#just to name four I've seen this done to

[avatarquake]

Proud member of the 'my non-canon ships make better sense than the canon ones' club.

[livinginshambles]

I want to be loved first | James Potter

Pairing: James Potter x Fem!Reader

Word Count: 4.0k

Summary: Established relationship and angst: James still loves Lily, it's clear to you. You try to ignore the way your heart aches when you always seem to be second on his mind, knowing you will never compare to her and unsure how much more you can take.

Notes: Its happy ending again, sorry guys. I'd say no beta, we die like fred, but that feels too soon so anyway, spelling and grammar mistakes probably.

Masterlist

____________________________

People have often told you that you need to toughen up and grow a spine. That your lack of backbone had everyone trample on you like you were a crosswalk, and you could definitely say that they were right.

Perhaps that's why you were crying in the middle of the night because of James Potter. He was laying behind you, pressed against your back with an arm draped over you. His face was hidden in the back of your neck, breathing steadily against it as he slept peacefully, unaware of the heartache he was causing you when he whispered Lily's name. Again.

When he'd done it the first time, your blood had run cold, goosebumps showing up and littering your bare arms. Tears had prickled in your eyes at his barely audible, mumbled confession. "Love you so much Lily."

You had turned around to face him and your rustling had woken him up. Eyes still closed, he'd groggily shifted and pulled you against his chest. “Everything alright, love?”

“Yeah, just a nightmare,” you had responded in a small voice. Your answer had him finally open his eyes, somewhat concerned. He had lifted his arm to yawn against it and then settled it back on top of you in such a way that his hand had easy access to your nape, drawing circles in an attempt to calm you.

“I've got you, love. Nothing can hurt you, as long as I'm here,” he had assured you.

Ironic.

So now here you were lying down, your tears were freely rolling down your face and you were glad that the curtains of the bed were closed, leaving you in a private space, despite sleeping in the boy’s dormitory. It would be another sleepless night for you, it seemed.

When James stretched his arms to reach for you about four hours later, he frowned and sat up, confused at the lack of your presence. He pushed the red drapes aside and peeked into the room. Sirius was still asleep, face down. Peter was most likely curled up inside the pile of blankets on his bed and Remus was sitting up in bed, a book in his lap.

Even though it was the weekend, and you were anything but an early bird, you slipped out of bed in the early morning. You were sure that your eyes were red and puffy and didn’t want James to mention it.

He looked up when he heard James and raised his eyebrows in question when he noticed no one else behind him. “Have you seen Y/N?” James asked, sleep still heavily laced in his voice. Remus shook his head in thought. “No,” he whispered quietly, an eye on Sirius beside him. “I’ve been up since four in the morning though.”

James’ frown deepened. That meant that you had snuck out before that. But why? He got dressed impressively fast and descended the stairs to the common room. You were sitting at the tip of your chair, deeply engrossed into your transfiguration assignment, several books piled, some laying open, scattered across the small table.

You felt two arms securely wrap around you, almost melting in their designated position. “Morning,” James kissed your cheek.

You bit your lip, took a breath, and cast your hurt feelings aside. You turned your head and flashed him a smile. “Good morning, Jamie.” James took the opportunity of your head, tilted upwards at him, and dipped down to press his lips softly against yours, pecking you once, twice. “You’re up early,” he commented and nudged you. He slipped behind you, body fully relaxing into your back now.

“Couldn’t sleep,” you replied honestly and you leaned back into him. You laughed softly when you noticed his eyes drooping. “You’re tired, Jamie. Go back to sleep.” James made a sound but didn’t move, instead slouching even more against you.

“Hm, no, I missed you this morning. I’ll stay here,” he decided and drifted off to sleep. You didn’t doubt that he loved you.

“Go on a date with me next Friday,” James asked you while he was escorting you to your herbology class. You looked up at him surprised. “A date?” you dumbly repeated, trying not to be too excited about the prospect of a date. James usually ended up having things to do that he really couldn't get out of, so you would always end up canceling your dates.

James laughed and slung his arm around your shoulders. “Exactly. You and me alone. I was thinking of a picnic by the lake, no one else around, and maybe we could snog, but I’m also down to cuddle.” Your eyes crinkled up amusedly. “Don’t you have Quidditch, Jamie,” you raised your eyebrows. “You always have Quidditch practice after class,” you pointed out.

“Not next Friday. I already checked to make sure I didn't double book anything, and I warned Pads that I'm not taking on any new pranks until next week to avoid detention.” he grinned. “Friday will be one of those rare days when I have time to have my girl all to myself the entire afternoon.” His face then turned apologetic. “I know I don’t have much time to take you out, so Friday'll be perfect and I’ll make it up to you.” You threw your arms around his neck and hummed appreciatively in it. “I’d love that.”

James wrapped his arms around you and pulled you in for a kiss. “Prongs!” Sirius shouted from a distance. “Everyone is already waiting for you for Quidditch practice, how far are you going to escort her? I mean the greenhouse is on the other side of Hogwarts, mate,” Sirius complained but he blew you a dramatic kiss that James waved away with a sour look.

“Go on,” you laughed and untangled yourself from his arms. He quickly pressed a kiss to your lips and sprinted off towards the Quidditch field.

James dropped into the seat next to you. “Long time no see, love,” he said. You snorted. “James, I saw you two hours ago.” James shrugged, and flirtily smiled. “I said what I said.”

Professor McGonagall entered the classroom and class started. You were jotting down everything she said in a neat handwriting, knowing that James would end up asking to lend your notes, of course by offering kisses in return.

You glanced beside you and were surprised to find him hunched over his notebook, scribbling away. Impressed at the thought that he was actually paying attention, you couldn’t help but peer down at his notes and saw that he was sketching a girl.

Though he wasn’t the greatest artist, you could clearly see that the girl on the paper looked nothing like you, and instead had features that were strikingly similar to Lily. When James looked up from his drawing and glanced to his right where she was sitting, her eyes focused on Professor McGonagall, you felt your heart constrict again, but still decided not to comment on it. He was free to draw whoever he felt like drawing, you reminded yourself.

Jealousy is ugly.

You were sitting in the library, helping a third year with Defense against the dark arts theory, when James barged in, earning several disturbed looks and a threatening glare from the librarian.

“James?” you called to him quietly and motioned for him. James’ eyes spotted you and he slid over to you, wringing his hands together, biting his lips and his eyes darting around.

“You’re nervous,” You remarked while you eyed him up and down. “Or you feel bad. What is it?”

James let out a deep sigh at your bluntness, though he supposed it would be better to get straight to the point. “We can’t go on a date next week, I’ve got prefect stuff, gotta patrol.” You stared at him, your disappointment was visible on your face and James looked at the ground.

“But you already had patrol this week? Isn’t it every other week?” You asked, a bummed out look on your face.

“Well, actually, Lily asked me if I could do rounds with her next week,” he admitted. “Her usual assigned partner was injured during Quidditch practice apparently.”

“Oh.” You didn’t know what to say. You were pretty sure she could ask anyone else for next week or just do the rounds herself as you’ve seen James do it alone for two weeks too when his assigned partner had gone home for a family emergency.

“Is it really vital that you have to go?” You couldn’t help but ask.

"I already said yes." James offered an apologetic smile. “I’ll make it up to you, I promise. We can go on a date the week after.” There was a pause and then, “Actually that’ll probably have to wait for the week after that.”

'Imagine having to schedule a simple date, three to four weeks in advance and even then not being guaranteed that nothing would come in between,' you sighed.

You shrugged, a sudden wave of defeat and exhaustion crashing over you. Why did you have to compete for your boyfriend in the first place? 'How tiring', you realized.

You waved him away. “It can’t be helped, I guess,” you somewhat coldly told him, and turned back to the student next to you who was awkwardly looking away. James stood next to you in silence for a moment, still looking at you. You looked up at the lack of the sound of receding footsteps and looked at him questioningly, waving your hand in a ‘what is it?’ manner.

“I can tell her no,” James said, something that looked like a pout on his face. He hated making you feel bad, despite constantly but unconsciously doing it.

“You don’t want to tell her no,” you retorted.

"I would for you.”

“Well, considering that you haven’t told her no by now and are instead here telling me that we have to rearrange our plans, I think you should just go help Lily with rounds.”

James was taken aback by your bitter tone, eyes immediately wide, alarmed that you were really affected by his decision. “Love, I-“

You waved your hand again. “No, I’m sorry,” you apologized before he could. You rubbed your eyes in an exhausted manner. Jealousy was not a good look, you reminded yourself again. “Just really looked forward to that picnic with just you and me.”

“We’ll still have that picnic another time though,” James tried to assure you, but you were no longer looking at him. He realized that the conversation was over and that you wanted to be left alone right now.

“I love you,” James tried one last time and you sighed. " I love you more.” Your words resonated even after James left, knowing that they might be more true than you wanted to admit. You cleared your throat and when you faced the girl next to you, she shot you a sympathetic look.

The last drop was during Potions class. Potions was something you were good at. Maybe not better than Severus Snape, but you did excel in it.

So, if there was one class in which you expected James to want to be your partner, it was Potions class. Perhaps it was arrogant of you to assume such a thing, because when Professor Slughorn had announced that everyone would be paired up, and asked James who he wanted to partner up with, you hadn't expected him to glance at Lily first, which resulted in Professor Slughorn pairing the two together before James could say your name, which in his defense, was what he was planning on saying.

Without sparing you a glace, he left your table to take the seat next to Lily's. Sure, it was mostly a miscommunication issue on Slughorn's part, but did James have to skip over so happily?

“Love you so much, Lily.”

The words repeated in your head when you saw him look at her so fondly and before you could stop yourself, you scribbled a message on a piece of paper, in which you asked him to meet you in the tower, before sending it his way.

You had clung onto James because you were absolutely in love with him and refused to lose him. But it really was a futile battle, you would never compare to her. His first crush, first love, first kiss if you count that one time during ‘spin the bottle’ and his first heartbreak. You’ll always be second, even if he genuinely loves you.

James snapped his head up at you from his attempted conversation with Lily when he got your note, suddenly remembering you, but you were laughing, engrossed in a conversation with a flustered Peter who had almost set the two of you on fire by adding the wrong ingredient. When you left class, you saw James and Lily still talking while calmly packing up.

James entered the tower, holding the note that you had passed him during class. He was smiling cheekily and quickly skipped over, arms ready to wrap around your waist as he leaned in for a kiss, no doubt thinking you asked him to sneak away for a snog.

“We need to talk,” you stopped him, and his grin fell from his face, a serious expression now adorning it. “Everything alright love?” he asked, an odd feeling growing inside of him at your tone. He was suddenly rather unsure if he really wanted to.

'Nothing better than to rip the band aid off', you thought.

“I want to break up.”

There was a long moment of silence while James was registering your words, repeating them in his head over and over again to see if there was any chance that he could have interpreted that incorrectly.

“What?” He eventually said out loud in disbelief. Though he wanted to step forward, reach for you and hold you tightly as if to show that he wouldn’t let you go, his body was inwilling to move.

“Why are y-, I thought we were good?” The crack in his voice didn’t go unnoticed by you. Your heart ached for him, but you were determined to stay strong and say your piece for once. To voice your thoughts and go through with tough decisions that you knew would be for the better.

“We’re not, James,” you sighed. “I know that you know that.”

James shook his head in denial. “No, I don’t know that,” he insisted. His brain was racking through all the instances where he did something wrong and - with the exception of next Friday's date - came up blank.

“But you love me,” he stated, mostly to himself, but it came out more of a question. “Of course,” you confirmed without hesitation.

James’ body finally unfroze, and he surged forward, his hands fumbled to hold your hands. “And I love you,” he stressed, panic starting to rise up. “I love you so much, I’ll take a Veritaserum potion if you want. I just, why would you-, I don’t understand the problem-,”

“I know you love me, James. The problem is that I love you so much more,” you calmly interrupted him. James’ eyes scanned your face to look for answers because none of it maded sense to him.

“I want someone who loves me as much as I love him. Someone who gives me all his love, not just a part that he managed to set apart for me too. And I want to be loved first. Not second. I don't want to be a consolation prize because your first option didn't work out.”

James’ eyes flickered in realization, but his head was still shaking in denial. “I am that someone,” he urged, trying to convince you. He shot you a pleading look. “I love you first, I swear.” He pressed a kiss to the back of your hand, and you pulled it away from his grasp.

“Not first,” you shook your head sadly. “Not when you call for Lily in your sleep, and whisper that you love her.” You watch as James’ frown deepened, mixed expressions crossing his face in surprise, confusion and even bewilderment.

Would he not even admit it?

“Not when you have us rearrange our plans for her, when you draw portraits of her during class, or when you practically jump to be her potions partner. I'm not stupid, James. I see the way you look at her.” You continued to list off the things that happened just this past week, not even bothering to mention all the things that bothered you the past months. Your eyes looked sad and tired, and you took another deep breath. “So, I want to break up.”

James felt like crying, his mind thinking back to everything you said, and knowing that you were right. “I’m sorry,” he tried. “I’m an absolute twat, I know that. I promise you I don’t love Lily, she’s just still very important to me.” You offered him a sympathetic smile.

“I know she’s important to you, I just think that maybe you don’t know what or who you want. And I won’t share my boyfriend anymore, I’m selfish like that,” You joked halfheartedly. James didn’t react, save for wrapping his arms around you. You allowed James to embrace you and he buried his head in your hair, his eyes closed as if he wanted to go to sleep and forget this was happening.

“Okay,” James whispered. What else was he supposed to say?

You closed yours as well. James would get over you in no time, you were certain. You two hadn’t been dating for that long, and perhaps James could find a happy ending in Lily after all.

James had sort of avoided you after that. You thought he was doing it because he was angry, but in reality, he was just scared that he would burst into tears the moment he saw you, and he refused to watch you laugh happily, swatting your friend while he wanted nothing more than to hold your hand again.

His mind had completely become occupied by you and he stayed in bed over the weekend, mostly wallowing in self-pity and misery.

When Monday started, he had skipped all classes and only dragged himself out of bed for Quidditch practice and patrol with Lily. Walking next to her in silence, occasionally glancing at her, he felt his stomach sink again. How ironic that when he looked at Lily, all he could think about was you.

James walked through the corridor on Friday, on his way to the courtyard to meet up with Lily again to do rounds with her. He hadn’t been able to sleep peacefully without you. At first, he had been thinking about every instance where he prioritized Lily over you, and it had him curse himself out in his pillow. He missed you. It was so ridiculous, but he missed you to the point that he would curl up in bed with a stomach ache.

He had finally drifted off when at some point in the middle of the night, he had been shaken awake by Sirius.

“What?” James had asked, his throat dry and raspy. He’d looked around, disoriented.

“Thought you were having a nightmare Prongs. You kept mumbling her name. How much you loved her,” Sirius had handed James a glass of water.

James became wide awake and sat up straight in panic. “Lily?” He had asked Sirius, his stomach turning with nausea. He still couldn’t believe that he really talked about Lily in his sleep when you were lying next to him.

“What? No, Y/N’s name of course.” Sirius had corrected him. 'Of course,' James shook his head at Sirius’ words. “Figured you were reliving your breakup,” Sirius had explained.

James was looking through the passing windows of the castle where he could see the lake in the far distance. Suddenly something in his brain clicked. What in Godrick's name was he doing, avoiding you? Why was he giving up on you without a fight? You both loved each other; he was just the idiot who couldn’t sort himself out. But it didn’t take him longer than a terrible week to open his eyes.

James’ pace increased and he ran through the corridor. “No running in the corridors young man,” a portrait commented, but he paid it no mind.

Lily was already waiting for him and raised her eyebrows at his disheveled state and the basket that he was carrying. “I can’t do rounds with you today,” he puffed out. “I told Y/N that I would take her out for a picnic and then you asked me if I could help, and I agreed, but it’s so stupid because I should be-, I am choosing her,” James ranted. “I’m not letting you come first, or even second.”

Lily wasn’t really sure what James was rambling on about but gave him a kind smile, nonetheless. “Well, what are you waiting for,” she encouraged him. “Sounds to me like you shouldn’t be here, but somewhere else.”

“Yeah, I definitely should.”

You sat by the lake, skipping stones from a sitting position, not that you were having any luck. You hadn't seen James in a while because he avoided you, and you felt sadness wash over you. You were sure that he would get over you quick enough, but you wondered how long would it take for you to get over him?

You heard rustling behind you but kept facing forward. It was only when a delicious smell reached you, that you turned around, slightly annoyed that someone would really choose this spot to have an afternoon meal at when they could’ve sat literally anywhere else near the lake, as well as choose this moment when you wanted to act like a depressed main protagonist gazing in the distance.

You were, however, not prepared to see James stand behind you, out of breath and making his way over to you, a blanket and food spread out behind him. He didn’t really need to say anything. You understood from the way he showed up here, a hopeful expression on his face.

Your heart skipped a beat, and you got up, dusting yourself off.

"Hi," James breathed. An unsure smile formed on his face when you waved back. "I uh, I brought food." He awkwardly motioned to the picnic behind him and you couldn't help but smile at his adorableness.

“Shouldn’t you be somewhere else,” you couldn’t help but lightheartedly remark. James let out an airy chuckle, immediately relaxing at your open demeanor.

“100% sure I’m where I should be,” he affirmed. He considered his words and corrected himself. "Where I want to be."

His words had you take off in a sprint towards him and James opened his arms to catch you when you jumped, locking your legs around him. Ironically enough, it felt as if a weight had fallen off of James. His head fell against your shoulder and he shakily laughed while your blouse stained with tears of relief.

"I'm really sorry," he looked up at you, still holding you steadily. You leaned down to press your forehead against his, and your hands came up to his cheeks. "You made up your mind," you said, but it came out like a question, and James nodded hastily.

"And you'll make it up to me."

"Of course," he earnestly replied. "I want us. I'll fight for us." You closed the gap between the two of you.

“I love you,” he whispered breathlessly against your lips.

Not first or second, not more, most or less. He just loves you.

Taglist:

@elsie-bells @charlie-weasley-is-underrated @dreamingofmarauders @moonyslibrary98 @wildernessflora @hollandweather @queerqueenlynn @locklyebrainrot @thisrandombitch @grac3aph3lion @earfquak3 @venomsvl @shrekscrustybudassy @middle-of-the-earth @sirene-noir @bettytaylorversion @littlepoisonmushroom @faumpje @iloveutwice @katelebate @moonysupremacy01 @marina468 @fangirl-kimora @bellesowl @badasswlthafatass @sjprongs @armydrcamers @its-a-ittle-bit-cold @ireallywannasleep127 @sayukoi @jsjcue @cashtons-wife @idllyastuff @severegiantjudgefriend @ivy-34 @wolfmoonmusic

[kiss-inthekitchen]

same sky | spencer reid

pairing: spencer reid x reader

a late night phone call with Spencer. unruly amounts of fluff. no gender identifiers in this one. apologies to residents of las vegas, i did insult your city's aesthetics. i had to do it. for the plot

word count: 2k

notes: this is a rework of a very old fic i used to have up on ao3 by the same name. it's the second in a series of fics i've updated from my vault of oldies :) this one's for the girlies who liked the banter in no vacancy <3 oops! all banter

“I miss you,” you say into your cell phone, standing on the back porch and gazing out at the sky. It’s late, but you can’t sleep. Spencer has been gone on a case for the better part of a week, and you don’t sleep as well without him. 

“I miss you, too. But I’ll be home soon,” Spencer replies, keeping his voice low.  

“Is everyone else asleep?”

“Yeah. It’s been a long day.”

“Where are you right now?” Even though you aren’t in danger of waking anyone up, you find yourself mirroring Spencer's tone. 

“Best guess, somewhere over New Mexico.” They’ve been in the air about an hour, and given their trajectory, he’s pretty sure he’s right. Spencer is seated at the edge of the couch, his back against the arm of it and a blanket thrown over his legs, barely covering his mismatching-socked feet. 

“How come you’re still up?”

“I wanted to talk to you,” he says. Somehow, he can feel you smiling across the line. It makes him smile, too. He doesn’t ask why you’re awake when it’s even later where you are; he knows already. "What are you doing?”

“Looking up at the stars.”

“You know, you won’t be able to see me up here.”

“Ha ha.”

“Here, I’ll open the shade on the plane window. At least we can share the same view.”

“Hm. Almost like we’re together,” you hum. 

His heart aches. It’s only been a few days and he still can’t stand it. “Almost.”

For a minute, neither of you speak, looking out at the sky from two different time zones.

“When I wake up tomorrow morning, you’ll be here, right?” 

“Mmhm. Maybe even before that,” he responds, a low, soothing hum in your ear.

“Should I stay up until you get here?” you already know what he'll say, but you kinda like the idea of it anyway.

“No, no, it’s at least another four hours. Don’t worry about it. When you wake up, I’ll be there.”

“Sounds good. I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

You’d intended to let him go after just a quick call once you realized that the rest of the team were resting not too far from him, but you don’t want to hang up. He doesn’t make any moves to do so either, wanting to hear your voice as much as you want to hear his. “So, how was Tucson?”

“Oh, you know. Hot. Desert-y. Lots of murder.”

“Less murder now.” 

“Yeah.” 

His voice sounds strained. He doesn’t like indulging in a sense of accomplishment after closing a case, doesn’t ever feel like he’s done enough. He shows up too late and does too little, and then he gets to leave while the families of the victims have to pick up the pieces. You understand why he doesn’t like to think about the work that way, but you’ve tried to remind him that the good he does is incalculable; how many lives saved, how many tragedies avoided. It’s all you can do. 

You pivot a little, not wanting him to get too caught up. “I remember, when I first moved to Virginia, I was so shocked at how green everything was. I swore I’d never seen that much green in my life.”

“I had a similar experience,” he says, fondly, aware of your tactics. 

“Oh, I can only imagine. I’ve been to Vegas. It’s icky.”

“Icky?” he asks, laughing at your word choice. 

“I mean, no offense, but… it’s kinda ugly.”

“Wow, okay, insult my hometown, why don’t you.”

You laugh. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay. You’re right.”

“I know,” you sigh. “Always am.”

“Well, statistically, you actually have a seventy-two percent chance of being right, which is still impressive, but hardly a flawless track record.”

“Spencer Reid coming in hot with the stats. I love when you talk numbers to me.” 

“I don’t think we’d have gotten very far if you didn’t.” 

“But I think I should be right more often than that.” 

“Are you asking me to fudge the numbers?” he asks with put-upon shock. 

“I’m just saying, maybe you’ve got it wrong.” 

“Oh, so you dare to challenge the accuracy of my eidetic memory? Or is it the statistics that you think I’ve calculated incorrectly?” 

“This is affecting my score, isn’t it?” 

“I’ll have to factor it in. You understand.” 

You giggle, and Spencer starts to feel some warmth come back into him after too many days of stress, doubt, and destruction. He hadn’t been able to talk to you nearly as much as he wanted. And it was hard to talk to you on certain cases, to allow you to make him feel lighter when reality was so dark. When he felt so much weight on his shoulders, when he should be focusing on the profile and apprehending the unsub and… sometimes he just didn’t feel like he deserved to have that weight lifted by you, even for a little while. 

“Spence?” 

“Will you go inside?” he asks, his tone full of something like reverence for you. “Please?”

“If you insist,” you sigh, already opening the door. 

“I do. I do insist, very forcefully.” 

“I’m already inside with the door locked.” 

“Man, I’m good.” 

“Mmhm.”

“Going to bed?”

“Yeah. Will you talk to me for a few more minutes?” you ask, sliding under the covers. Spencer hears the slip of fabric as you pull them up over your shoulders, and it sharpens the ache he feels to be home with you already. 

“I’ll talk to you for the rest of the night, if you want me to.” 

“No, I don’t wanna keep you awake, too.” 

“I probably won’t get much sleep regardless.” 

“I don’t condone that,” you say, your frown evident in your voice. 

“Noted,” he replies, though he sounds apologetic. 

Four hours feels an eternity too long to wait. You miss Spencer, and you hate how tired he sounds. You want to fix things for him. You want to run your fingers through his hair til he falls asleep and you want to make sure his dreams are peaceful when he does. 

“What do you wanna do when you’re back?” you ask, hoping that planning for it will make the time go faster. 

“Oh, I’m taking a shower and getting right into bed. And you can’t make me get up.” 

“I wouldn’t dream of it.”

“I’m serious. Don’t ask me to do a single other thing cause I won’t do it.” 

You laugh. “For the whole day?” 

“Probably. And you better not go anywhere either. We could both use the rest.” 

“Okay, rest day all day.” 

“We can order Thai though. So we’ll get up for that. But even then, it’s just to sit on the couch.” 

“Maybe the floor.” 

“I will also accept floor,” he concedes, and then it occurs to him that you might’ve been asking because you want to do something with him. “Is there something you wanted to do the next day though?” 

“Well... the saucer magnolias are blooming at the Smithsonian again.” 

“Say no more.” 

You sigh wistfully. “You’re my favorite boyfriend I’ve ever had.” 

“Well, I should hope so,” he says, smiling. “You’re my favorite, too.” 

“Aren’t I the only partner you’ve ever had?” 

“Ha ha. I had a girlfriend in college.” 

“Spencer, you were like sixteen in college.”

“I wasn’t sixteen the entire time,” you hear the eye roll in his voice, “I have three PhD’s, it took me a little while.” 

“Well, who is this girl? Do I need to beat her up?” you joke. 

“No,” he laughs. “You are my favorite, after all. She wasn’t very nice to me.” 

“Okay… so you told me not to beat her up but then gave a reason why I should?” 

“Please don’t beat up my ex-girlfriend. I do appreciate your violent impulses though.” 

“Mm, okay. As long as you know I could.” 

“Sure, angel. You’re very scary,” he placates. 

You let out a little gremlin laugh. 

“Oh, and you’re delirious,” he notes, an amused lilt to his tone. 

“Delirious because I miss you,” you sing, dragging out the ‘you’. 

“God, where did I even find a weirdo like you,” Spencer laughs. 

“I found you. You attracted me with your peculiar aura and soulful eyes. Trapped me in your… fucking what’s-it-called. Tractor beam.” 

“You know, the term tractor beam was actually coined by science fiction author E.E. Smith in 1931 as an updated version of his original term ‘attractor beam.’” 

“Hmm, yup. You caught me in that.” 

“Did you call my eyes soulful?” he asks, seemingly just processing that part. 

“Oh, you don’t like my adjective choice? Next you’ll have a problem with me calling your aura peculiar.” 

“I mean… I don’t know that I loved it.” 

“Here he goes fishing for compliments,” you sigh, rolling over to your other side and creating a bunch of shuffling noise on the line. Spencer wrinkles his nose, holding the phone a little farther from his ear until he hears you speaking again. “Okay, your eyes are big and brown and beautiful and they contain a standard unremarkable amount of soul, and your aura is also really regular. Regular Reid, that’s what they call ya.” 

He’s frowning, you can practically see it, but he’s also fighting off an amused smile. “Well, that one started off nice, at least.” 

“God! You’re so difficult. My boyfriend is sooo difficult. Why don’t you come home to me first and then I’ll come up with some more adequate compliments?” 

“I’m going to hold you to that.” 

The two of you talk for a little while longer, with you telling Spencer about the new coffee shop you’d tried out and how their lavender latte actually tastes like lavender, which is basically unheard of. Spencer tells you about the standoff between him and an all too curious roadrunner that he swears was trying to get into his motel room. Calling it a standoff is generous; the man got bullied by a bird. 

You try not to laugh and end up unsuccessful, with Spencer insisting that you were taking sides and he was well and truly in danger, which only makes it funnier. His voice pitches up even as he tries to keep his volume low, and you argue that his energy is just so attractive that even the local wildlife are drawn to him. 

“Don’t start,” he warns, overwhelming fondness in his voice. 

You make Spencer tell you something boring to calm yourself down from the image you’ve conjured of him being chased by a roadrunner, which, in your exhausted state, is even funnier than it should be. He claims to regret confiding in you with this, but he knows he’d do it again just to hear you laugh. 

Instead of telling you something boring, he recites some of the poems he’s memorized over the years. It works the way you’d intended, and you regret it when you have to stop him to tell him you’re falling asleep. He’s just a little smug about it. 

“So, you’ll be home in four hours?” you ask, the start of your goodbyes. 

“More like three now.”

“We made time go faster.” 

“We did.” 

“Will you try to get some sleep?”

“Fine. Only because you asked.”

You hum, victorious. “Goodnight. I love you.” 

“And I love you.” 

Hours later, just as the sun is beginning to change the hue of the sky from deep navy to a hazy cerulean glow, you feel your mattress shift underneath you. You’re barely awake, but still you register the scent of Spencer’s shower gel, fresh and sort of woodsy. 

Half asleep, you shift to accommodate him, and he slips an arm around you as you lay your head on his chest. You wrap an arm around his torso and throw your leg over his hips, as close as you can possibly get without literally being on top of him. 

You sigh, deep and relieved, and Spencer’s heart stutters. 

“I missed this,” he chuckles, resting his cheek against the top of your head and wrapping his arms tighter around you. You just hum in response, the last of your energy before you’re pulled back under. Within minutes, Spencer is asleep too, and the two of you sleep through sunrise and into the afternoon. 

[jinwoosbabyboo]

Him or Me?

LADS Men getting jealous over your latest hyper fixation. [Requested by: Anon]

Zayne

Who: Keigo Takami (Hawks) - My Hero Academia & Sanemi Shinazugawa - Demon Slayer

Zayne: You received another package today?

MC: Ahh my figurines!

You tear the box open in excitement while Zayne watches.

Zayne: You have quite a few figures of that red winged character

MC: He's my favorite

Zayne: He's your ... favorite?

MC: My favorite character from my hero academia yes

Zayne: and who is the bug eye'd one?

MC: Don't call him bug eyed

Zayne: Defending him now?

MC: His name is Sanemi he has a bit of a temper but he's really a sweetheart

Zayne: and he's also from your hero show?

MC: No he's from demon slayer

Zayne: Oh

MC: These two are definitely my top 5

Zayne: So there's a list

MC: A mental list

Zayne: Who is on this mental list

MC: Well number one is my red ear'd jealous boyfriend who's trying to hide the fact that he's jealous of these 2D characters

Zayne: I'm not jealous

You stand grabbing your figurines boxes as you move around him heading towards your room to build them.

MC: Sure *Kisses his cheek* jealousy is cute on you but don't worry no one can take me from you

Rafayel

Who: Trafalgar D. Law - One Piece & Itsuomi - A Sign of Affection

MC: Raf have you seen my sketch book?

Rafayel: *Avoiding eye contact* Nope

MC: Did you do something with it?

Rafayel: Nope

MC: Found it. Why was it under the couch?

Rafayel: You're a silly girl with a bad memory

MC: RAF!

Rafayel: What!?

MC: I'm missing like four pages in here!

Rafayel: Have you tried not missing them?

MC: Very funny ... coincidentally its only the sketches of Law & Itsuomi

Rafayel: Why do you need to draw that taffy guy and umami dude? Draw meeeee I'm your boyfriend

MC: I've already drawn you before

Rafayel: I only had one page in your book they each had two that's not fair *pouts*

MC: You're such a baby if I give you a second page can you stop ripping up my hardwork?

Rafayel: Make it four pages and you have a deal

Xavier

Who: Kento Nanami - Jujutsu Kaisen & Vash - Trigun

MC: Xav?

Xavier: yes my love

MC: Would you like to explain what happened to my Nanami plushie?

Xavier: I don't know what you're talking about

MC: He has mysteriously gone missing

Xavier: Are you sure you searched everywhere? You did work sixteen hours yesterday It's common to misplace items when you're tired

MC: I don't know I never move him from the shelf .... have you seen him?

Xavier: I haven't sorry

MC: Interesting ... my phone case with Vash is also missing

Xavier: You seem quite smitten with those two lately do you like them more than me?

MC: Xavier they're 2D animations they'll never be better than you

Xavier: Promise?

MC: I put it on my pinky

Xavier: 🥰

MC: Can I have my phone case and plushie now?

Xavier: Absolutely not

Sylus

Who: Sung Jinwoo - Solo Leveling & Shinichiro Sano - Tokyo Revengers

Sylus: What's so great about that show that you need to go to four different stores to get the entire book collection?

MC: I tried to get you to watch Solo Leveling with me

Sylus: I'm a busy man princess

MC: I think you'd really like it Jinwoo looks like a cinnamon roll and is a cinnamon roll but could still kill you

Sylus: Are you implying that me and this 2D man are similar?

MC: Hell no you look like you can kill and could kill ... you're only a cinnamon roll for me

Sylus: How perceptive ... and what book is that

MC: It's a manga get it right ... its Tokyo Revengers I'm still waiting on the next season but I need to know what happens because I need to see Shinichiro

Sylus: Who is Shin and why do you need to see him eat a cheerio?

MC: Not Shin eat a cheerio ... Shinichiro Sano aka the weak king

Sylus: How can you be a king and be weak?

MC: Those around you are strong

Sylus: Sounds like a kingdom waiting to fall ... are you almost done?

MC: What's with the curt tone?

Sylus: No reason we just have dinner reservations soon princess

MC: That's in five hours

Sylus: *Grabs the stack of books from MCs hands* My how time flies lets go

[wileys-russo]

alexia, you shouldn't have tried to outdrink me, bathroom floor

a.putellas II cold tiled floor

"i think you should slow down amor, we have all night." you felt your fiances arm sling around your waist, tugging you back down into your chair as you stood to get another drink.

"ale, baby estoy bien. i've had three champagnes!" you laughed, flattered by her concern and trying to pry her arm off which held a stony grip. "i know. but we have hours to drink and dance cariño, why rush?" the blonde smiled charmingly as your eyes narrowed.

"who said i was rushing anything?" you spoke calmly, raising an eyebrow. "or should i say amor, what do you think i am rushing?" you questioned as alexia's smile never faded, feeling her thumb trace shapes against the sliver of skin poking out the slit down the side of your dress.

"nothing princesa, lo siento a slip of the tongue." alexia assured, free hand picking up her own glass and sipping, eyes never leaving yours which bore into her suspiciously. "you don't think i can keep up with you, do you?" you realised with a laugh, though it was anything but humerous.

"well those are your words princesa, not mine." alexia shrugged, but making no move to actually deny the allegation. "dios mío, you do! you do think i cannot keep up with you." you scoffed, folding your arms across your chest.

"i didn't say that. do you think you cannot keep up with me?" alexia smiled, resting her chin on her fist, thumb still tracing absent minded shapes against your skin.

"no. i can! and i am going to prove it to you." you finally wrenched her arm away, standing up and heading for the bar, the pair of you at a wedding for one of your school friends.

the pair of you hadn't been all that close when you were in school, you had mutual friends but no real mutual interests or hobbies. you hadn't paid her much thought until a few years later you were at your best friends bridal shower and so was alexia, seated next to you.

the pair of you got to talking and spent the entire night practically glued to one anothers side, and neither of you were ashamed to admit you actually did have a lot more in common than you thought, just never having really given one another the time of day to figure it out.

you'd hung out a few times after that but lost touch, alexia rising quickly through the ranks of the barcelona femeni team and you focusing on your job as well as taking a few months off to see more of europe than you'd ever dreamed of.

then just like fate one day your paths had crossed again.

it was a couple of years after you'd lost touch but you recognized her right away, heard her voice a few tables over while you were out for dinner with a few coworkers, watching as she rose to go to the bathroom confirmed it was her.

you didn't think she'd seen you but she had, waiting for you by the door as her own friends had left before yours, giving you quite the fright as she called out your name while your head was buried in your phone trying to order an uber.

she'd offered you a lift home and that had quickly turned into the two of you driving around for hours, alexia having you laughing harder than you had in years as she routinely 'missed turns' or 'misheard the directions' on the way to your house.

you'd teased all she had to do was ask you to hang out if she wanted to spend so much time with you and she'd done exactly that at four in the morning.

years later and here you were, engaged and very happily planning your own wedding, seated together at one of your friends, having spent the morning getting ready, exchanging sweet kisses and talking for hours about your own pending nuptials.

though now your wife to be was not in your good books.

"trouble in paradise hermana?" alba teased as you stormed off, her and a few of alexia's interment family present at the wedding as well, the bride to be close with the whole family having known both you and alexia since the early years of high school.

"she thinks she can out drink me." alexia smiled, unfazed by your reaction as she finished her own drink, snaking her sisters and pushing her hand away when she reached for it again.

"i hope she does!" alba huffed, swiping the glass back and rolling her eyes as alexia only smiled, having finished its contents. "qué cariño, no drink for me?" alexia tutted as you returned with a new drink in hand.

"no. would you like to dance?" alexias eyebrow raised as you quickly chugged the drink in hand, placing it down on the table with a thump. "sí mi amor i-" alexia started but you shook your head.

"no, i was talking to alba." you held your hand out to the younger girl who laughed loudly at her sisters expense, alexia's smug smile falling away as her sister grabbed your hand with a grin and the two of you raced off to the dancefloor, leaving your fiance with a sour taste in her mouth and a scowl on her face.

it was hours later when alexia realized she may have let this game go a little too far.

"alexia." she looked up from her conversation with a slight frown as her mami appeared, taking the seat beside her. "you have proved your point hija, take her home." eli nodded across the room where you were still on the dance floor with a few of your friends, more tripping and stumbling than dancing.

"who told-alba." alexia realised with a sigh, eli chuckling. "sí, now take your fiance home and get her some water." eli smiled, alexia nodding in agreement and quickly apologizing to her friends, standing and headed for you.

~

"vamos cari i need you to work with me here!" alexia grunted, trying to hold you up with one arm and unlock the door with the other. "no i wanna dance!" you whined, having tried to break or run away nearly the entire time alexia had all but wrestled you out of the wedding reception and into a taxi.

you'd easily gone one for one with your drinks, though alexia was quickly realizing maybe she should have swapped some of your own with water or kept a slightly closer eye when your friends had swept you off to the dance floor when you were already looking a little shaky on your feet.

"vale, and we're in!" alexia breathed a sigh of relief popping the door open, kicking it shut behind her and now able to use both her arms to prop you up.

"lets lay down for a second amor, sí?" alexia sighed, gently lowering you onto the sofa as you giggled and mumbled things alexia could make no sense off, clearly in a world of your own.

"i am going to get you some water, stay here por favor." your fiance kissed your forehead and pushed the stray hairs out of your face before standing back up and hurrying to the kitchen.

though she hadn't even opened the fridge when she heard a crash and hurried back to the source, biting her lip to stop her laugh seeing you now on the floor, one heel flung across the room having hit something and knocked it over.

"my feet are killing me!" you whined, head thumping against the carpet as you tried to sit up to take off your other shoe, head spinning and mumbling something else before collapsing back to the floor.

"oye mi vida, que voy a hacer contigo?" your fiance chuckled, bending down and slipping one arm under your neck and the other under your legs, effortlessly picking you up bridal style.

"put me down! i have a fiance, te patearía el culo." you slurred, poking her shoulder accusingly as the blonde only smiled, carrying you off toward your shared bedroom. "sí, lo haría. good thing i am right here then!" alexia grinned, lowering you onto the bed.

"ale! hi baby, come lay down." you gasped, arms suddenly shooting to wrap around her neck trying to pull her down into bed with you. "not yet. soon, prometo mi amor." alexia promised, kissing your cheek and gently prying your arms off.

you groaned and called out for her again as she dipped off into the bathroom, grabbing what she needed and laughing as she returned to again find you trying to wrestle off your other shoe.

"hey hey! you are going to fall off the bed again cari, let me." alexia sat down on the end of the bed, undoing and slipping off your heel as you babbled away clearly trying to talk to her but making no sense at all as your fiance only hummed.

darting off again she grabbed some clothes from the closet and returned, grabbing your hands and pulling you into a sitting position, carefully helping you pull your dress up and over your head, pushing away your wandering hands which tried continuously to pull her down with you.

changing you into something much comfier to sleep in she helped you lay back down and got on her knees on the floor beside your side of the bed, gently wiping away your makeup and still humming as you drunkenly babbled nonsense, poking and prodding at her with giggles.

"i love you, estúpida." alexia chuckled a half hour later once you had finally seemed to settle, both of you changed and makeup free as you lay pressed together in bed, alexia's large hands rubbing up and down your back as you started to doze off, mumbling a response making her smile.

"you love too."

it was the early hours of the morning later when alexia awoke, panic kicking in as she realised she was alone in bed, sitting up boltright as her eyes slowly adjusted to the dark room, heart racing as she couldn't spot you.

but then, finally she made out something a few feet away, kicking off the covers and padding over toward the bathroom with a frown, pulling the door open as a hand flew to cover her mouth.

"oh cari." the taller girl chuckled at the sight of you laid down on your back on the floor, a pair of her prada sunglasses covering your eyes and a toilet clearly half filled with vomit which your fiance grimaced and flushed.

"no! that's so loud." you groaned right away, hands flying to cover your ears as alexia stepped over you and perched herself on the corner of the bath staring down at you with an amused smile.

"cállate putellas." you warned with a mumble as the blonde held her hands up in defense. "i did not say anything mi amor, not a word." your fiance reminded, toe reaching out to poke at your side as you whined quietly and lazily swatted her foot.

"no but you want to." "sí, tal vez." "mierda, hurry up."

"you shouldn't have tried to out drink me!" the blonde laughed, your hands again covering your ears as you grumbled her gloating was too loud and kicked her halfheartedly, alexia moving to sit beside you.

"why are you on the floor?" alexia asked much softer now, thumb grazing your cheek affectionately. "the tiles are cold. feels nice." you mumbled making her grin grow.

"but your hangover does not hm bebita?" she couldn't help but tease as you groaned again and with much effort rolled onto your side so you could hug her bare leg.

"i am never drinking, never ever ever again."

[pargolettasworld]

So, because I am incurably, morbidly curious, I watched Jessie Gender's four-hour-and-seventeen-minute-long video on . . . well, the title suggests "Zionism, Antisemitism, and the Left." To her credit, Gender does touch on all three of these topics, though not with the same degree of skill, graciousness, or understanding of the topics at hand. I've just had a very nice dinner, and I'm feeling generous, so let's see how this video stacks up. Strap in. This is going to get long.

I should admit right off the bat that I'm only a casual, occasional watcher of Jessie Gender. I'm not a deep fan, and I'm sure there is Jessie Gender Lore™ out there that I'm not aware of, but I think I've seen enough of her videos to get a general sense of her house style. This video hits a lot of the hallmarks of her style. She speaks very fast and very passionately, occasionally trips over her own words (something that I've done many a time, so I really do feel that), and is inordinately fond of nominalizations. She's especially fond of the word "ostracization," for some reason, which drives me nuts because "ostracism" is right there. So, in style, it appears to hew to the Jessie Gender House Style pretty well.

On to the video itself. The first thing I will observe about it is that it is in every possible way a meeting that could have been an email. There was no need for this to be the same length as the Extended Edition of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003). There's a lot of padding, significant digressions, and a certain degree of repetition. It's easy to forget the beginning of the video by the time you're an hour into the thing.

The major question that hangs over this opus is: Why, and for whom, was it made? I'm honestly not sure who the intended audience for this thing is, nor why Gender felt that she had to make it. She alludes in the first half hour to feeling like she's lost the trust and support of some of her Jewish fans/friends/acquaintances/Patreon patrons, and she chalks it up to a previous video that she made (which I have not seen, and which I am not inclined to seek out). But neither the structure nor the thesis nor the conclusion of the video seem like they would win back any of these folks.

I don't think that Jewish viewers are her intended audience -- certainly not with the way she talks about Jews throughout the video. I'm also having a hard time believing that really committed leftists are her audience, either, since I don't think she's really saying much that leftists haven't already heard, or offering new perspectives on her topic(s). And anyone who has made it this far into the year of 5784 and is still undecided about the contemporary iteration of The Jewish Question is probably not going to be interested in sitting through nearly four and a half hours of relentless lecture. So I'm still left wondering why, and for whom, did Jessie Gender make this video?

Gender assures us, her viewers, of several things that are meant to be reassuring. She's done lots and lots of research, for one thing. And she's asked some-of-her-best-friends-who-are-Jewish to be sensitivity readers. We're given to understand that we are hearing the nitpicked, edited, and polished version of the script. I'd hate to see what the first draft looked like . . .

She also tells us that there are going to be lots of Foreign Words And Names, and that she and her mouth-hole have A Hard Time pronouncing Foreign Words And Names. Her loyal staff have made her a pronunciation guide -- which appears to have been used perhaps as a drinks coaster, since there are some howlers here. The Jews originating from the MENA regions are the "Misrai" (Mizrahi) Jews, the first Prime Minister of Israel was "David Ben-Gron" (David Ben-Gurion), the Revisionist Zionist leader was "Zeeeeeeeeev Zarbinsky" (Ze'ev Jabotinsky), and the Palestinian uprisings of 1987 - 1993 and 2000 - 2005 go by the name "Infitada" (Intifada).

You know that phrase "If white people can learn to say Tchaikovsky and Schwarzenegger, they can learn to say [your name from an African or Asian language]?" I agree completely with the conclusion, but I question the premise. Jessie Gender makes me question the premise harder. If she had any real interest in the topic, she would have practiced those names, but I don't think she does, so she didn't.

Moving on to the actual content of the video. It's . . . weird. Jessie Gender begins the video believing that Zionism is an evil force for colonialism, White supremacy, oppression, and genocide. She ends the video believing that Zionism is an evil force for colonialism, White supremacy, oppression, and genocide. But along the way, she's confronted with quite a lot of inconvenient facts that threaten to complicate this perspective.

Gender devotes roughly two hours and fifteen minutes of her video, a smidge over half of the runtime, on three segments that offer a history of Zionism, the iterations of Zionism as a political ideology, and what she calls "Zionism as emotion," which is a condescending way to refer to the importance of Zionism to Jews. I'd guess that her research for these segments might have surprised her. It turns out, per Jessie Gender, that there is both a reason behind and a context for nineteenth-century Zionism, quite a lot of logic behind why the Jews wanted to go to Israel, and ample evidence that a majority of Jews have some kind of stake in both Israel and some variation of Zionism.

The reason I think that this research might have surprised her is that she ends each of these segments with a small diatribe about the evil colonialist, capitalist, oppressive, genocidal force that is Zionism, even as the segments suggest nuance, logic, and reason behind the philosophy. We can't have that on a good lefty video, though, can we? The more Gender confronts evidence that there is more to Zionism than meets her eyes, the more she doubles down, digs in her heels, and refuses to accept even the barest shreds of non-negativity about Zionism. Every now and then, she comes up with a lovely sentence or two that shows some understanding of a Jewish perspective on the world, but then furiously backpedals -- we mustn't forget that this Jewish perspective of oppression, mass murder, and international blame has only led to the Evil Of Zionism, after all.

What's really fascinating is how hard she works to avoid blaming actual Jews for all of this evil. I think she's doing this with the best of intentions. A for effort. C for effect. She wants to make a distinction between "Zionism" and "Judaism," in the sense of "Zionism does not equate to Judaism, so being antisemitic to Judaism because you hate Zionism is bad." She tries so hard that she loses sight of the actual people involved. There are a lot of places where she talks about "Judaism" where what she actually means is "the Jews." Or, as she calls us, "Jewish people." Which isn't bad, and it isn't really wrong, but it doesn't quite communicate the sense of Am Yisrael that is at the heart of Zionism.

In fact, she's so desperate to separate Zionism from Jewish people that she starts to talk about it almost as an individual character in the story, with agency, desires, wishes, and goals of its own, totally disconnected from the people who created it. Zionism demands the genocide of Palestinians, Zionism needs colonialism, Zionism has a nice lunch date with neoliberalism and spends the afternoon browsing department stores with capitalism. In effect, Zionism becomes the dragon, and Gender really wishes that the passive, easily-led Jewish people would unite behind some White Knight and slay the dragon so everyone could be happy and free and leftist. Despite the two hours she spent on her deep dive into the history and meaning of Zionism, she cannot fathom why the Jewish people don't just do this.

I said earlier that quite a lot of this video consists of padding. Gender identifies herself as a lefty anarchist, opposed to nation-states, capitalism, neoliberalism, the United States, the British Empire, Israel, Joe Biden, "Ka-MAH-la" Harris, transphobia in Western societies . . . the usual suspects. Frequently, especially in the back half of the video, she'll wander off into long fantasias about the crimes against liberty perpetrated by the West at large, as well as their character Capitalism, and then remember that this is supposed to be a video about Zionism, and then finish with the equivalent of "Peter Rabbit did sort of that kind of thing, too."

One of the alleged purposes of this video is to discuss Antisemitism On The Left, but Gender . . . pretty much elides doing that. She gets close a couple of times, and she does grudgingly admit that some leftists coming from some branches of leftism might sometimes say things that might be antisemitic, and that's Bad, and it makes Jewish people feel Unsafe and Not Inclined To Agree With Leftists that The Dragon Known As Zionism Must Be Slain Heroically. But don't stress about it. The important thing is that Israel Must Stop Its Genocide and Palestinians Should Have Self-Determination (which is only withheld from them by Israel -- excuse me, by Zionism -- and certainly not by those eminently-justified-if-a-little-uncouth plucky fighters, Hamas.

There are quite a lot of lengthy quotes from Sources, read by guest stars, which is a nice touch to break up the video. The vast majority of these Sources -- especially the ones in the "history of Zionism" segment -- are not actually written by Zionists. You get a lot of academic pontificating about the failures, shortcomings, and nefarious activities of Zionism, but you hear almost nothing from actual Zionists, especially contemporary Zionists. This does not look nearly as good or as well-researched as it's meant to look.

So what do we get in the end, after four hours and seventeen minutes of watching this? Honestly . . . not much. Gender gives enough background on the history of Zionism, antisemitism, and Jewish attitudes toward Israel that hardcore leftists watching will be more annoyed than convinced. She condescends to both Jews and Arabs, mentioning repeatedly that she, as a White Gentile, really doesn't have any business butting in on these complex questions -- but that's not going to stop her from butting in like the lefty shiksa she is! She's too mealy-mouthed to come right out and say anything blatantly antisemitic, but disdain for Jewish concepts of homeland, belonging, origin, and self-determination pervade the whole thing.

I don't think that Jessie Gender is an idiot -- she seems to be pretty smart, and has both a firm sense of her own political philosophy and the stick-to-it-ive-ness to do far more research into things like the development of Zionism and the history of antisemitism than one might expect. But the video really is, to bring up a playwright from the hated West, "full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."

[petermorwood]

Is "Uh, nope" a frequent US response to lamb?

Or is US lamb somehow different?

This is just a vaguely mystified response to some comments here.

I'm guessing the "G-word" is gamey. I've smelt gamey meat, I don't like it, and Irish lamb definitely isn't that. Also, most people I know don't need to screw up their courage before cooking or eating it.

Mutton, mature sheep-meat, has - or so I've been told, because I've never found it in any local butcher - a much fuller flavour, still not gamey, but more ... robust, pronounced, emphatic, choose your descriptor. It is, after all, a more mature meat.

For terminology reference (though this may not be current any more), "lamb" is up to one year old, "hogget" - remember the farmer's name in "Babe"? - is up to two years old, and "mutton" is over two years.

*****

As I said, I haven't seen mutton anywhere, and haven't HEARD of hogget.

This might be, as I hinted, because terminology has been simplified and all meat from sheep is now "lamb" - and that may answer my own question. Sometimes US lamb has a fuller flavour than, say, Wicklow lamb in Ireland, because sometimes US lamb is hogget or mutton instead.

If so, it restores a possible original meaning to "mutton dressed as lamb". That's now best known as "an older woman dressed inappropriately young", and though the meaning has been around for a long time (this Rowlandson print is dated 1810)...

..."dressing" is also the term for preparing meat for sale.

And THAT makes me wonder if the critical phrase goes beyond fashion into the fine old tradition of adulterating food, and wily butchers transforming elderly sheep into the semblance of younger lamb then charging undiscerning customers accordingly.

I don't know how they might have done it, but if they could then they would. The ways in which 18th-19th century foods were fiddled with is amazing, and more than a bit Yuck.

Or in this case, Ew.

Comments, corrections, criticisms and all the rest are cordially invited.

:->

*****

Side-note; in keeping with the way nicknames get attached to surnames - "Chalky" White, "Dusty" Miller etc. - anyone called Curry usually ended up as "Mutton".

Two brothers at my school had this happen; Tom Curry, the older one, had been "Mutton" for a couple of years, and when his kid brother Will started school he became, of course, "Lamb".

Oh, how we laffed...

*****

ETA: @bellyoftheblast just messaged me this:

It turns out, and I only learned this very recently (I think it's in Hannah Glasse) that "dressed" used to mean "cooked" rather than "prepared for sale". Which would mean "mutton dressed as lamb" would be fast-cooked and thus greasy, unpleasantly tough and decidedly stringy. (Meanwhile I'll never waste good lamb on stew again now that I have a source for mutton -- MUCH better flavour for slow cooking).

Thanks for this snippet! We've got the Prospect Books facsimile of Hannah Glasse 1st ed, so I pulled it down, blew off the dust - it's been a while - and yes indeed, I found the following recipes in just four successive pages:

"To dreſs a Leg of Mutton à la Royale",

"To dreſs a Leg of Mutton to eat like Veniſon",

"To dreſs Mutton the Turkiſh Way"

"To dreſs Veal à la Bourgoiſe"

Mutton dressed (or dreſsed) as Lamb doesn't get mentioned, probably because Mistress Glasse knew better, though that business of Mutton to eat (taste) like Venison is interesting.

It involves cutting the leg of mutton "in the shape of a Haunch of Veniſon" then steeping it in the sheep's blood "for five or six Hours" before wrapping it in layers of buttered paper and roasting it, basted frequently with butter or beef dripping.

Not quite mutton as lamb, but still mutton disguised as something more expensive...

[im-totally-not-an-alien-2]

"Hello." A dull thwack sound reverberated across the rooftop, leaving the boy who snuck up on Red Robin clutching his head. The boy, a meta if the large animal ears and tail were anything to go by, shook off the pain and pouted up at him, "What was that for?!"

The vigilante was unrepentant, holding his bo staff in a ready position, "You snuck up behind a vigilante at night. In Gotham."

"Okay," the meta conceded, still pouting. "You have a point there. Robin threw ninja stars at me when I tried to approach Batman."

That got Tims attention, "You tried to approach Batman? Was there something you needed?"

The kid suddenly got serious, "My mom went missing. I haven't been able to contact her for almost two weeks now."

Red pulled his arm closer to his face before he began typing on his wrist computer, "Can you tell me her name and date of birth?"

"Um." The other teen fidgetted with his tail a bit, "Okay, so...she's kinda Cheetah."

"...come again?"

"She's Cheetah. The...the supervillian."

Red Robin stared at him, and honestly who could blame him? The bats hadn't even known Cheetah had a son. "So why are you in Gotham? Why not ask Wonder Woman for help? Cheetahs one of her rogues not ours."

The teen shook his head, "She went to meet someone in Gotham before she disappeared. She seemed really agitated before she left, almost scared. I've never seen her like that before." He paused, giving the vigilante time to type before continuing, "I didn't go Wonder Woman since I figured I would wind up needing to talk to a bat anyway since its your turf and all." He said, waving a hand as if gesturing to the city around them.

"I wasn't aware Cheetah had a kid."

The meta grimaced, "she didn't until a year ago."

Red gave him a look, as if urging him to go on.

The meta chuffed, sounding a lot like whatever big cat he was supposed to be, "I'll only tell you my tragic backstory if you promise to help me find my mom."

"I'll find your mom." The bird said without an ounce of hesitation. Tim was a little offended. Did this guy think he was going to leave his mom in danger just because she was a criminal? Appearently so, seeing as the teen looked so relieved at his words.

"Okay, so my bio parents were evil mad scientists. Always a bad start, anyway they were obsessed with the occult and one day they suddenly took me and my sister to Brazil to hunt for some artifact of another. That alone was strange but weirder still was the fact my creepy godfather was paying for it all. He usually only does something like that when he's plotting "

"Plotting?" The detective interjected, "you make it sound like he does that often."

"Yeah. Hes a supervillian." The meta said casually, as if he didn't just leave Tim reeling, but the kid wasn't done yet, "He's had a massive crush on my bio mom since collage and never let it go no matter how many times she rejected him. She even married my dad, his best friend, and this dude just kept simping for 20 years." The teen rolled his eyes, "Hes convinced himself that if he murders my bio dad then my bio mom will fall in love with him and me and jazz will be "his"." He said that last part with fingerqoutes and a disgusted expression.

Tim filed that away for later, "Can I have his name, if nothing else?"

The teen seemed reluctant for a moment, "You're the worlds greatest detectives. You'll find out even if i try to hide it. Besides, I'd probably be better off if you and the Justice League know everything anyway."

Tim was...surprised by that. Most people usually weren't this open with them.

"His name is Vlad Masters, he also goes by Plasmius when he's dressed like a wannabe vampire. He's a ghost who's repossessed his corpse. My parents are Jack and Maddie Fenton, who are obsessed with ghosts and have convinced themselves that all ghosts are evil and must be destroyed, regardless of how much evidence points to them being wrong."

"And your name?"

The meta grinned at him, showing off four very sharp fangs, reminiscent of the large cat he takes after, "You can call me Jaguar. We were exploring a bit when I broke off from my family and got jumped by one of them. Suddenly I was struck by a claw and turned into furry bait. Fluffy stopped trying to make me his lunch and just stared at me before walking away, which was wierd. Then my parents found me, accused me of being a ghost, because thats naturally what someone would assume when thier son sprouts cat ears," he said while rolling his eyes.

"Naturally." Red joked, which had the benefit of making Jaguar smile.

"So my parents chased me through the jungle, shooting all the while, then suddenly a portal opened up in front of me. I'm not stupid, I know there was no way this wasn't a trap. I mean, a portal opening up right after that bizarre series of events and its the same shade of glowing green as the wierd death go my parents are obsessed with? There's no way they weren't related somhow, but I was desperate and jumped through anyway."

"I landed in another jungle, or the same one in a different location, I'm not sure. I tried hunting and foraging but wasn't very successful at either." Danny still remembered the throbbed in his head when he had headbutt that tree after missing his pounce on that pig he had been stalking. "Thats when Cheetah found me. She took me in and taught me to hunt and fight."

-----

Possible plot twists:

1. Danny isnt Phantom in this au

2. Danny is Phantom in this au but is trying to leave that life behind

3. My favorite. Danny has the ability to manipulate and control animals into doing his bidding with the effect of jaguars and other big cats being the most prevalent and he just doesn't realize it.

One of Cheetahs friends/allies realizes cheetah has changed and suspected something and convinced her to leave for a while to see if her care for this kid faded after a while away from his presence. It works and Danny loses another parental figure/possibly attacked by them too.

[jimvasta]

Humans will eat anything

But maybe they shouldn't

"Susie, can I ask you a question? I need a human translation."

Susie smiled softly at the small feathered Craksol who reminded her so much of the bantam chickens that ran around the farm she grew up on. They had the small coloured plumage and bouncy stride, all for standing four feet tall and being highly intelligent spacefarers. "Go for it."

"One of the newcomers complimented me, they said I looked delicious," it always pleased Craksols to receive compliments, they worked hard to maintain their feathers. Preening was huge part of their social structure. "But I did not understand the next part. They said they 'have 11 herbs and spices and an air fryer with my name on.' I never exchanged titles with them and we are not at the stage of gifting, did I- Susie, is that your anger face? Why is your warrior waking? Susie?"

"Which of them said that?" Susie glowered at the new human crew lounging by the bar oblivious to the interest as they enjoyed their drinks.

"The one with long face hair."

Susie nodded. "Lukas."

Her fellow human, the towering male who made all the Craksols automatically nervous, had been silent during the exchange but was stood nearby. "I've got it. He'll have a zinger of a black eye when done with him."

"Whatever you do, just make sure it's original recipe regret."

The Craksol took a step back as they witnessed Lukas calmly walk over to his fellows, the first other humans they had seen in months, and swing a punch that knocked the man who gave the mysterious compliment to the ground. "What- Why-?"

"It's better if you don't know. You go back to the ship. Lukas and I need to give some etiquette lessons to the newbie astronauts."

[tpwrtrmnky]

Sorry for the long ask! I don't know if you are still okay with fancomic type things but i made one, because i really appreciate yours. Im also not too familiar with IDs so I hope i did it right. But I based red on a little of my own experience with gender identity and a little on what articles I've seen/how people treat detransitioners, im definitely not the most politically educated though, so let me know if this is in any way harmful.

[ID: Four panel comic with crudely drawn stick figures based in the pills that make you green universe.

Panel 1: Two characters are seen talking. One of them is a slightly desaturated red person with a blue bandana around their neck, and the other one is a grayscale stickfigure with a bookbag. Another grayscale figure is hiding behind a bush off to the side.

Red: "I liked being red a lot, but I've realized that I don't really know what I want to be, and I don't like being called anything specific. Red is my favorite color, but I don't always want to be red. Sometimes, I want to be blue or purple. But pursuing the pills for my whims isn't exactly affordable for me, so I'd rather be decisive about that kind of thing. So I've decided to just desaturate. I realized I can just wear whatever color clothes I want, and it won't make me less pretty if I don't have the same color chromatic skin."

Grayscale with bookbag: "Oh, okay, that's cool. What should I call you now?"

Panel 2: Zoom in on red with their arms out to their side, explaining.

Red: "I don't really care. You can still call me red, because I'm used to it, and I like the name, but others might call me grayscale and that's not wrong either. So, whatever works for you works for me too."

Grayscale with bookbag: "Okay, thank you for telling me, Red."

Panel 3: The grayscale person behind the bush jumps out and points at the other two. Red has their hands over their mouth and is visibly stressed, and their friend with the bookbag has put a hand on their shoulder reassuringly.

Grayscale by the bush: "There!"

Red: "Huh?"

Grayscale by the bush: "You admit that becoming chromatic is a waste of our tax money and medical resources when people can change their minds easily, or just wear clothes!"

Red: "That's not what I was saying at all, oh no."

Panel 4: Bush Grayscale has their arms up and is passionately yelling as the other two characters walk away.

Grayscale by the bush: "I'm going to use you as an example for why transition isn't regulated or restricted enough!"

Red, crying: "Oh no, oh no, what have I done?"

Grayscale with bookbag: "It's not your fault, let's get out of here."

End ID.]

pretty good, commentary on the misrepresentation of detransitioners is great

[hazbinwhoree]

Hiya ! Let me tell you first that I love your writings about Adam ! Our angel deserves some attention

I couldn't help but notice that there is a lack of hurt/comfort Adam fics 😠

Sooo I've been thinking (read this with Charlie's voice from the pilot) what about an Adam x reader arranged marriage fic ?

Like Adam is given a new wife from Heaven, he treats her really badly at the beginning but then kinda develops a soft spot for her ? Ending with the fluffiest softest smut you can make ?

Do we have a deal ? 😈

I Wanna Be Yours

Adam supposed he should be grateful, he wasn’t alone anymore, but Lilith and Eve had fucked him up so badly that he wanted nothing to do with his third wife. If he got too close, he’d fall in love, and then she’d leave him. So Adam did the opposite of getting close. He got mean.

(Name) was born yesterday. Created by God to be Adam’s third companion. She was born with pertinent information already in her brain, memories, and free will. Free will, and she still wanted nothing more than to be Adam’s wife.

He was so lonely, but he’d never admit it.

At first, Adam was just cold to her. But when that didn’t deter (Name) from trying to get close to him, he grew mean.

“I don’t want you, bitch!”

“Leave me the fuck alone!”

“Piss off, I hate looking at you.”

It started wearing (Name) down. It hurt, he hurt her, constantly. She was growing to dislike him. She wished she could hate him, but she just couldn’t. It didn’t help that they lived together, though Adam had banished her to the guest room, not willing to share his king size bed.

One day, (Name) gave up. She decided she was done being verbally abused as she followed Adam around like a lovesick puppy. So that day, she didn’t follow Adam. She didn’t leave her house. In fact, she didn’t even leave her bed.

To Adam’s dismay, he was disappointed and slightly concerned when (Name) didn’t show up that day. She always followed him around. All day, every day. Adam hadn’t realized how comfortable he got with it.

When he came home that day, he peaked into her bedroom, finding her asleep. His brow furrowed, wondering why she hadn’t followed him today. Adam was going to ask, but (Name) didn’t wake up until morning.

By day four, after three days of cold silence from (Name), and her still not following him, Adam decided to go home early. He got home around noon to catch (Name) off guard, he was never home around noon.

He snuck into the house but didn’t see her anywhere downstairs. He climbed upstairs and peered into (Name)’s bedroom. Once again, that’s where he found her, still in bed.

“Okay, what the fuck,” he asked loudly, barging into her room.

(Name) jumped. When she registered Adam, she scowled. “Don’t scowl at me, bitch,” Adam spat. Something died in (Name)’s eyes and she just looked tired and sad. Adam softened.

“...Sorry.”

That got (Name)’s attention. Adam had never, ever said sorry to her before.

Adam came over and sat on the edge of the bed. “What’s wrong?” he asked. “What’s wrong? What’s wrong?” (Name) was appalled. “I’ll fucking tell you what’s wrong.” She sat up.

“I was created for the sole purpose of being your wife so that you would no longer be alone. That is my entire purpose, my whole identity. And you hate me. You’re literally all I have in life and you want nothing to do with me. You weren’t even just cold, you were mean. Nasty. I wish I hated you. But I still love you, and that fucking hurts.”

Adam was quiet for once in his life. He had never really thought about the consequences of his actions. He hadn’t seen (Name) so much as person as he did an annoyance that followed him around. Now here she was, a person. A being with thoughts and feelings. A being he’d been abusing.

He reached a gentle hand towards her and she recoiled. Adam winced. “I’m sorry,” he admitted. “I really am. I thought… if I got too close, you would leave me like Lilith and Eve did.” (Name) blinked at him. “I know that’s a shitty excuse,” Adam mumbled. “I wish I could tell you how sorry I am. I was a fucking coward, in trying to prevent myself from being lonely I made you lonely.” “You did more than that,” (Name) scoffed.

Adam looked ashamed. “Yeah… I’m so sorry. I want to start over. If… if you want that. I understand if you’re done with me, I definitely deserve it.”

(Name) contemplated for a moment. “We can start over,” (Name) said eventually. “But we start slow. I don’t like or trust you right now.”

Adam nodded eagerly. “That’s fair. (Name)?”

“Yeah?”

“Just start coming with me when I go about my day again.”

(Name) did, and over the next two weeks she would accompany Adam everywhere, not follow, because he kept his stride slow so that she could keep up. He talked to her, asked questions about her, got to know her. She quickly became a soft spot for him. It took a lot to not sabotage it out of fear, but Adam managed.

Two months in, and they’d kindled a relationship so well that they had sexual tension. They had yet to act on it, neither realizing that the other wanted it as much as them.

But this was the longest Adam had gone without sex in a long time, and with his high sex drive, it was incredibly difficult. It wasn’t much longer before he couldn’t contain himself anymore. He burst into her room randomly and announced, “I think I love you and I want to fuck you.”

(Name) put down her phone, wearing nothing but short shorts and a tank top, ready for bed. “I think I love you too, and I would very much like you to fuck me,” (Name) replied after a beat of silence.

Adam wasted no time, coming up to her bedside and picking her up bridal-style. “Adam, what–” “You’ve had your own room long enough. It’s time we share a bed. And what better way to consecrate it?” He smirked.

(Name) smiled, holding onto his neck. When they entered Adam’s room, he gently laid her down on his bed. He was going to take his time with this, he’d waited for so long he was going to savor every second.

He shed his mask, and (Name) gasped. She’d never seen him without his mask before. Adam looked slightly unsure of himself. “Kiss me,” (Name) breathed. Adam stood between her legs and bent over the bed to press his lips to hers sweetly. She ran her fingers through his hair.

“You’re so pretty,” she whispered when he pulled back. Adam wanted to make a cocky comment, but decided against it for the sake of the moment. He pulled his shirt off, then undid his belt, kicking off his pants. Then he gently pulled (Name)’s tank top over her head, thrilled to finally see her bare rack.

But before he went for her chest, he pulled her shorts down and off. When they were both in their underwear, Adam picked (Name) up and threw her further on the bed. Then he climbed onto the bed and on top of her.

He connected their lips while his hands groped her chest. His tongue invaded her mouth and (Name) moaned. Adam kissed down her neck, her chest, until her reached her left tit, and latched on with his mouth. (Name) gasped as he sucked on her nipple, his hand reaching to roll her other nipple between his forefinger and thumb. (Name)’s fingers tangled in Adam’s hair.

He pulled off with a wet pop and moved to the other breast, taking it into his mouth as well. (Name) hummed sounds of affirmation as Adam gave her chest attention, sighing when he pulled back. Adam’s hand slid down her stomach and inbetween her legs and (Name) bit her lip. When Adam’s hand slipped under her panties and his fingers brushed against (Name)’s wet folds, she moaned. “You’re so wet,” Adam said lowly in her ear. “All for me.”

He entered two fingers inside of her, curling them. (Name)’s back arched a little bit. Adam added a third rather quickly, realizing briefly that her body had been made to fit with his perfectly. The thought almost made Adam sentimental.

Because of this fact he didn’t spend long fingering her. He was impatient, and he didn’t have to. She was already ready for him. He pulled her panties down and off before kneeling back to tug his boxers down. He shed those too and pressed their naked bodies together.

“I love you,” he said quietly, kissing her lips. “I’ll forever be sorry for how I was before. Let me make it up to you~”

(Name) whimpered when she felt his dick pressing at her entrance. Adam grabbed both of her hands in his, pinning them next to her head and intertwining their fingers. “Are you ready?” he asked, not sure how much longer he could wait.

(Name) nodded vigorously. Adam gently pushed his hips forward, slowly sinking into her heat. He groaned, his self-restraint waning. He bottomed out with a heavy sigh. “I love you,” he repeated. “Fuck. You're so tight.”

(Name) couldn’t reply, adjusting to Adam’s size. Once she did, she moved her hips a little bit. “Move,” she begged. Adam didn’t need to be asked twice. He slowly began to roll his hips, thrusting in and out slowly and sensually. It felt good, but it wasn’t enough, so it didn’t last long.

Adam’s hips picked up in pace and intensity. (Name) moaned everytime he drove into her. It was Adam’s new favorite sound. They were in missionary, Adam’s favorite position because he could stare at (Name) while they made love. He could drink in every little expression of pleasure on her pretty face.

(Name) squeezed the life out of Adam’s hands. Adam leaned down to suck love marks onto (Name)’s neck. (Name) threw her head back, giving him easier access while he marked her as his.

When he pulled back, he let go of one of (Name)’s hands, sneaking his now free hand down between them to rub circles around her clit with a slender finger. He relished in the look of pleasure (Name) made, jaw dropping and eyes rolling back. His hips didn’t lose their steady pace until (Name) moaned, “Faster!”

Adam began slamming into her, and with (Name)’s free hand, she clawed at his back. Every thrust hit deep and Adam timed pressure on her clit with every thrust. “Adam,” (Name) gasped. “I’m– nngh~ I’m close.”

“Fuck, me too,” Adam panted. He kept his pace steady, both of their orgasms steadily growing. (Name)’s moans became higher pitched. Adam’s groans grew more frequent.

Eventually, they were on the precipice together, calling out one another’s names as they climaxed. Adam came buried deep inside of her, and (Name) came on his dick. They froze for a moment afterwards, each trying to catch their breath. As they panted, coming down, Adam dropped his forehead against (Name)’s, staring deeply into her eyes. Watching her orgasm had made his euphoric. He kissed her softly, in contrast to the pace they’d just been going at.

“I love you,” (Name) said quietly.

Adam pulled out, collapsing on the bed next to her. “I love you too, (Name).”

[scribblesofagoonerr]

— we brought a puppy home | buddy & monkey: double the trouble

monkey brings a puppy home and its' not completely smooth-sailing

check out the rest of buddy & monkey here: the masterlist

credit to @alotofpockets for her help with some of this and @lvnleah for the idea of this fic!

"Le, please!" You beg and plead with the blonde, who is all but firm on her decision much to your own disappointment.

"No, Monkey!" Leah states, sternly.

"Pretty please?" You still continue to try your luck with her.

"No, Monkey. I've already said it before!" Leah tells you in a stern tone of voice, which your all but used to hearing now.

What is it that you're trying to ask for? A puppy.

You love dogs, well you love all animals, other than pesky chickens of course, but your a huge fan of animals and you'd always had a dream of owning a lot of them.

You have always wanted your own dog, but of course growing up your father was always too selfish to want to spend on his money on booze and drugs, so therefor you never got to own your own dog before.

So here you are trying to convince the ever-stern blonde that you live with to get a dog, but that's easier said than done when shes' very much against the idea of it.

That answer still isn't good enough for you as you pout, "But why not? You've seen Myle, she's cute! Why can't we get our own?" You question, you love walking the little pup that Beth and Viv have, so you desperately want your own now.

"Because I've said no already and I'm not going to change my mind!" Leah repeats her words again, shaking her head in disagreement.

"Yeah, but just think about it..." You wonder off from your thoughts, "You know that Buddy would love a puppy as well!" You add, gesturing to your favourite little buddy who has been peacefully watching cartoons until you'd mentioned her name.

You were somewhat smart to play that at your advantage.

"Puppy, mummy!" Buddy pipes in to the conversation.

You smirk at the blonde mischievously, "See? I told you that Buddy would want one as well, Le!"

"Puppy, Mummy," Buddy repeats, excitedly as her eyes light up in awe, "Puppy!"

"Great, see what you've started now?" Leah murmurs, exhaling a sigh.

"You have to admit that a puppy in the house would be so much fun!" There's a glint of mischief in your eyes as you shrug your shoulders.

You knew exactly what you were doin' getting Buddy involved in this.

The blonde shakes her head again, "No, we're not gettin' a dog and that is final. End off!" She states firmly.

You knew that going behind Leah's back and buying a puppy might've been a bad thing that could definitely land you in trouble, however, you were in puppy heaven right now with your new adorable four-legged friend that was finding itself quite at home

"Leeeah!" You shout through the house, pushing it open carefully with your new little friend in your arms, "Are you home?" You continue to shout aloud.

"What's with all the noise?" Leah walks out into the hallway, mildly concerned about the loud volume of noise and thinking something is wrong straight away until she freezes in her step and narrows her eyes, "Monkey, please for the love of god tell me that isn't what I think it is!" She states, firmly.

You grin sheepishly at her, "Well, uh... What's it look like," You try and make a joke out of it.

You knew she would be mad, but you didn't realise she would be this mad.

Oops?

You swear you could see steam coming from the blondes' ears, "It looks like a puppy, although I know I specifically told you last week we was not gettin' one," She states in a sense of annoyance, "Please tell me that is one you're looking after!"

"Nope, hes' ours!" You beam a wide grin and hold the little guy out to her, "Isn't he cute?" You ask without much care in the world.

"Did my words literally just go in one ear and out of the other?" Leah is in disbelief as she all but refuses to even pet your new four-legged friend.

You continue to grin sheepishly at the blonde, "Uh, sorta. Maybe?" You admit, biting your bottom lip, "Le, meet Tate! Short for Tater-Tot!" You introduce the small pup.

"I... I thought you knew about this," Jordan stammers, her eyes widen in realisation before she looks at you, "Monkey, you told me she knew about this!" She states.

"What? No I didn't know!" Leah states, shaking her head profusely.

"Okay, so maybe I might've bent the truth ever so slightly," You confess, wincing as you await either of their reactions.

"Monkey!" Jordan exclaims in disbelief.

Leah huffs and shakes her head again in disbelief, "I cannot believe you went behind my back about this, Monkey. We're not keepin' it!" She tells you, firmly.

"He has a name, Le!" You pout, gesturing to look at the pup.

"I don't care what his name is, we're not keepin' him!" Leah grumbles.

You frown and fuss the small pup in her arms, "Awh, don't worry little guy. Les' grumpy an all now but she'll come around in no time to love you!" You coo at him, hoping to lighten the mood.

"I don't think so-- How did you even afford to buy him?" Leah questions in confusion, furrowing her eyebrows.

"Money, duh? I saved up!" You admit, resisting the urge to roll your eyes.

The blonde clicks her tongue in disapproval, "Unbelievable, absolutely unbelievable!"

"I... I would never have gone along with this and if I knew you didn't agree with it, Le," Jordan explains to her ex-girlfriend.

"Yeah... I know," Leah murmurs in response, "Monkey has a way of convincing people to get her way sometimes." She adds.

Jordan nods slowly and takes a click glance at the time on her phone, "Right, it's almost time to collect Buddy from pre-school-- Do you want me to go and pick her up instead so you can uh, sort out the issues with the puppy and what not?" She offers, your guess is that she is trying to leave the conversation as quick as she can.

"Yes, please. If you don't mind," Leah replies in agreement.

"Wait, no, Jord-- Don't leave me alone with her, she might kill me!" Your eyes widen in realisation.

The minute Jordan leaves, your really gonna be in trouble.

"Good luck, Monkey!" Jordan chuckles, waving her hand in the air as she heads back outside.

"Jord, no, wait, come back..." Your plea falls of deaf ears as you spin back round and take in the angry and annoyed expression that Leah has on her face, "Okay listen, I know you're mad an all about it now, but come on. You have to admit he is kinda cute though!" You insist, trying to hold Tater-Tot up in front of her to try and get her more approachable.

Leah scoffs and shakes her head, "Cute or not, he's goin' back to wherever it is that he came from!" She states, determinedly.

"Sh, Le, he can hear you!" You joke as an attempt to keep the conversation light still, despite how angry the blonde looks with you.

"You completely went against my words-- I told you under no circumstances, were we getting a dog!" Leah exclaims, pointing her finger in your face as she raises her voice, sounding like when she's in captain mode.

"Eh, I know but I thought maybe when you see how cute he is then you might change your mind, no?" You still hold up Tater-Tot in front of her face to get her to ease her sternness.

There's no luck whatsoever.

"No. Seriously, Monkey? I don't have time to take care of a dog and you sure as hell don't either-- Explain to me how an earth you expect to take care of a dog between training, games and not to mention your uni work!" The blonde still continues to stand firm on her decision

"Well, we can make it work! He can be like your emotional support dog!" You try and insist, hopeful to play your cards right with this one.

Leah is soon stumped from her on-going rant, "My what?"

"Emotional support dog," You repeat boldly with confidence, "Like Win at the club but this dog we can actually take home instead! Come on, look how adorable he is. I know things haven't been great with your injury and stuff, but like, Tater-Tot can help that now to cheer you up!" You try and make your point justified, trying to keep Tater-Tot held comfortably in your arms the whole time.

"Let me get this right," Leah pinches the bridge of her nose and chuckles slightly, "Your using my injury as an excuse for us to have a dog?" She questions.

You slowly nod in agreement with her, "Well, uh... Yeah, kinda-- Look, I know you're all mad and stuff now, but give in a few weeks and you'll learn to love Tater-Tot, yeah?" You try and suppress the grin on her face, but to no avail, it doesn't work.

"No, because we're not keeping him, Monkey!" Leah exclaims in disagreement.

You huff and pout at the blonde's words, "I can't take him back though when I've already paid for him!" You insist.

"Then get your money back, I don't care. We're not keeping him!" Leah states, throwing her hands up in the air.

"Come on, Le. Please?" You plead with her.

"Absolutely not, no way!" Leah continues to remain firm on her decision, "I already told you previously, no dog!"

"Seriously, Le? I can't... I don't want to take him back!" You pout at the blonde, in a hope that she will change her mind.

"Too bad. I'm sorry Monkey, but we can't keep him. He has to go back, alright? I'm not changing my mind on this one!" The blonde tells you, firmly as she shakes her head and refuses to give Tater-Tot another look.

"Hi, we're back!" Jordan shouts aloud as she pries open the front door and hesitates to walk inside in case you and Leah are still arguing about the puppy.

"Mummy!" Buddy all but throws herself at Leah's legs as soon as she sees her.

Leah smiles fondly at her little girl, "Hi, Buddy. Did you have fun at pre-school?" She wonders.

"Uh huh, lots' of fun!" Buddy nods enthusiastically.

Jordan hums in agreement and routes around in the 3 year old's backpack that she has in her hands, "Yeah, shes' drawn you a picture for you."

"You have?" Leah questions in faux surprise as Jordan hands over Buddy's latest masterpiece to her, "Wow. I absolutely love it! That is going right on the fridge!" She states determinedly, wrapping her free arm around the 3 year old.

Jordan smiles fondly at the pair of them, "Hows' things with the, you know what?" She wonders, curiously as Buddy pulls away from Leah after a few seconds.

Leah scoffs and shakes her head, "I can't believe she went behind my back about this," Unbeknownst to her, Buddy had decided to wander into the living room and find the new four-legged friend in the house, "I don't want Buddy to see it, because then I know I will--"

"Puppy!" Buddy gasps in excitement, her eyes wide in awe.

"Too late for that," Jordan chuckles.

"Puppy, Mummy!" Buddy repeats, excitedly.

Of course you are so excited to introduce them both, "His names' Tater-Tot, Buddy. How cool is that?" You ask her.

"Cool!" Buddy parrots, crouching down to lie on the floor next to the pup.

Leah exhales a sigh and walks into the living room, "Yeah it is, Bud. You have to be careful, okay? He's very tiny," She explains to the little girl.

"You have to admit that he seems very settled," Jordan chimes in.

Buddy peers up to look at Leah curiously, "Is he ours?" 

"Yes," Your quick to state.

"No," Leah disagrees, glaring at you.

"I wan' him Mummy!" Buddy insists, cuddling up to the four legged animal.

"See? Even Buddy wants him!" You gesture to your favourite little buddy and the pup together.

Leah glares at you, which kindly meant for you to shut up, "Enough, Monkey!" She states, firmly.

Buddy continues to gently cuddle with the puppy beside her, "I 'ove him, Mummy! Can we please keep him?" She questions, hopeful.

You feel like your hearts melting watching the adorableness from them both, "Come on, Le. Look at Buddy's face-- Please?" You beg and plead.

"You know, if you do decide to keep him and all then I can watch him when you're away and I'm sure that your mum wouldn't mind helping out to watch him either..." Jordan chips in, but knows when to shut up after she receives an all-too familiar glare thrown her way, "Yeah, alright, gotcha. I'll stop talkin' about this."

"No, no, I'm sorry. I don't have time to look after a dog, I already have 2 kids to look after," Leah states, shaking her head in disagreement.

"Hey! I'm an adult," You shout aloud in protest.

Leah scoffs and shakes her head, "You still order happy meals at McDonald's just so you can have the toys, you really wanna go there?" She questions.

"They currently have Minions, don't judge me!" You exclaim, shrugging your shoulders.

"Right, so what do you want to do?" Jordan shares a look with her ex-girlfriend, "I have to get on the road soon, but uh, I can hang around for a bit if you need help or what not?" She offers her help, not too sure what to do in this situation.

Leah exhales a sigh and shakes her head, "No, no, don't worry. You head back home. It's fine, we'll take him back tomorrow." She tells her ex.

"No I don' want him to go Mummy!" Buddy whines in protest.

Leah frowns slightly as she looks at Buddy, "I'm sorry Buddy but we can't have a doggie here, but its' okay because you can still see Myle, can't you?" She explains to your favourite little buddy, "And Blu as well at Mama's house." She adds.

"No, no. I don' like you, Mummy!" Buddy is quick to shout aloud, "No, mean Mummy!" She continues to shout.

Leah's heart clenches when she hears them words spill out of her little girls mouth, however, Jordan is able to get a quick handle on it.

"Hey, no, no, that's not nice is it, Buddy?" Jordan tells the 3 year old in a gentle tone of voice, "You don't mean that, you love Mummy, don't you?"

Buddy is more adamant as she shakes her head,"No, no. I don', she mean!" She exclaims, starting to tear up.

"Buddy, I know you're upset but its' not nice to say them sort of things," Jordan tells her little girl.

"Mummy's a meanie!" Buddy continues to cry, not really understanding the true hurt behind her words directed at Leah, "She won' let us keep the puppy! Mean Mummy!"

"Buddy, listen. I know you're upset with mummy about this and that's okay, but when you say words like that, they hurt mummy," Leah kneels in front of her daughter, she knew not to take the words to heart but it was a slight shock to the system to hear this come from the usual little sweetheart and well-behaved little girl that she is, "I know you want to keep the puppy, but it's just not possible, okay? I'm sorry about that."

"Monkey! That will be Wally!" Leah calls out to get your attention from where she is upstairs with Buddy, "Can you get the door?" She shouts aloud.

"Sure, cos' its' not like I weren't busy doin' something else or anything," You huff and pause the current game on your PlayStation before you wander over to the front door and open it to greet the older women, "Hi, Wally!" You greet, somewhat enthusiastically.

"Hey little one, how're you doin'?" Lia gives you a brief hug before she steps inside the house.

"I'm fine," You respond, giving her a faint smile, "Le's upstairs with Buddy so she made me get the door instead!" You explain to her.

"Ah, it's bath time," Lia jokes, hearing the commotion coming from upstairs.

"I'll be downstairs in a minute, Wally!" Leah shouts from upstairs, where she is no doubt being covered in water from Buddy having the time of a her splashing about in the bath.

Well it's better than the tears earlier on that Leah and Jordan both had to work together to calm her down before she got herself completely worked up about it.

"No problem," Lia shouts back upstairs before she turns to look at you, "So, I've brought some things round to make us dinner, I thought I could introduce you to one of the famous dishes in Switzerland." She offers, motioning to the dish in her hands that your yet to notice.

"Fancy," You murmur, wrinkling your nose slightly in disgust as you glance into the pot and don't like what you see at all.

You wish you had already eaten dinner earlier with Buddy, after all.

There's the always an option to order pizza if you get too hungry though-- Oh wait, you spent all your allowance on Tater-Tot.

Damn it.

"Oh my Goodness, who's this little guy?" Your thrown out of your thoughts when you hear Lia gush in awe and set her eyes on your new four-legged friend that had made his way into the kitchen.

"Tater-Tot," You grin as you scoop the fur ball up into your arms, "I brought him."

Lia looks surprised as she leans forwards and pets' Tater-Tots' soft fur, "I didn't know you guys were gettin' a dog, Leah never mentioned it-- Oh you're adorable, aren't you, little guy?" She gushes in awe, falling absolutely smitten for the little guy.

"That's because I didn't know," Leah responds, making her appearance known as she walks into the kitchen not long with Buddy trailing after her, dressed ready for bed in fresh pajamas.

"Auntie Wally!" Buddy squeals in excitement to see the women.

"Hi, Buddy!" Lia smiles and scoops up the 3 year old into her arms, "Oh, I see... And I take it that you're not too happy about it then?" She wonders, looking at her blonde friend.

"Well I can't say I'm too fond about it," Leah explains, shaking her head as she looks at you with a knowing look, "Monkey tricked Jord into getting it so Jord was under the impression that I knew. Apparently, she played us both, didn't you, Menace?" She wonders.

"Well, it worked didn't it?" You respond, shrugging your shoulders.

"Oh dear," Lia pulls a face.

"Look, auntie Wally, puppy!" Buddy is quick to jump in the conversation and shift the attention to your new four-legged-animal.

"I can see that, Buddy," Lia smiles at her, "He's very cute, isn't he?" She asks.

"Uh huh! So cute!" Your favourite little Buddy agrees, nodding her head in a fast motion.

You can't help but scoff in annoyance, "Yeah and meanie Malfoy is makin' me return him tomorrow! I mean its' cruel, right? Look at his little face!" You insist, pouting as you hold Tater-Tot up in front of Leahs' face to try and get her to cave in.

Leah shakes her head in disagreement, "It's not cruel when I told you we wasn't getting a dog in the first place!" She states, firmly.

"He is very cute, but I suppose Leah is right to say that when she told you no to the dog in the first place, no?" Lia can understand where her friend is coming from and tries to be the peace-keeper in the middle of things.

"It's totally unfair though!" You huff in annoyance before you do no more than start to stomp off upstairs to your bedroom with Tater-Tot in your arms still, showing how completely mature you are taking this situation.

"Wait for me, I got little legs-- Down please!" Buddy whines, starting to wriggle in the woman's arms, "I wan' go find 'Tater-Tot!" She insists.

"Go ahead little one," Lia chuckles and places Buddy down on the floor, who wastes no time in catching up to you and Tater-Tot before you help her climb up the stairs.

"Leave her to sulk about it," Leah tuts and shakes her head, watching carefully as Buddy climbs up the stairs with her help, "I'm not changing my mind on this. We're not keeping that dog." She states, firmly as she sticks her ground.

"Okay," Lia chuckles, agreeing with her friend.

"We're not, tomorrow morning, hes' going back to wherever it is that he came from," Leah tells the older woman.

"Okay," Lia repeats as she gets on with the cooking.

"You think I'm gonna change my mind, don't you?" Leah raises her eyebrow, curious to know her friends thoughts.

"I mean, would it really hurt to have the company round here?" Lia glances at the blonde as she makes her way round the kitchen and grabs a chopping board of the side, "It already looks like Buddy and Monkey both love him a lot, it looks like they're inseparable."

"We're never in, it wouldn't be fair on him, would it?" Leah states, shaking her head in disagreement.

"When would that be a problem? You can take him to the training grounds, there's ways around these things," Lia points out.

"Oh, and what about international camps?" Leah questions, passing Lia a kitchen knife that she needs, "Or pre-seasons in another country?" She wonders.

Lia gratefully accepts the knife and gives the blonde a knowing smile, "I'm sure your mum wouldn't mind looking after him if you asked her." She answers.

"It's not happening, we're not keeping the dog," Leah stands firm once again, repeating her words.

"Looks like the living room is safe from the puppy," Lia jokes, walking into the spacious living room to find the small pup fast asleep on the rug.

It's a bit later on in the evening, Buddy is upstairs fast asleep in bed and you are just in a general teenage sulk still about things upstairs, but somehow the small pup was able to climb off the bed and make his way down the stairs.

"He's spark out," Leah murmurs, letting out a small laugh, "Don't get too comfortable here, Buddy. Its' just for tonight and then tomorrow, you're goin' back to your old home." She states, determinedly.

Lia chuckles and shakes her head before she settles down on the sofa beside the blonde, "Sure you won't change your mind?" She jokes, giving her a knowing smirk.

Leah huffs and shakes her head, "Nope, I'm still not changing my mind. We're not keeping him," She states, reaching for the TV remote that's on the coffee table in front of her, "I'm not." She repeats.

"Okay," Lia chuckles, holding her hands up in mock surrender.

"I'm not," Leah repeats, not sure who she's trying to convince more, herself or her friend, "It's just not a practical situation, is it?" She adds.

"Okay," Lia repeats, trying to stifle her laughter, "What're we watchin' then?" She wonders.

"I don't know, anythin' will do though, won't it?" Leah answers, scrolling through the various channels, "I'll take anythin' other than another Shrek movie or Blues Clues, right now." She jokes, giving a subtle nod to your favourite movie and Buddys' favourite TV show.

"True," Lia chuckles in agreement.

Leah can't help but glance at the new four-legged-friend asleep on the rug in front of them.

It wouldn't practical to have a dog when she has her career, but at the same time, it might be good to have a distraction

Her opinion is even more swayed when the little pup yawns and wakes up, whining slightly as he makes his way over to the sofa and sits waiting to be picked up.

"Looks like he wants to make friends with you, eh?" Lia motions to the small pup, who is sat in front of the sofa as he whines quietly.

"Maybe hes' hungry?" Leah wonders, confused.

"No, hes' already been fed," Lia reminds her, motioning to the bowl of food that you had fed him before going back upstairs to sulk. Doing no more, she leans down and picks Tater-Tot up off the floor, "Hello little guy, are you feeling jealous down there on the floor, huh?" She speaks softly to the little pup.

The pup did no more than paw his way over to Leah and make himself comfortable on her lap, settling down and falling back to sleep.

"Seriously?" Leah groans, glancing down at the puppy.

"Oh, would you look at that. I think he likes you," Lia jokes, smiling at her friend.

"Well that's just great," Leah huffs and shakes her head.

"Don't be such a meany, hes' comfortable, clearly!" Lia chuckles, stroking the pups' fur.

Leah hums quietly, "Just as long as he doesn't eat any of my shoes tonight, we'll stay friends," The blonde remarks, pursing her lips as she reluctantly strokes the pups' fur.

"I'm sure they'll be fine," Lia chuckles in amusement.

"I suppose he is pretty cute," Leah breaks the silence after a few minutes, "And I guess he does seem pretty content on my lap." She adds.

Lia hums in agreement, "Happiest little guy in the world."

"And you have to admit that he does seem to fit in around here, and the kids' do seem happier with him around," Leah continues to state, biting her bottom lip.

"That they do," Lia nods in agreement.

"Yeah," Leah pauses for a few minutes, "But I refuse to call him that ridiculous name though."

"Oh?" Lia glances at her friend with a knowing look, "That sounds like something you would say if you are planning to keep him around," She states.

"I guess we could make it work," Leah states quietly, refusing to look at her friend, who's smirking to herself, "Like you said, we can make it work with the games and I'm sure that family and friends would be more than willing to take care of him if and when needed, huh?" She wonders.

"If I didn't know any better then I'd say it sounds like you had a change of heart there," Lia states amusedly, "Leah Williamson, are you having second thoughts?" She mocks a fake gasp.

"Shut up," Leah playfully nudges her best friend and rolls her eyes, "He's cute, I suppose... And maybe I was a bit too quick to jump and disagree, also this way it'll give Monkey some responsibility as well," She notes.

"You don't need to give them excuses to me. You can just admit that you like having him stick around, you know?" The older woman jokes with the blonde.

"Just as long as there's an agreement that he stays away from anything of mine that is, well, expensive," Leah chuckles, stroking Tater-Tot.

Lia laughs and shakes her head, "I'm sure it will be fine."

"And I'm still not happy that Monkey went behind my back and did this, the little menace," The blonde remarks, reminding the Swiss women about it.

"I know, so much not for changing your mind then, eh?" Lia nudges her friend playfully.

"This dog seems to like me," Leah remarks, shrugging her shoulders as she takes a quick glance down at the pup in her lap.

"I'd say you've found yourself a new best friend there," Lia chuckles, watching Leah and Tater-Tot beside her.

Given another hour or so, you had reluctantly given up your sulking and now you felt hungry again, given that you willingly skipped out on Lia's Switzerland dish, much to your absolute dismay.

"I'm hungry," You make your presence known as you wander into the living room, the small pup on the blondes' lap not even blinking an eye at you.

Leah turns her attention to you hovering in the living room doorway, "Oh, finally decided to come out of your room, have we?" She wonders, teasingly.

You resist the urge to roll your eyes and slump down on the arm of sofa, "I was annoyed with you," You mumble, quietly.

Leah snorts in response, "I never would have guessed that."

"Yeah, well, you deserve it," You continue to insist, shrugging your shoulders.

"Right, okay then,"Leah rolls her eyes and shakes her head, "We'll need to go shopping tomorrow then," She adds, trying to not give it away so easily.

"Food shopping, sounds like an absolute blast," You absolutely detest food shopping, its' the complete bane of your life.

Leah snickers a bit, "Well, we do need to re-stock the cupboards but we'll also need to visit the pet shop," She states, waiting for you to catch on.

You furrow your eyebrows in confusion, "Why do we need to a visit the pet shop-- Wait, are you serious?!" You finally realise as your eyes widen.

"On the terms and conditions--" Leah begins to speak.

"Seriously?! Yeah?" Your way too hyper and excited about this to care what she is saying as it goes in one ear and out the other.

"Hey, listen, this is serious! On the terms and conditions," Leah repeats aloud to get your attention, "On the terms and conditions that you look after him, remember to feed him and give him water, and also walk him as well, and the big one, make sure that he doesn't ruin anything that belongs to me!" She states, sternly as she points her finger in your direction.

"Okay," You nod, awaiting anything further.

"But to answer your question, yes, you can keep him!" Leah tells you, smiling at you.

Your eyes light up in glee and you want to scream, and you would if it wasn't for Buddy being fast asleep upstairs, "Yeah? You're the best, thank you, thank you, thank you! I didn't mean it about calling you meanie Malfoy, ah thank you, thank you!" You can't help but thank her over and over again.

"I'm still not happy with how you went behind my back about this, but I suppose that this little fella will fit in nicely around here," Leah remarks, glancing at the small pup, who surprisingly still hasn't moved from her lap even with all the noise.

You can't help but beam a wide smile, "I knew you would change your mind eventually!"

"What can I say? This little fella wormed his way into my heart," Leah states, shrugging her shoulders.

"Welcome home, Tater-Tot!" You grin at the small pup, whos' comfy enough to still curl up in the blondes' lap and snooze away.

"God, no. Absolutely not, I refuse to call him that ridiculous name!" Leah is quick to insist as she shakes her head for her clear detest of the name, "Welcome home... Tate," She corrects herself, still weary about the name overall.

© scribblesofagoonerr

[persevereforahappyending]

Maybe in Another Life |1|

Pairing: Clarisse La Rue x Hunter of Artemis!Reader

Summary: You are a Hunter of Artemis, but you start to question what you truly want when you meet Clarisse and get to know her.

Warnings: Slight Titans Curse Spoilers

Word Count: 3.7k

Note: This will be following more of the book plot specifically 3-5 so there will be slight spoilers as this goes on. If you've read the books, it will be obvious that I've shifted the timeline slightly.

Main Masterlist | Series Masterlist

ch. 1 | ch. 2 | ch. 3 | ch. 4 | ch. 5 | ch. 6 | ch. 7 | ch. 8 | ch. 9 | ch. 10 | ch. 11 | ch. 12 | ch. 13 | ch. 14 | ch. 15 | ch. 16 | ch. 17

You were in position, arrow at the ready as you waited in the trees. Your sisters were around you, scattered throughout the woods as they awaited orders just like you. You watched as a couple kids fought the manticore, fought was being generous, they seemed to be losing. They were trying to protect some kids but ended up finding themselves caught between the monster and a helicopter, humans never knew when to mind their own business.

Finally, the horn sounded, your goddess gave the order and you and your sisters let your arrows fly. Every single one of your arrows pierced into the monster, into his arms, his legs, and yours found a home in his neck. You couldn’t help but smirk as you watched him stumble back.

The manticore roared, eyeing the woods, he didn’t need to see you to know you were there. He fired his spikes aimlessly into the woods, hoping to hit at least one of you. You smirked at seeing the spikes coming directly at you before notching another arrow and letting it fly. You and your sisters’ arrows intercepted every single one of the monsters’ spikes perfectly, disintegrating them in the air.

All the kids looked around confused, trying to see through the darkness of the trees. You and your sisters were never seen though, not unless you wanted to be seen. Your goddess signaled for you to show yourselves, you all rushed forward, ready to end the monster. Zoe was given the order to take the shot but one of the girls that had been originally fighting it jumped on its back, compromising Zoe’s shot.

You all waited, bows at the ready to get a kill shot of the monster, then Zoe finally gave the order. Once again you and your sisters let your arrows fly, each one nailing the monster in the chest and neck. The monster staggered back but he wasn’t down yet, he let out another roar before quickly jumping over the cliff, the girl still on his back.

“Annabeth!” one of the boys yelled, running forward as if he was going to follow her over the edge.

Your goddess mumbled something about mortals not being allowed to witness her hunt, then she raised her hand and the helicopter that had been hovering over them turned into a flock of birds. You smiled, shaking your head as you looked up where the helicopter had been, oh how you loved it when she turned people and things into animals.

“Zoe Nightshade,” someone said. You turned to see Zoe standing toe to toe with one of the kids you all had saved. When you got closer you couldn’t help but smirk, recognizing the girl.

“Thalia Grace,” Zoe said with an eyeroll.

“Well, well, well,” you said, slinging an arm around Zoe as you approached the group. “Look who’s no longer a tree.”

“Y/N,” Thalia said with an eyeroll.

You smiled; Thalia wasn’t your biggest fan, but she hated you a lot less than she did Zoe. Unlike Zoe you hadn’t done anything to directly make enemies with Thalia, she wasn’t the biggest fan of Hunters after her last encounter with all of you, but you also just tended to rub people the wrong way. Most people found you too intense and arrogant.

“Four half-bloods and a satyr my lady,” Zoe said, informing Artemis of the kids you just saved. You rolled your eyes, Zoe, always being so formal.

“Some of Chiron’s campers, I see,” Artemis said, approaching the group.

“Annabeth!” the boy screamed again. You furrowed your brow, that name sounded familiar. Your eyes flitted back to Thalia, that’s when it clicked, Annabeth had been the little girl traveling with Thalia and that boy from a few years ago. “You have to let us go after her!”

“I’m sorry, Percy Jackson, but your friend is beyond help.” You tilted her head at Artemis, she was great at recruiting young girls to the Hunt, but she really wasn’t the best with people, which was saying something because her and her brother were the most ingrained in the mortal realm, walking amongst humans more than any of the other gods.

Your ears perked up at the boy’s name, tilting your head at the one you now knew as Percy Jackson. You had heard of him, everyone had heard about him, son of Poseidon, another child of the prophecy. You looked from him to Thalia, realizing a child of Zeus and Poseidon now walked the earth again, either one of them could be the one from the great prophecy.

“Who do you think you are?” Percy questioned. You raised an eyebrow at the boys’ guts, he clearly had no idea who he was talking to.

“Watch your tone,” Zoe snapped, shaking your arm off her, quickly throwing a glare over her shoulder at you as she approached the boy.

You shook your head with a smirk. Zoe was your goddesses second and she was technically older than you, born a whole thousand years before you even. Physically though, she looked younger, she was stuck at the young age of fourteen whereas you were frozen at seventeen, meaning, you loved to treat her like a little sister.

“It’s okay,” Artemis said. “I sense no disrespect, Zoe.” She stepped forward so she could stare Percy in the eyes, but she never offered him a hand. “I am Artemis, goddess of the Hunt.”

“You’re a goddess, why can’t you go after Annabeth?” Percy asked once again, clearly having a one-track mind.

“She is gone, can’t you sense it?” You sighed, it was obvious the boy couldn’t sense it, he probably had no idea what he’d even be trying to sense.

“Gone? What do you mean gone?”

“Some sort of magic,” Artemis looked around, confused as to what kind of magic could make the girl disappear. “She’s vanished. But trust, if she can be found, I will find her.”

Percy didn’t seem happy about her answer, but he grumbled, having to accept that there was no way he’d be able to go after his friend. The conversation quickly turned to the two kids the half-bloods had been protecting, Nico and Bianca, orphans, demigods, their parent unknown. Nico seemed very into the idea of being related to a Greek god, it was a little concerning how excited he was. Bianca on the other hand had a more reasonable reaction, it was hard for her to deny the truth though after being attacked by a Manticore.

Artemis ordered for camp to be set up while she talked to Bianca. Zoe smirked as soon as Bianca agreed to the conversation while Thalia glared at her. You knew Thalia’s feelings on what was about to be discussed but at least she had the decency to hold her tongue this time. When Nico asked if he could join, Artemis had the decency to redirect his attention to the satyr friend of the demigods, Nico didn’t seem to realize he was being pawned off, all too happy to talk about his little figures and game with the satyr.

You made yourself scarce, moving as far away from the others as you helped set up camp. As you walked away you could already hear the bickering between Percy and Thalia starting, it seemed the friend they lost had been their mediator, it was only a matter of time before they tried to kill each other without her. You and your sisters worked effortlessly, the motions of setting up camp having become second nature, even without any sort of magic you had the whole campsite set up in minutes. One of your sisters blew the whistle, signaling for the wolves to come out. You glanced up to see Thalia and Zoe now bickering, you shook your head then went back to more important matters, giving treats to the wolves.

You watched as Zoe approached Percy then led him into the tent you knew Artemis was residing in. Zoe gave you a nod as they passed, you gave one in return before giving the rest of the treats to the wolf. You quickly brushed off your hands and followed behind Zoe and Percy. Once in the tent Percy took a seat next to Bianca, Zoe took a seat on Artemi’s right and you stood behind your goddess on the left. You eyed your guests, Bianca looking deep in thought, barely registering that Percy had sat next to her, her mind most likely playing over all the benefits of Artemis’s offer.

You stood dutifully to the side as Artemis explained her whole deal to Percy, he seemed confused by the whole ‘rejecting romantic love’ thing, he couldn’t fathom the idea of why someone would ever accept that. He wasn’t disrespectful about it though, you would give him that, most men when they stumbled upon Artemis or the Hunters they didn’t understand, didn’t try to understand, and it always cost them, Artemis made sure of that. You couldn’t help but smirk when Percy’s eyes widened when Artemis and Zoe started talking about the last boy to have seen your camp and how Artemis had turned him into a jackelope. Her turning boys into jackelopes was secretly one of your favorite things, there was a part of you that always hoped a boy would stumble upon your camp and she’d turn him into an animal.

You zoned out a bit, making sure you could still hear the conversation around you. Percy was filling in Artemis on the manticore and what he had said before you and your sisters arrived. Percy’s details were vague and confusing, but Bianca clearly had the better memory and helped fill in the gaps or correct Percy on wording if he got it wrong. You didn’t fully tune back into the conversation until Artemis said she must hunt this new monster.

“We’ll leave right away, my lady,” Zoe said. You stood at attention ready to follow them into the next hunt.

“No, Zoe. I must do this alone,” Artemis said. She glanced back at you to make sure you knew she was serious. You frowned, Artemis may have been a goddess but the idea of her going off and hunting this unknown monster didn’t settle right with you. Despite your reservations you honored your goddesses’ wishes and kept your mouth shut.

“But, Artemis-” Zoe did not keep her mouth shut.

“This task is too dangerous even for the Hunters. You know where I must start my search. You cannot go there with me.”

“As… as you wish, my lady.”

Zoe also having reservations about Artemis going off on her own didn’t settle your uneasiness. Zoe was a rule follower, she was the type of kid you hated because she’d rather follow rules than do something fun. You always followed your goddesses’ orders but that didn’t mean you didn’t like to have fun. Usually, you were the one arguing with Artemis, respectfully, and Zoe would snap at you.

You continued to remain silent through the following conversation until Artemis asked Percy to escort the Hunters to camp Half-Blood. While once again Zoe went to argue with Artemis, you could only groan. You knew there would be no swaying Artemis on this decision, with her going off on a mission so dangerous that she didn’t even want her Hunters by her side, there was no question that she’d want to know you were all safe. As much as you hated camp half-blood, one of the only things Zoe and you ever agreed on, you had to admit it was the safest place for all of you.

You smirked when Artemis mentioned them having rebuilt the cabins that got burnt down last time because of the Hunters. “That was a fun time,” you mumbled. Artemis flicked you a glare and you raised your hands, silently agreeing to not set cabins on fire this time, at least you’d try to. You couldn’t make that promise and she knew that, the campers just had a way of irritating the Hunters, it wasn’t your fault with how you and your sisters reacted.

“Have you made up your mind, my girl?” Artemis asked, looking at Bianca.

Your eyes shifted to the younger girl, you knew before you all came into the tent that Artemis had been informing the girl of what it meant to be a Hunter and offering her a place. Percy’s eyes widened in shock, and he instantly tried to convince Bianca joining the Hunters wasn’t the answer by telling her how much fun camp was. Zoe was quick to shut that down by telling him being a Hunter can offer much more than camp ever could, such as immortality, and they’d be immortal unless they fell in battle, or they broke their oath.

“What oath?”

“To foreswear romantic love forever,” Artemis answered. “To never grow up, never get married. To be a maiden eternally.”

Percy’s mouth hung open as he seemed unable to process why anyone would choose that. You continued to remain silent while Zoe snapped at him telling him Artemis didn’t discriminate by birth and you all weren’t demigods. Which was true, Artemis accepted any girl into the Hunters, demigods, nymphs, mortals, literally anyone as long as they were willing to take and honor the oath. For those that broke the oath though… Artemis might have been one of the kindest gods around, but she was also one of the most unforgiveable, you had personally seen what could happen if a Hunter broke their oath.

Percy tried a new tactic, telling Bianca how Nico wouldn’t be able to become a Hunter. Artemis agreed with that but mentioned how Bianca could still see him every now and then. Bianca looked down at her hands, going over everything. Taking the oath and choosing to follow Artemis wasn’t an easy decision, especially to someone so young, you had seen many girls take it out of impulse and then fail to honor the oath later on. Artemis would accept any girl willing to take the oath at any age, she tended to like them younger though, before they could fall for boys and fall in love with someone. You were a rare case in that regard, you took the oath at seventeen and though some closer to the same age or even older than you had taken the oath before they never ended up keeping it.

You could understand Bianca’s predicament, you hadn’t had any siblings, at least you didn’t think you did. You had been with Artemis for a thousand years and you didn’t have many memories of your life before then, everything from that time slowly fading. You had seen girls with siblings take the oath before, it always took its toll on them. Artemis would allow the girls to visit their siblings from time to time, but time was always scarce, it could be a visit every few years and not last more than a day and while the girls would remain the same age forever, their siblings would age and eventually die.

“Is it worth it?” Bianca finally spoke up, looking at Zoe.

“It is,” Zoe answered. No one was more proud to be a Hunter than Zoe, it was why she had been with Artemis so long, it was why your goddess chose her as her second.

Bianca shifted her gaze to you. This happened almost every time, before a girl agreed she’d look to Zoe and you, you were physically the oldest and Bianca had been at Artemis’s side the longest, with you following right after. If anyone clearly thought this life was worth it, then it was the two of you.

“It might get weird hanging out with a bunch of people at least three years younger than me,” you joked, earning you a glare from Zoe. “But I have never regretted my decision.”

Bianca nodded, taking in both your and Zoe’s answers. “What do I have to do?” she asked, looking at your goddess.

“Say this,” Zoe said. “ ‘I pledge myself to the goddess Artemis.’ ”

“I pledge myself to the goddess Artemis,” Bianca repeated.

“ ‘I turn my back on the company of men, accept eternal maidenhood, and join the Hunt.’ ”

“I turn my back on the company of men, accept eternal maidenhood, and join the Hunt.”

“Now, once lady Artemis accepts the pledge it will be binding.”

“I accept,” Artemis said.

You smiled at your new sister as Artemis and Zoe welcomed her. It was a big decision to make but the second Artemis accepted the pledge you could see Bianca physically relax. Bianca loved her brother, you gathered that much but not knowing their godly parent and growing up orphans for so long meant Bianca had to grow up fast, she spent her life making sure her brother was okay and doing what was best for him, never getting to choose something solely for herself.

You had to hold in another groan when Percy asked how all of you were getting to camp when Artemis informed him, she was going to ask Apollo. Zoe once again didn’t hide her distaste for the situation and did groan, thankfully she didn’t try and argue with Artemis about this. When you all left the tent and packed up camp, Zoe stood on Artemis’s right, her arms crossed as she glared up at the dark sky, just waiting for the sun god to show himself. You couldn’t help but silently chuckle at her.

You laughed at Artemis’s complaints about her brother always being lazy. When the sunrise eventually came a sports car came speeding down from the sky, parking not too far from your group. Apollo jumped out of his car happily greeting his sister, much to her annoyance, before waving a flirtation grin at all of you, like usual. Zoe glared at him, you rolled your eyes, and the other Hunters took a few steps back, getting as far away from him as possible.

You waited as Artemis asked her brother to take all of you to camp, watching as he quickly turned his sports car into a large bus. He smiled widely, gesturing at the giant bus. The Hunters quickly shuffled forward, throwing all their gear into the bus before making their way on it and all the way to the back.

“Here, sweetheart. Let me get that,” Apollo said, smirking at Zoe as he tried to help her with her gear. Zoe quickly ripped her bag away from him, clenching a fist.

“Brother,” Artemis chided, preventing Zoe from decking the sun god in the face. “You do not help my Hunters. And you do not call them sweetheart.”

Apollo sighed dramatically, holding up his arms as Zoe passed by, making sure to bump him in the shoulder on the way. Zoe followed the other Hunters, making her way straight to the back of the bus.

Apollo smiled widely when his eyes landed on you. You had your bag slung over your shoulder with one hand, looking unamused as he approached you. “Hello gorgeous,” he said, slinging an arm around your shoulder. “how’s my favorite Hunter doing?” Apollo smirked. You scoffed, rolling your eyes before elbowing him in the gut. He groaned but quickly recovered and threw his arm back around you, leading you onto the bus.

You were the only Hunter to not have complete disdain for him. Despite finding him annoying you were also the only one to entertain him. At first Artemis would always chastise him when he would flirt with you but after a few hundred years of never being swayed and only seeming amused by his failed attempts she eventually let it slide, she knew you’d never break your oath for her brother or any guy. Apollo also took the form of someone around your age, and you had to admit it was nice having that around sometimes.

“Okay, so who’s driving?” Apollo asked once you were all on the bus. He looked back at your sisters, you followed his gaze to see them all pressed together on the back bench, practically sitting on top of each other to get as far away from him and Percy as possible. You decided to humor him and take a seat up front with him, Percy, Thalia, Grover, and Nico.

Percy mumbled he was only fourteen when Apollo looked at him. He then looked at you, wiggling his eyebrows as he smirked. You answered him by scoffing, crossing your arms and turning your attention out the window. He then turned to Thalia who reluctantly took a seat behind the wheel.

After getting off to a rough start you had a death grip on the seat, glaring at Apollo as he casually shouted directions at Thalia. Percy was gripping the back of Thalia’s seat as he yelled directions at her as well, for someone who couldn’t drive he sure had a lot of opinions on what she should do. You weren’t sure what was worse, the fourteen-year-old yelling directions or the fifteen-year-old driving who had been a tree less than six months ago.

Thalia turned the wheel sharply, crashing you all right into the lake at camp half-blood. Everyone flung forward with a groan. You looked up to see Thalia gripping the steering wheel as she stared unblinking out the windshield. Apollo, completely unbothered by the rough landing, applauded Thalia on the back, singing her praises.

All of you quickly piled out of the bus, watching as Apollo took off, switching back to a sports car as soon as the last of your feet stepped off the bus. Percy and Thalia took Nico to go meet Chiron and inform him of everything that happened. You watched as Zoe led the rest of the Hunters off to cabin eight. With your bag slung over your shoulder you looked around at the camp, most of the campers not even awake yet or the few that were were sleepily making their way to get breakfast. With one final eyeroll you sighed and made to follow your sisters. You could only hope your goddesses’ hunt would be swift because you couldn’t imagine wanting to be at this place for more than a day.

[mmani-e]

I've finally finished my Danganronpa AU personal project! I personally call it

DANGANRONPA: DEMIX

See Demix 1 here

And yeah, all the swaps as you can see above, and these guys in the middle are the replacements for Monokuma and Usami respectively:

Check out under the cut for some design insights on my take AND closer pictures of each pair:

Finally finished my personal AU project. I hope it's to everyone's liking!

I can go on forever about these designs but I'll limit myself to one-two sentences on some facts about the designs.

Mikan: Mikan's face tattoo was commissioned on her against her will so that she can never hide her nature as a Yakuza, but her leg tattoo was done on purpose, and she and Nagito have matching tattoos on their legs, his is just hidden most the time.

Nagito: He is usually seen with a spear and prefers the weapon over the sword, but he is more famous for his natural skill with the blade. That said, he resents the blade and wishes he could be recognized for the things he actually works hard to do, like throwing spears or protecting Mikan and her family.

Ibuki: I kept her design very similar to her base design because she pretty much just looks like a student, and I don't want to change anyone's personality so there's no reason for her to not get highlights. But I gave her some more symmetry in this design and gave her a cute little semi ahoge I guess with a hair tie, bc she doesn't naturally have one.

Imposter/Gamemaster: Yeah I made the big brain choice to keep him with his colors as "Byakuya" because it made for a more striking visual, and more recognizeable as the impostor. Also I made him too tall because I wanted to give him big legs lol.

Hiyoko: Her four cats are named Heart (scraggly cat), Mr. Pearls (sleepy cat), Big Red (Giant cat), and BB (black cat) bc canonically the four dark devas are named after shonen manga, I named her cats after pokemon games, which she canonically likes playing. Also chickens are her favorite animal, despite her love of cats.

Kazuichi: Kazuichi's not a natural born prince, through shenanigans it turns out he's extremely distantly related to some royal line in a microstate north of germany called "Nordsumpf." Their main exports are cars and Kazuichi is still new to being a prince.

"Kyoko": She'd try her best to act like Kyoko, but she's a little too meek and openy affectionate to pull it off properly. Also her knockers are way bigger than Kyoko's, so there's an immediate discrepancy to the trained eye.

Also in my au of DR1, Kyoko is the ultimate affluent progeny and Makoto is author/serial killer.

Hajime: His hair is actually extremely long back there, he just keeps it tied up. On shows he lets it all out and a wears red contacts, his stage name is "Izuru."

Sonia: Sonia became a team manager because she was escaping an assasination attempt, strolled into a junior laegue soccer game, took over for the coach and started just barking orders and the team won. They were the worst team in the whole league and after that she just sorta stuck around them and won them the championships.

Gundham: Gundham was orginally meant to wear the japanese flag… but there was too much white in his design so I cut it. He has names for all of his gymnast moves and he announces them very loudly when he does any of them.

Peko: I tried to give Peko a unique sort of "zombie survivor" kinda vibe so while she's clearly a mechanic first she can also just fucking kill you by braining you with that monkey wrench. Most of the time she's cool though, she's just like horribly dependent on other people to tell her what to do, so she attaches to Kazuichi because he's the most immediately available authority figure.

Fuyuhiko: He's got that sort of machismo that makes him not like to admit he loves dancing, but the moment he's complimented on it he'll really appreciate it. Also he's still part of a crime family, but it's just not as strong as Mikan's.

Akane: She really looks sporty still, but don't worry she's definitely "lucky," she's just much more focused on the future than her bad luck in the moment… which can be very bad, actually, and can make her come across as kind of aloof.

Nekomaru: Why is nurse Nekomaru not as common a thing. Just think about it, it's perfect. Nekomaru here got inspired by the bravery and hard work of the nurses that treated him and boom he became a nurse, nobody tougher than healthcare professionals after all.

Mahiru: Mahiru as a nurse is honestly a really really really fun concept but I feel like I wasn't very ambitious here, and I can't really show it through the drawing but one of my early drafts had her look more like a european chef a la gordon ramsey bc I headcanon her as a scot.

Teruteru: Decided to give him a raincoat which my sister pointed out to me could also be a trenchcoat, which is just PERFECT for a creep like him. It just writes itself man, though seriously he's mostly a landscape photographer who specializes in pics of the countryside. Still a huge perv tho.

Usowa: Name is a combo of Usagi and Chowa, the word for Harmony. She's less like a chaotic force of nature like Monokuma and more a manipulative and hardline teacher who coaxes the students into doing awful things by playing into their insecuritoies with motives, and which then causes them to kill, allowing her to punish them, "weeding out the weak and undisciplined among their ranks." She replaces Monokuma.

Kyojuma: Name is a combo of Kyoju (professor) and Kuma. He's a pretty silly guy with an easy temper to poke at, but he's good at heart and tries his best to be a more sort of "fun" teacher than the rules lawyer Usami kinda was. He just wants to help his students, too bad Usowa showed up and decidedly does NOT like his approach.

[juanarc-thethird]

The Hidden Ones.

The beginning

Beacon Academy, all students and guests are preparing for the grand dance of the Vytal festival tournament tonight. The boys wear their respective tuxedos, and the girls their elegant dresses. In the JNPR team room was Jaune fighting with his bowtie.

Jaune: I never understood how to put this… thing! Arg! I give up, I'm not going.

Pyrrha: *Smiling* Calm down, Jaune. Come, let me lend you a hand.

Jaune approaches her and Pyrrha begins to work on his bowtie.

Jaune: I don't know Pyrrha, it's a hard thing to do.

Pyrrha: Done.

Jaune: What?! How?!

Pyrrha: I've seen how my mom helps my dad put it on many times. So I memorized it.

Jaune: Wow, just like that?

Pyrrha: Yep.

Jaune: Damn, you never cease to amaze me.

Pyrrha: *Chuckles* You are the only one who is surprised by these little things about me.

Jaune: *Chuckles back* You may be right. Well, I'll just put on my jacket and we'll go, ok?

Pyrrha: Ok

Jaune goes to his closet to take out his jacket and Pyrrha just watches him.

Pyrrha: Um... Jaune...

Jaune: *Putting on his jacket* Yes?

Pyrrha: You know,... I wouldn't mind helping you in the future with things like this.

Jaune: Thanks Pyrrha, I can let you do that. I need to learn one day. I can't rely on you until we graduate.

Pyrrha: No... I mean help you in the sense-

At that moment Pyrrha is interrupter by the door being open. Letting in Nora and Ren with a package in hand.

Nora: Are you two ready for the dance?!

Jaune: Of course we are, right Pyrrha?

Pyrrha: S-Sure

Ren: By the way, Jaune. This package was outside the door. It's in your name.

He says while showing said package. Jaune takes it and thanks him.

Jaune: Thank you.

He reads the return address on the package and it just says "Uncle Mario." For a moment Jaune's expression changed to one of sadness. It was almost unnoticeable but Pyrrha could tell.

Pyrrha: Jaune?

Jaune: Huh? Oh! Sorry. I just need a minute to check my package.

He goes to his desk, turning his back on his team. As if trying to stop them from seeing. He takes his small box-cutting knife, and opens his package. Pyrrha, try to see what it is without drawing his attention. But I only noticed a piece of paper and a feather from a somewhat large white bird. Jaune looks at the paper carefully and puts it inside his tuxedo jacket along with the feather.

Jaune: Hey, why don't you go ahead to the dance without me? I'll catch up with you guys later. I just have to make call to my uncle.

Ren: Is everything okay?

Jaune: Yes, everything is fine, it's just a family matter. Nothing serious, I promise.

Normally a group of friends had more questions. But they know that when Jaune promises something he says, his word is worth gold. So satisfied with his answer they accept his request and leave without him. The four left the room with Jaune accompanying them to the door.

Nora: See you on the dance floor!

Jaune: Yeah, see you guys there.

Jaune watches as they get further and further away. And when he lost sight of them in the hall corner, he left his room and walk in the opposite way. But he fail to realize that Pyrrha was in the corner looking at him.

Pyrrha: Where are you going Jaune?

She told herself quietly

Nora: Pyrrha, come on! The dance is this way!

Nora shouts, getting her attention.

Pyrrha: I'm coming!

Pyrrha returns with the rest of her team on the way to the dance, but unable to stop worrying about Jaune.

Pyrrha: (Why do I feel uneasy? Why do I feel like I have to stop him?)

These were the questions she asked herself. But the only thing she can do is trust him. And trust that he would return with them to dance.

....

That night Jaune never came back.

---------------------- This is a new idea that I've had in my head for a long time. For some of you, you already realized that is this about just by the title. For the rest, I hope you like it.

[hunterwritings]

𝐉𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐲 | 𝐛𝐢-𝐡𝐚𝐧, 𝐤𝐮𝐚𝐢 𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐠, 𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐬, 𝐬𝐲𝐳𝐨𝐭𝐡

summary: "Ayoo!! May I request for headcanons on the Lin Kuei Trio and Syzoth (need to give that lizard some love) on how they’d react to being jealous? Like their s/o is getting flirted on by someone stuff like that?" | requested here warnings: creepy men, mention of violence, blood, etc., suggestive, implied smut notes: why do i write better in the middle of the night | there might be spelling mistakes

↳ 𝐁𝐢-𝐡𝐚𝐧

oh this man will get violent

out of the four, bi-han holds the most jealousy over his partner and can sometimes be possessive

he knows you can hold your own, your his partner after all, but every time he sees someone trying to take your as theirs, it sets off something in him

"You are one of the most beautiful warriors I've ever seen." The man pressed as he leaned over the table in the dining area of the temple. You just nodded as you tried to subtly tell this man off. Your eyes scanned the room to see if there was anyone too help you, then you noticed your husband staring from across the room, you cold practically feel icy blades digging into this man's head. He crossed his arms tightly as his gaze never left you.

You have taught Bi-han to try and not resort to violence where it is unnecessary, so in most situations, he will walk up to you and snake his arm around your waist as his eyes beam into the person in front of you.

Now, if someone had done anything to make you uncomfortable? Then blood is being drawn.

This man will beat down whoever dares to make his partner uncomfortable in anyway, not stopping until various bones are broken or until you command him

Whenever you two are out, he now will instinctively wrap his arm around you whenever he feels someone staring and will follow their gaze every second. He's not ashamed to stare, he thinks of it as a power move to make them uncomfortable. But if he had it his way, he'd beat down every person that tried to take you as their own until they are nothing but a pile of blood and guts.

You would reassure him that you were his as you kissed his neck and whispered in his ear. He would take the opportunity to fuck you any way you wished as you'd tell him that he was the only one for you.

↳ 𝐊𝐮𝐚𝐢 𝐋𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐠

although he has his hot nature, Kuai Liang isn't as easy to be jealous

he is very secure and knows that you are bound to him when you agreed to spend the rest of your life with him

even though it can be rare, there are still moments when Kuai Liang can get jealous

If he happens to see someone spending a lot of time with you and become increasingly closer to you, he can feel that pit of jealousy build in his stomach. He knows it's wrong to feel this way and knows that you would never leave him, but he can't help himself.

His jealousy wouldn't be something he would express outwards unless he felt he had to to get someone away from you.

Kuai Liang's eyes pierced you as you spoke with another Lin Kuei member. He had gone on about fighting techniques and how he thought you were a great fighter and asked if you could teach him some moves, to which you politely declined. As you felt eyes on you, you turned your head to see Kuai Liang staring through your soul. As your eyes met his, he looked down and away, as if he had gotten caught. After the training regime, you confronted Kuai Liang as the two to you returned to your shared bedroom. "What was that?' You ask as you stand on the opposite side of the bed as him. "What was what?' He tries to seem clueless but can't help but avoid your glare. "Kuai Liang." You spoke his name and he knew well enough to look up at you, your arms crossed over your chest. "He's just very talkative with you, it's obvious to everyone else." He explains. "Is that jealousy?" You rhetorically ask as you walk over to him. "You have nothing to fear, my love. I have no interest in him." You speak as you wrap your arms around his shoulders. "I know." He says softly. You pressed your lips against his before pulling him back onto the bed. If he was so worried, then you were going to prove that you truly belonged to him.

↳ 𝐓𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐬

Tomas is also quick to be jealous, but unlike Bi-han, he will not address the situations through violence

Tomas has much faith in you and hates the fact that he has the thought of someone else making you more happy than him. When he sees another man making you laugh or impressed, it makes him feel bad about himself. He will go out of his way to do something impressive in front of both you and your admirer as a way of showing them that you liked him more.

You stood at the edge of the training arena as you watched your husband, Tomas, demonstrating his skills on a test dummy. Your smiled as you watched him hit and slice at the dummy, seeing all the younger initiates at your sides as they watched him.

"Any one of us could do something like that. Put me in there and I'll show you a real man." One of the other Lin Kuei members had leaned down and spoke to you with a large smile on his face. "Excuse me?" You say, a bit taken aback. "I just don't understand why this guy is praised for something everyone else can do." He adds. You turn to see Tomas glaring at the man next to you, he never heard him speak but somehow he was still fully understanding of what he was saying. Toomas grunts before turning back to the dummy and cutting it clean in half using his karambit. Then, he tightly grabs ahold of the dummy and turns to fling it in the air, launching it over 100 feet. As it flies through the air, Tomas grabs a large boulder and spins around to launch the boulder into the air, using both his strength and smoke to guide it to hit the dummy mid-air, smashing it to bits. The younger children around stared in awe as they talked amongst themselves. "I doubt it will be easy to do better than that." Tomas bites as he walks back over to you. The man scoffs before walking away. "That was quite a show." You smiled as he rested his hands on your hips. "It looked like he was getting top comfortable." He smirked before leaning in to press a sweet kiss to your lips.

↳ 𝐒𝐲𝐳𝐨𝐭𝐡

Syzoth isn't an inherently jealous person, but he can find himself being jealous and almost possessive of you at times

With everything he had lost from Shang Tsung, he is very protective of his partner and wouldn't let anyone get a chance to steal you from him.

If someone were to approach you and flirt with you, he would be open about his feelings. He would stand close to your side and let them know at the first given moment that the two of you are betrothed.

A man began to approach you as you were standing outside of Empress Sindel's castle, waiting to hear about certain arrangements. "Well look at you, just waiting to be swept off of your feet by someone like me." The man shot you a wanting smile as your face contorted in disgust. Before you could even protest, Syzoth was at your side, standing slightly in front of you. "They do not need anything like that, we are already happily vowed to each other." Syzoth explains, taking in pride in your relationship as he holds your waist tightly. "Exactly." You add on with a proud smile. The man rolls his eyes before grunting and waking away, Syzoth's eyes following him as he walked away. "I didn't know you were a jealous Zaterran" You smile as you held the side of his face, he brought his hand to lie over yours. "I will not lose what is mine." He shakes his head as he looks up to you with a smile before pressing his lips on yours, holding the crook of your back to pull you closer into him.

Sometimes, if people really get on his nerve, he will go into his Zaterran form to intimidate people.