#can we just let things be more complicated than dress=woman?

[mootmuse]

time to vent: can we enjoy male characters who canonically explore dressing fem without deciding as a fandom that they're not men anymore, please? can we enjoy that kind of exploration happening without immediately deciding pretty clothes decide who a character is? or at least, please tag your posts calling them women with something. as a trans guy who even in an ideal world probably wouldn't ever pass, who'd love to be able to wear skirts without being called a woman for it, that shit hurts.

[lovrsm]

ɢᴏʀɢᴇᴏᴜꜱ

sum: in which your brother invites you to a party, and oh god, you're so glad you accepted.

word count: 2.4k

pairing: charles leclerc x singer!reader

warnings: drinking, curse words & insinuation of cheating.

Spotify - Apple Music

ᴍᴀɪɴ ᴍᴀꜱᴛᴇʀʟɪꜱᴛ

ᴘᴀʀᴛ ɪ - ᴘᴀʀᴛ ɪɪ - ᴍᴇᴅɪᴀ ᴀᴜ

"you should take it as a compliment that I got drunk and made fun of the way you talk"

Monaco was such a lovely place, when my brother had told me about it I thought he was exaggerating. I mean, it wouldn't be that weird if he had, he's always excited about everything, he's the kind of guy who makes you see as if the world is made of bright rainbow colors, and I believe him.

I arrived from the airport about 2 hours ago, I was on my way to the hotel where Lando was staying, he told me he got another room for me. How could I say no?

He called me yesterday at about 3pm

"No, I'm telling you, IT WILL BE THE PARTY OF THE YEAR!" he screamed over the phone, making me laugh.

"Lando, I just came from signing with my sponsors, they expect me to write more songs in a 4 months period, you know how complicated that's going to be?" I exhaled, taking off my heels, tossing them across the room as I lay down on the couch. I was exhausted.

"C'mon, you'll have plenty of things to write songs about, look, I can already hear it!" he started to hum a catchy tone, making the corners of my mouth go up. "Lando... Jake won't be able to be there, god, I don't even know if he'll want me to be there, you know?"

I could already see him in the doorway telling me where am I.

Sure, he was on canada filming, but what if he finds out?

"I'm not even letting you say no, I'm already booking tickets, get all you need, you can even shop here if you want, I just want my sister with me tomorrow night with me"

"You better go get me at the airport Lando Norris."

"I wont let you down peanut" He chuckled and hung up on me.

Well he kinda let me down, he couldn't come get me due to some last minute meeting he had. I don't really mind, I know having a busy life is exhausting.

I thanked the taxi driver giving his a generous tip, my bodyguard helped me get out my suitcases, I had a hoodie and black sunglasses, he had a casual outfit so we wouldn't stand out.

For being a top artist in the whole world, I did not like having that much security. But it was an obligation, not an option, I had to stick to what my manager and team asks me to do.

_

After a busy day of shopping and walking around the streets, I could barely feel my feet. I had gotten a beautiful short red dress. Perfect fit for the occasion. It was just 7p.m. and Lando had texted me he was on his way to my dorm.

The door opened to reveal my very festive brother in the other side "You're here!" "I'm here!" I screamed back jumping into his arms.

We catched up, he was telling me about how he checked the track, for the next season, since we were in December. Although I never really understood racing, when we were kids our parents would take us out to the karts, and I'd always crash while he was beating all of us who tried to play.

He focused on sports and I focused on music, since I was 12 years old I learned to play the guitar. My mom used to tell me that I was a genius at writing songs, I guess many people think the same.

Time passed by too fast, with him I felt like an hour were just 5 minutes.

After hating each other all our childhood, we became closer than ever after my career and his took off. I think it was because we were twins, we hated it when people said we acted the same, because physically we are not alike at all. I am so much prettier, obviously.

it was already 8 o'clock "I'm leaving, I should get ready, do you wanna come with me?"

"I'd stopped talking to you if you let me get there alone, I know none of these guys Lando."

"I'm sure you'll know somebody miss famous." He bumped my shoulder and left my room, entering to his which was next door.

I took my time getting ready. God, I love being a woman. I took a bath, fixed my hair, put on my make-up and finally there was the dress, hanging on the bathroom door. I think it is one of the most beautiful dresses I have ever seen in my life.

How did I manage to put on the mini dress correctly by myself? I don't even know, but I couldn't stop looking at myself in the mirror. God if only someone could look at me.

Oh wait! There is someone, I grabbed my phone to click his name, my phone started to ring. I waited patiently, but he did not answer. So I called him once more, this time he did answer.

I heard loud music and singing in the back. "What do you need?" he asked, I could hear the irritation in his voice. "I wanted to hear from you, we haven't talked-"

"We talked last Monday, wasn't that enough? I'm busy." He interrupted me.

"Where are you?" I asked intrigued this time.

"Uhm... I'm in the bar with some friends"

"Oh and that's just more important than your girlfriend?" I raised my voice at him, I was now sitting the edge on the bed.

"Look, I don't want to fight, just call me later." He said, basically hanging the phone. "Jake..." I said before he could do so.

"What?" He sounded desperate. "Take care." I said.

"Ok" He hung. I felt disgusted, why? not idea, I just felt dirty, as if I was forcing him to talk to me. I took some deep breathes so I could calm my nerves down.

I don't even want to go out anymore.

I tried hard not to cry, I wasn't going to ruin my makeup over some small argument, I'm sure tomorrow we'll be alright, we always end up alright.

It felt as an eternity till I heard a knock on my door, I quickly grabbed my bag, looked in the mirror once more to fix my dark wavy hair, and rushed to the door. I opened it, in the side was Lando, his back on the wall while he was looking at his phone.

He turned it off and looked at me, I smiled "Ready to go Peanut?"

"Lets go"

_

We finally got to the club, electronic music was blasting off, people were already drunk, and boy they didn't even tried to hide it.

We had to basically run to the VIP area, I didn't said anything to my bodyguard about this, besides, he can use a break.

Lando was immediately greeted by everyone who was in the room. "LANDO!" A man screamed to him "Ayee, we're here!" He said hugging the man, and patting him in the back. "you're so late, you were the only ones missing!"

"we're here Pierre, I'd like to present to you all my sister!" He hugged me by the side and I waved with a smile on my face. It seemed that most of them recognized me, because some of them just stood there in shock "Hey everyone, ready to get wasted?" I laughed, that made them less tense and cheered, lifting their cups.

Lando gave a me a sweet kiss in my head, "see, you'll be fine, have some fun peanut!" I let go and we both went our own way.

I started to talk to a girl, her name is Kika, I learnt she was the girlfriend of a guy named Pierre Gasly. I've heard about him but no one ever told me how fun his girlfriend was!

"Girl, you should try this margarita, the most wholesome thing you'll have in your life!"

She was not kidding with that. In a few minutes, I had asked for... about 5 of them, or maybe just 13.

I had talked to everyone in the room by 10 pm, they were all so fun, and the energy was of another planet.

"Yeah, and then Max would make that grumpy face. I swear he looks like and old man!"

"very mature Lando, so mature." I bursted out laughing. "LECLERC HAS ARRIVED!" I heard someone scream in the entrance, and in seconds half of the group was there greeting the guy.

I decided I was going to take something else than a margarita. I walked up to the bartender, who definitely did not understood me. I don't know if I was speaking too softly or if I was just way too drunk to talk, but I decided to leave, I turned around and bumped into someone.

I was about to loose my balance till his arms were wrapped around my waist, I was able to stand straight. "are you alright?" he asked.

I looked into his eyes, green eyes "what?"was all I could manage. "Are you alright?" He asked again, I now noticed a thick accent, I bursted out laughing for that.

He looked so confused, he let go and chuckled with me. For a second it was as if the whole club was quiet. I looked again at him, and I immediately looked down at the floor. He grabbed my hand, the lights went out for a second and my world spun. My legs were about to give up.

His touch was... it was, god I can't even say it.

"I'm Charles, what's your name?"

I bit my lip, what went out of my mouth was definitely not what I wanted to say. "Do you always talk like that?" I asked a bit to seriously, I chuckled so that I wasn't that rude.

"Yeah, my first language isn't english."

"Huh." I said, I felt as if he had a goddamn magnetic field and it was pulling me towards him, I couldn't stand it.

I ran off to the other side of the room, leaving him standing alone next to the bar.

_

All night.

All night I couldn't stop thinking about him, his hand touching my hand in the darkened room...

and I made fun of the way he talked.

I'm never drinking again.

Yet there I was, in the bar once more, asking for whiskey. Mature, so mature.

I kept bouncing back and forth between the people there, once I saw Charles walking to my way, I would ran to the other side of the room.

I have a boyfriend for gods sake! I can't be thinking these unhealthy things about him.

But, I mean, can you blame me?

Look at him.

His first two buttons were unbottened which made him look so attractive. And you should see his dimples, he's so gorgeous it actually fucking hurts!

"So you're not going to talk to me?" I heard a voice behind my ear. His chest touching my back. I didn't move, but I did answer.

"Who said I wasn't going to?" I asked playfully, with a grin on my face, knowing he couldn’t see me.

He hummed in my ear, before he turned me to look him in the eye, he grabbed my neck, but he didn't kiss me. Instead, he brought his lips back to my ear.

"Then why do you keep running, huh?" His hot breath sent a shiver down my spine. I was dumbfolded by his actions, he took a step back to look at me.

I looked into his eyes, I was absolutely taking him in. I looked at his dimples because of the grin he had in his face. His eyebrows, his slightly sweaty hair, with pieces of it falling into his face.

I couldn't help myself, I noticed how he looked into my eyes, and then to my mouth.

What if..?

I asked to myself, I closed my eyes and got closer to him, waiting for a kiss. But he grabbed me by my hips pulling me back.

"You're far too drunk, ma chou" I heard and opened my eyes, he gave me a sympathetic smile. I felt dumb for a second, but after seeing his face... I think I might be falling.

"Why don't we leave, would you like that?" I hugged him, my head in his neck. I nodded as fast as I could. He grabbed me and in a second, we were in his car.

For sure the alcohol got to my head that night.

_

Taglist

[amongemeraldclouds]

better than revenge | chapter eight: silver lining

Lorenzo Berkshire x Reader

Series trope: Fake dating 

Chapter eight summary: Going to a ball with Enzo, you play a game to keep things interesting. 1k words.

Warning: Fluff, no use of y/n, suggestive.

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“My lady,” Enzo smiles at me, arm outstretched to take my hand, the other poised behind him.

I giggle and take his hand. “Why, thank you my lord.”

We walk up the stairs into the ornate ballroom, glistening in white and gold. The place is flush with velvet, silk, and other fineries adorning the room and guests with their bright smiles and heads held high. 

“It’s been years since I’ve been to one of these,” I remark, taking in the grandeur.

“I promise it will be a fun evening,” Enzo reassures me. “Why has it been so long?”

“My mother loved these events and used to take me with her all the time,” I smile at the memory. “When she passed away, her memory haunted me whenever I tried to go. It wasn’t the same anymore. She was radiant, Enzo. An unforgettable woman,” I gush.

“She must be,” he agrees, “to have such a wonderful daughter take after her.”

I lean into him, “oh come now, no one will hear our conversation. No need to say that for The Book.”

“Okay,” he says, “but I mean it.”

I grab a champagne flute to try to hide my blush.

After greeting everyone we knew, we settle into a corner of the ballroom. “So how exactly are we going to make it fun?” I ask.

“Let’s play a game of guess the conversation. Let’s pick people chatting together and try and guess what they’re saying based on how their lips move.”

The champagne fizzing on my tongue makes me bold. “What if we take it to the next level? Would you be able to guess what I say if I move my lips against yours?”

Enzo meets my eyes and visibly blushes. I grin at him, “maybe that’s should be our game,” I say, moving my lips to his ear. “Who can make each other blush the most?”

Mischief glints at the corner of his eye, “oh you’re on.”

“May I have this dance?” He asks as the music starts up.

We make our way to the dance floor and join the crowd. Enzo places his hand on my waist and holds my other hand. I rest my free hand on his shoulder and we move to the music.

“I’ll go first,” Enzo says. “You look really beautiful tonight.”

“Okay, new rule. You must only say what’s true and not for the sake of the game. Deal?”

“Sure,” he agrees. “I still stand by what I said.”

“Well you’re not too bad either in that suit. You look very princely, but I bet those clothes would look better on the bedroom floor.”

He chuckles, “oh we’re going there? Well, I think if you call me a prince…instead of calling you my princess, would you rather I call you a good girl?”

“Hmm that depends, you can’t call me a good girl when I want to do bad things to you.”

Enzo closes his eyes and groans. “You know bad girls get punished, how would you like to learn your lesson?”

“Using mnemonics,” I quip. “Which, as we’ve established, is not a made up word.”

Enzo laughs at my change in subject. “Thanks for coming here with me tonight. Now everyone in high society knows I’ve claimed you as mine.”

“Oh?” I ask, raising an eyebrow.

“I did not wink, unless you’d like me to?” 

I smirk and focus on our dance. Beneath the glowing chandelier and the intoxicating buzz of champagne in my veins, it’s getting more and more difficult to rein in my restraints.

⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎

“Thank you,” I tell Enzo after he walks me to my dorm.

“I should be thanking you, this phase of The Book is a success.”

“A lot of words were said tonight,” I begin and Enzo blushes at the memory.

“We don’t have to actually do anything, words can just be words,” he says gently.

I nod and wish him good night. As he turns and takes a few steps away from me, I hesitate. “Wait, Enzo.”

He looks back at me expectantly.

“Will you help me with my dress? It’s quite complicated to untie by myself.” 

He visibly gulps and nods as I lead him to my dorm.

After closing the door, Enzo moves behind me and starts working on untying my gown. String by string, pieces of silk come undone at his touch. I feel his warm breath at the nape of my neck and welcome the sparks of electricity that bloom where his skin grazes mine. I remind myself to breathe.

In the darkness of my room, alone again with Enzo in our own world, I can no longer keep lying to myself. “Enzo,” I breathe out, surprised by how touch starved my voice sounds.

“Yes?” He replies in an equally breathless voice.

“I can’t do this anymore,” I confess. His fingers freeze at my sudden declaration as he waits for me to go on.

I turn around and meet his eyes, “when this all started a few months ago, I was angry and looking to get revenge on Mattheo. I never expected -” I falter and gather myself.

“I never expected to get to know this amazing guy who’s funny, kind and is the best fake boyfriend. I never expected I could feel happy again after everything that happened. Enzo?”

“Hmm?” He asks encouragingly.

“You’re my silver lining.”

Enzo’s face lights up at my confession, “I thought I was the only one who felt something.”

I shake my head, “how could I not? I feel at home with you.”

He smiles, “falling for me, dear?”

I laugh, leaning into him, “actually yes, I am Enzo.”

He pulls me in for a hug. “I caught you, darling,” he says and we both giggle at how cheesy we sound.

When we pull apart, I look into his eyes and admit, “Enzo, I want this to be real.”

“I think it’s been real to me for a while,” he confesses. 

I smile and kiss him. Just like that, the sweetness of the moment is ignited with heat.

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A/N: Alexa, play Dress by Taylor Swift. The next chapter will be pure smut!

Taglist: @hoeforvinniehackerrr @i-think-you-are-gr8 @thecraziestcrayon @adreamingpendulum @themarauderswife7 @midsoulz @ultramarinetovelvet @val-writes @lafrone @daisiesformylove @mildly-delulu @allebasi05 @enha-stan @skb4000 @nat1221 @s0urw00lf @helpimhopelesslyinlove

[onedeadkitty]

Mizus Gender

He/him they/them she/her pronouns for Mizu

I know the writers of the show wrote blue eye samurai with Mizu as a woman disguised as a man in a way similar ish to Mulan but uh

They accidentally made it deeper than that ??

If you removed like 2 lines of dialogue in episode 5 you could even make an argument for trans masc Mizu. Or at the least gender queer.

Being transgender is not a concept in this time period. But trust. People have always wanted to be other genders, probably for the entirety of human history. And how someone would go about being trans in a world with no true understanding of the concept, might be similar to what Mizu IS DOING RIGHT NOW.

Living as a man. PERMANENTLY. Not temporarily to achieve some near goal like Mulan and the many other stories with this concept. Mizu has lived as a man nearly their entire life and no intention to ever live as a woman in the future.

Mizu admires their freshly binded chest in the mirror as a teen.

When alone Mizu refers to himself as a man.

When alone with Ringo, (someone who knows the secret) Ringo also refers to Mizu as a man.

Mizu threatens to straight kill Ringo at the the very use of the word “girl”.

When, and ONLY when seeing 2 MEN kiss does he think of Taigen.

Not to mention madame Kajis indelicate insinuation of gay sex to Mizu, something I believe wasn’t for no reason. OR Madams iconic line “you are more man than ANY come through my door” (I’m convinced she has an idea of Mizus true sex but doesn’t care to accuse or call them out for it)

They HAD lived as a woman in the past. Only for about a year, and they did it to get married for her mothers sake. To save her from a life of prostitution. She was able to be happy, because it IS POSSIBLE to be happy while not presenting how you like. It’s a strain and some can never be happy doing so but it’s possible and people do it all the time to make their lives easier or to keep the peace with family or for many other reasons.

Episode 5 gave HUGE VIBES of going back into the closet when living with your parents or just visiting. And Mizu looked SO uncomfortable and awkward in woman’s clothing and doing “wife things” (partly cause they have never done that before) and maybe it was my own projecting but I felt so uncomfortable FOR Mizu.

These things don’t necessarily mean being a transgender man specifically. Gender is actually really complicated and has ALOT to do with what society deems it.

Mizu is a masculine person. Being what Japan wants women to be isn’t in line with what Mizu is. A violent, practical, stoic, cold, masculine, confident and capable warrior.

dressing up as a woman with the makeup ONLY to try and make her husband happy. She didn’t WANT to. “To soften her husbands heart, the bride… danced” performed femininity FOR HIM. Only for Mikio to betray her for, in his eyes, being more masculine than him, by beating him in a physical fight.

Mizu is both the ronin and the bride. Mizu will be whatever they need to in order to achieve their owed deaths. They HAVE to be a man to get their revenge but that doesn’t mean Mizu WANTS to be a woman. (To be fair who WOULD in that time but I digress) and it doesn’t mean they WANT to be a man. They WANT their revenge. Everything is secondary to that.

Mizu is so different from other characters…

I grew up in a kinda misogynistic place and my mom really didn’t let me “do boy stuff” or dress masculine in any sense until my late teens. I my self don’t know if I can even call myself Trans. But I’m masculine, I like looking like a man and dressing as one but I don’t WANT to be a man necessarily. But I don’t WANT to be a woman. I feel like we as a society put to much distinction between the two and the people who don’t fit either side get left out at times.

Mizu is such a relatable character to me, like no other characters complicated feelings about their own sex and gender have ever come close.

They are for those who don’t have a strong sense of their own gender. Especially those who are biologically female and hesitant to lean into their sex because of the societal baggage.

Once people realize that how you dress, how you act, and what you do in reality have nothing to do with your bio sex and everything with what society has forced people to do based on factors out of our control is the day we can finally stop having these conversations.

Do what you want, gender is fake.

But Mizu is forever 🫶

[murdocksdaughter]

missing you, kissing me (jacaerys velaryon x fem!velaryon!reader)

a/n: no this is not canon complainant. also im trying to feed my fellow jace girlies. and i did write this on my 9 hour flight home no joke 💀.

warnings: kissing, technically targaryen incest, aegon slander, helaena and rhaenyra are besties, the reader is a velaryon reader but physical descriptions are neutral minus mention of hair color, luke yelling at jace, happy targaryen family au, also rhaenyra is queen (whoo hoo no war)

summary: leading up their wedding y/n and jacaerys has had any alone time together

word count: 1.3k

“let me kiss you hard in the pouring rain”

She loved everything about him. From his smile to his war hardened face. Y/n was so utterly in love with Jacaerys. They were to be wed in a few weeks and time couldn’t move any slower. With Jacaerys being in line for the throne, the wedding was to be a week long event to be followed with a giant ceremony.

Y/n hadn’t gotten to spend alone time with Jacaerys. It was only either in meetings to plan the wedding or at family meal. Along with Jacaerys’ High Valyrian lessons and training with Aemond. The spare time they had together was nonexistent.

And since the betrothal sneaking out to see each other at night wasn’t an option. With the watchful eyes of the Queensguard, it was impossible to have moment to themselves.

Y/n dreaded it.

Looking out the window as she half heartedly worked on her embroidery of the day, Y/n was bored. Even the pleasant company of Helaena couldn’t hold her attention.

Y/n’s face held a longing look as she continued to watch the clouds roll over King's Landing.

“You miss him.”

The voice of Helaena broke Y/n’s trance- (More like startled her). Y/n jumped slightly before looking at the Targaryen princess with her face and her neck feeling hot.

Helaena only smiled at Y/n, “I would miss him too, he treats you well.” she continued before she went back to her embroidery of caterpillars.

Y/n always valued the words of Helaena; they were always truthful albeit sometimes cryptic. Y/n smiled at Heleana and nodded.

“I do, we haven’t had much time to ourselves since our betrothal. I just wished to be married already.”

Helaena giggled at Y/n’s eagerness.

“What’s so funny?” as the Queen Rhaenyra walked in.

“Y/n’s eagerness to marry.” Helaena confessed. Rhaenyra cackled, sitting next to her future daughter-in-law. “So eager to be a bride yet I doubt my son knows how to undo a bodice,” she commented.

Y/n blushed at Rhaenyra’s comment.

“Ageon still can figure out a bodice, we’ve been married for years. Marriage is a very…complicated thing,” Helaena said with a small frown forming. Rhaenyra reached out for her sister’s hand and squeezed it lightly.

Y/n’s lip tightened in a thin line. She knew how Aegon treated his wife. That was typical for marriages for women like them; loveless and only to strengthen alliances, the men are sleeping around sire-ing bastards. Women always stuck drinking their woes away and becoming bitter of any younger woman in their presence.

“Jacaerys adores you Y/n. Your marriage will be an amazing union.” Rhaenyra tried to lighten the mood.

“He’s a truly good man, better than most I’d say.” Helaena continued. Y/n smiled and looked down at her lap. “That is true, he’s more like a prince from the books we read as children than what we usually get.” Y/n jokes.

“Leagues better than the drunken excuses we get,” Helaena slyly commented, taking a jab at her husband.

Rhaenyra laughed loudly, grabbing Helaena’s hand. Y/n’s face scrunched as a silent laugh shook her body. Helaena smiled to herself proud of her joke.

Rhaenyra took deep breaths as she continued to giggle to herself. “Oh by the gods Heleana that might be the funniest thing you’ve said.”

As the three women calmed down to a comfortable silence, a member of the Queensguard came in.

“The Prince Jacaerys requests the presence of Lady Y/n Velaryon,” He announces. A grin grew on Y/n’s face. She stood up, smoothing her dress out as she quickly made her way to the entrance of the room.

Y/n followed the Queensguard out of the room when she noticed it was pouring. Her eyebrows furrowed. Training must had been cancelled due to the weather.

Then a bigger smile than she had before grew on her face. Training was cancelled.

As Y/n followed the Queensguard she could feel her heart squeeze in excitement and her body set aflame.

She was so excited to see Jacaerys. Y/n felt like a little girl at a jousting tournament and watching all the handsome knights come out on their horses. Her whole body was shaking as it inched closer to her betrothed.

Once she arrived there Jacaerys stood leaning against the arch way of the court yard.

“The Lady Y/n Velaryon my prince.” The Queensguard announced their presence. Jacaerys turned around to see Y/n standing there with a grin on her face.

Such a simple thing brought her joy. Just seeing Jacaerys. No one but him.

“My love.” He stretched out his arms. Y/n swiftly moved to his embrace, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Jace…” she whispered.

His warmth surrounding her completely. His arms caging her waist pulling her closer to his chest. Jacaerys hummed im content. “I missed you,” He mumbled into her white curls.

“I hate being engaged, I never want to go through this again,” Y/n whined into Jacaerys chest.

Jacaerys pulled away slightly, “Are you planning to marry someone else?” he jokingly asked, raising an eyebrow. Y/n rolled her eyes at him. “Oh and you roll your eyes at me?? The heir to the Iron Throne.” Jacaerys put a hand on his chest in disbelief.

Y/n shook her head. “You’re ridiculous Jace,” she muttered, pressing her lips on his jaw. Jacaerys laughed, pulling Y/n back to his chest. He squeezed her tightly.

Y/n felt content with the only sounds of rain and her betrothed breathing filling her ears. It was a moment of peace. Jacaerys planted a kiss on her cheek and muttered “I love you.” Y/n could feel her heart swell.

“I can never get tired of hearing that from you.” She looked up at Jacaerys.

He just smiled at her, “I never get tired of saying it,” he whispered leaning down his lips ghost past hers.

Just as Y/n started to lean forward to meet her lips with Jacaerys a voice called the prince’s name.

Both groaned as they pulled apart and looked to find the source of the call. Y/n found the dark hair of Jacaerys’ younger brother Lucerys. Giving Jacaerys a sympathetic look. The prince just rolled his eyes.

“I suppose our time ends. I’ll see you at dinner, Mother wants me to sit in on her small council meeting today,” Jacaerys half heartedly mutters. Y/n just nodded, running her hand through his hair.

“Of course my love,” She said with a half smile. Jacaerys slipped put of her grasp running across the court yard trying his to escape the rain as fast as possible.

Before he made it across Y/n called his name. Jacaerys stop to and to find her running to him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a deep kiss. Jacaerys wrapped his arms around her waists pulling her deep into the kiss. Y/n’s hand traveled from the back of his neck to his cheeks, cupping them both feeling how wet they were from the pouring rain.

Jacaerys gripped Y/n’s waist squeezing it lightly. The kiss seemed to last forever as they stood in the rain, drenched. Lucerys called his brother’s name again this time far louder and with an annoyed tone.

This time they pulled slowly from each other, smilies dawn both their faces. “I’ll see you at dinner?” Y/n asked despite knowing the answer.

Jacaerys nodded frantically. “Yes. I’ll see you then-”

“JACAERYS!! DON’T MAKE ME DRAG YOU FROM HER MYSELF!!” Lucerys voice engulfed the courtyard.

Jacaerys laughed throwing his head back. “Goodbye my love,” he said before running off to his brother who was leaning against an arch with an disgusted look on his face.

Y/n was left standing the pouring rain with the biggest grin on her face. Her hand gripping her soaked dress.

By the gods she really did love Jacaerys Velaryon.

[desswright29]

Fell Together

Word Count: 11k + (I-I don’t know)

Pairing: Shuri X reader

Contains: Fluff, Romance, Slight Angst(nothing major), Friends to lovers, Smut, slightly inexperienced Shuri, Masc/Sub Shuri, Fem reader.

A/n: Hey guys! I HOPE Y’ALL FEEL LIKE READING!! 😁 So someone asked me once if I would write Sub Shuri and Uhhhh yea I would apparently lol. I just wanted to write a sweet love story because I haven’t wrote one in awhile. And we need one. I REEEEEAAALLLYYY hope y’all enjoy this one. It really beat me tf up! Anywho! Enjoy! And if their are errors blame @imjusthere2readbruv. She was rushing me 🤣🤣🤣

On lawns, we laughed, we played Sweet smiles along the way Under stars we gazed Under moons, memories made Good times, some sad, on lawns

Two hearts, a warm embrace And our love has grown each day And in time, we see that life is a dream A dream that holds two hearts

The water lay still. Placid. A blanket of stars twinkled amongst the otherwise black moonless sky. A soft plop and a light ripple of waves could be heard as Shuri tossed a small rock into the lake, while sitting knees to chest at its edge. With a slow inhale she closed her eyes, letting out it’s counterpart, a shallow exhale, soon after. Her eyes fluttered open, staring into the black abyss. A deep gaping hole filled with a liquid that could take away and also give life. Complicated, yet sincere in its danger; simple in its necessity. That only scratched the surface of things Shuri had in common with the water. With all that had transpired within it, it still created a calm within her. That alone gave her a sense of pride.  She’d conquered the water. But now… she was exhausted.

Although she was at her physical peak. Mentally, she could be better. After the death of her mother desperate for company she attached herself to the first woman that gave her any type of attention. Her first real girlfriend. Solah. The woman was gorgeous. Her body perfectly proportionate. Skin speckled in gold. Her face was almost as sculpted as Shuri’s. She kept her hair beautifully braided, and she was always dressed to perfection. It was also painfully apparent that she didn’t genuinely like women. Status though. That was definitely her speed. Shuri found herself always at her highest level of masculinity now a days. Ruler, scientist, Black Panther. All suits and ties. And in the bedroom she was the giver. 

Today she decided to leave Solah behind. Left her sitting at the best table of one of the finest restaurants in Wakanda, after coming from the restroom finding her slipping her number to the chef of all people. And so she found herself by the water. Just wanting to feel human again. She was more than a superhuman, Queen with no feelings. She wanted to feel like a Woman. Her eyes shut again, her chin falling against her chest. As she wrapped her arms around her legs in a hug. “Bast. I’m tired. I need some sort of reprieve.” She spoke aloud not sure if anyone heard her words, but hopeful nonetheless. The chiming of her beads cut through the silence like a spear. “Panther, y/n y/l/n is trying to contact you.” The recently rare sound of her best friends name brought a slight curve to the side of her mouth before her face slightly scrunched in confusion. She willed Griot to answer. 

Your face lit up the darkness. Wild curls framing your pretty face and settling onto your shoulders. Glasses perched at the tip of your cute nose. Your face scrunched in a squint. A breath of fresh air. It was good to see you. “Hey Shu shu! Where you at? I can barely see you.” Still slightly taken aback that you reached out to her at this moment she answered slightly stumbling over her words. 

“I-I’m at t-the lake.” Your face relaxed only for a moment before your brows immediately raise in an expression of worry.

“What happened?” You still knew her like the back of your hand. Of course you did. No one knew Shuri quite like you.

“Does something really have to be wrong everytime I’m here?” Shuri asks . She’d never let you know you were right straight away. Her stubbornness wouldn’t allow it. Your lips turned down as you feign a look of contemplation before nodding. “Absolutely.” Shuri rolled her eyes before letting out a dramatic sigh.

“I broke up with Solah.”

The other end of the call got extremly quiet. You stared at the shadow of Shuri through the projection. Stuck. Expression unreadable. You wracked your brain trying to find the proper words to console your friend, but before you could, as always she read you like a book.

“Let it out y/n.” Shuri huffs  

You let out a long exhale. “Pheew, good lookin’ out man I was summoning all the acting gods from every realm to come help me pretend to be upset about that shit.” Shuri stared at you her expression blank.

“I-I don’t understand why we’re friends.” 

“Eeeasy! See number one I’m honest. Always give it to ya straight no chaser. Im funny as fuck, let’s seeeee smart, can’t forget that one, aaand I’m pretty cute.” You look over top of your glasses and flutter your lashes for dramatic effect. Shuri twists her mouth in faux disgust.

 “Naaaah…Still not getting it?”

“Well maybe it’s because you’ve been a little less than a friend lately Shuri. But usually all those things combine into one and create that deep rooted love you have for me. Duh.” Shuri chuckles lightly, picking up a rock rolling it inbetween her fingers. Staring off into the distance.

“I had that one coming.”

“Yes you did…But really, are you ok?” She shruggs, nonchalant.

“I always figure it out. Glad you called honestly.” Your bottom lip curls inbetween your teeth. As ecstatic as you were that Shuri left “Soda” or whatever the fuck she wanted to call herself behind. And though majorly perturbed by Shuri’s behavior while with her, you’d never want to see her hurt.

“Why don’t you come over. We got a lot to catch up on and you look like you can use some company. Do Queens get to have girls nights? I’ll even bring out the good wine and an expensive ass charcuterie for just for you your highness.” Shuri scoffs. “Make it Rum and Jollof and I’m there.” The corners of your lips almost reached your ears with the smile that spread across your face.

“That Shuri..That right there is why we’re friends.” 

“Yo! I’m home!” Shuri announced chuckling to herself shuffling into your apartment, kicking the door closed behind her, arms filled with bags. An overnight bag hanging from her shoulder, grocery bags filled with snacks in her arms. Her eyes scanned your apartment a faint smile appearing on her face. Dropping her overnight bag to the floor with a thud, she kicked off her shoes at the door. The energy in your home was always so warm and inviting, always putting her at peace. Photos of your family hang on the walls, several of you and her as well. She’d always been like family to you and you to her. A pang of guilt hit her chest as the fond memories welcomed her like a hug. The definition of bitter sweet. 

When Shuri left the lake she decided to pick up a few snacks, and took time to shower and change out of her clothes from her miserable date. Opting for grey sweats, a white t-shirt, a black jacket with a grey hood attached, and a black fitted cap, covering her braids. The padding of feet coming toward her from the direction of the kitchen interrupted her thoughts. You appeared wearing a large graphic tee, the back tucked into your bra and the smallest shorts you could find. A smug smile covered your face as you walked over to greet her. It’d been almost a year and something was different. Shuri noticed her heart skip a few beats. She had always seen you as a beautiful girl, but had you always been THIS beautiful. You held a glass filled with a dark liquid and one round ice cube. As you approached her one hand reached for the groceries, the other extended the cup of alcohol to her. Shuri gave a grateful lopsided smile, taking two steps forward handing off the groceries and taking the drink. 

Muscle memory took over as she quickly brought the bottom of the cup up to her mouth, licking the cup from bottom to top chugging the contents with a hiss. A routine you’d started when you began college in Wakanda. Whenever one of you had a rough day you’d meet at the others place and take a shot immediately upon arrival to destress. You smirk with a raise of your brow. “Okay, I see you Queen Panther.” Impressed, guessing the herb assisted her in handling her alcohol a bit better. “I’m not new to this little one.” She responded with a sly smirk that was, dare you say, kind of sexy. When did that happen? Sitting the groceries on the floor you wrap her up into your arms. Hugging her waist as she wraps her arms around your shoulders resting her chin on top of your head after placing a sweet kiss where her chin would rest. Both of your eyes closed as you began to rock while holding one another. “I’ve missed you tattoo.” You grin at the nickname you hadn’t heard in almost a year. 

“I missed you too Shuri.” Finally you pull away taking the empty glass except for ice from her hand. You look her dead in the eyes. Making sure you’re warning is heeded. “Don’t you ever leave me hanging for ANY bitch. Ever again.” You pick up the bags and turn heading back towards the kitchen. Shuri’s eyes trailed the length of your body eyes stopping at the swell of your back. The tiny shorts you wore barely containing your plump cheeks. Shuri found her lip in between her teeth as she appreciated the view, before correcting herself with a shake of the head “I promise.” She calls behind you as she heads into the living room. Shuri plopped down onto the couch manspread her head falling back, eyes closing. Though it had been awhile since you’d both physically seen each other due to her new titles and her insecure ass ex, it felt as though no time was spent apart. Easily falling back into your easy comfort around one another. The two of you never had to do much to have fun. 

 Your mother had been a pop sensation, back in the days, and Queen Ramonda had been a huge fan. In fact you and Shuri met as young girls around 11, when Shuri took her first trip to America with her mother to attend one of your mothers shows. Romanda requested to meet your mother after the show, and she graciously accepted, when they made it back stage there was little genius, arrogant Shuri. Bright eyed and bushy tailed, curious about every detail of her surroundings. As your mothers gushed over one another back stage, you watched the curious Princess wander around, in her mini skirt with her graphic T-shirt tucked in, chains gracing her waist as a belt, a black leather jacket and matching gloves with the fingers cut off, her braids stacked high onto of her head. She was the coolest person you’d ever seen and she was giving the scary looking bald women hell. You continued peering at her from the slightly cracked door of your mothers dressing room.

“Shuri. Stop touching things. You cannot tinker with things here the way you do at home in your little lab.” The one you would soon know to be Okoye chastised. “Okoye, you’ve got to loosen up. Are you not tired of yelling in vain? Obviously I’m going to continue what I’m doing when you’re not looking.” Your giggle caught Shuri’s attention, her confident upright stride immediately headed in your direction. “I heard you, you might as well open the door.” Slowly you opened the door coming face to face with the Princess of Wakanda. Who gave you a hard once over before introducing herself. “Hello, I’m Shuri.” She held out her hand for you to shake and you reciprocate. “Y/n.” You spoke matter of factly. Posture just as upright as the royals. You returned her a once over. Admittedly she was even prettier up close. “You’re the Princess?” 

“Yes I am.” She stated proudly. 

“You don’t look like a Princess.” Shuri cocked her head to the side brow raised in a question, waiting for you to proceed. “I mean your pretty but you don’t dress like a Princess.”

“Did you expect a ball gown?” Shuri said sarcastically, lips upturned in an obnoxiously arrogant smirk. You smiled back genuinely. 

“You’re an asshole. I like it.”

And the rest was history.

Your mothers became fast friends just as you and Shuri. As you both grew older everyone instantly saw the chemistry between you and Shuri, determined that you would be more than friends especially once you came out. Shuri never came out officially. She’d always gave lesbian and everyone just went with it and accepted her. You envied that about her. Oddly enough you grew to be more experienced than her romantically though. Contrary to popular belief, her title as princess didn’t exactly make dating easy. But Shuri grew to be your bestfriend easily with you and your mother spending ample time in Wakanda thanks to her friendship with the Queen. When T’Challa met you he fell head over heels. “I’ve never seen anyone more perfect for you little sister.” T’challa would always say to Shuri. She would always brush him off with an “Ew” or something along those lines. Neither of you had ever shown that type of interest in one another. You were too much alike, and both of you being rooted in logic knew that that didn’t usually work out. 

So, you spent your summers in Wakanda forming an inseparable bond with the Princess, and ended up deciding to go to college in Wakanda as well. You and Shuri had been by eachothers side every step of the way. She was the bestfriend you’d ever known, and both of you loved one another with all of your heart. You’d created your own life here in Wakanda and were excepted and loved by the community. And even though both you and Shuri were aware of eachothers attractiveness, you were perfectly content in your friendship. 

Resurfacing from the kitchen with another drink and the jerk chicken with Jollof you’d ordered for the night you heard light snores coming from Shuri’s mouth that was slightly ajar. “I just know this girl is not sleep.” You took the opportunity to get a good look at Shuri. Taking note of how much she’d changed since the last time you’d seen her. Her jaw was a bit more chiseled than you remembered, her neck showing signs of the muscle she’d packed on. From the interaction at your door, you’d become acutely aware of the change in her aura. Shuri had always carried a bit of an arrogant air. Her intellect and beauty had always been unmatched. Now, there was more of a maturity to her, growth, experience. It’d evened out her arrogance into a smooth confidence and wisdom. Though she carried a heavy load. She carried it well. You place her drink and food on your coffee table and walked back around behind your couch standing over her. You lifter her hat a bit before you pinch her nose. Her eyes snapped open as she choked on a deep inhale. “Are you really asleep. I was gone for like 2 minutes.”

“Why would you do that! Fucking weirdo!” She coughed while stretching both hands above her head until her body shook. “I was just resting my eyes.”

“You were snoring.”

“Well shit I’m tired y/n.” She said annoyed. You jump over the couch next to her and laugh.

“Atleast get comfortable and eat something before you fall asleep on me.” You suggest motioning to her hat and jacket. Shuri removed her hat. Revealing her fresh braids and then removed her jacket. Showing off her muscular arms and forearms, veins protruding. Swallowing, your eyes linger a bit longer than they should’ve. Shit. Your friend had grown. Shuri shook her head waking herself up. “Ok I’m up. I’m up.”

Now, full and on both of your third round of rum and coke of the night, you guys were back at your usual mischief and bickering. Shuri now lie against the armrest of the couch, with you lying back inbetween her legs while she massaged your scalp through your curls. “Greys Anatomy” playing on the television. 

“That is impossible! This is not medically accurate!” 

“Shuri! That’s not the point of the show. It’s about the relationships.”

“So why do they begin the show with these cases? Why not only focus on the relationships since they’re doing such a poor job with medicinal accuracy.” You turn your head awkwardly and look up at her as she stares down at you with her brows raised as though she’s waiting for an answer. “Give me the fucking remote. I hate watching shows with you.” You turn your body to try and reach behind her for the remote on the arm rest. Laughing she grabs it before you could, reaching it above her head tossing it between each hand as she giggled at your frustration. “Ugh! You make me so sick! Keep it!” She poked her lip out at you “Aww still a sore ass loser y/n? I thought you would grow out of that.”

“Let’s not act like I wouldn’t be handing you your ass if it wasn’t for that lil herb” Rolling your eyes you turn back around settling back into your position between her legs. Her hands finding themselves right back in your hair. She giggled at your temper tantrum. “Im enjoying the show y/n. I was just pointing out the obvious inconsistencies.” You close your eyes leaning back into her chest enjoying the sensation of her fingers. She smelled so good like a mixture of vanilla and mahagony. Strong, but not over powering. “Mmmhmm, I wouldn’t expect anything less from you Shuri.” She chuckled as you both settle into a comfortable silence. “Shuri.”

“Hm?”  

“Are we pretending everything’s cool, or are you ready to talk about it?” Shuri’s fingers stalled for a second, a slow exhale escaping through her nose. “I’m really sorry I shut you out y/n. I didn’t intend to stay away for so long.   I was just… I don’t know ..afraid. You’re the last person on this Earth who truly knows me and everyone around me was leaving. I felt cursed or something. I couldn’t bare to loose you too. And Solah was jealous of our relationship anyway. Ironic I caught HER giving her number to the Chef” 

“What?!” You sit up, causing Shuri’s arms to fall to her belly as you turn to look at her. Shuri chuckles. “Yea. To be honest, I’m not surprised. And yes it sucks but I’m not as upset as I think I should be. There’s just so much going on. So many other responsibilities. It almost feels like a relief. In hindsight I probably jumped the gun on being in a relationship so soon after everything happened.” You raise a brow and tilt you head to the right. “Don’t start.” You lift your hands in defense. “I wasn’t even gonna say anything.”

She lifted her shirt a bit. A sliver of her her toned lower belly showing as she placed a hand inside of her sweats. “Maybe. But you were thinking it.” She says lightly flicking your chin with the pointer finger of her free hand. 

“Definitely a lot of thoughts.” You swallow and avert your eyes trying not to get caught staring and hoping Shuri didn’t catch the double meaning. She shakes her head with a slight smirk. Her free arm drapping across her abdomen as you rest your hands and chin on her raised knee. “You were right though.”

“Of course I was.” She rolled her eyes. Her eyes connected with yours and her lips nervously folded in as though she was contemplating saying something. “You can talk to me about anything Shuri. You know I always know when something is up with you.” She began shifting her eyes. “I’m tired y/n, this is all so much more than I was expecting to have to deal with. The weight of it all. It’s overbearing. I  mean I spent some time in Hiati, but duty called and I still feel as though I didn’t get time to heal properly. So much responsibility. I guess I just hoped that my relationship would take up some of this empty space in my heart. I know you were hurting too and we could’ve been there for one another but it hurt to be around you really. It was a reminder that you’re really all I have left.” You nod and grab her hand, squeezing it, waiting for her to continue giving her your undivided attention. “Since I took on the mantle and the throne it’s like I’m not human anymore. I’m always expected to be on point. Always prepared. Almost stoic. It’s exhausting. And Solah was like another responsibility. I didn’t want her to feel like she wasn’t important. So when I should’ve been resting I was taking her on trips, or shopping, or out to eat. And then All the counsel meetings, trainings, keeping up the lab. It’s all.. just.. a lot .” 

Sitting up completely straight you contemplate asking a question. “Can I ask you something Shuri?” The seriousness in your tone capturing her attention. She gestures towards you giving you permission. “When’s the last time you felt comforted, loved on, hell got a freaking hug outside of the bedroom?” Shuri shifted uncomfortably. She put her elbows behind her on the armrest sitting herself up a bit more. “I - I don’t - um I don’t really know.” 

“So you were in a relationship for almost a year. One that kept you away from your best friend might I add. And you can’t tell me the last time you received affection?” Your brows furrowed as Shuri sighed.

“I’m sorry.” Shuri sounded far away, her eyes avoiding yours. “You don’t owe me an apology. I know you did what you thought was best for you. I’d never be angry at you for not knowing how to process grief. However, I do think you deserved better. You’re not a robot. You’re not here for everyone else’s satisfaction. You have feelings and emotions and you should feel loved too. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if she was some pillow princess that didn’t even reciprocate your pleasure.” You scoffed shaking your head and grabbing your drink off of the table and taking a sip. When you look back towards Shuri her eyes were cast downward. You reach over tapping the bottom of her chin causing her to give you her focus. “Shuri?”

“She wasn’t into it.” Your mouth fell open on realization. “Oh hell no Shuri!” 

“It’s not like I was missing out. I’ve never been… touched in that way. It’s just how it is as a more masculine woman.”  She shrugged. You place your drink back on the table. Mouth agape. This was new. Shuri was the most confident person you knew. Women around the world would bend over backwards for her attention and here she was saying that she’d never been satisfied. “Who the fuck told you that? She wasn’t into what Shuri? Pussy? Shuri you’re not a man. Pussy comes with the territory. That’s how you receive pleasure. Unless that’s what you want? Are you asexual, trans?” You were genuinely concerned. Confusion filled Shuri’s face. “No y/n. I enjoy sex. I like being in control.” She says. “Ok. That’s cool. But a woman is what you identify as. You’ve never wanted to be anything else?” She shakes her head side to side. “Does being in control make you cum?” 

“Y/n I cum!”

“From sex oorr?”

“Not your business.”

“Well there’s my answer. Why would you entertain an obviously straight woman for so long Shuri? Why would you allow her to treat you like a bank account with a strap!?” You would forever want what was best for Shuri, and it pissed you off that some random had used her the way Solah had.

“I didn’t come here for this y/n.” She began to get up and you grab her hand. “No. Wait! I’m sorry Shuri. Ok. I over stepped. But, I just want you to be happy. Truly happy. And I hate seeing you settle. I can also admit that I needed you after everything and I was upset. Romanda was Umama wam, my Mama Monda, and it hurt that you shut me out because I thought we were in this together. And for a woman who couldn’t love you for being a woman. It’s amazing that you’re strong, intelligent, have impeccable style, a strong persona, and are comfortable in your masculinity. But what makes all of that beautiful is that you’re a woman.” She settled back down on the couch. Both of your eyes locked on one another. She’d never been called a woman. She’d been a child, a princess, a scientist, the Black Panther, and now Queen. But she couldn’t recall a time where she was just a woman. A woman with needs and desires that had never been met. 

“I can see you need time to reflect on that. While you do that I’ll tell you why I really called. Tomorrow I was planning to go to Florida for the weekend to see my family. It seems as though you could use some time away. And I would highly suggest you come smooth things over with mom who says you’ve been ignoring her.” Shuri’s head drops and her eyes get big. “Yea… So what’s a couple of days huh?” Shuri looked away as she contemplated. It didn’t take long for a slow smile to spread across her face. “I could use a quick get away”

The car turned onto the old gravely road. Vibrating against the rocks. It took some convincing for Shuri to be allowed on this trip alone. They’d compromised with allowing two of the Dora come along and stay in a near by hotel in case any danger took place when leaving your families land. You look out of the window smiling at the familiarity of it all. The wide expanse of land. The trees, the chicken coupe, The large tan home with the wrap around porch surrounded by a few smaller homes of family members. Home. You hadn’t been back in awhile and you couldn’t believe you’d been friends with Shuri all this time and she’d yet to see your home. You turn to your right to look at your stunning passenger as she took in the unfamiliar surroundings. Wearing a sports bra and sweat shorts with a short sleeve button up. All black of course. Her obsession with black was becoming concerning. “Sooo. What do you think?” You ask. She turns to look at you with a sparkle in her eye and  a smile. “It reminds me of the villages back home.” You didn’t have to ask if it was a compliment. Any comparison to Wakanda was extrodinary especially coming from the Queen herself. 

You stop the car in front of the house on the gravel driveway. Before you could put the car in park, your mother was running out of the house, straight to the passenger side. She swung open the door and pulled Shuri out by her wrist, wrapping her into her motherly embrace. “Shuri my baby! I’ve been worried sick about you! I’m so happy to see you girl!”  Shuri was shocked at first fully expecting your mother to be upset with her for not having communicated with her since her mom had passed. But soon she returned the embrace, closing her eyes and melting into your mother. “It’s good to see you too Mama Whitney.”  

Your mother pulled back from the hug looking Shuri over. “Let me look at you girl. Lordy! You look damn good, I’ll tell you that. You and my daughter come to your senses yet?“ she looked curiously between the two of you. As you both got flustered. “Mama! Stop it!” 

“Oh it’s coming.” She said with a smirk. “Come on in here and get comfortable while I finish cooking. Shuri you look like you’ve been eating good and healthy which is why you shouldn’t mind that I don’t plan on cooking nothing healthy for the next couple of days. Y’all gon’ eat good!” Shuri laughed. “That actually sounds amazing mama.”

“Good.”

You stand inside the car door with your arms resting on top of the opened door your face scrunching in confusion. “Mama girl! You ain’t even say hey to ME!”

“Girl get in this house!” You hear Shuri giggle as she walks inside the house. 

“Mmtch wooow”

“Aaaand this is my room” you open the door to your childhood room allowing Shuri to take a step inside after giving her a tour of the rest of the home. She stands in the center of your room taking it all in. Her mouth falling open. Your cheeks began to get warm and you knew that if it weren’t for your rich skin you’d be red as a tomato. There was an accent wall behind your queen sized bed just four thick black and white stripes with pink and white roses painted in the corners of the wall. Your bed made beautifully with a black comforter and pink accents. The room was very spacious with a reading area built into a bay window, and a beautiful black and crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling.  But as Shuri looked around that was not what had her awestruck. 

There were pictures on a huge pinboard of all of your friends from school. Pics of your cousins and other family members and other people you loved. Shuri hadn’t made that board. Because the entire wall to the right of her was a Mural of you and her when you were young. Other pictures from throughout the years were pinned against the wall. Not just of her but of your entire Wakandan family. You and Shuri annoying Okoye even made the wall. Shuri remembered the picture well. T’Challa had taken it. She turned to look at you and you looked down at your feet. 

“I’d miss you all so much when it was time to leave Wakanda. I asked mama if I could have this wall made to commemorate my trips. I love  my home, but you all are my family too. It was always so hard to leave. And you. You Ofcourse are my best friend in the world and I couldn’t print a picture big enough to express it. So you got the whole wall.” You let out a small laugh. “I hope you don’t think it’s weird or anything.” Shuri shakes her head from left to right. “It’s beautiful.” You heard the crack in her voice, and looked up to see her eyes glistening. Instantly making your way over you grab her hand. “It’s not too much for you is it? I can take you to one of the guest rooms and you never have to step foot back in here.” 

“No y/n. It’s perfect. I-I just don’t have the words. Just know that they felt the same about you. And I love you with all of my heart.” She wrapped you in her arms and the two of you stood hugging in the center of your room.

“GIRLS! COME ON AND GET SOME OF THIS FOOD BEFORE YOUR HUNGRY ASS COUSINS SMELL IT AND COME SCRAP THE BOTTOM OF THESE POTS!!” The both of you pull away giggling like teenagers. Wiping at tears that had yet to fall. “She’s right. We should hurry the barrage is coming.” You grab her hand and lead her down the stairs to the kitchen. As soon as you both hit the corner, the door to the back patio opened and your cousin Marcus stepped in all smiles. “What’s hannin’ cuzzo! I knew that was yo ass with that bougie ass rental!” You turn and give Shuri a ‘here they come’ look as you walk over to give him a hug.  “Hey Marcus I’m doing great! How are you?” You say full of sarcasm. “And it’s not a rental. It’s my friends car.” You pull back and gesture towards Shuri. “Oh Shit! That’s the Queen! Ah damn. My bad imma be skraight up wichu’ ion know what to do.” Shuri laughed. “It is fine. I am in your territory. Shuri is just fine.” She spoke shaking his hand. 

“Damn you proper as fuck. Got me wantin’ to say indubitably and shit. Her accent cold den a bih!” 

“Bruh she ain’t even say shit! Go get some food and stop being embarrassing.” You laughed. Shuri stood looking confused. “What is that he’s speaking?” Your eyebrows raise as your face contorts and you double over in laughter. Shuri continues to stare in confusion. When you finally calm down you start to explain. “Some call it Ebonics, more recently it’s been called AAVE ‘African American Venacular English’. But in simpler terms, he just country baby.” You laugh and nudge her towards the kitchen. 

The day was a blast. More and more of your family filed over to meet Shuri. They were filled with questions and so was she. There was good food, laughter, and drinks. Everyone loved Shuri but the children couldn’t get enough of her, and she loved it. She ran up and down the lawn with them. Laughing and carrying on like a carefree child. She was beautiful and something inside of you was seeing her differently. “Beautiful woman Shuri turned out be huh baby girl?” Your mother walked up to you as you watched her play basketball and argue with the boys about her cheating. You turn to your mother who had a sneaky smile on her face. “She’s always been beautiful mama.”

“Yea. But there’s a little something extra to it now. She seems more sure of herself. Physically fit.” Shooting your mother a knowing look, you nod a bit. “I guess you could say that.” Looking out at her in her black sports bra and shorts all of her usual jewelry on as she sweat in the Florida humidity. Her lean muscles flexing with every motion as she dribbled the ball pointing at the hoop obviously taunting Marcus. Yes. Something was different. 

“You know baby. I think It was always there. Sometimes things just evolve with time, and that’s ok. Just because it’s one way today doesn’t mean it should stay that way forever.” Looking at your mother you give small smile and she smiled back. “Now you take that and apply it to whatever you need to.” She pat your thigh and kissed your cheek before walking away, leaving you standing in thought. 

“Y/n! Your cousins a HATER!!” You hear Shuri yell from the court. “Nah yo lil friend a cheater bro.”

“This unsportsmanlike conduct is not attractive, not attractive at all.” She laughed looking up at you, sending you a wink. Your stomach flutters a smile lifting your cheeks as you shake your head. There was definitely a different feeling there. 

You take out your phone and make a phone call. “Hey girl. I was wondering if you could do me a huge favor last minute. I’ll pay you whatever you like.”

The sun began to set as you and Shuri sat on the porch swing together listening to the sounds of the crickets. She lay in your lap as you run your fingers through the parts of her braids. 

“This is beautiful. A beautiful up bringing you had. It explains a lot about you. I wish I’d come here sooner.”

“Oh really? Explains a lot about me in what way?” She shrugged.

“Like why you’re so warm and inviting. So lovable, and intelligent. Definitely why you’re so funny. You’re family is hilarious. Why everything feels better when I’m around you. I don’t know. You just. Feel like home.” She opens her eyes looking up at you. “You are home for me.”  Breath catching in your throat you gaze down into her eyes until the sound of a throat clearing snapped you both out of it. 

“What you girls up to out here” Your mom says grinning knowingly. Shuri bit into her lip as you stumble over your words.

��Uh n-nothing just uh we’re talking.”

“Mhmm. I’m in for the night. Goodnight love birds.” She chuckled 

“Ma!!” You yell as Shuri chuckled. 

“Where are we going?”

After everyone settled in for the night you told Shuri you wanted to take her somewhere special. “Asking a million times isn’t going to make me tell you any faster Shuri. We’ll be there shortly. Just enjoy the ride.” You look at her with a stern stare. She just smiled and rolled down her window as you drove over a tall bridge with a huge body of water beneath. The moon shining bright in the sky. Shuri closed her eyes as the wind blew through her curls. Listening to the music pour through the speakers. 

Soon the two of you pulled up to an isololated picnic area that was pitch black. You stepped out of the car as Shuri sat unsure. Walking around the car you open the door for her, startling her. “Leave your shoes.” She slides off her tan crocks as you reach your hand out to her. She took it, hesitantly stepping out of the car. “You’re not trying to murder me are you? That’s a bad idea.” Laughing you slap her arm. “No psycho, just come.” Interlacing your fingers together you guide her through the darkness. As you walk up wooden stairs the sound of waves crashing and the smell of salt hit your noses. As you came over the top of the stairs of the board walk, fairy lights sparkled against the darkness. The closer the two of you got to the end of the board walk the more the set up of blankets, pillows, and candles came into view. You could feel Shuri’s hand tighten on yours slightly as she followed you. The friend that set up the gorgeous picnic walked over to you with a beautiful bouquet of flowers handing them over. She smiled and gave a nod of greeting to the both of you as you told her thank you as she walked away. 

“These are for you.” You say handing her the flowers. 

“W-what’s all of this?” She says. Her beautiful jawline was on display as she faced the set up, an unreadable expression on her face. “I know you enjoy being by the water and thought you might like this. I was thinking of the conversation we had yesterday, and I just wanted to do something to make you feel special.” Her smile produced slowly a quick gasp of air released from her chest, one giggle, two giggles and uncontrollable burst of laughter. You cock your head to the side a knowing smile spreading across your face. “You’re doing that thing where you laugh really hard to stop yourself from crying again?” Still laughing she nods. “Is it helping?” She shakes her head side to side. “Good. Because it’s ok to let go and cry Shuri.” Stopping herself from laughing she bit her bottom lip as she looked down at you. Once again moving her head from left to right. The signs of her internal battle on her face. 

“Come on let’s sit.” The two of you made yourselves comfortable. Enjoying the assorted fruits, cheeses, and wine while listening to the oceans waves, and talking about everything under the sun. As Shuri loosened up the two of you walked along the shore getting your feet wet which eventually turned into splashing eachother with water, playing like children. You fell back in laughter onto the blanket after you and Shuri made your way back to your area. Looking at her you take note of the beautiful sound of her laughter, her smile lighting up the night and her eyes sparkling. Nothing you’d ever done had been more worth it than this one thing. She sat beside you again as she looked up at the stars. “Thank you for this y/n. The entire day has been beautiful. And I-I really needed this.” 

“I know you did. I just wanted you to be on the receiving end for once. It’s overdue for you. I want you to know it was never my intentions to be insensitive about your relationship. I just don’t want to see you settle for anyone. You deserve the best of everything Shuri. And mostly you deserve to be treated like a lady, and not a toy.”

Shuri was silent as a tear finally fell from her eye. “I-I just thought maybe it was all I was good for y/n. Like Maybe I was not meant to enjoy life’s pleasures.” It was all the reply you needed. “Awww baby girl. Come here.” You motioned towards your lap holding your arms out welcoming her into your embrace. She complied straddling your lap laying her head on your shoulder and wrapping her arms around your neck as though she needed this. Just to be held and cared for for a change. Seen as the young woman she was. Gently you caressed her back rocking from side to side. The tension leaving her body with every tender stroke of your hand. You could feel her body melt into yours. As her muscles loosened her body began to shake. A trembling exhale releasing itsself from her mouth. Her arms tightened around you and she buried her face deeper into your neck. A short puff of air escaped her mouth before a choked sob followed. Until finally the most heartbreaking cry released from her gut. “It’s ok. Let it out. I’m here. You’re safe.” You continue comforting her holding her in silence until her sobbing slowed. 

“Shuri, I’m so sorry. I should’ve come to see you. You’d gone all of this time feeling like you were alone. I was always here. I would never leave you hanging.” You gently push against her shoulders signaling that you wanted her to sit up. She sits up and your heart breaks at the sight of her face. The candle light highlighting the streaks of tears. You’d never seen Shuri so broken. Your hands cupped each one of her cheeks as you spoke. “You know that right? I’ll always be here. I know in a lot of what you do you’re not allowed to be emotional. But you can be that with me. You’re human. You deserved to be loved, cared for, hugged, touched like the gorgeous woman you are.”  Her eyes were beautiful. Even swollen and red with tears they had a certain light. You’d never paid much attention to that before. Wiping at her tears with the pads of your thumbs you get lost in the parts of Shuri you’d never noticed. Shuri’s eyes examined your face, her lip tucking itself into her mouth. Your hands drop, one onto her thigh, the other to her chin. Thumb trailing right underneath her lip. You give a slight tug releasing her lip keeping her chin placed tenderly between your fingers. 

Her mouth began to open and close slightly like she wanted to speak but the words were stuck. She leaned in a small amount and slightly pulled back again eyes fluttering between your eyes and mouth as though she was asking permission. Your grip on her chin became firmer as you gently guide her mouth towards yours. Slowly she bent down stopping short of your lips, your noses grazing against eachothers as her breath tickled your lips. That’s when she closed the distance. Your lips pressed together and it felt like lightening struck you. Engulfed in her scent as her soft lips glided against yours you wondered if she felt it too. The electricity flowing through your veins. As the thought crossed your mind, you got an immediate answer. Shuri moaned into your mouth. The prettiest sound you’d ever heard. She pressed herself into you grabbing onto your hands interlacing your fingers. You gave another moan in response, grazing the tip of your tounge across the bottom of her lip she opened up to you so easily. Allowing you to explore the inside of her mouth. 

Quickly you were loosing control, your thoughts moving a mile a minute, caught up in the intensity of the moment. You pulled away from her mouth and swiftly began placing hot wet kisses along her jaw. Removing your hands from hers placing them on her waist, gripping  onto them pleading with yourself to come down from this high. She was intoxicating. Filling up your senses in ways no one had ever before. Her vulnerability brought out the protector in you. Her body trembled at your touch. New to the feeling of being touched and treasured in this way. Never would either of you have thought it would be the other. Kissing down her neck, the words escaped your mouth before you could stop them. “Let me *kiss* do it *kiss* for you Shuri.” Your hand traveled to the nape of her neck gripping and pulling her head back slightly to make room for you to place kisses at the front of her neck. “I want to take care of you. Mentally, spiritually, physically. Can I do that for you? Will you let me take care of you and your body baby girl. Please?”

Shuri pulled back quickly eyes wide with fear. “I-I’m sorry…. I um.. I can’t.” She removed herself from your lap standing to her feet. You catch her wrist as she headed towards the car. “Shuri wait! I’m sorry if that was too much. I just…I got caught up. Please don’t leave.” Shuri shakes her head left to right. “I can’t do this. This is a lot. I just need a moment. I’ll be in the car.” Pulling away from you she rushed away with you calling after her. 

“Damnit!” 

The drive home had been silent. The next morning you and Shuri prepared to leave early of course with many questions from your mother as you all sat at breakfast.

“Y’all mighty quiet.” She repeated all morning as you both gathered your things.

You’d calmed her with promises of coming back home soon. She walked you both out “Shuri, let me talk to you.” She walked over to your mother silently eyes down cast.

“I don’t know what happened between you and my daughter. But I’m not a fool. I know two people in love when I see it.” Shuri’s eyes snapped up from the ground.

“No need to look shocked. I’m not gonna get too deep in y’all business. But I just wanted to make sure I let you know it’s ok to be happy. You don’t have to punish yourself for being here. I’ve known your mama long enough to know she wouldn’t want that for you.”

“It’s scary out here alone Mama Whit.”

“Oh baby I know. But you don’t have to be alone. I love you and you got a whole other family right here. We can never replace the ones you lost. But we can take up some space.” Shuri smiled. “I’d like that very much.”

“Good. And from now on answer my calls, you don’t want me showing up to Wakanda unannounced!” Wrapping her arms around Shuri as they laughed. “Work it out baby girl. You got this.”

Shuri only spoke to you when necessary during the trip back to Wakanda. It’d now been a few days since the incident and you’d continuously tried to reach Shuri. Even showed up to the palace. You were told she wasn’t there, but you knew it was a lie. Now you sat at home leaving your hundredth message with Shuri as the rain came down hard outside. 

“Shuri, I’m so sorry. Please just answer. We were tipsy and.. and I got caught up in the moment. I didn’t mean to freak you out. We can pretend it never happened, or talk whatever you want to do. Please just call me back.” 

Shuri had always hated storms. Would stay holed up in her room on the phone with you calming her, and when you’d spend summers in Wakanda you’d make your way to her room  staying up all night watching movies and eating snacks. Now she was completely alone. Sitting back on your couch you stare up towards the ceiling. Never had you had feelings like this for Shuri before. Her eyes, her smell, her aura had over taken you. This immense need to be her lover and protector. That one day opened your eyes to her in so many ways and now you were confused. Now you sat trying to process of all of these new emotions. Your mind was all over the place. But mostly you were scared that you’d lost her for good. Maybe you’d just gotten too excited to see her after so long. Or maybe you truly had feelings for her. You were all the familiarity that she had left in the world. The closest thing to family. Would it really be the worst thing in the world if you had feelings for Shuri. It would if she obviously didn’t share those feelings. 

Letting out a frustrated groan you run a hand over your face. In an attempt to relax your mind you head to your room to get comfortable. Putting on a red silk nightie, pilling your curls into a messy bun and dimming the lights in your apartment. “Griot, turn on relaxation playlist.” You head to your kitchen to pour a glass of wine, when there was a knock at your door. Your heart dropped. There was only one person you could think of that would show up to your home unannounced. Quietly you walk to the door looking into your peephole. The sight shocking you. Swinging the door open you take in the sight in front of you. There she stood. Her curls now out and drenched along with her all black silk set. The shirt tucked and unbuttoned almost to her naval. No bra beneath. The shine of her panther necklace glistening against her wet skin. You could feel an influx of saliva build up inside your mouth while you watched her shift from one foot to the other. 

“Shuri. You came out in this weather?” She swallowed. “I was out driving and now here I am.” She looked so unsure, so innocent as she stood anxiously shuffling in your doorway. It made you nervous too. “Uh well come in. You’re soaked.” 

“Yea, forgot my umbrellla.” She said walking in taking her boots off at the door.

“I’ll go um get you a towel.”  You quickly run to your bathroom and grab her a towel. Before you could think better of it you walk back out to Shuri and immediately pressed the towel into her chest drying her off. Her hand came up over top of yours, holding you there as she looked into your eyes, water dripping from her hair.

“Oh uh m. I’m sorry you can do this yourself. You can help yourself to any of my clothes too. I was just about to pour a glass of wine would you like one?” She moistened her lips never breaking eye contact with you.

“Yes, I’ll have some once I get changed.” Taking the towel from your hands her fingertips grazing the backs of your hands.

“Y-yea. Yea ok.” You exhaled as she brushed past you. That beautiful scent of hers invading your senses once again. You rush back into the kitchen, taking another glass from your cabinet you pour wine for the both of you and waited. Awhile passed and you started getting antsy so you start pulling out ingredients to make your s’more cookies that she loved, to get your mind off of your nerves. You hummed to the music as you began mixing your ingredients.

“Is this mine?” You hear Shuri say from behind you. Turning to see what she’s talking about, your jaw went slack once you caught a glimpse. There she stood in one of your oversized T-shirts and that’s all. The two of you had always been comfortable around eachother. But, Shuri’s version of comfort had always been almost a full sweat suit. Your eyes locked on her pretty long legs. Long, toned, and moisturized. They began to move with her elegant stride. 

“I’ll take that as a yes” she says hopping onto your counter, grabbing the glass of wine and taking a sip sitting with her legs slightly open where you could see her black lace boy shorts peaking at you. “L-leg- I mean yes it it is” You swallow and let out a low groan. Shuri heard and her lip curved into a crooked smile. 

“What are you making?” Placing the glass down she stares at you. Her eyes were low and there was something in her eyes that you weren’t sure that you were reading correctly. You shake it off and continue mixing. “S’more cookies. I know how much you love those.” A light sigh comes from Shuri’s mouth. “You’re always thinking of me. Nobody knows me better than you. Can I taste some of the mix?” She practically purred. You’d never seen Shuri in this element and it was re-wiring your brain cells. What was she trying to do, kill you? Nodding you take some of the mixture onto a spoon and walk over to her. When you were close enough she grabbed your wrist, pulling you inbetween her legs. She held your hand guiding the spoon to her mouth slowly licking away its contents before closing her eyes sucking off the remainder with a moan. “Delicious.” She said. Her eyes opened and gazed straight into yours. Irresistible. That’s all that came to mind as your core leaked with a need for her that you could no longer control. Before you knew it you’re tongue was mixing with the sweet doughy goodness in her her mouth. 

“Fuuuuuck Shuri. What are you trying to do to me?” You say after pulling away from the kiss placing your foreheads together. 

“I got all of your messages. I just wasn’t ready. This is all so new. Suddenly having feelings for you in that way. You make me feel things I’ve never felt before and it’s scary. So I tried to rationalize my thoughts and what was happening and I wasn’t ready to except it yet. You’ve been with me what feels like forever. And I don’t want to mess us up. But I couldn’t get your words out of my mind. Your touch. The feeling of your lips. And I had to admit that I-I want it. You bring out the woman in me and I love it.” He mouth hovered closer to yours. “I want you. I want you to take care of me and I want to take care of you. I want to be made love to….like a woman. And I want it to be you. No one gets me like you, cares like you. I’m ready to give us a try if you’re willing.”

You pull back looking into her eyes “So is that what all of this was about? You were trying to seduce me into a relationship?” You bit your lip and smirked. Batting her eyes she answers “Depends on if it was working.” Scoffing you reply “You can’t tell?” She giggled as her hands moved over top of yours that were tightly gripping her thighs. “I’d love nothing more than to give us a try. As long as you’re really ready. We can take it as slow as you need. Are you sure you want to do this? There’s no going back from here.” 

“I’ve never been more sure of anything.” Placing your finger inside of the bowl you scoop up more of the dough bringing it up to her lips. “Have some more.” She opened her mouth, taking your finger inside and sucking, bobbing her head up and down three times before releasing it with a pop, her eyes never leaving yours. “Oh ok. You want it. And you’re definitely gonna get it.”  She grabs your shirt pulling your mouth onto hers as you fall into a sloppy kiss. Her arms wrap around your neck as she moves her body closer to the edge of the counter. You grab underneath her thighs picking her up off of the counter carrying her into the bedroom. You gently lie her down onto the bed. Placing kisses along her jaw. You pull back as Shuri let go of a dissatisfied groan. 

“Don’t worry pretty girl. I’m gonna make you feel plenty good for the rest of the night. Be patient with me. Can you do that.” She nods beneath you. “Good. Be a good girl and sit against the head board for me.” Standing to your feet you head into the bathroom to wash your hands. When you re-enter the bedroom Shuri’s lean frame sat sexily against the headboard patiently waiting. You take your time walking around lighting candles all around your room as she watched you sway your hips seductively. Now your attention was completely on her as you walk over and Place yourself between Shuri and the head board. You whisper in her ear. “Relax baby. I’m not in a rush. I want you to feel every moment of this. Of how you deserve to be loved.” Massaging her breast over the top of your t-shirt that hung from her body. Her head fell back onto your shoulder as you place your hands underneath her shirt. “I want you to empty that brain of yours tonight. Only focus on my touch okay.” She nodded her head her lip trapped between her teeth. Removing your hands you grab her arms gently raising her them “Let me take this off for you.” Sliding the fabric off of her body you threw it to the floor to be forgotten. Taking her forearms in your hand you gently bring them back around your neck giving you perfect access to her perfect little breast.

“Don’t move your arms from here ok. You’re so sexy like this Shuri. So fucking beautiful.” Your fingers slide all over her body. Brushing across her nipples until they hardened. You began pinching and rolling them between your thumb and pointer finger. “Ah, Bast y/n” she moaned out. “I love it when you moan my name. I’m gonna have to make you make that sound a lot more tonight huh beautiful?” She didn’t respond, so you pinched a bit harder on her nipple causing her body to jerk. “Answer me when Im talking to you.”

“Yes please make me moan your name all night.”

“Hmm. I can do that for you Panther. It’d be my honor.” One of your hands slid slowly down her toned stomach to her panties your hand sliding  over top of them onto her hot mound. Pressing into her and holding. Her breath catches as her hips buck up. “Uh uh. Be still. Just feel. Breathe and feel me. Consentrate on the feeling of me.” Shuri let out a long exhale her body relaxing into your touch. Her pretty legs relaxing to the sides. “Yea. Just like that. Good girl.” She moaned at the praise and you smirk against her neck. Your fingers slowly began to move into her folds overtop of her panties. A light whimper escaped her mouth as she began to move her hips against your palm. Increasing the pressure and pace your fingers move up and down the center of her lips. Her eyes shut tighter and her bottom lip dropped. “Sss that’s right baby girl. Focus on that feeling. Feels good huh? Yeeea it feels good to my baby.”

“Oh Bast. Y/n your driving me crazy.” She whispered. You continue to place kisses to her neck while fondling her breast and playing with her Pussy. Her legs fall open wider and you feel her clit throbbing in her panties. “Tell me how you feel?”

“Sss-so-so good. Mm please.”

“Please what mama? Tell me what you want.”

“M-more. I need more.” Removing your hand from her center you instruct her to remove her panties. Once removed she sat back between your legs placing her hands back around your neck. You drag your middle finger through the center of her lips. “Mmm you’re so fucking wet for me. This all for me?” You pressed into her clit and began rubbing in circles. “YES!! Yes its all for you!” Her arms tightened around your neck. As you continued your ministrations. Rubbing faster as her hips bucked up against your hand. Her curls tickled your ear as her head leaned against yours. You watched the sweat began to build and glisten against her abs as they contracted with her every movement. She was powerful even under your control. You groaned at the sight. “Bast I can’t wait to put those sexy ass legs over my shoulders. To be deep inside this pretty pussy you’ve been hiding away. You ready for that? Huh baby?”

“Uuuhhh huh” She moaned so pretty your eyes rolled back. “Sound so good.” You whisper against her ear. You go faster and so does she. Her muscular thighs contracting. “You gonna cum for me?” 

“Yes sthandwa! I’m gonna cum!” 

“Let it go pretty.” Her body began to tremble in your arms and her ass lifted completely off of the bed. As she let out a yelp. “Yeeaaa. Gooood girlll. Your doing so good for me pretty girl.” Her body went limp against yours as she came down from her. You remove your fingers from her core bringing them up to your lips sucking away her juices. “I always new you’d taste good as fuck. Can I taste some more?” Shuri looked up at you. Eyes blown and in love. She pulled you down into her, kissing you passionately. You move from behind her and inbetween her legs reattaching yourself to her mouth and laying her back gently. You try to move down her body but she locks her legs and arms around you pressing you against her and deepening the kiss. Laughing against her mouth you pull back.

“I love you y/n” you smile and peck her lips. “If you let me go I can show you how much more I love you.”  

You continue your way down her body. Finally taking one of her taught nipples into you mouth. Squeezing her pretty thighs as you take turns with each nipple. Kissing down her stomach and taking your time at her navel. You skip over her center sitting up and lifting both of her legs. “These drive me crazy.” You kiss your way down her legs. Ankles. Calves. Thighs.  Until you make it to the prize. “My God she’s beautiful. Hey pretty girl.” You place a kiss to her lips and then lick one long stripe through her folds. You give a couple more licks before you take hold of her clit sucking and releasing it with a pop. 

“Oh my Bast! I-I uuhh that feels so good sthandwa don’t stop!” Knowing you were bringing those sounds out of her made you want to give her everything. You push her legs back against her chest kissing, sucking, and licking. Her scent putting you in a trance. You could live between her thighs. You massaged her folds with your mouth, slipping your tongue just inside her pussy. Shuri lifted her hips from the sensation, begging you for more. Your tongue moved in and out of her slit. Your mouth traveled upwards flicking your tongue over her clit. Shuri felt something slender penetrate her aching pussy. Looking between her glistening spread legs she saw your tongue lapping her erect tip as your fingers slipped inside. “Uuuhh you’re fucking me so good!” You started pumping slow and steady as you continued savoring her clit.

Shuri could feel another climax drawing near from the intense sensations running through her body. Closing her eyes she listened to the suckling sounds humming across her sex. Her cries of pleasure echoing through the air with every lick. Grabbing her breasts she massaged the way you’d done earlier, taking her nipples and tugging softly. Slipping from her pussy, you took the tip of your finger and began caressing her pearl. Shuri gasped as you slowly massaged warm cream over the sensitive flesh. Her heart was beating faster as she braced herself for her orgasm. And then you pulled away. A frustrated huff left her mouth. “Patience pretty girl.” You finally slip your teddy off of your shoulders. Pulling it off your body. Allowing it to join Shuri’s clothes on the floor. 

You squat overtop of her placing your pussy directly onto hers. She squirmed underneath you. Reaching down to grab your ass. “Is this good?”

“Y-yes. P-please just fuck me!” You lift her leg that was infront of you placing it on your shoulder as leaned down towards her bringing her leg with you. “Gladly” You began moving your hips. Already on the cusp of your orgasam from listening to and watching Shuri. “Don’t run from me ever again. I-I wanna make you feel like this for the rest of my life.” 

“I woooonnnt baby! I won’t! I-I’m not going anywhere! Keep fucking me like that! I’m gonna CUM!!” Her back went into a deep arch as she threw her head back. Tears leaking down the sides of her face. You take the opportunity to latch on to her sexy sweaty neck. “Uuhnn I’m cumming with you baby.” Her hand squeezed tighter on your ass as you felt a gush of liquid against your pussy immediately knocking down your orgasam as well.

“Zakho ezilungileyo! Nguwe ongcono kakhulu!!” (You’re the best. You’re the fucking best.)  

“Fuuuck Shuri! Your pussy’s so fucking good! So good. So fucking good.” You kept repeating against her mouthas you continued moving still cumming while she whimpered beneath you. 

Coming down from your highs you collapsed on top of her sweaty body as she immediately captured your lips again. “You really got to be a pillow princess tonight. How does is feel almighty panther?” You asked once she released her hold on you. “It feels like you’re going to be putting a lot of work in through out the years.” You both laugh as you lay your head onto Shuri’s chest as she wrapped her arms around you as you wrapped yourself around her body gently stroking her side. Her fingers immediately find your scalp again. Your bun was long gone.

“Shuri?”

“Yea?”

“Do you think we’ve always been in love.” 

“Probably”

“Who do you think fell first?” Shuri laughs.

“Obviously you!” You gasp! “That’s not fair!” You laugh along with her knowing it was possibly true.

“No. Honestly I feel as though we walked onto that cliff hand and hand and fell together.”

[alpaca-clouds]

Why human culture became monogamous

Let me talk about one thing: The reason for the prevailance of monogamy these days. Because I think a lot of people are not quite aware of this.

If you are monogamous, this is not a slight against you - it is simply about the history of it.

Because here is the thing: Homo Sapiens as a species is not monogamous. And all that we can say about our biology so far is, that we are not even a seasonally monogamous species.

To explain: There are species, that are monogamous, or seasonally monogamous. In a monogamous species, animals mate for life. And once they have mated, they will not be interested in any other animal anymore. We actually see this behavior most often in different birds, like some swans and penguins.

There are also species, who are seasonally monogamous. Again, this is mostly seen in birds. Seasonally monogamous species mate once per mating circle and then again do not experience any interest in potential other partners.

The reason that this is mostly seen in birds is probably an evolutionary adaption based on the fact that with birds at least one partner needs to keep the eggs warm, so that the other partner needs to bring in food to the nest.

Homo Sapiens meanwhile are not that. Homo Sapiens do experience attraction to people other than their current partner. And in fact there is a lot of biological evidence, that biologically speaking we have evolved to live in groups and within these groups just fuck whoever.

Biologists have pointed out that the fact that our bodies produce oxytocine in response to sex, which builds trust and produces generally positive feelings towards others. This does seem like an evolutionary adaption to produce closer knit groups.

We can say this, because we can see the same in bonobos - one of our closest relatives in the animal kingdom.

Biologists also assume, that our moaning during sex is actually an adaption to invite others to join us.

And of course we do just know that we will just randomly fall in love and feel attracted to other people independent of our romantic status right now.

So, why is our society geared towards monogamy?

The answer is simply: Patriarchy.

See, monogamy is mostly a result of the patriarchy. Which is also why monogamy mostly sprang up in patriarchal cultures, while not being that prevalent in matriarchal or more egalitarian cultures.

Patriarchy only emerged once we settled down and started owning land. Why exactly it sprang up, we do not really know, but we do know that it ran into one problem: It relied on the patrilinear succession and inheritance. And that is a bit more complicated than matrilinear succession, right?

Because a woman will always know who her children are. It is quite easy to know, given that the woman is the one pressing the child out of her uterus.

A man meanwhile? Well, he cannot know who his children are in a world before paternity tests. At least not unless he makes sure that the woman birthing the child has slept with nobody but him. And hence: Monogamy. At least enforced monogamy for women.

This is also what led to all those other ways of men controlling women. Controlling how they dress and shaming them for whatever thing they might do, that men find attractive. Because it all has to do with this patriarchal fear of not knowing whether a child is yours or not.

Of course it has to be noted that originally this only led to polygyny. So a man, who would take several wives, but control the wives so that they would not sleep with another men. But we do assume these days, that the reason it led to monogamy was, that polygyny made the societies too instable, because it would naturally mean, that some men would not have any women and that was not good.

Hence... Monogamy was what people started to settle on more and more. Including this idea that men somehow owned women.

If you feel more comfortable with monogamy... Sure, fine. Good for you. But I think we really should speak more openly about the fact, that monogamy is something that is based completely in the patriarchy and in the end mostly exists to suppress women. For no other reason.

[fryandleelasbigfling]

i think leela deserves more appreciation than she gets.

i mean obviously there’s the people who just kind of degrade her into a pinup girl, we can all agree that’s lousy. but i think even a lot of good natured fans will write her off as the no-nonsense straight man to fry and bender, the “one with the braincell,” the one who has everything together and isn’t really willing to get silly like the boys. 

and yeah that can be true, especially in earlier seasons. but i think people underappreciate leela’s development and the fact she really is a messed-up, complicated, weird woman. 

for one thing, her kickass fighting abilities are well understood, but her kung-fu skill emerged as a way to work out her anger from being bullied, so she often resorts to violence as a defense mechanism even when it isn’t necessarily needed. in “hell is other robots” she gets freaked out by the mosh pit and beats up the other concertgoers, “bender’s game” is about how her anger can overtake her and even being punished for violence won’t faze her, and in “lethal inspection” she outright admits violent outbursts are how she copes with mortality. “anthology of interest 1″ shows that she will descend into a murderous rampage at the slightest provocation if she had just a bit worse impulse control. 

she’s also really stubborn! like, she will have a full-on mental breakdown if someone insists she can’t do something, because she has such an issue with being treated as unwanted and “worthless” that she needs to prove herself as highly capable of anything. "the sting," “mobius dick” and “bender’s game” are both great examples, as is the back half of “bender’s big score” -- note the sharp turn from “happy, calm, in love, willing to let other people handle the situation” to “insists on taking charge, kicking ass, and self-isolating” after lars leaves her at the altar. 

also as great as it is that she’s more organized than fry, this veers into some weird habits like freezing all her dinners a month in advance and having a very minimalist apartment for a while. this plays into how anxious she gets about taking risks. she is very pedantic about grammar and can get ridiculously overzealous about keeping her crew safe and healthy. however she gets bored and frustrated when she doesn’t have excitement in her life. 

she is very bad at organizing papers, preferring to just hide things away even when they become too big to ignore (symbolic!), completely failing when she steps in for hermes in “lethal inspection.” she also forgot to vote despite preaching about it all episode in “a head in the polls.” she is not as infallible as she wants people to believe! she just tries harder to justify it to herself than others, because she also has a severe guilt complex -- if she admits to herself that she did something wrong, she feels she needs to be punished.

she has a lonely, mundane home life. she can struggle with creativity and settle on an unexciting option (i.e. wanting to use superpowers for “humdrum activities” in “less than hero”), which is where fry’s tendency to blurt out any idea that comes to mind comes in handy. 

despite being fairly fashionable, she sometimes struggles with traditional femininity. not just bc of her attitude and mutations but also her feet and breath stink lmao. she also has a bit of a potty mouth and has said “fuck” (bleeped out) in at least three episodes. she's a terrible singer (despite katey herself being a great singer).

she is implied to have a “hedonistic” past and used to drive around in a mausoleum as a teenager. she went to her prom alone with a dress made of carpet remains. she dropped out and “bummed around india for a while” after college. 

she has a massive soft spot for animals, including “gross” ones like leeches, and despite all her violence, she usually backs down if it means a (perceived) innocent animal will be hurt. this can sometimes backfire on her (i.e. “into the wild green yonder”). she is very protective and empathetic towards living creatures, probably cuz she never had anybody looking out for her. she likes to read books about animals to relax. 

she regularly visits the orphanarium and is very concerned with being a good role model for those kids, emphasizing especially with sally. it is repeatedly implied in the (admittedly semi-canon) comics that she wants to be a mother. 

she plays with her hair when she’s nervous or flirty. she had an anxiety attack and physically froze up when she thought a mutant was stalking her. she had a bedwetting problem as a child and even her warden still holds it over her head. 

she has repressed mental illness related to her lack of family growing up  and has a desperate need for companionship, but sets high standards so she won’t get her heart broken first. whenever she’s single, she is very cynical about love and doesn’t do well seeing happy couples. 

she seems very obsessed with normality and stability which is why she often seeks men of high status to date, even if they turn out to be jerks. however, she outgrows this after meeting her family, as she becomes extremely attached to them despite their low status and embraces her mutant culture quickly. 

her mutations are not limited to her eye. she not only has a whole episode about her now-cured genetic mutant disease, but she occasionally lays an egg and has talons on her elbows. depending on the episode, she can be quite disabled by her single eye due to her lack of depth perception. there’s also the singing boil but that episode sucks lol

she also can get really horny lol. once she’s dating fry steadily, she tends to initiate things a lot more, even in public. i think it’s sometimes more of a fanservice thing but it’s always funny to see her so down bad, especially in the comedy central era

she likes bender because of his “in your face attitude” and often has a playful dynamic with him despite disapproving of his lack of morals. she doesn’t like amy a lot of the time but they can get along and comfort each other when the time is needed. i’m not even getting into her and fry because that’s its own post.

overall i just love leela a lot, she’s such a weird, complicated, fascinating character and i could go on about her All Day. 

[sequinsmile-x]

can you write a thing about Emily suddenly realizing that her relationship with her mom is so fraught because she was always trying to find the sense of comfort and safety you’d expect to find in a mother, but her mom just doesn’t have it? she’s spent decades, since her earliest memories, trying to get that from her mom and only now understands that her mom isn’t that person. and maybe following it up with a moment of peace because she gets it all from Aaron

of course bestie <3

You know I love to write complicated family dynamics. At this point it's my brand!!

-x-

My Best Colours

She knew her relationship with her mother wasn’t a typical one, that she wasn’t the sort to sit with her daughter and discuss dresses and entrees before sitting back with tears in her eyes as she watched her little girl dance with her husband. But she’d always expected something.

Words: 4.2k

Warnings: Big big mommy issues.

Read over on Ao3, or below the cut

She had seen it coming. 

They’d talked about marriage more than once. Both of them shyly admitting it was something they wanted one night early into their relationship. The fact that they were never going to be anything other than forever, not lost on either of them. 

For a man who did what he did for a living, he wasn’t subtle. She noticed a ring of hers missing from her jewellery box one morning, and when she mentioned it to him his eyes had gone wide as if he’d been caught doing something wrong. He and Dave disappeared at lunchtime, both returning looking impressed with themselves. 

The ring was back that evening, in the slot it had always been in. It was only after he proposed, something that has still taken her by surprise despite knowing it was an inevitability, that she realised he’d taken it to measure her ring size. Her engagement ring perfect in every way as he placed it on her finger. 

“You ok, sweetheart?” 

She turns to look at him, her fiancé, and smiles as he reaches for her hand, linking their fingers on the centre console of their car as he parks it. 

“I’m ok,” she says as she looks at her mother’s house, blowing out a steady breath. 

“That bad, huh?” He asks, lifting their joint hands to his lips to press a kiss to her knuckles. She sighs and looks back at him, leaning back against the headrest. 

“I hate that she can make me feel like this,” she says, “I’m a grown woman for fuck sake. And I’m telling her I’m getting married. That’s supposed to be a good thing.” 

“A great thing,” he replies, kissing her knuckles again before releasing her hand, “It’s one dinner, and then we can tell the team at pasta night at Dave’s on Friday.” 

She nods, smiling at the thought of their friend's reactions, “I think Pen might need medical attention after we tell them.” 

Aaron chuckles, “I’ll make sure we have EMTs on standby,” he says as he gets out of the car, walking over to her side and opening her door for her before she can even undo her seatbelt.

She smiles and looks down at her hands, her fingers gripping at her engagement ring as she pulls it off, placing it into the cupholder next to her before she looks up at Aaron, “So she doesn’t clock it right away, she’s always been like a crow when it comes to diamonds.” 

Aaron offers her a hand to help her out of the car. A completely unnecessary thing she allows him to do. 

“Just when it comes to diamonds?” He asks, a spark of mischief in his eyes that he only ever let her see. A well-timed attempt to calm her down as she was getting stressed, an evening with her mother one of the few things that could make her lose her cool. His joke makes a laugh catch in her chest and she squeezes his hand, leaning in to kiss his cheek. 

“I love you so fucking much,” she says, kissing his cheek again before she pulls away. 

“I love you too,” he replies before he looks at the house and sees his future mother-in-law in the doorway, her arms crossed over her chest, “Let’s go, sweetheart,” he says to Em, his hand still wrapped around hers as they walk towards the door. 

She blows out a breath and murmurs under her breath, “Into the crow's nest we go.” 

___

They make it past dinner before she brings it up, her stomach unsettled with nerves as she forces herself to eat. It’s Aaron who encourages her, his hand reaching for hers on the table as he links their fingers together.

They’d always been able to say so much without any words.

She clears her throat and decides there is no time like the present, “Mother, we have something to tell you,” she says, waiting for a response, but all she gets is a subtle nod of Elizabeth’s head, “Aaron proposed,” she continues, joy warming her chest from the inside out at the memory of it all, at the image of him on one knee in front of her, “We’re getting married.” 

Elizabeth stares at them, her eyes lingering on their linked hands on the table, Emily’s bare ring finger, “I see.” 

Emily falters, her smile flickering for a moment before Aaron squeezes her hand, a silent reminder he was there. 

“I left the ring in the car so you wouldn’t spot it right away.” She says, hating how small her voice sounds, how she feels like she’s a teenager who has been caught with a boy in her room, “It’s beautiful, Aaron did a good job.” She turns to look at him and he smiles encouragingly at her, his hand still around hers. 

“When are you thinking of getting married?” Elizabeth asks, taking a sip of her wine, her expression almost indifferent. 

“We’ve discussed it,” Aaron says, taking over for Emily as she takes a large gulp of her drink, her grip on the glass tight, “We don’t want a long drawn out engagement, so probably this summer.” 

Elizabeth looks at Emily, her eyebrow raised, “You do remember I’m going to be in Germany for several months after I leave in a few weeks right? Chances are I won’t be back in the US until close to Christmas.”

Emily grits her teeth, a familiar churning in her stomach as she gives herself a moment to calm herself. A mix of irritation and dejection making her feel nauseous, something she remembered feeling ever since she was small and desperate for her mother’s attention. 

“I know,” she replies, forcing a smile on her face, “But we don’t want to wait-”

“Are you pregnant?” 

Her mouth falls open at her mother’s question, taken aback by how much it hurts, the slight edge of distaste in her voice that she files away for another day. 

“No,” she says firmly, “I’m not,” she doesn’t mention the birth control pills that are now at the bottom of the trash can in their ensuite, or how another child is something that she and Aaron both want. It’s something she thinks she’d share with her mother if their relationship was different, seeking advice as hope that felt a little dangerous swelled in her stomach, “That’s not…” 

“We don’t want anything big,” Aaron cuts in, his expression stern as he looks at Elizabeth, “Our friend already told me we can use his backyard when he helped me choose the ring.” 

Elizabeth smiles politely, “Someone's backyard?” 

“Surely you could come home for one weekend, Mother?” Emily asks, her annoyance getting the better of her. Her mother, and her endless judgement, the very thing that could always break the resolve Elizabeth herself had built the foundations of with her bare hands, “Your kid is getting married.”

“You aren’t a child, Emily,” Elizabeth replies, raising an eyebrow at her, “And you know how important my work is.” 

Emily scoffs, laughing bitterly as she shakes her head, “More important than me, I guess.” 

“Emily-”

“We’ll make sure you send you pictures,” Emily says, standing up as she throws the napkin she’d had on her lap onto the table, she looks at Aaron, “Can we go, please?” 

He stands without further prompting, the stern look he throws Elizabeth’s way the most he will add to this conversation. The promise he’d made long ago to Emily to not get involved firmly in the back of his mind. 

“Of course,” he says, his hand on her lower back, both of them highly aware of Elizabeth staring at them. 

She smiles tightly at him before turning back to her mother, “Let me know when you get to Germany,” she turns to leave but stops herself, looking at the other woman once more, “Just so you know, most people say congratulations when someone tells them they are getting married.” 

She walks away without looking back, her body tense in a way that it always was in this house. Her back as rigid as the walls that surrounded them, held up by secrets and the things she and her mother never spoke about. 

As soon as she’s in the car she reaches for her engagement ring, placing it back on her ring finger, some of the tension in her chest easing at the coolness of the metal against her skin. She purposely looks out of the window as Aaron joins her in the car, his gaze burning into her neck. 

“Sweetheart-”

“Can we just go home, please?” She asks, not looking at him as she wipes a stray tear from her cheek.

His response is his palm briefly on her thigh, squeezing it gently before he starts the engine. 

She should have seen this coming. 

___

She goes through the motions of saying goodbye to Jessica when they get home, smiling politely at the comments she makes about the wedding, excitement dripping from every word. It makes her mother’s lack of interest hurt even more. Her own mother unable to be as excited for her as Aaron’s ex-sister-in-law - a pillar of support their family would collapse without. 

Emily goes to the living room and sits on the couch, sighing as she looks at her hands, her eyes fixed on her engagement ring, the diamond shining in the low light of the room. 

She knew her relationship with her mother wasn’t a typical one, that she wasn’t the sort to sit with her daughter and discuss dresses and entrees before sitting back with tears in her eyes as she watched her little girl dance with her husband. But she’d always expected something. Arguments ranging from everything about the cake, to the venue, to the groom as the days toward her wedding counted down, her mother’s interference her own way of showing she cared.

She had never anticipated that there would be nothing. That her announcement that she was getting married would be treated as nothing more than a typical dinner conversation before being told how her plans were an inconvenience.

It hurt. And she feels anger at herself for once again letting her mother upset her creeping up her throat, a familiar bitter taste of disappointment settling on her tongue. Something she would recognise anywhere, an old friend that had visited her for as long as she could remember.

“Em?”

She turns to look at him, pulled out of her thoughts as he stands in front of her, a large glass of wine in his hand that she takes with a tight smile as he sits next to her on the couch, “Thanks, honey.” 

It was a twisted tradition of sorts. He’d bring her a drink and they’d sit in silence as she contemplated what her mother had said during dinner or whatever event they had gone to at her behest. It was something Emily appreciated. One of the many small ways Aaron loved her. Quiet and unassuming. 

A type of love she never thought she’d get to experience. 

“I don’t know what I expected,” she says, her eyes fixed ahead of her, staring past photos of her, Aaron and Jack. The family she had found and built around herself, steady and firm foundations after a lifetime of being on unsteady ground, “She’s never been the type to be happy for me,” she shakes her head at herself and laughs bitterly as she sips her wine, “It was stupid of me to think otherwise.” 

“Sweetheart-”

“Don’t tell me it’s not stupid,” she says sharply, turning to look at him. Her eyes are shining with tears he knows she won’t let fall until later when they are curled up in bed. Their room a sanctuary for the both of them, “She’s not…she’s always been like this. For as long as I can remember and yet I still let her get to me,” she clears her throat, “I’m 41 for fuck sake. At what point does it become my fault for expecting her to suddenly be the mom I always wanted her to be?” She closes her eyes and blows out a breath before she reaches out and puts her hand on his thigh, squeezing it lightly, “I’m not expecting you to answer that by the way it’s just…”

“Complicated.” 

She laughs humourlessly, nodding before she replies, “Yeah. It’s complicated.” She places her wine glass down and shifts to face him, one of her legs curled under herself as she rests her elbow on the back of the couch, her temple resting on her hand, “Want to know the worst part?” 

Aaron nods, placing his drink down next to hers before he places his hand on her knee, “You can tell me anything, you know that.” 

“When I was in Paris, I didn’t know if she knew that I was actually alive. It was one of the things I kept thinking about. If she thought I was dead,” she admits, her eyes focused on a loose thread on the couch that she starts to idly pick at, aware that if she didn’t keep her hands busy she’d rip her cuticles to shreds, “Then when I came back and found out she didn’t know I was alive, a part of me hoped that it was the second chance we both needed to get it right,” she looks up at him, and her chin trembles with the force of the emotions she can’t quite keep at bay, “But then Pen told me that she didn’t come to the funeral. Mother has told me since that she was in Spain but…I’m her only child. Are you really telling me whoever she was on assignment for wouldn’t have understood?”

He remembered talking to Elizabeth at the time, tasked with being the one to tell her as Emily’s superior. He’d called her, feeling guilty for what he was doing yet sure it was the right thing at the same time, hoping that eventually Elizabeth and Emily would forgive him for what he was doing. The call had been quick. Over in a matter of minutes. But he’d heard the tightness in her voice, the crack in it when she asked him to repeat himself. Ever since he and Emily had got together Elizabeth had always been a little short with him, more so now he and Emily were personally and romantically linked than when it was just professional. On some level, he wondered if his role in Emily’s faked death was part of it. If Elizabeth resented him for forcing her to face her own failings, something she had never been good at accepting. 

“She does love you, Em,” he says eventually, wiping away a tear from her cheek that neither of them will acknowledge. “Even if she isn’t capable of showing it in the way you deserve.” 

“I know,” she replies, shaking her head, “And that makes it worse. Sometimes I think it would be easier if she didn’t love me at all.” 

His heart aches for her, for every version of her there had ever been. The little girl who was desperate for her mother’s attention, too young to understand why all her time was spent with hired help. The teenager who understood too much, something that led to her making decisions she would always live with. The young woman who had taken a dangerous job to get away from it all, the very thing that had ultimately led to the world thinking she was dead. 

His heart aches for the woman in front of him. The love of his life. The person he’d spend the rest of his life ensuring had the love and support she’d always deserved. 

“Oh sweetheart,” he says, opening his arms to encourage her towards him. She doesn’t need asking twice, closing the gap between them and seeking out solace in his embrace. She ends up in his lap, her side against his chest as he holds her close, his lips against her forehead as she allows him to surround her, “I’m sorry.” 

She nods against him, wrapping her arms around him and grasping at his shirt, “Me too. I wish it could be different,” she chokes on a suppressed sob, the sound cracking her ribs from the inside out, “But I think it’s time I accept it never will be.” 

In a painful twist of irony, Emily thinks it will ultimately make her relationship with her mother better. The lack of expectations that she would never be able to meet would mean she wouldn’t react when she felt let down, and then Elizabeth wouldn’t react in turn. She knew that she’d never quite been what her mother had wanted. Expectations held on both sides that neither one of them had ever been able to live up to, leaving them where they were now. Emily once again crushed by her mother’s indifference, leaving a small mark on the excitement she felt about her engagement, about the happiness she had finally found. Elizabeth likely sat in her office wondering why Emily had overreacted, unable to see her own role in any of it. 

“I know it was the done thing,” Emily says after a few moments of silence, “And it helped her career to have a family, but I’ll just never understand why she had me if she didn’t want to be a mother,” she says, resting her head against his shoulder. 

Aaron sighs and kisses the top of her head, wishing that there was something he could do to make Elizabeth see sense. 

“For purely selfish reasons, I’m glad that she did have you,” he says before pulling back to look at her, a half smile on his face as he tucks some of her hair behind her ear, “I can’t imagine my life without you in it.” 

She smiles sadly at him, reaching up to cup his cheek, “I can’t imagine my life without you either.” 

Aaron turns his head to kiss her palm, and then the band of her engagement ring. He’s about to say something else, his mouth open to reply to her, when they hear a door open upstairs, followed by the familiar sound of Jack’s feet in the hallway and then on the stairs. Emily just sits up enough in time, removing herself from Aaron’s lap, before he’s on them, the little boy scrambling into the tiny gap between them on the couch.

“Daddy! Em’ly,” the 6-year-old says, his smile sleepy as he settles down, “Missed you.” 

Emily smiles at Aaron over Jack’s head, “We missed you too, sweetie, but you should be in bed.” 

Jack turns to look at her, whatever excuse he had tonight for being out of bed on the tip of his tongue, but he frowns instead. His eyebrows furrowing together in a way that made him look so much like Aaron it made her ache.

“Are you sad, Emily?” He asks, reaching up to touch her face, his small fingers catching on the sticky tear tracks on her face. “Was your mommy mean again?” 

Her breath catches in her chest at the question and it hurts. This little boy that she loved as her own had picked up on something she’d tried to hide from him.

“Jack-”

“I’ll be ok, sweet boy,” she says, cutting over Aaron’s admonishment of his son as Jack climbs into her lap, “I have you and Daddy.”

Jack nods, a serious expression on his face as he leans in to kiss her forehead before he pulls back to look at her, “Do you feel better now?” 

It takes everything in her not to start crying again. His tender affection, something she did for him when he was sad or sick, enough to tip her over the edge. 

“Much better, thank you,” she says, pulling him into a hug and kissing the side of his head.

Aaron wraps his arms around both of them and holds them close, pressing a kiss to his fiancée’s head, “We should go to bed,” he says quietly, his lips against her skin. 

“In a minute,” she replies, turning her face to bury it in his neck, seeking out the comfort that the scent of his cologne, of him, always brought her. 

“Ok, sweetheart,” he says, pulling her and Jack impossibly closer, “In a minute.” 

___

She grimaces at the sound of the scream of delight that comes out of Penelope, the sound hurting her ears as she’s pulled into a hug so fierce she thinks it could crack her ribs.

“Jesus, baby girl,” Derek exclaims, his fingers in his ears, “We’re all excited for them but we’d also like to hear whatever vows Princess pulls out of her ass for the wedding.” 

“Actually, Garcia would have to scream at 120 decibels, which is the sound of an average rock concert, for an extended period of time for it to damage our hearing,” Spencer says, his smile turning into confusion as Derek shakes his head at him. 

Emily narrows her eyes lovingly at Derek for his comment about the vows. Penelope releases her and Derek pulls her into a hug himself, her fiance pulled in a different direction to her, forced into a hug by Penelope. 

“I’m happy for you, Em,” Derek says, kissing her cheek before he pulls away with a wide smile on his face, “You both deserve it.” 

“Thanks, Derek,” she replies, smiling widely at him. Dave is next, his arm around her as he hugs her. 

“I’m so pleased I don’t have to keep it to myself anymore,” he exclaims as if having a secret that none of them knew about had been a hardship. 

“Yeah right, Zia Rossi,” she says, smirking when he rolls her eyes at her, “We all know you love being part of something.” 

“Wait, Rossi knew,” JJ asks, grabbing Emily’s hand to look at the ring, “That’s not fair.” 

“He helped with the ring,” Aaron says, rejoining Emily’s side and putting his arm around her waist. 

“Which is gorgeous by the way,” Penelope says, looking back and forth between Dave and Aaron, “I didn’t know either of you had it in you.” 

“I’ll have you know that every Mrs Rossi had the finest ring available,” Dave replies, he points at Emily, cutting off any sarcastic comment she had ready, “Don’t say a word.” 

She laughs and leans into Aaron’s side, “I love it,” she says looking down at her hand, the ring still taking her aback every time she looked at it, before she glances up at Aaron, “You did a good job.” 

She kisses him, ignoring the mixture of jeers and encouragement from their friends, making a point of keeping it going for longer than she usually would in front of him. Laughing as she pulls away and sees the tinge of pink on his cheeks. 

“Save it for the wedding,” JJ jokes, her smile wide “Speaking of the wedding, when will it be?”

“Summer,” Emily replies, “Dave has already said we can have it here at Hotel Rossi.” 

“What will the ambassador make of that?” Derek asks, sipping his beer.

Emily is grateful that she doesn’t react physically, the two days since the dinner at her mother’s enough to help her pull herself back together. Stitching together old wounds with time spent with Aaron and Jack. Wounds she was determined to never let her mother open up again. It may be fantasy, something that was impossible in practical terms, but she was going to try. She didn’t need to seek out what she’d always wanted from her anymore, she’d found it, and more, in abundance elsewhere. Everything she’d ever wanted in the most likely of places - a job that she took as she was desperate to find herself again. 

“She’ll be abroad but she’s happy for us,” Aaron says, running his hand up and down her side. She kisses his shoulder, a silent thank you for answering that question for her, “Dave, you said something about champagne earlier?” 

If any of them pick up on the redirect, they don’t say anything, and Dave springs to life, his hands clapping together as he walks towards his kitchen.

“I put it on ice before you all arrived.” 

He disappears into the kitchen, and the rest of the team talk amongst themselves, giving Emily and Aaron a brief moment alone. He kisses her temple and turns her in his embrace to face him.

“You ok?” He asks, concern lingering in his eyes like it had ever since they left her mother’s house. She smiles, because she knows if she says no, if she asks to go home, he’d take her no questions asked even though this had turned into a defacto engagement party. 

“I’m ok,” she replies, stamping a quick kiss against his lips, “Or at least, I will be,” she rests her head against his chest, smiling as they both hear Penelope excitedly chatter about a bachelorette party to JJ, Dave joining in with his own comments about the bachelor party when he returns with a tray of champagne flutes. She tilts her head to look up at him, a soft smile on her face, “How could I not be when this many people love us?” 

-x-

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[wonderlandleighleigh]

Gordon Ford’s new head writer is an enticing mystery of a woman.

Brilliantly funny. Gorgeous. Clearly complicated.

And not terribly forthcoming about anything outside of her wacky parents, ex, ex-in-laws and charming children.

“Clearly you’re seeing someone,” he guesses as he follows her through studio’s halls as she walks at her normal fast clip.

Midge Maisel lets out an amused giggle. “Gordon, have you been having lunch with my mother? She says the same thing all the time.”

“Come on, you turned me down for a date, you clearly have great chemistry with Mike-”

“Mike is married.”

“So?”

She huffs and heads into her small office. “Gordon, we have a show to put on tonight.”

“A hint,” He begs. “A crumb of a clue. C’mon.”

Midge shakes her head as she steps up to her desk, inspecting a beautiful vase of flowers that’s new to her desk; pink and green. Perfect.

“Oh, come on!” Gordon whines as he watches her. “Those flowers came from someone!”

She reads the card, smiling slowly. “They certainly did.”

“Boyfriend?”

“Depends on what state we’re in,” Midge tells him with a matter-of-fact tone. “Did you need to talk to me about a joke or a bit? Or are you just trying to pry into my lovelife?”

“The second thing.”

“Great. Get out.”

“I’m your boss!”

“I write all your best jokes and wrangle an entire room full of dumb-dumbs,” Midge reminds him. “And you can live without knowing everything about my personal life.”

Gordon huffs as he watches her slip the card from the flowers into a pocket in her dress. “One last question.”

She takes a deep breath and nods, straightening her shoulders. “Shoot.”

“Why the secrecy?” he asks. “Everything in your life is fair game for your sets and your jokes except this. You refuse to share. Why?”

Midge thinks about that for a moment, her fingers absently touching a flower petal. “Because it’s special. And it’s mine. And I just started here. I don’t know anyone here very well yet. Maybe if we get to be close, I’ll let you in on it someday.”

“So Susie knows.”

“Of course.”

“And your parents.”

“Yep.”

“And he ex.”

“He’s livid, but yes.”

Gordon huffs and shakes his head. “What did the card say?”

She smiles again. “This is way more than one last question.”

“Throw me a bone, and I’ll raise your salary.”

“Mike will kill you.”

“Mike has no show without me.”

“Raise it by how much?”

“Enough. The card.”

She laughs and nods. “It says ‘Have a great show. All my love, L.’”

“That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

“L?”

“L.”

Gordon groans as he whirls around to leave. “I’m going to be thinking about this forever!”

Midge laughs again, harder this time, and sits at her desk to work. "Don't forget that raise, Ford!" She glances at the flowers for just a moment, and then gets to it.

[ryuichirou]

Replies

A couple of questions today! Replying to replies about other replies + a couple of shippy ones + the OruMal Anon is back with more juice lol

Anonymous asked:

Now, why would you say that? Now I’M thinking of Idia wearing just a jacket, thanks a lot

You’re very welcome lol Isn’t he perfect dressed like that? I mean, barely dressed.

Anonymous asked:

to the Idia plush anon, i'm so jealous~~ i thought the outfit Ortho would come with would show off his cheeks but it covers them instead orz i want to buy doll clothes that let him show them off, maybe even sew them myself. btw i think our plushies should kiss new

I demand pictures of kissing plushies… Anons irl meet-up just for the sake of kissing plushies lol

Also! Sewing clothes for a plushie yourself is such a cool thing to do. You’re cool, Anon.

Anonymous asked:

Marja is the epitome of a southern granny, and as someone who has three, I can tell ya they’ll kick your ass. Like I saw Marja and was wondering how Epel still thinks girls are weak when Marja is a badass, like that lil ol’ lady probably kicked his ass more often than Vil did and then told him to get his ass to the farm.

Exactly! Epel surely complains a whole lot for someone who’s been disciplined by this scary woman for his entire life lol

I think it’s also due to the fact that there aren’t any girls around his age (or any other kids) in Harveston, so ma and meemaw, as well as the rest of the women in the village feel as if they’re not quite the same thing as girls. Of course he knows that they are, but I feel like he still has this “yeah but this is different” idea in his head lol Which is kind of stupid, but Epel is still figuring things out so…

Anonymous asked:

Do you think any of the nrc students is interested in Trein (could be sexually or Romantically) ?🎤

I took some time to think about it, Anon, and I’m sorry to give you a disappointing answer: I can’t think of anyone who could be interested in Trein like that… Maybe we just haven’t seen them interact enough. But still, have three boys with the best potential when it comes to this:

Azul, because he wants to be the teacher’s pet very badly, and pretty much always has his tongue up Trein’s ass (metaphorically), but neither of them would see this as sexual or romantic. Azul wants to be the best because he is the best academically! Earned favouritism only!

Ortho, because he gets to hang out with Trein when Idia is taking tests! I don’t remember where we got this fact from, but it’s cute lol But then again, it isn’t either romantic or sexual thing…

Lilia, because you know. Talked about them here.

blackbutlerfandomnerddomain asked:

Do you think Rook ever goes down on Vil? You think he'll ever teach the ways of what to do down there to make the Queen shiver and cry out to Neige or Epel or ANYONE who's brave enough to actually be in Vil's bedchambers?

I think Rook lives down there. This is the base of his diet lol

Rook would be more than happy to teach someone the art of making Vil feel this good, both because mentoring someone in such a complicated craft is always rewarding, and because he is a possessive dick that doesn’t fully want Vil to be alone with someone else without him also being a part of the process somehow lol

Anonymous asked:

I'm glad a few people like my OruMal ask :)!! I was disappointed when I went through the ship tags on ao3 and found absolutely nothing. I just had to speak up 😔 I know most fans don't like to ship ortho, but c'mon, the POTENTIAL of it all!!!!!!!

With that in mind, heres a few more ideas I have 🥰

• With Malleus, it makes sense why he's interested. Ortho is a freak of nature to him!!! He'll get used to treating him like any other student, but then Ortho keeps doing the most strange and bizarre things, like he can just pull off his arms and legs as though it's nothing! He tries to think of it as though it's some kind of magic, but I imagine if he ever voiced that, Ortho would be like "oh, no, I can't use magic at all," and go into a long tangent about how it works and just perplex Malleus even more

• Why Ortho would be interested is a whole other can of worms. He does have a base level of curiosity for everyone, and that would apply to Malleus too, but is there anything more than that 🤔 if Malleus were actively pursuing him, I bet he would think his chances are certain that Ortho will reciprocate because he is an extremely powerful prince. Whatever reasons Ortho has for entertaining Malleus, I definitely don't think it will be what he expected. Probably because he's a bit of a loser... like his brother <3

• Holding my breath for book 7, but assuming nothing major happens between Ortho and Malleus (unlikely) then I actually think they will only consider each other seriously way after their days at NRC. They might have a fling while they're in college, sure, a bit of a flirt and tease and maybe a fuck or two if the mood is right, but there's so many other interesting boys here to see and do!! I think it will only be centuries later when they've both gotten tired of losing loved ones that they seek each other out, for the comfort more than the curiosity. They would tease each other for it, but I don't think either of them actually want to be left alone

• Malleus eventually learning to be a pillow princess and just sit there and starfish out while Ortho does his thing would be funny 😭 he likes to toy around, and Ortho seems to enjoy it when he plays with his motherboard, but... after enough times getting smoke and explosions directly to the face because he pressed the wrong button or pulled the wrong wire, he's unfortunately told to cool it 😔 honestly, he's lucky if he hasn't permanently damaged his core!!

That's all I have, thank you ❤️!!!!

Anon! Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us again. Yeah, I can imagine how little Ortho-related stuff there is on Ao3, let alone stuff about him and Malleus, so we’re truly on a rareship territory here lol

I like the first two things that you’ve said because yeah, the mutual interest they would have for each other is a very nice fuel for their ship. Both of them are so curious, and quite experimental, so they’d have a lot to show each other and to talk about.

Oh my god the last one, Malleus don’t touch anything, you’ll just fry him again! Mister “I break every phone Lilia gives me” absolutely should not play around with Ortho’s motherboard… lol but it’ll still be a thrill for them, at least until it gets dangerous and Malleus is prohibited from touching anything ever again. But it’s okay, because Ortho is perfect at handling pillow princesses…

[kanerallels]

I promised @laughingphoenixleader that I would post this, so have a little story, beloved friend! Featuring a new OC that my girl @accidental-spice came up with!

“Kyle, DARLING!”

Kyle managed, shockingly, not to flinch at the ominously familiar, sing-song voice. Looking up briefly from his paperwork, his worst suspicions were confirmed at the sight of a tall woman, elegantly dressed, her hair dyed in vibrant streaks of blue and pink.

“Gloria,” he said evenly. “How was Belgium?”

Gloria Bartlett— undercover agent extraordinaire when she wasn’t Kyle’s partner— took a seat on the corner of Kyle’s desk, smiling widely. “Fabulous. Tried some waffles, took a tour of a few churches, and shot some people. How’s home been?”

“It’s been fine,” Kyle said, redirecting his attention to the paperwork in front of him. 

“Really? Just fine? Honestly, Kyle, you never give me any proper descriptions of things. What all happened? Is Andersen eating properly? Did Maryeme’s youngest get that part in the play? And what’s Ivan been up to?”

Without looking up, Kyle said, “More or less, yes, and he’s still single.”

“Rude,” Gloria huffed with annoyance. Kyle ignored it— everyone knew that Gloria and Ivan were head over heels for each other. With, of course, the exception of Gloria and Ivan. Kyle had long since elected to stay out of it. “Well, are there any cases I should know about?”

Kyle opened his mouth to tell her no— and then stopped. Because she was one of Andersen’s top agents, and his partner. So, technically, if anyone should know about this, it was her.

But he really, really didn’t want to tell her about it. And by it, he meant Kate.

Unfortunately, Gloria caught his hesitation, and arched an eyebrow at him. “Something you’d like to share?”

“We found an informant on Alban.”

Gloria’s eyes widened.

She’d been there, right next to him, when Andersen had found his family dead by Derek Alban’s hand. His wife and two daughters, killed brutally. Kyle shuddered internally at the memory. They both knew what catching Alban meant to Andersen.

“Okay,” she said slowly. “Tell me as much as you can.”

Kyle paused, collecting his thoughts. “Kate Davis. She’s a thief who was in a relationship with him. But he abandoned her after we caught her robbing one of the local senators.”

Nodding, Gloria said, “Good for her.”

“Not exactly,” Kyle said, “but I’m not going to argue that point with you right now. She’s given us a lot of intel on some of his previous crimes, and his hideouts. It’s turned out pretty well for us. We haven’t caught him yet, but we’ve brought in several of his men, caught a mole in the department, and we’re close to catching up with him.”

Gloria grinned. “That’s fabulous news. Then why so hesitant?”

She would notice that. “Um. It’s complicated. Kate is— that is, I—”

“Good afternoon, Gloria.”

Andersen’s mild voice cut through Kyle’s stammering, and they both looked up to see their boss holding a mug of tea. “I take it Kyle’s giving you his news?”

“He’s trying to,” Gloria said, side-eyeing Kyle.

Chuckling, Andersen said, “Cut him some slack. Telling you he got married while you were gone can’t be easy.”

Oh boy. Kyle winced as Gloria’s jaw dropped.

“You did WHAT? Wait— oh, wow. Oh, stars. Kyle, did you fall in love with a criminal?”

“No,” Kyle said, his voice sharper than it should have been. “It’s not like that, she needed help.”

“So you married her?” Gloria said, her eyes sparkling with amusement. “So logical.”

“It’s not—” Kyle cut himself off, taking a deep breath. “Okay. I’m going to explain this to you in three sentences, and then you’re going to go away and let me finish my paperwork.”

“I will make no such promise. But give it a shot.”

“She’s pregnant with Derek Alban’s child.” Kyle saw Gloria’s eyes go wide, and continued. “She didn’t want him to find out and use the baby as leverage, so I offered to pretend to be the baby’s father, and marrying her is what I would do if it was real. Now please go away.”

Gloria stared at him, her mouth open, for a long moment. Then, hopping to her feet, she said, “I see where this is going. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go ask Ivan and Maryeme for the tea about this situation. Later.”

“Gloria—” Kyle groaned as she sailed away, looking delighted. Well, that can’t possibly go badly.

[excessive-vampires]

Dealing With Demons Chapter 5: Hope This One's Interesting Part 2: Cee

Masterlist with CW

Taglist: @demyxdancer @softvampirewhump

"This complicates things," Avi said, looking at my Spotify profile.

Maybe it means they're willing to forgive you? I mean they could only have found it through you.

"Or maybe they were just curious and recognized your good taste in music. Now, I have to do an hour of business paperwork."

I groaned internally.

"To make sure I stay filthy rich."

I thought my acquiescence.

"So what podcast do you want me to put on for you?"

Have I mentioned how much I love that I don't have to pay attention to your boring ass business shit?

Avi beamed. They were proud of the system we'd come up with. Then suddenly they closed their eyes and inhaled deeply.

"A summons."

Guess the paperwork will have to wait. Hope this one's interesting.

That last interesting one I remembered was a woman who wanted one of every single issue of a certain comic book from thirty years ago. That had taken some investigative work. Deals were getting more and more rare, honestly, since Avi had refused to do anything too illegal for any reason besides protecting themself or punishing deal-breakers ever since we made our deal. It just wasn't worth the risk of ending up on the run from the law when they had a real life they'd lose if they did. But they didn't really mind the scarcity. Demons were patient, according to Avi, and for now they didn't need any more power to get what they wanted, not when they had me.

They blinked and suddenly we were in a dark room. Probably some sort of basement. It smelled like underground. Stale and damp and earthy. The floor was rough beneath their feet.

Across the room stood a person probably in their early forties. Short dirty blond hair tinged with gray at the temples Sinister smile, impeccably dressed.

Avi wore casual clothes. One of my old band t-shirts and sweatpants. Not even a bra. I felt self-conscious next to their soon-to-be client's suit. Avi felt frustrated that there had been no time to change. But if they don't answer a summons right away the summoner will eventually give up.

"You're not what I expected." The summoner's voice had a southern drawl to it, much thicker than my slight accent.

Avi looked down at their outfit and grimaced. "If you give me a moment I can put on some more businesslike attire."

"Not entirely what I meant. You have a physical body."

So, this summoner knew enough about demons to recognize possession. That was interesting, but not too unexpected. People tended to do quite a lot of research before selling their souls. I'd had only the one spellbook I found hidden in an alley to guide me, but I was in too much of a hurry to bother finding connections in the world of mages before making my deal.

"Yes." They beamed. "Isn't it nice?" They made a show of turning around in a circle.

"Don't you want a skinnier one? I mean, you're not a demon of gluttony." The summoner laughed at their own joke.

Rage bloomed in me, but also shame. It just goes to show, you never completely unlearn anything.

"Not. Interested."

The summoner shrugged. "No need to get angry."

"Now," the demon inhaled, searching the essence of the summoning spell for more information on the person standing before us. "Cliff Mason. Hi, I'm Avi, they/them. What do you desire?" We both wanted to get this deal over with as soon as possible, Cliff seemed like an asshole.

He grinned. "I have a plan. It requires one of each type of demon." He held up seven fingers.

Ominous.

"It will bestow great power upon everyone involved."

Vague.

"Uh huh, sure. Which lucky demon gets your soul?"

There was a slight pause.

"The power should be its own reward."

There's another red flag.

"Listen, I've kind of got my own thing going on, so find yourself another spirit of avarice."

"No! Having a demon that owns a body will make things so much easier! Now that I've found you I won't let you go!"

I don't know if you can hear this but there are warning sirens going off in my brain right now, Avi.

"Yeah, sorry, this sounds sketchy as hell. I'm out."

"Wait! No!"

With another blink we were back in Avi's apartment.

"That was weird."

Let's hope he gives up on whatever he's trying to do.

"Yeah, it sounds like he'll likely just blow himself up anyway."

I hope so. I got a seriously creepy vibe from him.

They walked over to their desk and sat down to start on the paperwork. "Don't worry, we'll probably never see him again." 

[the-writer-nerd-ro]

Sara Pena and Hunter Richardson vandalized my heart and mind exactly one year ago today so you KNOW I had to write something to celebrate.

Happy anniversary, Sphere! You deserve the world but that's not in your budget so I hope you enjoy this instead.

Anniversary Month

“Sara?” Hunter Richardson asked, stretched out across their bed like a cat while Hunter picked out an outfit for the day.

“Yes, Hun?”

“When's our anniversary?”

Sara frowned and turned to face her, midway through shimmying a sports bra over her t-shirt.

“Don't you remember?”

“I'm serious, it's a complicated question. Is it the day we met, the coffee date after that, is it when we moved in together, or is it when I asked you to be my girlfriend?”

“Most of that happened in November, right?”

“Right.”

“So why don't we have an anniversary month, instead?”

“Hm,” Hunter mulled over that, reluctantly pulling herself out of bed and beginning to get dressed as well.

“How exactly do we celebrate an anniversary month?”

“Not much differently than we celebrate every month, I guess. We just do nice things for each other and maybe once a week we have a super fun date night.”

“Do we have to go places?” Hunter asked.

“It'd probably be better if we did. We have at-home dates all the time, we should probably go to at least a couple of places.”

“Fine.”

“And you can go to parties with me!” Sara said, lighting up like a firecracker.

“I don't know… You never come to work with me,” Hunter pointed out.

“Do you want me to?”

Hunter paused to think about it. “I don't see why not.”

“Okay, I'll come visit you at work if you come to one party with me.”

“Deal.”

“I'm going to make lots more plans,” Sara promised, grinning like a mad woman.

“Try to stay within our budget,” Hunter said, but she was already making unbudgetable plans herself.

Sara was beyond giddy about a month of surprising Hunter. If she was being honest, Hunter did most of the surprising in their relationship, Sara was more about spending quality time and words of affirmation and Hunter was more of a gift giver with a side of acts of service. They made it work, of course, but it would be exciting to reciprocate the gifts for once.

The only question was what to get Hunter. Her first thought was a candle, but that was her hobby, not Hunter's. She could get her new camera equipment, but that could get pretty pricey… And lord knows Hunter didn't need anymore vintage dresses, she had a steady supply and a closet chock full of them.

Finally Sara settled on some ideas, feeling pretty good about her schemes.

Hunter had her own schemes afoot, though she was thinking more about those dates Sara had mentioned than possible gifts.

It was kind of sad that in a year she hadn't topped the cemetery picnic they'd had the day Sara had asked her to move in. They had had plenty of nice dates, Sara had even dragged her to a few parties as part of SaraPenaPartyForHire's Deluxe Diamond Party Package. But Hunter knew she could do better.

But first, she'd have to build up to it, with lots of little things to make November special for her girlfriend.

Like going on walks in the evening, and letting Sara teach her new dance moves, and making sure Sara's favorite candles were lit when she came home.

Likewise, throughout the week, Sara surprised Hunter with little things to brighten her day. Her favorite chocolates at the end of the day, and breakfast in bed in the morning. Granted, it was toaster strudels, but it was still breakfast. And Sara had even taken the time to draw a heart on the strudel with icing, which was a sweet touch.

Both of them were building up to their first big date of the month.

Hunter had convinced Sara to let her plan the date, anxious and excited to get every tiny detail correct.

“Bowling? I didn't know you liked bowling,” Sara said.

“Bowling is optional, I have other ideas.”

“Ooh,” Sara said, intrigued. She couldn't help notice that Hunter was dressed a little differently than normal. Instead of an elegant black dress Hunter was wearing a flowy dark blue jumpsuit with light blue floral accents.

“You look pretty,” Sara added, taking amd squeezing Hunter's hand.

Hunter blushed. “You look nice, as well.”

Sara was wearing an oversized off the shoulder top, lavender with a cheerful sun icon. The sun was wearing sunglasses. Hunter thought it was very dorky and also one of the cutest things she'd ever seen.

Sara was also carrying a suspiciously large purse, which she kept zipped shut.

“What have you got in there?”

“What have you got planned?” Sara countered.

Hunter smirked. “You'll see.”

“I can't wait.”

Sara didn't have to wait long.

“It's not super fancy, but this bowling alley has the best sub sandwiches in the city.”

“Really? That's so cool!” Sara had lived here a few years but there was still so much she didn't know, so much left for a local like Hunter to show her.

“So we came here for the sandwiches?”

“Not just the sandwiches.”

“Sandwiches and bowling?”

Hunter shook her head.

“You're so cryptic,” Sara said in a tone that implied she found that very hot.

“I try.”

They ordered and ate and watched people bowl, with Hunter running an ongoing commentary about which athletes shouldn't quit their day jobs.

Sara knew some people thought Hunter was mean, but Sara knew that Hunter's words weren't malicious. Hunter was just trying to make sense of a nonsensical world.

Sara loved being able to see the world through Hunter's eyes, frozen like photographs that could be categorized and comprehended.

And Hunter loved that Sara was the one thing she couldn't capture in a photo, too alive and unpredictable to stay frozen for long.

“Are you ready for your next surprise?” Hunter asked.

“Wait! I have a surprise for you first.”

Hunter feigned shock.

“Close your eyes.”

When Sara was sure Hunter wasn't peeking, she unzipped her purse and set the present in front of Hunter.

“Okay, you can open them now.”

Hunter cracked an eye, both eyes widening when she saw her gift. It was a 65 pack of Sharpies.

“Permanent markers,” Hunter said in excited disbelief.

“For your art,” Sara said, beaming.

“I love it.”

“I can hold onto them until we get home,” Sara added.

“Give me a sec,” Hunter selected a magenta marker and tucked it into her jumpsuit pocket.

“Alright, let's go.”

Sara stuck the markers back in her bag and followed Hunter past the lanes and into a little arcade with funky carpeting that kind of matched the leggings Sara was wearing.

Hunter skipped the skeeball, coin pusher, and various claw machines, ignoring everything until they reached a very loud and bright rhythm game which was quite impossible to ignore.

“Want to dance?”

Sara grinned. “You are so going down.”

Hunter lost with dignity three times before she was too wiped out to continue.

“This was really great, Hun.”

“Anything for you,” Hunter said. She'd even go to a party. She'd even wear a jumpsuit instead of a dress, just so she could dance with her partner.

“Well, I'm gonna win you something from the claw machine.”

“Go for it.” While Sara darted off to lose some money and win a velcro monkey, Hunter took out her marker and tagged the machine with SP ♡ HR.

Then she headed over to the claw to cheer Sara on in her own way.

“I don't know if we're going to top this one,” Hunter said as Sara secured a purple monkey.

“Yeah, but it will be fun to try. Happy anniversary month, Hun.”

“Happy anniversary month, Sara without an h.”

[meirimerens]

it seems to me that the deal with pathologic 2 english dubbing is entirely dividing all of the characters into three categories: British, South Park character and Women (with intended derogation). honestly drives me insane a bit because with russian well we don't really have that distinct of accents so everyone kinda sounds the same in that manner... and it almost feels less theatrical (maybe it should. but the way english dubbing sounds theatrical To Me is. well. NAWT GOOD) in russian voice over, especially with the kids. (still thinking about british 20 y.o. oxford student that is Notkin and south park caricature voiced by an adult woman that is Khan in english dub. *[metaphorically] holding a cig in between my fingers pensively* still not dealing very well with it emotionally.) the only voice that set me absolutely fucking insane in russian voice over was Eva's – WHY DOES SHE TALK LIKE THAT!! WHAT DID THEY DO TO HER!!!!! misogyny in casual ways etc. etc. but with english dubbing every other character forced a fight or flight response out of me. idk maybe i am a bit biased but with the way it is just so different.... pathologic 2 (RUS) and pathologic 2 (ENG) are like two siblings who are mostly the same but one of them is objectively . uglier than the other. speaking of siblings, it turns out Stamatins have DIFFERENT voice actors in english. this feels like a crime....

i could talk about the voices for Hours bro i played the game russian voices/english subtitles and most of the lp's i watched also went this route except One so i discovered the english voices like second-handedly and Scared Me bro scared me... i've already talked about the kids' voices like I Know. I Know how hard it is to VA kids especially if you have to work with regulations making it harder to hire child VAs (for the better of the kid mind you, i'm not saying #bringbackunregulatedchildlabor here) and i'm sure the women who voice teenage/child boys are doing their absolute bests but man. i think the suspension of disbelief works way more when working with for ex. anime voice acting bc you can See the characters are only vague simulacra of children, but in a game that has pretty detailed 3D models and strives for a certain realism in the faces and whatnot, it is Jarring...

i think the use of British/generally Non-American english accent is like a commin trope to denote a foreignness or a different social status (because most of the anglophone players Will Be americans because. bigger country) but like. come on. look_how_they_massacred_my_boy.mp4... i'm sure there are subtleties within the russian voices that i'm not gettin because. well i'm not russian i guess that helps that would be Complicated to transpose in english but like. worarrgh.

i'm Very Glad both of these games had a release with an english voice acting cast because we like. Know. the tendency that americans have wrt Foreign Media / refusing to interact with things if they are not Dubbed in english even if they are subtitled [i think the whole Parasite movie release put that on the carpet again but i knew of it way before that] so it allowed for More People to check out the games [again. for the better and the worse...]

can we talk about eva and the twins let me talk about eva and the twins. can i talk about eva and the twins?

p2 russian eva has a light and high-pitched voice but it's kinda like. airy and hazy like she's deep in thoughts like she's daydreaming... her english voice sounds like the squeaky voices anglophone VTubers make so sound like cutesy anime girls. she sounding more like a child. and when you pair it with her neotonous face with her fit that looks like a child having dressed themselves and the general "youthening" of her personality. well i ain't saying anything but i'm making the biggest side-eye known to man rn!

p1 russian andrey has a sort of like high almost mighty and haughty attitude, kinda towering, p1 russian peter also has this sort of height with pride to it but fraying on the ends like mouth woolen (the Drink)... p1 english andrey has some of that height and restraint, kinda high in the throat like he's being above... p1 english peter is Squeaky. he's so squeaky. almost sounds giddy from time to time but also. The Drink. my man an arm on the wall drink in the other at a party telling you about shit only his drunk mind can comprehend...

p2 russian andrey has a depth and a certain Mystery but it still looks natural/like he's Deep In Thoughts... p2 russian peter is way #deeper than his p1 counterpart but it still looks natural/that's a Depressed voice if i ever heard one. scraping the floors with it.

p2 english andrey is so raspy it's kinda comical like he playin toughguy and p2 english peter while still Deep is like Theatrical to a goofy extend like IT'S NOT THAT SERIOUS. YOU SLEEP IN A BATHTUB 😭😭

while it. is normal for siblings to have different voices and would make sense for two siblings to have different voices, and as such voice actors... it doesn't for the stamatwins!! are you crazy? you SEPARATE the stamatwins? you make them into two people instead of two sides of a same coin? JAIL!! JAIL FOR THE VOICE ACTORS

[variousqueerthings]

SO IT'S PANDORICA OPENS TIME

we'll do this episode on its own, because I think it's its own thing!

and oh boy do we get into that peak M*ffat bullshit now...

sexism rank objectification (female character is ogled/harassed/turned into a sex joke by the doctor and/or a lead we’re supposed to root for and/or the camera): 4/10

sexism rank plot-point (lead female character is only there to serve plot, not to have her emotional interiority explored, or to have agency over her emotional interiority): 4/10

interesting complex or pointlessly complex (does the complexity serve the narrative or does it just serve to be confusing as a stand-in for smart, this includes visually): 4/10

furthers character and/or lore and/or plot development (broader question that ties into the previous ones, at least two of these, ideally three should be fulfilled): 6/10

companion matters (the companion doesn’t always have to be there, but if the companion is there, can they function without the doctor– and overall per season how often is the companion the focus or POV of the story): 3/10

the doctor is more than just “godlike” (examines the doctor’s flaws and limitations, doesn’t solve a plot by having it revolve entirely around the doctor’s existence): 2/10

doesn’t look down on previous doctor who (by erasing or mocking its importance, by redoing and “bettering” previous beloved plotpoints or characters, etc.): 4/10

isn’t trying to insert hamfisted sexiness (m*ffat famously talked a lot about how dw should be sexier multiple times, he sucks at writing it): 5/10

internal world has consistency (characters have backgrounds, feel rooted in a place with other people, generally feel like they have Lives): 4/10

Politics (how conservative is the story): 6/10

FULL RATING: 42/100 (if I can count….)

oh dear oh dear oh dear.... and tbh. I think I was being kind

OBJECTIFICATION: River Song dresses like Cleopatra in order to be sexy for the Doctor. Let's just... get that out of the way. Amy is I believe wearing short shorts and not a miniskirt, so that's a bit better

River Song's first outfit in Stormcage is actually kinda great (and so is ofc her hair, always), but then later on she goes full sexy but competent outfit, eh. I'm rating it this low because they're our lead female characters and that's what we're getting

PLOT-POINT: OH! BOY! Amy is wandering around, asking what's going on, not really able to contribute anything other than a big questionmark, then she gets attacked and saved by Rory, but of course she doesn't remember Rory, so it's all his POV (and we do get an eye-rolling, she's up there surrounded by Romans, so you'd better get there first joke + Rory making a jealous comment later on)

Furthering that we get... for actually the first proper time this season outside of episode one! some sense that there were repercussions of the Doctor's falling into Amy's life like that, but it's a single scene of River walking through Amy's bedroom and seeing all her figures and home-made Doctor paraphernalia and going "Oh Doctor, why do I let you out," and like... look, she knows the Doctor better than the Doctor -- and therefore we -- know her, but she's just some woman still. this is her third episode. her POV doesn't quite... work... for me

more than that though, we now get bits of Amy's past, except these things have never been brought up or been important before. Amy likes Romans now, because it's needed for the plot. Amy liked the story of Pandora's box, because it's important for the plot. ARRRHG M*FFAT! this is not character-writing! and it's only casually mentioned, it's not really anything to do with her

and then she gets shot by Auton!Rory. that thing where in Cold Blood I mentioned the tragic turnaround of Rory dying when he was trying to protect Amy, but anyway. that's now back to the status quo. Amy got shot by Rory and he's sad

COMPLEXITY: classic M*ffat bullshit. it's not actually that complicated, technically, sort of, it's just made to feel complicated, because it keeps setting up mysteries -- the Tardis is exploding (do we ever find out why or how exactly, I don't remember, we'll find out!) and there's a best-of people we've seen this season in a bit of a stupid montage that's all about River finding the Doctor, and this Pandorica fairytale thing and it's about sooome mysterious being, and now ALL THE ALIENS are there, and the Romans are autons, and River called the Doctor by grafitti'ing an ancient rock... it pretends to be complicated, but it's not really, it's just about a big universe conspiracy with the Doctor at the centre. and therein lies... one of the rubs

CHARACTERS/LORE/PLOT: it does better here, because it's literally season finale part 1 -- so what do we get?

Rory is back! wait, whaaat? compelling mystery -- he's sad because Amy doesn't remember him, and then she's happy to see him without knowing why

the Doctor and Amy don't have much going on... nor really do Rory and the Doctor, outside of their first fun interaction

the Doctor and River... eh, middling, she keeps saying things that make me sigh, because it's meant to be a haha wait and see why she's treating them like an old married couple, and that assumes I want to wait and see, or believe M*ffat can pull it off (I don't think he did)

uh lore and plot, the Pandorica... I think it should have been explored earlier. the myth, that is, not the box, the box is fine here. it should have been built up more, but here it is! and the Doctor is going into it and the Tardis is exploding... my opinions on this is two points down

COMPANIONS MATTER: lol. Okay. so I mentioned that Amy doesn't do anything in this episode and she doesn't. she spend the Big Doctor Speech Moment unconscious (not that she could have done anything there either, but at least have her in the scene, in awe at all the life that the Universe is full of or soooomething)

Rory does matter in a sense, but at this point I'm so frustrated by Amy not doing anything and being treated like a plot-point that I just see his character as a facet of that. he saves her life and then goes to talk with her about stuff in the hopes she'll remember him, and then shoots her accidentally -- to be fair, more might happen in the next episode

River... does River count as a companion? she is stuck in the Tardis exploding

but man. focusing in on what Amy is doing (or not doing) is increasingly making me want to tear my hair out

“GODLIKE” DOCTOR: I SHOULD RATE THIS LOWER! THE ONLY REASON I DON'T IS BECAUSE I KNOW THIS GETS WORSE LATER IN THE RUN! oh you know that mysterious being the Pandorica myth was about? that was THE DOCTOR! who is, hold on, finds quote:

"A nameless terrible thing – soaked in the blood of a billion galaxies – the most feared being in all the cosmos -- and nothing could stop it or hold it or reason with it" siiiiiiiiiiiigh sure Jan. we have begun step one of our journey of "the Doctor is not just some guy travelling around space (quite powerful, can perceive time and is near-immortal, absolutely), the Doctor is everyone's special war criminal, who destroys everything by being So Damn Cool

oh wait, let's bring up this as well: "no plan no backup no weapons worth a damn, and oh something else, I don’t have anything to lose, so if you’re sitting there in your silly little spaceship with your silly little guns, remember every black day I stopped you and then do the smart thing: let somebody else try first.”

you see, when RTD was establishing the nu!who ethos, a lot of the time, it was companions, or other people who solved the day. compare this to the poison sky, where the Doctor is about to commit suicide to stop the Sontarans, and then this kid -- this kid who absolutely fucked up and was an asshole -- tries to do better by taking the Doctor's place... and dies... and stops the Sontarans...

or Rose. or Martha. or Donna. or Harriet Jones. or Jack. or Jackie and Pete and Mickey. or fucking Wilf! Remember hiiim. or any countless single-episode people who did cool shit!

and tbh even watching Classic!who there's a fair bit of other people sorting out parts of the plot, while the Doctor does the more sciencey-whiency stuff

the Doctor didn't yell at aliens that he was better than them and then they ran away, that's not... what happened in so many of those episodes

but no, see the Doctor is the most dangerous, most important being in the world, and rather than just fuckn... destroying him (Time Lords Can Die, it is in fact so well-established that all of them are dead, except the Doctor... and the Master)... they put him in a prison, made by an elaborate trap surrounding AMY POND

so Amy is not a character who is in this story as a character. Amy is in this story as bait. for the very important Doctor. jeez.

PREVIOUS DOCTOR WHO: Eh, I mean technically it's a best-off with the villains, but their whole Selves are now bent towards the Doctor in a way that makes no sense, and it completely forgets why the Doctor is ever able to do anything so... on the ethos of previous DW it falls hard

“SEXINESS”: actually there is less of this once we get past the whole... Cleopatra... thing.... and the Amy and the Romans jokes.... it's not as egregious as, say, the first few minutes of Time of Angels

INTERNAL WORLD: I rated this one middly, because there isn't really any world-building in this, and I gueeesss there doesn't have to be?

Amy's world-building sucks. I put it down a point

POLITICS: apart from the sexism inherent in the writing of Amy Pond, there's not anything more. and I feel like I've gone over that enough in the other points. but like. it ain't good writing