#The nuns would meet up the same time every day and just

[therainbowgorilla]

The nuns are at it again! Guards, get the whips

group meowing starts in 30min

[douceurrrr]

SILENT LOVE

paring(s): felix catton x shy!black!reader

summary: felix has taken a liking to the “invisible” girl but she’s not invisible to him

warning(s): mdni, oral (female receive), angst, smut, kissing, dirty words, breast play.

the first time he saw you? you were in a local coffee shop he loved to go to, studying with michael gavey who was you only friend at the time. he could remember that you were sitting there, skirt in the middle of your thighs and your braids pulled up in a ponytail. that day you and micheal were going over statistics and micheal had said, “oh look, one of the popular imbeciles.” and you had look up and saw him and connected eyes with him.

all that was going through his mind at that moment is that how is it that he never seen you before? how could he let someone like you slip his mind if he did?

all it took was a cough from michael to pull you back to reality. “don’t get caught up, lovie. people like us are just toys to him.” you took what micheal said that day to heart and shook any thoughts about him away. meanwhile, felix kept you in his mind but he tried not to, especially when his sees you everywhere he goes. felix had made a promise to himself that when he sees you again he’ll gather the courage to ask you out but instantly baled when he saw you at the library.

you looked beautiful. your braids were laid over your shoulder, he eyes traveled down. you had on a shirt that your roommate made you wear, claiming you dress like a nun. it showed your cleavage, making felix bite his lip. you had every intention on forgetting about felix but you had to lock eyes again at the library, he quickly looked away, muttering a “shit” to himself. your heart pounded as you begin to feel what you felt that day at the cafe. you knew you couldn’t study, knowing that he’s near you, so you gathered you things and began to stand from you chair when you hit something hard.

you looked up and it was him. felix. “y/n right?” he begins to say but all you hear is people like us are just toys to him. your didn’t reply back, you just grabbed you bag and continued to walk. felix felt stupid nonetheless, thinking he probably scared you or worse humiliated you. that night in your dorm these images were going through your mind, from his eyebrow piercing to his pink lips, just the thought made your stomach flutter or maybe something else flutter.

same for felix, in his dorm. he thought about the way your skirt would flow in the wind, lifting a little bit to reveal a part of your panties and how your brown skin glowed in the sun. he groaned at the thought of you, trailing his hand down his pants and…

bam. reality hits you as your alarm blares in your room. you look over to see your bonnet in another country, if that wasn’t enough you had a test that day as well, could this day get any worse?

yes. there he was again. he was in the same pub, michael wanted to meet up at. you see him laugh and have a smoke with his friends through the window. you decided to take a deep breath and just walk in. once you did, the door bell rang showing that someone has walked through the pub but thankfully felix hadn’t look up to see who it was. “over here, lovie.” the voice belonged to michael. you walked over to and sat next to him. the table that felix was at a open booth that was behind michael.

“do you think we can choose another table, micheal?” you asked, leg bouncing in nervousness. “no sorry, lovie. everything is taken.” michael says, you frowned but stood your ground. “give me a sum.” michael nodded.

you watch felix’s head flys back, in laughter as farleigh says something in his ear. “um 597 times 300?” you didn’t pay attention to michael’s answer, you just paid attention to the boy. “come on. give me another.” you told him another sum while watching some blond rub against him. felix looks over at her and gives her a fake smile. a part of you wanted him to see you and the other part just wanted him to run to you and kiss you.

you huffed and decided that it was time to go. “I’m gonna head out.” you hummed to micheal, he rolled his eyes and nodded. felix look up for a second, noticing a girl with braids get up and walk towards the door with her coat left in the seat, he instantly knew it was you. “excuse me farleigh, I have to do something right quick.” he says before quickly scooting out the booth and over the table you and micheal were sitting. “michael gavey? right?” michael looked up at felix with an emotionless expression. noticing his expression felix cleared his throat and talked again.

“uhm y/n left her coat and I think it would be nice to give it to her.” michael huffed. “just don’t break her heart.” micheal gave him a serious look. felix nodded and took the coat and ran out the pub.

“y/n!” you turned around, thinking it was michael. but it was him and he knew your name. he had your coat in his hand, you didn’t even notice you left it. “you left this.” he stomach started to feel queasy as your hand brushed against his while grabbing your coat. “thank you, I didn’t even notice.” he smiled, looking down at your lips then you eyes.

“I’m felix.” he chirped. “i know.” you nodded.

“actually I have something to tell you.” he says, taking another step towards you. you looked up at him with those eyes that made his heart warm. “I’m in love with you.”

your breath hitch a bit. you wanted to believe him but back away from him. “Is this a prank or something?” he frowned at your question. you rolled your eyes tears filled your eyes but you sniffed them away. what upset you was that fact that even though he was pulling a prank you would still want him.

“no this isn’t a prank, you really think I’m that types of person?” felix says. “people like you pick on people like me, felix!” even though you were kind of angry he would give anything to hear you say his name again.

“what do you mean people like you?” felix questioned, getting a little mad that someone has picked on you before. “forget it.” you sighed, turned around to walk away but he grabs your arm and turns you around. you looked at him shocked but was even more shocked at what he did next. he closed the gap between you two, grabbing your waist to pull you in. your body tenses up but slowly relaxed as you run your fingers through his hair.

his hands traveled to you ass, squeezing it from underneath your skirt to earn a moan from you. as his lips traveled to you neck you couldn’t believe what was happening. “wait wait.” you whined, feeling his lips on your collarbone. “I don’t understand, why me.”

“Why not you? I’ve loved you ever since that day in the cafe.” he confessed with hands still on your waist. “me too.” you nodded, smiling up at him. felix grabbed your neck and kissed you again, you moaned at the feeling of his hands on you, it’s so much better than your imagination.

“wait we can’t do this here.” you put your hand on his chest, feeling his toned chest. “you’re right.” felix then took your hand in his but you wanted to ask about his friends but didn’t care, you wanted him. he took you to his dorm and neither you nor felix felt like it was real but it was. “this is forward but I’ve wanted to fuck you for so long.” your heart pounded in your chest at what he said. felix took your hand and lead you to his bed and sat down with you standing in front of him.

some how you were bold enough to straddle him and wrap your arms around his neck. “fuck you’re beautiful.” he groaned before kissing you again. his hand rested at your hips, underneath your skirt. “show me how much you love me.” he whispered into your mouth. you then pushed his chest down to lean down and kiss him. he smiles into the kiss, trailing his hand to you ass with a smack to get a reaction that he was pleased with.

soon enough, you couldn’t take the foreplay and started taking your shirt off. felix watched you yank your shirt off on his lap, leaving you in a lace bra. the color of the bra matched your skin tone really well and made you look like a angel in his eyes. “you don’t have to take it off if you don’t want to.” felix says even though he would love to see your tits. “no it’s fine.” you then unclipped the back of the bra, letting it fall revealing your chest to him. he couldn’t help but to touch them, taking your nipples in between his fingers. “felix please.” he instantly flipped you on your back and started to take your other clothes off, leaving you bare.

you rushed to get his clothes off as well, until he was completely bare. “spread your legs for me, love.” while you spread your legs you took a peek at his cock, it was bigger than you imagined. “pretty pussy.” he muttered. he stared at the dark brown lips along with the pink cunt. “thank you.” you mumbled, shyly.

he started to rub your clit with his thumb earning a moan from you. “feels good?” you bit your lip and nodded as he continued to rub you. he licked a stripe from your entrance to your swollen clit. your breath hitch when his tongue made the perfect rhythm. your hand tugged on his brown locks. he groaned at the pain, swirling his tongue around your clit, making you feel like fireworks on the forth of july.

“felix.” you cried out as your body prepares for a release. “m’gonna-” you didn’t even get to finish your sentence as your body finally came to a release, making you whine.

“fuck me, felix.”

with that being said, felix climbs on top of you, starting to postion his cock to your cunt before giving in a powerful thrust with a growl. without a warning he started to pound into your pussy. “fuck felix!” feeling a coil build up in your stomach.

he palmed tour brown tits as he speeds up his thrust. “feel good, love?” he asked while watching you face full up with pleasure. the look on his face alone would make you cum, his eyebrows were clenched while he bit his lip in pure ecstasy.

“I-” he starts, not knowing if he should finish his sentence. “I -shit- I love you.” he whimpers as wave of pleasure hit him. what he said almost made you cum as your toes curl when your close to your end. “I love you to.” you mewled, digging your nails in his back.

it took a couple of more thrusts for you and felix to cum, grunting and moan as the wave hits. felix flipped on the bed, pulling you on his chest. you drew invisible circles on his stomach has he plays with you braids, in between his fingers.

felix breaks the silence. “will you come to saltburn with me?” felix asked, hoping you would say yes. “yes.” you muttered, softly with a smile. felix then wondered what would happen if he never gave you your coat or let you walk away. definitely not this.

[femsolid]

The nuns I mentioned? I talked to one of them, a young woman, she lived in a church together with other women, in what they call "modesty" (we had our little debate about that), they don't shave, wear make-up or anything, just their natural selves, and every day they eat together and do whatever it is nuns do. It's a female only community. She told me that she was going on a trip with the other nuns this summer, to a house on the coast, for some spiritual nonsense I didn't care about, but, I thought, in some way they are closer to radical feminism than a lot of so-called radfems out there. Of course it's all nullified by the fact that they worship the male sex and obey the orders of male representatives, real or fictional, but still. They live among women, they frequent only women, they don't date men and many of them don't trust men romantically. And, to be fair, they idolize a female figure called Mary. And so why can they do that, live among women and separate from men, when so many supposed radical feminists say it's impossible and only leads to gloom and doom, a lonely witch living in the woods with her cats and no orgasms. To me it shows that the problem is not that men are essential to women, it's that feminists lack conviction. These nuns have conviction, faith and a crazy amount of ambition, completely deluded yes, but because they believe so firmly, they can practice what they preach. And I know it's not the case of all nuns, but this group was truly determined and excited about their lives. Many radical feminists lack ambition and don't actually believe liberation will feel good and is worth the change. They also don't believe women are worth the effort. There's also this: the nuns I spoke to were moved by optimism, the hope of greatness, happiness, a wonderful reward. And they enjoyed the process that'll get them there. Most radical feminists don't see this in separatism, they don't envision the joy of liberation, they see only fear and loneliness. And they just don't believe it's doable. They just don't. There's no way out of the patriarchy to them, no way out of the male prism. And finally, a not so negligible point, they don't think women can get along. The best motivator is the prospect of joy and self-fulfilment. That's our job as separatists: to put forward the advantages of separatism. Because goddess knows men put a lot of effort into presenting heterosexual relationships as a blissful prospect. Well the truth is, I love being a separatist. I love caring about myself so much, I've loved discovering who I really am and being able to finally be myself and not trying to please anyone, I love respecting myself, I love all the free time I have for myself, I love learning about and meeting other women, I love being safe. My life has improved so much when I stopped caring about men. I feel incredibly lucky to have become a feminist separatist in my 20s. I'm looking at an entire life of being myself, prioritizing women and girls, being independent, resourceful, it's my money, my place, my hobbies, my time, my energy and it's all for myself, my sister, my niece, my female friends and the women I meet (and my dog, okay she counts too.) Literally the only sad thing about being a separatist is that there's not enough women who are doing the same. What a world it would be. Women loving themselves. So, I guess my point is, separatism needs to be promoted not as fleeing from men, but as building our own freedom, the freedom to be ourselves. Because that's exciting and beautiful to experience. There's joy in the reward and joy in the process.

[sfhvn-alltheas]

An open letter to Netflix and for everyone who feels the same

I would like to apologize in advance for any linguistic errors, English is not my native language, but I will do my best to express my concerns appropriately.

I am reaching out to you to express my deep disappointment at your cancellation of Dead Boy Detectives. The news of your decision hit me hard and I would like to ask you to reconsider. I understand that Netflix is ​​a company that is about money, about numbers, about streams, about performance. It is a business and the decisions are based not on emotions but on lucrative fundamentals.

We all know that.

But this cannot work in the long term, not without an outcry from your viewers. Because what you do is selling dreams. You might not see us, but we are here, we are being absorbed into the alternative realities you have created. We live these dreams you sold us. 

You know this, you know that you mostly produce more than just mindless entertainment that is subsequently forgotten, and that is exactly why I feel so let down by you. You are aware that our hearts and souls are attached to these characters, that’s what you want and it totally makes sense. Because whoever is emotional involved stays long term. A show can be so many different things for different people: a place of well-being, comfort, escapism, distraction, mental support, self-discovery. Queer and inclusive programs in particular help people and make them feel seen, understood and accepted. A show can be the only light in a darkness that so many people find themselves in today. A show with their characters can save lives.

How then do only numbers decide whether something continues or not? 

You, as the producer of dreams, have a responsibility to us. Money and numbers should be secondary in your industry. Feel free to call me naive, I am, I like to be, I have to be in this world, but I believe in humanity, in the values ​​that you claim to represent. Not every show can bring in billions. Not all of them can be Wednesday, Squid Game or Bridgerton. Not within fourteen days, not without support. With your impatience, you are depriving great shows of the chance to grow and, over time, attract the viewership that meets your expectations. What I'm trying to express here isn't only about Dead Boy Detectives. It's a fundamental problem.

I am not okay with this

Julie and the Phantoms

The OA

The Society

1899

Six of Crows

Shadow and Bone

Archive 81

Lockwood & Co.

Glamorous

Half Bad: The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself

First Kill

Inside Job

Midnight Club

Warrior Nun

- just to name a few. All this shows have met the same fate, they all were cancelled too soon and never got the chance to grow, to become a next Stranger Things, the next slowburn success.

This has to stop! Imagine having cancelled Stranger Things after one season back in the days. What you would have missed! Instead, you give up on shows too easily without hesitation and disappoint the very people who could have been your allies in the effort to bring the next success.

I honestly don't understand that. And it's not fair either. Not to us, not to the creators and actors who gave their everything. You should trust them to be capable of creating something epic if only they had a little more time. 

I'll tell you how it is: The news that Dead Boy Detectives had been cancelled is devastating. My life pretty much sucks for a few years now and there is little to nothing that still brings me joy. A second season has been the only thing I've been looking forward to these past few months, the anticipation has been the reason I'm still here. You took that away from me. From all of us that are like me. Now I’m sitting here and write this letter, hoping to save the show that has given me so much confidence and joy and meaning, visibility and understanding that it's okay to be who I am. It's not fair that I have to fight to keep this precious show instead of enjoying it while I deal with the wreckage of my life. 

If you don't understand that what you're doing is impacting so many people, then maybe you shouldn't be selling dreams. Better sell electronics.

I won't stop fighting for what means so much to me. It's not too late yet, you can at least right the wrong you did with Dead Boy Detectives. Please do it, give Dead Boy Detectives another chance. We, the viewers, deserve it, the creators and actors deserve it, and most of all the show itself deserves it because it is the greatest thing I have seen in many years.

Thank you for your time and for considering my request.

[loquaciousferret]

Saints and Sinners

Summary: The yearly Halloween rendezvous with your long-term no-strings lover Joel Miller is set to be shaken up when he invites a third- Javi Peña- to your hotel room.

No-outbreak AU | Joel Miller and Javi Peña existing in the same universe AU

Pairings: Javier Peña x f!reader x Joel Miller

Word Count: 5.7k (whoops)

Warnings below the cut | 18+ Only

Content Warnings: MATURE 18+ Disrespect of religion including the Cross. No real physical description of reader other than female anatomy and she can be lifted by or sit on top of both males. Alcohol consumption, sex whilst under the influence, oral both m and f receiving, facesitting, facefucking, unprotected sex with a stranger, consensual voyeurism and exhibitionism, facial, spitting, degradation, pet names, anal play, MMF threesome, a suggestion of but not actual infidelity, discussion of age gap between the sexual partners.

A/N: Hey homies, I’ve come out of retirement for one day only for halloween (It’s also my birthday) this started off just something hot but accidentally turned fluffy and deep towards the end. Consider that my birthday gift to myself. I hope you enjoy!

You analyse your appearance in the mirror for what might be the hundredth time, straightening the garish crystal-covered cross that hangs on a delicate chain from your neck. The base of it just slightly tucks into the cleavage that is spilling from the top of the satin black mini dress. A few strands of hair peak out from the matching black covering on your head, framing your face perfectly. Sexy nun. What a great Halloween costume. Offensive? Probably. But hot? Definitely.

Joel had texted you a few hours previously with the room number for your usual luxury downtown hotel. 308. Surprise inside. The message had read. A man of few words was Joel Miller, but you didn’t mind. Your annual meeting didn’t need much introduction.

You checked the time on your phone and realised you were in a rush. Your scheduled Uber, the chariot that would deliver you to Joel, would be there in half an hour. You quickly grabbed your bottle of wine, still only half finished, and poured yourself another large glass. After all this time, the nervous butterflies that gathered in your stomach prior to seeing him should have faded, but on the contrary, they seem more powerful each passing year.

By the time you had finished off the bottle you were rushing to cover yourself with a long black coat and put your heels on to head out the door. The nerves had barely subsided and the alcohol only served to hinder your balance as you hurried to the car.

You arrived at the hotel, which you hadn’t visited since this time last year. It was a looming black structure that stood out against the rest of the buildings on the street. Once inside the lobby, it was like you were in another dimension altogether. It was dimly lit and strongly scented with candles and diffusers. It was soundproofed well, to the extent that you would never know you had just stepped off of a busy city street. It was familiar and yet mysterious every time you visited. It certainly wasn’t the sleazy motel you would imagine to typically be used for you and Joel’s purposes. You didn’t know how often other people typically visited hotels. They are usually a place of passing. So, after visiting on the same weekend every year for five years, you felt like perhaps you were a regular.

You spoke to the man at the desk who welcomed you with warm eyes and a kind smile. It was the kind of place where the staff always made you feel important. He handed you a wallet made of thick black card with the hotels gold logo embossed on the front.

“The keycard is just inside. Take the elevator to the third floor and you’ll find 8 on your right.” He says. “And I’m here all night, should you need anything at all.”

“Thank you.” You say, and proceed nervously to the elevator. The hand holding the wallet is actually shaking. Pull it together.

The elevator ride to the third floor is over quicker than you would have liked, and suddenly you are stepping out into a dim corridor. The same thick scent that fills the lobby also lingers here. Deep and musky, like oud, and yet fresh at the same time. The whole thing is a sensory experience.

You turn to find 308 and take deep breaths with each stride. You’re about to see him again. With each year that passes, you always worry things will have changed, and yet they never do. He is always the same Joel, the same scent, the same strong frame, the same quirks in his speech. He is something entirely familiar to you, just as you are to him. Two halves of a pair entirely in tune with one another, able to predict each others every word, every movement. He is the one constant you can always rely on. You just know him.

But when you insert the keycard and let yourself into the room, you are staring into the face of someone entirely unfamiliar.

“Uhh- I-“ You began to stutter. There must have been some mistake, but you don’t know what to say. ‘I’m sorry, I think uh- I-”

“Don’t worry.” He said with a smooth Texan accent. “You’re in the right place. You’re Joel’s girl, right?”

Your eyebrows draw together in confusion as you try to piece it together. The question, asked with such casualness as though he already knew it to be true, was so complicated that you could barely wrap your head round it. You weren’t Joel’s girl, not even close. Why did he think that? How does he know Joel?

Once you looked at him properly, you realised that whilst he was younger, this stranger, his resemblance to Joel other than that was striking. He looked more like him than his own brother. The same hooked nose and serious brow bone, but his hair was shorter and straighter, dark brown not yet peppered with grey like Joel’s. And unlike Joel’s scruff of stubble, this man was clean shaven except for a thick moustache.

So this was the surprise. You realised. Where the hell did he find this guy?

“What is this?” You ask. It came out harsher than you expected and you cringed at yourself for being so rude. But this was not part of the arrangement, and you hadn’t prepared yourself. The butterflies in your stomach swelled painfully.

“I don’t know, sweetheart.” He said. “Some kind of Halloween treat I guess.”

“Is it? Seems like more of a trick to me.”

The man chuckled, unphased by your comment. Whatever this was, well, you had a pretty good guess, and whilst you weren’t against it in theory, you were pissed Joel had pulled something like this. But he always had to change the rules and shock you. It was just part of his addictive game.

The man rose from the comfortable chair in which he had been slouched, thighs wide, manspreading and confidently exposing a bulging package inside his tight jeans. He reached for a bucket containing an expensive champagne, popped it open without any fuss and poured two large flutes full. He held one out for you and you took a tentative step towards him.

“I don’t bite.” He said, flashing a toothy grin that made you doubt his statement.

You took it from him anyway, your hand brushing against his large warm one as you clutched the stem. You took a sip and the warm bubbles floated down your chest and into your stomach, heat radiating where it mixed with the white wine from earlier.

Damn this whole situation, you think, and yet you can’t fool yourself into thinking you won’t do exactly what Joel intended you to do with this guy. When he calls, you answer. When he gives, you take. And when he tricks you into meeting a handsome stranger and screwing him, for whatever reason, you oblige just so.

“So, um…”

“Javi.”

“So, Javi.” You say. “What are you supposed to be dressed as?”

“Uhhh…” He hums as if he hadn’t really thought about it. “A cop.” He says eventually.

“Then where’s your uniform?” You challenge.

“Undercover cop I guess.” He shrugs, smirk plastered on his face. “You on the other hand. You went all out, huh?”

“Oh, this old thing?” You say, running your hand up your side from the hem of the dress to your cleavage, which you lean towards him for a better view.

His tongue flicks out across his lower lip. You giggle and lean back to where you had been sitting before, but he reaches an arm out to wrap around your waist and pull you a little closer towards him.

“How do you know him?” You ask. You don’t want to pry, but if you’re going to let him fuck you, you want at least a few details.

“Uhh…” His responses don’t come easily to any of your questions, as if he is consistently just thinking up answers before offering them. “We met at poker.”

“I didn’t know he gambled.” You say.

Javi looks at you with a quizzical expression, like it was obvious. Like Joel and gambling are synonymous and it wouldn’t make sense not to immediately associate them. It stings for some reason.

“Right.” He says, expression still twisted. “So not his girl then, I guess. Then how do you know him.”

But you hum too while you think of your answer, and so you give Javi some slack for his own hesitation.

“Old friends.” You say simply, giving nothing away. “How did this come about though?”

He laughs a little, ducking his head as if unsure whether to be honest. “A bet.”

“A bet?” Your eyes widen and you respond in shock. You’re rightfully offended by the insinuation, but it doesn’t make you angry. If anything, it sends another aching sensation between your legs. “He- He bet me? You won a bet for me?”

He laughs at that, a proper laugh, like the suggestion itself was downright ridiculous, although you are unsure why. You had considered it a pretty sound conclusion. “Actually, no.” He explains. “It was Joel who won the bet.”

Your eyebrows are drawn together in thought and he smirks as he watches you piece what you can together.

“So…” You say, unsure what to think of it all. “So he really wants us to do this?”

“I guess so.” He says, finishing off his champagne. Yours is empty too and he takes the glass from you, heading back to the desk to find the rest of the bottle. “You want another?” He asks.

You shake your head no and he comes and sits down next to you on the bed again.

“Is he… Is he coming? I mean are we supposed to wait or- or- do we have t-“

He cuts you off and puts a comforting hand on your thigh.  “Hey, there is no ‘have to’. Whatever you like. I’m a man of the law, darlin’. I won’t make you.” He pauses just for a beat. “Unless that’s what you’re into.”

You flush at the insinuation, looking away from him. Damn your bashful complexion. Damn Joel for this twisted trick. Damn this handsome dude for making it impossible not to throw yourself into his lap and kiss him.

He responds to you immediately, his hands wasting no time feigning respectfulness before attaching to your ass and groping you through the tightly stretched fabric.

You grind into him as he deepens the kiss, one hand leaving your ass to come round and grip your jaw. The thick denim of his jeans stimulates you through the thin barrier of your underwear.

“Dirty girl.” He says as you speed up your movements, grinding yourself against his growing bulge deliberately to pleasure yourself. “That outfit just pretend or somethin’? Where’d ya learn to do that?”

You don’t speak back and you focus on unbuttoning his shirt instead, not breaking the kiss as you work at the buttons. The alcohol has affected your dexterity and eventually he pulls back and starts undoing them himself. You reach for his belt instead, unclasping it and then pulling down the zip on his jeans.

By then his shirt is off, and you take in the wide expanse of honey skin. He is slimmer than Joel, but still built strong. Lean and toned muscle take the place of Joel’s, which are hardened by life but softened by age. It’s not just the resemblance that had you comparing the two. You compared every lover to Joel. Eventually you just had to stop sleeping with anyone else, because no one measured up. There was simply before Joel, and after Joel. And after Joel, well… nothing else would suffice. Apart from this handsome stranger nominated by Joel personally. That, you were willing to try.

You fumble clumsily with his jeans until he takes over that, too. He grinds his palm into the hard bulge as he does so. You smirk a little when the trail of hair that is peeking out is revealed further, showing he isn’t wearing underwear.

He pushes them down his legs, not bothering to remove them fully, lays backwards, and then his hands are grabbing at your sides and pulling you up further so you are sitting on his stomach.

“You’re just something else, ain’t ya?” He says, his voice thick with desire for you.

You flush and he starts to take apart your costume, removing the head piece and uncovering your hair which remains perfect underneath. Then, he reaches behind you and unzips the dress, his touch gentle but still urgent, fuelled by desire. You raise your arms to let him slide it over your head, exposing your bare chest, and his hands immediately move to cup your breasts, kneading gently and toying with your nipples with his thumbs.

“Look at you…” He coos.

You basked in his attention. He was softer than Joel. Sweeter. Then you scolded yourself for comparing them and tried to enjoy the moment, leaning down to kiss him.

He pushed you away. “Uhuh.”

You frown, but he is quickly grabbing your thighs and pulling you further up his chest towards his face. You let him guide you until you are hovering over him, his mouth kissing at you through your lace underwear.

You let out a desperate sigh and you feel him smirk under you. He presses another few kisses before opening his mouth and dragging his tongue up and down your underwear.

You feel yourself shaking a little already, and you put effort into breathing deeply to avoid pathetically moaning so soon.

You gasp as Javi brings his hand up to your underwear, pulling it aside so his tongue has access to your wet core.

As soon as his tongue connects, he lets out a groan. Your knees shake and whilst you had been trying to hover slightly before, you end up fully sitting on his face. This encourages him even more, sloppily eating you out, his nose brushing your clit. He licks, sucks, and kisses each spot perfectly. His moustache tickles a little and you realise you have never slept with a dude with one before.

“Oh, god-“ You gasp, cutting yourself off with a loud moan. “Javiii-“

He moans into you as he eats you out hungrily, sending vibrations around your aching core.

“Fuck-“ You say. You rip yourself out of his grasp and shuffle down his body where his cock stands, hard and throbbing. You had to stop him before you came all over his face. Joel wouldn’t have appreciated that.

You glide your dripping cunt up and down his shaft, wetting it before rising up on your knees and taking it gently in your hand. You sink down onto it and watch his expression. He grits his teeth in pleasure.

You let it fill you for a moment, not moving while you adjust to his length. He has less girth than Joel, but not much. His length is equal, hitting a spot deep inside you as you gently rock back and forth. Once you are prepared, you start to move, slowly at first, but with gradually increasing pace and force.

Using your hands to help you balance, you start to bounce in a quick rhythm up and down his length. Your tits jiggle in his face, the cross hitting against his lips. He takes it between his teeth and you giggle, your hole fluttering and pulsing as you do so. This causes him to spit it out, his mouth opening in a sensual moan.

“Fuck, baby, you ride this cock so damn good-“ He pants, hands grabbing at your ass greedily, spreading your cheeks and helping you with your momentum as you bounce on his length shamelessly. The praise encourages you to keep trying hard to please him.

Your moans are desperate as you keep going, your head thrown back and your mouth open. Your eyes roll pornographically. When you eventually summon the strength to open them and look down at him, you see him transfixed on you.

“Yeah, yeah just like that.” He grunts, “Fucking ride that dick, baby, yeah. Oh yeah just like that”

You are too wrapped up in the sensations, the sounds, of you and Javi, that you don’t notice the door opening. It’s heavy footsteps on the lush carpet that break you out of your trance. You whip your head round, the motion of your hips not faltering, as you make eye contact with him. Joel. At last.

He smiles a dark smile, his eyes wide as he takes in the scene before him. You realise how depraved it must all be from his perspective, the bejewelled Cross sticking to your tits with sweat as you bounce on this stranger’s cock.

“Don’t be rude, baby.” Are the first words out of his mouth. “Keep your eyes on what you’re doing.”

You break away from looking at him reluctantly, focussing your attention back on Javi, whose head is thrown back into the pillows, mouth falling open and eyes now closed in pleasure. You see sweat glistening on his throat and something urges you to lean down and lick a wide stripe up it, the salty taste beautiful on your tongue.

You try to pay attention to Javi and not let yourself get distracted by Joel’s movements. You hear the splash of liquid into a glass and realise you had observed his favourite whiskey earlier, right next to the champagne bucket. The signs of him had been all over the room already and you hadn’t noticed.

You continue to chase your pleasure, the alcohol supplying you with a rare confidence that left you able to perform for both men with little shame. You slow down your movements, feeling Javi deep inside you and grinding your clit against the dark curls at the base of him. Your moans become louder as you do so, rubbing against him rhythmically until you feel the tension of an orgasm building.

“I’m gonna cum.” You gasp, your voice strained.

“No you’re not.” Says the voice from behind you.

Javi’s eyes are open again, watching you, taking in every expression on your face. He smirks at Joel’s words and grips your thighs, preventing you from moving.

“Please-“ You gasp, unsure which of the two men you are pleading with. Your hips jerk involuntarily to chase the same sensation you had been creating previously but Javi keeps a firm grip on you.

“No. You’re going to step being selfish and ride him like a good girl.” Joel instructs. “And you’re gonna hold it. The only cock you’ll come on will be mine.”

You whimper pathetically, turning your head to look at Joel, who is sitting in the armchair I the corner of the room with a perfect view of the bed, hopeful that your wrecked expression might make him take pity on you.

“What did I tell you about manners already?” He scolds, unmoved by you. “Don’t look at me. Look at him.”

When you do, you find Javi’s expression is amused. He doesn’t add to the exchange, simply observing you and Joel’s dynamic, listening as the other man bends you to his will so easily.

You brace your hands on his chest once again and try to follow Joel’s instruction, abandoning the pleasure you had been giving yourself by grinding on his cock and going back to bouncing on it. You can’t find your rhythm and Javi helps you, thrusting his hips upwards into you.

Joel tuts disapprovingly as he watches, taunting, “You’ve forgotten how to ride a cock properly, huh? Need a lesson?”

You whine in frustration and embarrassment, giving up on your own movements and letting Javi control the pace from under you, rutting up into you with enough force that you still need to grasp at his chest to keep your balance. Your tits align with his face and he reaches up with his mouth to suck at one of your nipples.

You hear Joel moving and before you can wonder what he is doing, there are hands on you. His large palms wrap around your waist from behind, holding you tightly. Javi stops moving and Joel starts to control you, lifting you up and dropping you down harshly onto Javi’s cock. You let out a high pitched moan, to Joel’s displeasure.

“Be quiet.” He says. “This isn’t for you.”

He does it repeatedly, forcing you up and down again and again until you lose all control of your upper body, collapsing back into Joel’s wide frame. You bite your lip to hold back your moans, and then Javi helps you by reaching up and sticking a thumb into your mouth. You suck it obediently and you hear him curse under his breath.

“You gonna show him what else your mouth can do, baby?” Joel growls into your ear.

You nod eagerly and Joel lifts you off of Javi. You whimper, the sensation of being empty is unpleasant. Joel laughs darkly.

“Greedy little cunt.” He says. “Doesn’t wanna go a second without being filled up, huh?”

You ignore his teasing and get onto all fours, crawling between Javi’s legs, knowing that simultaneously, you are giving Joel the perfect view of your wet pussy. But he doesn’t touch you again and you hear his footsteps moving away from the bed. You are disappointed but after being chastised twice for looking at him, you manage to resist that urge and focus on Javi’s cock.

You start with just licking, gathering up the taste of your own juices from his shaft. You moan lightly and feel your pussy throb.

“Such a tease.” Javi says, tangling one hand into your hair. The other tucks behind his own head as he lounges back in the luxurious bedding, the image of nonchalance.

His comment doesn’t stop you, though. This is your style. You lick the tip, swirling round it with your tongue. He chases your mouth with a thrust of his hips but you pull your head back at the same time, stopping him from controlling the pace. He growls in displeasure but you choose to maintain the little semblance of control for a while longer. You replace your tongue with a hand, wrapping it around him and letting your mouth travel lower, teasing his balls with light kitten licks. He groans and you take one into your mouth fully, sucking lightly.

“Jesus-“ He sighs, bucking his hips up again involuntarily. You continue for a moment, swirling your tongue around it as it fills your mouth before releasing it with a pop and swapping the position of your mouth and hands once again.

Your hands massage his balls lightly and you finally take the head of his cock into your mouth. You lower your head slowly, very slowly, until it’s halfway in and hits the back of your throat, before rising off of it again just as slowly. He’s more patient than Joel, who would have put a stop to this much before now.

You do it again, your speed increasing only incrementally. He twitches inside your mouth and you feel his fingers gripping your hair tighter in a sign of his impatience. Soon, the game is up, and he starts forcing your head up and down urgently. You gag and splutter all over his cock but he doesn’t slow down. You are so wrapped up in it, that it takes you a while to register a weight on the bed behind you, until eventually, your attention is grabbed by a hard cock gliding up and down your wet seam.

You moan around Javi’s cock which leads him to relent in his pace a little, choosing to savour the feeling instead.

“Now you remember what I told you.” Joel says. “Don’t take your eyes off him.”

You can’t respond other than to try and nod which leads the tip of Javi’s cock to prod forcefully into the back of your throat. You gag again and feel your hole convulse, Joel grits his teeth.

He presses the tip into you slowly and within just an inch, you are so full. Full of Javi in your mouth and full of Joel now, too. You moan as he pushes further and further in, your sweet sounds sending vibrations around Javi’s cock that have him cursing incessantly.

Joel’s hands reach to take both of your hips and as soon as he has sheathed himself fully, he is pulling out again and setting an aggressive pace. This is his favourite position and you imagine it is only enhanced for him, as it is for you, by seeing your mouth all filled up too, rendering you incapable of speech, locked in place between the two men.

He hammers into you and you lose control, the blowjob becoming messier, spit dribbling all down Javi’s cock so that it is sliding in and out of your throat with little resistance. Neither of them limit the harshness of their actions, Joel pounding into your cunt and Javi into your throat. The sensation is unlike anything you have ever felt. You don’t think you can get any fuller until you feel Joel’s wet thumb prodding at your ass.

You cry out as he slips it inside you. He groans, low and satisfied. “You like that baby, huh? You like us taking up every single one of your slutty holes? Filthy whore that you are. Jesus-“

You moan at his words and Javi starts to twitch inside your mouth. He pulls your mouth off of him suddenly, not wanting to finish yet. You lower your head turning your cheek so that it rests on his thigh, your back arching in an extreme fashion. He just watches, rubbing himself gently as Joel continues to abuse both of your holes from behind.

Then eventually he pushes you off of him and moves, your eyes are closed but Joel watches what he is doing as he gets off the bed and stands at its edge, pumping his cock in his hand. Joel manoeuvres you so you are facing Javi again.

“Can I come in her mouth?” Javi asks Joel.

Joel lets out a mean laugh. “You don’t have to ask that, man. What else is a whore’s mouth good for?”

You whimper, your cunt throbbing and pulsing around Joel, unbelievably turned on by hearing them talk about you, not to you, like you aren’t even the third participant in this event.

Javi rubs his cock over your face, your cheeks, slapping at your chin with it. Just because he can. Your mouth falls open and he feeds the tip to you slowly, giving you a false sense of security before roughly slamming in the rest of the length. It forces you backwards, impaling you harder on Joel’s cock and the now two fingers which are exploring your asshole.

You feel as though you are the rope in some sick game of tug of war, the way the two of them pass you back and forth between them. Eventually you can’t even separate the sensations both men are giving you and you are left weak and boneless, just moving with the hammering tide that pulls you in and pushes you away again and again.

It’s Javi’s pace that falters first, moans and expletives escaping from his lips until his salty hot load fills your mouth. He half pulls out and spills the remainder over your cheeks and nose. It drips all over your face and he holds you up by your chin. His thumb drifts over the hot spend and directs it towards you mouth. You swallow it all and suck his fingers clean.

“Jesus, I could watch that all day.” He says. But he doesn’t, and he walks away from you after only a brief few seconds. With Javi satisfied, Joel flips you over so you are on your back. He lifts your feet, placing both ankles on his shoulders, ploughing you harder than you thought possible. You had imagined he was fucking you full force before, but like always, he ends up having just that little bit more to give.

You moan and whine helplessly, his pace unrelenting and his stamina downright cruel. You are unable to open your eyes, absolutely exhausted from him and Javi’s treatment. He doesn’t mind, satisfied with your performance already and happy to use you for his pleasure when you are in this state, soft and pliable to his every will.  You vaguely register the sound of the door opening and then closing, the two men offering noncommittal farewells to one another.

“Oh, my baby.” Joel is whispering gently. “You did so well for me. You impressed me so much, sweetheart, I’m so proud of you.”

His rambling seems to go on for a long while, but then again, you don’t know how much of a concept of time you even have left. Some of his words seem distant, like they’re coming to you through a filter. Some of them are so unbelievable that you discount them as just being part of a dream.

“I’m so proud of you, my sweet girl. Always so good for me. Always do so well for me. My sweet baby.”

He must think you’re asleep, talking like this. You still aren’t entirely convinced you are awake either.

Your name falls from his lips like a prayer as he finishes inside you. You think he holds you like that for longer than usual, until he is completely soft and slips out of you, both his and your juices leaking onto the bed. He cleans you up and he kisses you. He kisses you everywhere, your face, your neck, your chest, down your stomach. You keen towards him unconsciously, weak hands grabbing at whatever part of him you can reach and ending up tangled in the curls at the nape of his neck.

“What am I gonna do with you, my girl? Hmm?” He hums into the crook of your neck.

You must have fallen asleep, although you’re not sure for how long. When your eyes flutter open, it’s still dark, and you register a weight in the bed next to you. You turn towards it.

Joel’s eyes are already open and he is gazing at you intently.

“Hi.” He says.

“Hey.” You say. You can’t help the word from trailing off into a giggle. He renders you downright stupid.

He reaches out a hand to your cheek and strokes it with the pad of his thumb, before moving to push some hair behind your ear with his other fingers. These are his rare affectionate gestures, and whilst you aren’t experiencing them for the first time, they certainly aren’t frequent.

“It’s been a long year.” He says.

You never talk about the time you spend apart. All that matters is the precious, no, sacred, time that you do get together.

“It always is, for me.” You say. He tenses a little in response and you curse yourself silently for having said too much.

To your relief, he relaxes again and pulls your body closer to him. Warmth radiates from the place where your head meets his broad chest. He kisses into the top of your head, inhaling deeply the scent of your shampoo. It’s coconut. He kisses you again and again.

Suddenly, he speaks.

“I don’t know if I can do this again.” He says.

You freeze up. A chill runs down your spine. He wants to break off the arrangement? Somehow you feel blindsided, even though every year the possibility crosses your mind that he’ll finally do it.

Maybe that’s why he brought you Javi. Maybe he thought you would hit it off and you could just move on with him, offered up to you like meat on a platter for your own convenience. Your mind runs through the last few hours in an instant, looking for any sign, any hint from Joel that was this coming. You find none.

He, blissfully unaware of every thought racing around your head, continues, rubbing salt in the wound.

“I just- I just don’t think I can do it again. I’m sorry.” He repeats.

Your heart is racing, your stomach doing backflips. This was inevitable. He’s probably met someone else. Someone who he wants more from than what he wants from you. Someone his own age who thinks the same things he does. Someone who understands the references and jokes that fly over your head. Someone who is the opposite of everything that you are insecure about. Someone powerful and equally matched for him.

But then he speaks again, quieter this time. “Listen baby, the waiting it’s just- I can’t do it anymore. How could one night a year ever be enough? I need ‘em all.”

Oh my god. You honestly thought you must have been dreaming for a moment, unable to process his words and reconcile them with actual reality.

He is silent for a long while and you realise he must be waiting on a response, but you can’t find words.

“I- I-“

You hesitate and he cuts you off. His voice is guarded now.

“No, yeah. You don’t have to explain. It’s whatever. I figured you must have someone else anyway. Didn’t wanna assume but… Yeah. It figures.”

“No.” You say quickly. “There’s no one else. There hasn’t been anyone else for- for years.”

A silence grows again. And eventually, you are first to fill it.

“How could there be anyone else?” You say. “I just stopped trying to find anyone else. It’s always been you for me, Joel. No point trying to fight that.” Your voice trails off to a whisper.

He puts a thumb under your chin, raising it so your eyes meet his for the first time during the exchange. His brown irises sparkle, lighter than you have ever seen them. He presses his lips to yours and kisses you desperately, muttering practically intelligibly about “My baby. God why didn’t I just ask sooner? My sweet baby. All mine.”

You drift off to sleep again, a tangle of limbs, breathing each other in. You don’t know what will happen in the morning, but at least you know that this time, it won’t be a year until you see Joel again.

Thanks for reading! Masterlist

[phanfictioncatalogue]

3k-5k Words Fics (6) Masterlist

part one, part two, part three, part four, part five

A Nun and A Priest: You Get Me Closer to God (ao3) - Spring_Haze

Summary: When Dan dresses up as a sexy nun for Halloween in America, he finds himself longing for a sexy priest.

and the days after that (ao3) - cityofphanchester

Summary: He can hear Dan’s voice coming down the hall, laughing with someone from the crew, and it makes his breath stop in his chest.

(doomed tour usa, autumn 2022)

cat bells (ao3) - N_Chu4Ever

Summary: The catboy photoshoot, except it all goes weirdly wrong because Phil accidentally bought Dan a magic cat costume off the internet. Oops.

🌸 cherry blossom 🌸 (ao3) - natigail

Summary: It had been a silly dream at first. The idea to have a cherry blossom tree in their garden they didn't even have yet. It hadn't felt like it was something that would really happen.

But it was real. Dan was watching their tree, Phil's arms around him, and hoping they would get to see its first bloom soon.

Chips (ao3) - philsmeatylegss

Summary: Dan struggling with the concept that all healthy couples should fight.

Comfort in Chaos (ao3) - Anonymous

Summary: Phil wakes to Dan having a nightmare that he struggles to rouse him from. It later transpires that there is a reason behind his unsettled and panicked behaviour.

DreamCasts Presents (ao3) - SummerFlingsAndThings (QueenJunoTheGreat)

Summary: Phil's son is obsessed with the faceless man who narrates audiobooks.

Dan's daughter is obsessed with the brightly dressed librarian in charge of the children's department.

And Dan and Phil? Well, they're a little obsessed with one another.

easy for you to say (ao3) - phantasticworks (steddieworks)

Summary: Phil tries to convince Dan to throw away the grey shirt. Dan can’t do it.

Golden Boy (ao3) - hygge

Summary: Phil takes a drawing class in university and needs a subject for his drawing final.

growing up or just going down (ao3) - SylvesterLester

Summary: Phil is 15 years old today. He's going to have the best birthday of his life, to kick off the best year of his life.

Right?

hard launch at last (ao3) - calvinahobbes

Summary: “Maybe the exact right moment won’t ever present itself.” Dan can feel himself hurtling towards some cosmic revelation as they stand here on a sandy beach in Portugal, the ocean bringing out the blue in Phil’s eyes.

home renovations (ao3) - possumdnp

Summary: Phil is a new homeowner with a knack for getting himself into awkward situations around cute guys. Dan is a builder who's always working on renovations around Phil's house. What could go wrong?

(An alternate meeting YouTuber Phil/builder Dan AU.)

I know you, hands under my sweatshirt (ao3) - midorijpg

Summary: “How are you?”

It's with an undertone of fear that he dares ask that, as always, even if he knows that he’s lucky if Dan even decides to answer. And as he imagines, Dan just tilts his head, looking at him as if lost in thought, swinging the bottle with his hand before just resting it on the floor.

“Make room,” he just says.

“What?”

“I said, make room.”

or, something something about having bad days and growing up and realizing you don't (completely) fit in couches anymore.

in this smoking chaos (ao3) - writingcollective

Summary: Dan bottoms for the first time, not being able to shut down his inner demons that whisper internalised homophobic thoughts into his ear. But Phil guides him through it, somehow.

Like a cicada rhythm. (ao3) - emmibug

Summary: every night they share the same bed, legs twisted together, arms holding each other close. dan and phil haven’t grown up from their childlike sense of friendship which leads people to believe there’s something deeper going on.

a dan and phil childhood best friends to lovers AU where they share the same bed and always have done.

Magi (ao3) - yikesola

Summary: Dan doesn’t know how he hadn't thought about a gift for Phil yet. Phil is still feeling a little weird about how much he spent on Dan’s gift.

A fic about coincidence and sacrifice.

Neighbourly Nook (ao3) - wednesday_ukiru

Summary: The stranger had a dimple on his cheek that appeared when he laughed.

“I’m Dan,” he said, extending his hand. Phil reached for it with extreme eagerness, their knuckles knocking together in a particularly painful way, and they both winced, but Dan immediately broke into a smile. “I don’t know why I offered you a handshake, I never know how to do them.”

Revolving Door (ao3) - intoapuddle

Summary: Phil really doesn’t want to think about what Dan said. He really would like to leave, and take this strangled feeling elsewhere. But he can’t stop listening to Dan’s song.

so american (ao3) - ae121

Summary: Phil has been living in London for a year and thinks he's gotten pretty used to the city. He works part-time at a bookstore, using it at first to gain some friends, now it's just fun for him. His friends are constantly trying to find him someone to date, but all of his dates don't go well.

Well, that's until he met Dan.

Sunshine on the street at the parade (ao3) - ForeverJustAnEmoKidAtHeart

Summary: Dan and Phil meet at a Pride Parade.

so good (ao3) - grievingwarwidow

Summary: dan gets a piercing

since i wrote you last (ao3) - dizzy

Summary: Dan and his letters to Santa over the years.

The Knight of Wands (ao3) - Nefertiti1052 (Succubusphan)

Summary: Phil had always had dreams that he couldn't quite comprehend and a certain intuition about what was truly important for his future.

They fade to nothing when I look at him (ao3) - phasamtasie

Summary: Arriving in the kitchen Phil made himself his one cup of coffee he allowed himself on weekend days and stared out the window lost in thought, so it took him a few seconds to register why the light had seemed so much brighter than usual at 8am. With childish delight he saw that it had snowed overnight, and not just the usual UK dusting where one could still see the grass underneath but a proper snow, coating everything outside in a bright white.

OR

Dan and Phil go sledging.

trouble between you and i (ao3) - calvinahobbes

Summary: Phil can't stand the silence for another moment. "I don't want to break up," he says.

Weight on my Shoulders (ao3) - ByTheFire

Summary: When Phil starts getting some unexpected gifts from his dad he starts to worry if he knows something he is not ready to share. Thankfully Dan is there to make it all a bit less scary. All Phil can hope is his dad doesn't want to change who he truly is.

when i walk in the kitchen, my heart hits the floor (ao3) - aura_sky

Summary: a phivorce fic

based on the Renee Rapp song (In the Kitchen)

or

Dan walks into the kitchen and he misses Phil.

[gabessquishytum]

This morning I woke up thinking horny Dreaming thoughts and for a second I was so bummed out that I couldn’t tell anyone. But then I remembered I can tell you and I just really want to thank you for your inbox and for all of your enthusiastic responses. I’ve been doubting lately if I want to stay in fandom spaces but you really make it fun and worthwhile and plain lovely, and I’m really grateful for you.

Anyway: horny thoughts.

I come from a region where religious affiliation was systematically discouraged two generations ago, so we’re all pretty much atheist and only go to church — if at all — for Christmas, so I was rather surprised that there is such a thing as premarital counseling aka. Telling young couples what to do/expect in bed after the wedding. Which is. Such a strange concept to me? Whatever happened to comprehensive sex ed? Do parents actually believe their teenagers are not experimenting and figuring themselves out?

Never mind my confusion, but I was thinking older marriage counselor!Dream and soon-to-be-wed!Hob. And why not make it a/o/b?

Hob is young, a fresh-faced, barely 18 Omega. He isn’t conventionally attractive but handsome in a way Betas and maybe even Alphas would be: broad shoulders, tall. By the time he’s 16 it was clear he will never have problems growing a full beard (unlike most Omegas), his chest, arms and legs are full of coarse hair-

Hob’s okay with it. After he’s lost his parents and was sent to the orphanage he figured he wouldn’t be of much interest for anyone really. He spent his time in the library and helping the nuns to take care of the little ones. He’s really good with kids and smart, so he aims to be a kindergartner or maybe even a teacher, if he gets the chance to study.

Considering how odd he is, he’s never had much to do with other kids his age. The alphas were intimidated by how large his is, larger than they are sometimes. Some Omegas and Betas avoided him for the same reason, while others were just put off by how strange he is. It saddens him a bit, but as long as he’s got the kids to take care of and hang out with, it’s fine. He’ll just live out his extroverted tendencies by playing with them for hours. He didn’t make the same experiences as others — there was one kiss with another Omega when he was 15. Hob liked it but the other Omega was so terrified that Hob decided this just isn’t worth it — but he’s content with his life.

Two weeks shy of his 18th birthday, the nuns ask him for a meeting. Hob knows that this is about his future and he plans to present them with his plans going forward: Either keep helping around the orphanage while he gets a few hours off each day to work on his schooling or find a part time job tutoring or as a nanny to do the same. He knows that they can’t keep him around forever, but they’ve always been good to him and he hopes they’ll let him stay a bit longer.

He is very surprised when they tell him, they found an Alpha who wants to marry him.

Hob protests. He doesn’t want to marry, he wants to be a teacher! That’s what he’s worked for ever since his parents died and none but the kids at the orphanage showed him any affection. He doesn’t want to sit at home all day, waiting for his Alpha to come home and knock him up (though he would love to have children of his own. that’s not the point). He doesn’t want to be an object, locked into a solitary building yet again!

The nuns assure him they’re written to the Alpha who is amenable to Hob getting his degree and working in childcare, as long as it’s not hindering him from performing his marital duties. Which to Hob doesn’t sound like a completely horrible deal? He can sleep in the same bed as some Alpha every night, that’s okay. After all, that’s all it is, right?

He agrees, reluctantly. The nuns send him to marriage counselling and Hob goes. He’s not sure what he needs it for because he knows how kissing works (mouth A on mouth B) and that sleeping next to your spouse will eventually lead to children.

Enter marriage counsellor!Dream, who has not done this before and has no idea why he agreed to this. His last marriage ended in tragedy so he’s clearly not the right person to prepare anyone for that kind of commitment but his siblings talked him into it. Something along the lines of how being around younger people in love would help him and make him less jaded.

Hob is immediately fascinated. The Alpha is so, so different from what he expected. He’s slender and tall, which is only accentuated by the suit he wears. He’s twice Hob’s age if he had to guess, judging by the grey in his hair. He’s stunningly beautiful and Hob is immediately enamoured. What a pity this guy isn’t the one he’s marrying because he sure wouldn’t mind lying in bed next to him, especially considering how delicious he smells and how Hob's body feels all tingly as soon as he steps inside the room.

Dream is equally as ass over teakettle for the sweet, naïve Omega that stumbled into his office. They talk a little about Dream’s actual day job, Hob’s aspirations for the future, etc. to get comfortable with each other before Dream starts poking at Hob’s experience only to realise that he has none. Zero. Zilch. He gently inquires what Hob does when he gets aroused and hard to which Hob answers that he waits for it to go away.

Dream is speechless. This beautiful, smart, kind Omega is so inexperienced, it would be a crime to let him get married like this. I mean that’s just setting him up for unhappiness! Dream knows other Omegas his age — the same age Hob’s prospective husband seems to be — and they won’t take care of him the way they should.

So Dream decides he has to do something about it. He starts slow, inviting Hob back for another evening to continue the counseling but gives him homework: The next time, Hob feels aroused and his prick is hard (in private), Dream wants him to wrap his hand around it and stroke it until he cums. Hob doesn’t know what that means, but Dream promises him that he’ll know when it happens.

Thing is tho: Hob doesn’t know what Dream meant. He tried but stopped at the first sign or pre on his tip. So next time they meet, Hob complains that he couldn’t sleep after because he was so keyed up!

Dream, his head a bit hazy given the image of Hob on his bed, his hand wrapped around his small Omega prick, that he goes ahead and asks Hob to demonstrate what he did. And Hob — blushing from both shyness and arousal — strips out of his trousers and pants, sits down on the leather armchair in the meeting area of Dream’s office and starts masturbating.

It’s painfully clear that he doesn’t know what he’s doing so Dream starts to coach him through it. He tells him that his grip needs to be tighter, that he needs to stroke faster, that he can’t stop now-

Dream nearly cums in his pants watching Hob. His eagerness is incredibly beautiful, the flush on his cheeks so, so stunning. He’s never seen anything as mesmerising as Hob looking down at his prick in surprise, his smell permeating Dream’s office and the wetness from his cunt soaking into the expensive leather upholstery.

Dream sends him to the bathroom to clean up, answers a few questions before he sends him home with more homework. Then Dream rushes to the bathroom himself, cumming within seconds because what he just witnessed- most erotic sight ever.

Two days later they have their next counseling session and Hob immediately blurts out that his wrist hurt too much so he couldn’t do the assignment Dream had given him, but he still wants to try. Aren’t there any other ways to finger his cunt? And Dream, who has been thinking about nothing but Hob for the past two days, proposes that he could just do it for Hob. So Hob strips down and takes a seat on Dream’s lap, already wet with slick and smelling ever so delicious.

Dream makes Hob cum twice on his fingers before he orders him to recline in the armchair and eats him out. Hob can barely walk afterwards and curls up on the couch, his head resting on Dream’s thigh. Maybe this whole marriage thing isn’t as bad as he thought it was? But what about the Alpha? Surely he has still so much to learn from Dream.

Next time they meet, Dream teaches him to kiss, while Hob sits on his lap. Hob's rubbing against his thigh until he's a shuddering mess and Dream gives him the quickest blowjob he's ever given.

This goes on and on and on and progresses steadily. They meet with take-out dinner and talk, they have their "lessons". The first time Hob cums on Dreams cock, Hob cries with how good it feels. He's an incoherent mess when Dream's knot inflates. There’s about two months left until the wedding and Dream vows he’ll make sure to teach Hob everything he knows about how to be pleased and how to please his Alpha.

And if they fall in love along the way and elope before Hob can marry some stranger, well at least Dream’s not jaded anymore and Hob is suddenly much more enthusiastic about marital obligations.

Love, 💄

I'm having a kinda terrible bad no good day today, so it's perfect that this has come to the top of the pile for the posting! First of all I want to say: thank you for letting me be the outlet for your thoughts and ideas! It's really a pleasure for me to know that my blog feels like a safe space. I hope you'll stick around for a very long time!!

I'm always grateful when you guys occasionally drop an absolute banger like this in my inbox. It's a real gift on a day like today when my head is empty. Anyway. I am. Deeply obsessed with this whole scenario. The whole setup with "marriage counselling", Dream being peer pressured into doing it even though his marriage was a trashcan on fire... excellent, I love it. And Hob!!! Darling, clever, innocent Hob!!!!! I would take a bullet for him in this au. I need him to have a happy life!!! I need him to be able to get his qualifications!!!! Most of all I need him to be railed by Dream 24/7.

I gotta know... has Dream taught Hob about birth control? Is there such a thing in this universe? Because if Hob is getting knotted several times each week for two months, I feel like there may be a whole other reason for them to elope together...... although I do kinda love the idea of Hob showing up to his wedding with his intended alpha, guiltily hiding his tiny bump behind a bouquet of flowers because Dream got him pregnant, oopsie.

Anyway, I love anything with omega Hob and this is no exception!!!! Thank you so so much for sharing it with me!!!!!!

[softguarnere]

Hi! not sure if this is cool but I'm so soft today 😭one shot where winters meets a girl who dreams of becoming a teacher and living in a little farm?

Guardian Angel

Dick Winters x reader

A/N: Dear Anon, it's definitely cool, don't sweat it 😉 If you've been around for a while, you know that I have a special love for soft!Easy men. Thank you for the request, and I hope you like this! (As always, this is written for the fictional depiction from the show - no disrespect to the real life veterans!) 💕🕊️

Warnings: mentions of blood and war, talk of religion

"Is this seat taken?"

Dick hadn't realized how fast his mind had been running until the gentle voice interrupts his thoughts, causing them to come to a screeching halt as he tries to puzzle through what's just been said to him.

"I'm sorry?"

The pretty woman gestures to the church pew beside him. "Is this seat taken?"

He's seen countless Red Cross nurses throughout the war - bravely running to and froe as they rush to men's aid. Their uniforms and smart looking caps have become blurs in his memory, punctuated by the brilliant red crosses on their arms. They're everywhere. Yet this is the first time that he's ever spoken to one directly.

He gestures at the vacant spot next to him. "Be my guest."

The young woman offers him a smile, and something in his chest stirs at the sight. She's got a pretty smile - one of those genuine ones that reaches her (Y/E/C) eyes and lights them up with the action. Her smile would be a sight on it's own. But in this moment, it's a stark juxtaposition to her state.

Her hair is only half held out of her face, which is streaked with sweat that she wipes at with chapped hands. When she takes a seat, those same hands clutch fist-fulls of her uniform skirt like she's hanging onto the blood and dirt soaked fabric for dear life.

Yet despite all of that, there's a gentleness about her. She stares at the cross on the altar in front of them with reverence. In the candlelight, with the soft voices of the nuns singing, he can't help but wonder if she's some sort of angel that's been sent to watch over them all.

It's really none of his business, and he stops himself from asking several times.

"Have you come to pray, too?" His voice feels like barely a whisper. She continues to stare straight ahead, but she must hear him, because she replies just as softly.

"Yes. And you?"

"Yes." No restraint, he shifts down the pew so that he's a little closer to her. "I've spent this whole war praying. Usually in the foxholes. It's easy to find God there. But it's nice to be in a church."

She hums, sparing a glance at him. "What do you pray for?"

"For my men. For all the men. That I get home safely." He bites his lip in hesitation, then admits what he's been thinking since D-Day, but has never said aloud to another person. "That I never have to fight again after this."

That same smile appears again, her eyes dazzling in the candlelight. "That would be nice, wouldn't it? To know nothing but peace after this." She let's out a shaky breath and leans forward, elbows on her knees. She buries her face in her hands for a moment and takes a deep breath before clasping her hands in front of her, so hard that her knuckles turn white.

"Back in the States, I heard about the war and wanted to do something," she admits, biting her lip. "I wanted to help people. And now . . . Being a nurse is heartbreaking. There must be other ways to help people without holding their life in your hands and having to worry about dropping it."

She sits up straight now. She swipes a finger under her eye before she continues. "Every time, I pray that God will get me out of here and let me go somewhere quiet. Somewhere where I never have to hear the rumble of trucks and wonder if they're tanks coming for us."

He knows the feeling. He's travelled on that exact same train of thought before. Often, really - but he's been so busy looking out the window that he never took note of the other passengers.

"A little farm."

Her eyes snap to him, her expression softening as she takes in his words. "Yeah. A little farm. Somewhere close to the middle of nowhere. And I'll teach."

"Teach?"

"Yes." She nods. "That sounds like helping people. I'll teach children and I won't have to worry about cradling their lives in my hands - only their futures."

"That sounds nice."

"It's peaceful." She smooths her skirt. This time she looks at him head-on. "Is that what you want, too?"

"Yes."'

"Well - " She stands, offers him one last smile. "Then I hope and pray that we both get what we want."

And just like that, she leaves him, like a guardian angel that he didn't even know he had disappearing into the candlelight as she shows herself out the door of the church, leaving their brief moment of peace to head back into the chaos and horrors of the war.

He doesn't even know her name. Yet he feels like he's seen a reflection of his own soul.

He bows his head, and this time, he prays that she will find her own peaceful place after the war, and that her little farm is the same one as his.

[marshvlovestv]

Prompt number: 14 "Did you stick to the plan?"

Fandom: Psychonauts

Rating: Teen and up

Warnings/Tags: Past child death, religious trauma, canon-typical anti-psychic bigotry

“You guys, you’re never gonna believe this! Kratt is up to something is up to something way bigger and worse than we thought. I was in his office, and he was meeting with this CEO, and they were talking about enslaving psychics to work on assembly lines, and –”

“In his office?” Grand Head Zanotto tilted his head, softly interrupting. “That was nowhere near your assigned point. Agent Aquato…”

“Razputin,” said Sasha.

“Soldier!” said Morry, with the tone of someone who had been burned before.

There was a silence in the air, and Milla could tell they meant for her to be the one to fill it. She tamped down her rising fear and frowned at Razputin. “Darling…”

Finally, the circle of scoldings made its way back to the Grand Head. “Did you stick to the plan?”

Razputin looked at the adults one by one, half any of their heights but with twice the boldness. “I could tell there was something going on in that office, and I knew no one else would be there yet! Don’t worry, I floated up through the vents,” he said, miming brushing the issue off his shoulder. “No one saw me.”

Floated up? Milla was suddenly overcome by a great nausea. A hand on her stomach, she waited until Grand Head Zanotto’s gentle reprimand had everyone else distracted, then nudged Sasha with a whispered “Pardon.” She tried to hold it in, but tears were dotting her eyelashes by the time she got to her office.

Milla had taught Razputin how to levitate. The tools of his recklessness, a gift from her. And no, he wasn’t her responsibility anymore; she gifted this skill to every young psychic who passed through the organization, and it was theirs to do what they wished with as soon as they left the camp. And Razputin, he wielded it so much more deftly than any of the others…

But Razputin. Brash, stubborn, confident Razputin. Milla wondered as she had before if she had picked a poor student.

He reminded her so much of Jacó.

Jacó’s mother had still been alive, but she’d abandoned him. She didn’t give the orphanage her reason, because surely Madre Superiora would not have accepted her child if she’d told the truth. The sisters had taught the orphans to abhor the false prophet, the magician, the psychic, for they had no place in God’s kingdom. Milla had recited these same lines without conviction, because it was what she’d had to do to be allowed to care for the children. Still, she would hide Jacó’s bent spoons from the other sisters. She would put a finger to her lips, telling him to be more careful. And one day, she would offer to train him in secret.

She hadn’t had the words yet for many of their powers, so she’d taught Jacó “throwing,” “other-sight,” and her favorite, “flight.” She’d told him never to use these powers where the nuns or the other children could see him. He’d listened. Milla thought he’d listened. But maybe he hadn’t listened quite well enough.

She wanted to believe it was a coincidence that the orphanage had met its gruesome fate just weeks after she’d introduced him to “fire-starting.” But she couldn’t deny what she’d heard when she approached that burning building. What Jacó said to her in between his death screams was the first purely mental communication she’d ever had with another psychic: I’m sorry.

“Agent Vodello?” A small, quavering voice pulled Milla out of her wallowing. She realized that she’d been forcing her sobs in, but her body was still shaking.

Razputin was rubbing his arm, head tilted towards the ground. He’d received all the scolding he deserved and was pondering it now – and luckily, the things he pondered tended to stick with him.

Milla didn’t want to add to his guilt, but she couldn’t help but make a plea of her own to join Morry’s, Sasha’s, and Grand Head Zanotto’s. “Keep yourself safe, Razputin. That’s all I ask of you.”

Razputin frowned and nodded determinedly. “I will, I promise! Don’t worry, Milla, you won’t lose me like –” He bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from saying what he had been about to. “I’ll always be careful!”

Milla shook her head and smiled sadly. Razputin knew about the orphans, and he knew because he’d snooped through the depths of her mind and hadn’t left when she’d told him. This boy was always going to do what he thought was fun or interesting or right. He might save the world that way. He might meet the same fate as Jacó first.

It was out of Milla’s hands in all ways but one. She rarely found herself praying since she’d left the church. But someone had to watch over Razputin, and it couldn’t always be her.

[thatchickwithtoomanyhobbies]

Leap of Faith (Aiello x Reader)

***You mooks wanted it, and I decided I’d do it for the fandom- Character x Reader stories. I do this very reluctantly, with Aiello being my first victim. Aiello has been in love with his female best friend (that’s you) for years, and has an inkling she feels the same. In an emotional moment while at home between Kasserine and Europe, he takes a leap of faith with the girl of his dreams. Also you are catholic in this story for plot purposes. Don’t worry if you’re not, neither am I. The story just works better that way.***

They were walking together to the ice cream shop on the corner, the way they’d done since they were kids every Friday afternoon. With him getting his double scoop of coffee and her with her plain vanilla- something he always teased her for. Usually about her being boring, which to him she could never be.

This time felt different, however. It was the last time he’d see her again for a while, as he was being shipped off into the war effort yet again.

She was quieter than usual today, which usually meant something was on her mind. He always knew when something was going on with her, she was his best friend after all. Although he’d be lying if he said he didn’t wish they could be more.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

(Y/N)(L/N)- Frank Aiello’s best friend since they were seven years old in Catholic school. She’d fallen down on the playground and he, the gentleman he was, picked her up and took her to the nuns to get patched up. They’d been inseparable ever since.

As they grew up, they did everything together. From their Friday ice cream outings (she refused to let him call them dates) to her attending all his baseball games, to hot-wiring her father’s car in high school for a joyride.

It was sometime after she got her first boyfriend when they were sixteen that he noticed the first inklings of stronger emotions bubbling to the surface. Whenever she’d bring her beau around, he’d be filled with seething jealousy. Although he’d certainly never tell her that. He didn’t want to ruin his friendship with her, so he buried the feelings under baseball and drumming- places two and three on the list of things he liked most about life.

He could deny them no longer when they boy she’d been seeing dumped her for another girl. She’s gone to his house sobbing and, being the friend he was, he held her in his arms as she cried, trying his best not to cry himself. He’d always hated seeing her upset.

It was then he knew. He was so hopelessly and madly in love with the girl crying in his arms. So much so it took every ounce of willpower not to kiss her there and then. This wasn’t the time. He was selfishly glad that that chucklehead had screwed up this bad. Maybe now she’d realize that she should be with him instead of that jerk. Unfortunately for him, she never did seem to realize just how deep his feelings for her went. At least not then.

When he was shipped off to Kasserine, she’d written him a letter every week. Telling him the most random bits of her everyday life while he was gone. He always wrote her back- hoping, praying, that maybe absence would make the heart grow fonder, and that maybe she’d finally give him a chance to love her right.

Eventually, her letters started started to revolve more around his absence rather than her own life. How much she missed him, how she couldn’t wait for him to be home, how she missed their ice cream dates. His heart had skipped a beat on the last one. She called it a date. Could it be? Could she finally be starting to feel the same feelings he had been feeling for so long?

He was back home for a brief furlough. He was being shipped off again in a couple of days, either to the Pacific or to Europe. He’d decided to spend it with her, not knowing if he’d ever see her in the flesh again, or if their next meeting would be at heaven’s gates after she’d lived a long life with some other man. Frank hated that thought. He wanted to be the one she spent her life with.

The night prior he’d decided to talk to Nonna about it. Nonna always had good advice for everyone about every subject on God’s green earth, so he figured maybe she’d have some for him too. What did he do with the all the love he had for this girl? Did he let her go and let her be happy with some other guy? Or did he pour his heart out to her and risk ruining their friendship for good?

He said as much to Nonna, who in response whacked him upside the head with her stirring spoon.

“How did I end up with such a stupid boy for a grandson? Are you blind, Francis?” She had yelled at him, whipping her spoon wildly through the air and getting her homemade vodka sauce on everything. He cringed at her usage if his first name. He much preferred to go by Frank, or as (Y/N) called him, Frankie.

“No, Nonna. Just confused.” He responded rubbing his head. “And concussed,” he thought to himself. She didn’t need to hit him to get her point across.

“Frankie, if you haven’t noticed by now, then you’re hopeless! Have you seen the way she looks at you? Have you seen the way she smiles when she’s with you? The way she acts around you? That girl is in love with you and you’re too blind and stupid to see it!” She yelled at him, pointing at him with the spoon and dripping more sauce on the floor and her grandson.

“Nonna, she doesn’t think of me that way. That’s my problem,” he said leaning against the kitchen counter.

“Oh mio Dio! Aiuta questo povero, stupido ragazzo!” Nonna yelled before taking another swing at the man with the sauce-covered spoon. This time he managed to duck out of the way. Why did this crazy lady keep trying to hit him?

“Frankie, Saint Valentine himself couldn’t put together a better match for you than (y/n). Tell her, before it’s too late. Take a leap of faith, Francis. She may surprise you.” Was that all? That wouldn’t help him anymore than another whack with the spoon. “And take a bath before you go. You are covered in sauce.”

“Yeah. No thanks to you, Nonna,” he thought. Could she be right? Did he have a chance? Could she possibly feel the same way about him? He’d have to think about that while he washed the sauce out of his hair.

When he finally got out of the bath and returned to his room, he found that Nonna had left a small box along with a note on his pillow.

“Take the leap” was all the note said, and inside the box was her own engagement ring. The one his grandfather had given her nearly 60 years before. Was she serious? He couldn’t just propose to her out of the blue like this! He’d scare her off for sure. But if Nonna was sure….

He was taking her out on one of their ice cream dates tomorrow. May God and Saint Valentine help him. He was probably out of his mind for doing this. But if it went well, it would all be worth it.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“What’s wrong, (n/n)?” He asked her, stopping abruptly in the middle of the sidewalk and turning to face her. She looked ready to burst into tears, from what he couldn’t imagine.

“Nothing. I’m fine,” came the abrupt reply. Yep. Something was wrong, and her response said she didn’t want to talk about it.

“I know you better than that. What’s wrong? You know can tell me anything,” he pressed, brushing a rogue lock of (h/c) hair away from her forehead.

“Just lay off, Frank! I’m fine! Just stop!” She yelled at him, batting his hands away. She’d never yelled at him like that before in all the years he’d known her. Not even when his mischievous schemes got them both into trouble. Something was eating at her.

“No you’re not,” he said, grabbing her by the hand and pulling her back in the direction of his house. “We’re not going anywhere until you tell me what on earth is going on.”

She remained quiet as he dragged her back down the block to his house. He turned to look at her before unlocking his front door. Were those tears in her (e/c) eyes? What could possibly be causing her this much emotional turmoil?

What if…? No. It couldn’t be. She’d been fine when he left for basic before Kasserine. She’d given him a hug and sent him on his way with a promise to write to him as often as she could. She hadn’t even shown up to the train station to say goodbye. But what if?

“What is wrong? Please! Tell me what’s wrong, (y/n)! You’re scaring me!” He told her, closing the door behind them and grabbing her by the shoulders. She looked around the room, looking anywhere but his eyes, her hands shoved into her coat pockets. She was beginning to break, a few tears slipping down her cheeks.

“Please. Just tell me what’s wrong. Please, (n/n). I can’t help you unless you tell me what’s wrong.” He could hear the tears in his own voice as he spoke. Damn it! If there was one person who could make him cry, it was (Y/N). She’d never done this. She always told him everything no matter how difficult it was. What was so wrong that she was refusing to tell him this? What if…?

He shook the thought out of his head. This wasn’t the time to be thinking of his own feelings. He pulled her over to the couch and sat down, pulling her down with him.

“Please, just talk to me, (n/n). You’re scaring me,” he told her again, pulling her head to his chest and wrapping his arms around her. It wasn’t lost on him that this was the same position they were in when he first realized how deep his feelings for her went. She was crying into his chest now, and he could feel a few of his own tears beginning to slip over. What if?

He couldn’t. Could he? Was it worth the risk? What was the harm? What if that’s what it’s all been leading to? What if? What if that’s what was bothering her? What if? What if this was the moment for that leap of faith Nonna had told him to take? He took a deep breath, trying to stop his own silent tears. Leap of faith…

“You know I love you, (y/n). I know you do. And I think you love me too. And I think you don’t want me to leave without knowing, but you’re too afraid to say it out loud.”

His feelings were out in the open now, and there was no taking it back. He stroked her hair, hoping and praying that she’d be receptive. If she wasn’t, he’d respect it. It would hurt, but he’d let her go if that’s what she wanted. This girl he knew everything about, he’d love to be the one by her side through all of life’s trials and celebrations.

He rested his head on hers, still softly crying. He rubbed circles on her back, each one speaking a silent ‘I love you.’ Was she holding onto him even tighter now? He held her closer to him, whispering his love into the top of her head, praying that it would sink in. That maybe she’d realize he meant every word. That maybe she’d share his feelings. That maybe they’d have a future together after this cruel war was over. Suddenly he heard her muffled voice in his arms:

“I love you, too.”

Finally. The words he had longed to hear for so many years had escaped her lips. He could cry from the joy he felt in this moment. He would do anything for this girl. He’d swim across the ocean if she wanted him to, she need only speak the word.

Should he? Did he dare? They loved each other already. And they already knew everything there was to know about the other. There was nothing that could be discovered in a courtship that he didn’t already know about her. Would she give him the answer he longed to hear? Leap of faith…

He pulled the ring box out of his pocket. He didn’t know how to ask her. He was risking everything with this one move.

“Wait for me,” he told her, presenting her with the jewelry. “Wait for me, and when I get home we’ll go to the priest and have him marry us. We can have a life together.”

His answer was given to him in the form of a passionate kiss. Fireworks went off in his head as the moment he’d imagined for so long played out better than in his daydreams.

His girl in his arms, a ring on her finger, a future full of promise to come home to. The one leap of faith had paid off.

***And today you mooks learned that yours truly is not only angsty, but is also a hopeless romantic (emphasis on the hopeless). I hope you people that wanted this like how it turned out. And let me know if you want more like this.***

[uglierdaikon]

I've decided this is going to be a tradition now so here's

My favorite books I read in 2023

(in no particular order)

"Siren Queen" by Nghi Vo

this book is so fucking cool. I said this list is in no particular order but this is without a doubt my favorite book I read this year. This book takes place in a fantasy version of Hollywood in roughly the 1920s-1940s. It has everything: deals with shady nonhuman creatures, fantasy violence, old Hollywood glamour, lesbians. What else do you need? Genuinely the most unique worldbuilding for a fantasy story I've ever seen. Please, if you only take one recommendation from me ever, take this one. The audiobook SLAPS also.

"The Empress of Salt and Fortune" by Nghi Vo

Shoutout to Nghi Vo because I genuinely didn't even realize both of these books were by the same author. Queen. Anyways. So you know how the movie Titanic is told through the lens of people hearing the story from Rose as an old woman? Similar set up but also not similar at all. A sort of nun/monk person on a mission of historical and anthropological chronicling comes to the long abandoned residence where a recently deceased empress once lived in exile. There, they meet the empress' personal maid. As the main character (I can't remember the name off the top of my head, sorry) goes through and archives artifacts from the home, they get to hear stories of the empress' early life in their kingdom as well as her time in exile leading up to her rise to power. I'm not selling this well but it's REALLY good and a very quick read.

"And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie

She's the queen of mystery for a fucking reason!!! This was apparently the year of Nghi Vo and Agatha Christie because Queen Agatha was the other author that just dominated my reading list. Anyways, the set up of this is that 10 people are lured to a mansion on a remote island and start getting killed off. I had a lot of fun trying to figure out who among them was The Killer (even though I ultimately failed to get it right).

"I'm Glad My Mom Died" by Jennette McCurdy

Look. Reading and loving this book in the year 2023 is not a unique experience. This book is a tough read in that a lot of really terrible things have happened to her, but I (like everyone else who's read it) need to give her a lot of props for her skill, frankness, and humor about writing this book, as well as just her strength for getting through all that. Go Jennette!

"Demon Copperhead" by Barbara Kingsolver

Reading and loving Demon Copperhead in 2023 is ALSO not a unique experience. It won awards for a reason. But I liked it so it goes on the list This is a modern take on David Copperfield that follows a boy from the Appalachians as he grows up in the foster system (and through the opioid crisis). I know that sounds bleak, but he's a character that you really wanna follow and root for, even at his lowest. It's a LONG book, but well worth every page in my opinion.

"The Monster of Florence" by Douglas Preston and Mario Spezi

One of the authors got kicked out of Italy for writing this book! Doesn't that already catch your interest???

Anyways, this is a nonfiction book. Half of it chronicles the twists and turns in the investigation of the still-unsolved Monster of Florence serial killer case (which is. Horrifying. To give fair warning). But it also delves into the corruption and mismanagement of the Florence police department, culminating in a frame job intended to make the authors keep their mouths shut about this case. It's definitely a creepy case, so if you don't have much of a stomach for true crime I'd skip this one, but I could not put this book down (figuratively - I listened to the audiobook, lol). I went on runs solely so that I would have more time to listen to it some days.

That concludes this list of 2023 book recommendations. Hope y'all enjoyed! See you again this time next year.

[bluebelleix]

(OLD)The Three Sisters of The Court

(They won't be that relevant to Claire' backstory now but they're still there)

They were first mentioned in Claire's introduction(?) and I gave in to give them designs.

HERE THEY ARE!!

Okay so,:

Technically they're the same age as the Headmaster, Meliadoul Amy and Innocent Zero, which is around 118 years old because they were each "blessed" by the God of Justice, Themis.

The oldest of them all is Liliane Laodice; although all of them work in The Court, she's the only who uses it as her main job. She mostly works as the Judge and handles the cases paperworks.

She usually doesn't go out very much so you might not even meet her in public. When trying to meet with her, her schedule is apparently "always busy", so there's already a small chance of meeting her.

Maybe do a crime and get to meet her in Court I guess lol.

The middle one is Elodie Laodice; she's the one who adopted Claire. If you're wondering why would she adopt a child when she's like really old, it's because she wants the law to change without really interfering directly.

She thinks the law around the magic world is getting, well, outdated because they haven't really advanced forward because of the law. Hence one day, she just.. decided to teach someone, train someone early on and change the fate of the world.

Of course she doesn't want to just train someone that's already mature because they might already be influenced that the world is "perfect". So she decided to adopt a child, a child that haven't even experienced the world yet and how it works.

Maybe they can have a different view if she showed them the flaws. If she gives an opportunity to them, would they take it and change the future?

..Onto the last one which is the youngest, Dinah Laodice. She currently works as a religious teacher at Saint Ars (I suspect that Saint Ars might be religious with like the theme around it lol) and a nun at the local church.

She's usually quiet and doesn't speak much and sometimes scares people every time she opens her mouth because they forgot she was there.

She doesn't open up very often and always leaves on time and just like her oldest, no one can really find after school. Students have said that they saw her in the school's courtyard but those seems to be rumours because no one really have evidence for it.

Elodie and Claire's relationship is uhh..hard to say.

Does Claire view her as a mother? Eh depends, from early on as a kid, Claire has always called her "miss". However she does feel a sting in her heart when she realises she doesn't really have anyone to call "mom".

It's not like Elodie doesn't view Claire as her own child but she doesn't exactly call herself a mother. After all, she already a few workers to take care of her while she guides her to a better future she can make.

It's really a complicated relationship but they don't talk it out because one's an older person that thinks what they're doing is right without thinking about the consequences while the other is a child who actually didn't really have any experience in the world and just follows along like a sheep.

..Claire does take it for granted though, after all, she could have a worst fate right? Being adopted by one of the higher ups is already good enough so she really shouldn't complained. She just needs to follow along the script that Miss had made.

[popcorn1989]

𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔴𝔬𝔩𝔣 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔩𝔞𝔪𝔟

Note: I have no idea what I was doing here. :D Maybe I'll write a second part, I'm undecided. Let me know what you think of it :)

Words: about 5447

Pairing: TLK x F!Reader x Ramsay

Summary: You are a warrior, you forgot how you ended up with Lord Uhtred, suddenly he was there and you followed him. However, your task was not only to fight, but also to heal wounds, listen to people, deliver messages and much more. You were an important part of the small group of Uhtred and you were there to protect the King of Cumberland.

"They attacked in the night, lured him to the stable. I wonder how he could fall for that" You were on your way again, the king's monks on horseback in front of you and at the very head of the crowd Uhtred and King Guthred.

"It was definitely a mistake on his part. I told you as soon as those men came that they weren't there to protect the king, was I?" You looked at Ramsay and nodded, he was a specialist in one thing, he recognized dangers when they were right in front of him. That day, you asked him to speak to Uhtred, but the two were not on good terms.

- I don't serve him - he had said and never left you alone from the day the men came. When you told Uhtred, Ramsay's concern, all he said was - We need every man - and then the subject was closed. You looked at Ramsay, who had fallen silent and was looking at his horse's ears.

"Tell me," you said in a calm voice, although you were excited and eager to find out what had happened, because that evening you were with Gisela, who had gathered a small circle of women around her and was exploring the city. You weren't really keen on that, but escorted her so that nothing happened to her.

"My Lady?" asked Ramsay, who was riding next to you. "I want to know how you got there and what happened and why he's there?" you asked and turned around briefly, Ramsay did the same and let out a derisive sigh.

Beside a cart was a prisoner, he looked exhausted, but he kept pace with the carts and never let a word escape his lips. You briefly remember Ramsay, who was once just as tied up and complained to you loudly. "Him? Such a bad decision as well" he turned back, before you turn, the prisoner looked up, your eyes meeting for a second.

"And?" you urge him to keep talking. "I just wanted something to drink when I saw Uhtred walking away alone. I asked his friends and this nun what happened, but no one knew what. You know me..." he said and briefly raised his Eyebrows.

"I just told them everything I was thinking, and at some point they probably felt it would be better if we checked. I killed two men that night and when I was about to kill that one" he pointed over his shoulder, "Uhtred yelled that we should let one live, and he chose him" he shook his head.

"So you did what he said?" you asked curiously, but Ramsay made a face, "I wanted to kill him anyway, but that guy there... wouldn't let me" he pointed to where Uhtred's friend was riding, and you started to grin. "What's his name?" you asked, looking back at the prisoner, his eyes on you as if he had been watching you the whole time. Ramsay shrugged. "I don't know, I don't care either"

---

In the evening you had reached another village, the residents were not willing to share their houses with everyone, so only the appointed king and his sister, as well as all the priests, nuns got a place in a house. So many tents were set up, a large one where Uhtred and the king conferred, yours smaller, but enough space for bed and table, was not far from the large one, the marketplace was soon full of small and large tents.

On the city wall in front of your tent, not far away, sat the prisoner by the wall. His hands already white because the rope was tied so tightly around his hands and he was tied to a ring on the wall that horses were normally tied to. Dirt and horse droppings all around him.

You still hadn't heard him speak, but Ramsay told you that he kept asking about Uhtred and wanted to speak to him. From your entrance to the tent you got a good look at him and watch him for a while, he just sat there with his hands tied at his crotch, he didn't speak, he didn't move, but he made himself small as one of the guards of the king, or rather of the monks and priests, came close to insult or kick him again.

But he didn't complain. Amazing, you thought, as you thought of Ramsay, who kept giving Uhtred's guard reason to kick him, hurling insults and threatening the dead to those who looked at him.

"My Lady" came from Ramsay, standing in front of you as if by magic. "Uhtred wants to talk to you" he said, and you looked at him in surprise. Uhtred avoided speaking to Ramsay. The day he offered you his sword, it was said that you and you alone are responsible for him.

Since that day the monks hated you, they wanted Ramsay's head for the many insults to their god, the spitting on dead monks and the contempt he showed them. Fear flooded you that day because you knew Ramsay was capable of anything, but he made it easy for you and you had no idea why he was so loyal to you. "What does he want?" you ask quietly, looking back at the prisoner.

"I don't know, maybe a round of cuddles?" You roll your eyes at Ramsay's smirk, then he appraised what you've been staring at "Do you want me to kill him?" he just asked coldly, "No" - "But then he and I will be through with it", You sigh.

"You're not doing anything, that's an order" he looked at you in shock, it was an act, you could see it so clearly, like a man pretending to pray, but he was there because of the nuns to charm them. "Nothing? Nothing at all?" he put a hand on his chest and exhaled indignantly, "Okay... find out who that bastard is" He looked at his target and nodded.

You left him alone and set off, passing the prisoners along the way. You decided to walk closer than was actually necessary. The prisoner's eyes rested on you from afar. The man sitting on a stool and charged with keeping an eye on him got up and stood in your way. "What do you want?" he asked derisively. It was wide and tall, it reminded you of a closet.

Stepping sideways, you let your eyes roam over the prisoner, he was thin, pale, his lips dry and cracked leading you to believe he wasn't getting water, his eyes were asking you something, but you couldn't make out what. Your eyes caught all of this before your vision was obscured by the broad man. "Move on, girl. Nothing for you to see here." You let out a disdainful exhalation.

"You should feed your prisoner" - "Why should I, he's only here for one reason, and that's to die as soon as possible" your eyebrows rose, and you shake your head as you set off, "My Lady ?" came a soft voice, you turn around and saw the man hitting the prisoner "Shut up" came the man loud and angry. It was time to talk to Uhtred.

---

You found Uhtred in the big tent, with the king and his priests. "Lord" it came from you loudly and firmly, because everyone was talking excitedly and only willingly they stopped and looked at you. You had to hold back your laughter every time you saw the face of Abbot Eadred who hated you for saving Ramsay.

"You wanted to talk to me, Lord," you say, and see Uhtred nod. "Wait outside I'll be right there" Now you nodded and did what he said. But as it had already entered your head when you heard this sentence, it lasted a long time, and you wished for nothing more than your thick, soft blankets and rest, it was getting darker and darker and so it was also getting cooler.

You rubbed your hands together and heard the angry voices in the tent. But you didn't want to disturb them again, so you just hoped for a speedy redemption. You looked across the marketplace and saw Ramsay standing by the prisoners, but it was too far away to see his face or hear what the rascal was doing. The big man was arguing with his arms and head and the prisoner looked from one to the other, it seemed like he was grinning, but you weren't sure.

And then what you had imagined happened, Ramsay was pushed, didn't put up with it and soon a scuffle ensued. You close your eyes and squeeze them tighter, but when you open them again, Ramsay was almost by you.

His lip was bleeding, and he wiped it with his glove. How could it be over so quickly, you missed it, and you raised your hands questioningly, but he just started laughing. "That guy there is Leoandrik, Leo in short, is tall but has no ego, I just had to experience it myself" he laughed again and looked around at the tall man, who kicked the poor prisoner.

"He's a real asshole, the guy didn't do anything, he didn't even flinch, if I were him, I would have cheered" Now you're grinning, that was typical Ramsay. "My lady, you gave the order, I carried out, shall I kill him?" - "No, not necessary" you say, when Uhtred finally left the tent, Ramsay just nodded and left without another word.

"Keep an eye on him" came from Uhtred, who watched after him, "What should I do? Tie him to my leg, so he can't go anywhere alone?" Uhtred's eyes wandered to your "if need be"

You were about to say it wasn't necessary, but the words stuck in your throat as the king and priest walked past you. "We'll talk about it tomorrow," said the king, who grabbed Uhtred's shoulder and shook him before walking on. You didn't like them at all, but they hate you more. Uhtred waited as if he didn't want anyone to hear anything, only then did he speak.

"They want to kill the prisoner, probably because he's a Dane, or just because he's breathing, I think it's fear they have." You nod, they wanted to kill Ramsay as well, but maybe they were justified, you thought about who Ramsay would kill if you wanted to. "I want you to talk to him" - "With the priests?" you ask, surprised and about to say no immediately, but Uhtred shook his head "With the prisoner, find out who he is, where he really comes from, what his intentions are, everything" he paused

"And what he wants from me. I hear, all the time, his pleas, that he wants to talk to me." You liked that, it was exciting to find out something like that and somehow, you liked that you had something to do. "What about the guard?" you ask curiously, not knowing how to do it with that big man around him. "Tell him you have orders to take care of him. Have Ramsay stand by and scowl, or play with knives" you gave him a puzzled look.

Then he grinned, "It's my prisoner, say the order is from me, no one will forbid it" You nod, that was your task, questioning another prisoner, but it seemed easier to you, because this man wasn't like Ramsay, it was a difference between day and night. "What if the king objects?" you ask cautiously. "Let that be my concern, I'll talk to him, he has no opinion of his own, He's like a sheep that you push back and forth, unable to fight back"

Sheep? That was what you were looking for, the difference between the two, one the wolf, the other a sheep. You didn't think the prisoner was a wolf, he looked too shy for that. "What do you think?" you asked now and got a questioning expression from Uhtred, "Do you think he's dangerous?"

It took a while, then he shook his head, "That's why I chose him, he seems like someone who's lost. He wasn't like the others, I saw how they treated him, and he wasn't as eager to attack me as the others were about it." He put a hand on your shoulder, "I know you can recognize a good man," he said, wishing you good night.

You weren't so sure about that, Ramsay was still alive, and only because he gave you his sword for his life, but so far you haven't regretted it.

---

The next day, with your orders from Uhtred, you decide to start. But first you look for Ramsay, one of the monks said letters had arrived.

And you hoped that you would get messages, mostly he took the letters. You were not a famous woman, nor very rich, but you had a small farm that you loved and where your family live.

You found him in the tavern holding an open parchment.

"Ramsay" you nod as he looks up "My lady, not great news, your homestead is still standing, people are trying to bring in income. But…" He looked at the letter again, "Church members are gathering and asking if you ever return home"

It was typical of them that when they saw some land to get rich on, they took the slightest impulse to grab it. But you didn't worry too much because your brother was in charge when you weren't there. She would hope in vain to get the land.

"Always the same with those bastards," you said softly, because many of the priests had gathered here in the morning. Again you nodded and wanted to leave, "What are you doing now, my lady?" asked Ramsay, who had stood up and was putting the letter in his pocket. "Take care of the prisoner".

This time it was Ramsay who nodded, "Maybe you should think about doing it quickly" he had only been here to annoy the priest with his presence. But he didn't follow, he grinned cheekily and sat down again. You get some herbs from the village healer and give her a piece of silver in return.

In your tent you found the other materials you need, bowl, cloths, a tincture for small wounds. What else did you need? "This prisoner shall not be your concern" you recognized that he was a monk by the raised voice and this touch of politeness, you didn't even have to turn around for that.

"Uhtred gave me the order and I will carry it out. Besides, it's his prisoner, you only made it your mission to watch over him." The man groaned, and you turned around abruptly, the dagger in his hands falling to the ground, blood poured from his open mouth as he fell to the ground. And Ramsay appeared behind him, a bloody knife in his hand.

"I knew it, but...." he wiped his weapon clean on the monk's cloak. You looked at the dead man's wide open eyes in shock. "Ramsay!" - "Don't worry, I'll take care of you, I've been keeping an eye on the weasel the whole time. I knew that he was up to something when he followed you out of the traverse to the healer, by the way he already drew his dagger there, but thought better of it. Until here..."

You couldn't believe it, you knew that the priests and monks hated you as well as the king's apt, but that? But the only thing you could say was "You killed him, that'll never be…they'll figure it out" He smiled evilly and shook his head "Let me do it" He tapped his temple "I've got a plan. And besides... he's not a priest, he's a Dane they hired."

Suddenly you knew that Ramsay was to be taken with a grain of salt, not only was he cunning he had eyes and ears everywhere, but he probably saved your life. "Ah, Ah, don't say anything and as for the prisoner, you should tell Uhtred to kill him immediately." You narrow your eyes and shake your head.

You had no idea why he wanted to get rid of the prisoner so quickly, but he didn't seem to think about it for a minute, since he was himself standing in his place.

He clearly didn't look happy with your answer, but nodded that he understood. You walked towards him "I can't protect you if this gets out" you spoke softly, and again he nodded "It won't get out" he was so sure of it that you just said "Get him away"

---

On the way to the prisoner, who again looked at you from afar with his big round eyes. It sent shivers down your spine, knowing you couldn't tell Uhtred about what had happened.

The priests tried to kill you, every step you took was watched by them, you didn't know why this country was full of them, no matter where you went, you met monks and priests and behind each of them you had to look for dangers eighth, they were the real danger of this country, not the Danes.

You sigh as the big man named Leo stood up and stood in front of you menacingly. "I have orders to take care of the prisoner, the order comes from Uhtred" you said and saw the prisoner rocking back and forth excitedly. "And I have orders to watch over him and let no one near him, orders of the king"

Rather the monks, you thought briefly, and wanted to pass him, but he pushed you back with one hand. "Leave her alone" said the tied man and lay hard on the ropes. Leo looked at him menacingly.

"Hurt him, and I'll notify Lord Uhtred, and he'll tell the king. And he listens to him, so let me do my job, I don't want to sit here in horse shit and talk to an unimportant man either."

Your words were so harsh that Leo took a step away from you, you were amazed that your words had such an impact, but Leo looked past you and you turned around. The Apt stood behind you "Nice to see you so… alive" he said sneakily, you could hear that he was angry about the failed ambush.

He didn't hide it, it annoyed you, but you didn't show it. "I have…." - "I know, let her do her work…" he said angrily to Leo "And make sure she doesn't do anything stupid", those were his last words before he gave you another glared and disappeared.

Leo had bowed like the apt would be a king, but he left you alone. You went to the prisoner, and he looked at you expectantly, but you had to disappoint him. You took his chin in your hand and examined his chapped lips. "Are you thirsty?" you asked, and he nodded.

"Hungry?" you ask when Leo intervened "He doesn't get anything, he's doomed to die anyway, the negotiations will show today" You roll your eyes "I don't care, he's human and only that, I see" - "This is a waste of resources", said Leo, "Then he gets mine" the prisoner smiled at you.

"Then you are stupid" was all that came from the big man. You looked at his hands, which were very pale, you stroked his fingers "Do you notice that" - "No, my lady" You put your bag down next to him and crouched down, with both hands you tried to loosen the ropes a bit, but they were tied tight.

"Make them a little looser" you asked Leo, but he just snorted contemptuously. You looked around to see if you saw anyone as Ramsay walked up the path, a satisfied expression on his face, he came as soon as you called his name, "You know about those knots?"

"What are you doing there?" Leo asked and grabbed your hand when Ramsay pulled on one of the ropes. The prisoner moved his hands and fingers to pump blood into them. "You should let her go, big man," Ramsay said, looking at Leo.

"I'll report that," he said when he released you. "Fine, if you're already on your way, then you should stay there." Ramsay didn't look at Leo but at Sihtric, who returned his gaze, and both had a fixed expression on their faces.

"I'm not going anywhere" Leo said and now Ramsay grinned and got up to look the man in the face. "And how do you want to report? If someone comes here, you will have forgotten everything again, your brain is not the best I heard."

Leo went into attack position, and before it escalated you had an idea, "Ramsay, get something to eat. And something to drink… lots" Ramsay looked from you to the man sitting next to you and hadn't taken his eyes off him. But he nodded.

He grinned invitingly at Leo again before walking past you and stopping, "Wine, ale or water?" - "Water" you said, drowning out the ale from the prisoner, who then looked at you and smiled. "Not that I don't begrudge you that, but I'm sure you haven't had a drink for a long time"

"Nothing since my imprisonment" Startled, you looked at Leo, who shrugged his shoulders. "Five days, I've seen men who lasted longer, and I offered him something" he pointed to a bucket and grinned. "Pee is not what a body needs to survive," you said sourly.

---

You took care of the prisoner without a word. You didn't want him to think you were spying on him. His wounds weren't bad, a cut on his arm probably from Ramsay's dagger, a cut in his lip from the dryness. Some bruises.

Ramsay came with a large piece of fresh bread and a jug of water. Leo was causing trouble and snatching the bread from his hand, Leo and Ramsay had a scuffle, but Ramsay won and Leo was asked by one of the monks to come along. To your surprise, Ramsay followed them, but you didn't stop him.

Now you sat here, watching how the prisoner greedily drank down two cups that you put in his hands. "What's your name" - "Sihtric, My Lady" You're just trying to chat, most of the prisoners were ready to talk because they could finally talk to someone.

"Where are you from?" Your fingers ran over the large scar on his forehead and he stopped eating. "Dunholm" he looked you in the eyes, "I am the bastard of Kjartan. He gave me this scar" You nod, you know that many bastards get this scar so that one recognizes them. That was the custom of the Danes.

You got up and took the stool Leo used to sit on and placed it in front of Sihtric, slowly you sat down. "He…" he wanted to say something, but he just shakes his head. "Would you like something else?" you asked, nodding towards the jug. "Why are you so nice to me?" you raised an eyebrow, questioningly.

"No one was ever nice to me" You thought briefly about his words. Uhtred told you that he saw how the men treated him. "Your mother must be nice to you" he wanted to bite off the bread but let it sink "She died" - "I'm sorry, how? ", you asked cautiously, "Kjartan killed her when I was a boy, she was a slave" You noticed that he never - my father - said. "I can hardly remember her"

You nod, "It's okay to be sad" - "Yes, but I've learned to deal with it and not to show it" he looked at you seriously now and for a moment you thought back to Ramsay, talking to him was different, you didn't have that feeling protective of him, but Sihtric? You pondered Uhtred's words like a lamb. Sihtric was like a lamb.

He seemed nice, soft, and probably had a shitty life up until now, and now he's about to die. "Kjartan ordered you to join us with the men?" you asked now, He's probably figured out by now that you're not here to chat with him.

"I'll tell you anything you want, my lady. But promise me you'll ask Uhtred if he talks to me" - "Why does he want Uhtred dead? Why does he send you and not come himself" he laughed

"This army here is bigger than his, he's scared. He sent me because he can do without me. Maybe he's heard that I'm still alive and is sending someone to kill me. He wants Uhtred because he's stands in his way, he fears him. Him and his vengeance, and I have no pity on Kjartan"

You nod, "Please talk to him. Tell him I never wanted that attack. I didn't mean to kill him, kept my head down and was just fighting for my life. I want to serve him!"

His voice grew stronger with every word, after such a long silence it took a while for his voice to regain its normal strength. "My Lady?" he asked after a long silence, letting you think, but it seemed like he didn't want to wait any longer. "I'll try" you promised and got up. "My Lady!"

You turned to him. "Don't trust him," he said, his eyes narrowing. "Whom?" - "Ramsay" You looked at him thoughtfully, then he continued eating his bread. He wouldn't say anything more in response, not even when you asked what he knew about him. Not a word passed his lips.

---

It took you three days to continue on your way, you had been looking after Sihtric for those three days, because Leo had disappeared without a trace. And the monks wanted to uncover his disappearance. You talked to Sihtric and the two of you soon got on well together.

"Sven is your brother?" - "Yes, but he and I never got on well" - "Why did you stay there?" - "I only had them, a man who serves no one is a lost man" your conversations went on into the night for you decided to bring him to your tent, there he sat on furs and talked about himself.

You spoke to Uhtred every time you knew something new, but still he wouldn't talk to him "There's time, I've managed to convince the king to take him with us until I know what to do with him" you nod "What do you think? Is he a sincere man?" you nod again. You let Sihtric know that he wasn't going to die anytime soon, and he seemed relieved about that.

Leo was found on the second day. He was lying in a ditch outside the village, covered in cuts. There were no clues as to who had done this to him, however, after another day Uhtred decided that it must have been robbers. You, on the other hand, could not shake the feeling that Ramsay must have had something to do with it. He denied it, but his broad grin made him seem incredulous.

Nobody asked about the assassin who wanted to kill you, and you decided not to ask Ramsay where he had left the body. You gave him orders like, watch the apt or find out what happened next, only for him not to be with Sihtric, the two of them always just looking at each other for a long time, as if one would attack the other immediately.

"Do you know Sihtric?" - "No My Lady, but he seems weak to me, he should not stay alive" - "That is not your decision. And you are alive too, was that perhaps a wrong decision?" you asked Ramsay one evening. "That's your decision," he said.

"We'll rest here," said Uhtred, pulling you out of your thoughts. He had told his friend Halig to look after Sihtric. Hild and you were gathering wood to make a campfire for the men. The king had sent some men out to hunt. The food always ran out so quickly, it always amazed you.

"I'll take this to the camp," she said, leaving you alone. "Can I help?" asked a familiar voice. "Of course Ramsay, take this to camp" you said, throwing the branches into his arms. "I get the feeling you're avoiding me, or don't want me to be with you".

"That's nonsense, it's just that the days have been very busy and each of us has had things to do" you said, lying of course, but what could you have said? I trust Sihtric, and he told me not to trust you? You didn't know why, but his words carried a lot of weight with you.

"Is there anything else I can do?" he asked as you placed more branches on his arms, you shook your head. He was about to turn around when there was a flurry of activity in the camp, and he looked at you questioningly. "Come with me," you said to him, and he dropped the wood and ran after you.

The crowd stood together, and you pressed forward, so you could see what was happening. Ramsay laughed as you both realized what was going on. Sihtric stood in front of the crowd, a sword to Halig's neck, he looked at you uncertainly as he spotted you in the crowd.

Uhtred just asked his name and Sihtric, said everything he had said to you. "He will die," Ramsay said when he saw the angry monks. There was a mess, the priests were for Sihtric's head, but Uhtred was against it. For Sihtric spoke the words you had heard from Ramsay. "My sword for my life"

He looked from Uhtred to you and was about to say something, but you just shook your head and he lowered his eyes. Uhtred asked him to drop the sword. You saw Sihtric hesitate, but he did. Tensely, you watched Uhtred and the priests, who began to grumble loudly as Uhtred welcomed Sihtric. You exhale in relief, but hear an indignant groan from Ramsay.

Halig picked up the sword angrily and asked "Do you have to shit or not?" he only got a grin from Sihtric and angrily he made off. Your eyes met, and you nodded to each other, now he was a free man serving a lord. His fortunes had turned.

---

In the evening, you sat with Ramsay in your tent. "Bad decision," he muttered, "So far, Uhtred has done everything right, not everything, but a lot," you said, when Sihtric came into the tent, he nodded, "Ramsay" - "Sihtric" he just replied "I'll get something to eat" he said and left without looking at you, he rammed Sihtric with his shoulder. But he just grinned as his gaze wandered to you.

"So, you are now one of Uhtred's men" he nodded proudly, "Why? I mean, why did you want that so badly?" you asked, because you hadn't heard everything, many of the priests were standing around you, and they were so loud, that you hadn't noticed much.

"I don't belong to Kjartan and never will be. I want to serve a real lord, someone who is strong and wise," he explained to you, and you smile at his words. "But for a moment I thought… I was going to die"

"I thought so too" he swallows at your words. "You know he's going to kill Kjartan?" he nodded, "And I will help him no matter what" - "You can do it just like that?" again he nodded. "I'm glad you're with us" honest words on your part. He smiled. "I wanted to say thank you"

You looked at him questioningly, "Why?" - "You saved my life. Without you, I would have died of thirst. You spoke to me even though I was a prisoner. You…." he stopped and looked down "You made me feel like a human being" puzzled, you look at Sihtric "But you are"

He said nothing to it "I will protect you, I am one of Uhtred's men, I will carry out his orders, but I will also protect you. You… you mean something to me" You didn't know what to say to that, but you smile at your opposite.

"Ramsay isn't what he says he is" Abruptly, your smile left you. "And I will kill him if I have even the slightest suspicion that he wants to hurt you." He was so serious that you believed every word he said.

"I swear" were his last words, he bowed to you and left the tent. Men swore to give weight to their words, to make what was spoken true. Again, you thought of the lamb and the wolf and ...

the question was, can a lamb kill a wolf?

[cristellove4321]

Thought to share this little au I have.uwu, i have alot more au's, especially of star palace and welcome to dreamworld, but this one, well-

okie so this au is called the morning star palace au, or MSPC for short, I made this au cuz-, well-, one, I REALLY don't like how modern bad churchs (like the ones in stories and such) are always have to be positive activity and perfect, thus no sins and hense no flaws some how, two, this fandom, me and fry especially, N E E D S I T cuz ACK- :>, and three, churchs just looks hot.:>, so here's what i did-

I was raised to be Christian, so while I'm not completely Christian I still have knowledge from what I learned when growing up, graduated in a church from after my first year of first grade to the last year of high school, from a lil tradition during Halloween and easter my family and other familys do in Alabama.(yes I am from Alabama.:>), and from video games that involves churches somehow.:>

So, for mirage and ery actually references a roleplay i had with a friend, where ery is kept in a glass casket by mirage so that anyone meeting her won't break her.(in this au shes a porsaline puppet.), for them, mirage is the bible reader.(aka the person/robot that reminds others of what the bible says like as if it was a story.), their also still a story teller, but they read church story's you'll normally find in the library sometimes.(needless to say they like that more and the most is they'll do is give "or yeet" a bible at zavy to get to it.uwu)

for zavy, hes the priest hes-, pratically himself.(frazzybear im looking at you-), and well, we heard basically it all by now, the priest performs the Sacraments Eucharist, Reconciliation, Baptism, Funerals, Marriages, Sacrament of the Sick and spreads/proclaim the word of god, I believe the most he would like to do was to help or physically be near someone as much as possible due to his original coding, so for the "Sacrament of the Sick" may be his favorite, cuz it takes the priest to put a lil oil on the sick/ill, in order to fight off whatever sickness they may have (idk me either-) and take care of them, hense he'll be there for a person 24/7 until their better.

for fairy floss is a nun of the church, besides cricket and doc, she's the only nun there, like them she does the same thing, spend an hour and a half daily in mental prayer, do spiritual reading for at least a half hour a day, observe silence except during Recreation which is after dinner and supper and engage in a variety of work maintenance of the monastery, gardening, correspondence, art work, computer projects, kitchen and sacristy work, needlework, and crafts.(im literally looking the rest of the details up at this damn point.:>), She does all that, but except the part where it means "lights out" aka sleep, she charges like zavy and mirage, but the three of them gets up when zavy gets up due to the one being the fastest to charge, they begin being themselves when its night time, due to it being the only time they can be themselves without being yelled at (mainly by doc like in the og star palace story/audio book), these three and every other character has at least one sin from the 7 deadly and more well known ones.(hence why it's called "Morning star" palace church au, cuz that star is indeed part of the sign of jesus's birth and hense the birth of Christmas, Hanukkah and so forth.(the robots, like their language translations, their programed to learn every religion in the world but mainly the USA so it won't overload them), but the morning star is also by a sword that was made in heaven but was sent down to hell with a certaint someone took.(if you called Lucifer than your right as hell.>:3), and before anyone else asks, yes their sexualities are the same as their original counterparts.:3

this is an ask blog so you can ask the characters questions and I'll try to answer in character as best as my dumbass can, either on bid post here or on the ask questions button everyone has on here.uwu

Hope everyone has a good day and a summer!!! ^^

[hopelessromantic5]

That scene from Peaky Blinders with the nuns but it’s Merlin and Arthur and they DO NOT PLAY ABOUT THE CHILDREN

TW!!! Check the tags!!!!

“Arthur if you don’t do something about it then I will.”

It was the first thing out of Merlin’s mouth when he charged into the King’s chambers that morning, the sun not yet peeking above the horizon.

Arthur didn’t bother looking up from his desk just yet.

“Gods above, what is it now, Merlin?” There was no bite or malice in his tone, any longer. Long chased away by fond exasperation.

“Arthur.”

His head snapped up, to meet his magical manservant’s gaze head on.

It must be severe, whatever the case. Arthur hadn’t heard that tone of voice from Merlin in some years.

The moment the King’s eyes fell on the other man’s face, his whole demeanor changed. Merlin had been crying. His cheeks and eyes were red and swollen but the emotion that resided there was not sorrow.

It was pure rage.

“What is it?” It was quiet and almost soft in comparison to his previous question.

Arthur’s instincts told him to go to Merlin, to comfort him and dry the last of his tears. (The Almighty Emrys hardly ever allows Arthur to witness them. Choosing to suffer alone than trust Arthur not to chastise him. The King knows he was an arrogant fool in his youth, but he thought they’d moved past hiding long ago.) The look on Merlin’s face told him to listen first.

“Do you remember the nuns?” He asked between clenched teeth, jaw flexing.

“The nuns that run the orphanage?”

Merlin nodded once. “A child, who was previously in their care, hung herself last night just outside the gates.”

All the air left the King’s chest. He was on his feet without the thought of doing so.

“What?! How could they have allowed such a thing to happen? Where were they wh- wait, why did she…” he trailed off, as the realization finally landed, and the endless list of unimaginable things that could’ve happened to that child ran through his head, circumstances Arthur couldn’t have dreamed in his worst night terror, things he’d heard coming out of other Kingdoms, acts that when they were relayed to him through word of mouth his blood ran ice cold. (He had a list of names in the locked drawer of his desk, kings and lords and blacksmiths and ladies maids, mothers, fathers, anyone he had ever heard was harming children in their care or even in their vicinity. Their time left on this Earth would not be pleasant, if Arthur had anything to say about it.)

“How old was she?” He whispered, stricken and stumbling back into his chair.

“She was nine summers old. She was funny and outgoing and, as one of the oldest, she made it her mission to make the others feel cared for and seen. And normal.” The raven boy’s stark blue eyes were gazing out the window, looking at nothing at all, eyebrows still furrowed in frustration. He took a big deep breath. “Teresa. Her name was Teresa.” Arthur nodded and channeled as much sympathy as he possibly could into a single look.

“The nuns made her wash with a different soap than everyone else. They would lock her away on sunny days when the others got to play. When she spoke out against this abuse, she got lashes. On her back, on her thighs-“ Merlin was crying again, and Arthur’s vision was blurring, blinking them back. “Arthur, there must’ve been twenty different sets of scars. Wounds healing just long enough to be able to survive when the next ones came…and every time I visited, she told me everything was fine. I never even suspected that she wasn’t being truthful, I was a willfully blind idiot. That brings me back to my initial statement. If you don’t do something about it, I will.”

“Of course we’re going to do something about it. And we’re going to do it now, but we need the round table as guards and also to escort the children to the keep when it’s over.” Arthur was up again, but remained at the desk, making a list and talking at the same time. “We may be forced to have a trial just for appearances, but-“ he stopped, having a thought. “How did you find this out Merlin? You said you never knew…before.”

“Initially, it was Gwen. After Gaius told me she was gone, Gwen came to me and told me that she couldn’t in good conscience keep her suspicions to herself. Gwen and Teresa had been much closer, for obvious reasons-“

“Wait, what obvious reasons? They’re both women?”

Merlin looked confused for the first time in the conversation.

“No, w-“ He searched Arthur’s face and when he only saw more confusion, he said,

“Teresa had dark skin, Arthur, like Gwen and Elyan, I thought you knew-“

“Hold on! Is that why the nuns…” Merlin could only nod, morosely.

Merlin and Arthur were mirroring each other’s untamable rage.

Without another word, the King led them out of the room, in search of Leon.

They sat across a dark wooden table, three nuns on the other side.

“You wanted to speak with us, your majesty?”

“Yes.” Arthur nodded once, hands gripped white on the arm of his chair. Yet his face remained unaffected, the perfect picture of regal grace. Perhaps it was muscle memory to him, Merlin was not blessed with ability to keep his emotions from his sleeve.

“All of us, sire? At 6:30 in the morning?”

“Yes.” The King replied, cool. Merlin began to wonder the room, looking in cupboards and checking drawers. Some of which were locked.

The head nun hissed at him.

“Get away from there, fool, have you lost your mind?”

“I’ll do as I damn well please.” Merlin tosses over his shoulder, yet even Arthur can feel the venom laced into the words.

“We do not use language in the house of the lord.” She appeared to be scandalized.

This halted Merlin’s pilfering, he began to approach her.

“Nor do we ‘find fault in the innocent.’ Yet, you do.” He narrowed his eyes at her. “You fucking do.”

Beside Arthur, Leon looked somewhat worried about his manservant’s intentions. Leon was the last of his knights to be made aware of Merlin’s ‘gifts’, while he was mostly accepting and curious, there was also something else. Arthur couldn’t tell if Leon began to protect he and his men from Merlin, or if he was protecting Merlin from everyone else.

The nun looked from Merlin to Arthur as if waiting for him to be reprimanded by his master.

When there was no sign of it, she sighed and crossed her hands in front of her body.

“May I ask what this meeting is about?”

“The Crown of Camelot is the only reason your orphanage was able to open its doors and feed these children that would’ve otherwise starved. Giving them a place to live when they would’ve otherwise been homeless. You are aware of this, yes, sister?”

“For which we give thanks.” Her eyes were downcast but Merlin saw the hint of panic there.

He stepped in.

“Reports of a most alarming nature have been reaching the King’s ear, Sister Mary.” He circled the three of them like a hawk circling prey. “It seems you and I have similar tempers, yet unlike you, I wait until I’m matched in size.” He practically spit at her as he spoke.

“And whom, may I ask, reported this to the king?”

“No need to worry about that, Sister. I have all the evidence I need. Children, when kept safe and comfortable, will actually say quite a bit.” The King had spoken to a few of the children before arriving here, he sent them to the keep immediately after.

“Who have they spoken to?”

“You’d have them only speak to God?” Merlin offered.

She sent daggers at him with her eyes.

“God be their witness.”

“There is God and then there is the Crown. This is Camelot, we are in Albion. I am much much closer at hand than God.” Arthur smiled but it was villainous, sinister in a way that sends one of the nuns running out of the room.

“We have in this place, children of the worst sort. They lie as easily as breathe.”

“You had a darker skinned child in your care. You made her wash with a different soap.” Merlin was not allowing her to blame those poor children.

“Sire, your own knights’ sins are legend.”

“Our sins?” Leon spoke for the first time. “Our sins, against the beating of children with whips and tree branches? Our sins…our sins against the child who hanged herself for fear of your temper?”

“I do not see how-“

“Oh, you do not see…” Merlin reached over the table and ripped the glasses off her face, slammed them back down on the table, crushing them.

He held her eye.

“Now put them on.” His breathing was heavy. “Put them on your face, or it will be your eyes that are broken.”

After another beat of silence, his voice, quiet yet slicing,

“Please don’t imagine that I won’t use this minute to do it, or that I am afraid of your prayers, or your crosses.”

After a hesitant look around the room, she slowly picked up the crushed frames and placed them back on her face.

“You see the world broken. Like those beaten children will.” Merlin finally backed away from the table and resumed his search of the premises.

“Now look at me.” The King commanded. She did not obey.

“Look at me!” His voice boomed and echoed through the room. She flinched and did as she was told.

“Funding withdrawn. You will leave Camelot, and Albion, if you are smart and I will never see your faces in my kingdom again. Unless you wish to see the full extent of my wrath.” He stood, as did Leon. Looks of absolute disgust on their faces.

“All children will be taken into the care of the crown.”

“You have no say in where the children-“ she was interrupted by the sound of a small, sharp knife its sheath. The point of Merlin’s blade was aimed at her throat.

“If I come for you, and I still might yet decide to come for you, I will bring an army so that you may hear our approach, and have time to repent.”

With that, he left. Following his King right out the door. Never to step foot in that establishment again.

The ‘orphanage’ was permanently moved into the castle, and every child made a ward of a the King. It made the castle alive with youth and laughter.

Merlin and Arthur realized after a few years, that they were practically married, and parents to a hoard of wonderful children. So they were married and the entire kingdom rejoiced.

[fullmetalgirl98]

30 days Hypnosis Mic challenge

DAY 17: a song that reminds you of a specific place

🎤 「BATTLE BATTLE BATTLE」

(link)

To put it in the Japanese way: natsukashii naa!! :'D This was the very first song @justanotherniky and I learned together after introducing them to Hypnosis Mic! It was our first year as out-of-town students in the same city and our dorm was manned by nuns (we knew each other there) and we had no idea where we could listen to some music and make some healthy noise without disturbing the other female boarders or alerting Sister Monica or one of the other nuns. So we decided to take advantage of the cooler, bigger and cozier room downstairs: the famous infamous Red Room. That room was furnished mostly with wooden tables and chairs, as well as having red-lined sofas (hence the name), a TV, a pool table, and English-style windows that looked out onto the college's small inner garden. A real treat, in short. It's just too bad that people went there to study and that it was adjoining other rooms, but details.

I remember that, in order to stay as far away from the entrance as possible and muffle our voices (because yes, we made a LOT of noise. Especially at Doppo's screams) we occupied the table in the corner of the room, the one that was surrounded on two sides by windows. We would turn the volume of my tablet up to maximum and try our hand at learning the parts of these crazy men. With very little success, at first. Hence the unstoppable laughters. I played Fling Posse, Niky Matenrou. And then we swapped the roles.

We used to meet there regularly in the evenings after dinner, we had to succeed in this endeavor. And when we finally made it, to the point that we learned the whole lyrics by heart, we felt like we had won a battle for real! (and probably also the hatred of some of the girls in the next rooms).

That place is associated to the fondest memories I have of that time and to as many songs: Once upon a time in Shibuya, Wrap & Rap (when we started learning this, we thought it was IMPOSSIBLE, mostly because I really couldn't help but laugh at foo foo foo every single time), Nausa de Zuiqu and WAR WAR WAR. It was all born there. So I can't help but remember that place every time I listen to any of these songs, or how Niky used to rip their throat out in an attempt to imitate the "MATENROOOOOOOOOOUUU" scream of Doppo.