#French Noblewoman OC

[aiza-luna]

Assassin's Creed Syndicate - Sanctity: Doña Aimée Isabelle Henriette Artois-Cotoner, La Condesa de Tortosa.

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-Portrait of Lady Aimée Artois, 1860.-

Aimée Isabelle Henriette Cotoner (Née Artois) was a French Philantropist, Socialite, Musician and Fashion Icon of the Spanish and French Courts in the 19th Century.

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The youngest daughter of Frederic Alphonse D'Artois , Comte d'Artois and his wife, Marie Johanna von Lamberg. Being the granddaughter of Charles Ferdinand D'Artois, Duke of Berry and great-granddaughter of Charles X of France.

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Born in 1830, the very year of the July Monarchy and the incredibly political tension in her country and her family. Aimée, despite being descendent of an Absolutist Monarchy Family, had her father and mother being much more alliegned with a Constitutional Monarchy, which made them eventually become allies to the French and Austrian Brotherhoods of Assassins.

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Born and raised in Eu, Normandy. She was kept away from the chaos of the court most of her life. Receiving the best education her father could provide, she grew up to be a refined, eloquent and clever young woman. A lover of the arts and it's many forms.

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Although her family's political connections to the Brotherhood, Aimée never showed interest in taking part in such business. Fearing what the connection between this other secret society could bring to her loved ones (Her family already have once being alliegned to the French Rite of the Templar Order), her worries would triple as her older sister, Félicité, married a Master Assassin of the French Brotherhood and becamed an active ally to their cause.

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She herself would dwell more into this world after being married to Carlos Rafael Cotoner y Moncada, Conde de Tortosa. Despite being arranged, love bloomed among the couple, that would go on and have five children, even if only two were born.

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As the wife and mother of Spanish Master Assassins, her role in the Creed would fortify. The years spent among the Tenents would make her shape her world views to one closer to the Assassins, however, she never truly accepted or approved her husband and daughter's role in this. For she always lived afraid of loosing them in this secret war.

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A loving mother, a caring wife, a noblewoman of the House of Bourbon, descendent of the very Capetian Dynasty, proud of her family and legacy... A woman who left her mark on history for her donations to charities and her work in the development of arts and music.

Hélix Data Base / Entry of the Countess of Tortosa

Art by @gabmik

[vvyvernicus]

An AU and an OC

Lucia Santoro

Born: July 31, 1865

Extensive details below:

Lucia Santoro was born into a poor family in Italy, raised by her mother and grandfather. From an early age, she possessed the ability to see and communicate with spirits, a gift that set her apart and shaped her life in profound ways. At the age of four, her spiritual abilities became apparent, much to the horror of her mother, who believed Lucia was mentally unstable. In contrast, her grandfather embraced her gift, encouraging her to treat spirits with kindness and compassion, nurturing her empathetic nature. However, when her grandfather passed away, her mother, unable to cope with Lucia’s abilities, tragically took her own life, leaving Lucia orphaned at just seven years old.

Lucia’s childhood was marked by isolation and bullying from other children who labeled her a freak for speaking to spirits. This alienation led her to prefer the company of spirits over humans, which severely hindered her social skills and ability to connect with others. However, her life took a turn when she was visited by a spirit named Celia, an elegant noblewoman who acted as a guardian and teacher. Under Celia’s guidance, Lucia learned English, etiquette, and various skills that would help her survive in a male-dominated society. She also picked up more mischievous talents from other spirits such as lockpicking.

Lucia’s teenage years were shaped by her connection to the spiritual world. Her first romantic crush was on a spirit, though she quickly ended the relationship upon realizing she would age while he remained the same. This experience reinforced her preference for spirits over living people, whom she found difficult to relate to. Nevertheless, she continued to build meaningful connections with her spirit companions, who came and went as they pleased, making her a valuable ally to those stuck between the physical and spiritual worlds.

However, not all spirits were kind. Lucia was haunted by the knowledge that women with her abilities often died young, driven to madness by their powers. The oldest known medium before her had died at the age of 20 and as Lucia passed this milestone, she became consumed by the fear that her time was running out. She stopped caring about her appearance and lived with a fatalistic outlook, resigned to the possibility that she could die at any moment.

Around her 23rd birthday, Lucia traveled to England, determined to make the most of whatever time she had left. Equipped with a Grimoire that allowed her to interact with spirits in various ways, she could temporarily summon spirits into physical form, empower them, or even cleanse them of evil. Lucia’s unique connection with the spiritual world extended to animals as well, with her current “pet” spirit, Fairy, being a mischievous, shape-shifting entity that often took the form of a cat.

Though highly skilled at conversing with spirits and using her abilities, Lucia struggled with the living. Her anxiety and unease around people stemmed from years of being shunned and even harmed by others. She found comfort in the company of her ghostly companions. Nevertheless, she possessed a sassy, witty attitude that she used as a shield, deflecting attention from her vulnerabilities. Beneath this exterior, Lucia was a deeply compassionate and nurturing person, particularly toward those she cared for, whether living or dead.

Despite her past traumas and the constant specter of her own mortality, Lucia Santoro remains a resilient and resourceful woman, determined to live life on her own terms—even as she walks the fine line between life and death.

• Lucia can speak 3 languages: English and Italian fluently, and a handful of French needed to use her Grimoire.

• She loves spicy food.

• While she doesn't like reading, she loves the mystery genre.

• Her favorite animals include rats and snails.

Integrating Her Into Canon:

Lucia Santoro first enters the Black Butler storyline after hearing rumors from the spirits about a mysterious incident involving a businessman named Damien Rossi, who had a traumatic experience at the Phantomhive estate. Though Lucia is initially indifferent, her curiosity is piqued, especially when a spirit reminds her that her former mentor, Celia, had always wanted her to visit England. With her own days possibly numbered due to the madness that plagues spirit mediums, Lucia decides to take this journey as her "last trip."

Guided by helpful spirits, she arrives in London without any formal documentation, awed by the bustling city’s contrast to her humble upbringing. Soon after, she encounters a gentleman spirit named Felix, who offers to assist her. Felix, knowing Lucia’s goal to investigate the Phantomhive estate, helps her blend in with the upper class by teaching her the right words to say and advising her to use her Grimoire to alter her appearance. She transforms from a bedraggled traveler into a refined lady, gaining entry to a party hosted by Viscount Druitt.

Once inside, Lucia and Felix begin their search for the young Earl Phantomhive, but fail to locate him, as Ciel is in disguise. Felix departs to scout the mansion, leaving Lucia alone. Though she draws no attention at first, her solitude is soon interrupted by the Viscount himself, who approaches her with his usual charm. Lucia, mistaking him for a spirit due to his "sparkling aura," dismisses his advances, not wanting to be seen conversing with a spirit in public.

The Viscount, intrigued by her casual dismissal, persists, asking if she has come with anyone. She mentions Felix, which piques the Viscount's curiosity, as he recognizes no such guest. It’s only when he formally introduces himself as Aleister Chamber, the Viscount of Druitt, that Lucia realizes her mistake, her pale expression betraying her surprise and embarrassment.

While Lucia initially wants to slip away, she also feels oddly captivated by him. So instead of attempting to find Felix she continues on their conversation. Since people are usually put off by her off behavior, she wants to use this as a chance to hone her abysmal people skills.

This ultimately alters the canon events from this point on, since she ends up distracting him enough that he never even meets Ciel, nor attempts to auction him off in an underground bidding site.

Wait... Hold up, you ship her with him? Why?

I thought I'd put a little explanation here before continuing since this involves a rather controversial character in the fandom: Aleister Chamber (otherwise known as Viscount Druitt).

Canonically, this guy is a mess. While he is definitely pretty and fun, he does a lot of stuff that goes beyond questionable. Just want to put it out there that I do not condone or encourage his actions in canon.

However, that is canon Aleister. The version I am writing is a variant. This Aleister still has his own issues, but certain aspects of his character will not show up in the AU. He'll still be fairly weird and dramatic, but a little more tame in comparison to his less savory actions in canon.

Needless to say, there will be a heavy amount of character development for him. I find him to be a very interesting character, for while he doesn't have a whole lot of scenes, he has a way of making those few appearances very memorable.

Their relationship:

As stated before above, Aleister and Lucia meet at the same party he was hosting when Ciel had come to investigate if he was Jack the Ripper. They get caught up in a conversation together and for some reason, it doesn't seem to end. Ultimately, this leads to her sleeping over at his place.

Not knowing anything about this man other than he's a fancy noble, is fun to talk to and is extremely handsome, she gets into bed with him. But it was good enough for her and she wouldn't pass up this once in a lifetime chance. He'd probably forget about her and move onto the next woman soon enough, given his type.

Oh how wrong she was.

This little change offsets the plot in such a way that instead of Aleister becoming obsessed with his "Robin", his target becomes Lucia instead. After that little one-night stand, Lucia will end up running into him several more times. Sometimes coincidentally and other times, it's very clear that he came looking for her. Either way, Lucia is his dedicated target and he's not letting her slip out of his sights any time soon.

The feelings are semi-mutual. It's not entirely one sided on Aleister's part as Lucia genuinely finds herself enjoying him, weird quirks and all. She's never uncomfortable by his behavior, even if he touches her without warning. She'll even flirt back, but only if no one else is looking.

Being friendly, the flirtation and hooking up is all fine and dandy for Lucia���at least until real feelings get involved. She initially saw him as a bit of a fantasy fling, a romance with someone under normal circumstances she could never hope to achieve. It was never in her intentions to be with him in a long term scenario and she fully expected him to grow bored of her since he's quite the Casanova.

However, with her current condition of impending madness, she's closed off to the idea of having a proper relationship with anyone. It would be cruel to both parties. So she's already resigned to the idea that she can't have him. Besides, he's a noble and she's a commoner. That alone should be enough deterrent for her to not fall in love.

Easier said than done.

What all will be altered in the AU:

Everything starting with the Red Butler Arc onwards (or episode 4 of the anime series), the AU will be taking creative liberties. Main events will still occur, specifically ones that involve Ciel investigating on the Queen's orders. Of course there will be plenty of new scenes that will also impact future events.

The infamous season 2 of the anime will also be rewritten and repurposed. Most people do not consider the second anime season canon and disregard it as it's not mentioned in the manga plotline. However, some of the characters and scenes have potential to be fleshed out and serve a larger purpose (though I won't say more to keep things spoiler free for when I write it).

Interactions with other characters:

Lucia will meet a lot of characters in this AU. A lot of the interactions will be fun, considering her awkwardness with real people.

One I think will be especially interesting is if Lucia were to meet Charles Grey in the future. She'd probably be initially impressed with his swordsmanship, but things start to get more complex when his fear of ghosts is revealed.

Aside from Lucia, there are other, more minor, original characters that will be making appearances.

Will there be other ships/pairings?

If you've made it this far in my long text of ramblings, I assume that this may be of interest as well.

While I won't outright say the planned pairings as I want to give a little bit of surprise, I will say that there are a few that are very much rarepairs. Some characters who never meet in the original plotline will meet in this one.

None of them will fully take over the plot, they will mostly be side relationships that will develop in the background (but progress will be seen through little snippets here and there).

Hope you enjoyed reading this. Might turn this into a full on story at some point (hopefully).

[goreador]

care to speak more about your ex sabbat vampy fellow........ i like the premise of that character!!

yes!!!!! oh boy will i !!!!!!!!!!! this got long so dante lore under the cut

tldr: mommy issues made this man a vampire classist. and blond.

his art tag:

his funny posts that remind me of him tag:

he was a character for a friends new orleans camarilla game that didnt quite make it off the ground due to (shudders) scheduling but we had a session beforehand. it was a game consisting of ancillae so we were all 11th-10th gen

ariodante lionetti is a 10th generation lasombra hailing from venice, embraced in the mid 1800s by a french noblewoman by the name of cristabel de le vigne. initially, she was scouting his brother for the embrace (i forgot to name him otl) as he was the more successful of the two lionetti sons; he was a well-educated merchant whereas ariodante was a petty criminal with an uncontrollable temper. however, when the brothers life fell apart and his family fell to ruin, the only one continuing to perservere through it was ariodante, and her attentions shifted to him instead. he was embraced into the aristocracy of the sabbat where he had manners and also classism drilled into him, making something presentable of the former criminal

this is not to say he did not have a mean streak. because he did. he refused to associate with 1. mortals and 2. low clans as well as anyone his sire did not like. he was unpopular in venice with a reputation of an arrogant lick, and this did not change when he and his sire relocated to france, either. this led to him having a relatively small social circle, where he befriended (?) a tzimisce going by the name eden, who was the childe of cristabels rival

while most childer eventually would leave the nest, ariodante was glued to cristabels side. he idolized her and carried out her every whim. when the firedance began in 1999, he came with her to the united states. he served as her templar as she began a bishop on the east coast.

things would change when she met her final death at the hands of the anarchs.

ariodante became the new bishop and launched a vengeful crusade against the anarch movement. more notably was the change of his appearance: his head was fleshwarped (via eden, his old associate) to become a perfect mirror of cristabels. his haven, notably, was also decorated with cristabels old portraits. no remnants of ariodantes face remained. he was to become her mausoleum

in the year 2015, when some of clan lasombra began to defect to the camarilla, ariodante followed suit. his diocese was a mess, and he had "become soft." he found himself wandering into the (relative, in the eyes of kindred) backwater city of new orleans, where the prince took pity on him and appointed him as his scourge.

here are some doodles i never posted of him

build wise hes still a very broad and hairy man. he just has his sires face. hes the type of guy to use 3 in 1 body wash/shampoo/conditioner and i dont think he wears underwear tbh

[chiss-ticism]

Chiss' OC Directory

last updated: August 9th, 2024.

Just to make it easier to keep track of it all. The post'll probably grow as my mental coterie does :)

World of Darkness:

Vampire: The Masquerade

""Blondie"" - 13th Generation Malkavian, Noddist Scholar.

Sect Affiliation: Autarkis, technically. Currently residing within the Camarilla domain of Chicago, Illinois. my first VtM OC 🧛‍♀️

Main Post

Her Tag

Art by the wonderful @/Ineed-to-sleep!

Art by the wonderful @/hanasauria!

Eliza Doyle - 12th Generation Ventrue, Camarilla Loyalist

Main Post

Her Tag

Sire (V20) RP Blog (though I seldom use it)

Art by the wonderful @/glamfellens!

Art by the wonderful @/vtmgremlin!!!!

Art by the wonderful @/Ineed-to-sleep!

Art wonderfully crafted by the magnificent @/BugCouncil Pauline Palmer - 12th Generation Malkavian, Occasionally Anxious Asylum Club Owner & Information Broker

Sect Affiliation: The Sabbat

Main Post

Her Tag

Art by the wonderful @/Ineed-to-sleep!

Art by the magnificent @/vtmgremlin

Percival - 11th Generation Ventrue [Antitribu], Templar.

Sect Affiliation - Sabbat. [AU - Anarch Movement. Not by his choice.]

Main Post

His Tag

Art wonderfully crafted by @/bugcouncil!

Art wonderfully crafter by @/belthegore!

Art beautifully crafted by @/ineed-to-sleep!

Art beautifully crafted by @/crownedinmarigolds

Ida Obertus - 9th Generation Tzimisce [former Revenant of the Obertus family] Sect Affiliation - Sabbat [Subfaction: Children of the Dracon. Pack Priest] Main Post Her Tag

Art wonderfully crafted by the magnificent @/tzimizce

Art masterfully crafted by the wonderful @/crownedinmarigolds

Art masterfully crafted by the wonderful downsteepy!!![Ko-Fi] Judith "Moody Judy" Margolis: 12th Generation Brujah [Antitribu]. Descendant of Tyler. Main Post/"her" blog Her Tag Sect Affiliation: Sabbat [Pack Ductus]. The Black Hand [Remover].

Art Lovingly Crafted by the wonderful @/crownedinmarigolds!!!

Art masterfully crafted by the wonderful @/grozat!!!

Art masterfully put together by the wonderful @/cactusique!!

Art magnificently put together by the wonderful @/malkmadness!! Billie Caruso: Thin-Blood. Soon-to-be Nun, shunned. Main Post || "Her" Blog Her Tag

Art masterfully crafted by the magnificent @/crownedinmarigolds!!

Nathalie d'Auvray: 'Former' French noblewoman. Toreador. 10th Gen. Descendant of Helena. Sect Affiliation: Camarilla. Main Post [T.B.D.] Her Tag [T.B.D.]

Art masterfully crafted by the wonderful @/crownedinmarigolds!!

Art masterfully crafted by @/tzimizce!!! Laura: Caitiff. Sect Affiliation: Autarkis [Gehenna Cultist, ""Herald"" of the Red Star.] Main Post Her Tag

Art wonderfully crafted by the magnificent @/crownedinmarigolds!!

[endlessly-cursed]

OC x OC Love Interests

Heads up: all my OCs are bi until proven otherwise (meaning there isn't a sexuality set for them yet)

I. The Founders Era

Soledad Delgado (b.968) fc: Irene Escolar

She's immortal

Ambitious, will get her way no matter what

Is loyal to nobody but herself for centuries

Is still alive in the modern era

Wants power

Kenna Thorne (b. c980/90) fc: Ivana Baquero

Daughter of Luxia

Warrior

Enemies-to-lovers/starcrossed lovers trope

Adventurous, reckless, with a stormy temper

Xanthe Arcano (b.1240) FC: Bethany Antonia

Daughter of Zoya and Skall

Conqueror on her own right

Skalafell princess

Fiery temper, no-bullshit woman

Commits many war crimes

II. The Victorian Era

Angelique Bellerose (b.1878) FC: Eleanor Tomlinson

Free spirited

Loves horse-riding and sports

Rich and French

Wants a storybook love

Later author of children's book

Annabel Cifuentes (b.1855) FC: Blanca Suárez

Spanish noblewoman

Ran away from arranged marriage

Divination professor

Predicted many happenings of my lore

Looking for people her age or professors at Hogwarts

III. Word War One

Corrine Lovette (b.1888) FC: Kate Beckinsale

Scientist

Literal genius

Single mother

Hyper-independent

Wants to prove herself

IV. Riddle Era

Geena Greenaway (b.1930) FC: Sevda Erginçi

Immortal

Was the wife of Henrick of Alderly and is ancestor of Naila

Has an unique power

Doesn't age ever

Looking for an epic love with someone who's her equal or willing to be her equal

Modern candidates must be over 18

V. Magic Awakened

Lucille Dubois (b.1997) FC: Valentina Zenere

Evil

Ravenclaw

Is cursed

Looking for someone who'll join her evil quest

Dies young and under mysterious circumstances

Preferences:

Stories that match

Mutuals I have less than three ships

Mutuals I haven't interacted with yet

Won't accept:

People I've blocked (this is directed)

Non-mutuals

[eclipsecrowned]

OC INFO PACKET: CLAUDE DI MONTOYA (Historical OC)

NAME: Claude di Montoya ; Occasionally Claudia or Claudio AGE: 22 in mainverse HAIR: Black EYES: Amber HEIGHT: 5′4″ OCCUPATION: Agent of Savoy espionage ; Heir to the Marquisate of Cea FAMILY: Mother (deceased) ; Father (estranged) ; Raffaelle (younger brother) ; L'Comte de Monte Cristo (foster father)

OVERVIEW:

A survivor by nature, Claude has already played many roles in their short life. As their narrative opens, they're an agent of the ruling family of Piedmont, abroad in their native France pursuant of information that will be the foundation of future rebellions, and the reunification of Italy itself. They currently run a double life, owing to their own fluid nature: One a vivacious young noblewoman, the other a gentleman of the highest caliber. At heart, however, they're something of a hurting hero, pulled from mission to mission with little control of their own life, despite their desire to be the constant rebel.

For someone who hates the nobility and ruling class, they sure are wellborn. Their mother claimed descent from the di Montoya family, first of Spain, then gaining the Marquisate of Cea in Italy during the fall of the Hapsburgs. Their father is a holy man of the nearly sacrosanct Talleyrand-Perigord family. However, the loss of their mother left them bitter against the elite who denied Claude and their younger brother, the result of which was the pair living on the streets for much of their remaining childhood. Their hatred runs deep, wild, and their forced proximity to the beautiful elite is a source of great conflict in them.

Got pressganged into service to @luxsclaris's Count of Monte Cristo, who saw potential in the hot-blooded youth with something to prove. It was this same promise that another man saw in Claude when they were adolescent, and it is this history with Morcerf that the Count hopes to capitalize on.

Starts out an emotionally distant, skeptical loner who over the course of interactions has been found family'd by a fair few characters from across various fandoms. Is unfailingly loyal to those who have given them a chance to trust others again, and is working to break their own cycle of self-hatred in relation to the horrors they have seen and committed over the years. They will spare the world because it has those who they love within it, and they will spare themself because they are capable of being loved.

No queer trauma here! Claude is totally comfortable in their own identity, and loves openly across gender lines so long as they have an affinity for whoever ensnares their heart. It's important to me to show historical queer identities that are happy and fulfilled, because we have always been here, and we have always had ways to not only survive, but live and be happy.

A true blue skeptic in the face of the inhuman in threads. Interacts with a giant naga in threads and believes it's a marvelous piece of machinery manned by the 'human' portion. Thinks their bestie/potential love interest is using a 'vampire' narrative to explain his own self-loathing towards what must have been a traumatic upbringing. No one is amused with this except me, who loves what a dumbass they are about this.

Big fan of the French Revolution. Keeps tiny portraits of Robespierre and General Dumas in their quarters. Truly believes in brotherhood and liberty, even if they sneer that the world is not quite ready for such virtues.

Hates the nobility. Is the sole heir of their maternal uncle the Marquis, who has no sons of his own. Lives fully masc in Sardinia, which makes Paris at least tolerable in that they can be wholly themselves and embrace all the many facets of their gender.

Is in some kind of love triangle with a 500 year old vampire who runs their favorite theater company (Armand) and the deposed daughter of an Greek pasha who came to Paris to fuck up Claude's former mentor (Haydee.) This usually ends in polyamory as soon as Claude accepts they are desirable by others. Both are played by aforementioned luxsclaris.

A descendant of my OC Cirila, specifically a several times great-grandchild from the line of Cirila's youngest son. This also means they claim descent from a Dumas protagonist based on that son-slash-ancestor's marriage, but details, details.

[its-cripptid]

revamped an oc i made a couple years ago, she's a mysterious french noblewoman who devours her suitors

[dhr-ao3]

The Magic of Bordeaux

The Magic of Bordeaux https://ift.tt/PrJwOv5 by bertie_bear Summary: After the War, riddled by personal problems, Hermione Granger chose to remain outside of Britain. However, a chance encounter made her question much of her present and future. Will Hermione do what others expected her to, or will she do what she wanted? Alt Summary: Hermione ran away from home and met Narcissa along the way. How will her life change afterwards? A/N: Inspired by Her Number One Fan written by Peanutbuttertoast, especially the idea of Hermione being rich and/or having noble titles in the Muggle world! Sure, it doesn’t change much about her character, just something to think about. Since this fic uses both English and French, French dialogue will be written in italic with the English translation (in parentheses) to show the different languages. As this is my first fanfic, please give me feedback! Thank you! (Originally posted on Fanfiction.Net, now crossposted to AO3) Words: 15578, Chapters: 4/?, Language: English Fandoms: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Categories: F/M Characters: Draco Malfoy, Hermione Granger, Narcissa Black Malfoy Relationships: Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy Additional Tags: Wizarding Politics (Harry Potter), Pureblood Politics (Harry Potter), Mild Hurt/Comfort, Post-Hogwarts, Wizarding France, French Pureblood Politics, French OCs, Draco Malfoy Needs a Hug, Draco Malfoy Speaks French, Hermione Granger speaks French, Self-Doubt, Rich Hermione Granger, Hermione Is A Noblewoman, Minor Lordship Politics, Hermione Embraces Her Slytherin Side, extensive worldbuilding via AO3 works tagged 'Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy' https://ift.tt/wXnv57p December 05, 2022 at 08:12AM

[multifandomfanfiction]

Paris in the Fall

TITLE: Paris in the Fall PAIRING: Modern!Oberyn/OC RATING: T CHAPTER: One-shot SUMMARY: Michelle goes to Paris for vacation and runs into a certain Dornish Prince.

[A/N - Originally posted on my main blog @emofairyprincessofarkansas. I kept Oberyn as a prince.]

Michelle walked down the cobblestones sipping a latte she’d gotten at a little café not far from her hotel. She’d always wanted to visit Paris in the fall. It was one of the things she wanted to do before she died.

The yellow and orange leaves rustled above her head. Some spun in little tornados above the ground as though a nymph was playing around.

Michelle had a few more places she wanted to explore before she left in a few days. She veered to the right to walk through the park she’d spotted days prior. As she walked, she snapped pictures with her camera. She let the camera hang around her neck as she took a moment to appreciate the view in front of her.

“It truly is beautiful, no?” an accented voice asked her.

Michelle turned around and saw a dark headed man wearing a yellow sweater and tight black pants. His beard and moustache were neatly trimmed and the ends of his hair curled softly. He was gorgeous.

“Yes, it is.”

“What brings you to Paris? Business or pleasure?”

Michelle blushed as the man leaned forward.

His dark eyes burned as he looked at her.

“Pleasure, but not the kind you’re thinking of.”

The man chuckled and leaned back on the bench. “Beautiful and witty. A deadly combination.”

“You’re not from here, are you?”

The man cocked his head to the side like a confused puppy. “What makes you say that?”

“Your accent. You’re not French, I know that much. I’m guessing Eastern European?”

The man stood up and walked towards her. “So not only beautiful and witty, but smart too.”

Michelle blushed again.

“But you are correct, little one. I am from a small country called Dorne near the sea.”

Michelle had never heard it, but he’d said it was a small country, but geography was never her strong suit. “What brings you to Paris then?”

“Pleasure.” The man’s voice was deep and had a rumble to it.

Michelle wanted his mouth near her ear, whispering sweet nothings or naughty thoughts. “What were you writing?” she asked, pointing to his abandoned notebook laying on the bench.

“Poetry. For my daughter, but alas…”

“You have a daughter?”

“I have eight.”

Michelle’s eyebrows shot up. “Eight? My goodness!”

The man laughed. “This is the longest I’ve been parted from my youngest daughters and I finding I miss them quite a bit. We’ve been writing letters back and forth.”

“Letters? Why not Facetime? At least that way, you’d get to see them.”

The man sighed. “I am quite old-fashioned, little one.”

Michelle wanted to tell him she had a name, but she liked him calling her “little one”.

“Tell me about them.”

The man launched into tales about how he’d had each of his daughters.

His first daughter Obara was conceived with a prostitute and he took the baby in and cared for her. “Her mother showed up on my doorstep with Obara and thrust her into my arms. I couldn’t just turn around and give her away.”

Michelle put a hand on his arm and said, “You did what was best for her.”

His second, Nymeria, by a noblewoman of his own country. “We met at an event my brother Doran hosted. Her family wasn’t pleased, so in order to preserve her reputation it was agreed that I would take the baby.”

“An event?”

“Doran and I are the princes of Dorne.”

Michelle’s mouth dropped open. “You’re a prince? And you didn’t say anything?”

“I just met you. I have to make sure you just like me for my money,” he teased.

His third, Tyene, by a nun of all people.

“A nun!” Michelle gasped.

The man smirked at her. “How could she not fall for this gorgeous face?”

Michelle rolled her eyes. “You’re so full of yourself.”

His fourth daughter, Sarella, was conceived with merchant his country did business with. “I don’t get to see her that often, but when I do she tells me all of her adventures. I’ve offered her a place with me and her sisters, but she loves her mother dearly and I’d never try and take her away from her.”

His final four daughters, Elia, Obella, Dorea, and Loreza, were by the same woman, Ellaria Sand. He spoke of her fondly and Michelle could tell that they’d been madly in love with each other, but Ellaria had no desire to marry.

“I am older and I find myself wanting to settle down. Ellaria and I remain friends and she supports me in my relationships.”

“She sounds like an amazing woman. Your daughters are lucky to have someone like that in your life.”

The man smiled at her. “I think she would like you.”

“Thank you.”

“Well, I’ve told you all about my daughters and I don’t even know you name.”

Michelle blushed. “It’s Michelle.”

The man took her hand in his and brought it to his lips, brushing her knuckles with a soft kiss. “Oberyn Martell.”

[emofairyprincessofarkansas]

Paris in the Fall

TITLE: Paris in the Fall PAIRING: Modern!Oberyn/OC RATING: T CHAPTER: One-shot SUMMARY: Michelle goes to Paris for vacation and runs into a certain Dornish Prince.

[A/N - Written for @autumnleaves1991-blog's "Writer Wednesday". I saw this picture and immediately thought of Modern!Oberyn, but that's probably because I read "Sugar & Strawberries" by @ezrasbirdie today. I kept Oberyn as a prince since there are still countries today that have royal families.]

Michelle walked down the cobblestones sipping a latte she’d gotten at a little café not far from her hotel. She’d always wanted to visit Paris in the fall. It was one of the things she wanted to do before she died.

The yellow and orange leaves rustled above her head. Some spun in little tornados above the ground as though a nymph was playing around.

Michelle had a few more places she wanted to explore before she left in a few days. She veered to the right to walk through the park she’d spotted days prior. As she walked, she snapped pictures with her camera. She let the camera hang around her neck as she took a moment to appreciate the view in front of her.

“It truly is beautiful, no?” an accented voice asked her.

Michelle turned around and saw a dark headed man wearing a yellow sweater and tight black pants. His beard and moustache were neatly trimmed and the ends of his hair curled softly. He was gorgeous.

“Yes, it is.”

“What brings you to Paris? Business or pleasure?”

Michelle blushed as the man leaned forward.

His dark eyes burned as he looked at her.

“Pleasure, but not the kind you’re thinking of.”

The man chuckled and leaned back on the bench. “Beautiful and witty. A deadly combination.”

“You’re not from here, are you?”

The man cocked his head to the side like a confused puppy. “What makes you say that?”

“Your accent. You’re not French, I know that much. I’m guessing Eastern European?”

The man stood up and walked towards her. “So not only beautiful and witty, but smart too.”

Michelle blushed again.

“But you are correct, little one. I am from a small country called Dorne near the sea.”

Michelle had never heard it, but he’d said it was a small country, but geography was never her strong suit. “What brings you to Paris then?”

“Pleasure.” The man’s voice was deep and had a rumble to it.

Michelle wanted his mouth near her ear, whispering sweet nothings or naughty thoughts. “What were you writing?” she asked, pointing to his abandoned notebook laying on the bench.

“Poetry. For my daughter, but alas…”

“You have a daughter?”

“I have eight.”

Michelle’s eyebrows shot up. “Eight? My goodness!”

The man laughed. “This is the longest I’ve been parted from my youngest daughters and I finding I miss them quite a bit. We’ve been writing letters back and forth.”

“Letters? Why not Facetime? At least that way, you’d get to see them.”

The man sighed. “I am quite old-fashioned, little one.”

Michelle wanted to tell him she had a name, but she liked him calling her “little one”.

“Tell me about them.”

The man launched into tales about how he’d had each of his daughters.

His first daughter Obara was conceived with a prostitute and he took the baby in and cared for her. “Her mother showed up on my doorstep with Obara and thrust her into my arms. I couldn’t just turn around and give her away.”

Michelle put a hand on his arm and said, “You did what was best for her.”

His second, Nymeria, by a noblewoman of his own country. “We met at an event my brother Doran hosted. Her family wasn’t pleased, so in order to preserve her reputation it was agreed that I would take the baby.”

“An event?”

“Doran and I are the princes of Dorne.”

Michelle’s mouth dropped open. “You’re a prince? And you didn’t say anything?”

“I just met you. I have to make sure you just like me for my money,” he teased.

His third, Tyene, by a nun of all people.

“A nun!” Michelle gasped.

The man smirked at her. “How could she not fall for this gorgeous face?”

Michelle rolled her eyes. “You’re so full of yourself.”

His fourth daughter, Sarella, was conceived with merchant his country did business with. “I don’t get to see her that often, but when I do she tells me all of her adventures. I’ve offered her a place with me and her sisters, but she loves her mother dearly and I’d never try and take her away from her.”

His final four daughters, Elia, Obella, Dorea, and Loreza, were by the same woman, Ellaria Sand. He spoke of her fondly and Michelle could tell that they’d been madly in love with each other, but Ellaria had no desire to marry.

“I am older and I find myself wanting to settle down. Ellaria and I remain friends and she supports me in my relationships.”

“She sounds like an amazing woman. Your daughters are lucky to have someone like that in your life.”

The man smiled at her. “I think she would like you.”

“Thank you.”

“Well, I’ve told you all about my daughters and I don’t even know you name.”

Michelle blushed. “It’s Michelle.”

The man took her hand in his and brought it to his lips, brushing her knuckles with a soft kiss. “Oberyn Martell.”

Taglist: @clydesducktape

[werewolfetone]

39 for the OC asks

39 - Introduce any character you want

Okay so I'll introduce Sylvia, because she's been my favourite lately. I'm rewriting one of my wips as well as changing a ton of stuff about it, and one of the reasons I'm doing that is because she was only a side character in the original version and I wanted to give her a more central role in the story.

Her full name is Sylvia Pernet, she's twenty three, she has long black hair, and light brown skin. She's also very athletic, and not very tall. Personality wise her defining trait is that she's very independent, she doesn't care about what anyone else tells her or thinks and is only really out for herself. She does actually love other people sometimes, but only select people, most other people she seems to care about it's still not all the way- she'd still give them up to look out for herself, just not as quickly as she would with strangers or acquaintances. She's also fairly impulsive and tends to be careless, again she only really cares about how things affect her and maybe a few other people, so she'll do anything as long as it doesn't hurt her or her few friends/lovers. Politically she's very far left, due mostly to her upbringing with her father. She's also bisexual and currently single, though there's a high chance she gets a gf later in the story.

She was born to a working class French man named Dominique Pernet and a noblewoman named Helene Titane who was secretly the fairy queen Titania owned a lot of the surrounding land. Lady Titane was not willing to support the child, and Mr Pernet was too poor to do it on his own, so they went to Paris and started working for the Cirque d'Astley (a real life early circus run by Philip Astley), where Sylvia could be trained to be an acrobat. Mr Pernet worked as a simple cleaner as well, and Sylvia was very good at being in the circus, enough that she earned a good living doing it.

After Thermidor in 1794 Mr Pernet saw what he perceived to be the downfall of his revolutionary principles, so he packed up Sylvia and moved to London. There, he worked at a coach station and Sylvia worked odd jobs. Sylvia would occasionally go back to France for various reasons, and happened to be there when the Napoleonic Wars began in 1803. She disguised herself and joined the army, but found it too rigid and also had two of her fingers shot off, so she deserted and paid a smuggler to take her back to England.

Later in 1804, as Mr Pernet was aging and Sylvia was jobless and they needed money, the Pernet family took on Deirdre Manrick as a boarder in their flat. Deirdre is one of the main characters and her own whole separate thing, so I won't explain her here, but she brings in extra money with her job as a maid and is one of the only other people Sylvia fully cares about (platonically, as both of them end up with different people). Sylvia herself began working for a graverobbing gang, where she still works when the story begins in the year 1807.

Her role in the story is as one of the more supporting characters, she does narrate sometimes, but she's mostly supporting the arcs of Deirdre and Ernst, who are two of the main characters (she doesn't know the other main character, Lord Tateley, so she isn't isn't a supporting character for him). She also gives a unique perspective on the events of the wider world as she has known both sides of the England-France conflict and doesn't simply sympathize with the country she's from.

I promise all the characters don't have such a weirdly full backstory lmao, she just does and she's just the one I wanted to talk about because I spent an hour trying to nail down her appearance in drawing yesterday so I've been thinking about her a lot.

Ask game

[the-child-of-darkness]

WTW Planet Prompts - Day 9: Neptune - Wild card: OC moodboard

Adèle De Vandmel

Here’s a little moodboard for my OC Adèle. She’s a French noblewoman who’s part of Louis XIV’s court. Adèle is gentle but independent. She is also very much in love with the pirate Luca Romanio, @meetmyescapingthoughts’s OC. If you want more of Adèle, you can check out my post from day 3 of the event Lost at Sea which is an extract of the rp from which Adèle and Luca are from!

[xathia-89]

Lord Hampton

This is dedicated to @shrimpalompa because it involves both of our OCs, Evelyn and Erik. Please feel free to bombard me with all the questions over Tumblr and discord, because we planned to throw a spanner in the works with this one. 

It was dark, small and cramped. Evelyn could barely turn herself over, only to find that her wrists were bound behind her back, and then she cracked her head on the top of whatever the space was. There was nothing to tell her where she was, what was going on, or who she was with as she tried to recall what she could remember. A narrow alleyway on the way back from the shelter, a change in her routine after all the reports of various unsavoury individuals stalking her out. She could hear rattling, and it certainly wasn’t a comfortable ride. The only piece of information she could gather was that she was on the move. 

Then they went over a particularly large hole. 

A loud groan was one she would recognise anywhere. 

“Leonardo?” Evelyn knew that she wasn’t alone, and she suddenly couldn’t stop crying. “Leonardo? Are you okay?” She was sobbing, throwing the weight of her shoulder against the wood in an attempt to try and find the pureblood. 

“Evelyn?” He sounded so unsure before the sounds of shuffling around her reached her. 

Then the moving stopped. Leonardo had taken to trying to open something, banging his fists on things and trying to free them was all the woman could hope for until he made a strange noise. 

“Get the girl out, we have lots to be doing,” a familiar accent but not a warm voice as Evelyn came to the realisation that she was in a box of some sorts. “But we should catch up first Leonardo, Papi has been worried about you.”

Two individuals were carrying her, that was the best of her assumptions. They were being steady in the movements, trying to not jostle her about too much and hurt her, which made her even more worried than she had been. 

The box was broken open in a stupidly ornate room. A large claw foot bath was the centrepiece of the room, running hot and cold water was something only the very rich could afford as the marble and gold glimmered in the electric lighting. Everything was designed to show off the wealth of whoever owned this place before two maids began to strip Evelyn of her clothing, eager to get her cleaned up while they were gossiping between themselves in such a fast pace of Italian that the noblewoman had no chance of trying to understand them. She caught phrases and words, but she was certainly none the wiser as to who had done all of this. 

They certainly had money. The corsets were ridiculous, and she had a feeling that she was bigger than the ideal size for the image whoever it was had of her, but then the dress was a perfect fit. Someone had all the time in the world to get it right, but Evelyn was on the backfoot here before the doors to the room she was in opened. 

A beautiful woman entered, holding herself tall and with all the grace that Evelyn would never possess. She scrutinised her appearance openly, before nodding to the maids that they were dismissed. 

“Follow me,” the woman briefly stated, turning around to lead the way. 

It didn’t seem like she had that much of a choice. The corridors were full of portraits, domineering and controlling as it seemed to go on forever until a chandelier broke the dullness of the mansion. Its crystals glimmered, reflecting patterns over the room as silence fell over the gathering below. She was being paraded like a doll, and then Leonardo broke the silence. It was more than a little relief to know she wasn’t alone as he wrapped her in his arms, glaring over her head at the strange woman. Her expression was the most confusing thing; she looked so smug and pleased with herself before she cleared her throat. 

“Thank you all for attending this celebration, announcing the betrothal of our son, Leonardo, to Lady Evelyn Hampton,” her smile was calculating, enjoying the turmoil before she went to mingle with the masses. 

“Leonardo?” Evelyn was struggling to get her head around events. 

“Let me explain things to you outside, there should be a small section of the garden where we can have some privacy,” he promised, kissing the back of her hand before leading her through the crowd. 

Everyone was delighted for them. Warm-hearted congratulations, gentle teasings and general enquiries that neither of them wished to deal with at the moment. It seemed to take an eternity to get outside, and the air was doing nothing for her nerves. Leonardo didn’t relinquish her hand; he was scared that he would lose her touch if he did as he navigated the twists of the garden, finding them the best spot for privacy. 

He chuckled dryly, able to get a proper look at the woman. 

“What’s going on?” Evelyn was shaking, she didn’t know anyone aside from the pureblood in front of her, but they knew who she was and more importantly, they also knew she wasn’t married. “Who are they and why are they saying we’re getting married?” Her grip tightened on his hands, cerise orbs gazing into his golden ones. 

“The woman who made the announcement is my mother,” Leonardo said after a small pause, cupping and stroking her cheek affectionately. “This is the Da Vinci estate in Florence, I am guessing they had us both kidnapped from Paris,” he sighed. “And they want me married to another vampire so I can continue the pureblood lineage. I didn’t realise how desperate they were to continue it. Otherwise, I would have warned you. Many apologies, Cara mia.”

“I really don’t think it’s you who needs to be apologising,” Evelyn replied, scooting closer to the pureblood before resting her head on his shoulder. “How long until the wedding?”

“It won’t be as simple as that, the marriage will be the first steps, and then it will be the first child who will need to be raised according to their principles,” Leonardo continued, sadness shining in his gaze before he kissed her forehead. “They’ve got us good right now, but I get the feeling we have friends who won’t let them continue.”

***

Le Comte wasn’t surprised that it was Leonardo’s family behind it, nor that they had taken Evelyn along for the ride. She had weight behind her title, and she was also a vampire. They must have been getting desperate because they had always tried for other pureblood females before now. It didn’t take very long for the news to spread through the world that Leonardo was to marry Evelyn, which didn’t give Le Comte all that much time to come up with an intervention. Erik had come along for the ride to Florence with him, insisting that two purebloods would be better than one. 

The Nordic man was out like a light in the carriage as they kept trundling through the Italian countryside. His snores were irritating, but then he recalled the time that Evelyn had said it was worse after he had been drinking. She would have the position of the favourite pillow when he was at the mansion if Le Comte was a jealous man than his envy would have been showing the second Erik had appeared. Evelyn and Erik were well met on many levels, but neither showed any inclination to stop being themselves just because the other was around. 

The Da Vinci estate was astonishing and made the one in Paris look like a tiny house. Peacocks strutted around the gardens, their feathers on display for everyone to see as the two vampires tried to keep their expressions neutral. This had to be carefully orchestrated if Erik’s plan was to be successful. The Da Vinci family knew who Le Comte was, especially as he was practically rushed by all of the single women in the household. 

The wedding was hours away, it had all been arranged meticulously, and Le Comte wasn’t surprised to see Caterina Da Vinci at the centre of it all. She had her claws deep in this puppet show, and she appeared delighted to see the French aristocrat making his presence to the sham, though Erik’s presence did sour her a little until she found out he was also from a pureblooded family. 

It was hard to not react to her comment that Evelyn seemed to have all these purebloods around her little finger. She made it sound as though they should all be grateful for her interference before she was called away by one of the passing maids with the implication of something possibly not going to plan. 

Le Comte had never seen his friend looking so solemn. Leonardo hadn’t even spotted Le Comte in the waiting crowd. Everyone was waiting eagerly for the announcement of the bride’s approach as Erik was already using that to his advantage to sneak up towards the altar. 

She took the collective breath of the room away as the doors to the church were pulled out in true Da Vinci fashion. It was the family-style to demand the attention. Her ivory dress was akin to that worn by royalty, and she looked like a demure woman, if Le Comte didn’t know her better, then he would have said that she had accepted her fate. She offered no resistance, she held her head high, her posture carrying her assets to show her breeding stock. That is all the Da Vinci family saw in Evelyn, a host for the next generation of vampires. 

Leonardo had a sad smile on his face as she approached him. They knew she wouldn’t change, all they knew is that they didn’t have a way out at that moment, and this would grant the smallest of reprieve for the call to settle down. 

Le Comte believed that Evelyn had never looked so vulnerable. She hadn’t had the chance to even glance around the onlookers before she spotted someone moving behind Leonardo. It warmed his heart. She lit up like her life was about to be saved, before Leonardo had a hand clamped down on his shoulder, interrupting the priest as the Da Vinci’s realised what was going on. 

“Excuse me, I believe she’s marrying the wrong person,” Erik was dressed smartly, and certainly not in anything that Evelyn had seen him in before. An over-exaggerated wink to the woman made her smile brightly, and Leonardo certainly wasn’t offering any resistance. The other vampires knew the problem with the reactions; they couldn’t interrupt at this point. “And you may wish to hurry,” the Nordic male pointedly glowered at the priest. 

The man knew what was going to happen either way, and he was eager to vacate the premises. He began to loudly read out the vows, making sure that everyone knew what he was doing.

“I, Erik Olofsson, take you, Evelyn Marie Hampton, for my lawful wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and health, until death do us part,” it startled the chaotic room into silence, the wedding band pushed onto her left ring finger before the attention came onto the woman in front of him.

“I, Evelyn Marie Hampton, take you, Erik Olofsson, for my lawful husband. I promise to be true to you in good times, and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love and honour you all the days of my life,” Le Comte felt a twinge in his heart, to see her slide the ring onto Erik’s finger. But she wouldn’t allow anyone to change her, and this would stop those silly attempts by little aristocrats who decided they liked the look of her. Sealed by a kiss as the Nordic pureblood knew that Leonardo was going to be terrorised by his family afterwards, but they wouldn’t be able to try the same technique again as the four of them came together in natural gravitation. 

***

“So, does your title change now then? Are you Lady whatever Erik’s surname is?” Arthur was more than a little surprised when the news was broken over drinks on the return to Paris. “And more importantly, does that mean we can’t share anything now?”

“Lady Hampton still on the papers, but it’s Hampton Olofsson legally and that,” she shrugged, enjoying the champagne that Sebastian had brought in for the occasion. “And there are absolutely no changes otherwise to be made, Erik has his thing to be doing, and I have mine. He will be gone for unknown amounts of time, and like hell, if I’m suddenly going celibate for that,” she scoffed, attracting the attention of the three purebloods. The weight of the room seemed to then fall onto Erik so he could prove it was a mutual arrangement.

“No one can try to run off with her again and steal her away,” the Nordic man shrugged, turning his nose up at the champagne and scouring the cabinet for some harder liquor. “Which has happened on a few occasions, and nothing is changing except her name. I get to refer to myself as a Lord now too, that should be a good change,” he laughed, slinging his arm casually over Evelyn’s shoulders. “May end up taking her along for the ride for some things, always a good cover to pose merely as a travelling couple. Also means people like to try stuff if they hear ‘Lord and Lady’. So I get my fun.”

“We’ll see,” Evelyn replied, shaking her head.  

[hyperappreciation]

In Arthurian mythos, the character Sir Lancelot did not make an appearance until a French guy decided his OC should be in the story, sparking hundreds of years of stories about the love affair between Sir Lancelot and Queen Guinevere and how their love tore Arthur apart.

But I’m sure some of you are aware that myths can change.  At the time, the love between Lancelot and Guinivere was based off the concept of courtly love, a concept borrowed from the Middle East during the Crusades.  Courtly love is based on mutual pining between a noblewoman and her knight, in a relationship that could never truly be consummated or fulfilled.  Heck, they didn’t even have to bang, just the romantic tension had to be there.  Courtly love was viewed as something beautiful and super romantic, until times changed and there was greater importance placed on marriage and fidelity.  So Lancelot and Guinevere’s narrative changed into that of lies, cheating, and adultery.  They became the eventual downfall of Camelot. That’s the story most people are familiar with, and that’s the story that gets adapted.

Over.  And over.  And over.  So many stories.  It’s gotten ridiculous.  I’m concerned people have a problem.  Arthur gets cuckolded by Lancelot, Lancelot wages war, Lancelot and Guinivere break up, and nobody is happy.

So anyways, basically, what I’m saying is, please consider for more modern adaptations:

[sawyersscribbles]

One of my OCs is from an ancient French noble family, born in the late 1910s and expected to behave like a proper French noblewoman... by 21, she can't sing nor sew to save her life, but she's a boss at horse-riding, archery, cutting her hair short, dancing rock n' roll and marrying a foreign man. I love her free spirit - her mom pushes all her aristocratic ideals on her and she kindly but firmly rejects them all with the help of her dad, who's more open-minded and progressive. She's a badass.

Um hi??? I love her??? We STAN a gal who understands gender roles but doesn’t abide by them o.o I love victorian gals who do archery and dancing and all that fun stuff!! I absolutely adore her can I keep her??

Send me asks about your favorite female characters for International Women’s Day!

[fanfickittycat]

The Price

TITLE: The Price CHAPTER NUMBER/ONE SHOT: Chapter 6 AUTHOR: fanfickittycat CHARACTERS/PAIRING: Roman Godfrey x OC GENRE: Romance, Smut FIC SUMMARY: Ginger makes a deal with popular bad boy Roman, if he helps her up the social ladder by pretending to be her boyfriend then she’ll be his dog in return RATING: M AUTHORS NOTES/WARNINGS: Things go from great to terrible in .2seconds

Chapter 7

The Snow Ball marked a turning point in our relationship, and for once I wasn't the only one who noticed it. Roman was more playful now, more prone to banter than orders. Of course he didn't drop the 'dog act', and would still sometimes insist on calling me 'puppy', and make me beg for things. We had driven nearby the park and Roman had mock sighed.

"Ah, darn! I forgot to bring a frisbee" which had earned him a withering stare from me.  

"Just kidding puppy" he said, laughing when he saw my face "we all know how bad you are with anything that involves sports."  

Things seemed to be going well. Dare I say, the first emergence of an actual relationship could be found, and though Roman hadn't kissed me since that night he had still become more affectionate than before. With the pressure of Ashley's immediate presence gone he was free to hold back from the petting and touching, in fact, he could have stopped the charade all together, but he didn't, and I didn't want to say anything. I liked everything the way it was. My standoff with Ashley had meant that I had earned the respect of some of my peers and was actually starting to make real friends. This level of attention was far superior than the one of being allowed to sit with Ashley at lunch. I was starting to gain a reputation as the alternative queen; the kinder, friendlier version of Ashley. Even my schoolwork was going smoothly and I was becoming more and more confident in my decision to carry on French at university level. This last point, though positive in it's own way, also ended up derailing my relationship.

"Fancy meeting you here" Roman leaned one arm against the metal locker next to mine "you ready to go?"

"Roman" I sighed "I told you I have tutoring today."

Roman closed his eyes and pressed his hand to his forehead "aw shit, I totally spaced. You're teaching the peasant children of Hemlock Grove how to speak French."

"What can I say? I'm a generous noblewoman."

Roman took the same hand that was resting against his face and ran his fingers through his hair "so, like, how long is this thing meant to be?"

"An hour" I said "you don't have to wait up or anything."

Roman shrugged "I'm sure I can amuse myself for an hour."

I laughed, shutting my locker and heading to the library with Roman at my side "what're you going to do? Smoke a cigarette really slowly? Braid Peter's hair?"  

"In honor of you I'll French braid his hair" Roman quipped with an easy smile "who's the imbécile you're teaching?"

"No idea, I lost the paper with the details. All I know is that we're meeting in the library."

"You sure you didn't eat it? I hear dogs love chewing up things like homework, a note isn't too far away." My appalled expression was met with poorly hidden laughter from Roman that made Mrs. Finch frown in disdain at us. I nudged Roman to make him stop but he only nudged me back playfully.  

The library after school was a slow affair. The languid sounds of pages turning, and the occasional cough made up most of the sound. There was a low buzz of chatter from the section of the library dedicated to group work, and I made my way over to the tables hoping that someone would recognise me. Despite Roman's earlier plans of playing hair stylist with Peter, he followed at my heels, curious no doubt as to who I was tutoring.  

"Hi" Theo awkwardly waved, sticking his hands deep into the pockets of his jeans. Even though I couldn't see Roman, I sensed the tension in his body.

"Hey" I said, trying to remain somewhat casual even though our history was less than favourable.  

"Um, you're meant to be my French tutor, but I could talk to Mr. K and switch to Henry."

"No" I said, more firmly than I meant to "I mean, it's fine. We're just here to help improve your French and it'll help you get better and it'll look good on my transcript so..." I trailed off and instead punctuated my sentence with a quick shrug of the shoulders.  

"Ginger" Roman murmured, sounding annoyed that I would suggest it.

"It's just tutoring Roman" I said, surprised by the scowl on his face "it's just an hour."

He chewed the inside of his cheeks, making his already prominent cheekbones look sharper than before "whatever. Do what you want." He turned and disappeared into an aisle, leaving a painful silence between Theo, me, and the rest of the study groups.  

"So... How's your grammar?" I said, quickly taking a seat and bending down to take out my books and pencil case.

"It's bad" Theo said bashfully and I couldn't help but laugh.

"It's okay, we'll work on it."  

The hour was spent going over the different tenses and how it affected a sentence. Although I still felt vaguely uncomfortable sitting across from the boy, who not months ago, had reduced me to tears I tried hard to maintain a professional demeanor. I had Theo write out the different endings to use when a verb was affected by tense and kept my head down most of the time. I only looked up on a few occasions and would see Roman glowering by the bookshelves, not pretending to do anything besides monitor me. It felt so restrictive that I kept my gaze off of him and on Theo instead. I was thankful that he at least was trying to make the situation less weird.  

"You've really done me a solid, Ginger" Theo said, gazing at his new notes.

"Just doing my job" I said, tucking a stray strand of hair behind my ear.

"Also, thanks for being cool about this" he said, tucking away his books "I know it must be hard because Godfrey's going to give you shit for it."

"No, he won't" I said, though it was unconvincing "he's just... concerned. I'll explain that it's all fine now and it'll be okay."

"Knowing Godfrey? He's going to lose it."

"Theo" I was starting to get annoyed "you have to give Roman more credit than that."

"I don't know what you see in him."

I groaned "I thought we just patched everything up."

"I'm just being honest" he raised his hands "he's just the worst okay? He walks around like he's prince of this town, he only cares about himself, hell he's probably just using you."

"You're obsessed with this conspiracy" I spat "maybe that's how you see him but I don't; he's way more than that, but who cares what I think? He's probably just using me anyway!" I stormed away, taking a twisting route through the aisles to try and find Roman but it seemed like he had left. I was irritated that Theo couldn't let the issue go. I pulled the strap of my bag impatiently, walking down the halls fuming. I opened the double doors of the school's entrance and cursed under my breath at the sight of rain. I fumbled in my bag for my umbrella, annoyed at Theo and more annoyed at my inability to locate my umbrella.  

"Ginger, wait" Theo's hand touched my shoulder and I flinched.

"Leave me alone Theo."

"I just wanted to apologise. I'm sorry, I always seem to say the wrong thing to you."  

I softened slightly "you certainly have a knack for it, I'll give you that."

"I just think you deserve someone better" I met his gaze, scared of what he would say next. His mouth opened to say more but Roman's shout made me jump in surprise and turn around.

"Ginger!" He stood in the rain, shooting daggers at us and I pulled out my umbrella, rushing over to him.

"Roman, I thought you left I-"

"Car. Now." The words came out from his gritted teeth which my shoulder's slump. He got annoyed when I struggled to keep up, and so irked by how badly I held the umbrella that he pulled ahead and walked in the rain to his car. He didn't open the door for me. Instead he just sat in the driver's seat for a few seconds, letting the raindrops run off of him and I watched him nervously.

"Roman" I said softly but he interrupted me by sticking the key in the ignition. He kept quiet when driving and the uncomfortable, near nauseated feeling I got when we first made our deal revisited me; crashing over me like a wave of distress.  

"So what? He's your new boyfriend?"

"What, no! He's just some guy I have to tutor. You know that."

"I know that he's got a hard on for you. I know that you're such a stupid fucking dog that you're naïve enough to think otherwise."

"You're being infuriating" I snapped, crossing my arms over my chest "Theo doesn’t like me!"

"Open your eyes, Ginger!"

"I don't understand what you want from me, Roman" I said, angry tears filling my eyes.

"He likes you. You insisted on staying to tutor him, so obviously you feel something for him too. I think this seems pretty open and fucking shut to me." He broke hard outside of my house.

"God, Roman! I don't know if this is because you have no real friends, but if you want to actually have some then maybe you need to stop being so paranoid!" I didn't wait for his response and instead got out of the car, making sure to slam the door shut and running through the rain to my house without looking back to see if Roman was still there.  

I was done with him once and for all.