#1800s ish setting

[rafeandonlyrafe]

your duke

words: 4.7k

warnings: 18+ only!, smut, p in v sex, unprotected sex, mentions of having children, duke!rafe, 1800S au, royalty au, probably a lot of incorrect era things but idk! bear with me yall, maid!reader, implication of noncon but it is not actually described, r*pe aftermath, poisioning/murder, assassination plot, kinda angsty but happy ending, slowburn ish? i fell in love the way you fell asleep, slowly and then all at once

you are humming to yourself as you wipe down the surfaces off the room, collecting the nonexistent dust on your rag before turning your attention towards the bath, filling it with hot water, anticipating the dukes return.

you move onto the bed next, filled with extravagant silks and embroidered blankets. you make it perfectly, erasing any evidence that it was slept in only for the duke to create a mess when he comes back to his chambers.

you know you should feel lucky, getting to work in the palace with one of the kings closest friend and advisor, but it's tedious maid work, barely worth the couple gold coins you get at the end of every day.

you don't realize that the duke has entered until the door slams shut behind him, making you jump up, eyes wide as you turn and give him a quick bow, keeping your head down.

“good evening, duke cameron.”

“evening.” he addresses you back after a moment, allowing you to rise. you have to hold in a gasp, you always forget how beautiful the duke is.

“i filled the bath for you, sir.” you gesture your arm towards the bathroom. “i will take your garments for cleaning once you ready.”

“thank you, y/n.” the duke says, making your eyebrows rise. you have only been working for a couple weeks, and only recently got reassigned to the dukes room. you introduced yourself only once, and certainly expected him to instantly forget your name.

you watch as he goes behind the thick curtain into the bath, entering only when you hear him sink into the warm water with a satisfied groan.

you keep your eyes on the floor as you step around the corner just long enough to grab the clothing off the floor before fleeing with a bow to clean them.

you head to the lower levels of the palace, smiling at the other help that you see as you head towards the laundry room, quickly cleaning his clothes before hanging them on a line meant specifically for the duke.

“on your way back up to duke camerons?” the voice makes your back snap straight, turning to look at mrs. peregrine, her name living up to her hawkish features, a stern old woman but one to be admired for running the entirety of the background of the palace, coordinating maids and assistants, even running the kitchen with an iron fist.

“yes ma’am.” you nod.

“the king has requested that he receives a personal assistant.” she says, looking you up and down with a disapproving look in her brown eyes, so dark they almost appear black.

you wait patiently before she sighs. “my goodness girl, im offering you a promotion.”

“oh!” you raise your eyebrows, not expecting to move through the ranks so quickly. “yes, ma’am… what does being a personal assistant include?”

“you will bring up his meals, take requests and fill whatever he needs and… keep him satisfied.” you immediately understand the implication there, letting out a quick nod. she almost looks sad for a brief second before her features harden again. “get his dinner tray from the kitchen and bring it up immediately.”

you rush to the kitchen, grabbing the tray indicated for the duke. you hurry up the stairs, but are careful not to spill the plates loaded on the silver platter.

“dinner, sir.” you call with a knock, glad when instead of telling you to come inside that duke cameron opens the door for you. you set the tray down at his dining table. you wonder what the palace chambers of the king are like when a dukes looks like this.

“are you my assistant then y/n?” rafe asks, sitting down as you stand at the other side of the table, hands clasped together, waiting, but you're not sure what.

“yes sir.” you nod quickly. “anything you wish i am… here to serve.”

“are you hungry?” he asks, making you scrunch your brows together.

“what?” you know you shouldn't question what the duke says, but you surely must have heard him wrong.

“are you hungry? the kitchen always gives me more than i could ever eat.”

“oh- i- i am fine, sir. thank you.” you say, but your traitorous eyes betray you as you look at the food, bread smothered with butter, steak dripping with juice.

“no more with the sir, please.” he waves his hand. “makes me feel like my father. just call me rafe.”

you let a light laugh slip. duke cameron-rafe is remarkably young to have risen to the ranks so quickly. some even believe he is who the king will appoint if he doesn't produce an heir.

“and come sit down.” rafe kicks out the chair next to you. you step closer, easing yourself down into the wooden chair.

rafe takes one of the plates and loads a few things on it before setting it in front of you with one simple word. “eat.”

you're not going to argue with duke, and the meal is no doubt the most extravagant that you're ever going to get to taste, so you begin to eat, eyes widening when you taste the warm bread, so unlike the old stale loaf you get for cheap from the market.

rafe looks satisfied when your finished, pushing his cup of wine towards you to finish off.

“thank you, s-rafe.” you both smile.

“it's my pleasure.” rafe says, standing up and moving to flop down on his bed, placing his hand on his stomach. “so much good food.”

you bite your tongue, resisting the urge to say that there are people right outside the palace walls starving.

you quickly collect all of the silverware before placing the serving tray outside of the door to take back down to the kitchen later. maybe you'd even be able to sneak some more food now that you have access.

“what else can i do for you, sir?” you ask, looking out the window as the sky darkens. you wonder when you'll be dismissed now that you're an assistant to a duke, not just a lowly maid.

“come here.” he calls, eyes now closed as he lays on the bed.

you move quickly, putting your shame to the side. you know what is being requested of you now as you step to the edge of the bed, looking down rafes body until you are staring at his crotch. your hands reach cautiously until you cant wait any longer, grabbing the hem of his pants.

the dukes eyes pop open, pushing your fingers away. “what are you doing?”

“i-i am so sorry, sir!” you take a step back before sinking to your knees, bending your head down. “i thought you wanted to receive your… your nightly pleasures.”

you keep your eyes trained on the plush rug, but you can hear that rafe has moved to stand directly in front of you.

“you are not a whore.” his words are harsh for a moment, but then he kneels down next to you, his fingers touching under your chin and forcing you to look up at him. “i do not expect you to do anything for me that you do not want to.”

“sir, it's included in being your assistant.” you explain.

“i will not ask you to do anything lewd, understood?” he asks, holding your eye until you nod.

“you… you are a good man.” you say, letting him take your hand to help you stand, your dress falling back around your ankles.

“if only.” he looks into the distance for a moment before shaking his head. “you're dismissed.”

“yes sir.” you lower your head, rushing out of the room.

-- two weeks later --

“would you ask the kitchen for chicken today?” the duke asks as you adjust his outfit, quickly learning his tastes as you fold his collar down.

“roasted?” you question, smiling when rafe shakes his head.

“and make sure you tell them i want lunch too.” you know exactly what the duke means. he will no doubt be eating with the king, but he wants you to get food from the kitchen for yourself. you would refuse, but it gives you something to do as you wait around in his chambers, waiting to be called on.

“yes, sir.” you nod before leading him to the door, opening up the door with a bow as he goes to yet another meeting. he seems to always be involved. you don't know his personal politics, but from the way he treats you, you're sure he must be a good man.

you spend some time cleaning as you wait for rafe to return, as well as getting lunch and wandering the hallways, seeing how far you can go without seeing anyone.

you are relieved when time rolls around for you to draw a bath for the duke, excited to see him.

the door opens as you turn with a smile. “good evening, rafe. how was your day?”

“busy.” he admits with a sigh. you can tell he looks tired. “is the bath ready?”

“yes, sir.” you say, not able to always resist the formalities.

rafe nods, walking past you but not before laying a hand on your shoulder, giving it a light squeeze as a thank you, like he is too tired to even say the words.

you wait to hear the water before stepping in to get his clothes.

“y/n.” rafe says.

“yes sir?” you ask, keeping your eyes cast downward.

“would you… would you massage my shoulders and head? please.”

“of course.” you drag a stool towards the edge of the bath, glad to see the water is still steaming, no doubt relaxing rafe. you keep your eyes firmly away from lower down his body as you rub over his scalp and shoulders, working out the kinks in his neck.

you're almost sure that rafe has fallen asleep as you continue to massage, unable to resist as you lean in and take a small inhale, smelling his unique scent that is near intoxicating. you wish his room smelled more of him and less like you, it seems like he never gets to relax unless it's to sleep.

“why are you always so busy, sir?” you ask seriously. “the other dukes spend half the nights on the town and the other half at their summer houses. you work yourself to death.”

“for good reason.” he simply says. you sigh, you're not going to get anymore than that.

-- three months later --

“would you go to albion with me?” the duke asks, your eyes widening as you almost choke on the perfectly buttered biscuit you have in your mouth.

“of course!” you nod. “ive never left the city before.” you long to see the countryside, and even if you are going as an assistant, you would never turn down the opportunity.

“never?” he raises an eyebrow. “not even as a child?”

“no.” you shake your head. “i had to work ever since i was a young girl.”

“it's a shame.” the duke says. “you aren't like the others…”

“what do you mean?” you question, taking a timid bite of the roast chicken.

“like the people i see sleeping on the streets. you have manners, you work hard… you're beautiful.”

you can feel your cheeks blush bright red. “why thank you.”

“this is when you pay me a compliment back.” he smirks, using the charm he is so well known for.

“you are… very handsome.” you say before taking a quick sip of wine.

“come on, anything specific?”

you know exactly what you are going to say. “your eyes.” you quickly attest. “they're… they're enchanting. i imagine they are what the sea looks like.”

the duke smiles, blue eyes sparkling like the sun reflecting off the waves, and you swear you could melt right there in your seat.

-- one week later --

“is this your first time in a carriage?” the duke asks as the coachman reaches his hand out to help you into the small enclosed area.

“yes.” you nod, taking in the plush seats before sitting down, rafe sitting across from you.

“im glad i get to show you this then.” rafe says with a light smile, opening up the windows to allow you to look out as the horse begins to clop through the city streets.

you watch with excitement as the cobblestone roads turn to dirt and stone paths, brick buildings being replaced by rolling hills, crops, and distant farmhouses.

you chat with the duke throughout your travels, his smile growing whenever you point out something out of the window, loving your excitement when you come across a heard of cows, or cross over a wooden bridge.

“i want to show you everything.” rafe mumbles unders his breath, realizing in that moment how deep he is in.

its only a few more hours before you arrive at albion. your duties are much the same when at the kings palace, retreating quickly to make the dukes room just as he pleases, even adjusting the pillows to how you always find them in the morning.

you explore the help areas of the albion manor, glancing into the various rooms as you learn the layout, since the duke does intend to stay for two nights.

“exploring, are we?” rafes voice makes you jump as you turn suddenly.

“please excuse me.” you bow down when you realize duke cameron is with the duke of albion.

“is this your wife, duke cameron?” he asks, looking over you and your curtsey.

“why, no.” you can tell from rafes voice that he is delighted by the question. “though you would never guess it, she is my maid.”

“such a gorgeous maid.” you can hear them step closer, but you keep your head turned down until the duke of albion clears his throat and you stand.

you can see that rafes face has changed from a smile to cautious displeasure as the duke looks you up and down, a jeer taking over his face.

“she is a wonderful maid. a great conversationalist, too. she rode the entire way in my carriage and i was not once bored.”

“can she dance?” the duke of albion asks.

“ask the lady yourself.” rafe turns to look at you, nodding encouragingly.

“i have not danced since i was a child.” you say, keeping your voice quiet and soft. you know that there are dukes out there sick on power, and you're not sure the duke of albion is one of the good ones like your duke cameron.

“well, we must change that, shouldn't we duke cameron?” he turns to look at rafe, who nods. “invite her to the ball tomorrow night.” it's all he has to say before walking away. you let out a breath of relief once he turns down a hallway.

“you don't have to go to the ball if you don't want to.” rafe says as you begin to walk towards his room. you stay a step behind him like a proper maid. “i will make up an excuse for you if you wish, but…” rafe pushes the door open, allowing you to enter the chambers first. “if you want to don a pretty dress and arrive on my arm, i will not deny you the chance.”

“i would love to. as long as i only have to dance with you.” you can't imagine being passed off to random men.

your duke smiles at you before nodding, setting down at the dining table, where food must have been recently delivered as he portions some out for you.

“where are you to sleep?” he asks as you begin to eat.

“i visited the helps chambers already, i will sleep in a cot there.”

rafe frowns. “a cot? that is unacceptable.”

“it's just as nice as the one i have at home.” you admit with a casual shrug.

“you do not own a bed in your house?” rafe questions. he's never thought too much about your living situation before.

“i rent a room.” you say simply. “i don't even have a house or a whole apartment to myself.”

rafe is quiet until you're both done eating, seemingly deep in thought.

“you are sleeping in the bed tonight and i shall sleep on the settee. and we shall find new living arrangements for you when we return to the palace.”

“sir-”

“there will be no arguments.” he says, with a tone of authority you've never heard before. your mouth zips shut.

--

“im afraid im going to be sick.” you press your hand to the front of your dress, a soft pink fabric that must be more than your entire yearly salary for just have the material of the gown.

the duke of albion sent a few different options. they're clearly old dresses from maybe his wife or other manor women. you even made an attempt to do your hair rather than just pull it back into a bun or braid like you often do.

“you look beautiful.” rafe squeezes your hand. “and you have nothing to be nervous about. i will not leave your side.”

rafe waits for you to nod before stepping through the doors. he would turn back and take you back to his chambers if you were truly too nervous, social consequences be damned. rafe couldn't care less about his place in society, not when he knows he's been written into the kings will to take over the crown if he doesn't produce an heir with his wife before his death.

you're glad people are paying more attention to rafe than the women on his arm as he leads you around the room, greeting people and introducing you simply as lady y/n, not mentioning that you are his maid and assistant.

you watch a few dances with fascination, the twirling skirts of the women far more appealing then the men.

“want to try the dance floor?” he asks, squeezing your hand gently.

“yes.” you say honestly. you weren't sure, but to look into rafes eyes while the band plays is too tempting.

rafe leads you towards the center of the room, thankful the dance has already been done once, as you mostly remember the moves as he leads you through it, a wide smile on your face.

-- one week later --

“is everything moved?” rafe asks as he enters the room, eyes widening when he realizes it's been completely stripped, even the curtain separating the living area and bathroom has been taken down.

“yes.” you nod. “mrs. peregrine said there is no one else moving into this room, so.” you shrug. you feel a little sad about leaving the chambers that you've grown so close to rafe in, but he himself requested a bigger chamber. he must not ask for much, because the king quickly accepted his request.

two beds. you walk up one more flight of stairs to the newer bedrooms, family chambers for those who live inside the palace with their children, or for those who will have their maid live with them like rafe.

“no more cots for you.” rafe says as you enter the room. you can't help yourself, tearing up when you see your bed. yours. 

“good tears?” rafe confirms before pulling you in for a hug. the touching may be frowned on by society, but you find comfort and familiarity in his hold, having grown so close over the past months.

--

you are humming softly with a smile on your face as you bring down rafes laundry, the last task for the night before also retreating to your bedroom.

“y/n.” mrs peregrine says, her hawk eyes landing on you and the bundle of clothing in your arms.

“yes ma’am?”

“the king has requested a new maid for the night. he wants someone young. go.”

it takes a second for her words to process before you realize what she's asking for.

“i-”

“you can go back to duke cameron in the morning, he wants someone new for the night. go. now.”

you drop the laundry, considering running. either out of the palace or back to rafe, but mrs. peregrine follows behind you like she can read your thoughts until you're standing in front of the door to the kings chambers. you can hear lewd noises from behind the carved wood, the golden handle gleaming.

mrs. peregrine grabs and turns it before pushing you in.

“ah, a new one!” the king grunts, a mess of bare skin taking up the massive bed. “get over here!”

--

“where were you?” rafe asks, grasping your shoulders the second you enter the chambers, the morning sun not even rising yet, having fled the second the kings head hit the pillow.

you open your mouth to speak, but all that comes out is a loud sob as you lean forward, burying your face into his chest. 

“shh, shh.” rafe wraps his arms around you, letting you cry into his chest as his hand strokes gently up and down your back. “i got you. you're okay.”

he leads you over towards the beds, bypassing your own and taking you to sit on his, arms still holding you comfortingly.

“i-i had to go to the kings chambers.” you swallow thickly, glad you don't have to explain any more as rafes face turns to one of anger.

“the king disrespected you. he disrespected me. and he disrespected his wife. something will be done about it.”

you're not sure what your duke has planned, but you trust him.

--

rafe watches with anticipation. he planned to wait another couple months, to build up the tolerance of the kings food taster to the poison he's been slipping in, but after what you were subjected to, he will wait no longer.

every meal the taster ate outside of testing the kings food has had slowly increasing amounts of poison in it. he hadn't quite reached lethal yet, but rafe hopes he will at least last long enough for the king to eat before showing any signs of sickness.

rafe watches with anticipation, barely touching his own food as the taster tries everything. a bite of mashed potatoes, of chicken, and so on before nodding and passing the plate to the king.

he's too cocky for his own good, not even waiting for a minute to see if the taster has a bad reaction before eating, sure that he was too untouchable.

rafe hides his smile when the kings face turns pale, sputtering before falling face forward into the mashed potatoes, knocked out dead.

--

the palace is in an uproar. you were waiting for rafe to return to the chambers from his dinner with the king and other dukes when someone bursts in.

“the king is dead. duke cameron is now the king. come now.”

you hesitate before they rush out of the room. your feet move before your mind does, rushing after what you must assume is an advisor.

you hear loud crying, desperately sad, heartbreaking screams as you're lead to the kings chambers. your eyes widen when you see the former queen being dragged out, mourning with loud sobs the loss of her husband and title.

“king cameron is waiting for you inside.”

you walk in, surprised when the door swing shuts behind you. you look around the grand space, not having truly taken it in the time the king had you brought in.

“rafe-” you run to him, wrapping your arms around his shoulders. he's stood near where the bed used to be. it must have been his first order, to have the very bed you were disrespected in taken out of the chambers. you hope it gets burned.

“i did it for you. for us.” rafe holds you close as it sinks in. rafe killed the king.

“i want you to be my queen.” rafe pulls away to look you in the eye. “i want you to be my wife.”

“i-” 

“the former queen is pregnant. hopefully with a boy. we will rule until he is 13 then vacate the throne. we can go to the countryside, i can give you the life you deserve-”

you cut rafe off by pressing your lips against his. he hesitates for a split second before kissing back, holding you even tighter to him.

“id be honored to be your wife.” you whisper against his lips. “i love you.”

“i love you so much.” rafes tongue slips into your mouth, distracting you from thinking too hard as he kisses you, your bodies turning warm as he leads you towards the couch, laying you down on your back as he hovers over you, not allowing your lips to seperate.

“we will…” rafe gasps out, pausing his words to kiss you again. “we will rule. we will amass wealth. we will retire with our money to the countryside.” rafe squeezes your waist. “we will have as many children as you want. none, if you want. anything for you, my soon to be queen.”

“i never thought id be able to have kids.” you sniffle. “you've given me so much.”

you reach up to take rafes face in your hands, rubbing your thumbs over his cheeks before pulling him down for a kiss.

“i love you.” you kiss him over and over. “i want you.”

“now?” rafe looks down at you. “are you sure?”

“yes, please.” you kiss him again. “replace my bad memories with a good one.”

rafe moves slowly, carefully undoing your dress until you're in just your underclothes. he continues to kiss you before turning the attention to himself, taking off his layers until he's in just underpants.

you run your hands up and down over his chest, lifting your hips as he tugs your final layer off.

rafe pulls away from the kiss to look down at your body. a smile spreads over his face before slinking down the couch he grasps your chest in his hands, cupping your breasts.

“i should have had them bring in a new bed first.” he chuckles, pressing his hips down into your thigh, allowing you to feel his length through his underpants.

“i need you now. please.” you whimper out. rafe smiles, unable to keep the grin off his face since his plan succeeded and he finally admitted his feelings to you.

“you never have to beg me for anything, my queen.” rafe says, pulling his final layer off. “you're never going to go without ever again.”

you feel tears well in your eyes as rafe lines himself up with your entrance, sinking deep into you as you both moan out. 

“i love you.” you whisper again, needing to tell him as many times as you possibly can.

rafe presses his lips over each over your eyelids, kissing away your tears.

-- 14 years later -- 

“it's everything i imagined and more.” you smile to your husband, having just returned from the tour of the vast gardens.

“nothing but the best for you, my love.” rafe spent years looking for the perfect retirement property as the new king grew up until he was of age to take over the title.

you push the hair back out of rafes face, admiring his features. there's a few increased lines on his face from the age and the stress of the crown, but the twinkle in his eye is all the same.

“i was thinking once we settle down here i will take you on a vacation to see the ocean. then we can get started on making those babies i promised you.”

“why not start now?” you smile, turning towards your bedroom as rafe quickly follows behind, the halls filling with warm laughter, much to the staffs relief, glad to have a happy couple as the new duke and duchess.

rafe closes and locks the bedroom door behind you, the curtains and windows open, letting in the clean country air, so different from the city that you've finally escaped.

“how many babies do you want?” rafe asks, pushing up the bottom of your linen dress up to reveal that you aren't wearing anything underneath, much to rafes appreciation.

“hmm.” you hum out as rafe tugs his pants down. “two boys, two girls?”

“i like the way you think.” rafe smiles, pressing a kiss your lips. “my queen. you'll always-” another kiss. “be my queen.”

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[seresinhangmanjake]

Ain't What It Is

Benny Cross x reader

Summary: You think you know your boyfriend better than anyone, but when Benny thinks you've cheated, you see a whole new side of him.

Notes/Warnings: angsty-ish, but fluff too. Cursing. Throwing things. Angry Benny. Drinking. Typos.

Words: 1800

Benny Cross Masterlist / Main Masterlist / Tag List

He’s home. And as thrilled as you are to see his bike parked in front of the house before midnight on a weekday, you’re just as confused. Excluding weekends, when riding during the day frees up Benny’s nights to give to you, it’s a rarity to see him between the dark hours of eight and three; a pattern so consistent that it’s almost silly to expect anything different.

You knew that when you met Benny. You knew exactly what you were getting into, and because of that, you don’t fault him for staying out late. Riding is important to Benny, it makes up a chunk of his soul, and because the other guys in the club—with their families and day jobs and grown-up responsibilities—can typically only meet after their kids are passed out from a bedtime story and their wives have finished screaming at them for daring to leave the house at such an ungodly hour, you let him be free to enjoy time with the club when he can. 

If that time is given to you instead, you’re happy to have him for an entire night. However, now, as you enter through the front door, it’s not what you expected. The house is a pit of darkness; could be abandoned if you didn’t know the space you were stepping into. 

“Benny?” you call, flicking on the nearest light. You toss your handbag onto the entryway table and make your way to the kitchen to check the fridge. If he’s already asleep, you hope he at least got to the leftovers you put away for him that he usually scarfs down before he comes to bed. 

Turning the corner, you gasp, nearly jumping out of your skin at the shadowed figure sitting at the breakfast table. Your hand flies to your thumping heart. 

“Jesus, honey, you scared me,” you breathe out. “Why are you sitting in the dark?”

A ray of moonlight streams through the window, surrounding your boyfriend and emphasizing his silhouette. He leans back in the chair and brings a bottle to his lips. 

“Have you been drinking? How much? God, please tell me you didn’t ride the bike drunk,” you say. He doesn’t answer. 

You sigh and move across the room with the intent to pull the silver chain of the small lamp on your counter—it’s a soft glow that won’t assault his eyes or yours after lingering in pitch black—but a strong hand wraps around your wrist as you pass by. 

“Benny, wha–”

Your eyes adjust. You can finally make out his features as he looks up at you, and they’re as dark as the space you occupy. “You messin' around on me?” he asks. 

If your eyebrows could lift above your forehead they would. If your jaw could unhinge itself, it’d be on the floor. “What?”

Benny shoots up, chair skidding back on the tile with an awful scraping sound. “Are you fuckin’ someone?” he spits out, leaning into you.

“What do you mean? I’m–”

He drops your wrist and groans, twisting on his heel and running his hand through already messy hair before turning back to you. And you don’t understand, because this, right here, is not your boyfriend. This is not how he acts. Rageful? Yes. One edge? Slightly inebriated? Yes and yes. But accusatory? Hot-tempered with you? Not for a single moment in the course of your time together. 

“It’s that prick your ma’s tryin’ to set you up with, isn’t it!” he shouts. “I don’t get why she thinks he’s better than me!”

And then suddenly you know. You catch the anger trying to disguise the twinge of pain in his voice. Pain that is stemming from one thing and one thing only—your Mama’s bullshit. 

She’s sly, that woman, and when you and Benny went to her house last week for dinner because you were exhausted of her complaints that she never sees you, who did you find in the seat assigned next to yours but her best friend’s son; a marking director in the city who makes an unnecessary amount of money and who expressed interest in you. 

She knew you were bringing Benny. She knew because she requested that you bring Benny. You had plans to spare him the agony of an evening with the woman who hates him for his upbringing and unpredictable lifestyle, but when she asked for him, a glimmer of hope sparked. Maybe she was finally letting it go, turning over a new leaf by allowing your relationship to be your and Benny’s business and no one else’s. But you were so wrong. 

An hour and a half of verbal jabs at your boyfriend were evened out by the plethora of compliments she had for her top pick as son-in-law. Benny was a trooper for your sake, but once the words ‘you two would make beautiful babies’ left her wrinkling lips, it was obvious the twig of his restraint was about to snap. And frankly, so was yours.

You took Benny by the hand, stormed out of your childhood home to ride back to your real home, and let Benny claim you however he wanted for the remainder of the night while you praised and soothed and reassured him of your feelings. And you thought those actions and words were enough for Benny to understand where your heart lies, but you’d be lying if you said he hasn’t seemed different over the last seven days.

You release a slow breath, “Honey…”

“So he wears a fuckin’ tie! So what!” His arm whips out and the bottle smashes against the wall, shards sprinkling the floor. 

“Benny!”

“What!”

“Calm down!”

In two large steps, his body is looming over yours, your upper arms suddenly wrapped in his large hands, squeezing but not enough to hurt. “I know he ain’t like me, but that don't make him better for ya,” he says. “‘Sides, he can’t love ya like I do, so what do ya want him for?”

And that is the last straw because now you’re insulted. You shimmy your body out of his grasp and he glances down at his empty hands with wide eyes, brows knitted, lips parted as if you had simply vanished.

“I am not messing around!” you snap. 

“Then where the fuck ya been tonight?” he demands. “Huh? Ya weren’t here. You’re always here. You’ve never not been here at this time’a night, so what am I supposed to be thinkin’?”

Your arms cross over your chest. Your jaw clenches. Your eyes burn. “Sit down.”

“Baby, you tell me right no–”

“Sit down, Benny!” 

His head jerks back at the harshness you rarely exhibit, and though he briefly hesitates, he eventually complies, because you won’t use that tone unless he crosses a line and he knows it, and when you do have to use that tone because he has crossed a line, he knows he loses the things he likes. Sex; your homemade blueberry pie; your willingness to ride with him and go to picnics and bonfires with the club—all of it, for however long you decide. Benny doesn’t like to beg, but in those times, you can take him to his knees. 

“Do you know how many nights I spend not knowing exactly where you are or when you’re going to be home?” you ask, bending at the waist until you’re at his eye level. “I knew going into this relationship that that's how things were going to be and I wanted you anyway. I understood how important it is for you to maintain your riding with the club, and I’ve always been happy that you have that. But you don’t know where I am once and suddenly I’m cheating on you?”

You straighten your spine and shake your head. “My cousin called. Needed me to watch her kid. I rang the bar but Joe said you guys were out riding.”

Benny’s huffs. His hand runs down his face, then in one final snippy effort, he says, “Well, you could’a left a note.”

Scoffing, you go over to the fridge and point to the piece of paper that in bright red lettering states: ‘Watching Teddy. I’ll be home late. Love you,” followed by your name and a little heart. 

“Try again,” you say. 

With that, he seems to sober up, both in his inebriation and attitude. As he should. It’s embarrassing to miss the note written in massive letters in an obnoxious color stuck to the fridge where you always leave notes for one another. In fact, you’re embarrassed for him, and you would tell him so were it not for the kicked-puppy look on his face that drains the irritation from yours. 

“You love me,” you say.

Benny sighs. “I know.”

“And you can't trust me?”

He leans forward in his seat, elbows perching on knees and hands scrubbing his face as if it might erase the shame of his accusations. “I do, baby, I just…

You return to his side, and planting your hands on his shoulders, you push him back in the chair to take a seat on his lap. Your arms wrap around his neck. 

“My mama doesn’t know what’s good for me if she thinks you're not it, but you can’t be treating me like this,” you tell him. “It's not fair. I don’t sit at home thinking you’re messing around on me.”

Benny’s eyes connect to yours as his hand curls at your waist. “I wouldn’t.”

“I know that,” you say. Your palm cups his scruffy cheek. “And you should know I wouldn’t either, so what happened? It’s not like you to be acting like this.”

He takes a second to collect his thoughts, then replies, “I was ridin’ and I missed you so I cut it short, but when I got home I couldn’t find you. And then I started thinkin’ and…” He shakes his head. “Baby, your ma's said shit before but she never shoved another guy in my face. I don’t give a fuck if she hates me, but– ”

“Benny, honey, there’s no way,” you swear to him, running your thumb over the sharp line of his cheekbone. “I mean, he wears a fucking tie.”

Benny’s lips part, eyes flicking back and forth between yours, before he softly chuckles in relief. His head falls forward, forehead resting on your collarbone. Your skin takes the heat of his heavy breaths, and then you feel the press of his lips. They make a gentle trail from your chest, up your neck, over your chin, before planting firmly on your mouth. 

“You're mine. You’re it,” you say when the kiss breaks. “No other man but you, Benny Cross.”

[strawberrymitsuriii]

Rules

The mountains have many rules. But out of all of them, five are the most important.

Mitsuri x fem Reader x Obanai

Words: 5.3k

Tw: Dark content, yandere monsters, monster fucking?, dubcon, squirting, fingering, smut, submissive obanai! Kinda don ish mitsuri?, uhhh also shitty smut kinda.

The mountains have many rules.

Of course, to keep the locals and tourists safe when living/visiting here. You remember when you and your parents first visited your grandparents up here in the mountains. Your grandparents made sure your parents told you beforehand about all the rules you had to follow for your stay.

Rule number one: Don’t be/go outside after the sun sets. That’s when they come out.

Rule number two: Don’t whistle once it’s dark. It attracts them.

Rule number three: You don’t see/hear anything. You ignore it and go on about your day.

Rule number four: Always keep your doors and windows locked. Don't let them in, even if they are outside begging to be let in. Don’t. They aren’t what they seem.

And the last and most important rule

Rule number five: If you hear your name being called. Don’t. Respond. Back. It’s not who you think it might be. Ignore it and don’t entertain it. If you want to see the light of day again.

Easy five rules to follow, right?

You always made sure to follow those five simple rules. Growing scared from all the stories the locals will tell little 6 year old you. Your parents also told you to be careful. That yes the woods are pretty, but they aren’t safe.

You haven’t seen your grandparents since you were 16. It’s been a long 8 years since then. You and your parents stopped visiting them after work has been catching up to them and you being busy with school. Of course you did call in occasionally and asked how they were doing and if they have been keeping themselves safe and healthy. Not wanting to grow distant with them since you love your grandparents very much.

But after a while, the calls slowly stopped coming in. Life is getting too busy for you and your parents.

It wasn't until a week ago when your aunt called and dropped the horrible news.

Your grandparents have passed away

You remember the feeling of time stopping right then and there. The cries of your mother going muffled as you just stood there.

The funeral wasn’t any better. Everyone was crying and screaming in agony. Your father was next to your weeping mother trying to comfort her as she cried for her parents. You couldn’t do anything but just stand there. Feeling useless.

The moment you got home you quickly ran to your room. That’s when finally all the tears and pain came out. You cried yourself to sleep that night.

-

Your grandparents left the house to you. Their only granddaughter. Before they died, it was already planned out the day you were born that if anything were to happen to them or if they would die. The house will belong to you.

And the house

Oh the house is beautiful

Think about those beautiful old Victorian homes from the 1800s. That’s the beautiful home your grandparents left for you.

And they knew you loved the area. Besides all the rules and weird things that roam the place. You loved it.

So here you are. In front of the house. With your parents standing behind you.

“Are you sure you’ll be okay? We can stay here with you for a few days”

“I’m going to be okay mom. Don’t worry about me”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes dad. I’m 24 years old, I’m pretty sure I can handle myself just fine” You could tell that didn’t help at all and maybe made it a little more ... .worse?

“Okay….make sure you keep the doors and windows locked! A-a-and to not let anyone in okay?!”

“And no staying outside after the sun sets! You never-“

“Never know what can be lurking in those woods yeah yeah I got it” Your mom sighs before she gives you a kiss on your forehead.

“Okay. Stay safe and take care. Me and your father will check in on you in a few weeks, Kay?”

“Mhm”

After 10 long minutes, they left with a goodbye and now you were left alone. You noticed that the sun will begin to set soon so you called it a day and quickly rushed inside.

The house still looked the same. Same wallpaper and furniture. Your grandparents wanted all their old furniture that they bought/collected over the years to stay with the house. To stay with you.

And you didn’t have a problem with that. In fact, you're grateful they left you with all their old furniture. In this economy, a couch will probably cost the same as your rent-.

Literally

You head back upstairs and decide to buy groceries tomorrow morning.

-

“So, how is it so far?” Your friend eagerly asks.

“It’s not bad. Peaceful actually”

“Mm is that so? Those mountains give me the creeps!” You chuckle as you continue making your breakfast.

“Yeah trust me, I was afraid when I first visited this place. But as long as you follow the rules, your pretty much safe”

“Jeez, don’t know how you do it”

Today you already have a little something planned out for the day. For example, after breakfast you’ll go to the local market for groceries. After that you’ll go visit some old spots that your grandparents used to take you to during your summers and after that you’ll be home!

Simple small plans

“Yeah well for starters, I basically grew up here. And my grandparents were very overprotective of me when I would visit here”

“Well then maybe I should go up there and visit you! You’ll protect me from those things right?” You giggle as you answer her question.

“Of course I will”

“Good. Well I’ll talk to you later! I have a shit ton of stuff to do today” She sighs and you can tell she’s slumped over her kitchen counter right now.

“Well I’ll let you go now. But you better come visit once you're free!”

“You bet I am!” You said your goodbyes before hanging up.

The weather was perfect today for the small things you planned out. You made your plate and sat down at the nice dining table. You scrolled through your phone bored out of your mind as you ate the food you made.

You scrolled through pictures and videos of family, friends, or even random people before coming across an article from the town’s official account.

Two teenagers were found mutilated in the woods today earlier this morning. The two teens were reported missing on September 3rd at 9:46 pm by their parents after the teens failed to arrive home on time.

The teens were found today on September 16 at 7:23 am, two weeks after their disappearance. Local sheriffs said that they received a call from a tourist who had the misfortune to stumble upon the dead bodies of the two teens.

“Jesus” You mutter as you frown.

You always knew stuff like this happens. People not taking the rules seriously and being outside way past curfew and BOOM. Next day found dead.

You won’t lie, but you still get chills knowing that you aren’t the only one’s living here. The creatures that lurk in these mountains aren’t friendly to anyone.

Not even animals are safe as you remember stumbling upon multiple dead corpses of the unfortunate growing up.

Those things are vicious, vile creatures with zero mercy.

The words your grandmother used to tell you before reading you a bedtime story.

And she’s right. Those things show no mercy.

To those unfortunate souls that stumble upon those creatures. May they rest in eternal peace.

-

It’s been a couple weeks since you officially moved in. Life is peaceful living here. And you finally adjusted to life here!

Anyways, you were currently watching some of your favorite movies from childhood while you snacked on a bag of your favorite chips. Your parents left an hour ago after they came to check up on you. You three spent good quality time together before they had to leave for the long drive home.

You never knew living in a quiet area would be great. No more honking of cars or the screaming of people outside!

Just peace and quiet

You quietly munch on your chips as you continue watching the movie. Unaware of the eyes that were currently watching you.

No

It wasn’t in front of your window

It was behind the trees from outside

You continue eating before you frown as you hear a small click.

You ignored it at first, but then you heard the sound of a nail tapping against your window.

That’s when you completely froze

NOPE!

You quickly turned off the tv before grabbing your chips and phone and booking it upstairs to your room.

You locked your bedroom door and checked to see if your window was locked. Once you made sure everything was locked you quickly got into bed and left your chips on your night stand.

Definitely not tonight

You soon fell asleep all the while ignoring the strange noises coming from outside in the pitch dark woods.

1/5

-

People have said that the land was hunted. Curse from the Gods after humans yet again began to be greedy and cruel.

Others have said that the creatures that lurk are aliens or other creatures from space. They mysteriously appeared here one day and decided to claim the land as their home.

And others have said that those things used to be people. People who deceived the Gods and as punishment were turned into disgusting vile creatures who now live here in the mountains.

Anyways, there were a lot of rumors surrounding this place and how it came to be.

But even after all that. The land and mountains are beautiful. The most breathtaking place you can ever step foot in.

But people tend to forget about that when the stories and sightings of those creatures go around and get more attention than the beautiful small town itself.

Besides, the history of this town truly is a mystery

-

“Shit” your eyes kept going back and forth to the watch on your wrist and to the road.

Today you drove out to the city to meet up with your friends to go eat at a very popular restaurant after not seeing each other in a while. After eating, one of your friends suggested hitting up a local bar to just chill and have fun. Obviously you all agreed and went.

But unfortunately for you, you didn’t keep track of time and by the time you noticed, it was starting to get pretty late.

“Shit shit shit!” You were a little buzzed from the few drinks you took while at the bar but that didn’t really matter right now as your number one priority was to get home before the sun fully sets, which is already too late.

You kept your eyes on the road. Not taking your eyes off of it as you finally accepted defeat.

You broke one of the rules

You just hoped by the time you get home you don’t get mutilated at your front door step.

A sigh of relief leaves your lips as your house comes into view. You quickly parked and turned off the car and sat there for a moment.

It was quiet

You quickly snatch your keys out of your purse and look around for anything. Your eyes then turn to look at your front door and you take a deep breath. Keys ready in hand, you quickly got out of the car and ran to your door. You opened the door and quickly rushed inside before locking it.

You stood still for a moment. After what felt like forever you sighed in relief and decided that that will be the last time you’ll ever do that again.

No more rule breaking

You told yourself as you walked upstairs. Unaware of the glowing eyes peering outside your window.

2/5

Nothing bad or strange happened that night. You were relieved to wake up the next morning. You had a hard time getting some sleep after you broke one of the five rules. Thinking you wouldn’t see the light of day if you were to go to sleep.

But by some miracle you woke up fine

Which you were very grateful for after seeing more articles of bodies being found deep inside the woods. It’s been getting pretty dangerous lately as more news of dead bodies being found in those woods has become more frequent.

The townspeople were starting to get worried and scared to even step foot outside. Afraid their bodies will be found next.

When your parents found out about you breaking one of the rules, they were livid!

They scolded you for being so careless and not caring about your safety. It took a minute to calm them down but once you did your mom scolded you one last time before hanging up.

“So what are you going to do?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“C’mon y/n, you're seriously planning on still staying after more bodies are being found and not only that but you breaking one of the rules?! Girl you’re crazy” You chuckled and continued folding your clothes.

“Nothing bad happened after that night. Seriously, I'm fine”

“You’re fucking crazy”

“Am not” She sighs and you could tell she’s stressing.

“Just be careful okay? I don’t want you being found next”

“I promise I’ll be fine so quit worrying before you get a grey hair!”

“Oh fuck you!” You both laugh before saying your goodbyes and hanging up. You finish folding the last bit of clothes before letting out a loud sigh. You were tired after today’s event. You did some grocery shopping and some heavy chores.

And by heavy chores….you deep cleaned the whole house

So now you were straight up tired after running around all day. Before your ass could even hit the bed, you heard a loud knock coming from downstairs. You froze and waited to hear it again, thinking it was just your tired mind playing tricks on you.

Knock knock knock

You looked outside and saw that it was dark.

Who the hell could it be knocking at your door this late at night?

You made your way downstairs and the knocking on the door became louder.

“Hello?! Is anyone home?!”

Your heart dropped

It was a female voice

“Please! Our car broke down and we don’t know what to do! If anyone’s home can you please help us!?”

You stayed completely still

What the fuck do you do?!

You quietly make your way up the door and decide to take a small peek at the peephole.

There stood two figures. A women and a man.

The woman looked frightened as she kept looking over her shoulder and the man beside her kept caressing her back as if trying to calm her down.

They look human

You stepped back from the door

Should I open it? Should I help these people and let them in?

“Please, we can’t be outside at this hour so if anyone’s home please let us in” This time the man spoke up.

The knocking stopped after that. Only the sounds of the women’s cries can be heard.

“It’s no use! Obanai-San we’re gonna die!”

“No we’re not. C’mon, it’s best that we get back to the car and just stay there for the night”

“B-but what if those things get us on our way to the car?! No no no! Please whoever is in there let us in!”

“Mitsuri-“

You opened the door which caused the women to screech and hide behind the male. You pointed your gun at them and the man quickly covered the women with his body.

“What are you guys doing knocking at my door?!”

“We need help. Our car broke down not to far from here and we need a place to stay for the night” The man says as he looks at the gun and then back at you.

“And what makes you think I believe you? For all I know you guys can be one of those creatures!”

“If we were you would’ve been dead the moment you opened that door” He says.

“Please! We really do need help!” This time the woman behind him speaks up.

You looked at the two in front of you carefully. They look like they really need help and they also look human. The man is right, if they weren’t they would’ve killed you by now. You sigh before lowering your gun. This makes the two relax and you quickly motion them inside.

“You know it’s dangerous walking around here when it’s dark right?” You say. Eyeing the two suspiciously.

“Of course we know”

“Where were you guys headed?” You asked. Still skeptical about the two of them.

“We were going to go visit my parents! They live in the next town over but while on our way there our car broke down in the middle of the road!” The colorful hair women cried out. You raised a brow at her.

“Why did you guys decide to walk all the way over here? You could’ve just waited it out in your car”

“That was the original plan. But someone wanted to go ask for help” the man says as he looks at the woman next to him. She goes bright red before speaking up.

“I was scared! I heard multiple stories about this place!” You chuckle. The mountains and town are really popular with its supernatural stories after all.

“You guys can spend the night” The two sigh in relief. Thankful for your kindness.

“Thank you so much! You are so kind!” The woman blurted out as she smiled.

“Yeah….but by morning you guys have to be out”

“That won’t be a problem” The man says. You just nod and show them the way to one of the many guest bedrooms you have.

“Oh my goodness! How impolite of us to not introduce ourselves! My name is mitsuri!”

“This is obanai! Thank you once again!”

Okay she’s definitely not one of those creatures. You relaxed a bit and decided why not also introduce yourself.

“I’m y/n”

“Oh! Y/n you have such a very pretty name!” She says as she smiles.

“Ah, thank you. Your name is very pretty also!” The woman beams. Very happy to hear that.

“Well I’ll leave the two of you alone. Doors and windows are locked so there’s no need to worry about the monsters coming in!” You joke. They both nod. You leave to go back to your room for much needed rest after a long day. You sleep in utter peace. Not knowing that even with doors and windows locked. The monster still made their way inside your precious home.

3/5

The next day you woke up to the two strangers gone. The bedroom that they stayed in from the night before was left cleaned and untouched. Like they never used it.

“At least they made the bed”

You moved on after that. Weeks have passed and the strangers have become ... .Well strangers!

You just got home from work and you were slumped. It was late, yes but you managed to get home before the sun set. You were ready to just fall asleep in the sweat and dirt from today at work until you remembered that you recently washed your bedsheets and covers.

You were currently washing up and scrubbing away all the dead skin and dirt that has built up while also thinking about what you should make tomorrow for dinner.

Your parents are coming to visit tomorrow and are also staying for a few days so you wanted to make sure you have all the ingredients for tomorrow's dinner.

“Maybe I should make some pasta? Shrimp Alfredo? Or maybe some chicken curry? Orrr chicken quesadillas? Or maybe-“

You continue to ramble about all the possible foods you can make for tomorrow’s dinner.

Once you were done cleaning up, you made sure to quickly write down the dinner plans so you wouldn’t forget by tomorrow morning.

“Phewwww! Welp time for bed!” You made yourself comfortable before drifting off to blissful sleep.

Unaware of the small whistle that slipped out your mouth earlier in the shower.

4/5

You managed to wake up bright and early to get the things you needed to make tonight’s dinner. Your parents are coming in a few hours so you wanted to get the ingredients for dinner out of the way so you wouldn’t have to worry about it later.

You went to your local market to buy all the fresh vegetables and fruits first before going to another store to pick up some other stuff that you needed.

You were excited. It’s been some time since you saw your parents so you wanted everything to be perfect. After picking up the last few ingredients you drove home. You also needed to do some last minute cleaning before focusing on the dinner part.

Once you arrived home you saw something strange laying on your front porch.

“Weird…I don’t remember ordering anything” You parked your car before slowly getting out of the vehicle. The moment you got out a stench hit you straight in the face. You wanted to vomit and you quickly covered half of your face.

It was coming from your front porch

Slowly, you walked towards your porch to get a closer look at what was there and you noticed flies surrounding the thing that was there.

“Oh my God”

You took a step back when you noticed what was there.

It was a dead deer

The poor thing was….mutilated. There was a dead mutilated deer on your front porch.

You felt sick

Your stomach turned and you felt like vomiting right then and there.

“So you found a dead deer on your front porch?”

“Yes”

“And nothing else? Dear are you okay?!”

“Mhm yes mom I’m fine” You called your parents immediately after seeing the dead animal in front of your house. The moment your parents heard, they immediately got in the car and started making their way to you a little earlier than what was planned.

“Go inside the house from the back door. Don’t touch anything and keep the doors locked. Stuff like this is usually a threat from those things, we’ll be there in 2 hours if traffic isn’t bad, but just stay inside okay?”

“Yes dad”

“Everythings going to be fine sweetheart, so don’t stress, okay?”

“Yes mom I’m already inside so don’t worry”

“Okay, we’ll be there soon”

And the call ended

Luckily you brought the grocery bags inside the house so you decided to start making dinner a little earlier than expected to get your mind off the dead animal that is still currently laying on your front porch.

You wouldn’t lie and say you weren’t scared. You were fucking terrified. When dead animals are left in front of someone’s house or backyard or land, 100% of the time that person is dead.

It’s a threat. Those things are threatening you and you don’t even know WHY.

You're trying to remember all the things you could’ve done to upset them - or it? You don’t know! You just can’t come up with anything that could explain why such a thing even happened!

You try to let it go and forget about it.

Maybe it’s a coincidence or…a mistake?

Maybe they got the wrong house, yeah?

You sigh and decide to just focus on dinner.

As you were washing some of the vegetables, you heard a faint click.

With the speed of light you turned off the water and stood completely still. You hear the faint sounds of tapping coming from the window of the living room.

Oh God

The sounds of nails dragging against the door is what you hear next. Long. Sharp. Nails.

You hear it before it stops. Then you hear the tap on the window again but now it’s coming from in front of you. You looked up at the window that is in front of your sink. You were lucky you have a small curtain covering the window because you know whatever is behind that window would’ve scared the ever living shit out of you.

You took a couple steps back before your back hit something. Immediately you froze.

You stayed still as whatever was behind you let out a low growl. You feel its long boney hands rest on your shoulders and you could physically feel your heart drop.

The thing then grips your shoulders and that was enough for you to pass out in fear.

Your head is pounding and you feel cold. You slowly opened your eyes and you saw that it was dark outside.

What

Was all that just a dream?

You tried to sit up but something cold stopped you from doing so. You looked up and saw that your wrists were tied. The cold breeze from the open window made you shiver.

Wait

Open window?!

You panicked and tried to sit up but you couldn’t. The chains on your wrist prevented you from moving let alone getting up. That’s when you also noticed that you weren’t fully clothed. Only your underwear was on and you felt scared.

What the fuck was happening?!

And then….you hear it again. The faint tapping sound of nails on the glass window. But this time you could tell it was coming from inside your room. You slowly turned your head to face the window of your bedroom.

There….you saw a tall slender figure.

But something about this…person? Seemed familiar.

The person….continued tapping its nail against the window and something about that gave you an eerie feeling.

Suddenly, it stops.

You hold your breath as its head slowly moves to look at you.

Your heart drops the moment you make eye contact with it.

“M-mitsuri?” You whisper.

You can’t believe the woman standing before you is the same woman you met a month ago.

She looks so different

She looks…taller and her face…her face doesn’t look human at all but it also does….does that even make sense?!

Her hair is loose and she seems to not be wearing any clothes. You quickly look away but the moment you do you look up to see obanai hovering over you while staring deeply into your soul.

He also looked different

But the thing that caught your attention the most was his mouth. You see the long cuts in the corner of his mouth. Giving him a snake-like appearance.

“You're awake” Her voice sounds different. Your heart starts to beat fast and you can feel tears already threatening to fall.

“W-why…w-what are you guys”

You closed your eyes. Not daring to look at either of them.

What the fuck are they doing in your house

“You're so pretty….you look so cute being underneath him” She says as she slowly starts caressing your hair. You whimper as you feel obanai beginning to nuzzle his face on your neck.

He was sniffing you

“Noo no no no please don’t kill me!” You cry out as you struggle against your chains. She just giggles before joining you two on the bed.

“We would never hurt you. Right obanai?” He just growls. You can feel his clawed hands beginning to fondle with your breast and you gulp the more you feel him press himself closer to you.

“No no no”

“Shhhh everything’s going to be fine….” You can feel her hand slowly start to make its way towards your private area. You cry as you feel her clawed finger rip your underwear before slowly playing with your clit.

“No! Please-“ You gasp when you feel the male's mouth on your chest. He takes a nipple in his mouth and you shiver feeling his long tongue swirl around it.

Mitsuri continues playing with your clit and she giggles seeing you squirm underneath her touch.

Cute

She thinks

You gasp the moment you feel her fingers slip inside your hole. You gripped onto the chains and bit your lip as tears slid down your cheeks.

“No wait! N-not there!” She begins to thrust her fingers in and out your hole and all you could do is shut your eyes tight as you tried your best to not make any noise. Meanwhile, obanai was having the time of his life sucking harshly at your nipples. A lewd pop is heard as he finally leaves your poor nipple alone.

“More” he growls. You feel relieved when her fingers leave your poor cunt alone. But that was soon gone when you felt something poking you from down there. Your blood runs cold the moment you look down to see a monstrous cock.

Terrified, you squirm and shake your head knowing what was going to happen.

“No no no! Please! That’s not going to fit, please let me go!”

They don’t even pay you any mind as he grabs ahold of both of your thighs and spreads your legs open. They both coo at you and mitsuri begins to caress your face as she calms you down.

His tip pokes your entrance. You can tell he’s trying to hold himself back as mitsuri starts to also caress his face. He leans against her touch and waits for the green light.

“Be careful. Human women are much more delicate than us” He nods before he starts lining up his tip against your hole. You gasp as you feel him slowly push in.

You were ashamed of how wet you were.

You cry out at the burning sensation you feel. Your poor little cunt is being stretched open for crying out loud! You try scooting back. Not wanting him in. But that soon stops as he grabs your waist and slams you down fully on his length. You scream as you gripped onto the chains.

“There there! Look how perfect you're taking him! Oh I knew you were perfect for us!”

You could feel your face heat up at the lewd sounds of your cunt on his cock and the groans and moans leaving him.

“S-slow down!”

You can hear him whimper as he buries his face on your neck. And no, he doesn’t slow down. In fact, he quickened his pace and you could feel your legs start to shake.

“So beautiful!” Your face burns seeing her staring to play with herself. She fondles one of her breasts while looking at the two of you intensely.

Before you know it, you squirt all over his length. The man holds on to you tight as he cums deep inside you. You breathe heavy, your body tired and sensitive from what it has experienced. You couldn’t keep your eyes open even for a second from how tired you were.

“Shhh sleep now. Don’t worry we’ll take great care of you” You lean against her touch and the last thing you see before sleep takes over you is the chains being cut off before your carefully picked up from the bed.

Your parents arrive at last. Your father sees the dead animal still laying on your front porch and him and your mother both quickly make their way in from the back door.

“Y/n! We’re here!” Your mother shouts. But she was met with silence. Worried, your parents quickly run upstairs in search of you. Entering your room, they see that you aren’t in there and that’s when they both begin to panic.

They search the whole house from top to bottom but only to be met with nothing. You weren’t there.

A few hours later they filed a missing persons report and asked for a search party to help find you.

Unfortunately, upon seeing the dead Animal in front of your porch, the sheriff and people of the town broke the news to your parents about you falling victim to those monsters.

After all

The mountains have many rules. And you broke 5 of the most important ones.

-

[neoymm]

taken inspiration from Rozen Maiden (THE PEAKEST ANIME EVER)

and also i have no clue why this post is this long, im just rambling and yapping out of my head.

okay, so dolls.

billy and mary are the twin pair of dolls among the dolls siblings

they have exist for a while, like, in the 1800s perhaps, or earlier than 1500s because we got no clue when the dolls is actually made in the rozen maiden series 😔

they only given the name of William, later nicknamed to billy, and Mary stays as Mary, their father, the creator of the dolls, will be the wizard cuz he fits in that roll.

the other dolls is given the name of Frederick (later shorten to freddy), Darla, Pedro and Eugene.

they are dolls, but they are alive, because of one thing: father (/wizard). wanting to be the chosen one — a human; aka alice in rozen maiden; aka i have no idea the substitute name in this post.

CC and Marilyn are a couple, in 1940s, who happens to be archaeologists, found two strange letter in their two cases. and out of curiosity, they accepted the letter despite it being strange.

the letter stated: wind up or dont wind up

the couple thought it was weird and circled wind up.

immediately two wooden boxes appeared, they are big, like suitcases. so curious again, they opened it.

in the boxes, they found small humanoid things, dolls, and they look like twins pair of dolls. so Marilyn holds Mary, found the doll’s skin is very human-like. while CC found this wind up doll key and understood somewhat, that these dolls is a moveable dolls.

so he set the key, twirls it on billy and mary, the couple waited and slowly, the dolls move. but the movement is strange, it’s like a child learning how to walk but was more ‘dolly’ and ‘robotic’.

then the dolls opened their eyes on their own, getting use to the movement, becoming more ‘alive’. (WHICH THEY ARE, BECAUSE OF ROSA MYSTICA IN CANON ROZEN MAIDEN BEING THEIR SOUL)

the couple of course, shocked, wondering how the dolls works. and decided just to take the dolls as their ‘children’, aka take care of them. faking the dolls as their children because it’s insane to be seen with ‘alive dolls’. and the dolls passed as a literal 5 (or younger) years old.

the dolls introduced themselves as Billy and Mary, with the last name ‘Batson’. they are the third and fourth doll.

later, CC and Marilyn finds it strange that the dolls will disappear to somewhere in a while, like middle of the night-ish. so all on that adventurous spirit, they followed the dolls and found out there’s a mirror connecting to the other dolls’ worlds.

and they found mary and billy fighting another doll, Darla. In their powered up form that CC and Marilyn never know before, until this night of course.

Darla is definitely young, youngest of all when CC and Marilyn found out, she was made as the last doll, the ‘sixth’ doll. but they are not so much different because of the base build for dolls. but actions speaks louder amirite? Darla lost, expected to be killed by her rosa mystica taken away by either billy or mary.

billy and mary didnt want to, since living for 1 week (i guess?) with CC and Marilyn has made them somewhat better than they were before. less spoiled and less arrogant of a doll. but also how they missed the other siblings, they don’t want to lose the siblings because of these death battle and only one can remain. so they spared Darla, taken her in with CC’s and Marilyn’s permission.

sooner joined by Freddy, who has this talent for music typa doll, he is very weird though, but he is in fact the oldest one, aka the first finished doll to be made. then later on joined by pedro, who is probably the strongest of the dolls, the fifth doll, he suddenly appeared by flying with his case. crashed in, did a small fight and gone. but he do visit frequently with peace.

Then eugene, the smart one, the second doll, who didn’t really care much, currently just roaming around and sometimes do a small stay with CC and Marilyn with other dolls.

but, where’s the fun when Black Adam didn’t appeared? So black adam, the secret, imposter, seventh, but also is the ‘zero-th’ doll, appeared to claims all of the dolls rosa mystica to be the chosen one. be human.

he was the first doll to be made, but never finished, until someone else other than father (wizard) finished him and gave him the chance to be human. filled with rage, he took that chance and made a rampage, but he has to manipulate the situation first, using his powers to made it hard for the other dolls.

this is where the other villains from captain marvel appeared, sivana, mr mind, sabbac, ibac, etc etc. and it has going on for decades now, there has been multiple times where the dolls has to go back to their hibernation (box).

in which meanings, CC and Marilyn has died, either due to black adam, or just natural causes.

the time is now twenty-something (20??) the billy box is suddenly opened, no mary in sight, billy is confused. shazamed (using his doll power) and find mary. but in the way he helped a weird ass costumed team (soz), the Justice League.

JL was thankful for this strange man who appeared out of nowhere and helped them fought the enemy. asked him to join the team, billy was hesitant at first, because of his doll sister. but of course is a little afraid of black adam finding him and get him before he can even find mary.

but he accepted. and shenanigans issues.

also sivana and mortal enemy of captain marvel will appeared during this time rather than before JL thingy

mow, im done for today, thanks for reading, signing off

[tatertato]

Can we have a small little list of everyone’s roles/parts in the circus? (My peanut brain is getting a little lost)

cirque de la vie AU powers/roles list!

i did a poll on the gem and pearl post on whether or not i should release a full list, and guess which option won!

the results came out really close, so if you want to wait for the comics to drop, i advise you to simply ✨look away✨

this list is going to be formatted as: Name - Circus Act/Role - Power

some will be on this list without their powers, or with ambiguous descriptions of their powers until i finish their backstory comics because i really do want those ones to be a surprise, so look out for the update!

some of them i am still on the fence about as well, so the comic may not always line up with this list in the future, but i'll do my best to keep it up to date.

with all that out of the way, let's get into it!

Management

martyn - manager/organizer - enhanced hearing

ren - $the funding$ - none he's just rich (some form of smaller nobility)

The Performers

cleo - knife thrower - doesn't have magic, but alive somehow??? (hint: it has something to do with bdubs...)

etho - magician - has magic but hates using it (rumor has it that only bdubs knows what he's hiding)

bdubs - doubles as knife thrower and magician's assistant - something to do with time. no one knows exactly what, but sometimes he disappears for weeks on end. scar usually steps in as the replacement.

jimmy - aerial acrobat - wings/flight

grian - aerial acrobat - same as jimmy, but sometimes scar says his vision is uncanny

scar - ringmaster - jedi mind trick (he can convince anyone of anything depending on how strong their mind is)

lizzie - underwater escape artist - don't tell anyone, but she can definitely breathe underwater. the escapes are still pretty impressive tho

joel - stilts (11 foot joel is canon) - no power, he's just lizzie's supportive husband (more kenergy than jimmy)

gem - happy clown - deer traits, mostly enhanced agility

pearl - sad clown - doesn't like elaborating, but she disappears during full moons...

scott - tightrope walker - read the comic when it comes out lmao

impulse - juggler - power still very much in development, but he can talk to/see/control ghosts to a degree (inspired by the phasmo streams)

skizz - strongman - enhanced healing

tango - fire breather - literally breathes fire. very high internal temperature, good for winters.

The Production Team

mumbo - lighting (it's still the late 1800s-ish so the lighting is very rudimentary- that said, mumbo is a bit of a genius, so the shows still look pretty amazing) - is almost an unlimited source of electricity (he's a little eccentric, makes a big deal about how much of a human he is, which has sparked curiosity, but never enough for anyone to pry into. grian seems to know something.)

bigb- concessions (he sells cookies!) - everything he bakes tastes amazing! (he swears that's his only power, but he has a habit of leaving rooms through doors that weren't there before...)

pearl (again) - sets and props, she decorates the stage!

joel (again) - makes the boxes and tanks for lizzie to escape from

and that is all! i might have some hermits or empires folks make cameos every so often, but this is the main cast!

[jaylver]

HOW YOU GET THE GIRL — P.JS (teaser!)

SYNOPSIS: Beach parties are supposedly fun and exciting, aren’t they? Wrong. Experiencing college parties is rare for you, but you decided to give this one a go after your best friend’s constant pleas. Things were alright until everything turned sour when trouble found you and eventually you were roped into a fight alongside the campus’ famous hockey playboy. As if that wasn’t enough, the devil himself conjured up an idea that you found yourself being entangled in. It was all fun and games up until confusion arose, feelings being confessed and played, in the end, Jay had to learn how to get the girl, his girl.

PAIRINGS: ice hockey player!jay x afab!reader

GENRE: strangers to frenemies to lovers, fake dating au, college sports au, romance, fluff, angst

WARNING(S): drinking, parties, profanities, slight violence, possessive jay, mentions/hints of cheating, miscommunication, slow burn-ish

RELEASE DATE: READ HERE

A/N: send in an ask/comment to be added into the ongoing taglist. it'll be closed on April 28th! :)

ONGOING TAGLIST: @yenqa @yawnzshit @4imhry @chaechae-23 @1800-beomgyu @shinrjj @skzenhalove @taekwondoes @lalalalawon @ce1ight @enhacqke @winteringdream @strvlveera @rikisly @rikakhai @renchai @sievenderz @enhasengene @lblossom21 @beomgyusonlywife @dasa3040 @zonked-times @hafsa-hoofsa-heefs @luvistqrzzz @nelxx @kimipxl @jjonghoonist @luvkpopp @shinkenprincess-oh @cosmiczen @yangrdn @gobighee @enfinitystansenhypen

“WHY AM I HERE?”

You found yourself asking your best friend, Minji, after barely ten minutes of setting foot into the party. Look, you didn’t wish to complain, but a beach party basically equaled sand in shoes, which you absolutely hate and despise, yet you were stuck here against your will.

It all started on a random stroll across campus where Minji brought up the night beach party hosted by some rich frat boy, typical. Being the anti-party person you were, you brushed the idea away initially. Hey, staying in bed with a cup of tea was miles better than having sand in your shoes and frat boys trying to get into your pants, yuck. But eventually, you gave into the idea of relaxing and letting go for once after a horrid chemistry test. How you absolutely regretted that choice now.

“You’re here to enjoy yourself,” Minji hissed through her teeth, holding onto your hand as the two of you walked past strangers. “What’s wrong with getting free booze and some hot hunky beach boys?”

“Everything is wrong with that. Their booze sucks and the beach boys hide at night,” you huffed, hugging your body tight as the wind blew across your face, the smell of sea lingered in the air.

“There are still some cute guys here,” Minji kicked at the sand lightly, staring around where people were littered in groups here and there, a small bonfire alighted in the middle of the beach. “The hockey guys are here,” she nodded at the loudest bunch in the area.

You knew a part of them since you did occasionally stop by to watch a few major hockey games, but definitely not well enough to pair their names to their faces. You spotted the captain first and the one with freshly dyed white hair, who you recognized was also his usual partner on ice, then there was the player with a really odd number, 99. Was it Jason, James or Jeremy? All you could remember was him being number 99 and having a J name, not to mention, an interesting reputation to his name.

"They're cute, don't you think so?" Minji nudged you and you shrugged.

"Cute but fuckboys, and I need them to step up during major games too,"

"You should ignore the hockey part about them. It'll hurt less when they lose," Minji's head turned and she pointed to another group. "The footballers are there too. Trust me, they're bigger fuckboys,"

"Oh, I can tell," you spotted many of them already having a girl by their sides, whispering and giggling while they poured each other more drinks. "This is why I'd rather go back to the dorms,"

"Maybe, maybe not. Something entertaining will eventually happen at these types of parties,"

"I feel like you'll jinx it,"

Minji threw her hands up in defence, raising her eyebrows and shrugging. "Don't blame me, blame the system,"

"There's no system," you shot back, suddenly feeling the need to walk away for a moment as the beach slowly overwhelmed you. (you hated the beach, can't you already tell?) "I need to stop by the restroom for a while, look after my drink, will you?"

You were practically racing to the nearby restroom, finally escaping the area and being able to breathe freely without drunk college students bumping into you. The restroom was basically just a single cubicle, so you were squeezed tightly and you felt uncomfortable as each second passed. You were praying to God that you get to leave this place pronto. 

Leaving the cubicle made you feel slightly more grateful about the beach, but upon only a second from exiting, you started hearing shouts coming not far from where you were. At first, you wondered if you’ve reached the point of hallucination, but following a few more grunts and yells, you knew you weren’t. Your body tensed immediately considering it's a distance from the main area. What could even be happening here?

You knew this was how horror movies usually start, but your curious mind just had to wander off further into the abyss and bring your leg along, so you chose the stupidest decision and followed the distant commotion.

'I'm not dying tonight. I'm not dying at a beach. I'm going to be fine' were the affirmations you repeated in your head, though you felt quite the opposite of that.

"Fuck you, are you banging my girl?"

That was when you stopped in your tracks completely, thrown absolutely off guard, eyes widened and lips forming into an 'O'. It wasn't a murder case, but from the way the conversation sounded, it was about to be one.

"I didn't bang your girl, who the fuck are you?" Another voice spat back and you inched closer, hiding behind the other cubicle and you peeked your head out, shocked at the sight before you.

There was already a small crowd surrounding the commotion, who wouldn't want to miss a free show anyway? But the bigger matter on hand was the centre of attention, the two guys were the campus' well known hockey player and footballer.

You recognized the footballer at once, remembering the time where Minji practically shoved his Instagram profile into your face. Yoon Keeho. Star player paired along with his amazing features, he was a popular figure who had a popular girlfriend from the dance team, Karina. They were basically every comics' perfect couple.

Then there was the hockey player, your jaw could only hang lower in plain shock. Mr 99, hockey star and infamous playboy, you knew he was trouble, but this kind of trouble? A little unexpected from him.

"Look man, I know people say I fuck around a lot, but I never fucked her!" It was obvious Mr 99 was starting to get heated, but the footballer was relentless in egging him on.

"Oh fuck off man, I know you did it!"

This back and forth had you rolling your eyes, eventually getting bored from the “no I didn't”s and “yes you did”s thrown back and forth, so you slowly crept back, trying your best to avoid tripping over rocks and shells.

'Crack'

You spoke too soon. Way too soon.

"Hey!"

You took a few cautious steps ahead. Maybe if you just pretend nothing happened and continue walking, it would be fine. Maybe if you walked away, he wouldn't notice—

"Hey!"

. . . to be continued !

[awheckery]

I need some help

so. this is hard. here goes:

for the last six-ish weeks, I've had an exceptionally challenging time of things re: my haunted devil body being exceptionally haunted and full of devils, and I have missed a lot of work. a lot of work. might be losing my job soon, in fact, but I'm trying not to think about that.

I'm trying to crawl my way out of the hole, but I have nothing in the bank right now and no money coming in, literally this is a screenshot of my account from today, and it's not showing the insurance payment that put me $50 in the negative this morning.

I have no other savings, my credit card's maxed out, I don't know how I'm going to pay my upcoming rent and my cupboard's down to baking ingredients and canned vegetables, so the sitch is looking pretty gd grim for me right now.

if anyone wants to donate and can afford to be kind, I'm linking my paypal and cashapp below, but I'd prefer to be able to offer something in exchange.

I think most y'all are following me because it is known that I make quilts, but that's mostly a side effect of my true hobby: collecting fabric. (this is a joke. mostly.)

I don't know that I have the energy to commit to making quilts or other complicated goods right now, but I do have a truly massive stash and excellent color sense. I've pulled these curated fat quarter collections as examples of what I have on offer:

this is a very small sample of what I have in my stash; I've been collecting fabrics since 2014, so I have a massive collection of rare & out-of-print fabrics from Moda, Free Spirit, Windham, RKaufman and other brands, a portion of which I've catalogued and uploaded to gdrive here.

that's nowhere near my full collection, it's just a jumping off point of what I've got to work with. I'd put fq bundles on etsy or something similar to make it easier, but the total lack of funds has temporarily kiboshed that idea.

in the meantime, I'm selling individual fat quarters for $2.50 each and curated stash-builder sets of five like the ones above for $15. I'd also be happy to make coordinating pot holders not unlike this one at $35 for a pair.

(pls don't ask me for oven mitts, I don't want to talk about one of my greatest failures)

NOTE: all fabric comes from a smoke, pet and fragrance-free environment, and will not be prewashed. I know that makes a difference to a lot of folks, not just me.

I'm also open to assembling pre-cut quilt & other craft kits, PM me to discuss what you're looking to make and I'll figure out if I can make it happen for you.

I appreciate any and all help more than I have words to communicate, and I know I'm pretty damn wordy! I'm pretty far down in the weeds at the moment, and I need to raise around $1800 in the next ten days in order to pay rent, catch up on my bills and pay for food and medication.

please help out a chronically ill artist and shop my stash!

cashapp

paypal

[procrasimnation]

Haunted by the lost sartorial opportunities of setting this save 1800-ish years later

[trash----panda]

Setting

Here's a speed run on the last 300-ish years

So 1600~ humans and mythics knew of eachother, fairy tales were taken seriously and both parties roamed the surface of the planet freely. Humans still lived in villages and kingdoms, lacking most technologies, favoring knowledge of the paranormal thanks to the fact that would keep you alive longer than knowing how to make a stove.

1653~ A war broke out between the two sides, mythics and non-mythics. The world wasnt big enough for the both of them and on top of that, during negotiations the human representative, Alan Baker, was assassinated, assumed through consumption as they found blood but no body

1657~ both sides suffered numerous losses but human technology has lept ahead, now able to use some coal engines and such to fight back against the mythics.

1658~ the mythic leader was assassinated, Vlarg the great was thought to be invincable but was brutally killed, the crime scene led officials to believe it was a single, unarmed human.

1660~ mythics go into hiding, the general rule being that you are not allowed to interact with humans unless hunting and even then do not be recorded or noticed. Some intergrated, some just disappeared, others continued to live as they pleased.

1700~ humans made minor advances, building massive cities and developing electricity, almost all magic has been forgotten, only select orders still allowed to hunt and practice magic

1734~ the hidden city is built, a sanctuary for mythics, it is hidden by 12 spells overlayed and is impossible to enter other than below, it contains about 100,000 mythics and the population is growing. Here they live like the humans do below the mountain, but they get to be themselves instead. Smaller mythics are mistreated as well as some bring humans to farm

1800~ The battle dome arena is created for the rich of those factions allowed to interact with the mythics, any caught on missions brought there to fight eachother for entertainment. Petite dragons being bred for food for the contestants

1820~ Minx was taken to the arena, this is an important part of history as it took her merely a day to destroy is and burn the entire thing to the ground

1830~ human society is where we are today, only exception being the fact mythics have intergrated themselves, hidden shops, roommate being a gorgon, you name it

[atomicpixies]

It’s the squad! Dorothy Gale, Princess Ozma, and Polychrome.

A quick doodle to work out character designs for a set of kid books I wanna make about the friends of dorothy (yes that is intentional) that talks about loving people who are a little different than your normal kansas girl.

Oz has a lot of openings for that, as (for it’s time) it was very progressive. The author was a staunch feminist and the books reflect that, always featuring strong girls having adventures and ruling. Ozma is canonly trans (tho obviously in a very different but also weirdly NOT way), love is for your friends, kindness to all is what wins.

(He also has some really REALLY bad takes on indigenous people, just…fyi. He was still a rich-ish white guy in the 1800s, alas.)

The first one I’m making is for my beloved Polychrome who can’t focus on anything, can’t handle weird textures in food or clothes, wanders away to dance when she can’t focus, and falls apart when her routine is broken. Ethereal rainbow fairy princesses can sometimes be autistic too.

After that I want to explore chronic illness with Jack Pumpkinhead. While Jack can start out good, as the month goes on his pumpkin starts to rot, and he must take it easy until he can spoon out a new one.

Anyway, all of this cane up because of a behind the bastard episode about how the digital market for kids books is being diluted with cheap AI books that are screwing up kids abilities to learn how to read subtext in a story between what the text says and the image shows. In a normal picture book they come together to provide a complete story….in AI books they’re distantly related non-sense that’s screwing kids up

So I figure….I can’t do worse than that, right?

[simlicious]

My game recommendations

I had a reblog in my drafts folder for a couple of days to keep working on it and when I was done I saw that the original poster sadly deactivated reblogs on their post. They lovingly suggested that simmers should indulge in other games too, and I couldn't agree more. It is a special feeling to dive into a new game, learn new mechanics, and have a very different experience from the last game you played. I really put a lot of work into my answer, so I decided to make a new post for it.

I'm a simmer and a gamer (simming since 2000), gaming since 1994 or so. I used to play Everquest II way back when and dabble in Elder Scrolls Online but I quit for Baldur's Gate III which has me obsessed for months now, highly enjoyable. Sims 3 has fallen a few steps on my top 10 list in recent years, but I use it as a creative outlet anyway and do not tend to judge it against other games much. I do judge Sims 4 though, which is a sad state of affairs. I can have fun in it if I spend the time in CAS, or for the first 6 hours in a new expansion - but it's just too expensive for its little value, especially compared to other games on this list.

City Builder/Automation games:

Factory Town: super chill cozy vibe, automate logistics for your pixel-people town. Lovely game

Timberborn: build a town for cute beavers!

Farthest Frontier: a nice city simulation with some logistics and events such as raiders invading the town

Satisfactory: one of the most ambitious automation games, with amazing graphics, for people who like to puzzle, analyze/calculate, and really use their heads while gaming. I like to play it as a challenge and see how far I can take my spaghetti conveyor belts!

Frostpunk: a harrowing/grim atmosphere, dystopian, make hard choices for your town

Simulation games:

Roller Coaster Tycoon and Planet Coaster: I love building super scary rollercoasters and then riding them and trying to get people in the park to ride them too

Strategy games:

Anno 1800: I can spend my entire life in this game it feels, it is engaging and relaxing all at once - love this so much!

Action/adventure games:

Assassins Creed Origins: stunning world, super detailed visuals and fun combat mechanics

Scifi/Exploration

No Man's Sky: At first I thought this was more of a casual game, but prepare for a lot of grinding and long-ish quests. It is fun to discover new plants/creatures and name them!

Survival games:

Raft: great to play with friends too and it has a relaxed vibe but also survival mechanics that keep you engaged

The Long Dark: I love the art style and music so much, the story mode is great, the survival mode can be very challenging depending on settings and it is super immersive. Wrap yourself in a warm blanket to play 😂

Subnautica: my favorite game ever before Baldur's Gate 3 dethroned it! It is a game that will guide you to leave your comfort zone time and time again, but you choose when you feel ready for it. You can really follow your own pace and exploring the vast, beautiful, and terrifying depths of this ocean planet is absolutely immersive and filled with surprise and wonder. It has also very chill and calm base-building elements to counteract the scarier moments. The soundtrack is one of the best in terms of evoking feelings/ building atmosphere, do not turn off the sound while playing this game!!!

Storytelling games:

Life is Strange: a classic, it's fun to explore what we could change and what the consequences would be if we could go back in time.

Firewatch: very emotional and touching, leaving a lasting impression

Casual games:

Bridge Constructor Portal (the dark humor is a bonus, it's fun and trains your analytical thinking!)

Carcassonne (like the tabletop game, chill puzzle game)

Simulacra (you uncover a mystery on a phone, interesting idea!)

Retro Games:

My favorite old/retro game would be Black & White (from 2001), which I played when it originally came out, I loved it so much! The free camera was revolutionary at the time. You play a god who is powered by worshippers whom you can either provide and care for or reign terror over, and your actions decide your alignment, good, neutral, or evil. You get a creature that you can train (and will be more or less useful to your goals or disrupt them depending on how well you train it). IIRC, you can train the creature either in the story mode or sandbox/skirmish mode and then go back to story mode with a stronger creature. The mouse gestures which activate miracles in the air felt like a revolutionary new idea back then. The game is not available officially anymore, but it is downloadable from some abandonware websites and the community-made patches so it is still playable today! Writing this, I had to reinstall it right away... the nostalgia!

RPGs:

Cyberpunk 2077: it's just iconic, the city energy and car drives are nice, the story is interesting and it feels immersive

The Witcher 3: great quests and story, beautifully crafted open world

Baldur's Gate 3: I could also talk for hours about Baldur's Gate 3. If there is one game out there that everyone should have tried once in their life, it's that one. It really lets you try any strategy you want and did not actually expect to work in a video game, but in BG3, it does. Even cheaty ones like pushing enemies from a cliff or using explosives to blow stuff up. If you got surprise-attacked but have no weapon handy, you can throw a grease bottle at the enemy that can make them slip and fall, and then you can throw your burning torch at it to light everything on fire. You can stack boxes to climb up to reach something (or throw a goblin body onto someone's head, because it's perfectly normal to carry those around with you). You can be sneaky and steal stuff, even rewards from enemies. Don't like fighting? You can talk your way out of most fights if your character has the necessary skills and still complete quests that way. 95% of NPCs have something to say, and if you click them again, they will have another line. The narrator is awesome. The companions have so much character, the banter is great and every character has its own story arc and goal, the voice acting is phenomenal all around. Definitely get the talk-to-animals skill and use it on all animals, you'll have hilarious conversations! It's worth every penny, even if it's not on sale (and I hardly ever buy a game at full price, so that is saying a lot). Thanks for reading, I hope you feel inspired to try some new games! Have fun 😊

[prpfz]

(21+)🕊️🥀Hey all!! After watching Crimson Peak, I’m currently looking for an ocxoc rp inspired by it! Specifically looking for an incest plot between two siblings, mxf with me playing the male, and the female character being the more dominant one. I’m thinking something along the lines of a historical setting, 1800s-ish, two siblings living in an isolated, grand estate with abusive and neglectful parents. Isolated from the rest of the world, having little to no contact with other children their age and never experiencing normal familial love, they only have one another and end up forming a toxic, codependent bond with one another.

I’d like to really get into our muses’ headspace and the setting and love someone who can bring their own ideas and help develop the world around our characters! I write on discord, adv. lit, multi para, a few times a week! I use irl faceclaims, but you can use whatever you want. I’m open to nsfw but I focus on the story more - like an 80/20 plot/smut ratio - and would prefer if the female character is the more dominant one, and I can offer you all the puppy-eyed, service top man one could ever want.

Open to dark content too, obviously, and would love if this edged into darker territory - give me utter obsession, characters formed by the abuse and neglect they received and deciding to do something about it, and then doing whatever it takes to make sure they never lose one another. I’d like to explore them through the years as they deal with the abuse and neglect and get closer to one another and come to rely on one another until it snowballs into something more. If you’re open to getting into all the gritty stuff of story building and plotting, feel free to leave a like!

give a like and anon will get back to you

[mischief-lies-and-stories]

Riffing on one of my Mobius theories (fic)

Spoilers for Loki (both seasons) and Where Mischief Lies. I think this probably theoretically takes place after season 2, with all the major conflicts resolved, but also I'm writing this between episodes 2x02 and 2x03 so it's like if episode 2 happened, everything got resolved, and Sylvie decided to join them on some (undisclosed) mission. I don't set up a whole lot of background for why they're all suddenly together and not freaking out about major plot points, so end-ish of the season as if nothing bad happens after ep 2 (we can only hope, lol). Okay, that's enough (vague, unhelpful) context.

They've barely walked through the Time Door and into mid-1800s England before Loki loses concentration. Sylvie is with them this time, so he's actually focused on their mission when they pass through time. No, the distraction comes after they arrive.

"All right," Mobius says, glancing around. "Here's the plan. Loki--" he turns to the others, and sees only Sylvie is behind him. "Loki?"

Sylvie points down the alleyway. Loki stands at the end of the alley, just out of sight of the street, peering out.

Mobius looks questioningly back at Sylvie, who shrugs. They move down the damp concrete toward him. Mobius peeks around Loki and follows his gaze. Ah. The entire 1860s to land in, the whole of the sprawling metropolis that is Victorian London, and somehow Loki has managed to find Theo Bell already.

Mobius looks at the hand Loki has pressed absently to the grimy wall beside him; it's trembling slightly.

"Loki," Mobius says softly. Loki doesn't look away from Theo, who stands outside a doorway down the street.

"It's--"

"I know who it is." Mobius has the sudden, selfish desire for Loki to look at him, to stop staring at the man he left two hundred years ago and return to that undivided attention he's been paying Mobius lately. But Mobius knows who it is, and what Theo means to Loki. Leaving this man in an uncoupled train car is one of Loki's deepest regrets.

I don't like hurting people.

Loki looks away finally, for just a moment, to look at Mobius. But then he glances at Sylvie, too, and then returns his gaze to the man he once knew. The eye contact is long enough for Mobius to see the pained look on his face. Loki takes a shuddering breath.

"You can't let him see you." Mobius tells him, gently.

"I know." Loki's voice is steady, but the rough exhale and the way he squeezes his eyes closed tell Mobius how much Loki hates it.

"Who is it?" Sylvie asks.

"Theo." Loki gasps, eyes still on the man down the road. "Theo Bell." He swallows, then looks at her briefly. "Not a prince," he tells her, in a tone that makes Mobius suspect he's referencing a previous conversation. "But real."

Mobius looks at Sylvie as Loki turns away again and sees understanding in her eyes.

"Your postman," she says, which makes even less sense to Mobius.

"My postman," Loki confirms, and now Mobius is jealous of two people here. He's not sure which is worse, that one of them knows he's jealous of her, or that the other doesn't even know he exists.

---

The universe-- or multiverse, or whatever-- as it so often does, seems to have other ideas, in the end. They are careful, very careful, even with Loki out of commission and spying on a man he still loves, for the entirety of what little they are able to accomplish here.

And still, in the end, Theo Bell catches sight of him.

"Loki?"

Mobius and Sylvie manage to slip back, unseen, but of course, Loki is rooted to the spot at the sound of the man he's missed for centuries saying his name. Mobius watches him turn to meet Theo's gaze, and those teeth of jealousy haven't torn at Mobius's insides quite so aggressively since he rescued Loki and Sylvie from Lamentis.

But he knows Loki needs this, knows Loki knows he cannot take Theo with them, so he lets Loki further this not-exactly-protocol interaction. Loki has needed this conversation for two hundred years.

"I thought you said they couldn't interact," Sylvie murmurs.

Mobius shrugs. "They shouldn't. But the timeline's already fragmented, and he's held onto his guilt over their parting for way too long."

"When are you going to stop standing by, Mobius?"

Mobius looks at her, startled. "What do you mean?"

She frowns at him. "You know what I mean. When are you going to stop making assumptions about what's best for him and just tell him?"

"Tell him what?"

Sylvie scoffs and rolls her eyes, returning her gaze to the two before them. "Forget it."

---

Loki has been talking to Theo Bell for some time now. Sylvie squints at the man in front of Loki, who's speaking to him in a low voice and gently holding his hands. There's something about his expression that gives her pause. He shifts his weight at the same time the man beside her does the same thing, and out of the corner of her eye, the gesture looks nearly identical.

She glances back at Mobius, takes in the way he's also staring at Loki like his entire world revolves around the god, and wonders why she's only just noticing the similarities. They're vague: Theo's nose only slightly crooked, the way they hold themselves even though Mobius doesn't walk with a limp, that look in their eyes when they gaze at Loki. A thought is starting to take root in Sylvie's mind.

"He told you you're a variant, right?" She asks Mobius. Mobius breaks his gaze from the two in front of them to glance at Sylvie.

"Yeah," he says, "I know. He told us awhile ago."

"Did you get your memories back?"

"No, no," Mobius chuckles in a way that tells Sylvie he's trying for nonchalance but failing.

"Why not?"

Mobius glances back at Loki before returning his gaze to her. "I'm content with my life."

Yeah, I'd believe that if you weren't staring at him like a puppy, she thinks. She glances at Theo Bell and back at Mobius one more time before making her decision.

"Sorry, but I think it'll be worth it," she says, and presses her hand to his upper arm.

The dingy, rain-soaked Victorian street fades away to reveal, in Mobius's long-locked-away, distant memories-- a dingy, rain-soaked Victorian street. Which would be rather anti-climactic if the implications weren't so earth-shattering.

He walks with a limp, a cane in his hand, beside a tall man and an older woman. They enter the front doors of a museum, and confidently make their way into the storeroom. The tall man opens a wooden coffin and tips it open, and Loki falls out, looking much younger than he is now. The image changes...

The memories flow through him, from his first meeting with Loki to the morning he watched Loki hurtling away from him on the Bifrost, flanked by train cars filled with the living dead. And his life after, until he was picked up by the TVA.

Mobius is overwhelmed by a strange cocktail of joy and pain and hope. Loki loves him, or at least who he was. Loki saw some version of him, past or future or variant, barely ten seconds out of the Time Door, and lost all focus on the mission. Even knowing he couldn't make contact with Theo (before circumstances out of their control changed that), he could think of nothing else, couldn't stop watching Mobius's past unfold before them, rather than move on.

But even knowing his past at last, Mobius is the same person he's always been. Loki is in love with a man who hasn't existed in Time knows how long. Will he be disappointed if Mobius is nothing like Theo?

Mobius slowly becomes aware that he is no longer inside his own head, inside the memories. (The setting being nearly identical makes it difficult to tell.) He's crouched down against the pavement, tears streaming down his face.

From what seems like far away, he hears Loki's voice. "Mobius? What's happened?"

"I gave him his memories," Sylvie replies.

Mobius feels hands on his arms and looks up into Loki's wide, green eyes. His cheeks are still stained with tears, and it makes Mobius's heart ache. He loves Mobius's past self this deeply; how could he ever feel anything but disappointment about Mobius as he is?

"Are you all right?" he whispers, though, and the concern in his voice is still for Mobius alone. It warms Mobius a little. Mobius gestures in a strange, noncommittal mix between a nod, head shake, and shrug.

Loki frowns. "Was it good?" He asks, an echo of their conversation in the automat.

Mobius does shrug this time, tears still streaming down his face. "A little bit, I think."

Loki's frown deepens. "Was it bad?"

Mobius's voice shakes when he replies, thinking of how different he is than Loki remembers, how breaking the memories free hasn't changed him back into the man he was when the TVA picked him up. "I don't know."

Loki searches his face, then opens his mouth to respond. Mobius can't take it anymore, this not knowing. "Just look, Loki."

"Yeah, that's gonna have to wait till we get back, boys. We have to go." Sylvie says.

Loki helps Mobius to his feet as Sylvie enters the TVA into the TemPad. Loki keeps glancing at Mobius, brow furrowed with worry, his centuries-overdue closure with Theo forgotten for the moment. Mobius has an odd feeling, like he's smug for beating his past self at something, as if earning Loki's attention is something he's still competing for when Theo Bell is also him.

When they return to the TVA, Sylvie volunteers to update B-15 for them.

"Gently," she tells Loki. "I already unlocked the memories, and you're only reading them. If you go in with the same force we used on Alioth, you'll hurt him."

Loki nods, and when Sylvie heads off toward Analysis, he takes Mobius's hand. Mobius turns to look at him, startled, but Loki just nods in the other direction, still looking worried. He seems too distracted about making sure Mobius is okay to realize what he's doing. Mobius allows him to lead him through the halls, until they emerge into the automat, and Mobius finds he can finally breathe again. And isn't that interesting.

Loki leads him to a chair. "Are you sure you want me to see?" he asks. "A little while ago you didn't even want to know."

Mobius nods. "I want you to know. I think you should know." Loki frowns again, but Mobius rushes on. "And I don't think I would know how to explain."

Loki watches him for a moment, then reaches out with both hands to wipe away the tears with his thumbs. He still hesitates. He seems to be distracted by Mobius's tears.

"Mobius--" he murmurs.

"Honestly, Loki, this is mostly from relief," Mobius says, gesturing at the tears, taking a risk and hoping Loki's distracted enough that he can lie to him again.

"Mobius, you're shaking." Loki says, tone skeptical and telling Mobius he's not entirely successful this time.

Mobius huffs a mirthless laugh. "Well, I did say mostly." he says, then sighs. "Just look, Loki. Please."

Loki nods, and then surprises Mobius when he doesn't just touch his hand to Mobius's shoulder or his fingertips to Mobius's temple, but keeps his hands cupped against Mobius's cheeks and brings their foreheads together. Loki closes his eyes and Mobius follows suit.

Mobius lets him see, shows him his childhood and arrest, his imprisonment and meeting Mrs. S. He replays their history from his perspective: a young, beautiful, short-tempered god tumbling from a casket and turning Mobius-as-Theo's life upside-down; the mission; watching Loki sleep on that dirty mattress, his heart swelling in a wonderfully painful way in his chest as Loki breathed slowly and his pale eyelids fluttered; Loki's slow, surprised smile when he realized he was being teased, realized he enjoyed it; kissing him for the first time on that speeding train full of the dead and the living and the living dead, Loki's promise echoing in his head, yet knowing already they were empty words; watching Loki's retreating form as it rode the Bifrost home, as Loki turned his head for one final glance back at the man he was abandoning; and all that came after.

Loki pulls back, inhaling sharply as if emerging from a pool of water, and Mobius opens his eyes to a sheen of fresh tears.

"How can this be?" Loki asks shakily.

"I don't know."

"No, I mean..." Loki moves back into his space, taking his face in his hands again, and it's too much. It's too much. "We just saw you. How could we have been where you still were without causing a, a paradox, or something? Isn't that what happens?"

He's stuck on the wrong part, but Mobius supposes there's a lot to unpack. "Well, we weren't there long. And I did not see or speak to myself. I don't think my past self would have recognized me as me, anyway."

Loki stares at him for a long moment, and then lets out a sob, and it breaks Mobius into pieces.

"I...I..." Loki starts. Mobius takes pity on him; it's been a very long day for the god's heart.

"It's okay. You don't have to say anything." He says, mostly trying to reassure Loki. Only partly to save his own heart the inevitable pain.

"Yes, I do." He says. "I should have already. I should have before I... before you..." he sniffs and swipes at his eyes before continuing. "I've loved you for a long, long time. And I didn't think I'd ever love anyone again, not after Theo Bell."

There it is. The words that make Mobius's heart soar at the same time it shatters into a million, tiny pieces. Because he will never be Theo Bell again. He's been Mobius M. Mobius for far too long. And Theo and Mobius both love Loki, but Loki has only ever loved Theo.

"I'm not as I was," Mobius whispers, looking away. "I'm different." It's an apology, a wish in the pit of his chest that he could return to that man that he was, but a truth that must be stated. He'd never be able to pretend he was still that boy, and it would not be fair to Loki to make him believe Mobius could be.

"I know." Loki says. Mobius listens for regret, for disappointment, but cannot hear it. He meets Loki's eyes again; Loki is already watching him intently. "I said I didn't think I could ever love anyone again, but then I was taken as a prisoner of time and dragged here and coerced into working as a consultant, with another man who's too smart for his own good, another man who can see through my lies, another man who knows my story before I know he even exists." Loki's eyes soften. "Another man who sees the good in me, even when I can't. Who trusts me, and believes in me, and lets me use my talents to help him, instead of condemning them as tools for evil."

Leaving one hand to still cup his face, Loki brings his other hand down to clasp Mobius's. He brings it to his lips and tenderly kisses each knuckle, gazing at Mobius the entire time. Mobius can't breathe, can't move, can't look anywhere but into those emerald irises he's loved since well before he was an agent.

"Another man I fell deeply in love with far too quickly."

Mobius stares, trying to wrap his head around what Loki is saying. Loki loves him? Him? Mobius? Before he learned he was Theo, too; separate from how he still loves Theo?

Mobius swallows once, twice. Realizes Loki deserves a response to that admission. "We have that in common," he murmurs. "Falling in love too quickly."

Loki smiles, and it's like the sun emerging from the heavy, London clouds. Mobius has a sneaking suspicion he's compared Loki's smile to the sun before, as a different man. It really is accurate, though: bright and incandescent and practically warms Mobius's skin, nearly turning the tears still resting on his face to water vapor in its intensity.

"Kiss me." Mobius says, before he can think better of it.

And Loki doesn't hesitate, merely acts. He kisses him, and it's like that kiss all those years ago in the steam engine, yet also so different. The press of Loki's lips against his own are nearly as desperate and insistent, the result of centuries of waiting for Theo's lips and who knows how long of staring at Mobius's. But the movement that follows is slower, unhurried, without the treat of Amora and the hordes of the undead bearing down on them.

It occurs to Mobius that Loki is a different person, too, that perhaps that was what he'd discussed with Mobius's other in the rain, or at least the realization he'd come away from the conversation with. After all, there'd been tears drying on his cheeks, but none in his eyes, and his full attention had been on Mobius the moment he returned to his side. He may remember the god he was then more clearly than Mobius remembers being Theo, but he had still changed in the intervening years. Mobius can account for it; he's watched Loki's tapes over and over, he's seen the changes in the god just in the time he's known Loki.

The boy Theo Bell who loved the young God of Mischief may be mostly gone, but as Mobius weaves his fingers into raven hair and pulls away long enough to inhale and whisper his beloved's name, he aches with a love Theo did not know. Because Mobius M. Mobius gets to love the Loki Who Remains.

[little-peril-stories]

LPS: Blog (Re)Intro

Little Peril Stories | Kate | adult | she/her

✨ website | ko-fi | ao3 | oc/wip extras ✨

✨ I post writing/publishing updates every Wednesday and Sunday here. ✨

The Queen of Lies (ongoing): AU for The Prince of Thieves—sheltered, rich sad girl meets snarky criminal; chaos ensues; whumpy, Victorian forbidden love vibes with a side helping of angst and girl power

The Court of Rogues (work in progress): sequel to The Prince of Thieves; in the works but it will be a while before details come out

The Prince of Thieves (complete): guy and gal get arrested and tormented by super cool, totally normal constable while pals on the outside freak out and make bad decisions; fun 1800s prison vibes with a side helping of angst and chosen family

Blood Garnet (side WIP, low priority): girl gets lost in magic woods and gets chased by her hapless cousin and a grump hunter; awkward magic man tries to help; supernatural(ish) romantasy vibes with a side helping of angst and betrayal

Man of Letters (UNRESOLVED; part of Whumptober 2023): awkward scholar boi tries to save the girl he falls in love with and gets way more than he bargained for; light romantasy paired with heavy emo vibes, with a side of helping of angst and torture

Fen and Freddie (complete): gal gets kidnapped, dopey cinnamon roll with hopeless crush tries to rescue her and fails; vague superhero sci-fi vibes with a side helping of angst and pining

The Curiosity Collector (complete): sweet non-confrontational magic boy gets kidnapped and needs rescuing by bf and sis; witchy, autumnal vibes with a side helping of angst and falling in love

This is a whumpblr/writeblr space! Sometimes I’ll post/reblog writerly posts, memes, etc., but a lot of the posts/RBs will be about whump. I post original writing and reblog the work of others that I enjoy, gifs, tropes, prompts, and other such things.

I’m down with asks and tag games but may not respond right away. If I seem to ignore you, it’s not personal, it just means real life is taking priority at that moment.

I love comments and feedback on my writing and welcome them with open arms.

A note on age: I know I can’t actually stop you from accessing this blog, but I do not wish to interact with people under 18. It’s not personal, I’m sure you’re great, but it has everything to do with my job IRL. Please respect this boundary and come back on your 18th birthday.

Check out: My Most Common Tropes

My favourite elements of whump have to do with power dynamics, intimidation, dread, and angst. I love captivity-with-a-cause: kidnapping for ransom or as leverage over someone else, prison (in fantasy or historical settings, less so for modern settings though it’s not a hard rule), and the like. Fantasy presents so many creative versions of this trope, so I do love me some fantasy whump! It also gives lots of opportunity for dungeons, shackles, and other fun implements like that. Gratuitous tying or chaining up is always delightful to see. Pining, desperately trying to protect a loved one (…and failing), and self-sacrifice are other big tropes I love, so expect to see lots of those!

As for characters, I love it when they are as far as you can get from perfect, pure, and innocent—when they’re good enough people, but whose flawed or maybe even problematic decisions lead them into trouble. Always, always, I want my characters to have a hand in their own fates. Pure-hearted victims of the narrative who simply fall into a whumpy situation are cute and fun, but not what I tend to write.

A few odds and ends I’m such a sucker for, so you’ll probably find them in my writing:

Sibling relationships

Allusions to songs, books, folklore, and musicals

Nature and weather helping to set the scene (oh my goodness, how many times can I work snow into one story?)

If romance, either slow burn or instant attraction

…with a sprinkling of “huh, I don’t understand what I’m feeling, wtf is going on??”

‘In the nick of time’ rescues

Painfully awkward moments

Fluff and comfort, but only once they’ve really earned it

Almost kisses

Hard choices

Happy endings

You probably won’t find much gore or explicit noncon here, but there might be some elements of those in my stories or in reblogs. I don’t write BBU or pet whump.

My original “whumpy things I like” post can be found here.

Anyway, thanks for reading! 💕 Happy whumping!

[rotzaprachim]

rogue one 1800′s ish au: Trapped by circumstance in an 1860′s London workhouse, petty criminal and general fallen woman Jyn Erso is given two options: live and die in the mud, or accept cattle baron Orson Krennic’s invitation to journey to southern Texas to accept his hand in marriage. Meanwhile, Texas Ranger and Krennic’s right hand man Cyril Karn goes to war against a fearsome bandit set to destroy the Krennic Corporation’s control of the region’s water supply. 

[posttexasstressdisorder]

Aaaand another blurgh-ish groggy mornin' y'all...Mr. Baggins here with some Morning Coffee Music to get you in gear and in good cheer. I thought we could start this off with another couple of Rossini's String Sonatas, from the same set by Neville Marriner and the ASMF. Here are String Sonatas numbers two and five.

Here is Brazilian pianist Guiomar Novaes once again, this time she'll be playing the music of Claude Debussy (whom she met and played for as a young child), his Preludes, Book One.

Moving back in the Timeline to the early 1800s and the music of Franz Schubert, his "Der Hirt Auf Dem Felsen" (The Shepherd On The Rock), song for soprano and piano, with a Clarinet obligato. This is the actual recording that made me (finally) fall in love with vocal classical music, something I'd staunchly avoided for decades. Here is the very fresh-voiced Elly Ameling in her debut recording from 1965, with pianist Jorg Demus and clarinetist Hans Deinzer.

Man, that Schubert cat could write a tune, couldn't he? Let's listen to a couple of his Symphonies. Here is his Symphony No. 5, played by the legendary Arturo Toscanini and the NBC Symphony Orchestra, from the 1940s.

Here is Neville Marriner and the ASMF with Schubert's Symphony No. 6 (the "little" C Major), another Philips recording from the early '80s. The then not-yet-knighted Sir Neville and the Academy were riding high at that point, due to their surprise fame brought by being the conductor and orchestra chosen for the movie Amadeus.

I do believe it is past time for our daily dose of Glenn Gould playing Bach, this time the magnificant Concerto in d minor, Cto. No. 1, with Leonard Bernstein conducting the Columbia Symphony Orchestra.

I thought we'd follow up with a disc of chamber music pieces by Sir Malcolm Arnold, played by The Nash Ensemble. Music seldom heard, but definitely worthy of hearing!

And now, here's another disc I want to play in its entirety: Arturo Toscanini and the NBC Symphony playing Dvorak's Symphony No. 9, From The New World, followed by the music of Kodaly, his Hary Janos Suite, and finishing up with what has to be my very favorite performance of Smetana's "The Moldau" from "Ma Vlast". Recorded live in concert at Carnegie Hall, in 1953.

And the final selection for this morning's Coffee Music, here is legendary violinist Fritz Kreisler in an hour's worth of his incredible artistry. He was truly one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century. His recordings with Sergei Rachmaninoff are must-listens. I will have to highlight them another time.

I'll be back with y'all this afternoon for another stack of classic 45s.

Until then, be kind, babies, be kind.

Baggins out.