u/JessonBI89

For reference, the MMC's line comes from the blurb from {Hero by Lauren Rowe}. I'm looking for an MMC who talks like that and an FMC who just finds it baffling. His intentions are much more romantic than hers, and she finds his grand declarations and gestures way, way, WAY too much. Maybe she's just aggressively practical, maybe she thinks he's putting on an act, maybe she doesn't want to emotionally breastfeed him. Whatever it is, she has to tell him to dial it back. No FMC trauma.

No fake relationships, please.

When this type of ex appears, usually (a) he's cartoonishly evil or (b) she's too weak to tell him where to go and turns to the MMC to do it, either with a threat or by pretending to be her boyfriend. I'm looking for a scene where the FMC tells her ex that he has zero chance because of all the many, many reasons he sucks. I want her words to make the ex feel like the worm feces he is, and I want the MMC to be impressed and a little turned on. Better if this happens in public so there's an audience to cheer her on. Ideally no physical contact or tossed beverages, not even shouting, just even-toned promo cutting. From there, if the ex appears in the story again at all, he's eaten a lot of crow and won't bother her any further.

(By the way, I know y'all enjoy my little samples, so I'd be happy to write one of these for inspo.)

Just to mix it up. I want to know she's accepting the MMC because he adds to her already full life, not because he fills a void. She's a busy person who's used to doing it all herself and takes a lot of pride in it. Her day-to-day activities tend to be solitary, but she likes it that way. She doesn't hate or resent men, not even if past relationships haven't worked out. She should have at least a semi-active sex life, although it's not a real priority, just something she enjoys when the mood strikes. She's not against the possibility of love, but she's not pursuing or pining or even fantasizing about it. Her family and friends might insist that she needs to find someone, but she can't see what the fuss is about. At no point does she express loneliness, not even to herself. It's just not a feeling she experiences.

The MMC's challenge is to make her choose him on her terms, because nobody else's terms matter to her. No bets, no dares, no fake relationships, no arrangements, no power imbalances, and no single parents, please.

Basically, this:

MMC: "Your father put you up as collateral in case he couldn't pay back his debts. Now you must marry me."

FMC: "Why?"

MMC: "...What do you mean, why? It's in writing. You have no choice." (shows her a contract) "See?"

FMC: (reads it, tears it up)

MMC: "What the fuck?! That's a binding contract!"

FMC: "Not for me. I'm not bound by a contract to which I wasn't a party."

MMC: "Yes, you are! Your father even signed it in a solution of your mother's menstrual blood and the liquefied vomit of a magical space unicorn!"

FMC: "Okay, first of all, ew. Second of all, the fact that I never signed anything already rendered this thing null and void. Third of all, even if it hadn't, the attempt to compel me into marriage would have. And, finally, even if it were legally enforceable, what were you gonna do? Sue me for breach of contract? Expose your whole thing in front of a room full of lawyers?"

MMC: "THE MAGICAL SPACE UNICORN WAS NAMED BUCKY!"

FMC: "Cute, but still no. Are we done here?"

MMC: "NO! No, we're not!" (holds a gun to her father's head) "Marry me or he dies!"

FMC: (shrugs) "Go ahead. He might have sucked at selling me out, but he sure gave it a try. I don't need to care what happens to him anymore. Hell, give ME the gun. I'll do it myself. Also, you just admitted that you have to resort to blackmail because your contract isn't actually worth shit."

MMC: "But I've been secretly lusting after you for years! I'd want to marry you regardless!"

FMC: "Amazingly, that doesn't make any of what just happened better."

MMC: (sighs) "All right. You leave me no choice." (walks over and looms over her)

FMC: "Um, what are you doing?"

MMC: "I am making you wet and pliable by summoning the power of dominant alpha hotness."

FMC: "Your tie is in your zipper."

MMC: "Motherf--" (fixes it) "Okay, now."

FMC: (waits) "Yeah, I'm drier than Death Valley right now. I'm leaving."

MMC: "Not unless Frankie over by the door stops you."

FMC: (not even turning around) "Hey, Frankie, there's some nice gabagool in the kitchen."

FRANKIE: "Gabagool?!" (runs out)

FMC: "Anything else?"

MMC: "Student loans."

FMC: "Fully funded 529."

MMC: "Fleabag apartment."

FMC: "No, it's pretty clean."

MMC: "Unfulfilled dream of opening a bakery."

FMC: "Why would I want to get up that early every day?"

MMC: "THIS. NECKLACE."

FMC: "I hate peridots."

MMC: (defeated) "Can I offer you a ride on Bucky?"

FMC: "Not if he's still vomiting. See ya."

I can't remember the name, but I remember that the colors had names like Strawberry and Cotton Candy and Bubble Gum, which the program spoke aloud in a very childish voice, and it was pre-loaded with scenes and drag-and-drop clipart of animals and other objects. It also had some kind of functionality where you could type in narration and create story pages. Very similar to Storybook Weaver, but I don't think it actually was Storybook Weaver. They had it on the PCs in the kids section at Chapters when it first opened in the mid- to late 90s.

(If this isn't the best sub to ask in, please point me in the direction of a better one!)

There are a LOT of books these days that open with a job interview. If the MMC puts the moves on the FMC in this moment, she typically gives in immediately or exits on a more ambiguous yet deeply affected note. I'm looking for an FMC who gets angry and decides she doesn't want the job if the working conditions are going to be like this. She then verbally withdraws her candidacy and walks out of the office without being dismissed. If she does end up working for him later, it'll only be after he eats a LOT of crow and commits to better behavior. The more alpha/Dominant his initial attempt is, the better. Professor/student relationships with moments like this are also acceptable. No fake relationships, "full service" arrangements, or FMC financial crises, please.