#it’s so thoughtful and nice and she can’t believe mc is being nice to her when she’s been terrible to them

[weirdcursedvaultkid]

since merula likes thoughtful gifts I’d like to share my hc that merulas develops a lil baby crush on mc ever since the Christmas sq where mc gifts she the song book

[nagichi-boop]

SHADOW IS WRITTEN SO WELL IN THE MURDER OF SONIC THE HEDGEHOG!!

First of all, just him showing up to Amy’s party is a step up from his recent “I will do everything myself, I hate everyone, imma fight you” attitude that we have seen. Secondly, and idk if it was intentional, but him attending shows he cares about Amy. He’s always had a special place for her after the events of SA2, so it’s nice to see him showing up for something that maybe isn’t his style for her sake. (Parties aren’t really his thing, after all.)

SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT

It’s also really sweet of him to go through so many lengths to try and get Amy’s present. I definitely don’t think he forgot to get her a present, he genuinely just didn’t seem to know that it was a social norm to bring presents to a birthday. If he really didn’t care, he either wouldn’t have gotten her anything or he would’ve given her a rushed gift. But no, he went through a lot of effort, basically foregoing the game, just to stall Amy so he could get her a present she would enjoy.

And not just any present - he remembered her mentioning a specific band she liked and that she hadn’t seen them live. This not only suggests he listens to her and remembers what she tells him, but also implies that he has had multiple conversations with her. Clearly he must have also done some research too since he knew that the tickets were going live soon. He thought this through, even if it was a bit last minute, and did his best to get the tickets (even though he admits to not being the best with computers, which is also nice because usually Shadow just insists he’s the best at everything). I also think it was sweet that he didn’t heavily protest Amy’s suggestion to see the band together. He hesitated, but then yielded. This…for a character who recently has been written to be quite selfish.

He seemed upset that he couldn’t keep this a surprise, but he also didn’t become enraged or lash out at Tails and MC/Barry. In fact, he didn’t really lash out at anyone at any point which is refreshing, since in most Sonic media that’s his go-to emotion.

Most of his expressions throughout the game are fairly gentle in fact. Sure, he doesn’t smile, but he also isn’t actively angry. And the one expression where he does seem a bit negative just seems like his resting expression, or at absolute worse just a little annoyed. He’s very mellow throughout the game and it’s refreshing.

Even after he has finished talking to Amy, Tails and MC/Barry, he offers to stay with them and help them with the investigation. Normally in Sonic media, Shadow has no interest in helping others and only really cooperates if there’s a mutual goal/interest. And even then, he tends try to do things on his own. But in this game? He actually cooperates, and what’s more, he goes out of his way to offer his help.

So far I’ve mostly talked about his attitude towards Amy. But what’s his attitude towards Sonic? People debate back and forth on whether Shadow hates Sonic and the recent games and media have made it seem like he does hate Sonic. But in this game? I wouldn’t say so. I mean, he’s literally hanging out with him and his friends and instead of having beef with Sonic, he just focused on making Amy happy. And even when the situation gets more dire and Sonic is found to be knocked out, he doesn’t make any snarky comments or anything. In fact, he actually helps to tend to Sonic’s condition, even if it was just checking his pulse. If he rly didn’t care, he would’ve left it to everyone else.

Man, I could talk for hours about Shadow in this game. I can’t believe this April Fools prank game is actually the best characterisation for Shadow we’ve had recently. He’s not overly aggressive, he isn’t selfish, he isn’t super edgy. He is still sorta cold, but he’s not rude or mean. He’s actually really kind (in his own way), putting his needs and desires on hold to make Amy’s birthday fun and to help everyone out. I seriously hope that Shadow is written more like this in the future and not like he has been. Maybe Sega wasn’t joking about taking on board the complaints of the fandom.

[myths-tournaments]

Awful Characters Round 2 Part 1 (2/8)

Propaganda under the cut!

IANTHE TRIDENTARIUS

Her number one hobby is ruining every person's that she knows life. Her second hobby is being soooo slutty about it despite looking like a literal wet rat. Her third hobby is having an extremely unhealthy relationship with her twin. Her other hobbies include cannibalism, wearing a maid outfit, being extremely convinced she is the main character, the badboy sexy love interest and the villain. 'Why', you may ask. Well, the answer is, for shits and giggles #justgirlythings i, aswell as literally everybody else in the fandom have gone through the pipeline from hating her to desperately wanting to fuck her. expect for i still fucking hope she dies and doesn't come back for good. (that would literally solve all of everybody's problems) as god intended (EXPECT FOR. one of her hobbies literally is gaslighting god) She is fucking horrible i will love her until i die and even after that

parks and recs jean ralphio voice she's the woooorst!! The moment she learns she has to kill someone to become a Lyctor (aka a more special necromancer), she doesn't hesitate to kill and cannibalize the guy who has been her cavalier since childhood… cavalier who she also totally bullied as kids, she was allowed to choose one guest for her and her twin sister's birthday party each year, and she would always pick whoever she thought her cavalier didn't want to see there! While other characters are shown to regret the process of becoming a Lyctor (which involves someone close to them dying)/were forced into it because of circumstances, Ianthe has absolutely no regrets, she believes she did what she had to do

The author once said of Ianthe: "I don't think she's been nice to anyone, if she has I'll go back and change it." She killed and ate the soul of someone she has known all her life so that she could become a necromantic saint and tormented him plenty before that. General negging, ganging up against him, always inviting people he didn't like to their birthday parties. She doesn't regret killing him. I think she is repulsed by the idea that his digested soul is affecting hers. She helped her crush lobotomise herself so she would be in Ianthe's debt, and later lied and said she didn't see the corpse of a woman her crush killed under her bed (why did she do that? I do not know). She has a bone arm because her original arm was cut off, she hated the replacement so her crush cut THAT off and grew her a new one out of just bones. She had it gilded and only after that did she decide to help her crush deal with the person who had been repeatedly trying to kill her. She wants so badly to be the main character but people keep interrupting her villain monologues.

she has her own content warning tag

She's such a bitch to everyone all the time, she causes nothing but problems, she tries to do a villain speech but fumbles it because her tummy hurt, she is the awfulgirl of all time

THE SKULL

he is an evil ghost who used to be an assistant to a mad scientist gravedigger. accomplice to murder and torture and general evil scheming. now he lives in a jar and is besties with a teenage girl. and by besties i mean he encourages her to kill people and constantly cheers when her friends almost die. overall a silly little decapitated head <3

It is literally a skull in a jar. (More context if you don’t know the books/show: it’s a ghost source that’s been trapped in a silver container so it can’t escape. And it’s exceptionally powerful which means it can actually communicate with mc.) It frequently encourages the mc to commit various morally reprehensible acts such as homicide (she never does). When it was alive, it was a teenage boy who was apprenticed to an evil scientist.

[jackactuallywrites]

I am asking very nicely for part 2

I need our pathetic duo

Besties are making fun of MC for being an idiot and they take her to a club and WHO'S THERE? 💀

They meet in a smoking area and MC is going through all stages of grief

That's us btw

Drunk and Disorderly

Pairing: Simon Ghost Riley x You

Rating: Still pretty mild

Warnings: Alcohol, smoking, clubbing, Liverpudlians

Summary: You to the club assuming Ghost won’t be there. More fool you!

Notes: we simp for @xxven providing all these excellent plot ideas it would not happen without her 🫡

Word count: 1,666 (spooky!)

“I’m not going back to the pub.”

You were being uncharacteristically firm; usually, enough badgering from Katy and Elle would have you giving in and trudging off to the pub, but this time you were absolutely resolute. Elle was less than impressed, letting out a heavy groan as you vetoed the classic Friday evening plans, “Is this because of the whole Ghost thing?” You glowered at her, and Katy snickered, “Can’t believe you thought Soap was some girl chatting him up.” You huffed, “It’s hard to tell in that lighting! Plus, a lot of the girls around here have that haircut.” Elle did her best to hold back her amusement, whereas Katy did no such thing, cackling at you outright, “You twat.” You made a face at her, “Bite me. We’re not going to the pub.” Elle acquiesced, “Alright, fine, fine. What about the club?” Katy grimaced, “So we can watch you get embroiled in lesbian drama again?” Elle grinned, “I mean, what’s a night out without a little drama?” “A little drama? You almost got your extensions ripped out.” “But I didn’t.” You interrupted, “I vote to go to the club as well.” Katy huffed, “That’s because you know you won’t see Ghost in a gay bar, isn’t it?” You saluted, “Absolutely. Two against one.” She sighed, knowing she’d been beaten, “Fine. But no drama!” Elle held her hand over her heart, “No drama!”

Of course, it had been a promise that couldn’t be kept. Elle had a habit of finding herself in the middle of arguments, no matter how hard she supposedly tried to keep out of them. It was lucky for her that Katy was there to console the jilted lover and convince her not to throw her drink over Elle’s head. Elle was unbothered as always, already finding some beautiful person to dance with. With Katy busy soothing troubled lesbians and Elle trying to seduce anything even remotely sexual, you were left alone, though you didn’t mind.

You couldn’t think of a better place to bury your embarrassment than in the middle of a gay club, your face painted with colour and sparkles, your tits pushed up so high they practically touched your chin, and your waist cinched by your corset, your confidence absolutely untouchable. You’d already gotten several numbers that night, not that you planned on using any of them, still silently pining for a certain murderous spectre, but it had done wonders to restore your self-esteem after that dreadful night the week before.

The memory had long since faded into irrelevance in your mind, the music seeming to pump directly into your veins, the bass pounding along with the beat of your heart, your hips swaying, your hands touching your hair, your neck, absolutely enraptured by everything in that moment, lost in the sensations of absolute peace that only pounding music and heavy drinks could provide. You danced until your feet hurt, and the sweat began to bead up on your forehead, threatening to ruin the intricate swirls Elle had spent so long on, finally taking a break from your dancing and heading out for a breath of fresh air—in the smoking area.

You paid little attention to the patrons as you pushed open the heavy door into the cool night air, letting it flow over your face, enjoying the smoke-tainted breeze. The door shifted slightly behind you, someone taking the weight of it out of your hands, holding it open as they came into what was generously called a garden, though was more accurately a group of cheap metal chairs on fake grass, grouped around a single space heater. Most of the chairs were occupied by a group already deep in conversation, some of them known to you, huddled together, with two chairs left out. You were too happy to sink into the available chair, taking the weight off your feet, leaning back and stretching out your ankles, only somewhat regretting your decision to wear heels. The person who’d come along behind you sunk into the last available chair, and you finally looked over at them, wondering if they’d be good conversation.

Fate, it seemed, had a very funny sense of humour.

Ghost was sitting in the chair beside you. Ghost, terrifying Lieutenant, was in the smoking area of a gay bar. He was looking at you curiously, still wearing that trademark skull balaclava, inexplicably allowed to wear it no matter where he was, dressed in a slightly more casual version of his usual uniform, a thick black jumper paired with the classic cargo trousers that every soldier favoured. And there you were, in your skimpy sparkly dress, arse out, tits out, dignity left somewhere behind on the dancefloor. Your only saving grace was the hope that he might not recognise you, as crushing as that might have been.

The nod he gave you was friendly enough, as well as the “Alright?” he offered in your direction, and you did your best to squeak out an “Alright!” in response. Thankfully, he didn’t seem entirely bothered by your practically virginal awkwardness around him, his attention on the cigarettes in his pocket, digging out his lighter as he pulled up his mask, revealing a clean-shaven jaw as he clamped the cigarette between his lips. You were clearly not one for subtlety, as he offered the pack out to you, clearly noticing you staring.

Broke and gasping for a quick smoke was probably a better look for you than desperate, so you took one from the pack, trying to remember where you’d stashed your lighter, but Ghost was already leaning in with his, the tip of his cigarette touching against yours as he sparked them up, taking in a deep breath to encourage the embers to catch. You were absolutely spellbound to be so close to him, able to smell the slight hint of cologne that lingered around him, but you leaned away the moment he did, trying to look at least somewhat casual about it, as though smoking with your lieutenant was something you did every day. It was an undeniably insane scenario, yet when he settled back into his chair, entirely at ease, the tension seemed to dissipate from your body. He wasn’t judging you or staring at you with murderous intent, nor was he stained in blood with sweat trickling over his sculpted chest. He was just a man, sitting in a rusted chair, smoking cheap cigs out in the cold. It might have been the alcohol that caused this revelation, or perhaps the soothing effects of the nicotine, but you could feel the anxiety fade away as you looked at him, noticing just how ordinary he seemed.

“I’m not gonna grass you up for being drunk and disorderly if that’s what you’re worried about.” Ghost’s soft voice snapped you out of your revelation, the man clearly having cottoned on to your weird behaviour around him, yet he’d entirely misconstrued the true cause and given you a perfect excuse. You leapt on the opportunity, smiling, “Hey, I might be drunk, but I wouldn’t say I’ve crossed into disorderly just yet. I’m just worried what Elle will say if she catches me talking to a Manc.” He hummed at that, “What, she a scouser?” You nodded, “And proud of it.” He snorted, his lips curling into a slight smirk, “Why would anyone be proud of being from that shithole?” You gently kicked his leg with the toe of your heel, “Hey, nothing wrong with Liverpool!” “Scousers are what’s wrong with Liverpool. And the world.” You rolled your eyes at him, “Yeah, yeah, get over it. She’s perfect.”

There was something easy about his company, the conversation flowing like water as you idly gossiped about the various officers you’d seen out that night, some of whom were decidedly less than single, as well as occasionally dipping into the finer points of what military equipment you each favoured, with him favouring the classic goretex and you preferring the AKUs. Your cigarettes had long been stubbed out, and the psychological warming effects of the alcohol were beginning to fade, your skimpy dress doing very little to protect you from the chill.

After the third time you’d been wracked with shivers and the second time you’d refused his jumper, Ghost took matters into his own hands, tugging it over his head and offering it out to you. You opened your mouth to protest, but he cut you off, “If you don’t take it, I’ll give you a formal reprimand.” You pursed your lips, rolling your eyes at him, but you took the jumper from his hands, tugging the warm material over your head and letting it fall down over your body, shifting in the chair so it covered more of your exposed skin. The fabric swamped you, but you weren’t complaining, amused that the hem of his jumper was longer than your dress. You grinned at Ghost, holding your arms out to showcase how long the sleeves were on you, “How do I look?” Ghost had long since pulled his mask back down, but you could see the slight crinkle at the corner of his eyes as he smiled underneath it, “Warm.”

The heavy door opened again, revealing a very happy-looking Elle with a big lipstick smudge on her cheek and a somewhat tired-looking Katy. Elle pointed at Ghost, wrinkling her nose and booing loudly, “Manc!” Ghost looked at you, then back at Elle, folding his arms over his chest, showcasing the tattoo sleeve that wrapped around his forearm, “Scouser.” She responded with a childish stream of incoherent babble, and Katy sighed, “Come on, we’re off.” You weren't about to bicker with Katy, so you pushed yourself up from the chair, looking down at Ghost, “You’re not getting this back, you know.” He shrugged, “Fine by me.” You smiled down at him, “In a bit then.” He nodded as you left, his eyes flicking over your body, drowned by his jumper, “In a bit.”

[wildpeachfarm]

this is meant lighthearted : instead of “all men are trash, women do no wrong” a secret third thing “PEOPLE suck in general”

as someone who grew up with an absent father who tried to make life difficult for my mother once she took him to court for child support for me and my siblings - ing…I grew up with a not nice view of older men BUT my grandpa was a big big influence in not making men a negative experience for us.

the recent shift of the last 4-5 years has been worrying. I used to liked jkr and could emphasize where she was coming from originally. but it was scary to see the gradual descent into where she is now and the stuff she is saying. Bc she is so far removed from what she originally stood for. It can happen to anyone, I even get worried if I’m on that slope sometimes. This whole situation had me second guessing myself bc I gave gnf time and believed in him. I had a moment when a few female creators made remarks (not from mc community) and I checked myself bc I was scared I was falling into the conservative rhetoric to blame women and protect men. Then I saw others who had more information and actually looked into it and also found this blog where the nuances were being discussed and let out a breath of relief that I was just using my critical thinking skills lmao

There are so many men out there who just aren’t given a chance bc society is set up for them to fall into a certain role. And I think a lot of men are trying to break that role and stereotypes. I became a dream fan bc I saw him doing this, saw a gamerboy in 2020 who was passionate and excelled at the game but didn’t fall into the toxicity of the space, actively fought against it.

and women should not be encouraged to drag men through hell bc they feel empowered by the rhetoric of recent years. women can and are just as selfish and shitty people as men. Sometimes they are worse

we’ve gone so far off center, we’ve essentially gone from one extreme to another. Which I learned two years ago was called terfs 😂 the movement needs to go back to its previous meaning. Feminism is not solely female empowerment it is the deconstructing of the patriarchal roles and belief that push men and women into boxes. Feminism, as I was taught over a decade ago, was the fight for women and MEN to be equal and have the same rights and opportunities. We can uplift women without putting down men. if this feminist movement doesn’t correct itself, it will allow more men like andrew tate to grow and influence young men.

The lack of female representation in the sphere cannot be corrected by women. It just can’t. Men need to be part of the change bc if the environment is not corrected, women cannot succeed and thrive. They can become successful but the hate and obstacles directed towards them is crazy. This is in general not just for streaming.

It can’t just be women solidarity, men need to learn and actively engage in calling out misogynist behavior. Women need to talk with their males friends and call them out when they say or act in disgusting ways. Women need to hold women accountable as well! It is unfair and unattainable to put female equality solely in the hands of women. We need to All work together.

Puffy is so good at this when she streams, especially on the smp. Hell, she even created a whole villain arc to call out the people telling her to “be a therapist to Tommy, omg your like dreams mom”. Puffy is awesome 🥹

men =/ bad

women =/ good

PREACH ANON

this breaks it all down so well and i really sympathize with you about having a poor view of some men in your life and trying to not let that influence your views but also not go so far off the other end that you end up blindly defending them without critical thinking.

Really important discussions and introspection about how your thought processes work that I think everyone should have at least once when situations like this come up

[foxoftamriel]

Five Nights At Freddy’s, Authorial Intent, The Box, and why CC doesn’t really matter.

Authorial intent is the act of, rather than looking at the story itself, you focus on the author. Why did they write this, why did they act this way. That’s what I want to focus on, Scott Cawthon after the release of FNAF 4, and what that means for the story. Scott was, for lack of a better word, frustrated after FNAF 4. Think about the box, how he never gave us a concrete answer to what it was because no one got the complete story of the game. He gave MatPat the hint “why is little toy Chica missing her beak?” Well, I have an answer to both of those, CC doesn’t matter! He’s not Golden Freddy, Cassidy is! And he’s definitely not the Puppet, that title is Charlie’s. So in the grant scheme of things, who is he? Well, he’s the brother that Michael accidentally murdered. That’s why Scott was so frustrated. He didn’t mean to tell us about CC, but rather about Michael. It was Michael’s backstory. This was Scott trying to tell us “this is the boy you play as in the rest of the series, and this is why he spends over five nights at Freddy’s”. But, due to the lack of information at the time, no one understood. So he introduced William Afton as the Purple Guy in the books, then again in the games, and made his daughter the antag, as well as making another antag a representation of his wife. This game was supposed to make you connect the Afton’s to the protag of the series, make you realize that the protag is an Afton. But no one got it. So Scott threw his hands up and said “fine! I’ll just tell you!” And gave us the cutscenes after the SL custom nights, which gave us more information about Michael than anything. Michael turning purple isn’t actually him turning into a rotten corpse (how could he get a job as a corpse? Even if Fazbear Entertainment is garbage, he’s a corpse! That’s wayyyyy past the line) but rather to connect him to William, to the Afton’s. He even shares the same VA as William! Scott basically threw in our faces that Michael was an Afton, and the kids in FNAF 4 were Aftons as well (think about the empty girl’s room, which SL gives us an answer to), therefore Michael = Foxybro = MC. Then he finally closes it off with FNAF 6 (ah satiating FNAF 6 ending, I miss you), giving us Henry’s line about his “brave volunteer” wanting to die in the fire. And I think that’s what finally put the FNAF fandom in agreement about Michael (at least, the FNAF fandom can’t agree on much, so Scott still needed more confirmation in Fazbear’s Frights since MatPat thought Michael was CC as a robot). I mentioned earlier the line “why is little toy Chica missing her beak?” She’s missing her beak because the cutscenes aren’t even from CC’s POV, they’re from Michael’s, how he remembers his little brother, and how he remembers himself. CC is, frankly, a little bit too much of a crybaby to be realistic. And yes, this is a game, so I might be looking to far into it, but CC never stops crying, even when the Fredbear plush tries to comfort him. And about the Fredbear plush, I don’t think it’s William talking to him or a spirit, I think Michael saw CC with the plushie all the time, and interpreted it as an object of comfort for him, that’s why it’s literally everywhere, Michael remembers CC bringing it with him everywhere. And how does Michael look back at himself? With nothing but hatred. He sees himself as the older brother who lives for nothing but torment (we don’t get any scenes of Michael being nice until CC is dying). And he’s afraid of his younger self (think about how many YouTubers jumped at the Foxybro jumpscares). And the gameplay? That’s William punishing Michael, and that’s why we see it in SL. So why is little toy Chica missing her beak? Because Michael Afton has already been Fritz Smith, and the image of Toy Chica without her beak is burned into his mind. I believe almost to complete certainty that the first concept of the box was something connecting FoxyBro to the FNAF protags.

That was very ranty, and there was some other things I wanted to add. But for the sake of all our time, I’ll end it here. Thanks to anyone who read all the way through.

[otomes-and-tears]

Could you do headcanons for how Step 1 Tamarack would react if her grandparents decided the MC was a bad influence and told her she couldn't hang out with the MC anymore?

♦ Tamarack’s grandparents think MC is a bad influence ♦

► tags and warnings: -

► words: 344

► A/N: poor tam thought she was living a modern day romeo and juliet

Poor Tamarack would feel conflicted;

She loves her grandparents and knows they just want what’s best for her;

They trust her enough to let her play in the forest and come back home before dinner time;

It’s more freedom than even her parents had granted her, back when she still lived with them;

And most of all, Tamarack knows that the trust they place on her is dependent on her listening to the few rules they do impose;

So if they tell her she shouldn’t play with MC, they must have good reason to;

But Mc is her friend! Her best friend!;

That already means a lot to a ten year old, but even more to Tamarack;

That’s basically sacred to her;

So she’d struggle with making sure her grandparents are happy while also not abandoning her friend completely;

Maybe they can’t play in the neighbourhood, but if they’re deep enough into the forest and just happen to bump into each other it wouldn’t be polite to ignore their presence, would it?;

And while her Omi told her to avoid playing with them, she said that it wasn’t an excuse for her to be impolite;

And well, they sit next to each other in class! The polite thing to do is to talk to your seatmate, and maybe play tag with them during recess and trade lunches;

Of course, if the entire reason MC isn’t allowed to play with Tamarack is that they’re a bad influence, naturally Tamarack believes it’s up to her to be a good one;

She’s aggressively nice and tries to be ten times good-er around MC;

That, of course, ends up coming across as weirdly intense because it’s Tamarack and she doesn't do subtlety;

Tamarack would absolutely try to make up a devious, infallible plan with Qiu to make sure that MC falls back into her grandparents good graces;

It most likely didn’t work;

I do think that granny would see how much this friendship meant to Tamarack and allow them to play together as long as they're being supervised;

[hsslilly-blog]

been thinking about my bratz doll post. im going to start sharing my doll customising journey here so i get motivated enough to get back into it lol. the last time i posted about it was back in february i think? anyway

my plan is to make three custom dolls. claire (hwu mc), blair (hss mc) and addison (hwu). i also hope to make a bianca custom doll as i’ve found the perfect base doll for her, but she wasn’t in my original plans.

here’s my progress so far. all the pictures are going to be terrible btw:

blair stewart

outfit: their outfit is pretty much complete. the only thing missing is their sweater and their hairband. and i really really want to find/make a tie for them. i dislike the fact the skirt is a VERY grayish dark blue (in the picture it looks straight up gray) and i’ve thought about dyeing it blue but i’m afraid to ruin it and end up with nothing. so i’m keeping it as is for the time being. the boots are a perfect match. i plan on painting the gray details on the purse and making it completely white. but it’s very cute, it looks a lot like the one from this post.

the doll: this is a 2015 fashionista barbie doll that was WAY overpriced when i got her. i really like her hair colour though… it’s not exactly copper, it’s a very nice shade of pinkish orange. the picture does it no justice, but it looks a lot like the shade of orange i used to use for blair’s hair in my early 2021 drawings of them. the only issue with this doll: she has flat feet. which sucks. but she’s plastic so we just need to throw her in boiling water and mold it to my liking. medieval torture style.

my plan: i plan on repainting her face. i like this screening, but it looks… weird. im going to give her blair’s heterochromia + their scar and i plan on giving her less eyebrows. blair doesn’t have much of those. as for the hair, it still has some remains of box glue so i need to get rid of that before anything else. i plan on cutting it shoulder length and flipping the ends. i don’t know how i’m doing blair’s hairstyle though (the hair part/bangs) because this doll’s rooting is really weird. but we’ll see.

what do we think. hairstyle ofc not 100% blair compliant but gives me a general idea of what to do. there’s a really cool way of doing the bump/beehive-like/teased crown i sometimes draw them in, so i might try it if the doll has enough hair. also i realized just now how the eyes in this sculpt are very far apart. lol. i think it fits blair.

addison sinclair

outfit: and nothing for her!! i have her jacket and her boots (which have not been painted yet) and that’s it. addison has been the reason of my restless nights. i just can’t find a cropped top that looks like hers!!!! i didn’t think it would be so hard to find a blue/grayish/jeans-like cropped top but my god!! and the worst part of it all: i found a dress online that is a perfect match to hers but it’s been OUT OF STOCK since february!! here it is:

it’s not a Perfect Match, but i can work around it. it’s more than close enough to me. i’ve been checking the website every week but they haven’t restocked it yet and i fear they aren’t going to do so anytime soon. atp i think i’ll just sew it myself. i just need to find a similiar fabric to her dress. as for the socks… i have some white doll socks and i’m going to dye them purple. no bracelets yet.

the doll: i cannot for the life of me tell you which doll this is. she looks like a ~2012 barbie doll but i can’t figure out which one. and i don’t think these are the original clothes. the ad said she’s a fashionista but i don’t believe this. she does have articulated legs, but she doesn’t Look Like a fashionista. i think she’s from the early i can be line before they started using rubber legs. anyway. i fell in love with her hair. it’s perfect for addi.

my plan: i plan on repainting her eyes. here’s the thing guys. i’m a brown eyed addison truther. sorry that’s just who i am. i also want to close her mouth LOL. give her addison’s red lipstick and thin the eyebrows. as for the hair i think it’s perfect as is. i’m probably just going to style it better.

i plan on closing her mouth w/ apoxie paste or like. makeup clay (is that what it’s called?). her lips are going to be smaller too but i got lazy with the drawing.

claire swanson

outfit: isn’t she pretty!!!! i’m still having issues with her casual outfit but her formal outfit/the red dress i always draw her in is done. besides the shoes. i don’t like these open toed heels with this dress. for her Signature Look i have this cute red top which is a great match but i can’t find any shorts that match hers/the top. so far i have a miniskirt and these.. jean shorts. not my favourite. i have to paint the heels white but i found these gold hoops!!! w for me. no bracelets yet.

the doll: this is a 2011 glitz barbie doll and she’s been my holy grail for years now. the blue variant is so so so pretty. i never thought i’d find her since 1. it’s an old barbie doll and 2. i live in brazil. and then…. i found a listing online IN BOX!!! i got the purple variant but the screening is basically the same. i think her makeup is stronger though? but maybe it’s just a stock image thing. anyway i’m obsessed with the hair colour. this was such a great period for barbie if you were into almost-white-platinum-blonde hair. barbie bleach era.

my plan: i didn’t want to touch this doll but she is missing… claire-ness. i plan on repainting the eyes, giving her claire’s beauty mark and her red lipstick. the hair is perfect and honestly. such great box hair. like 13 year old box hair.

it’s not visible on the first picture and i edited out here, but she two black spots in her nose. otherwise she’s fine.

alright. my main issue at the moment is that i can’t seem to find any 100% acetone nail polish remover so i can get started on the repaints. they don’t sell these here anymore. so i’ve been looking for SOMETHING that can clean off the screening of the dolls. so far, no luck. which is why i got demotivated back in february. also something i probably should have mentioned: i have terrible motor skills so repainting these dolls is going to be so much fun!

setting some goals for the time being: 1. paint the accessories that need to be painted and 2. style blair’s hair. okay! that’s it!

[revehae]

how does hyuck fit into this ? he was already the weaker of the two and jeno and reader both knew that so how would they handle readers sudden love for jeno ?

would jeno use her and her devotion to him to get something else out of hyuck ? or would he get rid of him because he doesn’t need his assistance anymore ?

also,,, what would hyucks reaction be to the whole thing ? would he feel jealous ? would he step in when jeno makes her do fucked up stuff ? would he like it ?

im sorry for asking this much but day and night is my favorite work of yours… I HAVE to know

ignore me switching from third to second person over and over im an idiot. also i can’t believe this is still your favorite work of mine like is this where i peaked?

i think it’s worth noting that haechan’s weakness is anything but physical, of course. he is capable of overpowering mc if he wants to; he just doesn’t want to.

also, where jeno isn’t exactly capable of romantic love, haechan is capable of romantic obsession. that’s been obvious from the get-go. his compassionate actions also come from a place of obsession. remember how he tried to make it so that the mc’s room would be easier for her to be in, because he knew she would be there for a long time? that wasn’t just him being nice. it was his way of showing affection. considering making it canon that he’s the one who even suggested they take you, the one who had his eye on you first.

naturally, he wouldn’t be pleased that in spite of all the thoughtful things he’s done for her, how caring and considerate he thinks he’s been, it’s jeno that you grow fond of. she’s never wanted to service haechan, never taken him seriously. jeno knows this. he’s an asshole, sure, but he’s not selfish enough to keep you all to himself especially because he thinks that haechan plays a crucial role in this dynamic. matter of fact, he’s probably complicit in the demeaning acts jeno makes you perform, whether he wants to be or not.

your tolerance of haechan gradually slims, and you only submit to his urges because jeno makes you. even if you express to jeno how much you don’t like it, he would brush you off, telling you that you will be fine. thirty seconds and he’ll be done, he’d joke at his teammate’s expense. it’s not like haechan is anything to be afraid of. he’s too much of a coward, a pussy to hurt you.

the thing is that even jeno has underestimated haechan. to me, it makes perfect sense that haechan would be the one who comes to aggressively force himself onto you. he could handle your evident disdain for him before, but things are different now. you like jeno better, even though he’s the one that has never even slightly tried to accommodate you. and haechan is emotionally weak. he’s not good at coping. there’s even proof that he’s a little impulsive, so he will react in response to his feelings without much forethought. he will feel under appreciatived, underestimated, and entitled. and he will snap.

even then, haechan’s aggression wouldn’t manifest the same way that jeno’s does… i think that’s obvious, maybe, but i wanted to say it anyway. he will still not want to hurt you, not necessarily, but he will as much as he thinks it’s necessary to get what he feels that you owe him. part of him would pity you, but the other is angry and genuinely believes he is only reaping what he deserves. this would probably happen after a few instances of you turning him down when jeno’s not there, because you genuinely didn’t think that he had it in him to be so violent. you probably forget how strong he truly is, considering he never really uses his strength, and he is usually submissive to you. but in spite of your pleas he wouldn’t stop till he got what he wanted

last thing i think but btw if you told jeno about it he would not gaf like i think he almost wouldn’t even believe you… but if he does he’ll be amused by haechan’s sudden display of courage like he is with literally everything else, and this may be a repetitive response but he would exploit this too, prompting haechan to be meaner and rougher because he realizes that he’s capable of it now, even if it was supposed to a one-time thing to kinda whip you into shape. one day i can see haechan mustering enough courage to defy jeno which would then create a rift in their relationship, and only then would jeno actually take him seriously, but that could play out a couple different ways idk

side note: reminder that after the stockholming happened haechan was getting pussy easier so your newfound “commitment” to jeno after he’s already gotten accustomed to you surrendering yourself would be quite the adjustment

[oblivious-melodies]

I can’t believe I’m only just finding your IF now! Especially since there are 5 chapters out, which I’ve just binged in one go. This is completely up my alley with the historical-inspired fantasy genre & a genderlocked female MC. Your writing flows beautifully and is perfectly suited for the time period, it made me feel immersed in the setting.

I think my fave aspect is having two MCs with alternating POVs, which not many IFs do. I wasn’t sure I’d like it since I usually only play IFs as a female MC, but Ambrose is likeable and I really feel for him due to everything he’s been through (the flashback with Felix :( ). Although maybe I’m biased because I still like Artemisia a bit more. Her perspective as someone starting out on the “wrong side of history” and a bit more entrenched in the societal conditioning she was brought up with is interesting and I’m excited to see her character arc develop.

I really like the sibling dynamic, especially how differently they think of each other, their family, home, and their persectives on the same topics/situations. You can feel how their life experiences affect this, with Art being more sheltered due to gender roles, whilst Ambrose got to go off to university, meet different types of people, and travel to multiple countries - something i’m sure Art was jealous of, especially one that focuses on learning. It’s just funny that Ambrose thoughts allude to casual premartial sex, but Art takes a hit to her reputation just for going to a childhood friend’s house without a chaperone.

Also I’m not sure if i’m reading this correctly, but it felt like Art thought of Ambrose and their childhood more fondly than vice versa. I’m guessing it’s because she’s younger and her world is still relatively small, it seems like she never met a kindred spirit like Ambrose had in Felix, so comparatively he was a bigger part of her world than she was of his. Seeing the siblings reunite is what I’m most looking forward to, although I’m sure it will be a while off yet.

I really liked the other characters too, Ambrose/Jacob was unexpected but sweet, and Hyder is growing on me 👀 (although I’m worried about how fervent he is about the cause 😭). I’m not sure what the real world equivalent would be for Hyder’s background, but as someone who’s British (South) Asian I thought his character was well done and makes sense (although I may be reading stuff into his characterisation that isn’t there lol). I’m interested how the themes of class, gender, race, colonialism, etc. will continue to be tackled because it’s been done well here in a way that interests me more than most IFs.

I saw you wanted feedback as well, so the main thing I’d say is that it’d be nice to have more choices at times. Even though the MCs are set characters sometimes I wished to have a bit more input. Also is there any way to add saves within each chapter? Anyway sorry this ask is ridiculously long, I can’t wait to see how ch6 goes! <3

Hello!! thank you so much for your lovely thoughtful message - I read it last night and wanted time to properly address all of your comments, it was such a joy to find it in my inbox!

I'm really glad you're enjoying the dual characters - the scope of the game is very wide, and it's more a portrait of a society and a country than it is a single person. But then, it would also be impossible to show that in all of its variety through the eyes of just one individual, due to the trappings of gender, class, and race. Though they are still family, and share an ethnic background and social class, Ambrose and Artemisia's experiences and opinions are profoundly shaped by their gendered upbringings - I'm really happy that that fact shines through in the narration. Though Artemisia is frustrated by her misogynistic society, she's also not immune to contributing to those forces, too. Likewise, Ambrose is also designed to somewhat express how damaging the binarism of gender in this society is to its citizens. They definitely also perceive their family and childhood very differently - you might wonder how trustworthy those recollections are...

I'm particularly happy to know how well Hyder has been received - he's probably my favourite character in the game. And you're right - Hyder does draw inspiration from real-life histories of Anglo-Indian encounters. There's a painting, specifically one from I think 1807, of a biracial family in India with a child, which I think specifically sparked the idea for his character (though he isn't designed to be from one singular real-world nation)! In writing about empire and race, I'm aware I'm necessarily dealing with a large white hegemony - but I also wanted to show that Regency society was not without its diverse aspects, and that should be more of a feature as the narrative progresses. I'm not a person of colour myself, so to hear that you've found something meaningful and resonant about his character is really good to hear - I want to make sure my depiction is respectful, but also nuanced and memorable at the same time!

I'm a researcher of this period, and so overall it's really nice to hear that my writing has that sense of authenticity! I think I was really frustrated at how much Regency romance has been depoliticised and idealised, especially when in academia there's so much focus currently on addressing how even the most innocuous aspects of the period were connected to larger systems of empire, class, and industry - even romance itself, because marital and romantic choices were themselves fraught with huge social and economic repercussions.

It's really helpful to hear constructive critiques as well! A few of my friends helping me with playtesting have talked about the possibility of including more choices and I think that's a very fair criticism. It's particularly an issue with Ambrose's chapters so far, he's a lot more railroaded than his sister (mainly as he's having to exist in seclusion rather than having access to her same social and physical mobility). That will change soon, however... and yes, I'd really like to be able to implement a save function! Apologies for limitations like these - I am relatively very new to Twine and my knowledge does have its boundaries. I'll look into it as a possibility - I'm aware it would make playthroughs that much easier for readers! Thank you so much again, this message really made my day! :)

[thenerdykneazle]

Sallow Soul - Forgiveness

Summary: Sebastian decides he can't accept MC being gone and does his best to follow her home.

Sebastian Sallow x F!MC

Warnings: 18+, sexually explicit content, aged-up characters, angst, toxic relationship, a dash of grieving

Word count: 10,605

Read on AO3. Part 1. Part 2. Part 3. Part 4. MC's perspective (Kindred Spirits).

Part 5: Forgiveness

The pub door swung shut heavily behind Sofia. “She went home home? As in back to the UK?” she asked.

“Precisely,” Sebastian replied in a flat tone.

He felt numb. He barely noticed the wind biting his face. He didn’t even end up crying. He was exhausted. He’d done his best to fix things, hadn’t he? It just wasn’t enough. He had compounded too many mistakes, and he couldn’t make up for it. MC might’ve taken the words back, but, in the end, he wasn’t worth another try.

“Sepe?” Sofia asked softly.

He turned to her dully. “Hm?” he asked.

“Are you…okay?” she asked hesitantly.

“Yeah, course,” he replied, quickly putting on a brave face. “Just…surprised.”

Sofia nodded despite the fact that both of them knew she didn’t believe him. “She thought a lot about you the night she stayed in my hotel suite. We spent some time together before I left. She was very upset over your…more careless decisions.”

Sebastian didn’t need to ask to clarify what she meant. “I know it was stupid. Part of me wanted to make her jealous. Mostly, I just wanted to feel something.”

“You hurt her quite a lot,” she said, looking thoroughly disappointed in him. It stung worse than he’d have expected.

“It’s not like she wasn’t bringing people back, too,” Sebastian said defensively.

Sofia arched a brow at him. “And how did that make you feel?”

He scoffed. “Like shite,” he said bitterly.

She looked at him expectantly. “So, how do you think she felt?” she pressed when he didn’t continue.

Sebastian rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over himself. It was equally to shield himself from the cold air as it was to show his disagreement. “It wasn’t the same. I mean, I’m sure it pissed her off, but it’s not like it was devastating for her. I’m sure you already know I never stopped loving her. But she couldn’t’ve thought less of me when she got here. The pain of that’s the only reason I…sought such comfort in the first place. She just…doesn’t feel the same about me.”

“Are you sure about that?” Sofia asked, a manicured brow arched high in question.

Sebastian narrowed his eyes at her, trying to determine if she was really asking or trying to tell him.

“Because I wouldn’t be,” she continued, eliminating his lingering doubt.

“Are you t-telling me information you g-gathered reading her thoughts? Because that’s n-not very ethical, i-is it?” he asked. The chill finally settling in, making him shiver.

“MC seems like a nice girl. But you’re my friend, Sepe. Today was the happiest I’ve seen you since I’ve known you. She seems to love you too, but she’s scared,” Sofia said. “You’ve just got to be honest with yourself about whether she should be. I’ll admit that your recent actions worry me, but I know you’re a good man.”

Sebastian’s head was spinning. MC really did love him? She’d been convincing when she said it, but it was the heat of the moment. And then she disappeared. But if Sofia was convinced, then he figured it had to be true.

“Do you r-really think she’d give me an-nother chance?” Sebastian asked.

Sofia shrugged. “Even I can’t predict the future. But, in my experience, people don’t get that hurt unless it was by someone they truly cared about.”

The assertion crushed Sebastian’s chest at the same time it lit a spark of hope in it. He hadn’t realised he was causing MC as much pain as he was feeling. He’d been reckless. He vowed to himself that wouldn’t make that mistake again.

“Thank you,” Sebastian said before seizing Sofia’s shoulders and kissing her cheek.

“You won’t be thanking me if you hurt her again,” she replied in a warning tone. “Like I said, she’s a nice girl. Don’t make me regret betraying her thoughts.”

“I won’t,” Sebastian promised.

He rushed inside the pub and back to the table.

“I need your help,” he told Niko, who had been mid-conversation with Henri.

Niko turned to his friend, his features drawing in concern when he noticed Sebastian’s panicked eyes. “Okay. With what?” he replied.

“I’ll explain on the way,” Sebastian said urgently, waving a hand to urge him to his feet.

Without bothering to collect his cloak, he apparated them back to the Headquarters. He resisted the urge to sprint – he had learned the hard way that you cannot run in a law enforcement office without freaking everyone out – and powerwalked to Teräväinen’s office. Niko hurried alongside him.

“What’s going on?” Niko asked urgently.

Sebastian explained as succinctly as possible that MC had gone back to England, and Sebastian needed to find her. His best method was to break into Teräväinen’s office and find her file, which would have her address. Then he could beg her on his knees to give him just one more chance.

“You want me to help you stalk her?” Niko asked incredulously.

“No, I want you to help me find her,” Sebastian said. “Stalking is repeated and causes fear.”

Niko rolled his eyes but kept shuffling along with Sebastian. “Not a great sign if you’re being pedantic about stalking. And stealing her file is still illegal,” he pointed out. “At the very least, you’ll be fired if you’re caught.”

Sebastian shrugged. “I’m quitting anyway,” he stated.

That made Niko stop in his tracks. “You’re what?”

Sebastian turned to face him. He didn’t have time for this. “Quitting. Effective immediately. I can’t stay here anymore. MC is in England. Ominis is in Scotland. My sister’s grave is there.  Everyone I was ever friends with is there. Even if she won’t–” Sebastian had to take a steadying breath. “Even if she doesn’t take me back, I have to go. This isn’t me. I’ve been hiding from everyone for too long.”

Niko gave an indignant sniff. “All your friends are there, huh?”

Sebastian’s shoulders went slack. “Mate, that’s not what I meant,” he said. “You’ve been a great friend. Truly. I just…if I let myself stop and mourn what I’m losing here, then I might lose my nerve. I wish I could take you with me, but you belong here as much as I belong there. The things I went through with Ominis and MC…if there’s a chance I could have them back in my life, I have to take it.”

Niko nodded before giving Sebastian a watery smile. “I told you she had you whipped,” he joked.

Sebastian laughed. “Yeah…yeah, you did,” he agreed. “So, you’ll help me?”

“Yeah, I’ll help,” Niko confirmed. “You’d be even more mopey than you were when we started as junior aurori if you stayed. I don’t think any of us should be subjected to that.”

Sebastian denied having been that bad as they continued on their way down the hall. Niko convinced him that he should be the one to get MC’s file, while Sebastian talked to Teräväinen about his resignation. Sebastian was hesitant to let Niko accept that risk, but he eventually agreed that the plan made the most sense.

Niko disillusioned himself, and Sebastian went into the office. He asked Teräväinen if they could go for a walk to talk about something important. While they stepped out, Niko slipped into the office. Sebastian explained his decision to resign and handed over his badge. Teräväinen was rather caught off guard. He was far from thrilled, but he was surprisingly understanding.

“Does this have anything to do with that young auror Abbott sent to train with us?” he asked.

Sebastian hardly needed to answer when his stained cheeks did so for him.

The older wizard smiled. “I thought it might.”

“I know you probably think I’m just a lovesick fool,” Sebastian said. He admired the man, and his opinion mattered to him.

“Yes, I do,” he replied bluntly. His white moustache crinkled as he smirked. “It’s a wonderful thing, to be young, dumb, and in love, isn’t it?”

Sebastian’s brow furrowed in both confusion and contemplation. “I suppose so, Sir,” he said tentatively.

Teräväinen patted Sebastian’s shoulder before giving it a firm squeeze. “Can I give you a parting word of advice?”

“Yes, Sir,” Sebastian said. He never would’ve denied his superior the opportunity, but he was additionally feeling rather wistfully eager to hear the man’s final advice.

“Don’t grab a girl’s bum to get her attention. She’ll always appreciate it more if you’re just up front with your feelings, especially when they’re hard to admit,” he said.

Invented bum-grabbing aside, Sebastian felt that the sage words would’ve served him much better approximately ten days ago. Still, he resigned to take the lesson forward with him. No more stupid stunts. Just being honest.

“And find out what stupid little gesture makes her melt, and never stop doing it,” Teräväinen added. “For my wife, it’s flowers. I bring her some every weekend. They’re always wilted by Wednesday, but I’ll be damned if her smile doesn’t light up the room when I walk in with a fresh bouquet.”

Sebastian smiled at the soft-hearted man. “I will, Sir,” he promised. He’d never let him know if MC never gave him the chance. It might crush him even more than it would Sebastian.

The fuzzy warmth in his chest turned to dread when he realised they were back in front of the office door. Sebastian had no idea whether Niko had gotten the address and gotten out. He would never forgive himself if he got the lad fired for helping him. As the department head opened his office door, Sebastian spotted a shimmer of light inside.

“Wait!” Sebastian blurted out in panic.

Teräväinen looked back at him with a raised brow. “Something else you needed, Sepe?”

“I–I just–” Sebastian stammered, focusing desperately on not letting his eyes slide back toward Niko’s disillusioned form. He surged forward, nearly knocking the older man down as he flung his arms around his middle.

“Oh,” Teräväinen said, stunned.

“I’m going to miss you, Sir,” Sebastian said, his voice slightly muffled in the man’s work robes.

Teräväinen patted Sebastian’s back. “We’ll miss you around here too, son,” he said. “I sincerely wish you all the best.”

“Thank you, Sir,” Sebastian said as he stepped back. Niko had slipped out of the office and around the corner.

Teräväinen nodded. “You take care of yourself.” He cleared his throat before heading into his office.

Once the door clicked shut, Sebastian took a moment to wonder if he would ever see him again before hurrying down the corridor to find Niko.

“Did you find it?” Sebastian asked in an urgent whisper as they walked back toward the exit.

“Yes, but…” Niko said hesitantly.

Sebastian tilted his head. “What is it?”

Niko held out a manila folder. “It doesn’t have her address. Just the one for the DMLE.”

Sebastian snatched up the file and flipped through it. “You’re sure it wasn’t in here?”

Niko’s expression hardened as he glanced over at Sebastian. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Sebastian huffed as he snapped the file shut. “It means that if you’re trying to get me to stay by sabotaging me, I’ll–”

“I’m not! There’s no address! I can’t believe you’d even accuse me of that! I risked my neck to help you, Sepe!”

Niko was fuming, and he’d started walking much faster – presumably in an attempt to get away from Sebastian, who just sped up to keep pace.

“No, I know. I’m sorry,” Sebastian said quietly, his anger rapidly fading to guilt.

Niko’s eyes darted to the side as he observed him warily.

Sebastian chewed his knuckle as he tried to come up with an alternative plan. “I can just go to the DMLE on Monday and see if she’ll talk to me. She’ll probably just have me kicked out, but it’s worth a shot. Maybe I can ask for Natty, instead. She might be more amenable. Unless MC’s already told her everything. If she hasn’t yet, she probably will by Monday if they ended up living together like they planned.” Sebastian dropped his head into his hands. “Damn! If only I had Ominis on my side. He could talk to MC. They’ve always had a way of convincing each other.”

Sebastian sighed before halting suddenly.

“That’s it!” he said triumphantly, making Niko jump. “I can still make it work! I’ve gotta go.”

Sebastian turned on the spot as he tried to get his frazzled mind to recall which direction the exit was.

“What? Teräväinen gets a goodbye hug, but I don’t?” Niko asked wryly.

“Sod off,” Sebastian replied, but he pulled the younger aurori into a hug anyway.

Niko then held Sebastian out at arm’s length by his shoulders. “You take care of yourself, Sepe,” he said with mock gravitas.

Sebastian laughed and shoved his friend’s hands off him. “It’s a good thing you’re such a prat or I might actually be sad to leave you.”

“I’ll miss you too, buddy,” Niko replied with vastly more sincerity.

“Come visit, yeah?” Sebastian asked.

Niko smirked. “If you ever get an address.”

Sebastian apparated to his flat to pack his things. He fit everything into a trunk with an extension charm on it, and then added a featherlight charm before shrinking it down. His whole life fit in his pocket. Save his sofa. He hit that with a reductor curse and vanished the dust that remained.

He signed and sealed a parchment breaking his lease at the end of the month and slipped it through the slot in his landlord’s door. It was too late at night to apply for a portkey. The transport office wouldn’t open again until Monday. He fished a pepper-up potion out of his trunk, downed it, and prepared to be incredibly stupid.

He apparated to Stockholm. It was a hell of a jump. Sebastian was already tired from getting little sleep the last two nights – or two weeks, really. Despite the potion, apparating was exhausting. He leaned against a light post and panted to catch his breath. Once he could breathe without heaving his whole chest, he raised his wand and apparated again. This time to Gothenburg.

Sebastian stumbled to the ground as he popped into a dimly lit shipping yard he’d visited on a case once. The tarmac tore at his knees and palm. He had clutched his wand protectively to his chest to ensure it didn’t get damaged. Sebastian fished through his bag and took a wiggenweld just in case. It wouldn’t fix him if he splinched himself, but it could help if the stress of long-distance apparition was doing internal damage. It took almost thirty minutes for his head to stop spinning.

Once it did, Sebastian apparated to Stavanger. Niko had a grandmother who lived there. They’d visited her for a long weekend over a year ago. Sebastian threw up in her bushes before collapsing on the lawn. He was pleased to find that, while frozen, the ground wasn’t snow-covered. As he lay there feeling his consciousness wax and wane, he hoped it wasn’t due to blood loss from some injury he had yet to detect. He tried to take an assessment of his body, but all he could do was lie there for an inordinate amount of time.

Eventually, he dragged himself to a sitting position and assessed his body for wounds. He found none. He got to his feet, swayed, and then stilled. He took a few steps to ensure he wouldn’t collapse again, and then he apparated to Feldcroft – the longest jump yet.

Sebastian groaned as he stumbled backwards into the stone wall surrounding the town’s well. His wand arm had a searing pain lancing up it. He’d splinched it. Blood was soaking through his sleeve down to his elbow. He cast a left-handed coagulation spell to stem the flow. His head swam as he pushed off the wall, and he almost toppled back over. He had to catch himself on the well again.

The air was cold and smelled like iron. The town was quiet as it was the early hours of the morning. The calm contrasted sharply with the pain screaming in his arm. It felt like the bone had been split like a log. Sebastian groaned as he stumbled toward a familiar home. He prayed to the gods that Ominis hadn’t moved.

Sebastian steadied himself with a hand on the door frame before lifting it to knock heavily on the thick wooden door. His other arm hung useless at his side, his hand growing colder in the winter air, freezing along the trickle of liquid creeping down it. There was an extended silence before Sebastian could hear shuffling within. Eventually, the door swung open to reveal a very groggy Ominis in his night clothes.

Holding his wand aloft, Ominis’s eyebrows drew up together. “Sebastian?” he asked.

“Hey, Ominis,” the bedraggled wizard replied in a panting, anxious voice. His heart was racing, and his breathing was increasingly laboured. He was so nervous that he felt he might pass out.

Before Ominis could reply, Sebastian collapsed forward through the doorway, just barely missing the blind wizard. He hit the floor with a heavy thud.

When Sebastian came to, he was lying on a couch. His cloak and the top half of his clothes were gone. There were dittany leaves wrapped around his right arm. Ominis was sitting in a nearby chair.

Sebastian groaned as he sat up. A potion appeared in front of his face.

“Drink,” Ominis ordered, his tone cold.

Sebastian took the vial from him and downed the crimson-coloured blood-replenishing potion. It slid down his throat, coating it like oil and leaving a bitter taste on his tongue. But his headache eased and his head stopped swimming.

“I fucked up,” Sebastian said as he set the empty vial on the table in front of him.

“You got yourself splinched,” Ominis observed as he sat back in his chair. His expression was unreadable.

“I meant everything else,” Sebastian said dismally. “The dark magic. Leaving the three of you. Not staying after Anne…” He still couldn’t say it. “And the last two weeks with MC.”

Ominis was stone-faced. “You’ve certainly made a lot of mistakes,” he agreed. “MC told me about some of the recent ones.”

Sebastian hung his head in shame. “I’ve been so stupid,” he said, his frustration with himself only increasing.

“It certainly sounds like it,” Ominis replied. “Capping it off by apparating here from Finland. I don’t know how you didn’t get yourself killed.”

“I didn’t do it all in one go. I broke it up,” Sebastian explained.

Ominis frowned. “You’re still lucky it wasn’t worse. Your arm should be fully healed in another hour or so.”

“Thank you,” Sebastian said sheepishly.

Ominis stood. It was only then Sebastian noticed a young runespoor was wrapped around the blond’s shoulders. “I wasn’t going to let you bleed out in my home, was I? But that doesn’t mean you’re welcome here. I expect you to leave once you’re fit to travel.”

Sebastian’s pulse spiked. Ominis was turning him away? “What?” Sebastian blurted out much more harshly than he would have intended.

Ominis did his best to glare down at him; his gaze was only slightly off-target. “I don’t know whether you came here to try to reform our friendship or just to get my help with MC, but I can assure you I’m not interested in either.”

A lump formed in Sebastian’s throat. He tried to talk. To plead. But the words were caught.

“Do you have any idea how much you’ve hurt her?” Ominis asked. He didn’t even sound angry – just pained. “How much you keep hurting her?”

“Yes,” Sebastian rasped. He had to work hard to keep from letting tears well up in his eyes. “I’ve been awful. I know I have. I’m sure she’s told you.”

“She didn’t tell me everything, but she told me enough to know I don’t want you near her again,” Ominis replied.

Sebastian swallowed hard. “I understand.”

“That makes one of us,” Ominis said wryly. “I don’t know why you bothered coming all this way. You almost killed yourself to get here. It doesn’t add up.”

“How much did MC tell you?” Sebastian asked.

Ominis’s expression grew cagey. “A fair bit, I expect. Making her stay with you and being a general git the whole time.”

“That’s hardly the half of it,” Sebastian replied with an attempt at humour.

Ominis’s brow arched. “Oh?”

The man had always had a thirst for gossip. He knew everyone’s business back in school, including most of the professors. Sebastian couldn’t help but think that it could be his in with Ominis.

“I could fill in the gaps,” Sebastian offered.

“It’s hardly my business,” Ominis replied, feigning indifference as he focused his attention on the snake. He lifted a hand and let it slither down his forearm, around his wrist, and between his fingers.

“Maybe you’re right. I doubt MC would want to recount everything to you. I just thought you might want to know the whole story,” Sebastian said casually.

“Well, it could be good the have the full picture,” Ominis said as he stroked the snake’s head gently. “To understand what MC has been going through, I mean.”

Sebastian suppressed his smile, even though Ominis wouldn’t be able to see it.

Ominis sighed. “Go on, then.”

Sebastian had a brief moment of panic when he realised he was about to admit every mistake he’d made over the last two weeks to Ominis. Why had that seemed like a good idea? “Just let me get through the whole thing before you hex me, okay?” Sebastian said.

“I’m sure I can manage that,” Ominis replied calmly.

Sebastian swallowed down his nerves. “Well, we just kept clashing. I first learned she was coming to Finland when my boss asked me to show her around since we’re both Brits. I convinced the lead for the training to have her stay with me, too, which she obviously wasn’t happy about. We had to duel for the training, and when she beat me, she said I was worthless without dark magic. I was so mad and hurt, and I think I wanted to hurt her back. I brought these women back to the flat–”

“Sebastian,” Ominis said reproachfully.

“I know,” Sebastian said, wincing. “And I didn’t put up a silencing charm, because I wanted her to hear us going at–”

“Sebastian!” Omins interjected, aghast.

“I know!” Sebastian said. “Believe me, I do. Because MC did hear us, and I felt terribly about it because I think it did hurt her. I didn’t actually want to. I was just upset she’d hurt me. And she got back at me by fucking some prick in my bed the next–”

Ominis’s jaw dropped. “Sweet Salazar, in your–?”

“Yes! So, I felt even worse, naturally. And then she told me I was the worst mistake she’d ever made after I’d finally gotten my head on straight and decided to ask her out properly. I got a bit sloshed and brought another woman back–”

“Sebastian…” Ominis had his head in his free hand now.

“I know!” Sebastian insisted. “MC interrupted it before it could really even go anywhere, and the witch left livid because she thought I was some cheating bastard. I feel like one, honestly.”

“I wonder why?” Ominis spat sarcastically.

“MC had made it abundantly clear that she wanted nothing to do with me!” Sebastian replied defensively. “I’m not saying it was right, but I just…didn’t want to feel like no one would ever want anything to do with me. It was a moment of weakness. But I was still drunk and made it worse by trying to convince her to sleep with me.”

“The same night?” Ominis demanded, looking thoroughly scandalised.

Sebastian pressed the heels of his palms into his eyes as if trying to block out the image. “It was approximately five seconds after the other woman left,” he admitted.

Ominis didn’t even bother chiding him again, apparently considering Sebastian a lost cause.

“MC ended up not coming home the next day, and I spent the whole night looking for her. It turned out she’d just gone to a hotel. I convinced her to talk with me, but then my mate ruined it by saying something stupid that made her think I just saw her as some sort of conquest. She was gone when I got home, and she ended up bringing someone back to the apartment later that night, instead. I tried to act like it didn’t bother me, but then I interrupted them when they were snogging on the sofa and he was about to undress her. We fought and apologised and cried. Well, mostly I cried. And then we…Well, we slept together.”

“‘Slept’ together?” Ominis asked incredulously.

Sebastian glowered. “We fucked. Is that what you want to hear?”

“Not especially, no,” Ominis replied sternly. “And you ran away again, and now you’re here to grovel for her to give you another chance?”

“No!” Sebastian growled. “I didn’t run. Neither did she. Until she did, I mean. We woke up together. I made breakfast. She agreed to stay for the weekend. I thought we were finally okay, and then she just vanished mid-sentence last night because she never actually intended to stay. I mean, clearly she freaked out. But…I know she still loves me. And I just want one more conversation to try to convince her it’ll be different this time. That I’m not going to hurt her again. That I really love her.”

Ominis folded his arms across his chest. “Convince me,” he said.

Sebastian blinked at him. “That…that I love you?” he asked.

Ominis rolled his eyes. “No, that you love MC, you pillock! Convince me you’re not going to hurt her again.”

Sebastian did his best. He explained how he finally realised that MC had been right about dark magic. That he’d renounced his dark ways years ago. That he understood how much his rash actions hurt MC, and that he never wanted to be responsible for causing her pain again. He tried to explain how he’d felt finding MC with another bloke. How scared he’d been when she didn’t come to the flat that night. How shattered he was when she just vanished right in front of him. How badly he’d missed her over the years. How much he loved her. How he couldn’t stand being without her again. By the time he was done, the sun was peeking in through the windows.

“You two are my family. I was stupid to leave. I tried to forget everything and start over, because I knew I couldn’t fix what I’d done to you two. But there’s always been something missing. I won’t blame MC if she doesn’t want me, but I hope she’ll at least let me be around. I just want to come home.”

Sebastian had no energy left to guard his emotions, and they were threatening to spill over.

“I swear I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think I could make MC happy,” Sebastian continued. “That’s why I left after the funeral. I was so broken then, I…I would’ve taken MC down with me. I never could’ve forgiven myself for that. She had so much going for her – graduating with top marks, the auror academy, you, Natty. She would’ve dropped everything to try to help me. And either I would’ve let her or broken her heart worse when I left anyway.”

Ominis didn’t say anything. He just stood up and deposited the snake in a bin full of its siblings before grabbing a quill and parchment.

“What are you doing?” Sebastian asked.

“I’m writing MC to come here so you can talk to her,” Ominis said simply.

The next several hours waiting for MC’s reply were excruciating. Despite his exhaustion, Sebastian couldn’t rest due to the anxiety. Sebastian kept checking his clothes for wrinkles or remnants of blood he’d scourgified out of them, even as Ominis kept him occupied catching him up on his life the last few years. He had poured himself into rescuing animals – mostly magical snake breeds – ever since Anne’s passing. It wasn’t lost on him that helping the creatures was a rather direct replacement for the time he had spent caring for his infirmed wife.

Sebastian had just made his third cup of tea when the door to the cottage opened suddenly. Just then, the little owl finally returned. Sebastian couldn’t immediately see who had walked in from his place in the kitchen, but he recognised her voice.

“Knew I should’ve sent a patronus,” MC said genially.

Sebastian could see Ominis send her a bemused look before reading the note Pixie had brought him. Ominis chuckled.

“Where’s Poppy?” MC asked as stepped inside and hung up her cloak.

Sebastian’s heart started pounding at the sight of her. He’d seen her less than a day ago, but he wasn’t sure how she would feel about seeing him there. Especially after Ominis told him the pretence under which he had invited MC to the cottage. Ominis had made no mention of Sebastian. Instead, he had asked MC to visit him, the snakes, and Poppy, who had evidently been helping with the snakes rather frequently.

“Actually, I’m going to go to hers,” Ominis said casually.

“Oh,” MC said, sounding surprised. “Shall I come with you, then?”

“I’d really rather you didn’t,” Sebastian interjected, feeling sick at the idea of her immediately leaving again.

MC looked over her shoulder, gaping when her eyes landed on him. Her head whipped back toward Ominis. “You lying bastard!” she growled.

“He came to me and asked for help getting you to talk to him. I think you should hear him out,” Ominis said simply.

MC scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest. “I already heard him out. It didn’t lead anywhere good.”

Ominis sighed. “Look, I know you’re scared, MC. I know better than most the reasons you have not to give him another chance. But I also know better than most how much you two loved each other – and how hard it is for love like that to fade. I can’t have the love of my life back, but I won’t let you regret giving up on yours without weighing it fully.”

Ominis really was pulling out all the stops. Sebastian felt a deep gratitude toward his best mate for how dedicated he was to helping him.

MC looked misty-eyed. “I can’t believe you’re playing the dead wife card on me,” she sniffed.

“Only because I love you,” Ominis said earnestly as he grabbed his cloak. “I’ll be back in two hours. Either waythis goes, I trust you two not to destroy my home.”

Sebastian could feel his face heat at the implication.

MC rolled her eyes as Ominis left. Sebastian watched her as she turned back toward him, ready for her to hex him, scream, or just apparate away. She just stared at him, clearly waiting for him to make the first move.

“I’m so sorry,” Sebastian said earnestly. He didn’t know how to express the depths of his regret for his behaviour. He set his tea on the counter and walked over to her. She began to back away as he drew near, and Sebastian froze while trying to ignore the pang in his gut. “This isn’t how I wanted things to be between us.”

MC said nothing, though her gaze seemed slightly less wary.

“I should’ve been honest with you from the start instead of playing games and trying to manipulate you. I was too much of a coward to just admit from the jump that I never stopped being in love with you,” he said. “I spent years trying to become someone you could be proud of. Someone who could love you like you deserve. I thought that meant giving up dark magic and doing something good with my life. But I clearly have a lot to learn about how to treat you. And I know this probably doesn’t seem like a step in the right direction, but I genuinely didn’t know Ominis was going to lie to get you here.”

“You really gave up dark magic?” she asked, eyeing him sceptically.

“I haven’t touched it since Anne died, and I’m never going to again,” he promised.

MC rolled her eyes, and her posture stiffened. “Yeah, I’ve heard that before.”

“Really?” he shot back, feeling a flare of frustration. It was an argument they’d had many times over the years they were together. “And are you referring to when you told Ominis I was done without consulting me in the catacombs? Or perhaps when I told Ominis I understood him wanting us to avoid it? I never lied about stopping.”

MC’s jaw tensed as she glared at him. She didn’t deny it, though.

“And I’m telling you now that I’m done playing games. I’m done running. Or hiding. Or whatever I’ve been doing the last two-and-a-half years,” he said. He wanted to hold her face and look in her eyes so she could see that he was telling the truth. “I’m not Sepe. He was a mask. A way to avoid owning up to my mistakes. But I can’t keep being him. I want to come home.”

“I’m not stopping you,” MC replied flippantly. “I’m sure Ominis would even let you stay with him.”

Sebastian gave in and stepped forward into the gap between them. He took her hands in his own and looking pleadingly into her eyes. “My home isn’t Feldcroft. It’s you. It’s always been you – since the day you spared me from Azkaban.” He stepped even closer and cupped her cheek in his hand. He needed her to hear him. “No one else has seen me and looked at what I’ve done and loved me anyway. Even Anne took a year to forgive me. And I know I broke your trust, and it’s okay if it takes years to earn it back. I just…I’m asking for a chance to prove that I’ve changed. I’m still not perfect, and I know I don’t deserve it, but I’ll spend every day earning it, and I just…I have to ask. I have to try to come home.”

Sebastian nearly broke as tears flowed down MC’s cheeks. He urgently began wiping them away, but they just kept coming. He felt awful. That wasn’t what he’d wanted. He hadn’t imagined pouring his heart out to MC could hurt her even more. He regretted coming. He should have stayed and bitten his tongue rather than burden her.

“I can’t let you break my heart again, Sebastian. I love you. I do. But I just can’t,” she said, sobbing. She wrapped her arms protectively around herself. Sebastian wanted to hold her tightly against him, but he felt it would only make things worse. He always just made things worse for MC. She loved him back, and he was still hurting her by being there. Evening knowing that, though, he couldn’t bring himself to leave. Nor could he stop himself from trying to convince her to give him another chance.

“I know, love,” he said in what he hoped was a soothing tone. “I swear to you I won’t. I wish every day that I could redo that night. Stay with you. I was a coward and afraid that you still wouldn’t want me, and I ran. And it was the worst mistake of my life.”

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t entirely true. He hadn’t been afraid of MC not accepting him as much as he’d been afraid of making her life worse – as he’d told Ominis. However, he worried that admitting he would’ve been bad for her then would only increase her resolve not to take him back now.

Sebastian took a shuddering breath before continuing, “I’m so sorry that I can’t fix it. Especially now that I know how you must’ve felt when I was just…just gone. I would give anything to fix it if I could. But I promise it will never happen again. I’m not leaving. Not ever.”

Sebastian’s heart cracked as MC’s face crumpled. She sobbed even harder.

Leave. You’re just making it worse. Just leave her alone!

Sebastian was on the verge of walking away when MC choked out, “I’m sorry. I wish I could believe you.”

She fell back on the sofa behind her. She looked utterly miserable, and Sebastian couldn’t suppress the need to do something to fix it.

He knelt down on one knee in front of her and rested a hand on her leg. “Hey,” he said softly, using his other hand to wipe more tears from her face. “It’s okay. You don’t owe me anything. I–” He choked on his words, and he forced himself to smile. “I’ll be okay.”

MC shook her head, tucking her legs up protectively in front of herself. Sebastian’s hands fell to the couch on either side of her. “I want to trust you,” she said. “I want to give you another chance, but…I mean, you live in Finland. You’re an aurori. You–”

“No, I’m not,” he said, cutting her off.

She looked taken aback. “What?”

Sebastian chewed his lip, unsure whether the truth would just continue to make things worse. He had to tell her, though. “I told Teräväinen I quit. Effective immediately. Needless to say he wasn’t happy, but…I’m not going back to Finland. I told you: I’m not leaving you again.”

MC started crying again.

Fuck.

Sebastian moved to sit beside her and tentatively pulled her into a hug, waiting for her to tense or push him away. She didn’t. Instead, she let her head tilt to rest on his chest. Sebastian rubbed circles on her back, and she slowly calmed down.

“You’re…you’re really staying?” she asked, looking up at him.

“I am, love,” he vowed. “Probably right here for a while until I can find my own place – and a job.”

He laughed off his situation.

MC laughed, as well, and Sebastian instantly felt the tension in his body ease. She sniffed as she wiped her drippy nose. “I happen to have an in with the aurors at the DMLE,” she said.

“Do you now? Well, I do have some relevant experience.” he joked back. He felt elated by the idea that she would use her influence to help him. That had to mean something, right?

“On both sides of the job,” MC quipped.

“Oi!” he said, poking her side. “Too soon, darling.”

He said it light-heartedly, but he genuinely couldn’t take thinking about his former investment in the dark arts. It had started the whole mess. It had cost him so much. If he dwelt on it now, he would break down.

“Sorry,” she said earnestly as she snugged back against him.

He pressed a kiss to her head as he held her tighter to his chest. He felt she was the last person who should be apologising to him.

“It’s all right,” he assured her. “I’ve missed your teasing.”

She lifted her head again. “I’ve missed teasing you,” she said, giving him a cheeky grin. “In all sorts of ways.”

Sebastian chuckled, but his pulse spiked at her suggestive tone. “Funny enough, I noticed that,” he replied drily. “For the record, I much prefer you walking around in lingerie to riding some ponce on my couch.”

“You seemed to be pretty into it,” she argued.

“I was fucking livid. I just didn’t want you to know it bothered me,” he said. “But I lost it when I saw you were wearing my lingerie.”

“You’re welcome to model it anytime,” she teased before letting her feet fall back to the floor and shifting to face him.

Sebastian rolled his eyes. “You know what I meant,” he groused, and she giggled. He considered staying silent so he didn’t ruin the moment, but he needed to ask the question relentlessly needling in the back of his mind. “Where does all this leave us?”

“I think it’s worth giving us another shot,” she said before smirking at him. “I mean, you did abandon your whole life for me. I suppose that shows a certain level of commitment.”

He felt lighter than is he were soaring on a broomstick. “Yeah?” he asked in disbelief.

“Yeah,” she confirmed with a shy grin. “But we should take it slow.”

“I can do slow,” he promised quickly. He could do glacial if it meant being with her. “How about dinner tonight in London? I’ll make us a reservation somewhere.”

“That sounds perfect,” she replied.

She looked so genuinely happy that Sebastian’s heart nearly burst in his chest.

“Brilliant!” he said, beaming at her. He leaned in before catching himself. “Does slow still involve kissing?”

“Slow definitely still involves kissing,” MC replied before pulling him to her.

Sebastian felt drunk. He could barely think. The only thing he knew was how happy he was that MC was there with him and how good she felt against his lips and under his hands. He pressed her back into the couch as he kissed her even more deeply. His lips moved slowly over hers, and he tugged her bottom lip between his teeth before tracing it with the tip of his tongue. She moaned into his mouth, and he moved so his whole body was flush atop hers, pressing them as close together as possible.

He kissed across her jaw and began trailing down her neck. Her skin was smooth and warm under his tongue. She let out breathy moans that made him want to rip her clothes off and ravish her. As Sebastian sucked a mark into her skin just above her collar bone, MC began to rock her hips against him. His lips broke away from her with a low groan that came from deep in his chest. Sebastian felt almost feverish as MC ground herself up against the erection pinned in his trousers.

MC gripped his robes as she pulled him back into a kiss. Her tongue slid into his mouth, meeting his own before pulling back and gliding across his lip. She began pushing his robes over his shoulders, and Sebastian shifted to let the fabric slide free from his arms. He tossed the robes to the floor, and then he began opening her blouse. He kissed down her sternum as he pushed each button through its hole, slowly revealing a central strip of her skin. She arched into his touch.

After ridding MC of her top and bra, Sebastian slid his hands over her skin from her hips up to her breasts. She moaned as he palmed them, her nipples forming stiff peaks as he massaged each mound with careful attention. Kneeling between her legs, Sebastian bent down and took one of her nipples into his mouth. He circled his tongue around it before sucking in earnest. That was still slow, right? Surely it still fell under the umbrella of “kissing” if he kissed her breasts. And he was moving rather slowly.

Yes, it was definitely slow.

MC was panting as another moan erupted from her throat.

“Fuck, that feels so good,” she keened as her hand laced tightly into his hair.

Sebastian smirked up at her and found MC’s gaze fixed firmly on him. He winked at her playfully even as a possessive instinct jolted in him.

Fuck Anton. No one else gets to taste these tits ever again.

MC was his and no one else’s.

“Mine,” Sebastian growled against her, somewhat unintentionally. “You’re mine, MC.”

“Yes,” she moaned. “I’m yours. Please, Seb!”

Burning heat was spreading through Sebastian. He was aching for MC. Objectively, it hadn’t been very long since they’d been together, but he’d thought he lost her. He was high on the relief that she was giving him another chance – one he was determined not to squander – and he craved her touch to ease the pain of the distance they’d had after she disappeared right in front of him.

Sebastian went back to kissing her lips, moving up and away from her cunt to keep himself from trying to rip the rest of her clothes off. She’d said slow. He wasn’t going to ruin things because he couldn’t keep it in his pants for ten bloody minutes.

MC was trying to kill him, apparently, because the moment he was hovering over her again, she wrapped her legs around his hips and returned to writhing against him. He let out a pained groan, squeezing his eyes shut as his hands balled into fists in the cushions. Her core was hot against his length, and the friction was maddening. He could imagine how wet she’d gotten from rubbing on him, and his hands clenched tighter as he imaged rutting his cock against her drenched folds.

MC broke their kiss, panting as she pulled back to look at him. Sebastian forced his eyes back open when she pulled away. Her eyes were filled with a desire that burnt right through him.

“I need you,” she keened before attacking his neck, marking the curve where it met his shoulder like he had above her collar bone.

His skin stung as she bit into it – pain and pleasure at the same time – but it was soon soothed with the wet glide of her tongue.

Sebastian’s willpower crumbled as he crushed her into the cushions, thrusting his clothed cock against her core. MC dissolved into a whimpering mess.

“Fuck! Yes! Please, Seb! Please!” she cried.

Her hands came down and began fumbling with his trousers.

“I–But you–Slow,” Sebastian stammered, utilising his last ounce of reason.

All her movements stilled, and she drew away from his neck. She looked up at him with wide eyes like a frightened rabbit. “Right. Yes,” MC said soberly, and Sebastian was already cursing himself for speaking up. “We…we should take it slow.”

Sebastian cupped a hand to her face and stroked his thumb over her cheekbone. He didn’t want MC to think for even a second that he hadn’t wanted to continue. She bit her lip, and he wanted to drag it back out with his thumb and bite it for her. The uncertainty in her expression suddenly turned to resolve.

“We can…you know…go slowly,” she said in a low voice as she flattened her palm against the front of his trousers.

Sebastian’s brow raised of its own accord, and MC smirked up at him. She unfastened his trousers and dipped her hand into them to wrap around his cock. Sebastian’s forehead fell against hers as he groaned.

“Gods, I missed you,” he said.

MC chuckled. “We had sex less than 48 hours ago,” she replied in a teasing tone.

He lifted his head so he could meet her eye. “I thought I’d lost you forever,” he said seriously. “I love you so much, MC. I can’t lose you.”

MC’s expression melted. “I love you, too, Sebastian,” she vowed, still stroking him.

It sparked something in him, and he grabbed her wrist and pulled her hand out of his trousers. He laced his fingers with hers, pressing her hand into the sofa above her head as he kissed her breathless. He stripped his trousers off along with his pants before setting on ridding MC of her remaining clothing.

When he was laid out on top of her once more, he relished the heat of her body seeping into his skin. He could feel her on nearly every inch of him even before his hips starting rutting against hers. His cock nestled along her centre, nudging her open as he glided against her, coating his shaft in her slick. She moaned every time the head of his cock ground against her clit, and each sultry sound sent a jolt of pleasure into the base of his spine.

Sebastian didn’t rush forward. He luxuriated in the feeling of her wet cunt against him. He tasted the salt on her skin as he devoured her neck. He memorised the scent of her shampoo as he nuzzled against her. He was almost vibrating with arousal when the head of his cock caught at her entrance as he thrust his hips forward once again. MC’s nails bit into his shoulders as she arched into him, a wanton moan pouring from her lips.

“Please,” she whimpered, clearly as keyed up as he was.

Sebastian pressed in, breath shuddering as he sank into her heat and stretched her open. “Gods, you feel so bloody good,” he groaned, his hips already moving but languidly so.

Despite the leisurely pace he set, Sebastian was far from relaxed. He wanted nothing more than to abandon self-control and pound into MC until he came so hard he couldn’t see. He wanted her. He needed her. But she’d asked for slow, and he’d give it to her.

He tangled one hand into her hair at the nape of her neck, holding her forehead pressed to his, as his other hand dropped to rub deliberate circles on her clit. He could feel her body coiling tight under him, and he knew she was feeling each drag of his cock through her as acutely as he was.

Sebastian felt like a dog whose owner had set a steak in front of it and told it not to eat it. Hyperfixated on how mouth-watering it smelled. Tapping into every reserve of discipline to hold back from devouring it. He could look and sniff and lick, but he couldn’t sink his teeth in. MC had practically asked him to edge himself in her cunt.

He looked down to the curves of her breasts, bouncing lightly as he rocked into her. The way they moved was perfection, beautiful and obscene at the same time. His gaze dropped lower to where their bodies were joined – where her cunt was clinging to him on every pull out of her before he dove into her heat again. He pulled all the way out once just to watch the head of his cock nudge her back open.

“Look at you,” Sebastian rasped as his eyes trailed back up to hers. “You’re so beautiful, MC. So perfect.”

“Gods,” she groaned. “I–You–Oh, Seb!”

Her eyes rolled back as her nails clawed at him, one hand at his back and the other at his scalp. He smirked at his incoherent witch. He kissed her as he sped up the circles on her clit. She moaned into the kiss before taking a sharp breath in through her nose. Her tongue dove desperately into his mouth as if she might die if she couldn’t taste every inch of him. Then, it was gone just as quickly, and she bit down on his lip as her body trembled under him.

Sebastian’s hand tightened in her hair as he felt her cunt squeezing him in a death grip.

“Oh! Fuck, Seb!” she keened in a quavering voice, followed by a flood of additional curses.

She looked utterly gorgeous as she came for him. Sebastian tried to keep fucking her through it, but his hips stuttered to a halt as his own orgasm tore through him with little warning. He’d been on the edge, sure, but not that close until the sight and feeling of her falling apart suddenly catapulted him over that precipice. He pulsed within her, painting her cervix with his seed as she continued to shutter around him. It was like electric jolts of pleasure were being sent up his spine. Sebastian kissed her again as the final waves rocked through him, and then he collapsed boneless on top of her, nuzzling into the curve of her neck.

They both lay there panting until they caught their breath enough to speak.

“Merlin, you’re incredible,” Sebastian said in awe, face still buried in her neck.

“You did pretty damn well yourself,” MC replied. “We should ‘go slow’ more often.”

Sebastian hummed in agreement. “Just give me five minutes.”

MC chuckled.

“All right, I mean ten,” he conceded.

MC started at that. “You’re serious?” she asked.

Sebastian picked up his head to show her his expression, which was very serious. “When have I ever only made you come once?” he asked.

He immediately regretted it as he vividly recalled that the last time they’d had sex in that house had been one-and-done, and then he’d bolted. Graciously, MC didn’t point it out.

Sebastian worried he might’ve overstepped ‘going slow’ until he saw MC’s eyes darken as she looked at him. “What did you have in mind?” she inquired.

He smirked. “It’s more fun if it’s a surprise, isn’t it?”

She chuckled before leaning up to kiss him. The ten minutes ended up being spent snogging on the couch. Once he was ready for the next round, Sebastian picked MC up as he got to his knees.

“Do I get to be on top for once?” she asked eager.

Sebastian scoffed. “You wish, love,” he said cheekily, to which she rolled her eyes.

He set her on her knees, facing the back of the couch before standing up behind her. He ran his hands down the outsides of her thighs as he leaned over her back.

“I’m going to show you what I wanted to do when I found you writhing on that feckless prick on my sofa,” he growled in her ear.

MC whimpered in anticipation.

Sebastian lifted her hips higher, forcing her to lean into the back of the sofa. He stroked his fingers between her legs, feeling his seed coating her cunt and thighs. His witch coated in his semen. He slid his hand forward to tease her clit, and she started moving her hips back against him. He alternated stroking himself and palming her arse with his other hand. Once she was on the verge of begging, he slid into her in one go.

MC gasped as he filled her.

Sebastian couldn’t help but smirk. “I’d have slipped into your tight little cunt just like that.”

She let out an unhindered moan. “Gods, I wish you would’ve.”

Sebastian started rocking his hips. He didn’t go fast, but he was thrusting hard into her. “Yeah?” he asked. “You’d have liked that? Making that git you picked up watch me fuck you senseless?”

MC just moaned again in response as Sebastian kept snapping his hips into her.

He remembered the way she’d stared at him while on top of another man. Sebastian had no intention of ever letting anyone else touch her again, but he’d be lying if he said the image didn’t still give him a thrill. Even when she’d been in the midst of things with someone else, she had still been his.

Sebastian couldn’t resist speeding up his pace. His hands dug into MC’s hips as he pounded into her, while she dissolved into a puddle of pleasure.

“Oh! Right there, Seb!” she keened.

“Like that?” he asked as he targeted the same spot. He already knew the answer.

“Fuck,” she groaned. “Yes! Gods, yes!”

Sebastian was in the middle of demanding she beg if she wanted him to keep going and let her come when a voice called out over his.

“I gave you two one rule!” Ominis boomed before slamming the door behind him.

Sebastian jumped back, slipping out of MC as he scrambled to grab something to cover himself before remembering that Ominis is blind. MC also rushed to get dressed as she wisely went to the other side of the sofa to put it between her and the irate wizard.

“Ominis,” she said, clearly attempting a pleasant tone, but her nervousness was quite obvious. “You’re back early.”

The blond’s scowl deepened. “I’m thirty minutes later than I said I’d be.”

“Oh,” MC said in surprise. She’d clearly kept track of the time as well as Sebastian had – which is to say not well at all.

“You two have defiled my sofa and stolen the innocence of my snakelets!” Ominis said. “You two could’ve at least had the decency to use the bedroom downstairs!”

Sebastian noticed that he was holding his wand out, but the tip was no longer glowing red. Ominis had clearly “seen” enough.

“Sorry, mate. We didn’t really mean to,” Sebastian said sheepishly.

Ominis rolled his eyes. “Yes, I’m sure you just fell into her,” he said sarcastically.

Sebastian took a breath.

“Don’t answer that!” Ominis added quickly. He let out a sigh. “I assume this means you two are back together.”

“We are,” MC confirmed. Hearing her say it made Sebastian’s heart leap.

“Good,” Ominis said tersely. “Please try to refrain from fornicating in my home again for the customary two-and-a-half years.”

“Well, I’m sure we’ll be married long before then,” Sebastian quipped, which made MC’s face go pink.

Ominis wiped a hand down his face. “Remind me why I helped this happen?”

“Because you’re a hopeless romantic and you want your best friends to be happy?” Sebastian suggested.

“Speaking of the hopeless romantic bit, is this a bad time to ask about you and Poppy?” MC prodded.

Ominis glared in her direction. It was, evidently, a very bad time.

MC eventually smoothed things over with Ominis. He even agreed to let Sebastian stay there – with some ground rules. They went to dinner in London, and Sebastian got them a hotel for the night because he couldn’t bear the thought of spending it without MC.

During the following week, Sebastian helped out with the snakes, or “snakelets” as Ominis called them. He met Martin, who was a retired magizoologist that had moved back to Feldcroft after decades of travelling for his career. He worked part time helping Ominis with the rescued animals. The old man was chuffed to work alongside a Parselmouth who could give him insight into the snakes’ thoughts and feelings.

MC helped Sebastian apply to work for the DMLE as an auror, though nothing much would happen with his application until after the new year. Natty threatened him not to get any ideas about stealing her partner away from her.

Much of the week was also spent in preparation for Christmas. Ominis hosted MC and Natty most years, and this one was to be no exception. It was, however, a bit fuller of a party than normal. Aside from all the increasingly-large snakes, Natty brought along Garreth, Martin joined in, and Sebastian was obviously there. In a surprise to everyone except MC, Poppy joined the festivities. Sebastian saw Ominis no-so-subtly drag MC off for a private conversation after he had greeted Poppy quite warmly.

They had an early lunch together that was a veritable banquet. Ominis supplied the main dishes. Everyone else brought sides. Garreth additionally supplied a surplus of booze – from Ogden’s Old to his own brews. They sang carols, played games, and MC and Poppy cooed over the now three-foot-long “baby” snakes. MC even managed to convince Natty to pet one – after Ominis confirmed that it promised not to bite.

Sebastian stole MC away from the group at the first opportunity. She gave him a questioning look as he pulled her into another room as soon as they’d both been eliminated from the current round of Exploding Snap. He just handed her a small box.

“We said we weren’t doing presents,” she whinged.

“I know,” Sebastian replied with a cheeky smile. “It’s not, really. It’s…Well, just open it.”

MC did, and she pulled out a little keychain with a single key.

“I found a flat,” Sebastian announced. “I’m not expecting you to move in right away or anything, but I wanted you to have your own key.”

MC looked stunned. “Already? How?”

“I was very motivated to have my own space,” he said as he stepped into her and wrapped his arms around her waist. “I think you’ll agree that both of our current accommodations are lacking in privacy.”

MC smirked as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Their lips had barely touched when Natty called that they were starting a new round.

“Right on cue,” Sebastian quipped. He pressed a kiss to MC’s nose before taking her hand and leading her back to the living room.

Natty and Garreth had to leave relatively early to go visit the Weasleys. Poppy left shortly after to go see her gran. Ominis walked her out, returning after a suspiciously long amount of time for merely “seeing her off.” Martin also had to go to visit with his children. That left the trio sat around the crackling fire like the days when MC regularly snuck into the Slytherin common room.

“I feel like I should be trying to figure out the next Keeper Trial,” MC mused. She was tucked under Sebastian’s arm on the sofa.

“I’m just relieved that neither of you are trying to convince me to go in some cursed cavern,” Ominis replied.

“Now that you mention it, I’m sure we could find some trouble out in the forest,” Sebastian joked.

Ominis threw a pillow at his head with surprising accuracy. “Don’t even jest about that.”

Sebastian laughed as he snuggled the pillow with the arm not wrapped around MC. He looked from his best mate over to his girlfriend. “I’ve missed this,” he said with a small smile.

It was bittersweet being back for Christmas. It made Anne’s absence feel keener than it had in years, but he was still so grateful to be back with the two people he loved most in the world.

Ominis echoed Sebastian’s thoughts as he mentioned wishing Anne could be there to see the three of them back together.

“I’m sure she knows,” MC said confidently. “And knows how much we miss her.”

Ominis nodded, giving MC a watery smile.

“We should do something in her memory,” Sebastian suggested.

“I’ve got just the thing,” Ominis replied, hopping up from his seat. He rummaged through drawers in the next room before cutting back through on his way to the front door. “Come on, then!”

Sebastian and MC jumped off the sofa and followed Ominis out into the snowy weather. Fortunately, the flakes were just falling softly onto the already snow-laden ground.

Ominis laid out a row of what Sebastian instantly recognised to be fireworks. Anne had landed the three of them in detention for setting off fireworks in the Great Hall back in third year.

They stepped back to a safe distance, and then Ominis lit them all with a blasting curse. The fireworks rocketed into the air in sequence. They exploded into burst of whizzing comets, a large green and silver snake that slithered through the sky, a flock of shimmering doves, and even a unicorn that galloped through the air before swooping down through the town square.

Several houses peered out through their windows or braved the temperatures to come outside and watch. Small faces pressed against glass panes, watching in awe at the sky even as their breath fogged their view. Other children were cradled in their parents’ arms as they giggled and clapped.

“Look, Mommy! A dwagon!” one little girl said, pointing at the sky.

Sure enough, a sparkling, winged form soared high above the little town. It breathed out “flames” of sparks in front of it that glittered brightly before fading away.

The trio stood huddled together against the cold until the last of the fireworks fizzled out. Sebastian resolved that it would be a tradition they would repeat every year as he looked up at the cloudy sky. A twinkle of light from behind the clouds told him Anne agreed.

[seduceme-lovestruck-thearcana]

@megatraven

I was going to put this in your ask box bc I didn’t intend for it to be long….but it is and I have to put it as it’s own post lol.

So Do you remember the Hercules song fic of “Love Me I Beg” and breakdown for how it fits him? If not here it is again. When I made that post, I was thinking of doing a fic for Hercules and MC friendship and everything that I mentioned…but it’s not coming together properly. The only part I have done, which I thought would be nice to share, is a scene where MC and him are arguing about something he did or said. Like how he believes he himself is not as great as others bc he’s a demigod (even tho he doesn’t say it directly like that bc of pride and he has to be a Man and can’t be emotional) and MC will not stand for it. She may not like him very much, but she sees the person in him (though it’s difficult to) and she sees the insecurity and she hates how it contorts him and hurts him and others. His own feelings hurt others around him, whether he truly believes that or not or doesn’t even realize it.

They get into the argument of MC saying he shouldn’t hate on humans or monsters bc he sees them as different and ‘weak’, because he’s just been raised to see things that way and has this insecurity fueled by the others around him for millennia. He can change and be different and can alter his view and be better. But he keeps arguing on and on, and at some point I have the dialogue of MC getting fed up and pushed past her kindness saying,

“I don’t see a hero in you, all I see is a MONSTER!”

And then she leaves him with that slap in the face. Not physical…though I have considered it to happen to stand as a waking up call. But anyways it hits him hard mainly bc he’s all about taking auras and has taken monsters’ aura (and she knows about this. In this AU I see her being close friends with basically everyone so she knows the stories) but he understands she’s not talking about a monster, but a MONSTER MONSTER. An evil creature, and not a Hero he believes he is. At least, in my head Hercules sees himself as that because isn’t he Zeus’s hero? Like in literal terms like how Nyela was Aphrodite’s hero, isn’t Hercules Zeus’s hero? If not, then let’s pretend he is lol.

Anyways, it really hits him and makes him think of how he’s been raised. AND the other really hitting dialogue that makes him mad (but also really think™️ about things) is MC literally saying, “Your family has failed you,” bc she sees his opinions, learns more about the gods’ views from him, and begins to see the turmoil and problems he has and the harshness and ugliness of the gods and and see the awful ways he was raised and she can’t help but compare it to how her mother was so loving and accepting and encouraging and how his family SHOULD be like that and AGH. MC may not like him, but she wants to help. But she also is like “and I mean if you could give the auras back…” since she loves the monsters in my AU lol.

But, yeah, I just have these two pieces of dialogue (and a few others if you’d like to hear about them) and kinda ideas for them. That I need to write one day bc it’s one of the thoughts in my head constantly and I need to get it out😭.

And I also hope you enjoy your vacation Meg💙. You deserve it🥺💙💙💙💙.

And side note that’s not too important: Eros is the one MC vents to bc he’s a worm that hasn’t left my mind yet so rn he’s the romance for me. Those fics for him I mentioned I AM working on as well lmao.

[harleybeaumont]

Never Have I Ever

Chapter 6 - Watch and Learn

Book- TRR

Series- Never Have I Ever

Pairings- Bertrand x MC (kind of)

Chapter Synopsis- Riley shows Bertrand porn for the first time.

Chapter Warnings- language, mentions of sexual acts, masturbation

Rating - Explicit

Word Count- 1,785

A/N- Thanks @angelasscribbles for giving me the idea that ended up being the premise for this entire chapter!

Chapter 6 - Watch and Learn

In a couple days, the Beaumonts would head to Applewood for the next event of the social season. They usually had a week between events to return back to Ramsford to rest. Most of Riley’s “downtime” at the Beaumont estate was spent studying courtly procedures, brushing up on her dance moves, and doing anything else Bertrand deemed imperative knowledge for a future queen.

But when Riley wasn’t learning from Bertrand, she was teaching Bertrand.

Riley stretched out on her bed, while Bertrand sat stiffly across from her in a plush wing chair. “So have you ever seen anyone having sex before? Like on the internet?”

Bertrand humphed and turned his head away. “I’ll have you know that I’ve seen.. things before.”

“Things? You mean like porn?”

“Pornography?! Heavens no!”

Riley turned to him in surprise, “You can’t expect me to believe you’ve never watched porn! Every guy has watched porn at some point in their life!”

“Well you should know that Bertrand Beaumont is not ‘every guy’. I could never watch two strangers having.. Intercourse!”

Riley considered for a moment before a mischievous grin alit her face. “What about watching someone who isn’t a stranger having sex?”

Bertrand’s jaw dropped, “Wha- That may be even worse!”

Riley chuckled and actually looked slightly embarrassed. That was something that Bertrand had never seen from her despite the intimate moments they had shared. “I’m going to tell you something that I haven’t told anyone before... I, uh, may have made a sex tape when I was in college.”

Bertrand swallowed hard. The first thought that popped into his head was that this video needed to be destroyed immediately. If she were to become queen and that video was leaked it would be disastrous! But another thought crossed his mind. 

He.. kinda wanted to see it. Just for educational purposes. He had never seen anyone actually having sex before and out of morbid curiosity, thought that maybe it might be helpful.. Ya, that’s why. For educational purposes. He quickly scolded himself. Who am I kidding? That’s not why! I’m an outright pervert!

Before he could say a word, Riley gave him a nervous smile. “I’ll let you watch it, but you have to promise to never tell anyone about it.”

“Lady Riley.. Do you think there is any chance that I would ever in a million years tell anyone about anything that we have been doing?!”

“I guess not,” she grinned. “So that means you wanna see it?”

He stammered, “I-I uh.. That is.. If you think.. For educational reasons-”

“Read you loud and clear,” she smirked and pulled out her phone. “I saved it on the cloud, so it should be easy to find.”

“It’s saved on your iCloud account?! Oh dear God, anyone could hack into that!”

“Well, I didn’t know where else to save it!”

Bertrand sighed, “Ok, after this I’m going to help you either delete the video entirely, or find a more secure place to store it so that someone doesn’t get their hands on it.”

“Wow, Bert! That’s actually nice of you.”

He huffed, “I can be nice.”

Riley playfully glared at him. “Ya? When you’re yelling at me about my outfit choices or drilling me on names and titles of everyone in court? Is that when you’re nice?”

“Well.. I admit that at times I can be a bit brusque, but it’s all part of preparing you to be-”

She moved forward, quickly inhabiting his personal space with a sly grin. Her tongue slid out to wet her plump lips and she watched his face hungrily. “Maybe you’re only being nice because you want me to kiss you..”

She leaned forward, barely grazing her lips against his, and Bertrand released a shuddering breath. “I..”

She trailed her hand down his chest slowly, slowly making her way down to the growing bulge in his pants. Gently palming him through his slacks she leaned in to whisper in his ear, “Or maybe you’re being nice because you want me to feel you up..”

His breath was coming out in gasps now, but he was still speechless. Riley nibbled his ear, “Did you want me to take hold of your hard cock and jerk you off? Is that why you’re being nice?”

He gasped as she grabbed hold of him beneath his boxers, slowly moving her hand along his shaft. His eyes flew shut as she continued to stroke him. “R-Riley..” She quickly removed her hand and stepped back. Bertrand let out a pathetic whimper before he attempted to regain his composure. “What.. what was that?” 

“That was me seducing you. Did you learn anything?”

“Um.. I may have, uh.. learned.. uh.." Bertrand shook his head, “I apologize, but I’m not sure I can think straight at the moment.”

Riley chuckled, watching him thoughtfully for a brief moment, “So.. ready to watch a sex tape?”

____________________________________________________

While Bertrand waited for Riley to cast the video to her TV, he took a moment to reflect on his current stage of life. Who was he anymore? He had always done his best to be the respectable person he believed a Duke should be, but now here he was in a woman's bedroom about to watch her having sex with someone! He should be utterly ashamed of himself. 

But he wasn’t. 

“I’m having second thoughts..” Riley said, pausing the video just as it began. She and a young man had just walked in front of the bed and started kissing. “What if it’s too cringy? I don’t know if I can watch it!”

“Have you not seen it before?”

“Not since right after we made it.. That was probably four years ago!”

Bertrand, still eager to see the video, but not wanting her to know, offered a solution. “Well.. I could watch it while you wait on the other side of the room. Would that be easier?”

Riley nodded, dropping the remote next to him on her bed. “But turn it off if it’s horrible. I’ll wait downstairs in the kitchen.”

“The kitchen?”

“Ya, I’m a nervous eater. Thankfully I don’t get nervous very often, but for some reason, the thought of you watching this is making me nervous! Just text me when you’re done.”

“O..kay.” Bertrand picked up the remote and hesitantly pushed play once Riley had vanished through the door. 

________________________________________________________

Riley sat at the kitchen table, tapping her foot nervously. She had already eaten leftover chicken wings, two oatmeal cream pies, and drank a root beer float.. Any more stress eating and she wouldn’t be able to fit into the clingy, satin dress she and Max had purchased for the Apple Harvest Ball. When she couldn’t stand waiting any longer, Riley decided she would go check on Bertrand to make sure he hadn’t run out of her room in terror at what he had witnessed. She chuckled quietly to herself at the image in her head.

Riley quietly turned the doorknob and saw Bertrand still watching the TV with his back to her. But she quickly had to stifle a gasp when she saw what he was doing. Soft moans fell from his lips while his hand moved rapidly in front of him. Feeling like she was a creep for watching him jerk off, Riley started to back away and leave, but his groans of pleasure kept her rooted in place. She gently cracked the door open a little wider and saw him watching the TV with rapt attention while her past self fucked the man on the video into oblivion. Her ex boyfriend, Devon, who clearly loved having sex on film, because he was currently in the porn industry. Not that she had ever watched his videos or anything.. well, not recently.

Bertrand’s hand motions increased and his breathing was becoming more ragged. He was clearly very close... just from watching her! The thought put a fire in her belly that she couldn’t extinguish. She squeezed her thighs together for some kind of friction against her aching cunt as she watched this normally composed man losing himself into ecstasy while he watched her. Suddenly Bertrand moaned loudly, gasping as he came undone. 

Riley released a soft moan of pleasure watching him, and Bertrand immediately twisted his body to face her. “Oh my God, Lady Riley! This isn’t what it looks like!”

She hurriedly entered and locked the door behind her. “Bert, relax! It’s ok, I promise.”

With one hand still on his dick, he brought the other one up to cover his face. “This is humiliating. I’ve never been so ashamed of myself! I’m such a concupiscent cad!”

To stop him from spiraling, Riley quickly took his hand and slipped it into her panties. “Do you feel that?”

“Holy..” Bertrand gasped loudly.

Riley leaned toward him and smirked, “I didn’t mean to watch you. It was an accident at first, but it turned me on so fucking much. You see what it did to me, right?”

Bertrand was shell shocked. “I- Really?”

“Yes, obviously!” She chuckled and removed his hand. “Now let me help you clean up.”

Bertrand hopped up and rushed into her bathroom. “No, I got it. You shouldn’t have to clean up my mess all the time.”

Riley leaned against the bathroom door frame, watching Bertrand wash his hands. “Why are you always so put off by your semen?”

Bertrand cringed, “Because it’s.. I don't know! It’s sticky! And.. and messy!”

“Well.. just so you know, I’m not put off by it. Quite the opposite, actually.”

His face flushed a deep scarlet. Women weren’t disgusted by that sort of thing? He looked down while he scrubbed his hands harder, his cheeks on fire. 

Riley handed him a hand towel when he was done washing. “So Bert, I was going to suggest that we try oral sex next, but I’m not sure you’re ready for that.”

He gulped loudly and his heart skipped a beat. “O-oral sex? With me?”

“Well ya. That’s usually the next step. But you seem to be put off by fluids, so maybe we should skip it. That is, unless you want to try it?”

“Yes!” Bertrand threw his hand over his mouth in surprise. He hadn’t meant to yell it out. He was such a simpleton around her, and the day had been one humiliating event after another for him.

Riley smiled brightly, “Oh, so you do wanna try it!” She looked way too amused by his witless reaction. 

He ran his hands down his face. “I.. think I do. I mean, I need to learn, right?! For.. Savannah?”

She nodded, reaching out to smooth out his shirt. “Then that will be our next lesson.”

[differenteagletragedy]

omg i’m the one who sent in the more poly hcs request and i’m living! i have so many thoughts i want to share (all good ones!) so sorry if this is monstrously long!

i love the idea that the Cat Distribution System just dumping all these cats onto baxter and everyone else is just 🤨 “are you stealing cats this can’t be a coincidence anymore”

also roadtrips! i never even thought of that and i love it! i like to believe my mc is most comfortable being a passenger princess (i.e she sits in the backseat and doesn’t help with directions or anything) despite being able to drive and having her license. she will obv help if needed, like in roadtrip in step 3. but it’s funny to imagine everyone else running around at a rest stop getting snacks, gas, etc. and a passenger princess mc is there, just stretching their legs and looking cute, honestly prob giving step 2 kyra vibes with some sunglasses and just serving.

and the wedding! so sweet! i do think it’s funny to imagine someone (prob derek, but maybe cove) being like “omg what if we hyphenate our last names” and then someone else going “sweetie, i love you, but that’s four last names and it’d be ridiculous. we aren’t doing that” so everyone just keeps their own last names for the sake of ease, assuming it’s poly in that way. although, i feel like if they were to take anyone’s last name, it would be mc’s, since they’re like the pin holding them together nicely.

also thanksgiving!! and holidays!!! omg i’m Obsessed! i just know someone’s going to go crazy and deck the house out with decorations for holiday! they’d be known as like That House on the block with the crazy awesome setups every year. on the thanksgiving front, they’d def host thanksgiving (prob cause they have the biggest house and most space). i think it’d be a decently sized gathering of like 12-14 people at first, including them, but as the years progress and they make more friends and people join their families, i can def see it growing to like 20+ people, easily.

okay i’m done! sorry that went on for like Ever! i just have so many thoughts about a poly relationship and i loved your hcs so much! skfjsjdjdk

Thank you for sending it in! I was initially nervous about it but it's been a blast to write about!

-- The Cat Distribution System HIGHLY favors Baxter. As he gets older he turns into a Cat Dad and I won't be convinced otherwise lolol.

Baxter: *comes home covered in scratches, holes in his suit, hair all messed up*

Everyone: ????

Baxter: Oh, my apologies for not explaining -- the neighbor came and said she had an issue with some feral cats that had made a home under her porch, I went to pay them a visit. They're not feral, it turns out, just a bit skittish!

Cove: *to Derek* Does he need a rabies shot?

Derek: He needs something.

-- I always love road trip stories! Your MC is so valid for being a passenger princess, like just let her sit pretty while the boys take care of everything. Lol Cove is coming out with bags of snacks, Derek asks for something healthy and Cove pauses then gives him some of Baxter's gummies.

Cove: *whispers* They're fruit gummies.

-- But LOLOL Cove would absolutely suggest hyphenated names, bless his heart, that's killing me lol. Baby no, shhh. He's like doodling "Cove Holden-Suarez-Ward-Last" in a notebook, he's so sweet.

-- I agree on the decorations! I put this in another list, but I think Baxter would try to keep things a little tasteful but Cove and Derek are like "Nope, we have A Vision" and it's just so much stuff.

[domjaehyun]

Miss "Many many thoughts on part 4" here, I came back to share them:

- First off, very soon into Part 4: the Kirko Bangz reference made me smile so hard but also made me feel old a lil because I was like "damn how many people aren't going to get this?" 😭

- The progress from Part 1 through to Part 4 with how y/n feels about Winter: the way it goes from pity and guilt to bitterness and envy, and you did it in such a 'show don't tell' way, very mwah. This is just a me thing but I also believe it's the first infidelity fic I've read where I don't feel too bad for the person getting cheated on because the people involved in the affair are so compelling in their addiction to one another? Since we get y/n's perspective in such a "biased" way, Winter acts as nothing more than a barrier between her and Haechan and the fact she's portrayed as so gullible, passive and "too nice" as Haechan put it, makes me feel the same annimosity towards her as y/n, almost. Somehow I'm more scared of Jeno finding out about their ordeal because y/n's perspective "humanises" Jeno more because he's not an "enemy" like Winter is and it's just, yeah, very good Miss Jewel 😌

- The contrast between the smut scenes with Jeno and Haechan is so good? The way you wrote Jeno's really felt like a petty/just-sex hookup compared to the desperation and devotion in the Haechan scene(s).

- Speaking of the Haechan smut... the scene at the end...... woah. Probably some of the best smut I've read? It felt so heated and just... hot, desperate, emotionally-driven (both good and bad emotions), everything. Also, very original? I don't think I've ever read a y/n be so caught up in it that she just forgets how to kiss back, that was very new and very hot and very REALLL.

Not really Part 4 thoughts but overall other series thoughts/praises:

- Sommelier is such a unique and cool job choice?

- I love how you integrate the song lyrics into the fic, it immediately makes me want to listen to the song. I played break up with your girlfriend all morning because of Part 4 actually 🤭

- Love how goofy and silly Seulgi's character is

- The way you write dialogue is really good and the way you describe the surroundings and the way people emote around what they're saying always makes it feel very realistic.

In general, you have a really great talent for writing: keep going 💗 excited for the rest of this series and whatever you'll have cooking next. I fear this series may have dethroned Pussy Fiend as my favourite domjaehyun piece.

See you next week!

OH. oh wow . i just want you to know i am so happy right now i am literally sitting here like this

but like . actually cute 💖 OKAY LETS GET INTO IT HEHEHE

the way i made that reference entirely for me i was like no one is gonna laugh but me and i do not care BUT IM HAPPY YOU GOT THE REFERENCE OMG 🥹

THANK YOU i really tried to capture the shift in her stance on the whole thing bc she can’t exactly keep doing it and feel guilty like . clearly she enjoys being with him and she doesn’t feel bad enough to stop yknow? it’s so fascinating that you commented on the humanization of winter and jeno respectively BECAUSE I WAS HAVING SUCH A HARD TIME TRYING TO MAKE WINTER A LESS FLAT CHARACTER WHILE ALSO MAKING HER NOT VERY LIKABLE!!!! my inner struggle was “okay she has to be Real but not Too Real bc then the audience will pity her too much and hate MC. but if i make her Real and Annoying it wouldn’t make sense why she’s in the friend group to begin with if she’s blatantly irritating” so i def went the route of like . she’s here but not much….we like her a bit, but not that much…….

jeno …. i had to humanize him bc he serves as somewhat of a foil? to haechan’s character which you’ll see more of in the next part i think like he has to be real / human so the audience can see why she and haechan work so well…. yeah :p sorry to jeno </3

IM SO GLAD YOU FEEL THAT WAY i wanted there to be a stark contrast in the way they interacted w each other like . even down to the way they eat pussy they are Different and both can get the job done but it’s like . you still have a favorite though

REEEEAALLLYYYYY??? 🥹🥹🥹 some of the best smut you’ve ever read oh my god 🥹🥹🥹🥹 i think that’s so hot like . emotionally charged sex AND being so into it that you lose yourself and forget how to function properly 🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️ mhm mhm good stuff

THANK YOU credit to that idea actually goes to my very dear friend :3 she came up w that i just ran with it fr !!!

EEE THANK YOU i love having like . at least one silly/goofy girl character i think a lot of the time ppl feel compelled to make their female side characters or female characters in general very . bland. like it’s not giving ✨ very demure very mindful ✨ it’s giving “you are not fun at parties so what are you doing here” i use the female friends as an outlet for all my yapping i just make them talk abt any and everything so . hehe

THANK YOUUUU I LOVE DIALOGUE ITS PROBABLY MY FAVORITE PART TO WRITE i love capturing every little detail i can think of in dialogue whether it be in the dialogue tags or the actual dialogue itself !!!

DETHRONED PUSSY FIEND OMG 🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹 i adore this comment i really do strive to outdo myself like not all of my fics are a Labor Of Love some of them are just me scraping out the brain rot i have from thinking abt an idea and i make it look nice but when i devote like . months and hundreds of thousands of words to a fic ……… i am definitely aiming to outdo myself :’) so this means a whole lot to me thank you genuinely 🥹🥹🥹 I WILL KEEP WRITING I HAVE NO INTENTIONS OF STOPPING 😁😁😁 you are so lovely im so happy you came back to say more i really thoroughly appreciate this message !!!!

[carewyncromwell]

“I’ll remind you -- I saw you as a friend... But now we’re done! This way, you’re out of my head now! This way, you won’t plague my life! This way, when all is done, You’re out of sight and out of mind! This way, you get what you wanted! This way, you can save your time! This way, you close the door,  And have your damn goodbye!”

~“My Goodbye” from Epic: The Musical

x~x~x~x

Bill! ❤️ My beloved Cursebreaker boy, how nice it is to be able to draw you again after so long!!  🥰

The song accompanying this art absolutely kickstarted this idea -- The Odyssey by Homer is one of my favorite books of all time Odysseus is totes a Slytherin don’t @ me, so you’d best believe that when I heard there was a musical based on it, I had to give the soundtrack a listen, and my favorite of the entire soundtrack by far is this song, originally sung by the Greek goddess of wisdom, Athena, and her “protege” and the story’s main character Odysseus. Although yes, Rakepick doesn’t end up being a great mentor for Bill in the game, though, I still think it is important to remember that she WAS a mentor to him, especially since the game’s writers seem to have totally forgotten this as soon as the Bye Bye Bill chapter at the end of year 5 was through. 

Think about this -- Bill, Merula, and MC were Rakepick’s chosen “apprentices.” And regardless of how you see your MC reacting to Rakepick, both Bill and Merula greatly esteemed and looked up to Rakepick as a mentor figure. We do get focus on how much Rakepick’s betrayal hurt Merula and even a bit for MC...but Bill actively chose to pursue Cursebreaking as a career in-game from year 5 on, a year before he met Rakepick. If you choose to have your MC give Bill a gift upon first meeting him, it ends up being a book by Patricia Rakepick about Cursebreaking. Even upon graduation, Bill ends up getting a job at Gringotts, where until the events of the Portrait Vault Rakepick had served as Head Cursebreaker -- you can’t tell me that’s a coincidence, and that Bill pursued employment at Gringotts partly because of Rakepick’s influence and/or Rakepick put in a good word for Bill with her old employers. 

In my personal headcanon, Bill was interested in Cursebreaking even before his OWL years, which ends up being a large reason why he chose to help Carewyn deal with the Cursed Vaults in the first place. And so naturally, upon meeting Rakepick, he knew he could learn a lot from her and was determined to prove himself when she selected him as one of her “apprentices.” Even though Bill could see the flaws in Rakepick a lot better than some of her other students -- namely her arrogance and pride -- he could also see her courage, skill, intelligence, and protective streak, and he took those as proof that she was much more than she appeared from the outside, much like other people he knew like Carewyn and Merula Snyde. And after all, Bill thought, Dumbledore himself trusted Rakepick. That had to count for something.

After Rakepick’s betrayal, though, Bill was thrown into conflict, especially over one particular thing Rakepick had said inside the Vault --

“But with [Jacob] trapped in a portrait inside the Vault, I needed another Legilimens to help me open the door – it’s the only way in, you see.”

“And what did you need us for?”

“Dragon bait. I couldn’t have my key into the Vault on the front lines, after all. I’m afraid all of you ‘curse-breakers’…are merely collateral damage.”

Rakepick had needed Carewyn to open the Vault...but Bill knew Carewyn hadn’t taken to Rakepick the way he had. She’d never fully trusted Rakepick, even after the Head Cursebreaker had protected and helped her multiple times. Bill had ascribed this to Carewyn simply having trouble relying on other people or having the tendency to hold grudges (Merula was a prime example of this, even after how much Bill had seen her improve over the years) -- but ultimately, Carewyn had decided to work with Rakepick even while not fully trusting her, and Bill knew that choice was largely because of him. He knew Carewyn had held back a lot of her more negative feelings toward Rakepick around him for a long time for his sake, and he knew that she probably wouldn’t have gone along with Rakepick as much as she did if not to support him. It was likely she’d also assessed that Rakepick could be useful in helping her reach Jacob, sure, but Bill was still certain that she wouldn’t have interacted with Rakepick as much as she did, even reluctantly, if it weren’t for Bill’s involvement. And, Bill wondered, was that ultimately why Rakepick had even shown him any favoritism or mentorship in the first place...just to make sure that she had that all-important “key” into the Portrait Vault at her disposal? All along, was everything she did for him -- encouraging his dreams and helping him attain that future he so longed for -- all just an underhanded ploy to get at Carewyn? If Bill hadn’t been so determined to see the good in Rakepick that wasn’t there...if he hadn’t looked up to her so much and seen her for what she was from the start...then Carewyn would’ve never accepted Rakepick’s help. He, Carewyn, and the others would’ve gone to the Portrait Vault without her help and freed Jacob on their own, and Rakepick wouldn’t have gotten so close to killing all of them. Maybe Rakepick wouldn’t have been able to get away, and Jacob would be safe at home with his family now, instead of chasing after her. None of what happened in the Portrait Vault would’ve happened, if Bill hadn’t been so -- 

These thoughts haunted Bill for a long time after. They were a black hole that he would desperately try to push away every time they cropped up, knowing that once he got started, he’d spiral down endlessly with no escape. And so he tried to keep himself moving, burying himself in his work, all so he’d be too busy to linger in his own guilt after what had happened and the mistakes he’d made that he was convinced had led to them. Even so, at work, there were definitely times while he was Cursebreaking where he would hear Rakepick in his head, chiding him for his missteps. 

“Watch where you step, Mr. Weasley -- the next trap won’t be quite so easy to dodge.” 

The thought of Rakepick would always flood Bill with pain and resentment. He’d learned so much from her about Defense Against the Dark Arts and about Cursebreaking...and yet now, all of the lessons and advice she’d given him were trimmed with thorns that made him bleed every time he had to use them. Even the position he now held at Gringotts he only had presumably because their ex-Head Cursebreaker thought it would help her keep hold of him, and by extension, his closest friend in the world...both of whom she ultimately saw as things she could use and then discard. Just like Charlie, and Merula, and Ben. 

...Just like Rowan. 

It wouldn’t be until the events in the Sunken Vault that Bill was forced to reexamine all of his feelings about Rakepick...but until then, however much Merula might have hated Rakepick, Bill loathed her just as much, if not more so. It is a true testament to how much Bill loves his family and friends that he so rarely acted on or even expressed it, because he knew that obsessing over or actively taking vengeance on Rakepick would only upset and hurt them.