#Layla Llewellyn

[pruneunfair]

"Maybe in another universe, I wouldn't be abandoned and abused by almost everyone in my life and suffering at the hands of wealthy men."

The other universe:

[paleghostinthecorner02]

Terrible fan translated webtoons can sometimes be hilarious

No Matthias, keep your wang to yourself.

(And for those wanting to complain I read pirated webtoons: I still read the legitimate translations on the legitimate site when they are posted, but Webtoon hasn't updated this series since it's hiatus ended. Remember that Piracy is a service issue /rant)

[paleghostinthecorner02]

Why make me choose? I want to protect both of them

[nymphea0]

The Duke And His secret

Yan! Matthias x Reader

Oneshot Story.

Warnings : mentions of nudity, use of power, mention of sleeping pills, Bird corpse, some light mature content.

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Manhwa : 울어 봐, 빌어도 좋고.Cry, Even Better if You Beg. Cry, Even if You Pray.

Author & Ilustration : Solche & Van J.

Word Count : 3.25K word.

Hi Neva again... i didn't post any story a few days ago, mybe? i always forget that i have a tumblr TvT... hope you all are doing well and having a nice day, i never expected my last story character manhwa Ishakan will be liked so much, i'm glad you all like my story, mybe after this story i will update Ishakan's story soon.

Well, for your information. Solche, the author who made Cry, Even Better if You Beg. Has 3 other stories too!, Solche has a style of writing stories in dark romance but realistic version? I'm not so sure. And all the stories, every ML character is a complex character in each of the 3 stories, Matthias is the darkest black character among them all, He is the definition of Black Fleg, not a red flag, but black!, I wonder if you all like it if I write this character again? Like Bastian and Bjorn?.

might have some bad grammars, correct me if there are any mistakes in the words in the story I wrote. Anyways i hope you all enjoys my first oneshot story,love.- Neva🦋🦋

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12-xx-01xx

Birds chirp throughout the Arvis paradise forest, so green and beautiful, so fertile and very pleasing to the eye to see every corner.

But the beauty must be broken by the loud sound of the nobles' annual hunting rifles in the Arvis region.

The sound of horse hooves and the barking of hunting dogs accompany every corner of the Arvis paradise forest.

Three pairs of teenagers are running along the outskirts of the road that is indeed not passed by the nobles.

Layla Llewellyn, Kyle Etman, and you.

Each of you holds a small shovel to bury every bird carcass from the nobles' hunt that lies pitifully along the hunting path.

"They're crazy! How could they be so relaxed hunting such beautiful animals!" Again, it will always be like this, where Layla will complain and cry, and Kyle will calm her down, while you, well you just sigh and dirty your dress.

Lyla is the niece of the gardener of the Arvis residence, Kyle is the son of a doctor, while you, you are just the daughter of an Earl from an empire quite far from the Berg empire.

Your soft and smooth white dress is now dirty from the dirt from the action of burying the bird's corpse, while Kyle is busy calming the crying Lyla.

While you are busy digging the ground you feel someone watching you, slowly raising your head, looking straight there your Amethyst eyes collide with sky-blue eyes, the eyes of the young duke of Arvis, Matthias Von Herhardt, Arvis's perfect work from the Berg empire, a skilled hunter, the , Lyla's natural enemy who loves birds.

There he is, on his horse, still fully dressed for hunting, tall, handsome and masculine, no wonder all the women in Berg want to marry him.

That's what's in your mind, you just stare at him for a moment then go back to burying the bodies of these poor birds.

"Come on Lyla, there's no point in crying, let's bury them properly"

Kyle's voice was very loud but gentle when calming Lyla who was busy crying

In the end you spent the afternoon together burying the carcasses of birds from the nobles' annual hunt.

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Walking in your now dirty white dress, it was certain that the maids and especially your mother would scold you.

Lyla she just looked at you and smiled guiltily with Kyle beside her who also looked at you guiltily.

"Well, you guys should take me to hidden places in this Arvis forest, as payment for me burying all the bird corpses" Kyle and Lyla spoke softly excitedly, especially Lyla who hugged you tightly.

"Of course!! We will definitely take you to a place you've never seen!"

Look at these two cinnamon rolls, they are so cute!.

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You still remember when you first arrived in the Berg Empire, the Arvis region, your mother's hometown. Your father is an Earl who fell in love with your mother, the daughter of a Baron from Arvis, they met at the annual event of nobles from all over the world held in the Berg Empire.

From their love you came, your father loves and cares for you very much, you inherited your mother's soft and beautiful face, while the rest, like snow-white hair, and your Amethyst Eyes you got from your father.

The combination of your father and mother, this is also what makes your grandmother and grandfather spoil and love you very much, they are like seeing your father but the female version.

In addition to the fact that your father loves your mother and you very much, your father made a small agenda that every 2 years you, your mother, and your father, will visit the Berg Empire, your mother's hometown Arvis.

The baron's residence is very different from the earl's residence where you live, if the Earl's residence is full of white buildings that have intricate carvings and statues that you will wonder which is the main residence, then the Baron's residence is only a 2-story building that is not so big with a fairly large yard.

Well, whatever it is, home is home.

That was when you first met Lyla and Kayle, at that time you were still 11 years old, and now you are 14 years old.

This is the second time you have visited your mother's hometown. For you, Arvis is beautiful, especially the forest, but your instincts say that behind the beauty there must always be ugliness that is hidden tightly, but you don't know what the ugliness is.

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After separating from Lyla and Kyle, you were scolded by your mother to the fullest. That is a sign that your mother loves you very much.

While your father just laughed out loud seeing your condition.

"Well, I thought our stray kitten likes to explore Tera, look at her hair, Hahaha" laughing out loud until he almost spilled the coffee in his hand.

"Don't defend her Vincent! This could become a habit!"

Finally you and your father knelt down with your mother holding a broom standing upright scolding the two of you who were behaving immaturely and childishly. The baron's residence is as comfortable as Arvis' heaven and the servants greatly adore your harmonious family atmosphere which is very different from other nobles.

Your father's name is Vincent Zeredith Von Alvern. A noble from an empire quite far from the Berg Empire.

Your mother's name is Teresa Von Adelaide.

Your father is a noble with the title of earl of the Alvern Territory.

And your mother is the daughter of a baron from the Berg Empire, the Arvis Territory, the Adelaide Baron family.

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The afternoon where this is your second day in Arvis, you visit the Berg Empire, Meet the emperor and empress.

After visiting your father and mother let you go exploring within a period of only the Arvis forest and nothing more.

Running excitedly, the lilac dress that fits your body moves gently in the wind, Your snow-white hair moves gently as you run, you wait at the usual place where Lyla and Kyle and you chatted 2 years ago, at a large tree, a willow tree.

You stood under a willow tree looking around the beautiful Arvis Lake, butterflies flying around you, various colors.

You sat looking at Arvis Lake while waiting for Lyla and Kyle to come.

Unfortunately you did not know and did not realize that, at Arvis Lake, someone had been watching you closely.

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Matthias as usual at the age of 17, did his noble routine as a duke of Arvis and.

That afternoon was very hot, naked, Matthias swam around Arvis Lake in the Annex, a private place that not many people visited, while swimming, Matthias saw the willow tree that Layla usually sat on, the same tree where he caught Layla accidentally seeing him swimming naked.

For Matthias Layla was just an ordinary girl, a girl who went through a normal life path in Arvis.

expert layla what matthias saw was you, busy laughing softly playing with the butterflies around you, your long and soft white hair for matthias was like snow in spring.

If lyla is the sun and a little bird, then you are snow and a kitten.

Matthias already knows you even if you don't know him.

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Imperial palace berg

Matthias, 11 years old.

With his mother Elysee von herhardt, and his grandmother Norma Catharina Von herhardt, chatting with various nobles from all over the empire.

Looking around matthias' eyes accidentally saw the other side of the room where he saw a girl who he thought was 8 years old.

A petite body, a soft and smooth blue dress, the type of noble child in general, but that white hair, for matthias it was like the white color of snow.

Time passed quite a long time, but the main event was not over yet, bored looking around and only chatting with the old noble. Matthias excused himself to go to the imperial garden.

Tak

Tak

Tak

The sound of his leather shoes with quite sharp heels made quite a loud noise in the middle of his journey to the garden.

Upon arriving at the garden, Matthias saw the girl again, the same girl he saw at the imperial party.

There the girl stood in the middle of the rose garden, busy looking at the roses that were as red as blood, a stark contrast to her snow-white hair.

Whether he realized it or not, little Matthias was already by the side of the girl who stole his attention.

"Do you like roses?"

In Matthias' entire life, it had never occurred to him to start a conversation first, but here he was, talking to a girl who he estimated was not that far from him.

The white-haired girl turned around and looked at Matthias in confusion.

Bright amethyst eyes met sky-blue eyes. Purple and blue.

Matthias in his life he had never seen someone with amethyst eyes like the girl in front of him.

Usually the colors he saw were hazel, gray, yellow, blue, dark blue, and green, but purple... that was something new.

The snow-haired girl answered.

"I like it, why ask?"

Matthias was not sure but as if his mouth moved on its own and answered.

"I also like roses just like you"

That night. Matthias never asked the name of the snow-haired girl with purple Amethyst eyes.

Neither his mother nor grandmother knew that he met a girl who was not much different from him, at the annual noble event in the corner of the world.

For Matthias the snow-white-haired girl with purple amethyst eyes was his secret, his little secret that he didn't want people to know.

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Matthias swam in the Arvis lake, annex, staring at you who was busy looking at butterflies, not realizing that someone was staring at you.

He saw you 2 days ago, with the doctor's son and the gardener's nephew, for Matthias Kyle is a volatile teenager, Layla is an ordinary girl and you, for Matthias you are noble lady who befriends a commoner? Clearly that is a deviation from social life of aristocrat.

A deviant noblewoman who hangs out with commoners.

Busy burying the carcasses of birds hunted by nobles and himself.

For Matthias, Layla is a girl who likes to cry, is troublesome and goes the wrong way.

And you for Matthias are a deviant noble lady, who really likes to dirty your dress, you look like a cat who is not aware of being covered in mud all over her body.

Chuckling softly, how could he forget you. you, the same girl he met 6 years ago, his little secret.

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That afternoon you were busy playing with Lyla and Kayle, walking slowly along the Arvis forest path or people call it Arvis heaven.

Busy staring at the wild flowers and you saw a wild rose bush, with white and pink colors that clashed. Once again you ruined your dress, well anyway the roses were beautiful and you didn't expect a white stray kitten to be caught there.

Feeling pity and sympathy you knelt down which made your dress that was already torn by the thorns of the wild bushes become even more damaged by the dirt of the ground, slowly releasing the white kitten. which was caught between the tendrils of wild grass you didn't even realize that your chain bracelet with amethyst diamonds was caught there, fortunately there were no wounds on the cute cat, you put the kitten gently on the ground.

The white kitten was busy licking its tiny feet, you had to restrain yourself from squeezing and kissing the kitten affectionately.

You were busy admiring the white kitten until you didn't realize a horse neighing sound was right not far behind you, you turned around slowly, there you saw, the young duke Arvis in his hunting suit, you saw him holding his rifle, the rifle was pointing right in the middle of the position, between you and the white kitten.

You felt that this young duke wanted to hunt the kitten, quickly you stood up and in a position to block the duke's rifle

"Don't! Duke do you also hunt a cats?! Aren't birds enough for you?"

Looking annoyed at the duke arvis who had now gotten off his horse.

Walking slowly the young duke arvis stopped in front of you, he was tall, sturdy and fit, the body type of a trained soldier.

You were only as tall as his chest, amethyst and blue eyes collided with each other.

"Duke? Do you know who I am?" A soft and deep voice came from the duke in front of you.

"Who doesn't know the duke, the perfect work of god from the arvis region, the young duke herhardt, Matthias Von Herhardt"

You answered casually which was answered by a chuckle from him.

You almost wanted to slap his face, you didn't know why but you didn't like the way he chuckled! Just almost.

"You know me, but I don't know you, why don't you introduce yourself to me?" Matthias' soft but deep baritone voice spoke to you.

You introduced yourself to him.

"Which family are you from?" Matthias asked you again.

"Alvern, Roshanette Empire, Alvern Territory"

Answering casually because you don't want to be familiar with this man!.

Silence fell on the two people, the man was busy staring at the woman, while the woman was busy staring at the kitten that was right under his left foot.

Because you didn't want to linger there with the young duke Arvis, you gently picked up the kitten.

"Nice to meet you, Duke, have a nice day"

Then you went to take the kitten away from him.

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Matthias he was still standing there staring at the place where you were standing in front of him.

You were so small, so fragile, Matthias was sure that if he touched an inch of your hand, maybe you would be crushed in his grip.

When he was about to return to his horse, Matthias' eyes accidentally caught the soft gleam of the wild grass tendrils.

Walking slowly towards the weeds, crouching down and there Matthias saw, the diamond chain bracelet that had an amethyst color was caught around the weeds.

Grinning slowly, Matthias took the bracelet, even when the bracelet was in his hand, it was very small, Matthias measured the hole of the bracelet on his finger, and it only fit 3 fingers.

Chuckling softly Matthias returned to his horse while carrying the item he took happily and he was not sure whether to return it or not.

Unfortunately for Matthias that was the last time you and him met.

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7 years, 7 years Matthias has not seen you, he still keeps your bracelet that he stole secretly take and never returned to you.

For 7 long years, he had to go through 2 years of war, a time when he pretended to be engaged to his distant cousin, Claudine, many rumors fell on him saying that he was playing behind his back with Lyla, the gardener's niece just because Matthias liked to make her cry like accidentally throwing her hat to the lake and almost drowned.

Or hunted migratory animals just to say the sentence that Layla was just an ordinary girl and to make layla know her place .

His engagement with Claudine ended in failure because Claudine loved Rittie, her other distant cousin.

And the engagement between Layla and Kyle, 2 unstable teenagers who were strange in Matthias' eyes.

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That night Matthias, his grandmother and his mother ate quietly, only the sound of spoons and forks could be heard

"Matthias, how long will you continue to reject proposals from several noble families?"

Elysee his mother looked at Matthias with tired eyes.

While his grandmother just chuckled softly.

"Are you really with that garden girl ?!"

Elysee stared at Matthias' eyes uneasy.

Matthias he just ate and drank quietly he didn't even answer his mother's question.

"Matthias Von Herhardt! Answer your mother!." Staring fiercely at Matthias, her only child, Elysee, gripped the fork and knife tightly in her hands.

"Mother, even flies will be attracted to dirt rather than rumors of nobles"

Matthias spoke with an authoritative language, if traced, Matthias said that did his mother prefer to hear rumors of nobles that were not true?

Before Elysee had time to speak, Matthias said again.

"1 month, give me 1 month, and I will bring a wife, mother"

After saying that, Matthias left the dining room.

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You, 21 years old, very young and beautiful, you are currently at the age where noble ladies get married.

But instead of getting married, your parents asked you to focus on studying and pursuing your dreams, make yourself happy and have fun.

You are studying medicine, mental health and psychology.

You are currently in the Berg Empire, after 7 years of never returning.

Unlike 7 years ago where you were with your parents, this time you were alone, considering you were old enough.

You visited only for a moment, to see Kyle and Lyla who were getting married.

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Currently you were at the baron's residence of your mother's family, even though your grandparents had passed away, the baron's residence was still well maintained.

You spent the remaining 2 days shopping and helping Layla.

The 3rd day, you spent your time in the Arvis forest alone.

Staring around the forest that you passed through 7 years ago with Kyle and Layla, you didn't expect that now they would be getting married.

You stared at a flock of birds flying, until you felt a cold metal object pressing against the back of your head.

Turning slowly, exactly about 3 feet away, stood the duke of Arvis, Matthias von Herhardt! The man you least wanted to meet!

Matthias stood in all his glory pointing his hunting rifle at you.

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Matthias thinks you are too much, leaving without saying goodbye and then coming so suddenly, how can he be calm when his heart beats so fast just by muttering your name, just by seeing you breathe.

You haven't changed at all, for Matthias you are still the white-haired girl, the noble lady who got into the hang out with commoners, and the noble lady who is like a stray cat who likes to dirty her dress with dirt and mud.

"Duke, do you intend to kill me?"

Asking Matthias carefully.

Instead of lowering his muzzle, Matthias chuckled and said

"Why is that? Are you afraid of me?"

You looked at Matthias in disgust.

"Everyone would be afraid if a stranger suddenly pointed a gun at their head"

Again, Matthias only answered with a laugh that seemed to be mocking you.

"Well, it's not wrong"

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Unfortunately, that afternoon you spent being forced to accompany Matthias hunting! He used his authority, saying that you were in his territory, and someone who was not from this territory had to obey the orders of the one who held the highest position.

You felt like slapping, hitting, and swearing at the man sitting on his horse! As for you?! You were walking holding his rifle that you were sure weighed almost 4 kg!

This duke is crazy! He must be the incarnation of the devil!

"Lady, are you cursing me?" Matthias grinned slightly, looking down at where you were walking while holding his rifle.

"I'm not the duke, why should I even do that?"

Answering half-truthfully. You almost rolled your eyes in annoyance!

Matthias he just grinned slightly looking at you, it was very clear to him that you were cursing him, it was very entertaining for him, your expression really wanted to make him bite your cheek in annoyance. He had to be patient, just a little longer, and you would be his.

That afternoon you spent your time reluctantly becoming Matthias' assistant.

You are only 5 days in the Berg Empire after that you will return to the Roshanette Empire, Alvern region.

Unfortunately for you it seems like it was just a dream for you.

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You don't know what what happened to you, after becoming Matthias's hunting rifle assistant that afternoon, right when Matthias was taking you back to Baron Adelaide's residence.

You felt like your head was hit by a very hard object, before you even had time to be inside the residence, you only saw darkness and a warm arm hugging you.

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The Annex, another residence in the main area of ​​the Herhardt residence, was Matthias's main house, Matthias's main residence as a duke and where he relaxed and was himself. Surrounded by the clear Arvis lake which was connected by a pier that was integrated with his residence in the Annex.

Slowly smoking a tobacco cigarette, Matthias stared at you there, his little secret, sleeping soundly in his bed.

Matthias knew this was wrong, but he couldn't help himself, he had held himself back enough, looking around the room, which was currently very messy, furniture was destroyed, clothes were scattered, and the bed was very messy.

Matthias has claimed you as his, maybe you will hate him, but Matthias doesn't care, it took him 7 years to realize that he loves you, love? Matthias wanted to laugh so much, in his entire life, he never thought he could fall in love and feel love.

Slowly extinguishing his cigarette, Matthias walked towards the bed, opening your legs a little, that's where Matthias saw the remaining traces of your love activities left behind.

Chuckling softly, Matthias looked at you, your eyes were swollen from crying, even though you were on sleeping pills, you were still able to refuse him.

Looking at your ring finger which now has a diamond ring embedded in it.

Tomorrow Matthias will marry you, make you Duchess Herhardt and tell your parents in the Roshanette Empire, that their child is married.

Matthias only needs 1 week to find a wife, which is you, and 1 month is a phrase that Matthias plays with and gives to his mother as another form of sentence, namely

"In 1 month I will give you a grandson and bring a wife , so be patient mother, soon you will have daughter in law and became a grandma".

Matthias has got you, his, his life, his woman, his wife, the mother of his children, his little secret.

Even if you try to run away from him, Matthias will lock you away from the outside world, whatever it is you are his.

Kissing your forehead softly, Matthias looks at you with love, passion and a deep sense of possessiveness and obsession.

You are his little secret, his secret that he really doesn't want anyone else to see, hear or interact with. Because you are his.

His secret, his little secret.

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*Source Image : pinterest

*Source Image : pinterest

*Source Image : pinterest

©️Nymphea0 2024 ,OG story, Project Dark Manhwa Character Oneshot.

Special Story for my Love; @snowflakes666 @nerdygoateepeanut

Tag list; @blurryperrtymoonlight @luminethebest @scenicelixir @n4muqr @cannyyyyy @athena-roy @sirenetheblogger

Please dont steal my work, or use without my permissions , Always be good people Dear. Much love , Neva🦋🦋.

[layla-llewellyn]

— 106

"you're pretty"

"you're so pretty, it's driving me wild"

"you're pretty… you're so pretty…"

"layla…"

"layla… layla llewellyn… my layla…"

—Matthias Von Herhardt—

[hallowgracie]

Excerpt: Layla and Ammon in the Rain

This scene contains late-game spoilers for the rewrite of the Daughters of Fire and Rain and outpaces material in the original. I'm posting it though as a chemistry test between two of the new characters, Layla and Ammon.

I'm still in the plotting phase of the rewrite, so this scene may be removed from the final product. But if you want to see some enemies-to-lovers interactions, you can read to get a sneak peak at the characters of Ammon Long and Layla Emery-Park.

Layla wasn’t sure how long she’d been walking in the rain—or how far. All she did know was that it was dark, and the rain had only increased since she’d begun her walk. It pelted at her from above and sideways, and blurred the streetlights. She didn’t recognize what neighborhood she was in, or what part of Goldwater Harbor. 

Just that she was in some part of the endless labyrinth of suburbia, all alone. Her clothes were entirely soaked through, and she hated to think what shape her phone was in. 

But she couldn’t go home, even if she knew how to go back. Her mom. . . her mom would want nothing to do with her, with everything she’d confessed. Layla shut her eyes, even though it didn’t block out the memory of her mother yelling. 

“Everything I sacrificed and —just how stupid are you, Layla?”

Layla tried to swallow, but couldn’t. There was something lodged in her throat, but it wasn’t tangible. It was the grief, the disappointment—and the increasing suspicion that her mother had always been right. 

Layla had just gotten swept up in the story of becoming a dragon princess that she didn’t ask the right questions, that she’d ignored all of the red flags. 

Just how stupid are you, Layla?

Who could she even go to? Kira wanted nothing to do with her, and neither did Galileo. Agartha wasn’t safe anymore, not after the Executors had made themselves known. There was always Aideen. . . but Aideen had been Galileo’s friend long before Layla had ever entered the picture. 

And to set foot at Ansel’s house—that would be suicide now. 

That left Sabrina. But it would also put Sabrina in danger, to house Layla. She couldn’t defend herself against Paladins and Executors and all of the factions that had decided Layla was their enemy or prize. 

No, she didn’t want to bring that on her oldest friend. Or even ask for something like that, given she hadn’t been much of a friend lately. 

Before she could further contemplate where she even could go, however, she heard a car behind her. 

She turned to see the blinding headlights and darted just out of the road as the car slammed on the brakes. 

“Sorry!” She shouted at the driver, who was pretty much invisible in the darkness. 

But the car did not start up again like she’d expected. Instead, the driver’s door opened and a figure stepped out. 

Layla stepped back further and inhaled sharply. 

In a world of magic and political intrigue and supernatural dangers, she’d forgotten all about the all-too-mundane ones. 

She was a petite teenage girl, all alone in the middle of a rainy night in a neighborhood she didn’t know. Just after she’d pissed off nearly everyone she’d ever known or who’d ever loved her. 

This wasn’t good.

She raised her hands, remembering the spells that Magnus had taught her. The Paladins wouldn’t like her using her magic—but it wasn’t worth it to play by the Paladins’ rules anymore anyway. Playing by the rules had only gotten Llewellyn killed. 

The driver stepped into the light—and Layla recognized his face immediately. 

“Ammon.” There was some relief there—better the devil you know—but the same element of danger remained, and hung in the air. 

“Jesus Christ, Layla, do you have any idea who’s out here looking for you?” His voice was rough and low as he continued forward, to close the gap between them. 

Layla wasn’t sure whether to move back, to keep a distance between them, or to stand her ground. She was even less sure about what to say. So she said nothing, instead, locking her eyes into his. 

There had been a time when she might have even had a crush on him. Around the same time she’d liked Galileo. There definitely had been a time when she’d called him a friend. 

Just how stupid are you, Layla? Her cheeks and eyes burned, and it took a moment for her to realize that she was crying. The water was everywhere. 

Ammon frowned and he closed the gap between them. 

“What’s wrong, Layla?”

She shook her head and finally managed to step back. “No, no, you don’t get to pretend to be my friend anymore. I know what you really are.”

��And what am I?” 

“You’re part of the Executors.” She swiped at her tears, even though her face had been wet long before those had started. “You stole the relics, you pretended to be my friend to try to recruit me to your whole take-over-the-world cause, and you got my friend killed. And you’ve got my other friend working for you.”

Uncertainty flickered over his features. “It wasn’t my idea to let Llewellyn die, for what it’s worth.”

Layla bit her lip. She didn’t want it to be—but it was worth something. More than she wanted it to be, coming from him. “It does. Surprisingly. Thanks for that, I guess.”

An awkward silence filled the air between them, with only the wind and the rain and the faint tinny sound of the radio in Ammon’s car, the open door forgotten. 

He glanced over his shoulder as another car passed by, paying no mind to whatever was happening on the sidewalk. As Layla’s eyes returned to him, he grabbed her upper arms, pulling her close. 

“Let go of me, I’m not going to be a part of whatever Executor scheme you’ve been put up to—“

“Stop squirming, and listen,” he hissed, his voice going low again. He leaned forward, his ruby-tinted brown eyes almost hypnotizing in how large and intense they were. “I’m not the only Executor on the streets who’s looking for you—“

Layla froze. “How did they know?”

“Know what?”

“That I’d be out here.”

“Who do you think sent that letter to your mom?”

“Oh.” 

As if satisfied by how still she had gotten, he let go of her. “Look, I know you have no reason to trust me, Layla, but I’m not the bad guy here. Or at least, not right now. I don’t have much time to explain, but I promise you are safer coming with me than staying out here.”

  Layla looked around her—no other options were presenting themselves. She could turn and run. But what Ammon had said gave her pause. 

What else was out there, looking for her?

“Okay,” she finally said, looking back to him. “I really hope this isn’t a trap.”

“It isn’t a trap.” The corners of his mouth twitched with sarcastic sort of humor. 

“That’s exactly what you would say if this was a trap.” 

He snorted. “Just get in the car.” 

[paleghostinthecorner02]

Either the Yellowjackets pairing is an ungodly amount of toxic or most people who saw this aren't familiar with COBYB. Matthias is... oh God, he's awful that's all I can say without launching into a whole essay about how deranged he actually is

[ao3feed-whitechapel]

TDI Layla Jones

read it on the AO3 at http://ift.tt/2ueKu7F

by SJ_Sixx

"The past is never where you think you left it.” ― Katherine Anne Porter

Layla Jones (AKA Jenny Kray) thought she could escape the past, escape the shadow cast by her brothers. However, she's about to find that is can catch up in unexpected ways.

Words: 1661, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Fandoms: Whitechapel (TV)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Categories: Multi

Characters: Emerson Kent, Joseph Chandler, Anderson (Whitechapel), Ray Miles, Jimmy Kray, Johnny Kray, Finley Mansell, John McCormack, Leo Fitzgerald, Megan Riley, Sanders (Whitechapel), Caroline Llewellyn, Edward Buchan, Angie Brook, Original Character

Relationships: Emerson Kent/Original Female Character(s), Brothers!Jimmy and Johnny Kray/Sister!Original Female Character

Additional Tags: Little Sisters, Brother-Sister Relationships, Big Brother Jimmy and Johnny, Emmett is a sweetheart, Emmett likes comic book films, Layla/Jenny is a walking quantity of sass, Fake Names, More tags to come as I write more, Protective brothers

read it on the AO3 at http://ift.tt/2ueKu7F

[pruneunfair]

Hello, excuse me, do you think you can do an analysis of the characters: Rasha and Layla pleaseI honestly can't understand the hate that some users have regarding these two characters who are pitiful, I mean, both Rasha and Layla can have one or another questionable moment but I honestly don't think that's the reason to hate them to the point of commenting things like "Rasha deserves her end or she deserves everything she lived through" "Layla deserves to be abused 🍇 by Mattias for being stupid and being the lover"Note: With this I'm not justifying Rasha's questionable things or that Layla has mixed feelings about her aggression, although the latter is more Stockholm syndrome, but it's regrettable when people hate them but can't understand or see beyond the social context in which these characters find themselves, Rasha being a runaway slave and Layla being a commoner without any power... it's sad how they hate women who are victims more that men are the ones who practically plan everything and use girls for their own ends.Psd: Do you also think you can talk about Stockholm syndrome? I've seen that on TikTok they usually blame Leyla for having this syndrome.

Thanks ❤️

it would be my absolute pleasure to.

Layla and Rashta. Two characters on the complete opposite sides of morality yet they are so similar in terms of past, love interests, and receiving hate from other people who don't give anyone a chance if they have a title of mistress.

Rashta is very easy to hate at first mostly because of her constant crying and being a thorn in Naviers side. It annoys people so much that it successfully distracted you from the fact that she's still a runaway slave. Constant crying isn't viewed as a response to trauma if it's a character people hate, the desire to survive isn't seen as such because it's "greed" for what Navier has. Everything about her is designed to be hated because she's a mistress and mistresses are all viewed as evil temptresses.

I'd honestly even say that her crimes were just used as an excuse for wanting her dead before she did anything. Older comments on the remarried empress proved it was never about morality. It was just about protecting the territory from anyone in need, since in the online community, being nice or in need of help is seen as "cringe"

Layla is hated though not as much as Rashta, she is still seen by many to be a silly strumpet who put herself in that situation even though she was 12, even though Matthias was 18 and knew what he was doing when he was purposely making that child cry. She had her whole life ahead of her, she wanted to graduate and be a teacher. Matthias's obsession with her readings to her being SA'D in the woods and she is further lying 🍇 when she has to become Matthias's mistress. Keep in mind, it's only for the sake of her uncle, she does not want to be this creepers lover.

Yet at the end of the story, she falls in love with him? Is it bad writing? Yes, but do you know what it also is? Stockholm syndrome. A syndrome/theory that explains why abuse victims fall in love with the people who hurt them. One reason is that they are too terrified to tell anyone the abuse and normalizes it as a coping mechanism, they can also develop anxiety, PTSD, or depression, and Layla won't be able to recover in a world where her abuser has won and everyone sees the abuse as just a love story. She's going to have to live with the idea that Matthias did nothing wrong and that it was her fault for rejecting the idea that she could've "loved" him all this time.

Why is it common to hate on women like this? Because of both a lack of critical thinking and research. We often hear the term "mistress" or "concubine" and think "oh she's such a slut." But if we were to do a quick dive into history, theres more to it.

Concubines in ancient Chinese culture aren't all the sexy temptresses we think of now. The concubines who would have worn valuable clothing and lived the high life would've been high ranking concubines. Most other concubines lived in poor conditions where they had to fight for the emperors love for more favor so their living situation could increase, in many cases it was also so they could have more food and water. So in actual history, concubines fighting for the emperors love wasn't for love or even power. It was to live.

Even European mistresses weren't safe. Anne Boleyn is a great example of this. She herself was technically not a mistress since she did her best to reject Henry VIII and really only accepted because he was the king and who could say no to the king? Her telling him she'd only be with him if she could be the queen is even thought to be an attempt to get Henrry to go away, and as we know, he divorced his first wife and married Anne anyway. Anne was beheaded just 3 years later after failing to give birth to a son.

So while cry or better yet beg is a disgusting story, what they do get right even if unintentionally is the truth of what it's like to be a mistress when you are a commoner facing a Duke.

And Remarried empress would be a whole new story if the truth on how concubines were living in those days was known to all those commenters.

[paleghostinthecorner02]

Oh God, please give me strength

Kyle was the one who kept insisting on marrying Layla. He continually pestered her with marriage proposals, daily, for weeks. Layla was hesitant to marry him because she already had a plan for her life and figured she might marry later when she was already established, but she decided toarry him because he is literally the second most important person in the world to her. The only person she loves more than she loves Kyle is Bill, she's just not in romantic love with him. For a woman of her status in the time period, marrying someone you care about that deeply was a luxury.

And you're really going to shame her, who was abandoned by almost everyone in her family before she was 12 for beinf afraid of being alone? You're going to say that a deeply traumatized girl is evil for having a completely understandable response to her trauma? You're really going to side with the classist, controlling shit bag who would rather rot in jail and have her son hate her guts than see him happily married to the woman he loves because she's poor?

Also, the fact that Layla decided to break off her engagement despite Kyle's insistence and refused to say anything bad about his mother is the exact opposite of being an evil, greedy bitch that cares more about not feeling lonely than Kyle's happiness. It doesn't make any sense, unless you're actively trying to find fault with her because her actual faults are understandable given her past.

And oh God, oh God OH GOD you cannot be serious about MATTHIAS being the wronged party. You cannot see the heaps of physical, emotional and sexual abuse he heaped on her, all the cruel, petty bullying he did just to see her cry, and actually think that Layla "gaslighting" him (which she didn't do, LEARN THE DEFINITION OF THE WORD) makes her the villain. Layla spent the entire book wanting him to leave her the fuck alone and live her life and he spent the entire book manipulating her and the world around her so she couldn't do anything he didn't approve of. He's the poster boy for rich, entitled scumbags thinking they can do anything they want to a woman because she makes his pp hard. He ruins her plans for her life because he decides his desire for her takes precedence oved her wants. He gets her to the point where she is so mentally broken she's trauma bonded to him. She constantly fears her blissful married life with him is a dream because she is so used to being abused and abandoned that she expects abuse and abandonment OH MY GOD DID YOU READ THIS BOOK?

"B-but she hurt him too! She made him think she wanted him and then left to hurt him!" So what. After all the hell he put her through he deserved those months of wallowing in his misery without his whipping girl/sex toy. I have no sympathy for people who kick dogs and then cry when the dog decides to bite them, and his treatment of her when he found her afterwards justifies her wanting to leave him in the first place. He was VILE.

Layla defense squad OUT.

Layla's true nature

And COBYB's real ending

[pruneunfair]

I feel so bad for Layla.

Im not just talking about the fact that the entire story revolves around her being abused and getting Stockholm syndrome. It's a case of the fandom

Shes the FL, everyone almost always gets on their knees for the FL but then they go and romanticize her abuse, they act like her getting assaulted by Matthias was hot, there is multiple tiktok and Instagram edits thay portray the relationship as "cute" and "protective" and "Layla just doesn't know how much she loves him." A 18 year old girl being coerced into doing what a nobleman wants isn't cute and it sure as hell isn't justified because they misuse the dark romance term A LOT.

And if she wasn't the main character and Claudine was? The amount of people that would rope her in with the typical white lotus mistress type would be insane. She'd be called a slut for getting in the way between Matthias and Claudine, she'd be made fun of for being a commoner who dared to even look at the Duke and they'd belittle her trauma and call her "another trashta"

Theres no winning for Layla when it comes to the Cry or better yet beg stans, if she's the lead then her abuse is romanticized and on occasion people will claim it was Layla gaslighting the readers, if she isn't the lead then she'd likely be demonized as a slutty mistress thinking she can sleep her way to the top.

[pruneunfair]

My feelings on cry or better yet beg and the utter wasted potential for a psychological tragedy of the imbalance of relationships between noblemen and their mistresses

First off, if I was told I could only kill off one male lead, it'd be him

Lot of people rn especially on tik-tok probably would flame me for this with the "at least he loves Layla! He's so protective of her!"

"it's a dark romance! It won't be sunshine and rainbows you snowflake!"

"He just doesnt know how to express his emotions because he's so sheltered!"

No, just no, I don't care how "hot" he is, I don't care if he's your protective little bad boy. I don't care about his supposed character development, That's a straight up abuser who started off killing birds knowing it would damage to Layla to straight up assaulting her. (I don't know if that will stay in the webtoon, but it was in the novel) no character development can make me like a fucking rapist

Like how in the hell is Claudine considered worse than Mathhias, sure she isn't so peachy herself but goddammit to think of the fiance who if anything would be supported had she been the main protagonist, yes she's pretty demeaning, a bit shallow, and only views Matthias as the perfect Duke, but at least she's not going around mentally torturing a boy who can't do anything against her. I haven't gotten to her ending yet but from what I hear, it isn't a good one. She such a wasted opportunity since she is such a perfect example of a woman prepped and groomed to just be a Dukes wife would come out feeling that her worth only comes her husband.

Justice for Claudine, I just know there's a fanfic out there where you get with Riette, grow as your own person, and live a pleasant life.

You wanna know what really hurts me about this manhwa though? The fact that's it's so unintentionally accurate to how horrible it truly is to be a mistress in an era where women, especially women with no royal titles or status, were often treated by rich and powerful men. They would mostly have no right to say no to a man who decides he wants her, Layla romanticizing her abuse is not just heartbreaking but also unfortunately realistic as it's a coping mechanism for those who had endured nothing but abuse their whole life so they tend to shove their feelings in a box and pretend everything is okay (obviously this isn't the same for all victims of abuse, it's one of the many coping mechanisms people could develop)

In a lot of historical manhwa, there's usually the obligatory mistress character designed to be a dumb trashy bimbo to uplift the lead. Most of the time, the mistress in question is either a daughter of minor nobility that was chosen by a Emperor, crown prince, or Duke, or the mistress lived her life as a poor farm girl and in some situations lived a life where no one cared about her and was likely abused, the latter is often rare for these mistress characters since authors of those stories only want you sympathizing with the leads but in rare cases, the mistress did have a hard life but it ends up being undermined to further damage the mistress as torture/revenge porn or in Laylas case: used as an explanation to give a disturbing reason to why she ends up falling in love with Matthias which wouldn't be wrong if the story was written in a way that was a tragic one, not a romantic one.

you would think this kind of glamorouzation of abuse would only exist in the authors mindset and the degeneracy that is a junior high girls mind, but no, the ides that Layla is somehow the one in the wrong for her own abuse and reluctance of Matthias and there is even an Instagram post claiming she has BPD for being too "difficult" they sound like those 1950s doctors that find any reason to lobotomize a patient.

Laylas character does open the truths of what it's truly like to be practically owned by a nobleman, she's not like Rashta or Aisha from divorcing my tyrant husband where she's portrayed as a silly and cute strumpet with ulterior motives, she is genuinely upset but she can't do anything about it so all she can do is convince herself that Matthias loves her so she can keep her sanity, but where it goes wrong is that instead of portraying this as an unhealthy yet sole coping mechanism for an abusive relationship, the story just chalks it down to "silly Layla! You'll see that he's just misunderstood and you really do love him deep down!" Its frankly atrocious that the one time a story has a realistic pair of the typical women in this trope, the first wife who is classy and refined and the mistress who is young and free spirited ends ultimately destroyed yet again with a case black and white writting. One woman must be good and the other woman must be bad.

Frankly these characters are well written for the most part and until I realized I supposed to see Matthias as the love interest and not Kyle, I was fine with who Matthias was since he was presented more so as a villain, the art is also one of the prettiest cottagecore artstyles I've ever seen to the point where the 3D models look really good since it blends in perfectly, it's just sad that cry or better yet beg is a sick twisted tale equivalent to the average Colleen Hoover book.

[pruneunfair]

COBYB shit list (Rage post).

This isn't really an actual analysis or anything like that. Just a vent post to get out the frustrations of how willfully ignorant COBYB stans are.

It's all being a "girls girl" until it's this shit

When a woman wants to act obsessive and the man doesn't reciprocate, the woman is a creepy bitch who needs to go while the man is comforted by the audience and celebrated for rejecting the stalker (as it should be)

When a sexy man wants to be obsessive and abuse a girl to get out his frustrations of being in lust with someone who can't say no to him, she's just "rejecting her true feelings" and the man just doesn't know how to show his love in a normal way.

knowing damn well that this story would be treated as the psychological horror it truly is if Matthias looked like Marquess Sergev from I thought my time was up. Pretty privilege is so real right now.

"Oh he chose to do nothing against his bitchy mom! Kyle isn't deserving of Layla for being such a coward!"

"Matthias on the other hand buys Layla gifts even when he hurts her because he really does love her! It's the nobilities fault he's like this! He apologized in the end didnt he? 😢 he just doesn't know how to properly show his love!"

Be real: Everyone would adore her for "protecting her fiancé" and would sympathize with her if she was the lead of a basic isekai or regression.

Bro will meet this girl when she's 12 and get bliss out of torturing birds knowing it makes her cry and you still have people diagnosing Layla with BPD and absolving Matthias of all blame.

Hey guys, is this the look of a pleasured young woman after a so-called "fun night" in the woods?

You tell me?

Matthias can do whatever the hell he wants and it's just "He's a red flag but I'm color blind 😏" but GOD FORBID I defend Ari.

What? I thought you people LOVED toxic relationships as long as the guy is conventionally hot?

Layla gets coerced into being a mistress against her will so her uncle Bill will be safe and people STILL claim that it was not SA because she "consented" after her only remaining family members future was held as leverage.

"Who does she think she is? Kissing Matthias right in front of Layla 🙄"

His fiancé? And don't give me that "it was an arranged marriage" crap because we all know the manhwa community doesnt give a damn as evident by OTHER manhwas.

Plot twist: The ending wasn't actually Layla getting lobotomized by the plot to love Matthias. She just knew that man was never going to quit until she either accepted or he takes a page out of the song Sarah from Tyler the creator.

Yall know that "Grandma, you little victim." Meme that originated in tiktok? That's basically the best way to describe Laylas future when she grows old.

"If you don't like it, don't read, you're just justice farming for views 😒"

First of all, would you believe me if I said I got a basic summary of what happened thanks to getting a ton of COBYB related posts on tiktok and Instagram videos that were being extremely vague and gaslit you into thinking it was romance? (Yes, I did find the rest of the chapters to read so I could actually make a verified post but to begin with, I already knew a basic idea of what was happening.)

Second of all: if this were just some random 🍇 and degrading fetish comic on a porn site with little people defending it, I wouldn't feel the need to care. (EX: I don't make any abandoned empress posts because everyone already hates it so there's no need to say what has been said a million times already) this is a gross porn novel that was put on a site mostly inhabited by 10-16 year old girls that makes stalking and 🍇 look sexy thanks to the artstyle and the ML being a buff BTS blow up doll and instead of it being called out, you got THOUSANDS of people tarnishing the name of dark romance so they can justify a grapist while pretending to be girl's-girl's instead of coming to terms with the fact that the comic with a beautiful artstyle is grade A garbge.

[pruneunfair]

"All I am worth is being a Duchess. Who cares if my fiancé brings in a mistress."

"So I see nothing has changed."

"I know he loves me, and I love him too. I've always loved him all along.

"My child... it's only going to get worse from here."

[pruneunfair]

"You think you want this but you don't, not like this."

"My lady-"

"DON'T throw away your dreams for this child, don't let that man poison your life the way he did mine."

"You are going to finish your schooling and become a teacher, you'll meet a man, a good man, and you'll have a family but please believe me, you don't want this!"

"Huh...?"

"Please Layla.. You have to believe me, please... don't do what I did."

[pruneunfair]

Yes, raze Cry Or Better Yet Beg to the ground. I read the web novel. It is deplorable. I hate it. I hate that I gave it my time, even more so than TRE.

TRE may also have 🍇 in it BUT at the very least they arent romantizing it (sexual harassment is brushed under the rug though) and the fans aren't THAT brain dead. (Like when you actually explain for example that what Alan did to Rashta was SA or the whole Krista thing that I misunderstood a few months ago, they get it through their skulls in quick time that it's wrong.)

Talking to a cry or better yet beg stan who swears up and down that it isn't rape is like listening to a 12 year old Andrew Tate fan explain why Andrew actually does respect women. There is so much evidence proving otherwise right in front of their face but they still gaalight themselves into believing whatever they wanna see.

Thing is, I have been convinced to read the novel by some of those stans claiming it's better and I thought "okay, maybe it is meant to be a tragic story and the manhwa is the equivalent of the movie adaptation of Lolita" which no! It was not! The whole scene where Matthias SA'S Layla is even more graphic than it already was and I haven't even finished reading that garbage yet because of yonders stupid daily pass policy (might have to switch to something else at this rate)

Like sure, Kyle may not be the most perfect either but he's better than a rapist obsessed with emotionally torturing a child since she was 12.