#the council is just like we considered it not even gonna lie

[rennalaqotfm]

𖤓 DRAGONSPEAR | J.V (PART I)

Pairing: Prince Jacaerys Velaryon x Martell Princess! Reader

Synopsys: Upon discovering Aemond Targaryen's alliance with the Triarchy, the Blacks are pushed to the point of desperation. With the war looming over the horizon, they have no choice but to turn to an unlikely ally: House Martell.

Content Warning: Swearing and a lot of 'fucking politicking,' as King Viserys said.

WC: 3.9k

Series Masterlist

(A/N at the end of the chapter)

The cold castle of Dragonstone stirred back to life in the early evening as the Black Council was hastily reunited after receiving news from an unknown sender, most likely one of Lady Mysaria's informants. The hall was silent as the members of the council cocked their brows in confusion.

"An alliance with the Triarchy?" Rhaenyra Targaryen shook her head in disbelief.

Daemon took the message from her, not believing what she had just said. He tossed the piece of parchment on the table, letting everyone have a look.

"An alliance with the Free Cities is a risk, but a necessary one nonetheless. Their hold on power currently hinges heavily on Vhagar. Aemond knows that the city will be defenceless once Vhagar leaves King's Landing and we could easily overtake it. That is when the Triarchy will come in, to break the blockade of the Gullet," Daemon said, adding a ship figurine to the Table Map.

"We should have enough ships—" Lord Corlys said.

"Forgive me, Lord Corlys, but I do not think they will be enough. The Triarchy can muster a much larger naval power than any house in Westeros, including House Velaryon." 

"Are you underestimating my fleet, my King Consort?" Lord Corlys said through his teeth.

"I am just being realistic. It is not just the Triarchy we might end up encountering," Daemon countered, adding two more ship figurines to the Table Map. "The Greens know that we will solely be relying on the Velaryon fleet, and with enough luck, we would be able to defend ourselves against the Triarchy. Which is why they would also want to send Hightower and Lannister fleets."

"We would be outnumbered," Rhaenyra muttered. 

Daemon shook his head as his eyes scanned the map, realising that the Greens had managed to amass a larger number of allies, from the Crownlands, all the way to the Westerlands. He raised a brow in a particular spot in the South, a place the Targaryens haven't been able to tame after centuries of their rule.  

"Not if we make an alliance with the Dornishmen," he finally said.

After a brief moment of silence, everyone in the Black Council but Daemon erupted in laughter. 

"I don't know which is worse, the Greens making an alliance with the Triarchy or us with those goatfuckers," Ulf laughed. 

"Do we really have no choice?" Rhaenyra muttered, staring at the map. "The Hightower and Lannister navies would need to sail around Dorne before reaching the blockade, after all."

"My Queen, you cannot possibly be considering this," Jacaerys stepped forward. "We cannot make a deal with those barbarians. Our houses have been at each other's throats for generations... What makes you think that they would want to help us? There is a reason why the Greens would rather turn to the Triarchy instead of House Martell."

"The Prince is right, my Queen," Lord Corlys said. "We do not know how those Dornishmen operate, where their loyalties lie. What if they withdraw their support after making a deal, or demand more than we agreed upon? I should not be reminding you of this, my Queen, but the Dornishmen... Well, they are known for being unpredictable. They might even end up switching sides and joining the Greens."

"That will not be happening, Lord Corlys. After all, the Greens are still Targaryens. At present, the Dornishmen have a neutral stance. They do not wish to partake in this war—"

"Because they're just watching everything from afar and placing bets on who's gonna win," Ulf sniggered, earning a glare from Rhaenyra.

"As I was saying, they do not wish to partake in this war," Rhaenyra paused, watching as Daemon picked up another ship figurine and placed it strategically in front of the Hightower and Lannister ships. "But if we manage to convince them to join us, then we could eliminate the Triarchy and block the Summer Sea, preventing the Lannister and Hightower fleets from crossing it."

"Convince them to join us? How are we going to do that?" Lord Corlys shook his head, growing irritated as Rhaenyra seemed to have decided to carry on with the plan. "This is another reason why Aemond has not even bothered negotiating with those barbarians in the first place. Those Dornishmen—House Martell... they would not easily accept any deal. They are too proud. And in this case, we need them more than they need us. We cannot show our desperation or else they will bleed us out—"

"But we are growing desperate, Lord Corlys, and we are running out of options," Rhaenyra raised her voice, causing everyone in the Council to flinch. "The Velaryon fleet alone does not stand a chance against all of them." 

"This is absolutely—" Lord Corlys burst out, clenching his fists as he tried to hold his ire.

"Making a deal with them would be the hardest part, but I am certain they would be satisfied if we offered them a dragon," Daemon suggested. "Ulf, how do you feel about flying to Sunspear with Silverwing and spending the rest of your days with those... goatfuckers?" 

"I don't really have a choice do I?" He grimaced. "But it wouldn't be all too bad, I s'ppose. I've yet to taste a beautiful Dornishwoman and—"

"Looks like it is sorted," Daemon waved his hand, cutting him off. 

"Send a raven to Sunspear," Rhaenyra ordered Maester Gerardys.

"My Queen, please listen to me," Jacaerys raised his voice, catching everybody's attention. "This risk that we are taking is completely unnecessary. We do not even know whether the Greens would be sending the Hightower and Lannister fleets. If they do not, then we would have wasted our time in trying to reason with those savages. Besides, how would that make us look? To think that you are even considering trading Silverwing for a handful of ships..."

The Black Council grew quiet, letting Jacearys' words hang in the air, and they hummed in agreement.

"Listen, boy," Daemon cut him off. "Aemond just burned Sharp Point out of anger. Do you think he is the type to hold back? He is going to want to strike with everything he has, and House Lannister and Hightower would not want to miss a single chance to appease him."

"But House Martell—?" Jacaerys snapped.

"It will not just be House Martell, Jacaerys. If we somehow manage to convince them, then other Dornish houses will follow. Think about House Allyrion, Blackmont, Dayne..." Rhaenyra tried to reason with her son. "Maester Gerardys, send a raven to Sunspear. Now. We have no time to spare." 

The room was filled with exasperation. Some were nodding their heads, murmuring and pointing at the map, whilst others shook their heads yet kept their mouths shut nonetheless. The maester himself began to hesitate as he began to write the message:

To the Honourable Prince Qoren Martell of Sunspear,

In these dire times, as the fleets of the Triarchy, Hightower, and Lannister press upon us, Her Grace, Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen, seeks the aid of House Martell to join forces with our Velaryon allies at sea. In return for your assistance, we offer the protection of our dragon, Silverwing, as a symbol of our alliance and mutual respect. We acknowledge the history between our houses, but now, unity is essential more than ever. We hope to set aside past tensions and forge a partnership that will benefit both our realms.

From Maester Gerardys, in service to Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen.

To Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen,

House Martell has long stood apart from the conflicts of the rest of the realm, and we see no benefit in entangling our house in this war. Our independence is our strength, and we will not risk it, even for the promise of a dragon. Dorne will continue to walk its own path.

Prince Qoren Martell of Sunspear.

Three weeks have already passed, only to receive a cold rejection from the Martells. Their enemies were already making their move, as according to one of Lady Mysaria's informants within the Red Keep, the Green Council had agreed to send Tyland Lannister as an envoy and were soon going to start preparing the ship for the lengthy journey to the Free Cities. 

After reading the message, Rhaenyra scoffed and threw the note in the fireplace, watching as the paper shrivelled into ashes. The Council needn't ask what the Martells had replied since the indignation from the rejection was written all over her face. 

"I told you they were too proud, my Queen. Making a deal with those savages... it was never going to work," Lord Corlys said.

"Do not give up so easily Lord Corlys. That just meant our deal was not good enough," Daemon said.

"You cannot be serious. They have already refused to help, even with the promise of a dragon," Jacaerys snapped. Baela placed her hand on his shoulder, trying to calm him down.

"What else could they possibly want?" Rhaenyra inhaled deeply as she closed her eyes.

Daemon paced back and forth as his eyes wandered on everyone present in the hall. 

"Maester Gerardys, remind us again of the children Prince Qoren has sired,"  Daemon asked.

"Don't name the bastards, though. We'd be stuck 'ere forever," Ulf joked, only to be met by an awkward silence and glares from those in the council.

"His eldest is a daughter of two-and-twenty, Princess Y/n Martell; Prince Elyas Martell, of nine-and-ten; and Prince Farien Martell, of seven, my King Consort," Maester Gerardys said.

"And is Princess Y/n betrothed?" Daemon asked.

"Not that I am aware of, my King Consort."

"It seems that securing an heir is not her main priority," Rhaenyra muttered. "I wonder why she remains unwed..."

"Well, with the number of bastards Prince Qoren has sired, they would never run out of heirs," Lord Corlys muttered under his breath. 

"I do not know, my Queen. I am not entirely familiar with Dornish customs, but I have heard that Prince Qoren has yet to find a suitable match for his daughter," Maester Gerardys said.

"If I may speak, my Queen," Addam bowed his head, waiting for Rhaenyra's nod of approval. "Some of the men who've sailed in Dornish waters have shared stories about why Princess Y/n Martell remains unwed. It's not that Prince Qoren hasn't found a suitable match for his daughter; rather, many of those suitors have met... untimely ends. Their bodies have been discovered in the desert, feasted upon by scorpions. Of course, I can't say how much of this is true and how much is mere sailor's tale."

"Fuckin' hell..." Ulf exclaimed in amusement at Addam's story. "Hopefully that princess was worth dying for."

The Council grimaced, their prejudice somehow convincing them that everything they'd just heard was true. Jacaerys was starting to grow uneasy, feeling Daemon's gaze piercing his as Addam of Hull told the story. He didn't like where the conversation was going, and even if he knew what Daemon was going to say, he still wasn't prepared to hear those words.

"We present Jacaerys as a suitor for Prince Qoren's daughter," Daemon declared, silencing the council.

"No. No. Absolutely not," Jacaerys clenched his fists, his voice trembling with anger as he shook his head furiously. "I am to wed Princess Baela," his gaze darted to Rhaenyra, desperation in his eyes. "The Queen would never agree to such a preposterous match," he said, searching his mother's face for reassurance. But Rhaenyra's gaze was cast downward, and fear gripped his heart. "Mother... you would not marry me off to a savage, would you?"

Rhaenyra felt her son's pressing gaze upon her, yet she refused to look him in the eye. She turned away from the table and stared at the fireplace illuminating the room, trying to find answers in the dancing embers. At first, she found Daemon's proposal outrageous, but his unconventional thinking often led to surprisingly effective strategies. The fire seemed to whisper to her, telling her it was the right thing to do. The Martells. Dorne. She slowly began to realise that if they managed to secure the support of House Martell, and most importantly, the hand of Princess Y/n, then the whole realm would be united.

However, as everyone in the Black Council had already warned her, it wouldn't be an easy feat. House Martell despised the Targaryens after the mass destruction Aegon the Conqueror had caused during the First Dornish War in his attempt to bring Dorne under Targaryen rule. Cities were burned to the ground, leaving much of Dorne a barren waste of sand and ashes. But even then, the Dornish resisted. Led by House Martell, Dorne fought fiercely for their independence at the cost of hundreds of thousands of lives. Yet it was all worth it in the end, as they remained free from the binds of Westeros.

Then she thought of her father, Viserys, and his dream of The Song of Ice and Fire, and how he urged her to unite the realm for what was to come. The alliance with Dorne was necessary, and though they were in dire times of war, there was no better time to unite the two realms.

With a heavy heart, she turned to face her son, Prince Jacaerys, whose eyes were full of desperation. As a mother, she had hoped she could've spared the heavy burden of her duties from her beloved son, but it couldn't be helped. He was going to be the Crown, and sooner or later, he was bound to carry the burden one way or another.

Rhaenyra exhaled and slowly nodded her head, mustering the courage to speak her final decision. If there was one thing she could handle, it was the hatred from her enemies and the smallfolk, but being despised by her own son was something she wasn't sure she could bear.

"Maester Gerardys," Rhaenyra spoke, trying to ignore how her son's eyes widened in disbelief at her words. "Send another raven to Sunspear for a marriage proposal between Prince Jacaerys and Princess Y/n."

Jacaerys stormed out of the room, and Baela looked at Rhaenyra for permission to go after him. 

As Rhaenyra looked at the Table Map, she felt a hand momentarily ghost at the small of her back.

"You made the right call, my Queen," Daemon whispered, his lips lightly brushing against her ear, causing a chill to run down her spine.

To the Honourable Prince Qoren Martell of Sunspear,

I write to you once more on behalf of Her Grace, Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen, about the proposal concerning an alliance between our houses. While we understand and respect your initial decision, the urgency of our situation compels us to make another appeal. In light of the escalating threat posed by the combined forces of the Greens, we recognise that the need for strong allies has never been more critical. As such, we wish to renew our proposal.

Her Grace is prepared to betroth her son, Prince Jacaerys Velaryon, who eagerly seeks the hand of your daughter, Princess Y/n Martell. We believe that this union will not only strengthen our positions but also signify an enduring alliance between House Targaryen and House Martell.

From Maester Gerardys, in service to Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen.

Rhaenyra's footsteps echoed in the stone hallways of the castle as she made her way to her son's chambers. The night was quiet, nothing but the flickering sounds of the torches and the distant waves crashing against the shore could be heard. A few days had passed since she ordered Maester Gerardys to send the raven to Sunspear, and she decided that it was best to give Jacaerys some space so he could come to terms with his future betrothal to Princess Y/n.

Jacaerys refused to speak to anyone, not even Baela, and Rhaenyra's concern for her son was beginning to keep her awake at night to the point she began to question her decisions. However, the raven had already been set, and there was no turning back.

Rhaenyra knocked on the door, only to get no answer. After the second and third try, she sighed, debating whether she should just give up and leave her son. But she knew how Jacaerys felt, and she couldn't bear to see him so distant, losing himself at the thought of marrying a foreign princess they all knew little to none of. Rhaenyra thought Jacaerys was justified to feel the way he did.

She was pleased the marriage proposal between Jacaerys and Baela was approved by her father Viserys. She thought she could give her son the gift of betrothing someone close to him, someone familiar, someone he could eventually grow to love, just as she had been lucky to have been married to Laenor first, and though they weren't each other's preferences, they managed to come to an agreement.

"Jace, let me in," she said one last time. "We need to talk."

Jacaerys still refused to reply, and she expected as much. Rhaenyra slowly opened the door, only to find her son looking through the windows, watching how the waves violently crashed against the cliffs. She couldn't believe how much her son had grown over those past few years, the babe she used to carry in her arms had turned into a man of eight-and-ten, with sharp, handsome features and dark brown curls framing his face. Her heart was full of pride knowing that the Crown would be in good hands with her son, as not only he excelled in politics and affairs of the realm, but he possessed the kindness and compassion her father Viserys did. 

"Jace..." She slowly approached her son, placing a hand on his broad shoulder.

He flinched at her touch and stepped away, refusing to look at her.

"I wish to be alone, Mother."

Rhaenyra closed her eyes and sighed, leaning forward as she also gazed at how the ocean infinitely stretched before her eyes, not knowing how to address the situation. 

"I cannot even imagine how you must feel, Jace. If your grandsire had put me in the same position as you, my feelings would not be any different from yours... Though I still recall how your grandsire had me sit down and meet a never-ending line of suitors," she smiled sadly, feeling the soft breeze of the sea blow gently on her face.

Although Jacaerys remained silent, she still listened to his mother. They rarely had the opportunity to talk so casually about matters he deemed trivial, but he always appreciated those few times they got to talk about anything but war and politics.

"My grandsire already approved of my betrothal with Baela," he mumbled. "I wonder what he would think if he found out you wanted to wed me to a savage."

The sound of the sea seemed to have carried the whispers of her father's wish, as she heard distant voices murmuring The Song of Ice and Fire.

"Your grandsire would be proud," she smiled.

Jacaerys turned to look at her with furrowed brows, wondering if what she had just said was nothing more than a jest. But when his gaze met hers, he could see the love her mother carried for his grandsire Viserys reflected in her eyes.

"Before your grandsire made me heir, he said that I must unite the realm, and this alliance with House Martell is the key to that. This is not just about the ships and this war, Jace. It is beyond that. There are things you will come to understand in time. If this betrothal between you Princess Y/n comes forth, the two of you would finally be uniting the Seven Kingdoms," Rhaenyra said, with a faint glimmer of hope in her eyes, something Jacaerys hadn't seen in a long time.

"I know my duty as the Crown Prince, Mother," Jacaerys said, his voice heavy with resignation. "I understand that there is no undoing the proposal," he sighed. "But it pains me deeply, how you all discussed it as if I were nothing more than a pawn in a game, moved around as you see fit. Baela and I have known each other since childhood; it feels only natural that we should marry. We were just talking about the ceremony we would have once the war is over, imagining weeks of feasting and celebration... only to have it all snatched away from us."

"I am not saying you should, but if worst comes to worst, you could always make an... arrangement with Princess Y/n," Rhaenyra said. 

"An arrangement?" Jacaerys scoffed, shaking his head. "What for? So I can sire more bastards like me?"

Rhaenyra's features hardened as she glared at her son, a flare of anger igniting within her as he brought up those bitter rumours she had buried deeply in her memories.

"Do not speak of yourself that way," Rhaenyra snapped, her voice shaking as she spoke. "You are a true Targaryen, born of fire and blood, and of salt and sea. Let no one, not even yourself, suggest otherwise."

Jacaerys shook his head, growing tired of hearing the same words of denial coming from his mother. 

"I will do what I must for the realm and I will do my best to win the hand of Princess Y/n," Jacaerys muttered in defeat with his gaze cast downwards. "But I will not repeat your mistakes, Mother. I swear I will not sire any bastards, for I will not condemn my future children to face the same humiliation and torment that has haunted me all these years."

To Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen,

How amusing it is, to send a mere bird in place of a prince, when seeking the hand of my beloved daughter. Mayhaps you are unaware of our customs, or mayhaps you believe a Targaryen name is worth more than the effort or courtesy. Here in Dorne, we value actions over titles. The hand of my daughter is not something to be bargained for in letters.

Prince Qoren Martell of Sunspear.

"My Queen, Ser Tyland Lannister has been reported to depart to the Free Cities on the morrow," Lady Mysaria spoke before the council. 

Rhaenyra clenched her jaw in irritation, not taking House Martell's second rejection well. Daemon read the message over her shoulder, amused at the words of Prince Qoren. Jacaerys hoped that his mother would give up the negotiations, but after the discussion they had weeks ago, he knew that she was going to do everything in her power to secure the deal with House Martell. 

"Calling us cravens for sending a raven..." Daemon sneered. "What, were they expecting us to march to Sunspear in person, just to deliver the message?"

"We are running out of time, my Queen. It's only a matter of weeks before Ser Tyland reaches the Free Cities if the winds are in their favour," Lady Mysaria said. 

"That is not all, my Queen," Maester Gerardys intervened, concerned. "Just as the King Consort predicted, we have just received various ravens from our allies reporting that they have sighted an alarming number of fleets departing from Lannisport and Oldtown a fortnight ago."

The Queen breathed in, feeling the pressure to make a decision as the enemy took another step. Reading Qoren Martell's letter one final time, she crumpled the parchment in her fist and turned to her council.

"Value actions over titles..." Rhaenyra muttered at the boldness of his words. "If what he desires are actions, that is what he shall get. Daemon, Jacaerys and I shall depart for Sunspear on the morrow on dragonback."

A/N: Hello, my lovelies! I hope you enjoyed the first part of this series. This chapter was basically the Targaryens and the Martells sending emails at each other lol. I don't wanna spoil anything but this story will kinda go from 0-100 hehe. Chapter 2 is like 90% finished, but still needs a lot of editing. Anyway, would you guys prefer if I have a regular updating schedule (once a week), or if I just upload whenever a chapter is finished (obviously there will be times when I won't be able to update as much but I sometimes get random bursts of energy)? I would love to know what you think.

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Until next time ;)

[tenebraevesper]

Shadow the Hedgehog (Sonic Prime, Character Analysis - Part 4)

Welcome back of Part 4 of my Shadow (and Sonic) character analysis! This time, we are covering all episodes up to Episode 16: Ghost of a Chance. While Shadow doesn't appear too often, he is certainly not sidelined, as you'll see soon.

Let's dive in!

''That's the first time one of them has made any sense.'' ''Nine's on our side, Shadow, and if you're not gonna help, you can-'' ''Oh, I can help.'' *knocks Sonic into No Place*

So, speaking of which, Shadow does have a scene in Episode 10: Battle in the Boscage, where he's just being a deadpan snarker, having witnessed Sonic's failure to get the Shard and knocking him right into No Place. I told you that he helps Sonic by keeping him focused on the mission. X3

In Episode 12: No Way Out, while Sonic is busy helping out Dread and his crew in No Place (or rather, being chased by them after he got the Shard), Shadow tries to stall the rest of the Chaos Council by damaging their ship with the crystals that float around in The Void.

''This totally seemed like it was going to be easy. Get the Shard and run fast, which I'm awesome at-'' ''Who are you talking to?! I can see you have the Shard! Run faster and get out of there!'' ''Turns out, it's hard to get up to full speed on water, even with these kicks. Not to mention, having pirates blasting at you.'' ''Then go where they can't blast you.'' ''I need solid ground. I know just where to get it. By the time that ship gets here, I'll be a blip on the horizon.'' ''What was that about a blip?''

So, while Sonic is pursued by Dread and his pirate crew because he's carrying the Shard and Dread spun a lie about Sonic betraying them, he managed to kick up enough Prism Energy to talk to Shadow, who immediately reminds him to get out of No Place. I absolutely love how Sonic is so done with Shadow nagging him like this, especially considering how Shadow probably doesn't know what happened in No Place besides the fact that Sonic got the Shard. Shadow continues to be a deadpan snarker throughout their conversation and it is pure hilarity. You can bet that he was itching to go to No Place himself and help Sonic out.

But considering how he can't, he decides to deal with the Chaos Council robots that are repairing the ship, freaking out Dr. Don't in the process. Unfortunately for him, Mr. Dr. Eggman activates the ship and flies it towards No Place, leaving a frustrated Shadow.

You've done as much as you could, buddy. Honestly, I don't think that even hitching a ride on the ship would've brought you into No Place. Fortunately, in Episode 15: Cracking Down, Sonic managed to eventually get all of the Shards and with Nine in the tow, after making a stop at No Place and Boscage Maze, finally enters The Void.

''It's about time.'' ''Nine, meet Shadow. Shadow, meet Nine.'' ''You're not another version of Sonic, but you could be twins.'' ''Hardly. I am The Ultimate Lifeform.'' ''Don't listen to him. Com'n!''

I do love this small talk, with Nine pointing out how Shadow and Sonic look similar (don't worry Nine, you're not the first to make this mistake), and Shadow retorting how he's the Ultimate Lifeform. You know, he could've just said how he and Sonic are nothing alike or explained Nine the deal, but he decides to go for a boast that is also a factual statement.

*growls* ''Sycophantic wish fulfillment.''

After arriving at Ghost Hill, Sonic goes back to the Ghost Variants of his friends, looking at them longingly, with Shadow calling it a sycophantic wish fulfillment, with Sonic actually looking back at him and smiling. Yeah, he understands that this wasn't much of an insult on Shadow's part, but just more of him pointing out the reality of the situation. Sonic is definitely more optimistic here, knowing that soon, everything will be over, while Shadow, in his own way, shows that he shares his feelings on the matter.

So far, Shadow has gotten along with Sonic quite well after their fight, but when Nine comments on him and Tails being nothing alike, we get this look.

Once again, he is not trusting Nine, no matter what Sonic says, which becomes the new core of their arguments. However, before they could continue, they're hit with another reality quake, with Shadow leading Sonic and Nine towards the Paradox Prism cave. Even if he doesn't want to trust Nine, he has to rely on him to fix the Paradox Prism. He even agrees to Nine's condition on being left alone to fix the Paradox Prism by taking Sonic outside.

''How do you know that you can trust him?'' ''Trust is an issue for you Shadow. That's why you don't have any friends.'' ''I don't think your friend wants the same we do.''

So, first of all, GODDAMN SONIC, YOU WENT STRAIGHT FOR THE JUGULAR WITH THAT FRIEND COMMENT! Like, Shadow really needs some aloe vera for that burn. Seriously, that hits right in the heart, sheesh!

Honestly, knowing what I know about SEGA handling Shadow's character, as in him, Rouge and Omega not being friends, this really hurts. Nevertheless, Sonic isn't wrong.

I had talked in the previous Part of my analysis how Sonic and Shadow complement each other, but I mainly pointed out how Shadow helps Sonic to focus. But, what about Sonic? Well, one consistent issue Shadow has is his distrust of other people, which given his backstory, is valid. However, with Sonic, who fights for others, be it friends or strangers, he does have at least one person he can trust - even if that person is responsible for all the trouble they're currently dealing with. Sonic might come off as a bit insensitive and he is certainly reckless, but his heart is in the right place and Shadow knows that. That's why he sticks by his side and trusts him.

In Sonic Prime, Sonic is Shadow's only friend.

Unfortunately, Sonic's premature celebration of them finally fixing reality is interrupted by the Chaos Council appearing in Ghost Hill, leading into Episode 16: Ghost of a Chance. Now, here, we are shown what real teamwork between Sonic and Shadow looks like.

*sighs* ''Don't you just hate this part? The build up! Shadow and Sonic versus unbeatable odds with the fate of the world at stake. Like, let's just get on with it already!'' *Shadow rolls eyes at him* ''Hey, I'm not going to be the one who pulls a hammy.'' ''What about him? We can't just leave him alone with the Prism Shards.'' ''Uh, yes we can, seeing as he's the only one who can put them together and, you know, fix reality. You really don't trust him, do you?'' ''No.'' ''Of course you don't. You don't trust anyone. You wanna stay here and babysit? Fine, knock yourself out. I'm gonna buy us some time.

I just love this pre-battle banter between the two. Sonic is being so dramatic, but also optimistic, with Shadow just rolling his eyes at his dramatics (seriously, he knows Sonic too well) and questioning whether Nine can be trusted. Sonic brings up a good point about Nine being the only one who can put the Shards back together, something Shadow doesn't argue against, and leaves him to stall the Chaos Council.

Now we see Shadow, narrowing his eyes as he looks down at Sonic, then he glances at the Chaos Council's ship, contemplating the situation.

And 3... 2... 1... Yep, he leaps off the cliff to join Sonic in the battle. X3

I'm not gonna lie, I actually chuckled at this scene because this was too be expected. There is no way that Shadow would stay behind while Sonic fights for several reasons.

Firs of all, Shadow knows that Sonic will probably have trouble with the Chaos Council and will need someone to cover him and help protecting the Prism Shards. Second, Shadow has spent so much time trapped in The Void that he probably just to take his frustrations out on someone and the best target is the Chaos Council, especially since they are also responsible for this mess. Lastly, Shadow, just like Sonic, will never say no to a challenge, and I'm fairly certain that he decided to join the fight because of it.

''Well, look who couldn't resist a team up.'' ''Hardly. Have you seen what happens when you go at it alone?'' ''You mean landslide victory? Someone sounds jealous!''

More banter, but this time with Sonic being really happy about having Shadow joining in and Shadow... Okay, when I saw this scene, I thought that Shadow went tsundere for a moment. Yeah, he makes a good point, but he barely makes eye-contact with Sonic, as if he doesn't want to admit that there is probably more to his decision to join Sonic in the battle.

What follows next is these fighting off the Chaos Council's robots, with some epic shots peppered in (I'm certain that the animators had a field day with this one).

Seriously, you could use any screenshot like this one as a wallpaper. They look so awesome!

Of course, the Chaos Council is shocked to see Shadow joining the fight, and I think that, going by the hand motions Dr. Babble makes, either he wants to grab them and crush them, or he wants to grab them like Barbie dolls and make them kiss. It's probably the former, but if he's a shipper, I don't judge.

In any case, as Mr. Dr. Eggman diverts Prism Energy into the robots, Sonic gets knocked back by one and almost gets hit by missiles, but fortunately, Shadow saves him, leading into the moment that broke the shipping community.

''Probably gonna regret that.'' ''I heart you too, Shadow.''

*takes a deep breath*

You know what, any moment between them that felt like a shipping moment could be excused as Sonic just being friendly with Shadow and Shadow choosing to tolerate Sonic's affection, but this?! THIS?!

''I HEART YOU TOO, SHADOW.''

My jaw dropped when I saw this scene, because this is something I never imagined it would happen. I swear, there was definitely a Sonadow shipper on the writing team, because how the hell do you explain this scene?! Not only that, but the Sonadow community went through every language (myself included) to check what line Sonic tells Shadow in the other dubs, and it's all a variation of ''I love you too, Shadow.'' Not to mention the Thai dub, where Sonic makes kissy noises at Shadow. Kissy noises!

Bless you, Thai dub, for your contribution to the Sonadow community. If non-shippers wondered why everyone freaked out and nicknamed this show Sonadow Prime, here's your reason.

Of course, Shadow just rolls his eyes, carrying Sonic like sack of potatoes. Yeah, he's too used to this.

So, the battle continues, with Sonic and Shadow splitting up and Shadow dodging Dr. Don't's laser blasts, only for Mr. Dr. Eggman to fire at him a bigger energy blast. They think they got him, but he's revealed to be just fine.

Dude, he's smiling again! This is so cute! (≧◡≦)

Sonic is obviously worried about Shadow, thinking the Chaos Council got him. When he checks on the crater, he refuses to believe that Shadow would go down so easily, and he is right about that. He even acknowledges that, when Shadow returns to back him up, that the robots aren't tough at all when they work together. This is then followed up by a fight against Dr. Babble and Dr. Deep, who get a boost via the Prism Shard energy.

''Go! Protect the Prism!

When the cave gets breached, placing Nine and the Shards in danger, Shadow tells Sonic without any hesitation to protect the Prism, with Sonic nodding in agreement, his expression serious. It is a moment of quiet understanding, both knowing what's at stake here. Unfortunately, Shadow gets taken out by Dr. Deep a moment later, with Sonic and Nine eventually getting cornered and deciding to use the Prism energy to power Sonic up.

Sonic quickly takes out the enemy, being so fast that he leaves afterimages of himself, and goes to check on Shadow, who is still fighting Dr. Babble and Dr. Deep.

''Hey Shadow! Sorry to keep you waiting!''

I dunno what's with Shadow's expression here, but it always cracks me up whenever Sonic calls for him. Sonic then proceeds to beat up the two, leaving Shadow baffled in regards to what just had happened.

''How...'' ''Got a power up to save your butt! You're welcome!''

Shadow goes from slack-jawed to just... the image above. I dunno how to describe it, but I think it's something in the lines of ''Of course you got a power up. I shouldn't even be surprised.''

''It's aiming away from us! That doesn't make any sense! Maybe they know when they're beat? These guys? Please, if you believe that, then you're even dumber than you look.'' *nods* ''Finally a Sonic I can agree with.''

I absolutely love this little exchange, with Sonic bantering with his afterimages and Shadow looking so done with Sonic's antics until Sonic says something that makes sense, chiming in with his own comment. I adore Shadow's expression so much here, because you can see just what is going through his head. Also, Sonic shot himself in the foot with that last comment.

The two then observe Mr. Dr. Eggman creation what can only be described as Kaiju Prime!Eggman made out of Prism Energy.

''It's official, I've seen it all!''

I agree here with Sonic. Nobody expected a Kaiju Dr. Eggman who can shoot lasers from his mouth to appear. Shadow is equally baffled by what just happened. Sonic is the one to fight back Kaiju!Eggman, being devastated when he destroys the Loop-de-Loop, with Shadow already being aware of what is going through the blue hedgehog's head.

''Sonic, don't! You can't save anything unless you protect the Shards!''

Unfortunately, Sonic doesn't listen this time, fighting Kaiju!Eggman and doing nothing to him.

''Get to the Shards!''

It is only when Shadow reminds him again to go after the Shards, getting blasted away by Kaiju!Eggman and Sonic realizing that Nine is in danger, that the blue hedgehog rushes towards the cave. There, he and Nine decide to use even more of the Prism energy to power Sonic up, giving us this new form.

This is Prismatic Sonic, and as many have noticed, this shot right here might as well be the same as Dark Sonic from Sonic X. It's kinda chilling to see.

Fortunately, Prismatic Sonic beats Kaiju!Eggman, briefly glancing at Shadow as he arrives at the scene.

Yeah, he's certainly happy that everything went well, following it up by going back to Nine and celebrating their victory. Unfortunately, it is short-lived, because what follows is an argument between him and Nine, who considers Sonic selfish for never seeing him as his own person and more of an extension of Tails, causing another energy pulse to knock Sonic out.

Shadow gets knocked out, suddenly realizing that something went very wrong and quickly speeds off towards the cave.

There, he finds out not only that Nine took the Shards and left, but he also finds a devastated Sonic, who is hit with a wave of realization of that he made things just worse, dooming their reality to destruction.

It is very telling of how much Sonic regrets his words and actions when the last shot of him is covering his face with his hands, clearly crying.

So, that was Part 4, the part where we saw how well Shadow and Sonic work together as a team, peppered with some fun banter and Shadow actually getting used more and more to work together with Sonic. The one aspect of his character that gets highlighted here is Shadow's clear distrust of Nine, something Sonic teases him about, but notice how Shadow actually doesn't stay behind to keep an eye on Nine, actually trusting Sonic's word that Nine is on their side.

At least, until the end when Nine leaves, hurt by Sonic's words and believing that Sonic betrayed him.

This sense of distrust and Shadow's bond with Sonic will be more explored in Part 5, when I cover Episode 17: Grim Tidings.

#Shadow the Hedgehog (Sonic Prime, Character Analysis - Part 3)

#Shadow the Hedgehog (Sonic Prime, Character Analysis - Part 5)

#Sonic the Hedgehog Analyzer (Masterlist)

[thetimelordbatgirl]

I found this on the Descendants subreddit:

What do you think?I dunno I feel about this.

For starting orders, are these from the Descendants guide book??? Because if so, I didn't know that was potentially out yet...unless these are preview pages??? If so, kinda weird Red or Chloe didn't get their pages previewed...unless they contain spoilers and can't be shown unlike Mal's and Uma's and the page on transformations... Not gonna lie though, these preview pages are kinda making me wanna buy it...soley to see how the fuck Descendants explains ANYTHING in its universe at this fucking point.

But to answer the question: let's get transformations page out of the way first, because uh, I find it the most meh lol- its just basic knowledge about transformations and Maleficent, Mal and Uma being the only characters so far to have that ability...though confusing how its surprising to Auradon, since they a fairy tale kingdom, transformations shouldn't be a surprise really... Though they really gave a list of shit Mal did with her dragon but then said 'oh and Uma can transform too I guess' like they really did not care to go into Uma much there, though curious why they saying its only via necklace she can do that as I assumed it was Ursula's magic/DNA in general that allowed Uma to go octopus form... Plus lemme just add: 'battled Uma' last I checked all Mal did was fly around and blow FIRE at WATER and that's it, Ben handled that shit more then Mal did really.

Now onto Mal's....first: United States of Auradon...okay nice to know I guess Beyond The Isle Of The Lost definitely ain't gonna be connected to the film at this rate because there they called it United Kingdom of Auradon, but now we back to the film title here, aka United States of Auradon. But heyyyy! We can celebrate that they actually resisted the urge to blame Ben for Mal's problems for once! ...It's sad I consider that an absolute win, really, but its Descendants so... "Confident and natural leader"...wait is that meant to be serious or...because I kinda laughed there given how much of a 'confident' and 'natural leader' she was in D2 and D3... "Particularly because she felt guilty about the VK's she'd left behind" Yeah, she felt so guilty in fact that she literally showed zero fucking concern in D2 about the VKs when treating the Isle like a get away place, let alone showed zero concern when Evie did on the Isle about the VK's and in D3 basically went, "Fuck those kids, my happily ever after is more important-", when choosing WITHOUT HESTIATION to close the barrier and punish the VKs for crimes they didn't do and still intended to do this even during the lies revealed scene...so clearly guilty about leaving the VKs behind, guys. "Eventually, she helped convince the Auradon citizens to accept all VKs into Auradon Prep." And by that, I mean likely everyone else did the work but Mal's being given credit because main character and Descendants wants you to believe she actually gave a crap about the VKs after that council meeting scene lmao. "Mal is talented in a lot of areas, both in artistic endeavors and in spells and magic"...wait we NOW remember shes into art???? Because D2-3 did not fucking remember that detail well before making her into generic main character for personality and shit- but also where's being a bully and getting away with it and other crimes like love spelling someone and lying in those talents? She's very oddly good at those, even after she's meant to be good. "mess with other students" Well, that's a brutally honest description of what Mal was like with magic in Auradon Prep lmao. "the queen she was always meant to be" I...Do I need to point out saying Mal was always meant to have a form of power over people isn't great, given what she's like, or...? Like, taking someone who had a form of power on the Isle and used it to be a bully and shit and giving them power over a kingdom when they haven't even changed much isn't great, but Descendants seems to think Mal's the greatest so no wonder they acting like it was simply destiny she was always meant to be queen... Also I guess Mal still has the ember and didn't donate it to the museum so uh, there's that...also why does Hades' image look the most awkward lmao???? Did they not have a stock character image of Hades like Maleficent and Ben or...

I...really don't have much to say about Uma's page lmao- not because its meh or bad, its just not giving me much to complain about as it didn't at least villainize her like Descendants normally loves too...though interesting choice to say Uma only wanted to go to Auradon because she was envious of Mal and not because she wanted to free the villain kids...but I guess we can't let someone else care about the villain kids when we pretending like Mal gave a shit about them suddenly! But uh, guess this is confirmation that Fairy Godmother fully retired??? She and Ben's parents really do just like to ditch their jobs at the nearest chance and hand it off to the nearest young person- though I still really don't get why Uma would want to be a head mistress of a school, like I know she'd want to help villain kids and such, but like, she can do that outside of being head mistress technically, it just feels random for her character. Also niece of Uliana...are they actually gonna address this fully in the film or...we know Uma captured by Queen of Hearts so like....sigh, Uma suffering more in plot bullshit, first it was Mal's plot bullshit, now its Queen of Hearts bullshit, she cannot catch a fucking break. And one last question: when did the Isle of the Lost become a KINGDOM??? It was called a prison last I checked, why does it count as a home kingdom now??? If I was a villain kid and asked my home kingdom, I wouldn't say the Isle of the Lost, because that's a prison I was stuck on for existing basically.

[sokkastyles]

"It's about Ozai's psychological need for control and need to hurt his son to feel powerful."

hmmmm I mean Ozai was pretty straight forward when he said to Zuko "it was to teach you respect" it doesn't make the situation any less fucked up but he's not lying about his motivation. Also Zuko and Azula aren't the only ones who try and act as a mini version of their father. Ozai reacts to Zuko's pragmatism in the war council the same way Azulon reacted to Ozai's suggetion of becoming the heir to the throne after Lu Ten's death.

I'm not trying to be mean or anything, but this is something I'm gonna need everyone to understand real quick.

Whatever Ozai might say, it is not about respect.

In fact, the show has Zuko call this out, when Ozai tells Zuko it was to teach him respect in "The Day of Black Sun," and Zuko says, "It was cruel, and it was wrong!"

I believe that Ozai believes it's about respect, but Ozai is an abuser and abusers are notoriously good at lying to themselves.

Abuse is always, always, always about power.

And actually, Azulon's treatment of Ozai is a big part of why I think Azulon was an abuser, too.

First we need to understand this one rule, that abuse is always about power, and that whatever excuse the abuser gives is always going to be wrong (even if the abuser is able to convince themselves that it's true).

But also, if we really break down the idea that Ozai was trying to teach Zuko respect, does that even hold up?

Did Zuko learn respect by being burned?

Think about Zuko at the beginning of the series. Is this a teenager that has learned how to be respectful? Would you use that adjective to describe Zuko, age sixteen, circa book one, episode one?

Zuko, as we are introduced to him, is angry, rude, hateful, and full of rage. And he became that way through abuse. Abuse did not teach him respect. It never does. It didn't teach Ozai, and it didn't teach Zuko. It's a vicious cycle and if Zuko hadn't learned better, far from learning respect, he would have actually learned how to become just like Ozai, an angry, hateful person doling out cruelty because he never got the "respect" he thought he deserved and not understanding that respect is actually earned through giving it.

Also, consider that Ozai has another child, who he thinks is so much better than Zuko, who he heaps praise upon and thinks very highly of. If you look at the way Ozai interacts with Azula vs how he interacts with Zuko, the idea that his treatment of Zuko was about "respect" becomes the obvious lie that it is, because we see Azula act incredibly rude and disrespectful to basically every person around her, including Ozai, and he continues to praise her for it. Azula isn't any more respectful than Zuko, Ozai just has this idea in his head of what his kids are like and treats them accordingly. That's kinda the thing with the golden child / scapegoat dynamic.

Zuko isn't even respectful to Ozai at the beginning of the series. He fears Ozai, but as Zhao remarks, what Ozai did didn't teach Zuko anything about speaking respectfully, because it had nothing to do with that.

Because you can't teach someone respect by disrespecting them, especially a child. What children learn from this is that the way to be powerful is to disrespect others. They learn to fear others, and they learn that fear will earn them a facsimile of respect, but, like Azula at the end of the series, they are left wondering why their lives still feel empty.

Do you know who actually taught Zuko respect?

Iroh did.

Iroh taught Zuko respect by treating him with respect, even when Zuko was disrespectful to him. Iroh taught Zuko that Zuko deserved respect, and that also meant he didn't deserve what his father did to him.

The irony of Ozai's statement about respect is like, the entire point. Ozai has no authority to talk about respect while he's raising a hand to a terrified child. Someone who knows anything about respect would not need to terrorize children to try to get it.

Abuse is always about power, and always about the abuser, and never about the victim.

[cecekeating]

My 611 Jordayla Commentary/ Analysis and Breakdowns

Okay, not gonna lie, I didn’t want to write this. I thought nobody was really looking forward to these posts until @chitra tweeted about waiting for them. Thank you for that tweet! It reminded me to keep going because people love what I do even though they don’t say it out loud. To all my readers, especially the silent ones, thank you so much! Your support means so much to me.

Okay, now I have written my sappy thank you post, lets get into why we really come here, Jordayla. When I say Jordayla was absolutely so cute this episode….

We start 611 Jordayla with them getting ready for their couple’s getaway. Jordan being concerned that Layla didn’t mention him in her vacation plans had me chuckling. She tells him that he will be there to bring her drinks and fan her by the pool . Jordan Baker agrees with no hesitation to be her pool boy. When it comes to boy obsessed, Jordan Baker is the standard y’all

An email comes through for both of them saying the wedding venue they booked has an earlier spot opened. 

When I read the synopsis for 611 on Twitter, I suspected the writers were going to pull a “Mondler” with Jordayla. I remember messaging my Jordayla council (y’all know yourselves) on Twitter to tell them that the writers were likely gonna have Jordayla experience something similar to Mondler. To recap, for those that have watched the show Friends and those that have not watched, Monica puts her and Chandler down for a wedding venue spot two years in advance. The venue later calls back to let her know that an earlier spot opened and that if she would like to book it, she could.

 Unfortunately or fortunately, Chandler was the one who got the voicemail. At this time, Monica was at a stage with Chandler where she didn’t want to pressure him into marriage (similar to Jordan wanting to take it easy with Layla and not rush her). The venue incident however, becomes the catalyst for Chandler to go ahead with his decision to propose to Monica. This happens in the 6th season of Friends by the way. 

Jordayla and Mondler share a lot of traits and dynamics. Apart from having a strong rom-com vibe, they share the secret dating arc and the best friend’s brother/best friend’s sister trope. Chandler/Layla were able to heal from their past traumas due to the love and stability given to them by Monica/Jordan, Mondler/Jordayla are also a ‘late in the series’ ships and are totally boys obsessed with their girlboss/Type A girls. They also have a similar ‘we are a team’ dynamic and always attack their issues head on as a team. 

Mondler also attempted to have a shot gun surprise wedding in Vegas that they didn't go ahead with. Jordayla had a surprise wedding they didn't go ahead with in 609!

The actors for Mondler/Jordayla are/were best buds in real life and the biggest stans of their ships. The late Matthew Perry ( who played Chandler) refused to allow the writers have him cheat on Monica. Just like Mike Behling is defensive and protective of Jordayla, Matthew was very protective of Mondler. Finally, the tv wedding of Mondler was 15 May, the same date the CW aired the Jordayla engagement. On a personal note, Mondler is actually the ship I consider to be the blueprint when it comes to TV ships for me. I never thought any other ship will come close to them. Jordayla proved me wrong. Today, Jordayla and Mondler are the standard for me.  I don’t know if it is intentional but the Mondler- Jordayla tether is so strong.

Back to Jordayla! They are able to lie about their emails and we eventually see why. Spelivia comes along and I thought they were all so funny. Why the writing team never leaned into the Spelivia/Jordayla dynamic until last minute is baffling. They play off each other so well. I found it funny that Jordan was counting the amount of luggage Spelivia had with them at the same time Layla was realising they all belonged to Olivia and not Spencer. The hand gesture as it clicked for Layla was hilarious. It was a small moment but it showed Jordan knows his twin sister very well. 

They try to check in only to find out Jordan booked the wrong dates. Why Jordan was given this task is beyond me. Layla the planner was right there!! I need Layla to please be in charge of planning the honeymoon and every family vacation henceforth. Jordan should be banned for life from all planning activities. He can create the vacation moodboards on Pinterest to set the vibe while Layla handles the logistics. Layla slamming the phone on Jordan’s chest took me out though. 

 Anyway, Jordan messing up the booking leads to the gang spending their spring break as camp counsellors at Crenshaw. They did try to book something last minute though. The moment with the camera spinning on them as they tried to book alternatives was HILARIOUS!  Layla suggesting Catalina was epic! She must have loved the last spring break trip to Catalina. 

Side bar: The core four also played off nicely with Preach. When he called Olivia, Layla, and Jordan bougie-ass Beverly kids, I laughed so hard. Jordan was ready to throw hands with a high schooler because of Layla and Olivia …. That boy does not play!

We move along in the story to see Layla and Jordan confide in Spencer and Olivia about the email they got. This whole interaction while it was about the wedding venue, had undertones of high schoolers telling their besties about their crush on the other person. I don’t know if it was just me that got that vibe. Then we had Jordayla sneaking small glances at each other. Like the cutest thing ever. I am saying it here and I will keep saying it- High school Jordayla would have ATE!! and I am so sorry I was not high school Jordayla’s writer. 

In this scene we now understand why Jordayla didn’t want to talk to each other about the email from the wedding venue. They were both sacred. Layla was sacred that Jordan will think she is spiraling and Jordan was sacred Layla might feel pressured. Remember their previous arcs in 608 and 609. Jordayla love each other so much and I personally thought their fears were valid and came from a good place. They were being considerate of the other person. This does not mean they miscommunicated. Having them process their thoughts with Spencer and Olivia too does not mean that they can’t communicate. Remember both of them had no idea that they got the same email. There is nothing wrong with thinking things through with the help of your friends. They were simply doing that with Spelivia just like the other times they have helped Spelivia think and process things through in the past. Regardless of what has happened, these people are still friends that love and care for each other. 

Spencer and Olivia encourage Jordan and Layla to talk to each other about how they are feeling. This brings us to one of the most comedic scenes of the entire episode. 

Again, still continuing with the parallel of having a high school crush, Jordan and Layla try to talk about the email. I fell out when Olivia pushed Spencer so that Jordayla could talk. By the time Spencer and Olivia poked their heads to spy on Jordayla, I was dying. No matter the amount of times I watch that scene I always laugh. 

Layla and Jordan were adorably awkward in this scene. It was so cute and hilarious at the same time. Very rom com coded. Someone on Twitter said it was like Jordayla having a crush on each other and Spelivia trying to get them together. That person was 100% correct.  I personally found it amazing that a couple that has been engaged for nearly two years and known each other their whole lives could still act nervous and flustered around each other like they just met. MikeGreta we truly do not deserve you.  

Despite Olivia’s nudging to Layla, the talk doesnt go as planned. I laughed so hard at Layla’s attempt to use the Romeo and Juliet story to bring up the email. Jordan going straight to mentioning how Romeo and Juliet ended up dying was the final nail in the coffin for this unfortunate conversation and Jordayla awkwardly decide to return to work. Spelivia, determined with their Jordayla agenda, decide to step in.

We then see Layla and Amina talk about finding your person. This was a cute but yet important conversation for Layla. It was the conversation that made her realise who Jordan really is to her. Her person. All through this season, the writing has shown the audience in so many ways that Jordan is Layla’s person. The mental health arc particularly, showed how Jordan is the one in her corner all the time even when she is defensive or refusing to co operate. He has never given up on her or abandoned her even in her worst. In 416, she confided in Jordan that she wanted someone who was there for her and just for her. This conversation with Amina makes her finally realise that she has found that person in Jordan.

Amina and Byrce as characters helped Layla to see what she had with Jordan through fresh lens. I found Layla staring at them on stage very cute.  One thing this season has pointed out is how Layla has viewed her relationship with Jordan through the lens of her parents’ marriage and her trauma. In 610, she shifts from seeing Jordan through that traumatic lens to seeing him as a blessing and victory in her life and in this episode, through Amina and Byrce, she sees what she has with Jordan as young, fresh and pure.

Olivia comes to tell Layla that Jordan wants to meet her at the stairway. 

The cut from Amina and Byrce playing Romeo and Juliet with ‘Juliet’ saying ‘Oh Romeo, Romeo where art thou’ to Layla saying ‘Jordan, where are you?’ was absolutely brilliant. Shout out to @the_simple_fact on Twitter for accurately predicting that the stairway scene was actually going to mirror the scene in Romeo and Juliet where they decide to run off and get married. It was also the scene Amina and Byrce were doing when it cut to Layla at the stairway.  

I love callback to previous episodes but I particularly love this callback to prom because it was not too obvious. Jordan and Layla deciding on a wedding date in the same spot where they danced at prom was a unique way to call back to prom. The dance at prom was where it shifted for both Jordan and Layla even though they didn’t realise at the time. It was where they both fell for each other. To then have them decide that they want nothing more than to be husband and wife in the same place they fell in love with each other for the first time is actually really clever writing. 

The mini vows they said to each other had me melting. It was so cute to see Layla blush and be so shy around Jordan as she told him she wanted them to get married. Jordan kissing Layla’s hands while still looking into her eyes was so romantic and it kinda had me blushing ngl. Y’all I am not sure if I would be able to get through their wedding vows come June 24th. This small moment almost made my heart explode. I also want to kiss the forehead of whoever was in charge of lighting this scene. They did their thing!

An important part of this scene was Jordayla communicating effectively about why they didn’t say anything about the emails they got. Amidst the whole romance, I loved that the writing continued with the Jordayla dynamic of them attacking their issues head on. While walking up/down the stairs to meet each other halfway, they also talked about WHY they didn’t communicate initially about the emails. By the time they met each other halfway, they opened up their hearts about they really wanted - which was nothing more than to be husband and wife.

The next time we see Jordayla, Jordan is making sure Layla is okay with them booking their venue. I loved Layla for clicking that link without even waiting for Jordan to finish talking. My girl is ready to be Mrs Baker!!

So Jordayla Nation, we have the date and the wedding venue! Get your outfits, playlists and refreshments on lock! We are about to have our wedding!!

Can’t wait to see what the next episode holds for Jordayla and of course, I can’t wait for the wedding!

[eighthdoctor]

Hmmm two semi-related questions that have been rattling around in my brain for awhile:

1) Do you think there is much of a BDSM/kink culture on Azeroth?

and

2) Many a joke and comment have been made about Jaina and her Many Suppressed Kinks, but why *is* she so repressed?

WHAT A DELIGHTFULLY MEATY ASK THANK U.

cut for holy shit yeah we gonna talk sex (also I keep talking super strongly about things but this is all personal opinion--founded in canon but nevertheless, if you want to write Jaina otherwise be my guest)

1-Is there a kink culture on Azeroth? Glad you phrased it like this, because I don't think there's anything so organized.

Kink, sure. We're all primates (.........or something) and humanoids come preinstalled with a Thing about power and hierarchy, and some of us are going to turn that sexual. Every society on Azeroth has some form of kink, both in the sense of bondage/discipline, dominance/submission, sadism/masochism stuff, and in the sense that there's things that are taboo and edgy and so therefore super hot to some subset of individuals.

Kink culture? Terminology and munches and people passing down advice about how to slap so you don't hurt someone? Less so.

Definitely there are cultures where BDSM (especially the D/s and S/M sides) is more socially acceptable than among Azeroth humans, I am looking specifically at orcs, you cannot tell me that a culture with honor duels is not also into consensually beating the shit out of each other during sex. There are peoples who are much more into polyamory and swinging, and who are super into high protocol D/s stuff (hello collective quel'dorei fanon to justify Jaina/Sylvanas/Dark Rangers but also I don't care it's great).

But see previous ask about monsterfucking, it's all so racialized that unless you are that race it's not talked about, and if you are, it's not super deviant because what, an orc likes CBT? Not a surprise. The problem here is how much does the 'deviance' aspect matter in kink? Western civ is so sex-negative that we've stigmatized basically everything that isn't cishet PIV missionary style, so how much of what we consider kink wouldn't be erotic if it was normalized? Idk this isn't my field but it is relevant here.

At any rate: I'm not because I'm happily married but I could reach out to a kink subculture and find a compatible partner who lives in my area on like...several different platforms. And one way or another I could have done this 60 years ago too (possibly more! I just know through the 60s). This bit I don't think exists on Azeroth, I don't think there's that level of organization and communication.

Which leads nicely to:

2-Why is Jaina so repressed?

Not a simple answer, even a joking one, just a bunch of interlocked issues.

First: Kul Tiran is based off Britain, and it's specifically based off a sort of temporally variable Britain from approximately 1485-1850 so like, I am free to pick the most deranged bits of British social norms and waltz off. Jaina, due to school, probably didn't get a sex talk from her parents but rather from someone in Dalaran (awk) or more likely, the library. She's not from a sex positive culture. She's not even from a sex neutral culture. She's from a country where "lie back and think of England Kul Tiras" is complete sex advice, and then she went off to school.

Second: Not that school isn't a GREAT area to learn about sex but we have no evidence that Jaina was a social butterfly and a lot of evidence that she wasn't, and then she goes directly from Dalaran into war.

And then she's Lady of Theramore and then she's on the Council of Six and then there's whatever the fuck she's doing during Legion, and while there are periods in here where her life sucks LESS and it is completely VIABLE for her to do some sexual exploration but it's also like. These aren't periods where she's going to be going "ah yes I want to interrogate the bit where my deepest desire is for Thrall to rail me hard, pinning my hands to a wall, not letting me go even if I ask", among other reasons because she's not around anyone who is both definitely sex positive AND a social equal who she's interested in learning from.

Related, three: Boy does she need therapy.

Kink means vulnerability, and Jaina's a switch but she's more of a sub, and being a sub means a lot of vulnerability, and letting yourself be vulnerable. I cannot think of something Jaina is less likely to want, especially after Theramore.

In order for Jaina to explore her kinks, she needs to acknowledge that she has them and--ideally--stop shaming herself for having them, which means making peace with the bit where she really, really wants someone to call her names and make her crawl and slap her around. Which is a lot for anyone to process, really, never mind how much Jaina specifically is an advocate for equality and compassion. And she wants to be hurt in bed?

(Which, to be clear, 2 things: One, because I think introspection is necessary for Jaina to realize her kinks does not mean it's a requirement for others, just that Jaina overthinks everything so she'll overthink this too. Two, I obviously don't see a contradiction between wanting equality in 'real life' and roleplay in the bedroom. I think those go together fine and I am fervently committed to "Jaina is a kinky bastard" headcanon. Jaina has a problem with it.)

So to the extent that she acknowledges at all that she's into Some Shit, she views it as a problem, a flaw to be expunged. Proper, good ladies don't want to be held down and teased until they're crying and begging for something more and then left like that--

Four: With who.

Jaina's canonical relationships (and the only two I'm letting her have in TPtMB (except possibly one night stands?) because I'm evil) are Arthas and Kalec.

If you expect me to think that Kalec does anything but missionary in bed with the lights off, you're wrong.

Furthermore Kalec is not the sort of person to encourage Jaina to explore that inner darkness. He's going to make sure she's enjoying herself! He's not shorting her in bed. He's just not after anything else, he doesn't think she should be after anything else, he genuinely doesn't think she is after anything else, in short: It's vanilla sex only here and no discussion of any alternatives ever comes up.

From Arthas: She's late teens and blonde haired, blue eyed, curves everywhere, a princess in everything but title, there is absolutely no way Arthas does a single thing she doesn't want. None. There is zero way that Arthas Menethil, paladin, who, yes, is going to turn into something else, expose the ugly parts until there's nothing left but who isn't there yet, who's the golden prince, who's joining Kul Tiras to Lordaeron and it's a love match but it's political--

They also do missionary in bed but the lights are on this time.

In sum:

Repressed cultural background where you Do Not Talk About Sex

Went to school as the world's biggest nerd, then it's been nearly nonstop crises for 25 years

Thinks that self-reflection is a spell, has never stopped to wonder if maybe the fantasies are ethically neutral

Dated only men who were boring in bed.

[lightdragon789]

Other inserts backstory/facts Pt 9

Eva Morris

Almost at the end, I’m gonna miss doing this but I’ll be happy to get this done.

Rebel spy is honestly very fun and I really like the dynamic with Naveed. He’s a goofy guy who doesn’t know pig grow hair. (I will forever hold this over his head lol) but let’s dive into my listener for this series, Eva!

(TW: topic of sexual harassment)

Backstory:

Much of 2772's history is unknown. The only thing she knows is that her parents are nowhere to be found on the ship. Considered to be MIA.

Eva grew up with her uncle who was a high rank on Valeazean and thus gave Eva some privileges. Such as reading old books from earth and being able to go with her uncle to meet the council. But it also gave her high expectations not only because of her uncle but because she wanted to make her missing parents proud.

She was put into training in communication and investigation as her start up occupations. She did well in her work and was raised up to a level 5 cadet. Especially when she also applied to work in navigation. She was very trusting to others who were friendly to her. Always having fun and taking their work seriously.

This came to bite her as she (around 19 at this point) was walking with a senior cadet. They were just chatting with their friend before they went to their rooms. He walked her to her room and kept making sly and flirtatious remarks to Eva. Which was making her uncomfortable and she tried to excuse herself and walk away. However, he grabbed her and pinned her to the wall. Holding a blade to her throat that if she dared to scream or fight back. He would slit her throat and then started feeling her up.

It made her feel disgusted and she pushed and punched him in the face. Also causing him to slash the side of her neck. She took her chance and started running as he raised his blade and faked chased her. Eva went back into her room and locked herself, holding her bleeding neck. She didn’t have a lot of medical supplies but she managed to patch herself up. Afterwards she just cried into her pillow until she fell asleep.

She was awoken by banging at her door and she put on her jacket to cover her neck. Feeling ashamed of her wound and not wanting to be shown with bare skin. It was her uncle and he lightly scolded her for attacking the senior officer unprompted and would be issued a penalty. Unless she had a convincing counter, which she said she didn’t. She was emotional drained and didn’t want to talk about what happened.

It took her a few months to get over the encounter and while she performed her tasks. She was very withdrawn and not as social as before, being more cautious of everyone and even to older officers. But she decided to toughen herself out, so that no one touches her again.

As years go on, she kept herself busy in the training room. Strengthening her body and gaining muscles. Teaching herself self defense and some offense combat. Also entering in interrogation, as she was surprisingly well at making people confess. It helped strengthen her resolve in being tough and more so in her confidence. She stayed a level 6 cadet and would have been a level 7-8 if it wasn’t for her penalty.

Things only got more frustrating, as Eva tried to ask about her parents. Asking if they were on the ship, if they were dead and other things. Most of which, her uncle dismissed or gaslit her with random details. She grew more distrusting of him and soon went to get answers herself. As going to sector B to look through her files didn’t give her answers, nothing mentioning her parents. Eva had a feeling there was more to it. She went into her uncle’s corridors armed with a flash drive and with her uncle’s id card. Eva wasn’t skilled at hacking so she borrowed his card in the lie that she wanted to read some old earth books.

She snuck in and got to work on his system. She once the flash drive was in, it would give warning that someone was going into the system. So once she found her files (as well as some locked files) she managed to compile them and plugged the flash drive in to download them. It took a while and she knew a warning would be sent to her uncle that someone was looking into the files on his computer.

She managed to get it all downloaded, unplug it and stash it in her pocket before her uncle and two officers came in. Eva managed to just make it look like she was looking at secret ship system blue prints. Her uncle scolded her harshly for this as those blueprints weren’t even approved yet. Calling her a problem solider, issuing her another penalty and demoting her back to a level 4 cadet.

She tried to explain herself but he didn’t hear it, stating she should be lucky their family as he would throw her into space if she was a rando. She was shaken by this and once again accepted the punishment. She went back to her room and stores the drive in a safe place, as she needed to get someone skilled in hacking in order to see her files.

She gained a new coat after being demoted and Eva still kept her distance. Not trusting her uncle or anyone on Valeazean for that matter. The only person who still remained a good friend to her was Trinity. As she made the effort to talk and help Eva when she got demoted and was getting more snappy with people she worked with. She let Eva vent to her about her problems with everyone and asks if she was bad due to her distrust of the council runs things and their twisted philosophies.

She assures her she wasn’t but warns her to be careful. As she heard rumors of a rebel group forming and she wanted Eva to be careful in case they tried to recruit her. Seeing her attitude and distrust to everyone might make them think she’s a worthy recruit. Eva assured Trinity she wouldn’t get herself killed by joining “a small group of rule breakers.” However, Eva was intrigued hearing about a rebel group and questioned if Trinity let that slip or if it really was a warning.

She stayed in the dark about it but was trying to learn more about this rebel group. It wasn’t until someone affiliated with the group took an interest in Eva and gave her info on a recruitment meeting happening soon. They hope she can make it, as her close connections to her uncle and by extension the council, could be of use. Eva was skeptical about it but remembering how shady and distrusting the council (and by extension her uncle) was to her. She decided this was worth risking and went to the recruitment meeting.

However, she didn’t expect the weekly maintenance check to be happening the day of the meeting. It was being investigated and Eva quickly ran away in fear of getting caught. She decided to run to sector C server rooms, as no one goes down there often and only send bots when the systems are being hacked. Thinking no one would be down there, she used an access code her uncle gave her to access semi-important rooms a long time ago. She managed to get in and thought she had a chance to breathe.

But luck wasn’t on her side that day… or was it?

Facts time!

Eva is 27, 5’3 and is Aroace and goes by she/her pronouns.

Thanks to her uncle, she had privileges that not many others have. Such as access to old earth books. Her favorites being books on trees as she loves ones like willow tree.

She hates sudden loud noises as it causes her to freak out and cower.

Eva although doesn’t let her guard and always acts tough. She doesn’t like it and sometimes wishes she could go back to being the carefree person she once was.

She doesn’t like psychical contact and will shove someone off her or hit them if they dare to grab/attack her.

She will tolerate it, if it’s a dire situation (aka most of rebel spy lol) but she will be a bit pissy about it.

Her relationship with Naveed is rocky due to their first encounter with each other. However, she’s grown to tolerate him and find him humorous. Silently enjoying his company, even if it’s the wrong place to be making friends.

Even being okay with being near him as their time together shows he means her no harm. Especially, after she explained her side of the story from the first penalty with the cadet.

Her proof she was the victim was on her neck, as she still has a scar from where he sliced her. Due to her not properly treating it in the beginning.

Similar to Naveed and Soheil, Eva’s eyes glow in the dark. Sometimes when’s she stressed or in tight situations. To her it’s normal but she started questioning it when she saw the brother’s eyes doing the same thing. Making her question if she’s an experiment too, but doesn’t remember it.

That’s all I have on Eva right now, I love her dearly as she my angsty gal! But it’s time to end this backstory game with my little bug Nash! ^^

[bogkeep]

oh god this week has turned my entire brain to complete mush. "captain it's wednesday" yeah. gonna be okay again now tho

had an incredibly emotionally fraught appointment with the trans clinic on monday, a video call with a By All Accounts very well-meaning nice lady that left me crying for two hours afterwards. like, i Genuinely Believe she WANTS to do well, which makes it all the harder to process a conversation that made me feel like they're going to reject me after basically two years in this horrible torture chamber of a system. after an hour of "i'm a little worried because you seem uncertain in your identity as a man" and "i promise i want to do what's Best For You" and "it's about academic integrity" (AS JUSTIFICATION FOR NOT GIVING TREATMENT TO NON-BINARY PEOPLE) and "i promise we're not an evil institution that is gleefully trying to ruin your life" and "i'm not sure if i understand your explanation, i think it's because of the autism" and uhhhh some tearful begging from my side i was left with "i am going to need to discuss with my colleagues, i will call you back in two days" i basically spent the Next Two Days like

OH GOD THEY'RE GOING TO REJECT ME FOR BEING TOO NON-BINARY AND TOO AUTISTIC AND FOR BEING TOO HONEST AND BAD AT LYING EVEN IF MY LIFE DEPENDS ON IT OH GOD OH FUCK I'VE WASTED TWO YEARS OF MY LIFE FUCKKKK WHAT IF THEY'RE RIGHT WHAT IF I'M NOT TRANS ENOUGH WHAT IF THE SHADOW COUNCIL DECIDES MY IDENTITY DOESN'T REAL- & touched base with my social circles to have them figuratively snap their fingers in front of my face like "hey. hey. you're trans. they're being evil at you. they're gatekeeping you from being Just Some Guy" to regain my sanity. ANYWAY I'M HAPPY AND EXTREMELY RELIEVED TO REPORT THEY HAVEN'T REJECTED ME I'M STILL IN THE RUNNING TO GET MY GENDER MEDICALLY TRANSED. so NOW i feel stupid for like, thinking they were gonna throw me out EVEN THOUGH I HAD VERY VALID REASONS FOR FEELING THAT WAY JESUS CHRIST, and the lady was like "well you clearly didn't read the journal note" (THEY UPDATED THE JOURNAL????? I COULD HAVE CHECKED IT EARLIER??? MOTHERFUCKER) and sounded kinda offended when i was like "i feel like im not being listened to and respected and it feels kinda bad when a group of people with power over me have to discuss whether or not my identity is real" and she replied "that is NOT what we do" WHAT DO YOU DO THEN???????? AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA anyway the waiting times inbetween appointments are horrid but considering that each appointment kinda feels like getting gaslit for a solid hour maybe it's for the best hahahaha haha ha haaaaaa

im gonna lie down with some choccy milk

[thedawningofthehour]

there is one situation that stuck in my mind: with Draxum being like a Baron and high society bullshit, if the others higher lords discover he has a son, what would happen? i swear i can picture of one of them proposing an arranged marriage between donnie/galois and their child just to have a minimal chance of not being a victim of Draxum's rage lol

FORM AN ALLIANCE THROUGH MARRIAGE LIKE FUCKING CRUSADER KINGS. LMAO I LOVE IT.

(I'm going to do a huge info dump on the lore of this...AU? I guess it is technically an AU? Under the cut because oh my god how did this get so long)

As amusing as this thought is, it probably wouldn't go down like that. There's so much going on in Yokai society that I haven't fully fleshed out and kind of just go off vibes, (so this might be subject to retconning in the future) but I think of the Yokai 'high society' to be sort of...crumbling? Like, it's a point that the Hidden City is an amalgam of different races and cultures from all around the world, and most of them fled in the wake of their society's destruction. The social structures that gave them their high status do not exist in the Hidden City, and without whatever allowed these families to rise to prominence before, (say, controlling fertile land or whatever) they have a lot of trouble reestablishing themselves. Say, a family who ruled their little Yokai village in China fled with their people to the HC. The people who made it with them might still respect them, but no one else is gonna give a shit. Unless these people brought significant wealth or some valuable skills with them, they're just gonna get lumped into all the other refugees and the great family legacy façade shatters.

The Hidden City itself does not practice feudalism and the only rulers are the Council of Heads. (who are Kraang, right? We all agree that they're secretly Kraang?) The powerful names aren't old noble families but people like Boss Bruce or Big Mama-people who have amassed their own fortunes and exert control over the masses financially. There's a few families who managed to retain at least some of their wealth and influence, but unless they converted to capitalism they're very much hanging onto a crumbling legacy.

That said-yes, there are 'noble' families in the Hidden City, and they probably do practice arranged marriages between each other! If, for no other reason, to cosplay royalty and lie to themselves that they're important. This would almost certainly not extend to Galois, however. For one, Galois is very obviously not Draxum's biological son. In general, people wouldn't really care about that, but it would definitely matter to people like this. Bloodlines, y'know.

But the other elephant in the room-Galois is a mutant. And I'm going to get into this more in the upcoming arc, but there's a lot of Yokai (especially among the 'well-bred') who are very racist about that. They look down upon them, consider mutants to be a lesser class, and don't think mutants should be allowed to reproduce. Which leads into the other thing-these types of marriages are made with the intent to join bloodlines for an eventual heir. Galois can't have kids. Most mutants can't, but Galois super can't. So honestly, most noble families would consider it a huge insult if Draxum proposed a marriage for him, even with one of their spares. If someone else proposed a marriage, it would probably be such an unfavorable match that Draxum would feel insulted, or the family would be in such bad standing that there wouldn't be any real tactical advantage to forming an alliance with them.

And honestly, considering Draxum is Definitely Gay and very obviously never married/produced heirs himself, I doubt he'd force Galois into a loveless, heterosexual marriage just for politics or to Carry On The Family Name. I mean, he'd do it if it was either that or lose his war, but he'd want to avoid it. He's a very shitty dad in many ways but he does legitimately want his kids to be happy in life.

But now I'm getting really deep into backstory territory here, Draxum's family definitely was a big deal back in wherever they came from and still holds a lot of respect today. Most Yokai, however, are not patrilineal. Most are egalitarian. The 'heir' to a noble house is either determined by birth order or by merit. And Draxum's sister was older than him.

[thegirl20]

#1 Omg, those memes are so funny but also where is the lie🤣 I'm not debating that she cares for the others too, it's just not even close to how much she cares about Yennefer. You are so right though, we know very little about their dynamic and tbh I think it's ridiculous that supposedly Yen only spent like.. 4 years at Aretuza? Pretty sure it's much longer than that in the books. That's ridiculous, how could they learn how to wield magic so quickly?

#2 Plus it's not like they don't have all the time in the world to learn all they can. Omg I wish you wrote the show instead of the useless lot that are actually writing it🤦‍♀️ "explained more about the heirarchy of the Brotherhood and how the Council works and stuff" honestly THIS. I haven't a fkin clue what the difference is, whuch group holds the most power and so on. I even looked it up but I'm gonna have to again cause it's confusing.. Yeah, the show is super inconsistent about everything

#3 Someone said that it's like the writers just expect people to go along with all the crap cause everybody just binges it and then moves on. Except there are a lot of people who were familiar with the world of The Witcher before the show and know the lore. Better than the ones writing the show from what it looks like.. This is an interesting point though because I have not considered what the people who only know what happens on the show would think.

I don't know that I'd agree with binging culture meaning that you don't need to care about telling a good story. Especially in fantasy, lore and worldbuilding are so much a part of the story because it's not our world and we need to understand how it fits together. Personally, I like bits of The Witcher and I work with those bits. But a lot of the stuff in the show, when subjected to any scrutiny at all, doesn't stand up.

#4 It seems the majority either knew it before or wanted to know more so decided to do some digging or read the books even. I think it's well worth doing that because you don't get to experience this amazing world at its full potential otherwise. You only get a very limited and frankly warped version full of plot holes and inconsistencies.

I did read The Last Wish, but I can't say I enjoyed it. I know loads of people love the books, but the bits I've read don't appeal to me. To each their own and all that. Plus, Tissaia's my favourite character, and book Tissaia seems to be a totally different character (and not actually around much) in the books, so I don't have much motivation to read them.

#5 I have shipped a few ships that were unlikely to be canon but not a lot. Can't really think of one right now even. No, actually Rizzoli&Isles but my interest in them wasn't anywhere deep enough like it is for Yennaia🤦‍♀️ Honestly I totally see why you would not care for Yen's relationship with Geralt, the show doesn't even remotely do it justice. Whereas in the books it's one of the most important things, along with Geralt and Ciri's relationship. And Ciri and Yen's (as far as I know).

I know many people were pissed off at the Yennefer and Ciri stuff in Season 2 because of how their relationship is in the books, so I can understand that disappointment and betrayal. But for me, as a non book reader, I have no investment in their relationship based on what I've seen in the show. So the last episode of season 2 was pretty hollow for me.

#6 Honestly I think part of the reason why I ship Yennaia despite what I know about the books &games is because show Yennefer is so different from book and even game Yennefer that she might as well be a totally different character. And come to think of it, her relationship w Tissaia does feel more genuine than what she has with Geralt, no matter how one chooes to interpret it. So I totally agree with you there. As for Mr Manbun all I'm gonna say is that I hope he won't be alive by the end of s3

I did write about my thoughts on the developement of those two relationships in the show.

I believe he's around for a while, unfortunately. If they stick to the books.

[kouchan-lonely-wolf]

End of Century Scout Episode 5

I wanted to take a moment to appreciate the friendship that Mao and Koga have built up.

To start with: Koga waited for Mao to be finished with his actually student council work, before he came in with unofficial proposal. It’s polite and considerate, especially when most people assume that Koga is rude.

[photo 1 ID: Koga to Mao “Yeah, Forehead. I need the student council’s approval on this document. That’s why I’ve been waiting outside the door for so long.”] [photo 2 ID: Koga to Mao “Hump! Don’t be so mean, Forehead. It’s not like you’re gonna lose a seal or two, so be a forgiving soul and do it quickly for us.”]

Second: Koga tried the soft approach first, asking for Mao’s approval. It shows how Koga trusts Mao to take his side. Koga explained his side and when Mao still resisted because it was against the rules, that’s when Koga switched to blackmailing Mao.

[Photo 3 ID: Koga to Mao “That’s the picture of Haru on top of you!”]

[Photo 4 ID: Yuuta to Mao “ ‘Scoop! The current president of the student council shares an intimate date with a schoolgirl in his office. Astonished at their unconventional activities!’ We’re gonna write this and send it to everyone on Hold-hands.”]

The blackmail is very interesting on many levels. For one, it’s rather nefarious because idols have such a taboo towards relationships. If Mao got caught in a scandal like the one Koga proposed to fabricate, it could do serious harm to Mao’s career potentially tanking it. At the same time, it’s very strategic. Koga trusts Mao to take his side but he’s also aware that Mao has a specific job as student council president to approve and disapprove Drefes proposals, so Koga came prepared to force Mao’s hand right from the get-go. Koga was hopeful that Mao would approve during the soft part of his approach but he was conscious of why Mao wouldn’t and preemptively countered it. It’s pragmatic. At the same time it’s not necessarily a complex plan either. If you asked anyone how you would blackmail an idol, they would probably first think of this same plan, but it’s an impersonal approach. While it is a plan that would work on idols in general, the closer you are to someone the more likely you are to come up with a plan that targets their specific weaknesses: for example, since Koga was creating this plan against Mao he could have easily chosen something like tormenting his allergies. But he didn’t. A plan that focused more on exploiting Mao’s personal weaknesses wouldn’t have been as high risk as one that targeted a weakness of all idols. This can say much about Koga: He’s a quick thinker and doesn’t personally target his friends.

At first glance, this kind of plan is high risk, although Koga probably thought it was necessary for the high reward of getting approval from Mao who takes his job seriously. This is where the trust between them as friends is vital.

[Photo 5 ID: Mao to Koga “I might then ‘accidently’ leave the student council seal on my desk. I’ve been careless lately.”] [Photo 6 ID: Koga to Mao “We didn’t take any pictures. We were just bluffing.”] [Photo 7 ID: Mao to Koga “Well, I thought so anyway.”]

As Koga comes clean: there were never any pictures taken. Koga recognized the high risk of such a fabrication and only bluffed that those pictures existed. It was only an illusion; one that Mao saw through because he knows Koga. Instead of intentionally damaging Mao’s reputation or even risking damaging it, this illusion creates a convenient excuse to allow Mao to approve the Drefes without repercussions essentially. In response Mao creates a better excuse for Koga with his lie about leaving the seal in plain sight. Consider if this scheme was caught: Koga would get into much more trouble than Mao because he was blackmailing Mao and jeopardizing his career. Mao would be safe. But with Mao’s version they would both be in more equal trouble. Mao for leaving such an important item easily accessible and Koga for forging the student council president’s approval.

Mao knows Koga would never actually hurt him like this, and he knows that Koga is doing this for good reasons, so even though Koga is implicitly saying he’ll take the fall for it if it gets out, Mao doesn’t let him. Koga basically admits it point blank too because he doesn’t want Mao to think he would ever put Mao in such genuine risk. This is their trust, their friendship.

To end this, I want to say that Koga did all of this for Tetora even though they don’t interact with each other much. He did this primarily because of how concerned Yuuta and Sora were. Sure he wanted to help Tetora because they have some connection that means Koga cares about his well-being, but his will to help Yuuta and Sora are also a factor there. It’s a clear sign of his supportiveness for his juniors.

🐺 I hope this was coherent. I know I didn’t really mention Yuuta or Sora’s involvement as helpers and initiators in this story, they are vital to the events that happen especially as key parts of Koga’s plan. But this was about Koga and Mao so it had to stick close to them. I hope to hear your thoughts, agree or dissent I welcome all of it! (if replies disappear I promise it is the pornbots)

[survivor-trinidad-and-tobago]

Episode 17: "I wanna gag these mfs so hard and randomly win the final challenge so these hoes can scramble 🙄"—Jack

In this round: Jack gags these mfs so hard and randomly wins the final challenge so they all have to scramble; Michael, Kaleigh, and Alex take matters into their own hands and tie the vote on Alex and Kaleigh; Alex wins the fire-making challenge

Alex

This sucks. Good on Jack. He demolished that. This sucks. I don't want to vote for Kaleigh. Kaleigh was my number one this entire game. But I've gotta consider FTC arguments. This sucks.

Jack

OMFG BORING!!! Kayleigh is so lame for literally doing no moves. Out of the 3, Michael gets my vote if I’m on jury cause he at least has balls to make moves and own it. Kayleigh is fake af like bffr w me like??? Why lie??? I wanna gag these mfs so hard and randomly win the final challenge so these hoes can scramble 🙄

--

as of right now I’m excited to enter the final 3 🥰 I hope Kayleigh walks out the door but even if she doesn’t I’m still actually confident in my ability to sway the jury my way

Michael

So this may be my final confessional, who knows, but I'm really proud of the game Alex, Kaleigh, and I played. We were able to even have one last call together before the vote. The plan is to tie up and go to fire, let's hope it happens! I think it'll be a great display of how much we ran this game if at the end even Jack with the final immunity win in the came can't control the last vote

Alex

Even at Final Four I'm gonna go out on my terms if I go out. And if I go out I'm gonna boost Kaleigh up in the process. LOL at me saying I'd play a villain game back at the start. Anyways if this is my last confessional: this was a fun fucking time. It was great meeting new people and seeing how creative this community is when it comes to game creation. This was what I thought it would be and it wasn't at the same time and I'm so glad I got to be a part of it. Thank you for the invite, Trin. Thanks to all the players who helped make this the ride it was. At least if I go out tonight it'll be a few drinks deep at a concert for one of my favorite bands.

Kaleigh

WELL! THIS GAME IS REALLY ALMOST OVER! jack won that nonsense challenge so … alex and i are going to fire, i think. or, i guess, we are going to embarrassing towel game. jack told alex this morning that he wants to target me bc i’m such a baddie and everyone would vote for me - thx jack - I’M NOT BUYIN IT BUT OK I GUESS I AM VERY LOVABLE AND COOL AND PLAYED A KINDA SICK GAME BUT W/E!!!! INSANE TO GO FROM TARGETING MICHAEL OVER AND OVER TO ME SUDDENLY BEING THE BIG THREAT!!! alex suggested to me that we could have… michael and i vote for him, he votes michael, and jack votes me, to get alex out cuz he thinks i have a better chance with the jury than he does and wants to give our alliance the best chance at winning. but we are going to go to fire bc either way whichever of us wins gets that on their resume, and i think both of us are just… not that keen on pleading our cases to this jury LMAO i really don’t want to ;__; anyway. i loved this game i’m so happy and feel so lucky that i got to play such a long game with alex and michael, two angels from heaven, watched over by trinica, who i got to know a lot better and also love and cherish <3 i also truly loved steven he was gone way too soon <3 anyway i’m guessing this towel game is a guess who situation. and i told alex that bc i love him and want him to have as much of a chance as i do if i’m right. and i love michael he is a gem. can’t wait for game night :*

Alex

This is... bittersweet. But, hey, I said I wanted to play like Todd Herzog and now's my chance. Let's win it for Soca.

Tribal Council

Votes:

Kaleigh: Alex (ILY)

Alex: Kaleigh (❤️❤️❤️)

Michael: Alex (This is just how we planned it. I had a great time playing with you and getting to know you, and I hope we can continue to be friends post this game! Let's hangout!)

Jack: Kayleigh (ily girlie I would vote for a female over a male in every sense so u gotta go babes)

[crymeariveronceagain]

"We've heard your many cries for various punishments for the child you see before you--- and I can assure you, we considered each one at great length. It's an extremely complicated issue. On the one hand, many of the actions that have angered you were things that Sophie didn't necessarily choose. Others---while wrong---were largely the result of a lack of experience. We all must remember, Sophie Foster is not normal." Sophie closed her eyes as the words rattled around her mind. She knew they were true. Yet somehow that made them hurt more. "This child---through no fault of her own---has been given abilities she neither understands nor is able to control. Pair that with a lack of education and experience in our laws, and we have the perfect formula for disaster. But do we blame the out of control cart for crashing? Or do we blame the driver?"

--- Everblaze, by Shannon Messenger. Page 482.

[absolutelyfizzing]

Sifu Hotman

zuko x water tribe sibling!reader

request - I want to request a Zuko x fem reader being Sokka and Katara's sister. She can be the older sister or sokka's twin sister. Also when they start dating Sokka and Katara can like threaten him by saying don't hurt my sister or else.

A/N - This is taking place after the war, I'm vaguely uncomfy writing for underage people (or like younger than 17) so I just went ahead and aged them up. I'm sorry if that's not what you were wanting! I'm also sort of ignoring the plot of the comics and stuff and we are ignoring Mai's existence. I don't feel like this was my best writing by any means but i tried and i thought it was a cute idea. There will probably be more zuko x reader coming soon

word count - 2000

MASTERLIST

You took a deep breath in, the warm air refreshing after having just spent the last month in the southern water tribe with your family besides Katara who was off saving lives with Aang. Your twin brother stood beside you, his hair grown out and tied into a ponytail. Your sister would be here in the fire nation in a week with Aang. It had been three years since the war, you had just been kids at the time. You and Sokka were 15 during the last battle and you had felt so old then. Now, looking back, you had been immature and childish but you had grown up. After the war ended you remained in the fire nation for a few months. You had wanted to get a little bit of quiet before you started going on more adventures with your brother.

You had been very close with Zuko while he was traveling with you and the gang. You didn't know why but you trusted him, maybe it was because you trusted Toph's judgement but either way you had accepted him quicker than the others. You remembered how cold the rest of the group had been to him and it almost was funny to you now considering that Katara had just told you a story in a recent letter about Toph, Aang, and Zuko getting into a bickering match about fire flakes that ended in Toph trapping both of the boys into a earth tent. It was also hard to comprehend that Zuko was the new Firelord and he ruled over a whole nation.

It had been 2 years since you saw Zuko in person. It wasn't on purpose but you kept getting pulled in different directions, none of them leading you into the fire nation. You were excited but also scared to see him, butterflies filling your stomach at the thought of seeing him. You'd had a bit of a crush on the new Firelord when you last saw him but you refused to tell either of your siblings, knowing that they would threaten him to high heaven before he even knew about it.

Your brother walking beside you calmed you a bit, his presence being comforting to you. He was much taller than you now and he was more confident than the kid he had been during the war. You knew that the same was true for Aang, though he never grew up in personality. As you approached the gates of the palace you wondered if Zuko had changed.

You realized that he had as the gates opened and he was stood on the steps up to the palace waiting for both of you. His hair was long and it was pulled into a messy bun. His scar was no longer shrouded in his bangs and he seemed more confident in his stance. His robes were long and elegant and you wondered if he wore them by choice of if they were required because of his position. Your brother jogged slightly to get to Zuko faster, having grown to hold a strong bond with the man. You walked calmly but there was a smile on your face as your brother and Zuko embraced. Once the released each other Zuko turned to you. You noticed him gulp a bit and a blush threatened to cover your cheeks. Your grin became wider the closer you got to him and soon you were wrapped in his embrace.

You noticed that his frame was larger. You leaned your head back from the hug to look at his face and he looked well. Like he was happy and maybe even getting enough sleep.

"Hey there, Sifu Hotman." You smiled and Zuko rolled his eyes as he released you from the hug.

"I see we haven't matured in 2 years?" He grunts but you can see the smile trying to creep onto his face. "Toph still calls me that too." He grumbled lowly and you started laughing.

"Where is the little demon?"

"She's away dealing with some prisoners for me. She should be back in a week or so." Zuko smiled. "She's taken up a pretty important role here. She's like my personal lie detector. She likes to sit in on council meetings and scare everyone."

"I think that's actually her dream job." You smiled and Zuko hummed in agreement. There was a bit of a silence as you and Zuko just gazed at each other. He seemed so sure now. You had missed him dearly.

"Okay! Let's get this show on the road, people!" Sokka yelled and you internally groaned that he had to ruin the moment. Before you all turned toward the palace, Zuko sent you a wink and you felt a blush cover your face. As you headed up the steps of the palace you felt a comforting hand on your lower back as the Fire Lord gently followed behind you, Sokka running ahead of you, likely to find the food in the kitchens that he was accostomed to spending all of his time in.

"Can I speak to you in private when we get a moment?" Zuko asks and again your heart rate picks up. You turn your head to look at him.

"Of course" You smiled and he smiles back at you, making your head spin a bit. You spent the next few hours meeting new advisors, getting a tour through new parts of the palace, and catching up with Zuko who seemed to be acting more clingy than you had ever remembered him to be.

"Y/N, would you mind coming with me?" Zuko asked and you turned to face him with a smile.

"Of course!" You chirped as he led you to a secluded hallway away from your brother who was discussing war strategy with an advisor of Zuko's.

When you reached a place where you were out of earshot of others Zuko gently took your hands.

"I have something to confess." He stated and you felt fire on your cheeks, you nodded for him to continue, "I'm in love with you. I have been for years and I've never acted on it because there was always something going on and I was so unsure but now-" he gazed into your eyes with sincerity, "I couldn't be more sure. I want to be with you. If you'd have me, that is." Instead of answering you jumped forward, pressing your lips onto Zuko's in a searing kiss. He groaned and pushed back, trapping you against a wall. He pulled away to press his forehead into yours and you closed your eyes for a moment before opening them again and gazing at the man in front of you.

"Katara is gonna kill you." You mumbled and Zuko smiled.

"You aren't worried about Sokka?"

"I just know that Sokka can't win in a fight against you. Katara on the other hand..." you trailed off and Zuko looked offended.

"That's pretty rude to say to the man who just confessed his love for you."

"I'm just being honest. Toph might have some words too."

Zuko shuddered at the thought of what they could do to him. Sokka would be upset but he could probably handle it. Aang would be happy for both of them he was sure, always the peacemaker and moderator. Aang would probably be the only reason that Katara wouldn't attack Zuko immediately.

Over the next week you snuck around with Zuko, taking alone time any chance that you got. Sokka rarely let you get any peace as he stayed with you nearly constantly. He was always a little on the defence with you and he would likely settle in and ease up over the coming weeks as he got used to the new environment. You were never a huge fighter, though you could hold your own. You also couldn't bend. You were the one of the group who took care of everyone, you were the smartest in strategy by far, and you were the only one who could reason with Toph. Because of this, Sokka had gotten used to just being near you in case anything happened, though it was rare that anything did. You appreciated it normally but now you wanted time alone so that you could spend it with Zuko as you got used to being in a relationship that was more than platonic. But today was the day that the rest of the gang was arriving, even Suki would be joining you so you hoped that would take some of the clingy-ness of Sokka away. You all stood at the front of the palace, much like Zuko had stood for you a week earlier, and watched as Appa approached in the distance. He flew gently in front of you and as soon as he landed in front of you he licked you with his giant tongue and you were covered in slobber. Despite this you couldn't be happier to see the giant animal and you embraced him. You were suddenly pulled away and brought into the arms of your little sister.

"I missed you, Y/N." She mumbled into your neck and you smiled into hers, it had been so long since you had seen her and you felt tears come to your eyes at the relief of having her near.

You spent the next hours catching up with Katara and Aang, who had grown to be taller than you since you last saw him. Toph and Suki arrived that night and you were all glad to be together again at last, old memories coming back and filling you all with joy. You and Zuko looked at each other and you took a deep breath. You had discussed that you would be revealing your relationship to the rest of the group when you were all together but you were nervous for their reactions.

"So... I have something I would like to tell you guys." You stated and all of the conversation died down, all eyes suddenly on you. "Me and Zuko are together." You rushed out and you only got blank stares for a moment before there was groaning from Toph and Sokka.

"You couldn't have waited another year? I didn't think you would have figured it out by now." Toph grumbled and pulled some coins out of her pocket, Sokka doing the same. Suki and Katara held out their hands and money got dropped into them, both with smug looks on their faces. Zuko looked over at you and had the same look of shock that you likely did.

"What?" You mumbled.

"We all knew you were going to get together of course, you've been pining after each other for years, but me and Suki said you would be getting together this month and Toph said in a year. Sokka actually said in 3 months so he was closer than Toph was." Katara stated simply and you still just stared at her, mouth agape. "We also talked about the fact that if he hurts you," Her gaze shifted to a nervous looking Zuko, "we would all be committing some crimes."

"I feel like I should clarify that those crimes include maiming and murder." Sokka glared at Zuko and he gulped.

"But I'm so happy for you two!" Katara exclaimed, her attitude shifting completely. You and Zuko stared at each other in shock and then you smiled at him. You were so happy to finally be together and to have your friends around you.

[mandos-sluts]

The Escort

The Mandolorian x Fem!Reader

Rating: Explicit

Wordcount: 2.8k

Warnings: Smut, rough sex, mentions of sex work, daddy kink, sharing a bed trope

Summary: You are introduced to Mando, who has been hired to escort you through the outer rim. You recall the one other time you had met him before.

It was around seven months ago that the incident occured. You had been training under Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker for years. But leading up to your escape, you had begun feeling resentment toward your master and the entire Jedi order. You were having an existential crisis and questioning everything you had learned and were supposed to preach. One day, you and Luke were in a particularly bad argument, and you snapped. You packed your bags and decided to abandon the Jedi order.

You were only gone for a week. Luke managed to track you down on some underdeveloped planet, and by that time, you had cooled off and were thinking clearly. You and Luke returned and resumed your training.

The week that you went rogue was pretty uneventful. You seeked refuge in this small mining town and figured you needed to get a job. Unsurprisingly, it was very slim pickings, and your best option ended up being sex work. This was a fine work placement; the job paid relatively well and the owner of the brothel was a sweet old woman who protected the sex workers. Again, the week was fairly mundane and you only serviced a few clients.

**********************************

You had been assigned a diplomatic mission which required you to travel to some planet in the outer rim. You were all ready to go and were walking toward your ship when Luke approached you with some Mandalorian.

“Y/n, I would like to introduce you to Mando.” Luke said. You and Mando shook hands.

“Nice to meet you.” You said with a straight face. The Mandalorian seemed really familiar to you, but you couldn’t figure out why.

“He will be escorting you to the system.” Luke said with slight hesitation, already knowing how you’ll react.

“What!?” You said with confusion and slight offence. “Why would I need an escort? I’ve traveled solo to dozens of planets on dozens of missions.”

“I know, y/n.” Luke said, taking in a breath. “But the Jedi council thinks that it is best to err on the side of caution right now. The outer rim is dangerous and the Empire is growing. And we’ve seen their desperate interest in capturing young force-sensitive beings.”

You cross your arms and turn to look at the Mandalorian. He hasn’t taken his eyes off of you since you shook his hand.

“Why aren’t you just coming with me?” You say turning back to Luke. “What makes this random Mandalorian more capable than me? Why should I trust him?”

“I have other duties to respond to.” Luke says. “But y/n, Mando is the one who saved Grogu and delivered him to us. The Jedi council trusts him completely. He’s fought off the Empire– Moff Gideon, most notably– several times. He is the best one to have at your side if something goes wrong.”

Let out a breath, signalling your annoyance and you turn again to look into Mando’s visor. “Does he speak?” You say sarcastically while maintaining your stare at him.

“Not often.” Mando returns in a deep modulated voice. That voice, you recognize it. You have met him before, you know it. But where? Where could you have met him– then it hits you. The brothel. He was one of your few clients a couple months back when you were a sex worker!

A flood of memories come pouring in as your face gets red. You remember the one thing that made that week exciting, and it was the Mandalorian. He fucked you like no one else ever had. You were sore for days after. He gave you the best pleasure you had ever felt.

You try your best to gather your composure and act like nothing has happened. “So….so he’s just gonna co pilot on my way there?” You ask with your cheeks still slightly flush.

“Well...no.” Luke says. “You two will be traveling in Mando’s ship. The Razor Crest is essentially undetectable, and again, we think it’s best that your whereabouts remain unknown.” Mando visor is still glued on you. You look down and fidget with your fingers.

Luke senses your unease. “Listen, I know you’re not crazy about this arrangement, but you’ll be in good hands with Mando. Alright?” He says putting his hand on your shoulder.

“Okay.” You say back with a nervous half smile.

You and Mando walk in silence to the Crest and make your way up to the cockpit. You feel so unbelievably awkward. Does he remember you? He must. But he didn’t seem at all caught off guard when he was introduced to you?

The Crest departs and you two sit in deafening silence. All you can think about is how the last time you met, he was fucking you senseless over a dresser and wispering the dirtiest things in your ear.

Finally, you gain the courage and turn to him. “So...Do you remember me?” You say.

“Yes.” Mando returns looking straight ahead. He turns his head and looks at you. “Do the Jedi know that you’re a former whore?” He says casually.

“Yes.” You say, somewhat angered by the insulting insinuation. “Of course they know. But I’m not a former sex worker, per se. I only worked there for a week. Consider it a sabbatical from my Jedi training.”

“Interesting choice for a sabbatical.” Mando says.

You didn’t feel like explaining the actual reason for your working at the brothel. He was kind of rude and you owed him no explanation. At the same time, however, his shortness and nonchalant demeanor were kind of hot (actually very hot). He was so confident and sure of himself. He also smelled so good and his muscles were evident even under the beskar.

The trip is about two standard days, and since the Crest only had one sleeping area, you and Mando stopped off at some planet for the night to sleep and eat.

It was already dark by the time you and Mando made your way into town. Just walking down the street, people would move aside or step back for Mando. Nobody wanted to upset a Mandalorian, and you found it incredibly hot that he was so feared.

It was a very small town with only one tiny inn. You and Mando walked up to the front desk. “I need two adjacent rooms.” Mando says, throwing more than enough credits on the desk.

“I– I’m sorry sir, but we only have one vacancy tonight.” The woman at the front desk stutters.

You turn to Mando. “I can stay here and you can sleep on the Crest?” You offer as a solution.

“No.” Mando says. “I’m not leaving you alone. The whole reason I’m here is to protect you.”

Mando turns to the woman. “Does the room have two beds?”

“I’m sorry, but the room only has one bed sir.” The woman says apologetically.

Mando lets out a sigh. “Fine.” He says shortly. “We’ll take it.”

The room is pretty small, as is the bed. You wash up in the fresher and change into your sleep wear, which consists of a snug tank top and some loose cotton shorts. After you're done, Mando uses the fresher as you get in the bed.

Mando exists and sits on a chair in the corner of the room. He crosses his arms, stretches his legs out and puts his head back. “Get some sleep, we’re leaving early tomorrow.” Mando says.

You sit up in the bed. “Mando, we can both fit in the bed.” You say flatly.

“I’m fine.” He abruptly replies without lifting his head.

“Seriously, Mando, I don’t care. I’m gonna feel bad if you sleep on a chair. Come on.” You say.

Mando lets out a breath. “Fine.” He says as he gets up and walks towards the bed.

You scoot over as close to the wall as you can and face the wall. Mando strips off all of his armour except for his helmet and removes his gloves. He gets in the bed next to you, also facing the wall. There’s a good four inches between the two of you, and Mando made a point not to use the blanket.

You’re so glad he got in the bed with you. You want nothing more than for him to fuck you like he did before, and you can’t think of a better way to make that happen than sharing a bed with him. Slowly, you inch your way backwards until your butt is against his crotch. You remain still for a few minutes, but then slightly adjust your position so as to rub your ass into his groin.

Mando twitches at the feeling of you grinding against him and turns around so that you are back to back, trying his best to avoid an erection. But then, realizing he is too close to falling off the bed facing away from you, he turns back around. You shift once again, rubbing your ass against his hardening cock. Mando can’t tell if you are innocently trying to get comfortable or you are trying to tease him. Either way, this is a job for him, so he figures things should remain professional. You, however, were not relenting. Pretending to be drifting asleep, you again roll your ass over this now hard member.

Mando grunts and gets out of the bed and goes to the fresher. He turns on the faucet, takes off his helmet, and releases his long thick cock from the confines of his pants. Spitting into his hand, he gets right into it, taking his length and stroking it fast. He puts his free hand against the wall and puts his head down. He thinks about your tight pussy squeezing his cock as he jerks himself off, trying to get rid of his boner. He grunts as quietly as he can and stifles his moans. Thinking back to that day at the brothel, he thinks of you calling him daddy, begging for his cum; he imagines that your throat is between his large hand and the wall. He comes and lets out a deep breath.

You lie in bed, knowing and just barely hearing what he is doing in there. You are upset; you feel kind of rejected. But you’re not yet discouraged– you got him hard, why should you not reap the rewards? You decide to just double down and do it again, assuming that he won’t take a second trip to the fresher to jerk off.

Mando gets back in the bed, relieved that he had dealt with his erection and hoping you were asleep. But not any sooner did you start back up again. You move and rub your ass against his groin and let out the faintest moan. And just like that, you feel his cock grow hard against your butt.

He let out a hard sigh.

“Stop” he commanded, not bothering to whisper.

“Stop what?” You reply.

“You know what you’re doing.”

“Oh?” You say continuing to grind your ass against his bulge.

“And if you don’t stop, you’re the one whose going to be taking care of it this time.” He said as he lightly grabbed your throat.

Your arousal shoots up at his words and actions, and you can feel it in your pussy.

“Would that be such a bad thing?” You purr.

“What a fuckin tease you are.” He said shoving his bulge against your ass and tightening his grip on your throat.

“Mmmm, don’t act like you don’t like it, Mando.” You say. You pause for a moment and close your eyes. “I would finger myself every night thinking about the time you fucked me. I could feel you in between my legs for weeks after you left.”

Mando hums a sound of approval. “That’s right, pretty girl. No one will ever be able to fuck you the way I can.” He says slipping his hand into your shorts. His fingers glide along your soaking wet folds and you let out a whine.

“What a needy little thing you are, so fuckin desperate for me to fill your hole.” Mando starts pumping his middle finger in and out of you as his thumb rubs your clit.

“Fuck.” Mando growls. “I forgot just how tight this little cunt of yours is.”

Your moans get louder and your mouth opens wider as he picks up the pace. Mando moves his other hand from your throat to your mouth and pushes two fingers into your mouth. You suck them while continuing to moan.

“I went back to the brothel a week later, but they said you had left. I’ve fucked so many other whores since then but none were as good at you baby girl.” Mando says as he adds another finger.

Mando drives his fingers in you at an ungodly pace, hitting your G-spot over and over again. His thumb rubbing vigorously over your swollen nub.

“Fuck, I- I’m gonna cum.” You manage to say.

“Do it.” Mando commands and he grips your throat even tighter.

Your back arches and you grab Mando’s arm that’s fucking you with both your hands, digging your nails into his skin as your orgasm falls over you. You scream out his name and try to pull his hand out of your pussy, the overstimulation pushing you over the edge. But Mando nevertheless continues to rub your clit and finger you hard.

“Ohh, no, little girl. Try to push me away and I’ll just fuck you harder.” Mando says.

Your climax reaches its peak and Mando can feel his fingers getting clenched by your cunt. He finally slows down and pulls his fingers out of you, his grip on your neck loosening as well.

Mando unbuttons his pants and pulls out his throbbing erection. The feeling of it against your butt makes you jump. He yanks your shorts down. He rubs his head through your folds a few times before slowly beginning to enter you. You gasp and grab the sheets of the bed. Your mouth opens as wide as possible as you feel your cunt being impossibly stretched.

Mando lifts his head to watch your reaction. He loved the fact that just a third of his length completely destroyed you. Mando does a few slow thrusts with only half his cock to ready you for the rest. Just when it’s shifting from pain to pleasure, Mando shoves the rest of his length into you as hard as possible. You quite  literally scream at the top of your lungs. Mando knew exactly what he was doing, making you think he was going to ease you into it, before unapologetically thrusting all the way into your hole without any warning.

“Ahhh.” Mando grunts. “You’re the perfect little cocksleve for me.”

He trusts in and out of you while breathing heavily. The bed is banging against the wall every time he slams into you. The room next door is sure to hear but neither of you care.

Mando grunts and props himself up to lean on his elbow. He grabs your thigh and hooks it around his arm, getting a better angle and letting him fuck you faster and deeper. Your moans become outright screams as his unbelievably large cock rips you open. Anyone listening would surely think you were being tortured.

“Fu— fuck! Fuck yes daddy!” You manage to say between thrusts. Mando growls at your calling him daddy.

“You want me to cum inside your pretty little cunt?” Mando says.

You could barely speak, your mouth was wide open and your eyes had rolled to the back of your head. You’re able to muster out a “Y-yes.”

“Beg me.” Mando says as he grips your leg even harder. “Beg for my cum you little slut.”

“Please daddy, I– I want you to fill me up with– with your cum. Until it’s dri– dripping out of my pussy.” You say.

Mando moans and you can feel his cock tightening inside of you and his ropes of his cum coat your insides.

“Fuckkk.” Mando says pulling out of you.

You let out a high-pitched breath at the loss of his member. Mando puts his length back in his pants and sits up on his knees. He grabs one of your legs and swiftly slides you down the bed so he is on his knees in between your legs.

He aggressively pushes your legs further apart, looking down at your abused hole. His white juices are leaking out of it.

“Your pussy looks so pretty overflowing with my cum.” Mando says. He takes his middle finger and traces the lips of your cunt, then shoves it as far into you as it can go. You let out a yelp and your back arches at the pressure. “And I don’t want you wasting a single drop.” He repeats his action, plunging his finger into you. Pulling it out, he brings it to your lips and shoves it in your mouth. You swirl your tongue around it before he pulls it out.

“Mmmm I forgot how good you taste.” You say.

Mando leans over and grabs your shorts, and you pull them back on. Both you and Mando fall asleep quickly.

**********************************

“I should escort you on more of your missions.” Mando says slapping your ass as you walk out of the inn.

You look up at him. “I’ll make sure to tell Luke how pleased I was with your services.”

**********************************

Masterlist

[phoenixyfriend]

Quinlan and the Interdimensional Ingenues (except not really)

Context: SW Suddenly Omegaverse AU (Original Post), Interior Design (Nesting Divots), Chrono Rating: T+ Relationships: Anakin & Obi-Wan, Quinlan/Obi-Wan

This is like 90% cuddles and scenting that’s a few steps to the side of a/b/o standard. There is a lot of non-sexual licking. It’s a little odd, but I’m assuming that’s what you’re here for. It’s also over 5k words, so, you know. There’s that.

Note: “Ternary” is to the number three as “binary” is to the number two. Binary gender/sex refers to IRL male/female distinctions, and ternary refers to alpha/beta/omega. Gender and sex are much more complicated than is touched on in this particular fic, and trans identities exist within both the binary system and the ternary system. (More notes at end.)

-----

“Sorry to tell you this,” Quinlan says, sliding into the room as quickly as he can, “but we can smell omega distress from several rooms down the hall. What the hell is going on?”

“We’ve having a lot of feelings,” Kenobi says drily. He’s on the couch, looking damnably normal, and Skywalker’s got his face shoved into his master’s neck. Kenobi’s fingers card through the curls, and it’s... well, it would be easy to tell which of them was having said feelings even if Quinlan hadn’t already been able to tell them apart in scent.

“I’m distraught,” Skywalker moans, mushing himself somehow closer.

Kenobi’s eyes go to the ceiling, and he visibly prays to the Force for patience. “I know, Anakin.”

“You think I’m being dumb.”

“I think you’ve had a few months to prepare for this, but that your reaction is understandable nevertheless,” Kenobi says carefully. “Quinlan, would you like to take a seat?”

He hops the back of an armchair in a way that earns him a long-suffering, fond sigh. Quinlan grins encouragingly. “So, do I get to know what this is about?”

“I’m having trouble keeping it out of the Force, but at least I can do that,” Skywalker mutters. He does not lift his head. “I can’t control the scent stuff.”

“Yeah,” Quinlan says, because he’s not sure what else to say. “Do you want me to go get Tano? Might make you feel better.”

Skywalker just whines, high and pained, and tries to curl impossibly closer to Kenobi.

“Anakin,” Kenobi tries. “Anakin, do you want me to explain?”

“I want my--” Skywalker cuts himself off with a choking noise, and then keens. It’s a very omega noise, in the sense that his vocal cords can make it, and non-omegas have trouble mimicking it, and it makes Quinlan want to go over and do his best to fix things in whatever way he can.

(This, everyone is finding, is the truly awkward element to having Skywalker and Kenobi around. They don’t have any experience with controlling their ternary sex instincts, and it makes everyone else react poorly when they do, well, almost anything. They can’t be blamed, considering exactly how inconvenient this is for them, as well, but it’s not a great time for anyone.)

Quinlan tries to keep his own scent pleasant and calm, as soothing as he can make it through the blockers. He doesn’t think it works. “Your what?”

“His wife,” Kenobi says. “Because apparently that was the other way he broke the Code.”

“I looked her up,” Skywalker moans, dramatic as anyone. “She’s already mated and married, in this timeline. To that artist. She’s totally happy and she’s never met me and I’m never gonna be able to work with or around her because I won’t be able to act normal about it and I miss her.”

‘A lot of feelings‘ Kenobi mouths at Quinlan over Skywalker’s head.

“Well, at least it explains the position you’re in,” Quinlan tries to joke. The blank look he gets from Kenobi tells him clearly that the joke didn’t land. “Uh, scenting at the neck like that.”

“Inappropriate?” Kenobi hazards a guess. He doesn’t pull Skywalker away.

“Sort of,” Quinlan says. “You’re family, or as good as, so between that and the need for comfort, nobody’s really going to judge you for it, especially given your backgrounds, but that kind of prolonged neck-scenting for comfort is something kids outgrow in pre-adolescence. It’s only really used for either comfort for extreme emotions, like this, or, uh, between lovers. Post-coital, or during foreplay before, you know, mouths get involved.”

Kenobi grimaces. “Lovely. And what do you mean by ‘of our backgrounds’ in this case? That we have less control, or another factor?”

He doesn’t sound offended. Quinlan appreciates that. “You didn’t have ten years to get that comfort. It’s like... touch starvation, but for scenting. Anyone who knows what’s going on with you, even in the vague sense that doesn’t involve dimensional travel, is going to give you leeway on scenting because you didn’t have that, growing up.”

Kenobi’s grimace doesn’t go away until Skywalker’s breath hitches, hand curling in his master’s robes. “Anakin?”

“I don’t like feeling like this,” Skywalker mutters. “It sucks.”

“I know.”

“And we can’t delay the war much longer, and she was one of the only reasons I stayed even kinda sane through it.”

“I know, Anakin,” Kenobi sighs, running a hand through Skywalker’s hair and, awkwardly as anything, pressing a small kiss to the young man’s forehead. “You’ll have other ways to de-stress this time around. Maybe you’ll actually attend your meditative retreats.”

Skywalker huffs out a breath, in a laugh wet with what might be burgeoning tears. “Shut up.”

“I think you’ve known me far too long to think I’ll ever run out of words,” Kenobi says. He meets Quinlan’s eyes again, but before either of them can communicate about whether Quinlan should leave, Skywalker lurches to his feet, muttering something about a shower.

He’s gone before Kenobi can get more than two words out, and the man is left looking ruffled and confused by his former padawan’s sudden departure. He stays watching the door, and slowly wilts in a way that doesn’t speak well for his state of mind. The man sighs and drops his head into his hands, cradling it with his elbows on his knees, and whatever calm he’d had fades into pure stress, the air curdling with the smell of it.

Quinlan waits, unsure of how to handle this; Kenobi’s Quinlan Vos probably would have known how to deal with the change.

“What am I doing?” Kenobi breathes out, the words almost inaudible from behind his hands.

There are a few moments for Quinlan to consider the many complications and ramifications of getting involved, and then he decides to do so anyway. He stands up and steps around the caff table, and sits down next to Kenobi. He wraps an arm around the man’s shoulders, and brings him in close.

“You don’t have to do this,” Kenobi says, though he makes no move to pull away. “I know you don’t... this is just an obligation. The Council assigned you to gather information and keep an eye out for us in terms of the whole omega thing, since you already shared my heat, and... I know I’m not a friend to you. You barely know me, and the fact that you have to look out for me is something that truly grates. Such care shouldn’t...”

Quinlan waits for him to finish, but he doesn’t.

“I won’t say that they didn’t give me that assignment, because that would be a lie and you’d know it,” Quinlan says. “But I do want to be friends with you. We’re sort of there, already, even if that’s mostly you knowing my other self, and my psychometry, but I’ve seen what a friendship with you could be like, in what you let me see. We’ll never have that same dynamic, because I didn’t grow up with you, and the ternary sex adds an element that changes things, but I do want to be your friend.”

He hesitates, unsure if the rest will make things worse or better, but says it anyway. “As for taking care of you, looking out for you... I do feel a need to do that on an instinctual level, yes, but I can ignore it. It’s an instinct, but one that I, like everyone else that’s grown up as a human or near human in this galaxy, can work around. I am doing more than the minimum the Council requested, and it’s because I do actually like you as a person, and want to know you better.”

Kenobi’s head is resting on his shoulder by this point, tired and heavy, and Quinlan reaches up to brush his knuckles against the beard without looking. His blockers are still keeping his scent down, but the contact seems to make Kenobi relax more. His hands are mostly laced together, and falling into the dip between their legs.

“There’s a way I can help, but it’s, ah... not inherently sexual in nature, but generally only done by those whose relationship is already some degree of sexual,” Quinlan tells him. “To make you feel better, less stressed.”

“I’m assuming you’re not suggesting an orgasm,” Kenobi mutters, dry as anything. He laughs when Quinlan puts a hand on his knee.

“Not exactly feeling it,” Quinlan agrees. He squeezes Kenobi’s knee, and then says, “No, it’s mostly scenting in a way that’s usually only done by lovers; it’s more effective, but very intimate in a way many find uncomfortably sexual, because the amount of tongue involved is very reminiscent of foreplay.”

Kenobi laughs, a little harder, and nuzzles a little. He doesn’t seem aware of the fact that he’s doing it. “Alright, then.”

“I’d also suggest moving to one of the nests,” Quinlan says, and Kenobi immediately freezes. He gives it a moment, and then says, “I know you found it helpful after your heat, Kenobi. The nesting instinct is human here. It’s not shameful. There are people who don’t get anything out of it, but I’ve seen you nesting, and it’s good for you.”

Kenobi shudders and Quinlan thinks he might be fighting down a whine. “It’s a change, Quin. I mean, Quinlan. It’s... it’s just another thing out of many that’s different.”

“And one of the few you have control over?” Quinlan guesses. He tries to purr for support when Kenobi nods against his shoulder, and he thinks the deep rumble is soothing to Kenobi. “I get that.”

“Don’t stop,” Kenobi mutters, and Quinlan can guess he’s blushing about it.

“Into the nest,” Quinlan mutters. “It’ll help convince Skywalker to use it, and he really needs that kind of comfort.”

That’s the line of logic that actually works, and Quinlan isn’t the least bit surprised.

“Fine,” Kenobi sighs, and gets to his feet before Quinlan can offer to carry him or something similarly joking. The man walks to the communal nest at the edge of the room, and then looks down into the barely-used mess of blankets and pillows in the floor divot like he doesn’t even know how to get in.

Quinlan thinks there might be dust, even.

Fine. He can work with that. He’s taken this duo on as a project of his own free will, and he’s damn well going to follow through.

“Want to rearrange it?” he asks, in hopes that he can prompt Kenobi into figuring out what’s wrong.

“I don’t... know,” Kenobi says, frowning in a way that’s more worried and uncomfortable than angry. “I don’t know what’s wrong.”

Quinlan considers it, thinks of how the dust means nobody’s been here, that there’s not even a hint of scent, and then turns and grabs the throw pillows and thick, woven blanket from the couch.

“Wait,” Kenobi protests. “They don’t--”

“We can put them back later,” Quinlan assures him. He holds them out to Kenobi. “Trust me? I may not be an omega, but I do know enough of the theory.”

Kenobi takes the pillows and the blanket, stares down at them and then at the nest, and steps out of his slippers and into the nest. The layer already there is thin, and likely not doing much for anyone, but it’s the bare minimum and Quinlan can work with that.

He turns and scouts the room for spare fabrics, grabs all three of the outer robes from where they hang by the door, and the recently-used dishtowel that only barely carries Skywalker’s scent, and brings them to Kenobi.

“The robes aren’t clean!” Kenobi protests.

“I could grab something from your room instead,” Quinlan says. “Or you could just leave the hems on the outside. But you need more fabric that actually smells like someone.”

Quinlan wonders, idly, if Kenobi would have this kind of reaction to the suggestion without omega instincts at play, or if it’s just the instincts and he doesn’t realize, or maybe that he’s decided to let the instincts happen since Quinlan’s pushed him into nesting already anyway. The man had insisted in perfectly pressing his robes from the beginning, long before their bodies had had a chance to change, and Skywalker had found it normal, so it’s probably, at least a little, just the man’s personality. It probably doesn’t matter, overall, because all Quinlan has to do is sit at the edge of the nest until Kenobi--the person who actually lives here--is done arranging things.

Quinlan takes off another two layers and offers them, noting out loud that he can get them back later when Skywalker can fill in the gaps or something before too many protests can be voiced. Kenobi hesitantly takes them and tucks them in among his own additional layers. Quinlan’s seen enough communal nests to know that most of the placements are odd and not going to work out long-term, but that’s not the point right now. The point is getting Kenobi to recognize the his body, and more importantly, his mental health, rely at least somewhat on nesting now.

“Are you going to come in?” Kenobi asks, belatedly realizing Quinlan’s still outside the lip of the flooring divot.

“Not without permission,” Quinlan says, and sees the realization flicker in.

Kenobi holds out a hand, silent, and Quinlan lets himself get tugged in among the half-stale, half-new nest. It’s not great, but that’ll come with practice. He tucks himself around Kenobi, and rubs at the man’s arms in an attempt to ease some of the tension that’s clinging to every line of his body.

“What now?” Kenobi asks, just a shade more quiet than Quinlan thinks is really required by the situation.

“A lot of the stress you’re feeling is a feedback loop from being covered in your own distress scent,” Quinlan says. “You can shower to handle that, which is what Skywalker is doing, or you can manually remove it.”

“I’d imagine a wet towel,” Kenobi says, a touch wry, “but given that you mentioned tongue earlier, I’m guessing you intend to lick it away?”

“It’s more effective,” Quinlan admits. “Not at removing the scent, necessarily, but it removes enough to help while also generating comfort and relaxation hormones from the close contact, and being scented by a trusted individual.”

“Makes sense,” Kenobi admits. “You, ah, use scent blockers usually, right? Can you, er, scent me?”

Quinlan can see just how much Kenobi dislikes using the words. He tries to keep it quick. “I use a cream blocker over my scent glands, namely at the neck and wrists, since the rest are covered in fabric. It’s... well, it can be wiped off, or also removed orally. Most manually-applied blockers are formulated to be safe for contact with the mouth or genitals. Only really gets to be a problem if there are rare allergies or with specific species. It doesn’t taste like anything, if that matters.”

Kenobi’s discomfort is almost palpable, but Quinlan lets him work through that. This isn’t really something he can make a choice for Kenobi about, and the discomfort is... well, it’s not really the kind of discomfort usually associated with ternary sex and associated behaviors. Everything’s just very new, and comes with changes to the body that Kenobi never agreed to.

“Right,” Kenobi says. “I want to... to at least try it, I think.”

He turns and blushes, eyes anywhere by Quinlan’s face. “I don’t know how much longer Anakin will be. I’d rather he not think we’re, er...”

“Then I’ll take care of that part fast,” Quinlan promises, and is rewarded by Kenobi offering a wrist.

It’s... not sexual. Quinlan knows he has a hard time explaining this to near-humans that don’t have the scent glands, that don’t have the ternary dynamics. He’s had a similarly hard time explaining it to Kenobi and Skywalker. It’s not sexual, just intimate, when he pulls Kenobi’s wrist to his face, closes his eyes, and breathes in the scent of a distressed, uncomfortable, bitter omega that he’s shared a heat with and knows as almost-friend. The smell, this close and this strong, triggers the production of pheromones of his own, and when he feels Kenobi tentatively start pressing kisses to Quinlan’s own wrist, he relaxes. He brushes his lips against Kenobi’s wrist, and then puts his open mouth to it, the slightest press of teeth and his tongue laving across the skin. He hears Kenobi’s gasp, an almost-yelp, and pulls away long enough to press a kiss the the veins under his lips, and to say, “Relax, Kenobi.”

He forces a purr out, low and rumbling, and feels it work on Kenobi just like it did earlier. There’s a tongue pulling, a little dry, to rub away the blocker on the inside of his wrist, and he turns his attention back to Kenobi’s. The scent is even stronger on his tongue, bitter and unhappy, and his body continues to produce calm and comfort as he pulls away the uglier feelings painted on Kenobi’s skin.

More pheromones leak under his mouth, but less bitter. Less intense. He does what he can, opens his eyes and turns and sees that Kenobi is unduly focused on his wrist, mouthing and not quite purring, but oddly fuzzy in the Force. His eyes are closed, but Quinlan’s pretty sure they’d be glazed if not.

“Kenobi?”

“Hm?”

“Guess you haven’t encountered this outside of a heat before,” Quinlan mutters. He shakes his arm a bit, and puts his other hand on Kenobi’s shoulder. “Kenobi, hey, look at me?”

Kenobi pulls away, blinking, and then makes a face. “That...”

“Didn’t like losing control?” Quinlan guesses. The answer is clear enough. “It’s a matter of practice, especially for you.”

“Why did I... it smelled and tasted like... like I was safe,” Kenobi mutters lowly, eyes on the nest instead of on Quinlan. “I’ve never associated any sense with safety other than the Force.”

“You trust me,” Quinlan says, as if that’s not a little terrifying in its own way. He already knew that Kenobi trusted him, but he thinks that this strong of a reaction might make him Kenobi’s most trusted person after Skywalker and maybe Tano. “And since you trust me, your body subconsciously takes cues from mine, when it comes to pheromones. I project comfort and safety, and your body takes it as... not fact, but affirmation.”

“So I won’t react to anyone like this,” Kenobi says, not quite begging for Quinlan to confirm, but close to it. “Just you, and... does that same logic apply to those who aren’t Alpha designation?”

“Yeah,” Quinlan says. “Not in the same way, but familiarity and trust does affect which pheromones affect you, and how strongly. Children are largely unresponsive to aggression pheromones from their parents, by default, since their minds process it as aggression in defense of them, rather than aggression at them.”

Kenobi purses his lips, but nods and looks at Quinlan’s other wrist. “Moving on?”

“If you’re okay with it,” Quinlan says, but he brings his cleaned wrist to Kenobi’s and rubs them together until his own comfort scent is covering up what’s left of the distress. “Take a smell at that and see how you feel.”

Kenobi eyes him warily--he’s pretty sure he hasn’t done anything to deserve that, but allows it because, well, Kenobi--and sniffs at his own wrist. His brow furrows in confusion, and he sniffs again.

“Good?” Quinlan hazards.

“I... yeah,” Kenobi says. He sounds as confused as he looks. “I like it. It’s... the safe thing, again, but mixing with me?”

“That’s how it’s supposed to feel,” Quinlan assures him. “Other wrist?”

If he were actually the friend that Kenobi had grown up with, if he’d actually had a Kenobi to grow up with, he thinks he might have thrown in a few joking pet names by now.

But he’s not, and they didn’t, so he won’t.

He thinks he hears Skywalker finish up in the shower, but Kenobi pulls his mouth to the neck, and mutters that they have some time while Skywalker does something to his hair. Apparently, there are products needed for those curls.

The angle’s going to be a little uncomfortable if they try to get at each other’s scent glands simultaneously, so Quinlan suggests that Kenobi handle getting the blocker off first.

“Why?”

“More convenient,” Quinlan says, and then clasps Kenobi’s hands so their wrists rub together. He squeezes, just a little, a touch of reassurance, and smiles and tilts his head. “All yours, Kenobi.”

The man smiles, brittle, and almost giggles. Maybe Quinlan was doing something oddly similar to his counterpart from Kenobi’s dimension. Maybe it was an inside joke he didn’t know. It doesn’t matter, because Kenobi’s leaning in and mouthing along Quinlan’s neck and throat like a man possessed a half-second later.

Quinlan closes his eyes and threads a hand into Kenobi’s hair, focuses on warmth and comfort and protection, rather than anything aroused. Kenobi slows down, lapping at Quinlan’s neck and inhaling, and in the Force he radiates confusion.

“That’s it,” Quinlan mutters, and Kenobi makes a low chirruping noise that he immediately stifles with an annoyed huff. “Hey, no, those are normal. You don’t have to be embarrassed.”

“I want control over my own body, Quin,” Kenobi mutters, and switches to the other side. He rubs his face against Quinlan’s neck, and it’s another point on the list of things Kenobi does that he might not realize are based in newer instincts. “I don’t like something being wrong with me, and not understanding what it is.”

“Nothing is wrong with you,” Quinlan mutters, using the hand in Kenobi’s hair to guide him into actually removing the scent blocker instead of donating a case of beard burn. “Even going as fast as you did just now wasn’t something wrong. Your instincts got a bit confused, that’s all. You’re fine.”

He purrs until Kenobi is done, and gets that chirruping noise again. Kenobi’s still annoyed about it, but Quinlan’s just happy he’s getting less uncomfortable about it.

“Okay, sit up and turn around,” Quinlan says, and Kenobi eyes him again. “Have I steered you wrong yet?”

“No.”

“So trust me,” Quinlan urges. “Just turn around.”

Kenobi does. Quinlan sits up and rearranges his legs so there’s one on either side of Kenobi, half-bent. He pulls the other man closer, blankets folding oddly beneath them, and wraps his arms around Kenobi’s waist.

He breathes for a moment, chin hooked over Kenobi’s shoulder, and asks, “Good?”

“Oddly so, yes,” Kenobi mutters. He might be blushing. “Er, should I... do anything?”

“Hands on mine, if you’d like,” Quinlan tells him. “We can lie back down and spoon after I clean up your left.”

The noise Kenobi makes is low, affronted in a way that speaks to his ongoing embarrassment. Quinlan ignores it, just gets to work taking away as much of Kenobi’s stress scent as he can, mouthing along the man’s neck and managing a purr that isn’t even forced. It rumbles out of him unprompted, his hindbrain piecing together the relaxing omega in his lap and the safety of the Temple and the pride he’s got in doing this right, the knowledge that Kenobi’s happier than he was an hour ago and it’s all Quinlan’s doing.

He rubs his face along Kenobi’s neck as he finishes up, scenting and being scented back, and is gratified when Kenobi starts purring too. The nuzzling is mostly soft, though Quinlan’s stubble is nothing to Kenobi’s beard; the hairs trap Quinlan’s scent where it’ll do the most good. He follows a hint of mischievous intent and tugs at Kenobi’s earlobe with his teeth, earning himself a little whine. He laughs, and licks the curve of Kenobi’s ear, immediately scenting further.

“Anakin’s going to be back soon,” Kenobi says, sounding almost sleep drunk.

Quinlan switches sides and guides them both down to lie, chest to front, in the nest. He works more slowly on the other side, keeps himself  propped up on his elbow, forearm slipped neatly under Kenobi’s neck. The scent gland at Quinlan’s wrist rests under Kenobi’s nose, right where it’ll have the most effect. His other hand rubs up and down Kenobi’s side, and by the time Skywalker reenters the room, Quinlan’s done with licking the stress off and rubbing his scent into anything he thinks will help. He’s lying fully on his side instead of having his head propped up, and just doing his best to spread comfort through the room through Force and smell. He maybe nibbles at the back of Kenobi’s neck, here and there, because the man has lothcat response, and

“Guys?”

“Over here, Skywalker.”

The kid--not really a kid, but younger than Aayla, still, so he counts--rounds the couch, and sees them among the added cloaks and pillows and blanket. He stares. Kenobi starts to stiffen back up.

Quinlan increases his purring, and rubs his face against Kenobi’s neck, and glares up at Skywalker for good measure. Kenobi can’t see past Quinlan, probably, and squirms. Skywalker tilts his head, and then puts up a finger in a ‘one moment’ sort of gesture. He runs off.

“Anakin--”

“Kid’s fine,” Quinlan assures him, and Skywalker skids back into the room at unsafe speeds, arms full of what Quinlan’s pretty sure are his own duvet and pillow, and falls face-first into the nest. Kenobi jerks back into Quinlan, but Skywalker ignores this in favor of rearranging the nest into something approaching functional. He’s better at it than Kenobi.

Quinlan’s pretty sure Skywalker was more open to these things from the start. It tracks.

“Now Anakin, really,” Kenobi sputters, as Skywalker finishes layering things in the way he thinks is best. Skywalker beams at him, earlier melancholy forgotten for the moment, and flops down to drop his head somewhere near Kenobi’s chest.

“You haven’t been sleeping,” Skywalker says. “This is good for you.”

Kenobi blushes, and Quinlan scrapes his teeth against the back of his neck again.

“Quinlan!” Kenobi yelps, jolting. “Not--we’re not alone!”

“Helps you calm down, though,” Quinlan says, pressing a few close-mouthed kisses at Kenobi’s hairline.

“Different cultural standards,” Skywalker adds, half-guessing but sure of himself nonetheless. He seems entirely too delighted to be here. “You know what? We should invite Ahsoka.”

“She’s not your padawan here,” Kenobi scolds.

“Yet,” Skywalker corrects. “As soon as I get all my psych evals cleared, the Council’s going to promise. She’s basically my padawan already.”

Kenobi sighs, aggrieved in a manner that feels more fond than actually upset, in the Force, and places a hand lightly on Skywalker’s.

Skywalker chirrups and wriggles closer, pressing his face to Kenobi’s tunic with a smile.

“I see someone’s feeling better,” Kenobi notes, and moves his hand up to play with Skywalker’s hair. “The shower helped?”

“Mm-hm,” Skywalker says. “’nd some of the stuff they made me learn in therapy.”

Kenobi hums low in his throat, an aimless vocalization, as he continues to comb his fingers through Skywalker’s hair.

Skywalker blinks, slow and bleary, with a soft and dopey smile, and Kenobi stops.

“What?”

“I like it when you play with my hair,” Skywalker says, almost too low to hear. His eyes close. “Feels nice. Cared for. Family.”

Kenobi freezes, breath hitching, and Quinlan shifts and lifts just enough to see the man is staring at his own hand in confusion and a slight bit of fear.

“Kenobi?”

“I didn’t even question it,” Kenobi says faintly. “I don’t... I haven’t done that since he was just a child, but I didn’t even question it. I stopped myself from commenting that he’s too old to come to his master for cuddles, because he’s not, in this dimension, and I’m getting used to that, but I started playing with his hair like it was normal and it’s not.”

Quinlan puts his mouth to Kenobi’s trapezius, just enough pressure that he’s not biting, just there, and purrs.

It’s several inches away from anything resembling a mating bite, but Kenobi tilts his head and whines anyway.

“Obi-Wan?” Skywalker prompts, brow furrowed. “It’s not... I mean, I’m not going to say it’s okay, since I know we’re both still upset about our bodies being changed without our permission or input or even a warning, but we’re getting used to it. We’re working with it. The hair thing is fine with me, I like it and would have before. And now that you know you’ll want to do, uh, that sort of thing--”

“Subset of grooming behaviors,” Quinlan tells them, pulling away from Kenobi’s neck with a final open-mouthed kiss. He sees the face Skywalker makes in response to the words, and feels Kenobi’s discomfort, so he elaborates. They’ve compared most of what they hear with tookas and lothwolves, so he thinks he knows what this is about. “We’re not exactly going to start licking each other clean--excluding scent comfort, that’s different--like lothcats, but you’ve already noticed that humans and near-humans are more tactile than you’re used to. Most forms of care, especially of partners and children, ends up physical in some way.”

He gestures between the two of them. “You view Skywalker as family, for all that you shy away from defining it, and so naturally gravitate to care. The easiest way for that to manifest when sharing a nest is usually playing with someone’s hair. Since he’s younger than you, and you’ve spent as much time as you have being the adult in his life...”

Quinlan trails off before he can comment on the question of whether they’re closer to brothers or father-and-son. Kenobi’s already expressed discomfort with that topic, well before they started naturalizing to this dimension. Quinlan’s not going to push for Kenobi to acknowledge Skywalker’s importance to him.

(They’ll have to address it at some point, but that’s a job for the mind healers, not for Quinlan.)

(For all that it’s going to impact and be impacted by their dynamics, that much is definitely not Quinlan’s to handle.)

Kenobi shudders in his arms, but doesn’t shake him off, and doesn’t stop Skywalker from burrowing somehow closer. Quinlan settles back in as Kenobi returns to playing with Skywalker’s hair.

“We really should invite Ahsoka, though.”

“Not tonight, padawan.”

-----------------------------------------------

Additional notes:

I initially wrote “ternary gender,” but found that it didn’t strike true to how I envisioned gender and dynamic playing out among Jedi culture in particular. While the term ‘dynamic’ is used regularly in a more casual setting, Quinlan uses the term “ternary sex” when talking about it in the company of Anakin and Obi-Wan. I view it as a subconscious attempt to keep a clinical view of the ternary sex system present in the omegaverse dimension, in recognition that it’s new and unfamiliar and often unpleasant for Anakin and Obi-Wan, having come from a dimension that doesn’t have ternary sexes or the associated reproductive capabilities, instincts, or cycles.

I’d like to explore how the ideas of sex, gender, dynamic, and so on intersect within the context of this universe, because I think it’s something I’d have a lot of fun working with, but this is not the fic for that.