#bastien writers

[thatfunkylilfey]

✦ A Guide to Mothlight ✦

a guide to Mothlight by Florian A. Ellis ; book i. of The Serpent & The Fey trilogy (x)

✦ Blurb

The day their sister disappeared without a trace, Aeramis’ world fell out from under them, leaving them to wander aimlessly, taking it day by day. That was until six months ago.

Since then, Aeramis—or Vanya as they go by these days—has been following a trail they refuse to stray from. A trail that will lead them to someone called the Spider, an individual with the ability to point Aeramis towards the man responsible for tearing their family apart. After all, Aeramis has one thing on their mind. Revenge. Something they are well-suited for being a shapeshifter, someone able to appear as anyone at any time.

As the trail for the Spider grows cold, Bastien—full-time mercenary captain, Aeramis’ part-time lover—appears in the same city searching for the Spider for reasons of his own. The Spider has hired him, promising not just gold but clues regarding a past Bastien cannot remember.

Knowing they work better together, the two of them reconnect, and the trail to the Spider becomes clearer. But when their meeting with the Spider points Aeramis in the direction of both the man they’re searching for and their childhood home, the shapeshifter and the mercenary captain are left with more questions than answers.

Aeramis must enlist both new friends and old in order to seek the revenge they are so desperate to enact, no matter the cost, allowing for nothing to stand in their way.

✦ Elements

MONKEY MAN (2024) x ROMAN MYTHOLOGY x THE CASK OF AMONTILLADO meets the vibes of ELFHAME x ARCANE

contains:

Adult [Low] Science [High/Mythic Fantasy]

Dual POV

Unreliable Narrators

Shapeshifting as a Metaphor for Gender Identity/Expression

[Alchemical] Industrial Revolution-inspired setting

tropes:

Revenge at Any Cost

Found Family

Established Couple

NB MC x Trans Man LI

They're Feral ; He's Enamored

Queer Disasters

Memory Loss

✦ Playlist

Which Witch — Florence + The Machine Wolf at Your Door — Chloe x Halle Give — Sleep Token Eat Your Young — Hozier Whatever It Takes — Imagine Dragons Heaven, Iowa — Fall Out Boy

art in the fourth image credited to the ever-lovely and ever-talented @emimillerart ✦

[justcallmefox89]

Cinderfella's Adventures in Cordonia Masterlist

An AU of The Royal Romance with a male MC and a bisexual prince.

Callum's Playlist * Lord Huron - The Night We Met * Allen Stone - Consider Me * Sleep Token - Chokehold * Hozier - Tell It To My Heart * LP - The One That You Love * Wonho - Losing You * The Struts - One Night Only * Foxy Shazam - Holy Touch * Post Malone - I Fall Apart * Meg Myers - Desire * Jidenna - Little Bit More * Troye Sivan - Rush * Foster the People - Sit Next to Me * James Bay - Us * Foy Vance - She Burns * The Civil Wars - Poison and Wine * Grace Potter and the Nocturnals - Things I Never Needed *LP - Switchblade *The Killers - Romeo and Juliet

Chapter One - The Meet Cute

Chapter Two - Callum gets his first taste of life in Cordonia, reunites with Liam, and meets his competition.

Chapter Three - Liam and Callum enjoy some time alone together, Callum meets the other Beaumont brother, and Liam makes an uncomfortable request.

Chapter Four - Callum sees Liam for the first time since the conversation in the garden, Bastien keeps a close eye on the American, and Constantine reveals how he truly feels about some of the suitors.

Chapter Five - Callum encounters Madeline for the first time and the group sneaks out of the palace for a nighttime pastry run.  Bastien discovers one of Callum’s secrets.

Chapter Six - Bastien and Liam finally learn the shocking truth about Callum’s life in America.

Chapter Seven - The court visits Lythikos, Callum and Liam heat things up.

Chapter Eight - On the last night in Lythikos Callum reaches his breaking point.

Chapter Nine - Liam and Callum learn that there are some choices that you can’t take back, and everything has a consequence.

Chapter Ten - It’s been over a year since Callum fled Cordonia in disgrace and went into hiding, but now some familiar faces are back in New York and searching for their missing friend.

Chapter Eleven - It’s too late to turn back now.

Chapter Twelve - Drake, Hana, and Maxwell reveal their grand plan; Drake makes a confession. 

Chapter Thirteen - Thirteen has always been Drake’s lucky number. 

Chapter Fourteen - Callum realizes he isn’t as over Liam as he thought he was.

Chapter Fifteen - The truth always comes out.

Chapter Sixteen - It all comes out.

Chapter Seventeen - Callum speaks to his former competition and receives an offer from Madeline.

Chapter Eighteen - A late night visit to Callum results in an unexpected offer and an explosive argument. Bonus: Papa MacKenzie makes an appearance!

Chapter Nineteen - Liam finally faces the consequences of his actions.

Chapter Twenty - Drake and Liam learn more about Callum's past.

Chapter Twenty - One - Callum makes a request.

Chapter Twenty-Two - Callum and Liam battle it out and Drake chooses a side.

Chapter Twenty-Three - Return to Cordonia.

[karahalloway]

Mardi Gras Mayhem - Chapter 9: Bastien

Fandom: TRR

Series: Mardi Gras Mayhem (click the link to read each part in order!)

Pairings: None

Summary: The TRR lads celebrate Maxwell's 21st birthday in New Orleans during Mardi Gras. What can possibly go wrong?

Synopsis: Bastien goes on the hunt for Leo and Liam in the Mardi Gras crowd...

Word count: 3,000

Warnings: M (swearing, brief mentions of nudity, spicy food)

A/N: This is a part of a collaboration written for @choicesprompts' March prompt.

Bastien

"Rico? You got eyes in them?"

"Yessir," came the crackling confirmation over the comms. "They're right in— Oh, shit!"

Bastien grabbed the mic in front of him. "Rico? What the hell happened? Rico?"

All he got was radio silence.

"Bring up the body cam!" he barked at the techie.

The tap of keys rang out as the view on the monitor changed.

"What in the—?"

Words failed Bastien. Never — in all his years as a King's Guard — had he seen anything like this.

"Are they... topless?" whispered the techie with a slack-jawed expression.

"I don't care if they're buck-ass naked!" snapped Bastien, quickly yanking his composure back together as the bare breasts continued to bounce past on the screen. "We need eyes on London and Paris! Dimitriou! Sit rep!"

"I'm neck deep in tits, sir...!"

"Goddammit!" hissed Bastien under his breath. "Why must I do everything myself...? Bruno!"

The techie nearly gave himself whiplash as he wrenched his mesmerised gaze away from the titillating view. "Y-yes, sir...?"

"Get me an earpiece and a tracker. I'm going green," he declared, pulling his jacket on.

Bruno's eyes widened. "But—"

"We need all the eyes we can spare out in the field. And since I can't work all this crap—" he threw his arm out at the various pieces of surveillance tech that had been shoved into the tight space they occupied, "—you're going to have to hold down the fort."

The techie swallowed nervously. But he knew better than to question his commanding officer. Especially in a crisis situation. So, he forced himself to nod. "Yes, sir."

"Good lad," approved Bastien as he quickly slotted the earpiece into place, and pocketed the tracker. "Keep all the comms links open, and keep me informed of everything."

Without waiting for Bruno to confirm his acquiescence, Bastien threw the back of the van open and jumped out onto the pavement. Slamming the door closed behind him, he dove into the press.

God, this was a nightmare...

When Constantine had informed him that the young princes wished to accompany the Beaumonts to New Orleans for Maxwell's birthday celebrations, Bastien had not thought much of it. One city was basically like any other when it came to security, after all.

So, he'd accepted the assignment on the spot.

But as he'd set about planning the details of the security arrangements, he had quickly come to the less than reassuring realisation that this operation was going to be anything but run-of-the-mill.

Not only had the Beaumonts picked the busiest weekend of the New Orleans social calendar — when over 1 million visitors descended on the city for the world-famous Mardi Gras celebrations — but instead of simply enjoying the festivities from the safety of the bar of their five-star hotel, the nobles actually wanted to join the chaotic extravaganza.

In matching costumes.

Bastien had tried to veto the sparkly outfits that Maxwell had smuggled into the country in his oversized suitcase. His team's job was going to be difficult enough trying to keep tabs on his royal charges without them camouflaging themselves in the same kind of gaudy garb that everyone else on the street would be wearing.

But his objections had not only been soundly ignored, but Maxwell had actually foisted the same loud ensemble onto him as well!

Christ alive...

Though as a consolation, he had managed to sneak a few additional tracking dots onto the Princes' clothes before they'd set out for their night on the town.

He just had to hope that nothing had happened to Leo and Liam (codenamed London and Paris respectively for this trip) after his team had lost sight of them in the wild crowd.

Because a few tracking dots weren't going to help in the face of a mugging, much less an assassination attempt. That's why his team also had boots on the ground — to provide close-quarters protection should things take a sudden turn for the worst.

At least, that was the idea.

Because Leo, especially, liked to treat his detail as (un)willing participants in a high-stakes game of hide-and-seek. And Liam was apt to blindly follow his brother into questionable situations, with the result that both royals had the potential to go AWOL in the chaos of the streets.

Which meant that Bastien had his work doubly cut out for him.

And he was not going to be the one responsible for losing the Rys brothers in a foreign country.

Full stop.

He'd rather face a firing squad than Constantine's ire.

Continuing to shove his way through the press, he finally arrived at the Rys' brothers' last confirmed location...

...but there was no sign of them anywhere.

Bastien craned his neck, hoping to catch sight of a tell-tale mop of blonde and/or raven hair, but too many people were sporting top hats, platform shoes, and even stilts. The haphazardly flying beads, coconuts and wayward boas were not helping matters either.

"Damn it..." he hissed under his breath.

"Sir!" Bruno's voice crackled to life in his ear. "I've got them, sir!"

"Where?"

"In the building. Two hundred meters to your right."

"Good work, Bruno," acknowledged Bastien, already elbowing his way through the crush. "All teams! Converge on my location, stat!"

Having arrived at the building in question — which he could see was some sort of dive bar — he was about to step through the door when Bruno's voice buzzed in his earpiece again.

"Sir! I don't know what happened, but I... I..."

"Jesus Christ, lad," shouted Bastien. "Just spit it out already!"

"I can't see them anymore."

Bastien froze. "What do you mean, you can't see them?"

"They're... they're gone, sir," stammered the techie. "They just... disappeared..."

The colour drained from Bastirn's face. "Oh, shit..."

A lost signal meant one of only two things: a technical malfunction or foul play. And since the realm of possibilities where all the tracking signal disappeared simultaneously was slim to none, that meant that they were definitely up shit creek.

"Rico! Dimitriou!" barked Bastien as the team leads finally arrived, sweaty and panting. "Cover the exists! No one's getting in or—"

He almost got bowled over as a large group of animated men wearing matching lime green t-shirts flooded out of the bar onto the sidewalk.

"Which way's the hotel...?" shrieked a well-coiffed blonde with the slogan Most Likely to Get Lost emblazoned across his chest.

"I thought we were going to a bar...!" objected a lanky brunette bearing the phrase Most Likely to Get Us All Arrested on his top.

"We just left the bar!" shouted a third, swinging his man purse out — and very narrowly missing Bastien's face.

"Good thing too, because all the hot guys are out here!" crooned a fourth sporting a tipsy grin and smoky eyeliner, as he laid eyes on Rico and Dimitriou.

"Hey!" objected his ginger-haired friend. "You're already married, Jerry! You made your choice! These hunks are for us!"

"So?!" retorted Jerry, grabbing onto Bastien. "Brad isn't here, is he?"

"No!" cried the redhead, giving his supposed friend a shove. "I saw him first! This one's mine!"

"Where the hell did you get this?" demanded Bastien he snapped a hold over the redhead's wrist.

"Hey!" cried the man. "What do you think you're—?"

"Answer the question!" ordered Bastien, raising the ginger's arm up so there was no way he could overlook the much-too-big Patek Philippe that adorned his manicured wrist.

"Okay, fine!" came the offended scoff. "A random guy with a fancy accent dumped it on me."

Bastien's eyes widened. "Was he tall and blonde?"

"Yeah, I guess so...?"

"Was there another male with him? Similar height, dark hair—?"

"How the heck should I know!"

"By paying attention," grumbled Bastien as he expertly slipped the heavy time-piece off the man’s wrist. "Rico! Dimitriou! We have a lead!"

Quickly extricating himself from the throng, Bastien pushed his way towards the dive bar, the other Guard hot on his heel.

Bursting into the smoky and dimly lit venue, he cast his eyes around the room, looking for the missing prince(s).

But he couldn't see them anywhere.

"Rico! Dimitriou! Fan out! If they're still here, we need to find them!"

The Guard dispersed, pushing and shoving their way though the press of patrons, leaving a trail of obscenities and split liquor in their wake.

Bastien, meanwhile, marched up to the bar, pulling his phone out as he went. "Hey! You!"

The bartender flicked his gaze up from the row of shots he was pouring.

"Have you seen these men?" Bastien demanded, thrusting a picture of Leo and Liam at the guy.

The man scoffed. "If I did, I ain't gonna remember. It's been a madhouse in here all day with sororities, bachelor parties, tourists—"

"Damn it—!" Bastien shook his head irately as he turned away.

They needed another avenue.

"Bruno! I need maps, blueprints, CCTV... Anything you've got!"

"Actually, sir, that may not be necessary..."

Bastien snapped a hand up to his ear to make sure he'd heard Bruno correctly. "You found them?"

"I got a hit on their carrier signal. Both of them. They're—"

"Send me the coordinates!" shouted Bastien as he threw himself out of the front door again.

Pulling up the secure tracking app on his phone, he saw two red dots appear on the screen.

Less than a two blocks away...

But his path was blocked by a virtual sea of people. And trying to fight his way through the crush was going to cost him time... time which he did not have.

He was going to have to take a less direct route.

Spinning on his heel, he dived into the closest side-street, elbowing people indiscriminately out of the way as he went. As he moved further away from the epicentre of the carnival, the crowd started to thin mercifully out.

Five blocks out, where the crowd had dwindled to a manageable level, he changed direction, picking up a route that was parallel with the one that the two phone signals were taking.

He was almost level with the red dots flashing on his screen when one of them suddenly disappeared.

Bastien skidded to a confused halt. "What in the—?"

The wayward dot popped up again — in a different location.

Fuck.

"Sir, one of the signals—"

"I know," huffed Bastien in reply.

He didn't have the ability to track two leads at the same time — he was just one man and in his haste to make progress, he'd left the rest of his team behind.

"Which one's London's signal?" he asked Bruno tightly via the comms.

He'd hoped never to be in this situation. Of having to choose. But not all lives were created equal and health and well-being of the heir was ultimately more important than that of the spare.

"The one that's diverged. I... I'll mark it blue for you."

"Thanks, lad," acknowledged Bastien, picking up the pace again. "Send the location of the other signal to Rico. They can take up the chase for Paris."

"Right away, sir."

Ignoring the sweat steaming down his back courtesy of the impromptu exertion undertaken in an ill-fitting polyester jacket under the sultry Louisiana heat, Bastien continued his dogged quest, keeping half an eye on the tracking app as he went.

Before long, he arrived at the location where Leo's phone signal had come to an ultimate stop: Bubba's Gumbo Palace.

Without pausing to catch his breath, or wipe the perspiration from his face, Bastien pushed the gaudily-painted door open, the wall-mounted bell jingling to announce his arrival.

But a quick inspection of the small space (the intentional misnaming of the eatery having been an obvious advertising gimmick) revealed only a few cheap metal tables and chairs and a very pungent smell of garlic.

Maybe he was in the back...?

Wouldn't be the first time that the Crown Prince had been found in a questionable location under even more questionable circumstances... usually in the company of a woman (or three).

But as Bastien was about to take a step forward, he suddenly found his path blocked by a midget of a man, sporting a bald head and a splattered chef's apron.

"You must be hungry!" the man declared with a gap-toothed grin.

"Actually, I'm looking for—"

"Well, you ain't gotta look no further, ti!" pronounced the dwarf, jabbing his greasy ladle at Bastien. "Ma name's Bubba and lordeee if I ain't just gone and made da best batch o' gumbo this side o' Dixie!"

"I'm sure it's great, but—"

"The only question is, how hot do ya wan' it?" asked Bubba, scampering enthusiastically behind the counter. "Hot? Hellishly hot? Or hot enough to fry a Mexican?"

"Look, I'm not here for—"

"Mexican it is!" declared Bubba, furiously ladling gumbo into a bowl. "That'll put some hair on your chest!"

"I have hair on my chest..."

"Not this kinda hair!!" came the shouted proclamation as Bubba finished putting the finishing touches on his creation. "Now what do ya wanna wash it down with?"

"The only thing I want is—"

"Coke!" pronounced Bubba, slamming a can of Dr Pepper down on the counter. "No two ways 'bout it, ti!"

Bastien raised a brow, but held off on commenting. He didn't want to get drawn down an even more potentially time-consuming tangent than the one he found himself on already.

Instead, he reached for his wallet. "How much do I owe you?"

Since Bubba had refused to take 'no' for an answer, Bastien figured he might as well just pay up so he could—

The ear-splitting opener of Right Said Fred's I'm Too Sexy rent the silence of the small space.

"Oh, 'scuse me a sec," flushed Bubba, pulling the phone out of his apron pocket...

...a phone that Bastien instantly recognised.

"Bubba's Gumbo Palace!" chirped Bubba, lifting the device to his ear. "We got deee best—"

"Give me that!" cried Bastien, making a grab for the phone.

But the little man was surprisingly spry for his age (and height) and ducked deftly out of reach. "Now that was mighty rude—!"

"No ruder than you shamelessly misappropriating stolen property," glowered Bastien, sizing up the space and the angles in order to calculate the best way to get the jump on Bubba.

Bubba looked genuinely offended. "Stolen?! Sir, I'd neva! This here phone is mine by rights!"

"Uh-huh," muttered Bastien. "Because a lion-emblazoned phone case with the words 'Totally Roarsome' just screams gumbo-obsessed hillbilly."

"A man can have diverse interests," sniffed Bubba.

"Not that diverse," countered Bastien. "So how about you hand that phone over, and tell me how you got your hands on it, and I'll consider not reporting you to the cops for petty theft."

Bubba mulled his words over. "A'ight," he said eventually. "You can have the phone. But only after you have that gumbo. Can't have all that food goin' t' waste! And I gotta get somethin' outta this transaction!"

"There is no transaction!" objected Bastien. "You're lucky I'm not—"

"D'you want the phone or not?"

"...yes."

"Then eat the grub," insisted Bubba, pushing the tray towards him. "It's a fair trade, wouldn't you say...?"

Bastien heaved a breath. As much as he hated to admit it, taking Bubba up on his offer was guaranteed to be a much faster way to get what he came for than potentially spending several hours running around the French Quarter looking for a needle in a haystack. And if the little man reneged on his word...? Well, then there was always the option of slowly peeling back the midget's fingernails with the business end of his switch-blade.

"Okay. Fine. I'll—"

"Can't forget the secret ingredient !" cried Bubba, dumping half a bottle of hot sauce on the plate.

Bastien stared at the fare dubiously. The things he did for King and country...

Picking out a plastic spoon from the holder on the counter, he grabbed the tray and took it over to the nearest table. Sitting down, he dipped the utensils into the red hot mess in front of him, and lifted it to his mouth...

...and nearly spat it back out when the heat of the hot sauce hit the back of his throat.

But he forced himself to swallow. Because Bubba had potential information about Leo's whereabouts and Bastien had lost too much time already chasing his tail.

Twenty agonising bites later, Bastien was red-faced, sweating and his mouth felt like it has been dragged through a lava field. But he'd accomplished his mission. He'd finished the whole bowl. Without touching the Dr Pepper.

Even Bubba looked impressed. "Ooh-whee! That was some championship eatin' right there, 'cuz! What d'ya think? Good, huh?"

"It was... It was actually good," admitted Bastien. It was true — behind the towering wall of hellfire lay a surprisingly nuanced flavour profile. And he actually wouldn't have minded having some more... just with a lot less hot sauce.

"What did I tell ya?!" beamed Bubba. "Now, I also have—"

"Just the phone... please," interjected Bastien.

"Oh, alright," harrumphed Bubba, reaching into his pocket. "A bet's a bet..."

Bastien raised a brow. "Bet? Thought this was supposed to be a trade..."

"Mighta been a bitta both," shrugged Bubba unabashedly. "And you won, so what does it matter, huh?"

"You still owe me an explanation..." Bastien reminded him as he pocketed the phone.

Bubba spread his hands. "Not that much to tell, really. I'd gone out back for a smoke when I felt somethin' crunch 'neath ma feet, and I thought to Lord Ah must've stepped on a damn turtle again..."

"A turtle? In the city...?" queried Bastien sceptically.

"How else am I s'posed t' make turtle soup if I ain't got no turtles!" exclaimed Bubba. "But them sneaky critters are always excapin' outta their cage...! But anyso's, I look down and it inna a turtle but a phone."

"And you have no idea how it got there?"

"If I did, I'd've told ya."

Bastien's shoulders sagged. "Thanks, anyway..." Pulling out his wallet, he handed the little man a hundred dollar bill.

Bubba's eyes widened. "But—"

"For the trouble," Bastien said as he turned back towards the door.

"Wait!"

Bastien paused and looked back.

"How 'bout Ah give youse a lil' somethin' for the road, huh?" offered Bubba, scuttling back behind the counter.

"Thanks, but—"

"On da house!" declared Bubba, foisting a surprisingly heavy paper box into Bastien's hands before he could protest further and shoving him out onto the street.

Bastien shook his head. Stranger than fiction, that man...

But the story was not over yet, unfortunately.

"Bruno! Progress report!"

"Rico and Dimitriou are still tracking Paris' signal. They should be—"

"Call them off," Bastien huffed. "Leo seems to have deliberately dumped both devices to send us on a wild goose chase across the city... again."

"So... what's the plan now, sir?"

"To wait for them at the rendezvous point. And pray they turn up..."

Otherwise Constantine would be chopping him up to make gumbo!

[mercurygray]

Everything Old Is New Again

It was very early when Marty came down to the kitchen, but the five new boarders were there ahead of her. They'd set the table neatly, mess style, and they had made coffee. "Oh, you shouldn't have," Marty said breathlessly. The five sailors swung around to face her. "Hi!" they said, grinning. "Why - hi!" Excitement beat softly in Marty's throat as she went toward the stove, reaching out for the coffeepot from habit. It was always easier for Marty to seem at ease with people when she was doing something familiar with her hands - beating up pancakes, setting a table.

"Does the brew look all right?" the big sailor - the one they called Barrett, though that was his last name - came close and peered down at the coffee.

If you thought you were reading something that was recently posted on AO3 as an Original Female Character fic for a popular World War Two media property, you're not alone! But you know what's wild?

This is "Restricted Area" by Dorothy Bastien, and it was published in the Ladies' Home Journal in September of 1943. You can read the whole thing (complete with this absolutely great cover art) here on archive.org

The premise of the story is pretty much what you got in the paragraph there - Marty's mom runs a boarding house and Marty - cute, sweet and maybe seventeen, has five very attractive sailors paying attention to her at breakfast. There's a whole paragraph describing how she's wearing her hair. There's another whole paragraph about how she's not like the other girls. One of the sailors takes her to a dance and she has a little crisis about her problems in comparison to the whole war.

If she sounds a bit like Mary Sue...it's because she kind of is. There are stories like this by the dozen in women's magazines of the 1940s - @shoshiwrites has dug up a couple of really good ones and they're all a hoot to read.

So the next time you're feeling silly about your original character, please remember that her very existence is…actually kind of historically accurate.

(Also, what a title, am I right? Restricted Area!)

[anchoragehq]

BAD LUCK NEVER LOST A RACE .

INFORMATION FOR TAG LURKERS / PROSPECTIVE MEMBERS :

our goal is to involve new people in the group as much as possible. there are many open & wanted spaces, especially for roles. at the moment, we are searching for :

MEMBERS OF THE ORDER OF THE SCARLET NIGHTMARE, specifically the recruiter & job positions filled for the single carrot theater

for every new member that joins, you will have the opportunity to be included in the follow-up to this plot drop. this means every new member will have a role in the plot drop.

HOW SELECTION WORKS :

generally, we have written the plot drop & its injuries / transpirations with what we’ve come to know about the muse(s) who were randomly selected in mind & their previous threads. however, if we ever dictate an action that you deem ill-fitting of your muse, you can ignore it entirely or ask for an amendment you deem most fitting. we want this to be fun & what we write is only meant to be the starting point.

our selection was entirely random for part of the plot drop, but some muses were determined through hand-picked selections. we always use a random team generator to determine who will receive injuries or starter lottery. we have over seventy muses & bars in place to keep some from being picked too many times consecutively. 

major injuries & death, if any, are hand-selected on the basis of the butterfly effect this time, per our notes about the plot progressions, individual & group-centric, of muses. we keep track of these as much as we can & take note of anything significant that could be utilized.

our major plot points this time were hand-selected based on prior plot progressions or discussions. writers selected for major plot points will sit out for the plot drop call for our halloween special.

for fairness, any one muse who has been selected at random three times for a plot drop in a row will sit out the next random selection. there are no triple crown muses at this time.

THE GUIDELINES FOR MEMBERS & THREADS :

the first open starter will be our icebreaker. after that, please abide the starter rule ! please only post open starters that pertain to the plot drop at this time & follow the in-game dates provided below !

you may still post exclusives outside of the realm of the plot drop and/or continue older threads.

we ask you refrain from controlling the NPCs themselves other than what is established. 

there’s many possibilities for starters, as those not grouped together or selected can be reacting to these events around town. if you need suggestions, feel free to DM us or ask.

OOC THIS EVENT WILL LAST : until wednesday, october 2nd. after this date, please refrain from more starters pertaining to the plot drop — but of course the plot drop itself will hold affect on all muses exploring the aftermath & moving forward.

a follow-up will be posted regarding all plot drop transpirations a few days after the plot drop ends.

THE IN-GAME DATE IS : september 26th to october 1st. if corresponding to a specific event, we've provided the explicit date it occurred. if unspecified, please select your own.

BEWARE THE FOLLOWING ... body horror tw.

AUTUMN IS IN THE AIR IN ANCHORAGE — as is the consistent fog rolling in from the harbor to cloak the docks and the streets in hours undisturbed by heavy foot traffic. the solemnity has disturbed archaic spirits, if you believe in the supernatural. you know what they say about WALKING UNDER LADDERS. whether or not superstition is to be believed, it came true & caught up to one unlucky customer in criminal records one september midday. as fingers explored the spines of vinyl during a flash sale, a ladder descends from the storage loft above & begins a relentless assault on estelle de chagny. witness to the horror was haerin mae-nava'i, min kim & kyo ha-sun, but they were unable to reel it in on their own. a surgeon, bastien moreau, on the scene was able to identify the fallen damsel as suffering a mild spinal compression fracture ... oh, & you remember what your mother said about STEPPING ON CRACKS IN THE SIDEWALK, right ?? THE FUNK OF FORTY-THOUSAND YEARS HAS BEEN SLOWLY SEEPING FROM THE SEWERS outside of single carrot theatre. the city council has been turning a blind eye to the town's burgeoning sewer system problem. each year, the steady rains of autumn begin to fill up the grates. during an intermission of the opening night for casanova on september 27th, a lone actress ventures for a quick breath of fresh air. careless, angelique jackson perches over the noxious sewer grate. without warning, a blood-curdling scream cuts through the air. she realizes that the vibrato is beneath the soles of her feet & as she bends down to inspect it, a FACE emerges from the water near to its surface & wraps ghastly fingers around the grate. before the eyes of the theatre's star attraction, the face morphs from adisorn tayen's to that of monique jackson, the virago letting out a wail, "HELP ME !!!" in a fit of panic, angelique shoves the head of her twin underneath the water until the spasming & contorting of limbs stops. bubbles froth to the surface, & when she dares to look again, whatever it was has disappeared. i guess she crossed A BLACK CAT IN THE ROAD RECENTLY. A MYSTERIOUS FELINE FORGED OF CHARCOAL & INK SPILLS perches in mei ruan's lap as they reside over the closing discussion of september's book club, two days later. rain pounds against the windows, begging for a front row seat as they all ( blue nataphon maes, bryn ravencroft, sol-ip boo, freya chen & sky chun ) turn their pages to the author's note in the thriller novel. the words have been scribbled over in a crude red. it smells like corn syrup & it's still wet ... each book has the same word : DUCK, DUCK, DUCK, DUCK, DUCK ... a folded-up slip of paper from the front cover of thriller novella order of death slips its way to taeyoung yoon's side of the table at joker's casino, taped to the face of a joker card. AJAX, HOW ABOUT A LITTLE GRUNT WORK TO GET YOU BACK IN THE GROOVE ? RELEASE ALL THE ANIMALS FROM THE HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH … - SCARLET. on the first evening of october, happy villagers vet clinic is silent except for the distant symphony of restless patients. eliana moschetti is working alone at three in the morning to finish a slew of important paperwork when she hears unidentified objects clattering to the floor ... initially, she thinks it is one of the mannequin models tipping over. as she opens the door to the backroom, the cacophony reaches a fugue as the cats & dogs & miscellaneous small animals erupt from their cubbies, rampaging through the building. knocked over, she sustains minor scratches & fights to get back on her feet. amidst collecting supplies in futile effort to contain the runaway animals, a scalpel pierces through the palm of her hand. vet technicians were befuddled when the offending scalpel in question had disappeared the next morning ...

[chuchuminn]

Hi hi! So can I ask you about a fairy! Aruji-sama with any butlers of the floor you choose. I know that another Akuneko writer has written something like this but I would like to see your take on it. ( if you don't want to you can always choose another supernatural creature or ignore it)

Besides, loving your work<3

fairy!au master !! something ive never thought about before, but ill try to do it well (also since personality and type of fairy werent rlly said, i picked out a gentle and loving nature fairy !! very cliche... and also 1st floor butlerz) and thank you so much for liking my work!! its always fun to do these, so im glad you like it :3

FAIRY

FIRST FLOOR

Berrien Cliane

☆~ he likes giving you tea, and goes out on nature walks with you everyday. your gentle and loving nature warms his little heart, and it just makes him want to protect you even more from bad people and angels as your servant.

☆~ the fact that you were a fairy (which the world knew existed) stunned him at first, but he decided to research you along researching the angels in his room. no hurting you though !! he makes extra sure not to.

☆"Master, would you also like to have a walk outside today? Let's have a picnic together this time, since I received some tea snacks from Lono."☆

Lono Fontaine

☆~ very interested in a fairy's diet, always asks you about what food you like and stuff similar to that!!

☆~ you help him forage for things like mushrooms and other fruits and vegetables in the forest, and also boost their growth for faster harvest (as a nature fairy its kinda a skill)

☆~ your personality helps him calm down when he's frustrated about stuff.. (ehem bastien)

☆"Master, what kind of stuff do you eat? Y'know, since you're a fairy and stuff, I've been curious about what you would eat and stuff you won't."

Bastien Kelly

☆~ you take care of him and throw on a little blanket and use some tiny magic to help this guy sleep well. he sleeps in the most unimaginable places, and it drives you crazy !!!

☆~ brings you cats because he wants you to see them and also because you love animals and stuff like every single animal loves you (aurora moment)

☆~ carved you a lot of wooden animals for fun

☆"Master, you found me earlier.. You didn't need to take care of me, I'm fine with staying like this. But thank you, Master."

done with another request!! ive been really bored lately haha... (im dying)

[vamossainz55]

Moonlight Ch. 8 | Carlos Sainz Jr. x Reader

a/n: okay, a day late, but guys, bare with me. this is a lot (i know i say it but tbh i have not been letting anyone catch a break lmao). warnings are pretty heavy? or this chapter is probably just the heaviest in general. i really hated writing most of it (just because i was getting my scheduled writers block) and was struggling but i really hope you enjoy <3, i really put all my heart (and tears) in this one.

as always constructive criticism is greatly appreciated <3

warnings: 18+ // angst, a lot of self deprication lowkey? abandonment issues lowkey? smut tho, like pretty heavy and explicit (oral, p in v, unprotected sex but pls wrap it irl guys 💀. neck grabbing, degradation, name calling, quite kinky ngl so please look away if it isnt your thing and just skip the part. if you are under 18 pleas please stay away!), also cheating, like straight up cheating and mentions of cheating. oops. sorry not sorry .

link to masterlist + summary

link to chapter 7

Chapter 8 (6.4k words)

The two weeks had been a rollercoaster of emotions, Carlos was still imprinted into your brain and no matter how many nights you slept next to Bastien, all you could think about was the press of Carlos’ skin against yours. 

You try your best to wash the feeling away, or hope that late nights with Bastien would get the driver out of your mind, but you soon learn this is useless. It’s frustrating, and you feel the need to scream. 

Being away hadn’t helped at all, it had only made your mind wander more. You wondered what would have happened with Carlos, what the driver was feeling, was he also thinking of you as much as you were thinking of him?

All the thoughts came with bitterness too though, because all you could also think about was why the two of you had broken up. It was always mutually agreed but the more you thought about it the more upset you felt, at the end of the day Carlos was the one who broke up with you. 

It wasn’t fair. 

You had finally gotten over Carlos and somehow he had crawled back into your mind and made himself at home. Was he to blame though? You had practically opened the door and welcomed him in. 

To make matters worse, Bastien was not making it any of this easier. He would bring up Carlos at every opportunity, holding it against you for every little thing. You felt hopeless, and although you understood why Bastien felt the way he did it only made you feel even further away from him. The only times you both didn’t argue was when you were in bed, sharing fevered kisses with your hands roaming on each other's bodies. 

The moment you arrive back in the UK you feel even worse than when you left. The excitement of the season starting had worn off and all you felt was dread.

You were dreading being away from Bastien, and even worse you were dreading being around Carlos. Bastien had made it loud and clear before you left that you both needed some distance and you promised him you would maintain some space from the Spaniard. 

That’s why you decline Carlos’ offer to drive you to the office for the briefing two days before your flight to Melbourne. 

You arrive late to the meeting because of this, having pushed yourself to go after swallowing down the anxiety that had built inside you. You see Carlos and Lando sitting in the front and there’s a chair next to Carlos who instantly gives you a smile before patting the empty spot. You give him a quick smile before making a beeline to the back of the room, missing the drop of his smile as soon as you look away. 

The sight of him was already making you feel sick. 

The planning team is nice and you’re impressed with how detailed they are, planning the trip to the T. You’re taking down notes in your notebook to make sure you have everything written down for the trip before you feel a shift next to you. To your surprise you find Carlos sitting down next to you. 

“Hey,” he murmurs in a low voice and you instantly start feeling a bit nervous. 

“Hey,” you say trying to sound as dismissive as possible but Carlos nudges your side with his arm, making you look over at him again. 

“You okay? Why were you late?” He asks and you’re still focused on taking down your notes. 

“Missed the bus,” you murmur, still not looking up at Carlos. You’re about to flip to the next page when Carlos stops you, grabbing the notebook from you and putting it on his lap. 

“Y/n,” he says and you’re taking a deep breath. “What’s up? I thought we were good.” He says and you shrug. 

“We are, I just wanna make sure I have everything noted down.” You’re properly looking at him now and he’s leaning close to you because of how you were both whispering to each other. 

“You’re avoiding me now, I’m not dumb.” Carlos argues, moving the notebook away from you as soon as you try to take it from him. You give him a stern look, one that says stop it but he doesn’t give it back, simply holding it further away from you. 

“Can we talk about this later?” You ask, not wanting to have the conversation infront of dozens of people. 

Carlos looks sceptical as soon as you say this and he lets out a sigh before nodding. You expect him to give the notebook back as you extend your hand out for him to return it but he simply shakes his head. 

“Not until we talk.” He says before he’s getting up with your notebook to sit back next to Lando, not caring about the heads that were turning to look at him. 

Later turns out to be later in the evening much to your dismay. Tom apparently had a few things he had to catch you up to and you had told Carlos that you both could just talk before your flight to Melbourne but you’re quick to realise as you’re leaving the office that Carlos was still there. 

He was sitting by the lobby, arms on his knees as he scrolled through his phone with his head down. For a second you wonder whether you can sneak out without him noticing you but your footsteps prompt him to look up. 

“Ah- thought you were never going to finish. Let’s go? I’ll drive you home.” He says as he’s getting up. You realise his hand is nicely wrapped around your notebook still and you wonder how long he had sat there and waited for you by himself. 

For a moment you consider taking the ride from Carlos but you’re soon hearing a soft nagging voice in your head that sounds too much like Bastien that has you glued to the floor, not walking to the door. Carlos takes a second to notice this before he’s turning to you. He’s halfway to the exit and he can’t help but to furrow his brows. 

“What’s up? You don’t want me to drive you home now?” He asks and you simply shake your head, knowing that you need to already start to set boundaries. It wasn’t fair for both Bastien and Carlos. Sure, you knew Carlos was just offering a ride, but you needed to draw the line already.

“I should go home by myself.” You say and Carlos looks confused, looking at you and waiting for you to explain further. You take a deep breath to prepare yourself to speak. 

“I talked to Bastien about what happened,” You explain, looking around to see whether there was anybody around. “I think it’s better if we keep some distance. I love Bastien and I don’t want to make him uncomfortable or jeopardise our relationship.”

It takes a moment for Carlos to process the words, and he’s looking at you as if he’s waiting for you to say the punchline of the joke. When he realises you’re being serious he runs his hand through his hair. “Come on y/n, you’re kidding right?” he chuckles a bit, and there’s a cold edge to his voice that creates a sour taste in your mouth. “We’re friends no?” He asks and you have to look away from his eyes. 

“Carlos,” You sigh out, and you’re crossing your arms over your chest. Frankly, you don’t know how to answer Carlos’ question. Sure you were friends, but you both knew there were other feelings going around. 

“If we’re just friends it shouldn’t be a problem that I hang out with you.” Carlos says and he’s coming a bit closer to you. “Unless you feel differently,” His voice lowers a bit, just to make sure if anyone passed they wouldn’t be able to hear your conversation. “Did that morning mean anything to you?” Carlos practically murmurs and he’s so close there’s a shiver that goes down your spine and you force yourself to step away. 

“I don’t want to talk about that Carlos.” You say, taking another step away, this time towards the door. Carlos decided to stop you though, reaching out to grab your wrist and you feel a jolt of electricity spark up your body as he holds onto you. 

“Let me just drive you home.” Carlos says searching for your eyes. “We need to talk about this, y/n.” He insists and you shake your head. You didn’t want to talk about it, you knew that it was just going to only do your head in and open up questions that could just stay closed.

“There’s nothing to talk about Carlos.” You murmur and you try to step away but Carlos is still holding your wrist. 

“That’s not true.” Carlos says, and you’re startling to feel a bit annoyed at how much Carlos was pressing on this, still holding onto your wrist. Could he not just leave the topic alone? 

“What do you even want to talk about, hm?” You ask and your voice is louder than you expected but you’re too nervous to stop yourself. “You want to get back together?” 

Carlos’ eyes go wide, not expecting you to say that and he gently pulls you closer, “Lower your voice a bit y/n.” He says and you’re scoffing, looking at him. You don’t know what comes over you but you suddenly feel both hurt and angry. 

“Oh, I see. Now you don’t want people to know we were together?” You say and this time Carlos pulls you to one of the hallways, covering your mouth in the process. 

You roll your eyes as you stumble with him into the hallway, and once the door is shut you push his arm away. 

Carlos looks pissed. “What’s wrong with you?” He asks and you almost laugh at his question and he can’t help but frown a bit at your reaction. Why couldn’t he let old topics rest?

“I think you forgot how things ended Carlos. You broke up with me. You said you needed to focus on racing, I was clearly just a distraction.” You say, clearly upset that you even had to bring up the conversation. “I have a boyfriend now, and we are doing just fine. Sure we have had our ups and downs but it’s fine these things happen. Barcelona happened but honestly- it was nothing Carlos. Nothing happened for a reason.” You don’t know where the words are coming from and you’re not sure if you mean every single one but you’re surprised with how sure you sounded. Carlos looks stunned and his lack of response has you even more emotional.

“We broke up because you left me Carlos” You say angrily. “You have no right to be messing with my brain now. So quit it.” For a second you consider just walking off and leaving but Carlos is standing in front of the door, soon speaking up. 

“I’m messing with your brain? You’re the one that walked back into my life, and don’t act like you didn’t know or mean what you were doing in my hotel room. I know you.” Carlos says and this time he is stepping closer to you but you stand your ground, not stepping back. His hair is tousled and his face is red from how frustrated he’s getting too. You can’t believe you forgot how good he looked when he was mad. 

“I am trying to make something out of my life Carlos. It’s not like I had a choice as to which team I wanted to go to.” You say in annoyance. “I shouldn’t have gone into your stupid hotel room. I regret doing that, it shouldn't have gotten that far.”

Carlos is coming closer and despite you both arguing he’s looking at you feverishly and this time you have to take a step back. This doesn’t stop Carlos from following your steps though and stepping closer to you until your back is against the wall. He’s standing right in front of you, barely leaving any space between you both and your mind is taking you back to the hotel.

You suddenly realise how clammy your hands feel and how flushed your cheeks are and the way Carlos is looking at you is making you squirm.

“What did you say hm? That you regret it?” Carlos asks and his voice is so strong and firm that it has your stomach turning. 

You almost don’t find the voice to speak, simply murmuring a small “yeah”.

You don’t sound confident at all in your answer and Carlos’ eyes are dropping to your lips. You didn’t regret what had happened. More than anything, a part of you regretted stopping it.

“Hm? Tell me then, what do you regret? Sitting on my lap? Letting me run my hands on your pretty thighs?” Carlos asks and his voice is so low that you feel his words go straight to your core and your whole body is starting to feel like it was on fire. He knew what he was doing. Because frankly, if anybody knew you it was Carlos.

He takes this opportunity to come even closer, leaning to your ear and his breath is hot against your skin. “Could you feel me under you?” Carlos asks and you can feel his lips brush your lobe as he smirks at the sound of your breath hitching. 

Carlos takes this moment to trail kisses down your neck, your lack of answer giving him enough confidence to go for it. Despite his strong words his kisses are gentle and you can’t help but shut your eyes and let out a soft breath at how warm and wet his mouth felt on your skin. 

“I’m not hearing you say it,” Carlos murmurs as his teeth gently graze your skin. “Do you regret it or not princess? I need an answer.” Carlos asks demandingly and you hate how his words are affecting you. 

“No I don’t regret it,” You murmur and you feel Carlos smirk against your skin, that bastard. 

Before you know it his lips are on yours and no matter how hard you told yourself not to kiss back you couldn’t. Your arms are wrapping around his neck and the kisses are feverish and needy and god you had missed his lips. 

You can feel his hands roaming around, going from your sides to your waist and he’s then leaning a bit down, grabbing the back of your thighs. It’s quick and easy and your legs instantly  wrap around his waist as he presses your back against the wall. 

You’re almost light headed by the time you pull away from kissing him, and you’re both a bit breathless. You swipe your tongue over your bottom lip and you look at Carlos to find him looking almost as gone as you felt.

“Fuck,” Carlos says, shifting his grip on you as you move your arms from his neck, cupping his cheeks. He’s looking up at you with his big hazel eyes that you fell inlove with years ago and you feel stupid. You were definitely going to regret this because you definitely weren’t thinking with your head. 

“If we do this we’re only doing this once Carlos, I’m not leaving Bastien” You warn him and for a second you can see the glimpse of disappointment flash in Carlos’ eyes but it’s gone as soon as it comes. 

“Then we should make it worth it, no?” Carlos says already trailing kisses down your neck again. 

It’s wrong in every way possible but it isn’t stopping any of you as you both sneak into an empty meeting room. Carlos grabs a chair to press against the door, making sure it’s blocking the door handle and the sight of it has you remembering your teenage years with him. 

By the time he turns around you’re seated on the edge of the main desk, legs swinging as you watch him come closer. Carlos holds your knees for a second before pushing them apart to stand between your legs and his hand is soon going to your neck, pushing your head up to look at him. 

“I don’t care if you say I only have this one time. I’m gonna make sure you come back.” He says without a single bit of hesitance and he’s soon tugging at your shirt, getting you to lift your arms up. He throws your shirt to the side, not concerned at all about it before he’s kissing over your collarbones and you’re letting out a shaky breath, fingers threading in his hair. 

“Carlos no marks,” You say but this seems to do the polar opposite as you feel his teeth graze your skin once more. This time he’s taking his time, sucking at your skin and pressing his tongue flat against it before looking over it with a sense of pride. “Fuck, Carlos.” You breathe out, letting out a moan when Carlos moves to the most sensitive part of your neck, making sure to leave the darkest mark there. 

You can tell that he loves the way you’re body is reacting to him. The way he can tell that he still knows you so well, probably still knows you best. “Still the same hm?” Carlos asks and you’re letting out a shaky breath as you tell yourself to tell Carlos to stop marking you up. You don’t though. 

“Piss off,” You murmur as Carlos continues kissing down and this time over your chest. He goes to remove your bra but you stop him. 

Carlos rolls his eyes, moving his hands away as he comes up to give you another kiss. He pulls away and he rubs his thumb over the already forming marks he had left behind. “I couldn’t help myself,” he says, pressing into one of them and you can’t help but wince. “It’s your fault your little boyfriend didn’t leave anything. You were with him for two weeks. If you were mine I’d make sure everyone knows.” Carlos says before he’s slowly helping you undo your pants. 

“Well, if you wanted me to be yours you shouldn’t have broken up with me then,” You say snarkily as you kick off your shoes and Carlos is pushing you to lay onto the desk and you easily follow his movements, soon getting your pants off as you stare at the ceiling. The desk feels cold and hard against your body which only makes every touch Carlos leaves behind burn hotter against your skin. 

“You want to be a smartass now?” Carlos asks and his fingers are toying with the lace of your panties, soon hooking his fingers to give them a snap. “I can stop.” He challenges, and even though you know he won’t you’re not willing to risk it. 

“Don’t stop.” You say and you can hear Carlos’ cocky chuckle. 

“Come on, have you forgotten your manners?” He asks as his fingers hook under the side of your panties again. He doesn’t pull them down though, waiting for you to say something and you can’t help but lift your hips hoping that it would encourage him. 

“Y/n, what do you say when you want something?” Carlos asks and you can hear the smirk he was practically wearing and you grit your teeth. 

“Please don’t stop.” You finally say, the heat in your core being too much for you. 

“Good girl,” Carlos says and you hate how your heart practically leaps at the praise. He’s soon pulling your panties off, grabbing you by your ankles so you’re suddenly at the edge of the table. You groan at the sudden movement and you’re pushing yourself up on your arms, about to tell Carlos off when you feel him suddenly kiss you on the inside of your thighs. 

Your eyes travel to where Carlos now is, kneeling in front of you with his arms on your legs to keep them open and the sight has you blushing. Carlos is so focused, trailing kisses and soon leaving even more marks into your skin that has you letting out small hisses. 

“I’m going to ruin you ,” Carlos whispers against your skin that is soon sending a shiver down your spine. Before you know it he’s getting closer to where you want him most, and it’s embarrassing how you arch your back. 

“You’re so wet darling,” He says as his index finger goes to rub one of your folds. You hate how smug he sounds but you can’t help the way you clench around nothing, already anticipating Carlos to do something. 

“Carlos fucking do something.” You say, hands already itching to touch yourself but Carlos moves your hands away.

“Now, did we forget the magic words again?” Carlos asks as he uses his other finger to continue teasing you. He’s still rubbing at your lips, using his fingers to pull them apart slightly and to give a light blow. “Seems like nobody’s made you beg in a while.”

The way you whimper has him grinning. “Please,” You mumble, fists balled up as you felt yourself only getting wetter. 

“Louder darling. Don’t be shy.” Carlos says and you can’t help but curse. 

“Please Carlos,” You say again. You let out a soft moan as soon as his fingers sink in and for a second you feel a wave of relief but the moment you feel his mouth on you you’re cursing, hand going to his hair to shamelessly pull him closer.

“Fuck,” You breath out and Carlos is relentless, pumping his fingers quickly as his tongue is toying with your clit. Your mind is spinning and you can’t help but to press your body closer to him, letting out a string of moans and whimpers. He only seems to take this as encouragement.

“Carlos,” you moan out, unapologetically loud and Carlos is suddenly getting rougher and you’re sure your grip on his hair is becoming tighter. 

It takes all your will to not scream when your orgasm washes over you, and for a second you feel like you’re seeing stars. Your arm goes to cover your own mouth as you let out a cry, and the way Carlos grips onto your thigh with his free hand just lets you know that he’s definitely going to leave a mark. 

You’re panting, leaning onto your arms as you watch Carlos slowly get up on his feet. The sight of him has your legs twitching because he’s licking his fingers before he’s swiping his tongue over his lips. You’re a bit out of it, and if you were being honest, you do not remember the last time someone had made you feel that way. 

You only snap back into it when Carlos holds your neck again and he gives your throat a squeeze. The dazed look you give him as him smirking.

This time he presses his thumb against the tip of your chin, soon pressing down to get you to open your mouth. You’re pliant under him, body still floating and mind still hazed from your orgasm that you’re not giving him back snarky remarks.

As soon as your lips part Carlos is pressing his thumb into your mouth and you instinctively wrap your lips around it, circling your tongue around the pad. You’re looking him straight in the eyes and Carlos is staring down at you with dark and hungry eyes, refusing to break eye contact. 

“You’re such a fucking whore,” Carlos says as he drags his thumb over your bottom lip. You part your lips again, looking up at Carlos and he’s soon leaning above you. “I let you finish once and you’re suddenly all quiet hm? I bet you’d let me do anything.” Carlos says and he grips the side of your cheeks, making sure your mouth stays open before he’s landing a ball of spit in your mouth. 

“I love it when a bitch knows her place.” The moan you let out is embarrassing but you don’t care because Carlos is already kissing you again, and this time he’s undoing his belt and his pants, simply letting them fall around his ankles with his boxers. 

“Mierda,” Carlos curses because you don’t even think twice before your hand is already wrapped around him, the feeling of your skin dragging against him making him already twitch in your hand. 

“I forgot how big you are,” You say, using your thumb to spread his precum over the tip before you’re using it to pump him. You almost feel bad with how hard he is and you slowly move off the desk. Carlos takes a slow step back, groaning as soon as you go on your knees in front of him. 

Soon his hand is holding the back of your head as you’re taking him in his mouth and he’s letting out small groans and praises. “You’re doing so- fuck- so good darling,” He’s panting out and the way you look up at him has his cock twitching in your mouth. His hips instinctively buckle and he’s soon hitting the back of your throat and you splutter a bit, tears beginning to collect in your eyes. Instead of pulling away though you relax your throat and Carlos takes this as a sign. He’s gripping the back of your head tightly and snapping his hips moaning at the sound of him fucking your mouth. It’s messy, and rough, but despite tears streaming down your cheeks the small moans and gasps you’re letting out are spurring him on further. 

“Fuck,” Carlos groans, you’re sure he’s about to come with the way his thrusts are getting sporadic and you try to tighten your throat around him but he stops you by gripping your hair so tight that you let out a broken cry. It’s loud and the pain is too much and this seems to snap Carlos out of whatever trance he was in. He apologises quickly, soon pulling out of your mouth and crouching down. “Sorry- fuck- I didn’t want to finish off that way.” Carlos is panting and his eyes are searching yours for confirmation that you were okay. You give him a small nod, not trusting your voice with how raw your throat felt. Soon he’s helping you up and sitting on the table and the sudden tension from before is gone, instead his touches feel gentle. 

“You’re good?” He double checks and you nod, his hands are cupping your cheeks again before he’s giving you a kiss. It’s soft and it’s sweet and it has your mind spinning even more. 

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry.” Carlos says just in case before he’s rubbing your sides. “Is it okay if we continue?” Carlos asks. 

“Yeah,” You murmur, wincing at how hoarse your throat sounded. Carlos nods and his hands go over your thighs before giving them a gentle squeeze. 

“Tell me if you need me to stop.” Carlos says before pulling you closer again. He keeps one hand on your thigh to keep you steady as he lines himself up. Unlike before this is slow and Carlos is taking his time and there’s a weird tug at your heart. 

“Fuck,” You breathe out when Carlos finally presses in. Despite him having stretched you out he still felt so big. Your arms shake a little and you whimper when Carlos uses his arm to pull you closer to him as he pushes deeper as well. 

“You’re so fucking tight y/n.” Carlos breathes out and he’s bottoming out and you feel so full you might pass out. “You need to relax or I’m not going to last.” Carlos says and he’s looking at you so intently, eyes going over every single feature on your face. He’s leaning down to give you a kiss and you can’t help but meet him halfway. 

The kiss is softer than any other kiss you both shared before and you feel like you’re melting into him. “You’re so beautiful y/n.” Carlos whispers against your lips, as if it was a secret for the both of you. 

Once you’re relaxed enough you feel him moving his hips but his lips are still close to yours, stealing kisses every here and there as he slowly begins to pick up his thrusts. Despite this though the thrusts are still slow and dragged out, but he’s rubbing into you just right that you’re letting out soft breathy moans that are mixing in the air along with Carlos’. 

The atmosphere is heavy and there’s a weird weight in your chest as you watch Carlos, head falling back as soon he hits the right spot. “Carlos there please,” You whimper out and that’s enough encouragement for Carlos to finally pick up the pace. 

“Tell me who fucks you best?” Carlos asks, and his hand is wrapping itself again around your neck and you’re letting out a small but broken whine. “Stop fucking you for two years and you’ve gone all soft now hm?”

You can’t think straight, all of Carlos’ words are turning into gibberish in your mind. You only manage to snap back into it when Carlos gives your throat a gentle squeeze.

“I said, who fucks you best?” He asks again and you blink at him, completely dazed.

“Y-You,” You moan out.

Before you know it you’re whimpering and squirming under him, feeling yourself get closer and closer. At this point your arms are around his neck and he takes the opportunity to lift you up slightly, thrusting his hips as he holds you in place.

The room filling with the sounds of both of your moans and the sound of your skin slapping against each other, both of you either forgetting or no longer caring that you were still in the office. 

“Carlos- Carlos- I’m close.” You gasp out and Carlos shifts a bit, letting go of your neck before his fingers go down, toying with your clit and you can’t help but let out a cry, back arching. 

“Don’t come until I tell you to.” He pants out as his thrusts pick up even faster and somehow feel even deeper and you’re letting out a string of moans. His fingers soon move faster and you’re soon begging for him to let you come. 

It’s only when you’re blubbering nonsense that Carlos is saying “Come for me, show me how good I make you feel.” as his touches get rougher and that’s enough to have you unravelling yourself again, screaming out his name as your nails dig into his shoulders. 

You’re still riding out your high when Carlos groans, cock twitching in between thrusts. You can’t help but let out a groan at the feeling of Carlos coming inside of you and Carlos drags his hips a few more times before he’s gently setting you onto the table and pulling out of you. He keeps you close though, wrapping his arms around you as you both recollect yourselves.

You’re both panting, breathless and exhausted and you’re almost putty as Carlos takes off his shirt to wipe at your legs and body. He catches you from falling onto your back and you hold onto him, still slightly dazed.

“I can’t believe we did that.” You murmur out, and you’re embarassed at how little you could think right now. Carlos is shaking his head in disbelief too. 

“Me neither.” Carlos says. He’s holding his shirt awkwardly for a bit, and it’s clear that he’s thinking about something but he just doesn’t want to say it. It takes you a bit to notice.

“Spit it out,” you tell him, knowing him well enough already. 

He lets out a sigh before he’s speaking up. “You’re gonna hate me but I’m gonna need you to go get my extra clothes in the changing rooms.” He says and you can only look at him in disbelief. 

“What? Did you want me to use your shirt?” Carlos says and you know you’re practically useless right now but the little pride you had left didn’t want Carlos to know how out of it you were (although you’re pretty sure he knew). If any confirmation was needed, your legs almost buckle the moment your feet hit the ground and Carlos needs to quickly catch you. He’s grinning from ear to ear.

If Carlos was trying to hide his smugness, he was doing a damn awful job doing so. 

—————— 

Carlos ended up getting the shirt that he needed himself as you just sat in the meeting room to get some time to recover. You both are relieved that the office is almost empty and you both manage to sneak out undetected, the tension is heavy between you both though, to the point that you don’t even realise Tom in the parking lot, up until you both reach Carlos’ car. 

“What are you two doing here?” He’s by his car holding his own bag, clearly ready to go home. You take a deep breath, ready to play it cool before turning to Tom.

“Uhm-“ Carlos starts off but he’s looking at you in panic and you try your best not to kick him then and there. 

“Carlos offered to drop me off so he decided to go to the gym when he was waiting and I ended up having to wait for him.” You explain giving Tom a shrug. You felt bad for lying- but this was definitely not the moment to be saying the truth. 

Tom looks a bit sceptical, mainly eyeing Carlos’ deer in the headlights expression but he soon nods anyway. “Ah okay- I’ll see you both at the airport then?” He asks and you’re both nodding, ready to cut the conversation short. 

Once Tom is in the car you both go into Carlos’. You tiredly watch Carlos put on his seatbelt just as Tom drives off and you think Carlos is going to start the car but decides to speak up instead. 

“For the record, I didn’t want to break up with you.” Carlos says and you’re quick to tense up. 

“Carlos, I thought we were over this.” You murmur and Carlos shakes his head. You rub your temples, a bit frustrated. 

“You still did it though.” You say and your stomach is twisting and turning at the conversation, you didn’t want to hear what Carlos had to say. “You literally came over, slept with me, and broke up with me the next morning.” 

“You said we were fine when I broke it off.” Carlos says and for a second he sounds offended, and you can’t help but scoff. 

“Of course I did Carlos. What else was I supposed to do?” You say and you’re looking away to look outside of the window. You had never told anyone how Carlos and you had broken up, always being the type to hold your head up and suck it up. He was the only person you had been able to open up to and the moment he had broken up with you you felt like you were left alone by yourself. 

“I couldn’t tell you Carlos. I felt like I didn’t know who you were.” You murmur. He’s slowly reaching his hand to your thigh but you move your leg away. “Stop,” 

“I’m sorry,” He says and it sounds so sincere that you can’t even look at him. “I’m really sorry.” 

“I was young and naive, I knew it was wrong, but I wasn’t thinking.” He explains. “We were barely talking at the end, I was so busy with racing, and you were studying, and I- I also didn’t want to burden you. When I came over that night I wanted to break it off right there but I couldn’t,” Carlos sighs shakily and you can hear the regret in his voice. 

“It’s selfish but I just wanted one more night with you.” Carlos mumbles. “I loved you. Even now y/n, I,” He says before taking a deep breath. For a second you want him to say it, you want to hear the words, but you realise you’re not ready for that again. You don’t want to give him another opportunity to break your heart when it already took you so much time to rebuild it. 

“Don’t,” You murmur. “Please don’t say it Carlos. I don’t want to hear it. I can’t hear it.” You say and you’re looking up to the car’s ceiling, feeling your eyes water slightly. 

“What do you want then?” Carlos murmurs and you let out a shaky sigh finally looking over him. He looks remorseful, and you know his words are sincere- but they weren’t enough.

“I told you before, I want to stay with Bastien.” You murmur. “I know it might sound stupid to you but- I will try to figure it out with him.” 

“And us?” Carlos asks and you shake your head. 

“We can’t be friends Carlos. I thought we could, but we can’t. Look at what we just did. I don’t blame Bastien for not being comfortable with you around me, I’m not going to argue with him about that.” You say apologetically. The disappointment in Carlos’ face is clear as daylight but he nods anyway. 

“Why did you do it then?” Why did you sleep with me? You know is what he means to say. 

“I needed closure.” You murmur and that answer seems to be sufficient because Carlos finally nods, starting the car. 

The drive is quiet this time and your head is pressed against the window as you watch the streets pass by. You don’t feel guilty, but you realise you weren’t feeling anything right now. 

You only speak up when Carlos is pulling into the gates of your building and you’re pointing to the empty parking space. “Do you mind coming up?” You ask softly, “I have to give back your shirt.” You say and Carlos doesn’t even look at you as he nods and slowly reverses the car. 

The silence is loud as you both make your way to the building and up the elevator. You don’t have much to say as you both walk to your apartment door. Carlos steps in behind you, quietly closing the door and you excuse yourself before going to your bedroom, looking for the shirt in your half unpacked luggage. 

You’re digging through the luggage when you hear your phone ring and you go quickly to check it, the moment you see the text you laugh. 

It’s not the first time that this has happened. That you get a text from a random girl, along with an apology and explaining that she spent a night (or multiple) with Bastien before finding out he had a girlfriend. 

Bastien never told you- and you never confronted him. Call it naïve but a part of you thought that Bastien would stop, but by the fourth person- you really doubted that was going to happen. You just sat down and stayed quiet though because for the most part, he made you happy. 

If you were being honest, you just didn’t want to be left again. 

You were not even mad now. You just felt stupid that you were letting yourself be in this situation. But looking at yourself now, were you really any better?  

The moment you grab Carlos’ shirt though you feel your heart in your throat and you’re clenching your jaw. You force yourself to calm down before you’re getting up, reminding yourself that Carlos was in the livingroom. You could respond to the girl afterwards. 

When you come back Carlos is by one of your shelves looking over the photos that you have perched up. You realise he’s looking at some of your old highschool photos with your friends, and you know that he’s slipped there in the picture somewhere. You soon see his gaze travel to a photo of you and Bastien though and his face falls a bit. 

“Hey,” You say softly, which prompts him to turn around. His eyes fall from your face to your hand where you’re holding his shirt. 

“Here,” You’re stepping towards him, holding your hand out. Carlos gives you a small tight lipped smile as he takes the shirt from you and he looks over you quietly. 

“Does he make you happy at least?” He asks and you look at him, surprised that he’d ask you that question. “Regardless to us and what we are- just make sure he makes you happy.” Carlos says and you give him a small nod. 

“There’s a few things we need to work on, but he makes me happy. I believe it will work out.” You’re lying through your teeth, but Carlos nods at your words anyways. 

“I’ll see you in the airport?” You’re gently getting him to the door, not knowing how much longer you could keep yourself composed for. 

“Mhm, are you sure you don’t want a ride there?” Carlos tries and you give him a forced smile before politely declining the offer. 

“I’m good, thank you though Carlos.” There’s a a weird hole in your chest but you try not to think about it too much, opening the door for Carlos.

“Alright, alright. Bye Y/N.” He says as he steps out of your apartment. You give him a small nod and a wave. 

“Bye Carlos.” You say and the moment you shut the door you’re letting out a shaky breath, going to the bathroom in hopes to wash everything away.

fin.

Link to chapter 9!

i hope you all enjoyed! put my whole heart in it. would love to know what you guys think and how you feel about it. are you surprised that reader knew all along about bastien??? i also hope it provides a bit more insight about how reader is feeling/thinking. and apologies for all the angst !! feel like this chapter is bittersweet hehe.

ps. this is my first time writing smut and posting (for f1 at least) so I sincerely apologize if it isnt giving 🫠

Moonlight taglist

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F1 taglist 

@sgkophie @lostinketterdam @troybolton-14 @panicforspec @storysf1ferrari @earfquak3 

[angelasscribbles]

One Night in Cordonia Chapter 9: Aftermath

Series: One Night in Cordonia, a @choicesprompts Round Robin Event.

Fandom: TRR with a little OH

Pairings: So many lol. Let's see,,, while Leo and Madeleine are about to be engaged that didn't stop Mads from being with Anton or trying to get with Liam. It also didn't stop Leo from fantasizing about Adelaide. Meanwhile we saw Bastien x Claudius, Bertrand x Drake, Olivia x Max, Olivia x Tobias, and in perhaps the only 'normal' pairing, Liam x Riley.

Word Count: 1,483

Rating: MA

Warnings: lots of mentions of sex

A/N: Thanks to @harleybeaumont for bouncing a couple of ideas with me.

This is the final "wrap-up" chapter. Thanks to the writers that participated in this little endeavor and thanks to all the readers that joined us on the journey! It's been fun and there will be more round robins in the future.

While this concludes our main series, I am hoping for the following one-shots:

Leo x Adelaide @karahalloway

Olivia x Max @alj4890

Olivia x Tobias @jerzwriter

I myself am thinking about doing a little follow-up with Liam x Riley to explore her backstory in this universe (American model, here during Leo's season, with a press secretary, how did that happen?)

Leo and Liam circulated through the crowd gathered on the front lawn of the Beaumont estate, handing out bottles of water and answering questions as vaguely as possible.

Bertrand stood in a small group asking questions and piecing together what had transpired the night before. The last thing he needed was another damn scandal. It was bad enough that Anna De Luca had published that story speculating that they were broke, all because Maxwell had freaked out over a canceled credit card.

Bertrand had canceled the card to teach his spendthrift brother a lesson, but after years of yelling at him that his extravagant habits were going to break them, Maxwell had assumed that was exactly what had happened. There had been a very public spectacle when his card had gotten declined at the Annual Cordonian Peafowl Convention.

And now his brother was being ridiculous trying to convince him that they possessed some kind of resistance to the shagging smog that had turned their party into an orgy. Preposterous!

“So, you and I and Liam and Leo are all immune!” Max told him.

“What do you mean immune?” He sneered, “That can’t be true!”

“Oh yes,” Constantine assured him, “Exposure makes you immune and that immunity gets passed down to your children! Your father and I attend this party one time…”

As Constantine prattled on, Bertrand’s eyes rose slowly, and reluctantly, to meet Drake’s expressionless gaze. He blanched and stumbled backward knocking over one of the tables full of water bottles.

“…oh, now that I think of it, that was the summer after you were born!” Constantine slapped him on the back with a chuckle, “Never mind! Guess you weren’t immune after all.”

“Oh, thank heavens!” Bertrand was so relieved that he didn’t even care he’d blurted that out loud.

“Well, if you’ll excuse me,” Constantine waved as he strode away, “I really have to be getting back to the palace now.”

“Sir, excuse me,” Maxwell chased after the king as he made his way toward his motorcade.

“Yes, son?”

“About the bash…”

“What about it?”

“Leo said you were going to ban them in the future, but since this wasn’t our fault…I mean…it was an attack and not anything that we did so-“

“Calm down boy!” Constantine guffawed, “I suppose, considering the circumstances, there’s no harm in continuing the bashes, just up the security next time!”

“Yes, sir!” Max almost passed out from relief, “We will, sir!”

Madeline sat in one of the lounge chairs that had been scattered around the lawn, examining her nails studiously as she considered the night before. Justin may have turned out to be a terrorist hell-bent on overthrowing the monarchy, but boy could he shag! Too bad Liam had refused her advances, she’d likely never get another chance at him. For one, she was about to be his sister-in-law, and for two, he seemed quite taken with that American strumpet, Riley Brooks. Dismissing that train of thought, her mind wandered back to Justin, or Anton, or whatever his name was, she wondered if the palace allowed conjugal visits.

Penelope barely remembered her actions, she had already been piss drunk before the shagging smog after all. Still, her question remained. How would they know that they weren’t lesbians unless they tried? She watched Kiara from across the lawn, wondering how to get her best friend to reconsider their relationship.

Oliva yawned as she watched the Cordonian upper crust freaking out about their night of lost inhibitions.

Amateurs.

What on earth was wrong with indulging your kinks now and then? Prudes, the lot of them.

Before the attack had happened, she had been about to sneak away with Trystan Thorne, the exiled prince of Drakovia for a little slap and tickle when Jin had appeared demanding to know what she was doing. Not him. She had trussed him up and indulged his little cock and ball torture kink one damn time and now she couldn’t get rid of him.

Thankfully he had already been escorted from the premises. As a former spy for the Auvernese government, he’d been taken in for questioning.

Her eyes lifted to take in Maxwell Beaumont giving her a surreptitious once over. She hated herself a little for the shiver of desire that ran through her. Looking away she decided that she would deal with the younger Lord Beaumont issue later. Right now she had a hot doctor waiting to be tied up.

She quietly slipped away from the group and headed for the armory.

Several days later….

“We have the men responsible in custody, sir,” the young guardsman told him, “Except one, we’re not sure  how he escaped.”

“Thank you, Lieutenant,” Bastien Lykel turned toward the window overlooking the Beaumont’s vineyards, “Call off the search. We should be able to get what we need out of the prisoners currently in the palace cells. We have their leader, Anton Severus. We don’t need the escapee.”

“Sir?”

“You’re dismissed, Lieutenant!”

The young officer scurried out of the room that Bastien had turned into a makeshift office as they continued to comb the crime scene for clues.

Not that he needed any. He knew who was behind the attack. And he knew exactly how Claudius had escaped.

The two men stood in the cool night air on the same hill that Claudius had stood on just two nights earlier as he had received his orders from Anton.

Claudius eyed him with deep suspicion, “Why are you letting me go? What’s in it for you?”

“There’s nothing in it for me, other than knowing you’ll be safe from the death sentence this way.”

“Why do you care?”

Bastien grunted, “How can you ask me that? For the sake of what we once were to each other-“

“If you gave a shit about me, you wouldn’t have left the Sons of the Earth! You wouldn’t have joined the enemy!”

“Corondia is not your enemy, and the Sons of the Earth are misguided. Anton Severus is an egomaniac and a narcissist! I joined the King’s Guard to protect my country from people exactly like him!”

“People like me?”

Bastien stepped forward, taking the other man’s head in his hands as he stared into his eyes, “You’re nothing like him! And it’s not too late for you! No one knows you’re affiliated with the Sons! You could leave! You can still live a worthwhile life!”

Claudius knocked the other man’s hands away with a shake of his head, “I don’t believe you, and I don’t forgive you for leaving. This changes nothing!”

He had come for revenge, but he was leaving with renewed angst over his lost love. He gave Bastien one last desperate look before turning and melting into the night.

Every member of the Sons of the Earth that had fallen victim to the shagging smog would be tried and convicted of attempted murder, treason, and actual murder.

On the other side of Cordonia, the Cult of Dionysus had succumbed to the experimental gas that had been meant for the nobility. Their deaths would secure the maximum sentence for the collaborators.

Before he fled into the night, Claudius had willingly given up the distributor of the gas as revenge for giving them the wrong product.

With Anton in custody, Claudius was now the leader of the Sons of the Earth.

He wasn’t sure he was ready. His devotion to the cause wasn’t as strong as it used to be. He’d been focused for so many years on exacting his vengeance on Bastien Lykel for leaving the movement, and him. But after their night of passion, he was no longer sure that he could execute any plan that might hurt his former lover.

Teagan had already abandoned the group citing gross incompetence and mediocre leadership.

When he finally made it back to headquarters, he realized he was working with a third of the original group. One-third were sitting in the palace cells and one-third had walked away along with Teagan.

He was left with green recruits and men that should have retired years ago.

With mixed feelings, he sent them all home, telling them to disperse, lay low and wait to be recalled at some nebulous point in the future.

The Sons of the Earth was officially disbanded. Taken out by a video gamer and fucking shagging smog.

Claudius poured himself a generous helping of Anton’s best whiskey and settled into the plush leather executive chair in Anton’s office. He stared out the window as he wondered what he was supposed to do with his life now.

He pulled out his phone and typed Bastien’s name into Google then zoomed in on a photo of him at the last King’s Guard’s Annual Awards Banquet, looking handsome and distinguished in a well-fitting suit.

His fingers traced over his former lover’s face on the screen as he contemplated his next move.

[tangorinee]

執事の照れ顔

Butler's shy face, first floor butlers

Note: This was a wip from like years ago HAHAH but I wanted to finish it so here it is! also I'm not a writer but writing once in awhile is fun. OH and happy birthday dear bastien♡

─────────────────────

Lono was making breakfast for you. He prepared a hot soup and provided freshly baked bread to go with it. Simple but just right for satisfying your stomach. "Please enjoy your meal . Tell me if you want more if you do!" Before he returned to the kitchen, you chose to give him a compliment.

"Lono, you never failed to impress me with your cooking skills, I always look forward to eating your cooking, and Ah! This early morning I saw you in town with some kids; interestingly, I had no idea you were also adept at dealing with kids. My, aren't you just the perfect candidate for a husband?" While making an effort to ignore the heat on your own cheeks, you told him while grinning. He would, however, make a nice husband despite the teasing. Just like his pastries, this gentleman is incredibly sweet.

"He he, Thank you master, Iー" He went still. Blinked once, twice. Not long after, his eyes widened and he covered his mouth. "H-Husband?! I-I'm notーI don't-?!" Lono stuttered like a broken record. His face was as red as the roses outside, if someone walked in they would think he is one of them.

"Hehe, your face is all red~."

"Master, please stop with the teasing!"

────────────────────────────

Berrien's shout could be heard from the corridor. You dashed quickly to where Berrien was to check what was happening. You slammed the door and saw Berrien crouching in the corner of the room. Not far from him, on the floor there was a big insect. "Ah…" you never thought that berrien would scream at an insect but hey, I guess you learned something new about him. "Aaa…" it seems that Berrien wanted to say something but he was still in shock.

You grabbed a newspaper and rolled it up. You stood a good distance from it and pointed your newspaper to it so it could climb up, and then you headed to the window to shake off the insect. "And It's free. Berrien it's ok now!" Berrien got out of his crouching position, fixed his posture and cleared his throat. "Please forgive me for....yelling so loudly. The insect caught me off guard. I hope I didn't disrupt your work…again, my apologies..," He said slowly."In general, I'm not very good with insects... So I appreciate your assistance." With a timid smile, he said.

"No worries, I was just wandering around so don't sweat it, and I don't mind helping you Berrien." And besides, you got to see him flustered like this so it was worth it.

────────────────────────────

Bastien just finished his regular workout and it's now high noon; the warm sun kisses portions of his skin while the shade he's resting in cools his body. He was ready to fall asleep when a slight stir from the nearby bush jolted him awake. Crouching cautiously to the bush, trying not to disturb whatever was hidden there. Another rustle, but this time a kitten sprung from it. Bastien let out an audible gasp when he saw the small fluff ball.

The kitten cries out for the male's attention. Bastien's heart practically melted when he saw the kitten; he has a thing for fluffy creatures. He couldn't help but pat and rub his face against the kitten's fluff as he scooped it into his arms. This certainly feels satisfying after a hard day of training. He was about to fall asleep again due of the comfort, but then–

"Bastien?" You were astonished to see Bastien here, let alone the adorable scenario he was in. "Aww how cute..." you exclaimed. Bastien tensed at what you said; it's not every day that your lord catches you in a vulnerable position like this. "N-no, master, this is just-" his cheeks turning redder by the second, and you couldn't help but smile at how adorable he is. You approached him and said, "Actually, I was looking for that kitten. The mama has been looking for her around Ammon's Garden, so I'm actually delighted to have found her with you."

"Ah I see, master, you can take her with you if you want." He replied. You nodded, but suddenly an idea popped up. In an attempt to tease Bastien, you lifted the tiny cat and pressed the kitten's face up against his. "?!"

"Thanks, Bastien." You smile widely. Bastien is now a much more flustered mess, let's just say that.

[wearevillaneve]

What we don't talk about in the KE fandom.

Easily one of the best deconstructions of the repulsive way Killing Eve destroyed the four seasons of goodwill it built up was written by Vulture essayist Angelica Jade-Bastien's "Killing Eve Chose Cruelty". In four words, Jade-Bastien captured why weeks after the last gruesome minutes of the show flickered away from the eyes of horrified viewers it continues to burn and sear into their minds.

The fourth installment to the series, but particularly its last two episodes, demonstrates how far the show has fallen from the dizzying heights of its premiere. Gone is the delicious fashion pivoting on moments of transformation in the manner of fairy tales. Gone is the supremely precise characterization, replaced with a confused internal logic that jockeys the characters according to the needs of its threadbare espionage plotting. Gone is the spry presentation, achieved through blocking, editing, and costume and production design. But most important, gone is the tense cat-and-mouse game between Villanelle (Comer) and Eve (Oh) that acted as the engine. Killing Eve is a study in how jumping from different showrunners each season can leave a series without a profound singular voice — and it is evidence that a shallow understanding of representation and the female gaze isn’t enough to create a memorably good, cohesive story that gives a damn about the women onscreen. It amounted to a finale that gave once perpetually ravenous viewers a paltry version of what they wanted before snatching even that away.

Read the entire essay and it makes you feel better about the nonsensical trash Laura Neal dreamed up one night over too much cheap beer. Jade-Bastien brings up the one problem that predates Neal and the KE fandom hasn't talked about nearly enough.

This is a topic that many in Killing Eve's non-White fandom are well aware of, yet many of their White peers are oblivious to. Racism? In my favorite show? How could that be? Real easy.

The obvious and overt racism of Donald Trump or Kanye West is in your face and it can't be easily ignored. The soft, but pernicious bigotry practiced by the KE writers' room was manifested by keeping Eve an enigma from beginning to end. She was never given a family or life outside of her job, marriage, and the obsession with Villanelle that cost her everything. It's an irritation to know less about Eve than we do about Gemma, Geraldine, or Pam, but that's where we are. Eve was an enigma because she was never written to be anything else. A decision was made by someone to ensure nothing more than the bare minimum would ever be known about Eve. She was given a name and the bare bones of a backstory, and that's all.

For many in the KE fandom the Villanelle solo episode is their absolute favorite. It's one of my least favorites because it made erasing Eve official as Villanelle forgets all about her and so much so in "End of Game" even her name isn't uttered.

KONSTANTIN: I don't think you really want this.

VILLANELLE: I want it!

KONSTANTIN: You know what it means? It means you have to leave everything, the clothes, apartment… and her.

VILLANELLE: I know.

"...and her." "Her" has a name and it is Eve, but to Heathcote that wasn't important. That was a disservice to Sandra Oh, the actress who brought Eve Polastri to life even though she was not allowed to be more than a one-dimensional cut-out of a character. Remember Oh was one of the two stars of the show. This was one of those rare occasions where the titular lead character gets less fleshed out than multiple supporting ones.

That's not accidental. It was deliberate and it robbed Eve of her agency and autonomy. She really was little more than "an Asian woman with amazing hair." Eve was the lone woman of color constantly reacting in a world of Whiteness. Phoebe Waller-Bridge boldly chose to be colorblind in casting Sandra Oh as the very British and very White Eve Polastri and deserves all the credit in the world for it. Unfortunately, when she left she didn't leave any instructions to her successors on what to do with Eve, so they all chose to do nothing. After the show ended some sought to scapegoat Sandra Oh for the lousy last season stating as an executive producer she must have approved the direction the show went when Suzanne Heathcote and Laura Neal became the lead writers. Nobody knows how much input Oh had into the writer's room, but if she did that means she went along with a noticeable drop in screen time and the complete absence of a backstory for Eve. It's hard to believe any actor would deliberately reduce their own role in just the third season of a show, but that's exactly what some KE fans believe Oh did. They're the same ones who say Villanelle needed a stand-alone episode to explore her history, but have no issue with Eve being devoid of a past. This isn't racism in the Killing Eve fandom. Most of the fans don't show up that way. What they do instead is fail to notice how little Eve there frequently is in Killing Eve. It's not necessarily racism, which is bad, but it is erasure, which isn't good.

[cyberphuck]

As someone no super familiar with French history; what's the relationship between the the edict of Nantes and the name Otis?

Incredibly quick and dirty: Edict of Nantes said "alright you can be Protestant near us but you still have to do Catholic stuff like observing holidays and naming your kids after the Roman Calendar Saints." Pre Revolution (1685), it was revoked, meaning "no you cannot be Protestant or anything else near us" and if you were named something other than "Jean-Bastien" they would Know You Were Not Catholic. So now you're double not allowed to be named Otis. (In 1803 the new Napoleonic Code made the Saint Name thing mandatory, a law that was not fully revoked until 1993. I lived in Lausanne, Switzerland at the time and it was a big deal.) The character's name in the book is Otis Otis. Like, first name Otis, last name Otis. He's a very important character, central to the entire plot of the series. The story revealed that he was French, that he was a newly-turned vamp during the Storming of the Bastille in 1789 (so he'd have been born into a France where it was illegal to be Not Catholic), and that his full first and last name was still Otis Otis. I thought, "what the fuck?" Shot an email to the author (not really expecting a reply, but I like contacting authors and do it all the time, and you'd be surprised how many will answer short questions or say thanks for being a fan). "Hey French law at the time basically said you had to have a Catholic name, what's up with Otis Otis?" I expected:

"It's an assumed/preferred name, his birth name was more Frenchy"

"His parents were Turkish (or whatever) and named him Otis, but to fit in and not be persecuted he went by Jacques (or whatever, again)" "There is a good reason his name goes outside the usual naming convention of the time but all the people who knew about it have gone to their graves with the secret"

"I came up with the name first and the backstory later and was just like 'welp no going back now'"

"I had no idea there was a law! Haha weird Otis would have stuck out, huh!"

I got: "I'm the writer of the series so I get to make up whatever I want."

(They did not state what exactly they had made up-- that the story took place in a world where everything was the same except Vampires exist and were steering world events to their dark causes and also 18th century France wasn't that pressed about Catholicism?) I was like, excuse me?

[thatfunkylilfey]

✦ Mothlight ✦

A shapeshifter and a mercenary captain walk into a bar—

What will they do? Probably kiss. — Definitely kill a man. Or ten.

MONKEY MAN x CASK OF AMONTILLADO

A shapeshifter and a mercenary captain reunite in a quest for revenge where no cost is too great.

🦋[low] science [high/mythic] fantasy

🦋shapeshifting as a metaphor

🦋queer disasters

🦋inspired by roman mythology

[uchidachi]

Dragon Age Exchange Letter 2024

Hello Black Emporium Rare Pair Exchange Writer/Artist!

Thank you for making this gift for me! I know I will love whatever you come up with, but for those who like a little more guidance I have left many prompts in the signup and some general likes & dislikes here.

I'm open to treats of Fic and/or Art and multi-recip treats!

General Likes:  I really like UST and mutual pining, also the corny stuff like “fake married” or “bed sharing” or “arranged marriage” tropes. I LOVE Soulmate AUs more than anything else, I’m an absolute sucker for those. I also like the enemies-to-friends-to-lovers trope. I also really like cats, so if you give a character a cat, I will be happy

General dislikes: I love angst, but not really hurt/comfort. I love canon deviation and certain AUs, but I really don’t get into any AUs that change the setting for Dragon Age

DNW: any kind of abuse, bathroom kinks, bestiality, crossovers, humiliation, incest, modern AUs, mundane AUs, noncon/dubcon, omegaverse, pregnancy, PWP, second-person POV, underage, whump.

Specific Character/Pairing notes: I tag all my ships on this blog with “character a x character b” in alphabetical order, so if you want to look up what I’ve reblogged/posted on Krem/Harding for instance, look for the tag “harding x krem” and Adaar/Vivienne would be under both “inquisitor x vivienne” and “adaar x vivienne”. OT3s are under the tag “ot3″. A lot of the pairings this year are truly the rarest of rare, so for some of them I may not have any content yet!

For the many Vivienne ships I requested; I do headcanon her and Bastien having an open relationship when they are together, so feel free to use that headcanon if you want!

Now for the spoiler part of the letter. Please let this photo of my cat protect you if you wish to not read Veilguard prompts. Otherwise please scroll past the cat & click read more for more prompts.

Male Adaar/Solas or Female Cadash/Solas - I put this under the spoiler group because I am in love with the idea that maybe Inquisitors who were shot down by Solas during Inquisition get a second chance at romance in Veilguard. Just imagine the possibilities…

Vivienne/Emmrich Volkarin - Well, she does canonically like silver foxes ;)

Davrin & Merrill (Dragon Age) - LET! MERRILL! PET! THE! BABY! GRIFFON! Ok apart from Assan, I really would love to see Merrill able to make friends with another Dalish elf, and as a Grey Warden Davrin is likely less anti-blood-magic than average. Or at least I’m going to headcanon that he is, until proven otherwise. 

Fenris/Neve Gallus - All the joy of pairing Fenris with a mage, with less drama because she’s 100% with him on hunting down maleficars & helping Tevinter slaves. Also I have one word for you: Casefic.

For general Veilguard stuff: I'm planning to play as a lady Rook that is a Dwarven rogue archer named Rhea. If there's a background for Rook that doesn't involve being part of the Carta I'll be over the moon. That's not at all required to include, but I thought I might as well include it

[ringofdoubt]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Spread the self-love ❤️

<3 <3 <3 ty <3 <3 <3

I'll keep this to dragon age fics since we're on the dragon age sideblog here

Out of the Game - After years serving as a Grey Warden in Orlais, Loghain is reassigned to the Free Marches under Warden Stroud. Which is why, in a small Starkhaven tavern, the Hero of River Dane found himself sitting down to drink with a Chevalier. 1.6k

This was the first fic of mine that made it out of the google docs and onto ao3. It's the only thing about Loghain and Stroud being wardens together that I've posted (so far) but oh boy are my headcanons / scraps of my multichapter fic elaborate.

2. Dignity - Vivienne grieves for Bastien and struggles to find the right words to inform his family of his death. Josephine helps her. 1.1k

This is my take on Vivienne and Josephine's friendship. I just think those two would understand each other very well.

3. A Beginner's Guide to Orlesian Etiquette - If the Inquisitor is going to survive at the Winter Palace, he is going to need a crash course in all things Orlesian.

“My dear, you’re from Ostwick – the height of your culture involves chasing a large wheel of sweaty cheese down a hill.”

The Inquisitor grinned, “I won that once.”

Vivienne did not look impressed. 1.2k

Look, I think this is funny and maybe that's enough haha. It's me imagining my Inquisitor Adaar preparing for Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts.

4. Campfire - On the road to Redcliffe, Warden Tabris and Loghain drink together in camp. Tabris has a question about the Night Elves. 2.1k

This is just a long conversation between my Warden Tabris and Warden Loghain before the end of Origins.

and finally my beloved WIP that I WILL finish one day...

5. A Blind Eye - Niall’s quiet life in Kinloch Hold depends on ignoring a lot of what the other mages get up to - then he receives a strange invitation from Senior Enchanter Uldred and realises just how much about the tower he's been overlooking. 48.2k (so far)

Yeah so remember Niall, the guy whose body you get the Litany of Adralla off during the mage tower questline in Origins? For some reason I wrote all this about him haha.

This is from Niall's PoV but its really an exploration of what Uldred (and Jowan and Anders) were up to in the run-up to Uldred's rebellion. Aka exactly how Niall ended up with the Litany.

[karahalloway]

WIP Wednesday - 08Mar2023

Happy Wednesday Everyone!

I know I haven't done one of these in a while, but to make up for that, I actually have THREE WIPs to share with you! 😱 Shocking… I know 😅

The first one is for Sleepless in New York (after this chapter there is one, maybe two, more chapters left, so my main focus atm is finishing this series up). I am about halfway done with this chapter and hope to post by the end of the month.

The second and third is for the Mardi Gras @choicesprompts prompt that I am collaborating on with a few other writers (we’ve decided to do a story featuring all the guys from TRR and I am doing Bertrand and Bastien). All the parts will be posted together near the end of the month. The lovely moodboard was made by @harleybeaumont ❤️

Enjoy!

Chapter 9 - Edge of the Night

Hayley stumbles to a stop in front of us. "Why is there a—?"

"Had to get here somehow..."

Her jaw drops as she turns to gape at me. "So, you flew in a helicopter?"

"Faster than swimming," I tell her with a shrug.

Hayley stares at me like I was insane.

"And it's not waiting for stragglers, so if you want a lift, you'd better move it," prompts O'Sullivan, striding past her towards the idling bird.

"Hold on. Is he coming with us?" asks Hayley in disbelief.

"It's his bird," I shout over the roar of the rotor blades. "So, yeah."

Mardi Gras Mayhem - Bertrand

"Come join the party, handsome!"

A well-endowed lady lassoed him with her feather boa.

"Ah... A-Absolutely not!" Bertrand managed to choke out.

"Ooh, tough customer..." purred the woman as she started to slowly reel him in. "What about some beads? Got any of those?"

"You cannot seriously think that I would condone such vulgar behaviour, let alone reward it with cheap, plastic trinkets!"

"Hmm... you're right," mused the buxom woman, gyrating her hips to the beat of the marching drums. "Trinkets are cheap... But I'm open to other arrangements..."

"What! No! That is not what I—"

Mardi Gras Mayhem - Bastien

"Bring up the body cam!" he barked at the techie.

The tap of keys rang out as the view on the monitor changed.

"What in the—?"

Words failed Bastien. Never — in all his years as a King's Guard — had he seen anything like this.

"Are they... topless?" whispered the techie with a slack-jawed expression.

"I don't care if they're buck-ass naked!" snapped Bastien, quickly yanking his composure back together as the bare breasts continued to bounce past on the screen. "We need eyes on London and Paris! Dimitriou! Sit rep!"

"I'm neck deep in tits, sir...!"

Permatags

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[kamidukki]

AKNK's Jessica (?)

I honestly don't know where I'm going when I write this, but just to be safe I'm going to put the following warning: spoiler, complaint(s), half-baked analysis

Okay. Let's just get straight to the point.

Does anyone know where the name Jessica possibly come from? I don't mean the origin of the name in real world, rather I'm asking [if you have an idea] why akuneko writers picked that name specifically.

All butlers (or the demons they're contracted to) in AKNK have names that could be traced to The Lesser Key of Solomon, or demonology in broader aspect (as well as angelology if you include Serafim and Cherubim), while the name of the four nobles plus the witch of the north (Elvira, if I remember correctly?) fall into either difficult-to or easy-to track category. None others rendered me speechless like Jessica's.

I mean, this definitely isn't the first time a JP mobage use a feminine name for male character and it usually works (TWST's Leona and Lilia are the only ones I could recall at the top of my head for now). I never complained about this before because it never mattered. Some did take me a while to get used to, but none has ever baffled me like Jessica has.

(no offence to any Jessica reading this, your name is great) 👌

If you look up the name Jessica on internet, it tells you, usually, the male equivalent would be Jesse. While the origin itself, in most search results, is as following.

So, biblical reference. Not too far-fetched, but still. Is there a reason why that particular name?

In Episode 2 ch. 06 part 14, a new character named スローン appears. I can only guess its romanization as Sloane. If so, his name relates closely to the butlers since we can find connection to Key of Solomon and Sloane manuscripts.

A probe into the meaning shows you this results:

I'm not sure if name's meaning is actually important when we analyse the names of akuneko's characters. In case it doesn't, that would mean I just need to look for Iscah (or any possible alternative spelling) mentioned somewhere in referenced books (The Lesser Key of Solomon, The Key of Solomon, and the Sloane Manuscripts) or ones related to it.

The easiest solution is to consider the possibility that the writer(s) did take a random name just like that, and to be honest, I can't say I like this solution.

So. In conclusion: I'm stumped.

The reason why I'm writing all this is because I need to understand the reason Jessica's name came to be. The reason why I need to understand it is because, brace yourself for pettiness, I can't for Pete's sake, take Bastien's arc seriously when the dude's name is... well, Jessica.

Okay. I got them out. I'll just clarify here that I still think it's a great arc (and that I have nothing against Jessica) ✌

Now while I'm at it, it's interesting to look into the name Teddy Brown too...