#this is about fucking bridgerton lmao

[rainybraindays]

I'm not someone who picks my camps in fandom stuff based on other people but sometimes you people make me so fucking irritated

[baejax-the-great]

Haven't watched bridgerton but saw your tags & they made me laugh 😂 Perhaps she was just pretending to be out for five days. Like 'finally some peace and quiet'. Bonk

Spoilers for season 2 of Bridgerton, I guess.

Here is how it goes. She is on a horse. She is good at riding horses, as she's demonstrated repeatedly throughout the season. It is raining. Her suitor/lover/ex/whatever shows up and her horse rears in response, dumping her from the saddle. She falls to the ground and does not get up. Suitor checks on her and discovers 1. she's out cold and 2. She is bleeding from the back of her head.

He brings her to her home. She does not wake up during this time. She does not wake up for days. I don't know that the number of days was specified, but it seems to be around four or five.

She wakes up. She immediately recognizes her sister. She says she feels fine. She remembers the ride in the rain and falling from her horse. She is immediately concerned about whether her suitor came to visit her while she was sleeping and not, you know, the life threatening concussion she just had.

Friends, this woman is dead. She is not among the living. She is passed on. Bereft of life, she rests in peace. If someone sustains a head injury and is not somewhat conscious again in like 30 minutes, there is a strong possibility they will never be conscious again (especially without the interventions of modern medicine--neurosurgery is needed for severe injuries).

There is no button on your head that if you push it hard enough, you get a nice nap that lasts a random amount of time. That's not what a concussion is. It's brain damage. You don't just get a concussion and "sleep it off." In fact, if you see someone get a concussion and they decide they really want to go to sleep, it is your duty to 1. keep them awake and 2. get them to a fucking emergency room.

Now they didn't have emergency rooms in Bridgerton, but that doesn't matter, because she's dead. She died. She's pushing up the daisies. Four days. FOUR DAYS. But let's say a miracle occurred and she's not dead.

She almost definitely would not remember her injury. That memory was knocked the fuck out of her brain before it could be stored away and 2. probably the morning ride was forgotten, too and 3. she might even lose the preceding few days if she hit her head that hard and 4. she would absolutely be suffering from brain damage, because that's what a concussion is. It's brain damage. You bruise your brain and neurons die and you hope it wasn't very many or it wasn't any important ones (they are all important that is your BRAIN).

Kate would be left with anything from blurry vision and trouble concentrating to having to learn how to walk or talk again. She could have gone blind or deaf. She would almost definitely have one hell of a headache. She would not be spinning about the dance floor that evening because she would be too dizzy and uncoordinated for that shit and she would be for days if not weeks if not permanently. Even in a moderate case with eventual full recovery, post-concussion syndrome can last for months, and it sucks.

I am TIRED of shows using brain damage like it's a tiny lil nap. Just knock someone out and then you can sneak past them/skip the plot ahead hours/have them languish in bed for days and not feel guilty for it. It doesn't work like that. Bonking your head and going to sleep for four hours is a life-threatening life-altering situation, and not a "tee hee we snuck past the enemies without having to kill anyone!"

[suspendingtime]

[secrettastemakerland]

hi yeah original post time. um the words that start with s and d and refer to a scandal? shock and delight???? yeah that's me. i have to work tomorrow and i fear i cannot breathe bc i am experiencing an out of body experience (just finished the carriage scene) hope this helps

[alrightsnaps]

As a longtime romance reader it gets me so mad that Shonda & co marketed Bridgerton as a romance show to tap into the book fandom and then just steered further and further away from the genre to appeal to more viewers. Season 3 was a mess and they probably don't even care as long as they get the $$$

couldn't agree more anon.

bridgerton was basically my introduction to HR back when the first season came out and one of the things that drew me in was all the buzz about how the female-centred and underestimated genre of romance was finally getting its due. i distinctly remember a promotional video introducing the viewer into the world of regency england talking about JQ's popularity in book sales, libraries etc, following it by "but unless you read romance you're unlikely to have come across her. that's because romance, desprite being wildely popular, doesn't get taken seriously".

pretty ironic considering netflix and shonda heavily depended on romance to get book readers and romance fans on board only to steer away from it after they bagged a hit show.

season 2 barely felt like a romance show but more like an ensemble drama, full of sideplots, heavily centred on the love triangle for the sake of drama, with little to no focus on the FMC and the main couple. at least shondaland got lucky cause it was carried (and saved) by the phenomenal talent and chemistry of the leads. season 3 on the other hand was where everything fell to pieces, cause not only did it lack a strong leading couple and a charismatic male lead, but on top of it the production spent so much time and money advertising how super romantic and sexy it was gonna be... knowing they wouldn't be delivering.

add to that a slice of subverting the audience's expectations when it comes to francesca's character and story, cause romance fans famously love not knowing what to expect lmao.

as a matter of fact there is a post from a while back i came across on reddit on why there don't seem to be more HR adaptations in spite of the success of Outlander and Bridgerton and it pretty much hits the nail on the head.

They never intended for this to be a romance. They wanted to cosplay gossip girl and scandal in a historical setting. It would just be more honest if they were straightforward about it from the beginning instead of banking on the series' fanbase and romance readers in general when promoting the show.

[rapunzelforlorn]

Not even on some feral girl shit but does anyone else experience attraction to characters only and not the actors? Two really great examples of this for me is Timmy chalamet and luke newton. As an actor, as a real guy, I don't look twice at Timothy, but him as both Laurie AND Paul make me feral and same for Luke... he does nothing for me but Mr. Bridgerton has me weak in the fucking kneees.

[cassmouse]

I am thinking about Reservation Dogs again- it continues to be the most incredible series I've ever seen with absolutely no exaggeration

To all my mutuals who didn't see how in pieces I was about the final season when it came out last year (and my absolute obsession with it): PLEASE go and check it out it is single handedly the most magnificent thing I've ever seen

[habibialkaysani]

welp. I watched the first 4 eps of bridgerton S3 after work. I have so many thoughts but mostly I've still not recovered from three specific scenes: one in bed, one on a desk, and one in a carriage.

[kazumist]

WHY DON'T WE FALL IN LOVE TONIGHT ?

✩ — in which you found yourself executing a ruse with the known duke of meropide, wriothesley. what could possibly go wrong? (many things, apparently.)

✩ — prompt: panache — you agree to a fake courtship with another. (for @xianyoon's "a night to remember" event (event two hehehe))

✩ — includes: wriothesley x f!reader. royalty!au. fluff, angst if you squint, hurt/comfort if you also squint, comedy squeezed in just a teensy bit. cw: alcohol consumption (reader ends up taking a shot or two) one crazy scene in the garden but it's nothing too explicit i swear they just get a little carried away OOPS. wc: 8001 yes you read that fucking right (i went insane). fake dating trope went a bit overboard my bad (heavily based by bridgerton season 1 minus the explicit scenes LMAO). one pride and prejudice and meme reference line sneaked in (if u get my reference then ilysm i need to kiss u). other fontaine characters make a cameo yipee!! full fic of this silly post i made back then but i changed things up. kinda

✩ — please reblog !! it wld help me tons :,)

love at first sight was a frivolous belief for a man like wriothesley.

romance, in general, was a frivolous belief for him in the first place. as much as his father pushes him into the marriage market for all of the women in the kingdom of fontaine, he would always find his way out of it. but he does admit—the nagging could get quite... overbearing sometimes. romance almost never crosses wriothesley’s mind. he shuns every vigorous mother that presents their daughter towards him in hopes that he’ll take an interest in them (which he never does; wriothesley believes that marriage is too big of a responsibility for him).

a ball is never uncommon in society at this age. and certainly it isn’t uncommon for his father to urge him to grace these balls with his presence on behalf of his former duke of a father. and tonight wasn’t so different from the other balls he previously attended. wriothesley holds back the urge to roll his eyes after he excuses himself (for the nth time, he thinks) from another mother who tried to offer her daughter up for his hand in marriage. it was exhausting, to say the least. wriothesley wants nothing more than to leave at the moment. however, to his dismay, the ball had just begun not too long ago.

it’s another long night for him.

sharing some conversations with queen furina’s royal advisor, neuvillette, wasn’t a bad way to pass the time. and it certainly was effective because people were far too nervous to approach him with the queen nearby. the friendship he shared with the royal advisor wasn’t new knowledge to society. almost everyone and their mothers had heard about the tale of the current duke meropide and the queen’s royal advisor being close friends during their early days of childhood and onwards. though wriothesley sometimes admits—he surely misses his youthful days.

it’s not like he's that old now. he’s currently thriving at the young age of twenty-five! not too young, not too old either. “and just how long are you going to stand by my side tonight, wriothesley?” neuvillette asks, his eyes focused on the crowd below him. there were pairs dancing gracefully in the middle of the venue as the quintet orchestra played by the side. wriothesley doesn’t glance at him as he answers. “just a bit longer, i suppose. i could still feel their eyes boring holes into me.” he mumbles the last part, leaning closer only for neuvillette to hear, as he refers to the mothers that attempted to make their advances on him earlier. neuvillette simply chuckles at his remark.

“still refusing marriage, i see?” he replies. 

“i’m confident that you’re well aware of what my answer to that is going to be, neuvillette.”

wriothesley feels comfortable like this. but he’s aware that he couldn’t spend all of his time by his friend’s side. soon after, wriothesley decides to take his leave after making sure his coast is clear. he then exited nearby and found himself wandering into the garden. surely, the workers at the house of hearth had done a splendid job maintaining this garden. he reminds himself to commend duke arlecchino for this if he ever gets the chance.

the wind tonight was quite cold, yet it’s nothing wriothesley couldn’t handle. he stumbles upon what seemed to be the center of the garden, surprised to see a fountain there. the moonlight shines brightly in this area—but what actually made wriothesley curious was who was sitting by the fountain? he steadily approaches, careful not to make the wrong move and sits by the fountain as well. there was still some distance between the two of you—a lot of it. it would be indecent of him to burst into a woman’s personal space. his father did not raise him to be that sort of man.

“what brings you here tonight?” he suddenly finds himself asking. it was a poor attempt at small talk, he thinks (he could do much better than that, he swears). wriothesley doesn’t even dare steal a glance at you, as much as he wanted to. you hesitated before answering him, still sinking in the fact that you suddenly have company in this garden now. “avoiding society as usual, especially the members of society who cannot give up offering their hand of marriage towards me, i suppose,” he hears you sigh. huh, how ironic. did wriothesley just bump into someone who suffers from the same problem as him? 

the answer was most definitely yes.

“oh, what a coincidence—i suffer from such a predicament as well.” he chuckles bitterly in reply—too bitter for his liking. he didn’t want to suddenly ruin the mood now; the conversation had barely even started. “is that so? i’m delighted to know that i’m not alone in this boat then.” the tone of your chuckle was different from the chuckle you got from wriothesley. a comfortable silence was then enveloped over the both of you, enjoying the scenery around. he takes this as his chance to steal a glance, and he quickly takes it back. yet he finds himself glancing again.

and again

and again. 

he doesn’t quite understand it himself. however, there was something about you that had this alluring effect on him of some sort. he just couldn’t tear his eyes off of you for some reason. “enjoying the view much, duke?” you asked, meeting his gaze. wriothesley then turns away suddenly, embarrassed that he was caught red handed in the act of practically ogling at you. his father did not raise him to be like this at all. he did not spend his childhood and teenage years training how to be a proper gentleman for his debut in society just to be ogling at a lady he just met at a ball. he needs to snap out of it.

“my apologies, but how could i resist putting my attention on a stunning lady like you?” he tries to play it cool. (keyword: tries.) it was a strategy that he learned to adapt every since he made his debut into society. playing it cool always works for him—surely his old trick wouldn’t fail at him now of all times, right? but wriothesley soon snapped out of his thoughts, and he then asked another question. “wait, you know who i am?” 

you were taken aback by his words. is he seriously asking you that? “who wouldn’t know you? you’re quite famous with the other ladies.” you asked him back. he simply replies with a short “fair point.” and silence takes over once again. but this time, it was a bit awkward. you decided to introduce yourself to him, stating your name and title. he nods in acknowledgement of your introduction. he has heard of you before, of course. your family has quite a reputation in society, making you get quite a bit of attention at formal parties as well. 

wriothesley doesn’t dare steal a glance at you again, as he has seemed to learn his lesson from what happened earlier. you, on the other hand, took this as your chance to take your leave. “although your company has been quite interesting, duke meropide, i’m afraid that i must take my leave first. i seem to have forgotten that i excused myself from lord jackson earlier.” you got up from your seat, already walking away from the fountain—that is, until wriothesley speaks.

“lord jackson? you mean the lord jackson who’s known for his… awful history in relationships?”

“i don’t believe there’s any other lord jackson in this society, duke meropide.” you turn around to face him.

“what business do you have with him?” why am i even asking? he thinks.

“he’s simply another one of the men who my mother had decided to set me up with for marriage. i was told to accompany him for tonight but you see, his company isn’t really... the best.” you replied, choosing your word carefully. despite you not liking lord jackson at all, it would be informal for you to speak ill of him when he could be the man you’ll actually marry.

actually, scratch that. as if you’ll ever allow yourself to marry a man like him. lord jackson was a creep, to say the least. you were aware of the talk that goes around him. but your dear mother is still kept in the dark about these stories, and she decided to set you up with him without your prior knowledge. so by technicality, you really had no choice. “you can’t marry him.” the man in front of you suddenly says.

“i beg your pardon?” you asked, afraid that you misheard him the first time. “you... you can’t marry him.” he repeats and then he continues. “i mean, surely you have heard the news about him—his temper makes him vicious. your marriage with him wouldn’t prosper at all.” you held back the urge to scoff at him. “i appreciate your concern, my duke, but our society works in an unfair way at this age. i cannot just declare that i do not wish to marry, unlike you. that is a privilege that i cannot simply afford.” you shot back at him.

wriothesley suddenly feels like a light bulb in his head has switched on.

“we could pretend to form an attachment.” he then says. you were getting more baffled by the second this conversation held on longer. “whatever do you mean?” you weren’t stupid. but you refused to believe that what he’s hinting at is also the one you foolishly thought. “with you in my arm, people would think that i have finally found my duchess. as for you, your mother would raise her standards and find more suitable candidates for your hand in marriage. because although i could be wrong, but have you ever told your mother what traits you find in a man?” he replies, a small smile slowly tugging on his lips. he clearly enjoys this idea.

“i… i suppose not.” he got you there. “but this is an absurd idea.” you protested.

“i find it quite brilliant, if i do say so myself.”

“you do know the risks of what you’re proposing right now, am i correct?”

“i do. but you do not wish to marry me, and i do not wish to marry you, so whatever should you have to lose?” he’s insisting. he’s insisting like this plan would work perfectly fine for the both of your benefits (well, if you were to be completely honest, there is a chance for it to be successful. but you grew up to believe that you shouldn’t expect for things to go so smoothly in your life). “i…” a lost of words. that’s what you are. too many possibilities are running through your head at the moment.

however, the duke did have one hell of a good point.

“fine. you got yourself a deal.”

and that’s how you got roped into the situation you have now. with an arm interlocked with the duke meropide’s, all eyes were bound to set upon you both. wriothesley could see the amusement in neuvillette’s expression; the same goes for the hint of amusement in queen furina’s eyes as she spots them in the crowd. wriothesley slowly guides you towards the dance floor, just in time for another dance to begin. gracefully, you took his hand as you step onto the dance floor with him. a familiar song started to play, one that you remember memorizing as dance class was mandatory for being a debutante in society.

“are you bothered?” he then asks in a whisper as he twirls you around. “whatever for?” you ask him back. “the staring. i could feel all of them looking at us right now, honestly,” he chuckles lowly. “hm, i’m trying not to mind it that much. but i suppose you’re probably enjoying all of this attention now, aren’t you?” a simple tease on your part, and wriothesley smiled at that. “my, are we on casual terms now?” 

“chemistry should be a major factor that we should have in this plan, yes? so we might as well start by being more casual with one another.”

“indeed. glad to know that you’re quick to pick up on things.” he says. “of course i am. what do you take me for, duke meropide?” you asked him, a slight pout forming on your lips. and wriothesley smiled at that again before replying. “nothing offensive, that i can assure you.”

“i’m delighted to know that the ever-so-famous duke of meropide doesn’t harbor any sour feelings towards me then.” 

it was a bit suffocating, all of the staring. yet at the same time, you understood why they’re staring in the first place. wriothesley, the current duke of meropide, is suddenly on the dance floor with a young woman. and he seems to be quite interested in her as well. people would assume you’re the reason why the duke has rejected so many marriage offers up until now—because he already had you in the first place.

the other unwanted attention you’d get from that assumption alone was enough to make you distracted to the point where you almost stepped on wriothesley’s foot. “i—my apologies, duke.” you stammered. “it’s alright. just look at me,” he says. you scrunched your eyebrows at him in confusion. “pardon?”

“just look at me; don’t focus on anyone else. it will help ease your mind.”

with hesitance, you followed what he said and locked your eyes with his. the duke’s eyes were a fine shade of grey. a unique color, if you do say so yourself. and surely he was correct. shifting your focus and thoughts to him did ease you from all of the other eyes that are locked onto both of your figures that’s moving along with the music.

time felt like it had stopped, as it also felt like you were the only ones present in the room.

to wriothesley’s surprise, the night passed by faster when he was with you. because before he knew it, he was already accompanying you back to your carriage. a lot of things had happened in the span of just a few hours. but wriothesley does not regret a single second of it, now that he recalls everything again. he wonders why—was it because he encountered you in the garden tonight?

maybe. that’s where it all started anyway.

he quickly snapped out of his trail of thoughts as he heard you speak. “i suppose i’ll see you soon then?” you asked him. “mhm, i suppose so. safe travels, m’lady.” he bids you his farewell by gently grabbing ahold of your hand and pressing a soft kiss onto your knuckle, refusing to break his eye contact with you as the footman closed your carriage’s door.

“safe travels as well, my duke.”

— — — — — — — — 

word spread fast about you and the duke of meropide. your mother was shocked at the news—yet happy that you finally became “independent on finding your match” as per her words. you had no specific agenda for the day, so, as you usually do whenever you are free, you decided to visit the modiste—where your good friend chiori resides. 

the sound of the bell chiming as the door opened made chiori perk up to see who would possibly need help making a new dress. but when her eyes met yours, she just knew you weren’t here to ask for a new dress. “i heard about the commotion last night.” she says, setting down a cup of tea for you as she takes a sip from her own cup, waiting for your response. “commotion is a vulgar term for it, chiori. i prefer to call it a memorable event.”

“i suppose it’s memorable for you to enter with your arm wrapped around the duke meropide just like that. how did it even happen? i vividly recall you telling me that you had no intention of marriage.”

“it’s… a long story,” you sighed, taking a sip from your own cup of tea. “oh? are you implying that there’s more to this than meets the eye, then?”

“i guess you could say that.”

“well, then tell me all about it.”

“i… i can't. my apologies, chiori.” it's not like you didn't trust her. in fact, there are more secrets that are held within this fine modiste’s place than one could ever imagine. but it was a silent and automatic agreement between you and the duke that no one must know of your plan. (although you already hinted to chiori that there's more to it than meets the eye.) besides, chiori is a smart woman who has known you before she could even have her place built.

she doesn't need to be a genius to find out that there's something up. she'll pick up on it sooner or later.

“it's alright. there’s no need to feel pressure to tell me now, but do promise me one thing: you're not doing anything against the law, right?”

you couldn't help but burst out in laughter at her question. “chiori! do you take me as a criminal? of course, i’m not!” you replied, laughing in a fit of giggles in between your words. “thank goodness. well, how was i supposed to know? you almost never stop by so we rarely have the chance to catch up. every bit of news i hear from you is usually from the other ladies who sometimes talk about you.”

“don’t worry, my friend. i’ll stop by more often from now on, but seriously, are you still eavesdropping on your customers? i thought we were past that.”

“it isn't my fault some of them whisper way too loudly for my liking,” chiori scoffs.

as you two have a few more conversations, it is about time for you to take your leave, as the time has reached for the hour when chiori would usually have customers. “it was truly a pleasure to catch up with you, chiori.” you said as she escorted you to the door. “a pleasure indeed. do drop by more often, alright? it can get quite lonely here, you know.” a giggle leaves your lips at her response. “will do. i believe i might need a new dress soon for the upcoming firestone ball?” you say and you notice how chiori’s had some sort of sparkle at your mention of needing a new dress. she had always loved making dresses for you.

“is that so? i promise to suggest some designs that you might like once you return.”

— — — — — — — — 

the fountain of lucine was a famous spot for a walk in the park type of day. every day, you’d see different individuals make their wish upon the fountain. whether that is a prosperous marriage, being blessed with a beloved child, or even gaining wealth, everyone wishes for all sorts of desires towards the fountain. but you never found yourself doing the same. it’s most probably because you've already been content with your life up until now. you never had any struggles when it came to growing up.

but again, that is up until now. 

you took a step further towards the fountain, silently stating your wish and threw the coin into the fountain’s small pool of water. “penny for your wish?” you heard someone say beside you. quickly turning your head to the direction of the voice, you were surprised to see the duke there. “duke meropide! i—i didn’t expect that you were going to be here today.”

“i decided to go out for a stroll; the weather is quite nice today, is it not?” 

“ah, yes, i suppose it is,” you replied, looking around. the weather was indeed nice today. perfect for a quick stroll around the area. “would you mind taking a stroll with me today? it would be a shame to waste this fine weather talking in the same spot.” he says, offering his arm for you to take. “i’d be delighted to.” your arm gets hooked on his.

“how are you faring lately? it has been quite a while since our last meeting,” wriothesley starts. he personally prefers his attempt at small talk today to his attempt at small talk the night he met you. it has been a few days since the ball held by the house of hearth. and within those few days, you haven’t spoken to the duke since. though, your house suddenly has suitors calling for you during your calling hour. all hopeful to gain your interest in them instead of the duke.

(however, you all shut them down politely. you found yourself repeating your apologies to the lords that have called upon you during those times.)

“i’ve been well. certainly, the stunt that we pulled during the ball held in the house of hearth did not go unnoticed. my social energy has been drained because of the suitors who called me.” a sigh leaves your lips. “oh? i apologize for that then. i hope that your social energy isn't at it’s lowest right now,” he chuckles. you gave him a playful glare at his remark. “are you making fun of my previous predicament, duke?” 

“oh, heavens no. my apologies, did that offend you?” he says, holding back a smile at his words. he was definitely not apologetic. “you’re not that sorry for it, aren’t you?”

“perchance.”

“you cannot just say perchance!”

a laugh erupts from wriothesley at your response. it was the first time you heard him laugh like that. and in the public eye, you two would seem like a joyful couple spending some quality time walking around the fountain of lucine as a pastime. well, that was technically the goal. to show the public that you and the duke of meropide are madly in love with one another. what could possibly go wrong?

— — — — — — — — 

by the time the firestone ball had taken place (which is nearly just a week after the ball from the house of hearth), you and the duke were on the dance floor once again.

“i believe we have yet to discuss our other terms and agreement for our plan, your grace.” you said, following his lead in the waltz. “ah, you’re right. well then, why don’t you start? ladies first.” he says. “i was hoping that you’d have some ideas on what terms we should have; after all, this was your idea, if i may remind you.”

you continue speaking as wriothesley continues to lead you through the dance. “i am starting to be convinced that this will be more than just a simple game of pretend just so we could fool the members of society, or my mother, or the women you have wanted to get away from every time you step foot in public. a life is at stake here, your grace, my life, and i just simply cannot have this go wrong. so if you are not in agreement with that, then you should tell me now.” the duke never broke his eye contact with you as you spoke.

“i shall agree… on one condition.”

“your grace, i believe that you do not understa—”

“you must call me wriothesley.” 

there’s only one word to describe you at the moment: speechless. and wriothesley takes your silence as a chance to continue his words. “if we are truly to be courting, and if we are truly to prove that this is a match like no other, then you should call me by my name. after all, weren’t you the one who suggested that we should be more... casual with one another?”

he was right, and he had yet again another one hell of a good point. you mentally sighed, “very well then… wriothesley.” a laugh dares to escape your throat but this does not go unnoticed by the man who has his hand held in his at the moment. “is there something funny about my name?” he asks you, raising an eyebrow at your reaction. “no, no. it is a perfectly fine name. it is also quite unique, if i may add.” you replied, calming yourself down. laughing loudly while you’re in the middle of the dance floor would raise questions, after all.

“oh, perfectly fine? very well then… (name).” wriothesley’s voice seemed to have lowered itself an octave lower as he said your name with a slight rasp. your eyes looked away from his as you shifted your gaze to his collar instead. both of you went silent, yet you were still moving to the rhythm of the music.

wriothesley’s hand, that was supposedly at your waist, trailed upwards. just below the nape of your neck and also before your spine starts. your breath hitched at the contact of his cold finger tips there.

“i do hope that this plan will be successful.” you said, gaining your composure.

“have faith in us.”

— — — — — — — — 

meetings with the duke of meropide became more frequent than you expected. whether that may be a coincidental meeting or a planned one—no one could really pinpoint it, much to their dismay. 

it started off with a simple meal. then another walk. then an official invitation to accompany him to a ball or two. or three; in fact, he has invited you for a lot of them now. you haven’t thought much about the future as of late, always focusing on the present, where you’re definitely by wriothesley’s side. there was never a dull moment with the man. it was always entertaining to be with him. whenever another man (a man whose appeal is not to take interest in a sense) would approach you, wriothesley would pull some sort of stunt that’s connected to his “wild jealousy” of some sort. it’s a bit hard to hold back a laugh whenever this happens. there are times when he would talk to you about the other nobles present in the party and how he’s acquainted with them, and you’d admire the fact that he has many connections (something that a duke like him should have; he’s doing well in his duties, you’d note).

there are also times when you two will find yourselves alone, secluding yourselves from the crowd. these were, personally, your favorites. with the moonlight shining brightly upon you both once again, you’d always be reminded of the night you met. at these moments, this is when you and the duke would share… more personal things with one another. things that neither of you had expected to share with anyone else. like how he avoids marriage because of the huge responsibility that comes with it. or like how you doubt that others, especially men (minus the duke), would understand your struggles as a woman in this society.

wriothesley might have a lot of connections, but he was just the same as you. both of you kept your circle quite small (and by small, you both have only one person you truly trust to confide in). but even if you both wouldn’t admit it out loud, trust had also bloomed between the two of you.

(yet is trust the only thing that has actually bloomed?)

tonight, you found yourselves in yet another garden. “have you ever heard of why a flower wilts, wriothesley?” you decided to start this time. “hm? i suppose it’s because nothing good actually lasts long in life.” 

“how… pessimistic of you to say.” you sweatdropped at his response. he chuckles yet again, you noticed that he always chuckles apologetically while looking away before he actually says his apologies. a habit of his, perhaps. “my apologies; i must repeat myself. the less a person sees of me, the happier their life is.”

“why so? i enjoy your company quite well.”

“oh? and are you sure those words aren’t forced because you’re stuck with me with this little ruse we have ongoing?” he asks back. these exchanges became frequent. one would ask a question, and the other would ask another in return. “i’m being quite honest, wriothesley. i really do enjoy your company quite well.”

“the feeling is likewise, (name).” there’s something satisfying about how your name rolls off of his tongue. he pronounces it the same as everyone else does yet how does it feel different when he says it? it’s baffling, that’s one thing for sure. “is it awful that i’m actually quite enjoying this?”

“you mean my wild jealousy?” he asks, playfully offended.

“fooling society.” you corrected. “there are some in the crowd who secretly know everything about everyone. yet we have them utterly convinced that we are mad for one another.”

“we are awfully clever then.” he says in amusement. “indeed we are.” you chuckled at his reply.

if there’s one thing you would always notice between the two of you, it would always be how you were glued to one another. like there’s some magnetic pull that automatically drags the other to their side. 

this moment is no different because you could feel his knuckles grazing against yours ever so lightly. it starts with the hook of your pinkies, then slowly turns into you grabbing a hold of his other fingers. wriothesley could feel his heart beating fast at the contact. he glances at you, admiring your features underneath the moonlight once again. you glance at him as well. was he already this close to you when you started walking in this garden? because you swear your faces are inching even closer to each other. wriothesley’s other hand gently grabs your nape, guiding you as he gently pulls you in for a kiss. 

his lips were soft against yours, something you didn’t expect from him. he kisses you like you were delicate (to which you were, delicate to him, at least), eyes closing themselves as he enjoys the sensation of your lips against his. you kiss him back in the same way, not really knowing what to do next—but you kiss him back. that’s all that matters. his lips leave yours as wriothesley latches his lips onto your neck, continuing the light kisses against it.

you let out a gasp at the contact as you lean your head back so you can give him more access. he intertwined his other hand with yours; it was quite scandalous. having a moment like this on someone else’s property. you extracted him from your neck, pulling him in for another kiss. this time it was a bit more rough—desperate, even.

well, that was until he pulled away from you abruptly. you looked at him in a daze yet you were confused. “we must return; we’ve been out long enough,” he says, letting go of your hand in the process as he fixes himself. he tries to catch his breath, processing what has just happened. did he really just kiss you? he supposes (or, in other terms, hopes) that it’s normal. ultimately, this should’ve been part of your agreement in the first place, right?

“i… you’re right. my mother could be looking for me any moment now.” what could possibly go wrong, you ask? well, apparently, many things could go wrong.

but if there’s one thing that got stitched into your mind tonight, it’s only one thing:

the duke of meropide is one good kisser.

however, what will become of your relationship now?

— — — — — — — — 

you found yourself going to chiori again. the familiar sound of the bell chiming against the door notified chiori of someone entering her place. and once she saw you, she could just feel the distress radiating off of your body.

“what happened this time? i haven’t heard any good news about you two from last night’s party.” she says, pouring you a cup of tea. “good news? more like insane occurrences,” you sighed, watching the tea leave the teapot as it transfers onto your teacup. “ insane occurrences? what happened to ‘memorable event’?” she asked, confused with your choice of words.

you let out another sigh, finally revealing everything to chiori. luckily, today was her day off. with another ball just held last night, she would get at least a day or two of good rest before she opens up again. chiori takes in every detail of your story well, surprised that this is what you’ve been up to.

as soon as you were done talking, you decided to take a sip of your tea. “so you’re worried that you almost slept with the duke of meropide?” chiori states. and you choked on your drink once you heard her. “you didn’t have to word it like that! have some decency!” you exclaimed, embarrassment surging through you. 

“i don’t get it, though. what are you so worried about? it’s almost as if… wait.” she pauses.

“it’s almost as if what, chiori?”

“do you love him?”

“huh? love who?”

“don’t play dumb with me, (name). do you or do you not love the duke of meropide?”

this time, it was your turn to pause. do you? well, certainly, he is nice company. and he treats you well despite neither of you having the wish to marry each other. he is also a good kisser (something that you don’t really feel like counting but it’s still a fact). recalling everything that has happened now, the only things that come into mind are the things you’ve noticed about wriothesley. how his eyes are the most remarkable shade of grey, his scar below his right eye. the feeling of the callouses on his hands as you held them on the dance floor.

it can’t be. there’s just no way. he’s a duke of all people—he’s out of your league in so many ways. he’s too far for you to reach. and besides, this is all just a game of pretend, is it not? surely that kiss would’ve meant nothing to him. 

fuck.

“i do.” you replied to her in a whisper

“i’m glad that you’re not dense.” chiori says, flicking your forehead. you yelped in pain at the contact. 

yes, you do love the duke of meropide.

and you stand by that.

meanwhile, on the other side of the coin, wriothesley had a crisis himself. “you’re quite lucky today, to ask for my presence while queen furina is occupied with duke arlecchino with her. so what assistance can i offer for you today, wriothesley?” neuvillette states, pulling his chair so he could take a seat before the man in front of him. wriothesley leans back on his seat, an elbow propped on top of the chair’s arm rest as his index finger is rested upon his lips. 

wriothesley sighs. before spilling everything to neuvillette. his friend’s expression grew more amused as he continued on with the story, finding every detail unexpected for a man like his friend. “i see. so that’s how it is. well, let me ask you a simple question then, my friend.” 

“shoot.”

“do you love her?”

wriothesley pauses. neuvillette’s questions echo repeatedly in his mind. do i love her? he then asks himself. he was not stupid. wriothesley did not need to become some sort of genius to find the answer to that question—because the answer is no. he doesn’t love you. yes, he has grown to trust you with things he would never even dare tell anyone else. but he’s scared. wriothesley is scared because he has never thought of commitment in this way before. romance was just a frivolous belief to him, after all. so surely, this would all just mean nothing.

he ponders about it for a few more moments. he’s too scarred—too damaged—to be loved by someone like you. he feels undeserving of it. he knows there’s another man out there who could be the man you want to be. someone who will make you happier than he does. someone who is willing to commit himself to you. someone who could love you with nothing holding him back. 

“i don’t.” wriothesley firmly says.

no, wriothesley cannot be in love with you.

(neuvillette gives his friend a sigh as his friend takes his leave. he returns back to the room where queen furina is currently spending time with duke arlecchino. the duke had a habit of bringing the queen sweets from their travels abroad. the queen has excitement written all over her eyes as she makes eye contact with the pastries set in front of her.)

— — — — — — — — 

it wasn’t hard to put two and two together to realize that wriothesley has been avoiding you.

it has been a few months since you decided to start your ruse. although he still accompanies you, once it’s quite crowded, he will deliberately avoid your presence like a plague, and you have no idea why. you first thought that may be he was just feeling unwell but it has occurred more frequent now and it just stings, really. it stings because you thought that you two had formed quite the bond over the past few months.

“wriothesley, is something wrong? you know you could always talk to me, right?” you asked him, finally cornering him as he had successfully avoided you for the past two hours ever since the party started. “it’s nothing of your concern,” was all he said before leaving you again. but that answer wasn’t enough—hell, it wasn’t even a proper answer for you. so you decided to follow him.

“where are you going?” you asked him. speeding your pace up to catch up to him. wriothesley doesn’t answer and just continues on walking. he ends up going into a secluded room, not even bothering to close the door. you followed him in and shut the door behind you as you faced him. he had his back facing you as you heard him take a deep breath. “wriothesley, what’s wrong? and don’t even dare say that it’s none of my concern because it is.”

wriothesley could feel himself going mad. he can’t do this tonight. what even caused him to behave this way?

ah, he remembers. it was that unbearable sight of you interacting with marquess lyney. he should’ve been happy that you finally seem interested in someone else because all you two have to do now is plan how you should end things. but that thought made wriothesley realize two things. one, he cannot bear the sight of you with another man (but why? it’s not like you’re actually his in the first place). and two, he doesn’t want things to end between the both of you. whether it's a ruse that feels too real for his own liking or whatnot, he doesn’t want to lose you in his life.

he loosens the buttons on his top so that he can breathe more properly. you got closer to him, but only if you knew that was a dangerous move on your part. you grabbed his arm in hopes of getting a view of wriothesley’s expression at the moment.

he then faces you, his eyes searching for something in yours but you just can’t find out what. it was silent; neither of you dared to speak a word. and wriothesley finds himself pulling you for a kiss. it was a bit rough how his lips crashed against yours. he then pulls away, his eyes widening at what he just did. “i… my most sincere apologies.”

and he leaves. just like that.

the familiar door to the modiste is presented at you as you knocked. it was late at night. the party you attended earlier with wriothesley was long over. but you knew your dear friend would still be up even at this late hour. 

“(name)? what brings you here at this hour?” chiori asks, opening the door wider so you could enter.

“i need a goddamn drink.” you said.

— — — — — — — — 

“so you’re telling me that he just… kissed you again, and then he left the party? just like that?” chiori repeats. you take another shot of the alcohol chiori provided for the both of you. “hey, calm down. this one is actually pretty strong, you idiot.” chiori warns you.

you lean back, slamming the shot glass against the table. “just like that, chiori. like what is wrong with him? is he perhaps sick in the head?”

“i honestly don’t know if i should be at least grateful that he apologized.” she says, taking a shot as well. you glare at her remark and she raises her hands in return. you sighed this time, “are men always this… complicated?”

“hm, i don’t think so. maybe it’s just the duke.”

“you’re not helping!”

“you never said you wanted help in the first place.”

— — — — — — — — 

seven days.

seven days since you last spoke to wriothesley. seven days since you last heard of him. it has been seven days yet he hasn’t made any attempts to contact you since. 

just what was up with him? he was fine before. did you do something wrong? did you accidentally say something that was offensive to him? everything has changed now. wriothesley is treating you like he treated you before he actually met you—cold. 

your mother has decided to throw a ball this time—something about her not wanting to fall behind the other mothers. you complied, having to accept that society is nothing but competition against one another. and on the day of the ball, you found yourself lonely. if only chiori wasn’t busy with her other orders, then maybe this night would’ve been more entertaining.

wriothesley has yet to make his appearance (or perhaps he is already here yet he has decided to avoid you again). but you have decided on one thing tonight: you will talk things out with that stubborn man no matter what it takes. because you cannot just bear to stand idly by when wriothesley could be struggling alone. you once heard from your mother that love makes you do the craziest things and tonight was the night you realized that she was right. but isn’t it worth it if it’s all in the name of love?

the outdoor area of your home was also used for the ball, and decorations are displayed here and there to make the area look more eyecatching. to your family’s dismay, it has begun to rain. making all of the guests head inside to continue the festivities. but as you made your way to follow the crowd, you spotted someone too familiar—it was the man you’ve been looking for all evening, wriothesley.

looking around his surroundings, wriothesley spots you getting drenched in the rain. his eyes widen as he quickly makes his way towards you, removing his coat to drape it over you instead. “are you insane? you’re getting drenched!” he exclaims in worry. you scoff in return, pushing yourself away from his coat and allowing yourself to get wet by the rain.

“am i insane? i should be the one asking you that!” you said, glaring at him. “how… how could you? do you know how worried i have been because of you? you avoided me, then kissed me, then avoided me even more! i had no idea if you were okay because you didn’t even dare speak with me while i was here stuck waiting for you. why? because i didn’t want to pressure you into telling me what’s wrong!”

wriothesley is at a loss for words at your outburst. he just stares at you in return, guilt written all over him. he deserved your anger. but he didn’t mean for things to go this far, yet he also didn’t know how to handle things. you continued speaking, “wriothesley, i have no idea what’s clouding over your heart but i do know one thing: you musn’t keep it to yourself.”

“(name)...” he softly says—hesitantly, even. like he’s scared to even say your name in the first place. you take a step forward, both of your hands reaching out to hold his face. your touch was gentle on his skin, making sure you weren't making him uncomfortable. “tell me what’s wrong, wriothesley. i’ll listen.”

and tell you, he does. he voice shakes at first yet he begins to steady it as he unravels to you everything that has been bothering him up until now. his jealousy, his inner turmoil, and his insecurities. and you listen to him, understanding every word that escapes his lips as your hand never leaves his face, your fingers gently brushing over his scar below his right eye. and once he’s finished, you choose your next words carefully.

“there’s something that i realized in life that i believe you should know. just because something is not perfect does not make it any less worthy of love. you made yourself believe otherwise. you made yourself believe that you had to be without fault just so you could be loved but you’re wrong, wriothesley. should you need any proof of the matter, then look just here.” you weakly laugh at the last sentence, and wriothesley just stares at you. you couldn’t find out what’s going on in his head but you know that he’s listening.

your voice shakes as you continue. “i am tired of this sick game of pretending. i am tired of pretending—of acting as if i do not love you, because i do. i love you more than you could ever imagine. every scar, every flaw, every imperfection—i love all of you. you may think you’re too damaged or too scarred to allow yourself of happiness but you can choose differently, wriothesley. you can choose to love me as much as i love you. that should not be up to anyone else—that cannot be up to anyone else.”

“it can only be up to you.”

he was still silent as you slowly let go of his face but wriothesley was quick to catch them. he grabs ahold of your hands, and with his slight shaking, he takes a deep breath. he realizes something when you profess your love for him. he puts two things together: commitment and you. and the conclusion he draws from that is that he doesn’t mind commitment, as long as he’s committing himself to you. that’s how much of an impact you have on him. yes, he’s scared. and yes, this might not go like he hopes it will. but that doesn’t matter to him because he knows it will all be worth it for you. wriothesley is a coward when it comes to love and the like—that, he admits. but he isn’t allowing himself to be a coward for the rest of his life. why deprive himself of the serene type of happiness that he could only achieve when he has you by his side?

he kept his eyes on the hands he’s holding now as he began to speak. “i.. i do not wish to be alone. i know that now. but what i do not know is how to be the man you wish for me to be—the man you truly deserve. i do not know how to do any of this, but i do know another thing: i love you too. i love you. most ardently.” he then meets your eyes as he notices one thing in them. love.

“you stay. you stay and we’ll get through this. together. that’s where we’ll start. we have all the time in the world.”

“may i… kiss you?” he hesitates to ask. but you give him a nod of approval before you’re met with the familiar pleasure of his lips on yours. he relishes every second of the kiss, taking this as a chance to ground himself into reality—refusing to believe that this is some sick dream that his mind decided to play in his head. a hand slithers its way to the nape of his neck and wriothesley groans at the feeling as his hand grabs your waist tighter. wriothesley thanked his lucky stars for the night he met you because this wouldn’t be possible if it weren’t for them.

love at first sight was a frivolous belief for a man like wriothesley. 

but he knew otherwise the moment he laid his eyes upon you that night in the garden.

[divinesolas]

Undeniable Desire

c.w season two spoilers; characters (addam and nettles), mention of dragonseeds (nothing more), loss of virginity (jacaerys) non virgin reader, smut, fingering (fem), oral (fem), p in v, clothed sex ?, possessive jacaerys, not proofread

summary: You are dragonseed and have become good friends with the prince. You think nothing of it and not expecting your desires to lead to anything but when you speak of what you think of your future his truer colors show.

w.c: 1.8k

a.n: anybody else cant stop thinking about bridgerton LMAO, i need to rewatch soon, anyways i hope you all enjoy :3 promise im getting around to requests i just needed to push out this idea 🥰 LOVE YOU GUYS

You finally manage to shake off addam and his drunken rampage with a laugh telling him off. “come on you cant leave yet.” “I am going to bed you fool leave me be.” You knock him upside the head and he groans giving you the opportunity to walk away and turn back to the rest of them with a wave. Chimes of goodnights and sleep well are what your met with and you walk away, feeling eyes burning into you you turn back once more and see him staring at you with an unknown look on his face, taking a drink out of his chalice ignoring alyn next to him who was talking his ear off, not even sparing him a glance as he continues to stare at you.

You turn around attempting to ignore how your stomach burns and your face heats at the thought of him. Jacaerys Velaryon. You just like the rest of your ‘dragonseed’ friends have grown close to jacaerys during your time together. Yet you can’t help but feel their was something different about the way he looked at you and even other people can’t help but notice it either.

‘He is definitely wants to fuck you.’ ‘Nettles!’ The girl next to you laughs before chugging down her wine. ‘Do not say such things.’ Addam walks over and drops down to the spot next to you, ‘what are you two talking about?’ ‘The prince.’ ‘ah and how he wants to shag miss oblivious right here.’ ‘did you guys plan this?!’ You in your frustration rip the cup out of addams hands and chug it. ‘its not our fault he makes it so painfully obvious and you are so painfully oblivious to it.’ You shake your head and keep your gaze at the campfire in front of you. ‘It is not true.’ you don’t see the way the pair look at each other and instead start picking at the grass near you.

Even if it was true it wouldn’t matter, you certainly had no intention of sleeping with him. He was betrothed and he certainly did not seem like the type of man to lay around with any women he saw fit. He was the crowned prince for gods sake the heir to the queen and you were in the middle of a damn succession war feelings be damned and you were certain your friends were just playing jokes on you and he certainly just saw you as a friend.

You think nothing of it as you are getting ready to go to bed, just having put on your night gown after your bath, when the flap of your tent opens and you turn to it alarmed and let out a sigh of relief when you see him. “I am sorry i did not mean to disturb you.” “It is no issue my prince, Do you need something?”

You turn back to the mirror and fiddle around with your hair, eyeing the prince through the mirror. He just stares at you for a moment and takes a drink from his cup, you gulp and look away from him, pushing down your own desires attempting to stop your imagination from running wild. What if he just walked over to you and pushing you against the mirror, ripping off your dress and having his way with you, maybe he would drop to his knees and wrap his lips around your pearl, only letting go until you were withering and begging him to stop.

You shake your head and “Would it be selfish of me to admit i missed you? i feel as though we did not talk much today?” You smile lightly at his words and curse yourself for thinking such terrible things. Of course he simply just wished to see you, as he had been busy with his duties all day, only getting to see you all at the end of they day only for you to leave before getting to say a single word to him.

“You honor me my prince with your time.” He shakes his head with a laugh taking another sip, “i would give you anything in the world.” You flush and look down, fiddling with your dress too embarrassed to move from your place in front of the mirror. Hes just being dramatic you think, he does not mean what he says, especially since he seems to be drinking. “You are too kind my prince.” “Call me Jace i beg of you.” “Would you truly beg me?” “I would get on my knees at your feet and do whatever you asked.” Your knees shake as you press your thighs together, the heat between you legs almost unbearable, a part of you wants to shoo him away so you can put your hand between your legs and take care of yourself or find some poor soul in the camp to relieve yourself with. You don’t, you cannot simply ask him to leave for such selfish reasons, especially since you know deep deep down that if you sought out somebody else you would only be thinking about him.

He seems to realize you don’t plan on saying anything so he begins to speak. “You know they were all talking about something.” You give him an interested look in the mirror and he takes another sip, “About what they were planning on doing after this fight is over. Do you have any thoughts? About what you plan to do?” You look up in thought, “I haven't given it much thought if im being honest.” He hums but says nothing. “Maybe i go off to the reach, it sounds very lovely.” “You would not stay in the keep?” You laugh at his idea and shake your head, “Why would i stay there? What would you miss me?” He says nothing and you don't look at him, instead continue talking, lost in your own imagination. “I would probably travel around for a bit, then find some lord to marry he fuck some babies into me and then i live the rest of my life-” You gasp as your suddenly pushed against the mirror being completely trapped by him, you hadn’t even registered the cup being thrown to the ground.

“My prince?” He flips you around suddenly and your eye to eye with him. His hands grip your waist and pull you directly against him. “You will not leave.” “I don't understand-” “You are not going anywhere you will stay by my side.” He has an animalistic look about him, like he's about to eat you whole, completely bewildered by the idea of you leaving. “I have no place in the keep.” “Your place is by my side.” His words have such a finality and certainty about them as if he's giving you no reason to argue with him. “You are to be married, This is highly inappropriate.” Your words are pushed out like puffs of air as his hands have moved up to your chest, rubbing your nipples through the fabric, you can feel him hardening between your legs. “I shall take you as a my second wife, no one will argue i will be king.” “You are being absurd.” “Do you desire me?”

You pull him into a heated kiss. He quickly reciprocates, his hands moving from your waist to under your night gown and he lets out a delighted hum at the liquid on your thighs. ‘Are you bare?” “I was planning on sleeping.” He moans lightly before he pauses before actually touching, “Do you want this?” you nod feverishly, “Please touch me please.” wasting no more time he runs his fingers along your folds, “This is for me right? and no some stupid pompous lord in the reach.” “yes yes.” You answer him but he doesn't seem to be listening, mumbling to himself in anger. “I hate the lords in the reach, always with each other heads in their asses no way you will marry any of them, let them put a baby in you.” He sticks two fingers inside you, “I wouldn’t i wouldn’t only you.” The pit in your lower stomach grows as you watch in shock him drop to his knees in front of you, his body being lost to your gown as he begins to lick and suck at your clit, his fingers moving quicker to pump in and out of you.

You cannot speak so much of his name. Using one of your hands to cover your mouth to not draw attention to yourself, the other plays with one of your tits, sliding it under your dress. He does not let up, even has you orgasm once then twice, only releasing you after the third time and you fall back, leaning against the mirror with wobbly legs as he keeps a tight grip on you holding you up as he stands. You can see the shine of your own essence on his lips and jaw, you swear you can even see some of it dripping down his neck into his collarbone.

He simply stands there and watches you fiddle around with his pants to free him for a few moments as he licks his lips. “You do not know how often i have thought about this.” You look up at him and give him a smile, “You think of me?” “Every minute of everyday, my waking thoughts and my dreams are only filled with you.”

Before you know it he is pushing into you with a hiss and you chuckle with a delighted moan at his closed eyes and clenched teeth. “First time?” “I may not have been your first but i will be your last.” Giving himself a second to get used to your pulsing warm walls that seem to be sucking him in every second he begins to move. Hes a little sloppy, clearly unsure and if anything a little unconfident about what he’s supposed to do. You place your head on his neck, making sure your lips are right next to his ear and you begin to move your hips to meet his, moaning in his ear only for him to hear.

He gains confidence after a few moments and soon enough you have no longer and need to meet him as he begins to pound into you diligently. Your fingers dig into the fabric of his tunic as the pit in your stomach grows once more. “please tell me your close.” You’re shocked he’s even managed to last this long but nod and he groans in delight. “Please peak please together.”

The mirror behind you is completely covered with a foggy mist just as your eyes are when you finally release. You pray as you catch your breath that you two were quiet enough because you would rather be dead than me made fun of by your friends for finally fucking the prince. But as you feel his seed running out your lips and down your thigh you decide maybe it was worth it.

--

perm jacaerys taglist <3

@tyronesien @itsbookworm987 @cruelworldlana @smurfelle @ireneispunk @hxtd @venmondiese

[shinysobi]

"it was awkward to see colin flirt and behave like a rake" "he gave me the ick" yes ! that is the fucking point!! congratulations! you have the media literacy skills of a fucking monkey because my 4-year old niece could understand it better than you do.

we are supposed to find colin cringey and annoying and get the ick because that is not who he is. he is not anthony, or simon, or even benedict. colin (apart from gregory) is the sweetest of all bridgerton brothers (i'm going by book canon) and his most identifiable character trait is the fact that he values an emotional connection above everything. he runs away to the continent because he wants to feel that emotional connection. he has meaningless sex in brothels because that is the example he has seen growing up, that is the norm. he tries so hard to fit into the norm. he goes out drinking, adopts an entirely new personality, learns flirtations because that is how he thinks he will fit in. he's got armour on, as violet said. he puts everyone's needs above his own, he stops rambling on and boring his family with details of his trip because he knows no one cares. he doesn't talk to anthony or benedict about his heartaches because he knows they still, somewhere in their heart of hearts, view him as the annoying younger brother. he's so devastated by his closest friend not responding to him that he adopts a new personality in the hopes that it might mask the hurt better. he runs after penelope in episode one because he is so attuned to her emotions that he knows she's hurting, and tries to comfort her even when she's spiraling and lashes out. he must have been hurt by her words in the "good night mr bridgerton" scene but he puts it aside to genuinely apologise to her when literally no one else in that family would do that. colin, instead of brooding over his own feelings, goes and corners penelope in her family's garden and apologises to her, disregarding his own hurt at being cruelly dismissed by his close friend.

penelope asking colin to kiss her is not a mark of how "pathetic" she is. she has written and shamed herself in a manner that is almost entirely unsalvageable. she is at her lowest point, and then portia comes in and reminds her of how undesirable she is, and she sinks even lower. she asks colin to kiss her because she sees it as a final act, after which she can quietly wave goodbye to her dreams of ever getting married and leaving her mother's home. colin kisses her because he is also keenly aware of how she's feeling. he knows how hurt she is, he wants to do anything to alleviate that. be it cracking a joke, or kissing her. he is gentle, because he wants it to be something she can dream of when she's by herself. penelope, at this moment, has no hope for herself, and their kiss is an act of letting go for her. no, it's not a pity kiss, no he did not like her after her glow up, he has always loved her. him being struck dumb is a reaction to her physical transformation, nothing more. he does not flirt with her in that ballroom scene, he only approaches her when she's in distress. he's not flirting with her. i can assure you penelope could wear the frumpiest most neon yellow gown of all time and colin would still go "<333 my pen" for her.

colin jumps to catch the balloon's ropes because he sees that penelope is in danger, he does not give a shit about anyone else lmao. he feels temporary relief when he sees eloise run to safety, but the moment he sees penelope in immediate danger, he rushes to take action. afterwards, when he sees that she's being comforted by debling (all my homies hate debling, even if he is aro/ace coded i do NOT claim him) he does not approach her. it would be easy for him to do so, but he does not, because he respects her boundaries. colin bridgerton is the only man in the ton who respects women (the featherington sons-in-laws are too pretty to have a thought) he calls out fife and his friends for treating women like objects and calls them cavalier. the only way he would have been more explicit about his demisexuality was if he tap danced on the club table (entertaining thought, luke newton please)

colin also rapidly takes action, something which no one in the show has done so far. simon would have died instead of accepting his feelings for daphne, daphne would have been content with a loveless marriage forever instead of asking for help. kate would have pushed edwina down the aisle and gone off to india instead of confronting her own feelings, and anthony would have married edwina if she hadn't been brave enough for the three of them to run from the altar and ruin herself. penelope stood on the sidelines for years and loved him quietly because she had no hope of him loving her back. colin, the moment he is assured of his feelings, runs to penelope, almost kisses her in the middle of a ballroom. when he hears that debling is about to propose, he goes to the ball, just to dissuade penelope one more time. he cuts into their dance because he's desperate. when he runs after her carriage, he asks her if she has been proposed to, because he would not have touched her otherwise. he confesses his feelings to her only when he knows that she hasn't gotten engaged to debling, and when she says "but we are friends" he moves away. nothing more. he would have let her go, if she did not return his feelings.

idk whether i should be flattered or offended at people misunderstanding this season because on one hand it is offensive, but on the other hand, it means only smart people get polin. seriously. your minds have been rotted by insta-love and enemies to lovers that you can't even appreciate the innate beauty of friends to lovers. being friends with someone and then holding all those feelings for them. the trepidation of possible rejection. the fulfillment of being loved by the person who knows you the best of them all. the privilege of loving someone whose feelings you know better than your own. love is gentle and kind and yes it is a violent, uprooting force but above all, love does not hurt anyone. it does not hurt you. i could love someone quietly for years and it wouldn't bother me if their feelings were requited or not because my feelings are none of their business and i consider it a privilege to love and be loved by them, even if it is not in the way i would want it to be. polin are privileged in the highest sense. they know each other better than anyone else, they know how to love each other better than anyone else. to think they are rushed or they dont deserve each other is a disservice to both of them. they would be miserable with anyone else.

in other matters, if i see one more person talking smack about luke or nicola behind the safety of their screens i will personally get a bazooka.

[creatingblackcharacters]

If this has been asked before, feel free to ignore it! Just wondering, what would you in particular like to see in Black characters being written? Like what tropes, genres, types of stories, etc. would you like to see Black characters in? Or like, what types of Black characters would you like to see more of in general? (This is a question the mods on Writing With Color put in their bios, that’s what made me think of the question, and I just figured it be fun to answer!)

remember that y'all asked me!

Things I'd like to see:

Revenge against authority narratives. Yes, I have issues lol. I'd just like to see a young Black girl or woman come back to those who were supposed to love her or do right by her, and show them why they had her fucked up. And let her get away with it too. Like The Glory, but for Black women.

"Crazy" Black women characters. Not in the "she's angry and y'all have decided to girl-power it" but like legit unhinged, "everyone in the narrative is two steps behind them what shall she do next" unpredictable characters. It's why I liked Swarm fr. Dominique played a really interesting character, bc at the end of the day, her character was wild ASF and very wrong lmao. Light Yagami level off the shits but Black would go so insane!

Black girls that are safe, loved, and doted on, unconditionally. Without hearing "omg she's a love interest?! Anti-feminism!" I'm real passionate about this one, esp with my own OC. If she's got resilience, let it be from the strength of her heart and her community. So much of Black girlhood is realizing that the world expects you to give of yourself, will treat you terribly in kind, and you're supposed to "find strength" in that. Struggle love, from the whole world. Fuck that. I want characters, from parents to friends to lovers, to surround Black girls with love in whatever stressful narrative they're in. The Strong Black Woman™ is so played out for me. There's no honor in letting everyone use you for your strength but you can't depend on them to be in your corner when you're weak or fuck up.

A revenge fantasy against racists. Yeah that would never make it to screens bc we live in a racist society that would vomit with hatred and fear, but omg. I've always dreamt of having superpowers and showing white supremacists what for. I'd love to see it on screen.

If it's going to be an interracial relationship, it'd be nice for the girl to be Black more often. It'd be nice to see people from different backgrounds find reason outside of familiarity to fall in love with us, that they love our beauty, that we're worth the time and effort to get to know and care for. I'm never gonna watch Bridgerton outside of Queen Charlotte, but that's what drew me into Queen Charlotte. She was allowed to be herself, and he loved every bit of her. It was nice to see.

This isn't a character or a genre, but COSTUMING AND WIGS THAT ACTUALLY FIT BLACK BODIES. Look. I'm a sucker for period pieces and fantasy. Queen Charlotte reminds me of that, bc while it was still regency white western costuming, the way they actually make Charlotte's hair look... Like her hair. That it doesn't look like you took a Black woman and shoved her into a bad dress and a sew in or a bad wig to mimic white hair texture that she logically wouldn't have with no effort. House of the Dragon has all that budget but that first season hair was abhorrent, which was annoying and clearly racist bc the white actors' wigs always look LAID. We have different hair- PUT THE EFFORT IN!

[grace-williams-xo]

RAMBLING THOUGHTS AFTER FINISHING PART TWO. GONNA ADDRESS MY P1 THOUGHTS FIRST. SPOILER WARNING.

1 & 2: I think Debling could’ve worked in the second half, and I’m kinda sad Cressida didn’t get a happy ending. The Creloise fell of a CLIFF after ep 5 but I think it could still be saved

5: no cishet man has ever loved his wife more than Anthony Bridgerton I’m gonna be ill

6 & 12: kanthony’s absence was felt BAD in the finale, I think their reactions to LW were sorely needed. Also Jonny and Simone have both said they’ll be at every sibling’s wedding and stick around for years but they missed Francesca’s??? Also felt their absence too much then. They’re both booked and busy I think we’ll continue to only get a couple episodes a season from them

8: Francesca did get to thrive happy in pt 2 my baby I love her

9: I think they managed to disconnect the mondrich plot even further like 😭 once again, I don’t mind them their plot just feels very empty

10: Pen and Delacroix CONTINUE to be my fave duo I love them so freaking much and they can never get rid of it

13: Portia’s growth this season continued to be 10/10 I loved her and Penelope’s relationship it really showed what it’s like to be closely related to people you oppose and the process of needing to forgive and understand them for your own peace of mind

14: that was not how I was expecting Colin to find out about Whistledown

15: Marcus felt a little rushed in part two but I think I need to watch the whole season together to fully decide

17: this was indeed the longest 27 days of my life I got Covid day after it dropped lmfao

MY ~NEW~ THOUGHTS:

We finally got character development from Cressida and if they write her out I’ll be inconsolable (as will Jessica Madsen)

I hope they paid Golda Rosheuvel good for her feet exposure. Worth more than titties in this economy

I feel the need to tell everyone that £5000 in 1815 is in the realm of £500,000 today and we cannot brush over the fact Penelope has made herself the equivalent of a literal millionaire

Anthony has two moods ‘I’m obsessed with my wife’ ‘I want to win this game’ like it is comical how drastically different his facial expression is in the game of charades compared to pretty much every other scene

Anthony saying the marriage is perfect and not hard work and Kate being like BOY I will humble you,,,, doing the lord’s work I love her so much

At some points I felt like Francesca was fighting Anthony for ‘Violet’s least favourite child’ award lmao

John saying he’s off to look at the wainscotting was unfairly funny

Cressida in the red dress is even better than I imagined fuck even if she’s not gay then I am

Peneloise back together the universe is healing I love my babies all we need now is creloise lovers and peneloise friendship simultaneously I don’t like it being one or the other sue me

However much Brimsley is getting paid isn’t enough,,,, Hugh Sachs the man that you are

I adored Penelope’s wedding dress so much and as bitter as I am still about no kanthony wedding in s2, it felt kind of right somehow for Polin to be the first wedding we properly see in this show

Most of the costumes and makeup feel like they got worse,,,,, big ‘I hired a 14 year old’ energy. I don’t need historical accuracy but I would like a modicum of care and the costume/hair/makeup dept looking at a single historical reference from before 1850,,,, please

We all got the bi Benedict we’ve been asking for and I appreciate it, and recognise that he needed Tilley to explore that, but I still would’ve preferred if they first main queer experience was not a threesome

If they go straight into benophie in s4 (which idk, I’m so torn bc I feel like F, E and B all could work well next season) then I also feel like bi Benedict was just them throwing a bone for 5 mins but meant nothing

The CONTENTIOUS Michaela Stirling,,,,, I was undecided until I saw it but that was the definition of gay panic from Francesca and it worked so well I am so excited.

As your resident peerage expert, it is much easier for women to inherit titles in Scotland than England so I wonder (not that anyone on this show knows anything) if that was a reason they chose Francesca to be sapphic [general peerage info and female inheritance info if you care]

On the above, if they can canonically end racism with one marriage then they can end homophobia with one marriage as well

We all know Eloise was the easy and obvious choice to be the queer love story but part of me does kind of like them not taking the easy route, and them going something more unexpected, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want Creloise/Sapphic El like they had eight children let’s be honest

Finch’s sneeze and Phillips’s “now Varely! The bugs!” were unfairly funny

Everything Lady Danbury said to Penelope about suspecting her and what not felt very in character and you can fight with the wall idc

Did they tell us the name of Polin’s baby boy???

Hyacinth saying she thinks of Gregory as the family pet,,,,, girl you an icon walking amongst mere mortals

Predictions I got right:

Anthony didn’t kill Colin, but “are you gonna duel your own brother” lmao I was on the right track

I knew Polin would win the Featherington baby race and I love that for them (but why were Prudence and Phillipa pregnant most of the season, barely showing, Kate was showing almost immediately, and then in the epilogue the sisters all had baby’s similar-ish ages???? Give the writers room a calendar please)

I SAID FROM DAY DOT THAT THE FURNITURE THEY BROKE FROM SEX WAS A CHAISE I CANT FIND THE POST BUT I KNEW IT I FUCKING KNEW IT WHERE DO I COLLECT MY PRIZE SOME OF YOUR GUESSES WERE TRULY FUCKING COOKED

Okay that was too long if you made it this far I’ll make you cookie ily

[urperfectcinnamonroll07]

Baby, You're Like Lightning In A Bottle

requested?: no pairing(s): Jake Sim x afab!reader genre: Fluff and a smidge of angst, smut, college au, non-idol au warning(s): mentions of an age gap (not hugely mentioned, jake is older than reader), angry love confession in the rain (i think that should be a warning for all those romance book readers out there), smut, praise kink, two damn idiots in love, reader thinks jake is in love with someone else, jake nd reader get into a fight, pussy drunk jake(ish), oral (f&m recieveing), acarophilia, size kink, breast play, facefucking(?), squirting, hair pulling (ish), jake holds readers hand through her first time (yes, this is a warning, shush), body worship(ish) summary: 𝘫𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴, 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳'𝘴 𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 word count: 3.6k (HOLY SHIT) a/n: so sorry the fic was not out for a while guys! i got caught up in bridgerton and completely forgot to start writing lmao. (plus i just suck at love confessions) hope you all enjoy, remember to eat and drink something, love yas, mwah! (p.s WTF THIS IS PROBABLY THE BEST IVE EVER WRITTEN)

you and jake had always been best friends for a while, since you were born. he was a few years older than you, so he had always taken responsibility over you. Every heartbreak you went through, he was there, every date who stood you up, he was there. every fight you had with your parents, he was there. every single event that happened in your life, he was there.

even when you didn’t want him to be, even when you were angry at a stupid little boy for breaking your heart, he was there and you could not deny that you felt something towards the boy.

little did you know, jake reciprocated those feelings, because, everything he was there for, you were there for more. through everything. when his first girlfriend cheated on him, when he got stood up from dates. you were there through every heartbreak, every fight. you two were always there for eachother.

recently, you hadn’t been paying that much attention to your own love life and needs, mostly getting other people together and giving relationship advice even though the only ones you had ever been in were toxic. you were really good at paying attention to other people and how their body language changed around the people they liked, whether it be romantically or platonically. You were also really good at noticing how fast jake had fallen in love with a specific girl, lily.

you were heartbroken, naturally, but you did what had to be done. you had tried to set the two of them up over and over. lily had never shut up about how much she liked jake, no matter how many times you ignored her and made it obvious you could not give a single fuck about how much she loved jake.

you didn’t care because you loved jake. nobody knew him as well as you did. but, lily was your friend and so was jake, so you set them up. or at least tried to.

jake had just gotten back from a date with lily, and by the looks of things, it wasn’t a good one. the thing was, you hadn’t told jake a very crucial piece of information. you had gotten accepted into a university that would help you take on your dream job, but it was in london, and since you were both in college in new york, it would mean having to move ages away. jake was pissed when he came back, claiming the whole date was just shit because lily had only talked about herself the whole time and knew absolutely nothing about jake.

you had tried to calm him down and convince him to go on another date, but he just ended up blowing up on you. so you shut up, taking your coat and leaving your and his dorm. it was storming outside, and you needed to blow off steam, and try to calm yourself down before you did anything drastic which you would definitely regret later.

“where are you going?” jake said, following you outside. everything had built up recently and it just now had hit you how much you had been neglecting your own feelings compared to everyone else’s, so you ignored his protests and began to walk to your favourite café. “c’mon, sunshine, you can’t run away forever”

“i got into a university in london” you blurt out. jake looked at you as if you were joking, it was obvious you weren’t, you sighed deeply and turned away from him. “i didn’t tell you because i wanted you to be happy with lily for a while before i left”

“so you were just gonna leave without saying anything?” he says. you couldn’t tell if it were tears or the rain, but something was beginning to fall down your cheeks. “answer me!” he close to yells.

“yes! yes, okay, i was going to leave without saying anything. i didn’t want to make you sad when you had lily” you almost yell back.

there was a pause between the two of you. you could see the gears turning inside jake’s head. it took him a while before he decided to speak again.

“what about me and lily?” he says, taking a step closer to you. you were both at a safe distance from eachother, but another three large strides could change that. you, however, stayed rooted to the spot.

you furrowed your brows in confusion, stammering out a response.

“i… i thought you liked lily? she likes you, so i set you two up” you say. yup, it was definitely tears.

“no? i don’t like lily, well, not like that at least” he pauses “you’re too caught up in matching other people you forgot about yourself. your own needs. you need to find love too, sunshine” he takes a step closer to you, this time you react, taking a step back to distance yourself.

“lily loves you” you whisper “i can’t do that to her” you take another step back.

“for fucks sakes, when will you put other people aside and do something for yourself?” jake says frustratedly.

there was a beat of silence, then two, then three. none of you spoke. you felt like you couldn’t breathe, even though there was so much air. you turned away, running a hand down your face.

“its you. its always been you” jake speaks, you turn around.

“what?” you ask in a tired tone.

“i am in love with you” he takes a step towards you “ever since we were friends as kids. ever since we met eachother, i have been madly in love with you, sunshine. i have never been able to get you out of my goddamn head, and it kills me. it kills me to know you tried to match me up with someone just because you refuse to believe that it is you who somebody is in love with, its you that i am in love with. you have never left my head, your face, your body, your voice. you are the kindest, selfless person i have ever met. you put yourself before anybody else because you don’t like the thought of people getting left out. you always make everyone feel included even if it means you miss out, because you don’t want someone else to be the outcast. your eyes glint when you laugh, you scrunch your nose when you taste something you don’t like, you furrow your brows and bite your lip when you’re concentrated on something” you didn’t notice until now how close he had gotten.

you gasped softly as his fingers met your chin, his thumb and index finger lifting your face up so you were looking at him.

“i love you sunshine, and nothing will ever change that” he whispers before closing the gap between your faces. both of his hands were firmly placed on your cheeks, keeping you in place where you were.

it took you a few seconds to register what was going on, your stomach erupted in butterflies, your body went tingly and your knees almost gave out, but you steadied yourself by wrapping your arms around jake’s neck. it was almost subconscious the way your lips moved against his, the kiss was soft and languid, nothing like you had ever felt before. the kiss was loving, sweet, something that your past relationships never had.

by the time you both pulled away, you were panting a little while gazing into eachother’s sparkling eyes.

“i know everything about you, and you know everything about me” he whispers, “i know what you want the most”

“and what’s that?” you questioned, whispering with him.

“you want love. you want a man to scoop you off of your feet and bow down to you. submit to you” he whispers, his face slowly getting closer and closer to yours, the smirk was evident on his face “but right now? right now your eyes are telling me you want me to take you right back to our dorm and fuck you the way your tight little pussy deserves” then it hit you.

you were eighteen, he was twenty-two, and you were a fucking virgin. by the look on your face, jake’s smirk widened. of course he knew you were a virgin, the both of you told eachother everything, like, everything. he told you the first time he had sex, hell, he even told you what he was into during sex. when he had asked you, you tried to steer off topic, but that’s when he asked if you were a virgin and you said yes, very bashfully. but jake left it, you hadn’t revisited the topic, well, not until now.

“jake i’m-“ he cuts you off.

“a virgin? i know, sunshine. you don’t need to worry, i’ll take care of you” he smiled before lifting you up by the backs of your thighs and wraps them around his waist, supporting your full weight with his large hands on your ass.

it didn’t take long for jake to be kicking the door open to your dorm, kicking it shut behind him and wasting no time to lay you down on the bed. he leaned down to kiss you again, groaning against your lips when your hips involuntarily rolled up into his. you had your fair share of make out sessions, but you didn’t know how to do the full thing.

jake pulled away and looked at you a smirk was still playing on his face. he didn’t waste any time in attacking your neck with kisses, leaving small red bites that would be sure to leave a mark by tomorrow. he kissed down your collarbone, nipping and sucking as he travelled down.

both your clothes had stuck to your body due to the rain, so he had to put a lot of effort in to peel your top off of your body.

“god, you have no idea how long i have been waiting to do this” he whispers against your chest, his hands reaching behind you to unclasp your bra (which he was somehow very skilled in and got it off almost immediately). he attached his lips to one of your tits, sucking and licking the pebbled bud, and massaging the other in his free hand. you let out lewd moans as he did so, and he eventually switched over to the other tit, giving it as much attention as he did the other, before beginning to kiss down your body again.

as he slowly moved down, he whispered soft praises like “so gorgeous” or “so soft and pretty for me, sunshine” before he reached the waistband of your pants. he looked up at you through his lashes before you nodded softly, giving him the answer he needed in order to carry on. again, jake had to peel off your pants, along with your panties. as he got the pants down to your ankles, he sat up on his knees, taking one of your ankles in his hand and taking your shoe off, then moving your pants off fully, before repeating this action on the other. he left small pecks on your shins as he did so.

it didn’t take long before he was settled in-between your legs again, face to face with your glistening cunt.

“god, you’re so wet for me. so pretty sunshine” he muttered, kissing the insides of both of your thighs before moving to your clit, leaving a small peck on it. he smirked as you bucked your hips towards his face and let out a small whimper.

jake decided he had probably teased you enough and grasped at your thighs, pulling you towards him before his mouth attaches to your pussy, licking a thick stripe up before flicking his tongue against your clit. you moan out, your left hand coming down to his hair and tugging gently. with this, jake drifted his hand up to your chest, allowing your right hand to latch onto his finger. you held his index finger in your hand, your full hand wrapping around it.

“so small” he mutters against your cunt, making you squirm in his grasp. jake doesn’t let up, keeping up with sucking and licking at your cunt, your juices dripping down his chin. your moans began to get higher in pitch and a lot more frantic as he made his tongue go faster, fucking it in and out of you, his nose bumping your clit.

you soon felt a tight sensation in your stomach, your pleasure eventually drove you over the edge. and before you knew it, your eyes were rolled back, your head thrown back along with them. your back was arched as liquid left your cunt. jake still didn’t let out, allowing you to ride out your high on his face. soon, parts of your vision began to come back as you came down from your high.

jake was still between your legs, smirking up at you. his chin was slick with your juices, as he got up to eye level with you, he used the back of his hand to wipe off your juices.

“never took you for a squirter, sunshine” jake husks, “i always knew you would taste good, though, but not that good”

you felt so embarrassed. there was no way you just did that. you tried to turn away from him, attempting to roll on your side.

“nuh uh uh” jake tuts, pinning you down underneath him, looking down into your sparkling eyes. “i wanna know what else that pretty mouth of yours can do other than whine and moan while i stick my tongue inside your pretty pussy” he smirks.

jake grabbed his shirt and quickly got rid of it, revealing his toned abs and v-line. he then grabbed your hips and flipped you both so you were sat on his lap while he was sat on the edge of the bed. he grabbed your small hands in his and placed them on his belt. you knew what he was asking you to do, so you quickly removed his belt, peeling down his jeans and boxers. your eyes widened as his length, struggling to take in how big he was. how were you ever going to take him in your mouth? never mind your cunt.

“don’t worry, sunshine. i’ll make sure it fits” he smiles softly, stroking your cheek with his thumb. he helped you down onto your knees in front of him, you swallowed thickly, trying to think of any way you weren’t going to gag on his length. “you aren’t gonna gag, gonna teach you a little trick” you nod in response, settling your palms on his thighs. “you’re gonna put your thumb in the palm of your hand, like this” he shows you what to do, and you copy “then the rest of your fingers are gonna go around your thumb” he does the action, and again, you copy.

he let you get yourself ready and comfortable, before he allowed you to open your mouth and take him inside of it. his hand immediately flew to your hair, tugging harshly before gathering all of it into a ponytail and shoving your face down fully, making you take his full length inside of your mouth.

his tip hit the back of your throat, making you gag a little, but not much before you remembered what jake taught you. jake groans deeply when he feels your throat contract around him.

“fuck, you’re a natural, sunshine” jake husks, his hips rutting up to meet your mouth whenever you bob your head on his cock. he filled your mouth perfectly, a mixture of his pre-cum and your saliva dripping down your chin and onto your bedding. soon, you forgot about the trick jake had taught you as your mouth was too full for you to fully comprehend what he was saying.

it only took a few more gags for jake to be coming down your throat, his length so far into your mouth that it was practically forcing you to swallow every drop he gave you. you sat back up on your knees.

“open” jake had a hold of your chin with his thumb and index finger, forcing you to look up at him. but, you do as he says, opening your mouth so he can see you had swallowed every drop. he smiles and allows you to close your mouth, “good girl” he coos.

jake stands you up and flips you both around so your knees fall over the side of the bed and you fall back onto it. jake attaches his lips to yours, pushing your thighs apart with his forearms. he wasted no time in lining his tip up with your entrance before pulling away from the kiss, his face hovering not far from yours.

“this is gonna hurt for a minute” he whispers, you nod, positioning your hands on his back. you didn’t know what you expected when he pushed his meaty cock inside of you, fulling you up entirely. the stretch was painful at first, but you soon adjusted around the fatness of his dick.

you nodded to give him the good to go, and he took that opportunity. jake took his cock out of your tight pussy, until only the tip remained before pushing back into you at a fast but gentle pace. you whimpered at the feeling, the pleasure mixed with the pain. it was all too much, but it felt so good at the same time.

jake’s pace fastened, and you arched your back into jake. your nails dug into the skin of jake’s back, creating little indents and red marks on his back, occasionally drawing blood. you were too blindsided by pleasure to care, you were most likely going to care later though. above you, jake looked too dazed to care too. he was in love with the feeling of your pussy, how it so snuggly accommodates his length, how it clamps around him whenever he hits that gummy spot inside of you.

all the while, his hand had snuck up to where your hand was om his back, bringing it down to your side and allowing you to wrap your fingers around his index finger as you had done before.

jake pulls your left leg up to press against your chest, your right leg moving around his waist to keep him close, giving him a new angle to slam into you and pistol his hips into yours to abuse your g-spot over and over. you mewled whimpered and whined as he did so, your poor cunny dripping with how good he made you feel, it was impossible not to be so wet when you had the hottest man on earth ramming into your hole with so much force you could practically see stars.

your nails dug into his back even harder, your eyes rolling back and back arching even more when he delivered a particularly hard thrust to that gummy spot inside of you. you moaned out loudly as you came, at this point not caring if anyone had heard your late night shenanigans.

you were too fucked out to care, jake whispering small praises, but his pace never faltered, his hips still pistoling into yours at such a force you almost came again. your slick coated jake’s fat meaty cock as he pulled out and came all over your right thigh with a deep groan of your name.

it took you both a few moments to find eachother again before you gazed into eachother’s eyes. your chests were both heaving, trying to catch your breathes in your post-orgasm bliss. it wasn’t long before jake was up and leaving the room to the attached bathroom. he appeared a few moments later and picked you up bridal style, and taking you to the bathroom. there was a prepared warm bath with bubbles, all for you and him.

he softly placed you in the bathtub, before managing to shimmy in behind you, having you sit in between his legs. you layed your head back into his chest, allowing him to massage your scalp.

“you’re so perfect, your body is so soft and perfect sunshine” he murmurs. “did so good f’me, gonna be a little sore tomorrow, but i’ll help you, don’t worry” he pecks the crown of your head.

“did you really mean what you said before?” you whispered after a while, looking up at him with your doe eyes that he loved so very much.

“about how much i love you, or about how much your pussy needs to be fucked?” he smirks, you swat his chest, but not hard enough for it to hurt.

“yes, i meant it sunshine” he says lowly “i do love you, and i always have” he says softly. he smiles down at you and leans down.

jake presses your lips into a kiss, a lot more soft and sensual from your previous activities.

“but i still did mean what i said about your tight little pussy needing to get fucked. i’m glad you let me be your first, sunshine” he smiles, pulling away from the kiss.

“and i’m glad you agreed to be my first” you smile back, leaning up to press your lips into a kiss once again. fuck lily, you would deal with her in the morning.

“and i’m going with you” jake murmured against your lips.

“jake-“ you try to argue, pulling away from his lips, but he cuts you off.

“i don’t wanna hear it. wherever you go, i go, and i’m always gonna be with you, no matter what” he whispers, pulling you into another kiss.

this time you wouldn’t argue, simply because part of you wanted him to go with you, but you were never going to admit it for as long as you lived.

[1of1sjjong]

What makes me mad is that netflix have no one to blame but themselves lmao. Like the show was not promoted at all. I'm saying this as a veteran dbd enjoyer btw. I've been waiting for the show since 2021 when it was initially announced as a doom patrol spin off. I was there for the cast changes and it somehow being one of the only dc shows to survive the purge™ of 2022. Like this is to say I was actively waiting for the show, I was its prime audience. And somehow I only got to know it was coming out less than a month before when they dropped the proper promo in the start of April 2024. That is less than a month before it was set to air. The fact that I, someone who had actively been following the making of the show until around October 2023 only got to know it was coming out less than a month before it dropped. That says something about how abysmal the promotion for the show was.

Also it's the fact Netflix stopped promoting it on all other platforms than tumblr like the week after it aired and went straight onto promoing bridgerton. And also did fuck all to make sure people knew it was a sandman spin off like they did the bare minimum to make that clear at all. Like it was the fans making most people realise it was, netflix babes how did u fuck up this bad😭

[bestiesenpai]

sukuna bridgerton au pt 4

To the person that asked for jealous Sukuna, I’m here to deliver(hopefully you like it, it's not super overt jealousy)! I had to take liberties on regency era fashion cause i’ll be damned if i put sukuna in a fucking nightgown lmao

Once again, bold text indicates a different language being spoken

part one --- part two --- part three

It was criminal that Sukuna made you get up before sunrise to begin your journey to the countryside but he was insistent on getting there at a ‘reasonable hour’. Getting dressed in a sleepy haze, you nibbled on breakfast as Sukuna got everything ready and collected any documents he wanted to work on.

You were much too tired to even think to complain about being in the same carriage as him, something that underneath the fog gave you a slight nervous edge. Despite the conversation the day before you weren’t sure if you were ready for this level of intimacy with him. But there wasn’t much choice to be had and away you went, not caring to stifle a yawn as you rode away from the chateau.

“Now Princess, I’ve had the valet draw us up an itinerary.” Sukuna started, fluffing out some papers and handing you one. “We are to visit a vineyard, perhaps make a public appearance at the local clinic.”

“Yes.” Nodding along, you let your head rest on the back of the carriage. The road wasn’t terribly bumpy, allowing you to relax as Sukuna kept speaking. He hadn’t even looked up to see if you were listening, just droning on about something you couldn’t find it in you to care about.

It felt like just a moment had passed between you closing your eyes and feeling the carriage jostle to the side with a great force, the footmen calling out to steady the horses as the road was in a bad condition. Blinking rapidly as your senses came back to you, there was the sudden realization that Sukuna was sat next to you. Feeling a pressure on your cheek, you noticed your head had tilted to lay on his shoulder and although your neck was growing sore you found it wasn’t terribly uncomfortable to be this close to him.

“Oh, you’re awake.” He commented upon your rousing, noticing the way your eyes moved rapidly. He helped you sit up and seemed unfazed by the fact that your head had been resting so gently on his shoulder, unfazed except for the blush painting his cheeks. “We’re almost there.”

“My apologies, Your Highness.” Clearing your throat, you inched away from him. It must have been a burden for him to move for you and that thought had you looking down at your hands adorned with a pair of lacy gloves.

“No need.” Sukuna also cleared his throat, grabbing the papers that were left on his other side. The rest of the ride was quiet with the two of you sitting so close yet not looking at one another. Looking out the window, you noticed you were indeed in the countryside, passing by expansive rolling hills covered in wildflowers and tall grass, some cultivated into farming and others holding livestock.

Getting to the center of town, you were happy to see it was full of life and not as small as you assumed it would be. Sure, it wasn’t as lively and built up as the city you grew up in but it was a far cry from the sticks and mud you thought you’d encounter.

Being helped out of the carriage by Sukuna, you were greeted by the town's mayor who insisted on gifting you a bottle of wine as a present for your marriage. He spoke fast, almost too fast for the royal interpreter to translate for Sukuna; and his barely there grasp of the local language was frustrating him, it was written on his face.

You toured the town for much longer than you thought you would, seeing every historical landmark and every church ever built. There were several instances during the tour that you or Sukuna had to nudge the other to stay awake as the mayor droned on and on. By the time the tour was over it was evening and you had to retire to the inn that was reserved for you.

“The best inn in the whole country, Your Highness!” The mayor boasted, leading the two of you inside and directly to your bedroom.

“T-there’s only one bed!” You exclaimed, causing the mayor to laugh and wave you off.

“Still a blushing bride, I see!” Bowing to the both of you, he excused himself and left the two of you alone to enter.

“What’d he say to you?” Sukuna mumbled, rustling in a chest of drawers for something.

“I mentioned that there appears to only be one bed and…and he said I was still a blushing bride.” Repeating the statement to Sukuna made your cheeks burn and having him laugh made it even worse. “I just assumed-”

“That we would have separate rooms?” Cutting you off, Sukuna turned to face you and you could finally see what he had been digging around for: a silver flask. “We may do that in the privacy of our own home but in public it is best not to arouse suspicion about the state of our marriage. You understand, correct?” He quirked a brow as he titled his back and took a drink.

“Yes, of course I understand. I just…” Trailing off, you looked around the room again. It was very spacious, with a chess table off to one side and a simple loveseat in front of a fireplace. There were partitions in the room that you could move to your liking as you dressed which gave you peace of mind.

“While you think about it, I am going to have a servant get us dinner. Is there anything you would like to have?” Sukuna began to walk to the door with his flask still in hand.

“I have no preference.” And with that answer, he was gone. Wringing your hands together, you paced around the room unable to find respite in being alone. What lay ahead of you had your nerves in a thousand different places and there was a doubt in your mind about getting any sleep tonight.

You and Sukuna ate your meal quietly at the small dining table in the room. You couldn’t make eye contact with him for very long and he did not mind your nerves at all. The sound of people moving around downstairs and playing the piano in the parlor made ambient noise as you finished your meals and then moved on to other things: Sukuna, his paperwork and you some needlework.

“Do you wish to bathe tonight, Princess? I am going to have a bath drawn.” Sukuna announced suddenly, breaking you from your trance. Blinking owlishly, you couldn’t find the words so you shook your head. “Alright. I will have a guard stand at the door while I am away.”

With Sukuna gone again, you finally took notice of the time and realized you should also get ready for bed. Calling a ladies maid in, you undressed and got into night clothes, trying to quell the shaking of your hands when she left and you were alone again. Staring at yourself in the full length mirror, you drew your robe tighter hoping to hide the dressing gown underneath. Without the stuffy and constricting layers of your everyday clothes, you were much more comfortable physically, but mentally was another story.

There were a rapid few knocks on the door before it opened and closed swiftly and Sukuna entered, not caring in the slightest about walking around the inn in an unbuttoned white shirt and loose linen pants that hit just below his knees.

“Please cover up!” You gasped, utterly scandalized about the flash of skin you saw before slapping a hand over your eyes. Sukuna barked out a laugh, one that lasted much longer than you’d like.

“You ladies are so prim, aren’t you?” He shook his head, doing as he was told with a large smirk on his face. “Does this suit you, Your Grace?” He teased, doing a small spin when you lifted the hand from your face. He had indeed buttoned up, still more exposed than you’d like but it was better than before.

“Yes it does.” Clearing your throat, you became painfully aware of the fact you were in a nightgown and Sukuna was openly staring at you. Crossing your arms over your chest, you motioned to the bed. “Do you not wish to rest now?”

“Do you?” He countered immediately, taking a few steps toward you and making you fumble backwards.

“I-I do.” Truth be told you were tired, all you wanted to do was lay down and close your eyes. But you had to account for Sukuna and whatever he would try and do.

“Then by all means, lay down, Princess.”

“I-I-” The two of you were caught in a stalemate, neither wanting to move until the other did. Unbeknownst to you, Sukuna was indeed nervous about laying in the same bed as you. He wondered how it would feel, to finally lay with his wife and to possibly smell whatever lotions she had put on while getting ready for bed.

“We can’t stay like this forever.” Sukuna broke the silence, speaking quietly as he licked his lips. The bed was already unmade for the two of you, so all you had to do was climb in as he snuffed out any candles still lit but your feet were glued to your spot as the last candle went out and you were engulfed in darkness with not even the light of the moon to bring you comfort.

“Princess.” Sukuna groaned and you could just barely make out his figure in the dark but you knew he was rolling his eyes at your hesitance. “Lie down. Please.” Tacking on the formality at the end, he waited impatiently for you to move.

“I’m just nervous.” You mumbled, shifting away ever so slightly when you saw him move again.

“Shall I light the candles again? We can stay awake longer if that is what you require.” Worrying your lip and sighing over his words, you rolled your eyes at yourself. This would have to happen eventually, one way or another, you might as well get used to it now.

“Give me a moment.” Walking to the side of the bed, you took your robe off and dived under the covers as fast as you could. Sukuna most likely couldn’t see your actual nightgown but he could see that you had finally laid down.

Sighing to himself, he laid down as well and the two of you didn’t move a muscle. Neither wanting to get too close to the other, not even wanting to breathe too loud for the other to hear. You were both laying on your back staring at the ceiling above, the blanket drawn up to your chin to protect your modesty.

“Goodnight, Princess.” Sukuna dared to whisper, dared even further to shift in the bed and turn his back to you.

“Goodnight.” You whispered back, following suit and turning the other way. You were able to sink into a comfortable position from this and sleep took you sooner than you realized, too soon for you to start worrying something might happen.

Sukuna was the first to rouse from sleep in the morning, the sunlight beginning to bleed through the curtains. Keeping his eyes closed and stretching his body, Sukuna noticed an unfamiliar weight on his bicep. Cracking an eye open, he gasped at seeing your head resting on his arm with your peaceful, sleeping face making his cheeks warm.

“Princess?” He whispered, unsure if he wanted you to wake up or not. When you didn’t stir he didn’t speak again, opting to just watch you sleep and find comfort laying on him. Sukuna had to remind himself to breathe several times as he caught himself holding in for fear of moving too much and disturbing you. Time stood still as he just stared, ignoring the itch in the back of his mind that he needed to start his day and not waste time.

When you finally woke, all slow blinks and delicate breaths, Sukuna had fallen back asleep and now it was your turn to admire him. The slight furrow in his brows was gone, allowing you to see him truly relaxed. This was the first time you were looking at him so up close and you saw that his eyelashes, although still pink, looked almost translucent as the sun filled the room with light. The bruise on his neck from the other night seemed to have settled into its peak coloring, a dark purple mark staining Sukuna’s skin and was sure to hurt if pressed.

Your bodies were still relatively separate, your head resting on his arm the only place you two were touching. If you flexed your arms, stretched out your body just a bit, you would touch Sukuna’s torso and the temptation to do so was strong. His shirt had come undone in the night either by his own doing or as he slept and you couldn’t tear your eyes away from him. There were a few scars that littered his body, almost all of them old and healed with a few still a soft red. Sukuna had a much more chiseled physique than that of the men in the ton, much more muscle that he obviously obtained through some hard work.

A chuckle broke you out of your trance and you looked up at Sukuna, shocked that he was now awake and looking at you with a light smile on his face.

“That tickles, Princess.” He raised his brows, exhaling a breathy laugh as you both looked down to see your hand had indeed started lightly touching his abdomen.

“Oh my!” Ripping yourself away, you scrambled out of bed and immediately put your robe on, embarrassment rippling through your body. Sukuna made no move to stop you as you began to look through your drawers, trying to decide what you would wear today.

“I quite enjoyed that, you know.” Sukuna spoke up and you could hear him rustling in the bed. “Being so close to my beautiful wife for the first time was lovely.”

“Silence.” You hissed but the words held no bite, evident as you didn’t even turn to face Sukuna when he spoke.

“Admit it Princess, you enjoyed it as well.” His hands came from behind you, caging you in against the armoire you were standing in front of. You could feel the heat of his breath on the back of your head and just barely feel his body around you. The both of you stood there quietly, your heart beating painfully in your chest.

“I-I-” Licking your lips nervously, you gripped the clothing in your hand. “I have no comment on the matter.” It was a mistake to turn around. It was a mistake to turn around and see just how close Sukuna was to you. It was also a mistake to lick your lips again, something Sukuna immediately focused on.

“Just like a lady, so diplomatic.” His voice dropped to a whisper, making a shiver go down your spine. His eyes danced around your entire form, from your eyes to your lips down to the rise and fall of your chest. Shuffling forward just slightly, Sukuna brought a hand down to cover one of yours, running his thumb along your skin.

You held your breath as Sukuna leaned forward, his eyes half closing the closer he got to you. Your own eyes fell shut, unable to fight the urge to follow his lead. His breath fanned across your face and his hand tightened its grip, his nose scraping against your cheek before he planted a kiss right on it.

His lips lingered there for a few beats, just pressed against your face. His breathing was so quiet you feared he would pass out soon but he moved again, sliding back so his nose was behind your ear. He took a breath then, smelling the traces of lotion you’d put on before bed. Once he’d gotten his fill, Sukuna sighed and backed up, sighing again when you opened your eyes and looked at him.

“I shall get us breakfast.” Sukuna whispered, not making a move to leave.

“I would like some fruit.” You replied, speaking slowly with a heavy tongue. Sukuna let go of your hand, gradually brushing his fingers up along your arm. Getting to your elbow, Sukuna wrapped his hand around you, squeezing for a moment before dropping it completely.

“Fruit. Right.” Taking a step back, he didn’t break eye contact with you until he opened the door and left, not bothering to change into anything else.

As soon as the door closed it was as if all the air rushed back into the room. Nearly falling to your knees, you gasped and brought your fingers up to your cheek to try and possibly feel the lingering touch his lips left. Calling for your lady’s maid, your body trembled as you prepared for the day. Eating downstairs in the inn's common area, you and Sukuna shared fleeting glances and his knee bumped yours under the table several times.

“We’re going to a vineyard today.” Sukuna announced upon your exit from the inn, stretching his arms above his head before motioning you to get into the carriage.

“Do you expect me to drink wine so early in the day?” It was barely a quarter till ten and you were in no shape to begin drinking.

“We will merely sample, Princess. No need to worry.” He assured you as the carriage began its journey. “The townsfolk prepared a special bottle in our honor, we are to open it on our ten year anniversary.”

“Ten years?” Your brows rose in surprise; the idea of being with Sukuna for that long had never crossed your mind until now, but it would be your reality. The two of you would be together until one of you died, there was no getting around that.

“Try and look happy at the notion.” Sukuna teased, lightly pushing your knee with his own. You responded in kind and nudged him back, both of you sharing a sly smile.

The vineyard was out of the way, up a few large hills and over a river. You passed by a few farms with people diligently working the soil, some standing up to wave at you properly while others kept their heads down, determined to bring in the harvest they had cared for so tenderly.

“What an honor it is!” The vintner was waiting for you as you arrived, dressed in a fresh suit and with a few others waiting behind him.

“The pleasure is ours, thank you.” You replied, curtseying upon your exit from the carriage.

“Thank you.” Sukuna said, his eyes flicking to you as he said it. You’d only heard him speak the language the night he had caught you and Lord Fushiguro together, every other time he used the royal translator.

“Right this way, Your Highness’. I have prepared a special tour for you.” Being led further into the winery, you marveled at the amount of barrels lining the wall, enclosing the space and making you feel tiny in comparison. As the vintner began to explain the history of the region, you heard him mention a familiar name.

“E-excuse me, you said Lord Fushiguro?” You cut off his speech.

“Yes, Your Highness! He is the owner of this vineyard and several others in the area. Do you by chance know him?” He motioned to the barrels which you just now noticed had the Fushiguro name stamped onto them.

“We know of him.” Sukuna said, rolling his eyes at the mention.

“Yes the young Lord is a wonderful man, very passionate about wine and his business! Sadly, he was in a terrible fight a couple days ago otherwise he would have been here to give the tour himself!”

“A fight?” You gasped, feigning innocence.

“Just awful, Your Highness! He said a few thugs cornered him at the town festival as he was leaving!”

“Did he say anything about the thugs?” Sukuna pressed, trying to wait patiently as everything was translated.

“Unfortunately no, Your Grace, he said he didn’t get a good look at any of them. But his injuries were too severe for him to travel here, a true shame.”

“Yes…just awful…” Sukuna trailed off, having to look away to try and stifle the cruel smirk on his face. You wanted to say something, but found no words were coming, letting the tour resume as your mind went back to Lord Fushiguro. He was too injured to make the journey? Was there someone helping him recover or was he all on his own? Could you possibly send him a letter and at least apologize for what happened? Or maybe sneak away and visit him without Sukuna knowing?

“Hey.” He nudged you as you walked through the winery, getting to the wine cellar. “Do not think about him.”

“I’m not.” You countered immediately, shaking your head.

“You are, it is written all over your face.” Sighing shortly, Sukuna flexed his fingers as you descended down the stairs. “It’s vexing me, do not do it any longer.”

“Are you perhaps-”

“Do not dare.” Cutting you off immediately, Sukuna held out his hand to help you down the last few steps. “I know you may think I am jealous, but I can promise you I am not.”

“Yes of course.” You could barely contain your giggle at his words. Sukuna was indeed jealous if the way his jaw clenched was any indication. When the vintner brought up another winemaker, Sukuna was almost too interested in the bottle being shown, taking much more care to pay attention than you’d seen from him in the past.

After a rich and filling lunch, you were led out to the wineries terrace where there were several bottles waiting for you. Taking a seat, the staff assigned to the tasting wasted no time in filling your glasses and explaining the different blends and notes associated with each wine.

By the time you were finished, the sky was a burning orange and red and you were just starting to get hungry for dinner. You lost track of how many wines you’d tried and certainly which ones you liked or not; after a bit the flavors had all blended together. Bidding farewell to the vintner, you and Sukuna climbed into the carriage with a few more bottles of wine, even taking the unfinished bottles you had at the tasting.

Riding to a small but lively restaurant back in town, you were given the best seats in the house, able to watch people dancing and playing music. Sukuna had urged you to finish off a bottle by yourself in the carriage, so by the time the food came out you had nearly forgotten all table manners.

“I wish to dance.” You announced, your voice a bit too loud for a conversation between the two of you.

“Sit down.” Sukuna tried - and failed - to keep you from getting up as one song ended and another started. Approaching the dance floor, you quickly found a partner in another woman, one happy to take the lead through the dance.

You quickly devolved into a fit of happy, drunken giggles as you danced. Dancing here was different than in the ton, it mattered not what gender you were with and who did what position. You even changed partners several times throughout one song, becoming rapidly bewildered at who was who and even who you were.

“Oh Miss Marjorie, you are lovely!” Giving your original partner a large hug after a great number of dances, you swayed on your feet as she embraced you back.

“Oh likewise, Your Grace! It is an honor!” She seemed to be drunk as well, both of you slurring your words. Leaving you for a brief moment, she returned with two small glasses in her hand. “For you and the Prince!” Gasping happily, your smile was never brighter when you turned and waved at Sukuna. He had stood from his seat to watch you move around but did not venture further onto the floor.

“Thank you.” He was persuaded by your insistent waving and sauntered over, taking one glass and downing it swiftly. Not seeing him react to what was in the cup, you did the same but almost coughed it back up. You were not prepared for the sharp and burning sting of alcohol to hit the back of your throat, nor for it to burn so fiercely as it went down into your stomach.

“Sorry Your Grace, I should have warned you!” Marjorie laughed, patting you on the back as you coughed a few times.

“I-I’m fine.” Waving off her concern, you took a couple deep breaths and turned to Sukuna. “How can you be fine after that?”

“I’ve drunk stronger things in the military.” He simply shrugged, nonchalant to the whole thing. “Now if you excuse me, I’d like to go sit back down.”

“No!” You gasped, grabbing onto Sukuna’s arm as he tried to leave. “You have to dance with me!” Sukunas brow rose considerably at that, unable to tell if you meant it or not.

“I’m sure there are others you’d much rather dance with.” Sukunas attempt to try and shrug you off were in vain, you wouldn’t budge on the matter. After trying and failing a second and third time, he sighed in defeat. “Fine! One dance.”

Clapping giddily, you and Sukuna got positioned on the dance floor and began the moves. This one was similar to the other dances you were doing, switching partners and getting close to other people. Unbeknownst to you, Sukunas eyes stayed on you the entire time, making sure you came back to him as the dance progressed.

“Do not be jealous, Your Highness.” You teased him upon seeing his expression. This was the third dance he just finished and you could tell he was fuming.

“I’m not.” Sukuna vehemently denied, shaking his head a little too hard.

“You are, it is written all over your face.” Throwing his statement from earlier in the day in his face, you laughed as he rolled his eyes in defeat.

“I just- I do not like seeing all those other people dancing with you. You are my partner, not theirs.” Did he mean in just the dance or in another way as well? Your mind couldn’t dwell on the deeper meaning of it - or the meaning of anything, truly - and instead you acted on instinct and boldly grabbed onto Sukunas hand.

“You are my partner as well.” Your smile was goofy and it made Sukuna laugh.

“God, you vex me at times.” He had a smile on his face for the rest of the night, happily dancing with you for songs where you didn’t need to change partners. As the night wore on, the two of you got increasingly inebriated, so much so that Sukunas valet had to herd you into the carriage to take you back to the inn.

It was a struggle for your servants to help dress you in your nightclothes, both of you unable to be still in your respective changing areas. When Sukuna returned to the room, he saw you weren’t wearing your robe like last night.

“Ready for bed, Princess?” He said, forcing himself not to make a comment on your choice of clothing or the fact that your gown was a tad sheer, allowing him to see hints of the outline of your body. He felt himself getting hot under the collar, which made him chuckle; he had refused to put on a shirt when dressing, claiming he was much too hot for that.

“I am.” You stumbled to the bed and collapsed onto it, giving no care for how you looked at the moment. You didn’t even make a sound when Sukuna climbed in after blowing out the last candle, his body brushing yours as you chose to lay in the middle of the bed.

“Princess, how can we sleep like this?” Sukuna was trying so hard to be respectful but with the way you were lying diagonally and kicking your legs up every so often proved it very difficult. You grumbled something unintelligible, unable to form a sentence as drowsiness got the best of you.

After a few failed attempts at getting you to move, Sukuna had frustrated you enough that you let out a loud groan and sat up, allowing him to get comfortable before laying half on top of him. One of your legs was wrapped around his hips while your arms flailed about before settling to wrap around his upper body. With your head securely tucked into the side of his neck, you were finally able to calm down and rest.

“Goodnight Sukuna.” You whispered, slurring his name horribly. It wasn’t clear what possessed you to say his first name like this, but you didn’t seem to mind the way it rolled off your tongue. Sukuna stiffened for a moment, unsure of how to respond.

“G-goodnight, (Y-Princess.” He faltered, unable to say it at the last minute. As he recalls, he was the one who wanted to drop the formalities but as soon as the opportunity arose, he wasn’t able to take it. He practiced saying your name in his head but by the time he got the courage, you were snoring softly. Saving it for another day, Sukuna reciprocated your embrace and wrapped a hand around your back, keeping you snug against him as he let out a heavy sigh.

“Oh Princess, I think I’m falling in love with you.”