#how to become a wealthy middle aged man

[champagnecherryblossom]

• Seduction in Silk: His Possession, Her Pleasure •

Pairing | changbin x fem!reader.

Word Count | 842

Summery | Having been spoiled by a wealthy man allowed you to buy all you pleased and show it off. But at the end of the day, you’re his possession but he was your pleasure; you had to give something back…

warnings | none idol au, older!changbin, fem!reader, dom!changbin, sub!reader, pet names, finger play, clit edging, left denied.

A/N - i think that’s about it? Maybe, idk.

“No… more… pl-please…” You breathed out, his fingers never actually stopping. A whine left your lips as you felt close again, your hips almost bucking up as the same tingly feeling filled the pit of your stomach. You had to remind yourself ‘no moving’ a rule Changbin had when he punished you for your actions.

Changbin smirked as his fingers slowed down once more earning a whine from you. His hands rubbed and roamed your inner thighs letting you calm down from the almost orgasm you could’ve had.

“Please…” You begged, the need to cum becoming stronger, as your actions from earlier came to mind. Why’d you have to tease him with another man his age? Why’d you think it was a good idea? Oh but you did, you loved the idea of teasing him with another man. Even after all he gave you, the designer clothes and items. The pocket money to spend as you please.

You couldn’t help it though, having him toy with you as he pleases in a ‘form of punishment’ it something you couldn’t pass on, even if it was on purpose. You loved how he made you beg, how he would remind you who you belonged to. It was all to good, even if it made you beg like a bitch in heat.

“I don’t think so, Princess.” Changbin’s sultry voice echoed in your ear, his breath hot against your neck making you even more needy. Another whine left your lips once his fingers brushed against you folds, the tip of his middle finger slightly touching your red swollen clit.

“Binnie!” You cried out, the need for him to touch you becoming stronger, to give you what you wanted. But, no. He had other plans, he wanted to see you so edged out that every little moment you made sent shivers of need, that his touch made you want to cum. He was going to make sure of it.

Even if that meant leaving you denied.

His finger began to play with your clit once again, the feeling sending a jolt of arousal through your body. Squirming in his lap, you rubbed against his hard on. A strong low groan left his lips as he stopped his fingers movements as a whine left past your lips.

“No moving, Princess.” He warned, his hands resting on your hips to keep you in place. You nodded, you knew better than to go against his wishes.

“Ye-yes, love.” You replied.

“Good.” His breath hit your ear as his fingers went back to your folds, sliding his two fingers around your needy clit and rubbing.

A sharp gasp left your lips, the very lips that wore the charry lip gloss he’s brought you earlier that day, which now barely evident on your lips. His fingers worked your clit making you forget about the lip gloss as the feeling made you leak with your silk as it dripped onto the seat.

“Making a mess, are we?” You nodded, you so badly wanted to move your hips to get more friction but you couldn’t. You were already on your second warning leaving one left. You didn’t want to be left needy until he brought you some new, you wanted to have your release. The release you have been craving for the past hour now, but he wasn’t making it easy on you.

“Please, Binnie. Let me cum.” You begged, a tear ran down your face as you slightly lifted your head and looked down. His fingers went into a slow motion on your clit, you could see a smirk on his face from your peripheral vision making you whine with need.

“Not yet, Doll.” His fingers stopped moving, he pulled up your laced panties and fixed your dress. You whined as you’ve been denied release yet again, this made you rub your thighs together trying to get some kind of relief. But you were stop, Changbin’s hands pushed your thighs apart keeping you from relieving yourself.

“Don’t make me use that last warning, Princess.” His voice full of warning as his grip on your thigh was almost bruising. A moan left your mouth, your silk soaking your lace panties. You wanted more, you needed him to touch you, to give you that release you wanted.

You became greedy.

“I’ll be good! Just… let me cum…” You whined, moving your hips trying to get that friction but you were stopped immediately. Changbin’s grip rough and bruising, he placed you onto the seat next to him.

“I said no moving!” And there it was, his last warning. You felt your heart drop as you looked at Changbin, a tear slipping from your eyes with need and realization. He was going to keep you denied, he was going to edge you until he brought you some new and luxurious.

“Please…” You begged once more with a bit of hope.

“No, Princess.” His words simply but held so much order, you were left to obey.

To obey until you receive a gift from him.

[caesarsaladinn]

Today in “Sal, what the fuck are you talking about?”: the middle Byzantine period.

The period from the mid-ninth century to the late 11th was defined by a resurgence in the empire’s fortunes, as the Abbasid Caliphate weakened and the bloody stalemate on the eastern border yielded to conquest, plunder, and expansion into regions that the empire hadn’t controlled for centuries. Domestic politics responded predictably to this influx of land, wealth, and prestige: the generals who led these conquests became immensely rich, respected, and in some cases powerful enough to make themselves emperor. Byzantium had never had a true hereditary aristocracy—when you died, your titles generally died with you—but these guys came pretty close, as a few dozen intermarried clans came to dominate both military and civilian politics for generations.

Making military leadership into a family business generally went well, as future commanders could begin learning the trade from a young age, instructed by the most experienced leaders in the empire. The downside was that their egos grew along with their conquests, and when they felt they weren’t being treated with the honor due to such a distinguished family, they had all the resources they needed to launch a rebellion against the throne. This happened again, and again, and again, and again; it’s no coincidence that this was the period when surnames became common among the wealthy.

In the palace, this era was defined by the so-called Macedonian Dynasty, a string of emperors and usurpers founded by Basil, a peasant from—you guessed it—the military district of Macedonia. Basil took the throne by becoming the emperor’s confidant and most trusted servant, before quite literally stabbing him in the back.

The next two centuries saw an alternating series of Basil’s descendants and usurpers take the throne, with coups and rebellions too numerous to list here. Basil’s heirs had a tendency to die while their sons were still minors (or to leave no sons at all), leaving a mad scramble for a new man to marry or kill his way into the imperial family. This was also the heyday of the court eunuch, as aristocrats looked for servants who would serve their family without trying to displace them in favor of their own sons; of course, plenty of eunuch did displace emperors in favor of their own friends and family, or else overshadowed them so completely as to become the functional ruler themselves.

Culturally, this period was quintessentially Byzantine. Emperors were very concerned with soft power, so they poured money into anything that would make them seem like the holy sovereign they considered themselves to be—histories, encyclopedias, churches, monasteries, public games, bejeweled reliquaries, and the like. Foreign ambassadors were feted with gold and silk in front of a throne that could rise from the floor until the emperor was looking down at the from the heavens. My favorite piece of writing from this era is the Book of Ceremonies, which spends hundreds of pages detailing the protocol for every imaginable public event, from the order of seating at imperial feasts to the proper weight of cargo loaded onto an army packhorse; it shows how the emperors tried to synthesize the importance of orderly, standardized, professional administration with the need to appear wise, just, and all-powerful to their subjects. It also shows how unbelievably wealthy the government was—very few states, at any point in history, had the time and resources and literal tons of gold to spend on court ceremonies that intricate and impressive!

I’ll spare you the list of emperors, their personalities, and the various schemes and subordinates that put them on the throne; that’s a whole separate post. Suffice to say that I think this is one of the most interesting eras of history, and I encourage everyone to learn more about it.

[abdullahbroshairif]

New England college-aged brothers Daxton and Brandon White were -art tomb a little too much. Their dad always joked, when they misbehaved, “I’m gonna sell you to the Sheik.” And , throughout their lives, the boys always laughed at that. As IF their dad could, or would, sell them off to live with a Middle Eastern royal. Well, Dax and Bran’s first semester grades were pitiful. Seemed like the brothers couldn’t stop partying enough to make their way to class and went to the gym every day instead.

Bill White had done some work overseas, as a military contractor. And Bill was beginning to think his sons needed a lesson of perspective. So Bill, early on, before he was even married, found himself rubbing (hairy) elbows with the Arab elite, back in the Gulf War days. In fact, Bill had spent time with Sheik Qadar. Sheik Qadar had even come into possession of an ancient changing stone.

One day the boys got picked up from the gym by their dad’s companies’ “fixer,” Mr. Nadir. Nadir took the boys to the airport and shipped them off, first to the city Bursa, Turkey, where they lived each day as a new hairy Arab. Then they were taken overseas to the Caribbean to wake up daily as black man who lives their lives as online influencers personal training the wealthy arabic vacationers. Next, the boys were shipped of the UAE where they did the same, learning arabic with their thick Eastern Caribbean accents. Gosh, it was getting difficult for them to remember English after becoming so used to speaking Arabic. Lastly, they were sent to India where Daxton and Brandon completely forgot being white Americans, but were able to remember their lives as Caribbeans and Arabs.

Dakaar and Brishaan now are being picked up by a man they’ve never met, Mr. nadir, to be taken back to America. Oh, so sad how the boys were crying and scared, not wanting to leave their homeland of India. Dakaar soothes his younger brother and tells him, in Hindu “we’ll be okay, brother. We must obey this new life with our new master in America”

The trick is on Bill, who assumed his sons would eventually regain their life as his white American sons… three years later the Indian brothers are just as unable to attend school, since they only English they now know are the names of the machines in the gym and the only counting they can do is May decidable by the numbers on the side of weight plates and dumbbells. Bill is doing his best, though, to teach his boys English. They get tutored by handsome blonde university men every day.

💚💚💚

[whencyclopedia]

How to Become a Medieval Knight

In medieval society a knight enjoyed a position of high status and often wealth, they were feared on the battlefield and known for their chivalry off it, but it took a long time and a lot of training to get there. Trained in weapons handling and horse-riding from childhood, a young man could be made a knight by the local lord he served, through exceptional bravery on the battlefield, and, at least in later times when European monarchs desperately needed funds and men of skill for their armies, the position could even be bought. In any case, a knight underwent an elaborate initiation ceremony, after which they were expected to uphold the chivalric traditions of their rank and courageously face the best-equipped and most heavily armed opponents in battle, the knights of the enemy's army.

Although there was no fixed system, age ranges varied, and some youths never qualified for the next stage, the general steps to become a medieval knight were as follows:

Page - from age 7-10 to 13, become familiar with horses, hunting and the use of mock weapons by serving a local knight, baron, or royal court.

Squire - from age 14 to 18-21, assist a full-knight, learn to use the weapons and armour of war, and improve one's general education, especially the code of chivalry.

Dubbing - When aged 18-21, the ceremony of being made a knight performed by another knight.

Service - Act as a guard for a baron and his castle, fight in wars for one's sovereign and the Church, and perform in medieval tournaments.

Training 1 - Being a Page

Most knights were probably sons of knights, but there are records of the sons of a burgess or freeman being put forward for the necessary training, as well as wealthy merchants and government officials as those classes grew in the later Middle Ages. An ordinary soldier might also be made a knight for courage on the battlefield. As warfare grew ever bigger in scale and barons increasingly preferred to send knights to do service in their place, the social background of a knight became less important during wars when a sovereign needed all the armed men they could get. Generally, though, by the 13th century CE, the idea of noble lineage and preserving knighthood as a mark of a class with restricted access had taken hold across Europe. There were exceptions, notably in France and Germany and on a case by case basis, but in the main, only the son of a knight could become one.

A knight had to be accomplished in riding a horse while carrying a shield and lance, so he needed to practise guiding his steed using only the knees and feet. He must be capable of using a long and heavy sword for a sustained period of fighting and fit enough to move around with speed while wearing heavy metal armour. A proficiency with additional weapons such as a dagger, battleaxe, mace, bow, and crossbow might come in handy, too. Accordingly, a young boy earmarked by his parents or sponsor to one day become a knight had to start training young, typically as a page from the age of 10 (or even 7 in some cases), with mock weapons and basic riding skills. A young noble was likely sent to the royal court for such training while a youth from a more modest aristocratic family would be enrolled at the local castle or that of a relative to train with the knights and men-at-arms stationed there. There they would, along with other pages, serve at table, act as stable hands, perform menial tasks, and begin the education that was to continue in earnest as a teenager.

Continue reading...

[starkdirewolflove]

Latest episode of X-Men ‘97, wow.

Omg there was so much going on in that episode can’t believe it was only 36 minutes.

Love square of Jean, Scott. Madelyne and Logan. Love triangle of Magneto, Rogue and Gambit, relationship drama galore.

I find it really amusing that Emma Frost has a front row seat to the drama with Jean, Madelyne and Scott like her own personal telenovela. Love that Madelyne has been forging her own path and becoming a part of the council of Genosha.

There’s a reporter doing a documentary about the X-Men and Xavier’s school. I’m a bit confused about Roberto being there. When we first meet him he’s a young rich party boy, heir to a wealthy Brazilian family that can just take a private jet wherever he wants to go and is ashamed and afraid of people, particularly his mother learning he’s a mutant so he leaves after episode one. Then he’s just always at the mansion hanging around with Jubilee and he’s in this documentary about a mutant school. Is he out to his family as a mutant or does he not care who knows anymore? I feel like this should’ve been addressed at some point.

Things are still really rocky with Scott and Jean, I can understand why he blew up at the reporter, she was being really invasive about his personal life and calling him a liar about having a son. And who was that doctor to make any statement about the birth? The bigot refused medical help to a woman in labour. But then he goes and has his psychic affair with Madelyne, dick move. And he’s been doing this since she left while shutting Jean out then turns everything around on her. Like Jean has been traumatised by what Sinister did to her. She doesn’t know how long he had her abducted, what he did while she was his prisoner, her mind is all messed up and on top of that her husband had a baby with her clone who had completely stolen her life (not Madelyne’s fault, this was 100% Sinister’s evil plan) and the only one who is actually supportive and understanding of her pain is Logan, no wonder she kissed him. Good on Logan for not trying to make the kiss into a big deal, Jean and Scott are married and he respects that even though he’s in love with her. The betrayal from Scott was even worse for Jean because their psychic connection has always been sacred between the two of them and her anchor when the Phoenix was overwhelming her and then he disregards all that because he’s in love with Madelyne too supposedly. Like I get their shared grief over having to give up their baby, it doesn’t give him a free pass to cheat on his wife.

Gambit was such a gentleman throughout the whole Rogue and Magento stuff, even though it was breaking his heart to see her with another man he respected her choice, didn’t try to blame or shame her about it and said they can be friends still. Rogue had a really rough time this episode. From the start of this season I felt uncomfortable with this Rogue and Magento pairing but when she explained their history to Gambit it was even worse because it just sounded like grooming and made Magento a creepy sexual predator. So Rogue ran away from home as a teenager after the trauma of putting the first boy she kissed in a coma and being rejected by her dad, gets taken in by Mystique who gets her to use her powers as part of her mutant terrorist group then brings this vulnerable teenage girl who is afraid to touch anyone to a middle aged man to help her control her powers and instead of doing that he fills her head with his ideologies and because he can touch her without it hurting either of them they become lovers. 🤢🤮 so creepy. Magento leverages the council of Genosha that he will only lead them if he can take Rogue as his “Queen” or co leader to the public, so she feels backed into a corner after seeing how amazing things on Genosha were for mutants now. Then after that amazing dance scene she realises that Gambit is the man she truly loves and what they have is more meaningful and goes beyond being able to touch and she chooses her swamp rat only to lose them both by the end of the episode.

The attack on Genosha was brutal but it was so amazingly done. Cable traveling back through time to try and warn everyone about the attack even though it goes against the rules of time travel, seeing Madelyn for a moment, her recognising him as her son by his eyes and him calling her “mom” as he got pulled back through time. The music, the chaos and panic you could literally feel through the screen, Magneto’s holocaust flashbacks, the Morlocks being trapped and thinking no one was coming to save them, Nightcrawler almost dying saving Rogue and Magneto.

Rogue and Gambit were the ultimate power couple fighting their way to the Morlocks, a better dance than the one she had with Magneto. Magneto saving Rogue and Gambit while he tried to shelter the Morlocks from the sentinel blast, so tragic. Then Gambit saves Rogue from getting herself killed by attacking the sentinel in a rage, takes it on by himself to save everyone and destroys it but sacrificing his own life in the process 😭.

The tragedy is they foreshadowed this in the first episode when Jean/Madelyne went into Trask’s mind and then both Jean and Madelyne got a psychic premonition of the attack just before it happened but were unable to do anything to stop it.

When the dust settles at the end you see the X-Men witness the aftermath of the attack, the few surviving mutants gather around the crater where Rogue is cradling Remy’s body. She’s finally able to touch him but only because he’s dead. “Sugah. I can’t feel you.” 💔

That killed me at the end, was so shocked that they killed Magneto and Gambit within minutes of each other. I know they probably won’t be dead forever but fuck that was brutal.

I know next week’s episode is gonna be Storm centric so we’ll probably have to wait 2 weeks to see what happens with the rest of the X-Men and hopefully by then Storm is ready to rejoin the team. There was a moment in the Genosha attack where Val Cooper is helping evacuate mutants to the gardens and she looks back at the sentinels and there’s this look in her eye that made me wonder is she Val Cooper or Mystique in disguise? We haven’t seen Mystique in the show so far but what if she’s been there all along? Maybe she was afraid of being exposed as an imposter by the sentinels because they’d know she’s not human.

[ladybelladonna76]

Voila, Dakota's Misty Summer, Part I

Dakota Harding, Ms Harding to her pupils was an okay teacher, not the best but certainly not the worst. A fourth year teacher she was starting to become jaded with how little she could achieve within in her classroom. Sure she helped the students she could and cajoled those that she couldn't. She was loved by some of her class and hated by others, but for the most part she was just another obstacle to be overcome for these young adults about to head out into the world.

It was the end of another year and one more class was graduating ready to start the next step on leaving their own paths into adulthood. As always she recieved a bunch of presents from those graduating and she gathered them up and put them in a bag to take home and look at later. 

Getting home Dakota settled down for a quiet evening, she started with the main event, the unpacking of her class's gifts.

"Nice! Target, Starbucks, Macy's", the middle class parents always defaulted to gift cards, "a couple of mugs to be put in the cupboard with the dozen others ages been given over the years", she snickered, "Best teacher ever! Wow Stacey's parents do not know their daughter at all!", she continued to sort through them until the various knickknacks and gift cards were all sorted, laid out haphazardly on her coffee table. "Nice haul" she smiled, "better than last year" and started tidying up, she folded up the bag she'd used when one more unnoticed card fell out, she opened it up, reading the front,  "Hmmm, what's this, Voila, a gift card for $200", she was impressed, flattered, "wow that's a lot, I wonder what Voila sells, and who'd give me a gift like this", she looked inside the card and read the inscription, "from JT" she was incredulous, "this must be a mistake, he hates me, I had him in detention most weeks and almost got him expelled a couple of times", reading on, "I know I wasn't your favourite student Ms D, heck I'm pretty sure I was your arch nemesis at times but you've been my teacher since I was a freshman and you were the best teacher I had, so I hope this makes up for it. I guess I was trouble mostly because I wanted to get your attention, and spend more time with you whilst we were still together at school, you were always my favorite Ms D.", 

Dakota was taken aback, flustered even. She would never have expected this from Jack. Jack Taylor was always trouble.

He came from a wealthy family and he knew no matter what he did he always had Daddy's money to back him up. As she thought about it even though he was rich and spoilt his life must be hard, he never saw his Dad, he was always traveling and his mom was too busy being the wife of a wealthy man to pay much attention to her son. The only place he must get any attention must be here at school, of course his behavior was a cry for help and she'd missed it. She got misty eyed and a little choked up, "I'm sorry Jack I never knew" she mouthed almost silently to no one.

The rest of the night went as planned, the gifts sat on the coffee table mostly forgotten, except for a single box of candy that she picked at periodically. Dakota later ate some microwaved noodles and binged three episodes of Stranger Things, she was watching it for the fifth time, it was comfort TV. Eventually the day caught up with her and she felt her eyes growing heavy, rather than sleep on the couch again Dakota turned off her TV before crawling to her cold lonely bed in her quiet empty one bedroom apartment.

The next few weeks were what she'd come to expect from the long summer months, they were boring with nothing to do and no where to go, Dakota drifted, she went out a couple of times with friends, saw family, read a couple of books but really she did nothing of consequence. Finally cleaning her house in a burst of energy to block out the overpowering monotony she came across Jack's forgotten gift card again and decided on the spur of the moment to find out what exactly Voila did.

Grabbing her laptop she did a quick internet search and discovered that Voila was a beauty salon on the wealthy side of town! She smiled and laughed in exasperation, "Oh it could have been such a nice thought Jack, it was so expensive, but it was just a way for you to get one more dig in about my appearance", memories of Jack poking fun of her in front of the rest of the class about how she should act like a young woman not an old crone ready to go to nursing home flashed in her mind. She thought about giving the card to someone or just throwing it away but instead Dakota laughed in defiance, "Fuck you JT, I'm using this and then I'll never have to think about or see you ever again!"

She called the salon's number on the card the next day and arranged for an appointment through the rather rude and impatient receptionist, she was given an appointment for the next week, apparently she was lucky, there's been an opening, appointments were normally scheduled months in advance. Dakota was eager to use the gift card and forget Jack or the present had ever existed, move on with the rest of her life.

Walking up to the salon on the day of her appointment Dakota felt instant regret at not giving the card away.

Voila was a bustling high end salon in an exclusive part of town. Dakota stood watching the entrance from across the street trying to summon up the courage to enter, she watched the numerous clientele coming and going she knew this wasn't her kind of place at all, they were all glamorous women, some young, some old, all ostentatiously wealthy. Dakota didn't want to judge but they all looked like high maintenance trophy wives, she most certainly did not belong in a decadent place like this.

Dakota normally got her hair cut at a local salon. They did good straightforward work, she didn't need anything fancy, most importantly they were cheap and familiar. She'd been visiting her normal hairdresser ever since settling here after college, she was comfortable there. 

Taking one final deep breath and steeling herself Dakota walked quickly towards the salon door, she could see there was a gap in people coming and going, she decided, it was now or never. Looking around the salon as she walked through the door she knew immediately this really was an alien world. She could hear some kind of chart music playing in the background, it sounded familiar, she'd heard her students listening to it but she couldn't fully make out what it was. People were bustling around, there was so much happening, her senses were bombarded, disoriented. In this state of sensual overload she approached the front desk apologetically.

"Err, excuse me, I have an, um appointment", she tried to catch the receptionists attention

The intimidating receptionist looked her up and down making an obviously negative assessment.

"Name?"

The tone in this beautiful Amazon of a woman's voice and her withering stare unsettled Dakota even more, she gulped, "it's errm..."

"Oh spit it out, can't you see we're busy here?", her eyes narrowed, it felt like they were burrowing a hole in Dakota's head. 

"Ms D. Harding"

"Okay Misty I've got a Harding here, your stylist Raven will be out in a minute, take a seat"

Dakota tried to correct the receptionist but her words died in her throat as she was dismissed with a wave and a roll of the eyes. Dakota went over to the waiting area and flopped down into a big chair. She didn't belong in a place like this, she knew it, the receptionist knew it, everyone here knew it, she felt like the eyes of everyone were looking at her, judging her. She slouched back desperately hoping the soft chair would swallow her up so she could disappear from this horror show.

After what seemed like a long time Dakota heard a voice calling out insistently.

"Misty.....Misty.....", Dakota heard a brief exchange of words punctuated by a snicker, "her? Okay....there you are....Misty?", the voice was directed at her..."are you deaf darling or just catatonic..." realizing the voice has been calling for her she sat up straight and saw the intimidatingly perfect woman looking down at her questioningly.

Dakota couldn't get out her words she just sat up and stared

"So not deaf then, are you mute Misty or just stupid?"

Stunned Dakota bit her lip, "no", she gulped, she thought she should correct Raven's mistake,  "just a little nervous, sorry, the receptionist she err..."

"No need to be sorry," Raven cut her off before she could correct the error, "looking at you it's obviously your first time" her hands waved at Dakota to follow, "I do love a Voila virgin, come on Misty hurry up,  we've got a lot to do today", with that Raven marched back towards the back room, Dakota hurrying behind in her wake. She was so defeated and in a daze she decided that today she'd just have to be Misty, she didn't want to go through the rigmarole of trying to explain the mistake and be ignored again.

"Okay bitch, get in the chair and we'll get you started"

"I'm sorry" Dakota said outwardly offended by Raven's language. 

"Stop being so sorry, all my clients are Bitch to me, it's a sign of affection sweetie, you'll get used to it, you'll soon think of yourself as a Bitch too"

"I'm sure I won't, I can't afford this  extravagance regularly, this was a gift"

"Don't worry Misty you'll be back, my clients always become regulars, I have a certain magic about me, now let's get you started"

"Okay well I was thinking a trim and perhap some low li...."

"It's okay sweetie, the instructions were all on file with the gift card, just sit back and relax, I'll take it from here, I know what you need"

"Errm......okay Raven", Dakota wanted to protest but she knew it would have no effect, this woman was a force of nature. 

As Raven went to work Dakota felt a daze coming over her. Watching Raven's movements whilst working her magic was almost hypnotic, Raven chatted away and Dakota would respond and hold simple conversations with her but she couldn't seem to remember what they talked about only moments later. After what seemed like just a few minutes, but was in fact several hours, Raven span her to the look at her new hairstyle in the mirror.

"Some of my best work", Raven announced proudly to her, "So what do you think Bitch?"

Not even registering the word bitch, Dakota was transfixed by the beautiful woman staring across the salon at her.

Dakota's jaw relaxed and her mouth opened ever so slightly in awe of this baddie, she held up her hands to touch her hair in anxiety and the woman in the across the way did the same. The realization slowly dawned on her, this stunningly hot woman looking at her was her... she was looking at a reflection, this couldn't be real, this was some kind of a trick. There was no way she that young woman staring seductively from the mirror.

She registered the glasses and oversize jacket, she'd put them in this morning, they were definitely hers, but this must be an elaborate prank after all looking at this vision the clothes were where the similarities ended. This woman, this perfect vision of sexuality, looked like some kind of seductive trophy woman. Her lips painted in perfectly applied lipstick, makeup accentuating her seductive eyes, even her blouse was gone, she could see the top of the woman's bare chest and what looked like two incredible tits...no not tits, nice looking breasts, peeking out. Dakota's hand trembled as her hand moved to her chest, mirrored by the image opposite her, she found only skin and the woman in mirror's face dropped in shock. 

"The first time is shocking isn't it?" Raven observed, this wasn't the worst reaction she'd ever seen by far. 

"Oh my God, what have you done to me, I look like some 20 year old party bitch"

"You're welcome and it's 21 year old actually, and I told you at the beginning Misty, I have a certain magic about me", she winked, "so do you like the look?...I know your boyfriend will"

"I don't have a boyfriend you witch", a harsh tone crept in to Dakota's voice, "and my name is fucking Misty, not Misty"

"Okay, fucking Misty it is and as a 'witch' talking to my client I'll just let you know that I was just doing what it said on the order Bitch, take it up with Mr Taylor if you've got any complaints"

"I want a full refund" Dakota called after Raven who was walking obliviously towards the reception, "no can do sweetcheeks, Mr Taylor paid in advance and the $200 was my special fee, take it up with him", Dakota felt a sudden burning at the mention of Jack's name, her whole body flushed with anger?

Infuriated and defeated Dakota impotently stormed out of the salon, "Fuck you all" she cried causing a scene and slamming the door in a full on tantrum as she left. She could see people looking at her shocked by her behavior, ashamed a tear rolled down her cheek. Dakota didn't know what to do or where to go, she breathed slowly composing herself and made sure to straighten herself up, making sure her makeup wasn't smudged she examined herself in a shop window, "yep still looking good Bitch!", she paused momentarily wondering where that had came from. Just because she looked like trophy bitch didn't mean she was any different inside, she was still Dakota. Finding herself calm for a moment Dakota decided she needed somewhere to think, to plan out her next move, she wandered in to a nearby coffee shop she'd spotted deciding a hot drink would help calm her nerves. 

She walked in to the coffee shop and automatically without thinking walked straight up to the barista, jumping past a couple of people patiently waiting in line. Her resting bitch face glared at the other customers almost instinctually, as if she was challenging them to say anything, they looked away quietly. 

'They know their place', she thought. 

She walked up to the counter and without being asked just barked out her order at the meek pathetic looking barista 

"I'll have a venti 7 pump vanilla soy 12 scoop matcha 180 degree NO FOAM green tea latte", where had that come from she normally ordered a flat white, "make sure that temperature is right" she demanded, 'what's wrong with me? I must still be in shock she reasoned to herself'

"Name?", the barista asked

Dakota felt a momentary anxiety trigger inside her remembering the confusion earlier. 

"Misty", Dakota said automatically despite herself,  "M-I-S-T-Y!", she spelled out as if assuming the girl was dumb or would deliberately write it incorrectly to spite her, inwardly she was screaming, 'why am I being such a bitch and why can't I seem to dump that bitch moniker, although Misty does seems like more of a name for a bitch than Dakota and that is how I'm behaving right now. Get a hold of yourself, this is not who you are, be nice Dakota, it costs nothing.'

As she stood waiting for her drink the time seemed to be dragging, it seemed like it that little bitch was taking forever deliberately. Dakota, found herself tapping on the counter with her elegantly painted nails impatiently. Dakota looked up at the clock to see it had only actually been three minutes, she dismissed that, the clock must be broken, this wait felt like forever, impatience darkened her already irritated mind further. The drink finally arrived, Dakota took it before paying and took a tiny sip, she sighed and with dark stormy eyes she turned sardonically to the poor slight barista, a young girl of barely college age, 

"Really....you took all that time, making me wait and this is what you give me", her irritation was fast turning to anger, her voice gaining a strained tone,  "do I need to get someone more competent, perhaps not a fucking trainee to make this for me, this, whatever this you think this is, is disgusting" she passed it back dismissively, "make it again, but properly this time!", the barista intimidated by the forcefulness of Misty took the drink back sheepishly.

"I'm sorry, I'll make it again, I...", she started to apologize

"Don't tell me you're sorry," Misty snapped, "just do your fucking job properly, it's not hard, ugh idiots"

Dakota couldn't believe what she was doing or just how satisfying it felt doing it. After the fourth attempt, with the barista looking more and more upset the drink was finally to Dakota's exasperated satisfaction

"About time, I assume this will be free"

The barista meekly nodded and retreated into the back room, Dakota thought she could hear muffled sobbing, she smirked as she strutted away from the counter pridefully.

"I'll be sure to leave a review", she called back maliciously, reveling in the pain she was causing the girl. 

"That was uncalled for and just mean", a woman's voice murmured from the expanding line, Dakota spun on her heel glaring accusingly at the line of people.

She started laughing at the sight of these pathetic examples of humanity, "Look sheeple if that moron did her job properly she wouldn't have caused that to happen to her, we all have to learn", she smirked hoping the voice would identify themselves, "in fact if that pathetic serf had any real sense about her she wouldn't be working at this awful job, she'd have someone to take of her and not end up serving me and you fucking robots, she gets what she deserves and what she deserves certainly doesn't include respect or compassion from me just because she can't do the simple job she's paid what she's worth to do".

'Wow', she felt her eyes roll a little backwards in pleasure, 'that was a rush, why does being mean make me feel so fucking horny',  Dakota thought biting her lip a little, 'is this what being Misty would feel like, this is terrible, I'm being so fucking bitchy, this is so wrong, I'm being a horrible person, but mmmmmm it feels so good', a damp patch started to form in her panties. 

She walked elegantly away from the murmuring line of people and sat down at a table by the window looking outside so she wouldn't have to remember she was in a room full of pathetic worthless bags of skin.  Looking out the window she started examining the people that passed by on the busy street. Dakota found herself openly sneering in disgust as each and every person she saw was found lacking in her mind in almost every criteria she now found found important.

Look at her rat's nest hair, why is he wearing a suit like that, where did she get those clothes, a garbage dump? Dakota was fast realizing that there was not one person in here worthy of Misty's precious time.

'Why did I come to this dump', she thought, "this isn't me at all" She shook her head trying to clear mind of cobwebs, to think clearly, '..or is it, I've always loved coffee shops" Dakota was fighting for her identity, 'No this bitchiness it isn't me, none of this is me, this is just an uncharacteristic moment, shock from my appointment' she held herself tightly, her hands feeling her soft delicate skin, the brush of her nails comforting her , 'maybe that wicked slut Raven drugged me and I'm still just sat hallucinating in her chair', of course that must be the answer. That made sense, this must just be some lucid fever dream, a momentary hallucination. Dakota rationalized if it's a just a dream then there's no guilt, this isn't me, there's no consequences to this. My subconscious is just running free let loose of my normal inhibitions, I should just play along and let go. A thought intruded, let's see where my subconscious is going with this, let Misty out, then we can enjoy this dream fully together, if it's just a dream let the bad girl play, she's always been just below the surface just waiting for you to let her out and have fun, that would be the nice supportive thing to do', she bit her lip seductively at the titillating idea of freedom swirling in her mind, 'Misty you want to come out and play a while whilst I dream?', she asked to only herself in her mind. 

With that mental choice Dakota's personality was suddenly overwhelmed by a new fully formed identity erupting out, finally freed from inside her. A raw passion awakened, a realization of power cascaded throughout her being, a tantalizing shiver of possibility shot up her spine and her nipples hardened against the fabric of her cheap jacket.

A perfect smile crept over her face,  'I'm over this place, where too now?', Misty wondered sipping her coffee, seeing the sleeve of her jacket as she raised the cup gave her a spark of inspiration, 'I'm done with this cheap costume, it's served it's purpose now I need a more appropriate outfit", Misty adjusted her jacket making sure her breasts were still on on display looking perfect so all these pigs would be aware of their inferiority. With a flourish she stood knocking over her barely touched drink to spill all over the table and floor, she actively ignored the mess leaving it for some peon to clean up.

Misty seemed to head on autopilot strutting along the street like a model on her own personal catwalk, her face daring anyone to get in the way of her parade of perfection. She could see the stares and hear the intakes of breath she was attracting as she seductively strutted towards her goal. 

She walked in to the fanciest boutique like she belonged there, this was a place Dakota didn't know existed, let alone would ever have considered shopping at. 

"I'm going to need some help" she announced upon entering the store looking coldly at the sales staff.

She looked at the three people who had stopped working and now stood staring up at her like startled deer. Her mind quickly sizing them up she selected by pointing at the most attractive girl, she knew the other two girls would be equally jealous of their colleague but a little relieved too, "You'll do for now", she subtly let the girl know she was replaceable, "I need a new wardrobe,  go get me somethings to try on, clothes that will dream me perfectly, you know what I want?"

"Yes of course, Miss erm?"

 "Misty darling", she looked in the mirror adjusting her hair and touching up her lip gloss.

"And I'm..", Misty immediately cut her off

"No thank you, I could not care less", superior bitchiness was so delicious, "now run along little girl and bring me something more", she waved down at her old oversized jacket, "suitable for a bad bitch like me out on the town", Misty loved ordering this peon around it made her nipples hard as diamonds, I'll be in the changing rooms, please don't make me wait too long, I hate to wait, I get so terribly impatient and bored"

The girl ran off frantically to bring Misty the stores hottest looks.

Misty walked towards the changing area and started stripping her clothes off as she went. The two remaining assistants scurried after her in a panic picking up what she dropped, the glasses, shoes, her skirt, and finally her jacket.

"Miss Misty what should we do with these?", the oldest of the assistants called after her, gasping at the customer's beautiful round ass.

"Throw them away or keep them, I don't really care, they're just not me anymore", Misty said with a dismissive tone.

The assistant followed behind Misty gathering up her discarded clothing as she went, when she came to Dakota's granny panties she looked around furtively to make sure she wasn't being watched then stuffed them in her dress for safe keeping.

Now competently naked in the changing area Misty took in her whole body's magnificence in the full length mirror for the first time. 

'Jack what have you done to me', she thought remembering her student who's gift has brought her to this moment, 'if you could see boring Dakota now you you wouldn't think she's some ugly crone anymore, mmm, I think I may need to go visit JT and apologize to him personally for not giving him the attention he needed when he was in Dakota's class'

She'd had an inkling when she first changed whilst boring Dakota was still in control that she was sexy, but fuck Misty could she that she was a magnificent sexy bitch who knew it. Her pride an arrogance pumped wicked nasty thoughts in to her mind, her hands massaged herself roaming around her naked body, exploring every inch, her plump soft lips, her graceful neck. Every light touch was a rhapsody in sensitivity sending tingles shooting throughout her consciousness. Her arms and legs were strong but elegantly sculpted like a dancer's, her ass full and round, she'd perfectly fill out any pants or leggings now. oh her beautiful breasts, her glorious fucking tits, they were at least a full C Cup, they were pert and firm to her touch, she accidentally grazed her erect nipple and it send a shock of pure pleasure to her beautiful glistening pussy, she could feel the heart emanating from her sex, she wanted so desperately to touch it to feel her pussy's lips, she could feel her then moistening with every naughty moment, before today she'd never have used the word pussy to describe her vagina, but it was undeniable, she had a pussy and it was a fucking gorgeous succulent one. Her finger edged closer towards her dripping eager cunt, feeling the heat she knew that she had to...

The retail assistant burst in to the dressing room carrying an armful of clothes desperate not to disappoint Misty. 

"Miss Misty, I got everyth...", the young girl stopped struck mute at the sight of the goddess before her.

"You really should have knocked", Misty said menacingly, "you left me waiting so long I got bored and needed to distract myself"

Misty looked the girl up and down assessing her coldly. She was a moderately good looking woman, after all, that's why she'd chosen her. 

"It seems to me that you that you took forever getting what I asked for, and then you rudely barged in here without knocking, you really are awful at this job, aren't you?"

"I'm so sorry Miss Misty, I can leave and come back when you're ready"

She pursed her lips in mock irritation, "My name is just Misty, I told you that already", Misty closed the space between them,  "that's your third offense", she smiled wickedly taking the girl's hand and squeezing, "How do  you propose making all this up to me?"

She placed the young woman's hand on her soft thigh, she felt the girl tense up, "I can either talk to your manager about this and tell them what you've done and probably get you fired, or you can help me relieve my frustration at your poor attention to customer satisfaction"

"Please Misty, I'd do anything", the girl has said the magic words and opened the door Misty smirked taking the girl's head in her hand and leaning in. Misty heard the girl's breath hitch involuntarily and she kissed her, Misty felt the girl's skin heat and her mouth open just enough to allow her tongue room to explore. 

Her tongue massaged and toyed with the girl, her hand explored the girls body finding a hardened nipple, she broke off and looked at the girls eyes noting her flushed cheeks and dilated pupils, 

"I like you", she saw the young woman beaming with pride at her approval, "now I could care less...tell me your name"

The girl eagerly blurted, "It's Vicki, Misty", her hands nervously massaged Misty's thigh, "I've never kissed..."

"There's lots of things you haven't done Vicki, let's get rid of one more of those today shall we", Misty rose and walked to the door, opening it fully exposing her glorious body to the store, "I'm going to be commandeering Vicki for a little while", she smirked, "she's going to be helping me, I do not want us to be disturbed", not waiting for a response she slammed the door and turned the lock.

Turning back she looked at her new pupil, "Now where were we Vicki?"

This was based on a prompt by David Bikerbat that struck me. This is the beginning of Dakota's summer break from school, I suspect she will have to confront JT and Raven and address what they did to her, Misty has unfinished business

[audrey-carr1]

The Baroness makes house calls (Part 1)

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Summary: You are an unmarried, educated, wealthy orphan who develops a relationship with the lady across the way in Woodstone Manor.

A/N: More Hetty x reader I'm pulling from the drafts! This is unrelated to the first one I posted. Also Hetty is alive in this one! This more than likely won't be more than a couple of one-shots tied together. Who knows lol.

warnings: fem!reader, eventual smut,

At the age of twenty-three, you had received news that your parents were lost at sea and presumably passed on.

At twenty-four, you became known as the orphan heiress. Though you were well educated, thanks to the insistence of your mother, your single nature left you with gentlemen throwing themselves left and right for a chance at your fortune.

At twenty-five you became a spinster and planned to stay that way. Men who tried to court you have been found to con artists, or just full of boredom. You never felt that spark you often heard your married friends talk about. You had given up on finding love, and have become fond of being alone. No obligations of a husband or children left you freer than most women your age. Your time is spent on afternoon walks seeking solitude in nature. You enjoyed the sound of the birds chirping and babbling in the nearby spring as it fed into the lake. You were always alone on your walks at least until you turned twenty-six.

At the age of twenty-six, you find yourself enjoying the company of your new neighbors, the Woodstones. Well, you enjoy the company of Hetty, her husband Elias was never truly around. Hetty was like no one you met before. She was smart, funny, and very quick-witted. The two of you often find yourselves talking until the wee hours of the morning. It became so common that you both have respect bedrooms in each other’s house. Your visits are more frequent as her children are school-aged, and have been sent away for their schooling. “The best that money has to offer,” Hetty always says before a titter of laughter.

You love Hetty’s laugh, it’s the sweetest music you have ever heard and you try to make her laugh as much as you can. Deep down you sense a sadness in Hetty, and you feel an unnerving sense of duty to remove that sadness from her.

Hetty offers her guidance to you whenever she sees fit. Though a woman, Hetty has an impeccable eye for business procedures. If she were a man Hetty would no doubt be more successful than any man you have come into contact with. Hetty helps you balance your books, pick good staffing, and even buys you a telephone. You never understood why as the two of you talked every day in person. Hetty says a young woman of such status as mine should have something to gloat to her friends about.

Hetty would never admit that she got the phone to check up on you when you had fallen ill, and needed to hear your voice to assure you were recovering. A month ago you had fallen ill, and Hetty was beside herself with worry not being able to see or speak to you. Your staff often informed you that Hetty was downstairs keeping the house in running order and asking about your recovery. She had even sent a couple of doctors away who did not help you to recover any sooner. By day 3 of your illness, you were on your 5th doctor. Hetty’s reach knows no bounds or expense. She wanted the best for you even if you were barely coherent to acknowledge the gesture.

On day 4 of your illness, a telephone was installed in your bedroom. It was the middle of the night when you woke to an insistent ringing that did nothing to help the pounding you felt in your head as you reached to pick up the receiver.

“Devereaux residence,” you answer

“(Y/n)” Hetty sighs on the other end

“Hetty! Oh how I have missed the sound of your voice,” you immediately perk up sitting up in bed.

“And I, yours,” Hetty spoke softly into the phone.

“I feel absolutely, positively dreadful, Hetty,” You sniffle wiping your nose on a nearby handkerchief.

“I know my darling, the doctor says you have influenza,” Hetty explains. The term of endearment slips, and Hetty hopes you don't mind let alone notice.

“How wonderful,” you say as you move the phone away from your face to cough, “I miss you Hetty.”

You did not mean to sound so needy, but you blame it on the fever and hope Hetty would too.

“I miss you terribly as well. I’m sure your staff will be happy to be rid of me once you’re recovered,”

This makes you laugh, and you smile for the first time in days. “Well I’m sure your staff must be happy to have you away from home,”

“While the cat’s away the mice will play. Do you know Molly has barely dusted the house while I’ve been gone?”

You laugh once more as Hetty goes on to explain the ongoings of what you’ve missed while bedridden. You try to stay awake, but the medicine you took earlier is beginning to take hold again. You fall asleep again to the sound of Hetty’s voice leaving the phone next to your ear on the pillow.

Hetty notices that you have gone silent, and for a fraction begins to worry before she hears your soft snoring. The two of you must have gotten caught up in the excitement of finally being able to talk to each other after almost a week. Hetty begins to scold herself for such behavior but can’t help the warmth she feels after speaking with you.

“Sleep well my darling,” Hetty says before hanging up the phone and retiring to bed herself.

-End-

A/N: See you in part two!

[graysparrowao3]

Sam Drake - A Character Exploration

About 4 years ago, I wrote a character analysis for Sam Drake from the Uncharted series. It sat in my documents folder ever since, but it seems like Tumblr is the right place for this sort of thing, so I'll share it should anyone have interest in that sort of thing.

(Turns out I have a thing for writing about sibling relationships in games, especially focusing on the older sibling, who knew!)

This analysis explores Samuel Drake as a tragic example of a man surviving through childhood trauma and loss. We will look at how his early experiences shape who he is, and demonstrate how Sam survives through adversity. Let's look at some of the facts of Sam's life and break them down to explore how Sam came to be the person we see throughout Uncharted 4.

This contains spoilers for the Uncharted game series.

Profile: Samuel "Drake" Morgan, White male, mid-40s.

Sam is born five years before his brother, Nathan. When Sam is ten years old their mother dies and their father surrenders them to the state and sells their family possessions. They find their mother's notes on pirates with an elderly explorer who speaks highly of her and Sam changes their surname to Drake. When pursuing pirate treasure with the aid of wealthy Rafe Adler, Sam is shot and left for dead. After thirteen years, Rafe discovers Sam is alive and pays for his release from prison. Sam reunites with his brother and constructs a lie in which his life being threatened to convince Nate to join him again. There is clear tension between Sam and Nate's mentor, Victor Sullivan. When Sam ultimately finds the treasure he sets off a trap that leaves him unconscious; Nate saves him. Sam takes some treasure which he discreetly gives to his brother. Sam and Sully become business partners.

From Very Small Beginnings

Sam is born five years before his brother, Nathan. When Sam is ten years old their mother dies and their father surrenders them to the state and sells their family possessions.

These first two sentences tells us a lot about Sam's start in life. When Sam is barely an adolescent he becomes the sole caregiver to a five-year-old, abandoned by his father and with no connections to a mother who dies under tragic circumstances.

The only male role-model in Sam's life, his father, is remembered by Sam as "always the asshole". Unsurprising, given that he voluntarily gives up parental rights to his children leaving them in the care system. Without consistent caregivers, a permanent residence, or financial resources, a ten-year-old boy suddenly must provide safety and stability for his five-year-old brother.

His role as Nate's de facto parent is clear on multiple occasions, through his leadership and mentoring of Nate as children and through his protective nature which is shown to be genuine and powerful; both as a teenager and in his middle-age Sam steps in front of a loaded gun that is pointed towards his brother. Though his effectiveness as a mentor could be questioned, Sam does the best he can given that he had no positive role-models to demonstrate love, compassion, or guidance for him to give his brother.

As an adolescent with basic needs, both physical and emotional, that aren't met, legal ramifications are low on the list of priorities, and Sam engages in petty theft and other anti-social behaviors as a matter of survival in a world that has shown it does not care for him. Sam's delinquency that results in him leaving the care home he was placed in is a direct and necessary result of the environment in which he was forced to grow up.

Before he even hits puberty, Sam has lost both parents, the ability to enjoy his childhood, any sense of safety or stability, and any meaningful relationships aside from his kid brother. The amount of traumatic loss that he is required to carry is huge, and his greatness comes not from any subsequent treasure hunting, but from the resilience he shows in adapting to this childhood trauma and becoming the support his brother needs in spite of that absence of any support for himself.

Finding Meaning in Life

They find their mother's notes on pirates with an elderly explorer who speaks highly of her and Sam changes their surname to Drake.

Sam therefore finds himself as a young man with a purpose: to take care of his younger brother. When he discovers the location of their mother's possessions, it means more to him than simply recovering some artifacts; he discovers the possibility of a physical connection to their mother. This gives Sam a secondary motivation that follows him throughout the game.

Upon finding their mother's journals in the home of Evelyn, an elderly explorer who worked with their mother, the boys have the opportunity to speak with someone who can tell them about their mother. She person emphasizes their mother's exemplary historical and archaeological work, describing their mother's theory that Sir. Francis Drake has living heirs as potentially her "crowning achievement" before promptly dying and forcing the boys to flee with the knowledge of the pirate legacies their mother had been chasing.

Adopting the Drake name is about more than needing a new identify to escape potential murder charges; it legitimizes a connection between Cassandra Morgan and her sons. Sam doesn't necessarily care that a long-dead pirate sired forgotten children, but if Sir. Francis Drake has heirs, their existence would be the "crowning achievement" of Cassandra Morgan's life. What Sam wants most, as an 18-year-old with no life prospects taking care of his kid brother, is to for his mother to be proud of him, and so he quite literally names himself and Nathan as the "crowning achievement" of their mother's short life.

Sam acts upon these two purposes throughout the game, showing his desire for a connection to his family: 1) To be a mentor to Nathan, and 2) to pursue the pirate legends to continue the legacy of his mother.

Samuel Morgan is a worthless care system statistic, Samuel Drake is the heir to his mother's pirate legacy.

The Destruction of a Boy's Self-Esteem

When pursuing pirate treasure with the aid of wealthy Rafe Adler, Sam is shot and left for dead. After thirteen years, Rafe discovers Sam is alive and pays for his release from prison. Sam reunites with his brother and constructs a lie in which his life being threatened to convince Nate to join him again.

Whilst we don't get much verbal exploration of Sam's feelings about his childhood, it is true that children may blame themselves for negative events out of their control. His recklessness and questionable moral compass give away the internal pain caused by being voluntarily giving away by his remaining parent; the person supposed to love and care for him threw him away like trash. How can we expect any child to understand the complexities of compassion when he believes that he is so worthless that even his own father did not want him.

When remembering Father Duffy at the orphanage, Sam comments "I don't need the guilt". The orthodox orphanage that they are homed in reinforced the idea of shame through the idea of behavior as sin and by not recognizing the boys' behaviors through a lens of attachment and trauma. Rather than recognizing Sam's delinquency as a survival strategy in the face of trauma or the brothers' aggression as an external expression of internal distress, the orphanage staff take a punitive approach.

Jump forward a couple of decades, and Sam has spent thirteen consecutive years in prison. When Rafe bails him out, he does this so that Sam is indebted to assist him in continuing the hunt for treasure. Compare this to when, in Uncharted 2, Sully bails Nathan out of prison simply because he cares about him.

The presence of just one supportive adult can facilitate a child to effectively manage experiences of trauma. Nate had Sam, Sully, Elena, and a cast of well-rounded contacts and friends to support him. Even when released from prison, Sam is nothing more than a tool for someone to use. Aside from Nate, who believes him dead for a third of his life, there is not a single person in Sam's life with whom he has a meaningful relationship.

Furthermore, when the brothers reunite their lives are now in complete juxtaposition. Nate has a wife who loves him, a steady job, a consistent home, a mentor, and a list of achievements finding lost legacies and treasures. Sam, the elder of the two, has nothing.

Nathan is better looking, more charming, more successful, and has more meaningful relationships in his life. And Sam knows it.

A Threatened Purpose

There is clear tension between Sam and Nate's mentor, Victor Sullivan.

In spite of the numerous physical dangers that the Drake brothers finds themselves up against in the action and adventure sections of the game, it is the emotional dangers that are at the core of the games narrative.

Given that we have already identified that one of the most meaningful aspects of Sam's life is his relationship with his younger brother, it makes sense that for Sam, Victor Sullivan represents a real and significant threat. If, during Sam's multiple incarcerations, Sully has taken over the role of being Nate's main caretaker and mentor, then Sam's entire purpose of existence from the age of ten is called into question. Having seen Sully's presence and the relationship between himself and Nathan in the prior games, we know this to be the case.

Interestingly, given that Sam is retrospectively inserted into the story, we as the audience see Victor Sullivan as Nathan's original long-term mentor and not Sam, and so we can empathize with Sully's reluctance to trust him. When Sam is convincing Nathan to join him to restart their search for the treasure, Sully outright says that the reason he is joining the brothers is that "someone's got to keep an eye out for him [Nathan]", heavily implying that Sam is either not capable of doing so or is the person from whom Nate needs protecting. From Sully's perspective, Sam was a naive and brash teenager who is reckless with his brother's well-being. From Sam's perspective, with Sully in Nathan's life there is no longer a role for Sam to play. This is particularly tragic given that his thirteen years in prison during which time Sully and Nate's relationship developed were due to Rafe's actions, not Sam's.

Though both Sam and Sully could be viewed as unhealthy relationships for Nate, in that they both encouraged Nate to pursue a 'life of crime' (and, euphemistically, 'treasure hunting'), the secure, emotional connections that they provided in the absence of any attachment to a parent figure helped Nathan to adapt better than Sam was ever able to.

Consider also the impact of Nate's reluctance to rejoin Sam. Not only does Nate initially refuse due to his newly stable life, but multiple times throughout the journey he expresses doubt regarding their quest. He outright states, as does Sullivan, that there better ways to go about saving Sam's life. However, we know the truth that Sam's desperation to find Avery's treasure is in actuality a desire to fulfill a connection between the brothers and their mother. He's buying his life back, but not from Hector Alcazar; from a stolen childhood.

When Nate challenges the importance of finding the treasure, what Sam perceives is a challenge to the importance of himself and of their family.

On top of this, we have the added embarrassment of Nate's previous successes as a treasure hunter. As Nate puts it when they find Libertalia, "this isn't my first lost city". Sam's jealousy is routed in the previous discussion on self-esteem; in comparison to Nate, Sam has achieved nothing. To add insult to injury, it was Sam who was the catalyst for the boys adventures and interest in lost treasures, and he ends up falling far behind his kid brother in the pursuit of following their mother's work.

A New Beginning

When Sam ultimately finds the treasure he sets off a trap that leaves him unconscious; Nate saves him. Sam takes some treasure which he discreetly gives to his brother. Sam and Sully become business partners.

Since their abandonment by their father Sam has lived in financial insecurity, and if all he cared about was treasure he could have found it with Rafe. Afterall, Rafe was only invited to join their mission due to his wealth and the contacts it afforded. Whereas Nathan, who has earned enough to "pay off the house, the car, [and] the engagement ring", Sam has lived either under the poverty line or in prison for the majority of his life. For him a fistful of gold is life-changing (as he also leaves to Nate at the end), and he leaves the adventure with several.

Through the act of saving Sam's life, Nate demonstrates not only his own competence, but also that the role of his protector is not longer necessary; not because it has been replaced, but because it is redundant. Then, by providing his brother and sister-in-law with the spoils of his quest, Sam is able to secure them financially and prove to Nate the literal value of his life's mission.

Sam at the end of Uncharted 4 now has access to wealth that means he is not living in a constant state of crisis, he has followed his mother's work on pirate legacies, and his brother has demonstrated his own independence. He has closure on his concern for his kid brother, and on showing his mother that he is also worthy of being her son.

From tragically small beginnings, Sam's resilience and determination to not give up on himself or his family brings psychological relief and an acceptance of self so that his own adventures can finally begin.

[alexandradel7]

Literally one of the last posts is "vile worm", because of what a man in Westeros wants to do to a girl who is 13 years old, who has already been married officiously since - period - according to the laws she is a woman (it's early, but it's already ok in Westeros damn) and her smile and consent is the necessary thing for a man here. Do you think I'm talking about Petyr? Tyrion here. :D It's just the fandom picking a target for their negative experiences from irl that they can spout off. Instead of understanding the character and the freaking context.

By the way I think Sanasa's consent and smile is needed for Petyr as well. But he's a jerk character, antoganistic, so he doesn't deny himself the pleasure of kissing the girl he likes, knowing that it might be uncomfortable to refuse because she depends on him so much. Sansa, in the social conscience of Westeros - a woman - who was already a bride, who was already being climbed on by a naked dwarf. I'm not saying the orders of the time are cool, I'm saying this character (I'm talking about Petyr now, well Tyrion too) isn't a grooming paedophile lol. The problematic stuff here is that he was complicit in her father's murder. But for Sanasa there are no problematic things here, she knows nothing like Jon Snow. Everyone in Westeros is problematic. Sanasa considers him as friend. She's not disgusted by him. Well I already wrote about that here. I honestly don't think Martin wants to write a story about grooming, in a world where many Lords' wives are about that age. Besides, people in the Middle Ages were a lot less infantile than they are now. (much) 13 then and 13 now are different 13s in terms of world perception and upbringing. Now at 17 is a lil kid. Before, it was already a man capable of leading an army of thousands of men. Rob is 16.

‘Romeo and Juliet’ - Juliet was 14 years old, Romeo was 16.

Instead, I'm pretty sure this is a story about the beginnings of feelings. Petyr, who probably hasn't fallen hard for anyone else besides Cat, focused on power, recalls those feelings when he almost lost his life because of it.

His heart has probably become very cold and he can only believe in lust. Brothels and whores where intimacy is sold for a few coins and feelings are simulated. Pretty ironic work for a man who has a scar all over his body from real feelings.

I wonder how Martin will show it. Maybe he won't show it as sensually as I think he might. Maybe ‘’Littlefinger‘’ will win with calculation. But Martin said no, ‘he'll never let go of Sansa,’ I believe. I think Sansa is the first person at all to touch him deeply in a dozen years.

Well, then the question then is how he will demonstrate those feelings, how careful he will be in moments of crisis. Just so you understand, I find ‘cutting off Petyr's head and killing him’ by Sanasa's hands incredibly banal and boring thing. Like any strong conflict between it is incredibly boring. What new and interesting things can be learned there? She'll scream, he'll try to calm her down, she'll turn the table over, she'll try to escape, from the castle (death and\or rape by some vagrants, ofc there could be a positive outcome), he'll lock her up. Turn into a tyrant and stop being a Limon dude. Jeez. Okay. I've been bored with angst stories for the last two years. She can cheat and escape, they'll be looking for her. Anyway… meh.

Much more interesting that Petyr will actually help Sansa survive in this world, and be sincere about it.

Petyr was involved in her father's death. Which of course is a huge elephant in the room, lol. I don't think he really cares about other people's lives, especially Stark lives. Although I think some cruelty is part of life in medieval times where people died all the time. Cat wished death on a little boy just because she was so angry about the affair. A wealthy woman who had everything, including food and warmth for her family wishes the boy dead. Psychopathy, no? No, just medieval. So Petyr's cruelty, given his scar and long time among the nobility, is understandable. But Petyr may care about those he feels are important. Giving lemons, featherbeds. By the way these signs of his attention are much deeper, he is from a poor family, the fact that he has someone important and the ability to give something to this person - I think for him it is a special thing This much more interesting dilemma is his real feelings in his cruel heart and everything around him. He is Lord Paramount of the Trident now, but he's literally flashbacked to when he was 17. I think he's greedy, he's going to treasure his feelings. After all that was one of the triggers of his path to power. I can't be with her because I didn't have power, status like Stark. When Stark inflicted his wounds, the river carried his blood away. Now he's King of the River himself. And the river princess's daughter, a little redfish, swims beside him. Anything could have gone wrong, but everything went lucky for Petyr. I wonder how Martin will kill him. And I don't want this character to die a miserable death.

At least it won't impress me much. Much more I'll feel from his death when it's so touching, so honest, that it resonates with the beginning of his story. (or not to die at all, only to die of old age in his castle looking at his grandchildren)

[sarahowritesostucky]

The whole worldbuilding you did around younger omegas and older alphas was so interesting! Like imagining how those issues would be handled in society. Why did you change the age of bucky tho? Wasn't he 16 before?

Hey! (I thiiink I know who this is?? 😉) I gotchu girl!

The 16 age is because there is a Tumblr staff member who doesn't understand the ToS and who has capriciously deleted whatever she feels like deleting when it "bothers" her. And she's decided that I bother her. So even though fiction with teenager/18+ character sexual pairings are permitted and are regularly posted by other fan authors, I need to be wary. So that's why Bucky is now magically 18, lol. If you want to read the story in it's original and intended format, you can go to Ao3. They don't censor fictional literary content.

NOW, buckle your seatbelt and come on this worldbuilding journey with me!

In this 'verse, historically, societies worldwide had different systems set up with the primary goals to:

Keep post-pubertal omega youths safe

Meet their sexual needs

Meet their non-sexual intimacy needs

Generally speaking, in a western cultural context, this is the order things would go in if a family took the "proper" steps with their omega child:

Once heats began at about 13-14, the omega youth would be assigned to an omega matriarchal figure for guidance. Sometimes this was a parent, sometimes an extended family member, or often just a well-respected omega in the community. This is the person who would teach them about being omega, their urges, how to handle their heats, etc. This person would also look out for them to make sure nobody was preying on them.

Now, omegas are naturally hypersexual beginning at around age 13-14 when their heats begin. But their urges intensify significantly in the following year or two, becoming much harder to ignore or self-satisfy.

Though religion in the west often asserted the need for chastity by restricting sexual relations to only one partner or certain times of the month, it was still understood that omegas were naturally hypersexual and needed special attention. It was also virtually expected that most omegas would wind up engaging in some degree of superficial sex-play with other omega peers. This wasn't frowned upon at all.

At around age 16, most omegas would transition from their omega matriarch into the care of an alpha mentor - typically someone older and more mature. It wouldn't be uncommon for an alpha in their 30s or even 40s to take on this role. They would fulfill all the roles of the previous matriarch, with the addition of a sexual relationship with the omega. They would help satisfy them through their heats, provide needed close contact, and give them practice for modeling healthy A-o relationship patterns.

There are other setups in other parts of the world, though:

In ancient societies and also in many non-western cultures, there might be one or a handful of community-designated alphas who always took the mentor role as part of their job (i.e. wise man, sexual mystic, healer, shaman, etc.). In such cases as that, the alpha guardian role was purely transitory and only meant to last until the omega reached mating age and went on to find a suitable alpha mate in the community.

In some middle eastern cultures, most omegas would be rounded up and appropriated by only the most wealthy and important alphas, who would be the ones to care for them in their harems.

Medieval Europe also sometimes saw the "rounding up" of omegas to be delivered into the hands of feudal alpha lords.

Polygamy was also fairly common in Europe up until the 1950s. The most common arrangement was an A-A marriage, with an added omega partner brought into the marriage later. Or a single alpha might mate two or three omegas.

In East Asian cultures, omegas often got betrothed at puberty and went to go live in their betrothed's family's compound, wherein they remained in that family's omega-only communal space, and were entrusted to the care of that extended family's alphas.

Back to the alpha-mentor system of western cultures. The alpha was usually either someone that the omega youth's parents knew and reached out to, or else the alpha might themself approach the youth's parents to ask for permission to take on the role.

In these arrangements, the alpha mentor might wind up deciding to mate the omega themselves, but it wasn't expected. It depended on the specific location and time period, as well as on the individuals involved (personality, class, wealth, age difference), as to whether this choice was socially approved of or not.

But for example in the US or England in the 1900-1950 time range, it would've still been very common for an omega youth to choose to mate with their alpha mentor once they reached the age of about 18-20. An age gap of anywhere between 10-30 years was considered normal.

(Due to the cross-cultural norm of large A-o age gaps, virtually all societies have always had strong social support systems set in place for the care of widowed omegas (though alphas do tend to live a decade or more longer than betas and omegas)).

Younger alphas aged 18-24 were usually not considered experienced or mature enough to perform the alpha mentor role.

It was after the feminist ("omega-ist") movement and the sexual revolution of the 60s and 70s that things really changed. Omegas were increasingly expected to be independent, to pursue careers outside the home, delay or forgo mating and children, and to behave the same way as anybody else.

So the omega matriarch/alpha mentor system really fell by the wayside and isn't commonly used in modern society.

Some schools may designate an omega matriarch equivalent in a school counselor, but the en vogue, "modern" attitude is to act like omegas don't have any biological need for alphas, and are in fact no different from betas.

Since the 2010s, there's been a growing backlash to the results of the feminist (omega-ist) movement, with some people returning to more traditional values. That's essentially where Steve and his school falls.

😅

I know I reeeeally went on a tangent on this one. Hope you liked the details and let me know if you have any more questions!

[stardust-swan]

How to marry rich?

I am a single woman who would rather marry middle class tbh so I can't really help with marrying a millionaire or anything. If I were going to try marrying rich though, here's what I'd do:

Do a six month legal or medical secretary course. If you're happy with being upper middle class rather than rich-rich, working at law firms or hospitals and doctor's offices are probably the best way of meeting lawyers, doctors and consultants. I've mentioned the story of the Emirati senior doctor who asked to marry me years back based on a picture, and that never would have happened if my mother hadn't known him by working at the hospital with him.

The downside is that the guys who have the most money are usually older and already married, while the ones who are still young and cute and less likely to be taken are probably paying off their student loans and saving up money, and some also realise they hate the job after a couple of years and retrain to become teachers or whatever. If you can find someone young who has their heart set on their career or don't mind an age gap relationship with a wealthier older man then it's a good route though (wouldn't personally recommend an affair with a married man though as you get them how you lose them, but there are exceptions ofc).

Use dating apps near places where rich men hang out. Like five star hotels and restaurants, golf courses, etc. More likely to match with someone wealthy if you're near where the wealthy hang out.

Wouldn't personally recommend this as gambling doesn't always end well, but some women in my city go to casinos trying to meet wealthy men that gamble for fun. If you go into the casinos at evening you'll see a bunch of single women who don't really look like they fit there. And they don't fit there, they're there to meet men.

Work on yourself. If you ever look at rich men's wives, they're always well-spoken, put together, and knowledgeable. You need more than just looks. Pretty faces get boring if you can't hold a conversation. Looks also aren't as paramount as you might think. You need to look attractive obviously, but you don't need to be jaw-droppingly gorgeous. It's rare to see a rich man with a wife who looks like Adriana Lima. It's more important to be well-groomed and put together with an engaging personality than it is to put all your energy into planning the cosmetic surgery you want because your nose is slightly too wide or your boobs are slightly droopy and you think you need to be the most striking one in the room at all times to have a chance (guarantee you that 99.9% of men don't notice or care about these things). Also obviously you should know how to behave, don't do anything that will embarrass him and make him drop you like a hot potato (like calling him "Daaaadddyyy" or something in front of his friends).

Tbh I'd recommend reading r/marryrich on Reddit. They'd have more resources like books and stuff you should read and you can also ask questions to people who have actually married rich.

Edit: should've have mentioned this, but avoid influencers like Anna Bey. A lot of hypergamy influencers who claim to be giving advice on marrying rich are actually giving sugar baby tips but in a covert way that won't get their pages removed from social media. For example, Anna Bey advises people to hang around in hotel lobbies to meet rich men, but you're not going to meet your future husband by hanging out in his hotel lobby. They'll assume you're a sex worker looking for clients. Just be wary of tips like this that are actually tips for sex workers presented in an innocuous way

[human-allergy]

Daily Lives of Jujutsu High Students

Time set in around 2006-2007.

This story tells the daily lives and youthful troubles of four students from a certain year at Tokyo Jujutsu High.

Various x F. Reader!

01 - The Cursed Book

In a vast plot of land surrounded by towering walls and large trees atop a certain mountain in Tokyo, stands a uniquely styled traditional Japanese architecture. Inside, it is said to enshrine the cremated remains of the legendary Jujutsu sorcerer "Kūkai" from the Nara period in a Three-storied Pagoda. Inside, there were warehouses filled with various dangerously powerful cursed tools, an inexplicable swimming pool despite the absence of swimming classes, and a playground covering an area equivalent to two and a half football fields (running there felt like losing ten years of your life). In the courtyard, there were two chickens named Nuggets and Corn Ball, along with dogs, horses, deer, elephants, and giraffes leisurely grazing. There were even rumors of lions freely roaming around the place. However, these were all urban legends, and distinguishing what was true, false, or mere gossip became a challenge. For most citizens of Tokyo, the interior of the school remained a mysterious realm that couldn't be explored.

The name of this school was the Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical College, commonly known as Tokyo Jujutsu High.

Among the two existing educational institutions for jujutsu in Japan, it presented itself as a private religious school. Many jujutsu sorcerers considered it the starting point of their careers even after graduation. Therefore, the school not only served as an educational institution but also facilitated missions and provided support, making it a crucial hub in the jujutsu world.

Furthermore, the school had nurtured numerous talents in the jujutsu field, with the ratio of Grade 1 and Special Grade sorcerers originating from Tokyo Jujutsu High being twice that of the Kyoto school.

However, at that moment, a dialogue unfolded in the second-year classroom of Tokyo Jujutsu High:

"Afternoon classes are over. So boring..." You slouched over the desk, dragging your words with a prolonged tone.

"What do you want to do then?" The black-haired boy sitting across from you asked indifferently.

His name was Geto Suguru, with slender eyes, thin eyebrows, large ear piercings dangling from elongated earlobes, a bun hairstyle, and a long fringe hanging over his forehead. At first glance, he gave off a delinquent vibe, but after getting acquainted, he still seemed like one.

"Oh, I know!" The white-haired boy with black sunglasses on your left suddenly exclaimed, "How about Y/n becomes the target, and we all have a water balloon fight? I saw it on a variety show yesterday, and it looked fun."

"Why don't you become the target yourself, you jerk!" you replied indignantly.

"We don't have any balloons, so how are we going to play?" The brown-haired girl on your right responded irritably.

This was Ieiri Shoko, a short-haired and sharp-looking beauty. But don't be fooled by her pretty face, as beneath that attractive facade, there was a middle-aged man who enjoyed smoking and drinking. Due to her gentle personality, she played the role of the peacemaker in your four-person group.

The white-haired boy pondered for a while, then extended his index finger with a smile. "How about using real shurikens instead? You win if you hit specific targets."

"That's practically attempted murder!" you immediately retorted.

"Oh, really?" The white-haired boy tilted his head, seemingly thinking it was not a big deal. "Well, Shoko can heal you with Reverse Cursed Technique, so you'll only be left with scars. Don't mind, don't mind!"

This white-haired boy with a tone that could provoke a beating was Gojo Satoru, born into the Gojo family, one of the Big Three Sorcerer Families. In other words, he was the privileged young master from a wealthy family. At the same time, he was also the possessor of the "Six Eyes." It was a rare occurrence within the Gojo family, happening only once every few hundred years. Hence, not only was he wealthy, but he also possessed extraordinary power. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Gojo was a chosen one. However, his personality was extremely poor, and he always enjoyed teasing and mocking others. But since you had known him since childhood, you had become immune to his teasing and pranks. Still, dealing with a fool like Gojo every day sometimes made it hard to contain your anger.

"Ah... I almost forgot the fact that Satoru you're an idiot." you shake your head and sigh. "I shouldn't have expected you to possess common sense."

"What do you mean? Huh?" Gojo's face contorts into an expression of displeasure, his mouth drooping.

"If I were to have scars on my delicate flawless skin, how would I ever find a boyfriend?" you say, your face filled with sadness.

Gojo bursts into laughter. "Stop dreaming! Even without scars, you'll never get a boyfriend in your lifetime."

As if an arrow pierced through your heart, your heart tightens for a moment.

You cover your aching chest and say with a mournful expression, "To be told this by someone like you, who has even less chance of getting a girlfriend, truly, there is no justice in this world."

"Tsk tsk tsk, don't compare me to yourself," Gojo shakes his index finger, resembling a certain prosecutor※. "I'm quite popular among the girls, you know."

[※Note: In case nobody knows, the reference here is to Miles Edgeworth from "Ace Attorney," whose signature gesture is shaking his index finger.]

Upon hearing this, you, Geto, and Ieiri simultaneously wave your hands and say in unison, "No way."

"I mean, since we have nothing else to do, how about going down the mountain?" you suggest. "I heard there's a section in the basement of the bookstore across from Hanadate Elementary School that's filled with H-manga. And rumor has it that the owner doesn't really check your age before letting you buy them. How about it? Want to go together?"

The other three immediately fall silent, staring at you with complex expressions.

Geto rubs his temples. "Why the sudden interest in buying H-manga?"

"Because I want to read them," you honestly reply.

"That’s straightforward…"

You shrug. "Besides, it will be less weird to have guys accompany me."

"A group of people going to buy H-manga is already super weird!"

"Fine! It's because Suguru you look closer to eighteen!"

"That's your real reason, right?!"

In the end, the four of you went to the bookstore across from Hanadate Elementary School.

Standing on the sidewalk outside the bookstore, the four of you began to formulate a plan. The layout of the bookstore consisted of two floors, with the upper floor selling stationery and reference books, while the lower floor housed books and paper supplies, which was your target.

"Alright, let's proceed according to the plan," you deliberately lowered your voice and said, "Since we don't know which section has the H-manga, I'll go check the novels section, Suguru will go to the manga section, and Shoko will pretend to be interested in buying reference books to distract the store clerk's attention."

"What about me?" Gojo pointed at himself and asked.

You snapped your fingers and pointed at him, saying, "You'll be the one paying."

"Oi, oi, oi!" Gojo exclaimed loudly. "I'm not some kind of ATM! I want to go with you to the novels section."

"Whatever." you said. "Well then, let's agree on this, the 'Operation H' begins!"

Geto looked at you with disdain and said, "Why are you so excited..."

The four of you entered the bookstore in single file. As you entered, the bell hanging on the door rang crisply, catching the attention of the young male store clerk who had been dozing off. He immediately looked up at all of you.

"What would you like to buy?" the male store clerk walked over and asked.

You felt a sudden jolt in your heart, thinking, "Oh no! Now the store clerk's attention will be on us."

Just as you were feeling nervous, you felt an added weight on your shoulder. You turned to see a hand with light pink nail polish resting on your shoulder. Following the hand, you saw Shoko nodding slightly at you, her smile on her face seemed to say, "Leave it to me!"

You responded with a smile, though you didn't say it out loud, your smile already conveyed the message, "I'll leave it to you."

"I'd like to buy an English reference book for second-year high school," Shoko calmly said in the face of danger.

"English, is it? It's over there. Ah, let me take you there," the male store clerk said.

"That would be great."

With that, Shoko followed the male store clerk.

Watching Shoko's figure, you muttered to yourself, "Wait for us, we'll bring back the H-manga!"

Then you wiped away tears that didn't exist and entered the manga and novels section of the lower floor together with Geto and Gojo.

As soon as you entered this section, a musty odor mixed with the smell of ink greeted you. The shelves were filled with a diverse array of books, making it difficult to know where to start looking.

"So many books, how are we supposed to find it?" you placed your hands on your hips, furrowing your brow as you looked at the sea of books before you.

"Oh, right!" as if suddenly remembering something, you lightly pounded your right fist onto your left palm. You looked at Gojo and asked, "Satoru, can your Six Eyes see where the H-manga is?"

"Oi, do you really have a brain under that skull of yours?" as if confirming, Gojo lightly tapped your head. "Do you think the Six Eyes are some kind of X-ray vision?"

You swatted away his hand on your head and then disdainfully said, "Tch, if you can't even find the H-manga, it seems the Six Eyes aren't that impressive."

"Huh? Be careful, or I might just kill you, you know?"

"Anyway," Geto interjected, interrupting the argument between you and Gojo, "let's start looking."

The three of you searched for about ten minutes, but there was still no sign of the H-manga.

"These all look like regular manga," you stood in front of a bookcase, furrowing your brow.

"Did you make a mistake? Maybe there's no H-manga here at all," Gojo asked.

Your shoulders dropped immediately, "Maybe..."

"Hey, look over here," Geto said, beckoning both of you to come to his side.

After you and Gojo walked over to the manga section where Geto was, Geto placed his hand in the gap between two bookcases and pulled them apart. The two bookcases made a slight noise as they slid open, one to the left and the other to the right.

You were astonished to find that behind the two bookcases, there was a built-in wall shelf! And it was filled with H-manga!

"So many H-manga!" you couldn't help but be shocked by the scene before your eyes and shouted.

"Don't yell so loud! Do you want everyone to know we're buying H-manga?" Geto hurriedly said in a hushed voice. "Let's quickly choose one and go to the checkout."

Geto casually picked up one H-manga from the shelf. The cover of the book depicted a blushing girl in a school uniform. "What about this one?" he asked, "After-School Secrets with the Student Council President."

"It looks boring," Gojo commented as he also took a book from the shelf. "Maybe this one, Playtime with My Childhood Friend."

You sighed. "I'm telling you, if we're buying it, why not go for something with a cover and content that looks more explicit? If we're buying, let's go for the most scandalous!"

"Is that something a high school girl would say?!" Geto shouted.

"Ah, let's go with this one," you picked up another book, which had a cover and title even more provocative than the previous two, without any censorship even on private parts. "Endless SEX!"

Taking advantage of his height, Gojo reached behind you and took the book from your hands. He flipped through it and glanced at the synopsis on the back. "Wow," he exclaimed, then continued, "This one has a super diverse content, with older brother and sister, stepmother and stepson, and even [content muted]."

"Then let's go with this one," Geto said, "But how are we going to check out?"

"You go," you said.

"Yeah, you go," Gojo chimed in.

Geto frowned slightly, slightly displeased, and asked, "Why me?"

"Because you look like you're over 18." you explained.

"I’m not!" Geto's face showed an unusual expression of embarrassment, his emotions flaring up. "The previous After-School Secrets might have been fine, but the cover of this one is as shameful as asking me to go naked to the checkout!"

"Don't worry, the cashier here doesn't pay much attention to the content. Just take a quick look and pay, and it'll be over," you said seriously. "Besides, you have an absolute advantage."

"What advantage?"

You smiled faintly. "You look like a guy in his twenties."

"Satoru, I'll take the top, you take the bottom, let's split Y/n in half." Geto said calmly.

You were shocked. "Please don't say something so terrifying in such a calm tone!"

"Then how about we decide with a game of rock-paper-scissors?" Gojo suggested.

"Oh?" Geto raised an eyebrow. "Good idea."

You chuckled lightly and flicked your hair. "Speaking of rock-paper-scissors, I absolutely won't lose. Prepare to be humiliated, Suguru!"

"You arrogant idiot." Geto scoffed. "Let's get started then. Rock, paper, scissors!"

Gojo showed scissors, while both you and Geto showed paper.

A smirk appeared on Gojo's lips. "I won. You two have a final match to decide."

You squinted at Geto across from you and said with a serious tone, "Suguru, I never thought we would end up like this. We were such good friends."

"Indeed, maybe we should have never crossed paths from the beginning." Geto said with a bitter smile. Then he rallied and clenched his fist. "Let's settle this once and for all, Y/n!"

"Let me tell you first, this time I'll choose paper," you said.

Geto snorted. "Stop the nonsense and let's get started!"

"Then let's begin! Scissors—" you shouted.

"Rock—" Geto shouted.

"Paper—!!" After you finished shouting, both of you made your choices simultaneously.

You showed paper, and Geto showed rock.

"Hahaha! You fucking Idiot!!" You burst into laughter, clutching your stomach. "I told you I would choose paper!"

Geto looked at his own fist, as if asking, "Why?"

In the end, Geto went to the checkout, and to make it less awkward, he even put a reference book on top as a diversion.

"Let me help you checkout!" The cashier sister said, "I see, an English reference book and...!"

When she saw that book, she visibly gasped and wore a bewildered expression on her face.

On the other hand, Geto maintained a calm smile on his face.

The cashier sister composed herself and calmly said, "...That will be 2,500 yan."

"Thank you."

After paying, Geto walked out of the bookstore with a smile. However, as soon as he reached your side, his smile immediately disappeared, and his expression changed faster than the rate at which conceptual stocks plummet.

"I won't come to this bookstore ever again."

Geto Suguru, socially dead.

Since it was already late, you guys took the bus back to the school. Once you four arrived in the common area of the dormitory, you four couldn't wait any longer and eagerly tore off the plastic wrap protecting the book.

"Let me open it." You swallowed a gulp of saliva and carefully lifted one of the pages. Just by looking at one page, you were already astonished and speechless.

"How is it?" Gojo asked curiously.

"No, this has already surpassed my understanding of H-manga." Although you said this, your body involuntarily turned to the next page. "This book is nothing but a wetland between chunks of flesh!" You said with slightly rapid breathing.

"Huh? Let me take a look." Gojo took the book, glanced at it, then put it down, and picked it up again for a few more glances.

"What do you think?" You asked tentatively.

Gojo remained silent for a moment, then suddenly shouted, "Why can her '[Censored]' and '[Censored]' have two '[Censored]' at once?!"

"You guys are exaggerating, aren't you?" Geto, who had been silently listening, couldn't hold back and interjected. He took the book, furrowing his brow as he looked at it.

After a short while, he closed the book and placed it on the table. "So '[Censored]' can be played like this."

"Really?" Ieiri raised an eyebrow and asked, picking up the book for a few glances. However, her reaction was calm. "Is that all? It seems like you guys are just a bunch of ignorant kids after all."

"Don't act like you've seen so much!" you retorted.

"Oh, senpais, you're back," a cheerful voice said.

The four of you turned to see Haibara, a year 1 student, standing at the doorway with Nanami, another freshman.

You quickly hid the book under your clothes and tried to keep your voice steady. "Oh, it's Yu-chan and Nanamin."

"Can you stop calling me Nanamin, senpai? Other people will start imitating it." Nanami, with Danish heritage, a handsome mixed-race face, and blond hair, frowned and said.

"By the way," Haibara approached you all, "it seemed like you were discussing something interesting just now!"

"R-really?" you asked.

"Are you... reading H-manga?" Haibara asked unabashedly, getting straight to the point.

You coughed a few times. "No, it's not like that. We're diligent students who excel in academics. Why would we read that kind of stuff?"

Haibara looked at you with a puzzled expression. "But I clearly saw Geto senpai buying H-manga at the bookstore."

Geto's face turned pale.

"Alright, alright!" You gave up resistance and took out the H-manga from your clothes, holding it up. "We were reading H-manga!"

The room fell into a tense silence. No one dared to speak, while Haibara and Nanami looked at the cover of the book in shock.

After a long silence, Nanami was the first to speak. He sighed and looked disappointedly at the four of you, "I expected it from Gojo and Y/n, but I didn't think Ieiri and Geto senpais would be like this too."

Gojo was displeased. "What do you mean by 'expected it from Gojo and Y/n' huh?!"

"I-I didn't expect you guys to like this kind of H-manga," Haibara forced a smile and said. "But what are you going to do with this book? It would be bad if the teachers found out."

"Well..." you rubbed your chin, pondering for a moment. "Let's put the book in the third-year classroom! Nobody will know it was us."

Gojo nodded in agreement. "That's settled then!"

"Is it really okay to do that?" Nanami questioned.

"Don't worry, if there's any problem, Satoru will take care of it!" you pointed your thumb at Gojo.

Gojo pouted. "Why do I have to take care of it?"

"Because you have a strong background! Don't mind, don't mind!"

So, you placed the H-manga in the third-year classroom, thinking that would be the end of it. But to your surprise, after two days, the H-manga appeared in your classroom again. Even when you threw it in the trash can, it would mysteriously reappear in the classroom after a few days.

"This book is definitely cursed!" you pointed at the H-manga, fear evident on your face. "If we let it roam freely in the school, the consequences are unimaginable."

Geto looked at you and asked, "What should we do then?"

"We should seal it." you said solemnly.

You four took a blank sheet of paper and wrapped it around the book. Then you four wrote a bunch of warning words and incantations on it before tying it tightly with a red thread.

"Oh curse hidden within this book, vanish before us!" you declared. With that, you threw the H-manga behind the shelve of the library, making sure it was impossible to retrieve without moving the entire bookshelf.

"This way, it won't reappear again," you said with folded hands, "Thank you, "Endless SEX", for giving us the most precious lesson in health education."

Gojo, too, unusually serious, folded his hands and whispered a "thank you" towards the bookshelf that concealed "Endless SEX."

"You two idiots." Geto said to Gojo and you.

Shoko glanced at you and Gojo disapprovingly, then covered her stomach and said, "I'm hungry. Let's go to an izakaya and grab something to eat. I feel like having grilled octopus skewers tonight."

Upon hearing the word "octopus," a certain scene from "Endless SEX" suddenly flashed in your mind—an enormous octopus engaging in tentacle play with a woman.

You clasped your hands over your ears in agony. "Please stop! You're making me recalling that scene!"

Shoko smirked mischievously and leaned in close to your face. "Do you want to be '[Censored]' by an octopus? Its tentacles can '[Censored]' you, and '[Censored]' your '[Censored]'."

You looked at Shoko in horrified disbelief, as if you saw demonic horns sprouting from her head.

"Akuma(demon)..."

※※※

Epilogue:

One day in 2018, "Endless SEX" was unsealed.

In a classroom at Tokyo Jujutsu High School, three first-year students looked at the rectangular object on the desk. It was covered in warning words and incantations, tied with a red string. Their faces displayed a mixture of confusion and curiosity.

"Itadori, where did you find this thing?" Kugisaki asked.

"Behind the bookshelf in the library," Itadori replied.

"Put it back quickly," Fushiguro frowned, "I have a bad feeling about it."

Kugisaki looked disappointed. "Huh? But I'm really curious about what's inside!"

"Me too!" Itadori chimed in. "Let's open it and see!"

"Do you think this is some kind of Christmas present?" Fushiguro rubbed his forehead, trying to soothe the wrinkles there (because he often frowned). "The incantations written on it aren't random; they can truly suppress curses."

However, the other two didn't pay attention and proceeded to untie the red string and remove the white wrapping paper.

"Oi, you two!" Fushiguro shouted in a coarse voice.

After tearing off the paper, they were greeted by the sight of a completely naked woman.

Itadori's face immediately turned red, and he stammered, "Th-this...!"

"This is an H-manga!" Kugisaki exclaimed, wide-eyed, pointing at the book.

Fushiguro also lost his usual composure. "Who on earth put this in the library!?"

At that moment, Gojo walked into the classroom and, upon seeing the expressions on the three students' faces, couldn't help but ask curiously, "What's wrong? You all look pale."

Itadori quickly hid the book behind his back and nervously said to Gojo, "N-nothing!"

Gojo clearly saw through the act. "Stop pretending and show me what's behind you."

Itadori chose to play dumb, feigning confusion. "What's behind me?"

Gojo walked up to the three students, extending his right hand and commanding in a no-nonsense tone, "Hurry up."

"Alright." Itadori didn't want to offend Gojo, so he obediently handed "Endless SEX" to him.

Crap, now I’m going to get scolded by Gojo-sensei.

Just as Itadori was thinking this, Gojo burst into laughter.

The three students exchanged puzzled glances and then looked at Gojo, who was laughing heartily.

"So nostalgic," Gojo said. "We used to put this in the library."

"What?!" Kugisaki exclaimed in disbelief, her eyes widening. "So, Gojo-sensei, you're into this kind of stuff?"

"No, no, it's just something we bought out of boredom back then," Gojo explained. "But how did you find this book? I remember Y/n putting it deep behind the bookshelf in the library."

Itadori scratched the back of his head and sheepishly said, "I accidentally knocked over the bookshelf and happened to see this book."

"I see," Gojo said, taking out his phone from his pocket. "That's hilarious. I should take a picture and show it to Y/n and Shoko."

"Eh?" The three students made strange noises simultaneously.

"Ieiri-san has seen this book too?!" Itadori asked."I can't even imagine!" Itadori said, and the other two nodded in agreement.

After taking the photo, Gojo put his phone back. "But I still have to confiscate this book. It's too dangerous."

"Are you planning to take it and read it all by yourself?" Kugisaki asked.

"Why would I do that?" Gojo waved his hand. "Get ready, we're going out to exorcise curses."

Upon hearing that they could go out, Itadori became energized. "Got it!"

"Meet at the entrance later," Gojo said, then walked out of the classroom.

After Gojo left, Kugisaki spoke up, "By the way, Fushiguro, you're pretty close with Gojo-sensei, right?"

"It's not like we're that close," Fushiguro said.

"Whatever. Do you know who he's referring to as 'Y/n'?"

Fushiguro nodded. "She’s a strong jujutsu sorcerer, but not someone worth emulating."

"So, what's the relationship between Y/n and Teacher Gojo?"

"Well, they are—"

[tallulah477]

YESS loak who lives in his brothers shadows falling for the girl that was BETHROTHED to his brother (who has a nasty attitude and isnt well liked within her inner circles but her people loves her bc shes nice to them only in her own ways lol) is a level of angst that is so hot

like loaks reaction when neteyam confided in him telling him hes gonna run away with his maid/childhood friend and loak is like ???? youre going to run away from your duties? and neteyam is just like yeah i love my beloved more than aristocracy lifestyle

few months have passed since then and now jake is stressed out from all of this - his oldest son is missing and no one knows where he or his maid is (except loak who he sends letters too from time to time)

and like u said he NEVER thought he would be the next king he had his whole life plan out, train the knights for his brothers army, date some girl who isnt ultra famous and wealthy but in the middle and settle down and pop out a few kids and now his whole world is turned around because he now has to fill in his brothers (complicated) shoes and hes realizing how intense this was all for neteyam and hes has to learn it pronto

but omg poor princess??? the man she was supposed to marry since she was practically born, has been told from a young age she was going to be prettiest wife to neteyam and then he goes into hiding for some maid ??? that would break her ego so bad, and now she has to marry the brother who all he does is play knight oh its so bad for her

but as they hang out they slowly (so slow neteyam would have his first baby by then lmfao) they slowly begin to become friendish - princess finds it hard because her attitude is the worse and she cant accept the fact that she likes someone who all he wanted to be was a trainor for the knights

and loak is trying to ignore that she was originally supposed to marry neteyam, he knows neteyam never liked her but it still fucks with him sometimes but he gets over it eventually

AND OMLLL princess!reader who goes to visit loak on the training grounds and shes definitely does not fit in bc shes hoping her custom made dress doesnt have mud on it as she tiptoes bc god its gross here and she asks the knights where loak and they guide her to where she is

cue her knocking on the door and opening it to see loaks back and oh my god his back is so hot its so broad and waist is so tiny and hes sweating n loak just turns around like what?? meanwhile her face is super red bc she didnt know he was that built underneath that hes leaner than the knights he trains who are meatheads but he was still so defined and the mixed metal necklaces he wore just compliments him so well and now shes needs to find her maid and ask her what are these feelings

— 🤍

Catch up on the story:

Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five

Extra: One | Two

CW:// Slight Mention of Pregnancy

Right?! She has such a "don't fuck with me, I'm not the one," attitude. She needs to be serious all the time, needs to always have her head on straight and can't make stupid mistakes because if she does, she loses all credibility. Sure, she's kind and looks out for her people, helping them and protecting them however she can, and her people see that and appreciate that - but she doesn't want to act like the emotionless bitch that she has to be. She wants to be happy, free to genuinely smile and feel what she feels, but she knows that if she shows even the hint of too much emotion, too much weakness, she's just going to be ripped apart.

And Lo'ak can understand that. He knows what it's like to not be able to be who you want to be. His whole life he's been compared to his perfect brother: Neteyam who is better at facilitating communication between neighboring kingdoms, Neteyam who speaks clearly and takes responsibility humbly when needed, Neteyam who's never had to be told not to slouch during court. He's been cast aside as the 'spare', but not invisible enough to not need to be on his game.

He can't joke around like he wants to, at least not without Jake and Neytiri hissing at him to behave. He can't go exploring, can't go out and see what far away lands have to offer because "your duties are here, son". So he found something that he enjoys, a way to get out all his pent up energy and aggression, and he's good at it. So good. He has a true gift for training the knights, getting them ready to battle and protect the kingdom, but even that's sometimes overshadowed by his brother - having to train Neteyam to fight, train Neteyam to be the best, even better than himself - to be worthy of the crown he would get one day.

Would have gotten. Because Neteyam is gone now. And somehow the responsibility, and all the duties that come with it, have fallen on Lo'ak's shoulders and now more than ever he feels he can't be himself.

He would understand how Princess feels . . . if he could get over his own bitterness.

Jake is freaking out - he's sent out a search party on multiple occasions looking for Neteyam and his runaway maid, but they can't find them. Neteyam is smart, building their cottage outside of the kingdom's boundaries, and the only person who knows the location of it is Lo'ak. Lo'ak is bitter, of course, and angry with his brother for what he's done to him. But he would never give up their location. He wants his brother to be happy, so he keeps the information to himself.

He appreciates the letters he gets from Neteyam though. They make him smile, to see that his brother is finally living the life he's always wanted: something calm and peaceful with the woman he loves. He's super giddy when he gets the letter that Neteyam and his wife are expecting their first child. He's going to be an uncle! And the news makes him so happy that he just can't help but smile all day, sneaking off to tell Kiri and Tuk the good news too, and Princess is just looking at him like he's crazy - "Why is he so smiley all of a sudden? What could he possibly be happy about?"

Their relationship is rocky at the start . . . and in the middle. At first, when she was still Neteyam's betrothed, Lo'ak thought she was a spoiled brat. And now that they're supposed to be together, they can't stand each other even more. But the more time they spend together, the more they can't help how their eyes start to trace the other's movements. Their ears seem to always latch on to the sound of the other's voice. Random thoughts popping into their heads about the other (how nice they look in their formal attire, how their eyes glimmer in the glow under the chandeliers) before they have to physically shake those thoughts out, annoyed that they were even there to begin with.

Lo'ak actually growls to himself when the thought of Princess, round and beautiful with their own future child, her fancy custom-made gown falling perfectly over the bump, pops into his head after he finds out Neteyam's expecting.

He's shaking a similar thought out of his head as he's undressing after a rather intense training session. The new knights he's training are annoying, young men who think they're so great and are flooded with undeserved confidence and it just makes Lo'ak want to rip his hair out. But he heard a couple of them whispering about how beautiful Princess is, and how they'd give anything for a night with her and Lo'ak can't seem to justify the dark feeling swirling around in his chest when he hears it.

He thinks it's one of them who slams the door open, come to annoy him even more with stupid questions or overconfident remarks, but instead it's her. The woman he can't seem to get out of his head. She's panting, face flushed with exertion from trying to walk through the mud coated ground. The bottom of her dress is covered with dark brown, once shiny heels now sticky and sinking into the ground. She always looks so put together and clean, so the ruined look throws him off a bit and he can't help but think that she looks beautiful like this too - all flushed and hair out of place from where she tossed it over her shoulder carelessly in her frustration just to get it out of her face. She's scowling, mouth opened ready to give him a few choice words no doubt, but her words die in her mouth when she sees him: topless, corded muscles and strong back on display, all glistening and sweaty and fuck - now she feels like she's starting to sweat.

She's never seen a male like this before. Never seen so much skin. And he turns around when she enters, surprised and the question "what are you doing here?" falling from his lips, but she doesn't answer. Can do nothing more than gape at him like a fish because now his broad chest is on display too, tapering down into a narrow waist. All he's got on is a pair of tight black pants and boots, and her eyes can't help but linger on the slight bulge she can see from where they hug him between his legs.

She feels hot all over, a tight ball forming in her stomach the longer she looks at him and it's only when she feels a strange wetness pooling between her own thighs that she snaps out of her trance. She turns and leaves without a word, running to her bedroom and immediately calling for her maid. If she ever had a best friend, it would be her maid - the person who has been there as her helper ever since she was a little girl. Her helper, her protector, her guide.

Her maid's eyes widen as they take in the look of her Princess's state - dress ruined and covered in mud, face hot and red with embarrassment and something else she can't quite place.

"I don't know what I'm doing!" the Princess cries. And her maid is there for her, to clean her up and wrap her in soft blankets, ready to hear what her Princess has to tell and give her the best advice she can.

[onaa-ohokthen]

Thaniel, Mori, Grace, and the privilege Venn diagram

That's it, that's the post.

Ok, I'll elaborate a little bit. And since we don't do readmores here because reasons, everything in this post can be considered a spoiler for The Watchmaker of Filigree Street.

One of the first times I read Watchmaker, I was struck by how balanced the main three characters (I consider Mori a main character despite not having POV narration) were in terms of power and privilege. I thought about another bit and realized that Pulley actually balanced them in a really ingenious way.

Imagine a venn diagram consisting of three circles. One is labeled "gender", one "race", and one "class". Each of the three of them inhabit exactly two circles, no more, no less. There are other characters who inhabit all three (Fanshaw, Grace's father), or only one (Annabel), or none at all (Osei), but the main three maintain a precarious balance.

Grace is, of course, the daughter of a British Lord. If she had been behaving appropriately for her station, she would be married off to a wealthy and possibly noble man at her age. The authority and quite frankly audacity that comes with her standing allows her to handle everyone, from rude coach drivers to the librarian at the Bodleian, who seek to tower over her on account of her gender. But she can't entirely overcome it, cannot continue her scientific career, cannot inherit her aunt's house. For those, she needs access to Thaniel's gendered status, even while the effortless power she is accustomed to by virtue of her class allows her to steamroll him.

Mori starts blurring the borders. Yes, he's a bastard, but he's a noblewoman's bastard, and when there's no one else left to inherit, he does inherit. Even while he lives as a guest in Takahiro's house, Ito and his entourage bows down to him. Later, he may not enjoy being Baron Mori, may have chosen a career both conceptually and geographically removed, but like Grace, he carries authority effortlessly. Still, he's aware of his lack of prestige as Japanese in Victorian London. Whether he tells Thaniel the truth or not when explaining why he couldn't turn Spindle in (I believe he knows that doing so would eventually be possible with Fanshaw's record of his status, but then he wouldn't have met Thaniel, which was of course his goal. Excuse me, I have to have a little cry), it is true that Dolly wouldn't believe a foreigner over an Englishman.

Finally Thaniel, who straddles the working and middle class in a really interesting way and illustrates both the possibility and difficulty of class mobility in the Victorian era. He's undoubtedly born into the working class, with a groundskeeper father, but is taught an art, a middle- or upper class skill early in life. Indeed, even when he is unwillingly straddled with providing for Annabel and her children, he is allowed to work in an office. It's not a glamorous job, but it's indoors and although it doesn't make him happy, he can afford two baths and ten candles a week.

Thaniel's class affiliation kind of changes over the course of the book. First with his promotion to the Foreign Office (a higher salary and weekends off), then with the chance to play the piano professionally again, and finally with his marriage to Grace, he becomes more firmly settled outside of the working class he originated in. Still, he can't quite reach all the way up, no one can without being born there. He can live in as fancy a house as he wants, the born-into-authority of Grace's means he folds sideways rather than defy her until she goes too far.

Which just. I love them, your honor. It's to deft, such a great job of Pulley's. chef's kiss.

[cryptid-juzou]

Thanks for the tag @msshinylemon and @nolongerforthetainted 😊

Fanfic Writer Interview

How many works do you have on AO3?

I’ve only been writing fanfic for a few months and I don’t have any that I’m satisfied with/ brave enough to post yet (hoping to post some soon though). But this is fun so I wanna do it for my WIPs anyways.

Your top 5 stories by kudos/likes:

Can’t do top kudos’d fics but some of my current WIPs, all for bsd, are:

A currently untitled AU where Dazai is the head and solitary member of a large, wealthy estate who is growing increasingly disenchanted with his life. This starts to change when he meets and hires the fiery Chuuya to be his maid.

Treading a fine line - A Phantom Thief!Dazai and Detective!Chuuya AU inspired by the Mayoi cards. Chuuya has no clue the infuriating and elusive thief he’s been chasing for months is also the charming (but still infuriating) man he’s been dating and is slowly falling for.

A currently untitled HiguGin oneshot with little plot, it’s mostly just them falling in love. It takes place during/after ch.41 of the manga where Higuchi first sees Akutagawa with Gin and mistakes her for his girlfriend. And Higuchi’s first thought upon seeing them together is ‘Oh no, she’s hot.’

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I will when I finally post to Ao3, because I love when authors take the time to reply to my comments.

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

I cannot do angsty endings. Angst in the middle is great, but I am very much a ‘happily ever after’ kinda person.

What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

I haven’t finished many fics, but the higugin fic I listed above is two girlies becoming friends and falling in love, so that fits the bill. 

Do you write crossovers?

No, I prefer to take characters from one thing and plop them into the world of another thing as an AU.

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Nope, I’ve only ever posted my stuff on tumblr and yall are so nice here.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I’ve been dabbling in writing smut, still figuring out what kind I like to write.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Can’t steal what's not there hehe.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not applicable

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Nope, but would like to at some point.

What’s your all-time favorite ship?

Picking one is impossible. As bsd is my current obsession, skk and HiguGin. I also love Joker/Akechi from Persona 5 and Dorian/Inquisitor from Dragon Age Inquisition.

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

My Yosano/Koyo omegaverse AU where they are alpha/alpha. I LOVE the premise, but haven’t got much of a plot to go with it.

What are your writing strengths?

Hmmm, maybe that I spend a lot of time trying to keep my characters in character. I worry a lot about whether what I’m writing is something the character would truly do or say. 

What are your writing weaknesses?

I need more descriptive imagery, and to explore the characters' inner thoughts more. As I’ve started writing more, that is something I am actively working to improve. And I need to work on the whole ‘show, don’t tell' thing. 

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I think it’s fun. I don’t tend to do it myself, as I haven’t really written stuff where people are speaking other languages.

What’s a fandom/ship you haven’t written for yet but want to?

I recently watched Arcane and fell in love with all of the characters. I really want to write something for Vi/Caitlyn, I love them alot. And also Jayce/Viktor.

What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

I’m really liking my head of the house Dazai and Maid Chuuya AU. I’ve been suffering from Maid Chuuya brainrot for a while and it’s so fun to put my angry boy in a pretty maid dress. It’s also the first multi chapter fic I’m attempting, so I’m enjoying that process. 

I know we've only interacted like once so no pressure lol, but I know you write fanfic so thought I would tag you @samuraionyourmom

[disregardcanon]

amc iwtv soc au 

the quick pitch with ROUGH narrative roles

Louis as Kaz

Claudia as Nina

Madeline as Matthias

Armand as Inej

Daniel as Jesper

read more for in depth version

Louis as Kaz: the middle child of the late Florence and the even later Maurice de Pointe du Lac. Their late father sent Paul, the eldest child, off to a sanatorium near Ketterdam. After Maurice dies, Paul gets to return home and Louis is ecstatic to have his brother back, even though he now has to act as the “man of the house” despite being the second youngest person in it. At this point Louis is 11, Paul is 15, and Grace is 8. Their mother passes away within the next year and Paul talks Louis into selling their family home to make their way into the city. 

Paul thinks that he’s been divinely inspired to become some minister in the church of barter. Things are going fairly well in Ketterdam until Paul gets swindled by Pekka Rollins into “investing” his money rather than going immediately to the seminary because what better way to honor Ghezen than making money before coming to serve him? 

Afterwards the three Zemeni-Kerch children are ages 15, 12, and 8 and living on the streets. Paul is sinking into a depression and Louis and Grace are doing their best to provide for the three of them. But Grace comes down with the plague and dies of it. Louis has a freakout trying to figure out how to handle and take care of her body. Paul’s basically catatonic with grief and Louis is fighting with the coroner not to toss her body in the fucking harbor and Paul is growing more and more erratic, getting to the point where he’s hurting himself. Louis decides to deal with that issue and try to talk Paul down and remind him that he’s all that Louis has right now. Then they climb back up the fifth floor roof they’ve been squatting on and Paul throws himself off the roof. 

After that, Louis is… bad. He’s bad mentally. Like BAD bad. He claws his way into the Dregs, makes up a new backstory and name for himself, and fights his way from tiniest and youngest henchman to the leader of the younger half of the gang. The Bastard of the Barrel is born. 

The newly donned Louis Brekker is in charge of the younger members of the Dregs by the time he’s 15. He’s looking for subordinates that he can trust and people with talent. 

Armand as Inej: Come ON of course Armand was going to be Inej. He has a canonical history of forced prostitution. He’s deeply loyal in his own gremlin way and is also religious. He’s even South East Asian! Armand is from Gothic Horror though instead of the darker end of YA, so his similar trauma and circumstances with a love interest is processed in a way that’s A LOT messier. 

In this canon, Armand was taken from his Suli caravan earlier than Inej was, to the point where he can only remember his life there in fragments. He remembers that he IS Suli and he knows that he was an acrobat before they brought him to Ketterdam and made him sign those hideous papers he couldn’t even understand. 

They make sure he keeps up those particular skills at the Menagerie, along with a… choice selection of Suli. Dirty talk, sweet nothings, pet names, titles and protests and anything the fetishists might find appealing. 

They’ve beaten most of his fight out of him by the time that Marius comes perusing and is so taken with him that he buys up Armand’s indenture right out from under them. The boy about to be dubbed “Amadeo” is fourteen and thinks that this must be love. It seems that way for a while, too. A beautiful boarding school for artists downtown. The students are a mix of other “rescues” and the sons and occasional daughter of wealthy merchers from Kerch and abroad who want to give their children a leg up. 

It feels like a fairy tale, right? An attractive older man spirits him away from the hideous life he’d been living and treats him like a prince. Amadeo. Amadeo. Amadeo. He learns art and keeps up with his acrobatics with his new friends and spends nights in his master’s bed. The fact that Marius still owns him is, if anything, an inside joke. A tool for flirtation. A reminder that Marius isn’t getting rid of him. 

Then, one of the visiting merchers who patronizes the school visits and tries to force him to fellate him and Amadeo tries to bite his dick off. Amadeo gets dragged off to Marius where he gets a beating first and then a soft “this is just the way things are, I’m so sorry Amadeo, you just can’t hurt patrons, this is the only way to keep the doors open. I know it’s not pleasant but you must sleep with him and others. For The Cause.” And he wants to believe him, really, he does! So he tries to confirm it with the other boys. 

All of the rescues feel they have to. A few of the richer children still feel they should. A few kids who are clearly loved at home are shocked to hear that’s even being asked of some of them.

And then Amadeo brings his findings and says that if Marius really loves him, he won’t ask him to keep doing this. The work that he does for the school and the love he holds for his master should be enough, right? 

That… does not go over well. Marius tries beatings and guilt trips and isolation and denial of all forms of affection and attention. 

How does Amadeo respond to this? He breaks down the door with an ax. 

Amadeo is far more athletic than most of the other kids. This athleticism combined with his… tendency towards violence means that the chances of Marius actually keeping him under control are growing fainter and fainter every day. He’s seventeen now and growing like a weed! Truly getting facial hair and filling out and looking less like a boy and more like a man. Keeping him just does not seem worth it to Marius anymore. Amadeo is such a hassle and he’s certainly not bringing in any money. He’s just ensuring that the other kids don’t fall in line. 

The Menagerie has even been inquiring about bringing him back. They’ve had a real dip in sales without a Suli boy, after all. And while Marius can’t bring himself to harm his Amadeo enough to ensure the compliance the brothel had from Arun… he’s becoming less and less opposed to preventing it. 

Enter the Bastard of the Barrel. Louis finds Marius’s operation because he’s been scouting for rich students to entice into his gambling dens. Amadeo catches him sneaking in and is able to scare the shit out of him because he’s so deadly silent and efficient in stopping him. Louis is a good fighter at this point, and some kid that does MODELING being able to not only sneak up on his but physically subdue him? 

That’s… impressive. Very, very impressive. Louis scouts some information from him and realizes that he’s indentured and having troubles with his owner. 

Louis seeks out Marius to speak to him about the issue because holy shit that preternaturally beautiful boy is also preternaturally agile and silent. He could completely sway the balance of power in the Barrel if Louis got him to work for the Dregs. 

Louis makes a meeting happen with Marius whether he likes it or not. 

“You’re from the Barrel.” Marius says this like the word leaves a foul taste in his mouth. 

“Yeah.” 

“Leave my boys alone. They don’t need anyone leading them toward vice.” 

“What about… Amadeo?” Louis ventures. That’s the only one he’s truly interested in, now. He’ll leave all those pigeons alone if he can snag the true prize in this hall.

Marius smiles sadly. “Amadeo… I don’t think he’ll be here much longer. I have been speaking to his previous employer. I believe a move back might be in his best interest.” 

Louis hears Amadeo shift then for the first time. It’s so quiet that there’s no way that Marius hears it, but it’s shocking to hear even the slightest sound from him. It shows that the admission unsettled him. 

Marius, of course, doesn’t notice. People in power don’t have to notice things like that. 

Louis nods as though this is a reasonable business proposition and not something that disgusts him. “Let me take him off your hands. Sell the Dregs his indenture and I’ll leave the rest of your boys alone.” 

“Hm,” Marius says, “that sounds like a fair enough trade. You have a deal, Mr. Brekker.”

Technically, Louis doesn’t own the indenture. It belongs to Dregs and it has been written in a way that doesn’t accumulate interest the way that his original did, a contract of perpetual penny pinching that might keep him in bondage for the rest of his life despite the practice of outright slavery technically being outlawed. 

Amadeo wants Louis to rename him. Symbolic gesture, passing of the torch, ensuring that Louis will keep him. Louis has no interest in this and makes it very, very clear to him. 

So he renames himself Armand after one of the saints. Despite Louis making it very clear that Armand’s indenture is owned by the gang and will be over soon, it was Louis who came for him. Louis who wrote the contract. Louis is his savior and his saint and he doesn’t even consider how to pay off the indenture sooner and likes to think of Louis as his master, even though Louis refuses to have anything to do with that. 

The opportunity to be of service to Louis is all Armand wants, save for Louis to return his affections and use him. 

He’s never been so frustrated in his life. Why won’t Louis just let him be of use? How else is he supposed to know that his savior will keep him? 

Claudia as Nina: she comes to the Crow Club about three months after Armand does and he hates her. She’s resentful that she’s ended up indentured and almost never just does what Louis tells her and refuses to use her skills for tasks that she doesn’t like. She talks about how much she misses Ravka and her druskelle chaser and anything and everything constantly. She is thirteen and Louis dotes on her, but not in a way that makes sense to Armand.

The backstory for how she got to Ketterdam is as follows. She, a Second Army spy working to help Grisha escape from Fjerda, was captured by a druskelle ship and accidentally befriended the young lover of one of them. This forbidden friendship ends with Madeline thrown in the brig right along with her. They escape a shipwreck together and make their way to Ketterdam, where Madeline is thrown into Hellgate for her association with the druskelle and Claudia wanders the streets and eventually finds Louis, who takes her in immediately. 

Louis sees someone little sister shaped and asks “is anyone going to project the loss of their baby sister onto this child?” and doesn’t wait for an answer. 

Daniel as Jesper: he’s a student that’s racked up such a high tab at the club that the only reasonable way to pay it off is working for Louis. Louis likes to call him “boy” because he likes the weird power play stuff, even though Daniel’s only like a year younger than him. 

Daniel trusts Louis with his life and knows the guy is skilled and he’s his friend, but it’s hard to get him to open up AT ALL! Which is fine, really. It’s not like Daniel’s opening up about his shitty home life on the Wandering Isle or how his dad found out he was a Grisha, which his mom had known about his entire life, and immediately wanted to drink his blood. 

His mom didn’t do much to help him through that situation despite being the exact same type of magic that he is. Like oh yeah your dad wants to kill you now? Well that’s… unfortunate. We’ll talk him into shipping you off instead. 

He knows he could be mad at his mom, but it’s not worth it. She taught him how to manage and hide his powers until it didn’t work anymore. At least she got his dad to ship him off to Ketterdam with enough money to get him through a year at the university in bookkeeping instead of draining his blood to drink and sell at the market and burying him in the backyard. 

Small fucking mercies. When he gets to Ketterdam, the money lasts two months, and by the time he’s run his tab up that high and hasn’t attended classes for three weeks… becoming Louis’s sharp shooter and nose on the ground for information makes a lot more sense than any other option. He’s not about to let anyone know he’s GRISHA though. He likes his blood in his body, thanks. 

Madeline as Matthias: she’s a dressmaker who dates a druskelle rather than a druskelle herself. While slightly scandalous since she’s so openly flirtatious and they have gotten up to… shenanigans in the Ice Court and are now getting up to shenanigans on the druskelle ship, it’s not enough to get her or her beau in much trouble. A talking to every once in a while from a superior officer isn’t the end of the world. 

Madeline isn’t in love with the boy, but she does find something enticing about a man in uniform. The hate in his heart isn’t too concerning since it hasn’t, yet, been directed at her. It becomes an issue for her once she realizes that the Grisha they have under the hull are… people. One of which is a very cool person that she’s actively falling in love with.

When she starts to plot an escape for the two of them, they’re both caught and Madeline is thrown under along with her after being brutalized. Claudia is so angry when Madeline is thrown down with her sobbing and brutalized that she kills the captain of the ship at the wheel, sending the ship careening into a boulder. 

Stranded and the sole survivors of the crash, the two of them have to make their way to Ketterdam together, falling even deeper in love before Madeline is discovered as a “colluder” and arrested for association with the druskelle in Ketterdam. 

Claudia would be locked up as a Ravkan deserter, but she’s able to play off her youth, penchant for languages and good old fashioned racism to convince them that she’s a civilian captured from Novyi Zem and not a soldier from the Second Army.

She promises to help Madeline escape before she eventually returns to Ravka. Because that’s what she has to do, right? Return to Ravka. Madeline has no interest in returning to Fjerda when Claudia manages to break her out. 

Maybe Claudia will convince her Second Army to allow Madeline to accompany her. Maybe she’ll stay here in Ketterdam. Anything is better than returning home with all the new stigmas attached to her. 

In Hellgate she ends up making costumes for the fighting ring in Hellgate and getting suckered into competing so that she can keep some of the materials for herself. 

Lestat as Wylan: he was the youngest of three sons, so his father eventually just gave up on his education for everything but music. Dyslexia is hard enough for educators and students to work with in modern times. He’s never supposed to become the heir, right? He has two older brothers. 

These two brothers each die of plague. Then his father is left with a useless son that he hates, a useless wife he hates, and nowhere worthy to hoist his legacy. So he ships Gabrielle off to a sanatorium and then pretends to ship Lestat off to music school but actually tries to have him killed. Lestat ends up working in a clothing factory. He’s not that great at demolitions, but since he had to sell his violin to get a spot in a hideous little hostile he needs SOMETHING to do. 

Louis finds him and helps him assure that he’ll have a spot in the hostel as long as he needs it in exchange for some brief demolitions work. Lestat falls head over heels. Louis has plans that involve The Lioncourt Name. He refuses to admit that he might just also like the guy. 

Scene 1 

Wow, this must be a big deal if Louis’s gathered all three of his inner circle together at once. Sure, Daniel might be paired with either the heartrender or the assassin… but Louis’s never put the two of them together before, even with Daniel as a buffer. That’s how much Armand and Claudia can’t stand each other. 

Daniel’s still not sure what the issue between the two of them is, honestly. They’re two of his favorite people, so he’s not sure why they want to kill each other on sight. 

They DO, though! Every single time they’re in the same room it feels like the place might explode. 

So why in every saints’ name is Louis putting them together today? Their esteemed leader doesn’t seem… forthcoming about this. 

“So,” Daniel says, “you brought us all here, what’s the occasion?” 

Louis brings his hands together. “A job.” 

“There’s always a job, man. Why’s this one call for the whole gang?” 

“It’s big.” 

“How big?” 

“Eight million kruge.” 

“Holy shit!” Daniel exclaims. He’s sure that his face is bursting at the seams of his smile. Armand looks as expressionless as he tends to, but Claudia seems… skeptical. 

“Where the hell are we gettin’ eight million kruge, Louis?” she demands. 

He smiles slightly. “The Ice Court.” 

Claudia’s skepticism turns to hope. “You said we were bringin’ on someone else. Is that-” 

“Not the person you’re thinking,” Louis tells her. 

Claudia’s tentative smile falls off her face. “Alright. You can count me out, then.” 

This finally shifts the somber shadow out of silence. “Count you out?” Armand demands. 

Claudia ignores him. “Yeah. Count me out. If you’re not gonna get the one person who’s lived there on this job… it ain’t worth risking. Without her we’d have no chance.” 

Armand is still drawn taut, ready to snap at her with the slightest bit of permission from Louis. 

The boss just smiles. “Well then. I guess we’ll be staging a prison break.” 

Armand sits in silence and seethes. 

Scene 2

Armand is steaming mad. This is impressive because Armand almost never displays an emotional reaction at all. 

“Claudia bats her eyelashes and POOF! We’re breaking into Hellgate.” 

Daniel doesn’t want to argue with Armand, especially when he’s like this, but it seems stupid not to point out the flaws in that logic. “Look, I get it, but I think we need this girlfriend of hers. Madeline knows the Ice Court, right?” 

Armand scoffs. “Need her? She’s a dressmaker who fucked a druskelle. She’s hardly an expert. How could she be worth a prison break?” 

“The floor plan of that complex is a fuckin’ state secret,” Daniel says, “literally anyone who’s been inside knows more than us.” 

“This is not worth our effort,” Armand mutters, “the heartrender should have kept her mouth shut.” 

Daniel laughs. “When has Claudia ever done that?” Unsurprisingly, saying that does not endear her in Armand’s eyes. To be completely fair, though, there’s nothing Claudia or anyone else could do to endear her to Armand. As long as Daniel’s known them they’ve hated each other’s guts. 

Again, it beats him why. 

Scene 3

Claudia is an independent girl. She doesn’t take orders well, but she believes in communities and she puts her all into them. That community has always been the Grisha. Grisha in the second army and Grisha abroad, and then an allegiance to Ravka for giving them a space safe from persecution. 

She shouldn’t care about a druskelle hanger-on, but the druskelle hanger-on also shouldn’t have saved her life. So many of things she thought were true are proving to be… complicated. 

Claudia doesn’t like complicated. (No one seems to care for her opinion, though.) The closest that she’s going to come is by paying her debts: both to the girl who loved her enough to save her from death and the boy who stepped forward to buy her indenture to prevent it from going to a brothel. 

After she pays her debts, she can return to Ravka with a clear conscience. Her mentors will rip her a new one for getting caught, but at least she’ll be home. 

(She’s never been wanted there, really, but she had a right to her spot. There is nothing she is entitled to here in Ketterdam, just debt upon debt.) 

She needs to pay her debts and vacate the country. That’s a clear enough itinerary even the stupid child that her supervisors thought she was could follow. 

Scene 4

Daniel is called to go get Claudia and send her Louis’s way. 

“What am I, your errand boy?” Daniel asks. 

Louis grins. “Yes, Daniel. You are. Quite literally, I might add.” 

“Okay, yeah, I was asking for that.” Daniel’s just a weird little guy with a drug problem. Claudia’s probably a better choice for this anyway. Anyone’s a better choice than him. 

Louis asks Claudia to go speak to the last piece of this con puzzle: Lestat. 

Scene 5

“What are you,” the blond boy says, “12?” 

Claudia glares. “What are you, 15?” 

“I am 17, infant.” 

“I’m 14,” Claudia tells him, “so I’m not much younger.” She’s a soldier and a spy, too. She’s certainly not a baby just because some blond boy a little older than her is being a jerk. He’s not “an adult” either, but he thinks he can look down on her? 

Absurd. 

“Look,” Claudia tells him, “if you want the protection of the Dregs-” 

“I do not care for the Dregs.” 

She feels her blood boil. “Fine. I guess I’ll tell Louis he can shove his kruge up his-” 

The clouds part and reveal Lestat’s bright smile. “This is for Louis?” 

“Yes. Every job is for Louis?” He’s the boss, after all, no matter what he tells Per Haskell to keep the man off his back. 

He frowns. “Then Louis will not be there?” 

“I never said that.” 

He smiles again, coming to engulf her in a hug. “Thank you, strange infant! I will come with you once I’ve gathered my things.” 

“Your things?” Does this guy think he needs to bring his facial creams to a heist? 

“My demo gear,” Lestat says skeptically, “Louis would like to make things go BOOM, would he not?” 

“Uh… yeah.” If explosives are why this pretty boy’s on the payroll, then Claudia assumes the boss wants them. Saints, she wishes he’d just told her that to start with. 

Scene 6

“For real, man,” Daniel asks, “What’s your problem with Claudia?” 

Armand smiles tightly. “I do not have a problem with Claudia.” 

The pencil snaps. 

Scene 7

It’s hard not to love Lestat, but it’s also hard not to hate him. That’s the biggest problem that Armand is bumping up against. Louis clearly adores him despite his lack of skill. He is boisterous and bold and so sure of himself. 

He should not be sure of himself because he’s not good at much of anything. All of the skills that Armand has worked so hard to cultivate either come naturally to him or he completely disregards. 

Lestat waltzes into Louis’s admiration and does nothing to deserve his favor. Armand would do anything to deserve that. He wishes that Louis would let him prove it rather than brush off his attempts. 

He plants himself firmly at his saint’s feet: devoted supplicant awaiting recognition. But he doesn’t get it! He never gets it. It goes to the skilless former rich boy, the hot headed heartrender, even the addict sharpshooter who won’t shut his damn mouth and leave Armand to fester in his disappointment. With Louis there is nothing left for Armand but empty platitudes and boundaries. 

Scene 8 

Stealing from the Ice Court is difficult, but they manage. They get out with the secrets of Jurda Parem and the secret holder, but they leave a lot behind. 

Claudia has to take Jurda Parem to save them, for one. This increases her power a hundredfold…. And then rips it away, twisting it from control over life to control over death. 

A confrontation with their patron, Lestat’s father, ends disastrously. And they are left stumbling as they figure out how to handle the conflict going into the next book. 

Louis and Lestat have some quiet moments where Lestat reminds Louis of how to take a moment for himself and enjoy things. That he's allowed to think about things other than holding onto the club by his teeth. Things like art and music and love!

I am not going to write all of that, though. Just know that things are Happening and The Kingdoms are Getting Crooked. Louis is the one that gets kidnapped. 

Scene 9 

Two boys huddled in an empty office after its occupant has been snatched away from them. A gang left without its head. 

Someone has to save Louis. Someone has to get them all together, figure out how to move the pieces, and then get the job done. Judging by what Daniel's seen from him... he thinks Armand's the best bet. It's certainly not HIM.

“Come on, man,” Daniel says, “we have to do something. You’re Louis’s second in command, right? There has to be a plan for this.” The guy had contingencies for contingencies. Being snatched by another gang is probably just, like, a biannual vacation for him. 

Armand doesn’t even look up from his lap. “Without Louis I am nothing.”

Daniel just stares. “Dude, that’s fucking crazy.” 

Armand runs his nails over the ridges of his other hand. “I assure you it’s completely sane. If it weren’t for him… saving me from my own stupidity-” Yes, Daniel saw where Armand would be, same as everyone else in their gang at the Ice Court. The cruel owner of the brothel, the crueller owner of the brothel posing as an art school… posing as mentor and lover and savior-

But Armand would not be nothing. That’s fucking insane. 

“You’d still be stuck there, sure,” Daniel says, “but it wouldn’t be your fault.”

Armand laughs. “It wouldn’t? I remember putting my name on those papers a lifetime ago.” Written in a language he couldn’t speak, but what does that matter? If he’d stayed with his caravan like his mother told him the slavers never would have gotten him. 

If he’d behaved better for Marius then he would not have considered sending him back, and if he was better for Louis then Louis would still be here, not falling for another boy and certainly not kidnapped by a different gang. 

“I didn’t even make it worth the investment for Louis."

"You wanna make yourself worth the investment?" Daniel demands, "talk to the others. Tell us what to do so we can save the boss."

Armand starts to tug at his own hair. "You think they'll listen? The others?" Daniel puts his ear to the door and hears Claudia pacing, just the way he expected.

“Well,” Daniel says, “if you don’t peak you head out of here soon, Claudia’s gonna burst through the door herself."

Armand seems shocked for a second before he gains his cool composure. “The petulant child will do whatever she likes. I have no control over her.” 

Daniel rolls his eyes. “The fact that she’s even gonna talk to you about this means she wants your opinion. If she wanted to do it alone then she’d just do it.” 

Armand moves a casual hand. “Is she truly incapable of that? She was a child soldier, not a child whore.” Claudia’s bitter insult echoes back at them.

“That was uncalled for,” Daniel agrees, “but we all want the same thing, right?” 

“Fine,” Armand concedes, “I will see her.” He pushes himself off the floor, tries to compose himself as he stands. He won’t sit in Louis’s chair (doesn’t feel worthy of it) but he needs some reminder that he’s more senior than both of these two. 

He decides to lean halfway against the desk, trying to look as put-together as possible. He must look like someone who can put together a team, give orders, keep things together and save Louis the way that they all need.

“Open the door, Daniel,” Armand orders. Armand half expects Daniel to laugh at his audacity, but that’s not the look on his face at all. It’s more like… attraction. 

“Uh, yeah,” Daniel says, looking dazed. 

“Now."

Daniel moves quickly, then, adding “Yes sir!” The moment the door opens Claudia comes tramping in. 

“Are we doin somethin or are y’all leavin Louis to rot?” Claudia demands. 

Armand just stares blankly at her. “Ah, accusations. A strong way to start a civil conversation.” 

“Don’t start with me. He’s been gone a day and y’all ain’t done shit to fix it. Lestat's been threatening to try gettin' himself captured to try to save him and I can't keep him leashed much longer. You have a plan, or do I need to make one myself?"

Then Claudia glances over at Daniel, standing firmly on Team Armand. "For three, I take it." Daniel's doesn't correct her. He won't commit until Armand does.

Armand laughs lightly. “You? Take on an entire gang?” 

For once in her life, Claudia responds with a level of restraint. “Yeah, we will if we have to. But it’s not gonna go well. I can’t fight like I used to.” She reaches out the way that she used to in fights, the way that would stop Armand’s heart for a second just to prove she can kill him sure as he can kill her. 

Nothing happens, because of course it doesn’t. The Jurda Parem has wrested away her control over the living. She’s lost her connection to what gave her purpose, forced to learn from scratch with bones and decay. 

Maybe they have more in common than he thought. 

“Fine,” Armand says, “you will not have to take on an entire gang by yourself. I will be planning our attack.”

Claudia looks skeptical. “You?” 

He grinds his fangs into a smile. “Yes, me. Unless you would like to test your corpse strengths without assistance?” 

Daniel glances between the two. “Uh, Claudia, I really think you should-” 

“Fine,” Claudia agrees, “but it’s just for Louis. Once we got him back… you and me are through.” 

Armand laughs lightly. “I would like nothing more than to be rid of you.”

Scene 10 

Once they get Louis back and they pool their collective Understanding of the Situation, they figure out how to con Lestat’s father into a prison cell. 

Lestat gains unrestricted access to his family fortune and mansion. He has the time, income and safety to pursue his music now that his father is locked up for life and his mother freed from the asylum. She doesn’t decide to stay with him, but she’s free. He has stability and Louis. That’s what he really needs here. 

Louis gives up his crime empire and moves in with his boyfriend, devoting his time to reading books, studying law to help cover his loved one’s asses, and learning how to work through his own issues. In a world where Lestat was only on the fringes of most of them, he doesn’t have to decouple himself to start this process. 

Madeline doesn’t die because fuck that. I understand the reason that Matthias had to die in the books but I also understand the reason why CLAUDIA AND MADELINE had to die in their source material. This is an au and we do what we want. 

Claudia is the one that ends up with a pirate ship, with her and Madeline determining that they’ll use it to raid druskelle ships, slaver ships, and generally just… save everyone that they can. They’ll work out the details later. 

Some of them might involve dropping refugees off at Louis and Lestat’s doorstep but like… those two OWE them. They have these cozy little lives now. That means they have to help people in need. Them’s the rules. 

Armand takes over the most lucrative crime ring in the Barrel and works toward helping kids like him. Daniel’s addictive tendencies have gotten better since he’s acknowledged that he’s a Grisha and started using his powers again, but honestly? He doesn’t want any of that “normal life” crap. There’s a very attractive guy who’s worked through his desire to make himself a doormat to be worthy of people’s love and is now very assertive and tells him to do things in a way that is very sexy and also lets him shoot people with guns. 

He’s only human! Like come on! He’s got adrenaline and a hot guy who’s a crime boss telling him what to do and praising the shit out of him. Daniel’s his second. You expect him to give that up for bookkeeping? Fuck no. If he tried to shove himself into a life that fucking boring he might actually get hooked on Jurda Parem, which would be… bad. For everyone involved. 

He’s gonna stay hooked on Armand doming him instead. Happy endings all around!