#can you tell I’m a history nerd yet?

[hibi2]

In light of the final Puella Historia event;

PUELLA MAGI AMARYLLIS

VS

PLINY THE ELDER

[cheolhub]

LOVE SCENE — LEE SEOKMIN ࿐

summary. you’re scared that seokmin might want to go separate ways after graduation, but he proves, in more ways than one, that he wants you. forever.

wc. 2.3k

warnings. college au. nerdy soft dom!seokmin, breeding kink xx, obscene amounts of dirty talk, pinch of angst, literal love making, unprotected sex, marriage kink, HEAVY praise, baby talk, v minimal plot im sorry — MINORS DNI 18+

note. DAMN ok i have a lot to say so i’ll keep it short. ONE this was a request but like i kinda didn’t do anything the request asked for and im so sorry, i hope u can forgive me anon. TWO i literally lost sight of the plot so dont ask me abt any missing details ehehb just enjoy seok being hot <3 THREE happy belated birthday to my minnie <3 FOUR thank u to my luvr @rkiv4d for beta-ing. yas ok enjoy

p.s. reblogs and feedback are extremely appreciated— i also love to hear ur thoughts <3

how seokmin pulled you, the most beautiful girl to ever walk the earth, he has no clue. he’s what people call a ‘nerd’ with his thick-rimmed glasses and his abnormally high IQ and you’re the pretty girl that didn’t understand the simplicity of covalent and ionic bonds who fell head over heels for him. 

you couldn’t help it, he was so smart and so fucking pretty. he was awkward and he giggled when he got nervous and he was so unbelievably goofy that it had you laughing till you cried. nevertheless, he was the most beautiful man ever. 

then you asked him out. he remembers it like it was yesterday. the last day of your chem class– the end of the first semester of your sophomore year– right after your final. you thanked him incessantly, giving him a hug for helping you get a B in the class. you told him you’d rather thank him another way— another way being a date. with you. at your place with a homemade dinner. 

he would’ve been stupid to decline. so he didn’t. and the rest was history. seokmin became your boyfriend, grew more confident in himself, and fell in love with you.

now you’re in your final year, the last few weeks approaching quickly, and you’ve been anxious. anxious about seokmin leaving you, anxious about going separate ways after graduation, anxious that this was all just fun and games till it was time to get serious about life.

seokmin has picked up on your behavioral patterns over the past 2 years. he knows you so well, probably better than anyone else in your life– probably better than he knows himself. 

so when seokmin sees you evading his eyes with his cock stretching you open, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. 

“hey,” he whispers, stilling inside of you. when you don’t turn your head and your eyes are still closed, he calls for you. “baby?”

you feel your heart clench at the pet name. “hmm?” you hum.

“baby, do you not wanna do this anymore?” he questions worriedly, ready to pull away from you. “i can pull out.”

you mumble, “i-i do.” 

he cocks his head even more confused, “talk to me, pretty, what’s going on?”

he pushes into you some more, making you gasp and you can feel his expectant eyes burning holes into your face. you then realize he’s not gonna let this go, but it’s partially your fault for letting your mind wander while he was putting away the dinner you guys ate. you decide to just come out with it.

“‘m just… so scared of graduating…” you whimper between your words, eyes screwing tighter. 

he hums, “look at me, baby.” the demand comes out so soft, yet the sheer dominance of his voice makes you clench around him. you turn your head on the pillow, opening your eyes, and finally looking at him. “why?”

you shudder at the eye contact. he looks so pretty, so concerned over you, yet you’re still tense and oh-so nervous. the topic of post-grad has never come up, and now you’re mid-fuck about to tell him how you want to be with him forever. 

“i-i’m scared that… that you’re gonna go off without me,” you pant, hands wrapping around his biceps and holding him to keep you stable. 

“where am i gonna go, beautiful?” he whispers, bottoming out and fully sheathing himself inside of you. 

you whimper again, his massive cock filling you so well. “s-scared you’re gonna go do big things ‘n leave me…” 

he freezes at that, eyes widening, “leave you?” he asks incredulously as if he couldn’t believe that you’d ask that question. “baby, you think i’d leave you?” 

you nod slowly. “i dunno, ‘s just that i’ve been thinking ‘n you’re so smart– gonna go get a real job that’s across the country or something…” 

he’s honestly bewildered. why would you ever think something like that when he’s tried so hard to show you how much he loves you every single day?

“oh, baby, i would never fucking leave you.” he presses his forehead yours, nose rubbing against yours. “pretty fucking thing, i adore you— love you. more than anything.”

your eyes glisten with tears at the reassurance. you feel yourself relax under him, entirely fluttering at his words. “really?”

“yes, really. how can i prove it to you? want me to put a ring on your finger?” he whispers, breath fanning against your face. 

you gasp, clenching around him again, fingers digging into his muscles. he smiles, chuckling airly at your reaction. 

“my pretty baby wants that? you like that idea?” he asks, his sultry voice filling your ears. “you wanna be my wife?”

you nod your head, eyes fluttering shut as you moan, “yeah, w-wanna be your wife.” 

your response has seokmin reeling. he pulls his hips back and slams back into you making both of you moan again. 

“yeah? bet you want my kids, too.” he states boldly, mind cringing at his words and internally freaking out that you’ll get turned off at them. 

you choke, clamping tightly around his length. “f-fuck.” you cry. “d-don’t say things like that, seok.”

“why? ‘cuz i’m right?” he grunts, thrusts growing faster.

you nod your head and seokmin nearly cries, cock twitching at the idea of pumping you full of cum and getting you pregnant with his kids. you’d be such a great mom and he’d love having a mini-seok running around a nice, big house fit to take a family. 

admittedly, he’s been wanting to talk about his future with you. he’s been fantasizing about it since the first time he said he loved you. fantasizing about you being his wife and living together in a big house and having three kids and living happily ever after as if it were some fairytale. he’s imagined your kids and how they would be a constant reminder of his everlasting love for you. he hopes that they’ll look like both of you– kids with your eyes and his nose. he’d kill for that.

“wanna put a baby in you,” he mumbles, lips ghosting over yours. “swear to god, ‘m gonna give you everything you want– ‘ll get you a ring ‘n a house– everything. just say the word.”

you lift your head to press your lips to his, moaning into his mouth like a mad woman. your stomach drops in anticipation, suddenly craving the feeling of his warm cum filling you to the brim, sure to get you pregnant. your legs wrap around him, heels digging into his back and you can’t resist the cry that he ends up swallowing at the new angle. 

seokmin pulls back, panting, “gonna let me give it to you, baby?” 

“uh-huh!” you nod, eyes screwing shut and jaw going slack as his speed increases. “yes, yes, please give it to me.” your response is wavered as you nearly choke on a sob of pleasure. 

and you know the decision is haste– a baby even though you still have a month left of undergrad seems… absurd to say the very least, but you don’t need to think about anything. you know seokmin. you know he’s the one you want to spend the rest of your life with. he's an amazing boyfriend and person in general. you already know he’d make an even more amazing husband and father. 

who would’ve thought the nerdy man with glasses who was insanely good at chemistry would be the one you ended up with?

he lets out a guttural moan, “such a good girl, always saying please.” he praises, slamming into your sweet spot repeatedly.

and jesus fucking christ, your moans and cries are like music to his fucking ears. 

his head falls into your neck, licking and sucking at your skin. “never gonna leave, i promise. gonna make you mine, gonna take care of you.” he mumbles into the skin as he continues to mark and ravage you. 

the stimulation and his words are sending you into orbit as your stomach churns and tightens at the feeling of his cock rearranging your insides. his strokes are impressive, never missing a beat and unrelentingly hitting the spot that makes you crumble. 

he feels you tighten around him, gummy walls squeezing him in and he curses, “shit, is my pretty girl gonna cum already?” his voice borders on condescending, but it only makes the tightrope in your stomach all the more closer to completely unraveling. 

“y-yeah, so close,” you moan breathily as your pants increase, chest rising and falling rapidly. “so fuckin’ close, min, ‘m gonna cum.”

his lips find your ear and he whispers hotly against the shell, “come on, baby, cum for me so i can fill you up.” he gently tugs at your earlobe with his teeth and you can’t resist, back arching with a shiver running down your spine.

your orgasm brings you immense pleasure, white spots filling your vision as you cum with a loud sob. you feel it in your entire body, from your curled toes to your thrown back head. your eyes roll back, calling out his name and raking your nails down the skin of his arms. 

he coos, holding back a groan at the way you get even tighter as you soak him in arousal. “thaaat’s it, baby, just like that. so, so good for me.” he coaxes you through your euphoric high, fucking you through it as he always does. 

“s-so good,” you slur, parroting his words as your mind numbs a bit. 

he moans, letting the sound of your whimpers and the lewd sounds of your bodies meeting fill the room. he buries his head in your neck again, desperately rutting into you so he can let go, too. your eyes flutter closed again and you wrap your arms around his neck, pulling him even closer to you. 

your overstimulated pussy pulses around him as you listen and whine along to your lover's muffled moans. you can tell he’s close. so close to giving you the life you’ve imagined for almost 2 years. so close to being yours forever. 

“seok, cum inside me,” you whisper and his hips stutter, yet they keep moving as if they have a mind of their own. he lifts his head and looks at you– his eyes are clouded over and teary, yet they’re filled with all the love in the world.

he looks so beautiful above you. his face is scrunched up in pleasure, brows knitted, eyes droopy, mouth hung open as pretty sounds exit his loose lips.

“i… fucking love you…so much.” he says in between pants, thrusts growing sloppy. the telltale signs of his fast approaching orgasm becoming heavily apparent. “god, so much, baby, love you so much.”

you nod your head, mirroring his pleasured face. “me too, seok, i love you.” your words are a bit scrambled, but seokmin makes sense of them– understands you so well. 

his eyes roll back a bit at your response, brain momentarily malfunctioning, but he comes back seconds later. “gonna take this load like a good girl, right, pretty? gonna get pregnant and let me marry you?” he moans out breathily, cock now twitching uncontrollably. 

“yes, yes, yes, please, wan’ it so bad!” you beg.

it’s all he needs to press his hips to yours, stilling there, and releasing inside of you while he moans out your name so prettily. it’s a newfound feeling for both of you– his cum coating your cunt, filling you up till it’s spilling on his freshly washed sheets. he’s grown accustomed to finishing on your skin or into a condom, but this? this is all very new. this is something he now can’t live without.

you think the same thing when you feel him spraying your walls with his thick ropes of cum. it feels so good– so euphoric– while it’s leaking out of you. you don’t know how you’ve gone your entire adult life without experiencing this at least once.  

“c-came so much, baby…” you whimper, feeling him pull his cock out of you. 

as soon as he sees his release dripping out of you, he groans softly, already feeling hard again, but he decides to ignore it for now, bringing his attention back to you.

“hey… love,” he says softly, noticing the way you perk up a bit from your tired state just at the sound of your name. “you should’ve told me you felt like that… i hate that you thought i’d just leave you ‘cause we won’t be in school anymore.”

you frown, “i’m sorry, i didn’t know how to bring it up without being awkward… it’s the real world and i dunno… things are different.”

he sighs, hands running up and down your naked sides. “i get it, but like i said, i wanna be with you forever.”

you blush, biting your lip to hide the wide grin that ends up on your face despite the fact. “yeah, i remember… was that a proposal by the way?” you ask meekly. 

he squeezes at your waist, “did you want it to be?” he beams.

“i mean, it was a bit untraditional, definitely not how i expected my wedding proposal to be.” 

“what? you mean you didn’t think you’d get proposed to while i had my dick inside you?” he asks with faux incredulity. “i, for one, thought this was the best proposal ever. i even put a lil baby in you.”

you giggle, wrapping your legs around his body again, “you don’t know that, i’m not pregnant… yet.”

his heart swells at the idea and he smiles brightly at your blushy face, “well, maybe another round can change that, hmm?”

you pull him closer to you by the strength of your legs and say, “make me yours then, seokmin.”

© cheolhub — all rights reserved, please refrain from copying, reposting, modifying or translating my work on any platform.

[st-eve-barnes]

Leverage (Michael Gavey x fem Reader)

Chapter 2

Summary: When your ex threatens to release some very personal videos you are left with no choice but to do what he asks: seduce the biggest nerd on campus, Michael Gavey. Will you rock his world or will he fundamentally change yours?

This chapter: Michael starts tutoring you but things are off to a rocky start.

Word count: +1900

Warning for the entire fic: 18+ for explicit content and language. Kissing, oral sex (male receiving), dry humping, hand job, fingering, p in v sex. First kiss and loss of virginity. Experienced reader. Enemies to lovers vibes.

Fluff, smut and of course angst (my favorite combination! lol) I haven't watched Saltburn yet so all characters in this fic except for Michael are my own.

Read Chapter 1 Here

***

All my fics are also on AO3

***

After almost two hours of Michael’s tutoring you were beginning to contemplate throwing in the towel and just letting Ben release that video. What’s the worst that could happen anyway?

Michael had been cocky as soon as you had sat down in front of him in the library that evening. Right now he was bordering on rude and very obviously growing more impatient with you by the minute. And the faster he talked the less you listened, leaving you both frustrated.

You had a splitting headache and all the numbers and calculations were just dancing across the page now, mocking you. None of it made any sense, no matter how many different ways Michael tried to explain it all to you. 

You were good with history, languages, art or psychology. Numbers were hell on earth.

“Are you even listening?” Michael sighed impatiently, leaning back in his chair and stretching his arms behind his head.

“Yes,” you nodded, followed by a heavy sigh,”No, ugh..I’m sorry, I just…I lost my focus about an hour ago.”

“An hour ago? You didn’t even have it to begin with,” Michael called you out.

“I just don’t know how this is so easy for you, like you don’t even have to think about it at all.”

“That’s because I don’t,” he answered smugly, making you roll your eyes.”Go on. Ask me a sum.”

You sighed some more but indulged him anyway,”33 times 20.”

He gave you a look,”Don’t insult me, a real sum.”

“333 times 444.”

“147.852,” he answered without even blinking. You had no way of knowing if his answer was even correct but you didn’t doubt it for a second.

“How did you do that so fucking fast?”

“I don’t know, I can just do it, in my head, I don’t have to think about it.”

“Lucky you,” you rolled your eyes again.

“They’re gonna get stuck in your head if you keep doing that, you know,” he teased, making you squint your eyes at him.

He shook his head with a little amused grin,“Ask me another one then.”

“It’s fine, you made your point, you’re a genius.”

“Ask me another one, just to be sure,” he insisted.

“Michael, it’s fine, I get it.”

‘Ask me another fucking sum!” he raised his voice, making the few other people in the library look up at you both with annoyed looks on his face. You wanted to crawl under the table and disappear.

“Alright, fucking hell…1245 times 987.”

“1.228.815,” he answered, giving you another satisfied little smile.

You just stared at him without saying anything.

“My brain works different from yours,” he then explained.

“Yeah, no shit.”

You were beginning to see why Ben was so threatened by him, Michael was an actual mathematical genius, Ben didn’t stand a chance at that internship. That thought suddenly filled you with immense joy. And then fear, because if Ben didn’t stand a chance then what were you even doing here?

Michael watched as your face fell.

“Do you want to take a break?” he suggested.

You nodded,”Yeah, a permanent one, I’m never going to get this.” You dropped your head onto the table and let out a desperate little whine.

Michael just shook his head,”So you’re a quitter, I would say I’m shocked but my mum told me never to tell a lie.”

You lifted your head to give him an angry glare but he just ignored you and closed his books, not giving you time to object before he was up and out of his seat.

“When you’re serious about wanting to learn, you know where to find me,” he said,”Until then…stop wasting my time.”

“Michael,” you sighed but he was already walking away from you, and with it your last chance to stop Ben.

You couldn’t let this happen, if you let him go now your fate was sealed.

“Michael, wait!” you rushed after him without thinking, finding him halfway in one of the book shelves. 

You grabbed at his arm to stop him, taking him by surprise. 

He froze, eyes staring wildly at the spot where your hand was touching his arm. But he didn’t pull back or try to stop you. Instead he almost seemed to lean into your space a little, accepting your touch, his mouth opened in a surprised little sigh when your fingers gently closed around his elbow. 

Of course the nerd was touch starved, it was almost too predictable. And was that a blush creeping up on his pale cheeks?

Ben had been right, Michael clearly wasn’t used to being touched, especially not by a woman. But he didn’t seem to dislike it, at all.

Maybe this mission wasn’t so impossible after all.

It was a desperate move, you realized that, but desperate is what you were.

“Please, wait,” you begged again, placing your other hand on his wrist while you gave him your best sad eyes and pouty lips,”You can’t give up on me, Michael. Please, you’re the only one who can help me, I need you.”

You watched him swallow hard at those last words, his eyes flickering from yours down to your lips and back up again.

He was staring now, shamelessly, not even trying to hide it. You used his obvious interest to lean in closer, so close he could almost feel your breath against his cheek and when you slowly and very deliberately licked your lips you could hear him bite back a quiet whimper. 

You took another step forward and carefully pressed your body up against his. That’s when you felt it, undeniably, he was hard. You had barely touched him and yet he was rock hard in his stupid cargo pants. 

You had him right where you wanted him and you could have sworn he was about to close that final distance between you two and pull you in for a kiss.

But then he leaned back and his thin lips curled up into a smug, annoyed grin.

“What are you playing at?” he asked.

“What do you mean? I’m not playing….”

“Stop lying to me, you stupid girl,” he growled and took a few steps back from you,”You say you want a tutor but you don’t give a shit about what I’m trying to teach you and now you want to…what….seduce me? How daft do you think I am?”

“I don’t think you’re daft at all!”

“I know this isn’t about math and it sure as hell isn’t about you wanting to get into my pants, girls like you don’t want nerds like me.”

“Girls like me?” you asked, staring at him with anger in your eyes,”Oh, you mean stupid girls like me? Listen, you little shit…”

“I meant pretty girls like you,” he interrupted you, shutting you up instantly.

He took a step closer again, towering over you and forcing you to lean against the book shelves behind you.

“What is it you want from me then?” he mused, as if he was asking the question more to himself and not you,”You’ve never paid any attention to me before this week…not until…I saw you scheming with Ben in the library a few days ago.”

Your eyes widened at his statement and it was enough for Michael to know he was onto something.

“I fucking knew it,” he shook his head and laughed,”What does that twat want from me this time, hmm?”

“Nothing,” you answered, too quickly.

“You’re a bad liar, girl.”

His stare was making you nervous, you wanted to blurt out everything to him and at the same time run away and never speak another word again. But there was no place to run from Ben and his ugly threats. Michael was your only ticket out of that bad spot.

He stepped back from you with a sigh,“Fine. Whatever. Tell your rich little friend that whatever you and him want from me he’s not going to get it, under any circumstances. Can you remember that or should I write it down for you?”

You nodded, feeling tears well up in your eyes. Michael’s harsh tone combined with the hopelessness of your situation was suddenly too much and you burst out into tears.

To your surprise Michael’s whole demeanor changed instantly and he rubbed his hand over his face with a heavy sigh.

You started crying,“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to involve you in this shit, I’m so sorry, Michael.”

For a moment he just looked at you, your tears and desperation too real for him to ignore.

Then he leaned back against the book shelves next to you, not saying a word. You looked up at him through your teary lashes and it was the first time you could see real compassion in his blue eyes. ”What does he have on you?” he asked softly.

”We used to date, he has some…private material he’s threatening to release.”

“Fucking prick,” Michael spat out.

“Yeah, he really is and I’m an idiot for ever being with him,” you wiped at your tears and looked surprised when Michael reached into his pocket and handed you a handkerchief. It looked like the ones your grandma used to have and you couldn’t help but smile through your tears.

”Thanks,” you sobbed and used it to wipe your cheeks dry.

“So…what did he want you to do in return then?”

”He wants that internship at Charter Inc.”

Michael nodded knowingly,”Yeah, that one is mine.”

“I know,” you smiled weakly,”That’s why he…he wanted me to distract you.”

Michael scoffed,”Jesus fuck, what an idiot. There’s nothing on this earth he can do to keep me from getting that job.”

You nodded,”I know.”

And with that realization came more tears. You used Michael’s handkerchief to keep them at bay.

“Do you think he’d actually do it?” he asked,”Are they just empty threats?”

“I honestly don’t know what he’s capable of and I don’t want to find out.”

You both stayed quiet for a while. Michael didn’t make any attempts to comfort you or touch you, but he didn’t move from his spot right next to you either.

“What can I do?” he asked.

“I don’t know if there’s anything you can do, Michael, this isn’t your problem, or your fight.”

He nodded,”Yeah, you’re right, it isn’t.”

You could feel your stomach drop in defeat.

“But,” he then added,”I’d really fucking hate to see a rich kid win in life.”

You couldn’t help but laugh through your tears.”Got any ideas?”

He thought about that for a little while and then he nodded,”We could…make him believe his plan is working? I mean, for now, until we can come up with something better.”

“How?”

“He won’t do anything as long as he believes you’re on board, yeah?”

“I guess not.”

“So we pretend that you’re…distracting me.”

You laughed bitterly at his choice of words.”He wants me to fuck you, that’s what he means by distracting you. You realize that, right?” you then blurted out and Michael snorted out loud but he regained his composure quickly.

“Then…I guess we pretend that you’re fucking me,” he said calmly, letting his eyes meet yours. You felt a shiver run up your spine, the good kind.

“Alright,” you nodded.

“Alright,” Michael repeated, keeping his eyes on you for a few moments too long before he eventually looked away and nervously pushed his glasses up his nose, smiling shyly,”When do we start then?”

[borathae]

↳ Index [Snippet #46 - Affection]

"When Jungkook wants some affection."

Genre: married life!AU, domestic Fluff, a hint of suggestive themes

Warnings: they're in love, snuggles & cuddles in bed, kisses, they also talk about alien dick at one point lmaaoaao, and how Kook would use it on her hahha listen they're both nerds <3, Kookie wants to be praised and kissed!!!, they are the one true couple <3

Wordcount: 2.1k

a/n: they're so important to me :( i love them so fucking much istfg :(

You and Jungkook have a to-do list on your fridge. On there, you write all the things needing to be done this day, which aren’t part of the usual schedule. During the colder months, the list could include things like “make the greenhouse storm proof” while in the warmer months, things like “mow the lawn” finds its way onto the list. You even have the list separated in two sections. One for you and one for Jungkook. Because you hate doing some tasks, while Jungkook loves them and instead he hates other tasks you love. So some tasks will always find their way onto Jungkook’s side while others will be cozy on your side. The list works wonderfully and saved yourselves from many sleepless nights when the sudden realization set in that “oh shoot, you had to do something today but forgot”. It is also a perfect tool to prevent useless bickering about “who does it”, because once it’s on the determined side, it is clear to both who will be responsible for it. 

The day is almost over and you are on your way to the shower when you decide to check the list just one last time. Just in case. Your brain has been awfully scattered throughout the day because of a bad night's sleep, so just to be sure, you want to make sure that the list has actually been worked through. 

You and Jungkook have a pen each to write your lists. Jungkook’s side is written in black ink and his handwriting, while your side is written in blue ink and your handwriting. He had swipe the driveway, clean the bike gear closet on his side today. Both tasks are crossed off. You had water the upstairs plants and wash the upstairs curtains, kiss husband and tell him you are proud of him on your list. Both tasks are crossed off. Your eyes do a double take. 

“Kiss husband and tell him you are proud of him?” you read out loud. You didn’t write that. Your eyes flit down to yet another task you didn’t fulfill, “Pin husband by the wrists and tell him he is yours? I’m sorry? I didn’t write any of this.” 

Wait a minute. This is written in black ink. And it is Jungkook’s handwriting.

“Oh my god, Kook”, you gasp, having to laugh, “you genius doofus.” 

This is such a Jungkook thing to do. It is silly, clever and exactly the kind of flirting that gets your heart racing. You married such a goofy sweetheart.

You abandon the list so you can take the quickest shower in wife history. You have tasks to fulfill, husbands to kiss. You slip into a cute two piece pyjama set once clean and hurry to his room. 

The door is closed and so you knock. 

“Come in”, he answers after the third knock.

You slide into the room, closing the door behind you. In typical Jungkook fashion, he has the big lights off and only his colourful LEDs on. The room is hued into a mixture of red and pink. 

Your husband is sitting by his computer with his knees pulled to his chest. He is dressed in loose boxers and a white oversized shirt. His short hair is silky and on top of his nose, a pair of black framed glasses is perched. He started wearing prescription glasses. Well, in yet another typical Jungkook fashion, he only wears them occasionally because he either forgets or can’t be bothered. Whenever he does wear them however, he looks so handsome in them that it gets hard to function. 

“Hey sweetie”, he greets you, studying you from head to toe, “this is such a cute set. It fits you so well.” 

“Thank you. It’s satin. Touch it”, you hurry to him.

Jungkook touches your upper waist, sliding his hand down to your hip softly. His eyes follow his touch.

“Wow, so soft and silky.”

“Right? It’s so comfy. And? Check this out”, you say and grab the pants at the crotch part to drag it into his vision. You have to do a little bend for it. 

“What are you doing?” Jungkook asks, having to chuckle at your silly antics.

“No middle seam”, you say, fixing your pants again, “which means no pussy and ass crack discomfort.”

“Ah that’s what you tried to show me. It looks so comfy. Yay to no crack discomfort.” 

“I know. I’m so happy”, you say and turn to look at his screen. 

He has a character creation window open. It seems like a sci-fi shooter game. 

“Am I disturbing you?” 

“No, it’s okay. I’m creating a character for the next round. I wanna be an alien this time.”

“I see. That seems cool”, you say and suddenly you feel so guilty for coming here. This is Jungkook’s recharge time, you shouldn’t ruin this for him. Maybe you can fulfill your tasks later. Once he’s in bed with you.

“What brings you here, sweetie? Fashion show or something else?” Jungkook asks, caressing your lower back as he talks.

“Yeah, no. Fashion show”, you turn to him, giving him a little sway of your shoulders, “I wanted to show you my new set.”

“I love it. You are beautiful in it”, he praises and smiles.

“Thankies”, you murmur shyly and wiggle your shoulders, “do you want any snacks? I’m making tea so I can drink some as I read in bed.” 

“No, thank you. I have my beer and my crisps”, he says and gives your buttock a little squeeze, “you’re my favorite snack anyways.”

You nudge his cheek, “sweet talker.”

He chuckles, shifting his eyes to the screen again. Yes, you will definitely do your tasks later in bed. They will hit so much better this way.

“Okay, I’m in bed then”, you say, leaving his room again.

“Yeah okay. Have fun reading.”

“I will, heh. Have fun being an alien.” 

Jungkook laughs, “I will.”

You already finished the chapters when Jungkook comes to bed. You are on your phone, watching a video, when he enters the bedroom. You pause the video and lock your phone, following your husband with your eyes.

He is walking to his bedside table so he can put his glasses there for the night. He massages the bridge of his nose afterwards, taking on a path to the bathroom.

“It was your turn to put Bam to sleep, right?” he asks.

“It was, yeah. He’s been sleeping for two hours.”

“That’s good. Our son”, he says, disappearing in the bathroom afterwards. Moments later, you can hear him pee.

You shake your head in disbelief, chuckling to yourself. He couldn’t even close the door for that. 

The toilet flushes and moments later, you hear him brush his teeth. He even manages to make himself gag once as he scrapes his tongue, following it up with a “made myself gag” to which you answer him with a chuckled “poor man”.   

Afterwards he finally appears, grinning at you.

“Wah baby, I just pissed so hard”, he says.

“I know. I heard. Couldn’t you have closed the door?”

“I could have. I was lazy”, he says and plops down on bed.

“You’re so weird sometimes.”

“You love me for it.”

“Mhm, yeah I guess I do. I hope you sat down.”

“Wah baby, who do you think I am? A heathen? Of course I sat down.”

You chuckle, “good boy.”

He snuggles into his pillow until he is cozied up on his side and with his big eyes gazing at you. “I was an alien”, he says, reaching out to intertwine his fingers with yours. He caresses your knuckles mindlessly.

“You were?”

“Mhm. It was fun. Hey babe, would you still love me if I was an alien?” 

You laugh, lifting your brow at him in question. He flutters his lashes at you, expecting your answer.

“Obviously”, you say, “I’d call you my little alien and we could go on dates in your UFO.”

“Yeah that sounds romantic. Also, alien dick. Hello? Would you prefer tentacles, an egg laying one or a double trouble deluxe one?” 

“I love that we instantly went from cute UFO dates to alien dick” you say with a chuckle on your lips.

“That’s important miss ma’am, I need to know your preferences.”

“Fine okay”, you give in, “tentacles? Fill me in.”

“Okay so. I would have no dick, you know, like Ken. But then I could grow tentacles and these tentacles produce their own lube so I can fuck you with them. And there’s lots of them so I can fill out whatever you want me to.”

“Alright”, you snort in amusement, “egg laying? What’s that about?”

“I don’t know, I saw it somewhere.”

“You mean porn?”

“Yeah.”

You laugh, “so it’s like a normal dick that lays eggs inside me?”

“Yeah basically, but it’s purple and is thicker at the tip and it also produces its own lube so I can be really wet and nasty with it. And, oh my god, I want it to glow as well so I can see it inside you. Yeah.”

“I feel like that’s your favourite.”

“Maybe, I want a glowing dick”, he says and pouts, making you laugh.

“Yeah it sounds fun. But I gotta carry your eggs inside afterwards?”

“I mean…yeah. You do that normally too, they’re just smaller.”

“You’re gross.”

He grins. You give him a roll of your eyes affectionately, nudging his cheek.

“And the last one? Is the double deluxe one your dick but just twice?” you ask him.

“Yeah, basically. Yup, my dick but twice”, he decides, nodding his head way too proudly. 

“Then I’ll take this one. I like your dick. Having it twice sounds like fun.”

Jungkook scrunches his nose in a cute bunny smile. He looks way too giddy for the nature of the conversation. 

“Do you really like it?” he asks.

“More than anything.”

“Is it perfect?” 

“The most perfect ever.”

Jungkook giggles, kicking his feet. 

“Thanks, yeah”, he clears his throat to make his voice appear deeper, “thanks babe.”

You laugh because you know he is being goofy again. Your little goofball. You roll onto your tummy and push him to his back. He lets you, looking at your face with sparkly eyes. 

You take his wrists and pin them above his head. The sparkles in his eyes grow, his breathing speeds up just a little.

“You’re a goofball”, you speak softly, gazing at his pretty face.

Jungkook wiggles, grinning goofily. 

“But you’re my goofball. All mine”, you say, giving him a knowing smile, “and I’m proud of you.”

Jungkook squeaks out a little snicker, smiling so brightly his eyes turn into crescent moons. You make it grow with one smooch to his lips and another one to the left side of his neck. He leans into the kisses, wiggling his toes because he is so, so happy to finally receive your affection.

Afterwards you lift your head, raising your right hand to draw invisible checkmarks in the air.

“Check and check”, you say, placing your hand back on his wrist.

Jungkook wiggles his feet. His pulse is racing under your palms. He is so giddy. 

“I was already scared that you didn’t even see it”, he confesses.

“I did. I was so confused at first because I didn’t remember writing it, but then I saw it was in your handwriting and I knew.”

“Heh”, he snickers, scrunching his nose, “it was clever, wasn’t it?” 

“Mhm so clever”, you praise and kiss his lips, “I married a genius.” 

“You really did”, he says and uses his strength to wiggle out of your hold just so he can wrap you in his arms and hug you against him, “my honeyyy.”

You squeak a giggle, accepting your sweet fate gladly. So now you and he are rolling around the sheets as Jungkook cuddles you aggressively. Limbs tangle, sheets get messy and distances erased. It is truly such a delight. He also regularly smooches whatever part of your face he can reach, mumbling giddy words against your skin.

“Wah baby, you saying that you’re proud of me really made me so happy. It felt so good to hear.” 

“I am, you know? I actually meant it, I’m really proud of you.” 

“Thank you, my love”, he nuzzles his face into your neck, giving you little kisses whenever he can, “I’m proud of you too, my love. Wah baby I wanna melt with you, you’re so cute.” 

You smile, closing your eyes to really enjoy his affection.

“You’re cute too”, you mumble into him, pulling him closer.

[my-darling-boy]

I've read your post about Sidney Beldam (what a man!) and it fascinated me enough to buy (quite impulsively) The Facemaker. Long story short, thanks to you and Lindsey Fitzharris I'm in my history-of-medicine-nerd-era and in gayly-interested-in-WWI-period; and The Facemaker might be one of my favourite books I've read this year. The stories of soldiers! The photographs! The work of Gillies! And reading that he performed the first known phalloplasty on a trans man was a very pleasant surprise, you know.

As an ask without an ask wouldn't be technically an ask, here I ask: Do you have any academic paper or book "with plot" recommendations? Either something similar to The Facemaker or just something about or set during the era?

Ahh I’m glad it’s been so inspiring! Ah hell yes Gillies was on that king shit doing the phalloplasty, really set the bar for transgender medical care of the 20th century!

I’ve got (a lot) more info than you’ve wanted if you don’t mind (I really can’t help myself), WWI and thereabouts is a great place to look if you’re getting into medicine history cos that’s when a lot of rapid change happened due to the war as well as the Edwardians’ newfound fight against germs and with the influenza pandemic towards the end of the Great War. My area at the moment for 1900-1920s medicine is plastic and reconstructive surgery, amputations, shellshock and PTSD, post-war rehabilitation, and the general RAMC. So I’ve got some recs for medicine and treatment for the body and mind around the war!

For academic books with a bit more narrative/soldier accounts as you asked:

Wounded by Emily Mayhew. I’ll admit I’ve not picked it up just yet but I do own it and it goes a lot off soldier’s stories

Forgotten Lunatics of the Great War by Peter Barham. Fantastic read about the stigma of “lunacy” and the psychological hardships men faced returning home including fighting for pensions due to lost limbs and shell shock.

Breakdown: the crisis of shellshock on the Somme, 1916 by Taylor Downing. While I don’t agree with this author’s personal views on the war, it does give soldier accounts looking at how the military alone viewed and responded to shell shock which can be helpful to understand in contrast to the civilian post-war response, especially since PTSD and shell shock are two different conditions and the former wasn’t widely understood almost until the 21st century.

Medicine in the First World War Europe: soldiers, medics, pacifists by Fiona Reid. Cannot remember the exact nature of this book cos I can’t remember if I own it but if I remember right it does have more of a personal accounts type telling.

Testament of Youth by Vera Brittain. Not 100% a medical read but a famous memoir written by feminist and pacifist Vera Brittain about her time before the war and during such as a VAD nurse

Two more clinical book reccs if you’re into the how and why of wounds and such:

Faces from the Front by Andrew Bamji. Very good look into the treatment of facial injuries with plastic surgery, it is at times a bit graphic as there are plenty of photos

War Surgery 1914-18 edited by Thomas Scotland and Steven Heys. Great look into injuries and their pathology, approachable read with clearly defined figures and not just massive walls of text along with an extensive bibliography. I recommend this as well for anyone writing WWI fiction because this tells you how wounds ACTUALLY happened and presented themselves

Purely fictional but with medical themes in nature (off the top of my head):

The Regeneration Trilogy by Pat Barker. Quite well known, but depicts the psychological effects of WWI on various characters. If you want queer themes, you’ll like this.

Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo. American anti-war novel about a soldier who horrifically looses his arms, legs, face, hearing, and sight during the war and is confined to a secluded hospital bed at the mercy of doctors and nurses who don’t know what to do for him.

A Month in the Country by J. L. Carr. More queer themes! Tells the story about two WWI vets doing archeological work at a church in the English countryside and their lasting battle with shell shock.

I’ve also got a list of a handful of academic type sources slowly collected over the past months for various medical WWI things. These are only the ones I remembered to save, but I know there were certainly several more:

Website on the detailed RAMC evacuation

Pay to access source on prosthetic limbs in Britain via JSTOR

bibliography for First World War medicine as a kind of jumping off point for more academic papers and medical books

Academic paper reflecting on Britain’s response and treatment of shellshock

Good short article on the care of veterans for work and housing post-war

Continuously updating catalogue containing medical records that detail quite interesting stories like a bombardier receiving hypnotherapy to cure shell shock, hyperlink at the bottom to search database

REALLY good site on the RAMC duties at casualty clearing, advanced dressing, and regimental aid

WIP article on Gillies, Sidcup, and patients written by person whose friend was the granddaughter of Sidney Beldam

Academic article on facially disfigured men reclaiming agency and visibility

Short article on soldiers and disability struggles after the war

Masculinity, Stigma and Facial and Psychological Injuries of the First World War thesis paper

Erskine Hospital records that show the hospital, rehabilitation, and patients as well as limb making. Full collection is held at the University of Glasgow

Relationships between medical care and masculinity

Also off the top of my head, if you’re ever in Edinburgh for whatever reason, you might really enjoy the Surgeon’s Hall Museums as there are thousands of artefacts on display such as antique medical equipment, Victorian dentistry items, 17th century skeletons, and 20th century prosthetics. Literally it is floor to ceiling in the main gallery with jarred organs, body parts, bones, and even most remarkably the preserved upper half of the face, moustache and all, of a WWI soldier which is probably one of—if not the—most fascinating and haunting thing I’ve ever seen at a museum imo. It can be a bit of a shock to the system if you’ve never been to that sort of thing before so take care when going. I’ve been about three times and there’s still a couple items that make me go a bit light headed to look at!

Anyway I know it’s a lot but I hope something in there could be more of help to you! Cheers x

[philsmeatylegss]

Can I talk about Cat King because no one else will???

I haven’t finished the show yet so this might be wrong or age like milk

I could talk about his role in the story for hours. Tbh I overly identify with Edwin because I’m gay with a lot of problems in the past and Edwin’s historical typical internalized homophobia already makes a history nerd like me giddy with glee. And Cat King easily can be written off as a gag character, which I do think is part of his purpose, but he also represents the aspect of this story regarding Edwin’s sexuality not solely being sexual, but also still being sexual. As in obviously Edwin sexually fantasizes about men, but there’s much more than just that. That implication, acknowledging the fact, feeling free to tell Charles and the others, acting on that, just day to day life. Edwin had gotten by for thirty years ignoring his sexuality until cat king came along. Edwin acknowledging his sexuality, acting on it, and discussing it (in his own way) is a large part of his character growth which is fully pushed on because of Cat King. I know he’s supposed to be the bad guy, but I genuinely believe he is an anti hero or something along those lines. I think at first it was to just tease Edwin, but it grew into something deeper.

Don’t even get me started on the cuff. It is SO symbolic I could almost cry. It’s a physical representation of how limiting and claustrophobic it is to be in the closet. Specially not being out of the closet to close loved ones. You couldn’t have a closer relationship than the relationship between Edwin and Charles, but it doesn’t seem that way before Edwin comes out. And that’s multiple reasons on both of their parts, but part of it is that complete shut down to that side of himself. People don’t realize how much sexuality plays into day to day life. And Cat King made Edwin realize how much he’s missed out on. And also that he can’t put off his problems forever. Slay relatable.

I think the addition of Crystal and Niko also makes Edwin realize that he needs to at least recognize his sexuality. I think they help him realize how much he is missing out on by not being himself in general, nevertheless outing his sexuality.

And all of this goes back to the cat king!!! It drives me insane no one talks about it!!! There’s also the aspect that, on the surface, cat king is just supposed to represent lust. The difference between his feelings for Monty or Charles is that there’s emotions there while cat king is purely lust and a giggle. But when you think about the story, that’s just not true. When media deals with a character’s sexuality not being straight, it’s usually over sexualized or not acknowledged as anything sexual. Cat king gives that balance to his feelings for Charles. Because being gay is partly explicit. As is being straight, bi, pan, whatever (other than asexuality). Saying you are ___ sexuality is implying that you are sexually aroused by whatever gender(s). And cat king is that reminder while Charles and Monty are the reminder that love and relationships are also part of it. Cat king adds balance that makes Edwin’s character feel way more authentic and actually gay.

I haven’t even gotten to cat king pushing for Edwin to admit why he solves cases. WHY DOES NO ONE TALK ABOUT IT?!?! I was gnawing at the bars of my enclosure during that scene. It is arguably one of the most important scenes of the entire show. And it’s entirely brought on my cat king. Every single time Edwin either decides or is forced to reveal something vulnerable about himself, it’s Cat King!!!! Edwin’s confession that it is about preparing a justification as to how he should be allowed into heaven even though he is gay is such an insanely important moment and I’m gnawing at my enclosure again!!!

I may be studying history, but I’ve always been an English kid at heart and symbolism about religion and childhood trauma brings me to my knees. And Cat King is scratching an itch I’ve had for years that I had no clue was there anD NO ONE IS TALKING ABOUT IT WHILE IT IS DRIVING ME BANANAS.

Anyway, that’s my case for talking about cat king. I just finished episode 4 and it’s gonna be really embarrassing when something happens the next few episodes that completely invalidates all of this

[sophswritingthings]

OK AS A HISTORY NERD NOW IM INTRIGUED ON MORE OF YOUR THOUGHTS FOR MIZU X !PERFORMER READER

pairing: mizu x fem!street performer!reader

warning(s): none

a/n: allowing me to indulge in my history fixation while writing gay fanfic? oh babe LET ME TELL YOU—

summary: after meeting the mysterious street performer, mizu follows you back to the theater. which, has a library. you spend your time together, what little you have of it, taking and learning about one another’s culture.

word count: 577 words / 3,227 characters

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

you lead mizu back to a nearby theater, greeting other secret performers as you walk in. they eye you a bit suspiciously, seeing who is following you. but no words are exchanged.

you take mizu back to a library; walls cascading with books up and down.

she’d never seen anything like it.. such a large library filled with colorful books of english, and, supposedly—american history. and there had to be something on japan, too, because you seemed to know things about her culture well.

“so, why have you traveled from japan, exactly?” you pose the question, grabbing a candle and beginning to riffle through piles of literature. 

she wasn’t telling you she was here to assassinante a man. you’d think her terrifying. heartless. ruthless. cold.

to which, to some extent, she was.

“I’m.. here, visiting family,” she whispered. wasn’t exactly wrong.

you chuckled, “the white man you mentioned? your father?” you whip around to look at her for a moment.

“yes,” she responds rather quickly. “I haven’t met him, before.”

you nod, “japan closed its borders—deported all the white men and women there,” you respond. “it makes sense you’ve never met him. are you.. judged, in some way?”

she scoffed, “I’m sure you have no idea,” she folded her arms. “I am what they call an onryō. a demon.”

your eyes widen, gazing at her as you walked over with a stack of books you looked to be struggling to carry.

“demon?” you murmur, watching as she takes some of the books from your arms. “just for being born of a white man?”

she nods, “yes.” she narrowed her eyes, “it’s not exactly fun.”

you scoff, “I didn’t think it would be—constantly having a bounty of your back for your dead body,” you settle down at a desk, smiling and patting the seat beside you.

she sits down beside you, gazing at the many books.

“well—here in england, those eyes are considered beautiful,” you smiled softly at her. “I think they’re beautiful.”

she’d never heard such kind words before. especially about a part of herself she hated so very much.

“thank you,” she whispered, her voice barley audible.

you chuckled, your cheeks tinted rosy red, “though I suppose I am one for all things weird.”

she laughed along with you, “how so?”

“as I told you—a woman such as myself is not allowed to do much. I am expected to marry at sixteen, settle down with many kids, and never leave my house. I cannot work, I cannot do anything here,” your eyes narrowed, gazing at the book below you, “I just want to perform. to act—it’s my passion. It’s something I love.”

she nodded slowly, “I see,” she muttered. “It’s much different in japan. women can work.. though it’s not like they have many options. and.. performing. It’s one of the many things women do in japan.”

“I know!” you hissed, “performing should not be something that is restricted to men. nothing should be restricted to me; we should all be… equal.”

mizu couldn’t help but agree with you. she felt the same way; seeing as she was here, masking as a man her whole life to be able to do what she wanted.

you talked for hours on end. hours on hours of talking about your culture, about your lives, about what you’d been through. 

you were so similar; yet from completely different parts of this world.

she found that amazing.

she found you amazing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

a/n: I’m presenting said project tomorrow and my anxiety said no

[prinzrupprecht]

To Live or Die

Chapter 9 - a run in

Decided to get back to this. If you’re new here you can click on synopsis and read from prologue.

Synopsis

WC: 1253

As the days flew by, your curiosity started to get to you whether you’ll ever meet your parents was up in the air. However, Souji kept his distance which was unusual.

Kondo has been working and Souji was helping him whenever he was needed. You on the other hand was wondering if you should venture out more when they leave… Souji may have a panic attack if you disappear. So it was understandable to not leave without telling them.

You haven’t been targeted as of yet by anyone since you’ve been staying at the former Shieikan dojo which has been turned into a residence for you, Kondo and Souji. “Oh, I found you.” His chirpy voice caught your attention. You spotted him with his usual purple kimono, white baggy pants and loose grey haori.

“Found? I have been here for a while.” You were outside in their backyard reading one of Yamanami’s old books he left behind before moving to Kyoto under Aizu’s orders.

There have been quite a lot of new changes since, but you always admired some of the others and missed them dearly. “Is that—"

“Ya, one of his favourite history books of the politics during the Sengoku period. Yamanami-san was really a nerd. Besides, why were you looking for me?” You changed the topic. Souji was caught off guard as he had nearly forgotten.

“Oh! Uh, Kondo-san wanted to know what you’d wanted to eat tonight since he’s off today.” You shrugged whether that was why he needed to ask you that. He knows you would put up with anything that Kondo made.

“I’m fine with whatever he wants to make. I may go explore a bit in town for a few hours.” You closed the book and stood up. Souji gave you a blank expression before nodding soon after.

“If you need—"

“I’ll be fine this time!” Your hand flew to the back of your head awkwardly remembering the incident that happened not even a week ago down at Yokohama port. What an embarrassment… he gave you a slight frown but didn’t want to show his concerns. He certainly preferred if you didn’t wander. He was wondering if he should tail you but if he was caught then it could cause even more issues between you two.

He’d still rather take the risk than if something happens to you…

It was already mid-afternoon as you passed by many of the shops down the same road as last time. You wanted to find one of the spice shops to help Kondo with the flavouring of meals. However, there were more people in the crowded streets of Edo. Why was it so busy? You had stopped in your tracks and noticed a very familiar face speaking to a few of the higher officials of the new Meiji government.

Ryoma Sakamoto.

You met him a long time ago. He was part of the reason why the Tokugawa shogunate collapsed and returned its power to the imperial court. He was rather famous— more looked up to by the young kids and the commoners. He probably doesn’t remember you. It was interesting to see him here in public of all places.

His black hair was nicely tied up messily and he still wore the same old black kimono clothing. Someone tapped on your shoulder which made you jump in your spot from staring at Sakamoto for too long.

“Huh? Sorry—"

“No, no! Haha, I saw you staring off into space for a minute there.” A young woman had moved you to the side so others could walk down the street. Embarrassment had filled you from not paying attention to your surroundings like usual.

“I should get going, I need to find Mr. Yamato’s spice shop.” You were quick to feel embarrassed but as you were going to leave you had rammed into him.

“S–Sorry! I— I didn’t see you!” you were for sure dead. Your head was lowered apologetically. However, he laughed.

“Raise your head and loosen up a bit! What’s with that look? You lost or something?” Sakamoto was alone and the men he was with had left it seems. You were even more embarrassed and no words could form. You had just nodded and tried to rush passed him.

Just as you were about to leave, Sakamoto stopped in his tracks remembering your familiar face.

“Wait a minute, you look familiar like we met somewhere.” This made your heart stop and you could feel your hands sweating. He has a lot of power in the new government. He also has a gun on his waist. So he must be a part of the military or law enforcement to have such privileges.

“You’re the pretty girl that helps the old lady down the street who owns the flower shop?” He had a smug look on his face which you nodded.

“Y— Ya that’s me. I’m just a boring civilian who likes to care for others,” you were nervous and being around him wasn’t helping.

“Like to care for others, you don’t say?” he was very flirtatious and he was making your face bright red from simple remarks. How much more could you take, he nearly has you squealing internally.

“Y-Ya! Sorry, I should get going, sir! I– I need to find Yamato’s spice shop,” you lowered your head apologetically. He gave you a suspicious look before speaking.

“That old fart died years ago, where are you from? I think you are lost. Need me to company you—"

“N–No! I mean– I just returned to Edo and it’s been years so I didn't know. I'm saddened to hear that as well. Sorry…” You wanted to leave, but this man had you cornered with questions and suspicions.

“Well, if you don’t say… take care of yourself next time and look where you’re walking,” he was about to leave but turned his head once more.

“Tell Kondo-san he still owes me for sparing his life and that boy as well. I’m sure this won’t be the last time we see each other. Until we meet again,” he continued to walk and waved with one arm up lazily.

You were freaking out internally. He knew the entire time?! You started to run back to the Shieikan with your heart pumping faster than normal.

Without your knowledge, Souji had watched your encounter with this man. His blood spiked in anger. He was part of the reason why they lost the war and was flirting with you?

He hated to overthink things. Ryoma was a good-looking man but the way he made you flustered instantly pissed Souji off. If he could use his sword, he would easily kill that man if he tried anything. However, with the ban on kenjutsu training and carrying katanas, he wouldn’t be able to fight as they used to. He also has a gun…

One question that was stuck on Souji’s mind was why don't you get flustered like that with him? Souji was glaring intently at his back as he walked. Thankfully, you didn’t see him since there were too many people and a nice amount of buildings to use to cover.

Now, he has to make an excuse why he wasn’t home since you were rushing back in a hurry. Sakamoto really put that much fear in you? He could feel his demon instinct calling for him to kill but he was holding back.

For the first time, Souji was cursing at himself for letting someone like him get to him.

Note: gonna be translating chapter 17 of Chiruran soon. May put off some one shots / requests for now.

[piratefishmama]

For One Night Only | Part 2

Eddie remembered a lot about Steve Harrington, so to get this fresh new perspective on him… it was wild. He remembered a jock, the king of Hawkins High, the king of Hawkins in general, women wanted him, men wanted to be him, or in some cases men also wanted him. Rich, popular, kind of a jackass at times but never mean enough to warrant dislike. Would have never associated with Eddie’s kind, but yet there he was, comfortable on Eddie’s hotel bed, one long leg crossed over the other as they moved on from pleasantries to business.

Steve wasn’t there as a social call, no matter how fun it might have been to catch up. He had a job to do, and Steve was good at his job.

“Alright, considering our history, or what little of it we have, it might be a good idea to use it if asked on the carpet how we met, I can spin a story about us being secret high school sweethearts who recently reconnected as friends if you want, really big you up to the paps.”

“As lovely as that idea is since high school me would have been thrilled to have been your secret sweetheart” Steve grinned “shut up, I was a nerd with a crush leave me alone” the snigger that followed only made Eddie smile, it wasn’t a hurtful laugh, and Steve’s smile was just to radiant to be mad at. “I said shut up!”

“Shutting up” the smile stayed though as he mimed zipping his lips. Adorable bastard.

“Anyway, as lovely as that idea is, too many people knew us in high school, if the press got word that it was a lie from one of our mutual past acquaintances, eh it’s a hornets nest I don’t wanna poke. Too many what ifs, but we could say that we went to school together, it’s true, we could say that we reconnected recently and… y’know, hit it off…”

“We are hitting it off.” Steve mused, tapping his finger to his chin in thought. “I like it, easy, close to the truth, very little room for mistakes. So I’m to be your date, not just a friend joining you for the evening?” That was what the invite had requested but… Steve was clearly amusing himself by making Eddie squirm a little.

“Mmmhm, yep. Steve Harrington, my date, Can time travel just exist already?”

“Haha, why?”

“Teenage me could do with a visit right this second to tell him Steve Harrington is gonna be our date someday.”

Steve covered his mouth as he laughed so sweetly, the picture of perfection as always. His nose scrunching just a little as he laughed. “Were you always this cute, Eddie?”

“Mmhm, once upon a time, I was even cuter, I swear.”

“I’ll believe you.”

“You shouldn’t.”

“I know, thousands wouldn’t, but I’ve always been a sucker for cute brunettes with big ol Bambi eyes, can't help but believe everything they say.” Eddie hadn’t felt his cheeks warm in years and yet there he was, hiding behind his hair, his complexion turning as red as a fire hydrant, stupid pale skin.

Speaking of brunettes, and incredibly convenient subject changes for the safety of his own composure. “Wait, YOU’RE who Nancy knows!”

“You know Nance?”

“She’s our manager now, man, gets us all the best shit! I met her in a bar after she totally blew off the journalism thing, something about sexist work environments and bosses who wouldn’t know a real story if it slapped them directly in the face. They kept giving her fluff pieces.” Nancy Wheeler, a fluff writer, the audacity of anyone who ever made that assumption. “Now she’s the most badass manager in metal history. I swear to god she’s made many a producer pale in fear at the very mention of her name.” She read all the fine print, with a goddamn magnifying glass. She’d made a grown men cry multiple times, it was badass. “She’s the coolest.”

Steve’s smile was so fond Eddie could have swooned just having it aimed at him, even if the fondness wasn’t for him, it was beautiful enough for it to be swooned over anyway. “She is, cool. I’m glad she found her people.” Even if they no doubt made a funny looking group, little not so primp and proper Nancy Wheeler among a bunch of metalheads. It fitted, in a strange kind of way, she’d always wrangled Mike easy enough.

“How did you uhm… y’know… it’s probably none of my business and I keep changing subjects so stop me if I keep jumping around I’m still a little flabbergast from seeing you at my door but uh… how’d you—y’know… what’s this uh… the whole thing like?” Steve tilted his head like a confused puppy and Eddie just kind of wanted to melt into the floor. “The escort thing.” He added on, for clarification.

“Oh, uhm. Chrissy? Chrissy Cunningham, cheer captain of ’86?”

“I know her, she and Gareth have this—”

“Thing! Yes, she talks about him regularly with Robin.” Robin? He doesn’t think to ask, Steve and Robin, Robin… who would be associated with Steve a Robin whom Steve would just mention as if expecting him to know. He only knew one Robin from those days, and he didn’t even really know her.

Just kind of… existed near her in band for a few months until his style of music pissed the teacher off enough to kick him out. Couldn’t be that Robin, right? Not important.

“Oh my god don’t tell me that and expect me to keep it a secret that’s brutal of you.”

“God, tell him, please, I didn't even know who he was but she keeps talking about him and waiting for him to ask her out. Eventually she’s just going to pin him against something and kiss him so—”

“Tell her to do that but god wait until I have a camera please!” Eddie Munson was not against begging, his grin wide and eyes shimmering with gleeful mischief. “It’s reciprocated, totally and completely one hundred percent reciprocated, he is so gone on that girl, it’s adorable.”

“I will let her know, at least now I know he's one of yours and a good guy." Gareth was the best guy in Eddie's opinion, like a brother to him, not that the others werent too, but... Gareth had known he was gay since Hawkins High. Just him and Uncle Wayne in the know, and he'd always been there to support him, Gareth was good. "Anyway… we ran into each other in this café that I’d gotten a part time gig at in Indy, she looked good, healthy…” he didn’t need to say that Chrissy had had a problem. But she had, and that problem began with ‘M’ and ended with ‘other,’ hers to be specific. “She was already doing it, loving it, I was dubious, asked if she was okay, if she needed help, but no she was loving it, thriving actually, and well… I like making people feel good, both emotionally and physically” oof that was a tone that went straight to a place it shouldn’t do “why do it for free, y’know? She got me set up and the rest is history.” He enjoyed himself.

He loved his job, his love language had always been acts of service, he liked making people feel good, liked making them feel wanted, feel loved, feel seen and heard. Eddie couldn’t help himself “ever do anything… y’know…?” He really wished he could help himself sometimes.

“Sex related?” The red in his cheeks only deepened, Steve didn’t seem offended, or upset, in fact his smile only warmed, eyes crinkling at the corners, gods above and below he was beautiful, how did anyone survive after a night with him, having to let him go? “Sure, like I said, if I’m good at something, why do it for free?”

“Even with…” Eddie motioned to himself

“You?”

“N-No! No, Men—wait sorry—that’s—that’s none of my business” he turned away to move, to pace, so much energy in his body suddenly there with nowhere to go “none of this is any of my business, I don’t usually ask these kinds of—I mean it’s really wrong of me to even ask this sort of—" Steve was just there so fast, hands on Eddie’s biceps, holding him in place, Eddie hoped he couldn’t feel him almost vibrating out of his skin.

“It’s okay, Bambi” Eddie’s eyes snapped up to meet Steve’s, his wide and unblinking, like a deer in headlights in the face of Steve’s so warm and understanding, Bambi really did suit him, Steve thought, his left hand lifting to rest on Eddie’s cheek as if to ground him, it worked. God it worked. “Ask all the questions you like, but maybe save some for later, we don’t have long before we have to go.”

“…Later you’ll be leaving though...” he didn’t want Steve to leave. He didn’t want his next time seeing Steve to be part of a lottery, would he come next time? Would someone else who Eddie didn’t recognise appear in his place?

“We’re hitting it off, remember? I’m sure there’s going to be an afterparty we can both be caught sneaking away from to hang out, right?” Eddie kind of felt like he was flying. He felt like a teenager again, a nerdy, virginial teenager. He refused to acknowledge that little goblin voice telling him that Steve was actually probably just doing his goddamn job, he was on the clock dammit. He just wanted to have this. “You can ask me questions then, I promise I’ll stay.” He didn’t have anywhere else he needed to be.

“…Yeah… if that’s okay with you.”

“More than. Now how about you introduce me to the rest of Corroded Coffin, we all need to be on the same page before we get there.” Work now, catch up later. “Sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can ditch the after party to hang out.” Eddie giggled, an honest to gods little giggle. He really did feel like a teenager again, only Steve was looking at him. Holding him. Grounding him. Steve Harrington was seeing him.

Teenager Eddie would have shit a brick.

“Alright, I’m warning you though, I think you let Tommy H. stuff Jeff into a locker once so don’t expect a warm welcome.” Steve grimaced a little but nodded. He was a different person now, but that wouldn’t erase the mistakes he’d made as a stupid teenager. Plenty of bridges to rebuild and apologies to give. Jeff wouldn’t be the first or the last.

“Bring it on, Bambi.” Eddie could only hide behind his hair again, bashful and flustered.

Part 4

[coulsons-fullmetal-cellist]

A Dieter Thing Happened on the Way to the Colosseum

(Dieter x horror loving female)

Words: 1, 347

Summary: thanks to a certain trailer, you have some inspiration to bring back to Dieter

Warnings: saucy suggestions, mild swearing, Ancient Roman history, talk of roleplay, Dieter being Dieter in a Roman costume

Check out masterlist here

Arms wrapped around you as soon as you got out of the car. Very soft inviting arms.

“Hi Dieter.”

“Hello, my beautiful almost wife. In less than three months I can say hello to my beautiful wife.”

He did this every time, and it was still adorable.

“I have stuff to get out of the car,” he wasn’t letting go quite yet. “I picked up your wedding suit.”

That got him excited. He grabbed everything that was in the trunk of your car and skipped inside.

You couldn’t help but smile; you never knew anyone as excited as your fiancé for your upcoming wedding. He took delight in picking out his wedding suit. Dieter decided on a navy-blue suit with an inlay of dusty pink imprinted with roses.

“Uh, honey cakes, this isn’t my suit,” he walked out holding up something that wasn’t his wedding suit. It was a costume an actor playing a Roman general would wear in an epic historical film. You just stood there dumbfounded.

“This isn’t for the wedding, is it?” You shook your head. “Wait, is this a roleplay thing?”

You managed to squeak out a maybe.

Dieter stared at you in amazed confusion. “You’ve never expressed any interest in Ancient Rome before. My horror film knowledge is very limited but I’m pretty sure there isn’t one.”

“There should be one. It would be amazing, like Prey.”

“Alright, what’s happened?”

“It was the trailer.”

“What trailer?”

“Trailer for Gladiator 2.”

“They made a sequel to that?”

You nodded, “I wasn’t that interested, but it was all anyone talked about at work, so I watched it and…”

“And…?”

“It was hot.”

“Come on, no trailer could be that hot.”

Cue one slightly historically inaccurate teaser trailer later…

“Okay, that was pretty hot.”

“I told you.”

“Hang on,” he gave you that classic cheeky look. “You just want me to show off my knees.”

“Well, you have nice knees. They’re much cuter than mine.”

“I love your knees. Especially when I have them over my shoulders,” he grabbed said knees and draped them over his legs which caused you to slump against his chest.

He nuzzled close, “So, what did you have in mind for roleplay?”

“I have no idea. I don’t remember much from high school history.”

“Well, we only need to know the basics. Obviously, I’ll be a Roman general and you can be my Roman wife.”

“So far, so good.”

“I could be coming back from a battle and then you could help me wash off in our pretend Roman bath.”

“I’d love to have a bath,” you already imagined soaking in the hot water.

“You can help wash off the dirt from my battle.”

“Then we’d have slow-motion sex like in that Zack Snyder film?” you were trying to decide which bath salts you’d like in your bath.

“Almost, but the Battle of Thermopylae was in 480 BC and the Colosseum wasn’t built until around 80 AD.”

“You’re such a nerd.”

“I know.”

You couldn’t help but kiss his nose, “It’s very sexy.”

“So should I role around in some dirt?”

“Don’t you have some fake dirt?”

“It won’t wash off that easily.”

“I can pretend I had a pre-wash before soaking in our Ancient Roman bath.”

“Oh, speaking of Rome; pizza.”

“Pizza?”

“Please tell me they had pizza in Ancient Rome.”

“They weren’t as fancy as today’s pizza but yes they did.”

“I really want some pizza.”

“And would that be before or after the roleplay?”

You made a noise like you were starting to get a headache, “I don’t know, my brain don’t work. I’ve been problem solving all day and now it’s just,” you then made a noise like a splat.

“Oh, you’re poor brain.”

“I’m sorry I’m not being helpful here.”

He kissed that spot between your eyebrows which calmed your mind. “Just tell me what it is you’d like to do.”

“All I want is to soak in the bath, have pizza and you in sexy Roman outfit.”

“And that’s all you want?”

You nodded, snuggling further into his softness.

You must have dozed off because the next thing you knew, Dieter was gently waking you up.

“Hey,” he spoke softly. “Pizza is going to be here in five minutes.”

Rubbing the sleep out of your eyes, you stretched as you asked, “You ordered pizza?”

“Yup, you should run yourself a hot bath.” Before you could question him, he kissed your cheek. “You deserve a hot bath.”

“I do,” and you wandered off to the bathroom.

The hot water was the perfect thing for a long day. You closed your eyes and took a long breath of the rose scented bath salts.

“Thy pizza, my lady.”

You opened your eyes: before you was Dieter dressed as a Roman general kneeling down with a box of pizza.

“This is what you wanted wasn’t it?” he seemed uncertain.

“Me in a hot bath with you in a sexy Roman outfit and pizza?” you let out an adoring whimper. “It’s everything I wanted!”

“I’m glad,” he opened the box. “I should start wearing skirts, show off my knees.”

“It does suit you.” He took some time to admire his figure in his costume.

“Dieter, I love you and I cannot wait to be married but…”

“But pizza?”

“Pizza!”

He took out a slice and held it out to you. You took as big a bite as you could manage without burning your mouth but with pizza it was always going to happen. Thankfully, your experience with cheese helped prevent such burns.

“Fuck, hot,” Dieter not so much. Once he recovered from pizza cheese burns, he took a stool and sat down. You noticed he was rather lacking in a certain something.

“Dieter, are you not wearing underwear?”

“Well I can’t go wearing a loincloth can I?” he waggled his eyebrows and took another bite of pizza. “So you think I should I be in a horror film set in Ancient Rome?”

“You know I’d watch it.”

“Something like a Roman troop come across some ancient aliens? Please those so-called historians?”

You hummed in thought after another bite of pizza, “I think something like vampires or werewolves would work better.”

“Werewolves could work. There’s the myth that Rome was founded by Romulus and Remus, and they were raised by a wolf so, I don’t know, there could be some cult or something that turns out to be werewolves.”

“Please, someone write that film so you can be in it.”

“And you can do the werewolf makeup.”

“I’d love to do an Ancient Roman werewolf!” you shifted your legs seductively in the bath. “So, are you going to join me?”

“I’d love to but I’m keeping this on for a while.”

“Oh?”

“For starters, I look good in it. Secondly, it was a bit fiddly to get on. Got some weird looks from the pizza guy.”

“I can help you take it off.” The rose scent was getting to you.

“You will eventually. But just think of me as a Roman general, just back from battle missing his beautiful Roman wife. He’s not going to waste time taking off his armour before making passionate love.”

“Can you move in that?”

“I can move the important parts.”

“I like those important parts,” you had enough of pizza. You leaned out of the bath and Dieter offered you more pizza, but you took his face in your hands and kissed him deeply. He gladly leaned in.

“I can’t wait until we’re married,” said Dieter. “Then I can carry my actual wife to bed rather than my pretend Roman wife.”

“The pretend stuff is nice until then.”

“At least the sex is real.” He stood up and held out his hand. “Now, let’s get those sexy knees over my shoulders.”

“Your shoulders are so broad in that outfit.”

You stood up as if to step out of the bath, but your eager fiancé scooped you up in his arms.

“Dieter, I haven’t dried off.”

“Don’t worry, I put towels down on the bed.”

Lovingly tagging @boliv-jenta @simpingcowboy @ellenmunn @o-sacra-virgo-laudes-tibi @chaithetics @myloveistoolittle @cevans-is-classic @glshmbl @cupcakehp @gswizzsstuff @grogusmum @readingiskeepingmegoing @kirsteng42

[shirefantasies]

hiiii, just wanted to say i adore your blog, and i hope you're having a wonderful day! i don’t know if im late to requesting a matchup, but if you’re still doing them, im 5’9”, bi, ace and female. I’ve played the viola for almost a decade now, even though i hate performing due to stage fright, i LOVE to read, mostly fantasy and mystery, and am a massive art history and architecture nerd. i collect house plants and knit and crochet for fun. i’m pretty shy but once i get out of my shell i am extremely sarcastic yet cuddly lol.

-🪴

Nope, they’ve been opened up! Hope you like The Hobbit because I match you with…

Bofur!

Performing your viola in a tavern, you can’t help noticing the eyes of one particular patron stuck to you like glue. Puffing on his pipe thoughtfully, he maintains an intense, beckoning gaze your entire performance. When the keep tells you you’ve a drink from a guest, there’s not a single doubt in your mind it’s from the bloke in the hat. A spike of nerves runs through you- that had been one of your first performances with an audience, and having any sort of reception only heightens the self-awareness you're trying to avoid.

Accepting your drink, you nod a thanks at the hatted patron, who naturally heads your way. "Never seen you here before," he remarks. "And you may not much still," you shoot back, "I needed a spare bit of coin, but I did not visit this town to perform." "What did you visit it for?" "To study some of the neighboring towns and help repair them. What I have always really wanted to be is an architect." Whistling, the dwarf gives a big smile, one that tells you exactly how blown away he is. "By my beard, I didn't know I was in the presence of a genius. Well, here's hoping I'll see your designs one day!" "Oh, I have some with me, did you want to-" "Bust 'em out, lassie!"

Bofur, as it turns out his name is, ended up being quite the fun company. Perhaps, you consider, you will return to that tavern after all. As it is, your work carries you deeper into town, or rather you should say its ruins. Burnt as the buildings are, though, your scans and sketches give you a good sense for the overall style and structure of the place once called Dale. A team of dwarves awaits your sketches of one of the larger complexes, accepts them, and you move on. One structure stands out to you immediately, the cutest, coziest little place tucked away at the side of a dilapidated marketplace. "Whose is this?" You ask the dwarf builders. One sets aside one final stone on the cart he is loading to reply, "That would be one of ours, actually, lass. Three fellas from the Lonely Mountain bought that one. Plan on putting in a toy shop, they said." Your heart is beyond moved. "I want to design it." "What?" "I want to design it. Can I speak to them?" Nodding, the dwarf shrugs. "Why not? Not sure what they have in mind. I'll send for them."

What are the odds that they bring forth Bofur? Grinning and still in that hat, the dwarf introduces you to his cousin Bifur and his brother Bombur. No strong family resemblance, but the three of them are clearly thick as thieves. Bofur himself begins talking up your skills immediately, calling you a master architect and a viola virtuoso to boot and making you giggle. He shows you some of their little pull-alongs and wind-ups, bringing further smiles to your face and compliments to your lips. “See?” He says to the others, shooting you a wink. “She’s even got good taste.”

They all unanimously love your vision for the shop and even help out with rebuilding, so you get quite close to the entire plucky little trio. You almost refuse all the payment they offer, giving you money for your design efforts as well as a cut from the crocheted dolls you’d let them sell. Your shelves were getting full from your hobby, after all. Each dwarf gets a handmade gift as well: thick, warm gloves for Bombur’s mining trips, a bag for Bifur to carry his supplies in, and a new scarf for Bofur, who throws his arms around you and swears he’ll never take it off. You take it as a joke, but he always seems to have it slung around his neck from then on…

They often let you work quietly, take your time to recharge and just pull you into the occasional question or joke. Thus, you’re certainly not expecting Bofur to sit at your side one day while you work, hemming and hawing and wringing his gloved hands before he finally asks if you’ve ever put much thought into settling down. “Not that a toy shop is all that much excitement, but-” Grinning, you cut him off. “I thought you’d never ask.”

Taglist: @lokilover476 @fuckyoumakeart @mossthebogwitch @ibabblealot @kilibaggins @joonies-word @stormchaser819 @pirate-lord-of-narnia @datglutengoblin @letmelickyoureyeballs @mossyskinn | Reply/Ask/Message to join 🥰

***MATCHUPS ARE CLOSED***

[alicole-sideblog]

Canon-compliant Green family vacation

Daeron is going to Oldtown to be fostered there. Alicent insists on escorting him there herself, and makes a family vacation out of it. Sickly Viserys isn’t up to such travel, so they get to leave him behind.

Here’s the list of events I’ve got so far. I’m looking for more, so if you have ideas, chime in! I want this to be a collaboration post! Please collaborate with me! In particular, the going-there journey is a bit sparse and I could use some help. I also need Daeron anecdotes.

1st leg of the trip: King’s Landing to Tumbleton

They travel by land to Tumbleton, the highest navigable point on the Mander. Horses, carriages, a whole royal procession. They’re traveling on the Roseroad at first, and then take a dirt road that cuts across to Tumbleton.

Aemond, having no dragon yet, is going through a horse girl phase. Until he can get a dragon, he’s going to be the best horse rider anyone’s ever seen.

Alicent isn’t the best rider, but she does have a real fondness for horses. She identifies with them — their big dark gentle eyes; when they sigh and go “brbrbr” and sound so exhausted and put upon.

Alicent rides in a carriage at the start of the trip. The kids are like, “Come out and ride with us!” Criston’s on their side too. Eventually she does.

2nd leg of the trip: Tumbleton to Oldtown:

They travel downriver by boat, and then through the Sunset Sea to Oldtown.

Aegon falls overboard into the river and has to get rescued. This provides an opportunity to make fun of him, and also an opportunity to fuss over him, cuddle him, say, “We’re so glad we didn’t loose you.”

Stopping at every castle along the Mander — Bitterbridge, Longtable, Cider Hall, Highgarden — to spend a night or two and do diplomacy.

When the river turns into the sea, Helaena gets seasick. Alicent and Criston trade off sitting with her at the prow of the ship, and keeping an eye on the other kids.

Alicent pulling Daeron into her lap for cuddles at every opportunity.

Oldtown!

They arrange for baby nerds Helaena and Aemond to get a tour of the Citadel. They love it. Helaena is gifted a bug in amber.

Some Hightower kin shows Aemond the fused stone base of the Hightower and tells him about the competing theories of its history. Aemond is enthralled.

Alicent takes Criston to the Starry Sept. Maybe they redo their vows there?

Otto and Criston meet formally for the first time. Lean into all the meet-the-in-laws tropes for this scene, Otto really grills him. But later in private, Otto tells Alicent that he likes and approves of Criston — he’s been a fan of his since the day he beat Daemon.

Otto meeting Helaena for the first time since infancy, and her becoming his favorite grandchild.

Trip to the Arbor

They make a trip from Oldtown to the Arbor to visit Alicent’s maternal Redwyne kin.

The red tint in Alicent’s hair comes from the Redwyne side. Maybe she hennas her hair before they go to really bring it out? Her Redwyne family like seeing her mother’s traits in her.

Grandma Redwyne is still living. She fusses over Alicent and does the whole, “Oh, you look so much like your mother!” thing and Otto’s like, “I know, doesn’t she?”

Helaena is indirectly named after Alicent’s mother, who was named Elaine (Helene?)

Otto and Grandma Redwyne are mostly on good terms, but Alicent does overhear, once, Grandma Redwyne crying and berating Otto, “Why did you have to take your family with you to the capital? Why couldn’t you have left Elaine and the kids here with me? I would’ve taken care of them, and Elaine wouldn’t have caught the summer fever from that fetid city and she’d still be alive!”

Grandma Redwyne: Where in Dorne is your family from? Criston: *getting really uncomfortable* My mother was born on the coast of the Sea of Dorne. Grandma Redwyne: Ah. I don't know much about the northern coast, only the southern coast. My grandfather was a sailor out of Planky Town. He ran Arbor Gold all over, from Bear Island to Volantis. He never went to the north coast of Dorne, though, never went through the Stepstones. The pirates and all. Grandpa used to say that braving pirates' waters was for men without families waiting for them back home. Criston: *relaxes, smiles*

Return journy: Oldtown to King’s Landing

They travel by ship along the Dornish coast, through the Stepstones, and back to King’s Landing.

If the previous first two segments were the "let's talk about Alicent's family" section, this is "let's talk about Criston's family."

Aemond is sad about loosing his favorite brother. Criston assures him that Daeron will always be his brother. As he’s saying it, Criston realizes that while Aemond’s not loosing Daeron, he is. Daeron will always be their son and brother because blood, but Criston doesn’t have that to fall back on. Being the man that raised them is the only claim he has to these kids. If he’s not that to Daeron, then that’s it — Daeron won’t be his in the future. Criston has just lost him. He calls Alicent over, pushes Aemond off onto her, and then goes and cries in private.

Aegon learns sea shanties from the sailors, and sings them as loudly as he can. Aemond is super annoyed. Helaena surprises the parents by singing to.

Criston spends a lot of time looking at the Dornish coast, off the port side of the ship. At night he has a dream that they’re caught in a storm and shipwrecked on the shore. When people arrive on the beach to help them, he presents himself as a Dornishman and Alicent as his wife.

Sentimentality about Criston’s family as they pass by the Sea of Dorne. “My mother was born somewhere along there. A little village on the northern coast of Dorne.” “Blackhaven is somewhere that way. That’s where my family are.” Getting emotional and praying for his family, who he can only hope are still living since they’re illiterate smallfolk so he can’t write letters to them. The kids saying, “Let’s go to Blackhaven!” and Criston sadly having to explain that it’s an arduous trek through the mountains to get there, it’s not a coastal place they can easily tack onto their trip, people are expecting them back in King’s Landing, etc. Aemond saying, “Ok, fine, we’ll do that trip when Aegon’s king then.”

[podcastjam]

Project Spotlight #3: Eart(h) FM

The year is 2072, and we're talking about the solarpunk sci-fi pilot Eart FM with team member Ari!

Tell us a bit about yourself and your teammates!

Hi, I’m Clover! I’m a writer, voice actor, and audio engineer. I’m helping edit Eart FM, and potentially voice act in it. I’m working on a few podcasts, but none of them have released yet. My first and favorite podcast is Wolf 359. I technically have a tumblr account, but I don’t use it, so you can find me lurking on various podcast discords, mainly the official WOE.BEGONE discord.

@lotsadeer: My name is Izze Sykes, I'm an illustrator, writer, podcaster, game designer, voice actor, and wearer of many hats. I'll be doing the cover art for this podcast! The first podcast I ever listened to was Welcome to Night Vale, don't ask me my favourite podcast that's like asking me to choose children, and I'm involved in a few podcasts at the moment! Hope's Hearth, an actual play podcast; Abbey Archives, a Redwall reread podcast; SCP Research Archives, an SCP article podcast; Colchis, a sci-fi audio drama; and Cauterized, a horror audio drama. Plus a few podcasts that are in the works. I like podcasts.

@aclickbaittitle: Hello, I am Ari! I like to say I am a storyteller. I am the organizer (?) for Eart FM and I also plan to sound-design and write.  Like a lot of people I got into audio drama through Welcome to Nightvale and then it was history. My most recent project is a little short-fiction podcast called “Broken Hearted: The Friendship monologues”.

Hello, I'm Laurel. I'm a writer, digital artists, and self proclaimed voice actor. I will be voicing the role of "The Host" in Eart(h) FM! I have not participated in any projects publicly but I have be doing voice work for fun with friends and a bit on my joint youtube channel. My favorite podcast is definitely Penumbra Podcast, my younger brother showed it to me and I was hooked instantly. I don't use my tumblr anymore but you can find me on discord @ cyanosiis!

@timberfins/@elijahharpermusic: I'm Eli, or Timber, and I'm providing music! The first podcast I remember falling in love with was Welcome To Night Vale, but my current favourite is probably Within The Wires (unless we're also including non-fiction, where it's competing with Lingthusiasm). I sing with the Anguilliform Chorus in Eeler's Choice, and you'll also hear me in two Law of Names productions: Season 4 of Breathing Space and the upcoming Waterlogged.

Hey guys, my name is Johnny Fuent, I am a MBA student trying to survive in this trying world. I am a huge nerd, and love to travel. I have been to over 14 different countries and plan to expand that number. I also host my own podcast as well. My first podcast that I listened to was Campfire Radio Theater, and my favorite podcast is Midnight burger. Currently I am a writer for the podjam and happy to be here.

What's your podcast about?

Solar-punk sci-fi with anti space-colonialism sentiments. It is the year 2072, the poles have melted and humanity has taken for the stars, except for the HOST, . To cope with being the only human on earth, they’ve decided to create a Radio Show where they broadcast music from various times and places of the world. One day someone finally calls to the radio station an ECOLOGIST, living on the skirt of the iztaccihuatl bearing news that the earth is healing. Together they embark on a quest for other humans that still live on planet earth, finding various communities and people, and begin to help the earth one day heal.

What are you most excited about in this event?

To collaborate with other creators in order to tell a story that is very dear to my heart.

Any advice for other participants, or those on the fence about joining?

Consult it with the pillow, but if come morning you discover that is just the nerves and impostor syndrome keeping you from participating, take that leap. At the end of the day, we are all just a bunch of people trying to tell stories the same as you.

This team is still looking for new members, adding: "We are currently looking for the ecologist voice actor. We are specifically looking for a chicane / mexican-american voice actor since we are writing the ecologist with an experience specific to said identity (don’t worry, you don’t need to know spanish or anything, as long as you have a connection with the ethnicity or identity, you are welcome to join!)"

If you're interested in joining their project, you can find their casting call here, or you can reach out in the Podcast Book Club Discord server. If you want to know more about the jam first, be sure to check out this post as well!

[burnthoneydrops]

Blonde (r.b. x reader)

pairing: robin buckley x female!reader, band au

word count: 2.4k

warnings: language, use of she/her pronouns, reference to time appropriate homophobia

a/n: had this idea while I was at a concert last night and really wanted to write it so here it is! hope you enjoy!! <3 (also not proof read haha)

You’re nervous. You’re shaking your hands out in front of you and you’re nervous. You can hear the crowd chatting to each other out by the bar, the sound of low mutterings and glasses clinking echoing off the wall and into your ears. Running your hands through your hair, you smooth some pieces down before fluffing up others, trying to give your shaking hands something else to focus on. It’s not even the biggest show you’ve played and yet you’re nervous as all hell. 

Morgan, the drummer, walks into the dressing room. “Woah dude, are you ok?” 

“Huh? Yeah fine, totally fine,” you mutter. 

She scoffs, “your hands are shaking and you keep moving your foot like you need to crack it or something. What’s up?” 

“Just pre-show nerves. It happens all the time,” you try and brush her off. 

“Have you talked to Robin yet?” She asks, sitting down on the couch. 

“No. Something about her shift getting moved and Keith would be weird about her being on the phone during work hours or something,” you respond. That’s what it was. You haven’t talked to Robin yet and your nerves are out of control because of it. Pre-show nerves are something that happen before every gig you’ve played thus far, even when you were just an extra vocalist for Corroded Coffin when Eddie lost his voice for a week. But something else that usually happens is you calling Robin on the public phone outside so she can talk you through it and reassure that you’re going to be amazing like she always says you are. Just hearing her voice through the phone makes you feel better; even if you know she can’t be at every show physically, talking to her before you go on means she’s going to be bouncing around in your brain in the best way possible, which makes things feel all that much better. 

This show isn’t too far from Hawkins, seeing as you and your band were looking for bigger venues and Hawkins definitely doesn’t have those. It’s still a shitty bar in the middle of a city, but it at least fits more people and has more stage room so Hannah, your bassist, doesn’t fall into the audience again. She claims it was her attempt at crowd surfing, but you all know she just wasn’t watching where she was going, too busy thrashing her head around as Morgan kicked up the energy on the drums. 

“Damn, that nerd has them on that tight of a leash huh?” Morgan asks, pulling you back to the conversation at hand. 

“Yeah, I also get the feeling he doesn’t like me very much so it wouldn't really help if she tried to explain”. 

“Does he like anybody?” Morgan snorts back and you shrug, not really sure. 

“He gives me the creeps if I’m honest,” you answer after a few seconds, going back to adjusting your hair in the mirror. 

“Hey, I doubt it’s changed much in the 15 seconds since you touched it last, leave your hair alone. Don’t go messing up all my hard work,” Morgan stands up and grabs your wrists before you can touch your hair again. She did in fact spend 20 minutes with you making sure it looked ‘cool’ enough for this crowd of what you were expecting to be mostly drunks. 

“There you guys are!” Victoria, your lead guitarist, announces herself as she walks into the dressing room, “we’re on in 5!” She sounds exasperated and you and Morgan share a look before Morgan drops your hands, assuring you you’re going to kick ass no matter what happens. 

You try to take in her words, but all you can think about is how much you miss Robin and how much you want to hop in the van and drive to Hawkins just to see her again. You know she’s proud of you, as she tells you that every time you call her, but it feels weird living your dream without her. Before history class sophomore year, your dream had been exactly this, performing on stage to an audience who knew your songs and could sing it back to you (well this one would be at least a partial audience but it was close enough). But then you met Robin, the girl who made you smile and laugh like no other and who’s hug felt like home wherever you were, and she quickly snuck her way into your dream as well. Steve was the one who convinced her that you actually did like her like that, even after you dropped some not so subtle hints that the blonde girl had you absolutely wrapped around her finger. 

“Y/N, come on! Time to show them what we’ve got!” Victoria calls as she realises you’re not following them. You crack your knuckles, looking in the mirror one last time before running out after them. The crowd is already applauding and hollering when you take your place on the stage, and you can’t help the smile that etches onto your face at the reaction. People are walking to and from the bar, drinks in hand as they clap for the four of you. Hannah smiles at you as you two make eye contact, the familiar adrenaline carrying you past any stage fright from before. The same thoughts linger in the back of your head, but you try and turn the nerves into excitement, fuelling the adrenaline like Robin told you to. 

“Um, hey everyone!” The microphone squeaks and the feedback sends hands over ears. You clear your throat awkwardly before gripping the microphone softly. “Sorry about that,” you laugh, trying to brush it off, “we’re the Suburban Rejects and we just wanted to thank you guys for coming out tonight. How’s everyone feeling?” The crowd cheers once again, though you notice a few people already drunk off their asses. 

“You guys ready?” You turn toward your band and they all nod, Victoria smirking as her fingers trace over the strings in anticipation. “Alright!” You shoot your attention back to the audience, “this is our first song, Violet Summer and I hope you enjoy!” 

“One two three four!” Morgan whisper-shouts so the rest of the band can hear before shooting off into her usual drum induced trance. Hannah is soon to follow, building the bass line as Victoria strikes out the familiar power chords. You tap your foot along to the main beat as you look out over the crowd, noticing some people nodding their heads and tapping along with you. Another rush of adrenaline hits you and as the first verse starts, you’re practically smiling into the microphone as you begin singing. You turn to look at Victoria as you sing, taking the microphone from the stand and walking closer to her, leaning from behind her so your head fits between her shoulder and her neck, the smile on her face growing as you sing into her ear. She turns to the side slightly so you can be back to back, and she rests her head against yours, your side profiles exposed to the audience. Next you cross the stage to Hannah and she jokingly flips you off, causing you to turn to the audience with a sad face before smiling again and making your way back to center. 

A few songs into the set and you’re starting to feel much more comfortable. You’ve gotten the audience on your side, except for the already mentioned drunks, and you can finally feed off of the energy enough that you don’t have to worry about a little voice crack here and there. Morgan crashes her drumsticks on the cymbals repeatedly as the current song comes to a close, and you finally stop jumping around long enough to introduce the next song. 

“Alright, now we’re going to get a little more sentimental. But don’t worry, we’re keeping the energy up as always. This song is called Blonde and I hope you guys like it,” you smile at the audience before Morgan counts you guys off again, the familiar chords from Victoria’s electric guitar bouncing throughout the room. The crowd had gathered closer to the stage as the set went on, and you lean forward to run your hand through those that were sticking their hands up, trying to give each a little high five. This song is so very obviously about Robin, but you had framed it as if you were someone else looking in on the relationship, hoping that it would keep the homophobic responses you were trying to avoid at bay. As the chorus kicks in and you start jumping around again, you do a little circle around yourself and glance out into the audience again. In a moment that you couldn’t have planned any better, Hannah nudges you in what you think is a joking manner before she tilts her head, wordlessly instructing you to look in a certain direction. 

There she is. 

The muse herself is standing at the back of the audience, her arms crossed against her chest and a proud smile gracing her face. She looks so beautiful you almost stumble over your feet. Victoria laughs and you flip her off, closing your eyes as you continue to sing, trying to keep the blush trying to show itself as undetectable as possible. 

“Lips so sweet/they’re dancing on the rooftop/Angel face almost makes her heart stop,” you sing as you make eye contact with Robin. You hadn’t gotten a chance to play this song for her yet, and you hope that she gets the reference to your first “date”. Steve had invited a bunch of people over for a party when his parents were away and when the stuffy house had gotten too much for you and Robin, she grabbed your hand and took you to sit on Steve’s roof with her. The sun was setting and it was creating the most beautiful halo around her face. “I’m going to kiss you and if you hate it then we can pretend it never happened and I’ll never talk to you again ok?” You had asked, not usually one for rambling with nerves but that was just something she did to you. Without responding, she grabbed your face between her hands and made the first move for you, connecting your lips and kissing all the nerves out of you. 

A knowing smile crosses her face as she lets out a quiet laugh, blowing you a small kiss from her spot in the audience, which causes you to quickly wink back in recognition. You look just to her left and see Steve standing next to her, waving at you with his car keys in hand. Your heart almost melts at the effort these two must have put in to make their way here. 

“Get yourself together lover girl, we’ve got three more songs to play!” Morgan laughs at you as you turn to her to have a moment to collect yourself. 

“Shut up!” You laugh playfully and turn back to the audience as the song comes to a finish, Victoria strumming out the last few chords as Morgan smashes the cymbals again. 

Now it was as if the last few songs couldn’t finish fast enough. You rush off stage as soon as you can, thanking the audience quickly before heading back into the dressing room anxiously. The rest of the band follow soon after you, already making fun of your current state, teasing you about how in love you are. You’re grateful that you have the bandmates that you do, seeing as they don’t care that your relationship is with Robin and not Steve. You hear the backstage door open and two pairs of feet scurrying in before it can close and it takes all of you not to run everyone over to greet them. 

“Hello?” Steve calls as they round the corner to the dressing room. 

“Go be a lovesick idiot,” Hannah smiles at you, giving you a light shove. 

You run toward the pair, Steve scooting to the side before he gets run into. Robin smiles widely at you, wrapping you in her famous hugs before putting a little space between the two of you, her hands still around your waist. “That was absolutely amazing!” She compliments you, but you barely process it, only thinking how lucky you are that she’s here. 

You can hardly keep yourself together, so instead of trying to let out whatever mumbled garbage would spill out of your mouth, you pull yourself closer to her, kissing her with all the pent up emotions you’d been holding since the tour started. “What am I? Chopped liver?” Steve complains sarcastically, causing Robin to shove him with the arm that she unwrapped from your waist before quickly putting it back in its original spot. 

“Alright guys, break it up,” Morgan calls as the rest of the band make their way over. 

“I can’t believe you made it,” you whisper to Robin as you turn so she has her arm around your waist as you stand shoulder to shoulder. 

“I wouldn’t miss my best girl for the world. You killed it like I told you you would,” she smiles down at you before turning to face the rest of the band. “That was an awesome show you guys. Seriously awesome”. 

“Thanks Robin, glad you two could make it. This one was an absolute wreck before we went on. One night without her usual phone call and she was going to flip her shit,” Victoria motions to you, a playful smirk on her face. 

“Hey! I was not going to flip my shit!” You try to defend yourself. 

“It’s ok, you don’t have to hide it around us,” Hannah chimes in. 

“Don’t be ashamed Y/n!” Morgan starts, “be who you are!” She sings in an awful voice, purposefully doing a horrible job of staying in whatever key she picked. 

“You all suck!” You call to the group of them before turning your head into Robin’s shoulder. 

Robin’s laugh causes her shoulders to shake against you, “I love you” she mutters against your hair as the group bursts out in laughter. You flip them all off with your head still buried in Robin’s shoulder, thankful for the height difference she usually teases you about. You might be incredibly embarrassed right now, but you wouldn’t trade it for anything.

[tedwardremus]

⭐

Thanks for requesting a bit of director’s commentary.

Since you’ve given me the choice I’m not going to talk about one fic in particular but my headcannon for James’s career if he had lived. 

I know a lot of people have different headcanons for James’s career but I like to imagine he would follow his grandfather’s footsteps. Lily and James name their only son after James’ grandfather after all, clearly important figure in James’ life.

And James has the makings of a good politician. He is smart, hard-working, driven, stubborn, generous, stands by his convictions and has a strong sense of morals. He supports his werewolf friend and he marries a muggleborn and fight on the frontlines of war. 

In my connected universe of one shots I imagine James starting off as a lawyer for a clinic that provides legal aid to disadvantaged magical beings like werewolves, house elves, squibs, etc. and then when he is older is elected to the wizengamot.

This first time this is hinted at is in Career Advice with James F. Potter

“As the boys bounded up the stairs to check on Remus, Lily absentmindedly picked up the pamphlet Potter had been holding when he walked in. The words on the cover caught her eye: "Legal Aid for Disadvantaged Magical Beings."

A smile teased Lily's lips as she looked up at Potter's retreating back.”

Perspective starts off with Lily asking James about what the sacred 28 are and referencing a conversation they had earlier. This is actually a reference to an earlier fic A Decent Bloke where James helps Lily with a history of magic essay and talks about his grand father Henry who served in the Wizengamot.

James softly chuckled, "Believe it or not, it's a family story. My Grandpa Harry, Henry Potter, was the Wizengamot member who stood up against Minister Evermonde. Quite a big controversy at the time. His consistent outspoken position regarding the Muggle community is also the reason my family is excluded from that ‘Sacred Twenty-Eight’ nonsense." With a pause, James looked down at one of the books on the table. "He was a real decent bloke. More people should remember him."

James is young though so he is still working out his politics in his head. I see him as some who deeply wants to change the injustice he sees, thats why he joined the Order. And I like the more mature James, the one who grew up post OWL exams, the more humble and head-deflated James, knows he hasn’t figured everything out yet. But he’s trying to.

"But you aren't most people. You don't think wizards are better than Muggles?" Lily questioned.

"No," James asserted. "People can be smart or dumb, decent or nasty, and it has nothing to do with being magical. The problem is that most pure-bloods live totally removed from the Muggle world."

"You think we need to get rid of the Statute of Secrecy?"

"No, well I don't know. I do think our community could benefit from more exposure and relations with the non-magical world. The problem is the supremacists argue the statute should be abolished so they can rule over the muggles." James tossed a rock high in the air before catching it and throwing it into the lake before he continued. "I haven't worked it all out, to be honest. I just know things need to change."

This consistent conviction of wanting to help others, to make change, attracts Lily to James.

And it’s not the job people expect him to be interested in so he only tells a couple of people. Everyone else things he’s planning on going pro quidditch. I also see James as a huge nerd, very interested in inventing new magic and experiment with advanced magic. So I can see him continuing transfiguration research even while working at a legal clinic as discussed in Hold On To The Memories, They Will Hold On To You.

“ Of course, I will disappoint all of England by not signing up for the national quidditch team and instead devote my time to the legal aid society of disadvanced magical beings while also getting research published in Transfiguration Today.” 

James paused in his pronouncements and looked down at Lily, his expression softening as his fingertips danced across her arms, sending cool shocks down her body.’ Lily and Sirius were the only ones James had confided in about his post-Hogwarts plans. While most people assumed he’d continue with quidditch, McGonagall even told him that professional recruiters would be at his next match, James’ heart was settled on making a difference in the world and doing his part to right what he felt were outlandish wrongs. James wanted to model himself after his grandfather Henry, who lobbied hard for muggle-born protections. The legal aid society was James’ first step in his plan to help push through needed reforms, and Lily admired and loved him greatly for his dedication to doing good.

And he discusses with Lily through letters in Your Friend, James

I have been discussing with McGonagall about continuing my transfiguration studies after Hogwarts. I could join an academic society and get a fellowship for advanced research on the limits of human transformation. I think I would find this really interesting, but at the same time, I don’t see myself sitting at a desk every day. Do you? I think at a certain point, I’d get too restless being inside all the time.

The truth is I want to do something good. The world seems less and less good these days, and I just want to do something. Most days, I actually want to scream, but that won’t do much to change anything.

I thought about apprenticing at the Legal Aide Society for Disadvantage Magical Beings. My grandad Harry founded it after he served in the Wizengamot in the 30s. But Death Eaters burnt it down, and I think people are too afraid of opening it again. And lastly, the clinic is a major part of James’ post war life in my Jily lives story Rage Against The Dying Of The Light where he is distrcting himself from his PTSD and focusing on reopening his grandfatehr’s clinic right away instead of focusing on his mental health. It his way of being productive during a time where he feels rather useless.

send me a fic, scene, or quote for some director's commentary or send a ⭐ to let me choose what to fic to talk about.

[usergreenpixel]

MALMAISON MEDIA SALON SOIRÉE 15: NEEDING NAPOLEON (2020)

1. The Introduction

Hello, Neighbors! Welcome back to Malmaison Media Salon! At last we’re here and today is a bit of a special review. Why special?

Let me explain:

1. Firstly, it’s one of those cases where I stumble upon a media piece via recommendation from another community member. This time it was @suburbanbeatnik , who interviewed the author of the book and there was a contest where the first 3 users to comment would get a free ebook copy via email.

I was the first to comment because I was given the link and because I was really excited about what sounded like a promising story, considering my soft spot for the adventure genre, time travel and alternative history. So yeah, I became one of the lucky three users.

Unfortunately, the book is only available in English and has to be purchased through websites like Amazon, so those who don’t speak English too well might be out of luck for now.

2. Secondly, it’s one of the few anglophone (British, to boot!) media pieces that DO NOT paint Napoleon as a villain! How cool is that?! For newcomers, stumbling upon a gem like that is about as likely as seeing a UFO, so you can bet your asses that I HAD to check out the book!

3. Thirdly, I already mentioned that I’m a sucker for adventure, time travel, historical fiction and alternative history so that really boosted my excitement… as well as my worries. I prayed that the book would turn out to be good. Luckily, it did! More on that later though.

Anyway, before we proceed, this review is dedicated to @suburbanbeatnik and @garethwilliamsauthor . Not only is the latter, well, the author, but he also graciously gave me permission to write said review and I’m thankful for this.

Okay, with formalities out of the way, let’s begin!

2. The Summary

The novel tells the story of one Richard Davey, an ordinary schoolteacher who admires Napoleon and lives a very boring, lonely life.

However, during a fateful holiday in Paris, he gets a chance to leave his old life behind, meet his hero and maybe even change the course of history.

To me, the idea sounds very interesting, so let’s move onto the deeper analysis and see if the execution matches the potential.

3. The Story

Although the beginning of the story did confuse me a bit because we jump straight into action, I. Fucking. Love. This. Book. I was extremely hooked when reading and felt like I was back in my childhood, reading my favorite swashbuckling stories. The excitement is REAL.

The pacing is excellent, most loose ends get tied up in the end, the ending is satisfying yet also realistic and we don’t have the protagonist getting everything he wanted, which is awesome!

I did have a problem with the flashbacks though, mainly because they kept popping up and breaking the storyline immersion, but that’s just me.

Also, there’s a good mix of gritty artlessness (in a good way because it doesn’t gloss over war), a swashbuckling adventure, romance and down time (we can’t have action ALL the time).

The romantic subplot is very well-written and realistic, even though my asexual self still didn’t care much because I don’t normally like romance. Spoiler, it’s one of the few times where the protagonist doesn’t get the love interest in the end, for a lot of reasons.

So yeah, only minor complaints here and there.

(Oh, and tiny bonus for the Frev community: Frev isn’t demonized either!!! Yay!!!)

(P. S. Also there were a lot of moments that cracked me up, like the pun with HMS Bellerophon being called Billy Ruffian.)

4. The Characters

Richard Davey is by far one of the most relatable characters ever, since I can relate to his loneliness (me during the worse days of depression) and love for History (I’m a Frev and Napoleonic nerd). He’s flawed, reacts realistically and in his own way to situations and has a great character arc, from a man just going with the motions of life to a hero who can and does make a difference in history, just not in the way he first planned.

Emile Béraud, a soldier Richard befriends in the past, is an absolute sweetheart. Loyal to a fault, friendly and just as lonely as Richard, he takes part in the adventures and is a very compelling character.

Aunt Patricia, Richard’s only living relative, might be a minor character who doesn’t personally appear, but her presence is felt throughout the story and Richard constantly imagines what she would have to say in his position and how she would judge him.

Madame Odillet, the owner of an antique shop who helps Richard get back in time, is a mysterious woman with a troubled past, who definitely knows more than she first lets on. I like the book parallels between her and witches, even though she’s just a regular human.

Napoleon starts out as an insufferable punchable prick, but later on his portrayal becomes nuanced. He loves and misses his son, has a soft spot for kids, has a temper and at times alternates between acceptance of his fate and resolve to fight back. He’s not in a good place mentally nor physically, but he’s portrayed as someone flawed yet far from being a bad person.

Jerome is an arrogant hedonistic ass. Full stop. But he’s a minor character so I can understand why he’s not as nuanced, even if I wish there was a bit more complexity.

Gourgaud is an impulsive and arrogant bastard who is loyal to his emperor yet entitled due to having saved said emperor twice.

Bertrand and Fanny are extremely sweet.

Las Cases… I found him unpleasant and arrogant.

Murat and Caroline are mentioned and, LUCKILY, not depicted as traitors.

Ney in his cameo is his usual post-Russia reckless self (he possibly had PTSD, I believe).

Overall, the cast is memorable and I did enjoy the portrayals for the most part.

5. The Setting

The descriptions really sell the setting here, in my opinion. I particularly enjoyed the scenes at Malmaison where Napoleon essentially is Richard’s tour guide.

Always nice to see that the author really did their research and has a way with language to make immersion that much easier to achieve.

6. The Writing

Once again, the descriptions. Short, sweet, to the point.

The language is mostly easily understandable, but there are French words sprinkled in that (fortunately) can be more or less understood in context. I wish there were footnotes with translations though. Oh, and some words were unfamiliar to me as a foreigner so please keep that in mind too.

7. The Conclusion

If you can, please give the book a go. Remarkable adventures, nuanced characters and believable settings that are reminiscent of swashbuckling novels are definitely worth your money, in my humble opinion.

Of course, no work is perfect but I throughly enjoyed this one despite some flaws and I look forward to reading the sequel. It’s not every day we get an anglophone pro-Naps media piece, after all.

On that note, let us conclude today’s soirée. Please stay tuned for updates on future reviews, my dearest Neighbors.

Love,

Citizen Green Pixel