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byuntrash101 · 2 years ago

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lovers on the sun

reader x dom!mingi ft. yunho angst | smut | mdni 4.8k you never understood why mingi chose that life. chose to be an outcast, a loveless bandit. over the years you came to terms with it. you got married, you grew. but when the outlaw finds himself gravely wounded his instincts drag him back to you. to the person he's willing to sacrifice everything for. nsfw tags under the cut

plot, outlaw!au, friends to strangers to lovers (?), hurt/comfort (the hurt part doesn't go too hard dw), a lil' angsty but lowkey wholesome, cheating, mutual pinning, good ending, yunho is mentionned but does not appear. nsfw: nipple play, body whorship (f), pet names (baby, doll) oral (f), slight begging, unprotected sex (i mean they didnt have a choice back then), mingi in the cowboy hat and leather coat (im weak for him </3), big dick!mingi, multiple orgasms (f), creampie, cock warming, he's madly in love with you

playlist: jeannette - el muchacho de los ojos trites, david guetta - lovers on the sun, amy whinehouse - love is a losing game

a/n: thank you so much @ssaboala for hosting this amazing collab. and thank you @hwaightme for helping me so much and brainstorming ideas. also i really recommand you listen to the playlist it will for sure put you in the nostalgic western mood <3

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You can’t help but be worried as you wake up to a cold bed. You haven’t seen Yunho in a couple of days. You wonder if he’s fine as you look out the window of your room to the cornfields. It’s just after dawn but the hot summer air is already laying heavy over the fields, making the green and yellow stems undulate.

You sigh heavily, imagining your husband on his horse in his uncomfortable and sweaty uniform combing the streets, the plains, the fields, the whole town, the whole state, maybe even the whole country. All of that on an empty stomach and sleep deprived.

But you knew he wasn’t going to come home before he caught him. Song Mingi. Ever since he was appointed sheriff it has been his life goal to catch him. The public enemy number one. You couldn’t even begin to imagine how much blood this man had on his hands. He pillaged and robbed and murdered. Always slippery like an eel and managing to get out of justice’s grasp.

Until a couple of days ago where he made a fatal mistake. Your husband jumped out of bed in the middle of the night and mobilized the entire department to look for the man. He was hurt and hiding somewhere. He only needed to be found. The dangerous outlaw reduced to a defenseless flower only waiting to be plugged. This time he knew he was done for and Yunho was going to finally catch him and bring him to justice and ultimately to the gallows. Where your husband thought the fugitive’s righteous place was. Behind the church and six feet under.

You chuckled humorlessly to yourself at the name. You used to know this name. You used to know it very well. Or at least you thought you did. You used to be close to Song Mingi. The three of you were. Mingi, Yunho and you. You were just a bunch of teenagers, you didn’t have a worry in the world. But you grew up and Yunho joined the force as Mingi did and you can only guess power got to his head. He eventually got caught involved in shady business with even shadier people. Until he left and became the fugitive. The outlaw you only knew by the wanted posters put up everywhere in town.

His name lost all familiarity. But your heart couldn’t forget about his soft half smile. About the warmth pulling in his orbs when the three of you stayed up in the hill to watch the stars, sleeping under the open night sky, despite the snakes and coyotes. Even the crackling fire couldn’t rivalize with the blaze of his sharp eyes on you. You couldn't forget his rough hand snaking its way on your nape, pulling you closer to lay the gentlest kiss on your lips. You nervously glanced over at Yunho sleeping next to the both you. You felt nervous even if this happened long before you got married, long before he confessed to you. And for Mingi there was not a trace of doubt on his sharp features, no evil in his eyes. Only love. You thought at least.

That was the very last night you saw him. The next day he fled to the valley and proceeded with his life of crime. Your heart ached again, how could he have chosen that life… over what he had. Why would he choose a blood stained pile of shriveled dollar bills instead of this night on the hills with you… instead of this kiss? Instead of you?

You shook your head trying to forget about the uncomfortable feeling of your skin crawling as the wholesome memory turned into bitter dormant ache. You have accepted it over the years. Truth was you never knew Song Mingi… You only knew about the sheep but never about the wolf.

But then again you have to get on with your day, and carry on. Life goes on and doesn’t wait. You have to take care of the animals in the barn.

Since Yunho was the town’s sheriff earned enough money for the both of you it wasn’t necessary for you to have a huge farm. A couple of pigs, some hens, two horses and a cow was well enough and tending to them was the only labor you ought to do.

You traded your nightgown for a dress more appropriate to work in. A light blue flowy ankle length dress with long sleeves and a high neckline that was going to protect your skin from the hot sun, but would still let you breathe through the light material.

You hoped in your worn out brown leather ankle boots and headed to the barn. First of all, you start by checking if the hens laid eggs, you gently push the chickens to harvest the six eggs and place them in your basket that you set aside then you go to feed the cow. You go to take a big serving of hay and you make a mental note that you’ll have to go by the neighboring farm and purchase some more because you are running out. Maybe the cow and horses have been especially hungry lately.

You place the hay in the big manger and head to the fence to let the cow take a stroll in the prairie next to the house.

As you reach out the fence, you nearly scream. The handle is covered in blood. The colors leave your face as you realize that the traces are fresh as you see one single drop on the dusty floor. You squint and realize there’s a trail of blood going out the barn. You follow the trail circling the barn and landing behind it, the trail disappearing behind tall weeds and bushes that you had left unattended for quite a while.

You pushed aside the leaves and discovered some rags maculated with blood and at the end of the trail a man, lying, his back resting against a small trunk, sitting on a pile of hay. Barely holding off.

Mingi didn't even know why he dragged his mutilated body out here to rot in the sun, he didn't know why he took that chance. He just had to. If he wasn't going to see the sun rise again tomorrow then he at least wanted to see it set on a familiar face. A face he held in his memory so dearly. Even after all these years.

After all this time, when he finally sees it, the face he pulled through thick and thin for. Your face. Your face emerging from the bushes. There are not enough words in the world for him to express the relief he feels. He doesn’t have enough time to carefully curate them and voice them outloud. So he only chooses to smile.

You, on the other hand, felt your heart jumping in your throat, the frantic muscle getting stuck there, making you swallow thickly as your eyes grow in surprise. You have trouble believing your senses. Have you stayed in the sun for too long? Have you contracted yellow fever? Can you trust your eyes, reflecting this image of the past? A figure you thought (and maybe even hoped) you would never see again? But you know your eyes aren’t deceiving you the second his lips curl into a half smile, rounding up only one of his cheeks. The familiar sight takes you back to the hills, to the crackling bonfire, to the starry sky, to the warmth of his orbs. Even if you see the red tint of diluted blood on his teeth and the way pain twits his eyebrows. It’s the same. The same smile you remembered.

“Mingi?” you finally breathe out, broken voice hindered by your heart still sitting in your throat. Barely audible. But still heard by the beaten man.

“Hi doll” his deep voice echoed yours, hardly louder than a whisper.

There’s no resentment, no hatred, no evil in his voice, in his eyes. And for that instant you forget about the endless tales of horrors, about the murders and the blood and you forget about the wolf. Because you see only the sheep, hurt and needing your help.

You throw yourself on your knees next to him, you wrap your arms around him, careful to avoid the wounds.

Mingi closes his eyes and you lean against him as he suppresses a cough. He almost forgot about the smell of your hair, about the warmth of your hands, about the sound of your voice. Almost, but he didn’t. He could never even if he tried. He could lose everything but you. And if you were only a memory then it was all he needed.

***

You brought the man inside, limping and leaning on your side. You sat him in the wooden and creaking chair of the dining room. The tall man grunted as he settled down.

You kneeled next to him. And very carefully, you lifted his long leather coat to uncover the blood maculated shirt.

"So... How does it look doc?" Mingi joked, even going as far as to lightly chuckle before the sharp pain on his side wiped the half smile off his face.

"Let me help you" you said, carefully peeling the fabric off, the coagulated blood stuck to the opened wound, making Mingi wince as he felt the air blow on his sweaty skin. You ran your finger across his skin, carefully avoiding the wound.

Your touch was so soft, so gentle. Mingi sighed, closing his eyes. Your tenderness almost making him forget about the pain jabbing him. It's been so long, so so long since Mingi has felt this. He hasn't felt a soft touch in a lifetime, a contact that was free of any kind of aggression, that didn't demand anything from him, that only intended to soothe him.

It's been so long since he's felt safe.

That was the word. He felt safe. Safe with you even though he was half naked, wounded and unarmed. He felt safe.

You took your time to treat the wound, cleaning it with what you had on hand, which was the rest of a bottle of home distilled bourbon, warm water and clean rags. You patched him up and handed him his hat back.

"You should go, Mingi" you started after a long silence. You tried to conceal the lump inside your throat as you enunciated the heavy words.

Mingi looked up at you, grabbing his hat. He didn't want to go.

"Y/n.. I-"

"You know he might come back. If he finds you here he's gonna..." you hesitated. “Finish the job”

"You mean kill me?" Mingi looked you dead in the eye, a coldness laying latent in his orbs, a coldness that gave you shivers along your spine even with the hot sun heating up the windows of the small dining room.

You closed your eyes shut trying to chase away tears. After all these years and all he’s done. You couldn’t bring yourself to hate him.

Mingi wanted to scream. Why did he get to be with you, to touch you, to lay next to you every night while he was perpetually running, fleeing and living on the edge of the world like a wild dog. Barely surviving on the sole memory of you and the love he felt and feels for you.

"Mingi..." you started hesitantly. You had the chance to ask now, maybe this opportunity would never represent itself again.

"Why did you kiss me that night?"

Mingi’s anger evaporated into smoke as his eyes snapped to you. For all these years he had feared you somehow resented him. That somehow the tales of his life came back to you and poisoned your heart. He feared that you too saw him as the bandit, the outlaw he had become. But there was no hatred in your quavering voice, no bitterness pooling in your orbs. Only incomprehension and sorrow.

Your eyes were glazed over by a sheen of budding tears, drooping in sorrow and you looked up intensely at the man.

You waited for an answer, you waited long enough, you waited for years. And waiting again for those few seconds was too much.

“Why did you kiss me if you were going to leave me Mingi?” this time you called his name. And Mingi felt like the question had wrapped around his heart and was holding it tightly, squeezing it until the agonizing organ gave out.

“What did he tell you?” Mingi finally spoke, tipping his cowboy hat down, making sure to conceal his face.

“What?”

“What did Yunho tell you?” Mingi reiterated, this time his voice broke, echoing the shattering of his heart.

“I-” you started, stuttering.

“I never did any of those things, y/n” he finally rips the hat off his face, the disheveled and sweaty hair adding a layer of urgency to his state of despair as he raises his voice in frustration. “Yunho planted the evidence! He framed me! Because he couldn't stand that I was to become sheriff, he wanted to control the city, he wanted the power and he wanted… you…”

Mingi took a deep breath, his voice softening to a whisper. “He wanted you for himself. Because that night I-... I-” Mingi hesitated as you hung on his lips. “I wanted to marry you, y/n.”

You felt the blood vanish from your face. You became livid and your vision blurred, your world was crumbling before your very eyes.

“This is impossible” you whispered more to yourself than anything else.

“In the morning I told Yunho that I had kissed you and wanted to marry you and he couldn't bear it. So he framed me as a bad man to get me out of your life. I ain't no saint! I know! But the rest of it, I only did because I needed to survive. I stole to feed and killed to defend myself. Never in cold blood. Y/n, you have to believe me!”

Mingi’s words were mushing together barely making any sense in your ears that were already rigging, you felt dizzy, you felt ill. How could that be the man you married? The man you shared your life with. The man that looked at you with the most innocent big round eyes. The man that you knew cherrich justice above all else, so much that he didn’t care that sword of justice he was wielding struck his best friend because he was led astray and that was the treatment reserved for criminals.

But that was all an act. It was never about righteousness and justice, it was about vengeance and envy.

Your knees gave out and you stumbled onto Mingi’s chest. He caught you in time, wrapping his strong arms around you, grunting as you pressed your weight onto the fresh wound.

Your life was collapsing. Your chest started to heave up and down rapidly, your heart racing as your reality faded to black. Nothing to anchor yourself to. Nothing real, nothing you could hold on to to keep yourself afloat. Only lies and smoke. And you fell and fell into panic and into Mingi.

Suddenly you were back again, back from the darkness and you looked at him to find your peace again, both lost in this familiar silence. He protectively wrapped his strong arms around you, and soothingly pressed your head against his chest, the leather of his long coat brushed against your cheek as Mingi held you just like that. He felt his warmth, you heard his heart beating against his ribs and you felt… him. Not the outcast, not the outlaw, but just your friend Mingi.

Ever so gently, with a softness you had never ever known from a man, even your husband, he wrapped his hands made rough from labor around your chin and gently lifted your face upwards, you found that Mingi’s eyes were as deep as the sea, just as mysterious and alluring, strangely welcoming.

And slowly, very slowly Mingi closed the distance between you. Giving you all the time in the world to voice your desire for him to stop if you felt that way. But you didn't want him to stop, instead you gripped at the long coat tighter, somehow afraid that he too was a mirage, a body made of haze that was just another lie. You had to make sure he, at least, was real. True.

And he was.

When your lips connected you felt as if your body has gone up into flames, open fire bursting from your chest to your heart, convincing you to close your eyes, and give complete access to Mingi. But even though he didn’t that use trust to his advantage, he didn't engulfed himself into you. Instead he gently deepened the kiss, taking the time to let you warm up as your fingers relaxed around the worn out leather. Mingi’s hands were getting to know you, caressing the soft cotton of your dress. His rough palms contrasted greatly with the softness of his touch.

Slowly he parted his lips, his tongue gently slipping into your mouth inviting your tongue into a dance, giving a few kitten licks and getting to taste you, you moaned when his hands reached down to the small of your back.

“Mingi” you breathed against his mouth. There was no words to describe what that simple word did to him. Simply his name gently murmured like this. It was like having an angel speaking of the devil's name so fondly, so gently. He didn't feel worthy but there was plenty of time tomorrow for guilt. Today Mingi only had time for you.

He gently laid you back onto the wooden dining table and you hoisted yourself up on your elbows, he leaned over you as his kiss spilled from your lips to your neck. You whined once when your lips mourned the loss of his warmth and once when you felt his hot and wet tongue glide across the thin skin of your neck, you let your head fall back as Mingi progressed further down until he’s met with the collar of your dress. You don't want to lose the way he feels on your skin so your hands quickly busy themselves with the buttons, practically ripping them off to take the thick fabric that separated you from Mingi off you while he watches with this signature half smile, satisfied to see you so eager to expose yourself to him.

As soon as you’re done with buttons he latched on your skin again, sucking on your collar bone going down and then up the curve of your breasts until he reached your bra he swiftly reached around to unclasp it, he drew back to see the way your beautiful breasts spilled out of the article, gently falling over at each side of your chest. Mingi’s breath hitched in his throat as his eyes avidly roamed over you, taking your form in.

The way his eyes turned sharp as he looked at you made you squeeze your thigh together as your felt arousal pool into your lower stomach, heat spilling into your underwear.

“So pretty” he murmured before he wrapped his lips around one of your nipples, immediately hardening into a tight nub. He flicked his tongue on the erected knob while his warm hand kneaded the other one, perfectly distributing his attention to your body, already feeling sensitive. You arched your back and pushed his face further into your skin when he sucked on the hardened nipple, making your moan his name.

“Fuck- Mingi” you panted. “Don’t stop”

Mingi briefly stood back up to take the long coat off, only harboring the leather vest that let you admire his toned arms flexing as he ripped the coat off to throw it over one of the chairs. He didn't even bother taking the dress off you, only flipping it over your stomach as he pulled down your underpants, leaving your bottom half completely nude.

Suddenly coy you pressed your thighs together, shielding your modesty from his ardent gaze, he looked back up at you with knitted brows, such desperation swimming in his eyes, as if he absolutely needed to see you.

“Please” he exhaled. “Please let me see you, y/n” he pleaded.

And you finally parted your legs, first your feet then your knees and finally your thighs.

“Fuck” Mingi cursed as he palmed his aching lengh throught his pants. He was finally seeing you, like how he imagined you a thousand times. But even the wildest dreams could never live up to that reality, to the truth of you, you were breathtaking. The way your beautiful center was already swollen with need, twitching in anticipation to be touched, your folds covered with the glistening sheen of your juices lazily running down your entrance.

Mingi felt like he’d finally seen the light. Like redemption was within grasp, somehow contained within your holy form. He felt like he needed to worship you, like he needed to get on his knees and so he did.

He kneeled in front of you, snaking his arms around your things and grasping at the supple flesh to pull you closer to him, bringing his lips close to your most private of places.

You felt heat rush to your face and chest as your heart raced, uncontrollably hammering into your chest, menacing to break free anytime as Mingi dug his nose right into your folds.

“Oh my g-” you gasped as soon as he made contact with you. Your head immediately spinning, your core quivering and demanding more.

Mingi planted one soft kiss on your sensitive bundle of nerves, then went to your entrance where he flattened his tongue to swiped it across, spreading your folds and scooping as much as your slick as possible, earning a whimper from you. Mingi wanted more of this, of your sweet taste, more of your honey coating his tongue, more of your beautiful voice singing soft melodies into his ears, more of your beautiful face looking down at him in pleasure, glossy eyes pleading for more.

“Baby” he moaned against you before burying his face into you, flicking his tongue on your clit as you moaned again, louder this time. Mingi concentrated on this part of you, assaulting your clit with flicks after flicks, jolts after jolts of divine pleasure, spreading heat in all of your limbs. Mingi felt your thighs tense up in his hold and he suddenly let go.

You whined as you felt your desperate center throb for more of him. You looked up at him right on time to see him sink not one but two long fingers inside your tight heat. Immediately curling them into your sweet spot. Your eyes rolled back to the back of your head, once again you let out a lewd sound that bounces off the walls making the hairs on Mingi’s nape stand and his length leak arousal.

“You like that?” he asked, deep voice a little more impatient.

“Yes!” you exhaled. “Please more, more” you begged, your eyes coming back into focus.

“Of course, doll” he said before coming back down to your demanding center. He pumped his long fingers in and out of your heat, each time your eager little cunt pulled them back inside, tightly gripping around them. He wrapped his tongue around your clit, sucking and licking until you were on the verge of your release.

“Please” you said, your hand flying between your legs to keep Mingi’s face exactly where it was. “Don’t stop” you breathed, your thighs tensing, your swollen clit pulsing under Mingi’s wet and hot tongue.

“Fuck” you said, pressing on his face a little harder which made him smirk agaisnt you. “I'm cumming” you said in a strangled moan, you legs trembling your orgasming center gushing more and more of your honey , completely quenching Mingi’s thirst for your sweet nectar, walls fluttering around his fingers as he guided you down.

Mingi hurriedly kicked his pants off him and stood between your legs, large cock resting heavily in his palm, the head made red and shiny with precum.

“Please give me another one of those” he whispered with edginess, deep voice strained with need. “I wanna see and hear that again.” he rubbed his cock against your folds, mixing both of your essences into one, drenching his length with your slick. “Please this time cum on my cock” he gently pushed his tip inside you, closing his eyes shut as he felt your walls fluttering around his cock head, finishing your previous orgasm around his cock, your pretty little pussy pulsing around him as he continued to push himself in, breathing heavily to keep himself from bursting on the spot.

“Fuck” he cried, finally peeling his eyes open. “You feel so good around me baby” he breathed. “You’re so pretty, so perfect” he praised you. Taking a good look at you. You were stunning, beads of sweat running down your temples, your breasts spilling from the half undone dress, said dress completely wrinkled and roughed up, not hiding anything away from him anymore.

“Ok” you said, out of breath, pushing a dampened strand of hair away from your face. “Make me cum around your cock, Mingi” you said, spreading your legs even wider, giving Mingi an even better view of his cock splitting you in two.

“Fuck-” Mingi cursed again, immediately taking you up on the offer. He started to pull out only to push back in again, just as gently. The way his girth split you open made you moan his name. You whimpered at the delicious stretch of your walls accommodating his generous mengh as he filled you up to the brim so perfectly almost like you were made for him entirely.

“Please harder, Mingi” you said, your fingers pulling into the leather cropped vest, where you could see from underneath his toned abs and belly button.

“Of course, doll” he said as he picked the pace, a wince of pleasure sneaking on his face when you gripped even tighter around him, letting out a satisfied groan.

With each powerful thrust he was grazing against your g spot making your moan and arch your back, pushing your hips into him everytime he pushed himself back in.

“Fuck you’re so good to me baby” he panted, a large bead of sweat running from his hairline along the bridge of his sharp and long noze.

You only replied with more moans, growing louder and louder as you both fucked each other, rocking the dining table recklessly the sound of your skin clashing and filling up the space along with groans and grunts.

“Baby, I'm close” Mingi said in a strangled and high pitched moan that was far from the usual deep voice he used.

“Me too” you answered “Please inside” you struggled to make sense. “Please cum inside me”

You didnt care about the consequences right now, moreover you weren't even thinking about them. You only thought about Mingi deep inside of you giving you the raw, rough unfiltered love you have been needing for years. Ever since he kissed you back on the hills. And suddenly you were back at the hilltop again.

Your body started to shake as you came undone again as Mingi delivered large and thick ropes of burning cum inside your heat, your name slipping off his lips a thousand times. Both of your bodies going up in flames, throwing each other in the fire that lighted you both as he kissed you again.

You pulsed uncontrollably around him, as he became sloppy, his thrusts more shallow and irregular until they came to a stop. He crashed over your body, panting, chest heaving up and down as you stroked his hair. He stayed inside you for a while, his cum lazily dripping out of you. He didn't want to lose this connection with you, he wanted to stay right there. Right here with you.

***

“Come with me” Mingi said as he was ready to hop on one of your horses, as the sun was setting over the fields.

“Mingi I-” you started.

“Forget about him” Mingi cut you off before you have a chance to mention your husband's name. He took your hands into his big and rough ones. “Come back with me to the hills, y/n” he said. You opened your mouth to speak again but Mingi didn't let you talk. He was afraid of your answer. “We won't have much but we will have each other. And if I have you then I have everything” he pressed his chest against yours and you heard his heart beat into your ear, testifying of his true feelings, much deeper than any words.

This was your chance to let the deceiving lies behind to embrace a life of true love. And you took your chance. As you hoped on the horse right behind Mingi, leaving the empty house behind. You held onto him, your fingers found their way and intertwining with the leather again as you rode into the sunset, lifting the dry dirt in your wake. The stars finally crossing as your destinies took the same path. The sun meeting you on the horizon, inviting you with it.

Two star crossed lovers on the sun.

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a/n: phewww it is done! i cant even begin to explain the STRUGGLE i had while writing this but i hope it turned out good? maybe? it was wayyyy out of my comfort zone if you liked it please tell me in the comments or reblog (pls don't use the community labels please) or leave a nice ask. that would mean so much <3. anyways thank you for the awesome collab anne @ssaboala. don't forget to check out the other authors' amazing fics here. byeee~

#ateez smut #mingi smut #ateez fanfic #ateez ff #ateez mingi #ateez #kpop smut #mingi #mingi hard thoughts #mingi hard hours #ateez angst #ateez hard hours #ateez hard thoughts #mingi fanfic #mingi x reader #ateez x reader #mingi x you #smut fanfiction

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daveyscheezitz · 5 months ago

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♤My personal David HCs♤

And Angel ofc

- He's 6'7ft or 200cm

- His mother was Peruvian while Gabe was American.

- Although he looks a lot like his father, most of his physique came from his mother's side.

- His eyes are a hazel, but depending on the light, his eye color looks like it changes to either green or brown.

- When they were really young, both David and Asher thought he had super powers other than his shifting until Gabe told them the truth.

- His great grandfather (moms side) was Samoan, but his genes skipped a couple of generations until they reached David, making him turn out huge.

- He's surpassed both Asher and Gabe in height.

- He has a small scar over his lip. He fell off a tree face first.

- A lot of people try to flirt with him while on the job, but he ignores them. Asher likes stepping in and pretending he's David's boyfriend until the person leaves.

- "Another relationship saved, don't ya think David?" "Shut up, Ash."

- Him and Asher have a "Wolverine & Deadpool" friendship.

- Unironically listens to kpop girl groups from time to time. Especially Twice and Red Velvet.

- Will take it to the grave before anyone finds out, especially Asher and Angel.

-They know but they want to catch him in the act.

- He genuinely enjoys musicals. His favorites are Hairspray and Epic.

- Loves playing video games and is definitely the type to scream at a game yet continue playing it. *ahem* Overwatch & COD

- If Angel likes Legos, he'll tell them not to waste so much money on those things ... then proceeds to buy them the Colosseum ... and a set of small flowers.

- He's rich >:]

- He drives a F250 but has a 1990 corvette that him and his dad fixed up in the garage. It was his first car and a way for Gabe to teach him how to fix a car.

- Phonk & Rock>>

- Has black hair and a couple gray hairs (We love silver foxes)

- He has bright gold eyes in his wolf form, but his fur is completely black

- Although they've been together 6 years, The mall wasn't the first place they've seen each other. While Angel was in their last year of college, one of the pack members was in the cheer squad and they came to support her while Angel was in (band dance cheer wtv u want) that was the first time they saw each other but other than a comment from Asher that Angel was cute, they didn't actually talk.

- He's actually really good at dancing but doesn't like to do it. The only reason he'll dance is if Angel begs him, and even at that, it's only limited to slow dancing.

•These next Hcs are about mostly my Angel OC so if you're not interested you can skip these•

- Angel was raised in a wealthy family and owns a ranch that their father tends to. All future Solstice parties hosted by David and Angel take place there due to the large house and even bigger land area. (As long as they don't eat the animals)

- (i refuse to believe Angel and Babee are useless) Angel and Babee both are childhood friends who served in the military together. Angel is a sergeant with good sniper skills and Babee was a demolitionist.

- Angel owns quite a few dogs. Most are herding dogs for the animals in her ranch, but 2 of them are her pets. A Rottweiler and a Chihuahua that David gets jealous of sometimes.

•Okay done•

- (This 1 is quite sad. Tw: mentions of death) David is fluent in spanish because Gabe didn't want him to forget about his Peruvian heritage after his mom passed away, so while he was young, he did his best to take David to Peruvian style restaurant and events. Gabe even traveled all the way to Peru so David could visit his grandparents, who he adored.

- Loves spicy food.

- His favorite dog breed is a Caucasian Shepard or a Calupoh.

- His love languages are Acts of Service or Gift giving.

- After he proposed to Angel or after they were married, if anyone tried flirting with him, he would flash is wedding ring before silently walking away.

- Angel is not allowed to cook, and if they are, it's either to make noodles. Their ramen is so good, even beating David's.

- David's name on Angels phone is "Pookie Wookie 🐺" Angels' name of David's phone is their actual name. ex. "Alex," "Jackson," "Monica," but Angel changed it to "Beautiful Gorgeous🧍" He didn't care enough to change it.

- He got so jealous of the name Asher put for his number on Angels phone "Ashy Baby," but Angel was the one he punished (no walking for you tmr)

I got no more tysm <3

#redacted audio #redacted david #redacted asmr #redacted asher #redacted angel

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dailycass-cain · 1 year ago

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As promised many months ago to end this day, here's a 🧵of the insanity Cassandra Cain's "human" body can do due to what David Cain put her through (besides the two obvious ones of body language and various forms of killing he trained her in).

The best issue that showcases that is of course Batgirl Vol. 1 #14 where various government agencies look at the footage Cass got caught filmed in.

The first few pages are literally showcasing how inhuman, but still bordering on human she is due to what David Cain put her through.

This is always fully covered throughout Batgirl Volume 1 and is usually forgotten when writers and editors tend to have their job. Not saying any names or storylines of any RECENT kind where a WAR broke out in GOTHAM.

is still salty YES

We've seen Cass's speed all the time throughout the Puckett run. To just showcase the prior issue's bullet dodging or her issue of Tim (#18) be child's play (along with her taking several shots up close and dodging each one from a certain corrupt government bastard).

Nah the best example of Cass's true "speed" is in #34 facing the mob boss Ving and his gang.

Yeah, you're seeing that right she is faster than a freaking bullet. Surprising how SOME seem to forget that in other comics. 🙄

Something even Batgirls remembered (#15) when Cass was playing shogun dodge with Cluemaster who was trying to shoot her with a shotgun.

But what of Cassandra's strength? Just how strong is she really?

#19 where Cass is faced with the obstacle of three-inch quartz preventing her from escaping a gas chamber. So let's examine just how thick three-inch quartz is.

Well, let's google just that.

A SEVEN on the hardness scale. Further research says that it can only crack due to "extreme impacts" which wouldn't ya know:

As for her body itself, Batgirl/Ghost: The Ressurection Machine #3 suggests this about Cass being immune to A LOT of poisons:

Something Batgirl Vol. 1 "sort of" delves in #50 when both she and Bruce are doused with a new batch of super drug but it turns out they were both immune to it due to them being built differently than normal humans.

This is all the more surprising because a few issues prior to (#46) Cass is doused with a version of it, but you could say given what she "sees" Cass is under A LOT of stress (the building tension with Bruce, Babs breaking up with Dick, Superboy/Black Wind stuff). Plus she does "sort of" snap out of it to beat the bad guys in that issue.

Just like in #51 she avoids the pheromones to Poison Ivy even though she is showing signs of falling under the hormones but snaps out of it due to willpower (something Bruce was almost succumbing to before he fully snapped out of it too).

It really feels like "this anti-poison" ability Cass had was all but forgotten once the series ended. Of course, naturally with a certain "infamous" story ONE YEAR LATER, but also Batman & Robin Eternal as she is affected by Fear Toxin (among other stuff too).

#9 & #59 showcase that David Cain shot Cass regularly so much that she can not even feel it. This could explain also HOW she was eventually able to dodge bullets and become so fast.

#22 also showcases this as well so this is not something simply just randomly put in. This was something the writers wanted to show the sickening lengths David Cain put Cass through.

Again, #14 brought up Cass's metabolism and how off the charts it was. I think something we just overlooked is that in #26 Cass slept for 20 hours a day for four days (or perhaps longer) straight until she fully recovered from fighting Lady Shiva.

That's not even going under the amount of food she consumes. This little detail was first showcased in #39 when Cass ate like she was freaking Goku.

This little bit of detail was brought back in #66 when she ordered THREE burgers (I'm assuming with everything on it) with three sides of fries and a BIG milk.

Amusingly, this detail was recently brought back in Nightwing #106 & #108 where she FEASTED on who knows how many pancakes.

Lastly, I feel this bit is worth mentioning as well from #47 with Doctor Lewis Friedman who started the theory on body language that David Cain made a frightening reality with Cass (shame he was never brought up again after this issue).

All this isn't even counting on the extremely LONG hours of shower time Cass picked up in the Gabrych run that even Willingham's Robin (which went on during this) teased (something again Batgirls kept up on).

So there you have it. The utter anomaly that is the body of one Cassandra Cain.

#cassandra cain #dc comics #insane things Cass can do #cass built differently

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aimedis · 5 months ago

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SPECIAL - DAVID & DARLIN' | WIP WEDNESDAY !!

teenage david & darlin' siblings au (+alive gabe lololol) | yes, this is a work in progress. i started it over a year ago and have been stopping and restarting for so long 💀 it was meant to be a multi-chapter fic (of around 15 chapters) and i never got past 4 😭😭

cw - darlin' angst, mentions of toxic relationships (quinn & darlin'), sibling arguments, teenagers doing teenager shit (sneaking out & getting drunk), lots of cursing and name-calling, no sam or any of the mates because of the high school setting

wc - 1.8k

David never really considered himself a rebellious child, and compared to his sibling and packmates, he really wasn’t. Then again, it wasn’t as if he'd never done things he wasn’t supposed to. But those things were spread out enough for him to blame it on teenage impulse.

At least he was self-aware.

But sneaking out was one thing he could never justify to himself or wanted to do in the first place.

Yet here he was. Sneaking out.

Asher got invited to this party a friend of a friend was hosting and was told to bring whoever he felt like. David and Milo were obviously the very first and only people he thought to invite. They were the only people he knew would come with him or at the very least not snitch on him.

The situation he was now in came back to his inability to say no to Asher. Surely this counts as peer pressure.

They were at Asher's house that Friday night, under the guise of a routine sleepover. They stayed until his parents fell asleep before sneaking out the front door and into Asher’s father’s car.

The whole car ride was quite uneventful, Asher and Milo having a conversation about something while David sat in the back trying to ignore the anxiety pooling in his stomach.

It had been all of twelve minutes after they’d arrived before Milo slipped one of those cliché red solo cups into his hand. David didn’t hesitate to down the whole thing.

He heard Asher and Milo laugh at him and felt the slap on his back when he was done.

David leaned back onto the couch with a small groan, barely audible amidst the noise of the music playing throughout the house. He could already feel the tension bleeding out of his body as the alcohol heated his body.

When he turned his head, Asher and Milo were already laughing while downing their drinks with their arms intertwined.

It was gonna be a long night.

────────

Of course, nothing in their life goes correctly.

Of course, the night after they broke up with Quinn would be an absolute shit show. They didn’t even care that he was showing up to this party, they just wanted him to stay on the other side of the house for the next five hours while they tried to forget about him.

But when does anything go their way?

They were just sitting on the couch on their phone waiting for a friend to come back when Quinn appeared in front of them, menacing aura and all. They had half a mind to ignore him but then he just had to start running his mouth.

They only really caught the comments on them being a traitor, a worthless dog and a disappointment to everyone who ever cared about them. The alcohol in their system was making their comprehension fuzzy.

They don’t remember what they said in response but by the look in Quinn’s cold undead eyes, it pissed him off. And that made them feel good.

Quinn kept yelling and yelling and Tank found themselves yelling back once again. They didn’t know if anyone else was paying attention to both of them and frankly, they didn’t care, if people wanted to watch how much of a clown Quinn was when he felt threatened, they could.

Tank enjoyed the feeling of being the only one to make Quinn lash out like this.

It was kind of special.

────────

David groans softly as he steps out of the house, the owner of which he didn’t even know, loud music pounding against its walls, not helping his budding headache.

He pulls out his phone and forces himself to call his Dad’s contact before he can talk himself out of it.

He knew this was a bad idea

You would think being the oldest and most level-headed teenager in the pack would make him resistant to Asher’s stupid ideas. But alas, he’s just a teenage boy who was bored on a Friday night with a social butterfly as a best friend.

Gabe picks up the phone, his voice groggy from sleep. “David?”

“Uhm, Dad?” David winces at how nervous he sounds.

“Something wrong, buddy? Are you boys alright?” He asks, worry starting to make itself apparent in his tone and David feels guilt building inside of him.

Yeah, this was a really bad idea.

“I-” He closed his eyes and inhaled a sharp breath as his vision blurred, “I’m really sorry in advance but I need you to pick me, Ash and Milo up.”

There was silence on the other line for a moment before Gabe spoke up again, “Okay.. why?”

David had to take a few deep breaths to calm the panicked feeling in his stomach before he could continue. “One of Ash’s friends was hosting a party at their house and the three of us snuck out of Ash’s house to go. Ash and Milo are both wasted and I’m not sober either so I called you. I’m really really sorry..”

The sigh of disappointment from his father made him wince.

“Send me the address, I’m on my way.”

David swallowed hard and nodded before realizing Gabe couldn’t see him. “Okay. Thank you.” He whispered back.

“Thank you for calling me, David.”

David didn’t say anything before Gabe hung up. He sent the house address quickly before he stepped back inside the house. Asher and Milo were in the same position they were in before he left, draped across each other on the couch giggling about absolutely nothing.

David collapses next to the both of them, “My Dad’s on his way.”

There was no reason for that to be funny, quite the opposite actually, but for some reason, Asher and Milo started laughing hysterically. David rolls his eyes, immediately regretting it because of how much worse it makes his headache, and buries his flushed face in his palms.

“It’s not even funny, I’m so dead,” Asher snickers into Milo’s side.

Milo replies with a cackle and David groans quietly.

This night could not get any worse.

────────

David had all but dragged Asher and Milo outside when his father had gotten there, stumbling a bit himself but he got the three of them to the car where his father was standing.

Asher and Milo’s obnoxious laughter stopped as soon as they saw their Alpha standing tall and pissed outside the house. David could’ve rolled his eyes at the way both of them hung their heads and mumbled a “sorry, Gabe”, climbing into the car with their figurative tails between their legs if he wasn’t scared shitless himself.

He avoids his father’s eye contact as he walks around to the passenger side after closing the door.

David expected his dad to enter the car after them and start the car and the lecture, but he looked up long enough to see him still standing against the car and watching the house. David was about to open his mouth and ask what he was doing when he saw Tank leaving the house as well and walking towards the car.

“Sovereigns above…” Gabe sighs heavily, leaning against the car in exasperation, “Are you kidding me?”

Tank huffs and opens the car door without looking at Gabe, “Yes, yes I know. You’re such a bad kid, you could’ve died and I wouldn’t know blah blah blah. I was gonna call you, promise.”

Gabe seems to roll his eyes as they get into the car, “Anyone else in there I should know about?”

No one in the car says anything so Gabe takes it as his turn to get in the car.

David turns in his seat to look at Tank putting their seatbelt on, “What are you doing here?”

They look over at him, raising an eyebrow, “I could ask you the same thing, Davey.” They spit the nickname out like a curse.

“Don’t call me that.” David’s look turns sour, “But I asked you first.”

“Parties aren’t exactly your scene, I think my question is more important.”

“You don’t have friends, who invited you?”

“Fuck you, I have more friends than you do Mr. Grinch-looking ass.”

“Are their names Jack and Shit?”

“Do you want to get beat the fuck up?”

“You can try.”

“You ugly toad-“

“Wet dog-“

“Both of you.” Gabe cuts in sternly, “Cut it out. You’re both in trouble and you’ll both have to explain what on earth you were doing at that party without telling anyone.”

“I think that means you and me are out of the water-“ Asher whispers to Milo.

“Both of you too. I’ve called both of your parents already.”

“Shit...” Asher laughs anyway. Milo sinks lower into his seat as if he was trying to hide from the world, as if the gravity of the situation had just caught up to him.

David huffs and leans back into the seat, looking out the window with a new resolve.

He’s never hearing Ash out again.

────────

Gabe opens the front door and lets both teenagers into the house before himself, closing it after he enters.

David and Tank were both still bickering with each other in the entryway as they took their shoes off.

Asher was dropped off first, thanking and apologizing to Gabe a final time before he slipped out of the car and strolled up to his door. David saw him say something along the lines of “I’m so sorry Mommy” to the doorbell camera by the door and actually rolled his eyes that time.

Milo’s mom was already at the door by the time Gabe had dropped him off, Tank had snorted at all the colour draining from Milo’s face as he left the car, stuttering through a “thank you, Gabe”.

The remaining three could hear Marie yelling at him through the car even without their heightened senses.

Gabe was silent the whole car ride home and so were his two teenagers. Up until they got home.

“You still haven’t told me what you were doing at the house,” David breaks the silence between him and Tank.

Tank folds their arms and leans against the wall, “And you still haven’t told me what you were doing there.”

He rolls his eyes, “I still asked first.”

“I still think my question is more important.”

“My question is automatically more important than yours.”

Tank narrows their eyes, “And why, exactly?”

“I’m older than you,”

Tank scoffs, “Meaning what?”

“Meaning that you answer my questions first.”

“All because you popped out of the womb a year before I did?"

“Exactly.”

“Well none of that’s gonna matter when I put you six feet under since you wanna be first so bad, dipshit-"

Gabe sighs heavily, “Both of you, stop provoking each other. Phones on the counter now.”

Both of them glare at the other before moving to set their phones on the kitchen counter with little hesitation.

“Thank you.” Gabe nods and moves to sit at the kitchen island in front of both teenagers, “Now…”

────────

that's all for now! there's actually a lot more of this fic/idea written, this is just the most coherent lol, let me know if you guy want more of it

if there's errors in it then that's not my problem 😁 (this will probably be a wip for literally ever lmao)

#redacted asmr #redacted audio #redactedverse #redacted darlin #redacted david #redacted gabe #redacted shaw pack #redacted asher #redacted milo #redacted quinn #he's barely there but #this is kind of bad LMFAO #idk what i was doing tbh #but here it is #let me know if you want a continuation?#idk if it'll happen but we'll see #redacted asmr fic #redacted asmr fanfic #kae's fics

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lokischocolatefountain · 1 year ago

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setting boundaries fanatic here ! i would love to see peñas wife (when she’s not the wife yet) with the guy you mentioned she was at the restaurant with. for a while since we know she is mrs. peña ;) it would make so much sense knowing she tried dating another guy, fucking, going out with him, but he isn’t her future husband

Comparison

Series Masterlist

Pairing: Past Javier Peña x Reader, Reader x Original Male Character (David)

Summary: She set boundaries with Javi. It was the right thing to do, but sometimes she wishes she hadn’t done it at all.

A/N: Anon, you have awakened something in me (longing). So here’s a little Drabble of Peña’s ex-fuckbuddy, future wife with another guy. The guy’s alright. But he’s no Javier Peña.

She whimpered and threw her head back as the orgasm that built up brought her crumbling down from her high. She bit down on her lip, afraid to make noise. It wasn’t much of a problem. Not anymore. Her neighbors must be happy now.

She turned to look at her bedroom door, making sure he hadn’t come out. She removed her hand from her pants, her flingers glistening from her release under the low light in the living room.

She pictured Javi, her cum coating his long thick fingers. The way he would smile smugly at her from between her legs before licking her off his fingers. How he would undo his belt only after he’d undone her under his fingers or lips at least once. Her pussy clenched around nothing at the mere thought of him. Fucking pathetic. If only her pussy could feel that way for David.

Forget feeling things when a guy wasn’t even around. She wished she felt something when he was deep inside her. David wasn’t bad per se… But she’d had better. She’d had Javi. She wondered if she would be satisfied with David if she’d never let Javi in her bedroom.

There was no point thinking of that now.

Javi was long gone. Scared off by what he surely perceived as commitment. Perhaps she should’ve gone along with him, let him play fuckbuddy and boyfriend for as long as he wanted instead of forcing him to decide. But it was for her own good. It was stupid to keep spreading her legs for a man who didn’t know what he wanted. Stupid to let him pull her into his web of uncertainty, make her doubt what she wanted with him.

She gulped down her glass of water and set it on the coffee table before walking back to her bedroom. David was fast asleep, blissfully unaware that his partner had to go fuck herself in the living room though he’d made her come. And he was the kind of guy who asked after if she really came. Javi never had to check. When he made her come, he knew. Fuck, her neighbors knew. When she was at work the next day, her friends knew from her gait.

Comparison was an useless endeavor. It brought nothing but the dull ache in her chest of missing a man who was never hers. She opened the last drawer of the chest by her bedside. It was devoid of everything but the plastic ashtray she bought for him to use in her apartment. She hadn’t put much thought into it. Didn’t try to pick one that fit well into her decor. Like the man who put his cigarettes out in it, the ashtray didn’t belong in her life. Just something temporary, unhealthy. She shut the drawer and slipped back under the covers.

She pulled the blanket over herself and forced herself to wrap herself in his arms. In his sleep, he pulled her close. Her body stiffened, rejecting the unfamiliar touch. But it would have to do for now. Until she got him out of her system.

I love me some longing, so thanks for this idea, anon. And that’s got me thinking…what if there was more longing for Javi and his wife? Maybe years into the future, and with a lot more heartbreak and naturally a lot more longing? And what if I have 3k words of it in my google docs? 👀 Until that’s out, I have a politician Javi fic coming up. Here’s a little teaser for it

Main Masterlist

#narcos fic #asks #nice people #anon ask #fic request #narcos fanfiction #pedro pascal character fanfic #pedro pascal #javier peña x reader #javier peña x y/n #javier peña x you #javier peña fanfiction #javier peña fic #javier peña x ofc #javier pena x reader #javier peña #javier peña drabble #drabble

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diangelodork · 2 months ago

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DBDA nightly analysis #25! (sorry i've been lacking lately, i have not been in the right mental state but i am BACK NOW BABYYYYY)

tonight's topic: crystal palace the girl that you are (character analysis bc she's been getting shit on so violently lately and DOES NOT deserve it.)

i will say - i didn't care all that much for crystal for quite a while until i really sat down to analyze her motivations and background, but it is the hate that some people have been spewing about her that motivated me to analyze her tonight.

crystal palace is flawed. of course she is. she is by no means perfect.

the first time we see her is in emma's flashback to her and crystal. she would play in a graveyard, frolicking about and taking polaroid pictures with this ghost of a young child. she was good enough friends with this child for her to seek out professional help to get her back. she was undoubtedly kind to her.

when we see her next she is dazed and confused, and still, she makes a rude remark. this is not because she is inherently bad, but because she still has that memory of being mistreated. now, she doesnt have all of her memories, but she has the memory that people weren't nice to her. she feels she must fit into that mold and that memory. the way she does that is by being a dick.

we see her a bit more in depth in her walk with charles. she expresses that she feels like people weren't the kindest to her and, knowing what we know about the way she was raised, that makes a lot of sense. she was excruciatingly neglected as a child and seeked attention. the best way to do that was negative attention. it was the easiest to accomplish.

she has her spats with edwin, but they are mostly (if not exclusively) initiated by him. she returns his energy. then we see some of the shit she goes through with david. he is incredibly abusive all throughout the series and it is very evident how predatory he is. he chose her because she was unloved. because she was vulnerable. she was easy to take advantage of.

her breaking down in E1 is so, SO important to me. we forget that she is MEANT to be flawed. she is imperfect. like the boys, she is but a sixteen year old and she is so deeply scared. she doesn't know who she is or how to cope with the fact that she doesnt know who she is. on top of that, this fucker that she's with (affectionate) won't stop shitting on her for NO reason. from the start, he was a douche to her (he has his motivations for this as well, but that doesn't mean it's not true) and now shes sitting here and calling her abuser and the fucker that has been tormenting and stalking her is being linked to her ("her demon") and she cant HANDLE that. shes been hanging on by a thread all of E1. shes been dealing with so fucking much, emotionally.

interestingly, edwin is not an emotional character when faced with other people's issues. i say this because he still garners more compassion than her. the way she treats the becky aspen case, especially, is so fragile and vulnerable. the way she immediately starts crying after looking into becky's mom's mind should have elicited more sympathy than it did and it's incredibly interesting that it didnt.

i will be the FIRST to say how important the "it's a lark to you!" scene is for edwin, but i never hear anyone discuss crystal's part in this conversation. shes so desperate and hurting and it's so strange that no one talks enough about that.

except no its not. i wish it was.

i truly think its an issue of her being a black woman and standing in the way of payneland. there is a lot of internalized misoginoir within how the fandom views her character. it is explicitly highlighted within the show how similar edwin and crystal are and a lot of the things she gets hate for are characteristics that are also incredibly prevalent in edwin's character. for example, her brashness and bluntness. it’s okay when it’s edwin, the white, queer twink of everyone’s dreams, but the second it’s a woman who is already on thin ice for the fandom because she’s standing in the way of the main ship, it’s easy to say she’s a bad person for this.

crystal is so unwavering as a character. she has such strong themes of feminism all throughout her story. she is able to separate from her abuser and intimidate and overpower him which is so STRONG. she is able to hone in on the divine femininity of her ancestors and THAT is where her power is derived from. she confronts a goddess of female vengance and justice and stands in front of her, demanding justice for the young girls slaughtered under her watch. she is inherently, at her core, good. she has done shitty, awful things in her past, but that happens when you are abused. it is not an excuse, but she is a CHILD who has been deeply abused. neglect is a form of abuse.

also, could you IMAGINE how it must feel to be such a deeply unloved character who KNOWS they are unloved. she is a psychic. she could see into the minds of her parents. she could always see their apathy. what a lonely fucking thing to go through, my god.

even still, when she was doing these awful things, she took the time to connect with a young girl and spend enough time with her for them to bond and for her to miss her. her first instinct (with the memories of her parent's neglect gone) is to cross an ocean to save a little girl. she is so deeply touched by maren and shelby's stories.

she is a flawed character, but they all are. she gets more hate than all of them and, if you are one of the people who hate her above all else, i want you to ask yourself why? these views are, of course, not held by the majority of the fandom, but it has become a big fuckin issue and i wanted to address it. acknowledge where it’s coming from, if you’re one of the people feeling a bit targeted by tonight’s analysis. love yall <3

#dead boy detectives #dbda #crystal palace #crystal palace surname von hoverkraft #erebus psychoanalyzes things nightly!#i love psychoanalyzing everything <3 #character analysis #dbda analysis #save dead boy detectives #renew dead boy detectives #revive dead boy detectives #save dbda #we will save this show #savedeadboydetectives #psychoanalysis #dbda meta #meta analysis

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faketrex · 4 months ago

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FirstPrince, 12

Thank you, Chrissy! 💝 For prompt number 12, "the beach at ten on a Monday morning."

RWRB, canon divergence: different first meeting, set in April 2016 (nearly a year after Arthur's death but still before Rio, and well before the first Claremont Election Day).

...

If Henry had been thinking ahead, he might not have adopted a puppy immediately before fleeing the country for a week.

His Royal Highness Prince Henry will undertake a Spring Tour of French Basque Country. This will include visits to…, per Royal Communications.

Translated, Unfortunately, HRH Prince Henry would have gone irretrievably off his bloody rocker if he had spent one second more suffocating in Kensington Palace’s gray cloud of mourning. Therefore, he's going away to convalesce by the sea for a tick. Best of luck to him.

Hopefully, a week in Biarritz will set him to rights. He'll return freed of the temptation to smash vases and tea settings and any number of priceless stolen artifacts for the sole purpose of eliciting any reaction other than pity.

David the puppy may yet have a penchant for breaking things, but he's cute enough to get away with it. Henry had grown out of such a forgiving stage years earlier.

At ten a.m. on a chilly Monday morning in April, the Plage de la Côte des Basques is nearly empty. It's too cold to swim, in Henry's opinion. David doesn't care; he bounds across the sand where the waves crest and crash onto the beach, zig-zagging on his lead and getting soaked in the process. Although he's much too small to swim, he's adept at making himself thoroughly wet and sandy and sharing those conditions with Henry by shaking his tiny body to fling water over Henry's rolled-up trousers.

Watching David play, it's easy to almost forget how he'd woken Henry appallingly early after a near-sleepless night–Henry's, that is. Henry had lain awake until four in the morning, staring at the ceiling. All the while, David had slept peacefully in his dog bed, curled next to a plush toy. He had woken Henry at seven a.m. without the slightest hint of remorse.

Luckily, he's adorable.

When they return to Henry's spot on the sand, he sits and wraps David in a towel, settling him on his lap to keep him warm. Aside from the waves, the seagulls, and the chatter from surfers carrying their boards across the sand, the beach is quiet.

Henry feels muzzy with fatigue and his heart aches, still, as it has for the past eleven months, but it doesn't overwhelm him. For once, the ache is more sore than sharp.

"Hey, can I say hi to your puppy?"

The boy is standing several meters away, likely in deference to the dark-suited PPO lurking nearby. He's close enough for Henry to get a good look at him, though: dark curls hanging in dripping ringlets over his forehead, a black wetsuit bearing the stylized blue wave logo of one of the surf schools, a sharp square jawline. The grin on his face doesn't once falter while Henry looks him over.

Despite the persistent ache, Henry feels his heartbeat quicken. He might be several meters away, but that's nothing, really; he's not so far that Henry can't recognize the danger.

A boy like that could set him on fire.

David wriggles in his lap, grumbling, and the boy's smile widens.

Henry should turn him away.

"Yes," he says instead. "But you'd better have a seat so that I can hold his lead. He's a very good boy, but he's rather excited to be at the beach today."

"Cool," the boy says, dropping unceremoniously onto the sand within reach of Henry's blanket. "I'm Alex."

"Henry."

The moment of realization as Alex connects Henry's name to his face to, presumably, his status as a figurehead-in-training, is painfully obvious: Alex's expression melts from friendly interest, to surprise, to hesitance.

It was too much to hope that Alex wouldn't recognize him. His accent sounds American, but that's no matter. Even Americans aren't unaware of the unfortunate persistence of the British monarchy. There's no denying that Henry has a famous face; if the monarchy hadn't cursed him to that, being Arthur Fox's son would have sufficed. Still, he wouldn't give up being his father's son for any of it.

Henry sticks out his chin a little and doesn't look away. "I'm Henry," he repeats. "And… this is David."

Alex keeps staring at him, but slowly, oh-so slowly, one of his eyebrows creeps upward. "Henry and David, huh? Are you two planning a hostile takeover of the fruit basket industry?"

It's nothing like any reaction that Henry could have expected, no mention of the Queen or James Bond. There's no pity on Alex's face, either, just the hint of a sly smile accented by the sheen of drying seawater. "I–what?"

"It's–you know, like Harry and David?"

"I'm afraid I don't," Henry says, unwrapping David's towel and setting him down, dry and slightly fluffy, on the sand between them. "And I said Henry, not Harry."

"What a waste of a great joke," Alex complains, but his grin has fully returned–at David's antics, surely.

"You should consider yourself lucky to meet him now, in fact. David is going to grow up to be an international rock star."

"Oh, yeah?" Alex holds one hand still while David gives it a thorough sniff.

"Exactly right," Henry affirms. "In the footsteps of Bowie."

"David Beagle Bowie, huh? That's fucking cute."

A sea cure, really. Henry has always been an Austen fan, but the dream of convalescence had only been a dark joke. But perhaps–well, he can't help but wonder.

And Alex, for his part, seems in no hurry to leave.

#faketrex writes #setting prompts #what is Alex doing in Biarritz?#why he's on spring break of course #he was in Geneva for a week for a mini-internship #and then went to Biarritz for the second week because come on Europe is tiny it's basically a puddle jump away #in Alex's opinion that is #anyway. soft.#firstprince fic #fandom: intro to international relations #fic: a sea cure

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pjisskullourful · 1 month ago

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𝓼𝓽𝓪𝓲𝓷𝓮𝓭 𝓼𝓱𝓮𝓮𝓽𝓼

➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵➶

🍉 Damiano × reader

part 30 [series masterpost]

18+ readers only!!!🔥 nasty, explicit smutathon

° Damiano David/female reader insert ✨ guest starring: Victoria De Angelis, Luna Passos, Thomas Raggi & Ethan Torchio

wordcount: 10,650

° request from my shopping star anon: just hanging around at home in the evening- surprises with this. Descends into [!;)!] massage, leading to slow ;)!! with perhaps a bit of light bondage and/or spanking with multiple orgasms + dom/sub however if it's possible maybe no daddy kink? 💋 thanks somuch for the support& thank you for specifying that you wanted the daddy stuff left out [send your own request in here!] [or get more control& priority by booking a commission!]

° set in may, 2024

“I don’t wanna go to work tomorrow.” You had wandered into the bedroom specifically to share this complaint with your boyfriend.

It wasn’t the first time tonight that you had expressed this to him. It had been an awful day in the office for you, putting you into the kind of mood that felt so helpless, all you were capable of was whining.

Damiano was letting you vent. You thought this was due to him feeling guilty over the fact that he was about to leave, jetting off to Mexico and leaving you alone in this emotional state. He had a festival to perform at, he was heading towards much more fun things than the drama that was keeping you down.

He was putting his suitcase together, getting ready for the flight that departed in the morning. He had been talking to Thomas on the phone, keeping one another company as they separately completed the same task. The friends were good at keeping each other focused. Usually one would remember an item the other hadn’t packed yet, their mentioning of it reminding the other to find it for themselves. Between the two of them, they could successfully get everything they needed into a suitcase.

You had waited until after this call ended to join Damiano in the bedroom. His bag was already zipped shut. Now he was putting away the items that had gotten moved to the wrong spot as he had been hunting for a specific necklace or a pair of socks.

You threw yourself onto the bed, groaning. The issues that had come up at work still felt so close. You couldn’t forget how close to the next shift you were too.

“I know, babygirl.” He said, turning to face you from his spot in front of the wardrobe. “Have you decided how you’re gonna play it yet?”

You put a hand over your eyes. “No, I can’t figure it out.”

“Do you want my advice? I’ve never worked in an office, so I don’t know exactly what you’re going through. But I know what I would do if I were in your place.” He said.

“Oh yeah, what’s that?” You asked.

“I would just act like it never happened, put it to bed and move on with your job.” He said.

You sprang up, your mouth hanging open as you stared at him in disbelief. “What, how can I do that?”

He shrugged. “I’d say it’s pretty simple, you just don’t bring it up and I doubt the others-”

“No, I don’t mean how in the sense of needing instructions.” You interrupted. “I mean, why would I give up this fight?”

There was an awkward look on his face as he played with one of the rings on his finger. “Are you sure that it’s your fight to be fighting?”

Your mouth was still open, but nothing came out, there were too many words and ideas for you to know how to start. The emotions were clouding up your head too.

At work, you had tried to do something proactive, something that felt like you were contributing to positive change. Something small - on the front desk, you had placed a collection tin, which you had decorated with the Palestinian flag. There were organisations you had donated to in the past, which you would happily tell clients about if they were to add any money to the tin.

But you hadn’t gotten to see any customers interact with it. Within the first hour of the tin being placed on the counter, your co-worker Aileen had raised issue with it.

You shouldn’t have been surprised that she would use this as an excuse to complain. It had begun with her asking if someone had instructed you to create this - no, you had decided on it yourself. Then she asked if you thought it was appropriate. Before you could answer, she had departed.

When she returned, she had been accompanied by your boss. She had pointed the tin out to him, stating you had used the office’s printing supplies for an unauthorised personal project. You had offered to use your own money to buy replacement ink cartridges for the printer. Your boss told you that wasn’t necessary.

But what he did deem necessary was you removing the donation tin at once. You had tried to stand your ground, reminding him of past charities the company had collected for. He hadn’t been swayed, telling you this office wasn’t the place for politics.

He had simply walked away while you had been explaining that supporting people in Gaza didn’t have to be political. He snatched the donation tin from the counter, carrying it with him out of the room. It probably went into his bin.

Aileen had remained standing in front of you. She had wanted to know where you got the audacity to be such a troublemaker.

Your frustrations had kept you from walking away from this confrontation. As the two of you talked you had discovered that she wasn’t opposed to the current war. You had tried to change her mind, receiting facts that had been fuelling your rage since last October. Each time she had tried to interrupt you, you had just raised the volume of your voice.

But you hadn’t succeeded in giving her a new outlook on the dire situation. The only result had been you receiving an official warning to not berate any other members of staff. Your behaviour was categorised as aggressive.

This was the first written warning you had gotten at this job, or at any job. It was baffling because you had only ever viewed yourself as a good worker. You thought that you were accommodating and friendly, a chronic people-pleaser.

Max had been the only one on your side.

“If I go in and act like none of this happened, they’re gonna think they won because they’re right. But they’re not.” You said.

“I agree, they’re not.” He said. “But is it worth risking your job to maybe change the minds of these stubborn old fuckers?”

“Maybe it is.” You said.

His eyebrows shot up. “What?”

“I don’t know. I’ve been having troubles at work for a while.” You said, looking at the bedspread because you didn’t feel currently capable of meeting his eye. “When my Christmas break ended, I had this thought, like, oh my God, am I really going to spend another year with these people?” He came to sit on the mattress with you, but you kept looking down. “Aside from Max, of course.

“But another year in that office as I’m waving goodbye to you every other day- it kind of gave me this feeling of dread and I don’t think it’s fully gone away.” You said, using the tip of your finger to draw patterns on the material.

He put his hand over yours, holding it securely. “I had no idea you were feeling this way, baby.”

“I know, I’m sorry that I kept it from you. I just didn’t have it in me to explain something I was confused by. I hate to dwell in the negative, there’s so many other good things we could have been talking about.” You said. “I thought it was being exacerbated by me feeling left out over all the things I couldn’t go to with you and I knew hearing that would make you feel guilty, so I was better off not saying it.”

“I’ll support you no matter what you do.” He said. “Selfishly, I would love it if you were available to travel with me more often because I absolutely love having you around. But I want this to be a decision that you make for you.”

You looked up, starting to nod your head. The lack of worry on his face helped you from getting freaked out. “I think I’m gonna do it. I think this whole argument with Aileen should be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.”

“But you should quit ‘cause it’s the best thing for you, not ‘cause that woman got under your skin one too many times.” He said.

You readjusted your hand so that you could link your fingers with his. “No, it’s for me. You’re gonna be gone so much when we get to the second half of this year. And I’m really excited for all of the great things you’re going to be doing. But it will be way more exciting if I get to be there.”

“It really will be, baby.” He said, starting to smile.

You put your hand to his cheek, drawing him in for a kiss. A giddy rush coming up from your tummy. He kissed you back as you enjoyed your clarity.

“I can feel it, it’s like this weight has been lifted off of my chest.” You said, smiling back at him.

“I was going to ask what I could do to help you feel better, but you have taken care of that all yourself. That sad girl has disappeared, not a tiny trace left behind.” He admired.

“Is it too late to get me added to the flight to Mexico and everything?” You asked.

He began to fish his phone out of his pocket. “Only one way to find out.”

You released his hand, wondering where you left your own phone. “I should call Max.”

He grimaced. “Yeah, you definitely need to talk this through with your wife.” He gave you an encouraging pat on the ass as you stood up. “Good luck.”

You left for the living room. You found your phone on the lounge, resting with the packet of berry-flavoured lollies that you had been binge eating.

You picked up the device and considered the time it displayed - no, it wasn’t too late to call your friend. You pressed the corresponding icons and soon heard her voice.

“What’s happened?” She instantly asked. “Did you call Aileen to finish your rant and she didn’t like your tone, so she wrote it up as an official complaint and now you’re fired?”

“No, I didn’t even consider calling her or anything like that.” You said.

“Really? I’ve been considering it.” She said. “More than once I’ve pulled up her contact details and looked at it and thought about all of the things I could say to her. Like, if she wants to see some actual aggression, then she can come for my girl one more time and I’ll show her someone getting aggressive for real.”

“Don’t do that, you don’t need to get into trouble too.” You said.

“I just hated the way she got away with making you feel so bad about yourself.” She said.

You smiled in a bittersweet way. “You’re such a good friend.”

“Shut up baby, I know it.” She teased before switching to a less joking tone. “So what’s up? Did you need to talk to me about something?”

You sank down onto the lounge, wondering if there were a good way to deliver this news that would mean the end of you working together. “Yeah I gotta tell you… I’m quitting.”

“Right, me too.” She said, back to joking. “Do you think we would make more money on OnlyFans if we set up our account as a duo? Or should we have separate pages and just do lots of collabs?”

“No, I’m really gonna quit, right now, I’m serious.” You said, not even cracking a smile. “Today was my last day.”

“What?” She practically shouted. “You’re not allowed to do that.”

“I have to. I’m just fucking done with it.”

“Babe…”

“I wanna go travelling with Damiano.” You said.

She made an exaggerated groan. “I can’t compete with that. How am I supposed to tell you to not go exploring the world with your rockstar boyfriend?”

“I don’t think you do. I think you’re supposed to wish me luck and promise that you’ll be okay working there without me.” You said.

You heard something that sounded like a sniffle. “Yeah, I’ll be able to survive, I just won’t be thriving without my wife there.” You began to chew on your lower lip. “But that would be the dumbest reason to stay in a job where you’re miserable. Honestly, if I was you, I wouldn’t have stuck around for so long. I would have just kept my bag packed and gone to every single place with him, at least a year ago, maybe earlier.”

She didn’t dedicate any time to attempting to change your mind. You didn’t feel any kind of pull, your instincts weren’t trying to get you to doubt the decision. It continued to feel like the right thing to do.

Instead of pouting, she helped you to compose the email that would be your official resignation. As you typed the words into your phone, her voice came through the loudspeaker.

Damiano visited you in the lounge room a few times, checking on how you were doing. The first time was so he could gently interrupt, telling you that the arrangements were being made to add you to Måneskin’s trip to Mexico. His next appearance was to provide you with a cup of tea.

It wasn’t until after midnight that you, as supported by Max, decided the email was perfect and ready to be sent to your boss. Damiano joined you on the couch again, holding your hand as you stared at the completed draft.

You had to mentally work yourself up to the point where you could press send. The finality of it was intimidating you. You couldn’t return any of her jokes. You didn’t smile back to the reassuring smiles he showed you whenever you looked at him.

You finally tapped the icon and the carefully crafted words disappeared from your screen. The gravity of the situation dawned on you, something that was almost tangible.

“I did it.” You said aloud, no real emotion in your voice.

Instantly, she started to clap her hands. “Fuck yeah, you’re free. Damiano, it is time to pop the champagne!”

He paused. “I don’t think we have any…”

“Dude, how are we gonna celebrate this momentous moment without champagne?” She asked.

You watched the screen of your phone time out and go black. “I’m unemployed.”

“Yeah, do you know how much reality TV you’re gonna have time to watch? You’ll see them all.” She said.

You looked at him. “I haven’t been unemployed since, like, right after high school.”

“It’s okay, baby.” He said. “It’s a change, but nothing bad is going to come from it.”

“He’s right. It’s better to go out on your own terms like this, than to have them fire you and get down on yourself ‘cause of it.” She said.

“It’s just gonna be weird.” You said, resting your phone on your leg so that you could hold his hand with both of yours. “I hope I’m good at adjusting. It’s so strange for me to not know exactly what’s gonna happen to me tomorrow.”

“Bitch, you do know exactly what you’re going to do tomorrow.” She said. “It’s called flying to Mexico to stay in a luxury hotel. This time tomorrow you’re going to be sitting by a pool, laughing your fucking ass off because you have no work to stress over.”

“I should probably let you go, so you can get some sleep before work tomorrow.” You said.

“Boo, you whore.” She bitterly responded.

You wrapped up the call by telling her how much you loved her, as well as making her promise to call you with details of the office’s reaction to your sudden departure.

You placed your phone aside and immediately slumped into Damiano. You rested your head on his shoulder and he squeezed your hands as you shut your eyes.

“Good work, pet.” He said.

“Do you think my parents will be really disappointed?” You asked, considering the situation from this new perspective.

“What? No, not at all. You quit to get yourself out of a situation that was worsening. And you haven’t screwed yourself over financially by doing it. They have no reason to be disappointed.” He said, giving you a kiss on the temple. “Now, even though I wanna keep reassuring you, and I do wanna help you feel better, we have to get you packed for Mexico.”

Your eyes snapped open, your mood shifting to something more alert. “Right, we gotta do that.”

He accompanied you back to the bedroom, placing an empty bag onto the bed for you. From your belongings you selected things that you had taken on other Måneskin trips. He read the itinerary to you, helping you prepare for the things planned aside from the band’s festival gig. You added makeup palettes and checked that you had included your eye-mask.

Between the two of you calling on so much prior experience, you got the task completed relatively fast. Once you felt certain that you weren’t forgetting anything essential, you zipped the suitcase shut. He picked up the bag and carried it away, placing it by the front door with all of his luggage.

You sat on the mattress, even though you were aware of the late hour, there were still too many thoughts crowding up your mind for you to feel like sleep would be possible.

“Is it even worth it trying to get some sleep?” You asked as he came back into the room.

He climbed onto the bed too, lying down alongside you. “Well, that’s a tricky one. Do you wanna rest up so that you have plenty of energy for the fourteen-fuckin’-hour flight you’re gonna be on tomorrow?”

“Fourteen hours?” You repeated as you properly registered that duration for the first time.

“It’s up to you, babygirl.” He said.

You laid down, filling the space beside him. “I don’t know how actually sleepy I am.”

He brushed some strands of hair away from your face, watching you as he spoke. “That’s not surprising, you probably still have some adrenaline in you after that decision you made.”

You shut your eyes, just enjoying the feeling of his fingers caressing up-and-down the side of your face. “My crazy decision.”

“I’m so happy you did it.” He said, immediately getting your attention again. “I just keep thinking about how many things are gonna be different now and it keeps giving me reason to get excited. Every morning I’m gonna wake up with you right there. We haven’t had that before, I literally can’t wait.”

You smiled as you eased in closer, giving his lips a kiss. “Each night you’ll fall asleep with a naked toy in your arms.”

“Heaven.” He said, lifting himself above you a little and initiating another kiss. “You have just described Heaven to me.” He rested one of his arms above your head as he brought some of his body down to rest on yours, beginning to pin you down. He kissed you again, lingering a little longer this time. “But, seriously- I’m really glad that you quit before it got worse and so much harder for you there.

“I hated seeing you so down on yourself every day when you would get home from work. It worried me and I didn’t know how much of a toll it was taking on you, deep down where I couldn’t see. I didn’t want it to get to the point where it was so fucking toxic that it ruined part of you, giving you PTSD or something.” He said.

You reached a hand up to caress his cheek. “You don’t need to worry about that anymore.”

“I’m also glad that you left before they got the chance to beat the activist out of you. It was discouraging for you, I know it was.” He said. “But I love that side of you. You’re so compassionate and passionate and it’s inspiring to me just how proactive you get.”

“That’s so sweet.” You said, feeling heat rise up in your cheeks. “I love you.”

He smiled as he moved in to kiss you again. “I love you too, my ferocious little kitten. You get to release any fraction of stress that you’ve been holding from your job. You can let go of all of it and it’s never come back, ever. I’m so excited for you.”

“Releasing all of my work-related stress, I might need some help with that.” You said, reaching your hand under his shirt so you could rest it on his back.

“Actually, I kinda already had something in mind. When I saw the bad mood you were in, I was gonna suggest this to help you relax before bed…” He gave you a kiss then got up, walking over to the wardrobe.

He had your curiosity secured and you rolled over onto your side so you could keep watching him. He opened the closet to his side and pulled one of the draws open. You saw the nondescript box in his hand, but you had no guesses of what it could contain.

“I came across this person’s shop on TikTok and I was intrigued right away. I thought it would be a great anniversary present, but the shipping took longer than I expected.” He said, coming back over to you. The box didn’t bear any familiar logos, nothing you could use as a hint for what was inside. “I’ve just been keeping it secret ‘til I could figure out the perfect time to give it to you.”

He passed it to you and you took the box with one hand. Even though the box wasn’t particularly big, you immediately felt the weight from whatever it encased. He was smiling as he watched you figuring out where to open it from.

You got the cardboard box opened, finding a candle filling it. You brought it out, moving carefully once you realised the cylindrical item had a glass outer-shell.

A small piece of paper came free with the candle, getting your attention when it landed on your lap. You picked it up and held onto it without acknowledging any of the writing on it at first. Because your focus was on sampling the candle’s scent.

It was instantly sweet, but not in a way that overpowered your nostrils. You guessed it was a berry. But there was another element, something that reminded you of the soap you would find in one of his luxurious hotel rooms.

“Mm, this smells great. Thank you, baby.” You said.

“You’re very welcome.” He said, still smiling.

You had a proper look at the card in your hand, expecting it to list the sellers online platforms. But that was only one part of the details this paper provided.

Massage candle, the heading informed you - it wasn’t a term you were instantly familiar with, so you kept reading. It was made of different properties than a traditional candle, when heated it would melt into an oil, meant to be used like any other massage lotion.

It boasted to be superior to ‘old school’ wax play, something you had never engaged in. Some of the listed benefits included that there was the time-saver of no skin preparation required. There wasn’t any uncomfortable or tedious peeling off of the skin as occurred with wax.

You had never known candles to be part of a kinky scene. Perhaps a nicely scented one could help establish a mood. But your imagination had never featured them beyond that.

He had sat down with you again. “What do you think?”

“I get a massage?” You asked.

He nodded before kissing you. “Uh-huh, let me take care of you like this, babygirl.”

“Right here?” You sought to clarify.

“Yep, I’ll get a lighter. You get naked and lie down, I guess we’ll start with you on your front?”

“Works for me.” You replied.

You handed the candle back to him and started to take your clothes off. Within seconds, he had a lighter in his hand, bringing the small flame to the candle’s wick. The sweet and warming scent bloomed into the room as you removed your panties.

You saw the smile on his face as you turned yourself over. He was gone from your field of vision as you lowered down, your chest meeting the bedspread. You got comfortable in this position and trying to guess his next move kept your thoughts from wandering.

“Have you ever used something like this before?” You asked.

“No, but I’ve known about them for ages and always had a curiosity in the back of my mind, like, oh one day I’ll get to that.” He said, joining you on the bed. You rested your head to one side, gaining back your view of him, even though it was limited. “I know we haven’t done wax play before and our temperature play has just been with cold stuff, but I knew you wouldn’t be intimidated by something new.”

“Damn right.” You interjected.

“This is the kind of thing where we control the intensity, so it doesn’t have to be about overwhelming you if you don’t want it to be. You just keep communicating with me and we’ll do it exactly as you like.” He said.

“Thank you, babe.”

He held the illuminated candle in his hand as he hovered above you, supported by his knees on the mattress. Even in this limited lighting, you could see the way his eyes were appraising your nude form.

“I’m supposed to only be pampering my pet…” He began. “But I don’t know if I can resist doing this…”

He concluded this sentence with an action - slapping his open hand against your ass. The surprise made you flinch, then you giggled a little as the stinging sensation settled in. It made your heart pick up speed and your mind became even clearer.

“You don’t have to resist that.” You said.

“Oh, good.” He said. He made you gasp when he spanked the other side of your butt, it felt like he used even more power. “It’s just so cute…” He slapped each cheek. “And the way it jiggles every time…” He switched to faster hits, his strength slightly less apparent. “I love watching that, it is so aesthetically pleasing.

“I said I support your decision to quit and I do.” He said, taking a pause to just rest his available hand on your ass. “But there’s one job that you can absolutely never quit. Do you know what I’m referring to?”

You nodded as five letters came to the forefront of your mind. “Yes, I believe I do.”

He spanked your butt, matching more slaps to the syllables as he spoke them. “Kin-ky Kitt-ens L-L-C.”

Your eyes shut and it felt like the skin on your ass was glowing bright pink now. For the moment, he had stopped spanking you. But you kept yourself prepared to feel the next strike.

“I would never quit that job.” You said.

“Good, that’s what I wanna hear, babygirl.” He said as he began rubbing your skin instead. “Huh, I just noticed that the scent of this candle is strawberries and champagne. So it turns out I did have champagne for you, just not the kind you probably wanted to tell Miss Max about.”

“Yeah, she doesn’t need to know about this.” You said.

He took his hand off of you and you opened your eyes. It looked like all of his focus was on the candle as he held it closer to his face than before. He extended his index finger and reached it in, dipping into what was melting next to the flame. He didn’t flinch or make a face that indicated any pain.

When he pulled the finger out, you could see how it was partially coated. He considered its appearance before rubbing it into the skin on his forearm.

“Warm and very, very smooth.” He assessed as he nodded his head in approval.

He dipped two fingers in next, collecting more of the oil. This was applied to your shoulder. It didn’t feel any hotter than his skin usually did. The consistency reminded you of honey, but there was no stickiness. As he spread it across your skin, it felt like it was gliding.

He used three fingers next, scooping up as much product as he could get. Then he began to drip it onto your skin, across the top of your back. He held his hand up over you, letting the oil run off of his digits. It was a gentle and peaceful sensation, even though it was unpredictable.

He placed the candle safely on the bedside table, then used both hands to rub the thick oil into your skin. Your eyes fluttered shut as he gripped and began to apply pressure. He used every finger, pushing down firmly until it was hard to remember exactly where you had been feeling the earlier tension.

“Mmn, God that feels great.” You couldn’t help but moan these words out.

“Yeah, is this what my good girl was needing?” He asked.

You let out a happy whine. “Yes, exactly.”

Once he was done rubbing your shoulders, he picked the candle up again. He tried a different method of applying the oil to you. He held the candle above you and tipped it gradually to one side, guiding the small puddle of oil to spill.

These droplets were a little warmer when they landed on your skin, but it was nothing that brought pain. He seemed to want to cover your back, the thick liquid landing all over.

He used both hands to rub it in. You especially loved it when he placed each thumb over your spine, pushing upwards. That gave you the feeling that your limbs could melt.

“You’re really fucking good at this.” You said.

“Yeah? Maybe I should list this skill on my résumé, huh?” He asked.

“Babe, do you even have a résumé?”

He laughed. “Actually, no, Maybe I had one a very long time ago. But by this stage, I doubt any copies of it still exist.”

You could feel that the product was mostly evenly spread across your back when he went back to the candle for more. This time he applied the oil directly from his hands, starting to work on your legs.

“So have you ever done wax play before?” You asked.

“Kind of.”

You lifted your head a little, trying to get a better look at him. “What does that mean? It’s a yes or no answer.”

“What I did barely counts as wax play. It was over in about ten minutes and it was a rather unmemorable experience.” He said, rubbing along your calf muscles, really giving them his attention. “This woman, I don’t think she truly knew what she was doing. Maybe it was more of a fantasy than something she had practiced. She blew out the candle before pouring it. There was literally no dirty talk. And when the wax got all stuck in my chest hair later, she had no idea how to help me get it out.”

“You must have been disappointed.” You said.

“She was probably more disappointed.” He said. “I hope she’s done some research and progressed since then, because it was clearly an idea that appealed to her. So I hope she found a way to enjoy it. But you can’t just add wax and expect that it’ll do all of the sexy work for you. It’s a contributor, one of the instruments of the symphony.”

“How poetic.” You said.

He took his hands off of your legs and thoroughly surprised you by spanking your butt. The singular, loud crack was followed by you gasping. Your lack of preparation for this and the stark contrast to his massage made it hurt more than anything else you had felt tonight. Heat moved into this area, but also into your cunt.

“Okay, roll over.” He told you.

You did as instructed, wondering how visible the excited blush in your cheeks was to him. You settled your head on the pillow. Even though he wasn’t currently looking at you (instead reaching for the candle), you were feeling more aware of your nudity than ever.

He used his fingers to gather up more of the warmed oil, sharing it across both hands. He started on your shoulders from this new angle. “Are you enjoying it, kitty?”

“So much.” You said.

“Mm-hmm, thank you TikTok.” He said.

“What have you been looking at on that app for the algorithm to start sending you videos that are about low-key sex toys?” You asked.

He furrowed his brow as he paused, looking at you. “Sex toy? I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He pointed to the candle, the few words printed on its side. “It says right here: soy massage candle, nothing else, certainly nothing about sex.” He picked the glass container up again, holding it above your chest. “You must have a dirty mind if you just instantly thought this was sexual.”

You played along, rolling your eyes. When he began to spill the oil onto your tits it became more difficult to pretend that you were unimpressed.

“Uh-huh, because there’s nothing sexual about this.” You said with the right amount of sarcasm.

He freed up his hands by placing the candle aside. Then he put both of his moist hands onto your breasts, covering each as he leaned in closer to you. “Is this sexual?”

You couldn’t think of anything to say, getting distracted by the tingles that arose as he rubbed your breasts. Massaging the soft tissue, he could keep up the charade of this being part of his efforts to reduce your stress.

You could feel how receptive you were becoming to his touch. Although you weren’t bothered by anything, your body began to feel less relaxed. Your thighs clenched and you pressed them together, the heat between them was only growing.

His fingers kneading the skin moved to the central point: your nipples, which were already erect. He pinched them and you didn’t have it in you to withhold a reaction. Your lips parted and you arched your back, the neediness spreading through you.

He captured your mouth with his and you quickly wrapped an arm around him. He continued to manipulate your nipples, which gave you the feeling of being on the verge of melting much stronger than before. He worked them without eliciting any pain. As he tugged and twisted, his tongue slithered into your mouth. You whimpered and squirmed as these sensations rushed your mind, drowning absolutely everything else out.

“I think this is sexual.” He said, as if having just realised it.

“And I think you aren’t even a little surprised about that.” You said.

He had released your nipples, his fingers moving lower. His eyes followed this motion. His hands moved off of your tits, now gripping and exploring the soft sides of your torso. He rubbed his thumbs against you in little fanning motions, pressing deep, even if only briefly.

“I gotta check if there’s any knots to take care of down here.” He said, gradually moving further down your body.

“There weren’t any more knots in my boobs that need working out?” You asked.

“I don’t think so, but I can check again in a minute. ‘Cause I think an effective masseur needs to be thorough.” He said, glancing up at you to show you a cheeky smile

As the oil coating his fingers grew thinner his hands didn’t glide as perfectly across your skin. But he didn’t go back to the candle for more product, just continuing to work his hands down, his flow uninterrupted and you didn’t doubt that he was building to something.

One of his hands kept massaging your hip, while the other travelled in a new direction, seeking out your crotch. Your eyes fluttered shut as you basked in the anticipation.

His fingers trailed, then you felt them pressing into your pubic mound. He worked his fingers in swirls, slow while noticeably getting lower. You let your thighs drift apart for him as you felt more blood moving into your pussy, the whole area was getting desperately warm.

“Are you still enjoying your massage, pet?” He asked, lowering his hand so he could rub your labia up-and-down now.

“Mm-hmm, your talents for this are continuing to amaze me.” You said.

“Amaze?” He repeated.

Your chest swelled as your excitement soared at the feeling of him reaching between your labia. He touched his fingers to your clit then stroked down and brushed back up. He massaged slowly in this moist area, gently signalling the start of something new.

You felt more tingles lighting up your body as he continued this slow rubbing. It felt very decadent and it was your favourite part of the massage so far. With your thoughts so clear, you just focused on the different reactions building through you, on so many levels.

You whined, the end of this sound swallowed up as his mouth captured yours again. You were sinking deeper into the desires. You put your hand to the back of his head, needing him to stay this close and give you the delights of even more intimacy.

He was increasing the pressure as he continued to rub you, and your clitoral hood ached with eagerness. He had locked into a motion that he could maintain. The thoroughness of his movements told you that he was enjoying all of your reactions to his touches.

More muffled sounds rose up inside of you as he started to work your clitoral hood faster. The increasing intensity took more of that calmness from you, but you didn’t want it back.

You were gasping for air as you drew back from the kiss. Your chest rapidly rose-and-fell but he wasn’t going to give you a chance to compose yourself, his strokes were relentless.

You writhed as you rode these sensations higher, feeling the exciting potential of your orgasm. And he kept guiding more sensations into you, moving his fingers over an even smaller distance. His own breathing had become heavier, hinting at his concentration.

“There’s one spot that needs a lot of attention, pet. I can feel it.” He said, his lips close to your ear.

Both of your hands gripped to him. “I can feel it, too.”

As he so quickly worked his fingers back-and-forth, your excitement started to manifest into moving your hips. You had to move, had to use some of your invigorating energy.

You swung your hips, finding a rhythm that didn’t disrupt his momentum. Every movement produced a delicious reward as it felt like your entire body prepared for the climax.

He started to nibble on your earlobe, making you writhe up even higher. Your heart was skipping over some beats and new areas of your body were tensing up.

“Damiano, uuh…” You uttered in a choked sob as the movements of your hips turned into desperate jerks.

Your body convulsed and you felt yourself fall apart. The relief flooded into you, filling the areas your strength was rapidly fleeing from. You gasped without any real interest in getting your breath back.

He stopped playing with your ear, but his fingers didn’t leave your cunt. You were still basking in the effects of your orgasm, yet to quit grinding your hips into the air. The sensitivities continued to sizzle through your system, making you feel a little dazed.

Before you could figure out what came after this high, he was ripping your focus to a new sensation. He smoothly guided his wet fingers into your cunt, quickly pushing them inside.

A surprised whine got stuck in your suddenly tight throat. Your eyes were wide as you looked at him, finding a pleased expression on his face.

He licked his lips as he watched you, starting to move his fingers. He fucked them back-and-forth, keeping you feeling so dazed. Your walls clenched around him as he quickly found a promising tempo.

“Keep coming for me, kitten.” He instructed over the wet noises your cunt was making.

“Mm-hmm… so good.” You whispered.

It was effortless to surrender again, feeling your approach to the edge. He lifted his palm as he pounded his fingers the entire way in, resulting in his hand colliding with your clit. You cried out as quakes erupted from your core, your clit still tingling even when he slightly drew his hand back.

He rutted it into you again, making this the new conclusion to his strokes. At the same time, he brought your body closer to him, his arm holding you tighter. You pressed yourself to his skin, your senses were so filled by him that you thought overdosing was a possibility.

He proceeded to curl his fingers inside of you, adding even more impact to their movements. At the right depth, he pressed his fingertips into your sweet spot.

The sharp increase in intensity stunned you, rendering you momentarily breathless. Your body spasmed and your inner-walls clenched on his fingers.

You clapped a hand over your eyes as you felt yourself falling apart again. The big sensations that consumed you were a little intimidating, the power dwarfed you. Your gut tightened and you questioned how much more you could realistically take.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fff-fuck, fuck.” You rasped.

He bounced the palm of his hand on your clitoral hood, sending you disappearing into a new orgasm. You quivered and went limp in his hold, securing your peace.

He laid you back down on the bed and you were still, too overcome to do anything yet. The aftershocks were powerful and consistent as you tried to figure out what was on this other side of your peak. He applied kisses to your forehead and you could hardly believe how secure you felt. This level of contentment was beyond anything you could have imagined for yourself when in the grips of the earlier stress.

“Mm.” You hummed as you reached up to caress his cheek. “When I call you Master in the future, it’s short for master of massages.”

He chuckled. “Is that my new title?”

“Yep, you’ve definitely earned it.” You said. “God, you just always know what my body needs.”

As you felt him readjusting, you opened your eyes and looked up. Some of his body rested on top of yours while he braced himself with a hand on the bed. He met your eye as you were admiring the little details on his face that were illuminated by the flickering candlelight.

He smiled at you and brought himself closer to you, until he could secure a kiss. This was swiftly followed by another and you draped your arms around him. You were at that point of your recovery where the sensitivities remained, less dominant but keeping you feeling that dreamy state. You were elevated as you kissed him back, knowing you were still close to the wild arousal.

He eased a bit of space between the two of you, then lifted his fingers up to his mouth. He extended two then started licking at the moisture already marking them. You could smell your pussy on his fingers as he slowly licked them, savouring their current taste.

Then he wanted to share his intimate treat, holding the digits up to your face. You opened your mouth, allowing him to put them inside, resting on your tongue. The unique flavour met your tongue as you stared into his eyes. You placed both of your hands on his back, feeling that you needed to prepare for what was to come next, even though you didn’t yet know what it would be.

“What does your body need, babe?” You asked.

“There are a lot of ways I could answer that.” He said.

“I’m ready to hear them.” You said.

He didn’t share any words with you, just smiling as he made subtle adjustments to how he held you. Then he was shifting his weight, starting a roll onto his side. Your body went with his, securely in his arms as he lifted you. He laid down on his back and you found yourself on top.

You caressed his shoulders and quickly kissed him. “It’s a great view for me.”

“Do you think you can handle it?” He asked.

You didn’t need him to elaborate. “I don’t know if I could come again, so soon after the last one. But I want to make you come, it’s definitely your turn.”

“Don’t beat yourself up if you can’t come again.” He said as he made the moves to take his shirt off. “I don’t want you to feel pressured, if it happens, then it happens. And if it doesn’t there’s absolutely no reason to apologise, I won’t be offended.”

“Okay.” You said and you secured one more kiss from him before you both got distracted by the task of getting him out of his pants.

As soon as he was out of his underwear, your attention went straight to his dick. How long had it been hard without you noticing? New ideas were coming into your head, at a pace you thought you had been too lethargic for.

His hands explored all over your body as you settled yourself on top of him. “I love making you feel better.”

“I’m sorry that it’s been so often lately.” You said.

He grabbed your face, instantly getting you to look at him. “Hey, what are you saying sorry for? I’m not complaining, not even a little bit.”

You paused, just coming to the realisation that what you had said was self-deprecating. You had spoken without any real thought, not noticing how natural it was to put yourself down and think you had done something wrong.

You smiled, feeling slightly vulnerable. “Right, thank you, baby.”

You switched your focus to something you could draw confidence from. With your balance secured by your knees planted on the bed, you rocked your weight back, sitting up. He looked up at you, seemingly appreciating the sight of you as you made the final, little adjustments.

You tensed your thighs and one hand worked in the shadow to get his dick in the right spot, lined up with your pussy. His fingers moved back toward his mouth as you began burying his cock inside of you. You saw him sucking more of your taste off of the fingers as he helped you guide the shaft deeper by arching his back.

Your walls were clenching to his length at once, there was so much sensitivity still in your cunt. But he didn’t seem to mind, he didn’t give a single syllable to correcting your behaviour. So you didn’t waste your time trying to change it with deep breaths, or other methods.

Instead you launched into figuring out how your bodies could move together. The relaxation you had been feeling in your muscles was forgotten, cast aside as you started rocking on top of him. You were tingling and feeling a new excitement that inspired you for the goal of his orgasm.

You found a motion that felt maintainable, dragging his length back-and-forth at your own massaging rhythm. He watched you, his eyes tracking your every movement with great interest.

He added more impact to your thrusts by pushing back against them. You felt your heart leap as he hit into you harder and his tip went deeper. The echo of your most recent orgasm got clearer, the memories of the intensity energised you.

He put both of his hands to your hips as he looked for your reaction, raising his head from the pillow slightly. You felt a different kind of vulnerability in this moment.

“Good girl feels so perfect on my cock. Do you know that?” He asked and you became aware of a hot blush in your face. “You’re gonna give me exactly what my body needs ‘til I explode inside of you, aren’t ya?”

You were starting to feel breathless as you nodded. “Yes, yes I am.” His fingers gripped onto your hips harder. “Yes.”

“Yes.” He repeated, jutting his hips up into you with more power.

He used his hold on your hips to bring you down faster. You acknowledged within yourself that you weren’t on the verge of getting your breath back in a substantial way. But you didn’t mind, there were too many positive sensations to overshadow that mild discomfort.

He controlled how fast and hard you moved, keeping you fucking yourself on his cock. The relentless jackhammering was having a growing affect on you, stealing some of your attention away from just caring about his climax. You noticed heat moving back into areas of your body that had hardly had a chance to cool.

“Oh, fuck yes. Yes.” He panted, just as short on breath as you were.

He lifted himself up a little more, close enough that he could wrap an arm around your waist. You rested a hand on his shoulder, putting all of your effort into keeping up with him.

Your bodies grinded on one another, a new source of friction. His thrusts were shorter, allowing him to get even faster. You saw the pleasure dominating him, a shift in his appearance. The anticipation of his release was so clear, you were certain that you knew what he was feeling. Being this close, you weren’t missing a single detail - so invested that his experience felt like yours too.

“Fuck, kitten.” He whimpered between ragged breaths.

The effects ran deeper through you and your muscles tightened, trying to prepare yourself for even more impact. Your fingernails pressed into his shoulder as you kept watching him.

When the look on his face changed to something like surprise you knew that he was very close to that edge. You knew the exertion of this quick rhythm was wreaking havoc through him, just as it was for you.

“Uh…” He moaned in time to his next buck into you.

He stayed mostly still, potentially too overwhelmed to move at this moment. But you kept rocking, wanting to enjoy more of the momentum. He wrapped his other arm around you, doing away with the gap between you.

Then you felt the extra rush of heat into your cunt, scored by the whines he greeted his orgasm with. You lessened the power and frequency of your thrusts, your focus going to watching his unfolding reactions. You appreciated the slackness in his jaw as you felt the definitive sensations of him falling apart.

An unexpected release swept through you, as if you had gained a contact high by watching him. You felt yourself letting go and you couldn’t help pleading out his name in response. You stopped moving as you got temporarily lost.

The afterglow engulfed you, the strength of your satisfaction and peace overshadowed everything at once.

It was an unhurried process of coming back into yourself and you still felt like you were floating the whole time. You felt the comfort and security of his arms around you. You had slumped a little against him, but both of you remained mostly upright.

You didn’t have to speak, it wasn’t necessary to reaffirm your connection. Not when you could feel it through every part of you.

It was enough to listen to him refilling his lungs. Thanks to his cock remaining nestled inside of you, you could further track his recovery. You felt the twitches of his shaft and you could guess how far from the peak he was getting.

“Oh, um…” He gasped after flinching into you with more power. “I think I gotta pull out, that’s just too intense.”

You laughed a little as you climbed off of him. “Is that something I need to apologise for?”

“Definitely not, there’s no need for apologies when it comes to that pussy.” He said, making you laugh again.

He sprawled out on his back, getting comfortable as he continued to breathe heavily. You laid down with him, instantly curling into his side because you weren’t through with enjoying this closeness. He encouraged you in, wrapping an arm around you. You were feeling sleepier than before, not even considering reaching for your aftercare ‘menu’.

“How do you feel?” He asked.

“So much better, it’s kind of unbelievable how well that worked.” You said, earning you an extra tight squeeze from him as he clearly approved of your answer. “I was thinking that I would be replaying everything in my head all night and freaking myself out over every decision. But now, it’s like I don’t need to do that. I’ve got you and a roof over my head and I know that’s the only stuff that matters.”

“I thought post-nut clarity was just a guy thing.” He said.

“We don’t have to call it that, we can just call it: you calmed me the fuck down.”

He disrupted your position by sitting up and leaning away. He blew out the candle’s flame. “We didn’t use up too much, so next time you get really stressed out, we can do this all over again.”

“Sounds perfect.” You said. “Do we sleep now?”

“I’m gonna sleep a bit, just so I’m not a grouchy zombie when we meet up with everyone at the airport.” He said.

“I may as well try.” You said. “I don’t wanna be up and making enough noise to disturb you.”

“Wait, wait, wait, we’ve gotta do aftercare.” He said.

“Why? I feel totally fine. We don’t have to peel any wax off of me, it feels like it got completely absorbed into my skin.” You said before demonstrating by running your fingers up your arm. “Ooh, damn, that’s really soft.”

But he didn’t lie down with you again. “It’s not just about doing it when you feel bad after a scene. We have to do it every single time.”

“Alright.” You said and you sat up. “I’ll figure out what I want from the menu while I’m turning the lights and everything off.”

“Sweet.”

You got the little booklet out of your bedside draw, then grabbed your phone and got to your feet. You activated the phone’s flashlight, illuminating your pages of options. Going through the apartment and switching off a few lights could be done with little to no focus, allowing you to properly read the menu.

You had hoped he would have fallen asleep during your absence. But that hadn’t happened - he looked at you expectantly as you came back into the room.

So you told him your choice: playing mobile games together. You had picked this because you had seen him fall asleep during a game before. You wanted him to get as much rest as possible and you hoped this task would get him there. He didn’t try to talk you into a different activity.

You placed yourself back in bed with him. Now the room was only lit by the screen of your phone. There weren’t any notifications via your email to distract you from opening up to Wordle.

He wrapped his arms around you, getting in close again. Both of you spoke quietly as you tried to solve the word game, not speaking over each other or rushing.

The moments of silence that he took to think were getting longer. Just as your eyes remained shut for longer each time you blinked.

Until you simply had to ask: “Are you awake?”

You smiled when you didn’t get any response. Then you placed your mobile phone aside, letting the darkness overtake the room. You carefully readjusted yourself, moving until you could lay your cheek on his bare skin. Listening to his breathing, you began to drift off.

*** *** ***

You felt like you hadn’t stopped talking since getting on this plane. Everyone was curious to get more details after hearing you say that you had quit your job.

So you told the whole thing. You didn’t condense it or try to form a one sentence summary. The retelling was slowed down even more by the questions your audience had - but what were you going to do, order Ethan to listen silently?

Damiano sat with you for the majority of your story, he had all of the details that slipped your mind and he would add extra emphasis to the points he felt had been glossed over too fast. You felt like he helped you tell it better.

And you were met with only acceptance. You were relieved when no one questioned your decisions. You weren’t accused of creating unnecessary drama or overreacting. They all understood your motivation and the unanimous support helped quiet down some of the doubts that wanted to spring up in your head.

Now you were just sitting with Victoria and her girlfriend, Luna. The rest of the team had spread out across the private plane. Some people were sleeping or otherwise enjoying moments of solitude. You had seen Damiano leave for the opposite end of the plane to you. But now you couldn’t see him amongst the other familiar faces (you vowed to yourself that you would go and find him before you tried to get any sleep).

“It’s so fucking punk.” Victoria said, smiling at you. She was sharing the couch with you, lying on her back with her head rested in Luna’s lap. Luna played with her girlfriend’s long hair.

“It really is.” She agreed. “You didn’t shrink yourself down to keep other people happy. I don’t know if I would be brave enough to do anything like that. I hope I would be, but who knows.”

“What do you wanna do with all of this free time you’ve got now?” Victoria asked. “Are you gonna suddenly pick up a million new hobbies?”

You chewed on your bottom lip as you considered your answer, and when you spoke it was in a quieter voice than earlier. “I don’t know and I’m kinda worried.”

“Worried, how come?” She asked.

You propped your elbow up on the back of the couch so you could rest your forehead in your hand. “This is going to sound so stupid, but what if I’m not good at being unemployed? That thought keeps coming into my mind.”

She looked at you with her brow furrowed. “Um… huh?”

“What do you mean?” Luna asked.

“I’m scared that I’m just going to get so bored, having so little to do when we’re at home. And if I don’t have things that can give me that sense of accomplishment and being productive: how is that going to affect my mental health?” You explained.

“Well, who actually defines productivity?” Victoria asked. “It’s your time, girl. You’re the one who decides if it’s well spent or not. But I get it. We had to hustle so hard for so long, it was years of twenty-four-seven working to get this shit off the ground. So when I started getting time to just myself it was hard to switch my brain off, even in my free time I was craving that next accomplishment.

“But I got better at it. Sometimes the accomplishment is catching up on sleep. And sometimes it’s developing a new skill, even if it’s just for you, like rock climbing.”

“You go rock climbing?” You asked, latching onto this surprising information.

“Yeah, just a few times. My sister got us a voucher for a free session last Christmas, and it’s so much fun that we’ve gone back.” She said.

“It’s such a rush.” Luna said.

“Yeah, I bet.”

Victoria’s eyes had lingered on you. “Is that the only thing you’re worried about, sis?”

“No.” You responded unhappily. “What if all of that time together is bad for me and Damiano? I might seriously fucking bug him.”

She pulled a funny face. “I think it’s more likely that he would be the one doing the bugging.”

“Spending more time together has only helped our relationship. The whole long-distance thing was not helping us thrive.” Luna said.

“Totally. We are so much more in sync with each other and we get to make so many amazing memories together.” Victoria said, taking her girlfriend’s hand. “I couldn’t be happier that we get to go everywhere together.”

“I think you guys are gonna love it. He’s always way happier when he isn’t missing you.” Luna said.

“One thousand percent.” Victoria said.

As she started to sit up you noticed that she and Luna were no longer looking at you. Each of them were fixed at something behind you, which was taller than you currently were. They were both wearing smiles that were broader than before.

You looked over your shoulder, needing to find the source of their amusement. It was Damiano and you too smiled when you saw what he was carrying in his hands. On top of a wide plate was a big cake, which he presented to you.

“Welcome to the touring crew, baby.” He said.

Laid out on the frosting across the top of the cake was an image: the album art of Dolly Parton’s 9 to 5. With thick red icing, someone had drawn an X through this. In the same icing, one word was written: congratulations.

Your mouth was hanging open as you looked up at him. “What is this?”

“We’re celebrating your new chapter.” He said.

Thomas, from behind Damiano, gestured with his hand. “It’s your Unemployed Era, ‘cause fuck capitalism.”

“When did you have the time to do this?” You asked, still so dumbfounded.

“Remember how Gianna was late today?” He asked in reference to an assistant. “In fact, she was the last one to get to the airport, yeah? ‘Cause she went to a bakery we had gotten in touch with, picking up this cake.”

You glanced over at Gianna, she smiled. “What, there was a bakery open? But it was so early.”

“Bakers usually start at about four in the morning.” Ethan contributed from a close by seat. “Even if the bakery doesn’t open until quote-unquote normal business hours. They have to get so much fresh stock ready that they’re always there early.”

“Yep, so we could pull this whole thing off.” Damiano said proudly. “It’s strawberry with vanilla icing. And the album cover is edible.”

“We get to eat Dolly?” Victoria asked.

You accepted the cake from him, resting the plate on your lap. Your heart felt very full as you looked around at this group of people. “Thank you so much everyone. This is really, incredibly sweet.”

“And it’s about to get sweeter.” Damiano said, reaching behind himself to take something from Thomas. This was instantly revealed to be a bottle of champagne. “I finally got you champagne, baby.”

“Yay!”

Gianna started to supply everyone with plastic cups and plates. Everyone looked so happy, it felt like a genuine celebration. You didn’t see any reason why you shouldn’t be just as chipper.

You were provided with a knife to cut the cake, just like it was your birthday. Damiano demanded to take photos of you with the cake before you cut into it. Once it had been cut into, it was taken so someone else could evenly distribute the slices.

Damiano sat next to you, asking if you liked the cake and had you suspected that he was up to anything. You thanked him repeatedly and gave him a couple of kisses.

“Are you ready for your new chapter?” He asked.

You nodded, continuing to feel the swell of positive energy all around you. “Yeah, I think I am.”

»»————-　♡　————-««

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perenial · 1 year ago

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gene im so glad you said this cause I haven't seen anyone else comparing it to the book as source material for like character and tone but i am So sure that if terry was alive the season would not be like this but i fear good omens fans dont realise how big a factor the lack of terry's influence is?? or like they forget that good omens was never just neilman???

ok before i go any further: i rly don't want to detract from anyone's enjoyment of the season and everything im going to say comes from a place of love for a) the original novel (& season 1 to a certain extent bc it got me back into it lol) and b) tv as a medium so like peace and love on planet let people enjoy things etc etc

but

like u said, terry's influence on the book was enormous – what makes gomens gomens is the balance of his genuine warmth and precise understanding of humanity tempered with neilman's sardonic voice and general like.....savvy approach to storytelling? i guess u could call it? anyway what rly helps the book is that it took them years to write it, passing ideas back and forth and rewriting each other's work until their voices blended seamlessly and a well structured capital-s Story was created. when i praise the book for being self-contained i think a huge part of that comes from the circumstances in which it emerged: two authors with complementary styles writing in a v particular time period where they had both the space to play with their ideas and the constraints of the novel as a storytelling format from which to craft something extremely specific.

adaptations are a tricky business and a tv version of gomens produced literal decades after the book was always going to have some unique challenges, but i don't think that's a bad thing bc the challenges could prove to be creative opportunities to take both the established audience and those new to the story by surprise. my biggest hot take here is that i don't think translating a story into a different medium means it has to follow the original narrative exactly, bc each medium has its own ways of communicating information and these structures, rules and traditions in turn inform what that story is. what matters more than following a story beat-by-beat is capturing what that story is about at its core, what themes and messages and ideas it works through and how.

all this is to say i never expected tv gomens to be a perfect reproduction of the book and if it had it been, it probably would have been worse off for it. that being said, there are parts of the book – like u said, its tone and character – that needed to have some fidelity in order to pull it off, and for the most part s1 did that bc it was still working predominantly within the bounds of the novel & its core ideas. while i did have some issues w how neilman & amazon adapted some details and characterisations, i generally rly liked s1 – it reminded me of why i loved the book and it was just generally fun to watch.

s2 was. not that fun to watch

a few positives before i go ham w the critiques:

the hair & makeup + costumes were fantastic (although i feel like s1 was slightly better re: makeup?)

the sound design & score made some of the more awkward scenes bearable and thats no mean feat imo

david & michael gave incredible performances w what they were given – michael especially managed to salvage aziraphale enough that his complete 180 didnt feel completely tonally dissonant (more on this later)

the detail of the sets is NUTS and i genuinely want to see more of hell bc of how intricate and fun the props look

i actually like gabriel/beelzebub!! their getting together montage worked for me, although they could have spent sliiiightly more time establishing what it is they like abt each other so much + why gabriel wanted to stop armageddon 2.0 so suddenly

the opening scene, although not on par w the novel's & s1's, was visually gorgeous and thematically resonant (although neilman owes me royalties for ripping it off from this shitty fic i wrote back when raphael!crowley was all the rage lol)

now w THAT being said:

like i said yesterday, the pacing was fucking awful. flashbacks are hard to work w at the best of times and the way they were used in this season felt so needless, especially the 40s one in ep 4 that takes up like 90% of the episode. in both flashbacks + present day there were scenes that dragged for no real reason, dialogue that looped back around on itself to stretch out the runtime, and weirdly enough places where there should have been character & plot work where there just,, wasn't any?? for example, maggie & nina's night locked in the café – some parts of the dialogue in later episodes made out that they'd had some rly deep conversation abt how they feel about each other or even that they'd had an affair, but that isn't clear from those scenes in the café. i'm not saying we had to see that conversation in its entirety but that there needed to be more connective details – either in dialogue or direction – that gave that part of the story coherence.

(there were pacing issues w the editing too but i don't want to jump down the editor's throats on this one bc im more focused on writing & direction issues)

the second major problem that i mentioned in my tags yesterday is the protagonist shift, which is an issue that started in s1. aziraphale & crowley are side characters in book gomens – significant ones, yeah, but still somewhat peripheral to adam (& anathema who counts as a deuteragonist imo). this works incredibly well w who they are as characters: they're Just Some Guys who happen to be involved in this epic biblical-level bureaucratic nightmare and importantly, they don't want to be in the spotlight. the arrangement was created so that they could explore what it meant to be themselves away from the Big Narrative; literally any time they get involved in larger affairs is bc the plot is alive and caught them unionising on company time. the last fucking chapter is adam (& god) being like haha u guys are alright keep it sleezy and letting them go. like. hello. neil u let them go.

but then!! tv gomens s1 does something interesting at the end w the body swapping addition that i dont totally hate – it gives aziraphale & crowley the extra bit of character work that brings them slightly more adjacent to their book selves. see i kinda view tv a/c as the younger, less settled versions of book a/c; they're still caught up in the immediacy of being key players and haven't fully realised that earth is their home. i haven't watched s1 in a while but one scene i remember rly clearly is crowley throwing all those astronomy texts in the air and angsting abt when he was an angel; i remember it bc his anguish in that scene feels a lot newer and rawer than book crowley's feelings about falling. when tv a/c do their bodyswap, it gives them the chance to land a blow against heaven/hell in a way that solidifies their allegiance to earth in a way that more closely resembles what book a/c have been abt the entire time (still adjacent, though. not parallel).

the reason why this works is that it does one final pivot to orient aziraphale and crowley as almost-main characters in a manner that makes sense in relation to a) their book selves and b) the position the tv show has placed them in. a combination of factors made tv a/c feel a lot less mature than their book counterparts but at the end of s1 they're sort of facing the same direction the book ended in, albeit through their own flashy late 2010s means.

when s2 was announced i was.......apprehensive bc to me, that felt like a satisfactory ending. i get the impression that amazon saw how wildly successful the adaptation was and was like oh shit we could make way more money out of this and neilman, having all those undead darlings that he and terry killed in the process of whittling the book into a workable novel, jumped at the chance to resurrect all those half-realised ideas. but not only were those ideas probably discarded for a reason, they've either been laying in wait for years unworked or they're new inventions, which means they weren't molded in the way that the book had been. like i said before, book gomens underwent years of rewrites and creative collaboration, and i think that process was what made it so good; s2 didn't have that. even if some of terry's ideas made it into s2, his influence is still missing bc he and neilman weren't in dialogue the same way they were in the book (and in some ways s1 bc i know terry was involved in the process of adapting gomens to screen before his death).

i don't think it's a case of newer fans forgetting terry so much as it is the context of terry's involvement being so removed from the current circumstances that certain aspects & discourses (i.e. is the s2 finale queerbaiting (no), does binge watching change the viewership experience (yes), etc etc) about the show overshadow other discussions that would usually be taking place. and before anyone says it's a case of neilman forgetting terry, i definitely don't think it's that either bc thats. yknow. wildly disrespectful. but also there are larger systems and structures at play than one writer no matter how much beef i have w him and his decisions, bc ultimately he's just one guy (a powerful and wealthy guy, but just a guy) and there's a wider cultural shift happening rn towards rehashing old stories without understanding what made them successful in the first place, and that same culture just doesn't allow for much, if any, constructive discourse analysis

so yeah

#replies.txt #Anonymous #god this is so long and rambling i hope it makes sense lmaooo #i have further thoughts on the general fic-y feeling of the season but that wasnt rly anon's question so i'll save that for another time #good omens #good omens spoilers

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drconstellation · 1 year ago

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The Golden Lions of Heaven

S2 has several prominent lion symbols in it, and at first watch they don’t appear to have anything to do with the main story line. But there are lions in both seasons, and they are all connected.

Lions are intrinsically linked with royalty, and are often called King of the Beasts or King of the Jungle. They also symbolize courage, nobility and strength.

Whenever lions appear in GO they are always coloured gold, which is associated with Heaven. Nearly all the angels have some bit of gold on them somewhere - unless they have just discorporated.

In Christian iconography Jesus is represented as a lion upon his return. When he was crucified he was a sacrificial lamb, but the Second Coming is a time when he returns to reign again. As a descendant of the royal house of David, it therefore seems quite logical to assign this symbol to the king of kings.

There is also this paragraph from the Medieval Bestiary:

“In Christian allegory, the three main natures of the lion each have a meaning. The lion erasing its tracks with its tail represents the way Jesus concealed his divinity, only revealing himself to his followers. The lion sleeping with its eyes open represents Jesus, physically dead after crucifixion, but still spiritually alive in his divine nature. The lion roaring over his dead cubs to bring them to life represents how God the father woke Jesus after three days in his tomb.”

There is also an often misquoted line “when the lion shall lie down with the lamb,” but it’s not that at all. The full verse is:

“The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them.” [Isiah 11:6]

It is referring to a time of peace that should come once Jesus returns. Somehow I don't think we are going to get that in S3.

The Two Lions in the Dirty Donkey

There are two large golden lions sitting on the ends of the bar in the Dirty Donkey. Because one of the underlying themes in S2 is about the Second Coming, even if its not obvious until the end, its fairly easy then to interpret these two as being connected to this event. The Dirty Donkey itself can be seen in several ways: a simple donkey that needs a wash, or a black horse. Both are relevant to referencing Jesus. In the former, Jesus rode a donkey into Jerusalem the first time to signify he came in peace, but the second time he arrives will be like on the back of the black horse of a conqueror come to rule. One lion for each occurrence.

The Lion under the lamp in Jimbriel’s room

While there is some argument for Jim’s character in S2 re-creating parts of the life of Jesus from two thousand years ago, such as the cleansing of the temple and facing temptation from demons. I think we shouldn’t also forget that this is also Gabriel the Herald, and he was doing some ominous heralding of doom at various points in S2 that in hindsight we can see were warning us about the Second Coming. So this lion at the base of the lamp Jimbriel is playing with has to alert us to Jimbriel’s connection with Jesus. (I will probably revisit and add/rewrite this one in the future, I think there is a bit more to it)

The Lion Rampant on Aziraphale’s Ring

At the end of S2 we learn that Aziraphale has been manipulated into going back to Heaven to run the Second Coming by the Metatron. In hindsight, its hard to see how he wouldn't be involved, somehow. What is surprising, however, is that this expert in prophecy didn't see it coming - but then he didn't expect to see Jimbriel arriving either!

Usually the first thing we notice about Aziraphale's ring is the stylized lion rampant on the shield. We know it's definitely a lion because it upright - if it was down on all four paws it would be referred to as a leopard. The upright tail tells us its on guard.

There are more elements to the ring that also add to the story here, it's a much more complex ring than Michael's. The crown on the top is a symbol of victory and sovereignty, and also a connection to God, who considered the "King of all." On either side of the shield are two stylized sprigs of laurel, reinforcing a picture of triumph and fame.

Then there are a fringe of feathers, banded in sharp triangular spikes. Feathers signify willing obedience and serenity of mind in heraldry, so I would tend to lean towards the former. The triangles represent celestial rays, so they reinforce his obedience to the will of Heaven.

You might think, "well this makes sense, Aziraphale is a Principality, he's a protector, that's why there is a lion," but I think it more complicated than that. It tells us something about both the past and the future at the same time. The purpose of the rings remain a mystery to us at the moment, in that we don't know why some angels have them and others don't, or if they have any function. Aziraphale has a tendency to touch his when he is feeling troubled or worried (its easy to miss if you aren't paying attention,) so perhaps it helps to strengthen his connection to Heaven somehow, or is a reminder of his duties.

There is another connection Aziraphale has to a lion, and that is through his past status as a cherubim in the Job minisode in S2E2.

As pointed out in this post, the pattern is stylized to represent the four wings that Cherubim are said to have, with a pearl in the center for an eye. These Cherubim also have four faces: an ox, an eagle, a lion and a man. Well, we sort of get all of those with Aziraphale at some point in the wider story. And the angel set at the eastern gate of Eden with the flaming sword was supposed to be a Cherubim, too. Yes, Aziraphale changed rank from Cherubim to Principality, we just don't technically know whether it was a step up or down...

The Honolulu Roast Lion

There is a lion you don’t see in S2 – the lion logo for the Honolulu roast coffee, mentioned briefly on a blackboard in the background of a shot inside the coffee shop.

The islands of Hawaii were a kingdom up until 1893, when a commercial coup took them over and allowed them to be annexed by the US. You can read more about it here. While the op in that post relates it the Eldritch Ball in S2E5, it still connects a lion to royalty.

The lion at the beginning of S1E1

Right at the beginning we have a lion as well – a real live lion! After Adam and Eve leave the Garden of Eden they meet a big lion out on the dunes. As Aziraphale and Crowley watch and talk atop the walls of the Garden, Adam confronts the lion with the flaming sword Aziraphale gave him and eventually kills the lion before he walks away with Eve.

What are we to think of this? I've see one op suggest that it was Aziraphale "throwing them to the lions" as his first act. To me it seems more like Adam has just slain God instead to gain their freedom.

The Lions on Crowley’s “throne”

There are two lion heads on the arm rest of Crowley’s “throne” (I don’t know what else to call it, really) in his Mayfair flat in S1. If I understand correctly, this should first be viewed as a homage to the US show Supernatural, as this chair is the exact copy of the one the demon Crowley in that show sits in, only his one is black. But if I’m to look at it in terms of GO symbology, my brain keeps going [error 503: Server cannot process the request due to a system overload; should be a temporary condition...] because I can’t quite believe what its telling me. And I should, because I’m the one running around touting a list that is now 22 items long for why Crowley was once a very powerful archangel and written a batshit-crazy meta on King Arthur themes presenting in GO. So I’ll just present my quandary this way: There are lions, they are golden, of course, so they are connected to Heaven, and a symbol of royalty – but they are being used by a demon in a residence paid for by Hell…(too.much.gold...! what were they thinking?)

Further reading: The Golden Lion by Cobragardens

#good omens #good omens 2 #aziraphale #crowley #good omens meta #good omens analysis #lions #gold #golden lions of heaven #the second coming #angel rings #celestial crown #laurel #celestial rays #cherubim #honolulu roast #being thrown to the lions #royalty

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arrowfleur · 1 year ago

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would u consider doing nsfw david hcs? 🫡

I would and I shall!

MDNI 18+ <3

(Just a warning that these are a little rougher than my others but it is all very very consensual!)

Foreplay: David doesn’t need foreplay you look at him and boom horny. Ready and raring to go /hj

Steamy making out tends to lead to him carrying you to wherever he’s decided he wants you.

He won’t fuck you until he’s completely sure you’re ready. Using everything he can to get you there hands, mouth, his thighs…

Not a stranger to role playing either but I’ll let your imaginations do the work for that since they’re usually specific to the person

This man looks so astoundingly pretty when he’s using his mouth on you. Like wild eyes and swollen lips, eye contact. It’s perfect.

Be rough with him, grab him, hold him to you, even pull his hair. He wants to make you feel good and knows he can give it back double when it’s time for it.

Binds and ties are commonly used and he’ll tie you down whilst he uses his mouth all over your body. Although he prefers using his hands to keep you in place.

Although I don’t think David’s the one with the size kink, you using both hands on his dick makes the man FERAL.

Positions: Doggy style, missionary with your legs round his waist, mating press. (Sometimes with only one leg up so you can go for longer) he knows you like him over you and is good at finding different ways to do that.

Very strong, so will hold you and keep you in any position he wants for as long as he wants.

It’s BIG. He is the best at prepping ^^ but still puts it in slow and it’s either ‘you’re doing such a good job’ or ‘you’re going to take all of me’ while pinning you in place (depending on the vibe ATT)

Dare I say breeding kink,,,

Once again we have a man that likes to be bitten, and he makes it known. He’s yours as much as you are his.

He’ll mark you in so many places too. Usually one on the neck/shoulder area for other people to see and others on your hips and thighs just for him.

Rough and relentless with his pace. He just keeps going.

Sets a pace and then randomly speeds up even more for a few pumps before slowing back down again. The surprise of it makes it feel so good.

You need his permission to cum, he plans out exactly what he wants do with you and he wants you to follow that plan.

Sometimes that leads to multiple O’s and other times you have to hold it for one big one.

Deep, growled out ‘No’s’ and ‘Not yets’ he gets into that stage where he can’t even form words.

If you do it without permission, he doesn’t slow down afterwards either. Just repeating ‘I’m gonna cum’ over and over.

Aftercare: he’s so blissed out that he forgets to put any sort of guard up, he just can’t get over how beautiful, handsome etc you are and how much he loves you and he lets you know as such.

Loves it if when you tell him specific things he did that you liked.

Making sure you’re ok and checking in with you especially if you tried something new. Spooning and cuddles. He’s extremely warm like a heated blanket it’s almost impossible not to fall asleep. And you best believe he’s making you drink a glass of water afterwards too.

That is all thanks for reading!

#I found these ridiculously hard to write omg sorry for the delay #also apologise if they’re not as good I’m not really into David’s BA’s but I did try my best <3 #redacted audio #redacted asmr #redacted david #redacted angel #arrowsqueue

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elliespuns · 1 year ago

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Seeing the whole Joel thing with a Daddy kink reminds me of something else, Ellie being so horny? Like yes I read them because it’s a fanfic😔 but realistically speaking after a victim is hit with SA they can either be easily repulsed by sex or be hyper sexual. I’m sure Ellie didn’t suffer a lot after David & I love how your Drabble captures it after.

Another thing I hate when people say Ellie has so much experience in sex? Like being honest she’s probably only had sex about 2 times because it’s clear she’s had sex before when she got with Dina. Not to sound like a perv but Ellie did have Cat before & suspecting since they were both 17 & dumb teens it’s likely they did it before.

Another thing I really doubt Ellie would be dominant in bed being honest she probably looks like a standing stick bug trying to top you, as much as I love her. (I wanna give her a big fat smooch) yes I am talking about older Ellie & in none of these paragraphs am I talking about 14 year old Ellie-🕸️

ELLIE'S TRAUMA: The thing David did to Ellie was horrible. I still have chills just thinking about it. It definitely took a toll on her. We can see it when the game skips to the spring section (which is already a few months after David) and the deer on the wall awakens some bad memories of the incident in her and she suddenly becomes really sad and distant.

But as you say, I don't think she suffered that much from it (hopefully thanks to the fact he didn't have a chance to actually do any real harm to her). We can also see that it doesn't affect her as a person that she is in Part 2 at all. All she is is because of what happened at the hospital, not because of what happened with David. Of course, she carries it with her everywhere she goes, but after she managed to kill that motherfucker, I believe that her strong personality and bravery helped her to accept it and move on.

There are a lot of fics that capture her trauma after what happened with David, but I think the writers just portray their own trauma through Ellie for they feel close to her because she went through something similar (or the same). Which is okay. It's just not canon for Ellie as we know her. I think she felt bad for a long time after it happened, but I also believe that she was more upset about having to chop the man's face into pieces than about him hovering above her, trying to do things. I guess the fact that he didn't have time to finish what he started caused Ellie to be more 'accepting' of it.

ELLIE'S SEX LIFE Ellie is definitely not as sexually active as many people make her in their fics (again, it's just their way of portraying her as they want her to be). Which, again, is completely okay.

Although there are a few fics that make Ellie be like this and that just doesn't rub me the right way. Whenever I read something like this, I have a feeling I'm reading about someone else. I don't read much of the Ellie x reader thing (mostly because in most of them she is portrayed as a dominant and hypersexual nymph and it's not my thing), but I've read a few.

I have to admit though, that until recently, I always thought that Ellie had her first time with Dina. But when I play the scene in my mind over and over, I can see she's the one pushing Dina down, laying on top of her, feeling confident about 'taking over'. Which wouldn't probably happen if she was completely inexperienced. She knew how to do that already, and she had no other intention than to make it happen.

I also think that she had sex with Cat (and if not sex-sex, they definitely did things together). They must have tried. C'mon, I don't know how old Cat was, but Ellie was 17. That girl was probably having sexual thoughts at 15 already, let alone at 17. I mean... let's not forget she was still a hormonal teenager like everyone else at this age.

And as far as it goes for Ellie being dominant, yeah, I can't see that. She's probably this cute, little lame cookie trying her best to make her girlfriend feel good, always asking things like, "Is that okay?" during her first time or "Does that feel good?" during regular sex. Like, I'm sorry, I just can't see her pushing someone against the wall with words like, "I'm gonna fuck you so hard, you won't be able to walk." Like, no, this is not the Ellie we know.

#oh ellie ellie #the last of us #tlou #ellie williams #ellie tlou #tlou game #the last of us game #the last of us part 1 #tlou part 1 #the last of us part 2 #tlou part 2 #ellie x dina #ellie x cat #dina nolastname #elliespuns answers

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joelsmorality · 2 years ago

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EYES WIDE OPEN [1]

Pairing: Joel Miller x Fem!Reader, platonic bonding with Ellie. Summary: Somehow, you managed to find Joel and Ellie ending their journey just as you were beginning your own. After being captured in David’s resort and witnessing the horrors within, Ellie manages to save your life as she escapes and you end up staying with them for the time being at Ellie’s offer. Yet, things aren’t as they seem, and you’re also not sure if her gruff guardian won’t murder you in your sleep. Warnings: Gore, death, mentions of cannibalism, fire, angst. Please read at your own risk. Note: I’ve had this idea kicking around in my head for a while, though I can’t say for certain it hasn’t been done before. Still, I thought I’d write it up and see if anybody is interested in it! If you want to be added to a tag list, please let me know!

Perhaps you should have been relieved that the attention had been shifted off you.

Yet, you just felt more dread.

Your whole world had shifted over the last day or so. Again. It had been bad enough when the initial outbreak began, yet you had foolishly assumed that the biggest threat out there was the infected. Humans could be just as cruel, if not moreso. You were paying for that oversight in the current moment, your stomach twisting each time when you would think deep enough to realize just how horrible of a situation you found yourself in. It had been enough to make you forget the exhaustion and hunger that had built up over the last day.

Hunger had been the issue that started all of this.

David–your deeply devout, fair, and kind leader–was a sick son of a bitch. You had seen his bad side a couple times over the years–asking too many questions, showing too much doubt, witnessing him laying a hand on people who spoke too far out of turn. Your opinion hadn’t always been the highest of him, but this was beyond anything you could have imagined him doing. Which was probably one of the many mistakes you had made.

You had come across his group as a loner–your family was either gone or missing, and you knew it was impossible to seek out anybody at this point. It had been nice in the beginning–you had shelter, food, people. You hadn’t been the most social, but it was better than trying to survive on your own. That was, until the hunger had set in. Tensions were high, you wanted to help and eventually you had found yourself digging into something you really shouldn’t have.

You were a loner, which made you easier to disappear.

The image of the bodies hanging in the dark with a nauseating similarity to a slaughterhouse sat at the edge of your mind, knowing that a similar fate awaited you.

Until Ellie.

At least, that was what you had heard her shout when she had broken David’s finger–she had a fight in her, which gave you some hope. Yet, you saw the spark in David, which was what had your stomach turning at his fascination toward her. You didn’t have any children of your own, nor any younger family that you had looked after, but witnessing the way he spoke to her made you wish you hadn’t been separated in two different cages so you could help her. Animals awaiting slaughter.

Yet, Ellie had that fight in her–something that had left you long before you found yourself in the situation you were. Yet, you knew patience would wear thin and there was only so much she could do until they got sick of her.

Given that you had been in there longer than her, you had only hoped that they’d take you out first. Give her the time and chance to escape. Her arrival had delayed your death, anyway.

Yet, you should have known that David would be playing by his own rules.

Sleep had escaped you since you had been captured, yet during the momentary quiet moments you had found yourself nodding off despite your efforts otherwise. You knew you wanted to be alert at all times, watching for ways to escape. Yet, you couldn’t focus. It felt like you had exhausted all your resources–you had kicked at the gate to your cage almost endlessly during the first day, hoping against hope that the lock would just break off and you’d be able to run. Yet, that went nowhere and just exhausted you further.

You refused to eat, too–knowing what they had been serving to the community, thinking it was deer or whatever meat they could hunt…despite your hunger, it only made you sick to think about.

Still, you knew, despite the lack of energy, that you would be up at any disturbance. At least, you had hoped.

In reality, your head had snapped up at Ellie’s yelling without knowing how long she had been doing so. You managed to sit up and crawl toward your own cell door as you watched David and James hoist her up onto the table. Given the blood you had seen on it, it didn’t take long for its use to click in your brain.

“Hey!” you shouted, finally finding your own voice, “She’s just a kid! Let her go! Let her go!”

It was useless, given Ellie’s own shouts and struggles. They carried on as if you weren’t in the room, as much as that realization didn’t really settle in you as you tried to throw your shoulder against the cage door in a feeble attempt to try to help her.

They were going to cut her up, and you would have to sit there and watch it. You were useless to help, as much as you didn’t want to believe that at the moment. Still, that was as clear as day as David finally raised his cleaver up. Yet, Ellie’s voice cut through the momentary silence in that action, her words making everybody in the room pause. Including you.

It took you a few moments to process that–infected? You had plenty of run-ins with infected on the road before you wound up where you were, and she certainly didn’t look and act like someone about to turn. From what you could see on the faces of David and James, you could see that same line of thought.

“Roll up my sleeve–look at it. Look at it!” Ellie insisted, you watching on with wide eyes.

After a few moments, David swung the knife down quickly. You heard it hit the table, the action and sound making you flinch as a sound caught in your throat. Yet, from Ellie still moving on the table, you could tell that he hadn’t killed her. Or hit her, given the silence. David pulled her sleeve up, pausing at what he saw that you couldn’t see from where you were on the floor across the room.

From the look on both his and James’ faces, you could tell whatever was on her arm was pretty convincing.

“What did you say?” Ellie said after a moment, you almost being unable to hear her. “Everything happens for a reason, right?”

“David…” James started, equally as quiet and disbelieving.

“No…” David said after another pause, shaking his head in denial. “No, she would’ve turned by now. This isn’t real.”

“That looks pretty fuckin’ real to me…”

The next several seconds seemed to pass in a blur for you. In their confusion and disbelief, Ellie took advantage of their hesitation to pull the knife by her head out of the table and swung it into the side of James’ neck. Ellie took off with David pulling out a pistol and shooting at her, firing off shots until you could hear the click, click of an empty chamber. He paused for a moment, looking around the room for a moment before he met your gaze.

He almost seemed to look through you, but you could see the darkness in his expression. You weren’t surprised when he pulled the knife from James’ neck and followed her out into the main area of the building.

And you were still in the damn cage.

With a grunt, you threw yourself against the door again–a sense of panic and urgency driving you to ignore the aches and bruises the force of that was going to give you. You did so over and over again, letting out short yells and what may have been sobs. As much as you were definitely hitting it with some force, the door still wouldn’t open. You had to break the lock, and as you were unarmed, you knew it wasn’t possible in your current situation.

Still, you didn’t want to give up. You continued to slam against the bars, not exactly knowing what was happening outside the room as you couldn’t really hear anything. You were focused on your attempts to escape, yet you could feel your legs starting to give out as that familiar exhaustion started to make itself known. After a few more slams with your shoulder, your knees buckled that had you grasping onto the bars to keep yourself from falling to the floor.

At that moment, you were suddenly aware of the smell of smoke. It had been lingering in your nostrils, yet at the moment you could really smell it. You could almost taste it. Whatever had happened outside that room, someone had set the building on fire.

And you were still locked in the damn cage.

You continued your struggles, pulling yourself upright again and started to shake and slam yourself against the door. Your eyes were starting to burn–from the smoke or unshed tears, you weren’t sure. Yet, you had to stop again after a short while as you coughed, the smoke significant enough to shake reality into you for a few moments.

Gripping the bars on the cage door, you shook it hard with a yell that burned your throat. Fear, anger, and disbelief swirling in your gut as you continue to yell.

“Help me!” you screamed, “Please! I–I don’t…I don’t want to die like this…”

Your voice had faltered at the end, realizing how smoking the room had gotten. It was…unsettlingly quiet, aside from your shaky breathing and the coughs that would force their way out of your lungs as you struggled against the smoke that burned at the back of your throat. The fight was starting to leave you, ripping an angry sob from you as you kicked uselessly against the door before backing against the wall.

Another cough hit you, mixing with the sobs that you were already letting out. If you didn’t burn to death first, the smoke would suffocate you. You didn’t know which was worse.

Seconds seemed to drag by, the hopelessness of the situation almost making you collapse onto the floor. Yet, you heard the door to the room open. You glanced up to see someone step in, making their way toward your cage. You stilled, recognition taking a moment to settle before you realized the person in front of you was Ellie.

She looked rough–hair a mess, a haunted look on her face, and she was covered in blood. You had no idea what happened when she left the room, and you didn’t really have the words to say anything. The fact that she was still standing told enough of a story at the moment. She set about releasing the lock from the door to your cage, knowing where she got the keys from but you didn’t want to say anything. Didn’t need to.

Considering the look Ellie gave you before giving you a wordless nod, it seemed you both were in agreement to just get the hell out.

You followed after her, realizing that the building really was on fire as the smoke in the main area nearly choked you. Letting out a heavy cough, you covered your mouth with your arm as you weaved through the booths and tables toward the doors. Your eyes stung, the smoke you had already inhaled making it a struggle to breathe in the thicker air. Still, you were almost out.

You noticed a flash of white, daylight through the haze of smoke ahead of you. Mindlessly, you followed that, even after the door shut behind Ellie. Finally, you reached it and pushed it open.

The cold, winter air hit you as you stepped out. You stumbled a few steps in the snow before a series of coughs hit you, making you double over as your lungs struggled to get in fresh air. Dizziness wrapped around you for a few moments, though Ellie’s shouting pulled you out of it after a few moments.

Someone was holding onto her as she screamed for them to let her go, which made you stagger forward a couple steps until she stopped. Ellie let the man pull her into an embrace, which made your steps slow before you stopped a safe distance from them.

If you weren’t still struggling to wrap your head around the last hour, you would have probably felt awkward lingering in the background of a private moment.

The resort was oddly quiet, outside of the wind and the faint creaking of the building that was currently burning down. The group wasn’t huge, but you figured there would be people rushing about to stop that. Something had happened, something you weren’t around to witness, but you realized that your time there was done. In that moment, you let out another dry cough, finally starting to feel like you could breathe a little easier.

The sound pulled Ellie and the man out of their moment, however, the look on the man’s face gave you pause. Clearing your throat, you raised your free hand up in a quiet show of peace. For some reason, you hadn’t found your voice again after the shouting you had done.

Everything was happening so quickly…

“It’s–It’s okay, Joel. She was with me when…” Ellie said after a few moments, still holding onto the arm of the man–Joel–as he stared you down. From the look on his face, you had a feeling that if you made a wrong move, he’d charge.

Given everything that happened, you couldn’t blame him. Still, you remained where you were, watching him carefully.

Finally, your gaze shifted toward Ellie as you cleared your throat.

“Thank you…” you said slowly, voice rough, “For saving me. I have…nothing to repay you, but…”

“Don’t worry about it,” Ellie said, sounding almost as reluctant to speak as you were.

You knew you should just nod and move on. Gather some supplies and head out again–yet, you were exhausted and had nowhere to go. Had no idea where to even start. Still, you said your thanks and you knew you should just leave before you press your luck. You had more than enough.

You remained, however, Ellie and Joel watching you in silence for a few moments as you did the same. Your legs were rooted to the spot, a heavy feeling in your gut. You were scared–more so than you had been in years. Just turn around and…

“You have nowhere else to go, do you?” Ellie asked, pulling you out of your head.

“...I definitely can’t stay here,” you replied–she was right, though, even if you didn’t want to admit it. This had been your group. Until…well.

“Come with us,” Ellie offered, making your brow furrow somewhat.

“Ellie,” Joel hissed, the warning clear in his tone.

You had an idea on what Ellie could do, but you didn’t know what to make of him. For now, you wanted to avoid pissing him off. You had enough abuse over the last couple of days.

“Just until you can find a place,” Ellie continued, meeting your gaze despite Joel’s protest. “Right?”

“I…I won’t overstay my welcome, if I can,” you said, finally relenting to the silent plea of help that you weren’t even aware you were making, “Until I find people. I would…be really grateful for that. You’ve done more than enough already.”

Ellie and Joel shared a quiet moment, something silent there but it seemed like he relented. With much reluctance, given his body language. Still, he wrapped an arm around Ellie to help lead her forward, the girl casting you a look over her shoulder with a tight grin. There was a pain in her eyes that you could easily read. It pulled at the feeling in you over this whole situation, but you had no idea what happened between her and David. Outside from the fact that he was dead.

Still, you supposed that was your queue to follow. It took a few moments before you managed to follow after them with unsteady steps.

You didn’t know how this would play out, but at the moment you were just relieved to leave.

#joel miller x reader #joel miller x you #my writing.#series: eyes wide open.

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