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THE CONTINENTAL ARMY SAYS HAPPY PRIDE MONTH BESTIES!!!!!
#turn amc#turn washington's spies#turn washington's gays#pride month#happy pride đ#slay it up this month besties!!#turn: washington's spies
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I'd love to hear you rant about the closet scene in Private Woodhull. If you'd like to. Heehee
YES, YES YES YES YES THE COAT ROOM SCENE, THE COAT ROOM SHIT đ¤Ą
(Apologies it took me so long to answer this ask, wanted to take my time with it because I fucking LOVE this episode and the Kennedy House Party scene and I have much to say about it đ¤Ş)
Although I regard the draughts scene in the finale as the moment I ACTUALLY started shipping Townhull, I started to notice their subtext earlier in season 4 which is what eventually made me start shipping them, and the point where that subtext became SO OBVIOUS to me was THIS FUCKING EPISODE. đ¤Ą
I could talk all about the heated glares they shoot each other in Rivingtonâs and the undertones you could pick up from some of their conversation and how hilarious that scene plays if you imagine they ARE in a⌠ehem, what do people say now, âsituationshipâ? But the real shit is definitely the Kennedy House Party scene, which Rob litERALLY INVITED HIMSELF TO WHEN HE WANTED TO GET ABE ALONE THERE. HELP.
So yes, Abe is already nervous but when Robert walks in you can tell heâs even closer to losing his composure, and the way that whole scene is framed and they stare at each other in surprise, is, as many people have pointed out before me, framed like an actual Romeo & Juliet knock-off. Quite literally. And after all of those meaningful stares, and the sheer MANNER in which Robert looks at Abe as he walks by and then talks to Arnold instead (and it is hard to see unless you zoom in but you can just barely see a very tiny Rob in the background of that shot as Abe approaches him because HE DID NOT STOP LOOKING AT HIM), itâs implied that as theyâre both putting on a mask, a performance for all the redcoats and loyalists around them as they try so hard to appear ânormalâ once again, Robert is basically keeping an eye on Abe the entire evening before he actually appears again after the coat room debacle but let me get into that specifically!! That scene:
So of course, as we all know, itâs actually Cicero who wrote the âcloak roomâ note (so tempted to make the Stranger Things joke I did on my first watch like âMEET ME. BATHROOM. STEVE.â) so we donât get a scene of them both in a dark enclosed space sadly. (Who else was half convinced they were gonna make out in the coat closet lmaooo.) But, on your first viewing, the AUDIENCE is definitely under the impression (as is Abe) that Townsend is the one who wrote the note, and is trying to have a private word with him in the coat room, and if that doesnât read like implications of a liaison I donât know WHAT does.
And youâre right, I didnât even think of that, but it is really wild that the audience was led to believe they were going to meet in a CLOSET. HELLO. (And even if itâs not a traditional coat closet because the only actual use we see it get is as a ârestroomâ, I would still call it one.) God I wish they had in fact ended up in there after his talk with Cicero ahahah. đ¤
[But at least we have fan-fiction for that đ]
But anyhow, after Abraham opens the coat closet, already bickering with Robert (âdo you really think this is the placeââ) before he realizes itâs Cicero, the immediate moment he walks back out, Townsend is already staring at him and instantly seizing his attention as he advances on him, so much so to the point where it almost looked like they were about to bump into each other before the two of them stop themselves.
And as Townsend is acting more assertive as he so often does with Abe, you can easily interpret double-meanings from some of their ensuing dialogue (âdidnât stay in New York to sit still,â âtonight, outside the coffeehouse,â etc etc, it is all very easy to take out of context if you ask me), and I also noticed it really looks like Abraham glances down at his lips or something as theyâre talking? Like his eyes go down but he doesnât seem to be facing the floor, heâs looking higher than thatâŚ?
Just food for thought, and after some more very heated stares and their talk in the hallway, again I think they laid the subtext on THICK in this scene.
Even the way itâs shot, which is significant in many of their scenesâ itâs implied theyâre in a hallway where they can be overhead, and yet they look so physically close to each other, and the space looks so small and enclosed as Robert properly glares at him. I donât think itâs subtle.
The meaningful looks & typical glaring, just that way they look at each other, the implication that they could have met in a literal closet after all, how itâs all framed, the simple fact that theyâre both putting on an act until theyâre alone with each other⌠Itâs something to contemplate.
What might be perceived as an incidental stare means a lot more when viewed with the history of their relationship, and with how very much tension and chemistry Iâd say is woven into all of their interactions. The undertones are THERE.
I ultimately believe that, as much as so many of their scenes are laced with double-meanings, this one is particularly special as it really caught my attention the first time I saw it, and makes me think it was no accident that these two behave the way they do together. Overdramatic as it sounds, I think there is, truly, an inherent homoeroticism to the way theyâre framed and portrayed in scenes like this, and how contrasting yet endlessly similar they are. Thereâs something so beautiful about it. Fucken love them. I may cry.
As per usual, this is not as eloquent as my language can potentially get, but I find this scene so amusing and I was so excited to do this ask that I canât be scholarly about this right now. đ
I usually donât say this, but I really appreciate anyone else interested sharing this around since I spent way more time on it than was necessary. ;D
Thanks for reading! đđŤĄ
#by the way since I put way too much time into this#it might pop up in the Townhull proof slides someday so thank you!! đŤś#townhull#turn amc#abe woodhull#abraham woodhull#robert townsend#rob townsend#turn washington's spies#amc turn#turn washingtonâs spies#turn: washington's spies#turn: washingtons spies#turn washingtons spies#bi Abe truthing#canon bisexual abraham woodhull#media analysis#I will never stop yapping about this writing#subtext#gay subtext#queer subtext#bisexual subtext#that needs to be a more frequently used tag đ¤Ş#amcturn#turnamc#the townhull proof slides#Abraham Woodhull I know what you are
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7/25/24 - Caleb Brewster (appreciation day)
#meeraedits#daniel henshall#caleb brewster#turn: washington's spies#turn amc#turn washington's spies#amc turn#american revolution#culper appreciation week#culper appreciation week 2024#my edit#mine#turnedit#perioddramaedit#18th century#bisexual#queer#lgbtq+#achillean#gay#mlm#gay bear
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turn week day 4: set it to music
I feel like the song Gay or European really matches this scene
thereâs a full song edit of this on YouTube (not by me) go check it out itâs really cool!
#The last gif is a little bigger so it cuts out the last line#I think if you click on it you can see it#my gifs#turn washingtonâs spies#george washington#marquis de lafayette#turn week 2024#turn week#amc turn#turn amc#gay or european#washette
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fundamental amrev experience is being assigned the legend of sleepy hollow as required reading in your highschool english class and freaking out A. because it's by washington irving, who was discussed extensively in that one nancy isenberg essay about aaron burr's sexuality, and B. because it Won't Stop Talking About John AndrĂŠ, who, of course, is john andrĂŠ
#everyone raise a glass to john andrĂŠ#reading tlsh while watching turn was actually such an experience#it's so fascinating? how much of an impact he and his death had on american culture#especially because yk. he was british. and turned benedict arnold who the average american does Not like#something soooo fascinating about arnold being demonized and andrĂŠ being glorified#which i'm sure was in no small part to be arnold being entirely unpleasant to be around and andrĂŠ being like#everyone's favorite guy ever#choose your fighter:#ben âi can recall no instance where my affections were so fully absorbed in any manâ tallmadge#marquis âi made the mistake of allowing myself to acquire a true affection for himâ de lafayette#alexander *writes a 3000 word letter to laurens about how much he loved andrĂŠ* hamilton#and more#and yeah just.#the fascination that tlsh makes clear people had with him#is SO interesting to me sorry idk. that's america's favorite brit right there#also. washington irving never beating the gay allegations idk#the achilles and patroclus mention was crazy#john andrĂŠ#john andre#benjamin tallmadge#ben tallmadge#marquis de lafayette#alexander hamilton#i probably should have written all that in the actual post and not in the tags but. Whatever
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Inspired by this
#washington is disappointed in his sons/the gay trio#turn amc#turn washington's spies#turn: washingtons spies#amrev#lafayette#crack#marquis de lafayette#alexander hamilton#john laurens#charles lee#George washington
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The homosexuality that this picture radiates
#turn#turn washington's spies#turn: washingtonâs spies#jamie bell#seth numrich#abe woodhull#abraham woodhull#ben tallmadge#benjamin tallmadge#gay#tv#tv show#tv shows#tv series#homosexual#tv recommendations#why is Ben looking like that đ¤¨
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What a beautiful sparkling trio
boyyyyss when they were young
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The batkids (and their partners/crushes/friends) with pride month hcs?
Tim: Lady. Gentleman. Bart. You are about to meet my boyfriend. Now remember, he doesn't know I'm Robin, so you need to act like human people. Can you do that?
Kon, Cassie, and Bart: Yes sir!
Bernard, entering: Hey, it's nice to meet you guys. I'm so glad we're going to Pride together.
Cassie: *lasso immediately falls out of her bag*
Kon: *lasers the ground at Bernard's feet*
Bart: Hi, I'm Impulse.
Tim: *facepalm*
Bart: What? We didn't give away YOUR identity.
âââââââ
Steph, running a food truck: Pride snacks! Get your Pride snacks hot 'n ready! Get two-for-one on the bi-rria tacos!
Margie: I bet you don't have anything for straight pride. You know, the rest of us normal people.
Steph: Yo Cass, one cishet sizzler!
Cass: *throws coffee in Margie's face*
Steph: That'll be $19.99.
Steph: *turns the screen around for tips*
âââââââ
Selina: *wears a shirt saying Free Mom Hugs*
Bruce: *wears a shirt saying Inclusive Dad Jokes*
Alfred: *wears a shirt saying Weird Grandpa Stories*
Kate: *wears a shirt saying I'm Just Gonna Tell You To Dump Them*
âââââââ
Harper: Since this is your first Pride, we're gonna show you the ropes.
Duke: Thanks, I appreciate it.
Harper: Over there we have the Batgirls food truck. Over there is Cullen's evil mafia boyfriend selling Uno cards. And over there is the Justice League in Justice League themed drag.
Cullen: And over there is the porta potty.
Duke: Only one?
Cullen: We ran over budget. But it's gender-neutral.
âââââââ
Renee: Kate's busy telling people to dump their partners. Mind if I hang out here?
Harley: Not a problem! Want a bi-rria taco?
Renee: Nah, but I'll take the les-beans if you don't want them.
Ivy: We were just about to start a game of Gay Uno.
Renee: Gay Uno?
Harley: It's like regular Uno except when you put down a +4 you have to kiss.
Renee: Deal me in.
âââââââ
Jason: You take the Main Street entrance. I'll cover Atlantic up to Washington. Rendezvous here in an hour.
Roy: And then we make out?
Jason, sighing: Sure.
Roy: Sloppy style?
Jason: This is a PG-13 post, Roy.
âââââââ
Dick: Of course I make people question their sexuality with a face like this.
Wally: Sure, your face...
Wally: *glances down*
Donna: You guys are exhausting. I'm joining Roy on patrol.
âââââââ
Barbara: Welcome to the annual conference of Sapphics Who Used To Date Dick Grayson. Helena, what's the first item on our agenda?
Helena: Discussing forming a polycule over dinner.
Bette: I already made a reservation.
Kory: I call braiding everyone's hair.
âââââââ
Luke: Thanks for giving me a hand with the fireworks.
Carrie: Of course. By the way, I have something to tell you. You're the first person I've told.
Luke: I accept you.
Carrie: Thanks, but I was actually gonna say that I scratched your car in the parking lot.
Luke: WHAT?!
Carrie: Also I go by she/they.
âââââââ
Lois: How on Earth did you burn your cape at a Pride festival?
Jon: Well...
[earlier]
Damian and Jon: *watching the fireworks*
Damian: I like that flower one.
Jon: *shoots into the sky to grab it*
Damian: *facepalm*
Tim, sitting nearby: You and me both.
#dick grayson#jason todd#tim drake#damian wayne#duke thomas#cullen row#stephanie brown#cassandra cain#barbara gordon#harper row#carrie kelley#kate kane#helena bertinelli#luke fox#bette kane#alfred pennyworth#selina kyle#bruce wayne#batman#batfamily#batfam#batboys#batgirls#batkids#batsiblings#batman family#incorrect batfamily quotes#incorrect quotes#incorrect dc quotes#dc comics
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happy pride month to all the lgbt members of turn nation đĽłđ
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Her trans daughter made the volleyball team. Then an armed officer showed up.
Jessica Norton eased her minivan out of the driveway, and she told herself sheâd done what any mother would. Her daughter Elizabeth had wanted to play high school volleyball, and Norton had let her. Norton had written female on the permission slips. Sheâd run practice drills in the yard, and sheâd driven this minivan to matches all across their suburban Florida county.
A bumper sticker on the back said âmom.â A rainbow pin tacked inside read âsafe with me.â Norton and Elizabeth had spent hours laughing and singing in this extended cab chariot. But this time, Norton had decided to leave her daughter at home.
âGood luck!â the teenager called. âDonât get fired!â
Until recently, Norton had worked at the high school Elizabeth attended. But last fall, an armed officer with the Broward County Public Schools Police had told Norton she was under investigation for allowing Elizabeth to play girls sports. District leaders banned Norton from the building. They discussed the investigation on the local news, and soon, everyone in Coconut Creek seemed to know Elizabeth is transgender. (Norton asked The Washington Post to use the childâs middle name to protect her privacy.)
In the nine months since, school officials had talked about Elizabeth as if she were dangerous, but Norton knew they couldnât possibly be picturing the 16-year-old who stood at the edge of the driveway in Taylor Swift Crocs. This girl loved Squishmallows and Disney World. She had long red hair, and she was so skinny, the principal described her to investigators as âfrail.â
Elizabeth didnât have an advantage, Norton thought. She was a normal teenage girl, and yet her very existence had thrust them into one of the nationâs most contentious debates.
Over the last few years, half the country, including Florida, had banned trans girls from playing on girls teams. Proponents of the laws argued that they were fighting for fairness, and the debate had spilled into the stands with an anger that worried Norton. Critics called trans competitors âcheats.â Crowds booed teenage athletes. And some spectators had begun eyeing cisgender competitors for signs of masculinity.
For all that fury, though, no one had been punished yet under one of the bans. Soon, Norton feared, she might become the first. The Broward County School Board planned to take up her case that afternoon, and the agenda included only one proposed outcome: termination.
Norton drove toward her fate and felt nauseous. This life had not been the one she envisioned, but sheâd done all she could to ensure it was a good one for her daughter. And sheâd succeeded. Before the investigation, Elizabeth had been happy. Sheâd been a homecoming princess and class president two years in a row. She had friends, near-perfect grades and blue eyes that lit up when she talked about the future.
Now, Elizabeth stayed home and read hateful comments on the internet. She didnât play sports. She hadnât been back to Monarch High School.
Norton wanted the light in her daughterâs eyes back. She wanted Elizabeth to have prom and graduation, senior pictures, all the little hallmarks of a teenage life. But first, Norton told herself, she had to fight for her job. She had to return to the school district that shunned her, then somehow she had to convince Elizabeth it was safe for her to go back, too.
Norton was born in Florida in the mid-1970s. She grew up hearing about gay people and drag queens, but the first time she learned about trans children, she was skeptical.
It was 2007. Norton was pregnant with Elizabeth, and sheâd turned on the television. Barbara Walters was interviewing a 6-year-old girl she described as âone of the youngest known cases of an early transition from male to female.â
The girl, Jazz Jennings, was cute, Norton thought, but the dispatch unsettled her. How could someone that young know anything about their gender? How could a parent let their kid change their name and appearance?
When Norton gave birth that October, her husband, Gary, picked out a boyâs name, and she bought blue onesies. But almost as soon as Elizabeth could talk, she told her parents she was a girl.
At first, Norton thought their child was confused or maybe gay. Elizabeth begged to wear pink, and she threw tantrums when Norton called her a boy. They fought over backpacks and lunch boxes, school uniforms, haircuts. Norton tried to explain the difference between boysâ and girlsâ bodies, but Elizabeth never relented.
âIâm a girl,â she said.
One day in 2013, while Elizabeth was at kindergarten, Norton turned on the TV, and she saw Jazz again. The little girl had a lot in common with Elizabeth. They both loved mermaids. They liked sports, and they seemed to know exactly who they were. Ever since Jazz could talk, her mother said, she had been âconsistent, persistent and insistentâ that she was a girl.
Oh my god, Norton thought. My kid isnât gay. My kid is transgender.
Norton collapsed into her couch and sobbed. She didnât know how to raise a trans child. What if she let Elizabeth transition, then Elizabeth decided she wasnât a girl? What if someone hurt her?
Norton kept trying to raise Elizabeth as a boy, but eventually, she grew tired of fighting. One afternoon, when Elizabeth was 5 or 6, she asked to wear one of her sisterâs outfits to a concert and Norton said yes.
Elizabeth picked a teal ruffle shirt dress with a leopard print. She pulled on a pair of leggings, and when they got to the show, she skipped down the street. Norton had never seen her look that happy.
Though those early years felt hard, South Florida turned out to be an easy place to raise a trans child. The Nortons live in Broward County, a left-leaning community that includes Fort Lauderdale, and its school district was among the first in the United States to adopt a nondiscrimination policy for gender identity. In 2014, when Elizabeth was in first grade, the district released an LGBTQ critical support guide, a wide-ranging document that affirmed trans studentsâ right to play on sports teams that aligned with their identity.
The superintendent hosted âLGBTQ roundtablesâ to help parents whose kids were gay or trans. Norton recalled that at one meeting in 2016, she asked if it was possible to change Elizabethâs name and gender marker on her school records, and he told her yes. (The superintendent later told investigators and The Post he does not remember this conversation, but other people who attended submitted affidavits affirming Nortonâs recollection.)
Norton was so excited, she went to Elizabethâs school that day and asked the assistant principal to make the change.
Norton has always been an involved parent. She volunteered a few times a week at the schools Elizabeth and her two older children attended, and the experience was so positive, she decided she wanted to work in education, too. In the spring of 2017, Monarch High School posted a $15-an-hour job for a library media clerk, and Norton applied even though the job paid $13,000 a year less than she earned as a cake decorator at Publix.
A few months after Norton started, she learned the school board was considering a resolution to create an LGBT history month. Elizabeth said she wanted to testify, so they spent a weekend writing a speech together.
Norton was nervous as they headed inside, but Elizabeth rocked on her heels, excited. She wore her favorite teal dress and a purple headband, and she smiled with all her teeth showing as she and her parents approached the podium.
âI openly transitioned two years ago,â Elizabeth said. âIt was the best time of my life. I got to be who I was born to be.â
Elizabeth was 10 then. Sheâd always had a beautiful face, and people never seemed to look at her and see anything other than girl, but as the school year wore on, she told Norton she worried what would happen once she started puberty.
Norton found a pediatric endocrinologist, and the doctor prescribed a monthly testosterone-blocking shot. As long as Elizabeth took the injection, her voice wouldnât deepen, she wouldnât grow facial hair and her body wouldnât become more muscular the way a boyâs would.
After Elizabeth finished elementary school, she told Norton she didnât want people to know she was trans. Her new middle school pulled from three elementaries, and most of the kids there had no idea she had ever used another name. She told Norton she wanted to be âa basic White girl,â the kind who wore leggings and drank pumpkin spice lattes, and Norton understood. Most middle-schoolers want to blend in.
The coronavirus shut down schools the next spring, and Elizabeth spent the rest of sixth grade and part of seventh learning online. But Florida was among the first states to reopen, and when Lyons Creek officials announced students could return, they also welcomed kids to try out for sports teams.
Elizabeth was ecstatic. She went everywhere that fall with a volleyball in her hand. She tossed it in the house, and she used the garage door as a rebounder to practice her jump serve. But when she tried out for the team, she didnât make it past the first cut.
She came home disappointed and told Norton she wanted to get better. Norton didnât know how to play, but she offered to help. They spent most of the next year in the street outside their house, running âpepperâ drills where two people pass, set and hit the ball back and forth.
Nortonâs wrists stung by the end of their sessions, but Elizabeth always seemed more energized. Next year, Elizabeth vowed, she would make the team.
As Elizabeth headed into the yard each night, volleyball in hand, she believed the only thing that could keep her off a team was her own ability.
For much of her life, all the big sports associations allowed trans athletes to compete, and most states did, too. Some required athletes to show proof they were taking hormones or blockers, but a dozen states, including Florida, had no restrictions at all. As long as a student could show their gender identity was consistent, they could play.
Trans people represent less than 1 percent of the countryâs population, and for decades, state lawmakers rarely mentioned them. But as gay people won protections and the right to marry, LGTBQ+ rights groups and right-wing leaders began looking for new issues to galvanize supporters. Both turned their attention to trans rights.
The community was slowly becoming more visible. Trans people ran for office and appeared on TV, and 17 million people watched as Caitlyn Jenner came out on â20/20.â Trans athletes almost never dominated. But between 2017 and 2019, two trans girls beat cisgender competitors at state track meets in Connecticut, and leading conservative Christian groups warned that other girls would lose athletic opportunities if trans girls continued to compete.
Over the next few years, Florida and two dozen other states passed nearly identical bans on trans girls in sports. Many Republican lawmakers spoke about trans athletes as if they were all the same â tall and muscular, physically dominant, grown men cross-dressing for the sake of a secondary school athletic win. The bill sponsors didnât mention trans girls who never went through puberty. They hardly ever talked about children like Elizabeth who tried and failed to make a seventh grade team. By 2023, multiple polls, including one by The Post and KFF, found that two-thirds of Americans agreed that trans girls should not be allowed to play girls sports.
Trans athletes remain very rare. A 2021 Associated Press analysis of 20 proposed state bans found that legislators in most couldnât point to a single trans athlete in their own region. And in Florida, state records show that just two trans girls have played girls sports over the last decade â a bowler who graduated in 2019 and Elizabeth.
Norton doesnât follow the news, but a friend told her about Floridaâs ban the summer before Elizabeth started eighth grade, so Norton went online to read the details. The statute doesnât list any penalties for young athletes. Instead, it allows competitors who feel theyâve been harmed by a trans athlete to sue that studentâs school.
Norton thought Elizabeth might be okay. She had started estrogen by then, and few people knew she was trans. Plus, Coconut Creek still seemed like a safe place. Two weeks after Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed the bill, in June 2021, the Broward County School Board unanimously adopted a resolution opposing the ban.
Still, Norton wanted assurance. That summer, with backing from the LGBTQ+ advocacy group Human Rights Campaign Foundation, Norton filed a pseudonymous lawsuit challenging the Fairness in Womenâs Sports Act. She didnât mention any schools. She didnât use her last name, and she didnât list Elizabethâs name.
Norton assumed sheâd prevail. A federal judge appointed by President Donald Trump in Idaho had already ruled that that stateâs ban was likely unconstitutional and did nothing to ensure the fairness of girls sports.
Norton and Elizabeth never talked about the lawsuit. Instead, they watched the Tokyo Summer Olympics, and Elizabeth fell even more in love with volleyball. As they streamed the Games, Norton researched, and she learned that the International Olympic Committee allowed trans girls and women to compete as long as their testosterone levels were low and theyâd identified as female for four years. Elizabeth met all those qualifications. Because she started puberty blockers before her body began making testosterone, her hormone levels looked like any other girlâs.
Though research on the subject remains limited,multiple studies have found that testosterone is the only driver of athletic differences between the sexes. The hormone can give a person a larger physical stature, denser bones and a greater capacity to build muscle. Without it, a trans girl like Elizabeth likely has no physical advantage, researchers have found.
Floridaâs new law didnât make sense to Norton. Elizabeth could compete at the Olympics, but state lawmakers didnât want her on a middle school team.
Norton had Elizabethâs birth certificate amended that year, and by the time Elizabeth started eighth grade, she was legally female. When she asked to try out for volleyball again, Norton filled out the paperwork. Next to âsex,â Norton wrote âF.â
When Elizabeth made the cut, she rushed out to tell Norton. She was shocked. Sheâd been afraid to really hit the ball, she said. Sheâd tapped it, and the coach had urged her to play harder.
They celebrated at a sports grill, and Elizabeth was too excited to eat. Sheâd wanted to be on a team with other girls, and now she was.
Elizabeth started high school the next year. She was good enough to make the varsity volleyball team, but she rarely left the bench, and Monarch lost more matches than it won that season. Still, she loved playing. The coach later told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel that Elizabeth âbrought an energyâ to the team. Other players described her as the team âfavorite.â
By then, Norton had become the schoolâs information management specialist, and she took on a slew of extra jobs to help kids with their student service hours and senior class activities. Norton was so busy, she largely forgot about the lawsuit sheâd filed. Her lawyer called her every few months to give her an update, but she didnât understand much of what he said.
Elizabeth won a starting spot as the volleyball teamâs middle blocker her sophomore year. She was 5-foot-8, one of the teamâs tallest players, so the coach put her near the net to play defense. She scored a few points over the course of the season, but she wasnât a hitter. Players need a lot of power to spike a ball the other team canât return. Elizabeth was 112 pounds and not especially muscular.
Monarch made it to the district semifinals, but its season ended that October with a 3-0 loss to Stoneman Douglas. MaxPreps ranked Monarch 218th out of the stateâs 300 girlsâ volleyball teams.
Three weeks later, a Trump-appointed district judge dismissed Nortonâs lawsuit. The law was not discriminatory, U.S. District Judge Roy Altman found, because it didnât apply to all transgender students. Trans boys could still play boys sports, he noted.
When the lawyer called to tell Norton the news, she felt the briefest flash of panic. Oh no, she thought. What if they come after me?
Later that month, at the tail end of Thanksgiving break, a work friend asked Norton if sheâd seen the email an assistant principal had sent. Norton tried to look, but her school email had stopped working.
Thereâs a mandatory meeting tomorrow morning, the friend said. It sounds serious.
Norton felt uneasy as she drove Elizabeth to school the next day. Sheâd heard rumors that some of the boys on the football team lived outside of the district, and she worried sheâd be held accountable because her job included overseeing student records.
At the all-staff meeting, an administrator explained that the district had reassigned the schoolâs principal pending an investigation. Norton felt confused. Everyone liked the principal. He seemed like a stand-up guy, not at all the kind of person who would break district policies.
After the meeting, Nortonâs manager told her the school districtâs police chief needed to talk to her. Norton met the chief and a school district representative in the principalâs office, and she felt intimidated. The officer was armed. He sat next to Norton, then handed her a written notice and told her she was under investigation.
The notice was inscrutable, just a run of numbers and legalese. Norton told the chief she didnât understand, and he said she had caused Monarch to break the Fairness in Womenâs Sports Act.
Elizabeth, Norton thought. Theyâre going to ruin my childâs life.
The chief told Norton she was banned from the high school and would have to turn in her keys and laptop, but he assured her the investigation was confidential. No one would know Elizabeth was the reason Norton was in trouble unless Norton told them herself.
Norton spent the next two hours panicking. She called her lawyer, but she was too inconsolable to make out whole sentences. What if she lost her job? What if someone went after Elizabeth?
Just before 11 a.m., Elizabeth texted. Sheâd looked on the location-tracking app Life360 and seen Norton was at home. Their pet boxer Walter had been sick all weekend, and Elizabeth worried the dog had taken a turn for the worse.
âYouâre scaring me,â Elizabeth wrote. âIs Walter OK?â
Norton paced the living room. It took her 20 minutes to work up the nerve, but finally, she called Elizabeth and told her Walter was fine.
Elizabeth asked if Norton had done something wrong, and when Norton said no, Elizabeth asked what happened.
âI donât want to tell you,â Norton said.
âIt has to do with me, doesnât it?â Elizabeth asked.
She started sobbing before Norton could answer. She asked Norton to pick her up, but Norton told her she wasnât allowed. A few minutes after they got off the phone, a school employee called. Elizabeth had gone missing.
âWhere is she?â the woman asked. âItâs all over the news. Everyone knows.â
Norton checked Life360, and she could see that Elizabeth had left Monarch. Norton asked her husband, Gary, to pick their daughter up, and when they arrived home, Elizabeth ate a pint of ice cream and Gary turned on the news.
A local station called it a âcampus controversy.â Reporters said that Norton, the principal and three others had been reassigned because they allowed a transgender student to play volleyball.
News crews showed pictures of Norton and footage of Elizabethâs team. The reporters didnât say Elizabethâs name,but the district released Nortonâs, and everyone at school knew Norton had a daughter on the volleyball team.
The phone rang. Norton didnât recognize the number, so she rejected it, and a man left a snickering voice message.
âSo you got a son who likes to sneak into womenâs bathrooms?â he asked.
Neither Norton nor Elizabeth left the house the next day. They hid while reporters knocked on the front door, and they watched TV. The local news reported that hundreds of Monarch students had walked out to protest the districtâs decision.
Elizabeth was allowed to go back any time, but she told Norton she was scared. What if everyone looked at her, searching for signs of boy where they once saw girl? And what if someone tried to beat her up?
Elizabeth had never been quick to talk about her feelings, but in the weeks that followed, Norton could sense something had changed. Elizabeth spent hours in bed. She told Norton she didnât care about any of it but pored over online comments about what had happened. That December, Nortonâs older daughter came home for the holidays, and she told Norton she could hear Elizabeth through their shared wall. Elizabeth wasnât sleeping. She was awake, sobbing.
The investigation began that winter. District officials sent Norton to do janitorial work and manual labor at a warehouse, then they interviewed people about Elizabeth. In late January, two officers questioned Norton. They pressed her about the day in 2016 she asked Elizabethâs elementary school to change her gender marker.
Norton told them every detail she could remember, but she didnât understand why they were asking. She hadnât even worked for the school district then. She was just a parent, and as far as she understood, she hadnât done anything illegal.
A few weeks later, an officer brought Norton a redacted copy of the investigation, then told her a professional standards committee would recommend a punishment within a few months.
Norton read the document at her dining room table, and she felt angry as she made her way through. The then-superintendent had told reporters that an anonymous constituent had called the Tuesday before Thanksgiving and told him a trans girl was playing on the volleyball team. But the informant wasnât just a constituent, Norton learned. He was a Broward County School Board member. (The former superintendent could not be reached for comment.)
The board had changed considerably in the five years since Elizabeth had testified and thanked its members for keeping her safe. DeSantis had removed several elected board members and replaced them with his own delegates.
The investigation showed that one of DeSantisâs appointees asked the district to investigate Norton. The volleyball season was over by the time Daniel Foganholi reported Elizabeth, but Foganholi told investigators he had received an anonymous phone call âadvising that a male student was playing female sports at Monarch High School.â (Foganholi did not respond to requests for comment.)
The investigatorsâ report was more than 500 pages long, and it took Norton a few days to finish reading. Nearly every page angered her. The officers had spent considerable time trying to find out what Elizabeth looked like. They asked a district administrator to comb Elizabethâs files and tell them how much she weighed every year between 2013 and 2017. They pushed multiple adults to describe her physically, and they asked three girls on the volleyball team if theyâd ever seen Elizabeth undressed. No, the girls said. No one ever used the locker room.
The investigation included transcripts of every interview the officers conducted, and as Norton read, she saw that the officers had repeatedly called Elizabeth âheâ in those discussions. On two occasions, the transcripts showed, one detective called Elizabeth âit.â (The investigation is a public document, and The Post reviewed this document and 200 other pages related to the investigation.)
A week before they interviewed Norton, the file showed, they talked to Elizabethâs middle school guidance counselor, and they asked her to tell them about Elizabethâs transition. The counselor said she was worried sheâd break the law if she did, but an officer told her she wouldnât.
âNo,â the officer said. âI am the law.â
As Norton neared the end of the document, she realized at least some district leaders had known Elizabeth was transgender long before Thanksgiving break. The investigation showed that in 2021, three weeks after Norton filed the lawsuit, the districtâs lawyer asked for Elizabethâs records.
What changed, Norton wondered? Why was the district investigating her now?
Winter turned to spring, and Elizabeth did not return to Monarch. Sheâd only go back, she said, if Norton went, too.
Norton enrolled Elizabeth in virtual school, but she rarely did more than an hour of classwork. Mostly, she played âFortnite.â In the game, no one knew what was going on at her school. She was just a girl, spinning across the screen in pink hair and a Nike jumpsuit.
By spring, she was failing geometry. Norton spent most of her time at the book warehouse where sheâd been reassigned, but one day in early April, she called in sick so she could spend time with Elizabeth.
Norton waited most of the morning, but Elizabeth didnât emerge from her room. Finally, at noon, Norton knocked, then pushed Elizabethâs door open. She was asleep, tucked into a pair of purple floral sheets sheâd bought at Target after seeing the same set in a Taylor Swift video.
âWake up,â Norton said. âWeâre going to lunch.â
They drove to a Cheesecake Factory a few minutes from their house. Elizabeth barely talked. After they finished, Norton asked if she wanted to go to Sephora to buy the pistachio-scented Brazilian Crush perfume they both wore.
��Just in and out, okay?â Elizabeth said. âSchool is getting out soon.â
They made it maybe 20 feet before two teenagers waved. Elizabeth swung right, then disappeared, but Norton didnât have on her glasses, so she didnât notice the girls until they were right in front of her.
âMrs. Norton!â one said. âWe miss you!â
Norton scanned the street, but she didnât see Elizabeth. She wished the girls luck in school, then she found Elizabeth hiding in a row of eyebrow pencils. The perfume was too expensive, Elizabeth said. She left without buying anything.
On the way home, they drove past Monarch, and Norton teared up. She suddenly understood all that Elizabeth might lose. Every year, the seniors paint their parking spots. Elizabeth had already made plans to decorate hers with lyrics from Taylor Swiftâs âYouâre on Your Own, Kid,â but now, Norton thought, she might never paint one. She probably wouldnât go to prom. She wouldnât take senior pictures. She wouldnât give the graduation speech sheâd already started writing.
When they got home late that evening, a certified letter was waiting. Ultimately, the school board would decide Nortonâs fate, but the letter said the committee had reviewed the investigative report, and theyâd found sufficient evidence to show Norton had broken Florida law.
âThe disciplinary recommendation,â it said, âis a termination.â
Nortonâs high school salary had always covered their necessities and little else. She worried sheâd soon lose even that, so as the investigation dragged on, she took a side job selling merchandise at concerts across South Florida. The Friday night before her scheduled board hearing, she was working a Carlos Santana show when a friend texted to say the board had removed Nortonâs name from the Tuesday agenda.
Nortonâs stomach sank. She was tired of being silent. She decided she would go to the meeting. She would sign up for public testimony, and sheâd tell the school board what had happened to her daughter.
As Norton and her husband sat in the audience that Tuesday, she could feel her heart rate climb. She looked down at her Apple Watch: 110, 120.She worried she might have a heart attack before she reached the podium.
The board reappointed dozens of employees, memorialized three young students, then finally, two hours into the meeting, they called Nortonâs name.
She and her husband walked to the microphone, and Norton smoothed her floral dress.
âWe are here to speak for our family and tell you how careless actions by the districtâs leadership have affected our daughter and our family,â she said.
She had waited 203 days for an answer, she told them. She had done manual labor. She had answered every question, and she had sat through an interview where a detective refused to use her daughterâs legal name or gender.
Norton teared up as she spoke. Her daughter was an innocent 16-year-old girl, she said. Yes, she had played volleyball, but she had done so much more at Monarch. Her peers had chosen her for the homecoming court and student government. She had been flourishing, Norton said, but the districtâs investigation had ruined that.
âItâs okay if Iâm the villain in their story,â she said, âbecause Iâm the hero in my daughterâs story.â
Things started to change after Nortonâs speech. The district set a new hearing for late July, and a number of school board members told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel they didnât want to fire Norton.
On her way to the final meeting, Norton fiddled anxiously with the minivanâs stereo. As part of an earlier board discussion, one member had asked for other employee discipline data. A reporter had posted the findings that morning while Jessica did her makeup. Adults whoâd abused children had served one- and five-day suspensions. A teacher whoâd slapped a child received a letter of reprimand.
âTheyâre recommending a harsher punishment for me than for people who abused kids,â Norton told her husband as she drove.
A dozen people registered to speak. Former students told the board Norton was the reason they made it to college. Most people asked the board not to fire her, but as Norton watched, she couldnât tell what the district officials might do.
Some said the investigation was flawed. They described Norton as a scapegoat and said Elizabeth had suffered enough. But the chair, a former stay-at-home mom who joined the board after her daughter was killed in the Parkland shooting, said she believed any employee who breaks the law should be punished.
Like the investigation itself, much of the boardâs discussion centered on the day Norton asked Elizabethâs elementary school to change her records. Though Norton hadnât worked at the district then, Brenda Fam, a board member who had criticized trans people online and in previous meetings, said she thought Norton âinappropriately requested and pressuredâ school employees.
âI think what happened is criminal,â Fam said. âNortonâs efforts to change her childâs gender have stemmed back to the second grade.â
Fam repeatedly referred to Elizabeth as Nortonâs âson.â After the third or fourth time, Norton started to think maybe she didnât want to go back to Monarch. How could she work for a school board that intentionally misgendered her child?
Norton walked out of the auditorium. Outside, she loaded a stream ofthe meeting on her phone and waited for a decision. The board members were split on what they wanted, but half an hour later, a narrow majority agreed to suspend Norton for 10 days, then move her to a different job where she no longer has access to records.
A scrum of reporters circled Norton and her husband. Norton was proud she hadnât backed down, but she told them she wasnât sure what to do now. She had fought for 11 years to keep Elizabeth safe in school. She would do whatever she had to do next to keep her safe still.
âAm I remorseful for protecting my child?â she asked. âAbsolutely not.â
The school district told Norton in late August she wouldnât go back to Monarch. Instead, sheâd do clerical work at a nonschool site. Norton didnât want to leave Elizabeth, but she needed money, so she accepted the job.
The family spent one of Nortonâs last free days at the beach, then that evening, Elizabeth said she wanted to watch her old team play. It was an away game, the second match of the year, so they climbed into Nortonâs minivan and drove to Coral Springs.
All the girls hugged Norton and Elizabeth when they arrived, and most of the parents did, too. But once the game started, Elizabeth went quiet. She watched, and Norton knew she wanted to be out there with them. They left after the first set.
Norton wanted to cheer up Elizabeth, so she drove her to the mall after the game. Elizabeth didnât talk the entire time. They ate Chipotle and wandered around, and eventually Norton found Elizabeth in the kidsâ section at Marshalls, running volleyball drills with a toy.
Elizabeth passed out on the couch the second they got home, and Norton knew they couldnât keep living like this.
In all the months theyâd been waiting for an end to the investigation, Norton had never considered moving. She loved Coconut Creek. Both she and her husband had lived there their entire lives, and sheâd always imagined theyâd grow old on their corner lot.
Maybe it was time to let those dreams go, Norton thought. Maybe they were better off moving to a town where no one knew them. Elizabeth might never want to play team sports again, Norton imagined, but maybe, if they found a new school, she could still have a senior year, one last chance at a normal girlhood and the good life Norton had worked so hard to give her.
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And sadly, this is an ongoing issue in historical fiction, many years after The Patriot. TURN: Washington's Spies, which is a great deal more recet, did the same thing with their depiction of General Sir Henry Clinton.
An solidly middle-aged man in uniform, there was apparently not much room to make him look what to some 21st century eyes might pass as "effeminate", so he receives an implied affair with the fashion-conscious hairdresser of Margaret Shippen and friends, Freddie.
I think I need not elaborate on why that doesn't sit right with me, even more so because the historical Clinton was nothing like this gregarious, unashamedly gay (both for handsome hairdressers and in the old-fashioned sense of the word) on-screen portrayal who occasionally oversees a British defeat in a badly-staged battle from afar; historically, the man had a spotless prior military record from the 7 Years' War, 11 biological children by 3 women (not counting his de facto adoptive son John), because of whom he repeatedly threatened to desert as he was homesick for them, and had difficulties socialising with others to the point he described himself as a "shy bitch" in his diary.
None of this information is particularly hard to find; Clinton has a thorough, if somewhat old, biography to his name that can be accessed digitally, and free of chage via archive.org.
As a non-American consuming American media set in this period, what irks me most is that the tactic of using these harmful stereotypes of the "effeminate" or even outright gay man as shorthand for lacking in moral values, strength and cleverness on the battlefield, persists, both because, to repeat myself here, these stereotypes are harmful and indicative of issues our modern-day society has with its image of men and masculinity, and because it's narratively unappealing.
"The bad guys are the bad guys because they shave and use perfume, and maybe also kiss other men!!1!!!" Just isn't a convincing antagonist or villain backstory for me. As an addition to this, yes to OP's point that this way of treating male characters also shines a light on modern-day misogyny.
Furthermore, it justs shows the need of US filmmakers to 'justify' the actions of the same set of male historical figures who verifiably weren't that great as people (or larger-than-life flawless altruistic freedom fighters) after all (think e. g. of slavery, to name but one important point here). Setting a British antagonist whose character is compelling while also displaying posittive traits against Washington and co., one might run the risk of 'devaluing' the Founding Fathers by setting up a character who would make for an equally appealing alternative to them.
TURN tried to work more into that direction with the sympathetic and kind British Major Edmund Hewlett, but failed by making him a) somewhat incompetent in military matters (as compared of course to Patriot characters of a similar rank) and b) a decidedly fictional character, when a great deal of his personality traits were actually lifted from the real life Lieutenant-Colonel John Graves Simcoe, whose name then in turn (hah) gets slapped on a comedically evil, and entirely fictional British arch-villain-type whose main goal in life is to be evil and sadistic, just because he can.
Ideally, filmmakers would at last be courageous and attempt more nuanced displays of the Revolutionary War, bidding adieu to the old "Good Guys vs. Bad Guys" narrative and attempt a more nuanced portrayal of the period and its people, who were no more than that; people. People who, as we all are, were not without fault and had their own reasons to participate; some out of ideological conviction, others for some sort of personal gain, and yet others because being the son of a second son and yet expected to keep up a certain living standard is hard, so you need to take up a job and make money somehow in order to raise your kids with the financial security you never had at their age because your own parents weren't exactly competent keeping the family money together; but the crucial thing is, all of these kinds of people existed, and existed on both sides. Nuance matters.
all the ladies love that I have so many thoughts on the vilification of male effeminacy in popular thought about the American Revolution
it's soooo sexy that those thoughts are half-formed because my research specialty is actually 19th-century social history (with focuses on women's, queer, and dress history)
I'm actually very hot for doing all of this, in fact
#p s why not go for a man who loves to dress and/or is gay as the mc for a change#that could be interesting if well done#anyway we should not forget to work on our modern perceptions and prejudices regarding masculinity too#and to american film makers: henry clinton was technically a new yorker so give me the sir henry multiseason series i crave#reblog#vankeppel#american revolution#amrev#american revolutionary war#revolutionary war#18th century#history#the patriot#turn amc#turn washington's spies#henry clinton#r rambles
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đđŠđŠ đ˘đśđ˘đ°, đđŠđŠ đĽđđŤđĄđ°, đđŠđŠ đŞđŚđŤđ˘ Until dawn males x male reader
Summary: No plot, no games. Just you, Mike, Matt, Josh, and Chris. All at once. Pure, chaotic indulgence.
Tags: He/Him pronouns used for the reader. Pure smut. Fivesome M/M/M/M/M. Mike Munroe x male reader; Matt Taylor x male reader; Josh Washington x male reader; Chris Hartley x male reader. Set before the events of the game. Matt and Emily broke-up before the events of the game. Mike and Jess are not together in this. Bottom male reader. Smut. Gay smut. Dom Mike Munroe. Gentle dom Matt Taylor. Dom Josh Washington. Anal sex. Blowjob. Riding. Rimming. Multiple orgasms.
Words counts: 5000 words
You had them all wrapped around your fingers, and it was an immense joy to play with them. Not out of malice or cruelty, of course-but there was a certain satisfaction in seeing the way their gazes lingered, their breaths hitched and their confidence faltered when you leaned in just a little too close or said something with just the right amount of weight to keep them guessing.
There were moments, little instances, that made it clear you had each of them hooked. It wasn't your intention to drive them mad⌠at least not at first. But the way they reacted was too delicious to resist.
Youâd spent weeks playing with fire but tonight, the tables had turned. This time, you werenât the one in control. Theyâd had enough of the games, and now they were going to show you exactly what happens when you push four people past the point of restraint.
The lodge was quiet save for the sound of labored breaths and soft murmurs, the air thick with heat and longing. You were at the center of it all, the warmth of their bodies pressing in on every side, their touches drawing electric shocks along your skin. It felt dizzying. Four pairs of hands, lips and eyes focused entirely on you, each man contributing something unique yet utterly in sync, a symphony of raw passion and mutual understanding.
Mike's lips were on your neck, teasing and tasting, his breath warm as he hummed lowly against your skin. His grin, that infuriatingly cocky smirk you both loved and hated, was unmistakable. "You look like you're about to melt, babe," he murmured, his voice teasing but with a sharp edge of desire.
His hand caught your chin roughly, turning your face toward him with an assuredness that made your stomach tighten. His lips crashed against yours, the kiss demanding and hungry, his tongue boldly invading your mouth to taste every inch of you.
Behind you, Josh's hands were languid and exploratory, sliding down your spine with a deliberate, almost lazy sensuality. You shivered as his fingertips slipped beneath your shirt, pushing the fabric upward to expose more skin before lowering his head to place a soft kiss at the nape of your neck. His free hand moved lower, cupping your ass firmly, squeezing just enough to make you gasp. He knew exactly how to make you arch into him as his fingers pressed and prepped you with an expertise that left no room for hesitation.
Chris knelt in front of you, his glasses slightly askew as he focused on undressing you. His hands were careful, reverent even, as he tugged your pants down, leaving your thighs bare. His lips brushed against the sensitive skin he revealed, soft kisses trailing upward. Mumbling things to himself with a sheepish laugh.
Matt's hands, meanwhile, took a grip on your cock was firm, his strokes deliberate, but there was a boyish nervousness in the way he watched your face, as if gauging every reaction, his thumb brushing over the sensitive tip to coax a groan from your lips. "Is this good?" he asked, the vulnerability in his tone endearing even as his hand tightened around you, his pace quickening slightly as he grew bolder.
And then there was the maddening sensation of their erections, hard and insistent, brushing against your body no matter which way you shifted. Mike's cock pressed against your hip as he deepened the kiss, grinding subtly against you while his hands slid possessively over your waist. Josh's was hot and thick, nudging against your lower back every time his fingers dipped lower, a teasing reminder of how ready he was. Chris's arousal was obvious against your things as he adjusted himself, his lips faltering momentarily as his need became more apparent. And Matt pressed himself against your own hardened length he was workshopping so delightfully, his breath hitching each time you shifted even slightly.
"Look at you. Completely wrecked already, and we haven't even gotten started." Mike growled, his voice rough with want as he finally pulled back from the kiss, his lips red and slick. He ran his thumb across your bottom lip, his grin widening as he noticed the way you shuddered under his touch.
The four of them moved you as one. Their hands, lips and bodies guide you seamlessly across the room. Your head spun, heat coursing through every inch of your body, amplified by the way their combined attention stripped away any sense of composure.
Mike seized his moment with a predatory grin, his arms circling your waist in a rough pull that left you gasping. His chest pressed against yours, the heat of his body seeped into you, breath hot against your ear as his hands roamed across your back.
"You're not going anywhere," he growled, his voice dripping with satisfaction. His teeth sank into the tender flesh of your neck, a sharp flash of pain igniting a gasp that turned off any reply you were trying to formulate.
Your head fell back, the sensation radiating through you as his tongue followed, soothing and savoring the mark he left. "Fuck, you taste so good," Mike muttered, his voice muffled against your skin. He bit again, a little softer this time, his lips curving against the bruise as if reveling in your reaction.
Mike didn't linger long. His grip shifted as he spun you around, your back colliding with his solid frame. The sudden contact left you breathless, his hands strong on your hips as he pressed his arousal firmly against your ass, bending you over the couch. "Think you can handle this?" he teased, his voice low and dripping with challenge.
The plush cushions yielded under your weight as your arms sank into them, your chest heaving against the fabric. Your head hung low, your breathing ragged as Mike's hands pinned your hips in place. Every nerve in your body was on fire, heightened by the faint, tantalizing sound of a zipper sliding open behind you. The anticipation was dizzying, making you arch instinctively.
From the corner of your eye, you caught sight of the others close by, their gazes fixed on you with a hunger that sent your heart racing. Their hands moved to their own clothes, slowly stripping away the last of their barriers.
You couldn't help the grin that broke through your panting as their clothes joined the pile already scattered across the room.
"Enjoying the show?" Chris asked with a crooked smile, his voice laced with nervous humor that somehow made the moment even hotter.
Josh chuckled darkly, his eyes locked on your bent form. "Heâs definitely enjoying it," he said, his tone dripping with confidence as his fingers trailed down his own chest.
Matt didn't speak, but the way his eyes roamed your body, his lip caught between his teeth, said more than words ever could.
Mike's hands tightened on your hips, pulling you back against him with a deliberate grind that left no room for doubt about his intentions. His weight settled over you, his firm chest pressing into your back as he leaned down, his breath tickling your ear.
The heat radiating from his body was almost overwhelming, the hardness of his cock pressing insistently against your entrance. You couldn't stop the sharp intake of breath as he shifted, his hips grinding forward enough for you to feel just how big and hot he was.
"Shit, you're shaking already," Mike muttered, his voice low and laced with amusement. "We haven't even started yet."
You could hear the faint wet sound as he spat into his hand, his free hand gripping your hip firmly to keep you in place. The anticipation was a tangible thing, winding your muscles tight as you felt him align himself, the blunt head of his cock pressing against you. The stretch was immediate as he began to push in, the size of him forcing a gasp from your lips. He was hot, the heat of him searing as he sank deeper, every inch a mix of pain and pleasure that left you trembling. By the time he bottomed out, you were already lightheaded, the fullness of him overwhelming as he stilled for a moment, letting you adjust. The pressure was intense, toeing the line between pleasure and pain.
"Goddamn," Mike groaned, his voice a low, guttural sound as his hands gripped your ass firmly, his rough palms spreading you wider to take him in even deeper. He didn't wait long before he began to move, pulling back only to slam into you again with a force that had your fingers clawing into the cushions beneath you. Each thrust was deliberate, his pace building as he set a rhythm that left you breathless.
His cock stretching and filling you with every stroke, hitting that perfect spot inside you that made your vision blur. His hands stayed firm on your ass, gripping and kneading as he fucked into you, his hips snapping with a precision that made your brain go blank with each thrust.
The rhythm he set was relentless, each thrust driving deeper, the friction making your entire body sing. Your knees trembled, your head dropping forward as your hands scrambled for purchase against the cushions. The sound of skin meeting skin filled the room, mingling with your soft gasps and his gruff moans.
"You feel that?" Mike said, his voice ragged as he thrust particularly hard, making you cry out. "Tight as hell. Makes me wonder if Josh even did his job right," he added, throwing a glance over his shoulder at the others. His smirk was audible, and the teasing in his tone was unmistakable. "Doesn't feel like you prepped him at all, man."
Josh let out an irritated huff, shifting in his seat, his voice rising in protest. "Oh, come on, man. You know I didâ" Josh's words faltered for a moment, his frustration bleeding into his tone. "Just shut up and enjoy yourself."
Then Josh leaned in closer, his breath warm against your other ear. "It's not fair," he whispered, the edge of a whine in his voice. "I wanted to be the first one to wreck you." His words sent a shiver down your spine, his hands brushing lightly over your lower back as if to remind you he was still there.
Mike, hearing the way Josh's voice dropped, chuckled darkly, his grip on your hips tightening as he picked up his pace, his thrusts growing rougher, more insistent. "Quit whining, Josh. You'll get your turn. Right now, heâs all mine." he shot back, his words punctuated by a particularly deep thrust that had you moaning loudly. His tone was taunting, the kind of playful arrogance that only made him more infuriatingâand irresistible.
His pace quickened as he adjusted his angle, hitting a spot that made your vision blur.
Meanwhile, Chris was sitting beside you, his lips brushing your cheek in soft, fleeting kisses. His touch was a stark contrast to Mike's roughness, grounding you even as your body trembled. "You're doing so good," Chris murmured, his voice gentle and full of warmth. "Just let go, okay? We've got you."
The kindness in his tone, paired with the way his fingers traced soothing patterns along your arm, made your chest ache in the best way.
Matt, on the other hand, was silent. You could feel his gaze from across the room, wide-eyed and transfixed. When you risked a glance in his direction, his lips parted as if to say something, but no words came out. His mouth hung slightly open, his gaze darting between your trembling body and the other men, a mix of awe and arousal evident on his face. He shifted slightly, almost like he wasn't sure what to do with himself, but his attention never wavered, his chest rising and falling with heavy breaths as he watched, enraptured.
A broken moan passed through your lips as Mike's thrusts grew sharper, each one sending waves of pleasure that left you teetering on the edge. Even in this state, you were still capable of hearing Josh and Chrisâs teasing retorted toward Mike.
Chris chuckled softly, his arm draped over the back of the couch. "You're like a kid that doesnât want to share his favorite toy. We're here, man. Share the wealth."
Mike's breath was still heavy as he slowed his relentless pace, the sweat on his brow glistening in the dim light of the lodge. He reluctantly pulled back, groaning as he did, his cock sliding free with a slick sound that left you shivering from the sudden emptiness.
"Christ," he muttered, dragging the back of his hand across his forehead as he turned toward the others. "You all are so impatient. I'm making him feel good, alright? Can't leave him aching and wanting more."
Josh smirked from his place on the couch, his eyes sharp and teasing. "Sure, Mike. Real selflessness of you to hog him like that. Totally about his pleasure."
Mike opened his mouth to retort, but you used their banter as your chance to slip away. Shifting slightly and carefully, you pulled your leg over the edge of the couch and crawled across the cushions, the soft material sinking under your weight. Your gaze locked onto Matt, who sat slightly apart from the others, his wide eyes and flushed cheeks making him look almost overwhelmed.
As you approached, his knees shifted apart instinctively, giving you room to straddle his lap. The warmth of his body greeted you immediately, his erection pressing firmly against your own, the friction making you gasp quietly. Matt froze for a moment, his hands hovering hesitantly at your sides as you cupped his cheeks with your palms.
His brown eyes searched for yours, a mixture of shyness and awe written across his face. A nervous grin broke through his expression as his hands finally settled on your hips, squeezing lightly as if testing the waters. "You alright?" you asked softly, your voice tinged with teasing. "You've been sitting there so quietly. Hurts my feelings, y'know."
Your teasing seemed to loosen something in him, the tension in his shoulders melting away as his lips curved into a shy grin. "No! No, it's not that," he said quickly, his hands tightening slightly on your hips as his gaze finally met yours. "I just⌠didnât really know what to doâŚ" He trailed off, his eyes trailing down slightly before he managed to add, "You're really handsome."
His honesty made your chest ache in the best way. You chuckled, the sound soft and warm as you leaned in closer. Slowly, you closed the distance between you, giving him plenty of time to pull away if he felt overwhelmedâbut he didn't. Instead, Matt met you halfway, his lips pressing against yours in a tentative kiss.
It deepened quickly, his nervousness giving way to something more heated. His hands gripped your waist more firmly, guiding you closer until your chests were flush against each other. Your fingers slipped from his cheeks to the back of his neck, threading through his hair as the two of you melted into each other.
Breaking the kiss with a soft gasp, you braced yourself on his broad shoulder, your other hand sliding between your bodies to wrap around his cock. Matt groaned immediately, his head falling back slightly as his grip on your waist tightened.
You angled his cock carefully, positioning yourself above him before slowly sinking down. The stretch was intense, the heat of him filling you inch by inch until he was fully seated inside of you. A broken moan escaped your lips, your forehead dropping to rest against his as you adjusted to the overwhelming sensation.
Matt's hands roamed your sides, his touch grounding you as he whispered your name like a prayer. "You feel⌠amazing," he murmured, his voice thick with emotion. His lips found your jaw, then your neck, trailing kisses along your skin as you began to move.
The rhythm you set was steady at first, each lift of your hips sending a jolt of pleasure through both of you. Matt's hands guided your movements, his fingers digging into your flesh as his breaths turned into soft groans. The friction between your bodies was electric, every thrust driving you closer to the edge.
As your head rested against Matt's shoulder, lost in the haze of pleasure, a new presence appeared in front of you. Josh leaned over the back of the couch, his hand cradling your cheek with playful intent. "Hey, beautiful," he said with a smirk, his other hand stroking his cock slowly as he watched you.
The invitation was clear and you didn't hesitate. Shifting slightly, you leaned forward, your lips parting as you took him into your mouth. Josh hissed sharply, his free hand tangling in your hair as you moved, the taste of him filling your senses.
The combined sensations of Matt's cock buried deep inside you, stretching and filling you with every thrust, and Josh's cock sliding over your tongue, his groans of approval, sent heat coursing through your veins.
"Fuck," Josh murmured under his breath, his voice strained as his hips bucked gently. His hand tightened in your hair, guiding you with just enough pressure to make your stomach twist with want.
Matt's thrusts grew more erratic beneath you, his grip on your hips almost bruising as he chased his release. "Fuck," he gasped, his lips brushing against your ear. "You're gonna⌠make meâŚ"
His words dissolved into a groan as he came, his cock pulsing inside of you as he spilled himself completely. The warmth of him, combined with the vibrations of Josh's groans above you, sent you hurtling toward your own climax.
Josh wasn't far behind, his hips stuttering as he held you in place, his cock twitching on your tongue as he finished. The taste of him flooded your mouth, Mattâs deep groans echoing in your ears as you swallowed around him.
There was no reprieve for you, not even a fleeting moment to catch your breath.
Mike's hands were firm as they gripped your shoulders, the warmth and strength of his touch pulling you from the hazy cocoon of pleasure you'd settled into against Matt. The sudden pressure made you lift your head, your eyelids heavy, your breaths still uneven. Your body felt like a live wire, every inch of you tingling as you turned to face him.
Mike was on one knee on the couch, his eyes dark and focused, silently commanding you without uttering a single word. He gave your shoulder another insistent tug and though Matt's hands tightened protectively on your hips, you allowed yourself to be guided. The slight shift made you clench unintentionally around Matt's still-hard cock, earning a sharp hiss from him. His fingers dug into your sides, his reluctance to let you go written plainly in the way his grip lingered.
You turned back to Matt briefly, leaning forward to plant a soft kiss on his lips, the tenderness of the gesture contrasting the heat still thrumming through your veins. When you pulled back, Matt chased your lips and you couldn't help but chuckle softly at the look on his face, brushing a thumb against his flushed cheek.
Matt's lips curved into a nervous smile as he exhaled slowly, his fingers releasing their hold on your hips with obvious reluctance.
Mike, ever impatient, didn't wait a second longer. His hands moved to your arms, pulling you toward him with a force that left no room for protest. His arms wrapped tightly around your frame, drawing you flush against his body.
"Miss me already?" Mike teased, his voice dripping with cocky amusement as one of his hands slid lower, palming your ass with an unapologetic squeeze.
His lips claimed yours rapidly. His mouth moved against yours with a hunger that left you breathless, his tongue pushing past your lips to tangle with your own. One of his hands tightened its grip on your ass before he pulled back slightly, just enough to raise it. The sharp smack that followed echoed in the room, the sting making you gasp against his lips.
Your protest muffled against his lips as he leaned in to kiss you. His mouth was relentless, his tongue claiming yours with an urgency that left you breathless. The sting of his earlier smack still lingered, the sensation heightened by the way his lips curved into a grin against yours before he deepened the kiss again, hands roaming greedily over your skin.
He maneuvered you easily, his hands guiding your upper body forward until you were on all fours on the couch. Mike's lips never left yours, his kisses growing fiercer, his tongue exploring every inch of your mouth like he couldn't get enough.
Your body trembled as you felt someone's breath ghosting over your entrance, the sudden contrast of cool air against your heated skin making you shiver. Before you could process it, Josh's tongue made contact, the first deliberate stroke sending a jolt of pleasure racing through you. The first deliberate swipe drawing a broken moan from your lips. His tongue teasing as it circled your entrance, alternating between soft, exploratory licks and firmer presses that made your breath hitch.
His lips wrapped around you as he gently sucked, his tongue swirling in deliberate circles. Every stroke of his tongue, every gentle graze of his teeth, was designed to make you lose yourself in the sensation. He just loved the way you reacted, the way your hands gripped Mikeâs shoulders in an attempt to ground yourself.
Josh slowly pulled back, his lips swollen and wet, his breath heavy as he looked up at you.
"Relax," he murmured, his voice low and rough, as his hands slid beneath you, cupping your butt softly. His fingers gently squeezed, his touch firm yet tender, as he spread you open, exposing you completely to him.
His tongue was on you again, gently circling around your entrance and moving in slow, deliberate strokes, gradually pressing deeper, pushing past the tight ring of muscle with a groan of satisfaction.
You couldn't hold back the moan that escaped your lips, your body arching slightly as Joshâs tongue worked deeper, exploring you from the inside out. His hands gripped your hips tighter, holding you steady as he pushed further, his tongue curling inside you in slow, rhythmic motions.
You could feel the heat building inside you, the pressure growing as his tongue moved in and out of you with practiced ease, his exhaustion only adding to the unhurried pace.
Meanwhile, Mike's kisses didn't falter. He tilted your head slightly to deepen the connection, his teeth grazing your bottom lip before his tongue swept back in. One of his hands slid up your back, tracing a path of heat that left your skin tingling, while the other continued to grip your ass, keeping you steady for Josh.
As if the two of them weren't already driving you insane, a third sensation joined the mix. Chris's hand wrapped around your cock, his grip firm but careful with strokes deliberate and measured.
Behind you, Matt hadn't been idle. His lips found the curve of your shoulder, his teeth grazing the skin there before pressing gentle kisses that trailed down your back. Every inch of exposed skin was claimed, his mouth alternating between soft bites and soothing licks that left you gasping.
Chrisâs thumb brushed over your sensitive tip, smearing the bead of pre-cum that had gathered there, and your whole body shuddered in response.
The four of them worked together seamlessly, their movements perfectly in tune as they pushed you closer and closer to the edge. Josh's tongue delved deeper. Mattâs teeth sank into the sensitive spot on your neck. Mike's kisses grew more fervent, his teeth scraping against your lips as his hand slid down to join Chris's, adding pressure to your already overwhelmed cock.
Chris's strokes quickened, his hand tightening ever so slightly as he watched your face for every reaction. "You're so close, aren't you?" he whispered, his lips brushing against your ear. "Just let go."
The words were your undoing. Pleasure surged through you like a tidal wave, your climax ripping through you with an intensity that left you gasping. Your cock pulsed in Chris's hand as he continued to stroke you through your orgasm, his touch gentle yet persistent.
Josh's tongue slowed as you came down, his hands rubbing soothing circles into your hips as your body sagged against the couch. Mike pulled back slightly, his forehead resting against yours as he caught his breath, his lips brushing against yours in a softer, lingering kiss.
Josh's warm hands left your skin, his mouth trailing off your body with one final swirl of his tongue that sent aftershocks rippling through you. His absence left you trembling, your body still taut with pleasure. You barely registered the squeeze he gave Chris's shoulder as he passed, the playful grin he shot his best friend accompanied by a teasing, "all yours, man. I think you'll appreciate how well I prepared him for you."
Chris swallowed hard, his eyes darting between Josh and you, his cheeks flushed. "Yeah⌠uh, thanks for that," he muttered, his voice tinged with nervous excitement as he moved into position. His hands were gentler than Josh's, cupping your ass softly as he knelt behind you. His touch lingered on the marks Mike had left, fingers tracing over the now faint red prints as though marveling at the sight of you so thoroughly claimed.
Mike's lips finally broke away from yours, leaving your mouth swollen and tingling from his relentless assault. His hands slid up to cup your cheeks, his thumbs brushing over your skin with surprising tenderness. "You good?" he asked, his voice rough with desire but carrying a genuine note of care.
You nodded, your breath hitching as his hands moved to the back of your neck, guiding you downward with a firm but steady pressure. Your gaze dropped to his cock, the thick length stood achingly hard, the head glistening as he brought it closer to your lips. "That's my boy," Mike muttered, his breath hot against your face. His lips quivered into a grin as he positioned you. "Show me how much you want it."
His hand buried itself in your hair, not forcing but guiding, his movements deliberate as he groaned low in his throat.
Your lips parted, taking him in slowly and the way he hissed above you only spurred you on. Mike's hand tightened in your hair as you worked your tongue over him, the salty tang of pre-cum mingling with the slick heat of your mouth.
"Fuck," Mike groaned, his voice gravelly as his hips began to move, a low groan rumbling in his chest as he began thrusting gently against your lips. "That's it. Just like that."
You slid your tongue up one side and down the other, slowly sucking him in as you began to take him deeper. You moaned around him, the sound vibrating against his dick as you kept moving, taking him deeper with each bob of your head.
Mike's hips began to move in time with your motions, his breath coming in harsh, uneven gasps as he fought to keep control, to keep from losing himself entirely to the pleasure you were giving him. But it was a losing battle, his control slipping as he let out a series of low, guttural grunts, his hands tightening in your hair as he pushed you closer, his need for release becoming more urgent.
You could feel him throbbing against your tongue, the tension in his body building with each passing second. You doubled your efforts, taking him as deep as you could, your hands gripping his thighs for support as you moved faster, more insistently, wanting nothing more than to push him over the edge, to hear him cry out your name as he came.
From behind, you felt Chris lining himself up, the blunt head of his cock pressing against your entrance. The anticipation made you gasp around Mike, your breath hitching as Chris slowly pushed forward. The stretch was exquisite, your body adjusting to him as he eased inch by inch. Chris's hands gripped your hips tightly, his touch steadying as he finally bottomed out with a soft, shaky moan.
"Holy shit," Chris murmured, his voice breaking as he began to move. His thrusts started slow, almost tentative, as though he was testing how far he could push you. But as you adjusted, his movements grew bolder, the rhythm of his hips building as his moans turned into barely suppressed curses.
The dual sensations were overwhelming. Mike's cock sliding over your tongue, his groans vibrating through your body, while Chris thrust into you from behind, filling you completely. Every movement sent sparks of pleasure shooting through you, your senses drowning in the intensity of it all.
Mike's hips bucked slightly, his pace growing more erratic as he chased his release. "Shit, you're so good at this," he panted, his hand tugging lightly at your hair as he thrust deeper.
Chris, behind you, wasn't faring much better. His hands tightened on your hips as his rhythm faltered, his thrusts becoming less measured and more desperate. His lips brushed against your back, leaving scattered kisses as his groans turned into soft whimpers.
The mix of groans, gasps, and whispered curses filled the room, blending with the wet, rhythmic noises of their bodies moving against yours. It was dizzying, the way they overwhelmed every sense, every nerve ending.
Matt had been close the whole time, his breaths uneven as he watched you unravel beneath Mike and Chris's relentless attention. His wide eyes tracked every movement, every gasp and groan that left your lips. His hand was wrapped tightly around himself, his strokes unsteady and desperate as he tried to keep up with the overwhelming heat of the moment.
As Chris's thrusts grew erratic behind you and Mike's cock throbbed against your tongue, Matt shifted forward, unable to stay on the sidelines any longer. He knelt beside you on the couch, his free hand hesitantly finding the curve of your waist, thumb brushing over your skin in slow, grounding strokes as his other hand quickened its pace.
The sight of your trembling body, the way you moaned and took everything the others gave you, pushed him closer to the edge. His soft groans filled the space around you, the tension in his movements palpable as his hand gripped you tighter, anchoring himself as he chased his release.
When he finally came, his head dipped forward, his breath hitching as warmth spattered across your skin. His release painted your back and sides in hot, sticky lines, each pulse accompanied by a low, barely suppressed moan. His touch lingered over the mess he'd made almost reverently as he muttered something incomprehensible under his breath, his voice low and hoarse.
Even as his breathing began to steady, Matt didn't pull away completely. He stayed close, his hand smoothing over your skin in soft, soothing circles, his presence grounding as the rest of the room spun with heat and noise
Chris was the next to reach his limit, his body tensing behind you as he buried himself deep, his cock pulsing inside you as he came. The warmth of his release sent a final jolt of pleasure through your body, your own moans muffled around Mike's cock.
Mike wasn't far behind. With a sharp tug on your hair, he groaned loudly, his hips jerking as he spilled himself into your mouth. His cock twitched against your tongue, the salty taste of him flooding your senses as he held you in place, his breaths ragged and uneven.
The room fell into a quiet hum, broken only by the sounds of heavy breathing and the soft rustling of bodies shifting against the couch. Mike's hand gently slipped from your hair, his fingers brushing against your cheek before he leaned back, still catching his breath. Behind you, Chris withdrew carefully, his touch lingering as though reluctant to let you go.
Mattâs hands made contact with your shoulders as he helped you sit. You sank onto the couch, your limbs trembling and your body still buzzing from the overwhelming sensations. A comforting warmth surrounded you as Chris wrapped an arm around your waist, his lips pressing a tender kiss to your shoulder. Josh, who had been watching the final moments with a mix of amusement and satisfaction, crouched beside you, his hand brushing a strand of hair from your damp forehead.
Mike stretched out beside you as he traced lazy circles on your thigh. "So⌠any regrets?" he asked, his tone playful but his gaze soft, almost vulnerable.
You shook your head, a tired smile tugging at your lips. "None."
"Good," he said, leaning in to press a quick kiss to your temple before settling back.
Chris rested his head on your shoulder, his fingers lacing with yours as he let out a content sigh. "We should probably clean up," he said, though the reluctance in his voice suggested he wasn't in any hurry to move.
Josh laughed softly, standing up and stretching. "Yeah, good luck with that. I'm just gonna sit back and enjoy the view for a little while longer."
Matt chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "I.. I can grab some towels or something."
The easy banter filled the room, the intensity of earlier fading into something warm and familiar. As you leaned back against the couch, surrounded by their presence, you felt a deep sense of contentment settle over you with this new connection between all of them.
Note: Consider this my (slightly late) Christmas gift to all of you! Writing this was an absolute blast, and I hope you had just as much fun reading it as I did creating it.
#mike munroe x reader#mike munroe x male reader#mike munroe#mike monroe#mike monroe x reader#mike monroe x male reader#chris hartley#chris hartley x reader#chris hartley x male reader#josh washington#josh washington x reader#josh washington x male reader#matt taylor x reader#matt taylor x male reader#matt taylor#male reader#x male reader#mlm#Fivesome#smut#gay#gay smut#brett dalton#bottom male reader#x bottom male reader#x bottom reader#bottom reader#until dawn x male reader#until dawn x reader#until dawn
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Just The T(hree)wo of Us
(I Put A Spell On You Part 3)
Pairing: Terrance (Foe) x Valerie (Plus Size Black Fem OC) x Junior (Foe) x Hen (Foe)
Warnings: SMUT, 18+ (MINORS, SCROLL AWAY), buildup (if you got the attention span of a squirrel, DONT READ), threesome, bxb, oral sex (f receiving, m receiving), titty sucking/fondling, bisexuality (from m and slightly, non-sexual from f), deepthroat (m and f), smoking, double vag penetration, masturbation, choking, ass eating , some femdom, some masdom, grinding, some slapping, dirty talk, praise kink, hair pulling, creampie (Terrance to Valerie), voyeurism, cussing, aftercare, drinking, drunk/high behavior, some jealousy, some angst, mentioning of upbringing (how they met), mentions of sexual harassment, mention of blood, and Non-Canon/Canon.
Parts: Part One ⢠Part Two ⢠Finale
Summary: After eating dinner, dancing with each other, and putting Hen in bed to rest from her drunkness, the remaining trio spend time together when things take a steamy turn.
A/N: Itâs here. My version of the perfect threesome that shouldâve happened for Foe. This was the one I was looking the most forward to because literally, despite the ever-growing homoeroticism tension between the men (which anyone who watched or read this felt) and just the chemistry we got between Aaron, Paul, and Saoirse, we got nothing. I felt like we got blue balls because how do you film that and not give us the gay shit or the bi shit? Also, some of the scientific things in here might be confusing, but this is a fanfiction after all. Hope yâall enjoy it!
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do not copy or repost my work. I do not authorize it.
đ˛ đ˛ đ˛ đ˛ đ˛ đ˛ đ˛ đ˛ đ˛ đ˛ đ˛ đ˛ đ˛ đ˛ đ˛ đ˛ đ˛ đ˛ đ˛ đ˛ đ˛ đ˛ đ˛ đ˛
The couples eat quietly at the table, saying a few words to each other. A few quick glances, drinking some of their wine, some laughter, and utensils move around.
Junior sips his wine as he looks at Valerie, clearing his throat.
âSo. Valerie.â he says, making her look at him.
âYes?â
âI know this is your last night here and we do appreciate you for staying with us in our home, even if we didnât make you feel like it. But, we were wonderingâŚâ
âHow did you two meet?â asks Hen, butting in.
âMe andâŚâ
âTerrance.â
âOh! I thought you meant me and your husband! Got a little worried there.â she said, making everyone laughing.
She clearly her throat as she looked at Terrance, who was patiently waiting for her to tell it.
âWell. Whatâs a romantic story without a sad background, right?â she smiled a little, grabbing his hand to hold as everyone nodded.
âIâm originally from New York, as you can tell since this gorgeous man is very British.â she chucked. âBut yeah. I was born there, but Iâm not sure whether I was born in a hospital or on the streets because from what they told me, I was abandoned a few hours later in Inwood Hill Park.â she added.
âOh my god.â said Hen, clutching her chest.
As she was about to speak again, Valerie feels her chest heating up, causing her to gently rub it.
âYou okay?â asked Terrance.
âMmhm. I just feel a little funny when I tell this story.â
âWe can stop if you want.â
âNo, no. Itâs okay.â she said, squeezing his hand. âBut, because they couldnât find my parents, specifically my mother, I was placed in foster care. Not that I have an interest in finding them now cause I really donât care. I bounced around a lot growing up. Some years, I was in Washington Heights. Other years, Harlem. And for the last three years of high school, Jamaica. A neighborhood in Queens, not the country, in case you got confused. But, because of this, my grades werenât that great, but I still managed to pass for the year and that was fine with me. I knew I wasnât going to college not because I couldnât afford it, but I didnât really think I had a future.â
She takes a sip of her wine as she carefully grabs one of Terranceâs hands and place it under her stomach, signaling to keep it eye on it.
âI was also picked on a lot for how I looked. Classmates, friends, roommates, even strangers. Same story you probably heard about any plus size person getting told about their health, compared to animals, statues, cars, food, even books. But that wasnât bothering me as I got older. It was when they were saying no one was gonna love someone like me, no wonder your people abandoned you, youâre a failure, and like those kind of mean things. Thatâs like something you canât get really get rid of and you just gotta hide it in your face or theyâre gonna think youâre weak, even if you know thatâs not true. As soon as I turned 18, I noticed I started getting treated differently.â
âYou did something good?â asked Junior.
She shakes her before taking another sip, feeling the sensation growing a bit, making her feel a bit uneasy.
âMaybe I shouldnât drink more of that.â she mumbled, pushing her glass towards Terrance, who takes it.
âDid you wanna change yourâŚâ he asked, signaling her tab.
âMmm. Not yet. Itâs notâŚ.messing with me.â she replied before clearing her throat. âSorry, where was I? Oh right. When you become legal, I guess most men start paying attention? I mean, I was always getting that, but always rejected it since I was underage and didnât want to deal with an older boyfriend like some girls unfortunately get groomed into doing. I had a boyfriend who was treating well until he felt like he can do better and just abandoned me. And of course, it was getting worse as I was getting harassed, stalked, and degraded almost every day that I had to quit so many jobs so I can avoid it. Of course, this was annoying my group home a lot since they felt like I was lazy when Iâm just protecting myself?â
The sensation began winding down as she shifted in a her seat, fixing her posture.
âThis went on until three months before my 21st birthday. The day after I quit another job, my friend told me that this post Columbia graduation party was looking for waitresses to serve drinks, offering $7.50 per hour + tips to work, as long as you were 21 and above. I declined because I wasnât that age and of course, she knew I was gonna say that because she immediately pulled out a fake I.D. with my face and fake information on there. So now, I canât say no!â she said, making everyone laugh.
âOh, you sound like you loved trouble.â said Hen, smiling at her.
âHen!â said Junior, irritated at her comment.
âItâs okay, sheâs not wrong. Itâs New York after all. Hope yâall get to visit one day.â said Valerie as she took a sip of her water.
âWe get to the party, dressed in our black tie, white dress shirt, black slacks, and black shoes uniform. It was starting off fine because everyone was behaving well, socializing, congratulating each other, you know, just being proud of finishing their degree. But like three hours later, almost everyone is torn up. Like, once all of the adults and responsible people left, the hard drinking, dancing, making out, joking around shit started. It was slightly getting bad that we had to secretly switch the alcohol out with water so we werenât responsible for anything that happens.â she continued.
âI went on break finally. And as I was sitting in an area where we were allowed, this group of drunken male graduates came up to me. I already knew what the hell was about to happen, so I was preparing to get away. The ringleader, as I like to call him, started harassing me and was like show your tits, Iâll pay you a $1000 to see em and was waving the money in my face. I almost gave in, but I knew better, so I said no and got up to leave, but his friend immediately shoves me back into seat, hovering over me. They beginning degrading me, saying Iâm just a big bitch who shouldnât have standards since Iâm not worthy, probably waiting until someone richer than them picks me, and basically the Iâm a nice guy monologue that Hen would probably know so many different versions of.â she said, looking at her.
âOh, please. Weâll be here all night.â she replies.
âSee! She knows the feeling. As Iâm getting bombardedâŚ.this tall, beautiful guy comes up, cursing them out. Telling them to fuck off, you donât wanna try me, Iâll whoop your ass in what I thought was very old New Yorker accent and they went finally away, ending the tormenting.â
âI canât believe you really thought I was from there.â said Terrance, gently pulling her into him.
âI mean, you did sound like you couldâve been raised in Hyde Park, but then again, it was late. But, he made sure I was okay, ask what was my name and we talked for very long time, very into everything I was saying. How he was from South London, was on a scholarship here, and now, just got his bachelorâs in bioinformatics, with a minor in space studies. Which told me he was the real deal. And he was starting at OuterMore very soon, working on the then-developing living in space program. Then I got kicked out.â
âWhat?â said Hen.
âWhy?â asked Junior.
âThe guys complained and I was late from my break. So, I didnât get paid. However, he came out, apologized for what happened and walked me home. He paid more than what I was suppose to get, but I didnât want to take it at first. Kept telling him I wasnât one of those girls, but he reassured that he knew that, giving me his number to call him.â she said, rubbing his face.
âShe was very nervous. I guess she was worried I was wasting her time, just trying to smash and go like they were calling it, but I wasnât. Most of the women Iâve dated had everything they worked that most successful men were looking to have on their arm. But me? I was just looking for someone that will make me happy, regardless of what they brought to the table. We went on a few dates to places she never been to, went shopping for new clothes, took her to do things she always wanted to do. All to see her smile, feeling the love that she always wanted.â said Terrance, rubbing her side.
They both looked at Hen and Junior, who were connecting very closely to the story theyâre hearing, sitting closer to each other.
âI can remember the day I moved out of my group home. Or, should I say, kicked out. They were upset that I was, once again, seeing Terrance for another date instead of getting another job that I got accused of being his sugar baby, which didnât make sense as Terrance is only three months older than me. So, I fought one of them.â she said, laughing at the last part.
âShe called me crying, telling me what had happened and I told her she canât stay there much longer. So, I drove over there as fast as I could and helped her move everything she owned into the car. She got her file, which had her birth certificate, social security card, and other documents that were very important and we left.â
âWere they fawning over you when you arrived?â asked Hen.
He scoffs, rolling his eyes.
ââŚit was fucking pathetic, Hen. Really. I told her not to hang up as she was packing whatever she could while I was on my way, and the whole time, they were insulting her. Saying the most disrespectful things over an assumption they made. But when I showed up, the energy changed. Oh wow, youâre cute, this is the guy Valâs been seeing?, you donât need her, you need me like absolutely pathetic.â
âI moved into his place and we stayed in, order some Indian for take out. While we were eating, he asked me what do I see myself doing if this relationship went further, saying itâs okay to be honestâŚ.so I told him the truth. I didnât want to work at all. I just wanted to be a stay-at-home wife and mom, taking care of the house, cooking since thatâs what I like to do, cleaning if its needed, crocheting, reading, just being home while he worked. And, I broke down crying, feeling like I wasnât the girl he wanted to be with since I have nothing remotely close to his achievements to offer. But instead of confirming it, he kissed me, saying he didnât care about me not having shit. He just cared about being in love with me and bringing me along his journey with OuterMore.â she smiled, eyes begin tearing up.
âAbout three days later, I got a call from my supervisor. He said he wanted me to begin working with them as an agent immediately instead of continuing to be their associate, being impressed with the work in my portfolio. After I accepted the offer, I went to this jewelry store she liked and bought her dream engagement ring.â he said, looking at her and the ring on her left hand.
âHe proposed to me at Inwood Hill a few hours later. Saying after six months of dating, listening to my past for hours, and thinking about the future I see for us, he decided that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me, wanting to take care of me and our family. I said yes, obviously. Then, that Thursday of the week, after buying our wedding bands, we eloped at a courthouse in lower Manhattan. I wore this creamy silk dress with a white fur sleeve, sparkly white pumps, natural makeup, a side part that the Hollywood Divas had, a red lip, and matching diamond choker and earrings. With these gorgeous red buds as my bouquet.â she says, staring into the distance.
âAnd I wore a black suit and black shoes, not wanting to outshine her.â he adds, making them both laugh.
âWe went to Miami for our honeymoon. Had so much fun being in the sun and going to salsa clubs. Then, we headed Cleveland, where he started the work on the program.â
âAnd now here we are. 8 years later.â
âStill going strong.â she said, hold her hand up to look at her engagement and wedding ring.
Terrance smiled, gently placing his hand with his band over hers. Hen watched them, fascinated by their love story while Junior looked at them with a puzzled look on him face.
âIs there a reason you havenât welcomed a baby yet?â he asked, skepticism filling his voice.
Terrance sends a glare, stiffening up. Valerie looks at Junior, panicking in silent as she fights the urge to not reveal her true self. She squeezes his hand, hoping to calm down.
âI work too much.â said Terrance, relaxing his jaw. âI always wanted to have kids when we are ready. But, because Iâm too focused on my assignments, I donât wanna bring in babies if Iâm not gonna be there for them. Or her.â
âWell. I hope you do have some. You two would be amazing parents.â said Junior before he gets up and walks out, stunning everyone.
ââŚ.did you say something wrong?â said Valerie, finally calming down.
âNo. Let him be. Heâs probably going back to his old self slowly. Which is normal for replicas to do when the real one is coming back.â said Terrance, looking down.
âI wanna apologize about what I said to you yesterday, Valerie. I shouldnât have assumed that you were using him when I was just reacting negatively to how both of you loving each other whileâŚ.me and him canât do the same. What I said came from a place of hate and Iâm sorry that I even said it.â said Hen, with an apologetic look in her eyes.
ââŚI accept your apology. But let me just tell you this as a way for you to understand: if it canât get fixed after itâs brokenâŚ.just let it go.â said Valerie, sending a small smile to her.
Hen nods shakily, understanding what she meant by that. Valerie wipes her face before standing up, fixing herself.
âDinner was delicious, but Ima go change before I eat some of my cake. Donât be greedy while Iâm gone.â she said, kissing Terranceâs forehead before heading towards the stairs.
âBaby, wait.â he mumbles, following her.
âHm?â she says, turning around to face him.
He steps closer, wrapping his hands around her waist, before placing a long, sweet kiss on her lips. She wraps her hands around his neck, kissing him back. She breaks it, catching her breath as he smiled, resting his chin on her head.
âJust because Iâm in your embrace, it doesnât mean youâre off the hook. Well, at least not yet. Understand?â she says, letting go of him.
âYes, maâam.ââ he replied quietly, watching her walk up the stairs.
ââŚ.you really do love her.â said Hen.
âSheâs all I have. And Iâm all she has.â he responds, walking back into the dining room, and picking up their plates before heading to the kitchen. Hen takes a swigs of her wine before getting up to do the same thing.
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Changing out of her dress to a black, silky wrap dress that enhances her chest by pushing them up, she stands in front of the bathroom mirror, taking in her beauty.
Looking down, she unzips a black pouch and opens it up. Inside, its holds full and empty tabs: mini bullet shaped tablets, covered in the âOuterMoreâ logo and serial numbers, that holds a light green liquid, specialized to keep her up and running without ever going bad. She changes it monthly since thatâs how long it lasts, getting a yearly supply.
Picking up her magnetic tool, she places it on her upper left tricep, watching it connect to a spot, which lights up a glowing, white âOuterMoreâ circular logo before it opens, sticking out a bloody covered empty tab. Using a cotton pad, she pulls it, disconnecting it from its hold. feeling the pressure releasing. Picking up a new one, she groans as she inserts it, feeling it connect before the circle sucks it, closing it.
Afterwards, she cleans the empty tab before placing it in the pouch and zipping it, washing her hands before walking out of the bathroom. After closing the door, she turns to head back down, but is stopped as Junior stands in front of her, leaning against the wall. She puffs, giving him a stern look.
âWhatever youâre about to say, I donât wanna hear it.â she states as she turns.
Junior grabs her arm, gently pulling back and pinning her against the door. He steps into her space, breathing hard.
âIf you mention it to Hen, I swearâŚ.â
âYou swear to what? Youâre gonna hurt me? Reveal that I got turned on by you watching us fuck like an audience member watching a play? Because he already knows and if anything, it makes him want you even more.â she said, tracing over his face.
Junior, alarmed by her reaction, steps back slowly. She smiles evilly, leaning forward.
âThis isnât over. This is just the beginning.â she whispered, glaring at him before heading downstairs.
Junior leaned against the wall, trying to figure out what she was meant by that.
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Junior walks into the kitchen and grabs a beer. As he grabs a seat in the dining room, he overhears a song playing in the living room.
He looks and sees Hen sitting on the edge with a glass of wine as Valerie was eating some of her cake. They were watching Terrance, smoking and drinking, walk around the room as he began to recite the lyrics of the song playing:
I did not become someone different
That I did not want to be, as he walks to where Junior was watching, smoking his blunt before blowing the smoke out and putting up his fist.
But I'm new here
Will you show me around?, he said, looking at both Hen and Valerie.
âMaybe.â Hen replies in a flirty way.
âWatch it.â said Valerie, looking at her. Hen throws her hands up in a surrendering way as Terrance starts walking towards them slowly.
No matter how far wrong you've gone, he says, posing in front of them.
You can always turn around, as he nods with the blunt positioned in front of him, making all of them laugh as he takes another hit.
Met a woman in a bar, as he blows out the smoke and takes a seat between the women, sitting slightly closer to Hen.
Told her I was hard to get to know, as Junior walks in, taking a seat in one of the chairs across from the trio.
And near impossible to forget, as Valerie looks at him.
She said I had an ego on me, as Terrance leans in her space.
The size of Texas, as he kisses her neck, surprising her, who hits him in his chest, making him and Hen laugh.
Valerie grabs his wrist with the blunt, hits it, and blows in face before kissing him passionately, both fighting for control before she breaks it, chuckling on his shoulder. He smiles as he leans near Hen, who is slowly getting even more drunk as Junior watches, having an invidious look on his face.
âReady?â asked Terrance.
No matter how far wrong you've gone, as him and Hen sang, with the latter mumbling it.
âYeah..go..1, 2, 3, 4.â he whispered, holding an invisible microphone in front of her.
You can always turn around, as the trio sang happily, smiling and giggling.
âWow, weâre all fucked.â said Valerie as she nibbled on her slice.
Terrance lets out a laugh as he places his glass on the table before leaning back and smoking. Valerie sips some of her wine as she gently rubs his thigh, making him send her a lustful look.
And I'm shedding plates like a snake, as Hen gets up, placing her glass on the table.
She does a playful hissing and snake hand motion towards Junior, who gets up to get away, but she pulls him back, begging him to stay. They spin for a moment as Valerie and Terrance, now laid out on the couch, watches.
âThatâs it, man!â said a gleeful Terrance as Hen begins to kiss on Juniorâs neck, making him blush. He looks at Valerie with an itch in his eye before leaning close to Henâs ear, face dropping.
âI donât want you two talking about me anymore.â he says loudly, but Hen ignores, still rubbing and kissing on him.
Terrance chuckles as Valerie watches with pity, feeling very bad for Hen in this moment. Junior begins kissing back, but she slowly begins to pull away, mood becoming sour.
âHey, thatâs it! Thatâs the spirit!â said Terrance, not understanding whatâs going on as his eyes are half closed.
âDonât make this even worse, baby.â said Valerie, sipping more.
Hen angrily walks off, leaving Junior alone with his embarrassment. She goes to their music box in the dining room and cuts the song abruptly, snapping Terrance out of it.
ââŚ.what happen?â he asks, looking at Junior, who looks back at him.
âYour hardheaded subject is a fucking mood killer.â said Valerie as she got up with her glass, walking to where Hen was.
Terrance watches her in a confused manner as Junior stood there, said nothing. In the dining room, Hen is finding the next song as Valerie appears next to her.
âHey. Are you okay?â she asks, placing her hand on her shoulder.
âIâll be fine. Heâs just cranky.â said Hen, still searching.
âYou have got to stop excusing him, Hen.â
âVal, please. I donât wannaâŚâ
âJust find the song.â she said, slowly becoming irritated.
After a few more minutes of searching, she finds the song, pressing play on it:
âOh, I love this song here!â Valerie exclaims, slowly moving to the beat.
Hen walks to where the wine bottle was, pouring the remaining inside her glass, and drinking it. She joins Val, dancing along to the beat.
âWhat happen?â Terrance asked again, looking at Junior, who is also dancing slowly.
âAh, fuck it.â he replied.
âYou didnât like us singing?â
âNo.â
Terrance lets out a laugh as Junior continues dancing, not paying him no mind.
âOh, youâre in for a good time.â he mumbled, drinking out of his glass.
The women begin dancing with each other, doing a coupleâs routine.
The boy could sing, knew how to move, everything, as they spanned.
Always wanting more, he'd leave you longing for, as they dipped.
Black velvet and that little boy's smile, as they sang.
Black velvet with that slow southern style, as they span again.
A new religion that'll bring ya to your knees, as Valerie turns Hen forward, bringing her close and places her hands on her hips.
Black velvet if you please, as they grinded slowly into a semi-squat, surprising Hen.
âOh, so you get down like this?â she asked, standing up with her. Valerie laughed, gently moving them back and forth.
âOnly if the men stopped dancing. Or if Iâm attracted to you.â she replied, turning her around to face her.
Hen makes a giddy expression, wrapping her hands around her neck.
âSo youâre saying I have a chance?â she asked curiously, making both of them smile.
âThatâs only if you actually want to be with a woman. And based on everything I know about you, you donât have it.â she replied, spinning them around as Hen gasped.
The way he moved, it was a sin, so sweet and true, as they span.
Always wanting more, he'd leave you longing for, as they dipped.
Black velvet and that little boy's smile, as they sang, off-key this time.
Black velvet with that slow southern style, as they span again.
A new religion that'll bring ya to your knees, as Hen turns Valerie forward, bringing her close and slowly creeping her hand around her neck
Black velvet if you please, as they grinded slowly into a semi-squat, with her gently squeezing it, making Valerie smirk.
âLiked the response, but youâre still not selling it.â she said, causing Hen to scoff as both women laugh.
Suddenly, they hear someone clear their throat. As they looked up, they see Junior leaned against the frame, staring at them with an exasperated look. Hen, scared of what heâll do, steps back but falls after her dress catches the ledge of the chair.
âOw!â she yelps.
âWow! Two in a row for mood killing, Junior.â said Valerie as she kneels to help her.
âOh, donât act like you wasnât just grinding on her!â he yells, now angry.
âItâs called dancing with each other to the vibe of the song, which sounds like you donât quite understand!â she said, helping Hen up.
Hen groans, rubbing her head. Junior rolls his eyes, not saying anything before walking into the kitchen.
âI think Iâm done for the night.â she mumbled, now sleepily.
âWant me to help you to bed?â asked Valerie.
Hen nods, putting her arm around her waist as she does the same. They began walking, passing Junior on the way out as Valerie looks at Terrance.
âBaby, can you be a good boy and bring Hen a slice of the cake, maybe two ibuprofens, and a glass of water?â she asks as they head up.
âYeah. Iâll be up in a second.â said Terrance, getting up to walk to the kitchen.
Junior, drinking another beer, watches Terrance take out a plate and slicing a piece of the cake, plating it before grabbing a glass and filling it with water from the pitcher. Placing the glass near the plate, he examines the cabinet until he find the ibuprofen bottle and shakes out two pills, placing them on the plate.
âYouâre fine with your wife dancing on mines like that?â Junior asks, breaking the silence.
âWe been kissing behind their backs for months.â
âSo? That doesnât make it okay.â
âI guess you two are almost even.â he replies, grabbing the plate and glass, walking towards the stairs.
âAnd Iâm suppose to carry on while youâre not even mad?!â
âJunior.â he says, turning to look at him. âSheâs attracted to women. Always has been. I know her type. Henâs not one of them.â
He continues walking, with Juniorâs tensive gaze following him.
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Gently placing Hen in bed, Valerie moves over to let Terrance place the glass and plate on the nightstand before he goes out, closing the door behind him.
âAlright. When you wake up in the morning, you take at least one pill. If itâs even worse, take both. Eat some of the cake when you keep waking up. Helps with the nausea.â she said, placing the cover over Hen as the latter watches.
She gently traces over Valerieâs chest, making her breathe steady before removing her hands away. She leans forward, gently pushing Henâs hair back.
âHen. Donât get me wrong, you are a beautiful woman. But, I know this is not what you truly want. Youâre just doing this to get back at him for what he did tonight. Or youâre scared of the real Junior not meeting your needs when he comes home. Remember what I told you to do.â she states, looking at her.
She kisses her hands before getting up, walking to the door.
ââŚI donât want him to go!â Hen cries out, sniffling.
Valerie sighs, turning to look at her.
âThen spend enough time with him tomorrow. At least you get an extra day alone with him. Try to treasure your memories before they take him.â
âAnd you feel nothing? Not even a bad feeling?â
âLike I saidâŚ..Iâm used to itâŚ.Iâm used to everything.â
She stood there, thinking about everything sheâs witnessed since becoming a life long replica of Valerie. While thereâs always the good moments, the bad ones seem to be the ones that stay in her mind as they shut them off after their final goodbye.
âGood night, Valerie.â said Hen, slowly closing her eyes.
âGood night, Hen.â she replied, walking out the door.
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As Valerie walks to her room, the door of the room, that Junior and Terrance were in earlier, opens. Terrance pops out, looking at her.
âHey.â he says.
âHey.â she says, smiling a little.
âDid you want to come and sit as I examine Junior?â
âExamine? Ainât it a little too late for that?â
âYeah, butâŚâŚhe seems a littleâŚ..tense. And I think you and I can help him with that.â he says, gently pulling her close.
ââŚ.are you insane? I thought you wouldnât violate your policy, putting all of us in jeopardy!â she said, pushing him back. He laughs, pulling her back.
âWe can erase it. Itâs not hard and only takes 30 minutes. I can do it tomorrow after I take you home. PlusâŚâ
He trails off as he places kisses on her neck, making her tense up, heat rising all over her.
âYou admitted to him watching us. So Why. Donât. We. Punish. Him?â he says in between kisses as he rubs her breasts.
Valerie laughs, moaning quietly as she rubs Terranceâs length through his pants while looking at a very shirtless, drunk Junior, whoâs facing the wall, back towards them.
âFine. As long as Iâm in control.â she replied, walking into room.
âAlways.â he whispers, closing the door behind him, which startles Junior.
âWhat the fuck, man?â he asked, turning to look at him.
He stops, looking at Valerie, who winks at him before taking a seat on the bed. Terrance walks over to a box, retrieving a small device dot as he turns on the control system, which detects breathing, water intake, and heartbeating.
âValerie is going to sit in if thatâs okay.â he says, looking at Junior.
âYeah. Thatâs fine.â he replied, still looking at her.
Terrance walks over, standing on his right as he turns him forward while Valerie lays across the bed.
âHold your arm up like this.â he says, gently lifting Juniorâs arm up.
âHave you two been drinkinnnng?â he asks drunkly, holding the arm up.
âI think we all been drinking.â replied Valerie, making all three of them laugh.
Terrance places the dot on his armpit, looking at him while pressing it down to seal it. Junior looks at him, a glare in his eyes as Valerie watches.
âIs something bothering you?â he asks.
âMmmm.â as he shakes his head.
ââŚI can feel it in you.â
âNoâŚ.its more like an awakening.â he replied, lifting his left arm up.
Terrance nods, removing his hands as he turned to grab his glass of wine off the nightstand, walking back to the box as he signals Valerie to ask the next question on the paper next to her.
âAnd how has this awakening affected Hen?â she asks, making him turn to look at her in a discreetly manner.
He laughs, letting out a strange sound as Terrance watches.
ââŚ.are you working with OuterMore too?â he asks.
âWhat makes you think that?â
âAsking questions about Hen. Suddenly showing concern for her? Was that story you were telling earlier planned? Did he tell you to do that?â
âOh yes. I faked everything for sympathy, especially for the one whoâs trying to save their marriage.â she replied sarcastically, making Terrance laugh.
âYouâre fucking sick. Him being here and asking questions about her is sick, youâre being okay with itââ
âBack at square one.â she mumbled.
âEverything is just fucking sick with you two.â
âLook, she was just wondering as itâs apart of the questions. You donât have to be rude about it.â said Terrance as he places a bracelet on Juniorâs left wrist.
âWhat is that?!â he says, looking at it.
âIt monitors your hydration. Does she tells you what she likes?â he asks, handing Valerie a glass of water.
Junior looks at him, very confused about the question as Valerie scoots to lay against the railing, retrieving the water.
ââŚwhatâs that?â
Valerie chuckles, sipping her water as she knows where her husband is going with this.
ââŚyour wife, Junior. Is she open and honest with her preferences?â asks Terrance, whoâs voice goes a little deep.
âAbout what?â
âCome onâŚyou knowâŚ.fucking.â he replies with a delicious lustful tone on the last word.
Valerie groans a bit, slightly becoming aroused by his questioning as Junior, who is slowly becoming annoyed but turned on, stares at him.
âIs she explicit about what she likes?â
âYouâre sick.â said Junior.
âWhat she needs.â
âFuck you.â he said, giggling as Terrance continued.
âEvery relationship depends on open and honest communication, you know that.â he says as he sits down in his chair.
âOh, fuck you.â
âHeâs not hearing it at all.â said Valerie, now rubbing her leg.
âItâs fine. Its fine. Itâs just a conversation.â he says, giggling along with Junior, who now stares at the both of them.
Junior slowly gets up from his chair, turning it to face forward, before sitting down, keeping an intense glare on Terrance, who matches his energy.
â..do you enjoy playing with us?â asks Junior.
âPeople fascinate me. You-you two fascinate me.â said Terrance, looking at Valerie, who is now sitting forward.
âIs that how you keep your marriage alive?â
ââŚ.I listen to her preferences. Her needs. Her orders. Even if she doesnât say it explicitly.â he replied, not taking his eyes off her.
âOh. So youâre not the one in control.â
âNever was. And he wanted it that way.â said Valerie, getting up.
âOh really?â
She nodded, gently tracing Terranceâs arms as she slowly walked around him, making him lick his lips.
âHe was bored of being in control while making love, felt like it should be an equal thing that shouldnât be looked down on. So, I asked him what did want me to do.â she says as she stands in front of him, facing Junior.
ââŚ.what did he say?â
âBark orders. Tell him what to do, choke him, tease him, slap him, punish him, was into degrading until I got a little uncomfortable, and my favorite: denying him of release.â she says as she sits on his lap, feeling his length poking at her.
âDoes he know you like being watched like a fucking whore would?â he asks, looking at the both of them.
Valerie chuckles as she begins kissing Terrance, grinding against his length, which makes him let out a few groans. Junior looks away, moving his hands to cover his now growing length. Terrance breaks the kiss, looking at him.
âShe already admitted that when she told me you were there the night I was fucking her against the couch. The same day you got on your knees and sucked me off while Hen was out.â he said, making Junior look at him in an appalling way and Valerie laughing, getting up.
She knew they kissed a few times, but Junior blowing Terrance, even though he hates them? Oh, this just makes this night even more interesting and exciting for her.
ââŚ.I thought you werenât real. Assumed the wife thing was just him lying about his attraction.â he confessed, looking at her with a pathetic look.
âSo thatâs why you were out there? You were hoping he was really alone so you two could fuck and Hen wouldnât find out. Tsk tsk.â she replied, taking a swig from Terranceâs wine glass.
She gently tracing over Juniorâs chest, taking in everything she just found out just in this moment. She slowly sits in his lap, hearing him wince as her ass rubbed against his length as Terrance looks on, gently rubbing his own.
âYou know, babyâŚ..you did a good job choosing the first man, Iâll give you that. But him though? Oh, you definitely wanted a brat to fuck.â she says, hearing Terrance chuckle.
âFirst man? You guys are open?â asks Junior.
âNo. Weâre almost that, but it was just me bringing home women I wanted to fuck and sharing with him. I donât know whatâs it called, but itâs that.â she says, wrapping her arms around him.
âYou do this with all of your subjects? Risking your job while lying to their partners?â said Junior, getting heated.
âDonât pretend you didnât go along with it when youâre the one who made the first move.â said Terrance.
âPlease. How many men have you said that to?â
âYouâre the first one. I made sure to never hook up with any of the female subjects, wives, or girlfriends as a way to protect his job. Hell, I didnât think he would actually get attracted to a man ever. Until he got assigned to you. And suddenly, you started to pop up in his mindâŚâ
She begins moving her hips against his clothed length, making Junior hold in his groans as Terrance becomes even more aroused.
âHe probably was thinking about you while he was fucking me. Imagining you twisted all up on the couch, stroking yourself as he pounds that attitude out of you, basically dominating you as you moaning under him.â she said, gently sucking his neck.
âMy god, yâall are sick.â he whispered, groaning at the sensation of her essence soaking him.
She stops abruptly, making Junior hold a scowl at her. She removes her arms, placing them at her sides.
âSo push me off. Since you hate it so bad. Be a real man like you are.â
He looks at Terrance, who is waiting for him to make the next move. Looking her up and down, he takes in her beauty, understanding why Terrance chosen her as his wife. Who wouldnât want to be with this beautiful woman forever?
Looking down to where the string is, he pulls it, which unwraps and opens her dress, exposing her breasts and underwear. He removed it, tossing it to the side as he looks at her breasts, salivating at the roundness and hard nipples. He gently touches them until she raised his arms up, holding them hostage. She smiles at him, leaning in.
âYouâre gonna obey me and Terrance. Which means no touching, including yourself, no fucking unless one of us tells you to move, and no disobeying. Understand?â she said, leaning over him.
ââŚyes.â he nodded, locking eyes with her.
Valerie motions Terrance to come to them, which he does. She gently pulls him down to her, placing a sloppy kiss on his mouth before turning back to Junior, who watches hungrily. She traces his mouth with her fingers before giving him a sloppy kiss as well, with him slightly fighting back.
âDonât get too greedy, baby.â whispered Terrance, rubbing her back.
She pulls away, moving to the side a bit as she pulled Terrance to Junior, backing up to give them space. The men hesitated for a moment before embracing in a kiss, with Terrance wrapping his hand around Juniorâs neck. She carefully slides out of Juniorâs lap, walking to get a sip of water.
Terrance breaks the kiss, breathing very hard as he smirks at Junior, lust consuming the both of them. He picks him up by the neck, almost having him off his feet and suffocating him.
âWhat do you want to do with our toy?â he asks, looking at her.
She sips her water before walking over them, rubbing Juniorâs face. She tugs at his pants, unbuckling them and removing it, leaving him with a growing tent in his underwear. She touches it, making him flinch before kissing his cheek.
âI want to see how he blew you. Wondering if he did a good job.â she said, kneeling down to her knees.
Terrance moans, letting Junior go and begins removing his clothes. Valerie motions Junior to kiss her on the neck, in which he does as she gently slides her hand into his underwear.
âWow. Youâre very hard and submissive.â she mumbled, gently stroking his length, making him moan quietly.
After throwing his underwear to the side, Terrance stands in front the duo, stroking his length as Valerie removes her hand, gently wrapping it around his length.
âLadies first.â said Junior, making all three of them laugh.
Moving herself in position, she engulfs him into her mouth, earning a loud groan from Terrance. She grabs Juniorâs hands and places them on her hair, signaling him to hold it. She continues sucking him, gently massaging his balls as she strokes the rest, keeping her eyes up at Terrance. Junior watches intensely, feeling warmth growing inside of him.
âYou wanna make Hen happy? Let her take control in the bedroom.â said Terrance, groaning immediately as Valerie takes him out, catching her breath.
She moves back, letting Junior get in her position. Terrance lifts his face up, tapping the side of his mouth to signal âopenâ, which he does, sticking his tongue. He taps his tip on it, rubbing it for a few moments before sliding into his mouth, using his head as leverage as he begins fucking it. Junior, taken aback by the move, placing his hands on his thighs to push back, but receives a hard slap on his ass from Valerie.
âPut them down. Just breathe through your nose and keep your balance.â she says, pushing his arms down.
Terrance begins moving his hips forward, carefully going a sluggish pace as Junior tries to keep his balance, but pulls away, coughing very hard. Valerie laughs, standing next to him.
âWatch me.â she says, inserting Terranceâs length back into her mouth, but removing her hands.
He resumes his pace, with the sounds of her slurping and gagging filling up the room. She stops him, catching her breath. She gently strokes him as she guides Junior to his length by his neck.
âDo what I did. Just without falling or choking.â she whispers, inserting Terrenceâs length into his mouth.
Junior focuses on breathing and keeping himself up as he matches his aggressive pace, hearing him moan loudly as he hits the back of his throat a few times. Valerie watches, aroused by him pleasuring her husband with his mouth.
Noticing how close Terrance was to his release, she removes his length from his mouth, making him exhale hard. He leans down to kiss her passionately before doing the same to Junior.
âWhere do you want us next?â asked Terrance, looking at Valerie.
She points at the bed with her head before getting up to lay on it. The men followed, each sitting on one side of her: Junior on her right and Terrance on her left. She pulls the both men into a big kiss before moving each one to one of her breasts, in which both begin to suck, nibbling a bit.
âFuck, that feels so good.â she moans, rubbing their heads.
Terrance begins kissing down to her pussy, rubs his hands over the lace as he looks up at Junior, who is now fondling her other breast with his hand.
âBaby, can you blow him for me as I devour you?â he asks, tracing Juniorâs shoulder.
She nods as she gently removes him from her breasts, lies down on the bed, with her legs opening up for him as she ushers Junior into standing up in front of her. As she pulls down his underwear, his hard length bounces out, making her let out a gasp.
âOh, you been waitingâŚâ she says, wrapping her hands around it, gently stroking and placing kisses on it, making him close his eyes and groan at the sensation.
âEyes on me, Junior.â she said, sliding her underwear down as Terrance removes it, propping her legs on his shoulders before licking her slit, making her flinch.
âYouâre tense, huh?â he asked, looking at her before sucking her clit.
She lets out a few moans before engulfing Juniorâs length into her mouth, stroking the rest that couldnât fit. She places one of his hands on one of her breasts, signaling him to fondle it as Terrance inserts two fingers inside, gently plumping in and out of her.
The sounds of Juniorâs moaning, Valerieâs gagging, and Terranceâs slurping fills the room as both Junior and Valerie feel their release building. Valerie pushes Terranceâs head down deeper as she gently massages Juniorâs balls to add to the feeling.
Just as Junior was almost close, she releases his length from her mouth, watching it move up and down as the latter catches his breath.
âIs this what yâall meant?â he asks, falling next to her on the bed.
âMmmhmm.â is all she could get out as Terrance sped up his pace, rubbing her clit while licking it.
After letting out a few more moans, she came very hard, wetting more of his face with her essence as she shooked under his hold. Letting out a pop! sound, he gets up, wiping his face before sucking off his fingers. He leans down and kisses her, biting her lip in the process.
âWhatâs our next order?â he asks.
âI wantâŚI want you to fuck him.â she said exhaustively, tapping Juniorâs leg.
Junior laughed before turning on his stomach, getting on his knees as Terrance retreats to retrieve a condom. Valerie looks up at him, who looks down at her.
âRemember: just breathe and donât lost your balanceâŚ..unless the pain doesnât simmer.â she said, touching his face.
He nods as Terrance returned, with a condom wrapped around his length and lube. He fixes his position, placing a pillow under his chest as he arched Juniorâs back a little more. Lightly slapping his ass, he squeezes some lube on his hole, spreading it with his tip, watching it clench a few times.
âYou begging for me real bad, huh..â he mumbled, gently poking at it.
âDonât do thatâŚ..youâre gonna make me cum quickly.â Junior whines, trying to pull away, but receives a hard slap on his right cheek, making him let out a muffled yelp.
âFix your posture. Donât make me tell you again.â
Junior obliged, moving back towards him as he lined himself at his entrance. Holding his hips with one hand as the other inserts his length inside carefully, they both let out a loud groan, with Terrance leaning himself over him.
âBreathe, breathe, breathe.â whispered Valerie into Juniorâs ear, rubbing his back as he let outs harsh breaths.
Terrance moved his hips a bit to fill in more, making Junior tense up bit. He pulls out, kneels down and begins to trace his hole with his tongue, giving him good licks, making him press backwards.
âFuckâŚâ mumbled Junior, not used to feeling this amazing pleasure, but it being done by a man. Boy, he hopes Hen never finds out about this.
Valerie gently kisses his back, locking eyes with Terrance, who is very focused on stretching Junior out. He stops, pushes him back gently, and re-inserts himself, this time fully inside. He begins a canny pace, smacking his ass with his pelvis.
âIs that the best you can do?â he asks, looking slightly at Terrance, who has an animality look on his face.
âYou want that?â he replied, smiling with an evil smirk.
ââŚdo it. Donât be a pussy in front of her.â
Valerieâs jaw drops, holding in a laugh as she removed herself from his back. Oh, he definitely set something off in him because suddenly, Terrance grabs his neck to pull him towards his chest and begins going at a rapid pace, thrusting very hard.
âFuck, fuck, fuck!â is all he could get out, feeling Terrance squeezing his neck hard, grunting loud in his ear.
âThatâs it. Submit. To. Me!â he says, shoving Junior down to the bed, continuing his brutal pounding.
Juniorâs moans fill the room as he fills himself building up again, clenching around him.
âItâs too much, please.â he whines, trying to push him back but gets his arms put in a hold, making him let out an evil laugh.
âNah, be a good toy and taking it like a good one should.â he says, slapping his ass a few times.
As Terrance gives him a few more thrusts, he pulls out, preventing him and his own release and falls into the chair. Junior winces, once again being denied as the men catch their breaths. A few moments later, he gets flipped onto his back, feeling a condom being wrapped around his member.
âWhatâs next?â he asks weakly.
âTurn on your side.â said Valerie, pecking his nose.
He does so, placing a pillow under him as Valerie lays in front, her back facing him. She grabs one of his hands and places it on her rib as she moves the other one under her leg, hooking it. She takes his length and inserts it in her pussy, both letting out groans.
âMatch his pace. Donât go too rough.â she said, moving his hand to her neck.
Junior begins thrusting his hips in a snappily motion, his balls slapping her lips. She lets out a slew of moans and gasps, gently rubbing her clit. He squeezes her neck tightly, picking up his pace.
âYou like that? Being fucked in front of your husband after he just got done fucking me?â he whispered, earning a audible moan from her as he locked eyes with Terrance, who is stroking him.
She turns her head to passionately make out with him, with him continuing his thrusts. Unknownst to them, Terrance gets up, lays behind Junior, and re-enters from behind, making him groan and stop.
âNah, donât stop. Come on.â he slaps his ass. âContinue.â as he thrusts into him.
Junior resumes, matching each thrust as he hits Valerieâs sweet spot consistently, making her let out some tearful moans. Terrance smirks, placing wet kisses all over his shoulder.
âThere you goâŚ.fighting back a bit.â
âYou close?â
âNo. You?â
âAlmost. She canât stop clenching around me.â
âSheâs close too.â
Valerie laughs hoarsely as both pick up their pace, sloppily thrusting into each other. After a few more thrusts, the trio all cum simultaneously, with Valerie shaking and squirting under Junior as both him and Terrance fill up their condoms. All catching their breaths as Terrance removes himself from Junior, with the latter removing himself from Valerie.
â..We..weâre not done, are we?â asked Junior, looking between the couple.
Both shake their heads, making Junior chuckle weakly. Terrance gets up, grabs a sip of wine before removing his semen filled condom, tossing it in the trash. He picks up Valerie and places her on top of Junior, gently reinserting his length inside of her.
âFuck.â she whined.
âHold still.â said Terrance, fixing their position.
Then, he inserts himself inside her, making her groan and shoot up as Junior gasps, not knowing they were both gonna fuck her inside at once.
âWait, doesnât this hurt?â Junior asked in a worrying tone.
She looks down at him, tears in her eyes. She shakes her head, smiling at him with a mesmerized expression. Oh my god, we broke her he said in his mind.
âNo. He just remembered a fantasy I told him about.â she said, before turning to give him a kiss.
Terrance kisses her back before turn her forward, pushing her down before he started to pound her, earning some vulgar sounds from her that mixed in with her wetness. Junior watched, seeing her enjoy being dominated as sheâs on top of him.
âHey.â he said, lightly slapping Juniorâs face. âJust because Iâm up doing my job, doesnât mean you can sit back and enjoy. Start moving those hips.â
Junior obliged, pumping his hips upwards as she wrapped her hands around his neck, keeping her balance up. Terrance grabs her hair, making her arch her back.
âLook at you. Taking me and him very hungrily. You wanted this to happen, didnât you?â
âMmhm.â she said, earning a hard slap on her ass, making her yelp.
âWhen I ask you a question, I expect an answer, not a sound. So let me ask you again: you wanted this to happen, didnât you?â he asks again, giving her deep thrusts.
âYes! Ever since that night he was watching us!â she responded, squeezing Juniorâs neck, making him moan.
âLook at you two. Both sharing me while all over each other. You think I wouldnât notice?â
âNo. No, sir.â said Junior, grunting as he feels himself getting ready to release again. Terrance smirks, leaning forward to topple over Valerie, speeding up his pace.
âGood job, toy. Now help me make her cum again.â he says, kissing on her neck.
The men continuously hit Valerieâs sweet spot, making her clench and moan loudly as she eagerly attempts to keep up, but failing as her body started to tense up.
Junior pulls out, removing his semen filled condom to stroke himself, doing this until his expletive filled release came, shooting on him and Valerieâs thighs. Terranceâs luscious release follows behind, releasing his load deeply inside, making Valerie meet her euphoric release a few moments later.
The trio kisses each other one last time before collapsing on the bed, catching their breaths. After a few minutes, Terrance get up and walks out of the room, leaving the door open to hear water running from the bathroom. Coming back in with a bowl and towels, he gently wipes both of them, getting rid of the sweat and fluids that are all over their bodies before doing it to himself. Valerie looks at Junior, who begins to fall asleep.
ââŚ.we wore your ass out, huh?â asked Valerie, rubbing his face.
âMmhm.â he said, slowly falling asleep.
Terrance lays next to her, kissing her shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her.
âHow you feel?â he asks.
âPleased. Exhausted. A little worried she may have heard us.â
âShe wonât know. And heâll forget when I erase the memories. This only happened between just the two of us.â
âOr three if you wanna be technical.â
Terrance smiles before kissing her, falling asleep as Valerie looked at the door. She thought to herself what if she was actually listening and is planning to snitch, but erased it from her mind, thinking we can say she was very drunk and probably imagined it before falling asleep.
đ˛ đ˛ đ˛ đ˛ đ˛ đ˛ đ˛ đ˛ đ˛ đ˛ đ˛ đ˛ đ˛ đ˛ đ˛ đ˛ đ˛ đ˛ đ˛ đ˛ đ˛ đ˛ đ˛ đ˛
A/N II: Its been a really rough week, so Iâm glad I finished this. Before someone asks, no. Black Velvet did not play in Foe. I just donât know the name of the song Hen puts on after Iâm New Here.
Part 4 (the Finale) will be out mid-month as I am too depressed from the elections to write it. Stay safe everyone, especially the ones living in the red states/about to suffer if you international. And go to hell if you voted for him!
Taglist: @urfavblackbimbo @blyffe @literallegendicon @kimuzostar @aaronpdaily
#i put a spell on you#aaron pierre#foe#aaron pierre x black reader#aaron pierre x plus size reader#terrance#terrance x reader#paul mescal#paul mescal x black reader#terrance x junior#junior#saoirse ronan#hen#black plus size fem reader#black plus size oc#black oc x reader#black plus size reader#black fem reader#black oc#black smut#aaron pierre smut#paul mescal smut#rebel ridge#gladiator ii#Spotify
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1968 [Chapter 9: Dionysus, God Of Ecstasy]
Series Summary:Â Aemond is embroiled in a fierce battle to secure the Democratic Party nomination and defeat his archnemesis, Richard Nixon, in the presidential election. You are his wife of two years and wholeheartedly indoctrinated into the Targaryen political dynasty. But you have an archnemesis of your own: Aemondâs chronically delinquent brother Aegon.
Series Warnings: Language, sexual content (18+ readers only), violence, bodily injury, character deaths, New Jersey, age-gap relationships, drinking, smoking, drugs, pregnancy and childbirth, kids with weird Greek names, historical topics including war and discrimination, math.
Word Count:Â 5.9k
Let me know if youâd like to be tagged! đĽ°
đ All of my writing can be found HERE! đ
The October surprise is a great American tradition. As the phases of the moon revolve towards Election Day, the candidates and their factions seek to ruin each other. Lies are told, truths are exposed, Tyche smiles and Achlys brews misery, poison, the fog of death that grows over men like ivy. The stars align. The wolves snap their jaws.
In 1844, an abolitionist newspaper falsely accused James K. Polk of branding his slaves like cattle. In 1880, a letter supposedly authored by James Garfieldâin actuality, forged by a New York journalistâwelcomed Chinese immigrants in an era when they were being lynched by xenophobic mobs in Los Angeles and San Francisco. In 1920, a rumor emerged that Warren Harding had Black ancestry, an allegation his campaign fervently denied to keep the support of the Southern states. In 1940, FDRâs press secretary assaulted a police officer outside of Madison Square Garden. In 1964, one of LBJâs top aids was arrested for having gay sex at the Washington D.C. YMCA.
Now, in 1968, Senator Aemond Targaryen of New Jersey is realizing that he will not be the beneficiary of the October surprise heâs dreamed of: his wifeâs redemptive pregnancy, a blossoming first family. There is a civil rights protest that turns into a riot in Milwaukee; this helps Nixon, the candidate of law and order. For every fire lit and window shattered, he sees a bump in the polls from businessowners and suburbanites who fear anarchy. Breaking news of the My Lai massacreâcommitted back in March but only now brought to lightâairs on NBC, horrifying the American public and bolstering support for Aemond, the man who has vowed to begin ending the war as soon as heâs sworn into office. The two contestants are deadlocked. Election Day could be a photo finish.
Nixon is in Texas. Wallace is in Arkansas. In Florida, Aemond visits the Kennedy Space Center and pledges to fulfill JFKâs promise to put a man on the moon by 1970. He makes a speech at the Mary McLeod Bethune Home commending her work as an educator, philanthropist, and humanitarian. He greets soldiers at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola. He feeds chickens to the alligators at the Saint Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park.
But it is not the senator the crowds cheer loudest for. It is his wife, his future first lady, here in her home state where she staunched her husbandâs hemorrhaging blood and appeared before his well-wishers still marked with crimson handprints. In Tarpon Springs, she and Aemond attend mass at the Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral and pray at an altar made of white marble from Athens. Then they stand on the docks as flashbulbs strobe all around them, watching sponge divers reappear from the depths, breaking through the bubbling sapphire water like Heracles ascending to Mount Olympus.
~~~~~~~~~~
You kick off your high heels, tear the pins and clips out of your hair, and flop down onto the king-sized bed in your suite at the Breakers Hotel. Itâs the same place Aemond was almost assassinated five months ago. He has returned in triumph, in defiance. He cannot be killed. It is Godâs will.
You are alone for these precious fleeting moments. Aemond is in Ottoâs suite discussing the itinerary for tomorrow: confirmations, cancellations, reshufflings. You pick up the pink phone from the nightstand on Aemondâs side of the bed and dial the number for the main house at Asteria. Itâs 9 p.m. here as well as there. Through the window you can see inky darkness and the kaleidoscopic glow of the lights of Palm Beach. The Zenith radio out in the kitchenette is playing Satisfaction by the Rolling Stones. No intercession from Eudoxia is necessary this time; Aegon answers on the second ring.
âYeah?â he says, slow and lazy like heâs been smoking something other than Lucky Strikes.
âHey.â And then after a pause, twirling the phone cord around your fingers as you stare up at the ceiling: âItâs me.â
âOh, I know. Should I take off my pants, orâŚ?â Heâs only half-joking.
You smile. âThat was stupid. Someone could have bugged the phone.â
âYou think Nixonâs guys are wiretapping us? Give me a break. Theyâre goddamn buffoons. Theyâre too busy telling cops to beat hippies to death.â You hear him taking a drag off his joint, envision him sprawled across his futon and enshrouded in smoke. âEverything okay down there in the swamp?â
You shrug, even though Aegon canât see you. âItâs fine.â
âJust fine?â
âMy parents were there when we stopped in Tarpon Springs. They kept telling everyone how proud they are of me, and I just felt soâŚdishonest.â
âOf course theyâre proud. If Aemond wins, the war ends and more civil rights bills get passed and this hell weâve all been living in since 1963 goes away.â
âI miss you,â you confess.
âYouâll be back soon to enjoy me in all my professional loser glory.â Heâs right: Aemondâs entourage will spend Halloween at Asteria. Youâll take the children trick-or-treating around Long Beach Islandâwith journalists in tow, of courseâand then host a party with plentiful champagne and Greek hors dâoeuvres, one last reprieve before the momentous slog towards Election Day on November 5th, a reward for the campaign staffers and reporters who have served Aemond so well. âWhat are you going to dress up as?â
âSomeone happy,â you say, and Aegon chuckles, low and sardonic. âActually, nothing. Aemond and Otto have decided that it would be undignified for the future president and first lady to be photographed in costumes, so I will be wearing something festive yet not at all fun.â
âAemond has always been somewhat confused by the concept of fun.â
âWhat are you going to be for Halloween?â
You can hear the grin in his voice as he exhales smoke. âA cowboy.â
âA cowboy,â you repeat, giggling. âYou arenât serious.â
âExtremely serious. I protect the cows, I comfort the cows, I breed the cowsâŚâ
âYou are mentally ill. You belong in an asylum.â
âI ride the cowsâŚâ
âCowboys do not ride cows.â
âMaybe this one does.â
âI thought you liked being ridden.â
Aegon groans with what sounds like genuine discomfort. âDonât tease me. You know Iâm celibate at the moment.â
âMiraculous. Astonishing. The Greek Orthodox Church should canonize you. What have you been doing with all of your newfound free time?â
âTaking the kids out sailing, hiding from Doxie, trying not to step on the AlopekisâŚand playing Battleship with Cosmo. He has a very loose understanding of the rules.â
âHe does. I remember.â
âHe keeps asking when youâll be back.â
âReally?â you ask hopefully.
âYeah, itâs cute. And he calls you Io because he heard me do it.â
âNot an appropriate myth for children, I think.â
âCosmoâs what, seven years old?â
âFive.â
âClose enough. I think I knew about death and torment and Zeus being a slut by then.â
âAnd you have no resulting defects whatsoever.â You roll over onto your belly and slide open the drawer of the nightstand. Instead of the card Aegon gave you at Mount Sinaiâyouâve forgotten that youâre on Aemondâs side of the bedâyou find something bizarre, unexpected, just barely able to fit. âOh my God, thereâs aâŚthereâs a Ouija board in the nightstand!â
Aegon laughs incredulously. âThereâs a what?!â
âA Ouija board!â You sit upright and shimmy it out, holding the phone to your ear with one shoulder. The small wooden planchette slides off the board and clatters against the bottom of the drawer. âWhy the hell would Aemond have thisâŚ?â
âHeâs trying to summon the ghost of JFK to stab Nixon.â
âOh wow, itâs heavy.â You skim your fingertips over the black numbers and letters etched into the wooden board. Thereâs something ominous about the Good Bye written across the bottom. You canât beckon the dead into the land of the living without reminding them that they arenât welcome to stay.
âAemond is such a freak. Is it a Parker Brothers one, like for kidsâŚ?â
âNo, I think itâs custom made. It feels substantial, expensive. Hold on, thereâs something engraved on the back.â You flip over the Ouija board so you can see what your hands have already felt. The inscription reads in onyx cursive letters: No ghosts can harm you. The stars were never better than the day you were born. With love through all the ages, Alys.
âWhatâs it say?â Aegon asks from his basement at Asteria.
Youâre staring down at the Ouija board, mystified. âWhoâs Alys?â
Instead of an answer, Aegon gives you a deep sigh. âOh. Yeah, she would give him something like that. Fucking creepy witch bullshit.â
âAegon, whoâs Alys?â Sheâs his mistress. She has to be. It fills your skull like flashbulbs, like lightning: Aemond climbing on top of another woman, conquering her, owning her, binding her up in his mythology like a spider building a web. And what you feel when the shock begins to dissolve isnât envy or pain or betrayal butâstrangely, paradoxicallyâhope. âSheâs his girl, right?â
âPlease donât be mad at me for not telling you,â Aegon says. âThere wasnât a good time. When I hated you I didnât care if he was fucking around, and then after what happened in New York I didnât want to hurt you, I didnât know how youâd take it. Itâs not your fault, thereâs nothing wrong with you. She was here first. Heâd have kept Alys around if he married Aphrodite herself.â
âIâm not mad.â Youâre distracted, thatâs what you are; youâre plotting. âWhere is she?â
âShe lives in Washington state. Iâm not sure exactly where, I think Aemond moves her a lot. He doesnât want anyone to see him around and start noticing a pattern. Neighbors, shopkeepers, cops, whoever.â
âWashington.â Just like when Ari died. Just like when Aemond didnât come back. âWho knows about her?â
âJust the family. Fosco and Mimi found out because when they married in, the fights were still happening. Otto and Viserys demanding he give Alys up, Aemond refusing. Itâs the only thing he ever did wrong, the only line he drew. He said he needed her. She could never be his first lady, but she could be something else.â
âHis mistress.â
âYeah,â Aegon says reluctantly. âAre youâŚare you okay?â
âIâm okay. Whatâs wrong with Alys?â
âWhat?â
âWhy couldnât Aemond marry her?â
âI mean, sheâs the type of psycho who gives people Ouija boards, first of all,â Aegon says. âAnd sheâsâŚsheâs not educated. Her familyâs trash. Sheâs older than Aemond. Hell, sheâs older than me. She would be an unmitigated disaster on the campaign trail. She unnerves people. But Aemond, heâŚâ
âHe loves her,â you whisper, reading the engraving on the back of the board again. âAnd she loves him.â
âI guess. Whatever love means to them.â
A thought occurs to you, the first one to bring you pain like a needle piercing flesh. âDoes she have children?â
Again, Aegon sounds reticent to disclose this. âA boy. Aemondâs the father.â
âHow old?â
âI donât know, I think heâs around ten now.â
And thatâs Aemondâs true heir. Not Ari, not any others he would have with me. That place in his heart is taken. He couldnât mourn the loss of our son because he already has one with the woman he loves.
Out in the living room of the suite, you hear the front door open. There are footsteps, Aemondâs polished black leather shoes.
Aegon is asking: âAre you sure youâre okay? Hello? Babe? Hello? Are you still there?â
âIâm fine. I gotta go.â
âWait, no, not yetâ!â
âBye.â You hang up the phone and wait for Aemond to discover you. Youâre still clutching the Ouija board. Youâre perched on the edge of the bed like something ready to pounce, to kill.
Aemond opens the bedroom door, navy blue suit, blonde hair short and slicked back, his eyepatch covering his empty left socket. Heâs begun wearing his eyepatch in public more oftenânot for every appearance, but for some of themâand whoever finally convinced him to concede this battle wasnât you. His right eye goes to you and then to the Ouija board in your hands. He doesnât speak or move to take the board, only studies you warily.
âI know about her,â you tell him.
Still, Aemond says nothing.
âAlys,â you press. âSheâs your mistress. Youâre in love with her.â
âI did not intend to hurt you.â His words are flat, steely.
âIâm not hurt, Aemond.â
âYou shouldnât have ever known about this. I apologize for not being more discrete. It was a lapse in judgment.â But what he regrets most, you think, is that his secret is less contained, more imperiled.
âWhat we have is a political arrangement,â you say. The desperation quivers in your voice. âYou donât love me, you never have, and now we can be open about it. You need me to win the White House, but thatâs all. Your true companion is elsewhere. I want the same thing.â
He steps closer, eye narrowing, iris glinting coldly, puzzled like he couldnât have understood you correctly. âWhat?â
âI want to be permitted to have my own happiness outside of this imitation of a marriage.â
âNo,â Aemond says instantly.
Your stomach sinks, dark iron disappointment. âButâŚbutâŚwhy?â
âBecause I donât trust you to not get caught. Because I need to be sure that I am the father of the children youâll give birth to. And because as my wife you are mine, and mine alone.â
Tears brim in your eyes; embers burn in your throat. âYouâre asking for my life. My whole life, all of it, everything Iâll ever experience, everything Iâll ever feel. I get one chance on this planet and youâre stealing it away from me.â
âYes,â Aemond agrees simply.
âSo whereâs my consolation?â you demand. âYou get Alys, so whereâs mine?â
âWhat do you want?â
You donât reply, but you glare at your husband with eternal rage like Heraâs, with fatal vitriol like Medusaâs.
âYou think I donât know about that little card you keep in your nightstand?â Aemond is furious, betrayed. âYou used to hate him.â
âI was wrong.â
âBecause he was at Mount Sinai and I wasnât? Three days undid everything weâve ever been to each other? Our oaths, our ambitions?!â
âNo,â you say, tears slipping down the contours of your cheeks. âBecause heâs real. He doesnât try to manipulate people into loving him, he doesnât pretend to be someone heâs not, when heâs cruel itâs because he means it and when heâs kind thatâs genuine too. And he wants to know me, who I really am. Not the woman I have to act like to get you elected. Not who youâre trying to turn me intoââ
Aemond has crossed the room, grabbed the front of your teal Chanel dress, and yanked you to your feet. The Ouija board jolts out of your hands and lands on the carpet unharmed. Your long hair is in disarray, your eyes wide and fearful. You try to push Aemond away, but he ignores you. You canât sway him. Youâve never been able to. âAegon has nothing to his name except what this family gives him,â Aemond snarls, hushed, hateful. His venom is not for his brother but for you. You have upended the natural order of things. You have dared to deny Zeus what he has been divinely granted dominion over. âYou would jeopardize his wellbeing, his access to his children? You would ruin yourself? You would doom this nation? If you cost me the election, every drop of blood spilled is on your hands, every body bag flown home from Vietnam, every martyr killed by injustice here. What you ask for is worse than being a traitor and a whore. It is sacrilege.â
âLet go of meââ
âAnd thereâs one more thing.â Aemond pulls you closer so he knows youâre paying attention. Youâre sobbing now, trembling, choking on his cologne, shrinking away from his furnace-heat wrath. âAegon isnât capable of love. Not the kind youâre imagining. He gets infatuated, and he uses people, and then he moves on. You think he never charmed Mimi, never made her feel cherished by him? And look how she ended up. Iâm trying to carve your name into legend beside mine. Aegon will take you to your grave.â
Your husband shoves you away, storms out of the bedroom, slams the door so hard the walls quake.
~~~~~~~~~~
Parading down streets like the victors of a fallen city, jack-o-lanterns keeping watch with their laceration grins of firelight. Hecate is the goddess of witchcraft, Hades rules the Underworld, Selene is the half-moon peeking through clouds in an overcast sky. The stars elude you.
The childrenâghosts, pirates, princesses, witchesâdash from doorstep to doorstep like soldiers in Vietnam search tunnels. They smile and pose in their outfits when the journalists prompt them, beaming and waving, showing off their Dots, Tootsie Pops, Sugar Daddies, Smarties, Razzles, and candy cigarettes before depositing them in the plastic orange pumpkins that swing from their wrists. Only Cosmo, dressed as Teddy Roosevelt with lensless glasses and a stuffed lion thrown over one shoulder, stays with the adults. He is the last one to each house, approaching the doorway reticently like it might swallow him up, inspiring fond chuckles and encouragement from the reporters. He clutches your hand and hides behind you when towering monsters lumber by: King Kong, Frankenstein, vampires with fake blood spilling from their mouths.
Aemond wears a black suit with orange accents: tie, pocket square, socks. You glimmer in a black dress dotted with white stars, clicking down the sidewalk in boots that run to your knees, silver eyeshadow, heavy liner. You almost look your own age. There are large star-shaped barrettes in your pinned-up hair, bent glinting metal. As the reporters snap photos of you and Cosmo walking together, they shout: âYouâll be such a great mother one day, Mrs. Targaryen!â
Fosco is Ettore Boiardiâbetter known as Chef Boyardeeâan Italian immigrant who came through Ellis Island in 1914 with a dream of opening a spaghetti business. Helaena, Alicent, and Ludwika are, respectively, Alice, Wendy, and Cinderella; Ludwika clops along resentfully in her puffy sleeves and too-small clear stilettos. Criston is Peter Pan. Aegon wears a white button-up shirt, cow print vest, ripped jeans, brown leather boots, a cowboy hat thatâs too big for him, and a green bandana knotted around his throat. He stays close to you and Cosmo because he can, here where the journalists expect to see him being a devoted father and active participant in the family business of mending a tattered America. Teenagers are fleeing their families to join hippie communes and draftees in Vietnam are getting their limbs blown off and junkies are shooting up on the streets of New York and Chicago and Los Angeles, but here we see a happy family, a perfect family, a holy trinity that thanks the devotees who offer them tribute. Otto, who neglected to don a disguise, glares at you murderously. You have failed to give Aemond a living child. You have dared to want things for yourself.
Back at Asteria in the main house, the children empty their plastic pumpkins on the living room floor and sort through their saccharine treasures, making trades and bargains: âIâll do your math homework if you give me those Swedish Fish,â âIâll let you ride my bike for a week if I can have your Mallo Cup.â While the other adults ply themselves with champagne and chain smoke away the stress of the campaign trail, Aegon gets his Caribbean blue Gibson guitar and sits on the couch playing Iâm A Believer by The Monkees. The kids clap and sing along between intense confectionary negotiations. Cosmo wants to share his candy cigarettes with you; you pretend to smoke together as sugar melts on your tongue.
Now the children have been sent to bedâmollified with the promise of homemade apple pies tomorrow, another occasion to be documented by swarms of clamoring journalistsâand the house becomes a haze of smoke and indistinct conversation and music from the record player. Platters of appetizers have appeared on the dining room table: pita, tzatziki, hummus, melitzanosalata, olives, horiatiki, mini spanakopitas, baklava. Women are chattering about the painstaking labor they put into costumes and men are scheming to deliver death blows to Nixon, setbacks in Vietnam, Klan meetings in Mississippi. Aemond is knocking back Old Fashioneds with Otto and Sargent Shriver. Fosco is dancing in the living room with drunk journalists. Eudoxia is muttering in Greek as she aggressively paws crumbs off of couches and tabletops. Thick red candles flicker until wax melts into a pool of blood at the base.
Through the veil of cigarette smoke and the rumbling bass of Season Of The Witch, Aegon finds you when no one is looking, and you know itâs him without having to turn around. His hand is the only one that doesnât feel heavy when it skims around your waist. He whispers, soft grinning lips to your ear, rum and dire temptation like Orpheus looking back at Eurydice: âLetâs do some witchcraft.â
You know where Aemond keeps the Ouija board. You take it out of the top drawer of his nightstand in your bedroom with blue walls and portraits of myths in captive frames. Then you descend with Aegon into the basement, down like Persephone when summer ends, down like women crumbling under Zeusâs weight. You remember to lock the door behind you. Youâre not highâyou canât smoke grass in a house full of guests who could smell it and take it upon themselves to investigateâbut you feel like you are, that lightness that makes everything more bearable, the surreal tilt to the universe, awake but dreaming, truth cloaked in mirages.
Aegon has stolen three red candles from upstairs. He hands one to you, keeps a second for himself, and places the third on his end table beside a myriad of dirty cups. You glimpse at his ashtray and a folded corner of the receipt thatâs still tucked beneath it, and you think: I have my card, Aegon has his receipt, Aemond has his Ouija board. I wonder what Alys likes to keep close when she sleeps. Then Aegon clicks off the lamp so the only light is from the flickering candles.
He tosses away his cowboy boots, hat, vest and is down on the green shag carpet with you, his hair messy, his white shirt half-unbuttoned. Heâs taking sips of Captain Morgan straight from the glass bottle. Heâs lighting a Lucky Strike with the wick of his candle and then giving it to you to puff on as he places the planchette on the board. âWait, how do we start?â
You exhale smoke, setting your candle down on the carpet and then tugging off your own boots with some difficulty. âWe have to say hello.â
âOkay.â Aegon places his fingertips on one side of the heart-shaped planchette and you rest yours lightly on the other. He begins doubtfully: âHelloâŚ?â
âIs there anyone who would like to send us a message from the other side this evening?â
âYouâve done this before,â Aegon accuses.
âI have. In college.â
âWith a guy?â
You chuckle, taking a drag as the cigarette smolders between your fingers. âNo, with my friends. Itâs not really a date activity.â
âI think itâs very romantic. Candles, darkness, danger, whoâs gonna protect you when the ghosts start throwing things aroundâŚâ
âYouâd fight a ghost for me?â
âDepends on the ghost. FDR? You got it. I can take a guy in a wheelchair. Teddy? No maâam. Youâre on your own.â
âWhich ghost should we summon?â
Aegon ponders this for a moment. âJohn F. Kennedy, are you in this basement with us right now?â
âThat is wrong, that is so wrong.â
âThen why are you smiling?â Aegon says. âJFK, how do you feel about Johnson fucking up your legacy?â
âThat is not the kind of question youâre supposed to ask. Weâre not on 60 Minutes.â
âJFK, do you haunt the White House?â Aegon drags the planchette to the Yes on the board. âOh no, Iâm scared.â
âYou are a cheater, this is a fraudulent Ouija board session.â You put your cigarette out in the ashtray and then take a swig from Aegonâs rum bottle. âJFK, are we gonna make it to the moon before 1970?â
Aegon pulls the planchette to the No. âDamn, Io, bad news. Guess the Russians win the Space Race and then eradicate capitalism across the globe. No more beach houses. No more Mr. Mistys.â
âGive me the planchette, youâre abusing your power.â
âNo,â Aegon says, snickering as you try to wrestle it away from him. In his other hand heâs clutching his candle; scarlet beads of wax like blooddrops pepper your skin as you struggle, tiny infernos that burn exquisitely. Red like paint splatter appears on Aegonâs shirt. You grab the green bandana around his throat, but instead of holding him back youâre drawing him closer. The Ouija board and all the worldâs ghosts are momentarily forgotten.
âYouâre dripping wax on meââ
âGood, I want to get it all over you, then I want to peel it off and rip out your leg hair.â
Youâre laughing hysterically as you pretend to try to shove him away. âIâm freshly shaved, you idiot.â
âEverywhere?â Aegon asks, intrigued.
You smirk playfully. âAlmost.â
âOkay, letâs get you cleaned up.â Aegon sets his candle down on the carpet and strips away tacky dots of red wax: one from your forearm down by your wrist, another from your neck just below one of your silver hoop earrings, wax from your ankles and your calves and right above your knees. His fingertips are calloused from his guitar, from the ropes of his sailboat. They scratch roughly over you, chipping away who youâre supposed to be.
Then Aegon stops. You follow his gaze down. There is a smudge of wax on the inside of your thigh, extending beneath the hem of your dress, glittering black and white fabric that hides what is forbidden to him. Aegonâs eyes are on you, that troubled opaque blue, drunk and desperate and wild and afraid. With your fingers still hooked beneath his bandana, you say to him like a dare: âNow youâre going to stop?â
His palm skates up the smoothness of your thigh, and as he unpeels that last stain of red wax his other hand cradles your jaw and his lips touch yours, gently at first and then with the ravenousness of someone whoâs been dying of thirst for centuries, starving since birth. Youâre opening your legs wider for him, and his fingers do not stop at your thigh but climb higher until they are whisking your black lace panties away, exploring your folds and your wetness as his tongue darts between your lips, tasting something heâs been craving forever but only now stumbled into after four decades of darkness, trapped in you like Narcissus at his pool.
You are unknotting his green bandana and letting it fall to the shag carpet. You are unbuttoning the rest of his shirt so you can feel his chest, soft and warm and yielding, safe, real. The candlelight is flickering, the thumping bass of a song you canât decipher pulsing through the floor above. Now beneath your dress Aegonâs fingers are pressing a place that makes your breath catch in your throat, makes you dizzy with need for him. He looks at you and you nod, and he reads in your face what you wanted to say months ago in this same basement: Donât stop. Come closer.
Aegon lifts your dress over your head, nips at your throat as he unclasps your bra, and you are suddenly aware of how the cool firelit air is touching every part of you, how you are bare for him in a way youâve never been before. You catch Aegonâs face in your hand before he can see the scar that runs down the length of your belly and say, your voice quiet and fragile: âDonât look at me.â
Pain flashes in his eyes, furrows across his brow. âStop,â he murmurs, kissing your forehead as you cling to him. Then he begins moving lower and you fall back onto the carpet, no blood on Aegonâs hands this time, only your sweat and lust for him, only crystalline evidence of a betrayal youâve long ago already committed in your mind.
Youâre combing your fingers through his hair and gasping as Aegonâs lips ghost down your scar, not something ruinous or shameful but a part of you, the beginning of your story together, the origin of your mythology. Then his mouth is on youâyearning, aching wetnessâand you thought you knew what this felt like but itâs more powerful now, more urgent, and Aegon is glancing up to watch your face, to study you, to change what heâs doing as he follows your clues. And then there is a pang you think is too sharp to be pleasure, too close to helplessness, something that leaves you panting and shaking.
You jolt upright. âWaitâŚâ
Aegon props himself up on his elbows. His full lips glisten with you. âWhat? Whatâd I do wrong?â
âNo, itâs not you, itâs justâŚitâs likeâŚâ You canât describe it. âItâs tooâŚumâŚtoo intense or something. Itâs like I couldnât breathe.â
Aegon stares at you, his eyebrows low. After a long pause he says: âBabe, youâve come before, right?â
Iâve what? âYeah, of course, obviously. I meanâŚI think so?â
Heâs stunned. Heâs in disbelief. Then a grin splits across his face. âLie back down.â
Youâre nervous, but you trust him. If this costs you your life, youâll pay it. He pushes your thighs farther apart and his tongue stays in one spotâwhere you touched yourself in the bathtub in Seattle, where you wanted him when he slipped his fingers into you for the first timeâand suddenly the uneasy feeling is something raging and irresistible like a riptide in the Atlantic, something better than anything you knew existed, and you keep thinking itâs happened but it hasnât yet, as you cover your face with your hands to smother your moans, as your hips roll and Aegonâs arms curl under your thighs to keep you in place so he can make you finish. Itâs a release that is otherworldly, celestial, terrifying, divine. Itâs something that rips the curtain between mortals and paradise.
Itâs always like this for men? Thatâs what Aemond has been getting from me, thatâs what Iâve been denied?
As you lie gasping on the carpet Aegon returns, smiling, kissing you, running his fingers through locks of hair that have escaped from your pins. âNot bad, right little Io?â he purrs, smelling like rum and minerals, earth and poison. Now heâs taking off his jeans, but before he can position himself between your legs you have pushed him onto his back and straddled him, pinning his wrists to the floor, watching the amazement ripple across his flushed face, the desire, the need. You tease Aegon, leaning in to nibble at his ear and bite gingerly at his throat, never harming him, never claiming him, grinding your hips against his and listening as his breathing turns quick and rough. Then you slip him inside you, this man you once hated, this man who was a stranger and then a curse and now a spell.
Aegon wants to be closer to you. He sits up as you ride him, hands on your face, in your hair, kissing you, inhaling you, shuddering, trying not to cry out as footsteps and laughter and thunderous basslines bleed through the ceiling. You know heâs been high on so many thingsâthings that corrupt, things that killâand you hope you can compare, this brief clean magic.
He canât last; he finishes with a moan like heâs in agony, and as the motion of your hips slows, you take his jaw in your grasp and gaze down at him. âGood boy,â you say with a grin. Aegon laughs, exhausted, drenched in sweat, his hair sticking to his forehead. He embraces you so tightly you can feel the pounding of his heart, racing muscle beneath bones and skin.
Heâs murmuring through your disheveled hair: âI gotta see you again, when can I see you again?â
You donât know what to say. You donât have an answer. You unravel yourself from Aegon and dress yourself in the red candlelight: panties, bra, dress, boots, all things that Aemond chose for you, all things he bought with his familyâs money, all things he owns. Aegon has nothing to his name and neither do you. You areâlike Fosco once saidâpieces of the same machine.
âWhere are you going?â Aegon asks, like heâs afraid of the answer.
âI have to go back upstairs to the party before someone realizes Iâm missing.â
âAre you serious?â
âI am.â You kneel on the carpet to kiss him one last time, your palm on his cheek, his fingers clutching at your dress as he begs you not to leave. âI have to, I have to,â you whisper, and then you do.
You grab the Ouija board and planchette off the green shag carpet, hug them to your chest, and hurry up the steps. The first floor of the Asteria house is a maze of cigarette smoke and clinking glasses, guests who are dancing and cackling and drunk. From the record player strums Johnny Cashâs Ring Of Fire. You slip unnoticed to the staircase.
In the blue-walled bedroom you share with Aemond, you carefully place the Ouija board and planchette in the top drawer of his nightstand exactly as you found them. Then you go to your vanity to try to fix your hair. As youâre rearranging clips and pinning loose strands back into place, the door opens. Aemond is there, feeling beloved and invincible, looking for you. He crosses the room and closes his long fingers around your wrist. He wants you: under him, making children for him, possessed by him.
âCome to bed,â Aemond says.
âNot right now. Iâm busy.â
âYou arenât busy anymore.â
âI told you no.â
He wrenches you from your chair. Instead of surrendering, you strike out, hitting him in the chest. You donât harm him, youâre not strong enough, but genuine shock leaps into his scarred face.
âDonât fucking touch me,â you hiss. You canât let Aemond undress you; he will find the evidence of your treason, he will see it, feel it, taste it. But thatâs not the only reason you stop him. âEvery goddamn night I give you what you want, and exactly how you want it. Tonight Iâm saying no. You want to take me? Youâll have to do it properly. Iâm not going to give you the illusion of consent. You remember what Zeus did to all those women, right? Go ahead. Act like the god you think you are. But Iâm going to fight you. And if those people downstairs hear me screaming, you can explain to them why.â
Aemond stares at you in the silvery light of the half-moon. You glare boldly back. At last he leaves and descends the staircase into an underworld of churning smoke, returning to the party to sip his Old Fashioneds and decide what to do with you.
#aegon ii targaryen#aegon targaryen#aegon targaryen ii#aegon ii#aegon targaryen x reader#aegon x reader#aegon ii x you#aegon ii fanfic#aegon ii x reader#aegon targaryen x you#aegon ii x y/n
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Not Eton (actually, might have been! But from what I piece together, they may have been at another institution together before at least one of them moved on to Eton), but Exeter Free Grammar School:
And no, what possibly happened at school, didn't stay there: it got published in an anthology called Poems Chiefly by Gentlemen of Devonshire and Cornwall, Vol. 1. (Ed. Richard Polwhele; 1792) by the recipient.
Me: Hmm, I wonder if there's any specific connection between Eton and queer men in the 18th century.
Me: Best to start with an overview of the topic, so let's see what comes up for a generic search like "eton" and "18th century".
JSTOR:
#âfriendship's magic pow'râ#Since the gay Henry Clinton thing has made the rounds again recently of the two British guys with 11 children each who fought in the RevWar#I don't think Clinton should have been the candidate for queer representation on Turn Washington's Spies#Simcoe on the other hand... I have thoughts; there are at least some sources from the time that could be read in a way suggesting#that he may have had romantic feelings for men prior to meeting and falling in love with his wife#queer history#revolutionary war#american revolutionary war#18th century#john graves simcoe#edward drewe
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