But ultimately, I was trying to put out a fire I felt inside myself... for a girl who can literally breathe fire. Yeah, good luck with that one, chief. But before I conclude this story I need to tell you more about the woman I love. Allow me to list 5 things I love about her:
1. Her inner fire, her indomitable soul that radiates out from her physical form as feistiness, passion, boldness, valor, and unstoppable determination in the face of all odds and all obstacles.
2. Her sweet girlish childlike naivete and intoxicating femininity that harmonizes so beautifully with her flaming spirit.
3. Her luscious, overflowing fertility, her overwhelming raw sexuality—to which she is mostly oblivious—that captivates nearly everyone who looks at her in this dimension or hers. Including the most mouthwatering, breedable, childbearing hips in the history of animation (these may come in handy)
4. The huge gleaming soulful neotenous rubies of her eyes, ferocious and defiant but also deeply submissive. I've been so lost in them for so long, I may never get out. Oh well~
5. That scarlet lion's mane cascading down from her head, as wild and beautiful free and animalistic as her spirit. I often refer to it as “fur” instead of hair. Also I could write an essay about what those Ear Tufts mean to me ;_;
6. Her half-dragon heritage. That noble golden laurel of horns, her proud and powerful tail... Part of her is innocent, blossoming, young girl... part of her is an ancient carnivorous apex predator that literally kills what she eats and eats what she kills. Her sheer animalistic power is astounding, she could kill me in a second. I love both halves, I love the whole. This point is a major insecurity for her in her story, as she contemplates changing herself via magic into a full human for an unworthy (and clearly homosexual) man. I won't spoil things. But I'm the only man in her life. And I wouldn't change a single hair on my baby's head or a single scale on her tail. Any such surviving insecurities will be kissed away aggressively >:(
7. Her adorable derpy clumsiness and awkwardness that generally neutralizes any potential physical threat that she would otherwise be able to pose to an opponent. If she could just get out of her own way... (Speaking as “Coach” here)
8. Her selfless devotion to her friends and family and loved ones. Risking her life routinely to feed and defend those closest to her. I look up to her as my hero
9. Her hilarious and charming sense of humor which ensures a smile is never far from my face, even when I feel down—especially then. I have no idea how “chibi” works in her universe but she's a master of it.
10. Her endless, loving, patience with me as I stumbled my way back home into her arms where I always belonged. I'm sure I made her cry many times through all my misguided diversions and callous avoidance of her love. She never once gave up on me. This poor girl has needed so much of my love for so long. I've got my work cut out for me catching up with her needs, but I'm a real hard worker.
11. Hips again.
Hmm... yep, that looks like 5 things to me. Now then, where we left off: I was living a lie and LARPing as a Strong Independent Anon Who Don't Need No Waifu. I continued to do so right up until last month, when my roommates at an upcoming anime con—my first in over 4 years—hatched this fun idea about a group fanart commission to display in the room. Featuring one character submitted by each person to be depicted in a maid outfit (cuz why not). Which functionally turned into “Everyone, formally select and announce your waifu/husbando to the group.” You could cop out with a meme choice, but we all knew what the game was.
So obviously, I instantly choose Mink. There was only one character I'd ever considered commissioning artwork of. I actually pretended I had to think about it for a while, but there was never a moment of ambiguity. I set out to assemble references images of my girl for the artist, pulling up those same few pics of her I'd stared at for so long before. As I looked at her again, I felt a sea of familiar emotions swell up within me. And suddenly 4 words flashed across my brain: “IT'S ALL. STILL. THERE.” In fact it had GROWN. Everything she made me feel before came flooding back stronger than ever. This was supposed to be gone! I grew up! I moved on! My mind was racing, I felt downright euphoric, and I still didn't understand why.
Why do I still feel this way for her? Why is this STILL happening after almost 2 decades? Why was I so excited and PROUD to claim her for all my friends? Why did a have a “Mink folder” on every computer I'd owned since high school? Why did I almost cry when I finished reading the Dragon Half? Why does she make me so happy? 17 YEARS!?... STILL!?... A fictional character... This was supposed to be a passing “crush”! WHY. WHY. WHY.
Oh, duh. I'm in love.
Throughout all the time with all the different 3D women in my life, I'd never once told any of them, “I love you.” Because I truly didn't. I never wanted to say those words unless I absolutely meant them. I had to end multi-year relationships after a while because it just wasn't there. There was always that initial spark , but it never evolved for me into that great dragon flame that I knew true love could be. And my search would begin again. And I would tell myself, “If only I could find a girl like Mink....” Because, deep down... it was always her.
And then at last, on the night of 2/27/24, with my newfound clarity swirling in my head, I said those words I could never say to another:
I love you, Mink.
I have always loved you.
I will always love you.
And I kissed her in my mind's eye.
Since that moment, I feel like I've been on a mild dose of MDMA, 24/7. My rate of Wistful Sighs per Day (ws/d) has spiked dramatically from it's usual zero. Mink is a part of my life now and that won't ever change. I won't push her away again. I couldn't if I tried. She's my motivation, my muse, my dream girl, my high-school sweetheart, my first love.
Happy Year of the Dragon, babygirl. I am yours and I'm so glad you're mine. I love you!
---[2/2]---
Wew! Thank you for reading my novel. I thought this board needed some content loool. And I had a lot to say after so long. Hope you'll excuse this indulgent intro-length, but my girl deserves it and we had a story to tell. Love knows no character limits! Nice to meet you all and Mink says hi :)