#like did it get arthur off his ass. yes. was it also the worst possible thing he could have said to do it. PROBABLY. | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

bestofbucky · 4 years ago

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Eavesdrop

Pairings: Bucky x Reader

Word Count: 5.1k

Warnings: none really, enemies to ?

A/N: This is my first time posting something I have written. I hope you enjoy it! Thank you so much @tuiccim for your help, couldn’t have done it without you.

Being an Avenger is tough. Of course, there are the obvious missions and kicking ass that are exhausting, especially because you don’t have any sort of enhancements or powers. You are just a regular human being, fighting with and against some not so regular human beings. Naturally when you have downtime, you spend it doing things with the least amount of effort. Watching Netflix, listening to music, taking baths, etc, meaning that your social life outside of the compound was, to put it simply, non-existent.

You had just returned from the worst date of your life, well, one of the top five worst dates of your life. Over the past couple of months Steve and Natasha had grown tired of you whining about being single but not making any effort to change it and began sending you on blind dates. Somehow, they managed five different times to find five completely awful people. This time they had set you up with Arthur, a recruit for SHIELD and a good one at that. You wouldn’t be surprised to see him on the elite squad soon, but when it came to your date, he was really blunt and inappropriate, and you had cringed your way through the entire thing.

Once you got back to the compound, you first went to your room to get changed into gym clothes for training with Nat, then headed to her room. On your way you passed one of the common rooms and heard two voices. One familiar but one you didn’t recognise, you decided to check it out and found Steve and another man.

Steve called your name inviting you over to them as they both stood up. ‘This is Bucky. He’s moving in today to begin training.’ Steve explains. You nod and smile at Bucky, remembering Steve told you about him and that he would be living here and eventually joining the team.

You have to stop yourself from gasping out loud at the sight of him. He is a 6 ft something hunk of muscle and beauty and you can’t stop yourself from trying to take him all in with your eyes.

Steve then introduces you to Bucky who looks in your eyes for all of two seconds to say, ‘hi’ before looking down at his feet. He is probably really nervous. Even from that two second glance, you could tell he had one hell of a past. They had you hooked already, you wanted to stare into those eyes and let them tell you the stories of the lifetime they had seen.

‘You were just in Wakanda right? How was it? I have only ever seen it in pictures but I really want to go.’ You let your excitement show, hoping to relax him a bit.

‘Yeah, it was nice. I was frozen for most of it though’ Shit, he curses himself. He didn’t mean to come across so rude but he was really nervous, you are really pretty and it is messing with his head a little. It doesn’t help that he has had to meet a lot of different people today and he is all socialised out. He sees your face fall slightly before you quickly compose yourself, any normal person would have missed it but he has his past of being a trained assassin.

‘Well, Nat is probably waiting for me, she told me she would show me some new moves today.’ You say realising that Bucky had probably been under a lot of stress lately and most likely just wanted to be alone, or with Steve rather than chatting to you, a stranger. At least you hoped this was the reason and it wasn’t that he already disliked you. Saying goodbye to the two of them you head off to Natasha’s room.

Not even bothering to knock, you walk into her room leaving the door open behind you, since you’ll be heading down to the gym soon anyway. Natasha is sitting on the end of the bed braiding her hair. ‘You almost ready?’ You ask.

‘Yeah, just got to finish my hair then put my shoes on.’ She tells you so you take a seat on her bed while you wait.

Meanwhile, Bucky told Steve that he wanted to go get his room sorted. Really it was just an excuse to be alone for a little while. On the way there he walked past a room with the door open and heard two voices talking, recognising them to be you and Natasha. He was just about to carry on walking to his room when he heard Natasha ask, ‘did you meet him yet?’

Bucky assumed she was talking about him and wanted to hear what you had to say. He hoped you would be understanding of his reticence after his taxing morning.

‘Yeah, I met him today.’ You sigh and roll your eyes.

‘That bad?’ Nat asks, raising her eyebrows with a slight smirk on her face.

‘Yes, I tried to be as friendly as I could but he seemed like a jerk.’ You huff.

‘How so?’

‘He was so blunt he just came across really rude. I had high expectations, especially after hearing Steve say so many nice things about him.’

‘Maybe he was just having a bad day?’ She attempts a defence.

‘Bad day or not, he should have the courtesy to smile and be polite even if it is fake.’

Bucky was so hurt to hear this. Yes, he wasn’t the nicest to you but your reaction seemed a bit dramatic. He didn’t want to hear you say any more so he rushed off to his room.

‘So, I guess you aren’t going to go on a second date with him then?’ Nat asks.

‘No, I really appreciate you and Steve trying to set me up but seeing as this is the 5th time and none of them were any good, I think I’ll go back to my old methods.’ You smile at her.

‘What, never putting yourself out there and waiting for the right person to just fall into your lap?’ Nat teases and you both laugh when you nod. She finishes tying her shoelaces and you head off to the gym.

The next day you were leading a meeting of recruits who have the potential to be moved up into the squad that worked with the Avengers. The elite squad. Unfortunately for you, Arthur was in the group of recruits and was probably the next one to be promoted. You finally dismissed everyone and started getting your stuff together to leave as well when Arthur came up to you.

‘What’s the word on who is moving up next, dove?’ You look up in shock, surely, he didn’t just call you dove.

‘Excuse me?’ You look him dead in the eye.

‘I said what’s the word on who is moving up next? I think you might need to get your hearing checked.’ He laughs at his own joke so you fake laugh with him.

‘That’s confidential., we’ll let everyone know when we have made the decision.’ You say and go to walk past him but he grabs your arm.

‘Does someone need a little convincing. If it’s you, then I can think of some ways.’ He whispers seductively in your ear. You pull your arm out of his grasp and frown at him.

‘I’m only joking, dove, come on, you can’t even take a joke?’ He laughs again.

You put on your best fake smile and your customer service voice. ‘There will be no convincing necessary. You are a good agent but you also have good competition. We will inform you all of our decision when it is made.’ You say and quickly turn and walk out the door before he can say anything else. When you get into the lift you ask FRIDAY where Steve is.

‘Common room A, Agent Y/L/N’. You make your way there as quick as possible. Heading around the corner, you slam into a solid object. You hiss at the contact on your fresh bruises, a frown appearing on your face. As soon as you look up to see what or who you bumped into, the frown quickly fades into a smile when you see its Bucky. He is already looking at you.

‘Sorry I should have been watching where I was going.’ He mumbles quickly.

‘No, it’s just as much my fault as yours. I shouldn’t have been in such a hurry.’ You apologise to him. As much as you would love to stay and chat with Bucky, you need to get to Steve to explain what just happened with Arthur and hopefully you can get him kicked off the team.

Bucky had left his room to try and find someone to help him figure out a few things with FRIDAY but as soon as he bumped into you that completely left his mind. You were all that filled his mind ever since he met you. He stood in the hallway for a while before realising he should ask you to help. Maybe this would be a good excuse to make up for his poor first impression. He heads in the direction you went but stops short when he hears your voice.

‘I think he bruised me. The dick.’ You say and Steve frowns at you ‘Come on, Steve. I’m allowed to be angry. He has been nothing but a jerk to me,’ you explain and shift to get more comfortable.

‘What did you say to him when he did this?’ Steve asks, holding your arm and examining the newly formed bruises in the shapes of fingers.

‘I put on my best fake smile and pretended like everything was ok,’ You joke and Steve laughs, ‘as much as I hate the guy, I don’t have the confidence to actually show it.’ You sigh and Steve pulls your sleeve back down and leans back into the sofa. ‘Is there any way we can kick him off the team?’ You exaggerate batting your eyelashes at him.

‘He isn’t even on the team yet and you already want to kick him off?’ Steve questions.

‘Yes! I really don’t like him. I know he is your friend but I trust him about as far as I can throw him’ You explain and Steve nods.

Bucky had heard enough. He can’t believe you could be so horrible. You had the sweetest exterior and, from first impressions, you didn’t look like you could hurt a fly. But as he heard you say, you clearly put on a fake act to come across as polite and kind when really you are rude deep down. He didn’t mean to eavesdrop on you. Twice now. But he is so glad he did, because now he knows not to waste his energy on you. He knows what you think of him and he has formed his opinion of you. He hurries back to his room.

‘He’s not my friend Y/N, I only said that to you to make you go on the date with an open mind. I’ve only ever had one conversation with the guy,’ Steve jokes and you playfully push his arm, ‘All jokes aside, his behaviour breaks a lot of conduct rules and is a good enough reason to have him knocked down a few squads.’ Steve replies and you sigh with relief. You hug Steve and thank him for his help, he’s taken slightly off guard but hugs you back before you go your separate ways.

A few weeks later, you walk into the kitchen to find the whole team eating their breakfast. Sam is cooking and when he sees you, he makes a plate and hands it to you.

‘Thank you Sam.’ You hug him and take the plate, turning around at the sound of Bucky’s scoff. You haven’t had a conversation with Bucky since you bumped into each other in the hallway. You had tried to but he either completely ignored you or just rolled his eyes and left the room.

At first it hurt, you wondered if you had done something wrong. The team seemed just as confused by it as you. Bucky didn’t have a problem with anyone else. That wasn’t to say he was extremely friendly with them, he wasn’t there yet and nobody blamed him but he could hold conversation with the others. He even laughed at their jokes. You were starting to get fed up with it so after breakfast you headed to Bucky’s room to talk to him. You knocked on the door and it wasn’t long until he answered it. As soon as he saw you his face fell visibly.

‘Can we talk?’ You asked hoping he would let you into his room. He paused to consider it then stepped out of his room, closing the door behind him. He stood there with his arms crossed and waited for you to talk.

‘Is there something I did wrong?’ You ask him and he keeps a blank face.

‘Why do you care?’ He asks still arms crossed over his body.

‘I care because you are always scoffing or rolling your eyes at me whenever I try to talk to you.’

‘I’m not scoffing or rolling my eyes now.’ He points out.

‘No but you’re not exactly being very friendly.’

‘Would you prefer for me to fake it then? Just put on a smile and pretend to like you?’ He jabs. You take a moment to process what he just said. You didn’t realise he could be so mean.

‘No Bucky I would prefer for you to maybe make an effort to get to know me before making a judgement.’ You scowl at him.

‘I have a perfectly fine judgement of you. I am not going to fall for your fake smiles and fake friendships.’ Bucky snarls and walks back into his room closing his door in your face. You are left to stand there in shock.

On the other side of the door Bucky is leaning there conflicted. The shock on your face looked so genuine. No, he has to remember it is all an act with you.

From that day on you decided you weren’t going to make an effort with him. It wasn’t the most mature decision but you were tired. What used to be eye rolls and scoffs, now turned into snarky comments and you were no longer afraid to throw them right back at him.

Steve had tried a few times to talk to you about it but, when he couldn’t tell you why Bucky hated you, he realised there was nothing he could do to change how either of you felt about the other. What he could do was change up your schedules so the two of you were rarely ever in the same room together.

Unfortunately, instead of the arguments happening quite calmly but consistently over the course of the whole day. They were now much shorter, confined to just mealtimes, and much more heated and intense. None of the team knew which was worse.

You were sparring in the gym with Natasha trying to work off some steam from this morning’s argument with Bucky.

‘Your moves are sloppy, get whatever is making you emotional out of your head.’ She grunts at you but this only forces you further into your head.

You go hard at her, but she blocks every move so you go to defence. She smirks at you, ‘Has a certain super soldier got into your head?’

That causes a surge of anger to hit you and again you go hard at Natasha, but your anger only allows her to catch you off balance and you are pinned to the mat in a matter of seconds.

‘So it is Barnes.’ She pulls you up and you brush yourself off before getting back into a fighting stance.

‘I don’t want to talk about it.’ You grunt at her and start your attack. Your moves are still predictable and anger clouds your mind. You feel yourself getting more and more worked up with every hit she blocks.

You retreat to take a breather, you hear the door open and you glance over, the man of the hour has just entered and you roll your eyes but continue to spar with Natasha.

Out the corner of your eye, you see him make his way over to you both, watching as you take a lot of hits from her and barely manage to land any of your own.

‘I have seen toddlers fight better than you Y/N.’ You hear him chuckle.

‘I don’t need your opinion.’ You grunt, still trying to keep your focus on Natasha.

‘Fight like that on the field and you’ll be dead in two seconds.’

‘Keep talking and you’ll wish you were dead.’

He laughs ‘Is that a threat?’ You ignore him and continue sparring. ‘Your punches are so weak, how did you become an Avenger again?’ He is still smiling knowing exactly which buttons to push.

You stop and make your way over to him. ‘I became an Avenger because of my talent and my strength, that I worked hard to earn.’ You are right up in his face, almost chest to chest. You are breathing hard, partly from the exercise but mostly because of how riled up you are. You notice he is breathing hard as well, his breath fanning across your face.

Your mind can’t help but drift, is this what he would look like in bed, his chest rising and falling faster than normal. Small beads of sweat gathered at his hairline from his recent run. You suddenly realise how close the two of you are and force the inappropriate thoughts from your mind. You hate how seeing him so riled up is actually a huge turn on. How could you let yourself be attracted to such an asshole?

‘You wouldn’t stand a chance against me.’ His voice drops so low that in a different circumstance you would have happily dropped your panties.

‘You’re right. I wouldn’t stand a chance against you and your metal arm that you were given. Or you and the super soldier serum that you were given.’ You know they are cheap shots but you just couldn’t help how absolutely fuming he makes you. He had managed to get under your skin and the thought of him being successful only made you angrier.

He leans down even more, your noses almost touching ‘I don’t know how everyone else can’t see through your little nice act. You pretend to be so kind on the outside but deep down you’re a bitch.’ Ouch. You deserved that one for what you said to him but it didn’t make it hurt any less. Especially because if you were hooked up to a lie detector and asked to say those things again, it would flash up as a blatant lie. However, looking into his eyes there was not an ounce of regret for what he said.

Bucky knew he shouldn’t have said what he did, but you had hit a nerve and it was the only thing he could think to say back. He saw the hurt flash across your eyes but it was too late to take it back now. The only thing he could do was exit the situation before it got any worse. He turned on his heels and left the room, leaving you standing there in complete shock at your exchange.

Natasha calls your name but you quickly leave for your room before anyone can see you like this.

The team was split all across the base. This wasn’t how you would usually handle missions but as soon as you arrived the mission started to go sideways.

‘Target headed towards the west elevator. Anyone nearby copy?’ You hear Steve’s voice through comms.

‘I'm on it.’ You say back, your comms crackling more than usual.

‘Copy that.’ Bucky said, his comms crackling from the two of you talking at the same time.

The rest of the team had heard both of your voices but neither of you had heard the other. So it was a big shock when you were waiting for the elevator and you heard his voice behind you.

‘You have got to be kidding me.’ He sighs and slowly walks up to you to wait for the elevator as well. ‘Did you not hear me say I got it?’ He snaps at you.

‘No because I was the one that said I’m on it.’ You snap back and thankfully the elevator dings it’s arrival. Normally in creepy Hydra bases you would avoid elevators but seeing as there was no stairwell nearby, this was the only option.

‘Age before beauty.’ You say to him, gesturing to the elevator.

‘Very funny’ he says sarcastically before stepping inside. You follow after him and press the only floor button available.

Silence permeates the small space as you prepare for what’s to happen once the doors open. Instead, the elevator jerks to a stop.

‘No.’ You panic and start pressing the floor button over and over. ‘No no no no no.’ Nothing is working.

‘Let me try.’ Bucky says pushing you out of the way, you so badly want to say something but the only thing you can focus on is the fact you might be trapped. Bucky taps the button and looks around for anything else to press but there is nothing. You can feel yourself start to get light headed as claustrophobia takes hold and the thought of falling to your death in this metal box takes over your thoughts. You shrink down onto the floor and hold your head in your hands.

‘Do you always have to be so dramatic?’ Bucky huffs. You don’t answer him, the only thing you can think about is the pain starting in your chest and your breathing getting heavier.

‘Stop breathing so fast. You are going to make yourself pass out.’ Bucky grunts but when you don’t reply or make any effort to slow your breathing he gets worried. He kneels down in front of you ‘Hey? Doll? Can you hear me?’ You can’t answer him, you just feel the impending doom and the immense pressure on your chest. ‘I’m going to move your hands.’ He announces then you feel him take your hands and pull them away from your face. You look at him, tears in your eyes, a look of pure fear across your face. ‘Breathe with me, doll. Can you do that?’ He asks and you manage to nod. He speeds his breathing up to your pace then gradually slows it, you follow him as best as you can and eventually you get your breathing back to normal, with the occasional hiccup or sharp intake.

Once he sees you are ok, he lets go of your hands and sits on the floor as far away as he can. You both continue to sit in silence.

‘Thank you.’ You eventually manage to whisper, he nods without meeting your eye.

You can’t help but feel disappointed, you just got to see a caring side of Bucky and it felt amazing to be on the receiving end of it, but now you are back to him not giving a shit about you. You go back and forth wondering whether it is the right time to bring up the issues between you two. If not now, when?

‘Why do you hate me so much?’ He looks across at you and sighs before he answers.

‘I don’t hate you.’

‘Yes you do. It seems like you go out of your way to make me miserable.’ You push, making him lean his head back on the wall behind him.

‘I don’t hate you. I just don’t like how you formed opinions about me so early on. You wanted me off the team before I even got cleared to be on the team.’ Bucky explains. You stare at him in confusion.

‘How do you know what opinions I formed of you? I may have wanted you off the team but it was only because you were mean and that was after you were cleared.’ You could feel yourself starting to get angry.

‘Then how come I overheard you talking about the first time we met to Nat, you said I was blunt and rude. Then after I accidentally bumped into you, you told Steve you wanted me off the team.’ Bucky says agitatedly.

‘I never-‘ you think back to any conversations you had with Nat and Steve about Bucky. The only ones that came to mind were asking them if they knew why Bucky didn’t like you. Then it hits you, he had overheard you talking to Steve and Nat about Arthur. You sighed.

‘Let me guess, you overheard me and Nat talking not long after we first met. We were in Nat’s room getting ready to go train?’ You ask and he nods.

‘Then the conversation you overheard with Steve was straight after we bumped into each other. We were in the common room?’ Bucky looks confused but nods again.

‘You are such a prick. You eavesdrop but don’t even listen long enough to hear who we were talking about.’ You can’t help but chuckle at the situation, even though it’s not particularly funny.

‘What?’ Bucky looks more confused than ever.

‘Well, if you had listened properly to the whole conversation you would know I was talking about that asshat agent, Arthur.’ That came out more blunt than you intended.

‘The recruit that got bumped down a few squads even though he is really good?’

‘Yep. That’s the one’

‘I don’t understand.’

‘Before you came Steve and Nat had been setting me up on blind dates with people. Arthur was the fifth one, I really didn’t want to go so Steve convinced me by saying they were friends and all this nice stuff about him.’ You pause to take a deep breath. ‘The day we met, I had just come from the date with him and it was awful. That's what me and Nat were talking about. Then when we bumped into each other in the hallway, I had just come from a meeting with the recruits. Arthur had been inappropriate and he hurt my arm, I was rushing to Steve to tell him and ask if he can be kicked off the team.’ You finally manage to say and Bucky just looks at you. You can see the cogs turning in his head as he is finally getting context to the snippets of conversation he overheard.

‘Shit. I am so sorry. I am such an idiot.’ He scolds himself and you can’t help but feel bad for him.

‘I am not going to disagree with you, but we have both said and done some pretty nasty stuff. I am sorry for any hurt I caused you.’ You say sincerely and he looks over to you and smiles.

‘So you didn’t think I was rude when we first met?’ He still holds your eye contact and you take a moment to look at him. You have never seen him look so vulnerable before, he almost looked scared.

‘No, Bucky, I thought you were probably nervous or tired from meeting loads of new people.’ You explain and his shoulders fall.

‘I feel like such a jerk.’ He sighs and you scoot yourself closer to him so he has to look at you.

‘I’m not all that innocent in this either. It was a misunderstanding. I am just glad we have cleared it up now.’ You say meaning it and he smiles earnestly back at you. It is something you have never experienced first-hand. You have seen him give those gorgeous, slightly lopsided, smiles to other people but seeing one directed at you causes a rush of heat to your cheeks and you find yourself blushing.

Bucky must have been thinking along the same lines ‘You’re cute when you blush. I have never seen this side of you before.’ He brushes some hair out of your face and behind your ear. ‘You know, part of the reason I was so nervous when I first met you was because I was taken off guard by how beautiful you are.’ His cheeks flush slightly at his confession.

Before you can say anything the elevator jerks again and starts moving, you and Bucky are quick on your feet, preparing yourself for the doors to open.

When they finally do you are met with a group of Hydra agents ready to attack. You and Bucky work in tandem, playing off each other’s strengths. When the Hydra agents realize this, they work to separate you. The majority of them are on Bucky but you are fighting four at once. You are onto the last one when he raises his gun to shoot but you force his arm down. Not quick enough, it fires and clips your calf causing you to cry out from the pain

It is not as bad as actually being shot in the leg but it still hurts like hell and you can’t put pressure on it. The room is pretty silent apart from footsteps you recognise to be Bucky approaching. You move quickly and uppercut the guy in the nose. The crack echoes throughout the room as the guy falls to the floor at your feet.

You turn to Bucky, his mouth agape and eyebrows raised in shock. ‘That was hot.’ He announces finally, making you laugh, you go to take a step towards him but realise too late that your injured leg won’t hold your weight. You would have fallen to the floor if Bucky hadn’t rushed to catch you.

‘Thanks.’ You chuckle, your faces are extremely close. Your eyes completely entranced in his. Your whole body warms at the safe feeling of being in his arms. You start to wonder what it would be like to fall asleep in these arms, to wake up the next morning still wrapped up in them. Protected.

You force yourself back to reality by clearing your throat. ‘We should probably get back to the team.’ You say and he nods. He puts his arm around your waist and you put yours over his shoulders to use him as a crutch.

The ride back up in the elevator goes smoothly this time and before you know it you are hobbling up to the quinjet where the rest of the team awaits. Natasha and Steve are both looking back and forth from you to Bucky in confusion.

‘What the hell happened?’ Steve asks not trying to hide how baffled he is that you and Bucky are holding onto each other and not arguing. Natasha simply smirks. Bucky helps you into a seat then sits opposite you with a wink as you smile at him.

‘No, this is too weird. Please argue, bicker, roll your eyes. Anything.’ Sam begs Bucky who doesn’t break his eye contact with you. Bucky simply laughs knowing his behaviour is unsettling Sam and enjoying the newfound comradery with you.

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zodiyack · 5 years ago

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Oh Bother, My Brothers

Requested by peakysputain: Hi could you do an angsty Shelby sister please?

Pairing: Shelby & Gray family + Shelby!fem!reader (No romance)

Warnings: Swearing, angst, kidnapping, mention of murder, violence

Note: I decided to use one of my prompts for this! I know it’s not quite what you asked for but hope you like it! Also quick addition, I have no idea what the title so yes, I know it doesn’t make much sense or relate to the story oopsies

Prompt: (42 from this prompt list) “This is the third time I’ve been kidnapped this WEEK. It’s getting old.”

Taglist: @matth1w @redspaceace @simonsbluee

Masterlist | Peaky Blinders Masterlist

She was just minding her own business. Sitting on the bench, minding her own business. However, her peaceful state somehow led to her having a black bag forced onto her head and some mystery people dragging her away. She thrashed around, trying to get out of their hold, but today was not Y/n’s lucky day.

They tied her hands and tossed her into what she assumed to be one of the carts that carried hay, and shut the doors. Why were they taking her? Who were they? What did they want with her? So many questions raced through her mind. But Y/n was wise.

Aunt Pol taught her many things, including ways to break free from imprisonment back when the boys thought it as funny to lock her in her room on her date nights. She adjusted her leg a little, reaching down and grabbing for the knife that was hidden in her shoe.

The binds on her hands prevented her from being able to grab it if it were to slide from her grip, so she focused as hard as she could. She felt it. The handle. Just as she was about to grab the knife, a chuckle came from the other side of her.

“Whatcha doin’ there, love? Got something in your shoe, do you?”

She rolled her eyes. “No, my foot itches. Wanna help out?” Y/n giggled to herself as the voice made sound of disgust. “Then piss off, eh?”

“You’ve got a mouth, don’t you?”

“Yeah, all humans do, in case you haven’t noticed.”

The person scoffed, then chuckled. “Whatever, smartass. Do you know where you’re going, Miss Shelby?”

“Not really, I can’t see with a bag on my head, but I guess you don’t have enough brains to have known that either.” Under the bag, she was smirking. If she learned anything from her brothers, it was how to get one someone’s nerves. How to rile them up, show them she wasn’t scared.

“Watch it.”

“Or what? You gonna pull a gun on me?” She laughed mockingly, “I’m a fucking Shelby. Death doesn’t scare me one bloody bit.”

“Sure. That’s what you all say, until you really face death. That’s when you’re frozen in fear, regretting every wrong you’ve ever made in your life.”

Their attempt of “exposing” her and getting into her head was pathetic. She let them know that, laughing until they yelled at her to shut up.

“You’re a fucking idiot! You really think you know everything about me and my family, don’t you?” She didn’t give them time to answer. “I will never regret anything at all in my life, I will never look death in the eye with a even an ounce of fear, and finally, I will never allow you, and your crimes against my family, to get away with this.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. What? Are you deaf or something? I’d sign it to you, but my hands are tied... literally.”

They grunted. A few seconds went by and finally, the world became light again. The bag was torn off her head, she blinked a couple times and squinted as her eyes slowly got used to the new brightness. A male sat in front of her, one she’d never seen before. Nonetheless, he was most likely someone who had beef with one of her brothers.

“So... what’d my brothers do this time?”

“Nothing, actually,” he grinned, “we just know that you’re one of the younger Shelbys, and a girl-”

“Correction. Woman. Please, continue!”

The man gave a huff of annoyance, “as I was saying, it’d mean you’re of a higher worth to your family. We kidnap you, your family pays us, you go free.”

“So what if my family doesn’t pay you?”

“Then you’ll die.” He shrugged. She’d been through this many different times the same month, even year. The third time in a week ought to teach her how to react to certain threats and keep her mouth shut.

“Again, I’m not scared of death, you dumb bastard.” But she obviously spent way too much time with John and Arthur.

Her kidnapper was red in the face, a few veins in his forehead becoming visible as they bulged. “Give me one fucking reason I shouldn’t put a bullet in your head right now!”

“Oh! This one’s easy! Hmm... Well for starters, my brothers wouldn’t be able to pay you, and even better, they’d kill you in the worst possible way.”

He clenched his jaw and looked to the side, he knew she was right. Too pissed off and annoyed, the man lazily put the bag over Y/n’s head and began moving back into a comfortable position. His adjusting, however, was cut short with a scream of pain. His own scream.

Y/n pulled her knife from his thigh and waited for the perfect moment. She leaned against the wooden part of the cart and rolled sideways, falling out of it and landing on the empty road. Her escape was unknown, as the man was still grasping at his wound and trying to stop the bleeding.

Fortunately, the idiot didn’t put a whole lot of effort into putting the bag back on her head, and it easily came off. She slid the knife skillfully between the ropes binding her wrists and cut her hands free. With the knife back in her shoe, her hands rubbing her red wrists, and her eyes now filled with the world around her, she started home.

With a temper, and a mighty one at that.

The doors slammed open, her footsteps stomped throughout the home. “Boys! Ada! Pol! Get your asses in here! All of yous!”

They did just as she commanded, Polly squinting her eyes at Y/n and reaching to rub some of the blood off her hand. “What happened?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” She drawled.

“John, get her some whiskey. Y/n, sit-”

“No! Don’t even tell me what to fucking do right now!-”

Arthur stepped up, concerned and confused. “Y/n, what’s got you so... angry?” He chuckled nervously, uncomfortable with the tension.

“What’s got me angry? What’s got me fucking angry? This is the third time I’ve been kidnapped this WEEK! It’s getting old!” Her family widened their eyes as the realization hit them. Ada and Finn looked down with sympathy while the others held stern faces.

A silent but agitated tension filled the room, accompanied by silence.

Pol walked over to Y/n and grabbed her face, inspecting her up and down, checking for wounds, bruises, and more. After her search was over, her hands lifted back to Y/n’s cheeks, forcing her to look her aunt in the eyes. “Did you kill them?”

“N-no, but I did stab one with the knife you gave me. Got him good, he didn’t even notice my escape.”

Polly let a proud smile find it’s way onto her face. “Atta girl.” She turned to the boys. “You know what to do. Make them regret it or I’ll do it myself. Now,” Pol turned back to Y/n, smile returning to her face, “you, Ada, and I are going to go have some fun to celebrate your escape while the boys deal with the rats who were dumb enough to think they could kidnap Y/n fucking Shelby.”

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chronicallylatetotheparty · 4 years ago

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Watching (the Adventures of) Merlin season one on Netflix

Episode One: The Dragon's Call

. . . I feel like going to the capital of the kingdom indiscriminately slaughtering magic users wasn't the best idea.

Why? Well, that guy did just get executed.

And now his mom is mad. You tell that sorry excuse for a king, witch lady.

I don't like Uther, in case it was unclear.

Wait... if you could teleport why not just grab your son and ditch before he loses his head? Literally.

Oh, wow. Arthur is a dick.

Morgana. We have no choice but to stan tbh.

Dragon, you're really rubbing me the wrong way.

That's right Merlin! We need more than Because Destiny Says So!

Where did the spiderwebs come from? That sleeping spell gives me Sleeping Beauty vibes.

Ah, yes. The old drop-the- chandelier-on-the-villain trick. :(

If she went after Uther instead of Arthur I would have no complaints.

Manservant? You call that a reward for saving your son?

Episode Two: Valiant

Snake!Shield

Oh, he's gonna- Yup, dead. That's what happens when you deal with knights who cheat.

Where did that guy even get a magic shield in the first place?

Is there a thriving magic black market or something?

I love Guin.

. . . I feel like Sir Valiant didn't think this through. If bite marks are visible.

Ugh, you're the worst Uther.

It's only the second episode! Did you forget who saved your son already?

Stop being a jerk Arthur.

Lol. Merlin bringing a dog statue to life in order to practice for the Snake!Shield.

Bye Valiant!

Episode Three: The Mark of Nimueh

Whatcha up to with that egg, new witch lady?

You gonna poison the water of all of Camelot? Seems like a jerk move.

Dang that's a lot of dead bodies...

No, I like Guin's dad!

Yes! Cure him Merlin!

No! Stop arresting Guin, Uther!

You tell him, Morgana!

That plague monster that hatched from witch lady's egg is creepy.

Dead monster!

Arthur is kinda oblivious to Merlin's magic ngl.

Yay! Guin's free!

What do you know about witch lady Nimueh, Uther? Hmm? Why she want you dead? Besides the obvious reasons.

Episode Four: The Poisoned Chalice

Wow, Nimueh really doesn't like Merlin saving the day.

Wow, Nimueh really orchestrated an entire diplomatic incident in order to kill Merlin while also ensuring Camelot is destroyed by its neighbor. Impressive.

I really like Merlin and Guin's friendship.

Dang. Merlin really drank poison in order to save Arthur.

Merlin saved Arthur's life, Uther! Let him return the favor!

Oh, wow. Arthur really disobeyed his father in order to save Merlin's life.

I didn't know Merlin could cast spells while deathly delirious. And several miles away from him too.

Uther you b****! The antidote is right there! Let Arthur save his friend!

Putting your own son in a cell is such a jerk move.

At least Arthur and Guin manage to sneak the antidote to Merlin.

Quick aside: Internet spoilers say Uther needs to die for Arthur to complete his himbofication- I mean character development. So, if you could get on with that? Thanks!

Episode Five: Lancelot

Wow, that's a very CGI griffin.

Lancelot is so precious- Uh, I mean effective! Saving Merlin and all.

I know, Guin. I know.

Always thought it was a stupid rule to only let nobles be knights.

You're really going to commit magical forgery for someone you just met, Merlin?

I mean, Lancelot is earnest, hardworking, modest, kind despite his tragic backstory and it's his childhood dream to be a knight...

Yeah, I'd commit magical forgery too.

Lol, knocked you on your ass didn't he Arthur? (The second time at least)

I don't remember griffins being man-eaters!

Uther stop arresting people! Ugh, you're such a classist.

Let Lancelot help fight the griffin, Arthur! You need all the help you can get!

Well okay letting him go was nice of you.

Lancelot-Merlin tag team!

Wow. Lancelot really strode in with Camelot's singular braincell by figuring out Merlin has magic.

(The bar is low, okay.)

No, don't take away the braincell! Stay! The griffin was a team effort!

Okay, Lancelot's lawful good tendencies are a little annoying but, hey, nobody's perfect.

Episode Six: A Remedy to Cure All Ills

Edwin, no. Leave Morgana alone.

Oh, beetles! Curse beetles! That's not creepy at all.

Gaius how do you know Edwin?

What diabolical plot are you hatching Edwin? Oh, you're replacing Gaius in the royal court. That's kinda rude.

Merlin's so happy meeting another magic user that isn't trying to kill him (yet).

Le gasp! Uther's purge killed Edwin's parents? WhO cOuLd HaVe fOreSeEn tHis!?

But seriously. No wonder Edwin wants Uther dead.

I know Edwin blackmailed Gaius with exposing Merlin but he also wants to kill Uther!

That gives him a pass in my book.

Gaius no. Let Uther die.

Edwin stop trying to kill Gaius! You're going to-

Yup, here comes Merlin and-

Edwin's dead :(

Well he was trying to overthrow the kingdom. That's... bad... I guess.

Episode Seven: The Gates of Avalon

That title is misleading. It's more of a natural portal/magic lake type thing.

Arthur saves a father and daughter from bandits (Which they hired but shhh)

And they immediately try to put a love spell on Arthur

For human sacrifice purposes of course

Idk why the Sidhe want a human prince's soul -look at him, you don't know where he's been- but that's the price for readmission

I wonder how the dad killed one of his own kind? Was it an accident or...?

Exiling the daughter too makes me suspicious of Avalon's justice system

Evil laugh is a bit out of place for someone who is trying to restore his daughter's immortality

(They are so whiny about being mortal. Hey, we put up with it all the time!)

The fairy-like Sidhe moving in accelerated time so they just look like tiny orbs of light was an interesting touch. The blue faces and razor sharp teeth is not a good look for them, lol

They make Arthur ask to be married ('cause it takes a while for the love spell to go into full blown mind control or something)

Prompting Uther to threaten to kill both of them

(I feel like they didn't think this through)

Morgana admonishes Uther for being the worst

He replies that first love rarely lasts and that Arthur is inexperienced in such things. Plus that Arthur only met the girl yesterday

... I can't believe Uther is the voice of reason this episode

He doesn't get any points though. Due to the whole "threatening to execution his son's 'crush' " thing

The daughter is having second thoughts about using Arthur as a human sacrifice

Dear old dad puts those to rest and they try drowning Arthur in the lake that is/is the portal to, Avalon

Merlin's really leaning into the whole "Cool motive. Still murder.", thing huh?

Like, he did NOT hesitate to blow up both of them

Episode Eight: The Beginning of the End

Why do magic users keep going to Camelot!? The king is trying to KILL YOU!

Wow, this grown ass man is threatened by a literal child... I hate Uther so much

Morgana is the MVP of this episode. I love her

Protect that druid kid!

I feel like you're being paranoid Uther

You tell him Morgana!

Dragon, no. Stop prophesying death and destruction.

Wow, this grown ass dragon is threatened by a literal child...

Aaaand Morgana got caught sneaking the kid out of the city :(

Uther she is your adopted daughter! Stop putting people in cells!

Arthur is gonna sneak him out now?

While Morgana distracts the king?

Yes, excellent. What could possibly-

Merlin stop listening to that destiny dragon! Hearing his voice in your head is no basis for trust!

Cutting it close... Yay! They made it!

Mordred!? MORDRED!?

THAT little boy is Mordred!?

... Okay, I'm more inclined to believe the destiny dragon now

Still think letting him die would be a dick move

Episode Nine: Excalibur

What're you up to with that tomb Nimueh?

Oh! It's some kind of undead knight. Yes.

Throwing down the gauntlet. Pfft! Always thought that was a stupid idea.

Also: that Black Knight literally crashed your party!

Ugh, knights.

Nimueh if you can just teleport into the heart of Camelot while Uther is alone why don't you just stab him? Grab one of those pointy things he likes so much and stab him in the back. Easy peasy!

Stealing this joke but Don't do evil magic kids. It fries your brain cells.

Wait, the Black Knight is Uther's brother-in-law!?

Arthur's mother died in childbirth!?

Uther asked Nimueh to use her magic so he could have Arthur!?

Equivalent Exchange!?

Uther went on a genocidal rampage because he didn't bother with the instruction manual of ancient and powerful magic!?

Actually, that last one is not surprising at all.

I can't believe they're using the Wife in the Fridge trope. That appliance hasn't even been invented yet!

Ooh, Merlin's going to use his magic to destroy the Black Knight so Arthur doesn't have to fight him

As he's killed two knights already

Aaaaand, yup, he's still there. His cloak didn't even catch fire...

Arthur stop being a bastard. It doesn't suit you

Dragon forged sword! DRAGON FORGED SWORD!

Only Arthur can wield it. Yup, got it. How could this possibly go wrong?

Uther drugged Arthur and took his place in the fight... I have mixed feelings about this.

Wait, the dragon was very specific about only Arthur using that super special sword! Oh, snap.

Well at least the Black Knight is dead. Again.

Oh, dragon is not happy.

I know the dragon said "where no mortal soul could find it" but are you sure you wanna throw it into Avalon, Merlin?

Those people were gonna suck Arthur's soul out of his body

Episode Ten: The Moment of Truth

The way this episode title just lies to your face like that...

Oh, you're Merlin's mother! Thought we had an anime protagonists type thing going on

I... would like to say Uther is being unreasonable when he decides not to cross borders to get rid of some bandits. But I can totally see everyone hating him so that's a no go.

Lady, you were in a whole different kingdom. Why for the love of Merlin did you send him to Camelot!?

We're off to save the village! Morgana and Guin are coming too!

A wild Arthur appears!

Morgana better at swordplay than Arthur confirmed!

Merlin! I didn't know you had friends!

Granted he's a bit rough around the edges but

Okay. If it were literally anyone else besides Arthur. I'd say he was right about lords and knights being useless snobs.

Actually. He's right about lords and knights being useless snobs. Ah, that felt great.

Wow, the homosexual subtext is strong with this one.

The girls can tell Arthur came for Merlin.

But get your foot out of his face! I don't care how royal it is!

Look at Guin over here calling out Arthur for being a dick

And talking him into letting the women fight. She's on a roll

Aw, Merlin's friend died. :(

And he took credit for Merlin's tornado (so Arthur wouldn't find out about Merlin's magic)

Episode Eleven: The Labyrinth of Gedref

Lol, that unicorn could use a haircut.

No, Arthur. I said a haircut not an arrow to the chest!

Bad things? What kind of bad things Gaius?

Uther what's the point of having an expert in magical lore if you're not going to listen to him!

And all the crops are dead. Fantastic.

I know it's a magic thing but stating outright that the blight only targets edible plants is still really unsettling.

And the water's turned to sand. Great.

Who're you and how come Merlin is the only magic user that can't teleport?

What kind of tests mister Keeper of the Unicorns, sir?

Arthur I know you don't want to believe it's your fault... But it's totally your fault.

Uther no. People are starving.

You tell him Arthur.

Oh, the "theif" was a test!

Aaaaand he failed the second one. :(

Merlin's got a lot of faith in Arthur.

It's interesting how the Keeper can only direct the curse caused by the unicorn's death. Or rather the trials surrounding the curse, but can't break it himself.

Unicorns have some powerful magic.

The Labyrinth was barely on screen for five minutes! Surely something with Unicorn in the title would be more appropriate?

Arthur drinking a poisoned cup so Merlin could live?

That's some strong parallels right there.

The Keeper of the Unicorns is such a troll! Sleeping potion, hah!

The day is saved, Arthur lies to Uther's face about killing the Keeper and the unicorn resurrects itself.

Still needs a haircut though.

Episode Twelve: To Kill the King

Whatcha up to Guin's dad?

Oh that guy isn't suspicious at all.

You didn't think it was shady when he asked to meet in the middle of the night!?

Philosopher's Stone!?

Wow, the guards found him quickly.

What- No! Don't arrest Guin's dad!

Uther, he's a blacksmith! Stop being paranoid!

Will you stop executing people!? That inn keeper didn't know that guy was a dangerous sorcerer!

No, nononononono! He surrendered! Why did you do that!? Guin's father was important to Morgana!

That's why she gave him the key!

Dragon has his priorities straight.

Shut up, Merlin. You literally blew up a father and daughter for trying to kill one(1) person. (No really, you could see their hands flying off.)

Morgana deserves a little murder. As a treat.

Yes! Get him! Kill the bastard!

No! Why would you make GUIN say that!? Who are you and what have you done with Guin!?🔪🔪

UGH, he literally committed genocide!

The "that would make me as bad as he is" DOES NOT APPLY!

What- Oh, he still has the fairy's staff.

No. Stop it! Let Uther die!

Oh, God, Uther is such an abusive piece of GARBAGE!

Stop! Don't fall for it Morgana!

*sees dagger being pushed closer to Uther's "heart"* Yes! Yes! YES!

*Morgana saves him* NO!

NO!

NOOOOOO!

*inarticulate ranting in the background*

Episode Thirteen:

Okay, the cgi might be getting a little better 'cause the Questing Beast is freaky

Old religion? What is that? And how come it's conveniently absent from the previous episodes?

Dang, they really here just casually gaslighting Morgana like that 😡

Merlin you know Morgana has visions! You couldn't have been a little more careful? She warned you. Now look at Arthur, he's got the heroic death disease

Granted that thing does seem like a handful

Why do you only act like a father when it's a matter of life and death? Why can't you be a father literally any other time!?

"The old religion is the magic of the Earth itself."

Well that sounds fascinating, dragon. Are you going to elaborate? No? Later then?

Soooooo, is the old religion actually a religion or is it a magic? It's really unclear...

"You will be a better king than your father could ever hope to be." Guin, you're back!

I expected a place called the Isle of the Blessed to be less... creepy

Nimueh! Whatcha up to girl? Plotting the demise of a kingdom? Not today it seems

Oh there some Equivalent Exchange type nonsense going on is there?

Arthur you were supposed to be in a coma not listening to Guin!

Oh. Oh, no.

Merlin saying goodbye as he prepares to trade his life for his mother's is 😢😭

Wow, that dragon really knew Nimueh would give Merlin's mother the curse and didn't say anything. The little b*****!

No wonder Merlin's mad at him. Stop breathing fire at him! It's your own fault!

Gaius, no! Not the dead mentor trope!

"You stood by and watched as our friends died." Damn, Nimueh isn't pulling her punches.

Merlin vs Nimueh! Ready? Fight!

Anime protagonist power up! Dang, Nimueh's dead... I feel like that wasn't supposed to happen.

At least no one else is dying. Since Nimueh's death appeased the Equivalent Exchange laws of the old religion.

#bbc merlin #bbc arthur #bbc uther #bbc morgana #bbc's merlin

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cto10121 · 3 years ago

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Top R&J Adaptation Pet Peeves

Adaptation is hard. Really, really hard. Shakespeare especially knew it; he was one of the best adapters for theater ever, and he himself adapted R&J from Arthur Brooke’s Tragedie of Romeus and Juliet. Since then Shakespeare’s play itself has been given the adaptation treatment and hooo boy, are there doozies, misses, and fascinating failures. Most are published fanfic flops, like the ones I reviewed for my blog, but others tend to be more complicated than that. So without further ado, let’s dive into the Top Adaptation Pet Peeves I’ve personally encountered, or simply tropes and patterns I find annoying.

The two families/groups not being alike in dignity. Yes, I’m looking at all the productions and adaptations that decide to switch the whole rival houses dynamic for a race or class one. The ones who pit a marginalized group against another marginalized group, like Romiette and Julio (Black/Hispanic respectively) are fine-ish. West Side Story also does this, but unfortunately the whole “white ethnic” gang is no longer a thing now, as most non-WASP ethnic white groups are considered functionally white nowadays, so it does become a problem re: the Puerto Ricans being the underdogs to the white ethnics. Some have done a poor/rich, privileged/marginalized dynamic, but you just can’t do it with R&J; it breaks the equality of the pairing. By far the worst of these is the anime Romeo X Juliet, which had the evil Montagues be the corrupt ruling power who usurped the throne from the Capulets (????). Look, the whole point is that the two groups’ differences are superficial and stupid, and that they are more alike than different. This doesn’t work if one group is favored/discriminated against over another. It also leads to disturbing implications—namely, justifying a dangerous and destructive feud and intergroup violence and hatred in general. Another side effect is that it ruins the mutuality of the lovers by bringing in unequal power dynamics where it isn’t needed.

Juliet as a #girlboss/badass/“strong female protagonist”. Many adaptations do some measure of this by having Juliet resist even the first mention of Paris, talk back to her parents and the Nurse, and, for Gong’s These Violent Delights (Juliette Cai as the dagger-wielding daughter of a gang) and the anime Romeo X Juliet, (Juliet crossdressing as the vigilante the Red Whirlwind) actually kick ass and generally “strong female protagonist”-it up. I think this is largely a reaction to Juliet’s canonically marginalized position as a sheltered 16th century maid, mistaking the passivity and lack of agency of her status as a character trait. As a result, we get CrouchingTigerHiddenDragon!Juliet. Just no. The original Juliet, as everyone should know like their own name, was no shrinking violet, but neither was she a YA/anime shonen dominatrix either, and I feel she wouldn’t be even in an AU. Also, by this point it’s so cliché. Juliet is so well-written as she is; why stuff her into this Katniss Everdeen peg?

Juliet as an immature ~bby. Not so much adaptation!dumb, thank goodness, but I’ve seen this small trend in play productions that take the “Juliet-is-thirteen” thing waaaaaay too seriously and either have a tween-looking actress or make the actress play Juliet a facsimile of what a thirteen-year-old is supposed to be like. I especially will never forget the Orlando Bloom production that had poor Juliet deliver her “Gallop apace” on a swing. Awful.

Mercutio being turned into either 1) wacky, comic relief gay or 2) a mystical/sad tragic gay. Mercutio occasionally gets done dirty in either of those two ways and it’s sad. That French Canadian film Roméo et Juliette is by far the most damning offender of the latter take. I don’t like either trope, and I certainly don’t like it for Mercutio, for whom it doesn’t really fit. Also, I feel it’s important to note that as the Prince’s kinsman Mercutio is the most higher ranked and privileged of the three, his being forced into a “sad, tragic gay” mold feels ludicrous. Even his death comes about because he wanted to avenge Romeo’s honor (or, well, more like he really wanted a fight), not because he was Bury Your Gay’ed. Cocciante’s Giulietta e Romeo musical does something unique and has him as an omnipotent narrator, which works a little better than it should, but overall it’s also a miss. Mercutio is Romeo’s foil and a fun side character; outside of that, it’s hard to make him work without changing his character entirely.

Romeo being turned into 1) an immature woobie/“cinnamon roll,” 2) bumbling hero, 3) a himbo/idiot, or 4) evil (!!). My poor boi has been done the dirtiest in so many different ways, it’s hard to quantify or even name them. They range from flattening his character a little to “romantic idiot” to full-on Ron the Death Eater-ing him (yes, that’s a thing, twice!! See Juliet Immortal et al. Or rather not). The last two are mostly in the realms of salty fanfic, thankfully, but the himbo idiot and woobie still inform some actors’ performances. Needless to say, I hate all of this. Romeo is no idiot, himbo or not, and he is as mature as the rest of the youths (he is at least praised by Capulet as a “portly gentleman”). Canonically he is shown to best Mercutio in a game of wits and explicitly restrains himself from revealing himself at Juliet’s balcony. Act 5 shows him coldly but effectively convincing an apothecary in less than a dozen lines to break the law and sell him poison. I don’t exactly know from what stems this woobification of Romeo. Actually, no, I do. Romeo may be climb high orchard walls, playfully roast his friends, talk about how chastity vows are stupid and hope Juliet would cast off that pesky virginity of hers, and kill two characters all he likes, but as soon as he weeps immoderately over being banished/separated from Juliet and the possibility of her not loving him anymore, he renounces his Man(tm) card. Hello, gender roles-based sexism! God, I hate you so much. Please die.

“It’s a dark, ~crazy world!!! Verona is a violent, crass, tacky, dangerous hellhole!!!” Okay, so this is mostly shade thrown at Baz Lurhmann and the Hungarian version of Presgurvic’s RetJ, (the latter more fondly than the former) but it still disappoints me. The whole “fair Verona” thing aside, I think it’s clear that Shakespeare’s Verona is supposed to be a violent, steamy clusterfuck, but with the veneer of wealth and prosperity and genteel good taste that papers over the cracks. It’s the whole appearance vs. reality thing. I still think French RetJ does Verona best, and fortunately most productions and versions get it as a “quaint pretty small town is actually a hellhole” thing (hell, I think even that Gnomeo and Juliet movie made the suburban lawns nice). I just like the contrast, what can I say?

“Benvolio, Mercutio, Tybalt are more interesting than R&J, let’s make it all about them instead!!!1” This is the weirdest thing, but I think there were some web series (at least one, and no, not Jules and Monty) that literally did this, a weird modern Tycutio AU. But in general, adaptations that overdevelop the feud and the whole Benvolio-Mercutio-Tybalt thing at the expense of R&J are a no-go for me. I like the three and they all have their little crannies of character nuance, but they are less developed and the feud drama less interesting overall than R&J. I also don’t like the ships with any of the three, Bencutio and Tycutio being the most popular set-up. Canonically Mercutio and Benvolio spend most of their time either searching for Romeo or talking about him and how much he’s changed. As for Tycutio, Mercutio disdains Tybalt’s dueling skills and overall they don’t seem to know each other well personally. Both ships have no chemistry with each other and are firmly into fanon territory.

“R&J’s love was like a cinnamon roll, too good, too pure for this world…” Some adaptations, uncomfortable with some of the high-scale eroticism of the lovers, tend towards this. They’re teen sweethearts, high school, if you will, so let’s make them as cute and chaste and ~uwu as possible. Romeo X Juliet tends sickeningly towards this, but that just might be the demure Japanese culture informing the text. But I don’t know. R&J are not exactly horndogs, but they’re not dead either (horny bird metaphor, anyone? Also Juliet’s whole famous I-wanna-bang monologue). It’s secretly condescending too, in that it tries to put down and dismiss R&J as puppy love…puppy love that leads them to an uncompromising position and a double suicide, but okay. Sounds fake, but okay.

“R&J was just lust and it’s kinda their fault, actually—” Nothing will make me loathe your adaptation quicker than this. Fortunately most adaptations know enough not to go that far, but Baz Luhrmann’s version definitely has some of this vibe, along with some forced comedy. Kill it with fire.

#romeo and juliet #cristina metas #rj meta #r&j meta #this is so many decades’ worth of salt #i’ll probably remember others i didn’t talk about

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graces-secret-tommys-love · 5 years ago

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Falling All Over Again

Title: Falling All Over Again

Pairing:Thomas Shelby x Reader

Word Count: 7900 (BIG GENUINE OOPS)

Warning: very slow burn smut

Summary: The Reader has known the Shelby’s nearly all her life. Like many she had a crush on Tommy. After a sweet moment many years ago she became almost speechless around him. Following a very embarrassing moment she finally found the courage to start to converse with him again.

A/N: I definitely got carried away with this one. The slow burn just kind of did it for me, and I hope it does for you too. Enjoy and I’d love your feedback!!!

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“Shhhh Elena, you’ll get caught!”

“Ada, shut it! You’re the one who said it’s here!”

You kept an eye on the staircase, while Hannah was downstairs watching the front door.

“If none of you shut up, then everyone will hear!” Hannah hissed up the stairs.

Elena got it in her head that Thomas was hiding something of her brothers in his room and had set out to get it. Of course the rest of you girls thought she went mad, but you weren’t about to let her attempt a solo mission. The four of you had grown up together in town since you were children, so when one of you started something it became everyone's job to finish it.

Elena had older brothers always telling her she was too much of a child and didn’t know anything about the world, despite all of us being around twenty years old. She worked it out that if she pulled a stunt like this, then she wouldn’t be such a child anymore. The rest of you also worked out that she might lose her head trying to dig around in Thomas Shelby’s room, so you hoped by there being a group of you, there might be less bloodshed. In theory of course.

Hannah’s loud slam of the book on the table meant someone was coming. You held up a finger to the girls, telling them to be quiet, and kept your eyes open. Mens shoes were making their way to the bottom step and you whirled around towards the girls. As you tried to push up from your crouched position, your foot slipped backwards off the top step and you went crashing ass over tea kettle backwards down the stairs.

“Fuck! Shit! Damnit!”

A man had gotten nearly crushed in your fall. He was able to move just to the side fast enough that your tumbling body only grazed him and didn’t knock him down. It wasn’t the plan, but now Ada and Elena had plenty of time to get out of there.

“Y/N!” Hannah rushed to your side. “Are you okay!”

“Wha-yeah. Yeah. I’m fine. I think.” Sitting up slightly your head was throbbing in the back, and you could feel the bruises settling in already.

“Are you alright?” The man’s voice startled you. When you looked up, Thomas Shelby was crouching down next to you, helping you sit up. He kept his hand on the small of your back, and helped you straighten out your legs.

Before you could answer, Elena and Ada were practically in your lap screaming and panicking like your head had been snapped off.

“I’m fine! I’m fine! Fuck stop screaming!” Elena and Ada froze, but Thomas laughed a little. “And what’s so funny?” You snapped as you turned to him.

The second your eyes met his, you felt like someone sucker punched you. Of all people to get snippy with, hurt or not, he was the last person to do that too.

“Oh my god Tom- Mr. Shelby. I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to yell at yo-”

“It’s fine, Y/N. Please just call me Tommy. We practically grew up together for fucks sake. I just never heard you raise your voice like that before, let alone throw the word fuck out so easily. I forget you girls aren’t all seven and eight anymore.” He gave you a small smile, helped you to your feet, and then headed upstairs.

Now you were not only in pain, but absolutely mortified as well.

The girls got you in a chair, and near the fire to relax.

“You yelled at a Shelby!” Elena teased.

“She yells at me all the time,” Ada rolled her eyes.

“Then don’t be an ass!” you shot back. “And I didn’t mean to yell at him. You were both so fuckin’ loud though!” You grabbed each of their hands. “I didn’t mean to be harsh though. I was just scared.”

“So were we!” Hannah threw her arms around all of you. “You could have died!”

“Oh shut up Hannah,” Ada laughed. “She fell down the stairs. We’ve all done it. The real triumph of the day though was that she didn’t turn into an absolute mime in front of Tommy.”

All the girls started laughing and poking fun at you. Literally everyone in the world must have known you’d had your heart set on Thomas Shelby since you could remember.

-------

When you were all much younger, Thomas and Arthur would lookout for you since you were an only child. Being Ada’s close friend, they saw you as another little sister they were protecting. Thomas was different than Arthur. Some would doubt it possible, but he was very gentle with you. He was patient and would play along with the games you came up with with Ada. Arthur was more of the one to beat someone up if he caught them looking at you wrong. It was once the boys all got older and went to war that they all became the ones to beat someone up before they would sit down and listen to a silly child’s game.

When you were around 10, one of the boys on the street dared you to kiss Thomas. He said that if you didn’t ask Thomas to kiss you, then he would tell everyone that you never stopped wetting the bed and no one would ever like you. Of course this was the worst dare in the entire world because Thomas was around 15 or 16 at the time.

Finally, one night when you were leaving dinner with their family, Thomas said he would walk you home because he was going out for the night anyways. When you crossed the street you stopped and started to panic.

“Are you alright?” He had looked so concerned. “Love what is it?”

“I...can….uh…” He was so patient, waiting for you to come up with some sort of a coherent word. “Kiss me.”

Your eyes slammed shut and you wanted to die the second you let those words slip past your chattering lips. The silence was painful, and then you heard him take a few steps towards you. His breath was suddenly warm on your face.

“You want me to kiss you, love?” When you didn’t open your eyes or respond, he laughed to himself a little. “And why would you want me to kiss you?”

“Ian said he would tell everyone I pee the bed if I didn’t kiss you and then everyone would hate me and I am so sorry Thomas. I didn’t mean it. Just leave.” Your face softened, but your eyes never opened. Just a small tear ran down your face. It was the epitome of embarrassment.

You flinched when a rough thumb grazed your cheek. “Well now love, we know that’s not the truth. Ian’s probably the one to still pee the bed.” When you started to laugh, you could hear him laugh as well. “Now, lets see those eyes.”

Taking a shaky breath you opened your eyes. The two of you just stared at each other. Thomas straightened up a bit, and then looked around the street. No one was outside. He held out his hand, and you took it.

Taking off at a brisk walk, you followed him down the road. When you saw the destination, you started to pull back. But Thomas didn’t stop, he pulled you along the entire way.

The door flew open and of course Ian was the one to answer it.

“Uh, hello.”

Thomas pointed at you. “Did you tell this girl that you would tell the block she wet the bed if she didn’t kiss me? And don’t you lie.” Ian went white as a sheet.

“I, well..yeah.”

Thomas nodded, then turned to you. He took off his hat, picked you up just like a groom lifts his bride, gave you a nod, and then kissed you. Soft, quick, and extremely chaste, but it felt like so much more to you.

“Now, Ian, you leave her alone and tell everyone that she kissed Thomas Shelby. You hear me?”

Before Ian could shut the door Thomas turned around, carried you home, and was setting you down on your doorstep in what felt like only moments. You tried to say something, anything to let him at least know how grateful you were, but he kissed you on the forehead, turned to light a cigarette, and left before you could. After almost nine years, that was still the moment that came to mind every time you saw him. You could do nothing but just freeze up, barely say a word, and blush.

----------

Tommy ran his hands over his eyes as he stood from his desk. As he started to cross his office to get a drink a soft knock at his office door startled him. His hand went to his gun as he slowly moved to the door. “Who is it?”

“Y/N.”

When the door opened Tommy visibly relaxed when he saw it was just you standing there. The second you saw just how tired he was though, you started to regret even showing up.

“Mr. She- Tommy, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have bothered you. I’m so-”

“How are you feeling?” He laughed when your face froze. “From the fall?”

“Oh! Oh, um. I’m fine. I’m fine.”

“Come in,” Tommy moved to the side as you stepped past him. You didn’t make it more than five steps though before you froze up again. “Drink?”

“Yes.”

“Everything okay? Here, sit.” Tommy went to the drink cart as you slowly sat yourself down across from his desk. The bruises from the day were definitely setting in.

Tommy handed you a glass of whiskey before moving to sit behind his desk again.

“So, Y/N. What’s on your mind.” He took a sip of his drink, and relaxed back into his chair, not really looking at you.

“I’m sorry,” you declared before downing your drink and setting your glass down a little too hard on his desk. You made a face at the harsh, sudden whiskey burn, but you needed the help to talk to him. “I didn’t mean to be short with you earlier. I almost hurt you on the stairs. Ada and Elena just wouldn’t shut up. I’m so sorry. I swear I didn’t mean to yell at you I ju-”

“Yell?” Tommy cut you off. “That’s what you thought you did? Y/N, you’ve been to so many family events I would have guessed you’d worked out what real yelling is. But, then again you rarely ever talk, so maybe that is yelling for you.” Tommy smiled as he lit another cigarette.

“Well, either way. Yelling or not, I am sorry. Just wanted to tell you that.” You shot out of your chair to go, and immediately regretted it. “Fuck.”

“There’s that word again,” Tommy grinned. “Sit down or you’ll hurt yourself.”

As you sat back down slowly, Tommy crossed the room and brought the bottle back. This time he took the chair next to yours so you were both on the same side of the desk. He poured each of you a drink.

“Out of curiosity, what were you doing up there?”

“Where?” You sipped at your drink, this time letting the warmth rush over you.

“By my room.” Tommy watched you as you focused on your glass, not looking at him. “ As soon as I realized it was you coming tumbling down I was actually quite shocked. Ada and Elena didn’t surprise me at all though when I saw their heads at the top of the stairs.”

“Nothing. Just bad timing. I fall a lot.” You took another sip.

“Mmmm and this had nothing to do with my borrowing something of Elena’s brothers?”

“Didn’t know one of them was missing anything.” Your grip got tighter on the glass. Why did this feel like an interrogation all of a sudden? Did you step into something more than you should have?

“You’re very good, Y/N. Much better than Ada when I talked to her about an hour or so ago. She told me right away what the plan was.” He took a long drink. “Not talking must do wonders for you.”

“Oh I talk all the time,” you shot back. You tried not to externally show how shocked you were that you managed to say that so quickly without a care in the world. Damn whiskey.

“Is that so. Well, what do you usually say?” You hesitated.

“Nothing important I promise. I should go.”

“Oh come on, you never talk to me, or anyone. Can’t be shocked I’m curious.”

You took a long swallow and finished your glass. As the whiskey warmed your body, you were finally able to turn yourself towards Tommy and actually look at him.

“I talk about a lot of things. All of us girls do when we get together. Town, the world, clothes, boys, drinking, trav-”

“Boys and drinking? I’m surprised.”

“What? That twenty year old girls talk about boys and drinking? Like you said earlier, we aren’t seven and eight anymore.” You grabbed the bottle and poured yourself another glass.

Tommy sat a little shocked for a moment. He hadn’t heard you speak this much in years, and now you were very clearly not the tiny little girl who begged him to play anymore.

“No, you definitely are not. None of us are.”

“I’m sorry if that was rude. Like you said, I don’t talk much around you.”

“And why is that exactly?” You froze. Shit. That was not something you deliberately meant to point out like that.

“You, uh, you’re just usually the one talking, or Ada, or Polly, or something. So, um, not much to say I guess.”

“Bullshit.” Your head snapped towards him. “You do talk, like you’ve said. I’ve heard you talking with the girls. With Polly, and sometimes John or Arthur. Just not me. Why is that?”

Your hand started to shake so you slammed your whiskey again, and this time tried to fight the weird face that came with it. You took a deep breath and reached for the bottle again.

“You’re not an idiot Tommy. You know why.” You’d decided there and then to just let it all out. Fuck it. You’d embarrassed yourself several times already. May as well.

“What? No I don’t. We were friends, I left, came back, and ever since I haven’t heard more than ten words.”

“Twenty,” you smirked. “It’s been more words than that.”

“I doubt it.” Tommy leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees as he held his drink. “Y/N, look at me”

Taking another deep swig, you let yourself truly look at him. Let your eyes wander over his handsome face. You could still see the remains of where there would be crinkles at the corners of his eyes when he smiled. You could see the curves of his face you’d memorized over so many years. You finally looked into his eyes, and your heart broke when you didn’t see the sparkle that used to be so irresistible. Now he just looked tired and worn down.

“Why don’t you talk to me?” His words snapped you back to the present.

“Because I can’t. Not like I used to.”

“Did I do something?”

“Yes.”

Tommy straightened back up. He prepared himself to hear the worst of one of his actions thrown back at him. Looking down at his glass, he finished the rest of his drink.

“You kissed me.”

You could feel him staring at you, but you kept your eyes locked on your glass resting in your lap. You’d said it. It was out in the open. But the whiskey confidence wore off and you felt extremely vulnerable all of a sudden.

Tommy’s laugh made you look up. “I did kiss you. I picked you up like a bride and kissed you in front of that little prick of a boy. He was bullying you or something right?”

You relaxed back in your chair and started to laugh a little yourself. “That’s right. He was going to tell everyone I was ten years old and peeing the bed if I didn’t kiss you. And I had a crush on you, so he figured I’d never do it. You made it happen, like you make everything happen, and that was that. He never bullied me again.”

Tommy looked more relaxed as he rested in his chair than he had in ages. He sort of marveled over the silly story from the past as he finished his drink.

“Well, apparently I cannot kiss properly since you have refused to talk to me for so long after.”

“Oh fuck off,” you laughed back. “That wasn’t the case and we both know it. Like I said, you’re not an idiot.”

“Clearly I am, Y/N. I kissed you. You had a crush. That was the-” And that’s when it hit him. You had a crush. Back then. But also right now. That’s why you couldn’t talk to him.

When you realized it was finally setting in you finished your drink, gave yourself a moment, and started to stand.

“Y/N, wait.” You paused, but you couldn’t look at him. “I’m so sorry I didn’t see it before. I truly am. You just pulled back. Stopped talking. Ada never let a hint on. I just didn’t notice. I’m so sorry.”

“Well,” you laughed a bit, “Ada was on notice that she would die if she let anything slip. So believe it or not she can keep a secret.”

The two of you laughed quietly as you stood at the desk. Tommy took a moment to truly look at you, as you were now in the moment. He let his eyes wander over your curves, how your clothes fell across your body. His eyes traced the profile of your face.

Tommy stood up and poured himself another glass. He shifted his weight so he was all of a few inches from you.

“There was a boy once sitting up at the bar at the Garrison. He was talking with his mate and I overheard him say he was going to go and talk to you and Ada. It immediately made me on edge. So I watched as they strolled over. They talked with you two, made you both laugh. As I watched the one with Ada, everything in me wanted to hit him for coming onto my little sister. But the other one talking to you, I just wanted to hit him because he was talking to you. You both left with them, and it took everything in me to not chase you down.”

You looked up at him, completely confused. “Why would you be mad he was talking to me? You’ve said it yourself I never talk to you. We’ve both been with other people. Why would it matter?”

“It just….it was the first time it really hit me how gorgeous of a woman you grew up into. We’ve known each other for ages. I was your first kiss I’m pretty sure. And seeing another man suddenly have an interest in you...you just weren’t that girl that only had eyes for me anymore.”

“Well, I knew there would be no point waiting for you to be all my firsts,” you laughed. “If I couldn’t bring myself to talk to you, I wouldn’t be able to bring myself to ask for anything else. Besides, you had so many others that adored you. One’s who never begged and cried for a kiss.”

Getting all of that off your chest, and the whiskey, made you suddenly feel lighter. Stronger almost. He was Tommy, the boy you grew up with. Your old friend, and someone that you could in fact talk to.

“I’ve drank enough of your whiskey for one night I think. I’ll let you go.”

When you set your glass down, Tommy slid his arm around your waist and turned you to him. He rested his forehead on yours, and you could feel his chest rising and falling.

“Y/N.”

“Yes.”

“I don’t think I’ll cry,” you could hear him smile a bit, “but would you kiss me?”

You didn’t know if you were suddenly hallucinating or what, but the only thing that came to mind was what he had said when you had asked him that, so many years ago.

“And why would you want me to kiss you?” You smirked.

“Please, Y/N,” his tone was more serious than you expected. “I have to know that I taught you well.” The laugh was back in his voice as his thumb came to raise your chin.

Your lips brushed as they found each other, and as soon as they did, he pressed long, drawn out kisses into your trembling lips. You couldn’t believe you were actually kissing Thomas Shelby. And not because he pitied the embarrassed little girl. But because he wanted the beautiful woman you’d become.

You decided it was now or never, and stepped into him. You pushed deeper into his kiss, letting him know how desperately you craved it. You let your body press against his, running your arms around his waist. If you were going to kiss him, you wanted to make sure he knew how badly you’d been dreaming about this moment.

Pushing your chest into his, you could feel how restrained he was trying to be. You dug your nails into his lower back just slightly as you pulled him tighter. One hand moved to his face as you pressed your hips into his. Pushing your tongue past your own lips, he eagerly met you with his own. Tommy’s arm circled you, one on your waist, and the other moving up your back to the base of your neck, bringing you closer. As your tongues caressed and teased, you could feel your own breathing becoming slightly labored at your own self restraint.

You slid your hand up to his hair, lightly tugging as you dug your nails into his lower back again. He slid the hand on the back of your neck up to grab a handful of hair before gently thrusting his hips into yours. Each of you pressed your bodies as close together as possible as your kiss deepened. Tommy was the first to pull away, his lips finding your neck as he teased you. Your fingers tangled in his hair, giving a slight pull and the tiniest groan passed his lips. That sound shot through you, and you knew you needed to hear it again.

Bringing his lips back to yours you swirled your tongue around his, teasing him with the skill you had developed. Your hand on his lower back dropped to his ass. Giving him a long, deep kiss you tangled your fingers in his hair again. Biting his lower lip, you squeezed his ass and pulled his hair all at once. Just as quickly as that groan passed his lips, he was pushing himself from you.

“Did I do something wrong?”

Tommy stood there, his eyes burning into you as they ran up and down your body. His chest was literally heaving as he tried to make up his mind.

“Y/N. You….you’re not as quiet and docile as you seem are you?”

You could see where this was going and immediately knew you needed to step up if you really wanted him to know how badly you wanted this.

Closing the distance between you, you pushed Tommy down into his seat. Before he could fully process everything, you were slowly dragging your skirt up your thighs, and climbing into his lap. You made sure that you adjusted yourself in his lap as slowly as possible. Making sure you used his chest and thighs to brace yourself. Pushing your chest into his face whenever possible. And when you finally got settled, your lips went straight to his ear. Your hot breath on his skin made him stiffen underneath you as your words sunk in.

“You want the truth? The entire dirty truth?”

He simply nodded. You shifted yourself again, dragging your chest across his face as you settled to whisper in his other ear.

“I have dreamt about you for longer than I can remember. I have craved the feeling of your hands on my skin. I have spent hours wondering how your lips would feel, not only on mine. But everywhere on my body. I have ground myself onto my own fingers, dreaming about how your cock would feel instead.”

Pushing back a little, you brought both hands to the sides of Tommy’s face as you let yourself ease down into his lap. You started to slowly roll your hips as you locked eyes with him.

“I am not docile. I am definitely not quiet. And I am all yours Thomas Shelby. All. Yours.”

“Fucking hell,” tumbled like a groan mixed with a whisper from Tommy’s lips as he crashed his lips back into yours. His hands found your hips almost immediately. As his tongue met yours again, his fingers dug into your ass as he ground your hips harder into his. You moaned into his mouth as your hands ran up his chest, one hand cradling his face and the other moving to his hair. You dropped your lips to nip and bite at his jaw. His head fell back as you sucked at his neck. Bracing yourself with one hand on his chest, you circled your hips into his, grinding as hard as you could on the bulge in his lap.

One of his hands moved between you, finding your breast he grabbed hard, and pulled you to him. His breath hitched as your fingers brushed the skin on his chest as you undid his buttons. As one of his large hands palmed your breast, his other hand ran up your thigh, pushing your dress as far up your body as he could.

You could feel the heat rising in your body, and needed more. Capturing Tommy’s lips again, you teased him with your tongue as you pushed his shirt back over his shoulders. When his hands left you to pull his shirt off, you grabbed the edges of your dress and pulled it over the top of your head. When your face cleared the fabric, Tommy’s eyes were locked on your body.

He looked hungry as his eyes traveled over your breasts, down your torso. His hands ran up and down your thighs, occasionally grazing your ass. Your eyes fixated on his lips as your hands ran over his chest.

“Tommy.” Your voice snapped him from his trance. “Fuck me.”

Tommy crashed his lips into yours, his hands gripping your ass as he lifted you from the chair. Your legs tightened around his waist as he spun you. He took two strides and then slowly lowered you both to the ground. With each of you on your knees, Tommy’s lips left yours to find your neck once again. Your fingers flew to undo his pants as his fingers started to remove your slip. As soon as you felt his pants give, you slid your hand down his length and started to pump his cock while it was still in his pants. His breath hitched and then he grabbed a thick handful of your hair.

“What exactly do you think you’re doing?” He breathed against your ear.

“Getting ready to suck your cock...Mr. Shelby.”

Tommy released your hair a bit, and pulled back so he could look at you. “Normally, that’s exactly what I want to hear. But right now...call me Tommy.”

Pushing his pants towards his knees with one hand, you pushed his shoulders back gently with the other. Tommy shifted so his pants came off and he slowly fell to his back with you moving over him.

“Tommy,” you breathed as you kissed his chest. “You are too tired. Let me take care of you. Just this once. Please. Tommy.” Pressing a deep kiss into his lips, you leaned back to read his face. You could see how badly he wanted control, how he wanted to show you how badly he wanted you. But you could also see the relief in his eyes. How desperately he needed to be taken care of as well.

Tommy raised his head, gave you a slow and tender kiss, and then nodded his head as he let it fall back to the floor. You pressed gentle kisses onto his forehead, each cheek, and then quickly on his lips. You let your warm breath and wet tongue drag down the sides of his neck. Your fingers trailed over the curves of his arms and shoulders as you left wet kisses across his chest. Your hand lazily trailed down his sides as you dragged your tongue down his torso.

His head came up when he felt your touch leave him. You pushed off the floor, and stood at his feet. He had never fully removed your slip, or your panties. Making sure he was looking at you, you slowly raised your slip over your head. As you let it fall to the floor, your hands found your breasts and slowly messaged them, showing Tommy just how you liked it. Your hands slowly made their way to your panties. Leaning over so your chest fell towards him, you pushed your pantines down your legs. As you stepped out of them, you let one hand slip between your legs, playing with yourself for a moment as Tommy’s eyes blew wide open.

Towering over him, you couldn’t believe it. Thomas fucking Shelby was laying completely naked on the floor of his own office. He was laying there for you. Practically drooling as he watched you tease yourself. His cock literally hard and throbbing only for you.

As you lowered yourself back between Tommy’s legs, he propped himself up on his elbows to watch you. Moving forward like you were going to kiss him again, Tommy leaned in, but let out a small huff when your lips dropped to his chest instead. One hand moved up his thigh making him twitch. Your teeth grazed his nipple and his head fell back again. Teasing him with your warm tongue, you swirled and dragged it down his torso as you took his length in your hand again. Slowly pumping his length, you lowered yourself between his legs, making yourself comfortable.

The second your tongue flattened and touched the tip of his cock, Tommy fell back onto the floor. You slowly swirled your tongue on his tip, letting your hand fall to the base of his cock. Keeping your tongue wide you lapped at the sides of his length. You could feel his veins pulsing underneath your tongue. As you let go of his cock, you positioned yourself on both hands. Slowly you lowered your mouth around him, just covering his tip. You sucked gently, and then pulled back. Leaning down again, you moved just as slowly but this time going an inch or so deeper, gently sucking, and then pulling back. Slowly, and painstakingly, you worked your way down Tommy’s shaft as it literally throbbed against your warm, wet mouth.

When you finally got to his base, you just held him there for a moment. Just let the warmth of your mouth surround him. Without backing off, you pressed your tongue hard into him as you lapped and sucked. Tommy’s body nearly seized up as the pressure changed. Bobbing your head gently, you slowly backed off him. Letting him go with a pop, you ran your hand up and down his cock, changing the pressure of your grip as you went.

“You like my soft mouth, Tommy?”

There was only a strangled whisper that passed his lips.

“Do you want me to keep sucking your sweet dick?”

“Ye...yes” This time his whisper was a little clearer.

Moistening your lips, you settled yourself back in. Holding him at the base, you used your other hand to start massaging his balls. Once his hips settled from the sudden change, you flattened your tongue and lapped at the sides of his cock. You let yourself coat him in your spit, literally drooling over him. Your hand started to pump him again as your tongue began to tease and flick at his tip. Beads of precum began to meet your tongue and it was just as sweet as you imagined. The heat between your legs was pooling more and more, part of you actually worried you might drip onto him. But you knew that would only make it that much better.

Taking his length all at once you let him hit the back of your throat. Holding him there for a moment, you felt his dick literally twitch in your mouth. Practically begging you for more. As you let him go with a pop again, you braced yourself on either side of his hips. Running your tongue up and down his length a few more times, you looked up at him.

“Fuck me, Tommy. Fuck my mouth.”

Tommy’s hands flew up to your hair and where slamming you down on his cock in an instant. Again and again he drove you down on his cock, fucking your mouth as hard as he could. He felt you tighten your grip on his thigh and his hands let up. You took a huge gulp of air, and then grabbed his cock. You pumped him hard as you bobbed your mouth up and down. Coating him with your spit you moaned on his cock as you worked him with your tongue. Strangled moans started to pass from Tommy’s lips and his breath started to become even more ragged. He was nearing his limit.

Moving your hands away again, Tommy fisted your hair and drove you back down around his cock. This time he lifted up his hips and fucked your mouth fast and quick. He barely let you do anything with your tongue he was going so fast. When you finally did squeeze his thigh, Tommy let go of your hair and pushed you back.

“Now you’re mine.”

You’d barely even registered what he said when Tommy was pulling you on top of him, his lips crashing into yours like he’d been craving them for ages. As your tongues met again, he groaned into your mouth as he rolled you to your back. He laid to the side of you and let his fingers travel up and down your body. Tingles flew across you as he moved up and down your back, down your stomach, and then his fingers settled on your breast. Slowly massaging and cupping just how you liked, you arched into his touch.

Tommy’s lips dipped to your neck, nipping as he moved to your shoulder. His fingers rolled your nipple between them and you let out a soft whimper. Tommy’s cock was still pressed against you and you could feel him twitch with every soft moan and hitched breath. He captured your lips again and muffled the sound of your whimper as he brushed along the inside of your thigh.

Torturing you with his pace, Tommys fingers ran up and down your thigh, inching towards your center. You could feel yourself literally dripping onto the carpet beneath you. Tommy bit at your lip as he finally brushed at your sex. Your whole body responded and you could feel him smile as he kissed you deeply. Your hand dropped to stroke him, but he caught your wrist.

“No, no, not now. This...this is all for you, Y/N.”

As your body relax back into the floor Tommys fingers cupped your pussy and started to rock his palm into your crest. His lips latched to your breast as his teeth grazed your nipple. Letting out a loud whimper you writhed underneath him. His fingers glided through your folds as the heel of his hand pressed into your clit. Rolling it beneath his palm he let one finger tease your entrance. As he bit at your nipple you arched hard into his mouth, pressing yourself into his hand.

“Please Tommy...please….I...please let me feel you.”

Tommy groaned against your breast as his fingertips found your clit. Pressing his calloused fingertips into you, you whimpered and moaned as you ground yourself into him. His mouth left your chest as he rose up, pressing is strong lips into yours. As he teased your clit he swallowed each moan as his tongue teased yours. Dropping his lips to your neck, his breath was hot on your ear.

“You said you weren’t quiet.”

“Yes” you breathed, trying desperately to keep some control over your body.

“Prove it. Let me hear how bad you want it.”

Your eyes snapped open as Tommy pushed a thick finger inside you. Curling and dragging at your walls you ground yourself into his hand and cried out. You dug your nails into his back as your other hand pressed into the carpet. Another finger joined the first and he stretched you perfectly. The slight burn was incredible as he plunged deeply inside of you. The heel of his hand stayed presssed to your clit as you fucked yourself into his hand.

“Tommy….oh fuck...yes…..oh god….Tommy…”

You were so strung out you couldn’t think straight. Your pussy drenched his fingers as he buried his face into your neck. Biting and sucking, occasionally dipping to tease your breasts. As you started to tighten around his fingers you could hear how his breathing changed. He knew you were close. You rocked your hips faster, trying to keep with his pace as he fucked into you. Your fingers found his hair again and started to pull as you cried out.

“Please...yes...Tommy I’m so close...I...Tommy I’m so….fuck….oh fuck...Tommy!”

You tightened hard around his fingers, your orgasm slamming through you and into him. Your grip on his hair made him practically growl as you spasmed around him. No one had ever made you feel this high before. His fingers started to slowly bring you down. You felt his body shift and before you fully processed it, Tommy was pushing your legs apart. You tried to speak, but you had nothing left.

Tommy’s fingers never left your core, completely dripping with your release. Your legs slammed around his head the second his strong tongue touched your clit. You were still on fire practically and he wanted to keep you there. Tommys tongue flicked at your swollen clit, his fingers expertly curling and scissoring inside you. You were arching practically off the floor and too dizzy to know which way was up. Your legs were like live wires, kicking out every time he grazed your g-spot, but then clamping down around Tommys head each time he sucked at your clit. You were writhing so much that Tommy finally took his fingers out of your spasming pussy so he could hold your hips down.

His tongue lapped through your folds. Lazily finding every glistening and dripping wet corner of your pussy. You drenched his face as he fucked into your core with his tongue. Lapping up your sweet taste and literally groaning into your cunt. His tongue was strong and quick as it would go from rolling your clit to flicking it like mad. Your fingers were buried in Tommy's hair, pulling and yanking. He had scratch marks all over his shoulders and forearms.

“Tommy! Tommy!” He just groaned into your cunt sending waves through your already overloaded body. “Please! Please fuck me...please Tommy….oh god I wanna feel your cock inside me...please…”

In an instant Tommy was off of you. He flew to his knees, grabbing your hips and dragging you down the carpet towards him. Tommy thought about flipping you over, fucking you from behind so he could get deep inside you. But this time he wanted to watch you. He wanted to see you come undone around him. There would be plenty more times to fuck you howeverelse he liked.

Tommy settled himself over you, panting as he looked down on you. Sweat glistened his brow, his lips were bright red. His eyes were in a daze, but still hungry. You had a sheen of sweat as well and couldn’t get your breathing together to save your life. Thomas Shelby held himself over you on all fours. Just watched as the mess of you he created. You were practically vibrating there was so much energy and heat running through you. Each of you tried to match your breathing as you both prepared yourselves.

Lowering himself towards you, Tommy rested on his forearms on either side of your face. His fingers intertwined over your head as he rested his forehead on yours. You let your legs fall apart so he could line himself up. You reached down to feel him throbbing, to the point you wondered if it was painful for him.

Slowly taking him in your hand, you felt him twitch at your touch. You gave him a moment before sliding him between your folds. You felt like someone had dumped a bucket between your legs, you had never been this wet in your life. But, you’d never fucked Thomas Shelby before either.

You lined him up with your literally aching core, and waited for him to press into you. You let your other hand drag lazily over his back. You could feel from the weight of his forehead on yours he was trying to collect himself. Maybe steel himself somehow, you weren’t sure.

“Tommy,” you whispered only loud enough that the two of you could hear. “Tommy look at me.”

Taking a deep breath, Tommy shifted so he could look into your eyes. You could see a small sparkle coming back to his eyes. They were lustful but content. You’d never seen him like this before. You let both of your hands rest on either side of his face, and then gently lifted your head to kiss him tenderly.

“Let’s just….Tommy…”

“Yes, Y/N.”

“Just let me feel you.”

Tommy’s entire body relaxed into yours. Slowly pushing himself into you, your arched as he slowly filled you. Letting that gentle stretch and slight burn wave through you. You pressed warm kisses into the tops of Tommys shoulders as he settled himself inside you. One of his hands cupped your face as he kissed you deeply, you could feel him twitching inside you.

“I want….Y/N….I want you to feel how badly I wa-”

“Tommy,” you cut him off with a quick kiss. “Just let yourself go. It’s me. I’m right here. Just let go.”

Slowly Tommy started to thrust into you, keeping himself inside of you as he rocked his hips. He filled you so completely that every movement was so intense your eyes were pressed shut and you were biting into his shoulder as you whimpered. As his pace started to pick up, his hips started to snap into yours. Thrusting fast and hard he shifted his weight and lifted his hips.

Tightening your legs around him, the angle shifted and he drove directly into your g-spot with unrelenting force. You lost all control and whimpers moved into screams as Tommy fucked you. His pace was unrelenting as he fought his own orgasm. You had come so many times at this point, you weren’t even sure you could again. But when your name slipped past Tommy’s lips, your coil tightened immedaitely.

“Oh fuck….Tommy...I….oh I’m gonna cum...oh...Tommmy…”

“Y/N,” his strangled moan of your name almost made you snap. “Fuck you’re so beautiful. Oh god, Y/N. I’m….I…”

“Yes...yes Tommmy!” you cried out, your hands pressing into the floor below you. “Please! Please I want to feel you!”

You were so close you felt like any second you would snap. Tommys pace almost faltered for a moment, before he finally just let go.

“Y/N, Y/N….I’m….I…”

“Come for me” you breathed.

At that moment, everything went black. Your body coil snapped harder than you knew it possibly could. Every emotion of ecstasy you ever had in your entire life intensified and crashed into you. Tommy completely lose control and buried himself inside of you as he exploded. You could feel him coating your walls as he shook and whimpered over you. Each of you collapsed into each other, completely and utterly spent.

Tommy rolled to your side and pulled you close. Each of you glistened in a layer of sweat as your bodies came together. His frame held you perfectly, and you fit in to every inch of his embrace. You could feel his heart racing with yours, and the last thing you remembered was trying to slow your breathing with Tommy’s.

When you both heard people coming into the office the next morning, you started to wake up. Your body felt like you’d been run over by a series of trucks. Between the fall down the stairs and having the most incredible sex of your life on the floor, not to mention sleeping on it, you were in more pain than you had been in a long time.

“Y/N?” You rolled over and Tommy was looking you over as if he broke you. “Oh my god. Fuck. Y/N, I am so sorry. This floor. And last night I was too hard on you a-”

You stopped his rambling with a deep kiss, and pulled him close to you. Your fingers ran along his jawline as he caressed the side of your face. You both just laid there, lazily kissing and soaking up each others presence.

“If you so much as attempt to apologize for anything that happened last night Thomas Shelby, it will be the last thing you do. Understood?” You laughed as you gave him another kiss.

Voices started to get louder outside, and you knew it was time to go. As you tried to sit up though, your body was having none of it.

“Here,” Tommy sat up next to your side, “let me help you.”

Tommy handed you your clothes as you both got dressed on the floor. He helped you sit up and gathered his things and your coat. When you were all settled he helped you gently stand.

“You alright?” Tommy’s eyes searched yours trying to read your mind for how you were really feeling.

“I won’t lie,” you laughed. “It does hurt pretty bad. But I’ll make it home. With some help if that’s alright?”

Tommy smiled wider than you had seen in years before he gave you a deep and long kiss. He broke the kiss only to dip down and sweep you into his arms, just like a groom does to his new bride.

“Let me take you home, and let me take care of you. How does that sound?”

You couldn’t find the right words, so you answered with a kiss instead.

As Tommy carried you out of the office heads turned to stare. Polly and Arthur came through the door just as Tommy was carrying you out.

“Hello Polly. Hello Arthur.” You smiled and waved as you both left. They stood in the doorway and watched Tommy carry you to his car just down the street.

“So she’s talkin’ around him again then?” Aruthur looked at Polly, completely confused.

“Oh she’s talking alright,” Polly smiled.

#thomas shelby #peaky blinders #tommy shelby x reader #tommy shelby x reader smut #peaky blinders fan fic #peaky blinders smut #tommy shelby smut

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amostimprobabledream · 5 years ago

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Why I hate Grace.

I was giving my thoughts on Peaky Blinders a few weeks ago and I danced around the subject of my dislike for this character but didn’t have time/room to get it all out. So here it is! Grace fans, you probably want to look away now. So to me, Grace is kind of symbolic of the bad writing on Peaky Blinders, which is especially egregious because usually the writing of the show is good. But right off the bat, her arrival creates a number of plotholes that don't resonate with Tommy's character. Just for a start, nobody seems to find it suspicious that an apparently attractive woman (seriously, people go on and on about how pretty Grace is and while it's not as though she's ugly at all, you can't help but wonder if the Peaky boys merely think so because she's the only woman of significance not related to them) is so determined to be a barmaid in The Garrison, where Tommy, upon seeing her, immediately asks her if she's a whore. Grace is understandably offended by the question, which again makes you wonder why she'd want to work somewhere where such a question isn't just an assumption, but the first thing Tommy asks - we know she's a spy, but the other characters don't.

Then, Tommy corners Grace and starts asking why she keeps being so nosy about the Blinders and their business. They go for a walk and Tommy asks Grace if she's a Catholic. She says she is, but when Tommy points out that no good Catholic girl would walk into a church without making the cross, he immediately exposes her as a liar and points out he also knows that she lied to him about what town she was from, because he asked around and nobody had ever heard of her. So what does he do? He...promotes her to being his secretary? What?

Okay, so you might argue that Tommy puts her in said position to keep an eye on her, or thinks she might be useful if she has the balls to lie to him, but she tells such an easy-to-unravel lie and her excuse is because she wants to "fit in". Again, he lets her off the hook but she covers up a lie with an even more obvious one - if Grace cared about fitting in, she'd make more of an effort to do so, but she keeps demanding Tommy let her sing in the pub and asks questions above her station to Arthur, which got reported back to Tommy. Sure, it's her job to spy on the Peaky boys, but she's so transparent about it that it's honestly ridiculous that Tommy would ever put her in a position that close to his personal affairs. Not to mention, Grace is so inexplicably haughty towards Tommy, telling him, "You disappoint me" when he kisses her. You'd think if she was good at her job, she'd learn to shut her mouth and keep her head down like a decent spy, but she always acts as if she's better than Tommy because, like Polly points out, she's a spoiled little rich girl at heart and she does think herself above the Shelby's.

Then Tommy completely inexplicably chooses to give Grace a fucking gun and tells her some men are going to come in and try to kill him and he's relying on her to bail him out. I know the cops were meant to come in at the stroke of six and they fuck up, but WHY would you ever place that level of trust in someone you already know is a liar? Sorry, but I just don't buy that Tommy was blinded by "love". I can buy that maybe he was curious about Grace, possibly even fancied her a bit, but definitely not so stupid that he thinks it's a good idea to put his fucking life in the hands of a woman he knows basically nothing about. She could have fallen out of the sky for all he knows. Tommy even continues to trust Grace after she kills an IRA guy right in front of him because she sobs, "I didn't know I had it in me like that", yet she disobeyed his instructions and whenever Arthur or John do that, Tommy gives them a bollocking. He lets Grace off, again, for seemingly no reason other than she played the damsel in distress role and he buys it. This doesn't make Tommy look like a smart man blinded by love, it just makes him look like an idiot around Grace.

Also, there seems to be an uncomfortable level in Tommy/Grace of Tommy getting a kick out of using Grace to piss Campbell off. It's pretty obvious Campbell has a creepy crush on her, and Tommy exploits that for all it's worth when he explicitly rings Campbell to inform him that he's going to bang Grace. (Incidentally, their sex scene made me go, "Oh, I guess they're gonna fuck now. Yup." It was like they did it because the screenwriter said so.) He's basically cucking Campbell and I think it's a big reason why even Grace fans admit that she's "not as good" in Season Two - Grace just doesn't work without Campbell around. At least in Season One you can argue that every shitty thing Grace does to Tommy/the Peaky Blinders is partly because of her job as a spy and Campbell is her boss. In Season Two, there are no excuses for the way Grace acts. She's a selfish, self-righteous hypocrite. She jumps at the chance to go to Birmingham on the offchance it was Tommy who called, then acts all offended when he assumes she came to sleep with him, to the point she actually smacks him in the face. What does Tommy do about this? Nothing. When Grace complains they could have run away to New York together, all Tommy says is, "I had things to do", instead of asking Grace why she thinks he'd abandon his family, business, friends and country all to chase after the woman who sold him out to his worst enemy. Grace honestly expected Tommy to put her first after everything she did to him. I won't act like Tommy is a saint in this - he did nearly pimp her out to Billy Kimber - but at least he acknowledges it was wrong of him to do and he never acts like he occupies any moral highground like Grace does. When Grace admits she sold Tommy out, she sobs she "did a terrible thing," yet never tries to actually help him out in a way that would put her at risk - she quit her position, sure, but Campbell's creepiness had gone so far as to propose marriage to her, Grace was still looking out for herself when she left, because it got her away from Campbell. She asked Campbell to spare him, knowing full well that Campbell has wanted Tommy dead since day one. She plays the damsel in distress again and she's pissed when Tommy doesn't fall for it a second time. Then when she talks about her husband, she tries to rub it in Tommy's face how he's “a good, kind man”, but then quickly backtracks on that to fuck Tommy anyway because her husband is impotent - and Grace just can't deal with not getting what she wants. Tommy's rich enough to afford to buy a house for Ada and Polly by this point, he's running Birmingham and seeking to expand into London, so Grace pulls the oldest trick in the book and gets pregnant - then Tommy has to do the responsible thing and marry her, because the baby is his and it's literally the only piece of leverage she has over May. (May even points out that she's been stringing Tommy along and all Grace can do is throw the fact that "Grace's Secret" is the horse's name at her. Again though, did Tommy call it that to piss off Campbell? This was before Grace returned to Small Heath but after Campbell had, so I think yes.)

Then in Season Three, again, Grace is pretty much a pointless character, because she has no purpose anymore outside of being "Tommy's wife". Campbell is dead and so the conflict of her character in Season One, as contrived as that was, is gone. People complain about Grace being stuffed into a fridge and whatnot, (and tbh, you could say that about Freddie, but Freddie also served his purpose in Season One after he buried the hatchet with Tommy), but honestly I think that it was all they could think to do with her because Charlotte Riley was unable to pick up her role as May for Season Three, so they had to work around it. It's the only explanation I can think of about why Grace is just such a blatantly awful person in the Second Season - I've heard people say before that Tommy leaving the field after his assassination was prevented would have been the perfect ending to the season, but that scene at the end where he returns to The Garrison and announces he's getting married seemed really hastily tacked-on - I feel like it was added because they were forced to rewrite the drafts for Season Three and put whatever plans for May they had on the shelf. Not to mention, Grace's actress Annabelle Wallis has apparently stated she hates May because she's "annoying" and "gets inbetween Tommy and Grace". No, Grace got in the way of Tommy and Grace - she's the one who chose to leave Birmingham after she got exposed as a Mole instead of taking the consequences! And also, how is May the annoying one? At least she doesn’t whisper all her lines. It's just so immature of the actress to bash on the character and encourage ship wars, especially considering Grace comes out the winner of the love triangle, so what's the bitterness about? (I've not heard what her opinion is on Lizzie, but I doubt it's as hostile, because it's made obvious in the show that Tommy doesn't love Lizzie the same and the poor girl is constantly competing with a dead woman for her husband's love.) Plus, in Season Three, the wedding is all about not upsetting Grace, Tommy's family have to play nice with Grace's family, and Polly is once again the only person who knocks Grace's smug ass down a peg by reminding her that the family haven't forgiven or forgotten Grace's crimes against them - the only reason they're putting up a pretence of tolerating her is for Tommy's sake. Not hers. Not everybody in the world wants to accommodate Grace. Killing Grace was honestly the highlight of the entire Season, because I couldn't stand watching her smirking over how she got everything she wanted when she didn't pay for any of it. (Polly is also the only one who comments on how Tommy has conveniently forgotten all the shit she pulled on him and Tommy acts like she was a totally innocent bystander when she got killed and it’s like, no, Tommy, baby. Grace knew what she was getting into when she married him and he knew that - it’s pretty much common knowledge that everybody who is even tangentially associated with the Peaky Blinders gets hurt eventually, just look at how Ada was nearly gangraped even though she hadn’t been involved with the family business for two years.)

Come Season Four and Five and there's already a problem here - there is still more to talk about with Grace, even though she’s dead and Tommy spends most of Season Three rampaging over her death. But he just inexplicably won't let go of her. And again, this doesn't come across as Tommy being so in love with Grace he can't fathom a world without her, it comes off like her actress has dirt on the director or something. He constantly hallucinates the bitch, we hear her singing all the time, it's kind of implied that Tommy prefers Charles over Ruby because Charles a boy and has a saintly dead mummy while Ruby is the daughter of a former whore (not that Tommy doesn't love Ruby, obviously, because he absolutely does), and what really annoys me about Tommy hallucinating Grace is that she's the only character he does this with. He doesn't dream about Greta, his first love, he doesn't dream of Danny or Freddie or his mother. He doesn't even fucking dream about John! Remember John, Tommy's little brother he knew his entire life? Apparently nobody else does! No, it's always all about Grace, who keeps helpfully telling Tommy to hurry up and kill himself so he can be with her again. This doesn’t seem like an out-of-character, guilt-induced vision - it mimicks her attitude in Season Two, that nothing else in his life can be as important as she is.

And that's why I hate Grace. (Please don’t send me rude or hateful messages over this post, it’s just my opinion and it’s pretty much irrelevant anyway since I doubt Stephen Knight is going to stop using Grace up as some kind of martyred dead saint anytime soon. I just wanted to get this rant out of my system.)

#Peaky Blinders #Grace Burgess #Tommy Shelby #May Carleton #Rant #Chester Campbell #Polly Shelby #Blogging

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rokutouxei · 4 years ago

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the wonder that’s keeping the stars apart

ikemen vampire: temptation through the dark theo van gogh / mc | T | [ ao3 link in bio ]

The challenge seemed pretty simple: to try to befriend the university bookshop’s most sour employee, Theo van Gogh. As a literature major with a boatload of book recommendations on her back, it ought to be a simple task indeed. But as she uncovers what lies between Theo’s pages, the more she finds it harder to become closer to him without having to put the feeling directly into words. What can she learn from Theo about what it means to stay—and how can she teach Theo about what it means to let go? | written for ikevamp big bang 2020!

[ masterpost for all chapters ]

CHAPTER 6 OF 22

Take hands. There is no love now. But there are hands.

- Laura Riding Jackson, "Take Hands".

When she first started hanging out with Theo and Arthur, Theo had left with her one piece of advice��one very, very important piece of advice: “If you’ll only ever listen to one thing I say, let it be this one: do not owe Arthur a favor, ever.”

Of course, in the usual Theo fashion, he did not give her any sort of context about it, no explanation as to how he had come to that very grave conclusion. Except that he knew he was right. And she was going to ask, but after hearing Arthur’s triumphant laughter at having overheard that—well, maybe the mystery was a little more than worth it.

And just like that, she had tucked that advice off at the back of her mind.

So now, she’s in the bookshop again, 2:00 pm on a Sunday, holding Arthur by the hand asking him a favor.

“Please, please, please, pretty please Arthur?” she begs, shaking his hand side to side as she goes. It is the midterm season now, and leaving your fellow students on their own isn’t really a thing in this university. Where possible, everyone is gathering to have group studies and teaching sessions. She figures Arthur could afford her one. Or seven. “You’ve taken his class, haven’t you? The infamous worst professor of the College of Arts.”

Of course, Arthur has. If he’s going to kind-of-not-really minor in Literature, the way he’ll do it is the way he loves the best: the hardest, most challenging way. Of course, that means he got the toughest classes out of the way first.

“Hardly the worst, love,” he says, with a mock-flip of non-existent long hair. “I’d say that fancy fake British accent woman teaching poetry is much worse than that bloke, but that could only be because I couldn’t stand what she was doing to the syllables.”

“Yeah, sure but—that’s not the point,” she says. “Look, I need a recommendation letter from this grumpy, wrinkled banana of a professor, and I’m not getting it unless I pass his exam. But you know how his exams are, he teaches you the English alphabet and then quizzes you in Spanish kind of exams, I just need to prepare properly and—well,” Dazai’s face flashes before her eyes, “you’re the most reliable one I could ask for? Please?”

Arthur lets out a small overdramatic sigh that’s really entirely theatrics. She knows better. “Here’s to me rescuing your sorry little ass, little miss. I’ll help you, but I have two conditions.”

“Yay!” she claps her hands excitedly and grins. “Yes, any! Give me!”

“First, you’ll owe me one favor.”

“Yes, sure, got you,” she nods.

(From the counter, she hears Theo murmur: “You have made the worst mistake of your entire life,” but she ignores it.)

“And—you’ll bring my old chap Theo.”

“What?”

She and Theo both look up at the same time.

And answer at the same time.

“What?” “Wait, wait, why is he coming?”

Arthur laughs. “Are you both so against it?”

“No, I’m just—curious?” she hesitates. “Does he even want to go?”

Theo and Arthur take a moment to glare at each other, which at this point you already know is the equivalent of them doing a high five or a handshake—it’s pretty much harmless.

Arthur’s flat smile turns into a big grin. He sing-songs: “Theo~”

“I can’t owe you a favor for asking you to shut up,” Theo says.

But Arthur is brimming with confidence when he says, “Well, no, it was a favor to me, so you’ll need to respect it.”

And Theo knows that resisting Arthur just spells trouble, so he settles for glaring even sharper, larger daggers into Arthur’s face, but does not argue: “Klootzak.”

And the Brit grins. “That’s why you shouldn’t try and owe me anything, old chap.”

She blinks and wonders what is going on.

Of course, work in the bookshop doesn’t end, and there are more and more customers looking for supplementary readings (or even distractions) so Theo and Arthur only get to join her after the shop closes at 5:00 pm. She’s announced that she’ll be studying every day at the Little Owl, the café Vincent works in, and Arthur had gleefully agreed to follow instead of having her move places. Besides, Arthur insists he cannot work without the taste of the coffee the cute barista (“not Vincent,” Arthur promises Theo) makes for him. Theo sighs, longing for the quiet and Arthur-lessness of the College of Business’ library, but decides to follow through with his promise.

Theo was alone at the bookshop today—Monday, Arthur’s day off—and so only follows suit to her and Arthur at the café once his shift ends. Vincent’s shift at the café ends an hour earlier than Theo’s at the bookstore, so the two brothers just miss narrowly miss each other. Which is a good thing, because even if Vincent already knows, he would be a little bit horrified if Vincent saw him headed to the two rascals already there. Is this who his brother thinks he hangs out with? No, Vincent, they are the exception, he wants to say, but he doesn’t want to argue with his brother during work.

“Why hello there, dear slave of capitalism,” Arthur greets happily. He’s wearing the glasses he wears when “he’s taking the world seriously,” the one Theo asked him to wear more often, for god’s sake.

Theo shakes his head. “We are slaves to the same bookshop, Arthur.”

“A really good bookshop!” she pipes up, looking up from her little studying set-up just as she finishes writing something down. In front of her, she has an old book borrowed from the library laid out on a book stand, a standing pencil case with all sorts of markers and pens, a notebook, and a little notepad to scribble on. Then, she points at Arthur with her pen. “I know you said don’t owe Arthur favors, but this doesn’t seem to be that bad an idea.”

“It will eventually be,” he says nonchalantly. “Well, don’t let me interrupt in your studying?”

“He’s actually done tutoring me for today,” she says, “so we can actually study on our own now.”

“But together,” Arthur insists. “That was my condition. Also, are you not forgetting something, little bird?”

Theo blinks. She pauses and then gasps. “Oh right! Right!”

She pulls out a lunchbox.

This isn’t entirely surprising on its own, because the two of them had decided to work for a good amount of time, and it might be cheaper to bring your own food than buy over and over again at the counter, even if it’s just a cookie or two. It’s midterms season so the café allows outside food, if for the sanity of its usual customers.

Except.

“I brought these for you, Theo.”

For Theo? But it’s nearly dinnertime, and he won’t be here for long…

Theo cautiously takes the lunchbox but doesn’t open it.

“This isn’t poisoned, is it?” he asks—jokingly.

She rolls her eyes and shakes her head. “Oh, if I wanted to off you, Theo, there are better ways. Open it up, won’t you?”

And Theo does; pops open the little container to peer at what’s inside, and—

The lunchbox has pancakes inside.

Not full-sized pancakes, but small ones the size of poached eggs, fluffy and golden. Theo flushes.

“A little angel told me you liked them,” she says, grinning at his expression.

Theo realizes how transparent he has been about it and glares at Arthur in response. Arthur looks as remorseless as ever to his misery, but—does not claim the act with a smirk or a holler.

But the surprise isn’t over yet, because then she takes out of her bag the smallest commercially-available bottle of his favorite brand of syrup, giving it to Theo. And with a smirk in her voice, she says, “Can’t have pancakes without this, no?”

Theo’s ears are aflame , a deep red. Of course his own brother would betray him. Always looking out for him in the best of ways and then betraying him in the most expected of ones.

Theo takes the pancakes with a gruff Thank you that seems to be enough for her, and then the three of them return to their studying. Not that he does it entirely well that day, because has trouble focusing on his studies at all thinking of how delicious the pancakes she’s brought him actually are.

They study together the rest of the week.

It rains on Tuesday, and the café is more crowded than usual. For the first of three hours they spend there, it is only her and Theo, heads turned low into their thick books. Arthur arrives late because he said he had to take a detour for a “sweet skirt” from the medical department. Theo asks if it’s one of his professors he’s trying to talk into giving him a passing grade for his piss-poor efforts. Arthur does not deny. They pick up dinner at a local convenience store before heading their separate ways home on their respective bikes.

It is still raining on the evening of Wednesday, and Arthur and Theo have to run (without umbrellas, because—well, because they’re idiots) the distance from the bookshop to the café where she is waiting, jumping in between eaves and doing their best not to end up too drenched. Not that it works out that well, because she still looks at them pitifully before ordering the both of them coffee for their little misery. They dry off pretty well though, but they don’t get to stay too long because she insists they go home and actually dry off properly before they get sick.

Arthur finally takes their little study session a little seriously for himself on Thursday. Their usual spot—her favorite spot, mind you—is occupied when they arrive, so they’re camped out at a long table, she and Arthur sitting side by side and Theo across the both of them. Theo’s brought bound books for the past few days, but today he has sheaves of papers (readings, perhaps) and a leather-bound notebook (“That’s when you know he’s down for srs bsns,” Arthur says, and she asks how the hell he was able to say it like it was type-speak in real life). Arthur’s no different, with his thoroughly annotated medical anatomy books sitting in front of him, glasses on his nose.

But Theo… Theo is so distracting.

When they decide to study separately—that is, when Arthur isn’t clarifying a particularly complicated concept or Theo isn’t helping her out by quizzing her—the three of them work side by side in comfortable silence, all working with an earpiece or two on to at least dull the sound of the rest of the café working in their own little worlds. So this isn’t exactly odd; they’ve been doing this since Monday, after all, and if she were to be honest, she’d enjoy it if they did this a little more often in the future, if possible.

So then why… is she so distracted?

Why does she keep looking up from the poem she’s turning upside down with annotations and notes and markings to see if she can sneak a discreet glance at Theo, his eyes trained on the things he is studying? Why does she keep looking hoping she can stare at least a few more seconds at the unusual side of him, none of the crease marks on his forehead when he’s being rude or sarcastic, just concentration, deep blue eyes not straying from the pages through the rim of his glasses. And oh—Theo with glasses is such a sight! She’s not interested in him in that way—no—but by god, does he look different with glasses. Maybe she’s just gotten so used to Arthur with glasses that it doesn’t strike much in her, but Theo—

“Stop staring at me,” Theo huffs, looking up at her and meeting her gaze. His bangs are pulled to the side where he’d brushed them off, the back end of his hair standing a little cutely upwards because he was fiddling with the nape of his neck earlier with his pen, and—well.

It’s hard to not be blown away when he looks like that.

“Oh shit, sorry,” she says, snapping out of it with a shake of her head. Getting caught is such a rookie mistake! “I was zoning out.”

Arthur chuckles next to her. She and Theo pretend not to have heard him.

On Friday, she and Arthur decide to go have a little quizzing session to prepare her for the oral part of her exams. (“Hehe, oral.” “Shut the fuck up won’t you, Arthur?”) They get Theo to work with them as the scorekeeper. She gets a good percentage of the questions right (80%) but she still does not feel confident enough about it. She turns back to work on her laptop with Theo sipping coffee by her side as Arthur leaves to go on a dinner date with said sweet skirt from Monday. Theo repeats the joke, and this time Arthur says, “And what if it is?” They do not know if he is joking, at this point.

When their usual time to go has struck, Theo closes the book in front of him and stretches a little, bending his neck side to side. She turns to him and frowns.

“Look, I know I asked you yesterday we could do the book club today but… can we just skip it to next week instead? I’m really fried after today.”

“That’s fine,” he says, but then pauses. “You work too hard. I didn’t really expect to do it today.” He sips from his already-cold mug of coffee.

“Hey, I actually wanted to do it, alright? I just—I’m writing a short paper on 19th century literature right now” she answers. “For my portfolio. I’m submitting it as an extra right after the exam, and I want it done so I can focus on studying for the exam afterward.”

So that’s why she’s been typing away on her laptop with not much pause after Arthur left. “Portfolio?” he narrows his eyes. “Applying for something?”

“Yeah, the OSR’s scholarship.”

“The international one.”

“Yeah, that one,” she confirms. “I’ve been waiting for a bit for them to reveal the requirements and… I don’t know, it feels like it gets longer and more strict every year. I’m trying to up my chances by having a strong portfolio.”

“I see.” Theo pauses, takes in the disappointment still apparent on her face, and sighs. “Look, if you still want to do the book club—we can do it while we walk home.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really,” he nods. “So if you’re tired, then pack up and let’s go. Schiet op.”

“Geez, just give me a sec!”

By the time she and Theo make their way out of the café, the sun is long out of the sky, the street lit in a beautiful shade of warm yellow from the streetlamps. The both of them live roughly in the same area of town—at the southeast residential side, but pretty close to the center, where the café is—but their houses are still around 20 minutes apart by foot. There is, however, the main boulevard that connects their ways home up until a certain point, so they decide to make the most of it by walking the 30 minutes up to that fork in the road even if she did technically have her bike with her.

“Okay, so, book talk, huh?” she says, digging into her bag to find the Kerouac he’d lent her. His copy of On the Road had weathered down rather beautifully over the years; the paper a shade of yellow just right for the eyes, no mottling of the pages, and despite the red matter cover being dog-eared and slightly faded, it’s the kind that’s endearing—the kind a book gets after being held well while being read, and then being kept away so lovingly. With the book in her hands now, she looks near hesitant to even part with the book at all. “Kerouac… was one hell of a read.”

He takes the book she hands back and thumbs it carefully. “What do you think about it?”

“I actually don’t know where to begin,” she says, staring off at the road beyond them. “The contrast of them going to these vast empty places to fill something deep in them...” She sighs, a happy sigh coming out of her. By this point, Theo already knows the kind of face she makes when she’s remembering the hours she spent reading the book—the expression she has right now betrayed that. “And then they were always—well, as with the title I guess—I felt like they were always on the road, even if not literally, then within them?”

Theo nods. “Always going somewhere unknown.”

“Yeah, for sure. It’s not like they were not established right, just that… there were so many possibilities you know? They were talking about crossing America and going from here to there and they seemed to… change with every landscape they went in. And it was exactly all those possibilities that were so fun. You definitely hit that request of mine, because I’m 100% sure all that going away made me want to go away again.” She takes a deep breath. “It’s kinda sad though, that things won’t be as mysterious as back then.” She waves her hand. “What with social media and all.”

“The insight that comes with travel is different now that the world is more connected to one another.”

“And the connection is so accessible!” she notes “Like, one of us can go away but it’s not the end of the world? We can still talk if we wanted to, there are so many ways to do it. And that’s great, but now… now when you go away it doesn’t feel as spiritual an experience? I mean, you can easily Google what a place looks like and…”

Theo turns to her after she abruptly stops. “And what?”

A beat. Two. She hasn’t stopped walking, with her eyes facing in front of her, but her eyebrows are narrowed like she’s carefully choosing how to put what she’s thinking into words. Theo patiently waits throughout the full minute it takes her to speak. “…Do you ever feel like you’re only a visitor in a certain place? Or maybe even anywhere. Like you’re only meant to be there for a few days, a month, maybe a year, but—never in the long term, never for the rest of your life.”

That… isn’t what he was expecting.

But then again, he doesn’t really know what to expect with her around, at this point.

Things are always more than with her.

For a moment, Theo ponders. Sure, he’s had instances feeling uncomfortable in the places he’s in, or maybe acknowledging that there are better places to be—such as when he left their hometown to go here, to follow his brother—but he hasn’t really thought about the rest of it. He’s always imagined the tides would just bring him to places, and he wouldn’t have to work hard to be brought elsewhere; to just let himself be washed ashore to new islands.

“I’m not sure,” he answers, thumbing the side of On the Road once more. He wonders what it was like during Kerouac’s generation—dreaming of a spiritual journey, going out there and exploring the unknown, how so much was left to be learned. How will his generation be remembered? What difference will they make, will they go down in history?

She nods simply. “It’s okay, I’m just the kind of person who likes to think about all this. Sal’s changing views on Dean was… I don’t know how to put it, it’s just like being in a different place, having a different experience with people changes the way you see about them, even if that place is… geographically, and not like a situation. Does that make sense?”

“You have to admit, most of the book doesn’t make sense,” Theo notes.

“…I did hear Kerouac wrote a good portion of it pretty high.”

“Maybe it’ll make sense when you read it high, too.”

They grin at each other, and Theo turns to get the Neruda book out from his bag.

“I’m so close to memorizing the content of this book, with how many times I read it,” he admits, passing the volume over to her. They touch fingers for only the briefest of moments. “Neruda has an interesting way with words.”

She nods. “I still feel bad that I don’t get to read him in his original Spanish because I feel like that makes a difference. The translations are still pretty good though. Any poem you liked particularly?”

“Maybe I Remember You as You Were.”

“Oooh, that’s very romantic,” she says, flipping right to the page he was talking about. “Bonfire of awe in which my thirst was burning.”

“Sweet blue hyacinth twisted over my soul,” he continues. “The passion in some of his love poems get overwhelming sometimes. I remember You is just the right touch of romance and longing I like in a Neruda.”

“Hmm?” She turns to him curiously. “Mayhaps you’ve already been a Neruda fan from the start?”

“I’ve read him in the past, yes.”

That’s not that surprising, really, considering how much of a household name Pablo Neruda is to literary enthusiasts at this point. One of the more “modern” classics of poetry, arguably. She’s not satisfied with his answer, of course. “Which, pray tell, is your favorite?”

It takes him a moment, biting the inside of his cheek in thought. After a beat, he answers, “Don’t Go Far Off.”

“And you say you’re not a romantic,” she says while shaking her head.

“I am not a romantic.”

“Theo, I know the poem by heart. You can’t tell me that shit isn’t romantic.”

Every minute he spends with her, the more drops of confusion fall onto his mind about himself. And not the bad kind; simply, why is it that she can see him so differently compared to others? What is it about her that she catches what sneaks past others?

He wouldn’t call the poem romantic, but maybe if she says it…

No. Instead, he looks at her. Challenges her. “Prove it.”

“Okay, you start.”

He takes a deep breath before beginning. “Don’t go far off, not even for a day, because—”

“Because—I don’t know how to say it: a day is long and I will be waiting for you.” She doesn’t miss a beat when she answers.

He continues. “As in an empty station when the trains are parked off somewhere else, asleep.”

The way she traces the sounds of the syllables so delicately, like it would shatter if she wasn’t careful with their sound, isn’t missed by him. Does she read all poetry, all literature with this much adoration? “Don’t leave me, even for an hour, because then the little drops of anguish will all run together.”

At this point, Theo is already nodding, very much impressed. “The smoke that roams looking for a home will drift—"

(And together, they say) “Into me, choking my lost heart.”

The two of them look at each other quietly, the poem’s imagery settling in the spaces between them.

In a way that makes them feel content.

He continues. “Oh, may your silhouette never dissolve on the beach; may your eyelids never flutter into the empty distance.”

“Don’t leave me for a second, my dearest.”

“Because in that moment you'll have gone so far.”

“I'll wander mazily,” she breathes, “over all the earth, asking—”

Theo sighs. “Will you come back? Will you leave me here, dying?”

With that, the two of them relish in the silence at the end of the poem, letting it all dissolve into the air like the puffs of smoke from their breath.

“Nice of you to know that start to finish,” Theo says, by way of compliment.

She makes a little mock-bow with her skirt. “Thank you. I also really like that poem as well, actually.”

For some minutes, the two of them share a companionable silence, the moon shining over them, casting a silver glow. It is only when the itch to ask the question becomes too much that Theo finally opens his mouth.

“Why are you so fixated on going away?” he asks.

She stares at him. “What?”

“You’re always talking about the out there and the going away. And now you’re planning to leave for a scholarship—when you get in,” he says. “Have a boner for it?”

She makes a face. “No, what the hell,” she says. “Is it so bad to want a little adventure when you live in such a small town like this?”

“Not really,” he hums. “You strike me as the kind of person who disappears from everyone because you’re chasing something far off into the unknown,” he says.

She opens her mouth, about to say something, before she takes a deep breath to hold it back in. Theo feels like he’s overstepped a boundary he shouldn’t have. But instead of talking back at him or refuting, she says, “That would be a great story for a small Literature major like me, huh?”

It’s a non-answer.

The one Theo knows means there’s a more complex answer—that she’s not just ready to tell him yet.

It’s alright.

He can wait.

A few more minutes pass, this time in comfortable silence. Theo considers small talk, about the bookstore, or Vincent and Arthur, but she looks so deep in thought he decides not too. Sooner than he would have liked, they reach the fork in the road. He stops and turns to her fully.

“Books?”

She blinks as if torn away from a daydream. “Oh right, books. Nearly forgot.”

The two of them pull out the books to exchange from their respective bags; she catches the title The Night Circus in the one he hands her, another dog-eared, well-loved, black book; and she also catches the twitch of his eyebrow in interest when she hands him Atwood’s Dearly.

They keep their books away and fall back into their usual quiet.

“You sure I don’t need to walk you home?”

“It’s a well-lit road. I’ll be fine,” she insists. “I can bike from here to there, it’ll take me three minutes tops.”

He nods, the smallest of smiles on his face. “I’ll see you around, then. I hope you enjoy the book."

This isn’t the first time Theo has lent her a book. And this isn’t the last time Theo will lend her a book, either—if there’s anything about their kind-of friendship she knows for sure, it’s that he’ll need to try harder to get rid of her if he doesn’t like the company.

But somehow, the arrival of the new book in her small, rented dorm room leaves her unbalanced. She knows she has better things to do like her essay for the portfolio and studying for the exam—80% correct for the oral test is pretty good, but not good enough—but she lets the book taunt her anyway.

It is Saturday now, and she places it on her desk with the cover facing up, black and red and white with an intricate illustration of figures. Is it because of the conversation they had last night? It wasn’t odd for their little book discussions to wander into personal territory, because it is true that the way we read books is very much influenced by the things we have experienced in real life, but that one… that felt different. Somehow, it’s as if the both of them had opened up a pandora’s box of—well, something, and all of that is nestled in between the pages of the lent book.

It wasn’t like her wanting to go away was a secret in any way, shape, or form. Friendship with Theo or not, she was meant to leave this place. Or at least, that what she likes to believe. She’s pretty sure she’s mentioned even in the past that this town is too small for her; too little; there is a wider world out there to discover. And it wasn’t like Theo being some sort of hidden romantic was a surprise either—she’s known from the moment he didn’t stop asking her for poetry books. Nothing new was really uncovered last night, but then…

Why can’t she seem to let it go?

Her eyes rest back to the book on her desk. She said she wouldn’t read it until after the oral exam on Tuesday at the very least, but—she has peered into it the night before as she was going to bed, and yet once more this morning.

She’s not sure what it is about yet, but it seems that he’s lent her some sort of fantasy-romance, because she had asked for a book with a magic system in it. (Thinking about the wonders of magic is a great stress-reliever in the midst of exams.) She had expected Theo to be a good level of well-read because he worked at the Hoard—but somehow, he was always blowing away her expectations. Theo is always saying about how weird she is for pursuing him, but isn’t he the weirder one? At least she shows no pretense of being any sort of normal. He does his best to look put together.

Did that big looming man look like the kind of person who would read a novel title The Night Circus?

Not really, not to her. But it’s because he is that kind of person that keeps her so hooked, so interesting. She doesn’t quite know what has happened yet, but—whatever it was that unlocked between the both of them last night, it can’t be that bad. So by 3:00pm, when she said she would be running through drills for her exam, she closes her laptop shut, makes herself some tea, and curls up into her armchair to read.

Just because they get along with each other doesn’t mean they agree with everything.

For example, she’s explained that she’s the kind of person who marathon-reads whatever she can get her hands on, if she finds it interesting enough. It’s not that she doesn’t have patience for reading; she does, and she thoroughly enjoys being lost in a good book. It’s just that she can’t do what the others do when they like a book—read it leisurely, enjoy it from page to page, taste every word like it’s sweet. She’s more of the kind who sits down at eight in the morning with a interesting book and being unable to stand until it’s done in the afternoon. There is no waiting in her vocabulary, only the going.

Oppositely, Theo likes to take his time with his books, the same way one would do a walk. Take the scenic route; enjoy the scenery, take in all the details with your sense. To Theo, reading a book is going into it, getting lost in between the world that is hiding in its pages, and there is no need to rush that. The book is not going anywhere, and he can always open it up and return to where he’d stopped. Theo rarely reads books in one go unless he’s in a rush to do it, like say in a required reading for a class.

So when he sends her a message on Sunday, saying,

[ 9:44 | Theo ] Good book choice this week. Had fun with it

less than 48 hours from the moment she had given him the book…

She yells.

Really loudly. Her next door neighbor pounds on the wall between them, and she shouts out a “sorry!” as she begins typing on her phone.

[ 9:43 ] You finished it already?

[ 9:44 | Theo ] Is that so surprising?

[ 9:44 ] 😊 You don’t understand how happy I am rn

[ 9:45 | Theo ] It’s just a book, relax.

[ 9:45 ] Yea sure but don’t you read slowly on purpose? Kinda thrilled you liked it enough to polish it in one go.

She pauses, hand hovering over her phone, before she writes out another message.

[ 9:46 ] Thanks for telling me. This has def made my day.

And it takes a minute for him to reply, but then he returns:

[ 9:47 | Theo ] Isn’t this what friends do?

Well, let’s say that something in her belly does a flip, and—

It makes her feel weightless.

#the wonder that’s keeping the stars apart #ikemen vampire #ikevamp theo

8 notes · View notes

verai-marcel · 5 years ago

Note

Okay, so i have a request if you don't mind. It's modern AU, and it's fem!reader. She gets dared to go into the boys' locker room (college au or something) and take pictures of the boys. You already have good relations with most of the men. So you hide in the locker, and something happens which leads you to get caught, Arthur (who probably has feelings for you), and the other men, turned on by this they decide to punish you. (ps Sorry if this sounds creepy. if you're uncomfortable just ignore)

Locker Room Lesson (RDR2 Fanfic, AM/JM/CS/JE x Fem!Reader, 18+)

Summary: You are in the photography club at your local community college, and have made fast friends with a group of ladies who share your thirst for a particular group of men who play on the rugby team. When they dare you to take photos of them in the locker room after a practice, you foolishly agree. But what happens if you get caught?

Author’s Notes: Oh my. I may or may not have seen a few porns for this, and tbh, this kind of stuff turns me the fuck on. Let’s do this. Also, I picked community college because there’s generally a wider variety of ages there. So this will hopefully appeal to you, dear reader! The guys, well, I guess they’re roughly the same ages that they are in the game, so Arthur’s 35, and the rest are in their mid to early twenties.

Tags: gangbang, multiple partners, tropey porn plot, filthy smut, rough sex, doggy style, anal sex, blowjob, double penetration, facial, creampie, dirty talk, modern AU

AO3 Link is here, darlin’.

——————–

Hiding in the men’s locker room on campus was quite possibly the worst idea you’d ever had, but at least you could say you did the dare. When your friends in the photography club had dared you take some suggestive photos of some of the guys playing rugby, you unwisely boasted that it’d be easy peasy.

So now here you were, tucked into one of the bigger lockers, quietly waiting for the men to leave so you could sneak out. Thumbing through the photos on your camera, you had a few good shots of each of them, so at least it was worth your time.

Javier was lean, tanned, a beautiful specimen of a man. His fingers were long and graceful that could play a guitar like an extension of his body. When you saw him in front of the music building, he always smiled and nodded his head at you, and in class, he’d ask if he could copy your notes, claiming they were the best organized. Listening to him play on the campus plaza was a relaxing treat.

Charles was brawny, a beefcake with the strength to block almost anyone who came at him. When he was working out and you saw his back muscles flex, your breath was always taken away. He was quiet, but always helpful; on multiple occasions, he had taken a heavy box or bag from you and walked with you to your destination, no matter how far. It wasn’t like you couldn’t carry it on your own, but he seemed to have a need to help others.

John was wiry, a bit lanky, but had a smile that melted your heart. He was an honest man, even if he was kind of a goofball, and helping him out in math class was a joy, seeing him light up when he understood something you explained. He was always grateful for your help, and he returned the favor by running errands for you for the photography club when he had time.

And Arthur. Good lord, that man was perfect; the broad shoulders, perfect ass, powerful legs. Not exactly the brightest academically, but coming in as an older student, he had a lot of life experience that you could respect. He was in three of your classes, and you only started talking to him because you noticed his drawings during the studio art class.

“Never painted a day in my life,” he had told you, but anything he drew, for whatever reason, was filled with emotion. Even as he got criticized for his technique, the professor always gave him points for “good feeling,” whatever that meant.

Your ears perked up at the sound of male laughter, and you mentally sighed. You got the feeling that you were stuck in here for a while. You started to sort through some of your photos, picking and choosing which ones to keep.

Then the door to your locker suddenly opened. You nearly dropped your phone and stared, blinking at the bright light before your eyes readjusted.

“Well, what do we have here?”

Arthur smirked, looking like a cat that caught the mouse.

You panicked. “Um, just… hiding?”

John, Javier, and Charles appeared behind him.

“What’re you doin’? John asked innocently.

Javier laughed. “She’s taking pictures of us, idiot.”

Lightning quick, your phone was snatched from your hands as Arthur took your wrist and pulled you out of the locker.

“Hey wait!” you yelped.

“Hmmm… these are pretty good photos,” Arthur mumbled as he flipped through your images.

Charles peered over his shoulder. After a few moments, he looked up towards you. “You shouldn’t have snuck in here.”

Walking closer to you, Javier put an arm up on the lockers and leaned against it, effectively cornering you. “Who put you up to this?”

You looked away. You weren’t telling.

Arthur chuckled as he handed your phone back to you. “None of us are naked, but pretty damn close to.” He moved closer to you, the other men following suit. You felt like you were being caged in by a wall of meat.

Leaning in, he took your chin between his thumb and fingers. “Now darlin’, I think you need to pay us back for bein’ such good models, don’tcha think?”

“Only if you’re willing,” Charles added.

You swallowed.

John finally seemed to understand the implications and smiled at you. “We won’t hurt you.”

Javier was just quietly watching you, but from the way you were licking your lips, he had an inkling you weren’t against the idea.

It was a little hard to think, having so many hunks right next to you. Were they really offering what you thought? Did they all want to… have their way with you? Together?

Your heart pounded and your libido shot through the roof. You mentally drooled at the thought.

Arthur stepped back, concern on his face. “You can say no, we won’t be troubled.”

“I do, I do want to pay you back,” you quickly said. Biting your lip, you quietly asked, “Are you asking… what I think you’re asking?”

The men all smirked and chuckled.

Charles held his hand out to you. “If you think we’re asking you to give us your body to pleasure, then yes.”

You stepped towards them and took his hand.

***

Guiding you to the nearest bench, Charles sat you down as the other men circled around you. Arthur stood back, watching as John and Javier stood on either side of Charles.

You watched, gleefully, as the three of them took out their cocks. Each one different, each one so mouth-watering in their size and girth. You couldn’t believe how lucky you were.

Charles stepped forward. “Open up, honey.”

You took him into your mouth, and he stayed still as you bobbed your head around his thick member, twirling your tongue around the head. He sighed, his hand resting on your head and petting you. You shivered with pleasure at the feeling of his fingertips running along your scalp.

Your hands were taken by John and Javier, and they each wrapped one of your hands around their cocks. Getting the idea, you started to jerk them off as you sucked on Charles.

“Give us some of that pretty little mouth too, querida,” Javier said softly.

You alternated, giving them each some oral attention, looking up at them as you pleasured them. When it was his turn, Javier looked at you with a dark lust in his eyes. He reached down and caressed your cheek, before grabbing the back of your neck and holding you in place as he shallowly fucked your mouth, a bit dominating as he hummed his approval.

When you switched to John, he just closed his eyes and moaned quietly, his hips jerking forward, his cock nearly hitting the back of your throat. You pulled away, and he immediately apologized. You smiled and continued to suck on the tip of him.

Charles tapped John on the shoulder, and he pulled away from your mouth. You whimpered, and then looked past them at Arthur, who was leaning against the lockers, watching you with a lurid stare.

“Arthur?” you asked.

“I’ll take my time with you later,” he uttered quietly, a dark promise that sent shivers down your spine.

Your attention turned back to the others as they helped you remove your clothes, surrounding you with caresses and kisses as your skin was revealed. Soon you were naked, watching the three of them take off their own clothes so they could surround you once more.

Charles laid out a towel onto the ground and brought you down, laying you on your back. He let your head rest on his lap, his cock hovering near your mouth. You licked the tip, earning a pleased rumble. Javier came around and kneeled before you, touching your knees and spreading your legs apart.

“You look beautiful, querida,” he said as he stroked your center, spreading your love juices around your folds. “Can’t wait to make you sing.”

Then he leaned over you and curled two long, slender fingers inside of you, pressing against a spot inside that made you quiver and pant.

“M-more!” you cried out.

John kneeled beside you and started playing with your breasts. “You heard the woman. Give her what she wants.”

Javier grinned as he took his fingers out and pushed the head of his cock against your opening. You took a deep breath as he entered you, your muscles squeezing him.

“Feels so good,” he groaned as he made it all the way inside. He waited a few moments before lifting his hips and started moving, taking his time, rolling his hips and making sure he was hitting that wonderful spot inside.

Charles tilted your head towards him. “Don’t forget about me, honey.”

You gladly opened your mouth and pleasured Charles while Javier fucked you. John’s hands were on you, squeezing and pinching your nipples, and you reached out to stroke his cock in return.

“Your turn, brother,” Javier said after a while, pulling away from you and swapping places with John.

John had less finesse but more energy as he kneeled between your legs and lifted you up by your hips. He aimed his shaft at your pussy and just thrust forward, slamming inside of you. He was rough, lost in his desire as he just pounded into you, his heavy breathing and his occasional moan the only sounds he made.

You had been licking Charles for so long, that when he moved, you whimpered.

“Don’t worry sweetheart, I’ll give you something to occupy your mouth,” John said as he switched places with Charles.

John was as rough with your mouth as he was with your pussy, thrusting shallowly so you wouldn’t choke, but still moving fast, like he couldn’t control himself, desperately driving towards the pleasure your mouth brought him.

Charles played with you a little more than the other two, stroking your clit with his thumb while he teased your pussy with his cock, dipping the head inside and then coming back out, not giving you everything you wanted.

“Please Charles,” you begged. “Please fuck me!”

Charles gripped your hips and slowly entered you, a look of focus on his face. “You’re so tight.”

You writhed; he was not as long as the others, but his girth was almost too much for your body to take. You were glad you were stretched out first.

Javier caressed your clit, and when you gasped, he stroked in earnest, watching you moan around the cock in your mouth.

“Look at you, such a sexy woman,” Javier praised. “Taking so much cock, you must love this.”

You just hummed in agreement as you felt Charles hilt inside of you. He rolled his hips slowly a few times, and your hips lifted in return, wanting that fullness of his cock to stay inside of you.

“You wanted this?” Charles asked.

You nodded.

“Never would’ve guessed. Such a bad girl.” His voice was so low that the rumbling vibrated against your body, making you mewl with need.

“Bad girls get punished, don’t they?” John asked.

You nodded around his cock.

“Get the lube,” Arthur said from his spot against the lockers.

Javier suddenly left, and Charles lifted you up into his arms. Laying down on his back, he grabbed your ass and spread your cheeks.

“You gonna take all of us?” John asked, gripping your neck.

“Yes!” you pleaded.

“That’s right. Take your punishment and be a good girl,” John crooned as he let go of you and pet your head.

Javier returned, a tube of some viscous liquid in his hand.

“What’s that?” you asked, suddenly worried about some unsafe chemicals going into your rear.

“It’s J-Lube. Don’t worry darlin’, it’s safe,” Arthur said, a tone of experience in his voice.

Trusting him with your safety, you relaxed and let Javier squirt some into his hand and spread it along his fingers.

You clenched when you felt him slip one finger into your rear entrance.

All three men began to soothe you. Charles reached down to play with your clit, keeping you distracted, John came around to give you his cock to suck on, giving your head a much needed scalp massage as you did so, and Javier rubbed your back, his finger going deeper inside.

As you relaxed, he squeezed in a second finger, then a third, stretching you out slowly and methodically. You had finally relaxed and gotten used to the intrusion, and started to rock your hips while moaning softly. Javier pulled his fingers out and replaced them with his member. He pushed in slowly, making sure you could take him.

“Just tell us if it hurts,” he told you as he slid all the way into you.

All you could do was whimper and move your hips. You were so full of cock, and it was amazing; feeling the three of them begin to move in rhythm, taking your body, using you as their fuck toy as they ‘punished’ you for spying on them.

You loved it. There was no thinking, just feeling, just being.

And in the midst of that, your climax built up, higher and higher, until Javier slapped your ass, and Charles grabbed your neck while he reached down and thumbed your clit.

“Come for us, sweetheart,” John growled.

“We want to feel you, querida.”

John’s shaft muffled your scream as you came, spasming around them, pleasure bursting through your body like fireworks. The aftershocks kept coming as they continued to pound into you, not letting up for a moment, no mercy on your almost relaxed body.

“Fuck,” John mumbled and pulled back after you were done screaming. “Almost came.”

You let out a soft cry, already missing the fullness of him in your mouth, but then Charles reached up and pulled you against him, one arm around you, one hand gripping your neck.

“You ready, honey?”

“For what?” you asked.

Charles smiled, and looked back at Javier and nodded. You felt Javier leave your body. Effortlessly, Charles wrapped his arms around you and stood up, still inside of you. You squealed with both a bit of fear and excitement.

Then you felt Javier enter you from behind again, and the two men pistoned in and out of you, holding you up between the two of them.

“You want our forgiveness, honey?”

“Yes, yes!”

Charles and Javier both pulled out of you and eased you onto your knees. Charles stood in front of you, his massive hand on top of your head, his other hand stroking himself quickly.

“Beg for me,” he breathed.

“Please,” you said, big eyes looking up at him. “Please, I’ll be good.”

Charles could only bellow as he came onto you, ropes of his cum dripping from your chin and nipples. Taking a few staggered breaths, he stood back, and Javier took his place, his hand rapidly beating off.

“Say you’re our special girl.”

“I’m your special girl.”

He moaned as he came all over you, sighing your name before leaning down to kiss your forehead.

“Gracias, querida.”

John came back into your view, and he grinned before grasping your neck.

“Sweetheart, that mouth of yours… give it to me.”

You gladly opened up and let John fuck your mouth until he groaned and came, spilling down your throat. You swallowed as much as you could, and when he stepped away, grinning at you, you grinned back.

Then all of a sudden, Arthur cleared his throat. Everyone looked over at him, and you noticed his eyes were completely focused on you.

“Get yerselves clean again,” he told the others without looking at them. You heard them all chuckle and exit the room, leaving you alone with Arthur.

He pushed away from the lockers and walked up to you. He pulled his cock from his pants and stroked it slowly.

“Lookit’chu, all dirty with cum,” he sneered. “You like bein’ used?”

You bit your lip, and you tasted a bit of everyone’s cum on your lips.

“Look at me.”

You looked up at him.

“You want to be used by me?”

You swallowed and nodded quickly. Your body burned for him, lusted after him in a way you didn’t realize you could. Sure, you thought he was a hunk before, but he had been friendly, gentle, safe. Right now, he was giving off the vibes of a predator, of an alpha male who would dominate you, own you…

…and protect you.

You suddenly wanted him so badly that you could hardly contain yourself. You started to crawl towards him, unconscious of how you looked.

A knowing smile slowly spread across his face as he watched you kneel in front of him. You tentatively licked the tip of his cock before kissing it, slowly opening your mouth more and more to take in more of him, until you had filled your mouth full. Pulling back while sucking on him, you released him with a loud pop sound. You looked up and gave him a teasing smile.

“You gonna play with me that way, huh?” Arthur grabbed you by the base of your neck and pulled you up until you were standing, then flipped you around, your back to his chest. His arms wrapped around you, holding you tight, his lips biting your neck.

“Bend over,” he growled, forcing you to bend at the waist, one hand on your shoulder. Your hands shot out to balance yourself against the lockers, and you turned your head to see him looking down, aiming his cock at your wet entrance. He glanced up and kept eye contact with you as he pushed his way in.

“Keep lookin’ at me, darlin’,” he crooned as he entered you. “Wanna see yer eyes when I take you.”

When your head started to droop, he grabbed a handful of your hair at the base of your head and pulled, forcing you to look at him until his hips were flush with your ass.

“So good,” he said softly as he started to build up a rhythm, letting go of your hair to grip your hips. You were lost to the feel of him demolishing your coherent thoughts; all you could focus on was the pounding of your flesh, his soft grunts and moans as he enjoyed what you gave him.

When he reached down to stroke your core, it was too much, and you cried out his name.

Quickly, a hand reached around your mouth, quieting you down as you came around him, your legs beginning to shake.

“Shhh, can’t let anyone else know yer in here,” he warned. Pulling out of you, he kept you upright as he turned you around to face him. Picking you up around the waist, he carried you to the back wall of the locker room, farthest from the door.

“Wrap your legs around me,” he commanded as he pushed you against the wall, angling his hips so he could enter you again.

You wrapped your legs around him, and he grabbed your butt so that he was holding you up as he started to fuck you against the wall.

“Like that, darlin’? Like it when I fuck you hard?”

“Oh god, yes,” you keened, clinging onto him and burying your head into his shoulder.

The sounds of him rutting into you, flesh against flesh, and his harsh breathing combined with your soft moans filled the room. He shifted you slightly higher on the wall and pressed his body against yours. The warmth of his body was a sharp contrast to the cold wall behind you. He angled his thrusts and suddenly slammed into you harder, deeper, and you curled your toes, feeling the ripples of pleasure from your core.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” you cried out as your climax bowled you over, and you held onto Arthur for dear life as you spasmed, shaking from the strength of your orgasm.

“Wanna come inside of ya,” Arthur grunted.

“Yes, please!” you begged.

With a low groan, he smashed you against the wall, holding you tight as he came inside of you, his hips jerking forward occasionally as he filled you full. He whispered your name lovingly, nuzzling your cheek as he came down from his high.

“Darlin’, my sweet darlin’,” he murmured as he slowly let you down from the wall and helped you to the bench. He sat down, with you in his lap, and held you close.

“Been wantin’ to do that fer a long time,” he confessed. “Probably since the second week of last semester.”

You remembered that week. That was the week you had first met him and had a long talk with him at the local cafe, where your friendship started. You remembered finding him attractive, and also, regretfully, decided for yourself that he was out of your league.

“Really?” You couldn’t believe that he wanted you.

“Yeah, really.” He kissed your cheek. “I know this started off… a bit strange, but… would you be interested… in… um… goin’ on a date?”

You blinked.

Then you burst out laughing.

“Yes, yes, of course!” you said after a few moments. “I never thought you’d ask. I thought… I thought I wasn’t good enough for you.”

Arthur laughed. “Here I was thinkin’ the same thing.”

You couldn’t believe that. Arthur? He was so talented, so friendly, so handsome… he was such a good man, and he thought he wasn’t good enough? You knew you’d have to rectify that in the future.

He pressed his forehead against yours. “I ain’t sharin’ you again,” he said.

You kissed his cheek. “That’s fine. You’re plenty enough for me”

Arthur’s smile was worth the dare.

——————–

End Notes: Oh yes, J-Lube exists. Recommended by a porn star. Remember fam, don’t do anal unless you’ve cleaned yourself up properly and acquired the right lube! Also, I split the sexy time into two scenes because it’s very hard for me to write that many men in one scene, so I had to take Arthur out; I tried at first, but it just wasn’t working, logistically-speaking. Anon, I hope this fulfilled your sex fantasy; it sure as hell fulfilled mine, hehehehehe!

#arthur morgan #javier escuella #charles smith #john marston #female reader #arthur x fem!reader #rdr2 fanfic #rdr2 #writing #fanfic #lemon fanfic #nsft #tumblr request

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hoe4dameron · 5 years ago

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Arthur Fleck Imagines (pt. 1)

Hey back at it again tonight with the prelude to pt.2 (obviously lol) but this one may have a bit more “smut” in it and I put it in quotations because honestly it’s not like I’m going to be typing out a detailed scene so.. WARNING: very slight smut and cursing also this one will be long like pt.2

Your fifth year of college was just about to start. Your field wasn’t too rigorous, but you still worked your ass off to pay bills and complete assignments

Life wasn’t bad right now, you had focused on your own well being the past several years and had gotten to a good understanding of what you wanted

And you found you wanted love, not only that, you needed love

But you wished for that kind of love that you see in movies, the kind of love that turns heads, the love that makes you want to stay buried in it forever. A kind of love where both people want it more than anything and have nothing else to wish for.

You were having a bad day, the negative thoughts of you never truly falling in love with someone had made a hole in you brain you couldn’t avoid, so you decided to visit a comedy club.

You didn’t want to sit in on raunchy sex jokes by some dudebro. Honesty was something that was overly important to you and just hearing someone try to be their honest self made you happy, even if that person wasn’t exactly the most popular

So you decided to listen to someone named Arthur Fleck. He seemed nice. His description was the exact opposite of one of Gotham’s local dudebros...you applauded for him as he walked out onto stage and...

Disaster. The funniest thing about the situation was that you thought it couldn’t possibly get worse. Just to be courteous, you clapped loudly at the end of his bit and smiled at him. Little did you know what this had done to Arthur.

You were going to just pack up and go home, taking this as a sign to just throw in the towel and watch the stupid Murray show later tonight at home, but Arthur hurriedly stopped you at the door.

“So, did you like the jokes?... Maybe some of them weren’t relatable to you..”

“Oh! Uh, no they were nice, some were a little dark though...but really overall the best thing about your act was that you obviously cared about it. Plus, you aren’t another dudebro” you laughed.

“I’m Arthur Fleck”

“Y/N L/N”

“Would you like to go out for a drink?”

And this is where the soft music stops and you process what he really just asked. Did you want to fall prey to your guilt that you may hurt his feelings by saying no? Did you so desperately want to experience any kind of intimacy that you would say yes without another thought?

“You know what, that sounds really nice Arthur.” You answered with a smile. He beamed at you.

While walking to a bar a block over with him, you looked closer at his features. His nose was ever so slightly turned down and his cheeks were a little hollowed in but his eyes were handsome and his smile was kind, but tired.

After only 2 drinks and casual chit-chat about what life was like for the two of you, you learned that Arthur’s wasn’t exactly appealing in any way...yours looked like heaven compared to his situation.

“But even after all of that shit, you’re still the most genuine, caring man I’ve ever met?”

Arthur melted. A compliment like this from someone so beautiful? Unparalleled

He hadn’t even shared the worst of it yet.

He walked you home that night and that was when you found out your dorm building was only 3 blocks away from his apartment. Visits weren’t impossible...

So they became a regular. You got closer to Arthur everyday. Finding out something new, taking him somewhere he had never been, helping him with stupid chores, falling asleep next to him on the couch on accident, staying the night and laying with him in bed. Your relationship had reached the six month mark when...

It was a stormy night. Arthur had a bad day at work with all the other guys teasing him and trying to pressure him into doing something. He came home hoping you would just hold him in your arms all night.

Arthur walked in and bam, you were there in just your underwear and an oversized T-shirt. He was on you in seconds.

He initially thought it would just be a heavy makeout session but you were horny that day and grabbed at him through his pants. He never knew he could get hard so fast. He moaned a bit as you went for more and more and eventually he had reached his limit.

You two were in bed all night long. You completely forgot about class the next morning only focusing on how big his dick ended up being. And how well he knew to use it with only minimal guidance.

Now he really was your dream guy.

You decided to move in with him, moving your expenses into his apartment and living areas so you could fix it up and maybe buy the two of you nicer furniture and household things.

But first, you both decided it would be best to send Penny to a nursing home (one outside of Gotham) where she could live independently but more importantly, Arthur could live independently

So it had been a year now and you two were settled into living together,but some concerns had taken you over.

Arthur never seemed quite right no matter how much you kissed him and told him how much you adored him and his features. You knew love couldn’t fix mental illness but you thought you’d try and at least lessen his pain.

So you payed more attention to him, we’re patient with him, and helped him practice good habits so he could feel better. Things weren’t always perfect, but more importantly, you knew you loved him and that he adored you.

So really, meeting this dysfunctional man desperate for love, had been the best thing that could have happened to you right now

#arthur fleck joker #arthur fleck imagine #arthur fleck #joker fanfiction #joker imagine #joker2019 #arthur fleck x you #arthur fleck x reader

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spidermecc · 6 years ago

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Unintentional love (Elu fake dating AU) Ch. 5 - Not so brave

Chapter 5 is up, it was an absolute bitch to write, but I actually think it turned out pretty good. I appreciate all the messages, feedback and comments I get, and it literally keeps me going and gives me motivation, so please feel free to send me some of that! Find it on AO3 here.

The next two days went by too slow. It was like time had decided to be a bitch and drag everything out as much as possible. Even the nights were slow. Sleeping was hard and all Lucas could do was stare at the ceiling or look through Instagram and Facebook for the hundredth time, going through the same boring posts from the same boring people.

All he wanted to do was talk to Eliott. There was something about the boy, who sat alone at the library drawing raccoons like an actual dork, that made Lucas’ heart flutter. He wasn’t like anyone he’d ever met. He was sweet and beautiful but also the but also the cheekiest guy Lucas had ever met. Just thinking of their conversations and their bantering back and forth, made him blush and bury his face in the covers. Fuck, when did he get so whipped for a guy he barely knew, and definitely didn’t stand a chance with?

It was just past 1am Tuesday night when he heard his phone buzz.

@curtisno1: Hey, remember me?

To be honest, Lucas didn’t remember much from Friday, but he remembered the basics. He’d screwed up by getting drunk and accidentally telling some stranger, Curtis, that his relationship with Eliott was fake. Lucas sighed as he typed in a reply.

@lucallemant: How could I forget, you almost poisoned me with all those shots!

If Lucas was being honest, he found it pretty weird that this guy was texting him in the middle of the night. But still, he was curious. As far as he remembered, the guy knew Idris and apparently Eliott as well. So what if Lucas wanted to get some intel on Eliott, after all, he was his pretend boyfriend, right?

@curtisno1: Haha, sorry about that, how was I supposed to know you’re such a lightweight?

Damn this guy had no chill huh? Lucas puffed, offended. He definitely wasn’t a lightweight, but beer, weed and shots were bound to be a really shitty combination, right?

@lucallemant: Rude..

@curtisno1: Sorry haha. So you’re still up for that date you promised me?

Shit, it all came back now. He’d said yes to a date with this guy. But to be fair, Lucas had been pretty sure that the guy was just fucking around, he hadn’t actually thought that he would follow up. What was he supposed to say now? He couldn’t just go on a date with some random guy, when everyone thought he was dating Eliott. Curtis was cute and all but, Lucas had no real interest in going out with him. He was too busy dreaming about Eliott twenty-four-seven.

@lucallemant: Uhm, not sure, I mean everyone thinks I’m dating Eliott, so that would be pretty weird, you know?

Smooth Lucas, see? This way, he wasn’t flat out rejecting Curtis, and going back on their deal, but he was still finding a way to get out of it. He could be really smart when he wanted to. He almost patted himself on the shoulder, when his phone buzzed again.

@curtisno1: That’s cool, I’ll just wait until your little show is over, I don’t mind! Just let me know, yeah?

Fuck, okay so maybe he wasn’t as smooth as he’d thought he was. And what was he supposed to answer, other than..

@lucallemant: Sure __

“What are you guys doing later, wanna hang out and play some FIFA?” Yann asked, shoveling an obscure looking rice dish into his mouth.

It was finally Wednesday, and Lucas had been a shell of himself all day. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been so excited, yet nervous, at the same time. He and Eliott had agreed to meet up at Eliott’s place around 4pm, giving Lucas time to go home and take a shower after school.

“I can’t today, I’m hanging out with Eliott” he said, poking his rice dish. The cafeteria food had always grossed him out. They always mixed the weirdest ingredients. Today’s dish was actually rice with pear, mint and cinnamon. Who the hell thought it would be a good idea to mix rice and cinnamon unless they were making rice pudding?

“Really?!” Arthur beamed, looking at Lucas like a proud mother hen. “You could invite him as well? It would give us a chance to get to know him better, we didn’t talk that much on Friday” he continued, looking expectantly at Lucas. Lucas looked over at Yann and Basile, who were both nodding their heads like crazy. Even though Lucas had been looking forward to spending time alone with Eliott, he couldn’t get himself to say no to them, he already felt terrible for lying, so his conscience got the better of him.

“Yeah sure, I’ll ask him” he said, trying not to sound as disappointed as he felt, while pulling out his phone.

Lucas: Hey, is it cool if we hang out with the boys later instead of going to yours? They’re really keen on getting to know you some more.

Eliott: Oh, yeah sure! Just text me the time and place.

Lucas sighed as he put his phone back in his pocket “he’s game. We’ll be there”.

“Cool” Yann exclaimed “meet up at my place at 4pm?”

“Sure” he answered, grabbing his tray, with his untouched lunch “see you then”. __

“Hey Eliott, Lucas never told us when you guys met” Arthur said out of the blue, looking curiously at both of them.

They’d arrived at Yann’s half an hour ago, playing video games and chatting, Eliott immediately getting comfortable with the guys, joking and talking, while collectively kicking their asses in FIFA, which made Lucas crack a secret smile. Yann was probably the worst loser Lucas knew, but he didn’t seem to mind that much when he was losing to Eliott. The Eliott effect, Lucas thought for the second time this week. He’d retrieved himself to the corner, mainly observing the guys and Eliott interacting, not having exchanged more than a quick greeting with him, which the boys hadn’t seemed to notice.

Shit, Lucas hadn’t thought of this. What was their cover story? He couldn’t tell them that they’d met at the foyer meeting, because as far as he remembered, he’d told that guys that he’d seen him a few times before that Friday. But Lucas didn’t have time to start spiraling and panicking for long, because Eliott answered quickly, without hesitation.

“I actually saw Lucas on the very first day of school” he said, locking eyes with a shook Lucas “I just didn’t have the guts to speak to him before a while ago”.

Okay so Lucas had already established that Eliott was a pretty good actor, but this? This was just too fast, too well-thought out, to be a lie right? Could it be true that Eliott had seen him on his first day? If so, that must mean that he’d noticed Lucas, really noticed him. Just like Lucas had noticed Eliott at that foyer meeting. His heart was racing, and he was pretty sure he was blushing down to his toes. The thought of Eliott seeing him on his first day, made him shiver. The belief that maybe, just maybe, Eliott had also felt what Lucas had felt when he first saw him, that undeniable attraction, unable to look away, made his heart race as well as scaring the shit out of him. As much as he wanted to, he couldn’t get himself to look at Eliott’s. He was a coward, so what of it?

“Holy shit, really?” Arthur said, putting down his controller and focusing completely on Eliott now, “that’s so fucking romantic dude”.

Eliott shrugged, giving Arthur a shy smile.

“It’s what our Lulu deserves” Yann chimed in, looking fondly at Eliott, then Lucas, who was still looking anywhere but at Eliott.

“But Lucas, you didn’t see Eliott back then did you? You never mentioned anything?” Basile asked, looking utterly confused.

“No, I didn’t” Lucas muttered, scared that if attempted to say more, butterflies would start swarming from his stomach and out of his mouth.

“But I saw him.. I only saw him actually” Eliott finished, still not taking his eyes off Lucas, whose continuous blush hadn’t gone unnoticed.

“Putain, I hope I meet someone like you some day” Arthur said, looking absolutely in awe of Eliott.

Be brave, Lucas thought to himself as he forced his gaze to catch Eliott’s, and what he met almost gave him a heart attack. Eliott’s eyes had darkened, he was staring so intensely at Lucas, that he was scared he might disappear underneath his gaze. He wasn’t sure what his eyes were trying to convey; lust, admiration, love?... Okay he really needed to snap out of it, this wasn’t happening, Eliott was just making up some shit to help out Lucas, yet again, just like he had done at that bus stop. Eliott was quick on his feet, that’s all it was.

“Anyways, are you ready for me to kick your ass Arthur” Lucas said reaching for the controller, desperate to get away from Eliott’s haunting gaze. ____

“Okay Eliott, hear me out here” Basile said suddenly, forcing Eliott out of his staring competition with Lucas. It was like they had a silent agreement to stare at each other all night, without ever talking. Not that they got the chance, with the boys constantly asking him personal questions from what his favorite color was (which was blue, Lucas noted) to what kind of hair products he used. They’d been eating pizza and playing videogames for almost two hours now. Lucas didn’t understand how none of them seemed to get tired of playing the same game over and over again, they were all, Eliott included, like fucking machines, taking turns at playing, only stopping to take a bite of their slices.

“Mhm” Eliott said absently, still locking eyes with Lucas.

“What if, I told people that you and I used to date? Like, that we got real freaky, you know? That would score me so many points with the ladies, I’m fucking sure of it” Basile continued, looking very pleased with his newly found idea.

Lucas snapped his head up. That sounded dangerously close to what he was currently doing, lying about being with Eliott.

“Don’t be a fucking dumbass Basile, just each your pizza and shut up” he said, trying to end this conversation before Basile began escalating, as he usually did when he had a dumb idea.

Eliott chuckled as he took another bite of his pizza, finally tearing his eyes away from Lucas, “you know I’d totally let you man, but then you’d have to explain how Lucas stole your ex-boyfriend, and I think it would get pretty messy, yeah?”

“Shit you’re right, I didn’t think of that. You’re so smart man” he replied, patting Eliott on the head as if he was a small child.

“Basile stop touching his fucking hair with your greasy fingers” Lucas all but yelled at Basile, getting riled up. This wasn’t how this night was supposed to go. He was supposed to be alone with Eliott, he was supposed to be the one asking him what his favorite colour was.

Lucas couldn’t wait to leave. Being in Yann’s apartment with his best friends and his fake boyfriend was proving to be too much for him. One minute he wanted to come clean and tell the guys that it was all fake and how sorry he was, the next he wanted to kiss Eliott, you know, just to make it more believable, nothing else. Also he desperately needed to go home and process what Eliott had said earlier, his last two brain cells were really working on overdrive here.

“Geez, calm down pissy pants. I won’t steal your man, don’t worry” Basile cried out, pulling his hand away from Eliott, who didn’t seem to mind, but was now watching Lucas closely, having noticed the shift in Lucas’ mood. Eliott wasn’t the only one who’d noticed.

“As if that would ever happen Basile, keep dreaming” Yann said, trying to lighten the mood. “Hey Lucas, we’re out of beers, maybe you and Eliott could go down to the supermarket to buy some?” he said, trying, and succeeding in being a fucking amazing friend as usual. He must have thought that Lucas was on edge because he wanted to be alone with Eliott, which, yeah he did, but that wasn’t the only reason.

“Oh could you get me one of those dark root beers, please” Arthur looked at Lucas with his adorable puppy eyes, which he knew Lucas wouldn’t be able to resist.

“They’re so fucking expensive, why have you got to be so extra” Lucas said, as he got up, and winked at Arthur whom returned the wink with his signature smile, which meant he knew he’d already persuaded him. ___

As Eliott and Lucas walked towards the supermarket, Lucas finally said “so the guys seem to like you.. a lot”, trying not to sound bitter.

He was really happy that Eliott got along with the guys, they were practically like family to him. But he didn’t quite know how to deal with it when they inevitably found out the truth, that not only Lucas, but Eliott as well, had been lying to them. It would break their hearts; they had really taken a liking to Eliott.

“Yeah they’re really great” Eliott said, not sounding all that excited as he pulled a leaf from a near-by bush and began to tear it apart, scattering the pieces on the ground.

“I think they’re having fun, how about you?” Lucas continued, not sure of what to say.

“Yeah it’s fine” Eliott answered, focusing very hard on the leaf in his hand.

“You don’t like the boys?” Lucas asked nervously. Was he starting to have second thoughts about their arrangement? Was the lying getting to him as well? Lucas was spiraling again, but not for long, as Eliott reigned him back in.

“No no! It’s not that! They’re great” he answered frantically.

“Then what?”

“Honestly?” he asked, looking at Lucas for the first time since they’d left the apartment.

“Yeah, honestly”

“I was uh- I was just.. you know- looking forward to spending time with you… alone” he trailed off, not leaving Lucas’ gaze.

Lucas was pretty sure his heart had stopped beating a while ago, and he had died and gone to heaven. Eliott wanting to spend time with him alone? Sounded fake, but okay. Was that really why he’d been so weird with Lucas all day? Because he was disappointed that they weren’t spending time alone? Lucas felt like tap dancing, singing and burying himself underground at the same time, all of his emotions rushing to the surface, threatening to overflow. Not knowing what to say, scared that he might say or do something he’d regret if he kept looking at Eliott, he turned around on his heels and started walking in the other direction.

“Where are you going?” Eliott asked confused “the supermarket is that way” he said pointing at the opposite direction of where Lucas was heading.

“I know where the supermarket is” he said rolling his eyes “but we’re not going there” a smile forming on his lips.

Eliott’s lips curled into a smile as he started following Lucas.

After walking for fifteen minutes they arrived at a park. Lucas sat down on one of the swings, gesturing Eliott to sit down on the other one. He knew this park like the back of his hand. How many times had he sat on this exact swing? There was no use in trying to count it, it had been his refugee for years, as long as he could remember.

“This is my favorite place in the city you know?” Lucas said, a smile forming on his lips.

“Yeah?” the taller one answered, willing Lucas to continue.

“Yeah.. I used to come here when I was younger. Whenever my parents were arguing, which was a lot towards the end, I’d come here, sit on this swing and imagine what the Lucas’ in parallel universes were doing in that exact moment. I’d make up so many stories in my head”. He started blushing. He’d never told anyone that before, he’d never brought anyone to this place, his safe place, before. But something about Eliott, his honesty and genuineness made Lucas want to share this place, share a piece of himself with him.

“Parallel universes?” Eliott asked, lifting his eyebrow with a coy smile.

“Yeah” Lucas said, a blush beginning to spread “whenever I have a choice to make, I always imagine that the other Lucas’ in parallel universes made other choices” he continues, looking at Eliott, who nods as an encouragement for Lucas to proceed. “That way, I get less anxious of whether or not I’ve made the right choice, because even if I didn’t make the right choice, there are other Lucas’ that did.”

They sat in silence for what might have been seconds, minutes or hours, Lucas wasn’t quite sure. Eliott looked lost deep in thought, and it felt like Lucas was intruding on a very private moment, when he finally said “what do you think?” desperate to know what Eliott thought of his theory.

The parallel universes had been a part of Lucas’ life ever since he could remember, he never shared it with anyone, afraid they might laugh or brush it off, but something about the earnesty of Eliott made him say things he’d never thought he’d share with anyone.

“So, do you think that there are any of the Lucas’ and Eliotts in the parallel universe, that are in a real relationship right now?” Eliott asked with a curious look, as if he hadn’t just stopped Lucas’ heart mid-sentence.

“I-uhm.. uh- maybe” Lucas stammered, shook by Eliott’s blunt question. Eliott chuckled at Lucas obvious discomfort, as he got up and positioned behind him, gently nudging the swing Lucas was sat on.

Lucas had probably sat in this exact spot a hundred times. Sometimes he would just sit there for hours, not moving, other times he’d swing a little bit and try to enjoy it. But in all honestly he felt more alone when he was actually swinging, than when he just sat there, not moving. There was something too miserable about swinging on your own in an empty park.

Eliott started to pick up the pace and was now full on pushing Lucas’ swing, making him go higher and higher, the wind catching his hair, and a giant smile forming on his lips. It felt so intimate.. So natural. Lucas started laughing for real now, as Eliott was pushing him, making the swing go really high “I hope you’re not afraid of heights” the taller one almost yelled, the laugh evident in his voice.

Lucas turned his head and yelled back, mid-air, “Me afraid? Pas peur”. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt so alive, so free. No worries, no nothing, just the wind in his hair and Eliott, it was absolute bliss.

Finally, Eliott grabbed the handles of the swing and brought it to a holt, still hovering over Lucas, pressing his chest to the shorter boy’s back. “Pas peur?” Eliott whispered, he was so close to Lucas right now. He was painfully aware of Eliott’s heartbeat, thudding on his back, and it felt like his entire body was about to catch fire.

“Pas peur” Lucas whispered, closing his eyes, glad that Eliott couldn’t see his face.

Eliott chuckled, still holding the handles, still standing behind Lucas. Even though Lucas couldn’t actually see Eliott’s face, his smile had burned itself into his memory, he imagined what Eliott looked like right now, beautiful as always, he thought to himself.

Pas peur, Lucas thought to himself as he mustered up the courage to ask the question he’d been dying to ask all night.

“Did you mean what you said earlier” he finally asked nervously, fiddling with the sleeve of his jacket, thanking the Gods that he had his back to Eliott.

“What did I say?” Eliott answered, well-aware of what Lucas was talking about, but unable to stop himself from torturing Lucas a little bit.

“About uhm- seeing me.. on the first day?” he could still feel Eliott’s presence behind him and instead of making his head spin as it had been doing up until now, it made him feel weirdly grounded, like his simple presence and touch was all it took for Lucas to be brave.

“You don’t get it, do you Lucas?” Eliott sighed, the frustration in his voice painfully evident.

“Get what?” he asked genuinely puzzled.

Eliott didn’t answer him right away. He slowly started pulling Lucas closer by the handles of the swing, Lucas hadn’t thought it was possible to get closer than they already were. Suddenly he felt the taller boy’s chin resting on top of his head. Lucas was pretty sure that if Eliott hadn’t been standing behind him, he’d have fallen off the swing, given that his entire body felt like jell-o at the moment. He could feel the boy’s breath on his head, causing his hair to move slightly every time Eliott exhaled.

But he was brave, Eliott made him brave. So he slowly, but surely tipped his head backwards until it was resting on Eliott’s chest. To any outsider they must have looked like two people madly in love. He felt Eliott’s body starting to relax, digging his chin deeper into Lucas’ scalp. Their bodies were melting together, they weren’t Eliott and Lucas anymore, they were one.

Lucas could feel Eliott’s heartbeat racing. He was glad that he wasn’t the only one whose heart had decided to say fuck it at just go rouge. The moment was so tender, like nothing Lucas had ever experienced before. For a moment, he let himself believe that his feelings, which he couldn’t deny anymore, were reciprocated. This thing with Eliott didn’t feel platonic anymore. This position they were in right now, wasn’t just two boys helping each other out, right? He couldn’t be imagining all of this could he? Gosh, his brain was going a hundred miles per hour, one thought replaced by a new one, every second, waiting for Eliott to say something.

“I don’t want-“ Eliott finally began, as he was interrupted by Lucas phone ringing. The volume was turned up so high that it startled both of them, making Lucas jump and crash his head up, smashing Eliott’s jaw shut. The sound was inhuman, and Lucas momentarily thought he’d actually fucking broken the boy’s jaw. He got up quickly and turned around, facing him.

“Shit, are you okay? Fuck I didn’t mean to do that” he said frantically, searching Eliott’s eyes for any indication of how badly he was injured. His head hurt a bit from the collision with Eliott’s chin, but he didn’t care.

Eliott simply stroked his chin a bit and grinned “it’s fine Lucas, I’m fine”, but by the looks of his face he wasn’t completely fine, Lucas thought.

“You should probably get that” he gestured towards the phone in Lucas’ pocket where the Peaky Blinders theme song, which he’d thought was a great idea to have as a ringtone at the time, was still playing. Now that song would forever be ruined for him, damn, thanks universe.

“Right” he muttered as he dug out his phone from his pocket.

“Dude where the fuck are you? It’s like Sahara here, we need fluids, and by fluids I mean beer” Basile was crying into the phone.

Fuck, Lucas had completely forgotten that they were supposed to go to the supermarket. He noticed that the sun was beginning to set. How long had they been at the park? It had only felt like minutes, but he was pretty sure it had been a lot longer than that, judging from Basile’s tone.

“Yeah uhm, the supermarket next to Yann was closed so we had to go to the next one” he said, surprised by his ability to make that up on the spot, “we’ll be back in twenty minutes” he finished as he hung up and looked up at Eliott, who was still standing in the same spot as before.

“So.. uh- we should- uhm, we should probably go” Lucas said unwillingly, hoping that his disappointment wasn’t too evident.

“Right” Eliott said, a tiny smile playing on his lips, as he started walking, motioning for Lucas to join him.

Lucas was itching to hear what Eliott had been about to say before they were interrupted by Basile, but the moment had passed, and he wasn’t that brave, that he was going to ask again. Pas peur my ass, he thought as he followed Eliott out of the park.

#elu fic #elu #skam france #skamfr #eliott demaury #lucas lallemant #lucas x eliott #eliott x lucas #fanfic #unintentional love #elu fake dating

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klbwriting · 6 years ago

Text

Combining Two Worlds

Chapter 1: Years Have Passed

Fandom: DCEU

Pairing: Orm x female!Reader

Warnings: none

Summary: A new royal family has appeared in Atlantis, claiming that they were banished due to Orvax trying to keep them from rightfully competing for the throne. Now they've returned on the eve of Orm and Y/N's wedding and are trying to ruin everything

Notes: Man I was going to wait but I couldn’t! Here’s the sequel to ‘Center of Two Worlds’ so if you haven’t read that I recommend it: Center of Two Worlds

Tags: @bookdragoneve @scuzmunkie @fangsweetpea @dulcerdzx @downsideright @aggie-the-poet @weakling-grace @singe666 @readytocomply15 @btheapsc @anxiety-station @whimsicalragnarok @kings-never-die @burningechoes

(I’ve run out of GIFs, I’ll pick one later)

"Arthur that child is a maniac," Orm said as 4-year-old Tom Curry chased his uncle around the throne room quickly, trying to catch him and poke him with the mini trident in his hands. Mera laughed as she caught up with her and son and pulled him close. Orm let out a breath and moved to sit back down on the pew beside the throne. He had been moping and pouting recently, missing Y/N more than normal since she had been gone from Atlantis for months now, helping her mother find a new house and move in, which apparently took time on the surface and he had been busy here with the arrival of an old family that had arrived in Atlantis, claiming to be of royal blood. Orm barely remembered this family but knew his father had found a mysterious power to banish those he truly hated to a worse place than the Trench and apparently that's what happened to these people.

They had arrived and declared peace with the new king, introducing themselves as Hestia, Syfin, their son Ludo and daughter Lydia. Immediately Atlanna was suspicious, remembering the family and their dubious ways of trying to take the throne. Orvax had banished them when Orm was two because Syfin had tried to drug her and kidnap her while Hestia was going to kill Orm in his crib. Arthur heeded his mother's warnings and made sure that the family was confined to their quarters at all times and only allowed to meals with the royal family and their guards. The son had made some mildly threatening statements to Arthur which he just laughed about since the boy was only sixteen and not even fully grown, but Arthur made sure to keep Tom away from him just in case. The daughter, seeing that Arthur was married and a father had turned her sights on Orm as if she would seduce her way onto a throne which Orm didn't even want anymore. He was happy as vizier and he wasn't going to be stupid and let anything come between him and Y/N so every time this woman would try to insert herself into his life he would leave the situation. This family irked him and being away from Y/N irked him more and he was officially cranky.

"Why don't you just go see her baby bro?" Arthur asked. Orm sighed. "Everyone knows you hate the surface but she misses you and you know it."

"She's busy and when I'm there she never has time," he muttered, folding his arms. Mera sighed.

"You are acting like a child, go visit your fiancé, I'm sure she is wondering where you've been," she said firmly. Orm frowned but got up to leave. Mera's mom voice freaked him out and he really didn't want to hear more of it so he would listen to them and head to the surface, get away from here and that other family. He left that evening, arriving on the beach near Janet's new home just after dark settled. He knocked on the door of the house and waited. Y/N opened the door and smiled for a second before giving him an annoyed look.

"Um, hi," he said, already not liking this look. Was he going to just spend this day getting yelled at?

"Where have you been? It has been months, how busy is Arthur keeping you?" she demanded, moving aside to let him. He walked in and she handed him a towel that she kept by the door for when he showed up. He dried off his hair, hoping the messy look would soften her up and he saw from the look in her eyes that it worked for a moment before she looked annoyed again. She turned and stormed upstairs and he looked over at the living area where Janet smiled and waved as he stood there. "Are you coming fishboy?" Y/N yelled down the stairs and he hurried up to her room. She already had clothes out for him to change into. "They've been there for a couple weeks now." He looked down at them and felt a pang of guilt in his chest. He had been selfish really. She was busy helping her mother after her father was killed by Manta and he was just wanting her attention all the time instead of letting her take time for her family. He changed clothes as she sat on the bed waiting for him.

"I'm sorry," he said. He sat next to her, taking her hand. "I've been being selfish, I was busy in Atlantis but that doesn't mean I shouldn't have come see you. I've stayed away because I felt like I wasn't getting any attention when I was here." She nodded, still feeling annoyed but softening. "Also, there's this family who showed up, claiming to be of royal blood and their daughter is the worst person to deal with."

"Daughter?" Y/N said, turning slowly to look at him. He nodded.

"She seems to be trying to get me to marry her so she can somehow get to the throne," he said. He noticed the look on her face. "I have avoided her at every possible chance, I won't even sit near her during meals. I'm not jeopardizing my time with you. I've almost lost you countless times to outside threats, I'm not going to destroy what I have with you myself." Y/N smiled at him finally.

"You love me a little bit don't you?" she said, finally moving close to him, leaning to his chest, wrapping an arm around his body. He kissed her head and smiled, taking in her scent.

"I love you a lot," he said. "Do you still love me?" he asked, touching the pearl necklace around her neck. She looked up at him and smirked.

"Why don't you read my mind and tell me?" she teased and Orm sighed. He was never going to live that down. He had thought humans could read each other's minds and made the mistake of asking Arthur about it. Now he was constantly teased by both Arthur and Y/N about it. "Of course I love you Orm, we're going back to Atlantis tomorrow to plan the wedding right?"

"Tomorrow?" he asked. She looked confused.

"Last time you were here you said when you saw me next we would be going back quick to start planning," she said. Orm blushed.

"I was just being an ass, trying to rile you up and give me attention," he admitted. Y/N looked surprised.

"So we're not going to get married soon?" she asked, looking a little hurt. Orm shook his head.

"No, no, we're going to go back and we will plan the wedding, I just don't want you to start before you're ready, I'll wait for you, always," he said, taking her face in his hands. She nodded and kissed him deeply, finally giving in to the urge and running her hands through his hair. He had grown it out a little bit and it was the perfect length now to be pulled just a little and every time she did it it drove him crazy. She did it now and he moaned, kissing her with more heat. She pulled back and panted, looking up at him. "Sorry, I know, not in your mom's house, it's weird." She nodded.

"Sorry...just, your hair is so tempting and you look so good naked," she said. He smirked.

"Sneaking peeks of me when I'm changing?" he asked. She shrugged with a smirk. "I do want you, I've missed you so much, in every way possible. You have no idea how gorgeous you look right now and after not seeing you or being near you all I want to be is close to you."

"I feel the same," she said. "Ok, maybe just this once." She kissed him back and soon they were entangled in each other.

Y/N kissed Orm's chest as they lay in bed after, smiling.

"This may sound weird but I like sex on the surface better than Atlantis...the smell and feel of you after is wonderful," she said. Orm chuckled some.

"I actually agree with you," he said. Y/N looked at him surprised.

"Something is actually better on the surface? I'm going to tell Arthur," she teased. Orm laughed and tickled her sides. "Ok...Ok...Ok I won't." He smiled and kissed her head softly. "So when we get back, can I meet this girl who's trying to steal my man?" she asked.

"Maybe, they're not allowed out of their quarters except for meals and we don't always eat with them," he said.

"Ok, but can we really start planning our wedding down there?" she asked. On the surface they were already married but Orm didn't really take that seriously, they only did it so her mother could throw them a party and it made her happy. The real wedding would be in Atlantis and he had even made sure that her mother would be there using new technology he had commissioned for humans to be able to stay in Atlantis.

"Yes," he said. "Let's go to sleep, in the morning we'll get going." He glanced down when Y/N remained quiet and saw her already asleep on his chest.

#king orm #king orm x reader #kingorm #kingormxreader #orm marius #orm marius x reader #ormmariusxreader #ormmarius #ormmariusoneshot #ormseries2

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sandalwoodhusbands · 6 years ago

Text

for him.

Lucas posts music covers on youtube and there’s a guy who keeps sending him the most original photos he’s ever seen.

(also on ao3) // previous

A year and a half later

Way Down We Go // Kaleo (Cover) – by turnupthelucas

lucasxlallemant21:

Oh my god so fucking goooood! Your voice keeps getting better and better <3

+ turnupthelucas: thank you!

elio0oliverr:

that wink at the end??? ended the world’s problems

lallemantstan:

my wig is on the floor, my skin is clean and my ears cry with glee

harrysdimple:

Mr. Lucas Lallemant really out there changing the music industry uh

ghostlypitch:

When are we going to get original content?

+ turnupthelucas: soon ;)

+ lustiel: OHMYF GOD CHRISTIE ALSFNEGEJK

+ malectrash: JE SUIS DEAD

(View other 5097 responses)

slipperysnow:

we need more videos with lucas playing the guitar. so hot

Lucas locks his phone, smiling to himself.

It all started as a joke, as most things do. In the beginning, it had just been him and Yann, a viral shitty 15second recording and a guitar.

Yann had been messing around with some strumming patterns on Lucas’ bed, playing some famous tunes at random.

Lucas had been unaware of the phone against the headboard filming him spin around the room with his desk chair, so when he heard the first notes of the acoustic version of Break up with your girlfriend, I’m bored, he didn’t hesitate to belt out the lyrics like there was no tomorrow.

Yann had posted it on his Instagram story without Lucas knowing.

When Lucas logged on his own Instagram account a couple hours later, he felt very confused at the rising number of followers and odd requests to ‘post more videos’ he got, to say the least.

He hadn’t really thought about his voice before that day, but he had to admit the clip sounded pretty fucking good. So he said to himself, why not? - worst case scenario, the video is a complete flop and his friends mock him for a week.

Needless to say, it was the furthest thing from a flop. In the span of a month his first ‘official’ video hit 700k views on YouTube, and so many people begged for more covers in the comment section that he filmed another one. And then another one. And then, well - then he never really stopped.

Which brings him to this day. With over 300k followers on Instagram and more than a couple of millions views on YouTube, he is one of the most popular artists in France at the moment.

He has viewers all over the globe, people send him letters (and the occasional gift) almost daily, and he's sometimes recognized when he goes out for drinks with the gang.

He’s living his best life, basically.

“Lucas” Yann groans from the sit next to him. “Can you please concentrate on the screen?”

Lucas lifts his head up and looks at the tv screen just in time to witness a geared up man appear out of nowhere, shooting his character in the head.

“Oops.”

The game’s menu glares at him in colors of red and black as Yann chucks the controller at his stomach half heartedly.

Lucas grins at him sheepishly, scratching his head.

“C’mon, restart the game. No distractions this time, I promise.”

His best friend raises an eyebrow.

“If I catch you looking at your phone even once,” Lucas raises his hands in mock surrender. “I swear I will choke you with my own hands. And not in the kinky way.”

Lucas snorts, putting his phone down on the table. He readjusts himself on the sofa, back pressed against the cushions, and sits with his feet tucked under his legs.

“Okay, I’m ready.” He clasps his hands together. “Press play.”

The sound of Yann pressing the controller’s button and Lucas’ phone going off intertwine in time.

“Really?” Yann complains as he pauses the game.

Lucas shrugs apologetically, bending forwards to check his phone.

He turned every channel - related notifications off after almost going crazy one afternoon with the constant pinging, so now his phone only notifies him when a friends texts him.

If they got interrupted by Basile pestering him again about getting them into that party next Friday, Lucas is going to kill him.

He runs the pad of his index finger over the back of his phone, unlocking it. His eyebrows shoot up in confusion when an Instagram notification pops up.

Who communicates through direct messages with their friends when you can use whatsapp?

He slides down the notifications bar, frowning when he reads the username.

“Uh”

“Is it Baz?” Yann questions from the kitchen, sticking his head in the door. “If he’s asking about the party again, tell him to go buy the tickets himself.”

“Eh, not exactly?” Lucas trails off, his confused tone making it sound like a question.

Yann walks back into the room with a sandwich in his hand and a bottle of water. Despite his confusion, Lucas gives him an unimpressed look.

Yann shrugs.

“Who is it, then?”

Lucas proceeds to show him the screen in silence.

@srodulv shared a picture with you

“Okay.” Yann looks at Lucas with an equally puzzled expression. “Who the hell is this ‘sroduluv’ person, or whatever?”

“I… don't know.”

“But you're following them.” Yann states.

“Yes.”

“And they sent you a picture.”

“Apparently?” Lucas asks in a high pitched voice, throwing his hands up in the air. “Shit, I don't know!”

That's all it takes for Yann to burst out laughing, falling on the couch and rolling over himself as he tries to control his chuckles.

“What's so funny?” Lucas whines.

“Bet you 10 bucks it’s another dick pic.” Yann laughs, looking at Lucas pointedly.

Lucas blushes profusely at the reminder, tucking his chin on his neck. It’s been known to happen, alright. He can't help that he looks like a twink most of the time - Yann says it's the hair. Arthur argues that it's his mouth.

Anyway.

“That happened once.” Lucas retorts. “Maybe twice.”

Yann looks at him with a face that has whatever helps you sleep at night, buddy written all over it. So maybe it's happened more times than he’d care to admit.

“So? Open it!” Yann urges Lucas, nudging him when the latter just stays still.

Lucas braces himself and taps on the notification.

He opens the picture.

“Wait,” He blurts out. “What?”

“Is it a dick pic?” Yann asks curiously. When Lucas only blinks, he gasps. “Is it worse?”

Lucas blinks again, half expecting to see the picture before his eyes turn into an actual dick pic. When he opens his eyes again, the picture is still there, looking exactly like it did seconds ago.

He passes the phone wordlessly to Yann.

“What the- is that a fucking dog lying on an inflatable popsicle pool toy?” Yann laughs incredulously. “Holy shit. That’s what I call a plot twist.”

“Who the hell is this person and why are they sending me dog pics? What is going on?”

“I have absolutely no idea,” Yann says distractedly, still looking at the screen in wonder. “but you have to marry them.”

“What the fuck, Yann?”

“They sent you a picture of a bulldog laying around a pool, Lucas. That's the epitome of true romance.”

“We don't know who it is. We don't even know if it’s a dude.” Lucas hisses. “For all we know, they could be a serial killer trying to lure handsome young men with pictures of insanely cute puppies.”

“It is a cute puppy.” Yann concedes. “But you can, and call me crazy here, maybe look at their profile? Just a suggestion, though.”

Lucas withdraws his phone from between Yann’s hands immediately, tapping on this mysterious person’s profile with no hesitation.

And, holy shit. He definitely remembers now, alright.

It’s the guy . The one with the soft hair and sparkling eyes.

His eyes land on a recent picture - it’s in black and white. He’s supporting his head with his hand as he looks at the lenses with captivating eyes. He has a bit of stubble, and the black sweater he’s wearing makes him look so cozy, and Lucas wants to die.

“I definitely need to marry him.” Lucas murmurs dazzled, his heart going fast against his ribcage, as he scrolls through the guy’s posts. His lips actually tingle with how bad he wants to brush his mouth against those cheekbones.

Lucas hadn't even noticed he had followed him back.

His eyes find his bio again, and he's surprised it's still the same one from a year ago. Model. Then, another detail catches his eye, and his breath hitches. Eliott.

Eliott.

That’s his name. It fits him perfectly, Lucas thinks.

“I’m guessing he’s hot, then?” Yann snorts from the other side of the couch. Lucas had kind of forgotten he was still there, to be honest.

He looks up from his phone.

“He’s gorgeous.”

Yann smirks with knowing eyes.

“Are you going to answer him?” He asks innocently. As if he doesn't know already, the bastard.

Lucas doesn't dignify him with an answer. Instead, he looks back at his phone, fingers looming over the keyboard as he thinks of a good answer.

In the end, he settles with a simple text.

@lucallemant

hi? haha

He waits for a beat, then two, and tries not to feel disappointed when he doesn't get a text back.

He’s probably busy, he tells himself, or maybe he's sleeping? Lucas doesn't even know where he's from. He might be living in fucking California, for all he knows - although he really hopes that's not the case.

Noting his distress, Yann takes the phone from his grip and turns the volume off, tossing it to the other couch. He puts the controller in Lucas’ hands and squeezes his shoulder.

“C’mon. It's best friend quality time.” Yann gives him a gentle smile. “I demand attention now.”

Lucas bursts into a laugh - just like that, he forgets all about his phone and possible unanswered texts.

***

The hours fly by, and before he knows it, Lucas is saying goodbye to a freshly - beaten, grumpy Yann.

“I totally kicked your ass.” Lucas brags as they walk to the door.

“I totally let you win.” Yann fires back.

“You wish.” Lucas laughs before pulling Yann into a half-hug, patting him on the back. “See you tomorrow, dude.”

“Tomorrow.” Yann salutes and flashes him a smile, closing the door.

Lucas shakes his head, still smiling, and makes his way to the couch. His bed for the last few months, actually. It's a long story.

He sprawls himself on the sofa with his hands under his head, sighing. He should go shower.

He smells himself discreetly, pleased when he doesn't get the need to fill his nostrils with soap. He’ll shower tomorrow, then.

He’s starting to relax when his eyes land on his phone, still discarded on the other couch, and he swears. He'd completely forgotten about it.

With his heart in his throat, he pushes himself forward as he reaches for the phone.

It’s just a guy. I didn't even really know of his existence before today. He tells himself like a mantra. So what if he doesn't answer back? There's plenty more guys out there. Although maybe not as beautiful, or mesmerizing, or - okay, not helping.

He breaths through his nose before unlocking his phone.

A little sound leaves his mouth.

@srodulv

Hello :)

Okay. So they're really doing this, then. Cool. Totally cool. He's so not freaking out right now.

He types out an answer.

@lucallemantj

what's up with the dog pic?

He locks the phone again, holding it against his chest as he wills his heart to calm down. This time, he doesn't have to wait a second before his phone pings again.

@srodulv

With all the messages you must get, I though I should try to make an impression haha

Did it work?

So the guy isn't afraid to double text, then? Interesting.

@lucallemant

it definitely left an impression alright

@srodulv

A good one, I hope?

Lucas grins. He turns off the lights and gets himself comfortable on the couch, getting rid of the t-shirt he’s wearing.

It’s July, and he’s in the heart of Paris. Also, despite the good views this apartment might have, the air system would do with some fixing.

@lucallemant

sure :)

@srodulv

I’m Eliott

@lucallemant

i know

@srodulv

@lucallemant

it says on your profile

@srodulv

That makes sense haha

Lucas flushes. He can't believe he went with the ‘I know’ trope. He groans internally.

Did he fuck up?

@lucallemant

i’m lucas

When Eliott doesn't answer back, Lucas feels his heart fall to the floor. He definitely fucked up.

Fuck. This is why he never gets a date. He's so fucking awkward, God-

@srodulv

I know ;)

Lucas sighs with relief. He didn't fuck up yet, then.

He even sent him a winky face. That's good, right?

@lucallemant

i liked it, btw. the picture

@srodulv

I knew you would

Lucas bites his bottom lip, grinning from ear to ear.

@lucallemant

you did? what else do you know, then?

@srodulv

Hmmm…

Lucas grins even harder. This sounds so much like flirting. Are they flirting? Lucas is trying to, at least.

@srodulv

I know that you are very nice. You like singing, too. And you like guys who send you ridiculous pictures with dogs and pool toys, now.

@lucallemant

a bit pretentious with the last one

@srodulv

Am I wrong?

Lucas blushes. Not at all. He's not going to tell him that yet, though.

@lucallemant

wait you've seen my videos?

@srodulv

A couple of them

If Eliott notices the change of subject, he doesn't comment on it. Lucas is thankful.

@lucallemant

and what did you think?

@srodulv

Oh they're awful

Just kidding. I think you have an amazing voice, actually

@lucallemant

omg thank u

Should he do it?

Fuck it, he's going to do it.

@lucallemant

i’m kinda blushing over here haha

Double texting his crush. Yann would be proud.

@srodulv

Aww shame I can't see it. Where’s over here?

@lucallemant

Paris (:

@srodulv

Cool! I live there, too

Lucas tries not to freak out at the newfound information. He’s not doing a very good job, but he's certainly trying.

His fingers hoover over the keyboard, deciding whether he should type the text or not.

What he wants to say is, maybe we could go out for a drink, then?

What he types in instead, is

@lucallemant

weird we haven't bumped into each other yet lol

@srodulv

Well I’m not in Paris right now, actually

@lucallemant

where are you then??

@srodulv

London, for a job :) I’m staying here for a couple more weeks

What are you studying?

@lucallemant

that must be so cool!! i’ve never been to london, but i want to go so badly

and i’m studying biophysics. sounds boring, i know. and it takes so much time off my daily life i barely have time to post covers. thank god it's summer now

@srodulv

I would love to take you there sometime, then. If you want to

I want to. He wants to scream at his phone. I really fucking want to.

He resists the need to chuck his phone out the window in pure ecstatic.

@srodulv

And that sounds so interesting! Maybe one day you can give me one or two classes on the topic? Damn, you really have everything

@lucallemant

everything? i don't think so lol

@srodulv

You are super cute and nice. You have a killer voice. And now you are really fucking clever, too? That, sir, is having everything as far as I'm concerned

@lucallemant

i’m certainly not cute enough to be a model. Unlike *others*

and who are u calling sir omg I’m 19, not 90

@srodulv

You're a baby :o you would make the cutest baby model

@lucallemant

how old are u??

@srodulv

@lucallemant

what the fuck are you calling me baby for omg you’re literally two years older

@srodulv

Nope, sorry. You’re a baby

A BABY, Lucas

Lucas feels like his heart is going to burst. He doesn’t think he’s smiled for so long in years – maybe ever.

Eliott is doing things to his head. It’s not just that he is, admittedly, really attractive – Lucas won’t lie, it doesn’t hurt -, he’s also charming as hell. He’s making Lucas feel so special right now, and Lucas loves it.

He glances at the clock on his phone from the corner of his eye, mouth hanging open when his brain registers the time.

It's 3 a.m.

Have they really been talking for the past 2 hours?

@lucallemant

it’s 3 a.m. already, what?? how did this happen?

i should go to bed :/

@srodulv

You’re leaving me already? :(

@lucallemant

nooo i will be back, promise

i just have to get up really early tomorrow morning

@srodulv

Promise?

Lucas smiles. He’s so cute.

@lucallemant

i promise

@srodulv

Okay, then :)

Sleep well, Lucas ♡

@lucallemant

goodnight eliott

He debates with himself for a momet before making up his mind. Eliott did it first anyway, technically.

@lucallemant

♡

He locks his phone and leaves it on the table. Rolling himself over, he exhales, hiding his grin against the makeshift pillow.

Sleep comes to him fast, glimpses of smokey grey eyes and bright smiles painting his dreams with vivid colors.

When he wakes up, the sun coming through the big windows shines on his skin comfortably. He feels warm all over with the memories of last night, his dreams still present in his mind.

And when he sees Eliott’s new post, the caption //way down we go// glaring at him through the screen, he convinces himself it’s just a coincidence - despite having posted a cover of the same song less than 24 hours ago, and Eliott admitted he’d seen some of his videos. It’s a coincidence .

Nonetheless, when his friends ask if he forgot grumpy Lucas at home for the 4th time that morning, he just flips them off with a soaring heart.

He's still smiling.

#skam france #elu #elu fic #elu fluff #skamfr #skam fr s3 #skam fr season 3 #lucas x eliott

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moczothe1st · 6 years ago

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Let’s Play Fire Emblem IV: Genealogy of the Holy War, Part 26: The Julius Formerly Known as Prince

Part 25

Welcome back to Fire Emblem IV! Last week we had started our invasion of Grannvale, coming up to it through the southern Miletos district, and in so doing got to smack the crap out of Tinni’s crazy aunt, who unfortunately managed to get away. These things happen. This week, we have to start off by opening the gates that will allow us to proceed north to Miletos itself.

I’m just gonna say, if you guys wanna stop now, I’m down for that. How about we just move in to Hilda’s old torture castle and set up there? Do we really need to beat the Empire?

Yes?

Shit.

Ah, well.

Well, to start, we need to take Rados castle, which is thankfully unoccupied after we killed all its inhabitants last week. It’s cool, they were gross people. Though first, I have Ced grab the village right north of it…

Behind the Times: Not so long ago, from what I hear, Emperor Arvis himself forbade ‘em. What the devil could’ve changed his mind? Please, I’m begging you, you’ve gotta save our children! Here, this magic ring oughta help you out.

Niiiiiiiiiiice. This pushes Ced’s magic above the 30-point cap, leaving him even more of a killing machine that he already is. Dude doesn’t even have a holy weapon, he’s just raw badass. Cairpre also continues his path to minor godhood.

This kid was level one on the last map, and he’s going to be promoted and breaking skulls right along with the rest of the kids next map. I’m so proud of him.

Seliph, take the castle and set the story going, my man!

(Yeah, but he had to be a man named Morrigan, so who really suffered the most?)

Seliph: How could they… how could anyone be so savage…?

Lewyn: And that’s why we’ve got to fight this war to the end, Seliph. This is something you’ve got to understand.

(OKAY WE GET IT JEEZ STOP PESTERING ME DAD)

Lewyn: This is the way of the Loptyr Empire. There’s no place at all for the good-hearted… Now, it shouldn’t be too long before the gate to Miletos opens for us.

(…. Why…?)

Lewyn: What’s your next move, Seliph?

Seliph: Needless to say, we must march on Miletos. We can’t afford to rest while those children are still at risk. Or Julia, for that matter.

Lewyn: Good. And after that, Grannvale awaits!

(OH FUCK IT’S ISHTAR)

(Oh, and also Arvis. Man, you have not aged well, buddy. I’d feel bad for you, but you know… the rape and murder and stuff.)

Arvis: Listen, Ishtar. Release the captive children. I know you care no more for these foul deeds than I do.

Ishtar: My apologies, sir, but I’m on Prince Julius’s-

Arvis: Pay Julius no mind. I’ll be having a word with him soon.

(Funny story, bro, he said the same thing about you last week, and I’m a bit more scared of him at this point.)

Ishtar: But…

Arvis: This is an order from your emperor, Ishtar! Has Julius bent you such that you will no longer listen to the word of your liege?!

Ishtar: N-no. Never, your majesty…

(Speak of the [Literal?] Devil.)

Arvis: Julius! How dare you-

Julius: Why, Father, it almost sounds as if you still don’t know any better! Old age must be dulling that once-brilliant mind of yours. Why not retire before it grows still feebler? Unless… ohohohoho! Don’t tell me you still seriously believe that you can banish me?

Arvis: … No. I know better than to try something so futile again. I… have no further objection.

Julius: That’s better. Now, then. Begone! Return to your post and haunt my sight no more. Defending Chalphy is crucial, so don’t fail me for once in your sorry life, Father.

(Daaaaaaaaaaaamn, son, you just got burned. Or should that be Julienned?)

Arvis: Y-yes, Julius. At once…

(God, it’s like every creeper left in the game is all gathering in this one castle to see who can be most sleazy. If Hilda shows up, I’m going to need to stop to take a shower.)

Manfroy: Never would you think this wretch, now clinging only to the ghost of a crown, was once the most powerful man in Jugdral.

Julius: Ah, Manfroy. Where’s Julia? Have you restored her memory yet?

Manfroy: Your dear little sister is in Chalphy, burdened once more by her old memories. Never have I seen such horror as when she recalled how you, her own brother, almost killed her! Or how her dearly departed mother spirited her clear of the castle and your clutches…

Julius: Indeed… near everyone puts up some defiance to death by my hand, yet Deirdre never so much as flinched in the end. She accepted her own demise, all to save Julia with what little strength she still had. But Julia possesses the foul powers of that ghoul, Naga, just as Deirdre once did. Nothing is more crucial than killing her now, Manfroy, lest we lose the chance.

(………. Then… why did you need to restore her memories…?)

Manfroy: You overestimate her threat, milord. After all, the Book of Naga remains under the strictest lock and key in Belhalla. Without it, Naga’s soul could never come to dwell within that girl…

Julius: How many times must I explain, Manfroy?! Every last one of the avatars of Naga, the heirs of Heim, must be purged!

Manfroy: Understood, milord. I’ll have my men see to it that Julia is dead by sundown.

Julius: Do not fail me, Manfroy. Now, then, I suppose I’m needed in the capital.

Manfroy: I shall ensure that holding the Miletos territory is the Order’s highest priority. Before the week is done, Your Majesty, the corpse of Seliph shall lie before you.

Julius: Seliph? … Ah, of course. The one the peasants call ‘the scion of light’. Just as they call me the ‘scion of darkness’. The alleged eldest son of Deirdre and the alleged true heir to my throne. A fairy tale, told to inspire hope amongst fools.

Manfroy: He is still a threat, milord. The sooner we dispose of him, the better.

Julius: Surely he doesn’t truly bear the power of the Crusader Baldur. He couldn’t possibly. I don’t care about him, Manfroy, but you’re welcome to do with him as you will.

Manfroy: Very good, milord.

Julius: … Actually, I have a better idea. I want to play a game.

Julius: Rumor has it that a small army of fresh sacrifices are headed our way. Let’s see who can claim the life of a rebel first.

Ishtar: Yes, Lord Julius. I’d love to!

(Sympathetic anti-villain~)

And then the newly arrived enemies start screwing with me, thus ruining the drama of the moment. Anyhow. The army arrayed against us is arguably the worst in the entire game thus far, given they are almost all dark mages. Dark magic still has no disadvantages to anything in the weapon triangle, and a lot of them have status effect staves to fuck our advance over hard. And of course, standing near the castle…

At first glance, Ishtar actually looks worse than Obvious Final Boss Julius. She’s bulked up considerably since we last met her; her Magic has gone up by six points, speed by one, and resistance by a whopping twelve with the addition of a Barrier Ring to her inventory. He, in contrast, has generally good stats at everything (and is a damn stone wall with 25 defense and 35 resistance) but he’s slower than her and his Loptyr tome is heavier than her Mjolnir. Beyond being a stone wall, he appears to be less dangerous than her.

This is a filthy lie.

You see, Ishtar is stronger than her last fight with us, but we’ve leveled up far more than she has since then. She’s certainly still very dangerous thanks to her combo of Mjolnir and the Vantage ability meaning if you don’t kill her in one shot she’ll wreck your ass on all further battles, but that’s nothing new. It just means we’re playing the same damn game of Nuclear Rocket Tag that we were last time, and Arthur is carrying a much bigger nuke than before. Maybe he still only has like a 60% chance of pulling it off, but I honestly can’t believe I did it at all last time.

And as for that heavy Loptyr tome? It has a little extra trick to it that you’ll quickly come to despise.

See that little note, ‘cuts foe’s atk’ down in the bottom left corner? See, more specifically, it cuts the attack of anyone who gets into battle with Julius by a whopping 50%. So before hitting Julius’s again, stone-wall defenses, anyone who takes a swing at him will first have their attack cut in half, at which point he will swing right back with a Holy Weapon that has no weapon triangle disadvantage to anything and is backed up by his maxed out magic stat. And in his ability list, he has Pursuit and Accost for maximum possible double-attacking potential to go with his very high natural speed, and Wrath to cause his critical hit rate to skyrocket if you do eventually get his HP down below half.

His 80 HP.

So yeah, this is the game’s subtle way of telling you ‘DON’T FIGHT JULIUS’. Indeed, the easiest thing to do here would be to let him or Ishtar kill one of our soldiers and then have Cairpre revive them with the Valkyria staff, because they will both leave if one of them manages to win their ‘game.’ Which, I mean, if I get really desperate, maybe, but for the sake of my pride I’d prefer to beat one of them, causing both to retreat. And by ‘one of them,’ I mean Ishtar. And by ‘beat’ I mean, ‘Arthur, it’s time to play another round of Holy Weapon Nuclear Death Tag with your cousin, please try to survive.’

Oh, and just for fun:

That’s Julius’s Holy Blood screen. Just in case you didn’t have enough unhappiness in your life.

Now then. First thing we need to do is clear out at least some of the enemies in play here. There’s a whole mess of Dark Mages with some melee fighters scattered among them, and they’re operating with a variety of tools, but the worst, as poor Altena found out, are the ones with Sleep staves. Status effect staves in this game are the worst; they have perfect accuracy as long as the one using them has higher Magic than the target has Resistance. In our hands, they’re balanced by only having 2-3 charges before they break. In the enemy’s hands, they have infinite charges because Fuck You, that’s why. Sleep + Hel + Any Hit of Anything is a very bad situation. So first step is to work out where they are:

There, we have a basic cross-reference of where only high-resistance units should go. The dark mages have 16 Magic each, which isn’t much for the purposes of combat but for the purposes of Sleep Staves it might as well be a trillion. Maybe a quarter of our army can go into that crossfire zone without being zapped, and one of them is Cairpre, who can’t fight. On the other hand, he’s also the only person who can wake people up, so his staying awake forever is useful, in its own way.

Back to full power! And now, we clear out the vanguard and move the team up, making sure to keep most people firmly to the east.

There we go. First wave down; the only people in the current batch who can lure out enemies without getting a forced nap are Ares, Fee, Ced, Tinni and Cairpre; Seliph will be able to when he actually reaches the army, but he, Nanna, and Ulster are a bit further back. He had to take the castle and they needed to do some weapon repairs.

End turn!

Ah, yes, some of them have siege tomes too. Because, again, fuck you, that’s why.

Cairpre, you’re just getting silly. But in any event, we’ve now gotten a situation where the only people in the Sleep range are people who cannot be Sleeped, and they should also be drawing in some of the enemies from the west so we can clear out at least one or two of the staff wielders and give us some more movement range. There’s two to the west, and two to the north; the western ones should start moving on this turn now that we’ve cleared out the enemies closer to us. With luck, I can kill them both right away. End turn…

Okay, not bad. With the positioning of the enemies, I thiiiiiiiiink three of the sleep staffs can be taken out this turn without much issue. Let’s see…

That’s one!

And that’s two, and also all we’re going to get. But the remaining two are going to put some people to sleep, but they won’t be able to get anyone killed. That’s worth Ares getting a shit level, I guess. What remains is to clear out the final village-burning bandit of the map…

And killing off this sniper so he can’t kill Fee and ruin everything.

Good times. All right, dark mages! Please don’t kill anyone. End turn.

Lame, but tolerable. We will be able to kill one more staff guy this turn; but the second one is being… troublesome.

He’s one of those charming robed figures firmly in Julius’s combat range. That is not a fight I want to pick. Instead, we’ll take this other dude with the physic staff…

And pull back, trying to lure them out further. Cairpre wakes up Lester to let him do the same, and gets his like seventieth level.

To the south, we need to clear a path without letting Patty get put to sleep preferably. So I have Tinni try to clear a path, which will let Ced get through to the third Sleep user.

….

She misses. On a 90% chance. Dammit. Seliph, please?

That’s why we’re putting you on the throne later, buddy. And now Ced can get through and remove one more stumbling block.

Beautiful. Only one staff jackass left, and the only people in his range are Tinni and Seliph. He’ll have to move, and with any luck at all he’ll do so out of Julius’s combat range where someone can take a swing at his dumb face. End turn!

Heeeeeeeeeey buuuuuuuddy.

Niiiiice. With that, there’s only seven enemies left total; one guy with a normal tome, three siege tomes, the boss in the castle, and the two far more dangerous bosses waiting for us to get all up in their business. This will be… tricky. But for the moment, we’re safe, so I have Seliph drop in to have a conversation with Tinni.

(In all this mess, you may have forgotten Lewyn is her dad. He certainly hasn’t been very fatherly.)

Seliph: If you need anything from me, I’ll be waiting over there.

(You see what I mean about her having a character arc, now? Imagine the Tinni we first recruited saying that. She was so broken down she was going to fight us just because she was too afraid not to. And look at her now, electrocuting her aunt! I’m so proud.)

Lewyn: She didn’t treat you well, did she?

(“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHA…. Oh, you’re serious…? Wow. No. No.”)

Tinni: Day after day, again and again, she would beat and abuse us. She kept on accusing Mother of being a traitor…

Lewyn: Your mother… Taillte…

Tinni: Yes… after the Battle of Belhalla, she and my brother, Arthur, fled to Silesse. I was born there soon after. I never knew my father. I think he must have died long ago…

Lewyn: I see. Then you went to Alster, right?

Tinni: King Blume and his minions came to Silesse, one night. They dragged us away to Alster… Mother never left there alive…

Lewyn: I… you’ve had such a hard life…

Tinni: Mm… Hilda hated Mother so much. I’ve never seen anything like it. Mother coped with so much, trying to protect me from Hilda. She was always in tears, right till the end…

Lewyn: She… she did…?

Tinni: Lord Lewyn? Is… is everything okay, sir?

Lewyn: … Yeah. Why do you ask?

Tinni: It’s your eyes, sir. Are those… tears?

Lewyn: I… no, it’s nothing. This is just a bit of sweat. I’m fine… I… I’m okay…

I like this conversation for a few reasons. First, it gives Tinni a ridiculous +5 magic, which is wonderful for these conversation bonuses and pushes her to her magic cap of 27. But on a story front, you’ve probably noticed that Lewyn has become kind of a douche in the years since the first generation. This is one of the very few moments where that attitude breaks and he really shows you just how much he’s hurting beneath it all. He manages to hold up the Jerk Attitude for most of his other daughter conversations (he can have one with Fee, Lene, or Tinni if he’s their dad) but this is the only one he breaks down on. Learning your wife was essentially tortured to death will do that, and it probably only hurts more because Tinni isn’t trying to guilt him over it. Just innocently sharing how awful her life has been.

It’s a good, solid, quiet little character moment. I really like those when they’re done well, and I think this one was.

End turn.

Way to kill the emotion, jerk.

After murdering that buzzkill, I have to consider the situation. Ishtar is by far the weaker of the two enemies, but she’s not weak by any means. And unfortunately, anywhere that she can go, Julius can go too, thanks to the Leg Ring in his inventory. Getting them separate is hard. So what I’m going to do is have Ares, with the Mystletainn in hand, stand on a forest tile in Julius’s range. I will also put Nanna, Seliph, and Dermott near him; with boosts from two Charisma skills, Seliph’s leadership stars, and a forest, he gets something like a 45% boost to his dodging, which even Julius should have some trouble with. And even if he takes one hit, his Resistance is high enough that he should be able to survive. And from there, I have all of them run past him with Arthur, giving him a similar bonus to his offense and offsetting Julius’s own five leadership stars when he fights Ishtar. With luck, which I seem to be having lately with these big annoying bosses, Arthur will nuke the crap out of his cousin once again.

This might work. Maybe! Or I might die. End turn!

Gotta admit, the man makes an impression! Ares takes the hit, but survives with 21 HP left, and Ishtar runs up behind Julius, but can’t reach anyone to blast. But we can reach her. Deep breath. Moment of truth. Everyone, get her! NUCLEAR ROCKET TAG GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

I’m hoping you don’t notice how many of my problems I have been solving with Forseti. Like… all of them. Seriously, of the three hardest bosses in the game so far, Ishtar, Arion, and Ishtar again, Arthur has killed all three of them on his first move, doing the exact same thing. I have dealt with every serious challenge the game has to offer by nuking it with a wind god.

If this is wrong, I don’t wanna be right.

Oh, and hey, why not.

This kid is going places.

Now then, not much left on the map to deal with. I have Lene dance Cairpre, so he can grab one of the two remaining villages.

Captain… Nay, GENERAL Obvious: Just a single glance into those eyes of his and you’re gone. You lose yourself. So many of my friends and people my age have all left for Belhalla to serve him… I’ve heard nothing from any of ‘em since.

Oh-ho. So, does this mean Julius can literally warp the minds of others? It can’t be limitless, mind you, since otherwise he could just mind-rape our army into joining him, but some ability to sway the weak-minded to his side would fit with how so few Imperial citizens are actually protesting the whole… you know. Hunting of children.

On the enemy phase, there isn’t a whole lot left. We have only three enemies left outside the boss, and they’re all carrying siege tomes.

And hahaha, they’re not super great at picking targets. That was fun. Now, let’s destroy them!

Not bad at all! One guy remaining, we can get him on the next turn before Seliph takes that castle. Altena grabs the last village, as well.

Extremely Morbid Info Master: Hate t’say it, but sometimes, yeh need t’make sacrifices if yeh wanna keep going…

See, kids, this is why you don’t fuck with Info Master. He is willing to make those sacrifices. End turn!

Dick.

… They can’t all be great, Cairpre. You’ve still grown far beyond anything I ever expected. Now, nothing left to do but send the team up north, preparing to go where the story will dictate after we take the next castle. Seliph, care to set things up?

Lewyn: I hate to admit it, but I doubt we could’ve gotten here soon enough either way. Now, then. It sounds like they’re just finishing up repairs on the Miletos Strait bridge. Ready to move in on Chalphy?

Seliph: Chalphy…. My father’s homeland….

Lewyn: So it is. I’m betting the citizens there will be even happier to see you than usual. Let’s not make them wait any longer!

Seliph: Indeed! Everyone, move out! Onward, to Chalphy!

(“We’re not forgetting anything, right? Eh, I’m sure Julia would remind us if we were.”)

Well. There isn’t a whole lot of this chapter left, but it can take quite a bit of time to successfully pull off, so I do think I’ll stop here. See y’all next week when we head back home to Chalphy! The very first castle we ever had in the game, and now we get to go take it back from another blast to the past, good old Arvis! I sure did miss him.

But my aim is improving.

See y’all next week!

#let's play #let's play fire emblem #let's play fire emblem IV #Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War #fire emblem 4 #lp #my writing #long post #Julius is a jerk

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