#but it is--and this is important--nothing. its not anything.

[circeyoru]

Breaking Up 101 = Requested

The Request

[Mafia Boss!Sung Jinwoo x Completely Opposite Lover!Reader - Mafia AU]

Weakness is something that everyone has―even the most powerful, strong, and influential people. For some, a weakness is something to use to threaten another, while others might not even have one to speak of, then there are those that have more than one, maybe a whole list. Who knows. But how does one handle his or her weakness? Protect? Hide? Shelter? Destroy? Ignore? Now, that could create many scenarios and potential outcomes.

Picture the big bad. The worst of the worst. The coldest and cruellest in the neighbourhood. The mightiest and most important in the Underworld. The one person who controls an entire domain of the country with the pure power and might of his strength and fearsome aura. The one person that everyone once disregarded as the weakest and most insignificant when he came from a well-known morally good family and was the heir. The one who rose in power and influence like flipping a switch. The one who was said to be emotionless and bloodthirsty. How would you handle being that big bad’s weakness?

You pouted as you stared at the plushie in the glass box. The claw moved as you directed and descended into the pile to grab something. There, it grabbed onto one of them but quickly dropped it back into the pile within seconds and rolled a bit closer to the exit that would let you claim your prize. If you had powers, you want telekinesis right now so that you wouldn’t have to waste your money. Well, it wasn’t your money per se, but― Hold up…

When your train of thought went back to a familiar pattern, your head snapped to the side that would shame horror actors and actresses. The figure next to you flinched at attention with a twitching smile, already aware of the issue you’ll bring up. Your glare changed its target from the plushies to your supposed guard entertainer. Though there was another name you’ll label, “Mister time-staller,” You gave him an innocent and threatening smile. “Where oh where is your boss, hm?”

“Boss had something to handle urgently…” Beru, the killing machine and menace of the Underworld―infamous assassin that gave the government and officers an early grave when encountered, was reduced to a mere plushie holder. Right at this moment, he was the receiver of your impatient and cute complaint wrath. “Boss said you can do anything while waiting for him to arrive.”

You raised an eyebrow at him; a thought came to mind. “Anything?”

“Anything.” Beru nodded confidently.

“If you say so.” You showed the assassin your open palm, “Give me your phone.”

Elsewhere, in a dark and damp underground basement area, guards in black uniforms all stood at attention, and posh was surrounded all sides of the room. Some of a more diminutive and leaner stature wore a mask that mimicked the mouthpiece of a helmet from a suit of armour―The Knights Family, others with a bigger and buffer build covered their face with an animal or insect-based mask―there were the more noticeable families; The Frost Family and The Skitter Family. Of course, many more families within this powerful mafia weren’t present.

Then, there were the two unique guards among the group. It was debatable to the outsider which one was the ‘Underboss’ or ‘Consigliere’ as each of the three (not two because one was stationed elsewhere, wink, wink) were equally important and essential to the boss. There was the ‘Capo’ of The Knights Family, Igris who was infamous for his use of bladed weaponry and having incredible wisdom and insight to aid in his boss’ ascend for he had been with the boss since the beginning. The strongest candidate for ‘Consigliere’ and the one from a fallen mafia but now follows the new boss under the selection of his former, Bellion who was built like a tank and unrivalled in brute force and power.

Standing on top of such an impressive group of people was the boss, Sung Jinwoo. Like a snake shedding its skin, he was nothing like the former weakling he was. He was the unmoveable boulder that people must bend to and watch out for, not that insignificant pebble on the side of the road. To ensure his family’s safety and survival, he had to turn to the world’s darker side. He was taken in by a fallen mafia boss who was hunted by the others who were once his comrades in arms against the light. He has proven himself challenge after challenge after challenge that he deserved power and status. He will gasp at anything that could save his mother from the hospital. Even being the shadow everyone now fears and shivers at the thought of him.

“I don’t care why you betrayed me. Just tell me where and who you send that information to.” Jinwoo’s eyes bore into the lying figure on the floor under a puddle of his own blood and wheezing softly from the wounds all over his form. From that poor soul’s perspective, the lighting gave Jinwoo’s eyes an ominous purple glow and his shadow appeared neverending. Jinwoo looked like the judge of Hell with his black clothing from head to toe, that handsome appearance that would make men green with envy and ladies melt into the ground was haunting his very core. Or he could be near death and hallucinating Jinwoo’s otherworldly aura.

“...I… I can’t tell… I was framed…” The man breathed out in gasps as if he were underwater, lacking oxygen. “There’s a traitor… in your mafia…”

A dark chuckle shook the man’s core. The man heard that this frightening boss was young compared to the others. He heard that this cruel boss was all brute force and murder with no tact. He heard that this powerful boss lacked experience and was an easy target for rumours and sways. Yet why the moment his near lifeless eyes met with those cold chilling pair staring down at him with disapproval from highup did his instincts telling him every one of those beliefs were just… a lie?

“I… I can’t…” Tears wanted to flow down his eyes in dispair. He was nothing in the grand scheme of things. It was disposable to the ones in power. He didn’t have information of what he was getting himself into nor why he was needed to do it. It was just an order and that’s that. Complete the mission and return to live another day until the next order. Or, fail the mission and face death by whoever will be his judge. 

The other with the same mission and order as him had already suffered their fates. Their bodies scattered all around him, mixing their blood with his, men or women all weren’t met with any form of mercy. Some were cut down like butter with Jinwoo’s trusty daggers, some were devoured by tigers and wolves the mafia trained and kept around, then there were some that died with their heads detached from their bodies for threatening harm upon Jinwoo’s weaknesses. 

“I really… don’t… know…” If he had known something―anything―he could would have given it up for his life was more important to loyalty when he was being thrown away and subjected to such torture. Sung Jinwoo, the boss of the infamous Shadow Mafia, wasn’t human; he was the god of death to everything and everyone that crossed him. “Please…”

Just as Jinwoo was about to speak, a familiar ringtone cut through the silence and everyone stared at Jinwoo’s coat pocket. The man blinked and shifted his dagger from one hand to the other, he fished out his phone and read the caller. There was a brief unnoticeable sigh of relief before he took the call, “I told you, no amount is too big, just continue to stall some more time before I can make it there.”

The silence after Jinwoo’s words made him listen closely to the background sound. There was the loud music from what he recognized as the tune from the arcade you’d frequent to go through the pain of trying to get one plushie or whatever was inside when he could have just brought them all. “Where’s the fun in that?” You once exclaimed in his face and pushed him into the hot seat to get your prize. When the prize did―finally―fall down and you were clinging to his side with a koala from sheer happiness, it was worth all the trouble. But he fixed the scam he noticed while playing, the shop owner had her life flashed before her eyes.

“Beru?” Jinwoo asked. There was no way Beru would be in an arcade alone. Issue was… He couldn’t hear you at all in the background. No usual scolding at the machine or begging the claw to hold onto your prize. Nothing. “Beru, if you do not say anything I’ll―”

“Sung Jinwoo!”

Everyone―and I mean everyone in the room―flinched from the volume. Even the idle guards and the two right-hand men of the boss flinched. As for the guilty man himself? Now only a few people on the planet have the right and authority to call this crazy boss by name, not to mention shout his name in his face so freely. Even without that right, by voice alone, Jinwoo knew who was on the other end.

“Love, why do you have Beru’s phone?” Jinwoo immediately cleared his throat to make his voice gentler and turned his back to the confused dying man on the ground. His other hand played with his dagger as he tried to find ways of calming your anger. “Aren’t you enjoying yourself?” 

“Aren’t you smart to have our meeting place be in an arcade!?” He could imagine the puffed-up cheeks while you scolded him. “I have been playing, no, waiting for 2 hours! Where are you?!”

Jinwoo chuckled at your blunder, as he thought, you couldn’t resist the claw machines. His head turned to the side to eye down at the mess he made. Had he really been taking that long while he kept you waiting? “Love, I’m sorry. I’ll make it up to you.”

“No need! We’re done! I’m going home and you never show your face in front of me again!” And the phone was hang up.

Doo… Doo… Doo…

Igris and Bellion looked at each other with wide eyes while the other guards all shivered. Not just because of their boss’ growing murderous aura, but also because of your words. If anyone could save them from their boss’ wrath, it was you. You were basically the unofficial boss since Jinwoo treated you like royalty, you were usually dubbed the Mini-Boss. Anyways, back to the situation at hand, everyone was in for some form of pain.

Within the few seconds of Jinwoo turning around, he threw the dagger at the man and pinned him back into the wall that was a few meters away. It pierced his heart and he was dead on the spot right then and there. Jinwoo turned back to his men, “Right now. Top priority…”

Everyone fell to their knee and bowed their head as they waited for their order.

“Get me everything that my beloved ever wanted.” Jinwoo glared down at them and promised. “Meet me in front of my darling’s place in two, no, one hour. Go!”

With that, everyone scrabbled to get out of the basement and immediately worked to regain your favour. Jinwoo kicked a head into another wall and instantly shattered it into a splat of broken bones and mushy flesh. You were his light, his saving grace, his everything. There was no way he would give you up from just a mere phone call. Even if it were something you wanted and done face-to-face, he still wouldn’t give you up for anything.

He headed to a flower shop as he carefully ordered your favourites and had the staff working much more diligently to make you the most perfect bouquet you’ve ever seen, even better than the previous one he sent you. From the paper’s colour to its pattern, to how the ribbons should be tied, he wrote down carefully on the plate surrounded by flowers ‘I’m sorry’ in cursive. He learned these random and trivia knowledge for you so he would know what was best for you on different occasions. After all, you deserved nothing but the best of the best in his eyes. 

At first, he envied how your life was so bright and light. He envied your freedom and words that proved you were ignorant of the darkest in the world―in human beings like him and his rivals that he crushed. How you effortlessly took him in from the rain after a mini mafia spat. As you said, he looked like a drenched-kicked puppy in the rain when you walk past him. He was just waiting for Beru to pick him up in his car. Though, you amused him and he let you take him back to your home. You gave him hot chocolate like he was a kid and had him dressed in an oversized hoodie and pants you accidentally ordered the wrong size. Then you two were watching a movie together.

You were so defenceless and innocent, you asked no questions and just showed him kindness without asking anything. You did ask him to clean up after himself when he had a mess, and make himself at home, but that was all there was to it. Even when Beru came to pick him up, you assumed he was friends with Jinwoo and immediately had him join the movie night since you were lonely when your friends were all busy with their studies. 

Another meeting and another chance encounter, then you two were dating. When you accidentally found out about his identity as a mafia boss, you hugged the him that was drenched in blood and held daggers in each hands. You cried for his lost childhood and innocence like you were his past self and emotions he locked away. He dropped his weapons and walls for you and hugged you close to his chest. You were a gift in his life. You were his saviour. You were his human self that would have been if he didn’t embrace the darkness.

So no matter what, he can’t give you up.

Jinwoo’s heart beat a million times per second, he felt as if he was a criminal being trialled by a merciless judge. He was the one up on the chopping block. His men were nowhere to be seen, but he couldn’t afford to wait any longer, every second lost was another chance wasted to win you back. His hand hovered over the fingerprint lock on the door, it had yours, his and some of his top men registered, but would he still be able to get in? Have you already removed his print from it to shut him out?

He’ll admit, his line of work was brutal and unpredictable. There were many dates where you waited for him to arrive for hours until he had to cancel altogether and get one of his top three to escort you home. You had been patient with him and this was your breaking point. Perhaps, you didn’t want an unfaithful lover like him, or you had better choices from the people flocking to you like moth to a flame. His hovered hand shook as the thought and reality of you leaving him could be a possibility.

Yet when it all came down to it. He rather you be happy in your life than suffer under the waves of your tears. He couldn’t lock you up and hide you from the world. You deserved to be dancing under the sunlight and singing melodies that enchanted anyone lucky enough to hear. You deserved it all, but he might not deserve your smile and laughter directed at him.

Beep!

The sounds of the lock unlock rang in his ears, his eyes widened in shock and surprise. His muscle memory clicked in place and his hand pushed open the door, his feet gracefully kicked off his shoes and nudged it to the side. He entered the dark apartment and closed the door behind him. He thought you might be in your room, you turned off all lights when you were in your bedroom to save money when he told you many times he would pay for it all cause you would bump into things in the dark. His hand moved to the switch and turn on the lights.

Pop! Pop! Pop!

“Happy birthday!” Voices all bombarded his ears.

His eyes blinked repeatedly until he adjusted his sight to the lighting. His form froze and his eyes stared at the scene before him. The living room was decorated as a party would have, with ribbons all over the place and a banner at the center that said ‘Happy Birthday, Sung Jinwoo’ with a little heart at the end. Then there was his family and you wearing party hats while holding mini confetti cannons, the colourful paper and plastic pieces where all over him and the floor.

“I think brother’s in shock, should I send him to the hospital?” Jinah, his sister, snickered.

“Dear, I don’t think it was that.” His mother sighed, scolding you momentarily, “You gave him a heart attack.”

“But aunt― mother, how else would the dummy even make it over? I waited for hours in the arcade!” You pouted and complained. 

Frankly, you all were still bickering and talking while Jinwoo was trying to wrap his head around what was happening. Birthday? It was his birthday? So you didn’t want to break up with him? Everything was fine? His eyes honed in on you still arguing with his family; the picture was so natural, as if you were part of his family. 

So, was this all planned? For him? To surprise him?

The flowers were abandoned on the floor and his arms caged you, pushing you into his chest as his face buried itself into your shoulder. “Beloved… You scared me…”

“Sorry, sorry.” You laughed as you returned the hug. “I knew you didn’t even remember your birthday when you pushed our last cancelled date to today…” You played with his hair while you eyed Igris and Bellion peeking their heads through the door behind Jinwoo with what you had them buy. “Today should be about you having fun, not working! Come on!” You let go and dragged Jinwoo into the living room to start the party. “Let’s forget you as the big bad mafia boss! Here, you’re just Jinwoo.”

“My lovely son.” His mother smiled at him.

“My stupid but cool big brother.” Jinah popped another confetti cannon in his face.

Before he could give his sister a messy hair makeover, you cupped his cheek and brought his lips to yours, “And my lover and future husband.”

“Wooow!!!”

“Congratulations!!”

Claps and cheers echoed all over.

“What?” Jinwoo was shocked with another surprise.

“Yup!” You cheekily smiled, “You’re not my boyfriend anymore! That’s why we’re breaking up! Hehe! I beat you to the punch!”

Jinwoo snapped his head at his mother and sister for confirmation and their smiles said all he needed, “I wanted to give you the perfect confession though…” His hand cupped the side of your face, his thumb caressed your cheek with a soft touch as if you were made of glass. “A pity, but I’m not going to refuse your bold offer.”

You returned his gentle embrace with your own, even clung to him by the neck so you could have him bend down to your level to give him a kiss on the lips. “You will always only be Sung Jinwoo to me. You’re the only one for me.”

“And you’re the only one that can make my heart race so much.” Jinwoo smiled, his gaze gentle yet possessive, as if he and you were the only two people left in this world. You knew and he knew you knew that he could do anything for you. Even if he had to turn his back against it for your safety or happiness or both, he’d do it in a heartbeat. If you were ever gone from his life, he’d burn the world down. What good was all his power if he couldn’t protect and care for his family and you? “I love you.”

“I love you more.” You breathed, nuzzling into his chest.

“I love you more than you.”

“I love―”

“Okay, stop that cheesy romance thing!” Jinah came between the two of you, more like pulled you away from her brother since she couldn’t even push him to move for one inch when it came to being close to you. “We’re supposed to celebrate your birthday together, not be third wheels and watch a live romance film in the making.”

You blushed while Jinwoo glared at his sister for the interruption. You tugged Jinwoo’s sleeve and he immediately stopped his glaring to give you the puppy dog eyes, “Let’s enjoy the cake I made you.”

“Whatever you say, My Beloved.”

Note: Okay I promise the next one is from one of the ongoing series. I had fun writing this one~ So any comments? Or some banter you guys think would happen between these two? I'm curious.

Oh oh!! Also another trivia I wanted to know if you guys caught on. Do you know which family referred to which group of Shadows?

𝕮𝖎𝖗𝖈𝖊 𝖄.

My Works: MASTERLIST *(regarding requests, check the Masterlist to see if it’s opened or not and other info related before sending one. Thanks.)

Taglist: @rozuburedo @ariseverdark @skylar896 @o-qi-shisme

[littleslaywrites]

sleepless | aaron hotchner x reader

Summary: you can’t sleep when aaron is away.

word count: 0.9k

cw: pure fluff

You’d tried everything to get to sleep. A hot bath, reading in the moonlight, soothing tea. Nothing worked.

The clock ticked mockingly, reminding you of the time passing. Aaron had told you he’d be back that night, but let you know it’d be late and to go to sleep. You tried, but the knowledge that he was on his way was enough to keep you up. 

Not to mention it was nearly impossible for you to fall asleep without hearing Aaron’s voice. He always made sure to call you when he was away, knowing the sound of his words would soothe you to sleep. You hadn’t had difficulty falling asleep since you moved in with him, comforted by his presence, and when he was gone, his voice could lull you into slumber.

Giving up on the bed, you moved to the couch. You wanted to be able to hear him come in, considering you were fighting a losing battle with sleep. The streets were nearly empty, with only an occasional car passing. Each time one rolled by, you got your hopes up that it’d be Aaron.

After what must’ve been an hour of trying to sleep on the couch, you finally heard the door open. Sitting up, you rushed over to the door. 

“What are you doing awake?” Aaron said, sounding more tired than you were.

“Couldn’t sleep,” you respond in between littering his face with kisses. 

He smiles at your affection, wrapping his large arms around you. His warmth immediately comforts you, and you rest your cheek on his chest. He doesn’t want to move, savoring the feeling of you in his arms after being away. 

Sensing your peace, he picks you up and carries you to the bedroom. You let him, knowing he’ll soon be beside you in bed. When he drops you off and tries to walk away, you grab at his hand. 

“I won’t be long,” he reassures you. When you don’t let go, he leans down to kiss your forehead. Satiated for the moment, you ease your grip.

Aaron slides into his usual routine, checking on Jack before taking a quick shower. Eyes closed, you listen, knowing the sound of the shower turning off means he’ll be climbing into bed before you know it. 

You feel the bed dip beside you, and you’re cuddling into his side before he’s under the covers all the way. Your head finds his chest again, and you wrap both your legs around one of his. His warmth reminds you of how cold it is without him. 

“Missed you,” you say, laying a hand over his heart to feel its rhythm. In response, he leans into your shoulder.

“I missed you, too.”

Aaron feels his own eyes growing heavy. You’re more than aware that his job is far more tiring than anything you do, but he never makes you feel lesser. You don’t know it, but he has the same trouble sleeping without you. He hates making you worry about him, so he would never tell you, but nights in hotels are always sleepless. That’s why he finds it so important to call you. He needs to hear your voice just as much as you need to hear his.

“Was the case good?” you sleepily ask. 

“Mmhmm.”

If it was earlier, or if the two of you weren’t so tired, you’d spend time on the couch, debriefing what the other missed. He didn’t go into detail about most cases, but you provided a much needed light after being surrounded by the darkness of his job. In return, you’d catch him up on the events of the week. He hated not being around, so he’d ask about every little thing. It was to a point where you nearly thought it was ridiculous. He’d ask about what you ate, what you watched, who you saw around. It was endearing, the way he’d listen so intently to the recollection of a trip to the grocery store. 

For now, though, he didn’t have the energy to ask, and you didn’t have the energy to respond. 

“I’m glad you’re here,” you say. On the surface, you mean that you were glad he was back, returning to your bed after a case. But you mean it even deeper. You’re glad he’s here, in your life. You can’t imagine how you ever slept without knowing he was yours.

His breathing slows, signaling he’s dozed off. In his sleep, he moves closer to you, leaning an arm around you. His weight is a reassuring presence, reminding you he was all yours until he was called away again. 

The morning carries a promise of breakfast, and you can only hope you’ll wake up early enough to be the one to cook it. Knowing him, he’d be the first awake, having adapted to the hours of the early morning. You make it your mission to keep him in bed as long as possible, considering the only way he’ll rest is if you force him. He’ll pretend to hate it, but you both know he appreciates your insistence of getting him to take a break whenever he can.

It’s easy to relax with his warmth combining with yours. Your hands wrap around the arm that’s laid across you. You convince yourself that, if you hold on tight enough, you can keep him from leaving your side. You finally fall asleep, the sound of his breath in your ear and his heartbeat under your palm carrying you into hypnotic rest.

[lascvitae]

if its okay can i request aespa as your gf headcanons please… i literally love your writing soo much

—🎧

♯��aespa as your girlfriend .ᐟ

synopsis. aespa as your girlfriend headcanons!!

pairing. aespa x fem!reader warnings. kinda suggestive?? genre. fluff!

now playing. every summertime by niki thinkin bout you by katie only by leehi sweet & easy by wonder girls bonnie & clyde by yuqi girl by oceanfromtheblue raise y_our glass by huh yunjin summer in love by saay die for you by the weeknd

── ⟢ ・⸝⸝ katty ᥫ᭡: YOOO HI OFCCC 😻😻😻 sorry it’s so late i literally fell asleep earlier LOLZ also another double post i spoil yall sm 😔😔

masterlist.

───𝓚ARINA

☒ would LOVEEEE teasing you, like you wouldn’t ever get a break

☒ “what’d you say about my hairstyle again that one time?” with a large smirk on her face.

☒ wouldn’t be able to keep her hands off of you, expect a lot of skinship

☒ shows you all the songs she has obsessions with

☒ “baby listen to this! it reminds me of us” 🥺

☒ very attentive, knows everything about you and notices everything about you

☒ SOOO cheesy like such a loser for you

☒ listens to you while you yap about your interests

☒ would watch all your favorite shows with you

☒ loves buying you things, no matter the price

☒ “i saw you looking at this when we went shopping so i got it for you!”

☒ her favorite dates with you would be the ones where you’re indoors, cuddling eachother and watching a movie

☒ very protective of you and can get jealous, even tho she won’t show it ☹️☹️ (you can always tell when she pouts)

☒ your pain is definitely her pain

☒ “hey, hey, hey. who said that? who said you aren’t good enough? you’re perfect, angel. and if not to the rest of the world then to most. me, all of aespa, your friends. we see how beautiful you are.”

☒ leaves cute little messages for you after that, her baby has to see how much she means to her

☒ loves to kiss your forehead, stems from her being so caring

☒ appreciates you so much && shows it in ANY way she possibly can

─── 𝓖ISELLE

☒ loves taking pictures of you. i just know it. YOUR BIGGEST SIMP

☒ “why are you laughing aeri??” “oh, nothing. i was just looking at this picture i took of you the other day.”

☒ your biggest fan, like she cheers for every single accomplishment you get

☒ looks at you with hearts in her eyes whenever you speak

☒ LOVES to bicker with you playfully, she’d be such a fun and silly gf

☒ “can we go get crumbl??” “i guess… only because i want cookies though” 🙄

☒ shows you off in any way she possibly can, has a whole folder for you

☒ “oh her? nah, she ain’t a model. she’s my girlfriend.” so cheesy

☒ all her captions would be love songs, girl’s in deep

☒ expect random compliments and ‘i love yous’

☒ absolutely LOVES when you wear her clothes, probably buys them only thinking you would wear them

☒ loves going on late night drives with you & listening music

☒ loves to makeout with you in the car

☒ her favorite dates with you would be at the arcade or amusement park, mostly bc she loves the little games you guys play, even if they’re dumb af

☒ “i bet i can beat you in mario kart!” “you wish!”

☒ “i can eat my ice cream faster than you.” “as if.”

☒ puts you first always, there’s nothing more important to her

☒ loves kissing your hand because she noticed it calms you down and it’s also something quick (since she loves kissing you sm)

───𝓦INTER

☒ puppy gf puppy gf PUPPY GF

☒ did i mention shes a puppy gf?

☒ look… ima try my hardest not to be biased bc i love me some minjeong 🫦🫦

☒ clingy af

☒ extremely giggly around you, thinks you’re the funniest person on earth

☒ has on her rose tinted glasses on around you ALWAYS

☒ like in her head yall are two cats in love with eachother

☒ the shy girlfriend that always wants your attention && is secretly weird af

☒ loves when you play with her hair, especially after a long day of practice

☒ LOVES sleeping/laying in bed with you

☒ just loves doing anything with you actually

☒ can sit with you in silence and mumble ‘i love you’ after every few minutes

☒ “mm… five more minutes?”

☒ loves to go on shopping sprees with you but her favorite dates would be the ones where you guys go stargazing or sightseeing

☒ imagine you and minjeong sitting at the picnic blanket, pointing at all the different stars and comparing them to each other

☒ “this is nothing compared to your eyes.” “you’re so cheesy, y/n!” she loves it

☒ always asking you what hair color she should get next, she just values your opinion sm

☒ loves hanging out with you

☒ she loves teaching you things

☒ loves kissing your lips bc it’s the sweetest form of affection to her

☒ you’re one of her biggest motivators, like she loves bringing you to the studio and to photoshoots

☒ “i’ll just only be a few minutes late on stage… i wanna stay in bed with you a little longer.” you can never say no to her

───𝓝INGNING

☒ so down bad for you

☒ everyone will point out how happy shes been lately and she’ll just laugh and go “yeah, i started talking to y/n” with the most obvious blush ever

☒ loves talking to you… your voice is her favorite song

☒ could spend everyday on the phone with you fr

☒ loves singing to you, would always be serenading you

☒ makes you playlists 24/7 and sings the songs when you listen to them together

☒ loves making vlogs & videos with you

☒ “hey guys! me and the wife just got chipotle and she found an ant in her food!! it’s real y’all…” “oh my god ning—“ and the video ends there

☒ takes pictures of you when she thinks you aren’t looking then laughs it off once she gets caught

☒ her favorite dates would be the ones where yall go out to eat (and always get a noise complaint)

☒ she would just love going out with you period, no matter where

☒ “y/n look at this” as she pulls the bangs back on the wednesday doll…

☒ loves the giddy feeling she gets when you cheer her on, makes her want to work harder

☒ loves to post subtle things about you, she loves the idea of being in love with you

☒ lets you hear all of the aespa demo songs and see all their albums before they come out (even sneaks you one)

☒ loves holding your hand, like she will drag you along when shes excited

☒ still finds it so crazy that yall are together… she just loves you so bad fr

☒ loves it when you kiss her cheeks and loves kissing your nose

☒ matching fits

☒ “can i post this on instagram? i want everyone to see how pretty we look together.”

permanent taglist — @saysirhc

[love44lew]

day 5: push aside

彡drivers pouty!max verstappen x reader

彡genre dabble? idrk

彡summary max gets home from a long day of work and just wants some love

၊၊||၊ i am just finding all these like old/scrap fics in my notes and it makes me so sad because the reason i didnt post them was because i didnt think they were good :/ feedback is always appreciated, enjoy!! ၊၊||၊

彡warnings none!!

(tysm for 200💕)

——-

you can say you and max were kind of opposites. he plays video games and drives cars for a living while youre more into books and film. his favorite food is something on the savory side while you prefer more sweeter foods. he doesn’t spend much time on social media while you build your career on it. still, the two of you were nothing but perfect together.

so when he comes home after a longggg day at work, he was expecting you to be home to eat dinner, shower, and go to sleep with him while you watch your favorite movies—his favorite kind of chill night. “im home” he announces as he enters and slips off his shoes. dead…

its okay! sometimes you were far in another room or had your headphones in/music blasting. “love, im home-!” he announces, louder this time. still nothing. you usually came skipping down the hall by now, excited to shower your man with hugs, kisses, and cries of how much you missed him. max still didnt think much of it though, he just calmly walked into your shared bedroom to find you sprawled out on the bed, nose burried in your phone with your headphones covering your ears. he walked up and tapped your knee, “liefje~” he called softly.

you sat up with your eyes still fixated on your cellular and gave him a side hug. A SIDE HUG!? what was he? your friend? are you crazy?

“are you okay?” maxs eyebrows furrowed, his head cocking to the side. “yeah, just..” you never finished your sentence. max frowned. he never minded when you were on your phone, i mean you rely on it for your career. plus, when your hands were so carefully scratching his scalp while his head rested on your plushy thighs, there was not a care in the world. but right now, especially after a long ass day, he wanted you to be engaged in him and him only. you had alllll day to be on your phone, its maxie time now!

“um.. what do you wanna eat?” he attempted to approach you with love, but once again, you just brushed him off. “you pick tonight” sigh. cant you see he just wants to talk to you??

max had already given up, your phone was obviously more important than him. he cant deny though, after today he really just wanted to escape through you. especially after all the roomers about redbull and the hours of meetings about upgrades while max was trying his best to pitch in what he can to help himself, his teammate, and the constructors with. he just has to push to do his best to at least keep both hands on the drivers championship. all this stress about the outcome of this season and the future of the team are just all too much for max and all he wants is to hold you, smell you, feel your baby-soft skin on his finger tips. to hear your voice and have his pink lips connect with yours. he missed you all day, his life with you at home keeps him pushing through the day. so when you’re dismissive as you are now, he’s honestly more sad than anything. but max being the stubborn man he is, when you come out from the room back to your usual self, he is not having it.

“okay, what are we eating tonight-!” you funnily waddled your way over to him, leaning on his side as you glance over at his phone. “takeout” he responds dryly. you’re confused, but maybe hes just really tired

“you sound really tired, maybe you should lay down and i order the food.” you gestured to the bed

“no! i’ll— i’ll do it” he scoots away from you, scoffing as he looks back down at his phone. now youre sad, you didnt understand what you’d done wrong.

“hey..” you called softly toned. his head just focused on his own phone.

“hellooo, maxemil” the cute petname flowed smoothly from your lips, max could swear his knees would buckle and hed just cry at your feet about how you ignored him and it hurt his feelings. instead though, he just huffed and attempted to walk away before he felt two hands wrapped around his forearm. “baby talk to me” your fingers slipping into his sleeve as you rubbed smooth circles on his sore arm.

he finally gave in and turned to face you, his pouty lips and sad, puffy eyes revealing themselves to you—which automatically triggered the instinct to protect him within you. it made you wanna storm into that redbull factory and beat up everyone who tried to hurt your beloved.

“what happened? who did this to you!?” your face contorted into a sort of angry, concerned look.

“hmph-“ his eyelashes fluttered as he averted his gaze.

“you did” max mumbled

“what?? me??” you were confused, what could have you done to hurt him? “what did i do?”

he built up the courage to say his feelings, which is something he has a hard time doing a lot. but with your soft calming voice he feels super tempted to.

“because—!” he was gonna say it in a louder angry stern voice but upon seeing your face, your eyes, the way your brows furrowed into a cute little frustrated expression, not for him but for yourself—he couldn’t even stay mad at you. “i wanted to see you and you pushed me aside”

“oh—“ your heart shattered, how could you choose your phone over the love of your life? it was a really important email you were waiting for but you couldve at least explained that to him. “im so so so sorry baby it was a really important email i was waiting for but i should’ve told you im so sorry honey” you were like a target recipt of apologies as you embraced him, which he happily accepted. what can he say? hes a simple man who likes to be buttered up with affirmations and kisses.

cerise tinted his face as you kissed his pink pouty lips and caressed his even pinker face. “how can i make it up to you sweetface” your pretty eyes worked on him like witchcraft his heart melting at the sight of your lashes fluttering at him. he sighed

“you already have” his lips connected with yours into a sweet tender kiss.

[arixella]

Caught in the Tide

╰┈➤ pairing: Ace x female! reader

a/n: hey guys ik its been a minute, Ive been doing a lot of school and extracurriculars so ive had no time to write, plus I also just got sick sooo yeah but im trying to become active again!

summary: When a casual friends-with-benefits arrangement between you and Ace deepens into something more, both of you are caught in the tide of intense desire and unexpected feelings, unsure of where it will lead.

wc: 2.9k

contains: suggestive with a lil extra spice 🌹

It had always been simple between you and Ace—no strings, no questions, no emotional attachment. You were both free spirits, wandering the seas, finding solace in the brief, fleeting moments you shared. It started one night, on the deck of the Moby Dick, where neither of you could deny the spark between you. One kiss turned into another, then another, until it became a regular occurrence—nothing serious, just physical. You'd both laugh it off afterward, acting like nothing changed. But things had begun to change, and Ace was the last to admit it.

"Hey," you said, sitting next to Ace by the rail one evening, the sun sinking beneath the horizon. You both had just come from one of those late-night rendezvous. It was always like this: you shared a quiet, intimate moment, and then moved on like it was nothing. But tonight, Ace was unusually quiet, his gaze fixed on the vast ocean.

You nudged him lightly. "You good?"

He blinked and looked at you, a small, almost apologetic smile pulling at his lips. "Yeah, just... thinking."

"About what?" You asked, raising an eyebrow.

Ace scratched the back of his head, avoiding your gaze. "You know... nothing important."

You stared at him for a moment. The look on his face was different tonight, hesitant and distant. Something you hadn't seen before. It made you feel uneasy, like you were on the edge of something, but you couldn't tell what.

"Ace..." you started, your voice softer. "What's going on?"

He finally met your eyes, and for a brief moment, you saw it—the vulnerability in his gaze. It was almost like he was struggling with something, fighting with himself. "I don't know," he said, almost too quietly for you to hear. "Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about... us. About what this really is."

You blinked in surprise, leaning back slightly. "What do you mean?"

"I mean..." Ace hesitated, scratching his jaw as though searching for the right words. "You’re not like the others. You know that, right?"

You frowned, the weight of his words sinking in. "What do you mean by that?"

Ace took a deep breath, looking down at his hands, unsure of how to express the shift in his feelings. "This... this thing between us—it was supposed to be casual, no emotions. But..." He trailed off, biting his lip. "But it's not like that for me anymore."

Your heart skipped a beat. It was one thing to hear someone admit they had feelings for you; it was another thing entirely when it was Ace.

"You don’t need to say anything," he quickly added, his voice laced with the familiar, playful tone. "I just—I’m not sure how to handle this. I’ve never been good at it." His usual cocky demeanor was slipping, and it left you speechless.

You stared at him for a moment, your mind racing. So, this was it—the moment things changed. The moment you both had been avoiding.

You reached out, placing a hand on his arm, a gentle touch that made him pause. "Ace... I’m not sure how to handle it either."

He looked up at you, and this time, there was no playful smirk, no teasing remark. Just raw honesty.

"I never wanted to hurt you," he said, his voice softer than usual. "I don’t want this to complicate things between us. But... I think I’ve already made things complicated."

For a long time, there was nothing but the sound of the waves crashing against the ship, a steady reminder that the world was turning, whether or not you two were ready for it.

You took a deep breath, letting the moment stretch between you like a thread. Then you spoke, your voice barely above a whisper. "I don’t want things to stay the same either."

Ace looked at you, his eyes searching yours for confirmation. You could see the uncertainty in his gaze, but there was something else too—a glimmer of hope.

Without saying another word, you leaned in, pressing your lips to his, feeling the warmth of his breath mix with yours. It was different this time. There was no rush, no fleeting moment. Just you and him, standing on the edge of something new.

When you pulled away, your forehead rested against his. "Maybe we’re both a little lost," you murmured.

Ace chuckled softly, his hands finding their way to your waist, pulling you closer. "Maybe. But at least we're lost together."

The moment was charged, alive with unspoken words and emotions neither of you had fully acknowledged before. And for the first time in what felt like forever, Ace didn’t know what to expect, but he didn’t mind. He had no plans, no expectations. For once, it wasn’t about the next fight or the next adventure. It was about the present, about the warmth of your presence, and the realization that he wanted more of that. He wanted you.

"You know..." Ace broke the silence, his voice carrying the usual warmth but with an edge of vulnerability. "I never thought I’d get caught up like this. I’m not good with relationships. I’ve always thought it was better to keep things simple." He glanced at you, a faint smile playing on his lips. "But with you... it’s different. I can’t ignore it anymore."

You exhaled slowly, processing the depth of what he was saying. "I get it, Ace. I’ve never been good at it either. But... I think I’m starting to feel the same way."

The air between you and Ace was thick with unspoken words and raw desire. Every touch, every kiss seemed to ignite something deeper inside both of you, something that neither of you could hold back anymore. Ace’s hands were everywhere, moving over your skin with an urgency that matched your own. You were no longer just two people caught in a casual arrangement—you were two souls tangled together in a desperate need for more.

His lips moved from your mouth to your neck, his breath warm and ragged against your skin. "You’re driving me insane," Ace groaned, his voice low and filled with hunger. His hands slid down your body, pulling you even closer, the heat between you growing with every passing second.

You let out a breathless laugh, your fingers threading through his messy hair as you pulled him back to your lips. "I think we both are," you whispered, your lips brushing against his. "I can’t stop thinking about you."

Ace’s eyes darkened with that familiar fire, his fingers tightening around your waist as if to pull you closer still. He pulled back slightly, his breathing shallow. "Are you sure? Because I don’t think I can stop either."

His words were a challenge, and you could feel the heat rising between you, a magnetic pull that you couldn’t deny. "Then don’t," you answered, your voice barely above a whisper, but with an intensity that made his pulse quicken.

Without another word, Ace captured your lips once more, this time with a fervor that matched the storm inside him. His hands roamed over your body, taking his time as he explored every curve, every inch of your skin as though he were trying to memorize it. You didn’t stop him. You didn’t want him to.

His lips trailed down your neck again, the sensation making you shiver. "I’ve never been this close to losing control," Ace muttered, his breath hot against your skin, his fingers moving to trace the edge of your shirt. "I’ve never felt like this before... with anyone."

You could feel his hands trembling as they slid under your shirt, caressing your back, his touch leaving a trail of fire in its wake. "Then don’t fight it," you whispered, your voice thick with desire, a challenge of your own. "Let go."

It was all the invitation he needed.

Ace’s lips found your collarbone, his mouth pressing against your skin in a series of heated kisses that made your heart race. His hands slid lower, expertly undressing you piece by piece, as if every layer of clothing was a barrier he couldn’t wait to tear down. And you welcomed it. You welcomed him.

When your shirt finally came off, Ace didn’t hesitate. His hands found your chest, his touch rough but gentle in the same breath, his eyes never leaving yours as if searching for any sign of hesitation. But you weren’t about to pull away. You wanted this. You wanted him.

He groaned low in his throat, his fingers grazing over your sensitive skin, making you arch into him, craving more. "Damn," he muttered, his lips trailing down to your chest. "You don’t know what you do to me."

You gasped as his lips found a sensitive spot just beneath your ear, his hands now roaming freely, memorizing every inch of you. "Ace..." you breathed, your voice barely a whisper as his mouth moved lower, his kisses growing hungrier, more urgent. "Please…"

Ace paused for a moment, looking up at you with an intensity that took your breath away. His hands were on your thighs now, fingers sliding up your legs, sending shivers down your spine. "What do you want?" he asked, his voice low and gravelly, his breath heavy with desire.

You bit your lip, trying to regain some composure, but the tension in your body was overwhelming. "You," you said simply, your hands pulling him closer, urging him on.

The moment those words left your lips, Ace’s restraint snapped. He pulled you toward him, his lips finding yours once again, this kiss fiercer than before, driven by pure, unrelenting need. There was no teasing now, no hesitations. Just the overwhelming urge to lose yourself in each other.

His hands moved swiftly, undressing you completely, and in return, you did the same, your fingers trembling as you pulled off his shirt and pants, revealing the toned body you had seen only in passing but never truly had the chance to admire up close. Now, with him inches away from you, your hands roamed over his chest, your breath catching in your throat at the feeling of his hard muscles beneath your touch.

With a growl of frustration and desire, Ace finally took control, his lips trailing down to your chest, his tongue flicking over your sensitive skin, drawing a moan from your lips. You couldn’t hold back anymore—every touch, every kiss was driving you wild, and you knew you were on the edge of losing yourself completely.

"Ace... please," you whimpered, your hands pulling at his hair, urging him on.

He responded with a hunger that matched your own, pushing you back against the railing of the ship, the cool night air suddenly feeling like a distant memory as his body pressed against yours. Every inch of your skin seemed to hum in response to his touch, your body alive with sensation.

"I need you," Ace murmured, his lips moving against your neck as his hands slid down your body, pulling your legs around his waist. "I want to feel all of you."

And as he finally slid into you, both of you gasped at the sensation—the slow, deliberate stretch, the overwhelming feeling of being connected in a way neither of you had ever felt before. It was more than just physical. It was a raw, unfiltered connection. A promise, perhaps, that nothing would ever be the same again.

As the night wore on, you and Ace gave in to each other completely, no longer fighting the attraction that had been building for so long. The waves crashed beneath you, the ship rocking in time with your bodies, as you both found your release in the most intense way.

When it was over, you lay together, breathing heavily, tangled in each other’s arms. The world seemed to stop, the weight of what had just happened settling over you both.

Ace kissed your forehead gently, his hand caressing your back as he pulled you closer. "So, now what?" he asked quietly, his voice softer, his earlier intensity still lingering in the air.

You smiled, pressing a kiss to his chest. "I guess we’ll figure that out together."

He chuckled, his fingers gently tracing circles on your skin. "Yeah, I guess we will."

♡♡♡

© 2025 arixella | please do not plagiarize or translate any of my work without my consent.

[thatscarletflycatcher]

The year is 1848. You are Anne Brontë, and you have written a cautionary tale for young women about the dangers of marriage and how you cannot reform a rake, and that the notion that "women's gentle influence" can do anything towards fixing corrupted and vicious men is a perverse lie. To get this point across you insert a conversation between two characters close to the beginning of the novel where you logically argue "You would have us encourage our sons to prove all things by their own experience, while our daughters must not even profit by the experience of others." and then you illustrate your point through how, despite loving her aunt dearly, your main character cannot understand the extent of the danger she's in because her aunt will only allude to it in vagueries. Surely nothing can be clearer and more forcibly expressed, right?

Reviewer at Sharpe's London Magazine:

"we cannot but express our deep regret that a book in many respects eminently calculated to advance the cause of religion and right feeling, the moral of which is unimpeachable and most powerfully wrought out, should be rendered unfit for the perusal of the very class of persons to whom it would be most useful, (namely, imaginative girls likely to risk their happiness on the forlorn hope of marrying and reforming a captivating rake), owing to the profane expressions, inconceivably coarse language, and revolting scenes and descriptions by which its pages are disfigured."

(now you can better understand the tone of the preface to the second edition)

Bonus:

"we consider the evils which render the work unfit for perusal (for we go that length in regard to it,) to arise from a perverted taste and an absence of mental refinement in the writer, together with a total ignorance of the usages of good society... despite reports to the contrary, we will not believe any woman could have written such a work... at the first glance we should say, none but a man could have known so intimately each vile, dark fold of the civilized brute's corrupted nature; none but a man could make so daring an exhibition as this book presents to us. On the other hand, no man, we should imagine, would have written a work in which all the women, even the worst, are so far superior in every quality, moral and intellectual, to all the men; no man would have made his sex appear at once coarse, brutal, and contemptibly weak, at once disgusting and ridiculous. There are, besides, a thousand trifles which indicate a woman's mind, and several more important things which show a woman's peculiar virtues. Still there is a bold coarseness, a reckless freedom of language, and an apparent familiarity with the sayings and doings of the worst style of fast men, in their worst moments, which would induce us to believe it impossible that a woman could have written it. A possible solution of the enigma is, that it may be the production of an authoress assisted by her husband, or some other male friend: if this be not the case, we would rather decide on the whole, that it is a man's writing."

We love a person who can read a book about how women, even high class women, do not and cannot escape horrifying scenes of abuse and degradation by men in Victorian society, and are, because of their special legal and economic vulnerability, most often the target of it, and go "this couldn't have possibly been written by a woman because ladies cannot have any experience whatsoever of such things."

[shadowxamyweek]

Where Does the Headcanon That Silver Is Shadow and Amy’s Kid Come From?

Much like Shadow calling Amy, 'Rose,' Silver being Shadow and Amy's kid is everywhere. If nothing else, he's often relegated to a distant descendant. When did we all agree though that this was just kinda a thing? To answer that, we're going to have to back up to Dragon Ball.

Sega has never hidden its love of Dragon Ball. Much of what is now Sonic Canon just started out as Sega artists and game designers delighting in some of the cool stuff Dragon Ball does, including but not limited to how the 7 chaos emeralds parallel the 7 dragon balls, and how Sonic's super form mirrors Goku's. This is important to keep in mind because there's another set of parallels that are being drawn when the, 'Silver is Shadow and Amy's kid,' headcanon comes into play. In Dragon Ball, there's an villain turned anti-hero/secondary protagonist called Vegeta and a very bubbly, very domineering woman named Bulma. The two get together and have a kid, named Trunks. Trunks ends up time traveling, specifically going back in time to prevent certain tragedies from happening. Aaaaand then once again, in Sonic, we have Shadow, being a villain turned anti-hero/secondary protagonist, and Amy, being a bubbly and domineering girl. We've also got Silver, who ends up time traveling, specifically going back in time to prevent certain tragedies from happening. *gestures loosely* People on Sega's payroll have noticed the parallels and commented on them as well. In 2008, on his Bumble King website, Ian Flynn answered some fan questions about the subject:

Later, in 2023, Flynn and his cohost Crouse over on the @bumblekast answered a question about this again:

(It's at 1:26:13, just in case I messed up the link) ---- TRANSCRIPT Crouse: Right, here's another question. This one is from ChaosSonic1. "This might kill this headcanon for others, but it always bugs me: people constantly consider Shadow and Amy as Silver's parents but that would be impossible due to two things. One, Shadow was in prison for 200 years. Thoughts?" ...That's only one thing but okay. [Laughter] Flynn: It is something that's come up because there were a lot of weird parallels, number one that silver was, you know, decidedly based on Trunks and I think it's quite obvious that Shadow is the kind of Vegeta of this group. It makes Amy default to the Bulma, which isn't really solid. I mean, if anything, Tails is the Bulma of the group, but you know there are no solid one to ones throughout the whole thing. You started trying to get too specific with it and falls apart. There was other stuff like-... something in Sonic and the Black Knight-... Amy was Nimune and Shadow was Lancelot and Silver was-... Galahad... Point being, within Autherial 1:27:40 within Arthurian, lore Silver's character was the child of Shadow and Amy's characters, which kind of made everyone go, 'beg pardon?' (Brief pause, this is slightly incorrect. Nimune is both the singular and plural name for water nymphs, one, or all of which, raised Lancelot. Galahad is *only* Lance's child. Again, like Dragon Ball, not a one to one, but enough to cock an eyebrow.) Flynn: There's also like the kind of vague mysticism around Amy and the fact that Silver can do Chaos Control so it's like, did he inherit Shadow's Chaos Control and his psychic powers from Amy? And it's all like extremely loose vague breadcrumbs that don't really so much make a line as they just are kind of scattered in the water for the ducks to eat so no, it doesn't really make any sense because like you said, in that timeline, Shadow was sealed away for like the duration and it's still 200 years. I don't think Amy was, you know, secretly carrying Shadow's love baby that long. That doesn't add up...- I mean, who knows. I mean, if that is your headcanon, if that's your ship, if that's how you want to connect the dots, go nuts. I'm not going to shoot it down.

Crouse: But there's also the whole thing, like time travel is a thing.

Flynn: Yeah.

Crouse: A lot of other things are things that could happen, like- [Laugh].

Flynn: And Amy's associated with Little Planet a lot, I get it, you can- you could put the pieces together that way if you wanted. I just don't think that's what Sega's doing with it.

Crouse: Well, no, but you know, who cares what Sega's doing except you I guess. You have to. Flynn: I do. It's part of my job.

Crouse: You have to care, but the rest of us now, we don't have to. Screw whatever Sega's doing, we can do whatever we want. My headcanon.

---- (This evidence I have to thank @shadamyheadcanons for. I remembered reading this ages ago, but couldn't remember *where*. She also provided the Bumblekast interview. ) I'm also going to point out, as many have before, that Sonic plays loose and fast with what Chaos Energy/Magic/Science/Whatever can and cannot do, including but not limited to time stuff as evidence in Sonic 06, where Silver debuted. I've also talked before that just because we see a future based off of the current events and trajectory of those events in 06, that does not mean that said-future is set in stone, and may very well change if the characters themselves make different decisions.

And that's *only* arguments for the headcanon that Silver is, in fact, their child. That doesn't include just how much more liberty there is in the headcanon that Silver is some distant relative, who's bloodline is intrinsically tied to Shadow and Amy. So yeah! That's where the headcanon comes from! It's moments like these that I can appreciate the lack of details in Sonic. That's not a thing I say very often, but in situations like these, it really allows for an open imagination of the different parts and pieces, and how they all fit together. Sonic is fun like that, and I love it for this reason <3

[fraddit]

Madney House Floor Plan

Okay, I'm just updating the original post with the newest version😅. Big thank you to @chuwungjae, who kindly pointed me toward a scene I missed that really solidified things! Anyway, a lovely anon asked me to offer my two cents on the layout of the Madney house, so I threw together this basic floor plan. Hopefully, the reblogs with the older, less complete version don't poison the well too much.

Here we go! This is based on everything through 8a. Blue is interior spaces. Green is exterior spaces. Fuchsia is stuff I couldn’t find a good shot of or haven’t seen at all and am therefore not sure about.

Look below the cut for further discussion of things. However, I’m doing this post “lazy style”, so I won’t be providing screen shots to back up anything I’m saying. You’ll just have to trust me, sorry.

Anyway! The entry leads into the living room. The living room leads into the dining. The dining leads into the kitchen. Off the kitchen is the courtyard.

HI, I UPDATED THE FLOOR PLAN ABOVE. The most recent image can be viewed by clicking through to the original post.

One thing I feel is important to note is that this house has only ever been a set and is designed as a set and doesn’t make sense as an actual house. The set doesn’t match the brief exterior shots of the murder house in its introductory episode and also doesn’t match typical US suburban building codes as far as aesthetics are concerned, since no part of the house is really designed as the “front” that would normally face the street.

The hallway up from the kitchen goes to the bedrooms. Jee’s shares walls with the living and kitchen. Maddie and Chim’s bedroom is at the end of the hall and looks out onto the courtyard. I caught a glimpse of what looks like a night stand that leads me to believe this is how their bed is situated in the room, but I’m not 100% on it. However, the bed being between two windows is accurate. No idea what’s happening with that far wall. Maybe a closet? Maybe caught a glimpse of a dresser through the courtyard doors? idk.

I’m nearly positive they embiggened the courtyard for the hot tub plot. Also, the kitchen island has reversed sides at least once. I think those are the only little weirdnesses I noticed though.

Since there’s no indication of a bathroom toward the top of the plan, I’m pretty sure the door off the bottom of the kitchen is the bathroom. But that’s fully a guess on my part. I have nothing to back this up.

There’s also a door off the bottom of the courtyard. No idea where that goes either. Maybe garage? Storage? Water heater and other utility?

I’m pretty sure the doors in the entryway are a closet, but I never caught them open to confirm. The door in the dining room has been shown open and is a coat closet.

And that’s pretty much everything, I think. Thanks for coming on this journey with me. Guess I should drop the links for my other floor plans: Eddie’s house (tumblr), Eddie’s house (ao3), Buck’s loft (tumblr), Buck’s loft (ao3)

✌💕

[sincerelykimii]

𝑆𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑘𝑦 𝑁𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑠

𝐵𝑢𝑐𝑘𝑦 𝐵𝑎𝑟𝑛𝑒𝑠 𝑥 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑒𝑟

𝑆𝑦𝑝𝑛𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑠: 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑑 𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑏𝑢𝑐𝑘𝑦 𝑑𝑜𝑒𝑠𝑛’𝑡 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑎 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑒．

𝑊𝑎𝑟𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠／𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑠: 𝑓𝑙𝑢𝑓𝑓, 𝑠𝑢𝑛𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑒 𝑥 𝑔𝑟𝑢𝑚𝑝𝑦 𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑒, 𝑎 𝑓𝑒𝑤 𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑠𝑒 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑑𝑠, 𝐼 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑘 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡𝑠 𝑎𝑙𝑙…𝑖𝑓 𝐼 𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑛𝑦𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑙𝑚𝑘！

𝐴／𝑁 ：𝐻𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑚𝑦 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑠 𝑓𝑖𝑐 𝑡𝑜 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑦 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒，𝑖𝑙𝑙 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑎 𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑣𝑒 𝑟𝑜𝑔𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑠𝑜𝑜𝑛. 𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑘 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑠𝑜 𝑠𝑜 𝑚𝑢𝑐ℎ 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑜𝑛 𝑚𝑦 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑜𝑢𝑠 𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑡, 𝐼 𝑎𝑑𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑜𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑠𝑜 𝑚𝑢𝑐ℎ. 𝐸𝑛𝑗𝑜𝑦！

Valentine’s day was quickly creeping around the corner and it’s safe to say you were more than excited. Tony being Tony decided to throw a little Valentine’s Day get together, knowing Stark and his dramatic effects. He didn’t mention you had to have a Valentine and a gift until three days before. It was kind of like a secret Santa sorta thing which you already adored. Although you didn’t have a valentine just yet, you were already determined to get them the best gift ever.

Bucky on the other hand, didn’t want anything to do with the lovey dovey holiday. He attempted to avoid everyone the week of Cupid, but he couldn’t seem to avoid you. He never could seem to avoid you and your illuminating presence. You always found a way to make him laugh, smile, stick around longer than he usually did. He was practically hopelessly in love with you, not that he would ever admit that…but you always lingered in his mind. Once he heard about the get together, he was all out. He didn’t want to go, he didn’t want to find a date, he just wanted to sit in his room and sulk. Sulk about not having the courage to just ask you out. But here he was, sitting on the couch talking to Steve about it.

“Buck you have to, it’ll be nice for you to, socialize.”

As Bucky was about to respond you walked in. It was as if a ray of sunshine had broken through his clouds. your presence was magnetic, drawing every eye toward you. The warmth of your smile lit up the space, casting a glow that made everything seem a little brighter and more beautiful. Hopelessly in love. “Whatcha guys talking about?” you say, joining the two super soldiers on the sofa.

Bucky shifted uncomfortably on the couch as you approached, his eyes flickering up to meet yours before quickly darting away. He muttered something indistinguishable under his breath, clearly not thrilled about the impending Valentine's Day celebration. "Nothing important," he grumbled, crossing his arms.

“Uh huh…anyways! do you guys have a valentine yet?” You ask, subtly directing the question towards Bucky.

Bucky's eyes narrowed slightly at the question, his arms tightening around himself as he avoided looking at you directly. He was definitely not planning on having a date, let alone a valentine. But the thought of you with someone else made his stomach twist into knots. "No, I don't."

Your lips curl into a frown, before returning to its natural pout. “You’ll find one Bucky, any girl would be lucky to be your valentine.” Your heart tightened as the words left your mouth. You wanted to be his valentine, his date, you wanted to be, his. You had these thoughts often, more than you’d like to admit. But you always found yourself shaking them off, knowing it’ll never happen. you didn’t wanna ruin the relationship you’ve built, the relationship most don’t get to have with him.

Steve started talking once again, but you were still in your head not listening to a word he said. You didn’t plan on asking anyone else, hell, you didn’t want to ask anyone else. Only the man sitting beside you. A simple, ‘Will you be my Valentine’ wasn’t gonna cut it for you. You needed to have some thought behind your question, something that’ll blow his socks off. Maybe if you did something…elaborate, he’ll say yes. Something he’ll never see coming…like a secret admirer. Lightbulb!

“Oh, silly me, I forgot I had to…bake for tomorrow. I’ll see yall later.”

You knew you weren’t convincing, but you couldn’t have cared less. You stood up from the sofa, immediately rushing towards your room. As you rushed off, Bucky couldn't help but feel a strange emptiness in the room after you left. He uncrossed his arms, sitting there in thought.

Steve nudged him, "You really aren't getting a valentine?" He asked, already knowing the answer. Bucky rolled his eyes, shaking his head. “No.” he muttered, he didn’t want just any valentine. He wanted you. Steve just gave him a knowing look, seeing right through his act. "You realize you're being stupid, right?" he said, a teasing hint in his voice.

"There's someone right under your nose who'd jump at the chance to be your valentine, and you're just -"

Bucky suddenly stood up, giving Steve a glare before heading to his room.

Meanwhile you were sat on your bed, at least 10 sticky notes surrounding you. “This shouldn’t be too hard, right? People in the movies do it easily.” you mumbled to yourself as you began writing the first note.

“𝐼 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑠𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑒. － 𝑆.𝐴. 𝑝𝑠. 𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑘 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑘.”

“𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑐𝑘 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑠𝑡.”

You write a few more, waiting till the night fell to put your plan in motion. You tip toe to Bucky’s door, sticking the note right on the center before quickly making your way around the compound placing the notes in specific places only he’ll find. You sneak back to your room, letting out a deep breath feeling content.

Bucky however was sitting in his room, reading a book when he heard a soft tapping on his door. He opened it to find a sticky note stuck right in the center. He looked around confused before picking it up and reading it.

"𝐼 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑠𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑒. － 𝑆.𝐴."

“What the hell.” he muttered, but he couldn’t help the pink creeping onto his neck. He took the note, shutting the door behind. He laid on his bed staring at the ceiling, who the hell would put a note on his door? Steve? he’s not that stupid, Tony? Definitely not. His thoughts raced endlessly in his head, not once directing to you. He eventually drifted off to sleep, leaving his worries till the morning.

The morning came quicker than it should’ve, you rolled out of bed immediately heading towards Bucky’s door. You glance at the center of it seeing the sticky note was gone, you swore your heart skipped a few too many beats. It worked. Now all that was left to do was wait. You took a seat on the sofa, scrolling through your phone.

Bucky woke up early, his mind still foggy from sleep. He rubbed his eyes, trying to shake off the remnants of sleep. He got up and started his morning routine, showering and getting dressed. As he was making his breakfast, he noticed the sticky note on the side of the sofa. He swiftly made his way over, picking it up and tucking it away in his pocket. He waited in the kitchen till you left the room before opening it.

"𝑌𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑒𝑦𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑓𝑢𝑙. － 𝑆.𝐴."

He scrunched his nose, a strange flutter in chest becoming evident. He didn’t understand. Who was 'S.A.’? He turned the stick note over reading it,

“𝑌𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑛𝑒𝑥𝑡 𝑛𝑜𝑡𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑏𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑎𝑑𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑠𝑡.”

The gym. He didn’t necessarily adore the gym, but he always found himself there. Not just to work out but mainly to see you. He always found himself near you, looking at you, even talking to you. It didn’t come off as weird to him, it was more in a sense of admiring you without looking like a complete weirdo.

Nonetheless he made his way over to the gym, looking around for a moment before spotting the pink sticky note on the weight machine he used the most. He grabbed the note, reading it to himself quietly.

“𝐼 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝐻𝑢𝑚𝑜𝑟 － 𝑆.𝐴.”

“𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑛𝑒𝑥𝑡 𝑛𝑜𝑡𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑏𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒…”

The small scavenger hunt continued throughout the day, sending him all over the complex. This would’ve creeped him out big time, but there was something screaming at him to keep going. A gut feeling. and he always trusted his gut. Finally, he found the final note.

“𝐼 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑙𝑜𝑢𝑑 𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑠 𝑜𝑛 𝑦𝑜𝑢, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝐼’𝑙𝑙 𝑎𝑙𝑤𝑎𝑦𝑠 𝑏𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑢𝑛𝑙𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑒 𝑖𝑡 𝑎𝑤𝑎𝑦 － 𝑆.𝐴.”

“𝑌𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑡 𝑛𝑜𝑡𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑏𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑓𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑.”

The last note signed your initials but Bucky was too quick on his feet to notice. He rushed to the living room completely ignoring everything else happening around him, only to find nothing on the couch. His heart stopped, was this all just a sick joke? He sighed, feeling like an idiot for believing something good would come out of this. Just as he was about to leave, he turned to see you standing in the kitchen, a heart made out of sticky notes in hand. Bucky's breath caught in his throat as he saw the heart on the kitchen counter, his eyes immediately locking onto yours. He couldn't believe it, all those notes, the scavenger hunt, it was you. He felt his heart racing, his cheeks heating up as he approached you. In the middle the heart it read,

“𝑆𝑜𝑟𝑟𝑦 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 ℎ𝑢𝑛𝑡, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝐼 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑘 𝐼 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑚𝑎𝑘𝑒 ��𝑝 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑖𝑡． 𝑊𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑏𝑒 𝑚𝑦 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑒?”

Your smile only grew as he approached, you tried to ignore your heart rate picking up exponentially faster but the heat rushing to your cheeks was a dead give away of your reaction. “Well…?” you say, tilting your head ever so slightly.

“Will you be my valentine?”

Bucky stood before you, utterly stunned by the grand gesture. He hadn't expected this, hadn't dared to hope. Your smiling face, those beautiful eyes, the sticky note heart - it was overwhelming in the best way possible. A slow, hesitant smile crept across his lips as he gazed at you. Finally, he took the heart made out of little pink sticky notes in his own hands, admiring the small details before meeting your gaze.

“Yes.”

𝐵𝑂𝑁𝑈𝑆: The day of the little Valentine’s get together soon came, and Bucky couldn’t have been more excited, not that he was going to show it. But the smile he usually never wore, was a dead give away. He entered the living room, his baby blues immediately landing on your face. He couldn’t help but smile softly at you, the excited look on your face, the way your smile met each corner of your eyes, and the neatly wrapped gift in your hand. He almost forgot to check his pocket for the thousandth time, making sure your gift was still there. He took his seat next to you, his thigh touching yours.

“Hi Bucky.” You cooed, placing a matching headband on his head, the hearts shaking slightly.

Bucky's heart skipped a beat as you placed the headband on him, the soft touch of your fingers sending shivers down his spine. He chuckled lowly, running a hand through his hair to adjust the headband, the delicate fabric grazing over his fingertips. "Hey, you." He murmured, his eyes never leaving yours.

The night was serene, filled with the warmth of laughter and conversation flowing effortlessly, filling the space with a sense of peace. The aroma of homemade cookies, and baked goods wafted through the air, adding to the comfortable atmosphere. As the night wore on, stories were shared, harmless arguments, and reminiscing about old times. As the end of the night approached the last thing to be given were the gifts. You and Bucky decided to go last, and it’s safe to say you were glad you did. Everyone got meaningful gifts, some were even given gags as well.

Once it got to your turn, you turned to Bucky, a warm smile playing on your lips. “I picked this gift out a while ago, but I had a few changes made recently.” You say placing the gift on his lap.

Bucky's heart pounded in his chest as he carefully accepted the beautifully wrapped gift. The pink and gold paper, complete with tiny hearts, was almost too pretty to unwrap. Almost. He felt everyone's eyes on him as he slowly peeled back the paper, revealing a dark blue velvet box. Your eyes remained on his watching as they lit up as he pulled out the heart shaped locket necklace. The way his lips curled into a smile when he seen the delicate pink detail engraved on the inside. His smile only growing wider as he saw what the engraving read:

"𝑌𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑠𝑢𝑛𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑒, 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝐼’𝑚 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑎𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑".

He unconsciously touched the locket, his thumb running over the letters. He looked up at you, his eyes crinkling at the corners as he smiled softly. He hadn't expected something so thoughtful. Your eyes met his once again, your smile mirroring his own. “Do you like it?” you whisper.

Bucky nodded, his voice caught in his throat. He reached out, carefully taking the locket from the box and holding it up to admire it in the soft light of the room. He turned it over in his hands, running his fingers over the intricate details before closing the lid.

“I love it.”

The others chirped a bunch of awe’s as he put the necklace around his neck. He reached into his pocket, pulling out a similar velvet box placing it in your hands. He watched your curious expression as you took the box, his thumb unconsciously brushing against your fingers. "You gave me something perfect, so I figured..." He trailed off, leaving you to open it at your own pace, nervous butterflies dancing in his stomach.

As you opened the delicate box, your eyes widened in shock. You lifted the shimmering bracelet, holding it to the light, the attached charms spinning in place. “It’s beautiful…” you whisper, bringing it a bit closer to your face, reading the words engraved into it.

“𝑀𝑦 𝑠𝑢𝑛𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑒.”

Bucky smiled softly, watching your reaction with bated breath. He reached out gently, taking the bracelet from your hands and fastening it delicately around your wrist. His fingers lingered for a moment, brushing against your skin as he ensured it was secure. You couldn’t find the words to thank him, instead wrapping your arms securely around his waist pulling him into a hug.

He inhaled sharply as you embraced him, his arms automatically wrapping around you, pulling you closer. He rested his chin on top of your head, a content sigh escaping his lips as he held you. This moment, right here, was perfect. No words were needed.

[mllemaenad]

Fascinating. Veilguard failed because it didn't have live service elements. It's funny ... replaying Origins has highlighted for me how much of Veilguard I don't like because it feels too much like a multiplayer game.

I've played Fallout 76, and I've enjoyed it to the extent that it lets me play it like a single player game. The more it intrudes on my single player experience, the more dissatisfied I become. That includes obvious things like being constantly bombarded by "events" and ridiculous "season passes" that have nothing to do with my character's experience of being a former vault dweller living in post-apocalyptic Appalachia and everything to do with Bethesda wanting me to buy more Atoms ... but it also includes things that are just baked into the experience.

There are few meaningful choices in the narrative because there are a bunch of other people on the server so the world can't really change. I think it was a good thing that they added NPCs to the world, but their arrival is a narrative point you can't actually experience because, again, there are other people on the server so we can't go back to that. I can't reload an earlier save to try out a different quest option, or even look at a different dialogue choice. I can't mod the game if I want to. And some areas are just a misery to get through, because they're only designed to be fun if you're in a group.

And honestly, 76 isn't too bad: at least it lets me do a lot of things by myself, and there's still a lot of decent lore from NPCs and terminals. I played it because early post-war lore was irresistible, even if I don't really like multiplayer games. But if Fallout 5 was a multiplayer game as well ... I'd probably start losing interest in Fallout games. Fallout 76 is ... fine, but I don't want more of that.

Some of Veilguard probably feels like multiplayer because it was, at one point in its development, designed to be a multiplayer game. Some of it probably feels like multiplayer because the version we ended up getting was simply rushed, so they didn't add features you might expect in a single player RPG. But either way ... it just feels very much like a tedious multiplayer game to me.

The companions are a little thin and underdeveloped – no dialogue trees, some baffling personal quest choices – because they're meant to play second fiddle to the real friends running through the game with you. There are big, complex environments with "epic" boss fights hidden away in corners because the narrative reason they're there is less important than the fun of taking down a dragon with your friends. They've got a million factions that don't really contribute anything to the narrative (what are the Lords of Fortune bringing to the table here?) but would facilitate leaderboards nicely. There's little reactivity in the world and few meaningful choices because there are a bunch of other people on the server.

I'm not saying there was no good at all in Veilguard: there were things I liked, and if nothing else I can cheerfully mine it for meta. But so much of it reminds me of how boring and restrictive I find multiplayer ... and it wasn't even a multiplayer game.

[howlingday]

JAUNE

"Frère Jaune~! Frère Jaune~! Dormez-vous~?"

"Fermez-la!" Jaune shouted at his older sister.

"Aw~!" Saphron cooed. "Is it time for my baby brother's nap already?"

"I'm not a baby!" He huffed, stamping his foot. What was supposed to be a fun day of playing in the forest became another mean game for Saph to play on her only brother. She knew he hated that song, mostly because she sang it specifically to him. But when has an older sister ever listened to her younger brother?

"I found you, so now you have to go hide."

"That's not fair!" Jaune huffed.

"Life's not fair, baby brother~." She pinched his cheek, reeling in her hand as he swatted it away. "Now, turn around and let me go hide. No peeking."

With that, Saphron walked away, leaving Jaune to turn around and count to 100. How one counts that high was usually up to the person counting, and he learned a neat, little shortcut that cut his counting by five. Fives, to be exact.

"Five, ten, fifteen, twenty, twenty-five..." The only son of the Arc family couldn't help but smirk as he cheated. Saphron was probably still looking for a place to hide while he was already halfway through his handicap. She might be upset, but Jaune figured it was fitting payback for her own cheating earlier. "...ninety-five, one hundred! Ready or not, here I come~!"

Jaune turned around, walking the same direction Saph did. Knowing her, she probably just went straight ahead and turned somewhere. However, as he made his way through the woods, something felt wrong about their game. It wasn't a wrong gut feeling like you just cheesed your way into a win without earning it. No, this was a wrong feeling like everything was too quiet and the air was suddenly a lot heavier than it should have been. Even for a forest of bare trees on the cusp between winter and spring, it was as silent as the grave.

That's when Jaune found the footprint. It was big, many times the size of his hand, possibly even bigger than his arm, and it ended in four, sharp points. A Beowolf; a Grimm not normally found near Jaune's family home, thanks to the efforts of Huntsmen like his father and others, but here now all the same. He turned to home, ready to run and scream for his father to protect him, but he was stopped by a bit of string under his shoe, soaked in mud.

Saph's necklace. She said she got it from a girl in her class, a close friend of hers. She also said she would never take it off so long as she lived. Girls made weird promises like that, but that wasn't important. What was important was that there was no Saphron Arc to accompany this necklace, and the thought of that filled Jaune's belly with ice. Heavy ice.

He picked up the string and looked to where the Grimm footprints led to. He could run back to the house. It wasn't far, and his father could come out to save his sister without much effort, unlike Jaune, who was only just a boy. What could he do, anyways; he wasn't even ten years old, and he thought he could be a hero? Like the ones in his stories?

Still, Jaune pressed further through the trees, deeper into the trail of the beast, hoping there was some chance he could somehow save his sister. His pacing only quickened when he heard her cry out from beyond the ridge. Approaching the lip, he saw the black beast below, snapping into the roots of a tree that Jaune's older sister sought refuge under. It was huge, massive even. It was much bigger than the stories his father told him. He took a step back.

'Will you run?'

Should he run? He's already made it this deep into the woods. Going any further would be certain death. But to leave Saphron, who was sobbing and kicking to keep as far away from the monster as she could, would also mean certain death, but this instance would be hers. Could he live with that sacrifice?

No.

'Will you fight?'

Could he fight? Jaune found a large stick next to his foot. He picked it up and noted its weight. He could swing it, though he doubted it would do anything. If nothing else, it would serve as a distraction for his sister to escape. Still, there was that chance, that hope beyond hope that he could kill it with this stick. Slowly, the stick looked less like sturdy kindling and more like a sword. A sword fit for a hero. But reality is, was, and always be cruel, and despite whatever fantasies a boy may have, a stick is still just a stick.

But I still have to try.

'Why?'

Jaune was about to throw himself into an unwinnable fight against a creature his father had to train to fight. He had zero training, zero skill, and stood a better chance of surviving fleeing and getting his father. If he jumped down there, Saph might live, and that was a strong might if the Grimm wasn't finished with Jaune first. Should Jaune simply run and hope for the best, or risk everything in his young life to save his mean, older sister? What would be the point of doing that?

As Saph screamed and wailed, Jaune gripped the shoelace in his fist ever tighter, and he found his reason as he jumped from the cliff and onto the Grimm's back.

The beast thrashed its head around as its bony head smashed against the roots of the tree. Jaune clung to the hairs of its back, slapping his "sword" against the side of the massive monster. Finally, it rent itself free from its wooden prison, flailing more wildly as Jaune continued to hang on for his dear life. It rolled across the ground, suffocating and crushing Jaune into the soaking ground of mud and rock. He let go, and found the creature glaring down at him.

Time slowed down for Jaune Arc. Everything moved like the air itself was made of very thick maple syrup. The Beowolf, with its maw so wide, drew closer to its newest victim. Behind him, Jaune saw Saph screaming as she reached for her baby brother. She had the same thought he did; he was going to die here, and so would she if she stayed to watch. Even still, she couldn't stand by and let this happen.

"GO." Jaune simply said, speaking as normally as he could. Saphron's scream pierced the air as the Grimm snarled.

However, no blood would be spilled this day. Instead, where there should have been a dead boy was instead a living boy with a golden bubble around him. The Grimm snapped and dug its claws into the protective barrier but found neither purchase nor score to have been made in its attempt to maul the boy.

'Greetings.' A voice said inside of Jaune's head. Before he could react, the voice continued. 'I have chosen you to be my new vessel. I hope there aren't any objections.'

"Who...?" Jaune finally took his surroundings seriously. This was real! Was this his superpower? Making a protective bubble for himself? Before he could question any further, he turned to Saph, who looked on in awe of her baby brother. "Saph..."

'The Grimm is too occupied by our power.' The voice said. 'The girl will be safe so long as we are here.' Jaune breathed a sigh of relief. 'However, this cannot be guaranteed if she remains here and more Grimm arrive.'

Jaune nodded, turning to his big sister. Taking a page out of his favorite stories, he gave a confident grin before proclaiming. "Have no fear, Sir Arc is here~!"

Saphron wanted to argue that what her brother was doing was the dumbest thing he could possibly do, but now wasn't the time for arguing. She instead chose to call back. "I'm going to get dad! Don't die before he gets here!"

As she ran, it dawned on Jaune that, despite the amazing superpower he got, his life was still in danger. Suddenly, the Beowolf looked much larger and more dangerous than it was seconds ago. Could Jaune win? This bubble offered protection, but for how long, and could he still fend off the Grimm without it?

'Have faith.' The voice said. 'Though it is a mighty beast, and though you are mortal, we can win so long as you believe in yourself.'

"Who... are you?" Jaune finally asked.

'I am one of the two creators of this world.' Answered the voice. 'And I need your help to find my brother.' A claw pierced through the barrier, but did not break further than that. 'But we can discuss this later. For now, it is time to fight.'

Fight? Jaune only had experience in one kind of fighting, and that was against his sisters. This was not his sister, nor was it even human. It was a Beowolf, a creature of Grimm, and it had every advantage Jaune didn't only a few minutes ago. He wasn't a huntsman, nor was he even in training to be one. So what chance did he have in beating it?

'Do not fear, my vessel, for fear is what draws in the Grimm the most.' The voice attempted to soothe. 'Think instead of why you chose to fight instead of running away. What is at risk if you run now?'

Jaune squeezed the stick in his hand a little tighter. Saph, his big sister, almost died because of his inaction. Now wasn't the time for that; now was the time for payback. Suddenly, a golden light shined in Jaune's eyes, and where there was once a stick there was now a golden sword of light. The Grimm stabbed into the barrier once more, this time its massive claw tearing through, and found itself stuck in the barrier.

Claws that would have torn him to shreds if not for this power. Claws that would have torn his sister to shreds if he didn't show up. A fury so righteous boiled inside of Jaune before he swung his blade clean through the Grimm's talons. It reeled back with a screech, screaming in agony before making another leap at the barrier.

'I trust you, my vessel.'

The barrier fell. The beast lunged. The voice faded. And Jaune moved forward, thrusting his blade into the fanged maw of the Beowolf. His weapon struck true and pierced through the bone-white skull of the monster. It slumped forward, its heavy body crushing Jaune. Fear took hold of him, before the weight lifted and he was left coughing in a pile of fading ash.

"Jaune!" A familiar voice called out. He turned in time to see his father barreling down, brandishing the family sword, Crocea Mors, in hand. "Are you alright, son?!" He circled around his child. "Where did the Grimm run off to?!"

"I killed it, Dad." The look his father gave him was a new one. It was one of disbelief and concern.

He then noticed the ash soaked into his son's clothes, and a grin split across his face. He sheathed his blade, kneeling down. "You killed it, eh, son?" A sharp pain burned across Jaune's cheeks. "WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING, FIGHTING SOMETHING THAT BIG?! YOU KNOW WHAT WOULDA HAPPENED IF YOU DIED?!"

"SAPH WOULDA BEEN OKAY!"

"YOU DON'T KNOW THAT!" His father released his hands from his son. "For Brother's sakes, son! Your sister was probably scared out of her wits, but the Grimm probably wasn't that big!"

"Could you not say that, Dad? My friend doesn't like that."

"What? Your 'friend' has a problem with the word Grimm?" The air quotes showed that his father cared little with the voice in Jaune's head.

"No, Brothers." Jaune clarified. "He doesn't like his name being said like that without his brother." There was an even more confused look from his father.

"I think you might be concussed, son. C'mere," the large man picked up his son, "let's get you cleaned up, little hero."

"Hero?" Jaune's heart skipped a beat.

"Yeah. What else do you call someone who saves their sister's life? Even if it was a stupid thing to do, and you've probably used up all the good luck for the rest of your life, you're still a hero to me, your mom, and all your sisters. Especially Saph."

Jaune looked to the stick in his hand. He tried to will it into a sword, like before, only to instead receive a chiding message from his savior.

'There is a time and place for everything, but now isn't that time.'

Jaune gave a sigh. How disappointing. Then, he got an idea.

"Hey, dad?"

"Hm?"

"Can you train me to be a huntsman like you?"

"Mm..." His father then chuckled. "Sorry, Jaune. No can do."

"What?! Why not?!"

"There's only one huntsman like me, and that's me."

"Aw..."

"But..." Jaune felt a chill up his back. "I'll see what I can do about making you into a huntsman like you." Jaune could barely contain himself. Literally. "H-Hey! Stop shaking so much or I'm gonna drop you!"

Meanwhile, deep inside Jaune, a voice chuckled. 'This will be interesting, won't it... Brother?'

--------------------------------------------------

"Thankfully, the boy's father was able to arrive just in time to save his son, who nearly sacrificed his life for his sister. The family says that their son is now training to attend a huntsman academy when he's older."

"I guess it's not the size of the hero in the fight, but the size of the fight in the hero, huh?" The newscasters chuckled. "In other news, the infamous Huntsman Hunter has struck again. The victim was a huntress, whom our sources wish to remain anonymous out of respect for the fallen. Residents of Mistral are advised to travel in groups no smaller than three and to avoid travel at night if possible. Though the suspect remains at large, they are considered to be armed and dangerous..."

[life-series-school-blog]

..Server rebooting complete! 100%

~~

:Ping! You’ve received Mail!

•Welcome to Life Academy! I am your principal(and author) Lumy! As the number one academy of the country we offer many things but this year we’ve decided to be generous and make a reserve program! But of course you already know that. You’ve applied after all! This is your acceptance note.

But before you start to get too happy we have a few rules and things you need to do before entering! State your (characters)Name, Age, Gender and we will review it before sending you to one of our amazing student council members! They will tell you everything you need to know and get you situated in your required dorm and club!

~~

Now for the rules:

1, None of those racist homophobic people or slurs here

2, No brain rot or politics please!

3, no nsfw

4, Please respect everyone's opinions and beliefs

5, No spamming asks or any ai whatsoever

6, And have fun but be mindful!

~~

That being said now we’ve got a bit of an intro of our amazing student council!

Grian/Desert -About: Our Amazing and quite dedicated student council president! He takes care of all school events and runs the social media team! Quote: [Student did not provide a quote]

Scott/Light - About: Our special director of business! Scott is our vice president of the student council and takes care of every important test or issue with studies! Quote: [I’m glad to be here another year! If you ever need help don’t be afraid to ask!]

Pearl/Crescent - About: Our fantastic head of security! Have problems with bullying or don’t feel safe? Come to Pearl! She’s willing to do anything to help you if you’re in need! Quote: [Don’t come to me for something stupid. I will help if your being truthful though]

Martyn/Siren - About: Our interesting head of sports. Want to become a superstar at a sport? Then go to martyn!just be aware that his training isn’t exactly easy.. Quote: [Fuck off] (who allowed that in the intro?!?) (it’s authentic!!) (Grian!!!)

Scar/Sunflower - About: Our kind nurse apprentice! Got hurt or have any anxiety? Go to Scar! He’s willing to help in anyway whether it’s mental or physical! Quote: [im supposed to say something? Um… I’ll listen to you if you need it!]

Joel/Chariot - About: Our newest addition and wonderful head of Clubs! You can go to anyone for club help but Joel specializes in it! He’ll help you if you have any problems with it! Quote: [Its all about Family you know? Except Scott, none of them are my family] (I helped you!! Come on!)

~~

-Clubs!-

Part 1

Part 2

~~

Warnings!:

This blog will contain-

•Swearing

•Trafficshipping

•Violence

•mentioned su1c1ce and etc

-everything more dark will be tagged accordingly!!

-That being said nothing in this blog is real!!! It’s all roleplay so please remember that!! Also author is a real person that has a busy life. I will not always post and that’s okay!! I have two other rp blogs, a fanfic, and a main blog to deal with. Not to mention school. This blog will also be a lot more art heavy so yea!

Thank you for reading! Hope to see you soon :)

-Your principal(and author) Lumy!

.

.

~~~

#%Well this will be fun..%#

^We’re back baby!!!^

:Yes indeed we are… but with the world reset.. everyone is um.. different now:

#%Yep. Well let’s enjoy it while it lasts%#

^Yea!!!^

~~~

Other!

-old Story~

-Sunny’s blog!

Art!

-Art masterpost on main

-minor gods

Intros!

-Goldie!

-Milly

-jay

-lazy

~~~

Lastly but not least, this rp blog is inspired by @life-winners-liveblog and special thanks for botanicalbard and ??? For the motivation.

[smilingformoney]

Die With a Smile

Chapter V. The Escape

Summary: Elliott and Mary make their escape, but they're not out of the woods yet.

AN: someone stop me I'm out of control, how is this chapter 10k words? PLEASE leave comments my friends, I didn't get any on the last chapter so it kind of feels like I'm shouting into the void 😢

CW: RAPE, DEAD DOVE DO NOT EAT.

Read on Ao3 or below the cut:

As the carriage made its way through the streets of London, Elliott took Mary’s hand in his and squeezed it reassuringly.

“You’re doing the right thing, Mary,” he said softly.

“He’s going to be so angry,” she replied, her voice trembling slightly. “What if he follows us?”

“He won’t. He knows we’re going away. As far as he’s aware, you’ll be back on Saturday. By the time he realises anything’s amiss, we’ll be married and there’ll be nothing he can do. Not even the great Judge Turpin.”

Mary sighed and shook her head. How had her life come to this?

Sensing her hesitation, Elliott put an arm around her and let her lean her head against his shoulder. He kissed the top of her head comfortingly.

“Just you wait, Mary. Soon enough we’ll be out of London and in the country. Aren’t you excited to see it all?”

“Oh, yes!” Mary nodded enthusiastically. She looked up at him with those big doe eyes of hers. “Will you really teach me to ride a horse?”

“Of course I will. You’ll be a natural, I’m sure of it. Just as you’re a natural at everything else I’ve taught you. Reading, sucking cock…”

“Elliott!”

Mary blushed, glancing over at Tommy who was asleep next to her, but Elliott just laughed as he leant down to kiss her neck.

“What? Don’t worry, he’s fast asleep. He’ll have no idea that his big sister’s a natural cocksucker.”

Mary squirmed uncomfortably in her seat as Elliott continued kissing her. She could hear Turpin’s voice ringing in her ears. Who taught you to do this, hm? Or are you just a natural?

“Elliott, I… I should tell you something.”

“Hm?” Elliott hummed, though he kept kissing her.

“When Lord Turpin called me in to see him after court yesterday, he… that is, we… well, I… did that. With him.”

Elliott froze. He pulled away from where he’d been kissing her neck, took back the arm that was around her shoulders, and Mary daren’t look at him.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “He - he asked me to kiss him as a thank you for letting me stay, so I did and - and he showed me he was erect and told me I had to do something about it. So I… used my mouth.”

Elliott was silent for a long moment. Then, he thumped the side of the carriage and swore loudly, making Mary jump.

“I’m so sorry, Elliott —”

“Don’t be. It’s him I’m angry at. Fucking cad. No wonder he proposed last night, he was probably thinking with his dick. I told you he only proposed because he wants to fuck you.”

Mary nodded glumly. “I think you’re right. When we went for that walk on Saturday, he told me he didn’t want a wife. He made it sound like being married is a chore. And the only thing that happened since then that might have changed his mind was - well - that.” She sighed. “I can’t believe I was so stupid to think he might…”

“Mary, you are not stupid,” Elliott said firmly, taking her hands in his. “I meant what I said, you really did pick up letters quickly - and, yes, the other things I taught you too. I mean, look what you did! It was you that connected Barker to that man’s disappearance, it was you that found out what he was up to. I’m sure my cousin will spend all week telling his important friends how he sent a serial killer to the gallows, but it wasn’t him, it was you.”

Mary sniffed and wiped a tear on the back of her sleeve. “I must be a little bit stupid. I didn’t realise you wanted me.”

“Of course I want you, silly girl,” Elliott said endearingly. He put his arm around her again and held her close. “I’d have to be stupid not to.”

Mary smiled and wrapped her arms around his waist, cuddling him as tight as she could.

“I hope you know what you’re getting yourself in for, then. Because I’m going to be the best wife for you, Elliott, you’ll see.”

Elliott chuckled and kissed her forehead.

“Good. I’m counting on it.”

- - -

Once the carriage had left the outskirts of London and was driving past the rolling fields of the English countryside, Mary’s mood lifted, as if the thick, smog-filled air of London had been weighing her down. She watched, wide-eyed, as the fields passed by the window, pointing out all the sights she saw and asking Elliott to identify the animals. Cows, sheep and horses were an everyday sight for him, but somehow Mary had a way of making them seem exciting and new.

By the time they came to approach the estate in Sussex, Tommy had woken up, and he and Mary were entertaining themselves with games they’d clearly invented together over the years. Elliott watched them with a smile on his face and an arm around Mary’s waist.

It was all so easy, he thought. He’d known these two street urchins less than a week, and already he felt so comfortable with them, he could almost trick himself into believing Mary was his wife and Tommy their son. When he closed his eyes at night, he imagined he was back home, with Mary by his side. He could see himself waking up next to her in his bed, making love sleepily before starting their day. They’d eat breakfast on the porch, watching the workers start their routines. Elliott might work on his ledgers while Mary made him a hat, or else he’d teach her to ride a horse, or take her out to meet a flock of his sheep.

Sometimes Elliott wondered if he might have been born on the wrong continent and he was better suited for America. One thing was for certain, though: Mary wasn’t meant to live on the streets of London. She was designed for the open air, to care for the animals Elliott kept, to care for him and the children they might have one day.

That was perhaps what angered him most at the thought of her marrying Turpin. He could accept her marrying someone else if he knew she’d be happy, but Mary, so wide-eyed and eager to see everything the world has to offer - she deserved more than to be trapped in a stuffy old house in London. No matter what promises Turpin made, unless he moved away from London - which Elliott knew would never happen - then Mary could never be truly happy with him.

“Elliott, look, we’re here!” Mary exclaimed, pointing out the window as the carriage passed through the gates to Ivy Manor, the home of Duke Beaumont, Elliott’s mother’s brother. He’d never met the man, but they’d written often ever since Elliott’s mother had died, and the trip to England was as much to visit him as it was to visit Turpin.

“Are you sure he won’t mind that we’re early?” Mary fretted. “What if he doesn’t have space and food enough for us?”

Elliott rubbed her back reassuringly. “Don’t worry, sweetheart, he’s a wealthy man, and he’s been begging me to visit for years. I’m sure he won’t mind if we arrive a day earlier than planned.”

“Alright,” Mary conceded, though she fiddled with her skirt anxiously. Elliott laid a hand over hers to still her movements. She looked up at him and smiled shyly. “Thank you for inviting us, Elliott.”

“Oh, please. I knew from the day we went to Camden together there was no way I’d be leaving London without you.”

“Wow, look, Molly! This place is huge!” Tommy gasped, his head sticking out the window.

“Tommy! Don’t stick your head out the window!” Mary admonished her little brother, but Elliott just laughed.

“He’s eagar to get out of this bloody carriage, I expect. I certainly am. My arse is sore, even with the cushions.”

Mary peered out the window - without sticking her head out completely like Tommy had - and she too was shocked at how large the Beaumont estate was. It seemed to go on for ages, and though the driveway seemed a mile long, the grand mansion at the end of it was clearly visible, watching over its surrounding lands.

The carriage eventually pulled up at the foot of the steps leading up to the front door. Their arrival had been seen in the distance, so even with the unexpectedness of their arrival, the Duke had plenty of time to send a servant down to greet them.

“Welcome to Ivy Manor,” said the servant with a bow. “Duke Beaumont extends his gratitude for your visit. Whom shall I say is calling?”

“Elliott Marston. He’s expecting me, though I’m a day early.”

“Very good, sir. As it happens, His Grace already had your rooms prepared. Come, let us take care of your bags; I’ll show you inside.”

Mary slipped her hand into the crook of Elliott’s elbow as they followed the servant into the manor house, through the extravagant entrance hall, and into a room furnished with several tables, more books on shelves than Mary had ever seen, and several sofas and armchairs gathered around a fireplace.

The servant offered seats to them all, and Mary sat next to Tommy on a sofa, while Elliott took a nearby armchair. As they waited to be greeted by the Duke, they were offered drinks, and a maid poured them each some tea.

“This is so fancy,” Tommy whispered to Mary.

Mary hushed him, but giggled. It was all rather strange. She’d never seen a place so large, or so fancy that even the servants seemed to be dressed nice. She and Tommy had bathed and put on clean clothes that morning, but still Mary wondered if they stuck out like a couple of street-dwelling sore thumbs.

“Elliott! Are you trying to confuse an old man?” a voice, booming but jovial, called across the room. “I read a letter to say you’re coming tomorrow only to hear not an hour later you’ve already arrived!”

Elliott stood and crossed the room with a grin to greet his uncle.

“Uncle Rupert. How good to finally see you.”

The two men shook hands and exchanged pleasantries, then Mary quickly stood and curtsied when Elliott led his uncle over to the fireside. She nudged Tommy with her foot to encourage him to stand up too.

“Ah, and this must be the, uh… friend, am I right?” said the Duke with a twinkle in his eye.

“Another slight change in circumstance since I wrote,” Elliott admitted. “Mary and I are engaged.”

“Ha! Couldn’t wait to pop the question, eh, lad? Well, I can’t blame you. A very charming young lady. A pleasure to meet you, Miss - forgive an old man his poor memory. What was your family name, dear?”

“Taylor, your Grace,” Mary said with a curtsey. “Mary Taylor. This is my brother, Tommy.”

“Um - hello, sir,” said Tommy with an awkward attempt at a bow.

Duke Beaumont looked between the two siblings with a curious smile. “Tommy, eh? Not Thomas?”

“Just Tommy, sir,” the young boy squeaked.

“Well, welcome, both of you! Once you’re married, you’ll be my niece and nephew as good as if you always were. When is the happy day, have we decided yet?”

“Actually, I had hoped to discuss that with you, Uncle. Perhaps Mary and Tommy could be shown to their rooms?”

Mary wanted to stay with Elliott, but he insisted on talking to his uncle alone. He didn’t want her to have to sit and listen to him tell another man about her life, and he certainly didn’t want Tommy to hear the detail of it all.

“What’s going on, then, lad? Why the sudden urgency to come here?” Duke Beaumont asked when they were finally alone and a servant had served them both a whisky. “Your letter said you hoped to propose here and marry within months.”

“My cousin happened,” Elliott replied, the bitterness evident in his voice. “He proposed to her yesterday afternoon, while I was at the Post Office sending my letter off to you.”

“Ah, I see. And she said no?”

“Well… she had no idea I was planning to propose. She has a great deal of respect and affection for my cousin - more than he deserves - and a proposal from a Lord isn’t something a woman of her station can readily turn down. She had every reason to accept his hand. Until, that was, I - rather selfishly, I suppose - told her my intentions. She was devastated. She wants to marry me, but she can’t simply renege on her promise. Unless, of course… she’s already married.”

“I see,” said the Duke, nodding thoughtfully. “So you want to marry before your cousin finds out?”

“Yes. He plans to marry her Monday. She’s supposed to return to London on Saturday. We must be married by then. Would you help us, Uncle? I know arranging a wedding at such short notice is a great ask, and I’ll cover any expense —”

“Nonsense!” the Duke barked. “Wedding planning is one of my wife’s favourite hobbies. She planned all the family weddings, and I’m sure she’ll be ready to spring into action once the rest of them get engaged. Two days to plan a wedding will be a thrilling challenge for her. And don’t you go harping on about expenses, dear boy. If you must feel guilt about the cost, think of it as a gift from me to your mother. I never saw Caroline again after she ran away to Australia to be with your father — I’m certain she’d fully support young Mary doing the same. Although, I must say —” The Duke leaned forward conspiratorially. “She is quite young.”

“I thought it was impolite to ask after a woman’s age?” Elliott said shortly.

The Duke let out a booming laugh. “Oh, yes, so it is! Forgive me. Well, quite. Let me speak to my wife. At such short notice the guest list might be rather small, but then again, one should never underestimate my wife’s ability to plan a party, or any nobleman’s willingness to shirk responsibility for an opportunity to eat my food and drink my wine. Does Miss Taylor have any family she’d want to invite?”

“Just the brother.”

“I see.” Duke Beaumont stroked his chin thoughtfully. “Taylor, hm? Rather, uh… occupational, isn’t it?”

“She’s a seamstress.”

“Ah! I see. So when you say you met her in the tailor’s shop —”

“I love her.”

Elliott froze, shocked at his own words, at how easily they’d slipped out. He cleared his throat, then said, “I don’t care how low her birth is, Uncle. I love her.”

Duke Beaumont smiled knowingly. “Of course you do, lad. You know, you’re just like your mother. Never heard of a nobleman called Marston, have you? Your father’s family were mere merchants, and your mother loved him all the better for it. Now look at you! Owning half of Australia, by the sounds of it! And I’m sure that lovely young wife of yours will make sure the name Marston holds great esteem in Australia for generations. Now, enough chit-chat, I’m sure you’ll want to see your room and I must deliver the exciting news to your Aunt Henrietta. Soon enough this place will be abuzz with excitement for your upcoming nuptials!”

- - -

Looking into the mirror, Mary hardly recognised the woman looking back at her. Her hair was clean and tidy, and she’d taken in her borrowed - now stolen, she supposed - dress to fit her properly. She wasn’t sure she’d ever get used to this, having access to clean water for washing, clean clothes that fit, and toothpaste to keep her mouth clean. She’d been able to wash herself fairly regularly thanks to Mrs Harris - an apprentice that smelt like the streets wasn’t great for business - but nothing like this. Mrs Harris had kept Mary clean enough to not stink; but these days, she smelt good.

Mary turned slightly to examine her body in the mirror. She’d put on a little weight, she was sure of it. Not a lot, but enough that she hadn’t had to take the dress in as much as she’d expected.

A maid knocked on the door and was apparently surprised to see that Mary had dressed herself. Instead, the girl sat Mary down at the vanity, and insisted she style her hair for her. Usually, Mary wore her hair quite simply, keeping it out of her face with braids so she could work without her hair falling into her face, but otherwise she didn’t style it or put it up as seemed to be the fashion lately. The maid knew nothing of Mary’s usual styling, so she took it upon herself to give her a more elaborate, embellished hairstyle.

When she was finished, Mary really didn’t recognise herself in the mirror. She felt like she was looking at another Mary in another world, one where she’d slept every night of her life in a warm bed and didn’t know what a rat tasted like to eat or the numbness of being wet and cold after hours of rain and nowhere to shelter.

“I almost didn’t recognise you,” Elliott murmured to her when he took a seat next to her at the breakfast table. “You look like you belong here.”

Mary rubbed her neck self-consciously. She felt so exposed with her hair all on her head and leaving her neck bare.

“I don’t feel it,” she admitted.

“Well, you’re by my side, so you must be where you belong.”

Mary giggled. “Elliott, stop it!”

“Merely stating facts, sweetheart,” Elliott said with a wink.

They’d had dinner with Duke Beaumont’s family the night before, so Mary at least didn’t feel she was entirely surrounded by strangers. Mary had noticed quite quickly when introductions were made before dinner that there were a lot of women in the house. Duke Beaumont, it transpired, had three daughters and no sons, and although each daughter was married, they still lived in the family home - it was, after all, more than large enough for even dozens of people to live without feeling crowded. Two daughters had a daughter of their own, one had two sons, and the Duke’s older sister, who’d never married, lived at home too.

Although Mary hadn’t had the opportunity to speak to everybody, those she had spoken to at dinner and afterwards had been nothing but welcoming and kind. Then again, Mary thought back to the reflection she’d met in the mirror that morning — she gave no sign that she was as far removed in class from the Beaumont family as she could possibly be.

Tommy had had something of a makeover too. His hair had been washed and even trimmed, and someone must have had some children’s clothes stashed somewhere, because he was wearing a shirt and waistcoat Mary had never seen on him, clean and perhaps even new.

Still, though they looked the part, and though everybody was lovely, Mary couldn’t help feeling like an imposter. She was terrified that she might do or say the wrong thing and give away her station, and she’d be sent back to London where she belonged.

If someone was going to accuse her of being a commoner, it wasn’t to be at breakfast. Once the plates were cleared and everyone began dispersing to go about their days, Elliott took Mary by the hand and led her away, giving her only a cheeky smirk when she asked where they were going.

He took her outside and, despite her begging him to tell her where they were going, he kept mum until he led her into an outbuilding and she saw, standing in individual stalls…

“Horses!” Mary gasped. “Oh, Elliott, look at them! They’re beautiful!”

“I do miss riding,” Elliott admitted as he approached a nearby horse and offered it some grain in exchange for a pat. “Galloping across my land, with the clear air and open space… there’s nothing quite like it. It’s the very opposite of London.”

“It must feel so freeing,” Mary sighed dreamily. She approached the horse Elliott was patting with a cautious admiration. “I can’t wait to see Australia with you, Elliott. You make it sound so wonderful. And for so much land to be yours!”

Elliott smiled with pride. “I love it there. You know, I’ve thought in the past about moving to America. But I’d have to sell my land, start afresh… and after this trip, I’m not sure I could bear to do that. Australia’s my home. I’d hate not to go back.”

There was a softness in the way he spoke so tenderly about his homeland, a vulnerability that Mary hadn’t seen in him before. It almost sounded as if he were talking about a person he loved.

She put an arm around his waist. Elliott blinked, surprised — she never initiated contact between them. It was always him who touched her, inviting her touch back. He never saw it as a reluctance to touch him, but simply as if she were always waiting for permission. But now, her arm was around him, her eyes gazing up at him adoringly.

“You know, I think you might be the most wonderful man I’ve ever met.”

It was the closest thing to a declaration of love Mary had ever said, and certainly the closest Elliott had heard said to him in a very long time. He grinned, and the horse whinnied in protest when Elliott pulled his hand away to instead stroke Mary’s face with a gentleness he hadn’t known he had.

“There’s no might about it for me, Mary. I know you’re the sweetest, kindest, bravest woman I’ve ever known. You deserve so much more than the hand you’ve been dealt. I can only hope I can give you a fraction of what you truly deserve.”

“I didn’t realise we were doing our wedding vows now,” Mary giggled. “Is this horse ordained, do you think?”

Elliott laughed. He kissed Mary on the forehead, then said to the horse, “What do you think, Reggie? Do you pronounce us man and wife?”

The horse whinnied, undoubtedly in response to its name, but that was good enough.

“I believe that means you may kiss the bride.”

“Oh, so you speak horse, do you?”

“I do, and he’s quite insistent that we kiss.”

“Well, alright, then. I wouldn’t want to upset Pastor Reggie.”

Mary leant up on her tip-toes to kiss Elliott, who wrapped his arms around her and held her close as he kissed her back. For a few moments they stayed like that, wrapped up in one another, the world outside their little bubble suddenly disappearing as they kissed, and it was only when Elliott felt his cock twitching that he reluctantly pulled away. As much as he wanted to bend her over a hay bale, he’d promised to wait, and Elliott Marston was a man of his word.

Besides, he’d already spilled his seed down her throat that morning, and as happy as he’d be to do it again, he’d brought Mary to the stables with something else in mind.

“So are you ready to learn to ride?”

- - -

Every day that Mary spent with Elliott seemed to be more wonderful than the last, but this was most certainly the best one yet. They spent hours out with the horses, Elliott most evidently in his element out in the open air on horseback. He seemed so much more comfortable here than he ever had in London, and although Mary did well to learn to ride on her own, there was no way she could keep up with Elliott as he galloped around the manor grounds.

“You don’t need to show off, you know, I already like you,” Mary teased when Elliott finally brought the horse to a stop next to her. Elliott just winked at her, dared her to a race back to the stable, and set off before Mary had a chance to respond.

“Hey, no fair!” she laughed as she quickly followed him, riding as fast as she could to try and catch up, but there was no beating a master. Elliott was already closing the stall door by the time Mary brought her horse into the stable.

“That was cheating, Elliott, I demand a rematch!”

“Tomorrow, sweetheart, I think we’ve worn these two out.”

Elliott helped Mary down from her horse, and she looked at him with suspicion.

“Well, that’s a convenient excuse, isn’t it?”

“I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Elliott said innocently as he led the horse into the stall to lock it back in.

“Well, fine, tomorrow it is. And I expect a fair race this time.”

Elliott laughed and put his hand on the small of her back as they left the stable and made their way back up towards the manor.

“Of course, darling. But the horses really must be tired, and I’m certainly hungry, aren’t you?”

“Yes, I suppose. We have been out here a long time. It seems a while since we stopped for lunch.”

“Dinner should be soon. We should have a wash first, no doubt we smell of horse. I wonder what Tommy’s been up to all day.”

“Well, why don’t we ask him, I can see him over there!” Mary pointed in the distance where she could see Tommy sitting on the steps leading up to the house. “Oh, dear, he’s all alone. I hope he hasn’t been waiting for us.”

As they approached, it became quite evident to Mary that Tommy had been waiting for them — as soon as he spotted them, he came running up to Mary and threw his arms around her waist.

“Oof! Careful, Tommy! Is something the matter?”

Tommy just sniffed, and Mary carefully extracted herself from his grip to bend down to his height.

“What’s wrong, Tom?”

Tommy glanced up at Elliott cautiously.

“Hey, it’s alright. You can trust Elliott, he’s gonna be your brother soon. What’s the matter?” Mary pressed.

“I hate it here, Molly,” Tommy grumbled. “The boys are so mean. They started asking me stuff like - like about our parents and about school. So I said we don’t got parents or money for school and I guess they figured we’re poor cus they started saying I should be in the kitchens and - and they said some really horrid things about you and Mr Marston. So I told them to stop being so mean about you and they was just laughing. So I left but this place is so big I got lost ‘til I came outside and I knew you was outside so I just waited.”

“Bloody imbeciles,” Elliott cursed. “Where are they? I’ll put them to rights.”

“Oh, Elliott, come now, let’s not start fighting,” Mary said. “Duke Beaumont’s being so kind to us, we don’t want to start arguing with his family.”

“Yes, my uncle has been kind. His good-for-nothing grandsons have not. I thought these rich twats were taught manners? Or is that a thing of the past? Tommy — don’t listen to a word those boys say. They don’t know anything about you. Your sister and I know you’re a smart lad, don’t we, Mary?”

“Yes, of course,” Mary said firmly. She stood up, trying not to let herself cry at the thought of the boys being so mean to her brother without her around to protect him, and took Tommy’s hand in hers to lead him back inside. “Come on, let’s go back inside. Elliott, do you think Edith would like a playmate?”

Elliott frowned slightly.

“The little girl,” Mary reminded him. “Honestly, Elliott, these are your cousins.”

“Well, there’s so bloody many of them! My uncle throws around so many names in his letters, I can’t keep up - this one’s married now, that one’s had a baby, this one’s gone off to travel the world. I just write back some congratulations and hope for the best.”

Mary laughed, but all the same, Elliott agreed that it would be a good idea to seek the little girl out. He grabbed a passing servant and told them to take Tommy to play with Edith, and Mary gave her brother another quick squeeze before he went off down the winding hallway.

“I’m still going to give those twats a piece of my mind,” Elliott grumbled as they set off in a different direction towards their rooms so they could wash themselves of the smell of horse. “Nobody in Australia would dare to be cruel to Tommy, you know. Once they know he’s my brother-in-law, they’ll know he’s under my protection. Nobody will dare harm either of you ever again.”

“Oh, they’ll cower at the name Elliott Marston, will they?” Mary teased.

“Will? They already do. Trust me, the moment you walk into any shop out there and introduce yourself as Mrs Marston, they’ll give you only the best. And if they don’t, you just tell me and I’ll double their rent for a year.”

“Elliott!” Mary laughed. “You can’t go around raising people’s rents just because they upset you.”

“Why not?” Elliott said indignantly. “They want to live on my land, they live by my rules, and the first rule is to always give me what I want. That’ll be the third rule now, of course, the first two will be to always give you and Tommy what you want. It’s a harsh terrain out there, but you’ll certainly never want for obedience.”

“I don’t care about that, Elliott.”

They stopped as they reached their rooms, across the hall from one another just as they had been in London, and Elliott smiled endearingly at Mary.

“I know, sweetheart. That’s part of what makes you so wonderfully you. I suppose this is where we part ways — unless, of course, you’d like to share a bath? Save on water and all that.”

“Oh, yes, I’m sure that’s exactly your concern. Nothing to do with getting me wet and naked, is it?”

“Darling, if I want you wet and naked, I need only ask,” Elliott said in a low voice. “Well, is that a yes?”

Mary glanced around the hallway to ensure nobody would see her going into Elliott’s room, then quickly followed him inside. Elliott called for a servant to run a bath, and if the servant that arrived thought anything of the fact Mary was in his room, she said nothing about it.

Elliott sat down on the edge of the bed to take his boots off. Mary approached him cautiously, uncertain of how to explain all the thoughts and feelings that were rushing through her.

“Elliott… I’ve had the most marvellous day with you today.”

He looked up at her and smiled.

“Good. I’m glad.”

“And - and you’re so good to Tommy. I hope you know how much I appreciate it. So often it’s felt as if I’m the only one who cares about him…”

“Hey,” Elliott said softly, holding his hand out to her. She took it, and he gently guided her to sit next to him on the bed. “He’s a good lad. He must be, if you’ve raised him. I know the two of you come as a package, and if I want to protect you, I’ll need to protect him too — which I do gladly, by the way, not out of some obligation. In fact, I was going to suggest this after the wedding, but… how would you feel if we adopted him?”

Mary’s eyes widened.

“Can - can we do that? Even if I’m his sister?”

“Yes, of course. He wouldn’t have to start calling us mother and father, but as far as the law would be concerned, that’s what we’d be.”

“Oh, Elliott!” Mary cried, throwing her arms around him and kissing him.

Elliott laughed between kisses, her adorable enthusiasm infectious.

“Is that a yes?”

“Yes! Oh, I had no idea I could even do that! I always feared someone else might adopt him and take him away — I had no idea I could adopt him!”

“Well, there might be some hurdles - you don’t legally exist, for one, we need to get you some documentation - Mary, I’m trying to talk to you!”

Her lips were on his neck now, kissing every inch of him she could find.

“Talk later,” she said between kisses.

“Alright, if you insist.”

Elliott flipped her over suddenly, causing her to squeal as she found herself on her back. He climbed on top of her, ready to combat her kisses with his own. To his surprise, Mary immediately reached for his belt and started tugging at it.

“Mary —”

“I want you,” she gasped. “I want this - you - all of you. Please.”

“Oh, Mary, you are trying my patience,” Elliott growled with frustration. “You can’t wait two days?”

“No, I want you now. Please, Elliott, don’t you want me?”

Elliott’s eyes darkened with lust. “Oh, yes. Yes, I want you, Mary - fuck, you don’t know how much I want you. But I need you to be sure, because once I fuck you, there’s no going back. You’ll be mine.”

“I’m already yours.”

And just like that, Elliott’s resolve melted away. He kissed her, his body pressing down on her, sandwiching her between him and the mattress. Mary wrapped her arms around his torso and began tugging at his shirt to loosen it from his waistband.

“Is there something you want, darling?” Elliott murmured as he detached his lips from hers to kiss her neck.

“Too many clothes,” Mary grumbled.

Elliott chuckled and sat up, looking her up and down appraisingly.

“I was just thinking the same thing. Get that dress off. I want to see all of you when I take you.”

He stood up and gave her space to stand as she tugged at the lace that secured her dress to her body. She was usually so deft with her fingers, but with desperate arousal coursing through her veins, she found herself suddenly clumsy.

Elliott, apparently, had no such problem. His shirt was off in a flash, and by the time Mary had pooled her dress at her feet and kicked it away, he was already fully naked.

“Let me help you with that,” he said in a low voice, tugging at the strings of her corset. He pulled it apart and tossed it aside, and he couldn’t help having a little grope of her breasts when they came free.

“And the rest,” he murmured.

She dropped her bloomers to the floor, and Elliott took her in his arms, kissing her passionately as his cock poked against her stomach. Mary went to take it in her hand, but he grabbed her wrist to stop her.

“Do that and I won’t last,” he said through gritted teeth. He picked her up by the hips easily with his large, strong hands, and laid her down on the bed with a surprising gentleness, letting her rest her head comfortably on the pillow.

As he climbed on top of her, Mary looked him up and down, drinking in the sight of him. Her heart raced a little. She was nervous, but excited too. And she knew it was right.

“You’re shivering, darling,” Elliott noticed as he leant down to place gentle kisses along her collarbone. “Are you cold?”

“I’m - I’m a little nervous,” Mary admitted.

“You have nothing to be nervous about,” Elliott promised her. “I’ll be gentle to start with. I’ll take you harder only when you tell me you’re ready. And if you want me to be gentle the whole time, then that’s what I’ll do. You just tell me what you want, alright?”

“Okay…”

“Good girl.”

He moved down her chest slightly to take her breast in his mouth while his fingers reached between her legs to stroke her, feeling how wet she was for him already.

“Is that all for me, darling?”

“Yes,” Mary panted. “All - all for you…”

“Mmm… I thought I’d have to get you ready, but perhaps not. You’re soaked. Are you really that desperate for me?”

“Yes, Elliott, please… please, I need you…”

Elliott wished he could burn this image into his memory, memorise every detail of the way she looked in that moment, lips parted, breath heavy, pupils blown, begging him to take her.

Of course, they’d have many, many more moments like this. It wouldn’t be the last time she’d beg for his cock, he’d make sure of that — but it was the first time, and it was her first time. And as the tip of his cock pressed against her entrance, with the way her legs instinctively spread wider and a small whine of need left her lips, it took all of Elliott’s willpower not to fuck hard into her right then.

Instead, he pushed gently, slowly, until her cunt succumbed to him, and he slipped the tip of his cock inside her sweet virgin cunt.

Fuck, she was wet. He could hardly tell she was a virgin with how easily he moved inside her. He had to move slowly, pushing gradually past her walls, muttering words of praise in her ear as he did so.

“That’s it… oh, good girl, Mary… you’re doing so well… fuck, I could live inside this cunt… you look so beautiful like this…”

Mary was amazed at how well Elliott fit inside her. He stretched her out just right, not so much to be painful, just enough to feel oh so good. She had wondered if he would fit, but he kept moving deeper inside her, and when he finally bottomed out, Mary felt so deliciously full.

“Fuck,” Elliott hissed. “Oh, Mary, you feel so… so good. So deliciously tight. How does it feel?”

“It’s good, I - I feel so full of you. I had no idea you could fit so well…”

“Mmm, you were made for me, I think,” Elliott murmured. He kissed her gently, his moustache tickling her skin. “I’m going to move now, okay?”

“Yes, please.”

Elliott smirked with pride at how desperate she sounded. He’d heard of women being in pain when they lost their virginity, but Mary showed no sign of discomfort. As he pulled back, his cock dragging across her walls, she let out a moan of pleasure he’d not heard from her before. Oh, she’d moaned and whined and come apart at his fingers or his tongue before, but this was something different — something new.

He set a steady, gentle pace, taking his time with each thrust, watching her face carefully as she reacted to each movement, her eyes half-closed as she savoured the new sensations. Finally, just as Elliott thought he couldn’t hold back any further, her eyes fluttered open and she looked at him.

“More…” she begged.

How could he deny her?

Elliott picked up the pace, one hand holding her in place by the hip, the other clinging onto her shoulder as he anchored himself to her.

He let out a low grunt with each thrust as he tried not to let himself cum too soon. He almost felt like a young man again, cock eager to burst after just a few minutes inside a cunt. And what a cunt, so wet for him, and so tight… and her moans were so sweet, her face so beautiful as she let the pleasure etch itself into her perfect features.

He’d fucked plenty of whores in his life, the last one only the day before he’d met Mary. But that was nothing like what was happening now. This was something he hadn’t done in a long time, not since his first wife had died… not just fucking, but making love.

Because oh, he loved her. Loved every last bit of her, her loyalty, her kindness, her heart. He loved the way she blushed when he muttered something dirty in her ear, loved the way she laughed, the way she put her whole heart into everything she did. And he admired the way she looked at the world, finding joy and wonder in even the simplest of things.

He loved her, and nothing else mattered. It was her, always her, and Elliott knew he would do anything for her. He’d burn the whole world to a crisp for her.

“Elliott, would - would you go faster?” Mary breathed.

“You want more, hm?” he mumbled before tugging on her earlobe with his teeth to tease her. “You want me to fuck you properly, is that it?”

“Yes, Elliott, please… don’t hold back.”

Elliott pushed himself up to his elbows and looked down at her with a wicked smirk.

“As you wish.”

He sat up, gripped her hips firmly, and, just as she’d asked, he gave her more. He fucked her hard, channelling everything he was feeling into his thrusts. His anger at his cousin, his sorrow as he missed home, his pent-up desire he’d been holding onto since the moment he met his future wife — and the love he felt for her, burning and passionate, that coursed through every inch of his body.

“Elliott, I - I —”

Mary could hardly get her words out, but she didn’t need to. He knew from the way her brow knotted and her moans increased in pitch. He knew very well by now when she was about to cum.

He pressed a thumb against her clit, giving her that added bit of pleasure, and with just a few circles of her sensitive little nub she was falling apart beneath him, her walls clamping down around his cock, and Elliott’s release came shortly after, his cock spurting inside her and filling her up as he had what was, most definitely, the most intense orgasm of his life.

Seeing someone usually so collected and in control as Elliott come apart because of her was one of the most beautiful sights Mary had ever seen. His jaw hung open as he groaned, his hips juddered, and she felt his seed filling her up just as, she knew now, it was always meant to.

Elliott all but collapsed on top of her, and it took all of the little energy he had left to pull his softening cock out of her and roll onto his back.

He laid there for a few moments, panting as he caught his breath. Mary laid an arm over his torso, and he wrapped his arms around her, holding her to his chest as if worried she might go somewhere.

“I thought there’d be blood,” Mary said quietly.

Elliott opened his eyes and looked down. Sure enough, his cock was glistening only with a mixture of their juices, not a drop of red in sight.

“Women only bleed if they’re not prepared for it. You, my love, were very much prepared.” He smiled and kissed the top of her head. “You were marvellous, darling.”

“You weren’t too bad yourself.”

Elliott laughed.

“Cheeky girl,” he teased, leaning down slightly to kiss her properly.

“El, I - I was going to tell you something,” Mary said as she pushed herself up so they could kiss without craning their necks. “Before you distracted me, that is.”

“‘El’?” Elliott repeated with mild amusement.

“Oh, sorry - Elliott —”

“No, no, I like it. Go on. You were going to tell me something? Although, I must say, I’m pretty sure you were the one doing the distracting.”

“No, before that!” Mary laughed. “I was, um, working up the courage to say something.”

Elliott looked at her curiously as he played lazily with a strand of her hair. “Oh? And what’s that?”

“Well, I… I wanted to say… I love you, Elliott.”

He grinned then. Not the cocky, arrogant grin he usually sported, but one of true happiness, of joy that he couldn’t contain even if he tried.

“I love you too, Mary.”

Relief washed over her face, a joy as uncontainable as his.

“You do?”

“Yes, I do. Of course I do. Did you ever doubt it?”

“Well, I - I didn’t want to presume…”

“Presume?” Elliott laughed. He wrapped her in his arms and rolled her onto her back, peppering her face with kisses. “We run away to get married and you think it presumptuous to think I might be just a little bit madly in love with you?”

Mary laughed.

“Elliott, you’re tickling me!”

“Good. Maybe I’ll grow a full beard just to tickle you more.”

“Oh, no, but I like your whiskers how they are! I can’t imagine you with anything else.”

“Then you’ll have to get used to the tickling, I’m afraid.”

Elliott planted one last kiss to her lips, then said, “You know, I do believe someone was running us a bath. Perhaps we should use it before it gets too cold. We not only smell of horse, we now most definitely stink of sex, and we don’t want to bring that to the dinner table. We’re scandalous enough, don’t you think?”

Mary’s eyes widened, as if she’d completely forgotten there were other people around.

“Oh, no, do you think anyone heard us?”

“It’s only us in this wing. It seems my uncle thought of everything and made sure the newlyweds would have their space. Come on, let’s get cleaned up.”

Elliott climbed out of the bed, then offered Mary a hand up.

She took it gratefully and said, “But there are servants, what about the one that drew the bath? Oh, no, she was running it when we - do you think she —?”

Elliott laughed and pushed the bathroom door open. To Mary’s relief, it was empty, only the bath standing waiting for them.

“Big houses like these have hidden doors all over the place for staff to slip in and out. She was probably long gone. Come on - let’s get cleaned up. We need to look innocently chaste for dinner tonight.”

- - -

They managed to make themselves presentable enough in time for dinner, and Mary found herself more relaxed and comfortable than she had felt before among all these fancy people. She realised she didn’t care what they thought of her, if they judged her for her station, for her illiteracy — it didn’t matter. Because Elliott loved her. He loved her, and he was going to marry her, and they’d live happily ever after in Australia. Nothing could burst her bubble now.

After dinner, Mary went to the parlour room with the other ladies while the men stayed at the dinner table for a smoke. Tommy came too, and Mary was relieved to see that he’d made friends with Edith, even if she was five years younger. Even though he was getting closer to becoming a man every day, Tommy was still a boy, and she’d never been able to give him any toys. Edith had a surplus, and Tommy was ecstatic that she was willing to share her toys with him.

Once it came time to retire to bed, Mary went about her routine that was second nature to her by now. She went to her room, with the bed she’d never slept in, changed into her nightgown, and snuck across the hallway to wait for Elliott in his bed.

They made love again that night, and in the morning too. It was with great reluctance that Mary got out of the bed to go back to her room and get dressed for the day.

She spent the day helping Duchess Beaumont with the wedding planning. The invites had gone out the day before, and as the day went on people began arriving, Lords and Ladies that had no work to be doing, fulfilling the Duke’s prediction that nobles would take any opportunity to enjoy his hospitality. The rich loved a party, and weddings were the best of them, particularly when they were as intriguing as the wedding of Duke Beaumont’s runaway sister’s son from Australia.

In all the hubbub, Mary hardly got a chance to check on Tommy, though by the way he was chattering away with Leanne, the Duke’s fifteen-year-old granddaughter, at dinner, he seemed to have forgotten all about his upset the day before.

Mary eyed the grandsons, Samuel and Jonathan, a little wearily. They were probably around her age, given her estimate that she was eighteen, and they’d not said a word to her since her arrival. All she had to judge them on was their cruel behaviour to Tommy, so naturally, they were very low in her esteem.

In the parlour room after dinner, Mary found herself sitting by the windowsill with Leanne, who was trying her best to remember her etiquette lessons while probing Mary with questions. Mary, who had had no such lessons, thought it rather amusing the way the girl danced around the questions she clearly wanted to ask.

“Oh, but that’s so romantic!” Leanne gasped when Mary told her the story of her first meeting with Elliott. “He must have fallen in love with you at first sight! Most men don’t go around asking shop workers to dinner, you know.”

“Elliott’s not most men. He says, in Australia, there’s no such thing as Lords and Ladies. He says a person’s worth is measured by what they achieve. Isn’t that marvellous, that anybody can be somebody? Not the convicts, of course, but the settlers. I can’t wait to move out there with him!”

“Oh, but it’s so far away, though! I do hope you’ll write. I dare say having you and Elliott here has been the most exciting thing that’s happened here in months. All I ever get to do is lessons with the governess, and when social events come along, I dread them because father’s always trying to marry me off. I wish I could marry for love like you, Mary, I truly envy you that.”

Mary blinked. “You envy me?”

“Oh, yes!” Leanne said sincerely. “To love and be loved — to the point he’s willing to steal you away! Oh, it’s so romantic. And tomorrow you’ll get to really be together,” she giggled. “I wonder what his kisses are like with those whiskers?”

“His whiskers are rough, but his lips are much softer. I like the contrast.”

Leanne gaped at her. “You mean you’ve… kissed him? Already?! My goodness, they really do do things differently in London!”

“Oh, well, as I say… Elliott does things a little differently. It seems men and women are a bit more liberal with their affections in Australia.”

Leanne giggled. “How scandalous! Perhaps I’ll stow away in your luggage and leave for Australia with you. Although I’m not sure I could survive three months on a boat!”

Mary managed to avoid revealing to Leanne that she and Elliott had done a lot more than just kiss, but the girl seemed more than content with the fact they’d been kissing already. By the time it came time to retire to bed, Leanne was all giggled out, and Mary was looking forward to a good sleep.

She climbed into the bed in her room for the first time that night. She and Elliott had shirked tradition in almost every sense, but Mary didn’t want to risk the bad luck of seeing each other before the ceremony the next day, so she chose to sleep alone that night.

At least, she tried to sleep. She was buzzing with excitement, and by now she’d become used to having Elliott by her side, so the bed felt empty. It must have been past midnight and she was still awake, trying to calm her mind down into sleep, when she heard her door creak open.

She stayed still, trying to make out as if she were asleep. Could Elliott really not resist her for one single night when they’d be sleeping side by side for the rest of their lives?

Footsteps crossed the room quietly, as if trying not to wake her. She kept her eyes resolutely closed.

The duvet was pulled back, revealing her in nothing but her nightdress. A large hand took her by the hip and rolled her onto her front before pushing the hem of her nightdress up to bunch around her waist, revealing her nakedness beneath.

Mary heard the shuffle of fabric being removed behind her. Was Elliott really going to be so bold? Was he not even going to try to wake her?

She felt his weight on top of her as he positioned his body over hers, and his knees pushed her legs apart. He pulled her hips up towards him, and she felt the head of his cock pushing between her legs, positioning himself at her entrance.

 Mary opened her eyes now. She was face-down, so all she saw was pillow.

“Elliott —” she mumbled.

She heard a low chuckle from the man behind her.

It was familiar… but it wasn’t Elliott.

“Guess again,” the voice growled, and with a sudden thrust, he lodged his cock inside her, stretching her walls in a way that hurt more than Elliott’s had, as if the cock were even larger than his.

Mary remembered, with a sudden shock, whose cock was larger than Elliott’s.

She turned her head, trying to look over her shoulder, but Turpin pinned her down with a hand on the back of her head.

“Did you think you could betray me and I’d not hear about it?” Turpin growled in her ear. “I opened my home to you, and this is how you repay me, hm? By running off with my cousin? I don’t think so.”

He pulled back, then thrust into her again, and Mary cried out.

“Quiet, slut. People are trying to sleep. Now shut up and take your punishment.”

He set a harsh, punishing pace as he fucked her from behind, and when Mary couldn’t help crying out, Turpin put his hand over her mouth to shut her up.

“I said, shut. up. Not how you imagined losing your innocence, hm? Only good, obedient girls get to have a romantic wedding night with the Lord who so kindly took her in from the streets. Sluts like you get what they’re - fucking - given.”

She couldn’t tell him she wasn’t a virgin even if she wanted to, because his hand was still clamped over her mouth. And maybe she didn’t want to tell him, because that might make him even angrier.

“That’s it - that’s it, fucking take it. Take your Lord’s cock. Fuck, you’re tight. So tight around my cock. Mhm, I’m going to enjoy filling you with my babies. With a round belly - tits leaking milk - fuck, you’ll be glorious. I’ll fill you up over and over. Mhmm, Mary…”

Mary held onto the pillow, trying not to cry as Turpin violated her over and over, apparently indifferent to the fact she was suffering. This was nothing like it had been with Elliott, this was painful, this was wrong. This wasn’t making love. This was something worse, something she didn’t have a name for, but it wasn’t fucking either. It was cruelty.

Turpin took his hand away from her mouth. His urge to squeeze both her breasts in his hands was apparently too strong. They moved with every thrust, and despite Mary’s reluctance, her nipples were hard, and Turpin pinched them between his fingers, causing her to yelp in pain.

He didn’t try to shut her up again. Perhaps he was too lost in the moment to care if anyone would hear.

Instead, he just fucked her harder. The bed began to creak, the headboard making an unmistakable rhythmic slamming noise as it hit the wall with every thrust.

“Fuck - fuck, Mary - oh, I’m going to cum inside you. So deep inside you, you’ll be so full - so - fucking - full - of my cum! Fu-uuck!”

Turpin came loudly, his groans joining the slamming of the headboard and the slapping of their flesh in the cacophony of sounds, and Mary missed the sound of the door handle hitting the wall as it was thrown open.

She hardly had time to register what was happening. One moment, she could feel Turpin’s cock filling her up with his seed; the next, she heard the sound of a fist connecting with a face, and Turpin’s groan of pleasure turned into one of pain as his cock slipped out of her and he went tumbling onto the bed.

A hand grabbed Mary by her upper arm and pulled her to her feet. She stumbled as she stood, but when she saw that it really was Elliott this time, she cried out in relief and clung to him.

“Oh, Elliott! It’s not what it looks like —”

“No, I think it’s exactly what it looks like,” Elliott growled. Mary looked up at him, terrified, and realised that his anger wasn’t at her. While one arm wrapped protectively around her, the other was outstretched, pointing a gun firmly at Turpin, who was naked on Mary’s bed, cradling a bleeding nose, his cock flaccid and covered in blood.

“You dare to hit me?!” Turpin yelled. “What gives you the right —”

“Don’t fucking move!” Elliott yelled back as Turpin tried to stand up. “Don’t you dare fucking move, William, or I will shoot you. You absolute sack of shit. How dare you touch her? What gives you the right —”

“She’s mine, Elliott! Mine! Imagine my surprise, the very day I intend to send out wedding invitations, receiving one myself for my own betrothed’s wedding to my ungrateful thief of a cousin! I don’t suppose you thought to tell your dear mother’s family that you stole her from me, did you?”

“A woman is not a possession to be owned, William! Mary chose to leave with me! And no, I didn’t tell them, because this wedding is not about fear of you, it’s about our love for one another!”

“Love?!” Turpin scoffed. “You don’t love her. You just want what’s mine!”

“I LOVE HER!” Elliott yelled, the hand holding the gun shaking now. “Love may be an alien concept to you, cousin, and before I met Mary it was nothing to me, but she is love. She is everything that this rotten world is not and I will not have you turning the only good thing in this world into your personal sex slave, popping out as many babies as she can until you wither away and die!”

“You dare speak to me like this?” Turpin growled dangerously. “I am the law! I’ll have you hanged for this!”

“Stop it, both of you!” Mary sobbed. She released her grasp on Elliott and took a step back. “Look at you! You’re family! Close enough that Elliott spent three months on a boat just to visit! I can’t - I can’t live with myself to come between you. Please, please, don’t fight over me!”

“This isn’t just about you, Mary. He’s right - he can have anyone hanged on a whim if they get in his way, so nobody dares stand up to him. Well, I will. Face the truth, cousin! You’ll be dead in a few years, and you’ll die miserable and alone, because nobody could ever love you. Not Mary, not Johanna, not Lucy. Even your first wife threw herself in the Thames rather than spend another day with you.”

Turpin just smiled. A cruel, twisted smile, that struck fear deep into Mary’s heart.

“Yes… yes, I can have anyone hanged. Not you, no - that would be too easy. You wouldn’t suffer. I want you to go back to Australia, to your wooden shacks and your kangaroo shit, and I want you to live your life in utter misery, knowing the woman you covet so much belongs to me.”

“She would never —”

Turpin held up a hand to cut Elliott off, then turned his attention to Mary.

“Mary, my darling… I know Elliott makes life in Australia sound so exciting, but they live like primitives out there. You’ll be so much more comfortable in London. You’ll be a Lady, you’ll want for nothing, and your brother will get all the education he needs.”

“Tommy wants to go to Australia too,” Mary replied, her voice shaking as she stood up to Turpin for the first time. “We’ll be happy there. I’m sorry. We - we don’t want the life you live.”

“Oh, no, no, no, darling, you misunderstand.”

Turpin shuffled across the bed to sit in front of her on the edge of the mattress, smirking at her. Even with blood on his dick and smeared across his face, he still somehow managed to exude power, and Mary had to fight the urge to cower.

“If you marry Elliott, you may well be happy in Australia. But your brother… well, he’ll feel nothing. His last memory will be at the end of a rope.”

“No!” Mary cried.

“You wouldn’t dare!” Elliott said through gritted teeth.

Turpin ignored his cousin, his gaze set firmly on Mary.

“The Beadle’s taking him to London as we speak. I had to make sure I had some collateral. Come noon on Monday, either the chaplain will pronounce us man and wife… or the coroner will pronounce your brother dead.”

[homophyte]

re: botanists are too busy post i have very bad news for you guys about the mad science botanists are in real life conducting. it sucks

[plantsonplutoart]

April fools just passed and so I’m touching up inks for a lil marauders comic I made. I had to share a wip of my favorite panel. They’re so stupid <3

[yutamayo]