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#i analyze what the text actually says and then ships just fall out of it
sapphire-weapon · 11 months
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The point of storytelling is to convey a message and/or provoke an emotional response from the audience.
If a story doesn't evoke an emotion from you, then it didn't evoke an emotion from you. To inject emotions into the text retroactively does nothing to enhance the story; all you're doing is hurting your own feelings and then trying to blame someone else's work for it.
If your goal is to analyze a story, you need to look at what the story actually says -- not what you think it should say.
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potatoqueenpal · 1 month
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Yall I'm SO SORRY for dipping on you I have no ideas and I'm still fighting to get my avior fic back.
Have filler till I think of more angst
I present to you: Shaw Pack and Mates: Incorrect quotes
Sam, filling out legal paperwork: Were you guys born AMAB or AFAB?
Sweetheart : Bold of you to assume I was born at all.
Baabe: I personally was created in a lab.
Angel: I just straight up spawned.
Sam: We call that a traumatic experience.
Sam, turning to Baabe: Not a "bruh moment".
Sam, turning to Angel: Not "sadge".
Sam, turning to Sweetheart : And DEFINITELY not an "oof LMAO".
Asher: Knock, knock.
Baabe: Who's there?
Asher: Boo!
Baabe: Boo who?
Asher: Why are you crying?
Baabe: I'm not crying.
Asher: Hello notcrying, I'm Asher.
Milo: Angel, you look deep in thought. What’s wrong?
Angel: Did you know you can look at any object and know what it’s like to lick it? Even if you’ve never touched it before?
Milo: I’m never asking you anything ever again.
David: There's nothing worse than people using big words they don't understand.
Milo: I photosynthesize with this.
Sweetheart: I’m this close to falling in love with Milo.
Asher: Your fingertips are touching.
Sweetheart: Exactly.
Asher, spraying a melted cutting board with a tiny water gun: We gotta cool this bitch down. Cool it down.
Sweetheart : I actually just put the cutting board in the oven...
Baabe, visibly confused: Okay, so they decided to put the cutting board in the oven?
Asher, spraying Sweetheart : You FUCKING DUMBASS!
Sweetheart : Dude, I forgot-
Asher: OH MY FUCKING GOD! We're trying to make Chicken Alfredo right now, and you fucking MELT the cutting board in the oven at 400 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT!?
Sam: *Watching in complete confusion while trying to process this whole situation.*
Asher: In your opinion, what is the height of stupidity?
David, turning to Darlin': How tall are you?
Angel: Sam said its my turn with the brain cell.
Asher: Square up.
Sam: And what do we say when someone refuses your offer?
Sweetheart : Suck it, boomer!
Sam: I don't know who "Boomer" is, but no.
Asher: *spits mouthful of blood onto floor* You’ve become far more powerful since we last crossed paths.
Dentist: Please stop, there’s literally a sink right next to you.
Baabe: I think my guardian angel drinks.
David: How did none of you hear what I just said?!
Milo: I've been zoned out for the past two and a half hours.
Asher: I got distracted halfway through.
Darlin': Ignoring you was a conscious decision.
Asher: Consider the fundraising over! Your hero has arrived!
Sam: Uhh… where did you get so much money from, Asher?
Asher: Well, you know, I’m pretty good at numbers. I just crunched them, I stretched them, I analyzed my accounts, I timed the market-
*police sirens start to wail in the background*
Sam: DID YOU ROB A BANK?!
Asher: Oh, come on, Sam, do you really think so little of me? *opens the bag as purple dye explodes on their face*
Sam:
Asher: …it was a credit union.
Angel: Tell them to eat shit, David.
David: Tell them yourself.
Angel: Eat shit, asshole. Fall of your horse.
Milo, gardening: Hey, can you bring me the hoe?
Darlin': Yeah, sure.
*A few minutes later*
Darlin': Here you go.
Milo:
Darlin':
Baabe: Why am I here?
Angel: Guess what I'm about to get!
David: On my nerves.
Sweetheart : That's a nice arguement, Milo Why don't you back it up with a source?
Milo: My source is that I made it the fuck up!
Sam: Aww, what's your cat's name?
Milo: Aggro.
Sam, yelling to Baabe: TRY AGGRO!
Baabe, on the computer: DIDN'T WORK!
Milo:
Sam: What's your favorite number?
Angel: I’m so jetlagged I can’t even regrender my chorf.
*Everyone stares at Angel*
Angel: I don’t even know what I was trying to say.
Angel: I've connected the two dots.
David: You didn't connect shit.
Angel: I've connected them.
And now, wholesome (amd flirty) ship incoreect quotes:
。・゚゚・  ・゚゚・。。・゚゚・  ・゚゚・。。・゚゚・  ・゚゚・。。・
David : Do you want to explain the text you sent me last night?
Angel: It was autocorrect.
David : Autocorrect wrote "You're so hot. Please step on me."?
Angel: Yes.
Angel: You are the love of my life and I would do anything within reason to make you happy.
David : I would be happy if you ate, stayed hydrated and got a reasonable amount of sleep.
Angel: I said within reason, David . How about I murder that guy?
David : So murder is in reason but proper self care isn't?
Angel: Well, duh. What kind of question is that?
Angel: Hey, wanna take a shower with me?
David : I have a gun on that nightstand beside the bed. If I ever say no to that question, I want you to take it out and shoot me because I’ve obviously gone crazy.
Angel: There are 20 letters in the alphabet, right?
David : Nope, there's 26.
Angel: Ah, I must have forgotten U, R, A, Q, T.
David : Aww, that's cute, but you're still missing one.
Angel: So give me the D.
Angel: Hey, I’m getting in the shower. Wanna help me out?
David : ...Have you never taken a shower before?
David, sweating: Angel, there’s something I need to ask you-
Angel: Finally! You’re proposing!
David: How’d you know?
Angel: David, you’ve dropped the ring five times during dinner.
Angel: I even picked it up once.
David: I want to kiss you.
Angel, not paying attention: What?
David: I said if you die, I wont miss you.
Baabe: I’ve been dropping them the most insanely obvious hints for like a year now. No response.
Asher: Wow. They sound stupid.
Baabe: But they’re not. They’re really smart actually. Just dense.
Asher: Maybe you need to be more obvious? Like, I don’t know… “Hey! I love you!”
Baabe: I guess you’re right. Hey Asher, I love you.
Asher: See! Just say that!
Baabe: Holy fucking shit.
Asher: If that flies over their head then, sorry Baabe, but they're too dumb for you.
Baabe: Asher.
Baabe: You know my motto: carpe diem, carpe noctem, carpe coles.
Asher: Seize the day, seize the night, what’s the last one?
Baabe: Seize the dick.
Asher: We have a problem.
Baabe: No, YOU have a problem. I have an idiot who keeps making them.
Baabe: I'm trash.
Asher: As someone who's environmentally conscious, it's my duty to pick you up. Does 7 work for you?
Baabe:
Baabe: You smooth motherfucker.
Baabe: And yes it does.
Asher: Sorry I’m late, I was doing things.
Baabe: Hi, I’m ‘things’.
Asher: Valentine’s day is just a consumerist holiday that holds no real value other than drive people insane buying heart shaped chocolates for their significant others and pos-
Baabe: I wrote you a poem.
Asher, already crying: You did?
Milo: Being gay is a constant battle between "I wish to sit on a window bench with my lover, our legs tangling as we listen to the birds" and "Hey, let's go throw rocks at fascists" and I think that's very sexy of us.
Sweetheart : If the window's open and you time it right, you can do both.
Milo: I fell—
Sweetheart : From heaven?
Milo: No, I literally fell—
Sweetheart : In love with me the moment you saw me?
Milo: MY ARM IS BROKEN!
Sweetheart : Okay, but do you think I'm pretty? Be honest.
Milo: Okay, but what if we went to dinner not as friends this time?
Sweetheart : AS ENEMIES?!
Milo:
Milo walking into the kitchen and seeing all their limes peeled: Sweetheart , I love you but, what the h-e-double FUCK.
Sweetheart , sipping coffee happily: I love you too :)
Sweetheart : I don't know how to tell you this, but... I love you.
Milo: That's great, Sweetheart . Especially considering the fact we've been together for 6 fucking years.
Sweetheart : I’m in love with you.
Milo: We called off the prank war last night at midnight, dork.
Sweetheart : I know.
Milo: Ah. Okay. Um. Cool. Neat. Very cool. Cool. Cool. Coolcoolcool-
Sweetheart: I was going to suggest we do Marilyn Monroe and JFK roleplay, but I’d get way too into it.
Milo: What- how?
Sweetheart: You’d be like “come to bed … Mr. President” and I’d be like, “I need to increase the amount of American military advisors in South Vietnam by a factor of 18.”
Milo: Wait, what's going on? Are we all talking about how hot Sweetheart is? Because Sweetheart is a straight up sexual fox riding a red-hot nuclear bombshell right toward the yowza plaza in the heart of Babe City, Assachusetts, U S A. The last A just stands for more ass.
Sam: The stars are so beautiful...
Darlin': They're just giant balls of gas.
Sam: You know what, if you're just going to ruin this, then-
Darlin': And yet none of them are as huge as my love for you.
Sam: Oh...
Darlin': Wow, Sam, you want to hold my hand before marriage? How awfully lewd of you.
Sam: We literally slept together yesterday.
Darlin': That's NOTHING compared to the lewdness of holding hands.
Sam: I love you.
Darlin', not paying attention: What was that?
Sam: I said I’m selling you to the zOo-
Darlin': Well, Sam and I finally did it!
The rest of the squad: *gasps, shocked expressions, etc.*
Darlin': That's right... We kissed!
Darlin': What are you in the mood for?
Sam: World domination.
Darlin': That's a bit ambitious.
Sam: You are my world.
Darlin': Aww...
Sam:
Darlin':
Sam:
Darlin': OH.
Darlin': I have feelings for you.
Sam: Why? What's wrong with you? Are you sure you're okay?
Waiter: What would you like?
Darlin': Bring a milkshake with two straws.
Sam: *blushes*
Darlin': *puts both straws in their mouth* Watch how fast I can drink this!!
Darlin': You got a date yet Sam?
Sam: No...
Darlin': Well you do now! Get your ass up and hold my hand!
Darlin': Are we fighting or flirting?
Sam: I'm pinning you against a wall with my hand around your neck-
Darlin': Your point?
Darlin': I don't need to go to bed. I'm not tired, I'll be fine.
Sam: But, darling, I'll be so lonely without you. Come curl up in my arms so I can feel whole again.
Darlin': O-oh. Well. Are you trying to seduce me into healthy sleeping patterns??
Sam: Is it working?
Sam: We should get you to a doctor for a check up immediately. What if it happens again, and there isn’t anyone around to help you? What if it’s congenital? Oh my God! Was it me? Did I hurt you?
Darlin': …You realize any other person that made their partner pass out in bed would simply feel really proud of themselves, right?
Sam: Since we're in a relationship now, your clothes are my clothes too. Don't ask me why I have your shirt on, this is our shirt.
Darlin': Fine, but when I come strutting in with your fuzzy socks I don't want to hear shit.
Darlin': Come to dinner tonight. I can’t cook, but I’ll bring plenty of free wine.
Sam: Marry me.
Darlin': This date is boring!
Sam: This isn't a date. I said I was going to the store.
Darlin': Then why did you invite me?
Sam: I didnt, I specifically said "don't come with me," then you said, "fuck you Sam I'll do whatever I want!
(This is long as fuuuuck and took me a good hour, but it was fun)
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eisforeidolon · 1 year
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It really does seem that getting too deep into niche shipping fandom absolutely kills some people's media literacy. Like, I was reading this interesting anon post on Nancy's blog [X] about following a rewatcher going on about bi lighting and expecting a romantic HEA from fucking Supernatural and it sent my brain off on a tangent.
I mean, I remember thinking literary interpretation in school was so fucking absurd when it got to the point of analyzing a goddamn autobiography and waffling on about the author remembering the grass in the spring being green when they moved as a symbol of rebirth. As absurd as I still think interpreting on that level is? It did work thematically, because the interpretation matches the surface level of the story - that was when the character's life started through a period of growth/rebirth. Did they intentionally mention the grass for the symbolism of the color green, consciously or unconsciously? Fuck if I know (or care, tbh).
The problem with the way hellers (and other similar conspiracy shippers) try to use this kind of interpretation is that they ignore several majorly important factors that apply when you're talking about an open canon rather than a closed one where you know the ending. When you do this with a story that's finished, where you know the whole picture? Even if you're so openminded about what the story could have been despite all genre conventions and other outside information that your brain is on the verge of falling out and rolling away down a hill? You can filter out the noise of potential symbols and meanings that do not match that finished, overarching story. And there is a lot of fucking noise, because our brains really, really like to find patterns whether they exist or not - but most random details are not intentional symbolism, and most symbols do not have one single definitive meaning. With any sufficiently large text (which SPN definitely is), you could pick out enough random symbols and meanings to point to literally any-fucking-thing you wanted as a possibility - but without knowing the end that's no more an indication of what direction the story is actually heading than any other randomly chosen set of symbols and meanings.
In the above example, let's say you don't know anything about autobiographies in general, that author's life in particular, and stopped reading at that chapter to try and predict what'll happen next. Aha, the grass out of the window when they moved in spring was GREEN! Well, yes, that might symbolize growth and the character's life finally starting on a new positive path now. But green can also symbolize naivety and/or hope, and that could have been a brief shining moment of good possibilities before things went even more to shit. Hell, it can also mean jealousy, where maybe it would turn out their best friend who stayed behind got an opportunity they missed because they moved. Not only are those not the only possible symbolic meanings of the color? The author might have also just decided to describe the grass out the window as green because grass is generally fucking green in spring, yo. A major part of the reason someone can sit and pontificate about the ~*deep symbolic meaning*~ of that passage without potentially being obviously hilariously wrong is that they DO know where it ultimately leads and have tossed out the interpretations that explicitly don't fit the story.
What the shippers in question try to do is insist they know what the ending HAS TO BE ... because reasons. As such, every single symbol they find which could potentially signal that ending must be doing so, despite any number of other possible meanings ... because reasons. Naturally the symbols that they find are actually meaningful symbols as opposed to every single other random detail in the story with potential meaning ... because reasons. Then we reach the end of the story and they're oh-so-shocked that because reasons ... isn't a real basis for anything, actually. HOW COULD MY AMAZING INTERPRETATIONS HAVE BEEN SO WRONG WHEN I CHERRY-PICKED THEM SO CAREFULLY? CONSPIRACY! HATE CRIME! WAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! There was never any basis for their assumption they knew those symbols were legitimately symbols with significance, let alone their assumption they knew the ending - other than their own fixation and entitlement.
Just to finally drive the point home about how absurd it all is? In my original autobiography example, we're talking about an autobiography of a famously successful person. Any remotely savvy reader can make pretty reasonable guesses from the genre conventions of autobiographies, that person being Known Name successful, and context in the surrounding text about how important that move was going to be to the author's life to be such a focus - and therefore what things in the surrounding text might be *cough* reasonable symbolic signposts. There's still some potential to be wrong about the particulars of that moment, but it's a more educated guess about where the story is likely to go because of everything you know about the protagonist and the genre.
Similarly, any remotely savvy watcher who has some familiarity with horror fantasy as a genre, who spent fifteen seasons watching a show where everyone fucking dies and two brothers are obsessively and intensely brothering each other to the exclusion of all their other relationships every episode, from every single premiere through every single finale? Nevermind anyone who also basically ever heard the showrunners and stars talk about it? Is not going to reasonably think, oh, hey, this is totally going to end with the single central relationship of the show indifferently separating to turn into a fluffy HEA romcom with random side characters. Even if you take off the ending of that sentence which is "because I totally found a bunch of secret clues in food and lighting that told me so".
It makes no fucking sense on a micro interpretation level of symbolism and signposts, and it makes no fucking sense on a macro interpretation level of genre and overarching themes. But, like, they really wanted it, so who cares about that? Um, all the rest of us who actually liked the show for what it was, not an entirely different thing we tried to convince ourselves it would eventually have to be ... because reasons. Especially anyone who gives even half a shit about how decent storytelling in media actually works.
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Hi BMT,
I hope you are well.
I was hoping you would help me.without judgement. I am scared of going to other tumblr account.
I am a fan of BTS and followed then for a while. Along the way, I have somehow managed to fall in love with Jikook. I never realized I started seeking their moments until recently. I know you don't do shipping and my question isn't really about shipping. I am just curious about what something means. JK recently released the HBD video for Jimin. In the video, he said bro at the end. In my normal and bland world, I normally see bro as something said between friends but I saw all these Jikookers rave about it. What makes this video so great? I am really naive and haven't honestly been in relationships so I don't understand the fuss. I heard bro and assumed that he was addressing someone he saw as a friend. Up until now, I thought they could be together but that video cemented my initial belief that they weren't/aren't together. Am I missing something? Are you able to help me with this? Like I am not asking you to talk about their relationship. I am just asking your help understanding what the video means in any context.
Ok anon, I shall do as you desire. I don't have the energy to analyze your text to see if you're a troll or not, so I'm going to put on my innocent hat to answer your ask today, assuming your question is truly genuine. I will tell you what I think specifically about what you want to know and then I'll see where this goes....
Tone and context are clues which help us interpretate the words that we hear. That's why, singling out one word may prove to be unhelpful in trying to figure out what the person says. Take for example the word "baby". Look up its definition in the dictionary. And then think of all the people who use it as a term of endearment to call their partners. Do they really see them as babies? No. But the word gets another meaning, depending on how and when it's used. Tone is very important as well and usually the first clue that indicates what the person is trying to say. It's true that for some people, that is hard to understand and that's fine. But you gave no indication and you didn't mention any of that, so I'm not going to assume it's difficult for you to figure out emotions.
So, to answer your specific question, in the context of flirting and more specifically a video that basically looks like a text book thirst trap, the word bro loses its "strictly dude bros friendship-type of meaning" because the person who said the words made sure to create a context that gives the receiver/viewer of the video the key to how this can be interpreted. You don't need to be in a relationship to know what flirting sounds and looks like. I mean, go and do some research on BTS and the multitude of videos there are at our disposal and see how they use the word bro in other situations and compare it to this one.
Now, to address other stuff that is going on here? What do you mean you're afraid to go to other tumblr blogs? You're still anonymous, so what does it matter? You're afraid that if you say that you believe two guys in BTS are just friends, the bloggers will raise their pitchforks? Let me teach you something, so next time you can go to actual shipping blogs in matters that relate strictly to a ship. Your ask could have been formulated in the following way: "Hey, X. I know you probably talked a lot about that video Jungkook made for Jimin, but I was wondering if you're willing to expand a bit more on Jungkook's flirting techniques and how he likes to use certain words that at first glance, would not mean much, but through his tone, he changes everything. Like when he says Jimin-ssi or how he used bro in this context. Thanks in advance, have a lovely day! See? Not that hard. Hope this helps.
As to that video cementing your beliefs in the the bros are strictly bros, then what's the problem? Is that bad? Does that confuse you because other stuff made you think otherwise? So what? Seriously, ask yourself this. So what? Do they loose their appeal, are they less interesting to watch? Do you need someone to come up with "evidence" that could help you change your mind because all this confusion gives you this weird feeling inside, like you can't trust your instincts, but then perhaps you can't trust the ones that you watch? Yeah, I'm not trying to psychoanalyze you and as I said, this sort of dilemma is more appropriate for jikook spaces, which is why I'm going to tag it as that, perhaps others might be of help next time. As I said, it's all in how you word your question.
And on a last note, people don't need to be in a relationship in order to flirt. Flirting for the sake of flirting can be really fun and it happens amongst best of friends as well.
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lemonhemlock · 1 year
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The thing is if anyone says that Daemon and maybe Criston were possibly subjected to Alys' charms you will immediately be accused of being a misogynist. Just try suggesting that on Twitter or on Reddit, it will be like detonating a bomb in real time. Some will even lose their minds if you even dare to call her a witch. This is why nobody even tries to reason with those people anymore. Book readers who still remember the little that was being discussed online about all of this before the show know you could have a normal debate back then on what may have actually happened in the book with those two by analyzing every scenario the text implies but right now it's impossible to do so due to the fact that antis and crazies who only use the character to project onto her have hijacked this part of the fandom and everything they do is bully people with different opinions. As for Aemond's age, well, firstly I have to say I love how defensive they get when his young age is pointed out, be it 16 in the show which is the maximum he can be given the timeline (I also still believe they meant for him to be at least 18 and messed up, but alas, here we are) or 19 in the book. They'll just say it's two adults falling in love and end of story. This parallel was pointed out in the past by other anons I think but the relationship also reminds me of Nettles and Daemon. She is 16 years old when she first appears in the story (and yes, also an adult by Westerosi standards if I'm not mistaken?), but normally she would still also be way too young for Daemon and the whole affair is very icky, if she's indeed his lover and not his daughter, yet I don't see antis applying the same logic to them, instead they only use the relationship to point out that Daemon is a groomer. Not that it's not true, because it is, but you see the double standards. This teenager/barely adult young man x older adult woman ship? Good. The other one bad.
I myself had an anon at one point that I think was trying to suggest Alys being a witch is made up because of sexism, when I pointed out that this ship isn't viable, as Aemond cannot bring a literal representation of the supernatural with him back into the Red Keep.
I also believe they meant for him to be older, but messed up the maths or didn't realise the clownish implications it would have for future seasons, but, like you, I wish this debate would die already. Yes, Ryan specified the ages of 17-21 for them, but it's physically impossible for Aemond to be older than 16, with the time-jumps they themselves specified in the show - 10 years after ep. 5 and 6 years after Driftmark. I do not care what Ryan or anyone else says in this regard, confess that you don't know how to do basic algebra and just retcon it or whatever, but both cannot be true at the same time. This isn't Dark on Netflix, we're not time-travelling or in parallel universes ffs, Aemond cannot grow older when he has maximum 16 years of linear time to do so.
And even if we go by FB, where he's 19-20 and Alys is "at least 40 years old, that much is known", nobody would be peddling the argument that it's two adults falling in love. By all means, nobody is telling you not to ship it, just to stop insisting on this weird orwellian imposition that everything is fine and dandy between them.
In any case, this is a very complex discussion of power dynamics, as in this very specific case it is muddled enough that it's not entirely evident who abuses whom. On the one hand, Alys can be the manipulative older woman, who also taps into the paranormal and is empowered as a result of that, so not a person to be trifled with. On the other hand, Aemond, while younger, still has a tremendous amount of social, political and military power he can lord over Alys. He is a prince of the realm, he has Vhagar and he has the power to put her entire family to the sword.
Anyway, I expect that in future seasons daemyras and daettles* are going to go hard against alysmonds and throw the age argument right back in their faces. They're going to be warring over this aspect to the moon and back, when it's such a stupid hill to die on. Accept it as the problematic** ship that it is and live your life in peace. Glass houses/candles and all.
*or whatever the ship name is for daemon/nettles
**god, i h8 that word, but nothing better comes to mind rn
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peachsayshi · 3 years
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Chapter 13 - Spinning
Tags: Friends with Benefits, Smut, Angst
Summary: You and Gojo are caught up in your feelings and he unintentionally breaks another rule. 
A/N: (18+ / minors and ageless blogs dni) New chapter! This is a bit of a filler chapter but I am working up to some dramatic things (smut and angst coming up!) plus revealing some of the secrets that happened in the timeline 👀 I hope you enjoy it! And as always comments are appreciated ☺️
- - - 
Sitting cross legged on your bedroom floor, you proceeded to fold the fresh laundry into perfectly neat piles. Music enveloped your room, the bass from your speaker bouncing off the walls as you mindlessly hummed along to the track that was playing. This is how you were choosing to unwind after a long work week, by organizing and cleaning up your apartment. There was something completely cathartic about resetting your space and you found yourself having plenty of free time on your hands recently.
Gojo has been exceptionally busy. At first there was an itch when you began seeing less of him, the two of you would plan to get together but that consistently kept getting cancelled. Eventually those plans transitioned to you agreeing on catching up with one another once things settled. Now it seems the only time you managed to hear from your friend was with sporadic phone calls and random text messages that he would send you at weird hours. The itch slowly turned into an ache, that familiar knot in your stomach making its presence known more often than usual.
There was something about the way he managed to fill the silence. You always gave him a hard time about talking your ear off but realised that he actually entertained you with some great conversations.
Even though half the time he was talking about ridiculous subject matters…
You had to hand it to Satoru though, he always spoke with such enthusiasm he would make the concept of paint drying seem fascinating.
He was fascinating.
Eight years of friendship have taught you that but you were smart enough not to feed his ego. Despite the two of you being close, Gojo still never fully let you in. You couldn’t deny that you were intrigued by him, curious to know more about the strongest sorcerer who seemed totally unphased by his own title whenever he was around you. You wanted to know more about how he fought off curses and protected people from the evils that seemed to be invisible in your eyes. Although he consistently evaded your questions, he did slowly open up about other things. You particularly loved the way his face let up when he talked about his students and it made you realise that if there was anything Gojo Satoru had committed himself to, it was his role as an instructor to the next generation of sorcerers.
Still, you usually tried to pry information out of him when the two of you would get lost in deep conversation, noticing the way Gojo would drift in his own thoughts whenever the subject seemed to focus on him.
Clearly there was an extent to which the man loved talking about himself.
There was a point when he spoke where you saw his face grow pensive as he brought up an old friend. He referenced him in passing but the way his mouth fell pained you just as much as it seemed to hurt him. Your question was on the tip of your tongue, eager to learn more about the people within his own circle, but Satoru immediately shifted the conversation onto something else.
That wall, much like his infinity, is impenetrable.
Unfortunately, the dynamics were in his favor. You wished that you could conceal your own emotions as easily around him but it was impossible. Gojo had the capability of knowing exactly how you were thinking and feeling at any given second. His incredible perception was his advantage, that’s why he is able to gauge your reactions so well.
You smiled subconsciously to yourself, goosebumps floating up to your shoulders when you realised how much you wanted your arms wrapped around his neck, your body pressing into his chest while breathing that spicy, sweet cologne…
Stop it.
You paused your action, the jeans on your lap in a mid-fold as you froze in place and your brain instantly turned off those dangerous ideas.  
You swallowed your own emotions, your abdomen tight when you realised that you had just spent the last ten minutes having intimate thoughts about Gojo.
You really shouldn’t but there was something about the way he acts around you that made you the slightest bit curious as to what he was thinking and how he was feeling.
How often did you cross his mind and did he even miss you as much as you did him?
At some point the two of you were going to have to stop this little game you were playing. Even though you weren’t seeking it out at the moment, you do want to settle down eventually with somebody you love. Satoru made it perfectly clear where he stood on relationships. He had no desire to get involved with anybody and the concept of marriage was something he completely rejected.
You recalled having a conversation with him about: 
“Are you really telling me that you’re okay living as a bachelor for the rest of your life?”
“Happily, actually…” Gojo replied, while you both continued your heated debate on the prospects of love.
“But why are you so against it?”
"I have my reasons,” he replied with a shrug.
Satoru always seemed to have a reason for everything but he was not willing to share it with you, leaving you in moments like this to analyze the little things he says to try and put the pieces together yourself.
Truthfully, you don’t want to stop as you found yourself fixated on this new…friends with benefits-ship…
Everything about it felt so good that you couldn’t even remember what things were like before you started hooking up.
How could you go back to just being friends after he’s seen you in your most vulnerable state? How were you supposed to pretend that his hands haven’t unraveled you into submission time and time again? How could you sit next to him without thinking about kissing him for hours on end? How were you supposed to listen to him talk without remembering the moments where he would whisper angel in your ear?
How the hell did you manage to keep your hands off him before this even started?
There was always the unspoken fact that you found each other attractive but since this new dynamic has started the two of you were like magnets whenever you were in close proximity to one another.
Well, you were able to keep the barrier because you were in a happily committed relationship with Haru, you interjected and suddenly you found yourself slumping your shoulders.
Haru was in love with you. He gave you the companionship you needed, he filled the silence with mindless conversations and was the one who held you when you needed him. He was the one to swallow your cries with soft kisses, that made you laugh in hysterics when you needed to boost your mood…
Your heart stopped, realizing that you were seeking out what Haru gave you with Gojo. Your gut wrenching at the idea of you using your friend to fill the emotional gap that Haru left. This ache that knotted your insides meant nothing and you were letting your thoughts confuse you into thinking that you were missing Gojo.
All you needed was to get your distraction back.
After all, Gojo is just your friend.
You had no reason to think anything else could come of this and burned any other thought about Satoru from crossing your mind for the rest of the evening.
If you even thought for a second that you might be falling for him, you would cut ties immediately. You weren’t going to put a strain on your friendship because you’re silly ideals were getting in the way of your agreement.
The two of you were just fucking.
Nothing more, nothing less.
***
Gojo studied the woman before him, acknowledging the fact that she is one of the most stunning individuals he had ever laid his eyes on. She was older than him by ten years but if it wasn’t for the age on her online profile, he wouldn’t have been able to tell.
She was tall, meeting his own towering height, give or take a few inches. Her long, pin straight hair flowed to her hips, accentuating her curves and covering her supple breasts. Her face could strike down any man that looked at her with those deep eyes and he was tempted to nibble on her full lips. Seeing her in person made Gojo realize that her price was high for a reason and totally justifiable.
Anyone would pay extra to fuck a goddess.
Somehow, he wound up here thanks to his own frustrations. His desire for you was driving him wild and his own hands weren’t enough to solve this problem. He still respected the rules that were unbroken and knew that as long as he didn’t go too far with Ami, he was fine. He wasn’t going to have sex with her but that didn’t mean that she couldn’t help him out with his current predicament in other ways.
Besides, you did tell him that he was allowed to see other people. However, that didn’t stop his stomach from twisting at the thought of climbing into bed with someone other than you. He couldn’t quite figure out what this awkward sensation was or why he was bothered by his own decision to meet up with Ami in the first place.
Gojo stripped down to his boxers before sitting on the edge of her satin covered mattress. She was admiring him with amusement, the tempting smile on her lips telling him that she was also enjoying what she was seeing.
“You paid for a full hour but said that you might not be here for that long. Did something urgent come up?” she questioned, her voice sensually low and sending a shiver up Gojo’s spine.
My she is dangerous, he thought to himself, knowing full well how this entire experience would go under different circumstances.
The circumstances being, well, you.
“I don’t plan on sticking around too long...” he explained.
“I’ll have to adjust your pay accordingly then,” she replied, taking a few steps forward until she was standing in front of him.
“I don’t mind paying for the full hour,” Gojo teased with a grin, his free hand moving to touch her silky hair as he rubbed it between his fingers.
She smiled, nearly taking his breath away as she brought her finger to the blindfold covering his eyes.
“I don’t like accepting money for free,” she  stated, tracing her touch down his chiseled jawline. “I bet you’re handsome but I am guessing you don’t plan on taking this thing off to show me what you really look like.”
“Yep,” Gojo smiled as Ami proceeded to slide across her bed next to him. "And you guessed right, I’ve got an exceptionally pretty face.”
“Cocky too,” she purred, “there’s a special way I treat guys like you…”
Gojo hummed, switching his position so he was lying back against her pillows. Ami crawled her body over his lean torso, her hands rubbing up and down his thigh as she glanced in his direction.
“Oh, yeah? I would love to see how...” Gojo insisted, his breath growing heavy as she guided her hand all the way to his mouth.
She traced his bottom lip with her thumb, a devious mask highlighting her stunning features as she spoke, “Be a good boy and lie back while I take care of you…”
He fully caved, allowing this sultry siren to take control by touching and teasing his body however she pleased. Gojo usually enjoyed relinquishing his power every now and then but for whatever reason it was taking some effort for him to fully immerse himself with what was happening. Ami straddled his cock, before proceeding to press her mouth against his. Her lips were working fervently over his own as she deepened the kiss, but the spark that he needed just wasn’t igniting.
When Ami flicked her tongue over his, he would only think about the sensation of yours. The taste of you in his mouth lingered like an addictive poison. One that he craved every single time you crossed his mind. The sound of your moans played in his ear and the sweet way you called out his name when he touched you between your legs filtered his brain. He was only brought back to the reality that it wasn’t you pushing your body against his, when Ami wrapped her fingers around his throat. He tried to erase you and focus on the woman before him but was persistently failing.
She could see that something was off from how he was responding to her caresses. “Are you sure you're up for this tonight, baby?” Ami teased, whispering into his mouth as she snagged his bottom lip between her teeth. “You don’t seem ready for me...”
“Fuck…” Gojo grunted out of frustration, knocking his head back as he pressed his fingers to his temple. “It’s not you, I’m just distracted…”
“What’s on your mind?” she continued, stroking his broad chest lovingly to try and coax him out of the daze he was in.
“Not what...who…” he responded shyly, his cheeks blushing ever so slightly by his admittance.
“I see…” she cooed, “Wife? Girlfriend?”
Gojo scoffed, a comical laugh escaping him as he shook his head.
“Definitely not.”
Ami pressed her lips together, her nail doodling along his upper body with random figures as she continued to question her intriguing client.
“Tell me about her…”
Gojo froze, his hands digging into Ami’s thighs upon hearing her bold question, “she’s just a friend. There’s nothing to say...”
“Is she beautiful?”
“She’s gorgeous,” Gojo exhaled, his words passing his lips faster than he could process what he had just said. Ami tracked her hands down between her legs, stroking his boxers as she massaged his length.
“Tell me what she looks like…”
He described you in detail, from your sinfully sweet lips to the beautiful sound of your laughter and how soft your skin felt in his hands. She continued tricking him into revealing the intimate thoughts that swirled in his mind when he thought about you. She heard the way Gojo’s voice wavered as he swelled between her hands, the tip of his cock poking through his underwear as the pre-cum stained the material of his boxers. Ami pulled the clothing away from his hips, hands returning to grip his member as she continued stroking up and down his shaft.
“Do you think about fucking her with the other women you meet?”
“Yes,” Gojo revealed through gritted teeth, swallowing hard as she played with his tip by circling his thumb over the slit of his cock.
“How often?”
“Too often,” the sorcerer hissed, his hips bucking into her hands.
“I bet you wish you were fucking her right now, don’t you?”
She saw how turned on he is and how easily the thought of you brought him close to his release. Ami spread her legs, adjusting her stance until she brought the tip of his cock to her entrance. Gojo hesitated, knowing that he needed to stop what was about to happen. This wasn’t supposed to go this far. He was only here for a quick hand job or blowjob, but he couldn’t suppress a satisfied moan as she slid down to take in his length.
“F-fuck, wai-...”
“Shh, baby, close your eyes and think of your sweet angel…” Ami whispered in his ear, making Gojo roll his blue irises to the back of his head as he relaxed into her touch.
She didn’t speak after that, fulfilling her promise of taking care of him but also ensuring that his focus was solely on the mental image of you. The sound of her skin bouncing up and down his length took over the entire room. The way Ami stated that you were his was enough to send him over the edge and it didn’t take long until he climaxed at the thought, quickly pulling out of her and releasing hot ropes of cum all over her stomach but imagining that it was you the entire time. She immediately cleaned herself up after they finished, before giving Gojo some privacy and allowing him to get himself together.
After he got dressed, he pulled out his phone to transfer the payment. He doubled the amount he was supposed to give, totally aware that she didn’t reach her own release and was disappointed in himself that he couldn’t pleasure the remarkable temptress before him.
He slipped on his boots, his mind racing as the guilt rushed right through him. He hated that broke another rule, especially since this particular one was a boundary you set for your own comfort. He was angry at himself that he disrespected that and was annoyed for crossing the line in the first place.
What the fuck is wrong with me?, he thought to himself.
“I told you I don’t get paid for doing nothing. I don't accept money like that, not even from spoiled rich boys like you,” Ami stated, her words stung but she spoke in such a gentle tone that didn’t offend the sorcerer. She was leaning against the wall as she appeared before him, her body now covered with just a pink robe.
“You got me off but I did nothing to reciprocate. I tell all the other girls to charge double if that happens.”
“How considerate,” she mused before arching her brow in delight at him, “but for the sake of my own conscience I feel like I need to give you something in return…”
Gojo stood up from his seat, smoothing out his clothes before approaching her slowly. Even though he got what he wanted out of this arrangement, he was feeling worse about himself the longer he stayed in this room.
“How about a piece of advice before you leave and we can call it even?” Ami questioned.
“What is it?” the sorcerer wondered, hearing her feet patter against the carpet as she followed his footsteps to her front door.
She paused when she reached for the handle, before tilting her face and directing her full attention towards his covered eyes.
“Tell your friend how you feel or cut off whatever it is you’re doing. If you don’t tell her then you’re fucked, plain and simple.”
“Look, what happened just now doesn’t mean anything…”
She raised her fingers to his lips, stopping him from even attempting to defend what transpired.
“Don’t take this the wrong way but you’re easy to read. I have had clients come here trying to forget their lovers and those who come to see me because they can’t resist their own primative urges. I see the ones who are lonely, who only visit me for companionship and nothing more. Then there are the ones who are like you, who will bury themselves in any cunt they see just to pretend that they aren’t in love with somebody else…”
Gojo clenched his jaw, squeezing his hands together as the heat rose up to his face.
“You don't know what you're talking about. Besides, wanting to fuck somebody and being in love are two very different things.”
“True, except those two things are tangled up in one person when it comes to you…”
Gojo pressed his lips into a thin line, unsure as to why her accusation made him so irritated.
“Awww, don’t get angry, pretty boy. It’s unbecoming for somebody as handsome as you are…” Ami whispered, before kissing him on the cheek as she said her goodbye. “It’s okay, I promise that your secret is safe with me…”
*** 
CHAPTER 14: JEALOUSY
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Hi, first off I ship Zutara and I come in peace. I was pointed your way by a friend when I asked for people who ship kataang who are nevertheless willing to hear different views. I have lurked on blog a week and finally got up my nerve to ask how you or any other Kataang can deny that the last part of book 3 was completely Zutara but then stopped abruptly with no buildup? You can finesse tone on text so I'm not being sarcastic or bitchy, it is a serious question (1/5)
In The Southern Raiders, Katara realizes she has been wrong about Zuko. In Ember Island Players, she realizes Aang is not as mature as she thought he was, and in the finale, Katara does not care a whit that Aang is gone. I am serious and as someone who is no Aang stan but likes him, I’m actually annoyed by how little anyone cared about his disappearance. It went from “Aang’s gone!” to “Okay whatever, let’s find Iroh so he can kill Ozai.” (2/5)
Katara was all over Zuko (honestly, again not being a jerk) in the finale until for whatever reason, she wasn’t. She was giving him a pep talk about Iroh, she was going with him to Azula, she was healing him and saying he saved her not the other way around. I genuinely don’t get why this isn’t seen as romantic. I will grant you that Zuko would not have allowed Azula to kill anyone but I feel the point here was Zuko realizing his life was pointless if Katara was killed. (4/5)
And then literally at the end, Mai shows up after Zuko not talking about her at all for six episodes and declares herself Zuko’s girlfriend. And Katara kisses Aang after being annoyed with and by him arguably since The Southern Raiders. I get that Kataang “won” and I’ve made peace with that, but ... I can’t understand why Kataang shippers are okay with such a crap story. I swear on my gmom [sic] if they’d done this for [Zvtara], I’d be mad as hell. So I don’t understand, I really don’t. (5/5)
As always, I shall begin with a disclaimer: anon, you do not have to agree with this post. No one has to agree with this post, as it is strictly my own thoughts on the subject matter raised here! As per usual, I will not be putting this in the main tags - much less the Zvtara tag! - because I have basic fandom decency, lmao. If you (the general you, not anon specifically) do disagree with this post, that is totally fine, I simply ask that you are polite in expressing your disagreement (if you choose to do so at all! no one is expected to, lmao. i promise).
Alright. Formalities are out of the way!
I’ll admit I giggled a little bit when you say you lurked on my blog for a week, because I’ve actually talked about this subject numerous times in the past! I just found it funny you hadn’t stumbled across any posts about it yet, lol. So, as a heads up, know that I will be providing several links in this post since - again - this subject and related subjects have been analyzed a multitude of times before. I highly recommend reading them all! Mostly because I don’t intend to spend forever restating what’s been said over and over and over lmaooo. I will provide the resources, but it is up to each individual to take advantage of them.
To begin: your ask actually contains a few logical fallacies, anon! I do not mean this as shade or to belittle you - I fall victim to this issue all the time myself. Anyone who writes analyses or participates in debates does! Humans are imperfect and often like to cut corners to reach a conclusion. It is nothing to be embarrassed or ashamed about because - as the existence of your ask in inbox indicates - you are willing to learn more. So kudos to you, my friend!
Alright. So what logical fallacies am I talking about here? (For the record: specific definitions of logical fallacies were taken from here.)
1. Hasty Generalization.
“A hasty generalization is a general statement without sufficient evidence to support it.” Numerous claims are made in this ask that I have absolutely no doubt you believe to be true, anon, but there really isn’t any concrete evidence to support it! I will go into more detail later, of course, but let’s quickly look at one example:
“In Ember Island Players, [Katara] realizes Aang is not as mature as she thought he was…”
For the time being, I will ask but one question: from the show itself, not fanon, how do you know this?
2. Causal Fallacy
Ah, this guy. My own worst enemy, tbh! “A causal fallacy is any logical breakdown when identifying a cause,” of which there are several types. “One causal fallacy is the false cause or non causa pro causa (‘not the-cause for a cause’) fallacy, which is when you conclude about a cause without enough evidence to do so.” In your ask, you claim:
“I will grant you that Zuko would not have allowed Azula to kill anyone but I feel the point here was Zuko realizing his life was pointless if Katara was killed.”
Again, for the time being, I will ask only one question: from the show itself, not fanon, what led you to believe this statement?
“Another kind of causal fallacy is the correlational fallacy also known as cum hoc ergo propter hoc (Lat., ‘with this therefore because of this’). This fallacy happens when you mistakenly interpret two things found together as being causally related.” In your ask, you claim:
“Katara was all over Zuko (honestly, again not being a jerk) in the finale until for whatever reason, she wasn’t. She was giving him a pep talk about Iroh, she was going with him to Azula, she was healing him and saying he saved her not the other way around. I genuinely don’t get why this isn’t seen as romantic.”
I will ask one question: from the show itself, not fanon, why would you believe these are indicative of romance? (Consider the context the show is situated in, too - e.g. the war, Katara being Azula’s only available match in skill, etc.)
The reason I bring up the issue of logical fallacies is again not at all to make you feel bad, anon!! You were simply trying to express your point to me and I greatly appreciate you taking the time to do so. See, your ask actually presents a larger fandom trend:
Misconstruing fanon as canon.
What you have offered to me, anon, are fanon conclusions. To clarify: there is absolutely nothing wrong with fanon. I adore fanon interpretations (an example I have used in the past is Kuzaang - like, I don’t care that there’s no canon basis! I do what I want lmao!), but a line has to be drawn between exploring fanon interpretations and expecting everyone to take that fanon as canon. Again, anon, this is not your fault! It is not any one person’s fault, lmao. It is an issue of fandom as a whole, and all of us fall victim to it.
With that in mind, I will break down the different components of your ask. I will also do my best to be brief - as aforementioned, I and others have analyzed this issue numerous times before, lmao. To avoid confusion, it would be best to read through each or at least most links as they are provided!
Firstly, there are two posts I have made in the past that almost directly answer your overarching question here in this ask. Please read them prior to continuing, as I will occasionally reference them:
This post explains how Zvtara was not built up from TSR/EIP-onwards, and how their supposed “canon enemies to lovers arc” is a completely fanon construction.
This post explains the issue of the “canon Zvtara” rhetoric from rabid zkers (and you, anon, are absolutely NOT one, in case you were worried).
Alrighty. With that out the way, let’s get into it!
“In The Southern Raiders, Katara realizes she has been wrong about Zuko.”
Gotta start by saying that TSR is not about Zuko. TSR is, first and foremost, about Katara. Katara does not realize she was wrong about Zuko, because here’s the truth - she wasn’t wrong about him. Zuko did horrible things to the Gaang. Katara was not wrong to hold him accountable for that. What Katara does realize is that holding such rage so close to her chest is bad for her. This rage was not solely anger against Zuko, either; it was of course about Yon Rha, too, but it was also anger towards Kya and Katara herself. Essentially, TSR is where Katara realizes she has to forgive herself. Zuko is only one part of her journey (similar to Aang’s role in the episode, if a different end of the spectrum).
This post explains how TSR was fundamentally about Katara.
Additional resources about TSR:
This post explains Aang’s comments to Katara in TSR and how Katara herself recognized their validity.
This post explains why both Aang and Zuko were important to Katara in TSR.
This post is an extensive breakdown of Aang and Katara’s relationship within TSR.
“In Ember Island Players, [Katara] realizes Aang is not as mature as she thought he was…”
You provide no context for this claim, so I’m going to work with the assumption this is about their reactions to the play itself and the infamous kiss!
There is something important we must keep in mind when discussing EIP: the play they watch is literally imperialist propaganda. It is meant to demean the entire Gaang, and indeed it does exactly that. You mention Katara and Aang specifically, so I will recap what I have explained before about their depictions in EIP: Katara, an indigenous woman, is hypersexualized and portrayed as overly emotional (and thus “irrational”). This reinforces the Fire Nation sentiment that women of the Water Tribes are less intelligent and less suited for “responsibility” than Fire Nation women. Aang, a pacifist and the sole survivor of genocide who is also canonly the male character most comfortable with femininity and spirituality, is portrayed as a flighty, airheaded woman (this is a well-known imperialist tactic meant to emasculate the target, seeing as masculinity was often equated with power in fascist regimes; thus, they effectively belittled Aang before the FN audience). This reinforces the Fire Nation sentiment that the Air Nomads were foolish, weak people who deserved to die.
In other words, of course Aang and Katara were upset about how they portrayed in the play. It is understandable that tensions would be running high and consequently that mistakes (we all know the one) would be made.
This post explains how EIP belittles each member of the Gaang (and why the play is not indicative of Zvtara).
This post talks specifically about EIP and their portrayal of Aang and Katara.
Now onto the kiss. As everyone knows and no one has ever disagreed with, Aang was wrong to kiss Katara. Point blank!
But what people do misunderstand is Katara and Aang’s feelings regarding the kiss. Given your above quote, I assume you believe Aang kissing Katara supposedly made her realize that Aang wasn’t as mature as she once thought. On the surface, this seems like a logical conclusion! But digging deeper reveals… well, there’s nothing that indicates this conclusion at all. Even jumping ahead to the finale, when Zuko has doubts over Aang’s return, Katara demonstrates her faith in Aang (although of course she’s nervous - I won’t deny the obvious, lmao) as she says, “Aang won’t lose. He’s gonna come back. He has to.”
In other words, nothing in canon suggests that Katara believes Aang is immature because of what happened in EIP. She still trusts in his return, as she did even before she knew him (and arguably is more confident in him now, given the 60~ episodes of them growing closer). Furthermore, when Aang does disappear, Katara doesn’t have an outburst about how “immature” it was for him to “run away again.” The viewers know Aang didn’t run away, of course (fans who insist he did are not worth arguing with, anon - they don’t understand the show, rip), but that is a luxury the rest of the Gaang is not afforded. And yet even though Aang has vanished off the face of the planet, Katara still believes he will save the world. If anything, that signifies the utmost confidence in his skill and maturity!
To go back to the kiss itself, this post explains the true source of Katara’s conflict in turning down Aang (hint: she says it herself in the episode! you know, the whole war going on) and why the EIP kiss did not sink Kataang’s relationship.
Additional sources about EIP:
This post explains how the EIP kiss was resolved through narrative parallels.
This post explains how the EIP kiss is so often blown out of proportion.
“… and in the finale, Katara does not care a whit that Aang is gone. I am serious and as someone who is no Aang stan but likes him, I’m actually annoyed by how little anyone cared about his disappearance. It went from ‘Aang’s gone!’ to ‘Okay whatever, let’s find Iroh so he can kill Ozai.’”
As I already touched upon, Katara didn’t need a soliloquy to emphasize her connection to Aang once he disappeared. She trusts that he will return. She says so herself. I guess I just don’t understand how you got from Point A, Katara has consistent faith in Aang, to Point B, Katara and the rest of the Gaang didn’t care about Aang’s disappearance. It’s honestly a bit more like Point A to Point Z, lmao! If you would like to expand on your logic here, I would love to hear more!!
There are a few specific aspects I want to note about your rationale, though. You argue the Gaang moves from ‘Aang disappeared’ to ‘let’s find Iroh,’ but the Gaang actually went from:
1. Aang disappeared!
2. They search the entire island for him.
3. Okay, they couldn’t find him, so they track down June and have her try to find Aang.
4. June says to them, “No, I mean he’s gone gone. He doesn’t exist.” (And she clarifies to Sokka that she doesn’t mean dead, either - she means Aang has totally blinked out of their world.)
5. Only after all of this do they decide to track down Iroh.
The Gaang cares immensely about the fact that Aang is gone, and you could actually argue they waste time by trying to track him down. They don’t give up until June essentially tells them that some Spirit World shenanigans were involved. Even if you don’t think they reached that specific conclusion, I have to ask: What else were they supposed to do? They were told Aang didn’t exist! How are they supposed to fix that?
Well, they can’t. So they do the next best thing: they find Iroh, the man who knows Ozai better than anyone and is also one of the most talented firebenders in the world. In my opinion, that’s a very logical step to take.
“Katara was all over Zuko (honestly, again not being a jerk) in the finale until for whatever reason, she wasn’t. She was giving him a pep talk about Iroh, she was going with him to Azula, she was healing him and saying he saved her not the other way around. I genuinely don’t get why this isn’t seen as romantic.”
I’ll be blunt here, lol: in my opinion, nothing of what you listed in your ask is inherently romantic.
Okay. I am going to assume you’ve read the first two posts I linked earlier (“Zvtara did not have an E-L arc” and “the ‘canon’ Zvtara of rabid zkers has issues”), because I do not intend to rehash everything they contain, lol. Consequently, I presume you realize by now that there was no canon romantic interest between Zuko and Katara.
And as I always say, just because there wasn’t a canon romance doesn’t mean people can’t take fanon routes! Of course they can! That’s the entire point of fanon! But fanon is not canon, and I am strictly referring to canon in my discussions.
You claim Katara was all over Zuko, which in itself I don’t think is an accurate assessment, because she doesn’t really do anything with Zuko outside the three points you bring up (other than the June gag, which I addressed in one of the aforementioned linked posts). So I’ll go ahead and break down each instance you provide!
1. “[Katara] was giving [Zuko] a pep talk about Iroh”
Katara asked Zuko if he was okay. She asked him if he was genuinely sorry. She reassures him that Iroh will forgive him. That’s… all. Not to diminish the significance of this conversation, but it’s not exactly an intimate, romantically-charged discussion (unless fanon-ized). But on that note, let’s tackle the canon significance of this moment!
Katara knows firsthand the challenge of forgiving Zuko. And she knows that Zuko understands how hard it was for her to forgive him (note: Katara’s anger was totally justified, and anyone who disagrees is probably a rabid Zuko stan lmao). She also recognizes that Zuko is terrified it will take Iroh the same struggle to forgive him that Katara went through. This scene is not related to romance at all. It’s about compassion. It’s about Katara and Zuko’s friendship having progressed, slowly but surely, to the point where she’s not afraid to extend empathy to him anymore (seeing as the first time, beneath Ba Sing Se, did not go so well; you know - Aang died and all). It’s about Zuko recognizing his own fallibility (and the audience recognizing how much he’s grown). He questions how he can even face his uncle after all he’s done to the man, which is a far cry from his entitled attitude in TSR, where he demanded to know why Katara didn’t trust him when everyone else had forgiven him.
To make this moment, this moment about Zuko’s relationship with his uncle who is all but a literal father to him, this moment of vulnerability, of guilt, of remorse, of growth, to claim this powerful moment is about a nonexistent romantic relationship? In my opinion, that is incredibly reductive to what this scene is supposed to signify. And again, there is nothing wrong with people exploring such a possibility in fanon, but in canon? Nah. It doesn’t track.
2. “[Katara] was going with [Zuko] to Azula”
Don’t forget that at first, Zuko planned to take on Azula alone. He doesn’t request Katara to accompany him until Iroh tells him that he’ll need help. As such, Zuko’s immediate agreement with Iroh is reflective of his personal growth (Book 1 and 2 Zuko would have argued and insisted he didn’t need any help). It also demonstrates, however, that Katara was not obsessively on Zuko’s mind. He doesn’t choose Katara until Iroh points out that Zuko will need assistance in taking Azula down. This means that Zuko’s choice of Katara to join him is a tactical decision, not an emotional one. And by all accounts, it’s a damn good decision! Zuko witnessed firsthand beneath Ba Sing Se a) how powerful Katara was (e.g. that wave after Aang died) and b) how Katara was the only one who could take on Azula*.
Of course, besides the fact that Katara was the only match for Azula, who else was Zuko going to choose? Sokka and Suki, while talented in their own right, were no competition for Azula. Toph, while the greatest earthbender in the world, was needed to metalbend the airships. Katara was the only (and the best!) option.
Also, on their trip to face Azula, the only thing they talk about within their three lines of canon conversation are Azula and Aang. Not exactly a romantic flight, lmao.
*Zuko never saw Aang fight Azula on the drill.
3. “[Katara] was healing [Zuko] and saying he saved her not the other way around”
Actually, this is what the transcript says:
Zuko: Thank you, Katara.
Katara: I think I’m the one who should be thanking you.
You’re right about how their lines refer to them saving each other, but you posit it as a romantic moment, when the lines are actually pretty straightforward. Zuko thanks Katara as she heals him from the partially-redirected lightning strike, and Katara thanks him for trying to redirect the lightning away from her and in doing so saving her life. In terms of canon, there’s nothing romantic about this, lol! (Which I talked about extensively in the E-L post, if you need to reference it again.) The reason being is that you have to take the show itself into context when you do analysis. If there was no canon romantic buildup between Zuko and Katara, why would these lines in canon (not fanon! fanon is free rein, lmao) be interpreted through a romantic lens?
Well, they wouldn’t be interpreted as such. Plain and simple.
“I genuinely don’t get why this isn’t seen as romantic.”
Because looking through a canon lens, they aren’t romantic. That’s all. You are of course welcome to view them as such through a fanon lens!! It’s just about recognizing the line between canon and fanon.
“I will grant you that Zuko would not have allowed Azula to kill anyone but I feel the point here was Zuko realizing his life was pointless if Katara was killed.”
I asked earlier what content in the show itself led you to believe. I have wracked my own mind, and I cannot think of anything that would point to this conclusion. Zuko was in Katara’s good graces for 5 episodes. That’s 8% of the show. Not exactly a lot of time for Zuko to start believing his life would be pointless if Katara was killed, is it?
This post explains the improbability of Zuko having a crush on Katara within canon.
This post explains how Zuko’s racism towards the Air Nomads in TSR and the finale is, well, exactly that - racism (and not a sign of a crush on Katara).
And, of course, as has been said a million times, Zuko taking the lightning for Katara out of romantic interest would completely undermine his redemption arc. Since it has been said over and over and over, I will be brief: Zuko taking the lightning is significant because it is a selfless act (one of his only in the series), and it directly parallels his selfish act of choosing not to intervene when Azula killed Aang with lightning beneath Ba Sing Se. This moment demonstrates Zuko’s growth, how he has learned to accept unconditional love from Iroh and the Gaang and Mai and even Ty Lee and sure, even from Appa and Momo, too. To make this moment of pure selflessness about a nonexistent romance? To force a fanon romance in replacement of canon redemption and canon platonic significance?
Such a decision speaks wonders about a person’s priorities, in my opinion, as well as how amatonormativity impacts them.
Furthermore, Zuko’s choice cements Katara’s position as his surrogate sibling, as she is Azula’s primary foil. Zuko chooses the sister who heals over the sister who harms. I won’t go too much into it here, because it has already been talked about extensively before! Thus, I offer you this post that explains how Zuko and Katara - in canon - are positioned as surrogate siblings as well as Azula’s role in this matter. I also offer this post that lays out through screencaps how Zuko and Katara - in canon - treat each other like family.
Additional sources about the final Agni Kai:
This post in part discusses fanon misinterpretation of the final Agni Kai and why such a lens is not true to canon relationships.
This post explains why the final Agni Kai is not intended to be romantic.
This post explains how the final Agni Kai is primarily about Azula and how reducing it to be a big Zvtara moment is detrimental to both her and to Zuko and Katara themselves.
“And then literally at the end, Mai shows up after Zuko not talking about her at all for six episodes and declares herself Zuko’s girlfriend.”
This point could probably get a post of its own, lol, but fortunately I and others have already written a few! I will link them below - first, however, I question your choice of “declares.” Technically, yes, Mai does say outright that it doesn’t hurt how the new Fire Lord is her boyfriend, but your phrasing implies Zuko resisted her proclamation. When… he doesn’t. In fact, he embraces it, asking if that means she doesn’t hate him anymore (read: he asks if they’re back on good terms again). Zuko clearly doesn’t have a problem with the girl he loves wanting to be with him again - so why do some parts of fandom so adamantly insist he does? (Not you, anon - I am referring to the rabid fanoners, lol.)
Also, regarding how Zuko hasn’t talked about Mai for six episodes, we’ve gotta be realistic with this assessment in terms of canon:
1. It was the crux of the war. They were either going to live or die. There was no time for romance at this point! Sokka and Suki weren’t professing their love on the battlefield, lmao, so it’s not exactly strange that Zuko didn’t bust into a monologue about how he missed Mai. I think they were just a little bit distracted by the possible end of the world, lol, and all that jazz.
2. Zuko probably thought Mai was dead. He knows what Azula is like. He knows his sister doesn’t have time for people who get in her way (Aang can testify to this, lmao). So can you blame him for not wanting to think about how the girl he loved had died (to his knowledge) to save him?
You gotta cut the kid some slack, lol. Anyways! Additional sources about Maiko:
This post breaks down the notion of Maiko and “deserve.”
This post rationalizes through a canon lens why Mai’s arrival at the palace surprised Zuko.
This post is the mother of Maiko metas, explaining in tremendous detail why their relationships works, is relevant to canon, and was well-implemented for what its role was.
“And Katara kisses Aang after being annoyed with and by him arguably since The Southern Raiders.”
What in canon has led you to the conclusion that Katara was annoyed with Aang? What specific moments from TSR to the finale made you think Katara was annoyed with Aang and remained annoyed with Aang? Are there any, or are you thinking about fanon interpretation? (Canon vs fanon strikes again!)
In TSR, Katara explicitly thanks Aang for understanding her perspective. Nothing there is indicative of annoyance (and as in the links provided earlier, she was not angry at Aang/Zuko/etc. so much as she was at herself. well, she was a little bit angry with Zuko, lmao). In EIP, Katara is understandably angry at Aang’s decision to kiss her, but Aang completely backs off, and we see in the part 1 of the finale that there are no hard feelings or weird tension between them. Katara in fact actively expresses concern for Aang after Zuko sporadically attacked him when she demands of the firebender, “What’s wrong with you? You could have hurt Aang!” Even when Aang and Katara do butt heads later in the episode as Aang tries to think of a way to defeat Ozai without killing him, Katara doesn’t stay frustrated. Like I said - when she and Zuko are flying to Azula, she demonstrates her unwavering faith in Aang through her belief that he will return. So… where is the annoyance that you feel was present?
With all this mind, i.e. looking strictly at canon, Katara wasn’t annoyed with Aang during this time. Thus, Katara kisses Aang because she loved him. Because he backed off and gave her the space she needed to make a decision about if she wanted to be with him (hence Katara being the one to initiate the kiss). Because the issue was never about if she reciprocated his feelings (they both knew they loved each other) but rather it had to do with the war. At the end of the finale, the war is over, and there is nothing that prevents them from being together. Simple.
This post explains how Katara’s feelings for Aang develop throughout the series (and were not neglected, as rabid zkers like to claim, for some reason? again - you are not one of them, anon).
This post also covers Katara’s interest in Aang throughout the series.
“I can’t understand why Kataang shippers are okay with such a crap story.”
I mean, you definitely don’t have to ship Kataang. It may not be your cup of tea, and that’s totally okay! But as the above links demonstrate, Kataang was a fantastic story. It was well-implemented into the narrative from Day 1. The soulmateism is unparalleled!
Also, it’s worth noting that A:TLA itself was essentially pre-written. The writers knew how the story would end from the get-go, including that the show would end with Kataang. A few Zvtara gags were thrown in to add a sense of “who will Katara choose?” drama as the show aired, but Zuko and Katara were never planned to end up together. One reason so many newer fans are fine with Kataang from the start is that there’s no tension of waiting a week for a new episode when you can watch all 61 episodes straight through on Netflix, lmao. It’s even more obvious now than when A:TLA was airing that Aang and Katara will end up together, if that makes sense. (Although I talked about this in the E-L post linked earlier, so you probably understand this point already, as it was explained in detail there!)
All of this is to say that Kataang is not a “crap story” in terms of writing (again, personal taste is a different matter) because it was woven in from the beginning and had powerful narrative significance! (Kataang represented numerous complementary components of the series, such as yin and yang, push and pull, air and water, Oma and Shu, etc.)
Now. If you really and truly want to understand why Kataang shippers like Kataang, anon, consider reading some Kataang fanfics or exploring some Kataang headcanons. I read fics involving Zvtara more regularly than you might think, lol, because… well, it’s just a ship. I understand the appeal of romantic Zvtara and I can actually appreciate it when it’s well-written! I’m sure if you’re willing to put in just a little legwork (you don’t need to go the whole mile, lmao - ‘tis just fandom), you’ll realize why people like Kataang, even if it isn’t exactly your thing. You have the range, anon!! You got this!
I hope I managed to answer your questions, my friend! As always, you do not have to agree with anything I have said here. It is totally fine if you and anyone else disagrees! Everything above is simply my own perspective on the matter. Thank you for taking the time to read my response and all the different links I provided! I hope it has expanded your understanding of the subject at hand!
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thatshithurted8 · 4 years
Text
Overdose
Summary: In which a traumatic accident causes Rafe to change for the better.
Word Count: 4.3k
Trigger Warnings: Mention and depiction of drug use/addiction, overdose, depression and a little bit of violence.
Genre: Angst, fluff and a tiny bit of smut
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The first time Rafe Cameron laid eyes on you was at the first party of the summer at Kelce’s. You were taking shots off of a random Kooks belly button before snorting a line of coke.
The crowd around the kitchen island continued to cheer as you repeat the actions you just did mere seconds ago. Rafe gulps looking you up and down, admiring how your shirt hugged your breasts perfectly and how sexy your legs looked underneath your short skirt.
Despite being surrounded by a group of people starring at you, you could feel a certain pair of eyes on you, basically burning into the back of your head. You look around the crowded room and your eyes meet Rafe’s blue ones in the living room.
You smirk at him, but due to Rafe’s drug induced state he was suddenly panicked that you caught him starring. The blue eyed boy quickly turns around in his seat and focuses on the pile of cocaine in front of him that he was dealing.
As Rafe cuts up a line for his next customer the empty seat beside him on couch dips, signifying that someone had sat down. Rafe glances over then back to the coke then back to you who were now sitting beside him.
Anxiety washes over him and he didn’t know why. “Can I?” You ask looking between him and the white line on the table in front of you two.
“Yea.” He says, his voice betraying him and cracking a bit.
You simply giggle and pick up the rolled up one dollar bill before bringing it to your nostril and snorting the white substance. You let out a few sniffs and put the money back onto the glass table. Rafe watches as you open up your purse, but for some reason he didn’t want you to pay, even though he would get in shit with Barry. Maybe it was because he was too high or maybe it was because you were the most intoxicating girl he has ever seen, despite just seeing you for the first time.
However, you don’t pull out money for the line you just snorted. Instead you pull out two little baggies each containing a different colour of ecstasy in it. “Pick your poison.” You say smirking at the boy in front of you.
Rafe gulps the part of him that had any bit of common sense left didn’t want him to take it. The last time he had ecstasy he tripped so bad that he almost drowned in Toppers pool, claiming he saw a mermaid in it.
Even though there was still a small sensible part of Rafe still in him, he couldn’t stop himself from pointing at the blue one which was shaped as a smiley face.
“Good choice.” You say putting the other one back into your purse and opening the small baggie. Rafe watches as the blue pill falls into the palm of your hand before you bring it up to your mouth where you place it on the tip of your tongue.
Rafe furrows his eyebrows at your actions, but his confusion goes away once you pull him close to you by the collar of his shirt and kiss him. You exchange the pill from your mouth to his before pulling away and biting his bottom lip softly.
Without saying another word you grab your purse and stand up, walking away. Leaving a very turned on Rafe.
Every time Rafe was at Barry’s he was slightly intimidated and nervous since he was out of his element, but his giddiness of getting his desired drug almost always over powered the negative feelings. Almost was the key word. Rafe was having a shitty day and he just wanted his fix when he ran into you for the second time, causing his heart beat to accelerate.
As Rafe walked into Barry’s chateau his eyes darted all around, trying his best to avoid the judgmental gazes from the Pogues inside. The hate filled gazes coming from the Pogues scattered throughout the shack continued as the Kook Prince walked down the hall towards Barry’s room.
“Yo Barry!” Rafe calls out once he was standing outside of the drug dealers room, he could hear voices coming from the other side.
Shock falls over Rafe’s face when the door opens revealing you and Barry. You wink at him before turning away from the door and back to Barry to continue your conversation.
The brunette watches from his spot in the door way as you pull out a small stack of cash from your purse. You count it and hand it over to Barry who quickly counts it himself. Once he calculated that all of the money was there he turns and opens his dresser drawer, pulling out a small ziplock bag containing 4 of the pills you gave Rafe the first time you met him and another bag of weed.
“Thank you.” You say taking it from him and putting in your purse. “But what happened to the free ounce of coke you usually give me for being a loyal customer?” You ask with a smug smile. Rafe furrows his eyebrows, he’s never gotten a free ounce of coke for being a loyal customer.
Barry chuckles and smirks at you. “You were a loyal customer, but your parents shipped you off to rehab after your last incident and this is the second time I’ve seen you since then.”
You roll your eyes and nudge him playfully at him bringing up your last overdose, causing Barry to laugh. Rafe has never seen Barry so care free as you two openly flirted.
“Well don’t be upset when I find a different dealer.” You say winking at him before turning on your heel and walking out of the room, passing by Rafe who was patiently waiting his turn. As you walk by the Cameron boy takes a quick glance at your ass.
“You wouldn’t dare, you already know I’m the best in the game!” Barry calls out with a smile on his face as Rafe walks into the room, the smell of your perfume lingered.
“Who was that?” Rafe asks after hearing the screen door shut signaling you left.
“That Rafe was Y/N Y/L/N. She’s trouble.” Barry whistles with a smirk on his face, while closing the drawer to his dresser and turning towards to the brunette.
After that it seemed as if you and Rafe ran into each other everywhere. You two would acknowledge each other, but every time Rafe built up the courage to talk to you it was like you disappeared. However, the start of your friendship was surprisingly at Midsummers.
Almost instantly Rafe found you in the crowd of Kooks when him and his family walked out of the country club and into the patio area. It was actually quite hard to miss you though.
You were wearing a long black tulle dress with poufy sleeves made out of the same light fabric. It had a square neckline that reached your bellybutton and on top of your head you adorned a crown with black roses which had long sticks similar to Rafe’s step moms, coming out of them. You were the only girl there wearing something so dark, but yet still classy.
Ever since Rafe met you he has always admired how you dressed. Everyone on OBX were beach kids. Meaning their style was laid back, and then there was you. You were challenging the norms on the island just from your fashion sense.
The whole night Rafe spent admiring you from afar, pretending to listen to Topper and his problems with his annoying sister. You on the other hand didn’t even notice he was there, after all you were on your phone texting one of your friends you met in rehab when the Cameron family walked in.
It wasn’t until later in the night you finally noticed the boy in the baby blue suit who was walking into the country club towards the bar. When your eyes laid on Rafe’s figure you had to admit he looked good, hell he always did, but you weren’t interested. Your life was already fucked up and at least you had the decency to not drag anyone down with you by creating meaningful relationships.
“Can I get an old fashioned.” Rafe asks leaning up against the bar. The bartender simply nods his head before turning around to make the drink. As he waits Rafe looks around at the basically deserted bar and sees you sitting a few stools down, nursing your lemonade. It was basically the end of the night and a lot of people had already left. His heart beat quickens, but he decides to finally talk to you, seeing there was no other distractions.
“Hey.” He says softly sitting down on the stool beside you.
You look over and perk up when you see Rafe, trying your best to ignore the butterflies in your stomach. “Hey.” You simply say, allowing an awkward silence to fall over you two.
After a few moments Rafe speaks up, his hands becoming clammy. “I’m Rafe. You’re Y/N right?”
“I know who you are.” You say making direct eye contact. A blush creeps it’s way across the boys face at your words and actions. Seeing your eyes he realized that you were high. “And I think you know who I am as well.” You say with a wink before taking a sip of your lemonade, ultimately finishing it.
Just as you finish your drink the bartender comes over and places Rafe’s drink down on top of a napkin. You request another drink, but ice tea this time as your eyes fall to the alcoholic drink in front of you.
“Why didn’t you get something else?” Rafe asks with a chuckle, acknowledging your interest in his drink.
“Cause that prick over there didn’t buy my fake id.” You say nodding over to the bartender that was busy getting your drink. Rafe smiles down at you. Of course you had a fake id.
“Well lets see if it’s obviously fake or not.” The brunette suggests. In high school Rafe and some Kooks including Topper and Kelce used to make fake id’s so he knew all too well how to spot a fake one.
You sigh opening up your clutch and hand over the small card to the boy beside you once you fish it out. As your hands briefly touch during the exchange a rush of heat washes over both of you, but you try your best to ignore it.
You watched intently while Rafe analyzed your id in his large hand. For some reason it made you nervous how close he was to you.
“Well for starters you can’t smile in the picture.” He says looking back up and handing the card back over. “And Annie Position? Really?” He says with a playful smile at the fake name. When he said it out loud it sounded like he was saying ‘any position.’
“Shut up. My parents found my old one and I haven’t had enough time to get a new one that’s good.” You say with a laugh as you sheepishly put your fake id back into your clutch.
Rafe looks up at the bartender to see if he was listening, but he was distracted by Topper’s mom ordering a drink. “Well, just between you and me.” He says leaning closer to you so only you could hear him. “I used to make those, but 100 times better. I can reopen shop for you if you’d like.”
“I do anything to make my parents mad so I’m in.” You say with a smirk. Rafe smirks back at you his eyes glancing down to your lips then back up to your dilated pupils. Rafe was planning on getting high tonight, but he never got the chance due to the fact he was busy admiring you from afar.
Without realizing your breath hitches and you lean in slightly, but you are pulled away when the bartender comes back and places your ice tea on the bar. Rafe internally curses to himself, now it was going to be awkward.
But to his surprise you grab your glass off of the counter and clink it with his for a cheers before bringing it to your mouth. The fact that you seemingly didn’t let the now awkward and sexual tension between you two made Rafe even more attracted to you.
You place your glass back onto the bar beside Rafe’s, the ice cubes clinking against each other. Rafe looks down the bar to see the bartender tending to Topper’s mom once again.
Seeing as it was the perfect opportunity the brunette slowly switches his glass with yours, glancing over his shoulder every now and then. You watch with a smirk on your face as he does this. Once his drink was now in front of you he nods towards it signaling you to drink it.
“You sure?” You ask with a raised eyebrow.
“Our drinks are the same colour how’s he supposed to know? And besides I saw you basically drooling at the sight of it when I got it.”
You nudge Rafe with your elbow as a smirk crosses your face. It was a sweet gesture done by the boy who was known for not being sweet. You bring the glass to your lips and the boy is surprised, but tries to contain his laugh when you down the liquid in one go.
With a sigh and lick across your lips you place the drink down on the bar before standing up and grabbing Rafe’s hand. He instantly obliges and allows you to take him where ever you wanted.
That night you two got faded with each other on your parents huge boat. After Midsummers you two started to hang out frequently. Thus creating your strong friendship that Rafe prioritized over anything, even drugs. It wasn’t until Halloween that you guys went from friends to friends with benefits and that was when Rafe realized his true feelings for you.
Being a Kook meant you had the ability to go all out for every holiday and Halloween was no exception. So that’s what Rafe did. Seeing that his dad and Rose were on a business trip and Wheezie was at a friends house it was the perfect opportunity to throw a party.
With time you were able to convince Rafe to dress up as shark boy since you were dressing up as lava girl. Little did you know Rafe had full intentions of being shark boy to your lava girl the moment you asked him, he just liked seeing you beg.
Both you and Rafe craved control desperately as Ward controlled him while your parents did the same. So when you two stumbled into his room after snorting lines and grinding on each other for the pass hour, both of you fought for dominance of the situation.
Rafe lightly pushed you onto his bed and started to rid his body of his costume, but you instantly lean up on your knees and pull him down onto the bed before straddling him. Before he had the chance to react you crash your lips against his in a needy and lustful kiss.
As your make out session deepened you two continued to fight over who was being on top, but Rafe ultimately gives in, being too turned on to keep your guys’ little game going.
A red tint covered Rafe’s face while you rode him, your fuchsia wig still on your head and surprising perfectly in tact. Your make up was smudged, but Rafe couldn’t care less.
The way you felt around his cock was intoxicating. He places his hands on your hips to help guide you while his back rested against his headboard, but Rafe forgot that you were the one in control.
Almost instantly you move his hands up to your exposed chest and he squeezes your breasts in return, causing a moan to fall from your mouth. Even though he wasn’t in control, hearing you moan still gave him satisfaction that he was helping you get off.
You keep your hands on top of his as you continue to bounce up and down, the headboard was hitting against the wall mercilessly, but neither of you two seemed to care. You lift up off of Rafe’s cock, leaving you empty before slamming back down and bouncing again. This causes you to throw your head back, a pornographic moan leaving your mouth while your one hand found it’s way around Rafe’s neck.
Squeezing slightly around Rafe’s neck you grind your hips back and forth. The combination of your pink wig, pink garters, your dominance and you choking him sent Rafe into over drive. He starts to thrust his hips up into you, meeting yours half way, causing your skin to slap together.
Both of you could feel the coils in your stomachs begin to snap and as they did Rafe seemingly had an epiphany while he watched you come undone on top of him.
He was in love with you.
Over the past few months Rafe became a frequent faucet at your house and you at his. With that being said it wasn’t a surprise when your older sister opened the front door to find Rafe on the other side.
“You know where she is.” Your sister says with an annoyed huff before returning to her kids that were painting in the dining room. Rafe knew what she meant and walked through the house to the door leading to the backyard.
Even though Rafe has only met your parents and older siblings a few times he wasn’t a fan of them. Not only did they remind him of his parents and sister they treated you like shit. You were the black sheep of the family compared to them. Although you have tried to clean up your act to appease them similar to the way Rafe has done before, nothing you did would make them happy. You were a failure in their eyes. But how could you compete when your siblings are so successful they could buy half of figure 8? Rafe knew the feeling of being the disappointment of the family all too well. That’s one of the reasons why you two clicked so well, you guys related to each other.
As he walked outside into the backyard he heard your sister talking to her husband about how you need to go to university or college. Rafe scoffs at this knowing that even if you did go to post-secondary school they would still find a way to ridicule you. It also didn’t help that you were home schooled most of your life.
Rafe mumbles to himself about how shitty your family is as he walks down to the pier and past your brother and dad talking about a business deal to where your family’s yacht was docked. You had the tendency of staying there when you’ve gotten into a fight with your parents or when you simply wanted to get high without being caught.
The brunette wipes his clammy hands on his pants as he steps on board. Every time he was with you, you had the same effect on him. He makes his way inside and instantly freezes once he walks inside.
On the ground in front of him you laid unconscious a package of coke scattered on the floor beside you. Immediately he rushes to your side and shakes you.
“Y/N wake up!” He yells, but you remain unconscious with your eyes closed and the dust of the white powder sticking to the skin around your nose.
Rafe continues to shake your seemingly lifeless body, but when he continues to get no response he runs onto the outside part of the boat to get help. “Help someone help!” He yells causing the vein in his neck to stick out.
The brunette quickly gets your dads and brothers attention and they’re making their way over when he runs back inside to you. Seconds later your dad and brother rush inside causing Rafe to turn to look at them.
“Someone call 911!” He yells as tears threatened to spill. Listening to Rafe’s commands your brother fishes his phone out of his pocket to call the emergency number while your dad joined Rafe on the floor.
Your father calmly moves your hair out of the way and places two fingers against your neck to find your pulse. Rafe watches intensely as he does this, it felt like an eternity later when your dad finally had a reaction to finding your pulse or not.
However, the expression that fell over your fathers face was not what he wanted. He slowly moves his hand away from your body with a deep sigh before bringing his hand up to cup his mouth. By now your mom, sister and brother in law had joined to see what all the commotion was about.
“What Mark?” Your mom screams and Rafe watches as your dad simply shakes his head no.
“She’s gone.” He says sadly, causing your mom to shriek while your sister began to be consoled by her husband.
“No no no!” Rafe yells turning back to you, caressing your cheek. “Come on Y/N wake up! You’re okay! Please wake up you’re all I have!” The Cameron boy cries as your mom and sister began to sob into each others arms.
As the paramedics came aboard the boat they escorted Rafe and your family out, but Rafe felt as if he was experiencing an out of body experience. This couldn’t be real, it had to be a fucked up dream he was having. Suddenly his breathing becomes laboured as he takes in the surroundings of your backyard. Your family huddled together as the paramedics prepared your lifeless body for the stretcher.
Seeing you be rolled out on a stretcher in a body bag sent Rafe over the edge. It was the last straw to cause his world to come tumbling down. Without thinking about the consequences of his actions Rafe storms over to your trembling father who seemed genuinely upset before punching him square in the face. The force of the punch caused Rafe’s hand to crack so he knew he did damage, but yet he still felt nothing.
Your family screams at him as your father, Mark stumbles back and clutches his now bleeding and probably broken nose.
“This is your fault! All of you! If you weren’t so hard on her she wouldn’t have turned to drugs. You guys killed her!” He yells his voice going hoarse as more tears streamed down his red face.
“What the fuck is wrong with you man?” Your brother in law asks standing up to Rafe, but the brunette doesn’t take this threat well and punches him in the eye causing him to stumble back much like your father mere seconds ago.
Tired of Rafe’s bullshit your brother leaves your dads aide and walks over to the young adult and punches him square in the nose, his knuckles grazing his eye. Rafe stumbles back and trips over a rock causing him to fall to the ground.
Rafe didn’t bother to get up, instead he remained laying on the ground with his tears and blood rushing down his face. He was familiar with feeling numb, but the numbness your death brought on could never amount to the emptiness he has felt before. This was a whole new ball park of feeling hopeless and empty.
-
A sigh escapes Rafe’s mouth as he sits in his parked suv. He looked at the building in front of him and debated on whether he should go in or not. The past few days have been extremely hard.
Your funeral was yesterday, but Rafe wasn’t invited after the stunt he pulled by punching your dad and brother law in the face. Because of that he stood from a far as your body was lowered into the ground. He wasn’t able to give you a proper goodbye, but the Pogues who barely know you and Barry the person who fed you the drugs were invited. And now you were laid to rest six feet under after your heart stopped working.
It wasn’t fair. Your parents and siblings are the reason why you turned to drugs. They always found a way to degrade you. Hell they were the reason for your first overdose. In fact the first time your plan was to not wake up. Rafe was seemingly the only person that understood you for who you were and still loved you unconditionally. And you did the same for him. The Cameron boy hasn’t felt that type of love from someone since his mom died when he was 10.
Rafe looks down at his hands in his lap, his wrist was adorned with one of the bracelets you made him. It was red and black, both of you guys’ favourite colours and you added beads that said ‘fuck buddies.’
With a sigh Rafe grabs his phone and keys before getting out of the car and walking into the building he has sat in front of for the last hour. He opens the large door, his hands becoming clammy and he wanted to turn back and leave, but he knew you would want him to do this.
The brunette is greeted by a kind and warm looking lady sitting behind a receptionist desk. “Hi, how may I help you?” She asks with a bright and welcoming smile. Her smile in a way reminded him of yours.
“Hi, uh this is a rehab facility for drug users right?”
“Yes it is. Do you or anyone one you know want to be admitted?”
Rafe stuffs his hands in his pants pockets and starts to rock back and forth on his feet. “I would like to please.”
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earendilslight · 3 years
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Soooo, I've been simping Thresh since 2014 and now I finally can be open about my love for him because of the cinematic, and since I'm about to apply for the C1 Cambridge certification and I'm in desperate need to practice my writing, it's a perfect time to write fanfics with Thresh 💖
It's just a very little text, maybe, if it gets enough love I'll turn it into an actual fanfiction. But in the mean time, enjoy!
Also, if you happen to notice any mistake let me know!
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He came out of the shadows, where the dim light could reveal his features. It was a tall man, with long dark hair, dressed all in black, from the elegantly fixed necktie to the long-leathered trench coat that covered him down to the knees, a common attire used by the upper classes in Noxus. His face was slim, almost as the shape of the tip of a spear, with sharp cheekbones and a mouth that looked incredibly flexible as he smiled pettily at me. But it was not his smile that shocked me, no, it was his eyes. Eyes that shone like green, supernatural flames, like something evil lingered behind his mortal appearance.
The gaze of the monster in my nightmares. It was the same eyes that had terrified me for as long as I could remember, and now they were there, in the form of a devilman who smiled at me with cruel intentions. I suppressed a gasp, with trembling fingers, grasping at my robe while taking a step back.
I was petrified. How was I supposed to know this was the creature I pretended to make a deal with? I wonder If I would've been so bold to come here if I had known.
"Having second thoughts, miss?" he asked. His voice was deep, dark. The whisper of a phantom "You are indeed right to be frightened. Your soul would be in constant agony, roaming forever inside the lantern. Your friend made a choice, a very foolish one, I must say, and now he must pay the price of his own naive decisions. There is no point in wasting your life as a prisoner nor I'd like to carry a soul like yours."
"A soul like mine?" I said, trying to sound confident, but I could barely utter any words without stuttering.
"Do you wish to spend eternity in the lantern?" he asked, ignoring my question.
"No!" I replied almost immediately, without hesitation. The man looked pleased, even though there was barely a change in his expression.
"Then leave this place at once." He turned around,walking back to the inside of the house.
I realized how much of a mistake I'd made almost too late. I had been so scared that I was about to bail my plan and abandon Charles to his fate. I would never see him again, it didn't matter what choice I made. The only difference would be that, if I could convince that man to take me instead of him, Charles could be free and we could actually find a way to release myself and every other soul trapped in there. He, from outside, while I researched closely to the monster. And even so, I was shaking. Until that point, I hadn't considered the whole implications of being at the services of this devil, and the possibility of dying or, in the worst case scenario, spending the entire eternity in agony, was terrifying. But, hadn't Charles made sacrifices for me too? He was the only family I had left. The thought of my little brother suffering forever was unbearable, wasn't I supposed to be the one to protect him?
I couldn't abandon him like this...
"Wait!" I cried, so hard that it echoed across the entire yard and inside the manor. The man stopped at the door, turning slowly, first his head, then his whole body, now barely a silhouette in the dim light, staring at me without moving a muscle. I had my hand extended towards him, like trying to reach for his own, and I realized he was observing my gesture.
"Maybe... I could be of use outside the lantern..." I muttered, not even sure of what I was saying. He chuckled, almost amused with my comment. It was a muffled sound, not even a laugh.
"How come?" He asked with curiosity. Now I had his attention. It might have been a ridiculous thought, but I was starting to believe it could work.
"You're new to Noxus, sire" I said, straightening my back with an almost futile intention to appear confident. "People here talk a lot. In fact, most of them are already wondering who this mysterious visitor is. Where did he come from? What does he want? Noxus it's not a place who treats kindly it’s visitors, especially those who appear out of thin air and might be dangerous"
"Oh, I assure you, miss, I do not fret a bunch of drunken peasants who might try to trespass. Believe me, they are right to consider me a treat".
"I also consider you someone with a plan" I replied rapidly, getting to keep his eyes on me, and now, he seemed kind of... surprised "You don't strike me as a man who just wanders around this city in search for souls to torture. I believe you are here for a reason..."
He turned completely around, with an annoyed expression in his sharp face. As if I were a ridiculous fly trying to explain to a deadly spider how to seam its web.
"Your reasons are unknown to me" I continued "but I do know that once the people of Noxus begin to suspect you, Gods forbid, those who roam in the shadows, you would be the target of much more dangerous creatures than just drunken peasants."
It was true, actually. Unfortunately, Noxus was a city where you could disappear while walking back home just for people to find your dead body around the market the next morning and no one would bat an eye for you. Not to mention the multiple cults that made human sacrifices to the forgotten deities, besides robbers, assassins, rapists, the spirits that still roamed the streets late at night. Not to mention people had seen members of the Black Rose being more active than before. If this man was careless enough, some of them would notice, sooner or later, that there wasn’t something right with him.
"And what does this have anything to do with the liberation of your dearest brother from the lantern? And with you not taking his place inside of it?"
"I can be of good use outside the lantern, like I said"
Oh, dear God, what was I doing?
"If you let him go, I will be at your service, sire. You can keep me alive, not... dead and I can do anything that implies going outside the manor. People would suspect much less if they see actual movement in the mansion. It's not weird for a lord to have people at his services, even if it's just one harmless housekeeper..."
He seemed… intrigued by my proposal. I could tell he was analyzing every word that came out of my mouth, trying to find a deeper meaning or maybe ulterior motives behind my desires. Keen eyes watching my every move and reaction, almost as piercing through the flesh, into the darkest parts of my soul.
"Imagine I agree to your proposition” he speculated “What makes you think I would just let you go outside as you please?" he started walking towards me. There was this dreadful air around him that made my skin crawl. Like my heart was sinking down my throat and my blood froze little by little in my veins, with every step he took down in my direction.
The glowing, flame-like eyes coming closer, slowly, like the inevitable march of time and death, until the man stood there, five meters away from me, and I could smell the scent of his clothing, carried by the wind. Incense and the sea. Not the dry wood and dust of the hills of Noxus, but a fragrance I almost had forgotten, the one I smelled when I was a child, in a ship...
"I'm pretty sure you have ways to keep me bound to this place" I said, without escaping his glaring and hiding under my robe my shaking hands, while he studied me like a specimen he was about to dissect. "I do not doubt you could trap my brother again, and me, if I betray you. Or to even kill me, if it comes that way"
Maybe he was amused by my daring, maybe he was surprised at how much of a imbecile I was. Either way, he didn't utter a sound. The wind started to blow, much more cold than before, a voice that sang between the trees and the grass, moving the branches of the cypresses and the oaks as if they were to start dancing with the breeze, dragging with it heavy, grey-colored clouds announcing the impending storm.
“Do you wish so much to become a prisoner?” the man asked once more. The surrounding darkness of the clouds made his eyes brighter, like wildfire in the middle of the sea, blurred by the mist of the bay. “To never set a food without being watched? To know the true depths of the despair that brings with it the lack of freedom?”
I smiled, softly. Even when his face showed no change, I could tell he was, at least, studious to my reactions. I believe he was expecting me to be frightened by this, or to a certain degree intensely disturbed. For better or worse, life hadn’t treated me kindly. Since I was ten years old I had been at the service of people who considered me little more than trash and a burden, the next master worse than the last. Ironical, isn’t it? Seemed life had prepared me to serve a monster.
“Sire, I have served my whole life as a prisoner. From one Master to another, I’ve been tied to Bilgewaters my entire life” I admitted, looking directly into his cold gaze and when thunder started to strike, his eyes weren’t dulled by their light. “I do not fret to serve one more time, even if it’s forever…”
There was something that changed in his air. I cannot point out what it was, but his semblance was different, as if the winds of the storm had finally made him feel cold, even though I doubt something like him would be able to feel coldness. His previous smile had disappeared, and his mouth was now a grimace, a straight line, which made the jailer look much more severe than he already was.
“What is your name, miss?” the man asked, with a muttered, calm voice, with both hands behind his back.
“Senara Raion, sire” I responded, trembling not only because that man made me feel paralyzed, but because a very thin but chilling rain had started to fall above us.
He stared at me, thoughtful, almost as if he were expecting a reaction on my behalf.
“Miss Senara, tell me…” Suddenly, he extended his hand towards me, with no alteration to his face. “Do we have a deal?”
I looked at his face, the diabolic eyes, his gloved hand. There was no turning back…
“We do, sire.”
Had I known the future consequences of my choice… I would’ve never set foot on that hill...
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Hope you liked it!
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diversetolkien · 4 years
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ik many people have said this before but THANK YOU SO MUCH for making this blog and touching on the racism in tolkien's works. even as poc myself, there were some things that went completely over my head and i appreciate you taking the time to highlight them. ive seen a lot of your posts abt elves and their skin colours but what are your thoughts on hobbits? tolkien gateway says nut-brown to white so are they mixed? i wonder what the skin colours were of the original 3 types
Hello there! Thank you for your kind words :D There are actually different types of hobbit, at least two stated to have different color skin tones. Frodo--a Fallohide--is pale, while Harfoots are brown. 
I forget what kind Sam is, but he’s quoted having darker skin than Frodo. 
In general I really do love the skin color variation among the Hobbits. What I don’t like is the implications that the Fallohides are higher, socially, as opposed to the other kinds of hobbits. Namely those of darker complexions. 
It also makes Sam’s servitude and devotion to Frodo a bit uncomfortable from the perspective of analyzing a text through racism, considering the trope falls again into a darker skinned character being a mammy of sorts to a character of lighter skin. 
And of course this is a very general way of looking at it, and I do think that Sam and Frodo is a lovely relationship, as it is a ship I actually do ship. But at the same time, just from a perspective of racism, there’s a bit of discomfort directed at the fact that they were written like that. In that we have once again, another character of color propping up a white/lighter skinned character, to the point where the majority of said characterization of a character of color/coded character of color revolve specifically around the white protagonist, or lighter skinned protagonist. 
That said, Frodo does also help Sam and it could be said that there are instances in which Frodo is exactly to Sam as Sam is to him. 
This is why I personally really loved how Legend of Korra handled Korra and Asami’s relationship, in that Asami was implied to be one of Korra’s primary caretakers while she was ill. It is a flip on the trope where the darker skinned character is a constant caretaker of the lighter skinned character, which is routed in racism. 
Likewise, in a show like True Blood, we see how black characters serve as both emotional support and physical support for the white protagonist, which is hard to get through. 
Am I saying Sam and Frodo are like this? Not completely, not at all. All i’m saying is certain aspect of their narrative are like this to a small extent. 
And this isn’t saying that characters like Frodo don’t deserve the love and dedication they get, or that characters of lighter complexion don’t deserve to be taken cared of, or that caretaking of people who are of lighter skinned complexion is wrong, or that they’re a burden. What i’m pointing out is the existing racism in the text. 
All in all, I like the skin tone variations in the hobbits, and I love Sam and Frodo together and as characters. But as a blog that talks about racism, it would be very remiss of me not to discuss how that aspect of writing upsets me. 
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retrievablememories · 4 years
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a strange love | yuta (m)
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title: a strange love pairing: alien!yuta x black!reader genre: sci-fi/fantasy, fluff, angst, smut request: “I read a good chunk of your NCT work and really liked them. Would I be able to request a fic where a black female reader meets an alien (can be Yuta or Jungwoo) and they're both coming to terms that they're attracted to each other and have to come to terms with being attracted to someone of a different species? Can be smutty and don't be afraid to give the alien a less human biology if you don't mind.” word count: 13.1k warnings: alcohol use, cursing, near drowning experience, lots of mentions of water so this one might not mesh well with people w/ aquaphobia, non-human biology/body horror, extraterrestrial sex, lots of cum, oral sex (female receiving), tentacle dick, unprotected sex, creampie, please heed the warnings because this is an alien smutfic lmao a/n: giving the shape of water teas. i’ve actually never seen that movie 😕 but i will at some point. forgive me in advance for the nerdy references in here.
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It’s funny how things happen when you least expect it. You never would’ve thought you’d be sound asleep when your entire world changed.
The night the UFO crashes in your city, you’re awoken by the tremors of its landing. The vibrations feel akin to an earthquake, and they make picture frames and other trinkets fall off your shelves and hit the floor in a clatter of noise. You jump up from your pillow at the racket, your heart pounding. You glance at the things lying on your floor and quickly register that the room—your entire home—is trembling.
There’s not much you can do at this point but ride it out, so you huddle down in your covers and hope the roof doesn’t cave in on your head. To your knowledge, your particular area isn’t known for earthquakes, which makes all of this even stranger. What could be causing one now? Is the world finally ending?
Eventually, the tremors stop. By now, your shelves have been emptied of nearly all their contents, but you’re still alive, which you’re grateful for. You wait a few more minutes to see if the shakes will begin again, but they don’t, so you climb out from the warmth of your covers to clean up your floor.
Police and ambulance sirens start blaring through the city not long after you get out of bed. That’s nothing unusual; there are usually injuries and casualties with natural disasters like these, and you expect many poor souls will be needing rescue tonight. You sigh and look at your closed blinds, watching them be sporadically illuminated by the lights of the emergency vehicles rushing past.
Once you’ve cleaned up your room and gotten back in bed, you think about checking social media for what people have been saying about the quake. There’s no doubt that the city’s residents have taken to Twitter and Instagram to document it. However, your eyelids are already starting to droop, and you’d probably fall asleep in the middle of scrolling, so you decide to tuck in and wait until morning.
Waking up the next day almost seems like a normal Sunday until you look at your blinds again and are suddenly reminded of last night’s flashing lights. Right. The earthquake. Throwing the covers back, you stumble out of bed to turn on your TV. You flip through the channels until you find a news station for your local area. You go to open the blinds, keeping your ears open for reports on the earthquake.
“Last night, we experienced unprecedented seismic activity throughout the majority of the city, caused by what appears to be an unidentified flying object, otherwise known as a UFO—”
Huh?
You turn to the TV, thinking this must be some kind of ridiculous hoax. You get ready to reach for the remote, thinking you must have turned it to one of those parody news channels by accident, but you freeze at what you see. Video footage of the city center—or what used to be the city center—plays on the screen. In place of the large historical monument that used to stand there, there’s a huge...silver and black spaceship. Or at least you think it’s a ship. It apparently sustained major damage in the landing, and now it looks more like a hunk of melted metal. The area around it has been blasted clear in every direction. Instead of green grass and pavement, there’s nothing but dirt.
The area is blocked off with yellow tape, though hundreds of people have gathered at the location to check out the object and take pictures and videos of it.
“What the fuck…” you whisper to yourself.
“We’re currently unsure where this UFO originated from, though we can confirm that it is not affiliated with any aircraft fleets owned by the U.S. military. Researchers and scientists from top universities across the country are being called in to assist in identifying this craft…”
“There’s no just way,” you mutter, grabbing your shower cap and pulling clothes out of your closet for your morning shower. “A UFO...guess that alien invasion is coming sooner than we thought.” You would like to believe it’s all just someone playing a terrible prank, but pulling off this level of theatrics is impossible.
After you get out of the shower and start making breakfast for yourself, you get a text from one of your coworkers, Alex.
10:30 A.M. Alex🍸 You seeing this shit on the news right now?
10:31 A.M. Obviously! It’s fucking wild. Do you really think it’s true? OR some elaborate government hoax? Anything’s possible. I’m betting “true,” but...
10:33 A.M. Alex🍸 I honestly don’t know. that’s why me and some of the others from work are about to head over there now. Wanna come?
10:34 A.M. The hell! I’ll pass. There could be all types of radiation n shit, I’m not tryna turn into the Green Lantern or the Hulk or somebody.
10:35 A.M. Alex🍸 lmFAO. Suit ypurself. If I gain superpowers don’t be surprised if I fly over to your house today.
10:35 A.M. You’re a mess. 💀
You spend breakfast watching more news reports and scrolling through Twitter feeds for firsthand information. People who visited the site, including your coworkers, have uploaded pictures of the UFO from various angles, inciting a frenzy of conspiracy theories and warnings that the world is about to end.
You don’t know what to make of the situation, but it stays on your mind throughout the day as you leave the house and go about completing your usual errands. The city center has been blocked off to all vehicles other than those belonging to people who’ve been called in to help, which means that traffic is sky-high everywhere else—even for a Sunday.
Sitting in a mishmash of cars, you roll down your window and sigh, looking out at the red traffic lights, and beyond that to the horizon. Things are about to get very weird for the next few weeks. Maybe months. You can only hope you’re prepared for it.
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You don’t know why, but the air seems strange tonight.
It’s been 2 days since the UFO crashed. There haven’t been many more answers apart from what everyone already knows due to the ship’s destroyed state. The city has professionals out for that sort of thing, but they’re taking their sweet time analyzing the ship—though you can’t really blame them. Jumping straight into unknown alien tech seems like a death wish.
Your life has been pretty much the same as usual, though you know a few people at work who have been more directly affected by the events. One girl, Sooyoung, who lives in the neighborhood near the crash site claims the officials are thinking about having that entire area evacuate, though you don’t know why they’re beating around the bush about it if it’s true. Whatever radiation or chemicals they’re worried about has probably already leached into all the surrounding homes, and now you’re just waiting for someone to walk into your workplace with antlers or purple skin.
Admittedly, you’re morbidly curious about the case and what all of this could mean for Earth’s future, but you keep your fascination lowkey. You don’t need any of your coworkers thinking you’re the next alien-obsessed Mulder from X-Files. But then again, you’re not curious enough to visit the actual scene, so maybe you’re not the crazy one here.
You feel fine when you get home from work that day, but as you get washed up and settle into your usual evening routine, you can’t shake the eeriness gripping your subconscious. It’s not necessarily a bad feeling, either, just...foreign. Like an emotion you’ve never felt before, though you didn’t know there were even still new emotions to discover. Shaking your head, you figure maybe you should lay off the alien stuff for the rest of the week.
Before you head to bed that night, you go around the house making sure all the doors and windows are locked as you normally do. You pause at the backdoor for a reason you can’t explain, and the strange feeling grows stronger. At this point, you’re a bit frightened about what this is all about, but you can’t go to sleep without knowing. Curiosity takes over as you open the blinds and stare into the darkness of your backyard.
You don’t see anything right away. There are trees, bushes, your potted plants, and lawn chairs...everything looks normal. It’s only when you lean closer to the glass to squint that you see a figure lying in the grass. You jump once you catch sight of it, terrified that some monster or murderer has found their way onto your property. There was nothing there earlier when you closed the blinds, so whoever or whatever it is must’ve recently showed up.
You’re about ready to dial 911 when you realize the figure is curled in the fetal position and unmoving...almost like they’re unconscious. Or dead.
This is ridiculous. You feel like one of those people who always dies first in the horror movies because they went into the room the killer was obviously hiding in, but you’re overcome with the strong impulse to step outside. You grip the doorknob tightly, debating whether you should unlock it or not.
“...Fuck. Don’t let me regret this.”
You open the door with your phone in hand, the device serving as your flashlight. There’s still the screen door to get through, which you pause at for a moment. The figure remains unmoving even with the sound of the door opening.
“Hello?!” You call out to the individual, but there’s no response. Your phone’s light can’t reach them from there, which forces you to open the screen door and step out onto the porch. They’re still feet away, but from this closer distance, it seems like they’re wearing a sort of armor or full-body suit...maybe like a cosplay?
“Hope this isn’t some weirdo weeb passed out on my lawn…” you mutter, cautiously stepping onto the grass. As you approach, you can see now that the figure is likely male, though their back is to you so you can’t be totally sure. “Um, hello there? Can you hear me?” No response.
By now, you are only a few feet away from them. The person looks to be an Asian guy, with long blonde hair haloing his face. His features are angular and smooth, and he is indeed wearing some kind of body armor, its color unlike anything you’ve seen. Instead of being all one hue or even a few, it reflects the light from your phone and glows with a rainbow-like phosphorescence. The material itself looks translucent, but you can’t see through it; it creates a mind-bending optical illusion.
Your stomach suddenly drops to your feet. Is this who was in that UFO in the city center? It seems too out-there to be true, but your intuition is telling you otherwise. This can’t be fucking real.
You kneel on the wet grass next to the man and try to look for signs of life. You can hear his breathing, so he’s thankfully not dead. But he doesn’t look to be in good shape, either. He definitely won’t be able to get up on his own; he probably used the last of his energy to drag himself into your yard.
“Damn.” You turn the flashlight off and slip your phone into your sweatpants pocket. It seems like there’s no other options right now. You could call the police, but they’d probably accuse you of being in cahoots with this weird dude and drag you off to jail. Or they could cart him off for government experimentation, which sounds equally terrible. So with those things in mind, you gently maneuver his upper body until you’re able to hook your arms under his armpits and drag him towards your house.
You just really hope none of your nosy neighbors are seeing this right now.
He’s surprisingly light, and you get him inside the house fairly quickly. Once you’ve locked the door again, you pull him over to the living room so he’s propped against your couch. He still isn’t fully conscious, but his head and lips move as if he’s dreaming about something.
“What was that…?” You lean closer, trying to read his lips for some sort of clue. Surprisingly, you can make out the word water, which he mouths over and over again. “Water…” You run into the kitchen to pour a glass and bring it back to him, making sure not to spill any on the way over.
You press it to his lips, unsure if he’ll be able to drink, but to your amazement his muscles respond and he drinks quickly as you tip the glass. Soon, the water is all gone. You set the glass to the side with your palms sweating and watch as his face flutters even more. 
“Can you...hear me?”
His eyes open only slightly. This movement seems to cause him some pain, though you aren’t sure why. Maybe he has a headache since he was dehydrated? You scramble to turn the overhead light off, not wanting to make matters worse. He still doesn’t try to open his eyes any wider, though.
“Who are you? Were you...did you crash here?” You feel a little bad about asking so many questions, but you’re dying for answers as to what the hell is going on.
The man licks his lips, and his mouth parts like he’s going to answer. But his throat is still dry, and it hurts to talk.
“...Shit.” You get him another glass of water and let him drink until it’s gone again. He seems a little better after that.
“Th-this...” He clears his throat a couple times and tries again. “This is E-Earth, right?”
Now you’re the one lost for words. Although you already figured he couldn’t be from here, hearing it out loud makes your blood rush and your heart race. “Um, yes...this is Earth. Was...the UFO yours?”
He sighs, and his head falls back against the couch arm. “Yes.”
“It’s destroyed,” you say, and then feel silly about it. “But you already know that.” 
He doesn’t answer that. He just slowly glances around your living room instead, looking as if he’s never seen a stranger setup. The quietness is awkward, and you almost feel like he must be judging your taste for interior design. “Do you have a name?”
More silence. You decide he probably won’t answer until he finally says, “You can call me Yuta.”
“Yuta.” You tell him your name too, and he just nods, almost imperceptibly. He doesn’t say much without prompting, which makes it hard for you to know how to approach the situation. You don’t want to overwhelm him with questions, but it doesn’t look like he’s going to speak unless you do. “How did you end up here? I mean, in my—uh, my yard?”
Yuta shakes his head and then winces. “I crashed, and then...I just ran. The ship was melting. I just ran. I hid...I went from place to place, hiding. Don’t know how I got here.”
You wonder how he made it all the way from the city center to your home without being spotted, especially with that armor. You can only conclude that he must be stealth at hiding. Or maybe someone did spot him and the feds are about to bust down your door any minute. You take a shaky breath and try to push that anxious thought to the back of your mind.
Suddenly Yuta fixes you with a suspicious glare. “Will you reveal that I’m here?”
You try not to get offended, because you’d honestly be thinking the same if you were a newly-landed alien in a foreign land. “No. I don’t have any reason to do that. I just want to help. I’m not looking to be on anyone’s 6 o’clock news or cheap tabloid. You probably don’t believe me, but you can have my word for it...if that means anything to you.”
He’s quiet again, though you can tell he’s still skeptical.
“Um, do you need anything? More water?”
He sits up straighter at the mention of that. “Water.” You reach for the glass again, but he frowns. “Not that. I need…something more than that.” He looks around again, but when he doesn't see what he’s searching for, he attempts to stand only to slump down again.
“Slow down there, I don’t think you’re gonna make it like that. Can I help?”
You end up slinging his arm across your shoulder and letting him lean his body against you while you lead him to the bathroom. That’s the biggest source of water in the house, and you assume he must be wanting a bath or shower or something. Even aliens have their hygiene needs, you guess.
You turn the bathroom light on and have Yuta sit on the toilet lid as you turn the bathtub faucet. “Is...this what you meant?” He nods, and you put the plug in and let the tub fill up.
“Just water. Nothing else. I need to recharge,” he says, and before you can ask what he means by that, he starts undressing in front of you. 
At first, your reaction is delayed; you’re struck with surprise when you realize the armor isn’t actually a whole bodysuit, but more like...connected panels of material that can be taken off. You don’t understand the material at all, it doesn’t resemble anything on Earth you can think of—but of course, it’s alien tech. It conforms to his body as he’s wearing it but takes on a more rigid form once it’s peeled off, like actual armor.
Then, he gets ready to take the bottoms off and something finally clicks in your brain that oh my God he’s about to get naked in front of me.
“Whoa!” You spin around and cover your eyes for good measure, glad that your brown skin hides the way your face is burning right now. You step towards the open door. “Uh, I’ll just leave, sorry—”
“Doesn’t matter.”
“Um, what?”
“Doesn’t really matter to me,” Yuta says, pulling the last of his suit off. He steps into the tub and sits down in it, putting his hands underneath the stream of water rushing out of the faucet. The skin on his hands seems to ripple, like it’s readjusting itself, and the hairs stand up on the back of your neck at that. You forget to be embarrassed at his unclothed state as you watch it happen.
“What’s going on with that? And why did you need the water?”
Yuta splashes his face before answering, and he turns to look at you, the droplets of water sliding off the ends of his hair. “I’m part of a Water Race. Water is my home. Our bodies have adapted to be built for living in water, and it’s dangerous to be without it for too long.”
“Adaptation? But you look like a regular human.”
“It’s just a skin.”
“A skin?” You echo in horror, a sudden flashback to Silence of the Lambs popping into your mind. “Someone else’s skin?” 
Yuta gives you a look that seems to say he can’t believe you’re asking such a stupid question. “No, it’s my skin. It’s just not my natural form.” To prove his point, he holds his hand out, and right before your eyes his human skin pulls back and morphs into something much more scaly and green. His fingers are actually more like talons, with long black nails on the ends, and there’s translucent webbing between each one.
You gasp and step back, trying to catch your breath at the sight of something so very not human. The skin reforms around his hand—you assume he has to be willing it with his mind somehow, because he doesn’t even move—and his digits look just as human as ever.
“How the hell do you hide your nails under there? Isn’t it just like...wearing a bodysuit?”
Yuta shakes his head. “No. Once the skin is on, it becomes...part of me. My hand becomes a human hand. I’m not hiding anything, it just is. It’s hard to explain.”
“Have you been to Earth before? Is that why you have a human skin, because...adaptation or some shit? This is all so wild.”
“I can shift into different skins if I want, if I gather enough genetic information on certain species’ inhabitants...but there are limitations.” That doesn’t exactly answer your question, but you figure maybe it’s best if you didn’t know. You can at least assume he’s been in contact with humans before.
“I see…” You fidget for a few seconds before speaking what’s on your mind. “Okay, one last thing...you said there are limitations. Does that mean you can’t transform into, like...a dung beetle or something?”
Yuta gives you another are you serious look and you put your hands up. “Just wondering. It was worth a try.”
You feel awkward just standing there, and you feel like maybe you should give him some privacy even if he doesn’t care much, so you leave the bathroom to find something for him to wear.
You’re not sure if you’ll find anything that fits him, so you end up settling on a light pink bathrobe and decide he’ll have to work with that for now. You slip back into the bathroom to leave it on the sink, averting your eyes from his nude form in your bathtub. “Um, here’s something to wear...not sure if anything else will fit, this is all I have for now. Sorry.” You don’t wait for him to respond— he probably won’t anyway—before slipping back out.
It’s nearing 1 A.M. at this point, which is late considering you still have work tomorrow. You sigh and curl yourself up on the couch, hoping you won’t have to stay up for very much longer.
You’re not sure when you drifted off or how long you were out, but you wake up to the sound of footsteps and see Yuta coming out of the bathroom wearing the robe you’ve given him. You have to laugh a little at the sight of him in the light pink material, though you think it suits him in a way.
“Yeah, you’re gonna need some clothes.”
Yuta raises his eyebrow. “I still have my suit.”
“Yeah, but...don’t you want something else to wear? Your ship is pretty much gone, so you’ll probably be on Earth for a while...and if you don’t want anyone realizing you’re not from here, you’ll have to wear regular clothes.”
Yuta visibly upsets at the idea of his ship’s destroyed state, even though he knows there’s not much he can do about it. “I guess. I shared which planet I was heading to before I left, but...Earth is a very big place. And my trackers were destroyed with my ship, so…”
“I’m sorry,” you say, though you don’t know how much comfort that can be. “We can look for some clothes tomorrow. It’s probably better for you not to leave the house right now, but...that’s what online shopping is for.”
“Online shopping…?” Yuta seems puzzled by the concept, but he doesn’t ask any further. Then he looks around the room again. “Is there somewhere I can rest?”
“Oh, yeah, follow me.” You get up from the couch to head upstairs where the guest bedroom is. The house isn’t huge—it was your grandmother’s before she passed it on to you—but it’s more than enough for you alone, and it should fit one more just fine. You open the door and turn on the light, illuminating the small room. “It hasn’t been used in a while, so excuse any dust. I can fix that tomorrow, but it’s getting late...” you stifle a yawn, “...so we should probably go to sleep now.”
Yuta looks at you and nods. 
“Um, well...goodnight.” You wave at him from the doorway before closing it.
As you make your way down the stairs, a sudden weariness and apprehension comes over you. An alien in your home? Escaped from a recently crashed UFO? Wearing one of your bathrobes? You’re almost positive you haven’t thought this through deeply enough, but you’re in it now. Might as well see where the rabbit hole leads to.
The next morning, you prepare yourself to go to work like you usually do. For a while, the house is so quiet that you almost forget Yuta is there until you see him standing in the kitchen entryway, still wearing his pink robe, and you almost jump through the ceiling.
“Jesus, you came out of nowhere,” you gasp, holding your heart.
“Where are you going?” Yuta asks. He steps into the kitchen and tentatively sits down in one of the dining table chairs.
“To work,” you say, and then pause. Maybe it isn’t such a good idea to leave a freshly-landed alien at home alone. “Will you be okay here by yourself? I could come over on my lunch break…”
“What am I supposed to do here the whole time?” Yuta asks, sounding displeased at the thought of being abandoned for hours.
“Well...you could watch TV? There’s the on-demand channel...the fridge is available for you too, just try not to clean out my—wait, do you even eat human food?”
Yuta shrugs, crossing his arms. “Not really. It’s not a big source of nutrients for us.” 
You nod awkwardly. “Huh. Well, that’s...interesting.” The stress of the situation is already making your head pound and you haven’t even left for work yet. “Uh, yeah—I think I’ll just come over later and check in...come on, I’ll at least show you how to work the remote before I leave.”
You bid Yuta goodbye once you’re about to go, though you feel more than a little hesitant about leaving him there. There isn’t much other choice, though; you can’t afford to take a day off on such short notice.
The extraterrestrial sighs, sprawling across the couch and looking at the ceiling. The TV is already playing the channel you left it on, and Yuta turns to the screen and watches as a group of humans make weird food dishes he’s never seen before.
“This is stupid.”
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The rest of the week with Yuta manages to be an adventure even though he never steps foot outside the house. 
Yuta doesn’t take a liking to human food, which means he opts for spending most of his time in the guest bathtub instead, claiming that the water gives him more nourishment than meals can. You don’t know how true that is, but you’re not going to fight him on it. Less food you have to prepare, you reason...although you often end up making extra anyway and getting him to try a few bites. It feels odd to not see him eat.
Living with someone from outer space is not really as weird as you expected it might be, which surprises you. Yuta stays in his human skin whenever he’s around you, and you steer clear of the guest bathroom when it’s occupied lest you walk in on something crazy. 
You’ve taught Yuta about new concepts he didn’t know before or wasn’t overly familiar with. He’s particularly intrigued with online shopping, and you ended up buying him a bunch of outfits that you both thought he’d look nice in. He doesn’t seem to be big on technology, which surprises you considering how advanced his UFO looked even its ruined state, but maybe human tech is more primitive than what he’s used to. He’s quite fascinated with the microwave, though, and how it can heat anything up in minutes.
With you uncovering new bits of information each day, you continually wonder how different his homeworld must be from the Earth. You can’t pull much out of him about it, for whatever reasons he has for keeping the information close, but you try to let him talk about it at his pace without pressuring him.
You could probably get used to living like this. 
Maybe not your wallet, though. You’re definitely not loving how your water bill is going to look once it comes in the mail.
None of your coworkers or neighbors know—not that it’s any of their business anyway. You don’t know how long Yuta is going to stay, or what the hell you’re going to do when his people finally catch wind of his whereabouts and land a UFO in your backyard, but you figure you’ll get to that part when it comes.
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On one Saturday morning, you wake up to the sound of tapping on your door. You try to ignore it, thinking it’s just some woodpecker setting up shop outside your window, but you’re proven wrong when the door swings open.
You pull the covers away from your face for a moment to see Yuta standing there looking at you. You stare at him for a few seconds before sighing.
“Why are you up so early? It’s the weekend,” you groan, pulling the covers back over your head. 
“Why do you sleep so late?” Yuta retorts, still standing in your doorway. You don’t know whether he expects you to get up and do a trick, but it’s not happening. You peel the blanket away so it’s just below your eyes and look at him.
“What?”
“It’s not fun being here alone all day, you know,” he says, crossing his arms.
“So...what? Do you want me to play with you or something?” You can’t stop your sudden laugh, but you feel bad about once it’s out. He has just lost his ride home and has no foreseeable way back until someone notices his absence. Plus, needing to stay hidden and cooped up like a criminal can’t be enjoyable.
Yuta rolls his eyes at your response and starts down the hallway again, but you jump out of the bed and follow him. “Wait, Yuta, I’m sorry. That was stupid. I know it can’t be easy living like this. I’m not sure if I can make it better, but I’m willing to try.”
Yuta pauses in the hall and turns back to look at you. “I’m tired of being in here all the time....no offense. But there’s only so much I can take. I know I’m supposed to be in hiding, but it’s not like anyone can tell the difference. Even you couldn’t. Can’t we go out for one day?”
You think about it for a moment and figure he’s right. You both were trying to be overly cautious at first, but there’s no real way anyone would notice anything unless he shifted. “I guess we could...as long as we don’t go anywhere with a lot of water.”
“I have more self-control than that,” Yuta scoffs, though his words trail off as he’s already heading back to his room to get dressed.
You and Yuta walk around downtown for a little while, although you can’t shake the lingering nervousness you feel. You both decided not to head back to the city center any time soon; there’s not much left of the broken ship anyway, with scientists carting off pieces of it for research. Just as you thought. It’s too big to transport all at once, but you’re sure the remaining parts will be gone within the next couple weeks.
Yuta is continually surprised by how many new and unfamiliar things he spots along the way—things he actually gets to see up close and in detail. Kinda hard to focus when you’re running and hiding for your life.
Eventually, Yuta slows down as you walk past a small and colorful restaurant. “What’s that?” he asks, pointing up at the sign. You stop to turn around and see what he’s gesturing to.
“That’s just a hamburger joint...you won’t wanna go in there,” you say, raising your eyebrows. Because you don’t eat food. Despite that, Yuta still seems curious about the restaurant and he hesitates to walk away. Realizing that you aren’t going to get anywhere, you go to stand next to him and peer inside. There are a few people already inside, sitting at scattered tables and eating their food. “Do you want to go in, or…? ‘Cause you have to eat something if we do. This is your idea.”
“I’ll eat, let’s just go,” Yuta says, grasping your hand and pulling you into the restaurant.
You wave at the person behind the counter who greets you as you walk in, while Yuta is busy scanning every inch of the place. You let him look over the menu for a little while, but with so many options available he isn’t sure what to get—especially when he’s not sure if he’ll like any of them—so you end up picking for the both of you.
When you finally get your food, you take it to one of the tables. You watch attentively as Yuta takes the first bite of his hamburger, and you try to stifle your giggles as you watch his face go from nonchalance to bewilderment to shock.
“This is actually...good.”
“Wait, this is really the first meal you’ve liked? Are you saying my cooking is bad? Damn.” You chuckle, shaking your head. 
“I’m not answering that.” Yuta laughs along with you, which is probably the first genuinely happy expression he’s shown since he’s been here.
Yuta has a very pretty smile, you realize. You’re a little taken aback by it. You haven’t seen much of it since you met him, but it’s here now and striking in its genuine quality. It makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside...which you mainly attribute to the satisfaction of doing something nice for someone else. Of course. Who wouldn’t enjoy a nice meal they didn’t have to pay for?
Things go smoothly for a while as you both eat and pretend to make boring small talk since you can’t talk about him being an alien in public. However, you feel sweat on the back of your neck when you see your coworker Alex walk through the door with his boyfriend. This city is too small for its own good sometimes. 
You try not to call attention to yourself and Yuta, keeping your gaze on your food, but he spots you anyway and waves enthusiastically. Alex gestures for his partner to go ahead and order while he comes over to your table.
“Hey, Y/N! It’s great to see you! Too bad we missed you at the UFO wreck today, though; we went out again one last time before they take the whole thing away,” he rushes out in one breath. Yuta’s eye twitches at the mention of his ship, and you’re suddenly on edge, hoping the situation doesn’t turn sour.
“Oh, uh, wow, that’s...cool!” you choke out, pinching your straw between your fingers. Before you can think of a way to divert the subject, Alex turns to Yuta.
“Nice to meet you, I’m Alex! Who’s this? Your boyfriend?” The last few words are directed at you. Alex gives you a playful grin, and you toss him an embarrassed smile back.
“Uh, no, he’s my friend! Yuta.”
“Nice to meet you,” Yuta says, though you can recognize his tone is a bit dry.
“Pleasure’s all mine!” Alex’s boyfriend calls him from the other side of the restaurant, and he turns to respond before taking his leave. “Ah well, looks like we’ll have to cut it short, but it was so great to see you guys. Enjoy your lunch!”
You let out the breath you were subconsciously holding once he leaves.
“Boyfriend…” Yuta murmurs.
“What?”
“That would be really weird. Wouldn’t it? We’re not even the same species,” he says, lowering his voice. It’s not like you don’t agree, but you admittedly don’t appreciate the way Yuta screws his face up at the thought. You prickle with embarrassment.
You scoff, taking a sip of your drink. “Well I’m not exactly eager to date an overgrown fish, so…” You almost expect Yuta to fall into another one of his moods at your words, but he actually chuckles a bit, which surprises you.
“Then it’s mutual!” Yuta sticks his tongue out and you roll your eyes.
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The warm and fuzzy feeling, you soon find out, is not a one-time thing.
You don’t quite know what to make of that. You wouldn’t like for Yuta to go back to his initial broody state, of course, but you’re starting to believe this feeling can’t just be attributed to your charitable actions. You can’t stop thinking about the more playful side of Yuta you saw at the burger place that day, and the way he’s been gradually more open with you since then.
Yuta usually spends his nights splashing around in the guest bathtub, but one night he wanders into the living room and sees you putting your afro in plaits. He becomes weirdly fascinated with the process, watching you carefully and asking occasional questions. Amused by his interest, you answer all his questions and even offer to let him do one section. 
“It’s probably not the same, but I used to braid my friend’s hair often…” he says wistfully as he settles in behind you. “We did a lot of things together.”
Your ears perk up. “Oh? You sound like you were very close,” you say, resting your chin on your knees.
“Really close,” he affirms. His hands are gentle in your hair, as testament to his words. You close your eyes and relax into the sensation, and before you know it, that warmth is spreading through your chest again. You even allow yourself to wonder what it’d be like for him to do this all the time, tending to your hair and telling you about his homeworld, before you open your eyes again and quickly pull yourself out of that reverie. You probably shouldn’t get too used to this, you reason with yourself. “I think she’s what you’d call a mermaid...except the look is a bit...different.”
“Different?” you echo, wondering if you’ll get an explanation.
“They don’t have human arms or anything like that...it’s more like tentacles.”
“Ah,” you try to imagine that, though it’s hard. “That’s certainly unique.”
“Maybe you’d like it...my planet, I mean.”
“You think I would? Why?”
“I dunno, just a feeling…”
“If only I could breathe underwater,” you laugh. “You’d take me back, though? Hypothetically, of course. I’m not too human for you?”
“Will you ever let that one go? It’s probably the least I could do after setting up residence here. Maybe we’ll get you an alien costume, though, so you’ll fit in.”
“How nice of you to think of me in all my humanness. God, the universe is something else…”
You start when Yuta’s hands leave your hair. “I think I’m done?” he says, sitting back on his feet. You grab the mirror from the coffee table and look at the braid you let him do.
“Oh wow, it looks good.” You purse your lips to hide the grin about to break across your face. “Do you wanna do the rest?”
“If you’ll let me.”
“Go ahead then, my hands needed a break anyway.”
You sit back and let Yuta finish the rest of your hair, listening quietly as he tells you more about his friend from his homeworld. Her name is unpronounceable to you, but it sounds pretty all the same. They grew up together, he says, and have been on lots of adventures over the years, though he still keeps that same vagueness he always has when describing his life. He ends up getting you to tell him more about your life, which you do; you figure he probably doesn’t know a whole lot about you, either.
Yuta hands you the mirror when he’s done, and his head pops up next to yours in the reflection. “Good?”
“It’s great!” you say, and you really mean it.
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You discover that, strangely enough, Yuta has an affinity for sci-fi movies. Go figure. He especially seems to like the campiness of alien films; then again, everything is campy to him because of how different it is from how extraterrestrials actually live.
You are in the middle of watching The Fly when it comes to one of sex scenes, and you try not to sweat. It’s always a little awkward to watch sex scenes with other people, but doing it with an alien gives the whole thing an extra layer of weirdness.
“Human sex is so funny,” Yuta says out of nowhere. You just barely avoid choking on your drink.
“Uh, o-okay. Do I want to know what that means?”
Yuta only shrugs and leans farther back onto the couch, looking completely unbothered about what he’s just said. “It just is.”
“...I’m sure your people must procreate some kinda way?”
“Yeah, but it’s not quite this. But when I’m in this form, I can do it as humans do.”
That makes you pause, and you’re not sure what to do with that information. Actually, your mind has already decided for itself and is trying to go to a place you don’t want it to, and you’re mildly horrified by that revelation. There’s no real reason why you should be curious about it. And yet...
“Hummm...have you done it before? In this form?” You keep your eyes glued to the screen, which is now showing a shirtless Jeff Goldblum doing acrobatics—but that’s still less awkward than looking over at Yuta right now.
“There was one time.”
There is a twinge of something in your chest. Fascination? Sure. Revulsion? Maybe not that. Dare you call it anything close to jealousy? You immediately throw that one out the door, sink further into your seat, and try not to think about what your life has come to.
“Okay, since you still won’t tell me directly if you’ve been here before, at least tell me this; did it happen here on Earth? With a human?”
Yuta shakes his head. “Some other aliens have weird fetishes. I only did it because she asked and was really adamant about it.”
“Ooookay, you know what…” You get up from the couch and walk to the kitchen, laughing awkwardly all the way. You don’t have any particular reason to go in there, but you have to do something with the nervous energy that’s about to make you jump out of your skin. You pretend to shuffle around in the fridge for a minute so you don’t look too silly getting up for no reason.
After taking a moment to calm down, you turn back to Yuta. “Okay. Hypothetically, if you wanted, could you actually…? With a human? In your natural form? Or would the parts be incompatible, or...”
“Maybe...I’m not sure. It’s not like I’ve ever tried. Why?” Yuta gives you a look that’s partway between curiosity and incredulity, and you wave your hand in dismissal.
“It’s just a question.”
Yuta leans forward on the couch, barely concealing his own amusement at whatever he’s cooking up in his mind. “Are you saying you want to try it with me?”
“You’re not funny,” you sigh, trying to ignore the way your skin is burning at that suggestion. “Remind me not to ask you anything like that again.”
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When you get home from work one weeknight, you roll your eyes at the mass text sitting in your inbox, forwarded to you from Alex. Another after-work party, which means another event where someone will run through the sprinklers naked and everyone will pretend like they don’t remember it the next workday.
You don’t know how you’re going to get out of this one, especially with Yuta, who will likely want to go if he finds out, so you decide to just come out and say it and see what happens.
“Hey Yuta…” You slide up behind him where he’s sitting on the couch. “I just wanted to let you know I won’t be at home for a few hours on Saturday. I’m going to a party this weekend. It’s a friend’s party, someone from work.”
Yuta looks at you forlornly. “The same person we met at the restaurant?”
“No, but he’s gonna be there too. Look, I know what you’re thinking, but I really don’t know if it’s safe for you to go…”
“That’s not fair, the last time at the restaurant went well,” Yuta argues.
“Yes, but this guy has a pool and he’s a dickhead who likes to push people in and what if you get caught off guard and change unexpectedly?”
Yuta’s response is as straightforward as you expected it to be. “Then I’ll punch him in the face.”
You laugh at that and shake your head, coming to sit beside him on the couch. “Ugh. As satisfying as that sounds, I don’t need the extra stress of dealing with the aftermath. I don’t know, Yuta...do you think you’ll be okay? God, I feel like an overprotective mom or some shit.”
“Y/N, it’ll be fine, stop worrying. I can take care of myself,” Yuta insists, putting his hand on your shoulder and looking into your eyes. He’s a little closer than you anticipated, which makes your heart rate increase a little. You chalk that reaction up to his invasion of your personal space and shift away, groaning.
“Fine, I’ll bring you. But if shit goes down, I can’t promise an easy way out. Let’s just keep things lowkey, alright?”
“Of course I can do that! I’ve been doing it so far haven’t I?” he says, but somehow you’re not entirely convinced.
The party is filled with people you know from work and a slew of unfamiliar faces, probably your coworkers’ friends. It’s mostly a backyard party, like you already knew, although there are some people mingling within the house.
There are already a few people lounging in the pool. In any other scenario, it might be inviting to you, but now you just look at all that water with a looming sense of anxiety. Yuta sticks close to your side, saying nothing but studying everyone around him.
“Y/N!” your coworker David shouts from the backdoor of his house. He holds up his beer in salutation and you wave back at him, mildly annoyed that he’s brought everyone’s attention to you both. He hustles over to you and claps you on the back strong enough to make your bones rattle, and you wince. “Hey dude!” He reaches across you to pull Yuta into a handshake, and Yuta also winces when he grips his hand a little too tight. “Make yourselves at home, I’ve got everything you could ever need—including the booze and babes!” You both nod awkwardly before David goes off to greet someone else who’s just pulled up. You roll your eyes once he’s gone.
Yuta’s eyebrows draw together. “That was…”
“Annoying,” you finish for him.
“You don’t seem to like him. Why did you decide to come?”
“Workplace politics, if you’re the only one who doesn’t come it’s awkward, ugh. It’s just bullshit. Let’s not get into it.” You walk towards the house and Yuta follows, and you nod at a few people you know along the way.
You find Alex in the kitchen, where he offers to make drinks for you and Yuta. You cast a glance at Yuta, wondering if he’ll take up the offer; you have no idea how he’ll react to alcohol, or if they drink any equivalent of it on his homeworld.
“Um, I think I’ll pass.”
“Oh okay, straight-edge guy! That’s cool too,” Alex grins, making just the one drink for you. As you and Alex talk, the girl from your department whose neighborhood was about to be evacuated sidles up to your little group.
“I’ve never seen you before. What’s your name?”
“Oh...it’s Yuta.”
“Yuta? How cool, I’m Sooyoung.”
Little did you know that that one introduction would expand into them having a half-hour long conversation right there in the kitchen. You really don’t know how Yuta is pulling this off without spilling the beans, but then again, you do; he’s good enough at manipulating the conversation to make it seem like he’s sharing personal info when he’s really not. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that he throws in things you taught him every so often.
Alex notices your changing demeanor and follows you as you walk into the living room, finally exhausted with playing third wheel. “Hm, someone seems a little spicy.”
You cough. “I’m fine, it’s just cramped in there, David should really invest in a bigger house..this place could use a remodel.” You throw a glance around the living room, not wanting to see the mischievous look in Alex’s eyes.
“Well, remodel aside, it’s not really my business, but you certainly seem to have a little green monster brewing here.”
You give Alex a long look. “Don’t. He’s my friend. He’s not even—” You have to stop yourself before you expose anything, and you shift nervously on your feet.
“Not even what? Your type? I don’t know, he’s handsome enough to me. You can’t go wrong with a pretty boy. Don’t tell Xavier I said that, though.”
“Lord, let me get the hell out of here…” You leave Alex to cackle to himself while you go out into the backyard again, holding your drink and mulling around the edges of the activity. Too busy wrestling with your own emotions, you don’t realize how close you’ve drifted towards the pool.
“Hey, Y/N?” David says from behind you.
“Yeah?” You go to turn towards him, but before you can, you feel a huge shove from behind and the next thing you know your feet are off the ground and you’re in the pool. It all happens so fast that you can barely catch your bearings, and for a terrifying moment you’re convinced you’re about to drown.
The seconds feel like minutes, and you can’t even open your eyes to tell up from down. The next thing you register is an arm around your waist, and somehow you’re being pulled up even though you’re too panicked to even control your limbs. Your head pops above the water and you cough and sputter loudly, trying to take in air. You try to blink the water out of your eyes, though it drips off your hair and makes it even harder to see.
You’re still not sure what the hell is going on until you’re hauled out of the water and sitting on the ground. Someone hands you a towel, and you hear a female voice saying you’re such an asshole, David.
You wipe the water off of your face and then you’re finally able to see; Yuta is crouching in front of you, just as soaked as you are and staring at you with a worried expression. You look back at him, disoriented and a little dumbfounded at his still-human state.
“You didn’t…”
Even though you’re still trembling with the fear of almost drowning, you’re unable to look anywhere but at Yuta for that moment—at the pure concern on his face.
“Nice going, David,” someone else says sarcastically.
“It was just a bit of a prank! No hard feelings guys, come on. Y/N?” You realize David is standing on your left, and he tries to come closer, his hands open in an apologetic gesture. You jerk away from him, holding the towel to your shaking form.
“Get the fuck away from me. You’re a fucking idiot!” you shout. “All you do is ‘play pranks’ and then you wonder why no one likes you!” That draws a few barely concealed laughs out of the people standing nearby, though you don’t think any of it is funny. David steps back, unsure how to respond and looking truly embarrassed for once in his life.
Filled with anger, you try to get to your feet but you’re still unsteady. Yuta puts his arm around you again, lifting you up and encouraging you to lean your weight on him.
“It’s okay, I’ve got you.”
You don’t have much to say on the way back home. You insist on leaving right away even though Yuta suggests you sit and wait until the tremors subside. He obviously can’t drive you back home, so it’s all he can offer, though it doesn’t make you feel much better.
The silence itself isn’t particularly awkward to Yuta, but he is uncomfortable anyway because he knows it stems from your own discomfort. At a red light, he turns to you.
“Are you okay?”
“Not really.”
He’s quiet for a few moments, and then he speaks again. “I know you’re mad about the pool, but...it seems like there’s more than that. Did...you not like me spending so much time with Sooyoung?”
You scoff. “You can’t be serious. I don’t care what you and that girl do.”
“You’re not a very good liar.” You’re too worn out to argue, so you merely give him a sidelong glance. Yuta sits back in his seat and watches a few cars zip past, their tail lights looking like clashing stars against the night. He’s not used to so much...manmade stuff. There was his ship and his trackers, of course, but he still has a hard time adjusting to be surrounded by so much iron and steel. His own planet is ruled by nature, by the vast oceans in all their unpolluted original essence, but Earth—or at least this portion of it—is much, much different.
He means to glance back at you, but his eyes linger for a while longer than intended. He’s not sure why. Maybe it’s because your outfit is a pretty color, or because the coils of your hair look shiny reflecting the light. He’s never put much thought into human beings before, and his limited experiences with them were mostly better left unremembered. Taking a human form was no huge deal for him; just a move that was necessary at the time.
But now, he’s seeing humanity—and most specifically, you—in a different light, and he’s uncertain what to do with this realization. People have feelings, thoughts, and dreams, like his own species, or like any other. He’s beginning to care what you think of him, how you react to him, even though he doesn’t know why this matters.
“You look pretty,” Yuta says. The compliment is the last thing you expected from him. It seems especially random after what happened at the party; here you are, soaking wet and incredibly uncomfortable. You’re a little late to put your foot on the gas pedal once the light turns green, and someone behind you honks.
“Pretty? I thought humans were weird to you.” Your mind goes back to The Fly and the subsequent conversation you had, and your hands tighten minutely around the steering wheel.
“You are. That hasn’t changed.”
“Good to know.” You don’t want to laugh, but this does make you crack a smile. “But...thanks. And...thanks for that, at the pool, you know. I should...probably trust you more.”
The rest of the ride is a little more talkative after that, and Yuta is happy that he could lighten your mood if even a little bit. Although he wouldn’t tell you, he’s becoming accustomed to your smile, and he’s more displeased than he thought he could be when it’s absent.
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The thunder booms so loudly that it makes your window frames shake. It almost reminds you of the day Yuta’s ship fell out of the sky. You pull the covers tighter around yourself as if they alone could protect you from the storm’s fierceness. Storm clouds have been brewing all day, but the skies didn’t open until you and Yuta went to bed. Now, the rain and lightning is in full force. The rain pounds against your window, sounding more like hail or even bullets.
You’re startled for a second time when there’s a knock on your bedroom door.
“Come in?”
The door opens slightly and Yuta appears in the small sliver of space. “Sorry, but...can I sleep here? The storm...” He gestures to the window, where a crack of lightning strikes right after. He’s wearing a sleep shirt and loose pants, and his blonde hair is disheveled. 
“Uh, sure.” You shuffle over to make room for him. “I guess this isn’t your type of water, is it?” He huddles underneath the covers with you, facing you with his arm tucked under the unoccupied pillow.
“Not when it’s so intense like this.”
You hum in acknowledgment. “It’s scary. Does rainy weather make you think of your homeworld often?”
“Often,” he repeats. “But...I think I’d be worse off if I weren’t here.”
“Here...on Earth?”
“I mean, here with you.”
“Oh,” is all you can think to say. It’s a surprisingly personal confession, though you are grateful you’ve become someone so important in his life already, even if it’s only because you’ve given him shelter. That familiar warmth spreads through you again. 
Warm and fuzzies = gratefulness to a friend, the feeling you get when you pet a cute puppy. Right. It’s not the sensation you get when you think you might have feelings for your extraterrestrial friend, you try to convince yourself. “I’m...glad you’re here. Maybe not under these circumstances, but still.”
Yuta nods without speaking, but he doesn’t take his eyes away from you. You think he must be waiting on you to say something else.
“What?” you ask quietly when he keeps staring at you. “Take a picture, it will last longer.” Your joke does little to clear the air, and the tension keeps rising. You should probably be the first one to look away, to end whatever weird game this is and go to sleep, but you can’t. It’s unexplainable.
Yuta props himself up on his elbow, and you’re about to ask him where he’s going when he slips his hand onto your bare shoulder. You’re already covered by the blankets, but you suddenly feel even hotter with his hand on you, sliding up from your shoulder to the side of your face. “Y-Yuta…?”
You don’t know what to say or do, but you don’t object when he leans closer. Your faces are only inches apart now, like he’s hesitating and wondering if he should cross the line. The thunderstorm is intense, but this moment feels much more suspenseful than that could ever be. And then, it’s suddenly satisfying when his lips are on yours.
The kiss starts gentle. He’s careful as if he’s afraid to hurt you or make you feel uncomfortable. It’s soft and sweet. Things get more heated when his tongue prods against your lower lip and enters your mouth. You don’t know when his hand made it from your face to your side, but he pulls you close with his fingers pressing into the flesh just below your breasts, and you tremble at the proximity.
When you pull away, both of you are breathing harder and unable to look each other in the eye.
“Should we be doing this?” you whisper.
Yuta shakes his head. “I don’t know. But it feels good.”
At those words, you pause for a moment before moving to kiss him again. His lips respond deftly to yours, his body crowding you in and making you feel hot and enraptured with desire from where you still lie under the covers.
His hair is very soft when you slide your hands through it, though you can’t push away the thought that suddenly manifests in the back of your mind. This isn’t really his hair, or his lips, is it? It’s all a mask to cover whatever is underneath, which is something you still don’t entirely know, yet are increasingly curious about.
Yuta’s hand drifts up just high enough to caress the underside of your breast—all still over the cover of your clothes. Abruptly, that thought forces its way to the front of your mind, making itself unavoidable, and you have no idea how to reconcile it. This is all so...very unfamiliar. And undeniably scary.
You pull away from him, your face creased with conflict, and his hand stills on your body. “S-sorry, I…um...this is...”
Subsequently, he pulls his hand away from you, though some part of you doesn’t really want that to happen. “I-it’s fine.”
You both settle back into the sheets, the tense aura from before replaced with one that’s thick with unease. The storm continues on outside, unknowing and uncaring of anything else but its own nature.
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Though you would like to pretend it isn’t so, things become strained after the night of the storm.
You and Yuta don’t talk about the kiss. You expected him to say something about it that morning after, but he didn’t acknowledge it, and so you figured you just forget about it, too. What are you thinking, anyway? You’re literally from two different worlds. You don’t have the first clue about what a connection would look like between you, whether it be just sex or a relationship.
Why couldn’t you just fall for a coworker and have a bit of office drama like everyone else? Even that would be simpler.
Why did you have to let your thoughts get the best of you? You don’t have any answer for that, except for maybe your own need to come to terms with your attraction. People have never been very skilled at accepting others different from themselves, you know that much. But that usually counts for people of different ethnicities or cultural backgrounds, not two entirely different species.
You spend the whole week afterwards tearing your mind up with this monologue and trying to figure out what you should do next, because you’re quickly growing weary of coming home to a tense atmosphere. Alex can only give so much advice—not that you’d really tell him the entire situation—without knowing just how complicated everything is.
Where he used to hang out with you and help you with your hair, Yuta spends more time up in the guest bathroom again. You wonder if he thinks you’re disgusted by him. You’d probably think the same if he reacted the way you did.
Unbeknownst to you, Yuta is facing the situation with a similar amount of inner turmoil as you, wondering if he’s gone too far. He’s done many silly things in his life, but he doesn’t know how to undo this mistake. The mistake of kissing you? The mistake of seeing you as more than just another human? The mistake of knowingly flying in a faulty ship? Maybe all of it.
He feels guilty about freezing you out and pretending as if nothing happened, especially with all you’ve done to make him safe and comfortable in your home. But, at the same time, he is equally frightened to face you and discover the real reasoning for why you pulled away that night. Because you’ll never see him as someone you could like? Or maybe even love?
If that’s your truth, he’d rather leave it unsaid.
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There aren’t many choices left but to face it. Whether this idea is smart or not is yet to be seen, but you suppose you don’t have many solutions left. And you are sick of being cooped up in the house.
“You sure this is safe?” Yuta asks as he stares at the scenery whizzing past. “You were all freaked out about me being near water before...now you want to go to a lake?”
You glance over at him. “Yes, it’s my parents’ lake property. It’s private, Yuta. No one will be there but us. I think we could both use a mini vacation this weekend, yeah?” 
“I guess, sure.” Yuta shrugs. His demeanor is more closed off than it was before that dreaded kiss, but you can still tell that he’s interested in the idea of getting access to a bigger body of water, even if he doesn’t outwardly express it.
The lake house is two hours out of your city. It hasn’t been used much in the past few years with both you and your parents being busy with work and life, but if there was ever a good time to use it, it’s probably now. You just hope there aren’t any squatters of the furry variety; the last thing you need is to be fighting raccoons or squirrels after stepping through the door.
Luckily, there’s really no one but you two once you reach your destination. The lake is big and pretty like you last remembered it, sparkling under the sun and throwing the rays back in your eyes. Yuta is automatically captivated by it.
“Here it is!” you say, walking along the sand and spreading your arms out towards the body of water. “It might not be much compared to your homeworld, but I hope it’s enough.” You carry your bag up the stairs to the house and turn back to Yuta, who’s still standing by the shore gazing across the water. “You can go in, you know? Get comfortable!”
That seems to snap him out of his trance, and he turns back to you, following you up the steps. “Not right now...I’ll go later.” You’re a little disappointed at that, but you simply nod and open the door to go in.
You spend the day getting increasingly more restless as you and Yuta hang out together. You go on the pier, walk around the entirety of the lake, and even take your dad’s boat out on the water, but he still doesn’t get in.
You eat dinner together later that night, although you’re the one doing most of the eating, and there isn’t much conversation to be had. You’ve both run out of things to say that don’t center around the kiss or why he refuses to get in the water.
Yuta spends a few more moments watching you push your food around your plate before leaning forward. “Why did you bring me here?” he asks.
You sigh heavily. “Do you not like it?”
“No, I do, but…” he hesitates. “Can you answer my question first?
You raise your eyebrows. “Okay, well. I brought you here because...I don’t know. I figure you deserve to have somewhere bigger to swim around in than my guest bathtub.” You laugh nervously.
He seems unconvinced. “Is that it?”
“I’d say so! Why won’t you even take one swim, is the better question? I want you to relax and be yourself.”
He furrows his eyebrows as if he doesn’t know how to reply. “You...aren’t you...repulsed by it? I just figured you wouldn’t want to see me in my natural form. Especially since…” He trails off at the end, and your palms sweat a little.
“No! I know I was weirded out at first, but...I-I guess that was the point of this whole trip, to show you that…” You grapple with your words for a moment, unsure if now is the time to fully confess what you’re feeling. “Look, I want to try, alright? I want to see it at least once. I want to accept you as a whole being, and that means, you know...all of you.”
Yuta smiles gradually at that, and you feel swept up with a sudden wave of affection you weren’t expecting. You are still a bit scared, but you don’t want to turn back now. “Are you sure?”
“I’m sure,” you reply, clasping your shaking hands together.
Yuta nods and stands up from the dining table, gesturing for you to follow him. It’s late now, with the moon shining brightly and the last vestiges of dark blue sky giving way to black. The air outside is cool, but not uncomfortably so. You follow Yuta to the pier and watch timidly, your stomach flip-flopping, as he sheds his clothes, leaving them on the wooden deck. Then he slips into the water, disappearing underneath its still surface.
You crouch down, looking intently at the rippling water and anticipating whoever is going to resurface. The sounds of croaking frogs and crickets press in from every side, ringing in your ears so loudly that it’s hard to think straight.
You gasp when Yuta lifts from the water, his human skin gone and completely transformed into something that’s more...amphibian, if that’s any accurate way to describe his appearance. His skin is still scaly and green like you saw that first day, but in the moonlight it seems to glitter and reflect a spectrum of colors like his armor did. There are two fins on the either side of his face, translucent and shining a pale green. They slowly move back and forth as he treads on the water, as if they’re conveying an emotion to match whatever he’s thinking, and you watch them in fascination.
Yuta floats on his back in the water, the long gills on either of his sides catching the moonlight. You watch in fascination as they move with his breaths. Using the pier post to keep yourself stable, you reach out to touch them. They’re slick under your fingers, but not in a slimy or gross way. Your hand drifts to the rest of his skin, across his torso and along his sides, and every portion has a strikingly smooth texture. His alien eyes stare at you silently as you do, glittering big in the moonlight.
“What do you think?” his voice is quieter than you expected, as if he’s afraid of your reaction. He doesn’t break his gaze, though, studying your face carefully.
“You’re...amazing,” you say breathlessly. “Incredible.” 
His lips, which are green like the rest of him, form a small smile, and then he dives underneath the water. He does a few laps as if he means to impress you, his lithe marine form sparkling just below the surface of the water. You keep your hand suspended over the pier as you watch him, your fingers sliding against his body every time he passes by. You smile at his display, a laugh coming out of you at his impromptu performance.
When he’s finished, Yuta climbs up onto the pier with you and kneels in front of you, much like he did that day he saved you from David’s swimming pool. His feet are webbed like his hands. Droplets of water slide off of them onto the wooden boardwalk while others linger on the clear webbing like tiny jewels. Your hand is magnetized to his face, drawing across the scaly skin and tracing over his lips, which are just as smooth as the rest of him.
Before you can think twice about it, you lean forward and capture his lips with yours. Did you expect it to be fishy? Maybe. But it’s not that at all. He still manages to taste distinctly like Yuta, even though you’re not sure what that taste is. It’s a flavor that makes you feel...held. Yuta is surprised for a moment, but he responds to your kiss, one of his webbed hands inching close to your face. He doesn’t touch you at first, a little reluctant and yet wanting to let you lead the pace so he doesn’t scare you off.
You welcome his touch, carefully brushing your fingertips across his hand and bringing it to make contact with your skin. His own skin is still a bit cold from the water’s temperature, but it doesn’t bother you much.
The kiss soon grows more intense, and a mounting desire makes itself known in you. You won’t pretend like you’re 100% confident about all of this, but you don’t want to shun it anymore, either.
Yuta’s hand drifts to your neck, his long nails pressing into your skin ever so slightly. You dare to explore his body more, sliding your hands across his chest and over his side gills, feeling the way they contract under your hands, and farther down still. You haven’t looked down there yet, and you’re nervous over what you’ll find. But you keep going until your fingers meet something slick and hot and throbbing, seeming vaguely like a regular penis, though you quickly realize it’s more of a tentacle.
Yuta shudders and draws away from the kiss, and you feel alarmed, wondering if you’ve gone too far without thinking.
“If we’re going to do this, I should...probably shift back—”
“Don’t,” you blurt out. Yuta looks at you questioningly. “I...you should if it makes you comfortable. But...I don’t mind.” He’s quiet for a few seconds—seconds that feel much longer than they really are. You’re apprehensive of what he’ll say, but you keep your eyes on his face.
“Okay,” he agrees. “If you’ll accept me like this...okay.” 
Neither of you bother with moving to somewhere more comfortable like the lake house or even the sandy shore. Instead, Yuta peels your clothes away right there on the pier, covering every new bit of flesh with his strange and lovely mouth, his head fins ghosting across your collarbones and breasts like moths’ wings.
You tremble and grow wetter under his soft caresses, which are much gentler than you’d initially expect with his sharp black nails. His hands leave streaks of water across your body, which cools your burning hot skin.
Yuta carefully maneuvers your lower body at the same time as he bends his graceful head, bringing your sex close to his mouth and licking deeply into you. Your back presses hard against the pier, the wood scratching your skin as you cry out into the night air.
“Oh God, Yuta!” You soon realize that his tongue is much longer than any human one, and it reaches to a spot deep inside of you that makes you twist around in his grasp, your fingernails scrambling for purchase on the surface below you. He uses his tongue to pleasure that spot continuously, drawing moans and ever more wetness out of you as if he were controlling the waves in the ocean.
You find yourself coming apart on his extraordinarily long tongue, your legs shaking and then going limp with the pleasure flooding through your body. Your breaths come fast and hard. Yuta lifts his head from between your legs and pulls you carefully into his lap so his slick tentacle is pressing against you. It’s not hard like a dick would be, though it is clearly responsive to your body, and you momentarily wonder if it can even go inside you.
“Is this gonna work?” you ask, a tremor in your voice.
“It will work,” Yuta replies, and you’re not sure how, but you decide to trust him on it. 
It does, to your surprise. With your legs crossed tightly over his lower back, Yuta presses into you, wet and warm and very unexpectedly soft. It doesn’t feel like anything you’ve ever experienced before. It’s not a bad sensation, though—far from it. His tentacle is similar to his tongue in how it flexes and throbs inside you, pressing tight against that spot again and making you shiver in his arms.
You both quickly find a rhythm that works, your bodies moving together in an otherworldly combination of two beings, two species, two souls.
Yuta’s long nails scrape gently against your skin as he holds your back, guiding you on his sex and pushing his hips up into you. You sigh into the juncture of his neck and shoulder, feeling the cool scales underneath your lips. You seek a firm grip on his slick skin, bringing your body as close to his as possible.
“Yuta…” You moan his name. His hand slides to the back of your neck so he can bring your face to his again, kissing you deeply. There’s a wet squelching sound as your bodies connect, Yuta’s tentacle slipping in and out of you and pleasurably stroking your walls.
“Y/N…” Yuta whispers into your soft hair, pushing into your spot repeatedly, his thighs tensing under you as his pace increases. You grip his arms as you feel your orgasm swelling up in your abdomen. You tip your head back and Yuta’s mouth goes to your neck and farther down, his heavy breaths warming your skin and making you overheat from the inside out.
You tighten and cum around him, your voice stuttering out of you in broken gasps as he keeps thrusting into you, drawing your climax out. He pulses inside of you, which sends little shockwaves up your spine; you know he’s probably close, too.
When Yuta comes, there’s a lot more of it than you expected. His cum overflows and drips out of you with a consistency like syrup and a transparent color like precum. It makes the inside of your thighs sticky and shiny.
Yuta pulls out, and more of his cum spills out of you, leaking onto his lap and staining the pier underneath you.
“That’s not gonna get me pregnant, is it?” you say quietly, half-jokingly.
“Probably not,” Yuta chuckles.
“Probably!?”
Yuta carefully gathers you in his arms and stands to his feet, walking you off the pier and back towards the lake house. Your clothes are still on the pier, but you’re quickly getting sleepy and aren’t very worried about it; you’ll get them in the morning.
“What happens now?” Yuta murmurs as he walks up the front steps. You already know he’s referring not just to your relationship in this present moment, but to every event that will make up your future. Does he need to continue hiding, or is it really safe? How long will this last?
You close your eyes, resting your head against his chest. “We stay together.”
Yuta’s arms tighten around you as a silent affirmation of your words.
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just kinda thinking so today’s text post is gonna be me saying like.. you know... for me, personally, the way i enjoy lars and sadie’s dynamic is like... it’s all about the potential for growth. im not getting into analyzing or extrapolating from canon ive done that before and i dont feel like doing it again rn lmao. but anyway. you know, of course i ship them, i love them together romantically, but even in terms of them maintaining a platonic friendship like. this all applies. the joy of lars and sadie does not come from like, “oh wow i wanna see these two fight and disrespect each other for another 60 years” like ew what lmao. like yes, keep the edge, hold onto some bickering/room for misunderstandings, please dont wipe away their other deeper more core issues and character flaws just because they enter a relationship with one another. but yes the joy comes from seeing them starting from this place of deep, simultaneous understanding and misunderstanding. i wanna see how that works out. i wanna see them growing into themselves along side one another, and see that reflected in not only how lars and sadie treat each other, but how their growth as individuals impacts all of their relationships. i now take a second to pour one out for lars and ron not getting to reconcile anything (not really), and for lars not getting to become friends with jenny, sc, and buck. woe... sadness be upon me. but yes like. i find it really exciting and heart warming to like, imagine them continuing to work on catching themselves, on not being as reactionary and not acting out of fear. which whew that’s a whole other thing isn’t it.. every interaction you make being based in fear. of course the fear that lars and sadie both operate out of are rather different, come from slightly different places, but still wow. but yea we got to see these two make decisions/connections with more satisfying/less destructive motivations with some other charas, to small degrees. yay, sincerely, we love to see it. but yea you know. sometimes things start out rough and do actually get better. sometimes someone hurting you isn’t the end of everything. sometimes the best apology is actually sticking around and being better to yourself and the people you care about. there’s a lot of my own personal life exp with friendships and romance (esp long-term relationships) that works into how i’ve read into these charas and been able to understand/relate to them. people can heal, we basically know and agree upon that, sure. but friendships can heal, too. and often times those processes work hand in hand. so what im really saying is... yea. larsadie comfortability. larsadie self and mutual-understanding. larsadie reconciliation. larsadie domestic bliss!!! oh to cook your little girlfriend a nice cornmeal pancake breakfast and watch her sleepily place a pad of butter atop the stack, the same subtle color as her hair... you are falling in love with her for the ten thousandth time. you are already thinking about what to make for her tomorrow morning.
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lesbian-vmin · 4 years
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I don't know if I'm delusional. Between the songs Winter Bear, Sweet Nght, and Blue and Gray have the same impression. Tae is confiding or chatting with someone before his sleep. Am I wrong? If you don't mind. can you make an analysis about this.
Ah, I really try to avoid doing song analyses because I don’t want to make assumptions that could be a far stretch from the truth. I’m more than happy to analyze a song that’s confirmed for one reason or another, but I try to stay away from ones that haven’t been confirmed for any specific purpose.
Winter Bear and Sweet Night are both songs that I’ve thought of as Vmin songs already, in a theoretical mindset (since they’re not confirmed). As for Blue and Gray, this one goes on a different level for me. 
Because I do want to talk about the songs (and this ask gives me an opportunity to do so), I’ll do you the service of providing you with a real answer, but not without a disclaimer. So. This all just in theory. I’m not concluding the songs to have these meanings for sure, and I’m not confirming them as Vmin songs (because that’s not my place, obviously). But nor am I trying to convince anyone that they are Vmin songs. For the purpose of this analysis (as this is a blog that focuses on vmin) I will be treating them as such. Disclaimer disclaimer. Etc. Thank you. (Sorry. I’m sure the average reader knows all of this, but some people take things too seriously, as if they think people can’t speculate and have to believe every word they say. As if human minds aren’t complex. As if science would have progressed to us knowing we revolve around the sun without people questioning face value but okay)
(BELOW THE CUT)
WINTER BEAR
So, it’s pretty obvious this song means a lot to Jimin. He’s always pretty supportive of Taehyung’s songs, but this song seemed to really mean a lot to him. I’m not sure why? What is so different about this song compared to Taehyung’s other songs? Maybe it’s just his favorite? Or maybe there’s a reason it’s his favorite. I’ve wanted to do an analysis on this for a while, but I try not to go on assumptions on this blog, and I also wouldn’t know where to begin. But one thing is clear. This song holds a special place in Jimin’s heart.
One theory that I’ve seen of this song is that it could be about Taehyung’s grandmother, as it was apparently released on the third anniversary of her death (I didn’t know which day exactly she passed). Anyhow, I don’t think Taehyung has talked publicly that that’s the meaning of the song (and people assumed 4 o’clock was about his grandmother as well, even after Namjoon confirmed it was about a friend). 
I do, however, recall seeing a vlive where he said the song was inspired by a movie. And I’m thinking it was a romantic film. About a romantic love. (I will link it here if I find it again, but edit this if I’m wrong.)
Out of respect for his grandmother, and the possibility of the song having to do with her, I wanted to acknowledge that as one of the possible meanings. But, again, for the purpose of this ask, I’m focusing on the Vmin connection. (And the fact that I’m pretty sure Taehyung said it was inspired by a romantic film...but I might even have the song in which he said that about mixed up).
Anyway, I think the lines you are referring to is where he says “you sleep so happily. I wish you a good night”
Taehyung and Jimin seem like they often talk to each other when they have trouble sleeping. They even sleep together often (on camera, and because of Taehyung casually mentioning how he asked Jimin to sleep with him off camera -- and that one time Jimin said Taehyung came to his room after he had a nightmare, when he gifted Taehyung the dream catcher -- I’m going to say it’s probably safe to assume it’s normal for them to sleep together off camera, too).
SWEET NIGHT
When Sweet Night was released, I really got some pretty strong gay love vibes from the song. It could be because I, myself, am gay. But the song always sounded to me like it was two best friends who would sleep together (sharing the same bed, not in a sexual way) and one of them (Taehyung) wakes up one day feeling more. I always imagined that he woke up with the person he’s singing about next to him, but I could be wrong. Anyway, that’s the part that got me feeling it was a gay love song. Because, assuming it’s about Jimin, it’s pretty normal for them to sleep together. They’ve shared a room for a long time, and they often shared beds. It’s not so normal to sleep with your opposite sex best friend, waking up next to them. Unless you have a friends-with-benefits type thing. I guess. But even then, isn’t it a general rule that you don’t actually stay the night?
Another reason this song felt more gay than straight to me was the general confusing Taehyung is expressing. I’ve mentioned before that BTS is well aware of LGBT, but it doesn’t mean it was always like that. I think they became aware of a lot of things as they got older (like many of us do). Also, if both Taehyung and Jimin are gay, it probably took a while for them to admit it to each other.
Romantic movies set aside, I think it’s pretty rare for straight people to have such deep feelings for each other (or someone) and be totally unaware of it. Realistically. This is all going on my own experiences, but most of the straight couples in my life didn’t have to talk to each other for several months before they officially started dating. The gay couples? It was always really frustrating to watch them come to terms with their feelings for each other. Especially when one or both of them weren’t totally comfortable with who they were yet. 
Romantic movies will sometimes tell you a different tale, but they’re movies. And when they do tell a different tale, it’s usually a girl liking a douchy guy instead of her sweet best friend, only to end up with her bestie in the end.
Anyway, let’s talk about the talking while going to sleep part. This to me sounds like the two friends are lying in bed together (or maybe sitting). The one singing (Taehyung) has a lot going through his mind, and his heart is pounding. It sounds like him talking to this person this night is actually a confession. He woke up one day feeling different toward this person he was sleeping next to, and on some other night, he gets all of it off of his chest. I’ve seen a lot of people say that this is the story of a love that never happened, but I don’t see it that way. I think it’s an inconclusive story about a confession being made. We don’t get to hear the resolve.
Assuming it is a Vmin song, I think the resolve is a good one. Because I just think that Jimin would be pretty uncomfortable if Taehyung was writing romantic songs about him and publishing them, knowing that Jimin doesn’t feel the same.
BLUE AND GRAY
For anyone who doesn’t know, this is included on the list because it was initially supposed to be on Taehyung’s mix tape. It’s just that BTS liked the song so much, and he’s not selfish, so it became a BTS song instead.
This one, he’s looking for an angel because he’s having trouble sleeping. He mentions sending his words up into the air, and he falls asleep at dawn.
This song talks about some deeper issues like anxiety and depression, and it’s a song that’s really personal to him. I think the members probably know a lot of the story behind the song, and they probably know a lot about Taehyung’s struggles that led to this song. I think that’s why they liked it so much and wanted it to be part of the album instead of his own song.
I don’t necessarily feel right making this song about a ship, because it’s clearly very personal and talks about some issues Taehyung has had to deal with. However, his members (and his family, and I’m sure other friends) are his support system. (As well as the fans, ofc). He’s called Jimin an angel before, and we know that they often text or call each other when they have trouble sleeping. I’m not going to say that this song is about Vmin, but if Taehyung honestly has a lot of anxiety and worries while trying to go to sleep, I’m glad that he has Jimin to support him. It’s nice to have that friend who is always there for you, especially at times like that when you really need them. Maybe Jimin is the angel in the song. I don’t know.
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ordinaryschmuck · 4 years
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What I Thought About “Enchanted Grom Fright”
Salutations random people of the internet who probably won't read this. I am an Ordinary Shmuck. I write stories and reviews and draw comics and cartoons.
When I started doing reviews, I told myself to stay limited to specials, movies, seasons, and even entire T.V. shows. I didn't want to do reviews for regular episodes of a show, mostly because there wouldn't be enough to talk about in a single post. For me, an episode has to either be astounding enough or important enough to warrant a review. And low and behold, The Owl House did just that with the episode "Enchanting Grom Fright." Keep in mind that I am going to be spoiling everything that happens in this episode. So if you somehow haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend that you do so. And if you haven't seen The Owl House yet...what the hell is wrong with you?
With that out of the way, let's get started with-
WHAT I LIKE
Luz independently looking for new glyphs: This scene is excellent for two reasons. Reason number one: It shows how dedicated Luz is to learning magic. So far, we have yet to see Hexide teach Luz anything regarding her unique way of doing magic. This is why it's great to see Luz try to find glyphs on her own so she can at least attempt to catch up with everyone else. There's also the implication that it's not an easy task for her, given the multiple crumpled up pieces of paper, which must have been failed attempts to make the plant glyph. This scene adds continuity from "Adventures of the Elements" as well, proving that Luz had learned her lesson in said episode. As for reason number two for why this scene is excellent: It sets up how Luz and Amity defeat Grom. Luz could have used her other two glyphs to destroy Grom, but doing so would take away some neat symbolism with the tree that was grown (more on that later). Therefore, Luz finding the plant glyph was a great set up with a proper pay off. Which is what I love about The Owl House. It takes things you wouldn't think twice about and actually makes something beautiful. Case in point: A 'Grom Night' poster was shown in a previous episode, hinting to the glory that is this episode.
Luz barely texting her mom back: I like this because it finally addresses Luz's conflictions for lying to her mom (Something I may or may not have toyed around with https://archiveofourown.org/works/23321692/chapters/55864000). These scenes present moments of how Luz isn't always the happy go lucky teen that she is. And I like that because it adds layers to a character who is already engaging enough.
That Gromposal: I made a post of all the things Disney has approved of before approving Lumity. I guess you can add to the list a character presenting an anatomically correctly drawn heart with the word 'Grom' written in what I can only assume is blood!
(Jokes aside, I legitimately like the dark humor in this scene, as well as Skara saying yes to the poor boy. It was adorable, damn it!)
Amity’s hostility swapped with being friendly: Here's a nice bit of character development for ya! It's just a few seconds, but those seconds show how far Amity has come since episode FIVE! Which is why Amity is one of the best characters in the show. Her development is so impressive that it's legitimately jarring to compare the Amity who was angry to see Luz, to the Amity who immediately apologizes, to Luz. But she still has years of conditioning from her parents to deal with, so of course, Amity's first instinct is to bare her fangs. And I'm more than positive that that instinct is going to leave her pretty soon.
Eda: While we're on the topic of great characters, let's take a moment to talk about Eda in this episode, shall we? Eda, throughout "Enchanted Grom Fright," has fully embraced her role as a maternal figure for Luz. The way Eda attempts to warn Luz about the dangers of Grom is a testament to how much Eda truly cares about 'her human.' And it's not like Eda doesn't acknowledge Luz's efforts at survival. She knows Luz can take care of herself, but that won't stop Eda from drawing the line when she knows Luz is in over her head. The best part is that when Luz admits that she was wrong, Eda doesn't respond with anger or even with a smug "I told you so." Instead, Eda's reaction is calm and nurturing. A response that Luz needed at that moment. It's sweet and genuinely heartwarming to see.
(And I love how Eda constantly admires her own beauty throughout the episode. Which is something I'm sure most fans can relate to.)
Luz and Amity’s talk in the forest: There is a lot to love about this exchange, due to how adorable it is. So here's a quick list: The clearly romantic music playing in the background. The way Amity slipped in the mud and was inches away from accidentally kissing Luz when getting pulled up. The fact that Luz sits down into the mud so as not to make Amity feel self-conscious about being filthy. Luz's sweet, sincere, and instant "I would" when responding to Amity wondering who would take her place as Grom Queen. The fact that Amity was surprised that someone would be willing to take her place in the first place. The payoff to Luz learning that she really did have a spider on the back of her head (Alright, that one wasn’t adorable, but it was definitely hilarious!).
Amity “destroying” Hooty: While I do enjoy seeing Amity act all sweet and gushy, I will admit that feisty Amity is still best Amity. Plus, this scene was remarkably funny.
Training Luz for Grom: This scene was a fantastic showcase for each of the Blight siblings. Now, because I've talked a lot about Amity (and will continue to do so), I want to start talking about Edric and Emira first. When first introduced to Ed and Em, my initial reaction was that they were meanspirited versions of the Weasley Twins from Harry Potter. Sure, Fred and George are known to cause mischief, but they do realize that there's a line you don't cross when it comes to family. That is something that Ed and Em ignored during their debut episode, where they tried to reveal Amity's diary to the world. Luckily, the writers picked up on this quick and made a subtle detour in terms of Ed and Em's personalities. They're actually decent supporting characters, and it's legitimately sweet with how they willingly help Luz. As for Amity, it's great to see that she still takes things seriously despite crushing on Luz. Most shows fall into the trap of making characters a nervous wreck when around their crushes. And while Amity does have those moments, there are still scenes like this that prove she isn't just some smitten kitten-and I hate myself for saying that. Amity is the voice of reason to her and Luz's relationship. And I'm glad that the writers mostly focus on that aspect of her personality rather than write her off as a flustered girl with a crush.
Those boys dancing together: While it's nice to see Luz and Amity's relationship blossom, that doesn't mean we should sleep on great representation such as this. While it's great to see so many romantic pairings between females in the last few years, it's rare to see two boys liking each other, especially in animation. Sure, male pairings exist, but I haven't seen them as celebrated as often as female ones. This is why it's nice to see that The Owl House crew sprinkled in these two boys dancing with each other. Representation matters for everyone, and this little acknowledgment is something worth mentioning, even if it isn't the main ship.
The hallway scene: But let's face it, this is what we came to see. Now when you think about it, there's nothing all that special with this scene. It's a typical romantic moment with a heart to heart discussion followed with witty banter, all while a romantic melody is playing in the background. You see this in multiple types of media, especially in Disney cartoons. The only difference is that this scene features a same-sex pairing and that what makes it amazing. It's essentially normalizing something that has been seen as inappropriate for years. And the fact that Disney of all companies is the one that greenlit a scene like this? That just makes this moment all the more impressive. Plus, I mean, c'mon. You have to have a will of iron not to think these dorks are adorable with this little exchange.
Splash zone: There's not much to talk about or analyze here. I just think the dark humor of a kid waiting in the 'splash zone' is funny. Because what does the splash zone get used for? Grom? The fighter? I don't know, but the fact that a splash zone exists for either of those reasons is what gets a chuckle out of me.
Skara and her date getting hyped for Grom fight: That's it. Skara is officially the best background character. I'm sorry, but a character earns that title when they immediately switch from wanting to kiss their date to "WHOO! BRING ON THE GORE!" 
I don't make the rules. I just abide by them.
Luz’s greatest fear: This is something fans could have seen coming due to rewatching and reanalyzing the promo that dropped a little over a month ago. But for fans who ignored the promo, the episode did a great job of setting up this reveal. From the two times that Luz practically ignored her mother's texts, it can be pretty clear that Luz's fear would be something involving Camilia. However, before the episode premiered, everyone jumped on the idea that Luz's greatest fear would be Camilia forcing Luz to come back home. Instead, the scene portrays Luz's greatest fear as her mother's negative response to Luz lying for weeks. That idea is much more interesting to me because it reveals how much Luz cares so much about what her mother thinks of Luz. And unlike Amity with her parents, Luz's fears are much more justified due to Camilia actually being a good mother. A mother who planned to send her daughter away to summer camp, sure, but still a mother who would do that type of thing out of love rather than to protect an image. Which makes me hope to see more of Camilia in the future, just to witness the mother/daughter relationship she has with Luz. Because honestly, it feels like I've been working triple time with portraying that relationship myself.
Amity’s greatest fear: Ah yes, the one thing none of us could have predicted...ok, that's not true. Some of us did predict this, but most of us didn't take those predictions seriously. And BOY, were we wrong to do so. Because the idea that Amity's greatest fear is being rejected by Luz is both sad, yet kind of adorable. It proves just how much Amity has come to care for the same human she nearly got dissected, in episode THREE. It's a nice bit of character growth that I just can't help but gush over how sweet it is. But again, it's also depressing knowing that Amity is afraid by being rejected by Luz of all people. Luz! The girl who's sweeter than honey and would absolutely let Amity down gently if Luz didn't feel the same way (Which she does. She just doesn't realize it yet.). What's even more interesting is that it makes so much sense as to why Amity is more afraid of showing her fear to the school. Not only would Grom reveal that Amity has feelings for Luz, but it also has the problem of outing Amity as a lesbian, presumably long before she's ready. And seeing how her parents reacted to Amity's friendship with Willow, imagine what would happen if word got out that Amity had a crush on a human girl. Yeah, let's just say that Amity must be really grateful that Grom morphed into a vague, shadowy figure.
(Speaking of, can we PLEASE calling Luz oblivious for not knowing that Grom morphed into her? Yes, to us, it's painfully apparent who Grom was supposed to be. But it also looks vague enough to the point where it isn't unbelievable for Luz to not know it was her. Because from where Luz is standing, the only similarity is the height and body shape. If the crew stuck to using Luz's more apparent traits, then I'd say it's fine to say Luz is oblivious. But as is, it's not too far of a stretch for Luz not to know it was her.)
That dance scene!: Remember how some fans have been hoping for a slow dance between Luz and Amity? This is better.
From the choreography to the smooth animation, to their expressions, to even pure epicness of this scene. Everything about this dance is just so astonishing that I am convinced that several fans have watched it over and over and over again since the episode's release. And you want to know the best part? This scene has so many problems that I don't care about due to how great it is. Why does Eda just stand there and do nothing? I don't know, and I don't care. Why does Grom stand there and do nothing? I don't know, and I don't care. How did Luz and Amity come up with this perfect plan without communicating? I don't know, and I don't care. How did Luz catch Amity, even though it looked like they jumped off of the abomination at the same height, and would've landed at the same time? I don't-Ok, you get the point by now.
Don't get me wrong, these are all valid criticisms. But that's the testament of good writing to me. Because if a scene can make me forget/ignore the problems within it, then it's ok in my book!
The cherry blossom: And now we get to that symbolism that I've mentioned before. Because according to a five-second Google search: The Chinese describe the cherry blossom as a symbol for feminine dominance and, of course, a symbol for love. Now the feminine dominance part is clear, but I'm confident that The Owl House staff concentrated more on the whole "symbol of love" thing. Because how else are they supposed to hint that Amity and Luz are meant to be the endgame relationship? Reveal that Amity's gromposal was meant for Luz? C'mon. That would be-
It’s revealed that Amity’s gromposal was meant for Luz: ...You know those moments that are so awesome, iconic, and downright perfect that you just can't help but give a grand old cheer to it? That's this moment right here. Speaking of which: WAH-HOO-HOO-HOO-HOO!
Seriously, some of you have no idea how big this scene is. It would have been so easy to cut the scene short at Amity throwing her half of the note, and leaving it up to interpretation for who the whole thing was for. But the fact that we get to see that it was meant for Luz, thus confirming that Amity has a crush on her, is absolute perfection. Not only is it because this is a big step for Disney in terms of representation, but to me, it seems like a normalization of gay culture. This type of reveal is something that would be done for several heterosexual relationships. So to confirm that Amity has a crush on Luz as if it was nothing...that's...that's just awesome. It's awesome, and I am so happy that Disney even greenlit this decision. And I'm not even gay! So I can not comprehend how some of you are feeling about this moment!
(Also, this does not mean that Lumity is canon. But it does at least mean that Lumity is going to be canon. Only now it's a question of when rather than if.)
Luz’s Text to Home: This was just a sweet moment. You get a better understanding of the love Luz has for her mother within these few seconds, then you did throughout the entire series so far. I also like that this implies that Luz is going to try being more honest with her mom about being in a whole new dimension. Which is again, is something I've been playing with.
Speaking of my aforementioned fanfic, during this entire scene, I was thinking to myself: "Man. Maybe I don't have to write a chapter based on this episode, after all. It pretty much did the job for me. I'm just glad that show didn't do anything that would make what I wrote completely worthless. Because that would just-"
Camilia is getting LETTERS?!: “...Well shit.”
Ok, gags and goofs aside, I honestly love this reveal. Because this presents a whole lot of questions. Like, how is Camilia getting these letters? When did she start getting them? And more importantly: Who the hell is sending them?! This is another thing that I enjoy about The Owl House. Just when you think you're satisfied with the episode you're given, the writers throw in something you could have never expected in a million years. This is why lately, it's a toss-up between The Owl House and Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts for the best show of 2020 for me.
(BTW, WATCH KIPO AND THE AGE OF WONDERBEASTS! It's SO GOOD!)
Those Grom pictures: These were just cute. Especially the last one.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
...Uh...Oh! I know!
King’s B-plot: A small complaint that I have for The Owl House is that most of the b-plots in several episodes just feel unnecessary. Episodes like "The First Day," and "Adventures in the Elements" had b-plots that were pointless and not as engaging as the a-plot. What's worse is that they seem like padding for time, when most of that time could be used for significant moments in the main plot. And honestly, King's story in this episode is the worst one yet. It's filler that is poorly paced and wasn't really all that funny (aside from the other b-plots which at least offered a few good jokes in them). I don't know. Maybe it's because I have Lumity brain rot and wanted more moments between those two, but I just could not get engaged in King's story.
And...yeah, that’s about it.
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This episode deserves a well earned A+! Sure it has its fair share of problems, but the many, MANY, things it does right outweighs what it does wrong. On top of that, its one of the few episodes of any show I've seen that kept me up at night. Why? Because I couldn't stop thinking about how amazing it was. "Enchanted Grom Fright" is a worthy contender for the best episode of the season, and probably the entire series. It was heartwarming, engaging, and quite possibly the most important thing Disney has made in years. What else could you call it other than Enchanting.
(And no, this doesn’t mean I’m reviewing episodes of The Owl House from now on. Just the ones that are worth talking about.)
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hiirolangley · 4 years
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Maruma ramblings
This week's MAnniversary assignment is supposed to be choose your favorite scene and analyze it, but there are too many scenes to pick a favorite so I just chose random sections I like.  Super long so under a cut~
First up is the cliff scene!  This one is amazing in several ways, but I feel like the most overlooked part is when Yuuri is afraid that he'll pull Wolfram down off the cliff with him and IS STARTING TO TELL WOLF TO DROP HIM.  Hardly anyone talks about that!  I think it gets overshadowed by Wolf cutting him off with his famous line of "If that happens, I'll fall with you."
ALSO, a little bit after this scene when the gang gets back to Caloria is the last time Yuuri ever tries the "but we're both boys!" line (that I have noticed).  This whole section is also a defining moment in the story because Wolfram goes through a rapid change with Conrad's 'death' and Yuuri notices.  There's actually an excellent mirroring of novel 2's pirate attack in novel 7 where Wolfram is stepping up to take Conrad's place.
Novel 2 = On a ship, Conrad hides Wolf and Yuuri while he goes off with Josak to fight on the deck. Novel 7 = On a ship, Wolf hides Murata and Yuuri while he goes off with Josak to a possible fight on the deck.
More thoughts on Wolf stepping up to the plate later...  but I noticed that Yuuri's complaints of "we're both boys" is now replaced with "Wolf is starting to remind me of Gwen and being adult-y, holy crap I'm gonna get left behind."
Backtracking to another part I liked: Yuuri running off in Hildyard and Wolfram finding him in Luis Biron's office and promptly starting to strangle him.  It's not really because the comedic value or any Yuuram, but because he says, “Do you have any idea how much Conrart lectured me because of this!?”  I like this because Wolfram is accidentally revealing that he cares what Conrad thinks - or at least that's my opinion~  Wolfram's not yelling that Yuuri took a stroll at night with his would-be assassin and could have gotten hurt, he's saying 'Conrad yelled at me!' (and also how dare you go to the red-light district XD)  There had been instances before where Wolfram reached across the gap a little like when he asked Conrad about Julia, but I really liked this one.  I guess you can say that Wolf complained about that because he was mad Conrad dared to lecture him, but I really think it's because Wolfram was starting to warm up to Conrad again so when Conrad lectured him, it was doubly embarrassing.
Honestly, this entire angle where the two brothers have been responsible for Yuuri's safety up until this point with Conrad carrying most of the weight and coming to Wolf's rescue as well would have made an excellent setup for later novels if Sensei hadn't been bullied into resurrecting Conrad from the dead.  It was perfect.  Wolfram - childish, jealous, and acting like a spoiled brat - suddenly gets all the responsibility of keeping Yuuri alive dumped in his lap and has to instantly grow up all while having to deal with the grief of losing his brother he's been treating like shit for decades?  That had so much potential and it was kinda going in that direction before Conrad magically appeared again.  Not that I'm super disappointed (because Conrad needs a break, omg), but it is a little disappointing to see a great setup get dropped.
Back to the Yuuram!  The arrow scene!  The one Sara stole from Wolfram in the anime!  I like this scene for the obvious reasons, but it also revealed something to me I completely overlooked about Wolfram which I fricking fell in love with.  When Wolf gets up again after getting shot and sees that Yuuri is in Uesama-mode, he says, “Snap out of it, Yuuri! Turn back into a rookie!” and is talking to him like he would normally talk with him...  which made me pause because at this point we know this isn't Yuuri, this is another personality from a past life taking over his brain for a moment.  Curious and with a suspicion forming in my brain, I started skimming Wolfram's other comments about Uesama-mode and found this gem in novel 8:
"I’m worried about him being totally exhausted after he collapses, but he’s somehow worked things out with that condition so far."  
My suspicion growing at an exponential rate, I checked the original Japanese text and saw this gem of a word: 症状/shoujou.  The word for condition for an ILLNESS.  Wolf doesn't know about the past-lives coming through the crack in Yuuri's soul.  Wolfram thinks Yuuri has some kind of dissociative identity disorder and he is totally cool with it.  He loves him anyway.  Warms my black, icy heart~  I was living in Japan when this book was published.  Mental illness was not accepted, like, at all.  If you had one, you were weak and an embarrassment.  It's only marginally better 17 years later.  But sensei just casually put this into her story and I AM HERE FOR THAT!!
ANYWAY, it's 5am and I need to stop XD
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forlornmelody · 4 years
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Trust Exercise
Rating: E (Smut with some plot, for flavor.)
Fandom(s): DC Comics
Ship: Poison Ivy/Harley Quinn
Linkage: Ao3
Summary: Harley wants to try something new, but Ivy isn't sure her girlfriend is ready to see that part of her.
Note: Commission for @rookie009. Dude, thank you so much for commissioning me again. And insisting I write my faves. <3
->->->
Ivy’s in the lab when Harley finds her, nose-deep in an experiment she’s been running all day. “Oh, hey, babe. Did you get my text?”
“Mmhm.” Harley’s hands grasp her shoulders, her fingers meandering past the collar of her lab coat. 
“So, you know that I can’t do date night tonight.” Harley’s lips find her cheek, then her ear, and the tissue culture Ivy’s been working on for the past hour slips from her fingers. 
“Sure you can.” Her lips meander down her neck, as Ivy stares at the ruined culture with both horror and... arousal. Something hot roils in her belly, and Ivy stifles it as she turns around. 
“Harley. How many times do I have to tell you--”
“Mm. You’re even more pretty when you’re angry.” Harley grabs Ivy by the lapel of her lab coat, pulling her in for a kiss. The jungle surrounding the lab roils as if shaken in a gale force wind. 
Ivy breathes her in, and pushes her back, holding her girlfriend at arm’s length. “Harl, if you want me to tie you up, you only need to ask.”
Harley flushes, biting her lip as she glances away. Ivy draws her attention back with a finger under her chin. “Do you want me to tie you up?”
“Ives…”
“Harleen Francis Quinzel, I promise you I won’t ask again.”
“Yes!” Harley says quickly.
“Yes, what?”
“Tie me up.” Harleen swallows, her tongue darting out to wet her lip. 
“And?”
Her skin blushes pink as one of her pigtails, and Ivy almost doesn’t hear her. 
“What?”
“I said use your vines.”
“You sure?” The words fall out of Ivy’s mouth before she realizes what she’s asking. Sure, she’s usually the dominant one in bed--Ivy knows what she likes and how to ask for it. But this...Damnit, Pamela. What if this is too much? What if being tied up and used reminds her too much of…. Ivy doesn’t even think his name. She just conjures up an image in her head and sets it on fire. 
“Ives?” Harley says, her eyes widening and her mouth shrinking into a small oh. 
“Sorry?” 
“You okay, Pam-a-lamb?” Harley brushes her thumb across Ivy’s cheek, pushing a wisp of hair out of the way. God, she must look like a mess right now. 
“Of course!” she lies, and a nearby fittonia albivenis wilts in protest. Charlie, as she liked to call him, always is a dramatic asshole. “Go on.”
“You sure? Cause George doesn’t look so good.”
“Charlie.” Ivy sighs, rubbing her forehead.  “His name is Charlie.” She nods over at the opposite corner, where a helianthus annuus, commonly known as a sunflower, is giving her a judgmental stare. “That’s George.” 
“Daisy Girl...if the plants are upset, you must be upset.” Harley Quinn leans closer, so Ivy has to meet her eyes. “You can’t lie to a therapist, remember?”
“I can try,” Ivy mutters. 
“I know you too well, Pam-jam. Now tell me what’s eatin’ ya.”
Now, Doctor Pamela Isley could uncover her sordid history with her parents, charm school, the nice conservative respectable university her parents sent her off to--the one she dropped out of and ran away from, the respectable open minded one she graduated from, the mentor who ruined her and created her, and the day they met in Arkham, but Harley already knows she doesn’t dump her past out of the trash can for everyone to see, especially when there’s a bed in sight, metaphorically speaking. God, what a buzzkill that would be. “I want to believe you, Harls. When you say you want this.” Ivy presses her thumb into Harley’s bottom lip. “But how do I know you’re not just saying this to make me happy?” Like she always would with...well. 
“Easy. You trust me.”
Does she? 
The powder-mix lemonade crashes against the opposite wall, barely missing her therapist’s head. “Stop fucking analyzing me. I’m not your rat.”
Dr. Quinzel doesn’t defend herself or argue against the insult. “You’ve good aim.” She does, however, flinch. Something twists in Ivy’s gut. At first, she thinks the Morton’s cafeteria slop has turned sour yet again, but Ivy notices the feeling runs deeper this time, and it spreads like frost throughout her middle, all the way to her lungs. “Softball?”
Fucking hell. She’s feeling remorse. “Gymnastics.” The answer spills out of Ivy’s mouth before she can stop it. 
And then Dr. Quinzel’s face lights up like a Christmas tree. “Me too! Did you compete? Which team?” 
Ivy spills some more, and they swap memories, apparently having crossed paths without remembering the other at one point or another. Not that Dr. Quinzel would have ever recognized Dr. Pamela Isley when she was a tween with braces and an awkward smile. Or Dr. Isley would have remembered Dr. Quinzel was a spirited overachiever with a chip on her shoulder. Actually, Pamela takes that back. She can see some of it now. She also notices Dr. Quinzel’s hands intertwined with her own. And the warmth between them. 
 “Please, call me Harleen.” Harleen smiles shyly, biting her lip. 
Ivy gulps. “Do all your patients get to call you that?”
And just like that the moment’s gone. But Ivy’s hands feel warm long after Dr. Isley has left the room. 
->->->
Ivy should have known this was a set up. The security guard missing from his post. The alarms turned off. The dark room where the lights should have had motion sensors and generator backup. She should have turned back the moment she noticed, but she couldn’t leave this warehouse like this. Not with one of two middlemist camellias sitting inside, ripped from its soil in New Zealand and brought to Gotham for a filthy auction.
The moment Ivy touches the leaves the door slams shut behind her, and she notices the sealant sprayed on all the windows. Oh no. A hose hisses on the floor, and Ivy slowly feels the air being sucked from the room. No. No. No. Not like this.
There’s no chair, no bat, nothing to break the windows with. Just Dr. Pamela Isley and the lonely Middlemist’s Red that will die with her. Pam closes her eyes, and tries not to hyperventilate, counting her breaths just like Harley taught her—
“NOT TODAY ASSHATS.” Glass shards rain on the floor, and an alluminum bat clangs against the concrete floor. “Pambsel?” Soft fingers touch her shoulder. “Ivy? Come on, Ivy. Stay with me.”
“Ivy?” Harley’s staring at her in their bedroom, her eyebrows lifted in concern.
“I trust you more than anyone else.”
Harley brushes her lips against hers. “And I trust you more than a stripper trusts her heels.”
“God.” Ivy chortles despite herself. “That’s terrible, Harley. Maybe I should keep you from talking.” Those words sound so...different once they’re out of her mouth. Like cinnamon candy burning on her lips. 
For once, Harleen Francis Quinnzel has nothing to say. Her mouth hangs slightly open, to the point that Ivy wants to trace it with her fingertip, maybe slip her finger past those lips to see Harley suck on— “Would you?” Harley whispers, blushing as pink as one of her pigtails. 
“I’d love to.” It’s a little unnerving how easily this comes to her. “But there’s only one thing.”
“What’s that?” Harley leans closer, her hands grasping at Ivy’s clothes, pleading without pleading. 
“What’s our safe-word?”
“Puddin’?”
“Absolutely not.”
“Batman?”
“Nope.”
“Come on, Pretty Girl. You’re killin’ me here.”
“It has to be a word we both agree to, Harley. Rules are rules.”
“Says who?” Harley leans in close, her hands on her hips. 
Ivy smirks at her, whispering in her ear. “Says the woman who is about to give you a night you won’t forget.”
At this point, Ivy half expects Harley to say Arkham, but she doesn’t. “Robinson Park.” 
It’s Ivy’s turn to lose her words. Of course, Harley would name her old hideout. Well. Not just any old hideout. The place where they first kissed. “That’s--that’s two words.”
Harley grins proudly, pressing a soft kiss against her cheek. “Does that break the rules, Rosey Cheeks?”
Ivy allows it. She also allows herself to check with Harley several times as she persuades a nearby pharnera vahili to stretch towards them. The plant balks initially at the thought of making its flower buds large enough to penetrate, but Ivy mutters a quiet “Coward” and the plant swells to prove her wrong. Perhaps Peter would be a fitting name for this one? Brushing the buds, she strengthens him, hardens them, really, and shoos any creatures or enzymes that would bring harm to her favorite person in the whole world. 
“Ready, Harley?”
Harley nods, biting a grin. 
Ivy steps towards her, pinching her chin between her finger and thumb. “If this is going to work, I’m going to need you to use your words, Harleen.”
“Yes.” Harley gulps a breath of air, and she closes her eyes as if she’s about to kiss her. 
Pulling out of her reach, Ivy returns to Peter, stroking a few tendrils, feigning more interest in them than her lover. “Then remove your shorts. I’d hate to ruin them.” 
“These always were your favorite, weren’t they, Red?”
Indeed, they are. “Perhaps.” Ivy can’t help but watch them slip down Harley’s cream-colored thighs. She itches to get between them but that will have to wait. “Now lay down.”
“But--”
“It’ll be easier to secure you from the bed, trust me.”
“Always.”
Again, that itch. That burning unyielding need to touch every inch of Harley’s skin, exposed or not. This is just as much an exercise in patience for her as it is for Harley. Ivy whisks her fingers, curling the vines around Harley’s wrists and ankles. “Is that comfortable?”
Harley nods quickly, only to see Ivy quirk her eyebrow impatiently. “Yes, Ives,” she says, her breath ragged. 
“How about now?” The vines lengthen and grow, suspending Harley’s prone body in the air. Ivy wishes she could draw how beautiful Harley looks like this, her mouth parted and arched back, her legs already flushes with need. 
“Amazing.” Harley closes her eyes. “I feel like I’m floating.” 
“And what is our safe word, again?”
Harley starts to say it, only for Ivy to brush between her calves with a tendril.
“That tickles!” 
“Don’t squirm.” Ivy smirks despite herself, stroking the inside of Harley’s legs, from the bottoms of her calves to the narrowest point between her thighs, edging around her center but never quite touching it. 
Twisting in her restraints, Harley groans. “Don’t tease me, Pam-Pam.”
“I believe you asked me to tease you. Isn’t that the point?” The tendril snakes past her middle, scratching under her chin. “To make you beg for it?”
“Please.” The vine edges back down, circling her warmth, now moist with the juices dripping down her legs. 
“Please what?”
“Touch me.” She pleads, seeing Ivy’s lips pressed in a thin line. “Touch my clit.”
“That’s my girl.” Ivy resists the urge to mirror the motion of her plant. Her own thighs twitch with want. Her vine grazes Harley’s lower lips, feather light in their touch, and Ivy aches at the whimper slipping from Harley’s mouth. She keeps circling with smaller and smaller circles until Harley shakes and keens. And that’s when she drags the vine against where Harley wants her most. 
“Oh fuck. Fuckity-fuck fuck.” Harley strains against her bonds, her hips writhing against the vine. 
Ivy licks her lips. “Would you like this vine inside you?”
“Mmhm...y-yeah.” Harley’s voice breaks on the edge of her first orgasm. 
Then Ivy pulls away.
“No, Ives, please. Please touch me. I’m--I’m so close.” 
“I know, Harl.” Ives steps around the now massive bulk Peter has grown into, caressing Harley’s own cheek with the back of her own hand. God, she wants to tear off all their clothes right now and just have her way, but she can’t. Not yet. “I’m going to give you something special.” One nail presses into Harley’s cheek, enough to indent, but enough to break the skin. “Would you like to know what it is?”
Sweat glistens around Harley’s hairline as she looks back at Ivy helplessly. “Yeah.” She manages. 
Shit. She must be thirsty. “Hold on.” She snatches a water bottle, holding it to Harley’s lips. “Drink some water.” Ivy doesn’t pull the bottle away until Harley’s finished it. She downs her tea. Then she rubs her fingers together, until oily spots form on her fingertips. “This oil will heighten your sensations. Do you want it?”
Harley can’t even form words at first, but she manages. “Please, Pammin-Jammin. I need you.”
Ivy also licks her lips, her entire mouth tasting like vegetable oil, but stronger. And the oil packs some heat. Not enough to burn, but enough that she’ll need to wash her mouth out later if she’s going to focus on anything. “I need you too, Harley.” She brushes her lips against Harley’s and want hits her like a gale-force wind. With the way Harley moans into her mouth--she feels that way too. Patience. Even the quickest-growing plants need time to breathe. 
Before Harley can deepen the kiss, Ivy trails her lips down her chin, her neck, and her collar bone. She massages her shoulders, her arms, then up her sides and back down again. Ivy kisses down to her chest, avoiding Harley’s already too sensitive tits and just focusing on the valley between them, pausing a moment to listen to her quickening heartbeat. Harley squirms, and Ivy holds her steady, paying careful attention to the planes of her abdomen. Her hands move around Harley’s hips, pinching either side of her ass, covering her thighs and in between. “Oh, Ivy.”
When Ivy finishes caressing Harley’s feet, she stands up to see Harley’s face caught like a saint in a Raphaelite painting. She guides her own hands around one of the tendrils, slowly, gently penetrating her as if she were using a dildo. And when the tendril is as far in as it’ll go, Ivy grins against her ear. “Ready?”
“Mmhm,” Harley whimpers. 
Ivy snaps her fingers, and the tendril takes on life of its own, pumping in and out of her lover without any guidance from her. 
“Fuck!” Harley gasps, her wrists twisting in her bonds as she seeks purchase to rock back against the vine. “Oh, fuck that’s good.”
Ivy finds her hands drifting down towards her legs. She clenches them behind her back to hold them still. Not yet. Focus on Harley. But focusing on her and how fucked she is seems to be part of Ivy’s problem. Licking her lips, she asks, “How do you feel about anal?”
“Mm?” Harley probably means to ask, but her mm sounds more like a moan than anything else. 
Making a point of rolling her eyes, Ivy snaps her fingers a second time, and the vine pulls out of her. 
“No no no. Please. I was almost…”
“I asked you a question, Harl.” Ivy growls, more from arousal than annoyance, but Harley’s eyes widen.
“What was the question?”
“Do you.” Ivy grips Harley’s chin. “Like. Anal sex?”
 Harley’s eyes brighten and her frown morphs into an ecstatic smile. “Double penetration?” She bites her lip. “Would you?”
“I’d love to. But first.” Ivy pulls out a familiar bottle--her own recipe. She squirts a generous amount on her fingers, and ringing a circle around Harley’s butt hole, and then little by little, probing inside with her finger. “Good girl,” she whispers in Harley’s ear. Her lover starts to tense up, and Ivy holds her hip firmly with her other hand. “Relax. You are the most amazing person I’ve ever known, and you have done the impossible time and time again.” 
“You...you really think t-that?”
“I know that, Harley.” Her finger gets pulled deeper inside, and Ivy works her open gently, as Harley’s eyes glaze over and her mouth drops open. “And tonight, I’m going to make you feel how amazing you are. Do you trust me?”
“Mm. Y-yeah.”
“Then you’re gonna take more for me.” Ivy whispers, taking Harley’s lobe between her teeth. Harley shudders and nods, and Ivy, slowly, gently, and with more oil, adds a second finger. 
“Nn--Ivy, Oh god. Please. I--I need.”
“Need what?”
“More.” 
“More what?”
Harley moans--whimpers in reply, “I---make me come,” she begs, sprawled in mid-air, and Ivy raises her free hand to pull the prepared vines. “Pam-Pam, please.” She croaks. “Please, Pamela.”
The vine droops just inches from Harley’s hips.
“Pamela Isley!” Mrs. Saint-Claire always pops the p in Pamela’s name, and spittle flies out of her mouth. How many times do I have to tell you!” Those skeletal hands jerk her shoulders back. “Back straight! Like a puppet on a string!” Pam’s so tired. She just wants to go home. Well, maybe not home. “And smile for once! It won’t kill you.” Mrs. Saint-Claire yanks her wild curls into a peppy poiny tail. “How are you going to win a man like this?”
“Pam-pam?” Harley’s looking back at her, her eyes still dark with want and pleasure, but her eyebrows are lifted in concern.
Maybe Ivy should hold back, more. What if she goes too far? But Harley would tell her. She’d say the word. She doesn’t pretend, not in bed, not unless that’s...well. Maybe it would be nice to pretend. A different time, perhaps. 
“I’m still here,” Pamela says more to herself than Harley, and she refreshes that vine until it’s erect and moving again. “Are you?” She coats the vine slick with oil, and she slips her fingers out completely. 
“Yes, yes, please.”
“Then take it.” The vine enters her slowly, filling her already stretched hole, pumping in tandem with the other in her cunt. And fuck it, Ivy reaches down and touches her own center, hissing at how sensitive she is already. 
“Yes, yes, yes!!” Harley’s always been loud in bed, but she’s never screamed like this. Ivy smirks, directing a third vine to mimic the motions on Harley’s clit that Ivy’s already doing to her own. And oh, Harley shakes, rattles, so full and so hung she can’t move, only ride the wave as the vines move in and out and around her. “Fuck yes.”
“Are you close, Harley?”
“Y-yeah….” And then her eyes shut, and her mouth forms a silent oh, and her body jerks, clenching around the vines.
“That’s my girl.” And Ivy brings her down slowly until Harley relaxes, and she pulls the vines away, untying her wrists and ankles and holding her close. “How’re you feeling, Harls?”
Her lover doesn’t answer at first, nestled against Ivy’s breast, her eyes distant and warm. “Thank you.” Harley nestles into her breast, breathing her in. “I feel amazing, as promised.” She giggles, and Ivy’s so busy laughing with her to notice the hand creeping towards her now naked legs. “Oooooo. What’s this?”
Ivy gasps, unable to help her moan at Harley’s touch. “Harley, you don’t have to--”
“Jesus fuck, you’re wet. Why didn’ you say somethin’?” Harley toys with her, circling her engorged clit and playing with her labia.
Ivy can’t bring herself to her own defense, too focused on how nice Harley’s fingers feel. She squirms, gripping Harley’s shoulders. “Harley--”
“Shh. C’mere. Lemme return the favor.” And then Harley lays back on a newly formed flower bed. With strength Ivy didn’t think she’d have at this point; Harley pulls Ivy’s thighs towards her face. 
“You sure?”
“Isely you’ve gotta stop asking me that.” She tilts her head up, kissing the inside of Ivy’s thigh. “I love you. Of course, I’m sure.” Her lips drift toward Ivy’s center, half-cleaning up the mess they’ve made, half-making it worse. 
Biting her lip, Ivy swallows her gasps, trying to hold on. “Harl, I--” Oh. It’s like she’s never felt another’s mouth on her, though clearly Harley (among others) have been down more than she can count. 
“Shh,” Harley manages to say between long licks. She edges the tip of her tongue around her clit, drinking her in without drying her up. Fuck, she still has pleasure oil on her tongue. Not as strong as at first, but Ivy doesn’t need that strength. 
Maybe that’s what love is. Trust that the other person won’t let you fall when you step too far off the ledge. Someone to hold your hand when you do fall, so you can fall down together. Someone to pick you back up. “Harley, I need--oh.” Ivy groans.
“‘S okay, Ives. Ride me.”
Ivy doesn’t need to be told twice. She grinds down, not so hard as to smother Harley, but enough to feel her mouth that much more. Oh god, fuck, she’s sucking her clit and--
When Ivy comes to, she’s lying on her side, with Harley playing the big spoon. “Holy shit, Harley,” she says, her mouth dry as cotton. 
“Your turn,” Harley shoves the water bottle in her face, and Ivy drinks it dry. “Not bad, eh?”
“Not bad at all.”
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