#maybe one of my favorite moments so far of book Louis

[r0bbers02]

probably one of the funniest things book Louis has said

He is so down bad for lestat even after all those years it's hilarious, like dude, it's been quite a while since you and Claudia "finished" him and you are talking like this about him sjsjshshs

[ironwoman359]

Taylor Reads - July WrapUp

So I have a spreadsheet where I keep track of all the books I read each year, and I also keep a scrapbook style reading journal where each month has a spread of all the books I read that month, and I'm going to start putting my wrap ups here on tumblr, because I can :3

I had a unexpectedly fruitful reading month in July; I only read three books in June, but the League of Extraordinary Gentlefolk comic here on tumblr made me want to read some classic victorian sci-fi, which pulled me out of my reading slump and got the ball rolling on some of my reading goals.

Here's everything I read in a glance, and beneath the cut is a little blurb review for each book!

The Black God's Drums by P. Djeli Clark - 4/5 Stars This is a fantasy novella set in a post Civil War alternate history steampunk New Orleans featuring street urchins and sky pirates. Need I say more? P. Djeli Clark became an auto-read author for me after I read Ring Shout, and while this didn't have quite the punch of that story, I still thoroughly enjoyed it.

The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells - 3.5/5 Stars My first classic of the month, I went back and forth on whether to rate this book 3 or 3.5 stars (I think it's rated 3 on my storygraph, actually), because while there were parts that were slow/boring to read, some of the prose was very memorable, and the ending was excellent. I find Dracula to be a bit more readable, but if you're interested in these early sci-fi classics, I still definitely recommend it.

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne - 2.5/5 Stars This book, on the other hand, I found mostly frustrating. I wonder if I would have enjoyed it more in a serialized fashion similar to Dracula Daily, because the long descriptions of travel to a place where nothing much happens and lists of fish and mollusk species that our main character saw quickly became boring. These moments were interspersed with genuinely interesting character moments and scenes of adventure, but reading the whole book in one week really detracted the impact of those scenes for me. Maybe read an abridged version if you're interested in the story but have more trouble with older books.

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson - 4.5/5 Stars This was by far my favorite of the classic sci-fi (or would this be classic horror?) books that I read this month. The book is presented as a mystery that, as a modern reader, it's hard not to know the twist to, but even then, the execution keeps you engaged the entire time. This is by far the most readable of the classics I read this month as well, and is also very short, so there's nothing holding you as a modern reader back from checking this one out! I dinged it half a star because I found the ending to be a bit abrupt and unsatisfying; I wish we'd gotten to see our pov character react to the final explanations and truths instead of him just vanishing from the story. But still, this was very very good!

Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron - 4/5 Stars Do you want a sapphic YA fairy tale retelling where our black lesbian protagonist decides to attempt to single-handedly overthrow the patriarchy? Yes, yes you do. While not a perfect five stars, this book still felt absolutely tailor made to my specific tastes, and if I had been a teen myself when it came out I probably would have been obsessed with it. Kalynn Bayron just had a snow white retelling come out last month and if it's anything like this then I need it in my hands yesterday.

The Time Machine by H.G. Wells - 3/5 Stars Reading the book that is credited for popularizing the idea of a time machine as an avid fan of time travel stories today was an interesting experience. I have a few more books of his on my tbr to go before I can make a final judgement, but I'm not sure if Wells's writing style is really connecting with me. I found this to be a little more readable line by line than The Invisible Man, but there were more striking character moments in that book than in this one. Still, seeing the arguable origin of one of my favorite sci-fi subgenres was very cool.

Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer - 2/5 Stars I started writing a stand alone review for this book and it's already over one thousand words long. It seems I always have more to say about a book that I thought was bad than a book I thought was good. Suffice it to say, this book had a good premise (if you're into that sort of thing) but it needed several more rounds of editing. It felt like I was reading an unpolished manuscript that had been sent out on submission, not a finished product that I paid money for. Very disappointing.

The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson - 4.5/5 Stars There's not much you can say about this book on its own, as it's the third book in a trilogy, but suffice it to say it was a perfect ending to said trilogy. I have so much love for these characters and this world, and I can't wait to start reading era 2!...after I start Stormlight. And Warbreaker. Why am I trying to read the entire cosmere before Wind and Truth comes out why is this my life-

He Who Drowned the World by Shelley Parker-Chan - 4/5 Stars So this is a book that I started on audio back at the end of May, and for whatever reason I listened to the first 60% or so in a few days and then just...stopped. Had no desire to pick it back up, not because it wasn't good, it was, it was really good, I just had some kind of mental block on it for some reason. Then in a burst of inspiration after finishing the Hero of Ages a few days ago, I put the book back on and listened to another hour of it, then finished the rest on ebook during a slow couple hours at work. Again, not much to say about this if you haven't read the first book, She Who Became the Sun, but I highly recommend this duology, it's incredibly written, queer as hell, and the ending was extremely satisfying.

Abeni's Song by P. Djeli Clark - 5/5 Stars Beginning the month where we started it with P. Djeli Clark, this time with his middle grade debut! I love middle grade books, I usually read at least one per month if not more, and this was an absolutely stellar example of the genre. A great coming of age story based on West African mythology with lovable characters and the type of plot that will keep even adults hooked, I highly recommend this and can't wait to read the sequel when it comes out next year!

[our-detective-so-supreme]

For the ask game

19), 9), 38) and 14)

Thanks for the ask! :D

19) Which is the funniest moment in the series?

Moran in the anime version of the Phantom of Whitechapel arc, specifically at the start and end. I can't help but crack up when he calls Louis a "traitor". 'Cause it's like? How??? XD

To clarify: I know what he was getting at in that scene, but I can't help but laugh at him! At least he comes around later.

Then at the end when Jack joins the team, again, idk what Moran was so worked up about, but it's just so hysterical! Especially his "Huh?!" in the dub!

9) Sexiest character

Just one?

Well, Moran is basically 75% of the series' fanservice; I mean, look at those muscles! Well, actually most of the guys are ripped-

Then of course, there's William with his infamous line that sends chills up my spine every time!

I don't think I can choose just one; I could so easily measure them on a scale of cute to sexy, however! (I'll have to do that for a separate post, though; these answers are getting kinda long-)

38) Do you read or watch any other adaptations of Sherlock Holmes?

As a matter of fact, I do! :)

The Granada TV series is one that I'll always recommend; it was actually what got me to read the canon again! The attention to detail and faithfulness to the source material are things I never get tired of. There is a reason subsequent adaptations pay homage to the late Jeremy Brett; he was literally born for the role. (Heck, he was even Jean Doyle's headcanon Sherlock)

And while I'm currently taking a break from it (very long story), the Hayao Miyazaki & Kyosuke Mikuriya collab that is Meitantei Holmes (known in English as Sherlock Hound) is another great anime based on Sherlock Holmes. It has many of the traits typical of the Ghibli movies. Need I say more? Also, that version of Moriarty is essentially inB4 Waluigi.

The Great Mouse Detective (the children's books, not the Disney film, though it's good too) is another series I've enjoyed so far, even though I've only covered three of the eight books so far. I look forward to continuing when I get the chance!

Much like YuuMori, these three are also really great introductions to the canon, or just enjoyable on their own.

I've seen others, too, but I don't think I can really recommend them as much. Maybe I should make a tier list one of these days!

14) What is your favorite quote or scene?

The scene in The Final Problem arc where Fred tells William there's really no reason for him to die had an impact on me.

Because aside from it being absolutely true, it's also the first time Fred speaks up without so much as a nudge from anyone else. That was all on his own accord. And if he does finally get a backstory in Part 2 (please Miyoshi-sensei!) , it will only add more to his speech later on. Though even without a backstory, it still tells us how much William means to Fred (and the others as well, obviously).

[cbrownjc]

Hope you are well! Which is your favorite episode and why?

Hey! I'm doing fine, thank you for asking. :-)

My favorite episode? It flips between EP6 and EP7. At the moment, EP7 edges it out simply because there was so much meat - and foreshadowing - to unpack with it, even now. And its construct. And the layers.

Lestat and Louis on the balcony before the final dance was just mesmerizing. It's not the only scene in the show to feel theatrical in its presentation to me, but it's one of the top ones. What Lestat says in that scene isn't direct dialogue from the book, so much as a stream-of-consciousness thought which you think maybe shouldn't work when delivered as a monologue in live action, but it does. And to think they almost cut the scene out is insane to me.

And then, the ballroom dance. Most romantic moment in the show (so far) IMO. I still get kinda breathless watching it.

And can I mention the music? The reuse/remix of "Come to Me" during the dance? Perfection.

And you know, maybe using the first movement of "Moonlight Sonata" in the episode was a bit on the nose (using a classical piece that is widely said to be inspired by an opera about, and particularly the death scene of, another libertine character, Don Giovanni), but it was still effective IMO. I particularly loved its use in the final scene when Daniel first begins to break apart Louis' narrative ("where does the trash go Louis?") Even after watching the episode way more than once, it still gives me a little thrill when it starts up. (BTW, the only reason I know this little random fact about "Moonlight Sonata" is that it was the first full classical piano piece I ever learned to play years ago. I know many things about classical music, but my opera knowledge, in contrast, is very sparse.)

And I've talked before about the upending of the whole narrative of the season when it comes to the final moments of Daniel breaking through Louis' carefully constructive narrative and revealing its unreliability. From Rashomon to The Usual Suspects, it's not rare to see this kind of thing done in films or even theater, but it is rare for TV. And this show didn't just do it for a single, stand-alone episode, it did it in regards to the whole season.

And while EP6 had the whole Magnus monologue, the train scene, and the 1970s flashback, EP7 was stronger in hitting its points and setting up tension than EP6 IMO. Given that it was the season finale, it makes sense, of course, that it would be.

So yeah, at the moment, it all goes to EP7 as my favorite right now. And I'm not someone who will usually pick season finale episodes as my favorites, but this one just did it for me.

[aalizaa]

Hey this is my first post and I’m hoping to be a author so I’m working on a book called “the moon is beautiful isn’t it” and I hope y’all like it this is the introduction with chapter one

Warning: purging, cannibalism, cult

The Moon is Beautiful isn’t it?

Introduction

The orphanage, known as Eadaoin Orphanage, housed children from infancy to eighteen. But this was no ordinary orphanage—every child there was known to be not quite right, their minds fractured in ways most wouldn’t understand.

At age ten, the children were assigned their first mission: to kill. Their orders came from their caretaker, Alford , though the orphans knew him only as Sir Chamberlain. He ruled the orphanage with an iron grip, and among the children, favoritism was everything. The one who carried out their mission with the most skill and brutality became his favorite—a title coveted by all.

Most of the orphans had been taken from abusive or unstable homes, stolen away from misery only to be molded into something far darker.

To strip them of their past identities, each child was given a new last name. The girls were assigned Lain, Garza,, Raven, or Haku. The boys bore names like Banks, Hale, Yang, Williams, and Martinez.

In Eadaoin Orphanage, survival wasn’t just about staying alive—it was about proving you were useful.

Chapter one: the newcomer

Everyone gathered in the dining hall as Sir Chamberlain introduced a new orphan, Natasha. She had long black hair that framed her face, her brown monolid eyes dull with exhaustion. Her olive-toned skin, the color of oak sapwood. She wore the standard orphanage uniform, standing at about five feet tall with a balanced frame—not too thin, not too heavy.

Though she looked like she hadn’t slept in weeks, no one seemed concerned. Everyone her age looked tired.

“Hello, I’m Natasha Lain. I’m fourteen years old. It’s nice to meet you all.”

Her voice carried a soft, melodic ring, and for a moment, the other orphans seemed intrigued.

Later, during freetime, a girl approached her with a friendly welcoming energy.

“Hey! I’m Janet Lain. Looks like we’re grouped together. Hope you’re settling in okay.”

Janet’s gothic style set her apart, her dark attire and sharp presence contrasting with the warmth in her voice. She had a reputation—brutal when necessary, yet the sweetest girl to those she cared about.

“Thank you, Janet. I’m having a good time so far,” Natasha replied.

“You know, if ‘Natasha’ feels too long, you can call me Sha or Tasha,” she added.

“Oh, thanks for telling me! If ‘Janet’ is too much, you can call me Jane.”

With that, Janet smiled and took Natasha under her wing, leading her toward the library, their voices fading into the hum of the orphanage.

With the boys

Roman Banks ran the whetstone along the edge of his hatchet, the rhythmic scraping filling the quiet.

“The new girl seems interesting,” Jaxon Williams remarked, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.

Roman barely looked up. “Yeah, okay. Whatever you say, man.”

Jax tilted his head, smirking. “You never talk about girls, you know that? Starting to think you might be gay.”

Roman froze mid-sharpen. “Huh?! Bro, what?” He shot Jaxon an incredulous look. “I’m not gay.”

Jax shrugged, completely unfazed. “I dunno, man. You never check out the girls like the rest of us.”

Roman scoffed. “ I dated Natalie. And Valerie.”

Jax grinned. “Yeah, dated. Past tense. Maybe you just wanted a cover story.”

Roman groaned, rubbing his face. “Hop off.”

“Hey, I’m just sayin’—”

Before Jax could push him further, his biological brother, Louis, walked in. “Jax, Toby—quit flirting and come help set up for dinner.”

Jax grinned wider. “See? Louis gets it.”

Roman just sighed, shaking his head as he set the hatchet down.

With everyone

Natasha stood in the kitchen, helping prepare food alongside the other 14- and 15-year-olds. Around her, children bustled—some setting tables, others carrying trays, cleaning, or cooking over steaming pots. It all looked like a normal orphanage dinner. At least, to the untrained eye.

When the meal was finally served, the younger children, those nine and under, ate without a second thought. Only the older ones knew the truth. The meat on their plates wasn’t from an animal.

“This orphanage is… weird,” Natasha thought, watching the others dig in. She had never been in an orphanage before, but even if she had, she knew this wasn’t normal.

Before anyone took a bite, they prayed. Not to Jesus. Not to Buddha. Their heads bowed in eerie unison, murmuring words of devotion—to Sir Chamberlain. Their god.

Natasha followed suit, folding her hands, but her mind buzzed. When the prayer ended, she picked up her fork and stabbed into what was supposed to be a sausage. The casing split open, and a thin trickle of crimson oozed onto her plate. She stared at it for a second, her imagination twisting reality into something darker.

Then, she took a bite.

Her stomach turned instantly. Her body screamed at her to spit it out, to purge it from her system, but she forced it down. Pinching her thigh beneath the table, she clenched her jaw and swallowed.

Once dinner ended, the routine continued. The children cleaned up, and at 9:30 p.m., they filed into their assigned rooms, grouped by last name.

Natasha shared a room with Janet, Natalie, Kate, and a few other girls. 15 beds in total. The others fell asleep quickly, the steady rhythm of their breathing filling the quiet space. But Natasha lay awake, her stomach churning.

She couldn’t keep it down.

Carefully, she slipped out of bed and padded down the hall to the bathroom. The moment she locked the stall door, she dropped to her knees. Sliding two fingers down her throat, she gagged, her body convulsing as she emptied her stomach into the toilet. The taste was bitter, metallic, unnatural. Tears pricked her eyes. Her hand, slick with saliva and remnants of her meal, trembled as she reached for the flush.

She washed her hands. Brushed her teeth. Splashed cold water on her face, trying to erase the evidence. But the burning in her throat lingered.

As she turned to leave, she bumped straight into Sir Chamberlain.

“Child, aren’t you supposed to be asleep?” His voice was calm but held an edge of authority.

Natasha stiffened. “Oh, um… yes, sir. I just needed to use the bathroom. Please forgive me.”

Sir Chamberlain studied her for a moment, then offered a thin smile. “No need for apologies, Natasha. In fact, I have a favor to ask of you.”

Natasha hesitated. “Of course, sir.”

“Come with me to my office.”

She followed him down the dimly lit corridor, her pulse quickening. Inside his office, the air was thick with the scent of old books and something faintly metallic. He gestured for her to sit.

“There’s something about the orphanage you haven’t been told yet,” he said smoothly. “It’s time for your first mission.”

Natasha sat up straighter. “What is it, sir?”

Sir Chamberlain slid a photograph across the desk. A girl with black hair, hazel eyes, and light skin stared up at her.

“Her name is Danielle Stone. I need you to kill her.”

Natasha picked up the photo, studying the girl’s face. She looked… normal. Just a regular kid.

“…Okay, sir.”

Sir Chamberlain nodded approvingly and handed her two items—a machete and a lighter. “I expect you back within four hours. She lives in town, near the school you burned when I found you.”

Natasha gripped the weapons, her fingers tightening around the machete’s handle.

“In your closet, you’ll find dark clothes. Wear them.”

“Yes, sir.”

She stood, leaving the office. Once back in her room, she opened her closet and grabbed a black hoodie, gray cargo pants, and a pair of worn-out Converse. Pulling the hood over her head, she adjusted the fit of the machete in her hand.

Then, without another word, she slipped out of the orphanage and into the night.

The forest surrounding Eadaoin Orphanage stretched for miles, swallowing everything in darkness. She moved carefully, every step crunching against twigs and leaves beneath her feet.

Crunch… crunch… crunch…

She kept her ears sharp, listening for any sign of movement. The weight of the machete in her hand felt heavier than before.

But there was no turning back now…

[shadowsong26x]

AMC's Interview With A Vampire for the TV series ask!

my all-time ultimate fave character: My precious murder kitten Armand. He's been my favorite since the books and the show did not change that.

a character I didn’t used to like but now do: ...hm. I guess you could say Louis? This is the first version of him I haven't been...like, generally I find Louis kind of boring lol. This version, I don't. I also like the way they fleshed Santiago out here.

a character I used to like but now don’t: Hm. I'm...I actually don't think my opinions on most of the characters have shifted across this adaptation? I guess I'm a little less fond of this Lestat than I have been of other versions, but not by much?

a character I’m indifferent about: I guess Madeleine?

a character who deserved better: So this is a complicated answer but I think I have to go with Claudia. Both for the obvious narrative reasons, but also...like obviously no live-action adaptation is going to make her six the way she is in the books, and I recognize that the show had to age her up for practical reasons (had to cast someone at least 18, could only age her down so far), but I do think her story loses something when she's older than 10/11 (as she was in the 1994 film and the stage musical). Also I'm still mad about the stuff with Killer in S1, I think that was gratuitous.

a ship I’ve never been able to get into: Don't think there are any that have shown up onscreen so far. I mean, I'm generally pretty neutral on Louis/Armand in any version, but in an Ambivalent way rather than in a Not Interested way, if that makes sense?

a ship I’ve never been able to get over: Armand and Daniel. I'm looking forward to them actually having a chance in this version lol.

a cute, low-key ship: A low-key ship? In this fandom?! Lol.

an unpopular ship but I still enjoyed it: I honestly don't know what the unpopular ships in this fandom are lol.

a ship that was totally wrong and never should have happened: The one that comes to mind is books-only and also I'm not...100% sure it counts as a ship? The stuff that goes down with Sybelle is. Weird. Anyway, given where they're going with Daniel and Armand in this adaptation, I'm hoping we can skip all that. And maybe fix some of the issues with Benji (see, aging him up from twelve would make sense but that's a separate conversation and like. Several seasons down the line lol).

my favourite storyline/moment: There are quite a few, but the first one that comes to mind is Louis and Armand wandering through the Louvre together. The way Armand just casually deals with the guards; and then the way he talks about his history with the painting. I did also like Dream!stat.

a storyline that never should have been written: The Killer stuff in S1. As I said. Gratuitous. Still mad about it.

my first thoughts on the show: 'Not sure how I feel about the timeline change; it'll probably be either Real Bad in a fun way unlike the QotD movie which was just Bad or Genuinely Good and I'm not sure which I'm hoping for.'

my thoughts now: I like it a lot; I think it mostly does interesting things to the source material and the changes it makes either make sense/work or are minor enough that they only stick out to me as trivia (i.e., shifting Armand's timeline like 50 years for...reasons?) Also I am really looking forward to getting Gabrielle next season.

Ask me about a TV show!

[mermaidsirennikita]

So You'd Like to Fuck a Villain: Romance Novel Recommendations

Have you gotten caught up in a villain ship? Are you, perhaps, what might be called a villainfucker?

The issue with stanning for villains and wanting them to have romantic love and happiness and possibly group sex, is that they often don't. At least, not onscreen. Some of the most popular romantic ships, obviously, have been villain ships--Reylo spawned a wave of romance novelists (though, I might add, many do not actually write villain-centric romance novels, which is fine), Darklina powered no small part of Shadow and Bone's publishing success... and let's be real, the success of the soon-to-be-ill-fated-from-what-I'm-hearing TV show. On a darker level, Interview with the Vampire took off in no small part because people love the tainted love that is Louis and Lestat, where maybe? They're both villains? (Definitely more Lestat, but you know.)

You know what the great thing about a romance novel is? The villain has to get a happy ending. They just must. It's a rule. If a villain is a lead, the HEA is guaranteed (rhymes), or it's not a romance novel.

So, for Cupid's birthday, I'm recommending some of my favorite villainfucking romance novels. I just think that we deserve it.

CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE

Wicked Villains by Katee Robert.

As you might guess, this series is in fact about villains getting their happy ending, full stop. And it does so by adapting Disney villain ships and placing them in a contemporary setting full of organized crime, sex clubs, and deals gone wrong. It is fun, it is campy, and it is very, very sexy. Check the trigger warnings (which Robert typically lists for each book on her website)--some of these do feature heavy BDSM and CNC.

The diversity of the pairings is so appreciated--while my favorite thus far is the first, Desperate Measures (Jafar/Jasmine with a mob wife "you killed my father" spin, for those curious) you get several triads (Hades/Hercules/Meg, Beast/Gaston/Belle, Ursula/Ariel/Eric, to name a few) and the ever-coveted sapphic Maleficent/Aurora moment. I don't think there's a straight person in this collection of characters. Contemporary romance can be a hard sell for me, especially in terms of villainy... But these are just a ride.

HISTORICAL ROMANCE

Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas.

Obviously, if you haven't read Devil in Winter yet, you need to read Devil in Winter. It's a classic--not just of historical romance, but romance in general. Though, pro-tip: I would recommend reading the preceding It Happened One Autumn first, as that's where the villainy takes place. Devil in Winter is about a recovering villain--a rake who did a very, very bad thing (kidnapping his best friend's lady love) simply because he did not want to get a job. I mean.....

Sebastian St. Vincent is a soft touch villain, and not just because he's super good at touching. You know he's going to roll over and beg for it with his seemingly-gentle, secretly-iron-willed heroine; but it's watching him get there that's so fun. His bark is worse than his bite, but he does deliver quite a bark (and quite a bite). If you like 'em snarky and slutty, read this book.

Duke of Sin by Elizabeth Hoyt.

If you like a blond villain who seems better at lounging about than doing manual labor, Valentine Napier takes what St. Vincent was doing to another level of insanity. St. Vincent is sane; Valentine is not, and he's a lot less fun about his kidnappings. Fortunately, his heroine (dispatched to spy on and steal from him) does not take any shit.

This is a book for those who like them loony, because I really don't think Valentine reforms in the least. He just falls in love, all while running around naked in bedazzled, open robes and brandishing a knife. At least he's good in bed and keeps giant, nude portraits of himself in his own house. Keep in mind that this book does delve into some pretty massive childhood trauma, including all kinds of abuse.

Villain I'd Like to F...

This anthology of novellas delves into five stories of historical romance villainy, by five great authors. I'm going to list each novella and its author, as these collections typically disband after a period of time, allowing the authors to sell the novellas individually (though you often can find the collections in online libraries like Libby). In the brackets!

[ Lady Viper and the Bastard by Eva Leigh.

Do you enjoy Dangerous Liaisons? Try this delightfully sexy Georgian-era novella about a widowed vamp and an illegitimate libertine, teaming up to break apart two young lovers (for a price). Except what happens when these two assholes start to catch feelings? Notable in that these characters are in their forties, know themselves, and do engage in some fun role-playing.

Seven Sinful Nights by Nicola Davidson.

Our young-but-ready widowed heroine is toiling in the service of her dickish in-laws... Until the owner of the local gambling hell (who isn't above murder and torture, and does enjoy dominating a bit) shows up demanding payment for her brother-in-law's debts. Those who love an innocent heroine lured by the darkness will love this one, a she very much goes willingly to her "doom" of being his mistress for a week, and loves every minute of it. It's sexy, it's sweet, she also loves a torture moment, there's some exhibitionism.

The Gangster's Prize by Joanna Shupe.

A Gilded Age gangster is thrown off balance by the young woman who comes to him demanding help in finding her missing father. But wait... who's in his dungeon as we speak? Could it be? Her dad? Joanna doesn't pull her punches here, and it's delightfully wacky. Watching our hapless villain hero be like "uhh, what screams from the dungeon" while our heroine looks for her father... who he has captive.. is hilarious.

The Bootlegger's Bounty by Adriana Herrera.

Did someone say sort-of pirates? Our heroine is a nightclub singer, and she books passage to New York with a dangerous rum runner. There's a lot of sex in this one, and--delightfully--a triad, as there happens to be a young gentleman who catches the eye of both our singer and our rum runner...

The Conquering of Tate the Pious by Sierra Simone.

Hedonistic nuns? A Norman invader (in more ways than one) who turns out to be a lady conqueror? As in, a conqueror who is a lady and conquers ladies? I think yes. Our proud abbess Tate is ready to stand up to the Wolf, but what happens when the Wolf is very sexy and cruel in the best possible way? ]

The Prince of Broadway by Joanna Shupe.

If there's one thing Joanna Shupe loves, it's a hero (or a villain turned hero) who hates your dad. This book opens with our casino-owning hero beating the shit out of someone, and when he meets the headstrong spoiled rich girl who wants to open a casino for ladies and needs mentorship... He takes her up on it. All while planning to take down her father (as revenge!!!).

While Clay isn't a super hardcore bad guy, he is pretty violent and pretty diabolical. What makes this book is, of course, his dynamic with Florence, and her defiance of norms that quickly has him completely besotted. This book has a very good grovel, and it should. Does anyone deserve Florence?

... and after reading this one, you can mosey over to Shupe's next book, The Devil of Downtown, in which a bad, bad gangster gets his ass emotionally kicked by Florence's goody goody angelic sister.

The Dragon and The Pearl by Jeannie Lin.

This is another one that benefits from reading its previous book, Butterfly Swords, first. In that novel we're introduced to the treacherous warlord our heroine is fleeing--Li Tao. Lin doesn't shy away from his intimidation factor: he even gets into a sword fight (that turns into an outright brawl, lmao) with the hero. In this novel, Li Tao gets full focus, kidnapping a former emperor's concubine to get information out of her.

What follows is a match of wits that gradually gives way to two manipulative, emotionally closed off people falling madly in love with each other while being unable to say it. Li Tao is a cold, seemingly-unfeeling villain-as-hero, and he really pushes how far he's willing to go to reach his end goals in this book. Also, there's a sex deal. If that matters to you.

Daring and The Duke by Sarah MacLean.

Again, one that does in fact benefit from reading the two preceding books, Wicked and The Wallflower and Brazen and The Beast (fortunately, they're both good!). Ewan, our titular duke, is the villain of both--and he is completely batshit insane in his pursuit of his childhood sweetheart, Grace. Who, for reasons relating to villainy, wants absolutely nothing to do with him.

This is a book-long grovel the way Sarah MacLean does it best--with abject shame and humiliation. Ewan is put through the ringer: and he should be, because he did a really bad thing! And was legitimately a nutjob of a villain! But that's what makes it so, so good.

PARANORMAL/FANTASY ROMANCE

The Four Horsemen by Laura Thalassa.

This series has the rather bold take of "what if the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse Fucked". Starting with Pestilence, bleeding into War and Famine, and ending with Death, this series is a bit bonkers. But it doesn't let up on the extent of the villainous heroes' determination to lay waste to the world. There is a lot of gore. There is a lot of moral ambiguity.

But it's also legitimately funny. Pestilence discovers the joys of a bathtub. Death receives his first blowjob and is like "I don't know, maybe the apocalypse is bad". It's campy, and it's fun, and it leans the fuck in to the concept. I would recommend reading these in order, as the love stories stand alone but the overall arc leads to a big finish (and there are lots of finishes in between, if you know what I'm say--)

The Tenebris Trilogy by Kathryn Ann Kingsley.

If you're interested in the occult and some Lovecraftian vibes set in a pseudo-1920s world, this is it. Our heroine is on the search for her brother, and who is to assist but his stuffy-hot professor who happens to be a cult leader and has perhaps merged his body with that of a Cthulu monster?

What's interesting about this series (which cannot be read as standalones, and must be read in order) is that our hero is legitimately loony tunes, and our heroine is into it. She falls in love with him and his monsters, and that does... extend to the physical. (Tentacles, everyone! Shadow tentacles! Think Venom.) I will add that there's a lovely secondary romance with a trans heroine (with a hero that's not a villain) and it is excellent, but at one point an antagonist is transphobic towards her. An attempted off-page forced detransition occurs. The main heroine is totally supportive of the secondary heroine and stops it, but read with caution.

Kiss of a Demon King by Kresley Cole.

This rare villainess/hero romance sees a sorceress heroine take a deposed demon king captive to coerce him into impregnating her so that she can bear his heir (all for villainous purposes, of course). Yes. So this book is heavy on the dubcon--lots of edging, lots of people chained to beds--but to be frank? He is into it. We have a stern, morally upright hero being driven to the brink by the baddest of bad girls, and it's great.

This book is a bit controversial because of the content, and I do recommend checking out my IAD Cheat Sheet before reading for a full list of triggers/details about the world of Immortals After Dark. But it reads fairly well on its own, and I personally adore it. The sex is hot, the romance is angsty, he gets back at her in every possible way, and it's so fun to see a villainess take center stage and bring out the dark side of such a noble hero.

Dreams of a Dark Warrior by Kresley Cole.

Here, we focus on an immortal valkyrie heroine who's had centuries of near-misses with her would-be Berserker love--every time she kisses him, he remembers his past lives with her and promptly dies in increasingly gruesome ways. He's always be good and loving to her... which is why she's so shocked when he returns to her, this time in the form of an immortal-hating torturer who's taken her captive.

This one is dark--yes, he does torture her (not that badly, but there are other scenes of torture at the hands of different villains which are... bad). But if you can hang in there, I think you'll find a very compelling romance with a legitimately troubled, intense hero and a woman he can't get out of his head. There's also a very, very good bathtub scene that turns into "let me blindfold you so you can't see my hideous scars".

Lothaire by Kresley Cole.

The villain romance to end all villain romances (best read after Dreams, so you get the one-two punch of a pair of very different villainous heroes). What happens when you mix a 3,000-year-old megalomaniacal vampire with a 24-year-old whip-smart human woman he believes houses the soul of the goddess he's supposed to wed? A fucking ride, and possibly my favorite romance ever, that's what.

Lothaire goes HARD. It goes hard on the villainy (this is a story of a villain falling in love, not a villain finding redemption), it goes hard on the sex (with possibly one of the most infamous sex scenes in romance, and I love every word of it), and it goes hard on the angst. As much as Lothaire fucks with Ellie's head and is determined to deny his love for her, she's determined to one-up on him and will never, ever break. I think this book is always best summed up in a scene early on where he kisses her, bites her lip, and draws back, smugly expecting horror--only to find her grinning through the blood and pulling him in for another kiss. Tell me that isn't villain romance perfection.

Sworn to the Shadow God by Ruby Dixon.

Not so much a super hard villain romance as it is a "falling in love with Death himself" book, this wacky romance finds our gamer girl heroine falling through a portal to another land and... yes, sworn as the mortal companion of the God of Death as he attempts to complete a trial set before him by the father god. It is funny, it is sexy, it's adventurous, and it is for the Reylos.

You think I'm joking. No. He is very clearly modeled after Kylo Ren, and he sweeps around in dark cloaks and emo smashes about being the God of the Death, and it is glorious. He's less bad than he is detached and uncaring, but, you know... Death. By the end of the book, though? He cares very much about one particular person.

Look, man. Check your triggers always, especially with romance novels about villains. These won't work for everyone. But I imagine... if you like a villain... some of these are for you.

[flying-elliska]

one of the most impactful things I have read lately are two of French author Edouard Louis' books, Pour en finir avec Eddy Bellegueule and Qui a tué mon père (translated into English as The End of Eddy and Who Killed my Father). It's been two months and I'm still thinking about it.

The first book is an 'autobiographical novel' about the author's childhood growing up as an obviously gay boy in one of the poorest areas of France, until he leaves and reinvents himself as a writer. It's fraught with bigotry, abuse, bullying, violence, deprivation and social despair, and it's one of the most harrowing things I have ever read. It reads as many things as once : a recognition of trauma, an angry exorcism, a cry for society at large to pay attention, and to be honest, as a horror story.

It was criticized by some in France as portraying the working class in a manner that was too negative, which tells me they missed the point entirely...ironic for a book by someone who actually grew up poor - one of my least favorite things ever is progressives telling a marginalized person they can't talk about their own experiences because they don't fit the desired mold. (The French love to romanticize the working class and I'm pretty sure it's often an avoidance mechanism.)

The point of the book is so obviously not about 'look at how terrible and bigoted those poor people are'. Little Eddy spends a big part of the narrative trying to escape - himself at first, then his family/circumstances and the persistent homophobia everywhere. In the end of the book, he finally manages to get accepted into a fancy high school in the city on a scholarship and tries really hard to fit in. The last scene of the book is a bunch of his - educated, upper/middle class - classmates throwing homophobic taunts at him, starting the cycle anew. I can't think of a clearer way to say 'this is not a story about a sad gay boy escaping the evil bigoted countryside for the city and then everything was wonderful!!!! this is a story about a systemic, pervasive problem.'

One of the key arguments of the book, to me, is how homophobia, sexism and bigotry in general are both a product and a reproduction mechanism of social and economic exclusion. For instance, he describes how the norms around what it means to be a man in his village (being tough, disobeying authority, quitting school early to go work at the factory, drinking alcohol, neglecting your own health, fighting over women, repressing your feelings, etc) perpetuates the cycle of poverty ; but again this isn't 'oh these people are so stupid' and more 'these people are trapped'. Because he makes it evident how degrading and dehumanizing poverty can be, this masculinity reads as a desperate attempt to cling to a certain amount of dignity - it's an extremely dysfunctional coping mechanism. At the same time, anyone falling outside of the mold is violently ostracized (like Eddy, who tries and fails to fit in). So the system keeps reproducing itself.

In Who Killed my Father, the author makes his political argument clearer. This is more of an essay, centering on his father, arguably the most complex figure in the first novel. The man is an angry, bigoted alcoholic who makes his family miserable ; at the same time he is the son of an abusive father who makes a point of honor to never hit his kids or wife even though it's very normalized in this context. In this essay the author keeps talking about the moments of almost tenderness with his father that haunt him, the picture he has of him doing drag in his youth, the fact that the father tried to leave the village when he was young to find a better life for himself with a close friend but failed and had to come back - the moments of what-ifs, of trying to struggle free from the cycle, when the system appears almost fragile and not so unbreakable after all, that the son kept holding close like a sort of talisman.

The narrative is structured around the fact that his father injured his back working in a factory and that he had to keep doing physical labor afterwards for money, instead of resting to recover, until it completely destroyed his body. Now he finds himself bed-bound at 53. Louis inquires into who is responsible for this premature 'death'. After considering individual choices, he turns towards political decisions - the successive governments, left and right, who have been destroying the French welfare system for decades and accelerating inequality. The point is to step out of the neoliberal obsession with personal responsibility and who is guilty and who is a bad or good person, and look at systems.

An element that isn't focused on but hovers over the story constantly is that this village is one where the majority of the population consistently votes for the extreme right National Front party in most elections. The book is too angry and nuanced to be some stupid "it's not their fault that they're racist because they're poor!" argument. It doesn't make any excuses for how awful this is but instead illustrates how dehumanization replicates itself, how people being denied basic dignity leads to them wanting to deny it to others. If you want to really understand the rise of the far right you have to look at where the inequality comes from in the first place, and how easy it is for people in power to wash their hands of it by blaming the bigoted masses. (Just like you can blame societal ills on minorities ! Two for one strategy.)

Towards the end of the essay, the author talks about how proud his father is of his son's literary success - for a book who clearly depicts him as a horrible person ! And this is a man who has spent his life openly despising anything cultural, because it never showed him a life like his own. But maybe now he feels seen, now he knows people want to read about these things. Maybe there is a reclamation of dignity through looking at the horror head on. Maybe his son somehow slipping through the cracks of the cycle gives him more room. The man stops making racist comments, and instead asks his son about his boyfriend. Most importantly, he asks his son about the leftist politics he's engaged in. They talk about the need for a revolution.

I think what strikes me the most is this attitude of "wounded compassion" that permeates the book. What do you do when your parents are abusive but even after you grow up, you can't help but still love them, and you know they've been shaped by the system that surrounds them ? Recognizing, speaking the harm is essential. You need to find your own freedom, sense of worth, and safety. You need to dissect the mechanisms at hand so they lose at least some of their power over you. You need to find people who love and believe you. But then what? Do you dismiss your persistent feelings of affection and care for those who hurt you as a sign you're just fucked up in the head ? You could just decide to never speak to them again, and it would be justified, but is that really what is going to heal you the most? It's important to realize you have the choice. But there are no easy conclusions.

This makes me think of a passage I have just read in Aversive Democracy by Aletta Norval. The essential ethos of radical democracy, she says, is about taking responsibility for your society, even the bad parts, instead of seeing them as a foreign element you have to cleanse yourself of. It's too fucking easy for queer progressives, especially the middle class urban kind, to talk about dumb evil hicks, to turn pride into a simple morality tale, and forget that any politics that don't center the basic dignity and needs of people are just shit. The injury is to you and by you and you have a duty of care just as much as a duty of criticism. (And this is obviously not only applicable to class matters.) You can't just walk away and save your sense of moral purity. (This is not an argument that the oppressed are responsible for educating the oppressors ; it's about how privilege is not an easy simple ranking and it is too damn easy to only focus on the ways in which you are oppressed and forget the ways in which you may have more leeway.)

There is no absolute equivalence between political and family dynamics but the parallel feel very relevant somehow. Several truths can coexist at once : you needed help and it was not given. You were let down. It's important to recognize that people are responsible of how they treat each other. You need to call out what isn't ok and stand up for yourself. At the same time, there is a reason why things are like this. Making people into villains is often bad strategy (within reason!), and in the end, easy dichotomies are often an instrument of power. The horrors you have been through might have given you a very specific wisdom and grace you do not have to be afraid of ; you are not tainted by your compassion (it is very much the opposite of forced forgiveness ; it has walked through the fire of truth.)

To me these books fit into what French literature does best, sociological storytelling a la Zola or Victor Hugo - the arguments aren't new and they can come across as heavy handed, even melodramatic. But I'll argue that the viscerality is the point, how the raw experience of misery punches through any clever arguments about how exploitation persists for the greater good of society. Really worth reading if you can do so with nuance.

[chaotic-bells]

I was tagged by @imbellarosa and @justalarryblog 😊 thank you! And sorry for the delay and rambling lol

my check in tag

This is a bit long... so I’ll just add the break not to bother people with my ramblings. 

1. Why did you choose your url? I created tumblr because of a fanfic, and I've been reading them since I was 11. And I will always love fanfic. Fanfic is the answer to all life's problems and bad canons. I can't imagine living in the world where I don't have fanfic to continue a world I love or to fix issues in a world that was promising, or just to wait until the next bit of canon came out. You have to imagine I started reading fanfic when there were only 2 Harry Potter books available and I was waiting for the translation of the third one (that came out end of 2000, and yes I was reading fics by then). So yeah... I wanted something related to fanfics, and I really am terrible about online identities. Probably should've used something more creative, but oh well. I like it well enough now, it is one that applies to all fandoms I love.

2. Any side-blogs? If you have them, name them and why you have them. Yes, I have @randomsideposts as my attempt to create a tag system and save my favorite posts. I failed. I also have @kenshin-and-maki for my cats, and a third unnamed one as sort of a journal/vent blog, for those times I just need to write stuff down and I don't want to keep things to myself. No one follows me and that's the way I like it. It's kind of dark.

3. How long have you been on tumblr? A year and a half only lol a baby by Tumblr standards.

4: Do you have a queue tag? Me? Organization? What? Jokes aside, I don't really like queueing stuff. I'm either here or I'm not. I'll schedule a post for a random future time, just so I don't forget the post, but a time I know I'll be online to interact with it/the reactions to it. I do that when (for example) Louis posts and I see posts that are not related to that that I'd like to reblog, but not right at that moment.

5. Why did you start your blog in the first place? Because of a cute Larry fic where Louis and Harry become mutuals without knowing they're the other one. I liked the dynamic they described of how Tumblr worked and I wanted to see if it really was like that, because my previous experiences with Tumblr were... confusing enough that I didn't stick around for more than 20 minutes.

6. Why did you choose your icon/pfp? It's Louis and Liam, who are definitely my favorites. Don't get me wrong, I love all the boys, but Liam and Louis (and their friendship) are just really special to me. And this pic is just... so cute. Also, @whatagreatproblemtohave and @evilovesyou demanded either me or @promisethatillnevertell change our profile picture, and that we should duel to see who would keep it because it was getting confusing lol (it was one of the outtakes of the House of Solo photoshoot). I would never fight Lou so I changed it. And I love it because it has my two boys 😁💕

7. Why did you choose your header? Because the livestream was so awesome and even if it's blurry i like it. Also, I never use the desktop version of Tumblr so it's probably a mess, but I like what I see on my mobile so it'll stay.

8. Whats your post with the most notes? Probably my Youtube comments about Louis? I know it has over 1k notes, which... wow.  Also, my little wistful post about keeping the livestream format after lockdown did ok too.

9. How many mutuals do you have? No clue, but I love them all.

10. How many followers do you have? 900 or so.

11. How many people do you follow? 654 blogs

12. Have you ever made a shitpost? Who hasn't?

13. How often do you use tumblr a day? No clue, dozens of times. I won't scroll too far down, just enough to distract me for a couple minutes while I'm waiting for something to load or if my brain needs a break from work.

14. Did you once have a fight/argument with another blog once? Who won? I've argued before with a Liam blog at the end of the LP Show 2, but it was a misunderstanding, I didn't express myself the way I wanted to. Pretty sure a bunch of Liam blogs have me blocked because of it still. Other than that, I'm pretty peaceful, and I really try to just stay out of drama.

15. How do you feel about “you need to reblog” posts? I hate them. It is a passive aggressive way of someone thinking their opinion is better than yours, usually has a comment like "if you don't reblog you don't care about this" or "I don't care if it doesn't fit my blog asthetic, I'll reblog it anyway". Congrats? Do you want a star for it? I'll reblog it if I think it has important information, despite these annoying comments, but only once. If it's a post I've seen multiple times, then everyone saw it multiple times.

16. Do you like tag games? Love them, but recently I've been a bit lax. Once you start saving them in your drafts, it snowballs into unmanageable levels.

17. Do you like ask games? I love them, but whenever I reblog one I only get 1 or 2 asks. :(

18. Which of your mutuals do you think is tumblr famous? I... don't really care enough about that to keep track lol

19. Do you have a crush on a mutual? Yes, but I won't put them on the spot

20. Tags? I don’t know if you’ve done this before, so feel free to ignore it? As usual @promisethatillnevertell @whatagreatproblemtohave @technicallysideacc @maybe-i-missyou @vintageumbroshirt @thedevilinmybrain @beckydoesthings

[stomach-rental]

which book out of the getting in deep series is your favorite?

good question! :D I personally like....inner workings or under my skin the best. I mean, I DO love the first book because it has louis in will the Longest and they’re both freaking out as they figure out what to do about this crazy shit, but louis is angry so much and also it’s difficult because you’ve gotta bounce around the first version and the second version to get a good picture of everything. so. my reasoning for the other two is:

UNDER MY SKIN:

- involves them doing their FIRST willing vore. I’m so proud of you boys!!

- will is really starting to feel protective here and is coping with his new feelings of actually slightly Enjoying this process, though he doesn’t understand it yet.

- martin zachs is a Very hate-able villain and I appreciate that.

- awkward moments, but Good Moments because will and louis are on a lot better terms than the first book

- MULTIPLE really good descriptive swallowing scenes that always drag me in to like. FEELING what the characters feel. all of the swallowing scenes are usually like that but these particular scenes really hit for some reason, probably since they’re actually starting to be fully aware of and understand what’s going on. when will got his intestinal sphincter hurt? I Felt That Panic So Hard I was internally SCREAMING the whole time

- fancy clothing :) they all get to be fancy and dance. we appreciate it. I especially loved will’s silly attempt to get louis to dance to the under my skin song,,, they deserve to have fun together

- BENI GETS ADDED TO THE GANG OF PEOPLE IN THE KNOW!!!!! and REESE DOES THE VORE??? REESE !! reese hated every minute of it but I love him so much, he’s so good, he’s probably my favorite side character and it’s good to see him doing his best to help however he can. even if it leads to him feeling. horrible sometimes.

INNER WORKINGS:

- sadly less vore than last time but when they DO do the vore, will gets to do it all by himself with TWO people for the first time. YEEHAW

- travel time! they get to actually go to california and get involved with fun travel stuff. I went to california a couple of summers ago and I Swear I was trying to put myself in their shoes the whole time, because I really enjoyed getting to see them experience new things together.

- sandra pearl was a KICK ASSSSSS VILLAIN I liked her a lot, she’s fun to imagine animatics to. (wink wonk ;) )

- WILL SHRINKS FOR THE FIRST TIME WILL SHRINKS FOR THE FIRST TIME WILL SHRINKS FOR THE FIRST TIME!!! g/t FUN I love getting to see and hear about g/t perspectives. it’s so good

- we ALMOST get to see what it would be like for louis to be forced into being swallowed by someone else-- a horrible scenario, yes, but one that I feel would bring up a lot of necessary feelings for louis to address. - more massaru time hell yeah! we get to see his family :D! I loved meeting them and getting to see more information on his life, he’s such a good character and he cares so much

- the scene where will has to pull louis and massaru out? yeah. ouch. I felt that. but it was also a LITTLE disappointing because I would have loved to see Will and Louis coping with seeing each other hurt and trying to take care of each other despite the size differences....

- introduction to our boy MILTON!!!! MILTON ily..

overall both of them have their flaws, as do all of the books, but they have to be the ones that are like. my Top favorites at the moment. I dunno, maybe that will change with spilling guts as it goes! so far spilling guts has been good but because I’m Hyperfixated and it is still in the process of updating, you can bet that I’m sitting here Slamming my head against the desk as we wait for them to be able to actually. communicate. I KNOW that it wouldn’t be nearly as hard if I saw the full book but it’s hard because I’d like to just shake louis by the shoulders and Yell at him (nicely. in a kind way that is full of the rage of a thousand suns). they’re wonderful books and have been written Incredibly well, I just!! I wish that I could be more patient kdhfksjdfk

[yikesharringrove]

mob boss billy falls for trust fund brat Steve

I’m going combine this with an anon request I got that’s similar.

anonymous asked:

Mafia Boss Billy fucking his worst rivals aka Mr Harringtons son, Steve, them both knowing who they are, but not giving a shit about it. Steve just really loves to get fucked by that thick cock of Billy’s and he doesn’t care that his own father hates the guy 👀

So there’s some fucking, some general violence, bad things happen and are bad, murder boyfriend energy.

Read on ao3

Billy Hargrove was infamous around Chicago.

The Hargrove Family was well established, ran the fucking streets for decades the title of Boss being handed father to son.

Neil Hargrove had groomed his son from a young age, kept him in the room to observe as he spoke to his dogs. Explained the precise techniques he used for torture. The first time he made Bill kill a man, hold a gun to his head and pull the trigger, Billy was twelve.

Billy was Neil’s favorite attack dog.

He could just say his name and strike absolute fear in the hearts of anyone who heard it, anyone who was threatened with it.

Billy was known for having cold eyes, a heart of steel. Rumor is, he killed his own father to take over the company, had an expensive funeral for him.

He took over the large office, headed up the businesses they used as a front.

Pictures would surface of him in expensive clubs, doing lines of coke off strippers, letting twinks sit in his lap, suck him off while he lazily sipped expensive whiskey.

Steve Harrington was a brat.

The Harrington family ran Indianapolis, Cincinnati, and were building themselves in St. Louis.

They were the Hargroves’ biggest rivals, had been encroaching on their stake in Chicago, had plans to take over as much of the midwest as possible.

Mr. Harrington had never been afraid to use his son as a bargaining chip.

Steve was pretty, but he was a simpering idiot according to his father. Only good to be thrown to the enemy, with a promise he’d do anything.

He’d been fucked over plenty of desks, had been tied up in grand penthouses, choked on the cocks of the bosses his dad wanted ally-ships with. The Harrington Family owed the establishment of their branch in Cleveland to Steve’s asshole and his willingness to be choked.

When Steve first met Billy, they were unaware of the other.

Steve had been on a bender, blowing through his father’s money after the settlement of a partnership in Detroit. He was in Chicago, being watched by two of his father’s men, the two had been assigned to Steve when he was young, keeping a close watch on him.

Billy had watched the pretty boy stumble into the club, the lights dim, the music low, base-heavy.

Steve was out of his mind when he slammed into the broad chest, had gazed up into sharp blue eyes, tugged a blond curl that had escaped the bun at the crown of his head.

Billy took him home that night, had fucked the rich brat in his silk sheets, on his dresser, on his bearskin rug, over his desk, against the shower wall.

They exchanged phone numbers the next morning when Steve hunted down his clothes, called his car around.

They started meeting up every time Steve made his way to Chicago, happening more and more often as he started to want Billy more and more.

But after a few months, Steve noticed some mail, envelopes addressed to William Hargrove.

“You’re, you’re a Hargrove.”

“You know the name?”

“You know the Harrington name?”

“Course I do, those assholes keep creeping on my turf.”

“Yeah well, I’m one of them.” He held out his hand. “Steve Harrington. Nice to meet you.” Billy just laughed, pulling Steve into him by his outstretched hand.

“Unfortunately, I don’t care. Wouldn’t give up that tight little hole for nothing.”

They kept fucking, keeping it behind closed doors, in secret. Steve didn’t want his father to know, thought he’d try to use him as leverage to get Chicago. Steve was happy, letting himself be in something close to a relationship for the first time in his entire life.

But then his father had a request, was ready to send him to Columbus to reason with a client.

He had opened his mouth, complained to Billy and the man he was supposed to meet with was found dead in Lake Erie two weeks later, the mangled body had to be identified by dental records.

Mr. Harrington is livid.

He knew Hargrove had something to do with this, thought maybe he had sabotaged the deal, not that he had killed to protect whatever was left of Steve’s honor.

Steve was in Chicago the next day, booked a flight the minute he heard the news of the body in the lake. Had shown up at Billy’s apartment in a long coat, nothing underneath. Billy slammed him against the closed door, kissed him fiercely while peeling the coat off him.

“Can’t believe, can’t believe you killed a man for me.”

“That freak you out?” He lifted Steve up, his legs wrapping around Billy’s waist as Steve fumbled with the buttons on his shirt.

“No. It’s, God that’s so hot, Bill.”

“He begged for his life. I really took my time, made sure he knew he was gonna die just for thinkin’ about touchin’ you.” Billy set him on the leather couch, settled himself between Steve’s legs. “I’m the only one that gets to touch you. Gets to fuck you.” He ground his hips down, biting at Steve’s ear, growling in it. “You’re mine, Princess.” Steve moaned as they moved together, their cocks sliding together, hard and hot.

“Bill, want you to fuck me. Claim me.” Billy stood off the couch, forced Steve down onto the floor, face pressing into the soft rug, ass in the air, silver plug visible.

Billy pulled it out, loved watching the way Steve stretched around the thickness of it, the way his hole fluttered when it was gone, leaving him empty, wet with lube.

Billy spat on it.

“This little hole is mine. Mine to open up, mine to fuck.” He pressed his cock in, sighing at the velvet heat around him. He went hard and fast, hands rough on Steve’s hips to keep him steady, slammed into this hard enough to bruise, the sound of their skin slapping together, Steve’s loud moans, his own grunts all he could hear. “Would kill for this hole, have killed for this hole. For, for you, Princess.”

Steve came on the rug below him, hand flying over his dick, crying out as he tightened around Billy, muscles going stiff before collapsing, breathing heavily into the rug. Billy never slowed his pace, kept slamming into Steve, chasing his orgasm.

“Come inside. Only, only person I’ve, ever let fill me up.” That threw Billy right over the edge. He shoved his way in a few more times, cumming deep in that fluttering little hole. He flopped next to Steve, chest heaving as Steve rolled on top of him.

His fingers drifted down, two pressing back into Steve, keeping him full.

“You really never let anyone cum inside you?”

“No. Didn’t trust anyone enough not to use a condom. “

Billy’s mind short-circuited at the idea that Steve trusts him.

“Jesus Christ.” Steve looked at him, his eyebrows furrowed.

“What, what’s wrong?”

“I think I fucking, love you.” Steve’s face was blank.

“No shit, Idiot. You tortured and killed a guy that was hypothetically going to fuck me.”

Billy laughed, Steve shifting around on top of him as his chest moved with it.

“God, Stevie. I really went ham on the guy too. Like, really went to town.”

“And the whole time you were doing that, you didn’t once think maybe this about more than fucking?”

“I really didn’t.” He was giggling. “How long did you know?”

“When I heard they pulled that body out of Lake Erie. Your family has no ties to the Camorra family. There was no reason for you to off him, except me.”

“Was it too big a gesture?”

“Nah. Don’t mind a little death. it’s all part of the gig.” He put his head back down. “For the record, I love you too. In case you didn’t already know.” Billy kissed the top of his head.

“I almost went after your father, too.” Steve was quiet for a moment. Billy was worried he’d gone too far, said too much.

“Let me know if you do. I wanna watch.”

[busterkeatonfanfic]

Chapter 22

As Nelly washed her face and braided her hair that night, she could scarcely believe that the weekend was almost over. It had been a happy blur of fishing, bridge lessons, walks in the woods, songs under the stars, and tonight a campfire and a ukulele concert after a dinner of wheat cakes and maple syrup. And of course, not a trivial amount of that time had been passed in bed with Buster. As she’d spent those blissful hours with him, time zipped by without her noticing. 

Buster was humming to himself from the other room and Nelly wondered if the weekend had gone the way he’d expected. She wondered, not the first time, what had he expected. From the way he was behaving, he seemed cheerful and serene, but she wasn’t sure. Men were mysterious. Tomorrow he would go back to his wife and she would return to being a cog in the United Artists machine.

Before leaving the washroom, she brushed her teeth. She was half-tempted to shed her chemise and knickers ahead of bed; they always ended up torn off in the middle of the night anyway.

In the other room, Buster was sitting up in bed with the blankets pulled over his lap and her little red book in his hands, paging through Mistress Nell Gwyn. She felt a flush of embarrassment and regretted not bringing a more serious book along.

“Are you reading it ‘cause the main girl’s called Nelly?” he said, looking up at her.

Her face warmed as she checked the lock to the front door and turned off the floor lamp near the kitchen. “No, I like Marjorie Bowen and I hadn’t read this one yet. The name’s just a coincidence.” And it was, truly. “What do you read?” she said to switch the subject. They’d gotten around to discussing their favorite music (they both liked Bix Beiderbecke, Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five, and Paul Whiteman), but not their favorite books. 

Buster looked slightly abashed as she switched off the table lamp by the sofa. “Does Popular Mechanics count?”

“Well, not as far as novels go,” she said, crossing the room and lifting the corner of the sheets on her side of the bed to slide in next to Buster. 

“I read a dime novel once and awhile. Mostly don’t have the time,” said Buster. “But your book—she’s sweet on old King Charlie?”

Nelly took the book from him, amused. “King Charles II,” she corrected. 

“Why d’ya like it?” said Buster. He burrowed deeper into the covers and snuggled against her shoulder like a boy wanting a bedtime story. 

“I like novels based on real things. I get a history lesson and the people from back then feel more real.”

“Did you see my picture The General?” asked Buster.

“Of course,” said Nelly. Her memory of the film wasn’t very strong, but she knew that she had enjoyed it quite a lot and remembered gasping with the rest of the audience at his daring stunts on the train. She seemed to recall that she found him good-looking with his long hair and sober looks, but apparently not so good-looking that she’d felt compelled to write him a mash note or glue his picture into her scrapbook like she had with John Barrymore.

“Now that picture, you see, was based on real facts. And the train was really called the General!” Buster launched into the story of the Great Locomotive Chase of 1862, and Nelly listened with contentment to his animated retelling. He talked all about the production of the picture, having to find narrow-gauge railroad tracks, learning how to operate a steam engine, hiring the National Guard to play soldiers, and playing baseball near the Willamette Valley. “I thought it was my finest picture but the critics all blasted it. Said it was a flop. I haven’t been able to make sense of it. Guess they thought I should leave the serious acting to types like your fellow, John Barrymore.”

“He’s not my fellow, Buster,” Nelly chided. She ran her fingers idly through his dark hair.

“What happened to being his leading lady?” he said, kissing her bare upper arm.  

“Oh, don’t tease me for being romantic when I didn’t know him. I didn’t know what he was really like. Didn’t I tell you? When I was in Tempest, he came right into the ladies room and pissed in the sink right in front of me. And if that wasn’t enough, he picked his nose right in front of me too! He was so drunk he couldn’t tell left from right. I had to help him back to Mr. Taylor.”

Buster laughed. “You’re kidding.”

“Gosh, I wish I was. He kept us there all night he was so drunk. They had to build a sort of carousel for Camilla Horn and him to finish their ballroom dance.” Thinking of Tempest, Nelly was reminded of something that had been on her mind since her hours with Buster had begun to draw to a close. “I want to say something serious to you now though.”

Buster, to his credit, didn’t try to make a joke. “What’s that?”

“In the book”—for a second, Nelly lifted the red volume that lay between them—“Nell Gwyn is just an orange seller at the playhouse. One night, King Charles invites her to a tavern with his friends Rochester and Buckingham. He remembers seeing her before and likes her. While they’re eating and drinking, he asks what she means to do with her life and she says that she wants to be an actress. Then she dances for him and he leaves her a pair of silver shoes as a gift because she pays for his food and drink. You think that he’s going to see to it that she becomes an actress, but he doesn’t. He has his own matters to worry about and goes on with his life, but she becomes a successful actress on her own—I’m only halfway through of course—and anyhow that’s how he notices her again. He goes to a play and she’s starring.”

“Oh yeah?” said Buster, obviously not understanding. 

“Well, what I’m saying is I appreciate you putting in a word for me with Mr. Taylor, but if you want to continue seeing me …”

Here she paused. It was a brave thing to say aloud because she didn’t know, not for certain, if Buster did want to see her after he dropped her back off at her apartment tomorrow. It wasn’t just false modesty. For all she knew, he had getaways with girls all the time, a new one for every weekend. His waywardness with women had, after all, been one of the first things she’d heard about him back in River Junction: all a girl had to do to seduce him was walk into his dressing room. 

“I don’t want any more favors and I won’t ask for any. I don’t want to play angles anymore. In fact, I prefer to try it on my own in the future, getting parts that is, just to see if I can, if I’m good enough to make it without help. Like Nell Gwyn was.” She let out a deep breath, afraid of his reaction.

“I think that’s fine,” he said, putting a hand on her jaw and turning her head to his so he could kiss her lips. His expression registered no displeasure. “Only I never talked to Sam Taylor. You did that one on your own. Honest.”

Nelly could hardly believe it.“Really?” she said, scanning his eyes to see if he was being truthful. 

“ ‘Course not. Had nothing to do with me,” he said.

“Oh. Well…” said Nelly, feeling silly.

“I’ll make a note. No angles, no favors. I’ll let you go it alone like your Nell Gwyn.” He took her hand and brought it to his lips. “Tell me what happens next in your book, though.”

Feeling that a weight had been lifted, Nelly went on. “Well, the King sees Nell at a play and as soon as he notices her silver shoes, he remembers who she is.”

“Then what?” said Buster, caressing her hand. 

“I don’t know. Then she becomes his mistress,” Nelly said. She felt embarrassed to admit that she read such books.

“Did he have a queen?”

“Oh yes, Queen Catherine, the one who got the British to start drinking tea, but she doesn’t get much mention in the book. Mrs. Bowen’s more concerned with his mistresses. He had about a dozen. There’s the Countess of Castlemaine and Moll Davis, who’s another actress. Nelly was just one, but she was the most loyal.” She looked down to where Buster was holding her hand in his and rubbing it with a thumb, and wondered what he was thinking about her foolish taste in novels. 

“Will you be my mistress?”

Nelly turned her face to him, stunned. For a moment, she thought it was just one of his many jokes. One look at the beseeching expression on his face told her it wasn’t. Such waves of happiness and consternation struck her then that it was several seconds before she could answer. “Yes,” she said. There could hardly be another answer. And yet even as she consented, she thought of the Countess of Castlemaine, Moll Davis, and the Duchess of Portsmouth.  

“You got this look on your face,” said Buster.

“Do I?” she said, feeling flustered. 

“Yeah. A look that’s telling me you got something on your mind you ain’t telling me.”

Now that they were being so honest, she couldn’t deny him the real answer, even though it was preposterous to ask for faithfulness from a man who was already someone else’s husband.

“Well, are there others?” she said, searching his eyes. 

“Other what?” said Buster, cocking his head a little. “Mistresses? No.” He squeezed her hand. “Now I ain’t going to lie, I’ve had steadies before, not what you’d call mistresses exactly, but cross my heart I haven’t been with a girl in months. Are you asking if I’ll be true to you?”

Nelly looked away. “Oh, I don’t know,” she said, but reminded herself she was trying to be honest. “I suppose I am and it’s the silliest thing to ask. I know you’re married. I’m not asking you to… Well, I guess I don’t know what I’m asking. Maybe I’m a little jealous, not about your wife, but about other girls because I—I like you already.” She looked back at him, fearing his reaction, but he was only regarding her in the same interested way he had when she’d relayed the plot of her book. “Please don’t take what I’m saying the wrong way, I know it seems like I’m looking a gift horse in the mouth,” she said hurriedly. “And I don’t expect you to keep me either like King Charles keeps Nelly, with satin and pearls and houses. Oh, I’m sorry for making this such a muddle. All I should have said was yes. I just want to be pals like we’ve been this weekend. I know it’s not right to ask.”

“ ‘Course we’ll stay pals,” said Buster. “And I promise no satin and pearls. I can still buy you dinner, can’t I?” 

Nelly laughed, her spirits feeling lighter. “Of course you can. I just don’t want to be a kept woman, okay? You can still do all the normal stuff a fellow would.”

Buster’s hand found its way down the front of her chemise and she pulled in a sharp breath as he rolled his finger lightly around the perimeter of her nipple. “Like this?”

She nodded, her eyes closing as his thumb joined the finger and pinched with gentle pressure. Her mind went back to the sight of him between her legs in the forest, his dark messy hair that he’d stopped slicking down with Brilliantine during the course of the weekend, and she groaned at the memory. She rolled onto her side, Buster’s hand still busy at her breast, and slid her hand beneath the brim of his pajama trousers.

“You’re not wearing any underwear,” she said, grasping the warm, silky length of him. 

Buster shifted onto his side. “Yeah, you’ve been teaching me something about efficiency.” He gave a wince of pleasure as she began to move her hand up and down. He withdrew his hand from her chemise and put it in her knickers, and she felt as warm as she had in the sun on Saturday as his fingers began their clever work.

They exchanged pleasures like that for a couple minutes before Buster began tugging her chemise over her head. She unbuttoned his pajama shirt as he played with her breasts. It would be a terribly long time before she was ever bored by the way he tensed his stomach when she touched him, making all the muscles stand out like they were sculpted in marble. She pressed her breasts against her chest as she pulled his pajama shirt the rest of the way off of him, and Buster began wrestling her knickers down. When they were all the way undressed, both still lying on their sides, Nelly put her leg over him.

“Let’s try it without,” she whispered, as Buster kissed her neck and ear. It was a crazy thing to ask, but she was beyond thinking straight. 

“What, without a thin?” he said with surprise. 

“I think it’d be okay. If you pull out before--” She blushed. “I want to see how it feels without it.”

Buster kissed her forehead once, twice, three times in obvious gratitude. “Alright.” 

Nelly shifted herself lower and guided him into her with a hand. For a few moments, Buster was perfectly still. Nelly breathed deeply, feeling him without a barrier for the first time and jubilant with the sensation, as well as the weight of his proposal. A mistress. 

He made love to her more slowly than he had on previous occasions, pausing for long stretches to kiss her, then grasping her backside to push himself deeper. Eventually, the slow pace sent her into such a frenzy that she took control of the rhythm. He caught on and went faster. When every muscle on him stood out again as if sculpted, she knew he was close. 

“Don’t forget to pull out,” she said, seeking his eyes. 

“I won’t,” he said breathlessly. He gave such a fierce, pleasurable thrust that she keened, and that caused him to withdraw suddenly and rock himself against her stomach until he came with a shuddering groan. 

She stroked his cheekbone when he was finished. His eyes had closed and his breathing was deep and satisfied. Buster Keaton’s mistress. She was so filled with the thought that she felt barely any guilt when she thought of his wife. It was, after all, easy to justify. He was not intimate with her; she had realized that when he mentioned that he slept alone. She had never forgotten his statement the night of his party either, that the marriage was headed for divorce. But there she cut off her thoughts. She was getting far too ahead of herself. It was enough that they had gotten on like a house on fire and that Buster was holding her in his arms now, smelling like sweat and cigarettes and himself. 

“Buster,” she said. She could tell he was starting to fall asleep.

“Mmmph,” said Buster. 

“We should set an alarm for tomorrow. My tram leaves at 6:45 and I’ve got to be at work around 7:30. We should get up at four so we have time to pack and so I can get ready.”

Buster rolled onto his back and cupped the crown of his head in his hands. “Don’t worry about the tram, I’ll drop you off.”

“Oh, you don’t have to do that. I don’t want to get you into any trouble. If anyone sees us, they’ll talk,” she said. 

Buster opened one eye and lifted his eyebrow. “Let ‘em talk,” he said.

“Okay,” said Nelly, not quite knowing what to make of this attitude. 

Nell Gwyn had been no secret to King Charles II’s subjects, but somehow Nelly thought that Buster Keaton’s public would be less tolerant if he got into the habit of parading around a mistress. Nonetheless, she didn’t argue with him. As she cleaned his seed off of her in the washroom, she didn’t have a thought except for how happy she was when she was around him.

Note: Just a PSA that this is fiction and not an endorsement of the pull-out method (although Planned Parenthood notes that it is 96% effective if used correctly 100% of the time). Obviously it doesn't prevent STDs. You should always use protection with a new partner. ;)

[shesawriter39049]

|ROLL DEEP|M| P.1

                 *Yoongi centered fic with a shared OT7 plot*

CH.1.1   CH. 1.2

**Operation: What’s eating blue!?***

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“Stop, this stopped being a you, thing and became a us thing  the minute we chose to show up here tonight! You gave us an out and we stayed...we will always stay...”

1.2 K Sneak Peek

Pairing: Yoongi x OC

Genre: Sugar baby AU/Suspense/Smut/Angst/Roomate AU/FWB AU

WC: 7K

Nonsexual Warnings: Mentions of drug use (Molly/weed/)Strong language/ Alcohol addictions/ brief mentions/ speculations of domestic violence/abuse

Sexual Warnings: Oral (M & F receiving) power bottom Min Yoongi, cum play, breath play, spanking, dirty talk, Slight overestimation, sex toys (Cock rings....) Semi-public sex (A chill little blow job in the car) The sexual warnings are for both parts of CH.1 so the smut is split in half!

NOTE:  Just to clarify the dynamic Yoongi and the OC are roommates who hookup on the side, they are BOTH sugar babies to two separate people! So yes, that would imply that Yoongi and some of the other boys who are also sugar babies are Bi. There is no MxM but there is mentions of it occasionally….as well as some harmless ot7 flirting! Also all of the boys are introed, Tae and Joon just play a lager part here!

_______________________________________________

I guess, fuck where do we even start? Maybe, will go back to where it all technically started, which was the last time things felt...somewhat normal yeah?

So, that would be...hmm...about 2 weeks shy of you heading into Junior year at USC right? The day your boys picked you up at the airport, and the three of your treated Blue, aka TaeTae to brunch!?

Well, wait let’s back track a little it all started much eariler than that, because you weren’t even aware of your brunch plans until later in the day. So Initially the day in question kicks of with you, in oversized blacked out CHLOE shades, hungover as fuck, sat in at the airport one Sunday afternoon. Smack dab in the middle of Terminal 6, in a bar called Blu2o sipping on a Bloody Mary, scrolling aimlessly through Snapchat. While simotaniously being told for the very first time ...that you’ll be attending a “Haute Couture”  themed charity auction...on Tuesday! Yup,  the day after tomorrow! Thank god he can’t see your damn face right now, biting down on your straw to muzzle yourself!

“No, babe it’s fine, I’ll just hit Rodeo tomorrow morning, and I’m sure my nail and lash girl can fit me-Oh you...haven’t gotten... what ...your wearing either?” Parroting the words back In slow motion as if it would make the words sound better or something!

Oh for fucks sake! Bringing your forehead flush to the marble bartop already feeling a full blown migraine brewing at the nape of your neck. Giving yourself a couple moments to self compose, this man is so damn unorganized it’s unfucking real. His personal assistant better be the 2nd highest paid person within his entire company because…..This is far from new, I don’t even know why your suprised and I’d say you don’t get paid enough for this....but ya do! So you suck it up, lose the attitude and slip right into your “Yes sir” or maybe I should say ‘Yes daddy” voice.

“Don’t worry about it, I know your busy. I totally get it, your a 28 waist right? Of course, I remember...I remember everything you tell me….Ohhh your gonna let me put you in color too???” Eyes flickering up to the notification from your bank, noting a cute little 12k wire pending.

“Yeah, no, I see it, that should be good. I was thinking Versace or Cavili for you anyway...they have good prints to fit the theme, and if all else fails I have my card too…yup..just landed about..hmm... 30 minutes ago actually. Of course, stop apologizing, Sunday's are always your golf days, I get it, hey, tell the guys I said hi and enjoy your day. Text me later if you feel up to it..k....bye..”

Were you actually getting a little flustered there towards the end? It's the slight accent, isn't it? Honestly, it didn't take much for you to slip into “character” with him, even after barely being together a full month. For one he wasn’t an asshole, had a decent sense of humor, and he’s really fuckin hot...however there was one, little, well shit, not so little issue...you noticed while with him recently. Which, then sparked quite a few questions while also answering some that had been rattling through your head since the day you met. But will circle back to the fact that you spent a week on vacation with a man, while dressed in some of the sexiest pieces of 2019 couture! Yet..you barely got touched once outside of a couple chaste kisses and hand-holding while at the two fashion shows you attended together… so, yeah, yeah!

A low groan in frustration rattled from your throat as you continued scrolling through Snapchat, trying to come up with some possible outfit scenarios in your head! It’s kinda funny, how mynute all of that seems now though, how your definition of “Stress” that day was you trying to decide if your sugar daddy was gay, while also  finding time to fit in a self-care day, shopping, and getting your books for school!!  The fact that, that was what you considered migraine worthy, fuck, what you wouldn’t give to consider multitasking your only maltitude of “stress” again …..

Just in your own little world, mind swirling with a couple of stylists you’ve met along the way, considering the idea of them pulling some vintage pieces for you instead!  What you should be doing, is scrolling through your contact list and texting said stylists, instead you find yourself more and more distracted.  Getting lost in the mounds of snap updates from Jimin as he “modestly” sunbathed in a private villa in Italy. Then later sharing a glimpse into his shopping spree from Versace, no doubt a good 20k worth of Italian luxury spread out along the plush white sheets. Sending him a cheeky little “That’s my boy” with a couple of smug winky faces in response!

It’s still kinda crazy to think, things like that are considered normal within your world now, the fact that you aren’t even surprised at the number of gifts. Or, simply the fact that your barley 21-year-old best friend is sunbathing in Italy on someone else’s dime. Then again, you just got sent 12 thousand dollars to spend on an event that would last maybe all of 5 hours, while sitting next to a stack of Louis Vuittion luggage from your first class flight in from Vegas, technically. Opting to land there first after a long 15-hour flight, checking in at The Four Seasons for not even a solid 24 hours before coming home! Honestly?There was no real reason for the pit stop except it gave you an excuse to see a friend while also allowing you to unwind in one of your favorite hotels!

That sentence alone is actually absurd when you really think about it, the idea of you casually booking flights and suites in 5-star hotels as if you’re ordering off the damn dollar menu at Mcdonalds! You, the girl that was working two jobs at the Groove and mourning a piece of shit cheating ex boyfriend her freshman year of college.....is now reminiscing about catching flights to chill with friends and last minute finding dresses for Couture themed galas.Like, what the actual fuck is life.... Oh my bad, life at the moment is constantly being paranoid that you and your friends will get arrested! Life in this moment however...was a fucking perfect!

The friend you where meeting in Vegas was Hoseok by the way, the redhead was currently vacationing in Sin City for the next couple of days, typically residing in LA as well. Just Chillin’ before the semester starts, living his best life, which revolves around “OFF-WHITE'' shopping sprees, private dance lessons, and constantly taking thirst trap pics for his 10’s of thousands of followers online. He randomly texts you saying “I miss your face” you text him saying “I land at 8 tonight bring a bottle and sushi to room 605 at The Four Seasons hotel '' Simple!

Your initial flight, the one that was 15 hours, was originally from Paris, where you spent the last week or so with Jeong-su, being arm candy, sipping wine, sightseeing and of course shopping!. Barley 32 hours ago your Snapchat looked pretty damn similar, if not worse in comparison to Jimin’s but what can I say, you can’t be in the home of Givenchy and Gaulthier and not go to Givenchy and Gaultier!

What your life is, what you and your friends do, I mean, I think it’s safe to say it’s pretty self-explanatory yeah? The average 20 something-year-old in college isn't flying themselves out of the country or going luxury shopping without a little help. In your case, it’s typically thanks to a person you commonly refer to as “Daddy” now, the context behind the word however….is where you and your friends may differ from others…..

But that’s your business, your concern and more importantly your choice, and honestly for a while life seemed too damn good to be true...I guess looking back on it now, I guess that’s because it kinda was!

Sat at the predominantly empty bar alone, more than content by the silence, twirling your straw between your lips, as you scanned back over the shit show that was your schedule for the semester! Getting more of a migraine from that, then shopping or even the fact that you're still hungover and drinking on an empty stomach at half-past 12. Shooting a quick text to your redheaded best friend cursing him out for getting you drunk off your ass on a bottle of Yamazaki 12.

“Can I get anything else for you beautiful? Another drink or maybe an appetizer? We have damn good loaded queso fries if I do say so myself!” Waving the menu in your face playfully, the warm, inviting voice in front of you was the bartender, who’s had his eye on you since you swayed in. Even if you looked like crap for your standards you knew to most you were the farthest thing from it as you swayed into the bar like you owned the place. In your heels, and tiny little black dress, while an airport assistant trolied in your luggage behind you! Ohhh Blair  Waldorf would without a doubt be proud!

“Mmmm…” Lips pursed in a slight pout as you raked over the menu, honestly, you were hungry and they have bomb ass fried pickles…..”Actually, yeah, I’ll get-”

“ 3 tall shots of whatever top-shelf Tequila you have, also add whatever she’s been drinking to my tab, along with an order of fried pickles with extra ranch…please and thank you!” Smoothly sliding his black card, and ID across the marble bartop for review.

Oh.

The look on the bartender’s face was fucking priceless, torn between shitting himself and maybe….nah, just straight shitting himself! Skin flushed, the sense of panic was clear as day,  wondering if he’d overstepped that fine line between customer service and filtration. Considering whoever the person behind you is, clearly knows you well enough to know your food order. A forced bashful smile playing along his lips as he bowed out in acknowledgment, sliding the gentelmen back is ID and whispering out a faint “Yes sir, coming right up…”

The base vibrating through your ears instantly had you readjusting your posture, a strong tingle running down your spine, back arching ever so slightly. A playful smirk playing along your lips as you slowly laced your tongue back around your staw, tucking a loose strand of hair behind your ear.

“You sure you wanna do that? My tastes are pretty expensive..” Tone blatantly flirtatious, yet you still hadn’t bothered to even turn around, that’s when suddenly you hear a deep arrogant chuckle rumbling low in his chest. Only...this sounds a little brighter? And like it’s coming from your left instead of behind you…

“Mmm, I’m sure we can handle it baby….”

You could feel the air shift behind you, it felt warmer, and there was a strong mix of scents flooding through your nose. Leaning back in your seat, pleasantly finding your shoulders, the back of your neck, and your head, cradled against a lean wall of silk. Sighing contently, naturally letting your body melt into his frame, nose running into your face as you smiled so hard your cheeks hurt. That’s when a gangle of veiny, porcelain limbs wrapped around your shoulders pulling you even tighter against him, only to find brown, sharp, cat-like eyes staring down at you, though a pair of translucent designer shades. Seemingly a little bit amused at how excited you are to see him. Long dark wavy locks falling messily into his face, a tiny silver hoop dawning his button nose. Tongue playing at the corner of his mouth, letting the tiny silver ball slip between his lips. This angle lets you really appreciate how sharp, yet soft his features were, an oxymoron that honestly makes no damn sense unless you see him in person….jawline sharp enough to cut glass yet he has the cutest cheeks ever when he smiles. It honestly makes no sense whatsoever and he’s one of the many reasons you have trust issues. Well, that and your line of work, considering the number of men you find out are married and still try and sneak around with you.

Then, as if to just make his presence known, there’s another pair of hands making their home along your body, gently squeezing your thigh. Except, he’s polar opposite to the person I just described, the man behind you is your roommate Yoongi, the man who just took a seat to your left, is your other roommate Namjoon! First off, he’s tall as all hell, and an offensively perfect shade of brown, he can’t even go into the burbs without being asked what self-tanner he uses. In which he smugly replies “Genetics” letting them sit there and try and google said company that makes that brand of self-tan. Streams of meticulously placed colored neo-traditional tattoos paint his skin, accompanied by deep dimples, and bleach blonde hair styled into an undercut, sides buzzed into the perfect fade.

“So you gonna get up and give me a real hug or what???”  Placing a kiss in your hair as he pulled back, giving you room to hop out of your seat and right into his arms.

The Full thing is coming soon, this is from summer 2019, I just have to edit, and reread the full thing again! I also wrote the first 3 parts all at once..sooo if your exicted show this some love anddddddddd come let me know!

Love you as always,

Rocki

[horansqueen]

AM Conversations : chapter 44

A Niall Horan fanfiction ; rated MA

CHAPTER 1 || CHAPTER 2 || CHAPTER 3 || CHAPTER 4 || CHAPTER 5 || CHAPTER 6 || CHAPTER 7 || CHAPTER 8 || CHAPTER 9 || CHAPTER 10 || CHAPTER 11 || CHAPTER 12 || CHAPTER 13 || CHAPTER 14 || CHAPTER 15 || CHAPTER 16 || CHAPTER 17 || CHAPTER 18 || CHAPTER 19 || CHAPTER 20 || CHAPTER 21 || CHAPTER 22 || CHAPTER 23 || CHAPTER 24 || CHAPTER 25 || CHAPTER 26 || CHAPTER 27 || CHAPTER 28 || CHAPTER 29 || CHAPTER 30 || CHAPTER 31 || CHAPTER 32 || CHAPTER 33 || CHAPTER 34 || CHAPTER 35 || CHAPTER 36 || CHAPTER 37 || CHAPTER 38 || CHAPTER 39 || CHAPTER 40 || CHAPTER 41 || CHAPTER 42 || CHAPTER 43

NOTES:

-one chapter is her pov, the next is his. -4.1k -im sorry, i never proofread, i hate it. -there WILL be smut. but not only smut. -this is a romance, comedy, smut story. -for the summary, check my MASTERLIST.

- if you want to be notified when this is updated, please message me or leave a comment!

- you can send me questions and theories and comments. tbh they all make me SO SO SO SOOOO HAPPY! and make me want to write more! you can also tell me if there are things you WANT to happen. you never know, i may add it :P

- note for this chapter: i planned more things for this chapter but got caught in the smut. sorry? i want them to have a few more chapters of happiness before the rest of the story happens sooo i hope it wasnt too boring?

requests for this chapter!

Chapter 44 : His chapter

NIALL

"I hate this."

I turned to my girlfriend with a smirk and chuckled a bit before pushing her side gently with mine. She turned to look at me too and made a grimace but I quickly reached for her fingers and grabbed them, pulling her with me. I moved my arm up and made her twirl around just to make her get her smile back and when she stopped, I noticed her lips were curled again.

"You used to love this, come on."

She tilted her head and stuck her tongue out at me before laughing. I pulled on her arm again to bring her closer and closed my eyes when her lips crashed against mine.

"To be honest I never really enjoyed this." she admitted when I kicked the ball her way. "I just liked spending time with you and you were always a fan of football."

"Are you serious?" I chuckled, an amused smile on my lips. "We used to play for hours! And all this time you hated it?"

She rolled her eyes, kicking me the ball back and I stopped it with one of my feet.

"Okay I didn't hate it but it's not something I really enjoy."

"You don't like it only because you're not good at it." I pointed out jokingly, passing her the ball again but bursting into laughter when she kicked it back very roughly and not in my direction. "Don't be a sore loser."

I jogged to get the ball back and when I came back, she shook her head.

"If that was true, I wouldn't do much."

I frowned and looked up at her.

"What do you mean?"

She rolled her eyes and took a step closer.

"I'm pretty average at pretty much everything." she shrugged, stopping the ball again.

"Well you'd give blowjobs a lot!" I joked, bursting into laughter when she shot the ball so hard I had to take a step on the side not to be hit. "More seriously though, you're not average at everything, and there's nothing wrong with being average anyway."

She raised her nose up. "Yea I know, everyone's special is an other way of saying no one is."

"Did you just quote The Incredibles?" I asked with an other laugh.

"Shut up and play."

I laughed again but we started playing in silence. It was finally warm outside, warmer than it usually is in may, and I felt like I hadn't played football in way too long. Soccer Aid was not really far away and I needed to practice but the more we played, the more I realized I wouldn't have much competition if I played witb my girlfriend.

"You're the worst person at football i've ever met." I confessed after an hour.

She grimaced while panting, holding herself on her knees. I smiled more and took a few steps closer, bringing the ball with me. She looked pretty and I was endeared by the fact that she'd make efforts to play with me even if she didn't like it.

"What?" she asked, raising her eyebrows before to get back up. "What are you talking about i'm.. i'm so good I mean..." she stopped and sighed, grimacing again. "Okay, I seriously suck but I mean, you should see me play golf!"

"Oh?" I chuckled again. "You think you,re a good golfer?"

"Na," she raised her nose up again. "You should see me because I suck even more."

This time, I burst into laughter and moved my chin her way, pushing the ball gently her way with my foot.

"Okay, just try to move past me with the ball."

"Actually, I could just... like..." she shrugged, looking up at me. ".. hit you in the knee and i'd probably win."

"That's... totally not fair play." I let out, raising my eyebrows as her lips curled.

"Okay but i'd probably win, yea?"

I glared at her and she just rolled her eyes, shaking her head.

"Fine, fine, but don't be too rough."

I smiled as she kept her eyes on the ball and tried to move past me, pressing both her hands on my chest to push me. I took a step back and laughed, grabbing both her wrists and making her look up in my eyes.

"Darling, you're cheating."

She stared at me a few seconds and her lips curled. I loved theway her eyes sparkled and my gaze dropped to her mouth when she licked her lips.

"Maybe." she whispered. "But i'm winning."

She tried to push me again but this time, I didn't lose my balance and got closer to her. She tried to kick the ball away but her leg intertwined with mine and we both fell on the grass and she let out a loud 'ow!' before she started laughing. She opened her eyes and I realized I was half-laying on top of her with one of my thighs between hers and her lips curled again.

"This is my favorite football position," she whispered, nibbling on her bottom lip.

"That's not a football position."

She rolled her eyes with a chuckle and brought one of her hands in my hair, slipping her fingers in it. These past few weeks had been perfect and I wanted things to stay that way. After the small fight we had had about my jealousy, we had decided to focus on us and if I wanted to be honest, I couldn't remember a time in my life where I had been happier with a girl. I knew that eventually many things would change but I didn't want to think about them. I just wanted to live the present moment and enjoy fun times with my girlfriend. It was still crazy to realize she was not only my best friend anymore but I was slowly getting used to it.

"Mm, shut up."

I smiled more and bent down to kiss her, my lips brushing against her first before deepening the kiss. She brought one of her knees up and pressed her thigh on my ass to push me closer to her, making me laugh in her mouth.

"You're such a horny girl, I swear." I mentioned with a chuckle when she ground up against me.

"Look who's talking, you get hard as often as a fifteen year old." she argued, smiling against my lips.

"I blame you." I whispered, pulling away slightly to look in her eyes.

She chucked low and shook her head, still staring at me, and I didn't want to move. I had never felt like that with any other girl I dated and I had this weird feeling that I would never have this kind of relationship with anyone else in my whole life. The thought of spending my life with her reached my mind and my smile faltered slightly. That idea was still scaring me more than I could admit and I was not sure why. I loved her, I was even in love with her, and we were happy together, but thinking that I wouldn't live anything else with anyone else was not a comforting concept.

"Are you okay?"  she asked, taking me out of my thoughts.

I blinked a few times and focused on her again. Her hair was a mess and spread around her head, her lips were slightly parted and the sun was shining on her skin. I wasn't horny anymore, or even scared. I was just in awe of her, how beautiful she was, and how much I loved her.

"Y-yes..."

She opened her mouth more to say something but my phone made a sound, telling me I had a text message. I search through my pocket and she laughed at the way I squirmed over her, making my lips curl slightly.

"It's Louis." I explained, glancing at her before looking back at my screen. "He wants to go out tonight. You in?"

My eyes found her again and she raised her nose up and shrugged.

"Not really, but you can go if you want." she quickly replied. "I'll just take a warm bath and read a book."

My eyes roamed on her face, not really knowing if that,s really what she wanted. I remembered dating Maya and how I always had to guess what she really wanted. I could never rely on her words and I had to decipher her body expression to know the truth. Olivia was different but the habit to be on guard or even to get defensive was still alive inside me. I tensed and frowned, hiolding my breath as I tried to analyze her.

"Are you sure?" I asked cautiously. "You're not just saying that, right?"

This time, she laughed and shook her head, letting her fingers move from my hair to my jaw.

"If it bothered me, i'd tell you."

My lips curled into a big smile and I bent down to press my lips against hers.

"You're perfect." I whispered before kissing her again as she laughing against my mouth.

I pecked her lips a few times and finally moved off of her to get up. I held my arm out and she grabbed my hand, the warmth of her skin feeling amazing against mine, and I just helped her up. Her body was close to mine and I smiled as she wrapped her arms around my neck, getting on her tiptoes.

"As long as we cuddle when you come back." she requested, tilting her chin up. "Deal?"

She was adorable and despite the fact that we were both sweaty, I pulled her closer and let my hands run up her back under her shirt.

"Deal."

                                              ----

I couldn't remember the last time I drank that much. I tried to avoid any discussion with Louis that would have to do with Olivia because I really didn't know how it would go and I was not in the mood to ruin the friendship I had with him, or the one he had with my girlfriend. I was still a bit jealous of how close they seemed to be when they were together but it didn't seem to happen as often and I couldn't say it bothered me.

"Chillax, mate!" Louis let out with a laugh, making me grimace.

"Did you just say 'chillax'?" I asked, turning to him and making Harry laugh. "Who the fuck are you?"

"Alright, he's still slightly lucid." Liam pointed out, getting up and taking Julie's hand. "We're leaving, was a long day."

I remained sitting while they said goodbye to everyone and when it was my turn, I got up a bit too quickly, making me realize I was drunker than I thought.

"Hey, Neil, you okay?" Louis asked in a concerned tone, putting his hand on my back. "Come on, i'll bring you back home."

He helped me walk until the car and held my head to get me inside. I leaned against the seat and closed my eyes but quickly opened them again when I realized I was getting dizzy and nauseous. We drove in silence and when he finally parked, I let my head fall on the side to look at him.

"D'you need help to get to the door?"

I groaned and raised my nose in a grimace, pushing my back off the seat and opening the door slowly. I heard Louis chuckle and quickly, he got out of his car, jogged to my side and helped me out. I was not that drunk and I knew that it would be better as soon as i'd be inside but he still walked with me to the door and after a few tries, I unlocked the door and we both walked in. I smiled immediately when I saw my girlfriend sitting on the couch, her legs close to her body and her nose in a book. When she heard the door, she looked up and she went from being happy, to surprise, to suspicious. She put her book on the coffee table right next to her glass of white wine and walked to us. I noticed she was wearing one of my hoodie but her legs were bare and I let my eyes run on her before looking up and sending her a smirk.

"Sorry Louis, I didn't expect you to be there."

"It's no problem love, I'm just here to bring you back your boyfriend in one piece." he grinned and she chuckled, rolling her eyes. "Where you should put this dead weight?"

I turned to him with a frown, sending him a loud "Heyyy!" with an insulted tone but it only made him laugh. Olivia brought her shoulders up and I noticed her hands were hidden in the sleeves of her sweater.

"You can bring him in his bed, i'll take care of him."

She followed as Louis helped me to the bed and I grabbed a pillow and sighed as I watched them interact. She nodded a few times and tilted her head, bringing her hand to his arm. I think I heard her apologize and she finally got on her tiptoes to hug him before he left. I watched him disappear in the hall and stared at my girlfriend as she turned my way and sent me a smile.

"So, had fun?" she asked, getting closer to the bed and working on my shoes.

I watched her as her hair fell on the side, hiding half her face and slowly, I brought my hand up to move a lock of hair behind her ear. She glanced at me with a shy smile as she pulled on my socks and I was too focused on her to help her in any way. She moved closer and undid my pants and my eyes fell on her fingers.

"Are you gonna help me?"

I looked up at her, amused by the whole thing, and moved my ass up as she pulled hard on my pants. She held my boxers with one hand as she took my pants off completely and this time, I laughed.

"Are you scared to see me naked?" I asked, raising my eyebrows.

"That'd be wrong, you're drunk." she pointed out.

I reached to grab her wrist and pulled gently on it, making her turn around and bend slightly. The collar of her hoodie was falling right in front of my face and I sat straighter to take a look.

"Fuck, petal, you're not wearing a bra." I pointed out, ignoring her comment. "Show me."

I brought my hand up and pulled a bit on it but she just chuckled and got back up. I let out a short groan and grimaced, letting my fingers run on her naked thigh.

"Please, darling, come closer." I almost begged.

"Niall, don't act like a child." she argued, rolling her eyes with a smile.

She put one of her knees on the bed and reached over me to grab the sheets but quickly, I moved my hand between her legs and let two of my fingers rub a few times over her panties.

"Fuck."

Her word came to my ears in a whisper and I let my free hand slide under her hoodie to reach her breasts. I didn't feel as drunk suddenly and I realized how bad I wanted her. We had been dating for a few months already but I still couldn't get enough of her, whether it was physically or romantically and I didn't know why we should stop ourselves if that's what we wanted.

"Can I take your panties off, love?"

As I talked, I brought my fingers in the hem of her panties and pulled on them. I was a bit scared she'd move away but instead, she grabbed the other side of her panties and helped me get them off.

"Bring your knee back on the bed." I asked low. "Please, let me touch you."

She bit her bottom lip and did what I asked, bringing my attention back on her inner thighs. My fingers reached her pussy again but this time, I felt my heart skip a beat and my dick swell.

"You've got such a pretty little cunt, petal." I whispered. "Did I ever tell you?"

Instead to answer, she moved her hips very gently and lightly against my fingers and I reached for her hand with my free one, bringing it slowly and softly closer to me.

"You make me so hard."

I pressed her hand against my crotch and I noticed her lips parting. Her fingers grabbed my cock over my boxers and I groaned at the feeling.

"We shouldn't do that." she murmured so low I almost didn't hear. "You're drunk."

"Not anymore, just a bit tipsy, you know me." I pointed out, pressing my fingertips on her clit and pushing them between her folds. "Besides, I really want to you to ride me."

It took only half a second for her to straddle me and with a smirk, I brought my fingers to my lips and sucked on them for a few seconds, tasting her. She just looked at me motionless until I brought both my hands on her thighs and quickly, she pulled on my boxers.

"I'm supposed to take care of you." she pointed out low, staring down at my hard cock. "Not ride you."

"Oh you're taking care of me alright."

She chuckled and shook her head but didn't answer me. She simply pressed herself against my cock and i felt it slide between her legs. I smiled when I realized how wet she was and she let out a short whimper as she was coating my dick. I felt my tip press against her clit and my hands ran from her thighs to her waist as I helped her move.

"Enough teasing petal, ride me. Fast and hard."

Once again, she chuckled but moved up only to sit on my cock quickly. I felt her tight around me as I entered her and I gripped her waist harder at the incredible feeling, hissing through my teeth.

"Jesus Christ..." I let out, feeling my fingers sink in her skin as they pressed on her. "Never had a pussy feeling as good as yours darling, fucking hell."

She smiled and bent down to brush her lips against mine but I couldn't resist and brought one of my hands behind her head to push her lips harder against mine. I quickly deepened the kiss and moaned low in her mouth until she moved slightly away.

"Really? Or do you say that to every girl you shag?" she asked in a whisper, her lips brushing against mine.

"No." I chuckled. "It's true, you're the best lay I ever hard."

"Mm, liar."

I moved a lock out of her face again and stared in her eyes. I was having a hard time not to focus on the way she was throbbing around me, squeezing my cock hard with her walls, but I breathed in and tried to put the words in my head in the right order.

"I'm not lying. No other girl felt as good as you. Maybe it's the feelings we have for each other or maybe it's how well our bodies fit together... or a bit of both... and maybe a bunch of other things too... but you're the best lay I ever had, Olivia."

Her eyes roamed on my face for a few seconds and she finally smiled fondly at me.

"Can't believe your drunk ass could come up with something like that."

I laughed. "Oh shut up, I love you."

"I love you too."

She chuckled again and sat back up before moving up slightly on her knees. I felt my cock slip slightly out of her and she moved back to get me balls deep inside her again. I slapped her thigh slightly then a bit harder to incite her to go quicker and when she started moving hard over me, I looked down to watch my cock slip in and out of her. I could hear how wet she was and when she let out a few whimpers, I felt myself twitch inside her.

"Fuck, you're gonna make me cum." I mumbled, shutting my eyes tight.

She started moving quicker and harder over me and when I reached an orgasm, I gripped both her thighs and shook beneath her. I opened my eyes as I was cumming and noticed her, her eyes closed and two of her fingers rubbing quickly her clit. The sight was amazing and when she started cumming over me, I felt her clench around my still hard but sensitive cock. It took us a few minutes to get back to normal and slowly, she moved up on her knees and I watched as my cum dropped from her pussy to my stomach.

"Oops, sorry." she apologized as she quickly got off of me.

I smirked and looked up in her eyes, raising my eyebrows.

"Why don't you clean your mess, petal?"

She quickly nodded and reached for the tissue box next to the bed but I quickly grabbed her arm to stop her.

"I meant with your tongue."

She blinked a few times but quickly, she got on her knees next to the bed and stuck her tongue out as I pushed her hair behind her shoulder. Her tongue ran on my warm skin, gathering my orgasm and I could swear I felt my cock swell again when I saw her swallow. I was about to say something when she moved closer to my dick and ran on tongue on the tip before sucking on it for a few seconds.

"You... are..." I said slowly, shaking my head.

"Naughty?" she proposed with a smile.

"I was going to say 'incredible' but yea, that too."

She laughed and got up, bending down to get our clothes and bring them to the laundry basket. She disappeared in the bathroom adjacent to our bedroom and came back a few minutes later with a glass of water and pills.

"Take that and drink everything. It'll help for the headache tomorrow." she ordered, handing me everything.

I groaned a bit but sat up and did what she told me to do before laying back down. She put the glass on the bedside table and moved the covers over me, tucking me in and making me chuckle.

"Do you need anything else?" she wondered, letting her fingers run on my cheek and jaw. "More blankets? Pillows?"

I shook my head frenetically, making her smile more. "Just you."

"Give me a few minutes."

She went to the bathroom again, closing the door behind herself this time and I used this time to move my boxers back up and turn around in bed. When she got out, she turned all the lights off and slithered under the covers with me. I quickly pulled her closer and pressed my lips against her.

"You taste like beer." she pointed out low as my lips curled more.

"You taste like fucking heaven."

She pressed her lips together, trying not to smile too wide but I noticed my words made her happy and I kissed her lips again.

"Was ut fun tonight at the bar?"

"Mmhm, it's a shame you weren't there though." I admitted, rubbing my nose gently against hers. "Louis, Liam and Julie were there. And Harry too, with his new girlfriend." I waited a few seconds before continuing. "Are you jealous?"

"Mm, no. She's a model, isn't she? Is she prettier than me?"

I laughed and rolled my eyes, moving slightly away only to notice she was smirking.

"No!" I admitted, happy to realize she was just playing with me. "I mean yea, she's a model, but she's not prettier than you. She asked where you were, though."

"Why would she ask that?"

"Maybe she wanted to find out if you were prettier than her." I suggested, pecking her lips again.

She brought her arm around my neck and slid her fingers in my hair. I loved when she did that. Nothing felt better than that.

"Did you tell her that i'm madly in love with you?" she whispered, brushing her parted lips against mine.

"Why would I tell her that?" I asked just as low, feeling my heart skip a beat at her words and perhaps a little because of the alcohol still running in my veins.

"Because I am." she replied. I closed my eyes when her lips pressed against mine. "I'm so madly in love with you, Niall James Horan. I love you."

"Not as much as I love you." I argued, pulled her closer to feel her whole body press against mine. "Nothing is stronger than my love for you."

[stereostevie]

'Brother Robert' Reveals True Story Of Growing Up With Blues Legend Robert Johnson

December 29, 20203:51 PM ET | Heard on All Things Considered | Ben James

Annye Anderson — stepsister of Robert Johnson — published her memoir Brother Robert: Growing Up with Robert Johnson in June.

Blues legend Robert Johnson has been mythologized as a backwoods loner, his talent the result of selling his soul to the devil. Wrong and wrong again, according to Johnson's younger stepsister, who lives in Amherst, Mass. She tells his true story in Brother Robert: Growing Up with Robert Johnson, a memoir about growing up with her brother she published in June.

Her name is Annye Anderson, but unless you're older than she is — and fat chance of that, as she's 94 — you better call her Mrs. Anderson.

"People say, 'Don't you have a first name?'" Anderson says from the couch in her living room. "I say, 'Yes, I do.' And they wait for it. But I tell them, 'Mrs. Anderson will do just fine.'"

Amherst is a long way from the Memphis of Mrs. Anderson's childhood, where she grew up in an extended family of siblings, half-siblings and the guitar-playing older stepbrother she called Brother Robert.

"Brother Robert and I used to do the buck dance," Anderson says. "Because you know he could move. People don't know. He didn't just sit and play like they showed him with that caricature."

Anderson's childhood — back then she was Annie Spencer — was steeped in the tunes played by Johnson and others, along with all the popular songs they listened to together on the radio.

But before his mysterious death in 1938, Johnson's "Baby Sis" only ever held one of his records in her hands. It was "Terraplane Blues," his first release and only record to gain any popularity during his lifetime. After he died, his 29 recorded songs were quickly forgotten.

Anderson became a short order cook, a secretary at the pentagon, a teacher and school administrator. She moved to Washington, D.C. and, later, Massachusetts. In the '60s, amidst the civil rights movement, she began to hear something familiar on the radio: her brother's songs.

"During the movement, people were playing his music everywhere and his riffs everywhere," she says. "Sound familiar, but we didn't know they were copying from — we didn't know about Eric Clapton, and Led Zeppelin, and Keith Richards, the Rolling Stones."

Music and culture critic Greil Marcus has been a fan of Robert Johnson for decades. Now he's a fan of Anderson. Marcus praises her new book — and Johnson's artistry — in the New York Review of Books.

"There is something in Robert Johnson's music that goes beyond, goes above, that is harder, that is deeper, that burrows beneath in ways that other music doesn't," Marcus says.

The cover of Brother Robert shows the third known photograph of Johnson, never before seen by the public. Anderson and her older half-sister, who she called Sister Carrie, kept that photo close for decades, storing it in a box that originally held sewing machine oil.

Anderson's story begins with her family's roots in Hazlehurst, Miss. — including her first memory of Johnson in Memphis when he swept her up and carried her up a set of steps "like lightning" — and spans the decades after her brother's death, when a mostly-white audience invented the story of Johnson selling his soul to the devil at the crossroads, a myth that was more racist caricature than anything having to do with his actual life.

"I'm not saying he was an angel," Anderson says. "And I'm not saying what he didn't and did do. Because I didn't have him in my pocket. But people like to be on the dark side. And that's what they paint. He's brilliant on one side. And he's dark on the other. And I deeply resent that."

The second half of Anderson's book recounts numerous ways in which she and Sister Carrie were excluded from Johnson's estate while white music publishers and other opportunists sought to profit from his legacy.

Anderson co-wrote Brother Robert with historian Preston Lauterbach. She sought him out herself, she says, after his book The Chitlin' Circuit fell at her feet in the music section at her local Barnes & Noble.

"I opened it and then I saw this white face," Anderson says. "And I said, 'Well, what does he know about the chitlin' circuit?'"

She bought the book and read most of it that same night, deciding she needed Lauterbach's help in her ambition to correct the record on the life of Robert Johnson. Anderson talked about the book for years, never believing that it would exist one day.

"She felt that the story had been told badly by outsiders for long enough," says Elijah Wald, author of Escaping the Delta: Robert Johnson and the Invention of the Blues. "And she wanted to tell the story herself."

Wald, who wrote the introduction to Brother Robert, says Anderson's book offers a necessary corrective to the image of Johnson as a backwoods loner playing primal and haunted music.

"Robert Johnson was as much the guy from Memphis who went out in the country and was the hip city guy as he ever was the guy from the dark Delta who went up to the cities," he says.

Marcus concurs, saying what stands out most in Brother Robert is the sheer range of American popular music flooding through Anderson's story. A couple pages in, he says, he started making a list of songs the family listened to or played.

"And the list just grew and grew until there were maybe 20, 30, 40 different examples. And I realized no one could have a richer, broader, more mainstream American cultural life than the one that Robert Johnson lived out," Marcus says.

Some of Anderson's favorites included The Vagabonds, Gene Autry, Clyde McCoy now, Count Basie, Fiddlin' John Carson, Bing Crosby and Louis Armstrong.

"Brother Robert is the one that got me into country music," she says. "'Course, Jimmie Rodgers was his favorite. I will never forget 'Waiting for a Train' and doing it with Brother Robert."

The two would bust up laughing at the line "Get off, get off, you railroad bums." And then came Rogers' famous yodel.

"I tried to yodel," Anderson says. "But brother Robert could yodel. He could mimic anything."

In the memoir there's a moment, toward the end of Johnson's life, when a young Anderson walks her brother to a spot on Highway 61 so he can hitch a ride across the Mississippi. He smelled of cigarettes, Anderson writes, and Dixie Peach pomade:

"He would say, 'Well, little girl, this is far as you could go,' Because I wasn't supposed to go but so far. He'd give me a hug — 'Bye Little Sis' — and tell me to go straight home."

Many of Johnson's fans would likely sell their own souls to be able to follow him down that highway to his next house party and to hear his version of "Waiting for a Train." Instead, they've got his 29 recorded songs. And now they have Anderson's memoir.

[that-wimpy-cowboy-doll]

Because Why Not?

@idontgettechnology​ tagged me because she knows that I fall more in love with her and our friendship every day  🥰

👽 Do you believe in aliens? Yes’m

👽👽   If so, what do you think they look like? Depends on the environment of whatever planet or system they’re in.  It also depends on whether or not they’re carbon-based or something else.  There are theories that ghosts in our world are actually interdimensional beings/aliens that we physically can’t perceive because we can only understand the world around us in a certain amount of dimensions.  tldr; I don’t know that we could know what aliens look like, depending on where they’re from

🤡 Do you have any phobias? Skunks, failure, being forgotten

💀   What is your favorite thing to do? Read, sleep, spend time with loved ones

☕ Name the tastiest hot beverage. There’s a sexy sweet citrus mocha at my new favorite coffee shop that I love

🥛 Name the tastiest cold beverage. Something fruity but not too sweet

😇 What do you believe is your most angelic quality? Compassion

👹 What do you believe is your most devilish quality? Dark humor

🧜‍♀️   If you could be any mythical creature, what would you be and why? Look, bud, probably the root reason of why I love redheads is 1000% due to The Little Mermaid (1989)

😻   Describe the sweetest moment you have had with a pet. Anytime a cat comes to sit on me and does that slow blink thing, and anytime a dog rests their big goofy head in my lap

🌎 What is your most far-fetched ‘bucket list’ item? As I get older, fighting someone

🤔 Describe the most influential person in your life. My dad

🤯 Do you have a mental illness? Hahahahahaha YES

🦄 If you could shape-shift into an animal at any time, what would it be and why? Anything that hibernates through the winter, so I could live out my dream of eating anything and everything and then immediately going to sleep for a few months

🍣 Are you a sushi connoisseur? Nope.

🤓 Do you consider yourself a nerd? Yup.

📆 Have you set goals for your life? To not die unfulfilled.

📆📆 If you have made goals, name a few. Become a full-time professor.  Publish a book.

📆📆📆 If you’re living life in the moment, explain away. We live in the worst possible timeline, my profession is notorious for not making a ton of money, and the area I live in is one of the most expensive places to live in the world.

🤩 Name a famous celebrity you dream of meeting. Abbi Jacobson

🌙 Are you a moon or sun person? Moon

🚀 If you could travel back in time to any era, where would it be? If I could pass as a very tan Eastern European, maybe the 20s or 40s.  Just to visit and enjoy the music

🚀🚀 What kind of life would you want in this era? A brief one.

🦕 Do you wish dinosaurs existed in our modern world? Not now, thanks.  That just adds an extra layer of stress.

🦕🦕 If so, would you want a dino pet? Name the kind. Stegosaurus

🎃 Name your favorite holiday. Chrimmas and 4th of July (say what you will about the second one, it reminds me of barbecues and fireworks with my dad).

😊 What do you believe is your most redeeming quality? Fucking compassion, I hope.

😴 Do you get enough sleep? Noooope

🏈 Are you a sport enthusiast? SF Giants, baybee

🦂 Describe your best friend. Goofy, funny, intelligent, loving, sweet, and the absolute love of my life.

🥑 Fruits or veggies? Porque no los dos?

🤞 If you could snap your fingers like Thanos from The Avengers, what would you make happen? I’m gonna have to side with Emily and make Bernie have won the 2016 election

😎 Do you consider yourself a cool kid or a total square? In no lifetime have I EVER been a cool kid

🍭 Do you have a sweet tooth? Of course not, she says, as she finishes the last pieces of chocolate orange in the house

🏥 Do hospitals freak you out? Not really.  I know they should, because body fluids freak me out, but not really.

🍕 What’s the best pizza topping? Sausage and olive

🧘‍♀️ When was the last time you did something just for you? Couple weeks ago, I stayed at a hotel by myself, got naked and ate my weight in pesto pasta in bed while I watched Captain America flex his muscles trying to keep his best friend (boyfriend) from fleeing the country

🎣 Have you ever been fishing? Yes

👶 Do you want to have children someday? Someday

🥔 Name your favorite form of the potato. Au gratin

🌵 Do you have a green thumb? Not at all

🐩 If you have one, name your dream dog(s). A pibble

🍂 Winter, spring, summer or fall? Summer

🐳 Does the ocean freak you out or entice you? Mama ocean calls to me every time I see her

🐚 Ever been scuba-diving or deep-sea fishing? Nope

📸 Do you take a lot of photos? Not really

🎵 Name your three favorite artists/bands. ABBA, The Beatles, and Louis Armstrong

🎵🎵 What about your three favorite genres? Alternative, big band swing, and R&B

🎸 Can you play an instrument(s)? Just the throat and the lungs

🔬 What was the best class in high school? English

🔬🔬 What about the worst class? Math

🕹 Name the video game you have wasted the most time playing. The Inside Out game on my phone

🕹🕹 Name your favorite video game. *swoons* RDR2

🔪 Do you have an interest in serial killers or do they just freak you out? Depends on the serial killer.  I have more interest in Martinis and Murder than any serial killer in particular.

🦗 Do bugs give you the heebie-jeebies? They’re fine as long as they’re not on my face or body without consent

🎱 Confess the last wish you made on a magic 8 ball. I do not remember.

😑 Describe the most annoying thing ever. Willful ignorance.

☺ Describe the greatest thing ever. Falling asleep as soon as your head hits the pillow.

🏠 Growing up, how was your home life? Taken for granted

😜 Are you silly or serious? Silly, for the most part

🥩 Steaks: Well-done, medium-rare, or still mooing? Medium-medium

🍄 In your opinion, are mushrooms tasty little morsels or just a dirty fungus? Gross, unless they’re the fun kind mixed with sour candy

🥑 Best way to eat an avocado? Made into guac with lots of citrus and black pepper

⛪ Are you spiritual? In a way, I guess.

⛪🕌 If so, describe your beliefs. Make the world a better place, do what you can for the people who can’t do for themselves, and occasionally reach into chance and/or tarot cards for insight.

🍔 Burgers or dogs? Either, as long as I can have cheese on it.

😤 Describe something that gets under your skin. Looking stupid.

🧟‍♀️ Do you think the world will end in zombies? At this point, I wouldn’t be that surprised.

🐉 Is there a dragon you chase? Acceptance and legacy.

🥞 In your personal opinion, should food be free to everyone? Yes, because unlike Mitch McConnell I’m not a fucking monster.

🐍 What animal are you scared of, if any? Skunks, as stated above

Tagging @ibelieveinturtles @iamartemisday @dresupi @snailsarecute @wheresarizona @hollandeiram and anyone who wants to play <3