#and it was because in her place i would have delivered the letter and lived in misery all my days

[pinkwhalepjs]

Class Conflict in ACoFaF (& Wuuvy)

I doubt this narrative will actually go anywhere in ACoFaF but interestingly, just like the Austin novels the season is based around, there is a larger conflict than just the injustice of the Court system at play here and that is the injustice of classism. However the Court system is vilified because it stands as an Obstacle to our Heroes desires for expression and romances, whereas the class system is taken for granted and played for laughs. This is not a critique of Aabria or the season just as an interesting thing that is mirrored from the original genre and I think really shows in how the audience comes to see Wuuvy.

Some Courts hoarding power in the form of Magic is the evil meant to be defeated at the end of the story. It clearly hurts our Heroes by cutting them off from loved ones and eliminating the members of Binx’s court. It also stands as a mirror to the hoarding of Love that all of the heroes struggle with. That their respective Courts or families withhold love based on preconditions of behavior or achievement or assimilation (Binx being the exception of course).

But the actual unfairness of the system they exist in goes largely unaddressed. From the salt goblins who are expected to live their whole tiny lives in service to their superiors and die on command, to the servants Lord Airavis polymorphs and maims for laughs, to Gobble begging for his life while forced to dance, even to Andhera’s dog who is sentient, all (with the notable exception of Binx who goes out of her way to respect servants from Andhera’s dog to Lady Featherfowl’s penguin messenger) enjoy their time at the expense of those below them. This includes Rue, who uses a Command spell on Wuuvy who up to that point happily obeyed their commands and never truly apologizes or addressed the gulf between them. This is a defining moment for Wuuvy. She was happy to serve as a friend and equal and although she continues her devotion to Rue, from that point on she must understand that Rue does not see her as quite such an equal.

But we are not especially meant to feel sympathy for the lower class characters. They are either set pieces or worse, Obstacles and Antagonists for our Heroes to overcome. Wuuvy not delivering the letter to Hob is naturally seen in a villainous light because the story is about the Romance between our Heroes. However isn’t it incredibly fair for Wuuvy to lash out in the only ways that she is able. The line between her and Hob is incredible thin. Both are military leaders of lower station who see Rue’s hidden conflict and admire them ardently. They are both beastly and duty bound. Yet Rue is enamored with Hob after meeting him once and sees Wuuvy only as a friend (or servant) despite (or because of) knowing her for decades. Wuuvy demands satisfaction and does not deliver the letter not because she thinks it will make Rue change their mind or fall in love with her instead, but she has simply had too much indignity to bear. She will not deliver up her own hopes and dreams to another with a smile on her face. That is a step too far. Yet in the end it is Rue’s feeling of betrayal that the story will follow and not Wuuvy’s revelation that she could spend her life knowing every little detail about a person and they could still not understand the most important truths about her.

Again this is not a criticism of the show, and it would be phenomenal if in fact this did arise as an canonical plotline/issue, it just fascinates me that the same phenomenon I find in Austen novels replicates itself here. Characters may actively talk about the oppression of their own station (Elizabeth in P&P or Hob in the show) and yet still happily take part in enforcing the class system. They will be allowed to rise above their own station for the sake of Romance but the stations themselves will remain.

[kneelingshadowsalome]

König is, obviously, a big little freak. Do you think he'd feel flattered/lovestruck if a cute girl stalked and was obsessed with him or would he be weirded out? I think the first: for once he gets pussy and love without having to do anything. Also it'd be kinda funny if he didn't even notice his little admirer at first cause she doesn't register as a threat and he's too busy being broody and depressed cause he's so alone (while reader is in her apartment fantasizing about their future kids and drawing little hearts on a pic of him)

Ohhh yes. König being oblivious af, thinks this is simply a joke.

It started out in school: cute little postcards that had bunnies or kittens or flowers or hearts on them, delivered to him by his mom who was smirking about how her boy had a secret admirer. There was nothing fancy scribbled on the other side, just soft, silly messages like: "I like you!" or "Your cute" or "Luv u ♡", and König saved them all.

…Until he showed the postcards to the wrong “friends”, who only made fun of them. One of the boys told him they sent those cards to him as a joke because no girl could ever want him, and König believed them. Allowed himself one, maybe two tears in solitude before he threw those cards away.

What was odd, though, was that the cards still kept coming. He always threw them in the trash, and at some point while growing up, they stopped arriving. No cats or hearts or cute mice illustrations for him anymore, just loads of video games and internet and a growing interest in war history and gym.

He didn’t think much of it after the age of 17, just went to the army to make a man out of himself. Got laid for the first time, got bullied some more, grew some muscle and grew some balls. Got kicked out of sniper training, his one and only dream, and went back home to brood for a few weeks.

That’s when he received the letter.

A 5 page love letter, written in beautiful, whimsical handwriting, smelling of something so angelic that it drove even the eternal stench of gunpowder and rust and military storage away.

König gets plunged into a whole world of soft feminine attention without even asking to, the letter now placed on his old desk that’s too small for him to sit at anymore. The fragrant sheets of paper are filled with confessions of adoration and love and… it would be a little bit creepy, were he a man who fancied so-called normal women.

He goes to the attic, searching his old cardboard boxes for the postcards to compare the handwriting, but can’t find none, remembering that yeah… he threw all of them away, didn’t he? The handwriting wouldn’t match anyway, that much he can remember, but then again it was a kid who wrote to him back then. Now, his admirer is a grown woman who apparently got back on her obsession train once he visited his childhood home after years of living abroad.

The hair on his shins, arms and at the back of his neck shoots up as he realizes some woman has a crush on him, some cute girl has been watching him since day one. Those postcards weren’t a joke, so she must have gone to the same school as him… She might be the daughter of some of their neighbors, living right next to him even now.

König goes door to door in search of her, but only wrinkly elders arrive to tell him that no, they never had a daughter or granddaughter or if they had, they have long since moved out to some big city.

He goes through the letter once again but finds no clues to who she is or where she lives. It’s just pages and pages of flattery about how he’s still the man of her dreams and so much more. How he’s even cuter now that he looks like someone pissed in his cereal. She wonders if he’s built the same everywhere, and if he is, then she should say her evening prayers… Too many impure thoughts going through her head already, why does he have to be so handsome?

König is in hell, as always, desperately trying to look for his admirer when he goes out to take the trash. Visions of some girl touching herself at the thoughts of him pester him from sunrise to sunset, and he has to take a cold shower every morning simply because one wank doesn’t seem to be enough to tame the big fellow downstairs.

He hugs his pillow and dreams of his girl, someone sweet to wrap his arms around and to protect. He fantasizes of someone cute waiting for him, someone he could surprise every time he gets home, someone adorable to eat out until they sob and squirm. Until he gets the stench of death out of his mouth…

A message arrives on his phone from an unknown number, and at first he thinks it’s spam.

But when he opens the message, he’s met with two perfect bare breasts. So fucking cute, especially when they’re accompanied by a set of fingertips grazing her soft skin; König even notices she has red nail polish on. So adorably, incredibly cute…

There comes a text that says: “I thought of sending you another postcard, big boy… But perhaps you don't care for kittens anymore. Hopefully this will do? ❤️”

There’s no face reveal, just tits and a cute female hand laid out there before him. Just a text that confirms that she’s the one. Typing a quick reply, he sends it to the unknown number: “This will more than just do 😳❤️❤️❤️”

Without thinking, like, at all, he pulls out his already hard cock and takes a hurried picture of it with a trembling hand. He usually knows better than to send a dick pic to a girl, especially after exchanging less than two sentences with them. But hey, she started this. The least he can do is give her something to pray about (and for)..

So he sends that horrid picture of his ugly cock to his cute mystery girl before she can even type a reply to the first message, and asks: “Are we praying tonight, my lady?”

[mandoalorian]

save a horse, ride a cowboy

pairing: Joel Miller x F!Reader

masterlist

warnings: EXPLICIT, no minors. m!masturbation, exhibitionism, voyeurism to some extent, riding, unprotected p in v. both so so touch starved. joel has a lot to teach the reader.

notes: 1000 notes on my last post— thank you. I haven’t written in a long time and get quite anxious to post new fics, but when the response is that great, how could I not? You make me feel way more confident with my writing and encourage me to post more often. I hope to soon get to a place where I can start accepting requests again and writing what you want me to.

Joel didn’t like you— that much was clear. He hadn’t spoken a word to you since daybreak, when he left Tess at the QZ to deal with ‘unfinished business’ and promised her to deliver you to the outskirts of Boston without Fedra knowing. It was a difficult journey with the soldiers scouting the area on every corner, but after around six hours of travelling on foot, you and Joel had reached the border of Cornwall, Canada, which is exactly where you needed to be.

Unbeknownst to Joel, you wanted to be in Canada because that’s where your parents were. Or so, where you last heard they were. You’d do anything to reunite with them and make sure they were safe but you weren’t exactly good with a gun and you weren’t a particularly fast runner either. You needed someone like Joel to smuggle you out of the Quarantine Zone. He was your protector.

“You haven’t said a word to me all day,” you acknowledged when you couldn’t sleep that night. You lay next to Joel in your own sleeping bag, framed by a roaring fire and underneath tall, forested shelter. “Why?”

Joel huffed out a sigh and rolled over onto his back, now looking up at the starry night sky.

He didn’t reply.

You gave him a few minutes and tried to gather your thoughts, hoping he’d eventually cave and tell you why he’d hated you all this time. Had you done something wrong? You didn’t think so. Hell, you’d only met him earlier in the day. You’d hardly had enough of an influence on him to hate you. You liked to think of yourself as big and strong and apathetic in regards to people’s opinion of you. In the world that you lived in, you couldn’t afford to give a damn. And yet, you did. You couldn’t help it, it was just who you were. You got anxious about it if you thought about it too long and so you would desperately try and find a distraction or think of something else to focus on. The trees— the stars— the fire— Joel.

He was the epitome of ‘grumpy old man’. You briefly wondered if he was this grumpy before the apocalypse. Why was he so highly strung? Sure, life wasn’t exactly good or easy for him— but it wasn’t good or easy for anyone.

“I didn’t tell you why I wanted to go to Canada,” you said slowly, figuring that if you could open up to the man, then maybe he could at least offer you a few words back. “My parents are there. I think they are anyway. My father sent a letter over to the QZ months ago but I only just got it on Tuesday. I don’t know if they’re still there but I need to check. My mom is sick and I just… need to be with them… and I couldn’t go alone. I wouldn’t last two seconds out there with infected. So I guess, what I’m trying to say is, tha—“

“Okay.” Joel cut you off abruptly. He didn’t want your ‘thank you’s’ or your tokens of gratitude. He was doing a job and he was only here to get paid.

“Where are you from?” you asked him quietly. He shuffled but didn’t reply, and so you were prompted to follow on further. “You got an accent. Southern, there’s no doubting that. Tennessee…—?”

“Texas.” Joel corrected and you smiled to yourself. He may have been a man of few words but he sure as hell wasn’t going to let you think he was from Tennessee.

“Texas huh?” you beamed brightly. Joel didn’t move his head, but he looked over to you and noticed your grin. “So you’re like, a cowboy.”

You giggled playfully and nudged his arm, but he only grunted and closed his eyes.

“You ever ride a horse?” you asked him.

“You’re annoying,” Joel sighed, rubbing his temples, but he supposed that— if he had to be honest with himself— he was somewhat amused by your plentiful questions. “But yeah. I’ve rode a horse.”

“I always wanted to ride a horse, but I don’t think I’d be any good at it,” you admitted sheepishly. “No co-ordination.”

“It’s all in the hips.” Joel explained and his interest in horses took you by surprise. This was the most he talked all day.

You pursed your lips together fighting back another smile. There was no denying the rush of blood that flushed to your cheeks as you felt them heat up over the thought of the Cowboy riding his horse. But then you remembered how he’d also just expressed his irritation with you and your abundance of pointless questions and you felt your heart drop in your chest slightly. A pang of guilt.

You told yourself that it was okay— no big deal— and it didn’t matter if he found you annoying. No, it didn’t matter that the extremely attractive Texan man who hadn’t uttered a single word to you all day, found you annoying.

You’d been so lonely recently. So lonely. You’d kill for a friend. A partner. Someone. And perhaps it was your fault for getting your hopes up when you met Joel. You figured that maybe you could finally have someone in your life who liked you back for you, and didn’t want to use you or hurt you in some kind of unexpected way.

“I— I don’t mean to be annoying, y’know. I just— I’m sorry,” you murmured, rolling over onto your side and facing the other way from Joel. “Uhm— good night.”

Joel wasn’t a heartless monster. He wasn’t as cold and calculating as he let off to be, but he sure as hell wasn’t innocent and pure-of-heart either. He was a broken shell of a man simply trying to get by, and the way he saw it, he couldn’t afford the time or effort to make friendships or have partners or even anything more than an acquaintance. It just wasn’t on his radar.

And although he was certainly taken aback with how beautiful you were, he just couldn’t bring himself to do anything he wouldn’t do with any other piece of cargo. This was a delivery, after all. A smuggle run. And he had to be professional about it.

But you were so— so beautiful. During the hours of hiking you and Joel did through the fields and forests, he often lagged behind you and consciously allowed you to take the lead when he thought it was safe to do so. Really though, he just liked to take a few seconds to admire you when you weren’t looking. You were funny and smart and although you couldn’t aim a gun to save your life, you might’ve been able to charm a Clicker away from you if you tried hard enough.

Joel enjoyed listening to you babble on, despite displaying no signs or signals to show that he had any interest in you. He couldn’t do that because he didn’t want to lead you on or give you the wrong impression. He really did like you, but if he dared to open his mouth, Joel was certain he’d slip up and say the wrong thing or embarrass himself. And so to him, it was better to not say anything at all. However, his heart would warm when you would get bored along the way and start humming— and eventually singing. You were in no way melidous, but still, you weren’t trying to be. Joel wondered what it would be like in another universe where your lives weren’t constantly at stake. Maybe then he’d grow the courage to actually have a decent conversation with you.

But this wasn’t another universe. This was reality and Joel had lost all hope in humankind a long time ago. Joel allowed himself to get lost in his own thoughts for a long time and by the time he’d snapped out of it, you were already fast asleep next to him, emitting light snores. He watched you, watched as your chest rose and fell with every breath. You looked so peaceful.

Truth was, Joel wasn’t entirely sure he could fall asleep here next to you. There was no way of telling if this forest was safe. Certainly he found it difficult to imagine there’d be signs of infected around but people? That was certainly plausible. Making sure his rifle was close enough to grab in case of an emergency, Joel took another glance towards you.

So goddamn pretty.

Joel didn’t know when, but at some point in the night, he’d gotten hard. Probably because he hadn’t been able to take his eyes off you all night. He felt like such a creep for watching you sleep, but even under the pearly white stars and the sunset orange embers bouncing from the campfire, you were still the most beautiful thing he’d ever saw. And he wanted you.

Now, Joel probably wasn’t as touch-starved as you were, but still, it had been a helluva long time since he last got laid. Without drawing his gaze away from you, he reached his hand down into his sleeping bag and dipped it into his boxer shorts began to pump at his already throbbing manhood. His eyes snapped shut at the shock of the thrill which raced through his body. There was something so erotic about doing this outside, with you laying next to him, unbeknownst to it all. Stifling a groan, with his free hand Joel gathered the material of his sleeping bag and squeezed it with pleasure.

The coarseness, roughness, of his hands was never ideal, but he had no trouble imagining the softness of yours. Your hands were a lot smaller than his, and your fingers were a lot thinner, and as he stroked his cock, his toes curled at the thought of you in between his legs, playing with him.

He hissed your name through his teeth as he begin to feel a knot tie in his lower stomach, indicating that he was close. God, he’d only been at himself for a few minutes and he was going crazy for you. You stirred slightly at the mention of your name but Joel wasn’t paying attention anymore. Now his eyes were shut and his entire body was tensed up as his hand movements became faster. He guessed it wouldn’t be so bad if he finished quick because the longer he touched himself, the more chance you’d wake up and discover him.

But for some reason, that only stirred Joel on even more. Of course, he wasn’t trying to wake you up, but there came a point where he was so enveloped in his own lustfilled thoughts, he didn’t even notice you whisper his name softly through the night.

“Joel?”

Briefly, Joel registered the sound of your voice but he thought nothing of it. So deep in thought— he was close. He moaned your name back.

You stilled, your eyes widening when your gaze dropped to his crotch and you noticed the movements of his hands underneath the thin material of the sleeping bag.

“Oh… Joel.” you mumbled, feeling your pussy clench around nothing as you nimbly slipped out of your sleeping bag and quietly crawled over to him.

He still hadn’t noticed you, but between the tinnitus in his right ear and being so lost in his own thoughts, you couldn’t blame him. On your knees and by his side, you placed the palm of your hand on his chest and fumbled with the buttons of his shirt, alerting him immediately.

His movements stopped and his eyes snapped open in horror, only to be met by your wide smirk.

“Hey cowboy,” you teased, unbuttoning the first few buttons of his shirt.

“Shit.” Joel cursed, looking away from you. “I— you shouldn’t have saw me— I’m—“

You hushed him by placing a soft, chase kiss upon his lips. Joel froze and softened under you, completely feeling at ease under your touch. It has been years since he had been kissed. You hovered over him, finding his gaze in the dark before pressing a harder, more intimate kiss to his lips. Joel moaned underneath you and brought out his hand from under the sleeping bag, releasing his cock and bringing it to cradle the back of your head.

“Let’s get you out of here,” you giggled, unzipping Joel’s sleeping bag and bringing yours next to his, giving you both some kind of barrier between the grassy ground.

Joel’s belt was already undone and the zipper of his jeans pulled down.

Still beaming, you straddled Joel, positioning yourself over his lap and continued unbuttoning his shirt before before peeling it off his torso and discarding it into the corner.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Joel asked softly and his tone of voice took you by surprise.

“If I didn’t want to be doing this, I wouldn’t be grinding on you already, cowboy,” you giggled, thrusting your hips over the material of his jeans and getting a feel for his bulge.

Joel swallowed and nodded his head in agreement. Hastily, he brought his hands to your waist and guided you over his hips. You tossed back your head and let out a moan.

“Oh, I need you.” you whimpered, bringing Joel’s hands to your breasts and letting him feel the hard pebbles of your nipples under your t-shirt.

Growing impatient, Joel tugged on your shirt and you let him pull it off your body. He then smoothly unclipped your bra and let it fall off, before using his large, rough hands to cup and fondle your breasts.

“Joel,” you gasped, pushing back onto his legs and taking the hem off his jeans in your grip. “I need you,” you repeated. “Need you inside of me.”

Joel choked out a wanton groan at your words and nodded his head again. You took his signal as confirmation that he wanted this too, and tugged down his denim along with his underwear.

You removed your own pants and then sunk down ontop of him, sighing an air of relief when you felt the skin on skin contact. Joel adjusted himself and gave you a questioning look.

“I’m ready.” you whispered and leaned down, pressing your chest against Joel’s. Joel pushed himself inside of you and you tensed up, digging your nails into his shoulders as you adjusted to him. He was so big and thick, and yet he felt like he fit inside you perfectly. Like he was made for you.

Joel slowly thrusted upwards and into you, stretching you out. When you felt comfortable enough, you sat upright and rested your hands on his tummy.

“Show me how to ride, cowboy,” You urged. “You said earlier, it’s all in the hips? Show me.”

Joel looked up at you with wide eyes and extended his arms around you. He held onto you, and you felt like putty under his grip.

“Show me what you got, girl.” The handsome man demanded, his voice having dropped an octave.

You began to roll your hips over him, and Joel squeezed his eyes shut. “That feel good for you?” you taunted, letting a giggle escape your lips. Joel wordlessly nodded.

“Try— try circle your hips.” Joel requested, and immediately you changed your movements. You’d do anything to please him. You felt yourself get increasingly wet, making it easier and more comfortable to move freely. “That’s good.” he praised under his breaths.

“This is how you ride?” you enquired, raising an eyebrow as you continued to circle your hips.

“This is how you learn,” Joel corrected. “It’s all a process, baby girl. You go straight into the ridin’, you’ll get hurt.”

Joel leaned forward and pressed himself into you, the curve of his cock hitting you in just the right spot, You held onto him, gripping onto the broad of his back and this time, Joel kissed you. He yearned for your lips— for your affection. He dragged his tongue along your collarbone and planted sloppy kisses up your neck, along your jaw, and finally to your mouth. He slid his tongue along your lower lip, begging for entry, which you quickly granted him, and started to make out with you.

“Joel,” you whispered against his lips, and he pulled off you, allowing you to speak. “I need more.”

“Think you’re ready for your next lesson?” he quizzed, pressing his nose against yours.

“Mhm.” you replied. “Teach me.”

Joel leaned back again and brought his hands down to your hips. “I want you to bounce on my cock sweet girl, show me what you can do.”

You grinned with excitement and began to move yourself up and down, grinding on his cock so you could feel every ridge and vein against your walls.

You felt yourself clench around him, indicating that you were close.

“Shit, like this I won’t last long.” Joel admitted bashfully, his cheeks flushing pink.

“Me neither,” you replied, and began to speed up your movements. “Joel— please. Please cum inside of me.”

Joel panted, bringing his hands up to massage your tits. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, yes, oh— please.” you begged him. “Please cowboy.”

With those two words, Joel spurted ropes of his warm seed inside of you, painting your walls a milky white. Feeling him fill you, you clenched one last time around his cock and let a blinding hot light envelope you as you rode out your own high.

You rolled off the man and laid next to him, catching your breath. “How was that? Did I pass the test?” you nudged him playfully.

Joel let out a laugh and you felt your heart flutter at the sound of him displaying genuine happiness. “You passed the test,” he chuckled. “But— there’s still plenty more for you to learn.”

“Well,” you shrugged. “You do make a pretty good teacher.”

Joel wrapped his arm around you and pulled you into his chest. “Sun will rise in a few hours, you should go back to sleep.” he hummed into your hair, pressing a kiss to your forehead.

You closed your eyes, still in sheer bliss, and smiled.

You couldn’t believe that just a few hours earlier, you were so sure that Joel hated you.

You’d never been so wrong.

——— Taglist: ———

(I’m working on rebuilding a brand new taglist ever since returning to Tumblr. Let me know if you want to be added!)

@pedrosprincess

[lalacliffthorne]

sweet lil halloween headcanons: modern!roommate!batboys edition 🦇

so in honour of halloween, I have been thinking about what it would be like with the modern batboys and, most importantly, what they would dress up as (or in Azriel's case, grudgingly be forced into)

Cassian's costume especially was the idea of @leafsandstarlight when I got stuck - she delivered, as usual, and I love her for it, even more than usual. mostly bc it's been stuck in my head ever since. you'll see. *grins widely*

happy halloween from this witch to the lot of you 🐈‍⬛🔮🪦

so apparently, Rhys' Halloween partys are legendary on campus

for some reason, so far, that completely went past you

(most likely because you spent the past few Halloweens with Feyre in her tiny apartment, buried in blankets, watching Hocus Pocus while eating your weight in snacks)

so you're a little confused when about two weeks before Halloween, Rhys drags you with him to meet with a caterer

you're supposed to sample food

tho you're never one to complain about something like that, you do feel a little confused when you blink up at him in question, and Rhys furrows his brows

"Wait, didn't I tell you?"

he didn't

he also didn't tell you that this year´s location is an old castle in the old part of town

it's where you meet the caterer, in the kitchens in the cellar

on the way, you freeze in place for a solid minute to gape at the cavernous ceilings with huge chandeliers and stone walls of the halls Rhys is renting for the party

it really shouldn't surprise you that much

it's Rhys after all

extravagant and over the top are basically his middle names

how he managed to snag a spot like that at Halloween is beyond you tho

connections, Cassian later says wisely

and probably a shit ton of money

when, staring at the display of different fingerfoods in various spooky forms, you ask tentatively about just how much money, Rhys sends you a grin that is downright wicked

"Well, someone has to spend something."

and spending he is

over the course of the next two weeks, Rhys disappears for hours, meeting with people for the bar, a DJ and to take care of decorations

then, a week before Halloween, flyers appear on campus

glossy and deep black, with bats and jack'o'lanterns printed on the front along with the date and location in purple letters

it's the beginning you of constantly hearing people plan their costumes in passing

and the moment you suddenly realise that crap --

you have absolutely no idea what to wear

Mor just giggles at your panic

she drops in as you're desperately scrolling through Pinterest, trying to come up with anything that you like, is cheap and can be assembled in under a week

"jesus, calm down. Rhys may make the whole thing the most extravagant student party of the year, but most people that are coming aren't spending loads of money on their costumes either, it's more about creativity and finding something you like."

that doesn't calm your nerves in the slightest

it's Cassian who, purely by accident, gives you an idea in the end

it's a few days before Halloween, and he's sitting on the couch, flicking through the book you left on the coffee table with furrowed brows

"So they're demon hunters?" he sounds intriguied, looking up at you as you lean over him to try and snag your book

you still, your heart doing a double flip

then you start beaming and pull the book from Cassian's hand, pressing a long, smacking kiss onto his cheek that makes him grin

"What was that for?"

it's for him giving you an idea

it's a perfect one really

the evening of Halloween, the city is already dark outside the windows

when you look outside, you can see kids and their parents on the street, dressed up and ringing doorbells, carrying flashlights and lanterns

Mor comes over to get ready at six

she's also the one who always gets up to open the door for children trick or treating

otherwise, she's sitting on the couch in the living room

she's wearing a long, dark red silk dress with a high slit, her hair open and wavy as she squints in concentration and paints her lips

she's dressed as a devil, complete with headband with little black horns that's sitting on the coffee table

she even put in red contacts

you're sitting crosslegged on the other couch, crunching your brows in focus as you spread the lightest shade of foundation you could find in the drugstore on Rhys' face

when he told you a few days earlier that he's going as a vampire, the first thing flashing through your mind was him in a cheap cape and too small fake teeth

it made you snort laughter and him huff

now you get it

Rhys is dressed to the nines

black silk shirt that's almost all the way unbuttoned and shows off his chest tattoos

black dresspants and black shoes

his hair is lightly styled back, and a strand falls into his face as you powder his face, causing him to sneeze and you to giggle

he even managed to get his hands on very real looking fake canines that flash in the light whenever he sends you a grin

no tacky cape

also no sparkles

he's like a modern, expensive version

almost like he stepped right of the pages of one of your books ;)

he lets you pale his skin before using eyeshadows to give him slightly sunken eyes and smear some red paint around his mouth

when he finally sends you a grin, it causes a giddy shiver to run down your spine

Mor does your make-up before, after a look onto the clock, shoos you off to get dressed

when a little later, you step back out of your room, there's a tall figure towering in the doorway to the living room

your breath hitches at the sight of broad shoulders straining against a black t-shirt, black jeans tucked into black boots and amber eyes

they're currently glaring, and it doesn't take a genius to figure out why

or at who

you hear Rhys snort from the living room

"Yeah, there's no way you're going as you."

with the way Azriel is glaring, there's also no way he's putting on a costume

which doesn't surprise really surprise

Azriel really isn't the type to invest time and care into putting together a costume

if things were going his way, he'd probably stay at home and read a book

which of course, Rhys has planned for

when you move, Azriel turns his head

he seems to still, the glare in his eyes vanishing as the deep furrow between his brows, curtesy of his scowl, smoothens

and he stares

stares at you

dressed from head to toe in black, with a holster strapped to your thigh and temporary rune tattoos all over your exposed skin

and suddenly, something is fluttering violently against your ribs

somehow, you manage to send him a cheeky grin and get your legs to moving

they kinda feel like jello as you halt in front of him, having to tilt your head back to look up at him

"Darling?"

Rhys is suddenly smirking in a wicked way that works even better in his vampire getup, his violet eyes twinkling

"You don't happen to still have some of those tattoos, do you?"

it takes you a second to catch on

then your heart suddenly performs a series of dips and turns

"Well...", you look up at Azriel and somehow manage a cheeky, beaming grin, "that would certainly fit."

Azriel huffs

it takes a staring contest of roughly a minute until he accepts his fate

well

or until you smile up at him, something thrumming against your ribs as you crunch your nose

"please? come on, you're not even really dressing up, just - elevating."

you grin widely

Azriel's scowl deepens

(mostly because it's unfair you just have to look at him that way and he would dress up as a pink bunny if you asked)

but he doesn't protest

just rolls his eyes a little and brushs past you to plop down onto the couch

Mor is suddenly very busy correcting a flaw in her make-up you can't seem to find

so it's you who ends up sitting in front of Azriel, his skin warm under your hands as you apply the rune tattoos left all over his arms

you can feel his eyes on your face and try to fight the warmth spreading through your cheeks

at least he doesn't look as huffy as a few minutes ago

(it's hard to stay scowling when all he can focus on is that little crease between your brows as you concentrate and the way the smell of your perfume and shampoo rises into his nose

he's a hundred percent sure there's no way you don't hear the way his breath catches every time your fingers brush his skin

especially when you lean forward to put one of the runes onto the right side of his neck)

you can feel Azriel's warm breath ghost over your skin as your fingers gently press against the side of his neck

it causes your own to get stuck in your throat, right next to your heart

(you should really get that checked)

you try not to look up, because you're pretty sure you're close enough to see the golden spots in Azriel's eyes

and that would not bode well for your concentration

(you're also close enough that your hair almost tickles his skin and that your scent is everywhere

Azriel needs to physically stop himself from slipping his fingers under your chin and tip your head up to -)

you catch movement from the corner of your eye

glad for a distraction, you raise your head

only to grow wide-eyed

because unlike Rhys, Cassian hasn't told anyone what he's going to dress up as

now, you realize why

Azriel seems to realise you're suddenly distracted, because you feel him turn his head before stilling

most likely because he also sees Cassian standing in the doorway

dressed as Ken

the skater version

complete with sun visor over his tied back hair, neon yellow fanny pack and knee pads

he even has a pair of neon pink skates thrown over his shoulder

you blink at him

once

twice

then you snort a laugh and break into a fit of giggles

it breaks the spell Cassian's outfit has cast, and Mor nearly topples off the couch as she starts laughing while Rhys dramatically faints on the armchair

even Azriel looks, tho reluctantly, impressed

(mostly because the way you're laughing, tears in your eyes and barely able to breathe as Mor drops to her knees and bows, makes up for whatever extravagent party Rhys is about to throw your way)

when you get to the castle, the place is decorated magnificently

you suddenly understand why Rhys was gone for so long

the floor is covered by whisps of smoke, the lights are dimmed

there are fake cobwebs spun over the brick walls and high ceilings and even the chandeliers

you count two dozen skeletons in one room alone, and armadas of paper bats dangling from the ceilings on invisible strings

dry ice at the snack buffet in combination with the fingerfoods makes you wonder if maybe Rhys just wanted to give his father a heart attack in case he sees the expenses his son accumulated for a student halloween party

there's even an actual bar with a menu of spooky drinks

loads of people are already there, and it's only getting more

everyone is dressed in various degrees of more or less spooky outfits

Feyre is waiting for you near the entrance

she's dressed as Katniss Everdeen, in black armor and with bow and arrow over her shoulder, a little fake blood dried on her temple and eyes bright

"How the fuck did we miss this before??"

you have no idea

you also have no idea where she got the full costume and how she can look so comfortable in chest armor

you do have an idea tho why Rhys is suddenly looking very distracted

it makes you grin cheekily enough for him to huff down at you when he finally catches you staring at him

you're almost sure tho to see his cheeks gain a little color under the pale make up

especially when Feyre grins widely at him

you spend the whole night with Feyre and Mor

you ransack the buffet (you're very proud of your choices)

try your way through the drink menu

and dance

you sometimes catch a glimpse at Cass in his neon outfit reflecting the lights as he makes his way through the mist

he looks like he's having the time of his life

finally, sometime around two in the morning, your feet hurt and the adrenaline of the night has worn off enough to make you feel tired

also you've lost Feyre and Mor somewhere in the crowd after using the toilet

trying to catch a glimpse at either of them, your eyes instead meet deep, amber ones

your heart dips and swerves in a way that has nothing to do with alcohol or tiredness

Azriel is leaning against a wall halfway across the huge, cavernous room

a strand of dark hair is curving over his forehead, the pink and purple lights make his jaw and cheekbones look even sharper than usual and illuminate the rune tattoos scattered over his skin, fitting in perfectly with his real ones

the sight of him causes something to topple over in your chest

you caught glimpses at him all during the night

usually off in the shadows, leaning against a wall or lounging on a seat, sipping a drink

every time you saw him, there was someone next to him, mostly girls, talking to him, trying to flirt

it made something dip over strangely in your chest

but for some reason, he barely seemed to notice

for some reason, every time, his eyes were already on yours, flashing amber in the flickering lights

just like now

the slight crease between his brows that doesn't quite spell uncomfortable smoothens

then he pushes off the wall and starts to weave towards you

again, your heart does a funny little thing

but you push it away and begin to fight your way through the crowd to meet him

when you finally meet, it takes one look at you for the dip of a crease to appear in his cheek

"Home?"

his deep voice makes your skin tingle even through all the noise and the music, and you deflate with a sigh, feeling almost comically relieved

you text Feyre and Mor while Azriel steers you out of the full rooms, his hands on your shoulders

picking up your coats, you feel a happy shiver run over your skin when you step out into the night sky

your breath hangs in white clouds in the air when you huddle up and Azriel offers you the crook of his elbow, his hands in his pockets

and if you take a very long route to get home, wandering through the quiet, cold city and sniffling as you blink up at the bright moon, neither of you makes a comment on it

@azrielshadows1nger @waytoomanyteenagefeels @secret-ly-here @knmendiola @luvmoo @azriels-mate123 @bookishbroadwaybish @maybe-a-winchester @stayinglow-exploringworlds @harrystylesfan2686 @icey--stars

[arabriddler]

AITA for killing my best friend’s girlfriend?

Wait. Hear me out. My best friend ( 28M ) had gone through a rough patch and was admitted to an Asylum. For six months I ( 32M ) would visit him everyday and give him gifts and talk with him. He’s the only friend I have and in that period we grew close. I’m a man of power, and people only respect me out of fear or need for protection, except him who genuinely likes me even when I hated him at first. Using my connections, I got him out of the asylum and gave him a job in my mayoral campaign and helped him readjust. Through it, he showed me that people can like me and vote for me in a clean way ( even if he had to go behind my back and disobey my orders to do so ), and when I won the election, one of my ex-staff tried to kill me and he saved my life! He even nearly got himself killed. he said he’d do anything for me. Eve since my mother’s death, I never thought someone would actually care about me this much. So, I fell in love with him. He’s my one true love, and following my late mother’s advice, I should run with it. Except I was shy and insecure and kept balking whenever I tried to confess to him. When he told me he admires me, I finally found the courage to tell him, but asked him to dinner where we live so I could confess to him.

he went out to bring wine and didn’t come back because he met a woman ( ??F ) who looked exactly like his dead ex-girlfriend ( which he killed in that rough patch in his life ) and fell in love with her overnight. That’s ridiculous!

I met his new girlfriend and she was a sweet librarian. I told her about his precious stunt as a serial killer. Admittedly I wanted him for myself, but she was soft and sweet they couldn’t have lasted. My best friend would’ve killed her! But she apparently told my best friend that it’s alright and she trusts he changed now.

My best friend panicked about hurting her and I encouraged him to dump her, but he asked me to do that for him. It’s fine, really, I’m happy to end their doomed romance. I visited her to deliver her the news but she refused claiming she could show him he couldn’t hurt her! She wrote him a letter and my best friend went to dump her himself, but returned after spending the night at her place claiming he’s all fixed now and now she can’t hurt her.

So, I cut the breaks in her car and she had an unfortunate accident :)

[thefallennightmare]

Ménage à Trois-six

*credit to me(the-fallen-nightmare) for creating the gif. feel free to use, simply credit me*

Pairings: Steve Rogers x Bucky Barnes x Reader

Warnings: SMUT!! 18+ only please, swearing, angst, fluff.

Summary: Bucky has a proposition for Reader, something involving Steve. This trio, however, never expected for their lives to change after that night the way it had.

A/N: While writing this chapter, I realized that I don't really have an endgame for this story. I'm not sure where it will end so I guess we'll see how it goes! Tags are open!

Tags(open): @matisse030502 @buckystevelove @floral-recs @inlovewithametalarm @buckies-dolle @cjand10 @matchat3a @kamaria-sweet-writes @pono-pura-vida @miikayywhocares @kunaikunari @mousee555 @akmenia

The only sound that echoed throughout my small apartment was the chatter coming from the radio that was placed on top of my fireplace. It was some talk show that I had on every night  although I never paid attention to it. It was more so for background noise, something to keep my mind from wandering to terrible thoughts; of Bucky, the war, and if he was even alive. Even with the letter I received from him sitting on my lap, I knew that it wasn’t a sure sign that he was doing okay. The letter was dated from a few weeks ago, it just this morning being delivered to my mailbox. So it was only telling that anything could have happened to him in those few weeks. 

I did my best not to dwell on it though, letting the sound of the rain that pelted against my window calm my nerves. The loud crackle and pop of warmth radiating from the fireplace warmed my clammy body as I dug myself deeper into my couch. The talk show on the radio ended, now being replaced by soft tunes, and I let out a soft sigh wondering where Steve was. 

It had been almost a month since I had seen him last, we were talking on the phone the other day where he told me he would be returning soon from his small getaway. He said that he went away for a small vacation to visit an aunt that lived in New Jersey and he’d be back home tomorrow. The phone call ended with a promise to come over to see me. 

Steve was lying. 

He didn’t have an aunt that lived in New Jersey. Hell, he didn’t have any family anywhere. Bucky and I were all Steve had. He was avoiding me and with how the night went before he disappeared, I couldn’t blame him. 

Steve was on top, hips moving in slow languid strides. My legs wrapped around his back in a makeshift way to lock him into place. The tip of his cock hitting just the right spot and I leaned my head back onto my pillow, a moan of sheer ecstasy falling from my lips. 

“You’re so tight for me, doll,” Steve groaned into the crook of my neck. 

My nails scratched at the skin of his back. “Oh, Bucky.” 

Both of our bodies froze, the mistake shattering the small bubble of pleasure we had created. Steve slowly pulled out from my core, my body shivering at the sudden loss of warmth, and sat back on his legs. 

“You called me Bucky.” 

I bit the inside of my cheek and pulled the blanket over my naked form, suddenly feeling very insecure in front of him. 

“I didn't mean to,” I apologized. “It’s just Bucky has been heavy on my mind. It was only a slip of the tongue.” 

Steve didn’t bother to hear my apologies as he stood from the bed and made quick work of putting his clothes back on. I went to reach for him, fingers grazing his back. 

“Steve-” I started. 

“I should go,” he turned to face me. “I forgot I had something in the morning. Need all the sleep I can get.” 

My eyes fell. “But you always stay here.” 

“I’ll call you tomorrow afternoon,” Steve bid me a farewell with a soft brush of his lips to the top of my head. 

He didn’t call me the following afternoon. He didn’t call me for two more days, saying that he had to leave quickly to visit this aunt, needing to take care of her because she was sick or something.  

My cheeks burned with embarrassment as I replayed that moment over and over. I felt so stupid for letting Bucky’s name slip. I knew it was Steve in my bed but that did nothing to stop the worried thoughts of Bucky from clouding my mind. All I could think about was him 23 hours a day. It was an honest mistake for having his name slip. 

Steve and I had sex so many times since Bucky had left and not once during those times have I let his name slip. Surely, Steve had to know that it was an honest mistake. 

Right? 

Three knocks sounded on the other side of my door. With a raised brow directed towards the clock, I thought to myself, as I stood to answer, who would be visiting me so late in the evening. 

I gave a quick glance through the peephole of the door and breathed a long sigh of relief. 

“Steve,” I said after opening the door. 

The small blonde gave me his best smile. “Hi, doll. Can I come in?” 

Suddenly, anger filled my blood when I remembered that he had ditched me for a month and I pulled the door closer towards my body. “It’s late. I was actually about to head to bed.” 

“Y/N,” Steve sighed. “Please. I want to explain where I’ve been.” 

With a hand gripping the wood of the door, I sucked in my bottom lip to show that I was giving his words careful consideration. Even though I already knew my answer. I would let him inside, only because I wanted to know where he had been. 

After a nod, I stepped to the side allowing him to enter. We both decided on sitting on the couch, with some space between us. There was still an awkward tension between us, as thick as the silence, so I ran my sweaty hands on the bottom of my dress. 

“I want to apologize,” I said. “I truly didn’t mean to call you Bucky that night. It was the truth that I couldn’t stop thinking about him. But that still doesn't give me the right to call you another man's name.” 

Steve nodded. “I already feel inadequate compared to him so when I heard you say his name instead, I felt jealous and upset. But I shouldn’t have walked out on you.” 

“Steve,” I sighed and placed a soft hand on his knee. “You don’t need to feel that way. I don’t think you’re any different than Bucky. My feelings for the two of you are the same.” 

“But you don’t love me the way you do Bucky.” 

My shoulders fell and I thought of the best way to say my next words without hurting him. 

“I’ve been with Bucky for a long time now, of course I’m going to love him more. But with you, Steve. I can see myself slowly falling for you.” 

Steve stiffened in my grasp before shifting himself to face me. “I might have a way to finally feel equal to him.” 

I raised a confused brow. “But you don’t need to compete with him. Why do you feel the need you have too?” 

“That’s not the only reason,” he ran a hand over his chin. “All I want to do, besides being with you, is fight in the war.” 

“Steve,” I warned, not wanting to have this conversation yet again. 

The night before Bucky left, some German scientist heard Steve’s story and decided to give him a chance. That was months ago and we hadn't heard another word from the guy. Which made me wonder if he was legit or stringing Steve along. Which he never wanted to hear whenever I brought it up to him. 

“It’s not fair, Y/N. I should be there right alongside Buck. But I’m stuck here.” 

All he needed to do was see the hurt look flash in my eyes to notice how deep his words cut.

“Gee, thanks Stevie.” 

He sighed, reaching for me. “I didn’t mean it like that.” 

The corner of my eyes dampened with tears but I hastily brushed them away, not wanting Steve to see me cry. 

“How did you mean it?” I shrugged. 

His mouth opened and shut a few times, trying to fight the right words. “I was finally given a chance, shouldn’t I do whatever it takes to prove that I was the right choice?

The passion in his voice caused my heart to flutter. 

“How can you prove yourself? By dying?!”

Steve linked our hands together, leaving faint kisses along my knuckles. “I’m not going to die, Y/N. Not with what Dr. Erskine has planned for me.” 

When I didn’t say anything, he took it as an indication to continue. 

“Can you promise to listen to everything I have to say before getting upset?” Steve asked. 

“Of course,” I said a bit too leery. 

“I lied about where I’ve been. I don’t have an aunt that lives in New Jersey.” 

I nodded, this revelation not being surprising. “I know. You’re a shitty liar.” 

“Thanks. I think,” the right side of his lips curled up into a light smile.

The sudden thought of if he was with another woman pressed deep into my brain and Steve could feel my hand begin to slip so he leaned in and left a short but heavy kiss upon my lips. I had been so taken aback but the force of it, I didn’t return it until he began to pull away. I frowned internally, wanting to taste him for a few more seconds. 

“I wasn’t with another dame. You’re the only one for me, doll.” Steve breathed across my lips. 

The corners of mine pulled up into a huge smile. 

“I wasn’t lying about where I was, though. I actually was in New Jersey,” he admitted. 

“What the hell for?” I snickered. 

It was then that he divulged exactly what he had been up to the last month, why he had gone in the dark and not returning any of my phone calls. My ears rang loudly with each word that fell from his lips and I couldn’t stop the way my knee bounced with sheer panic. 

When Steve finished, I had to sit quietly for another few beats before letting out a large breath. 

“This scientist, Dr. Erskine, created this serum that does what again?” I questioned, forgetting everything already. 

“I’ll become a super soldier; increased strength, speed, abilities that aren’t common among other men,” Steve reiterated in his previous words. 

“And you’ve been at a base camp training for this program?” I asked, still unable to meet his gaze. 

“I almost didn’t make the cut but Peggy vouched for me with Colonel Phillips,” Steve said. 

It was the second time I had heard that name but only this time, I actually decided to ask him about it. 

“Peggy?” I asked. 

He hesitated but reluctantly nodded. 

“I thought you said you weren’t with any other women,” the jealousy was evident in my voice but I couldn’t do anything to stop it. 

“Y/N,” Steve cupped my chin and forced me to look into his eyes finally. “You’re the only one I want to be with, to share this news with.” 

“And Bucky?”

He nodded. “Of course, Bucky. I hope there’s some way I can tell him the news without him freaking out on me.” 

I brought his palm to my lips, leaving a kiss upon it. 

“Are you sure this doctor is a sure thing? How do we know he’s not some quack trying to make a fast buck?” I stressed my concern. 

Steve brushed a strand of hair from my face, tucking it behind my ear. “He’s a good man, Y/N. You’ll love him when you meet him tomorrow.” 

My eyes doubled in size. “Tomorrow?!” 

“Yes, the procedure is tomorrow.” 

I pinched my eyes shut. “Oh, Stevie. Have you given this any thought? What happens if you’re not strong enough to take it? What if it has side effects that no one is aware of? What if-.” 

My rambling questions were cut off by Steve lowering me onto the couch, his lips covering my own. They moved in a euphoric sync that made my heart jump into my throat. I raked my hands through his hair in an effort to bring him close to me, his tongue pushing past my teeth and dancing with mine. His hips dug deep into my now heated core and I moaned into his mouth when I felt the tip of his aching cock that was pressing hard against his jeans, drag along the inside of my thigh. 

Finally, he pulled away and rested his forehead against my own. 

“Everything will be alright. I will be fine. If I didn’t trust Dr. Erskine, I wouldn’t have agreed to this,” Steve’s voice came out quiet. 

All I could do was nod, still reeling from the intensity of our kiss. 

“Will you be there for me?” 

My shoulders went rigid underneath him, unsure on how to answer. I knew he needed me there for support but the mere thought of seeing the disappointment on his face was enough to break my heart. Just because he trusted this doctor, didn’t mean I did. 

“Please?” Steve begged with another kiss to my lips. 

I melted into his embrace and nodded. “Of course, Steve. Anything to make you happy.”

We spent the next few hours tangled in each other's embrace, our moans of pleasure bouncing off the old wooden walls of my home. As much as I was consumed by Steve’s kisses all over every inch of my body, I couldn’t stop the worry I felt for his procedure tomorrow.

[otomefiend]

Story Event: Dark (What) If ~ Who are you in this twisted fairytale world? ~

Prologue

Kate is a very dutiful girl. Isekai'd into into a twisted reality, and all she thinks about is doing her job. 😂🤧

~~~

London, the glittering and prosperous capital of the United Kingdom under the reign of Her Majesty the Queen Victoria.

I was an ordinary citizen working to deliver mail in this city.

As such, I struggled to support my favourite past-time, a theatre, and afford tickets to plays I wanted to see.

(All right, all deliveries are done for today)

(A little more, and I can finally buy tickets for the next show...)

Kate: "I'm back."

Director: "Kate! Just when I need you... or maybe not, the streets are too dangerous at night..."

Kate: "What's going on?"

Director: "Well, there's an opening for nighttime deliveries, with us being short-staffed and all."

(That's it!)

Kate: "Please, allow me to take them."

~~~

After accepting the task, I found myself walking through the dimly lit residential areas.

(All that's left to do is delivering a letter to the bookshop manager)

(Oh, 'Kingsley Books'... here it is!)

Kate: "Excuse me, I'm working for the post office. I'm looking for the manager..."

(There's no one here. I guess I'll have to come back tomorrow... huh, what a place 👀)

I picked up a book that casually landed at my feet.

As if drawn to it, I opened the untitled tome.

Kate: "Gah...!"

The sudden gust of wind, then a blinding light enveloped me...

~~~

Beautiful longhaired man: "Welcome to the twisted fairytale world..."

Beautiful longhaired man: "A visitor... how marvellous!"

Ahead of me, a beautiful, long-haired figure awaited.

Kate: "...I was at the bookstore just now... and then..."

I had no idea where I was, nor who was the person in front of me.

All I knew was that this was not the bookshop I stepped into, and I still had work left to do.

Kate: "Umm, I'm in the middle of a delivery, so I'd like to go back to 'Kingsley Books' if possible."

Beautiful longhaired man: "That might be a smidge difficult."

Kate: "Eh?"

Beautiful longhaired man: "More precisely, I have no clue how to send you back."

The man, who introduced himself as Victor, smiled and proceeded with an explanation, trying to soothe my confused mind.

It transpired that the place I found myself in existed between two worlds, the world of the living and the fairytale world.

Kate: "......a fairytale world?"

Victor: "You must have been led here by the untitled tome. Don't you remember?"

Kate: "Indeed I was. Does this mean I got lost in a book?"

Victor: "That's right. You're a smart girl, quick on the uptake."

(I never thought that the adaptability I developed working for the post would be put to use in a place like this)

Kate: "But you... Victor, you mentioned earlier a 'twisted fairytale world'."

Victor: "Alice in Wonderland, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty..."

Victor: "Most fairy tales in the world have a fixed plot and normally lead to a happy ending."*

Victor: "However, the fairy tale world is currently in a state where the plot of the story has gone awry, chaos has reached its peak, and the endings are far from happy."

Kate: "...... How is that possible?"

Victor: "That's because... each fairytale is missing something."

Kate: "Missing something... What might it be?"

Victor: "I don't know that either."

Victor: "I suspect you've been brought here to find out."

(......... huh, then)

Kate: "When the missing piece is found, the distortion of the fairy tale world should be fixed, and the story will lead to a happy ending."

Kate: "My job in here will be done..."

Victor: "And you might be able to go back to your world, to reality."

(If that's my only chance, I might as well try)

(I'll find what's missing in this twisted fairytale world and correct the distortion. Then lead it to a happy ending with my own hands)

I was going to go back to my world and continue my delivery.

As I made up my mind, I could hear bells ringing in the distance.

Victor: "Ah, looks like it's time to wake up."

Victor: "Kate, reaching the best ending is now in your hands."

Victor: "...... come, let's send you to the twisted fairytale world."

~~~

*lies 😏 Original (pre disney) fairytales are anything but. Common folk loved dark stuff.

[callmeadin]

Hiyaaa i saw tht u need inspo or smth idk

I was thinking maybe scaramouche x reader accidental confession if u want to write that

Dont overwork urself drink water AND EAT!!

a/n --- hi!!! thank you so much for requesting this, this was really fun to write! i kind of got ahead of myself lkdjfhsdkdf. i actually finished this several hours ago but i had to wait until school was out to post this lmao. i hope you like it!!!!

Accidental Confession

scaramouche x gn!reader

pronouns - they/them - not mentioned

warnings - none, really. not proofread, maybe ooc, a smidge of angst, fluff

"you... you what?"

• you didn't know that one of the fatui would find the trashed letter and give it to the sixth harbinger

• you actually weren't planning on giving it to him, ever really

• you just needed to put it into words and on paper

• it's not the first "letter" you've written either; you just always made sure to keep them in a secured place or threw them away

• suppose you shouldn't be throwing them away anymore

luke was leaving one of the rooms given to you after delivering something from your aunt. he didn't find you in there, which was a surprise as you're almost always in there reading or painting. you aren't actually a member of the fatui, and you live with la signora. luke kicked something on his way out of the room. 

he looked down to see that he kicked a trash can with the contents spilled. luke felt guilty and started to clean it up. as he was putting the several crumpled up and torn papers, he stopped when he found, what appeared to be, a sealed letter. picking it up, he turned it around to see if it was addressed to anyone only to read the name of the balladeer. 

now luke was curious; why would you, one of the nicest people he knows and bickering with the aforementioned harbinger, have a letter written for lord scaramouche? and most importantly, why did you throw it away? regardless, he set it aside to continue cleaning the rest of the trash on the carpeted floor. 

when he threw the last thing away, luke grabbed the letter next to him and stood up. he was supposed to go report to la signora that her gift had been delivered, but instead he moved towards lord scaramouche's office. 

• at first, scaramouche didn't bother with the odd letter one of the subordinates gave him out of the blue

• but a couple of hours later he looked at it again

• looking closer, not only is it addressed to him of all people, but it's your handwriting

"you write letters?"

• this new found curiosity consumed him

• he was going to open it and read it

• only to be interrupted by tartaglia barging in

• scaramouche didn't get the chance to read what it was that you wrote for the rest of the day

the next few days were busy for the fatui. it was close to midnight and scaramouche was pretty sure that if he was a mortal, he would've been utterly exhausted. however, he was tired from doing so much paperwork and the mission from that day. he sat back in his chair and looking down at the stack of papers with a disdainful look, he sighed heavily. his eyes wander over to the locked drawer on his right, and remembered about your letter. 

"i can give myself a break," he said under his breath as he unlocked it and gently grabbed the off-white letter. scaramouche didn't want to crumple it or anything; don't ask him why. 

as he carefully cut the top open, he felt... dare he say, nervous. he couldn't figure out why. 

"it seems like a lot of the things i've been feeling i can't figure out," exhaling a sigh to steel his nerves, he pulled out the folded piece of paper. "why would you write something to me, anyways?" he scrunched up his face when he heard his voice that just screamed desperate.

• he was too scared to see you the next day, because what if this was all a joke? he doesn't want to get betrayed for the fourth time

• scaramouche didn't last very long without confronting you about the letter

• he needed to know if it was true

there you were, chatting with viktor like there was nothing ever wrong. scaramouche stood there right outside of the open door, not knowing why he just can't interrupt you two. you're gesturing animatedly with a bright look on your face as you talk about a book you just finished. viktor's nodding along until he looks over at the silent third party. 

"uh, hey, i don't mean to interrupt you, but i think i should get going," viktor says nervously. you hum and look over to the door and see scaramouche waiting. 

"oh, alright," you give him a questioning look, but his expression is undecipherable. you wonder what he wants. as viktor leaves, scaramouche quietly walks in and closes the door, leaving the sound of the harmonic jingles that hang from his hat. 

"what's wrong, little fandango man?" you try for a more lighthearted jab and tone.

"why did you write that?" 

• you nearly felt your heart drop. but then you told yourself that it wasn't possible, cus you keep all of those unsent letters in a locked place

• but the way he asked that, and the way he's acting, 

• but how would he have gotten one of them anyways???

"why... did i write what?" you felt your anxiety spike, your heartbeat increasing tenfold. out of the corner of your eye, you saw your trash can that was still filled with papers. it was by the door. it was supposed to be next to your small desk in the corner of the room. and you sure as hell don't see the last letter you wrote in there. your entire body grew cold. 

"don't-"

"scara, i don't think you were supposed to read that."

his face scrunched up unpleasantly, though you suppose in a different circumstance you'd think it cute. "then why did one of la signora's subordinates hand me a letter, with my name written on it, and said that it was from you?" his tone became harsher, but not colder. he almost... sounded desperate. 

you finally make yourself look at him, "i threw that away because i was scared of you seeing it," you said flatly. "you weren't supposed to ever see that, or read it, or know anything about that-"

"so is it true, then?" he cut you off.

"i," you hesitate, but with the way that scaramouche is looking at you, it might be better if you just tell him yourself. "yes, it is." you swallow. with more confidence, "yeah, i do love you." 

• you can't tell if he looks devastated or happy, maybe both

• he takes off his hat so he can walk towards you

• he just leans against you without saying anything

• you allow yourself to card your fingers through his hair, finally confirming that it is as soft as it looks

• you two stay like that for a while, not saying anything

"why?"

"hmm, you read it, didn't you? believe it or not, i have more that i haven't thrown away," he immediately raises his head and asks,

"you what," you feel your face heat up.

"yeah, i do," you laugh softly. 

your faces are pretty close, and so you do something that you weren't planning originally. as quick as lightning, you peck him on the lips. almost before you can, his entire face becomes red and he hides it behind his hands. the sight is absolutely adorable to you, and you laugh wholeheartedly. 

scaramouche thinks your laugh is the most pleasant sound he has ever been graced with.

[teecupangel]

so I have an idea what if Haytham Kenway is a yandere because of his desire of no longer wanting to lose things precious to him that started after being left by Ziio and goes full on platonic yandere for Ratohnhaké:tön,  when he learns he is his and Ziio’s son and we could also add adewale to the mix of someone he doesn’t want to lose because he is the only living connection left of his father

I feel like we would need a catalyst for this because if he was already a yandere before he met Kaniehtí:io then it wouldn’t make sense that he’ll let Kaniehtí:io go.

So in this case, the catalyst would be the aftermath of saving Jennifer. Not only did he lose one of the few people he actually trusted, Jim Holden. During the funeral, Jennifer hammered in the final coffin and told Haytham that they shouldn’t be stay close and that they were much too broken to become a family once more.

As well as…

“You became one of them, Haytham. The very people who ordered our father’s death and destroyed our family. No matter what kind of man you are underneath that cape of yours, you still choose to remain part of their Order. I cannot…” Jennifer stared at her younger brother…

No.

At the Grand Master of the Templar Order.

“I care for you as my brother but… I also wish I could strangle you…” She placed her hands on Haytham’s neck, “To snuff out the rot of the Kenway name.”

Haytham stayed still, lips curving into a small mirthless smile, as he asked, “Am I truly the rotten one, Jenny?”

“We both are, Haytham.” Jennifer said with a sad smile void of any hope. She dropped her hands and turned away as she said, “Our blood has rot beyond any hope of salvation. Stained by the corruption of the Order and the festering corpse of the Brotherhood.”

“If we truly wish to protect this world…” Jennifer began to walk away as she said, “We would let our blood end with us.”

.

And the tragedy of it is that Haytham actually believed that Jennifer was right.

The Kenway family was filled with tragedy. Even the happiness he must have had as a child felt like a dying dream.

But, at the same time, he also wanted his life to mean something.

His loyalty to the Order wasn’t because of Birch, it was because he truly did believe in the Order’s ideology.

And he would keep pushing forward…

Until it was time for him to die.

.

Shay was a tool that needed to be guided to be used effectively.

Or perhaps Haytham was simply pushing such thoughts to keep himself from remembering how the villages refused to let him come even near the forest. He had not seen Ziio at all, could not even ask any of the villagers to deliver his message or to give Ziio the letter he had penned.

Shay was a distraction…

The Colonial Brotherhood was a distraction.

But then…

Adéwalé stayed with them and protected them to the best of his ability.

How cruel his words had been.

“He would be ashamed to see what you have become.”

Yes.

His father would be ashamed of who he had become… probably.

But his father was dead.

And…

Adéwalé was a part of his father that was still alive.

It was hard to keep him alive. Adéwalé fought knowing it could be his last. Stubborness formed from desperation that left no other choice but to take him down until he was an inch away from death.

Shay had thought he had truly killed Adéwalé.

Haytham let him think that but he kept Adéwalé alive.

Charles didn’t say anything. He was foolishly loyal like that.

And so…

Once Adéwalé was stable, he had him shipped to Jennifer in London.

Jennifer would know what Haytham wanted even if he did not give her any letters at all.

.

The Colonial Brotherhood was destroyed.

And time marches on.

Haytham still tried.

He tried for so long.

Yet the village remained close to him.

So many times, Haytham had wanted to destroy the village just so it would open its gates.

But Ziio would not want that.

Then again…

Ziio didn’t want to see him at all.

She must hate him.

But Haytham was fine with that.

He was used to being hated.

All he wanted…

… was to have Ziio with him once more.

To hold her in his arms and to protect her.

If she hated him so much, he will build the most beautiful cage for her.

There she will be safe and protected.

And…

That’s when he saw him.

The boy with Achilles.

He looked…

He looked too similar to him to be a coincidence.

Too similar to Ziio.

It had to be…

Why.

Why wouldn’t Ziio tell him?

Why would Ziio hide him?

Stop.

There was no reason to be agitated.

There was no reason to lose all sense of calm.

“Charles.”

“Yes, Master Kenway?”

“Capture the child next to Achilles Davenport.” Haytham ordered without looking at their direction. Charles followed him and pretended not to see them, listening as Haytham continued.

“Alive and unharmed. Do I make myself clear, Charles?”

“Of course, Master Kenway.”

[flamingo-writes]

Coffee & Cinnamon — r.l.

Remus Lupin x Fem!Muggle!Reader

Drabble: In which the weather is bad, and it only gets worse, forcing Remus to stay overnight at your place. (1977, near the end of the summer)

A/N: i just word vomited this. And the my app crashed while I was uploading it so, this is a second attempt at it…This is not proofread btw, I’ll do that sometime soon.

Coffee & Cinnamon Masterlist

In this very moment, Remus thought about the anxiety he’d felt of telling you he was not only a wizard and that magic was real. He’d also told you about his condition. And while the day he’d decided to tell you all about it, he was not only shaking with anxiety, he was also nauseous, he’d hardly managed to keep his breakfast in his stomach. And now, three weeks later, you were still there. In fact, he now felt better than ever.

Having being dating you for about six months now, although hardly seeing you because of school, you two started dating towards the end of the winter holidays. Shortly after your first date shortly after he’d returned home from Hogwarts for Christmas. And while you two had spent the rest of the school year apart, he kept the random letters delivered by owls constant. Writing almost on a daily basis, and you replying with the same frequency. And for as long as he’d been back for the summer, he’d spent every minute of his free time with you. Basically only getting home to sleep.

By recommendation of his friends —and his parents too, when they noticed Remus was serious about dating you —, he’d told you three weeks ago everything about him. Why he was away during most of the year, why it was always owls who delivered his letters instead of the regular mailman, and most importantly, his condition. While Remus had been terrified that’s you’d perhaps get spooked about him being a wizard, and after you turned out to be actually fascinated with it; now he’d convinced himself that you’d be completely terrorized by his lycanthropy.

But you didn’t.

You’d told him you didn’t care, and while at first he didn’t quite believe you, now he could rest assured you meant that. As you were deeply asleep in his arms. While it was a rather cool day for the summer season, it was due to the strong wind and the rain pouring outside. The movies playing on the background now that you were deeply asleep. Remus want paying attention either, as he was focusing in the moment. Your warmth, your weight resting on top him, your breathing, your smell, your everything. Convinced that if you were scared of him, you wouldn’t have fallen asleep on top of him, while watching movies on the couch in your house. He wished he could freeze time like this, and stay with her in his arms for the rest of his life, feeling almost drunk with his feelings for you.

As he was slowly starting to feel drowsy, your mother walked into the living room. "Oh dear—" she stopped as she noticed her daughter was deeply asleep. "Is she…?” She asked.

Remus felt his heart skip a beat as a sudden adrenaline rush woke him up and he looked at her mother. He nodded shyly, as he still wasn’t used to be seen in such intimate—although innocent— moments with his girlfriend. Holding hands in front of your parents, or even kissing her cheek felt weird, despite them knowing he was dating their daughter.

Remus nodded.

"Oh, okay…let her sleep. I was actually coming to talk to you, Remus," She said politely, sitting in the couch besides the one the two of you were cuddled.

"Me?” He whispered nervously.

"Yeah, the wind is awful and the rain is actually getting worse…"

"O-oh…"

"I wouldn’t like to send you home with the weather like this…" Your mother sighed softly as Remus blank-minded didn’t know what to expect. "You think you could give me your home;a phone number so I can ring your parents and ask them of it’s okay for you to spend the night here?”

"Sta-stay?” He stuttered shyly, as your mother chuckled.

"I mean, the it’s raining dogs and cats! Even driving would be dangerous under this conditions. But don’t get too excited, you g man, I’m going to ask you to keep the door to her room open at all times," She said.

"Ye-yeah…yes ma’am…" He stiffened. "I-I ca-can stay here in the couch and—"

"No, you can stay with her. She’d get mad if we left you to sleep on the couch. They’re not the most comfortable to spend the night on…For short naps they’re okay, but not for a full night sleep…" Your mother said with a cheeky smile. "Just promise me, no funny business, and door open at all times…"

"Yes ma’am. No funny business, door open always. I’ll give you my word…"

Your mother smiled softly and got up from the couch as she gently patted his shoulder. "I suggest you go to bed soon, or else, the both of you will get stiff necks and back pain…" She giggled. "Let me bring a bit of paper to write down your phone…"

Remus chuckled and agreed in a low voice as he watched your mother leave back into the kitchen. Shortly after she returned with a small notepad and Remus decided the phone y bed from memory before she returned to the kitchen and heard her half of the conversation regarding his stay and the bad weather. Perhaps his parents would be slightly scandalized and worried, but ultimately, he knew they’d appreciate your parents’ worry and good intentions. He’d already had the talk with his parents, and he knew that when he returned home, he’d have it again. But it was a price he was willing to pay if it meant spending the night with you. Even if nothing happened.

After the movie had ended, Remus woke you up slowly, gently, as he convinced you in your still half-asleep state to go to your room. He’d explained what had happened, but you were far too groggy with sleep, he guessed you wouldn’t remember the entire conversation the two of you had before you collapsed on your bed, falling asleep instantly.

To Remus it was hilarious, the ease with which you’d fall asleep, and how soundly you’d sleep. Keeping the door open as he promised, he took off his shoes and snuggled next to you, wrapping an arm around you, as you moved closer to him, and sighed deeply. You groaned something in your sleep, Remus couldn’t understand.

"What was that, bunny?" He whispered, calling you by the pet name he’d call you, somewhat convinced that if you were a witch and could transform into an animabas, or cast a patronum, it would be a bunny.

"Did you use magic to make it rain?” You slid your tongue lazily and tiredly. Remus chuckled.

"No, not really…But it sounds like a good idea for the future…" He chuckled.

"Hmm…" You moaned. "Either way, I’m glad you’re staying…" You yawned, making Remus yawn as well and making him smile.

"I am too, bun…" He purred.

"I love you, Rem…" Remus’s heart stopped for a second as those words escaped your lips for the first time, as he felt his cheeks blush. He cursed under his breath as he wished he’d been the first one to say it. He smiled and kissed the top of your head.

"I love you too, bunny…" He whispered softly as his arms tightened around you and you hid your face against his neck.

[ms0milk]

s/o with an abusive ex

| ft. Sanemi, Mitsuri, and Rengoku 

a/n: thank you so much for your req!

Sanemi

here's the thing

i just don’t think nems is above murder

so this abusive ex of yours doesn’t feel long for this world, ya feel me?

that ex called one too many times?

they just wont leave you alone?

they followed you when you went out?

showed up at your job?

did he hear you right?

sanemi is not patient, not forgiving, and not above confrontation

if they’re going to be piece of shit that doesn’t know when to quit

sanemi’s gonna submit that resignation letter on their behalf

they take the low road?

sanemi’s going to hell

if you come back to him from a long day out even a little shaken

he’s gonna scoop you right up in the doorway and deliver you straight to the bathtub to wash off the emotional grime

cuff his pants

roll up his sleeves

a therapeutic washcloth scrubbing your back and as much peace as he can manifest as he listens to you talk about your day

this man lives to make your life easy

which means when your ex steps out of line just once

and sanemi has to take out the trash

you’re none the wiser

a little blackmail here, a threat of physical violence there

sanemi and is friends will not let you suffer because of one person who’s too stupid to take no for an answer

if you’re willing to trust him with your fears from the past, he’ll always be ready to navigate the future with you

whatever you need

Mitsuri

like any strong, beautiful woman

Mitsuri has been chased down by her fair share of inappropriate scumbags

and has gotten very good and defending herself

physically and emotionally

she knows exactly how it feels to be perceived as vulnerable and prides herself in her strength and her ability to protect

this applies to you too

duh

the darling love of her life?

you got that extended warranty

24/7 support for life

she’s building your self confidence with spa days, body worship, and making sure you keep your weekly therapy appointment

so whenever your manipulative ass ex comes up

Mitsuri’s got her Listening Ears on

because she knows just how powerful an eager ear can be to someone processing trauma

but

i’m also pretty sure Mitsuri’s grappling with Sanemi for first place on the hashira sliding scale of “how easily they would get into a physical fight with someone who caused you pain”

because the day your ex decides to show their face in person??

and pull some nasty shit??

she was actually arrested for the absolute Bad Bitch Behavior she unleashed that day

i’m talking permanently broken noses and a visit from the adult tooth fairy

“i’m so sorry you had to see that baby”

is all she says when you finally manage to both get home in the evening

and you’re in tears because you have your girlfriend safe in your arms and not in some fucking cell while your sonofabitch ex gets to spend the night in the cushy hospital

but you’re not crying in anger

because you finally

for the first time since you met them

felt bigger than your ex today

“No more fights I promise! Please don’t cry– you y/n, it’s you only you, I only want to make you happy.”

she makes you feel happy and safe

Rengoku

does falling in love with this man ever end? will i ever reach the bottom of the depths of my love for him?

Rengoku is with you through it all

encouraging you to leave your dangerous relationship

protecting you while you gather your things

housing you when you have nowhere else to go

falling in love with you quietly as you build yourself back up

and he’ll be damned if he’s gonna let the asshole that started this whole problem backtrack your progress in any way

ex shows up at your house?

jokes on them, Rengoku’s stationed at the front gate while you finish the last of your chores inside

“You will be fighting with me today stranger, and I am the fight you will lose!”

he’s always all smiles

ex sends you message after message?

paper route be damned, the poor postman is getting escorted backwards to wherever the hell he picked this letter up

I don’t think Rengoku’s the type for premeditated violence

i think he’s a bit too aloof for that

his ego will never get the better of him

his testosterone will never best him

it’s always about you

“Your ex is here Y/n, would you like to walk past them together or would you like to leave?”

“You seem anxious, did something happen while you were out?”

“I’m here with you.”

“You're holding your head high today! You look beautiful like this!”

“You are not alone.”

your villainous ex can’t take away your value and so Rengoku’s going to do the best he can to make sure you see how much he worships your strength

[nightghoul381]

Dark If ~Jude Jazza

This a fan translation so it is definitely not 100% accurate. I do not own anything related to Ikemen Villains. Support Cybird by buying their amazing stories!

Prologue | Part 1 | Part 2 | Bitter End | Premium End | Epilogue

London, the capital of the United Kingdom, boasted glittering prosperity during the reign of her majesty Queen Victoria.

I’m an ordinary citizen who works as a postman in the city.

I don’t have enough money to buy tickets to the performances I want to see.

(Okay, everything has been delivered for today.)

(If I could work a little more, I would be able to buy tickets to see that performance…)

Kate: “I’m back.”

Director: “Kate! Just in time for…no, but the roads are dangerous at night…”

Kate: “What’s wrong?”

Colleague: “Well, they have a vacancy for a night delivery person, so we’re short-staffed.”

(That’s it!)

Kate: “Please let me go!”

I take on an additional deliver and walk through the townhouse district illuminated by gas lamps.

(All I have to do is deliver a letter addressed to the bookstore manager.)

(Ah, “Kingsley Books”… here it is!)

Kate: “Excuse me, I’m from the post office, the manager…”

(There’s no one here, I guess I’ll just have to come back tomorrow,--Oh, what’s this...)

I picked up the book that had fallen casually at my feet.

As if drawn to something, I opened the untitled book.

Kate: “…!”

The wind whipped up, and I was enveloped in blinding light—

Beautiful man with long hair: “Welcome to the distorted fairy world…”

Beautiful man with long hair: “Our first visitor! Yaaaayyy!”

Beyond my open field of vision, a beautiful long-haired person was waiting for me.

Kate: “H-here… I… I was at the bookstore just now, and…”

I had no idea where I was or who the person in front of me was.

All I know now is that this is not a bookstore, and I still have work to do.

Kate: “Um, I’m in the middle of a delivery. So, I’d like to go back to Kingsly Books.”

Beautiful man with long hair: “I’m afraid that will be difficult.”

Kate: “Huh?”

Beautiful man with long hair: “Actually, I don’t even know how to send you home.”

The man, who introduced himself as Victor, tried to explain things to me and soothe my confused mind.

The place I am in now is between the world of fairy tales and the world in which I live.

Kate: “…Fairy world.”

Victor: “You were led here by an untitled book. Don’t you remember?”

Kate: “Yes. So, does that mean I got lost inside a book?”

Victor: “That’s right. You’re a quick and intelligent young lady.”

(I never thought that the adaptability I had honed as a postman would be put to use in a place like this.)

Kate: “But you… Victor, sir. I’m sure you just talked about a ‘twisted fairy world’.”

Victor: “Alice in Wonderland, Snow White, and Thorn Princess**.”

Victor: “Most fairy tales in the world have a fixed plot, and generally end with a happy ending.”

Victor: “However, in the world of fairy tales, the plot of the story has gone awry, chaos has reached its peak, and the ending is far from happy.”

Kate: “…How can that be?”

Victor: “That’s because…each fairy tale has something missing.”

Kate: “…Something missing. What is that?”

Victor: “Even I don’t know that.”

Victor: “I believe you were called here to look for it.”

(…er, in other words)

Kate: “If I find what’s missing, the distortions in the fairy world will be corrected, and the story will have a happy ending.”

Kate: “Then, I’ll be relieved of my role.”

Victor: “Perhaps then you can return to the world you come from.”

(If that’s the only way, I have no choice but to do it anyway.)

(Find what is missing in the distorted fairy world and correct the distortion. And with my own hands, lead it to a happy ending.)

Then I will return to the world I came from and continue my delivery.

Victor: “Ah, I think it’s almost time to wake up.”

Victor: “Miss Kate. With your hands, create the happiest ending.”

Victor: “—Come now, let’s go to the distorted fairy world.”

Prologue | Part 1 | Part 2 | Bitter End | Premium End | Epilogue

[aita-blorbos]

AITA for killing my best friend’s girlfriend?

Wait. Hear me out. My best friend ( 28M ) had gone through a rough patch and was admitted to an Asylum. For six months I ( 32M ) would visit him everyday and give him gifts and talk with him. He’s the only friend I have and in that period we grew close. I’m a man of power, and people only respect me out of fear or need for protection, except him who genuinely likes me even when I hated him at first. Using my connections, I got him out of the asylum and gave him a job in my mayoral campaign and helped him readjust. Through it, he showed me that people can like me and vote for me in a clean way ( even if he had to go behind my back and disobey my orders to do so ), and when I won the election, one of my ex-staff tried to kill me and he saved my life! He even nearly got himself killed. he said he’d do anything for me. Eve since my mother’s death, I never thought someone would actually care about me this much. So, I fell in love with him. He’s my one true love, and following my late mother’s advice, I should run with it. Except I was shy and insecure and kept balking whenever I tried to confess to him. When he told me he admires me, I finally found the courage to tell him, but asked him to dinner where we live so I could confess to him.

he went out to bring wine and didn’t come back because he met a woman ( ??F ) who looked exactly like his dead ex-girlfriend ( which he killed in that rough patch in his life ) and fell in love with her overnight. That’s ridiculous!

I met his new girlfriend and she was a sweet librarian. I told her about his precious stunt as a serial killer. Admittedly I wanted him for myself, but she was soft and sweet they couldn’t have lasted. My best friend would’ve killed her! But she apparently told my best friend that it’s alright and she trusts he changed now.

My best friend panicked about hurting her and I encouraged him to dump her, but he asked me to do that for him. It’s fine, really, I’m happy to end their doomed romance. I visited her to deliver her the news but she refused claiming she could show him he couldn’t hurt her! She wrote him a letter and my best friend went to dump her himself, but returned after spending the night at her place claiming he’s all fixed now and now she can’t hurt her.

So, I cut the breaks in her car and she had an unfortunate accident :)

[dany-is-my-queen]

A Question of Loyalty IV

Rhaenyra Targaryen x reader, Alicent Hightower x reader

Word count: 3k

Summary: When dragons of green and dragons of black dance, you have to choose the color that suits you best.

“I remember you at their age.” You reminisced those years, easier years in Driftmark where your only care was not to eat too much cake and play with your siblings. Laena was with child again, you meekly rubbed her belly.

“They look just like you.”

“I was always following you around. Just like Rhaena does with Baela.”

“Well, I was the eldest sibling. Still am.” You quipped.

“I have the fresh memory of you on top of Silverwing. You were grounded for a moon and then I was grounded for a moon for letting you flee your chambers.”

“You enjoyed the ride, didn’t you?” She busted a gut.

“I did. It was because of you that I gathered the courage to claim Vhagar in the first place, otherwise I wouldn’t even thought it possible.”

“I’m proud of you, little sister.” She smiled heartily.

“How are things with the Queen?”

“She gave birth to Daeron. I adore that boy. It's almost as if he were mine.”

“You do have a gift with children. And what about Rhaenyra?”

“We are… still sorting it out.” You said vaguely, she was detaching more every passing day.

“You do not sound convinced. Is your heart troubled, Y/N? Don’t close yourself off to me. You can trust me.”

“I know, Laena. It’s… hard. Living with her yet being so far apart.”

“Has Alicent’s infatuation faded yet?”

“Infatuation?”

“I do not claim to know her, we barely shared a few words when I was in the Capital but that woman, sweet sister, that woman sees the stars in your eyes. When at Leanor's wedding, only a fool wouldn't realize her heart was calling out to you.” You regretted your actions on that particular date, you went to her out of desperation, a need to feel something. It doesn't mean that you didn't cherish it, or that you didn't like it. But you played with her strings, and it wasn't something the Queen could just forget.

“Are you still oblivious?” The twins came sprinting in before you could answer to something that you didn’t actually have an answer for.

“Oh my beautiful dragons!” Rhaena perched on your lap whilst Baela put her small arms around your neck. “The Capital would do you wonders. Come visit me soon.”

“Can we, mother? Please?” They pleaded.

“We will have to consult it with your father first.” Laena spoke, you sighed with disdain at Daemon’s mention.

“We want to meet our cousins!”

“In the meantime, perhaps a letter would lift their spirits? You proposed.

“Yes!”

“Daemon is reluctant… he still feels spurned by the King, and by most of the Court.” Laena declared.

“I wonder why.” You mumbled.

“I do miss Laenor, and mother & father. Send them my regards; and all my love.”

“It would be good to have you back, we could arrange a feast in High Tide instead. Send a raven anytime and I will see to it.” She bade you safe travel, you both lingered in each other’s familiar touch.

“I will, I promise.”

When the news of your sister’s passing reached you couldn’t believe your ears, for not so long ago you had seen her… chatted with her. She was alive, she was well. She wanted to come home. She wouldn’t have wanted to perish in some foreign land, she meant for her girls to grow up in Westeros.

Daemon objected, would not let her return. In your soul, accumulating hatred was not something you were proud of, blaming someone for another's death was low when it wasn't deliberate, yet the very sight of him unsettled you. You had to be strong now, for Baela and Rhaena.

Your uncle Vaemond delivered the eulogy in High Valyrian, in which he included pointed remarks about Velaryon blood remaining “pure” while glancing at Rhaenyra’s sons, Daemon was somber at her death, and he started giggling at Vaemond's pettiness in bringing this up now, you paid no mind to your uncle. You glared at Daemon, a lack of respect to his wife, to all of your family.

“I don’t want mother to be gone.” Baela was wretched, Rhaena was still crying a river of tears. You wished you could unburden them, bring Laena back and shield them from all dangers in the world.

“She’s going to watch over the two of you, from the Heavens. You will feel her in the sun that warms your skin. Nobody is gone forever, my darling girls. Let the memories remind you how to smile.” You offered them consolation, and they did the same.

Laenor had more cups of wine than you would have preferred. He lamented the fact that he should have brought his sister home when he was still able to spend more time with her. Rhaenys slumped as she read the words written in the letter, you kept each other company until slumber came to subdue your sobs at night.

Rhaenyra was the first to approach you, Laena was her cousin after all and she was sadden for it too. “Laena was well loved by all of us. Your sister was one of a kind.” She dithered to give you a hug, instead she squeezed your shoulder and went to her sons.

Jace was devastated, for Ser Harwin and the late Hand Lyonel had also recently perished in a fire at Harrenhal, "the cursed castle". You may have felt jealous of him for stealing the Princess' heart and time, but there is no denying the role he had played, protecting and coddling Jace and Luke, for which he will always have your respect.

Alicent was determined to deliver some comfort as well, and so she did with an embrace. “My deepest sympathies, my lady.” You dawdled in her arms until the bereaved court was scattered around.

After a long evening at the cliffside courtyard for the wake, The Queen came forward once more, she commanded a view of hopefulness. “I know this is not an appropriate time, mayhaps. But I wish to consult it with you firsthand.” She commented. You cracked a little smile her way.

“Do tell, your Grace.”

“The proposal Rhaenyra presented back in King’s Landing… about marrying Healena to Jacaerys, I will agree to it.” Your eyes growing wider by the revelation.

“Really?”

“I’ll be announcing it tomorrow before departing High Tide. Jacaerys is a gentle boy, he will make an excellent match for sweet Haleana. He’ll treat her with respect and devotion, same with their children. Aegon wouldn’t.” You grippingly nodded, for you knew beyond doubt that Jace would be perfect for her.

“Jace will be faithful to her, and kind.”

“I’m counting on it. She needs someone to look after her.”

**********

You would never have thought the night would turn out the way it did. It is sad, tragic even, that Alicent and Rhaenyra met first, were friends... only to have the bad blood between them intensify.

You knew some of the blame resided on you, and that was even worse. And what was the consequence of it? Aemond was maimed, Luke was beyond frightened of Alicent, she had cut your chest open. Surely Lucerys did not intend to attack him if it was not utterly necessary, and a child's mind acts before it thinks. How was this allowed to happen?

The pitiful thing was that Viserys didn't seem very moved by it, not that you supported mutilation or anything of the sort fell on Luke, however, the King simply doesn't care, those Targaryen children are not loved by their own father, you softened your heart at the most obvious avowal.

Rhaenyra and Alicent had yet again argued about you… The princess was so sure of herself, she thought she had you in the palm of her hand… that you were still that naive girl. And Alicent has begged you more times than you can recall, to speak out loud about the feelings you've been putting aside since that night together. For them to make amends seemed so impossible and it ruptured you. Silverwing helped ease your dismay, you actually talked to her while you were in the clouds, and she harked.

You found yourself heading to the dinner Hall, where Alicent was just finishing breaking her fast, along with Ser Otto.

“How are you, Your Grace?” You took a seat at the grand table, Otto was leering at you and Alicent noticed. He’s never liked you.

“Father, would you give us a moment, please.” He flashed a warning look to her and he exit.

Alicent’s countenance was dimmed. “I do not want this to come as a thunderbolt for you, my lady. I’ve had a change of heart.” You faintly frowned. “I’m announcing Aegon’s betrothal to Helaena, later today.”

“But… what about her and Jacearys? You said-“

"I know what I said, Y/N. It was only a few days ago that I was beginning to be convinced by the match. I trust you fathom that I cannot now allow my daughter to marry the boy. Her brother hurt my son for life, defending him or not, who knows what he could become. Helaena doesn't need something like that near her. My job, my crucial job is to protect my children. I hope you can understand that."

“I.. I do, Your Grace, I do.” You managed to say, shaken by the confession.

“Good. You’ve come to say something?” She was quick to ask.

You realized that the more you let your feelings for her go behind a cloud of smoke, the more you were going to later repent it and the more she’s going to feel rejected by you, so you shaped up the courage and woman up before vocalizing again.

“I have. Alicent, I am sorry for being partial on the matter of the dispute that broke days ago. I am sorry I spoke to you as I did when you came to apologize. You are a mother and I myself cannot know what it is like... the helplessness you felt when the King didn't bat an eyelash for his son. You deserve so much better, and if you let me, I'll make sure those children do not feel unwanted.” You promised her.

“After that night, Y/N, I’m not quite certain the children will agree to that. They feel betrayed. I feel betrayed. But guess it shouldn’t be a surprise, after all, you do favor them. Even if you won’t admit it out loud.”

“Your kids are my family. We share blood.”

“Water is thicker than blood, it would seem.” You knew exactly what she meant with that, it stung all over.

“I don’t wish to be at each other’s throats about it anymore.”

“Then leave.” The Queen coldly chided, you grimaced. You were losing her, you could feel it and you weren’t just prepared to do so.

“Alicent—“

“Do you love me?” She inquired with exasperation, with yearning and anguish making their way to reflect on her articulation.

“I do.” She intended to withdraw her hand but you grasped it firmly over the canteen. “I do love you. I suppose I just… I was too blind to see it, to admit it. I didn't want to imprison you with your own emotions.”

“Rhaenyra claims otherwise.”

“No one is ever enough for her.” Little did the Queen or you knew, that this last part of the conversation was falling directly into the ears of the alluded princess, nor did she retaliate until she made the terrible mistake of glimpsing at you. “Could I be enough for you?” You purred, inches apart you slanted towards the Queen, she greeted the affection with a handful of tears streaming down her cheeks. You wiped them away with your thumbs, and this kiss was not like the ones you’ve shared before, no, this one held meaning, this one felt right.

Rhaenyra could’ve easily interrupted the intimate moment you were having with the Queen, could easily have made a scandal out of it, but instead, she swabbed harshly her own bitter drops, stealthily stormed out and started to feel that excruciating pain she did when you were both fifteen at Dragonstone.

When the intensity wore off, you stood in silence for a long minute, Alicent cupped your face softly. “I'm not saying it's too late for us. I don't think so myself. But I can't do this now. You... you're crazy about her. She's your number one, always has been. I doubt I can ever top that, or earn that place in your heart. How long must I keep biding here to wait for an answer? You will be running after her next time you see her, and I don’t think I can endure it any longer."

You couldn't swear on your knees that your feelings for the Targaryen were going to fade into the dark forever, because that would probably never happen, so you spoke no more, knowing it would make no difference. You knew that what you felt for her was genuine, pure.

**********

Alicent publicly announced that Aegon and Haleana would marry before autumn’s end. Her reputation was freshly tarnished, yet she stood with authority, and Viserys did not oppose the union. Aegon, discontent with it, sweet Haleana ethereal as only she knew how to be. Aemond increasingly filled with hatred, convinced more than ever that his nephews were nothing more than bastards whose claims were mendacious.

“I wish you could come with us, aunt Y/N. You protected Luke, mother and me. The only one who has done that is Ser Harwin and now he’s gone. Those people are dangerous. We would protect you the way you did us.“ Jace said, worry in his voice, you crouched and washed away his concerns.

“The knight you would be, my darling prince. I won’t go to King’s Landing, I’ll be staying home where I belong. These are hard times, but you know what? We must all be united. Do not let loathing grow thick inside of you.“ You remarked when Luke joined you.

“He hates us now, they all do.” That shadow was looming weighty on their heads, they could spot it.

“They do not. You are decent young princes. An apology is not enough, it cannot bring back the eye of your uncle, but it will demonstrate you didn’t mean ill will. That it doesn’t make you superior.”

“He didn’t apologize to Baela and Rhaena—“

“Prove you’re different, sweet boy.” Little Luke looked up at you, and nodded.

“I will, aunt. I’ll apologize to him.”

Subsequently, the ship set off where Alicent and Viserys were on, and the three Dragons, Sunfyre, Dreamfyre & Vhagar carried the kids on their backs.

You were lounging on the grassland, feeling the breeze on your skin. You didn't want the "Rogue Prince" to overstay in your father's seat, he was a walking insult. And you wondered if you should go after Alicent - have you lost her without even having her?

“Penny for your thoughts?” Laenor laid beside you, and it reminded you when you were six and he was five. The flash of his grin coming to you in a warm wave. “Look Y/N! He’s going to be the largest dragon in the world! Even larger than the Black Dread. But he’ll be more beautiful.”

“I miss the old days.”

“So do I. Wish I could relive them. When the three of us took wing, we were the rulers of the sky. We were invincible. We took different roads”

“But in the end, we never changed. We remained true to ourselves, to each other. Little Laena is resting now with our ancestors, we will meet with her again.”

“I know we will. I never laid with her Y/N, I could never do that to my sister. Not when I knew she was the woman you loved.” This was hurting Laenor, because he loved you deeply, and he knew this would devastate you, he also knew how strong you were. He couldn’t live like this anymore, he dithered, he did.

“You are a good man, with a heart of gold, but you’re even a better brother.”

“You possess that heart of gold, Y/N. You are the very best of all of us. You are an honorable woman. Never lose that spark.” Something was.. amiss, you should’ve peered closer.

You cursed yourself a thousand times for not having been smart, for not having delved into Laenor's mind, for not having clung to him and protected your little brother from all dangers, because the atrocity that occurred hours later paralyzed you. They found his corpse shoved head-first into the fireplace, horrifically burned beyond recognition.

After a week or so, you were able to digest it. Having not eaten for days, Silverwing's appetite diminished as well. Rhaenyra left your home for the Island shortly after his demise. You learned Daemon went with her…

Ser Qarl was the apparent murderer, he had fled High Tide, but he cared about your brother, he was smitten by him since they met, you were there that day. It didn't make the slightest sense.

Rumors began to spread, the whole kingdom learned of Daemon and Rhaenyra's marriage. You'd be lying if you said you didn't see it coming, but how convenient was it to eliminate the princess's husband, so that fucker could take her as his wife? Both your parents were convinced that he had something to do with his death, and they had no doubt that she was an accomplice.

You at first refused to believe it was true, she wouldn't be capable of such a thing, of hurting him, and hurting you. But she had done it a hundred times before, time and again as the breaking point came crawling into your brain, the idea that it was possible broke through the heavy grief and mourning. Laenor would never leave Seasmoke behind, never leave your parents, never leave you to bear another loss...to consider it made you feel sick to the bone.

Rhaenyra didn’t choose you, she chose the ugly path. She chose her uncle, somebody else, over you, again. The beginning of the end of your love for her.

Tagging: @loveislove4 @evattude @lethal-minds @sophiexoxsblog

[giulliadella]

Hellraiser: the Toll is dumb AF

You freaks liked my review of The Scarlet Gospels, so I'm here to deliver this short review of another garbage Hellraiser novel while I'm procrastinating with studying for the finals. Spoilers for the entire thing (and some funny fanart) below:

Hellraiser: the Toll is a novella written by Mark E. Miller that serves as a passage between The Hellbound Hearts/Hellraiser movie and The Scarlet Gospels. It sucks harder than a black hole.

Short summary (5 sentences)

Kirsty Cotton is a depressed fucked up person that is running from place to place because she's scared of "The Cold Man" which is a nickname she gave to Pinhead. She gets a letter from some random theology professor and decides to go visit The Devil's Island in French Guiana where she's told the Cenobite would wait for her. She goes to a hotel kept by an old lady and a butler named Walter, the old lady is skinned alive and the butler tries to kill Kirsty, but she smacks his face with a hammer and kills him. Then she enters the jungle prison on the Devil's Island and meets Pinhead, they chat, then argue, then start a fight which ends by Kirsty smashing his face with a hammer and taking out one of his nails. She returns home and keeps the nail in a jar on her night stand.

Endlessly confused plot

I honestly can't tell what universe does this book describe. It's a mashup of "The Hellbound Heart" and Hellraiser movie, but the second movie is not cannon, which is very weird. The author basically picked and chose whatever random thing he liked and made a senseless mashup. One of the worst things about it is the same fucking issue with the Boom! comics and that is that Kirsty hates Pinhead because he "killed her father and ruined her family". Which is pure bullshit from every angle. In "The Hellbound Heart", Cenobites only killed Frank and Julia and let her go. In Hellraiser, they also killed Frank and Julia and she barely escaped. Her father was killed by FUCKING FRANK. Pinhead didn't ruin Kirsty's family, Frank did. I don't think that Kirsty would hold any ill intent towards the Cenobites, in fact, in Hellraiser 2 she objectively doesn't. She wanted to save them for fuck's sake. And they all gave their lives for her. I really have no idea why would she have any reasons to hate Pinhead, but oh well.

Pinhead acts like a whiny little child

Seriously, what the fuck is with these books and assassination of Pinhead's character? Why the FUCK is he depicted as narcissistic, misogynistic motherfucker, when he couldn't be further from it? Also, why does he use his fists to fight Kirsty when he can summon chains with hooks by will and also has like 12 butchering knives hanging from his belt? The worst part is probably the dialogue, especially when he says "Jesus wept", like, come on, that's the dumbest thing I've ever read. Does the motherfucker who wrote this think that Frank and Pinhead have any parallels? Because if he does, he needs a hit on his head with a hammer, just to reset his brain.

Hell is shit - literally

The description of Hell in this book is even dumber than in Scarlet Gospels. It says that the floor in Hell is made of shit. And there's a hole and people in Hell worship the hole and throw babies in it. Like, what the fuck. Also, I fucking hate the fact that he described Cenobites as foul smelling. Do your research, motherfucker, they smell like vanilla! There is some stench of rot beneath, but nobody in the entire franchise never had the urge to vomit when they were close to the Cenobites, so it can't be strong. I don't know how did the author of this garbage come to the idea that Cenobites smell like shit and that Hell is made of shit, but it's literally like how a 13 year old would describe it. I don't know what is the reason, but maybe, just maybe, straight men have much different interpretation of what Cenobites are compared to queer women like myself.

Stuff I liked

There was one scene where a demon was running in the rain screaming FUCK!FUCK!FUCK!FUCK!FUCK!FUCK!FUCK! until he was struck by lightning. I laughed my ass off with that.

The fact that Kirsty kept the nail she knocked out of Pinhead's face by her bedside was so cute. Like, this book has some shipping, but it fucking sucks. Mostly because both Pinhead and Kirsty are very much out of character. But keeping the nail was definitely in character for her lol.

Overall, this entire book could be summed up by this illustration:

The Toll sucks. It doesn't suck as much as Scarlet Gospels, and, thank Goddess, it's only 40 pages long. But it still sucks. It ruins both Pinhead and Kirsty and their relationship and it's definitely not worth your time. If you want good stories about the Hell Priest and his human crush, go to AO3, there are many of superior quality.

[asmutwriter]

A True Lady (Part 1)

This was originally a Benedict fic but I changed it to Anthony. So apologies if she seems flirty towards both of them, its likely because I missed it when I reread it to change the names.

Anthony x Reader

WORD COUNT: 4182

Next / Master List

WARNINGS: mentions of prostitution, time period sexism, swearing, talk of sex, kissing, drunk kissing

DISCLAIMERS

-   This is fiction. Please always talk to your partner before doing anything and make sure they are ok with what you are doing beforehand

It was your 19th birthday. You were helping one of your roommates get in the washing. You lived in a small house, able to afford a room but having to share with a few other people. You were helping out the girl that lived in the same room as you when a knock at the door distracted you. You saw a very well dressed man look at you “Excuse me ma’am, is Miss-” he reads the letter he has “-Smith living here?” you nod slightly

“That is me. How can I help you?” he hands you a letter.

“From your father”

“I’m sorry there must be a mistake” he shakes his head “No, you see I got told my father died years ago” he shakes his head again

“M’lady. Your father died a few days ago. This is his will” he motions his eyes at the letter “I’d recommend you read it” he clears his throat “we will come and collect you in a few days” and with that he bows and walks to his carriage. You go to speak again but get called by the other women. You quickly take the letter and place it into your corset. 

“Who was that?”

“A lord of sorts I believe. I think he lost his way” you smile at her as she nods “I completely forgot, I was meant to be doing a work thing today. So I’m going to go” you excuse yourself and go to work. 

It doesn’t pay much, but working in a factory defiantly gets you enough money for food on your plate. When you get there you meet with two of your friends, both on the same level of factory work as you. You pull out the will from your bodice whilst explaining what had happened. “But I thought your dad had died before you were born?”

“So did I” you open the letter and read it out loud

‘My dearly beloved family, if you are reading this I am afraid it is because I have succumbed to my illness and died. I want you all to know I love you with all my heart but I-” your eyes widen at the next line, your friends getting closer to you with anticipation “I feel like you are all like vultures and trying to get close to me. I know I was never the best father in the world, but for you all to try and get close to me as I lie dying, well it’s embarrassing for you all. So for each of you I leave a penny. Apart for my bastard child, Emily Smith, to which I leave the rest of my fortune and my entire estate. My dear, I hope my footman has managed to deliver this letter to you and I hope you are reading this. I am sorry we never met and I’m sorry you will be suddenly thrown into the limelight but as of receiving this letter you will no longer be known as Miss Emily Smith, but instead as Lady Emily Garcia. My footmen will pick you up in a few days after you receive this letter so you may have enough time to pack your belongings and make your way to your new life” You feel tears start to swell

“You’re going to be rich”

“Ooh a real lady” your friends joke with you and hug you as you stand in shock. You hear the boss call out your names. Yelling at you to either leave with no pay or get back to work. The three of you decide on the latter, you’re friend whispering to you before you separate on the work floor.

“When you become rich, don’t forget about us” you shake your head as you smile at them

“I would never forget my best friends”

-

A few months had passed since getting the letter. You said farewell to your home. Leaving behind the small room and your roommates behind. Thankfully you could write them letters to stay in touch but you’d only lived with them for a short while so hadn’t grown a strong bond with them. Not strong enough to bring them with you to your new life. So although you were sad in leaving them you were happy to move on with your life. You also didn’t tell them it was your father that had left a fortune as you were a bit worried they might try and steal it from you, knowing how light fingered a few of them were.

But none the less, here you were sitting at the head of your table, trying to remember which spoon was for which meal. The meal in question sat in front of you and your handmaiden awaiting eagerly for you to pick the correct utensils. You point to one of the forks and she shakes her head sadly and points to the correct fork. You grunt in annoyance “Why must I know the details of all the cutlery? No one shall see me eat anything anyway”

“It is only proper for you to know which one is which for if you go to a party, or for when you finally have a party”

“Or I could just not eat whenever that happens and drink a lot of whatever is on offer so I feel full” you smile at her to which she chuckles slightly “When am I able to throw a party?” you query

“When you have been considered part of high society. No one is aware of your father’s death apart from his family, and we are planning on keeping it that way until it gets out on its own. Or in a month or two” you nod

“Do we have any animals?” she shakes her head

“But if you would like any you would be able to afford them. Horses and dogs are always love-”

“I want chickens. Ooh and possibly some pigs!”

“Excuse me?”

“You said we could afford them...? Or did you mean we could only afford one set of animals, like a singular dog or something? Sorry, I both keep forgetting that we have money but that also think we have unlimited money” she shakes her head and laughs slightly

“No miss, when people tend to say they want animals they tend to say more... domesticated creatures like a dog, or even a cat” you nod

“But if we had more farm animals then we could sell things like eggs and milk, we could also give it to those less fortunate in order to keep our charisma up amongst the people. I’d be happy to look after them all as well, I know not everyone is happy to clean animals out or anything” she nods and smiles at you

“I think getting some animals would be a marvellous idea. We have enough money to afford paddocks for them and enough land as well” you smile as you both talk about the animals you could have and where they could be placed on your land.

-

This is how you met the duke. Turns out your father had close ties to him and when you mentioned animals to your servants they introduced you to him, who was happy to guide you to the best farmers around. You grew a close friendship with him, which you enjoyed. He also understood what it was like to be seen down on by some members of society so you already had that in common. You thought you knew him fully, until you met his wife. Daphne. He’d said to you a few times that he would never get married so when he came to you with his newly wed wife you were shocked. But this only lasted a few moments as you grew a friendship with her as well, welcoming her to stay with you at any time if she wanted to get away from her duchess duties, or even her wifely duties, to which she was more than happy to stay with you a few times over the course of their early marriage. Then you got word of her pregnancy which also shocked you, but you were glad your close friends were happy and in love. 

This is when you got a letter from her one morning. It asked if she could possibly come to see you and get away from prying eyes when she was in the latter half of her pregnancy. You happily agreed, asking if she’d come to visit next week to which she accepted.

So when the day arrived, you heard her carriage pull up and you ran outside to great your friend. You brought her into a hug “It has been so long! I can’t believe you managed to get knocked up” she looks slightly shocked at your words, when you hear a cough from behind you. A man with dark eyes meets your gaze

“You weren’t wrong sister” you shoot a curious look at him then back at her. She places her hands on your shoulders and smile at you

“So I mentioned coming here to my mother and she said that it’d be lovely for her to come and join me, just to keep an eye. And the next thing I knew all of them had said they wanted to join” you see three young children jump out of a different carriage and run up the length of the garden to the house entrance, followed by a young lady shouting after them. You look inside the carriage Daphne had been in and saw a woman and 2 men. You bow slightly at them and then furrow your brows

“I thought you were one of eight, but I only count seven”

“Yes Colin couldn’t join us as he’s on his travels” you nod and smile at them all as they exit and look around. You link arms with your friend, and lean towards her

“I still can’t believe you got knocked up” you whisper to which she chuckles and playfully hits your arm “to be fair, with how you talked about your antics beforehand I’m surprised it didn’t happen sooner”

“Emily!” you laugh at her sudden embarrassment and head inside. 

It had come to dinner time and you were helping your maids serve food for you and your guests. Although you knew it is improper for the lady of the house to help you found yourself feeling to mean to let them do it on their own and it really didn’t bother you. But as you went and gathered everyone to sit down you found yourself at the head of the table, Daphne one side of you, her mother the other, the variety of siblings down the length of the table with the viscount at the other end. You all begin eating, a few minutes in the mother speaks up. “Are we not to be joined by the lord of the house?”

“Oh there is no lord” she looks confused “I’m not married” you smile at her. She nods and looks at your hand

“But your ring...?”

“Oh, I wear it to trick certain men into thinking I’m a wed woman so they don’t try and flirt with me. I actually just found it amongst some of my father’s belongings when I moved in”

“Does that not deter you from men who want to marry you” you laugh 

“Men don’t want to marry me. They tend to find me strange and to independent. So I try not to attract them if I can help it” you look at the sister as she looks at you in awe

“So you don’t ever want to marry?” you shrug “isn’t that against everything in your title? And your gender?” you nod

“Yes it is. My title and my gender implies that I should get married and bare children but I’ve seen far too many women suffer greatly from pregnancy and child birth. Plus the heartbreak they often have. I think I’ll pass on it all” You smile and carry on with your meal as some of the table looks at you with amusement, the others with a slight disgust. Violet clears her throat and moves on the conversation. You see the eldest son exchange a few words with his brother but they are too far away for you to hear. At the end of the meal you go up to the eldest brother “I have a few men coming round for work purposes tomorrow and I wondered if you would like to meet them? All businessmen and lords and so on. I think it might be good from a business point of view for you” he nods

“That would be very nice, I’d like to meet them indeed” he smiles as you all part ways for the night. 

The next morning you are awake early, dressed in your finest dress as you great various lords. You have them all go into a room “I will go get Lord Bridgeton for you shortly” you smile and leave the room, shutting the door behind you before placing your ears to the door. You feel a touch on your shoulder which makes you jump. You meet Benedict’s blue eyes and you cover his mouth before he goes to say something. You whisper to him “I’m eavesdropping to see what they say about me to see if they deserve tea and biscuits or not” he chuckles and places his ear next to the door with you as you both listen in on the conversation. Anthony also walks up to which you shush him as well and explain. He rolls his eyes but waits patiently as the two of you stand by the door.

“Goodness how long does it take her to bring him?”

“I mean, I’d also be straining given how big her breasts are. They must be heavy things”

“Oh yes but my god they look good on her” you hold back a slight laugh, finding it amusing how awful some men can be.

“I’d quite like to see her undressed though”

“Have you not heard the rumours? She apparently only managed to get this place because she was screwing the Lord himself”

“Goodness I bet she puts out for everyone”

“I’ve heard that she is great with her mouth”

“I guess we’ll see later wont we gentlemen”

“She won’t do anything whilst the Bridgeton’s are here, she may be great in bed but she wouldn’t want to ruin her relations with them”

“I don’t know, if she keeps giving me those sex eyes I might have to have my way with her” you move away from the door and take a deep breath. You feel both brothers’ eyes on you as you try not to cry out in annoyance. You finally lift your head up and look at the oldest one

“Shall we go in?” your voice cracks slightly. He shakes his head 

“I do not wish to be near such awful people” you shrug

“That is your choice, but I cannot be put down by what men think of me” You half smile at him, but he notices it does not meet your eyes. “Don’t let on that we heard them, please?” he nods slightly and you see him look behind you at his other brother to which you turn around. “Or you?” to which he also nods. You shake your hands in a fashion to get yourself ready then flatten your dress “God sometimes I hate having tits...” you whisper under your breath as you open the door and greet your guests with a fake smile “Gentlemen, viscount Anthony Bridgeton. I shall leave you all alone to query your ideas. If you need me I will be tending to my animals” you smile and exit, shutting the door behind you. Benedict reaches out a hand towards you as a sign of comfort but you shake your head “I’m ok... thank you...” you give him a sad but genuine smile as you leave, going up to your library in hopes that some fictional world can help you forget about the real world even if only for 5 minutes. 

Half an hour or so must’ve passed until you hear a knock on the door “come in” as you look up to see the eldest brother walk in.

“I thought I would come and check you were ok” you nod

“I am fine. I’m used to such words, the problems of being a women completely independent from a man I suppose” you place your book down as he steps in more and pushes the door to, but not shutting it completely. “I hope you didn’t tarnish any propositions they gave you just because of the words they said about me?” he shakes his head

“They didn’t have anything I wanted anyway. Either too expensive to invest in or not bringing in enough money for my sake” you nod as you watch him come behind your chair and angle you to look into the mirror that is in the room. He smiles at you in the reflection as he leans down to your height “I want you to be able to see that you are a kind and genuine person that is doing an amazing job at running a house. You are beautiful both inside and out and none of those men deserve you” you smile at his words and turn to face him, only mere inches away from him 

“Thank you... I needed that” you smile at him and gently kiss his forehead before leaning back in your chair. He looks slightly shocked by the affection but stands up straight and coughs slightly

“I shall leave you to it, and probably see you at dinner” you nod and wave at him as he exits. You then get back to your reading. 

Hours pass and it is dinner, you all sit and eat together. You come to realise that the brothers don’t seem to have told anyone about what they heard.

 A couple more days pass. You had gotten close to all the Bridgeton family. The youngest being sweet and kind. Violet helping you with proper etiquette. Daphne being your good friend. Eloise and Benedict helping you broaden your horizons when it came to arts such as drawing and reading. Lastly Anthony giving you good trade offers and other tradesmen that you could work with. You’d gotten the closest with him, spending most of your time together as you talked business.

As another night falls upon your house you find yourself outside lying on the grass looking at the sky. You have had difficulty sleeping due to the stress of going to be public and attending your first ball in a weeks’ time and you found the night sky incredibly relaxing. Apparently you are not the only one either as you hear someone sit next to you. You turn your head to see Anthony looking up at the sky. You half smile and look back up. Only a few minutes pass before he breaks the silence “You know, a lady shouldn’t be out here on her own with a strange man” you chuckle slightly

“You aren’t a strange man. A man yes, strange no” he chuckles

“A stranger then” you nod 

“True. I suppose I’m not one for formalities though” he nods and it is silent again. You sit up, pulling out a flask and offering it to him, to which he agrees taking a sip. You smile as you also drink from it after him 

“God that is strong” he coughs slightly as you chuckle 

“I’m still learning the basics of brewing it. This is the 3rd batch I’ve made” he chuckles slightly and nods, watching as you take another sip

“This may be an incredibly personal question but what did you do before you lived here?”

“You don’t know?” he shakes his head and murmurs

“No. I know you inherited this place from your father when he died but that’s all I know” you nod and look down, fiddling with the bow on the front of your nightdress

“I was born into a poor family. My mother did her best to look after me but she died when I was young. So I knew from a young age I had to make my own living. But I didn’t know how so I started stealing. Just small things. Food mainly. But I stole from this woman when I must’ve been about eleven. She caught me, but noticed I was starving so looked after me. Gave me a home and a job in a factory. I worked there for eight years until I received the letter from my father” you chuckle slightly “Sorry, I didn’t mean to bombard you with so much stuff...” he shakes his head as he watches you lie down. You offer him the drink again to which he takes a sip from.

“I wanted to know” you hear him take in a sharp breath. Not sure if it’s from the alcohol or the cold air “I would like to apologise again for those men from a few days ago”

“That wasn’t your fault in any way so no need to be sorry. I’m just sorry that you had to hear such horrific things. I promise I don’t put out as they said” he takes another sip before handing it to you

“I’m sure you don’t”

“I mean I’ve defiantly kissed people but that’s an affection thing rather than a sexual thing” he chuckles as you giggle slightly. The alcohol had definitely settled in now. You could tell that much from the way you both were acting. Although neither of you had had much of it, it was very strong so only a few sips seemed to affect you both. This is also when you remembered that you were always maybe a little too open and friendly towards people when intoxicated

“When was your first kiss then?” you shyly shrug, trying to ignore the heat rising to your face.

“Probably about two years ago” He nods. You see his eyes dart to look at your lips as he leans down closer to you, lying next to you so you’re only mere inches away. He looks back at your eyes as he gently strokes your cheek “Yeah. It was a night similar to this. We were drinking and I confessed that I’d never kissed anyone and he said I couldn’t live my life not having kissed anyone. So we then had a kiss. It wasn’t very long and there wasn’t any tongue or anything but it was good” you realise that whilst you were speaking he was looking at you. You couldn’t quite tell how he was feeling. Amused, excited and something else. You smile up at him as he smiles down at you. His pupils dilated from the effects of the alcohol.

“So you enjoy kissing then?” you nod and feel your cheeks go red. You feel his thumb move from your cheek to brush over your lips.

“Goodness” you feel yourself getting redder as you continue to make eye contact so you break it. You feel his finger gently move your head back to look at him again and he smiles sweetly at you. He gently strokes the other side of your cheek with his thumb

“When did you last kiss someone?”

“I-I don’t remember. Probably over a year ago”

“Do you want to change that?” you swallow deeply as your breath hitches with those words. Letting out a small nod he smiles and gets closer to you, noses barely touching. “May I?” you nod again and without hesitation he presses his lips to yours. Your wrap both your arms around his neck, one getting caught in his hair and the other in the back of his shirt. He takes it slow and as a few minutes pass he breaks the kiss, looking down at you to see how you’d react. You let out a small whine and your eyes dart back down to his lips then back to his eyes. He smirks as he kisses you once again, moving so he is between your legs, his forearm on the floor next to your head and the other placed gently in your hair. You keep kissing intensely, only breaking apart for a few seconds for air. Before you can catch your breath he’s kissing your jaw line. Letting you catch your breath before he comes back up to kiss you. You run a hand through his hair. Pulling him into you as your tongues dance around each other. After a few minutes he pulls away. Admiring your kiss swollen lips. “We should leave before a servant sees us” you nod slightly as he places a quick kiss to your lips as he sits up properly. Standing up and pulling you with him. You feel light headed from the kissing and a new sensation forming between your legs so he helps you back to your bedroom, before he makes his way to his.