#Vanessa feels bad too she knows this is in poor taste..
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FNAF Michael refuses to be gaslit on âTHE BITE OF 83â
#myart#chloesimagination#comic#fnaf#five nights at freddy's#michael afton#vanessa fnaf#fnaf vanny#fredbear#fnaf 4#security breach#fazbear entertainment#fnaf fanart#literally like what is fazbear entertainments damage BAHA#IDK if you guys know this#In the pizzaplex era the in universe cover up for the bite of 83#is literally Fredbear eating burgers#itâs on arcade cabinets and even irl merch#theyâve just made Fredbear a âhungryâ guy#which is so crazy what a way to spin Michaelâs most traumatic moment#Michael here was just joking around he didnât expect a legit answer back#Vanessa feels bad too she knows this is in poor taste..#honestly no joke I think âFazbear entertainmentâ is like#one of my favourite parts of the new fnaf era#you learn sm about them in subtle ways what lengths theyâll take for a quick buck#truly their only evil is their capitalism itâs great#sorry to Michael Afton again though they love to profit off your misery
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DROS CH2 Bonus Scenes First Impressions
Finally not so busy anymore, which means itâs time to react to the DROS Bonus Scenes yay! Though, for the record, I have absolutely no recollection of what I actually sent in. Just, genuinely no idea xD That means all the pairings will be a surprise to me! Aside from the locked in one anyways.
CWs
Paris & Mark
Ooh this could be interesting!
âNothing like some new areas to get everyone up and out of their rooms~!â A detail I always love in these types of stories is when you can tell who the narration PoV is from just one line, and DROS always does that very well! Paris PoV yay!
âParis: Still feeling alert after last Trial though huh~? After âwaking up,â as you put it.Â
They nod.
Mark: Iâd say so. My thoughts are a lot more coherent, and the sensations I feel register more. It hasnât helped my memory at all, though.â Makes sense Paris would take interest in that, and thatâs a very peculiar thing Markâs experiencing.
âMark: I think that kind of thing is hard for me to put into words for myself. Ellis told me I think too much already. I guess thatâs sort of personality.â Poor guy grasping at straws to build a sense of identity T_T
âParis: Is Ellis the kind of person you usually hang around?
Mark: âŚMaybeâŚ? I mean, Iâd be surprised, since sheâs a pretty unique person, but I donât remember enough to say what my usual friends were like.
Paris: But you had friends?
Mark: âŚProbably?
Ughhhh. This is getting nowhere. At least I know they havenât remembered anything else. Thatâs important information.â I mean yeah, I donât know what you were expecting :v That said, what does Paris want this information for? Blackmail? Curiosity? The thrill of the gossip game? How have I never questioned this before? Or maybe I have and donât remember lol.
âParis: Then you have to tell me~! Like, whoâs your favorite person? Other than me, of course~
The disclaimer, of course, applies to anyone with taste, but also makes sure I get the information I actually need. A personâs preferences are a major factor in how social spheres develop. If Iâm going to know everything there is to know about this place, I have to care about everything, no matter how small.â Paris is funny lol. Also, Iâm still curious about her motive for doing this. Doesnât seem like itâs exclusively for the fun of it, as if that was the case, she wouldnât care about knowing everything âno matter how small,â sheâd just go for whatever piques her interest. See Paris this is why I always think youâre suspicious when someoneâs done something bad xD
âMark: I guess most of what Iâve been thinking about lately is related to ending the killing game, or how to stop people from killing. Itâs hard without knowing too much about everyone, thoughâŚâ Well⌠thatâs something!
âAnyone who takes time to be suspicious of me wonât tell me whatever I want, which makes these conversations way less fun.â Although just to be clear, she evidently does just have fun info gathering lol.
[Mark explaining their thoughts about ending the killing game] Wow⌠They so cool :O
âUgh, answering questions is the worst. Giving out information for free is such a pain. But, I can still do this my way.â Genuinely what is her problem I love her.
âParis: Well, my favorite is me, of course~
Mark: Other than you?
Paris: Uh, my bestie Tay, obviously. Itâs really not supposed to be such a hard question, yâknow?â Thereâs a. Suspicious lack of inner monologue surrounding this. HmmâŚ
Lovely scene!
Btw is Paris!MM still on the table here I wonder? A few lines read kinda weird maybe, but thereâs also stuff like her focus on entertaining herself a la Junko that could be seen as kinda suspicious. Considering basically the entire rest of my top 5 MM predictions is crumbling, Iâm trying to keep what I can xD
Vanessa & Robert
The locked in one! Hell yeah! This should be fun :D
âAfter Grace and Ellis stopped fighting, there was a lot of silence. Ellis was the first to leave, then Grace.â Ooh, interesting place to place the Bonus Scene in!
âIs it⌠really such a crime, to not want to kill someone? Directly, anyways. Inaction can be a way of killing people in and of itself. Thatâs kind of Graceâs whole argument.â Wonder if weâre gonna get the buildup to the gun situation here, at least from the perspective of Vanessaâs mindsetâŚ
âAnd, all it takes is one or two people, right? Besides, what would the loved ones sayâŚ?â Oh oh, something badâs happening!
âVanessa: Iâm not⌠doing anything. At first I was trying to keep spirits up and keep people entertained, but now my spirits are down, and I just⌠stopped.Â
Robert: Well⌠youâre talking to me, right?
Vanessa: Yeah? I amâŚ
He smiles.
Robert: Thatâs doing something.â Aww⌠good friend Robert. Also poor Ness she keeps getting such sad scenes :(
âRobert: Everything here moves really fast, and thereâs too much going on to process all of it alone. When everyone just wants to charge ahead, itâs really easy to feel left behind.
Vanessa: That⌠makes senseâŚ
Robert: But, youâre still willing to stay back with me. You havenât left me alone, even if Iâm no fun, or thinking about sad stuff. Thatâs doing something.â Yay for friendship! And food for the Vanrobert (Rovanessa? Idk) shippers! However many of those there are xD
âRobert: Iâm just kinda⌠regular, all the time. I feel like I have to really try to be interesting enough, or cool enough, or fun enough that people want to talk to me, or hang out with me. But, when youâre not sad, you have a lot of energy, and pep, and people are drawn to you. Your job is one where people gravitate towards you. So, itâs different.
Vanessa: I think youâre fun.â And now itâs time for Robert to get angst, and Vanessa to be adorable! This interaction is so wholesome :D
âIs being here, participating in this killing game, spending time with the people who are like me, really enough to count as helping?Â
Vanessa: âŚWhat do you think is going to happen? With the motive.â And there goes the wholesomeness, dragged away by the narrative. Many such cases.
âRobert: Iâd guess itâs my mom, for meâŚâ Is this new info? I think we didnât know Robertâs person, so thatâs cool! Also donât mind me doing the exact thing I called Paris out on doing (gathering all info possible) itâs different when I do it xD
âRobert: âŚWould it be better to talk about her a little? Or, is it better to not think about it?
Vanessa: Her?
Robert: Your sister.â For a moment I thought we were gonna talk about Antonia, but the other thing makes more sense I guess xp
âRobert: Would it help or hurt if I told you a bit about my mom?
Vanessa: Uh⌠if you want to, go ahead.
Robert: âŚI guess there isnât that much to say. You could probably guess a lot of it. She raised me; she was a stay-at-home mom for me and my little sister. Always caring and looking out for usâŚâ And there he goes, endearing Vanessa to another of the potential victims of the motive⌠we can see where this is going :p Also yay more backstory!
âI donât want to be inactive. I donât want to just be an observer to all of this awful stuff anymore. I want to do something.â And there we go, gun situation incoming! I also wonder based on the wording if Vanessaâs talent was chosen because it correlates to the idea of her being an observer first and foremost, since announcers are basically professional observers. Neat!
Aidan & Noah
I repeat that I do not remember what I sent in, but this seems like it could be a fun duo! Especially this chapter!
âDavis doesnât seem to be feeling any better, but thatâs no surprise. It⌠seemsâŚ? Like my presence mightâve helped, but he probably just didnât want to be alone, or whatever it is that people say in times like these. Especially if his friend just died.â Itâs interesting seeing Aidanâs thought process on stuff. He always seems to be so sure of the things he says that him not being entirely sure of whatâs going on with Davis (and possibly missing or dismissing the possibility that Davis has a particular attachment to him) is pretty fun to see!
âIâd figured Iâd be able to ask [Noah] follow up questions when he showed up to the roulette earlier today, but then he didnât. Either way, I still want answers.â Interesting; I wonder what those questions are. Maybe related to Noahâs loved one being different than he expected?
âAidan: Room service.â Heâs a genius, what can I say xD
âThe door actually opensâ just enough for an item pass off. I push it open the rest of the way, surprising Noah, who flinches backwards in surprise.
Aidan: Câmon. Weâre talking.
I grab his arm and pull him deeper into his room.â Bro relax. For a dude whose entire thing is not really caring about fuck all, Aidan seems oddly determined to have this conversation lmao.
âIâm sure he doesnât want to talk about it, but to be honest, I donât really care.â Ah, there he is!
âAidan: You said your dad was going to be the one on the roulette, but he wasnât. Do you know why?â It is about this! And yeah, itâs a fair question. If Noah canât think of a reason the killing game runner(s) would have picked his mom over his dad, itâs entirely possible that Noahâs dad is just dead due to Tragedy reasons.
âTracking whatâs going on with the roulette really shouldnât be my job, considering Iâm not all that invested on account of not having a loved one, but everyone else seems too preoccupied to do it. Besides, itâs not like Iâm doing anything else.â It really is funny how invested Aidan got in this thing. My guy must be bored out of his mind lmao.
âAidan: Why did you think itâd be your dad?
Noah: I just⌠thought he was the most likely option. I spend way more time with himâŚ
Aidan: But they thought it would âtroubleâ you more to lose your mom.
Noah: I guess so.
Aidan: Do you agree with their judgment?
Noah: âŚ
His voice comes out quietly.
Noah: I guess so.â This also makes sense! Wonder what thatâs all about.
âNoahâs not going to tell me anything if heâs already struggling to get his words out, so I have to figure out the best way to say these things. Why the fuck do I have to comfort someone twice in one dayâŚ?â Aidanâs inner monologue is also fun to read because the amount of âdone with everyoneâs shitâ units in the text go off the chartsâ xD
âAidan: âŚWhen you said you thought itâd be your dad, you were able to come to terms with it.Â
Noah: âŚ
Aidan: Is there a reason why? [âŚ]
Noah: âŚWeâve had our differences, I guess.â Oof.
ââI spend more time with himâ and âweâve had our differencesâ is enough to get a gist of what happened.â I mean I would like more details but I get the sense prying for those is more a Paris thing than an Aidan one lol.
âAm I trying to learn more about Noah? To confirm our interpretation of the motive as correct? To comfort someone whoâs strugglingâŚ?
Definitely not that last one. Iâm here for answers, one way or another.â Lol, âIâm definitely not doing this because I care,â alright who do you think you are? Ellis? Admittedly I trust Aidan saying he doesnât care more than Ellis but yâknow. That may just be a result of having more content with Ellis as the PoV character lol.
âAidan: Would it trouble you to lose your dad?
Noah frowns.
Noah: It would⌠definitely make me think. It would be a lot. [âŚ] Iâd be upset. I wouldnât be happy about it.â This is a concerning amount of hesitation for this question. What kinda disagreement must have they had for this hesitation to exist? Very curiousâŚ
What a nice little scene! A little more background on Noahâs feelings towards his parents, and more insight on Aidanâs thought processes! You love to see it!
Jeff & Davis
These two had a pretty interesting conversation in the main series, so this could be pretty cool!
âTo my surprise, Davis actually shows at dinner tonight.â Yeah I guess Jeff would assume people would try to run away and avoid social interaction when something traumatic happens lol.
âI grab my food and end up sitting next to him, which he responds to with a dismissive sideways glance.â Oh so thereâs beef beef here, huh? At least on Davisâ side :O
âJeff: Who was she?
Davis frowns.
Davis: My best friend since middle school.â Ouchie! We kinda knew from the dead loved ones art post, but itâs still neat to get more details.
âJeff: Whatâs your plan now?
Davis: âŚMiss herâŚ? I donât really understand the question.â Lmao. Yeah Jeff what are you saying.
âFor me, the answer would be to skip out. Ignore whatever comes from this, use the distance to avoid the pain, then eventually loop back once everything feels normal again.â I mean yeah that tracks.
âDavis: Iâll try my best to handle it and focus on other things. There isnât much space to make peace with something in the killing game, so Iâll just have to internalize it and come back to it when I have the time and space to.â Quite a mature response to the situation! Glad someone in the cast is able to keep their shit together in these situations xD
âDavis: I wish I could talk to my therapistâŚâ Yay for therapy!
âJeff: Are you gonna be there tomorrow? For the motive, I mean.
Davis: I donât know. Probably. I donât enjoy seeing the bodies, but⌠itâs nice to know, I guess. To keep a pulse on everyone elseâs⌠situations.â Nice of Davis, though the wordingâs a bit unfortunate lmao.
âDavis: I assume you donât have anyone for the roulette?
Jeff: As far as I know. Not sure who itâd be.
I run through a list of people Iâve known in the past. I donât think anyone would qualify. No one I think of conjures any particular emotion, profound or otherwise. Theyâre all just in the past.â What a peculiar life my guy Jeff lives.
âJeff: I mean, back when my parents were still around, I guess I cared.â Alright just hit me with 3d4 emotional damage out of the blue, I see how it is.
[Jeffâs backstory] This is really interesting! It definitely explains his lifestyle, and itâs a pretty nice thing to learn if nothing else!
âDavis: Have you been in a relationship before?
Jeff: Ehhhh. Not in such a serious way. More just⌠we hang around each other for as long as we want. A week, or a month or two. Not usually longer than that.
Something I said seems to have particularly bothered him, because heâs back to half-glaring at the table.â Yeah Jeff donât you know Davisâ playlist song is HIBANA*? He ainât gonna appreciate a âweak minded love!â Though I donât know why he has an issue with other people being okay with those kinds of relationships, but yâknow.
*Speculation. (Planning on making a full post for the playlist btw!)
âDavis: Itâs just⌠always interesting to hear of the differences between myself and others. Thatâs all.â Yeah thatâs a diplomatic way of putting it xD
âDid his friend dying make him that much more likely to go with the flow? Is what Iâm saying or doing less objectionable to him than normal, for some reasonâŚ? [âŚ] Still, as he leaves dinner, he gives me a slight nod. I guess that, at least for tonight, Iâve earned a proper acknowledgement. Whether thatâll keep up into the future or not, I have no ideaâŚâ âŚWhat? Okay thatâs a really interesting reaction. It seems my guy Davis is having some kind of character arc, how exciting!
-
Wee! These were super fun as always! Cannot wait for CH3 to begin, Iâm already looking forward to it a lot! :D See yaâ!
#dros#danganronpa: one shot#robert smith#vanessa bravo#mark dros#paris hall#jeff breeze#davis love#aidan ho#noah walker
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internal monologue
TW: main character death, disassociation, derealisation, massive angst, accidental murder, dead bodies, overall a lot of traumacore, and jumping off a cliff (but not to alivenât).Â
Betaâd by @reddriotâ HEHEHHE this was your monster, zeÂ
This is a paired fic with @ererokiiââs âPretend I Amâ. Please go check her story out as we both made each other suffer while writing it.Â
 Ventiâs memory was unreliable. He rediscovers this the hard way.Â
âDo you blame yourself?âÂ
Venti had been drinking. He didnât know for how long, why, when, where. It all blurred together, days, weeks, months. Everyone was talking and his head pounded and the lights made him want to hurl. He was still empty. All those years of sleep and drinking and singing and he still could never fill it.Â
He glanced to his side. He almost saw her there. And thatâs when he heard it.Â
The tavern went dark. It fell silent, and the chairs were empty.Â
âDo you blame yourself?â The voice rang in his ears like a bell, one that he dreaded to hear. He remembered his voice. He heard it every day, and wished he wasnât such a coward that he took on a dead manâs skin.Â
âWhat?â Ventiâs voice was quiet. It wasnât his voice anymore, no. It was his, the Bardâs, and Venti couldnât even remember the poor bastardâs name. He had given his life for Mondstadt, for Venti, and he couldnât even be remembered. The Bardâs voice echoed in his ears, and the tavern was caving in. The woman next to him was so soft, so sweet. He could almost touch her cheek, and he reached a hand out. She could pull him out of this, and that gentle smile was so close.Â
âItâs quite common in this situation for you to feel some kind of...guilt.â The Bard sounded too calculated. Cold. No, Ventiâs Bard was good and kind and whole. This Bard was cruel and emotionless. Empty.Â
âWhat situation?â Ventiâs voice didnât leave his body. Nothing was his anymore. It never was, after all. He was no archon. He was no bard. He stole everything for himself. And something bubbled in his gut. He turned to the other side of him, and the Bard was next to him, with a face of pure, smooth skin. The Bard titled his head, and Venti knew there was a sick smile under it all.Â
âThe accident.âÂ
The battle was won.Â
Vanessa was talking to some of her colleagues about rebuilding Mondstadt. All those alongside here were giants, not in size, but deep within themselves. Venti knew that he would have to go on, wandering Tevyat soon, in hopes of spreading songs and joy.Â
And then, he got a tap on his shoulder.Â
âLord Barbatos?âÂ
The voice was kind, worn, sturdy like fir and pine and all the things that grow tall and strong. Venti turned, almost jumpy, when he saw a young woman behind him. She was in all words, average. Had he seen her in the street, he would not consider her to be much more than a normal citizen. But the large spear strapped to her back said otherwise;it was enormous, taller than Venti and sharper than even Venessaâs blade.Â
âYes! Hello!â he chirped, getting back his cheery disposition. This wasnât right. This isnât what happened. WHAT HAPPENED She smiled at him and bowed slightly. When she looked up into Ventiâs eyes, Venti realised she had green eyes. No, blue. Brown? And they were wide, and then almond, and quite suddenly, Venti realised that she was changing, her face not one thing for one second. The world around him started melting, and everyone was laughing, staring at him, staring at him, staring!Â
You donât remember what she looks like! Â
Venti felt like he was choking, and he took a step back. He brought a hand up to his neck, and there was nothing there-wait! His hands were gone too!Â
Just make something up!Â
âStop!â Venti shrieked, and it was his voice, finally, his true voice, squeaky and terrified. It was all acidic, dissolving and crumbling around him.Â
âWait.â Her voice was quiet, and it broke through the sound and the rage and the horror. âLord Barbatos. What is my name?â âWh-what?â Venti gasped, the whole mountainside empty. When was this Dragonspine? It was Windrise before, green and beautiful and now it was just cold, cold, cold, cold, cold.Â
âWhat was my name, Lord Barbatos?â She tilted her head, and now she was panicking, face distorting into nothing but unadulterated fear. âI-I canât remember, Lord Barbatos! Oh, gods! Help me!âÂ
âNo! No!â Venti tried reaching for her, the world disappearing until all that was left was a pair of the most gorgeous eyes Venti had ever seen. They sat in the snow, lifeless and cold.Â
âYN! No! Wait for me!âÂ
Venti was choking on his own drink when he came to.Â
Diluc was shaking him, red eyes wide. Jean was there, the Traveller was there, and Barbara had her healing at the ready.
âOh my gods,â Diluc whispered, pulling away before sighing and crossing his arms. âWe thought you had a stroke.â âWhat?â Ventiâs head felt like it was full of cotton. âI...did I pass out?â âWe donât know.â Jeanâs voice was soft, and it reminded Venti of something he couldnât quite put his finger on. It made his back shiver, but it felt almost like it was being contorted. He was being crushed under the weight of something, something he didnât know. âYou...it was like you were zoning out, or daydreaming...like a nightmare.âÂ
âNightmareâŚâ Venti looked down at his mug, seeing his reflection in it. But his heart leapt to his throat and the clock stopped ticking when he saw the Bard behind him. This time, he had a mouth, too wide and filled too full with razor-sharp teeth. Something in his inhuman heart began to quake.
âI need to go.â He stumbled out of the chair, feet hitting the floor too soon.Â
Too soon? Like her?Â
Venti tumbled out of the bar, almost face planting on the sidewalk as Jean and Diluc called out behind him, barely catching himself before running as fast as he could. The night felt warm, the air was muggy, and he was choking. He ran out the front gates, ran past the birds, the bridge, the rolling hills. His feet ached and his head spun, and nothing could stop him. He closed his eyes, wheezing and praying to whatever god above he could.Â
Oh, wait. He was the god people prayed to.Â
His running slowed, soft as the air began to cool. A breeze picked up, ruffling his hair, and in the distance, he heard laughter. His eyes were still shut, and for once, he felt...peaceful. He was still walking, but if he listened closely enough, he could hear people walking next to him, chipper and sweet.Â
âWell, I think the festival should be called Windblume.â The Bard huffed playfully, skipping a bit in his step. âItâs got a ring to it!â âWhat do you mean?â YNâs voice was soft, and Venti could almost see her tilting her head. âItâs always been called that.â âOh.â The Bardâs voice dropped with Ventiâs stomach. âThatâs right.â âWe never met,â YN sighed.Â
âWe were thousands of years apart.â The Bard finished her sentence.Â
âWe bothâŚâ she began.Â
Venti opened his eyes, overlooking Starsnatch Cliff.Â
The wind was rougher here, tugging him over to the edge and making his cape whip over his shoulders. There was the taste of blood on his tongue and the smell of it in his nose, and he felt sick.Â
âLook down,â The Bard put his hands on Ventiâs shoulders, holding roughly and putting his thumbs in the front. âI dare you.âÂ
âNo.â Ventiâs heart hurt like it was being squeezed by a vice. âI donât...I donât wanna.â âBut sheâs down there,â the Bard whispered. âAll alone.âÂ
âWhat?â Venti blinked, taking a sharp breath in.Â
âYou left her down there.â The Bard sighed, almost sounding like he pitied Venti.Â
âNo?â Venti felt confused. âSheâs...she wasâŚâ âSheâs dead, Barbatos.â The Bard breathed out, letting go of Venti. âYouâre really sick, you know.âÂ
âWhat? No!â Venti spun around, feeling lost in the midst of a storm that he couldnât control. âWhat are you talking about?â âShe hated heights.â Now, the Bard had eyesâdeep, like sockets of coal instead of real eyes. No, they stared right through Venti, bore through whatever shadow of a man he once was. âCan you imagine? Her falling in love with the god of the winds?âÂ
âStopâŚâ Venti whimpered, and just for a second, when the Bard blinked, she stood there, ominously smiling. Her smile was always so sweet, Venti thought. Sweet, like flowers and the ocean breeze. She loved him so much.Â
âAnd you betrayed her trust, just like that.â The Bard murmured and shook his head.Â
âWhat do you mean? SheâŚâ Venti wanted to say that she grew old, and died in Springvale surrounded by their children and grandchildren. But something on the tip of his tongue split his thought in half, making him freeze.Â
âShe what, Barbatos?â The Bard tilted his head. âSay it.âÂ
âSheâŚâÂ
It was a windy day.Â
Venti stared over the edge of Starsnatch Cliff with a giddy grin, holding the top of his hat. The drop below was enough to make any mortal man shiver, but he turned to the love of his eternal life and grinned.Â
âHey! Câmon, I promise itâll be fun!â He jumped up, grabbing YNâs hand and humming. âI swear, nothing bad will happen!â âIâŚâ YN glanced at the cliffâs edge and gulped, slightly pulling away from Venti. âIt sounds really dangerousâŚâ âNah! Itâs just gliding for two, after all!â He kissed the tip of her nose, smiling softly. âYou trust me, donât you?â âAlways!â Her voice was soft and pleading, looking down to meet his eyes. âBut you know how much I hate heights.â âDonât worry! I promise itâll be a great experience!â âBut what if I fallâŚ?â âYou wonât! I wonât let you go!â He was on cloud nine, floating above everything and everyone. YN was right before him, and everything felt right in the world. But then YN sighed again, and pulled away.Â
âButâŚâ âBut I did.â Ventiâs voice was hollow, even to himself, and he watched her spark and pop, a figment of his imagination.Â
âYou did, my love.â YN sounded so sad, eyebrows furrowing. âWhy did you let go?âÂ
âIâŚâ Tears welled up in Ventiâs eyes, his voice cracking. âI didnât mean toâŚâÂ
âBut Iâm gone, Lord Barbatos.â YN sobbed, covering her eyes with her hands. âIâve been gone for so long.â âThey never foundâŚâ Venti choked on his own words, eyes wide and brimming with tears. âThey never found your body.â âYou told them I ran off, remember?â YN softly wept, before the Bard appeared behind her. He grabbed her hands with a tenderness that only lovers had, and gently pulled them away. YNâs eyes were gone, nothing more than gored out holes in her head. Venti nearly screamed, taking a step back in alarm before realising he was at the edge of the cliff. The wind picked up behind him, and when he turned on shaky knees, he saw a gruesome sight underneath him.Â
YNâs corpse was upon the sand, blood staining the grains and flowing out into the ocean. Her blood was so dark that it was almost inky, dispersing into the water without a trace. But it stained Venti, stained his clothes and his hands and his heart. His eyes felt like they were bleeding with her, staring at the rocks that gouged her eyes out when she landed. Her skull was the worstâsplit open like a nut and spilling everywhere. The sight was terrible, horrible, heartbreaking and earth shattering.Â
âYou loved her, Barbatos! You loved her and you killed her!â The Bard cackled. âYou let her fall! How useless can you be to kill your own girlfriend?!âÂ
Venti felt himself swaying. The mocking was too much, and he could hear laughing behind him. Laughing! Laughing! The whole of Tevyat was laughing at him, laughing and weeping and pointing their gnarled hands at him.Â
âYou shouldâve joined her!â the Bard howled above the din. A storm from the sea swept in, nearly blowing Venti away with the wind as he tried to hold on to anything he had left. âYou canât protect anyone! Join her, little god! Join her, and watch her rot in the abyss!âÂ
It was too much, it made Ventiâs ears ring and when he tried to cover them, his hat blew off his head and into the sea. He closed his eyes, praying to get away from whatever waking nightmare this was, but when he opened them, YNâs corpse was right at his feet, blood soaking into his shoes as she blinked and her face contorted into a huge, toothy maw. Everyoneâs yelling became one, with the Bard and YN yelling louder than all the others.Â
âDonât leave me, Barbatos!â âDonât leave her, Barbatos!âÂ
âPlease donât leave me!!âÂ
And Venti fell.Â
Ventiâs tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth.Â
He woke up to the sea lapping at the top of his head. He had a splitting headache and the sun shone right in his eyes, making him glower and sigh. For the briefest, holiest moment, he couldnât remember what he was doing or where he was. He just wanted a nice drink at Angelâs Share and maybe play a nice song for Aether.Â
But then he heard the sea, and he remembered.Â
A feeling of dread began to overcome him, and when he sat up, his hair was damp and made water run down his back. He knew his cloak was positively soaked and that he had no way of knowing how long he was out for. He just remembered falling, thinking so long as she isnât alone before passing out.Â
He stood up on shaky legs and knew that YN wouldnât be there.Â
Her corpse was only a hallucination, or something of the sort. He knew it, he knew it so well, but the night she appeared, it felt so real.Â
Venti hated his relapses.Â
He slowly made his way up the beach in haze, and then past Windrise, and he realised without thinking much about it that he was simply making his way to Mondstadt, without truly knowing the way. There was a magnetic pull, one that he almost hated had he not cared so much. His heart bled, oozed, spilled everywhere. But if it bled for Mondstadt, for the Nameless Bard, for YN, then when would it bleed for him? When would he get his turn?Â
He stumbled into Angelâs Share and sat on his usual stool. He glanced to his side. He almost saw her there. He looked to his other side, and the Bard stared into an empty mug. He had no face, no eyes, no smile. He was mundane again, with no memory and no song. Venti couldnât remember YNâs face again, and he wondered, should he look into his drink, if her eyes would be floating there. Someone shuffled next to where YN was sitting, and when he glanced, he saw a young woman in YNâs perfect visage. She was perhaps a little less muscly, and a little more dainty, but when she glanced at him with an annoyed eye, Ventiâs blood froze. It was humiliating, and he wondered if somehow, YNâs ghost had come back, reincarnated, to torture him for his sin.Â
âDo you have a problem?â The young woman asked. YN turned her head, and Venti could just barely make out her tilting her head before she seemed to quite suddenly disappear. The Bard laughed under his breath, and all of Tevyat mocked Lord Barbatos, the Anemo Archon and Windborne Bard.Â
Venti had been drinking.Â
#angst! angst! angst!!#venti x reader#genshin x reader#barbatos x reader#genshin impact x reader#i am a menace to society#genshin impact#genshin#genshin impact au#genshin scenario#angst#genshin angst#archon x reader#anemo archon x reader
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A Punchable Face That I Want to Kiss, Ch. 7 [NSFW]
<- Chapter 6Â | Chapter 8 ->
Summary: The idiots have admitted they love each other, but are still figuring out how not to be assholes. Included in this chapter: a fancy dinner party that goes horribly, Chilton getting drunk, Frankenstein references, and a little smut
5,568 words
Trust was a difficult thing for Dr. Frederick Chilton. There were few people he had ever trusted, and one of them had been feeding him people at dinner parties.
Any show of weakness, he learned, would inevitably be turned against him, and clearly he could not count on himself to realize when he was being manipulated. Played. He had been played so many times.
When you said you loved him, how could he be certain?
The entire concept was abstract as it was. His parents had an icy relationship, and he had been raised more by nannies and boarding schools than them, so love was a thing he had observed hints of around him, and become aware of its existence through its absence in his own life. Love was a negative space drawing.
He distinctly remembered one of his childhood friends being picked up by his parents at the end of a school year, crying tears of joy as he leaped into the smiling coupleâs arms. They held his hand, and asked about what friends he had made.
It made him feel so hollow.
Pity made sense. You had a basic empathy response to his woundedness, and it compelled you to nurture him to health. Pity he understood. But you said you loved him now.
Love was more. Love was many things, as he gathered it, defined in different ways. Neurologically, love was a release of chemicals such as oxytocin to form lasting bonds. Evolutionarily, it was a symbiotic partnership that benefited the survival of both parties and their children. Love was an intense feeling, and a deliberate commitment. It was mutual respect and care. It was more than he could imagine anyone feeling toward him.
Chilton eyed the Is Your Crush In Love With You? quiz advertised on the cover of a teen magazine at a newspaper stand and almostâalmost!âconsidered buying it before his pride as a psychiatrist (and an adult man) stopped him.
It should be easy to diagnose love. Abnormal psychology was far more complex than this mundane tripe. He simply had to list out the evidence in a logical fashion. He scrawled down pro and con columns in a notebook.
Definitely Not Love:
1. Face too gross.
Before getting shot, he thought he had been reasonably handsomeânot tall or athletic, but acceptable. Who would accept him now? Anyone in their right mind would be disgusted after seeing his face so mutilated. And yetâŚ
Proof Itâs Love:
1. Kisses my gross face.
You saw his face, and if you were disgusted, you hid it damned well. You had been alarmed, and worried⌠and then you kissed him. You kissed him on every horrible part as if you loved him even more for being brokenâwhich, frankly, made you diagnosable, but reassured him that your bond was stronger than a mere act.
Or did it prove even more conclusively that it was an act? Anyone who wasnât after something would have run away, but you didnât care what he looked like, because it was all a performance!
Definitely Not Love:
2. Kisses my gross face. Fake.
It was as yet unclear what the something was that you were after, however. The more time that went by, the more it seemed you really didnât care about his money. You tried to turn down a $900 Montblanc pen, proving yet again your utter lack of taste. Even when he was presumed deceased, you were so overwrought by his assassination that Jack Crawford insisted upon letting you in on it before you did something rash. You mourned him when there was nothing to gain.
Proof Itâs Love:
2. Not in it for money
You were frequently rude to him. It was what he first loathed about youâthat absolute disregard for manners and polite conversation. Maybeâmaybeâhe had done a few things which could be construed as dishonest or mishandled, but he was still an esteemed doctor. You would have shown the respect his station warranted if you desired him as a partner.
Definitely Not Love:
3. Calls me an idiot.
A poor strategy if you were pretending to love him, though. His most manipulative exes would certainly apply insults strategically to bend him to their will, but always started off with nothing but flattery and kindness in the wooing phase. Traps are usually baited with honey.
Your behavior was crass out of blunt honesty and an absence of diplomatic tact. You were rude when he was unethical or selfish, because he was those things. Hannibal was at his most friendly when he was at his worst, but you wanted him to be better. You wanted a partner.
If your relationship were an elaborate manipulation, you would have to be an intelligent psychopath, but that hypothesis simply did not hold up to scrutiny. Psychopaths chose their words carefully, and always maintained their cold, predatory calm. You once called him âass-buttâ when you were mad. No serial killer could be as clumsy and tactless.
You were the opposite of a psychopath: warm, nurturing, emotional, and an utter mess.
Proof Itâs Love:
3. Calls me an idiot.
He leaned back in his office chair, staring down at the paper. There were dozens of things he could add to the love column, now that he thought about it. You laughed at his bad jokes. Listened to him talk about things that certainly bored you. Reminded him to take his medicine when he worked late and forgot. Spent time with him. Admired him. You never turned against him. Never tried to hurt him. He had to accept the evidence: you loved him. Entirely.
At the very least, he was certain he loved you. This novel rush of feelings that had been painting in the negative space of his soul since he first woke up to your smile could only be love. Your warmth radiated around him, enveloped him in its light, and he could no longer imagine how heâd lived without it. He was certain he loved you, because he had never cared about anyone more than himself before.
Love was an unusual thing for Dr. Frederick Chilton. It was weakness, and it was invulnerability. He was exposed. Raw. It made him feel safe with you, and more afraid than ever that you would be taken away.
It took four decades, but Frederick Chiltonâs walls were coming down, and it opened up a Pandoraâs box of feelings he was not equipped to cope with.
  *****
He loved you! It swam around your head in a sing-song voice, distracting you and making you hum subconsciously and sway to a secret rhythm while you were at work. That wonderful pompous jerk loved you. You were in a dream.
It made you dizzy how tender and uncertain he could be. He was not particularly comfortable with public displays of affectionâthere was a vulnerability when he was with you that he could not tolerate anyone else seeingâbut he still managed to have his hands on you at nearly every moment. A light touch on the small of your back: restrained, but possessive. His finger grazing across the back of your knuckles under the table. Leaning close to see something you were looking at and putting his hands on your shoulders. He hated being far from you for long.
Since showing you his face and finding that the world did not end, he had been downright clingy.
âYou know Iâm out of town on a case,â you explained for the thousandth time to an increasingly sulky doctor.
âI see,â he pouted, âWell, perhaps I will call Vanessa and see if she wants to have dinner tonight.â
âDonât be a dick.â
âExcuse me?â he feigned offense very seriously, as if he didnât know you knew he was being a dick on purpose.
Early in your relationship you had both been very clear that it was just sex, and not at all anything that involved a monogamous commitment or, god forbid, feelings. Youâd never explicitly updated this agreement to better reflect the love you were in and he was provoking you with it.
âWho is âVanessa,â anyway? Your cousin?â
âAunt,â he admitted tersely. âI demand you come to my house this evening!â
You laughed into the receiver, imagining the way his cheeks were puffing out. âI miss you too, babe. Iâll be back in Baltimore tomorrow.â
There was a quiet sigh. âPlease be careful.â
He loved you, but was he your boyfriend? Were you exclusive now? These were questions youâd been having, and were too afraid to ask for fear that the answers would be no. Even though he was just being a manipulative little brat, his casual implication of dating other people still hung in your brain, interrupting the pleasant birdsong.
  *****
âAre you embarrassed of me?â
Chilton paused mid-comparison of two ties from his closet and scoffed. One was blue and formal, while the other had splashes of bold purple, and he was trying to decide which gave off the better impression of staggering wealth and success.
âYes,â he answered with impatience. âYou do not know how to behave as a civilized adult.â He went back to sorting through his closet for an outfit.
Your impulse to punch him in the face was acutely returning. âSeriously? Because I didnât know which fork was for the salad?â
âYou have no etiquette, you dress like a tourist, your favorite wine comes from a box...â He would have continued but your cheeks were burning and you screamed with indignation.
âWow, so Iâm just your dirty secret then, is that it?â
âI thought you did not like âfancyâ occasions. This dinner party will be attended only by the foremost luminaries in the psychiatric field, and other professionals of note. You would find it tediously dull, I am sure.â
âYou said it was an old friend. I donât know any of your friends, and if weâre going to be together you canât just⌠keep me in your closet for sex!â
âDo not be childish.â
That was the last straw. You stomped your foot (not necessarily disproving the âchildishâ remark) and shouted, âYou are unbelievable! You have no respect for me at all, do you? I thought that youâthat we were⌠But really, I just let myself forget what a raging asshole you are!â
He called out your name from somewhere behind you as you stormed out, but you didn't listen, slamming the door.
  *****
Were you being unfair? If he wasnât ready to introduce you to an old colleague, could you fault him for wanting to take things slow? But noâhe expressly admitted to being embarrassed of you. He didnât think you would fit in with these people so he was hiding you in shameâand he was probably right.
How could you ever hope to really be with someone like him? You were kidding yourself.
You were crying and watching Aliens (you needed to watch people getting ripped apart and exploding to calm down) when there was a knock at your door. Chilton stood on the other side with a purple tie, and some flowers that were definitely yanked from your neighborâs garden. He handed them to you indifferently.
âCome on, then,â he said.
You grunted in confusion.
âCome to dinner. Be my plus one.â
âAre you kidding?â you retracted the spoon of Chinese takeout from your mouth. âWhy would I want to go anywhere with you and your snobby friends where Iâll just embarrass everybody by being a pleb?â
His shoulders sank and he looked like a man half his sizeâwhich was already fairly small. He looked like a folding chair you could tuck under your arm and carry away. You worried you might forgive him immediately.
âBecause I want you to be there. Because I love you.â
Your arms crossed over your chest, unyielding.
An uncomfortable groan rumbled his throat, and his eyes rolled up to the ceiling as they always did when he admitted to being wrong. âI apologize. For my rude behavior.â
Your arms considered the apology, and reluctantly uncrossed themselves.
âI am sorry. I love you.â He pouted, meeting your gaze with those irresistible puppy dog eyes, and took your hand. âNow just⌠come, we are going to be late.â
âJerk.â You kissed him. His breath tasted like mint, and his spicy aftershave was fresh and strong.
âI know.â
âBig jerk.â You kissed him again, this time letting your lips linger at the edge of his when you pulled back, his nose brushing against yours.
âThe worst,â he breathed.
âPoopyfacejerkbuttpants,â you declared.
âYou are a child!â He cocked his head and narrowed his eyes. âWhy do I love you?â
âIâm very sexy,â you grinned, wagging your eyebrows.
His chest puffed with a short laugh. âYou are very sexy. And patient, and wise, and most likely smarter than me. Well,â he changed his mind on the last point, âclose, anyway.â He looked down over the teriyaki-stained sweatpants you were wearing. âNow put on real clothing, and try not to appear homeless.â
  *****
What he had described as an annual dinner party with an old friend from his Harvard years was actually a pissing contest carefully couched in the trappings of polite high society.
Nobody mocked Chiltonâs dietary restrictions or recent arrest under suspicion of being the Chesapeake Ripper (that would be rude), but they did express their sincerest worry for him, observing how such trauma must have explained why it had been so long since he last published.
Everyone was dressed so elegantly you felt like a Good Will clearance sale rack, and they were so accomplished and interesting you felt like a Good Will clearance sale rack. A woman named Linnea was visiting from Norway with hair like the sunâs rays and eyeliner sharp enough to cut diamonds. She spoke five languages and had sequenced the genes of a plant that might one day cure cancer. When Chilton smiled his best used-car-salesman trying-to-impress-you smile at her, your skull nearly burst open.
Not that you were jealous, you justâOK! Of course you were jealous! She was a goddess who seemed more his type than you ever were, and he was being nice. He was never that nice!
The host, his âfriendâ Victor, had walked off the cover of a GQ magazine. Where Chilton always seemed to be trying too hard, Victor emanated confidence and power as naturally as breathing, a trait infused in his blood from generations of old moneyâthough there was something unnaturally macabre in his sallow complexion.
He had four children stashed away somewhere with the au pair in one of the guest houses. You knew, because he brought it up, putting his hand around the shoulder of his equally magnificent golden-haired wife, as a point of pride. Emphasis on point. The purpose of dinner was clearly for them to take stock of each otherâs lives and achievements and determine who was winning.
No wonder Chilton didnât want you there.
It was the kind of environment that made you want to slam your fist down on the table, scream, âCUT THE CRAP!â and tell them to suck a bag of dicks. But Chilton clearly wanted to ingratiate himself with them, and you had promised not to be too embarrassing.
However out of place you felt at that stately solid oak table, it was thrilling to watch Chilton at the peak of his game.
âItâs always an honor to treat someone who has been in space, you know?â Victor humbly recounted working as a therapist for NASA. âWhat those men get to see up there among the stars is beyond anything I can understand as a mere doctor. You can imagine the challenge.â
Chilton nodded amicably. âNot every psychiatrist is cut out to deal with the difficult cases. The psychopathic mind is dangerous territory, but I have always sought to delve into the most inaccessible parts of the human psyche, at the frontier of our understanding of the brain. That is where the greatest discoveries are to be made.â
He just made his job sound cooler than astronauts. Point, swish! You wished you had popcorn instead of whatever fermented mollusk nightmare was on your plate.
âIâm just sorry for the horror stories this one must have to endure when you get home!â Victorâs wife laughed a friendly, teasing high-pitched trill, gesturing to you sympathetically. Oh no, you thought. They hunt in packs.
Chiltonâs amicable smile tightened. Besides the obvious snub toward the grim nature of his work, they knew the two of you werenât married or even living together, and therefore his house was desolately empty when he got home. Point to Blondie.
Counteroffensive: You took Chiltonâs hand and pet it in the most sickeningly saccharine gesture of affection you could think of, and swooned about how dearly you appreciated the wonderful, important work he did. The danger really spiced things up in bed, too!
He choked on his wine. So did Victor. You wondered if anyone had food in their mouths and how many points youâd win for fatalities.
A roaring laugh echoed through the dining room, shaking the table. A man who shared Victorâs features, but younger and with a bigger smile, air high-fived you from across the expanse. You ended up being surprisingly popular after that little ice-breaker, lightening the mood by telling hilarious crime scene stories about dumb criminals and weird accidents. They thought you were a breath of fresh air.
You and Ernestâthe hostâs younger brotherâespecially hit it off. Heâd joined the military as soon as he turned 18 as a rebellion against all the âhoity-toity nonsenseâ in his family, and had some stories that made even your toes curl. After dinner you hung out in the garden looking for bugs while everyone inside chatted about opera, wine, and what important doctors they were. The Norwegian goddess joined you for awhile, too, rattling off plant species in the landscaping. She was actually pretty cool. If Frederick were going to cheat on you, sheâd be your top choice for sure.
  *****
Chilton stared sideways out the panoramic glass wall overlooking the gardens. There, under the faded yellow glow of string lights and cradled by a lush border of foliage, you were still talking with that meathead. He tried to use his peripheral vision so the others couldnât see him staring after you like a lost, lovelorn fawn, but was not doing a good job.
You were going to leave him. He knew it would happen if he brought you (though he thought it would be Victor who seduced you away from him), and he couldnât stand it. It burned like hot coals in his chest.
He drank.
He drank a lot.
He drank until he got up the courage to stagger outside on his cane to grab you and say, âWeâre leaving!â
âExcuse me?â you said, startled by the abruptness of his demand. Pulling your wrist back out of his grasp you were surprised at how unbalanced he was. You had never seen him drunk, and a tiny voice tempted you to poke him in the chest and see how far he wobbled.
He hissed in your ear, âDo not talk with him, he is trying to steal you from me!â not as privately as he thought he was being.
âHey. Watch it, pal,â said Ernest.
Chilton lurched and caught himself on you, wrapping his arms protectively around you until he was draped on your shoulders like a human Superman cape, dropping his cane on the floor. âDonât... do not leave me,â he slurred. âI love you. I love you.â
Cool. He was a goofy drunk. A sad, goofy, koala drunk.
You spun in his arms to face him, and pressed your cool palms against the flushed sides of his red face. He was trying very hard to look serious, and you were certain he thought he was doing a great job at it, in much the same way a kindergartner thinks they are being very serious and grown-up demanding a second juice box. âOh, honey⌠you really canât drink like that with one kidney. Itâs not good for you.â
âPlease donât leave?â he begged.
âFrederick...â So this was what being a parent to a toddler was like.
âI knew⌠you would...â His eyelids drooped, and more of his weight shifted onto you.
âOK, I think it is time to leave,â you strained to hold him up.
Ernest very kindly helped you get him and his cane to the front of the house and called for the valet to bring the car around. Judging eyes watched from inside while he vomited into a topiary. Eventually the hosts came to the door to inquire if everything was all right, and you politely apologized for Chilton being such a lightweight since his very tragic, very brave recovery from being maimed. Hopefully that would save him some face.
Thanking Ernest one last time, you grumbled as you slid behind the wheel. Chilton had, naturally, driven his impractical vintage penis-substitute car, and now you had to figure out how to drive the thing back.
  *****
Chilton groaned, slowly rolled his shoulder, and woke up slumped and contorted into the passenger seat. He groaned louder.
âHowâre you feeling?â
âLike someone drove a brick through my skull. Noâlike I was shot in the head again.â He massaged his temples blearily as he recovered consciousness. His eyes flew open. âWhat happened? Why are we in the car?â
âWell, uh...â you adjusted your grip on the steering wheel. âLetâs just say one of us was embarrassing and leave it at that?â
âMerciful god.â He remembered the fourth glass of wine. And the scotch.
He remembered that guy you were talking to.
âYou were flirting with another man,â he accused.
âI was not flirting. He was married. All he could talk about was getting back to his husband in Colorado Springsâheâs only visiting here for a week.â
Chilton paused. âThat does not preclude flirting.â
âAnd what about you? I saw how you looked at Linnea. You were so nice to herâto all of themâlike you were trying so hard to impress those people.â
âIt is called having manners.â
âYou never look at me like that. Why arenât you ever that polite with me?â
You knew the answerâbecause you werenât good enough. You werenât some high-class snob he needed to impress, you were just a nobody. But he took a long time to reply, as if the question had come as a shock.
âI never thought you wanted that,â he finally said. He grew quiet and serious, talking in a soft voice. âWe have always been forthright with each other. You detest false kindness, and that personality is a construction. You know me too wellâyou know I am a miserable, misanthropic, autocratic, petulant egoist⌠but you still want to be with me. The flawed fool. That is why I love you, why I could never bear to start over without you. You are the only one who sees me, and still wanted to...â He drifted off and lost his train of thought. âPerhaps I could be kinder. I do not want to lose you. I do not want to drive you away. Sometimes I forget⌠I forget how to be kind to one I care for most.â Words would not stop spilling from his mouth. He was being unusually candid, a sign that he was still very drunk. âI knew if you came, you would find someone better. You might leave. Maybe not tonight, but you would see what was out there, and eventually...â
âI thought you were embarrassed of me.â
âThat too.â
âAh.â
A sleepy, squinty-eyed smile lit his face as he thought he about it. âYou are so very unrefined, and yet irresistibly appealing. Do you realize you could charm anyone? That you would choose to stay with me is...â He sighed and swung his head loosely until it came to rest against the side window with a dull thunk. He frowned. âVictor and I are the same age, and he has a wife, and children⌠he treats space men. I can never measure up to his accomplishments.â
âWell thatâs a dumb way to look at life, you ding-dong.â
His hangover growled and glared at you through heavily squinted eyelids.
âLife isnât measured in the number of achievements youâve tallied up.â You risked taking your hand off the fiddly antique gearstick to reach for him, and he hummed with affection as your fingers interlocked. âIâm not going to trade you in for a better model. I love my misanthropic, petulant Frederick. Iâll take him as-is. I donât know why you think Iâm going to leave you, but I wonât. I love you.â
  *****
You drove him back to your apartment at his request, because, quote: I love and respect the fuck out of you, baby. He would later vehemently deny phrasing it that way. Then he dropped off into sleep again with his head against the window for the remainder of the drive.
His car stuck out like a sore thumb in your neighborhood, as did he in his thousand-dollar suit, but it was sweet that he wanted to stay on your turf for a change.
He whined, stretching out cramped muscles as he settled into the pillows. You spread out on the blankets next to him, admiring his restraint in not complaining about the thread count. You had to confess, your own bed felt stiflingly small compared to what you were now used to.
Quiet, murmured conversation filled the dark long into the night, talking about your fears and jealousy. You confessed how inadequate you felt in his world, how it much stung when he smiled at that beautiful woman. He didnât tease you like you thought he would, but comforted you honestly that you had nothing to fearâhe would never.
âShe seemed more your type than me,â you mumbled into a pillow, remembering the glamorous woman.
âLinnea? Donât be ridiculousâyou know my type. You.â
You emitted an incoherent trill of bird and chipmunk noises as your cheeks went red. He wrapped a strong arm around your waist and pulled you against him, nuzzling into the crook of your neck. A question had been nagging at your mind for weeks whose answer seemed obvious now, but you still had to ask it.
âFrederick⌠are we a couple?â
The gentle rise and fall of his chest stopped abruptly. âWhat would you like us to be?â he carefully asked after a few tense seconds.
You swallowed. He was putting it all on you, then. It would destroy you if he said youâre too demanding, clingy, or moving too fast, but it gave you encouragement that he was literally clinging to your body like a tipsy koala.
âI want you to be my boyfriend. I donât want to be with anyone else. And I donât want you running off on random dates with random Vanessas to make me jealous.â
âHow old-fashioned,â he quipped, trying to sound nonchalant while a wide smile beamed quietly across his face, cheeks red with an alcohol-assisted flush. âYou want to be mine, then?â he nuzzled his nose against you.
âYes, I do,â you breathed, fireworks going off in your stomach.
He melted at the confession, and spent the rest of the night curled around you possessively, dreaming of sweet visions that were, for once, uninterrupted by nightmares.
  *****
His hips jerked rhythmically up into you as you rode him, his fingers searching, clawing up your back. His hungry mouth left dark bruises as he nipped and sucked his way up your throat, snarling against your skin. âFrederick!â You gasped and moaned with each bite. You knew he was leaving marks above your collar that youâd have to creatively hide, or make excuses for (or just deal with everyone at work knowing), and that he was doing it on purpose, but you didnât care. It was exciting having him claim you.
As his nips and kisses crested the outline of your jaw, you dipped your chin down and took his mouth. His lips were soft and yielding to you, but burning with heat and hunger and already wet from the sloppy work he made of your neck, and he moaned your name with needy satisfaction as you kissed him, his eyes closing. His tongue slipped between your lips, tracing the inside flesh and the outline of your teeth without interrupting the rhythm of his thrusting hips that worked you open and built up a sensational throb.
Your breath and sweat mingled as you rocked together, intertwined. His helpless, pleading noises drove you crazy as he whined and growled, making you buck against him harder just to draw more sounds from him and watch his face as he lost himself completely. The throbbing between your legs roared to a frenzy as he arched beneath you and his pace became erratic, each thrust driving deeper, hips snapping against you roughly as his cock buried its full length deep inside.
The warmth of his seed flooded you, but he pulled out quickly before he was completely finished, flipped you onto your back and kneeled over you. His hand frenetically stroked his cock until long lines of hot cum drizzled your stomach.
He leaned over you and kissed you ferociously, a clashing of teeth and tongues, while you curled your fingers through his hair and continued rocking your hips against his leg chasing your unfulfilled release. âMine,â he smiled against your lips.
He sat up, breathless and content.
You looked down at the sticky mess he made of your torso. âMarking your territory?â
âYou make me sound like a dog lifting his leg.â He raised an eyebrow skeptically.
âArenât you, essentially...?â you began to tease, but gave up with a shake of your head. He swung his legs over the side of the bed, but you grabbed his arm before he could leave. âWhere do you think youâre going?â
âWork, my dear.â
âI donât think so.â You pulled him back into bed, pressed him down on his back and climbed on top of him, angling your hips into his mouth. âYou still have a job to do here.â
âYouâre sticky!â he complained, squirming under you.
âI know. You made such a mess, doctor. Help me?â
He glared up petulantly between your thighs, but a coy pout spread over his lips, and one of his long fingers traced the length of your leg. He does ever so love it when you call him doctor.
âVery well,â he conceded as you grabbed the back of his head and rode his face into the pillow.
  *****
Hannibal the Cannibal was finally captured, and Frederick Chilton wrote the definitive book on him. And by âdefinitive,â you meant full of lies, sleaze, and enough half-truths that nobody would know the difference.
How could you complain? It worked.
He got a bestseller, and the next three years were a whirlwind of book tours, press releases, panels, and all the fame and respect he ever wanted. It was a good thing you were there to make sure it didnât go to his head! (In reality, the mild-but-constant aching of his left cheek was enough to keep him as humble as Chilton-ly possibleâwhich was, admittedly, extremely arrogant.)
He stepped away from the Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane, leaving it under the care of Dr. Alana Bloom. According to Dr. Chilton, it was to focus on writing and speaking engagements for which he was hotly in demand, however the decision came just weeks after you warned him to stay away from Hannibal Lecter.
âI am writing a book about him. Stay away?â he mocked. âDo you know how long I have waited to have him in captivity? In my facility?â
âDonât be an idiot! Trying to get revenge by being his jailer is just poking the bear.â
âThe âbearâ will be spending the rest of his days rotting behind bars,â he replied in a honeyed voice dripping with sarcasm. âYou cannot deny me the pleasure of watching him grow old and infirm, slowly forgotten by the world as his teeth one by one fall out.â
âYou always do thisâyou always think youâre above danger, and then it comes back to bite you! Hannibal will find a way to hurt you if you piss him off.â
âYou give the man far too much credit,â he scoffed.
âStop trying to get revenge.â You stepped close, tapping the chest of his tattersall dress shirt. âFocus on what you still have instead of everything youâve lost.â
âYou mean you?â he quirked a brow, scoffing. âI did not think you so trite.â
âI mean your other eye, asshole! I mean your life!â
Tempers flared as you snarled in each otherâs faces, and twenty minutes and several broken pieces of office decor later, you rolled off of each other feeling much calmer.
âStay away from him,â you started again, softer this time, your hand buried under the unbuttoned opening of his shirt. âI donât want him in your head. Everyone changes when theyâre around him for too long, and I donât want you to turn into someone else. I donât want to lose you. Just walk away this time. Please?â
And he did. And for three entire years, he wasnât brutally maimed.
#Frederick Chilton x reader#Frederick Chilton#raul esparza#hannibal#my writing#of course I have to slip Frankenstein references into everything I write lmao
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Hold Me Tighter (Even Closer), Chapter 3 (Branjie, Jankie) - Joley
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Brooke Lynn furrowed her brows and strummed her fingers against the table. âSo, let me see if Iâve got this right â you invited Jan over to practice for her audition, got wine drunk, then dry-humped until she got off?â
Jackie nodded in confirmation, her eyes fixated more on her coffee cup than Brooke â she had to build back up to being able to make eye-contact. âThen in the morning she was gone and she left me a note,â she finished, holding the piece of paper up. âI really fucked up, didnât I?â
âIt wasnât your smartest move,â she told her, trying not to laugh at the sheer absurdity of it all. âBut if she just left like that, sheâs probably just as scared as you are. Listen, the first day I met Vanessa was a mess. I walked her home from work that night, kissed her, and then literally ran away. She still makes fun of me for it.â
The story made Jackie laugh, but it caught her by surprise as well. She had always seen Brooke as someone so unshakably confident. âI guess if things worked out for you guys, all hope isnât totally lostâŚâ She took another sip from her drink and sighed. âI still donât know how Iâm going to face her in class on Monday,â she admitted.
Brooke reached across the table and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. âJust focus on your work. I promise Iâll find something to keep you busy, okay?â As much as she wanted to continue her matchmaking game, she could see that the tension needed to diffuse before she tried to push them closer. Just because Katya lucked out didnât mean lightning would strike twice.
Jackieâs entire body relaxed in relief. She was still anxious about seeing Jan again, but it meant a lot to know that Brooke was looking out for her. âOkay. Yes, thank you. I can work with that.â She nodded, then checked her phone. âI have to get going, though. Iâll talk to you later,â she said as she gathered her things, including the note that she tucked into her pocket.
Brooke smiled and waved her off. She stayed put, though. She was expecting Vanessa any minute now. They liked meeting here when they could, after all, it was the cafĂŠ Aâkeria recently became the owner of, the same one sheâd started working in after the Starbucks fiasco all those years ago. It was sentimental to them now.
âHey boo,â Vanessa greeted as she walked in, leaning over and giving her wife a kiss before sitting down. âMustâve just missed Jackie, howâs she doing?â
âThe poor girl is going through it,â Brooke shook her head sympathetically. âShe and Jan got drunk and fooled around, and Jan left before she woke up. She left a Post-It or something.â
Vanessa frowned and shook her head. âMh-mm, I hate Post-Its. If youâre gonna dip, send a text like a normal person,â she mused.
âMaybe she thought a handwritten note would be more meaningful,â she reasoned. âRegardless, sheâs just gonna need some time to recover before we continue with any matchmaking shenanigans.â
Vanessa gave a firm nod of agreement. âUnderstood.â She sat quietly for a moment, strumming her fingernails against the table. âI wanna talk about the baby thing.â
Brooke blinked in surprise at the abrupt subject change but leaned in to listen attentively nonetheless. âOf course, whatâs on your mind?â
âListen⌠I know we got good genes and all, but I donât wanna create a baby in a lab when there are so many kids that need a family. I had friends in foster care when I was little, you know? That shit mustâve really sucked for them. And I just think⌠You and me are in a position to really help a kid out,â she told her, then held her breath as she waited for her wifeâs response.
Brooke reached across the table and held Vanessaâs hands. âBaby girl, if thatâs what you want, I am a hundred percent on board. I think thatâs a wonderful motivation to adopt. We can start looking at agencies as soon or as late as you want. Iâm in this with you all the way,â her thumb stroked over Vanessaâs wedding band. âThatâs what I promised you. Thatâs the promise I make to you every day as your wife.â
Vanessa blinked and looked down. âShit, you gonna make me cry,â she mumbled, giving Brookeâs hand a light squeeze to reassure her she was okay. âGuess we gotta think about redecorating the guest room then, huh?â
âYou know my weakness for interior design,â she cooed, pressing a kiss to the back of Vanessaâs hand.
â
By the time Monday rolled around, Jackie had talked herself out of most of her anxiety. When the time was right, she thought, she could talk things out with Jan. But until then, she had a job to do, a job that she did like.
Jackieâs main task was to write a lot of information on the chalkboard. It was perfect as far as she was concerned â having her back to the class meant she didnât have to worry about making awkward eye contact with Jan. She had to admit, it was kind of a genius move on Brookeâs part.
Jan, however, was left with a predicament of her own. She and Gigi had sat in the front because even with contacts or glasses, they were both nearsighted as all hell. However, this put Jackie right in her line of sight, and she immediately began regretting her decision.
While the dress Jackie wore came down to her knees, the fabric clung to her body in a way that accentuated some of her best physical features.
And Jan hadnât meant to stare â staring was rude and her mother taught her better. But she would be damned if Jackieâs ass wasnât hypnotizing her. She couldnât help but wonder how she hadnât noticed before.
âYouâre gonna snap your pen in half with the way youâre biting it,â Gigi poked Janâs shoulder, snapping her friend out of her trance. âAlso, some subtlety really wouldnât hurt you right now.â
Jan blushed, looking down at her notes, which were nowhere near as detailed as usual. âDonât know what youâre talking about.â
Gigi chuckled. âPlease, your eyes were about to burn a hole into her butt.â
âThey were not, I was just reading the board,â she insisted, but now that she had to actively avoid staring, her body seemed all the more compelled to continue. She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, trying to get her mind and body on the same page.
âHey, you have good taste, Iâm just saying be less obvious about it.â
Jan just buried her face in her notes, hoping that if she focused on getting work done, her mind would stop conjuring images of Jackie in various states of undress.
ââŚAnd thatâll just about do it,â Brooke Lynn was saying. âYou guys are free to go, see you Wednesday.â She closed her book, punctuating the dismissal. Her eyes followed the students out of the room, waiting until they were alone before speaking to Jackie. âHow are you feeling?â
Jackie exhaled deeply, dropping herself down onto the desk closest to Brookeâs as if she were dead weight. âI feel okay. I think not having to look at her made it easy. Have you seen her eyes? Theyâre so warm and brown andââ
ââAnd couldnât stay off of you,â Brooke finished with a smirk. âJackie, she is hot for you, you shouldâve seen how she was staring at you. I already knew you have a great ass, but damn, it had a magnetic pull on that poor girl.â
Jackie turned a shade of red deeper and brighter than it had ever been. She suddenly became hyper-aware of her body, not necessarily in a self-conscious way â in fact, part of her was flattered â but it was overwhelming to process at first. âI guess she might not regret the other night that much then,â she managed with a strangled laugh.
âHoney, itâs pretty clear she wants a repeat performance. I wasnât even paying all that much attention to her, but I swear I almost offered her a towel,â she chuckled.
Even though Jan was long gone, Jackie looked out of the classroom and into the hall, as if she could still catch sight of her. âI never thought Iâd be relieved to be objectified,â she mused.
Brooke let out a light laugh at that. âSo youâll go talk to her?â
She shook her head as her gaze drifted back to the desk. âNot yet. Soon⌠Hopefully soon. I think Iâll know when Iâm ready.â
â
âWell, other than you ogling the TA you fooled around with, I think today went well,â Gigi said as they walked back to the residence hall. âYou ready for your audition later?â
âI wasnât ogling her.â Jan chewed on her lip. âDonât laugh, butâŚâ She shifted awkwardly as she looked anywhere but directly at her friend. âIâm worried I might be too⌠distracted to nail it.â
Gigi looked at her friend with an arched brow. âFirst of all, yes you were. We established this. Second, you think youâll be too horny to focus on singing?â She really did try her best not to laugh, but a small giggle slipped through. âBabe, just masturbate like a normal person before you go.â
She huffed. âDonât you think Iâve thought of that? Lemâs probably gonna be in there, what am I supposed to do, tell her to leave so I can jerk off? Weâre close, Geege, but I think thereâs a line.â
âThen go in the shower. Jesus, do I have to spell it out for you?â Gigi rolled her eyes.
âYou donât think itâs weird to get off thinking about someone youâre not dating?â Jan asked quietly.
Her friend pinched the bridge of her nose. âAt this point I just think you need to do it so you stop sounding so neurotic and paranoid. Hell, if I wasnât in a committed relationship, Iâd offer to help you out myself.â
Jan cocked her head to the side. âThanks, I think.â
When Jan did get back to the dorm, she saw Lemon on her bed with her AirPods in, just as sheâd anticipated. She waved at her to get her attention, waiting for her to take one of them out. âHey sweetie, Iâm just gonna shower before my audition. You know, get nice and calm,â she told her.
Lemon smiled and nodded. âOh shit, I forgot that was today. Break a leg! But like, not in the shower. That would be bad.â
Jan chuckled as she grabbed what she needed to bring into the bathroom. âI donât know where Iâd be without your wisdom, doll,â she winked playfully before leaving.
The first thing Jan did once she got in the shower was put music on â this wasnât her first rodeo, so to speak. Even with earbuds in, she knew she ran the risk of Lemon hearing her moan if she didnât drown it out. With the music playing and water running, Jan undressed and stepped into the shower, letting out a sigh of relief the second the hot water hit her body.
After she washed her hair, Jan leaned against the shower wall, resting her head against the cool tile. She let her hand travel down her body. There was a moment of hesitation when her fingers grazed over her pussy, but after a deep breath, she began rubbing her clit with two fingers. Her eyes fluttered shut as soft, breathy moans slipped out.
âFuckâŚâ Jan wasnât thinking about anything at first, but without even trying, her thoughts drifted to Jackie, to what happened the other night, to that day in class. And once she got started, there was no chance of stopping. âOh, JackieâŚâ she moaned, rocking against her fingers. Her free hand went to her breast, groping it, and tweaking her nipple.
By the time her orgasm hit, Jan needed to rest her entire weight against the wall to keep herself up. Her legs were shaking and she was whimpering, taking deep breaths as she finally felt sturdy enough to stand back upright. After that, she just did a quick wash off her face and body before getting out and drying off, going back into the bedroom wrapped up in her robe shortly after.
âHey, feeling any better?â Lemon asked casually. It was clear she hadnât moved an inch this whole time, nor was she aware of what Jan had gotten up to.
âMuch better, actually,â Jan nodded, taking the towel wrap off of her head and combing her hair out. âWhatâs your plan for the rest of the day?â she asked as she continued getting ready.
Lemon paused her music and took out her earbuds, she had been waiting for an opportunity to talk about herself. âActually, Iâm meeting up with a girl later.â She didnât wait for Jan to ask before she continued. âOkay, so, like, I had just lit a joint and I see this really pretty girl â tall, you know how I like âem â and she seems hella stressed, so I offer her a hit. So, weâre smoking and chatting and long story short, we have a date tonight.â
âThat was the short version?â Jan teased as she got dressed. âIâm guessing itâll be more of the same?â
She scoffed. âNo⌠Weâll probably fuck too.â
Jan laughed softly as she straightened her hair, then pulled it up into a high ponytail. âWell, itâs always nice to have an itinerary,â she hummed. âIâll see you later.â
â
âNext!â
Jan stepped onto the stage and held herself with confidence. She introduced herself, handed the sheet music to the pianist, and then she simply did what she did best; she sang. She gave it her all, emoting all the right words, belting all the right notes. There was a lingering rush of adrenaline when she finished. âThank you,â she smiled politely and made her way off stage.
âGreat job up there,â a distinct voice out of seemingly nowhere caused Jan to jump, startled.
âOh, thanks Vanjie,â Jan smiled, running her fingers through her ponytail. âI didnât realize anyone other than the directors were watching.â
Vanessa shrugged. âPeople gave up tryna tell me what to do a long time ago. Except for Brooke, but thereâs always an exception for the wife. But anyway⌠you feelinâ okay? I donât know all the details, but I know you had a rough weekend.â
Of course, Jan figured Vanessa knew more than she let on â she could safely assume Jackie told Brooke, and Brooke told Vanessa. But she hoped some details had gotten lost in translation. âOh, yeah, I guess,â she bounced awkwardly on the balls of her feet. âThings are a little weird, Iâm sure itâll be fine.â
âListen, Iâve been in your shoes. The worst thing you can do is overthink it. Brooke did it, Jackie does it, and I get the vibe you do too. Not everythingâs as deep as yâall make it out to be, you know?â
Jan chewed her lip and nodded. Sure, she knew Vanessa was right, but it was easier said than done. It wasnât something she could simply stop doing, something she could just turn on and off at will. âThe situationâs just⌠Itâs complicated. But I get what youâre saying, I do,â she assured. âAll I wanna focus on now is being able to sleep tonight so I can be ready to see if I got a callback tomorrow.â
Vanessa gave Janâs arm a gentle, reassuring squeeze. âYou got this. Ainât no one around you doubting that.â
And Jan tried her best to take that to heart, she tried to stay positive the rest of the night, to turn her brain off when it was finally time to sleep. She was pretty sure she passed out at nearly three in the morning, but as soon as her alarm went off, she shot right out of bed.
Lemon rolled onto her side, watching Jan scramble to get ready with energy from god knows where. âHow the fuck do you do that?â she mumbled groggily.
Jan shrugged as she brushed her hair. âItâs a blessing and a curse, Lem.â She checked her phone. âThe callback list should be up by the time I get there,â she murmured, offering a quick goodbye to her roommate before she was out the door.
By the time she got to the auditorium, there was already a small group of hopeful actors forming outside the doors. And as soon as the list went up, they all crowded around it.
Too impatient to wait, Jan made her way to the front, offering haphazard apologies to everyone she bumped out of the way. It was worth it for the happiness and relief she felt when she saw that she was on the callback list for Veronica.
The first thing she did was call Gigi and did her best to not scream into the phone. âI got a callback! And there were only two other girls listed for Veronica, Geege, Iâm this close to getting it. I can taste it.â
âThatâs my girl, I knew youâd crush it,â Gigi replied. âYouâre gonna nail the callback too, and donât be afraid to take my advice again if you need it.â
Jan furrowed her brows. âHow did you know I followed your advice?â
Gigi had a smug grin that Jan swore she could feel through the phone. âI didnât.â
#rpdr fanfiction#brooke lynn hytes#vanessa vanjie mateo#jan sport#jackie cox#branjie#jankie#lesbian au#university au#college au#smut#hold me tighter even closer#joley
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So Iâm a Vampire now...
Hello hello! Itâs flash fiction Friday again! (Hurray!) Guess who still hasnât learnt to stick to a word limit: This creature! (Iâm so sorry <u<;;;;) Anyways, this kinda snuck up on me and I couldnât think of anything better than this little vampire drabble. I hope you enjoy it! Feedback is appreciated ^u^
FFF is hosted by @flashfictionfridayofficial
Prompt: Deep End Words: 1665
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âAnd weâll have fun fun fun unt- Michael, put the rock down.â I hoped my voice conveyed how done I was with his reaction. Michael stood, back to the old jeep his mum let him borrow when he mowed the lawn, arm raised, poised to bash my head in with a sizable chunk of concrete. Vanessa wondered back to him from the direction of the mostly closed shops, an eyebrow quirked above her glasses.
âI swear to god, put the rock down. Iâm not here to gogurt you.â Why do I have to be friends with an idiot?
He held firmer to his makeshift weapon. âProve it. I can see the blood lust in your eyes.â
I pressed a palm into my forehead. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. âYeah, my eyes dilated. Yâknow, that thing that happens when you are happy to see your friends. Go repeat bio. If I was gonna slurp your guts, I wouldnât be singing the beach boys and waltzing up to you like a door knocker asking for money. Especially not after I asked you for a lift.â
Michael narrowed his eyes at me. âUnless thatâs what you want us to think. I know you Jessie. Youâre sneaky.â
âOh my god, why are you so dumb? Vanessa, can you PLEase talk some sense into him.â
Vanessa knocked the rock out of his hand, pitching it across the desolate car park before he could react. She should go into a ball sport. I donât know, baseball or something. It clattered somewhere in the distance.
âMichael, stop being weird. We both know Jessie could have pinned you before they got turned. Your noodle arms can barely open a particularly sturdy container. Youâre just making them feel unwelcomed. And being a trashy friend.â
âAll true.â I nodded. âPlus, itâs not like I chose to get turned. If that loser Josh hadnât done me dirty last week, Iâd be at home feeding my Tamagotchi. Has he even reported me missing yet?â
Michael mumbled a sheepish apology. âSorry, I was just worried youâd gone off the deep end all blood lusty or somethingâŚâ
I waved it off. I wasnât really angry. Itâs not like weâd exactly been in this situation before.
Vanessa shook her head, giving me a one-armed greeting hug which I, of course, returned. âHe hasnât mentioned it. I mean, you have been reported missing. That was a whole thing that happened with your parents and then us pretending like you werenât texting us because how do you tell someone their kid is off getting the lowdown on being undead, but yeah, not reported by Josh.â
âWhat a soggy zit. I swear, when I get my hands on him.â
âYouâre not going to kill him, are you?â Michael and Vanessa shared a worried look.
âWhat? No. Of course not! Thatâs disgusting. You think Iâm gonna put my face hole anywhere near that slimy weasel and voluntarily drink two thirds of his blood?? Do you know how long that would even take?â
Michael rubbed the back of his neck, avoiding my eyes. âWell, I kinda thought youâd yâknow, snap his neck or something now you have super strengthâŚâ
âWhoâs gone off the deep end now?â I rolled my eyes. âIâm not some killing machine. Iâll just dob him in and let him flounder some explanation for how he shoved me at the burglar while we were closing up shop and ran away. Heâs lucky it was a vampire and not some lunatic or Iâd really be dead.â
Vanessa plopped down on a concrete chock block, sipping her bubble tea and settling in for a long conversation. It was wild, I could hear the jelly in the cup squishing together. Michael sat to her side, patting the ground to invite me to complete the triangle. I obliged.
Vanessa started us off. âSo whatâs it like? Being all vampirey now?â
âWell, Iâve got cool powers now. Not the powers of being cool, I already had that.â
It was Michaelâs turn to roll his eyes at me. I elbowed him in the ribs. Gently. Breaking bones had become a real danger. He snorted a laugh, almost shooting red bull up his nose.
âI got these neato glow in the dark eyes. Donât know if you can turn that off. They do the cat slit thing though which is interesting. I can see So much more at night. But I think I need reading glasses now? Canât make out squat near my face in the day.â Â
Shuffling around in the pockets of my oversized 90s jacket, I retrieved a packet of dried wasabi peas and munched away as I talked.
âIâm like, crazy strong. No kidding, I accidentally ripped my favourite jeans on the second day of being a vampire. Just tugged them a liiiittle too hard and bam, ruined pants.â
âHave you got fangs?â Vanessa peered closer at my mouth. It would have been better to ask that before I started eating.
âFangs for the memories, even if they werenât so- nah, Iâm just kidding. I got them.â I bared my teeth at them, poking the lengthened canines with an index finger. âTheyâre sharp as anything. Iâve drunk more of my own blood than anyone elseâs âcause I keep biting my freaking tongue. Reminds me of being little and sucking a candy cane into a shank. Iâm surprised none of us got an impromptu festive tongue piercing off those things.â
âSpeaking of blood⌠Do you need to drink it now?â They both leaned forward, anxious for my answer.
âOi, quit it with the looks. Iâm not going to freaking bite you. Iâm not some mindless animal, Iâm just me. Just Jessie.â
âIs there a difference there?â Michaelâs ribbing was, for once, welcome.
âHardy har. Yes, I mean, technically, I have to consume blood. But, like, the pamphlet seems to say that itâs basically a supplement more than anything so Iâve just gotta eat normal stuff and chuck back a shot or two after.â
âOkay, two things. First, human blood?â
âAgain. Eww. Do you have any idea how many diseases are in human blood? Thereâs a reason we havenât literally eaten the rich yet. To be fair, Iâm somewhat immortal now so I wonât get sick physically, but emotionally? Imagine the toll.â
âSo how do you..?â
âYou know you can just go to the butchers and buy blood right? Itâs like an actual cooking ingredient. It comes in blocks. It tastes like satanâs toe jam but you just gotta chuck it back real quick. Or, Iâm getting a fondness for black pudding. It too tastes like feet but isnât as bad.â
Vanessa took a thoughtful sip of her drink. âOkay. Second thing. Pamphlet?â
âOh yeah, this thing.â I fished it out of my other pocket, passing it to them. The vampire pr committee went to great lengths to make it cute with little cartoon vampires giving advice on this time of change, talking about how your body is changing and the strange things you may feel.
âAww thatâs super cute.â Vanessa pointed to a little vampire on the cover, handing it to Michael when she was finished skimming.
âI know right. Apparently they got tired of the old program where you get bitten and have to have an awkward talk with the weirdo who kinda killed you.â
Michael handed the pamphlet back. âSpeaking of, what was it like living with a vampire for a week?â
I groaned. âOh my god, he was insufferable. At first it was like âI vill show you ze vorld, shining shimmering splendour va ha haâ which was neat but then it got all âIâve turned you into a monster! You will suffer for eternity! Woe is ze life of an immortal. I am so sorry va ha haâ. Which Iâm like, yeah you could have at least asked my name first or waited for my hair to grow out a little instead of sticking me with this too short for the long style, too long for the short style do Iâve gotta rock for the rest of time, but all in all, itâs not the worst that could happen so chill a little maybe?â
âAw, poor guy. He doesnât sound that bad.â Vanessa was much less, judgey, than me. I kinda felt bad for ripping on the man.
âOkay, heâs not terrible, but the lamenting. God, the lamenting. âWoe is me, I have seen so many seasons I can not even remember my age.â Why donât you just get a calculator and subtract this year from your birth year? Then you can know that bit. âOh, but ze isolation! My human friends are long dead and buried!â Thatâs super sucky bro. Why donât you make some new friends and ask if they want to be turned? Or like, go on immortalsingles.com and get a butt touch buddy? With the internet age, itâs a lot easier to connect. âoh but who could love a monster like me? I havenât even seen my face in five hundred years va ha ha.â There is a Whole genre of people online (and in line) for that. And just, update your mirrors. Get a cheap one and it wonât have silver in it and you can see your face again. I kinda think he just enjoys lamenting. If heâd get with the times, things wouldnât be half as unpleasant for him.â
âYouâre not a very empathetic listener, are you.â Thatâs a lot coming from the guy who was going to stone me fifteen minutes ago.
âHey! I hooked him up to the internet and gave him my number. I didnât just leave him.â
âYeah yeah yeah. Whatever you say Jessie.â Michael got up, brushing his jeans off and stretching. Vanessa and I followed suit. One thing remained on my mind. Something I needed to prepare myself for.
âOkay, before we head home, I have one last, very important question.â
They looked at me quizzically.
âHas anyone been looking after my Tamagotchi?â Â
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@snobbysnekboi, @inkovert, @kainablue, @i-rove-rock-n-roll, and @goblin-writer
#Flash Fiction Friday#fff31#writing#writblr#vampires#story#short story#original story#literature#More at my deviantArt SweetCatMint
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Reliving An Old Nightmare - Chapter 13
<= Chapter 12
Summary : Snatcher finally gets some "me-time" and everything goes perfectly well! Also available on AO3 : https://archiveofourown.org/works/22337299/chapters/56310040
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Sorry for posting late, but I promise I had a reason to wait. I'm keeping it secret for now, but believe me, it's worth it ! In the meantime, I had the time to finish two future drawings AND the next chapter (which has been SUPER HARD TO WRITE, UUUGH), so I used my time well !
The two drawings you'll see are mine. Sorry if the second one is only a sketch, I didn't have the inspiration or motivation to finish it. I hope you'll still like it nonetheless !
A big thanks to Krekka01 for the correction on this chapter !
Anyway, I hope everyone is fine and safe. Happy reading !
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Chapter 13
Being human was all about feeling things again, Snatcher knew this very well at this point. However, he has mostly experienced bad sensations, such as pain, discomfort, the strange taste and texture of food in his mouth, and having to go to the toilet again. Compared to this, actual good things seemed much less significant. It was a shame, since the ghost couldnât deny that some experience had been enjoyable with that old body of his: sleeping was enjoyable, just lying down on his bed had been, too. Feeling the wind caressing his face, not feeling cold all the time anymore, being able to feel warm after hundreds of years, smelling food or flowers once again, and experiencing the sense of touch for the first time in centuries. Being human had its pros and cons, even if the cons were more noticeable. Furthermore, the situation he was in didnât let him appreciate those little things since his mind was focused on something very important: leaving this place as soon as possible.
So, when the shade opened the door of the bathroom, he felt like he had just hit his head against an invisible wall made of many scents. All of Snatcherâs senses were sharp and entering a room with so many toiletries, so many soaps or creams. The ghostâs acute sense of smell was instantly attacked by all the perfumes floating around in that cramped space. He squinted, feeling a headache coming by just how strong the scents where.
-âOh, this is going to be awful, isnât itâŚâ he murmured to himself, forcing his legs to move forward. Warmness and humidity floated in the room along with the smells. The bathroom wasnât very big, despite having been made for the royalty. A big bathtub was in front of him, adjacent to the wall, full of steaming water. The bathtub, just like the bathroom itself, had brown and dark green as the main colour scheme. The walls were beautifully textured and, at some places, had a wooden inlay. Just like he remembered.
Snatcher jumped when something moved in the corner of his vision. He almost facepalmed when it turned out to be his own reflection in the bathroom mirror. He stopped for a few seconds, looking at himself: apparently, humans could look even deader than actual ghosts, good to know. His face was pale, and he had dark rings around his eyes. He had slept plenty the night before, though the day had been quite gruelling, both physically and emotionally speaking. The shade ran his hand through his hair as he sighed longly. Yeah, maybe a bath could be good for him, right now. He threw a last glance at his reflection before turning away. He didnât want to undress while facing it. Being inside a human body was already disgusting as it was, he didnât need to see himself naked even more than what he was forced to!
As he turned away, he noticed a pile of clean and elegant clothes on a small table near the sink. They were carefully folded, probably by Simeon. The thought made him anxious again. He didnât know why, however, he couldnât help but have a very bad feeling about the âbutlerâ. What he had just seen earlier was quite revealing on the dangerous nature of this new opponent: the latter had been able to scare Vanessa so easily, and Snatcher was sure that it wasnât an empty threat. Whoever was that guy, he was powerful enough to threaten Vanessa and powerful enough to create a whole dimension himself. This was quite discouraging, to say the least. In this body, Snatcher clearly had no chance.
The ghost shook his head. He needed to think about a plan, not about how risky his situation was. Plus, he hated to think about it, but⌠he couldnât forget the fact that he wasnât alone: the kid was still on her spaceship. She was safer there than where he was, so, for now, the ghost only had to worry about himself.
Turning his back to the mirror, he started to undress. In the right pocket of his pants was the remote given by the hat-wearing brat. It was a bright yellow device with a huge red button in its centre. According to her, if he ever needed to flee or to come onto her spaceship, he would only need to press the button, and it would teleport him to her living room. Snatcher didnât need to use it right now; however, this was a device he absolutely couldnât allow himself to lose. He hid it in his used pile of clothes while reminding himself that he would have to take the remote with him before giving said clothes to the servants.
He put the pile on the ground and faced a shelf on which were stocked several soaps, shower gels, shampoos and creams. The ghost frowned, as he tried to remember which was which. Some were missing any label to tell the shade what was what, and he ended up using his memory to pick the good products. He wasnât really sure but, hey, smelling good was the most important part, right? Plus, itâs not like he would be using this poor excuse of a body more than a few days, so having a wash was just a formality at this point.
He put the products on one of the edges of the bathtub and, slowly and cautiously, entered the bath, starting with the left leg. The instant the warm water touched his skin, Snatcher couldnât help but get his leg out quickly. The hot temperature associated with his acute sense of touch⌠it was almost too much.
The ghost hesitated. Should he wait for the water to cool down? The idea of taking a cold bath didnât tempt him very much, even less than a warm bath. After a few seconds debating with himself, Snatcher rolled his eyes: he had seen much worse than hot water! He was a ghost who had killed many people, for Godâs sake!
Still unsure, the shade tried entering the bath again. The hardest part was to ignore his brain screaming at him to get out. The water wasnât burning, the problem was completely different: Snatcher had forgotten what water felt around his skin, and the new sensation made him extremely uneasy. Plus, the pain in his legs was still there. However, he managed to stay calm and let his body sink under the water, slowly. He gradually let his muscles relax one after the other. With time, he was soon lying down in the bathtub, his head on the headrest behind him.
âNow what?â he wondered, ill-at-ease. He knew what he had to do in theory, yes, but actually doing it was quite⌠awkward. Not only was he terribly uncomfortable at the idea of touching his own body meticulously, but the action felt so foreign to him as well. Even if he was able to stand up or move his arms without too much difficulty, doing precise gestures was⌠a little more complicated.
Snatcher carefully took one of the bottles of shower gels and poured some on his other hand, clumsily. A small portion of it fell in the water and the ghost sighed, irritated by his own heavy-handedness. He absolutely couldnât wait to be back in his spectral form! At least, this one was easy to move around.
Washing himself after so many years without doing so was definitely an experience to Snatcher. His movements were gauche, and he almost let the shampoo bottle fall in the water. Other than that, the feeling of warmness around him was⌠not bad, if he had to be completely honest. Yes, it had made him uneasy at first, but now that several minutes had passed, the shade felt truly relaxed for the first time in days.
He rinsed his head and skin underwater, and eventually settled in the bathtub, letting his mind wandering around. The first thought that came to him was the âSimeonâ problem. The shade had absolutely no idea about who that guy could be. But what was even harder to figure out was the strangerâs motives. What did he want? In what way could all of this benefit him at all? Snatcher didnât know. He felt like there was some missing piece in his mind, and that he wouldnât be able to understand anything without it.
The ghost was getting nowhere; he didnât have enough information to try and guess who that âSimeonâ could be. Though, he was certain of one thing: âSimeonâ was only a disguise. There was no way the real Simeon could have helped Vanessa build this dimension, as the butler was dead in the present. So⌠it was only a mask, used to fool him and possibly Vanessa. From what he had heard before, he couldnât be completely sure if she was aware of the strangerâs disguise or not. However, it was probable, as she wouldnât have been scared of her own butler otherwise.
Snatcher let his head sink underwater as his mind was trying to come up with hypothesises, in vain. Maybe the kid would know more about what was going on? He supposed that she probably looked up for clues as well, along with fixing her spaceship.
When the ghost felt the need to breathe again, he got his head out of the water and sat down in the bathtub. How long had he been in the bathroom? There was no clock in the room, so there was no real way to know. However, judging from the wrinkles on the tip of his fingers, long enough to get out now.
Grabbing one of the nearby towels, the shade stood up and started wiping his wet body. The action was uncomfortable; not only getting out of the warm water made him feel cold suddenly, but the towel wasnât really soft and scratched his skin. He quickly dried the rest of his body, wanting nothing more than for it to be over with.
The shade then grabbed the clean clothes and put them on, not without the usual clumsiness associated with his human body. He was now wearing an elegant dark purple shirt, decorated with golden embroidery on the collar. The shoulder pads were golden as well, from which were sewed many strings in the same colour. A long and graceful yellow cape came with it, and Snatcher put it on as well. He was also wearing dark brown skin-tight pants and black and golden boots.
Once fully dressed, the shade made sure to take the remote from his old clothes, this time hiding it in his left boot, against his calf. It was not a pleasant sensation, but it was the best hiding spot with this kind of apparel. He just hoped he wouldnât press on the button by accident.
He came back to the mirror to do his head, and couldnât help but be surprised at how much a bath could do to his face. He still looked tired, but at least it was less obvious. He looked so much better- less pale now. He supposed he really did need this bath, after all. And, even if he didnât like to admit anything relatively positive on his human body, he couldnât deny the fact that he was more handsome than usual, which was⌠a good thing? He didnât know what to think of it, and most of his emotions were mixed feelings: pride, and irritation. In the end, it was hard for him to really think of this body as his. Sure, he recognized his reflection! But the whole situation was extremely weird and uncomfortable for him.
He was about to look away when, suddenly, the surface of the mirror turned completely black. It happened in a blink, and it instantly caught back Snatcherâs attention on it. The ghostâs knitted his brows, examining the surface with caution. What was that? The kid had never talked about that kind of thing!
The shade lifted his hand and, with hesitation, slowly put a finger against the cold surface. He was almost surprised to see that nothing seemed very much different, apart from the sudden non-reflective nature of the mirror. It didnât reflect anything, as if someone had painted it black entirely. The texture was yet just as smooth as before, which was strange.
Snatcher stepped back, trying to find any explanation regarding that weird phenomenon. Yet, everything looked just as normal. Or, well, almost everything. When his eyes fell on the bath, still full of water, he noticed something very peculiar: the foam of the shower gel was not above the water like it should have been, floating on the surface. Instead, it was floating underneath the water level. This sight made the ghost pause, as if his brain was trying to decode something which was wrong in the first place... as if he was trying to explain an optical illusion. He simply couldnât. All he knew was that it wasnât supposed to happen.
-âWhat theâŚ?â He turned around, trying to find new evidence of weirdness in his surroundings. Something else felt wrong, but, at first, nothing looked out of the ordinary. It took him a while to figure out what was bothering him, and yet it was so obvious: his shadow on the ground didnât correspond to his human one. It was his spectral one, which had no legs.
The realization made him lose his balance, and he had to hold onto the sink not to fall down. What was happening? Was the rift already collapsing? The kid had told him they had several days left, not a few hours!
Snatcherâs breathing quickened, just like his heartbeat, while he looked all around himself, trying to look for any sign of danger. His eyes moved and examined every suspicious object. However, a few seconds passed without anything new happening. The ghost waited for a bit, trying to find anything unusual. He blinked and looked around, only to realize that things went back to normal.
Snatcher didnât know how to react. His first reaction was to check on his shadow, in order to see if it was still his spectral one. It wasnât anymore. Just the regular human one with legs. Behind him, the mirror was back to its previous state, showing the reflection of the room just like his.
The spirit looked just like he had seen a ghost. The thought made him laugh grudgingly as he ran his hand through his hair. It took him a moment to calm down. Okay. So the rift was doing unexpected things, just like the white cracks he had seen the day before, though these were apparently the bratâs doing. Was what just happened caused by the kidâs actions, too? He really hoped so, as the contrary could only mean one thing: the dimension was collapsing much quicker than what they had anticipated, and, in that case, they really needed to leave right now. The guy associated with Vanessa seemed to want him to stay there, though. Was he aware of the instability of the rift? If so, what was he trying to do? There were many faster ways to permanently make a ghost disappear! So why bother with a plot like this? It didnât make any sense, but that wasnât really new to Snatcher. Nothing made sense in that dimension.
He had to find that Time Piece and bring it to the hat-wearing child.
Once he got his breathing under control again, he straightened up, looking at his reflection once more. Well, at least he looked more presentable now. His surroundings seemed to stay normal. Maybe it was just a false alarm? He hated to say it... even think about it, but⌠the ghost couldnât help but wish for the kid to reassure him, as she was the only person able to explain what was going on to him. He quickly pushed away that thought from his mind. Ha, good one, him wishing the child was there with him, pshhh. Damn human brain and human thoughts.
After a few minutes, the shade shook his head and pulled himself together. Now was not the time; he had things to do, especially that doctor appointment in his room. The sooner he would be able to walk without wincing, the better! And, in the middle of the night, he would try and look for the Time Piece in the manor.
He opened the bathroom door and left the room. He definitely had a lot in his plate.
The spirit walked back to his bedroom and, just to be sure, stick his ear on the door. However, no voices could be heard. He took a deep breath and opened the door.
A man was standing near the windows, looking at the outside with interest. He seemed to be in his late forties and had salt-and-pepper hair. He was wearing a long black coat and was holding a leather satchel. Said man turned towards Snatcher as he heard the door opening behind him.
-âOh, Prince Alistel!â exclaimed the man, bowing with respect before continuing. âExcuse me for the intrusion. My name is Walter Gyfford. Iâm the doctor you asked for.â
Snatcher suddenly realized he had a role to play and put a fake smile on his lips as he entered the room, closing the door behind him. He stepped forward to meet the doctor:
-âOh, of course!â the shade replied with an insincere joy. He then pointed at himself. âHum, do I need to undress?â What was the use of letting him new clothes if he had to take them off a few minutes later? The man smiled and shook his head as he let out a small laugh.
-âNo, no, you donât have to, I can heal your legs through your clothes.â The doctor then pointed to the  bed with his hand. âPlease sit on the bed, if thatâs alright with you, your majesty.â
Snatcher hated those names. He had nothing to do with royalty anymore, and really didnât want to, anyway. Yet, he said nothing and kept his polite expression on his face, reluctantly sitting down on the mattress. He carefully took his boots off, doing his best not to press the button on the remote still hidden in his shoes. Snatcher had to stop himself from letting out a sigh of relief as he put the shoes aside.
The doctor kneeled in front of him, opening his satchel and taking out very different items, such as plants and crystals. It took him a while for him to settle everything down as he wanted, but eventually rose his head to meet Snatcherâs stare.
-âIâm sorry, it might hurt a bit, since itâs a serious injury. Tell me when youâre ready.â
Snatcher couldnât help but laugh at the doctorâs attempt to reassure him. He had been left to die in a cellar! What could be more painful than that? No matter how painful something could be, he could take it at this point!
-âDonât worry about me, Iâm ready,â he flippantly replied, shaking his head, this time with a sincere smile painted on his lips. The doctor seemed hesitant at his answer, but simply nodded as he began to use his magic.
Snatcher didnât think it would be that painful. Maybe it only lasted a few minutes, but it lasted far, far more to the ghost. Healing magic wasnât so painful usually, though his situation wasnât really usual in itself. He could feel things moving in his legs as the doctor was trying to fix what was broken or just injured in general. Staying motionless was extremely hard, and he had to stop his body from crying from how intense it was for him. It was utterly humiliating. The pain was so strong and made him want nothing more than just rip the guyâs throat open. Fortunately for the latter, the pain started to fade the moment Snatcher seriously considered that option.
The doctor stepped back, his forehead sweating. His face clearly showed how uncomfortable he was at the moment.
-âAre you alright, my Prince?â asked the doctor, continuing in a more reassuring tone. âItâs over now. It wonât hurt anymore.â
Snatcher felt like he was being spoken to like a child, and he loathed that. Though he had to push his pride aside to stay in character. God, he hated having to act like the dumb prince he used to be.
-âThank you,â he still managed to say, gritting his teeth to gulp down all the threats that might come out of his mouth. He wanted to kill that man so bad now. Luckily for the doctor, Snatcher was in no condition to do so, especially since he also needed to keep a low profile. But that didnât prevent him from imagining himself doing so. It was deeply enjoyable.
Well, at least, his legs felt good for once, so he supposed that it was worth it. The doctor eventually stood up and bowed once again to him.
-âIâm sorry it was painful. Make sure to limit the physical efforts, and youâll be perfectly fine!â
The spirit simply replied by a nod, as the doctor turned towards the door. No physical efforts? Well, this was going to be difficult with what he had in mind for the night, but he obviously kept that part for himself.
Just as the doctor was about to leave, he turned to Snatcher and spoke once again:
-âOh, I almost forgot!â he said, raising his eyebrows as he continued. âYour butler tasked me to tell you that dinner will be ready soon.â
Snatcherâs heart sank in his chest as he suddenly realized that having his legs healed meant that he would have to eat outside of his bedroom. In the dining room. With Vanessa.
This day was never going to end, was it?
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_Â
Sorry if this chapter was a little calm compared to the others, but it was needed for the story. The next chapter is going to be wild, don't worry :) I hope you still liked that chapter despite the lack of action !
As for when the next chapter will come out... It'll depend on the surprise, so if I'm not posting as fast as usual, please assume that I'm working on the fanfic in the meantime and/or on another AHIT fanfiction that I may or may not currently write. We'll see :)
And if you want to support me in the meantime, you can watch an ad on Utip. Thank you!
Please stay safe everyone !
=> Chapter 14
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Tiny Haven Gazette #3
In which I drop the gazette format because it takes an ungodly amount of time and nobody cares. đ
My house gets a first floor, and coincidentally, my storage doubles, which is a relief. That should free me from spending 30mn every day desperately trying to figure out what to part with for at least a month.

So much space!
And now that itâs been upgraded, I get more customization options and can change the outside of my house!

¨đŚÂ¨
By sheer dumb luck, I finally figure out how to get money trees!!!! I canât believe it took me so long (although Iâm very happy I never looked the answer up online). I should have known there was something up with the glowing golden hole that appeared whenever you dug up some money, that thing was clearly magic!

My pockets were full, so I had no choice but to bury back the money bag Iâd just dug out, and this happened. Honestly considering how often I walk around with full pockets Iâm astounded this didnât happen sooner.

So now I have a little money tree orchard. Next experience: does the money tree give you MORE money if you plant a bigger money bag? Tried it this morning, will get an answer in a few days.
¨đŚÂ¨
Raiiiiinbow!

Thatâs it. Thereâs no story to go with it, but itâs the first rainbow Iâve seen in the game!
¨đŚÂ¨
I canât stop thinking about that sweet little cow I saw on @astorytotellyourfriendsââ âs island last week, so I decide to build the last house in the hopes of finding her on an island and inviting her over.Â
In the process, I realize I could have built myself a beach house all along.

Damnit!
To my horror, however, the very next morning, the house has been sold to a stranger!
Thankfully, my new neighbour, while not being Norma, is just as sweet.

I covet her living room SO BADLY. And also I kinda wanna eat her. Why would you design a rhinoceros to look like a cake?! She must get nightmares where people run after her, trying to bite off her strawberry horn.
¨đŚÂ¨
Shortly after, and as a result of me ignoring him completely for a few days, Phebus FINALLY decides to leave the island.

I actually took a chance when I decided to talk to him, considering thatâs the way he always looks.

âGood luck with the neighbours, their stories and their problems... youâre going to need a good dose of patience!â
That shouldnât be a problem because, unlike you, I actually like people!
And because I like people, of course, jokeâs on me, because I feel super sad to see him leave. đ
¨đŚÂ¨
Following his departure, I start buying mystery island tickets like a crazy person, hoping to bump into Norma, but so far, no luck.

Why did I meet so many chickens?!
Itâs the second day Phebusâs old house is on sale and Iâm sure itâll get sold to a random NPC any second now. The stress is intense!
¨đŚÂ¨Â
I donât know whatâs up with them but everyone on the island keeps asking me if they should change their catchphrases! After the tenth time, I finally give in with Lili, assuming sheâll just come up with a new one on her own, but then am faced with a horrible screen that is asking ME to come up with something on the spot!

Have I mentioned how much I love it when she makes that face?

It took me ten minutes and some internet research to come up with this. This is too big of a responsibility!!

At least she was happy about it.
Iâve gone back to refusing to help the others, though. At least not until I can come up with proper catchphrases for them!
¨đŚÂ¨
For the very first time, I get asked to play postman for my villagers. See, Nacerâs been bonding with Kali (no wonder, since theyâre both jocks), but he was too shy to give him a present himself.

âKali has helped me so much, I picked up a present for him. But Iâm too shy to give it to him myself...â
Feeling like cupid, I hurry to Kaliâs house. đźđšđ

âA frog costume! Oh la la!â
I have to admit that wasnât the kind of gift Iâd been expecting considering how much they both love sports, but ok!

âDid Kali say something about the gift?â
That was super cute, I hope Iâll get more requests like it!
¨đŚÂ¨
In the span of one week I must have learnt about 20 new mimics, which, honestly, I find baffling. Most of them are just sliiiiight variations, itâs ridiculous. In the game I used to work on we ended up with about 50 expressions per character, but that was because they needed to express a wide range of emotions in very subtle ways. You donât need that for cute island critters, especially when emoting is such a slow process in the first place!
¨đŚÂ¨
Justine visits again one night, which gets everyone on the island talking.

âSince we have a visitor, Iâve baked some cakes. I hope sheâll like them...â

âI absolutely MUST tell her âhiâ before she leaves!â

âNo, donât mind me, youâve got a visitor! Focus on being a good hostess!â
I like their reactions so much I spend more time speaking with my islanders than my visitors whenever I have one, haha.
Also, I love the smoke trails in the sky whenever a plane leaves. That small connection to a bigger world is very comforting.

¨đŚÂ¨Â
Abraham, true to himself, is adorable.

âGood evening, sweets! Grum grom grom... My tummy also says good evening!â
đĽ°
Later we play to a little game with freakishly accurate results.

âLetâs play! Tell me your favourite color, and I will tell you what food you are.â

âYou chose orange, which means youâre easy to live with, but you can also sometimes feel lonely.â
In the end, he said I was an onion. Layers, yâsee.
¨đŚÂ¨
I also finally figure out how to eavesdrop on peopleâs conversations, and get treated to many a story.

Lili : I just read my horoscope... Youâre not gonna believe it! Itâs sick!
Phebus : What am I supposed to not believe, exactly? The horoscope, or the fact that you managed to read it through? You know what, just tell me what it said, letâs get this over with.
Lili : Listen to this... âYour travels will bring good surprises.â Isnât that sick?! Especially for me, because I love good surprises!
Phebus : Um... I guess? I mean, I donât know. How did that make you sick? Iâm confused.
Lili : Nah, just wait! After that, I went shopping, and it was the spring sales! Get that, I got a sweet little dress on sale! I was so happy I thought I was going to pass out!
Phebus : What?! Donât kid with that! Dâyou need me to call for help?
Lili (totally ignoring him) : So anyway I put on my new dress and went for a walk. And thatâs when it started raining big time, and I got drenched... Why didnât my horoscope warn me about that?!
Phebus : I donât know... have you tried reading the weather column instead?
¨đŚÂ¨Â
I catch Vanessa and MaĂŤlle talking about a movie they both watched... except they both remember it very differently...

MaĂŤlle : Oh, Vanessa, thanks for lending me that movie, I loved it! The costumes were gorgeous... I want the leading ladyâs straw hat!
Vanessa : And that chase in hydro planes! Pfiiiiiiiouuu, ppfffz, ka-BOUM! That was awesome sauce!
MaĂŤlle : And that dress with golden trimmings that she wears at the picnic... that was fine art!
Vanessa : And what about the fight against the giant robot? When he punches a hole in the planet? Whazaam!
MaĂŤlle : Yes! He really stole the scene with his diamond plates... It must have cost a fortune! ... ... Wait, did you say he punched a hole in a planet? Was that before or after the ball?
đ
¨đŚÂ¨
Later, I find the same two talking about MaĂŤlleâs insect infestation problem (probably caused by all the sweets she keeps in her house, just saying). When she asks me what I would do, I tell her Iâd just move out, which gets me a VERY judgmental look from Vanessa.

âHow do you manage to get rid of them?â
Vanessaâs solution, in the end, is for MaĂŤlle to sell her house to âan insect-loving weirdoâ. I wish I knew if that was a dig at Abraham or if itâs just a coincidence.

âBah, that canât be impossible. You just need a real weirdo who thinks insects arenât so bad!â
¨đŚÂ¨
Lili and Raymond get into a big argument about Liliâs cooking skills...

Raymond : By the way, Lili, I havenât thanked you for lunch the other day! It was very good!
Lili :Â âVery goodâ? Seriously, donât you have something even more corny? Nobody says that anymore! Donât you mean it was delicious? Or maybe extremely refined? Or maybe super exquisite?
Raymond : Oh! Youâre right, Iâm sorry. Um, it was... delectable... succulent... A concentrate of sheer deliciousness!
Lili : And?
Raymond : And... every bite sent my taste buds into a transcendental ecstasy?
Lili : Oh! Is that a question or a statement, Raymond?
Raymond : A statement, of course! Pff... All that to describe a stupid sole meunière...
Lili : Donât tell me youâve just called my sole meunière, my motherâs own recipe!, âstupidâ?!
Iâm still amazed that they parted in good terms, I thought for sure Lili would keep on fuming
¨đŚÂ¨
After trying to get my first residents to spruce up their apartments, with mitigating results...

I mean, the ball, jars and punching sack are all gifts of mine, so thatâs cool heâs got them all out at the same time, but thatâs still a sad little barren house.
I finally look it up online and discover their houses are actually not supposed to be like this at all! Turns out poor Nacer, Vanessa, Abraham, RenĂŠe and Lili are all stuck with generic houses because they got to my island too soon!
This is what RenĂŠeâs house should look like!Â

So Iâve decided to try and gift them all their true housesâ furniture, little by little. I know they canât change their wallpapers or floors, but hopefully if I get them the right couches, beds, etc, theyâll display them all. đ¤
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A burning soul (MC, Snatcher, Vanessa fic)
âWarning : Mention of blood, pain, torture, violence, hurting feelings of love, painful past, a very angry noodle and an ice bi*ch. I warned you !
âSnowing ?! At this state of year ?! But we are not even in winter !â You thought at watching the news in your TV
Itâs the evening and like every days you have regain your spaceship after passing a day on the planet. Itâs the autumn so you are not very surprised that temperature are more and more colder. But at the point of snowingâŚYes you are very happy to see the snow but the air of this part of the planet is much hoter than in the Arctic.
âPerhaps it is the consequence of climate change. I mean that maybe that temperature raise in this planet too. I hope that this planet is not going to change as a big desertâ You say sarcastically to yourself. But that thought brings back painful memories about your past. You shake your head to not think about that and you switch off your TV to sleep on your bed.
âââââââââââââââââââââ
Meanwhile in a certain ice castleâŚ
âWHAT? SHE AGAIN PASS THE DAY WITH MY PRINCE?â Yells a feminine voice in the shadow
Even if the ice statues are headless, they donât like how their queen scream. Even if they canât see her head they can feel her expression. The expression of surprise, anger, rage and disgust. And they know what is the cause. This human-alien who land on their planet some months ago had build a very strong relationship with what would have become their king if this accident did not arrive. Now that this person is very close to her prince, the queen is so jalous. She hate her, she want to murder her.
âBut maybe if we make her disappear, MY prince will be mine.â She says thinking âHeadless statues, I know your power of destruction is explosive like a dynamite. But pay attention to my words! Itâs clear that you are not lights but we are talking of queens and even you can think about this. So prepared of the chance of your life, be prepared sensational news !!! A shining new path open in front of usâŚ
ââŚAnd what we have to doâŚ?â Asks one of the statues
âJust donât cut your queen. I know it sound morbid but youâll be rewarded and become my minions! Do what I tell ! BE PREPARED !!!â
âS-sorry to cut your speech majesty, b-but they love each oth-â Starts an headless statue. But with a movement the icy-queen destroyed him.
âFool! I know thatâ Says the queen with a disgusting voice âBut she is not immortal like us. My statue, today is the day that start our freedom ! Stick with me and youâll never going to be banish again of this kingdom!â And with this fact the headlesses statues jump of happiness and say âLong life the queen!â in harmony.Â
âBut at one condition. Capture this human alive, BUT NOT DEAD !!! I deserve her a nice treatment for her. She will remember my face even in the death. No one take the prince of the queen Vanessaâ Says the icy-queen before laughing cruelly.
âââââââââââââââ
You wake up earlier today. You thought that it would be nice to see Subcon Forest covered up by the snow. So you dress up warmly because you donât want to catch a cold like the other day. And you set you teleport destination to Subcon Forest.
Arrived at Subcon Forest you feel something different in the atmosphere. Subcon is always a quiet place good for the rest of the dead people that are buried in all the forest. But it is too quiet. Normally some minions are walking through the forest and spirits are flying. But you see none of them. And the snow start to be a snowstorm. You decide to go in the house of Snatcher to protect yourself.
In front of the house you knock at the hardwood which serves as a wall.Â
âSnatcher?â You ask, waiting for an answer. âAnd you are not there. Geez, whatâs happen here?â You ask yourself while you enter the house. Your friend is not there and his minions are not guarding the forest. âMaybe he is at the village or with Moon.â You think.
So you go outside. The snowstorm calmed down but you cannot see very well because of the cold. You walk in direction of the village despite of the road that is cover by the snow.
But before you can arrive at the village you see something at your right⌠or seemed to have seen something. Indeed with the snow that covered the ground and trees, itâs difficult to recognize something. But you are certain that you have seen a shadow.Â
âSnatcher? Is that you?â You ask immediatly. But no one answer.Â
âCome on! I know itâs you! And itâs not Halloween so you have not reason to scare me!â
No answer
âDonât be stupid with me! Iâm here since five months and I know you!â
No answer. Just silence and the wind.
âSnatcher?â You say, starting to shaking. You start to walk on the direction of where you seem to have seen your friend. But you see what it is and itâs not your friend. Instead of, you see something else. Two humanoid creature are in front of you but they seem to not have seen you. Your reaction is to hind behind a tree and to watch what they do. Wait?âŚ. Is that a Subconite laying on the ground ?Â
âWhat we have to do with this living soul?â Asks one of the humanoid to the other
âBring him back to the queen and find others insurgents. And if you see the human catch herâ Says the other
The humanoids monsters go on opposite direction. When you certain that they are far enough, you get out of our hiding place. What was these things? And why one of them as a Subconite. Suddenly you have a revelation. Perhaps they are ennemies of the Subcon Forest and they bring a Subconite for torturing him !!! You yell but you think that if they hear you they can make the same thing to you. You have to find Snatcher and quickly. But you canât let this poor Subconite with us. And donât know where THE HELL is Snatcher.Â
So you make the choice to follow the humanoid who have the unconsious minion. You follow him, paying attention that you donât make ANY noise. You hide sometimes behind the trees when the humanoid turns around. Fortunaly, you were the one the most quiet in your colony when you hunted for surviving in your former planet.
After following the humanoid thing for what you seem an hour, you arrived at a big old mansion covered by ice. Here, the snow is more heavier, like a snowstorm. But you keep your goal. When the forest end to an cleairing you think that is safest to wait behind a tree. The humanoid go inside the house and you follow him.
âââââââââââââ
You slowly open the door. You watch if they have no danger and you go inside. You walk carefully in the woody-corridor. Painting are hanging on the wall and a elegant red carpet is on the floor. The one who live here have a wonderful taste for luxury objects. You watch from the opening doors if there have the minion.Â
Suddenly you hear some noise at the first floor. You go upstrairs, walking slowly and carefully and hid at one of room. It is a nice bedroom with a big bed and others furnitures that can make think of a room for a woman. A diary is on one of the tables. You open it at the middle and start to read.
   âWhy? What have done wrong? In his letter he talks about her. A âtutorâ
   He say he loves me. But SHE see him. I get letters and SHE get his time
   He is MINE. Once his studies are finished I will have him backâ
âWhat the hell?â You ask to yourselfÂ
The other pages talk about a âprincessâ that wait for his prince. But at what it is write you think that the princess is like possessive with her prince. You think instantly at a bad fairy tale.Â
You hear again some noises but now closer. You watch where you can hide. A wardrobe is your choice and fortunally it is empty so you can go inside. Two humanoids enter the room. They are like earlier but you can see a detail that you donât pay attention before. They are both headless. One of them try to immobilize a Subconite. And you cannot let the minion fight two headless things.Â
So you jump of your hidding spot. Earlier you saw two spears hanging on the wall. Even if it is a decoration you grab one of them. And even if you havenât fight for years with a spear you try to hurt the headless. Key word is try. Indeed, they are like stone statues or ice⌠Ice headless statues. Even you donât hurt them you succeed of to draw the attention and the Subconite is now free.
âFLEE!â You yell at him. With reluctance the minion ran away.
You fight with your spear and you paying attention to the door of the other room which is open. An idea come to your mind. With your spear you protect yourself and at the ideal moment you give at one of the headless a violent kick. The headless fall with his companion behind him and you shut the door. You move the wardrobe in front of the door. You succeed of trapping the headless on another room.
âHeadless! Itâs more brainless!â You tell
âIndeed. Iâm agree with youâ Says a feminine voice behind you.
âOh NO!â You think. You turn around to be face to a shadow. âOh peckâ You say.
âI am very surprise that you come here without hurting you! But you cannot stay here safe, MCâ Says the shadow
âWhat the f-⌠You know my name?â You ask holding your spear and ready to fight.
âI know you. And you know me.â And before you can say no she tells âIâm HERâ.
âHER? ⌠Wait you are the rival of Snatcher itâs rightâ You ask. But behind you the headless are breaking the door. You are surround by enemies now.
âYes and no. Iâm his ⌠Killer? It is like that you call this type of person?â You think at something. She as a crown in her head. She is the âprincessâ of the book? Right?
âYou are a princess?â You ask, keeping her in front of you.Â
âI was a princess. Your shadow friend was my princeâ At this though you gasp âWe were happy before he let me here for his studies. I waited him for years. For so long years-â She grabs a glass and and throw it at you. You protect yourself but you feel cold on your hands. Your spear start to be heavier and turn to a ice spear. You drop it. Now you are in front of a wall and you are ready for fleeing.Â
âWhen he comes back I was so happy⌠But. I saw him. He was with a girl. He was holding HER hands. I ran away.â She walks at your direction. âWhen he go to my castle he try to convince me but I ordered my guard to bring him to the jailâ She is now in front of you. You shake like a leaf for the fear and for the cold. Indeed, even if you have warm clothes, you are cold.
Suddenly she grabs you to the neck, strangle you with so much power. âYou are a beautiful lady. Perhaps on another life we will be friends but. I . AM . THE . ONLY . QUEEN . HERE .âShe yells at you. You try to breathe but you canât.
Suddenly a big blue fireball breaks the window, making melt one of the living statue. Surprised, the queen throws you. Strings that come to the door fly to the other statue, wrap the headless like a cocoon. The headless break up with a detonation noise.Â
You are lying on the floor and try to stand up. Two hand that you know grab you and help you to stand up. You raise your head to be face to Moonjumper.
âMoonâŚâ You say with no voice. The corpse ran away in the house with you in one off his arm. âWhat you do?â You ask now with your voice.Â
âI keeping you safeâ He says quietly.
But you donât think the same way. You succeed of being free. You run to the bedroom, grabing the other spear that is laying on the floor. You think at one thing : help Snatcher with this demon. Moonjumper try to grab you but he lost track of you.Â
When you enter the room you look at ruins. The bedroom is totally destroyed. The bed is now laying on the floor with the ice shards of the headless statues. Wood furnitures are now burn and the two shadows are looking to the other like deadly carnivorous animals.
âMy prince~~~!â Says Vanessa
âDonât approach me !!!â Says Snatcher, hissing like a dangerous snake
But the two are tired and you can fell it. Vanessa run in the direction of Snatcher with her clawed hands. You know that he cannot dodge this. So you go in front of him making a shield with your body.
âMC !!!â He yells but too late
You fall on your knees. You let your spear fall. You touch your stomach. A warm red liquid sink of your clothes. Blood, she have hurt you.Â
Snatcher looks at you, then look at Vanessa âWhat did you do?â He asks to her âYou. Have. Hurting. My. Wifeâ he says before jump on her, making everything to kill her.Â
âMy prince! Stop this! I have to kill her for you!â She yells at him trying to breack free. And she succeed. She ran to one of the wall. âI am your wife! Your queen! But if you donât hear me so die for a second time!â She yells at him
âNO!â You scream. And with a invisible power you stand up. Your spear that was ice is now make of fire. Like a zombie you walk to the dead queen. âNO ONE KILL MY HUSBANDâ You say with a shaking voice. You turn to yourself, hurting her so badly. You kicking her with your spear, backing her to the bathroom. When she is in front of the door, Snatcher opens it and you kick her to the room. Then Snatcher closes it more violently than you with the headless. He locks the door with some incantation. When the fight is done Snatcher breath heavenly.
âGod!â He whisper. âWhat a day.â
But your invisible power that keep you stand up leave your body and you fall again on your knees.
âWhat?! MC STAY WITH ME!!!â He yells and grabing you in his arm. You touch again your bloody stomach and now you can feel the pain. Moonjumper who was in some part of the manor finds you and your friend.
Then you donât remember the rest of the day. You fall unconscious but your eyes are opening. You watch with no reaction your friend carry you to the house.
ââââââââââââ-
You slowly return to the consciousness. You are laying on a cushion. And you can see Snatcher reading a book.Â
âSnatcherâŚâ You slowly whisper
Like an electro-shock Snatcher jump of his chair and float to you very quickly.
âMC? MC YOU CAN SEE ME?â He asks very conscerned by you. He grabs you but your stomach is hurting.
âOuch! You silly! I can see you!â You yell at him.
âOh excuse me! You were unconcious before. Donât make such things again.â He tells to you
âSuch things like what?â You ask slowly trying to sit on your cushion.
âSuch things like become a super fighter and be a shield-body with no warning.â He says frowing at you.
âWhat your are saying?â Then you remember what you done earlier. The Subconite kidnapping, the headless, Vanessa and the fight, it was not a dream.
âI am very impressed by you of your surviving but the next time donât go to the dangerâ He says.
âBut it was for keeping you safeâŚâ You start.
âENOUGHâ He yells.
âButâŚâ You try.
âDONâTâ He lays you on his body.
âButâŚâ You whisper.
âTALKâ He grabs his book to continue his reading
âUmfâŚâ You whisper grabing his fluff
On Snatcherâs book it is writing :
 âFire souls
 A very rare soul that can survive of the spell of the ice soul. A strong fire soul   can destroy an ice soul with one shot. A very rare portion of the people who    have a fire soul can become strong fighters near the death. But, causing of  the immense power that is require for this, the people who have become the    fighter become unconscious after this fact. It is primordial of a fire soul people   to regain strengh after such a fight.â
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Riverdale 3.12 Thoughts *Spoilers*
- YAS TOM AND SIERRA â¤ď¸â¤ď¸â¤ď¸ Also Josie and Kevin are sibling excellence
- Ew Mooseâs dad. âIâll check my calendar, Sierraâ that bitch is so not doing it lmaoooo
- Choni. this is the greatest scene bye. Oh right I forgot about the SATâs bc they didnât go.
- TONIâS SCORE WAS FLAWLESS?! OMFG
- Veggie â¤ď¸â¤ď¸ I hate how after all of Veronicaâs attempts sheâs STILL being sucked into the fucking criminal life!
- Mevin. Wow. Theyâre fucking going AT IT and I am actually kinda here for it? Like??? FUCK.
-Â âTold you they ere in here, sir.â what a fucking tattle tale bitch
- SWOSIE. OH YM GOD GTHEYâVE HAD FLINGS. HIS SMILE. IâM FUCKINGâ HE FUCKING LIKES HER IâMâAW SWEET PEAÂ âIâm not built that way, maybe that makes me needyâ BITCH BITCH BITCH BITCH BITCH BITCH BITCH HE IS SUCH A FUCKING SOFTIE IâM SOâHE DESERVES SO MUCH IâM SO!!! UNFOLLOW ME RIGHT NOW THIS IS ALL IâM GOING TO TALK ABOUT FOR THE NEXT YEAR (Also did we just see his fucking trailer? Because I need to see more of it please and thanks. Also please tell me he has a sweet grandmother named Lily because then my fanfic will come to life and I will legit burst into tears)
- Wow Penelope is really trying to stop Cheryl from going to school huh
- MCKELLER AHHHHHHHHHHHHH HOW CUTEEEEEEEEEEEEE WE LOVE THEM SO MUCHHHHH. Ugh this ascension night and gargoyle king shit is so annoying
- CHERYL AND KEVIN FRIENDSHIP LETâS FINALLY HAVE WHAT WE DESERVE!!! Wait I thought all of the mains know about Mevin lmao this is why we need basically every episode like this. LOL Bumble is the Grindr of Riverdale. KEVIN MOOSE NOT COMING OUT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU BBY. Oh no donât nudge him to come out donât force him thatâs so bad!
- CHERYL OFFICIALLY CALLED HERSELF A LESBIAN BITCHHHHHH AND TONI LISTENING SO CUTELY. Oh no⌠she basically just outed Moose is this why her and Toni fight??? /.\ I feel so bad for Moose thought theyâre like backing him into a corner!!!
-Â âTHATâS WHY THE SERPENTS WERE SO IMPORTANT TO ME, THEY WERE LIKE MY NON-JUDGEMENTAL FAMILYâ OH I HATE THIS SO MUCH BUT I LIKE THE ANGST. CHERYL BEING SO SOFT AND TONI BEING SO FIERCE AGAIN YES
- JOSIE IS CRYING POOR BBY but also ARCHOSIE!!! SHE WAS GONNA ASK SP TO DRIVE HER BITCH IâM SOFT! Iâm glad theyâre not making him out to be an asshole though I love that for my baby Sweet Pea
- Reggie calling Veronica Ronnie â¤ď¸â¤ď¸â¤ď¸Â âIs robbing banks still a thing?â Reggie lmao ONE OF MY IDEAS SORT OF COMING TO LIFE IâMâVEGGIE BEING SO CUTE I LOVE IT
- This has nothing to do with McKeller, Penelope but okay. Youâre sounding like you know something⌠lmao if you need Hiram youâre probably fucked. And also EW MARTY MANTLE GO SUCK A BIG FUCKING TOE
- Josie is such a cutie! And this is the first time weâve ever seen her nervous! But I imagine what itâd be like if SP drove her like heâd be so enamored with her
- REGGIE GOT SHOT. I saw this in the promos but STILL
- So no one can hear the camera going off like??? âWe know how to dominate, tooâ BITCH CHERYLâ
- Iâm sorry our queen Josie didnât get it? Mmhm sounds fake but okay⌠but is this how theyâre setting up for Josieâs spin off? âAnd Iâm aloneâ BITCH NO YOUâRE NOT MY POOR CHILD!!! I really like how Archosie is being there for each other and we get to see emotional Josie
- Really Reggieâs dad had a dye pack? Nah this bitch is definitely doing illegal shit and the car dealership is a front. OMG IF THATâS TRUE MY FUCKING STORY UNHOLYâPLEASE I NEED THIS RIVERDALE.
- OMG MOOSE ACTUALLY DID IT? HE LOOKS SO CUTE AND HAPPY⌠BUT THEN WHY THE FUCK DOES HIS DAD DRAG HIM TO SOQM? If itâs a part of the fucking gameâŚÂ AND OMG MAYBE I AM FUCKING STARTING TO SHIP MEVIN? IâM SO SORRY JOAQUIN.Â
- CHERYL HELPING TONI TO GET INTO THE SCHOOL IâMâ
- THE BUYER IS GLADYS ARE YOU KIDDING. OMG SHE DOESNâT KNOW THAT THATâS HER SONâS FUTURE WIFE LMAO oh she does know Veronica
- Why did they have to make Gladys deal drugs like it would be a bit more interesting to see her be the âGoodâ parent
- CHERYL APOLOGIZING TO MOOSE AWWWW why is Moose suddenly so attractive??? BUT HEâS OPENING UP TO CHERYL HOW CUTE. LMAOÂ âIâd bring new sheets, a lot of people have had sex on that cotâ oh no isnât that where Mevin gets interrupted
- Youâre trusting Penelope⌠with cyanide antidote? Mmhm⌠ugh HiramâŚ
- So how tf does Mooseâs bitch ass father find out about the bunker???
- Oh of course itâs Penelope who finds the thing. HOW FUCKING COINCIDENTAL.
- BITCH VEGGIE IS SO HOT. Charmila is making a show. And thank GOD Bughead stopped but also why is everyone deciding to fuck at the same time? Thatâs weird
- Bughead actually stopping to answer their phones? Unrealistic
- CHONIâS ALMSOT SEX SCENE AND ITâS INTERRUPTED ARE YOU KIDDING
- Poor Moose like he finally is able to be with the guy he likes (I know Iâve said it didnât seem like he was into him but to be fair we never really saw Kevin together okay? Okay. I am repenting until Joaquin is suddenly alive and Joavin can rise again lmao) and him and Kevin are fucking dragged away by the gargoyle gang.
- AW KEVIN. omg yes BITCH!!!!
- Really⌠Mooseâs father? Are you serious? But if he ends up dragging Moose to SOQM why the FUCK is he let go after this? MOOSEâS DAD LIKED GUYS TOO WHAT ohhh nvm that was Moose playing the younger version of his father
- JELLYBEAN!!!!!! But FPâs scared look when Gladys says theyâre going to be staying awhile because heâs getting with Alice lmao Falice will totally survive in the end because him and Jug will find out why theyâre really there and then heâll realize he really loves Alice. We love Falice!
- And what I was going to say was that weâre probably going to meet the gk as the gk but think that itâll be just another fucking rip off bc itâll be a side character no one ever sees.
- Jughead is so happy to see his mom and realizing that when he finds out, and ultimately finds out that V knows about the drug thing, heâs going to be an unnecessary asshole to her leaves a bad taste in my mouth. At least it wonât be fueled by Bettyâs dislike of her but STILL LET JERONICA BE A THING
- IâM SORRY⌠WE DIDNâT GET TO SEE MCKELLER GET MARRIED?!
- ARCHOSIE SINGING TOGETHER YES PLEASE! Is it bad that I lowkey want a scene where SP walks in to Archosie flirting and shit and gets all sad and meets up with Fangs
- MOOSE IS MOVING TO GLENDALE. âIâm gonna miss you Marmadukeâ âIâll miss you Kevin Kellerâ THE SECOND YOU MAKE MOOSE LIKABLE AND YOU FUCKING SEND HIM AWAY!!! Also why do all of Kevinâs boyfriends move away to towns nearby
- OMG CHERYL GAVE TONI ANOTHER GANG!! THE PRETTY POISONS OMG FUCK ME UP. IS THE TATTOO GOING TO BE THAT WOLF TATTOO WE SAW VANESSA SHOW OFF
- Honestly iâd be more surprised if Gladys and Jellybean werenât coming back into Jughead and FPâs lives again just to fuck it up smh
- Archie asking to kiss her BITCH WE LOVE CONSENT. CONSENT IS SEXY. FUCK ME UP. YES.
- THIS EPISODE WAS SO FUCKING GOOD AND NOW IâM SAD BECAUSE NEXT WEEK WEâLL BE BACK TO HAVING BUGHEAD SHOVED DOWN OUR THROATS UGH
#Riverdale#Riverdale Bizarrodale#Riverdale 3.12#Veronica Lodge#Reggie Mantle#Veggie#reggieronnie#Cheryl Blossom#Toni Topaz#Choni#Archie Andrews#Josie McCoy#Archosie#Moose Mason#Kevin Keller#Mevin#Sweet Pea#Swosie#McKeller#Betty Cooper#Jughead Jones#Gladys Jones#Jellybean Jones
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Too Much To Loses
((Darsa))
Iâve been scruffed a bit when I was a kid. Some of the monks would pick me up by my shirt and get me to somewhere I could run around and not knock over ink pots. Since I got over six feet in height, no one has really done that until now. As Iâm being thrown into a room, I know Iâve been traveling for a little bit. Late at night someone broke into my âhouseâ, itâs really a poor excuse of a rented room, but, whatever, they broke into my fucking place and picked me up. Itâs been about an hour and they threw me into a small farm our inside of Elwynn Forest.
Just outside I can see the bright green trees, whatever reason Iâve been brought out this way, it didnât stay for a mystery long. Looking up I see some boots that lead to pants, that lead to a belt, that lead to a vest, that lead finally to a red scarf. Fuck me side-ways. I know this fucker. I know him because heâs the big olâ cunt who used to work in Stormwind when everyone was rebuilding it.
Edwin Fucking VanCleef.Â

âGet up.â He said offering a gloved hand for him to help me up. Near by is a small table with a pitcher of water and two glasses. Once Iâm up on my feel VanCleef poured me a glass of water and offered it out. âSorry my men were so rough. Youâve been dodging me.â
Course Iâve been dodging him. I know exactly who the Defias are and I know thatâs a path to get you chucked off to prison. Enough of VanCleefâs men are pulled into Stormwind, I see them get marched over to the Stockades and arenât even put on trial. Itâs that kind of shit that pisses me off. I know the shit the nobles of Stormwind have pulled, and now I see the normal folk suffering for them too.
âWell Iâve been kinda busy.â I admitted as I took the glass and sniffed it to make sure it was alright.
VanCleef drank deeply from his and watched me, as if expecting me to be paranoid. The water tasted fine so I drank as he continued. âYouâve been dodging me. Ape told some of my men youâve been doubling up your work.â
âSince my kid sis got shipped off to the other side of the world, havenât been feeling, all of this.â I said nodding to the near by red scarfed men. âNobles are shits, but, thereâs other shite I have to work through first.â
âIf you need money we can pay you. You have a good head on your shoulders, youâre also one of the people who has been directly hurt by nobles. I remember how they treated you when you were younger. No one wanted to adopt you, noble strung you along until they could give you back? The nobles told you you werenât able to stay with the monks you were left with?â VanCleef reached out and tapped my shoulder roughly. âYou know what itâs like to be throw away.â
Fuck he knows how to preach to me. Everything he said was true, but thereâs something new. âI got people now. Marie, she donât got anyone with her kid gone. If Iâm getting into all of this, I might get exiled from Stormwind, like you. How could I keep her safe with something like that?â
Thereâs more to life than bringing down the nobility. I know Edwinâs heart is in the right place. After all, heâs been hurt as bad as I have. Labeled as a criminal just so he could get fair pay from those silk incrusted tarts in town. Itâs a crime, it is, and heâs making the best of the shit thatâs been going down. Iâm just not sure I can throw myself into such a cause.
Say what you want about VanCleef, thereâs one thing people forget, he cares about his men. He wouldnât be doing this shit if he didnât. So he raised up his glass and nodded. âSometimes we have to protect our family the best way we can. I could always use you among the ranks Darsa. But, you take care of your family. Thereâs no bad blood between us.â
âYou promise?â I asked feeling wary about that. Other gangs have said the same thing, just all of them were talking out of their ass so they could get what they really wanted. But, VanCleef hasnât lied to me yet. Iâve seen the proof of his anger, and I donât doubt it for a moment.
Holding out his hand to be he nodded. âYou have my word on it. If you ever want to come back, Iâll tell my men to let you in with open arms. But you and yours, I would protect you if you let me.â
Fuck this guy knows how to sell his shit. But I have to stand my ground. Iâve got too much to risk to throw myself into his gang. But I shake his hand anyway, making this a proper deal. âIâll remember that mate. If I ever hear shite in Stormwind that your guys need to know, Iâll send it your way.â
âPapa.â I heard a little voice from the doorway and stop. The girl is a spitting image of her father. Black hair, bright eyes, she slides into the room with as much stealth as sheâs probably picked up around all the rogues in her life. âYou said you were going to help me make lunch.â
Letting go of my hand VanCleef turns to his daughter and squatted down so he was eye level. âI did didnât I?â He said his voice lighter around her. The guy chose to fight a fucking war against the nobles, but his daughter is the true weak spot he has. âGo head to the kitchen, Iâm just finishing a talk with Mr. Noman.â
Vanessa, the little girl who looks too much like her father looks up at me and gives me a suspicious look. âAre you angry with Daddy?â
âNo Miss, just doing some catching up.â I said quickly but smiling so she doesnât catch on. âYou have fun cooking with your Da.â
That quelled her questions for now, as she backed away I waited till she was out of sight before keeping my tone neutral. Who knows if sheâs still listening in. And kids have to stay kids for as long as possible. âMind having you guys give me a lift back to town, and maybe fix the locks on my doors?â
âThey can give you a ride to town.â But then he grinned at me. âYou have shit locks on your door anyway. Shouldnât be surprised with you being Gilnean,â
âOi.â I said but wasnât angry. It was a normal reminder I had. Iâm not like the Stormwind folks, itâs noticeable in my complexion and my accent. Still I grin and shrugged. âFine. You keep everyone on their toes mate.â
Before I turned I heard him say something, but for the rest of my life Iâll be wondering what it was. It was probably a quip to balance my own sass, but itâs not like Iâll be asking him for a good long while.
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The Convenient Groom

Starring: Vanessa Marcil (General Hospital, NYPD Blue, Beverly Hills 90210, Las Vegas, The Rock, the list goes on and on) as Dr. Kate Lawrence and David Sutcliffe (Gilmore Girls, Private Practice) as Lucas âMrâ Wright.
Street Cred: Vanessa Marcil is a Goddess (Brenda and Jagger from GH were my teen OTP) and has had a long career of doing shit well, including a few movies in this genre, and as much as I hated Christopher on Gilmore Girls, David Sutcliffe is a solid actor with a great resume. I leave my little black heart in their hands. 10/10.
Official Synopsis: A young celebrity marriage counselor discovers herself left at the altar of her own highly-publicized wedding. To save face, she accepts an offer from her contractor, who secretly has a crush on her, to step in as groom and marry her.
What Really Happens: Okay, there is a lot wrong with this synopsis. First, Kate isnât a marriage counselor, sheâs a relationship blogger who introduces herself as âDr. Kate Lawrence, Ph.D.â in every segment, which is fucking weird. Second, sheâs not left at the altar, sheâs left at the set of one of her videos, right before she can announce her engagement and introduce her fiance, Bryan. Third, Lucas isnât a contractor, he makes custom wood furniture. Very different. Heâs also known Kate most of her life and they kind of almost dated in high school.Â
I should start off by saying this movie has terrible reviews, most of which take issue with Marcil not being the usual cookie-cutter Hallmark girl theyâre used to. If youâve seen her act before, you know sheâs good, but her work usually has a touch of standoffishness and (gasp!) layers. Itâs also noted that Marcil and Sutcliffe have zero chemistry which I think can be explained by the feeling that there are scenes missing from this film. Every time we get to what would normally be a âbondingâ scene for the leads, it cuts away to either right after the bonding or the next day. Itâs weird.
Anyway, Kate is a celebrity in a tiny demographic (Seattle-ish) who gives super hetero-normative dating advice and believes a successful relationship should have no conflict. We find out later this is because her parents fought a lot and got divorced, leaving them bitter and angry. (Insert eye roll gif here). We never find out how unreliable a narrator Kate is because (surprise!) her parents are dead.Â
Kateâs agent is in the middle of securing a publishing contract for her and insists they make the engagement announcement a spectacle, even though Bryan really, really doesnât want that. Lucas shows up just in time to hear Bryan break up with Kate moments before the big, live brouhaha. Bryan admits there is another woman and Kate now has to break it to her âpublicâ. She freezes on camera and Lucas steps in, declaring himself her fiance.
Kateâs agent is all on board for the fib (Heâs literally Mr. Wright!!!), but Kate is less sure, especially since she thinks Lucas is trying to make up for being an ass to her on their one date in high school. Sheâs pretty happy holding onto her feelings about it. Itâs a theme. This is when we get the amazing scene with Kate and Lucas slow dancing while extras bounce around in the background like theyâre in a Ke$ha video.
The agent books them into the fancy hotel the shoot is at, apparently not bothered in the least that theyâre planning to lie to several businesses in this small town, as they plan a fake wedding. âThatâs what cancellation policies are for,â right? She assigns them a cameraman and instructs them to make like theyâre in love, which they absolutely do not do. Maybe this is why people gave it bad reviews because Kate is super not into pretending to be engaged to someone she barely likes and Lucas is just a super chill guy who doesnât want to piss her off. Plus, she just got dumped. Layers.Â
While cake tasting with their wedding planner, a wonderfully deadpan woman named Phyllis, strawberries and champagne are delivered. A romantic gift from Bryan from the before time, in the long, long ago. Kate is understandably upset and calls him, asking him to cancel anything else he ordered and to not tell anyone about the breakup so she can salvage her career, oh and also, fuck off for having your side piece answer your phone like, an hour after the breakup.
The new faux-couple are forced into more wedding/date shit, share some feelings and truths, then Lucas invites Kate to dinner with his parents, who have one of those 100-steps-down-a-cliff houses on the beach. Thereâs a throwaway line about having âa trust fund and a contractorâ and hahaha, isnât life grand when youâre wealthy and white? Lucasâ mother is not impressed with the situation and she makes good points, especially when we find out Lucas moved back home from being a broker in New York when his fiance died. Did he mention he went to Princeton? Thatâs why he can afford to make furniture now. He even lives right next to his parents in what Iâm pretty sure is their bungalow or guest house or some rich shit like that. Itâs called living in the moment, poor people!
Thereâs another cute scene where they run into each other one evening and Lucas orders a super long, super specific coffee to make fun of some of Kateâs bogus relationship advice, and Kate laughs along because sheâs learning not to take herself so seriously. Itâs growth. Like a tree. Kate is basically Groot at this point. When she gets home, Kate learns that her neighbourhood has no water or power and itâs Lucas to the rescue! They quickly learn theyâre opposites in a lot of ways, but (shock!) it works for them! (At least until Lucas discovers Kate put a hot curling iron on his handmade table and then heâs bound to kick her to the curb.)
She burns dinner for his family (who love her now, btw) and there is much laughing, and inside joking, and tra-la-la-la-la! Kate gets her book deal, but instead of announcing a fake break up, Lucas talks her into keeping it going since itâs only another week. Kate spends her nights re-watching footage of the two of them being perfect for each other so she doesnât put up much of a fight.
Lucas takes her on his parentâs boat (a 40-foot sailboat because wealth), which sheâs terrified of because she gets seasick. This is where a scene seems to be missing as it goes from him promising sheâll be fine and pulling on ropes to him helping a green Kate through his front door. Iâm guessing the budget or the insurance didnât cover taking the boat out. Lucas makes her some tea, watches her sleep, then they almost kiss, but Bryan shows up (gasp!) and begs Kate to take him back. But Kate has learned things, like people are allowed to disagree with each other, terrible boyfriends make terrible husbands, oh, and remember how Bryan cheated on her? Yeah, sheâs not taking him back. Bryan has a little snit and leaves, but all is not well because Kate leaves too, telling Lucas they need some time apart and that she needs to tell the truth, to herself and everyone else.
Lucasâ family is all âYouâre in love with her, idiot, go get herâ, but heâs unsure because heâs actually a decent guy and doesnât want to force himself on her. His sister runs to Kateâs house to plead Lucasâ case and gets there just in time for Kateâs live truth reveal to be usurped by Bryanâs side piece posting a video, spilling the beans on the breakup and Kateâs lying.Â
When Lucas shows up to declare his undying love for Kate, she reverts to her old self and basically tells him itâs Stockholm Syndrome and then they argue. Kate wallows in the loss of Lucas, lying in her own (movie-pretty) filth and obsessively watching every video on her blog of the two of them together. Lucasâ mother appears to check on Kate on what would have been their fake wedding day and pretty much laughs in her face when Kate tells her people in good relationships donât fight.Â
Lucas makes a public plea for people to stop hating on Kate because it was all his idea and he did it because he loves her and has since high school. I will go ahead and spoil the ending here, so stop reading if you donât want to know. Kate finds Lucas, admits she loves him too, Lucas proposes, and they get married. That day. Iâm serious.Â
Teacupâs Tidbits: I really think 90% of the issues people have with this one is the scene and script editing. The story is solid, but a little watered down. The other 10% is not seeing how great Vanessa Marcil is just because sheâs not Candace Cameron Bure or whats-her-face from Party of Five.
How I Would Fix This With Fic: Not gonna lie, this would work really well as a Sherlock fic. Not sure which would be the blogger and which would be the faux-fiance, but Iâd read the shit out of that.
Fics Like This: Love Song by ThePathLessTrekked (Star Trek: Alternate Original Series, Kirk/McCoy), A Lifetime of Laughter by the_problem_with_stardust (Teen Wolf, Sterek), While You Were Sleeping by thisisntreallymeimnotreallyhere (Supernatural, Destiel)
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Rent Live on Fox: A Review
Many of my followers and readers of my stories know that Iâm something of a musical theater buff, and I hold a lot of affection for the show âRentâ. This was a musical about my generation - the one coming of age in the era of AIDS. Where the east Village was gritty and filled with creative artistic types (before it was taken over by chain stores and rents - no pun intended - skyrocketed). When I was of an age with the characters, there was something intriguing and romantic about living for art and not worrying about what the next day might bring. So needless to say, the prospect of seeing Rent performed again was going to be a nice trip down memory lane.
Like all live productions, there were good things, bad elements and things that made me wonder what the production team was thinking about. To start off with, Iâm not worried about the fact that the show did not air âliveâ due to the injury of one of the lead actors. In fact, I would have preferred better, smarter editing because I had some serious issues with the staging. But more on that in a bit.
Casting: For the most part, I found the casting of the show... adequate. There were a few performers that really blew me away but mostly I was struck at how generic most of the players were. Iâm a firm believer that musical shows like this are best served with musical theater actors who can balance singing and acting. Too often, performers are chosen by name recognition and the show suffers as a result. Rent was no different.
First, there were some really outstanding performers. I adored Tinashe, who brought the right balance of sultriness and vulnerability that I want to see in Mimi. Her rendition of Take Me Out was amazing and she managed to overcome the annoying frenetic camera angles (more on that later). Another standout was Kiersey Clemons as Joanne, who was able to bring appropriate gravitas to the âstraightâ woman of the Joanne/Maureen pairing. Brandon Victor Dixonâs experience as a Broadway actor showed and he gave Tom Collins depth and charm.
And I was really delighted to see Keala Settle as the leader of the Life Support meeting. Sheâs always a joy to watch. Most of the background performers were excellent and I think that the show did a good job filling out the supporting cast with talented singers and actors.
Of the other leads, I was less in love. Vanessa Hudgens had some enjoyable moments as Maureen, but I sometimes found her too frenetic and superficial. There were times when she was grinning that just felt... off. Brennin Hunt looked the part of Roger, but his vocals sounded thin at times. And while I think that Jordan Fisher is exceptionally talented, I feel that he was miscast as Mark. I understand that the show did want to have as diverse a cast as possible, but he was a poor fit for a geeky Jewish boy from Scarsdale. Valentina had moments where she really shone as Angel, but there were also moments when she struggled with the music. So the casting and acting was a mixed bag for me.
Production: When I first heard that FOX would be airing Rent, Iâm going to admit that my heart sank because I had no clue how they were going to air a show like this without totally butchering it (the way Rocky Horror was). The show is filled with profanity, frank discussions about sex and relationships (including one song that is all about fucking). But unlike the ill-fated attempt to bring Rocky Horror to the screen, I ended up being pleasantly surprised that a lot of the show was left more or less unedited. Yes, the cursing was cut out (and not always adeptly) but the song about fucking was left intact (Contact). The lesbian and gay relationships were highlighted and the actors were able to show kissing and physical affection between their characters (including Maureen bouncing on herâs and Joanneâs bed during Take Me or Leave Me). Angelâs gender fluidity wasnât whitewashed away, and all of the drug references seem to have made it through the editing phase.
Thatâs not to say that there werenât edits that left me annoyed. During La Vie Boheme, there were edits made clearly to reduce run time that I felt affected the flow of the number and made no sense. And while they characters could sing about âmucho masturbationâ and S&M, the word dildo had to be changed for some silly reason. But for the most part, they got a lot of the original musical in, which made me quite happy.
Explaining the setting of the show (including the impact of the AIDS crisis to viewers who might be too young to understand) and the tribute to Larson at the end was well done and gave the show a frame in history from which to operate. The New York of Rent has changed dramatically since, but this show provides an interesting window on that brief period of our history. And bringing back the original cast from the Broadway production (who I got to see perform several times back in the day) made sitting through the whole show worth while.
Staging: This was an issue that I had a love/hate relationship with. Sometimes the staging was great, and other times it just looked too random. Like they had all this scaffolding, so actors had to run about it as much as possible. I think that the show could have done a better job in setting up actual sets within the scaffolding to create the different settings (Markâs and Rogerâs loft, the Life Cafe, etc). They had the luxury of all that space and didnât seem to utilize it in a way that was effective. We got the impression of settings rather than actual settings in a lot of cases.
And I had issues with how the show interacted with the studio audience. Too often it seemed that the audience was getting in the way of the production. There were times when it was difficult to hear the singers, and I could have done without the pointless body surfing done during What You Own.Â
So all it all, it wasnât a bad production for the most part. I enjoyed it and have it saved on my DVR so I can watch it again later. I think that the weaknesses of the show donât detract from my generally being able to enjoy it. Of all the musicals done on television, this is probably one of the better efforts (along with Jesus Christ Superstar last season). Iâm looking forward to seeing what happens with Hair (which is airing on NBC in May 2019) and hope that maybe one day weâll get to see a show aired in its entirety. Too many people donât have the luxury of seeing live theater and this is a wonderful way to give them a small taste of what going to a Broadway show can entail. Rent wasnât perfect, but it did a decent job given the limitations of the medium.
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Ten Things ⢠Alfie x Reader
This is the part where youâre supposed to blush for the stain on your dress, the teacake at four in the afternoon, the state of your hair, eavesdropping, or looking at him. Or all of the above. But your mind has ascended to such a state of fucklessness that you merely cock an eyebrow at him.
He breaks out into a crooked smile of surprise. Itâs not so bad to look at, and it reminds you that you are, in fact, a creature with particular interests, even if work lately has restricted those interests to your imagination and your own two hands.
@alfiesolcmonsâ said:Â
What up my names Vanessa, and I never fuckin learned how to read. lol jk. ok I'm 5'3" , relatively curvy, i like books and eating to much food (bread is delicious, just carbs ok). Kinda quiet most of thw time unless the subject which ppl are talking about is something I'm interested in, in that case I'm screaming from the rooftops. I'm Alfie trash and I like beards.
So I took those qualities, added my own innate bitchiness, and voila! Here she is, all 8762Â words of her.Â
Warning: this thing is a mess start to finish, but at least parts of it are fun?
I. Exhaustion Teacake Itâs been a long, long day, and your students have been particularly heinous; Jimmy Westin kept trying to take a cookie from little Maisie Fletcher during lunch, and when you stopped him, he chucked a chunk of ham at you. Now youâre walking home, lugging a bag full of schoolwork to grade, with a brownish stain on your cardigan that looks quite a lot like dried blood.
Fuck it. Fuck it, youâll take the shortcut.
Youâve been told by more than one person not to venture through the heart of Camden Town, but frankly you canât tell how much of that is real and how much of that is just people hating Jews. And also, youâre tired as fuck. Even if you do get mugged, it might be nice. Being hit over the head would be the perfect excuse to just lie quietly on the sidewalk for an hour or so.
It is when youâre almost out of Camden Town, sweating slightly and at your absolute weakest, when the smell hits you. Intense, almost sweet, itâs unmistakably the smell of fresh bread wafting out the propped-open door of a bakery. You squint up at it; from the striped green-and-white awning to the gold lettering on the windows, it seems almost a little too good to be true, like someone wandered into your heartâs desires and plopped this shop down in front of you for the express purpose of making you miserable.
Dinnerâs in three or four hours. And youâve been saving up for a new dress, because your favorite red one has been slowly turning pink after being washed so many times. But, fucking hell. You inhale deeply.
You go in. The boy at the front notices the stain on your blouse, but says nothing. You, in turn, eye a long loaf with a crust that looks like itâd give you a proper crunch. Thereâs also another one, darker and faintly shiny, that looks like itâs been braided. Ultimately, you settle on a beautifully iced teacake and pay up.
Thereâs no tables or chairs anywhere, just a long counter, but you think of the distance remaining to your flat, you breathe in that sweet air, and fuck it. Standing in one corner of the shop, bag on your arm, you tear off a piece and begin to eat, mentally daring the boy to make any kind of eye contact with you. He does not.
Through the door in the back, muffled voices become clearer, as if from men ascending or descending stairs. Theyâre speaking a language you donât know (Yiddish? probably?), and arguing, one defensive, one very, very aggressive. Mind half-fogged with pure bready bliss, half-curious, you peek into the open door that leads into the back of the bakery and see two men, one unspeakably enormous, dark-haired one, and one bearlike man made half of beard and half of rage. Halfway through barking something that sounds like an order, the bearlike one glances out at the shop beyond and makes direct eye contact with you.
This is the part where youâre supposed to blush for the stain on your dress, the teacake at four in the afternoon, the state of your hair, eavesdropping, or looking at him. Or all of the above. But your mind has ascended to such a state of fucklessness that you merely cock an eyebrow at him.
He breaks out into a crooked smile of surprise. Itâs not so bad to look at, and it reminds you that you are, in fact, a creature with particular interests, even if work lately has restricted those interests to your imagination and your own two hands.
Then the bearlike man barks an order, and the boy at the front hurries to close the door between the back rooms of the bakery and the front of the shop. You shrug. Almost done with the teacake anyway.
II. Trouble-
Once a week is reasonable, right? It seems reasonable. At any rate, the two people most often manning the front, the curly-haired boy from before and his extremely talkative mother, soon learn your name, and you theirs (Ezra and Judith, respectively), and thereâs a pleasant if mildly embarrassing familiarity in that. You come to anticipate the divine, doughy smell and your little corner in the bakery with great pleasure, knowing that itâs the one moment in your day that will likely be silent, free from students or flatmates; even the chatty Judith seems to understand, and lets you stand and eat in peace.
The manâs there too, though rarely. Maybe once every three weeks. You watch him, and sometimes he catches you at it, but he doesnât seem to mind. You catch Judith talking to him animatedly one day, and venture to ask his name. There canât be much harm in a name. Castles in the air are for yourself and yourself only, right? Anyway, his name is Alfie, which doesnât appear to suit his usual growling demeanor much, but pairs decently enough with his guffaws. He gives you something to think about that isnât the news, or your family, or your flatmates, or your students, and though heâs rarely speaking English, his animated ways give you plenty of entertainment. Heâs like a walking, talking dime novel with that swagger. And heâs free, or at least comes free with the pastries and bread.
And the beardâs not bad.
This goes on for a few months, and he still doesnât know your name but that probably doesnât matter. Thereâs a golden moment that more than makes up for it, when you look up from your bread and heâs perfectly framed in the doorway, vest unbuttoned, white shirt sleeves rolled up to the elbow, kneading the dough. You decide the heatâs not so bad if itâs making him sweat. You decide this is almost certainly a trap set by some kind of fiend. (Gods you donât believe in, but little assholes with the power and will to fuck with you seem pretty reasonable.) You decide youâre not going to look away.
He looks up at you, and you donât move. He looks back down, and gets on with it. But for the next ten minutes or so, he stays in full view, and you donât stop looking, and poor Ezra keeps his own eyes glued to the newspaper at hand.
As soon as you get home that night, you start to make inquiries. Out of the five girls that you have crammed into one flat, you get lucky with Letty, whose mother is Jewish.
âDo you know an Alfie?â
âAlfie what?â
âI donât know. He works at this bakery in Camden Town, built like a barrel.â
âJesus Christ, Vanessa.â
âWhat?â
âI knew youâd get after a man eventually. Tessa told me itâs been two years since the last, but him?â
Only two weeks ago, your principal threatened to fire you for not being able to handle the workload, even though your workload has doubled since Ms. Spinelli suddenly quit. So yeah, you went behind the school and drowned the very last fuck you had to give in the river. Her reaction only has you amused. âWhatâs the problem? Heâs not married. Did he kill his wife?â
âNot quite.â
âHeâs got the clap? He votes Tory?â
âNo.â
âThen what?â
âI wouldnât call him a gangster,â she concedes, âbut he runs around with that type. Heâs killed a man. And everyone knows the bakeryâs not really a bakery.â
âIsnât it? The bread there tastes a lot like bread.â
âItâs a front for something.â
âMm.â Alright, so now he really is straight out of a dime novel, and youâve got more fodder with which to entertain yourself. What could one do in a fake bakery? Forge money?
âOi. Vane.â
âWhat?â You look over. âOh, you thought that was going to scare me off him?â
âDoesnât look like I succeeded.â
âNah.â
You can feel her reassessing you, and obligingly pull a lazy smile.
âQuiet girls have the most surprises, huh,â she says after a second.
You shrug. âYou know where I come from?â
âOrphanage, same as the rest of us.â
âYeah, but when I turned fifteen, they sent me to the Stoker place. You know what they say about Stokerâs?â
âIâve heard itâs got a reputation.â
âStokerâs was for the troublemakers and the troublefuckers.â
âAm I supposed to guess which one you were?â
You smile.
III. Cocktail (The Wrong Kind)
They hire a new teacher. Ms. Solokov, and as you walk home that day, you feel a sense of relief mixed with trepidation.
Truth is, you love your students, the grimy, shouty little assholes, because they give you so much trouble. You wouldnât know what the fuck to do with a simple, quiet life; you feed off the chaos, on trying to control it, most of the time, wrangling all of them into learning whether they like it or not.
Youâre tired of looking and feeling like a wreck, of course, but with things much tamer, youâre starting to worry about the boredom. Your off days have gotten significantly less entertaining since Tessa got married; she no longer drags you to hip spots around town, and you try (and fail) to not resent Craig for that. Anyways. Itâs looking like a boring weekend.
This particular Friday, you have a simple roll, not even toasted, not even with butter. You tear tiny pieces off it and savor the taste as it melts on your tongue. Alfieâs in the back, but you only caught a glimpse of him once, so heâs probably down in the basement, so you turn your imagination to the people outside, making up increasingly ridiculous or tragic stories to explain the baby in that pram (dead mother! Horrible rich father! Will certainly become a bratty heiress!) or that newspaper-throwing boy (destined to become a great writer! Cut down too soon in a foreign war!) or that tall, angry-looking fellow in the long coat (secretly a terrible husband! Soon to be brought down by his crafty wife!) until the tall fellow stops and pulls a bottle out of his coat.
And thatâs not too out of the ordinary (a man? Drinking? gasp.) but then you see heâs stuffing something in the bottle, and then out come a lighter and oh shit, thatâs a rag about to be lit.
âOi!â you bellow, because thereâs no time to do anything, and Judith ducks down behind the counter as you huddle in your corner, wishing you had something more solid than a dinner roll to chuck back. Fuck thereâs a lot of wood in here.
Then it gets worse. The man takes out a revolver and shoots twice, shattering the large windows in a spray of glass, then cocks back his arm, the Molotov cocktail ready to go. Then a third shot blasts through the air, and red blossoms through his gray coat, and he crumples to the ground. The bottle shatters on impact, splashing oil all over him. The rag catches him on fire, and he spends his last minute on earth very noisily.
Youâre distracted from the blackening corpse by a yelp. Itâs Judith, dismayed, darting into the backroom past Alfie, whoâs standing there gun in hand. You know youâre supposed to be scared, but itâs not a bad image, white shirt open at the throat and all. He looks at you. You take a bite and chew slowly. You donât look away.
Youâd be happy to stand there forever, but unfortunately that was your last bite, and. Well.
âGuess I ought to go before the police arrive?â you say.
âAw, the police donât care about Camden Town.â
âYou seem to manage well enough without them.â
Thereâs a flash of that crooked grin again. Then he comes around the back of the counter towards you, walking carefully, big boots crunching over the glass. He offers you his hand, the same hand, you canât help but notice, that held the gun. You take it.
This whole delicate-damsel thing would work a lot better if you had worn some fucking heels, but your walk to work is considerably too long for that nonsense, so instead itâs the crunch crunch of flats over glass. You use him for support even though you donât need to. His hands are rough and youâd like to know where the calluses come from. You wouldnât mind feeling them a bit more.
He walks you over the glass, to the door. A few gawkers have begun to cluster in the windows of the dress shop opposite. Thereâs no more glass, so you relinquish his hand.
If this is a dime novel, youâll play the cowboy if you want to. And you want to, even if you havenât got a gun. You know the right lines for the damsel--gratitude, mostly--and theyâre fucking boring.
âTill next week, Alfie,â you say, and you leave before he can answer.
You donât know if heâs watching you go. You hope he is, but youâre feeling pretty pleased either way.
IV. Style/Busy
Now that your workload has lessened, youâve got the time to spare to, oh, not just dunk yourself in a tub of water and scrub like mad before you pass out on your bed atop still-wet hair. No, youâve got time to use those curlers. Time to slip a tube of lipstick in your purse. Time to take your savings and get that new dress for yourself, a sensible choice, blue printed with tiny flowers, fake pearl buttons for a touch of, oh, donât call it class, but maybe style. (You know it flatters the curve of your ass, too. Thereâs that.)
The shoes. The shoes are a mistake, and you know it even when youâre putting them on, but damn if those delicate heels donât make your legs look good. You know they make your legs look good.
By the time you make it to the shop that Friday, your toes are pinched all to hell, but you lean into the pain and order yourself an iced bun, telling yourself that the sugar will make up for it. You eat it slow, so slow, and he doesnât show up; thereâs not the slightest flicker of movement in the backroom, and itâs fucking disappointing. You take to eating about a bite a minute. Tiny, tiny bites. You wonât buy anything else to eat; thereâs no dignity in that. But if you can just make this one stretch out for--
A car screeches to a halt in the street outside, and you press yourself into the corner as Judith runs into the backroom. Not again. But no, itâs him, jumping out the driverâs side door and walking fast to the door, his white shirt crimsoned by a gash in his shoulder. He barges through the door and pulls up short at the sight of you. Maybe, maybe it was an offense that he forgot about you for a moment, but the look on his face more than makes up for it. Yeah, thereâs a considerable distance between your limp-haired, shit-dressed look and your red-lipped, heel-sporting look. You know you look a proper fashion plate. You know heâd like a look underneath the blue.
You raise an eyebrow.
He starts, remembers there are other things he needs. Fumbles for the words.
âI take it youâre busy?â you prompt.
âYou could say that.â
Heâs dripping blood on the floor, and thereâs a pleasure in the fact you donât have to give a damn about it. Heâs no child that needs to be told to sit down and get bandaged up. Heâs a man, and if heâs going to run round wounded, thatâs his goddamn choice.
âGo on, then,â you say.
He disappears into the backroom, thunders down the stairs, and emerges minutes later carrying a long black box rather like a violin case, except rectangular and far, far too long to be for a violin.
You watch the car careen away, and then you call to Judith, âItâs fine!â Shoving the rest of the bun in your mouth, you chew with gusto and begin your walk home.
Next week, you wear a softer lipstick and ditch the heels, but the hairâs the same and so is the dress. A little effortâs fine. The blackberry scone is sublime. And then, no matter how slow you eat, he doesnât fucking show.
âHe is alive, isnât he?â you say to Judith.
âYes, dear.â Bless her, she doesnât judge you a whit, just says it and gets back to the paperwork she likes to do during slow hours.
âThanks, Judith.â
V. Good People
The next time you go, you wear what you want: the cute dress, the aggressive lipstick, flat shoes. The newspaper was interesting that morning so you didnât bother with the hair. Youâve got no expectations, and things are a little lighter that way, albeit a little less exciting.
Due to an extended all-school meeting, youâre dreadfully late and the place is jam-packed, but that doesnât matter. The shop turns up a delightful surprise for you: a man named Moshe, just a year younger than you, who was trained as a teacher at the exact same time. Who incidentally you couldnât marry for the same reason youâve never been able to marry, namely that youâve never wanted to. But itâs still good to see him again.
All through the line, you talk about your respective schools, and end up hotly debating pedagogical methods, the relative psychological merits of penalties and rewards. Somehow that slips into the relatively modern history of English schools and the influx of lascars and freedmen and loops right back around to the balance of power between the teacher and the parent and then you get a beautiful spot where youâre the only one that can talk because Mosheâs busy ordering two loaves and then youâre so invigorated that you get a small loaf thatâs still larger than both your fists put together and far too large for one sitting. And then the two of you huddle in the corner and dip into the ethics of bodily autonomy and you know youâre gabbling like an idiot but fuck itâs been a long time and youâve missed all this arguing--
âYâknow, me,â rumbles a voice behind you, âI vouch for a smack upside the âead. Is that not an option on the table? Because it should be.â
Alfie slides into the conversation, much too close, and on the wrong side. That is, he leans into Mosheâs personal space, and the poor man blanches.
âMr. Solomons!â He fumbles with his bags in order to get his right hand free, then offers it. âWe so appreciated your, ah, your actions regarding the school redistricting. Truly. A disaster averted.â
Alfie shakes his hand too hard and for too long and youâre on the verge of rolling his eyes.
âHeâs just getting a couple loaves for his family,â you say. âWife and three children. We trained together.â
âOh, do you know Vanessa?â says Moshe, smiling anxiously, shaking out his hand by his side.
âVanessa? No.â
âOh.â
But the both of you are looking at each other, you in faint exasperation and Alfie in an irritating mask of benevolence, so Moshe adds, âI should get home, thereâs a list of groceries as long as my arm that I still have to pick up. Good seeing you again, Vanessa, very good seeing you, Mr. Solomons.â Then he slips out the door.
Behind you, the rush of the day has petered out to just a couple customers and Judith. Itâs few enough for you to talk properly.
âHe was nice,â you say. âAnd heâs a good man, which is rarer. You shouldnât scare off good people.â Even if theyâre good people that you have indeed fucked, thank you very much.
He gives you one of those shit-eating grins. âIf theyâre good people, theyâve got no reason to be scared of me, innitâ
âWe both know thatâs not true.â
âMmh.â There goes one of those undefinable sounds whose meaning is lost in his beard. You choose to take it as a grunt of concession. Then: âDo you always talk that much?â
You shrug. Judith, without looking up from the change sheâs counting out, says, âNo, she doesnât.â
You have to stifle a smirk at that. So much for the appearance of a private conversation. If Judith knows, the whole neighborhood knows, but itâs not your neighborhood and you canât bring yourself to care.
âDo you bake?â he says abruptly.
âWould I be here if I did?â
âWould you like to learn?â he says, sardonic and a little slow.
âWhat would it cost me?â
âOh, whatever you can spare.â
âIâll see what I can do.â
VI. Fast/Slow
The sun has just set as you make your way to the shop. Thereâs not many people around; most are finishing up dinner with their families. The shop has been closed for about an hour now, but the backroom is lit and when you try the door, you find it unlocked. You lock it after you.
The backroom much larger than you previously thought, a cavernous space complete with what seems like miles of countertop. Alfieâs in a chair in the back, heels up on a table, reading the finance section of the newspaper and smoking a cigarette. When you come in, he chucks the cigarette in the ashtray and gets to his feet.
âVanessa!â he cries. Then he stops short. âDid you bring a gun?â
âNo.â You hand over your purse to prove it. âAre you disappointed?â
âVery fuckinâ disappointed.â
âThen get me one yourself. I donât have new-gun money.â You reach over, pick up the cigarette, and have a puff. Itâs an old vice of yours, not one you indulge often. But tonightâs a night for vice, clearly.
âYou have teacake money.â
âI have my priorities in order.â
Up close and in private, youâve got the ability to try and figure out whether his eyes are green or blue. So you do. Green, you decide, and then you sweep your eyes over the rest of him.
âGo on and bake,â you say. âIâll watch.â
âWhat âappened to student participation?â
âI imagine thatâll come later on.â
You perch on one long countertop, smoking and swinging your heels, as he begins measuring and mixing the dry ingredients. Well. You say measuring, but heâs mostly eyeballing it.
âSo youâre a teacher, eh?â he says.
âYes. Do you want to be taught?â
âTell me about the Italians.â
âWhat do you want to know?â
âEverything in the last twenty years. Politics, culture, London immigration history.â
It is flattering that he thinks you know all that. And you do know all that, having taken particular interest in modern immigration, but thereâs just one thing.
âAre people going to die?â you say.
Halfway through cracking an egg, he looks up. âPeople die every day, Vanessa.â
âAre Italians going to die?â
âItalians are people, stands to fuckinâ reason.â
âThree of my students are Italian.â
âAny kid young enough to be your student probably has at least another thirty years on âem.â
You consider this. âAll right, I think youâll be most interested in the SiciliansâŚâ
And youâre off to the races. You talk through the ingredients mixing, you talk through the dough getting kneaded (your favorite part), and then he puts it in a bowl and youâre still talking and--
âDoesnât that lot go in the oven?â you interrupt yourself.
âI thought you were fucking with me when you said you didnât know how to bake.â
âWell, surprise.â
âIt needs to rise.â
âNeeds to what now?â
âItâs going to grow until itâs twice the size it is now.â
âShit, I didnât know baking was interesting.â
âYeah?â He scratches his jaw with a couple beringed fingers. âYouâve seemed pretty interested.â
âCome here,â you say, and he does. âHow long does it take to rise, do you think?â
âHalf an hour, forty-five minutes.â
âI can think of some ways to pass the time.â You spread your legs a few inches.
He grins, and settles himself between them, the fabric of his work trousers rough against the insides of your thighs, the metal of his rings cold on your knees, his right thumb tracing tiny circles on your left leg, warm. âYouâre a fast little thing, arenât you?â
âLittle, maybe. A thing, no. And Alfie?â
âMmh?â
Hooking your thumbs in his belt loops, you grasp his hips and pull him forward till heâs flush against you, your heels tucking him in closer. âNothing about this has been fast. Iâve been wanting you inside me for four months now, and youâve wanted the same for nearly as long. Four months of thinking about it, and nothing stopping you, four months of wondering what youâre going to taste like, four months of only my own fingers and a--â
He kisses you hard and you smile your victory into it till the smile melts under heat, his hands rucking up your skirt, yours frantic at his belt buckle, hips rolling and words vanishing till his rings clatter off onto the countertop, he slips a hand into your panties, and the kiss suddenly ends.
The expression on his face, the surprise there, followed by gratification? Delicious. He brings his fingers up to his mouth to taste, and thatâs a sight, isnât it? He must know it is, because you catch a glimpse of pink tongue, and that was entirely unnecessary for the purpose.
âYou did that,â you admit to him. âDonât get--â Your fingers dig into his shoulders when you feel him pressing into you. â--fucking arrogant about it.â
âToo late,â he murmurs, and then his mouth is on your throat and his fingers stretch slow and perhaps thereâs a rebuttal to that but you canât be bothered to think of it when you can run your hands through his hair instead.
He fucks you like you expected, hard and fast, the edge of the counter cutting into your thighs, the stretch in your cunt more than worth it, and his mouth travelling everywhere, an unexpected bonus. Itâs good and then itâs too good to be true, because despite your best attempts at clinging, he pulls away.
Now itâs his turn to enjoy the expression on your face, but then, there are options here. You have options.
âIâll do it myself,â you say, and sure enough one finger slides in easy, then two, and you know yourself, know just how to crook your fingers and find the right spot and heâs drinking in the sight like a man in a desert but before you can hit a proper rhythm, his hand closes over your wrist.
You make a desperate sound down low in a part of your throat you didnât even know was capable of making noise. âThere are easier ways to make me fight you.â Your voice is ragged to your own ears.
âIf nothing about this has been fast, with half an hour left, why start now? I can take care of you. Are you going to let me?â
You rest your head against the wall, taking in the sweat-soaked sight of him. Youâre tempted to just pull him in, knowing you could persuade him in two seconds to fuck you again. Heâs good at bluffing, but his cockâs more than enough evidence of impatience.
Curiosity has always been your weakness, though, and heâs not specified how he wants to take care of you.
âYes,â you say.
He kneels.
The insides of your thighs are red. Youâre going to have beard burn there for a couple days. Itâs worth it.
VII. Lend Me Your Rear
He shows up at your front door, which is a mistake. Not one he couldâve known, because you havenât talked to him about your flatmates yet, but still a mistake.
You donât bother asking how he got your address.
âWhat can I do for you?â you say.
A wolfish smile spreads across his face. âI was thinking--â
You open the door much wider, revealing your roommates, four other women, listening in unabashedly. Letty waves.
He waves back.
âI, ah, got you a book,â he says.
âReally.â
But he has. Itâs packaged in brown paper, but you can feel that itâs a thick hardback.
âThe Bible? Thatâs very sweet of you,â you say.
âRight.â He reaches to take it back, but youâre too quick.
âIâll open it later.â
âWhen?â
âWhen you drive me to your flat, in about two minutes. Let me get my purse.â
He doesnât look particularly happy with that, but he canât object, can he? Not when heâs already butted into your place.
His flat is odd, clearly not meant for visitors, small and very full, with two bookshelves and a massive bin holding a ridiculous number of unwashed clothes, plus six apples on the kitchen table for no apparent reason.
You gesture at the shelves. âWhatâs all this?â
He shrugs. âGot a taste for it in prison. Quakers used to donate old shit, and I was bored.â
âAre you still bored?â
âSometimes.â
You move a pile of paperwork from a chair to the floor, then sit down and start tearing at the brown paper packaging.
âVolumes one and two of Gibbonsâs The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.â You look up. âNot quite what I was expecting.â
âWhat were you expecting?â
âThe Kama Sutra?â
He laughs. âI have that around here somewhere.â
âSave it for a rainy day.â You trace the edge of the cover with one finger, then flip it open to a random page and begin to read. âThe troops fought like men interested in the decision of the quarrel; and as military spirit and party zeal were strongly diffused throughout the whole community, a vanquished chief was immediately supplied with new adherents, eager to shed their blood in the same cause.â You look up and grin.
âWot?â
âThe Italian information wasnât just because Italians are going to die. You get off on this, donât you.â
âIs it so unusual to want someone with a full head?â
âAs opposed to an empty one? No, not unusual. But gratifying.â
âHow gratifying?â
âCome over and find out.â
Itâs nice to finally fuck on a bed for once. Afterwards, you drape yourself across his back, tracing the scars there.
âYouâre Shakespeare, you know that?â he says.
âYeah?â
âThough she be but little--â
You bite his shoulder.
âIt was a compliment!â he protests.
âShe is fierce? I know.â You press your lips to the bitten skin. âIt was a thank-you. Iâm fond of Beatrice.â
He checks it over. Sure enough, you didnât break skin, but there are marks on him now. He makes a face.
âIf I knew you were so delicateâŚâ
You both laugh.
âYou remind me of Shakespeare too,â you say.
âYeah?â
âYou want to guess?â
âI am a Jew.â
âIâm aware, Alfie.â
He grunts; you grin. âI take it that The Merchant of Venice was one of the old things donated?â
He nods.
âGo on, then.â
âI am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions?â At first, he starts lightly, trying to inject irony in his voice, distance, but it doesnât work; the rhythm of the words carries him along. âFed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed by the same means, warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer as a Christian is? If you prick us, do we not bleed?â You can see, now, why Moshe called him Mr. Solomons and not Alfie; why he seems able to command the entire neighborhood. You see where the ability to ignore his own spilled blood comes from.
The rest of the speech is one long exercise in seeing how low his voice can go, and at the very last line, he strokes your cheek, tender like heâs never been, a menace in it that makes your mouth go dry.
âThe villainy you teach me I will execute,â he murmurs, âAnd it shall go hard, but I will better the instruction.â
You didnât think that you could be surprised by wanting him in any kind of way again, but here you are, thighs still sticky from the last time and you want him, you want him, you want him. And you take him, giving what you received, bruising but also, also. Taking note when he trembles.
Later, when youâre so worn-out you wonât even lift your head to talk, you say, âYou didnât guess right.â
The truth is, you were thinking about the time a teacher asked for an analysis of Marc Antonyâs famous speech and you ended up wanting to fuck him. The ambition, the skill, the bloodlust underneath it all, the wrenching sobs in front of a crowd, flash of white teeth grinning victory in private--yeah, you could ride that ancient motherfucker. Alfieâs not at that level of duplicity, but heâs got the same charisma, the same savagery underneath.
âWhat was it, then?â he says.
His ego is healthy enough already; it doesnât need feeding.
âExeunt, pursued by a bear.â
VIII. A Problem
âYou know what? There should be a problem by now,â he declares.
âMm?â You lean back in your chair. He likes to monologue and you donât mind listening.
âThe honeymoonâs fucking over, innit.â
âI wasnât aware we were married.â
âWeâre not, but itâs been three months. Three months means we shouldâve found a fucking problem. You give any two people three months together, and they should be able to find a dozen problems and go their separate ways, right?â
You eye him suspiciously, but he doesnât seem to be gearing himself up for a separation; on the contrary, he just looks like heâs pontificating as per usual. You relax. âA problem like what?â
âLike the danger isnât very fucking sexy anymore now that youâre close enough to get shot if a man comes through that door. Like youâre tired of staying inside and you want to be walking on my arm, like you havenât seen a share of the profits, like you realize youâll never get any further in, like you want kids, like youâre fuckinâ...worried about saving my soul or some such shit.â Alright, maybe this is not a usual speech. He does look mildly worried.
âThatâs a pretty big ego you have there, Alfie,â you say. âYou do see that none of it fits, right?â
âI see that, and itâs very fucking concerning, because Iâm wondering what brand new three month problem youâre going to come up with. You and that imagination.â
âA finger up the ass is not innovation, Alfie, itâs a pretty common cure for temporary boredom.â
âAnd the fucking marathon last Friday?â
âThat Iâll proudly claim as a personal invention.â
He smiles, and itâs a little terrifying, that. Yeah, maybe he is a little fond of you, maybe youâre a little fond of him, but itâs still two people getting what they want, at the core. Thatâs what it is.
âListen,â you say, âIf you want a problem, youâll have to make it up yourself, because I have none. And for the record, thereâs a three-month mark for women, too, and itâs wildly different.â
âYeah?â
âYeah.â You get up out of your chair and got to sit in his lap, tilting his chin up, beard itchy in your palm. âAt three months, heâll start to think he owns you. You can see this because heâll start to try to make you marry him, start to get bored and see other women, start to try in bed less and less, start to push you around.â
âYou think Iâd do that?â
âI think if weâre going to talk about changes at three months, we should talk about how completely unwedded I am to you, in every sense of the word. How I know that the good shit--the nearly unbelievable shit, the way you try to read ahead of me in Gibbons, the loaves you give me when I go, the way you get off on getting me off--how I know that good shit sometimes doesnât last. How I abandon wells that have gone dry, how Iâve got too much fucking experience for that.â Your grip on his jaw tightens. âDonât you fucking dare. Donât pity me, it wasnât me. It was my sister, and a girl I trained with, and probably half the other women out there. Itâs only common sense, nothing personal.â
âYou donât trust me, eh?â
âI donât see the need. And donât think I havenât noticed you have an entire room you keep locked every time I come over.â
He looks guilty, and thatâs not at all what you wanted, not what you expected. To have a locked room is not beyond the bounds of what youâre here for, after all.
âDonât get hurt feelings,â you say. âItâs not my fault a woman canât be both safe and sentimental at the same time.â
âShe could try.â
âShe doesnât want to. You kill people, Alfie.â
â...Yeah.â
âThen there we are.â Thereâs something in his eyes you canât read, and thatâs a problem, that right, there, but if you canât figure it out, you canât fix it. You kiss him by way of a panacea, and then you get up and wander over to the kitchen to get a glass of water.
âIs it that simple?â he calls after you.
âIt is.â
IX. Rum Is For Pirates
And it seems that way for another very good two weeks. You still stop by the bakery every now and again, but itâs rarer; mostly he picks you up at eight and returns you before midnight, and thatâs a little less sleep for you but a lot more fun. Problems, despite his prediction, do not arise.
Until rum night. After much wild guessing, youâve finally hit upon the distillery in the bakery basement, and heâs agreed to fill you with about as many samples of the product as you can bear, it being a Saturday night and neither of you heading to church Sunday.
âItâs shit, innit,â he says, pulling a face after his first drink.
âThen why are you having another?â
He shrugs, and grins, and youâre halfway to kissing that off his face when the phone rings.
He mutters his replies, again in Yiddish, and youâre idly contemplating the possibility of licking something off his shoulder blades. Not rum, whiskey maybe. But his voice rises in concern and lowers back into something steadier than usual, which you read as reassurance, and by the time he hangs up, youâve got your shoes on.
âI can walk from here,â you say. Itâs not a great time of night, but nobodyâs going to touch you.
âNo, Iâm afraid youâre going to have to come with me,â he says.
âIâm not doing a thing for your business.â
âItâs closer to your business than mine.â
Which is how you end up knocking on the door of a crowded flat with a five year old girl jumping up and down shouting on the sofa and a twelve year old boy, face grave, answering the door.
âHi,â you say. âIâm Vanessa.â You stick out your hand, which he shakes like heâs a fortysomething banker. It would be charming if the backdrop wasnât so sad.
âIâm Joshua. Did Mr. Solomons send you?â he says.
âYes, he just drove to get you some groceries.â
âThe stores are all closed.â
âHeâll find a way.â Thankfully, this seems to satisfy the little man, and you donât have to elaborate on whatâs undoubtedly going to be a fair bit of theft. He steps aside and lets you in.
âHow long has it been just you two?â you say.
âTwo days.â
âWhatâs her name?â
âTabitha. Tabby for short.â
âAlright.â You lock the door behind you, then squat in front of him. âJoshua, youâve done a good job. Weâre going to take care of this. Can you do something for me?â
âMaybe.â
God, the kidâs smart. Your chest aches. âCan you get some water for you and your sister?â
âWhy?â
âBecause dehydration always comes first.â You straighten.
âWhat are you going to do?â
âIâm going to have a look in the bedroom.â
âDonât.â
âLove, someoneâs going to have to do it. Or itâs going to make the whole flat smell very bad. Itâs not going to go away.â
His face crumples. You squat down again and give him a hug, and presently the little girl has climbed down off the sofa to join in. She smells like piss but thatâs understandable. Your dress was going to be a wreck after tonight anyway.
When theyâre both done crying, you sit them down at the kitchen table for some water each, and then you venture into the bedroom. You were expecting a mother, but this is clearly more of a grandmother, hair gray, and not beginning to smell too much, yet. Eyes closed, thank God. Youâve not dealt with many bodies in your time, but itâs always twice as bad when the eyes are open.
Likely thereâs some sort of culturally polite way to deal with this, but there are children waiting on you to get it over with, so you untuck the edges of the sheet from under the mattress and tie her up in the sheets, bundling pretty tightly.
Joshua doesnât seem to like the silence much, so you end up talking loudly through the crack in the door, even as you start in on the bathroom with soap and a rag.
âMiss?â
âYes, Joshua.â
âWho are you?â
âVanessa.â
âAre you Mr. Solomonâs wife?â
âNo, Iâm a teacher.â
âIâve never seen you at school.â
âThere are other schools.â
He absorbs this.
âMiss?â
âYes, Joshua.â
âWho is Mr. Solomons?â
You want to laugh. âIâm not sure, sometimes. I suppose heâs a baker. He likes rum. Maybe heâs a pirate.â
âPirates need ships.â
âA pirate on land, then. He has the beard for it, right?â
âI guess.â
âHow do you know him, Joshua?â
âHe was there when Dad went to jail. Dadâs a murderer,â he says, like murderer is the same as florist or milkman.
You find yourself saying, âOh,â politely, like you do to old friends declaring marriages you donât approve of.
âYeah, and he gave us a card with his phone number on it. It had a flower on it. It was pretty fancy.â
Just then, the door opens, and Alfie storms in in a flurry of jovial Yiddish and a mass of bags. By the time you emerge into the kitchen, the kids are stuffing their faces with makeshift sandwiches of bread and cheese. You wait until youâre quite close to him, then you lift onto your tiptoes and murmur in his ear: âDo you know where youâre taking her?â
âYeah.â
âThen you should do it now.â
You cover Tabbyâs eyes with one hand, but Joshuaâs such a little man, he wonât let you, and you donât have the heart to force him to look away. Anyways, when Alfie carries her out, all wrapped up in the sheets, she just looks like a bundle. You tied those knots tight.
The miracle is that Tabby actually likes taking baths, so thatâs not so difficult, and then the food hits her and Joshua at about the same time.
âYou didnât have to touch the body,â he says, as you both watch them, curled up, asleep on the sofa.
âIt was the work at hand.â
âI can have Ollie walk you home, if you want.â
âOllie?â
âTall, dark hair. You could bump into him while robbing his house and heâd apologize to you for it.â
âOh, that one. No, itâs fine. Thereâs still laundry to do, and I know youâre shit at laundry.â
âIâve done my own laundry for decades now, mate.â
âItâs a little sad that youâre so proud of it, Alfie.â
âI can handle this myself.â
âI know. But Iâm here now, so I might as well.â
Itâs several hours of work, but not without its peculiar rewards. While packing up the grandmotherâs clothes, you even catch Alfie shining Joshuaâs little shoes.
âWot?â he says, as if youâve accused him of something.
You just shake your head and get back to folding blouses.
After what feels like a month but is probably more like several hours, Judith shows up, and the house is clean and as childproofed as can be, you and Alfie both dozing in separate chairs.
You donât even bother to explain, just lurch up out of the chair.
âWait,â says a little voice. Itâs Joshua, blinking sleepily up at the three of you. âWhere are you going?â
You start forward, but Alfieâs closer, and he holds up a hand, so you let him take it. You watch as he kneels next to the sofa and starts talking, softly. You donât understand the words, but you donât have to. Joshuaâs little face is earnest and rapt beneath the sleepiness.
âHello,â Judith says to you, brightly.
âHello.â You offer her a smile. You know this is all ridiculous, or maybe again thatâs the sleep deprivation.
She reaches into her purse and produces a muffin.
âYouâre a queen among women, Judith. An absolute queen.â
The muffin doesnât last you nearly long enough; soon you find yourself sitting next to Alfie in the car, and nothing to do with your mouth. You think you might be supposed to say something, but you donât know what it is. Youâre not quite sure how to act. Because now youâre not just the foulmouthed teacher that doesnât know when to stop, and heâs not just the violent baker that amasses power via killing and stealing in his spare time. Youâre still all of that, but other things too, enough to make you people.
âHave we found a problem?â he says.
You shake your head. âItâs just different.â
Maybe it is a bit of a problem, because now that heâs more than a cock with various attractive qualities attached, heâs a man, and youâve never known what to do with a man before, never having seriously tried.
Heâs watching you. âYou still want a drink?â
You look out the car window. The sky is beginning to lighten in the east, and all your body wants to do is sleep, but leaving him now feels like leaving something unfinished. âWhy not?â
X. High Sun
You wake up to a lick on your face. âNo.â You push away, but your hand meets fur, not skin, and--âAlfie!â
âWot?â He ambles in from the kitchen, looking like heâs not even hungover, the bastard, already dressed, apple in hand.
âYou had a dog this whole time and didnât tell me?â
âYeah.â He clucks at the little brown spaniel, which leaps off the bed and circles his feet, panting excitedly. âWant an apple?â
âNo.â You sit up, swiping your hair out of your face. The first time youâve slept in his bed, and you didnât even fuck first. Youâre not sure how to feel about that. âIs that what you kept all locked up in the room?â
âI have guns and papers and illegal shit in there. My neighbor takes the dog when you come over. But he had to go to work this morning.â
âRight.â You make it to the bathroom in time to throw up in the toilet, which helps, oddly enough. You wash yourself up, bath and all, and emerge in one of his shirts, partly because your dress is spoilt but partly because youâve always wanted to. He demonstrates his appreciation for the sight first by handing over toast spread thick with butter, then by watching you eat with particularly avid eyes. You lick your fingers clean when youâre done.
âAlfie?â
âMm?â
âYouâre going to have to lock the dog in the bathroom for this part.â
He does.
You take your time unbuttoning the shirt while he rushes to get off the vest, the shirt, the trousers, the socks, itâs funny and then suddenly heâs crawling up the bed, sliding a hand up your thigh, and you forget whatâs funny with his head between your legs, taking his time. He licks into you and palms your breasts and youâre not used to this, the odd, luxurious feeling of hardly moving at all, flexing a little under him, taking everything and giving nothing. But itâs on offer, so you take it.
He doesnât make it easy on you, though. He usually knows when youâre close, because your nails leave crescents on his shoulders, or his hair gets a sharp tug, but this time he backs off even before that, slows down the pace, lapping at you in a way thatâs nowhere close to satisfying. He reaches up and palms your breasts, but thatâs not much use, either. You bite your lip and wait. Clearly, the man has a plan, and youâll indulge him.
The plan turns out to be him touching you in every possible way thatâs unsatisfactory: one finger slipping in, shallowly, a slight prickle of teeth dragging down your neck, two fingers in while he mouths at your nipples and thatâs--oh thatâs alright, thatâs better, but the rhythmâs barely there and youâre this close to just shoving him off and taking care of yourself (as youâve done twice now, on occasions when the frustration became too much), but then he ducks back down, starts sucking at your clit properly, and and you sigh a yeah, like that.
When he finally lets you come, youâre whimpering for it, hands clutching at the sheets, words lost to the pleasure, sight almost too. You look down, afterwards, and heâs got his head resting on your thigh, watching you with a pride that doesnât annoy you as much as it used to. Doesnât annoy you at all, actually.
âCome here,â you say.
He crawls up obligingly for the kiss, moans his encouragements when you feel him through his trousers. He breaks away entirely when you unbutton them and guide him into you. So much, so soon after your last orgasm, you can feel yourself twitching like mad, squirming into him, away from him, but you hold yourself to it because you want to see. And when you look up, yeah, there it is: the slightest of hesitation, buried under ten layers of his cock thinking for him, enough that he moves far too slowly to be giving anything to himself. There it is. You were right.
You push him off, clumsy still but determined, push him till youâve got him on his back, where you want him, and you can mount him again, biting down on a fuck at how much it all is, oversensitive yes but determined more than anything else. You roll against him once, give a shit-eating grin at his groan, and then start to ride him in earnest. âCome on,â you pant, when youâve got your voice back enough to manage two syllables. Youâre five strokes behind coming apart, but youâre holding on, you want to take him with you. âFuck me,â and he looks up at you, trembling above him, with something like awe, and obeys.
When a wet washcloth has done its work and youâre side by side in the bed (another first) and the record player sings out some sweet contralto, he discovers that he likes to play with your hair, and you donât see any point in stopping him.
âWe could do this again,â he says.
âI was planning on it.â
âNo, all of this. Breakfast, and the dog.â
âAnd scrubbing down floors at 3am?â
âIâll try to keep the dead bodies out of it, love, but I canât promise itâll be all be sunshine if you stick around for more than three hours a week.â
Yeah, thatâs fair. You should say no to the whole thing. But thereâs worse things than a dog, some toast, an midday fuck. Thereâs worse things than sweet and savage, fingers sure on your thighs, on a trigger, on the handle of a broom. Where else are you gonna find a man that can play tenderness straight to a little boy, gentle and right, and then turn around and play tenderness twisted up to a threat too, rasping in a way that makes you wet? You wouldâve been just fine with the cock alone, but thereâs other things to consider, you see that now. You decide to let yourself consider them.
âIâll think about it.â
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#God I'm such an asshole#Alfie x OC#Alfie x Reader#Peaky Blinders imagine#Peaky Blinders#Peaky Blinders fanfiction#Peaky Blinders fanfic#Alfie Solomons#alfiesolcmons#mine
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Mountain Man - Jakeâs Playlist
1. Mother Natureâs Son - The BeatlesÂ
(Jake enjoys nature, hiking, camping, and anything to do with the outdoors)
Born a poor young country boy--Mother Nature's son All day long I'm sitting singing songs for everyone
Sit beside a mountain stream--see her waters rise
Listen to the pretty sound of music as she flies
Find me in my field of grass--Mother Nature's son Swaying daisies sing a lazy song beneath the sun
2. Girl All The Bad Guys Want - Bowling For Soup
(Jake enjoys Vanessaâs friendship, he sometimes wonders if she considers looking his way for once, but realizes sheâs got a type)
She likes the godsmack and I like agent orange Her CD changer's full of singers that are mad at their dad She says she'd like to score some reefer and a forty She'll never know that I'm the best that she'll never have
And when she walks, All the wind blows and the angels sing. She'll never notice me!
3. Still Not A Player - Big Pun
(Jake not a fan of settling down anytime soon, so he enjoys hooking up with girls at his leisure)
I love from butter pecan to blackberry molass' I don't discriminate, I regulate every shade of the ass Long as you show class, and pass my test Fat (ass and) breasts, highly intelligent bachlorettes That's the best, I won't settle for less I wanna ghetto brunette, with unforgettable sex I lay your head on my chest, come feel my heartbeat We can park the Jeep, pump Mobb Deep, and just spark the leaf
4. Love is War - Scorpion
(Jake loved and respected his dad all of his life, but once he found out he was cheating on his mom and would eventually tear his family apart, he lost all respect for the man)
You were once a friend to me Now you are my enemy Passion turns to hate and you make Hate worth fighting for I will re-write history And you will not exist to me On the day you crossed the line I found out love is war
5. KK - Wiz Khalifa
(Jake enjoys smoking weed, it helps relax him when life becomes too complicated)
I got KK in my pipe, pockets fat like Kelly Price If you wanna take a hit you can't be afraid of heights You gon' need some new lungs, roll me up a blunt-a-thon While I'm smoking out the bong getting sucked like a thumb Boy Iâm in a daze, tangerine haze I smoke so much KK they should've called it Juicy J Bombay and lemonade, weed get the lemon taste Never hit the bong, let me demonstrate
6. Paolo Nutini - Better Mans
(Jake has been friends with Katie for years, but his feelings for her have been growing deeper for a little while. He doesnât want to ruin their relationship by saying anything, so he keeps his feelings at bay)
Gonna treat her like a real man can She's fearless, she's free Oh she is a real live wire And that girl She's got me feeling so much better Oh you trade all the money in the world Just to see this girl's smile All the while, she'll make you feel so much better
7. Eric Clapton - Cocaine
(Cocaine makes Jake feel better some days, helps him not only focus on schoolwork, but helps him feel less anxious or afraid)
If you got that lose, you want to kick them blues, cocaine When your day is done, and you want to ride on cocaine
She don't lie, she don't lie, she don't lie, Cocaine
8. Swimming Pools -Kendrick Lamar
(Jake loves a good time, and whether itâs smoking and drinking with Eli, or patrolling parties for girls, he dives in head first)
Nigga why you babysittin' only 2 or 3 shots? I'mma show you how to turn it up a notch First you get a swimming pool full of liquor, then you dive in it Pool full of liquor, then you dive in it I wave a few bottles, then I watch 'em all flock All the girls wanna play Baywatch I got a swimming pool full of liquor and they dive in it Pool full of liquor I'mma dive in it
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