#essex serpent fanfiction

[muddyorbsblr]

mercy upon ourselves

See my full list of works here!

Summary: Your multiversal duty of punishing perpetrators of infidelity in their afterlife takes an interesting turn when you see that the betrayed party is one of your variants | loose 'sequel' to 'all will be alright in time'

Pairing: Loki (God of Stories/Time) x Reader; Will Ransome x Reader (different Reader)

Word Count: 3.7k

Warnings: 18+ | talks of infidelity; steamy moments at the end; (technically) mass murder; Cora Seaborne (yeah she's a warning); Will Ransome (in this case he needs to be a warning, too) [let me know if i missed anything!]

Things to be aware of: this loosely takes place in the RTC 'multiverse', but no prior reading of the series is required; Reader is the goddess of fidelity

Dick-tionary: steamy moments (but not outright smut) starts at "Loki let out a low chuckle"

Your duty as goddess of fidelity, in theory, was simple enough. Upon the death of a betrayer, you were to choose their punishment in their eternal afterlife. After your first few thousand cases, they all began to meld into the same old tale, often feeling as if they all even wore the same face.

That was until this particular story. Where the face of the deceased and betrayed wife held…your own.

Before you could even call out to him, Loki was by your side in a heartbeat, laying his hands gently on your shoulders and pressing a kiss to the back of your head. "I can sense your unease, little Princess. What troubles you?"

Together you looked through the glowing branches that surrounded you, each telling the story of a different timeline, a different universe. Until you finally found the one which held the case you needed to review. The universe where your echo had died of a broken heart upon learning that your husband, Loki's echo in the form of a Reverend William Ransome, betrayed you to have an entanglement with a newcomer in your quaint village of Aldwinter.

"This is no variant of mine," your husband seethed. "I could never belittle our love like this, the thought alone pains me."

You took his hand in yours, pressing a kiss to his knuckles. "I know, husband. This timeline is simply…a fluke. Our echoes, our variants? They are not reflections of ourselves. His flaws and failures are not your burden to bear."

"Failure," he repeated, his top lip curling up in a sneer as he looked upon the faces of his variant and his mistress, living together under the same roof, sleeping in the very bed that your variant breathed her last. "That is precisely what this branch is. Perhaps it should just drift away…to wither and rot."

"Loki we should not punish an entire universe for the mistake of one man. There are still countless lives within this branch--"

"And your variant is no longer one of them because of the mistake of his one man. He deserves to suffer."

"And he will," you reassured him. "His suffering falls within my purview. It is my Norns-given duty to see to it. And while I know we both would relish in watching as this pathetic coward of a man sees the end of days upon him, I cannot in good conscience have it be at the cost of an entire universe. But perhaps the village that was complicit…the village that stayed silent to protect their precious reverend's reputation."

"What do you have in mind, my love?" He pulled you close to him, embracing you from behind, hands caressing your sides. Soothing himself from the unease of seeing how his variant dared take you for granted.

I was made to be yours. Words that resonated so deeply into both your souls. Words he used when he first confessed his love to you. The same words you yourself uttered when your memory spell had broken and you found him that fateful day eons ago.

The same words you both used within your new vows when he returned to you. And used ever since.

And somehow this insipid trifling man thought himself above those words? Dare even spit them back in the face of the same entities that weaved your two souls together so intricately that it bled through every timeline and universe known to him?

All the suffering in the Nine Realms would not be enough for this William Ransome as far as he was concerned.

"Well, husband, we are in a rather…unique circumstance," you mused aloud, a little sound of contentment slipping from your lips when he pressed a kiss to your temple. "I bear the same face as this Y/N Ransome…and they reside in a town that is riddled with a rather superstitious lot. And my variant…she deserves her revenge, does she not?"

Had it not been for the gloomier and grayer than usual state of the sky, it seemed a typical day in Aldwinter. It had been years since the spectacle that was your passing occurred, and the townsfolk had finally began to warm to the presence of Cora Seaborne. Sure, she and William would still get looks out of the corners of their eyes, especially when she would emerge from the house in a dress that people could have sworn was yours, but other than that, no one made any trouble for them.

Not to their face. Not anymore.

The cold heaviness of regret had made itself at home in the pit of your widower's stomach ever since that day, the day that he betrayed you. No amount of rationalizing could have him absolve himself of his sin. Any which way he went with his internal arguments, they would all land in the same place.

The blame fell entirely on him. And he would have to live with the consequences of what he'd done for the rest of his days.

In the form of the tombstone that would steadily erode with the passing of time.

And in the form of the new family he was all but strong armed into taking on, if only to spare himself more scandal and ridicule. He'd already lost the respect of a good number of the congregation, this would smite the number down to a paltry handful if he turned his back on his then pregnant mistress.

Though despite all their efforts at maintaining what they thought they'd found with each other, they had lost the babe. Twice. As if God Himself willed it so that no child would ever result from their treachery. A fitting punishment, as far as Will was concerned.

Love may not have been a weakness, but lust most definitely was. Lust was what drove him to commit the treachery that led to the loss of love.

He should have resisted. Walked away. Ran, even.

Perhaps if he had, you would still be here, serving as a bright ray of sunlight even in the dark gray overcast over your little town. Perhaps your children wouldn't have turned their backs on him and he would be allowed the privilege of getting to see them build their own families, lead their own lives.

Instead all he had was darkness and silence. And he had no one to blame but himself.

"William!" Cora's shriek traveled across the marshes.

Moments like these, he preferred the darkness and silence.

He tried to take in a breath before turning to face her, the picture of a doting partner. "What is it, Cora?"

"The look--the looking glass, I saw--"

Her stammering was cut short by the sound of Matthew frantically ringing the alarm bell. "TIDE INCOMING! EVERYONE GO INSIDE! GET TO SAFETY!"

One of the fishermen in the approaching boats stumbled forward until he fell limp in the reverend's arms. "The waves, they be the size of mountains. Bigger even. God is angry with us."

"No," Matthew wheezed, coughing out sea water. "That wasn't God, out there in the waters. Not our God. That was some sorceress, some witch. Demoness. We must find safety." He began to usher every villager he could find into the church. "She don't look like the type that shows mercy."

"She?" Cora spoke, pointing a shaky finger at the curate. "You…saw her face? Tell me does she look like--"

"Enough talk about the evil looming in on us, Mrs Seaborne!" he snapped, pointing his finger at the Ransome house. "Go home. May this evil, whoever and whatever she may be, have mercy on us all."

"What was that, Cora?" Will hissed as they made their way home. "You look completely beside yourself."

"I could have sworn I saw Y/N's face in the looking glass," she said shakily, gulping for breath, shuddering when she said your name aloud once more. "Will, she looked angry. Vengeful."

"You're not making any sense, Y/N is gone," he said tersely, a familiar lump forming at the back of his throat as he forced himself to acknowledge your absence from his life. He ushered her along, trying to ensure that she at least would not stumble too harshly. "I laid her into the ground myself, gave her eulogy."

"I know," she huffed. "But I also know what I saw, that was no hallucination, Will--"

"I've read texts that there are some pregnancies that alter with the minds, the perception of the expectant mother. Perhaps this is simply one of those cases," he waved off. "Look, Cora we're almost home. We can wait out the storm and then when this is all over you can rest. We all can."

She simply nodded and they cross the marshes back to their home, only to find Francis, pale as freshly pressed cardstock, awaiting them by the door. "Mother, F-Father, there's a woman--" he sputtered out, pointing at the open door.

And then you stepped out. "There you are. Cowards."

William's heart stopped in his chest watching you walk out of your old home, what seemed to be billowing fabric drenched and clinging to your skin, hugging every curve that his hands had longed for since your passing. Even soaking wet, your dress proudly gleamed a brilliant emerald green, and there was a glow that seemed to radiate from underneath your skin.

You were no longer of this earth. You were something…more. Something above them all. And it showed in the way you held yourself, in your gaze as you looked upon the marshes that held your former home. As you looked upon the husband that survived you, your upper lip curling in derision as you saw the bump protruding from Cora's stomach.

"Y/N…" he whispered your name, your sheer presence bringing him to his knees. "Sweet wife, you have returned--"

"Hold that rancid thought," you silenced him, raising your hand in the air as if grasping for something. In an instant, his words ceased, feeling as if his tongue had swollen and became as heavy as lead in his mouth. "You do not get to call me your wife, Reverend Ransome. Not since you sullied your vows and laid with this London whore."

Cora took a step toward you, opening her mouth as if to defend herself, or perhaps her lover. But you put a stop to that as well, raising your other hand in her direction, and suddenly she was forced to sink to her knees as well. "Please, Y/N," she pleaded with you. "Let us take this inside there is a tide coming--"

"Do you mean this tide, friend?" you spat the last word out, as if it tasted bitter on your tongue. Suddenly the tide was steadily approaching the shore, rising to a height that would completely engulf and decimate Aldwinter once it bore down on them. And you rose from the ground, floating well above the roof of the Ransome home, the reverend, along with his lover and her son, looking up at you in sheer horror.

"What do you want from us?!" Francis yelled into the sky, reminding you of how mortal worshippers would look to the sky and beg the gods for explanations. For miracles.

"I do not wish for you to give me anything, young Mr Seaborne. In fact, I wish to offer you all…a choice." You turned your gaze to the kneeling couple. "Get in the water. And perhaps I shall spare this town."

"Y/N please, this town is full of innocent lives, no matter what has happened to you I know in my heart that you would never wreak this kind of devastation upon--"

"What has happened to me?!" you repeated, your shrieking tone piercing even through the deafening sound of the tidal wave still standing tall, waiting to descend. "Your lustful indiscretion cost an innocent life, William Ransome. There is no innocent life in this town. Not anymore. The people here chose to stay silent, to keep your affair a secret for the sake of preventing a scandal. Though that didn't seem to work out the way you'd hoped, did it?" You motioned toward the wave with a jerk of your head again. "Get in the water."

The wave grew even more violent, already taking in the fishing boats and pulling it into its dark abyss.

They both stubbornly stayed still, still kneeling on the muddy marsh ground staying silent. The tramp's hand twitched toward the vicar's, but his moved upward, as if wishing to reach for you.

It was always you, she realized bitterly. She may have him now, but only as a result of his momentary lapse in good judgment where his body chose another's. But his heart…his heart would always choose you.

When presented with any semblance of a choice, Will Ransome would crawl back to you on his hands and knees in a heartbeat. And now she must lie on the bed she made. The bed they both made.

Only when you pointed toward her son, her dear Francis, and he was lifted up from the ground, kicking and struggling in mid-air, did both of them make a noise. Calling out to you, pleading for you to put him down and stop the madness. "This is the last time I will repeat myself, adulterers. Get in the water. Or your boy here suffers first."

"Y/N, stop this," Cora spoke, rising to her feet. "Are you not tired? It has been so long, years, even. Francis was still just a little boy when you last saw him. He is a grown man now, how long will you let anger consume you?"

Even from this distance, you could see the ire in Will's features, clearly ticked off with the words that came out of his lover's mouth. "My darling, please. What must I do to atone for my transgressions towards you? I will promise you anything, do anything. Whatever you wish for, it's yours, please can we just go home?"

You lowered both Francis Seaborne and yourself down to the ground, the young man running immediately to his mother, quivering like a leaf in the wind. The disgraced vicar reached his arms out toward you, every muscle tensing and freezing in place when you rose your hand into the air again. "It is the actions of philanderers like you that make the mortals look down on me, consider me a lesser god."

"God?" Cora repeated in a sharp exhale. "Don't be ridiculous, Y/N--"

"Fools like you don't realize what awaits you on the other side of your mortality, where the fate of your eternal afterlife…falls to me," you cut her off, not bothering to hide the smirk that tugged at the corner of your mouth. "Adulterers doomed to suffer an endless loop of the consequences of their actions."

"My wife--"

"Is dead, Mister Ransome," you bellowed. From the corner of your eye you could see villagers gathering at their windows, the horror in their expressions as they began to speculate on what exactly had come to terrorize their quaint little town. "You killed her, there is no use in denying it. Your foolish, licentious choices brought her to her grave. For that alone, you will suffer once your feeble human life reaches its conclusion."

"If you are not Y/N Ransome, then who are you?" Francis asked, voice shaking as he held on to his mother. "Why have you come to wreak havoc in our lives?"

You walked toward the town's vicar, tears in his eyes as he watched you move closer. He reached for your hands, looking like a wounded pup when you swatted him away. "I am the goddess of fidelity," you answered simply. "When betrayers like you and your mistress cease your time on this mortal plane, you and everyone complicit in your torrid affair will be at my mercy."

The tide rose even higher, looming menacingly over the town in a dangerous arch, blocking out what little light they once had from the sun beyond the clouds. You grasped William's chin harshly, fear evident in his eyes, heart thundering against his chest.

"But your actions, your infidelity in particular…upset my husband," you spoke, holding his gaze as you  hissed the words inches from his face. "And for that, I am willing to bend the rules and begin your suffering ahead of time. Put forth the events that will thrust your pathetic souls upon my doorstep."

You rose from the ground again, rage for your fallen variant coursing through you as you heard them plead for forgiveness. For mercy.

"P-Please Y/N…" Cora sputtered out. "I will leave the town and no one will ever hear from me again, just please let me leave with my boy."

"No," you droned. "You have asked what you can do to atone, I presented you with a choice. Now I know how capable you both are of making choices, you've made several together, some of them even on the very ground you stand on. Which leads me to believe…you have made your choice. Stubbornly bargaining your way out of my wrath, out of your suffering. At the cost of this town you call home."

"You truly aren't Y/N Ransome, are you?" she spat out, a look of entitled indignance on her face. "The Y/N I knew wouldn't be this ruthless. She would have shown mercy--"

"Oh but I am showing mercy, you unworthy tart," you spat back. "For ruthlessness is mercy. Upon ourselves." With a flick of your wrist, the tidal wave was finally let loose.

And the little town of Aldwinter sunk into the water.

Before the tsunami crashed down and took you with it, Loki conjured a portal and pulled you back to safety, a bit of water splashing into your bedchambers before it closed. With a wave of his magic the water evaporated into the air, and your soaked dress was dried.

"Husband…" you spoke, a wide smile gracing your features when your eyes met his. You both were on the floor, the god cradling you in his arms as he pushed your hair away from your face.

"My darling wife," he breathed out, his own smile mirroring yours as he picked you up in his arms, carrying you to the bed. "Your flair for the dramatic has you reckless as ever."

He sat you on the edge of the bed, handing you a goblet of wine that did a quick job of warming you and canceling out the effects of the damp cold of Aldwinter.

"You should rest, my love," he said softly, moving to position himself behind you to undo the braids in your hair, carefully working his fingers through the wet strands. "This is the first time you wielded your newfound powers as a goddess, I can imagine your body feels overworked…and famished."

As if on cue, your stomach grumbled, causing your husband to chuckle and press a tender kiss to your cheek. "How did you know when to pull me back?"

"To start, I must admit that I was watching the spectacular show you put on, avenging your variant with such vigor," he whispered into your skin. His hands found their way to your shoulders, working away at the knots. "And our souls' threads are intertwined, little Princess. I can always feel when you need me. I was made to be yours."

"And I yours," you sighed contendedly, leaning against him when he wrapped his arms around you. When he cupped the side of your face, holding you as he pressed his lips to yours, you all but melted into his embrace. "I love you," you mumbled against his lips.

"And I love you," he murmured, continuing to kiss your lips as he maneuvered you to lie down on the bed. With a wave of his hand, the fabric that covered your skin changed to something much lighter, more sheer. One of your sleeping gowns, you surmised. "Rest, dear heart. I shall arrange for food to be brought to us for when you wake."

Your body was all too eager to obey the softly spoken command. The rest of you, however…well, after the ordeal in that despondent village on Midgard, the rest of you ached for your husband's touch. To wash away the muck of the marshes.

Loki let out a low chuckle, kissing along your clavicle as his hand roamed the side of your body. "I can always feel when you need me," he repeated, his tone holding a much more lustful intent than moments earlier. "And much as I want nothing more than to indulge in making love to my beautiful wife, I cannot, should not, be so selfish and ignore her body's need for rest." He made his way to your lips, allowing himself the tiniest sliver of decadence as he licked into your mouth. "You'll need your strength for what I intend to do to you later tonight."

Your breath hitched as images flashed in your mind of your husband teasing and pleasuring you, claiming your body repeatedly well until after the sun rose the next morning. In multiple places throughout your marital chambers. Constantly finding or making the time to bring you to orgasm in the midst of pampering you.

Suddenly it made sense why he would choose to deny you now…in exchange for a much more delicious reward just a few short hours away.

"Would you stay regardless, husband?" you asked weakly, already feeling yourself succumbing to the exhaustion and the slumber that your plush sheets promised. "Hold me?"

You weren't able to see the loving smile that graced your husband's face from your request. You only felt the soft kiss on your forehead before he positioned you to lay in his arms. "Gladly, my darling." He conjured a book into his free hand, ready to begin reading to you when a stray question entered his mind. "What of their souls, Y/N? What hellscape did you design for them?"

"I gave them what they deserve," you grumbled, shifting your position to hold him closer, your arm draping over his stomach as you laid your head on his chest. "Each other. They are doomed to spend their afterlife together, with Cora knowing that his heart longs for his late wife. And William having to watch from the sidelines as my variant finds new love. You have a stray echo that never found his fated, by the name of Pine. I presume by now they've found each other, starting a story of their own."

A/N: Hang on what's this…? Did I tease a future story at the end there? 😳 Why yes…yes I did 🤭 Ngl this year felt like I didn't get a whole lotta stories done especially in the latter half, but hopefully with everything finding a bit of balance, 2025 will look a bit different and I can set aside more time for story writing 💖

Ooh, and also I def got the idea to make this because of the "Get in the Water" song

'everything' taglist: @simplyholl @loopsisloops @imalovernotahater @coldnique @loz-3 @huntress-artemiss @salempoe @vickie5446 @athalialaufeyson @lokiprompts @kats72 @kikster606 @asgards-princess-of-mischief @lokixryss @thomase1 @mischief2sarawr @lovingchoices14 @lunarnights95 @goblingirlsarah @iamlokisgloriouspurpose @creationsbyme @maple-seed @mjsthrillernp @ladyofthestayingpower @mygfloki @sititran @glitterylokislut @ozymdias @fictive-sl0th  @lokidbadguy @mochie85 @silverfire475 @joyful-enchantress @elizabethmidnight2017 @holdmytesseract @smolvenger @gigglingtiggerv2 @lokidokieokie @lunarnights95 @superficialdomina @kmc1989 @november-rayne @goddessofwonderland @buttercupcookies-blog @peaky-marvel @lokiified @tom-hlover @dryyoursaltyoceantears @herdetectivetheorist @alexakeyloveloki

[holdmytesseract]

Yay open requests! :)

Hmmm, I want to see you write a one-shot where the Reader is a travelling actor who comes to Aldwinter to perform for the town with her troupe, and Will Ransom of course becomes romantically fascinated by the reader while she's there. That's all, I'll let you determine how far it goes between them. ^_^

And if I may be selfish, maybe make the Reader a larger-sized redhead (like me) haha

Attraction

Will Ransome x fem!Reader

Summary: When a travelling actor comes to Aldwinter, Will is completely swept off his feet; hit by the arrow of love.

Warnings: mutual pining (sort of)? fluff, lil' bit of suggestive smut - blink and you'll miss it, not exactly a happy end - but there's hope! tell me if I missed something!

Word Count: 2,4k

a/n: Sorry this took me so long, friend! 🥺 I really hope you like this! It's been a while since I lastly wrote for Will, but I tried my best. 🧡

Tags: @lady-rose-moon @muddyorbsblr @ijuststareatstuffhereok89 @jennyggggrrr @stupidthoughtsinwriting @asgards-princess-of-mischief @vanilla-daydreaming @loz-3 @captain-camille @lovingchoices14 @lokidbadguy @icytrickster17 @lulubelle814 @mandywholock1980 @november-rayne @chantsdemarins @simping-for-marvel @lou12346789 @lokiforever @multifandom-worlds @hisredheadedgoddess28 @vbecker10 @jaidenhawke @km-ffluv @crimson25 @cakesandtom @buttercupcookies-blog @salvinaa @javagirl328 @dustychinchilla74 @coldnique @eleniblue @frzntrx @huntedmusicgardenn @mochie85

Masterlist

Will's eyes roamed the quite big crowd of people, as he stepped carefully down the few steps which led to the altar. On a Sunday mass like today, the little chapel Reverend Ransome called his own, was always bustling with people. Something which made the vicar very happy. He gave friendly, confident looks left and right, as he made his way down the aisle and stopped close to the door. It was a tradition for him to personally see off his churchgoer.

After all, they were his sheep - and he was the sheepherder.

Once almost everyone had bid their goodbyes and only a few people were left, Will suddenly recognised another familiar face within the small group of people... And he was the last one to stand up from the pew.

"Dear Sir Ambrose!" Reverend Ransome called out his old friend with a smile. "What takes you to Aldwinter on this rainy Sunday? I haven��t seen you around in months!" Charles laughed and grabbed the hand of his friend; shaking it thoroughly. "Well... I had to go to Essex anyway this weekend. Business trip," he said; winking. "Therefore, I decided to go to mass in Aldwinter and visit my friend!"

"Well, I am delighted to see you, Charles." "So am I."

The two men talked for a bit. About everything and anything, until... "Charles, I know you well... This business trip and the want to visit me can't be the only reason you're here..." Charles laughed up again; clapping his friend on the shoulder. "You indeed know me well, William. These are truly not the only reasons... Let us sit down."

Will let himself guide to a pew by Ambrose, before they sat down beside each other.

"I have something you might be interested in... It concerns the children in school, here in Aldwinter." Will nodded; pricking up his ears at the word 'children'. "I am all ears, Charles."

"Our children came home from school last week - entirely excited and happy, and when my dear wife asked what was going on, they told her about how they had been visited by a wonderful lady and her troupe. They said they told them stories - bible stories, but not only through words... They dressed up and did a play! Like in a theatre! Can you imagine, Will!"

The vicar's eyes went wide in fascination, wonder and excitement. "Charles, that... That is fascinating!" The man beside him nodded. "It truly is. I soke out the lady and her troupe, of course and she would be willing to make a stop in Aldwinter, too - next week! They're heading to Essex anyway. What do you say? I thought it would be great for the children here."

Will smiled and nodded. "Yes, please do so. That would be indeed wonderful." Charles smiled. "Great! I am going to contact the dear lady then and tell her to ask for revered Will Ransome when in Aldwinter.

Aldwinter was a sweet, cosy village. You had to admit that. Sure, it could be cold and rainy - like you heard, but summers here were wonderful.

The warm sun was shining on your face, as you walked together with your troupe towards the tavern Sir Ambrose told you to go and where you could stay during your time in Aldwinter. With curious eyes, you looked around. You had never been here before. You never were long at the same place, after all. As a travelling player, you were one day here and the next day miles away - but you wouldn't want it any other way. It was the life you chose and loved with all your heart.

After the kind woman described the way, you walked the short distance to the church; hoping that you took the right paths. You did. Seeing the elderly, but beautifully crafted building, you smiled and tuck a strand of loose red hair nervously out of your face and cautiously stepped through the wooden doors. There was no one to be seen.

Once you reached said tavern, you told your fellow companions to go and settle, while you would meet the contact person Ambrose arranged for you.

"Excuse me?" You approached the lady in a dress and apron, as she cleaned up some tables in said tavern. At your words, she looked up to face you. "Yes?" You gave her a gentle smile. "I'm looking for reverend Ransome... Do you know where I can find him?" "Sure, miss. You'll most likely find him in the church at this time of the day." "And how do I get to the church? Apologies, I've never been in Aldwinter before." "Oh that's not a problem, miss." The lady smiled and put her rag away; wiping her hands on her apron. "The church is not difficult to find..."

"Apologies, Miss. I was up the stairs; sorting some things. I didn't hear you right away."

"Hello?" You called out; walking down the aisle. "Mr. Ransome?"

Just when you were about to call out again, you heard some rustling coming from another room; probably the backroom and only mere seconds later there were steps. They grew louder and louder, until they revealed the man you had been searching for - or well, told to go to...

... and you had expected a lot, but certainly not that.

Reverend William Ransome sounded to you like you were going to be face to face with an elderly, friendly man with glasses; perhaps in his fifties. You were wrong... Oh so wrong...

You swallowed; were taken aback by the man's beauty. You had never seen a more stunning man than him - and you had seen a lot as an travelling actor...

In front of you stood a tall man in his late thirties, probably early forties. Longer, blonde-brown curls framed his face, which seemed to be carved out of marble. High cheekbones, a sharp jawline, stunning blue eyes and perfectly shaped lips and nose. The beard covering his cheeks, chin and upper lip suited him without a doubt.

Will wore brown cord trousers which were attached to brown braces. Underneath those, was a puffy white shirt covering his upper body - but not entirely. Two buttons were undone; displaying a little bit of his chest and the fine, dark hairs which grew there.

"You must be the famous Miss Y/L/N." Will smiled and stretched out his hand. "Will Ransome. I'm the vicar of this cosy, little town." Still a bit stunned you placed your hand in his. Will brought it up to his lips; bestowing a small kiss upon your knuckles. His lips were so soft and gentle, you almost melted on the spot. His beard tickled your skin; leaving a burning sensation behind - in the best way possible.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Reverend." You smiled; trying to not lose your composure. "I'm Y/N Y/L/N, indeed." The vicar smiled back at you; blue eyes sparkling. "The pleasure is mine."

Will offered you to sit inside his little office, so you could talk about the performance and when you and your fellow companions were ready to perform. You noticed that you got along very well with the man sitting opposite of you. Clearly, you were sharing a great chemistry. He was the sweetest, kindest and most polite man you ever met - and he seemed so enamoured with what you were doing for a living.

A date for the play was quickly settled... Tomorrow morning, as soon as the children finished school.

Will watched your every move; completely fascinated and enthralled. He hung on your every word.

Sure, he was watching all of the fantastic players; performing the story of Moses, but you... You were so special. Whenever you spoke, Will's eyes seemed to light up and he couldn't help the smile on his face.

The vicar didn't know what exactly it was that got him so hooked, but he couldn't deny it...

Was it your talent? Your passion? Your beautiful, kind and determined character? Was it your beauty itself? Perhaps all of it?

Will couldn't point it out.

"I-I wanted to-" Will had to clear his throat. "I wanted to ask, if you'd be interested in a little sightseeing tour through Aldwinter tomorrow?" He gave you a nervous smile. "That is very kind of you, Will, but... We actually don't stay longer than a few days at one place, so..." Will nodded. "I-I understand. But please... Just one more day. I'd like to give something in return for your wonderful work." You bit your lip; weighing your options, but then sighed.

After the show ended and all of the children had left with their parents and Will had bid them goodbye, he cautiously approached the woman he couldn't get off his mind again.

"Miss Y/N?"

His deep, yet smooth voice urged to your ears; causing you to smile as you packed your utensils together. "Yes, Mr. Ransome?" The vicar lifted a hand; "Please... Call me Will." smiling as well. "Will," you repeated - and caused Will's heart to speed up. Hearing you roll off his name from your tongue did something to the man of god.

"Alright. One more day."

The vicar smiled, "Thank you." and helped you to pack your troupes things together.

You watched him help Gabriel - one of your colleagues and couldn't help but smile. You've never met a kinder man in your life and you had to admit that you could not wait to spend the day with him tomorrow, but... Was it really a good idea?

While you spent the next day in Aldwinter, the others decided to go to Essex. Aldwinter was too boring for them - something you absolutely didn't agree with. Yes, the weather was moody and often not the best, but nevertheless was it a beautiful, cosy, little town. You liked it - and especially the vicar who lived there.

I could get used to this, you caught yourself thinking; immediately slapping yourself across the cheek - in your head.

You met Will rather late in the morning after breakfast. He had a few things to do - duties to follow as the people's reverend; therefore it was almost lunch time when he stood in front of your room at the tavern.

He showed you around - like promised. The beach. The sometimes quite scary and dangerous marshes. The beautiful forests and of course the town itself. Will introduced you to a few important people and in closing of the day, he invited you over to his little house for dinner.

You were completely amazed and excited about the fact that Will was an excellent cook. The Shepherd's Pie he cooked was delicious, and you dared to say like no other than you've eaten before.

His smile even widened.

Later that evening - it was already dark outside, you were seated beside him on his little sofa; a glass of wine in both his and your hands.

"Thank you for showing me your home, Will. Aldwinter is beautiful." You smiled and took a sip of your wine. The man reciprocated your smile; gave you a dazzling one of his own. "I'm delighted to hear that, Miss-" Y/N..." You interrupted him. "Call me Y/N."

"Y/N..." You nodded. "I really enjoyed it. The time we spent together." Perhaps was the alcohol you had consumed making you a little bold. "You are a very kind man, Will." He blushed, "Thank you, I... I am flattered." and inched closer to you. "And you are the most beautiful and talented woman I have ever met."

You blinked; were almost blushing, too. "Mr. Ransome are you... Are you trying to woo me?" A small, kind of nervous chuckle left the vicar's lips. "Perhaps."

You shook your head; drinking from the wine again. "But we hardly know each other..." "I-I know, but..." He swallowed. "You fascinate me, Y/N. You attracted my attention like no woman did before, I... I feel as if an invisible rope is pulling me to you. A higher power, which keeps on shoving me into your direction. I-I just... I can't help it. I feel myself utterly attracted to you."

Once again you started to shake your head, "Will... Stop it, please..." and sighed. "We can't give into this. I'm going to leave tomorrow and we'll probably never see each other again."

"Please..." The man beside you begged then; seeing how you struggled. Will wasn't a man who took advantage of this situation, but he felt how torn you were. How you actually wanted this and was just held back by the 'What if...'.

"We?" It was everything the vicar was focused on. "We can't give into this?"

You realised the mistake you made way too late.

"Does that mean you feel the same?" Will's heart sped up after those words left his lips. Words filled with hope.

"I-I-I..." You didn't know what to say. It was true, but you forbid your body to feel it; knowing exactly that it would only lead to pain.

He inched even closer, until your thigh almost touched his.

"Just one kiss..." The reverend whispered and before you could do or say something, your lips melted against his. Will sighed in the kiss; hands landing on your waist.

"Tell me to stop and I will." He said in a gentle voice, while he pulled you onto his lap.

You let it happen.

Just one kiss turned into two - and two turned into way much more, until-

Will closed his eyes for a moment. It wasn't a nightmare... Far from it...

Will ripped his eyes open, only to find himself breathing quick and heavy. Sweat pooled on his chest; coating the fine hairs growing there. His puffy night shirt was totally dishevelled - just like his hair.

The vicar sat up in bed. As he moved, he felt the tightness of his underwear and the straining arousal inside.

He had dreamed of her again. Y/N. The beautiful woman with flaming red hair and stunning Y/E/C. The woman who had fascinated him like no other, when she visited Aldwinter a few months back to perform a play with her troupe. The woman which whom he had spent a wonderful night with - and who had left him to live her dream and travel around the world as a player; leaving only a letter and her shawl behind.

Will smiled; remembering the words written on the piece of paper.

One day, l promise I'll come back to you - if you are willing to wait for me.

[smolvenger]

Court of Mischief and Purpose Chapter 22 (Loki x Fem Reader Crossover Series, Court of Thorns and Roses AU)

Series Summary: Sarah J Maas's A Court of Thorns and Roses series reimagined with Tom Hiddleston's various characters- Especially the events in the second book, A Court of Mist and Fury and onwards. England. 1885. You are dying of tuberculosis right before your upcoming wedding to the Lusty Vicar of Aldwinter, Will Ransome. As you lay on what could be your deathbed, the god of mischief Loki appears before you with a deal. He will heal you in time for the wedding...if you spend a week of every month with him.

Chapter Summary: Being invited to a dinner party, you and your companions seize the chance to get the first trove.

Series Masterlist

Word Count: >4K

Warnings: Some spicy flirting, but no actual smut. Not much, some angst. Greif and mentions of bullying. If I miss anything, let me know! Proceed with caution, but I take full responsibility for how I portray dark subject matter and if it is not done tastefully or well. If I miss anything that could be triggering, it is your responsibility to tell me as soon as possible so I can tag it here. Otherwise, enjoy!

A/N: I have had major writer's block since moving into an apartment and starting grad school, but maybe something will come up and I will be blocked from Character AI bc I waste all of my time there now. Anyways, it is not perfect, but I just wanted it done. Ta da!

Taglist: @evelyn-kingsley@jennyggggrrr@five-miles-over@fictive-sl0th@ladycamillewrites@villainousshakespeare@holdmytesseract@eleniblue@twhxhck@lokisgoodgirl@lovelysizzlingbluebird@raqnarokr@holymultiplefandomsbatman@michelleleewise@wolfsmom1@cheekyscamp@mochie85@fandxmslxt69@skittslackoffilter@mischief2sarawr @asgards-princess-of-mischief

A03//My Ko-Fi//My Etsy Shop//Masterlist//Wattpad

You, Edith, your husband, Stella, and Sif huddled on a cafe table. The building was painted in pastel greens and pinks, with wide windows filtering in sunlight as guests chatted around all of you. But it was not so noisy that one could not focus on the manuscript. Edith sat at the other end, nervously drinking her coffee, her sandwich untouched. The rest of you huddled together tight to read it together, Sif being the one to turn the pages. 

Loki did raise his eyebrow at a few points, Stella’s bulged out. Sif only had no facial reaction.

Edith’s story was about a ghost who haunted a woman in her home. She added details of the dark house and creaking wood. Of the ghost's skeletal fingers, a skull-like face was blank except for a wide mouth, open with sharp teeth. The characters seemed as real as flesh, with little details that only someone who observed others could make. At one point, the woman was asleep when the ghost screamed. The noise rattled the house and would not stop, waking the woman up in fright. It made you shiver. 

The heroine had a past, as did the house, but it was not revealed. As you got to the end of the snippet, you were eager to know the truth, but Sif set the pages down on the table.

“Miss Cushing, that was incredible!” Stella cried, a hand over her heart. Perhaps it was still racing from the terror of the story.

Edith nodded with a smile, a blush coming up on her.

“Oh, thank you!” she replied. She sat up straighter, and her voice brighter.

“I had chills!” you added on.

“It…wasn’t bad at all,” Loki admitted.

“Well, when I was young. I saw something- and heard noises. I believe I encountered a ghost. I never forgot it,” she admitted. “Father never believed me, only a friend did.”

“A ghost?” Sif asked, she folded her arms.

Edith reached over. She carefully put her papers into the folder and wrapped her arms around it like a baby.

“Yes.” was all she said.

“And has this ghost been to you since, Miss Cushing?” Loki asked.

Edith set down the folder.

“No…. I wrote to explore that. I had an idea and it would never leave me. It was like a fever- I had to write it down. Besides, I always loved stories and books…Mama was the only woman I knew who loved them too and then she…she passed.”

She slumped, her eyes growing vacant. Stella reached out and held her hand.

“She would be proud of you now. Creating something and putting it out there, takes great courage,” you consoled.

A small smile flickered on Edith.

“When did she pass?” asked Stella.

“When I was ten,” answered Edith.

“All this while still a child? You poor thing!” replied Stella.

Edith let out a deep sigh.

“I hope you get published. There are women writers out there- you will be one of them in enough time if you keep at it,” you encouraged her.

“Thank you I…” there were tears in her eyes.

“Oh, is something wrong? We didn’t- offend you?” you asked. Digging into your reticule, you pulled out a handkerchief. Edith gripped onto it, twisting it anxiously.

“It’s only…I…I…” began Edith.

She hesitated. Her lips quivering, then she hung her head low and began her confession.

“No, you didn’t offend me at all, it’s only…I…I hated girls my age. When I was little, I was so obsessed with all those things- ghosts, death, books, novels. I struggled to relate to them when I was little because I just wanted to talk about what I was reading. They didn’t even…try to make room for me. I was excluded. I misunderstood their games and their words. I tried so hard, but it was never good enough. And as a child they-they…”

She paused.

“Mrs. McMichael’s daughter Eunice and her friends always bullied me. They brought me along to be their fool, something to kick at. And I…I just felt so alone…I always did…I didn’t like them. They laughed at me. Teased me. Locked me in rooms. Called me names. And even now that we’re grown…they still keep at it. And I always have to spend time with them. Trying to discuss ribbons at least and dealing with their jabs at most. And Mrs. McMichael…she…I’m always so scared I will say something wrong, something bad…and they’ll laugh at me again. I try so hard to be nice to them. To not strike back because it will only make things worse. But…I could never be myself. But even when I barely said anything,  they would always find a way to insult me. To make me less. I didn’t want to go to balls. Go to anything. I didn’t want to go somewhere where I’d be a figure of scorn…and I was…I was always alone…”

“They’re cowards and fools,” Sif spat.

Edith smiled at that, wiping a few small tears with the handkerchief. 

“Yes, they are. But…not since…since now I…I never could speak to anyone other than Michael, much less another woman, and I…I…” she babbled.

She smiled lightly, her tears still in her small eyes. 

“Not until today. When I met all of you,” she completed.

“I guess we can all consider each other friends. And I’m glad to have you as one, Edith” you replied.

Edith then handed the handkerchief back, her face pink.

“Oh goodness, I just cried in public,” she sighed.

“It’s alright, it was rather small,” Stella assured her with a smile.

There was a small pause. Edith had gathered herself. Her appetite returned and she ate her sandwich. Topics went back and forth as the mood lightened. As the bill was paid, she turned to the rest of you.

“Oh- there is a dinner party later this week at my place. Father and I are hosting. It’s going to be a smaller, intimate affair but he said I could invite anyone I wanted…But…could I invite all of you?” she asked.

Loki raised an eyebrow.

“I think that-”

Clutching his hand, you cut in, interrupting him with an enthusiastic smile.

“We would love to be invited! Can my husband’s friends come too? In total- that should make eight of us, if you have the seats!” you replied.

Loki looked at you, but you squeezed his fist, signaling him to not speak. 

“Yes, of course!” Edith promised. “Where are all of you staying.”

This time, you turned to Loki. He replied that his friend Mr. Pine found a hotel for all of them and that the RSVPs could be forwarded to the address and hotel rooms. Edith vowed to do so, scribbling the address on paper and saying the invites would arrive shortly. Saying your goodbyes, she then left the cafe with a bounce in her step.

Once the door closed, Loki flipped his face to all of you. 

“What in the seven hels is going to a Midgard banquet going to accomplish?” he asked.

“That banquet is exactly where we need to be,” Sif replied. She made glares here and there to make sure no mortal was watching. Or a possible spy. 

“What?” he asked, his brow furrowing.

“Edith has the ring. YN’s powers sensed it,” Stella explained.

“It’s in her house,” you added. “And unless you know how to break into a house tonight and not raise any suspicions with Edith, go ahead and say so.

Loki let out an exhale. His face relaxed.

“Oh…well then… we got lucky. Too lucky. To think me and the variants did all of that foolish searching when our dear, fair ladies walked right into it!” he commented.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

The invitations arrived on notes the color of snow. The days seemed long and slow before the evening of the fateful dinner party arrived. Five of you, it was noted, all had similar faces and voices, the variants all agreed to tell others that they were distant relations in case someone asked questions. The men donned evening tuxedos. You were in a rich, dark green gown, Stella her sky blue, and Sif one of wine red.

“I should go. I want to be in the search. And I don’t want to be stuck where it’s dull,” Sif insisted.

“I’ll go with you, you need my powers to find the ring. And if Grendel were to strike, he wouldn’t do it in the middle of a crowded party,” you nodded.

It was then decided. You and Sif would look, while the rest distracted the hosts and partygoers.

Your cabs pulled up to the house. As servants took your coats and escorted you inside, you noted the light wood, the grandfather clock and mirrors, and the elaborate glass windows. Warm, light, and sweet.

“One would think this is like a fairy house.,” Thomas commented, looking about.

There were footsteps and distant chatter of a few guests. Then in came Edith, dressed in a cream dress with ruffles at the long neck and sleeves.

“Oh! Our party! Hello- welcome!” she greeted.

All of you exchanged greetings and names, ever polite and gracious to the strangers in your party. She smiled at you and the ones she met, and then she shook hands with Hal, Jonathan, Robert…

She paused with Thomas, locking eyes with her. She partially froze. Her smile dropped. Then she found herself again, her eyes flicking down and then back up.

“And you, sir?” she asked.

“Sir Thomas Sharpe, esquire. And Miss Cushing- and I hear you are a talented writer, too, I presume?” he asked. He smiled back. But it was different than the merely happy-to-be-here-please-don’t-suspect-a-thing manners of the others. His eyes shined on her. 

“Yes..yes, I am,” she admitted shyly. Though you could see her cheeks were pink.

“And of ghost stories, I heard?” he added.

“Oh- yes, that is my specialty,” she answered. She beamed at him like there was no one else in the party.

“Well then, I have a particular fondness for them. You must promise to let me read it, and if not- then tell me every last little detail about it,” he said.

She nodded and said she would. Then the door opened with a couple that just came in and she excused herself to greet them, but not before looking at Thomas one last time.

“Ah, the large party,” said a baritone voice.

There entered an older man, tall and broad with an impressive, grey beard. He smiled at each of you. But he turned to you, Sif, and Stella first.

“And you three are the ones who defended my daughter against the notorious Mrs. McMichael, yes?” he asked.

“Yes, we were the ones present,” you answered.

“Well then, I will always offer my warmest gratitude. Mrs. McMichael is fond of kicking the hornet's nest, we shall say,” he replied. 

He reached out his hand and you shook it, his skin calloused. “I am Mr. Cushing.”

Edith led you down the short hall to the dining room. There were lit candles everywhere, making the scene lush and romantic. The table was set with a white cloth and vases of flowers and candelabras. The place was decorated with tall china cabinets, a stone fireplace, and a wall with tall windows. Appetizers were served on porcelain.  Water was served in one glass and wine in another. 

You waited through the courses. Engaging in topics as they came and went. The men seemed to all be doing fine. Though there were a few odd questions about the “business trip” and how they were related, Loki came up with lies on the spot to satisfy them. Sif held her posture uptight and helped herself to the main course, eating heartily and quickly. Stella cut up her chicken into small bits and always smiled.  Edith and Thomas exchanged several glances and smiles, even when others were talking.

“Why, this is such a beautiful place, Miss Cushing! And what an elegant cake!” Stella praised as dessert arrived.

“Oh, thank you. The cook has never failed us once. Wait until you try a bite!” Edith said.

Taking in a deep breath, you calmed yourself. You made your jaw unclench and relaxed your shoulders. Focusing on the blank white of the tablecloth, you reached out your senses.

Ignoring the sounds of eating and sipping, the whispering of servants, you focused on the ring. Something was pulling you above the stairs. Edith’s bedroom was down that hall. It poked at you like an insistent child.

But where exactly was-

“And Mrs Laufeyson, how did you meet your husband?” asked Mr. Cushing.

Snapping back to the present, you looked up and smiled.

“Oh…I was dreadfully ill. And he heard of me and offered his help to make sure I had medical care. He saved my life…”

You turned to Loki.

“And not just my body, far more than that” she replied.

Loki sat up, his jaw a little loose. Then he smiled.

“Oh, how romantic!’ cried one guest.

Taking a bite of cake, you found it was layered, delicate, and sweet. 

Slices were eaten and servants cleared plates. Some ladies went to one parlor and the men were trickling to another, but there were exceptions. Edith and Thomas were by the fire, talking and chatting- you even saw Edith laugh lightly. It was Jonathan who walked up to the host himself, Mr. Cushing, and was asking him about his business. Loki was beside him, in case any gaps needed filling. The rest of the men had the other variants, content to drink brandy and smoke, and seem innocent. Stella was listening intently to old ladies gossip, as they led her to the drawing room.

Loki then went up to you.

“Ah, and is it time?” he asked.

“Yes, it is,” you answered him quietly.

You shared a look at Sif. She nodded her head. 

Both of you walked over to a far corner.

Loki raised his hand and two duplicates of you both appeared. Your husband smirked.

“Ah, now two of my lovely wife? Our nights could become a lot more interesting…” he whispered.

“Oh, stop it!” you teased.

He raised an eyebrow.

“But would you like a duplicate of me? Hm? To have two of your trickster god worshiping you at once? Pleasuring you until you couldn’t remember your name?” he whispered.

Feeling your toes curl in your shoes, you lightly swatted his arm.

“If my husband could control his lust for one hour, we have a ring to find,” you reminded him.

He gave you a wink, and then walked away with the duplicates to join the other men.

Making sure your steps were light, you both picked up your skirts and scurried up the steps. The servants were too busy with the party to take note. But you couldn’t waste time before one of them saw something.

You quickened to Edith’s room at the end of the hall. Reaching out your hand, you made sure it unlocked and got inside.

Turning around, you made sure the door was quietly closed and locked.

It was dark from the night, and full of books and childhood toys. Both of you eyed around.

“Use your gifts, find where it is!” Sif insisted.

Taking in another breath, you readied yourself. Ready to reach out your gifts and-

The door creaked open.

Both of you turned around.

The door opened by itself. The door handle still clicking up and down. It was a warm night and warm from the many people. But the room itself had turned cold. Uncomfortably cold.

“What-what is that?” you asked. Feeling the color drain from your face.

“The windows are closed- there is no wind” observed Sif. 

A figure emerged at the end of the hall, hidden by the shadows.

A servant? No-this wasn’t a servant. It was a tall figure, dressed in black with a long, black veil as if in mourning. But there were no widows in the party guests, much less one dressed like that.

The woman moved over.

No- she didn’t move…

She glided over.

In a heartbeat, there was a gust of cold wind and she flew over. Her veiled face, you realized, was nothing more than a pitch-black skull. Hollow eye sockets. Black pitch dripped over her skeletal features.

She let out a scream before either of you could.

The specter flew over and grabbed you both by each arm. Reaching out, you saw her hands were only bones. Her touch was so cold, it numbed your skin. She shook both of you.

“THIEVES! THEIVES! THEIVES!” she screeched. 

She threw both of you. You and Sif hit a wall and then fell onto the floor. You let out a sound despite yourself, catching yourself onto the rug below.

Sif reached her hand and put it over your mouth. 

“If you scream, the servants and guests will come up,” she argued.

You had to bite your tongue. The lights in the room flickered on and off rapidly. The temperature was freezing in that room, and the specter pointed a bony finger toward you.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE? STAY AWAY FROM HER! BURGLARS! THEIVES!” the spectre hissed.

You removed Sif’s hand, though kneeling, you were shaking. Books toppled from a bookshelf and papers on a desk flew about.

“Who are you? Are allied with Grendel?” you asked in a quiet voice.

The Spectre did not react. She only kept screeching.

“DO NOT LAY A HAND ON HER! BURGLAR!”

Sif unsheathed her sword.

“Grendel, no doubt. Something of his,” she muttered.

Sif ran forward, and with a grunt, she stabbed the woman through the stomach.

But there was no blood. And the specter did not budge. She did not seem the least bit hurt in any way.

She let out another scream- an ugly sound, like a broken sob, one that almost tore you.

Sif’s jaw hung open in surprise. The specter grabbed Sif by the throat.

“DO-NOT-TOUCH-HER!” it warned.

Sif struggled and tried to loosen, but the specter held on tight.

The memories of Edith at the cafe went back to you. It made sense- Edith saw a ghost when she was very young…she must have seen it here…it must have been right after…after she lost…

Everything made sense.

With shaky legs, you got back up and stated.

“I know who you are…you’re Mrs. Cushing- you’re Edith’s mother!” you declared.

The ghost paused, turning her skeletal face to you. The wind in the room vanished.

“We are not here to hurt your daughter- and that is my friend. We are here to help her, please let her go,” you asked.

The ghost released her skeletal hand. Sif fell to the floor, coughing and gasping in the air. You rushed forward and helped her.

“There is a ring Edith has…and it’s one of Grendel’s. It looks like this…” you began. From your pocket, you got out the copy.

The ghost looked at it.

“Do you know who Grendel is? His mortality is stuck in a few items. Including a ring like this. If he remains in power…he could hurt Edith. If we find the ring and destroy it, then he’ll be destroyed…Please…you only want to protect her. That’s why you were always watching over her, all that time she thought she was alone…and she was not. Could you help us?”

The ghost looked at you. It exhaled, the shadows around it flittering.

She took her finger and pointed to a chest. A drawer opened. And out floated a locked box. It unlocked and then floated over to your hands.

Looking inside were a few jewelry items…including that very ring.

You looked up at her.

“Thank you,” you said.

Sif plucked out the ring. You replaced it with the duplicate ring, setting in within the few earrings and trinkets.

The small box floated up, locked, and then was put in the drawer, where it shut.

The ghost let out another sound, like an exhale and a moan. The papers shuddered again and the grandfather in the clock rang the hour.

Then the shadows vanished, as did the ghost. Warmth returned to the room again, as did the light.

You cupped your mouth again, catching your breath.

“Oh…oh gods…” you whispered.

Sif pocketed the ring. Without saying a word, she looked at you and grabbed your hand.

“Hurry, princess,” she urged.

Both of you shuffled at once out of the room. Downstairs, the party remained as normal. It was as if no one heard any screams or rattling coming from upstairs.

Steps light, desperate to escape the scene, both you and Sif hurried out of the room. Your feet light. So there wasn’t a rumble as you went across the hall. Down the stairs. Squeezing your eyes shut to concentrate, you signaled Loki.

“We have it! Send the duplicates!”

Sure enough, your duplicates turned a corner of a wall outside of the parlor. You both walked over. They vanished like mist. 

You took their places and walked in. Sipping coffee with the other ladies making idle chatter. Stella glanced at you both. You gave her a smile and a nod and her shoulders relaxed.

Drinking your tepid coffee, you let out an exhale as if to wash away everything that happened.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

You both staid for two more days to avoid suspicion.  But on the last day, Edith hurried to your hotel. She embraced you and Stella warmly, (though Sif seemed a little stiff as she did). The other gentlemen nodded.

“May I…may I write, please? I would like to hear from you…all of you,” Edith said,her eyes glancing to Thomas and then back. You felt bad for her, the poor girl would be at the mercy of the McMichaels again. 

“We will. We’ll visit too if we can,” you promised her. 

Thomas then stepped forward, his eyes wide and hopeful.

“May I have the pleasure of writing to you as well, Miss Cushing?” he asked.

She jumped at first. Her jaw lowered briefly, and then she smiled.

“Why- Yes, please,” she answered.

He took her hand and kissed it. You could feel the fluttering from Edith herself. Hal cocked an eyebrow, but Robert rolled his eyes.

Once she left, Jonathan made sure your keys were all returned. Loki took a hand and flicked open a portal.

One down, three more to go you silently counted out. But perhaps more than just ghosts awaited the next one. Things even worse…

[awsteb]

"his nerves betray his carefully guarded secret because an invert will always recognise an invert" is one hell of a sentence to have stuck in my brain for it to be from an essex serpent fanfiction

[comment-exchange]

293. Stella of Essex or The Vicar’s Wife Betrayed (The Essex Serpent)

Title: Stella of Essex or The Vicar’s Wife Betrayed

Link on Ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/40888113/chapters/102463110

Link on Tumblr

WattPad Link

Platform: Tumblr, Archive of Our Own, and Wattpad

Creator: @smolvenger on Tumblr, VasaliaTheWise on Ao3, @VasailiaTheWise on Wattpad

Work Type: Fanfiction

Fandom: The Essex Serpent

Rating: M

Pairing: Stella Ransome/William Ransome, eventually Stella/Male Original Character.

Word Count: 91K

Warnings: Major Character Death/Injury (eye and hand trauma), Cheating, Murder, The Trauma of Being Cheated on, Good For Her Cinematic Universe, Illness, Suicidal Intentions, Loss of Two Children, Religion, Cursing, Drinking, Pregnancy and Childbirth, Discussions of Sex but no actual smut, Eventual Happy Ending.

Number of Comments: 1

Completion Status: Complete

Short Summary: After years of a happy marriage, Stella Ransome is left heartbroken over her priest husband cheating on her . After spending her entire life silencing herself to try to be the Perfect Victorian Era Woman, she learns to embrace her anger and grief, and seek hope, happiness…and revenge.

[likesomekindofcheese]

Hi Guys! I know I discuss my @smolvenger fics here but, with my giant completed series, Stella of Essex or The Vicar's Wife Betrayed- should I revise the whole shebang to be from First Person to Third Person?

Initially, I wanted First Person because I wanted to get directly into Stella Ransome's head and her perspective- rather than some narrator telling us about it and her such as in the original source of The Essex Serpent, it is Stella taking control of her own narrative instead of being a passive cosmic punching bag denied the ability to even grieve the infidelity in the original source and her directly telling us, the Reader, what she thinks and feels, so that way her pain and humiliation of being cheated on a husband she loves as well as her whole emotional journey could be felt more directly, from Disposable Spouse with bad luck to Heroine of her own story. (Especially since the books it was partially inspired from- Wide Sargasso Sea, Ahab's Wife or The Star Gazer, Ophelia were all in First Person POV)

But I know Fanfic Readers hate First Person POV. I understand why in regards to X Reader Fanfictions but since this wasn't one I thought I could let it slide and that "it's my fic and I can do what I want"

But...would revising it all to be in Second Person POV make it all the more digestible?

BTW, you can read Stella of Essex or The Vicar's Wife Betrayed here on Tumblr and on Archive of Our Own!

[wegingerangelica]

It's been a hell of a year for you, darling! So, please answer any or all of the following, if you would?

End of the year Asks

Song of the year?

Album of the year?

Favorite musical artist / group you started listening to this year?

Movie of the year?

TV show of the year?

Episode of tv or webisode that defined the year for you?

Favorite actor of the year?

Game of the year?

Best month for you this year?

Something that made you cry this year?

Something you want to do again next year?

Talk about a new friend you made this year

How was your birthday this year?

Favorite book you read this year?

What’s a bad habit you picked up this year?

Post a picture from the beginning of the year

Post a picture from the end of the year

A memorable meal this year?

What’re you excited about for next year?

What’s something you learned this year?

What’s something new about your place of residence (room, home, or general location) now vs the start of the year?

Favorite place you visited this year?

If you could send a message to yourself back on the first day of the year, what would it be?

Did you keep any New Year’s Resolutions?

Did you create any characters (in games, art, or writing) this year? Describe one

Thank you, lovely Caffiend!

Song- Face It Alone by Queen. Bringing our beloved Freddie Mercury back to us one more time.

Album- Queen's re-released The Miracle Collector's Edition that my hubby gave me for my birthday.

Elley Duhe

Jurassic Park World Dominion

The Essex Serpent

I saw a 3D picture of The Twin Towers at GROUND ZERO. I thought to myself, "this sums it up."

Tom Hiddleston- Favorite actor of every year!

Game of 2022- Survival of the fittest.

None.

The Insurrection at our Capitol. War on Ukraine. My church Elder died. My Dad died. My Mom doesn't know who I am, etc...

Nothing from this year, but I would like to see Colorado Springs again.

I met a wonderful lady at church. She talked of all the states she's lived in and how her family is spread out all over the eastern US. She told me about her baking and the fruit cake she made for Christmas. After she and her husband left (we were at potluck), she returned to the bottom of the stairs, motioned for my husband to come over, (I did not see her), then she handed him her last homemade fruit cake and said, "Merry Christmas".

My husband showered me with gifts! The best one was The Miracle Collector's Edition.

I read The Night Manager Saga and I Love the Way You Lie again. Wonderful way to put all the turmoil out of your mind! I have been reading a lot of Loki fanfiction.

I am swearing like a sailor! I am truly trying to stop.

I will try at the end.

Ditto.

Thanksgiving when my kids were together with us.

World Peace! People getting along!

The eye opener for me was how hateful, cruel and harmful that some people are in this country.

We have a pug family!!! Our kids are all gone so we now have another family to love and care for! Max the dad, Angel the mom, Lilly Belle and Lila Mae the children, and JackJack the grandpa.

My sister in Lincoln, Ne.

Fence in the yard!!!

No.

Yes. A perfect mate for Loki to drive him crazy and delight the reader. She struggles with 3 personalities and has yet to learn her abilities.

[cup-and-chaucer]

One Thought About Each Book I Read This Year

Book Stats: 47 (possibly 48?) books; 60% fiction; 40% non-fiction; 57% female-identifying authors; 12.7% in translation

Sex with Shakespeare by Jillian Keenan: This woman gets me; like, yes, I too have figured out everything from grief to sexuality through shakespeare.

Galatea by Madeline Miller: sometimes we all need to write a caffeine-fueled one-shot piece of fanfic at 2am and some of us have access to professional publishers

I Am, I Am, I Am: Seventeen Brushes with Death by Maggie O'Farrell: Like every Maggie O'Farrell book, I read this, love this, cried at it, and no longer remember what it was about.

Hour of the Witch by Chris Bojalian: I wanted to bite everyone in this book. And not in a sexy way.

The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel: A tale of what happens when the gatekeep, gaslight, girlboss meme reaches its final form.

Notes from the Underground by Fyodor Dostoyevsky: Why I decided to read this when I was so depressed I could barely shower I don't know but I did and it didn't help. 10/10 read though.

Little Weirds by Jenny Slate: A book that is maybe bad but maybe saved my life.

The Testament of Mary by Colm Toibin: oh but this was an interesting one--a refocus on Mary as a mother.

Nomadland by Jessica Bruder: Important topic, bad execution.

Bolla by Pajtim Statovici: this man took every trigger warning that has ever existed and called it a book; jesus christ, my guy. nihilism is just exhausting

This is Water by David Foster Wallace: I loved this! So important!

A Practical Christianity by Jane Shaw: Fine.

The Good Lord Bird by James McBride: Mixed feelings! I'm glad I read it and will never read again; also frederick douglass wasn't a pedophile. i just. for the record.

This Will All Be Over Soon by Cecily Strong: I thought this was a beautiful book and I'm so glad I got to meet Owen through these pages.

How The Irish Saved Civilization by Thomas Cahill: LOL not great history but a GREAT read.

Sprit Run by Noe Alvarez: This was. Not Good. I'm sorry. I was rooting for you.

Tyrant by Stephen Greenblatt: This will be remembered not for being a great book on Shakespeare but for being an artifact of its time and that's alright with me actually.

Snow, Glass, Apples by Neil Gaiman: Fun rainy night read.

Gentleman Jack by Anna Choma; One of my favorites of the year and now I'm horny for a dead woman. Again.

Fludd by Hilary Mantel: I love nuns that spontaneously burst into flame too, hilary.

Blood Water Paint by Joy McCollough: NO

The Abolition of Man & The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis: I'm going to be honest with you, I skimmed The Abolition of Man but the Great Divorce maybe altered my brain chemistry or at least gave me a framework for my brain chemistry to exist

The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker: If you read this book and don't like this book, I'm going to bite you. Once again, not in a sexy way.

Bluets by Maggie Nelson: What a wonderful little volume about love and loss and color.

Becoming Mrs. Lewis by Patti Callahan: I liked this so much more than I thought I was going to! I would totally read more of her c.s. lewis fanfiction

The Education of an Idealist by Samantha Power: I have a crush on Samantha Power. also, a good introduction to the ideas behind liberal interventionism and the obama administration's foreign policy trajectory

The True Tragedie of Richard III by Thomas Legge: This made me laugh out loud multiple times.

The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry: a group of lovely characters looking at fOsSiLs. everyone in this book is precious to me.

If We Were Villians by M.L. Rio: guys, it's just a mystery novel and a rather unremarkable one at that.

A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis: I mean what is there to say. beautiful.

Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata: i really want to go to a convenience store in japan.

All the Feels by Olivia Dade: the most heterosexual novel ever

House of Names by Colm Toibin: the first third of this is gorgeous and the last 2/3s are hot garbage

The Lost Daughter by Elena Ferrante: I need to call my mom both more and less.

I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jeannette McCurdy: what a back to back reading experience and i am also glad her mom is dead?!?!?!?!?

Disfigured by Amanda LeDuc: I wanted to like this so, so much and I am so, so sorry that I didn't

Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown: I wish i had this woman's body count.

Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alan Lansing: THIS IS HOW YOU WRITE NARRATIVE NON FICTION THIS IS HOW YOU DO IT

White Nights by Fyodor Dostoyevsky: Lovely.

Orwell's Roses by Rebecca Solnit: meandering. gorgeous. impactful. nonsensical.

Deathless by Cathrynne M. Valente: it has been probably the book that has impacted my writing the most this year; people underestimate the power of this book, i think

I Was Better Last Night by Harvey Fierstein: i learned a lot about fierstein in this book but mostly about how you must fail to create art

Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman: now a sigyn/angroboda/loki shipper. i'm sorry, they rule my brain now.

Milk Fed by Melissa Brouder: JUSTICE FOR MIRIAM

The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ by Philip Pullman: Who knew that Jesus having an evil twin could produce the most boring book ever

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle: Calvin O'Keefe IS the reason I am still single.

The Swallowed Man by Edward Carey: You need to read the dedication to understand this book.

[sinsandguilt]

Ooh thank you so much for tagging me @katieskrsgard !

Last Song: Saint Bernard by Lincoln

Last Show: The Essex Serpent

Currently Watching: Binging Ghibli movies

Currently Reading: I've mostly been reading Loki fanfiction lately

Current Obsession: Loki 💚

No pressure tags: @lokisprettygirl22 @sarahscribbles @vbecker10 @lady-rose-moon @muddyorbsblr @michelleleewise and anyone who sees this and feels like doing it :)

thank you @liquidflyer for the tag <3

rules: tag nine people you want to know better :)

last song: willow by taylor swift

last show: teen titans go 😭😭

currently watching: the adventures of puss in boots

currently reading: renegades by marissa meyer & the sisters grimm by menna van praag

current obsession: ever after high

np tags (pls make ur own post instead of rbing!!): @hiatuswhore @ddejavvu @staygoldwriting @new-romqntics @toadstool-amongst-the-tulips @riley-phoenix @marlenemckinnons @goldrushtv @starstruckwillows

[holdmytesseract]

Quick poll, guys! 👀

Tagging some peeps... @muddyorbsblr @mochie85 @fictive-sl0th @lokisgoodgirl @glitchquake @ijuststareatstuffhereok89 @iamlokisgloriouspurpose @loz-3 @eleniblue @hisredheadedgoddess28 @mishkatelwarriorgoddess @icytrickster17 @aagn360 @chennqingg @asgards-princess-of-mischief @huntedmusicgardenn @lokischambermaid @lokiforever +++ <3

[smolvenger]

The Boat in the Water: A Beauty and the Beast Story (Loki x Stella Ransome, An MCU/The Essex Serpent Crossover Multi-Part) Part Six

Fic Summary: Having lost her health and her husband's fidelity and love, Stella has nothing more to lose than her life. Then...she is swept away to another realm, to an enchanted castle. A castle whose master is a god...a god with a striking resemblance to her husband.

Chapter One//Chapter Two//Chapter Three//Chapter Four//Chapter Five//Chapter Six//Chapter Seven Finale (coming soon)

Chapter Summary: A black cat arrives at the Ransome house

Chapter Word Count: 4K

Chapter Warnings: Cheating, portrayed in a negative light with the Will/Cora affair (don't like, don't interact), and somewhat of emotional cheating portrayed in a positive light with our main couple (not that Stella would ever act on it, you know our girl would never). Small plot things, but this is mainly a lot of fluff with a little angst.

A/N: This is a lot of filler fluff, but the idea of Loki becoming a cat to infiltrate the Ransome house was so cute and so funny I had to write about it. So I hope you like it and think it's as cute and funny as I did! Shout out to @muddyorbsblr and @mari-malgamore and @steasstuff for letting me indulge in a Lokitty AU with the Ransomes. I also discovered too late that the show only has two of the Ransome kiddos and not all three like in the book (which makes it worse for Show! Stella because it technically means she lost three children, not just two :'( ) But for continuity's sake for the fic, John is still in.

A03//My Ko-Fi//My Etsy Shop//Masterlist//Wattpad

Taglist: @anukulee @asgards-princess-of-mischief @jennyggggrrr @five-miles-over @fictive-sl0th @ladycamillewrites @villainousshakespeare @holdmytesseract @eleniblue @twhxhck @lokisgoodgirl @lovelysizzlingbluebird @raqnarokr @holymultiplefandomsbatman @michelleleewise @wolfsmom1 @cheekyscamp @mochie85 @fandxmslxt69 @skittslackoffilter @mischief2sarawr @mari-malgamore @steasstuff

One day in Aldwinter, a black cat had never been there before. It walked across the marshes to the white house amid a field. It strutted over with an alert tail, as cats usually do, heading to the backyard with a little stick house and a tree and tall poles with lines of laundry.

Loki couldn’t stand it. Being alone in Asgard, in his palace. He did nothing but pace for hours. He was worrying over her. Would she go back into that boat? Or hurt herself in another way? Even if she was better, still…not to mention, would she be unhappy? 

He couldn’t sit about and do nothing. He had to make sure Stella was…was…was safe, at least. That she wasn’t miserable. 

But he couldn’t do it looking like himself. Stella would recognize him and act differently. And not to mention her husband. 

He walked over. Ready for his mission. To appear like an ordinary cat no one would notice- and black to blend into shadows. And secretly glad to have a black fur coat. The air was chilly. Even for spring.

He felt confident. Smug as he could be, for a cat cannot smirk. He would simply stay outside. If anything unpleasant came up, he’d change to his Aesir form and blast it away with magic. He would wait and watch. Probably near the little hut with all of the sticks. Yes, check on her then-

“Ruff! Ruff!”

He turned at the sound of the back door and froze. 

Loki forgot to consider they had a dog.

The brown terrier took off, charging towards him. All wagging tail and barks and slobber and teeth. 

In a panic, Loki turned and ran as fast as his little cat body would allow. The dog lumbered after him- but it couldn’t match his agile feline speed. 

Loki found the closest tree, and getting out his claws, quickly attached himself to the bark and climbed up. Frantically, beyond canine reach. He perched up on a tree, his back arching up and his ears slant.

The dog kept wagging his tail, his bark sharp. He put his front paws on the bark and wagged his tail, announcing to all of Essex that there was a cat on the tree.

Loki glared at him from the branch.

“I am a god, you dull beast! And I shall not be trifled with the likes of you!” he threatened.

But what came out of his mouth was a bunch of meows.

“What’s that?!” cried a small voice, like the cooing of a dove.

Loki was about to deliver a new threat that would come out as a hiss. The dog stopped pawing the tree and turned his head.

Out from the back door were two young children. The first was a girl. A pale face with freckles and long, light brown hair. The boy with a mop of curly dark brown hair. 

He remembered they weren’t just any children…

“Look, James, up in the tree!” cried Jo. “Get John! He can calm him down!” 

They were Stella’s children. The ones she loved so much, the ones he even saw her deliver to the world in visions. The ones she stayed in the palace to heal. The ones that mattered to the woman he loved. 

Out emerged the third, the middle boy. He went to the dog and ordered him to sit and the dog obeyed. Loki found himself relaxing.

“I’ll get him!” offered the girl.

She easily climbed up with her long, slender limbs. She sat on the branch and petted him. He purred and leaned into her touch. He noticed the blue eyes and the sweet smile. Traits she got from her mother- little signs that signaled this was a bit of Stella out there in the world for all to see, how to love. 

She scooped the Loki into her arms. Though the dog sniffed at him and wagged his tail, Loki gave him a warning hiss. But he settled.

“Look how sweet he is! Do you think we can let him inside? Do we have a cat now?!” James asked.

“What will Mama and Papa say?” John asked.

“They won’t mind!” Jo assured him. She scratched Loki’s head.

“Feral cats won’t let you do all that- maybe he’s hungry! We should feed him!” John replied.

Yes, he would let them. For then, he would be allowed in the house. He would keep a closer eye on her again and see Stella in her element. No poetic suicide attempts. Just a close watch. Maybe the odd thing of mischief or two. But only to see that Stella and her children too were happy and alive and safe.

 Curled like a baby, he let Jo carry her into the house. He even gave another purr and felt her smile over him. 

This was already too easy.

He could do it.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

He couldn’t do it.

Already, seconds after they fed him, Jo broke out her old dolls. And her old doll’s clothes. 

He was in his third humiliating outfit of a ruffled white dress.

“Look at how they fit! It’s perfect!” John laughed, being the one to hold Loki up.  

The last one was a gown where they declared her (since they were unsure of Loki’s gender as a cat) the fairest princess in the land.

Loki was tempted to hiss and scratch his way out. Wriggle until he was out of their arms and bite off the clothes. Or even change to his Aesir form, the clothes ripping into bits as he grew to his actual size. The look on their faces would have been worth it. And the screams!

But no.

These were Stella’s children. They were happy. They deserved to be happy, even if it meant another babydoll dress and hat on him. So he gritted his feline teeth and bore it, though his ears flattened with annoyance.

“Here! Add the hat!” James cheered, handing over a little pink baby’s bonnet from the doll.

Loki let out a meow in protest. But the boys’ little hands fitted the bonnet over his ears. He tied a bow beneath his chin. The children smiled even bigger at the sight of it.

“Just like a real baby!!” Jo cooed.

John began to sway him as they all made up a song to parade him around the brown house. Marching like he was their prize and swinging him back and forth as they sang to the tune of Greensleeves.

‘I am a little cat oh so faaaaiiir just pet and hold and giiiive me miiiilk!”

 They were not natural poets, the Ransome children. Not when the eldest was merely thirteen. So the latter part of the verse required simplicity.

“Meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meoooooowww, meow meow moew meow meow meeeow meow meow!”

AllMother forbid Thor to see this. Loki was sure that Ragnorak beginning at this moment would be merciful over his brother having more ammunition to tease him. 

The door opened and they stopped their song and turned their heads.

“Why, what are you doing, my loves?” asked a soft, feminine voice from the entrance.

Loki felt his ears and face turn. 

Stella then entered. She took off the kerchief on her head and her shawl and set it on a doorknob. She smiled at the parade around the house. 

“Mama! We found a cat!” James explained.

John held him up to show her proudly.

Loki let go of his glare. He had to be appealing to her. So he fired his biggest, cutest eyes and gave her his sweetest mew.

Stella burst into delighted laughter.

“Set him down- he is probably wanting it,” she instructed.

James relented and released Loki down. He found a way to walk towards her, despite his peripheral vision blocked by the bonnet and the dress. He walked towards Stella’s blue skirt. He heard her ask the children if they knew if the cat belonged to anyone and they replied no, they did not.

“Can we keep him? He doesn’t seem feral!” asked Jo.

“You must remember- you must feed and look after him and give him water and a place to relieve himself. Animals are like babies themselves- you cannot be cruel to deny them their needs. And they may cause some trouble- it is your responsibility!” she lectured them, even leaning down to look into their eyes.

The children claimed that they would nod their heads. 

The cat went before Stella. He purred loudly and rubbed against her skirts, giving his sweetest meow. He heard her gasp and melt a little. She leaned down her arm and began to pet him. He leaned even closer to her touch- its smoothness, its gentleness that he loved, even in this form.

“Oh, what a little dear you are!” she cooed. She got him out of his little doll clothes by picking him up and putting him in her lap on the chair. But he made sure to be sweet and pliant. She looked carefully at his body, and then at the children.

 “I think he is male. But how is he with Dan?” Stella asked.

Loki looked over and there was the dog, wagging his tail and wanting to play again.

“Dan doesn’t hurt him!” John explained. “They get along! Dan’s always good with cats! He just wants to chase them and play with them!”

“Well, you know your father must name any male pet we have after the twelve sons of Jacob…” Stella began.

Jo stood up proudly and began to recite.  “I already know all of them now- Nephtali, Issacar, Judah, Benjamin, Joseph, Asher-”

“It should be Asher! For his ashy face!” cried James.

Stella looked down with a laugh as she stroked Loki again.

“Oh, then Asher it is!” Stella laughed.

Allowed into the house, Loki began his mission to make himself the best cat he could for her. Followed her as she made dinner, took care of a few chores, and asked after the children. At one point, he heard a noise beneath the table and found James hiding there. He meowed at Stella to signal her. She leaned down, pulled up the tablecloth, and smiled at the hiding boy. Then she got up and fixed a saucer of biscuits. Crouching down, she brought them to James beneath the table with a smile that made Loki melt on the inside.

The second she sat down, Loki was on her lap. Kneading on her, much to her joy. Or laying down in the submissive pose with his belly up and his paws curled. 

“Oh, he likes you, mama!” John said.

Loki was happily in her lap, curled up and warm and content.

Then the dog barked at him, Jumping and wanting to play. Loki gave him a good swat.

“You shall leave us alone, shall you!” he cried. Only it came out as a “Mrow!”.

But the dog obeyed Stella’s commands and left her alone. This was it- this was almost like the peace of Valhalla. She was petting him, everything was warm and cozy. Jo was reading her book and the boys were playing a game. It was perfect, absolutely per-

The door creaked open.

“Papa!” shouted James.

In came Will, looking perfectly snug in his large, green scarf and coat, a sweater beneath him. Loki felt himself stiffen as he turned his curly head towards there, even with three children who all got up to hug him. 

Will went over to Stella with the chair, looking down at Loki. A half-laugh came out of him with a smile. But Loki did not smile back. He instead gave him his biggest death glare. Which, given his current species, proved quite simple.

This did not deter the reverend.

“The children found a cat,” Stella explained.

Will went over and reached his large hand towards the new pet.

“Hello there, little fellow,” he began.

Loki could not play sweet little kitten around him. 

He swatted at Will’s paw quickly.

“A feisty fellow!” Will chuckled.

He reached again to pet the cat. Loki batted Will away and hissed at him. 

“Oh, he is only not used to you!” Stella claimed. “Give him time!”

She did scoop him off of her lap (to a protesting meow) to embrace and kiss her husband. Loki did everything in him not to gag.

As dinner was being served and plates were appearing on the table, Loki wished to join them. That wish was not granted.

The dog wanted to play. He barked and wagged his tail, prancing around him. Loki could not avoid him wherever he was. He tried to ignore him by lying down on a small blue rug on the floor. 

“I shall have nothing with you, Midgardian scum,” Loki silently cursed.

The dog in answer picked up the rug and dragged it across the house with Loki dragging on it. He meowed in protest, much to the amusement of the Ransome family. Who applauded and laughed like they were watching a play.

It had felt like ages and dinner was done by the time the dog was bored of him and he went to the table. Stella had picked some bits of chicken, set it on a blue saucer, and leaned down on the floor offering it to Loki. 

“Here you are. For your troubles,” she offered.

He ate every bit of it. 

The world was inky with night as each person settled into their bed. Stela noted that the cat ended up in her room. As she unbuttoned her dress and removed her corset and petticoats, she noticed the cat in a corner with both paws over his eyes. She giggled lightly as she finally put her nightgown on.

After all, Loki was a gentleman. 

He did not do the same when the husband undressed into his shift. What did he care if Will was the one undressing? For some godsforsaken reason unknown to him, it was his own cock anyway.

Will went to the chair to read, the pages flipping quietly. Settling in.

With a contented sigh, Stella pulled up the covers of the blankets and settled into bed. Her hair was still in her braid, draping over her shoulder. With her ruffled nightgown, she seemed every bit. 

 Loki hopped up over the blankets to her.

“Oh, hello!” she said.

He curled up on her chest and her chest, purring. With another beautiful smile, she stroked his fur.

He loved it- to just touch her, be with her in this form. To hold her and feel her. How warm and comfortable and safe and alive she felt.

The bed shifted as a second weight got on.

Loki shot the occupant a glare and then focused on Stella again.

Will each time Will got close, Loki would turn around and glare at him. Daring him to lay a hand on Stella, bonds of  Christian matrimony be damned. And Loki would let out a growl or a slap if Will attempted to pet him. The viar only sighed and settled into his half of the bed.

Stella slept all night with the cat curled on her. When she awoke, he stretched and greeted her, wishing to snuggle more before she got out of bed. She had never been this cozy in ages.

The week passed on blissfully. Will was gone for long periods. Stella remained at home, keeping everything tidy, rearranging her collection, sometimes making trips to pay calls, and waiting for the children to come home. Sunday morning came and went with everyone scrambling to get ready and head to church, then return home, and sink into a half exhaustion all afternoon.

Loki wasn’t complaining. He liked being her companion. Being near her all the time.

Tuesday, there was a visitor.

In walked a woman with small eyes and high cheekbones with a soft face. Her nose was up in the air with confidence and her long, almost wavy blonde hair, streaked with red was up in a bun, though strands came loose. She wore a grey coat. Beside her was a young boy with straight brown hair that fell over his eyes. He kept his eyes low but looked up softly as Stella went forward to greet them.

Her steps paused. Loki noticed why.

The woman wore Will’s green scarf.

She said she was here to see him and go off on another walk. She patted her son’s shoulder. Stella kept her gentle smile, but remained still, though her eyes sometimes flickered to the scarf. She said he would be in the backyard and that yes, Frankie is welcome to stay.

The woman looked down at the black cat. Loki backed down, ears flat, and gave her a loud hiss.

“Don’t mind him, he doesn’t like strangers!” Stella replied.

Then the lady squeezed the boy’s shoulder, turning off with almost a flourish. And the boy stayed behind, his shoulders tight.

“How are you, Mrs. Ransome? I-I heard you got better,” he asked.

“Oh, I’m fine, Frankie. Come on in, I’ll fix you some tea,” she offered. Taking his hand.

Loki wasn’t sure of the lad at first. It seemed unfair to hiss at him because of who his mother was.  Yet Stella liked him. She smiled at him and talked to him like a friend. She made him tea with some honey. He held his cup with both hands and sipped it politely.

“Mrs. Ransome…I know people call me disturbed. I can’t pretend like I don’t…am I?” he asked.

“Oh, no, you’re not at all. I think you’re a very wise, patient, sensitive boy and you have nothing to be ashamed of,” she spoke to him.

As she got out her collection to show the new additions, they talked happily. She beamed at him, letting him go through whatever he wanted.  He then found the flowers from the time she was with Loki in the field and pulled them up.

“Where did you find these?” he asked.

Loki jolted up from the floor.

“I was sent to a place to recover. And it was run by a man. Loki is his name. He was incredibly kind to me. And he found out about my collection so he took me on a trip to see a field full of those flowers. I will never forget him…it’s thanks to him and his generosity I am still alive,” she recalled. A slight pink to her face and her smile was genuine.

“He sounds nice,” Frankie said.

“He didn’t think himself as nice. He…he had some troubles in his life, just like you. But sometimes people don’t realize that they’re not as bad as they think they are.” she replied, adding on.

She touched his arm and looked at him with a motherly glow.

“So do not worry if others think you are disturbed. You have done nothing wrong. And if you continue to be as you are, they will learn they are wrong about you.” she said.

Loki went up to Frankie’s legs and began to rub on them, purring. The boy almost jumped.

“You said he doesn’t like strangers!” said Frankie.

“Well, he likes you,” Stella replied.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

But what use is a mischief god if he just sits around rubbing against people’s legs and purring all day? Loki had to cause some trouble. And he knew how.

Stella was hardly in Will’s office. So she couldn’t stop him. Sneaking in the shadows thanks to his black fur, he arrived that day in Will’s study. No doubt what was happening right now with him and Cora was not in the least bit academic. So he needed to be punished.

After all, he promised Stella he wouldn’t end his life. That meant everything else could be done instead.

Loki hopped onto the desk and the bookshelves. Maneuvering his paws, he knocked over one book. Then he snuck into its crevice and knocked down the one next to that. Being a cat, he could squeeze easily into the shelves for books that weren’t pushed in. 

When Will returned, whole rows of his precious, long-kept book collection were knocked onto the floor. 

Will shooed the cat out.

The cat got back into the room. He targeted the large, open book on the desk and clawed up.

Will shooed him out.

The cat returned to the room. He scratched up a love letter from Cora. He urinated in it for good measure.

Will tossed him out and kept the door locked from that point on.

Then again every night, Loki would snuggle with Stella. Playing the devil with the husband and the angel with the wife. 

But every time he thought he could knock something of Will’s over with her present, she would look at him and tilt her head. He would back down with lowered ears and widen his eyes. If only he could let his magic conjure a halo over his head.

There was one afternoon, as he went about to cause mischief to Will’s belongings again, Stella said “Loki, is that you?”

He froze, looking at her. Blinking slowly. What should he do?

But she went up and leaned down.

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone. But you must behave yourself or I will not give you any chicken from dinner.”

Loki went up to her, purring and rubbing against her to seal the promise. 

As another week passed, Will was spending even less time at home. And the time he was with Stella, they were more quiet. More stiff. They talked less. Smiled even fewer.

One morning, Will was already gone. Stella awoke in her nightgown, went to the window, and stared out, her face pale and frowning. When Loki hopped by her, he could only see the fields and forests outside.

He touched a paw on her just barely, and she did not respond. Her memories coming up to him.

Will and Cora- Cora in her red dress. They were in the marshes and muck…and Will was on top of her.  Doing what you would expect from the lusty vicar.

And Stella watched it all through that very window.

He returned his paw. Fury building silently in him. How he wished he could turn into his Aesir form and bring more chaos to Will than a few upturned books. But he saw a tear go down her eye.

He meowed sweetly, touching a paw at her until she turned her head. He crawled up to her and purred, leaning against her. She picked him up and he leaned close to her She needed comfort, to not be alone. To not tear herself apart for others and never consider herself. No, right now, she only needed to be loved.

That night, he was especially affectionate at bedtime. He laid right on Stella’s lap to cuddle her. The picture of a perfect feline companion.

Will had already undressed. It was a warmer night and he was sleeping bare this time. He sat up in bed reading his Bible. Loki wouldn’t even look at him and remained on Stella. 

He heard the Bible close and being put away. 

Then Will caught Loki off guard and scooped up the cat into his arms. Loki was so surprised he let out a meow despite himself. 

He was plopped onto Will’s bare chest.

“Ah! There I have you! I think I got you now! I think it’s time we be friends and let a man enjoy embracing his wife,” Will replied triumphantly, a smile on his face. 

Loki had enough.

He bit Will’s nipple.

A loud, masculine scream exploded in the white house.

Will let go of his hold on Loki as he hopped out of his arms. He went onto the floor and sat to watch with triumphant slow blinks. Will lept out of bed, hunching over in pain. Stella ran over to him to put a hand on his arm.

“Will-it’s alright! Let me see!” she was consoling. But there was a smile on her face, trying to suppress chuckling and be a good wife.

The children scurried over, wondering about the commotion as the door barely creaked open. They took in the scene of their father naked with nothing to cover him. Without saying another word, they closed the door and hurried back into their rooms, the image, unfortunately, burned into their mind. Even as handsome as Will was, papa’s bum is papa’s bum

Stella helped him with the bite marks. But she laughed. Despite her scolding the cat and seeing that the marks didn’t bleed, she was laughing the whole time.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Cora returned to be with Will the next afternoon. Dropping off Frankie for Stella to look after the whole time. But today, Stella stood up folded her hands, and went to her.

“I am making dinner. And I will need help- could you please return in an hour? I don’t want my husband to be late,” she asked.

Cora blinked. Loki turned his head between them. 

She never did that. She let them run about and do whatever. For as long as they wanted.

But now…now was different…was it, perhaps, she was remembering him? 

Cora then dropped her shoulders.

“Of course. One hour,” she replied.

“If he is not, I will go and search for you both,’ she replied.

Cora nodded begrudgingly. 

Loki smiled as much as a cat could smile. He purred again with pride. She was doing even better than he expected and she was slowly standing up for herself more. Asserting what she wanted, bit by bit. Far more than the sacrificial wife in the boat.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

After some time, Loki decided enough was enough. With his magic, he snuck out and made himself a lady in town and conjured the black cat. He knocked on the door and explained that her cat was long missing the family and thanked them for taking care of him and keeping him safe. They all assured her that he was perfect. The lady promised the family their friend would be just as petted and spoiled as he was here. He made the conjured cat happy and grateful to be in his real owner’s arms. So they said their goodbyes, and despite the tears, they were joyful little Dan found his home again.

With a silent smile, he returned to Asgard. 

That next afternoon, the house was completely quiet. The children were away. Will was away. The dog was asleep. And Stella thought to herself of how alone she felt. Alone-and at least she could indulge in her memories. 

The castle. The dances. The dinners. The flower field. His dark hair. His impish smile. 

She went to her room and from her wardrobe. On the bottom was a box, rectangular and long. Opening the lid, she looked down on the soft velvet where she kept the dagger. 

 Perfectly safe. Lovely as a gem. She traced the hilt with a finger, careful to avoid the blade. 

“Oh, Loki…” she whispered with longing.

She missed Loki. Missed him so badly, so much…but she would never see him again.

[wheredafandomat]

It’s a sin

Reader x Will Ransome

A/N: After the last episode, I felt compelled to write this 😂 hope you enjoy

Contains smut

“Tell me father, where is your god now?” You questioned, sitting at the church pew facing the desolate darkness that used to glisten before a thick evil settled over the once quiet town. You could hear him stepping towards you cautiously, the once confident man reduced to bated breathing and small steps. He was thinking. Thinking about what to say, how he’d console you. Glancing to your left, you saw his leather shoes as he came to a halt.

“One must remain faithful in times of such distress.” Will spoke, sitting next to you.

“Where has faith gotten us father? I am to believe in something of fiction to protect me?” You laughed mirthlessly “I’d rather a revolver.”

“Y/n, he will protect us.” Will implored, turning to face you slightly but you could hear it in his voice, it wasn’t only you he was trying to convince.

“You put so much trust in something you are yet to encounter.” You spoke, still looking forwards, aware of Wills eyes on you.

“You know not what you speak of.” He scoffed, turning to look forwards again.

“Then tell me father, show me, show me how one goes about encountering the saviour. Share your faith, bless me because I have lost it, I am no longer a believer.” You confessed. A silence fell between you both before you stood. “I must go.”

“No.” Will said, grabbing your hand as you walked past him. You looked down at your interlocked hands before your eyes settled on his ones. He was pleading. They were the eyes of someone as unfaithful as you.

“You’ve lost it father, I can see it.” You said, leaning closer towards him as he tilted his chin upwards to look at you. “You’ve lost your faith, you aren’t the believer you once used to be.” You uttered, face inches away from his. “You mustn’t fear it, embrace it father, let it drown you, live with the knowledge that the higher power you claim watches over us simply doesn’t exist.” You murmured. You could feel his breath fanning your face from the close proximity. His eyes focused on yours as if you were offering him council, hope. He wanted to be strong, resist temptation, drown himself in disbelief even if only for a moment but he couldn’t. He simply couldn’t. No, he wouldn’t.

“Leave.” He spoke just above a whisper causing you move your face an inch closer. “Leave.” He repeated sternly as your lips quirked into a smile. “Get out!” He ordered, gaze flicking from your eyes to your lips.

“Farewell father.” You smirked, spinning on your heels to leave. Will didn’t dare turn to watch you go. He knitted his brows trying to quickly work through his conflicting feelings as his breath quickened. Standing up, he stepped closer towards the alter as his jaw clenched. Where was his god? His strength? His eyes met the serpent engraved into the church pew. He bared his teeth in anger as his nostrils flared. Practically crashing to the floor, his hand curled into a fist before he struck it. All his anger, pent up frustration, rushed towards his hand as he struck it again. The one thing keeping him tethered to the ground was his faith and even that was now in question. He grunted as he continued to hit it.

Exiting the church, you felt the urge to turn back and go inside to at least apologise. You knew Will was under a lot of pressure following the events of late and yet you felt the need to burden him with your lack of faith. It wasn’t his fault. Sighing, you decided you’d write a letter as opposed to turning back in but then you heard the sound of him grunting, shouting as if he was in a fight but no other voice could be heard. You quickly turned around and walked back into the church to find Will on his knees, hand connecting with the wooden pew stained crimson from his blood. You quickly made your way towards him, falling to the floor as you grabbed his hand to stop him from hurting himself further. He seemed more lost than you originally though.

“Will. Will! Stop this!” You urged, holding his cheeks and forcing him to look at you when he broke free of your grip on his hand. “Look at me Will.”

Snapping out of his daze, Will looked at you, features softening. He looked down at his hand, wincing when he saw the blood spilling from it. Tearing a bit of the bottom of your dress, you wrapped it around his hand as you tried to calm him but he didn’t want to be calmed. He pushed you away, taking the material off of his hand as he stood up. You called his name as he inaudibly recited scriptures. You panicked, he seemed so far gone, so lost, you needed to help him, you had to help him, bring him from his haze.

Standing up, you placed your hand at the back of his head, pulling him down closer towards you as you kissed him. Almost instantly, his eyes opened as he stepped backwards. You looked at him, realisation of your actions flooding you. You took a step to leave but Will stopped you, wrapping his arms around your back, pulling you towards him as he kissed you again. You kissed him back, lips moving over one another’s. Your hands roamed one another’s bodies as you continued to kiss, Wills tongue slipping past your lips and into your tongue. You moaned into the kiss as his hand found your breasts, lightly squeezing them. Your hands caressed his cheeks before one found his hair as you gently tugged it. Lips never leaving yours, he walked you backwards until the back of your legs met the wood of the pew. You fell back against it, pulling Will on top of you.

He fell on top of you as the kiss turned more feverish. Lips leaving yours, he began peppering kisses on your neck as you writhed beneath him. Moving lower, he pulled the hem of your dress upwards exposing your legs. You widened them as he continued moving lower, settling between them. You gasped as you felt his lips on your thighs. You could feel yourself growing wetter, more wanton as his head moved closer towards your core. Sitting slightly up, you watched Will as he hooked his thumbs under the hem of your underwear before he began pulling them down, tapping your thigh, prompting you to lift your hips as he pulled them down your thighs before dragging them down your legs, discarding them onto the floor. You watched as his gaze focused between your legs. His head once again settled between your thighs as he licked a wide, wet stripe from your entrance towards your clit causing you to jolt beneath him in pleasure. Lifting his head up, he grinned at you before looking back down and repeating the action. Your hand found the back of his head when his tongue began circling your clit. Soft moans escaped you feeling him alternating between sucking and flicking your clit. The familiar pressure built up in your lower abdomen, so close to the edge until Will stopped.

“Willl.” You whined, chest heaving as he sat slightly up. Your eyes roamed his body before they settled on the bulge being shielded by his trousers. “Please.” You prompted, slightly lifting your hips. One of his hands pushed you back down as the other one quickly undid his trouser button as he unsheathed himself. You swallowed thickly taking in the sight of his cock springing free. He looked down at you, into your eyes as opposed to your no doubt glistening folds. “Please.” You repeated, nodding your head. Wasting no time, he guided himself towards your entrance before slowly thrusting inside causing you both to moan. Your eyes shut tightly as he stilled inside you, allowing you to adjust to his size. You couldn’t recall a time you had ever felt so full. Will was definitely well endowed.

Will waited patiently for you to give him some sort of signal that you either wanted him to stop or to move. Looking down at you beneath him, he saw you nod, eyes still closed before he began to move his hips. At first his strokes were slow and long, both of you simply revelling in the feeling as opposed to chasing a release. His pubic bone met your clit with each thrust causing you to fall further down the well of euphoria. You could hear the sinful sounds of him entering you. Opening your eyes, you took in the view of him above you, eyes closed as your name fell from his lips. After a while, he increased his movements, head falling into the crook of your neck as he left open mouthed kisses across it.

“Yess Will, right thereee.” You moaned as he ground his hips down into yours, hitting that perfect spot. His pace quickened as he continued to slam into you causing you to moan his name rather loudly as if the outside world seized to exist. In this moment it was only you and Will. “I’m sooo closeee.”

“Let go, let go I want to feel you cum around me.” He spoke in your ear before licking the shell of it. As if his words were a stern order, you felt yourself climaxing, coating his cock. Will continued to move in and out of you hungrily feeling the urge to cum too. The feeling of your walls clamping around him spurred his own orgasm as he came, ejaculating inside of you. He stilled, filling you up as you both caught your breaths back. Coming back down from your highs, your eyes opened as Will pulled his head up from the crook of your neck and looked into your eyes, his eyes widening as if he had just realised what had happened. You looked up at him, guilt consuming you before you saw his gaze focus on something else. His expression changed to a fearful one.

“Will? Will?” You called, looking up at him as your hands found his cheeks. “What is it?”

“The serpent.” He breathed “the serpent is real.”

[empress-of-snark]

Last song I listened to: C’est La Vie by B*Witched

Currently watching: The Bear, Murder She Wrote, rewatching Brooklyn 99 with the fam, keeping up with new episodes of America’s Got Talent, and sporadically watching Bob’s Burgers

Currently reading: Three books—The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry (having trouble getting into it), Monster, She Wrote by Lisa Kröger, and Boo Who by Rene Gutteridge (which I didn’t realize was actually the second book in a series, but I can get by all right on context clues)

Current obsession: I feel like most of my free time/energy is devoted to planning and writing fanfiction these days, but I also still find time to work on a few cross-stitches and sewing projects! I’ve also been gearing up for the Halloween season and trying to manifest colder weather by sheer force of will. It has not been working, but I’ll keep lighting my pumpkin scented candles until it does!

Tagging @simplyshelbs16xoxo @televinita @kateschechterxthorwasmyfirstotp @finnskeeper @virevoltantes and @doverstar

9(ish) People You'd Like To Get To Know Better

tagged by @cultivating-wildflowers ! thank you!

Last Song I Listened To: I've been cycling between Strawberry Switchblade albums, Ghost In The Shell 1995 ost, and the Hylics 2 soundtracks lately while I work :]

Currently Watching: I haven't been keeping up with any TV show of late but the last thing I watched was Twin Peaks; I really like it a lot. I watch a lot of movies though; I watched the 1977 Lord Of The Rings last Friday, I actually liked it quite a bit despite how tremendously silly it is

Currently Reading: The Curse Of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold, Stiff by Mary Roach, and No Country For Old Men by Cormac McCarthy (audio book) I'm enjoying all of these a lot :]

Current Obsession: Trigun 💀 I'm still absolutely in the trenches. I also have grunge typography, 90s manga art, and dinosaurs/prehistoric animals making a resurface as an interest as well

No Pressure Tags: @dragonsbloodsnowcone @thepartyponies @artimies6 @fortes-fortuna-iogurtum @swinging-stars-from-satellites @littlebluebarista @loubuttons @takineko @enigma-absolute @kat-of-the-night @brown-little-robin @songsintheattic

[naughtylittlesausage]

[spooky1980]

Damned this was so bloody hot 🔥 🥵 I absolutely loved this.

measurements

See the full 14 Days Collection here! See my full list of works here!

Summary: After Cora's birthday party, your brother Luke, along with Martha, made a few offhanded jokes about Reverend Ransome being "small", you quickly put them both in their place by explaining what you do back in London: using a man's posture, gait, and overall stature to determine certain "measurements" for your clients.

Pairing: Will Ransome x Reader

Word Count: 5k

Warnings: 18+ | smut (minors & pearl clutchers, to put it mildly, i am not the one, do not fucking try me); unprotected p in v; language [let me know if i missed anything!]

Things to be aware of: just a bit more than strangers to lovers; reader is Luke Garrett's sister

Every bone in your body told you to put as much distance between you and Will Ransome the second you met him tonight at the party your brother was throwing to celebrate Cora Seaborne's party. You'd gotten quite adept at reading situations and his particular one sent your rational thoughts into a tailspin.

A vicar, married with two kids, and yet falling helplessly in love with the very woman that you knew your brother Luke was also pathetically in love with. Exuding this strange repressed sensuality that he didn't even seem to be aware of with every awkward misstep throughout his little dance with Cora tonight.

And then there was the fact that he couldn't seem to stop himself from stealing glances at you, with a heat behind his steel blue eyes that you couldn't rationally attribute to the candlelight illuminating the quaint little home in Aldwinter that Cora and Martha had so warmly welcomed you into. If what you'd inferred from tonight's gathering was correct, then building a meters thick wall between you and the disorientingly beautiful man this town called Reverend was the best course of action.

That was how you ended up here, in the dining area of the cottage sitting at the table with Luke and Martha while Cora ran out of the house to 'think things through' on the way to the Ransome household to return the elder daughter's scarf. You'd thought it was wise not to accompany Cora to that little charade of hers in case her well-intended enough good deed turned into something less than innocent.

Now you were stuck listening to your brother lament on why Cora didn't fancy him and what she could possibly see in Reverend William Ransome that she couldn't see in him.

You had an answer, of course. You'd measured the man within five minutes. You had ten good reasons why he was chosen over your brother.

"She's collectin' 'im," Martha surmised, her words slurred from her borderline excessive intake of wine. "She wants to…put him in a little glass jar. And label his parts in Latin."

That seemed to give your brother a tiny burst of confidence, holding his fingers mere inches apart. "Little?" They both began to laugh at the notion, of which you quickly followed suit, but you were more laughing at their hunch than with it. "Won't need a very big jar, then…bit microscopic," he slurred, putting his eye up against the mouth of the wine bottle and pretending it was his microscope back in his practice in London.

"Oh Luke, dear brother mine, you'd be remiss in your observations if you actually believe that," you spoke up, swirling your wine in your little goblet as the two turned their heads to look at you. "I dare say you're speaking from your ego rather than that superior brain you always seem to be parading around back home."

"And what do you know about it then, little sister?"  He leaned back in his chair, an air of superiority overtaking him as he asked you that question, a clear show of how non-intimidating  he viewed you as compared to himself.

You stood from your chair, placing your goblet down on the table, before beginning. "You're laughably unaware that I actually read through all your medical textbooks, aren't you?"

"No, I've known since I began medical school, Y/N. I just also know that without the proper instructor that a proper school can provide the fine young men in our society, much like myself, that you're ill-equipped to understand—"

"A wise woman once told me that university is just a bunch of young, well-to-do men, paying older and 'smarter' men to read to them. I figured I would save the money and the time and the misogynistic lectures about how women are for the house and the 'little jobs', and instead read to myself," you cut him off, his smirk fading by the slightest at your words.

"And what half-witted misguided woman told you this then?"

Your lips twitched upward in a smirk of your own. "Cora Seaborne." That name made his mouth fade into a grim line, most of his ego suddenly deflating. "Now that that's sorted, I can get to telling you what I've been doing with the knowledge I've acquired from your books over the years. See, Luke, since I cannot become a doctor in my own right and have my own practice, I set up a consultation office in London based on the area I chose to specialize in."

"What area is that?"

You turned to Martha, who seemed genuinely curious about what you'd done with your knowledge. "Anatomy. My clientele consists mainly of women who come to me for my evaluation on potential lovers." Her eyes widened at your description, her curiosity clearly piqued. "I use a man's stance, gait, and overall posture to give a woman a certain set of measurements. Now I'm not saying it's accurate down to the centimeter, but considering some men's proclivities to round up, I reckon my estimates are rather…reliable."

"Bollocks," Luke bellowed, his syllables extended as a result of his inebriation. "Measure me, then, genius." He hissed the last word, clearly meant as a jab rather than a compliment.

Before you could give him your answer, you three were interrupted by a loud knock at the cottage's front door. "It's open!" you called out, feeling your knees weakening at the sight of the towering vicar stepping through the threshold, the bow tie of his suit loosened a great deal and his hair disheveled by the rather violent night air. "Oh. Hello again, Reverend Ransome. Cora isn't back yet, I believe she went to return a scarf your daughter left behind…? I'd have thought you would have seen her on your way back here."

"Erm…no. I did not," he answered you, a tinge of nervousness evident in his voice. Or perhaps it was awkwardness. Perhaps he sensed that the other two people in the room with you held a questionable amount of dislike towards him as well.

"Ah, well perhaps she's still trying to enjoy the night air then. She should be back soon. You're welcome to sit and wait for her, if you'd like." He gave you a timid smile as he sat down at the edge of the couch, rubbing his hands down his expansive thighs.  The action had such an effect on you that you could feel the walls of your sex clenching around fuck all nothing, so you turned toward Martha again, clearing your throat as if the action would also clear your mind of the lurid thoughts that just entered your head. "Where was I again?"

"Your brother challenged you to--"

"Oh, right! Right. Thank you, Martha." You turned to Luke again. "Out of respect for you, brother mine, I did my best to never…but since you did quite literally ask for it, five. But you tell women it's six because you believe that they can't tell the difference, but believe me when I say this, they can. They most definitely can."

His eyes widened at your estimate, his smirk once again fading into a straight grim line on his face. "There's no way—you guessed!" His voice had taken on a petulant tone, rife with his indignance and disbelief.

"Well judging from the lack of smugness on your face, it seems my guess is quite accurate. Now moving on to your earlier jests about…ehem…little jars and microscopes?" The amusement on Martha's face disappeared as her eyes darted ever so quickly to the vicar. "Let me just tell you both that you're very very wrong." You emphasized your point by briefly holding your hands a couple inches less of a foot apart, making them both choke on nothing.

"I may need to pay you a visit when we return to London then, Y/N," she chuckled, taking yet another swig of the wine. "Someone I want you to err…evaluate."

You gave her a coy smile as you stepped in between her and your brother, crouching down so your faces were level with theirs, and you could speak in much more hushed tones. "I don't just read men, by the way. I read situations," you began to explain. "You two have a borderline intolerable tension about you, so I highly suggest that you take it upstairs, explore a connection based solely on your shared experience and, as the Americans would so crudely refer to it, fuck it out."

Luke sounded like he was choking on his own spit at your words. "Little sister!" he slurred. "Since when did you become so crass?"

"I haven't been little in nearly a decade, Luke Garrett," you snapped back. "Perhaps if you'd bothered to actually look in the last ten years instead of constantly trying to prove yourself my superior, you would have realized it."

Your venom seemed to dissipate a touch when Martha broke the tension between you and your brother. "What shared experience?"

A self-indulgent smile found its way onto your face, the uncomfortable shifting on the couch from Will Ransome not going unnoticed by you. "Both of you are pitifully in love with Cora Seaborne," you whispered, feeling an almost addictive power coursing through you as they sputtered and stood out of their seats, the contents of the table rattling in place. "Go on, then." You jerked your head in the direction of the stairs.

"You'll be alright to tidy up here then, sister?"

"Of course. I've been tidying up after you for decades, Luke, this is child's play for me at my age."

The two of them made quick work to vacate the dining area, going up the stairs where you'd hope neither of them would last very long so that you wouldn't be subjected to the sounds of their little tryst for too long. At least for now you were free of the smugness in the air that always seemed to be present when your brother was around.

The only thing you didn't quite think through was that now you were alone in the bottom floor of the cottage with the absurdly tall vicar you'd spent a good portion of tonight trying to avoid, waiting for Cora to finally return from 'clearing her head'.

You gave him an awkward smile as you began to clear the dishes from the party, making the split-second decision to gulp down the remainder of your wine in hopes that it would at least hinder you from feeling how rife with tension the room still was because of the way his gaze was filled with that bizarre repressed sensuality. You stifled the groan that wanted to escape you once the realization dawned on you.

That heat in his eyes had nothing to do with the candlelight.

And the wine only worsened the effect he had on you.

"I could assist you with that," he offered, standing and making his way to the table before you'd even had a chance to accept. You did your best to silence your sigh, feeling exponentially warmer now that he was mere feet away from you as you mumbled your gratitude. "May I ask what that quip of Doctor Garrett accusing you guessing something was all about?"

It was your turn now to choke on the air. "Just something about my profession, that's all," you answered evasively, hoping that it would be enough for him to drop the subject.

"And what profession would that be?"

"Anatomy." You thought it best to keep your answers as vague as possible. "I think it prudent to not give too many details about the intricacies of my job to people I'd only met today, so…perhaps if we were to ever meet again."

You'd both made your way to the kitchen, placing the dishes and glasses into the sink as you carried on your conversation. "Perhaps I'll hold you to that, Y/N."

Fucking hell, you thought to yourself. For a man of the cloth he sure sounds like his entire form was crafted by the Devil himself, sounding like sex when he says my name like that should be a damn crime.

When you turned around to return to the dining area -- and put some much needed distance between you two -- you realized how close he'd been standing, barely a foot separating the two of you from one another, the heat radiating from his body washing over you and making you find it difficult to breathe. The air around you began to thin once he'd stepped even closer, his fingers lightly touching the inside of your wrist, slowly traveling up your arm.

Your brain scrambled for a way out of this, knowing full well that a dalliance with a married man would never sit right in your conscience. Even if he was the one moving closer. Even if he already was potentially committing indiscretions against his marriage.

"Cora," you whispered, already feeling the loss of his touch the moment the name left your lips.

"What?"

"She won't take too kindly to me encroaching on what's already hers." Your words were enough for him to take a step back and grant you enough space to sidestep and make your way back to the living area. They were also enough to sober you to the harsh reality of the situation.

Because he belonged to Cora, no matter how his marital situation may change in the coming months given his wife's health, Will Ransome would never be yours.

Two Years Later

"You're sure about these numbers?"

You faced your last appointment of the day, Celia Marsters, with an accommodating smile. "I wouldn't say pinpoint accurate, but a good enough estimate. As per the feedback from my previous clients who have availed of his particular service of mine, the largest discrepancy I've ever had was…perhaps a quarter of an inch?"

Her eyes widened at your statistics. "Really? That close, huh?" You nodded, a wide grin forming on her face. "I'll have something to look forward to, then." She reached into her purse to take out a handful of paper bills and placed them on your desk. "And you're available for other types of consultation as well, yeah?"

"Of course, Celia. My door's always open for other consultations, not just…measurements." You both let out a fit of giggles at your choice of words. "Truly I do hope for your happiness that this would be the last man you'd need me to evaluate. You deserve a good and happy life."

"I hope so, too, Y/N." She gave you a quick hug before exiting your office, throwing you a look as she reached the stairs as if her knickers had dropped to the floor of their own volition. "Fucking hell, your next one's a looker."

You threw her a look to show your confusion. "Celia, you were my last appointment." Her amusement seemed to increase at that bit of information, giving you a shrug and a cheeky wink as she made her way down the stairs. You chalked it off to her being mistaken, that whoever was downstairs was probably here to see another tenant within the building.

A few moments after you'd started piling together the info you'd begun to gather for another client, you heard footsteps stopping right outside your door.

"Hello, Y/N."

That voice. You knew that hauntingly beautiful voice anywhere. The voice that plagued your lustful dreams ever since you came back to London from Aldwinter two years ago. The man that you'd sinfully fantasized over day in and day out, despite knowing that he would remain but a fantasy. You may be unconventional and some lesser minded men would even go so far as to accuse you of witchcraft, but you had your morals.

You refused to entangle yourself with men who already belonged to someone else. Even though it seemed that Cora held quite a different set of values from you, seeing as she'd been getting exceedingly close with your brother the last few months.

I wonder if he knows about it and perhaps he's simply letting the situation unfold, you thought to yourself. You quickly dismissed the thought, though, ultimately concluding that this was none of your business. A somber smile found its way to your face as you looked up and your eyes met his. Despite the toll the last few years had taken on him, the man was still as unfairly handsome as ever.

"Mister Ransome, it's good to see you again. I didn't know you were visiting London." You stood and motioned toward the couch that Celia had vacated. "Please, come in. I'm afraid Cora isn't here, though."

"I'm actually not visiting, Miss Garrett. And I didn't come here looking for Cora, either," he answered you as he stepped into your office. His words were so soft spoken as if he was hesitant in adjusting into a more casual atmosphere with you, just as you were with him. Understandable. Because the last time you two were in the same room together you quite literally scurried away from him. "I've just finished moving here to London with my children, and I passed by Luke's clinic earlier today to ask him where your office was."

His words had you taking an unsubtle step back. "You asked for me?" He answered you with a timid smile and a curt nod, choosing to stand by the couch as he stared at you with those heated eyes, an almost exact mirror of how he did so in your lurid dreams about the man. "Well I'm positive he didn't appreciate that," you remarked with a chuckle.

"And why would that be?"

"He gets it a fair bit. People coming to him and him believing that he has a new patient only to be asked to be pointed in my direction for…my area of expertise." You finished off your vague explanation with a slight chuckle, stacking the files you had out for Celia's case together. "Would it be so rude of me if I were to organize these while we talk?"

"Oh, not at all. Please. Truly I'm already delighted I even got to see you today." You took the opportunity to walk towards the shelf to hide your face from his view, allowing your expression to mirror your confusion over his words. A few moments passed before you heard him speak again. "May I ask why the walls are carpeted?"

"I'd like to grant as much privacy as I can to my clients, especially from any gossips who would let slip who was here making inquiries and consulting with me. The carpets ensure that to a certain degree the sounds coming out of this room would be muffled at best, lest we be in a screaming match."

Your only indicator that he was moving around your office was the way his voice seemed to be coming from a different spot at his next response. "You know, I distinctly remember a promise from you. That if we were ever to see each other again, you'd tell me what it is exactly that you do?"

An amused grin made its way to your face, taking the next few minutes to explain to him how you'd read your brother's textbooks from medical school, and how you used it as the backbone to build the foundation of your services. "Tell me, Mister Ransome…did you receive some peculiar looks when you informed reception that you were here for my office?"

"How did you--?"

"Majority of my clientele are women," you explained. "The anatomical knowledge that I wield so that I may provide the services that they avail of is…mostly geared for them. The services I offer gives them a rudimentary evaluation on a potential lover." You took a breath, walking back to your desk before you finished your explanation. "I use a man's stance, gait, and overall posture to infer a certain number. A measurement, if you will."

You glanced up to see his reaction to your words, stifling a chuckle as he glanced down to his crotch before looking back up at you,  the expression on his face daring you to confirm his unspoken question. The only response you could manage without bursting into a fit of laughter was a quick nod of your head. His next question, however, had you choking on your own spit. "Did you ever measure me?"

The words came out sputtered and stammered from your mouth. "I-It was purely o-on instinct. An acc--an accident, I swear to you." A chilling realization dawned on you, that he might now be questioning your meeting from two years ago. "I can assure you that Cora didn't invite me to Aldwinter so that I could evaluate you," you spoke in a rush.

"Y/N, take a breath. Please. You truly don't need to be on your guard around me." He held his hands open, arms outstretched towards you as he took a few steps forward. "It never even crossed my mind, really." He made his way to you and gently placed his hands on your arms, rubbing up and down in a soothing motion. "Breathe, sweet girl."

You suddenly became aware of how close he was standing to you once again, nearly forcing yourself to calm down so you could defuse the crackling tension that seemed to suffocate you now that he was standing not even mere feet away, hands holding you as if you were more than a near stranger to him. "Thanks," you said cautiously, giving him a strained smile. "Anyway, I suppose now that I've brought her up, I feel I should ask. How are things between you and Cora?"

You figured that mentioning her name would give him the same pause it did last time. Grant you just enough space so that you could maneuver your way out of his hold.

You were wrong.

Instead he gave you a small smile, his hands traveling down your arms to hold your own comparatively smaller ones, stroking the back with his thumbs. "Cora and I decided it best to not pursue any further romantic relationship. We tried. It didn't work out."

"Oh…" you breathed out, trying to focus on anything other than the strangely comforting warmth of his touch. "May I ask what happened? I mean…she seemed absolutely taken with you and now--"

"Now she's beginning a relationship with your brother, Doctor Garrett." Your eyes widened as you realized he was already aware of the very information you were keeping to yourself. "She was there with him when I visited his clinic." The air left your lungs as he moved a hand to cup your face, stroking across your cheekbone with his thumb. "As for what happened…I didn't think it was fair for her. If I chose to stay with her even though I couldn't seem to stop thinking about someone else."

You were unable to say anything in response as he leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to your lips, a timidity still lingering about him despite how brazen the action truly was. That reserve, however, dissipated within moments as he moved his hand to start taking out the pins holding your hair up, pulling you close to him for another kiss as he did so.

Once you felt your hair cascade down your back, the pins once holding it up falling soundlessly to the carpeted floor, you weakened in Will's hold as he maneuvered you to lay down on your desk, your back laying flat against the wooden surface. "I need to know you want this, too," he rasped as he pulled away, placing his hands on the desk at your sides as he hovered over you.

The only response you could muster was a breathy moan of his name. Your mind was a mess, your lungs struggling to let in air in the aftermath of his kiss. Not to mention how the light coming in through the textured glass of your office window cast such an otherworldly glow onto his face, stealing away what was left of your rational thought.

"I need to hear you say it," he pleaded softly, pressing the lightest of kisses to your cheek, his lips ghosting across your skin as he continued his words. "You've lingered in my thoughts since the day you left Aldwinter. And I want nothing more than to kiss you again. To touch you. To take the dreams that have haunted me for years and make them real, but I need you to tell me you feel this too. That I didn't spend all this time fraught with a delusion that maybe you--"

"Feel the same?" you finished for him, your voice taking on a huskier tone as the air around you seemed to thicken exponentially. Feeling like you were inhaling molasses or chilled honey. "I do. I want this. I want you. Please--"

The rest of your words died on your tongue as he captured your mouth with his in a desperate kiss, finally allowing yourself to reach up and curl your hand around the back of his neck, your other grasping a handful of his shirt, pulling him closer to you. There was no resistance left in you when you felt his knee working its way between your legs, moaning into his mouth as he stepped between your parted thighs and you felt his hand begin to hike up the fabric of your skirt.

"These cases of yours…" he trailed off, curving his fingers around the back of your knee, coaxing you to part your legs wider. "You make an inference on whether the men you measure can pleasure your clients?"

You could feel your thoughts swimming at the feel of his hands caressing your bared thigh, finding it difficult to even form words as your ache for him grew stronger. "In a way," you whimpered. With how quickly your desperation for him was growing, you weren't above begging him to keep going.

He pressed his hips to yours, burying his face in the crook of your neck as he let out a groan against your skin. "Then tell me, sweet girl." A sharp moan escaped your mouth as he began to roll his hips into yours, his erection rubbing against your soaking folds. "Do you think I can pleasure you?"

All you could do was repeatedly moan "Yes!" as he kept grinding his hips to yours, pressing his lips along the side of your neck and working his way up to your mouth, kissing you languidly. As if he was savoring you. You moaned wantonly into the kiss as you felt his hand trailing upwards along your inner thigh until his fingers met with your slick entrance.

You gripped his shirt even tighter, starting to weave your fingers through his hair as his fingers left you, the sound of the laces of his trousers being undone sending you into a near frenzy as you grew more desperate for him by the moment. A staggered moan slipped through your lips as the tip of his cock brushing up the length of your slit, a shudder rippling through your body when you felt it tap against your clit before he started to inch his way inside you.

A feeling of fullness overwhelmed you as he buried himself to the hilt inside you, your mind in a state of rapture the moment a stuttered utterance of your name escaped him. You felt your walls clenching desperately around him once he grunted, "Mine." The tips of his fingers brushed across your cheek, making you open your eyes to the salacious sight of Will Ransome standing at full height, staring down at you with almost completely blackened eyes rife with ravenous intent. "May I m-move, dear girl?"

You placed your hand over his, pressing a kiss to his palm as you kept your gaze on him, before murmuring against his skin, "Please, Will."

That seemed to be all he needed to start moving inside you, his initial slow and careful shallow thrusts quickly turning merciless, pulling himself out until only the tip of his length remained, only to snap his hips to yours, fully entering you again in one fluid motion. Murmuring words of praise at you in fragments between each thrust.

About how beautiful you were as you took every inch of him.

About how he couldn't possibly get enough of you.

About how your moans were the sweetest music to him.

Every thrust and every praise seemed to work in tandem to steadily bring you closer to the peak of your ecstasy, like a coil you felt tightening more and more until you were begging him to push you over the edge.

That push came the moment you felt the pad of his thumb rubbing firm, tight circles on your clit, your ankles locking behind him as you pulled your bodies as close as you could manage, your walls clenching uncontrollably around him and bringing about his own release inside of you. The force of his hips bucking against you had him staggering forward, placing his hands on the desk at your sides to hold himself up, all the while he kept his eyes on you. Swimming with what seemed a mix of repletion and yet also a burning desire for more.

Neither of you moved as you fought to catch your breath, his forehead resting against yours as you both had looks of evident satiety on your faces.

"Please tell me you live near here," he breathed out, pressing a tender kiss to your lips.

"A few blocks away but it's a quick enough walk," you answered immediately, your smile growing bigger, anticipating what ever his next words could be.

You let out a faint whimper as you felt him withdraw from you, placing a hand underneath you to pull you up to your feet. "Because, my darling girl, I very much want you again." He pulled you flush against him, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth at the sound you made when you felt his once again hardening member pressing against your stomach. "Only this time on a bed. And naked."

A/N: That's a wrap for the lusty vicar for this collection! I can't believe we're finally here but there's only two days left in this project and really all that's left on my end is…two Loki stories 😳🫡

'everything' taglist: @sailorholly @loopsisloops @unlucky-number-13 @imalovernotahater @coldnique @loz-3 @huntress-artemiss @salempoe @vickie5446 @athalialaufeyson @lokiprompts @sarahscribbles @kats72 @kikster606 @evelyn-kingsley @lokixryss @thomase1 @mischief2sarawr @peaches1958 @lovingchoices14 @goblingirlsarah @iamlokisgloriouspurpose @creationsbyme @maple-seed @mjsthrillernp @ladyofthestayingpower @mygfloki @sititran @glitterylokislut @ozymdias @fictive-sl0th @lovelysizzlingbluebird @lokidbadguy @mochie85 @silverfire475 @joyful-enchantress

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anyone want any Will Ransome fics because my god I'm in the mood to write one