![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
beansideVerse: Captive Hearts
Title: The Wedding Drag
Authors:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
beanside and nilchance
Rating: R (and C for crack)
Pairing: Jeff/Jensen
Summary: Arranged Marriage! In Space! With Aliens!
Disclaimer: Never happened, never will. Total fiction.
Note: as suggested by the awesome [info]gblvr for the Egyptian words, just hover your cursor over for the translation.
Banner by the awesomely awesomeangstpuppy
Jensen was a little horrified at how quickly things were accomplished. Apparently, his father had been planning this for a while, judging by the terrifyingly large trousseau he had ready for Jensen. All women's clothes, of course. By "go pack" his father meant "go weed out anything that could show that you're a boy."
His father oversaw his transformation at the hands of a herd of old women. They reminded Jensen of nothing so much as a flock of clucking fussy chickens. First was the depilation. They didn't stop at his (admittedly scraggly) beard, no. By the time they were finished everything from the mustache down was permanently hairless. Then the tattoo wand came out. It was law that no one could go into the Great Hewet with artifice of any kind. Women had stretched the interpretation to allow for tattooed cosmetics.
His father put a stop to it before his cheeks were permanently pinked, but the khol smudged eyes were there to stay.
Later came the corset. Before long, he understood why his mother passed out at the slightest provocation. It felt like he was constantly one breath away from dropping into his own swoon. His ribs ached, his back hurt, but according to the women, his posture was phenomenal.
If he'd been able to take a deep breath, he would have told her what she could do with her posture. Unfortunately, she was too busy shoving a pair of fake breasts into the top of the corset to notice his wheezed curses. It was three hours before he was left alone again. When he looked in the mirror, a stranger looked back. Under the tattoos, his eyes looked an even brighter green. The veil that covered the lower half of his face gave him an air of mystery, and the thick honey colored wig completed the illusion.
He looked like a woman. Worse yet, he looked like the kind of woman Jared would hit on.
The thought of Jared made his throat tighten. His father had taken the communicator from his room, but he'd underestimated the levels that Jensen and Jared had gone to to contact each other years ago, when their parents had deemed the other an 'unsuitable' playmate.
He dug out his old binary radio and sent Jared a quick text. "parents going to marry me off to old man. wedding on shulian in 2 months. will miss my best friend. love you, jen."
There was no answer, but he hadn't expected one. It had been forever since they had needed to use the binary. He might not think to check it for weeks, if ever. Hopefully, he would look eventually, because Jensen had no illusions that his family would let Jared know where he'd gone.
He wouldn't be home. He'd lived in Set'et his whole life, the great stretch of its seas under his window, the glare of the sun off the water. The smell of earth and salt, fighting with Jared in the tundras of mud, seeing the moons reflected back at night... Even the planet's temperamental storms, he'd miss.
It didn't matter. He couldn't stay.
*****
The trip to Shulian was monotonous, but uneventful. For whatever reason, his father assigned Jensen his own quarters on the space cruiser. Maybe to avoid looking like a sick bastard who slept in a bed with his own daughter. Already there had been men in the corridors glowering at his father because they'd seen him elbow Jensen or smack him to keep him in line.
Funny how things changed when one had tits to show off.
Jensen took the inch of freedom and turned it into a mile; they couldn't reach him in his quarters, and he didn't have to leave to deal with them. He could be alone without the damn itchy wig or the bruising corset. He didn't have books, but he managed to sleep. The "wonders of space travel" were apparently reserved for taking off (nauseating), landing (same), and a magnificent view of Set'et fading away behind them.
Yeah. Jensen slept to avoid seeing it, to avoid thinking of the punishment that waited once he got out of this quarter, to avoid wondering what his old bastard fiance would do if he got caught before the necessary 24 hours for a marriage to be unbreakable had passed. Jensen had come up with some suitably awful ideas (hanging, tarring, castration) in the time it took for them to arrive.
Alone, he could pretend he wasn't afraid.
*****
Shulian, world-city of lights.
The meeting place decided upon by Morgan's people was gratuitously lovely. Everything was hand-crafted in the ways of Shulian's artisan class: lush fabrics, warm colors, the lingering scent of turpentine. The seats hugged Jensen's back and sides, arching to meet the contours of his body, alive enough to be unnerving. The room gave them a sweeping view of the streets below, blocks and blocks of houses, unsleeping and merciless.
Jensen wondered if the room was meant to remind his parents of true class, and why they'd always fail to attain it. Damned Families and their unfailing talent at knifing the poor in the back--
His father elbowed him in the side, hard enough that he grunted in pain. "Straighten up."
Exhaling low, Jensen drew his shoulders back. It made the fake breasts swell under the modest cut of the dress, and he wished like hell that he'd never had to worry about things like that.
"You will not embarrass me," his father said, a core of violence beneath the simple words.
"Yes," Jensen said. "Sir. How am I supposed to talk without him noticing--"
"Whisper," his mother suggested, "or do not speak at all. A woman's best charm is her beauty, not her wit."
Chewing on the inside of his cheek, Jensen held his tongue before he could note that it was obvious.
The door folded smoothly open, thin as paper and whispering like steel. The woman who stepped through them was dressed in the Sekh style: high collar to a low cut shirt, her corn-blond hair braided with red ribbon and bells for her of her spouses. Two copper bells for two other wives and two silver bells for two husbands. She wore slacks, and Jensen felt his mother stiffen with disapproval.
Closing the doors behind her, the woman looked first at Jensen. She took him in with such frankness that Jensen thought for a moment that it was over, he'd been found out. Then the woman settled onto one of the chairs, leaning her elbows on her knees. "Greetings and good health."
"And to you," Jensen's father said. "Where is your husband?"
The woman's eyes ticked to him, considering. "I'm not sure, exactly, but he won't be coming. My name is Ever." To Jensen's mother, she said, "And yours?"
His father cut in. "Isn't the head of the home meant to do this?"
"She is," Ever said bluntly. "Hello. I was asking your wife her name."
"Mariah," his father said. "And I am Jonas. We have come to offer our first-born to your master."
"Hm," Ever said. "And now I'll ask your daughter to say her own name, thank you."
"Jen," Jensen whispered, before the tension in the room could get thicker.
Ever turned those cutting blue eyes back to Jensen, and her mouth quirked. "Do you like dogs?"
"I'm sorry," Jensen's mother said, and so much for waiting to be spoken to, "but what does this have to do with marriage?"
"Jeff Morgan has a dog, mother," Ever explained, lightly enough, but the slight tilt of her head said that she was beginning to dislike this interview. "Do you like dogs, Jen?"
"Yes," Jensen said, a little desperately. His head spun; he hadn't eaten, and choices yawned in front of him. He could sabotage the interview, go back home, but there'd be punishment waiting, his father's rage. He could coax this Morgan into marriage, get the license and then run into the streets. The world-city was big enough, he could hide, he could go onto a freight and be universes away before they realized he'd run, he could...
"Jen?" Ever said patiently. Judging by the look his father was shooting at him, it wasn't the first time she'd called his name.
He cleared his throat delicately. "I'm sorry. Could you repeat that?"
"Did you have a good trip?"
"Yes, Seba," Jensen whispered. "Aside from this cold, it was very..." He cast about for a non inflammatory word.
"Boring? And please, call me Ever. I'm Sekh by birth. My husband Jeremy is Shulian. Your future husband's best friend."
Jensen nodded. "Thank you, niweh-sister." World-sister. It was presumptuous as hell, and he felt his father's elbow land the moment it was out of his mouth, but something about Ever made him comfortable.
Her mouth twisted, and Jensen felt his heart hammer in his chest.
"Father!" Ever hissed. "I don't know how things are done on Set'et, but here, we believe that no parent has the right to strike their children."
His father tightened. Jensen thought he would punch Ever, but instead, he forced a simpering smile. "My apologies, Ever."
"To you, that is Seba Carradine-Sisto-Shu. And now, you must leave."
Jensen started to come to his feet, and Ever shook her head. "Not you."
"Why?" his father blustered. "She is my daughter."
"It is customary for the groom, or his representative, to inspect the bride before the wedding. That was why Jeff chose to send me. Less traumatic for Jen." Ever narrowed her eyes. "Out now, please."
Jensen's father drew himself to his full height, but Ever still looked dangerous beside him, a stiletto against a bull. Maybe Jensen's mother saw it, because she gripped her husband's arm and drew him back.
"I will not be insulted without reply," his father said, and left the room with his wife in tow. The doors snapped shut behind him.
"Meh," Ever said, with such disdain that Jensen had the hysterical urge to laugh. Then her attention returned to him, and any voice froze in his throat. "Now you, you're interesting. Very interesting." Ever rose in one graceful motion. "Shall I see what Jeff has bought?"
Jensen hitched in one breath, a second, and couldn't get a third. His chest was moving, air was flowing, but he couldn't breathe. He clutched at the laces to the corset, trying pull them apart, to let more air in.
"Enough, don't panic. Here." Ever caught the knot of the corset and loosened the stays, letting them trail loose down Jensen's back as he wheezed. For a moment, all Jensen cared about was the sweet air, but he felt the prosthetic breasts sliding. He grabbed at his chest, trying to make it look like modesty, and Ever snorted. "Corsets. I always hated those barbaric things. Abuse of the female assets. There's nothing wrong with a bit of curve. Can you breathe now?"
Jensen nodded, scrambling for something to say. He had no excuse to whisper now, and his falsetto was ridiculous. He settled on a hoarse breathiness that could be mistaken for laryngitis. "I won't let you see me naked."
"Pft. That was an excuse to get your parents out of the room." Swatting at the corset strings like a cat, Ever sniffed and returned to her own chair. "Mostly. Though I wouldn't mind a look."
Jensen straightened carefully, still holding himself in. Curiosity made him ask, "You're gay?"
"I'm just not particular. I'm going to make you an offer, Jen." Her eyes flicked to Jensen's legs, and he remembered too late to hold them together. She smirked. "Between niweh-sisters. You want to escape your parents, and I don't blame you."
"I don't--" The lie caught in Jensen's throat. He shut up, nervously winding the wig between his fingers.
"Yes," Ever said. "And Mr. Morgan needs a spouse before he turns 42. We all need to dodge the loving Pesedjet. So if you go with this farce of a wedding, it'll be mutually convenient. You'll be free from them, they'll stop hovering over you, and Jeff won't go into Pesedjet custody. You'll live in the lap of luxury in a city that can give you nearly everything you want."
A chill prickled along the nape of Jensen's sweating neck. "And if I don't?"
"Then I pretend you bolted. I can give you a few minutes to get to the street. They probably won't find you." Ever shrugged. "Jeff is my friend, and he's a good man. He'll find other opportunities. He wouldn't want you trapped. It's not as good an offer as the first, but it's something."
Jensen stared at her. Do you know?, he thought, are you offering to play out a lie?, but nothing in her expression gave him a solid answer.
He had no money, no other clothes, and no knowledge of the city. He might make his way, or he might get eaten alive. He didn't know.
"Jen," Ever said, a quiet warning. "I can only inspect you so long."
"What will you tell him if I say yes?" Jensen asked. "You didn't--"
"I'll tell him that you were fitting."
The world-city was so huge and so dark. He didn't know.
Finally, Jensen exhaled and told her, "Help me tighten the stays again." It was as close to a 'yes' as he could say.
Ever smiled.
Title: The Wedding Drag
Authors:
beanside and nilchanceRating: R (and C for crack)
Pairing: Jeff/Jensen
Summary: Arranged Marriage! In Space! With Aliens!
Disclaimer: Never happened, never will. Total fiction.
Note: as suggested by the awesome [info]gblvr for the Egyptian words, just hover your cursor over for the translation.
Banner by the awesomely awesome
angstpuppyJensen was a little horrified at how quickly things were accomplished. Apparently, his father had been planning this for a while, judging by the terrifyingly large trousseau he had ready for Jensen. All women's clothes, of course. By "go pack" his father meant "go weed out anything that could show that you're a boy."
His father oversaw his transformation at the hands of a herd of old women. They reminded Jensen of nothing so much as a flock of clucking fussy chickens. First was the depilation. They didn't stop at his (admittedly scraggly) beard, no. By the time they were finished everything from the mustache down was permanently hairless. Then the tattoo wand came out. It was law that no one could go into the Great Hewet with artifice of any kind. Women had stretched the interpretation to allow for tattooed cosmetics.
His father put a stop to it before his cheeks were permanently pinked, but the khol smudged eyes were there to stay.
Later came the corset. Before long, he understood why his mother passed out at the slightest provocation. It felt like he was constantly one breath away from dropping into his own swoon. His ribs ached, his back hurt, but according to the women, his posture was phenomenal.
If he'd been able to take a deep breath, he would have told her what she could do with her posture. Unfortunately, she was too busy shoving a pair of fake breasts into the top of the corset to notice his wheezed curses. It was three hours before he was left alone again. When he looked in the mirror, a stranger looked back. Under the tattoos, his eyes looked an even brighter green. The veil that covered the lower half of his face gave him an air of mystery, and the thick honey colored wig completed the illusion.
He looked like a woman. Worse yet, he looked like the kind of woman Jared would hit on.
The thought of Jared made his throat tighten. His father had taken the communicator from his room, but he'd underestimated the levels that Jensen and Jared had gone to to contact each other years ago, when their parents had deemed the other an 'unsuitable' playmate.
He dug out his old binary radio and sent Jared a quick text. "parents going to marry me off to old man. wedding on shulian in 2 months. will miss my best friend. love you, jen."
There was no answer, but he hadn't expected one. It had been forever since they had needed to use the binary. He might not think to check it for weeks, if ever. Hopefully, he would look eventually, because Jensen had no illusions that his family would let Jared know where he'd gone.
He wouldn't be home. He'd lived in Set'et his whole life, the great stretch of its seas under his window, the glare of the sun off the water. The smell of earth and salt, fighting with Jared in the tundras of mud, seeing the moons reflected back at night... Even the planet's temperamental storms, he'd miss.
It didn't matter. He couldn't stay.
*****
The trip to Shulian was monotonous, but uneventful. For whatever reason, his father assigned Jensen his own quarters on the space cruiser. Maybe to avoid looking like a sick bastard who slept in a bed with his own daughter. Already there had been men in the corridors glowering at his father because they'd seen him elbow Jensen or smack him to keep him in line.
Funny how things changed when one had tits to show off.
Jensen took the inch of freedom and turned it into a mile; they couldn't reach him in his quarters, and he didn't have to leave to deal with them. He could be alone without the damn itchy wig or the bruising corset. He didn't have books, but he managed to sleep. The "wonders of space travel" were apparently reserved for taking off (nauseating), landing (same), and a magnificent view of Set'et fading away behind them.
Yeah. Jensen slept to avoid seeing it, to avoid thinking of the punishment that waited once he got out of this quarter, to avoid wondering what his old bastard fiance would do if he got caught before the necessary 24 hours for a marriage to be unbreakable had passed. Jensen had come up with some suitably awful ideas (hanging, tarring, castration) in the time it took for them to arrive.
Alone, he could pretend he wasn't afraid.
*****
Shulian, world-city of lights.
The meeting place decided upon by Morgan's people was gratuitously lovely. Everything was hand-crafted in the ways of Shulian's artisan class: lush fabrics, warm colors, the lingering scent of turpentine. The seats hugged Jensen's back and sides, arching to meet the contours of his body, alive enough to be unnerving. The room gave them a sweeping view of the streets below, blocks and blocks of houses, unsleeping and merciless.
Jensen wondered if the room was meant to remind his parents of true class, and why they'd always fail to attain it. Damned Families and their unfailing talent at knifing the poor in the back--
His father elbowed him in the side, hard enough that he grunted in pain. "Straighten up."
Exhaling low, Jensen drew his shoulders back. It made the fake breasts swell under the modest cut of the dress, and he wished like hell that he'd never had to worry about things like that.
"You will not embarrass me," his father said, a core of violence beneath the simple words.
"Yes," Jensen said. "Sir. How am I supposed to talk without him noticing--"
"Whisper," his mother suggested, "or do not speak at all. A woman's best charm is her beauty, not her wit."
Chewing on the inside of his cheek, Jensen held his tongue before he could note that it was obvious.
The door folded smoothly open, thin as paper and whispering like steel. The woman who stepped through them was dressed in the Sekh style: high collar to a low cut shirt, her corn-blond hair braided with red ribbon and bells for her of her spouses. Two copper bells for two other wives and two silver bells for two husbands. She wore slacks, and Jensen felt his mother stiffen with disapproval.
Closing the doors behind her, the woman looked first at Jensen. She took him in with such frankness that Jensen thought for a moment that it was over, he'd been found out. Then the woman settled onto one of the chairs, leaning her elbows on her knees. "Greetings and good health."
"And to you," Jensen's father said. "Where is your husband?"
The woman's eyes ticked to him, considering. "I'm not sure, exactly, but he won't be coming. My name is Ever." To Jensen's mother, she said, "And yours?"
His father cut in. "Isn't the head of the home meant to do this?"
"She is," Ever said bluntly. "Hello. I was asking your wife her name."
"Mariah," his father said. "And I am Jonas. We have come to offer our first-born to your master."
"Hm," Ever said. "And now I'll ask your daughter to say her own name, thank you."
"Jen," Jensen whispered, before the tension in the room could get thicker.
Ever turned those cutting blue eyes back to Jensen, and her mouth quirked. "Do you like dogs?"
"I'm sorry," Jensen's mother said, and so much for waiting to be spoken to, "but what does this have to do with marriage?"
"Jeff Morgan has a dog, mother," Ever explained, lightly enough, but the slight tilt of her head said that she was beginning to dislike this interview. "Do you like dogs, Jen?"
"Yes," Jensen said, a little desperately. His head spun; he hadn't eaten, and choices yawned in front of him. He could sabotage the interview, go back home, but there'd be punishment waiting, his father's rage. He could coax this Morgan into marriage, get the license and then run into the streets. The world-city was big enough, he could hide, he could go onto a freight and be universes away before they realized he'd run, he could...
"Jen?" Ever said patiently. Judging by the look his father was shooting at him, it wasn't the first time she'd called his name.
He cleared his throat delicately. "I'm sorry. Could you repeat that?"
"Did you have a good trip?"
"Yes, Seba," Jensen whispered. "Aside from this cold, it was very..." He cast about for a non inflammatory word.
"Boring? And please, call me Ever. I'm Sekh by birth. My husband Jeremy is Shulian. Your future husband's best friend."
Jensen nodded. "Thank you, niweh-sister." World-sister. It was presumptuous as hell, and he felt his father's elbow land the moment it was out of his mouth, but something about Ever made him comfortable.
Her mouth twisted, and Jensen felt his heart hammer in his chest.
"Father!" Ever hissed. "I don't know how things are done on Set'et, but here, we believe that no parent has the right to strike their children."
His father tightened. Jensen thought he would punch Ever, but instead, he forced a simpering smile. "My apologies, Ever."
"To you, that is Seba Carradine-Sisto-Shu. And now, you must leave."
Jensen started to come to his feet, and Ever shook her head. "Not you."
"Why?" his father blustered. "She is my daughter."
"It is customary for the groom, or his representative, to inspect the bride before the wedding. That was why Jeff chose to send me. Less traumatic for Jen." Ever narrowed her eyes. "Out now, please."
Jensen's father drew himself to his full height, but Ever still looked dangerous beside him, a stiletto against a bull. Maybe Jensen's mother saw it, because she gripped her husband's arm and drew him back.
"I will not be insulted without reply," his father said, and left the room with his wife in tow. The doors snapped shut behind him.
"Meh," Ever said, with such disdain that Jensen had the hysterical urge to laugh. Then her attention returned to him, and any voice froze in his throat. "Now you, you're interesting. Very interesting." Ever rose in one graceful motion. "Shall I see what Jeff has bought?"
Jensen hitched in one breath, a second, and couldn't get a third. His chest was moving, air was flowing, but he couldn't breathe. He clutched at the laces to the corset, trying pull them apart, to let more air in.
"Enough, don't panic. Here." Ever caught the knot of the corset and loosened the stays, letting them trail loose down Jensen's back as he wheezed. For a moment, all Jensen cared about was the sweet air, but he felt the prosthetic breasts sliding. He grabbed at his chest, trying to make it look like modesty, and Ever snorted. "Corsets. I always hated those barbaric things. Abuse of the female assets. There's nothing wrong with a bit of curve. Can you breathe now?"
Jensen nodded, scrambling for something to say. He had no excuse to whisper now, and his falsetto was ridiculous. He settled on a hoarse breathiness that could be mistaken for laryngitis. "I won't let you see me naked."
"Pft. That was an excuse to get your parents out of the room." Swatting at the corset strings like a cat, Ever sniffed and returned to her own chair. "Mostly. Though I wouldn't mind a look."
Jensen straightened carefully, still holding himself in. Curiosity made him ask, "You're gay?"
"I'm just not particular. I'm going to make you an offer, Jen." Her eyes flicked to Jensen's legs, and he remembered too late to hold them together. She smirked. "Between niweh-sisters. You want to escape your parents, and I don't blame you."
"I don't--" The lie caught in Jensen's throat. He shut up, nervously winding the wig between his fingers.
"Yes," Ever said. "And Mr. Morgan needs a spouse before he turns 42. We all need to dodge the loving Pesedjet. So if you go with this farce of a wedding, it'll be mutually convenient. You'll be free from them, they'll stop hovering over you, and Jeff won't go into Pesedjet custody. You'll live in the lap of luxury in a city that can give you nearly everything you want."
A chill prickled along the nape of Jensen's sweating neck. "And if I don't?"
"Then I pretend you bolted. I can give you a few minutes to get to the street. They probably won't find you." Ever shrugged. "Jeff is my friend, and he's a good man. He'll find other opportunities. He wouldn't want you trapped. It's not as good an offer as the first, but it's something."
Jensen stared at her. Do you know?, he thought, are you offering to play out a lie?, but nothing in her expression gave him a solid answer.
He had no money, no other clothes, and no knowledge of the city. He might make his way, or he might get eaten alive. He didn't know.
"Jen," Ever said, a quiet warning. "I can only inspect you so long."
"What will you tell him if I say yes?" Jensen asked. "You didn't--"
"I'll tell him that you were fitting."
The world-city was so huge and so dark. He didn't know.
Finally, Jensen exhaled and told her, "Help me tighten the stays again." It was as close to a 'yes' as he could say.
Ever smiled.
Tags:
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2009-01-24 12:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-24 01:05 pm (UTC)Ok, I'm hooked....
no subject
Date: 2009-01-27 02:48 pm (UTC)Hee! Thank you!
no subject
Date: 2009-01-24 01:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-27 02:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-24 01:09 pm (UTC)Poor Jen...but then, we know that Jeff is going to be (sooner or later) the perfect partner for him. ;-)
Can't wait for more. It makes me smile. And everyone should smile more.
no subject
Date: 2009-01-27 02:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-24 01:32 pm (UTC)Damn, this is a fine tale.
no subject
Date: 2009-01-27 02:54 pm (UTC)am stunned by how fantastic this is...
Date: 2009-01-24 02:22 pm (UTC)My flights of fancy now anticipate Jared failing to ride to the rescue in time, Jeff pining after him (just a bit; he's awful cute), Jensen being all conflicted because Jeff's a nice guy but one who likewise doesn't need to ever learn about Jonas' deception... and Jared... Jared can fall for Bisou.
And if that doesn't prompt you to write more ASAP so we can all erase that last paragraph from our memories, I don't know what will. (Though I maintain fondness for the Jared-Bisou angle.) Don't hold it against me, I *told* you that the squeeeing was interfering with my brain function. /shakes head in futile attempt to clear it.
Re: am stunned by how fantastic this is...
Date: 2009-01-27 03:07 pm (UTC)*snerk* Theirs is a platonic love.
no subject
Date: 2009-01-24 04:45 pm (UTC)You're the best and this is absolutely hilarious and addictive, just like crack ought to be.
no subject
Date: 2009-01-27 03:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-24 04:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-27 03:22 pm (UTC)*grin*
no subject
Date: 2009-01-24 05:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-27 03:23 pm (UTC)Thank you!
no subject
Date: 2009-01-24 06:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-27 03:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-24 06:24 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-27 03:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-24 06:37 pm (UTC)I heart Ever. Which is kind of astounding, because normally I don't love her in shows. Mostly because of aesthetics. She's to skinny for my taste. But as you two write her, she is indeed a knife to a bull, and it works.
I'm fascinated watching her here because she *clearly* knows what's going on. Ever isn't fooled by the disguise for a minute. What I'm curious to see happen is whether she's motivated as much by trying to challenge the system (Jeff marries Jen, and the rules about first marriages are called into question when the truth is later revealed?) or simply the stray puppy in need factor (because clearly Jensen needs the home he doesn't have from his parents' house here).
I hadn't thought about Jared, mostly because he wasn't in the last bit. Personally, the "unsuitable" playmate bit shoved my brain firmly into Heavenly Creatures territory. I mean, sure, it's possible that that unsuitability was a class issue, since Jensen's parents are clearly fixated on that. But at the same time, I wonder if young Jared was a little too googly eyed at Jensen.
With the set up of the world so far, polyamorous relationships don't seem to be an issue, so I'll be looking forward to the next installments to see if you're headed into Jared/Jensen/Jeff territory, or Jared remains just a childhood friend.
As you know, I'm happy either way. I adore your world building, so I'll go wherever you take us as readers.
Enjoyed this. I look forward to more of this (or Raven, or Retreiver, or Latin in space--which I may be the only person who loves.) I know muses don't behave predictably, but, you know, I'm really enjoying this at present, so if I had to vote, I'd vote for this.
no subject
Date: 2009-01-27 03:45 pm (UTC)*grin* I'm glad you like it so far! I love your feedback. It always makes me thinky.
*nod*
no subject
Date: 2009-01-24 06:50 pm (UTC)OH LORD this is fabulous.
I knew I should have waited for the entire story to finish, because this is going to haunt me until you update.
no subject
Date: 2009-01-24 07:21 pm (UTC)can;t wait to see if ever really knows
no subject
Date: 2009-01-24 09:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-24 09:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-24 11:26 pm (UTC)Can't wait to see what happens!! :D
no subject
Date: 2009-01-25 01:12 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-25 04:33 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-25 05:21 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-25 05:46 am (UTC)So much to love... Ever, Jensen in eyeliner, Jensen in drag, arranged marriages, Papa smackdown, and you have barely gotten started!
Can't wait for the first meeting of Jeff and Jen ::grin::
no subject
Date: 2009-01-25 07:05 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-25 07:34 am (UTC)I LOVE THIS. Can't wait to see where you're going with it! :D
no subject
Date: 2009-01-25 12:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-25 02:58 pm (UTC)This proves to be most interesting and that pleases me. *grin*
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Date: 2009-01-26 03:42 am (UTC)Anyways, this is so awesome :) I'm loving the concept of this more and more - can't wait to see what develops!
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Date: 2009-01-26 04:11 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-27 04:45 am (UTC)So Jensen's bookish? That alone would make him suspect to a certain kind of mind! *snorts* And loyal enough to stay in touch with his banned friend, and resourceful enough to find a way to do it, too. \o/
And he and Jared were "unsuitable" playmates? That could be the parents spotting potential sexual trouble (as I doubt either set is all that open-minded, what with the smacking around and social climbing and all); or it could be that socially, both families looked down on each other...or something. I'm betting on the former, though. I wonder, is the disapproval based on the need to reproduce, or religious?
Jensen's family is definitely from a patriarchal planet. If Ever is the "head of household", does that mean it's a matriarchy? Or just that marriage and such are female duties and so would fall under a chosen female representative's responsibility (senior wife of the groom's best friend, like an honorary sister-in-law)? I like the "world-sister" remark, and Jen's feeling comfortable with Ever. :)
I'm not so sure Ever knows his secret. WE know, so it's easy to look for clues that *she* would, but...nobody on the ship spotted him as a fake, and they were around the family longer. Jen's wearing a veil and modest dress, so all Ever's seeing is the leggy slenderness and the gorgeous kohled eyes and the pretty, pretty back...I gotta tell you, my sister is 6'1" and feminine, so the height doesn't mean anything-and look at Gina Davis! If sitting with your legs open in a skirt meant you were a man, I'd have been tapped for one a long time ago, because I'm not good in those things. *rotfl* So...unless they had some reason to really research the family deeply and see birth records or something, I don't see how Ever would look at willowly Jen, with the lovely eyes and flowing locks, all veiled up, and an awkward shyness that still hints at some spirit within, and think "man". But if the marriage is past dissolving after 24 hours, does that mean Jensen will come out as a man? *He* doesn't know Jeff yet...but the longer he waits, the harder it will be to do, when he's ready. I can see potential farce and mis-communication and "but I'm not gay, why am I attracted to him?" and "but I'm gay, why am I attracted to her?" fretting, and what not...and Jared, somehow making his way out there for a threesome? ONE CAN ONLY HOPE!
I do think Ever, or someone, should take Jen in hand and show her the ropes of the new society she'll be living in. Even if Jeff's not a party-hound, she'll still be his wife/hostess and need to know how to conduct herself in his circles-and they know she's from a backwater...it's not fair to fling her in there, unarmed.
Conclusion: Jensen NEEDS to be done up in kohl. I think we are unanimously agreed on that! 0.0
oh, and i'm not entirely convinced those aliens are benevolent. damn high-handed, if you ask me! *glares*
I like this new series very much. Can you tell? ^-^
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Date: 2009-01-27 12:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-28 12:40 am (UTC)