The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

“And this one, I got from a brick that got thrown at my head when I was a kid.” Azuryn said while pulling Their hair back and pointing to the easily noticeable scar on Their forehead—usually hidden behind Their bangs—while turning so that everyone at the table could see it.

“Woah woah woah, I knew about your eyebrow and walking into a fridge, but how did I not know about this one!?” Ophelia asked, flabbergasted as she could’ve sworn she knew about all the ways They’d gotten so fucked up during Their life.

“I guess you’ve still got some stuff to learn about Them, aye?” Zeffita, the redheaded friend closest to Ophelia—both physically and emotionally—teasingly pointed out. “But seriously a brick!?” Azuryn downed Their shot while nodding Their head with exaggeration.

“Yuuuuup! The kid really took his Yu-Gi-Oh games seriously, I guess.” They said with a laugh.

“WHAT!?” Everyone else at the table unintentionally asked in unison; which got a few heads turned towards the group.

After a few rounds of drinks—enough to not fully remember how the subject had initially come about—the group had landed on the topic of scars and the stories they carried. When the time came for Azuryn’s turn, They’d gotten a fairly decent picture of the gals that sat before—or rather around—Them. They vaguely remembered all of them from New Years Eve, but it felt like the person They were back then and now were immensely different, and so They’d hoped whatever “first (Bad? Horrible? Terrible!?) impression” They’d unintentionally made hadn’t carried over. Granted, if They had made a negative impression, They were fully willing to own up to Their unintentional yet highly-understandable-to-want-to-question behavior and make any amends that might’ve been needed; even if nothing substantial came of it. But at the same time, They were probably overthinking things again. There were still some unfortunate leftovers from Their previous personality (persona?) it seemed—which included the lingering tendency to overthink things from time to time—but They were cognizant of Their issues, and were actively working on it; not even for Ophelia, but for Themself!

“Like the card game?” It was now Aliizea’s—the blonde that sat almost opposite of Azuryn—turn to flabbergastedly ask; everyone else seemed to have their jaws on the floor.

“The very one!” They chuckled with a light snort. “Like I said, the kid must’ve taken his games seriously. I guess he was trying to send me to the shadow realm!?” They ended Their story by stabbing Their fork into one of the few pieces of ribeye left on Their plate. Chewing said piece, the table was quiet for a good solid minute until Daneskaa, the raven haired friend who technically sat closest to Them burst out into laughter. She’d spoken arguably the least—the entire table had healthily engaged in dialogue ever since the first few friends had sat down—and rarely laughed so genuinely, so it shocked everyone. Even Azuryn was thrown off, as They’d picked up early on that she was much more of a listener than a talker. Not wanting to come across as unnecessarily forceful, They’d attempted to engage with her—while also respecting her preference of not jumping at the chance to chime in—a few times that night; it seemed like a common occurrence among the group, as everyone else—Ophelia arguably the most—made an effort of including her in the discussion while respecting her desire to not be. “Thank you! I’m glad someone else is able to laugh about it with me; shit was really fucked up, but damn is it hilarious to look back on!”

“Hilariously untrue, you mean?” Daneskaa half-asked-half-accused Them. “There’s no way that’s what happened? Right?” She asked looking at Them, not wanting to come across as rude, but wanting to see if Azuryn was as full of shit as she worried They might be.

“No! I swear, the kid just up and threw it at me. (There was more to Their story, however they felt it unwise to derail the conversation simply in an attempt to explain the rules and mechanics of a children’s trading card game.) Maybe I shouldn’t make light of it like I do, but come one, ya gotta find the silver linings, right? Plus, it’s given me great lines like ‘He really did attack my life points directly’.” They said, in a slightly off-tone voice to mock Themself.

“Okay, I’ll give you that, that one is pretty funny.” Daneskaa tittered as she sat back in her chair while eating one of her last bites of salmon.

“Okay, but again, how have I not heard about this one!?” Ophelia asked, seeming to finally pull her jaw up from off the floor.

“Honestly? A lot of the stuff I’ve shared with y’all tonight is stuff I’d repressed for the longest time. I’ve only just recently—like maybe within the past year or so—begun to properly remember a LOT of my life. I’m sad to say that includes a lot of stuff right around the time when I’d first begun to know You.” They said with a sigh, trying to smile through it. “So anyways! Anyone wanna try topping that?” They said with a smirk, unintentionally coming across as assholeish as They attempted to healthily move the conversation along.

“It wasn’t a competition, Ryn!” Ophelia said while playfully punching Their shoulder.

“You’re right, you’re right; sorry y’all, I didn’t mean for it to come out that way.” They said while rubbing the back of Their neck with Their right hand; Their left laying on Ophelia’s thigh, where she’d often lay her hand over Theirs. They suspected the possibility that her other hand was occupied in a similar manner; They weren’t bothered by the idea—and in fact were actually hoping it to be true—as the energy Ophelia and Zeffita bounced off each other radiated an incredible friendship that They’d never want to come between. Even if that friendship became something more. “That said, I don’t actually think mine was ‘the best’—if you can even quantify that—I mean, come on,” They pointed their open palm towards the daisy-chained redhead, “A frickin snowmobile accident that ended with Twenty Stitches In A Hospital Room!?”

“Yeah, at least When We Go Crashing Down it gives a great story; but hey, at least you’re able to joke about it,” Zeffita said, practically mirroring Their motion, “and not only that, it was actually kinda funny!” She laughed at the absurdity of Their jokes, not sure if They were actually funny, but the ridiculousness of it all definitely put a smile on her face. Something that immensely put Ophelia at ease, as she’d been worried over whether two of the most important people in her life were capable of getting along. She briefly laughed to herself as she wondered if she should worry about the two of them spending too much time together without her. She couldn’t imagine their budding relation as anything but platonic, and even more so couldn’t wait to hear the stories the two of them would surely create together.

“Okay, then how about yours?” They said moving Their hand over to palm-point to Aliizea “Not to linger on the past & possibilities, but you would’ve definitely ended up being a gold-medal-olympic-athlete had you not been in that car accident!”

“Oh please!” She said with a light blush at Their flattery, not wanting to let on that she approved of Them ...not yet, at least; she wanted to fully approve of Them before she told Ophelia. “I don’t think I’d ever have actually ended up competing, but if I did I would’ve shot for silver instead!”

“Better to shoot for silver than shoot with silver,” They mumbled under Their breath. “Wait, why? I mean, you’re still a top competitor, why not go all the way for gold?”

“There’s a whole psychological thing to silver medal winners, but I’ll spare you the details.”

“Well, spare me for now; I’m interested in hearing more about that some time if you’re open to talking about it!”

“Oh!” Aliizea said with a slightly shocked expression; not expecting Them to be immediately interested in something she held such strong opinions over. “Uh, yeah… remind me when the semester’s over, and I can tell you all about the psychological hell that gymnastics is.” She said, relieved that the sorta-partner (she was still confused about the two’s status, but was slowly growing supportive) of her close childhood friend was more interested in her thoughts than her body. She’d gotten used to people leering at her—which unfortunately included some past partners of friends such as Ophelia—now that she was finally filling out after years of disordered eating. She often found it hard to date because most of the men, and unfortunately some women too, which she went out with liked her primarily—if not solely—for her lithe and almost child-like body; which made her want to gag & hurl any time she thought about it. Something she was familiar with All Too Well. (However was unashamed to talk earnestly & openly about, as she knew it never defined her & allowed others dealing with similar issues to know they weren’t alone.) She briefly wondered if Azuryn had any close friends They’d be interested in introducing her to; she found it hard to believe They’d ever associate with anyone like her past lovers (if you could even call them that).

“Of course! Stop by the cafe sometime and you can tell me all about it; although you’re more than welcome to stop by if you need a place to study or just wanna unwind during the semester. (Knowing this was unlikely to ever happen during the semester, as Their cafe and the University were on near opposite ends of the city. They still wanted to extend the invitation regardless.) If you change your mind, I’ll be more than happy to listen, and if not, I totally respect that decision! Plus, I’ll only charge you half price for your drinks.” They said seriously, but used it as a soft end to their invitation.

“I’ll think about it.” She said with a titter. “But seriously, even if it got wrapped around a tree, it was a godsend of a Getaway Car for me from that nightmare. The cherry on top of that shit-sundae was the coach.” She paused as she felt her skin crawl in all the worst ways. “May that fucker rot in hell.” There was a silence at the table as she rarely opened up about the Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, among other issues, she still faced from all of it. “Fuck… sorry guys, I’m doing it again, aren’t I?” She asked as she began to rub her temples.

“Hey, no, it’s okay. I think I speak for everyone when I say we’re just glad you’re here with us, Alii.” To which everyone nodded their heads warmly in agreement. “It’s okay if you gotta let it out or talk about it every so often. If I may ask, how’re your sessions with your therapist going?” She asked while gently rubbing Aliizea’s back.

“Y-yeah, you know you can always ask, Zeff. They’re good; we’re gonna start trying hypnotherapy to work on the roadblocks I’ve been dealing with… wait, I’m not trauma dumping on all y’all am I?”

“No!” The other four reassured her in unprompted unison, something which made the group—but especially Aliizea—break out into a few solid minutes of hearty laughter before subsiding.

“Th-thank you, Zeff,” Aliizea said with a few tears in her eyes but a smile on her face.

“Any time, Alii.” Zeffita said, returning the smile.

Stoic as always, Zeffita tended to be the group’s vent-friend; something which Ophelia very often utilized & very often feared would push Zeffita away. In actuality—as Zeffita consistently reassured her—it did the opposite, as she was in turn one of the only people to ever bare witness to Zeffita opening up.

This thought occurred to Ophelia as she watched her closest friend console her oldest friend. As she did, she began to realize that the way she held the hands of the two people closest to her (the seating had been intentional, after all) filled her with a warmth she’d nearly forgotten existed. It’d taken her a moment—while staring off into nowhere in particular, maybe a Blank Space on the wall—but the realization hit her hard in the most peaceful way possible; it became obvious to her what the warmth she was feeling was.

Home.

Family.

Belonging.

So many things she “knew” she’d felt over the past decade, but not to this level of intensity. Sexual, Romantic, Platonic, Aesthetic; in a way, they were all different layers that’d been stripped in that moment until she’d gotten to the very core of what she was feeling.

Love.

Being Loved.

Loving who she wanted.

Loving how she wanted: Unapologetically.

Everyone around the table sat in her collage of love; so many different feelings for so many different people, each one enhancing the others in a unique way. The two on each side unarguably the strongest amplifiers for her love of the rest.

Even the ones currently unable to be at her table.

Even the ones she hadn’t invited to her table.

Even the one she didn’t invite anymore.

She couldn’t invite anymore.

Despite her best efforts.

The hours seemed to sneak up on the group, everyone now with a full stomach and lifted spirits. (“Let’s lift our spirits by downing some,” Azuryn made the joke at one point during the night, which—to Their pleasure—resulted in the entire table groaning together; They would’ve followed that up with “if we’re groaning together, we’re growing together,” but the ‘I will literally kill you if you don’t stop’ eyes—with a slight twitch that They somehow found adorable—Ophelia was shooting convinced Them to hold off. After all, she’d even told Them not to back at Their place!) Ophelia hadn’t been the only one stressing over grad school lately, and so the girls-night Azuryn had been invited to—and warmly welcomed into—was a much needed relief for the now much giddier gals. They’d worried They might feel like an outsider—or even worse: an intruder—but at the end of the night, They felt like They were one of them.

“Okay, Okay, that is totally not how it happened!” Daneskaa—slightly drunk but now incredibly social—laughed at Ophelia’s retelling of the horrible blind-double-date the two had gone on together a few years back. “You had the twin with the mole that looked like a stain on his face, I had the one with glasses that made him look like Clark Kent; at least tell it right, fam!” she laughed at the absurdity of it all; in a way, it all seemed so wild—to the point they both couldn’t help questioning if it was real or not—years after the fact, but she couldn’t deny the thrill of it all and how the two enjoyed their shared memories. “Anyways, I gotta take a piss, anyone wanna come help hunt down the bathroom?” she asked with a cute hiccup.

Ophelia was the only one to need to go, confessing that she wanted to fix her makeup—and wanted to fix how the two told their story—and went off to find the elusive lavatory.

A few minutes after the two had left, the remaining three were laughing at what would eventually become an inside joke later down the road. Aliizea, however, now had enough drunken courage to ask a question she’d been dying to ask ever since she’d learned about the intricacies of Azuryn & Ophelia’s past.

“Okay, okay, so wait, I gotta ask.” She leaned forward to Azuryn. “I’m… I’m glad y’all are happy and all that… but don’t you think it was wrong to get involved with her way back when?” She asked, the last of her words coming out in a tipsy murmur.

“Alii!” Zeffita said, shocked at the brazenness of her friend. “That’s like asking Them if They’d somehow had anything to do with Lia breaking up with her ex!”

“Okay, yeah, sure you’re right—lemme… lemme rephrase it—so better yet, would you say you believe you took advantage of her way back when?” Aliizea looked dead straight into Azuryn’s eyes while asking her rephrased question. Now that it was rephrased, it was more than just a reasonable question to want to ask, but a completely understandable one at that; although she should’ve known that asking something so serious—to the point that one could easily interpret its tone for being accusatory—so randomly was bound to throw Them off, making Them at least somewhat disoriented. There was a pause at the table that could’ve made the gentlest breeze sound like thunder in comparison. After another frigid moment, Zeffita began to stutter-stumble into a question.

“That’s still a ridiculous thing to wanna know, I mean what If I were to ask abou—”

“No, it’s okay, Zef,” Azuryn said while sitting up, correcting Their posture as best They could so they could face the difficult question head on & truthfully. “I mean, you’re not wrong in that it can initially feel a little ridiculous, but I actually appreciate you asking it, Alii.”

“Wait, you do!?” They both asked.

“I mean, yeah. Y’all’re some of her closest friends. Please, drill me and take me apart, I don’t just want y’all to know for sure or not if I’m good for Lia, but I need to know too.” Zeffita and Aliizea looked quizically at Azuryn. “Like I said earlier: my memory has been shit up until recently, so asking something like that maybe isn’t the best immediate move—and I can only begin to imagine the RIDICULOUS kind of response(s) I’d give if I’d somehow fallen off of my meds; although that’d be on me 100%—but it’s still a question that deserves to be answered nonetheless.”

“And…” Zeffita paused to look away for a second, feeling vaguely-wrong but also extremely justified in her need to know. “That answer would be?” she asked—intensely intrigued—wanting the REAL answer. “I guess we should apologize for putting you on the spot like this, but now I feel like I NEED to know.” Zeffita admitted as her eyes darted from Aliizea’s to Azuryn’s and back.

“I… don’t know. Ophelia and I have had similar conversations over the past month and whereas all she’ll tell me is ‘what’s done is done,’ I still worry about it & the harm I’ve possibly caused her. And when I say I worry about it, I mean a lot; like ‘I’ve worried almost every day for years now’ a lot. I want to say I don’t know, but that’s not an answer. And a part of me wants to say no like a defensive and deflective coward. But honestly, my biggest fear is the possibility that I did—regardless of if it was ever my intention, which THAT I know for certain it was not—so… let’s just say that yes, I do believe I did, if that all makes sense? It hurts to think about, but ultimately it doesn’t matter how much it eats me up inside, what matters most is how it’s effected her in the long run. Which I want to know so that I can do my part to help heal the pain she might not let on about.” They let out a loud sigh as They fell back into Their chair. “As a little background, I started studying psychology years ago to not only understand myself better, but to better understand her & what I could do to be there for her.”

“But she has a therapist?” Zeffita said with more of a statement than a question; cold but still caring. “And, uh, you could probably use one too. No offense.”

“I don’t want to be her therapist; therapy involves a lot of different things that I don’t know I’d ever be qualified to do. I just want to be a place where she can feel at ease. Where she’s most at peace with herself, and feels like she can do anything she sets her mind to. I want to be a lighthouse in the dense and dangerous fog of life. I want to be her home. I think I always will. No, I know it!” There was a deafening silence emanating from the two across from Them. “Oh, and none taken! I actually appreciate the sentiment & have my own. But, uh, who do you think pushed her to see a therapist in the first place?” They slightly laughed at the half-truth. Their intentions were absolutely as pure-as-possible as Their soiled-soul would allow: at the very beginning of everything, They’d wanted her to be able to defend & distance herself from, but more importantly: build healthy boundaries with, those in her life (specifically so that she’d be able to keep them all in her life). And that was something They knew—deep down somewhere in the chasm between Their conscious and unconscious mind—had a likelihood of including Themself one day; even if They hadn’t hurt her, They’d still want her to reap the benefits of her sessions.

Almost palpable, the pause in that moment was as pregnant as Ophelia wanted to be.

“I don’t know what kind of answer you were looking for, but if I haven’t convinced you of my conviction, then let me prove it. Be as scrutinizing as need be. Do whatever You need to know She’s safe with me. If there’s anyone I’d want most to do it, it’d be You. You know Her best, so You’d have the best chance of seeing if anything were aloof with Her. After all, You see & interact with Her much more often than I do.” They said as They looked at the two of them, hoping that their earnest honesty helped smooth over any simmering issues.

“Uh… wow.” Was all Aliizea could say.

“I think I speak for both of us when I say we appreciate it, Ryn… is it okay if we use that name?”

“It’s what my closest friends do, so I’d be honored.” They said with a genuine smile.

“Damn.” Aliizea said as she rubbed the back of her neck. “Now I feel like an asshole, especially for wanting to follow that up with asking if you ever cheated on her.” All Azuryn could do was laugh.

“Sorry, I’m not laughing at you, it’s just… it’s not a bad thing to want to know that either; I again appreciate you being upfront. But asking so suddenly? And especially after an even more invasive—and let’s be real: accusatory feeling—question? That could make the best of us feel uncomfortable, and unintentionally answer in a way we don’t really mean to. But hey, asking that in person takes a LOT of courage; hell, I wouldn’t blame you if you’d even texted me that.” They again leaned forward. “But to answer your question: no! Anyone dumb enough to cheat on someone like her is a massive fucking idiot who doesn’t realize what they’re squandering by doing so. And in that regard, it’s probably for the best that they lose her because there’s no way they could possibly deserve someone as awesome as her in their life. Sorry if that was a little intense, but tell me I’m wrong.” They looked at the two of them. “Wait, has she been cheated on!?” The two friends looked at each other, unsure of what to say. “What dumb fucking imbecile did that?” Their eyes began to turn black as the night outside the rooftop restaurant. The two took a deep breath and sighed out in unison.

“Her ex.” They said together.

“I hope I never meet that sack of shit. Ever. Or else I’m gonna rip his throat out.” An uncharacteristic omment on Their part, Their eyes hadn’t even fully transmogrified over to black before they started shifting to a searing hot red no one—not Them and definitely not Ophelia—had ever seen before. The two of them were slightly concerned, not for themselves or Azuryn, but the dumb-ass(es?) that hurt their friend. They could’ve sworn they heard Them snarl as Their teeth started jutting further out, jagged as a shark’s; unsure what to make of what was going on.

“Sorry that took so long,” Ophelia said, her makeup looking cute but far from being refreshed—the opposite really—as she put a hand on Azuryn’s shoulder, “How’s everything been?” She asked, looking over to her two seated friends. The frozen look of terror on their faces shocked her for a second, but told her all she needed to know. She looked at Azuryn’s pointed ears, leaned down to be level with them, and whispered in a sincere, sensual, and most importantly: commanding tone.

“Be a good pet and calm yourself down for me.” To which she could practically feel the steam rushing out of Them as Their primal—borderline predatorial—rage relinquished its hold on Them.

“Thank you, Love.” Was all They could say as They let out a huge sigh.

Unsure of everything that’d just happened in the last few minutes, Aliizea & Zeffita agreed that they were never drinking that much EVER again, no matter how much honesty it rewarded them with.

The full moon shone brightly overhead as Aliizea and Zeffita got into their shared taxi; one of the advantages of being roommates was that they rarely needed separate transportation when going out. Daneskaa’s Uber was only a minute or so away as Ophelia whispered something into her ear, and let show a fanged smirk as she shot Azuryn a smoldering look. Daneskaa nodded her head, and walked the few feet over to Azuryn; They’d extended Their hand out in a confused but welcoming gesture, however she suddenly threw her arms around Them and whispered in Their ear.

“Thank you for putting up with my silly questioning earlier…” Before They could respond, she finished her statement, “Sir.” To which she then kissed Them on the cheek, let go, and walked back over to Ophelia.

Ophelia lightly grabbed Daneskaa’s chin, and pushed it a little bit higher so as to stare into her eyes. As the girl’s ride pulled up, Ophelia leaned in and kissed Daneskaa on the lips. Azuryn could see the blush easily forming on the Enchanted girl’s cheeks as the pair’s lips parted, and could’ve sworn They heard her moan a ‘Thank you Mistress,’ before Ophelia fully pulled away and simply said.

“It’s my pleasure.” With an infectious smile. Azuryn literally couldn’t tell why They were also smiling.

“And it always will be.” The cute but quiet girl said in a breathy voice. She too donned that silly smile; turning to enter her ride, she gave a wink and a wave to Azuryn as she shut the door & departed.

“I am sooo confused,” was all Azuryn could say as Ophelia walked up and got inappropriately—at least while in public—close to Them.

“Don’t worry that pretty little head of yours… Pet” The last word said with a sensual whisper as she grabbed Their hair. But just as soon as She’d flipped Their Switch, She was back to her playful and casual self. “So! Would you like to walk me home?”

The smartass They were, if They were any bit more composed They would’ve made a terrible joke about “Pet” and “taking a walk” and asking if she wanted to go to the park. Despite the fact that the two had already done that during the day: relaxing by the water on a bench, each posting separate stories to their social medias at the same time; never including the other in their own, they would post nearly identical pictures of the places they went, with captions that subtly referenced the other’s so as to not give it away that the two were together. Out of all the “naughtiest” games the two loved to play, this by far took the cake. A level of emotional exhibitionism/voyeurism that filled the two with immaculate glee better than any post-orgasm high could ever offer. (Of course, the two were also intimately familiar with that sensation as well.)

“Uh… uh, yeah! Yes!” They said as They regained Their composure. She giggled at Their flusteredness as They literally shook Their head to try and come back to Their full senses.

“You’re adorable!” Was all she could say, one hand on Their cheek and a giddy smile on her face.

“Guilty as charged.” They returned her smile in tandem. Ophelia’s hand dropped down to hold Theirs, and the two began walking the few blocks to her humbly frugal one bedroom apartment.

No matter how much she’d begged over the past month, They were insistent that she MUST have her own space for the remainder of her education. They didn’t let on much, but They told her that once she’d graduated, and her lease was up, she could sign a new contract with Them. They told her that, and not a word more; despite the fact that she understood the multiplicity of meanings for that single word.)

“So what’d you think of everyone?”

“Can I ask what they thought of me first?”

“No! They obviously all like you, ya goof,” She said while playfully bumping into Them, “Now come on, tell me your thoughts.”

“Well, other than that last bit that threw me completely off, I was gonna say They all seem nice.”

“They ARE nice, all of them. Although Daneskaa can also be a bit naughty too.” She laughed under her breath, amused by her own humour.

“Should I even ask about her?”

“You of all people shouldn’t be surprised I have my own little set of helpers. I learned it from you after all.” She said as she turned her head to face Theirs, which was already looking at her quizzically. She gave Them a wink and blew Them a kiss.”

“H-how many?”

“Just two… for now; I only just recently got the confidence to finally ensnare my little songbirds. Although they both had been VERY obviously yearning after me for a long, LONG while, so it seemed mutually beneficial.”

“Uh huh.”

“You’ll meet the other one …eventually. Right now I’ve got school and all that stuff to focus on, right Ryn?” She squeezed Their hand and drew Them closer to her as they walked in the cold night.

“If you say so,” They said with a chuckle, “I’m proud of you.”

“For my toys?”

“No, for your friends.”

“Oh, them too; thank you. I wanna make it absolutely clear that Daneskaa is first and foremost a close friend, and not just some ragdoll or anything like that.”

“I believe you,” They said with a snicker, “although I also believe you might treat her like a ragdoll from time to time.”

“Weeeeeeell,” she rolled her eyes and slightly blushed, “You’re not wrong.”

“Nope, I’m Ryn.”

“Har. Har.”

“But seriously, I’m proud of you for getting out in the world and letting people get to know you. I know that used to terrify you. And even more so, I’m proud of you for the friends you’ve made. They all seem nice; amazing actually, and I’m glad you allowed me to finally meet them.”

“Well of course I would! You deserve to know the people I’m closest with. and the friends you met tonight are probably some of my closest family.”

“Family.” They said with a smile. “Speaking of which, did you do as I asked?”

“...Yeah” Ophelia answered after a short delay.

“Thank you.”

“I don’t understand why I had to do it.”

“Because, Ophelia!” They paused, grabbed her shoulders, and spun her so as to face each other. “Look, I know you don’t want to tell me what all happened,” Ophelia looked to the side as she sighed, “and I’m not going to force it out of you because I want you to fully, willingly share it with me.” She looked into Their eyes. “But I know how much your mother means to you, and I want you to have a healthy relationship with her; regardless of if I’m involved or not!”

“Yeah, but, I mea—“

“Quiet.” She stopped speaking. “Look at me.” She honed into Their eyes with laser focus. “For all I know, your mother still thinks of me as a freak, and that’s something I’ve grown to accept might always be that way. BUT! I still have immense respect for her—don’t let any past mis-phrasings lead you to believe anything else—in almost all other regards. Now, if for some reason your views of your mother ever fully changed, yes I’d revisit my thoughts on her as well. But in the meantime, I’m incredibly grateful for the ways she’s positively impacted your life. I want you to have as healthy a relationship with her as possible… I highly doubt I could ever win her over to seeing me fully as a person, but hey, I don’t fully think of myself as one either, so that’s just one more thing she and I already have in common!” They ended their monologue with a bit of a laugh; which she joined in with.

“You’re ridiculous… and no, don’t say it!”

“Okay, okay. But I fully stand by what I said, and would love for her to get to know me… maybe after I finish getting to know myself again though. I want to make sure you feel as comfortable as possible with the possibility of having both of us in your life; it’s the least you deserve, love.” They said as They pulled her in and kissed her on the forehead.

“Thank you, Ryn. I… that means a lot to me.”

“I know it does. I don’t think I could ever be as wanting of a parent of a partner to know me—let alone those with such questionable views—as much as I want her to know me & me to know her.” All Ophelia could do was smile, and then she realized.

“Wait …partner?”

“It was the best and easiest word that came to mind. If you don’t like, I’ll think of a different one.”

“No no no, I like it. Mmmmmmmmmm, it’s giving me some ideas. Come on!” She said as she grabbed Their wrist and power-walked the last bloc or so until the two arrived at her place. There were actually a few packages waiting for her on her doorstep.

“Huh, what all did you order for yourself?” Azuryn asked as she unlocked the door and threw the packages inside.

“Pffffft, almost none of this is for me. You, on the hand… Oh you’re gonna look DIVINE in everything here.”

“Wha—“

“But most importantly,” She said as she raised one hand up to Their cheek and the other up to Their neck. “You’re going to look so fucking good with your very own collar around that pretty neck of yours.” Azuryn loudly gulped, but in joy.

“Y-yes please.”

“What was that, dear?”

“Yes, please collar me. I can’t think of anyone I’d ever want to be the first to collar me than you. I want to be yours fully—possibly forever… or at least for the foreseeable/imaginable future—Lia. And I doubt there’s anything that could change my mind on the matter & anything I wouldn’t do to earn/show I deserve the right to be yours. I Wanna Be Yours”

“Hmmmmm…” She said as tossed her shoes off. “Well then let’s get these pesky clothes off and see how well everything fits, shall we?” She said as she walked towards her bedroom, a couple packages in hand. “And bring the rest of those, alright?”

“It’ll be my pleasure.” They said as They began to take Their shoes off, grab the rest of her delivery, and joined her in her quaint and cozy bedroom.