#i'll keep tis blog up for now.

[copperbadge]

See, the thing is, I don't think Tumblr is A/B testing.

A/B testing is for shit like "Which subject line gets a better response to a mass email." It's meant to be invisible to the consumer or end-recipient. With a massive sweeping shift in UI of a social media site, there's no point in A/B testing if you aren't actively soliciting organized feedback; it's not like the change isn't highly visible. There's no reason not to institute this change and then pop up a window asking exactly what we think. There's no reason to do it on a Wednesday and then have Support direct everyone to a blog whose only meaningful way of gathering feedback isn't open until next Monday, and who has until now basically been a PR operation.

And frankly even if they were A/B testing, who fucking asked me if I wanted to be tested on? Did they think I'd welcome being told that I'm their guinea pig?

This isn't an A/B test. It's a tolerance test. Give half the site an untenably bad UI and tell them your hands are tied and see how long it takes them to acclimate. See how long it takes them to cobble some shit together to make it tolerable so you can keep your garbage new design when everyone else inevitably gets it too. How uncomfortable can you keep them and still keep them? That's the question they're answering.

Fine, you motherfuckers win. As long as this site is still 5% less garbage than the others, most of us will stay. Where are we going to go? So don't bother testing in future. Just push your fucking code. I'll be gone as soon as I can, but for all I know that's years away. I hope that makes you feel powerful, assholes. You're curating a site based on learned helplessness. I hope that makes you feel big.

[theconstitutionisgayculture]

Indefinite hiatus

I was toying with writing up a long post about what running this blog has meant to me over the years and why I'm stepping away for the foreseeable future, but that feels too dramatic for what's really just me saying "I'm not going to be on tumblr for at least the rest of the year". So, I'll just say I'm not going to be on tumblr for at least the rest of the year.

Okay, actually I have a bunch more to say, but it'll be under the cut.

Politics sucks. And paying attention to it, even in the reduced way I've been paying attention to it over the last few years, is hard. You end up spending so much of your supposedly free time thinking about things you can't change, getting mad about things you can't change, and getting depressed when the people who can change things just keep going in the wrong direction. Even when good things happen, it's just a matter of a few days before something bad happens once again. And vice versa. It's an endless cycle of hope, despair, resignation. Rinse and repeat, and triple speed that cycle during an election year. And I'm tired of it. I'm tired of spending every other year worried about what's going to happen on one day in November. I'm tired of hearing a piece of news and automatically composing a post about it or running through 20 different responses I might give to asks I might get about it in my head.

Everyone I know who doesn't pay attention to politics (or at least doesn't run a social media page dedicated to it) seems to enjoy their live a lot more than I currently do. Which sounds way more dramatic than what's actually going on, which is mainly that I want to get to a place where I just don't care. I want the world and its problems to flow off my back instead of weighing it down. I want to stop thinking about what people on the internet might say about something I haven't even posted yet. And that can't happen while I'm tied to this blog. So I'll be staying away from it for at least the rest of the year.

I did have a good time with this blog. I've met a bunch of really awesome people, some who are sadly no longer with us (RIP Blue), and some who I think will carry on the "fight" way better than I ever did. This isn't an admission of defeat, or pessimism about the election. Even if Trump wins, and I truly think he will if we have a fair election, I still won't be back this year. But I'll still vote and I'll still be proud that my silly little tumblr blog had an impact on some people's lives. I may not have the reach of a Tucker Carlson or a Glenn Beck, but I've gotten a lot of messages from people who said they changed their minds about an issue, or even politics in general, because of things I said, and that counts for something. If you guys take anything away from me, I want it to be this: Even the smallest impact matters. It doesn't matter if you only ever reach one person and then stop, reaching that one person is enough. Changing one vote is enough. Changing one mind is enough.

To all my mutuals, you guys are the best. I truly hope you have wonderful lives and I'm sad I won't get to see your names on my dash everyday anymore. To anyone I've ever followed or reblogged from, I couldn't have had a blog without you, so thank you. Yes, even the leftiod psychos, XD. To everyone else, find your own balance and never give into despair and never listen to people who tell you not to try. Even a failed effort is still more meaningful than sitting back and mocking people for trying to improve even the smallest thing about themselves or the world around them.

I won't be logging back in after I post this, so any messages or asks you send, I won't see. I'll still be active (or as active as I ever am) in my discord, so feel free to join there if you want to. It should still be my pinned post, but if it isn't, I'll edit this with a new invite link.

And that's all I've got to say for now.

[cl0ckworkqueerness]

in the wake of the reveal of the "pills that make you green" comic's creator revealing her true colours (something I've been aware of for a while but haven't had much specifically to speak about until now), i think it's important to take a step back and look at some of her claims about transandrophobia, as well as many anti-transandrophobia (or transandrophobic) talking points, and analyze them critically without, in any way, demeaning transmisogyny as a concept. let's start with some of the things i've seen on her blog and go from there

first of all, there's a lot of talk about how activists who are vocal about transandrophobia are "derailing" conversations about transmisogyny. while i'm certain there are some legitimate examples, many of the examples i have seen that i presume she is referring to are speaking about her comics that specifically strawman the stick figure who is an allegory of a trans man or transmasculine individual.

in these comics, this stick figure is often unjustly cruel and even oppressive of the lime stick figure, an allegory for trans women or transfeminine individuals, while simultaneously whining about how they also experience oppression and should be focused on instead. this frames trans men and transmasculine individuals as loud, taking up space, oppressing transfeminine people (who are More Oppressed), and simply cannot understand that they do not face as terrible of treatment as the other.

the problem that most people, myself included, take with this is that the author seems to be living in an alternate world where trans men, somehow, are a legitimate, strong, oppressive force over trans women, and want to take up all the space in the trans community's discussion to ourselves. there are definitely people who abuse the term transandrophobia to say transmisogynistic things, without a doubt, but in my experience most of us simply want to say that we, too, experience terrible types of oppression as a result of intersectionality that a trans woman, transfeminine, or trans person who's perceived as either of those things may not experience. transandrophobia is not meant to overtake transmisogyny, it is meant to stand beside transmisogyny and further prove that different trans people can experience different types of oppression, and thus should unite against both.

another thing i've seen on the comic author's account is how the idea of androphobia is anti-feminist and comes from MRAs or something, which... uh, again, i don't know what planet you're living on, but here on earth, there are men who are discriminated against and even treated with violence because of their ties to masculinity, femininity, both, or neither. and again, it is not our problem if MRAs decide to appropriate actual, useful terms in order to spread misogyny. we should not have to keep changing our language every time a bad person uses it. if we did, we would have no language, and thus once again be silenced.

since i don't have the time or the spoons to go through everything she's ever said or reblogged on her account, i'll just go over one more thing. no, the discussion and desired visibility of transandrophobia is not some kind of psyop or massive conspiracy to kill the idea of transmisogyny. if we didn't believe in transmisogyny, we'd have no reason to believe in transandrophobia either, after all. for me, at least, talking about transandrophobia is equally as important because trans men, like myself, have been forced into silence for so long and erased from most of history. trans men weren't even well documented until much, much later in history.

additionally, i doubt this needs to be said, but if any of you are actually intentionally ignoring transmisogyny in your discussion of intersectionality, you have no place in this discussion

and finally, to the author of these comics, i doubt you're reading this, but if you are, please reconsider your hostility. framing the discussion around transandrophobia in the way you are is not only equating trans people who face detrimental oppression to the people who are trying to oppress us and force us into silence, but you too are actively advocating for the silencing and erasure of, and subsequently the lack of resources for, trans men, transmasculine individuals, trans people who are perceived as either of these things, or anyone who primarily faces transandrophobia. i don't blame you for being defensive, and i will absolutely take your side should anyone be transmisogynistic towards you or anyone else, but you don't have to drag trans men who just want to talk about our shared experiences through the mud in order to support your point of transmisogyny's danger, especially within the trans community. if you want to have a genuine, mature discussion about transandrophobia and its dangers, and transmisogyny within the trans community, i'm sure someone would be happy to discuss that with you. but with the way you're treating and talking about trans men, it is unlikely that you will take anyone up on that offer

idk man. i feel like it's important to talk about transmisogyny and transandrophobia at the same time, as well as all other forms of intersectionality. we should be turning transphobes into couches instead of whatever the hell this is

[angelic--kitty]

I found your Arlecchino posts and I’m obsessed. Way to shy to ask this with out being anonymous sooooo. Anyway can you write arlecchino x reader where the reader gets into trouble so arlecchino ties them up and teaches them a lesson. But like praise no whore or slut type stuff. I’m a sucker for arle getting onto you and still being a little bit soft though she won’t admit it (reader is absolutely a brat and arle loves it) anyway you’re writing is so goodd (can I be 🌹anon)

dom!arlecchino x sub!fem reader

warnings: smut (minors/ageless blogs dni), wlw content, bondage, praise, pussy slapping, reader kinda going into subspace

a/n: diving back into being the ceo of arlecchino once again, i suppose, haha. let's do it.

"you look rather smug for the position you're in." she comments, a slender eyebrow arched at your devilish grin despite your wrists tied behind your back.

before you can speak, she cuts you off, waving a dismissive hand. "no matter. i'll correct that."

and, oh, her tone. the way she speaks has your thighs pressing together.

she pushes you down, spreading your thighs and shoving them to your chest, effectively exposing your glistening pussy to both her and the cool air of the room.

you shiver, ready to taunt her when the sting of her palm on your clit jolts you from your thoughts. all that escapes you is a pitiful moan, jumping when her palm makes contact again.

"peruere-!" you squeal for her, much to her delight.

"such a pretty thing. it's a shame you're so disobedient." she pinches your clit, watching your feet helplessly try to kick out.

"m'sorry-!" you whine, feeling the slight sting on your sensitive clit with each sharp smack. "won't do it again-"

she keeps going, occasionally landing slaps on your thighs and ass, heat rising from your skin when she makes contact.

you would complain about the pain, though it has you embarrassingly wet, your brain slowly slipping into a fuzzy state, eager to please her.

tears pool in your eyes, her hand hesitating over your pathetically wet cunt. "is that so?" she tilts her head as you rapidly nod.

"promise! i'll be...i'll be good." you tell her, and she simply cannot deny how sweet you look now. it seemed all you needed was a little punishment after all.

she soothingly pets your pussy, kissing your forehead rather tenderly for how she treated you seconds ago. she pulls her hand away from your thighs, instead gripping your jaw.

"don't let it happen again. i much prefer sweet little things over disobedient brats." she squeezes your cheeks.

while you'd like to believe her, you both know damn well she loves putting you in your place. even if she treats you much more gently than anyone else in the world, it's enough to have you running to get back in line.

you'd do anything for her, really.

you wiggle your wrists, asking her to untie you, only to grow embarrassed when she pushes you back down. "you still misbehaved. your punishment isn't done. perhaps next time you'll think twice before behaving foolishly, hm?"

[minniesmutt]

Lee know + human x grim reaper + 34) “Strung up with a spreader bar is a good look for you.”

☾ ━━━ PAIRING: LEE KNOW X READER ☾ ━━━ PROMPT: 34 "Strung up with a spreader bar is a good look for you." ☾ ━━━ CONTENT: GRIM REAPER!LEE KNOW, HUMAN!READER, SPREADER BAR, BONDAGE, MENTIONS OD AND DEATH, FINGERING, UNPROTECTED SEX, BEGGING, TEASING, DOM!LEE KNOW, EMOTIONAL IF YOU SQUINT ☾ ━━━ WC: 0.8K ☾ ━━━ if anyone remembers that grim reaper!lee know angsty smut one-shot I wrote on jonespicy, consider this a little part two (I'll transfer that fic another day) ☾ ━━━ 18+ work!! minors and ageless/blank blogs DNI! you will be blocked, put an indicator on your blog somewhere that you are 18+ before interacting with this work/blog

     Y/n looked at the stuff on her bed. Stood up by her hook-up that was so desperate to fuck her just to go back to his ex. Fuck her plans. Now she had nothing to do. She laid back on her bed, careful not to hit the spreader bar as she groaned. She was still getting off whether some dick head showed up or not. 

     After her overdose a few months ago, she’d been trying to live life to its almost fullest. Though she always felt like something was missing. No matter what she did, or who she hung out with; nothing seemed right. She just couldn’t put a finger on what she was missing.

     With a sigh, she sat up and grabbed the bar. Turning it in her hands, and Minho watched her from his corner. He wasn’t unaware of what she was in this hotel room for. But note he felt bad because she’d been let down by another person. 

     ‘Fuck it’ he thought “Need help?” he voiced 

     Y/n perked her head up and joked around, “Hello?” she asked 

     She scanned the room again before finally seeing the man in the corner. She jumped in shock, “How did you get in here? Who are you?” she questioned

     “Came in with you, kitten.”

     It was like deja vu. A whole other life replayed in her mind. She died, Minho let her live with him instead of crossing over, the hospital staff revived her and she completely forgot everything. ”Minho…”

     “Im hurt you didn’t remember me.” He scuffed and walked closer to her 

     “Am I dying again and I’m just unaware?” she asked 

     “No. I just got tired of hiding and watching you,” He said and leaned over her

     “Can I even touch you?” Y/n asked, dropping the bar and tentatively reaching for him

     Minho grabbed her hand and kissed her wrists. “Yeah. We can.” 

     Y/n smiled and grabbed his shirt, pulling him on top of her as she laid back. Minho caught himself just before crashing into her. “I do want help,” Y/n smiled 

     Minho smiled and pressed his lips to hers. Y/n moaned into the kiss as their hands fell into a frenzy. Pulling the other’s clothes off as quickly as possible. It wasn’t long before everything was gone and on the floor. Minho grabbed her legs and pushed them up towards her chest, pulling away from the kiss. 

     Y/n whined and tried reaching for him as he grabbed the bar she tossed aside earlier. Y/n watched him attach the cuffs to her ankles and then her wrists. “Everything feels okay?” He asked

     “Yes,” Y/n confirmed. 

     Minho also grabbed the rope she brought and secured her restraints to the metal frame behind her. The reaper smiled at the handy work

     "Strung up with a spreader bar is a good look for you," He joked

     “Are you going to keep starting or are going to fucking me?” Y/n asked 

     “Someone’s bratty,” Minho scoffed as he slipped two fingers into her, pumping the digits in and out of her

     “Min,” Y/n moaned

     “Maybe I’ll keep you like this the next time you die. Does that sound nice? Keep you tied up for me to use every day, whenever I want?” 

     “Please Min. Need you to fuck me,” Y/n whined as she nodded in agreement to his teasing. 

     “Yeah? No one felt like I did?”

     “No, no one felt good,” Y/n agreed as Minho pulled his fingers out of her.

     Y/n watched as grabbed his cock and then lined himself up at her at her entrance. Both of them moaning as he pushed into her. That’s what Y/n was missing. She was missing Minho. The reaper sank deep into her, his hands resting on the backs of her thighs before he started thrusting into her. Y/n knew nothing but his name at this point. He had barely done anything to her yet he had the effect of her. She had to die once to get it then forget about him.

     “You’re not leaving me again kitten. Can’t go that long without you anymore,” Minho groaned

     “Min,” Y/n whined as his thumb rolled over her clit. Digging her head back into the pillow and bit her tongue.

     “You’re all mine,” Minho groaned as he picked up his pace. Knocking the air out of her as she tugged against the restraints.

      “‘M gonna cum,” Y/n moaned

      “Go ahead. Mark me with your cum Kitten.”

     Minho fucked her at the same pace till she was shaking as she cane on his dick. The reaper groaned as she clenched around him tight. Fuck he missed her. He wasn’t far behind either, not when she was cumming for him and no one else— not than anyone else had made her cum since she was revived.

     He buried himself into her as his seman painted her walls. Both taking a moment to come down from their highs once they had finished. Minho slowly pulled out of her much to her disapproval. Minho smiled at her and undid her restraints before laying down next to her and pulling her onto him.

     “How long can you be like this?” Y/n asked

     “Probably not much longer,” Minho sighed, “I’ll always be around though. Until it’s your time again.”

☾ ━━━━━━ M.LIST    TIP JAR

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© 2024 MINNIESMUTT. DO NOT COPY, REPUBLISH OR TRANSLATE MY WORK ANYWHERE

[imaginingmanyfandoms]

the volturi guard when their mate is missing????? can you IMAGINE felix???

i think it's time to rebrand and redesign this blog... but for now lets get back to the good stuff - volturi guard headcanons <3 also sorry it's just the boys im rusty

All characters are 18+ before the turn!!! always!!!

for all of these scenarios, you're kidnapped by a vengeful coven

ALEC:

he would be inconsolable

he would kill anyone that got in his way, and he would ensnare anyone in his dark mist that he thought would know anything at all

jane would be beside him, happy to torture info out of anyone

he would have demetri tracking you, but he wouldn't be patient enough for that

when they found you, he'd be suffering waiting for the ok from aro to wipe them out

and he would okay it because anyone willing to attack a guards mate was a problem

and he wouldn't even need any help

he would rip them limb from limb for touching you

and when he finds you tied up he'd be furious, like frothing at the mouth kind of furious

but as soon as you were in his arms again, he'd slump his shoulders and just fall into you

DEMETRI:

he wouldn't wait for any kind of back-up or clearance

when he found your room empty with no trace of you, he just had this feeling

but not just like you weren't where you were supposed to be

like you weren't where you wanted to be

and he would feel sick, like placebo nausea in that he just couldn't handle it

you were meant to be with him, by his side, under his care and he failed, he failed to keep you safe

he would be on the move, tracking you across the world if he had to

and when he found you, he'd be seeing red

anyone even in proximity of you would be held accountable

and when you were free, and he had taken you miles and miles away from where you were held

he would hold you bridal style, close to his chest, tightly in his arms

"my petal, i'm so sorry..."

if he could cry, this is when he would

when you were safe again, cooing that you loved him and you were okay

FELIX:

he knew something the wrong the second he stepped foot in your room. there was no evidence but he just knew

he would have demetri by the collar, screaming about finding you

if demetri even tried to crack any kind of joke, felix would punch cracks in the wall beside his head

and demetri would do as he's told because there would be something worse than murder in felix's eyes

even demetri would be lowkey scared when they found you

because felix would really rip them apart

and he would coddle you, get you somewhere safe, and the leave you with demetri

"stay with demetri please darling, i'll be right back."

and then he would burn that coven to the ground.

[autisticrosewilson]

Hello to the one blog I've been loving to read for the past few days :) <3

Just wanted to add a little something that I started thinking abt after reading a few of your really cool posts, I think we should also discuss abt how Bruce's argument abt killing (with Jay) are often framed with "you're not the judge, jury & the executioner" which is really telling of who he thinks can exersise this legitimately? ? ?

I think it'd be constructive to actually properly discuss this aspect of Bruce's philosophy too. Plus, we get more nuanced Bruce characterisation. (Also keeping in mind uh... comic book propaganda of the writers and DC themselves)

YES ABSOLUTELY! Like what if someone is given a death sentence by a court of law? Does Bruce still care? I'm sure most writers would tell you no because Bruce has become a cop allegory. He's a violent enforcer of the law, and he seeks to uphold the law. Which is a recent switch! Batman comics used to be more radical, but now they're being written by old white men. So it's another one of those things where you can ignore it for your PERSONAL INTERPRETATION but you can't say that it's not A Thing because it's been like this for at least a decade.

His argument would likely be that everyone deserves a fair trial, that everyone has the right to be seen in court. Something which I do think Jason would agree with because when he's being written well he's not just shooting petty criminals! Jason's stance comes in with the big players, the disgustingly rich or well connected upper class who get away with murder. This has been true since the Garzonas case, the whole point was that Felipe was virtually immune to the law, and Jason couldn't allow that.

I think what it comes down to is whether they believe in reformative justice or punitive Justice, and I can most assuredly say that Batman believes in the latter. You can argue that Bruce is an advocate of prison reform but we don't really have evidence of that. He considers himself a punishment for criminals, he considers himself an equalizer but that's not true because he just delivers criminals into a system that is fundamentally corrupt and unfair. Do you actually think a trial in GOTHAM of all places is going to look at a rich man vs a petty crook the same way? That rarely happens even in real life.

And I don't think that Bruce does what he does out of inherent malice. Bruce is a deeply empathetic person, the core of Bruce Wayne is that he cares. But that's not enough, Bruce was allowed to grow up sheltered and it gave him an intrinsic idealism. He only has a Birdseye view of what the common people go through, that is not enough to stand there and say that he understands . Because he doesn't. He literally can't. And I think this bias, certainly one projected by the writers but that's another issue, comes through the most with Jason and Steph.

As far back as Jason's Robin era - widely regarded as Bruce's peak of being a good dad - he still makes some pretty big mistakes. Because he finds this homeless kid whose family has been ripped apart by the corrupted systems, who has actively experienced the worst Gotham has to offer, and he comes to the conclusion that if he doesn't take Jason home Jason will inevitably become a criminal even after Jason explicitly says he doesn't like stealing. So he takes Jason in but he makes that position as his son synonymous with Robin. And this is where we have to talk about meta because Jason is intrinsically tied to meta narratives. I'm not sure if you saw my other posts about Robin, as a concept, but I'll summarize here.

Child sidekicks are fine, in early comics. When things were campy light hearted whodunnit mysteries with a few action sequences, when you always knew that the child hero would come out unscathed, would always live till the next issue. And so when Bruce makes Jason Robin you have this veil of suspension of disbelief. But Jason's era is where you start seeing these kids' storylines get worse. More gruesome, more violent, more cruel. They start really testing the limit of Bruce's morality.

Batman: The Cult - Robin Jason has to crawl through a pile of dead bodies and while Bruce is having a mental break this MAYBE 14 year old is trying to get them out. The Diplomats Son - Jason watches a rapist be let go, because he's powerful and his dad has money. He sees exactly the kind of damage it does to the victims, he's the one who finds Gloria Stanson. A Death in the Family - Jason is murdered. Tortured and murdered and betrayed. He's dead and he was always intended to STAY dead. And all throughout Tim's run and then into Steph's the writers retroactively change everything about who Jason was because it has to be HIS fault, because if it's not Jason's fault then it might be Bruce's. Because how can audiences see Bruce as just and good for taking in new kids after what happened to the last one?

The suspension of disbelief shatters. Because now Jason is back and he's angry. Because maybe we as readers know that Tim, and Steph, and Damian need to be Robin because Robin makes money with young readers. But you know who doesn't know that? Jason, who no doubt assumed that his survival depended on being Robin. Who was sold out because he was Robin. Who was badmouthed and disgraced the entire time he was gone by people he loved and trusted. Jason doesn't know that he's in a comic book, but I argue he knows he's in a Batman story.

If not from his first appearance then definitely in recent ones. What can you do besides lay down and forgive and keep coming back when you know that the universe revolves around one man? How do you get rid of the terror and anger at realizing that you can never leave, that no matter how much he hurts you the universe will bend itself in half so that he is still just and right? When you realize that the love that has defined you is a disease rooted so deeply that to rip it out would be to kill yourself, that you can't even stay dead because Bruce does not want you to be.

And they couldn't even stick to Jason being the problem! Because then Steph dies. And all I could think was "Of course she did. She's an East End girl whose been compared to Jason constantly. Or a version of him. Of course she would be tortured to death trying to get Bruce's approval." Here we are, history has literally repeated itself, and...Tim is Robin again. Why? Because this is a comic book, and Batman needs Robin.

But what do you think everyone in-universe thinks? What do you think that looks like? How can you possibly still call Bruce a good parent under these circumstances? Bruce calls Robin a blessing, a gift, a necessity. He relies on Robin, physically to watch his back and emotionally to keep him in line. He trains them, he molds them, he loves them.

But sometimes love just isn't enough and the good Robin does shouldn't negate the harm they get in the process. Robin then becomes this horrible force of change, you get it and you know that this has doomed you, one way or another. Because Bruce believes that suffering is noble, that pain can reform people. It's baked into his character. Even if he doesn't intend to hurt his kids, it's not like we haven't seen him justify it to himself and others. "I love you, I did this for your own good, I thought I could help you, it was your fault I did that, it won't happen again, I lost control of myself but only this once, we can be a family again if you just come home." It reads an awful lot like an abuser trying to convince you or himself that he's not in the wrong.

This was longer than I intended it to be, but I guess my main point is that Bruce and Batman can't ever be fully separated. Something that I think his relationship with Cass shows us he's aware of but chooses to ignore. We know that Batman is dangerous, that he wouldn't hesitate to hurt his kids, we saw that with Zurr-Batman (WHO BRUCE ADMITTED WAS A FACET OF HIMSELF YOU CAN'T SAY IT WASN'T HIM BECAUSE HE HIMSELF SAID THAT IT WAS). So why try and act like it's this impossible out of character thing for Bruce to be harmful? For his kids to feel angry and hurt about his actions or for their feelings to be as or more valid than Bruce's. Batman has and will hurt his kids and Bruce will try to rationalize it all away because he loves them, he would never want to hurt them. And the narrative will tell us that Bruce is right, that this is good and fair and just, that Bruce's perspective is the correct one, that his kids deserve this, because this is a comic book and outrage sells. Or they'll retcon it and pretend it never happened. Or they'll just never bring it up again. Or Bruce will be forgiven regardless just to hammer home how good and right he is.

Because this is a comic book about Batman, and Batman is a hero, he is our protagonist, and so he is reliable and we should never doubt him, or call him out, or be mad at him. Naturally.

[rewh0re]

A TANGLED MESS

Kiyoomi hates it when people touch his hair but when it's you, he hates it a little less.

Ft. : sakusa kiyoomi

This is a repost from my old blog so if you've read this before, it was me. But, it is my first post in this blog so pls be a bit kind also reblogs + feedbacks r appreciated!!

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"It's already been around half an hour y/n," kiyoomi grumbled.

He sat with his back against the bed and you sat on the bed, behind him, keeping him locked in his spot with your legs.

"But omi your hair is soft and you just washed it. It's extra soft!" You continued ruffling his hair, picking out sections and crossing them over one another, making a tangled mess.

"You are tangling it," he whined, trying to stop your hands.

"Oh! Oh! Wait here!" You got up from your previous position and ran to the vanity, grabbing a comb and looking frantically for something in your drawer.

"Ugh why can't I find them when I need them," you whined and kiyoomi sighed at that.

"What are you planning?" He leaned back on his palms, smiling a bit at your almsot stressed out self.

"Found it!" Not answering his question, you ran towards him with a box of hair ties.

"Now sit still for me okay?" And how could he ever say no to that radiant smile of yours. So he sighed and let out a chuckle.

"Incorrigible..." He closed his eyes and smiled as he felt the comb against his scalp.

"Shhh. I'm braiding your hair now," you left a small kiss on his cheek from the back and he hummed.

He felt you taking sections and crossing them, and then tying the little braid with a hair tie. He felt happy at that moment, it felt like where he was meant to be. He realised then that he was meant to be with you. He realised that he loved you so much that if he ever let that smile of yours go, he'd go absolutely insane. He realised that you were the only one he allowed to touch his hair and he remembers the time he had thrashed Atsumu when he tried to pat kiyoomi's head.

Meian always used to say that Sakusa Kiyoomi is, what was the term again? Ah, whipped yes. He was a whipped man for you. If one told him to remember the last time he felt the way he felt about you, he'd have no memory of it because for him, it was always you and he hopes that it'll last forever. He might whine a little when you play with his hair or hug him suddenly from behind, shocking him but he himself along with you knows, that it's exactly what he craves.

"There there. All done. Ah wait here, I'll bring the hand mirror," and when you brought the little mirror and he saw the current state of his hair, he couldn't help but laugh. Braids were sticking out from random direction and strands of messy hair too.

Was his hair a total tangled mess? Yes. Would he probably wake up with knots that would take him several hours to untagle? Also yes. But he couldn't bring himself to care because it made you happy and maybe the knots were worth it if he saw you flash him that sweet smile of yours.

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[morbethgames]

Halloween Special, Current Projects, New Patreon Content

I am so sorry about the radio silence as of late. Between the stuff earlier this week (yes, that stuff), dealing with deaths of people, and university; I've been very busy and mentally drained. However, the good news is, you can play the mini game of The Bureau, "Witchy Woman" right now! The link is at the bottom of this post! Eventually I'll integrate it into the main game, or put it out as potential free DLC or something, but for now there are no stats and it's not tied to choices from the base game.

Tonight is a special case. The MCT has been called in as a favor after finishing up our most recent case. A friend of Kris's reached out, and the local P.D. has let the MCT take the lead on this one. A house party in the beginning of October up in Maine has turned sour. A party-goer has been reported deceased.

We just finished a job, but in this line of work, there's always another case to solve. So here I am, approaching the residence with my team, about to find out exactly what happened on this cold, damp night.

Because it's not part of a bigger game or story, and the only pacing I had to worry about was that of the investigation, this is much more freeflow than other investigations in the main story. Go back and forth between the crime scene, the perimeter of the house, interrogations, and more! The more you discover evidence, the more new options will unlock in conversations, and you have an evidence log in the stats section that updates every time you find out something relevant to the case.

I'm only promoting this now, even though it's been done for a couple of weeks, because it was part of a Jam and I didn't think it would be fair if I got votes from a community built over a few years when others in the Jam would not have had that same benefit. I wanted it to be an even playing field, even if it meant holding out for a bit. So, I apologize for making you all wait.

There are still things I'd like to do for this game, things I'll end up adding, but it is at the very least ready to play. It's 40k words, so have at it!

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Right, next up, something I'd like to announce. I'm working on a serialized fiction that I'm (hopefully) planning to turn into a book. The first 3 chapters are going to be posted for free, both here on my blog and on my Patreon, though not quite yet. Chapters after that will be released on Patreon for the people who pay the $5 tier.

I'll be honest, it has been extremely cathartic to go from writing an IF where the chapters are all pretty much the length of a book themselves, to writing an actual book where a chapter is about 4k words. It's a very nice breath of fresh air, and it by no means, entails that I will stop working on Bureau. In fact, it may even help speed up rate of production, funnily enough. Having something to keep my mind turning while having writer's block about a scene in the IF will help me constantly generate ideas, and that's really nice to think about.

A small college town is rocked by a horrific murder. In wake of the events, a couple of friends begin investigating this personal tragedy, determined to get to the bottom of what happened at the Scribe City college. The lesson is quickly thrust upon them that loss leads to pain, but pain is temporary, and loss can be forever. So what comes after the pain? They need to explore that journey together, and in the process, navigate the complicated things feelings that have started to bloom.

The book (serialized fiction for now) , called Love In Stasis, is going to be a 'WLW romance small town college murder mystery'. You will explore the relationships that these characters have and continue to form, and just how messy things get when tragedy sparks love. I have almost 25k words done for it, about six and a half chapters, and I'm going to try to get 50k words done with it by the end of the month. A writing challenge that's totally not tied to the name of any organizations.

If this works out, I could reward patrons with static fiction while not having to worry about providing everyone with constant things tied to the IF itself, and I could work on The Bureau at a pace I'm very comfortable with.

I'm still learning as a writer. I'm still learning new things I like, and how I like to produce content. All I know is that I like producing art in the form of writing, and I most certainly will not stop doing that anytime soon, and now that the Halloween Special is done, I will be getting back to the base game.

Which will start with a complete recoding of the gender variables. I've already started on that process, so no more multiple versions of each chapter. One version. One set of gender variables. Much more condensed coding and script. So, people out there who said that wasn't going to change, I just have to say what I'd said all along. My coding was indeed bad. However I will also say something else I've said all along. I do take criticism.

That being said I'm never using multi-replace and you can't make me. I like being able to read what I'm writing.

More to come in the near future.

Stay Brilliant,

-Vi

https://cogdemos.ink/play/viisbae/the-bureau-halloween-special-witchy-woman

Patreon Link

[wheels-of-despair]

The Sacrifice Pairing: Eddie Munson x You Summary: Evil Woman makes an offering to the Prince of Darkness. Contains: A gift fit for a god, a little bit of bondage, some sticky substances, biting, tongue action, two ridiculous freaks in love. Words: 1k

Youths and ageless blogs who interact with this fic will be blocked.

"Prince of Darkness, thine offering is ready."

"Please," Eddie begs. You shift on your knees, glaring down at him in warning. He shuts his mouth and squirms under your stern gaze, a slight sheen of sweat glimmering on his bare body in the light of the flickering candles. He's beautiful. He's helpless. He's tied spread-eagled to the bedposts.

"Silence, sacrifice," you spit, raising your weapon in the air and preparing to strike.

A slight movement from below catches your eye. He's awfully hard for a person who's about to be sacrificed, but hey, they don't call Eddie Munson a Satanic Freak for nothing.

"But I've been a good boy," he pouts. A bead of precum escapes from his tip, and you have to resist the urge to bend down and lick it off.

"Then why doth lies spout so easily from thine cakehole?" you ask, looking down at him with a quirked eyebrow.

Eddie snorts, and you scare the smirk off his face with a glare. You shake your weapon threateningly without breaking eye contact, enjoying watching his eyes widen in anticipation. He licks his lips.

Enough.

You bring the metal downward, quickly, and Eddie scrunches his eyes shut and stiffens.

You stop just before you make contact with his skin and press the nozzle at an angle. A gurgling sound fills the room, making Eddie's eyes fly open. When the cool whipped cream flies out of the can and makes contact with his hot chest, he yelps in surprise and tugs at his restraints. You reach out with your free hand and find his forehead, pushing him back down on the bed so you can draw the whipped cream bat on his chest without him ruining it by moving.

When your work is complete, you set the can aside and look upward. You raise your arms to the ceiling and close your eyes.

"In the name of all that is sick and twisted, I sacrifice thee, Edward Munson!" You pause for a few seconds. "Lord Ozzy, Devourer of Bats, come claim thine prize!" You wait a beat and open one eye. "Anytime now, Prince of Darkness!" Nothing. You open both eyes, drop your arms to your sides, and sigh in defeat. "Fine, I guess I'll keep him."

Eddie lies still, waiting for you to make the next move. He doesn't really have much of a choice.

Your attack is sudden. He barely has time to flinch when you pounce, leaning over to lick the whipped cream off of him, starting with the tip of a wing. By the time you get to his nipple, he's writhing so much that you have to hold him down; one hand on his neck, one just shy of his happy trail. Next time you'll have to tie him tighter.

"Stop," you warn between licks, "moving."

"Can't," he pants.

You growl and continue your trail across his chest, licking off the sugary bat as you go. When you reach his other nipple, you circle it with your tongue before giving it a bite. Eddie tenses. A warm drop splashes on your hand. You tug at his nipple with your teeth, and he releases the rest of his load with moans sweeter than the whipped cream you've just licked off of him.

When his body relaxes, you rise to your knees and look down at him. He stares up at you with a lazy grin and half-lidded eyes.

"Pathetic," you smile, wiping the back of your hand and the drops on his stomach with the t-shirt you'd stripped off of him before tying him up. "Worst sacrifice ever. Way too eager. Knew I should've hunted down a virgin… but they're just so damn hard to catch, y'know?"

Eddie chuckles sleepily, and you toss the shirt aside.

"Here," you say, reaching over to scoop up the last of the whipped cream with your finger. "Clean yourself up." You bring your finger to his mouth. He eagerly parts his lips to suck the cream off, eyes glimmering wickedly in the candlelight the entire time.

"Look at you," you admire, extracting your wet fingers to trace his jawline. "You're so fucking pretty like this, I'm never gonna untie you. I'm gonna keep you right here forever."

"Okay," Eddie whispers, nuzzling his cheek into your hand. You cup his face, then lean down to kiss him. You're not sure if it's the whipped cream still on his tongue or just him that's overloading your senses with sweetness.

Oh. Right. Whipped cream. You break the kiss to pick up the can and give it a shake.

"We should probably finish this off," you sigh. "Not much left. Not even worth walking back to the fridge for."

Eddie's eyes flick from you to the can. He licks his lips.

"What do you think we should do with it?" you ask deviously.

As if on cue, his cock magically twitches to life again.

"It's like you read my mind," you grin, reaching down to help him reach his full potential. When he's rock-hard and dripping again, you reach for the can and give it a final shake. "Brace yourself," you warn with a smirk.

Eddie moans sinfully when you begin to spray the cool cream around his raging erection. There's just enough left to cover him. He flinches when the can begins to hiss, empty at last. You set it aside and admire the cream-coated mountain of cock in front of you.

"I'm glad the metal gods weren't in the mood for a sacrifice tonight," you grin, tilting your head to look at Eddie's eyes, black and shining in the flickering light of the candles. "Because this is all mine."

And then you take the offering for yourself.

[jasntodds]

Penance [6]

Pairing: Jason Todd x Fem!Powered!Reader

Words: 12,153

Chapter Warnings: Swearing, a little bit of angst, fluff, mentions of death, canon violence

Summary: ❝Thesus: Stop. Give me your hand. I am your friend. Herakles: I fear to stain your clothes with blood. Thesus: Stain them. I don’t care.❞

It’s been a month and a half since Crane’s reign of terror was stopped, leaving Gotham to finally return to normal. But, what is normal? After everything Jason and you have been through, it seems normal might be some unobtainable dream state. But that’s not going to stop either of you from trying and maybe, you’ll get lucky in the end. At the end of it, the two of you have suffered enough, right?

Right?

A/N: We're getting into a little bit more fluff for a bit after this!! lol You can add yourself to the tag list below, ask me to be tagged, or you can follow my library blog @jasntoddslibrary  and turn on notifications if you prefer that!! I love feedback, I swear it keeps me posting on a weekly basis 😭

series masterlist | masterlist | tag list

You're on your side facing Jason as your hand laces through his white streak of hair. Jason's eyes look up, watching the strands fall back onto his forehead before he scrucnhes his nose at you and takes your hand in his. His fingers interlace with yours before he kisses the top of your hand.

He thinks of what life could have been like had he hadn't gone to Crane. It's a bit funny because Jason didn't think too much about a life after the manor. Not far into the future but it was always looked at as more of a backup plan. Bruce would inevitably get tired of him and Jason would need a plan to survive. His plans were never anything more than survival-based. But, he has his hand in yours and you're giving him this look that makes him want to melt into his sheets. And he thinks about what it could be like now if you can keep this up, talk it out eventually.

You let him think about a possible future that is not survival-based. Instead, he thinks about fixing up the place and you helping in exchange for some food -- which you would have done anyway. And you'd bring him food on your nights off and he'd bring you food. You'd be a team again. He thinks about being able to come home to you every single night and that very thought makes him feel alive again.

You smile softly at him while Jason finds a yawn fighting its way to the surface.

"Sleep." You whisper to him as your eyes look over his face. "I'll be here when you wake up."

"You sure?" Jason asks, his voice already drenched with sleep.

He doesn't want to sleep. He rarely ever wants to sleep but tonight it's because tomorrow will come and he has no clue where you will stand in the morning light. He just wants to be here but sleep is calling and it always came so easy with you beside him.

You nod your head. "You still get nightmares?" You ask softly. "Especially after what happened tonight?" Jason's eyes dodge to your hands before he nods and looks back to you. "Get some sleep then, Jay." You press a kiss to his forehead. "I promise I'll be here when you wake up. And if you have a nightmare, I'll wake you up, promise."

"Thanks." Jason says softly, wrapping his arm around you and pulling you into him.

Jason falls asleep pretty quickly so after half an hour, you slither out of his grasp and get out of bed. You kind of just left Tim so you want to check on him. But, you won't just leave Jason high and dry. You take his phone and call him on Facetime with yours. You prop his phone up to overlook his bed just so you can keep an eye on him. If you know anything about Jason's sleeping patterns, it's that he will have some sort of nightmare tonight and you'll run right back here.

You make your way back to Jason's training room where you find Tim seated at the table. Tim is facing the board where Jason has some of the equations for Shimmer's heist written. He seems to be in thought but you interrupt anyway.

"Hey." You greet with a half-smile.

"Hey." Tim greets, his smile warm.

"What're you doing?" You ask as you take a seat next to him and set your phone up to lean against a stack of books Jason has on the table so you can see your screen. Tim looks over his shoulder, watching you and you raise a brow. He knows for sure you and Jason are just weird.

"Thinking how I'm gonna get that guy." Tim lets out a sigh.

You nod softly. "You'll get him, we'll help." You offer him a bit of reassurance.

"Thanks, I appreciate it." Tim shakes his head before he turns to face the table. He points at your screen. "What's that about?"

You let out a sigh with the shake of your head, seeing Jason perfectly still on his bed. "If you tell anyone, I will kill you." You threaten and something about it almost makes Tim think you might be serious.

If it were anyone else, you would never admit to anything. If it were almost anyone else, you would have just stayed with Jason but it's Tim. And Tim is the new Robin. Being a vigilante is cool and all, real rewarding and Tim can see the physical scars. He literally died. You know he understands the weight and the consequences but he has not seen the emotional and mental side of being a vigilante. Of being Robin. Maybe he needs to know in order to be prepared so he can reach out for help.

"I won't." Tim assures you.

"I'm only telling you this because you're the new Robin and I think it's important that you know some of that shit that will come with it. I don't expect it to change your mind or anything like that. I just want you to be prepared because Dick wasn't and Jason wasn't." You explain while Tim's face contorts into worry. "He's having a bad night and he has nightmares from everything that's happened, even before he died. It's rough, ya know? So, uh, wanted to check on you but I promised him I'd be there when he woke up. If he has a nightmare, I gotta be there." You shrug a shoulder. "So, I called myself on FaceTime."

Tim lets out a soft laugh. "What are you gonna do when he notices the call?" Tim asks.

"I'm gonna delete the call log, of course." You let out a laugh. "He doesn't need to know."

Tim's smile falls and he'd have never guessed Jason was having a difficult time. Tim doesn't know him well but Jason seems okay to him. "Is it that bad?"

You shrug because honestly...you don't know. You just started talking again. You hate that you don't know. "Guess so." You finally answer. "Uh, with, uh, not talking...I-I don't know." Your brows pull together. "I mean, he died and was thrown into Red Hood and Scarecrow. It was probably terrifying. I'm sure he's processing it but it's been a while." You pull in a breath as you tug the sleeves of your hoodie over your hands.

"I'm sorry you guys haven't talked." Tim says quietly.

"Yeah..." You swallow thickly. "Look, Tim, you're gonna be a great Robin." You offer him a sad smile. "But, I'm telling you this because you're my friend and I saw Dick before he found Nightmare and I saw Jason as Robin and after. Don't let becoming Robin take over your life. You are Tim Drake first. It'll destroy you and your life if you let it consume you. It's awesome and it's cool but be careful."

"It's kind of the coolest thing though. I wanted to be Robin and I chose it." Tim explains. "I'll be fine." Tim says it with confidence and it feels like you're being stabbed.

"You will be. I'm just saying. You gotta let it go sometimes." You nod softly. "Jason let it become this...part of him and without it, he felt like he wasn't anything. Part of that is always going to be on Bruce. And part of that is just...Jason. But...it got him killed so I just...you're gonna be great but don't let it be everything because it'll destroy you." You suck in a breath before you glance to your phone.

He's not going to be Jason. He's learned from watching Dick and Jason and he won't be them. He respects them both and he looks up to them but going after the Joker alone was a horrible decision. It was reckless, thoughtless. Tim won't do that. But, his heart aches for you knowing you're only warning him because of your point of view. Now, he understands what Jason meant by you having a bad opinion of Robin. Robin to you is covered in blood.

Tim nods with understanding. "I won't." Tim promises you. "Can't believe he was really killed." Tim shakes his head softly. "He was Robin, I mean." Tim pauses for a second. "And then Dick." He shakes his head.

"Yeah, me either." You let out a sigh before you move your hair over your shoulder, still damp from the shower.

"Think he'll be okay? Honestly." Tim asks.

"Yeah." You suck in a deep breath. "He'll be okay one day but until then, I'll be here looking after him just to make sure." You regret not being here for him before.

You know Jason has had Bruce. You're still not thrilled with him but...Jason always looked up to him and it's not really your business. You know Jason has Gar and Molly and Dick to talk to. But, you regret not being one of the people he could lean on. You know it's for the best because you can't balance your own trauma and his all the time and he understands. But, you regret it anyway.

"Can I ask you something?" Tim asks bluntly.

"Sure?" You raise a brow at him.

"What's going on with you guys?" Tim questions, gaining the smallest smile that almost turns a little cheeky. You shake your head at him once before your brows tug together. "I'm just asking...you two seem..." Tim pauses, eyes looking to the ceiling and then back to you. "Normal?"

You let out a snort before it turns into a groan. "Yeah...feels kind of normal in a way. I don't know." You shrug. "Thought time would, uh, fix it, I guess. So, we're just...trying to be friends now." You can't help but feel like those words don't seem quite right.

"Oh? Just friends?" Tim mocks you as he glances to your phone.

"Yes." You groan. "It's a thing, I don't know. He's still sorting his shit out, clearly." You blink at Tim. "And so am I...and I'm...a little bit still mad at him and myself so..." You suck in a breath. "Until I can get the fuck over it, friends."

It's easier to tell Tim because he has no loyalty to Jason. Tim doesn't even really know him. Telling Molly almost feels like you're dragging her into your drama and that's not fair. Molly is both of your friends and you've both put her in the middle enough. The same goes for Gar. It feels like you'd be putting Gar in the middle and he'll say he understands but it wasn't really Jason. That doesn't make any of it better.

"What're you mad at him for?" Tim asks.

"Fucking all of it." You let out a scoff as you shrug your shoulders. "We were supposed to be a team and he didn't tell me any of it. I fucking get it, right? Because if he told me, I'd talk him out of it or I'd join him. Or it'd be him confirming to himself that he's not good enough or something. Like I fucking get why he didn't tell me. And I know he did not go out and die on purpose but I'm still so mad because..." You grind your teeth."It was fucking stupid." You huff. "I mean he's smart as hell and...then he just...did that. Like did he not learn from Deathstroke and Dr. Light how this ends?" You can feel the burning start behind your eyes while you bite it back. "It was selfish of him to go off on his own knowing what could happen." You shake your head.

"I don't think he meant for it to be selfish though." Tim offers. "He did know what he was doing." Tim tries his best to offer something in response. "It was the Joker, greater good kind of thing."

"The Joker was not greater good. He did it to prove a point to Bruce." You bite back because you'd love if that were Jason's motive but you know it wasn't. It was always about Bruce and Dick. "I know." You let out a bitter laugh. "I know he wasn't doing it to be selfish which is why I feel guilty for being mad. I know he didn't mean to be selfish or leave me behind or hurt me or die or hurt anyone. I know. But that doesn't make it hurt any less." You roll your eyes. "I'm not...like...furious just...mad sometimes because it still hurts." You confess softly while your eyes go back to your phone.

You forgive him. Every day you forgive him. It's not all that. It's just that it hurts. It hurts thinking about everything that happened. You're the one that ends up feeling selfish, as if this is not your trauma to grieve over because he's alive. It feels like it belongs to Jason and it's not your place so then you feel more guilty and it turns to anger. You have so much hurt and you have no idea where to put it.

"Do think you can forgive him then?" Tim asks. "I mean, he did try to kill like all of you and...everything." Tim clears his throat. "He seems like he's been trying to come back from that."

"I do." You answer simply. "I forgave the second it all happened because Jason Todd is never malicious unwarranted. He's kind and has a heart of gold. It just hurts. It's the realization that what we do is dangerous. We go out every night and we intentionally put ourselves in front of bullets and bombs and knives. And it fucking hurts knowing one of us will not come home one day. And I'm so fucking mad at him for dying. Even if that's not fair to him. So, I forgive him. It just hurts." You shake your head. "So, I chose space."

"What's worse then?" Tim asks. "Thinking one of you won't make it out one day and not talking or actually spending your time together and working it out?" He asks it on purpose because your reason, to him, sounds like a load of bullshit.

Your eyes narrow slightly at him. "I know." You groan. "I know."

"So, instead of telling me this shit that contradicts itself over and over, why didn't you call him? Why are you sitting here with me and not with him?" Tim shakes his head and cuts you off before you can answer. "You were all upset that day at Excellent Gotham because he wasn't answering his phone. It just sounds like a waste of time to me." Tim's voice grows a little bitter as he glances to your phone.

You know damn well part of Tim's impatience is Bernard. Tim's boyfriend is in a coma meanwhile Jason got brought back to life and the two of you chose not to talk despite it all. It does seem very unfair.

"Sorry." You say quietly. "We're, uh...we'll figure it out. There's no way I could go back to not talking to him." You nod at Tim softly. "I'm sorry about Bernard."

"I hope you guys figure it out soon. Everyone agrees, too, by the way." Tim lets out a soft chuckle earning a subtle smile from you. "Just...I wish I had even one extra day with Bernard if we can't figure it out and I don't think I need to be telling you that."

It is really stupid. You know that and you have a feeling Jason does, too. One day just turns into forty-five. Time keeps moving even when it feels like your own world has stopped completely.

"Yeah." You let out a soft sigh.

"How do you deal with this?" Tim questions. "Seeing him like this and getting hurt? I keep thinking about Bernard, worried about him all the time and not knowing what to do. It's hard seeing him like that and...I know he's freaked about me out there."

Seeing each other hurt is arguably the hardest part. There's never anything either one of you can do about it. But, that's just part of the job. You think it's easier for you because even if you think you'd undo it all if given the chance, you still put on the suit every night, too. It's a choice today and you do it anyway. The point is that you choose Jason and he chooses you. Everything in between doesn't really matter at the end of the day and that includes seeing each other hurt and being completely helpless.

"I choose him and he chooses me." You state as if the answer were obvious.

"What does that mean?"

"I mean we choose each other. I am here because I choose him and he'd have kicked me out a long time ago if he didn't choose me, too. Seeing someone you care about hurt all the time fucking sucks. It hurts and you're worried but it's something that they do. It means something to them so even though it sucks, you choose them. Choosing them means choosing the pain that tags along with it." You explain simply. "I know that's....ironic given our current state but, uh, that's the answer. I still choose him even when he is being an asshole." You say but there's a fond smile coming to your lips. "Even when he's training himself into the ground. And I know he chooses me. We choose each other and that makes it easier."

"I choose Bernard but I don't know if he's going to choose me after this." Tim confesses as you watch the defeat wash over his face. "I think it might get too hard for him."

"He knows you're a Titan and he does know what comes along with the whole vigilante thing." You offer with kindness. "I think he knows what he's getting into." You let out a soft laugh. "And it's gonna be hard." You widen your eyes at him. "You'll come home covered in blood and bruises one day and he'll clean you up but even if he brushes it off, you'll be able to tell he's worried about you."

"He didn't think I was ready."

"You weren't." You chortle. "You're lucky we found you. You'd be dead again if not." You nod your head.

"I'm not that bad." Tim groans.

"I could disarm you in less than five seconds and Jason could kill you in under one." You deadpan.

"Okay maybe I need a little help." Tim chuckles softly.

"You'll figure it out and Bernard sounds great anyway. It'll be hard for both of you but like...it's also the easiest thing I've ever done. So, you'll figure it out." You assure him.

"Yeah..." Tim lets out a sigh. "He is pretty great."

"Bring him to Gotham when you fix him. I'd love to meet him." You smile widely.

"Please, don't hurt him." Tim blinks at you.

"I won't." You cackle. "Unless he's actually like a shit person then I'll be obligated." You tease Tim.

"Thanks." Tim rolls his eyes back. "You should get back to Jason. I'm fine. Thanks for checking on me and talking." Tim nods his head a few times as he gestures towards your phone.

"Yeah." You sigh before you get to your feet, grabbing your phone. "Thanks for the talk, too, by the way." You offer him a gentle smile. "Get some sleep, Tim. Got more training and shit to do tomorrow." You scrunch your nose as you head for the door.

"Goodnight." Tim nods softly at you.

"Goodnight, Tim."

Jason wakes up early in the morning, the sun peaking through the blinds of his bedroom. His arm is wrapped around your shoulders as your head is rested on his chest. A tender smile pulls at his lips and he's shocked he didn't have a nightmare. He swears, this time, it's because you were here. Despite his hatred for being exposed, you have always made him feel more comfortable. Jason is capable of taking care of himself and he's proven that time and time again but when he's alone, when he's with others, he doesn't feel safe.

The first thing Jason does whenever encountering another person, even just walking past them on a street, is look for a weapon of some sort. Jason knows every entrance and exit of every building he's ever going into with a thought-out escape plan and a backup plan just in case. He doesn't like his back to windows or doors, hates turning his back to other people. Being killed has skyrocketed his paranoia and that seeps into his dreams and his sleep. But, with you, he doesn't feel that sense of paranoia.

You're always on guard, too. Jason's always noticed it. You sit at the far booth at Excellent Gotham because you don't like people sitting behind you. You always kept two knives in your nightstand drawer and hid a few around the room Jason is sure you don't realize he knew about. Something about you always being on guard, makes him not feel so alone in it. Different experiences but same responses. Jason can handle himself just fine but with you around, he knows you'd come between him and anything and everything that ever even looked at him funny. He hates that part but it does make him feel safer. Two against one. Unbeatable force. Just him and you.

You stir awake slowly. Whenever you're worried about him because he's having a hard night, you don't sleep as heavy. You're always on guard for him. Your eyes peek open before you look up to him. He gives you this awkward smile that makes your stomach twist.

"Morning." Jason's morning voice hits your ears and you want him to talk forever.

"Morning." You echo.

"Thanks for staying." Jasn's voice is quiet as his fingers trace lightly over your t-shirt-covered shoulder.

You hum softly, a tender smile tugging at your lips. Your eyes close as you snuggle closer to his chest. "I'll always stay if you ask."

Jason pulls you closer to him and he almost kisses the top of your head but that's not his place. The reality is that he knows last night was probably a one-time thing. You can't go from not speaking to suddenly fixing it all in one night. It just doesn't work that way and as much as he hates the whole talking thing, there's a lot you would have to talk about beforehand. He worries that talk would change your mind if you wanted this to go somewhere. So, he just holds you close to him and lives in this moment, cherishing it for all it's worth.

Your thumb runs over his side softly as you process your conversation with Tim from the night before. There's a lot you left out in the conversation. It's not as easy as just blurting out that you love him and it's the easiest thing you've ever done. Things are complicated now. Everything is tangled in hurt. There was something so special about the night before with Jason and it felt like it should. Just him and you, there for each other no matter what. You think it may have healed a part of your soul. Molly asked if you were done punishing yourself and you are not but...maybe it can be a start because for some reason, he forgives you.

"I'm sorry." You whisper.

Jason's brows pull together as he looks down to you. "For what?"

"Everything." You say, making sure to not look up to him.

"I don't..." Jason pauses. "What do you mean?" Jason questions.

"Stuff with Crane, not calling."

"It's okay." Jason says immediately, not sure what you're so sorry for when it comes to Crane. "Not really your fault."

You finally look up to him. "I wasn't all that right though." You admit. "I hurt you and I just...I'm sorry, Jay."

"It's okay." Jason assures you.

In Jason's mind, you don't have anything to apologize for. Everything you did, you did for him. You did it to protect him, to help him. If it weren't for Jason's decisions, none of it would have happened. He hopes you aren't beating yourself up too much over this. You don't deserve it.

"We'll figure it out, right?" You ask, making sure you're on the same page without having to ask anything else.

Jason nods with a smile. "Yeah, we usually do."

You give him a tender smile. "Good, cause, uh, it'd be nice to get...back to something." You pull in a breath and you watch as Jason's face relaxes.

"Would be." Jason offers you grin. "You and me?"

"You and me." You beam back at him before Jason pulls you into him once more.

Jason chuckles softly. "Well, we should probably get up then." Jason states. "Got a plan for the day."

"Which is?" You ask without making an attempt to get up.

"Let the group find me." Jason states casually.

Your eyes close for a second before you push off of his chest to sit all the way up. You blink at him a few times, waiting and hoping for the punchline to leave his mouth. Unfortunately, Jason just blinks back at you.

"That sounds fucking stupid." You scoff, almost certain he's lost his mind again.

"Thank you." Jason quips back. "We throw Tim to the wolves, watch from the shadows." Jason says it so casually as if this is something he does all the time.

"Uh-huh." You nod your head. "And hope he improved?"

"You know he has." Jason quips back. "We train a bit, get ready to patrol again, and kind of set him up to work on his own here before we leave. He's gotta learn to do it on his own before we send him back and he's gonna go back tomorrow." Jason explains his side as he sits up, resting his hands behind him.

"No, yeah, no I agree." You nod. You hate the idea, especially since Jason is already paranoid. Letting Shimmer's gang find him sets off a major red flag but you figure you'll go along with it for now. "Alright, follow your lead."

The two of you get up and get dressed before you head down to the training room where you find Tim, you starting to wonder if he ever sleeps. Though, if he doesn't, you can't say you blame him. Worrying can be a bit tiring but it has a habit of keeping people wide awake. The three of you get your breakfast going, this time just a few bowls of cereal with coffee. Once everyone is done with your food, the three of you get ready for training.

You start how you did before, Jason taking the first round which naturally led Tim to get hit in the face and knocked down more than a few times but Tim always gets right back up. You take the second turn and something similar happens but Tim is able to stay on his feet longer and he's able to block more. He's improving and quickly.

After a few rounds of sparing, Jason gets Tim connected to some weights to try and tug them while he tries to reach Jason. Tim ends up falling backwards while Jason and you laugh and then you take a turn. You work on weapon work for another hour after that, split between his staff and knife/blade throwing. Tim much prefers his staff but he does as told and his aim really isn't bad. Once you're done there, you go back to sparring for another hour, this time, the three of you against each other.

Jason attacks Tim first as you go for Jason and then once Tim fends off Jason, he goes for you. The three of you split your time trying to get the others down. Tim finds his footing a bit better this time, choosing to focus most of his attention on you at first. He only uses defence against Jason figuring you aren't a better fighter, you'll be easier to get down even with your clairvoyance. Tim's been mentally taking notes of everything Jason does in order to beat you and he applies to his fighting. It takes Tim a little while but he's able to grab your arm just as you come for him and he flips you onto the ground. He's back on his feet in seconds before Jason can make his move.

You move yourself to the side and you watch, happy with your friend. You easily could have gotten back up, you could have turned the tables on him but the point is that he got you down and now he just needs to get there with Jason. And then Jason gets Tim down and offers Tim a hand. Jason being Jason, doesn't let go of Tim's hand once Tim is on his feet. Instead, Jason twists Tim's arm behind his back and Tim lets out a yell before Tim punches Jason in the face, sending Jason's head back and loosening his grip just enough for Tim to get free. Tim twists Jason's arm behind his back and just as Jason goes to elbow him in the face, Tim blocks him and flips Jason onto his back. Before Tim can land the lasting punch, Jason throws Tim off to the side and gets to his knee. The two of them match their positions, breathing heavily while you clap softly.

"Look at you, Tim!" You cheer.

Jason looks behind Tim to you and offers you a gentle glare before he gets to his feet, Tim following immediately, unsure if they're still sparring. "Good." Jason nods at him with sincerity. "Now that you're warmed up, suit up and meet us downstairs." Jason states as he turns his back to start leaving the room.

You get to your feet to start following Jason.

"Suit up?" Tim questions as you walk past him.

"You're Robin, aren't you?" You quip as you put a hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah?"

"So, suit up." You shrug your shoulders before spinning on your heels and following Jason out.

You and Jason meet back in his room, Jason already grabbing his gear by the time you get there.

"He alright?" Jason asks, not looking over his shoulder.

"Yeah." You laugh softly. "He did pretty well, I think." You grab your case with your suit against the wall.

"Guess we'll find out. They should be here soon."

"I still think this is stupid, Jay." You warn him. "What're you gonna do now that they know where you live? Does that not seem like a flaw in your plan?"

Jason looks over his shoulder and raises his brows at you. "Nope."

To Jason, it doesn't really matter. Shimmer's gang has been relocating every few days, constantly staying on the move now that they know Red Hood is after them. Jason could track them down but he's been a little busy lately and this way is easier. This way, they come right to him, thinking they've outsmarted the Red Hood. They'll come in all confident, Tim will get some training, and Jason will kill them anyway. It's a win for everyone.

"Ah," You nod your head, finally putting the pieces together. "You know, if Tim knew, he would not be happy and neither would Dick."

Jason turns around fully, his gear in hand. "What? You suddenly get a fucking moral compass or some shit?"

"No." You let out a scoff. "I'm just saying." You shrug. "You lure them here to train Tim and then you kill them after." You think that's also dumb. Dick is gonna be pissed and Tim will be mad. Maybe keeping the peace while Tim is still in town is a good idea.

"Was going to anyway." Jason shrugs his shoulders.

"Obviously." You scoff again.

Of all people, Jason didn't expect you to give him a hard time about it. You share the same moral compass. Jason knows the reason you're the vigilante you are today is because you were thrown to the wolves. Between Deathstroke and Cadmus breaking into the tower, the stuff with Jerry, you had to do it on your own. Jason had to do it on his own and so did Dick and Bruce. Sometimes, that's how it has to be done and he expects you to understand even if you don't agree with the method. If Tim knows you're going to be there to bail him out, he'll never understand the gravity of anything.

Jason doesn't want another Robin killed either.

"Look, he's not gonna know unless you tell him." Jason scoffs back. "And didn't you involve Gar? You didn't seem to give a fuck then."

"That was different." You huff with the roll of your eyes.

"Because you did it and I'm doing it. But, I'm doing it to train Tim and make sure he doesn't get himself killed." Jason grinds his teeth and he's not entirely sure why this is even annoying him but it is. Maybe the paranoia and anxiety of this situation is starting to chew at him.

You nod your head, looking to the floor, realizing why. "No." You look back to him. "Jay, he's not you." You suck in a breath.

You think about how Tim would never go after the Joker by himself and he wouldn't go to Crane. You think about how Tim does have the Titans on his side and he has since day one, unlike Jason. Unlike Jason, Tim has a whole team to back him. Tim has a lot to prove but it's different. You think his differences from Jason and Dick will save his life.

"I mean that just because it happened to you, doesn't mean it'll happen to him." Your voice is small as your eyes finally meet his.

"Our job is to make sure it doesn't." Jason nods his head once. "Look, I'll call Babs, have her to take care of 'em just until Tim's outta town."

You nod in agreement. "That's a far better plan. Not sure what you'll do about Shimmer knowing where you live."

"I'll handle it."

"Mhm." You hum, unconvinced.

"Don't worry so fucking much." Jason offers you a grin, earning him an eye roll.

"Stop making me worry." You raise your brows at him.

You turn around and head for the bathroom down the hall to change, leaving Jason to change on his own. In all fairness, he really didn't think too much about how it would affect Tim if he knew what Jason's plan was anyway. The end result would be the same regardless. Jason has enough faith in Tim for this to go in his favor. He didn't think it would matter too much but it does. He knows eventually him and Dick will butt heads again over this, hopefully, it'll blow over again. He knows him and Bruce will always be at odds with it. It's just complicated and he wishes it weren't.

You and Jason meet in the hallway, Tim already downstairs. The two of you head for the stairwell and lean against the wall to watch the show.

"Security alert." The computer calls from the speakers, gaining Tim's attention. "Permiter intrusion." The computer says while Tim walks over to the laptop on the counter.

"There's the asshole." A man states once inside the building. "Get him."

Two men and two woman charge Tim from the front just as Tim pulls out his staff but before he gets it ready, another man comes up from behind him and attacks him, shoving him to the ground.

"Shimmer sends her regards." The man behind Tim states.

Right before the man can land a kick to Tim's head, Tim spins around and gets up to his feet. Tim blocks and gets a few hits in quickly but three of them jump him and he gets down on the ground. You take a step forward before Jason grabs your arm, shaking his head at you. You widen your eyes at him but Jason keeps his grip.

Tim gets back on his feet as they keep attacking him but then, Tim lands a solid hit to one of them. And then another and another one. He picks up some of the stuff on the floor and uses them as weapons to keep his distance from them. They're still able to get him on the ground again but this time, Tim does a better job at fending them off until he's back on his feet.

He uses a chair as a weapon this time, he uses it to pin one of the men to the wall while he punches one of the women until she backs away. Tim focuses on the man against the wall and he gets him down. The last man is quick though and he grabs Tim. Tim tries to fight him off but the man grabs Tim by the neck and picks him up, pinning him against the wall while he tries to strangle him. You try to help again but Jason lightly pulls you back and shakes his head.

"He's fine." He whispers. "You can't bail him out."

"He's being strangled." You whisper through gritted teeth.

"Give him a minute." Jason urges, nodding his head towards Tim just as Tim grabs the lightbulb from above him and smashes it on the man's head, sending him to the ground.

Tim pulls himself up using the counter but before he can catch his breath, the last woman grabs Tim and pulls him back before smashing him against the counter. Tim grabs the laptop this time and uses it to finish off the last two people. He gets them both down quickly but with a lot of effort. Jason smiles at you before he lets you go.

"Told you." Jason states before he starts walking down the stairs

"Uh-huh." You nod your head before you roll your eyes as you follow him, feeling relieved Jason was right.

"Hey." Jason calls as him and you make your way to Tim. "You owe me a new laptop." Jason points at Tim, still closing the distance between them. "The dustbuster I'll forget about cause it was broken anyways."

"You were watching and didn't help?!" Tim looks at the two of you, still catching his breath and very clearly unhappy.

"Actually, I'm surprised it took Shimmer's gang this long to get here after I let them triangulate my location." Jason states as he walks past Tim, looking around at the people knocked out on the floor.

"Let them?!" Tim questions, still very annoyed and even feeling a little betrayed. He could been seriously hurt or worse!

Jason turns around. "You learn by doing." Jason states, closing the distance between them. "Not being coddled." Jason sticks out his hand, shaking Tim's. "You're welcome." Jason states before he walks past Tim. "Nicely done." Jason calls from further down the hallway.

"Thanks." Tim states before he looks to you. "Is he always like that?"

You laugh softly before you nod your head. "You get used to him." You give a soft smile. "You did well though."

"I got my ass kicked. They could have killed me."

"Oh, we were watching the entire time. Actually," You state. "I wanted to jump in but Jason stopped me. He was right, ya know? You can handle yourself." You beam at him. "You're gonna be a great Robin, Tim." You say as you start walking past him. "Come on, we got your guy to find." You call before Tim is quick behind you, feeling confident in his role as Robin.

The three of you get back a few hours later, Tim a little defeated with not finding Venta but in good spirits overall. Being able to fight off Shimmer's gang has proven to do a lot for his confidence. He was able to fight off four people all by himself which is something he could not have done a few days ago. And his interrogation skills have also gotten significantly better. Jason has actually enjoyed watching him grow.

It's different seeing someone else in the suit. Growing up, he got to see Dick be Robin and that was cool enough. A kid got to go out with Batman and kick ass. But, Dick was always...unobtainable. How he carried himself as Robin, the flips, his fighting, everything he did was always so perfect. It was different because he was the first and he set such a high standard. Jason got to fill that role and he knows he was good at it. Different than Dick, but good. Suddenly, Robin wasn't unobtainable, he was real and tangible. Now, though, with Tim, Jason is seeing everything he failed at as Robin and how he got in his own way.

If Jason were set up like this, he would have been livid. He would have put up hell and not listened. He would have gotten in his own way to not learn anything because he knew best and no one believed he was good enough. It would take a few days alone for him to be able to swallow his own pride and get over it. Tim though, he just...listens. He takes notes and he works relentlessly. He's incredibly smart, too which is going to benefit him. Over the last few days, any bit of jealousy or bitterness Jason was biting down has vanished.

Tim's going to be a better Robin.

Once the three of you get changed, Jason lets Tim know it's probably best he head out. Apparently, Dick texted him and he needs him back in Metropolis by tomorrow. So, the three of you get everything squared away and head down the hallway.

"Sorry I gotta kick you out." Jason states. "I have a rule about new Robins, five days max." Jason states as you finish your walk down the first flight of stairs, stopping on the landing to the next.

"It's all good." Tim says with a kindness in his voice. "I gotta get back anyway. Check on my boyfriend." Tim states as he stands by the stairs, Jason leaning against the railing while you stand right beside him.

"If we hear about your guy Venta, we'll hit you." Jason states. "Sorry, it was a bust."

"Yeah, sorry, it really sucks." You add in.

"I'm glad I came." Tim states, closing some of the distance between him and Jason. "I got to meet the great Red Hood." Tim says, lightly poking Jason's chest with the name.

Jason lets out a chuckle. "Was I on your fucking bucket list?"

"Kind of. Yeah." Tim chuckles sheepishly. "And I got to work with Bluejay, finally."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." You widen your eyes. "Not the first time."

"That was different." Tim chuckles.

"Well, good luck in Metropolis." Jason states. "And if shit hits the fan, just hide behind Raven and Starfire."

"Got it." Tim nods his head before he heads down them.

Jason and you start to make your way back from you came before Jason takes out a set of keys. "Enjoy the ride home." Jason states, tossing them over the railing, Tim catching them.

"Be safe and don't do anything stupid." You warn with a cheeky smile before you and Jason walk off.

The two of you get back to the training room, silence filling the air while Jason grabs a beer for himself and a blue Gatorade for you. You both stand in front of the board with the ciphers while Jason shakes his head.

Jason pulls out his phone before he presses Dick's contact. He sends Dick to speakerphone.

"How'd it go?" Dick asks without even a hello.

"Sending him back to you in one piece." Jason says.

"Didn't suspect a thing and he did great." You add in.

"Hope you didn't go too easy on him." Dick says.

"Don't worry, we didn't." Jason states. "And, Dick," Jason pauses, glacing to you and then back to the whiteboard. "He'll be a better Robin than me." Jason states before hanging up the phone and taking a drink of his beer before he walks off to the computers.

"Think he'll be a better Robin than you?" You question as you follow Jason over to the monitors before you take a seat, the Gatorade starting to sweat in your hands.

Jason sits beside you. "Don't you?"

You let out a sigh. "I don't know." You shrug. "He'll be incredible, like you just different."

Jason lets out a chuckle. "Right." Jason takes another drink as the room falls silent.

Tim is gone. He's officially going back to Metropolis which means it's up to you and Jaosn to keep talking on your own accord. You agreed to and you want to, it's just that, now it feels a little weird. You both have no obligation to hang out or talk again. You're living separate lives for the first time in a year. Neither of you like it too much, it just feels like you're fumbling over your own feet and neither of you have any idea what you're supposed to do. It was so much easier before you dated because at least you didn't know. You both had nothing to lose but now it feels like everything is on the line. All of your feelings were broadcast to each other and you saw each other for who you really are. You can't unsee it. It's weird trying to figure out where you're supposed to go from here.

You have to talk.

Jason clears his throat. "So..."

"So..." You echo, keeping your stare forward.

"Should we, uh, talk about last night?" Jason rips the bandaid off, hating the words as they leave his lips.

"Oh, uh, yeah, okay." You nod your head, sucking in a breath before you crack open the seal of the Gatorade. "W-what's, uh, what's up?"

Jason was hoping, you'd pick up the conversation even though he's the one that started it. He talked to Leslie about this and then he thought about it and regretted it all day. But, she had some advice and words of wisdom for him and he can't help but shake the thought that she's probably right. That is her job. If Jason doesn't want to be where he was two months ago, he needs to get help and he needs to actually accept it when it is given to him even if it's like swallowing glass.

"I, uh, just...we're good, right?" Jason asks.

"Yeah?" You furrow your brows at him.

Before, he was so ready to date you. It was easy. You were already basically dating and the more he thinks about the time you had, the more he realizes, you were dating before you were dating. You took your time to build a friendship and be comfortable in that before you got together. Yes, you both should have worked on all of your trauma first but it was comforting. It felt like you were both ready for something and you were, even if it didn't work out the first time. But, this time, it doesn't feel that way.

You're sitting here in silence because there's too much between you. Jason is still doing a lot of work to become someone he can live with. He's still trying to cope with everything that has happened. It's not him self-sabotaging this time. Leslie said if he's thinking this hard about it and he doesn't feel like he's ready, maybe he's not. Even if all he wants is you all the time. It wouldn't be fair to either of you if he's not ready.

Jason lets out a groan before he runs a hand through he white streak of hair. "I'm not ready for anything. I'm sorry." Jason blurts it out before he can back out.

Your heart plummets to your feet as a lump shoots up to your throat. You aren't either and you don't think you want anything now but it hurts.

"Oh, yeah." You nod quickly. "Me either." You nod in agreement. "It's just...still a lot to deal with. One time thing, last night."

"Yeah." Jason nods his head in agreement but he doesn't want you to pull away. He knows you better than anyone and he knows you want to. He sees it across your face, he could see it all week. He gets why everyone is worried about you. "You can say no." Jason starts, earning your full attention. "Do you just...wanna go back to before?" Jason asks softly. "Like fuck it, friends and still fuck with each other, ya know? Before it all went to shit and we just see where it goes again?" Jason takes a sip of his beer, trying to run the nerves from his shoulders. "Could've worked last time."

The lump in your throat starts to disappear as the weight starts to lift from your chest. "Yeah, yeah, I don't know if we could be friends any other way anyway." You smile softly. "And seeing where it goes would be nice." You feel your cheek start to warm.

"Yeah, guess we just can't help it, huh?" Jason chuckles, looking to the beer bottle in his hands.

"Reflex." You chuckle quietly. "Funny though, cause uh, this is like the third time we've agreed to be friends, Jay." You scrunch your nose at him. "In one way or another."

"Yeah." Jason gives you an awkward chuckle. "I wasn't sure what that meant to you."

"Me either." You admit with a laugh. "Just like before I guess." You roll your shoulders.

"Good cause I really don't think I could help it." Jason flashes you a quick smirk.

"That's because you're a shithead." You beam at him.

"Wouldn't have me any other way, babe." Jason quips back.

"Nope." You agree before you take a drink of the Gatorade. You pull out your phone, checking the time. "Well, I have to go, actually." You say softly as you get up.

"Molly?" Jason asks.

"No, actually." You shake your head. "Just...some stuff." You roll your shoulders.

Jason nods once, offering a raised brow. "Fucking ominous all of a sudden."

"Worried about me, Jay?" You quip with a cheeky grin.

"Maybe." Jason states but he doesn't match you with a grin or smirk this time.

"I'm fine. It's nothing. I'll text you though?" You offer with hopeful eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, alright." Jason shakes his head, deciding to bite the bullet. He doesn't want to be guessing when you'll meet up again. "You busy tomorrow?"

You feel a rush of heat spread across your cheeks. "If you count my usual run to Excellent Gotham and a movie with Molly, nope." You let out a soft laugh. "Why?"

"You're right, place is kind of a mess." Jason looks around and he's leaning his elbow back against the desk, trying his hardest to play it cool.

You see right through him. Something about Jason is despite his charisma, he can be really bad at trying to play cool. Half the time he just looks awkward and out of place. Somehow though, you find it that much more endearing.

"It is a mess." You nod in agreement.

"Wanna help me out with that?" Jason gives you a cheeky smile.

"You want me to help you clean with our renewed friendship?" You gasp, dramatically clutching your heart. "I feel so used!"

"Shut the fuck up." Jason groans, leaning forward before he lets out a laugh. "Come on, could be fun. Help me fix up the place."

"Dunno, Jay. Why would I wanna help?" You cross your arms but the corners of your mouth are tugged into a smile.

Jason knows he's won.

"Your track record says you'll be here more than you're home. Might as well help." Jason quips back.

He hopes you keep the same track record.

You laugh because you know he's probably right. You hope he's right.

"That's sounding more like an offer to come over whenever I want." You raise with the raise of your brows.

Jason shrugs softly. "Help me fix it up and you get a key and a code."

Your heart skips a beat as you look to your shoes, a smile splitting your face. "Fine." You look back at him as you roll your eyes sarcastically. "I guess you've convinced me."

Jason holds his head with pride as if it was some tough argument he won. "Text you the time then, we gotta get some supplies."

"Yeah, like a few gallons of bleach and home defense. I've seen like ten spiders and I'm not staying here anymore until they are dead." You gesture the Gatorade at him before you take another drink.

"Saw a centipede earlier." Jason lets out a chortle.

You shutter at the very thought. "I'm going the fuck home. You better find that thing and kill it so fucking help me. If I see one of those, I'm done."

Jason gives off this hearty laugh that you swear you can feel in your bloodstream. "You walk in front of fucking knives for fun, babe. A centipede?"

"First of all, knives don't have those fucking creepy legs, Jason." You say with a straight face. "If a meta shows up and they're like a centipede in any way, I will move out of the fucking city I'm so fucking serious. I would rather live in Central City or Metropolis." You nod your head quickly, your skin crawling the more you think about it.

"That's really impressive." Jason continues to laugh. "I'll find the centipedes." Jason assures you as he laughs. Your eyes dart around the room, now feeling uneasy. "You're looking for one now aren't you?"

"So fucking done. I'm going home. Text me what time." You wave your hand, nearly high-tailing it out of the room.

On the way home, you take a detour to pick up food for you and Molly. When you get home, Molly is just entering the kitchen wearing a soft smile. The two of you greet each other before you go off to wash up and Molly gets the table ready, the takeout from Batburger laid out on your respective spots.

"How'd it go?" Molly asks as soon as you enter the kitchen.

"Good. Tim can fend for himself now. Took out some of Shimmer's gang and now he's on his way back to Metropolis." You explain before you pull out your chair and take your seat.

"Really?" Molly chimes. "I knew you guys could train him."

"We did, too but thank you." You laugh softly as you unwrap your food. "Hopefully, it'll work out. I guess things are getting a bit messy? Dick didn't elaborate too much." You explain.

"What about Gar?" Molly asks.

"Didn't talk to him? Why? Did he say something to you?" You raise a brow of concern at Molly before you take your phone from your pocket to double-check you don't have a message from anyone concerning Gar.

"No." Molly shakes her head, not sure if she's supposed to tell you everything about The Red. "Just curious."

You eye Molly carefully while Molly diverts her attention to her fries. There's a lot to discuss when it comes to Tim and his training if Molly is really curious. There's a lot to discuss over everything that's happened the last few days that does not involve Gar. The more you think about it, the more you're realizing Molly has been talking to him more than you have over the last week.

You narrow your eyes at Molly as your brows furrow. "So...you're asking me if Gar elaborated on the shitshow or if Dick said anything about Gar? Because we both know those are wildly different questions." You pose.

"Both, I guess." Molly picks up a fry, trying to play it casual.

"No, Dick not mention Gar. It was a pretty quick call about Tim. And I have not talked to Gar over the last two days." You finish. "You talk to Gar more than I do though so...?" You let out a soft laugh as you eat.

"What?" Molly snaps her attention to you. "I do not." Molly's cheeks burn as she looks back to her food.

You let out a snort. "Yeah, you do." You nod as you point a fry at Molly. "You're always talking to him."

"How would you even know?" Molly snips. "Wait, did he say something?!" Molly's eyes widen as she leans in. You nod your head with a knowing grin and Molly's face deflates. "I do not."

You snicker softly. "Whatever you say." You roll your eyes with a smile. "He okay?"

"Yeah, he's okay. I was just wondering." Molly shrugs as she eats a fry, hoping you now drop it entirely.

"Right, okay." You laugh softly. "Something going on? You're acting kind of weird."

"No." Molly answers shortly. "I was just curious." Molly nods her head at you. "Anyway," Molly chooses to switch the subject herself, knowing the second she brings up Jason, you will drop it. "You and Jason?"

You glare softly at Molly before you roll your shoulders and look back to your food. "Made out last night."

Molly nods. "Of course you did."

"Okay fuck you." You scoff.

"Did you really not see that coming?" Molly questions.

"No..." You answer, paritally lying.

"Right, you told me the whole rundown of you two managed to fall into a relationship together. The only people who are going to be surprised by this turn of events is you two. Honestly," Molly states casually. "I'm surprised you didn't sleep with him."

Your jaw hangs ajar as your brows furrow. "Fucking ow." You huff even though Molly probably has some sort of point.

Molly laughs loudly. "It's true!" Molly defends. "So, let me guess." Molly starts as you wave haphazardly at her. "You two did not talk but you did agree to be friends." Molly explains earning herself a displeased nod from you. "But."

"Oh, there's a but!" You say dramatically.

"Isn't there always?" Molly quips. "But, friends for you two does not mean what it means to literally every other sane person on the planet. So, I bet this will keep happening until you manage to fall into another relationship."

You blink at her. "Well..." You try to find the right words because no part of what Molly is saying isn't true.

You all but agreed that's basically what'll end up happening. You're starting to wonder if giving Molly the full play-by-play was a good idea. Maybe you should just bring Gar up again.

"You could just have the conversation." Molly suggests.

"Fuck that." You scoff before you laugh. "We did kind of talk?" You state. "He's not ready for anything and that's fine." You ramble. "I'm not either."

Molly lets out a sigh. "Why not?" She asks because you've never given her a clear answer on why you've avoided Jason over the last month. "I know you guys went through some traumatic stuff but what's holding you, specifically, back? You seem happy hanging out with him again."

You pick at your food. If you tell Molly, Molly will tell you it's ridiculous. A part of you knows it is but it's how you feel. It's hard to even put it all into words because it always boils down to guilt and regret. Everything else just piles onto it and it gives you more reasons to run even if that's not entirely fair. But, maybe part of your problem is that you don't tell anyone.

"Ya know, uh, he was the first person that, uh, made me not feel so alone after my mom died." You confess. "I had you at first." You add on quickly. "But...you didn't really get it then. He did. He wasn't someone I could disappoint because he got it and he was willing to just...be there."

Molly sighs softly. "Yeah, Jason is a pretty understanding person when people give him the chance to be."

"Yeah..." You shrug. "So, uh, I know that I made him feel the same way but then...I did leave him alone. He had Crane and that was it but he didn't really have him, right? Because Crane was sending him into withdrawal and holding him captive. And manipulating him and everything. I left and he was alone." You pause for a few seconds. "I don't think he deserves someone who leaves." You state. "It's what I do and you know that so don't try and make me feel better about it. I get freaked so I run."

"That's not what happened though." Molly defends.

"Isn't it?" You scoff. "He was on the brink of fuck knows what and I left. I can try to convince myself all I want that it was for his own good but what if it wasn't? What if I didn't wanna find him fucking dead somewhere again?"

"That has never been your reason. You did the right thing. It was your decision to leave that snapped some sense into him."

"I don't know." You shake your head with a defeated sigh. "I just wish we could go back to being who were then, before it all. Last night, it felt like we were those people again. It was the first night in months I didn't feel like the world was crumbling under my feet." Your voice goes small as you look to your half-eaten meal.

"You can be those people. You can talk, you've done it before. What is the worst thing that's going to happen if you tell him what you just told me?"

"He says it back." You answer without hesitation.

"What?" Molly shakes her head in confusion. "Why would that be bad? Don't you want him--"

"I gotta go." You shake your head as you stand up abruptly. "We're friends and we agreed that we're just going to go back to how it was before and see where it goes. We always functioned better that way. It's fine." You toss your half-eaten meal into the bag.

"Y/n." Molly calls softly. "What is going on with you?"

"Nothing. I just...he seems good besides last night. That's all that really matters to me." You say with a soft nod. "I'll be back. I gotta do something and then patrol, so I'll call you when I need you." You grab your case and head for the door.

"Come on, don't go." Molly calls but you ignore her as you open the door. "Y/n." Molly calls more sternly this time, watching the door stutter before it finally shuts on your way out. Molly lets out a groan and you're going to hate her for it, but she pulls out her phone anyway.

Jason is seated at the table in a room he plans to make into a kitchen, cleaning his guns. There's something calming about it. He concentrates on it and it lets him clear his head in the same way some people find jigsaw puzzles calming. It's a good thing to decompress after the last few days. Tim is a little exhausting with all of his excitement, something Jason does not blame him for at all. And then everything with you has left his head a little fuzzy.

His phone vibrates against the table, Jason glancing at it to see Molly's name on the screen.

"Hey." Jason answers as he puts Molly on speaker.

"Are you busy?"

Jason looks to his guns across the table and then to his phone. "Not really. Why? What's up?"

"Can you do me a favor?" Molly asks and Jason can hear the concern and hesitance in her voice.

"Sure?" Jason questions as his heart starts to sink. "What is it?"

"Can you find her for me?" Molly asks with a weary tone.

"Why?" Jason freezes immediately, not liking the idea.

What if you were kidnapped on your way home? Everything was going well and you really didn't seem weird when you left. It's been a few hours now and Jason is certain Molly would have called sooner had she not heard from you. Jason tries his best to not immediately jump into a tailspin of panic.

"She's up to something and she will not tell me a damn thing. She goes out a few nights a week before patrol, shutting her phone and everything off so I can't track her. She just left." Molly explains, pushing her own guilt of invading your privacy away.

"Are you asking me to stalk my ex-girlfriend?" Jason asks, knowing this a bad idea but relieved you haven't been kidnapped.

Jason knows if Molly is asking, she has a reason to be worried. He's heard it from all of their friends. They're worried and he doesn't know why. But, Jason also set up a line he doesn't really want to cross just because you're being weird. You're secretive. Those two things don't seem to be things Molly should be worried about.

"No...just...okay kind of." Molly groans. "Come on, Jason. I'm worried and she won't tell me what's going on."

Jason sighs, deciding to hear Molly's side. "Why did she leave?" Jason asks. "What'd she say? She's a creature of habit."

"That she had to go. She had to do something before patrol." Molly answers. "She kind of does that. We'll be talking and then when she doesn't want to talk, she just...leaves." Molly omits the conversation topic.

"Sounds like her." Jason answers, trying not to get too worried.

"I know you're worried, too." Molly states. "You said you were that first night she stayed with you."

Jason texted Molly after you all got back, letting her know you were all fine but he was worried. He didn't know what was going on with you and he thought it was just him being worried because a roof fell on you. But, Molly wasn't real assuring in her texts.

"Fine but if she starts bitching, you gotta deal with it. I'm not taking the heat from her because she's pissed I found her. You check the zoo?" Jason finishes up with the gun he was working on before he stands up and gets moving.

"Of course, I did. She's not there or the theater. Or Harbor. I don't know where she goes."

"I'll go find her. I'll let you know when I find her." Jason says.

"Thank you. I owe you."

"Yeah." Jason says before he hangs up.

The last thing he wants to do is invade your privacy when you're finally on good terms. But, Molly doesn't worry for nothing. As much as he hates her worrying, and he says he's fine, Molly worries for good reason, especially after everything. And Jason knows there's something going on.

You have never been a very good liar when it comes to him. Truthfully, a part of him thought finding out the truth would just be too painful because for all he knows, there's someone else. That could have been a reason for your weirdness but after last night, that kind of gets thrown to the wasteside. That leaves Jason on the same page as Molly. Worried.

Once Jason is in his gear, he heads out to look for you. He checks the usual spots first and then he checks his. You aren't at either of them which Jason is now finding to be weird. Like he told Molly, you're a creature of habit, you go to the same places. If you want to be alone, you're always at these places. So, Jason calls Barbara and asks about the case you're working, to see if there's a sort of safe house they're keeping some of the women. Barbara is able to offer him an address you might be. Unfortunately, you aren't there either.

A part of Jason actually thinks about tracking you but this isn't an emergency. This is possibly them just being really paranoid. It's been a few hours and it's just getting more and more tempting. Jason decides that if he doesn't hear anything from either you or Molly by the end of patrol tonight, he'll track you. You don't normally miss patrol according to Molly which means if you miss tonight, that's reason enough for an emergency.

It gets closer and closer to the time Jason normally starts patrolling and he's yet to find you. To say he's starting to worry would be an understatement. But, then, he hears yelling coming from an alley nearby. And he swears the yelling sounds like it's coming from you. Jason jumps to the next roof to get a look into the alley only to finally find you. But, there's a man, maybe two hundred pounds, over six feet just towering over you, screaming. Jason's blood boils as he uses his grabbling hook to quietly get himself down.

"Do you have any idea who you're fucking with, kid?" The man yells.

You let out a crackle. "Do you?" You quip back, blinking up at him.

The man pulls back his fist just as he feels metal pressing the back of his head. "Touch her and I'll blow your brains out." Jason's voice is disguised through the modulator.

The man opens his fist, surrendering his hands. He lets out a laugh. "The Red Hood."

Jason pushes the gun further into his man's head, causing him to look down.

"I got it, Red." You say with the roll of your eyes.

"Looked like it." Jason quips with sarcasm. "Get the fuck out of here before I change my mind." Jason yanks the man by the collar of his shirt, tossing him backwards.

He doesn't look scared as he looks up to Jason, fully covered in the Red Hood gear. Instead, he just calmly gets up, taking a long stare at the two of you before he walks casually down the alley. Jason and you both find it a bit odd but it's Gotham so you both brush it off.

"What are you doing?" Jason asks, glad you can't hear the worry in his voice.

"What are you doing?" You ask back, avoiding the question.

"Asked you first." Jason fires back with a single nod of his head.

"Walking?" You quip back.

"With him?!"

"What?" You scoff. "Ew, no. He fucking cornered me." You roll your eyes in disgust. "Your turn."

No part of Jason believes you for a second. Jason is starting to think Molly is valid in her concern because not only do you not lie to him but you also wouldn't shut off your phone just for walking. Jason is starting to worry he might be the one having to talk you off of a ledge.

"Molly was worried." Jason confesses.

"She sent you?!" You seeth as your blood starts to boil.

Living with Molly was supposed to be convenient for the both of you. It's cheaper and safer, it's supposed to be fun. Involving Molly was supposed to be a way to keep her close and safe rather than her going off on her own. But, you're standing here feeling betrayed and you're questioning if any of it was the right decision. She sent Jason because Jason is actually good at locating people who don't want to be found and Molly knows you aren't going to chew out Jason for it. The whole thing makes you that much more annoyed.

"She was worried. I didn't track you or anything, I told her you were probably fine, alright?" Jason tries to ease your annoyance. He'd be annoyed, too if it were him.

"I can handle myself." You snip as you cross your arms.

"I know." Jason shrugs. "Look, whatever the hell you're up to, you don't have to do it alone." Jason tries to offer some sort of reason, hoping you'll give him some clue to what you've actually been doing.

You want to be mad but you don't blame Jason. If it were him, you'd be doing the same thing. "Just...I'm okay, alright? Thank you for checking and dealing with him. I'm fine though."

"You sure? She sounded pretty worried." Jason shifts his weight to his left leg.

"I think she's talking to Gar." You blurt, partially to deflect and partially because you do think that has something to do with it.

Jason shakes his head quickly, his brows furrow under the helmet. Molly and Gar? "Like....talking?"

"Yeah!" You yell.

"When the fuck did that happen?"

"I don't know." You shrug your shoulders. "But you know, he's got that whole Red thing going on with the visions and stuff. And now the Brother Blood shit, I think she's worried about him and her worry is spilling over."

Jason nods his head, not buying it. This is one of those deflective tactics you love to do when you don't want to talk. "Bullshit."

"What?"

"She has a reason to be worried but you don't want us to know." Jason states.

"No. I think that's it." You shrug your shoulders and it's not a full lie. You do actually think that's why Molly is being so paranoid, even if she should be.

"Look, just be careful, alright?" Jason asks, knowing he's not going to get any real answer from you right now. He figures he'll try again later when you're in a better mood, when you haven't been completely blindsided.

"I will." You nod your head softly.

Jason shakes his head, not feeling any bit of his worry ease. "Hey, you wanna patrol tonight?" Jason asks. "Together?"

"Really?" You ask as your eyes soften with the request, even if you don't think it's a coincidence he's asking when he's worried.

"I mean your nagging is fucking annoying but you're alright company." Jason shrugs one shoulder.

"Fuck you."

"Maybe after." Jason quips back.

You let out a laugh. "Alright, fine, you've sold me." You roll your eyes. "I've got my case hidden at the usual place."

"Course you." Jason chuckles. "Bike there, too?"

"It is." You nod your head.

"Come on." Jason jerks his head down the alley. "Mine's a block away, I'll take you."

"Thank you, Red." You beam up to him.

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[kpopsexstories]

NSFW Series: Most Memorable Sexual Experiences of TXT

That's right, following my k-pop smut series Most Memorable Sexual Experiences of NCT I'm now starting the next installment. And the new group you'll get to follow is, of course, Tomorrow x Together! If you've read my other non-NCT smut the choice is probably not surprising 😉

UPDATE: This series officially ended on October 28, 2024. You can now read all the stories below!

In the original series I posted one story per member of NCT and WayV, depicting their most memorable sexual experiences. It's fiction of course, but the goal was realistic stories and sex that isn't too far-fetched. Things that could actually have happened to our boys.

The TXT edition is no different. In this post you'll learn more about the series and find links to the stories. The series ran from Monday September 16, to October 28, 2024, with one story per member and one story featuring all five.

My Goals

➕ Each story should have a backstory/context. The stories are not super long, but there is fluff around the sex.

➕ Each story should be realistic. Though fiction, they should be sexual experiences that aren't too far-fetched.

➕ No two stories should be the same. The plot, setting as well as the sex should be unique to each story, or at least varied enough.

➕ Each story should bring a surprise or twist, to keep you interested.

➕ Stories should be relatively consistent, and loosely tied to real life. This means references to songs, plot points inspired by real life things members have said, and a consistent timeline. Each story can be set anywhere from present day to pre-debut.

Identifiers

To make it easier for you to find the stories you like I'll include identifiers at the start of each post/story:

🍆 TYPE: Refers to the sex scene and is either VANILLA, MEDIUM, WILD or UNCONVENTIONAL. No stories are "hard core" due to the criteria of being realistic (there will be no bondage, fetishes, etc.), but the "Unconventional" stories can include more than one member.

📦 CONTENT: Key words describing the sex, like Missionary (position), Riding (position), Cumshot, Jerk off, Blowjob, Outdoors, etc.

🧑🏻‍🤝‍🧑🏻 FEATURED MEMBERS: Stories might mention other members, but I've listed those that are directly involved as more than just background characters (whether sexually or not).

The Schedule

Each member got one story – their most memorable sexual experience – though Taehyun's was split in two parts. A new story was posted every Monday starting on September 16th (2024):

1. September 16, 2024 – Tomorrow x Together The five boys of TXT go skinny dipping in Hawaii.

2. September 23, 2024 – Yeonjun Yeonjun’s adopted cousin rides him in a barn.

3. September 30, 2024 – Hueningkai Huening Kai has sex on a beach with his sister’s best friend.

4. October 07, 2024 – Taehyun Pt. 1 Taehyun walks in on Soobin having sex with Jessica “Jessi” Ho.

5. October 14, 2024 – Taehyun Pt. 2 Taehyun’s dreams are realized when he has sex with Jessica Ho.

6. October 21, 2024 – Soobin Soobin spends a day naked on a yacht.

7. October 28, 2024 – Beomgyu Beomgyu loses his virginity without realizing it.

8. November 4, 2024 – Tomorrow x Together (gay bonus story) The five boys of TXT hook up with a (male) stranger in a locker room.

My Other Smut Series

Want more smut and k-pop sex stories? Check out my Master List post for an overview of all the stories I've published. Or, visit my external website Story Finder where you can browse all stories on this blog by content, idol, word count, popularity, requests, and more!

Buy Me a Coffee

Writing just a single "Most Memorable Sexual Experiences" story takes 12-24 hours of active work, including rewrites, edits and proofreading. I do this as a hobby in my spare time. Please consider buying me a coffee to support my work ❤️

[lettersfromaphrodite]

«it's high tide, baby.»

― pairing : Minho x fem!Reader ― content warnings : fantasy au, pirate au, angst with a happy ending, enemies to friends to lovers, soulmates (I know you saw it coming), isekai, LOTS of pop culture references (two aldo giovanni and giacomo’s references italian readers this is for you), magic au,  mention of murder, mention of drowning, unprotected sex (wrap it up y’all), fantasy au  ― word count : 24k ― notes : I sure do hope you’ve read Chris’ merman fic because I’m feeding on my own lore // Ananke is meant as the greek goddess of fate // extra kudos to Black Desert for having an amazing map and kudos to me for using the videogame aesthetic because I don’t have enough creativity in me to come up with a fantasy world // I have one (1) fear and that's I'll keep adding more and more everytime I read this story because it's just so dear and precious to me // yes, yes "The Bitter Dahlia" is exactly the one mentioned in «Protect Me, My Aurora.»

― notes : this fic looks familiar?it is! I’m reposting ALL my works on this brand new blog and therefore please, bear with me! as always, askbox is always open and feedbacks are always welcome 💌

― summary : 

«I think I’ve never missed Cleo so much.» you quietly sniffled. «Your lover?» Minho questioned immediately. «My cat.» you clarified without hesitation.

“«Everything is over, now.» the Captain spoke in a confident voice, «I won’t let anyone else hurt you.» he added, before capturing his lover’s lip in a gentle kiss.” «Oh, holy fuck,» you blurted out as soon as you read that sentence, closing the book out of instinct, «holy shit, finally!» you added to yourself, almost closing the book out of excitement, completely aware about the fact that you were smiling like an idiot at no one but the now finished book in your lap but well, you couldn’t help yourself.

It was a book you’ve randomly found in the book-store next to your workplace, its cover had nothing special that immediately jumped to the eye: it was relegated in leather, some golden details that recalled the title written in beautiful handwriting. Actually, if you had to be completely honest, the detail that convinced you to buy it was the small golden stone embedded right under the title, instead of the actual plot – plot that in the end you came to adore.

«You are really lucky, this is the only copy that has been sent to us.» had said the old lady working there, making you furtherly curious and giving you another reason to buy it.

It was a love story, but it contained just the right amount of adventure as well. Christopher, a young, handsome and fearless pirate, was not only the Captain of the Golden Fleece – who was capable of intimidating anyone who saw its sails in the distance, but he had become the head of the entire commercial network that passed through all the known seas. Chris had at least 200 fleets under his command, each of them committing various raids in the name of their Captain - or some might say "the King of Pirates", and now was able to sail wherever he wanted without getting his hands dirty as he had done in the past.

During his adventures, he eventually fell in love with a girl – Leana, who was originally engaged with a navy’s soldier; after an awful lot of vicissitudes and obstacles in the path of their happiness, Christopher eventually stole her away – he’s a pirate after all, making her a member of his crew and finally allowing each other to live their so craved love story.

Of course, the Captain would have never made it alone; his seven long time friends had always been more than ready to help him and support him in every case of need.

Among his crew, you definitely had a personal favourite: Lee Minho, a young former bounty hunter enamoured with the feeling of freedom he felt while sailing that definitely made your heart race more than once. Not only he was described as handsome, with black raven hair that would almost always be tied up because he "hated the feeling of having hair in his face while being on deck" - but also not wanting to cut it short, a captivating and hypnotic gaze that let you wonder if you could reach the bottom of the sea if you ever took a dive into them, but he was also straightforward and sarcastic, a reason why Christopher found himself asking for Minho’s advice the most; despite his strong personality, he truly cared for his friends, and he considered them like a family. Chapter by chapter, you found yourself admiring his character so much that you anticipated every one of his appearances, eager to read more about him.

«Oh, Cleo, can you imagine a love like this?» you sighed dreamily, absently running your fingers through your cat’s thick fur, Cleo simply mewled at you, a faint noise that you interpreted as a proper answer, «or a life like this.» you added, your voice suddenly turning a little more hesitant, a little more lonelier. During the last few months, your life had fallen into an incredibly boring and obnoxious loop: go to work, finish your shift with an incredible amount of stress spreading through your body just to stop in order to buy groceries on your way home, see some friends once in a while, take care of your cat and repeat, repeat, repeat.

Of course, you would have felt a lot lonelier if it weren’t for Cleo: you found her sitting in front of your apartment complex on a random day two years ago and since then she started living with you, as if she had been expressively been waiting for you to find her that day.

«You always look angry, don’t you?» you cooed at her, hoisting her into your lap as to cuddle her a little closer. «Just like your mom.» you referred to yourself, shortly drowning your face in her soft fur, loudly smooching her a few times while adding some incomprehensible praises; Cleo mewled, as if she was exasperated at your behaviour and you quietly giggled, your soft laughter shifting into a sigh as your eyes fell on the book once again.

“I was really lucky to get the only copy of this,” you definitely had loved everything about the story, to the point to start fantasizing and wondering what could their next adventure be now that the crew gained a new very special member. Did Chris and Leana got married in an actual chapel or did they ask someone in their crew to randomly marry them just like Elizabeth Swann and Will Turner did? At the same time, what if they ended up recruiting more women? The thought of a stereotypical girls night on a pirate ship made you snort, but at least, Leana wouldn't have felt lonely, since living among men must have been boring at some point.

Engrossed in your thoughts, you didn’t realize that you ended up drifting off on your couch – still uncomfortably wearing your jeans, and therefore, you definitely could not notice about the strange events occurring as soon as sleep overcame your senses.

The book you were holding in your hand seemed to be woken up by a curious kind of magic, as the golden stone began to glow in a faint light; the book opened by itself just as if it possessed personal will, and its pages quickly turned back and forth by themselves, as if it was deciding which page to read first.

The book’s golden glow gradually seemed to shine brighter and brighter, and it eventually woke you up.

«What the-» you mumbled, confused, when you felt as if someone or something was harshly tugging at your soul and all of a sudden, you felt like you couldn’t breathe anymore.

The book had closed once again, politely placing itself on your coffee table; the glowing had completely disappeared, and the golden stone returned to its original plain looking appearance.

However, in what has always been your home, all traces of your presence seemed to have vanished altogether.

Suddenly drowning was definitely not something you expected to happen on a Thursday evening, moreover, how could you be drowning when you’ve been reading on your couch until few seconds ago?

At first you thought of it as an extremely vivid dream, but as soon as you tried to breathe and water started to fill your lungs, you realized that your only priority was to get to the surface as soon as you could; thankfully, you were barely beneath the surface, so you managed to get your head out of the water soon enough, while finally breathing and coughing due to the salt water you had unintentionally swallowed.

«What the fuck?!» you shouted in disbelief, quickly glancing around yourself; first of all, judging by the sun burning up in the sky, it was the middle of the day, and moreover,  everywhere you turned, you couldn’t see anything but water, except for an enormous galleon blocking part of your sight.

«Man at sea!» you heard many voices shout from its deck, and soon enough, a rope was thrown in your direction.

“What kind of rescue is this, where is the coast guard?” you thought to yourself as you swam towards the rope which was peacefully floating above the surface, unsure about how you were supposed to climb up there in the first place.

However, the answer to your thoughts came pretty fast, in the form of a boy dressed in typical piratesque clothes, urging you to grab his hand; you quickly pondered your options, and between dying from hypothermia caused by the cold water or probably being abducted and eventually killed by a boy with a strange taste in clothing, you considered the latter to be the safest.

«Everything’s fine now, don’t worry.» the boy reassured you with an unexpected friendly tone, and as soon as you locked eyes with him, your heart seemed to stop; his eyes were a deep shade of blue, while his hair, eyebrows and his eyelashes were as white as fresh snow.

Although you were completely certain that you’ve never met him before, you couldn’t help but wonder why his appearance was extremely familiar to you.

«Are you okay?» «How did you end up so far from land?» «She’s trembling like a leaf, poor soul.» «Let’s just throw her back in.» «Shut up, Minho, go fetch a blanket before she freezes to death.» «Can’t you see she looks shocked? Let her breathe!» «What in the bloody hell is she wearing?» The various voices overlapped in the exact moment in which you and the snow white boy had safely climbed on deck; however, everything you could do was to look around yourself in complete astonishment.

A large group of men was working on the ship, while only seven of them and a young girl were paying attention to your arrival; your eyes quickly took in both the strangers and your surroundings, and you definitely noticed that not only they were all dressed like pirates, but the ship seemed to be built exactly like one of those you generally saw in movies, historical re-enactments or museums.

«Oh no, roleplayers.» you whined in complete deject; they exchanged a confused glance among themselves, but eventually, only one of them spoke.

«I believe you’re confused, we’re pirates.» he clarified, and once again, his features seemed to be incredibly familiar, «I’m Chris, the Captain. She is Leana, my wife, and these are my friends.» you watched with dismay as Chris ended up naming his friends just like the characters of the novel you have been reading all afternoon.

«Oh holy shit, it’s even worse, cosplayers.» you nervously rubbed your eyes, shivering every now and then because of the wind mercilessly blowing on your soaked clothes.

«Poor thing, look at her!» Leana suddenly cooed, immediately rushing at your side and taking her jacket off in order to place it on your shoulders, «She’s freezing, let’s save the introductions for later, huh?»

«What if she’s a spy?» Jisung questioned, but his option was immediately silenced by Leana’s glare.

«In the middle of the ocean, Han?» she quickly retorted with sarcasm dripping from her tone, «What if it was mutiny?» she scoffed, gently pushing you to what seemed to be the Captain’s quarter, just to quickly make you sit in front of the small wood burning stove.

The following events seemed to happen in a confusing haze, you vividly remembered Leana commenting about her unfamiliarity with both the style and the fabric of your clothes as you allowed her both to undress you and to dress you up in fresh, warm clothes that belonged to her. Of course, now you were dressed like a pirate as well.

«What do you mean, you’re from Europe?» Chris had calmly repeated your words, «What kind of place is that?» you felt like crying out of frustration at his words. Under the Captain’s request Leanahad brought you into the ship’s interrogation room, and now you were sitting there, the whole room definitely smelling like blood – the strong scent more than enough to give you a headache, with nine pairs of eyes studying every single one of your moves.

«I don’t really feel like joking right now, I really want to go back home.» you repeated with a tired voice, not really understanding what was happening; it was like you had casually walked in the set of a movie, however, a terrifying feeling of dread creeping in your soul was suggesting you that there was definitely more to it. What if these people were real, and you had managed to shift inside the book you loved so much? No, that definitely couldn’t be the case, right?

«I don’t really feel like joking either, little lady,» in an impatient tone, Minho spoke out of the blue and quickly walked next to Chris, who was sitting in front of you at the other side of the table. If your heart picked up pace in happiness at the sight of your favourite character, it started hammering in your chest in pure dread as soon as Minho harshly planted his dagger in the wooden table, right in front of your folded hands. «next up is your tongue.»

«Nice work on terrifying her, Min Min.» Felix sarcastically commented his friend’s action, noticing how you started trembling once again, but this time everyone could easily figure out that it wasn’t because of the cold any longer.

«You cut her tongue, she can't talk, it's not that hard,» someone added, and if you weren't mistaken, he must have been Hyunjin, «see why I'm the one that usually handles the interrogation part?» he added with a sinister yet smug smile, and you had to force yourself to swallow that little bit of saliva you felt in your mouth, trying to avoid eye contact with both the pirates who were so casually talking about torture and interrogations.

«What if she drank too much sea water?» Seungmin chimed in, after he had been studying your behaviour with concern, «You know, in my medical books there are plenty of examples of people suffering from amnesia due to a huge amount of shock.» he suggested, and everyone seemed to consider that it could have been your case, with the only exception for Minho, who was staring at you with a look that you could swear that had probably killed someone at some point.

«We are currently sailing the Margoria Sea,» Chris spoke again, his voice a little kinder now that he had considered Seungmin’s suggestion, «and you’re on our pirate ship, the Golden Fleece.»

“Margoria,” you thought, “of course, in this universe, she's the goddess of the waves” you bit the inside of your cheek in frustration as you tried to convince yourself not to cry, recalling the exact moment the same goddess had been mentioned in the novel.

The more you thought about it, the more the surreal possibility of you shifting inside a book seemed to be the only possible answer to your list of infinite questions, especially because if those people really were cosplayers or actors, they would have eventually broken their act due to seeing you in the verge of having a panic attack. Moreover, the author had always been extremely descriptive in every single detail of the story,  and therefore you found it a little bit too much of a strange coincidence for these people to naturally have the same somatic traits as the characters you had just finished reading about. It was undeniable that the people standing in front of you were the stark copy of the ones described in the book.

Few hours later, Chris’ authoritative voice filled the Captain’s quarters, and your eyes eagerly wandered through the room; you’ve read about this moment a lot of times, Chris would summon his long time friends in his quarters and they’d discuss what to do because he valued their opinion as if it was his own.

«Just, what is she doing there?» Minho spoke suddenly, clearly referring to your presence in the quarters; due to your first meeting, you were extremely wary about meeting his gaze, let alone the possibility of crossing his path by accident.

Actually, it’s not like destiny was working in your favour, since you were nervously standing in front of the wooden wall and next to Minho. Everything about your body language exposed how nervous you were about it: your arms were crossed in front of your chest, and you kept your legs spread just a tiny bit – enough to have a slight chance to attempt to sprint away if he randomly started to chase you in order to throw you off the deck.

«I swear Chris entrusted her to me literally two seconds ago,» Felix replied, eagerly waving his hand as if it could make his point even clearer, «pay attention when the Captain is speaking!» he snapped his fingers, admonished his friend, and you found yourself exhale the faintest trace of the hint of a brief laughter through your nose.

However, much to your dismay, you quickly realized that Minho’s hearing must have been otherworldly, since the barely audible noise you made did not go unnoticed by his ears, consequently making your face turn blank as soon as you felt his gaze burning into the side of your head. Hesitantly, you slowly turned your head to your right, confirming that Minho was most definitely staring at you; out of reflex, you immediately looked away, just to glance back at him for a short second.

Minho, who had been staring at you, secretly pleased about the fact that you seemed scared enough not to try some stupid tricks on them, shortly uncrossed his arms from the front of his chest, just to slightly lean towards you: he quickly mimicked the gesture of grabbing something with his hands, while mimicking a bite with his mouth at the same time. Instinctively, you rapidly tilted your head back as you followed your survival instinct, but you heavily slammed your head against the wooden wall behind you.

«Ow!» you winced in pain, grabbing the back of your head with both hands; you were certain that the impact you just felt was more than enough to give you a headache for days, and still, despite Leana immediately rushed at your side to see if you were okay, and despite the fact that you were crouching on the floor massaging your head, Minho kept his original position, staring in front of him as if nothing had happened.  

Seungmin was right behind Leana, attentively cradling your head to see if you actually managed to hurt yourself; unbeknownst to you, Seungmin was actually holding back an amused laughter, since it has definitely been a while since he met someone as clumsy as you.

A couple of days later almost everyone seemed to have accepted you as a new entry of the crew; actually, you considered yourself lucky since most of the pirates on board seemed to not even notice your presence. Of course, you ended up going along with the amnesia excuse because the whole “you look like you all popped up from a book I’ve been reading and I’m trying to understand if I’m having a very vivid dream or I ended up shifting on accident but I actually didn’t really mean it and now I want to go back.” would have been definitely too troublesome to explain. Most importantly, you didn’t feel ready to process what could have happened to you but also, you didn’t want to face the realization that you had suddenly appeared in the middle of nowhere, without a real possibility to get back home safely.

Honestly you were pretty much useless on a pirate ship, and therefore you ended up in the kitchen, either helping Felix and the other cooks in their task of preparing the food or just cleaning and preparing the room where the pirates formed small groups and took turns to have their meals.

If the truth was that you really ended up in a novel, you had to admit that everyone beside Minho acted accordingly to their character. Chris and Leana acted as two lovebirds, completely smitten with each other; you rarely saw them – let’s guess why, but they overall seemed to act friendly towards you. Leana had eagerly helped you decorate the room that had been assigned to you, it was a little small and right next to the storage room – the window was wide enough for you to escape just in case, but it was perfectly okay to you, since you were hoping that you wouldn’t have to remain on the ship for too long.

Since Leana seemed to trust you, so did Chris; despite the fact that you’ve interacted only a handful of times, he seemed as reliable as he had been portrayed in the novel.

Felix and Seungmin were definitely the ones you’ve seen the most. Felix was literally acting as your keeper, paying attention to you as if he was a concerned older brother and not someone who you had met few days earlier. Still, you could expect this from him, since he had always been described as the kindest one out of their group – beside Jeongin.

Seungmin had examined your head a concerning amount of times by now, if you were to ask him; actually, he had quickly realized that you were pretending to have headaches only when Minho was around, and he simply got along with it. He treated you with respect, even if he seemed to be a little wary of your presence. «Let’s hope you can get your memories back soon,» he would say, «so that you can return home safely.» you never answered, his words always making your heart tighten as a reflexive answer.

Changbin, Jisung and Hyunjin were almost always nowhere to be seen; thanks to the author you knew that they had a gambling addiction, however, the only times you saw them they were joined by the hips, always joking around with each other – and Minho, always looking too busy to pay too much attention to you.

Jeongin was basically the miniature version of Chris: you knew that the Captain had saved him when he was still a little kid, and since then Jeongin had always followed Chris’ lead. He was the one that seemed to respect you the most, he was also absolutely certain that you must have been a Princess of a faraway land. «I’m really no one.» you would answer every time with an apologetic smile, earning a sad pout from the younger boy.

Minho, however, was openly against the idea of keeping you on board, and often suggested to throw you off the deck as soon as you started being too annoying. You couldn’t understand why he was so mean to you, and you weren’t definitely the only one to notice; more than once, the others had admonished his behaviour, reiterating the fact that he should have been a little bit nicer to you, especially after what you have been through.

«That’s exactly the point, Chris, we don’t know! She could be a siren or just a lunatic witch,» you overheard him argue with the Captain one day, «face it, if that were the case, no one would be immune to her spells, not even your beloved wife.» your hands instinctively clenched on the broomstick you were holding to sweep the floor of the corridors, and your gaze was lost somewhere in the wooden floor.

«She might as well be telling the truth,» you heard Chris answer in his usual calm tone, «I don’t want to deny her a shelter just because she lost her memories, because that sure wasn’t her fault.»

«What are we listening to?» Changbin’s voice right next to your ear almost made you jump out of your skin due to the sudden fright; his eyes widened in stupor as you almost dropped your hold on your broomstick – thing which would have definitely expose the fact that you were overhearing a very secret conversation. Luckily, Changbin’s reflexes were drastically quicker than yours, and so he collected the broomstick just in time, before handing it to you once again with an amused smirk. He placed his ear against the door, quickly connecting the animated argument to your sad expression and he gently smiled to you in an unexpected friendly manner.

«Don't worry too much about it, Ace, he’ll come around.» Changbin briefly stated before walking away, heading back towards the deck at the end of the corridor without uttering another word; you shortly stood there, speechless, staring at his withering shoulders as his silhouette gradually disappeared in the light coming from outside.

“What the hell?” you thought, incredulous: Changbin had barely spoken to you and now he decided to give you a random and most definitely sarcastic nickname and offer you words of comfort, all of a sudden?

“Something bad is definitely gonna happen,” you quickly deduced, going back to your original task; you were about to start sweeping the floor once again, before an ominous aura seemed to fill the packed space of the corridor.

“There it is,” you announced to yourself, refusing to turn around to confirm the suspicion that Minho had left Chris’ chambers, “oh, divine Xena, mighty princess forged in the heat of battle,please help me with this one,” you instinctively moved out of inertia, backing towards the nearest wall as Minho was walking towards your frame.

“Here we go, it’s him!” you dramatically thought, hugging the broomstick to your chest as if your life depended on it, the only shield between you and Minho, who was standing in front of you with his usual furious stare that magically seemed to disappear as soon as his eyes diverted from your general direction.

«I don’t know what you did to have everyone wrapped around your little finger, but that’s not gonna work with me, princess.» Minho spoke with a harsh tone, cornering you against the wall by placing his left hand next to your head; silence fell between the two of you, and you instinctively clenched your fists around the broomstick, just to be able to attempt to defend yourself in some kind of way.

Could you do self defence while using a broom? Of course. Could you defend yourself against Minho, judging the sheer force he used to plant a dagger in a thick wooden table? Of course not.

Minho spent few seconds studying your face with incredible attention, as if, if he stared hard enough, you would transform into a whole different creature, confirming his theories about you. However, Minho momentarily seemed to have forgotten the concept of personal space, because his nose brushed against yours at least twice as you were doing your best to avoid his piercing gaze.

«Now that I take a closer look, you’re definitely not as pretty as a siren.» he suddenly stated with a sly grin while raising his eyebrow, before detaching from you altogether, just to walk towards the deck’s direction.

«And you had to almost kiss me to find out?» you yelled back a little louder than intended as soon as he was at a reasonable distance; to say that you were outraged was an understatement, you were furious.

To think Minho was your favourite character when you were reading the novel, what were you, crazy?

Despite the fact that you were genuinely doing your best to avoid meeting Minho, the pirate was clearly doing the opposite, neutralizing every single one of your good purposes as the two of you seemed to keep running into each other. It didn’t matter whether you were simply doing your assigned chores or you were peacefully chatting with one of the pirates, he always seemed to find something to do in order to get on your nerves; sometimes he would just accidentally knock random things off the table so that you had to pick them up and clean them again, other times he would interrupt a conversation just to be mean at you.

Minho was definitely getting on your nerves, but you did your best not to pay too much attention to him, since you definitely had more important things to think about. Inside your heart, the growing feeling of homesickness was constantly calling for your attention; you often found yourself on the verge of tears, but it was a side of you that you were determined not to show to anyone, thing that lead you to cry yourself to sleep more than once.

The part of the crew assigned to the kitchen, of course, always had their meal before the others did, and more than once it led to your small group of friend to join, and today was not exception. Walking out of the kitchen, you saw Minho, Jeongin, Chris, Jisung and Seungmin sitting at one of the long tables in the room while eating and loudly chatting, and now that Jeongin was hastily and eagerly waving his arm to let you know that you should have sat next to him to have your quick lunch, you realized that yet another time, you couldn’t escape your fate of avoiding Minho as if he was the plague.

«May I, uh...» you walked next to Leana, who was walking towards their table as well; she immediately tilted her head towards you, listening, «May I approach the bitch?» she bursted out laughing really loudly, immediately understanding that you were talking about Minho; however, that happy and hilarious bubble of joy disappeared the same moment you heard Hyunjin’s voice right behind the both of you.

«What did you say?» never did the simple request to repeat something seem more dangerous; you swallowed, feeling your blood turn cold in the same moment the flashback of him mentioning his “interrogation habits” popped into your mind. However, the few weeks you spent living among pirates were teaching you how to build up your courage – or more like “fake it until you make it”, as someone would say.

«I said “may I approach the bench”,» you answered, pretending to be annoyed with the useless repetition of your sentence, nodding towards the long benches that you were using instead of chairs, «what did you think I said?»

The crew was incredibly hungry that day, you could easily tell from the speed at which they ate and the various groups took turns, thing that didn’t give you much occasion to chat with them as you often did; instead, you were frantically walking back and forth from the kitchen, helping two other pirates to deliver food to everyone.

“Maybe if I find a similar book I can get home,” you thought as you absently piled the dirty and empty plates on top of each other before carrying them to the kitchen, just to come back with clean ones, “where am I supposed to find a book in the open sea?” you sighed in deject, not liking the direction of your thoughts.

«I think you missed a spot, princess.» Minho’s arrogant tone caught your attention, and you watched with total unbewildrement the pirate hit the side of one of the wooden jugs placed on the tables, knocking it to the ground and spilling the water on the floor.

As if you were under a magic spell, all the traces of sadness seemed to vanish from your soul, just to be replaced by sheer anger; you were beyond furious, how dare he? He didn’t trust you, and you could understand his point of view; it pained you to admit to yourself that if you were in his shoes, you would have probably done the same. However, you could endure the teasing, you could endure everything he was putting you through but you definitely drew the line at this kind of disrespect. You closed your fist so tightly that you were absolutely sure that your fingertips would feel momentarily numb as soon as you tried to open your hands, and you were certain that your nails were digging a half crescent moon shape in your skin.

However, you and Minho were not the only one left in the room; Hyunjin, Changbin, Chris and few other crew members were not finished eating and therefore, they saw all the scene unfolding.

«Hey, fuck face!» you loudly called out, claiming both Minho and the other’s attention, «I get you feel powerful because you can swing a fucking sword, but you should learn to respect people who are working!» you stood your grounds, ignoring your heart wildly hammering in your chest and the nervousness you felt as soon as Minho stopped walking, just to turn towards you.

«You’re that interested in losing your head, huh?» Minho replied with an undecipherable gaze, quickly walking back towards you.

If there was a god out there, you were certain that they must have glanced towards your direction in that same moment, because right before Minho could close the distance between the two of you, Changbin’s shoulders appeared in your field of view.

«Calm down, buddy,» Changbin was still peacefully chewing on his food as he stopped him, placing a hand on the pirate’s chest, who tilted his head just enough to keep furiously glance at you.

«If we were still home, I would have get you arrested!» you spat, your chest tightening at the thought of your home town but also incredibly thankful to Changbin.

«Again with those stories? You sure do have flowers growing in your head, princess!» Minho immediately answered, trying to walk around Changbin, who was still pushing against his chest.

However, what no one actually expected was for you to actually try to confront Minho from up close, attempting to walk around Changbin as well; honestly, you were too furious to notice that you were about to face a pirate while completely unarmed and not knowing how to fight.

«Easy there,» Hyunjin suddenly spoke with amusement from behind your shoulders, placing his arms under your armpits just to stop you and hold you back.

«Say that to him, not to me!» you tried to free yourself without success; Hyunjin was very strong despite his slim figure and therefore, even when you kicked both your legs in the air while urging him to let you go, he didn’t move the slightest.

«Don’t you think this is the kind of energy we need on board, Binnie?» Hyunjin laughed, eagerly chatting as he had no trouble holding you back; Changbin scoffed a laugh as well, since it’s been a while since he saw Minho getting riled up that easily.

«That’s enough,» Chris’ authoritative voice seemed to be the only thing that could calm the atmosphere; «you, go back to your room.» he told you in a scolding tone.

«What?!» you whined, «I didn’t do anything!» you added, trying to wiggle out of Hyunjin’s hold once again.

«Don’t challenge my authority,» Chris shortly admonished you, his stern gaze not leaving any room to debate his decision, before turning his attention towards Minho, «you’re going to your room as well.»

«What?!» Minho asked in astonishment, not believing his Captain’s orders.

«I don’t want to see the two of you on deck until at least tomorrow morning.» Chris added, and that was your call to understand that the argument was officially over.

Hyunjin had offered to accompany you to your room, and as soon as you were about to walk out the door, you slightly turned towards Minho: you placed your index finger on your lower eyelid, tugging on the skin as you shortly sticked out your tongue as well. Still, you immediately turned around, so that you couldn’t see Changbin struggling not to laugh, reaching out to stop Minho once again, who was glancing at him with a murderous look.

“I want to go home,” you whined to yourself as soon as you were sitting on your bed once again; you laid down on your back, missing the sensation of Cleo immediately walking up and cuddle at your side. You wondered what happened back home, even though you were certain that your cat had found a way out of your apartment, since the window was still open when you had fallen asleep, however, what about your friends? Was someone worried about your sudden disappearance? Moreover, judging by the amount of days that had passed, you had most definitely lost your job.

«Ah, I hope they choose a nice pic of me if I made it to the news as a missing person.» you mumbled to yourself, your gaze lost in the wooden tiles of your ceiling.

“I could draw tiny lines on the wall to count the days I’m spending on here,” the sudden idea popped up in your mind, only for you to abandon it as quickly as it came. First of all, you didn’t have a knife – let alone a dagger or a sword, and therefore it would be impossible for you to engrave marks in the wall, most importantly, what if they found out and you had to repay for the things you’ve damaged? Those were the basic things happening back home, and although you were unsure about various dynamics of the world you were in, you didn’t want to try your luck. Chris looked scary while pissed off, and you read about how cruel he could be, you definitely needed him on your side.

“I could try to run away as soon as we reach the first port,” you wondered, but that option was discarded as well; although touching land was the only thing to confirm the shifting theory, you didn’t know what could have happened if it was the truth. Abduction and prostitution were sadly pretty much real in that world as well, and once again, you decided that the safest option was to stick around Chris and his crew; after all, what could harm you if he was in charge of basically everything and everyone sailing above the water’s surface?

Minho’s menacious glare appeared in your mind, and you reached out to grab the pillow from under your neck just to slam it against your face, “it’s not like I can throw a meteor at him, I’m not Zhongli,”, you thought, before suddenly sitting up in bed. «Who’s going to do my daily commissions in Genshin Impact now?!» you mumbled to yourself, thinking about all the time you’ve spent playing – time that of course had been wasted due to what happened.

Someone knocked on your door, and you genuinely wondered about pretending to be asleep in order to avoid giving explanation about what happened at dinner; nevertheless, you allowed the person in.

«Hi there,» Felix greeted with his usual cheerful tone, «I heard you caused quite a riot today.» he added, placing a small tray with a glass of water and a plate of stew on the small table next to your bed; you sighed, falling back to the bed and hoping that those blankets could swallow your frame and teleport you back home.

«I didn’t do anything, Felix,» you clarified, «Minho just hates me for no reason.» «Well..» «Please, don’t tell me this is the part where you say things like “he hasn’t always been like this”, or something.» you immediately added, preventing him from talking any further.

«Nah, he’s always been like this.» Felix quickly shook his head, sitting on the small mattress and next to your knees; he tapped your thigh twice, telling you to sit up so that you could eat dinner. «Keep up that attitude though, it’s funny to watch.» he chuckled, his face quietly shifting into a concerned frown as he noticed how you kept playing with your food instead of actually eating it.

Maybe from the outside your interactions with Minho were unusual enough to be considered funny, but to you they were incredibly stressful.

First of all, Minho had always been your favourite character, and you would have never imagined that he could despise your presence so much; most importantly, he had always been described as a whole different person, and you found yourself wondering why you wanted to be accepted by him so much. You were aware that late at night the dining room became the meeting point where some pirates gathered to drink and gamble, both because you had read it in the novel and because some sleepless nights you had passed in front of its door as you were walking towards the deck, hearing the echo of thunderous laughter or the loud chatter of the ones who lost and were unhappy with the rules. Sometimes the door wasn’t even completely close, and as you peeked inside on your way through the corridor, you could see Minho joke around and laugh with the others, thing that always made you feel sad and somehow, lonely.

«Aren’t you hungry?» Felix gently asked, noticing how you went silent all of a sudden. «It’s not that funny, though: he acts like I’m going to annihilate everyone while you sleep and well – he basically adores you.» you ignored his question, instead referring to the fact that he was the only one he didn’t threaten to kill anytime Lix called him “Min Min”.

«I’ll tell you a super secret secret,» Felix started to whisper, and you shifted your gaze on his lips, making sure that you could effectively understand what he was about to say, «me and Minho are half brothers.»

«What?!» you immediately shrieked out of disbelief, that was never mentioned in the novel! You clearly recalled their background stories: Minho was a bounty hunter, while Felix was… Felix… Well, he was…

“Now that I think of it, Felix’s past hasn’t been mentioned, not even once.” your questioning gaze met Felix, who eagerly nodded at the silent questions in your eyes.

«Our mother remarried,» he explained, before interrupting himself, «now that I think of it, mom and Minho’s father weren’t married – well, that’s not important.» Felix dismissively waved his hand in front of himself, and for the next hour, you had eventually started eating as you listened to his stories about him and Minho; despite all the times you wanted to clarify that “yes, I already know this part,” you kept silent, smiling at Felix’s eagerness and at the affection towards his brother that you could feel through his words.

«He’s really amazing,» he praised, «he’s always protected me since we were kids – you know, my… hair colour is a bit unusual.» he admitted, recalling the times when Minho would come home covered in bruises because he had protected Felix from being bullied.

«It’s beautiful, though,» you immediately replied, making Felix widen his eyes in sudden surprise, «you look like you've walked out of a fairy tale... and really, it suits you.» you added, making the pirate smile with a sad smile.

«I often said I could dye it, but Minho was always against the idea.» he said, but your attention was focused elsewhere.

“So, hair dye exist in this world as well?” the gears in your brain started to spin and twirl as you thought; once again, it had never been mentioned in the novel, but you thought that the author didn’t need to, since the story revolved around Chris’ point of view.

«Get some rest, princess,» Felix excused himself, collecting the now empty tray as he stood up; you nodded, the side of your lips curling into a small smile at how different the nickname sounded as it was spoken by the two brothers, «I’ll try to talk to him.» he reassured, and for a second, you decided to believe him.

Much to your dismay, nothing had changed after a week, leaving you to your usual routine; however, you had to admit that you barely saw Minho around, and when you did, you adverted your gaze before he could meet yours. It was as if, unlike the first days, he was keeping his distance as well, and you were grateful to Felix for it. “If you can’t defeat them, become their friend, some said!” you thought, “well, I failed miserably.”

Felix was now basically what you could call your best friend, as he had declared more than once; he always insisted for you to sit next to him when you were eating, and once you were finished with your daily chores, he would explain the most random things to you. Actually, you were incredibly grateful to him because you were finally able to tie a knot on a rope, thing which would have come handy if you ever decided to escape.

Most importantly, you and Felix had something really particular in common, and that was your admiration towards Chris’ and Leana’s relationship. The poor couple could have been simply standing in front of each other talking about the most random things and you would say something like «they’re so pretty I could punch myself in the face,» immediately echoed by Felix that would reply «wait for it, he’s gonna move a strand of hair behind her ear because of the wind,» and the both of you would dreamily coo at them as Chris did exactly what Felix had predicted.

Seungmin was still visiting you every now and then – mostly when you pretended that your head hurt because you saw Minho appearing out of nowhere and he was definitely too close for comfort, but nonetheless he spent most of his days in his study.

Jeongin was mostly spending his time with Seungmin, now, the older pirate insisting that he needed an assistant because he was tired to everything on his own, and Jeongin eagerly following his orders.

Jisung, Changbin and Hyunjin were now seeing you in a whole different light: the day you fearlessly challenged Minho seemed to have made you earn their respect, and they often tried to lure you into joining a gamble match with them. «Thanks, but I don’t know the rules,» you dismissively answered every time, and as soon as one of them suggested they could teach you, you immediately added that you didn’t have anything valuable you could gamble on.

Leana was more or less, an addiction to the piece of furniture in your small room; anytime she wasn’t with Chris, she would keep you company, telling you about the most various and dangerous adventures they have lived while sailing. You eagerly listened to her, often interrupting her to ask for more details, thing that she never seemed to mind, answering your question with the same eagerness. Leana’s stories were a perfect indicator for you to deduce that between what happened in the book and your arrival on the ship, at least three years seemed to have passed; years in which Chris’ domain on the sea had become even more clear.

«It’s like being on of those cruise ships; no one dares attacking us and we can do whatever we want to, I love it.» she confessed, voicing her hopes about you liking being on board as well; you didn’t trust yourself, and therefore you simply nodded.

«Come on, girls night,» Leana had announced one day as she sat on your bed, and you furrowed your eyebrows in obvious reluctance, familiar with the concept of her words; «has anyone caught your eye?» Leana’s eyes seemed to glimmer in curiosity, and you found yourself sigh in deject.

«Yes, I mean, no.» you spoke, unclear, confusing yourself as well. What were you supposed to say? You’ve never looked at anyone under that particular light, after all!

“Well, actually…” you immediately stopped the train of your thoughts: Minho was undoubtedly charming and handsome, but he was behaving like a complete jerk towards you, and therefore you sighed, resigning yourself to your fate as you met Leana’s curious gaze.

«Minho is cute, but don’t tell him I said so, I particularly like my head attached to my neck.» you confessed, panicking as you saw her eyes widen in disbelief.

«I would have bet money on Felix!» she yelled, just to lower her voice mid-sentence, staring at you in complete astonishment.

«Felix is really cute, but everything’s really very… platonic.» you explained, avoiding saying something she would have found too weird and incomprehensible like “he’s always nice andhe gives me really good vibes!”

However, Leana seemed to ponder your words about Minho, confessing that one morning, she saw Felix and Minho talking very animately, as if they were arguing about something. «Now that I think about it, it was the morning after you’ve been both confined to your room.» she added, and she confirmed as well the fact that the pirate seemed to been avoiding your presence as well.

Leana had soon returned to the Captain’s quarters, leaving you in the loneliness of your room; once again, you couldn’t sleep and therefore, you found yourself headed towards the deck of the Golden Fleece.

The night sky was clear, the stars seemed a bright blanket that made you feel a tiny bit less lonelier; you tried to smile at the thought that in your life, you had never seen so many stars due to the industrialization and the fact that there was always a source of light around the city. On your way to the deck you ended up both carrying one of the blankets in your room and stealing an apple from the storage room, and in the end you were sitting alone in a dark corner of the ship, completely hidden from the helmsman’s eyes and from the few pirates who were awake and in charge of taking care of the ship as long as the others were asleep – or gambling.

As your gaze lost itself in the darkness ahead of you, your thoughts inevitably wandered to dangerous places, and you found yourself silently crying because you missed home. Although in the past days you have done your best to avoid even the faintest traces of intrusive thoughts, it was probably time to face the truth; even though it seemed impossible, you ended up in a fantasy novel, and of course the historical period was completely different from the one you were living in, to the point of not having the comforts you were used to have in your everyday life. A phone, internet, a hairdryer, heating, a microwave… Despite the fact that you were slowly getting used to this kind of life, you madly wanted to go back home, and the thing that completely broke your heart was the fact that you highly doubted it would even be remotely possible. After all, the lady at the bookshop had clearly said that you bought the only copy of the novel, copy which was currently still on your coffee table in another dimension.

Completely engrossed in your crying session, you didn’t notice that someone had approached your trembling figure.

«See? I didn’t lie when I said you were probably a thief.» Minho’s voice shook you out of your train of thoughts, but you weren’t in the right mind to answer to his constant teasing; you stared both at him and the apple in your hand – apple that you ended up biting only once, just to wordlessly focus your gaze once again on the darkness in front of the ship.

The moon was high up in the sky, and Minho could definitely see the fact that you were crying, especially because you weren’t doing a good job to hide your occasional hiccups; he has never seen you so vulnerable, after all you’ve been arguing like dog and cat since the day they had saved you, but yet, he breathed a long sigh, before eventually walking closer to you, crouching down so that you were more or less at the same eye-level.

«Are you okay?» Minho questioned, every trace of hostility suddenly disappearing from his voice, and he saw you simply shook your head because no, you were definitely not okay. «Can I sit next to you?» he asked again, and waited for you to answer before he dared to move.

«Why, so you can throw me off deck as soon as I cry too loudly?» you spat with annoyance, and Minho scoffed as a silent answer. If he were to be honest, he wasn’t doing it for you, but for Felix; his brother had constantly told him to give you a chance, but the pirate kept ignoring him; however, for some weird reason he didn’t want to think about, the sight of you curled up against the wall just to cry your eyes out didn’t please him as he originally thought. «Yeah, something like that.» Minho shrugged, before sitting next to you. A somewhat comfortable silence fell on the corner you had been secretly occupying, a silence made of you occasionally hiccuping trying to hide a sob just to wipe your tears with part of your blanket and Minho completely silence as his brain tried to come up with a reasonable question about why you seemed so unconsolable.

«Has something happened in the kitchen? Did Felix say something bad?» Minho gently tried, even if he doubted that was the case, since Felix was the first among the people who seemed to be completely smitten with your presence; confirming his thoughts, he saw you shook your head without voicing an actual answer.

«Have you been having nightmares?» he questioned again, his left hand hesitantly scratching his left thigh; «it happens a lot, especially the first times you sail.» again, you wordlessly shook your head, and silence fell once again.

It went on for minutes, Minho coming up with the most various questions and you simply shaking your head because he never got it right.

«I miss my hairdryer.» you admitted, your voice barely above a whisper.

«Your… your what?» Minho quietly echoed, confusion dripping from his voice.

«My hairdryer,» you repeated, moving your right hand in the air just to mimic a general shape of one, «it’s made like this, and we use it to blow hot hair on our hair to make it dry faster, it works with electric – oh, never mind, you already think I’m a lunatic witch.» your voice trembled at the end of the sentence, and you ended up wiping more tears escaping the corner of your eyes, as Minho was staring at you with an indecipherable gaze.

«Tell me more,» he gently spoke – almost in a hesitant way, urging you to go on, «about your crazy stories, I want to hear more.»

«And give you extra reasons to make fun of me on a daily basis? No, thank you.» you bitterly answered, and Minho’s gentle smile slowly vanished from his lips. The pirate kept studying your features, pensive, and few seconds later his right hand was hovering in front of your face, his pinky finger outstretched.

«I won’t, I promise. I call truce.» he said, and for the first time you turned your head to glance at him, unconsciously smiling at the sight of a pirate using pinky promises as a way to seal official promises; it was as if you could feel your heart tremble, the sight of the Minho you used to adore while reading your favourite book was suddenly not that unreachable anymore, and something in his determined gaze illuminated by the moon made you trust him.

Unbeknownst to you, while intertwining your pinky finger with his, a little part of your fate had changed forever.

«I think I’ve never missed Cleo so much.» you quietly sniffled. «Your lover?» Minho questioned immediately. «My cat.» you clarified without hesitation.

Eventually, you and Minho��shortly ended up bonding over your mutual love for cats. You described her to him, explaining that to you, she was indeed unique and beautiful; her black fur was occasionally painted with ginger spots, and her eyes were a light shade of green.

«She always looked incredibly pissed off, just like me.» you scoffed a laugh, and you heard Minho chuckle softly at your words.

«To think you were going to face me without a weapon, you sure do have some guts,» he commented, and you answered with an exasperated sigh, «you could ask Jisung to teach you a trick or two.» your head immediately turned towards him at the unexpected suggestion. Minho simply shrugged, explaining that you would be more useful on deck if something were to happen.

«I used to have three cats before I choose to sail with Chris.» he admitted then, changing the topic of your conversation, smiling to himself.

«I know.» you answered without thinking about it too much; only when you felt Minho’s inquisitive stare on your face, you panicked. Clearly you couldn’t tell him that you knew a lot of details about his life before he started being a pirate because you read it in a novel, and therefore you simply settled for a simple white lie known as: «Felix told me about it.»

«I miss my hair conditioner as well,» you admitted, «I even got the special edition with keratin – you know with the golden plastic jar and everything, and never got to use it more than twice.» for at least half of the night, you ended up explaining Minho every detail of what life was like where you were living; skyscrapers, air conditioning, electricity, supermarkets, videogames and malls, along with every kind of food you ended up craving, Minho had patiently listened to your rambles, occasionally asking about few clarifications every now and then.

«You know, princess, I still think you have flowers growing in your head.» Minho spoke after the two of you eventually managed to finish conversation topics; your heart sank to your stomach at his words, and of course, you felt like crying again.

«However…» Minho spoke again, his tone a little more firmer than before, as if he understood that his words hurt you, «your stories are a bit too much filled with details to be completely made up.»

«So?» you questioned him, glancing at him while leaning your head against the wooden surface behind your shoulders.

«So,» Minho echoed, mirroring your actions, so that you were staring at each other, «I think that somewhere in that flower field, there’s a little bit of truth.» a relieved smile erupted on your features, and you felt genuinely happy about the fact that finally Minho decided to take you seriously.

Despite the fact that you had managed to calm down, neither of you dared to move, and as you kept talking about your life, you ended up sharing your blanket with the pirate, whose hands were now as cold as ice.

Somewhere during the few hours remaining before dawn, you ended up falling asleep, unconsciously leaning against Minho’s shoulders, who didn’t move in order not to wake you up. However, as soon as the pirate saw a small glimpse of light starting to illuminate the sky as a signal of a new day, he gently picked you up just to carry you to your bedroom.

«Fucking finally, Min Min,» Felix’s groggy whisper called out from Minho’s shoulders; the younger had just woken up, and to be honest, he was convinced about being still asleep as the first thing he saw were his brother – who claimed to hate you, carrying you – who claimed to hate him, bridal style and soundly asleep towards your room. «Not a word, Lix.» Minho had simply answered, not bothering to stop.

Few days later, everyone was aware about the drastic change of Minho’s behaviour towards you, since the pirate went to completely ignore your presence to greet you occasionally. You found yourself smiling anytime it happened, your smile vanishing as soon as you could feel two different set of piercing gazes on your face; on one side, Leana was looking at you with pure excitement in her eyes, as to say «did you see it?» while on the other side, Felix was following the scene with a knowing smile, happy about his brother’s eventual change of heart.

Moreover, you had to admit to yourself that your mood was significantly better since you didn’t have to constantly watch your back, to the point where you found yourself thinking that if things kept going like this, you could have definitely got used to this new life. To be completely honest, you could already picture yourself trying to introduce some of your modern technology into this world, becoming the cliché mad scientist holed up in her laboratory, shouting a loud «it could work!» followed by a manic laughter as soon as you managed to create something useful.

Taking a small break from your daily chores, you decided to take a stroll on deck, enjoying what seemed to be the last days of summer; the days had already begun to shorten and in the back of your mind, you wondered how cold could it get on a pirate ship during winter, but you weren’t sure you wanted to know an actual answer, when out the corner of you eye, you saw them.

At first, you thought that either your mind was playing tricks on you or you were hallucinating, but once you turned your complete attention to the sea, you distinctly saw that there was a small group formed by seven girls not too far from where you were, casually sitting on some random pieces of wood – most definitely what remained of a sunken ship, while brushing their luscious hair; you narrowed your eyes as if trying to get a better view, because you could swear that all of them had a long fish tail.

“Mermaids?” you wondered; after all, you didn’t know how this world worked in the first place, and based on Minho’s accusations to you, for all you knew, they could be more than a superstition.

«Sirens!» the loud shout from the crow’s nest seemed to alert everyone, confirming that you weren’t hallucinating, but you weren’t sure what you were supposed to do in this situation; you saw some pirates running back to their quarters, as if it was a desperate attempt not to be lured by their voices.

Few minutes later, the situation was definitely taking a drastic and terrifying turn: some pirates were throwing themselves off deck just to try their luck swimming towards the sirens and therefore swimming towards their death, while the others kept soundlessly walking toward the railing as if they were possessed, their eyes void of any emotion.

Quirking a brow you stared at the group of sirens once again, silently admiring their beauty and their pretty tail. However something wasn’t adding up: you could clearly see their lips move, but you seemed to be the only one who couldn’t hear their chant.

Leana’s shoulder harshly bumping against yours was what made you wake up from your silent daze; like anyone else, her eyes were unfocused, and she had already thrown one leg over the railing.

«Wait, no!» yelling at her to stop, you covered her ears with your hands out of instinct, when the unthinkable happened: the fog that seemed to cloud Leana’s gaze had vanished as soon as you touched her, and she looked at both herself and you with a puzzled expression.

«What’s happening?» she questioned, confused, «why can’t I hear them?» at her question, it was as if your thoughts began to align, quickly forming a more or less clever answer; could it be that it was because you were from another dimension? You immediately tested your wild guess, wrapping around her wrist the hair tie you always kept on your wrist.

«Still nothing?» you asked, helping her safely climb back on deck, so that no one else could drag her in the water out of accident.

«I can see them singing, but I can’t hear them,» she confirmed with astonishment, glancing at the small elastic band now adorning her wrist, «is this some sort of talisman?» she questioned again but you kept silent, not sure about what you should have answered.

“Wait, if this managed to help her, this means that…”

«Leana, where are my clothes,? You know, the ones I was wearing when you found me in the sea?» you immediately questioned her: if things really were what they seemed, maybe you has a chance to save everyone.

«Come with me.» Leana immediately replied, and shortly after you both raced to the Captain’s quarters as if you were running against time.

«I have an idea, but that will make me sound like a lunatic witch» you quoted Minho, before explaining yourself, «we need to shred them in as many pieces we can and stick them inside the other’s clothes.» you kept your jeans in your hands, handing her both the cotton t-shirts you were wearing at home; however, there was no sign of mock in her eyes.

«You already saved my life, I trust you, witch or not.» she encouraged, and after nodding and each other Leana grabbed two of Chris’ daggers, and after handing one to you as well, you both ran back on deck.

“This is so wrong,” you thought, “I’m about to act like a typical heroine and I don’t have a catchphrase to say!” adrenaline was running trough your veins to the point of making you delirious, and you mentally tried to come up with an outstanding idea as fast as you could?

“How about “for Frodo”?… No, that would be plagiarism,” you kept thinking as you and Leana closed the Captain’s quarters room behind your shoulders, “I got it, “Geronimo!”… Nah, too corny.”

«I’ll take the right side and you take the left side?» Leana urged, already cutting some fabric out of your t-shirt with her dagger; she snapped you out of your thoughts, and your eyes immediately went back on the scenery in front of you.

No more than thirty pirates were left – a quarter of the crew, and much to your dismay, you noticed from the corner of your eye how Chris, Seungmin and Changbin were already in the water.

«Hey Leana, you know what we say in Europe before doing things like this?» your heart was hammering in your chest to the point you were certain it was trying to escape your body.

«Uh... May Margoria have mercy on us?» she tried, as the both of you started walking in opposite directions.

«No, no, it’s even better,» you chuckled at your own thoughts, before encouraging the both of you with a short and simple: «it’s Britney, bitch.»

From that moment, you and Leana were running like two desperate women on a mission, and you tried to ignore the pain that your heart was feeling as you were repeatedly cutting your pair of favourite jeans.

“It’s for a fucking good cause,” you thought motivating yourself, urging your legs to move faster.

Actually, if you and Leana were feeling like two heroes out of an adventure novel, the sight from the outside looked really bizarre: the deck was completely silent as the pirates were walking like zombies, and the only noise was the one made from your heels as you frantically ran back and fort, not to mention that you were occasionally screaming «tag, you’re it!» before running towards the next pirate.

Moreover, as soon as someone of the crew managed to wake up, nor you nor Leana ever stopped to explain what was going on; you just pushed a few pieces of uncommon fabric against their chest just to shout an order for them to follow.   You could feel your lungs burn, and although you desperately wanted to stop and catch your breath, you saw that Minho was in the same position Leana had been in few minutes earlier and you quickly urged your legs to run faster, somehow.

“Why the fuck I never did jogging while I was home?” you internally cursed yourself, but the most important thing was that you managed to stop Minho by a harsh grip on his strong bicep. Minho’s eyes increasingly focused, and he looked at you with bewilderment; you didn’t give him time to ask anything, because you thrusted the only piece of fabric you had left in his hand.

«See this? This was my favourite pair of jeans,» you spoke, your breath ragged due to the fact that you had been running without stopping for more time than you were used to, Minho was about to question why he couldn’t hear the sirens anymore, when you interrupted him again, «let go of this damn denim fabric, and I’ll kill you.»

«What’s going on?» Minho finally questioned, swooning his leg over the railing so that he was once again safely on deck, but before you could answer, Leana had quickly walked towards you with Felix, Jisung, Hyunjin and few of the pirates who had managed to wake up, still clutching the piece of fabric as instructed.

By now, you had managed to save everyone who was still on deck, however, you still had a big problem: the majority of your crew – including the Captain, was still swimming towards the sirens.

«What now?» Leana questioned, her concerned eyes locked on her husband.

«I don’t know.» your shoulders fell as you admitted disheartened, your trembling hands still desperately holding Minho’s hands over what was left of your favourite pair of jeans. «Aren’t you still wearing that thing underneath your shirt?» Leana questioned, and your right hand reflexively touched your bra over your linen shirt. “Not my Victoria’s Secret…” you thought, but Leana quickly dismissed her own idea. «It’s not like we can throw ourselves down there, we’ll never reach them in time.�� she added, and a nervous silence fell once again. The pirates kept silent, not daring to interrupt your conversation with Leana; no one knew what was happening but for all they knew, they owed their life to the both of you. However, the sirens have been focusing their attention on your presence for a while, and as you were considering some stupid and wild idea out of panic, the sirens had stopped singing; the pirates in the water woke up immediately from their daze, immediately yelling to each other to swim back to the Golden Fleece, and your head started to spin with confusion.

Apparently, for whatever reason, the sirens decided they weren’t hungry anymore, and therefore decided to leave, disappearing under the surface of water. Unbeknownst to you, those sirens knew about travelers like you, for it was not the first time that someone immune to their alluring voices had defeated them.

The pirates were now climbing on deck, and if it weren’t for Minho’s arms quickly wrapping around your waist, you would have fallen on your knees as the rush of adrenaline left your body altogether.

«What a week, huh?» you joked, your voice low enough only for the pirate to hear.

«It’s monday morning, princess.» Minho absently replied, studying your exhausted features and actually concerned about the state you were in.

Needless to say, less than an hour later – as soon as everyone had changed out of their soaked clothes, you found yourself in the Captain’s quarters with nine pair of eyes studying you once again; however, this time, the atmosphere was completely different.

«Although we are grateful to you, I believe we need an explanation.» Chris simply questioned; even though his voice remained polite, you could easily notice that he was demanding the truth.

«Are you really a witch?» Hyunjin suggested curiously and without hostility; you shook your head no, and your gaze briefly locked with Minho, who gave you a short nod, as to encourage you to tell them what you had told him as well.

«I’m not a witch, I.. » you sighed, what were you supposed to say? You definitely couldn’t break out the news that they were characters from a novel, but you could definitely tell them part of the truth, «I’m from another world. Or just another dimension, I don’t know. The thing is, at home everything works very different from here and… I really don’t know what to say. I ended up falling asleep in my house and waking up in the sea, right before you saved me.»

The room was silent for some seconds, before they eventually started discussing your explanation, but overall, everyone seemed to believe you.

«We are in your debt.» Chris announced, standing up from his chair, and you felt nervous all of a sudden; you loved his character and how reliable he was despite being a pirate, however, you always thought that he was a little bit too dramatic, especially in these kind of situations.

«No, no. We’re good buddy, really.» you anxiously waved your hands in front of you, as if to shake away the thought of having a whole crew of pirates indebted to you, «besides, you saved me first, I returned the favor, we’re even.»

«At least, allow us to help you!» Leana insisted, reiterating the fact that if they were alive was exclusively because of you.

«Do you remember how you ended up here?» Seungmin added, agreeing with Leana.

«I bought a book – a very specific one, and somehow I ended up shifting.»you had shortly explained; the information sent them into another brief discussion among themselves.

«Maybe fate is really on your side,» Chris commented, «we’ll be arriving to O’dyllita in few days; the capital – O’draxxia is known for having the biggest and best-stocked library of all known land.» the Captain explained that you could try visit there, to see if you could find anything regarding shifting dimension.

«Of course, if you don’t, you’ll be welcome to stay with us!» Jeongin had quickly added, and you found yourself nodding at his eagerness, thanking everyone else as well.

«Another thing,» Leana suddenly spoke, as if a thought had suddenly came to her mind, «who is that “Britney” you mentioned earlier? Is she a goddess from your world?» she innocently questioned, but you couldn’t help but find yourself laughing at the absurdity of the situation you got yourself in.

«More or less.» you admitted, and she seemed content with the answer.

The day had eventually fallen back into the same routine rather quickly, making you realize that this kind of situations weren’t that uncommon; however, every now and then some of the pirates would greet you, thanking you for saving their life before going on with their day.

«Excuse me, princess,» an unfamiliar voice called out, and you immediately turned your head. One of the pirates was standing not so far from you; he was definitely older than you, even if despite his youthful appearance his beard and his hair was almost completely grey. He hesitantly outstretched his hand towards you, and you curiously examined the small necklace in the palm of his hand. It was definitely plain looking, a thin looking chord with a too much familiar charm attached to it; without thinking, you took a step forward to take a better look.

Turns out – for the second time that day, that you weren’t hallucinating things: the small charm was indeed a piece of fabric from your clothes, now neatly braided together as to form a tiny charm.

«My old man was a tailor, so I learned a thing or two from him,» you patiently glanced at him, waiting for him to explain himself further as you glanced back and forth from his face to his hand, «I ended up making a talisman for everyone out of the fabric you gave us, since the Captain and Leana explained to us what you did fpr us,» you kept silent, not understanding why he was handing one to you as well, «I know you don’t need one, but we want you to have one as well.»

«“We”?» you echoed; glancing around, you noticed that few other pirates were definitely pretending to do their chores just to curiously overlook the situation, wondering what your reaction might have been.

«It’s a way to tell you that you’re in the crew,» Leana excitedly spoke, appearing out of nowhere and hugging your shoulder, «you saved a whole lot of pirates, you know what it means? You’re a pirate, love.»

«What?» you questioned, hesitantly reaching out to grab the necklace from the pirate’s outstretched hand, who thanked you for accepting his humble gift.

“Holy shit, I’m the hero of the day,” you thought, trying to process the fact that a pirate had just thanked you for accepting a necklace made out of clothes from another dimension.

«For your information,» Felix’s sudden deep voice made you turn around in surprise, since the new information had made your head spin, «it was a unanimous decision.» he clarified; as you happened to lock gaze with Minho, he simply winked at you with a mischievous smile, and you could swear that for the first time, you felt the butterflies in your stomach do somersaults.

The secret escapades you occasionally had with Minho during the night ended up being a habit, and as the weather started to become colder, you eventually decided to move things to your room; more than once, you and Minho ended up falling asleep after nights spent talking about the most various topics and every time, Minho would wake up before dawn just to sneak back to his room.

«Do you still think I’m a lunatic siren?» you quietly mumbled one night, quite scared of the possible affirmative answer. Minho was sitting opposite of you on your bed, your knees almost brushing against each other’s.

«I don’t.» Minho honestly answered after what seemed to be an eternal silence; he was still staring at you with an indecipherable gaze that made you feel extremely small, but it was significantly softer now. You were certain that something in your relationship with Minho had drastically changed since the night he found you crying alone, and somehow, even if you didn’t want to be seen in such a vulnerable state, you were happy he was the one who found you nonetheless.

Above all – most importantly, since Minho’s behaviour towards you had changed and gradually started to become softer, you could swear you felt your feelings drift towards him at a slow but steady speed. To state the obvious, he was handsome, and you often found yourself looking at him as he was talking with the others on deck, the wind blowing through his hair and his clothes making him look like a runaway Prince from a fairytale; he was also funny and an extremely good listener, and the more you spent time together, the more your heart would fill with feelings for him, just like a slow tide at noon.

«Do you believe me, then?» you mumbled, as if you were trying your luck; despite you told everyone that you came from another dimension, the topic of your conversations with Minho were a secret, and he was completely aware about that. Even though you desperately wanted him to believe your words, you couldn’t help but trying to imagine how you would react if you were in Minho’s shoes and of course, you had to admit that you would have your good doses of suspicions as well.

«I’m not really sure I can understand everything you tell me,» he admitted, «but I really want to try.» you found yourself genuinely smiling at his words.

A comfortable silence fell once again, and you searched for Minho’s eyes in the partial darkness of the place; three small candles were lightning up the room, creating an intimate atmosphere while allowing you to see each other just enough. «Thank you, Min Min.» you quietly mumbled, now definitely trying your luck; you knew that the only person allowed to call him like that was Felix, and although your relationship was completely different from how it started, you were certain that he would admonish you, telling you not to call him like that.

However, Minho’s reaction was definitely unexpected; his eyes met yours in less than a second, and despite the little lighting in the room, you could clearly see a sudden blush adorning both his cheeks and the tip of his ears.

«Wait, did you just…? No, nevermind,» Minho quickly dismissed, his unexpected flustered state was more than enough to make your cheeks flare up as well, «let’s suppose you ended up coming here from another dimension, why do you think it happened?» the conversation took another bittersweet turn, and you went back staring at your knees.

«I have no idea.» you confessed, disheartened, since you had wondered about that a concerning amount of times as well.

«Do you want to go back?» Minho questioned out of curiosity; he had immediately noticed how you eventually managed to find your place among the crew, and how you got along with everyone.

«I can’t even explain how much I want to.» you admitted, and before you could actually realize it, tears had started to escape your eyes.

«Hey, don’t cry, I’m sorry I brought that up,» Minho seemed to move towards you as if he had been hurt by a sudden static, «I didn’t want to make you cry.» he mumbled again, wiping your tears away as gently as he could, touching you as if you were made of frail glass despite his usual roughness. Eventually, he placed your pillow over his lap and you let him adjust your position enough that you could lay your head over it.

Minho kept gently stroking your hair with clumsy yet gentle movements – clearly unfamiliar with intimacy, lulling you to sleep while mumbling that «it’s okay, I’ll help you find a way,» or even «don’t cry, pretty princess, you’re safe now.»

That night was the first time that you and Minho willingly got so close physically, and you never expected for his touch to feel as comforting as it did; although you had stopped crying few minutes after you were laying on his lap, you didn’t want for that interaction to stop, and therefore you laid there, greedily taking all the unexpected affection Minho was showering you with.

Two days later, you were officially touching land; two days later, you were completely certain about the fact that you had shifted dimension – since there was a tiny part of your heart that still hoped you were having a really weird dream.

The port was large and full of people busy working; you looked around in amazement admiring everything: the small stalls of the market a little further on, people’s clothes, the type of architecture of the houses… However, something didn’t add up once again. There were various wooden signs hanging on the stalls, price indicators or more simply indicators of what could be found in each one of them, and despite the fact that the alphabet was a strange combination o weird symbols you’ve never seen in your life, you could understand them; fabrics, groceries, swords, you could read everything, was it another special ability you gained while shifting? “This is crazy,” you thought as you kept looking around yourself, “it’s like I chosen a default language in a videogame.”

Minho seemed to have noticed the puzzled expression on your face as you were glancing around, and quickly got to your side. «Not like it’s important for us, but can you read and write?» he questioned, watching as you hesitantly nodded at him.

«I’m not sure about the writing part,» you answered, looking around and not quite believing your eyes, «but it turns out I can read!»

«That’s good,» Minho’s sudden gentle smile made you feel incredibly flustered, and you shortly played with your fingertips since you didn’t know what you were supposed to answer, «I’ll see you tonight, then.» he added, making you furrow your eyebrows.

Before you could question his words, Leana and Chris had joined you, the latter informing you that he had already booked a carriage for both you and Leana.

“That’s it? They’re going to leave me here?” you met Minho’s gaze, just to switch it quickly towards Leana, who had reached out to hold your hand, gently tugging you towards her.

«I believe someone forgot to tell you,» she said, admonishing Minho with a stern gaze, «O’draxxia, the Capital, is a city in which men cannot enter, meaning that we have all the day for ourselves!»

The carriage ride lasted a little more than an hour, and both you and Leana kept staring out of the window, amazed by the scenery surrounding the two of you; it was the first time for Leana as well to venture into O’dyllita, and just like you, she was overly excited to finally visit O’draxxia, since she had often heard about it.

«From what I know, almost everyone in the city is a priestess,» she had explained, the two of you never looking at each other since your attention was completely engrossed towards opposite directions, «and they say the library is so huge that there are pillars as big as towers that are used as bookshelves!»

Despite the dense and rich vegetation, the landscape seemed to have a tremendously lonely air; in the distance you could see ruins of old structures that looked like castles or fortresses, clearly uninhabited and reclaimed by vegetation. Overall, the landscape almost seemed fiabesque, even if you couldn’t glimpse a trace of a living soul for kilometres. Just as Leana had said, O’draxxia was entirely populated by women, and all of them looked mesmerizing and stunning; some of them greeted you and Leana with a court nod, just like they did with the other women that were visiting the city. Despite the fact that the city was populated and animated by the priestesses and occasional tourists, the city gave you a serene yet lonely feeling. The houses were simple and elegant, made of grey bricks with bright green plants growing along the walls, covering some parts with elegant red and orange flowers. Both you and Leana followed one of the priestess’ indications to reach the library, as the two of you kept glancing around in utter wonder as you were walking.

«I’m really glad we get along,» Leana spoke out of the blue as you were strolling around town, headed towards the library, interlocking her arm with yours; you sent her a glance, only to start once again to focus on the unfamiliar scenery in front of your eyes, «we tried to let other girls on our ship, but it didn’t end well.»

«Why not?» you questioned out of curiosity, your gaze still focused on the unfamiliar flowers decorating the streets; the novel you’ve read ended as soon as Chris and Leana got their happy ending, so her words were definitely something you didn’t know about.

«They ended up liking Chris a little bit too much, and you know…» the innocent smile on Leana’s lips was a stark contrast to the gesture she made: she ran her index finger over her neck horizontally, and you suddenly widened your eyes, gulping nervously.

«You… did you kill them?» you whispered, only for her ears to hear, not quite knowing how to feel about it.

«And threw them in the sea,» she proudly clarified with a wink, «for all I know, they could be the sirens that attacked us.» her tone was as nonchalant as if she was talking about the weather, and you furrowed your eyebrows, familiar with what she was implying, since you clearly recalled the author mentioning it once.

Apparently, mermaids – or mostly known as sirens, were the women thrown off ships because of the common belief about “having a woman on boat brings bad luck”, and therefore, as those poor women sank to the bottom of the sea, they committed themselves to their rage and their desire of revenge. You clearly remember how that paragraph made you quite uncomfortable, empathizing with those women as they rightfully wanted to take revenge on the people that killed them without reason. Moreover, the author described how they started to change underwater, their lungs adapting to the water until they could breathe and their tied legs eventually became a tail over time. They drowned sailors and pirates in revenge, but especially, they seem to target the crew that did them wrong, until they could see the remaining of their ships at the bottom of the sea.

All of a sudden, one of your first conversations with Leana came to your mind. «So, what do you think about Chris?» she had questioned with an earnest smile, the both of you sitting on deck as you watched him ordering the others around.

«He’s awesome,» you immediately answered, excitedly, «Felix told me he’s in charge of each route of the whole sea, and he’s basically around my age. He’s really awesome for that!» you had excitedly explained, avoiding to mention too intricate details you read in the novel.

«He really is, don’t steal him from me though!» she had laughed back then, gently nudging your shoulders with hers in an almost friendly gesture.

«I wouldn’t dare,» you immediately scoffed, «you’re basically the perfect match! moreover, he’s not really my type.»

Only now you realized all the things that could have gone so incredibly wrong if your interaction had gone wrong back then, and you glanced at her once again. Leana was now gazing around the town in amazement, since you knew that she had never been here as well; you instinctively scoffed a laugh, to thing that you believed Minho was the biggest threat among the crew.

Not to mention that the surprises were definitely not over; shortly after, Leana asked you if you believed in soulmates. 

«I think I do,» you confessed; it was definitely one of your favourite genres to read about, but you couldn’t admit that to her, «why?»

«I’ve been thinking about it lately, but I never had anyone to talk about it…» she admitted.

“I wonder why,” you silently commented, but kept silent.

«Sometimes I have the feeling that me and Chris were meant to be, you know?» she fondly smiled, her gaze lost somewhere in the scenery around the two of you as she was probably recalling one of the various memories she had created with her husband; you were about to answer something encouraging and motivational, when her next words definitely made your voice die in your throat. «I mean, I didn’t even like Chris when he brought me on the ship, let alone if I could imagine myself falling in love with him or even marrying him.» she admitted, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Wait a fucking minute now,”

«What?» you asked in complete disbelief. Once again, you perfectly recalled you read that Chris and Leana were in love before she got romantically and dramatically stolen away from him; to be precise, Leana was engaged to another man, who she didn’t love.

However, Leana was standing in front of you, telling you a completely different part of the story, making you question if the things you’ve read on your couch were correct in the first place.

«I was engaged with an officer of the navy, and I loathed pirates at first; I accepted to go with Chris because I agreed with my fiancée that I would have made Chris vulnerable in some way.» Leana hesitantly confessed, and you couldn’t bring yourself to find an actual reply, «in the end I fell for him little by little, to the point where I couldn’t imagine my life without him.»

“What the hell,” you thought; you had stopped walking altogether, and were simply standing still in silence, a whirlwind of thoughts floating around your head as you were staring at Leana. You never read something like this in the book, but if we had to be honest, the book was following Chris’ point of view, but again, by the way Leana was described, she was meant to be the typical damsel in distress that runs away from an unhappy relationship to find her love.

However, in front of you stood Leana, a damsel that was very not in distress, a damsel who had a concerning series of murders weighting on her shoulders,  whose original plan was to serve Chris’ head to the navy.

«I’m glad you married him,» you ended up blurting out, «you look really cute together.» Leana loudly laughed at your unexpected comment, and as the two of you started walking again, she hugged your arm a little closer to her side.

«Wanna know who’s cute?» her teasing tone made you sigh out of reflex, not sure whether you wanted to know the answer to her question, «You and Min Min.» she chanted, making you whine as an answer.

«I don’t like him like that, let’s just – let’s talk about it another time, okay?» you pleaded, hoping that she would fall for your suggestion so that you could keep avoiding the topic forever.

The moment you stepped in front of the library’s entrance, you couldn’t believe your eyes: it was as if a huge castle had been redecorated just to serve a new and better purpose. Leana didn’t lie when she said about the pillars being huge, and the more you ventured in, the more you felt overwhelmed; you loved books, and for a second, you thought that you could become a priestess just to have a chance to read every single book you could see, even if it would have took literally a lifetime. In the end, you ended up asking to a priestess for help, since you would have taken at least a whole day in order to find some useful information without asking for help.

«Books about teleportation?» the priestess had repeated your words, as if making sure she heard you loud and clear; you hesitantly nodded, feeling incredibly small under her gaze; she eventually nodded at the two of you, asking to follow her. Needless to say, you ended up walking your way on the stairs around one of the pillars, just to reach the highest bookshelf.

«It’s been a while since someone asked for that,» she said, trying to make conversation with the two of you, but only Leana was answering her various questions, since you were way too nervous to speak. As you reached the bookshelf, your shoulders immediately lowered in deject; there were only four books about teleportation, but no one of them were like the one you brought.

«Sadly, we only have these ones.» the priestess excused herself, quickly taking notice of your saddened expression; you immediately tried to smile, shaking your head and answering that it was okay.

«Are you sure you’re okay?» Leana whispered to you, as soon as the priestess begun to walk down the stairs on her own and was now out of sight; your gaze was still on the books, which you eventually tried to examine.

What if the cover was different because you were in a different dimension? However, as your fingers leafed through the pages, you couldn’t understand your feelings; you almost seemed happy about the fact that your task had failed, as if what you really wanted was to remain into this world.

«I am,» you nodded, seeing Leana’s concern vanish from her features, «I really am.»

The fact that your mission had failed meant only one thing: you and Leana were free to curiously look around as you pleased, and that’s exactly what you did. At the end of the day, once you were back in the carriage, you could swear you almost had a headache due to all the informations the both of you had tried to assimilate in your brain.

«What was that one again? Flat parsley and saffron?» she mumbled, massaging the side of her head.

«This planet is not flat was the first part,» you tiredly answered, mimicking her actions, «I don’t know where you got the parsley and saffron thing from.»

«It was the recipes book I wanted to steal.» she urged, trying to give you another hint, as if you hadn’t read an infinite quantitative of books within few hours.

«Oh, that one,» you hummed, recalling the moment where Leana had tried to see if the recipes book would fit under her shirt, saying that Felix would have loved it, «it was the recipe of saffron rice… There was no parsley, though.»

When you got off the carriage, Minho and Chris exchanged a quizzical glance as they saw the two of you look exhausted; both of you were dragging your feet towards them, talking with a flat tone about how amazing your day had been.

«Found anything?» Minho questioned, ignoring how his heart was beating in a silent hope that you didn’t manage to find the book you were looking for; you kept walking, silently shaking your head. Minho didn’t say anything as he walked up next to you; the pirate breathed a soft sigh, swinging his arm around your shoulders and instinctively you hugged his waist, leaning your head towards his shoulder.

«You’ll find it.» you heard Minho’s reassuring tone, and you shrugged in a silent answer.

“I think it will be okay, even if I don’t.” you secretly thought, glancing at the pirate walking next to you.

Out of your sight, Chris and Leana were glancing both at you and Minho, before looking at each other.

«Am I hallucinating?» Chris questioned his wife; he knew that things between you and the pirate had improved, but he didn’t imagine they had improved that much.

«I think we’ll be celebrating another marriage soon.» Leana sighed, fondly smiling at the two of you. «“I don’t like Minho”, my ass.» she scoffed, mumbling to herself as an amused smirk erupted on her lips, recalling the moment you denied liking the pirate.

That night, you found out that Chris not only owned every single soul sailing above the sea, he also owned few taverns scattered around the land as well.

You and the others had ended up in the courtyard of a local tavern – the Bitter Dahlia, the musicians animatedly creating a joyful atmosphere as few people had eventually started to dance. You had let yourself convince to try a whole lot different kind of drinks by Hyunjin, and now you were tipsily strolling around the courtyard with a pint of beer in your hand, and thankfully, Minho had easily noticed it; that’s why as soon as you walked past him in order to find Felix, he reached out, placing his hand on your right shoulder and tugging you close to his body, your back pressed against his chest. You didn’t realize it was Minho at first, you simply pouted because someone was stopping you all of a sudden; when you decided to find out who was attached to the arm blocking your path you giggled as soon as you saw Minho’s face, and let him pull you closer to him.

Minho didn’t say anything, and neither did you – nor did you move away in the first place.

«I think you drank too much, princess,» his hoarse voice – probably affected by the drinks he had, spoke right against your ear, and you instinctively crossed your ankles just to press your thighs together; you let him take the pint of beer from your hand, his arm eventually found his way around your waist, and he leaned his chin on your shoulder.

«Felix!» you giggled, catching a hold of the boy’s forearm as soon as you saw him walk by, tugging him towards both you and Minho, «Look at them,» you excitedly spoke, «look at them!» you urged again, giggling excitedly as you obviously forgot that Minho was right behind you and therefore he could hear everything.

Even if he was in a worse state than you were, it didn’t take a genius for Felix to understand who you were talking about, and he followed your glance towards the small group of couples that were dancing; of course Chris and Leana were there, and of course you and Felix had felt the need to talk about how wonderful and amazing they looked.

«They’re both stumbling on their feet,» Minho had stated from behind you, holding your waist a little firmer, and you suddenly reminded that he had been unconsciously made part of your secret conversations with Felix, «they’re really drunk, like – three sheets to the wind drunk.» he clarified, amused with your behaviour.

«You don’t understand,» you quickly answered, your hand flying on top of the one the pirate had placed on your hip, «look at -» your voice vanished from your throat as soon as you turned your head towards him, and instead, your heart picked up pace at a concerning speed; Minho’s face was millimetres from yours, his gaze burning into yours, «them.» you eventually finished, your voice barely above a whisper. You and Minho had already been close enough to kiss once, but to say that the situation was completely different would be an understatement.

If back then neither you nor Minho would have considered the option to kiss the other – let alone being attracted to each other, to this day things had drastically changed. Even if you blamed it on the alcohol, you were very much aware about the fact that you would have loved to kiss him; the fact that Minho’s gaze kept shifting between your eyes and your lips clearly told you that your desire was reciprocated.

“If this was a movie we would make out while Céline Dion was singing her heart out in the background,” you drunkenly thought, “and all I get is drunk bards play the tarantella”.

«Well, this is something unexpected!» Jisung’s loud voice made you and Minho immediately turn your head towards him, and much to your embarrassment, he wasn’t alone; of course Changbin and Hyunjin were with him.

«She’s tipsy, I didn’t want her to fall over.» Minho had immediately answered, his voice a little bit too defensive if you were to ask Hyunjin, who carefully – and drunkenly, studied his expression with a sly smirk.

«And the empty chair next to you was claimed by a ghost?» Jisung questioned the pirate, who rolled his eyes without answering.

However, the worst still had to happen, because in that very moment, Leana seemed to appear out of thin air, as if she had magically listened to the conversation while she was dancing with her husband.

«You didn’t hear it from me,» Leana loudly announced as if you and Minho weren’t there, «but when we returned from O’draxxia, Minho straight up hugged her.» You felt Minho bury his forehead in the crook of your neck, and you shortly met Felix’s gaze, who was looking at you with a drunk dazed smile: «We better talk about this!» he said.

«And, he also kissed her forehead.» Leana lied, getting drunk shouts of surprise from your friends, and you knew that as soon as you got back on the ship, you and Minho would become the most interesting topic among the crew.

«Want to scoot over?» Minho spoke against your ear once again, and you found your mind drifting towards unholy thoughts before you could stop yourself; his question was sincere, and as he voiced it, he started to move his arm away from your hip. However, you didn’t bother to voice an answer; since your hand was still placed above his, you pushed it more firmly against your hip, purposely intertwining your fingers together.

As you felt Minho’s lips hovering above the exposed skin of your shoulder in a barely perceptible kiss, you could swear that all the noise coming from the loud party around the two of you had been ignored from your brain.

Back on the Golden Fleece, everything seemed to have fallen back to the usual routine, with the only addiction that your friends had decided to constantly tease you and Minho about your almost kiss.

Of course, even if three days had passed since that night and Minho had visited your bedroom as always, no one dared to approach the topic, and you kept dancing on your tiptoes around each other. However, what’s a princess without a fairy godmother?

That evening, right after dinner, Felix had bursted into your room unannounced, somewhat expecting Leana’s presence as well; the two of them were casually sitting on your bed, ignoring the fact that you were curled up under the covers, refusing to get out and face them.

«Well?» Felix urged, lowering the blanket just to expose your face; you hissed like a stray cat, but you quickly understood that neither of them was going to leave without an answer to the same question.

«I don’t have anything to say,» you stubbornly said, and you heard Leana snort.

«Okay, we’ll go first:» she spoke, leaning towards you, «I was drunk but I sure do have eyes, girl.» she spoke with an alluring tone, and you tried to roll over the opposite side in order not to hear her, «and my eyes are telling me that you like Minho, and Minho likes you.» choosing to groan instead of answer, Felix saw an opportunity to chime in.

«You were still dancing when it happened, but they almost kissed – like, kissed.» Felix added, empathizing the last part of his sentence, and Leana almost shrieked in disbelief, her offended voice questioning why you didn’t tell her such an important and fundamental detail.

«Did you tell him?» Felix questioned, just to add the question you didn’t dare to ask yourself, «Oh… Do you still want to go back home?» You eventually threw the blanket off your face hearing that, meeting your friends’ eyes as your face was filled with unsure doubt; you never thought it would have happened, but you had to admit to yourself that you were happy. You had friends,  you felt accepted, and you managed to have fun thanks to your friends, who cherished you. Moreover…

«I don’t really want to hurt your feelings,» Leana suddenly spoke, interrupting your thoughts, «but when we were in O’draxxia and you didn’t find the book, you almost looked… relieved.» your gaze met, and you realized you had a problem: your heart was clearly telling that you wanted to stay there, in that absurd world you’ve read about one random afternoon.

When you met Felix’s gaze, you realized you had another problem, maybe a bigger one than the previous one: you liked Minho. Well, of course you already knew that, since he was your favourite character of the novel; however, liking the real Minho, the one daily standing in front of you, the one who went from threatening to throw you overboard to gently caress your hair until you fell asleep was a different kind of thing.

«I think I need a second.» you admitted with a sigh, staring at the wooden tiles on the ceiling,

“Let’s suppose I like him,” you thought, “I don’t think he actually likes me, he was probably tipsy,” you bit the inner part of your cheek, “what if he likes me and I like him and I find the book?” you scratched the back of your neck out of frustration, ignoring the fact that you wanted to scream, “what do I do?”

«Well, you could start with a simple “I think I have feelings for you and I don’t think I want to go back any longer”» Felix gently suggested, and as your gaze flew towards his, you realized that you had been unconsciously voicing your thoughts all along.

The same moment Felix was heading towards your room, Minho was heading towards the dining room, knowing that he would have found what he was looking for. The heavy smell of smoke and alcohol filled his nostrils, as he approached his friends’ table quietly.

«Loverboy decided to ditch his girl to embrace his old habits?» Chris glanced at him, quirking an eyebrow with a mischievous smile.

«I’m coming here in spite of myself, but I… have to.» Minho spoke in a dramatic tone that made Chris snort, waiting for his friend to tell them what was going through his mind, «I think I might like her.»

«We knew it already,» Hyunjin replied with no interest, his eyes still glued on his cards, admonishing Jisung because he was trying to sneak some of the coins off the table and inside his sleeve; Minho stared at his friend with stupor, but Hyunjin seemed too focused on their match to pay attention to his friend.

«"Like her" as in, “I want to hold your hand under the moonlight”,» Changbin – the only one beside Chris who was listening to Minho, suggested, «or “I want to ravish you until you can’t stand”?»

Minho didn’t answer immediately, choosing to think about it for a while, even if he didn’t really have to; he undoubtedly found you attractive, and over time, he found himself slowly getting incredibly soft for you, to the point where he would glance around at random moments of the day just to see what you were doing.

The more Minho’s silence went on, the more his friends had gradually stopped focusing on their match in order to look at him with curiosity and malice, enjoying how the pirate’s face gradually got flustered.

«As in… both.» Minho confessed, making his friends hum and mumble in acknowledgement.

«Ah! … Well, we knew that already.» Hyunjin replied again, his sharp gaze once again back to the table in front of them.

«What do you mean?» Minho asked quizzically, since it was the second time his friend had mentioned it.

«Yeah, well, remember when Jisung was teaching her the basic of self defence?» Seungmin – who had kept silent until then, asked making Minho immediately nod, how could he forget that day? Jisung had been trying to teach you a few simple movements for what seemed to be hours, but in the end, you kept doing stupid and predictable mistakes because you seemed to be too tense to use a dagger – let alone a sword.

«Leave it, Han, she’ll end up stabbing herself by mistake.» he had told his friend with an arrogant tone, and he clearly remembered the flustered expression on your face. As always, you tried to fight back, but this time it was a little bit different; that’s how you ended up chasing Minho through the deck while screaming «I’ll fucking kill you, I swear!» until Changbin decided to stop you by stopping you mid run.

«What about it?» Minho asked again, not understanding what his friend wanted to imply.

«Felix and few other saw you laughing,» Seungmin added, «therefore, it was just a matter of time.»

Minho placed his elbow on the table and roughly massaged the bridge of his nose, trying to analyse the situation he was in: he liked you, but what happened few nights ago was just a result of the both of you being tipsy, and moreover, he knew that you wanted to go back home. What was he supposed to do?

«I’m not an expert, but try with a simple “I like you, please stay here with me”.» Jisung had spoken as if he could read his thoughts; only then Minho realized that he had never been silent in the first place.

Minho had eventually joined you in your bedroom few hours after Felix and Leana had left, even if you had already stated that he either fell asleep or he was spending the night gambling with the others. You seemed to miss his presence more than you usually did, especially because that night you were freezing: no matter how many blankets you were laying under, you just didn’t seem to warm up.

“It wouldn’t be punk rock for me to die like this,” you thought, breathing in your joined fists as you tried to ignore the constant shivers of your body.

A familiar knock on the door caught your attention, and as soon as you recognized Minho’s voice whispering his greetings, you had to physically stop yourself from asking him to join you under the covers so that he could warm you up.

Unlike you, Minho didn’t seem to mind the cold that much, but nonetheless he quickly walked up to you, pressing the palm of his hand to your forehead just in case you had a fever.

«I’m genuinely wondering how the hell you manage to live like this.» you broke the silence, your jaw trembling because of the sheer cold; although you tried not to think to the accommodation of your original life, your mind couldn’t help but wander to your beloved electric heater, your faithful companions during winter.

«You just ... get used to it?» Minho questioned back, not really able to give you an actual answer; of course, during the first years he spent sailing he was in the same situation as you – everyone had, but he eventually got used to it. Minho sat on the edge of your bed, mindlessly running his fingertips through your hair – a simple yet intimate gesture he had come to love.

«I can hear flowers blooming in that flower field,» he smugly commented the fact that you were keeping silent, and you clicked your tongue, asking what he meant, «what did you use in your world to keep warm?» he curiously questioned, and your heart soared at the realization that he was honestly and genuinely interested in your stories.

However, you were too cold for your brain to function properly, and you ended up talking about the concept of the electric heating in a very confusing way; nonetheless, Minho didn’t seem to mind you words, for his concern had increasingly risen.

«Hey,» the pirate interrupted your explanation, «are you sure you don’t want another blanket?» despite the fact that you were doing your best, he still noticed the occasional shivers and clattering of your teeth as soon as you stopped speaking.

«It’s okay,» you reassured him, «I used all the blankets Leana gave me… I’ll warm up eventually.» you answered hopefully, but Minho didn’t answer immediately; instead, he reached out, shortly enveloping your hand with his just to comment that it was as if you had stuck your hand into ice.

«Come here,» Minho said, stretching over your legs and fully sitting on your bed with his back against the wall, widening his legs so that he could form a space for you to sit in; you kept still in amazed astonishment, not quite trusting your thoughts on the hypothesis that Minho wanted to cuddle.

«Are you gonna kill me?» you blurted out, for your frozen brain decided it was the most likely solution.

«Quit that, princess,» he clicked his tongue, urging you to come closer, «you know we’re past that.» folding all your blankets around your shape, you slowly crawled in the space he made for you, trying not to lose the small amount of warmth you had created; you immediately tensed up, sitting straight and clutching the blankets closer to your body.

Since the night you almost kissed, you had never been so close to Minho, and for some reason, it was enough for your heart to pick up pace as if it was begging you to set it free through your ribcage.

«Come here,» the pirate repeated, his voice a little gentler – a little softer, and you found yourself leaning against his torso. Unlike you, Minho wasn’t using a blanket to keep himself warm and therefore he could move his arms freely; of course he used them to loosely cage you in his hold.

Although you had to admit that the position you were in definitely looked kind of weird, it was extremely comfortable; Minho’s steady breathing was slowly calming your nerves as well, and you found yourself relaxing in his hold.

«Do you want some of my blankets?» you mumbled quietly, embarrassed about the fact that you didn’t ask sooner.

«I’m good.» Minho answered immediately, gently repeating that you should try to sleep.

Despite the fact that you were comfortable, despite Minho’s presence, despite the fact that you were slowly warming up, sleep was definitely your last priority. The pirate’s nose brushed against your forehead as he was trying to adjust his position to get more comfortable, and you quickly noticed that his skin was cold as well.

«Minho,» you called out again few minutes later; the pirate hummed, and you took it at a silent question to go on, «can we please share blankets?» 

«Why?» he chuckled at your distress, and you could feel his soft breath in the side of your face. «You look cold,» you tried to justify yourself, «I have a lot of blankets, we can share.» you insisted.

Minho eventually gave up, and the both of you ended up shifting from your original position; however, this meant that your arms were touching as you were now laying next to each other, and there wasn’t a blanket you could use as an invisible barrier anymore.

Under the sea of sheets, Minho’s right arm snaked under your neck, pulling you to his body; as if you were magnets, you followed his lead, laying on your side and hugging his waist, resting your head in the crook of his neck, nuzzling as close as you could. Your nose was right against Minho’s neck, and you could almost feel the goosebumps he had whenever you breathed; you ended up blaming it on the cold temperature, since you were fond of keeping your mental sanity and you were madly trying to distract yourself from thinking about other ways to share body heat.

«You know, once we got stuck in the middle of an iced part of the sea,» Minho mumbled, talking about one of his adventures as if he was trying to prevent his mind from wandering towards the same sinful thoughts you were trying to avoid.

«What?» you hummed, too tired to try remembering if you read about it in the novel, «How did you get out of there?»

«Ropes,» was his immediate answer, «we ended up pulling on the rope until we could break the ice.»

«Like that “Vikings” episode,» you giggled to yourself in a tired voice; Minho had immediately questioned you about it, and you tried to explain to him what movies and TV shows were.

However, you were obliviously fighting falling asleep, reason why Minho ended up gently shutting you up with a gentle and earnest: «you’ll tell me about it tomorrow.»

As always you fell asleep first, but this time, when Minho moved you so that you could lay on your bed to sleep more comfortably and he could walk back to his room, you weakly grabbed his hand in your sleep.

«I get lonely if you’re not here.» you mumbled, still lost in dreamland. Minho was thankful to the lights being completely off and to you being asleep because the expression on his face was priceless: he was incredibly flustered, his blush was flaring up both his cheeks and the tip of his ears. That night, Minho slept next to you for the first time, and as you randomly woke up in the middle of the night, you found him laying next to you under the sea of blankets; you instinctively snuggled closer to his chest, only to realize that you were partially laying on top of his firm chest. Not wanting to disturb his sleep, you tried to scoot away as quietly as you could in order not to wake him up, just to lay next to him.

However, that was your initial plan, since you soon found out that Minho was indeed a light sleeper; the arm he kept around your waist had tightened out of reflex, harshly pulling you in your original position once again.

«Where do you think you’re going, princess?» he murmured, his voice still groggy due to sleep.

«I, uhm…» you hesitated, your brain was clearly too sleepy to come up with a clever and witty answer. Minho didn’t wait for you to find your words, though; keeping you close to his body, he gently rolled you on your back, partially draping his body over yours instead.

«Go back to sleep,» he murmured again, easing his left leg between yours, and nuzzling his head in the crook of your neck.

“He’s a cuddler?” you wondered in pleased surprise; your hand eventually ended up in his hair, running your fingertips trough it and trying to lull him back to sleep.

However, Minho found it impossible to fall asleep again, judging your wild heartbeat hammering right under his ear; he glanced up towards the small window in your room, and quickly deduced that it was still the middle of the night, meaning that you didn’t get to sleep much in the first place.

If at first he had tried to lull you back to sleep while caressing your hip in a loving manner, he quickly realized that his touch had quite the opposite effect on you; he also had to admit that the sudden proximity of your body and the position that you were in was making him significantly riled up as well.

«Can’t sleep?» he asked, shortly rubbing his eyes with his fingertips in order to get rid of sleep as fast as he could, deciding that you didn’t have to stay awake on your own; you settled for humming affirmatively at his question, and Minho effortlessly pushed himself up, partially balancing his weight on his right elbow so that he his face was hovering above yours. Due to the change of position, his thigh was firmly pressed between your legs, and you forced yourself to swallow a whimper as his knee slightly dipped in the mattress.

Despite the poor lightning, you could feel his gaze on your features, as if he was trying to see through the darkness; you were clearly trying to do the same, and another silence fell as the Golden Fleece was constantly rocking your body while gently following the rhythm of the night sea.

«Do you think the flowers growing in your head are contagious?» Minho blurted out all of a sudden, his left hand mindlessly running up your side in a gentle yet firm touch, «I think I might go back on my thoughts of you not being a siren.» he quietly added; you didn’t answer – your senses about to go overdrive due to all the different kind of constant stimulation added to the comfortable warmth of his body, settling for humming yet again, silently asking him to go on.

Minho ran his left hand from your side to your neck, and eventually started to run his fingertip over your features, delicately brushing over your skin ever so lightly, touching you as if you were some precious treasure he unexpectedly found in the middle of the sea.

«You have completely driven me mad,» Minho confessed with an earnest voice, his fingertips brushing over your cheekbones, «with affection,» he added, his touch brushing over the bow on your upper lip, «with desire,» you found yourself weakly gripping at the front his shirt as soon as you heard his hoarse voice overflowing with the feelings he was talking about, «to the point where I know I should want you to be happy, but I keep wanting – I keep craving, that you could find your happiness with me.» Minho’s confession made your head spin; you wanted to answer that his feelings were completely reciprocated, answer that you didn’t found happiness with Minho – you found a home. However, your voice died in your throat as soon as the pirate had leaned in, his lips hovering barely above yours, yet almost constantly brushing together due to the ship’s movement.

«I am completely enamoured of everything about you,» Minho had whispered then, making you suddenly tighten the loose grip you had on his shirt to the point that the necklace he had been wearing since they day you saved the crew from the sirens’ had fallen out of the collar, now dangling between your bodies, «your body, your personality, the crazy flower field in your head, princess, I – I don’t want you to go back.»

Your heart was overflowing with a different mix of feelings, but the happiness of your feelings being reciprocated seemed to prevail. «I stopped wanting to go back since me and Leana returned from O'draxxia.» was what you admitted out loud, your voice trembling due to all the sudden emotions that were almost setting your soul on fire.

Only then you leaned in – trusting your body more then your words, capturing the pirate’s lips in a timid first kiss, filling it with all the love you felt for the pirate. Minho returned your gesture immediately, kissing your lips slowly, tentatively, over and over again as he was trying to savour you, shortly kissing your lips just to drift his attention elsewhere and kissing your cheek, your nose, your chin, as if he was trying not to lose himself to the lust he was feeling. The kiss had eventually started to heathen when Minho leaned in to kiss you, just for you to run your fingertips through his hair and harshly closing your hand in a fist against his nape, tugging him closer to you and preventing him from running away, so that you could delicately running your tongue on his lower lip.

Minho’s kisses started to get less cherishing and more passionate, occasionally leaving a path of open mouthed kisses on your neck, his knee digging further in the mattress anytime he moved and creating the kind of friction you were honestly about to beg for. It was as if you were a small ship adrift caught up in a sudden storm; Minho kept worshipping your body and all you could do in that moment was to take, take and take, hoping that as soon as the storm had passed you wouldn’t have completely fallen into madness, wishing to stumble right in another one because you felt addicted to the rush of adrenaline. As your kisses grew hotter, so did your bodies and eventually, the sea of blankets you were covered with was progressively being scattered either on the floor or in a corner of your bed.

On deck, the sight of the sun about to rise in the distance was in stark contrast to the light drizzle that had started to fall, the sound of rain echoing on the wooden tiles and absorbing the faint noises of the pirates waking up for the morning shift; in your bedroom, Minho’s hair felt like gentle rain falling on your body everytime the pirate leaned down to kiss your skin as he was undressing you.

“Well, fuck,” you thought, admitting to yourself that Minho was definitely both a good and experienced lover. He had patiently took his sweet time to pay extreme attention to your body, studying how reacted to his different touches as if he was making up for all the lost time, occasionally showering you with praises as his head was nestled between your legs and he was lapping at your clit, making you quicklytumble on your first orgasm of the night. It had definitely been a long time since you had sex with someone, your boring routine had never actually given you an opportunity to meet new people – let alone think about a relationship, but you weren’t expecting Minho to act so smug about it.

As your bodies were finally connected,Minho had sneaked one arm under your waist while steadily moving his hips against yours, harshly pulling it upwards so that your back would be a little more arched and your naked bodies would be pressed together even more; once again, you were greedily taking everything Minho was giving you, helplessly running your fingernails on his back deep enough you would leave marks, beaming yourself in the feeling of his low moans and the goosebumps erupting on his skin out of reflex.

«Going dumb on me for this little action, princess?» Minho’s hoarse voice was filled with desire as he spoke, his hips gradually slowing until his movements came to a stop; you immediately whimpered loudly at the lack of friction, trying to move your hips in circles because you were desperately to create it on your own. You wanted to feel more, you wanted for that moment to never end. As you kept your movements slow and rhythmic – you had to admit that Minho still hoisting you up was doing half of the job, you grabbed the necklace sill dangling between the two of you with your left hand, harshly tugging it and therefore bringing Minho’s face closer to yours.

«Do you ever shut up?» you answered instead, the nails of your right hand – still gripping at his shoulders, were most definitely digging half moon shapes in his skin, and you felt proud of yourself for not ending up whimpering with need somewhere along your sentence; even if it was probably dawn already, you couldn’t see him clearly yet, but it didn’t take a wild guess for you to know that he was smirking at your words.

«I don’t know, do I?» he challenged, shortly capturing your lips in a passionate kiss, starting once again to move his hips to meet your movements.

«Ruin me, Minho,» you urged, keeping him close to you with your grip on the necklace, «I want to be yours,» you confessed then, your body slowly about to lose itself to the momentary euphoria of another orgasm, «I don’t want you to be anybody else’s but mine.»

«Do you think we can sleep in?» you mumbled, tired; you could both clearly hear that it was raining, and you desperately wished for your alone time with Minho to continue for few more hours; you were now laying in bed, lovingly cuddling in your post orgasm bliss.

«I’m on duty this morning,» Minho replied, caressing the bare skin of your shoulder, and admitting that he would have loved to spend the day like this; eventually, you and Minho woke up, washed up and got ready for your day.

Of course, during the day, the pirate had used any excuse to drive you in a corner of the Golden Fleece and kiss you as desperately as if it was your last time. Of course, you couldn’t escape a certain pair of eyes.

“Oh no, here they come, Sauron and Sauron jr.” you thought, chuckling to yourself as you saw Felix and Leana approaching with big and quick steps; you found it hard to contain your laughter, since they were lightly pushing and pulling each other as if both of them wanted to know first.

«Congratulations on the sex!» Leana had mischievously commented, and you immediately reached out to press your hand against her lips in a vain attempt to let everyone on the Golden Fleece know about your early morning activities, «you have hickeys everywhere.» you heard her mutter against your skin.

«Are you finally official?» Felix questioned, secretly happy to have you as a sister in law; you didn’t immediately reply, since you and Minho didn’t clarify it out loud.

However, as your gaze shortly wondered to your lover, who was continuously walking around on deck while changing his destination every now and then as he was trying to avoid Hyunjin’s Jisung’s and Changbin’s teasing – they were literally tailing him and occasionally trying to widen the collar of his shirt just to see «where do these scratches on your nape come from? Is there a stray cat on board or something?», you found yourself smiling gently at the sight.

«We are.» you confirmed, a smile on your face as you finally felt happy.

A month later, you and Minho were definitely official: he moved to your bedroom, and you managed to fit in your small bed nonetheless. You both spent your days doing your chores, and your nights enjoying your affection, either making love until you were exhausted or talking until you were on the verge to fall asleep.

Minho wanted to know everything about you, every single detail that you didn’t consider important, and you felt cherished, since you knew that no one had ever loved you like that. Actually, you wanted to know everything about Minho as well; although the author of the novel had paid enough attention to his character, there were a lot of things you didn’t know, and you found yourself listening to his stories, silently wishing that you were already in his company so that you could have experienced those memories together.

«You’re a pirate,» he had chuckled at your comment, «I’m sure you’ll get to experience your dose of adventures, too.» Minho was completely smitten with your presence, and so were you; slowly, you found yourself occasionally forgetting about your life before you had shifted into this dimension, admitting to both your lover and your friends that you didn’t want to find a way to go home any longer. Needless to say, they were all more than happy with your choice.

However, a month later, your destiny gave you an unexpected choice.

The Golden Fleece was now docked to a port for your usual restock of supplies, and as everyone was busy with their commissions, you and Minho decided to wander through the nearby marketplace, since everything about that world was new to you. You ended up buying a matching necklace, since the both of you were too scared to lose a ring in the middle of the sea, and you kept playing with it as you were strolling around, your fingers loosely intertwined together.

The marketplace was filled with the most random people, but what captured your attention was a small stall that seemed to be packed with books.

«I’ll check this out for a second.» you told Minho, who had simply nodded at you, answering that he was going to check out the stall right next to yours.   As soon as you quickly approached it, a certain book seemed to catch your eye in a magnetic hold: it was relegated in leather, some golden details that recalled the title written in beautiful handwriting. Honestly, a small familiar detail was the one that caught your eye, making your heart rapidly hammer in your chest: a small golden stone embedded right under the title was quietly reflecting the sunlight.

Immediately, you found yourself fanning the pages with anxious fingers, and you couldn’t believe what you were reading; the book was talking about your life, the life you were leading before finding yourself in the novel you had been reading. What the hell was happening?

Quickly, you jumped to the end of the book to read the summary, and you felt as if you couldn’t breathe: it was a short novel about a girl – who coincidentally had both your name and worked exactly where you used to work, who spent her quiet life in a small home town, occasionally meeting her friends.

Of course, it sounded rather plain and boring, but the description was perfectly matching your life; anxiety was slowly clouding your emotions as you opened the book at a random page.

“«Cleo, don’t sit on the window sill!» the girl had yelled from the kitchen, worried about her cat’s habits.”

You closed the book immediately, recalling the scene a bit too vividly; your cat had the habit to sit on the window sill anytime it was open, therefore worrying you to death, and every time you ended up picking her up in order to give her some extra cuddles to refrain her from climbing there yet again.

A whirlwind of thoughts were occupying your head; if this book was talking about your life, that meant you could go back to your ordinary life and keep living your days as you used to.

Going back meant not having occasional nausea due to living on a ship and not risking to die of hypothermia; moreover, all of a sudden, you were definitely craving to eat some junk food.

«Are you interested in purchasing the book, young girl?» an old lady called your attention. She was probably the owner of the stall, and you squinted your eyes at the familiarity of her face; to be honest, you were almost certain that she was the same person that owned the book-store in your original time, but that couldn’t be the case, right?

«Hey princess, if you don’t hurry up, we’ll leave you here!» Minho’s voice interrupted your thoughts, and your head seemed to clear just like the wind clears the sky after a heavy storm; you turned your head to look at your lover, who was looking at you with his hands on his hips, a smug yet enamoured look on his face. The Golden Fleece was about to sail, you reminded yourself, you had simply stopped in town to get some supplies, water and enough provisions for the next trip.

Out of instinct, you hugged the book to your chest, as your eyes remained fixed on Minho; you didn’t know anything about how you managed to end up in this messed up reality, and at this point, you didn’t care.

The chance to go back was right in your hands, but as you watched Minho scoff a laughter at your indecision, every trace of doubt vanished from your heart; you and Minho definitely had a rough start, but you had to admit to yourself that you wouldn’t want to live in another dimension without the pirate who was looking at you as if you were the centre of the universe.

Going back meant not having Felix waking you up in the morning, or Leana bursting into your room looking for cuddles because «Chris is busy with stupid pirate stuff.». It meant not seeing both Seungmin and Jeongin incredibly proud about the latter’s progresses in writing and reading, or Changbin, Jisung and Hyunjin restlessly trying to lure you into their gambling circle.

Going back also meant no more Minho; no more walking up in the middle of the night just to cuddle closer to him, no more having quiet sex on deck in the middle of the night, no more laughing among yourselves because of a stupid inside joke you created, not having him gently chuckling at your unconsolable face anytime he was drying your hair with a towel as you kept whining about your limited edition conditioner.

Most importantly, it meant no more Minho telling you that he loved you, his eyes full of love and sincerity.

«Thank you, but I prefer adventure books.» you honestly answered at the lady, and with a content smile you placed the book exactly where it was; you quickly walked towards Minho, who hugged your shoulders out of instinct as the two of you walked towards the port.

«Saw anything you liked out there?» he wondered curiously; you sincerely seemed interested in the book you were holding, why didn’t you buy it?

«Yeah,» you answered honestly, «you.» the pirate scoffed a flustered breath, and you circled his waist as you kept walking.

Unbeknownst to you, the lady was looking at you and Minho with a some sort of fond smile on her lips; as soon as you were at a reasonable distance, the book seemed to vanish, as if it had completely disappeared from this world. In a blink of an eye, the old lady seemed to have disappeared as well, and in her place was standing the original owner of the stall, a man who was selling every kind of jewellery shining brightly on the table in front of him.

Few meters away, a cat with a very unique appearance – black fur randomly dotted with ginger spots and light green eyes, was quietly roaming the port, satisfied with her task. She recalled being called in a different variety of names during her immortal life, “Ananke” was probably the most used among different cultures; however, she will always cherish the memories she had made with a very special human who had randomly picked her up on a rainy day, giving her a shelter, keeping her well fed and gifting her with a brand new name: “Cleo”.

Walking towards the Golden Fleece, your attention was caught by some pirates who were carrying a dozen crates on board that looked quite heavy.

«Did we have so little supplies on board?» you questioned Chris, as soon as you and Minho joined the others on the wharf.

«We had plenty!» Leana answered instead, «Me and Felix decided to fill your wardrobe with new clothes, as a welcoming gift!»

«But… I don’t have a wardrobe in my room…» you answered, wondering how could a wardrobe fit in there now that you and Minho were sharing the bedroom.

«Not yet!» Felix answered, mirroring Leana’s euphoria; you were about to answer him, when Hyunjin had asked you whether you had decided to stay with them.

«I did, Captain said it’s not a problem.» you nodded, imperceptibly pushing your body against Minho’s side as if to look for an invisible shelter; what if the gambler trio was against the idea?

However, Hyunjin had simply nodded, while Changbin and Jisung seemed to be genuinely happy about it.

«Well, that’s great!» you said, clapping your hands once, «Chris said that I could chose the first thing to do, and so I decided we’re about to raid a merchant ship!»

«Are you sure you’re okay? Did you perhaps hit your head again?» Seungmin wondered, instinctively reaching out in order to touch your forehead, as if checking if you had a fever. However, you were already walking towards the Golden Fleece with confident steps, as if you were meant to be there.

«Come on, scallywags!» you eagerly announced in a loud voice, as if you were impersonating the Captain, «Let’s go, Min Min.» you added then, your voice definitely more softer and a smile on your lips.

«Wait!» Jeongin halted everyone, his hands hovering in the air, «Did she just call him-»

«You heard the lady!» Leana interrupted Jeongin, quickly pulling the palm of her hand on the younger’s mouth. «Let’s go!»

“Ah, I really shouldn’t have wasted the Britney quote like that,” you pouted, “now I have to figure out another iconic thing to scream as we walk on the merchants’ ship.” you sighed, instinctively leaning towards Minho as soon as you felt his arm circle your shoulders.

«You seem lost in thought,» he pointed out, noticing your eyebrows furrowed.

«Does “it’s high tide, baby!” sound scary and menacious to you?» you wondered out loud, thing that made Minho burst out laughing, «Why are you laughing? It’s not like we can crash against their ship screaming “vibe check”!» you pretended to be offended, but you found yourself laughing along with your lover.

«“Vibe” what? Where did that come from now?» he asked, already knowing that this was just another one of your weird figure of speech.

«My flower field.» you proudly answered, tapping your temple twice, Minho rolled his eyes, and leaned in, shortly kissing your temple.

Everyone was busy on deck, the Golden Fleece had sailed once again; your gaze lost itself in the vast sea in front of you, and you found yourself recalling the question Leana had asked you when you were on your trip to O’draxxia.

«Do you believe in soulmates?» she had questioned you, and back then you uncertainly answered that you thought you did.

“What if me and Minho are soulmates?” you wondered, unconsciously wrapping your fingers around your matching necklace - both the one you bought at the market and the talisman made out of your precious clothes; you found yourself recalling the unpredictable change of your relationship, and you breathed a content sigh, for the first time in your life feeling completely at peace.

«Yes, we must be.» you softly mumbled to yourself, your voice barely above a whisper losing itself in the wind.  

all works © lettersfromaphrodite

Do not modify, repost, translate or plagiarize my stories. I only publish my works on tumblr & AO3.

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[kit-williams]

Chaos Sanguinius

MOODY YOUR FAULT

(Maybe another day I'll do a true Incubi Sanguinius but today is not that day)

((ALSO SURPRISE MOTHER FUCKERS MOMRAD CAN WRITE SOMETHING NONSEXUAL)) (((Sorta)))

Tags: @bispecsual @egrets-not-regrets @moodymisty @bleedingichorhearts @liar-anubiass-blog

@thevoidscreams @barn-anon @gallifreyianrosearkytiorsusan @squishyowl @ms--lobotomy

tw: Blood

Thank you @squishyowl for the dividers

You laid bound and gagged in the room... the lord of Blood had returned victorious which meant Eighty Eight people were drained of their blood for him to engorge allowing the Lord of the Blood Angels to engorge on Eight hundred liters of blood which would usually sate his thirst. You hardly knew a thing... never even seen the lord... but you laid there on the floor bound and gagged... wrists tied and blindfolded. You had spent all your tears long ago as the room got quieter and quieter.

You whimper as you are grabbed and carried... the smell of iron is so strong as is the smell of something else... you think its the smell of the Astartes... you feel several get close as jaws snap near your ears but soon much larger hands pick you up and you feel clawed hands delicately move over your throat. He coos at you, "You might just survive this yet little bird... I only need a few liters from you... some of your fellows had so much blood to give." The strong male voice says as you just sob again feeling a tongue run over the hollow of your throat... a large mouth wrapping around most of your neck... he could rip your throat out but right now he was licking and sucking on your neck.

You feel your bindings break with such ease, the painfully tightly knots sliced with his claws and you're scared as you keep your eyes closed when the removes the blindfold. A light and airy chuckle graces your ears, "Open your eyes little bird." He demands... and you obey.

The breath you were holding leaves you... as a beautiful man looks down at you... Deep Crimson curls run past his shoulders.... His crimson eyes glowing bright as fresh blood was running down his chin... your eyes glanced behind him as you saw movement of large blood red wings; your eyes fail to see how red his teeth are. "There we go." He praised as claws run under your chin as he looks at you like you're some timid prey creature in the jaws of a predator. "Such pretty eyes you have." He coos to you as you are utterly entranced by his handsome face... but the crunching behind your head makes you pull your eyes away to look over your shoulder- "Ahh I wouldn't look little bird... my son's are... feasting right now."

You kept your eyes on Sanguinius as it was a Charnel house behind you as blood ran down naked and mutated torsos but you sat in the lap of the blood soaked primarch just watching him glance away from you occasionally... speak with such prose in his voice but the loud cacophony of voices behind you has you scrambling close to hide. You had almost forgotten why you were here... his touch so soft... a gentle hand that you had long forgotten what it felt like.

"May... may I ask something?" You say softly.

"Of course little bird." He coos as engorging himself with so much blood is a challenge so it was always nice to end on such a sweet treat.

"What... what... what happens if I live?"

Sanguinius paused... as it was not often that there was usually some to spare... spare enough in their body to live... "Well little bird... you become a treat. You'll be taken care of... pampered but your blood belongs to me... perhaps I'll have my apothocaries get you to produce extra blood like a cow does with milk." He says with a dark chuckle as he caresses your chin with a thumb... his mouth moves to your neck as he kisses your pulse... licking the pulsing vein. "But those are fantasies for if you survive." He kisses your neck before kissing your chin and you whimper... "Yes little bird just let me take care of you... share your blood with me... come give me a kiss." He purrs in your ear as you continue to relax in his grip.

Your mouth brushes against his as his wing hide you from his sons. He always makes the last one feel special. You whimper as you melt into the kiss. His sharp teeth scraping your bottom lip as his hands rub your sides and again he chuckles, "Mmm such a sweet scent... and a sweet taste... I do hope your blood is as sweet as that swatch was." You purse your lips for a moment to ask but he bites your neck.

He drinks... and drinks... and drinks... and you grow weaker... and weaker... and weaker... till you slip into unconsciousness so easily... and not overly painful.

You felt warm... oh it was so nice and warm you whimpered at the feeling as everything felt fuzzy.

"There's my little bird." You heard the demon primarch say as your eyes slowly open as you're laying against him and you're wrapped in a soft blanket. You were confused... why would he have such thing but it's not your place to question him.

"You survived. So you have been rewarded to be my blood filled treat." You think he says... you feel so tired and dizzy still. "Little bird..."

"Hmmm?" You look up confused.

"Ahh still out of sorts... I was eager for you to wake up... as were my sons to see you not wake up. Such greedy boys but they love treats just as much as I do." He chuckles. "Return to sleep little bird and when you awaken I shall tell you of your duties to me."

You did not need to be told again as your eyes closed and sleep returned to you quickly.

[all-wrung-out]

Whumpblr Intro

Hey! I've gone far too long without actually making an intro, despite having this side blog up for a bit. So here we go!

I go by Tac when I'm interacting online (my main blog is calligraphic-tac, and that's my chaos-corner where I try to post things I like, things that inspire me, and my more general writing, when I can actually get words out). Pronouns are she/her, although they/them are good backups.

I've been into whump for as long as I can remember, but in my 33 years on the planet, I only learned last year that there's a whole community for it. I'd heard the term "whump" before, and kind of knew what it was, but never made the connection to the type of media I like.

There are some whump tropes that I'll always enjoy, but the favorite flavor of the week is usually on rotation from the following list:

Superhero whump

Kidnapping

Defiant/Stoic/Strong/Snarky Whumpees

Self-sacrificial Whumpee

Pushing oneself until collapse (especially for Heroes/Leaders)

Whumpers who feign rage, but are actually very calculated and careful in their treatment of Whumpee

Whumpers who actually lose their temper, especially when triggered by a defiant whumpee

Team whump

Non-human Whumpee (especially when it pertains to the good, old-fashioned "what makes us human" trope)

Drug/poison whump (Fucked up balance and altered perception, anyone?)

Medical whump (specifically, medical treatment, but "This is gonna hurt.")

Lab whump (especially testing the limits of a living weapon or attempting to forcibly manifest powers that may or may not exist)

The good, old-fashioned Beating trope

Pinned/Trapped

Drowning/asphyxiation

Environmental/Wilderness whump (extreme temperatures and survival)

Animal attacks

Used as bait

Infected wounds (especially when it comes to treatment of said wounds)

Self-surgery or self-care

Mind control (Specifically, conflict between Whumper/Whumpee within Whumpee's mind while Whumper tries to take control. OH! And Whumper causing Whumpee to experience things that didn't happen; I have a really neat story idea for this one!)

I'm sure I'm missing some, but I suppose I can amend this post when I remember some more. Some of my whump tastes are also kind of specific, so listing them concisely can be a challenge.

Not going to list my squicks here. (As the saying goes: "If you don't want someone to get your goat, don't let them know where it's tied.") However, if you're looking for NSFW-type whump, I don't typically write that. (Not for other folks, anyway; I'm rather terrible at it.)

I used to write a lot as a kid, but was often ashamed of my affinity for whump, so any time I tried to write it, I chickened out and wrote something else. I still wrote plenty of action and peril, but the whump was usually not as heavy as I initially imagined.

I've also been in a bit of a writing slump for... oh, goodness... It's going on 14 years now. I really want to get out of it, so I'm hoping whump writing will help.

Fun fact about me: A lot of my stories are grown from a kernel of whump. I think of a specific scenario I want to put an OC through, and then a whole story grows out of it.

Some of my favorite whump blogs include: @whump-me @whumperofworlds @allthewhumpygoodness @emmithar-blog @soheavyaburden @whumperfultime @roblingoblin285 @blackrosesandwhump @evilwriter-originals I'm still collecting whump blogs to follow, so feel free to interact if you're one such blog!

Also, I'm going to be rusty as hell, so please bear with me while I get my writing brain reinstalled in the ol' skull-housing.

Last thing (I know this post is long already): I've seen the way the whump community interacts and I'm happy to be a part of it. I'm not especially social myself, but I'm nonetheless proud to be part of such an amazing group of folks. Keep rockin', y'all!

[divineerdrick]

Homestuck: Beyond Canon Upd8 for August 11, 2024

So I've heard we have an upd8 today! And we've got a news post too! Right off the bat, we'll have another chapter "a little later in the month." Guess I'll have to keep my ear to the ground. Not sure there's an extension out there that can determine when the team upd8s a Ren'py game attached to their website.

I haven't been able to support the Patreon for a bit, so I'm unaware of the music previews James mentions. His little spiel makes me worried he might go Grimdark at some point . . .

We've still got another collab in the works, but we don't have the details yet. And yeah, I've been experiencing heat where I live that definitely slowed me down a peg.

On to the upd8!

Holy crap! Year 4!

Even with the realizations she made before, apparently this is still really slow going.

Nanna!

Oh wow! She's literally growing up! Wherever she is, she's physically aging in what is probably real time. Here's a shot from the last blog for comparison.

Her hair and horns are both longer, she's taller in frame, her neck is longer, and her eyes and mouth sit smaller on her face. Somehow though, she's still fitting into her outfit. Wonder if they're letting her alchemize new clothes?

Oh man! We've apparently missed some reconciliation with Eridan, John, and Kanaya! I feel especially robbed about missing out on the Kanaya portion. But we all know who the "HER" is. Though it would be a hilarious fake out if it was Nepeta or Feferi!

Hah! We apparently have both Nannasprites here!

Vriska does not say no to cookies!

We get another callback to Vriska's previous adventures as she remembers talking to John about their relationships with their ancestors. But she apparently doesn't understand how humans can have family ties. At least she seems more curious about it now.

Of course Nanna would have to describe having a child as having "novelty". It's nice to see a little bit more background on this version of Jane.

Vriska just cannot get past the idea why anyone would put up with a baby given the unavoidable accidents.

Nannasprite has apparently seen everything Jane has accomplished and is, at the very least, curious how things might have turned out if she hadn't settled down.

Wow. That had to really suck. Nana never felt loved or even wanted before she settled down. That might have been why finding someone who did love her and want to start a family with her caused her to change all her plans.

This is another attitude that Vriska previously would never have considered. She was always certain she had to be best, had to surpass every expectation, and very much felt she had a destiny to fulfill. The idea that someone would just "give up" on all that and do their own thing is more alien to her than humanity itself.

Wow! Vriska was actually mindful she might have lost her cool and genuinely apologized! She is learning!

And some genuine affection here too.

Wait! That's broken Paradox Space! Is Vriska facing Game Over Terezi?

And these are Vriska's typing quirks! Wait! Does she have to come to terms with Game Over Vriska? AKA (Vriska)? Does she have to reconcile with herself?

Wait! Mindfang? Does she have to come to terms with her relationship with Mindfang? If that's the case, no wonder she's not getting anywhere. Everything else has probably been about figuring out what the other person wants. But Vriska's problem was she was always trying to live up to Mindfang, an extremely poor example and role model. In this case, she almost certainly need to stop caring about what Mindfang might want.

Oh! It's not Mindfang! It's Vriska's idea of her, all wrapped up in her relationship with her lusus. It's basically both of Vriska's parental figures rolled into one.

She definitely needs to not give a shit about what this entity wants! While there is value in understanding who her lusus was and who Mindfang was, there is no value in engaging with them. This is all about Vriska learning how trying to live up to their needs and expectations, instead of living up to her own desires, caused her so much pain and heartache.

Heh! "Momfang."

Wow! They really are wrapped into one!

Also I can't decide if this reminds me more of the Venom symbiote or Conceptual Hair.

It is important that Vriska recognizes that these two entities were formative to her. But I really feel like that's all there is here. Understanding who they were and the impact they had on her life. The next revelation is that this doesn't need to define her.

Momfang's words echo a lot of Vriska's own thoughts and words on death and murder. Whether she, or indeed we, like it or not, Vriska does need to forgiver herself for her past. But not by accepting the violent environment as justification. She needs to understand that while she has extenuating circumstances for what she did, Vriska still did those things. She has to come to terms with that and forgive herself for it.

Vriska has learned from Vrissy! Suffering is not what makes you strong. Just as the muscles of a body builder tend to be weaker, more limited, and even useless compared to those of an athlete, suffering often comes with just as much that weakens you. Strength always has to come from within. Someone's strength who gets there through finding something or someone to be strong for is just as valid as someone who gets there through pursuit of an ambition is just as valid as someone who gets there through hardship is just as valid as, well, any path that gets you there. It's a bitter pill if you're the one who's suffered. But it is the truth.

Even on Alternia, none of this was ever fine. Even by their standards, her childhood was full of abuse and violence.

Man! The team is determined to make Momfang's twisting form as creepy as they can for mostly still images!

I don't know if Beforan Lusus could be like this, or if this quirk was part of Scratch's work. But we clearly see that some Lusus just weren't good guardians, despite coevolution. "But so are some parents!" I hear you cry! That's still different. While it's possible in the vast variety of humanity to be raised by a true monster, most abusive parents are still human. There are paths victims of abuse can take to find comfort or even peace and understanding because of this.

Vriska's "mom" is literally a spider, an animalistic predator. "HUNGRY. KILL. FUCK. EAT. FEED." On earth, even when spiders demonstrate sentience and intelligence, it is from an entirely different evolutionary path. We could not relate to the mind of a spider. And neither can Vriska.

There are many reasons why a parent may become abusive.

Vriska's was abusive because that helped it find prey.

Yep. This is not about what Momfang wants. It's about what Vriska wants. "And wasn't considering it now, to 8e clear." Again. Spider!

Huh! But that doesn't stop Vriska's image of Mindfang from being curious.

Vriska knows part of what's wrong. But as most of us know all too well, knowing what a problem is only the first step in fixing it. All you can do is try to catch yourself when "you're doing it again," while also trying to not make that become something you're constantly on guard about.

"Oh my god. Tavros was right!!!!!!!!!"

As was Nannasprite! You're supposed to learn form each of these "sessions" and use that to help with the next.

Now I'm sure that "h8r" is talking about Terezi.

We've often believed that what we read of Mindfang's journal was tame. Homesmut Mindfang is apparently canon.

No Momfang! No! You do not get to use Mayor callbacks!

"What will you do?"

Vriska knows what she wants. How does she prove it? Killing or being eaten seems like it's just more of the same. This could just be as simple as walking away.

Only way to win is not to play. It was always a false binary. There was always another option, it was just a case of seeing it.

Happy Vriska is best Vriska!

Yep! Just walk away!

Yeah, no! No hug for you!

Can't decide if I like "Gestalt of Rivia" or "Hierarchy of Arachneeds" more!

Let's not stop there though! I feel like we know enough now about how this works to start making some predictions.

So the Cueball suggests Scratch. He also played a great role in Vriska's life and actions. How Vriska needs to grow past him is trickier. Scratch was only ever using her, and I'm pretty sure Vriska knows this. Now she's dealt with Momfang, though, I don't think she'd get hung up on him. He is considerably cannier than Momfang, but this still feels like a misdirect. It could potentially lead to Rose. She's the other Hero of Light after all, and she and Vriska have both Scratch and the Cueball in common. I'm willing to bet Vriska didn't take enough advantage of Rose's presence on the meteor. This might create a scenario where she just has to learn from her fellow Hero.

Then we have a feather. This is probably the hardest to draw any conclusions from. The only character in Homestuck connected to feathers is Dave. Another potential hero to learn from. It's just hard to imagine not having to reconcile with Terezi, and I'm pretty sure she's not the 8ball. But I also can't think of how the feather connects her to . . .

Scales! It's a bit of a reach, but scales and feathers do have a connection. Also, why would Vriska have a feather? Maybe it's a quill that she used in her FLARPing days? Either way, I'm gonna say the feather is Terezi. Mostly because it's what I want.

The 8ball will be (Vriska). Vriska needs to come to terms with her Game Over self. She needs to realize that it not only was she wrong to look down on her, but that (Vriska) was always right to just look for happiness. (Vriska) was always valid and deserves to lose those parenthesis. Even if they are really convenient.