#but she has a lot of friendly acquaintances

[eddiethebrave]

secret admirer part eleven

922 words

one two three four five six seven eight nine ten

Tuesday and Wednesday go much the same. Steve doesn’t watch Eddie at lunch anymore. 

That’s where Eddie does most of his staring, though. Steve wonders if Eddie felt like this knowing Steve was watching him. He hopes not. He feels like he’s on fire. In a bad way. 

He can’t help himself but go over everything he did, trying to find where he gave himself away, but he comes up blank. Anything he shared about himself in the notes could’ve been from anyone. 

He didn’t hint at it whenever he actually spoke to Eddie, either. 

The only thing he can think of is that he delivered the notes at the same time every day, barring the one time he was late. Eddie must’ve figured it out; saw him one morning. But he thought of that beforehand, too! The only door unlocked then is the gym door because no other sports or clubs meet that early. If Eddie were there, someone would have seen him. 

Then there’s art class. Steve gets whiplash from all the staring at lunch to business as usual in class; Eddie acts like nothing is out of the ordinary. That is to say, they hardly speak to one another, but when they do they’re friendly. 

Come Thursday. Carol is out sick so Steve has no distraction from the boy next to him. He can’t even try to convince himself he isn’t tuned into Eddie’s every movement. 

That day, the worst thing that could possibly happen, happens.

“Next to you, you’ll find your partner for this month's project. Go ahead and get acquainted, you’ll be spending a lot of time with one another.” 

The person on Eddie‘s left turns away from him to pair up with the person on their other side and Steve's stomach drops. He waits for Eddie to request a new partner, but he just drums his pencil on the table noncommittally. 

Steve would just put them both out of their misery and ask the teacher if he can wait until Carol returns to school, but he doesn’t want Eddie to think he minds being partnered with him, especially if Eddie isn’t going to be the one to interject. 

Steve has no reason to be upset with Eddie and, loath he is to admit it, he’d take any chance to be around him. Even now that he knows Eddie doesn’t want him in the same way. 

That’s another thing that’s been nagging him. Eddie was fine with H before he knew it was Steve - liked him even. Then the staring happened and he took off the ring. 

There’s only one explanation: Eddie doesn’t like Steve. 

You’d never guess it, though, not with the way he turns to him and grins. “Well, would ya look at that.”

Steve smiles hesitantly. “Hey, man.”

The teacher claps her hands to get everyone’s attention. “Alright, alright.” Once everyone has quieted down, she hands each of those in the front row a stack of paper to distribute to their respective columns. 

“This is the project outline. In a moment, I’ll dismiss you to read through it with your partner. After you’ve done that, you’ll notice there is a brainstorm worksheet on the last page. Now, you only need to complete one of these for the both of you…”

Once she’s done giving directions, Eddie turns to Steve. “Do you wanna read or should I? Or separately?”

Steve doesn’t even have to think about the answer. “You.” There’s not really an option there. Not only does he get to hear Eddie’s voice for a prolonged amount of time, but he doesn’t have to stutter his way through reading, or watch as the words seem to evade him? Yeah, Eddie can read; no hesitation.

Eddie nods and clears his throat before starting. Steve reads along on his paper, and finds it much easier than if he’d had to read it on his own. 

The concept is pretty straight-forward. They’ll each have to make a portrait of themselves and the other, collaborating orally while not seeing the other’s work. Even when they’re finished, they have to turn in the projects without the other seeing. There will be an exhibit in three weeks before they go on spring break where all of the portraits will be displayed.

When Eddie’s finished, they flip to the worksheet. “Okay,” Steve says, “I’ll write since you read.”

Eddie hums his approval and they get started. 

At the end of the hour, the teacher tells them to hang onto their packets and take a moment to schedule time outside of school to meet. There will only be one day a week dedicated to the project at school.

Steve clears his throat. “So, I- uh, I’m free most days. When works best for you?”

Eddie tilts his head to the side. “What, no court activities? Responsibilities?”

Steve hesitates. “You mean basketball? I mean, we practice in the mornings and there’s a game next week, but other than that…” Steve trails off once he catches sight of Eddie’s amused look. “What?” He asks, immediately self-conscious.

Eddie waves him off. “Nothing, nothing.” Steve frowns but Eddie keeps talking. “How about Mondays and Wednesdays, right after school?”

Steve chews on his lip before nodding. “Yeah. Where are we meeting?”

Eddie thinks for a moment, drumming his pencil on the desk again. “Uhh, how about we decide that during class those days?”

“Sounds good.” Steve holds up their project outline/brainstorm worksheet. “I’ll just hang onto this.”

Eddie chuckles. “Honestly, man, that’s probably for the best.”

twelve

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sorry if i missed anyone!!

[ts4ritsa]

₊˚ପ⊹ thinking about you

ft. caelus, dan heng, welt yang, gepard landau, & jing yuan from honkai: star rail * ˚ ✦

tags / cw ✎ gn!reader, sfw, men who just have you on their minds while doing casual/everyday stuff, implied crushes

CAELUS ✰

caelus, once again, found himself immersed while exploring the shops in penacony. that particular day he was in a giving mood, trying to find little souvenirs and gifts that he could get for his companions on the astral express. including you!

except he subconsciously wandered off into certain sections, only getting pulled in by products and goods — from snacks to fragrances and jewelry — that he felt that you would like when he was supposed to be looking for everyone else as well.

checking them out probably longer than he should have… he didn’t even think he was until a moment of realization hit him when he told himself he was gonna find something for march but he caught himself looking at stuff he knows she would definitely not be interested in, rather you would be.

as caelus thought about it more, he tried to tell himself it wasn’t much and shrug it off, though embarrassment arose a light blush on his face whether he liked it or not.

then he looked down at all those bags he was carrying… yeah, it mainly consisted of stuff that reminded him of you.

DAN HENG ✰

among the archives, dan heng was looking for something in particular — a book you had given him the last time you saw each other. he had forgotten all about it due to missions and other urgent matters taking up so much of his time. but now, he had some time for himself since his comrades were out running quick errands

while searching for it, he tried to recall the story that you had told him before you handed it to him. it was a silly romance novel that you enjoyed a lot when you were younger. you told him whether or not you were actually a fan of reading books didn’t matter, only that this one novel pretty much had you in a chokehold for the longest time

he, for one, was never drawn to romance genres. but, he couldn’t help but be curious with the way you described that book. it was amusing and he admired how you were still able to remember so much about it even after such a long time. dan heng found himself asking you to share the name of the story, saying he’d like to check it out when he had the chance. luckily for him though, you had a copy of it in your bag since you were planning on donating it to a local bookstore.

as he laid in his bed reading it, he could understand why you and many others could find the story appealing, but it just was so silly to him. nevertheless, dan heng would never judge you for your taste, not in a serious manner anyway.

while flipping through the pages, he could see that the past you had written… little notes on the pages of your most favorite parts.

well, now dan heng was definitely looking forward to the day he’d get to see you again — so he could bring it up during conversation and see if it would elicit a cute response out of you

WELT YANG ✰

on regular days, welt could be seen sitting at one the coffee tables that belonged to the lounge of the astral express. usually he would be flipping through pages of books he picked up or creating visuals of his interstellar adventures in a sketchbook.

every journey that welt found himself in has had a part in shaping the person he had become. whether it was full of laughter, sorrow, or indifference, all of it had meaning in the end. he had made a lot of acquaintances and traveled with many companions. standing among that social circle he built up over the years, was you.

you, who had somehow managed to capture the interest of the wise and sophisticated man widely known as “welt yang.” there had been many profound moments that you shared, some where you both got carried away by the streams of time, laughing and exchanging friendly banter. he often reminisced of those lovely memories.

but there too were some involving more serious and dire situations. times where you agreed to stand next to him, aiding him and his allies in times of crisis. so many times where you put yourself at risk. he couldn’t help but wonder, why? but you made it clear to him — that all of it was in order to witness a future that you believed was right.

he vividly remembered remembered the smile that was plastered all over your face after you told him that, after winning one of the most treacherous battles ever with him. and that was actually what he was sketching today! he wanted to preserve it in art, before it would inevitably become a distant memory

perhaps, he thinks, a chance where he will be able to work with you once more will arise soon. after all, the universe is full of possibility, is it not? welt would like the company.

GEPARD LANDAU ✰

on a day-to-day basis, gepard was responsible for ensuring that the silvermane guards were in line and prepared for battle at all times. though that was only one of the many tasks he handled everyday, after all his role beared tons of duty and responsibility.

in order to be worthy of the title “captain,” one must act professionally and remain composed no matter what the situation at hand is. gepard is fully aware of this fact, and so he has dedicated himself to building up high levels of patience and tolerance over the years. still, no matter how much he trains himself, nuisances and troublemakers can get under his skin every now and then.

one night after dealing with an entire group of incompetent soldiers, gepard was in a relatively bad mood. usually it would be just one or two of his men slacking off, fooling around, but this time he caught five people acting out of line. not just that, but he discovered there were fragmentum monsters that snuck into the silvermane guard restricted zone — nearly finding their way into the administrative district. so, he was rightfully irritated.

luckily, all his duties for the day had been taken care of so he was all set to leave. but, gepard still had an uneasy feeling after the mess from earlier. so just in case, he decided to go on a quick patrol through the city before heading home.

as gepard was passing by belobog’s history and culture museum, one of the trams ahead was slowing down, as if it were ready to make a stop. he thought nothing of it and continued walking. the tram eventually came to a halt and the automatic door opened— wait, could that be…?

gepard recognized the attire on the figure that emerged from the vehicle. from the shoes all the way up to the jewelry — he knew it all too well.

despite the rare moments he has gotten to see you, he’s actually been able to memorize the appearance of the clothing you wore. anticipation and excitement was building up in his chest, more than he’d like to admit. and as he looked up, he saw… that it actually was not you.

his expression dropped immediately when he realized. a few seconds after, a slight blush formed on his face too. did he really just… feel that eager to see you? gepard certainly enjoys having you around, that much is true, but why did he feel so warm inside at the idea of seeing you just now? his previous mood even melted away immediately at the thought of it.

how unlike him. the person had already went about their way. poor gepard continued to walk forward, but… that feeling and blush was taunting his face and his mind for the rest of his patrol.

JING YUAN ✰

as the divine foresight and one of the seven arbiter-generals, jing yuan handles dozens of affairs each day. he is also famously known all around the xianzhou for his tendency to never waste a second on any situation that needs urgent attention.

because of this, the people of the luofu have been able to live their lives in peace and prosperity. he, too, is often able to enjoy himself freely with all the rewards that come out of finishing his work.

as jing yuan strolled around the streets of aurum alley, trying to decide what xianzhou delicacies he’d like to snack on today, the emptiness of a certain spot in the area managed to catch his eye. a table, and while technically it was a regular spot that any person could occupy, it was usually a spot that he found you at.

and when he did see you, jing yuan would join you — but not before taking you by surprise in some way, like by placing a hand on your shoulder. he would chuckle at the way you’d turn your head around confused and slightly dazed. but upon seeing him, your expression would visibly soften and you would greet him warmly. your voice brought him at ease, every single time.

he’d ask you if you’d give him the pleasure of joining you, to which you would always reply that he doesn’t even need to ask. but of course, he will continue to do it anyway — he just can’t bring himself to give up that adorable sight of you being caught off guard.

back to present, jing yuan quickly recalled why you weren’t around. you told him the last time he saw you there. to put it simply, the astral express had requested your assistance for a quick but important upcoming mission. he remembered how you were enthusiastic, curious, and a bit nervous. what could they possibly need?

jing yuan chuckled at your question, but he assured you that you would be safe in the crew’s hands. you shrugged, not doubting his words, just the uncertainty of what the expedition could consist of. perhaps you could find a way to get him involved — or, maybe, you could ask the express to take you and him along with them to their next stop. see what may lie in store.

thinking back to your words as he approached that special table, jing yuan smiled to himself. he’d like to take you up on that offer someday, when given the chance.

©2024 ts4ritsa

a/n: my first hsr fic guys did I burn the food .. also is it obvious who I like more haha eventually I’ll bring myself to do this with more of the guys

[daistea]

Since you take requests, would I be able to ask for something with Mithrun and Kabru with like a reader that's kind of dense with social cues/hints (especially if they're romantic)?

(I had people confess their love to me, and I still didn't get it till they put it in very clear terms)

(it's probably the 'tism, but I digress. )

I think it's potentially an absolutely hellerious dynamic since Kabru always plays 5D chess with every social interaction. As for Mithrun, I think it's funny to think how the other canaries would just be repeatedly hitting their head on the wall because their captain won't say it straight and they just don't g e t i t.

Ps: I absolutely love how in-depth all of your understanding of characters and their personalities are, and I just hxfhxdvgudts.

This blog just brings me so much joy

Yaaa!!

“Iᴛ’s ᴀ Dᴀᴛᴇ” Kᴀʙʀᴜ x Rᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ, Mɪᴛʜʀᴜɴ x Rᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ

gn reader

5000 words ;P

Warning: reader is very oblivious. Like incomprehensibly oblivious (for the lolz)

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

♡ Kabru ♡

- Kabru has had little flings here and there throughout his life. He treated every partner with respect, of course, but Kabru wasn’t particularly looking for love. He doesn’t dislike the idea of love, it just hasn’t happened yet.

- So, when Kabru starts to genuinely fall in love with someone, it’s a new feeling. He’s observant enough to recognize what it is.

- Unfortunately, the person he’s falling in love with is you.

“He’s been unusually quiet lately,” Holm remarked. Who he was remarking that to remained to be seen. Mickbell didn’t care much. Kuro had other things to worry about. And Rin had already made the same observation three times earlier that day.

The first floor of the dungeon was always crowded, and Kabru’s ears were usually open for anything that could be of use. The leather armor merchant to his left had recently raised his prices. The cobbler to the right was in an argument with an older lady over the shape of a patch he’d made on her favorite boots. And Holm was concerned about Kabru’s recent lack of observations; as concerned as Holm could be.

“Is that really such a shock?” Kabru sent Holm a smile over his shoulder. “I’m not exactly a chatterbox.”

But he was aware of himself enough to know that his behavior lately had been odd. He was usually so good at hiding it, too, but the comfort of his friends seemed to lower his walls. Without realizing it, Kabru had spent their latest dungeon expedition sighing to himself, staring at walls, and missing the details of important things. On the third floor, they’d encountered thieves. His party always relied on him to clock the intentions of approaching adventurers— thieves tended to be overly familiar, friendly, and a bit too eager— but Kabru’s mind was elsewhere. The thieves attacked, and it had genuinely taken him by surprise. The fight wasn’t hard, but Kabru’s lack of preparation set off alarms in Rin and Holm’s heads.

“You’re not,” Rin agreed. Her brow furrowed and she got that cute little line on her forehead again. “However, you’ve really been out of it.”

“Have you been thinking about that person again?” Holm asked.

That person. That person? Kabru knew a lot of persons. The whole first level was filled to the brim with persons, half of them being his acquaintances. Kabru had zero desire to admit that he knew precisely who Holm was referring to, though, and decided to keep his gaze straight ahead as he weaved through the crowd.

When he didn’t respond, Mickbell laughed, “Yeah, he’s thinking of them alright.”

“Heat?” Kuro asked.

Mickbell scoffed from his place on Kuro’s shoulders, “Tall-men don’t go into heat! At least I don’t think so. But they catch feelings, like a cold. Kabru’s caught a cold.”

“Not sneezing,” Kuro mumbled.

“A feelings cold, I mean! The worst kind.”

That was one way to put it. Kabru couldn’t help but sigh as he led the party towards a quieter spot in the corner. Once they were out of the sea of people, he leaned against the stone wall and ran his fingers through his hair. “I don’t have feelings, I’m simply curious,” he said.

Curious. Right. Mickbell sent him a scrunched up, narrow-eyed look that was reminiscent of constipation. Yet, Rin interjected before the half-foot could say something heinous. “What’re you curious about, particularly?” She asked.

“Good question,” Kabru folded his arms over his chest and tilted his head in thought.

What was he curious about? You held so many secrets. You had this look in your eyes that drew him, a look that reminded him of a room in his mother’s house. She always told him to not go inside. Her rules only made him want to turn the knob even more. And when he finally did disobey her and go inside, all he saw were boxes full of ceramic unicorn miniatures. Still, the rush of satisfaction he’d felt at finally knowing what was in there couldn’t be matched. That’s what he wanted to do to you, open your door and take a peek.

Or, perhaps a ‘peek’ was an understatement. He wanted to meticulously inspect every inch of your mind with a microscope, to know the atoms unseen by the human eye, to be intimately acquainted with every molecule you possessed.

“He’s zoned out again,” Holm muttered, ripping Kabru out of his thoughts.

He looked up, eyes widening at the observation. Holm was right, he was zoned out again, staring at the dirt on the floor and contemplating you.

He forced a smile, “Don’t worry about me, really. I’m just preoccupied. It’s that person, I simply want to know their intentions.”

“Intentions for what?” Rin asked.

For everything. There was no simple answer.

“Oh hey,” Mickbell glanced over his shoulder. His voice was flat as he scanned the room, “There they are.”

Kabru followed Mickbell’s gaze, a straight line that led directly to you— all lines seemed to lead directly to you lately. His heart clenched in a way that was both unpleasant and addictive. Without realizing it, he pushed away from the wall and began striding toward where you stood.

“Wait,” Rin grabbed his arm as he passed. Kabru blinked, looking down at her and waiting for her to speak. She met his eyes and frowned, “I think you’re going to be disappointed. They’re not as mysterious as you think they are.”

Nonsense. You were incredibly mysterious. Kabru could tell you had secrets, layers. He dreamed of pulling them back one by one.

“They couldn’t disappoint me,” he sent Rin a smile that he hoped was reassuring— he knew it was, he’d practiced it in the mirror and on other people all the time.

“I think they will,” she argued.

“They won’t,” his smile faltered just the slightest. Rin didn’t usually get involved in Kabru’s… hobby. Did she know something he didn’t? He decided to not ask outright, accepting the challenge of figuring out the meaning behind her concern on his own.

Rin let go of his arm and Kabru was free to go. His mind switched elsewhere, onto you, and before he knew it he was already slipping through the crowd of bodies to reach you.

You were in front of the vegetable seller’s stand, inspecting a lumpy potato. Kabru knew the vegetable seller was cheating on his wife. Usually, he’d try to get more out of the man, digging deeper simply for the sake of knowing. Yet, you stood there, beautiful and mind-consuming. What did Rin mean by ‘I think you’re going to be disappointed’? Kabru was rarely disappointed with secrets.

“Hey,” he raised a hand as he neared. You looked up from the potato and returned his smile. There was that look in your eyes again, that closed door he desperately needed the key to.

He loved crowds. He loved the hundreds of voices. He loved listening to each one and assigning them meaning, picking apart their words, filing them away into neat little categories. Yet, the crowd might as well have disappeared. All he saw was you. All he wanted was you and your words and your thoughts and your fears and your goals and your likes and your dislikes and your intentions and your—

“Oh hey,” your voice cut through the wants like the slash of a sword, “Kapru.”

Kapru.

His brows furrowed and he plastered on a polite smile— also practiced in the mirror. “It’s Kabru.”

“Right, sorry,” you shrugged.

Were you playing with him? Were you sending your pawn out, a piece that you expected him to take for the sake of a larger, more powerful move? Was it bait?

“How are you?” He forced himself to ask, though he could hear the weakness in his voice. He desperately hoped you wouldn’t notice.

You only tilted your head in thought, “I’m fine. Just buying potatoes.”

“It’s been so long since we’ve seen each other,” Kabru said. It was a lie, you saw him last week. “My party and I are about to go back to the surface to restock. We could grab a drink if you wanted.”

“Why?” You asked.

Why? Why? Kabru couldn’t say why. He wouldn’t say why. ‘I want to take detailed notes on every word you say, every gesture, every breath’ wouldn’t be helpful to his cause in the least.

“Because we’re friends,” he slowly explained. Again, there was that hint of weakness lacing every syllable. He wanted to tear his voice box apart and reconstruct it in a way that wouldn’t falter every time he saw you.

But you didn’t seem to notice. “Alright,” you sent him a smile that made his heart clench.

Alright. Kabru’s smile relaxed, “Alright,” he echoed. “It’s a date.”

‘It’s a date’ was a common saying, of course. But it still held implications, it still held desires, it still signified something more— At least to him it did.

You remained unphased by it, though. Usually, when Kabru said that, there would be a laugh or blush or the widening of eyes. You gave him nothing of the sort. No flirtatious looks, no intention-laced smile, no flicker of recognition.

“See you then,” was all you said.

Rin was wrong. You couldn’t disappoint him. Opening your doors and peeking inside your mind would be so satisfying.

- You go on several dates with Kabru without realizing they’re dates.

- After one date when you make friends with the next table over and invite them to join your meal, introducing Kabru as ‘my friend’ and not ‘the man who is courting me’ or ‘my boyfriend’, he begins to wonder…

- Do you not realize that these are dates?

Kabru knew he had the tendency to stare, but he usually kept that urge locked away for the sake of masking. Always masking. Always aware of his surroundings and the people and the words and the looks.

He kept his staring urge hidden at first. Yet as time passed, as you went on more dates, he couldn’t help himself. He had to stare. He had to drink in every detail of your face, coveting it all as a desert wanderer would covet water.

And you didn’t seem to mind. You would give him this look sometimes, a look he couldn’t quite decipher. It was a mixture between affection and confusion and bashfulness. It was his favorite expression of yours and never failed to put butterflies in his stomach.

Kabru knew he was falling in love. He wasn’t opposed to the idea, but he’d never been truly in love before. At night when he forced himself into bed, he stared at the ceiling and mused on the future you had together. Neither of you had said anything to make the relationship official, but was that even needed? It was obvious that you were together— to him, at least.

Kabru held your hand as he led you through the crowded streets. Once you caught up to his side, he placed his palm on the small of your back. He wasn’t much for PDA, but it was a necessity when traversing the island together. He didn’t want to lose you in the crowd.

Once you were in a more quiet spot, he sent you a smile, “I have to ask, I’m too curious; What’s your favorite date that we’ve had together?”

You thought for a moment, “Hm… I would have to say last week. It was a Thursday. I like Thursdays anyway. I think it was the 7th? Yeah. June 7th, Thursday. That’s a good date, it’s a bit cool outside and all the flowers are blooming. But if I had to say which one was my favorite, I think it would be April 18th. I’m not sure that we spent that date together, though.”

…Okay.

Like the sunset rising over the mountains, it began to dawn on him.

Were you stupid?

No, you weren’t stupid. He had seen you in the dungeon before, how you fought and strategized and reacted. You couldn’t be stupid.

Then what? Were you playing hard to get? Were you teasing him? Was this a move on the board, your Knight piece pressing forward to continue the assault? Kabru needed to know.

He kept his hand on your back but his gaze straight ahead. “That’s nice,” he said. It wasn’t nice, actually. “What about when we hold hands? Do you enjoy that?”

You shrugged, “It helps us keep track of each other as we go through a crowd.”

“But I hold your hand even when we’re not around other people.”

The face you made betrayed your true thoughts. “Yeah, it seems like your hands are cold a lot. You really should start keeping gloves with you.”

“...Do you think I’m holding your hand because my fingers are cold?”

Another flash of confusion, another furrow of your brows. “Why else would you hold my hand?”

The sun rose completely over the mountains and the daytime, clear and bright, engulfed his world.

You had no clue.

- This stresses Kabru out immensely.

- He starts taking notes. He has a special little book just for you. A lot of the pages are filled with scribbles and question marks.

- He makes a plan on what to do. He’s going to up the ante, he’s going to make his feelings so clear that you can’t ignore them or be oblivious even if you tried.

- He starts getting more touchy. He kisses your forehead often. He kisses your knuckles. He’s around you all the time, every chance he gets. He tells you you’re beautiful. He says that he wants you to meet his mother. He talks about your future together.

- You say, “Oh, your mom? Cool. You think we’ll get along? I’m always up for making new friends.”

- “You want a future with me? Well, I’m free next Wednesday.”

“I like you,” Kabru was breathless and wide-eyed. His hair was a mess from how often he’d run his fingers through it. He was disheveled and hadn’t slept the entire night.

You glanced up from the book you were reading, “Oh? Cool, thanks.”

He sent you a look. “No, I mean I love you.”

“Yeah,” you flipped a page in the book, “love you too.”

“You do?” Hope bloomed and unfurled like a spring flower. Kabru felt his cheeks grow warm, a fire igniting within him.

“Yeah,” you said lightly, “I love all my friends, of course.”

That spring flower suddenly wilted. The fire was doused by a cold bucket of water in the form of your words. Kabru wanted to scream and bang his head against the wall.

“You don’t get it,” he hissed through clenched teeth, fingers tensing as he leaned forward, desperate. “I’m in love with you. This is really hard for me to say, but I think you need to hear it like this. I love you. I love you. I love you…” Somehow, his cheeks went even hotter. His adams apple bobbed as he swallowed his embarrassment, “I-I… Sorry. I just need you like I need oxygen. I…”

You snorted, “You don’t need me to breathe, I’m a person not an organ. You’re breathing right now just fine.”

He was not breathing just fine, but that was beside the point.

“Excuse me for a moment,” Kabru said. He could hear how strained his voice sounded.

You watched as he walked away, rounding a corner and disappearing from sight. Then he screamed. It sounded like he also kicked something, a crate or box maybe.

How odd.

- When it finally gets through your head, he’s actually a bit satisfied by your embarrassment at it all. Yes, please do acknowledge your obliviousness. Please do apologize for treating his love confession so casually. When you do so, he feels as if he could melt from the relief.

- He still wants to bang his head on the wall, though.

- And he’s spent a lot of nights screaming into his pillow.

- Kabru continues to play 5d chess with you, just simply out of habit, but you’re playing Hungry Hungry Hippos the entire time. He still finds himself trying to pick apart your actions and responses, but he’s learned how to take things at face value when it comes to you. It’s a difficult adjustment, but one he’s willing to make.

- He starts to learn, take more notes, observe your behavior. For dates, he lays it out carefully. You two are going to do this specific thing. Why? Because he would like to see you happy, and hold your hand, and kiss you. Why? Because he loves you. Now you get it.

- You’re fascinating actually. Genuinely, he starts to adore how your brain works. He wants to pick it apart and hold the pieces up to a magnifying glass.

♡ Mithrun ♡

- He does not care.

- Be as oblivious as you want, that’s not going to stop Mithrun.

- The Canaries, however, are going insane.

“How’s it going with them?” Pattadol asked. Her hands were folded in front of her in that polite way, the way that told Mithrun that his second in command had something on her mind. Pattadol thought she was subtle. She was not.

And he knew precisely who she was referring to. Might as well give her an answer that’ll satisfy her curiosity, lest she keep asking questions.

“Fine,” he answered, “just fine.”

Yet, Pattadol’s brow furrowed. Not a good sign.

“Just fine?” She asked. Her voice went up a pitch. “It’s just fine? Really?”

“Really.”

She unlaced her fingers and spread out her hands as if gesturing to something, but all that surrounded them was Mithrun’s under-decorated living quarters. There was really nothing to gesture at besides the wooden cabinets and the bed. Mithrun waited, aware that she was picking through her piles of thoughts— probably thoughts mixed with screams of frustration— to find the right words.

Finally, Pattadol forced a shaken smile, “It’s clear to anyone that knows you that you’re in love with them, Captain.”

That was what she decided to say? It was a bit blunt for Pattadol’s usual style. Mithrun only shrugged, “Yeah, you’re right. It’s pretty obvious.”

“So why haven’t they noticed yet?”

“Why do you care?”

“Because I want you to be happy for once!” Pattadol snapped, but she then took a deep breath, “Sorry, Captain, I didn’t mean to sound that way. This is hard for me, talking so openly about these things… But it’s so frustrating to watch.”

Mithrun could understand that. While he personally wasn’t frustrated by the circumstances, he knew that the Canaries couldn’t stand watching his interactions with you. It wasn’t a big deal in the long run, in his opinion. They’d get over it.

“Thank you,” he answered.

“Do you have any ideas on how we can do that?”

“Do what?”

Pattadol’s eye twitched ever so slightly. Her fingers tensed like claws, and Mithrun felt the corner of his lips turn up in a barely-there smirk. But genuinely, he wasn’t sure what she referred to. Did she mean the part about him being happy, or the part about you being oblivious? She should’ve been more clear.

“About…” she hesitated. Obviously she wasn’t sure what she meant either. She then nodded as if deciding, “About everything. About the obliviousness, your happiness, etcetera.”

He didn’t know what the etcetera referred to, but didn’t care to ask. “You don’t have to do anything,” Mithrun assured her as he leaned back in the chair and folded his arms. The wood creaked slightly from the movement. Everything on this boat creaked, as was the nature of boats, he guessed.

“I would like to do something,” Pattadol nodded, determined. “We all would.”

A shrug, “Alright. Then do something.”

- Pattadol, over-achiever and top student and certified Girl Who Cares Too Much, takes that as a challenge.

- Cithis only joins because she thinks it’ll be funny.

- Fleki also only joins because she thinks it’ll be funny.

- And Lycion also also joins because he thinks it’ll be funny (though he does care on some level. Not really about you, but about Mithrun. And it’s painful to watch.)

- Otta is forced to join.

- The attempts are weak at first, like dipping a toe into the water to see how cold it is. Mithrun only has so much patience for interference with his life, so they have to be smart and tread carefully.

- Pattadol gives Mithrun a hint. “There’s some pretty flowers growing beside the road over there. You should give one to them!”

- “What would they need a flower for?”

- Mithrun asks that on purpose. He knows precisely what he’s doing. Yes, people generally like receiving flowers, he knows that. But he also believes that flowers are useless gifts.

- “Then what present do you suggest?” Pattadol asks.

- Mithrun has an idea. He gets you soap. Everybody uses soap (hopefully) It’s a useful gift, and if he gives you the same kind he uses then he’ll get some weird sick flicker of pleasure from having his scent on you. (He wisely chooses to not say that part aloud.)

You held the little bar of soap in your hands as if it were an injured baby bird you found on the ground. Yet your feelings towards it were far from protective or empathetic. This soap said something. It had a mouth and it used it to scream.

You met Mithrun’s flat gaze, “Soap…”

He nodded, “Yeah. Soap. It’s a gift for you.”

For you?

Mithrun continued, “It’s the same kind I use. Smells the same.”

It felt as if you’d swallowed a handful of pebbles and they all had gotten stuck in your throat. “Do you… think I’m stinky?”

You cursed yourself for even asking that. What a useless question. Obviously, he thought you stank! He gave you soap! He was trying to tell you something, being subtle and polite for once! Usually Mithrun would just say it bluntly, but he’d been working on his desires lately. Perhaps he’d also decided to embrace societal expectations? You weren’t sure. But soap. Soap!

You didn’t notice how Mithrun tensed. You didn’t see him quickly blink several times and tilt his head. You didn’t see the slight widening of his good eye. “No, I—“

“I’ll go use this right now,” you interrupted, “I’ll go wash away my stench so you can finally stand to be near me.”

Despite the horror, you were a bit proud of yourself. You’d taken a hint, maybe you were getting less oblivious.

- In your defense, a bar of soap is a weird gift.

- Alright. Mithrun admits it, he needs help. He’s not so prideful anymore that he won’t admit that he doesn’t know what to do.

- Pattadol is really triumphant about that but does her best not to show it.

- Plan B: make it so obvious that you have no choice but to realize his feelings.

“This has to be the most physically uncomfortable I’ve felt in a very long time,” Mithrun said as he tugged at the ends of the fancy, over-decorated blouse the Canaries had put him in. “I honestly prefer Cithis’s frilly dresses.”

Which was saying something. Mithrun had a preference? That was a good sign.

“It makes you look handsome,” Pattadol said.

“The only thing it makes me is itchy,” he corrected.

The Canaries had somehow found a blouse— not a shirt or tunic, a blouse— that made Mithrun feel something other than indifference. He usually didn’t care about what he wore, as long as it was comfortable, but the clothes they’d stuffed him into were offensive to human-kind, like vegan bacon.

It had a big frill on the front and puffy sleeves. It was somehow both too flowy and too tight at the same time. The trousers weren’t much better, digging into his legs. And the shoes…

Mithrun didn’t want to talk about the shoes.

It was clear to him that Fleki and Cithis had only contributed to the outfit because they thought it would be amusing. Good for them, he supposed. Pattadol seemed to genuinely like it, Otta looked horrified, and Lycion was in some in between state where he wanted to show pity but couldn’t quite stifle his giggles.

“Remind me again what the point of this is?” Mithrun asked with a sigh.

“We got them to agree to a date!” Pattadol said, grinning, “I said outright ‘it’s a date’ so there would be no confusion. I made it clear that the date was with you. Now, if you show up looking like a million gold with a bouquet of flowers, they’ll get the hint.”

Mithrun did not want to do that.

Mithrun rarely wanted to do anything, but this just felt wrong. In his opinion, the relationship between you and him would develop naturally in a way that fit both of your personalities. He didn’t mind waiting for you to realize his intentions, he had time. As long as you didn’t fall in love with someone else, and didn’t stop him from staring at you or touching you, then he wasn’t in a rush.

But since the Canaries insisted, seeming to think that this was the right course of action, he would go along with it. Maybe it would be an utter disaster and Pattadol would realize that she knew very little about relationships— especially a relationship involving Mithrun. He was aware enough of himself to know that it wouldn’t be conventional.

With his hair pulled back into a tight ponytail and the ridiculous outfit on, Mithrun entered the restaurant Pattadol had chosen. He found you immediately. You sat in a chair with your elbow on the table and your ankles crossed, waiting.

Mithrun held a bouquet of pink roses as he approached. You lit up when you saw him, but your brows then furrowed.

“Where’s Pattadol?” You asked.

His stride faltered, “She isn’t coming.”

“Oh,” you shrugged, “well since she set this up I assumed she’d be here.”

Why would she be here? It was a date Pattadol had set up for you and Mithrun specifically.

You probably didn’t know it was a date, he realized. Pattadol thought she’d been clear by saying ‘it’s a date’ but failed to realize that that was just a common phrase among people and meant nothing to no one.

Calm, he slid into the seat across from you and watched as you raised a brow, “What’re you wearing?” You asked.

“My team picked it out for me.”

“You look like you’re part of an opera or a ballet, like you’re about to stand beneath a balcony and start spouting poetry to your lover.”

That was a good description, actually. Those were the words Mithrun had been looking for earlier when he saw himself in the mirror.

He nodded, “Yep.” Then, wordlessly, he held out the bouquet to you.

Your eyes widened, “For me?”

“I’m handing them to you, aren’t I?”

Gingerly, you took the flowers and held the stem of the wrapped bouquet with both hands as you inspected each petal.

A flicker of surprising satisfaction ran through his chest. You liked the flowers. It made sense, most people liked flowers, even if he didn’t see why.

You dipped your head down toward them presumably to smell them, but your lips then parted and you dug your teeth into the nearest rose.

Mithrun froze.

You chewed on the rose, your nose wrinkling in disgust. You gave the flower a good shot, a proper taste, but it didn’t take long until you grabbed a napkin and spit up the pink slobbery mess into it.

“Sorry,” you sent him an apologetic smile and tried to hand the bouquet back to him, “they don’t taste that good, and I don’t think I could season or cook them in a way that would help.”

Mithrun knew he was staring. He knew he was making a face, slightly tilting his head down, intensity in his eye. The kind of face someone made when they were internally screaming.

He was not internally screaming, but he was thinking— about you, how your brain worked. And how it was so damn charming for some reason and all he wanted to do was kiss you until he was all you could think about.

He wanted something. The feeling was sweet, a shot of adrenaline, one of Fleki’s drugs. Addictive. Like the slow drip of honey. He could survive off that want for ages.

Wordlessly, Mithrun threw the bouquet over his shoulder to get rid of it. Judging by the gasp that followed, it probably hit someone in the head.

Loving you was as natural to him as breathing.

- Mithrun decides to not let the Canaries interfere any longer. He was wrong earlier in thinking he needed their help. He doesn’t.

- Also, watching them go insane over your obliviousness and his lack of communication provides a good bit of entertainment.

- When he finally decides to give into that all-consuming, new, exciting desire and kiss you, your response is, “But I wasn’t casting a spell, no reason to try and stop me.”

- God, he adores you.

- He takes kisses whenever he wants them, with no care about what you think his intention is.

- After a certain kiss that involves tongue and teeth and fingers digging into your waist, you start to openly wonder… Are you in a relationship with Mithrun?

“Yes,” Mithrun didn’t even glance up at you, remaining unphased by your rather serious question, “We’re in a relationship.”

He continued to jot down notes about a monster he saw, as if he’d just casually answered a question about the weather. ‘Is it going to rain today?’ ‘Yeah looks like it.’

You gulped, “How long?”

“A year now,” he kept writing. Truthfully, he’d been expecting this. A flash of disappointment crossed his mind; there goes one of his hobbies, watching the Canaries have a crisis over his love life.

You buried your face in your hands. Mithrun stopped writing and patted your head as if comforting a dog.

- The Canaries are pleased that this is over. But actually, they’re going to have to watch you not realize it when you’re engaged to the Captain.

- At your wedding you’re in regular clothes. Someone asks why and you say “Mithrun told me we’re going to a wedding. He didn’t say it was ours.”

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

[wintersera]

beneath the facade || g!p giselle x f!reader

notes: WE ARE SO BACK !! aeri is just kinda obsessed with reader- she just doesn’t know how to process her emotions like that okay, be patient with her. based off this little drabble i did a while back

cw: possessive aeri, g!p aeri, crazy ass bullying, a lot of physical violence and threatening, blackmail, dubcon? humiliation, exhibitionism, voyeurism, a lil choking, degradation, words like “mutt/pup”, perv!aespa at the end

wc: 4k

giselle

academically gifted, rich as fuck, athletically talented- hell, even scarily strong and not to mention she was gorgeous. people wished to be with her or to be her. though, she has some setbacks. or well, quite a lot of them.

the bully, the devil in disguise, that bitch in class 301. all describing a certain specific woman, uchinaga aeri.

you, y/n l/n, were her primary target. not the opposite of her in every thing she excels at, but definitely on the opposite of the school's fear and popularity spectrum. she was on one end, you were on the other.

first year in and you ended up being the victim of bullying, executed by the one and only. you were just a mere transfer student, lucky enough to be accepted into a prestigious school because of a scholarship you worked your ass off for, but people didn’t appreciate the hard work of a civilised citizen, they only focused on how much your income was and if your parents owned multiple businesses and all that shitty snobby stuff rich people tend to flaunt around.

most students around found the presence of an unsightly commoner grotesque. hell, you looked the part, your shoes apparently weren’t high quality enough for their liking, and let’s not talk about the worn out backpack you wore to school 24/7…

to aeri, it was like comedy gold. you stood out like a sore thumb in the sea of the wealthy. she had never seen someone look so out of place and it brought her to tears, and not because she felt pity, but she thought it was too entertaining to watch your ass haul your way through the corridors.

it started at lunchtime on the first day you transferred. everyone had their own friend group, big or small, they at least had some friends to occupy them. you on the other hand had no one. not a friendly eye in sight. this in fact was a huge gamble, but it couldn’t hurt to make some acquaintances, so you spun your chair around to meet eye to eye with… her.

“hi, you’re uchinaga aeri right? i’m y/n do you-“

she scoffed, abruptly cutting you off, laughed at your expression as it contorted in confusion, grabbed her flask filled to the brim with water and poured all of the content onto your head. the ice cold water soaked your clothing, sort of exposed your bra a little.

“you’re funny. do you know who i am?” the corners of her mouth tugging up as she watches you shake due to the fact you were literally soaked with ice cold water, and because of the fear “watch who you talk to, mutt” abruptly rising from her seat to kick your chair causing you to slam hard into the cold floor. and now everyone's eyes were on you, murmuring amongst themselves, snickering, some even commenting about how pathetic you looked quivering on the floor. until aeri gave a glare that paralysed you and the others, a little reminder to everyone that this could happen to them.

oh, the teachers? helpless. with the amount of money she had she could bribe her way out of any situation, pull herself out of suspension, honestly she could buy whole school and it wouldn’t make a dent in her bank.

you went home that day feeling… strange. a large bruise on your arm hurt a lot obviously, yet you were reminiscing about what had happened a few hours ago, a shiver ran up your spine. not for the sane reasons though.

from then on, the scale got worse and worse, from making you her personal lackey, to threatening to blackmail you, physically assaulting you the next week and on the occasion dragging you somewhere to suck her off.

years of being tormented by mainly her and her clique, coined as ‘aespa’ — you thought it was rather funny how they named themselves rather than being named by students — eventually numbed the physical pain she’d inflicted. mentally and emotionally on the other hand it still sort of stung. she practically owned you whether or not you liked it and to make matters worse everyone knew you as, not your name, but as aeri’s servant, bitch, slave, pet, other derogatory names that come to mind, but she mostly called you mutt.

fast forward to now. you were currently in the last year of school. the typical school day for you consisted of class, aeri forcefully gripping your shoulder which usually meant that she wanted you to buy something for her, break, aeri and her clique finding a variety of ways to humiliate you- todays was quite mundane, a few clothes of yours missing after PE class… wonder who took them. the rest of the days were then filled with more classes and some peaceful studying in the library until aeri had showed up.

“y/n…” as soft as her voice was, her tone was terrifying.

“i’m talking to you, look at me.” this was the damn library, she couldn’t take YOUR safe space away from you “oh so now you’re being difficult” you chose to ignore her, per usual. you continued to jot down notes from the book you were studying, staring at it while she carried on talking.

in an instant her hand clasped your jaw, jerking your head to the side.

“ow- ow… okay what, what is it?” hissing at the pain.

“look at this” her phone screen shoved, almost, into your face, the bright screen showing a random ass screenshot from one student to another. the conversation from this random guy in class and this girl in the library who occasionally helped you. “who in this school would want to be with you?” ouch, that stung a little. she’s said some worse things, but that definitely hit close to home “i thought people would have some standards” she chuckled “that girl is ugly as fuck too. actually now that i think about it, you two suit each other perfectly.. oh and that perm, jesus christ, i might go and shave it off for her, what do you think mutt?” truth be told, you didn’t know her well enough for those screenshots to go around. who would make a stupid edit for the least popular person in school and the girl who’s constantly in the library.

yes, she was pretty. yes, she was smart. no you weren’t close. was aeri jealous? perhaps.

anyways, aeri’s mind wouldn’t be swayed so easily right? i mean, clearly it was a fake image— you could tell by fuckass editing.

“her? i like her… she’s been nice to me” although it was a library, the following silence was eerily strange coming from her loud ass. aeri’s the fussy type, she’d usually make a big commotion about anything really, especially if it was something to do with you and being a normal functioning person.

“…..” um? what’s with this deafening silence.

“come with me” her unnaturally unphased expression paired with the grip she had on your wrist made your stomach twist in anticipation. luckily it was after school hours. almost all of the students were gone around this time, some staying to catch up with homework, or doing club activities.

—

today the basketball members weren’t in, perfect for aeri… and her little clique. the three of them were already waiting diligently in the basketball teams’ changing room. ‘oh, its the usual’ you thought. one of them would push you over, kick you until you were bruised up and down and then snap, a pic of you would be taken. the pain was always unbearable but you always sucked it up, holding in your screams just so that they would end it quicker since you weren’t squealing and crying, which they loved to hear you do.

you guess today’s different. they were all sitting down on the bench, tapping away at their phones without realising that you were in the room. until aeri coughed, bringing their eyes towards her and not you. “you know what to do” her voice commanded you maliciously.

“alright…” who were you to deny her anyway, it was either that or a foot to the head. then your mother would get worried again, call the school and get humiliated by them once more, which you hated.

a deep breath, you tugged at your oversized sweater, looked at aeri- smiling and nodding. “fuck…”, you took it off swiftly, unbuttoning your top while you heard multiple camera shutters go off. the skirt was next to go; the sounds carried on.

there you stood, shamefully in the middle of the changing room “you know what would be funny y/n, sending these scandalous pics to that girl you like. she would love that… what do you girls think? do you think she would find our little mutt attractive?”

minjeong looked up from her camera, sucking a strawberry flavoured lollipop “can we do something else aeri? this is getting boring… tell me why we’re still keeping her around”

“shut the fuck up minjeong”

“jesus christ, alright…”

“yizhuo? jimin? your thoughts?”

yizhuo just nodded, a quick sadistic smile indicating that she thought the same way as aeri, even giggling at the thought. jimin couldn't care less, you guess it was from the lack of violence and the fact that your face was devoid of emotion, but she thought it would be best to keep aeri entertained..

“do whatever you want aeri. like minjeong said though, our toy is nothing but boring. can we do something exciting, something like… i don’t know, making her react in some sort of way? *any way??*”

“okay wait, that gave me an idea…”

nothing could’ve prepared you for what was going to happen next. aeri grabbed a handful of your hair, tugged you towards her, scalp burning from the pain.

“start recording. now” both of her hands now gripping your shoulder on each side, pushing you down to your knees. you winced at the pain shooting from your lower body and upwards. knees scrapping the hard floor as she manoeuvred you to her liking. legs buckling and trembling as you struggle to keep balance.

this caught the attention of the three girls, all eyes were on you. frightening, they had never been so disgustingly invested in you before. you found yourself in a situation that was way more nerve wracking than being seen naked by only aeri. you were vulnerable in front of her close friends, the very friends that haven’t seen you butt ass naked before. trapped in your own little mind, you didn’t render that her thick cock was pressed against your cheek. throbbing.

“suck it”

your eyes shot up to her, pleading with your eyes.

in front THEM? what the fuck.

“suck it whore” it’s important to note that aeri has severe anger issues, and clearly she can’t wait either. a spoilt rich kid like her always got her way as fast as it was humanly possible. quick to anger, she waisted no time in pleasuring herself. taking her hand to lower your jaw, forcing her length all the way down “mhm… use your tongue like you always do” her hands pushing your head closer to her, slowly making sure you feel every inch of her cock slide into your mouth until it hit the back of your throat “yeah… fuck- you’re so good when you’re not looking at me like you despise me” your eyes welled up and you couldn’t breathe, it didn’t help that her you were choking around her dick “c’mon… use your mouth, mutt” her patience running low, clicking her fingers at you to start moving, but you simply don’t “you- don’t start acting like you’re some innocent girl now, i know what you are. fucking disgusting pervert, i know you like being used like this, i know you’re soaked from the fact that you got yourself into this predicament” slapping your face with the palm of her hand “you keep acting like a bitch and i’ll—“

sparing yourself from a lengthy rant about how you’re a bitch and she could definitely find someone better, you start sucking on her cock obediently, your ‘innocent’ eyes looking up at her while you bob your head, exaggerating the sucking noise just to make her head spin. she hissed.

on the other hand, the girls watched in awe. all of them turned on by watching you take aeri. your face grew hot, but them watching didn’t distract you much. actually it encouraged you to go faster on her, quickening your pace as you let her grab a handful of your hair, urging you to take her even deeper than before. her head lolled back, eyes squeezing shut as she focuses on your tongue swirling around her length.

“my god… you’re so good pup, but let me… let me use you” again, she forces her cock in with a quick thrust ,which made you gag in return. she hummed, relentlessly using your mouth as if it was her own fuck toy.

you couldn’t even lie to yourself, you loved the way aeri treated you when she behaved all cocky and spoiled. as degrading as it was, the way she always manhandled you in the most disrespectful ways made you unbelievably horny, and this was just taking it to another level.

the other girls’ eyes kept on you and not their leader, watching how you took aeri’s huge cock down your throat, the way your bra strap was falling, the way your hair was all messed up and the way tears rolled down your cheeks making your face glisten with both tears and sweat. they kept recording, violating your privacy as their cameras zoomed in on your mouth being fucked mercilessly.

yizhuo couldn’t take it anymore, she wanted to join in on the fun. snaking a hand around your shoulder, feeling the heat radiating off your bare skin on the palm of her hand only to receive a painful slap that stung seconds after “what the fuck, am i not allowed to?” it was clear that aeri didn’t want to share you. she sucked air through her teeth, rubbing her hand while giving a dirty look at aeri.

“don’t touch what’s mine” you felt pride swell up, your plan sort of worked. getting her jealous was one of the best ideas you came up with… maybe you could test that out a little more.

aeri kept on going, speeding up thrusts as her high came closer “gonna- gonna cum…” her moans becoming higher, breath quickening, the grip on your head becoming painfully pleasurable, you could tell she was close by the way her eyes rolled to the back of her head “so good- you’re so fucking good puppy…” a few seconds pass and she lets out a long and satisfying groan followed by her taking her cock out of your mouth, spilling her cum all over your face. it took a few seconds of pure silence before her cock sprang up, harder than ever.

“fuck….” you turned to your side, wiping your cum soaked face to see all of the girls staring at you attentively, especially ning. her eyes were locked on your body, scanning your every curve, blushing ever so gently. you took this as an opportunity to test aeri’s jealousy. obviously it was a bad idea. if it worked then your little silly plan to test if she would act possessive, or not, would work. after all you knew that aeri had taken a liking to you back then. did it justify all the bullying? no, not in particular, but you could say you were a tad bit perverse for enjoying every single moment of it. though, you wouldn’t say that out loud. but if she wasn’t a possessive freak, then well ning could join in… and you didn’t mind that, you found her rather cute as well.

“ning~” you beckoned her with a sultry voice, half lidded eyes staring right back at her bringing her forward.

“m..me?” pointing at herself in disbelief “uh… i don’t think i should-“ through the corner of her eye she could see aeri’s gaze, watching her carefully to see if she would make any advances. you stared ning down, purposefully letting your bra strap slip from your shoulders.

this time aeri’s gaze fell on you. she stayed uncharacteristically silent, the sound of laboured breathing told you that your plan came to fruition. calming herself down she balled up her fists, gritting her teeth all while watching you seduce one of her close friends.

face hot with anger, aeri once again grabbed your wrists, only this time was her grip tighter than before “you’d slut yourself out to anyone wouldn’t you?” her voice low and still, whispering in your ear. seconds later you find yourself being pulled up from the ground, and then a few more seconds go by again and you were stripped from all your clothes, leaving you bare. as she stepped back to admire your body “show them how much of a nasty slut you are for me” she sat down and pulled you into her lap, spreading your legs wide enough for the three girls to see how wet you were for her. you whined at the feeling of her slim fingers playing around your clit. her ever so light touch drove you insane, so different from the times she would rub your clit fast and rough.

“wait.. wait… too slow” much to your shock, she was also thrown off guard. that cute and whiny begging made her want to… take care of you? kind of? she was conflicted all the while horny as hell.

rough or slow? rough... or slow... slow….

slow it was.

her fingers reached your mouth. knowing what she was like, you opened your mouth, wetting her fingers so that she could toy with your sensitive clit. god, she knew your body so well. how easy it was to make you crumble in her hands, how simple it was to make you obey her words whether or not it was a simple task or threat, how sensitive you could be when she did this one thing or another thing “this wet for me already puppy? i guess i don’t need to prep you or anything, huh? so wet and i only touched you lightly” you felt that all the way down to your core, the butterflies you felt in your stomach made you needier.

“please…” you could only muster up so much strength to plead.

“please what puppy? i won’t know until you tell me”

the drastic change between calling you a mutt to calling you a puppy caught the attention to the girls, they thought it was kind of cute, seeing a different kind of aeri was rare. they’d bring it up later to tease her relentlessly in the future, but for now it’s best to leave it alone since they didn’t want to get berated after.

“too weak to say it aren’t you… fine, i know what you want anyways” since you were already sitting on her lap, aeri had no difficulty adjusting herself.

her cock stretched you out and the position made it so that the very tip reached into places you would've never imagined. she was so hard, thick as hell and god was she big. christ, your past self never would have imagined how that could’ve gone inside “oh.. my god- you’re tighter than usual. does being fucked in front of people turn you on this much y/n? you’re making it so easy for me to.. mmhf- slide in and out” her arms were wrapped around your waist pulling you up and down instead of the usual “move yourself” or “beg for it”

in a way the change of how she used you was quite endearing, which was surprising although she was still technically using you as her toy, but less… cold heartedly? you guess. she’d never be the type to kiss your neck as she was balls deep into your pussy, but here she was doing the exact same thing. nuzzling into the crook of your neck giving the occasion bite or suck, tickling your brain and making your thighs shut.

both of you kind of forgot that there were three other girls in the room. too focused on each other to realise that they were still gawking… and they were also quiet as hell, they didn’t want to ‘disturb the peace’ so they opted into hearing the vulgar wet squelches as they tried so hard not to unzip their pants and join in on the fun.

“how… a-are you… still so tight? fuucck- your pussy feels amazing puppy” her thrusts deepen more than you thought it would, hitting spots you’d never knew felt this damn good. you couldn’t help but let out a shameless moan as she kept on fucking you rougher, but uncharacteristically slow.

“mm.. ngh- aeriii” you called out to her as you steadied yourself with your hand gripping her thigh. going slow wasn’t aeri’s forté. she usually was the type to go in fast and keep going faster until it would make you shout streams of curses and broken up versions of her name. you urged her to go quicker, moving your hips to get her attention but it seems like she was stuck in her own little world of pleasure “a-ah.. faster pleaseee-”

“pathetic and whiny.. lemme do what i want to do” under that dom girl facade, you knew all she wanted to do was cum inside, murmuring your name under her breath — which she was never aware of — but she held out.

what made her change her ways of dealing with you today was something you wouldn’t understand anyways.

“never mind, i’ll make sure not to break you this time” she bit down on your shoulder, close enough to draw out blood and rammed cock so hard and sudden that it squeezed out a yelp out of your lungs. you cried, begged her to slow the fuck down, but she wanted nothing more than to treat you like she had before, being a softie wasn’t her.

she was going too rough, too fast, but it felt too good not to tell her to stop. her breath quickening, her arms hugging your waist tightening, the frantic kissing along your neck covering it almost entirely with hickeys “fuckfuckfuck… i’m gonna cum so much- inside you.. mmhhm” with the last thrust she came, cum leaking down to the bench and a little getting on the floor. she knew you hadn’t cum yet. as much of an asshole she can be, she usually would make you cum if you didn’t before. her tired fingers reaching down to your clit, rubbing it in circles while she still rocks her hips — overstimulating herself while helping you reach your climax.

your eyes began to roll as she rubs faster, back arching as you feel the knot in your stomach form “aeri- oh god, aeri— feels too good” with her cock still inside of you, she felt your cunt squeeze down. still sensitive she jolts up, tip hitting the right spot as she does so. the pleasure from that and the pleasure felt from your clit drove you to your orgasm. a high pitched moan could be heard, although muffled, through the empty halls.

baffled, the three girls awkwardly stared at your limp body on top of aeri’s. it seems like you both had passed out after you’d both came.

“…jimin what do we do?” minjeong said as the panic set in “what if a teacher is coming to check up on us”

“i’ll wake aeri up-“

yizhuo interjects “no, bitch that’s a horrible idea. she’s gonna wake up grumpy as hell and them she’d start being all yap yap yap, you know”

“so you’d leave her to be found by either a teacher or the janitor? either way she’d get mad”

“well i’m sure as hell not waking her up, bye guys” minjeong leaving with a cheeky grin “ah plus-“ re-opening the door “i’ve got great pics of y/n, i’m gonna go home and beat it to her”

“can you send them?”

“jimin what the hell… send some to me as well minjeong”

a/n: FUCK i feel like i’ve lost the ability to write smut ya’ll 🙂 this is the best i could do in a long time

[targaryenluvs]

ooh what about coryo x a plinth!reader, like sejanus’s younger sister who’s friendly but cautious. and though she accepts coryo into the family (since he was her brother’s “friend”) the way he just took his place begins to unsettle her until she finds out what happened but by then it’s too late and she can’t get rid of him

RUNAWAY

pairings: dark!coriolanus snow x fem!plinth!reader

summary: you’d always considered coriolanus to be a friend of yours. family even. but after sejanus’s death you find him to be off. he’s keeping something from your family and you’ve run out of time to get as far away as you can.

warnings: mentioned murder/hanging, nc kissing, secrets, manipulation, lying, possessive, blackmail, forced marriage, implied sex

a/n: thank u for the requestsss!! i’ve had no inspo lately so thank y’all

he looked so different.

well not so, but to anyone else it was just a change of clothes and a hairstyle. but he truly had changed, in personality and looks. his face rarely smiled anymore, it being reserved for a small group.

what you didn’t know was that the group was just you.

your family has been quick to welcome him, sejanus’s loyal best friend. the one who’d been by his side, when it happened and before it. who helped him in the academy and as peacekeepers. you liked coriolanus a lot back then, he was always nice to you. bringing you a rose or a treat he’d managed to charm a naive baker into passing his way free of charge. you’d always seen him as a brother, his presents being an affectionate way of showing his liking of you. sejanus’s little sister. you were happy for sejanus, as most of the kids weren’t exactly welcoming. having an acquaintance, friend even, was good for him.

but if you’d known he had other intentions in mind for these years you would have ran for the hills.

coriolanus was on the fast track for success.

with the plinth fortune at his back he was for once providing what he wanted to for his family. presidency in the horizon, respect by his side and lucy gray in the past.

but there was something he wanted from the plinth family, even if he’d already taken their fortune and son. their daughter. before now, he was meek. he may have held himself high, fooled some and scared others with his smart self he’d never managed to get the one thing he wanted, you. but there was no way you could deny him now, right?

you didn’t know how it had happened but you weren’t miserable. you knew you’d have to marry one day so why not coriolanus? you thought to yourself as you fixed your wedding dress, you’d asked for time alone before you walked since- well you didn’t know why. you just wanted a second to breathe before the entire capitol came down on you with a million questions, pokes and prods.

you were in corio and yourselfs room. as you surveyed the room one last time as an unmarried woman you noticed something peeking out from his bed. you knew coriolanus liked to write, but you assumed it was all business related. god you wish your curiosity had kept itself in check.

your dress was wet in places. the tears were non-stop and you couldn’t breathe. just when you thought the tears and heavy breathing would die down you felt coriolanus’s hand on your bare shoulder, “you should have not read it.” his voice was stern, unwavering. you wanted nothing more than to kill him. “don’t be hysterical. get up. he’s gone and there is nothing you can do about it. i won’t allow you to ruin my image, get up.” you continued crying as he lifted you up, manoeuvring you like a doll. moulded for him.

he wiped away your tears as you buried your face in his neck and your nails in his biceps. you were holding on to him for dear life, you feared if he wasn’t there to ground you the floor would eat you.

“settle down, we have a wedding to finish.” you choked on god knows what, “do you honestly believe i’d marry you now? no! i’m telling everyone. and they’ll see what a disgusting monster you are. how dare you come to our family for reprieve and safety! use our money! stay in our home and smile at us knowing what you did?” you screamed as you ran towards the door, being met with a guard. he was large, burly and did not look like he cared about you. the tears down your face and he held no sympathy. “i pay him handsomely. he won’t help you, no one here will.” coriolanus walked over to the door and shut it as you walked backwards.

you had no clue what he would do to you, if he could have sejanus hung and then face his family everyday. charm you, love you, sleep with you and now marry?

“would you like to tell your mother? that someone she considers to be a son took her child from her? would she even believe you? or would she die of heartbreak before you could explain? what happens when i prove your lying? no one knows besides you and me. your word vs mine. a powerful business man, game maker of the hunger games, from old money and wealth. coriolanus snow, soon to be president and his dear wife. y/n plinth, a daughter of the plinths, new money with no history in the capitol and whom made money of off the war whilst others suffered. even if they did believe you, who would stop me from making sure they see their son again?”

checkmate.

you had no where to run to and your family on the line, so when coriolanus walked to you, fixed your hair and dress, you let him.

when your father walked you down the isle to the monster who destroyed your family, you let him.

when your mother cried tears of happiness for her daughters marriage, you let her.

when coriolanus kissed you passionately, hand dropping quite low as the crowd cheered for your love. you let them.

and when he carried you to your new bedroom, ripped your dress off and made his way down, you let him.

because you knew there was no way you’d allow him to touch your parents, hurt them. maybe they could get away from his poisoned thorns that dug so deeply. by the end of the night you’d been taken in so many ways you couldn’t move without irritating a bruise. and with coriolanus’s arm trapping you in his chest only one thought blared through your mind.

RUNAWAY!

[ginevrapng]

I LOVE LOVE LOVE your chubby reader fics. I was thinking maybe marauders era Remus lupin, maybe he has a crush on chubby reader but she’s oblivious bc she thinks he could never like her? Keeps giving her little gifts almost trying to court her

it's charms and remus lupin is staring longingly at you, all in vain of course, at least that's what he's come to believe. he's fancied you for months and he's tried everything over the past few months to get you to notice but you never have, so all he can do is take these small moments to admire you afar and in peace.

in the recent months you noticed a change with him, you'd say you're not really friends and consider yourself more acquaintances, but he's been making more of an effort to talk to you. you figure he's heard about what happened with that ravenclaw who insulted you in front of your whole house and took some pity on you. remus had no knowledge of this event and if he had the marauders would have made him their number one target.

remus is starting to feel at his wits end, he's asked to study with you which now happens every week, he smiles at you in the hallways and talks to you in between classes, he even gave you a book he thought you'd like and buys you sweets from honeydukes. he feels like he's running out of options. a couple weeks ago he asked you to go to hogsmeade together and you turned him down saying that he should go with his friends and not be stuck with you, "i'm not going to be stuck with you, i want to go with you that's why i asked." remus' eyebrows furrow slightly, trying to get you to understand that he wants you to come.

"thank you remus, you're so kind but don't worry about me, you should be with your friends." you tell him and he feels like shouting at you and telling you off sometimes because how can you be so clueless to his feelings but to you you've never even considered the possibility that remus might have feelings for you. in your eyes how could he, you're just some chubby girl and remus is extremely out of your league so why would he ever be interested in you? he's smart and kind and friendly and attractive, he's really endearing. you like knowing that remus doesn't like talking to a lot of people and that he can become awkward, you like it because he chooses to speak to you and that always makes you feel warm inside, he truly is amazing, and truly out of your league. little did you know that remus thinks the same of you, you're sweet and pretty and cute and you look so soft. he dreams about holding your plush body in his arms while you talk together for hours and sneaking you into his dorm.

remus is studying, this time without you and he's lost track of time, he's looking at the words but not taking anything in, instead just thinking about you. his thoughts are interrupted by the sound of james pulling out a chair and sitting next to him. "where's your girlfriend moony?" james grins at him.

"she's not my girlfriend," remus sighs and rubs his forehead with his hand smoothing out the crinkles.

james' grin falters understanding that pain, he had the same pain with lily before they became a couple. "do you wanna talk about it mate?"

remus pulls his head back and looks up to the ceiling, "no, but i- it's j-just, she never believes me and takes me seriously. she constantly thinks i'm being her friend no matter what i say," remus says sounding slightly frustrated.

"i'm sure that's not true, maybe you're not making it obvious enough. it's clear that she likes you back, she always smiles when you answer questions in class and looks at you when you're not looking."

"prongs that isn't helping one bit, if she likes me back why won't she get that i like her too. i've made it plenty obvious, last week everyone was talking about that celestial ball that happens every few years and i said that i would want to go with her, i literally told her i'd want to go with the prettiest girl in school, you."

james starts laughing, "i thought she was meant to be clever moony."

"don't say that, she is, cleverer than you. she's just... oblivious."

"who's oblivious?" remus turns his head to see you standing there with the textbook that you've borrowed of him under your arm.

"you," james replies automatically grinning, remus glares at him, i'm going to kill him later. james slaps his hands on his knees and gets up, "i'll be off, catch you lovebirds later," he grins and walks off.

"piss off," remus says considering throwing something at him as he walks away.

you sit down where james was sitting but move your chair closer towards remus. "james really is ridiculous, you deserve much better than me," you say casually with a smile and go to open your book to the correct page.

remus frowns as he hears the self-depreciation in your tone, because what do you mean, if anything it's the other way. you look up at him when he doesn't reply and you see the frown on his face. "remus are you okay?" you ask concerned, hopefully james didn't make him feel uncomfortable by calling you both lovebirds.

"you really are oblivious," he mutters.

"huh?"

he shakes his head and places his hand over yours on the table, stroking your hand with his thumb, you look shocked at the action but remus just turns back to his book knowing that he'll be able to concentrate now with you next to him.

i'm so glad you like my chubby reader fics!!! i had so much fun with this!!

reader who doesn't think people will like them because they have low self esteem and doesn't think highly of their body + remus who loves them and their body like it's second nature, like it's the same as breathing ahhhh, it's sooo good

[peachpitfics]

Out of the Woods

Fandom: Bridgerton

Summary: As Lord and Lady Debling, you are headed back to your estate to spend time together in seclusion before your new husband has to leave for his next research endeavour.

Length: 3.3k

Pairing:  Lord Alfred Debling x fem!reader

Content Warnings: fingering, public sex, penetrative sex, vaginal sex, breeding/impregnation.

Bridgerton master list (tag list)

Lord Debling’s estate was several days away by carriage, but that was no matter, you had each other to get to know along the way. There had only been your family present at the wedding, and a few of Alfreds close friends and colleagues. It was suspected by yourself and your family that perhaps you would not be meeting the Lords family at all.

The wedding night had been more than you had dreamed of, and while he had explicitly claimed he was not looking for love, you could see the beginnings of something forming between you. Your new husband was gentle and kind, with the softest touch – your mother had warned you on your wedding day that men took their pleasures with their wives that evening. But she was wrong, Lord Debling allayed all your fears, quelled your nerves, and held you tightly all night.

“Are you excited to see the manor?” Lord Debling reached over to you, sitting next to him, and clasped his hand around yours. His touch never seemed out of place or uncomfortable.

“Yes, of course I am Alfred” You replied, looking out the window to see if it was getting nearer. In the distance, a sprawling manor, snugly built into a valley, was surrounded by overgrown trees and vines. It looked peaceful. His thumb stroked the top of your hand in fondness, excited to see you so alit.

The manor had wide, deep blue double doors and tall windows, you were sure this home would be filled with a lot of light. The service staff of the house all stood outside to greet you, their own excitement bubbling over. Alfred appeared to be friendly with each member of staff, shaking hands and even offering his head housekeeper a warm hug upon arrival.

“Is this your lovely bride then, my Lord?” The middle-aged woman asked, beaming at you.

“So, it is. I’d like you all to get acquainted with Lady Y/n – My travels begin in a weeks’ time, and I will be leaving her ladyship in charge of the entire estate” Alfred placed a firm hand at the small of your back and pulled you into him.

Clambering up the front steps, Alfred began giving you the grand tour of your new home. The study, the library, the master bedroom and even the nursery – something in you was not expecting there to be a full nursey set up no meters from where you were sleeping. But it did excite you, the thought of children running around the manor to keep you busy while Alfred was away. It was your favourite room in the manor.

Leading you back to the sitting room at the front of the house, he held both your hands in his, “If you could eat anything for supper tonight, what might it be?” Alfred asked excitedly.

His question took you by surprise. You had taken on your husband’s lifestyle as soon as he asked for your hand.

“I would greatly appreciate fresh bread,” Your mouth began watering, “And eggs! Perhaps also some jam” You blushed, thinking about the insane request you just made.

Alfred laughed heartily, “Of course, I should hope we will not be having the jam and eggs together” He prayed, scooping you up into his arms and laying you on the settee by the window. It would not have mattered what size you were, Alfreds strength was clear and effortless. Even without a love match, you felt adored. Every interaction seemed romantic.

You spent the evening in the dining room, speaking about your lives back and forth, picking at bread and cheese the cook had sent out after you kept on at the table well after the meal was finished. It was nice, getting to know someone on this level.

There was a lull in the conversation, you could tell your husband wanted to ask you something.

“Y/n, the housekeepers have prepared a room for you across the hall from the master bedroom,” He swallowed, “However, you are welcome to sleep with me. The choice is yours, of course, and I will bare no ill will, whatever you choose”. Alfred was so very well spoken, even if he was trying not to choke on the words from nervousness.

You thought about it for a moment. You would have plenty of time to be alone with your thoughts. Sleeping separately would create an unintentional divide and even damage your chances of falling in love. The decision felt simple to you.

“I should like to sleep in the master bedroom” You flashed him a delicate smile.

“I would like that, very much” He replied, an uncontrollably grateful smile glistening in his eyes. You could see it when he looked at you, this glint of hope, right in the centre of his luminous blue iris. “Shall we go to bed then?” Alfred stood, holding out his hand to escort you up the stairs.

Lying together in bed, unsure of what was considered appropriate, you kept your fingers woven together, hands planted on your stomach. You felt him roll onto his side to face you in the dark, so you matched him, getting a little closer.

“I apologise for my introspection; I do not know how to act” Alfred whispered to you.

“I have not been married before. I know how to run a house, keep things going… But I have never been a wife before, I do not know either” You reassured him he was not the only one feeling a little lost.

“I am sure we will get used to being together” Alfred reached out, squeezing your arm in solidarity, “I think I should like sharing a bed with you. I wish to speak to you tomorrow on some matters only husband and wife should discuss. However, my lady, I am so very tired from travelling and I must sleep” He sighed, drifting forward in the blackness to press his warm lips into yours. Shivers of excitement raced down your body as you spun around and slid into his arms, the both of you falling asleep in minutes.

                                          ~

Alfred invited you to breakfast the following day, your heart pounded as you made your way to the dining room, wondering what he wanted to speak to you about. Breakfast was quiet, there was an apprehensive tenseness in his shoulders and the way he picked prudently at his eggs.

“I am of the impression you are feeling less than confident about what you must discuss with me today, Alfred. I want you to know that I will listen to what you have to say with respect and consideration” You tried to reassure him.

His face upturned, “I am pleased to hear it. The questions I have are easy enough to ask, but I do struggle with beginning the conversation, without appearing too direct” He cleared his throat with a soft chuckle.

“Do not concern yourself, simply ask the questions you would like answered and I will do my best” You nodded once, putting down your fork and straightening your dress.

“Alright,” Alfred shuffled uncomfortably, “I would like to discuss the possibility of an heir. I know that I am going to be away for some time, and I will be leaving you to care for the estate. I wish to have children, and I know that your mama had said that you were also committed to little ones. Is that true?” The words tumbled from him in a heap.

“Of course, my mother would never have lied about my desires. I have always wanted children, as long as I can remember I have dreamed of being a mother” You beamed. Alfred seemed relieved in hearing this, and you felt the same similar alleviation.

“Thank goodness,” Alfred sighed happily, “Is this something you would like to achieve before I am to go away? I understand that I would miss the first several years of our first child’s life, but if it would make you happy, I would be agreeable to trying.”

Your face could not hide the stretch of your smile at all. Nothing would have made you happier; you had fretted over this conversation, your mind telling you that there was no way Alfred would want children, considering his endeavors. It seemed you could not be more wrong, and with every passing moment between you, love bloomed further in your heart.

“I think a picnic, this afternoon, in my favourite spot!” Alfred rubbed his hands together excitedly. You nodded fervently, clawing to spend more time with him before he left.

The cook prepared a picnic basket, with wine and bread, cheese, and fruits. There was a blanket inside also. You assumed this was something he did often, even alone, as the picnic basket was quite worn. The basket hung on his left forearm, his other hand clasped in yours as he led you out the kitchen door, and across the field.

“Tis not a far way to walk” He remarked, making sure you had comfortable shoes on anyhow. You squeezed his hand, silently thanking him for caring enough to check.

The grass was long and unkept, the trees and thicket were dense. Alfred liked to keep and observe nature exactly how it was. He enjoyed watching the birds and the foxes evade each other at the edge of the bramble. If the housekeeper found a snake or a toad, she always found him to remove it properly. Nothing in his natural habitat worried him much, hardly even the spiders, webs woven tightly between slight gaps on your journey.

Getting closer and closer to your destination, you could hear it. The sweet somber trickling of water. A crooked, clear stream, in the middle of this jungle of dour giants, solidified statues of spirits long gone. Every step you took felt ancient, the hollowness of your chest, uneasy in such unfamiliar territory. Yet there was Alfred, more at home here than in the manor. Watching him was like watching a child play outdoors, sheer wonder and interest on his face in the unexplored.

Under the shade of a willow, in the grass by the stream, Alfred spread the blanket out, sitting down in a homely manner. The way he looked up at you, angelic, his eyes beckoning you to him, his hand outstretched, begging you to trust him. Before even thinking about it, your body had moved you towards him, curling your legs behind you, nestling into his side.

“Does it worry you, being out here?” He asked softly.

“I do not think worry is the correct word. I appreciate how comfortable you are here, it is strange to me” You blinked up at him, “This is potentially one of the most beautiful places I have ever been in my life” You hummed, watching the water creep over the rocks in front of you gently.

“I am glad you think so” Alfred fiddled with leaves in his left hand, the other wrapped around you. His hand rested on your plump hip, his fingers stretching back and forth, grasping on a little. It was like he was assessing how he could grab onto you, the thought of which thrilled you a little. You reached your hand up and combed your fingers through his beard. These were firsts for the both of you – you did not expect the texture to be so cushy and light, it fascinated you. Alfred’s hair was so light and neat, well taken care of. He closed his eyes as you stroked his face, a gentle smile took hold and a little pink tinge glowed on his cheeks.

The movement of your hand stopped only when you were properly hypnotized by his facial expression. Alfred opened his eyes when it dawned on him that you were simply staring, an infatuated gleam reflected in your own eyes.

“Shall we have something to eat?” Alfred asked.

“Please” You gave your head a slight shake, breaking free of your trance.

Your husband served you a small plate of bread, cheese, and fruit, he poured the wine and passed a glass to you. You thought about how content you were, picnicking with your husband. You sat cross legged across from each other now, the conversation light, the food, delicious. Alfred watched on as you tried your best to eat your lunch like a lady. Biting into fresh raspberries, juice dribbling down your chin, a droplet falling onto your chest. Without hesitation, Alfreds thumb met your chin, swiping another droplet off with his finger and bringing it to his mouth sensually.

Suddenly his icy blue eyes deepened, a scorching claim sparked. You had made love once before, on your wedding night, out of obligation. It had been slightly uncomfortable and more educational than recreational. Then, he had been calm and gentle, it felt like he separated himself and his genuine desire. Now, this look in his eye, ignited something candescent in your lower stomach.

Alfred lunged forward, his lips colliding with yours in a ravenous fashion. You both gasped for air at the slightest of breaks in your osculation, Alfred’s hands finding their way to your hips, dragging you forward to sit in his lap. He was tall, even sitting, he had to bend down to kiss you. His thick fingers, and wide palms, threaded their way through your hair, taking hold of you. The dainty kisses he placed along your jawline felt lovesick, his moans were carnal, and still thoroughly shy. Your hips instinctually ground into his, feeling how hard he was beneath his breeches under you.

Reaching between you, your hand slid down the length of him through his pants, hopeless yearning surging through you, you could barely contain yourself. This was the first time you felt like a wife, with her husband. Alfreds head hushed backwards, gasps leaving his lips. His eyes seemed to roll around in his head, sedate with pleasure.

“My lady” Alfred groaned, swallowing, “Are you certain? Here?” He asked breathlessly.

“Yes, I am sure” You had never felt so safe and so vulnerable in your life.

Alfred began stripping off clothing from his upper half, his eye contact surer suddenly. You observed, afraid blinking meant you would miss something. His chest was solid, bulky. His shoulders broad, his collar bones defined. Your hands rushed to his bare chest, fingers playing in his light brown, blonde chest hair that neatly trickled down his belly and into his pants. It had been dark on your wedding night, very low candlelight, whereas now, in the middle of the day, you could see every detail.

His hands moved from your hair and pulled your hands from his crotch, maintaining your gaze as his fingers danced exploratively down your inner thigh, towards the apex of your thighs. Your lips parted ever so slightly, fearful pleasure pooling in sweet wetness between your legs.

Alfred leaned forward, his lips hardly touching yours, “It will be okay” He whispered into you. He had not touched you like this before. His pointer finger delved between your lips, exotic excitement contorting your face as his finger brushed against your clitoris for the first time. Your knees wanted to clench together, stopped by his other hand, holding your legs apart for him as you sat on his legs. Switching to his thumb, stroking upward, Alfreds pleased expression, complacence seemed to ooze from every pore as your moans overtook the sounds of nature surrounding.

This was what you had been craving, this intimacy with your husband. His fingers flicked, circled, and tapped in just the right spots, his breathy kisses were the only encouragement you needed, he sent you right into a shockingly continuous climax. The sounds you made were loud, uncontrollable moans that echoed off the dense trees around you. The longer he caressed you there, the many more ripples of this exquisite feeling you felt.

“You are very easy to please, my lady” Alfred moaned softly into your mouth, his tongue flicking over yours, his teeth holding your lower lip captive.

“Perhaps you just know me better than you think” You sighed in glorious resign. You reached down, unbuttoning his breeches, his blue eyes widening and willing.  Planting your hands on each of his shoulders, you pushed him to the picnic blanket, sliding your legs either side of his as he laid down. Stuffing your own anxiety down, you reached into his trousers and freed his erection. You inspected it first, not having seen it in this light before. This was your first time holding it in your hands, your first time touching different parts of him. You felt you should have guessed the size of it would seem gargantuan to you, with the width of his shoulders and how tall he was. It only made sense that proportionally, he was large in your hands and extremely hard. It intrigued you, and you promised yourself, that in a more comfortable location, you would explore him further. For right now, you just wanted to make him feel as he made you.

Up under your dress, your hand wrapped around his length, you placed him at your entrance as you hovered over him. Alfreds hands rested steadily on your hips, ready to help guide you down. Sinking down onto the first inch of him, you yelped in pleasant surprise, pausing for a moment to allow your body to adjust.

“You are so beautiful” Alfreds fingers brushed against your cheek, your mouth opening as you lowered yourself down another few inches. There were not many times before now that Alfred had truly complimented you, but this felt the most real. It felt the truest.

Your skin met his, you moved gently, the size of him effectively widening this part of your body. His elegant face looked up at you, nodding as his hips started meeting your movements in a more consistent rhythm. Everything felt tight, and yet free, Alfreds continuous thrusts were masterful. His hands flicked up under your dress, his fingers sinking into that divot in your hips where he had felt earlier.

“I imagined this would be the perfect place to hold you” He groaned, pressing you down into him. Every motion was deliberate, fueled by necessary, propulsive demand. Unbridled lust loomed underneath you, Alfred became unrestrained, idly sinful; pulling you forward, finally getting to kiss you as you bounced back to his thrust.

“Al- Alfred! Oh my god!” You screamed, his deepest maneuver yet sending you spinning.

“I want fill you y/n” Alfred moaned, losing control of his facial expressions.

Each powerful thrust felt deeper than the last, the raw insatiable need exuding from Alfred felt primitive and tawdry. Alfred cursed towards the heavens, his grip on your fleshy hips tighter than before. Each thrust more aggressive, more depraved, his mindless hunger for you tarnishing his gentlemanly sensibilities. Alfred finally reached his own supernal culmination, pressing into you a final few times before pulling you down to his side. Alfred's strong arms stretched around you and pulled you into him, his kiss a celebration of the acts you had performed together.

You snuggled up together on the picnic blanket, peaceful and mutually satisfied. Alfreds arms felt secure, and you realized you were already well and truly in love with him.

“Alfred,” You sighed sleepily.

“Mmm?” Alfred mumbled in response.

“I love you” You curled into him in an almost feline nature.

Alfreds body did not go rigid as you expected. Instead, he kind of relaxed into you more.

“I must admit, I did not expect to fall in love when we made this match,” Alfred articulated softly, “But I am enjoying it… Falling in love with you” Alfred rolled his head to the side, pressing a kiss onto your temple. “How thrilling it is to think we might have just created our first born”.

You finished your afternoon, drifting in and out of serene sleep beneath the swaying willow, the sound of trickling water and birds chirping, the only disturbance for miles.

--------------------------------------

Tag list: @cringycat24 // @blckbarbiedoll // @freyagallileaevans // @junkie05 // @rosabeetroot // @flamewriterr //

If you would like to be tagged in Bridgerton fanfiction written by me in the future, please let me know!

[billskeis]

this was a req from anon that was suuuper long but needless to say im obsessed ^.^

ᡣ𐭩 bill’s a stalking pervert

bill’s a pervert. a real, pervert. and not in the way you think. he’s not obvious. he won’t look up your skirt as you walk up the flight of stairs in front of him. he won’t stare down your cleavage as you yell and nag at him for calling you a ‘bitch’ as your tits press close together with the cross of your arms. god no, he’s not that stupid. he plans everything through.

at a good distance away, your house resides a couple houses down from him. perfect for you not to notice the way he’ll angle his head to get a perfect of you slipping out of your outfit, stripping completely naked to then put on a night gown. he relishes in the sight of your body, watering at the mouth. every inch and curve of yours was just utterly perfect to him. he gets hard thinking about running his hands on your soft and supple skin.

he takes pictures, a lot of them. don’t be surprised if you were to ever stumble upon his room and find a few of them pinned to a bulletin board on his wall. decorated nice and neat. one of the pictures he has is of a portrait of you, with a black-sharpie heart drawn on it. most of them were candids, of course, others taken from your social media and social media’s of your friends, and your friends friends, desperate to find anything of you.

try not to be surprised either at the fact he will have a photo of you by his bedside table, with a roll of toilet paper and body lotion.

one day he was following you while you were out on a weekday meeting up with a friend from work. you greeted your friend who was running a little late, embracing her in a friendly hug as the two of you sat down at the cafe table, drinks already ordered. was he sitting at the table next to you in some gaudy disguise? no, too weird. was he peeking through like a peeping tom from the entrance door? god no, he’s not an amateur.

he sat in his car, parked in the parking lot in front of the cafe as he adjusted the earbud he wore. while talking about friends and family, your friend brought up the odd question of what you thought of bill. cringing, you question her as to why she was asking this in the first place and she had mentioned how you two had always bitched at each other, to what she refers to as ‘a little too close for comfort to be just enemies.’

you roll your eyes at her, immediately beginning to throw insults at the man she spoke of. his heart stung a little, pouting at he looked at you through the car window while listening to the microphone of your friend’s earbud on the opposite side, hidden behind the locs of her hair so you wouldn’t notice that bill had been on call with her this whole time.

he had bribed her. but not to mention despite being your friend, she was closely acquainted to him more than she was with you, the money just had to be the cherry on top. feeling a little upset, he suddenly can’t help the gasp that let out his mouth when you told your friend that ‘despite him being hot, i don’t think he’d ever want to get with me, he hates me!’

oh how he was gonna change your mind.

turning the metal knob, you stop the shower water running as you exit the glass enclosure. wrapping yourself in the soft fuzzy towel, you step out of the bathroom into your bedroom, hair slightly dripping onto the wooden floor that creaked beneath your footsteps.

noticing that your closet door was left slightly open, you quirked an eyebrow up. what the hell? you thought you closed it before you left your room to go freshen up. you always leave it closed. well, it didn’t matter anyways because you needed to grab some clothes anyways.

opening the closet door, you heart almost sunk six feet under the ground as you were met with a figure you were least expecting. it was bill fucking kaulitz, your D1 enemy, standing, there, in your goddamn closet. you almost let out a shriek until he immediately covered your mouth with his palm. pressed his body against your half naked one, only the cover-up of your towel separating the two of you.

you blink fast. scared, anxious, what the hell was he doing in your room. he looked calm, but a little nervous. your heavy suffocated breaths are the only noise that fill the room, as he tells you to calm down, you attempt to slow your breathing. not wanting to concern anyone in your family, you comply with his orders. it would be a bad spot if any of them were to find you half naked with a complete stranger, a man, at that.

“gonna keep quiet?” you nod, you wanted answers. you wanted to know why the man you thought to dislike you, along with someone who you’d disliked so much was doing in the vicinity of your bedroom. letting his palm go away from your face, he shoves his hands into the pockets of his jeans, “well?? what the fuck are you doing here!? how—how the hell did you get inside??”

“does that really matter right now? aren’t you glad to see me?” he holds his arms out, waiting for your response. he knows just how to push your buttons, you bite your lip. god was he tall, he had to look down at you for the two of you to make eye contact. this fucker was lucky that he was good looking, or else you would’ve called the cops. pretty privilege amiright?

“get the hell out.” “princess—” “i said, get the hell out, bill.” bill can only stare at you. staring you down, his eyes shift up and down your figure. you can feel his gaze on you. of course, he was standing right in front of you, acting as if he wasn’t undressing you with his eyes. your face heats up, could it be you’re feeling shy that he was looking at you with such lust or the fact that you had taken a steaming hot shower not too long ago?

he steps a little closer to you, you take a step back to keep a distance. “prinzessin, bitte.. i need you so bad.. i don’t think you understand how much i want you. wanted you. i craved for this moment for ever.. can’t you make my dreams come true..?” you’re at a loss for words, totally unbelieving the words that are coming out of his mouth. he wants you?? does this mean he likes you??

“i came to see you, i love you.. and i want you to make me yours..” “i.. c-can i get a moment to think about this?? you’re moving way too fast—” pulling you into a hug, you towel could threaten to fall off if he were to let go, his body slightly unravelling the heavy cloth that wraps around your body. your head was pressed against his chest, you hear his heartbeat. it’s fast and never stopping.

“y/n please!! i can’t wait for your response.. just please let me out you out.. please let me fuck you.. i only want you to feel good.” his black dreads drape over and tickle your shoulders as he nuzzles his head into your neck. as he begged and he begged, you can feel his hard-on pressed into your thigh. swallowing, you let the lump go down your throat as you whisper him a small ‘fine.’ he can’t help but let out a moan of joy, clearly relieved by your answer. he’s so happy. he’s so happy he gets to go down on his favourite girl.

your legs clamps around bill’s head. a grip entangled in his black locs as you form a makeshift ponytail with your hands to hold bill’s dreads back away from his face as he eats you out. he’s starved, hungry, licking at your folds if it were his last meal on earth. his moans vibrate in your pussy, his nose nudging your clit as he motions his head up and down.

he wouldn’t be able to stop now, and neither were you going to be able to stop him. he’s been dreaming of this, dreaming of the day that he would be able to use your body as he likes. he wouldn’t wanna use you like that though! he loves you too much, he only cares about your pleasure, if you’re feeling good, he comes second in this equation.

“auugh, b-bill..” you thrash your head back into the pillow as he flicks your clit with the tip of his tongue, “you taste sooo fuckin’ good..” as he eats you out sloppily, he purposely sucks at your cunt in a way that the noises are only what’s heard in your bedroom.

he wanted to be gentle! trust me, he did! bill would only want the best for his girl’s first time. you let him know before he went down on you, telling you that it was okay and just let him do all the work for now. but he can’t get enough of the taste, it’s like nectar to him. he can’t get enough of how sweet your moans are either, how his name just so easily rolls of his tongue other than in the context of you screaming in his face.

your juices drip down his chin, and he looks up at you from between your thighs. expecting, his eyes look as though he expects you to say something, “feel s’good billy.. m’gunna cum soon..!” and this fires him up even more, wrapping both his arms around your legs to bury his face into your pussy even more. messily lapping at the wetness, he places wet kisses on your clit as he whimpers at how pretty your puffy, sensitive cunt is. suddenly, he stops.

“s’pretty, but i want you to come on this dick. get up schatzi..” with weak wobbly legs, you prop yourself up on the bed, crawling to bill who’s already sat up against the bed frame. nervously, you bring your hands to palm bill through his sweatpants, a wince escaping his lips as he slightly trembles.

“shit..” “sensitive are ya?” you let out a soft giggle as he nods his head, biting his bottom lip a little too hard that it may bleed. you free his cock from its constraints to see it stand tall. fuck. he’s huge. you pray to the gods he doesn’t rip you apart, with such a length and girth. it’s a pretty shade of pink, and it leaks pre, a lot of it.

bill brings his hand to jerk himself off, as you position yourself within his lap, cunt slightly hovering over him. both prepped, he asks if you’re ready, and with just a nod, he pushes himself into you. slow, he inches his dick into the tight walls of your cunt, letting out a wanton moan as tears begin to fill his eyes. he’s so sensitive, with just the tip inside, he might already come. his dreams were finally coming to life, and it’s all thanks to you :3.

he wanted to wait for you to feel adjusted to his size. he knows he’s big, he just doesn’t flaunt it, wanting to save himself in surprising you with it of course. sitting there, he holds your hips as he can only moan out words of affirmation to you, telling you how pretty you look perched up on his cock or how good you tasted.

as good as he knows how to get under your skin, you also learnt today how good he was at making you nervous. what a little shithead he is, isn’t he? to no further notice, you begin to bounce your hips on his cock, cunt sliding up and down his length as your walls mould to the shape of him.

“a-amazing.. you feel s’good.. don’t stop—oh god—p-please don’t stop!” a tear falls down bill’s cheek as he whimpers from the way you fuck your hips back onto his. a heavy slapping sound fills the room as you ride him with no intent to stop and his sensitive dick can only hold out so much..

bill’s gaze cannot seem to focus on one thing. the way your tits bounce with how hard you ride him, or how your cunt just envelopes his dick. he doesn’t know where to put his hands, so he lets them fall to the side of his body. as you do all the work, you smirk, suddenly clenching around bill as he gasps. eyes widening as he cries out from the pleasure.

he’s pathetic. a complete and utter sobbing mess. dreads prettily framing his face as his black eyeshadow runs down it. rising your hips, you attempt to get the both of you off as quick as possible. you notice how bill squints his eyes shut, he’s concentrating on trying not to come too fast. cupping his cheek with your hand, he opens his eyes in shock, quickly nuzzling his face to stifle his moans into your palm as he shies away.

“mmphf.. s’happy.. s’glad you said, ah! y-yes..” “yea?? you happy?” “mmhm!!” and that’s what did it for you. while bringing your face closer to his, you kiss bill hard as you shove your tongue in his mouth, invading his as you piston your hips on his. you grin at the whorish moans he lets out into the kiss, tongues swirling within one another as bill attempts to catch his breath, wanting to let go but you only kiss him deeper.

he’s pussy drunk, it’s like a drug. and for what seemed like forever, bill’s orgasm came as he filled your insides, cum spurting to paint the insides of you white. he wraps his arms around you to bring your torsos closer together. thighs trembling, bill only fucks himself deeper than he already is, hitting your cervix straight on as his cum fills your womb.

the cord in your stomach finally snapped as your orgasm followed shortly after, electricity pulsing through your body as you clenched around him. as you break off the kiss, a string of saliva following, heavy pants are exchanged as the two of you stare at one another. “you okay?” you ask bill, he seems way more disheveled than you were, “mm’kay.. that was.. amazing..”

“don’t tell me that was your first time too? “s-shut up..” you laugh as you wipe the sweat off his forehead, putting some of his dreads behind his ears as you peck the tip of his nose. bill only smiles at you, telling you that he’s sorry about earlier. you can only shake your head at him and tell him that despite the fact he could’ve confessed any other way, you didn’t mind this, telling him that you also like him.

bill’s heart can only skip a beat as you lead him into the washroom to run a nice warm bath.

so rip to everyone else who was in that house >.> anon also wanted aftercare but im lazy this is all u get >:3

gn guys ! i did not proofread this .. or any of my works matter of fact :p

[jamdoughnutmagician]

Tiny Match-maker

Bucky Barnes x Single mom!Reader Fluff

Adjusting to his new life outside of the superhero business, Bucky makes the acquaintance of a very young, inquisitive girl.

Just a meet-cute scenario with Bucky, that I might just write a part 2 for if people are interested in it.

Word count:1,853.

Masterlist // Bucky Barnes Masterlist

It wasn’t often that Bucky found time for himself. Between the busy and at times chaotic line of work he found himself in, it didn’t leave a lot of time to do the things that the average person could do.

Doctor Raynor suggested that taking a step back from the heroic, android, alien, wizard-crime-fighting lifestyle might be just the thing that he needed. To take some time to do the things that the everyday person took for granted.

So that’s why Bucky found himself for the first time in a long while browsing the aisles of his local grocery store, standing in the middle of the dairy aisle, pondering if there’s any real difference between getting oat milk or almond milk. 

He’s brought out of his thinking when he feels something collide with his shins. Something, or rather someone. A young girl, she couldn’t have been more than three, maybe four years old. Her hair that is tied up into two bunches on either side of her head bounce slightly as she crashes into him.

He looks around himself, apart from him and this little girl, the aisle was otherwise empty. 

What was he supposed to do? He’d rescued thousands of civilians time and time again, but this little girl was just standing there, wide-eyed and innocently looking up at him.

“Hi! My name’s Lottie!” the little girl introduces herself with a big gap-toothed smile.

Bucky crouches down ever so slightly to meet her smaller stature. 

“Hi there, Where are your parents, huh? Are you lost?” he asks, keeping his voice soft when talking to her.

 Just as the little girl opened her mouth to answer, a woman came running down the aisle, slightly out of breath and with a look of panic on her face.

As she gets closer, Bucky takes in her appearance, she's pretty. Really pretty. The kind of effortless beauty that has a faint blush rising to his cheeks. 

“Charlotte!” the woman calls out as she comes closer to the little girl before scooping her up in her arms and hoisting her on her hip. “What have I told you about running off like that?” you gently scold her, although the scolding is more out of your own worries about your little girl.

“Sorry mommy.” she murmurs quietly as she tucks her head into your shirt.

“I’m so sorry, sir, I hope she didn’t bother you too much.” you smile apologetically at the man in front of you. He was tall, broad and far too handsome for his own good. With soft dark brown hair that fell along his jaw, pretty pink lips, the most beautiful stormy grey-blue eyes, and just the right amount of stubble grazing across his angled jaw to have you blushing as he looked your way. 

“Oh, hey, no harm done, she seems like a sweet kid.” he smiles, his voice is deep and rich, with a slight raspy gravel.

“Yeah, she is, although it would help if she wasn’t so much of an explorer, it’d be a lot easier to keep my eye on her otherwise.” you laugh.

“No, the world needs more explorers I say!” the handsome stranger joins in with a friendly chuckle of his own. 

“Well, I can see you’re busy, so we won’t keep you any longer..” you string out the end of your sentence, when you realise that you don’t actually know your new friend’s name.

“James. My name’s James.” he says, gesturing to himself. You tell him your name in return with a friendly smile.

“Well, it was nice talking to you, James.” You smile before turning back down the aisle. 

Bucky watched as you walked away from him, and he couldn't  help but hope that he might run into you again.

“Look, all you gotta do is go down there, tell a few old man war stories, answer some questions, maybe have your picture taken a few times and that’s it” Sam explained.

Sam had signed Bucky up to tell a few stories to the kids at the school downtown. A few about his life back in the day, and his life now. Sam thought it might be good for his public image.

“Just because you’re Captain America now, doesn’t mean you get to tell me what to do, Sam.” Bucky grumbled.

“When Steve gave me the shield, he did warn me it came with the custody of one grumpy super-soldier.” Sam laughed a wide, gap-toothed smile at his friend.

“..And that’s why you don’t let your best friend sign-up to be a government ordered science experiment.” Bucky smiled, as he finished his talk with the assembled group of young students in the small, but colourful classroom.

“Wonderful, and does anybody have any questions for Sergeant Barnes?” The teacher asked, as she stepped out beside Bucky.

“How did you lose your arm?” a young boy blurts out, quickly raising his hand.

“Timothy!” The teacher is quick to gently scold the young boy, but Bucky quickly steps in before she can make her point.

“It’s quite alright, I don’t mind answering this question.” He assures the teacher, before turning to the young boy. “I-uh-I kind of lost it when I came up against a bunch of bad-guys, who weren’t very nice at all.” Bucky thinks carefully about how he was going to word his answer, especially for this 5-year old kid. “..But it’s all good now, because I’ve got the super-strong metal one.” he shows off by rolling up the sleeve of his deep-red henley shirt.

“Are you and The Falcon really friends?” another young boy asks from where he’s sat cross-legged on the carpet in front of Bucky.

“Well, we’re team-mates, so I guess I’d call him a friend, but really he only hangs out with me because I make him look cool.” Bucky jokes with ease.

“Mr. Sergeant Barnes.” A tiny hand shoots up amongst the group. 

Bucky looks out and there sat at the back of the class is the little girl who ran into him at the grocery store at the weekend. Her bouncy curls tied up in two bunches on either side of her head.

“Yes, Lottie, you have a question for Sergeant Barnes?” The teacher prompts. 

“Are you single? I think my mommy would really like you.” She smiles in that innocent way that children do, unaware of the slightly impertinent question she was asking.

Bucky flushes scarlet all over, a blooming heat settling over his features. 

With a laugh and a nervous scratch to the back of his neck, he gathered himself together enough to answer the young girl.

“I am, and I’m sure your mommy is a wonderful lady, but I think it's best that we don't talk about her private life when she's not here.” Bucky stutters out, chosing his words very carefully. 

The school bell suddenly rings into life, signifying the end of the day, and the children are all quick to get up from the carpet and make their way towards their coats and bags that are stowed away in their cubby holes.

“Ah ah, kids! What do we say to Sergeant Barnes?” The teacher prompts

“Thank you Sergeant Barnes.” The children say harmoniously. 

Bucky shrugs on his dark leather jacket as he makes his way out of the school, watching as all of the kids rush off to find their parents.

He was just about to head off to the school’s parking lot, where he’d parked his motorbike, when he sees the same girl from the classroom, the very same one who had bumped into him at the grocery store, this time her tiny hand tugging her mother across the playground and straight towards him.

“Mommy! This is the man who came into class today to tell us stories!” Lottie bubbled excitedly. 

You stepped closer to Bucky and he swears that you got even more beautiful than when he last saw you for that fleeting moment. 

As you get close enough to him to fully see his face you are met with the piercing blue eyes of the familiar stranger who you hadn’t been able to stop thinking about since you’d bumped into him at the supermarket.

“Mommy! This is Mr. Sergeant Barnes! He told us all about working with his friend Captain America!” Lottie blurts out.

You had recognised him from the moment you saw him in the store, but out of courtesy to not embarrass him, you pretended that you didn't know about his life as an avenging super-soldier. 

“Mr. Sergeant Barnes?” Your voice raises in a teased question.

“Just James is fine, Ma’am.” Bucky clarifies, extending a warm hand out in a friendly greeting.

In return you shake his hand and tell him your name.

“So, it seems that we’re meeting again, James” You smile

“Hah, yeah.” He smiles back fondly with a warm chuckle.

“So you’re the one who’s been telling my daughter all these fantastical stories?” you pose, eyebrow arched.

“Just something I do as a way of working with the local community. Helping young kids to learn about their history from first-hand accounts.” he explains.

“Well, that's a very sweet thing to do.” you smile. 

“Mommy.” Lottie whispers as she tugs at the sleeve of your jacket. “He said he was single too!” 

“Sorry about her, she likes to play match-maker.” you apologise, hoping that things hadn’t taken a turn for the awkward. 

“It’s okay.” he laughs it off. “She’s a cute kid.”

“Yeah it’s just been me and her from the start, it’s been tough at times, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“Oh? Well she seems like a wonderful young girl, and that’s only testament to having you as her mother.” he says with an earnest smile tugging at his pink lips.

“Come on now, Lottie, let’s head home, and let Mr. Sergeant Barnes get back to his life.” you say to your daughter as you begin to make your way out of the school’s playground.

“Wait!” He jogs across the school years to catch up with you before you can leave. “and you can absolutely tell me if I'm just reading this whole situation all wrong, but I'd be a fool if I didn't at least ask you if you perhaps fancied meeting up and getting coffee..at least meeting on purpose this time.” he blushes adorably.

“You know what, I'd like that actually.” You nod. “Let me give you my number and you can text me whenever you're free and we can set something up.”

He hands you over his phone and you enter your number in and text yourself so you have his number on your phone too.

“Here you go,” you say as you hand him over his phone. “It was nice seeing you again, James.”

“Bucky.”

“Hm?” 

“My friends call me Bucky.” 

“Well, Bucky, I hope to see you again, sooner rather than later.”

“You can count on it.” He grins back with a cheeky wink.

Bucky walks back to his apartment with a confident stride, he'd have to thank Sam for signing him up for this gig, that's for sure. 

@penguinsandpotterheads @paybacksawitch @impmunson

[lynnlovesthestars]

"Let me show you how this will benefit you".

For @ask-althaearoserun ❤

Pairing: Gortash x fem!OC (Althaea).

Genre: smut.

Warnings: dub-con (kinda since there's coercion), unprotected sex, fingering, oral fem! recieving, possessive Enver, improper use of throne and throne room, edging, orgasm denial, improper use of golden gauntlet, creampie, slight dumb-fucking, rough sex overrall.. if i missed anything let me know. author regrets nothing. Kind of semi-public sex. Slight power-play, implied ownership. spoiler for act 3.

Synopsis: He's got a proposal she can't refuse.

WC: 4.7k

AN: hello, it took me a while to get through this piece for Skull but a month later i finallydelivered it. With her consent I'm posting it- since her OC is out protag tonight-. Nevertheless let me know what you think, lots of love, lynn.

Wyrm's Rock was obnoxiously calm as they reached the bridge that allowed them into the fortress. 

"Lord Gortash is expecting you, please make your way to the audience chamber." The steel watch repeated and repeated until they had stepped past the doors of the audience hall. They were surprised that they’d let them in so easily, yet they obliged seen their insistence without questioning too much the new rules of the fortress. 

The audience hall was packed with royalty and steel watchers as Gortash was idly eyeing the door, awaiting for the last invited guests.  

Them. 

Enver had insisted on having them attend, not only to let them know who they were going against and the power he held, but also because he had heard so much about Althaea. He couldn’t pass up the opportunity to meet the infamous slayer that took down Ketheric, though his first glance at her left him genuinely confused: he knew he could have her wrapped around his gauntlet before even getting to speak with her and her companions. 

She was small, clearly a nuisance, compared to him and his grandiose presence in the room; in a normal setting, she would have passed unnoticed, but in the middle of royalty, she stood out. 

Nevertheless, his focus was on the ceremony- though Karlach and her troupe didn't agree. The tiefling was furiously throttling towards him, seething and burning. He knew that the steel watch would not have been enough against her, and that it would have sent the wrong message to the masses present at the ceremony, 

“A moment please, my friends- an old acquaintance has come to pay her respects." He mused as he took a step forward, descending the stairs. "Please, Karlach, come say a proper hello.” He said with a smile painted full of faux friendliness. His voice was clearly sweetened for the audience they had as he stepped towards her himself. 

“My respects? You are lucky I’ve agreed to not shove my boot up your-” Karlach roared before he interrupted her with distaste. 

“Ah how I missed your colorful turn of phrase.” He twirled his hand dismissively. “We must catch up as soon as I’ve had words with your little friend.” He uncaringly ignored the tiefling and glanced towards Althaea with dark eyes, clearly hiding something behind them. 

“As for you, I shall congratulate.” He gave her a small bow of his head. “Thorn’s defeat has not passed unnoticed; shall I say thanks to that Netherstone you carry and for your astonishing fighting abilities”. He said with his honeyed voice. “Pleasure to meet you” He gave her a small bow with her head, politeness first, persuasion later. 

He had wondered how she’d rudely introduce herself, telling him to fuck off or hells knows what, yet the moment she opened her pretty mouth, she sounded anything like the gruesome descriptions of her persona he had heard. 

“The pleasure’s all mine, Lord Gortash.” She put up her best smile, concealing her mild disgust at the closeness with him. She could feel the bile forming in the back of her mouth already. 

“I believe we have something rather important to discuss.” He pressed his hands together and cracked his fingers, readying for the extenuating and boring conversation they were going to have. “Indeed” She nodded, looking at his movements in case he’d rush a movement.  

The conversation went on between Gortash trying to gauge how much they had known and Althaea respectfully grunting and nodding as he went on and on. 

It felt for her as if he was trying to stroke her mind as he spoke, keeping her in the loop of the conversation yet leaving behind chunks of information he didn't want to reveal yet. 

It was only at the end that he finally seemed to take a step closer to his objective, finally poking at their only protection against the absolute. 

“That prism of yours won’t last indefinitely.” He said sternly while he crossed his arms apprehensively. “Next there's the grand design. Though I suppose that if we come to an agreement, this fate can be avoided.” He concluded in a smirk. 

“What do you suggest?” She quickly ignored the emperor in her head as she replied with a shake of her head yet standing tall and confident in front of him, not allowing him to believe he had the upper hand against them. Enver seemed entertained by her stance, so insignificant yet so annoying in the bigger picture of his plan. He had two choices: either squish the fly or get the fly on his side, and he was a mastermind at the end of the day. 

“Well, the brain won’t respond to new commands as soon as it is done with its current ones. Then it will be free to do as it wishes, and that would be rather unpleasant.” He pointed arch and clever. “And once it’s freed I doubt we’ll ever be able to bring it under control again.” He smacked his lips together as he threw a glance at Althaea- that was now at the center of everyone's attention. 

“I still don’t see where you are going” She lied, seeing behind his mask of politeness. He wanted something. He had that look in his eyes that reminded her of how her father would look at her before he'd try to make a move to overpower her, and she wanted to throw up right there and then. Yet she knew she had to do this: for the sake of her friends, for the sake of the city, and possibly for the sake of the whole coast. 

It was almost as if his words were calculated, trying to catch her in like a spiderweb set up for the next victim, and his sweet- almost sincere words, where the honey he bet would get her to agree. As if admitting having made a poor alliance would have somewhat fixed all that there was wrong with the situation.  

“They say a brittle alliance can never be mended; it is bound to break.” He intoned as if he had rehearsed those words countless times. “Orin is unreliable, and with Ketheric gone, she will want the stone for herself” He simply explained axiomatic. “She only cares for blood, and mine and yours are positively delectable right now.” There was the threat.  

Orin.  

He would betray her if he needed- and he hoped the merry troupe would agree. He was the better way anyway. Giving Orin all that power would have created devastation and unleashing the brain would waste all this gracious power he was about to grasp at. 

No one was fitter to sit ahead of Baldur's Gate like the adept of Bane. 

Nevertheless, Althaea didn't budge. If he wanted something he had to say it out loud, in front of everyone in the room. “I suppose you are right, but I still don’t see what you are trying to say” She huffed.  

“I can’t let that happen, I don’t want to destroy this city, I want to steer it to its glory." He trailed off with another of his sly smiles. “I have a proposition for you” He finally advanced, looking at Althaea first before addressing the rest of the party. 

“A divine oath, sworn and unbreakable. I shall do no harm to you, nor you to me." He propositioned. "You'll slay Oring and with all three of the Netherstones we’ll rule Faerun as kings.” He spelled each of his last words as if they were the best promise he had for them, a vision of success and glory that everyone would run for. “No more than kings- gods. We'll rule as the absolute.” He hyped himself with his own words, as the taste of power already floated in his reach for him to snatch. 

“The only absolute here is my no.” She said firmly trying to ignore the same feeling he had, the need for power. 

His eyes muted, as if he had a new challenge to accomplish, he had set his mind on. “Oh dear, I didn’t know I had to convince you.” He lowered his voice, while his eyes stared daring. “I shall do so once we are done with the ceremony then.” He dismissed them just as quickly as he had with Ketheric before he left him to his demise. 

The ceremony was painfully boring as all the honors had to be made, introducing the most relevant figures in the room and witnessing the tadpoled Duke proclaim Gortash archduke. Althaea could swear even her tadpole was squirming in boredom as the time went on, but there was something about Gortash as he politely entertained the crowd that made her cheeks grow warmer. He'd occasionally made sure to take glances her way, not even attempting to conceal them as the event formally came to an end and their debate resumed. 

It had been a long and extenuating conversation up to that moment, the more Althaea and Enver would bicker, the more the room would feel warm, and with Karlach's occasional comments, the tension was over the top. 

The two were figuratively at each other’s throat. It was a battle of wit, and whether Althaea would end up accepting it or not was up to Enver’s skills. 

She couldn’t deny the allure of the man, and she knew it was better to stay on his good side rather than his bad side. 

“This won’t end well, mark my words” Karlach remarked with a scoff while Enver had to fight the urge to roll his eyes. 

“I understand your concerns, my old friend, but allow me to demonstrate why you made the right choice.” He purred again, as if he had not tried to reason with them already. He couldn't help but notice Althaea's reaction, her frame shivering when he lowered his voice at last. “You should focus on finding the impostor in your camp” He dismissed Karlach with the useless information of the vanished druid as his eyes fell on Althaea again, already undressing her with his eyes. 

"Let me show you how you'll benefit from this deal" He stepped closer to Althaea, making sure his words were low enough to caress her skin only. 

She could even smell his thoughts as they floated in the room, between them, just like the polite dislike she felt towards him, inviting her brain to stir towards the thought of being bent over the throne, her legs spread for Gortash as he rolled his hips. 

If his point was to get her aroused, he was doing way too good for her wellbeing. 

“Let them out” Enver leaned forward and ordered with a whisper that was so rough she could have mistaken him for a rabid animal. A long shiver ran down her spine as she obliged.  

It took her a moment to convince them it was safe, that she was going to be okay, and he was not going to hurt her, his mind had said so, his body had said so, and she knew he had better intentions than murdering her right there, or so she hoped. 

“Where were we?” He asked, smiling as soon as everyone stepped out and the doors closed behind her. 

“The benefits from the deal.” She raises an inquisitive eyebrow at him, wondering where he was going with his words and his behavior. She could tell he had other plans that didn't involve much talking and she hated that she wanted to find out what those plans were. 

“Ah yes” He circled around her as if she was his prey and he was about to devour her, the tip of his gauntlet traced her jawline, gently tilting her head as if he wanted her to follow his gaze. “The benefits” He hummed as he was again in his original place. “Follow me, dear.” He offered his hand like a gentleman for her to take. “Let’s take a seat.”  

She was dizzy by his words as she accepted his hand and followed him promptly, still trying to keep her composure as they had to come to some sort of compromise. She had to keep up the polite mask, ask for the right things and leave. 

When they came close to the red lined throne, she was quick to catch up eased when Enver roughly gripped her hips and sat her in his lap, as if she was his pretty toy for everyone to see as he sat there regal.  

She tried to keep her composure even though she could feel her wetness starting to seep through her now soaked panties, not too far from Enver’s thigh. “So, the benefits?” She smiled expectantly as she tried to ignore the redness of her cheeks. 

“Well, let's start with a special seat for you, dear.” He purred as he hooked his arm under her legs to properly seat her in his lap, her legs dangling off one side of the golden throne, where she knew she could admire the hall in its whole beauty. She hummed as she didn't dare to look around yet. 

“Don’t you like the view?” He teased as he guided her head towards the entrance to the room, from where she could see every corner of the hall. He made a particular effort in being delicate as she manhandled her, making sure she couldn't miss a chair even if she tried to look away again. 

Earlier she didn't notice the tapestries hung on the high walls, setting the scene for the countless events that were held there. 

“It’s pretty, but it’s not enough” She shrugged faking disinterest. 

“Isn’t it?” He asked curiously as rested his gauntleted hand on her thigh deliberately. The cold gold almost stung against her warm skin as it inched way too close to her pussy. She had to focus on the deal and get out of there, she thought, she had to sort this out and leave. 

“How about this?” He purred as his index finger made its way towards her soaked underwear, running a finger over her clothed heat. He let out a rough hum as his fingertips drenched just as quickly as she refused again.  

“Not enough, sorry” She pushed her legs closed and tight, as the blush on her cheeks made her even more appealing at Enver's eyes. 

He didn't retreat as he brushed the tips of the gauntlet on her tight, still reminding her where she was sitting and how sensitive she was to his touch. “You don’t have to be afraid of me.” He whispered as he made sure his lips brushed against her ear. 

It didn't take much for her to smell the pungent scent of cheap cologne and sweat, quickly taking over all her senses. 

One arm of his quickly wrapped around her middle, supporting her back as his slender fingers quickly spread her legs and moved her underwear to the side before diving ring-deep into her folds.  

He let out a low, dark groan as her pussy clenched around his index finger the second it slid in. She was so wet for him, and he was so eager to see her crumble in his arms. The shallow whine she indulged in sounded like poetry to the man. 

His thumb took its time to find her clit, gently teasing her sensitive nub. His skilled movements were leaving her breathless as she had to keep herself from moaning his name out loud whenever the pad of his finger would bring her so close. 

“I suppose this is a good reason then?” He vexed her teasingly as he stopped on his tracks, waiting for her reply eagerly. 

She was leaning against him just enough so she wouldn't lose balance as she gasped. Her body was still taught as if on the verge of a cliff awaiting to be pushed off, yet she was kept there, tense. 

She shook her head no, the smallest hint of sanity left in her had pushed, reminding her that she couldn't give it all up for an orgasm, right? 

“Ah, pity” He huffed as he quickly slid out his fingers, uncaring if it would stimulate her too much, leaving her gasping and empty, though still in his lap. She almost begged him to not retreat, the newfound need was already enough in her eyes for him to grasp at as he tsked. 

"Need further reasons?" He asked wickedly as he undressed her with his eyes. He could already imagine how her shirt would tie nicely around her wrists as he pinned her down and he made sure she could feel his thought deep down her bones. 

His eyes wouldn’t leave hers for a second, whenever she tried to look away, he’d gently grasp at her chin and bring her attention to him again. She could feel her body heating ever more under his skillful touch as he couldn't help himself but to feel her again, basking in the moment he allowed another finger to enter her, and he stole a soft mewl from her lips. 

This time he was quick, hurried, abrupt as his fingers plunged and grasped at her breath, and just as quick he took his fingers away from her cunt, leaving her just at the cusp of her orgasm again. 

“Please-” She let out as she begged to come, she could feel her orgasm so close, yet so far, just a few pumps away, although those ended up being denied to her. 

“I apologize, I suppose that’s part of the deal, if you’ll accept of course” He whispered before he languidly brought his fingers in his mouth. He was so undeniably sexy, looking at her from under his dark lashes as he sucked her juices off his pads, the wet sound of his lips swallowing her was sending Althaea over the edge. “Ah how I wished you had agreed.” He sighed as he made sure he'd lick each finger clean. “I would have been delighted to taste this lovely juice directly from the source.” 

She swore her eyes rolled at the back of her head just at the thought of his tongue taking a fat lick down her pussy, drenching his stubble with her wetness, and the way he had been swirling it along his fingers looked like a promise she might have been desperate enough to accept. 

“Unless you need more, of course.” He noted sultry as he made no effort hiding what he was alluding to. 

She hesitated. She wanted to reason, to ask what the accord would have stipulated, yet all she could focus on was the ache between her thighs and the need to be filled before she’d miss the chance.  

She nodded as she gripped the edge of her skirt with a blush she couldn’t hide. He hummed satisfied as he quickly secured his arms around her, holstering her frail body and setting her down on the flush throne. 

Quickly and uncaring he tore her panties away from her skin, and spread her pretty legs, revealing her sopping pussy to him. 

He fell to his knees brazenly, bringing his face close to her heat, humming at the sight of her wetness dripping onto the chair.  

His hot breath hitting her naked and dripping core right before his plump lips met with her cunt in a lazy lick, collecting her arousal on his tongue. A filthy growl escaped his lips as he dived between her legs, dedicating his attention to her needy clit, having her whole body shake under his tongue as pleasure overtook her senses completely. 

No one ever remotely made her squirm with their tongue the way Enver was doing just about now as he traced figures eight on her swollen bud, her legs shaking as he guided them around his neck, resting them on his back and being totally engulfed face first in her pussy. 

His finger soon joined, swiftly plunging into her core with ease. It was like she was losing control of her own body as he pumped his digit in her, hitting right where she needed it as his tongue eagerly swirled and licked her like a hungry and desperate man sitting in front of his last meal, devouring and dipping in her folds like a madman. 

Althaea could barely keep her mouth shut as she wailed his name like a forbidden grace as a second finger slid in, his low moans reverberated through her as she sucked him in, clenching around his digits hungry for more, hungry for him. 

He licked her, kissed her, savored her, every centimeter of her throbbing warm pussy getting him high off her, the most euphoric he’s ever been.  

He pumped his fingers in her cunt insatiably as she could feel it build up, the familiar knot as her muscles tensed up, feeling the heat rise and her legs shake. Then when she finally could taste her orgasm on the tip of her tongue, he stopped again. 

He looked at her almost feigning innocence as he cleaned his drenched stubble with his fingertips. He popped each one his mouth again, before sitting up and leaning forward in front of her. 

She looked and felt so small under him as he towered menacingly above her, and even more when she noticed his erection aggressively pressing against his trousers. 

He couldn’t help but laugh at her wide eyes, stealing a scoff from her. She turned away, her cheeks already bright crimson from the heat coming from her own body, the embarrassment just doubled up on her.  

“ ‘suppose you like what you see?” He tantalized as he grasped at her chin, and harshly turned her head towards him. 

She nodded a bit dazed from the fast movement as she was still slouched on the throne, legs wide open for him; before they could both line more words, he was on her again. 

His lips trailed down her neck, peppering her skin with sloppy open-mouthed kisses as he mumbled praises against the hot flesh he was ready to devour. His body pressed heatedly against hers, his fingers hungrily digging in her skin as he earned a guttural moan from her. 

“Accept and all of this will be yours” He rasped as he pressed his clothed hard cock against her cunt, grinding just enough to tease her and ease a bit his erection. 

She knew what she was about to bargain with, yet her senses were taken over by her thirst, desperate for release. “Make me come and I’ll accept.” She purred as she bit her lip, almost drawing blood as eager as she was. 

He tilted his head, still holding tight to her chin as he considered her offer. “Don’t know” He shook his head, not breaking eye contact with her. Though she was completely disheveled- half naked and slouching, she still didn’t lose her confidence. He liked it, she was breathtaking. 

She was bold in her movements as he pushed away his hand from her chin and grabbed the collar of his button up. “Shut up and kiss me already.” She pulled him down as she sat up, making him space on the throne again and making sure she was straddling him comfortably. 

Her legs perfectly draped over his lap as she pressed her warmth against his cock. She relentlessly held to his collar as their lips collided in a rough kiss.  

His coarse lips felt scorching against her sweetness, taking over her senses with the aggressive and pungent taste of cheap wine and sweat. The second she tasted it, she knew she was not going to be able to give it up for anything. 

He didn't get undressed, nor did he undress her more than her panties that were already missing, he simply quickly untied his pants and freed his cock. He was strong and the way he was holding her and guiding her on top of his cock was proof of it- just making Althaea more eager to be filled. 

The cold of the golden gauntlet was just the tip of the iceberg as her body was so eager and close already. He had tortured enough, yet the way he pulled her up to have better access to her pussy, made her even hornier than before. 

He was quick in sinking into her cunt, loudly and rough as he manhandled her effortlessly. “So tight, doll” He grunted as he dug his fingers in her soft flesh, stealing a strangled moan from Althaea’s loose lips. 

She was lucky the chatter from outside was loud enough cause, if that was what he could coax out of her with one blunt thrust, she didn’t dare to imagine how she’d keep her lewd sounds unheard. 

She stretched so nicely around him as he filled her to the brim, he didn’t wait for her to adjust before he’d start moving.  

He did a good job hiding it until then, but he was dying to fuck her senseless. Looking at her tossing her head back and moaning his name sent a rush of adrenaline down his body to his cock as he mercilessly slammed into her. 

One hand quickly snuck under her shirt, sloppily grabbing her breast and teasing her nipple as he could feel her already inching closer to her first orgasm. 

The way she rode him drove him insane, unable to form sentences from time to time while the only thing he could do was use his hands to guide her, gripping her ass and helping her to keep some speed as she choked on her words.   

All that could be heard was the sound of ragged breath and skin slapping as she tried to meet his speed. He had her wrapped around his cock so consumed as his movements did nothing but make her mewl and sub for him.  

She didn’t have the power to question how he did it, but his hips met with her in such an electrifying way as he rolled deep in her.  

With one deep thrust he had her eyes rolled back as he rammed her and fucked her till exhaustion. 

“You’re mine” He rasped as the words mindlessly fell over his lips with a possessiveness neither expected. “You understand?” He demanded as he suddenly slowed down, his thrusts hitting deeper, till that sweet spot that made her toes curl and her stomach flutter. 

Y-Yes” She mewled as his nails once more found her hips, pulled her down and closer to him 

“Say it” He ordered as he deliberately let go of her hips, allowing gravity to harshly let her collide with him. “Who do you belong to?” He grabbed at her chin and guided her face towards his. 

Her eyes were dilated, her mouth slack as she fucked herself on his cock desperately. “Yours” She wailed as her hips twitched frantically.  

“Say my name, doll” He rasped as he could feel her cunt ready to milk him as he waited for her reply.  

“I-I” She moaned as she could feel her orgasm pull over her. “B-belong” His hands gripped at her hips again, helping her come as he met her movements. “E-enver” She croaked and sobbed as she could barely hold on to herself anymore, the pleasure rippled under her skin uncontrollably, like a tidal wave pulling her in and out as she gushed over his cock. 

His lips hungrily met with hers again as she sobbed a moan against them, his movements were sloppy just like his kiss as he let his own intense, reckless, arrogant orgasm was over him.  

He carelessly came into her cunt, enjoying the view of his cum filling her to the brim and spilling on her legs. His words were a faint buzzing as she could barely feel her spine and leaned against him, yet she didn’t care anymore. 

She had already fucked up when she accepted and there was no way back. 

No way back from being fucked silly on a throne. 

Just an handful of minutes later she was standing next to her companions, the closest she could get to presentable as his cum dribbled down her thighs as she sealed her deal with Enver, that smirked at her. 

“I, lord Enver Gortash, in the name of Bane, swear I shall do you no harm, and we will rise together over Toril as a roaring sun” He smiled boldly at her, as he offered her his hand, waiting just for her to take it. 

[hedgehog-moss]

Salut madame hedgehog moss!

Maintenant je me prépare à déménager à une toute petite ville au nord-est des États Unis près de la frontière avec Nouveau Brunswick (donc une ville peu peuplée et très rurale). Maintenant j'habite dans une grande ville alors je suis certaine qu'il y aura un peu de décalage au début. Je sais que t'as déménager de Paris vers une très petite village donc peut être tu as des conseils pour comment je peux m'intégrer dans une telle communauté?

Désolé pour des fautes de grammaire. Le français n'est pas ma langue maternelle.

Hi! Your French is really good! :)

I'm not sure I'm the best person to ask for advice on how to fit in with a small rural community, as I chose to live in the woods a few km away from the nearest village because I moved to the countryside in search of solitude. I only leave my lair for groceries once every ten days or so—I'm on a solid "easy friendly small talk" basis with most locals, but I'm only better acquainted with a handful of them, the ones I interact with regularly by force of circumstance (the librarian because I'm a devoted library-goer, the postwoman, the farmer who owns the pasture next to mine...) and that's a level of integration in the community I'm happy with.

I suppose the main thing is to show curiosity and appreciation for the local way of life, rather than expect to live exactly the way you did in the city, but the specifics of what this entails vary a lot depending on locality. Participating in the local small economy, if there is one, is good—I try to attend the yearly events and fairs at the village, like the potter's market; I bought a jumper from the wool shop in town rather than ordering something online, and I buy fruit at the summer market and seedlings for my garden, and some cheeses, from the local farms that sell them, rather than getting stuff from the supermarket even though it would often be more convenient. But I'm glad there are still family farms and local artisans so it's important to support them. There's also a thriving informal gift economy in my village, I offer eggs from my chickens and homemade jams or syrups and later down the line neighbours reciprocate with seedlings or firewood, etc, the more you'll participate in this sort of thing (if it exists) the more connections you'll make.

Another thing re: being appreciative of the local way of life—I know the city people who are disliked around here are the ones who buy land and use it like they would a suburban plot, e.g. build a swimming-pool, mow the grass, remove all 'weeds' indiscriminately (I know brambles are annoying but birds nest in there and eat the berries, you've got to leave some...), or cover their dirt road with asphalt instead of just shovelling some gravel when it gets muddy, etc. Again the specifics vary depending on locality, but people are attached to their local landscapes and way of doing things and as someone who owns some land and has seen the way locals reacted to other people who bought land around here, you're clearly perceived differently if you have a spirit of maintaining and repairing and appreciating the place for what it is, rather than remodelling and innovating and adapting it to what you want it to be.

Also you've got to accept that it can take a very long time to become part of a close-knit community, and try not to take things personally—I remember someone commenting on one of my posts a few years ago that she felt rejected by the people in her village because she was still seen as an outsider, and not allowed to take part in the organisation of some local events, several years after moving there. I wouldn't see not getting to help organise an event as a hostile behaviour towards me, I don't really expect to be included on every level, if locals feel like some things are for people who've lived here their whole lives, okay. I know rural communities are not the most diverse places and I'm not saying to accept discrimination due to bigotry of any kind, but in terms of "being kept out of some things or treated differently because you're not from this specific place", I do see it as something to be accepted. If I'm still seen as a city person and an outsider twenty years from now, so be it, as long as people aren't outright rude about it. I don't think of not being welcome to everything as rude, there are just boundaries that exist and so be it. I'm not saying someone would be wrong for being hurt by this type of exclusion, just that it helps to have this "don't take it personally" attitude when moving to a rural village.

Having a llama also really helps! The only reason I got acquainted with lots of local people in my first year here was because Pampe kept running away and I kept having to knock on people's doors with like a photo of her and go hi, have you seen this criminal. And then people would stop me at the grocery shop or something two weeks later like, did you end up finding your criminal? And I'd complain about her and they'd sympathise and tell me about their own annoying animals. I can't recommend animal misdemeanours enough as a source of friendly mutual understanding with rural neighbours.

Oh and speaking of complaining—another obvious way to integrate in a small community is to fight together against a common enemy. This is anecdotal but last year a state-owned company started to build a metallic structure (I'm trying not to be too specific) outside the village and it spoilt the landscape a bit, and I hesitated to grumble about it when making small talk because I was half-expecting to come across as an annoying city person, complaining about aesthetics while local people's livelihoods would be improved by this thing—but not at all, people also hated the look of it and were like "they hardly even consulted local authorities on this, they think we don't get to have an opinion on what our land looks like" and we went to the town hall to complain and the mayor agreed with us and eventually we complained enough that the company replaced the metal parts with wooden ones, so it at least looks more natural and more discreet in the landscape. It was very satisfying to come together and have this happen, and I never felt more integrated in the local community than when I was in the town hall complaining with everybody else.

[calaisreno]

The Client

936 words / Prompt: Secret

Mary looks at the chair. John can’t be serious. “Why?”

The look he gives her is terrible. She knows his temper, but this is the first time she’s seen Captain Watson, who could shoot a man and have no trouble sleeping afterwards. 

“Because that’s where they sit,” he whispers fiercely. “You’re a client now, Mary. That’s all you are. That’s where you sit and talk, and we listen and decide if we want you or not.”

Sherlock is looking sort of grey. She wonders how he managed to sneak out of the hospital and set this up. Was it really necessary? Did he not think that John would believe him?

Her husband—well, the marriage probably isn’t legal, and now that he knows he’s married to a woman who’s been lying since the day they met, he’s obviously not going to stay. Right now, he can’t even look at her. 

Sherlock nods at her. She’s not sure why he’s trying to help her. Or why she didn’t kill him when she had a chance. She was rattled, or she would have done it properly, and this conversation wouldn’t be happening. 

She thought she was finally safe. John is exactly the kind of man she would marry. If Sherlock hadn’t come back, they could have been happy. John is angry now, and it’s not all about her. He’s in love with Sherlock, and it’s something he can’t admit, even to himself. 

Maybe she should have simply disappeared. 

She still could.

“You know what?” She stands in front of John’s chair, glaring down at him. “Forget this bullshit. Open your eyes, John. This—” She pats her belly. “It isn’t real. There’s no baby.” 

He sits up, wide-eyed now.

She smirks. “Don’t pretend you didn’t suspect. You didn’t want to believe it, so you stopped paying attention.”

John’s speechless for a moment, then stammers. “But… why would you do that?”

“Without the baby, I would have lost you.” She turns to Sherlock. “Thanks, but I’ll handle Magnussen on my own.” 

Picking up her handbag, she walks towards the door. On the threshold she turns and gives her parting shot. “Pull your heads out of your arses, boys. See ya.”

John stares after her until they hear the door downstairs slam. He turns to Sherlock. “What the hell just happened?”

Sherlock tries to push himself up from his chair. “John… I think…”

Heavy feet are clattering up the stairs. John looks towards the door, where the paramedics have appeared. 

“Did somebody call an ambulance?”

Sherlock gasps. “Did you bring any morphine?”

A week later…

BBC News. According to Detective Greg Lestrade of Scotland Yard, the investigation into the death of media mogul Charles Augustus Magnussen has turned up no clues to the identity of his killer, or how they came to Appledore, his residence. Security footage is being examined, but the killer obviously knew their target and took care not to be caught on camera. All leads will be pursued, he says, but it appears to be a professional job.

Months later…

“You know, Sherlock, we didn’t need to have such a big wedding.”

“Don’t say that to Mummy. It’s always been her ambition to plan one. And I’m finding I don’t mind it so much.”

“I don’t even know half of these people. Other than Harry, I assume they’re all your relatives.”

“Most are. And acquaintances. My parents have a lot of friends.”

“Mycroft looks… well, less dyspeptic than usual.”

“Every feast needs a spectre, John.”

“Oh, look, he’s talking with Greg. And he’s actually smiling.”

“Who?”

“Oh, give it up, Sherlock. Greg Lestrade.”

“Ah, yes. They do seem rather… friendly. Interesting…”

“Who’s the woman with the hair?”

“All the women have hair, John. Not a single bald woman in the hall. Oh, I see. Looks like a wig. Probably some mystery relative. She’s talking with my cousin Pansy. Mummy will know.”

“Not important. Just… she seems familiar. Look, here’s Harry. Glad she made it this time.”

“Harry! Come here—I need to dance with my sister-in-law.”

“All right, Sherlock—does this mean Johnny gets to dance with Mycroft?”

“Absolutely not! I’m not dancing with Mycroft, even if he’s secretly running the country.”

“Well, your loss. Come on, Sherlock. John says you’re a good dancer. Let me see you get your boogie on.”

“My what?”

“Mrs Holmes! This is all lovely. Thank you so much.”

“Of course, John! And please, you must call me Viola. Where’s your husband?”

“He’s dancing with Harry. Say, who’s that woman over there with the dark hair and large glasses? She was just talking with Pansy.”

“Oh… I don’t know, John. I thought she was one of yours.”

“No, she’s not. Oh, look, she’s leaving.”

“Honestly, who leaves a wedding early? Sherlock, do come here!”

“Yes, Mummy?”

“It’s your wedding! Dance with your husband, dear! I’m going to look for mine.”

“Gladly. Come here, John.”

“Sherlock, that woman—”

“Yes, John. I know.”

“Does Mycroft know?”

“He told me she was dead. But he’s been wrong about dead people before.”

“Why do you think she came here?”

“You mean, why did she crash our wedding? I think she just wanted to make sure you’re fine. That we’re fine.”

“Is this what she meant by ‘get your heads out of your arses’?”

“I believe so.”

“Well, I’m glad she’s not vengeful.”

“No, I don’t believe she is. And I don’t bear her any ill-will.”

“No? Hm. I do, just a bit. But tonight, I only want to think about you.”

“Do you? Then I’ll just have to keep your attention, won’t I?”

“You always do, love.”

--

All my May Prompts 2024 can be read on AO3 here.

[factual-fantasy]

30 Asks! Thank you!! :)) 🦒

I have developed a few backstory ideas for almost all the characters, I could talk a bit about those at least! :000

First, Home. (Wally's house) Home is supposed to be a living entity with unknown intentions.. so far I haven't planned out any major ways that it interacts with anyone. Other than it watching Wally sleep at night.. the feeling is so intense and disturbing that he constantly wakes up feeling anxious..

Speaking of Wally, he's supposed to be this genuinely innocent friend of the neighborhood and he has no idea that his house is alive. Wally thinks that he just has some kind of sleeping and anxiety issues which is why he keeps waking up at night feeling afraid and uncomfortable. That's also why I always draw him with bags under his eyes and my explanation for why he talks the way he does. <XDD The poor guy cant get a good night sleep! Sometimes when his "anxiety" gets really bad he'll go crash at Barnaby's house for a night or two. For some reason he feels a lot safer there..

Speaking of Barnaby, I haven't thought too much about his backstory. But I like the idea that he's a lot like sans. XDD By that I mean he's a goofy guy but there's a lot more too his character and he's a lot more intelligent than people think he is. Barnaby is actually very aware of what's going on around him. He's the first to know when one of his neighbors isn't doing well and the first to figure out what's bothering them. Even if he's not close friends with them.

Also tacking on a last minute note on Barnaby- I like think Barnaby has lived in the neighborhood for a very long time. If not the longest. He was there to see Howdy open shop and saw Julie, Sally and Frank all move in. He was the first neighbor everyone became acquainted with and he always made everyone feel right at home. Barnaby is so friend shaped 🥺💞💞

Next is Julie. I haven't done the best job at showing it when I draw her.. but Julie is intended to kiiind'a be an amalgamation of all the neighbors. What I mean by this, is her and her sisters are naturally these huge horrible looking beasts that live in the woods. But Julie was able to slowly transform herself and modify her appearance to look more.. friendly! So that she could become a resident of the neighborhood and not scare anyone away <XDD

How she did this is she just studied the neighbors from the bushes and modeled her appearance after them. Long eye lashes like Poppy, Different colored nose like Howdy,, and since she never saw anyone else bare foot.. Little feet paws like Barnaby <XDD She kind'a kicks herself for that one. Turns out the people she was trying to mimic the most, Wally and Eddie, don't have paws for feet- But that's alright. No one really questions it!

Now Eddie is the usual interpretation I think. He was originally a real human but now he's a neighbor with no memory of who he once was.. he doesn't really remember his childhood or where he came from. He's also just generally forgetful. 😅 The only thing he consistently does right is get everyone's mail delivered right on time!

I have ideas of him having hallucinations, strange dreams or even fainting spells when he encounters something significant from his past life. I considered one of the triggers for his spells could be imagery of an orange cat. Maybe he had one as a pet in his original life? If he ever encountered one and then fainted.. he might just start telling the neighbors that he's allergic to cats.. <XD idk, I haven't fully thought that all through yet XDD

Sally is the last I'll comment on. Her story keeps changing up but I have solid ideas for her biology.

I want her to be an actual celestial being of some kind. I imagined her being a glowing star child that is always warm to the touch. She can control/dim her light pretty significantly but she can never fully go dark. So she's hard to sleep near during sleep overs <XDD

Speaking of sleep overs, I actually imagined that she doesn't need to sleep! Perhaps its like the gems from Steven Universe. She can sleep if she wants to but she doesn't need to by any means. She gets all her energy from what she eats! I also pictured her wearing what ever she wants year round! She absolutely thrives in the sunlight and her body is much stronger than the cold around her. So she can wear shorts in the winter and sweaters in the summer all she wants! Lucky gal.. <XDD

I have some ideas for the other neighbors, but this is already a wall of text. Maybe next time <XDD

Perhaps I should go back sometime and draw these guys again :00 At least get around to redesigning Sally and Julie, it could be fun! :}}

XDDD AAAA IDK!! Its been a while since I've thought about him! XDD

Hmm let me think... well, He's a loyal and devoted servant of the king and his family. Almost to the extent you'd wonder if he's been brainwashed or cursed..

I've haven't thought too much about his backstory or how he came to be in the position of power that he's in.. But I do have some ideas floating around for how me may interact with some of the Koopalings. :00

The main idea I had in mind was Morton coming to him and voicing and insecurity of some kind, putting himself down in the process. perhaps he said it absentmindedly.. but Commander was quick to defend him, bowing at his feet "Who dared to speak to my Lord in this way? With your command, I shall have their head!" Upon explaining that no, no one said that to him.. he just feels that way.. Commander has a talk with him that boosts his confidence. Not sure what exactly the insecurity could be.. perhaps Mortons appearance? <:0

(In response to this post)

Aww! I love those names!! :DD Though I don't know if its just me, but I feel like the names should be swapped? <XD Idk- the plup roly poly feels more like a Bernard than a Diego to me. But I totally agree withy them having Tea on Tuesdays! XDD I'm glad you like them! :))

@silly-creetur

<XDD Sorry you had to scroll so far to find Octonauts- but I'm glad you liked what you saw! :))

@lolzwaitwhat (Love your username XDD)

They will be forever confused yet grateful. 🥺🥺💞💞💞

I'm still open for suggestions! And I don't get as many as people seem to think I do.. 😅 also thank you! I'll do my best! <XD

(Referencing this post)

:DDD THANK YOU!!

As for the canvas size, yeahh, for the pixel stuff the canvas's are absolutely tiny. That first dragon drawing is on like a 300-300 canvas. If I were to post it as is it would be really small if you tried to view it. Soooo I just copy/pasted and blew the image up to like 800/800. Its a lil blurry but that's okay <XDD

@aria-the-derg

XDD Thank you! Man its been years since I've done an OC trade..

@thesunbun

XDDD THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! :DDDD

@clownaroundtowne

Oh wow.. neotony.. that's so interesting! I learned something new today! :00 And yeah! Perhaps it could be! :0000

*snimfle...* ..am I weewy yow favowite? 🥹💞💞💞 fank you!!

AAAA THANK YOU SO MCUH!!!! :DDD AND YES IT DID MAKE ME SMILE!! :}}}}

Its cool to hear that you wanna try FireAlpaca! Though I warn you, it can be a but buggy/wonky at times! <XDD It takes some time to learn how to work around its quirks <XD

I have not heard of it, no.. but upon Googling it, I love the art style! :))

@astaherussy

Do I like Jax? Personally I think he's pretty funny, but he's hard to like because he's such a jerk. <XD Although I'm not totally set in my opinions on him. I know there's a lot of angst going on behind the scenes that probably helps to explain his behavior.. I'm sure once we see that backstory- if we ever do, I'll like him a lot more :))

My opinion on the FNAF movie is it wasn't as bad as I thought it might be. :00 My favorite parts were the inclusion/intended inclusion of MatPat, Markiplier and other Youtubers. I also FLIPPED OUT when Bonnie was the first to move. Just like the game! And it recreated that initial horror so well XDD Overall I'd say 7/10, WOULD watch it again! :))

My FNAF AU has been shelved hard. 😔 I've been battling health problems for almost a year now. I don't have the strength to comfortably sit at my desktop PC long enough to work on those comics right now.. All these recent posts of mine have been drawn from the couch on this old laptop, where I don't have access to any of my FNAF stuff from my main PC.. its been rough man. 😔

The cookie crew is doing well! I've actually been thinking about drawing them again soon.. 👀

The Factual fam is the same! Doing great, thinking I might draw them again soon! :))

Awe, thank you!! I've thought about making some kind of merchandise on and off. Since all these medical expenses are really starting to stack up.. so its really encouraging to hear that some folks would be interested! <:}}}

Oh boy have I. <XDD Ya'll were right, my heart was NOT ready for Appa's episode 🥺💔💔💔 I already have something angsty in mind for that but I'm having trouble with trying to make that comic..

I'm looking for an opportunity where Aang, Appa and the gang are all back together and traveling like usual. Then when they set up camp for the day is where the angst will strike- but it seems like right after they got Appa back the gang split up..

Soo I'm just continuing to watch for now. Perhaps the angst I have in mind will occur later? Or perhaps the perfect gap in time I'm waiting for is only a few episodes away. Who knows <XDD

@socherryblossomstrawberry

XDD Noooo!! Why do that??

XDD THANK YOU!! I'm glad you think so! :))

I haven't drawn much for it yet because Its a little challenging for me to draw fanart the way I want to for series that have a linear story.. if that makes any sense-

Shows like SpongeBob or series likeeee.... Welcome home? Things where its more of "a day in the life of" type deal. I can draw fanart and funny scenarios for those a lot easier. Where as with Avatar I'm still kind'a waiting for the perfect gap in the story where I can draw goofy group shenanigans without thinking "Oh wait they'd be dealing with this plot point during this comic..." does that make sense?? <XDD

@coolguyoninternet

:0... huh?

🫠Not really- but I'm hoping this is all over soon <:)

@dummdummdummy

<XDD I'm afraid I am unfamiliar with those names- the osc fandom..?

@mimiocto

Fank you 😌

@olives-in-shadows

I'm hanging in there as best I can 🫠🫠🫠

When he said "Well, how did I get here?" I felt that 💔

@anikakitty11

Oh my goodness I love this beautiful puppo 🥺🥺🥺

@tallchest13-blog (Link to document)

THIS IS SO COOL WHAT???

@chimerathekid (Image is from this post)

XDDD That's how I like to interpret him at least! XDD

@invaderdrey

Ah yes! The mystery dungeon games!! :DD Someone told me about those games and the key to getting Grim to mega evolve! The empowerment seed!! :DD

I was gonna make a comic about it, buuuut after sketching it all? It came out to like 4 parts and 80 canvases. With 3-6 drawings per canvas. Soooo I might not get around to finishing that... 😅

@minnesotamedic186 (In response to this ask post)

😔

@mason-gaylord

I don't know if my Gengar in game has that trait or not- but it looks like it wouldn't be too much of a bother! :0 Google seems to say that it only has a 30% chance of disabling attacks that hurt the user. So as long as none of Grim's friends decide to fight him it shouldn't effect them XDD

[raineandsky]

#106

“[Villain].”

The villain lets out an audible groan that inevitably raises their manager’s eyebrow. A short ball of fury, basically straight out of college. Not too unlike the villain. “Is it in my contract that I’m allowed to ignore you?”

“It’s not.” He gives them a moment where he clearly expects them to turn around. They don’t. “I need you to train up the new guy.”

“Do I have to?”

Their manager nudges someone forward as they turn. “‘Fraid so. You’ve been here the longest.”

No, that’s you, the villain’s about to say. But then their eyes fall on the new hire, who looks like she’s already regretting every life decision she’s ever made. What the hell is a hero doing in a burger joint?

“Okay,” the manager adds after a long moment, “staring is rude, [Villain]. Let’s dial it back.”

Their name jolts them out of their stupor. “I– yeah, sorry. I just, uh, recognise her from, uh…” The hero waits expectantly. Their manager tips his head curiously. “… high school.”

“Oh! Old acquaintances.” The manager claps his hands like this solves everything. “Lots of catching up to do, huh? I’ll leave you guys here then—and [Villain], please, for the love of god, train her up at least a bit amidst the chatting.”

The manager gives the hero a friendly pat on the back before throwing the villain a quick smile and disappearing around the door again.

The hero stares blankly at the villain. The villain stares equally blankly straight back. “Do you work here?” the hero asks eventually.

The villain doesn’t feel too inclined to answer that. “Do you?” they shoot back.

The hero clicks her tongue, shuffling on her feet. “Why don’t you show me how the fryers work before I have to kill you for getting too personal?”

“Ah, yes, the fryers.” The villain turns to the bubbling pot of oil next to them. “Hot enough to cook chips and to dissolve a body in.”

The hero’s face scrunches up seemingly on instinct, and the villain can’t help but laugh. “Don’t worry,” they say with forced friendliness, “I change the oil before I cook food in it.”

“Okay,” the hero says like she’s three seconds from throwing up. “Is there someone else here who can show me stuff?”

“You wish,” the villain jeers. “Manager’s busy, you saw him. Only other guy here only works on Thursdays and Sundays.”

“It’s Thursday today.”

“Exactly. Not what I’d call reliable. I, however” — the villain does a twirl for dramatic effect — “am here… more often than I am willing to tell you.”

“Well.” The hero smirks, the kind of expression no one wants to see on a hero’s face. “I’m sure I’ll figure out when you’re here if I stop by enough. What, is it full time? Does villainy pay peanuts?”

The villain refrains from the urge to punch her. “Does the agency?”

The hero’s mocking expression turns flat. “I’m here undercover,” she says plainly.

“I recognised you immediately.”

“Well, I’m not here for you.” The hero pushes past them to figure out the fryer on her own. “I’m not telling you any more than that.”

“I better warn my friends you’re here, then.” The villain snorts as the hero fiddles with the knob. “Are you here to give whoever you’re looking for food poisoning?”

“I know how to cook, [Villain].”

“You’re turning the heat too low.”

The hero pointedly pulls the knob back up. “Just show me how the kitchen works, please, and I’ll consider not telling your manager who he’s working with.”

The villain fixes her with a long stare. “I could blow your cover too.” But they roll their eyes and beckon her over to the griddle anyway. “Okay, so, wrong me and I’ll shove your entire face on this.”

The villain shows the hero around the kitchen, each bit of apparatus accompanied with a lovingly detailed description of how the villain intends to use each one against the hero if she pushes her luck. The hero listens with distaste mashed into her expression the whole time.

“Let’s try and keep things civil, okay?” the hero says when she’s clearly had enough of all the different ways the villain has on hand to murder her. “I don’t fancy fighting in a kitchen, and I’m sure you don’t either.”

Oh, god, how wrong the hero is. They’re itching to grab one of those knives off the hook and just—

No. They have to play it safe to begin with, keep it lowkey, make her feel a little too safe. So they just roll their eyes and, with all the authenticity they can muster, simply say “agreed.”

[anotherhumaninthisworld]

I found the Charlotte Robespierre-pins-down-Couthon-in-an-armchair-and-calls-him-a-hypocrite anecdote in its full glory within La Révolution, la Terreur, le Directoire 1791-1799: d’après les mémoires de Gaillard (1908) page 263-272. The table of contents claim this event happened in May 1794.

-

Gaillard therefore presents himself at Mlle Robespierre's house, she welcomes him in a friendly manner, she does not seek to know the political opinions of her visitor; both talk for a long time about her family and their old acquaintances, she names for Gaillard, with great bitterness, the prodigious number of very honest people dragged to the scaffold by Joseph Lebon; she makes him tell her how he was able to save himself at least from prison and tells him how much pleasure she and her older brother felt in receiving news of him from their younger brother; then Gaillard explains to her the embarrassment he finds himself in and asks her to help him with her advice to save the magistrates of Melun and the signatories of the address to Louis XVI.

”When my younger brother passed through Melun,” said Mlle Robespierre, ”all three of us were living together; I still hoped to be able to bring back the older, to snatch him from the wretches who obsess over him and lead him to the scaffold. They felt that my brother would eventually escape them if I regained his confidence, they destroyed me entirely in his mind; today he hates the sister who served as his mother… For several months he has been living alone, and although lodged in the same house, I no longer have the power to approach him… I loved him tenderly, I still do… His excesses are the consequence of the domination under which he groans, I am sure of it, but knowing no way to break the yoke he has allowed himself to be placed under, and no longer able to bear the pain and the shame of to see my brother devote his name to general execration, I ardently desire his death as well as mine. Judge of my unhappiness!… But let’s return to what interests you. The addresses to the king on the events of 1792 are already far from us; it seems to me that the signatures of these addresses are persecuted less than those who protested against the day of May 31. Try to see Maximilien, you will be content; he was very glad that our younger brother saw you at Melun. On this occasion he spoke with interest of the exercises of your pupils and of the attention you had in entrusting him with presiding over them. I won’t introduce you to him, I would not succeed; I even advise you not to speak to him about me. You will be told he is out, don't believe it, insist on your visit.”

The Robespierre family was housed on rue Saint-Honoré, near the Assomption chapel, the sister and younger brother at the front, the older brother at the back of the courtyard. Gaillard went to Maximilien’s apartment; a young man, looking at him with the most insolent air, said to him, barely having opened the door: “The representative isn’t home…”

“He may not be there for those who come to talk to him about business, but that is not my doing; I will talk to him about his family that I know a lot, you have seen me come out of his sister's apartment who is involved in state affairs no more than I am... Bring my name to the representative, he will receive me, I’m sure of it.”

The fellow did not dare refuse to carry a paper on which Gaillard had taken care to indicate himself in such a way as to be recognized, he immediately came back and gave the visitor his paper saying: “The representative does not know you,” and the door was violently slammed shut!…

The insolence of this brazen man whom Gaillard knew to be the secretary of Robespierre, son of Duplay, to whom the sister attributed the excesses of his brother, the sorrow he felt at losing the hope of saving the judges of Melun and to ensure his personal rest, all these thoughts made him very angry; he calls the young man a liar, insolent, he accuses him of deceiving Robespierre and of increasing the number of his enemies every day, all this in the loudest voice with the intention of being heard by Maximilien and lure him to one of the windows where, surely, he would have recognized him. New disappointment, no one appears and Gaillard goes back to tell Mlle Robespierre about his misadventure.

“I prepared you for it, she told him. ”No one can approach my brother unless he is a friend of those Duplays, with whom we are lodging; these wretches have neither intelligence nor education, explain to me their ascendancy over Maximilien. However, I do not despair of breaking the spell that holds him under their yoke; for that I am awaiting the return of my other brother, who has the right to see Maximilien. If the discovery I just made doesn't rid us of this race of vipers forever, my family is forever lost. You know what a miserable state we found ourselves in, reduced to alms, my brothers and I, if the sister of our father hadn’t taken us in. It’s strange that you didn’t often notice how much her husband’s brusqueness and formality made us pay dearly for the bread he gave us; but you must also have noticed that if indigence saddened us, it never degraded us and you always judged us incapable of containing money through a dubious action. Maximilien, who makes me so unhappy, has never given a hold, as you know, in terms of delicacy. Imagiene his fury when he learns that these miserable Duplays are using his name and his credit to get themselves the rarest goods at a low price from the merchants. So while all of Paris is forced to line up at the baker's shop every morning to get a few ounces of black, disgusting bread, the Duplays eat very good bread because the Incorruptible sits at their table: the same pretext provides them with sugar, oil, soap of the best quality, which the inhabitant of Paris would seek in vain in the best shops... How my brother's pride would be humiliated if he knew the abuse that these wretches make of his name! What would become of his popularity, even among his most ardent supporters? Certainly my brother is very proud, it is in him a capital fault; you must remember, you and I have often lamented the ridicule he made for himself by his vanity, the great number of enemies he made for himself by his disdainful and contemptuous tone, but he is not bloodthirsty. Certainly he believes he can overthrow his adversaries and his enemies by the superiority of his talent.”

The tenderness of this unfortunate girl for her brother was therefore very keen and very blind, she forgot that, a few moments before, she had told Gaillard, with the accent of despair and with eyes filled with tears, that death would seem preferable to the pain of seeing Maximilien dedicate his name to public execration, and yet her brother for his part had devoted mortal hatred to her since the trip she had made to Arras to collect evidence of the massacres carried out by Joseph Lebon.

“In the absence of my brother,” said Mlle Robespierre to Gaillard, would you like to try to see Couthon? He prides himself on being good for me, I will ask him to receive you, he will not refuse me, I will precede you by a quarter of an hour, he will give the order to let you in and we will exit together.”

Gaillard gratefully accepts, takes the address of Couthon who lived at n. 97 of the Cour du Manège, today rue de Rivoli, near rue du 29 Juilliet, and the next morning arrives at the indicated time.

Couthon, whose face was truly angelic, wore a white dressing gown. A child of five or six years old, beautiful as Love, was between his father's legs; he had a young white rabbit in his arms which he was feeding alfalfa. Mme Couthon and Mlle Robespierre stood in the embrasure of a window overlooking the Tuileries.

“You (vous) are,” said Couthon to Gaillard, a friend of Mlle Robespierre, you therefore have every kind of right to my interest, tell me, citizen, how can I be of use to you?”

The fine face, the entourage of innocence, the tone, the manners of good company, this care not to use tutoient when everyone else did so, convinced Gaillard that the slander had attached itself in particular to the person of this worthy M. Couthon, he promises to undeceive all those with whom the deputy had relations.

“Citizen representative, one of your colleagues, Maure, deputy for Yonne, had recalled the former judges, all very honest people, to the courts of Melun, and everyone applauded this act of justice. The popular society was offended by this, it threatened Maure that it was going to denounce him to the Convention as a supporter of Louis XVI and his family, given that these judges had adhered to the address by which the directorate of the department complained of the outrages committed against the king on the day of June 20 1792. The next day your colleague issued a decree dismissing these judges who were not yet installed, and ordered the revolutionary committee to incarcerate them. Can you please tell me by which means these unfortunate judges can escape this act of severity?”

“Admit, citizen,” answered Couthon, “that the Convention is indeed to be pitied for being forced to send as commissioners to the departments a crowd of imbeciles who make it hated and who compromise liberty... Maure doesn’t have the strength to understand that true patriots were saddened and rightly outraged by this fatal day of June 20. The aristocrats, as one said then, were delighted by it, the crimes of the people seemed to them a means of forever losing liberty and reestablishing despotism... It was a duty to rise up against the violation of the home of the first official of the the State and the bloody outrages to which it was subjected that day. I signed an address in which our indignation was expressed in the most energetic terms and I am far from repenting of it. Have the judges you are talking to me about been arrested?”

“No, citizen.”

”That’s what I suspected, they will have been warned; in fact, one is not going to prison automatically, one will have their homes sealed and perhaps not be very eager to arrest them?… Can you assure me, citizen, that these judges are honest men?”

”The most honest people in the country!”

”Well, on reflection, I was going to give you bad advice... based on the distance from Melun to Paris, this is where they will come to hide, one will find them, there is no safety in the prisons of Paris. They'd better go home, they shall be given a guard, they won't even be incarcerated... but once again, how can it be made a crime to have signed these addresses?”

“Citizen,” continues Gaillard, with great emotion, you are convinced that the signatures of these addresses have not committed a crime, you are all-powerful in the Committee of Public Safety where your opinion always prevails. Today, seventy unfortunate people are being led to the scaffold, their condemnation based on nothing other than the signing of these addresses…”

Couthon's face changed, he suddenly takes on the tiger's mask, makes a movement to grab the bell pull... Mlle Robespierre rushes at him to stop him (he was paralyzed from the legs down), turns towards Gaillard and says to him: “Save yourself!” In the confusion into which all this throws him, Gaillard takes Couthon's hat, she notices it, warns him, he runs across the apartment and reaches the stairs. He had barely gone down eight or ten steps when he heard Mlle Robespierre shouting to him: “Go and wait for me at the Orangerie.” (The courtyard of the Orangerie was located at the end of the Terrace des Feuillants where Rue de Rivoli now meets Place de la Concorde).

When Gaillard was able to think, he wondered why the various sentries posted along the Feuillants terrace had not stopped him. A glance in a mirror while picking up his hat in Couthon's salon had told him how altered his face was. Even after leaving the deputy, he did not think he was safe, he did not take four strides without wondering if he was being pursued. He has barely gone down into the courtyard of the Orangery when he goes back up onto the terrace, looking anxiously to see if his good angel was arriving. As soon as he sees her, he runs towards her, loudly asking her five or six questions at the same time without paying attention to the crowd around them. Mlle Robespierre, calmer, tells him in a low voice that she will answer him when they have reached the Place de la Révolution.

“Explain to me, please,” said Gaillard to Mlle Robespierre as soon as they were offshore, ”your haste to tell me to take flight flee and why you held back Couthon in his chair?”

“You were fooled, my dear monsieur, by the profound hypocrisy of Couthon, I was completely fooled myself; I believed your judges saved and you forever at peace like all the signatories of these addresses to Louis XVI... Couthon only showed himself to be so good-natured in order to get to know the depths of your thoughts, you fell into his trap, I could not have avoided it more than you. Your bloody and so justly deserved reproach regarding the 63 victims of today struck in the hearth, my presence, even my confidence could not have stopped his vengeance. The members of the Committee of Public Safety each have five or six men at home who are resolute at their command, because they are constantly trembling. Had he reached the bell pull, this very afternoon you would have been placed in the tumbril alongside the 63 unfortunate people you wanted to save... Fortunately, I succeeded in making him ashamed of the crime he was going to commit by immolating a friend that I had brought to his house... Will he keep his word to me? I followed your conversation very attentively, you did not say a word from which Couthon could conclude that you do not live in Paris... Return home quickly, do not follow the ordinary route out of fear that, remembering the name of the city where your judges were to sit, he sends for men to follow you on the road to Melun.” (1)

Mlle Robespierre barely gives her protégé time to thank her and does not want him to accompany her back to her house. Gaillard leaves immediately without seeing his sister or the two dismissed judges, who have taken refuge in Paris.

(1) The story of Gaillard's visit to Couthon is reproduced almost word for word by M. Lenôtre, in his Paris révolutionnaire, vielles maisons, vieux papiers, 1900, La Brouette de Couthon, p. 279.* Mr. Lenôtre draws his story from the collection of Victorien Sardou's autographs. The note appearing among these authographs which speaks of Couthon comes from Fouché's papers: it is in fact Gaillard who, at the request of his friend Fouché, recorded in writing for him the narration of his interview with Couthon. Gaillard took pleasure in often recounting to the people with whom he was in contact this scene of which he had always retained such a terrifying impression of; this is the reason why it appears today in his memoirs.

*Worth noting is that Charlotte’s identitity is kept a secret in this account, she’s simply described as ”a lady.” This account also includes the detail of Couthon’s son starting to cry and the bunny he was holding getting pushed to the floor once his father gets mad.

[enbysiriusblack]

dorcas hanging out with marlene's friend and marlene hanging out with dorcas' friends because i find it funny:

marlene with dorcas' friends:

regulus- they hate each other SO much. marlene, to regulus, is his brother's weird and loud ex girlfriend. regulus, to marlene, is her friend's weird and quiet little brother. the only thing they have in common is autism, quidditch, and dying first. regulus will just sit there, refusing to engage in conversation whilst marlene rambles about something he doesn't care about

pandora- the only one of dorcas' friends that marlene actually likes. although pandora does have a tendency to curve a conversation into it being about complex charms/potions/alchemy that marlene doesn't understand in the slightest. but she's fine to nod along. they also have a few mutual friends (xenophilius, lily, emmeline) so already know each other a little

barty- hate each other but can talk to each other. but it's literally just small talk that barty then drags into controversial topics just to annoy marlene until they have no choice but to yell at each other in italian

evan- much more chill than barty and reg. i see him as a huge stoner so they'd probably just get high as a sort of out in having to hang out sober to please dorcas. they don't like each other, but they like weed

dorcas with marlene's friends:

mary- completely different people. but they both love marlene and also love talking shit about marlene. that is their bonding. dorcas also sometimes gets her hair done by mary or buys clothes from her so they were previous friendly acquaintances.

lily- little awkward when dorcas and marlene get together since lily has hooked up with them both. but they're chill, lily is happy for them. were already friends and study together sometimes so not much change other than marlene interrupting more often.

james- again, friendly quidditch acquaintances. they don't mind each other but aren't really friends. when they talk, it's literally always just quidditch related. which they do like a lot.

emmeline- cannot fucking work out this relationship omg. do they hate each other, do they like each other??? idfk. although dorcas does respect hardworking people and hates laziness and i feel like dorcas would like emmeline since she comes off as ambitious and determined but dorcas would realise she's literally just pretending

sirius- very very awkward. similar to marlene and reg. sirius sees dorcas as his little brother's friend, and dorcas see's sirius as her girlfriend's friend/her friend's annoying brother. they'd bond more when they join the order/dorcas cuts ties to regulus and the others

peter- she'd respect peter a lot and vice versa, i think. they also support the same quidditch team so they'd bond over that. but not really proper friends or anything

remus- already acquaintances from partnering in classes sometimes/studying with lily. dorcas thinks he's nice, remus thinks she's assertive (in a good way, he likes assertive people, not being one himself).