a regular family reunion! She’ll be so excited to see you, she’s always saying she wishes you’d come back home more. Who’s this guy, by the way? Not your husband, he’s that old dude, right?”

“This is my friend Joel,” you said quickly before trying to refocus him. “Josh, I need to see Anna. Right now.”

“Alright, alright,” he said, stopping outside a heavy metal door and turning to Joel. “You party? Because we can do shit up, I know this one’s not usually down but…”

“We’re not here to fucking party, Josh!” You snapped. “I need to see Anna! Right now!”

“OK!” He put his hands up and gave Joel a look as if to say ‘women, right?’ before opening the door. “She’s right here.”

The space was smaller than Joel had been expecting. Maybe he had idealized expectations for a rockstar’s green room since he’d once dreamed of being one but this one was small, with a few couches that were crowded with people, the air clouded with acrid smoke so thick he couldn’t help but cough.

“Ahhh!” Anna threw her arms in the air in glee from the corner of one of the couches, where she was perched on the lap of some other band member. “My sister’s here! Look, guys, it’s my big sister!”

Joel clenched his jaw and looked over to you, ready to help you if you needed it. The look on your face was hard for him to place, your expression so strangely foreign. Of all the faces Joel knew, he knew yours maybe best of all - Sarah the only exception. He knew how you looked when you were lost in thought, when you were about to cry, when you were coming, when you laughed so hard you cried. But you were so rarely angry that he didn’t recognize it, not at first.

But your eyes narrowed and your hands curled into fists at your sides and for a moment, just a moment, Joel thought you were going to scream.

But you didn’t. Instead, you steeled yourself and marched purposefully, forcefully, over to your sister.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” You asked, standing over her. “This is what you’re doing? You’re here, partying with your ex-husband and the guys you used to fuck around with while I’m home with your daughter?”

The room had gone silent, Anna staring up at you with wide eyes.

“Daughter?” Josh said quietly and Joel looked over at him. He was staring at Anna in disbelief and disappointment. “Wait, you had a kid? When…”

“You didn’t even tell him?” You scoffed at her. “Of course you wouldn’t, why would you? Why would you ever consider anyone but yourself in your decision making process? You never have before! Hell, you never even really think of yourself, do you? Not your future self, not the person you really need to be worried about because if you did, you wouldn’t be fucking high right now!”

“I’m not high!” She got up quickly, stumbling a little as she did.

“Bullshit you’re not high,” you snapped. “Look at you!”

“I’m not…” She lowered her voice, as though that would make much difference in a room as quiet and small as this one. “It’s just some pot, OK? It’s not like…”

“Oh, because you’re not snorting anything or injecting anything, it doesn’t count?” You asked, brows raised, incredulous. “Because this isn’t the first step to you ending up back in the hospital after you OD again or worse, just dead somewhere?”

“You ODed?” Josh said weakly, going over to her, running his fingers through her hair. “Baby, you never told me this, why didn’t you tell me this?”

“It was last year,” she said. “You were touring, it wasn’t that bad…”

“She almost died,” you said to Josh. “And she had been sober until you came along, so congratulations on dragging her down yet again.”

You turned your attention back to your sister.

“Were you ever planning on coming home?” You asked. “Or were you going to just party like a goddamn teenager without a care in the world until you wound up dead?”

Anna just stared down at her hands and you shook your head.

“I should have fucking known.”

You stalked off without another word, slamming the door behind you as you went.

The room was awkwardly silent for a moment, Josh looking at Joel apologetically.

“I didn’t know,” he said quietly, his eyes wide, all the casual familiarity gone. Instead, he was almost uncomfortably earnest and almost sad. “I never would have… I didn’t know.”

Joel looked back toward the door for a moment before he sighed and looked at Josh again.

“We’re here ’til the morning,” he said. “Gimme your phone.”

Josh handed it over and Joel typed his number into a text message before sending himself a message that had the name and address of the hotel you were at with the room number. He gave the phone back before he turned to Anna.

“She loves you,” Joel said. “And she loves Ellie. You should come home.”

She sniffed but just turned her head, looking away from him.

“Right,” Joel said. “Well… Should know Ellie misses you. And we’ll be at that hotel until 11 a.m. tomorrow.”

He had to run to catch up with you, finding you standing outside with tears in your eyes as you paced.

“Hey,” Joel said and you looked at him, quickly drying your eyes on the insides of your wrists. “You alright?”

“No,” you sniffed. “No, I just fucked everything up, I shouldn’t have done that, who knows what…”

“Hey,” Joel cut you off, pulling you into his chest. “S’OK.”

“Easy for you to say,” you said, voice muffled by his shirt.

He sighed, holding you for a moment, pressing a kiss to your forehead.

“C’mon,” he said, giving you a squeeze. “Let’s go back to the hotel. Pick up some beer on the way.”

You checked in with Tommy on the way and Joel tried to keep his distance from you once the two of you got back to the hotel room and you’d calmed down a little. He’d gotten the two damn beds for a reason and it wasn’t because he wanted to be apart from you. It was because he knew that things between the two of you had gotten too close since you’d shown up on his doorstep with Ellie in your arms. Even if the sex had never happened, it was too much like being with you, going through life with you the way he had been. It couldn’t continue, not without destroying him.

So Joel stayed on his bed and you stayed on yours, a six pack on the night stand in the middle and he cursed the pretext of it. The space was smart, he knew that. But goddamn, couldn’t he just hold you as long as you’d let him? Couldn’t he just live in that liminal place for as long as he could manage it? Wouldn’t the damage be worth it in the end if he did? He didn’t know. He just stayed on his bed, finding some stupid action movie with a bad TV edit to put on, one where the dialogue choices were bad enough that you were laughing so hard that you spilled beer on your bedspread.

“Oh shit,” you swore, putting the now nearly empty bottle on the nightstand and jumping up to run to the bathroom and grab towels. Joel joined you, mopping up the mess as best you could. “God, so much for having one night where I don’t end up covered in something. If it’s not spit-up at home it’s beer here…”

“At least this didn’t end up in your hair,” Joel smiled a little and you laughed.

“Yeah, thank god for small miracles. And at least it’s just my bed so you don’t have to deal with it, too.”

“You don’t need to deal with it, either,” he said before he even thought about it. “You can just sleep in my bed.”

Not that he really needed to think about it.

“You don’t need to do that,” you waved him off. “I’ve already taken over half your bed at home, you deserve your space. I’ll be fine sleeping in spilled beer for a night.”

“Goldie, c’mon,” he said, realizing just how close he was standing to you. How easy it would be to kiss you. “This ain’t some frat house, not about to just make you sleep in that shit.”

You bit your lower lip, uncertain, and he had to fight the urge to tug that soft flesh from between your teeth. He wanted to bite that lip, kiss it, run his thumb over it.

“What?” He asked, desire edging into his voice whether he wanted it to or not.

“What about distance?” You asked quietly, breathily.

“Distance is overrated,” he said, tightening his hold on the towels so he wouldn’t grab you and kiss you the way he was so fucking desperate to do.

He tried to make himself calm down in the few minutes you were in the bathroom, getting changed into pajamas and setting the beer-soaked towels out to dry. He wished he could jerk off because that might be the only thing that actually put him back inside his own goddamn head for a moment. Maybe he could once you were asleep, just lock himself in the bathroom and fuck his hand to the memory of you and try to keep your name off his tongue when he came.

But that wouldn’t help now as he watched you cross the room in the little shorts and tank top you’d brought to sleep in, all but mesmerized by the bounce of your breasts when free of your bra when you walked or the way the soft cotton of your bottoms just skimmed the edge of your ass and he could see the swell of flesh there, almost out of sight, almost out of reach, close enough to tempt but far enough to not belong to him.

“I really didn’t mean to put you out again,” you said as you climbed into bed beside him. “I really didn’t mean to the first time, either… In case I haven’t said it, I think I owe you my life for everything you’ve done for me and Ellie. I would have drowned in this alone.”

“You’re not putting me out, Goldie girl,” he said, smiling a little. “Hell, it’s been nice, having the two of you around. Sarah’s been beggin’ me for a little sister since she could talk, think this is the closest she’s getting for a while…”

You laughed a little and then sighed, leaning your head back against the headboard.

“How bad do you think I fucked up with Anna?” You asked, watching him.

He sighed.

“I dunno… S’not like I know much about addiction or what she’s going through right now. But I can’t say I blame you for what you said. She knows you love her, that you want what’s best for her.”

You sighed and looked down at your hands, picking at your thumbnail for a moment.

“She’s the one who found our mom, did I ever tell you that?”

“No,” Joel said quietly, watching you closely.

“She did,” you nodded at your hands. “I can’t imagine what that would have been like for her. I only saw Mom after the funeral home had her, I didn’t have to… I wasn’t there for Anna after that. It’s no wonder she dropped out, found trouble, tried to take care of shit with drugs…”

“That’s not on you,” Joel said.

“Isn’t it?” You looked at him. “I was the big sister, I was who she had and I left her to cope with it alone and the first time I try to actually help her with something, I fuck that up, too.”

“You were young,” Joel said. “Basically a kid.”

“I was 20 years old,” you replied. “I was old enough to have a fiance and a career path and a life away from here. I could have moved back, I could have stepped up, I could have done something but I just…”

“It’s not your job to take care of everybody, baby,” he said gently.

“What if I fucked up so bad this time that she doesn’t come back?” You whispered. “What if she leaves Ellie with me forever and I can’t do it and…”

You sniffed and looked back at your hands, a tear slipping down your cheek and Joel just tugged you against him, tucking you against his chest, kissing the crown of your head.

“We’ll deal with it,” he said, tracing his fingertips along your hairline soothingly. “Whatever happens, I’ve got you. It’s OK.”

You nodded wetly into his chest and he held you like that for a while, your body slowly molding to his until you were soft and warm and pressed entirely against him and your tears slowed.

“You doin’ better?” He asked eventually and you nodded against him, sitting up and sniffling a little. He smiled, reaching out and trying your tears with a swipe of his thumb, your cheek fitting against his palm. “See? Not so bad.”

“No,” you smiled a little back. “It’s not.”

Your eyes were on his and he was so close to you, so close that he could almost touch your nose with his.

So he did, moving ever so slightly closer so your skin was brushing his own. Your breath hitched when he did and instead of finding relief in the contact, it stoked a fire he hadn’t realized was burning, low and hot and sure, inside him.

“Joel,” you breathed. “Please…”

“It’s OK Goldie girl,” he said softly. “I’ve got you.”

He kissed you then, the concept of distance so far at the back of his mind as he did, the spearmint of your toothpaste tinged with hops from the beer on your breath.

It was hesitant at first. He wasn’t sure if it was just him holding back or if you were, too, but all pretense was gone almost immediately. You were twisting in the sheets, moving to face him, to put your arms around his neck and press yourself closer to him as his hands ranged over you, trying to touch as much of you as he could reach before you slipped through his fingers yet again.

He pulled at your clothes, your mouth separating from his only long enough to get your shirts off, and you moaned into him, fingers fumbling with his pants, pulling the waistband down to free his already hard and aching cock. He palmed you through your shorts, your cunt so hot and wet he could feel it through the fabric and if he thought too long about what being inside you would feel like, he was going to come before he even had a chance to fuck you.

Your hand wrapped around his length and you started working him, making him groan and you seemed hellbent on trying to move closer to him somehow, practically squirming as you worked yourself against his hand while pulling yourself toward him.

“I’ve got you baby,” he said, breathless, as he tugged your shorts down, watching with rapt attention as your skin was revealed to him. You were glistening between your thighs and he groaned at the sight, tossing your shorts and panties aside before he teased your little, swollen clit.

“Fuck,” you panted, closing your eyes for a moment. “Holy… I need…”

“What?” He asked after a moment, working your clit harder. “What do you need, baby?”

“You inside me,” your eyes opened again, your pupils blown. Your hips moved almost of their own accord against him and he moaned. “Please Joel, please, fuck, it hurts, I need…”

“Take what you need,” he said, cock aching so bad he thought he might explode with hit.

You just nodded before moving to straddle him. He sat back against the headboard and took your waist in his hands as your dripping slit brushed against his leaking head, his hips involuntarily jerking up toward you at the temptation of you there, hot and wet and wanting.

Your eyes met his - so wide and vulnerable - before you lined him up with your grasping entrance and took him inside yourself in one, swift motion,

He gasped at the feeling of it, how your velvet tightness made room for him inside of you, how your walls stretched over him, how you were so warm and soft inside, your wetness already making a mess of him.

“Fuck, you feel good,” he breathed, watching you closely. “So goddamn good…”

You just gave him a strangled little moan as you looked down between your bodies to where he was entering you, panting for breath. You rolled your hips against him, slowly and deliberately at first, pulling a groan from him that made him thankful you were in some shitty hotel room and not home where his daughter would hear him because he didn’t think he could stop it if he tried. He didn’t want to stop it. He wanted to let himself get lost in you and your body and your pleasure until the only thought left in his mind was you.

You started to ride him in earnest then, your pace increasing, your clit finding his pubic bone and grinding against him there as he thrust up into you, finding those deep, soft places inside your tight heat, places that made your channel start to flutter over him in little shocks of pleasure.

He watched as you stifled your moan as he hit one of those places inside of you and he pressed there deeper, harder, holding you to him for a moment before his thumb moved to your clit, working you in tight circles.

“Want to hear you, baby,” he panted before kissing and sucking at the tender skin of your throat. “Don’t gotta be quiet here, lemme hear you.”

You nodded quickly, desperately, and his hands ran up your back as you arched into him, fingers digging into your flesh, guiding you over him as you rode him hard and fast and he met you stroke for stroke. You moaned, your body tightening around him and he took one of your nipples into his mouth, sucking and teasing and turning your moan into a needy little cry.

“That’s it baby,” he panted against your skin. “Just take it. Come for me, make yourself come on my cock, c’mon.”

Your movements became faster, more uncertain, your pussy so tight around him it would probably hurt in any other context but because it was you, like this, it was heaven.

“Joel!” You cried, burying him deep inside as you exploded around him, your muscles throbbing over him. He held you close and tight and drank in the sight and sound of your pleasure for a moment before giving over to his own, coming hard and deep inside of you, rope after seemingly endless rope of his spend spilling into you.

He held you close and tight like that as the two of you came back down from your shared high, buried inside you where it felt so much like he belonged he thought his heart might burst with it.

Eventually, you sat back from him, your eyes searching his for a moment, a hint of panic at the edges. He ignored the sting in his chest that came with that and instead just cupped your cheek.

“It’s OK baby,” he said softly. “I’ve got you.”

You just watched him for another moment before you nodded and slowly, gently, pulled yourself away from him, settling against him on the bed.

He had the fleeting thought that he should go, get a washcloth, clean the two of you up but he couldn’t bring himself to move, afraid if he lost this closeness with you now he might never get it back. Instead, he stayed there, trailing his fingers up and down your bare arm as he held you.

“What are we doing?” You asked quietly, eventually. “We can’t keep doing this, Joel, we have responsibilities, we’re not teenagers anymore, there are kids involved now, we….”

“Why do we have to be doing something?” He asked, adjusting so he could actually look at you.

You pulled back from him, frowning a little.

“What?”

“Why can’t we just…” he paused, trying to find the words. Words he shouldn’t say but that he couldn’t seem to stop. “We’re basically living together. We have so much else goin’ on right now it’s not like we’re dating anyone. Why don’t we just…”

He trailed off, hoping you’d fill in the rest.

“Do you mean like…” You paused. “Friends with benefits or something?”

“Yeah,” he said, even though calling you that felt so wrong that it was something like blasphemy. “Then we can just… do this when we need it. Don’t need to be a big deal, it can just…”

“Right,” you said, looking from his face to his chest before nodding. “Yeah… That… we can try that. As long as you promise it won’t ruin things with us. I can’t lose you again, Joel. I just can’t.”

“I know, baby,” he said quietly, kissing your forehead. “Can’t lose you, either.”

“OK,” you said softly, nuzzling closer. “Friends.”

“With benefits,” he said.

“With benefits,” you said.

The term felt so wrong that it took time to settle in him, reducing what he felt for you to something as simple as just friendship with sex. But there was something hopeful in him, too. Something that clung, vicious and hard, to the thought that he could have this with you, live in that place between worlds where he could pretend that you were his when he came home to you because he got to fit himself inside you every night. This, he thought, would be worth the destruction.

He tried to dwell on the comfort of that as the two of you got packed the next morning, moving slowly but in sync with each other in the small room, one bed stained with beer and the other your indiscretions.

Joel had given up hope that Anna would show - glad he hadn’t told you that he’d given Josh the room number so you wouldn’t be let down by it - when he carried your bags to the car in the morning but froze when he saw your brother-in-law standing outside an Uber, his arms crossed, watching the hotel room door. Joel just gave him a nod before going to put the bags in the trunk, Josh meeting him there.

“Didn’t think you were comin’,” Joel said, closing the lid with a little too much force.

Josh nodded slowly, staring at Joel’s feet.

“Needed to talk things through with her first,” he said before meeting his eyes. “I didn’t know any of that shit, swear I didn’t. If I did, I wouldn’t have… I guess it doesn’t matter. I talked with her. She told me everything. I think everything, anyway.”

Joel just nodded, giving him a chance to continue on his own terms.

“I’m not good for her right now,” he said. “Shit, probably never was but I’m smart enough to know better now and I love her too much to let her get hurt because of me.”

“So what are you going to do about it?” Joel asked. “Because saying that kind of shit don’t mean much if you just keep letting it happen.”

“You’re right,” Josh said. “She’s in the car. She agreed to go home with you guys and go to rehab. Back to rehab, I guess.”

Joel nodded again, looking toward the car, just making out the outline of Anna sitting in the back through the tinted window.

“You’re doing the right thing,” Joel said.

“Is she here?” Josh asked. Joel jerked his thumb toward the hotel room but Josh shook his head. “Not… I mean the baby. Ellie? Is she here?”

“No,” Joel said. “She’s home, with my brother. He’s takin’ good care of her, he watched my daughter plenty when she was Ellie’s age.”

Josh clenched his jaw but nodded anyway.

“Probably for the best,” he said. “I’m not… I should figure my own shit out before I meet her. But I want to. I will. I’m going to.”

Joel wasn’t sure he believed him but then, he’d done plenty to try to make himself worthy of being Sarah’s dad. Maybe Josh had it in him, too.

“Joel, do you have the…”

You fell silent as you came up beside him, one hand in your bag like you were looking for something, your mouth open in shock when you realized who he was standing with.

“Hey sis,” Josh smiled awkwardly.

“Hey,” you said quietly, eyes wide.

“Anna’s in the car,” he said. “We talked. She’s going to head back with you, figure shit out.”

“Yeah?” You asked, voice wet.

“Yeah,” Josh said. “It’s… it’s the right thing. Just… don’t be too hard on her. She’s hurting.”

“I won’t,” you said quickly. “I’m sorry I said what I did last night, I didn’t…”

“It’s OK,” Anna said. Joel hadn’t even noticed her getting out of the car but she was there now, one arm crossed protectively over herself. “I know I didn’t give you much choice.”

“Anna,” you breathed before all but throwing yourself at her, flinging your arms around her neck to pull her close. “I’m so glad you’re OK.”

She laughed wetly as she hugged you back.

“Yeah, me too.”

Josh went to help her get her things from the Uber and you looked to Joel, drying your eyes on your wrists.

“How’d you do it?” You asked quietly.

He shrugged.

“Don’t think I did much of anything at all,” he said, watching you closely. “Just told her the truth.”

“Whatever you did,” you said, stepping closer to him. “Thank you.”

You hugged him, your arms wrapping around him and he could feel every line of your body against his and he held you close. He couldn’t help but hold you close.

“‘Course, baby,” he said. “Do anything for you.”

He tried not to think about how true that was or how much that scared him as he gathered you up and took you and your sister home, where you belonged.

Next Chapter

A/N: I'm so sorry this took an eternity to write. My carpel tunnel flared up something fierce and put me out of commission for a while. Thank you so much for being patient!

Goldie and Joel are doing... something. It's something. I promise they're getting somewhere, they really are! There are just a few more bumps in the road until they do. I just really love writing these two as they work through these long-held assumptions and insecurities! Thank you for wanting to be there for it.

Love you!

Taglist: @kaseyconnour

#fanfic #joel miller x female reader #joel miller x reader #joel miller x you #halcyon #joel miller x oc #joel miller smut

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its-time-to-write · 1 year

Note

Final one for today

This one is a little odder but I feel like a single parent story would be great for Jamie

Like maybe reader is a single parent and is out in the park where the child is playing alone with a football (maybe trying to do some tricks) and accidentally kicks it to far and it hits Jamie (Who maybe is jogging by) jamie brings it over and does some tricks and the kid is like omg can you show me how to do that! reader is like embarrassed but Jamie is like sure so they spend a bunch of time playing football. The kid is a fan of Richmond but tickets are expensive so Jamie invites them to a game (Free) and they get to meet the team and it becomes a regular thing

Jamie is trying to work up the nerve to ask out Reader (He has never dated someone with kids before) and he doesn't want to mess up the relationship finally the child is like please ask my parent out!

I can't wait to see what you do with these!!

Here’s another one that I’ve been sitting on forever! Finally got around to it. And in case you couldn’t tell, I freakin love Keeley Jones. I think she’s great. Enjoy!

if only love were true

Thank god that Keeley Jones is your friend and she promised you’d never have to go stag to a work function.

“Keeley,” you say over the phone, “I need you to be my date for this fancy dinner/gala/thing I have for work next Sunday. I absolutely cannot go alone.”

“Next Sunday?” she says. “Let me check my calendar.”

You wait a moment as she presumably scrolls through her phone, checking her availability.

“Sorry babes,” she says after a long moment, “I’ve got a work thing too. Otherwise I’d totally be down to go as your hot trophy date.”

You groan. “Is there any way you can get out of it? Out of all the things I’ve taken you to, this is the one I need you at the most.”

Keeley’s silent. You can tell she’s thinking. She knows why this one is important.

“Alright,” she says finally. “I can’t go, but what if I sent you with a friend of mine?” She continues loudly over your beginning protests. “He’s really sweet and fit and funny, and he owes me favors pretty much for the rest of his life. You’d have a great time I SWEAR.”

“I don’t know,” you say. “Do you think he can go along with everything? There’s a 50/50 chance it’ll be a shitshow.”

“Absolutely,” Keeley replies without hesitation. “He’s fucking great. Can be a bit of a prick sometimes, but he’s learned how to use those skills for the greater good.”

“Uh huh,” you say. “Right. I’m trusting you on this one, Keels. If he’s as good as you say, I’ll take him. But I really, really need this to be good.”

“Trust me,” she says, “You won’t regret it.”

—

Jamie Tartt arrives at your doorstep, fully briefed by Keeley as to his responsibilities.

Be a gentleman, make her laugh, don’t fucking leave her with Harry.

Keeley showed him pictures of Harry’s instagram so Jamie would know exactly who he is on the lookout for.

It’s funny and it’s weird, but he’s not uncomfortable standing at the door, waiting for some woman he doesn’t even know. He’d do anything for Keeley, well aware that if she’s asking a favor, it’s for a good cause.

This is far out of his usual realm of expertise, but he reminds himself that he’s a person outside of being a footballer. A regular person would be a blind date for a friend of a friend at an awful work function.

Right?

Jamie doesn’t have time to dwell on the normality of this situation because the door is opening and you’re standing in front of him in some long gown that he swears outshines the stars.

“Hi,” you say. “It’s nice to meet you. Sorry about this.”

You call a goodbye down the hall before shutting the door. Jamie assumes it’s to a flatmate or something, whoever the owner of the other car in the driveway is. He just smiles.

“I’ve had weirder dates,” he says. “Don’t worry about a thing, love. Tonight’s gonna be fucking mint.” He offers you his arm.

You take it and feel yourself relax. It’ll be fine.

—

It is not fine.

Harry’s there, and god help you if you don’t want to kick him where it hurts. He’s surrounded by girls, shining that far-too dazzling smile and you’re pretty sure you’re going to throw up. Your grip on Jamie’s arm tightens, and he follows your gaze to your ex-flame.

“He’s fucking old,” Jamie comments.

“Yeah, well, that’s kind of how he gets you,” you reply. “Acts all charming and smart and shit and then next thing you know, you’re in his bed. Soon as that’s over, you’re done.”

“Twat,” Jamie responds with such conviction that you chuckle a little, despite yourself. That is, until Harry sees you and sheds his little entourage as he makes his way over.

“Shit,” you whisper. “How do I look?”

“Fuckin’ gorgeous,” Jamie replies without missing a beat.

The words are barely out of his mouth when Harry is upon you, leaning in for a hug that Jamie doesn’t allow. You’re grateful for his block as he pretends he was going for a handshake. You don’t want Harry touching you and the sentiment is reinforced as he gives you a once-over and says, “Didn’t expect to see you here, darling. What, are you neglecting your duties for the evening?”

That sentence must have some hidden meaning, because your teeth are bared and it’s gone over Jamie’s head.

“My duties,” you say through clenched teeth, “include being here at this gala because we both work for the same company.”

Harry tilts his head in mock sympathy. “Yes, but if I recall your priorities have… shifted.”

Jamie might be losing circulation in his arm and he may not know exactly what is happening here, but he knows enough. Keeley told him Harry was a right git without really saying why, but he is in no need of an explanation. In fact, he thinks that “a right git,” is too much of a compliment.

Harry turns his attention toward Jamie. “Has she told you?”

Jamie doesn’t know what he’s talking about, but he’ll be damned if he lets this prick win.

“Yes,” he replies forcefully.

Harry raises his eyebrows. “Ah, and that’s not a dealbreaker?”

Jamie shakes his head.

“How…progressive of you,” Harry replies, meaning the exact opposite. “You see, I wouldn’t want someone who… well, you know.”

Jamie’s about to say, “No, I don’t know,” and also maybe punch Harry when more people come up, demanding your attention. As you both turn away, Harry calls, “Let me know when you get tired of the immaturity and need a real man. My bed is always open to you.”

Your face is bright red and you think you’re going to bolt. Jamie starts like he’s going to fight Harry and for a moment you wonder if Keeley sent him because he’s a little bit feral.

Unfortunately for Harry and fortunately for you, he spoke a bit too loudly.

You’ll find out later that he was heard by some higher-ups and removed from the premises. However, since that information is not made available to you until the next day, you spend the rest of the evening looking over your shoulder for Harry’s reappearance.

Jamie, god bless him, is a wonderful date. He goes the whole nine-yards, holding your hand, tucking your hair behind your ear, cracking jokes with you and others at your table. He’s making you look good, and feel relaxed in the process. By the end of the night you’re feeling confident and have made a good impression on several people on the board.

You have new opportunities at your disposal, as well as a potential promotion. You put a reminder in your phone to send Keeley some daisies as a thank-you. You’ll send something for Jamie as well.

—

He walks you to your door, ever the gentleman. You thank him profusely for the night, and tell him you’ll be rooting for him next time Richmond has a match. He grins. “You a fan?” he asks.

You laugh. “Yeah, I am. Used to go to every match till… well, I just don’t get out much anymore.”

Jamie grins. “We’ll have to change that, darling.”

Darling.

He says it so differently than Harry. It’s all… bubbly. Not condescending, not designed to make you feel small.

“Good night, Jamie,” you say.

—

You don’t really expect to see (or hear from) Jamie again, except you do. Because he’s texting you.

The content varies, from messages passed on from Keeley to gifs to memes to weird little stories from training. You think you’d like his coaches, even Roy. It already felt like you knew them from all their interviews that you’ve seen, but hearing the behind-the-scenes snippets solidifies the feeling even more. Your chatting is regulated to the early morning and your lunch breaks, as you’re not much of an evening person anymore.

Jamie doesn’t seem to mind, he’s up early to do extra training with Roy and you’re up early to prepare for the day. You enjoy hearing from him at 6am on the dot every morning.

Saturdays are nice, because you don’t have work. Keeley comes over sometimes, but today you’re on the Richmond Green. You’re sitting on a bench, watching a boy kick a small football. You’re so completely absorbed in the way he’s running back and forth that you are startled when a shadow casts over your face.

“Fancy seeing you here,” says a distinctly Mancunian voice.

“Jamie!” you exclaim. “What’re you doing here?”

Jamie points to his trainers. “Going for a quick run. Roy’s out of town, but he still makes me take laps. Fucking mental.” He shakes his head. “What are you doing here?”

You open your mouth to reply when the boy with the tiny football comes flying over. “Are you Jamie Tartt?” he asks.

Jamie crouches to his level. “I am. What’s your name, mate?”

“Liam!” he replies. “I have a football like you!”

Jamie smiles. “Good lad. Keep up with the practice, and you’ll be better than me someday.”

Liam’s bouncing up and down, so excited that he throws his ball in the air. Jamie catches it and does a trick. At this point Liam is completely enamored with Jamie, and you are as well. He’s giving this kid his complete attention, making his whole day. Anyone else would have just shooed him off, but not Jamie.

He’s good with kids, your brain yells.

You tell your brain to shut up.

Jamie tosses the ball back to Liam. “Where’s your mum?” he asks. “Might have tickets to a match for you.”

Liam points. Jamie turns to look behind the bench where you’re sitting, as that’s where Liam is pointing. There’s no one.

“Which one?” he asks, turning back to Liam.

“Me,” you say. “I’m his mum.”

Liam climbs into your lap and holds your face in his tiny hands. “Mum, Jamie Tartt says we can go to a match!” he says.

You laugh. “Don’t get your hopes up, love, Jamie hasn’t made any promises.”

Liam settles into your lap, facing Jamie. He can’t see your face or the pleading look you’re giving Jamie.

Please don’t mess this up, you try to say with your eyes. Jamie must get the message because he keeps smiling and asks Liam if he wants to kick the ball around for a bit. You watch them go, dreading the imminent conversation.

—

Liam’s asleep in his little Richmond pajamas. He loves football, and you watch every single match the Greyhounds play. Tickets are expensive, and you promised you’d take him to a real game one day. Truth is, you aren’t sure when that will be. It’s not easy being a single mum, but as you watch Liam’s sleeping face, you know you wouldn’t trade him for anything.

You sigh and get out of the rocking chair. Might as well call Jamie and get it over with.

Please pick up, you pray, and he does; you’re in the dim kitchen lights, poking at a cup of tea.

“Hey!” comes Jamie’s surprised voice. “You alright? Need anything?”

You shake your head even though he can’t see. “No, I wanted to talk about today. And Liam. Harry’s his dad.”

“Figured,” Jamie replies. “Made his comments at the gala make more fucking sense.”

“Yeah,” you say. Harry is a fucking prick. “Harry… he doesn’t have any custody. He’s not allowed near Liam. He also doesn’t pay child support. Or want a child. Or anything, really. He just wants to fuck around and do what he wants with no consequences. I should’ve known better honestly, I’m not even one to go around like that. Figures the one time I do it ends up like this. Not that I’m complaining,” you continue, “Liam is the best part of my life. It’s just hard when I keep losing people because they don’t want him too. Keeley’s the only one who stuck around. Did you know she’s a surprisingly great babysitter? Even kicks around a football in the yard with him.”

Jamie makes a surprised noise. It’s hard to picture Keeley in that exact situation, but not hard to imagine her doing anything that her friends needed.

“Anyway,” you continue, “I get if this makes things weird. You don’t have to get us tickets to the match. Liam’s still pretty little anyway… always taking bathroom breaks and needing snacks.”

“The owner’s box would be perfect,” Jamie blurts.

That isn’t the reply you were expecting, so you’re silent for a moment as he continues, “I mean… It’s easy to get in and out of, Rebecca’s got a fridge and a restroom…People bring their kids all the time. He’d love it. I’d love it,” he finishes.

You’re not sure. This is the longest anyone has ever stuck around when it comes to Liam, and you don’t really want to go to jail for murder if Jamie breaks his heart. All he could talk about for the rest of the day was how Jamie Tartt played football with him. Isaac McAdoo is is number one favorite, but you think Jamie is now a close second.

“Alright,” you say finally. “We’ll be there.”

—

It’s past Liam’s bedtime, like way past, and he’s asleep with his head on your shoulder. Your arms are tired from holding him and your throat is sore from screaming at the Richmond match. Jamie was right, Liam loved it. He wore his McAdoo jersey and got to meet the whole team before the game. You have a picture of him on Isaac’s shoulders, smiling so big. It’s weird to think that he probably won’t remember any of this when he’s older.

You’re waiting in a lobby of some kind for Jamie to come out. You’re leaning against a wall, feeling Liam’s steady breathing as he dreams.

Meanwhile, Jamie’s in the locker room, freaking out.

“Coach,” he says, wearing a hole in the floor, “how do you ask out a girl who’s got a kid?”

“Well Jamie-” Ted says.

“Are there some kind of rules I’m supposed to follow?” Jamie continues, oblivious. “I mean, what the fuck am I supposed to say?”

“I think-” Ted tries again.

“Nah fuck it, I’m just going to ask,” Jamie says.

Ted grins. “That sounds like a good plan, son.”

Jamie smiles back. “Thanks, coach. You always have the best advice.”

Ted shakes his head, still smiling as Jamie leaves the locker room.

—

Jamie rounds the corner to find you half-asleep against a wall near some trophy case, with Liam breathing out tiny snores. He swears that he’s never seen anything more beautiful, and it freaks him out for a moment. It’s…domestic in a way he didn’t ever expect his life to be.

He shakes off the weirdness and walks over.

“Hi,” he says, unable to contain a smile. “D’you want me to hold him for you?”

“That would actually be amazing,” you reply. “My arms are killing me.”

The sight of Liam asleep in Jamie’s arms is enough to make your brain go oh shit. Because, oh. Shit. This boy is going to break your heart if you’re not careful.

“How’d you like the game?” Jamie asks as you begin to walk to the car park.

“I loved it,” you reply sincerely. “Haven’t actually been to a match since this one.” You pat Liam’s back affectionately. “Kid had a great time too. Talked about meeting Isaac McAdoo the entire match. He’s like some football aficionado in a four-year-old’s body, swear down.”

Jamie’s still smiling as he helps you get Liam into his car seat. “What’re you doing the rest of the night?”

You laugh. “Oh god, I wish I could say going to sleep. But I have to meal prep for the week while Liam’s asleep. Otherwise he gets his sticky fingers in everything. Gonna take a solid two hours, at least.”

Jamie hesitates. It’s now or never. “Could I come over?” he asks. “Can’t cook for shit, but I could keep you company.”

You pause. “Jamie- I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”

But god, you want it so bad.

“I’m being serious,” Jamie says. “Not trying to mess with you. I like you. Think you’re fucking fit. I like being around you and I liked kicking the football around with Liam. He’s a good lad. I think it’s worth giving a try.”

You look at Liam. He’s still fast asleep, oblivious to his mum’s turmoil.

“Alright,” you say, still not looking at Jamie. “Let’s give it a try.”

Jamie grins and ghosts his thumb across your cheek, making you look at him.

“I’m going to kiss you now,” he says. “So now’s your moment to tell me to fuck off.”

You smile. “Can’t say that in front of Liam anyway,” you say as you crash your lips into his.

#jamie tartt x reader #jamie tartt fanfiction #jamie tartt imagine #jamie tartt x y/n #jamie tartt x you #jamie tartt #ted lasso

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pandorxxx · 1 year

Text

Spoiled

Read part 1 here:

Neteyam x omatikayan fem reader (all aged up)

Warnings: HEAVY SMUT, cursing, soft-dom Neteyam, brat-Tamer, oral (both receiving and giving. Neteyam eats 🍑 in this one, sorry if you’re not into that). P in v, multiple orgasms, creampie, daddy kink, praise kink (kinda).

Synopsis: Ever since you and Neteyam decided to make it official, you had been nothing but a nightmare for him. And when he walked into the hut from a long day without your favorite fruit, there was no way you were going to let him slide.

🔞mdni🔞

It had been exactly 5 months since your 21st birthday extravaganza. 5 months since you and Neteyam decided to make it official. When you both told your parents, they were very happy for you both. Your father especially because he knew what a promising young man Neteyam was, and the fact that he would undeniably make a great mate. The relationship was going great…for you. Neteyam did everything in his power to keep you satisfied.

But if he was being honest, you were a complete nightmare. More bratty and selfish than you were when you were single. And let’s not forget to mention how needy you were. But he took it, because he loved you so much. But boy, was he getting sick and tired of you.

He would walk home from his long day of training, and stand outside of the door. Basking in the last few minutes he had alone before he had to deal with you.

He sighed deeply, walking into the hut. His eyes landed on your small figure, admiring yourself in the mirror. Hell, that was all you ever did.

“Did you get my fruit?” You asked, pulling your braids into a ponytail as you watched him walk to the cot languidly.

“Hello to you too.” He spoke sarcastically, plopping down on the cot. You frowned, turning to him with an angry glare. His eyes shot to you and he sighed, closing his eyes briefly to maintain his patience.

“Baby, the fruit you want isn’t in season right now. Remember? I told you that.” He gestured calmly. You stomped your foot like an angry child, walking over to him.

“But that’s what I want, Teyammm!” You whined, getting on your knees in-front of him as he sat on the edge of the bed.

“Baby, I understand that. And you know I’d get them for you if I could. I’ve looked everywhere, and they’re just nowhere to be found.” He explained, caressing your cheek as you pouted up at him. You smacked his hand away harshly, making him clench his jaw in restraint with a low groan.

“Ugh! You’re so annoying. Why don’t you just look HARDER!” You shouted, smacking his chest, only for him to have no reaction.

“Ok, y/n.” He muttered, standing to his feet in-front of you, walking over to the dresser to take his war belt off. You cocked an eyebrow, turning around to face him.

“OK? What does that mean?” You asked with aggression, standing to your full height.

“It means that I’m done talking. And I’d advise you do the same, because i am not in the mood for this shit tonight.” He shook his head, removing his woven necklace, placing it on the dresser.

You eyed him up and down in shock. He was becoming angry with you, and you knew that. You also knew that the only way to get what you wanted, was to play nice. So like always, you played your roll. Your demeanor softening into a sad pout. You walked over to him, turning him around to face you.

“What’s wrong now?” He asked sarcastically with a low sigh to follow. You shot him puppy dog eyes, and his demeanor immediately softened. You had him wrapped around your little finger.

“I hate when you get upset with me, Teyam. You’re gonna make me cry.” You whimpered, eyes becoming watery. You were such a great actress, you could cry on instant. After all, You had a lot of time to practice on your father. That’s how you got everything you wanted.

“No, baby. Don’t cry, please? I-im sorry. I’ll do whatever I have to, ok? I’ll get your fruit, Princess.” He reassured you, caressing your flushed cheeks. You sniffled, trailing your dainty hands down his chest.

“When?” You asked, cocking an eyebrow at him as your hands trailed over his abs. “First thing Tomorrow morning. They’ll be here before you wake up, I promise.” He nodded, pecking your forehead.

“You’re the best, you know that?” You asked, your hand finding the band of his loincloth. He smiled, caressing your cheek with his thumb.

“Oh, baby. I’ll be my absolute best for you, and only you.” He confessed. Your hand made its way to his covered cock, palming it gently. His entire body froze, sucking in a sharp breath as he stared into your eyes.

“And how can I ever repay you, daddy?” You smiled, leaving small kisses on his chest. He let out a satisfied groan, throwing his head back.

“I-I would answer, but I’m assuming you already have something in mind Princess.” He strained, feeling his loincloth become looser and looser around his hips before it fell to the ground. You spit in your hand before connecting it to his throbbing cock, jerking it slowly. A series of curses and moans left his mouth as he watched you play with his cock.

“I can’t wait to get my fruit tomorrow. But until then….I think I’ll just snack on you instead. How’s that sound?” You asked sensually, speeding up the pace on his huge cock.

“Sounds good, Princess. Sooo s-so good.” He moaned, watching you slide down to your knees in-front of him. Without another moment to spare, you attached your mouth to his length, bobbing your head slowly as you stared up at him with lustful eyes.

“Oh my- f-fucking God. Juuust like that.” He muttered through a clenched jaw, holding the sides of your head as leverage to buck his hips into your mouth.

You hummed on him, swirling your tongue around his tip. You made it slow and sloppy for him, letting your spit cascade down your neck and breasts.

“Fuuck yes.” He groaned, watching you through hooded eyes, mouth slightly agape with low pants seeping through. You opened your mouth wider, letting him fuck your face just how he wanted to. He picked up the pace, the squelching and gagging noises egging him on.

“I-Im gonna cum, baby. G-Gonna cum!” He moaned, tucking both of his lips away, eyebrows scrunched as his eyes locked with yours.

“Mhmmm!” You hummed, eyes rolling in pleasure as you watched him fall apart. That was all he needed. His large hand found the top of the dresser, clawing at the wood as his eyes rolled back. Loud whimpers left his mouth before he released in yours. Your cheeks swelling with his seed. You let it trickle down your throat with a satisfied hum. He pulled out of your mouth slowly, a loud gasp leaving your swollen lips as he watched the lines of spit that connected you two.

“Fuuuck, girl. You’re gonna be the death of me.” He chuckled breathily, leaning back on the wall in exhaustion.

“Well don’t die yet. I’m horny now.” You pouted, untying your top and throwing it to the side. He looked down at you with low eyes, shaking his head with a light chuckle.

“When are you not horny?” He asked, rubbing his hands down his face in complete exhaustion. You crossed your arms, rolling your eyes at him. He sighed loudly.

“Whenever you want me, I give it to you. But right now…I’m so fucking tired. You have worn me out babe. And if you want me to be energized enough to go get your fruit, I need some sleep.” He explained, walking over to the cot slowly. You huffed, getting off of the ground to turn him around. “I want it.” You commanded, pouting up at him with your arms crossed.

“What, do you think I’m your Fuck toy or something? Huh? You know I am a whole person outside of just being your boyfriend? It’s been a long day, and I’m tired. And that little performance you just gave…only put the icing on the cake for me. So please….please just let me sleep.” He begged, hands intertwined with each other as he awaited an answer.

“Teyammm! Let me get on top then. You won’t even have to do anything but lay there.” You whined, caressing his biceps. He trailed your body for a moment, thinking about how good you would look riding him. With a low sigh, he finally gave in.

“You sure do know how to get what you want. Spoiled ass.” He smirked, backing up into the cot before taking a seat. You untied your loincloth swiftly, tossing it the the side of the room before straddling his lap.

“Whatever. Lay back.” You commanded, pushing him back with force. You two had been having sex long enough to not have a repeat of last time. So in one swift motion, you grabbed his cock, lining it up with your entrance to slowly slide down on him.

“Finally…I’m getting what I want.” You moaned, placing your hands on his broad chest, using it as leverage to bounce on him with full force.

“I-I always give you what you want. You’d kill me if I didn’t.” He spoke breathily, watching your breasts bounce with every subtle movement.

“Mmm hush!” You whined, eyes rolling to the back of your head as his swollen tip slammed into your sweetspot with every bounce of your hips.

His hands trailed down to your ass, gripping the plush flesh with his bottom lip tucked between his teeth to keep him quiet like you asked. Soft grunts and groans rumbling in his chest with every harsh meeting of his pelvis to yours.

“Teyammm, w-why are you so quiet? Am I not doing it right?” You whined, eyes meeting his. He looked at you completely dumbfounded.

“You t-told me t- mmm!- to hush. You’re doing so good, baby. Sooo so good!” He moaned, head titled back in complete bliss as his face scrunched in pleasure. He was so close, he could feel his muscles tensing and his heart racing until…you stopped with one hard bounce to his pelvis, almost knocking the wind out of him. He opened his eyes instantly, being met with your all too familiar angry demeanor.

“What? What could I have possibly done NOW?!” He shouted, rolling his eyes at you. “You’re annoying me! Being all quiet and shit. What is that supposed to mean? That I’m not doing my job, huh?” You asked, tilting your head as you awaited an answer.

“You told me to be quiet, DAMN! Do you not remember that?” He asked, gesturing wildly as his muscles tensed in anger. You rolled your eyes with a loud groan.

“NO I DONT REMEMBER THAT!” You shouted, smacking his chest hard enough to leave a handprint, but he still had no reaction to it. He ran his hands down his face with a loud growl.

“Holy shit Y/n, You’re driving me nuts! Just get up, I’m done with your shit tonight.” He sighed, placing his hands on your torso to lift you off of him. You smacked his hands away harshly. “NO!” You shouted, staying in place stubbornly.

“Hit me one more time…” His tone was serious, and dark. You loved to push neteyam’s buttons, but you knew when it was time to stop. And this was definitely the time. But, you felt like pushing him alittle further tonight, maybe you could wake the beast in him…the one you met the night of your party.

“Or what?” You challenged, eyebrow cocked as you awaited an answer. “Fuck around and find out. How about that?” He snarled, eyeing you up and down. You shot him a sarcastic smile, raising your hand to hit him again. But before it could connect to his chest, he had flipped both of you over, his arms engulfing your head.

“You’re such a fucking brat.” He spoke lowly, shifting your legs over his shoulders with one hand, completely folding you in half. He began to thrust into you, hard and deep, still maintaining a somewhat slow pace. Just so you could feel all of him, deep inside of your slippery cunt. After all, this was now considered a punishment.

“Too deep, Too deep, Teyammm!” You moaned, eyes rolling to the back of your head as you tapped his thigh, essentially tapping out.

“Hush! Not another fucking word. I’m sick of you talking.” He growled, pecking your agape lips as he fed you the deepest strokes you’d ever gotten. Loud squelching noises and heavy grunts flooded the room.

“I-Im sorry Tey! I’m sorry!” You nodded lazily, giving him those puppy dog eyes that seemed to work so well on him. “Not trying to hear that shit right now.” He shook his head with a dark chuckle, rolling his hips into you.

“Ohhh fuuuck.” You squealed, wrapping your trembling arms around his neck gently, bringing him dangerously close to you. So close that you could feel his breath tickling your nose. The eye contact was lethal as he drilled into you at an agonizingly slow pace. So deep you could feel him in your stomach.

“I-I hate you…sooo much.” You moaned, throwing your head back in absolute bliss. He knew that whenever you would tell him that, an intense release would follow.

“Gonna cum, huh? I know you like the back of my fucking hand, Princess.” He chuckled breathily, using the opportunity to leave kisses on your exposed neck.

“Yesss, I’m so close Tey!” You whimpered, shifting your trembling legs to the side of his hips. He began to speed up the pace, kissing every inch of your neck and jaw.

“Mhm, cum for me Princess. Be as loud as you want. Let everyone know that your spoiled ass belongs to me. I’m the only one that can handle you, right?” He asked breathily, in between kisses.

“Yes Teyammm!” You whined loudly, eyes rolling to the back of your head as your entire body began to tremble at once.

“Fuuuck, this is the only time I like to hear you scream my name.” He moaned, watching you come undone beneath him. Your juices flowed out of you with every slow thrust, making their way to the sheets.

“I-I want more. give me MORE!” You whined, in the middle of your peek. He shook his head with a slight chuckle.

“Any more and we’re gonna have to sleep on the ground. You’re making a mess, baby.” He explained, pulling out of you slowly, watching the rest of your essence cascade out of you like a river.

“One more time, Teyam! I-I’m so fucking hot for you.” You moaned, turning around in-front of him. You laid your head on the bed as your hips stayed mounted in the air. You spread your knees farther apart, opening yourself up to him.

“Oh my-“ he muttered under his breath, smacking your plush ass with a low groan. His mouth began to water, licking his lips as he admitted your dripping cunt. He bent down, immediately attaching his lips to your clit, flicking his tongue against the ball of nerves. You let out a low moan, spreading your legs a little wider for him.

He held your cheeks open to get better access, completely devouring your sensitive heat. He sucked on your clit like a pacifier before licking a long stripe up to your ass, swirling his tongue around to hole.

“Yesss, juuust like that daddy!” You moaned, a delirious smile plastered across your face in pleasure.

He began to French kiss your ass, letting his spit cascade down his chin. With a low hum, he stuck his tongue out, wiggling his head in between your cheeks, making your tail sway high in excitement with small whimpers falling from your precious lips. He sent it one last peck before he stood back up, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

“You taste so good princess. Just like the fruit you’ve been nagging me about for the past week.” He chuckled, sending a hard smack to your ass once more.

“I know that. FUCK ME.” You frowned, backing your ass up into him. He smiled, lining his cock up with your entrance before plunging into you.

“So fucking cocky. You just think you’re so hot, huh?” He asked, thrusting into hard and deep.

“I-I am hot, daddy. You don’t think so?” You moaned breathily, gripping the sheets so hard that your knuckles were white.

“You know how I feel, you just wanna hear me say it.” He moaned, mouth slightly agape as he watched your ass smack against his pelvis. The sweet music ringing through the entire hut, along with your pornographic moans that he loved so much. He shifted his hips up, jamming into that sensitive sweet spot of yours repeatedly. You bit your lip with a satisfied smile, shifting your head on the cot to look back at him.

“You like that? Hmm?” He asked with a sensual tone, smacking your bruised ass a few times, earning a few low hums in satisfaction from you. You let out a small giggle in response, followed by a series a curses as your stomach muscles started to tense.

“I-I’m gonna cum, Teyammm!” You moaned, eyes rolling to the back of your head as you began to push your hips back into him to meet his rhythm.

“Shiiiittt! me too, baby.” He groaned, speeding up the pace. He threw his head back, loud growls rumbling in his chest. His thrusts became sloppy, cock twitching inside of you from his incoming orgasm.

“Oh my God, Yesssss! I’m- I-“ you cried, an intense release following. Your entire body twitching with each deep stroke. Your walls fluttering around him caught his attention. He looked down, admiring his cream coated cock with every thrust.

“Mmm, did you get what you wanted, Princess? Have I satisfied you enough?” He asked with a hint of sarcasm. But in reality, all he ever wanted to do was make you feel good. If you were happy, he was happy.

“Yes, daddy! I-I love you! I love you sooo much!” You moaned breathily, coming down from your high.

“Ohhh baby. I love you more!” He moaned, sending you one last thrust before painting your fluttering walls with his seed. You could feel the liquid trickling down into your womb, filling it up just right. A series of moans leaving his and your mouth as you both came down from your peeks. He pulled out, watching his seed flow down your trembling thighs.

“Can I go to sleep now princess?” He asked, grabbing a cloth to clean you up first. Silence followed, not even a hum in agreement.

“Y/n?” He asked, shifting around to see you cooing with your eyes shut tightly. Your legs slowly buckled to the cot, laying you completely flat. He chuckled to himself, wiping your thighs one last time.

“What am I going to do with you, Princess?…”

Taglist: @number1gal @loak-bae @tiredmamaissy @neytirishottie @viajaeger @terrorthewolf @lethargicluv @reyzzsostellar @m0nst3rfk3r @agelsully @jakescumdump @wekiamo @st-cass @cleardonutangelwagon @tsireqas @satanlovedays @afro-hispwriter @urfavgirlmakenna @fanboyluvr @iameatingmyhair @secretflowerobservation @violet-19999 @xreadersstuff @sweetllamaparadise @lia-nath @sullymenrhot @dotheyevenknowmars @xdbluesky @slay-nt @domino-x3-blog @ladylovegood-69 @itssomeonereading @sweetirilly @skxawngmia @j-jinxee @im-in-a-pansexual-panik @cumikering @pxndorasdream @itsaleidasworld @atxxokirina @yeletta @blueslxt-primary @jackchampismybbg @eywascall @valeriearriana37484 @avatarsslut @bee782916 @atxxokirina @taylormarieee @loaksdog

#avatar #avatar smut #avatar the way of water #neteyam #neteyam fanfiction #neteyam smut #neteyam x reader #neteyam headcanons #neteyam te suli tsyeyk'itan #neteyam sully #avatar neteyam #neteyam x y/n #avatar loak #loak headcanons #loak x reader #loak x y/n #loak smut

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hwasdvlly · 1 year

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Happy Hollow-ween | c.san

↠ summary: a classic yet fun activity for the season is to carve a pumpkin.

↠ pairing: san x fem!reader

↠ genres: family, fluff, and slice of life

↠ word count: 0.6k words

↠ warnings/tags: none. established relationship, idol!san, non-idol!reader, married couple, sannie is husband/father material

↠ a/n: yesss!! another of the choi family which is personally one of my fav writings

“Appa! I want this one!”

“Isn’t that a bit huge? It’s bigger than your head, Mimi.”

The beloved Choi Family are at the pumpkin patch, where they’ll find the perfect ones to carve. It’s the autumn season, too. The weather has cooled down, and everyone dressed in cozy outfits.

San picks up a pumpkin that his baby is pointing at. He grunts and uses his strength from those gym workouts because it is heavy. “Y/N! What do you think?!” He calls over his wife, who is busy taking pictures of the lovely area. You turn your attention to your husband and see him struggling with the object. You let a giggle, “It’s almost the same size as The Great Pumpkin from Charlie Brown.” You walk up to the love of your life and your little angel. You assumed it was Sangmi’s choice.

“Okay, I guess we’re taking it.” San tries to look strong, but, for real, his arms are about to break. You know your hubby by heart that he’ll act differently to impress you and Sangmi.

“Do you need help, Sannie?” You snickered. San didn’t hesitate to deny it. “Nope! Nope! I got this!” The man waddles his way to the parking lot. Sangmi holds your hand. “Appa looks funny.” She laughs at her penguin dad. “You know how appa is, aegi (baby).” You tell your little girl. San will do anything for his angel.

Once they arrived home, the Choi Family layered old newspapers on the balcony. San and Sangmi are wearing matching Halloween shirts and plaid sweats. You came out of the kitchen after unboxing the utensils to check on your family.

“Gotta scrape all of the guts out. Like how you pick your nose.” San makes an absurd comparison.

“Ew! Appa! I don’t pick my nose.” Sangmi rebutted and giggled heartily.

The man smirks, “Oh, you don’t? Then what’s this?” He reaches over to tap Sangmi’s button nose. She continues to laugh her head off. You melted by the sound of her angelic voice. Maybe she will become a singer like her dad. You joined the duo by helping them scrape the pumpkin guys.

San sighed tiredly, “Why did she choose this one? It’s going to take ages to carve.” He spoke in a low voice to prevent Sangmi from hearing his complaint. You replied, “Well, you did make a promise to her the moment she was born.” You looked at him with a knowing look. “Promises can’t be broken, I guess.” San meets your gaze, and he shows his cute pout.

No matter what age or how long you’ve known this man, he is forever a sulky child.

“Alright! We are done!” San cheers because it did take ages.

You went to sit with Sangmi and wipe her messy hands clean. “How do you want to carve the pumpkin, Mimi?” You asked.

“Can we do Kuromi?” She looks at her parents with the prettiest cat-like eyes. How can anyone say no to that?

San nods his head with a wide smile. “Yes! I like that idea.” He agrees with his daughter.

When it comes to arts & crafts, San will do it as if it’s a major task. Even though Sangmi wouldn’t mind if it came out ugly, her appa doesn’t accept imperfections.

The hours went by, and the day was now night.

You grabbed a small candle to light up. “Here, sweetheart. Our masterpiece won’t be complete without this.” You handed it to Sangmi. She holds the candle and uses her tiny arms to reach inside the top of the carved pumpkin. She places it in the middle before San grabs the lighter.

“Watch baby. This is a magical moment.” He turns it on, and the flame burns the wick.

Sangmi’s face brightens like the Kuromi pumpkin. “It’s pretty!” She claps her hands.

San shifts his body to the masterpiece in front of him. “Appa did good, right?” He gives you and Sangmi a smug expression.

You rolled your eyes yet smiled at your self-righteous husband. Sangmi just happily nodded to indicate that her appa did a beautiful job.

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fanficapologist · 1 year

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Of Dragons and Maelstroms

Themes and Warnings: slow burn, enemies to lovers, blood, violence, explicit language, sexual violence, period-typical misogyny, sexual themes, smut, tension, marriage, jealousy, pregnancy, childbirth, miscarriage, attempted sexual assault, breastfeeding, major character death, divergent timelines

Summary: Following the crowing of King Aegon, second of his name, Lady Maera Wylde, eldest daughter of Master of Laws, is called to return to the capital to assist her old friend, Helaena, in becoming accustomed to her new role as Queen. As well as navigating the complexities of court and discrediting the accusations previously made about her, Maera must also face Prince Aemond, having not seen him in three long years. Once allies, their relationship is no longer what it was when they were children, and they must find a way to live together for the sake of the Crown.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the House of The Dragon/Fire & Blood characters nor do I claim to own them. I do not own any of the images used nor do I claim to own them.

Prologue

King Jaehaerys and his Queen Alysanne sired thirteen children during their reign. The bloodline of this tale starts with the seventh born and forth son of these children; Vaegon Targaryen.

Vaegon the dragonless was considered as sour in personality as he was uncomely in his looks, known to be more drawn to his books than the sword. When he came of age and could not find a suitable spouse due to his general lack of personality, his eldest brother Aemon, successfully married, proposed a young friend of his wife to Vaegon, the Lady Edme Whitehead. Jaehaerys urged Vaegon to take this opportunity in order to further the Targaryen bloodline. Vaegon agreed but stated that once he had done his duty and produced a child, he would return to his books and studies

The marriage of Vaegon Targaryen and Lady Edme Whitehead began with great expectations, a union meant to strengthen ties between House Targaryen and House Whitehead. However, as the years passed, the once-promising alliance turned into a somber reflection of lost hopes and broken dreams. Vaegon was a man of ambition and charm, but his heart remained fixated on his interest in astronomy and mathematics. He had little interest in the domestic matters of marriage. The young Lady Edme, on the other hand, had been raised with romantic notions of love and unity, envisioning a future filled with affection and companionship.

The vast differences in their personalities became apparent as their courtship waned. Lady Edme longed for affection and attention, but Vaegon seldom found time to share in the joyous moments of married life with her. Despite the strain, they maintained a facade of unity before the court and their subjects. However, their inner turmoil was evident to those who cared enough to observe.

It took Vaegon 8 months to consummate the marriage. Thankfully for the Lady Edme, once the marital deed was done, she became with child. Edme birthed small twin daughters, Gael and Viserra, but shortly after passed away from child-bed fever. Relieved he was now released from the confines of marriage, Vaegon placed his daughters in the care of Edme’s parents, Lord and Lady Whitehead. Vaegon beseeched the newly crowned king, Viserys the First for another life path. The understanding King, seeing his uncles misery, suggested a life at the Citadel whereby he could serve the realm with his extensive knowledge. As Vaegon had only produced daughters and emphasised the sickliness of the twins to the senior maesters, insinuating that they would not live very long anyway, the citadel was happy for the prince to take the vows, relinquishing him of all titles and duties.

Lady Gael and her sister Viserra grew near the shores in the south of the Stormlands. Despite their small statures and shyness, both Gael and Viserra carried the unmistakable air of Targaryen nobility, their silver hair and violet eyes serving as a constant reminder of their illustrious heritage. Under the loving guidance of their Grandparents, the girls received the finest education, learning not only the customs and traditions of their own House Targaryen and the mother tongue of High Valyrian, but also those of the Seven Kingdoms.

The allure of marrying Targaryen women, even for a small chance to lay claim to the iron throne, attached many suitors for the twin girls. Both were married when they came of age. Firstly was Viserra, to Lord Byron of Morne, a house known for having strong Naval forces on the Straits of Tarth, an island off the coast of the stormlands. Gael, when she finally flowered, became the wife of Lord Jasper Wylde, shortly after his first wife’s passing.

Lord Wylde and Lady Gael produced 4 children during their marriage. On the birth of the 4th child, neither babe nor woman survived. Upon Lady Gael’s passing, Lord Wylde once again had to search for another wife. The twin sons he had produced with Lady Gael both caught the pox one year and passed at the young age of four. The only proof of this union ever existing was the survival of the third child; a daughter, Maera; The Jewel of Rainwood

Aemond returned to King's Landing on his dragon, Vhagar, following his visit to Storm's End. The journey had been a success; he had secured the Baratheon's support with a marriage pact. But in his pursuit of power and revenge, he had inadvertently murdered Prince Lucerys, the beloved son of Rhaenyra. News of Lucerys's death spread like wildfire through the Red Keep upon Aemond’s return. King Aegon, who had never been fond of his sister's bastard son, couldn't hide his joy at the tidings. He saw this as an opportunity to solidify his rule.

Queen Alicent, Prince Aemond's mother, wept bitter tears of distress and horror, fully understanding the grave implications this tragedy would bring to their family. The bonds of trust and alliances were unraveling, and chaos loomed. Aegon's wife, Helaena, was deeply affected by the news. She entered trance-like states, muttering words that no one could make sense of. She refused to eat, drink, or find solace in sleep. Her mental and emotional state deteriorated rapidly, and her suffering was a weight upon the entire court.

Desperate to support her tormented daughter, Queen Alicent sought help from the Master of Laws, Lord Jasper Wylde. They reached an agreement to send Lord Wylde's eldest daughter, Maera, back to the capital. Maera was to assume a role of friendship with Helaena and offer her support as the new Queen. The Red Keep, once a place of power and intrigue, was now fraught with tension and sorrow. The death of Prince Lucerys had set off a chain of events that threatened to tear the Targaryen dynasty apart, leaving those within its walls to navigate treacherous waters of political maneuvering and personal grief.

Notes: Hello! First fic I’m ever uploading and here’s a little summary to set the scene. PLEASE NOTE: whilst there will be events from the Dance of the Dragons within the fic, the timeline will diverge to suit the story

Also like this isn’t real, none of this is real, the universe is a creation of George R.R Martin. My writing won’t be perfect but constructive (not cruel) feedback is always appreciated.

Thank you so much for reading! Comments, feedback, likes, and reblogs are greatly appreciated 🖤

#aemond fanfiction #aemond x oc #aemond x original character #hotd aemond #aemond targaryen #slow burn #enemies to lovers #smut #chapters #hotd fanfic #hotd #house targaryen #house wylde #Jasper Wylde #hotd helaena #maera wylde

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waywardmongergoopzine · 1 year

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Ok so I have to get my opinion out about Cyn

In episode 5 we see how Cyn was a worker drone that was thrown away by humans and was offered absolute solver (as seen in this scene) to "wake up" after "sleeping" for god knows how long under a pile of dead drones (which is kinda traumataizing).

She was found and brought by Tessa in the mansion where she really couldn't do anything around the mansion because of her dysfunctional body and because of this she probably wasn't treated kindly by others (take J as an example) and was maybe also judged and disliked by everyone because of her dissability exept N.

He is/was always kind and understanding and saw her struggle and promised to be there for her and help her when she needs it, evolving their relationship into brother and sister.

Now, as we have already seen with Uzi in ep 4, stress/anxiety/negative feelings made her AS to act up and overheat really fast which caused her to transform into a monster who killed her classmates who where just terrible. They didn't even brother to learn her name and worst of all, they trusted N, her first friend who is a murder drone that is made to kill them, who they've just met like 10 seconds ago, more then their classmate.

In the mansion N was probably the single one who conforted her when she was stressed/sad/scared however the more time went by, the more torment was initiated by Tessa's abusive parents, and the AS slowly took over her mind and that's when she started becoming more agresive towords everyone and started doing gruesone experiments.

N, because he was always being by her side began witnessing the things she was doing and when she discovered that she began making backups of every drone so that her mission won't be compromised if someone witnesses her and/or she makes experimens on them and then kills them. (What if the first time she made a new N was after she accidently caused his death and then realised what she had done and wanted her brother to come back, this would be really tragic if this is the case but who knows 😭).

I personally belive in the theory that the Absolute solver (or The Solver of the Absolute Fabric or whatever it's named) is a hivemind that makes a pact with a drone that is in need (or maybe on the brink of death) and that's how it gains more power and gets closer to its goals. I think that it also accumulates the memories and the mannerisms of its hosts (which can explain some things). Also I think that it is trying/tried to do the same thing to Doll, Uzi, Nori and Yeva but their solver are independent so they cannot be taken over.

Cyn wasn't properly disposed of and was stuck unable to wake up ( you can say that she was left to die) untill the AS sent a masage telling her that it'll help her, that she seems sad, and in distress and it tells her that she won't be disposed of if she gives it acces to her system I guess

(This photo is, in my opinion, the biggest proof)

She was just a scared drone (perhaps a robot child as N says in ep 4 that they are children) that was trown away like a toy and now wnats revange on the humans that misstreat her kind. Cyn wants, like her brother, tobprotect the ones she loves.

Now

If you want some more proof about this watch this video on yt that explains the things that I'm saying:

(I don't know spanish at all but the subtitles are really hopefull) (Also it's a great video)

I'm sorry if there where many problems in this post or if the explanation wasn't so good.

I'll make some other posts about this and the plot of the series but idk when

#murder drones #murder drones cyn #cyn murder drones #md cyn #murder drones n #md n #absolute solver

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absolutedestinyapocalypsse · 8 months

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i think we're all in agreement that larian fumbled wyll's storyline but what i cannot drop after finishing my playthrough is how fucking strange his relationship to the flaming fists is???

like if you take him to kill the fists at the foundry he disapproves? these are the people who are actively torturing and enslaving the gondians to make massive police brutality robots. you can literally go to the foundry and WITNESS the steel watchers brutalizing children via tadpole but in the final battle ravengard's "help" is a bunch of fists whose job it was to protect the steel watchers? Literally all the flaming fists do is get in your way, try to arrest you for stopping murders, and run away from danger and Wyll is just endlessly supportive of it- he doesn't see why that's fucked up!

I get that they're his dad's guard and his inability to criticize his father for anything could have (should have) been a plot point, but instead it's just there! uncritically!! And i can kind of get it when it has to do with him being exiled bc parent child relationships are complicated, but there is literally no reason for him to be dickriding the flaming fists so much. Absolutely zero reason.

They set Wyll up as being this unfailingly moral character who would gladly become a devil before killing an innocent person, even when killing that innocent person is in the "rules" he's supposed to follow. He's not just uncritically obedient of Mizora even though she tells him that what he's doing is right, but when it comes to the flaming fists who are purposefully incompetant at best, and actively murderous at worst, and whom we have watched the entire game actively enable slavery and state violence he just doesn't care????

These are the flaming fists who were completely fine sending Florick to the gallows for trying to fight against their corruption and save ravengard. Devella is the ONLY person in the fists who's doing anything to address the bhaal killings and her colleagues actively get in her way/try to stop her from investigating them. If I were Wyll and I learned that my dad was fucking brainwormed bc the guard that was supposedly "unfailingly loyal" to him sold him out and actively stopped a rescue attempt, i would never want to see another fucking flaming fist in my life.

But instead at the epilogue party if he's the blade of avernus hes just like "my dad pardoned all the fists and made them pinky promise to do better :) isnt he great?" Be for real!

It's making me mad bc it's not the hypocrisy itself that's the problem, it's that they don't even attempt to say or do anything about it! It's a golden opportunity for Wyll to have to do some self reflection and grow as a character, like every other character who also has clear moments of hypocrisy like this. It's right there! And the game just totally chickens out. Like I know that not every country has the same relationship to police that Americans do, but it's literally IN THE GAME that the flaming fists are a corrupt organization who operate exactly like the american cops do. Larian please give Wyll a backbone to begin with, or make him reckon with the fact that he doesn't have one. Do fucking SOMETHING!!

#im not even getting into how fucked up it is that the only black companion is the one with this problem #you can't avoid the subtext you literally wrote into the game! if you dont wanna deal w it don't put it in!#baldur's gate 3 #bg3 #wyll ravengard #bg3 wyll

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funhouse-mirror-barbie · 5 months

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The Decay of Complex Characters and Character Development in Helluva Boss (Stolas and Octavia’s Relationship: Part 1 of 2)

Part 2 here

I’ve seen this in a few different places, but it’s been on my mind in particular since the animated “Look My Way” music video that dropped a while back.

The way the song was updated for the animated music video made the changes to Stolas’ character stick out even more to me, and I really want to talk about what I perceive as some really flawed writing decisions around Stolas’ character.

If you’re a fan of HB please know that I’m not trying to attack the creators or change whatever opinions or feelings you have about the story. If you love this show and this character and they mean a lot to you that’s great! My goal is never to spread negativity or toxicity—it’s always to talk openly about media and how we interact with it. ☺️

I want to start by saying I was a big fan of Helluva Boss, and of Stolas, up until the second season started. And before the second season, my favorite episode by far was “Loo-loo Land”.

(TLDR at the end of the post if you don’t have time to read thru!)

I still really like the episode now, and I especially love the opening scene and song. It’s beautiful, and the song “You Will be Okay” has brought me to tears more than once. It’s one of the best songs in the entire series, and I think the only one that tops it for me is probably “The House of Asmodeus”.

The whole sequence of “You Will be Okay” is both heartening and heartbreaking—it captures the unconditional love and protection a parent promises to give their child, while also expressing the sad truth about that promise that only a parent can know—that you can’t and won’t always be around for your child.

No matter how much you want to protect them from the dangers of the world, you can’t—parents have to let their kids go out into the world and become their own person—the most a parent can do is try to always be there in any way they can for their kids, even if they can’t be there physically.

The lyrics and tone of the song tell us as much. It’s very clear that Stolas is acutely aware that something may happen to him and that he needs to let Octavia know that while he may not be there with her physically, his love for her will always be with her, protecting her.

The build up to the song’s crescendo matching the visuals around Stolas and Octavia bring everything in the scene together really well, and Bryce’s performance is so good that it made me believe for a second that he would keep his promise to Octavia. That he would never abandon her, and would always put her needs as his child first.

That, somehow, he will truly be with her always protecting her, and that she really will be okay.

For a moment it was possible for me to forget the dramatic irony of the situation. That this was the past, that I already knew for a fact that Stolas would cheat on Stella and jeopardize his family life.

The song comes to a close, and through all the seemingly random chaos happening in space around them, Stolas keeps Octavia safe, and lulls her back to sleep. They return to her room, and the scene ends on Via in bed sleeping peacefully.

The whole sequence does such a fantastic job of showing you what Stolas’ and Octavia’s relationship was like when she was a child. She trusts him implicitly, and, at least at this time in her life, he seems to have been a present and loving father.

What makes this scene work even better though, is the transition to the present that follows RIGHT after it.

At the end of the song we get this jarring and sharp match-cut of a teenage Octavia being jolted awake by the shrill screaming and fighting of her parents in the background. In that instant, we as the audience see her going from feeling safe and having a seemingly idyllic childhood, to being a moody and neglected teen with a turbulent and unstable family life.

The music change that accompanies this not only fits the change in mood perfectly, but it quite literally tells us what she is feeling—her whole world is crashing down around her.

To this day, I think this transition is wonderful.

The visuals do such an amazing job conveying the changes that have happened in the Goetia family through Octavia’s perspective. And it’s extremely important because it immediately shows the audience that Stolas broke his promise.

I watched this episode when it came out, and when the only other Helluva Boss story and world-building we had was the Pilot and S1E1-“Murder Family”. While it could be assumed that Stella would not be happy about her husband’s cheating, we didn’t know anything about her personality and how she would react.

So. while it was clear that Stella wasn’t acting appropriately or maturely in the next scene, it was also VERY clear that Stolas was at fault for breaking up their relationship by cheating.

I will be talking about Stella’s character in “The Circus”, and how she is used as tool to absolve Stolas of any wrongdoing in season 2 later. For now, I want to stress that I will NOT be talking about future development of her character here.

After Stella leaves Stolas tries to connect with Octavia like they used to and just continuously fails. It’s clear that she’s still very angry with him for cheating on her Mom, and that his trying to carry on like nothing is wrong is irritating her.

Stolas asks her if she slept well and all she can sarcastically say is “Is that a serious question?”

What Stolas does next to try and reconnect with Octavia is very very important because it shows that he’s still being extremely selfish.

He decides they’re going to LooLoo Land, in a poor attempt to recapture some of their old good memories together and does not once LISTEN to Octavia and what she actually wants to do.

They go, but he uses the trip as an excuse to meet up with Blitzø, and behaves inappropriately and flirts with him the whole time, right in front of Octavia.

This, rightly, is extremely upsetting to her, and she runs away. Stolas follows after her and they have a heart to heart where he FINALLY FINALLY takes the time to listen to some of her concerns and why she is upset.

The episode ends on a happy note-with Stolas asking Octavia what SHE wants to do and what her interests are, and Octavia admitting to Stolas that, “You’re okay sometimes”.

This episode is extremely important to Stolas’ character because it does such a good job of getting across to the audience that Stolas is not a perfect person. That he’s someone who has people he genuinely cares about and loves, but that he can still royally fuck up. He’s sleazy, he doesn’t respect Blitzø’s boundaries, he neglects his daughter, and he doesn’t listen to her, putting his own desires and needs ahead of hers.

And the resolution to this episode is important, not because it fixes everything, but because it is the first STEP in the right direction for Stolas becoming better and becoming the father his daughter needs him to be again.

This episode ends with Stolas meeting the BARE MINIMUM to START making amends with Octavia. He doesn’t even say sorry, just that he would never leave her to run off with Blitzø. There is still a lot that Stolas needs to do to make amends with her, and to repair the ruptures in their relationship.

Due to this, at the time this episode came out, I thought that this was just the very beginning of Stolas’ first character arc—realizing his actions could truly HURT those he cared about, and having to come to terms with the fact that he was in the wrong. That something he did, hurt those around him, and that he would need to take responsibility for that.

“Loo-loo Land” went to such great lengths to show us that Stolas is imperfect. That he is someone who is capable of mistakes and doing the wrong thing, of being oblivious and selfish, and of needing to do better.

And before “The Circus” and “Seeing Stars”, I believed that the writers could develop his character to grow and change and become a better person for his loved ones.

This doesn’t happen however, as again the writers bend over backwards to make sure that Stolas never has to actually directly answer for his mistakes. So much so that they literally don’t let him say “Sorry” to Octavia the next time he breaks a promise to her and doesn’t consider her needs before his own.

After S2E2 of Helluva Boss, “Seeing Stars”, came out, I officially lost any faith in the writers to have Stolas ACTUALLY take ownership and responsibility for the ways he harms those he loves. That first step he took on the path to healing his relationship with Octavia from “Loo Loo Land” has been totally erased, and I can’t imagine whatever resolution they come up with for his character will be satisfying.

I have no doubt that Stolas will receive a happy ending, but I predict it will be one with 0 stakes, and 0 satisfaction, because it will not have been earned. I worry that with any character flaw or upset he causes, another character will be swept under the rug in order to make Stolas appear as if he was always in the right.

As I’ve said before, if that’s the story the writers want to tell, that’s fine. It’s their story, not mine.

I just personally cannot imagine not wanting to explore those character faults and acknowledge them. Maybe, hopefully, I’ll be pleasantly surprised. I’d really like that.

I’ll be following up to this post with a critique specifically of how “Seeing Stars” is very much a retread of “Loo Loo Land”, but in all the worst ways possible.

TLDR;

-In my opinion, the initial handling of Stolas as a flawed and complex character who could make mistakes and be in the wrong was really well done.

-The first canon episode that gives Stolas focus, “Loo Loo Land”, goes to great lengths to show us the ways in which Stolas has failed Octavia.

-This was a great set-up for character development and for Stolas to have to come to terms with his actions and change, but future episodes do not follow through on this set up.

-Will be talking about the episodes that undo the set ups for Stolas’ character development in Part 2.

EDIT:

I made the mistake of missing a part of “Loo Loo Land” where Stolas DOES apologize to Octavia properly—missing this was my mistake—I made an addendum post here that goes over this briefly—Apologies.

#helluva boss critical #helluva boss critique #helluva boss criticism #stolas critical #? I guess? not really? more just examining what I interpret as poor writing choices with his character #media critique #media criticism #long post #HB critique #I don’t know if I want to tag as critical cause I’ve seen some people dunking on the creators #and I just don’t feel comfortable with talking that way about people I really don’t know #I’ve gleaned from some other critique accounts that there is a good deal of drama within the fandom and surrounding the creator #but again I don’t know the creator personally and I also don’t think it’s very fair to chalk every single decision made in a collaborative #to a single person #part 1 of 2 #octavia goetia #poor Octavia

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5-7-9 · 5 months

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(Disclaimer: i am ignoring every part i found stupid or unnecessary. Also i have a picture limit 😔)

Duke obviously met Batman/Wayne first but I’m skipping that. So he met Alfred secondly, in an uncharacteristic particular way. (As much as I’m confused as to why Alfred, someone who’s against Bruce being Batman would employ child soldiers himself, and I believe in the self motivated movement of children, this is technically canon).

Alfred made a deal with Duke to do vigilantism and he’d help him do it (he also promised to help find his parents but Duke managed it himself). Alfred saved WAR from an Owl assassin with a tank. WAR was very distrusting of being lead by a mysterious man, so they eventually stopped listening after they stopped a school shooting Alfred ordered not to. Eventually Duke reveals he figured out Alfred’s identity, linking back to Duke’s puzzle solving trait. Now the Robins: Dick’s first interaction with Duke is him chastises children wearing his symbol. Dikc, speaking like the truly privileged man he is, acts like WAR is childish for trying to help out. Now, is WAR irresponsible? Yes. Solid advice although ominous. It’s just extremely impersonal to their feelings and lives and motivations.

Since the first interaction Duke ever has with the other Robins, it was Damian that had a very particular dynamic. Damian hated the We Are Robins movement.

If you don’t already know, Damian’s primary characterization is his insistence that he must inherit his honour. One of primary reasons why he takes up the Robin mantle is because he believes it is his right to do so.

Another interesting dynamic was Jason’s and Tim’s reaction to WAR

Notably, Jason Todd was fully on board for WAR on the basis of it’s outside influence from Batman. Understandable considering Jason’s tense relationship from Batman, and his anti-hero status. Tim Dranke on the otherhand, doesn’t have any say to WAR’s existance, as his opinion is interrupted by mentioning Dick’s plot. Or more likely, he doesn’t have an opinion to comment on, which is why he only mentions facts of like the location of where the Robins are.

Again, Jason Todd is extremely supportive of WAR and Damian is not (inbred is a bit much 💀). But Tim Drake still insists on trying to better understand the WAR children, taking a neutral and outsider understanding of the situation. Tim does not support WAR immediately. In fact, despite Tim’s insistence to understand WAR, he never gets the chance to.

This the last and only time Tim ever even tries talking with WAR, during a sneak in. Apparently he couldn’t have done this during his time training the Robins, but doing it while working is fine. His terrible conversation starter gets interrupted, and that is the last and only time Drake ever tries connecting with WAR. Apparently monitoring their private lives was not enough information, all he knows is somebody can play the piano. So much for trying. (Tom King wrote this part tho, so I feel he was supposed to be the one to make it happen, which didn’t happen, so Tom did a horrible job). (I’m ignoring the scene where Tim downplays Izzy because Izzy was OOC).

Dami beat up the WAR members and agitated them into battle. Another show of Dami’s honor culture, but what was so fascinating was how Duke and the WARs fought back to prove themselves although not wishing to fight.

Skipping to when Dami and Duke get captured, they funnily enough get put into the same cage as Duke insults Dami in his mind while having a reasonable outer dialogue which i found fun.

Despite the weird court of owl part, Duke’s dialogue was a great way to finish off the tension between the official Robins and the WARs. Duke realizes how personal Robin is to Dami, how the symbol is not just about justice, but the ties to Batman it comes with. Y’know what Duke does? He cuts it off. He refuses to sacrifice himself to become a symbol.

They end off on good terms after that. With Dami reclaiming the title of Robin (and WAR’s disbandment), the conflict is gone. But I think it’s worth noting just how much Dami’s influence on Duke’s view of Robin might’ve been. Being Robin kinda sucks. So out of pity, Duke realizes Dami needs some loving support.

(Not a batfam kid but she was in here and I’m working by chronological order). Kate and Duke have a small interaction but they definitely met. Plus I think Duke was retconned to have known Luke through his dad and I think that’s a great addition.

Skips ahead where Jayson seems to train with Duke, their sass competitions tho 💀 Also, Jayson considers Duke as one of his brothers 😆

Classic Alfred advice talks

(You’ll notice that the writers decided to skip showing Duke’s development, this is why we need fanfiction thanks). Basically, Duke started hanging out with Cass for seemingly no reason, but they are a really fun dynamic. Plus Duke got to know Babs first through Cass. (I'm ignoring when Riko met Babs as batgirl and when Babs as batgirl defended WAR cheerfully).

Cass and Duke also train together (i really like the illustrator here aaaaaaaaa Duke and Cass are so cute here 🥺).

This storyline was bad but it really pushed Cass and Duke together as Cass was there when Duke got his new shadow powers and Duke was there when Shiva was being a jerk to Cass for some reason?? They coordinated attacks as a duo so that was nice. Plus, Duke thinks of Cass as his sis. (Is this specifically catered to me? Yeah, yeah…. I’m tots falling for the putting the minorities together thingy like a sucker, but themmmmmmmm!!! 🥹)

Duke and Kate actually teamed up in action once (offhandedly 😔) so that’s neat.

(Hold on I reached my picture limit but there’s a part 2)

#Duke thomas #we are robin #batfam #dick grayson #Jason todd #tim drake #damian wayne #barbara gordon #cassandra cain #cassandra wayne #kate kane #luke fox #alfred pennyworth #long post #canon #comic panels

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worrywrite · 3 months

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Imagine an origin swapped Gideon the Ninth.

Harrow the Sixth, Palamedes the Ninth.

The reverend father and mother fail in their efforts to conceive a necromancer. Their child is horribly normal. So, in secret, they conspire with the Sixth house (the house least concerned with controlling them) to exchange children. Palamedes is orphaned from birth, and consequently a promising necromancer but has no one willing to divert their studies to care for him. Harrow, an interesting case of failed necromantic induction, is an interesting study case.

Harrow is raised in the sixth house as a study subject. She is fascinated with necromancy and studies I extensively. She remains an incredible source of thalergy due to the nature of her parents meddling at birth and is paired with a Camilla, an incredibly clever and practical but barely potent necromancer, to be cavalier of the sixth. Harrow retains her flair for the dramatic and is frequently mesmerized by thoughts of what her life might have been like in the ninth house. She dreams about it constantly and often romanticizes what it would be like to be raised as a ninth house cultist. She is fascinated by bone magic and the tomb. She laments her origins and the sacrifice that failed to make her a necromancer, but her adopted parents/tutors instilled in her a belief that these acts were beyond her control and that the fault lay with her birth parents--she must do her best to carry on the legacy of the ninth house and protect the sacrifice they made to the best of her ability while still keeping the interests of the sixth in mind.

Palamedes is not told of his origins. He believes that he is the product of 200 dead children, how "parents" tell him as much and it is sort of true. He cost 201 children and a great deal of shame to acquire. He represents a broken line of tomb guardians. He will not inherit the responsibility of keeping the tomb shut. But only a select few know this. His parents conduct experiments on him, using their limited knowledge of flesh magic to alter his marrow to produce blood which matches a combination of their own genetics. It is their best efforts to attempt to undo their shame, to try and make him part of their bloodline. And it sort of works. Palamedes becomes an even more potent necromancer as a result and remains incredibly dedicated to the ninth house and the locked tomb. Bug he still feels misplaced. He feels like he doesn't belong, despite his desperate attempts to please his parents. His parents still shun him, despite their best efforts to make him one of them they cannot stand the thought of him inheriting their roles. So Pal does what he does best and throws himself into study. He does his best to become the absolute best ninth house bone magician. He studies the precepts of the cult, memorizes scripture and participates in services with a zealous fervor. Eventually he commits himself to studying the tomb itself and gradually unravelling all but one of its wards in an effort to better protect it. The only ones that show him pity are Ortus and Gideon. Ortus is delighted to spend time with anyone that would listen to his poetry. Gideon has a kindred spirit in Pal, as they both know deep down that neither of them belong. However, Gideon despises Palamedes for much the same reason she despises Harrow in the original story. Palamedes, likewise, is disturbed by Gideon. Their conflicting roles in the ninth house lead to the opening of the tomb in much the same fashion as the original. However, when the reverend father and mother take it upon themselves to commit suicide for Palamedes' sacrilege, he accepts his fault and is ready to join them. His is rescued at the last second by Ortus, who had come looking for his father and find Palamedes struggling in his noose, not quite heavy enough to die from the act. This changes their relationship for the worse.

When the call from Canaan house comes Harrow is sent along with Camilla. Camilla is trained to take the position of a lyctor and has studied necromancy and swordsmanship her whole life to meet that end; Harrow is sent as a decoy necromancer and siphoning battery for Camilla due to her incredible thalergic signature. The two don't get along particularly well despite being raised as adopted sisters, as Camilla is jealous of Harrow for reasons she can't quite bring herself to admit (she knows Harrow genuinely makes a better necromancer than her).

Meanwhile Palamedes, reverend Son of the ninth house has taken a vow of silence. He sees this as his last chance to make the ninth house proud of him. He brings Ortus as his cavalier. However, Gideon (who has consistently failed to escape from Palamedes or get the last word over him, despite his verbal silence) knows her best chance of escape is on the shuttle to Canaan house. This is the break both Gideon and Palamedes are looking for. And when Ortus dies inexplicably aboard the shuttle, Palamedes doesn't skip a beat when he realizes Gideon is there too and makes the best of the situation by dubbing her cavalier primary of the ninth on the spot.

Once at Canaan house, things go wrong quickly. Palamedes is bewitched by Dulcinea, Gideon is stalked by Harrow, Harrow is immediately (but quietly) clocked as a fake by Corona, Camilla grapples with her purpose, and all hell breaks loose when the signatures of three recently deceased bodies are discovered in a broken down furnace in the ruins.

The emperor undying asked for the best of the best from the nine houses to become his penitent saints and disciples, but it might just be that everyone that arrives under his invitation is a fraud.

--- ---

The idea came to me because of how fundamentally similar Harrow and Pal are as characters. In GtN they have a lot in parallel and act as foils, either could have been in the others shoes if they'd been raised the same. However, the circumstances that would have caused them to swap places does make the story significantly different. A lot of this is my own mental gymnastics too, just trying to figure out what would cause Harrow to end up being raised Sixth and Palamedes to be raised Ninth.

But I'd read it.

#the locked tomb #gideon the ninth #harrowhark nonagesimus #palamedes sextus #Harrowhark Sextus #Palamedes Nonius #ninth house swap

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bonefall · 1 year

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What is Lion/Jay/Holly's relationship with Bramble like pre-reveal (it wont let me put a question mark pretend theres one here) I can't imagine them having a good relationship even before he stops being their father.

Similar to canon, BB!Brambleclaw wasn't a great father. I like him a lot as a character, his ego fascinates me.

Jayfeather

Of all his siblings, I think Jay was the 'wisest' in regards to Bramble. He kinda saw his reaction coming, or, was the least surprised by it. Probably because Bramble was never as prideful about him as he was about his two young prodigies.

All Jay's life, people are coming up with their ideas of him and refusing to let him change their minds. Brambleclaw was no different. Jaykit becomes Jaypaw, training under grunckle Longtail to become Jayfang, and then eventually earning an Honor Title as Jayfeather. At no point in this process did Brambleclaw stick up for him, in fact, Longtail filled that role more than Bramble did.

Longtail was the one who fought for him, challenged him when he was repeating the Clan's tune, taught him that his limits are drawn by HIS body, not where everyone else says they are. Brambleclaw...

He wasn't distant but he wasn't present in that process, either. He rarely talks about Jay as an individual-- he's spoken about in terms of the other two 'looking out' for him. He let him wander in the safe beech patch just above the camp with Poppykit when he was old enough, but Squilf was equally involved in that decision.

Forgotten middle child energy. Brambleclaw could be approached but rarely went out of his way for Jay. He could be a source of comfort but they weren't close. It didn't make the public disowning hurt any less, though.

Lionblaze

He was so proud to be Brambleclaw's son. Lionblaze adored both of his parents, all he ever wanted to do was to make them happy. There was a time where he felt like the strength in his claws was because of his blood in his veins.

Then he was given to Ashfur as an apprentice.

He was BRUTAL. Lionpaw knew he had a lot of potential to live up to, but he didn't know that training would be this hard and painful. He didn't know that what was happening to him wasn't normal... and Brambleclaw was the only one who had been told about it.

He did nothing. Ashfur had "explained everything" to him, buttered him up about how Strong his son was, how Proud he should be, how much like him Lionpaw was turning out. When he heard the same story again from the perspective of Lionpaw and Hollypaw, he ended up shrugging it off.

Lionpaw walked away thinking that you're supposed to suffer for strength. Not even that he "deserved" to suffer; no, he thinks that you don't have gain without pain. This is an expected part of life, and one day, he will be the very strongest in ThunderClan.

Going to the Tribe later taught him something else; that the point of strength is using it to protect others. So if you must suffer to be strong, and being strong means giving that to other people... what's left for you?

When Brambleclaw disowned them, Lionblaze IMMEDIATELY realized that this is why Squirrelflight lied. To protect him. he's obsessed with this, protecting his Clan. His love and respect for Brambleclaw soured with pain. If he has any left for Brambleclaw, it's hidden deep down.

He HAS no father. He has a mother. He looks Brambleclaw in the eyes and spits, "That's all I've ever had."

Hollyleaf

She was always the most promising of the Three. Apprentice of the deputy Brackenfur, Firestar's honored grandchild, daughter of two members of the Sundrown Patrol. Holly was forging alliances in other Clans as soon as she'd changed her career path.

She was very close to Brambleclaw. He spoke very highly of Holly and Lion, always seemed to 'have their backs,' at least in Holly's eyes. He used to tell her that she had to be an example for her brothers, and help him keep them in line.

And that extended to Lionpaw's Abuse. She learned it is necessary to hurt the ones you love to protect them in the future. She was taught that she is the most mature of her siblings and is therefore responsible for them.

He turned on her just like he turned on her brothers, but she was quick to accept this, turning her hatred on Leafpool and Squirrelflight. No more lies, no more Codebreakers.

After her 100-year-long timeout, she was shocked to come back to Bramblestar being the only one being petty. At first she was even a bit relieved, believing that at LEAST he was still holding her accountable for her horrible deeds in Cruel Season. That would have been cathartic-- it's nothing compared to what she did to the Kinships of the Lake, but it's some consequences from a living cat. Any consequences.

But... it's not about anything she did wrong. She stepped out of the tunnels to living, weeping family who missed her as much as she missed them. Their actions are based on love and yearning. Bramble's are just based on being fucking mad at his ex-wife.

Everyone thought she was dead and he can't take a break from giving Squirrelflight the Cold Shoulder long enough to welcome his daughter back like a father would. His greeting is the same as any other leader welcoming a warrior back after they've been gone for a while.

But, hey, if she's disappointed at him it's a nice break from being disappointed at herself. It's nice to care about these sorts of things again, and besides, she has crunchy leaves to step on with her CORPOREAL BODY. It's so nice to have MASS again

#Better bones au #BB!Po3 #BB!oots #Fallenleaf #BB!Lionblaze #BB!Jayfeather

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shini--chan · 11 months

Text

Yandere Charater Sheet II

I've recently been binge reading Game of Thrones fanfics and I think it shows a bit in the wording I chose here. Aside from that, this is a post relating to the ask requesting character sheets for America, China and Japan.

1p China - Yao Wang

Trigger warning: Mentions of brain washing, grooming, financal abuse, social isolation, kidnapping, coercion and verbal/emotional abuse

Blend in - Are the red flags obvious? Are they even aware that their behaviour is wrong? Do they even care?

Yao is old and has a lot of experience in how humans act and react, and hid the darker parts of themselves. Thus, it is significantly more difficult to pick out the red flags. To top it off, he tends to dazzle you with his more repleasent and virtuous qualities. He is a complex person and his history has ensured that it couldn’t have come any other way. Though, he does slip up, both in his unhealthy tendencies and in the fact that he is more than human. So, this list will discuss hints of both:

He can be extremely patronising. As mentioned before, he is old and experienced and therefore considers himself to be infinitely wise. Having seen and done and knowing much more than you, he sometimes can’t help but see you as a child and subsequently treat you like one. You might complain about it, and he will always find smooth words to soothe your wounds, that that wouldn’t change that he regards you as more foolish, less wise and less adaptable them him.

He is restrictive of the people you talk to and the media you consume. Yao is of the opinion that art imitates life just as much as life imitates art. As such, he doesn’t want to have you weakened, or poisoned by other people dripping falsehoods in your ears. Like some others, he has many enemies out in the world. And this is a changed world, where you don’t go after your enemies with a bow or a sword, where even those that lie beyond the sea are dangerous to you, so he will be all the more cautious. He doesn’t want you to become a weapon wielded against him. That being said, he will be honest about his intentions and oh so patronising.

He expects excellence from you, and is harsh when you make mistakes. At times, it will feel more like Yao is your parent or teacher, rather than your “romantic partner”. Perhaps that is the case, and the nature of your relationship, perhaps it isn’t. Eitherway, he expects you to strive for greatness, to excel at what you do, to be monumental. And he doesn’t see the point in coddling you when you make mistakes. Of course, it has to be said that he isn’t a slave driver and believes in a balanced and harmonious life. Though, according to him, if you have to rest, rest on the fruits of your success. If it is the case that he locks you away from the world, or hides you out in the countryside, then the area he expects you to excel in is that of a loving spouse and a proper partner. So, behave and don’t fight him too much.

He won’t exactly be loyal to you. China fully buys into the idea that a relationship should be a healthy balance of give and take. In the context of your relationship, that only means that he gives loyalty and security and everything else if you play your part. Else, he is wont to let his mind and heart wander. At the end of the day, he will always return to the home and the hearth you share together, he is not above seeking comfort in the arms of another woman, or man.

He can be very distrusting and strict at times, unyieldingly so at times. With everything that he has seen, he is one that believes that actions speak louder than words. So if you break his rules, or don’t abide by your promises, then he will hold that against you and don’t buy into whatever excuses or justifications that you present. There will be exceptions, but you will have to present very good arguments. Else, it is side eyes and cold shoulders until he decides to let you back in his good graces. He doesn’t appreciate being made a fool of, so don’t even try to repeat offences - you won’t like the consequences.

Compatriot - Who aids them? Who condemns them? Are there ways you can convince their friends/colleges/underlings to help you?

When it comes to China, there is a complex web of people that lie strewn out across the spectrum, with only a few people on any of the two extremes: i.e. he doesn’t have any mortal enemies but he doesn’t have a lot of unconditionally loyal friends either. He wouldn’t have it any other way either. This just means you’ll have to never be careful when it comes to sifting through the people that could help and those that could harm you. You could very easily tie yourself to knots trying to win over the people that Yao converses with.

There are those that are on one end of the spectrum, that unquestioningly give their life to him. These are also most likely the ones that helped Yao wrap you around his little finger - that spoke highly of him when you asked, that notified him about your whereabouts and your deals, that helped you settle in, when he took you for himself. At best, you could trick these people into helping you. Or you have to nurture them so that they end up being more loyal to you, than to Yao.

There are those who deal with China because it is in their best interest, yet may help you when they feel like it, or if they want leverage. On the flip side, he also has enemies that hate him, but would be willing to return you to him, or rat on you. It could be to cause trouble in paradise, or because they are trying to curry favour with Yao. Maybe they need something from him, or perhaps they just don’t want to give him a reason to unleash hell on them. With both of these types, you’ll have to present your case well, and in a way where they either have nothing to lose, a lot to gain, or both from aiding you.

And then there are his mortal enemies. Some may be willing to help you, but even fewer of their number will be willing to help you for free. A handful might be appeased by seeing Yao suffer due to your absence, but most would want something more, and that more can constitute various things. It could be information or material goods that you have to give, it could be that they want you to move against him. However, some may decide that you are vile and guilty by proxy and decide to harm you because Yao adores you. A few might even go so far as to torture and even kill you when you come to them for help, just so that they can spite Yao.

Dominion - What actions are especially pleasing to them?

A harmonious life - coming Yao to a well done meal, a relaxing evening and a pliant bed partner. And of course more: Somebody who he can confide in and trust. Somebody who, well not as wise and knowledgeable as him, can still understand him, be it on personal dealings and emotions to the intricacies of the world. He would be even more delighted if you can surprise him with something he doesn’t know yet, maybe even teach him a craft unfamiliar but that you shine in.

Make him proud, champion in something. That will probably be what gets him to notice you in the first place. Refuse to lead an ordinary life, but don’t burn yourself out. What will stun him and transfix him the most, will be if you manage the herculean task of balancing a meaningful life with a fulfilling one. If you need help, he will be happy to help; if you are almost there or have the potential, he will be happy to shine a light on the right path and guide you. But he doesn’t want to stand there at the end, with you shattered and only him to pick up the pieces.

Flight - What do you have to do in order to escape them?

This can be a task that is both easier and harder than you think. There is the matter that while he is very attached to you, to an unhealthy degree even, you being his doesn’t require you to be by his side all the time. So if you escape he might let you be for a few months or even years, as long as you remain in the country and don’t actively work against him. He might let you live on your own in a fashion, if he knows that he shaped you into the person you are, and thus, that you never will truly be free of him, no matter if he is physically there or not. Are you not his, if you follow his teachings, if you use his framework for understanding the work, if the very idea of resistance you hold is the one he taught you? In ways, if you are his creation, then he sees you as his, and then you can very truly be free of him. Though more to that latter; now we discuss how you physically get away from him.

It is best to do so while you are travelling. If you both are on a train, excuse yourself for a moment, take a handbag with you at most, and go to the other end and get off at the next stop. Of course, he will likely catch on to what you did soon enough, but you’ll have a head start, and therefore have more of a chance to shake him off. You’ll have even a better chance to do this while in a foreign country or the likes. In the same vein - get on the “wrong” plan by mistake or organise it so that you take different rides and then slip away. If he catches you during this initial stage, then you can always feign ignorance and say you made a mistake.

Though going further, you’ll have to do more drastic things - throw your phone and laptop away, cut your hair and dye it maybe, and change the way you walk and dress. Use a different soap or perfume to change your scent. Hang out in those places where he will accept you the least, because he won’t associate you with them, or will not think you would dare to hide in plain sight. If you are very good, then you can hide right under his nose.

Further, no matter how much he will give you the impression (or try) that he is all-powerful and all-knowing, he really isn’t. There are things that he doesn’t know of, or how to do, and boundaries that he can’t overstep. There are people that can shelter you from him, people that he can’t move against without it costing him dearly. While he might charm them into handing you over, or nick you from under their noses, it will at least give you some Yao-free time.

Hospitality - What is your life like with them? How much does it deviate from your former life?

Like an ignorant brat. Like a dainty and lovable wife. That is, if you don’t behave like a racoon that is about to scratch his eyes out - in that case, he will be happy to dole out corporal punishments. It would be the old fashioned punishments that a teacher would sentence you to - like kneeling on uncooked grains or standing with a book over your end. A favourite of his in modern times would be sport exercises or he might even take you to a mountain side or a sea cove and play a game of catch and release, if he decides you are being particularly insolent. Though, above all, he wants punishments to be a learning experience. Though more on that another time.

The determining factor here is if you are another personification, a spirit or just a mortal. If you are a mortal, then you can accept a stern but considerate spouse that has a lot of secrets that he won’t share with you and also find yourself living a more eventful life than you else would have. He’ll hold you to a high standard that he’ll expect you to live up to, and in turn offer you a luxurious life. If you would be in the know, and still be mortal, then he would confide you in more. But it would draw up a barrier between you and the rest of the world; in ways, you would stand in the twilight, not here nor fully there. If he would take an especially strong liking to you, then he might search or even create some arcane ritual that would extend your life by binding it to his.

If you are a fellow personification, then it could just as well make everything more complicated. You will have your own people that will be yours to take care of, and stand in the way of you being fully his. Likewise, without them and the life and identity they breathe into you, you wouldn’t exist. Perhaps he would cherish you for who you are and allow you sovereignty as long as you remain faithful to him as an individual (but it would be very difficult to maintain such a dynamic, especially if your peoples and governments are close to each other for whatever reason). Or he could seek to impress himself and his ways upon you, and subjugate and lord over.. Or do worse.

He wants to use his time with you to shape you, to the point where you will always be his. Yao wants to change your world view, mould your habits, burn out your sins and eradicate your old life to the point where you can never return to what once was. You'll be his creation. As such, Yao will orchestrate a lot of moral lessons and little mind games. Of course, he knows that people that apt at listening if they want, but he also has come to understand that there is a difference between knowing and learning.

Order - What are the rules you have to adhere to?

There are a few and it is here that there are some parallels with Japan:

Don’t embarrass me in public with wretched behaviour. If something that I do disturbs you, then tell it to me in whispers or behind closed doors. A reputation goes a bit further than life in and on itself, so he’ll be very irate should you try to besmirch it. No rewards you think that would result from trying to humiliate him would be worth the punishment that would follow. That being said, he is a good deal more lax than his Japanese counterpart on this matter. There are honest mistakes and being too formal and controlled would just make it look like he has a stick up his arse and he doesn’t want that either. There is the matter of striking a good balance between playfulness and strictness. Present an united front in public, with an organic personality and easy smiles, and he will be happy.

Have some self-respect and take care of yourself on your own. I’m not your father so don’t make me act like it. Despite how patronising he can be, he doesn’t want to feel like a glorified babysitter. He wants a well functioning adult as a partner and won’t tolerate you acting like a child. If you aren’t … fully developed in some aspects then he’ll show understanding and help you grow. But if you refuse to grow up, then he is not above thoroughly shaming and humiliating you. If you fail to take responsibility over your own life, then he’ll use it as a justification to become more controlling and “relieve” you of certain duties, such as control over your own finances.

Don’t make me unnecessarily repeat myself. There is the repetition that leads to learning and that belongs to the Confusian teaching principals. Then there is the repeating of requests and questions that happen when dealing with an insolent brat or a foolish subordinate. Yao doesn’t want you to behave like either. When he asks you something, he doesn’t want to ask you a second time and he considers you intelligent enough to only have to be told to do something once. You wouldn’t want to disappoint him, do you?

Do not keep secrets from me and if you must tell me something urgently, then don’t hesitate to be direct. You are to spouses, partners that are two halves of the same soul, so why should you keep secrets from him. Over the centuries, he has suffered enough court intrigue and politicking to not want any of it in his home, despite how thrilling it can be. Yao wants somebody at his side that he can trust and respect and he can not respect a person who hesitates and stumbles over their words when it is time to be honest and open. Poor communication kills after all.

Rehabilitation - How much will they change you? Will they break you? How much therapy would you need in the event that you get rid of them?

No matter how you would twist it, it would either take years or it won’t be possible at all. As said before, Yao would strive to turn you into a masterpiece of his own design; why would he allow the possibility for all his hard work to be undone.

Some things would be rooted so deep in your personality that you wouldn’t be able to discover them in your depths and even then, where could you possibly start to unwind this Gordian knot? You would need a fundamentally life-changing event, a religious experience or something similarly earth-shattering to act as the sword that would cut through the ropes. And the severity of the change would depend on your behaviour while at his tender mercies. In that fashion, he is very much like quicksand - the more you struggle, the more likely you are to be engulfed.

If you would have proved extremely troublesome, he would resort to brain washing, and there is probably no going back from that, seeing how strongly you would resist treatment. Perhaps if you could be introduced to a cult deprogrammer, then you would have a bit of a chance.

Zeal - Do they fall fast or slow? What is their reaction to their own feelings?

Yao wouldn’t fall in love at first sight. Maybe he would hear about you beforehand and become intrigued. If given the chance, he would appproach you then, engage in small chitchat and the such. If you aren’t that familiar with Chinese culture, his questions could come off as invasive. Should he note your discomfort, he would offer some soothing words and express interst in you as a person. His feelings would develop slowly, and in the pace he would get to know you closer. And he would be calm about his emotions, if a tad surprised. He would wait before earnestly acting on them, because he wouldn’t want to invest to much time and passion into a mere fling.

Once he is sure that you are the one, he’ll pull some strings to accerlate the development of your relationship. Some of his actions wouldn’t be completely legal, mind you.

Art is not mine!

#yandere hetalia #x reader #yandere x reader #yandere china #yandere character sheet

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