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tragedybunny · 9 months ago

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Pretty Baby

༺Summary༻

Astarion is a trophy wife that does online porn and gets soft dommed by his loving wife.

༺Pairing༻ Astarion x Tav

༺Warnings༻ NSFW - PiV Sex, Anal Play, Femdom, Mommy Kink, Feminization

༺Word Count༻ 2870

༺A/N༻ I'm gonna be straight with ya - there was a lot of pseudoephed and sinus cold involved in the conception of this. I am accepting no responsibility for it.

Read On AO3

It's 6 PM and I just got home from the office. Pulling into the driveway, I let the car idle a bit before getting out. It builds the anticipation, I know he can hear it, know that he's in there, waiting for me, my sweet wife, my Astarion.

He's kneeling on that plush white rug that I indulged him and bought, even though it's a nightmare to have cleaned. That perfect body of his is clothed in nothing but his new pink, lacy, lingerie set that we picked out yesterday.

I feel myself getting a little wet thinking about it, how I watched him put it on this morning during his stream. Whenever I have time, I like to turn it on, even in the background, watch what they're all wishing they could have, but it belongs to me.

He'd been artfully arranged in bed when it had started. “Hello darlings,” he'd purred for his audience. “Forgive my state, I'm just waking up.”

I laughed loud enough that I was thankful my office door was closed. Did anyone really believe he looked that made up fresh out of bed. He'd been up since I got up, cooking us breakfast in an old band t-shirt and boxers, curls wild, red eyes full of sleep still. My sweet little albino weirdo, he listened to me complain about how we were out of blueberries for my oatmeal and promised to get more. “Get some strawberries too while you're there,” I'd added on my way out the door. After I left for work, he got ready for his stream.

Whenever someone at the law firm asked what my spouse did, I told them he was a social media marketing consultant. When they asked for who, I told them it was all hush-hush, NDA's, they were lawyers, they understood. At this point, they were convinced he worked for the pentagon or something, if only they knew.

After he told the audience his ridiculous lie, he rolled over in bed and stretched dramatically, flexing lean muscles for the camera. “I need to go to the farmer’s market today, mommy is out of organic blueberries. But she got me something special and told me I have to wear it if I leave the house.”

My hands had drifted to the crotch of my pants, client emails forgotten. He had been asking to wear a plug outside the house, I told him if he remembered his lingerie and to send me pictures, we'd talk. Pulling the set from his dresser drawer, he showed it to the camera. “Mommy is spoiling me, isn't she, darlings?”

My fingers ghosted over my mound as I watched him put on the pink bralette and thong panties. Somehow, it was more intoxicating than seeing him nude. “I'll be taking some pictures later that you all can indulge in, but for now I'm off.”

Thinking back on it, I can't wait anymore and turn the car off. As soon as I walk in the door, I head straight for the living room, dropping my bag on the chair to find my little treat waiting for me, on his knees, still dressed like I'd told him. “There's my little wife,” I greet him, and he knows he's good to talk.

“Hi mommy, how was your day.” He shifts one leg forward on instinct so that I can put my foot on his thigh.

“Fine, nothing terribly exciting,” I answer as he takes my shoe off. Switching feet, he takes the other one off, kissing my leg through my suit pants.

“I'm glad it wasn't too stressful.” Shoes gone, he starts to work on my pants.

“And how about you, were you a good little wife today? I saw you getting dressed on your stream.” I run my hand through his platinum curls and give them a playful tug.

He smiles proudly. “Yes, mommy, I did my errand and I had a nice day. I love it when you take time to watch me.”

“I know you do, baby. And you sent me so many nice pictures of you in your gift, just like I asked.” I step out of the pants and signal him to stand so he can finish undressing me. When he's done, he hands me a comfortable, loose dress he has ready. “What's for dinner?”

Astarion is a middling cook, and we eat a lot of take out, but sometimes it's nice to push him out of his comfort zone. Especially since he doesn't do all that much around the house with the maid service and the grocery delivery. He's a trophy wife. I knew that the moment I met him though, back in law school. He'd been forced into it by his adoptive father, Cazador Szarr and was so visibly unhappy with it and his whole life. We'd eloped six months after we met so I could get him out from under that monster’s thumb. I hadn't regretted it since, our less traditional proclivities even ended up complementing one another.

“Lasagna,” he says, looping his arms around my waist and burying his face in my shoulder. “It's almost done and I promise the maid didn't help this time.”

“Good job, baby. Go handle my clothes and we'll eat.”

Dinner is served by Astarion with a cute little apron over his lingerie. Not every night is playtime like this, but it is Friday so we've got time to enjoy ourselves. The lasagna is an improvement over the last time and he even took care to make a wine pairing from a local winery. “They had samples at the farmers market, so I could make sure it's up to your standards.”

The bottle comes back with us to the living room where I leave Astarion to pick out a movie while I grab some toys for the evening. His eyes get wide with excitement as I lay them out on the table next to the wine glasses. My wand, his plug with the pink jewel top, lube, and his paddle in case he gets bratty. I don't spank him often, only when he's seriously asking for it.

“Come here, wifey.” I take a seat on the champagne pink couch and settle him between my legs with a glass of wine.

What we're watching doesn't even matter as he starts loving on me almost immediately. The skirt of my dress is short enough that it rides up and leaves plenty of me exposed. He kisses and nibbles my thighs, fingers digging in, begging for my attention. My own underwear are getting slick.

“Please, can I pleasure you?” He rasps, finishing his wine and setting the glass aside. Kneeling, he turns to face me, crimson eyes begging.

“Hmm, you said you were good today. Did you get my blueberries?” He nods enthusiastically. “And the strawberries?” His face falls, I did add that at the last minute, maybe it's a little unfair.

“I forgot,” he looks down at the carpet. Poor little dear, his cock is already half-hard in his panties.

“You can use the wand for now. Anything else depends on your behavior.” He doesn't look up right away and I tip his chin up with my fingers. “Understood?”

“Yes, mommy.” Obediently, he retrieves my wand and sets it to low, he's so well-trained with it.

My legs spread and he bushes it lightly against my clit through my underwear. “Good baby.”

He works me gently to the precipice, stroking the wand over me rhythmically until I'm panting and groaning in need. My fingers wrap themselves in his curls and I tug him forward, demanding more. Placing it flush against me, he goes back to kissing my thighs.

Bucking my hips against the wand, I feel myself letting go. “I'm going to come love, you're doing so good.” Moaning, I clench around nothing, and pull his face against my sodden underwear by his hair.

Taking the wand, I turn it off and pet him, fingers drifting lightly over his scalp. Despite not fulfilling all my requests, I know I'm going to need him inside me tonight. I'll just have to think of a little punishment to remind him that he's not getting away with it. But for now, I want to play with my little wife.

“Lay in my lap, let's get this plug in you.”

He blushes adorably and quickly does as he is told, laying across my thighs so I can reach his bottom. Taking another drink of wine, I let him wait, feeling him squirm with anticipation. Finally, I grab the lube and coat my fingers.

Pulling his thong to the side, I spread him open and gently work a finger inside him. Below me he already starts making noises. Another finger slips in and he mewls. “Feeling good, baby?”

“Yes, mommy, you're so good to me.”

My fingers flex inside him, eliciting little moans as I prep him. When I'm satisfied he's ready, I lube up the plug and place it teasingly close to his entrance. “I want you to keep still, and no coming. If you want to wear this out of the house, you need to prove you're not going to be a mess about it.”

“Y-yes, mommy.”

This is actually unfair and he knows it. I wouldn't be there to play with him if he wore it out. But he accepts it like the good wife he is.

Slowly, I push it inside of him, treasuring the little gasps he makes. Once it's inside, I give it a firm push and he actually yelps. Poor thing, I'm just getting started.

Focusing on the movie, I start to idly play with it. Teasingly, I tug on it, working it back and forth until I feel him rut against my thigh. Lightly, I smack his bottom in warning. “What did I say?” He stills but whimpers as I keep going.

After he's good and worked up, I give him a break, rubbing his back and playing with his curls. I feel his cock, hard enough to dig into my thigh, and his panties wet with pre-cum.

When his breathing evens out, I start again and feel him shaking as he fights the urge to thrust against me. “Mommy, please,” he whines.

“A little longer baby,” I answer soothingly, now fucking him properly with it.

His moans turn to cries as he fights the rising tide of an orgasm, control something he's never been particularly good at. Finally, I take pity and stop, letting the plug settle inside him. “I think you've been very good tonight. I'm going to let you fuck me, but you can't finish in me because you still need a punishment for forgetting.”

He petulantly agrees and gets off my lap, kneeling on near me, while I set my clothes and lay out on the couch. “You can touch and kiss all you want.” I instruct, reaching out to stroke him through wet lace. “These are so pretty, but let's get them off so we don't ruin them.”

When they're discarded on the floor, he slots himself between my thighs and runs his hands over my body. “You're so beautiful. How did I get so lucky?”

I'm so wet, there's no resistance as he slides inside me, a relieved groan escaping him. His lips kiss every inch of me as he pumps slowly into me with restraint that's been trained into him.

Hesitantly, he takes a nipple between his lips, looking up to make sure he has permission. I nod and he hungrily suckles at it, the pace of his hips increasing.

“That's it, harder.” I encourage, reaching to scrape my nails along his back and ass. His hips snap harshly as he stays latched onto me, teeth scraping my nipple with just the right amount of pain. “I'm close, touch me.”

His fingers eagerly dip between my legs, knowing he can't come unless I do first. My hips buck into the firm circles he's rubbing, and my legs wrap around his back. He fucks so damn good. “That's it, love, such a good little wife,” I moan and see stars.

He whines and jerks back as I'm still riding my high. “I- I'm,” the rest of his words are lost to heaving breaths as he tries not to spill himself.

“We need to work on that control of yours,” I scold gently and he pouts. “I'll remember that attitude later. Now go on and finish up.”

“Thank you, mommy.” He palms himself and begins to stroke vigorously.

Reaching for my phone from the table behind me, I open the camera. I'll hold onto these for myself for a while, then let him post them. I don't mind sharing his beauty with the audience, but I get first dibs.

“There's my pretty baby,” I coo, watching his face beam at the praise while I snap the loveliest pictures of him.

“I want to watch you come. Can you do that for me? Get it all over yourself.” I zoom in on his leaking cock, elegant fingers wrapped around it, then his face, eyes closed, mouth parted.

With a final moan, he comes, seed coating his stomach and pelvis. “Look at me love.” His eyes are hazy when he brings them to mine, and he's smiling dazedly. “Let me get some pictures of you, you're such a beautiful little mess.”

God, I may keep these forever, he looks so blissed out. Putting my phone away, I lean over and kiss him tenderly. “Let's get you in a bath.”

In the water, he curls up in my arms, the little spoon, my cherished wife. “Did you enjoy yourself,” I ask, kissing the top of his head.

“I always do with you.” Taking one of my hands, he kisses it reverently.

“And you still like all this, right?”

He goes stiff in my arms and hesitates. His adoptive father had no tolerance for Astarion’s more unique tastes. “Yes,” he breathes, distraught enough that I feel bad.

“That's good, because we have to make a special stop before groceries for the dinner party tomorrow.” Grabbing my phone, I open the email concerning a gift I ordered him.

A rose gold metallic band sits on a bed of red velvet. A normal choker, save for the tiny lock in place of closure. “You mean it?” His voice is breathy with excitement.

“Of course, a pretty collar for my pretty wife.”

“Can I wear it to the dinner party?”

“Are you ready for everyone to see it?” I don't want him taking on too much at once.

“I am, besides, I can't wait to see who's the most awkward about it.” Little breathy giggles escape him.

“Gale for sure,” I add my laughter to his, glad he's so happy.

“Can…can I wear a skirt tomorrow when we go out?”

“Sure baby. Do you want one for the party too?” I've asked before if he wanted to be thought of as a different gender, and he always says no, despite very much wanted to be called wife.

“No, I think the collar will be enough excitement for them.”

“Alright, that sounds like a good plan. Now let's get out of here before we both get all pruney.”

The camera is set up for an early stream the next morning. Astarion flounces into the room in the fluffiest black tulle skirt with cream silk blouse. “Good morning darlings, mommy is taking me out today, and she said since I was good I get a little reward.”

He bends himself over the ottoman that's the same pink hue as the couch. A pretty little sight with his bottom in the air. “And she's going to be nice and help me with it.”

I don't make appearances on his stream often, and they're always from the waist down to avoid recognition. Carefully, I sit next to him on the couch, keeping my face out of view, and push his skirt up before pulling down his panties. Sensible black cotton for today. We gave him some prep off camera so the audience can get straight to the goods.

Plug in hand, I give him a showy little spread first. That's right, look at my wife's cute little asshole you simps, I think to the audience spending their hard-earned money on him. I push it in, letting his whimpers fill the air. It's so hard to not talk, to not call him pretty baby and tell him how good he is, but I can't have my voice recognized.

When it's in, I give his bottom a few firm smacks for everyone watching to enjoy. A little payback for the pout last night. “Mommy,” he whines, not having expected the improptu punishment. When I'm finished, I pull his panties back up and he turns to sit facing the camera, eyes watery. “We've got a busy day, so I probably won't see you all again today. I promise a nice long video next time.”

Once he gets the camera off, I pull him in for a kiss, tongue darting into his mouth. “Let's get going. I want to make it back early enough ruin this cute little outfit of yours.”

#bg3 #astarion #baldurs gate 3 #baldurs gate 3 fanfic #bg3 tav #tav #astarion x tav #my fanfic #my writing

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growinguparo · 11 months ago

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Thinking once again about the intersection of being aro / perpetually single and the Housing Issue. It is without a doubt the biggest issue I face as an aro person, particularly in fucking Canada.

In my province we have rent control on almost all rental units by default. Annual rent increases are capped at 2.5%, and though I have had landlords in the past try to break that law, they back down when you say "that's literally not legal lmao try again".

In my province we also have a type of lease called a group lease, where multiple people sign on as a group. This is the standard type of lease used in properties with more than one bedroom.

If one person wishes to remove themself from a group lease, that terminates the lease for all of the other tenants in the group. Therefore, in order to continue living in the unit they are already in and may have been in for years, the landlord can choose to force the remaining tenants to reapply, and upon signing a "new lease" they can increase the rent by however much they want. Forget 2.5%, they could double rent with no consequences and still get tenants because that's how desperate people are in Canada.

Seeing as that's fucking insane, I talked to multiple lawyers about it the last time this happened to me, and they all said yeah no, if someone wants to be removed from the lease then the landlord can choose to deny a takeover and force a new lease. You can prevent the issues that come with a new lease if everyone remains on the old lease even if they no longer live there, but that is rather precarious for everyone involved and also makes your landlord hate your guts.

Anytime a new lease is signed, landlords can increase by whatever they want, so renovictions are very common (I've been renovicted as well). With all these easy-to-access loopholes, "rent control" is a joke.

It is New Year's Day and I have received yet another email informing me that since one of my roommates decided to leave at the end of the lease period, our lease will be terminating and showings will begin next week. If any one of us wants to stay, we have to reapply at market rates with a replacement person already in the group ready to sign a new lease, or we have to all remain on the old lease.

I left my parents' home in 2016, and since then I have moved 15-17 times, depending what you count as a move, and lived in 12-13 different places. That's due to a bunch of forced circumstances, including co-op placements and illegal evictions, but many of those moves were because the roommates I was living with decided to move on with their lives, and I had no choice but to move as well.

When I tell people I've moved 15 times in 7 years, they are always shocked. I'm like, how have you NOT though? Having had this conversation many times, I start to ponder what makes me vulnerable to this type of exploitation, and what makes my friends able to avoid some of it.

#1. As a low-income disabled person, I am unable to afford "market rates". This means I'm always tryna get units that are below market rate, and those landlords are invariably very interested in removing their tenants to bring their busted-ass units up to market rate.

#2. I am SINGLE bro. No one is planning their life around living with me. Every time a roommate leaves, I get forced out too. I did have a long-term roommate for a couple years who bounced around 4 places with me, but eventually she moved city - as is her right - and I was forced out again.

Couples also have more options when it comes to affordable housing, particularly if they are willing to share a room. Sharing a room cuts your rent in half. It’s pretty rare to see just one person living in a 1bed because it’s just ludicrously expensive, but for couples it’s a decent option. During the searching stage as well, if you already have someone to live with it’s a lot easier to find places than if you also have to find new roommates (this part is especially brutal for me as a trans person). It is certainly still difficult for couples in the market, I know couples who have ended up homeless as well, but being alone makes you more vulnerable.

The housing crisis is a broad issue affecting literally everyone, but single people are one of the groups that is systematically disadvantaged, making it a significant issue for aros imo. It is the combination of being single and low-income that has made me so vulnerable to housing instability.

Edited with minor corrections

#yo sorry i remade this post cuz there was a bit of an error on it regarding the legality of evictions #hardly matters but i don't like spreading any misinformation #it's hard to evict but easy for the landlord to make your life hell for choosing to stay #and if the people who leave truly want to no longer be responsible for the unit then there is no choice the lease must be broken #which breaks it for all parties #insane #bonkers insane laws

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elenor222 · 5 months ago

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A Kendall Roy (Succession) Series

Word Count: 1.5k

Warnings: established relationship.

All characters are of age. This story is 18+.

part 1 part 2

NEW YORK

“Hi, I’m looking for Kendall? Comco?” says a lean, off the street, suited up man. There are creases on his pants. His jaw is slacked and eyes are blown and puffy. She turns her gaze over to Frank from her position on the chair handrest and motions for him to acknowledge him. Frank fixes his tie and doubles over. Emily clanks her teeth and looks over at Kendall.

She wonders if he had received her lawyer’s notice. Kendall still has those washed-up ocean eyes, Emily notices. It wouldn’t surprise her if he tried to subdue her lawyer or worse, buy him out. He was fully capable of going to any extent to prove his superiority. But she was tired of the game. It isn’t fun like it used to be back then. Long before, they were fighting and making up. His strong arms were always there to cradle her when she fell apart. But this time it was radio silence. She had wailed at first, throwing hands like a child. And then she went back to work like it was any other day at the firm.

The Business Alchemist opens his decked-up briefcase. His cerulean eyes roam over the room and settle on Emily. He relaxes his nerves and speaks.

“I was sent by” he looks flustered “Roman. To burn some sage?”

Inside the briefcase are a bunch of dried herbs. Emily quirks her brows. It is so biblical; she wants to laugh. Instead, her eyes gleam with anticipation. If she stayed up all night trying to write an official email to Logan about the buyout hike and explaining to her lawyer how to approach Kendall’s legal team, her foundation does not show it. She runs her hand through her hair untangling it, she squints her eyes towards the team expecting someone to speak up about the security breach.

“Excuse me?” Kendall’s mouth is open. Theres a bead of sweat on his Adam’s apple and his neck looks so menacingly appealing.

“It’s auspicious? I’m a business alchemist. It’s a gift, from your brother. He has a bunch of sage pulled out.” Emily perks up at the mention of the younger Roy. She has always held a soft spot for the joker card.

“Will it set off the smoke alarms?”

“Not usually.”

“‘Not usually’?” Kendall questions mockingly. Emily tries not to laugh. A small smile seeps its way through. Kendall gazes at her longingly. The day has been good so far. And if the board notices, they don’t react.

“Yeah, we’re looking at a 20 billion market cap merger so I think we’ll need a little more reassurance before we break it up with a building evacuation?” Frank looks up at Emily in an affectionate manner to put some sense in her caffeine filled mind. She looks right back at him.

Just then, Roman Roy, 38, taut and face like midsummer dream, ready to roll, steps in. He’s wearing a blue suit with gelled back hair. Emily offers him a nod. He ignores her with a huff.

“Hey Hey Hey Motherfuckers!” he says with his usual charm.

“We’re just concerned about the smoke alarm?” Frank looks confused if not surprised.

“Yeah, right, bad ju-ju.” He points towards the business alchemist” I think just fuck off thanks.” He waves his hands as he rushes him out.

“You okay man?” Kendall’s face gives out his true feelings. Is he there to breach his step up to the company?

“Of course I’m okay. Obviously, I’m okay. Why do you ask?” Kendall interrupts him with something but Roman is quick to ignore his pleas in a Roy fashion. Roman continues “So what’s the bid?” Everyone looks around. For being in such high positions, Emily wonders, they do not have much vocational skills. But she understands, one syllable overstepping the mark, and the Roy’s would fuck them over for life.

“What that’s “commercially sensitive” - I’m still on the board bro!” Roman genuinely feels left out most of the time. But Emily knows better, the actual oldest sibling remains forgotten all the time.

Kendall hesitates. “One twenty five.”

Roman is sceptic. He isn’t going to put himself out there by pinning down just what this implies. Emily scans his face, she of course knows he wants to say.

“Whatever! You seriously think you can swallow something this big? Your funeral. You’ll be captain soon enough.” He lets out a bitter laugh. Kendall widens his eyes motioning him to shut the fuck up.

“Oh c’mon, every intern on the Street knows you’re stepping up. Congrats man, congrats. So pleased to be out. The company was essentially a cage to me.” He looks around and chuckles.

“And look at this fucking bullshit, chipmunk doesn’t even bother to call me back.” Roman finally smiles up to Emily. The room lights up. He moves up to hug his brother’s wife. He wraps his arms around her in a bear hug. He smells fruity. Almost a strawberry scent with notes of vanilla. Emily lets out a breath.

The team scatters out not wanting to witness the family’s interactions. “I’ve missed you” Emily whispers, hands clawing at his chest. Her eyes are glossy. He whispers something back to her but she’s too lost in comfort to listen to his blabber. Kendall is standing outside the glass door looking at them. His eye bags appear more prominent. He’s trying to breathe in but all he’s offered is carbon.

2PM

The room at the investment bank has been tidied up, but recessed with breakfast stuff. Emily is sitting there quietly circling the plate with her spoon. The pasta sauce has almost dried up. There’s a crack of the doors opening.

“Logan?”

“How’s it going?” he passes a genuine lift. The room jerks into life with a bolt of electricity, everyone present sits up tidier. They try to adjust to the new center of gravity in the room. Yet, this is a poised version. Logan sweeps the room. He clocks Frank. And winks at him.

“Hey, need something? Emily walks up to the bear. He’s moving in to the private space where Kendall is sitting. She takes a moment to consider if she wants to be a part of this specific family time. She turns back on her heel and tells him she’ll be right out. She lets out a breath when she realizes he’s gone. There’s a buzz of surprise inside the room. It takes a while before she gets her call.

“Uh-huh. That’s what we expect. Do you need Emily?” Logan calls out for her looking at his son in distaste. Kendall looks paranoid. He wants everything to go his way. And he definitely doesn’t want to seem like a manchild who needs his wife for everything. Emily walks in with slow steps and logan motion her towards the papers in hand.

“Do I need to lawyer all this?” she looks at Kendall questioningly. She’s not sure where he stands with his father after the latest mishaps and roman’s arrival. Her eyes are blank when Kendall tries to read her expressions.

“It’s housekeeping.” Logan hands Kendall a pen. There is thick tension in the air. Even though Kendall wants to be trusted he still worries about the prophecy. He looks over at Emily. She’s going through the papers with pursued lips. Theres a frown on her forehead. Kendall knows this can’t be good.

Logan clearly wants this - and Kendall wants to be liked, to demonstrate his faith. Logan throughout the ordeal continues making an assessment of his son. Emily looks up at him and blinks twice. There is no time. Kendall takes the pen.

3PM

“Yeah. On that. Lunch. I really want to be with you but –“Kendall motions to the room, the deal.

“If you need to stay here, you need to stay here.” Kendall tries to read his dad.

“Thank you. I really want to be with you?” Kendall looks over at Emily to look for agreement. She stays still. “It’s just, in case anything blows up. Not that I can see how it would” Kendall waits for a hint. But Logan gives him no steer. He’s trying to read the situation how his father would. Kendall wants his dad to tell him what to do, but also, both personally and professionally doesn’t want to ask for direction.

“Son, it’s your call. It’s just - priorities. That’s hard. Business versus family. I hope you, on the other hand, will be there”. Logan motion towards Emily. She nods looking down. Marcia had given her a call inviting her. Marcia had also implied that she didn’t understand why she had to call the couple on both ends. Emily though agitated by her remarks, replied curtly that she would love to visit representing the senior team.

“Listen. Let me see how things break down, okay?” Kendall is interested now if he wasn’t before. He thought Emily would up front refuse any personal meetings with his family. But he realizes that the wound runs deeper.

Logan rushes off and Kendall pulls Emily to an empty boardroom.

Author’s note: Next chapter will be filled with smut. Yooohoo less go. Any and all interactions are highly appreciated. Also requests for other fandoms are open <3

#succession #shiv roy #roman roy x reader #roman roy #kendall roy #tom wambsgans #jeremy strong #succession imagine #kendall roy x reader #kendall roy fanfic #requests open

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ukrfeminism · 2 years ago

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5 minute read

TW: descriptions of sexual violence from the start

“For two hours he tortured me, his hands were everywhere. I thought rape was inevitable, I wondered whether I’d get out alive. We were in an empty property on a quiet cul-de-sac and he’d completely overpowered me.” These are the words of a female estate agent who was attacked by the seller of a property she had gone to value in Essex.

Hers is not a lone voice. Women in the property industry, who frequently visit empty homes alone — either to value them for sellers or to show prospective buyers around — are speaking out about the dangers.

Now, 30 years after the estate agent Suzy Lamplugh was declared dead (seven years after going missing on a viewing in Fulham, west London, with a man who called himself “Mr Kipper”) and 31 years after the Birmingham estate agent Stephanie Slater was kidnapped during a house viewing, women are saying it still isn’t safe to do their job.

Only 22 per cent of estate agents and letting agents, male and female, feel safe when on viewings, while 82 per cent say estate agent safety isn’t taken seriously enough — according to a survey of 150 agents across the country Allan Fuller an estate agent in Putney, southwest London.

The case of the estate agent in Essex, who spoke anonymously to The Times, was dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service last year, two days before coming to court. “I am furious, he had the money to hire a big shot lawyer. I feel let down,” she says. “It has been absolutely horrendous. It had a massive effect on my whole life: my relationship of 15 years broke down and I ended up on antidepressants and having panic attacks every time I went on a valuation.”

Although she has now moved agencies, she continues to work as an estate agent. “I thought, if I give up my job, he has won again — and I love my job.” However, she insists her female colleagues carry rape alarms, check in before and after house visits, and follow strict protocols about leaving doors open in properties and never getting into cars with sellers or potential buyers.

Fuller says: “There is a common misperception in the industry that ‘it won’t happen to me’.”

The responses to Fuller’s survey show that it does happen. One female respondent who works in the West Midlands wrote: “I recently valued a property and met with a man accused of domestic violence and I have never felt so uncomfortable in my life. He proceeded to show me an over-stair cupboard and said that there was ‘enough space for three dead bodies’. I left quickly after that.”

Other comments included:

“During a repossession the owner climbed into the loft and was threatening with a knife. Police had to taser him twice to safely remove him.”

“Carrying out a market appraisal with a gentleman who revealed he was due in court the next day to be charged with rape.”

“I believed a viewer was carrying a knife on a viewing, they were trying to get me into a certain room. The vibe wasn’t good, so I managed to email my office an SOS. Two members of staff came and pretended to be the next viewers.”

And: “I was covering a valuation and the person locked me in without me knowing and as I went to leave he went to hug me. I had to duck under his arm and unlatch the door quickly to get out.”

It’s not just on visits that workers are vulnerable, though. One estate agent told The Times how she was assaulted by a prospective buyer while working alone in an office in Oxford on a dark December evening. After being cornered, by the photocopier, she says she managed to “thump him in the windpipe” and run for help. He was arrested and charged. She now insists all her staff carry rape alarms and follow strict safety rules in and out of the office.

Fuller says he makes staff safety a priority too, sending his staff on self-defence courses — “one tip I picked up was if a man is making an unwanted move on a woman she should look as if she’s about to be sick, they soon back off” — issuing rape alarms, fitting CCTV and insisting that prospective buyers and sellers visit the office, verify their name and address, and are captured on camera before going on viewings.

Claire Lewis, 65, was an estate agent in Putney at the time Lamplugh went missing. She says: “Everyone was so shocked, we’d been getting into cars with prospective clients and going on viewings with men. It never occurred to us that anything could happen. That all changed and we suddenly became much more aware.”

However, she now worries for her daughter, Charlotte Dale, 34, a part-time estate agent in southwest London. “Generally things seem more dangerous for women even though they have mobile phones. Whereas in the past men acted in isolation — now they receive validation and encouragement on the internet,” Lewis says.

The estate agent from Essex, who was tortured for two hours, says she wants to see a national campaign to draw attention to the dangers: “Some estate agents seem to care more about protecting assets, with money laundering checks etc, than they do about protecting their staff. This has to change.”

212 notes · View notes

lucagray813 · 2 days ago

Text

Shadow - Chapter 4

Title: Deep Down

Rating: T

Word Count: ~10,000

Characters: Wukong, Macaque

Relationships: Macaque/Wukong

Summary: Building something better together often means addressing past and present insecurities. There's still time for some silliness and a first kiss though.

Additional Tags: Developing Relationship, Acquired Disability, Slice of Life, DBK is called Niú, PIF is called Gōngzhǔ

CW: brief mention of sex and unhealthy relationships

Link to AO3 Version

Chapter Navigation: First | Prev | Next

----

Wukong wasn't a particularly nosey person by nature, he didn't like not being in the know, sure but generally he didn't feel the need to go out of his way to get in on gossip that didn't involve him. That was unless, of course, he was specifically told to stay out of it or some other variation of "No, you're not allowed.". Then suddenly it was all he could think about! And unfortunately this had been the case with Macaque and his new lantern.

Outside helping him locate some materials, Macaque point blank refused to let him see how it was progressing and after several failed, and sometimes painful, attempts to sneak a peak, Wukong had little choice but to accept he wasn't getting to know. Didn't mean he liked it however and any time he knew Macaque was off to work on it he couldn't help but sulk.

"Are you seriously still pouting over my new lantern? Why do you even care? You'll see it when it's done."

Honestly, it wasn't about the lantern. He was sure it would be cool and all but the fact that Macaque had told him no was driving him a little nuts, "C'mon, just let me see what you've done so far! Why's it taking so long anyway?"

"Hey, I'd like to see you try creating a container for the very essence of your magic, see how long it takes you."

Wukong paused in his rebuttal, and struck a thoughtful pose, "Huh. Now there's an idea. What would that even do? How would it look?"

He tore out some fur to create some paper and crayons and started doodling. Truthfully, he didn't really need or want an artefact containing his power - that sounded like a disaster waiting to happen - but he was very curious as to what it would be.

Macaque, well used to him going off on tangents, just settled down beside him as shadows engulfed the crayon he was currently using. He obligingly went over anything he'd already done so a very faint trail of shadows now covered it. Macaque hummed, "Isn't the staff already the embodiment of your magic?"

He tapped the crayon against his chin, "I guess it is but I didn't make it, y'know? We just found each other and sort of clicked. It's not made out of my magic, just responds really, really well to it."

"That's how it started but I think it's fair to say that it's become so heavily saturated with your magic that there's basically no difference. Also, really? A lantern?"

He had started scribbling variations of the traditional Chinese paper lantern, which were in no way inspired by Macaque's sinister looking creation, "Look, it's not my fault you chose to be all ironic with your artefact! My magic is bright! A lantern makes sense! I don't even know what my ironic equivalent would be... Sunglasses?"

He proceeded to sketch out a couple of ideas to that effect, "Hey, y'know what? These aren't half bad! I should call my marketing team and get these bad boys in production!"

Macaque scoffed, "Oh yeah, that's just what the world needs - more Monkey King trash."

He gasped in offense, "Excuse me? Trash? People love my merchandise!"

"You mean, you love your merchandise."

"Well, obviously! I'm not going to sign off on anything that I don't think is cool! But I have impeccable taste. I can even show you the numbers to prove it! They're in my emails somewhere..."

Somewhere amongst a large number of unread emails from his lawyer and various other people that worked on his brand were sales figures he was sure. He really should put aside time to deal with those other emails though before his lawyer made another surprise visit to his shame temple and forced him to look over copyright infringement documents.

Ugh, just the thought of it was enough to make him feel sluggish. Better to design cool artefacts and merch now, and worry about boring paperwork later. Yup, good plan.

Macaque plucked the crayon from his hand and started adding to his doodles, "I'm not surprised anyone that likes you has no sense of style."

He quipped back, "Guess that explains your fashion sense then."

Macaque snorted, "Really? That's your comeback? I'm literally wearing clothes you made."

He picked up another crayon as he huffed, "Yeah but I made them all dark and gloomy to go with your whole vibe. So, y'know, you're welcome for that."

Well mostly dark and gloomy. He'd been permitted to embroider some cute little details here and there. Flowers and flora mostly, although he had also made some logo-esque designs of the island, and, of course, thrown in some monkeys for good measure. They were pretty subtle additions but he was happy with them. He'd been good as well and hadn't even snuck in anything he hadn't told Macaque about.

Well... Maybe there were one or two flowers that had tiny little smiles on them but that was harmless - artistic liberty was all it was. Macaque wouldn't care.

For fun he started to draw a Monkey King™ version of Macaque's old lantern and the thought struck him, "Hey, how did you actually come up with the idea for the lantern in the first place?"

He'd made it during Wukong's time under the mountain, a fact he only knew because he had seen references to it in some old notes he'd found in one of his many visits to Macaque's room after he'd returned from the Journey. But the less time thought about that the better.

"Hm? Oh, it was actually Niú's idea."

Now, Wukong was as big a fan of DBK as the next guy but he couldn't say he was well known for ideas beyond "seize and conquer" and "smash and pillage". Well, maybe he was being a bit unfair - these days Niú could be pretty thoughtful but OG DBK? He was sure his disbelief must have been palpable.

Macaque let out a small laugh, "Yeah, yeah. I know. But I think his cousin or something had a similar artefact he used to store and build up magic reserves for when they needed it. I was, er, struggling a little bit at the time. A lot going on following the War on Heaven..." He seemed to get caught up in his thoughts for a moment before he shook himself out of it, "And yeah, so the lantern was born."

On a different day, he would no doubt ask after the details of Macaque's perspective on what happened after he was locked away. He had some ideas based on stories from the monkeys but he was sure Macaque would have tried to save them from the worst of it.

For now, he focused on the more confusing detail, "Wait... It was just meant to be for magic backup?"

Macaque nodded, "Yup." He then corrected himself, "Well, sort of. I had always planned to "feed" it so it wouldn't be using up my personal reserves but that's the tricky thing with an artefact like this. You generally end up pouring a little bit of yourself into it as you make it and I did top it up with my magic on occasion as well. And, as you know, raw magic can make all sorts of things happen. Especially if there's a little bit of soul there to guide it."

His expression was deadpan, "Like giving it the power to kidnap people and make their shadows fight for you?"

Macaque shrugged, "Hey, I didn't plan for it but I wasn't going to not use it. That would be ludicrous."

Eh, no point arguing over it. He decided he didn't want to think too closely about what that said about Macaque either. Instead he asked, "You think your new lantern will be the same?"

"Hard to say. I'm not quite what I once was. Who knows what it'll do."

"Are you hoping it will be the same?"

"Well, it would be handy if it had some of those same accidental features but what I'm really hoping to achieve is a sort of "charger" I can use if I can't get to the Void for whatever reason. You know, end of the world sort of BS or whatever. So almost less of a magic store and more of a shadow store."

That was a pretty good shout actually. They had been trialling Macaque going there for a day a week to see if that made a difference but there could easily be situations where they needed him to stick around here for a while.

He supposed that could be part of why it was taking so long to create but he was more curious about what his own artefact would do, "I wonder what sort of unintended side effects my magic would have...?"

"Probably just hoover up every peach within a five mile radius."

"What! There's more to me than peaches, y'know!"

He continued to grumble as Macaque just shrugged, "Wants and desires are some of the easiest things to accidentally impart alongside magic."

He wasn't wrong but still he felt indignant, "Oh yeah? Well, what does that say about how your lantern turned out?"

Macaque quietly focused on drawing for a moment before he solemnly offered, "I have some theories but none of them are particularly pleasant." Wukong pressed his arm a little closer against his but Macaque rallied before he could question him, "It would have been pretty great if I had accidentally given the lantern a theatrical twist. Outfit changes for everyone in range depending on my mood or maybe it played thematically appropriate music depending on the situation. That would have been fun."

Wukong wavered. He could leave it, take this out Macaque clearly wanted him to take and carry on with this lighthearted conversation while they drew silly little doodles together. It was the easy option, the safe option.

But that didn't mean it was the right option and he wanted to know. He put down the art supplies and looped his arm around Macaque's, gently he asked, "Tell me about your theories?"

Macaque's tone was light, "Ah, why ruin a good time with something that doesn't even matter?"

"You're not ruining anything, I'm asking, aren't I? And, of course, it matters. It matters because you and your feelings matter, dummy."

He wanted to know everything he had missed in Macaque's life but more than that he had a feeling these thoughts on why the lantern's power manifested the way it did still weighed on him. Or at the very least that working on the new lantern may have opened some old wounds. He didn't just want to ignore it, he wanted Macaque to know he could confide in him, that he could trust him, even with the parts of himself he wasn't proud of.

Shadow tendrils brought the paper back to Macaque and Wukong watched as he doodled nothing, clearly just wanting something else to focus on while he answered. After a moment, he explained, "Everything had been beyond my control for so long, even before the War... More than anything, I just wanted everything to be how it was supposed to be. How I thought it was supposed to be anyway."

A truly regrettable constant of life before his imprisonment had been how little he had listened to Macaque, particularly after the Brotherhood had been formed. They could have all saved themselves a lot of trouble if they had taken the time to actually hear any of his concerns. He could see how that desire to be heard could manifest magic that forced people to do as he said.

Macaque continued, "But maybe I'm giving myself too much credit and deep down I've just always been someone that wants to control others, to manipulate them how I see fit. The number of stunts I pulled or lies I told just to try and get you to stay with me, for even a little longer."

"Macaque, that's not-"

He spoke over him, voice raising in volume slightly as he did so, "But then that's really what's at the heart of it, isn't it? I just couldn't make you stay, I couldn't make anyone stay, but the lantern could." He laughed bitterly, "Pathetic and needy - that's all I was. That's what was at the lantern's core. You know what the worst part is though? Deep down, I don't even know if I have changed. Because despite everything, all I want is what I've always wanted."

His whole body seemed to sag in defeat and Wukong didn't hesitate to wrap an arm around him as Macaque's head found his shoulder, but he took a moment to really think about how to respond.

Pathetic and needy were not words he would use to describe Macaque, not in any genuine capacity anyway. If anything, they felt more applicable to him these days. Macaque actually had friends that weren't monkeys and did plenty that didn't involve him in any way. And while Wukong was working on having the same he couldn't deny that part of him just wanted Macaque here and all to himself.

Don't even get him started on how he moped when the other was gone. It wasn't fair to call it a role reversal - Macaque could be gone for days at a time but Wukong used to leave the island with barely a goodbye for years, if not decades with no hint of when he might return. But he was sure the anxious, antsy feeling he got while waiting for Macaque to return was at least a taste of what Macaque had felt all those centuries ago.

He also thought it was undeniable that Macaque had changed, they both had, and overall Wukong would say for the better. Macaque stood his ground much better than he used to, he didn't just follow his lead and try to disregard any uncertainty he felt. He made sure he was heard.

Wukong couldn't say he loved all the lengths Macaque had previously gone to in order to achieve such but he thought he'd found a pretty good balance recently.

He was sure it was helped by him actually making an effort to listen to him. They were still working on it but what they had now was leagues better than what they'd had before. It felt like they were finally on even footing.

Eventually, he tried, "Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think what you want is actually exactly the same as it used to be. I mean, how could it be? I'm different, you're different, what we have is different... All of it for the better, I think. Maybe on the face of it, what you want is still the same but what that actually looks like must be different, right?"

A younger Wukong had never pictured a life together with Macaque, but he had never doubted that Macaque would always be there - his best friend, his right hand man... And his most loyal subject. The very thought of it made him cringe now but the truth of the matter was while he'd loved Macaque, he'd loved being the Monkey King more.

Honestly, it felt like a miracle that Macaque ever wanted to be with him in any capacity. Things had been different before his first immortality, more equal, but with each subsequent step away from death he inadvertently took a step away from Macaque, creating an unfathomable distance between them. One Macaque could never have hoped to have overcome, not on his own.

The man he had been didn't deserve to be by Macaque's side like this. And while he was by no means perfect now, he was a far cry from the selfish person he'd once been. Surely, when Macaque pictured them together, it was as they were now and not who they had been.

Macaque let out a little huff, before admitting, "Like night and day. When I think back to what I used to picture, it just seems so... childish now."

"Well, we were pretty young with no plans of growing old. Funny how despite not actually aging I sometimes feel ancient."

"Yeah, you look it too."

"Ugh, shut up."

The moment of levity passed and Wukong took a breath, "I don't think you were pathetic or needy for wanting me to stick around. And I don't hold any tricks or lies against you for it. It would be pretty hypocritical of me if I did."

Tricks and lies were an unfortunate staple of his legacy and he wasn't innocent of using them on Macaque either. In hindsight, their relationship really hadn't been the healthiest in many regards.

He continued, "I think you might have been on to something with your first theory. Everything was falling apart around you, in no small part because no-one had listened to you, it makes sense that deep down you'd want some way to fix it all. But then again, we might be looking into this way too hard. Maybe that's just what concentrated shadow magic likes to do."

Macaque sighed tiredly, "I suppose only time will tell."

He shook him ever so slightly, "Hey, whatever happens with your new lantern, we'll deal with it. Together. Alright?"

He could just see the slight smile on Macaque's face from this angle, "God knows what I saw in the old you when the new you is like this."

He couldn't help but puff up somewhat proudly, "Yeah, I had a "glow up"."

Macaque snorted, "You've been spending too much time with the kids."

Actually, he was fairly certain he'd gotten that one somewhere online but he wasn't just going to hand him that sort of ammo, "Hey, just because we're old doesn't mean we can't move with the times!"

Predictably, the next hour or so was lost to discussing the wonders and horrors that this new age had brought into the world but even their impassioned arguing couldn't tear him away from Macaque's side.

----

Wukong had developed a little bit of a habit that only really showed itself while he was snuggled up in bed just before they went to sleep. If he was feeling down, melancholy or hell, just particularly smitten he would all but smother Macaque in gentle touches and soft kisses, placing them wherever he could reach.

He hadn't realised however that he had unconsciously started focusing all his attention on areas he knew the worst of Macaque's scars were hidden under his glamours. Macaque generally tolerated it but today even he could admit he was being a bit much.

But in his defence, Macaque had taken an impromptu visit to the Void for a couple of days after an incident while he was visiting Niú and Gōngzhǔ and he had been somewhat stressed in the interim.

From what he understood, from the varying degrees of guilty explanations from MK, Mei and Red Son, there had been a slight accident in Red Son's lab. There may have been a tiny, little explosion that they and Macaque might have gotten caught up in. He'd been confused, yet wary, as to why they were telling him this and not Macaque. An explosion, particularly a small one, wasn't much to any of them.

However, said explosion, had set off a chain reaction that had maybe, possibly resulted in a sort of magical flash bomb - that Macaque had not responded well to at all. Well, none of them had, it had taken hours for their vision to be restored and that was with the help of a specialized healer but Macaque's scream had sounded truly agonised before he had disappeared.

In hindsight, the resulting lecture he'd given them had been a bit too harsh and they clearly hadn't expected him to be so angry with them. Even angrier than Niú and Gōngzhǔ had been apparently. He'd almost reduced MK to tears. He had since apologised for such a sharp tongue lashing and had accepted some wary teasing over being so overprotective to prove there were no hard feelings.

And maybe he was being just a touch too worried but the kids didn't know about Macaque being more sensitive to light than most, especially since his resurrection. Something like this had happened before and given even Macaque didn't know the full extent of how his body had changed - this could have been a real disaster.

Thankfully, a quick astral projection had confirmed that he was alright and he'd be back soon. He tried to downplay the whole thing - saying it had just caught him off guard - but Wukong could see that it had rattled him.

And now that he was back, Wukong had been annoyingly clingy. He just resisted the urge to check him over with his golden vision, but he was still pretty in his face and handsy. Physically looking him over and interrogating him all the while. When he was finally satisfied that he was more or less okay, he'd still kept a close eye on him for the rest of the day. Which had resulted in Macaque snapping at him more than once to give him some space, outright threatening to leave if he didn't knock it off.

He had mostly gotten a hold of himself by the time they'd gone to bed but once they'd laid down for the night he found he couldn't keep his hands to himself.

He felt Macaque sigh as he kissed his shoulder for what might have been the hundredth time, "Wukong, I'm fine."

"I know, I know. Look, tomorrow I promise I'll be totally chill about it but just let me make a fuss of you tonight, alright?"

Macaque questioned him, "Are you going to be like this every time something like this happens?"

For the foreseeable, Wukong thought the answer was probably yes. It was one thing for Macaque to be injured - they both got hurt all the time during training, or because an argument had gotten physical, or because they were helping MK with some hero stuff, or just because something really dumb had happened - but anything to do with his shadows put him on edge.

It was the unknown element, he didn't know how to judge how bad an incident was involving them. A normal physical injury, Macaque would recover from easily and he wouldn't even really feel the pain for the most part. But something like this was uncharted territory and it made him unbelievably anxious over Macaque's wellbeing.

And the worst of it was there was nothing he could do to help. He could patch up an injury, he couldn't do anything if Macaque was in the Void. He couldn't even get there! They'd tried to portal him there once but he just ended up right where he started, honestly it was probably a small miracle he could even astral project there.

"C'mon, cut me some slack. This is the first time something like this has really happened. I think this is a pretty normal way to react. Don't tell me you wouldn't be worried, if it had been the other way around. If I got hurt in some new way and then you couldn't see me for days."

Begrudgingly Macaque seemed to accept this, "Fine. But could you at least stop just focusing on where my scars are?"

He had blinked at him, not quite comprehending what he'd said for a moment, before looking at where his hand was rubbing circles on his right arm, "Oh. I didn't even realise that I... Uh, yeah! I think I can manage that." Somewhat embarrassed at not having realised, he tried to turn the tables, "Was your left side getting jealous?"

Macaque snorted, "Sure, if that makes you feel better, then let's go with that."

It was a little while later when Wukong had finally had his fill and was just lying with his head on Macaque's chest that he asked, "Does it bother you when I touch your scars?"

"Nah, not really. It's just sort of weird when that's all you focus on. You really hadn't noticed? You've been doing it a lot since you found out they were there."

"I guess I just wasn't thinking about it. But I promise, I will no longer neglect my duty to love on all of you."

"Gross."

"Yeah, agreed. It's your fault though - making me feel all mushy. You just need to suffer the consequences."

Macaque laughed, "Oh, of course, this is all my fault. Ah well, there are worse things I could be suffering through."

"Ah, just admit it. You like when you've got all my attention."

No amount of needling could get Macaque to admit to that but Wukong didn't need a confession to know it was true.

----

Evenings were still generally spent on the couch watching TV. They did occasionally have something in mind to watch but more often than not they just chose whatever was there that had an audio description, that they hadn't seen. It could be real hit or miss sometimes but even if a show was bad, they could at least have fun complaining about it.

They never paid any mind to age ratings and when tonight's movie had turned out to have quite a graphic sex scene in it, Wukong hadn't even batted an eye. Unexpected but not anything either of them hadn't seen before. He thought Macaque might make a comment on the sound effects but instead he had dissolved into a fit of laughter.

Not wanting to miss out on the joke, he had asked, "What? What's funny? What did I miss?"

Macaque handed him the tablet, that had quietly been playing the audio descriptions, "Go back to the start of the sex scene. You have to listen to this."

Audio descriptions, generally, were delivered in a neutral voice or with a little bit of story telling flair and they were to the point descriptions of what was happening on the screen in between characters talking. They were all usually pretty good but like most things in life some were better than others.

This however had to be the dryest description of sex that had ever been recorded. The guy almost sounded like he was trying to physically distance himself from what was happening. He had half been expecting to hear overly detailed erotica but this was way funnier.

After they'd calmed down, he reassured Macaque that the actual visuals were nowhere near as unexciting. A delighted and mischievous grin came to Macaque's face as he casually leaned back in his seat, "Oh really? Let's see if you can do a better job then. Start it again and tell me what's happening."

"You can't be serious."

"Aw. What's the matter? You too embarrassed?"

Sex wasn't something that bothered him to talk about, he'd been surrounded by monkeys his whole life - sex happened anywhere and everywhere - it was like discussing the weather at this point. So he wasn't at all embarrassed in that respect, but having to describe a romantic sex scene to Macaque and not make it sound as awkward as the audio description? He could already feel his tongue getting tied in knots.

But never let it be said that Sun Wukong ever backed down from a challenge - no matter how stupid or inconsequential it was.

So with as much dignity as he could, he stumbled his way through the scene. It might not have been so bad if Macaque hadn't been going out of his way to make it more difficult by picking on his word choice, or asking questions and pressing him for excruciating details. His only saving grace was that Macaque couldn't see how red his face was.

It was as Macaque was pestering him about how they were kissing that he broke, "They're kissing! What more do you need to know?"

Macaque's grin was infuriatingly gleeful, "There's more than one way to kiss someone - c'mon, just tell me exactly what you can see, or are you just not up to the task?"

He cursed himself for being so easy to goad. He tried his best to explain exactly how they were kissing but it was almost worse than describing the actual sex, "Ugh! It's kissing! It is what it is! I'd have to give you a demonstration if you want more than that!"

Macaque's expression became sly, "Well, why don't you then?"

He stared at him, "What...?"

"Come and kiss me. Show me how it's done."

He thought his brain might have stopped working for a moment but when it finally came back online he wasn't convinced his face wasn't actually on fire, "What!? You- You can't be serious!"

Macaque just continued to thrive in the situation he'd created, "Oh? What makes you think I'm not?"

He floundered, before somewhat nervously he pointed out, "You... You won't really be able to feel it."

Macaque shrugged, "I can feel through our magic."

"Yeah... But is that enough?"

"Guess we'll find out.

He felt incredibly unsure about this. It was one thing to give each other a peck on the cheek or something - the intent was really more important than the actual action. But actually, like, proper kissing? There's no way Macaque could get nearly as much out of it as he could. It didn't feel fair.

But... At the same time, Macaque was the one asking and it's not like Wukong was against the idea...

He must have taken too long thinking about it because Macaque commented, "What's the hold up, Monkey King? Ah, wait, I forgot - you're all enlightened now, aren't you? Kissing off the table, huh?"

Well, technically, but-!

"Oh no, wait! I know what it is! You just don't want me to know how bad you are at it. That's it, right? Been awhile, huh?"

Indignantly, he responded, "No! I'm just trying to be considerate!"

He was the Monkey King! He was good at everything! It didn't even matter that he could probably count on one hand the number of times he'd kissed someone, or that it had been centuries ago! Or, y'know maybe longer...

When Master Subhodi had told him cardinal desire had to go if he wanted to obtain immortality, he'd had no issue doing so. He'd never been that big on sex or the rest of it in the first place - no skin off his nose.

But he was finding it impossible to fight the need to wipe that smug smirk from Macaque's face, especially when he continued to push, "That so? Well, why don't you come over here and prove it then? You've ticked your chivalry box - no further consideration needed."

Without letting himself focus on much more than his determination to shut Macaque up, he moved until he straddled his lap. Macaque's hands came to rest comfortably on his hips, as he brought his hands up to either side of Macaque's face.

He paused for a moment, taking a breath in order to declare war, but the words never even had a chance to leave his mouth as Macaque stole his thunder by moving a hand to the back of his head and bringing their lips together.

He got over the initial shock quickly and put his all into showing up Macaque, who apparently knew a hell of a lot more about how to kiss someone than he did. But that didn't matter - he was a fast learner, he'd have this down in no time.

Although time seemed to soon lose all meaning and the competitive fire gave way to something softer but no less passionate. He realised that Macaque responded well to any little sound he made, hands kneading at his hips or responding with sounds of his own. So he let go of any pride or embarrassment and didn't hold them back.

He felt a little hazy when Macaque finally pulled away from him and Wukong found himself enamoured by the faint blush on Macaque's cheeks and the fond look in his eyes. Macaque laughed lowly, "Not bad, Wukong." He nodded to the TV, "Can't help but feel you went a little off script though."

He'd long forgotten what had kicked this all off but he matched Macaque's grin, "Damn, you're right. Guess we'll just have to start again."

He thought it was a crime that he'd never felt Macaque's smile against his own before now.

---

Making out? Big success. Wukong was a little convinced his younger self must have not given it a proper chance because it was pretty great. And he was absolutely down to doing that again once he'd had a proper chat with Macaque about it. He had questions - some more pressing than others - and he wouldn't be satisfied until he had answers.

He tended to be up earlier than Macaque, so after a breakfast of fresh fruit with the monkeys, he went to see if he was still in bed. And the answer was a resounding no, he could just call Macaque's name - if he was on the island he would definitely hear him - but rarely did Macaque ever respond to being shouted for, not unless there was some real urgency to his voice.

It didn't really matter though, there was no rush to find him, so he took his time as he searched, eventually being led in the right direction by some monkeys that had heard some music over on the north side of the mountain. And soon enough he was following the sounds right to the source.

Eyes closed as he played on an èrhú, Macaque didn't even acknowledge him as he arrived, but Wukong didn't doubt that he knew he was here. He walked over and sat beside him, closing his own eyes as he leaned back and listened to him play. He didn't recognise the tune but it was nice, if not a little melancholic.

He didn't protest as Macaque seamlessly moved on to another song, happy to just sit for a while.

Once Macaque had finished the last one, he commented, "You've picked that up again fast."

Macaque just hummed, "It was always one of my favourite instruments to play, I suppose I've prioritised it over any others."

"Were you just out here practicing?"

"Well, I was more composing than practicing but then you showed up."

He perked up slightly, "Was that first song the one you're working on for me?"

Macaque shrugged, "Might be. I've come up with a couple of different melodies. That was just one of them."

"Man, you're really serious about making this song, huh?"

He huffed a small laugh, "Well, someone demanded the whole shebang. I'm not going to let this be the time I underperform."

He still wasn't sure what angle Macaque was going to take on this song - whether it would be lighthearted or genuine but either way he was sure it would be memorable. He was actually sort of looking forward to it and he was strangely content with it being a surprise.

"It sounds good so far. But I didn't come to crash your jam session. I wanted to ask you some stuff about yesterday."

Macaque sighed as if put upon, "I figured as much."

Wukong scooched closer to him and jabbed him in the side, directing some of his magic to his fingers so he could feel it. Macaque jolted slightly before scowling, but Wukong ignored him as he admonished, "Hey, we work better when we actually talk about things so suck it up."

"Just get on with it."

"Ok, ok. So... kissing? Yea or nay?"

Macaque raised an eyebrow at him, "You really have to ask? I thought it was clearly a "yea" for both of us."

"Well, yeah. But I guess I just don't understand why? Like, you couldn't really feel it, right?"

"I already told you I can "feel" through magic. I felt you zap me just there, didn't I?"

"First of all, I didn't zap you, you big baby. But I deliberately manipulated my magic to do that - I didn't do anything like that while we were making out... Wait. Should I have?"

Macaque snorted, "As if you had the mental faculties to focus on forming magic."

He definitely could have done it! Would have taken him out of the mood slightly but it was doable! He was willing to bet with a bit of practice he could do it without even having to think about it.

"That's neither here or there! You know what I'm getting at - when I feel someone else's magic it's big picture stuff - like knowing how much of it there is and if it's doing something it shouldn't. You must be getting more than that."

Macaque seemed to weigh up how to respond before he sighed as if resigned, "Alright, fine. Just bear with me while I try and explain it. It doesn't really lend itself to words well. Ok, so magic. At a super basic level you might think it's just a flow of energy that exists within you that you can call upon for spells or the like. But look a little deeper and you'll see that it's as alive and complicated as the rest of you. Probably more so."

Wukong knew this, and he was sure Macaque knew he knew this too, but he nodded his understanding rather than complain about it.

Macaque continued, "Magic responds to everything. And for the most part we're not aware of it, just like we're not aware of our organs or what they're doing at any given moment. But when I say magic responds to everything, I mean everything. It responds to every function of your body and mind, and to every external factor you can think of - weather, environment, other people. The list is literally endless."

Wukong watched as Macaque looked towards his hands as shadow tendrils snaked around his fingers, "I'm a lot more reliant on magic than I used to be, so I'm much more aware of my magic and others. Unfortunately, another person's magic is not as easy a thing to understand as your own. Largely, because it's reacting to so much all at once that it can be damn near impossible to isolate anything in particular and it's not reacting in the same way your own might. It's like... a massively complicated network written in a language you don't know. That nobody knows."

Wukong pointed to himself, "Surely, I would know? Couldn't you just ask me?"

With a flat look, Macaque responded, "Describe your magic."

"What? You know what my magic feels like though."

"Pretend I don't. How would you describe it to me? How would you differentiate it from someone else's?"

"Well... It's... Bright? And sort of warm? And there's just a crazy amount of it?"

"Now, how would you describe MK's magic?"

"Ah. Well, it's like mine but it's, er, different...? Younger...?"

At Macaque's smug look he conceded, "Alright, alright. You were right. Magic doesn't really like to be put into words. It's something you just feel. You can't describe it super specifically but you don't need to! If I had MK, Mei and Red Son here and asked a stranger to close their eyes and point to the one with the super hot fiery magic. That would be enough!"

"Sure but how would they pick out Red Son's magic in a crowd of a hundred fire magic users if they didn't know him?"

He huffed, "Alright, fine. You've made your point. I still think you could have asked for my help to "figure out" my magic."

Macaque's grin was mischievous, "I did in a way. The best way I've found to learn so far is just through "feeling" it in different scenarios so I may have got you to do one or two odd things to see if it did anything."

Extremely wary, he asked, "Like what...?"

"Well, you remember a couple of weeks ago I bet you that you couldn't do a thousand back flips one after the other?"

"You little shit! I was so dizzy I puked!"

Macaque pulled a face, "Yeah, that was nasty. And then the other day I bet you couldn't handle Red Son's spiciest hot sauce."

He couldn't believe this - he'd actually been in tears after that! Alright, note to self, stop falling for Macaque saying "I bet you can't..."!

"How is tormenting me helping you learn anything!?"

"Oh, don't be so dramatic. It's not like I sit and plot ways to make you suffer. You literally set yourself up for both of those situations, I just gave you the motivation to actually put your money where your mouth was."

Ugh, he was right. He was sure for the former they'd been watching some sort of extreme demon gymnastics on TV and he'd commented that none of it would be hard for him. The latter, he'd been laughing at MK and Mei as they rolled about after just a drop of one of Red Son's "mild" hot sauces. Macaque had, at most, just upped the ante slightly in both cases.

He crossed his arms with a huff, "That doesn't matter! I don't appreciate being treated like a demon guinea pig!"

"Oh please. Half the time, I don't need to say anything - you just do stupid things on your own."

He felt his eye twitch, but he heroically attempted to bring them back on course, "How is any of this relevant to us making out!?"

Macaque held his hands up in a placating gesture, "I was getting there. Look, let's try the language metaphor again. So say someone tells you a joke in a language you don't understand. You might still react to it - maybe in confusion or maybe you can tell it's supposed to be a joke and laugh anyway - but it won't be because you genuinely found the meaning of the words funny.

You'd have to know the language but once you do, not only can you understand, you can also respond. And not just with laughter, you could reply, add to the joke, keep it going. It's not a perfect metaphor but basically the better I understand your magic, the better my magic can respond to it."

"Ok, that makes sense but..."

Macaque waved him off, "Let's say you kiss me on the cheek. I can't physically feel it but it's not hard to figure out what you've done. Getting to know your magic better though I can feel how it responds to you kissing me. Like I said, it responds to everything - how your muscles are moving to make it happen and how you feel about what you're doing. So while my skin can't feel it, I'm "feeling" a whole lot through your magic."

He wasn't quite sure why he felt vaguely embarrassed that Macaque could sort of "feel" how he was feeling but he ignored it in favour of making a leap in logic, "Wait, wait, so are you saying that me feeling good making out makes you feel good making out?"

Macaque snorted, "Well, you'd hope that'd be the case regardless but in a more literal sense, yeah, sort of. It's still a work in progress, especially understanding how the physical sensations factor in, but I've gotten pretty good at identifying strong emotions but I think that's generally the easiest thing to parse from magic."

He was already feeling pretty positive about future make out sessions so he allowed himself to ponder on the logistics of magic, "Do you think if you were able to feel things fully through touch then you'd be able to figure out how your magic reacts to physical sensation? Which in turn would make it easier to know how my magic responds to it? If you get what I'm saying."

He was sure he'd explained that inelegantly but Macaque seemed to understand, "You're asking if I knew how my magic worked down to the minute detail, would I then be able to apply that knowledge to yours?"

At his nod, Macaque shook his head, "Doubt it. Every person's magic is different - a totally different language. I've been trying to figure out Niú and Gōngzhǔ's magic to an extent as well but nothing I learn about one of you is applicable to the others. Not even helpful comparing them most of the time."

He frowned, "Your own magic has to play a part in this somehow though, right?"

"Well, yeah. But that's even more of a work in progress - there's a few ideas I'm playing with. Roughly summed up they're my magic reacting to, interacting with and emulating yours. The third one is probably akin to a nightmare of a translation job, the second I've been somewhat reluctant to try without you knowing about it but the first one I've had some success with. But like I said, the better I understand, the better my magic reacts."

He couldn't help but feel a little put out, "Why didn't you tell me about any of this? We could have been working on it together."

"Don't pout. I was always planning to tell you but you knowing was another variable to take into account. I wanted to have a sort of base understanding before you intentionally or unintentionally started manipulating your magic to try and help. If I've not made it clear enough - magic literally responds to everything. Even you just thinking about maybe doing something can influence it."

He then looked away slightly guiltily, "And, y'know, maybe I wanted to have a better handle on it before I told you so you wouldn't feel the need to get all hung up over it."

He was a little taken aback, "Hung up over it? What are you talking about?"

"Like with the artefacts."

He spluttered slightly in indignity as he responded, "I wasn't hung up over it! I was just trying to help!"

For a second, Macaque looked like he was going to respond with something sharp but instead he sighed, "I know. But the monkeys tell me what you get up to when I'm not here and it sounds like you're spending an unhealthy amount of time in the library."

Damn his "loyal" subjects! Macaque probably hadn't even had to ask them, the lot of them just loved to gossip. He huffed, "You know they like to exaggerate! I don't spend that much time there!"

And he didn't, not really. Just when Macaque wasn't here and that was only because he seemed to get really stressed and down about it. He wanted to really make sure he was as close to getting it right as possible before getting Macaque to try another one.

Macaque clearly didn't believe him, "Really? You're telling me Chún was exaggerating?"

Damnit. Chún was an elderly monkey well known for her no-nonsense honesty, if she had ratted him out there was no way Macaque would ever believe anything he said to the contrary.

"Alright, fine. But you know how I get when I'm focused on something - I just lost track of time. It's really not that big of a deal."

That seemed to do little to appease Macaque, so a little reluctantly he confessed, "Ok, maybe I do spend a fair bit of time on it but besides the obvious motivation to help you... Well, I actually really like having a project like this to work on. Messing around with seals and artefacts? It's sort of, I don't know, fun...?" He quickly tried to correct himself in order to save his reputation, "Well, no, not fun. It's, er, challenging! Good work out for the brain and all!"

Macaque blinked at him before a grin started to spread over his face, "Oh how the tables have turned. Sun Wukong, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven - a seals nerd." He huffed, "Unbelievable. After all the shit you used to give me."

In his youth, Wukong had more or less two modes - lazy layabout or non stop action adventurer and neither of them were conducive to the book learning seals generally required. He'd been smart enough that there hadn't really been a need for studying of any sorts.

Macaque on the other hand could often be found in the library studying whatever had taken his fancy and Wukong, of course, had teased him frequently about it. So, really any ribbing that Macaque wanted to give him now was well deserved.

He tried to move past the moment quickly, "Yeah, yeah. Look, what I'm saying is it's not some chore or obsession. I'm not "hung up over it" or whatever." He then paused and reconsidered, "Maybe I was a little at the start. I just thought we'd find the answer straight away, y'know? Should have known better really... But I just want you to be able to live life to the fullest."

Macaque was quiet for a moment before he asked, "You don't think I'm doing that?"

"Honestly? You're probably living a fuller life than me. You always find a way to work around any limits and put yourself out there. It sort of lights a fire under me, makes me want to catch up."

He just wished he didn't have those limits to work around in the first place.

"What's stopping you?"

He rubbed at the back of his neck awkwardly, not liking that this conversation was now focusing on him rather than Macaque, "Ah, y'know. I'm getting there. Picked up some great hobbies recently, if you hadn't noticed. And started leaving the island again properly."

"Yeah, with me. Never on your own."

"Ah, ah, ah! Not true! I met up with MK the other day! We explored the Gēbì Desert!"

Macaque was not impressed, "You were helping him search for a shape shifting sand demon. "Two pairs of golden vision are better than one" if I remember right."

"That sounded nothing like MK!"

Macaque wasn't distracted, "Wukong, when was the last time you left this island by yourself to have fun? When was the last time you actually spent time with someone other than me or MK?"

"I just don't want all the attention that comes with it! Good or bad! I'm pretty recognisable!"

Macaque looked at him like he was an idiot, "You can shapeshift! You know how to cast glamours! You could literally be whoever you wanted to be out there!"

He didn't even try to hide the fact he wanted to change the subject, "It's a work in progress! But none of this is relevant to magic or making out! Let's have one conversation at a time please!"

The hypocrisy wasn't lost on him - he went on extensive tangents all the time - but he hoped that Macaque wouldn't call him out.

Macaque crossed his arms, "You think I'm just going to let you gloss over the fact you're afraid of leaving the island by yourself?"

"Hey! I'm not afraid of anything! There is literally nothing out there I can't handle!" He scoffed, "Afraid. As if."

"Prove it then. Go spend the rest of the day in the city."

"I don't need to prove anything! Besides, I have nothing to do in town - I'm not going just to wander aimlessly! And we're still not finished talking about your magic! C'mon, I want to know more about what you've figured out and how I can help."

Macaque clicked his tongue before he stood and walked away slightly, tail flicking agitatedly. Wukong wasn't a fan of the resolve on his face when he turned to face him, "You've got the gist of the magic situation. I'll share with you what I can feel as and when it comes up. We can work on some tests together later but right now I'm done talking about this. My magic isn't an issue. Your hang ups about getting off the island are. Now, do you want to do this the easy way or the hard way?"

He stood as well and bit out a little defensively, "There is no issue. But you want to scrap over nothing then fine by me."

Macaque raised an eyebrow, "Who said anything about a fight?"

Warily he asked, "What else could the hard way be?"

Suddenly he was falling through a shadow portal and all he managed was a cut off shout of Macaque's name before he landed in a heap on the floor. He cursed Macaque as he picked himself up and dusted himself off, before freezing when he realised he wasn't alone.

There was a group of three demons staring at him from the other side of the room. They'd clearly been in the middle of working on various sewing projects before he'd unceremoniously fallen out of thin air.

He never got a chance to even think about how to respond to the situation before the oldest looking of the demons gasped in recognition. Oh jeez, alright here we go, time to put on his best Monkey King routine but he was stunned as she exclaimed, "You must be Wukong! Oh, Macaque has told us ever so much about you!" She waved him over, "Come and sit."

He stayed where he was, "Er... He has?"

"Of course! He said you would drop by one day for a visit."

Another demon snorted, "Didn't realise he'd meant it quite so literally." They were sympathetic, "Didn't give you any warning, did he?"

He scowled, "No, he didn't." He glanced around the room and thought it looked vaguely familiar, "Sorry but where am I?"

The older demon had a look of mock disapproval, "Oh what a terror that man is." She waved him over again, "Come take a seat and we'll explain."

Cautiously he did so, and she continued, "Well, first things first - introductions. You may call me Chóu." The other demon who had spoken to him waved lazily as they said, "Mián."

Chóu then gestured to the third demon, "And this quiet, little lovely is Chī. Chī, don't be rude, say hello to our guest."

Chī glanced up and nodded briefly before continuing with her work. Chóu tsked but she didn't comment on what she apparently did not consider an appropriate greeting. Instead she turned to him, "We three are the personal tailors and seamstresses of our esteemed lady, Princess Iron Fan. And, of course, we have heard all about you from your husband!"

He choked, "My what!?"

Mián rolled their eyes, "They're not married, Chóu. And even if they were, he's got bigger titles than "Macaque's husband"."

"Nonsense. There is no greater honour than to be known as one's beloved."

Mián just sighed and turned to him, "I'm afraid your many titles mean nothing here, Monkey King. Cut a long story short though - Macaque has told us you are quite the talented seamstress yourself."

Chóu looked delighted, "Yes! We have seen your work! Very impressive! I particularly admire your embroidery! Those little orchids on Macaque's cuffs were wonderful!"

Still a little unsure of this situation he awkwardly responded, "Er, thanks... I'm not interrupting your work, am I?" He pointed over his shoulder with his thumb, "Because I could just..."

Chóu was adamant, "Oh no, no, no! You only just got here! Please, stay a while!"

Mián reassured him, "This is more of a practice and brainstorming session. Help yourself to some materials and join in." A somewhat mischievous smile came to their face, "We would love to hear what Macaque's "husband" has to say about him. And seeing as he literally dumped you here - feel free to get whatever you're feeling off your chest."

It took a while for him to stop feeling so awkward but eventually he found himself fully invested in gossiping with this little group, he was even starting to understand some of the various tapping that Chī used to communicate. And admittedly it was a little cathartic to get the chance to complain about small, silly things Macaque did that annoyed him. And maybe once he got some of that off his chest, it had been nice to talk about things he did that didn't annoy him at all.

And it was just sort of... Nice.

Nice to be doing something inconsequential but enjoyable with friendly strangers. And, y'know, no-one had gotten hurt or upset, he hadn't forged painfully deep connections with any mortals and the day didn't look like it was going to end with him trapped under a mountain or facing some other terrible punishment. Pretty successful day out.

He was still going to give Macaque shit for this later though. How could he suspect Wukong had some tiny, little fears about the past repeating itself and just dump him out here to fend for himself? It was rude if nothing else.

When he finally bid his goodbyes, with a promise to come visit again sometime, he couldn't help the begrudgingly fond smile as a shadow portal opened beside him. Chóu's cooing did bring a blush to his cheeks but he collected himself and with one last wave he walked through.

He emerged to see dinner, clearly pilfered from the DBK clan's kitchen, on the coffee table and Macaque sat on the couch looking smug, "Have a good time?"

He sat on his side of the couch and picked up his bowl with a huff, "You're the actual worst. How could you do that to your husband?"

Macaque snorted, "No-one has ever told her we're married. She just decided it for herself and refuses to hear otherwise. But remember when you threw that artefact at my face? Well, now we're even."

"What! We were already even for that! You punched me in the face! You got me good as well!"

"That was for the blunt force trauma, this was for forcing me to face my fear in such a dick-ish way."

"It worked, didn't it?"

"You tell me."

He shoved some noodles into his face and mumbled, "It was fine."

"Don't talk with your mouthful, you heathen. This is why you don't get invited to dinner with Niú and Gōngzhǔ."

He swallowed, and responded with a little disbelief, "That's why I don't get invited? Wait, they've talked about inviting me? Really?" He then remembered, "Ah, nuts. I should have gone and seen them while I was there. Super rude to just hang out at their place without saying hi."

Macaque laughed slightly, "Oh yeah. Imagine besmirching your reputation as a polite gentleman like that. Unforgivable."

"Hey. Those two are pretty traditional demons - that would have been a major offence back in the day."

"Actually it would still be a major offence today but I called ahead. Told them I'd make up for your atrocious behaviour."

"How could you have possibly called ahead?"

Macaque waved him off, "Doesn't matter. Point is you've not grievously offended anyone and you conquered your fear. Win-win all around."

His grip tightened on his bowl as he looked down and coughed slightly, "Faced my fear. Not conquered."

He glanced up to see Macaque's knowing face, "You ready to tell me exactly what it is you're afraid of?"

He looked up at him a little hopefully, "When we're in bed later?"

Macaque sighed dramatically, "I suppose I'll allow it."

"How gracious of you."

It was a little while later after dinner that Macaque said apropos to nothing, "Look, don't think I don't appreciate it but I think it would do us both some good if you spent a little less time thinking about me and a little more time thinking about yourself."

He looked away, "I think I've thought about myself plenty."

That had largely been the problem back in the day - that's all he'd really thought about. He knew he wasn't the same as he had been but deep down he feared how true that was. How easily it would be to fall back into bad habits if he faltered. Things were good right now, especially for the people he cared about. Why would he ever want to jeopardize that?

Macaque took hold of his hand and brought the back of it to his lips. He pulled away and responded, "C'mon, let's go to bed and talk about it. Word on the street is we're better when we talk about things."

He really would rather keep all these thoughts and feelings to himself but unfortunately Macaque was right and he wanted them to keep getting better and better.

"Let's go to bed then."

--Chapter End--

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LMK Fanfic Masterlist

#lmk #lmk fanfiction #my fanfiction #originally posted on ao3 #tumblr fic #au: shadow (lmk)#lmk macaque #lmk sun wukong #lmk monkey king #lmk shadowpeach #shadowpeach

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hollyhomburg · 1 year ago

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It sucks when I decide not to confide in you guys because honestly today was HELL and I cannot go into it without going several pages into my current lore, but BASICALLY

My grandparents are getting kicked out from the house they’ve lived in for 60+ years, primarily because an uncle who is not one of their children is worried about the housing market taking a downturn and not getting his money. The house is a 3.4 million dollar house, it’s next door to my little cabin. This uncle is very well off and in his retirement, when he purchased the house he signed a legal document (notarized by lawyer) that my grandparents could live there for the rest of their lives.

However last month, he sent an email stating that he was kicking my grand parents out on the 5th of November. My mother and a lot of my aunts and uncles are very upset about this, mostly because of my grandmothers dementia- moving her into an unknown location would decrease her memory substantially. A lot of other people where angry on account of them having no place to stay (it’s been decided they’re going to stay with my uncle but at the time we didn’t know where), and because he gave two 91 year old people 30 days! To move 80+ years of their life! a few of my cousins started to chime in, and then my mother sent an email saying that this was not a conversation that anyone should be having but their seven kids and the conversation was moved to a private chat. My grandparents are supposed to move into our house eventually, but our basement apartment is just beginning renovation for them- we need a good year until it’s ready because we’re poor and can only afford to do it slowly and mostly on our own.

And then comes my sister, who has been externally close with this aunt and uncle. She has been mostly non-communicative about this until today, where she called up my mom to see if she could come visit this weekend- because my whole family- all like 70 of us - are banning together to help my grandparents pack up their lives. My mom started to vent to her- and my sister chewed her out for the e-mail saying It was uncalled for and basically took my aunt and uncles side in the whole situation. As well as Criticized her for being financially irresponsible and not having the basement done, blaming her for my grandparents predicament. My mom was /sobbing/ by the end of it. It took my brother and I like- 20 minutes to calm her down.

She then proceeded to call me 5 times before I picked up, and we had a hard conversation about it all, and when she point blank asked me if i thought she should come home this weekend and I told her that no, I didn’t, because our mom needs support not judgment and she’s going to feel her feelings no matter the facts and what we personally think is right, and if she can’t hold her tongue and be supportive to just my mom- then her being here would cause a lot more stress. And that No matter the situation with the rest of the family and what I personally think should happen- my top priority is my mom and getting her through these super tough weeks tbh, not even my grandparents well being, not my aunt and uncle, not even her at this moment.

She thanked me for being honest with her and we ended the call after she apologized for missing my birthday. Which I was honestly really hurt about but brushed it off because I am just too burnt out to care.

Then after we hung up she texted me this, and we had this conversation

And now I’m wondering if I went too far, if I was too mean, if it was bad of me to deny my sister the last chance to see my grandparents in their home. I don’t know, things have been so hard, I hate this, I hate feeling angry and resentful towards people I care about. I just feel like the saying “honesty without tact is cruelty” really applies to it because like, you can about what you’re feeling without it hurting the people you love. I also told my mom I didn’t like the email she sent out to the family- but I was able to do it in a way that didn’t make her sob. Ugh I just don’t know. Maybe I’m wrong and terrible and just ugghhhh I need to sleep

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scabopolis · 2 years ago

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It has been a mighty, mighty, minute since I've tried to host a fic writing challenge, but why not??? What's old is new again, and yadda yadda yadda. Announcing a new challenge: The Logan & Veronica: New Year, New Fic Writing Fest!

We’ll start writing in the first month of the year, and then posting the first week of February. New year! New fic!

Posting Dates: Wednesday, February 1, 2023 through Tuesday, February 7, 2023

Fic! Fan art! Manips! Playlists! Headcanons! Lists of fic recommendations! We want it all!

To kickoff the first year of this challenge, I thought it'd be fun if we take inspiration from some of the fandom's greatest hits, that is, fics with the most amount of kudos over on AO3.

Please note: I have picked key elements of some of the most kudos'd fics EVER (according to AO3) to inspire these prompts. If you want to do an actual, explicit remix of one of these fics, it's fandom best practice to reach out to the author in advance. Any questions about that distinction? Just send me an ask or a message!

Most importantly: tag everything #2023 LV New Year in the first five tags so all those who love these two idiots can see and track the content. You can also post in the 2023 LV New Year challenge category on AO3.

No time to create? Boy, do I have a suggestion for you! Sometimes fics considered "old" by the fandom can drop off the radar. Why not take the time this week to dole out kudos and/or comments to some older but much loved fics?

Canon divergence, fics inspired by universes you've already created, long one-shots, new multichapters that incorporate each plot - all fic writing formats that are completely on the table!

Day 1: Market Fic - inspired by "A Strange New Story Every Time" by gyzym - Farmer's market? Specialty food store? Mini-market? So many markets...so many possibilities.

Day 2: Non-Linear Storytelling - inspired by "Slipstream" by @cheshirecatstrut. - Any way of telling a story where the events are not told in complete chronological order.

Day 3: Hurt/Comfort and/or Domesticity inspired by "With Me" by @bryrosea and "Same Old Song" by @susanmichelin - You can treat these as two separate prompts, or, as both of these fics do in an expert manner, incorporate them together

Day 4: Epistolary inspired by "Three Emails Sent Across Continents (And Possible Five Text Messages)" by Care and "Wingspan" by @theawkwardterrier - Journals, letters, texts, etc. They can provide the full text or simply feature as one component.

Day 5: Lawyer!Veronica inspired by "A Better Claim" by @best-laid-plaids - She spent all that time and energy on getting that degree - it seems a shame we fic writers don't put it to good use!

Day 6: "I love a man in uniform" inspired by "Metal Under Tension" by @machawicket - Not saying it has to be a military uniform...though that option is, of course, there.

Day 7: s1 canon fix-it or s1 canon divergence inspired by "Sometimes" by @mysilverylining and "Time, Make it Go Faster or Just Rewind" by @kmd0107 - We're all in agreement that s1 is the most complete season of this show, correct? That doesn't mean that the what-if possibilities are in any way limited, though!

So, What are the rules? There aren't really any, but in summation:

Look at the prompts for each day.

Post them on tumblr or AO3.

Tag them (on Tumblr and/or AO3) with #2023 LV New Year and/or add to the AO3 collection.

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heartbeatan · 1 year ago

Text

The Art of Revenge (Chapter 2)

Return to Chapter 1.

Return to Table of Contents.

Return to Jungkook Fanfictions.

Return to One Nights Series.

Return to Masterlist.

Chapter 2

Two days ago, you walked in on Chris and Stephanie. You had spent the next day visiting your lawyer, who was a friend of yours from college, preparing a formal eviction notice for Chris, since you weren’t common law and your name was the only one on the deed. When you pulled up to the tiny curbside firm, it was clear by the unsurprised and sympathetic way she greeted you that she had heard the news. You visited a realtor, who was also a friend of yours, and it was clear she knew too. Word had obviously spread around your circle of friends. Nonetheless, she started the paperwork to put your home on the market - since you wanted nothing more than to escape the image of the deflowering of your kitchen. You also went about canceling everything you possibly could cancel about the wedding, pocketing every last cent that hadn’t been put towards the deposits.

By the late afternoon, you returned to the hotel room - not daring to stop by your house, knowing Chris would be there waiting for you. Instead, you looked to your phone again to find your email inbox ransacked, which could only mean one thing… the mothers had been informed. They had clearly received some sort of hint of infidelity, but had somehow warped themselves into a mindset that you were somehow responsible, and even more so irresponsible for not telling anyone where you were. Chris and Stephanie had clearly been yapping to get ahead of the scandal. It baffled you how two people who betrayed you would so shamelessly air their crimes to the whole damn town. It was yet another prompt to just power down your device. Last thing you needed was some bullshit lecture on how to save face by continuing to live a lie. There was some relief in your inbox, however. Your rapid STD test came back clean.

You sprawled your body across the bed, groaning as your sore muscles and joints stretched over the flat mattress. You were exhausted, and mindless - yet you also found yourself to be incredibly restless.

You were afraid of that moment - the moment when you stopped moving, and would once again be alone with your own thoughts. You feared your mind would be swarmed with the images of what you had seen in your kitchen, or would obsess over every little detail of your past that your paranoia could twist into signs of this affair. You didn’t know if it had been going on for weeks, months, or years, or if you had walked in on a one-night stand. But it didn’t really matter, your soul didn’t seem to care. Surprisingly, instead of thinking about them, all you could think about was Jungkook.

You had told him you would be up there in three days. It was at least a day's drive to get to him, and you had wanted time to get your break-up affairs in order before you made the long trek. But laying there, ignoring the list of things you still had to do, all you could think of was how you could escape. How he could help you escape.

You looked at your phone again, now noticing the condolence messages flooding your inbox from the effects of the town’s gossip line. You ignored them too, and pulled up Jungkook’s number.

You didn’t call him this time, you decided on a text.

Y/N: Is it alright if I come tomorrow instead of Friday? 8:49 PM JK: Of course. Text me when you’ve got an ETA. 8:49 PM

You hesitated about what to say next - unsure of how you were supposed to sign-off after you rescheduled your revenge dick appointment. You settled on a thumbs-up, and decided not to care if it was the wrong answer. You were supposed to be out of this Tinder-esq stage of your life, so you balked at the idea of diving right back in and learning the day's latest formalities. When Jungkook replied with a winky face, you felt the corner of your lips tug into a faint smile. It was strange… you were used to smiling everyday… but in the short past 26 hours you had spent miserable, you felt like you had forgotten how to. But somehow, a simple emoji from a man you hardly knew was breaking you back in.

You looked at the clock. It was already dark outside, and Jungkook was at least a fourteen hour drive away. The wise thing would be to go to sleep, and leave first thing in the morning. But again… nothing you were doing was wise. You were impulsive, and angry, and vengeful… and restless…

Without thinking much about it, you peeled yourself from your bed, padded your way into the bathroom to take a shower - and within the hour, you were packed up and checked out of your hotel room, on the highway north towards Jungkook’s remote town.

You drove through the night, and stopped early morning at a discount store in one of the passing villages. You didn’t have much with you - just the clothes on your back, and the bag of honeymoon lingerie which you had picked up on your way back home when you discovered the affair. It had been mocking you the whole ride with its no-return presence. Regardless, if your night with Jungkook was going to go as planned, clothes weren’t going to be a necessity, so you didn’t need much. You grabbed some $8 leggings, a few $3 tank tops, deodorant, toothbrush, hairbrush, razors, and underwear. You would have liked to grab something sexy, but there wasn’t much the discount bins offered in terms of intimates, and your bridal lingerie felt too perverse to wear.

As you rolled into the final hour of your trip, a mysterious feeling began to crawl through your system. All the negative energy from home and your relationships had been chasing you the whole way down the empty highway. But it was like those demons were blocked by an invisible salt line that guarded the border into Jungkook’s county. You were no longer angry, or bitter, or sad. You were… excited. Excited in a way you hadn’t felt in a long time. Excited in a way that only the prospect of pure, uninhibited, no-strings attached sex could bring you. Like those first few times with that college fuckbuddy of yours - before you caught your agonizing feelings for him. In all these years, you hadn’t let yourself fantasize about Jungkook - even though deep down you wanted to. Thinking about him that way ironically felt like a betrayal to Stephanie. But now you could let those flood gates open. You wondered what kind of lover he was. Was he sweet? Rough? Both? Did he talk dirty? Have kinks? Did he like pleasuring women or did he use them like his personal fuck toy? What kinds of noises did he make when he slipped his cock into a woman? Did his body twitch and pulse when he came? As a person, he had always been such a mystery to you, and since Stephanie had never hooked up with him, he was a mystery as a lover as well - a mystery you were about to uncover. The purpose of fucking Jungkook was to leave Stephanie a jealous, spiteful mess on the floor, but it would be even more karmic if the man had the power to fuck you into forgetting she existed at all.

So, that’s how you found yourself parked on the shoulder of the highway, staring at your engagement photo, just thirty minutes away from Jungkook’s house.

you had another million missed calls, the most recent being from your step-mother. You hadn't heard a thing from your father, so you figured she was acting as his agent. He would be worried, you knew that, but he wasn't great at having difficult conversations, so you weren't surprised that she was the one calling you - but you were nonetheless disappointed. Before calling her back, you decided to check her last email to gauge where she currently stood.

It was a mistake...

She ranted about how you needed to forgive Chris, and how if you didn't, you would be expected to reimburse her and your father for all they had expended on your wedding - which was nothing... She must've been referring to hotel deposits and her dress.

"Bitch," you muttered into the car, just as a truck whizzed by you on the highway. You scrolled through a few more notifications, assessing their general context by the first few paragraphs which were visible from the homepage, but ultimately decided that you would continue to ice everyone out for a few more days. Then you came to the winky face...

Jungkook.

You hadn't spoken to him since the rescheduling the night before. That was probably stupid on your part. He likely expected you to arrive early evening, but since you had impulsively decided to drive through the night without sending word, you were now only thirty-minutes away, and he might not even be home, nonetheless awake.

You typed out a simple message, letting him know how close you were, then hovered over the send button as you questioned whether or not you should send it. You thought about finding another motel room and just holding up there until the afternoon – maybe take a well needed nap. You also thought again about just turning around and leaving this place and Jungkook all together.

Your phone sprang to life, as Chris' name popped onto the screen with an incoming call. You sighed, forgetting about your Jungkook dilemma, now focusing on the should-I-finally-talk-to-Chris crisis. What could he possibly say? Was he going to leave you for Stephanie, or was he going to try to make this right? How could he even begin to make this right? Did you want him to make it right? Had you worked out what you wanted to say to him?

After the fourth ring, you swiped the "pick-up" button, and put the phone to your ear. You didn't greet him, but you didn't really need to, because Chris' voice immediately began to call to you through the receiver.

"Y/N? Y/N are you there?" he asked repeatedly, his voice strained and remorseful.

Good, you thought. You were happy to hear his agony. Regardless, you felt the urge to hang right back up, figuring things could only go downhill from there. But you didn’t. Instead, you waited silently on the other end, feeling your breath begin to lengthen and tighten in a seething hiss. You didn't want to say anything, didn't want him to have the privilege of hearing your voice, but as he pleaded and begged for you to give him some indication you were listening, you eventually responded.

"I'm here."

"Babe, I'm so sorry! Please come home, I can explain everything."

You rolled your eyes. What on earth was there to be explained? He had sex with another woman, just a month away from your wedding. "You can explain now. You have 3 minutes."

He choked, a clear sign that he wasn't prepared to actually explain anything. "Please, we should talk face to face. I'll come to you, just tell me where you are - everyone is so worried about you."

You then felt a new rage bubble up inside. The only reason why “everyone was worried” was because Chris had the nerve to spread your humiliation across town before you even had the chance to process it. You swallowed, trying to keep your words from escaping your lips in screams.

"Exactly why is everyone worried about me, Chris?"

He paused again, hearing the venom in your voice, and realizing he was treading into dangerous territory he hadn't anticipated. "Because, um, they know you're upset."

"And how would they know I was upset, Chris? I certainly didn't tell anybody that you were caught fucking my best friend."

"I… we… We were just worried about you, that's all. We were calling around, trying to find out where you had gone so we knew you were all right.”

You felt your face heat. We. He was talking about him and Stephanie as a "we" now? On top of that, he was seriously suggesting you would become "unsafe" because of them? Like they had that sort of power over you? You were utterly insulted by the implication. If you could've teleported yourself in front of them both right then, you would show them exactly how "unsafe" you could become. But you couldn't...

You looked at your surroundings, appreciating the remote, frontier feelings you got from the old, tall green trees and rocky landscape before you. You were miles away from Chris, and Stephanie, and your stepmother, and everyone who either pitied you or blamed you. You were not far from a man whom you hardly knew, but somehow you knew he wouldn’t pigeonhole you into either of those categories... He just wanted to fuck - that thought made you smile and caused a naughty tingle to reverberate through your guts.

"Please, Y/N," Chris pleaded with you. "I love you. I want to marry you. This was just a stupid mistake. It only happened once and it'll never happen again, I swear. Just come home, and I'll answer any questions you have."

You placed the phone on the dashboard and set it to speaker. You then began shuffling through your bag to find your emergency makeup products. "I'm not coming home,” you announced. “I'm up north."

"Why?" he asked. The confusion in his voice painted a clear picture in your mind of the stupid look he currently had on his face.

"I'm visiting Jungkook. You remember him. Your brother's friend."

"Your..." he stuttered again. He was seriously confused now. That name would have been the last thing he'd have expected to hear. "Why are you visiting him?"

You flipped down the mirror and began inspecting yourself, applying a light stain to your lips. With your limited supplies, there wasn’t much else you could correct about your appearance, but pretending to fix yourself up felt like something a powerful, cold-hearted seductress in a movie would do, and that was the confidence you craved right then.

"Because," you chirped as you gently wiped away the errant line of your lip colour, "I called him."

The phone went silent, and you smiled menacingly as you imagined how tortured Chris was becoming.

He started to say one thing, then stopped, then tried to ask something else, then stopped, until finally he settled on asking simply, "Why him?"

You considered telling him the real reason: to get back at Stephanie. But you decided since Jungkook was also irritating Chris, you wanted to twist the dagger.

"I just really needed someone to talk to,” your tone was condescending, and laced with implication – just enough for Chris to understand that sex was a possibility, but enough nuance to drive him crazy wondering if you were really going to fuck another man.

“I didn’t think you two were friends,” Chris said after a beat.

“Well, it didn’t take a lot of convincing on his part. I guess he wants to get to know me better.”

The moment you said it, your insides began to flutter. You and Jungkook were going to get to know each other better – you were just going to get to know each other better in the biblical sense. The notion somehow granted you a modicum of relief from your anger, and replaced the gap with erotic excitement. You were now bored of this conversation with Chris, and you knew now that you weren’t going to be checking into another motel room.

“Please, Y/N, don’t do this,” Chris spoke slow, and his voice shook. You were impressed that he wasn’t angry, and glad that he was hurting. “We can fix this. I will do anything. I love you. Please just come home.”

You took a deep inhale, then exhaled long and slow. You really had no idea what you should be doing. Was turning the car around and hearing Chris out the "right thing to do?" Was throwing away your two-year relationship too rash? Was fucking another man for revenge too ruthless and reckless? You really didn’t know the answer to what you should do – but you did know what you wanted to do…

“Goodbye, Chris,” you said, clicking the end call button. Before Chris had the chance to call you back, you dialed Jungkook’s number, and were pleased when he picked up on the second ring.

“You on the road?” he asked, not bothering with the formality of a hello.

“I drove all night,” you announced without a hint of remorse. “I’m half an hour away.”

“Mm,” Jungkook hummed in amusement, and you weren’t quite sure what it meant.

“Is that a problem?”

“No, not at all. It’s a welcomed surprise.”

You bit your lip, unsure if he was flirting with you or pacifying you. “I just couldn’t sleep last night. I know, I seem insane.”

“No, you don’t,” he said. “You’re allowed to do whatever you want. I’m just… glad what you’re doing is working out in my favour.”

You bit harder on your lip as the corner of your mouth fought to wind up into a grin. He was definitely flirting, and it felt pretty damn good.

“Here I thought it was you who was doing me a favour.”

“Ha!” he laughed, and a part of you wished you were there to witness it. You hadn’t seen a lot of his smile over the years – but on the rare occasions that you did, you found it to be infectious. “Well… we haven’t done anything yet. So, how about you get here, and we can sort out whose reaping the greater benefits.”

Your face and shoulders scrunched as you felt the onset of a giddy blush. “Sure. I turn left at the mill, right?”

“Yeah. You want me to meet you so you don’t get lost?”

“No, no. I think I’ll be okay.”

“Alright. Call me if you need help and I’ll come find you.”

“Thanks,” you said, then paused as you once again wondered how to end your communications with this man. “See you soon then I guess.”

“Yeah. I look forward to, uh... seeing you,” he responded, rounding the words with salacious implication. Then he hung up.

You reached into your shopping bag for your deodorant, some wipes, toothbrush, and one of your new tank tops – desiring a costume change and a little freshening up in case you got to Jungkook’s house and things got hot and heavy quickly. Your phone rang a few more times while you did, and you ignored it. You didn’t care who was calling or what they had to say. You also didn’t care that you had flashed a pick-up truck full of redneck frat boys as you switched out your top.

Quickly enough, you were back on the road, powering along the highway feeling refreshed in every sense. Your bitterness was gone, your libido was in full swing, and your pits no longer smelled like you had spent 14 hours in a car.

The road into Jungkook’s house was basically a narrow, dirt path, and you had to drive rather slowly to avoid the potholes and forest debris – but it was difficult to keep a slow pace, since your heart was pounding a mile faster with each passing minute. You were relieved when you recognized the turn into his hidden driveway, and you felt your knuckles relax over the steering wheel as your car crested into the clearing, and his cabin-esq house came into view. You crawled the car into what looked like a parking space. You wanted to take another minute, or two, or twenty, to sit in your car and hype yourself up to just get out. But Jungkook would surely know you were there already. The front of his vaulted home was mostly comprised of floor to ceiling windows, which looked out over the lawn and valley far beyond the tree line. You already looked insane for calling him, propositioning him, then driving through the night – you didn’t need to become another untouchably sweaty mess while you physically and emotionally melted down in his driveway under the hot spring sun. So, you grabbed your shopping bag, which you had stuff with all your present belongings, exited the car, and walked up to his front door.

You stood on the stoop, staring at the door as you took another heavy breath, then reached forward to ring the bell. The house was quiet from inside for a long time, making you worry he was going to force you to ring the bell again. But eventually, you heard the soft padding of movement as someone crossed the floor towards the front door. You heard the click of the doorknob, the snap of the sticky weatherstripping as the door broke away from the frame, and then… he was there.

Jungkook, standing tall and solid before you, with every ounce of his sex appeal on display. He had changed in so many ways since the last time you saw him. His face was sharper and more masculine. His arm which was once covered in dainty tattoos was now covered from wrist to shoulder in an array of heavy ink and colour. He was bigger… everywhere. The simple act of holding his door open put his solid biceps and the veins that traced his forearms on full display. His neck was thicker, and the solid plains of his chest were noticeable beneath his plain white t-shirt. Hell, it was possible he even grew taller – you felt tiny in his shadow. His hair was longer than you had seen it before – almost shoulder length, the top half held back in the epitome of an artist’s bun, aside from long strands which acted as bangs to fall carelessly into his eyes.

You stopped breathing for a millisecond. Not long ago you thought you were nearly invisible to this man. Yet, in your time of need, this Adonis had invited you of all people to his home and promised you an exchange of unadulterated pleasure.

He looked you over, just as you looked him over – but his face gave away nothing, whereas yours you were sure gave away everything. He may have changed in many ways since the last time you saw him, but his impassive, signature nonchalance was still very much present. Or was it? For just a brief moment, your eyes locked, and you thought you saw heat burning behind his cool-guy visage. You really hoped that’s what you were seeing. Fucking this man would be great, you were sure, but being truly desired by him would be fucking magnificent.

After a silent moment between you - one you were surprised wasn’t at all awkward - he stepped aside, making way for you to enter his home. Without a word between you, you stepped across the threshold, and into the foyer as Jungkook closed the door behind you.

Go to Chapter 3.

#bts smut #jungkook fanfic #jungkook smut #bts fanfic #jjk x y/n

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