#I have 1 formal outfit in mind for her but it’s too formal for the specific situation

[githvyrik]

I made the decision when I designed my character that her outfits will never ever have sleeves if I/she can help it which tbh makes designing her formal wear soooooo difficult because she’s masc and doesn’t wear dresses either bc they’re not Her Thing 😥

[tlou-reid]

Finishing Gifts ❤︎ Aaron Hotchner

from the river to the sea, palestine will be free 🇵🇸 READ: this account stands with palestine, and so— i require everyone who interacts to educate themselves, and support/donate. READ THESE; 1 and 2, HELP HERE, BOYCOTT. silence is complicity, do not scroll past this.

♡ SUMMARY: after a few days of ignoring him, Aaron makes an effort to get your behavior to return to normal

♡ WARNINGS: 18+ MDNI, smut, female and male masturbation, phone sex, mentions of watching porn, sex toys, drinking, small mentions of criminal minds-esque themes and violence, pretty much porn with very little plot, this is not edited like at all

♡ NOTE: something about writing aaron masturbating makes me go brrrrrr

˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚

You had thought you were keeping your cool. Honestly, truly, you had thought no one would notice the small changes in your behavior. You had tried to be subtle in dodging Hotch, doing it slowly and over time. It had started with piggybacking Spencer’s theories in the field, which led to pushing to go look at a crime scene rather than to the police department with Hotch. Then evolved into getting deep into conversation with JJ as you approached the jet, using it as an excuse to claim a seat next to her rather than your normal position between Hotch and the window.

These acts had gone unnoticed, or, at least, you’d thought. In your determination to avoid them, you hadn’t noticed the strange looks Derek and Morgan had thrown each other, and then Aaron, as you relaxed next to JJ. You missed Garcia questioning what had been up with you as you extended your time making coffee before a briefing, just so you didn’t have to walk behind Hotch into the room.

But, your latest change to avoid your unit chief definitely didn’t fly under the radar. This one was loud and clear, and absolutely threw off the entire BAU.

You’d just completed, by all possible metrics, a very successful case. It was a rare one, looking at terrorism in the DC area. A group of people who were planting explosives around the city, in unsuspecting areas. Instead of targeting political buildings or memorials, they focused on smaller-scale destruction. The team had been able to put the perpetrators away with no more casualties than those that were gone before the team landed. All in all, it was incredibly stressful, but a win for the team.

So, after Emily’s suggestion and Derek’s reminder that it was an extended weekend due to a government holiday, the team was getting ready to head to the bar. You had begged to go home to shower, promising you’d take an Uber (so you could, in Penelope���s words, “get fucked up with the girls”) and meet them at the bar in about an hour.

You put on your best outfit, showing an appropriate amount of cleavage, and did your makeup to the best of your abilities. After you’d cleaned up, you went to open your Uber app, excited to have a night to relax.

However, you were cut off when a phone call overtook your screen. “Aaron” the contact name read, indicating it was your unit chief, and that he was calling from his personal cellphone. You let ring a few times before picking up, not wanting to seem too eager to talk to your boss.

“Hellooo,” you practically sung into the phone, too excited to be worried about embarrassing yourself in front of him. He simply replied with a formal “hello,” followed by your name. “Please don’t tell me you’re ruining my longggg weekend,” You said to him, and he swore he could hear some of jewelry shaking. You couldn’t keep your excitement in, shaking your wrists, which made your bracelets make noise.

He chuckled a bit at your reaction to him calling, “No, no. I was just calling to see if you had left yet.” You smiled against the phone, knowing where this conversation was going. “Nope! I was actually ordering my Uber when you called,” you informed him. “So, you haven’t ordered it?” He questioned again, to which you replied with a “uh-uh”.

You couldn’t tell but your excitement about going out with your friends was essentially oozing through the phone, causing Aaron to maintain a bright smile on his face. You weren’t aware of how your vibe, your energy, was able to lift a weight off of Aaron’s shoulders that had been there for as long as he could remember.

“I also had to run home before meeting the team. If you’d like, I can pick you up.” Your smile, somehow, grew even bigger. Any excuse to see Aaron was a good one, you’d thought.

However, your face quickly fell when you reminded yourself that you were supposed to be avoiding him. You felt a pang in your heart as you said, “Thanks, but I have a few things to finish up here! I appreciate the offer, Hotch.”

With a quick, formal goodbye, the called ended. Aaron tried to ignore the fact that you lied to him as he drove the rest of the way. You had said you were about to call your Uber, and he heard your jewelry, meaning you were putting the finishing touches on your outfit. So why wouldn’t you accept his ride?

He tried to ignore the blow to his chest when you called him Hotch. Something about the use of his last name made him feel as if he’d done something wrong. Not that it was unusual for you, or anyone really, to call him that. It was the emphasis you’d put on it. As if you were trying to make it known he was Hotch and not Aaron.

Aaron tried to turn off his profiling ability, but it was proving to be had as all of his thoughts were currently encompassed by you.

The night, and the whole weekend if you were being honest, went by in a blur. You could tell Aaron had noticed the change in your behavior. You were standoffish at the bar, pretty much avoiding any conversation with him. You just hoped by the end of the long weekend it would be forgotten, and you’d be able to continue work as normal.

This dream was quickly demolished as Aaron was summoning you into his office before you had the chance to even put your bag down and unpack your files.

The sound of calling your last name both frightened and intrigued you. You couldn’t help but be attracted to the authority in his voice, even if it could mean you were going to be in trouble.

As you stepped into the voice, Aaron didn’t even look up. He mumbled a “shut the door, please,” as he finished recording some notes on an opened file in front of him. You stood awkwardly by the door, waiting for some kind instruction or reasoning from him.

“Please,” he gestured to the seats in front of his desk. You nodded, clumsily making your way to them. “I didn’t mean to scare you or make you uncomfortable by calling you in here,” he began.

You weren’t sure if you were more scared by being called into his office, to have a conversation that required you to both sit down and shut the door, or the intense eye contact he was maintaining as he introduced whatever discussion you two were about to have.

“I just couldn’t help but notice,” he paused for a second, trying to find the right words to say, “a recent change in your behavior.” You hoped he didn’t notice the way your eyes went wide, knowing you’d been caught. You didn’t have to ask what he was talking about to know you’d been caught, but you did anyway, “What do you mean?” You thought you were playing your part well, furrowing your eyebrows to truly emphasis your fake confusion.

“It feels as though you’ve been avoiding me.” Aaron says. His tone isn’t angry or even authoritative, but rather, disappointed. There’s a slight huff in the way he spoke. He didn’t give you a chance to defend yourself before he continued, “Which is fine if you so choose to do so. I would just like to know if it was because of something I did and if I could fix it. I want the team to function as well as it can, and I feel as though it would not if there was conflict between you and I.”

Aaron had to find a professional spin to throw his statement, knowing the professionalism of this situation was debatable at best. “Oh, sir,” you blushed, not really knowing what to say, “I don’t believe there is any conflict between us.” Your voice was formal, too formal. It was obvious you were under pressure. “So, what is it then?” He questioned.

You could feel yourself growing small under his intense stare. You could also feel the wet patch growing between your legs, making you slightly uncomfortable.

“You, uh, you kind of make nervous.” With your quiet voice and stutter, and the way your thighs squeezed together, it was easy for Aaron to pick up on the reason he made you nervous. His cheeks turned a pretty shade of pink instantaneously. “Oh,” his voice trailed off, followed by your quiet, “yeah.”

There was a few beats of silence before he cleared his throat. “Well, I’m glad to hear there’s no issues between us.” You nodded with his words, growing even more nervous. Your mouth was moving before your brain could catch up, “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to, it’s just been a minute since I’ve, ya know, and I know you’re boss but I will be completely professional and this will not effect my work in or out of the field.”

While you mean to be assuring your boss that your attraction to him was no detriment to your work, you just admitted that it’s been a minute since you’ve had an orgasm. You needed to end this conversation quickly.

“If that’s all,” You said as you stood, “I have a few more reports to finish.” Aaron simply nodded, dismissing you back into the bullpen. You made a break for the bathroom, hoping to have a few minutes to collect yourself before facing the race of the team. You felt exposed, knowing you were entering a room of profilers after since a painful experience. You needed some time alone.

After a mini-breakdown, and cleaning up your messed up mascara, you made your way to your desk. Calm and collected. That’s all you had to be. Calm and collected.

Serial killers and other criminals had quieted down for the week, in an unlikely turn of events. You’d only had to travel for one day, quickly solving a kidnapping case and the finding the perpetrator. The week flew by swimmingly. Nothing odd had happened.

Until you opened your door Saturday morning.

You hadn’t ordered anything, that much you were sure of. Even if you did, you tended to shop at places with bright packaging that made you feel like you were opening a gift when it was delivered. This unsuspecting, plain box was not here on your accord, yet it had your name and address on it.

The FBI agent side of you flipped into protection mode, racing to grab your phone and dial up the one person you knew that could tell you what to do if there happened to be a bomb inside of the box. Derek Morgan. “Pretty girl, why are you facetiming me at 8:27am on a Saturday?” He teased with a smile on his face. No matter what time it was, Derek was ready to listen.

“I got this box and I don’t know what it is. I just want someone to be around when I open it.” You informed him, sitting down next to the box. You should probably be standing, just in case you had to make a run for it but you were too worried about getting it open to think that far ahead.

“Alright,” He said, urging you to open it. You nodded to him, setting up the phone so he could you see and the box in the frame. You carefully tore off the tape, and let out a sigh of relief when nothing happened when it moved. You lifted the flaps slowly, taking a loud gasp when you saw it was. You hoped Derek didn’t see, and moved quickly to pick up your phone to hang up before he could.

“It’s not a bomb! I’m good, thanks Derek!” You rushed, hanging up before he could say anything. Your eyes didn’t leave the box as you let your arms fall to your sides. Sitting inside of it was a small, pink rose toy. A vibrator. That you definitely didn’t order.

You grabbed the box, hoping none of your neighbors saw it. It’s not that masturbation was wrong or immoral or that you didn’t partake, it was just weird if the people around you were aware of your toys.

So, you made sure your door was tightly closed before putting the box on the table and digging through it. There was all the normal things, the vibrator itself, large bubble wrap, and a paper receipt with the name of the product: Intimately GG Rose Suction Simulator from Pink Cherry.

However, there was another piece of paper at the bottom of the box. It was a typed note that read, “I hope this helps us go back to normal. A.H”. You knew exactly one person with the initials A.H. so it wasn’t rocket science to figure out who had ordered you this sex toy.

You weren’t sure if you were more turned on or embarrassed.

Aaron was your boss. Your kind, protective, strong, hot, sexy, boss. But still your boss. You wondered if this is something he would’ve done for someone like Emily or Penelope if they’d been in your predicament. It clicked quickly that it definitely wasn’t, and that made you special in Aaron Hotchner’s eyes.

So, you made a mental note to give him a call, after you tried out your toy. Luckily, you had your cleaning solution and an old bottle of lube from your past encounters. You made quick work of getting the toy clean and finding a video to help you get yourself off.

Of course, the man in the video was a white man who was bit older, with broad shoulders and black hair. No coincidence there.

You started with your boobs, taking time to massage each one before pulling on and pinching them to get yourself warmed up. Between the sounds coming from the video and the excitement of finally having time to yourself, your hands didn’t take long to move downwards, tracing along the length of your body. One hand continued caressing your side as the other made its way to your core.

The thought of Aaron going out of his way to help you get off and the visual of a man who looked similar to him getting his dick sucked had you borderline dripping on your bedsheets as you used your hand to start toying with your clit. You started with small circles, matching the speed of the girl sucking Aaron’s lookalike’s dick.

You stayed like this for a while, allowing yourself to go slow, really take your time pleasuring yourself. The guy in the video had already finished on the girl’s tits by the time you reached for your rose toy. You didn’t need the visual anymore, perfectly crafting dirty scenarios of your unit chief in your head.

You started on low. There was gentle sucking on your clit as you imagined the way Aaron would kiss. He’s experienced, you know that for sure. You could imagine the way he’d start gentle, maybe even cupping your face as he pulled you close. He’d let you feel like you were in charge, before his tongue made its way inside your mouth. His dominant side would take over, using his body to press you against whatever surface you were sat on.

As you fantasized about his dominant side, you cranked up the toy to the next level. You let out a loud moan at the new feeling. Your free hand moved back to your breast, squeezing, while you did your best to imagine Aaron’s large hands doing it instead.

You could feel the coil in your tummy getting tighter and tighter as you imagined Aaron slowly stripping your body, dragging his hand along each and every curve. With a sharp pinch to your nipple and a cry of Aaron’s name, you came undone all over your rose toy.

You could feel your slick dripping down your hand as you worked yourself through your orgasm, making sure to enjoy it for as long as you could. You wished you could savor this feeling. It was the strongest, best orgasm you’d ever had. Nothing could compare to the euphoria you felt right now.

You flicked the toy off and sat it to the side once the feeling became too much. You couldn’t bring yourself to move from your position. “Fuck,” you breathed out, trying to relax the hard rise and fall of your chest.

Once you were able to relax, you made your way to the shower. You knew you had to call Aaron, but you needed to be much more relaxed than you were right now to have that conversation. The sting from the hot water helped ground you, allowing you to clear your mind. After you cleaned yourself, you cleaned the toy and put everything in your nightstand drawer for future use.

Then, you reached for your cellphone. You quickly found Aaron’s personal number and hit the call button before you could overthink what you were doing. He picked up on the second ring. “Hotchner,” he said, probably out of habit. “Hello, Aaron,” you smiled. This is the conversation you’d had with him in a while that didn’t make you feel nervous. “Hello,” he echoed with your name. You didn’t know, but he was smirking on the other side of the phone. He’d been waiting for this call.

“You sent me a gift?” You asked. “I did. Have you received it?” He wasn’t sure what grew more, his smirk or his cock. “I have. I’ve opened it and took it for a test run as well.” The way you two were beating around the bush was a turn on, but the way he sounded so self-assured, as if he knew what you were going to say, had you clenching your thighs together.

“How did it perform?” Aaron questioned, leaning forward to rest his elbows on the table in front of him. This tightened the dress pants he was wearing against his hardened cock. “Very well,” You smiled. “I’m happy to hear that. I hope this is the end of all of your weird behavior.” Aaron chuckles. Just the sound of his laugh has you reaching your hand to squeeze the fat of your thighs.

“What weird behavior, Aaron?” You questioned, teasingly. This conversation is very different than any you’d had before, and it was turning you. You didn’t think it was possible with the strong orgasm you’d maybe an hour ago. But, Aaron was a special individual. He had that effect on you.

“You were avoiding me,” He scoffed. “I don’t know if I was. I think it was self-control,” You smiled, knowing you were baiting him. Without missing a beat, he took the bait, “And why did you need to practice self-control?”

Aaron leaned back in his chair, opting to press his hand against his cock instead of using the soft fabric to provide some kind of friction. He needed more, that much he knew.

“Because I was trying not to jump your bones, Aaron.” You breathed out. Your words had him squeezing his bulge, feeling like he could bust just from knowing you were attracted to him. “Fuck,” Aaron groaned into the phone. You giggled at his reaction, moving to press your hand against your core, again.

“Tell me about your toy,” He demanded, finally using the authoritarian tone that helped you get into this situation in the first time. “So you can touch yourself while I do?” You questioned, assuming he was in the same position as you. “Is that okay?” He questioned. “Of course it is, Aaron.” You promised, and used your permission as an excuse to unbutton his pants, and shove his hand under the waistband of his boxers.

As you started talking, he spread the precum, that’s been oozing from his pretty pink tip since he saw your contact name, along the length of his dick. “It was so good, Aaron. That was the best orgasm I’ve ever had.”

“Yeah?” Aaron encouraged you to keep going as he started stroking his cock. “Yeah,” You whined out, “I wish you could’ve seen me. My legs were shaking and I was leaking so much.” You smirked as you heard him groan in to the phone. His strokes had quickened in length. All he could picture was you spread out on his bed, cumming around his cock.

“What did you think about while you came?” You were surprised he was able to get the question out, especially because he only stuttered once. You wished you could see the way he squeezed his eyes together as he tugged on his cock. “You, obviously. I was thinking about your lips and your hands. I finished before I could get to the good part. I wanted to picture you fucking me from behind, pressing my face into the mattress.”

You were going to continue describing your fantasy to him, but he cut you off with a “Fuck!” as he came down his hands.

The line was silent for a few minutes before you spoke, “Hey, Aaron?” He hummed out a “yeah?”, before you asked, “Do you want to come over?”

“Give me ten minutes,” He promised, “and have the toy out.”

Well, you couldn’t refuse that.

[wildmelon]

daphne wiseman of mind blind 🧠🛍️💅🏼

by @mindblindbard!

whew this is a big lookbook! i’ve been working on daphne’s wardrobe for almost nine months now 🤯 mind blind is really special to me for many reasons, but a huge one is how it exemplifies just how much little choices can build character development. all it took was that chapter 1 option to have the mc sleep on bamboo sheets because she “likes a little luxury” and daphne walked into my head fully formed! the game has so much heart and humor, the personality choices are so unique and thoughtful, i could go on and on but 10/10 recommend, more on daphne below.

i had originally had little notes written by daphne on her outfits, but i scrapped them because it looked too cluttered. however they were cute and important to her character so i’m just gonna write them here!

everyday: can you believe grayson still won’t take a hint despite the baby tees daphne wears?! she lives to make him blush. also those vintage von dutch jeans are her prized possession

formal: spot the dress she wears to reese’s dinner party! the rest are for blending in at nick’s unity events-- enough to avoid the press while still catching the eye of an attractive stranger.

athletic: daphne puts on these outfits to walk on the treadmill for twenty minutes then take selfies

sleep: nick and sally constantly roast daphne for her obsession with cute pjs. nick complains that the money she spends on nice pajama sets is a major drain on resources

party: daphne’s favorite clothes to wear to the underground music venues she attends every weekend. music, especially live music, is her best coping strategy. the attractive company also helps keep her mind off grayson.

swim: daphne had big ideas for a post-graduation trip with sally to turks and caicos. though the vacation fell through, she kept the outfits. 

hot weather: some remnants of her coconut girl phase, and rarely weather appropriate. 

cold weather: no these are not all warm enough for chicago winters, but fashion is pain. also daphne rarely leaves the house without her headphones on

[bloatedandalone04]

In The Way I Need You | Part 1

Series Masterlist

➪in which joey starts school and clay realizes he might have to listen to his mothers advice of hiring a sitter, but quickly warms up to that after idea meeting a seemingly sweet girl while on his way to work.

PSA: strongly suggested to read the warnings before proceeding.

WC; 3.6k | Do not repost this anywhere, reblogs are fine ♡

“Clayton Beresford, get up,” the sound of his mother’s voice made Clay cringe as he grabbed his pillow and placed it over his head. “Clay, get up. Joey has been asking for his dad for the last half hour, you need to get up.”

Clay groaned as she ripped the pillow away from him and threw it on the opposite side of the bed before walking over to the curtains and pulling them open. “Mother,”

“Don’t mother me, Clay,” Lilith scolds as she moves back around the bed and stands over him. “You need to get ready for work, and get Joey ready for school, it’s his first day.”

With a huff, Clay sits up and throws the sheets off him. “You couldn’t have gotten him dressed for me?”

Lilith scoffs, walking towards the door. “I made him breakfast, you can pick out his clothing,” and then she was gone and Clay was left alone in the bed that felt all too big for just one person. 

Looking around his room, he sighs at how messy it had gotten since his last attempt at cleaning it. He grew up damn near spoiled and never had to worry about cleaning his room or making his bed, so now at the age of twenty seven, he was terrible at both those tasks. 

He looks over at the right side of the bed, and more specifically at how empty it was. That spot should be filled. She should be here, with him and with their son, but life really enjoys playing with him sometimes. 

Sighing again, he gets up and throws on his work clothing, which really felt more like a formal event outfit than anything else. He finishes buttoning up his white shirt as he enters the kitchen, his eyes instantly landing on his son. “Hey, buddy,” he greets as he leans down and kisses the top of his head. “Did you have a good sleep?”

Joey nods and sets the crust of his toast down on the plate. “I’m still tired,” 

Clay laughs and picks up the half eaten toast. “You are?” He asks and finishes his kids breakfast, his mind going back to when he was Joey’s age and also didn’t like crust. “You went to bed pretty early last night. Unless you were just pretending to be asleep when I came and checked in on you.”

Joey shakes his head quickly as Lilith laughs from her place at the sink, her arms crossed as she blows on the coffee mug in her hand. “No, dad,” he answers as he stares up into Clay’s matching blue eyes. 

“No?” Clay hums, picking up the now empty plate and walking over to his mom. 

She stays still as he reaches around her to set the plate down in the sink, a teasing smile on her lips. “He’s got you wrapped around his finger,” she stated. “You’re aware of that, right?”

Clay laughs and nods, looking back at his son as he scribbled on a blank piece of paper with a yellow crayon. “I know,” he agrees, looking down at his mom’s attire. “Are you staying home today?”

Lilith glances down at her housecoat clad body with a shrug. “I’m wrapped around that kid’s finger, too,” she grinned, finishing off her coffee and putting the mug in the sink as well. “I’ll get my work done early so I can be here when he gets home, but I really think it’s time we start looking for a more stable sitter. I know you don’t like talking about it, but I think you should consider hiring a nanny.” 

Clay sighs and moves away, standing behind Joey and placing his hands on the back of his chair. “I said I’d think about it,” he muttered. “I haven’t come to a conclusion yet.”

“It’s not a bad idea to have someone here to look after him while we’re at work. Someone to get him to and from school, helps get him ready in the mornings,” she pointed out. “Like a nanny.”

“He doesn’t need a nanny,” Clay mumbled, reaching a hand up to flatten out Joey’s messy hair. “I don’t want my son growing up in that kind of environment.”

“You had a nanny when you were little, Clay,” she reminded as she moved away from the sink. “You turned out pretty well.”

“I’m a single dad at the age of twenty seven, mother,” he rasped. “And I still live with my mother.”

“I told you I never liked that girl, Clayton,” she scolded as she wrapped her robe tighter around her body. “And I also told you that this is your home for as long as you want it to be. You want to move out, fine, but then who will be there to help look after Joey? No one. Unless you listen to me and hire someone to do it.”

And then she was disappearing down the hall to get ready for the day. Grunting under his breath, Clay leaned down and pulled Joey’s chair out. “Come on, let’s get you dressed,” he held his hand out, grinning when the much smaller one grabbed it. 

-

The phone rang five times before Clay was sent to voicemail. 

He wasn’t surprised, but the silence still irked him. Glancing at his driver, Clay turned a bit and tried to make it a little more private, but he was literally in the backseat of a car on his way to work. How private could it really be? “Hey, it’s me again,” he started, not missing the way Rick, his driver, glanced back at him. “Joey started school today. Can you believe it? Our son started school.” 

Rick straightened up at the harsh tone of Clay’s voice and quickly put his attention back on the busy street of New York, surely sensing that this would not be a nice voicemail. 

Clay paid him no mind as he continued, “He’s four now. Did you know that? You should, he’s your kid, too. You should know how old he is and you should’ve been there for his first day of school,” 

He wasn’t entirely sure if his ex even still used this number, or if he was just making these calls for nothing. She must, seeing as her voicemail hasn’t gotten full yet, and he’s been giving her these updates for the past three years now as a way to cope with not having her in his life anymore. 

Clay knew she didn’t deserve to know about what’s been going on in Joey’s life, and he knew he shouldn’t be wasting time leaving her messages, but he couldn’t help it.

He didn’t know if he wanted to rub it in her face about how good of a parent he turned out to be, or how amazing their son is. He just wanted her to know that she royally fucked up when she decided to leave before Joey even turned one. 

“You should’ve been there, Sam,” he said again, his voice wavering as he let his anger that had been building up since she left get to his head. “How the fuck could you do that to him? To us?”

Clay looks out the window and sees that he’s almost to the building in which he would be spending the next eight hours in. 

Sighing, he wraps up the call. “Whatever, Sam. I hope you realize one day how much you’ve missed out on and how much our son has missed out on,” he muttered. “Not that you even care. Delete this, listen to it, do whatever you want. That’s what you’re best at.”

And then he hung up and was left feeling even worse. 

It always ended that way, with him heated up with anger and with Sam probably feeling great at the fact that she is still able to rile him up without even being there. 

Rick pulls off to the side of the street and looks back at Clay. “We’ve arrived, Mr. Beresford,” 

Clay scoffs quietly, shrugging off his jacket since his skin had begun to sport a thin layer of sweat from how annoyed he got during the one-sided call. “Mr. Beresford was my dad,” he says, leaning back against the seat. He wasn’t ready to go in there yet. He was so frustrated and didn’t want to accidentally go off on anyone in that building because he still isn’t over his ex. “It’s just Clay. You know that.”

“I do,” Rick nods, sending him an apologetic smile in the rearview mirror. “Everything alright, Clay?”

Nodding, Clay looks out the window. “Everything is fine,” he lies as he watches a girl pace back and forth on the sidewalk. New York was a massive place and not easy to navigate through, but it was clear that she was new here. She wore a pale pink skirt and a white top that ended just above the hem of the skirt, which is not something people here usually wear. 

Clay has lived here a long time and the people of New York were stereotypical in the way they wore their favorite sports teams logos on their clothes or baggy jeans and a t-shirt. 

Most of them didn’t care and didn’t put a lot of effort into their appearance, simply because no one would notice. It was why he got a lot of stares whenever he walked around in dress pants and a tie. 

The girl looked confused and lost and Clay felt a bit bad for her. Even he got a bit turned around at times, and he’s lived here his whole life. He owns half of it, too. 

He also couldn’t ignore how pretty this girl is. 

Maybe it was because he hadn’t seen his ex in years and he hadn’t let himself look at any of the women in the city as a potential partner as he was overly protective of both his son and his heart. 

Or maybe it was because he simply felt bad for the girl and her clear lack of directions. 

Whatever it was, it had him opening the car door without much of a second thought. 

-

“Fuck,” you muttered as you looked up at the street sign then back at the paper in your hand. 

After living in New York for the last couple weeks, you were beginning to think you would never get to know your way around it. The place was massive and so confusing to navigate through if you didn’t know where you were going, and you clearly didn’t. 

You had been waiting to hear back from this job for days now and when you were finally given a chance for an interview, you couldn’t figure out how to get there. Your coffee did nothing to wake your brain up enough for you to be able to think clearly, and you debated on just throwing the rest of it away, but you were raised not to waste food or drinks when there are others who are less fortunate than you.

With an annoyed sigh, you stopped walking and stared down at the page again, not paying any attention to the car you were now standing beside as the door opened and someone stepped out. 

You don’t look up from the paper as you move forward and walk straight into another person, your coffee slipping from your hand and spilling onto the pristine white shirt of a man. “Oh, my God,” you gasp, not noticing that the page that held the address had also gotten soaked from the spill. “Oh, God, I’m so sorry.”

It was the least of your worries as your eyes trailed up and met a pair of blue ones. Your breath hitched as the stranger smiled and shook his head as if he didn’t care at all that his white shirt was now stained with warm coffee. “It’s okay,” he said and his voice lived up to his appearance. Dreamy. Hot. Intimidating, even. 

“That looks expensive,” you think out loud when you look back down at his ruined button up, then quickly wipe the worry off your face and replace it with fake confidence. “Which is totally fine, I can pay to have it fixed or cleaned or…whatever.” Really, you most likely couldn’t afford to do that, but he didn’t need to know that.

The stranger laughed and it was probably the sexiest thing you had ever heard. “Don’t worry about it,” he waved you off and took the napkin from you when you held it out to him. 

You chew on your bottom lip as he begins to wipe up some of the coffee, though you both knew it wouldn’t do a thing to save the shirt. “Were you just going to work or something? I’d hate for you to have to wear that for the rest of the day,” you gestured to the mess on his shirt but he just shrugged and threw the napkin into the trash can that was nearby. 

“I was actually debating on whether or not I should go home and skip work, then I saw you and thought you looked a little lost,” he grinned at the way your face flushed and how your cheeks were tinted pink. “Thought I could help you out a bit but ended up wearing your drink, instead.”

You squeeze your eyes shut and let out a small, embarrassed laugh. “I’m so sorry,” 

“It’s fine,” he brushed you off again then looked a bit hesitant as he added, “I’m Clay.” 

He holds his hand out to you, making you look down at it before back up at his eyes. “Y/n,” 

You shake hands and hate how you found yourself wanting to hold his for much longer than a few seconds. “So, in hopes I don’t sound like a total creep when I ask,” he begins, giving you a somewhat nervous smile. “Where were you trying to get to?”

Laughing, you shake your head and look down at the ruined paper. “No, not at all,” you say, throwing the paper into the trash as well. “It’s that obvious that I’m lost, huh?”

Clay shrugged again, stepping back towards the car and opening the backseat door. “Only a little,” he teased and pulled out his jacket, efficiently covering up most of his shirt. “I’ve lived here my whole life. Maybe I can point you in the right direction, if you want.”

You knew you were late for the interview, but you wanted to stay and talk with him for a bit longer. What was wrong with you? Why do you always do this around cute guys? Though, calling Clay cute felt a bit like an understatement. He was by far the hottest man you had ever seen in your life. “Please,” you say quietly, stepping towards him. “I was trying to get to this interview at the Milton Hotel, but the directions were hard to understand even before I got coffee all over them.”

Clay laughs and closes the door, turning around and nodding towards the intersection down the street. “You were pretty close, believe it or not,” of course, you wanted to say but held back. “You just take a left at the lights and go straight for about three blocks until you reach a bookstore that’s across from the old jail.”

He turned back to face you and you realized you were barely paying attention to his directions as you were far too focused on how good his backside looks. 

“The hotel is above the bookstore,” he finished and you gave him a grateful smile. “So, not too far now.”

“Thank you,” you say and look down the street, not quite ready to leave the presence of him. 

Maybe he didn’t want you to leave, either. “What’s the interview for? If you don’t mind me asking,”

You wave your hand. “Not at all,” you say again. “Just some babysitting gig. I finally got my CPR certificate and know how busy New York is. Thought it would be a good place to start.”

-

What are the odds..

Clay nods and tries to come off as casual as he leaned against the backdoor of the car. “Babysitting? Do you have much experience?”

“Yeah, about three years worth,” you answer, fidgeting with your fingers and Clay found himself hoping he wasn’t making you uncomfortable with all his questions. It had been too long since he actually let himself talk to a girl for more than a minute since Sam, so he was glad to see he was still able to decently hold a conversation. “I did it a lot through high school.”

“Yeah? When’d you graduate?” He wasn’t sure why he wanted to know so much about you, but it was clear the two of you got along pretty well for two strangers. He was sure he could hook you up with a job if you didn’t get this one, and now he was once again wondering why he cared so much. 

“Two years ago,” you replied and it didn’t seem like you were uncomfortable with him at all, so he decided to try his luck. 

“Well, I hope the interview goes well,” he says and thinks about how he wouldn’t mind having someone like you around his son for the hours he was at work. Though Clay has some massive trust issues, he knew he would need to find someone to look after Joey soon. “And if it doesn’t, there’s many other opportunities that are waiting for you in this city.”

“Yeah?” You gave him a teasing smile and Clay had to physically hold back a smirk in response. “Like what?”

Clay stiffened a bit as he chose his words carefully. “You said you’re a babysitter, right?” And when you nodded, he continued, “My son started school today, but he still needs someone to watch him until I get back from work. If that is something you’re interested in, there’s an opportunity for you right there. But I’m sure the interview will go great.”

You study his face for a bit, making Clay think he said something wrong, before you grin up at him. “Thanks for the boost of confidence,” you soften your smile. “I might take you up on that offer, if your kid is cool, that is.” 

Clay laughed as he reached into his pocket and retrieved his phone. “He’s the coolest kid in New York, that’s for sure,” he says and hands his phone to you. “Let me know how it goes? And if you’re interested in looking after the coolest kid you’ll probably ever meet for a few hours of your day.”

Your laugh reaches his ears just as you take his phone and quickly type in a number, one he hoped was actually yours and not a fake one. He couldn’t lie, it wasn’t often he asked for girls’ numbers, but you seemed sweet and like you knew what you were doing. Except for when it came to reading directions, but even that was understandable. He was also doing this to give his poor mom a break, and to make sure his son was in good hands when he was gone. “I’ll text you,” you promised as you handed him back his phone. “Thanks for the help. I really appreciate it.”

He took his phone and pocketed it. “It was nice to meet you, Y/n,” 

You begin backing away as you smile at him. “You too,” you wave. “Sorry again about your shirt. You wear that coffee well, if it helps.”

Clay laughs again as you turn around and begin heading down the street in the direction of the lights. 

The window of the car rolls down and he briefly hears Rick clear his throat. “I’ll pick you up at four, Mr. Beresford?” 

And Clay was far too distracted to be able to correct him again, so he just nodded before tearing his eyes away from your retreating form and heading into the building. 

-

Clay had gotten held up today and he had to text his mom and ask if she could pick Joey up from school. He knew it would be so much easier if he had a stable sitter to ask, and he was quickly beginning to agree with his mothers requests of hiring one. 

While Clay wanted to be the one to pick Joey up from his first day, he was glad he would have his grandma there. He knew his mom was probably his son’s favorite person, and he couldn’t even get mad at that fact because Clay had to admit; Lilith Beresford was an amazing woman and an even better mom.

As he began packing up his things, his mind drifted back to you for what felt like the tenth time since meeting you all those hours ago. He didn’t know what it was, but Clay felt captivated by you. 

Maybe it was because he hadn’t let himself get close to another girl since Sam, let alone have a full on conversation with one. 

Maybe it was because he found you cute and sweet and a bit funny.

Either way, he was thinking about you as he shrugged his jacket back on and over his stained shirt at the same time his phone went off. 

He checked it as he turned off the lights to his office, a genuine smile finding its way onto his lips as he read the text, 

The interview was a fail. I think it was over before it even began. Any chance I could set up one with you? Very curious about this supposed coolest kid in New York. 

And when you added a,

This is Y/n, by the way. The one who ruined your shirt because I have no sense of direction.  

He knew he was probably screwed. 

[lighterfluid1]

Drunk fuck with Bakugo ( 18+ )

☆ PRO!HERO TOP!BAKUGO X GN/FEM!READER (male ver here) ☆

☆ !! WARNINGS ; !!

ー Mentions of alcohol, female genitals, they/them pronouns, drunk sex, lots of degration, aggressive sex, creampie, fingering, overstimulation, some dirty talk, edging, oral sex (male and female receiving), half clothed sex, etc.

☆☆☆

As the weather warmed up and the grass grew greener, you could tell spring was on it's way. But not only spring. A friend of yoursーKatsuki Bakugo, celebrated his birthday in the upcoming month of April. You obviously weren't the only one to realize since the moment March became April...Mina had already began planning a surprise party for Bakugo. Her, Kirishima, and the others had chosen to throw the party at the nearby club. You must admit, it would be fun to meet up and have some drinks. So therefore you agreed to show up.

You met Katsuki long before he became one of the top 10 pro hero's. Infactーyou met him back in your UA days. You and your friends from class 1-A we're now deep into the hero business, meaning you lost touch with many of them, but not Katsuki. You realized long ago just how you felt about him, and turned out obvious how much you crushed on the boy. That much hasn't changedーinfact it's the reason you hesitated on coming to his surprise party. Even just being in his aroma made you nervous and flushed. Everything about him turned you into a hopeless mess. Mina being your go-to for these things had told you to hang out with him more and try to get comfortable with him. She made it seem much easier then it really was. If being around him with your friends there was hard, then you can imagine how embarrassing it was to be one-on-one with him. But at least the two of you talk online...it was honestly the only thing keeping your friendship alive.

Getting back home from your hero work you stripped off your costume exhastedly, flopping down on your sofa to check your phone. You we're suprised to see so many notificationsーbut when you checked them you nearly jumped out of your skin. The party...is today?! You thought to yourself. Mina had messaged you nearly a thousand times reminding you about it. Quickly you bolted off the couch and into your washroom. You had to shower, get ready, and leave as quick as you could. You barely had any time even now since your hero work takes up a big chunk of your day. After hoping out of the shower and drying your hair you had to pick an appropriate outfit. You didn't want to wear anything too formal but at the same time you didn't want anything too lazy...Who the fuck cares. Grabbing the most decent clothes you could find, you rushed out the door letting Mina know you we're on your way. Checking the time you let out a sigh of relief. You had just enough time to drive over.

The sun had already set by the time you arrived making the club radiate with lights from the outside. You usually didn't feel this nervous attending a party with your friendsーbut the butterflies in your stomach we're unbearable. Nevertheless, you we're here to have fun and that's all that really mattered.

"Ohーthere they are! Hey!" Mina called, waving to you as you walked over to the bar counter.

"What took you so long?!" Denki asked over the blaring music. You weren't surprised he was willing to come.

"Hey. Jus' got back from hero work n' had my phone off. Kinda forgot about the party, sorry," you reply with a nervous yet friendly smile. You usually remember important events like this, but your mind must'a gotten ahead of itself.

"No big deal! Bakugo hasn't even gotten here yet," Kirishima says. It had been a while since you'd seen him with his hair down.

"Really? That's a shocker..."

"Yeahーit is! Where is that blonde jerk?!" Mina shouts, scrolling through her phone frantically. You weren't the only one being spam called I guess. But just as Mina said thatーa voice called angrily from behind you.

"What'd you call me, bug eyes?!" Katsuki shouted. You and the rest of your friends jerked around at the sound of his voice, faces lighting up with excitement.

"Heyyy! There'y is!" Kirishima roared, raising a hand. Looking up at him from your seat, you studied his outfit in awe. He wore a tight white dress shirtーslightly undone at the top and rolled at the sleeves, black dress pants, and normal white runners. You could feel your face heating up as you looked him up and down. As he sat down, Denki slammed a cupcake down on the table as you all shouted happy birthday. It took him a moment to process this wasn't just a meet upーbut a surprise birthday celebration. Or that's what you thought he was processing.

"Huh?"

"Surprise!!! Are you surprised?!" Mina shouted excitedly leaning over the table. "We decided it would be fun to celebrate your birthday with a few drinks! What'dya think?!"

"I think you're fucking stupid." Mina stopped for a momentーshocked to hear his response. "It was pretty obvious this had something to do with my birthday. Why the hell else would you have dragged me out here?!"

"Ugh...why do you have to be so not stupid?!" Denki whined, flopping his arms over the table with a sigh.

"SHUT UP MORON!"

"Wellーat least you showed up!" Kirishima added positively. At this point you we're just waiting for someone to order the drinks.

"Is someone gonna order the drinks or what..." you huffed.

"IS THAT THE ONLY REASON YOU CAME?!" Mina yelled in shock.

"Of course not!" You bit back.

"I'll get em'!" Denki insisted, rushing over to the bar. You could feel Katsuki's eyes on you from across the table...it was making you that much more nervous. When you looked up he turned away increasing the suspense. You're hoping that once you have a few shots you'll loosen up.

Once Denki returned with a bottle of champagne, vodka, and other expensive liquors that's when the real party began. You even received a free bottle of tequila after Denki stood and flirted with the bartender. Out of all your friends, you were the one drinking the mostーespecially right off the bat. The moment they were placed in front of you, you had already poured yourself a glass. By the time the others started feeling tipsy, you were already drunk. Laughs were shared across the table until your attention began to shift back to Katsuki. As your head perked up, he too shifted his head in your direction. Looking him directly in the eyes you gestured a small smileーyour worries completely leaving your body.

"What're you lookin' at," he spatーtrying to ignore his flushed face.

"You, Katuski." Your face said everything he needed to know as the pink tone on his cheeks quickly darkened and spread across his face. He liked the way his name rolled off your tongue when you were wasted like this. His face grew with amusement as he smirked...catching onto you. You had always wondered what it would be like to sleep with himーbut you were unable to get ahead of yourself right now. Once the bottles were left empty and everyone's drinks were finished, some of your friends began to leave. The party ended faster then you thought, but time flies when your shit wasted I guess. But in the end it was just you and Katsuki at the table. "Didn't know you were sucha drinker," you slurred. Katsuki chuckled.

"Says you." As you and Katsuki also began to leave, that's when you finally made a move. As you watched him turn around the corner to check something your heart began to race as you reached out for him. Maybe it was because you we're drunkーbut the heat deep in your body was killing you. Quickly you pulled Katsuki's shirt making his face fall to your level, as you linked your lips with his. He was shocked at first, hesitating as you held him there but quicklyーhe melted into your kiss. The cold air of the night blew through you both making the moment that much more pleasurable...yet the hot feeling in your stomach never went away. The small yet sensual kiss you left on his lips soon turned into a heated make-out as the Blondie took control. He grabbed your jaw lifting your head as he pushed you against the concrete exterior of the club. Small uncontrolable grunts and breaths left your mouth as the two of you made out, vibrating down his throat. His hands slowly made their way to your waist and under your shirt as his leg shifted perfectly in between your legs. Your body flinched with surprise as a wave of pleasure spread throughout youーmaking your face turn a deep pink shade. That's when you realized the massive bulge in his pants. Katsuki's tight formal-wear made his boner impossible to miss. Suddenly a warm sensation made it's way to your chest snapping you out of your drunken state. His hands caressed your nipplesーpinching and pulling as he kissed and bit your neck. You moaned and groaned in response to the mixed sensations, feeling your cunt throb with need. This was very unlike him.

"Noーnot here..." you whispered. The both of you were perched up against the left wall of the club yet people still passed. His desperate grip on your body never loosened though, as if he was holding onto you fearing he'd be left alone. His breathing was heavy in your ear once he finally did let go, sending shivers down your spine.

"I'll call a cab t'drive us," he replied, pulling out his phone. You jolted in response to his wordsーthe alcohol in your system making it that much harder to process. You we're going to his house...? Your fantasies were slowly becoming reality as he hung up the phone grabbing your wrist and pulling you along into the viechle making sure you didn't trip or fall. Besides, out of the two of you he was the most with it.

Once you both arrived he practically dragged you inside. Katsuki had always been richーbut him being one of the top ten pro heros...made him even richer. He practically owned a literal mansion. When you entered the sound of jackets hitting the ground radiated throughout his home mixed with hitched breathing. As he pinned you against the door kissing and biting at your soft skin, you slowly unbuttoned his white dress shirt. Before long he had you hanging onto his shoulder as he lead you to his bedroom. Everything was pristine and clean, the sheets of his bed feeling like pure silk as he threw you down. Ripping off your pants and your panties he lifted your legs placing them on his shoulders as he buried his face between your thighs...Your legs shook and trembled under his tongue wanting to escape although the world spun around you as you laid arching your back from the pleasure. His tongue swirled around your clit sucking it while he salivated all the creases and flaps of your sensitive cunt.

"NghーKatsukiー!" You moaned, covering your flushed face with your shirt. Out of nowhere you felt two fingers enter you, causing you to gasp and flinch. His fingers slipped in with surprising ease as your insides pulsed and twitched around him.

"Relax, slut. You got yourself into this mess," he spat. His words just turned you on that much more, your pussy leaking with juices. You just wanted him inside of you.

"Just...put it in..." you replied, voice trembling out of embarrassment. You spread your legs for him still covering your face shyly, shocking him. You we're so needy yet so hesitant.

"Impatient are we? Just makes me wanna tease you more, fuckin' whore," he chuckled. He threw his undone dress shirt to the floor as he unzipped his pants, rubbing his dick along your wet hole. "What's the magic word, huh?" Licking your thigh, he makes direct eye contact with you startling you with a small bite. Your body shivered as you watched him tease youーhesitating and stuttering on your words.

"Pleーplease...?"

"Good slut," he bit, smirking cunningly. Finally he lined himself up and shoved his cock all the way inside of youーalmost immediately hitting all of your good spots. You cried out with pleasure as he began to thrust into you, pulling one of your legs above his head as the other laid on the bed. With each thrust you felt your ears ring...your climax already approaching. The wet squelching sounds that filled the air were mixed with some of Katsuki's low grunts and moans in your earーsomehow making him that much hotter. You couldn't even believe this was happeningーyou were fucking your best friend. He quickly sped up after realizing how your insides pulsed and twitched for him. Then, you moaned and gasped for air as your body took over. You threw your head back as your body spasmed with pleasure. Noticing you finished already, he let out a small snicker throwing you over onto your stomach grabbing and spreading your ass.

"Wait I just finishedー!" You cried as he put himself back inside of you. Before you could finish, you practically melted on his cockーeyes shooting back into your head.

"We ain't fuckin' done here. You want me to stop then start beggin'." Every time you though he couldn't get any faster, he did. His thrusts were hard, completely raddling your brain as he grabbed your wrists holding them behind your back. "Ass up," he ordered. You could barely hear him over your moans and gasps yet you still did what you were told.

"Nghー! StopーI'm gunnー!" Suddenly, you felt Katsuki stopーeadging your climax.

"What, y'like it that much that you think you can cum twice in a row? I don't fuckin' think so," Katsuki snickers, grabbing the back of your hair.

"Noーmmphh! Please!" Begging and pleading he finally shoved himself back inside of you, causing your orgasm start all over again. As his thrusts slowed he quickly pulled out releasing his hot seed all over your ass. After pulling out so fastーa crème colored juice slowly poured out of you as he finally finished. Pulling you up he twisted and pulled at your pebbled nipples as he bit down into the crevice of your neck. You winced in pain and pleasure as he threw you down onto your back kissing your chest moving further and further down. Once he reached your sore and sensitive cunt, he licked up your rich cream-pie sucking at your entrance until you were screaming for him. "Katsuki!ーngh...please...I can'tー!" But it just turned him on more. As you gripped and tugged his hair you let out yet another orgasm. He smirked, purposely swallowing every last drop as your face burned a dark pink. Before you could respond he shifted to the end of the bed spreading his legs.

"Your turn~," he teased, snapping and pointing at his boner. You blushed just at the thought of you giving him headーbut it was fair...Holding your shirt tightly you crawled over to him and off the bed crouching down onto your knees. Holding your mouth open, he explored the inside with his thumb before leading your lips to his pink tipーthe precum leaking onto your mouth. You held the base nervously but instead of being gentle he grabbed at your hair forcing your head down, gagging you. As you choked and drooled he thrusted his dick up and down your throat, breathing hitching. "Fuck..." The sound of him moaning quietly, grunting under his breath as he thrusted into your mouth turned you on to the point it was unbearable. You quietly stuck two fingers inside yourself as you sucked him messily, swirling your tounge around his tip as pleasurably as possible. Small moans escaped you as you began to thrust into your holeーcausing his dick to somehow expand inside your mouth. The vibrations made his climax come that much faster as he finally released into your mouth. You coughed and choked as you swallowed it down, practically dripping from your mouth. What a pretty sight it was for Katsuki as he lifted you onto his lap, helping you finish yourself off.

☆☆☆

Once you both finally finished, you laid exhausted beside Katsuki holding onto his heated body. As your vision faded as the alcohol took over your system, you passing out in his arms. Your body was covered in bruises, hickies, and bites yet somehow it made you look that much hotter. He too fell asleep beside you shortly afterーstroking your ruffled hair. The sound of quiet breathing took over the aroma of his bedroom as you two slept peacefully together, tucked under his sheets. You wished you could have just told him how much you loved him in that moment you shared.

!! All characters are over 18 !!

ty 4 reading ♡ reblogs n' stuff are appreciated

ー miles/smiles

ー the fucking weekend >>>>

SMALL NOTE FROM THE WRITTER ; making this I realized just how shit I am at spellingーso sry 4 my terrible grammar and spelling errors on the og lol

[odyssean-flower]

The Winding Path of Fate Chapter 13 - Summer: Peril at Every Side (Part 1)

Masterpost

Pairing: Neuvillette x Female Reader Summary: A terrible incident occurs during preparations for your first meeting with Furina as Neuvillette’s wife.

Warnings: Assault, injury, drunk people Note: If you want to be on the taglist for this fic, please make a reply to this post, send a message or send a private ask

Have a pic of Neuvillette in Domus Aurea

Previous | Next

“I’ve got nothing to wear…”   

Uttering that complaint for what felt like the thousandth time, you flopped down onto your bed, which looked as though your closet had exploded all over it. Not for the first time, you lamented the excess of practical, modest, and exceedingly plain clothing in your wardrobe.  

It was said that the clothes one wore reflected the soul. In that case, your soul was fully on display to an embarrassing extent.   

You pictured you and Neuvillette standing next to each other. Though his outfits didn’t vary much in color or style, they were always elegant and well put together, befitting his status and position. Meanwhile, with your sensible sweaters and plain knee-length skirts, looked more like the Chief Justice’s secretary than his wife. That wouldn’t be a problem normally, and in fact, it would be preferrable due to the secretive nature of your marriage. But this particular occasion wasn’t normal.  

Furina had agreed to the meeting. By Neuvillette’s account, she was most enthusiastic about it. It would be taking place in three days and held in his office.   

The bravado you had felt before in his cozy study, as you brushed his long, silky hair, had all but dissipated by now. Instead, you were left with a growing anxiety and doubt that gnawed at your mind.  

The chief of them being, Will this go smoothly without any incident?  

It was true that your great-grandparents had personally met with Furina (it had become somewhat of a point of pride), but this was very different from a mere appointment to ask for a favor from the Archon. In your case, you were going to present yourself to her as the wife of Chief Justice.   

You were well aware that this whole meeting was a chance for Furina to probe at your marriage and more specifically, you.   

Anything strange, out of the ordinary, or unusual would be pounced upon by the drama-loving Archon. Therefore, you had to maintain a perfect, unassailable front. You had to present yourself as someone who looked like she could be Neuvillette’s spouse. That started with appearance. Unfortunately, that was the biggest hurdle you were facing right now.  

You never had a problem with your wardrobe until now. Sure, your clothes weren’t the trendiest or most luxurious, but they were durable and comfortable, and you took pride in the fact that you took good care of them, mending tears and ironing out wrinkles regularly. You considered wearing the black semi-formal dress you wore for interviews at the Palais Mermonia for the governess license qualification process, but it seemed too plain and austere for the occasion.  

As the first person in your family to meet with the Hydro Archon in generations, and as Neuvillette’s wife, you needed to make a good impression.  

“Well, your tastes certainly lean more towards the practical, Madame,” Marie said. She was sitting on a chair and carefully looking through your clothes. You had asked her to come to your room as a second opinion. “It wouldn’t be a bad idea to go shopping for clothes that are more befitting of your current status.”  

“A status that I will lose at the year’s end,” you reminded her, but you didn’t disagree with her suggestion. As someone who was raised by frugal parents, you were more prone to saving up your Mora and only spending when it was necessary. That was what you did with the allowance that Neuvillette gave you, but…perhaps the time had finally come to use it. After all, one could make the argument that nice clothes were essential in situations where you had to make a good impression, and let’s face it, Neuvillette wasn’t exactly hard up for money…  

The fashionable but expensive clothes that you could only admire from afar until now came to mind. Now, you had the means to obtain them for yourself. You felt little bubbles of excitement in your stomach at the thought.   

“I suppose I’ll be hitting up the shopping district tomorrow,” you said, sitting up. “It’s long overdue, anyways.”  

“Indeed, Madame,” Marie looked very excited for some reason. “Honestly, Monsieur Neuvillette should have taken you out shopping a long time ago.”   

“He’s always busy, so it can’t really be helped. He already gave me plenty of money to spend anyway, so I can just shop on my own. Besides, does he even enjoy doing things like shopping?”  

“Mm-hmm,” Marie sounded like she wanted to say something, but held her tongue. “In any case, he is in for a wonderful surprise to see you all dressed up.”  

“I’m not doing it for him ,” you protested, even as you had to admit that you were curious to see Neuvillette’s reaction to you in clothes that you didn’t normally wear. What would he say? What expression would he make? Would he like them?   

You hoped he would. No, you wanted him to.   

“Perhaps you could model your outfit for him when he comes home tonight,” Marie carried on, seemingly not hearing what you just said.

“That’s a good idea,” you said. The idea hadn’t occurred to you. And while you were at it, you should have a discussion with him about what you were going to say to Furina. You had to come up with a good story to tell.  

“I don’t know what I’d do without you,” you told Marie as you folded up your clothes to put them back in your closet. “You’re always so full of good advice.”  

“If only my own children thought the same way as you, Madame,” she laughed.  

s you stared in bewilderment at the row of high-end boutiques stretching out before you, you couldn’t help but feel that you were in way over your head.  

The low, colorful buildings sparkling in the sun reminded you of jewelry boxes that looked too expensive to touch, lest you leave a smudge on them. The impeccably dressed and coiffed shop clerks standing in front of their doors smiled invitingly and greeted passersby, but their eyes reminded you of the mothers working tirelessly at every ball you had attended—sizing up everyone who walked by and trying to sniff out the ones whose wallets were in need of a little lightening.   

But what intimidated you the most was the sheer variety of shops. You were surrounded on every side by fashionable clothing in a multitude of colors, sizes, and styles. Every time you saw something you liked, another caught your eye that you liked even more. This particular district was very different from the usual, more limited selection of stores that you usually visited. Now that you had the money to spend, you were quickly learning that having more choice wasn’t necessarily more convenient.  

It would be so much easier if I had my sister with me, or my friends, you thought wistfully , but quickly put it out of your mind. They would no doubt pepper you with questions you had no idea how to answer. You still weren’t sure what you were going to say to Furina yet.  

Just as you were standing there, uncertain as to what to do, you heard a familiar high-pitched voice calling out to you. “Madame! I didn’t know you were going shopping today!”  

You turned and saw a group of Melusines and, for some reason, Clorinde, walking towards you. These Melusines all worked for the Marechausee Phantom, but they were in civilian clothing instead of their uniforms. Perhaps this was their day off.  

“Oh, hello, everyone,” you greeted them. “Something came up suddenly, so I needed to do some clothes shopping right away.”  

“Something came up suddenly?” The Melusine who called out to you—Rhemia was her name—repeated. Her expression then changed, and she grinned, as though a realization hit her. “Oh, I get it! It certainly is a very urgent matter, then.”  

The other Melusines seemed to have also caught on to whatever it was, as they all giggled. You had a bad feeling that they were under some kind of mistaken assumption, but as Clorinde was here, you couldn’t correct them. “Can we join you, then? We’re also about to go shopping for clothes.”  

“Sure, that would be lovely,” you said. It was good to have company, even if you weren’t sure if the Melusines, with their unique perception of color and style, would be very helpful.   

Your gaze shifted to Clorinde, who had been standing silently behind the Melusines until now. Her face showed no hint of what she was thinking. It was as though this was the first time you had met each other.  

“Hello, Miss Clorinde,” you greeted her, not wanting to make things awkward. “Are you out shopping as well?”  

She shook her head. “The girls asked me to come along, and as I had some free time, I agreed.” She paused, then added, “I did not know you were married, Madame [Name].”  

“Just [Name] is fine,” you quickly said. “Or Madame, like everyone else does.”  

Clorinde had seen you walking with Neuvillette in the early morning, and now she learned that you were married. It didn’t take a genius to connect the dots.  

Fortunately, she didn’t question you any further, nor show much emotion to the revelation. Neuvillette said that she wasn’t the type to gossip, so you supposed there wasn’t anything to worry about for now.  

“Come on, Madame,” Rhemia was tugging on your hand, pulling you towards the nearest shop. “There’s no time to waste!”  

The sun shined brightly down upon your little group, heralding the start of a long day.  

There is a certain danger in shopping with others, you thought as you trudged back home, hands laden with shopping bags.   

You had assumed that you were just going to buy a few new outfits. But somehow, you ended up buying a whole new wardrobe, plus more things that you weren’t even sure you needed, like accessories, makeup, and even perfume.  

Despite that, you felt a sense of tired contentment, the kind that came after a long day of satisfying work and ample rewards. It had been a very long time since you enjoyed a day out with a group of friends. It was also a nice feeling, being able to spend money on whatever you wanted without worrying about the price or whether you actually needed it. You now understood why the ladies of the upper class frequented the shops every day. What a frightening slippery slope.   

You were certainly feeling the effects of it right now—it felt like your arms were about to fall off. Come to think of it, I do wonder if these clothes would all fit in my suitcase when the time comes to leave. Perhaps I should get another one…  

Clorinde, who seemed stoic and aloof at first, was surprisingly easygoing, if not very talkative, as you had discovered during the course of the day. She knew the best shops and had plenty of good advice on what to pick and wear.  

She had offered to help you carry your bags home, but you declined. You weren’t sure how much she knew about your relationship with Neuvillette, but it was better not to assume anything.   

“I could go and fetch Monsieur Neuvillette instead,” she said.   

You were aghast. “I couldn’t ask him to drop his work for such a trivial matter,” you protested.  

“I don’t believe he would see it that way,” Clorinde said. “Besides, he’ll be off work soon.”  

Still, you couldn’t bring yourself to ask Neuvillette to come all the way here just to help you carry your bags. He would have to make a detour on his usual route home from the Palais. He should have a leisurely rest at home after a long day at work.  

There was another, sillier, reason behind your decision—you wanted to surprise him.  

You couldn’t help but picture his reaction to the clothes you and the others picked out. Would he like them? Secretly, you hoped he would. You wondered what he would say. You wondered how he would look at you.  

The thought of being looked at by him, for whatever reason, sent a shiver down your spine. All your life, you had become accustomed to being overlooked, to being invisible. It wasn’t a bad feeling at all. While others had the spotlight cast upon them, you were happy to remain in the shadows, free to do whatever you wanted. True, it bothered you sometimes that you might be a ghost in the lives of others, only remembered as a presence in the background, but surely the benefits outweighed the negatives, right?  

But Neuvillette was different. He was always looking directly at you. When you were with him, you felt more…solid. Like you mattered. Like you had some importance in his life—to him. It was wishful thinking that you shouldn’t entertain, but from time to time, you succumbed to it.  

After you parted ways with everyone, you slowly walked back home. You weren’t very familiar with this area, but as it was still daylight out and there were plenty of people walking around, you weren’t worried.   

Then, suddenly, you spotted a used bookshop tucked between a flower shop and a jewelry store. Your eyes would have skipped over it if you hadn’t seen the store sign.  

You eagerly made your way inside and was greeted with the invigorating scent of old books. After saying hello to the owner, you disappeared between the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. Mysteries, romances, fantasy…they called to you with their siren songs, but you didn’t stop until you reached the one section you were looking for—the history section.  

You let out an embarrassing squeal once you reached the shelf. Luckily, there was no one around to hear you.    

The shelf was filled with everything from glossy textbooks to jacketless tomes that went out of print decades ago. Not even the library had some of these books. And they were all at reasonable prices, too… Oh, but I’m already carrying so many things. I can’t possibly buy these heavy books as well. But what if someone buys them before me?   

There was a comfy-looking couch nearby that was beckoning you to curl up on it with a book. Well, just one read wouldn’t hurt, right?  

You picked a book at random. This one was titled Boethius: Harmost and Villain. It was right up your alley, and it wasn’t too thick. You could probably finish this one in an hour. You sat down on the couch and immersed yourself in its world.  

“Miss, we’re closing soon.”  

A voice broke through your reverie. It belonged to the store owner.  

“Huh…?” you blink up at her, feeling as though you had just emerged from underwater. “O-Oh! I’m sorry, I completely lost track of time…”  

You hurriedly got up and reshelved the stack of books next to you. Feeling bad that you didn’t end up purchasing anything, you inwardly promised to come back here tomorrow.   

As you made your way to the door, you stopped in shock. It was completely dark outside. How long had you been reading?  

Ugh, this always happens. Once you got absorbed in a book, hours could pass in the blink of an eye.  

“Be careful out there, Miss,” the owner told you, and you nodded, bidding her good night.   

The sun had mostly set, the stores around you were all closed, and there were few pedestrians on the streets.  

Luckily, you could still see the Palais Mermonia soaring high above the city. If you headed towards it, you would surely be able to find your way back home. With that in mind, you walked on ahead quickly.  

I should have asked the bookshop owner for directions, you thought as you turned down a narrow lane, but you weren’t sure if you could find your way back. The streetlights were coming on, but the harsh, dark shadows they cast made you speed up a little bit more. I could ask it to stop near Neuvillette’s neighborhood and walk the rest of the way back…  

However, you saw no carriages around. In fact, there was no one around at all. Oh Archons, I made a huge mistake!  

Even back in your sleepy little hometown, your parents always cautioned you to never stay out late. You heeded their advice in the Court of Fontaine as well, very conscious of the fact that it wasn’t rare for young ladies like you to get kidnapped off the streets. And yet, here you were, ripe for the picking with your arms laden with shopping bags.  

I’m an idiot, I’m an idiot, I’m an idiot… you berated yourself in your head as you quickened your footsteps, your heart racing. Your earlier refusal of Clorinde’s offer to accompany you home now seemed to you a stupid, short-sighted decision.   

I’ll just stay close to the streetlights for now, you decided. You fixed your gaze on the Palais and tried to focus on reaching it. Deep, calming breaths, [Name]…almost there…  

However, every time it seemed that you were on the verge of reaching it, a sudden turn or twist in the road would divert you further away from it. Eventually, you had to admit that you were hopelessly lost.  

What’s worse, this particular area you found yourself in had a shady air to it that raised the hairs on the back of your neck. You weren’t sure if this was one of the less savory parts of town you had always been warned about, but it sure felt like it. The darkened windows of the buildings felt like eyes staring down at you. Maybe you were being watched. No, don’t be paranoid, you told yourself, but to no avail.   

In any case, I have to get out of here.   

But just then, a figure emerged from the shadows ahead of you, heading in your direction. Your steps faltered slightly when you saw that it was a burly man dressed in a surprisingly fine business suit. He was swaying from side to side and muttering to himself. A drunk?  

Instinctively, you tightened your grip on your bags and stuck close to the shadows. Perhaps he would be too drunk to notice you.  

Unluckily, just as you were about to pass him, he called out to you in a slurred, hoarse voice.  

“Lovely evening, eh, Miss?”  

Even from here, you could smell the stink of alcohol on his breath. His eyes were glazed over, and he was teetering on his feet. He must be terribly drunk.  

“...Mm,” you said, giving him a brief nod and not looking him in the eye. You tried to sidle past him, but he grabbed your upper arm. His fingers were thick and sweaty, his grip firm. Goosebumps rose on your body.  

“Where ya going in such a hurry, huh? Why dontcha join me for a drink?”   

You tried to shake him off, but he didn’t budge. In fact, his hold on your arm only tightened. That’s going to leave a bruise in the morning, your thought distantly.  

“Hey, why aren’t ya talking? You a mute or something?”  

You pursed your lips and gave him the nastiest glare you could manage, even as you felt your heart threatening to burst out of your chest. Reasoning with a drunk, especially an aggressive one like him, was futile. You should scream for help. The other end of the alley was not that far away. Maybe a patrolling Garde would hear you.   

You took a deep breath and was about to let out a scream, but barely a squeak left your mouth before the man’s meaty hand clamped over your mouth. For a drunk, his reflexes were fast.  

The man turned your head to look at him. His face was redder than before. It was from anger. “Not a mute after all, eh? Whatcha going around screaming for? I just wanted to have a nice little chat with ya. Why don’t we go back to my place and get t’know each other better?”  

Oh no, he’s going to drag me away somewhere! It all felt so unreal, like it was happening to someone else. Fear gripped your heart, and you did the only thing you could do in the situation—you bit down on his palm so hard that you drew blood.  

“Fuck!” the man shouted in pain and let out a string of curses. His grip loosened, allowing you to shake him off and run as fast as you could to the end of the alley, which suddenly seemed a whole other world away. You pumped your already-tired legs, pushing them to their limit, but the heavy bags in your hands slowed you down. You should throw them away, but sweat glued their straps to your palms and there was no time to stop and pull them off.   

You heard the man shouting curses and his heavy footsteps as he chased after you. He was catching up to you quickly.  

Fate must enjoy playing cruel jokes on you, for rain began to pour down heavily at that very moment.  

It got into your eyes and soaked into your clothes. The stone-paved road suddenly became hazardous. Every time your feet almost slipped on the wet stones, panic threatened to overwhelm you.   

After what seemed like a lifetime, you reached the end of the alley—only to be met with a crossroads. Which path to take? With your blurred vision, you couldn’t see the Palais Mermonia or anything at all.   

You dared to look back, and your heart nearly stopped. The man was right on your heels, his face a hideous twisted mask of rage. He lunged at you, and you managed to dodge in time. He fell forward, landing on the ground with a heavy thud. You were about to run away, but your feet twisted under you. You tripped.  

Oh, I think I twisted my ankle... Pain blossomed in your right ankle, your knee, and your palms. You tried to pull yourself up, but the man’s large hand clamped around your hurt ankle, holding you in place. His grip tightened, and you could practically hear your bones grind against each other. You gasped as white-hot pain lanced up your leg. He’s going to break it...!  

“You little bitch...you’ll pay for that!” the man growled. He was trying to drag you towards him, and you scrabbled desperately at the ground for something to hold onto, but it was no use. “Who d’you think you are, biting me ?”  

“Heard there’s some guy lookin’ to buy girls. I think I’ll sell ya to him. It’ll serve you right!” the man continued to rant and rave. He didn’t seem to feel the rain at all. There was a strange light in his eyes. Was he really drunk on alcohol? You had no idea. All you wanted to do was get away.  

“My husband knows I’m gone! He’ll come looking for me!” you shouted, but even you knew it was an empty threat. There was no way Neuvillette would know where you were right now, right?  

The rain... The image of Neuvillette standing in the rain came to mind. There was a connection between him and rain. You didn’t know what it was, but it definitely existed.   

It was an absurd, baseless idea, but you were out of options. “Neuvillette!” you screamed. “Neuvi--ah!”  

Your ankle was squeezed even harder. He really was going to snap it in two at this rate. How can anyone be so strong?  

“Shut the fuck up! Ain't no one here to help you now, not even—” he suddenly let out a scream of agony. His grip on your ankle slackened.  

You stared at the sight in front of you, feeling as though your brain skipped a few seconds ahead in time.  

Just a moment before, it was only the two of you in this alley...until it wasn’t.   

There was a heel grinding into the hand grabbing your ankle. You knew even before looking up who it belonged to.  

Neuvillette was standing above the two of you, his cane in hand. There was a wavering blue light behind him. His face was an emotionless mask, but his eyes seemed to be glowing, figuratively and literally. They were filled with a cold hatred—no, something even more primal and basic than that. It was as though he was looking down at a worm, something far beneath him.  

For the first time since you knew him, you thought he seemed completely inhuman.  

The man was whimpering in pain. He tried to heave himself up, but couldn’t. He turned to look at who was stepping on his hand and gasped. “M-Monsieur Neuvillette? W-What...how...”  

“You are under arrest, Mr. Moreau, for assault,” Neuvillette’s voice was low and deep, carrying well even in the cacophony in the rain. Like his expression, it was void of emotion, but you thought you could hear something else behind it, like a shadow lurking in the depths of the sea. “The Gardes will be here shortly. I suggest you prepare yourself.”  

The man seemed too overwhelmed to speak. All he could do was stare up at Neuvillette blankly, his mouth opening and closing like a fish. You weren’t any better yourself.  

Seeming to no longer deem the man a threat, Neuvillette immediately turned to you. The terrible look from before was gone, replaced with naked worry and relief. “Madame!” he helped you sit up, then quickly took off his coat and wrapped it around you. “Can you walk?”  

You simply stared at him, unable to speak. In the distance, you heard shouts and footsteps running over here. It was probably the Gardes.  

His question registered a few seconds later, and you shook your head. Your ankle felt as though it was on fire. You didn’t want to look at it.   

Neuvillette studied your ankle, his brow creased with worry. His fingers brushed against the skin, and you let out a yelp. “My apologies,” he said quickly, pain flashing across his features. “I shall take you to the infirmary right away.”  

The Gardes had arrived by then and became busy with arresting the man—Moreau. Neuvillette spoke a few words to them, then turned back to you. “I shall be carrying you in my arms now,” he whispered in your ear. “I’ll ask a Garde to bring your bags to the infirmary.” He hooked an arm under your knees and circled the other around your waist, lifting you and holding you close to his chest. He seemed uncaring of the fact there were others around. None of them were looking your way, though.  

“Madame, you’re safe now,” he murmured. He sounded like the Neuvillette you had always known. That, along with the gentle warmth and crisp cologne that suffused his coat wrapped around you, finally thawed your frozen emotions.  

“Neuvillette...I was so scared!” Hot tears spilled down your cheeks, and you buried your face in his wet shirt, sobbing into his chest. “If you hadn’t shown up, he would have...!  

“There is no need to say anything more,” he whispered. He was now walking away from the scene. “I am with you now. No one can harm you any longer. The emergency room is not too far away. A carriage will bring us there.”  

His hand combed through the strands of your wet hair. The motions were awkward, but they brought you a comfort sweeter than anything you had known.  

Maybe it was just your imagination, but the rain seemed to abate with every stroke of his hands.  

At the emergency room, a nurse examined your ankle and declared that while it was badly sprained, it was not broken. An ice pack and bandages were applied to it, with instructions to rest in bed the next day and to change the ice pack every few hours. Your knee and upper arm were bruised, and your palms were scraped, but other than that, you weren’t seriously injured.   

The nurse also helped you change into dry clothes. Miraculously, your newly-brought clothes were mostly unscathed from the rain, so you chose a sweater and pants. She also offered you a hot cup of coffee, which you gratefully accepted.   

Not long after that, a Garde came to question you about the incident and record the injuries you sustained. It mercifully didn’t take very long.  

“Would I have to testify in court?” you asked Neuvillette nervously after the two of you were finally left alone. He had been with you through all of this, silently sitting at your bedside and rarely leaving it. You couldn’t help but wonder what other people thought of this, but mostly you were just glad for his steady presence.  

“It may not come to that,” Neuvillette said slowly, which was not reassuring to hear. “You have given your statement, and there is enough evidence for a prompt conviction without requiring victim testimony. And with the past history of the accused...”  

He trailed off, a shadow passing over his face. “You knew that man—Moreau,” you said.  

“Yes. Mr. Moreau is a wealthy businessman with many high-ranking friends in government. I have met him at several functions, and, well...you will have to excuse me for refraining from speaking of his character due to my involvement in this case. It has long been suspected that he has been engaging in various underhanded dealings, but no concrete evidence has ever been found. But to think that he would even stoop to human trafficking...it’s simply unconscionable.”  

You wondered why a man like that would be walking around the streets drunk and attacking people. If he was so good at concealing his crimes, surely he wouldn’t do something so stupid and brazen that would get him arrested. You recalled his hideous mask of a face and the eerie light in his eyes and shivered. Neuvillette, seeing this, reached out and took your hand in his, squeezing it. You could feel his wedding ring pressing into your fingers through his glove.  

“There is no need for us to dwell on this any longer,” he murmured, rubbing circles in the back of your hand with his thumb. “Focus on recovery. If there is anything that is required of you, you will be given ample notice beforehand.”  

You stared into his eyes. You would never admit this to anyone, but you enjoyed looking at them. They were the most expressive part of his face—which wasn’t saying very much—and you thought you had become rather good at grasping the emotions flickering behind them, like trying to catch a slippery fish in a pond. Right now, you would say that there was a mix of lingering panic and an earnest desire to make you feel better.  

“Thank you,” you whispered, feeling tears well up in your eyes again. Neuvillette took out another handkerchief from his breast pocket and handed it to you. You dabbed your eyes.   

“I only wish that I had gotten there sooner,” he said, and you could feel the regret and anger at himself rolling off him like waves. “So that I could spare you from having to go through something so traumatic.”  

“Don’t blame yourself. It was all my fault. If only I hadn’t gotten distracted by books and lost track of time, if only I had familiarized myself with the roads more, none of this would have happened. I made you worry about me. It’s what I deserve.” You had recounted everything that happened to him while riding in the carriage. He must think I’m an idiot who can’t even take care of herself, you looked down in shame.   

“Madame, please look at me,” Gentle fingers tilted your chin up, his lavender eyes transfixing you. “None of this is your fault, not a single bit of it. A bit of absentmindedness does not deserve punishment. The only party in the wrong here has been taken into custody and will receive a fitting sentence for his crimes.”  

“...Mm,” you managed to nod. His face was very close to yours. From this distance, you could see every single one of his long eyelashes in stark detail. For some reason, your heart started beating faster again.  

“So...how did you find me?” you moved away from him a little, though you left your hand in his. “I did tell Marie that I was going to the shopping district, but I don’t think I was anywhere near there by the time you found me.”  

“Marie told me where you went when I returned home in the early evening. When you didn’t return home by dinner time, we became worried, so I went out in search of you and asked the Gardes to assist. Then, I heard you screaming my name and followed it.”  

“Hmm...I see,” it felt like he cut out some important details out of that explanation, but he was clearly not about to divulge his secrets. “The sudden heavy rain must have made it quite difficult,” you said, glancing at him.  

“For the others, perhaps. But it was hardly a hurdle for me.”  

A short silence followed. You wanted to push him for answers a little more, but sensed his discomfort and decided to drop it.  

“You know, we’ve known each other for some time now, but this is the first time I’ve seen you with your cane up close,” you said. “Actually, this was the very first time I’ve seen you so angry. I hope it's never directed at me.”   

The memory of Neuvillette’s look of fury flashed through your mind again. That blue light you saw behind him must have been his glowing horns. It reminded you that he was, in actuality, an unfathomably powerful being.  He could have done much worse to Moreau than merely stepping on his hand.   

“My apologies. Did I scare you?” a small furrow appeared between Neuvillette’s brows, the corners of his lips turning downwards slightly. It was such a contrast from that previous expression that you almost felt like laughing. “I am often unaware as to how my face might appear to others. It is something I try to work on outside of court. Although, I must admit, I was not thinking very amicable thoughts at the time. It might have shown on my face.”  

You mulled his question over. Were you scared of him back then? To be quite honest, your mind was already preoccupied with fear by the time he arrived—there simply wasn’t enough room for more. Yes, you certainly had been shocked at first, but…  

Even if his eyes and horns (that was his horns, wasn’t it?) were glowing, it was still Neuvillette.  

“You should have been even more terrifying,” you told him sincerely. “If you ever do something like this again, you should show up riding on the back of a vishap.”  

He stared at you in bafflement for a few seconds, then turned his head away, but you caught the ghost of a smile on his lips.  

Mentally and physically exhausted by last night’s events, you slept like a log until noon. When you woke up, you were greeted with a platter of all your favorite dishes.  

With the new day and the cozy familiarity of your room, the events of last night seemed like they happened a lifetime ago. The fear had mostly subsided, leaving mortification and regret in its wake, especially as everyone was acting so considerate towards you. Looking back, you had no idea what you were thinking, and you realized once again just how lucky you had been.   

Your ankle’s swelling had gone down considerably the next day, but it still hurt whenever you put even the slightest bit of pressure on it, so you spent most of the day in bed, reading books, drawing, or staring out the window at the gray sky. You weren’t without company, though, as Marie sat with you in your room often, changing the ice pack and helping you put away your newly bought clothes in your closet. She had been horrified when you came home last night in Neuvillette’s arms. “How awful, Madame!” she had lamented as she helped you get to your room and change into your nightgown. “Thank the Archons that Monsieur Neuvillette arrived on time!”  

Marie wasn’t the only visitor to your room. The Melusines, including those who hadn’t gone shopping with you, also came to see you throughout the day. You supposed that Neuvillette told them about you, for they all brought you cakes and other desserts as get-well presents (you also suspected that they also reported back to Neuvillette about your condition, for when you mentioned to one Melusine how you would like to drink some Fonta, your wish was granted by the next Melusine who visited. However, she also heartily recommended that you drink water from Snezhnaya instead, which held a coolness that was good against swelling, and if you wanted, you could ask Marie to fetch a bottle of it for you from Monsieur Neuvillette’s personal stash. She also added that you need not hesitate to ask, as he had more than one bottle. Perhaps all Melusines shared his specific tastes in water, but you didn’t quite believe that was the case).  

Rhemia and the other Melusines who had been with you yesterday had been the most distressed upon seeing you bedridden. “I’ll stick to you like glue from now on, Madame! No criminal will escape my sights!” Rhemia had declared, and her sisters nodded vigorously in agreement.  

“There really is no need for that,” you tried to decline her offer. Privately, you thought that there wasn’t much a Melusine could do against a man of Moreau’s size anyways. “The whole incident only happened because I was careless and in the wrong place at the wrong time. I’ll be much more careful next time, so I doubt it will happen again. Just because I’m Neuvillette’s wife, it doesn’t mean that I deserve special treatment or anything of the sort. And if he put you up to this, then—”  

Rhemia blinked at you in confusion. “But this has nothing to do with Monsieur Neuvillette. Not entirely, anyways.”  

“It doesn’t?” Now you were confused.  

“Nope! I’d do this for all the people important to me! Oh, but I guess you’re more than that, since you’re married to Monsieur Neuvillette! That would make you our mother, I suppose.”  

“Um…” There was the m-word again. You considered correcting Rhemia, but she continued, seemingly not noticing your discomfort.  

“You’re always so kind and patient with us, just like Monsieur Neuvillette. You greet us whenever you see us, and you always ask us about our days and listen to our troubles. Oh, and Madame, you’re such a good teacher too! I’ve gotten so much better at drawing humans thanks to your lessons!” Rhemia turned to her friends. “Am I right?”  

Her friends nodded enthusiastically. They began recounting all the times you’ve spent with them.   

“I’m glad to hear that you all think of me as your friend,” you said after they finished, a little embarrassed but also pleased. You hadn’t expected them to remember so much about you. But you felt a little guilty as well. At first, you decided to become friendly with the Melusines because everyone knew that Neuvillette treasured them greatly and you wanted to be in his good graces so that he wouldn’t have any reason to kick you out. They had always been the ones to come up to you first, especially in the first few weeks after your marriage, and while you didn’t consider yourself to be a particularly friendly and warm person, even you weren’t heartless enough to be cold to such a cheerful race of creatures.   

“It’s not just us! I’m sure all the Melusines in the Court of Fontaine feel the same way. You’re just as important to us as Monsieur Neuvillette.”  

“Oh…” Looking at their bright, earnest faces, you didn’t know what to say. Your eyes suddenly became misty. Before this marriage, you hadn’t given much mind to Melusines. They were just the public servants you would occasionally pass by on the street. But now that you were connected to them through Neuvillette, you were belatedly learning just how wonderful they were.  

“Thank you,” you said at last, patting each of them on the head. Your hand still stung a little from last night, but you ignored it. “It means a lot to me that you think so highly of me. Truly. Still, you don’t need to follow me around. If I ever need help, I promise that I will come straight to you. And…I hope that you will all come to the sunflower viewing party we’re holding here next month.”  

“Of course, Madame! We wouldn’t miss it for anything!” the Melusines chirped in unison.  

By evening, the deluge of visitors had finally ended. You sank into your pillows, feeling exhausted. You weren’t used to having so many people fuss over you. It was unfamiliar territory, one that you weren’t quite sure how to navigate.   

Still, as you gazed at the teetering pile of confectionary boxes covered in Melusine stickers on your bedside table and remembered all the get-well wishes you received, a rush of warmth flooded your heart. How did I get so lucky? You wondered. Perhaps even after I leave Neuvillette, we can still be friends…  

As you were lost in your thoughts, Marie came into your room again.   

“Oh, Madame, I completely forgot to give you this because of everything that happened yesterday. It appears to be from your family.”  

Marie handed you an envelope made of thick, creamy paper. You recognized the stationery as the kind used by your father for formal correspondences, and the address written in familiar, flowery cursive on the front was indeed that of your family’s house.  

“Ah, that would be from my sister,” you said, tearing the envelope open and taking out the contents. The envelope contained two cards made of similarly thick paper. They both had an elaborately drawn border of Lumidouce Bells and Rainbow Roses and had an invitation written in the center. This was new.  

You are cordially invited   

To a celebration  

Honoring  

Justine’s nineteenth birthday  

Semi-formal attire requested (Floral themed outfits are preferred)  

P.S. Sister, please tell me if Monsieur Neuvillette has any allergies or requires any accommodations!  

“Oh no…” you groaned, putting your palm over your face. “I still haven’t gotten her a present yet!”  

You had planned to get something for her yesterday after you finished shopping for yourself, but meeting up with Rhemia and the others caused it to completely slip your mind.  

While we’re on this topic, shouldn’t she have sent the invitations much earlier if she wanted people to RSVP? It’s just like her to do things last minute! And why is she acting like it’s already decided that Neuvillette’s coming?  

“Marie, could you please fetch me my pen and paper?” you asked the housekeeper. After you received them, you began to write a reply to tell Justine that while you were coming, Neuvillette definitely wasn’t. But just as you got to that last part, you paused. The idea of the Chief Justice attending a teenage girl’s birthday party all the way out in the countryside was absurd, of course. You tried to picture him sitting at your family’s worn dining table, singing “Happy Birthday” eating the butterscotch cake your housekeeper always made for birthdays, all the while fending off the barrage of questions from your family and friends. I can’t imagine it! It’s just too ridiculous.  

It would be better if he didn’t have too much contact with your family, in order to avoid them asking too many questions, and to make the eventual divorce go smoothly.  

He rarely even attended the far more glamorous functions of high society, so something like this would be out of the question. His answer would go without asking.   

Or would it?  

You didn’t really know why you were entertaining the idea. Perhaps being with Neuvillette these past few months had greatly inflated your sense of self-importance—but then again, you thought that the two of you had gotten close enough where asking him wouldn’t be so preposterous. You were friends, and wouldn’t it be ruder to not at least extend an invitation to a friend? Wasn’t the act of asking in itself greatly appreciated?   

And…there was a little part of you that would like to show him around your hometown. It was pretty much in the middle of nowhere, and all you could see for miles around were fields of wildflowers and mountains—a common sight in Fontaine—but there were a few spots that you had fond memories of. Since Neuvillette showed you his favorite places, it was only right to repay the favor, even if none of your favorite spots were as exciting as the giant willow tree or Merusea Village.  

Recent events, including the latest incident, had taught you the folly of making assumptions, even for seemingly inconsequential things like this. Just because you thought   

The worst thing he could say is no, you reasoned to yourself. And it’s not the end of the world if he does. Sure, Justine will be disappointed, but everyone knows how busy and reclusive Neuvillette is, so she’ll understand if he declines.  

As if on cue, you heard the front door open downstairs. Neuvillette had returned home. After a brief conversation with Marie, the sound of his heels briskly ascending the stairs and heading in the direction of your room until it stopped in front of your door. There was a soft knock.  

“Madame, may I come in?”  

“Yes,” you called out, and Neuvillette opened the door and stepped inside your room. He was about to close the door behind him, but then he looked at you. A thought seemed to cross his mind, and he left the door ajar.  

Um, why is he just standing there? You stared at him, confused when he didn’t take a seat right away. He simply stood there stiffly, his gaze a mixture of worry, uncertainty, and something else. For a second, you wondered if he was that caught off guard by your disheveled appearance that was a result of staying in bed all day. It took you a minute to realize that he was waiting for you to ask him to sit down. Really, this man… I thought we’re past such formalities.  

“You can pull up a chair,” you said, nodding towards the cushioned chairs in the center of the room. He complied, clasping his hands in his lap after settling in his seat and leaning towards you slightly. He stared at you intently, as if afraid that you would disappear before his eyes. You squirmed uncomfortably, suddenly very aware of the fact that you were wearing only your rumpled nightgown and that you were lying in bed. You surreptitiously pulled your covers up to your chest.   

Come to think of it, this is the first time I’ve ever had a man who isn’t my father in my room, you mused, though you were also aware that this wasn’t really the occasion to think about such things. Well, I guess it technically isn’t the first time, but this is very different.  

Thankfully, Neuvillette broke the silence and (once again) prevented your thoughts from going down a potentially thorny path.  

“How are you feeling, Madame? Regrettably, I was not able to take some time off to come and see you.”  

“There’s no need for that. Marie took very good care of me, and I got plenty of visitors today,” you indicated the tower of cake boxes on your bedside table.   

Neuvillette nodded, his face softening slightly. “We should postpone the meeting with Furina.”  

“No,” you said quickly, putting your hand on his. “The sooner we get this over with, the better. I’ll drag myself up the steps of the Palais if I have to.”  

Neuvillette looked like he wanted to argue, but he swallowed back whatever he was going to say. “There’s no need for that,” he said at last. “I would be happy to carry you into my office, if you should ask.”  

“Carry me into your office?” you repeated incredulously. Was he serious? But by now, you already knew the answer to that question.  

You leaned back against your pillow with a smile. You sometimes wondered if Neuvillette realized how unintentionally funny he could be. “Wouldn’t that give people the wrong idea?”  

“You do have a point. Then, I propose that we arrive at my office early in the morning, before the Palais employees come into work.”  

“How about instead of carrying me, I borrow your cane?”  

Neuvillette seemed to be pondering your words seriously. “But that would also run into the problem of rousing people’s suspicions. Someone might wonder why my cane is in your possession.”  

You turned your head away to smother your laugh.  

“It seems that the Melusines have made their visits,” Neuvillette said, looking at the tower of boxes on your bedside table.  

“Yes, they were all very sweet. Although, I’m not sure how they expect me to eat all these…” You liked dessert and all, but not to this extent. Perhaps you could bring some of them back home with you to share with your family and friends.   

“Clorinde also asked me to pass on her well wishes to you. She was very sorry to hear what happened.”  

“I see. Please thank her for me, and tell her not to blame herself for my foolishness.”  

“I will do that,” Neuvillette nodded, then was silent for a moment. His solemn gaze as he looked at you made it seem like you were diagnosed with some terminal illness rather than merely spraining your ankle badly and hitting your knee against the ground.   

“Neuvillette?” you called out his name in hopes of getting rid of that grave look in his eyes. It made your chest feel heavy.   

“Ah, by the way, I consulted with a friend of mine about your injury. She made this drink for you,” Neuvillette manifested a green, ridiculously adorable cup from out of nowhere. It reminded you of the bulky and colorful cups toddlers drank juice out of. “She says that it will help your body recover quicker.”  

“A friend of yours?” you repeated, your interest piqued. While Neuvillette would happily talk to you about the Melusines for hours on end and occasionally talk about his (human) acquaintances, you had never heard him call anyone his friend before.   

“Yes. She is the head nurse the Fortress of Meropide’s infirmary, and one of the kindest and most considerate people I know. I hope the two of you can meet one day.”  

“That’s high praise coming from you,” you said, making a mental note of this mysterious friend. “Why don’t we invite her to the sunflower viewing as well?”  

“What a wonderful idea. I shall do just that,” he said, then held out the cup to you. “Now, Madame, you should drink this.”  

“Alright,” you took a sip of the drink and nearly spat it out. “Bleakness” was the only way to describe the taste. It almost made you want to get out of bed and walk so that the pain could distract you from the torture of your tastebuds. For a heartbeat, you wondered if Neuvillette was trying to poison you. “A-Are you sure this is h-healthy?”  

“Of course,” Neuvillette said, looking baffled by your question. “I’ve drank it on numerous occasions, and I’ve always found myself quite refreshed and invigorated afterward. I asked Sigewinne to make it taste more palatable for you, as I’m aware that her concoctions are not for everyone. She truly hopes it makes you feel better.”  

This is palatable? You thought. Did I do something to this Sigewinne person? Whoever she was, she shared the same incomprehensible sense of taste as Neuvillette.  

Speaking of Neuvillette, he was looking at you expectantly. Oh Archons, is he expecting me to finish it in front of him? Just as you were trying to come up with an excuse to not drink it, those efforts were dashed by his next words. “Is it not to your liking?” he said quietly. You were vaguely aware that it had started raining outside.   

“I…um…” you didn’t know what to say or where to look. You suddenly had the impression that a large puppy was at your bedside, staring at you with sad eyes. Gah, he must be doing this on purpose! Either that, or he must really be fond of that friend of his. “Well, when it comes to medicine, it’s not really a matter of liking it or not liking it, right? A-And since you’ve gone to the trouble of asking your friend to make this for me, it would be rude of me to not drink it, right?” You sounded like you were trying to convince yourself.  

“If you do not like it, then you do not need to force yourself—”  

“No, no, I mean, I’ve taken plenty of bitter medicine when I was little, and I survived. This will be no different,” you brought the straw up to your mouth and held your breath. Let’s just get this over quickly, you thought, then emptied the cup in one go. Fortunately, there wasn’t much to drink. However, the lumpy texture was still a struggle to swallow. You felt as though you had just eaten concrete.   

“That was…certainly something I’ve never drank before,” you managed, flopping back onto your pillows to recover. You opened a box of lemon tarts and shoved one into your mouth to get rid of the taste. Honestly, you wanted to drink some Fonta instead, but decided that it might be a bit uncouth. Of course, some might say that it was unladylike to eat cake in bed in the first place, but you doubted those people ever had the misfortune of having to drink that so-called “healthy drink.” “Please thank your friend for me.”  

Neuvillette nodded, watching you as you ate a second, then a third tart. Lemon wasn’t your favorite flavor, but anything would do right now. You offered one to him, but he politely declined. His gaze dropped to the papers in your lap. “…Were you writing a letter to someone?” he asked.   

“Oh!” you had almost forgotten about that. “My sister Justine sent us invitations to her birthday party. It’s a bit short notice, but it’s in a few days.”  

“Ah, yes, I’ve heard you mention it before,” Neuvillette took a pause, as if he had only just taken in the entirety of your words. “Did you say ‘invitations’?”  

“Yes,” you nodded. Your hands suddenly felt sweaty. What were you so nervous about? “Since we’re, you know, husband and wife, it’s only natural that invitations would be sent to the both of us. Funny thing is, Justine thinks you’re already coming and has asked me if you require any accommodations, but, obviously, you haven’t given any answer as to whether or not you’ll be attending the party. I-I know that you usually don’t attend public functions, but birthday parties in our party don’t tend to be very extravagant affairs. It’s usually just a small gathering of close friends and relatives. We can even make everyone sign a contract of confidentiality, if you want. You don’t have to bring any gifts either. I think your presence will be a gift in itself for my sister, haha…”  

Oh no, I’m rambling again…why do I keep doing this? It’s a simple question! You toyed with the edge of your comforter, suddenly too nervous to look at his expression. Would there be a look of disgust there? Why would there be? Your brain argued back. You haven’t asked anything offensive!  

Finally, you dared to sneak a peek. He was staring at your face, as though scrutinizing it for answers to a difficult question.   

“You don’t have to go if you don’t want to,” you said, thinking that he must be trying to find a way to let you down gently.   

“…Do you want me to attend?” he said at last.   

You hadn’t expected that question. “What do you mean?” you frowned.  

“What I mean is…would it please you—would it make you happy if I attended your sister’s party?”  

The question threw you off guard. You didn’t know what he meant by it. What did it matter what you thought?  

“Well, it’s not my party, so my opinion doesn’t matter,” you said slowly. “My sister will certainly be overjoyed if you attended.”  

“But your opinion does matter quite a lot to me,” Neuvillette said. He was oddly insistent about this.  

Oh, I get it. He doesn’t want to come, but doesn’t want to offend, you thought.  

“If you want to come, then come. If you don’t, then don’t,” Realizing that your words might sound too harsh, you softened your tone. “It’s okay to say no. I won’t hold it against you. I’m sure my sister and everyone else will understand.”  

Neuvillette stared at you with an unreadable expression in his eyes. You could hear the rain pounding against your window, and you turned your head to it. The sky was a dark, leaden gray. It’s been raining pretty frequently these days, hasn’t it? You thought distantly.  

“Unfortunately, I have a trial to oversee on that day,” he said. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw him clench and unclench his fists. You wondered why he didn’t mention the trial earlier. “I do not think it would be wise for me to attend, in any case. It would be a needless distraction.”  

“Alright then. I’ll tell my sister you can’t attend,” you said lightly, then turned your attention to your unfinished letter. You picked up your pen and began to write. Focusing your mind on producing the words helped distract from the tumult of emotions within you—emotions that you didn’t know quite what to make of. Was it relief you felt, or disappointment? Relief for what? Disappointment about what? Were you seriously expecting him to say “yes”? That made no sense at all. In fact, it would have been stranger if he had agreed to attend.   

It was better to keep expectations low. That way, it wouldn’t feel so terrible when they were inevitably let down.   

In any case, it’s over and done with, you told yourself firmly, signing the letter with a flourish. Maybe too big of a flourish. I’ll post this first thing in the morning—that is, if I can walk by then.  

You glanced up to see Neuvillette still sitting there. He was drinking from his cup, but he was watching you over the rim. You had long gotten used to him studying you like you were some kind of strange specimen, but it was still awkward, especially in this silence. Your room, which had always felt needlessly spacious to you, suddenly felt very small.  

Just as you were debating whether or not to fake a sleepy yawn and ask him to leave, he spoke again.  

“You haven’t yet bought a birthday present for your sister, yes?”  

“Uh-huh?” you replied, wondering what he was getting at.   

“I won’t have any time tomorrow, but I do have an hour or two to spare after our meeting with Furina. We shall go pick out a present together then.”  

You gaped at him. “Together?”  

“Is there something wrong with that? It is customary for married couples to give presents as a pair, is it not? Since I cannot attend the party, allow me to make it up to your sister with a birthday present.”  

“…If you insist,” you said, since he seemed so adamant. Neuvillette was so hard to grasp sometimes. Sometimes, he was clear as a fresh water spring. Other times, like now, you had the sense that you were staring into the sea, unable to see all the way to its bottom. “She’d be happy about that.”  

“Then it is settled,” he said with a note of satisfaction in his voice, then leaned forward and cupped your cheek. It happened so quickly that you didn’t even have a chance to react. “W-Wha…” was all you could manage to stammer out. There was only a millimeter of space between your faces. Your heart sped up a little when his gaze moved to your lips. His thumb moved to the corner of your lip and brushed against it. It took you a moment to realize that he had flicked off a cake crumb.  

"That has been bothering me for a while,” he murmured, removing his hand from your cheek. Despite that, you could still feel the smooth silk of his glove and the press of his long fingers against your skin. “I will take my leave now. Please rest and get well soon, Madame.”  

“I-I will,” you nodded, suddenly feeling shy. You took a box of Conch Madeleines from your bedside table and handed them to him. “Please take this. It’ll take me a year to finish all these desserts anyways. There’s a little packet of whipped cream included, so if it’s too dry for you...”  

“Thank you,” he took the box from you, then stared into your eyes for a moment longer before turning on his heel and leaving your room. It was only when you heard his footsteps recede to the other side of the house that you realized that it was no longer raining.   

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Taglist: @just-simping-over-genshin, @xalphafox, @jqnehr, @favficdump, @thetwinkims, @cielclassy, @the-mxs-of-many, @mxyarylla, @lynettezz, @rosedpetal, @blue-sapphire-ink, @cringeycookies

[joekeeryswife]

Pedro? Pedro. Can I request where reader is mid 20’s and has been dating Pedro for a few months and she brings him home to meet her family at a family reunion? 👀😍 I LOVE me some Pedro 🤤

Family reunion - p.p

hello angels! i hope everyone is okay. this request is so cute. if anyone has any requests don’t be shy to put them in my inbox. i honestly hate this i might delete it tbh. anyway, enjoy loves🤍 ⚠️age gap couple⚠️ (i based this on my family, i hope that’s okay xx)

taglist (feel free to add yourself🤍) @1-john-4-19 @newtandminhoaretoocute @mavs101 @brilliantopposite187 @mimi-luvzyu @iloveshawn @jaydiann @one-sweet-gubler (if there’s a line through your name i can’t tag you for some reason x)

you and Pedro had been dating for 10 months and it had been the best 10 months of your life. he had been the best boyfriend in the entire world. you and Pedro had travelled to your home town as it was your family reunion tonight and you thought it was the perfect opportunity for Pedro to finally meet your family. you had met his family about two months ago but Pedro was always nervous to meet yours.

your family was always welcoming, no matter who they were or what their background was they never judged a person. it was set in stone that Pedro would meet practically all your close family tonight and you could tell the nerves were getting to him. "does this look okay? do you think they'll like it?" he was looking in the mirror at his outfit, he was wearing dress pants and a creamy coloured shirt.

you were sat on your shared bed and had just finished putting on your heels. you always thought Pedro look beautiful in anything he wore and this time was no different. you stood up and walked to him, wrapping your right arm around his waist and pressed a small kiss to his cheek, trying not to transfer your red lipstick "you look perfect baby. i promise they're gonna love you" you gave him a reassuring smile which was met with a nervous one from Pedro. it wasn't a formal event by any means so you didn't bother dressing up too much but you were wearing a light pink co-ord set which fit your body perfectly.

after a couple more minutes of you both looking over your outfits you laced your fingers with his and started making your way to the car. Pedro decided to drive so he could keep his mind occupied. he wanted to make a good impression. you always talked about how much your family meant to you and he wanted them to like him. he was quite a bit older than you, probably closer to your parents age (which seemed crazy) but he had no idea how they would react.

obviously you had told everyone that Pedro was older than you and they really didn't mind. they always wanted you to be happy and if it was with someone older than you so be it. it took you guys about 40 minutes to get to your grandparents house and that's when he felt his heart start beating faster. he saw quite a few cars outside meaning everyone was here, which also meant he was meeting everyone right now.

you could see the nervous look on his face as you unplugged your seatbelt and smiled as he took a deep breath before unplugging his. you both got out of the car and started making your way to the front door, hand in hand. "i promise you'll be fine. you have nothing to worry about" your thumb stroked over the back of his hand as he nodded his head.

you finally arrived at the door and knocked straight away, giving him no time to even think. you heard footsteps approaching the front door before you saw your nan standing there with a huge smile on her face. "y/n" she said, arms open as she pulled you in for a hug, making you let go of Pedro's hand. your nan was one of your favourite people and not seeing her for months was hard, face-times and calls were sometimes not enough.

she rubbed her hand up and down your back as you tightened the hug. "i missed you so much" you said as you felt a small kiss being placed on your forehead. "we all missed you" she pulled away from the hug and moved her attention to Pedro who had his hand out for her to shake. "so this is the famous Pedro we've all heard so much about" she smiled and swatted his hand away playfully and pulled him in for a hug.

"it's nice to meet you" he smiled and hugged her back. that put some of his nerves at ease to be welcomed with open arms. "it's nice to meet you Pedro. everyone's already here so you guys go inside." your nan moved out of the way so you could both go to the living room where you were sure everyone was. you were surprised to only see your niece, Olivia and cousin, Hannah. Hannah and Olivia were on the floor colouring in Olivia's colouring book, not focused on anything but making sure they kept the colours in the lines.

"hey guys" you said with a huge smile on your face. Olivia was 5 already and it felt like she was growing up to quickly from the last time you saw her. they both looked up from the colouring book and Olivia's face lit up with excitement. she squealed and got up from the floor, running to you with her arms raised hinting that she wanted you to pick her up. "auntie y/n. i've missed you" she said, wrapping her arms around your neck once you had picked her up.

you felt your heart swell as you hugged her. "i've missed you so much angel" you smiled and kissed her head. she pulled back from the hug and looked at Pedro with a confused expression on her face. "who's that?" she wrapped her arms around your neck again, her shyness showing making you smile. "that's Pedro. he's my boyfriend. are you gonna say hi?" you whispered to her before she pulled away yet again and looked at him. "hi" she said with a small wave of her small hand. "hi" he replied, smiling at her.

she smiled at him as she finally felt comfortable again and you let her down so you could greet your cousin. Hannah was a year younger than you and she was practically your sister, she walked to you and wrapped her arms around you. "i'm so glad you're here. i've missed you" you heard Hannah say as she rocked the hug slightly. "i've missed you too. it's so nice to be back home" you said, pulling away from her.

"Pedro this is Hannah, my cousin" you smiled at him as he once again stuck his hand out for Hannah to shake but she shook her head. "thank you for making my cousin happy. she doesn't stop talking about you so it's nice to finally meet the man" she hugged him as your cheeks flushed a bright red. "you're welcome. she makes me happy so i guess it's only fair i do the same" he joked, making her laugh loudly.

"i think we should go look for everyone else. mums probably dying from waiting" you laughed as they pulled away from the hug. "your mum has not shut up about you since she got here. she can't wait to see you" you laughed and Hannah smiled as you grabbed ahold of Pedro's hand and started making your way to the kitchen where you heard your mums voice. your mum didn't notice you at first but once she did she practically ran to you and pulled you into her. "my baby. i'm so happy you're home" she said, tears filling her eyes. you hadn't seen your family in almost a year, with everyone having different work schedules and different events happening this was the only time you had gotten a break.

she pulled back and put her hands on your face as she looked over you, taking in the moment that you were actually home. "you look beautiful sweetheart" she lent in and kissed your cheek before turning her attention to Pedro who she immediately hugged. you saw your grandad who had the biggest grin on his face and you couldn't wait for Pedro to finish introducing himself to your mum so you made your way over to your grandad who opened his arms wide for you to hug him.

"how've you been?" he whispered to you as he hugged you tightly. just hugging everyone made you realise how much you'd missed them over the last year. "i'm okay. i've missed everyone though. i hate being away" he nodded his head and kissed your cheek and turned to see Pedro and your mum making their way over to you.

now your grandad looked mean and scary to anyone who didn't know him but he wasn't, he was the kindest, most selfless man you'd ever met. you had been on face-time with your grandad when Pedro was over one time and had spoken to each other for 5 minutes before Pedro had to go to work but speaking on face-time was completely different to meeting him in person. "Pedro, it's nice to see you in person. how are you doing?" your grandad stuck out his hand for Pedro to shake, which he immediately did and nodded at him. "i'm doing great thank you. how are you?"

Pedro was more nervous to meet your dad and grandad more than anyone but seeing your grandad in person and being welcomed by everyone who he had met so far made him feel at ease. that was until your grandad offered to show Pedro around and meet the rest of your family without you. "are you sure? i can show him around grandad" you said, looking between Pedro and your grandad who just shook his head. "Olivia has been wanting to spend time with you and Stacey has just gone into the living room with the baby. you haven't met her yet, Pedro will be fine"

you looked at Pedro who nodded his head reassuringly and smiled when you gave him a small kiss on the cheek before scurrying off back to the living room where you awed loudly seeing your new niece in your cousins arms. "oh my goodness look how adorable you are" they heard you say as you took the baby from Stacey's arms making the two of them laugh at you.

"come on, her dads outside with everyone else" your grandad led Pedro to the back garden where your dad, brother and the rest of your cousins were. he saw everyone in a circle speaking but he couldn’t quite make out what they were saying. “guys, this is Pedro, y/n’s boyfriend” your grandad announced making them all turn around to look at him. this was intimidating. 5 men staring at him intently, analysing him as he approached them.

after a few seconds of awkward silence they all smiled and hugged him at the same time a chorus of hellos. “welcome to the family mate. one rule is treat her well which it seems you are already doing so well done” your brother Adam said and Pedro nodded. of course he was treating you well, you were the best thing to happen to him and he loved you. “would you guys mind if you left us alone?” your dad said, sipping his drink before they all nodded.

“we will be inside” your brother said and it was now left with your dad. your dad could see the anxious look on Pedro’s face and sent him a small smile “you don’t have anything to worry about, i just wanna get to know the man who’s been making my daughter happy is all” your dad said, hoping to give him a little bit of reassurance.

“i’ve seen y/n hurt in the past. you’re her first boyfriend in five years i think and i would hate if something happened between the two of you. she looks happy in every photo i’ve seen of you both and the way she talks about you shows how much she loves you. i hope you aren’t one of those people who will hurt her. she doesn’t deserve it” it was true, your last boyfriend had crushed you and it took a lot for you to open up to Pedro.

“she told me about her ex and i’m nothing like that. i love her a lot and if i’m being honest she’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me, i wouldn’t dream of hurting her, she’s to special” your dad nodded and smiled again. his words seemed genuine. your dad patted him on the shoulder “thank you for making her happy. i’m glad she met you” with that the two of them made their way back inside the house. your brother and two of your cousins were in the kitchen and the rest of the family were in the living room.

the two of them walked in and saw you next to Hannah with the newest addition to your family in your arms, huge smiles on both of your faces as the baby cooed as she looked at you. “you are the cutest thing i’ve ever seen” you said making Olivia look up from her colouring book with a frown on her face. “excuse me auntie y/n but i am actually the cutest thing” she sassed, making everyone laugh loudly.

"i'm sorry Liv. i meant you are the cutest thing i've ever seen" you smiled at her and she nodded and went back to her colouring book, satisfied with your answer. once everyone had gone back to their own conversations Pedro came and sat next to you, wrapping his arm around the back of the sofa. you passed the baby to Hannah and turned to him. "everything okay?" you watched as he nodded and smiled. "i think your dad likes me" you felt relieved that your dad liked him, he hated your ex boyfriend so for him to make Pedro feel welcomed made you happy "i told you that you had nothing to worry about didn't i?" you lent in and pecked him "yeah you did"

"i'm sorry Liv. i meant you are the cutest thing i've ever seen" you smiled at her and she nodded and went back to her colouring book, satisfied with your answer. once everyone had gone back to their own conversations Pedro came and sat next to you, wrapping his arm around the back of the sofa. you passed the baby to Hannah and turned to him. "everything okay?" you watched as he nodded and smiled. "i think your dad likes me" you felt relieved that your dad liked him, he hated your ex boyfriend so for him to make Pedro feel welcomed made you happy "i told you that you had nothing to worry about didn't i?" you lent in and pecked him "yeah you did"

“i’m sorry Liv. i meant you are the cutest thing i’ve ever seen” you smiled at her and she nodded and went back to her colouring book, satisfied with your answer. once everyone had gone back to their own conversations Pedro came and sat next to you, wrapping his arm around the back of the sofa. you passed the baby to Hannah and turned to him. “everything okay?” you watched as he nodded and smiled. “i think your dad likes me” you felt relieved that your dad liked him, he hated your ex boyfriend so for him to make Pedro feel welcomed made you happy “i told you that you had nothing to worry about didn’t i?” you lent in and pecked him “yeah you did”

[softietrait]

ROSE QUARTZ 4 ROSIE: a bachelorette challenge! ;

rosalie, or rosie as most call her is in search for her soulmate. spiritually guided, she wants to find who her divinely guided partner is. she realizes that she won't ever be able to find her match by looking in the same spots she always does - maybe her life parter is somewhere far away. and that's where rose quartz for rosie comes into play. ten sims from all around the simniverse have been randomly chosen and divinely guided to the town of willow creek where they will meet rosie. what brought them here and why did they decide to ultimately click that submit button on the rq4r secret form? rosie can't wait to meet and connect with other sims from all over the world and to finally meet the one she's destined to be with. is it you? i don't know, but the guides do.

rosalie forrest. she/her. 24. pansexual

aspiration: self-care specialist || traits: horticulturist, daydreamer, loves outdoors, outgoing and neat || likes: socializing, blankets, baths, lo-fi music, wellness and deep conversation (+more) & dislikes: egotistical sims, naps, snacking, metal music, swearing (+more)

two little facts: she has a guppy fish named asparagus and a hedgehog named pudgey!

submission deadline is april 21st (4/21), no more deadline. as soon as i have 10 sims submitted, this will start!! feel free to mention me in your submission post, tag it with #rq4r or both!

9/10 submissions

under the read more will be what is needed for submission!

first and foremost, rosie is pansexual - all sims as long as they are of YA or older are able to apply! editing to say this though i probably shouldn't need to... trans sims are also accepted!! right now, i'd rather say no to occult sims, though. only because they make things difficult for me in game (occults hate me for some reason lol)

that said, things your sims needs in their application: of course, the basics: name, pronouns, all that goodness aspiration, traits (if you do not have the 5 traits in cas mod like i do , please add 2 more traits in the application that you'd like me to give them when i put them in my game)(please no romantic traits - everything else goes! , likes & dislikes. feel free to give a lil background too! and some facts! go all out <;333 & some other things to keep in mind... for their outfits, they will need at least 2 formal, 2 party and 2 sleepwear (1 'normal' sleepwear and something a lil sexier just in case ';]]) other than that, feel free to add as much else you want!

i will only be accepting ten(10) sims in total as i will have this set up way different than my last bc challenge. <;33

[notmoreflippingelves]

So in the middle of my rewatch, I suddenly got really distracted by Francisco's black-with-gold-accents "formal" court attire, specifically in regards to the leaf accents on the sleeves. And I could help but think of the *other* black-with-gold-leaf accents look that we see on a Flores family member--Esteban's in "Elena and the Secret of Avalor." Although the designs between the two suits are distinctly different, there is enough of a similarity to make me want to think about them as a set and how the differences actually reflect the differences in the characters/their roles as well.

Although the silhouettes are similar overall, I would go far as to say that Francisco's look creates more of the classic "storybook prince" vibe than his grandson's. His costume is ornate and grand without seeming ostentatious. Think of how Prince Charming is costumed in pretty much any Cinderella adaptation. He must look striking and appropriately heroic--but specifically in a way that enhances our heroine without overshadowing her. And in nearly every adaptation, Prince Charming is more than okay with this, and the same is true of Francisco. He is at some level aware that he is on a show called "Elena of Avalor"--not "Francisco Flores of Avalor" and has no desire to pull the spotlight away from where it rightfully must be. In fact, he is far prouder to be the grandfather of Elena (and of Esteban and Isabel as well) than he would hypothetically be as the protagonist of his own story.

(Esteban meanwhile exudes "main character energy" and I mean that in both the complimentary and derogatory sense. In his mind, he is on a show titled "Chancellor Esteban of Avalor and His 41-Year-Old Guilt Complex That Not Even Tres Leches Cake Can Heal." But like if I had four decades of trauma to process and no one else seemed to notice, I would probably feel uncomfortable when we are not about me as well. And fittingly, his black-and-gold outfit is much more attention-grabbing than Francisco's, but much more on that later).

Two big parts of what leads to the "fairy tale hero" look in Francisco's outfit (and also to his "default" blue version) are: 1) the two medals pinned to his chest and 2) the epaulettes at the shoulder (I believe this is still the correct term even if they lack the tassels we normally associate w/the term, but like fashion historians can feel free to correct me).

Either epaulettes or medals of honor --or both-- are often seen on characters of his type. (Pick any Disney prince and you have a 50% chance of seeing one of these. Heck, King Roland's main outfit in SoA has both as well). A large part of what leads us to associate these particular sartorial touches as "hero-coded" are their association as part of typical military dress uniforms throughout history. (And yes, I recognize the problematic nature of such a trope, but just bear with me and accept it for now).

By including these as part of Francisco's costume (and its original blue equivalent), the animators are implying that he has a long, proud of history of serving his country and that at least some of this service came as a soldier and/or commander on the battlefield. And that he won honor--military and practical alike--in doing so.

Esteban's ensemble, obviously lacks the military touches (the epaulettes and medals) of his grandfather's. Because for all that he too served Avalor for decades, his service was of the bureaucratic rather than the military variety. (Shuriki obviously won't let Esteban wear a sword with his uniform--even he wanted to. Hardly surprising considering the whole "I killed your aunt and uncle. Doesn't that make you want to go apeshit?" thing they've got going.) But I digress.

The arms (esp the shoulders) and trousers of Esteban's ensemble are also much more form-fitted than Francisco's,as befitting a younger, more athletic man who wants to better show off his physique. (The real "secret of Avalor" is how Esteban singlehandedly managed a country for 41 years and somehow did so without skipping "Leg Day"--am I right, folks?")

Compared to Francisco's much plainer jacket, the design of Esteban's coat is also more ornate (the leaf accents are larger and more detailed) and colorful with the red collar, cuffs, and lining. This makes sense given that Esteban is established as much vainer and more flamboyant than his grandfather and that he has as mentioned, a much stronger need to grab attention.

However, the elaborateness of Esteban's jacket makes even more sense we consider it in the context of his role in Shuriki's court. He is a skilled diplomat, yes, and a capable administrator. But like every courtier, his primary function is to be ornamental first and everything else second. His looks, his charm, his attentions are expected to always be in service to the Queen first and foremost--not even in service to his duty or his country but specifically to the Queen herself. Certainly not (!) in service to his own will. (And damn, that must sting extra hard for someone who has only ever wanted to be seen and listened to and valued for himself.)

As such, Esteban is treated as an extension of the Queen--yet another pretty-if-powerful tool in her Almighty hands and fundamentally little different from her pretty crystal wand.

And yet, we see little tiny little hints in Esteban's SoA costume that he remains more than just Shuriki's shiny little Avaloran ornament. Let's go back to the red accents--shall we? Obviously, the show as a whole establishes red as Esteban's "signature color"--an honor he shares with Elena (and Mateo..but like he's less relevant tbh). Moreover, red, along with yellow/gold (and blue but again less relevant here), is one of the official colors of Avalor. Indeed the jaquins on the royal flag are red against a gold backdrop. So we can see an subtle wardrobe-related foreshadowing of where Esteban's loyalties truly lie and of the decision that he will make at the end of the episode.

And finally, as the artists among you will attest, red's complementary opposite on the color wheel is green. As in Shuriki's signature color, and this is reflected in nearly everything about her--from her eyes and eyeshadow to her dress and earrings to her green magical smoke, to her Emerald City-core dressing room to the teal background on her little silhouetted flag redesign. And complementary colors are often paired together so that the unique, striking shade of each is shown off to its full potential--and such is the case here. (Often, the effect is even achieved by using the "opposite" color as a key part of adding "shading" to the object).

A string of red lights wrapped around a Christmas tree may be overshadowed at first by the massive green boughs that it is entangled around. But nevertheless, it is because of the contrasting green that we are fully able to grasp just how bright and red those lights are able to glisten in the light. And so it is with Esteban's red collar shining forth like a beacon through Shuriki's haze of green smoke.

But when it comes down to it, red is still green's perfect, natural opposite. Red is a primary color, a true chromatic original unlike the artificially-created secondary shade of green. Moreover, red is Avalor, red is Esteban. The little dab of invading, interloping Shuriki green that has been added to the red paint only serves to heighten its fiery, crimson hue all the more.

[pidges-lost-robot]

Season 2 of Voltron Characters if I’d had my grubby mitts on them/follow up of klanced rewrite first season designs (i have no idea where I’m going with this I’m just doing progressions as I go on)

Season 1 for reference

This is ideally what they have as casual outfits by the end of a Season 2

For Shiro, his hairs growing a little but we’re seeing his casual outfit become just that, more casual, his previous outfit doesn’t even seem like the sort of thing someone who can relax would wear, but by season 2, I would like for him to have an outfit that is clearly less about being constantly prepared at all times.

Having Hunk have more overalls on one hand to me seemed like I was shoving the fact that Hunk is an engineer in my face, but also I think as a character whose arc should be about being maybe conflicted about staying and resolving to stick around and really push to be a part of Voltron cause it can help, I think having him wear something that shows him getting more stuck in and taking an active role in helping was good.

Season 2 Keith hasn’t changed that much, he’s still pretty reluctant in my mind to get stuck into things the team are doing that aren’t strictly practical (a.k.a kinda just getting similar variations of the same stuff he’s always wearing) with I’m hoping later versions Keith getting more settled in with the idea of staying with the team

Season 2 Pidge is where its’s at. She’s out to the team and discovering what she does or doesn’t like about her expression, letting her hair grow out and trying more feminine clothing. We’re gonna see her evolve a fair amount as I go on with these.

Season 2 Lance hasn’t changed much either, for similar reasons to Keith, but for slightly different reasons. He’s still kind of clinging to Earth culture and his home but by the next season drawing, I will probably have him make some more major changes to his outfit designs too

Allura is going on a slightly similar journey to Shiro, so seeing her outfits out of armour become more casual rather than very formal is somewhere I wanna take her future outfits, as well as showing them become more earth inspired as she evolves alongside the team.

And coran seems like the sort to be a creature of habit, which is why his outfit remains the same for now, but I imagine later down the line there’d be a whole thing where Coran really gets into like Unilu fashion and stuff where his outfits will really change, but for now, we’ll see little elements of the paladins outfits join his uniform as this season, we see that on his outfit he now has Lance’s little NASA pin as I imagine they bonded

[cande1808]

My thoughts on episode 3, here we go...

This is by far my favourite Susie Eddie episode. There’s so much happening on the screen and underneath it.

Firstly we have Eddie at the gym asking for her and Jack (who ships them) I’ve been here long enough to know if the other characters ship the ship it’s going to happen at some point hahaha. The business or pleasure innuendo, he knows something is going on… perhaps it’s the first time Susie lets someone be part of the business and her LIFE too. He sees they spend a lot of time together… 

When he enters her office, he looks at some pics and you can feel they are comfortable around each other, there’s no need to be polite or formal… He’s definitely in his element as much as she is. When she asks about stealing the car I love how the roles switch you can see it in the way the interaction happens, he has the upper hand because she needs a favor that’s why he can set his conditions, he is relaxed and she’s apprehensive?? They are very close like there’s a kind of intimacy that feels beyond business partners?? And when they leave the gym and Jack is like why does dad think he is good asset? And she takes the time to look at him, analyzing him but also gives him a kind of god he’s handsome look?? and then gives the existential crisis reason… 

Again POWER COUPLE walk when they go and interrogate Jimmy. (very similar to the salon in episode 1 walk). I love how Eddie is behind, supporting her, and you can know when she’s addressing him during the whole interrogation because is always about decision making (she asks how they’ll find Gabrielle, moving her head to where Eddie is). When she gives an order is to Blanket and Keith. MARRIED alert!!!

Here comes the first scene, you can see there’s some banter/ UST/ attraction between them.  She knows he loves a good challenge and how to push his buttons because she is like are you getting cold feet? He is anything but a coward… She’s 100% flirty with him the outfit makes her feel powerful and you can tell!! They smirk at each other!!! GOD!! I was like can you kiss already!! Hot hot hot!!

After stealing the car he has this adrenaline rush he loves! He’s enjoying the whole experience and I think she knew this would happen… that’s why she pushed him… 

Next my favourite scene of these two!! He's covered in blood and she offers a wet wipe… While he talks she decides to help him get clean!! Something I assume she doesn't do with anyone!! She is removing the blood from his face!! If that’s not true love what is, right?? It's business talk as usual but he looks like he likes being taken care by her...? Even though he raises his voice a little bit… she continues to clean his face!!! like an argument of a married couple!! She looks at his lips? While cleaning him? HOT!! HOT!! And he ALLOWS her to do it!! Extremely intimate for just business partners… I can’t with these two!! It truly drives me crazy because she's a boss to everyone, trust me she won't clean anybody but she's doing it with HIM and he won't allow anybody to do that (he can do it on his own, they aren’t friends) but he just lets HER. Aagrrrr!!!

Then you see they are in different cars and she tries to bring him peace of mind and be prepared. She reassures him it's going to be alright!! Because she knows family/ his brother is important to him… again because it’s what’s important to her, ‘cause they are alike!! Just be together pleaaaseeee!!! 

When they meet Mercy!! Power couple again! He is and feels in charge. When Freddy is being threatened she looks at him, to gauge his reaction and when the machete scene happens she’s business as usual while Eddie is kind of disgusted but not very much hahahaha he toughened up.

I just love how Jimmy explains he's going to smoke in the evenings to BOTH OF THEM!! Like mom and dad need to know! Hahaha 

Comment aside… the last scene with Freddy when he says you did well, very The Godfather!!  

[iliveforyouilongforyouvesuvia]

Hmm, I've been thinking about MC who can knit/crochet.

I thought this up with specifically Asra in mind since we know he can knit as well. Maybe on lazy days they both lounge around and make silly clothes for Faust (and maybe matching lovers bracelets?). I also think they get really unique yarn textures/colors on their trips, cant wait to come back home and brainstorm what to make with them(Fausts wardrobe never runs out. she's a fashionesta, all the others snakes stare in envy!)

Though I can also see MC knitting tiny hats and socks for Malak, and maybe a human sized version for Julian so they can match. julian insists MC make one for themselves as well so they can all match together. (I see him as an enjoyer of cheesy matching couples outfits, if MC makes one with an inside joke/romantic phrase on the shirt, he will not take it off until its basically a part of his skin)

Or maybe crocheting an elegant lacy sash for Nadias lovely owl (I'm sorry I forgot the name😭), and I think if MC made a similar one for Nadia she would not pass an opportunity to wear it, she styles it beautifully with casual outdoorsy clothes. (She was debating wearing it to a formal meeting with other world leaders, it so pretty she can't help it!)

And making tiny sweaters for Pepi? Portias in love. I think she would either 1)also know how to knit 2)make MC teach her how to so she can reciprocate the love by also making MC sweaters. They all end up warm and fuzzy at the end of the day. (Definitely makes MC and Pepi have a photo shoot/painting shoot?? Something to eternalise the memory basically)

And also, knitting a matching set of cowls for Innana and Muriel to fight off the cold in the forest, it's easily his favourite thing to wear, if it get caught on a brach and tears, or Innana accidentally claws through it he will be eternally guilty, even if MC reassures him that they can just mend it or make a new one. (Would also love if MC made little sacks for his herbs and protection charms)

And I can see Lucio clipping little crocheted charms on his gold arm, what do you mean? it cute and his MC made it for him of course he's wearing it! Also asks (forces) MC to buy neon red yarn so they HAVE to crochet stuff for him. (He went in public one day with little frogs and ladybugs and ducks dangling from his arm, got many stares, refused to give one of them to a child who then started crying, it was a whole thing, im not sure how he would feel if MC made a goat charm though)

Expand/add onto these if you want (i would like to know your opinion about the goat charm thing) , thought they were too sweet not to share, also had to get them outta my system😅, I love your content (just as much as Julian loves the sweater) sorry this is a long one and i hope you have a nice day<3

-🐍

Hello, snek friend!

Don't apologize for the long message, these ideas are all lovely! I can definitely see Faust and Malak flaunting their outfits whenever they can wear them. You already know Asra would set up a catwalk (or should I say snekslither?) for Faust to model her looks.

Careful with Julian though! He's better with his hands than he lets on, if you give him a crash course he might get even better than you are and start showering you with odd little crocheted inventions.

I expect Mercedes and Melchior would be better off if MC finds a nice, tough twine to make chew toys with XD

And oh goodness, you already know in Muriel's route how long he wore the scarf MC got him at the marketplace, if it was homemade he'd store them on the mantle with his tapestries.

Both Portia and Nadia would definitely find a book of patterns and gift it to you to help you explore new ideas! The difference is that Nadia would shower you with supplies, while Portia would challenge herself to master every pattern you can. ^.^

As for the goat charm, oh dear. He'll wear it because you made it but he'll clip it somewhere less noticeable XD

Thanks for sharing these wonderful ideas with me! They're so fluffy it makes me wanna melt :)

Cheers!

- brainrot

[cadybear420]

Cadybear's MC Wardrobes: Evie Ayana, OG HSS Book 2. Featuring some edits by me!

How this series goes: With each book, for a MC I'm invested in, I'll assess each of their in-game outfits. How much do I like or dislike the outfit? Is this something that suits my MC's style, or does it make me go "My MC would NOT wear/own this"? And for the outfits that my MC would not wear or own, how would I alter or replace them? I'm not going to use screenshots from the actual game because I can't be arsed. Also I want to use the different sprite expressions to express how my MC would feel about each outfit.

I like to think this is a good opportunity to elaborate on my MCs' dress styles, and show off some edits :D

Now, let's continue the wardrobe for Evie Ayana, and assess the outfits of OG HSS Book 2!

Directory for the other parts will be included in the reblogs after I've completed the posts for all books!

Ch 1: "Make a Statement" Premium Starter Outfit

Very very very so very gender. But Evie would probably like it more as an outfit for semiformal events, or at least special dates with Aiden, rather than as a casual outfit.

Verdict: Part of Evie's wardrobe. Keep it as is (but save it for other events).

Ch 1: "Satin and Leather" Premium Starter Outfit

Evie wouldn't mind this combo and would absolutely adore the jacket, but dress would be too formal-looking for Evie to wear as a casual outfit. Especially not as a winter casual outfit. Might be better off for a chill semi-formal party though.

Verdict: Unsure. The jacket is definitely a part of Evie's wardrobe though, keep it for other potential outfits.

Ch 1: "Let it Snow" Starter Outfit

Absolutely very gender. That style of winter jacket? With purple pants? On point. It looks cozy AND stylish.

Verdict: Part of Evie's wardrobe, and Evie's official winter casual outfit. Keep it as is.

Ch 1: "On Air" Outfit for Tiger News

Evie would absolutely adore the mint-colored blazer, especially with the button-up and the cure flower necklace. The skirt looks nice too, but it's not quite Evie's style– the length and pattern and fabric are great, but it's just a bit too tight for her. Plus she'd far prefer pants.

Verdict: Only partly in Evie's wardrobe. Alter by replacing the skirt.

Here's what it'd look like in Evie's preferred style.

Ch 2: Basketball Uniform

Go jock girl go!

Verdict: Technically not in Evie's wardrobe because you have to return uniforms at the end of the season, but the point is, Evie would love wearing it. Keep it as is.

Ch 3: "OMB Tigers" for Winter Carnival

It suits Evie really well and looks cozy too. The "B" necklace is pretty damn cute too. Fuck yes to this. Though she'd be perfectly happy wearing her regular winter casual outfit to the carnival (I mean, everyone else is).

Verdict: Part of Evie's wardrobe. Keep it as is.

Ch 7: "Lavender Princess" for Maria's birthday party

Not bad, Evie would love this color and fabric. But as a whole, it's not quite Evie's style. Too Sofia the First. Maybe if it was more simple with less lace/pattern, and/or maybe sleeveless, she'd like it more.

Also, I feel a little bit icky about MC getting this new special outfit to wear to Maria's birthday while everyone else just wears their hoco outfits. Maria included, even though it's her goddamn birthday. Why is MC getting this outfit that's supposed to make her seem like a "princess" on someone else's birthday??? Like, be for real.

Verdict: Evie would not own this. May need alterations, but for now, replace with a completely different outfit.

Since everyone else wears their homecoming outfits to the party, Evie could wear one of her homecoming outfit options from Book 1 as well. Funnily enough, her official homecoming outfit is altered from the m!MC version of the birthday party outfit (totally just a coincidence).

I also like to think Evie might wear the "Make a Statement" outfit to this. Even though it's supposed to be this formal swanky restaurant, I feel like that outfit would fit the mood much better.

Whatever the case though, I do plan to give everyone else new semiformal-ish outfits too. And who knows, I might end up making a brand new outfit for Evie in that process.

Ch 11: "Clean Sweep" Janitor Disguise

Yeah, the sunglasses are not positioned properly when they put this outfit on MC in the actual game. But that aside, I think the outfit suits Evie well enough, especially the sunglasses (when they're positioned properly of course).

But I don't think she'd wear it, simply because she wouldn't want to waste time changing into a new outfit. That and "who knows when the last time this was washed". But also, she looks really good in it dammit!

Verdict: Keep it as is, but whether or not Evie would wear it is still being decided. Come back to this later.

Ch 14: "Go for the Gold" Premium Outfit for Payton's Winter Party

Hell yes. Evie would love this.

Though I feel like she'd also love to wear the "Make a Statement" blazer outfit to this one again, especially since this is when she becomes official with Aiden. Whether I think she was planning to become official with Aiden at this party or she just kinda decided it spontaneously, I'm still undecided on... but either way, she'd like to look snazzy at this party.

Whatever the case though, I do feel morally obligated to make special party outfits for each of the LIs too because it's only fair. So stay tuned for that.

Verdict: Part of Evie's wardrobe. Keep it as is (but maybe use a different outfit as her official outfit for the party. Or... add a little something...)

Evie can't resist the urge to wear a blazer or a nice jacket to this event. It's good to stay warm, especially since she and Aiden will be going outside in the falling snow at midnight when they become official.

For the second one, yes I did use the jacket from the Tough and Sweet outfit. But I had to lengthen it because putting the short one over this top did not look right.

I can't decide which of these she'd prefer to wear for the party though. I like them both equally.

Ch 14: "Party On" Premium Outfit for Payton's Winter Party

Yeahhhhhhhhhh no. The top has a nice color, but I don't think Evie would care for the upper lace design and would prefer something a little more solid. The skirt has a nice pattern, but is much too short and form-hugging for her.

And those two items together? Absolutely not. Especially not during the goddamn winter lmao. The bracelet is cute though.

Verdict: Not quite a part of Evie's wardrobe. Keep the bracelet for other potential outfits, but alter by making the lace part of the top solid. Unsure about what to do with the skirt; at the very least it would need to be lengthened.

[lighterfluid1]

Drunk fuck with Bakugo ( 18+ )

☆ PRO!HERO TOP!BAKUGO X GN/MALE!READER (fem ver here) ☆

☆ !! WARNINGS ; !!

ー Mentions of alcohol, male genitals, they/them pronouns, drunk sex, lots of degration, aggressive sex, anal, overstimulation, some dirty talk, edging, bottom & top receiving, half clothed sex, etc.

☆☆☆

As the weather warmed up and the grass grew greener, you could tell spring was on it's way. But not only spring. A friend of yoursーKatsuki Bakugo, celebrated his birthday in the upcoming month of April. You obviously weren't the only one to realize since the moment March became April...Mina had already began planning a surprise party for Bakugo. Her, Kirishima, and the others had chosen to throw the party at the nearby club. You must admit, it would be fun to meet up and have some drinks. So therefore you agreed to show up.

You met Katsuki long before he became one of the top 10 pro hero's. Infactーyou met him back in your UA days. You and your friends from class 1-A we're now deep into the hero business, meaning you lost touch with many of them, but not Katsuki. You realized long ago just how you felt about him, and turned out obvious how much you crushed on the boy. That much hasn't changedーinfact it's the reason you hesitated on coming to his surprise party. Even just being in his aroma made you nervous and flushed. Everything about him turned you into a hopeless mess. Mina being your go-to for these things had told you to hang out with him more and try to get comfortable with him. She made it seem much easier then it really was. If being around him with your friends there was hard, then you can imagine how embarrassing it was to be one-on-one with him. But at least the two of you talk online...it was honestly the only thing keeping your friendship alive.

Getting back home from your hero work you stripped off your costume exhaustedly, flopping down on your sofa to check your phone. You we're surprised to see so many notificationsーbut when you checked them you nearly jumped out of your skin. The party...is today?! You thought to yourself. Mina had messaged you nearly a thousand times reminding you about it. Quickly you bolted off the couch and into your washroom. You had to shower, get ready, and leave as quick as you could. You barely had any time even now since your hero work takes up a big chunk of your day. After hoping out of the shower and drying your hair you had to pick an appropriate outfit. You didn't want to wear anything too formal but at the same time you didn't want anything too lazy...Who the fuck cares. Grabbing the most decent clothes you could find, you rushed out the door letting Mina know you we're on your way. Checking the time you let out a sigh of relief. You had just enough time to drive over.

The sun had already set by the time you arrived making the club radiate with lights from the outside. You usually didn't feel this nervous attending a party with your friendsーbut the butterflies in your stomach we're unbearable. Nevertheless, you we're here to have fun and that's all that really mattered.

"Ohーthere they are! Hey!" Mina called, waving to you as you walked over to the bar counter.

"What took you so long?!" Denki asked over the blaring music. You weren't surprised he was willing to come.

"Hey. Jus' got back from hero work n' had my phone off. Kinda forgot about the party, sorry," you reply with a nervous yet friendly smile. You usually remember important events like this, but your mind must'a gotten ahead of itself.

"No big deal! Bakugo hasn't even gotten here yet," Kirishima says. It had been a while since you'd seen him with his hair down.

"Really? That's a shocker..."

"Yeahーit is! Where is that blonde jerk?!" Mina shouts, scrolling through her phone franticly. You weren't the only one being spam called I guess. But just as Mina said thatーa voice called angrily from behind you.

"What'd you call me, bug eyes?!" Katsuki shouted. You and the rest of your friends jerked around at the sound of his voice, faces lighting up with excitement.

"Heyyy! There'y is!" Kirishima roared, raising a hand. Looking up at him from your seat, you studied his outfit in awe. He wore a tight white dress shirtーslightly undone at the top and rolled at the sleeves, black dress pants, and normal white runners. You could feel your face heating up as you looked him up and down. As he sat down, Denki slammed a cupcake down on the table as you all shouted happy birthday. It took him a moment to process this wasn't just a meet upーbut a surprise birthday celebration. Or that's what you thought he was processing.

"Huh?"

"Surprise!!! Are you surprised?!" Mina shouted excitedly leaning over the table. "We decided it would be fun to celebrate your birthday with a few drinks! What'dya think?!"

"I think you're fucking stupid." Mina stopped for a momentーshocked to hear his response. "It was pretty obvious this had something to do with my birthday. Why the hell else would you have dragged me out here?!"

"Ugh...why do you have to be so not stupid?!" Denki whined, flopping his arms over the table with a sigh.

"SHUT UP MORON!"

"Wellーat least you showed up!" Kirishima added positively. At this point you we're just waiting for someone to order the drinks.

"Is someone gonna order the drinks or what..." you huffed.

"IS THAT THE ONLY REASON YOU CAME?!" Mina yelled in shock.

"Of course not!" You bit back.

"I'll get em'!" Denki insisted, rushing over to the bar. You could feel Katsuki's eyes on you from across the table...it was making you that much more nervous. When you looked up he turned away increasing the suspense. You're hoping that once you have a few shots you'll loosen up.

Once Denki returned with a bottle of champagne, vodka, and other expensive liquors that's when the real party began. You even received a free bottle of tequila after Denki stood and flirted with the bartender. Out of all your friends, you were the one drinking the mostーespecially right off the bat. The moment they were placed in front of you, you had already poured yourself a glass. By the time the others started feeling tipsy, you were already drunk. Laughs were shared across the table until your attention began to shift back to Katsuki. As your head perked up, he too shifted his head in your direction. Looking him directly in the eyes you gestured a small smileーyour worries completely leaving your body.

"What're you lookin' at," he spatーtrying to ignore his flushed face.

"You, Katuski." Your face said everything he needed to know as the pink tone on his cheeks quickly darkened and spread across his face. He liked the way his name rolled off your tongue when you were wasted like this. His face grew with amusement as he smirked...catching onto you. You had always wondered what it would be like to sleep with himーbut you were unable to get ahead of yourself right now. Once the bottles were left empty and everyone's drinks were finished, some of your friends began to leave. The party ended faster then you thought, but time flies when your shit wasted I guess. But in the end it was just you and Katsuki at the table. "Didn't know you were sucha drinker," you slurred. Katsuki chuckled.

"Says you." As you and Katsuki also began to leave, that's when you finally made a move. As you watched him turn around the corner to check something your heart began to race as you reached out for him. Maybe it was because you we're drunkーbut the heat deep in your body was killing you. Quickly you pulled Katsuki's shirt making his face fall to your level, as you linked your lips with his. He was shocked at first, hesitating as you held him there but quicklyーhe melted into your kiss. The cold air of the night blew through you both making the moment that much more pleasurable...yet the hot feeling in your stomach never went away. The small yet sensual kiss you left on his lips soon turned into a heated make-out as the Blondie took control. He grabbed your jaw lifting your head as he pushed you against the concrete exterior of the club. Small uncontrolable grunts and breaths left your mouth as the two of you made out, vibrating down his throat. His hands slowly made their way to your waist and under your shirt as his leg shifted perfectly in between your legs. Your body flinched with suprise as a wave of pleasure spread throughout youーmaking your face turn a deep pink shade. That's when you realized the bulge in your pants rubbing on his thigh, but you weren't the only one. Katsuki's tight pants made his boner impossible to miss. Suddenly a warm sensation made it's way to your chest snapping you out of your drunken state. His hands caressed your nipplesーpinching and pulling as he kissed and bit your neck. You moaned and groaned in response to the mixed sensations, making the bulge in your pants twitch. This was very unlike him.

"Noーnot here..." you whispered. The both of you were perched up against the left wall of the club yet people still passed. His desperate grip on your body never loosened though, as if he was holding onto you fearing he'd be left alone. His breathing was heavy in your ear once he finally did let go, sending shivers down your spine.

"I'll call a cab t'drive us," he replied, pulling out his phone. You jolted in response to his wordsーthe alcohol in your system making it that much harder to process. You we're going to his house...? Your fantasies were slowly becoming reality as he hung up the phone grabbing your wrist and pulling you along into the viechle making sure you didn't trip or fall. Besides, out of the two of you he was the most with it.

Once you both arrived he practically dragged you inside. Katsuki had always been richーbut him being one of the top ten pro hero'sーmade him even richer. He practically owned a literal mansion. When you entered the sound of jackets hitting the ground radiated throughout his home mixed with hitched breathing. As he pinned you againt the door kissing and biting at your soft skin, you slowly unbuttoned his white dress shirt. Before long he had you hanging onto his shoulder as he lead you to his bedroom. Everything was pristine and clean, the sheets of his bed feeling like pure silk as he threw you down. Ripping off your pants and your boxers he lifted your legs placing them on his shoulders as he salivated your hole. Your legs shook and trembled under his tongue wanting to escape although the world spun around you as you laid arching your back from the pleasure.

"NghーKatsukiー!" You moaned, covering your flushed face with your shirt. Out of nowhere you felt two fingers enter you, causing you to gasp and flinch.

"Relax, slut. You got yourself into this mess," he spat. His words just turned you on that much more, your cock aching with need. You just wanted him inside of you.

"Just...put it in..." you replied, voice trembling out of embarrassment. You spread your legs for him still covering your face shyly shocking him. You we're so needy yet so hesitant.

"Impatient are we? Just makes me wanna tease you more, fuckin' whore," he chuckled. He threw his undone dress shirt to the floor as he unzipped his pants, rubbing his dick along your leaking hole. "What's the magic word, huh?" Licking your thigh, he makes direct eye contact with you startling you with a small bite. Your body shivered as you watched him tease youーhesitating and stuttering on your words.

"Pleーplease...?"

"Good slut," he bit, smirking cunningly. Finally he lined himself up and shoved his cock all the way inside of youーalmost immediately hitting all of your good spots. You cried out with pleasure as he began to thrust into you, pulling one of your legs above his head as the other laid on the bed. With each thrust you felt your ears ring...your climax already approaching. You couldn't even believe this was happeningーyou were fucking your best friend. He quickly sped up after realizing how your insides pulsed and twitched for him. Then, you moaned and gasped for air as you came all over your stomach. Noticing you finished already, he let out a small snicker throwing you over onto your stomach grabbing and spreading your ass.

"Wait I just finishedー!" You cried as he put himself back inside of you. Before you could finish, you practically melted on his cockーeyes shooting back into your head.

"We ain't fuckin' done here. You want me to stop then start beggin'." Every time you though he couldn't go faster, he did. His thrusts were hard, completely raddling your brain as he grabbed your wrists holding them behind your back. "Ass up," he ordered. You could barely hear him over your moans and gasps yet you still did what you were told.

"Nghー! StopーI'm gunnー!" Suddenly, you felt Katsuki put his thumb over your tip stopping you from your climax.

"What, y'like it that much that you cum twice in a row? I don't fuckin' think so," Katsuki snickers, edging you painfully.

"Noーmmphh! Please!" As you begged and begged him to let go, his thrusts slowed, releasing his hot seed deep inside of you as you came onto the sheets. Not wanting to stop, he kept thrusting making your legs tremble and collapse below you as you dick twitched from the overstimulation. When he was finally finishedーhe pulled your body up twisting and pulling your pebbled nipples as he bit down into the crevice of your neck. You winced in pain and pleasure as he threw you down onto your back kissing your chest moving further and further down. Once he reached your still twitching dick, he licked and sucked until you were screaming for him. "Katsuki!ーngh...please...I can'tー!" But it just turned him on more. As you gripped and tugged his hair you came down his throat the both of you making eye contact. He smirked, purposely swallowing every last drop as your face burned a dark pink. Before you could respond he shifted to the end of the bed spreading his legs.

"Your turn~," he teased, snapping and pointing at his boner. You blushed just at the thought of you giving him headーbut it was fair...Holding your shirt tightly you crawled over to him and off the bed crouching down onto your knees. Holding your mouth open, he explored the inside with his thumb before leading your lips to his pink tipーthe precum leaking onto your mouth. You held the base nervously but instead of being gentle he grabbed at your hair forcing your head down, gagging you. As you choked and drooled he thrusted his dick up and down your throat, breathing hitching. "Fuck..." The sound of him moaning quietly, grunting under his breath as he thrusted into your mouth turned you on to the point it was unbearable. You quietly jerked off as you sucked him messily, swirling your tounge around his tip as pleasurably as possible. Small moans escaped you as you stroked yourselfーcausing his dick to somehow expand inside your mouth. The vibrations made his climax come that much faster as he finally released into your mouth. You coughed and choked as you swallowed it down, it practically dripping from your mouth. What a pretty sight it was for Katsuki as he lifted you onto his lap, helping you finish yourself off.

☆☆☆

Once you both finally finished, you laid exhausted beside Katsuki holding onto his heated body. As your vision faded as the alcohol took over your system, you passing out in his arms. Your body was covered in bruises, hickies, and bites yet somehow it made you look that much hotter. He too fell asleep beside you shortly afterーstroking your ruffled hair. The sound of quiet breathing took over the aroma of his bedroom as you two slept peacefully together, tucked under his sheets. You wished you could have just told him how much you loved him in that moment you shared.

!! All characters are over 18 !!

ty 4 reading ♡ reblogs n' stuff are appreciated

ー miles/smiles

ー the fucking weekend >>>>

[marionrav]

Square Construction

If you get back into historical fashion, especially from areas where fabric was extremely expensive, you'll run into garments where the construction was squares, rectangles, and occasionally triangles.

That's not to say, mind you, that these garments were bad, but I think it's important to look at how they were used. Take, for example, 18th century shirts. These, quite often, were undergarments, and would be worn under a vest / coat / cravat. In this video, people who are familiar with surviving ones mention that you'd often have one for every day of the week since it's simply hard to boil them clean again.

There's also talk about how simplified construction at the shoulders or bad construction can have the entire shirt pulling backwards on you.

Here's a Viking reenactor talking about his generic Viking clothing. Again, most of these can be made from very simple shapes and are often loose enough that "fit" issues aren't really the same. In this video, he made some pants based on some that survived due to being used as ship caulking. They're once again very simple shapes.

(There's also this style of construction in various traditional dress, world wide, but I'm definitely not an expert.)

So, what can you pick up from looking at square construction styles?

They're very fabric efficient, but high end / fancy versions of things often have extra reinforcement / or extra features. A basic simplified version of something may have fit issues due to being built more to be clothing versus be comfortable / stylish clothing. An example of "extra" pieces might be all the reinforcement patches called for in the Workwomen's Guide by a Lady. Here's a basic review of the book.

Some of these garments are far easier to stitch partially by hand due to fitting parts together. Shannon Makes mentions this when she tries making a pirate shirt as quickly as possible. In an era where some or all of your sewing was by hand, it's no surprise that something would have elements easier done by hand.

There is no reason why a top, skirt, pants, or any other garment would be automatically better when made by square construction methods. People are complex 3D shapes that move around and vary from person to person.

In an era where you might be wearing clothing until it simply cannot be patched again, you might be more "luxurious" than you think. The Welsh Viking's generic Viking clothes are mostly not aimed at a extremely high end person's clothing, but he used color, trim, and elements to add luxury. He also pointed out how much some of his clothing shows totally reasonable and historically accurate wear.

If you have 1 week's worth of underthings (or less,) and 2 complete outfits at most, the cost of your clothing is a different sort of math. This is true for many eras. Nicole Rudolph, for example, built a 1920's wardrobe for a month long trip. This included formal clothes, high end fabric, and more casual clothes. She said later that she likely had too many blouses especially due to the unusually warm weather she encountered. By modern standards (ignoring the fancy ball gowns) you could argue that there's not that much clothing in her wardrobe.

[hum-suffer]

Hey! I don't know if you take requests or not but can you write a short anecdote on Nakul and Karenumati?

Anywhoo, you're an AMAZING writer!

Hello!!! Thank you so much, you're so very sweet, love! And of course, I'd love to write for these two dorks.

Three clues of falling

1. Nakul never expected to fall in love with his second wife. Karenumati and he had several differences, their respective ages being the most glaringly obvious. With years and bruises of the forest dwelling ages, he had mellowed, and he had been afraid that a young wife would not understand him.

But he didn't know how wrong he had been.

The first difference he learnt by himself, is that Karenumati dog ears all the books she reads. Nakul has never, in his life, ever read for pleasure. The medical books he reads, he keeps them meticulous and as clean as a recently written book would look. She reads for pleasure and the tales often dance from romance to courage to pain to horror.

The first time he found her in their bed chambers, face down and sniffles loud, he had almost panicked himself to death. The book lying beside her was of no concern to him as he touched her for the first time in three months and held her hand, kneeling on the ground to ask her what was wrong.

She'd leant into the touch and sighed,"I wish love didn't have to be so filthily mocked." Even more questions had darted in his mind and fear gripped his body faster than an arrow— had he seen wrong? Was she unhappy with their union? Did she love someone else?

Panic that coloured him spilt on her too. She read his face and protested,"No, my lord! This story, this story I was reading, it did not have an... amenable ending and I was upset about that fact, is all!"

The sigh of relief he had let out should have clued him about something.

2. The other difference between them was more subtle and took too long to catch up but Nakul is nothing if not persistent.

She abhorred the colour red.

Her wedding outfit was the only one that was ever red in her closet and Nakul wouldn't have noticed the fact, if not for her enthusiasm when she told him of every outfit she bought. A plethora of pinks and yellows, more mellowed blues and greens, starker whites and even glittering blacks. No reds.

"I brought this for you, Renu," he'd said to her, gifting her a golden hued scarf that had her name shakily handwoven. He'd tried his best but medical needles are way better suited in his hands than sewing needles. The scarf had been stark gold enough that a bright red of her name stood out— he blamed this on Panchali, she'd mentioned that the colour scheme would look good and he, as always, followed her advice blindly.

Karenumati took the scarf from his hands gingerly and fingered her name. "Thank you, my dearest," when my lord changed to my dearest had always been a question to him but he did not need an answer to that. She'd been changed from my lady to Renu. "But it is incomplete."

Her hand, so much smaller than his, enclosed around his wrist as she pulled him to sit on their bed. "How is my name ever complete without yours beside it?"

That night, she told him why she hated red. Because it reminded her of everyone her father had executed, because she had been forced to watch those executions, because blood had never been a sight welcome.

That night, he apologized to her, hand in her scented hair. "I'm sorry, Renu," he said, all the formalities forgotten,"I'll sew our names into another cloth. With another stitch."

"No," she'd murmured, lips pressed to his shoulder,"I've started liking this red in your light."

The way he removed almost all of his red clothes from his closet, should have clued him.

3. The third and the biggest difference between the two of them was that while he had mellowed over the years, he became eccentric with her.

An excursion well onto the middle of Indraprasth should have been a good example for them. Anything that Karenumati picked up with a thoughtful look and later put down, Nakul kept a line of. Every shop they went to, every thing she called beautiful, he knew. A memory that never faded was extremely useful in his endeavours, for he intended for his wife to have everything she liked.

The gold cummerband that she'd gifted him last year on his birthday made an obvious click with his every step and he yet wore it everyday to see her laugh. He suspected she'd gifted him that mainly to let her be aware of his presence since he had developed a habit of surprising her.

He had been so engrossed in paying attention to his wife, who flitted from place to place like a butterfly, her green and blue saree marking her the queen of butterflies, that he did not pay attention to just where she'd been leading him. The sight that greeted him when the sun was about to tumble to his own abode was as beautiful as a nymph.

His wife, his young wife who he'd been worried would never understand him, took him to a field of tulips, none red. His favourite flowers danced along the breeze and the orange of the Sun looked nothing as beautiful as rows and rows of the flowers. And none of the flowers looked as beautiful as his wife.

Karenumati grinned at him,"A very happy birthday to you, my dearest."

"Thank you, my love."