#it’s either a ‘like father like daughter’

[raincitygirl76]

Margaret Beaufort was also dynastically important HERSELF. There’s a reason Edmund Tudor wanted to marry her in particular when he was desperate for a legitimate heir. Margaret’s children would have royal blood.

So Edmund Tudor marrying her when she was 12 and then consummating the marriage and getting her pregnant when she was still 12 was an incredibly short-term thinking decision. Because the odds were pretty good his child bride would either die in childbirth at 13, or become infertile (as she in fact did). So Margaret wasn’t able to produce any MORE heirs with royal blood after she had Henry, a significant problem when only about half of children survived to adulthood.

As it happened, it all worked out. Henry Tudor (later Henry VII) survived to adulthood. Edmund Tudor died when Henry was just a toddler, so Henry was his ONLY legitimate heir. And Margaret’s future husbands couldn’t get her pregnant with more children of royal blood, although they also had had children with other wives.

Why does this matter? The Reformation in England is indirectly linked to Henry VIII’s shortage of male relatives. Because his father Henry VII was an only child (due to Margaret Beaufort having him at 13, and being unable to bear more children).

Henry VII and Elizabeth of York only had 4 children. Sons Arthur and Henry, and daughters Margaret and Mary. Arthur, the Prince of Wales, died when he was 17, which meant it all fell to his younger brother, Henry, Duke of York. Later Henry VIII.

Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon only had one child, Mary Tudor, the future Queen Mary I (also known by protestants as Bloody Mary, since she was a fervent Catholic in an era when Catholics and Protestants were constantly burning each other at the stake).

There were no guarantees little Mary Tudor would survive to adulthood or have children of her own. As it happens, she didn’t die until she was almost 40, but although she was married, she never carried a pregnancy to term. It was her death without children that led to the reign of her younger, Protestant half sister, Elizabeth I.

Also, even if Henry VIII had had guarantees Mary would live to grow up and have children, he was a sexist bastard who didn’t think a daughter would be able to hold onto the throne. Henry VIII’s Tudor dynasty was very young, started with his father Henry VII, the only child. So Henry VIII had no uncles or male cousins who could take over the Tudor dynasty if Mary died or failed to hold onto the throne after her father died.

And why did Henry VIII have no uncles or male cousins? Because his paternal grandfather Edmund Tudor fucked his child bride, Margaret Beaufort (Henry VIII’s paternal grandmother) when she was only 12, and she had her only child ever at 13.

Thus, Henry VIII broke with Rome when the Pope refused his petition to divorce Catherine of Aragon and marry a younger, more fertile woman (Anne Boleyn). And the English Reformation was upon us, and very gory it became for the next few hundred years.

Now, were Margaret Beaufort’s gynaecological problems as as a result of giving birth at 13 the only reason her grandson broke with Rome? No, of course not. But Henry VIII’s lack of male relatives to fall back on was a factor.

If Henry VII had had younger brothers, Henry VIII would’ve had cousins. He could’ve married his only legitimate daughter Mary Tudor to one of his cousins (or first cousins once removed, her second cousins) to shore up the fledgling Tudor dynasty. And then he wouldn’t have needed to break with Rome.

Remember, Shakespeare (who wrote Romeo and Juliet) was born in April 1564. Only 5 years after Elizabeth I took over from her Catholic half-sister Mary (who died in November 1558).

William Shakespeare’s parents would’ve had vivid personal memories of all the unrest that took place in the reigns of Henry VIII, his short lived son from his third marriage Edward VI, and Mary I. His grandparents likely had vivid personal memories of the reign of Margaret Beaufort’s son Henry VII, and probably also some memories of the Wars of the Roses.

Margaret Beaufort’s child marriage would have been a historical event to Shakespeare, but fairly recent history. And history with repercussions on the then contemporary English royal family.

Also, Margaret was a power player in her own right during the Wars of the Roses. She ran around concluding strategic alliances for her exiled son Henry Tudor. Margaret also brokered the marriage pact between her only child and Princess Elizabeth of York, daughter of the late king Edward IV and sister of the Princes in the Tower.

That pact was made shortly before Henry’s successful invasion, and was a sign to Yorkists not aligned with Elizabeth’s uncle Richard III that they could throw their support behind Princess Elizabeth of York’s fiancé. Point being Margaret Beaufort was not only dynastically significant by her bloodline and who she gave birth to, she was also significant in politics. She was one of Henry VII's most trusted advisors after his successful invasion and for the rest of his reign.

Margaret was a key player both before and after her only son became the new king. Her personal biography (including her child marriage and its disastrous results) would have been of interest to anybody who took an interest in recent history. Which included Shakespeare, since he wrote an entire series of (very profitable) plays about the Wars of the Roses.

And Margaret didn’t die until 1509, only 55 years before Shakespeare was born. So very likely within the lifetime of his grandparents. Incidentally, her only child Henry VII died a few months before her, so she lived to see the teenage Henry VIII (her only remaining male relative still alive) take the throne. Even advised him on a few of his earliest political appointments, before her final illness overtook her.

Women in Shakespeare

[gentlemanjimcraddock]

I think William de Worde gets underrated as a Discworld protagonist. His book is great but it's not as riotously funny as some of the others. Moist basically replaced him as the not a Watchman Ankh-Morpork protagonist. The Truth often gets lumped in with Moist's books as "the industrial revolution series".

William is basically the opposite of Vimes. Vimes and his family clawed and scraped for everything they ever had. He's seen first hand what it means for the little people when the rich thinks the rules don't apply to them. That's why he does what he does. Vimes makes the law an equaliser, rather than a tool of tyranny.

But William is a pompous, arrogant, entitled, privileged little twit. At first, he hates it and tries desperately to be his father's opposite. He's the well meaning liberal. He knows racism is bad and abhors it, but he still treats trolls and dwarfs and vampires with kid gloves so he doesn't accidentally offend them. He doesn't stop to think about the food he's taking off of people's plates when he doesn't get his engravings done. He just sort of assumes the dwarfs at the press work for him rather than with him. Multiple characters called him out in this throughout the story, and he never really has a answer for them.

But like Otto says, he tries, and trying is how you get there. And William does get there, not by overcoming these flaws, but by using his privilege as a weapon against the rich and corrupt, like Vimes uses the law.

He takes the jewels, basically buys the dwarfs' loyalty with them. (Attempts) to blackmail his dad with them. Does blackmail Slant. Uses his little notebook to protect free speech against people like Vimes and Slant. Backs Vetinari into ensuring Harry King's daughter has a wedding overflowing with the rich and powerful, ensuring Harry will supply him with paper out of gratitude. His first response to a problem to either annoy it into leaving him alone or offering it a job.

William doesn't become a hero of the working class, not really. But he uses his pompous twittery to give them chances. To get a job, sure. But also to learn the truth. To help draw the lines that the rich can't just cross without fear of reprisal. To be the place where the falling angel meets the rising ape.

[mwphisto]

How many children I think the LaDs Men would have (realistic edition)

A/N: no hate to any of the TikTok creators that have posted their head canons but as someone who works with children three and under every day?? Raf is not surviving 7+ children, Caleb is not having MC carry 9 kids…

Xavier

⭐️Xavier is a one and done type of man for sure

⭐️You don’t have kids until later in life, when you’re in your late twenties early thirties

⭐️I feel like Xavier can go either way, boy dad or girl dad but personally think he’d have one boy who is the spitting image of him and even has all of his traits… did your genes even try? You ask yourself this often.

⭐️I can also see Xavier being a one and done and lucking out with twins — fraternal not identical

Rafayel

🎨Rafayel is having three children maximum

🎨Your first is a boy who looks just like their father but acts just like you. The second is another boy, who looks like you and acts just like their father, and the last is a girl who is the perfect mix of you both.

🎨You had your first in your early twenties, Raf was around 26 at the time. Your second came three years later, and your third came a whole five years after that… she was definitely a “let’s try for a girl one more time.”

🎨Rafayel booked a vasectomy after your third btw

Zayne

🩺Zaybe has two children and that’s his limit

🩺One was supposed to be the limit but his first baby girl was such a sweetheart he figured one more couldn’t hurt. And luckily for him? It didn’t! Your baby boy was born three years after your daughter and he too was an angel.

🩺Zayne was thirty when you welcomed your daughter. The sweetest mix of you both — his hair and your eyes. She was a quiet but witty little thing and you knew right away she’d need a sibling to be her partner in crime.

🩺It took a lot of convincing, but Zayne couldn’t be happier with his decision to have a little family.

Sylus

🍷Sylus is a one and… oh oops… okay three

🍷You and Sylus welcomed your son a year after marriage. He was the most darling little baby, with his father’s carmine eyes and your smile. Sylus was content with one, and for the longest time so were you.

🍷Then, sometime around your son’s 7th birthday, you accidentally got pregnant and, well, nine months later your twin little girls were born and all three of you were smitten.

🍷You and Sylus’ eyes nearly bulged out of your heads when the doctor said identical twins… sounds familiar!

Caleb

🪐Caleb only got you pregnant twice and just so happened to strike gold… you have four children total.

🪐Your first baby was welcomed into the world around your mid twenties. A little chunky boy who looked just like his daddy. So sweet and charismatic that you and Caleb were absolutely ready to have another by the time your son was eight months old.

🪐Well, shortly after your son’s first birthday you got a positive test. And one trip to the doctors later revealed you were not pregnant with one, not two, but three babies.

🪐Caleb and you agreed that he’d get a vasectomy and you’d get your tubes tied… double security because HOW?

Heart/star banners are from @cafekitsune

[elliespassagerprincess]

Headcannons: dad's best friend!abby anderson x reader

masterlist

☆ Abby is your dad’s closest friend, someone who’s always been around but never really close to you. You were just the kid in the background—until one day, you weren’t.

☆ She saw it change in real time. You grew up. You started speaking with confidence, dressing differently, looking her in the eye. And it scared the hell out of her.

☆ She resisted—tried to ignore the way your laugh lingered in her mind or the way you’d look at her like you knew. But she couldn’t stop noticing you.

☆ The first time it happened, it was a mistake. A late-night conversation on the porch after your dad went to bed. A shared bottle of whiskey. A too-long stare. Your hand brushing hers.

☆ She kissed you. Hard. Desperate. She pulled away like she'd been burned, pacing, swearing under her breath, apologizing.

☆ You told her you wanted it. She told you it couldn’t happen again. It did.

☆ She never stays the night. Never kisses you in the daylight. Never looks at you for too long in public.

☆ You sneak around like it’s life or death. Quick meetups. Locked doors. Lies stacked on lies. Sometimes it makes you sick with adrenaline. Sometimes it makes you cry.

☆ Abby keeps trying to end it—but she always comes back. She’s addicted to you, even if she won’t admit it.

☆ Abby is riddled with guilt. You’re too young. You’re your father's daughter. She’s betraying someone who trusts her with his life. But she wants you—needs you—in a way that’s primal.

☆ She hates herself for it, but you’re the only one who sees her vulnerability. When she’s with you, she lets the walls fall.

☆ You hate the hiding. Hate pretending like she’s just your dad’s friend when she’s the one who’s memorized the way your body moves and how you like your coffee.

☆ She’s older, bigger, more experienced—and sometimes, she uses that. When you’re bratty or push her buttons, she’ll pin you against a wall, palm flat beside your head, whispering, “You don’t know what you’re asking for.”

☆ But you’re not powerless. You know how to get to her. How to sit in her lap like it’s innocent. How to call her “Miss Anderson” in a mocking tone just to watch her unravel.

☆ Every moment between you is coiled like a spring—either about to snap into intimacy or explode in a fight.

☆ She hates seeing you with people your age. If you flirt with someone at a party, she corners you in the hallway with fire in her eyes: “You really want to play that game, sweetheart?”

☆ She doesn’t call you hers, but she touches you like you are. Marks you where no one can see. Leaves bruises on your hips and hickeys on your inner thighs like she’s branding you.

☆ When someone else starts showing interest in you, she snaps. Shows up at your apartment. Kisses you like punishment.

☆ Every sound in the hallway makes you freeze when you're together. Every time your dad mentions Abby, your stomach flips.

☆ One close call nearly ends everything—your dad comes home early while she’s still there. You hide in your room, half-dressed, while she plays it cool like she hasn’t just kissed you breathless.

☆ After that, she disappears for days. No calls. No texts. Then she shows up in the middle of the night, eyes red, whispering “I can’t stay away.”

☆ There’s something sacred in the way she holds you in silence. Like you’re the only thing keeping her sane. The way she lets you trace the scars on her back. The way she murmurs your name like a confession.

☆ Sometimes she sneaks into your bed and stays until dawn, just holding you. You wake up to her running her fingers through your hair like she’s memorizing the way you breathe.

☆ She never says "I love you" out loud. But you hear it in the way she says your name. In the way she lingers after kissing you goodbye, her hand hesitating at the doorknob.

☆ The secrecy starts to eat at you. You want her in the open. You want her to fight for you. But she’s scared—scared of destroying your family, of losing everything.

☆ You fight. She pushes you away. You think it’s over. But then she shows up at your door during a storm, soaked, shaking, whispering, “I’d rather burn for this than live without you.”

☆ That night, you realize she loves you—but she doesn’t know how to love you in the light.

☆ There are only two options: get caught… or leave.

☆ Abby starts talking about running away. Not in a romantic way—more like survival. “If he finds out, it’s over for me. For us. I’d lose you both.”

☆ You tell her you’d follow her. She tells you not to say things like that if you don’t mean them.

☆ By day, she’s the picture of loyalty: dependable, trustworthy Abby Anderson—the friend your dad relies on, the one who helps fix the roof and grills on weekends like she’s part of the family.

☆ But by night? She’s slipping into your room when no one’s watching. Holding you like she’s starved. Kissing you like she’s trying to press her soul into your mouth.

☆ She hates the mirror lately. Hates seeing herself knowing what she’s doing. But the only time she doesn’t feel like a monster is when she’s buried in your arms.

☆ She cooks for you in secret. Not well, but she tries—burnt grilled cheese, bland pasta. You eat it anyway, legs wrapped around her hips at the kitchen counter.

☆ She keeps a drawer of your things in her apartment: a sweater, a scrunchie, a book you left behind. She told herself it was just until you took them back—but she likes seeing pieces of you there.

☆ You steal a pair of her dog tags. Wear them under your clothes like a talisman. She notices, and that night, she makes you wear nothing but them.

☆ You have a code phrase—“Are you free to talk?”—that means “I need you. Now.”

☆ You meet in quiet places: her truck parked on the cliffside at night, an old garage your dad doesn’t use, hotel rooms under fake names. Every touch is frantic. Every goodbye, heartbreaking.

☆ After every time, she tells you it’s the last. She never means it. You both pretend like the next time won’t happen, even though it always does.

☆ She hid her jealousy well—until she doesn’t. If someone else touches you, even innocently, she goes cold. Her voice sharpens. Her eyes darken. Later, she drags you into a quiet room and kisses you like she owns you.

“No one else gets to see you like this.”

“You shouldn’t be showing yourself to anyone but me.”

☆ It’s twisted, and it turns you on. But it scares her. She’s never felt this out of control before, and it makes her want to run—or hold on tighter.

☆ After she touches you, there’s always a pause. A moment of silence where she looks at you like she’s doing something unforgivable. Like she’s already lost you.

☆ Sometimes she sits at the edge of the bed, head in her hands. “I shouldn’t want this,” she whispers. “I shouldn’t want you.”

You crawl into her lap, cup her face, and say, “Then don’t make me beg.”

And that’s all it takes—her restraint shatters.

☆ She knows every inch of you—where to touch, where you’re ticklish, what makes you melt. But it’s not just sex. It’s the way her hands tremble when she unzips your hoodie. The way her breath catches when you say her name like a secret.

Her voice drops when she’s turned on. Low, rough, almost pleading.

“You have no idea what you do to me.”

“Tell me you’re mine. Even if it’s just here.”

☆ She can’t be soft in public, so she’s overwhelmingly soft in private. She holds you like a secret she’ll die to keep. Kisses your forehead. Tells you she dreams of a version of the world where this isn’t wrong.

☆ You want more. You start slipping up. Touching her shoulder when your dad’s in the room. Smiling at her too long. She panics when you get bold.

“You’re going to ruin this,” she hisses one day when you almost kiss her goodbye. “Someone will find out.”

“Then let them,” you challenge.

She grabs your wrist. “Don’t ever say that again.”

☆ It starts to hurt—loving someone in the shadows. The secrets eat at you. You wonder if she’ll ever really choose you.

☆ You tell her: “I want a life with you. I want to hold your hand in public. I want people to know you’re mine.”

☆ Abby’s voice breaks. “I want that too. But I want your dad to look me in the eye without seeing betrayal. I want to deserve you first.”

☆ A near-discovery shakes everything. Maybe someone sees you leaving her place at dawn. Maybe your dad borrows her phone and sees your contact.

☆ Abby freaks out. Cuts contact. Says it’s over. You cry. She watches from a distance, agonizing over it.

☆ Then, weeks later—she shows up at your door again. Hands shaking. Heart bare. “I tried. I can’t stop. I need you.”

☆ She finally asks you to leave with her. No more hiding. No more pretending.

“Let’s go somewhere no one knows us. I’ll build us a life. Just say the word.”

[mistressofthemanor]

masterofthemanor

It took everything within him to hold his act together and not get crushed by his own guilt that grew steadily with every word that left his daughter's mouth, especially when when she'd confirmed that he was playing with her trust and putting her patience to a test. Naturally, he had been aware of that already, however, to hear it from her that she was aware of it as well had made everything more serious and official. Leaving Celeste in the dark for the time being was a huge risk, however, it was one he was willing to take if it meant that both Narcissa and himself earned some more time to settle everything between them and figure out together just how they'd present the news to their daughter- if it ever came to that, for he was withholding an information, or rather a story that he feared might ruin everything between them. Nevertheless, he'd remained hopeful, mostly as he'd taken a leap of faith and realised he had no power over how any of them would take what they'd be faced with and that only time would tell whether he'd made the right decision or not when choosing his path. "Thank You!" He replied softly, deciding against saying more than what he had already as he feared he might overexplain the situation and get on her nerves with his desperate promises that wouldn't get them closer to the truth. "Oh, I wouldn't miss it for anything, Petal!" He replied confidently, giving her a reassuring smile and doing his very best to hide the fact that he'd completely forgotten about the plans they'd made for the weekend. Of course, he remembered that he'd promised to spend a specific weekend with them within the month, however, due to how chaotic his life had become, he had lost track of days and was completely unaware of the date. "I wouldn't let either of you down like that" He added, meaning every word as he kept holding her gaze intently.

Celeste looked at her father quietly, taking in the careful confidence he wore like a mask. His words were so warm, so certain and still managed to soothe her, at least on the surface. She believed that he meant what he said—or at least wanted to mean it—but she'd noticed the slight flicker of hesitation behind his eyes, the pause before his reassurance. He was sincere, yes, but there was something distracted about him, like he was running calculations behind every carefully chosen phrase. Still, Celeste let him have the moment. “I know you wouldn’t,” she finally said, her voice soft and careful. “That’s never been the issue, Father.” She gave him a faint smile, not bright enough to erase the tension between them, but genuine enough to show him that she wasn't withdrawing. Not yet. Not completely. “I’ll text you the details again later, just so we’re both clear.” She added the words casually, gently, but clearly enough for him to understand that she’d sensed his confusion about the weekend. “I’m looking forward to it.” She paused, her smile fading just slightly, allowing a flicker of vulnerability into her eyes. “And please… whatever else is going on, promise me you’ll at least be fully there with us. Not just in the room but present.” She didn’t press harder; she didn’t need to. He knew her too well, just as she knew him, to miss the quiet warning beneath her gentle request. “Okay?” There was a faint smile on her lips now, a crack in the armor, the smallest offer of peace. Kissing him one more time to show him that her love was still evident for him, even if there was that tension still floating between them, she wanted to settle it before she left with her affections.

Bones of Contention

[kookiekatz]

OH! A MOTHER'S DAY POST WHAT IF Y/N COOKIE HAD COOKIE KIDS WITH THERE HUSBANDS?! what are their names, and what are their personalities like?!🤩🤩🤩👩👩👩

Shout out to the MoMs of the world!!!!!!!!!!🌎 🥰

(SMC) Ho! Ho! you and your husband Shadow Milk had a cute little dough daughter named Huckleberry Cookie. Now don't let her adorable chubby cheeks and teensy tiny pigtails fool you she is a terror. There are two ways to get on her badside she doesn't like other cookie kids touching her stuff, and the other is having to share her mom or dad with anybody else. She's also good at lying and knowing when she's being lied to, which tends to get shadow milk in trouble with you. Other than that, Huckleberry Cookie loves you so much. However, she becomes a velcro baby at times, which is kinda inconvenient because you already have a velcro husband named Shadow milk cookie😮‍💨

(BSC) Ahhh, you both had your triplet sons Flaming, savory, and tangy spice cookie. Those three are rambunctious little devils with endless energy and feisty attitudes. Their always seen running around the house and temples causing trouble together and sometimes destroying things. The triplets definitely look up to their father wanting to be big, feared, and powerful just like him, so they often try to copy him. The triplets tried to take their father down together as they tried to wrestle. Burning spice down to the grown despite the fact that it's like their playing on a jungle gym. Burning spice cookie can act indifferent all he wants, but deep down, he loves his sons and would catch and crumble bodies of weak cookies for them, just like he would with you.

(SSC) Ohhhhhhhhh, you and silent salt cookie had been trying a long time, but you finally had a beautiful little dough girl sea salt cookie. She was a quiet, well-behave little girl who rarely cried but interesting enough she loves food. Feeding her was like feeding a little pig. The cookie dough bite was always eating whatever you gave her and would often steal from her father's plate when he's not looking. Despite her bottomless pit of a stomach, she was a quiet but cheerful girl who was smiling, especially at her daddy, constantly cuddling with you and him both. To say sea salt cookie made life so much brighter😊

(PVC) Oh, you and pure Vanilla Cookie were blessed with a shy little dough baby name Vanilla milkshake Cookie, your new baby boy. He was extremely timid and would cling on to either you or Pure Vanilla Cookie. Other than that, he was the most adorable and sweetest little boy you both ever had. You both think it's cute when he would try to help around the library by dust books or try to carry scrolls with complete focus and determination. You both aren't sure what you did to get blessed with such an adorable little angel.

(DCC) Dark Cacao Cookie wasn't sure how this happened, but it did, and it came with a clone. Meet your stern faced twin daughters, Bittersweet chocolate cookie, and Cocoa butter cookie. Let me tell you the second they were able to open their little eyes, it seemed like they were immediately disillusioned by the outside world but not with you two, never you two. They also seem to be the angriest twin dough babies you ever seen and not in a sense that they throw tantrums, but they both seem to share the aura of woman in their 40s that smoke a pack everyday, and have a general hatred for cookie society as a whole. However, they love their big Stepbrother Dark Choco Cookie constantly wanting his attention on them, and despite not being cryers, they often cry or make noise trying to get him to come and spend time with them. You hope the twins can help heal things between the two brooding men🤗

FEEL FREE TO REBLOG 🥠

[hellinistical]

6:04

hcs for Ranch Hand! Caleb

a/n: there will be a full fic of this, or at least a one shot at some point.

Ranch Hand! Caleb who only got the job to help out his gran cause the bakery wasn't cutting it. He shows up before the sun rises, always wearing that same worn flannel and dusty boots. Your father calls him reliable, but you can’t help rolling your eyes every time he says, “Caleb’s like the son I never had.”

Ranch Hand! Caleb who's weirdly good with animals. Even the mean old mare no one else can saddle seems to let him near. He talks to them like they’re old friends. It's infuriating. You wonder if he practices that soft voice he uses on you too.

Ranch Hand! Caleb Even when there’s nothing to fix or feed, Caleb somehow ends up sticking around until dinner. Your father invites him inside. Again. And again- despite your mother's insistence on how improper it all was, and how dirty he was, too. Sometimes you catch Caleb sneaking glances at you over his chile colorado.

Ranch Hand! Caleb who's back and shoulders are littered with freckles and a slight sun burn. He takes his shirt off and you're positive he lifts the hay bales just a little higher when he knows you’re outside. He’ll wipe the sweat from his brow with an exaggerated sigh, then flash a grin like he doesn’t know exactly what he’s doing.

Ranch Hand! Caleb who's good, just not good for you- according to your father- and you don't know why, but that irritates you. Your father praises Caleb constantly—his work ethic, his loyalty, the way he can calm a spooked horse or fix a busted gate with twine and sheer determination. But the second your gaze goes to Caleb? Your father’s tone shifts: “Don’t even think about it.”

Ranch Hand! Caleb who has NEVER crossed the line. He knows his place. Always calls your father sir. Keeps his distance from you when your dad's around. But sometimes, when no one's watching, you catch him looking at you like he’s full of want for something already his. You catch snippets of conversations between him and your father. “Keep your eyes on your work, not my daughter.” “She’s not a distraction, sir.” “She damn well could be.”

Ranch Hand! Caleb who, whenever you’re both in the same barn aisle or standing at the same fence line, it’s like the air gets thick. Caleb keeps his voice low. You both look around too much. It's like being watched even when you're not. One night, you caught him hesitating at the porch, jaw clenched, fists at his sides. He looked like he wanted to say something. Do something. But your father’s voice called from the barn, and Caleb just tipped his hat and walked away. For now.

Ranch Hand! Caleb is so polite it makes you want to scream. You didn't even like the guy like that- you think. Something about him made you want to be a brat though. You could curse at him, push his buttons, throw a bucket at his head—and he’d just blink and say, “Careful now.” It's maddening. He’s either the most patient man alive or deliberately playing dumb. Either way, he never gives you what you want: his full attention.

Ranch Hand! Caleb who's jaw ticks. Just once. God, you're such a bitch. A fucking brat. You see it. That little flex in his cheek. He doesn’t say anything. Just stands there in his clean button-up, boots polished, hat clutched in his hands like a lifeline. You turn your back, go to flirt with some city-boy artist who doesn't even know what to do with you. Laughing too loud. Sipping too slow. When you finally glance back at Caleb, he’s already striding toward you.

Ranch Hand! Caleb who grabs your arm- not hard, but firm enough. "You think you're real cute, don't you?" You try to scoff, play it off, but he’s already leading you out the side door. “Caleb, what the hell are you doing?” you snap, but he doesn’t answer. Doesn’t look at you. Just mutters, “’Bout time someone taught you how to behave.”

Ranch Hand! Caleb who drags your ass out of the party when no one is watching, tossing you over his shoulder and giving your ass a harsh spank, ignoring your hits and kicks before going to the barn, kicking the door shut behind him. It slams shut, echoing loudly behind you. Dust kicks up and hay crunches under his boots. You barely have time to lift your head before you're tossed into the hay pile like a sack of flour, damn near ruining the dress your daddy just bought you.

Ranch Hand! Caleb who looms over you. "You wanna act like a brat?" He looms over you, hat discarded, shirt sleeves rolled up, usual softness no where to be seen. "You've been runnin' your mouth for weeks, sweetheart. Sashayin' 'round like you're the fuckin' queen of the castle- ah-ah, don't talk yet." Your breath catches and there's a flicker of surprise. Of course he catches it. “You think wearin’ that pretty little dress gives you permission to act out?” he murmurs, fingers brushing the edge of your hem. “Talkin’ like you do. Smirkin’ like I’m not tryin’ every damn day not to put you in your place.”

Ranch Hand! Caleb already knows. Sees you biting back a retort. You like getting a rise out of him. You wanted him to break. All the bratty comments, the teasing, the drama—

"You want my attention, sweetheart?" He's got a wicked grin. "You've got it."

[maryangelex]

Army Dreamer

Regency AU! Simon Riley x Fem!Reader

cw: time period inaccuracy, arranged marriage, soft Simon Riley, female reader

a/n: I am so so rusty so forgive me but I had to get this out of my system!!!

You had been a debutante for the past year without a successful match. It was for no lack of trying on your suitor’s behalf, in a way you felt sorry for them wasting their time trying to woo you. No amount of riches or eloquent poetry could get you to budge. You were too resilient, too headstrong, too boorish and too hard to tame. It wasn’t for a lack of beauty either; men flocked to you and begged for you to agree to marry them based on your looks alone, something that docked their points even more in your perception of them. But with this unsuccessful year your mother had had enough. Your poor mother, watching all of your sisters find a perfect chap to take care of them, to guarantee they would never spend a day of their life with the worry of money, who were guaranteed to be pampered mothers to these men’s heirs. One by one of your sisters, it ended up with just you with no prospects and your mother had not had a moment of resent since your youngest and last sister had become engaged while your hand stayed unspoken for.

It left her no choice but to set up an arrangement to be wed to the next man she deemed fit enough for you. No matter how much you sobbed, how much you begged or retaliated, your attempts to run away resulting in nothing but failure, you were to be wed no matter what, when, or to who.

Your mother had bulled some strings with your father’s friend, Lord Price, to help her find a man honest and wealthy enough to at the very least not toss you to some miserable hound. Lord Price was a kind, righteous man of good judgement of whom to make connections with.

That’s how your mother was introduced to Lord Simon Riley, Price’s right hand man in the military and in his investments. He was second to have hit the jackpot in terms of the investments they had made after their military service, making arguably better well off than many of your sisters’ husbands and fiancés. It made him a very prominent suitor, coveted by many. But what kept him unmarried was his dark history; a man of a past life of great violence, during and before his time in the military his hands had been dirtied with blood.

He was surrounded by rumors, who knows how true or how exaggerated; his quietness and obscure demeanor didn’t help his case much. But alas, your mother’s desperation had reached a breaking point, and if Price trusted this man then she might as well take his word for it, maybe in her mind she hoped a man like Lord Riley would tame her daughter.

Your energy had been wasted on heedless kicking and screaming, and having no other option you reluctantly met the man. The two men had been invited by your mother to your now desolate home. You missed your sisters, their laughter and squeals were now a distant memory haunting the house. It was quiet, dreadfully so, and you had none of their shoulders to cry on anymore. As you sat in your living room, the sound of your mother and the older man’s cordial conversations muffled in your state of emptiness, you quietly cried. Your tears smudging the light rouge that painted your cheeks, your chests faltering as you tried to take deep breaths and calm yourself, and the feeling of the weight of someone’s eyes on your inconsolable frame.

You were snapped out of your thoughts by your mother calling your name.

“My dear don’t you forget your manners, now, Lord Riley has come a long way to meet you,” she said to you through gritted teeth, fanning herself with exasperation. She turned to Price with a smile filled with hypocrisy, “Lord Price, what do you say we leave the new couple to, erm, acquaint themselves with one another, yes?”

Before the man could respond she had her arm hooked on his, scrambling to drag him out of the room. You had looked up from your distant gaze and snapped back to the present predicament, and with shaky hands you dabbed the tears from your cheeks, making an effort to blend your rouge and save your complexion.

Your back straightened, adjusting your posture in your seat before turning to look at Lord Riley, forcing a polite smile.

All this time you hadn’t taken the effort to look at the man in the eyes till now. Your gaze met his face, looking into his honey brown eyes. They were kind, warm, yet with a deep hidden sadness in them; eyes that have most definitely seen more than what your naivety and innocence could fathom.

You scanned his face, impossible to miss the scars that swept across his face. His angular, long face was decorated with a scar crossing his eyebrow with a trace under his eye and atop his high cheekbone, another that chipped at his upper lip, and a third one that cut across his angular, chiseled jaw. The man was intimidating, another probable factor to why he was yet to be wed. His appearance didn’t lack the ability to strike fear, yet he had a certain unconventional beauty to him.

You noticed the slight crook on his nose how it added character to his face, the pale lashes that feathered his eyes, rosy lips that parted and indicated his own nervousness. You scanned down his frame, tall like a revered statue and bigger than any man you’d come across. His sand colored hair was tussled yet groomed, his suit tailored, and his fingers lightly fidgeted with each other in his left hand. He stood there poised and mannered.

“P-Please,” you began, “Have a seat, Lord Riley.” You gestured towards the sofa across you, allowing the man the command to take a seat and break out of his etiquete. He was a military man after all, accustomed to taking orders and executing them effectively, so he complied and took a seat across from you.

The room fell silent again as you sat across each other. His gaze adverted from yours, preferring to focus on the floor, pensively. You watched as his hands played with a little black box. You didn’t question it, your mind was rather blank and in shock that this would be the beginning of the end, that you’d be betrothed to this man whom you’re meeting for the first time, whom you haven’t exchanged any words with, whom has a past filled with death and darkness and mystery, whom—

He cleared his throat before addressing you, “I know this isn’t the most ideal situation,” he began, “n’ I’m sure you’ve heard the rumors and stories that surround my reputation.”

You tried to interject, to feign politeness and ignorance but he continued.

”Your mother has already made an arrangement with me and she’s given me your hand in marriage. ‘M no easy man, m’not the prettiest lookin’ bloke either but,” he held your eyes with his, “‘M a man who believes in fairness, so, I feel like s’only fair I ask you m’self.”

The click of the wooden box snapped your eyes to his hands and you saw as he presented to you an engagement ring. It was ornate and silver, embellished with twinkling stones circling a precious diamond in the velvet box. Your breath hitched and your mouth went dry, you couldn’t think of any words to say.

“I’m a man who keeps his word, n’ I promise you, my lady, to give you a good life, at the very least an easy one.” He breathed, “I won’t force you into nothin’ you don’t approve of, if what you want is just a companion—a friend and a secure future, s’what I’ll give you…” he paused and cleared his throat once more, mumbling something in his deep tone, unintelligible, as he held out the box to you.

“All of you is to give me a chance to be a good man to you so, will you grant me that opportunity, duchess?”

A man of his size and character, with a baritone voice rough like gravel gave you the softest look in his eyes and an attempt at making you feel the most in control you could be in your situation. He offered you a chance to agree to his proposal, to offer you some normalcy in this forced arrangement. You pondered for a moment the scene you caught yourself in, feeling like you had been holding your breath for the last whole minute, your cheeks and chest flushed hot, your words caught up in your throat.

You thought to yourself, Maybe only a kind man can give me at least the illusion of a choice.

You reached out and hesitantly took the box from his outstretched hand, your supple fingers brushing against his calloused ones. As you held the box you contemplated the ring. For once you felt what you could best describe as hope, maybe even relief, maybe curiosity for what your life was about to look like.

You looked at the man before you, your eyes welling with tears because you knew no matter your words your fate remained the same, but you knew giving him an answer would at least alleviate you, maybe even alleviate him to know that you’d be willing to give him a chance without reluctance, give him a man like him a chance compared to the other ones that had walked in and out of your door this last year.

“I accept your offer, Lord Riley….thank you” you finally said despite the dryness in your mouth, the weightiness of your tongue, as you gave him a sad smile.

[marivanilla05]

Done reading the Iliad, and one of the reasons I'd been stalling on reading it before was how much hate I saw people give Hera or Agamemnon.

And then I read the actual text and found how silly everything is??? Why didn't anybody tell me that the Iliad is literally just a family feud between the gods, and full of dudes (and Athena) throwing bolders at each other, and Agamemnon and Achilles acting like they're having a petty break-up.

Hera (on at least 3 seperate occasions) tells Zeus that he's their father's worst child, and that he's obligated to listen to her because she's not only his wife but his elder sister. Like, she hit him with the "I'm older than you how dare you talk to me like that."

Then we have Zeus banning all the gods from interfering with the war (except of himself of course) before announcing the "Trojan War: Frenzy Round" where he calls all the gods to join (including A RIVER???) and lets the Greeks win just because Hera slept with him.

Athena manipulating Zeus in almost every interaction because she's "daddy's little girl" + everytime she goes to battle she wears her father's tunic and I'm just imagining it like some toddler wearing their parent's shirt.

She also beats the crap out of Ares AND Aphrodite, leaves them on the floor and says "whoever messes with me will get owned"

Hera proceeds to beat the crap out of Artemis with her own bow. Hermes is literally on Hera's side, but sees that and is like "yo Leto I'm not gonna fight you because I think you should go check on your kid..." while Artemis runs crying to Zeus who's like "my precious daughter who hurt you???" And she's like "YOUR WIFE!"

(Also, on the other end, so many people hate on Agamemnon but not Achilles as well? Like they were both stubborn, Achilles more so. PLUS Achilles brutally killed/enslaved so many people even before Patroclus' death, I'm surprised that Agamemnon-only hate is more popular. Like everyone sucks in the Iliad, it's either you hate everyone, or you like the characters in spite of their crimes.)

It takes Patroclus dying for Achilles to forgive Agamemnon (at this point Agamemnon was convinced to give Achilles so many gifts including but not limited to (returning Briseis, gold, land, one of Agamemnon's daughters' hand in marriage)) Achilles then proceeds to murder a bunch of people.

Odysseus and Diomedes jumping a guy, killing 13 other people, and stealing horses.

Nestor drinking wine in the middle of a battle, hearing the chaos, and saying "wait a minute, I gotta get a good view of this action" Also Nestor kicking Diomedes to wake him up.

Helen insulting the crap out of Paris.

Hector insulting the crap out of Paris. Also Priam basically calling his surviving sons trash now that Hector is dead.

Idomeneus and Meriones being tag-team bros. Why don't I ever hear about them huh?

Also the amount of times I read the phrase "the two named Ajax" or "Ajax and Ajax" like did they just stick to each other because they share a name? Like Ajax (the greater) literally has Teucer, his own half-brother to back him up, and for some reason the two of them just hang out with Oilean Ajax on the battlefield???

There are a lot more but I can't remember any right now.

[softtoxin]

cold embrace

yandere prince/reader

summary || prince elias, heir to the throne, finds himself enamored with his new wife, especially after she gives him an heir of his own.

warnings || yandere content, unhealthy relationship, arranged marriage, smut, mentioned pregnancy, they have a baby girl, choking (on prince), dubcon, bc reader doesn't really like him lol, piv, a smidge of breeding

he stares at you as though you are a piece of meat.

it's an uncomfortable feeling, especially at night when you're trying to find sleep, your back facing him. elias' blue eyes glued to your figure, as it often was. it always had a physical feel to it. you could almost feel something running over your body as you shivered under the thick canopy of his bed.

after the birth of your daughter, things only got worse for you.

for most future kings, they wanted a firstborn son, or as many sons as possible. elias had never spoken on his feelings about children, but you knew the lords and ladies of court had their own opinions on you ever since your precious girl was born.

little amalthea was the spitting image of her father. her olive skin, facial features, and dark auburn hair made that clear. she had your eyes, but her temperament was similar to elias' as well. she was such a quiet baby, but the sweet little smile she gave you whenever you walk into a room never fails to melt your heart. amalthea was the apple of your eye. you wouldn't choose having a son over your sweet little girl, but this made the whispers burn even worse some days.

"i do not care for boys," elias says one night as he hands over your daughter to the maid. you preferred to keep her cradle next to your bed where you know she's safe, but on nights like these, elias never fails to rip her away from you.

"... pardon, husband?"

"if you feel so insecure about not giving me a son," you freeze, glancing at the door as elias closes it loudly. he doesn't even give you a chance to say goodnight to your daughter, and you always end up feeling like a ball of anxiety every time he does this.

"you can just give me more children."

elias unties his nightclothes, his dark eyes focused on you as he becomes bare enough for you to instinctively look away. you hated him, truly. it would have been easier if your father had married you to a more dominant, cruel man. you were used to cruelty. elias, however, was perhaps a bit... odd.

"i don't care either way," he groans, falling before you, his auburn hair falling over his face as he shoves up the fabric of your gown. he always preferred you to be bare, much to your disdain.

you feel the heat of his cock as he humps against your thigh, his hands moving to reach into the drawer beside the bed. the familiar clink of elias' favorite chain makes your stomach drop as he wraps the course metal around his own neck, forcing open your fingers and making sure you had a steady grip on the leash part. elias breathes heavily, his lips pressing a gentle kiss against your lips before he leans up, his cock bullies itself into you, the oil he applied before making the slide easier.

a sound of pleasure leaves elias as he forcefully humps against you, his hands curled up in the pillows behind your head as he fucked you.

prince elias had such an odd depravity about him. he enjoyed being hurt by you, you realized this on your wedding night. he made no effort in masking his masochism, and you were thrown right into his dirty schemes.

no time to adjust. no time to ponder if this was a normal thing for a man to enjoy.

no time to breathe.

"tighten your grip."

even as his olive skin flushes deeply, he orders you. his smooth voice, usually so cold and barren, becomes raspy and high-pitched as the chain chokes the air out of his lungs. he likes this, you can tell from the short thrusts he makes, his eyes crossing as you slightly pull at the leather of the leash.

elias always becomes more soft, intimate, and kind in these trysts of yours. he enjoys making eye contact with you as his cock throbs in your cunt.

disassociating isn't a possible outcome for you anymore.

it's wet now, you realized as elias arches his back, whimpers being choked out of him.

you try your best to block out his sounds, but it's hard when he's being so loud.

"please... please... please..."

you don't realize you're begging, but your husband hears you, drool falling down his chin as he wildly thrusts his cock inside of you, almost seeming euphoric as he sobbed out, the sound resonates in your room, the banging of the expensive headboard making you feel sick.

elias is a sick man, you think, but you're thankful he wasn't in the mood for a whipping tonight.

[missmargomuse616]

Tam let's out a chuckle after listening to luke. " She is the type of person who can't take a joke. I only meet her a few times now and I can see why margo wasn't a fan of her. She does come of rather cold. When my daughter first met her she ran away, never been the most friendly with her either." Margo heard Tam reply to luke.

That particular look that she gave margo struck a nerve and knew it was a foolish type of feeling to get even a slight bit worked up over. She was Joe's wife and no matter how much she disapproves of them being together it was her father's choice after. But why did she seem more cold than usual? It was almost like Cecelia had that strange expression across her face, like she knew something but held against them. She shook her head at the thought as she went up to luke and wrapped her arm around him return. Putting on a charming smile.

As the evening went on things were good again. Kayla was still having fun and her friends and father came back to rejoin them for a bit more. It was around 8:30 pm when it was time to leave. Margo gave everyone a hug goodbye except Cecilia. " it was good to be here for your birthday dad and im glad you met luke he's a great guy."

After that little spat between her step mother, her and luke things were back to normal. And a few conversations were going around. She enjoyed talking with her friends, Kayla, her step brother and father. She also had a great conversation with luke and how she maintained the facade of being a happy girlfriend to luke. Many were happy for them as Cecelia kept giving side eye looks. Margo just reminded cool and ignored her after they finished their lunch.

As Everyone got a slice of their cake, margo noticed as out of nowhere Cecelia trip and caused her cake to fall on her chest and lap. She yelp in embarrassment she quickly tried to wipe the mess. " ugh! Dammit I just bought this outfit." She muttered under her breath as she starts to walk back in the house. Kayla let's out a string of giggles. " I guess she's having bad luck today huh?" Tam asked in amusement. While margo could help but smirk in return.

Margo could see that her dad wanted to go after her and make sure she was alright. " dad don't worry about her, every time she has a melt down you don't always have to rescue her." " I know that, it just don't want her upset. Let me find her another shirt to wear, I'll be back." Her father replied before following Cecilia. At this she gave her a look of satisfaction, as if to say her dad would always choose her over his daughter.

Margo stood there and watched as they would both head back into the house. She tried not to let it bother her but she was annoyed how quickly her step mother could so easily have her dad worship the ground she walks on sometimes. Instead of letting her emotions get the best of her she walks over to luke hoping he didn't notice how she truly felt but masked it by giving him a kind smile.

[evenmorefatallyobsessed]

okay, that's all I got for now... As for who will be changed in this AU, for now I came up with these.

First Daughter Ruby: The older Sister, next in line to be Duchess of Patch. Ruby was also arranged to marry House Arc's heir Jaune however the current Succession War among Valian Royalty may interfere with her and her mom's plans.

Second Daughter Yang: The daughter of a Slave (Taiyang) Concubine (Summer) she is next in line to inherit House Xiao-Long despite many people's protest.. Currently she is Rivals with Beryl and Amethyst Arc, sister and cousin of Patriarch Jaune Arc.

Crowned Princess Glynda: Favored for the crown Glynda is a strong candidate for the throne. She needs overwhelming support as to scare her competition who have aims for the throne off. After all she might be a force to be feared but that also comes with people fearing her enough to want to end her But if she has all of house Arc behind her then killing her becomes too dangerous a proposition

Trivia Vanille: Desperate to gain any use of his daughter Viscount Jimmy Vanille wouldn't dare try and court House Arc... Not with a ill born deformed child like his devil-eyed (Heterochromia) Trivia...

However his wife tells him of House Lie, once prisoners now loyal vassals to House Arc. Perhaps the newly appointed Baron House might take his useless child... If only he knew his traitorous wife intention, for she is still loyal to Mistral and aims to kill House Arc, and finally give Mistral it's dream of invading Vale...

Menagerie Princess Blake: young, naive and ignorant she was the perfect target for the Fennec's manipulation, for Adam's indoctrination and Sienna's goals... Naive and quick to follow their rhetoric of Faunus supremacy... She never even realized she was poisoning her own father... That it wasn't illness that took him but poison, given to him by her hands... Unaware of it.

And now she shall witness the true genius of her father... For as Arc lands on her shores she will witness the terror of what happens now that he is gone what the White Fang's Violence has brought to their shores...

Weiss & Bleiss: Solitas's Twin Stars. Alone either The White Comet of Atlas Weiss or her sister the Black Meteor of Mantle, could challenge their eldest sister Winter... But together the sisters are said to be a match for even Mistral's Own Goddess of Victory Pyrrha...

But now rumors of said champions defeat run rampant... And now the pair must wonder, could such a warrior capable of defeating, of conquering Pyrrha truly exist, and if so would they one day face his blade too.

Nora Valkyrie: Clan Valkyrie has long held a bond of brotherhood with House Arc, despite the kingdoms being different never would they waver... For Jaeger Arc was their savior and as long as House Arc wielded the Heirloom Mani'tonn they would be brothers in arms...

And so as was tradition they sent their strongest daughter to them, to fight beside their heir, and hopefully even marry him...

Nora, didn't care about that, nope! Not At All! For Nora wanted something more from Jaune-Jaune! She wanted battle, glorious life-ending battle! A Deathmatch Like No Other!

What? NO!? She Didn't Wanna Kill Jaune-Jaune! She Wanted Jaune-Jaune To Kill Her? Why does everybody look at her weird when she says that? He can bring her back to life after all... She just wanted to earn her place in Valhalla a bit early is all. And maybe take a peek at it before Jaune-Jaune would revive her. It was the perfect plan!

[last-words-ofashootingstar]

I saw your ask and receive post and I was wondering if you could do something with these dialogues and kinks?

107 "i know he's watching us, i hope he likes the show. cause that's all he's gonna do — watch"

132 "don't worry, i'll take care of you"

208 size difference

221 creampie/breeding

Preferably with either Jongho or Yeosang? I feel like we don’t get that much smut with either of them which is a crime so I’d be happy with any of them for this! As for au or story I don’t really got anything in mind so I will take whatever it is that you will give me🥰 - 🫧 anon

➯a/n: BUBBLE ANON !!! anything for you lolol i chose jongho becasue i have some yeosang coming laterrr~ i don't know about others but i don't write much for jongho even though i want to because his vibe is just hard for me to capture without a lot of world building (but i have been making some scraps for practice so hopefully i can start doing him justice !) ➯a/n session 2: why do i always make jongho such a guard dog character ? i just want him to protect me fr i guess 🥲➯a/n session 3: OKAY I CHANGED MY MIND I APPARENTLY CANT GET ENOUGH OF WRITING JONGHO I LOCKED IN FOR OUR BOY, I FORCED MYSELF TO STOP SO I COULD FINALLY POST THIS LMAO

🚫 MINORS 🚫 TAKE A HIKE

All Bark

❥Choi Jongho x fem reader

107 + 132 : "i know he's watching us, i hope he likes the show. cause that's all he's gonna do — watch" + "don't worry, i'll take care of you"

✫彡wordcount: 2.4k

(>ᴗ•)genre: smut, slight fear in the beginning (less than 400 words)

♫"Baby, I want you to know — how much I love you, how much I need you." DEAN, Bonnie & Clyde♫

ಠ_ಠwarning/content: body guard!jongho x mafia!daughter reader (such a cliche but cliches are popular for a reason damn it !!😩), threat of violence towards reader (jongho shuts that shit down dw), guns + very non descriptive violence, mentions of murder. smut warnings !! 208: size difference, 221: creampie/breeding, breeding themed dirty talk, reader and jongho match each others freak beautifully, switch dynamics, pet names (princess + baby), exhibitionism, possessiveness, hand + blowjob, slow and passionate turned rough, forehead touches (i am a hoe for this, we all know...), table sex, breaking a table (LMAO), wall sex, big strong gentleman jongho who begs and whines😋

♡masterlist !♡

✠ALL BARK✠

     "You really didn't think this through. Did you?" Your father leans back in his seat at the head of the long table, his face unreadable and to the untrained eye — bored, even.

     But you can see the little flit of fear in his eyes.

    If Jongho would take his eyes off of you, he would see it too. But, he doesn't. His eyes are trained on the strangers fingers, making sure he doesn't get even close to pulling the trigger of the gun that's against your shoulder.

     "Of course, I did-"

     "Where's your backup?"

     "Ba-backup? Why would I need backup, huh? I got all the backup I need," the man says with a false confidence, waving his gun around. "The real question is, where is yours? You really only got one guard on your only child? I find that hard to believe."

     You know that you have no reasonable reason to be afraid, "he's all I need." He'd rather first jump in front of a bullet than let you take it.

    But your heart still jumps into your throat as the cool metal touches your temple. "Is he? I managed to slip past him. He's letting me press a gun to your head. He's all bark, no goddamn bite."

    You meet his eyes across the table.

    Jongho has been your personal body guard for three years, your boyfriend for one and a half, your fiancé for seven months. Probably a conflict of interest, but neither of you give a shit.

     He's fiercely protective of you. Not only because it's his job, but because he loves you. Because he can't stand to see that little flash of fear in your face when the intruder moves a little too fast.

    He's just waiting for the right moment to strike. Silent and still as a statue.

    This guy doesn't stand a chance. Not when he's broken into your home and threatened you infront of both your father and your arguably insane fiancé.

     And insane he is. He doesn't think twice before pulling the trigger whenever the man raises his gun away from you again, shooting his right through his arm and making him drop his weapon.

     "All fucking bark." He finally speaks up with a scoff for the first time since this debacle started, standing up and grabbing the man by his hair while your father pulls you away.

     "You fucked with the wrong girl, now you get to feel the bite."

    You hear him slam the man's head to the table as you're ushered away. He's nothing if not loyal, so you know that the man is going to get what he deserves.

✠ALL BARK✠

      "You hurt yourself so bad, Baby." You pout as you gently dab Jongho's knuckles with a wet cloth later that night. "You should have let-"

    "Let him hurt you? Disrespect you?"

    "Should have let someone else handle his ass after you disarmed him." You correct him, looking up at him with softness in your eyes. You're kneeling infront of him, cleaning and bandaging his second hand after finishing the first.

    "No way." He shakes his head immediately, a small pout of his own forming. "No. I'm the one who defends you. I'm the one who takes care of you." 

    "Do you have to hurt yourself so much in the process?" You sigh as you wrap the bandage around his cleaned knuckles, bringing it to your lips and kissing it gently.

    "If that's what it takes, yes." He leans down quickly and catches your lips with his, replacing his covered hand with his lips softly.

    He kisses you like a fragile doll. He always does after something bad happens. Pecking your lips repeatedly with a softness reserved for you and you alone. His wrapped hands find your jaw, tilting you further up as he deepens the kiss.

     "You're my knight in shining armor," you smile between his kisses, hands finding purchase on his suit clad knees.

    Your praise always makes his stomach flutter so pleasantly. Especially with it mixing with his adrenaline crash.

    "Fuck..." Is all he can say as your hands travels further up his thighs. He leans back in the chair, giving you full access to his lap; where you rub his thighs gently up and down a few times before one of your hands gets bold and cups his clothed member. He's already twitching to life underneath your soft touches. He's addicted.

     As your fingers toy with his belt, loosening the buckle, he grabs your wrist. "We shouldn't do this here."

    "Don't worry," you say with a small smirk, "I'll take care of you, now. I can make it fast~"

    He's not going to say no to that, not once in a million years would he would say no. He really should just take you to your shared bedroom and have you there; lay you down like the princess he sees you as. But he also wants to do it right here, right now. In the dining room with the man still tied up and knocked out against the wall. Just because he can. Because you're still here, and you're still his.

     "Fuck," he repeats himself as he rolls his head back, resting against the back of the chair as you palm him. "Don't make it fast," he breathes as you finally unbuckle his belt and start working to free his hardening length.

    "No?"

   "No- God, no. Take your time with me, please, let me revel in you." His words have you more flustered than he is, with his cock out when anyone could walk in and see him letting you fist it up and down slowly.

    Your finger tips barely touch around his girth — the sight of him growing more and more excited is making you wet. Only you can do this to him. Make him so unbelievably needy in just under two minutes that's he's biting back a whine.

    "Suck it, Princess," he whispers above the break in his voice, "please?" 

     He jolts when you land a soft kiss to his thick, leaking tip. Just the right size for you to fit it in your mouth and suck and swirl your tongue while you jerk him off slowly and drive him absolutely mad.

    "Oh, that's it~" He grips the arm rests tightly, fighting his hips as they want to buck his length deeper into your welcoming mouth. He knows you can take it, you have before, but he also knows it leaves your jaw sore to be shoved open on his massive girth.

    You're already drooling down his cock, lubing up your fist with your own spit and picking up your speed. When you hum around his sensitive tip, he loses control.

    With a loud moan, he sits up quickly and turns your head; thrusting his tip onto the gummy wall of your mouth and making an indent on your cheek every time, shoving as much of his length in as he can without being tempted to try and fuck your throat. "Fuck, fuck," that seems to be his favorite word when he's got your mouth on him. Spoken like a whiny prayer.

He cups your bulging cheek softly and presses, his eyes rolling back. It feels almost as good as when he does that to your pussy, pressing to feel how deep he is. Just almost though. Nothing in the world can top that.

Not even your tongue tracing the throbbing vein on the underside of his length while he uses your mouth like a shallow pocket pussy. Not even your hand cupping and kneading his balls like you want him to spontaneously bust in your mouth.

"Ah, fuck me," he growls lowly as he manages to pull himself away.

"Why'd you stop?" You ask as you gulp, wiping the saliva from your chin as he hauls you up to your feet.

"Take off your pants," he says simply as he unbuttons his suit jacket, "I need to cum inside of you."

Now, you can't say no to that. Not in a million years. Being filled to the brim and beyond with Jongho's goliath girth and warmed by his cum from the inside is like heaven. Heaven that only he can give you.

He spreads out his jacket on the table as you rid yourself of your bottoms and shoes, not a second to spare as you step right out of them and are picked up. He sits you down on the fabric, sliding you to the edge.

"Put it right in," you bite your lips with a nod as he gives you a questioning eyebrow raise. "Put it in, I can't wait for you to tease me anymore. Just stretch me on your cock, Baby."

He's dizzy at your words, fingers gripping your thighs tightly as he kisses your jaw; pushing you to lay flat on the table with his chest against yours. "Are you sure?"

    "More than anything."

    The stretch of his tip pressing against your fluttering hole has your lip back between your teeth, holding back your whimpers. He presses his forehead to yours, his body completely covering you beside your spread legs.

     Usually he spends a good, long time getting you relaxed on his fingers. But sometimes you demand that he go right in, and he can't lie and say he doesn't love it as much as you do. One or both of you always cum immediately.

     When his bulbous tip finally gets swallowed up by your warmth, the rest of him is following suit and making you wail as he carves his way deep inside. "Jongho!" 

     "Oh, oh, sh-" He whines into your lips as he bottoms out inside of you, both to you twitching and pulsing against each other and only serving to push you closer to your impending orgasms. "You feel so damn good..."

    When you clench around him at his words, he's falling off the deep end and spilling his seed inside of you without even a single thrust. With his eyes squeezing shut, breath trembling with his release and letting out sharp little whines, he slips a hand between you and finds your clit in a half a second flat — pressing against it in a way that throws you in to boiling waters of pleasure with him.

     Your legs wrap around him tightly, squeezing him closer as your hands keep ahold of his jacket underneath you to ground yourself.

   Over your heavy breaths and ecstasy flooded brains, you hardly notice the man stirring in the corner. Jongho notices first — of course he does. And a grin tugs on his lips.

     "Oh fuck," you nearly purr as his hard length starts massaging your twitching insides slowly. When your head rolls to the side, you catch the man fidgeting uncomfortably. "Hah~ Baby, stop it," you laugh breathlessly, "he's watching us."

"I know he's watching us, I hope he likes the show. 'Cause that's all he's gonna do — watch. You're my girl, nobody gets to touch you." He cups your face and presses his forehead back to yours, "after I get you pregnant, that will prove it to the world. Prove that you are one with Choi Jongho, and he doesn't fuck around when it comes to what's his." 

     You moan — loud and lewd — as he begins to thrust frantically into your still overly sensitive walls, eager to keep his word. You grab onto his shoulders, panting into his mouth as you melt into a pleasure filled void; simply letting him take you how he pleases. "Give it- give it to me," you breathe out in a huff. "Every last drop, Baby-"

A particularly feral snap of his hips proves to be too much for the leg of the table beneath you. Following the sharp slap of skin against skin and the yelp from your throat, is the splintering of wood —

He wraps his arms around your waist quickly, holding you up in place of the now fallen table before you even register that it began dropping. You fist his neat button up tightly, eyes wide for a second before you crack a smile that makes his heart skip multiple beats.

"What now? Fuck me on the floor?" You chuckle as you catch your breath, moaning as he pulls your chest to his — cock pressing even deeper as he carries you.

"My Princess deserves better than that." He presses your back to a wall, licking his lips as he pins you to it with nothing but his own body weight. "I bet I can't break this, right?"

"You should try~" Your teasing is replaced by pleasured yells as he does try. Fucking you against the wall like he's trying to send you both straight through it, wrapping his arms under your knees and holding your legs up with no struggles at all.

"You're gonna be such a good fucking wife to me," he moans from somewhere deep, the sound rumbling against you, "such a good Mommy to our babies. H-how many? Hm?" He's losing the remainder of his mind as he imagines you all round and glowing with his child — your child. He's going to stake his claim and build his family and not one single person is going to fuck with you.

He'll kill them. The only reason the bastard in the corner with his head down is alive is because he didn't get all the answers he wanted before he passed out.

After he breeds you with every last drop of his cum just like you asked, after he cleans you up and holds you and helps you get comfortable, he's back to his mission. But you come first.

"A-all of them!"

"Uh?" He laughs at your fucked-out plead. His thick girth doesn't give your g-spot a break, especially not in this position. Fuck, this position. He's proving just how strong he is; pinning you to the wall and pounding your gushing heat like it's fucking easy. "All of them? You want — fuck — you want me to keep you full all the time, Princess? You want that?"

"Please!" You scratch down his back, undoubtedly leaving red marks even through his shirt. "I want to h-ave your babies," you almost sob, trembling in his hold as he leans down and sucks at your neck teasingly soft compared to his ruthlessly hips.

"Don't worry," he moans, broken and honey coated as your walls squeeze him, trying to milk him for all his worth. "I'll take c-care of you."

He cradles your head to his neck with one hand, the softness and lust in his eyes gone as he glares at the man; who looks shell shocked and uncomfortable beyond belief.

"If anyone touches you or our babies — I'll bite them like a fucking dog."

✠ALL BARK✠

[silent-sanctum]

"Jotaro as a Father"

Alright, this is another popular discussion about Jotaro's character. It also falls victim to the fandom's tendency to resort to "black and white" thinking, perhaps combined with other minor factors (and another case of me liking to overanalyze my favorite characters because Araki left so much about him vague)

This user has posted this on another "opinions that I will defend until the end of time" and garnered thousands of likes. This was probably the most liked quoted retweet. And it irked me. Am I surprised? Not really. Disappointed? Absolutely. And they are probably the 80% Jotaro fans that don't understand him.

And as your local Jotaro defender and anti-Jotaro mischaracterization person, I am here with another essay exploring more of his mentality. This time, it's about him being a parent, and while he isn't the best father, he isn't that bad either, or at least how the majority of the fandom thinks him to be.

I have made a previous character essay that talked about Jotaro's crippling weaknesses under the facade of strength and competence in detail. If you're interested, I'll leave this sentence linked to the post.

Now keep in mind: This character study is all assumptions and headcanons, BUT they are grounded in canon (e.g., pattern of behavior, general personality, actions he took, etc.) instead of what is popular in fanon interpretations. And much like how I wrote my previous essay (with the CEO and her POV on her emotional reservation), I will be drawing a lot of thematic comparisons with another show I've watched.

Why? Because sometimes, there are patterns on how groups of people can function in life, and it's not just the writer's bias and blind defense of their favorite character.

Second, I need to make this clear also: Jolyne is valid for being mad at her father. I am not invalidating her feelings at all. This essay is about exploring his headspace and what led him to do what he did. That's it.

Okay. Now onto the essay itself.

"Is he a bad father?"

Ehh, I can say that while he isn't good, he isn't bad either. His parenting lands more in the grey area, instead of either end of the spectrum. Because we all know at the surface level that he got married, had a daughter, went AWOL, divorced his wife, and stayed away from his family for their safety.

The action was bad: Neglect is neglect, no matter the excuse, and it can cause the affected people to respond to it negatively in the long term, especially for children with an absent parent.

However, the intention was good: He chose to stay away from his family because he attracted danger to his loved ones, who couldn't see the threat. He's a Stand user who could likely draw in other Stand users. He cared for them, and he wouldn't want to risk their safety by being around them.

It's complicated and nuanced. I feel like it's wrong to just shoehorn him into the "bad father" category, when the generalized view of what a "bad dad" is being abusive or leaving the child with malicious and/or selfish intent. But he doesn't hold up the "good father" title either, when being a "good dad" involves being a constant support for one's child, which he didn't do in Jolyne's late childhood to her teens.

So, he's neither good nor bad. He's a father doing all that he can with his current circumstances.

And yes, while I could leave it at that with the whole "he's neither good nor bad, but somewhere in between", many have placed their arguments about why he's a bad father and the alternatives he could've taken instead of completely choosing the self-isolation route.

The most popular one was this question:

"If he knew he was a danger, why did he have Jolyne? Why did he choose to have a family when he was going to stay away from them in the end?"

Here's the thing though… He didn't.

Jotaro doesn't have the hindsight that the audience has. He couldn't have known until he noticed it later down adulthood, where he grew to become more observant of his surroundings.

And even if he did know, is he not allowed to be human? Do you want him to just be a lonely marine biologist who just does the Speedwagon Foundation's (SWF) Stand work 24/7? Is he not a person who is capable of feeling love for someone else, and has wants for himself outside his job?

Yes, he's diligent. He is capable of self-preservation. He is powerful. But even the strongest individuals have families of their own. They have close bonds with others that they treasure. Why? Because being able to love and feel love is what makes someone "human". Jotaro is a human just like most of us. He isn't a working machine who just does his job.

Let me introduce this show called "Moving." It's a show where basically "superpowered parents who used to be special agents, hide their superpowered children from organizations who wish to exploit or kill them." It's a relevant show to this essay since the protagonist's father behaves similarly to Jotaro.

In the show, this man is the government's best agent with special abilities. He carries out his missions and reports back after completing his task. He does his job seriously and rarely fails an assignment. In isolation, he describes himself to be cold and stoic, who is unable to socialize much due to his role as a special operations agent.

One day, he encounters the protagonist's mother: The organization's top graduate with exceptional marksmanship, who also possesses special abilities.

And despite both of them knowing the risks of getting too personal and intimate, guess what happened?

They both fall in love, even if it means being locked into being exploited by the government. And not only that, guess what else happened.

They have a child together.

Let me remind you: They know they are high-profile agents. The best of the best. They are aware of the risks that come with interpersonal connections, but they had that family anyway. Why? Because they were human. To find normalcy in the midst of their circumstances.

My point is that Jotaro is a person who's allowed to have a life, even if it couldn't be completely normal given his situation. Jonathan got married and had a kid. Joseph got married and had children. What makes Jotaro any different? Because he's workaholic, stoic, and reserved like the dad in the show? That's not a fair assumption if you ask me.

Another thought raised was this:

"Couldn't he just have given and trained Jolyne with her Stand?"

It seems plausible, and it sounds cool. But you have to know how Jotaro operated and why that couldn't be the case. His life after Egypt went down the drain. Heck, you could even say that his life changed when Star Platinum awakened in him. When Stands became a permanent thing in his day-to-day.

No matter how much he likes to focus on his day job as a biologist, he now had to shoulder being the SWF's go-to investigator for the supernatural. Not only did he work hard in his profession, but he had to do the Foundation's tasks as the Joestar bloodline's active patriarch and as the one who slayed DIO.

He couldn't have a normal life anymore. Not with his involvement with the Foundation and the enemies he attracted.

Now answer me this- What parent who loves their child will subject them to a life like theirs?

"Moving's" main premise is the lengths that families will go to protect their children, including from their past. The couple I mentioned raised their superpowered baby in hiding. And here's the kicker: It's the father who chose to suppress his son's abilities so he could live a normal life.

Again, this is the same cold, stoic man whom the organization treats as its best agent. And it's not just this family. There are multiple examples of parents in this show choosing to let their kids hide their powers.

Your daughter has caught the teacher's attention because of her power? Fake her death.

When you see the organization's leader smirk at you after learning that powers are hereditary, and you have a child? Go off the radar and leave everything, but your family, behind.

Jotaro never wanted Jolyne to be involved with Stands. He didn't want her to risk her life fighting a random Stand user when she could live the life of a normal teenager. She didn't have a Stand. Her mother didn't have one either. Why burden his child with the responsibility he had?

And did his isolation work? For the most part, yes. That is, until the incident with Romeo.

But then you ask yourself:

"He could've called her! Texted her! Sent an email- something! It's the 2000s! Technology's a thing by this point!"

Remember what his main character flaw is… Communication. If there's any fault that he has without debate, it's his inability to connect and socialize with others properly, and his poor maintenance of his bonds (as I have stated in my previous essay).

This argument could go in two ways. One is the whole communication issue, and maybe he was either too caught up in his job to update them, or he didn't want to share any details, thinking it's best for them not to know. As flawed as that thought was.

OR we could go the Snipster route, wherein he DID call Jolyne to check in on her, but because he kept making excuses as to why he's not coming home and is always away, she gradually grew to resent and hate him through the years, up until at one point, she yells at him to not call her anymore if he was going to continue being an absent father.

Pick your poison.

This leads to the next argument:

"He's a bad father because he's completely absent from Jolyne's life! He rarely bonded with Jolyne at all!"

Then why does Jolyne have so much anger towards him? If he were a fully absent father (as in I-didn't-know-you-existed type of absent), she shouldn't be holding so much resentment toward Jotaro. So, why is she hateful to him?

Because at one point, he was a present parent in Jolyne's childhood before he left. Yes, he could be busy working, but he could've spent his few moments of respite taking care of his daughter to the best he could as a loving father. She is the child he cherished after all. His weakness.

Not to Jonathan or Joseph levels of "golden retriever" and "grandiose" type of affection, but perhaps in more domestic, quiet ways: Cook her meals, read her books, listen to her talk about her day, help and teach her with homework, etc.

If he were a fully absent father, Jolyne should've felt apathetic and confused when meeting him again, not anger. If he were completely absent, Jolyne wouldn't have engaged in delinquent activity to catch her father's attention.

Again, in Moving, the protagonist is raised by a single mother from his childhood to his teens. He does not know who his father is, because when the dad was present, he was a toddler and therefore couldn't remember him. To him, his father is a stranger.

And how he reacts to the father at the end of the show is him not being upset or mad. It's him being surprised, confused, and neutral toward him. Why? Because he doesn't know him.

I would show the images but there's an image limit and I'm sad

Heck, you can say the same for Josuke and Joseph if you want an in-universe example. Josuke never knew who his dad was and was raised by Tomoko all his life. And when he meets old man Joseph for the first time, he's confused and is generally neutral to him. He's shy even when he helps him after his cane broke.

---

Jotaro leaves a lot to interpretation, and while I see a gem of a post here and there sometimes, I have to trudge through a sludge of mischaracterization and an oversaturation of memes that downplay what's canon in favor of fanon validation.

And I get it. I browse Twitter, check the timeline for updates, and notice that most users are impressionable teenagers who are from the West and go about their days living with Western individualistic values.

Maybe, just maybe, some people will project the "bad father" image to Jotaro as a result of their own daddy issues. Just like how misogynists will project themselves onto a favorite character like Jotaro.

I'm not saying this as a definitive truth, but as a possibility. Jotaro is fictional after all, and people will use fiction as a reprieve from reality.

TL;DR? He isn't a bad father, but he isn't a good one either. He's a father who does what he can to protect his daughter, with all his flawed mentality and caring heart.

[lheslie]

Toji meeting your parents

He didn't want to meet your parents, he didn't even want to think about it.

Just like any kind of boyfriend, He felt tensed and nervous about it.

Ever since you brought that topic, he kept telling you he was busy with missions.

He made sure that his missions collided with the days your parents either visit or when you bring up him meeting your parents.

He knew for sure your parents would never like him, he's a old man who gambles and kills people. AND he lives in the streets before he moved in with you into your apartment.

After some time you noticed that Toji had really become avoidant about the topic of meeting your parents, you wanted to talk to him.

"Toji, Can we talk?" You spoke as he froze in his spot, It can only mean one thing to Toji.

And that is headaches, He hates talks like these it stresses him out.

He sighed as he followed you to the bedroom.

"Toji-" "Yeah, I don't wanna meet em." He interrupeted you.

"Why?" You asked, "You know why." He replied.

You sighed, "Don't be like that Toji"

"But, I am like this." He said

"Toji, I'm the one with you, not my parents I love you for who you are. The reason why I want to introduce you to them is because, I want my parents to meet the man I love. And even if they don't like you, I do and I don't care what they say, If it makes you uncomfortable I understand it, I won't force you." You said as you hugged him.

"No one can stop me from loving you." You whispered to him as you kissed him goodnight.

After that talk Toji stayed awake that entire night thinking about your words, it gave him a huge headache.

No one, had accepted him for who he is except you and his ex wife. He knew he was hard to love, especially since he doesn't know how to recieprocate any kinds of feelings except anger and contempt.

He still doesn't know how to stomach having a relationship with you.

But your words got him thinking, after a few weeks, he had thought about it.

"I'll do it." He spoke while he was eating his breakfast.

"Do what?" You questioned him as you think of the things he might mean, then it hits you.

"You'll meet my parents?" You smiled in glee.

"Yeah, don't expect me to be nice and shit, or them to like me. Because clearly you know who I am." He said as he continues to eat.

The day came, where he's about to meet your parents.

He tried fixing himself, he bathed, brushed his teeth, changed into acceptable clothes and then he hid his weapons.

He was anxiously waiting inside your apartment feeling tensed, sweating.

"Fuck this is harder than killing Special grade curses and sorcerers." he grumbles as he heard the door knob open.

He felt his heart sank as he stood up walking to the door as you introduced your parents he stood quiet.

You all sat down at the dining table as your parents introduced themselves.

"Toji Fushiguro..." He introduced himself

Your parents didn't think much about it, since you already told them about him so your parents were adjusting in this case.

"So Toji, I'm happy you've met our daughter, we've never thought she'd find someone." Your mother joked.

"She was rotting on our basement for long as I've remembered" Your Father added.

"Mama! Papa!" You yelled

"What? It's true." Your mom said as you all laughed.

Your parents didn't need to know anything more about Toji. They already heard alot from you.

You were already old enough to make your own decisions and they're just there to guide you whenever you need them.

Toji was shocked that your parents weren't disgusted at him.

Your parents told stories about you to Toji so Toji would ease himself with them.

Which ends up you being embarrassed you knew that Toji would tease you all about it later. But you were happy that you noticed that Toji was being at ease.

You stood up and excused yourself at the bathroom.

Toji knew that there might be a confrontation in this period, since you weren't here anymore.

"Toji let me be frank, I don't know who you are or where you came from. All I know is that you make our child happy, that's what matters, but hurt her you'll regret it I promise you that." Your Father said

After that you came back.

The meeting went well as you exhaled sitting on the living room clearly tired.

"I hope they didn't give you a hard time." You said as you looked at him.

"It went better than I expected." Toji said

"Why do you think so?" You curiously asked him.

"Met my ex wife's parents, didn't go well. Her parents asked lots of shit. They found out that I'm a piece of garbage not fit for their daughter. They wanted us to break up." He said as he was pouring water on a glass.

To be honest, it also went unexpected on your side as well. Usually your parents would also interrogate.

But you knew they'd understand you and your decisions because you were already an adult and you were thankful for that.

But it was probably because you've already told your parents about him.

*Flash back*

"Mom, I love him. I know you think that he isn't good for me, But I don't care I'm a grown adult who can make her own decisions."

*End of Flash back*

You and your parents argued alot about Toji that made you really stressed out that you had to drink meds.

But you didn't care, you'll stand your ground.

[e-squared-what-is-my-life]

Seeing the abundance of people shipping coral glasses and Rena, just like imagine someone assumes and it either gets Ena insecure or Rena being like "huh? Nah, my wife's over there and is like 10x more pretty" "bitch did you call me ugly?" "I said what i said"

Get Ready for Some Angst!

Anyone who knew ENA was very aware that the poor woman had very little self esteem. Though she hid it well behind her Happy Face, there were times when her Sad Face would let her true feelings peek out into the open. According to RENA, this was called "Wearing your heart on your sleeve", which confused ENA considering how her sleeves were short. How was she supposed to wear her heart on something that doesn't exist? That didn't make much sense!

Beyond that, however, ENA did her best to smile in even the most uncomfortable of situations, and she'd become good at it over time. Meeting RENA made her more confident, and dating the soldier made her feel something she hadn’t experienced in quite a while.

She felt like she was worth something.

Most who met the couple when they were together could easily tell that they made each other happy. It didn’t take more than one interaction or curious listen-in to determine that. There were some, however, who took some time to realize that the two ENAs were in a relationship, and certain things were liable to be said because of that.

"Oh, your baby is so cute! Who's the father? I bet she looks just like him!"

"I know the perfect person who can handle your attitude! You'll absolutely love her, her name is-"

"Oh! You two are... together? In a relationship? Willingly?"

"How could someone as depressing as you have landed a goddess like her?"

"You should break up. There's no way you're giving that ENA the happiness she deserves."

There's no way you're giving her the happiness she deserves.

And didn't that just sting?

No, it didn't sting, it hurt, agonizingly so. Knowing that there were people who both inwardly and outwardly believed ENA should leave RENA because they just "Didn't seem compatible". RENA, of course, was always ready and willing to squash the little bug that eagerly fed on ENA's worries, and while it helped, there was still the tiniest hint of doubt hidden away.

Which only got worse in less than ten minutes.

ENA and Claire had been invited over by Froggy to cheer on RENA during some sparring competition with Coral Glasses. He explained that it was always important to keep employees brushed up on their knowledge of the job, and that this also helped get any anxious energy out. ENA eagerly agreed, packing everything she and Claire would need for a day in RENA's world and humming a little tune to express her excitement.

"Babe, it's just a sparring match." RENA chuckled as she watched her beloved try to desperately decide on which baby food to take. "She prefers sweet potato when she's out, hon."

"Thank you, dear. I would have been here all day trying to decide!" ENA chirped, giggling at the multitude of kisses pressed onto her cheek.

"Trust me, I know." RENA hummed, snagging a piece of toast from ENA's plate and strutting away with a smirk as ENA whined and complained. "You weren't eating it! Can't waste bread; it's valuable here."

"I was saving it fow later." ENA huffed, crossing her arms petulantly. She glanced over upon hearing Claire blow a raspberry, immediately cheered up by the sight of their daughter finding genuine delight in pointing at her reflection in her bottle of orange juice. "Such an innocent soul, I cannot believe we spent so much time apart and without you!"

"Hey! Why don't you talk to me like that?" Now it was time for RENA to be petulant, a frown visible even behind the toast that hung from her mouth.

"I tell you how much I adore your presence in my life every day, love." ENA chuckled, taking her turn to smirk and look at RENA deviously. "In more ways than one~"

RENA choked on the toast with a loud "ACK!", slamming a fist against her chest as she blushed and tried to regain herself. "Don't say shit like that! I have to be focused!"

"Apologies, dear. I shall keep my affections to a minimum."

"Hold on, I didn’t say you needed to do that."

The couple shared a loving laugh and a few kisses, pressing kisses to both of Claire's cheeks and watching with absolute adoration as she squealed with glee.

Things were good.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Okay, things were no longer good.

ENA held a hand over her mouth to silence the cries that desperately wished to escape. Her heart ached and her stomach twisted into rancid knots, reminding her endlessly and ruthlessly of what drove her to hide in this dark, cold crevice in the first place.

The spar had started off quite well, RENA was landing hit after hit, and while it was clear she was holding back, Coral took each one like a champ. The typically anxious woman was quick and light on her feet, knew how to strategize based upon each attack she received, and even landed a few good hits of her own.

"She is quite good at this." Suspicious Man had commented, watching with the rest of the group (ENA, Claire, Dratula, Kane, Froggy, Taski Maiden, and a trio of witches who said they knew RENA) as the fight grew more and more intense over time.

"YEAH! KICK HER ASS!" Taski cheered, letting out a wild sputtering sound as she leapt up and down.

ENA wasn't sure who either of them were talking about, but she didn't think she'd care either way. She believed in her wife, and that's all that mattered.

"Oh, they make such a cute couple." One of the witches cooed, gaining ENA's attention briefly. "So perfect for each other! I couldn't imagine a better looking duo!"

"I agree!" Another witch chimed. "I wouldn't be surprised if that ENA finally settled down; it would be quite the relief, especially knowing she's with someone who can match her in this field."

"Now, ladies, do quiet down. I'm trying to watch these cuties dance!" The third witch huffed. "They're such a perfect match! I doubt anyone could make them happier."

That was the straw that broke the metaphorical camel's back, driving ENA to hand Claire to Froggy (he was the only one she trusted to properly care for the baby in her absence) before rushing off without making too much of a scene. She swore she'd heard someone ask if something was wrong, but she didn't think she'd be able to answer without bursting into tears.

Which is exactly what led to now.

ENA had wandered back through the corridor and hidden in one of the many crevices in the walls. It was a tight fit, so much so that she’d had to take her head off so she could fit, and that only made her feel worse. She sniffled and sobbed as quietly as she could manage, not wanting to draw attention to herself or her tantrum.

Why couldn't she just be normal for once?

"ENA? ENA! Damn it, ENA, say something!" RENA's frantic calls rang throughout the hall, earning her shouts of annoyance and frustration from the casino patrons that she blatantly ignored. "Where are you?!"

ENA whimpered, holding her yellow arm out to flag RENA down without drawing any other unnecessary attention to them. She frowned as RENA gasped and practically broke through the sound barrier to close the distance between them, now feeling ten times worse for leaving the event behind.

"I'm sowwy." ENA sniffled, refusing to make eye contact with RENA despite the fretting she was doing. "I'm being stupie again..."

"What? No, no! You're not- Why are you saying you're stupid?" RENA asked, having grown used to the baby talk ENA's Sad Face insisted on using. "You know that's not true, baby."

"I wan away fwom your spaw." ENA whined, covering her eyes with a frustrated groan. "You were about to win! I know you were!"

"As sweet as the sentiment is, my love, I must inform you that Coral bested me. It was a surprise, but a welcome one."

"Well if you think she's so impwessive, why don’t you mawwy her instead?!" ENA cried, gasping and slamming her mouth shut the moment she realized what she’d said. "Oh, I didn't mean dat! I don't want you to weave me!"

"ENA... Honey, where is all of this coming from?" RENA asked, at a complete loss of why her darling was so upset. "Was it something I said or did?"

"No! It... It was... UGH! I don't know how to expwain it!" ENA dug her fingers into her scalp, going on and on about her frustration with herself until RENA quite literally took her head and held it close. "It isn't faiw. Why don't people think you can be happy wit' me? Am I a bad wife?"

RENA finally managed to put the pieces together, feeling like an absolute ass for the way she seemed to be completely oblivious to ENA's dismay. This wasn’t something new, that much was obvious, and it had clearly been stewing in ENA's mind for quite a while.

"I thought I was doing evewything wight. But no one thinks I make a good wife. They tell me I'm making you sad." ENA closed her eyes to keep from seeing RENA's reaction, under the genuine impression that her fears wouldn't be unfounded. "I don't wanna make you sad..."

"My love, you could never make me sad." RENA assured. "Unless you did something stupid like die, but that's not happening on my watch."

ENA giggled at RENA's confidence, sniffling a few more times before her Happy Face was able to take over. "Deepest apologies, love. I have no idea what came over me."

"I doubt that, but okay." RENA hummed, not wanting to start a fight immediately after calming ENA down. "Now, what say we gather ourselves and get back to Claire, hmm? I have a feeling she misses her mommy."

"Both of us, dear." ENA replied, eyes lidding as her energy started to deplete. She always loved it when RENA held her, even in awkward positions like this.

RENA nodded, standing and helping ENA's body crawl out of the crevice before placing her head back into its orbit. "There, let’s get back, shall we?"

"Gladly." ENA replied, content with the newly calm environment. She walked with RENA for a good while, humming as she was suddenly stopped in her tracks by RENA gripping her arm. "Darling?"

"C'mere for a second." RENA gently instructed, smiling with genuine delight as ENA did as told. She watched as the slightly shorter woman stopped in front of her with the cutest look of confusion etched into her features.

"My love, what's- MMPH!" ENA couldn't stop the surprised yelp that was quickly muffled by RENA's lips on her own. It was a clumsy kiss at first, but then evolved (and inevitably devolved) into a passionate and fiery kiss. ENA moaned into RENA's mouth, a blush decorating her face as the two separated, joined together afterwards by nothing more than a thin line of static from their mouths. "What... What was-"

"THIS IS MY WIFE, YOU REPROBATES!" RENA suddenly screamed, keeping a tight hold on ENA as the shorter squeaked in surprise. "The most beautiful woman in the world, and 10- No, 100 times prettier than whoever you think I'm married to!"

"Oh, my!" The first witch exclaimed, muttering along with her sisters at the revelation. "Sincerest apologies, dear."

"We didn’t expect two ENAs to work so well together." The second witch hummed.

"Your baby is quite adorable!" The third chimed, pointing to Froggy and Claire, who appeared to be... negotiating about a spoonful of food?

What in the Six Rings?

"Good, now everyone is up to date." RENA confidently stated, a smug smile on her face. "No one else is to upset my wife with your stupid assumptions! Otherwise, you're DEAD!"

Everyone nodded to some extent, which seemed to make RENA quite content. It was only after Coral furrowed her brow that a confused expression was shared between the couple.

"Did you just call me ugly?" Coral asked.

"I said my wife is 100 times prettier. By default, that makes you 100 times not as pretty." RENA replied, enjoying the increasingly confused looks on everyone's faces. "I said what I said."

"Okay?" Coral muttered, unsure of what to make of the odd statement.

Meanwhile, ENA happily nuzzled against RENA, ignoring the smell of sweat and copper in favor of savoring the heat of a well worked body.

Once again, all was good.