#(and then was giving them his money after he died? what a prince!)

[navree]

god grant me the serenity not to vaguepost about a reply to a post about the memery of the ides of march

#personal #'some rich asshole who made sure life sucked for the masses' i mean caesar was a rich asshole but like #the entire reason the assassination was such a bungled job was because he WASN'T an asshole to the masses #the masses actually really liked him #it's actually really important historically to understand that caesar's death was orchestrated by the most rich and powerful men in rome #and that the actual masses really liked caesar because he was actively making life so much better than them #(and then was giving them his money after he died? what a prince!) #and so when they the actual populace of rome felt that the One Percent #had just killed their guy for no reason other than their own ambitions and expected them to be cool with it #they got fed the fuck up and they rioted (to the point where they literally cremated caesar's body) #and the situation became immediately untenable for the conspirators and THAT'S why they fled rome #caesar was explicitly very good to and for the masses and actively made life better #and that's why they got mad at some rich legacy kids in the senate taking the law into their own hands #and why they were so willing to accept octavian and his 'i'm just A Baby and also caesar loved me sooo much' shtick #the second that he showed up #(wow god did not grant me any serenity cuz i just ended up vaguing in the tags)

[violetrainbow412-blog]

Day 30: scary movies

Masterlist flufftober 🎀

The translations of the French sentences are at the end and I give special thanks to @cumulo-stratus for helping me check that they were fine. I hope you like it!

“We're here,” Spencer announced, although that was obvious, when he parked the convertible car that Rossi had very kindly offered to lend to you.

Now that Halloween was so close, the doctor had invited the entire team to the drive-in theater for the broadcast in its original language of Eyes Without a Face, a 1960 French film, but everyone had found an excuse not to attend. Most of them refused due to their ignorance of the language and Emily, who was the only one who spoke it as fluently as Spencer, already had plans that night.

“I can go with you” you had said kindly. In other circumstances you might not have accepted, but now it made you feel guilty leaving your friend alone. In addition, the plans with him were always calm and, to a certain extent, educational "But I warn you that all I know how to say in French is Bonjour”

Your friend was happy with your response and he asked you not to worry, telling you that all you had to do was take it to him so he could translate the words for you. So Rossi told you that he would collaborate on one of his cars and Spencer almost died when he saw it, not because he was a big fan but because he was worried about how much money he would have to pay if he made the slightest scratch on it.

“There are more people than I imagined,” you murmured, nodding toward the rest of the parking lot. The majority were couples, as expected, and a few older adults.

“It was a very popular story during that time, despite the censorship it involved. We once had a similar case in… Well, I'll remind you when we finish watching it. I don't want to ruin anything for you," he murmured, smiling.

That night he had chosen an outfit that was quite common to see him in at the office: brown cardigan, an argyle vest, formal shirt, and tie. Everything was fine with that, what was really driving you crazy lately was the hair. Spencer styled his hair in a certain way that… you couldn't explain it, he just made you think of Prince Charming in fairy tales.

And the fact that you started to see it that way didn't help a damsel like you at all.

“It's okay if you can't translate the entire film. Just telling me a couple of lines is enough, I will be guided by what I see”

“No, that's not a problem. I can do it"

Of course you knew he could do it, it was Doctor fucking Reid. You were just worried that you would end up more focused on his whispering lips than on the screen in front of you.

Luckily the movie started and you managed to maintain the necessary composure. Luckily your brain was able to pay attention to what you saw, what you heard, and what Spencer was murmuring to you. At first you may have only agreed to accompany him out of kindness, but as the story progressed you realized that it was actually good. Little by little you were remembering a case that, as he had said, you had investigated, but that should probably be a talk for after finishing the movie.

You had to admit that something was captivating about the French language, because even if you didn't understand a thing they said, it was nice to hear it.

Calme-toi, ma chérie.

Faites-lui confiance.

One of the characters murmured and a second later you heard Spencer with the respective translation.

“Calm down, my dear. Trust in him”

"Repeat that"

“Calm down, my dear. Trust in him?”

“No,” you murmured, seeing him frown as if he didn’t understand your request. “Repeat what he said, in French.”

The idea had come from God knows where and you had only mentioned it in the heat of the moment, otherwise you would never have asked him. It was just that the words had sounded so exquisite that you wondered if the soft voice of the man next to you would replicate them in the same way.

Spencer wanted to ask you why you wanted that, but he was afraid of ruining his only chance to impress you with his skills, so he just turned enough so you could see him better and mentally visualize the words he needed.

When he leaned a little towards you to have more privacy you felt his breath hit your neck and adding to the soft aroma of his cologne that reached your nose you felt slightly dizzy.

If a single action had been enough to make your entire body shake, it probably would have been hearing Spencer Reid whispering French in your ear.

“Calme-toi, ma chérie. Faites-lui confiance”

“Once again,” you laughed, thankful that the low lighting didn’t allow you to see a blush on your cheeks.

"Why?" he said amused, thinking that perhaps it was prudent to inquire about your request.

“I don't know, when you talk it you sound so…” so sexy “nice. Like feeling velvet between your fingers” 

Spencer was definitely flattered by you, you could tell by the way he chuckled and his body flinched slightly.

“I don't sound that good because I haven't practiced French for a long time, but my mom wants to go to Paris one day so if we go together, I'll be able to do it. I learned it a few years ago, it is a somewhat difficult language”

“Can you say anything else?” you asked excitedly, as you scooted a little further against him to the point where your knee brushed his and your faces were just a short distance away “I mean, of course you can, but could you do it?”

“Huh, what do you want me to tell you?”

“Whatever,” you smiled sweetly. You weren't even paying attention to the movie anymore, which was playing in the background, but you only had eyes for him and his pretty face.

Spencer's face. Your co-worker. 

Despite the inappropriate course that your thoughts had taken, you kept watching him while he thought for a few seconds what he was going to say to satisfy your curiosity. A mischievous smile crossed his face as he tilted his head slightly and you swore it was almost as if he wanted to maneuver his lips to yours.

“Je pense que tu es vraiment belle”

The phrase was just a caress, a feather sliding across your ears that managed to stop your breathing and accelerate your heart rate. Maybe French was called the language of love for a reason.

"What does it mean?" you asked in barely a whisper.

But Spencer didn't respond, he just stared at you and for a second you thought his attention had been diverted to your parted lips.

“Keep watching the movie or you'll miss the best part.”

“Spencer, what does it mean?”

“There he is saying that she can be admitted tomorrow morning.”

“Spencer,” you said sternly. Even with the tone of your voice, he did not look to your side, pretending to be extremely interested in the movie playing, “What did you tell me?” 

“You only wanted to hear me speak in French, you never asked for a translation”

“Reid!” You complained, extending your hand to his arm to get his attention and force him to look at you. “I swear if you offended me…”

“Je ne t'offenserais jamais”

“Stop it,” you threatened him, pointing a finger at him and frowning.

“Si je pouvais, j'effacerais ce visage en colère avec un baiser”

You responded to that with an exasperated sigh and suddenly a scream that you didn't expect on the screen startled you greatly, causing you to instinctively jump into his arms.

It was an absolute, cheap cliché, but that didn't make it any less romantic.

"You see? Pay attention” was all he said, with a tone that showed how much fun he seemed to be having.

You readjusted yourself in your seat without saying anything and obeyed his words, looking at the strange black-and-white scene. Out of the corner of your eye you watched Spencer lick his lips before he started shouting explanations about the story again which you listened to carefully, trying not to think too much about what the two sentences he had told you meant but which would keep you curious for the rest of the night.

Suddenly you felt him stir next to you and raise both arms, as if he wanted to stretch his back, while a yawn left his lips. What really caught your attention was feeling that one of his limbs, the one that was close to you, when getting off was placed on the edge of the seat behind your back and not on his lap as it should be.

“Tell me you didn’t do that.”

"Do what?" he asked, but from the stutter in his voice you knew he knew well what you meant.

“That's the most common tactic on earth,” you muttered between laughs. Spencer lowered his head as if he were embarrassed and ready to take his arm away from you, but you raised your hand until you took his and slid a little so that you were leaning against his body. “But I'll let it go just because you're cute.”

Cute. The word resonated in Spencer's mind and warmed his cheeks, while he felt how you settled your head better on his chest and began to caress the back of his hand with your thumb. You were so soft and warm he felt like he was going to die. 

“Where is my star translator?” he heard you say and that was enough to snap him out of his trance.

You stayed in that position for the rest of the show while he whispered in your ear and you listened to the soft beat of his heart, feeling that, at least for one night, the world belonged only to the two of you.

Translation

"I think you are really beautiful" (Je pense que tu es vraiment belle)

"I would never offend you" (Je ne t'offenserais jamais)

“If I could, I would erase this angry face with a kiss” (Si je pouvais, j'effacerais ce visage en colère avec un baiser)

taglist: @navs-bhat @reidwritings @tricia-shifting14 @spencerslove @vivian-555 @r-3dlips @rhiannonhippiegirl @taygrls @simp4f1 @sdddoobydoobydoo @taintedstranger @missabsey

#spencer reid #spencer reid fanfic #spencer reid x reader #criminal minds #criminal minds fanfic #dr spencer reid #matthew gray gubler #spencer reid x you #flufftober 2023 #prompt list #writing challenge #spencer reid fluff #spencer reid fanfiction #criminal minds fanfiction #spencer reid imagine #spencer reid drabble

[kenandeliza]

A Marvel Family Fantasy AU

A few days ago, I randomly dreamt of Drawing Billy and Tawny in a fantasy setting.

Billy was this kid wizard and Tawny was his companion (or an animal to ride on like a horse)

Then it got me thinking, maybe in this setting, Mary could be someone of high status in this fantasy setting (since she's in a rich family in the golden age comics)

I'm inclined to think Freddy would be a captain of a ship for irony-sake but I have a feeling pirates and fantasy settings don't match well?

It's just funny for me to think of him with a peg leg xD

After further discussion with @the-brash-spud :

Warning: Too many text :>

These are the ideas we have so far (if there are quotation marks, those ideas belonged to @the-brash-spud ):

—

Maybe Billy and Mary were prince and princess separated by birth, (i'm not sure if its a kidnapping or the baby got lost on his own) but the wizard founded billy and trained him.

At the ripe age of (insert young age below a teenager's), The wizard decided to grant him the power of shazam to turn him into the world's mightiest Wizard!

Captain Marvel!

Wizard dies and then Billy and Tawny have adventures together, maybe helping people along the way (maybe somehow found out that Mary is his sister :p idk)

“ I think you could go angst if you made the wizard get brutally hurt in a battle to protect Billy and the rock of eternity so in a last ditch effort he transports the rock to its own pocket of existence and then giving Billy powers of shazam because its as ready as he'll be able to make the kid :) and it's his last effort for Billy to be protected even if he has to do so himself because he has failed :)) made Billy cry as Wizard turns into dust in Billy’s hands :)))”

—

Uncle marvel can be a con-man/thief who took pity on Billy or realiz, teaching Billy that the world isn't always honest and he's like, "Billy, don't always give money to the poor on the streets, sometimes they faked their illness to be lazy”

" Billy: "The man in the shadowy corner needs my help."

Uncle: "No, the hell he doesn't!”"

—-

How Billy Met Freddy

Billy probably met Freddy in a bar fight. How did the kid get into a bar?

Billy looked at the man exiting the pub with a bottle.

Billy: Ohh! So this is where you get refreshments here! I wonder If they have enough Milk for Tawny..

Pub sign written NO KIDS ALLOWED!"

*Billy can only read magic scrolls and not regular alphabet*

Cue him meeting Freddy (who's armwrestling with one of the people there)

(Insert Bar fight for some reason because The child decided to drink a white cocktail thinking it was milk and the fact that Billy is a Kid)

“Freddie is definitely that kid having his ass thrown out of the bar/pub/inn”

I'd like to think he and his brother are a team, prolly sailed a ship together.

“Yes, they target slave ships. Unless you wanna go different routes. Then, he is focused on certain nations' flags that have a whole lot of red in them

Also, he goes to the bars just to start bar fights over drunks being mean/nasty to the landlady. The landlady doesn't appreciate it bc now she has a broken table and four broken chairs”

Freddy faces the Captain Nazi equivalent of a pirate [Captain Arian? Like Aryan?] XD, Freddy lost his leg the same way, from his encounter with Captain Arian.

Kit (probably a necromancer or a ghost who's cursed to be bound in the ship Freddy's in, making Freddy more attached to the ship) can still summon crewmembers.

Maybe they both meet mary during the birthday ceremony parade

Maybe Mary snuck off from her family (disguise herself as a regular girl, i know, generic plot) and then meet Billy accidentally

Billy: It's my birthday today!

Mary: What a coincidence! It's mine too!

The-brash-spud: “Billy, in his innocence, thinks ,"There must be something to us sharing birthdays!" While Freddy calls him stupid, Billy tries to get a look at the princes and then cue the lung-fu panda rocket incident, but maybe something else more fitting with Freddy being pulled along”

On an unrelated note, i think Billy knew about Freddy's peg legafter either a pirate slashed it clean and Freddy just used it to bonk his head.

Billy is still screaming from the shock and immediately casted healing spells (i'd like to think everything about billy is lightning based- so yes getting struck by lightning is a healing spell for him :D) Freddy got shocked lmao

And what about boarding Tawny on the ship?

Billy:"Please???"

Freddy: "I'm not letting a tiger into my ship."

Kit who absolutely adores animals: "YES"

Freddy:"NO!”

Kit:" Does he love belly rubs??"

Billy:" yes but you have to ask him politely for his permission-”

Freddy rolled his eyes, realizing he has to clean cat fur everyday off from the furnitures.

___

How did Mary, a royalty tag along with a kid wizard and a pirate?

“Yeah, I guess forced separation would work better. Hell, go with a scenario that will allow them to have Mary with the parents' blessings as long as she's kept safe (she isn't, but that's because she is the danger herself)”

Mary and Billy: "Yay adventure"

Freddy: "Oh great, now I have to take care of two kids and a tiger in my ship!?"

*Freddy looking at Kit and the kids + a tiger playing together, kit seems happy*

Freddy: "...i guess it's alright..”

___

How Freddy and Mary found out about the wizard?

“Hmmmm, maybe Billy takes them to the rock because they were in a pickle, and unforeseen effects happen?

They got surrounded maybe?

Also I can see the aftermath

"You were raised by THE Wizard!? THE Wizard?! A Wizard of legends so often told he is recognisable even if his name was lost?!"

"Oh, his name is Shazam-" *BANG*”

____

Hopefully i could draw these AU ideas, I don't plan on making this into a story, i just like the concept that my dream gave my a few days ago and I’m just expanding it. Sorry for too many text xD

I don't mind if you want to add something to this silly lil AU, It's just a fun thing for me to do :p

#dc comics #captain marvel #scenario #scenarios #billy batson #freddy freeman #mary batson #shazam #fantasy au #fantasy #pirate au #kd rambles #kenandeliza's art #shazam au #shazam fantasy au #captain marvel fantasy au

[blushstarot]

PICK A CARD: What would your life be like if you lived in a fairy tale?

Hii this is my first pick a card, so I decided to do a silly one, and decided to write a little story based on the cards from that pile.

Pick whichever picture you feel more attracted to and skip to that pile.

PILE 1

eight of pentacles (reversed), seven of pentacles, seven of wands (reversed), ace of swords, the hermit.

In this fairy tale... You were a noble who fell from grace.

Your family was blamed for something that was not their fault, causing you all to be stripped of your titles, your lands, and your wealth. Your parents decided to move to the countryside looking to give you a good life. You grew up to recent what happened, even though you were very young at the time and barely remembered the life of luxury. Set on helping your family and getting revenge, on your teenage years you decided that you wanted to become a knight, so you could clear your family name and bring to justice not only the people responsable for your family downfall, but everyone else that looked to bend the laws to their will; so your started training day and night, leaving everything aside to try and get a shot at achieving it. Sadly, you had to give up on your dreams when your father passed away, leaving only you and your mother to bring money to the, now bigger, family. Your mother went to the city to sell fish, fruits and vegetables while you stayed home with your little siblings, taking care of them, while also fishing and attending to the garden on your mothers absence, so she'll never run out of things to sell. Eventually you learned to make peace with your new life, the desire of vengeance and the sense of justice never left your heart, but you compromised with yourself and decided to left the past in the past, just like your father would've wanted.

**As in all the PACs, just take what resonates and leave what doesn't, this is for entertainment only, so have fun with it!

PILE 2

ace of wands, four of swords (reversed), the lovers, queen of swords, seven of wands.

In this fairy tale... you are the queen of the people.

You were born a simple peasant, on the rich end of the spectrum, but still one. All the people in your town knew who you were, spoke fondly of you, and appreciated that your family used part of their money to help the community. Over time, your family gained more status and money, which led them to attend some higher society events, and in one of them you met the one who you will call the love of your life. At first it was a simple one sided crush, but eventually you and that handsome man you loved so much, started dating, in that moment he also confessed that he was the prince of the kingdom, and promised to one day make you his queen. Time passed, and eventually everyone in the kingdom knew that the prince's heart was stolen by a peasant, which bought a lot of jealousy and ill will from the nobles of the kingdom, and even though that made you a little worried, your lover assured you no one will dare to lay a finger on his fiance or her family. You got married, moved to the capital, and lived the perfect fairy tale, you even got pregnant with your first child not too long after. Eventually, the king died, leaving the queen alone on the throne; in her grieve, she decided to resign and leave the position of queen to you. With one kid now, and another on the way, you started to get anxious, after all you still felt like a peasant on the inside despised of what it looked like from the outside. "Am I really fit to be a queen?", "would the people even like me?", and other similar questions clouded your mind, in an attempt to calm yourself down you walked to the castle's garden were you met the former queen. She could tell something was wrong, and when you told her your worries, she just agreed to help you and guide you. With her wisdom and your own, you overcame your insecurities and put your mind on becoming the best queen you could be. You helped a lot of people along your life, both noble and peasant alike, earning the people's hearts and appreciation; just like when you were just a little girl, all those years back in your little hometown.

**As in all the PACs, just take what resonates and leave what doesn't, this is for entertainment only, so have fun with it!

PILE 3

ace of wands, two of wands, ten of pentacles, knight of pentacles, two of cups.

In this fairy tale... you are a successful merchant.

You come from a family of merchants, not very successful, but just enough to make your life comfortable. Early on in your life, you had the opportunity to marry into a noble wealthy family, all your family was very exited for you and your future so the made the preparations to the wedding. As the date grow closer, so did your doubts about it, you weren't sure if you loved your future spouse or were only marrying them because your family wanted to. At the day of the wedding you couldn't do it, and broke the news to everyone while on the altar, and apologized to everyone. Your now ex's family were reasonably angry at you, and your own family was a little disappointed on you for not choosing the simple path to a comfortable life, but at the end they respected your decision. When your father passed away you inherited the family business, and with a lot of hard work you managed to bring even more money to the business and your family. When you had a carrear build for you, and the respect of the other merchants, your found a lover who cherished and respected you for the rest of your life. They were everything you always wanted in a partner, reliable, loyal, patient, ambitious, and hardworking. Together you took the business to new highs, and even started to make deals with other kingdoms oversea. You married your lover, and lived a very happy life.

**As in all the PACs, just take what resonates and leave what doesn't, this is for entertainment only, so have fun with it!

This was all, let me know what you think! English is not my first language so, if there are any mistakes please let me know so I can fix them.

I'm not familiar with this type of format, but I'll try my best to give you guys quality readings. I have some plans of more silly and love related readings so depending on how it goes for this one, I'll try to get them out as soon as possible!

Bye byeee ✨

(Master list) (make topic suggestions)

#pick a card #tarot #tarot cards #tarot community #tarot reading #pac #divination #tarotblr #tarotcommunity #tarot reader #free tarot #fairy tale #blush'starot

[galexibrain]

WIP WEDNESDAY!

“You’re injured.” He has a huge bruise on his left cheek. His armor is gone but the suit underneath is mostly intact save for a few tears here and there. A few bloody cuts are visible underneath but Bulma has seen worse. It’s definitely nothing compared to the gaping hole in Trunks’ armor … Bulma should be used to death by now, but knowing this version of her own son has died once already … and more so … “Barely,” Vegeta retorts and continues on his way. Bulma sighs and gets up to follow him after getting some cold packs from the freezer. She catches up with him at the entrance of the bathroom. “Come on, let’s sort you out.” “Leave me alone, I don’t need you.” And yet you keep coming back here. “I know. But you might need this cold pack, or else your face will look like a pumpkin tomorrow.” She throws him the pack which he catches less effortlessly than usual which means that, while not being mortally wounded, he’s still pretty fucking thrashed. ____ “I am the Prince of the Saiyans, born to be the most powerful being in the universe,” he whispers, eyes burning with indignant rage. “I will not be thrown out.”  “Are you threatening me?” Bulma doesn’t know why she’s not afraid of him. She used to be, back on Namek, but here on Earth, with his entire life taken from him she quickly realized he was no threat. Not to her.  And now he can glare at her all he wants, balling his fists, twitching his muscles, and she feels not threatened at all.  It’s not like she trusts him. Heaven knows she doesn’t. But she knows with a certainty she can’t explain that Vegeta, maybe the most dangerous man on this entire planet, isn’t going to lay a hand on her no matter what.  But how about the other way round?  Instead of stepping back, she closes in on him too until their faces are uncomfortable close.  Vegeta already leans back. Non-violent physical proximity unsettles him.  “I don’t need you,” Bulma says to his face. “I have everything. A family, a son who is going to grow up into a hero, friends I would give my own life for, more money than I can spend, and I’m the smartest person on this planet. Gero built machines that gave you and Goku some serious trouble. I have building plans of several of them. Do you really think I couldn’t reproduce what he did? If I wanted I could build myself an android that single-handedly throws you into space. I’m not afraid of you. All you are right now is a nuisance. Getting rid of you would make my life a lot easier.” 

Some post-Cell Games Vegebul get-together. It's a rocky ride.

#dbz #dragon ball #dragon ball z #vegebul #vegeta #bulma #dbz fanfic #my fanfic

[silverhallow]

Bridgerton drabble: A Princess Diaries AU

Part #1 Sophie’s Choice.

A belated birthday gift for @bridgertonbabe and @sophiebernadotte

Wasn’t life as a princess supposed to be fair? Or maybe not fair, that might be the wrong word. She was privileged, she knew that… even if she had only known she was a princess for a few short years.

Royalty led lives that were in the public eye, normally having been raised in that environment, but here she was… sitting in a country that she’d only known about for 4 years, listening to her grandmother scolding her for jeopardising the wedding that was to take place in a few days time, which would then lead onto her coronation a week after that and it was all Sophie could do not to throw up or cry because she knew her grandmother was right… she had ruined everything.

She’d always dreamt she’d marry for love, that she’d find a man that made her stomach fizz, give her butterflies, that would make her heart skip a beat and her palms sweaty and her feet pop when she kissed him. She wanted the kind of love her mother had told her about, that her mother had experienced but due to the unfairness of her situation, it was an arranged marriage or lose her throne. Those were her options.

A throne that until she turned 16, she had known nothing about.

She had been blissfully unaware that her father had been a Prince… Prince of a tiny country in the middle of the Italian and French sea. Her mother had kept it from her, taking that secret with her to her grave.

Her mother had died 10 weeks before Sophie’s 16th birthday, which was the day her entire life changed.

She’d been stopping with her best friend Kate Sharma and Sophie had been in English when the poshest woman Sophie had ever seen in her life came in and dropped the bombshell of all bombshells on her over a cup of tea…

Which she promptly spat all over her “grandmother's” face.

She was a princess.

A bastard princess but a princess nonetheless, and the only living descendant of the Gunningworth line.

Her father, Richard, had passed away 9 months earlier and to Sarah’s knowledge he had been childless.

It was only after discovering something in her late-husband’s writing desk, did she learn that there was in fact an heir.

Her.

Sophie was saving the country from being taken over by the Cavender’s. Their son Phillip had a terrible temper and an even worse reputation at just 17 years old and had once been rulers of their own lands until the people revolted and won back their lands and banished the Cavender’s but their royal blood was connected to Penwood and now it was Sophie, or the Cavender’s and Sarah was determined that her throne would not pass into their hands.

She had learned that Reginald had sent Esme away when she was pregnant with Sophie, he didn’t want a child out of wedlock and he certainly didn’t want the Crown Prince, only Heir to the Throne marrying a commoner and so she’d been paid off and shipped off back to England. He provided money monthly to keep Esme quiet and Esme had been promised that she and her unborn child would be left alone and the secret of Sophie’s birth went to the grave with her.

Reginald had known about Sophie and he had been working out how to tell his wife that they did in fact have an heir and where they could find her, and what had happened, his own guilt weighing in after he’d pressured Richard into a marriage with a woman that bore no children between them other than two step-children who could not inherit the throne but when Reginald died 3 months after Richard it had thrown a spanner in the works as he’d not gotten around to telling Sarah the truth.

Sophie was dumbfounded.

Sarah was Regent, as they had their heir but she was underage and she was able to prevent Cavender getting his hands on the crown.

Since Sophie was underage she would learn the role, but upon turning 20 Sophie was told she’d have to take over the throne, she would get 6 months post her 20th birthday to marry and be crowned Queen otherwise, Cavender would take over.

So Life changed.

Gone were the days she was invisible, where she could blend into the background with Kate, sitting laughing about Shakespere and just being a teenage girl to…

Being a Princess.

She stayed in school but Kate was almost glued to her side. She worked at her studies, she travelled back and forth between the countries as she learned.

Once she was 18, Sophie moved to Penwood and Kate and her family came with her, they’d been her family when she had no one else and Kate wanted to work with Sophie, for Sophie as part of her staff once she’d graduated from University.

And Sophie knew from the moment she moved to her new home that she wanted to be Queen, that she would do anything to be Queen. Her beautiful country that she was learning to love, the rich culture and history that was hers to protect and nourish and the more time she spent there, the more she got to know the people, the more she knew she wanted to be Queen.

So between her studies, her Queen lessons with her Grandmother and getting to know the country’s leaders, she was starting to look for a husband.

Not just any husband, she needed someone titled, not in line for their own throne, someone who understood her importance as Queen. Someone harmless, inoffensive, who would stand there by her side and be a pillar of strength and a symbol but would let Sophie lead.

She would be Queen, and she knew finding a husband would be hard but she had time… or so she’d assumed. She was only 18 after all, she had two years. How hard could it be?

From the moment the plane touched down, Sophie knew that whatever she’d thought her life was going to be like, nothing compared to the circus it was becoming

.

18 turned into 19 and Sophie had still not found someone that she wanted to marry, any male around her age that would be eligible was not interested in marriage, any man she met at a bar knew who she was and wanted a piece of her as a trophy.

She was to be Queen… Everyone knew that. “Your highness, you must know there isn’t a man on this planet who isn’t interested in marrying you, but it is finding the right person for you who will make your everyday life easier, who makes the mundane fun and who makes you smile” her Prime Minister Edmund Bridgerton had told her as the days got closer to her 20th birthday and she had still not found someone to be her husband, time was running out and she was getting desperate.

“That is all well and good my Lord but I have 6 months, we have 6 months to make this work or everything has been in vain” Sophie sighed during their weekly meeting. Sophie loved meeting her prime minister, They had joked on a number of occasions it was a shame that his title came with his position and didn’t transfer to his children since he had eight of them and the two eldest boys were a little older than Sophie and Kate, she’d yet to meet Benedict who was off travelling and studying and she got on well with Anthony, who was training to take over from Charlie as the Royal Household Chief of Security once Sophie ascended to the throne.

The little wrinkle there was Anthony was dating Kate. Kate was working up to the role of Chief of Staff within the palace and eventually they would run the palace between them and despite their prickly start, Sophie thought they were perfect for one another but it served as an almost daily reminder that she didn’t have that and she needed that. 6 months to fall in love, marry to become Queen…

“There are other ways around it, your grandmother is reluctant to bring it up because she knew how much you wanted to find someone the traditional way but there is always an arranged marriage, I am sure between Ms Gibbons, your grandmother and my wife Violet, they’ll be able to come up with a list of possibilities for you. Aim for friendship first, it worked for your grandmother… love everything else, it is lovely but friendship and companionship will hold you in just as good a stead” Edmund explained

“That’s easy for you to say, you married the love of your live and have 8 children” Sophie replied flippantly but sighed “but I shall think about it, it is likely to be the only option”

“Speaking of my children…” Edmund grinned and Sophie rolled her eyes

“Smooth… what are they after this time?”

“It’s nothing actually just Benedict is back from his travels eventually this weekend after being away for the last two years studying and he is on the last portfolio for his masters and I was wondering if perhaps as a small favour we could add him to your official photographers list up to the coronation and allow him to capture some more… candid photos of the next few months”

“Why not, some candid ones will be lovely I guess after all the formal things…” Sophie said “and i’ll make sure there is a ticket to my 20th birthday party for him as well, if he is back in time that is, it would be nice to meet another of your ridiculous brood. but I will give some thought to your suggestion, having some of those possible bachelors come to the party and meet them…” Sophie sighed.

But after the events of her 20th birthday, Sophie had known it was time.

The only person she’d met the night of her birthday party, the only person she’d felt a connection with had been someone she knew she had no chance with.

She’d been walking through the party, trying to get away from Prince Hans and his incessant staring, as well as Lady Rosamund who was making snide quiet remarks about how it should be her that was going to be queen when Sophie had run straight into a stranger stomping straight on his foot, the most handsome stranger she’d ever met.

It was only after she’d danced and flirted with him and spoke to Kate, did she realise that it was Benedict Bridgerton and it had broken her heart almost instantly.

She’d assumed he was one of the many suitors her grandmother had invited for to meet so to realise who he was, that he was untitled, he was, despite being the son of a Lord, not someone Sophie could ever hope to get to know on a more intimate and romantic level… she knew based on the rules that had been set out for her future husband, it was a no go.

So the morning after her party, she’d called Kate, her grandmother, Ann Gibbons the current chief of staff and Mary and said “it’s time”

A week later she was sitting in the palace movie room with the screens up, profiles up as she looked through all the eligible bachelors that would be interested in an arranged marriage.

Two hours it had taken, going through picture after picture before Sophie had spotted one.

Yes he was a second son but he fit the bill where no one else did. He was the second son of a Duke. His older brother was already married and had twins, their line was secure, he was a Sir. He had a title, a ceremonial one but all the same…

Sir Phillip Crane was everything that Sophie had been looking for.

He was the same age as she was, he was academic, he was cute. He was someone that Sophie could see herself being at least friends with…

It was a start.

And it had turned out Phillip was everything that Sophie could have hoped for. He was kind, he was funny and they seemed to have a lot in common and Sophie knew she’d made the best possible choice…

Or she would have thought so if it wasn’t for Benedict being everywhere she went.

She’d forgotten about her agreement with the Prime Minister and being Anthony’s brother, and he seemed to get on really well with Kate. he was always there.

The torment Sophie felt was horrible, she felt attracted to Benedict in a way she knew she’d never be attracted to Phillip but she knew that she could never be with Benedict and have the life she so desperately wanted.

She wanted to be Queen, she wanted to rule this country that she’d learned so much about, that she was so passionate about and she was close to mucking it all up.

Two weeks before the wedding it all came to a head when during the summer party, Sophie had slipped away from Phillip, leaving him with Kate and Benedict’s sister Eloise as she wanted to get out of her head. Cavender’s son had been lurking and making lurid remarks about her and she just wanted 5 minutes.

She’d given her ladies maids the slip, and was just sitting on the edge of the fountain, trying not to hyperventilate.

She’d not seen Benedict at all during the party, he was employed during these events to take photos as part of her agreement with his father and she knew that it was the last thing she needed. Whilst she desperately craved him to soothe her frayed nerves, she knew being around him was making it worse.

They’d had many a spirited debate about Bryon, about poetry and art and she always seemed to know when he appeared, her skin tingled and pricked but he knew as well as she did, that whatever there was between them, wasn’t possible.

With the way the rules of the country where, fate was destined to keep them apart.

But that day… he’d caught her unaware, they’d given into a moment of weakness and kissed.

It was only when Sophie’s beloved dog Bernie, had come running through the fence with voices behind him, that they’d separated and in their shock at nearly being caught, they had tumbled into the fountain.

It had been the start of her downfall.

She’d confined Kate how she felt about Benedict, how she wished things could be different and she knew that Benedict had felt the same and how she couldn’t have him around her anymore because it was breaking her heart.

Benedict had agreed to step away, to leave his position because he knew the country needed Sophie more than he did and he would never have forgiven himself to do anything that would have ruined her dream to be Queen,

But he’d asked if he could see her one last time before he left, before he walked away and Sophie would marry Phillip and Sophie had agreed as long as no one found out.

But someone had found out. Someone had overheard and warned the press that if someone followed the Prime Minister’s son… they would find a scandal.

And whilst it wasn’t as big of a scandal as it could have been, Sophie and Benedict had just talked, shared a kiss or two, they’d fallen asleep under a tree in the grounds of the castle and it was upon waking that they’d been spotted…

And Sophie was sure her life was going to fall apart.

Sarah yelled at her for over an hour about it, about how she should not be sneaking out and despite the fact she knew how her granddaughter felt about him, she could see how devastated Sophie was about the choice.

Heart or country.

It was a choice she’d known all too well but Sophie knew what she wanted.

What was required of her… it was just a matter of if Phillip would still want to marry her.

“Phillip wait, please! Let me explain! Nothing happened” Sophie said as she ran after Phillip a few hours later after he’d arrived at the palace so they could talk.

“Yes but you went Sophie, you still went didn’t you?” he replied, his voice was strangely calm and not angry and Sophie wasn’t sure if she’d rather he’d been angry or not “I don’t think you understand… despite my geekiness as the press back home call it, I am an extremely eligible bachelor” he said, though Sophie could tell he cringed a bit at the words, knowing he didn’t like to big himself in that way. “I really am. I’ve got plenty of friends, lots of lovely… erm women friends” he said gesturing as they looked at one another

“But i… I still think marriage is a good idea.” he said and Sophie looked up at him in disbelief as Phillip’s face softened as they looked at one another,

“Sophie…” he said, before taking a step forward, placing his hands on either side of her face and kissing her.

It was the first time they’d properly kissed, it had been a brief kiss on the lips when they’d gotten engaged, the same on the balcony when they announced their engagement several weeks ago and as kisses went…

It was the most awkward kiss either of them had ever experienced.

It was like kissing a sibling. It was so awkward Sophie was sure the entire world stopped moving and she could hear the cows in the field several miles away Mooing…

Eventually Phillip pulled away and Sophie with her eyes still shut brought her hand to her lip to almost wipe the kiss off as she had Phillip looked at one another again

“So?” he asked “anything?” already anticipating the answer.

“It was lovely… just… there was no…” Sophie said

“Spark?” they said at the same time and Sophie groaned as she knew what the right thing to do was.

“What are we going to do?” Sophie said her voice breaking a little as she felt herself close to tears. The wedding was a few days away, she’d come this far and now she’d thrown it all away.

Phillip sighed and took a step forward putting an arm around Sophie’s waist, rolling his eyes as the security guards shovelled up the stairs behind them

“No privacy…” Sophie grumbled.

“Sophie… you chose me… and I accepted” he said pressing an almost brotherly kiss on her head “I accepted and so we’re going to stand up in the church next week and say “I do” and become man and wife… and then you’re going to be crowned Queen of Penwood and make the most amazing Queen in the history of this great country” he said tenderly, honestly and a smile on his face that made Sophie feel like perhaps everything could be okay.

“Thank you” she whispered as she kissed his cheek as she smiled back at him.

This was it. Her choice had been made. Country and Duty over her heart. Phillip was a good man and she could do a lot worse…

#bridgerton #bridgerton drabble #Benophie AU #Princess diaries AU #benedict bridgerton #sophie beckett #sir phillip crane #benophie #benedict x sophie

[cookies-and-music]

The Scam of a Lifetime.

Aleksander was tired.

Centuries of feigned deaths and new identities had worn him down.

Every day, upon waking, his mind chose a reason why existence was no longer bearable, and he spent the day brooding over it.

That day, it was about the King. Each time the king died, Aleksander had to gain the trust of the new one, prove his worth, and bow to people he could crush with a fingertip.

It had to end.

And it would end with her.

He approached her after the show. In centuries, Aleksander had seen many good actors, but none as skilled as the girl before him. Anya was young, around 16, with brown hair and light eyes. The only thing special about her was the uncanny resemblance to the Queen. It seemed that fate had spared him.

'Let's see if I understand, General Krignan.'

'Kirigan,' he corrected.

'Kirigan,' she echoed. 'Are you telling me that there existed a second daughter of the tsars, unknown to anyone, who disappeared right after birth, and the king is looking for her?'

'Correct.'

 'It seems crazy,' she crossed her arms, leaning on the back of the chair. 'But then, why is he looking for her, after all these years?'

'He is very ill,' Aleksander began.

'The tsar is dying?' the girl widened her eyes.

'Remember that everything we say is confidential, Miss Anya,' he said with a slight undertone of threat, and she nodded. 'The tsar claims that the disappearance of the second daughter is his greatest regret, and he cannot die peacefully until he finds her.'

She seemed to reflect on it for a while; Aleksander could see the gears in her brain turning. When she finished, she raised an eyebrow. 'So, I should go there, give him the farewell kiss, and then what?'

'Then you would retire to the quiet life you know and prefer, in a villa located in the countryside far from Os Alta, with more money than you can count, never worring about working ever again.'

Anya sensed it, the smell of bullshit. 'And what do you gain?'

'A peaceful passing for my beloved sovereign.'

The coldness with which he said it made the hairs on the back of her neck stand.

She took a second to think about it, but even if she knew he would gain something, Anya thought she didn't care much, as long as she came out of it alive. And rich. Terribly rich.

[][][]

During the carriage journey to Os Alta, Kirigan instructed Anya on everything she could say and, above all, what she shouldn't say. The lost princess Katarina had grown up in an orphanage on the border of Shu territory, never knowing who her parents were. When she was old enough to leave, she became a seamstress. They met in a shop where she worked and sold him gloves.

'But I don't know how to sew,' Anya had objected.

'You'll learn along the way,' Kirigan had replied without looking up from his lunch.

Anya had raised an eyebrow but didn't comment.

Apart from that, the journey was mostly silent and terribly boring. The black carriage they traveled in had dark curtains that prevented them from seeing outside, making it difficult to distinguish morning from evening.

For three days, the General was her only company, as he had forbidden her to talk to anyone else to maintain secrecy.

Just beyond the gates of Os Alta, the terrible silence surrounding the carriage was broken by the chaos from outside. Intrigued by the commotion, Anya reached a hand toward the curtain and pulled it slightly.

Outside, an adoring crowd had gathered around the carriage. They threw flowers and shouted, 'Glory to the tsar, glory to Ravka.'

'I didn't know you were so loved, General,' Anya turned to Kirigan, who, with his dark and heavy clothes and long legs, seemed to take up all the space in front of her.

Kirigan moved a flap of the curtain with a finger.

'They're not cheering for me, Miss Anya.'

The girl looked confused, and he handed her a newspaper he had next to him.

'What am I supposed to do with this?' Anya waved it.

'Usually, people read newspapers, Miss Anya.'

She clenched her jaw, swallowing. 'The. P- Prin-cess. Princess.'

Aleksander furrowed his brow. 'Miss Anya... you can read, right?'

'Of course!' Anya seemed almost offended. 'I just don't like it that much.'

Aleksander almost laughed as he watched her straighten up and furrow her brows as if facing an indecipherable puzzle. 'The princess re-tu-returns ho-me.' Anya tossed the newspaper on the cushion beside her. 'I don't understand,' she sighed, looking at Kirigan.

‘They’re here for you, Princess Katarina.' He gave her a half-smile, and Anya's jaw dropped.

'I had never received applause before the performance.'

Aleksander almost laughed.

Around an hour later, the carriage stopped.

'Well, Miss Anya, the show is about to begin.' Aleksander opened a door and stepped out before reaching his hand inside to help Anya get down. As her eyes adjusted to the outside light, Aleksander took her arm and crossed it with his. For a moment, Anya was surprised by such chivalry until she realized that the proximity was necessary only to ensure that no one heard him when he whispered, 'And know that if you back out, no corner will be dark enough to hide you from me, Miss Anya.'

#fanfic #aleksander morozova x oc #aleksander morozova x reader #aleksander morozova #the darkling x reader #the darkling x oc #the darkling #shadow and bone #grishaverse

[dangermousie]

I know I keep saying it, but nobody will beat Zhang Ruoyun's portrayal of Fan Xian as performance of 2024 for me. No one.

The way this scene shows his grief and rage and thirst for retribution and loathing of random injustice of the universe?!

What gets me the most here, and I think what really is the extra cruel twist for Fan Xian is that Miss Jin wasn't even targeted because he helped her father and he wanted to have her freed. She wasn't targeted at all. Second Prince's hirelings needed to kill a hooker and picked a hooker at random. It would be awful if she was deliberately killed to punish Fan Xian because he tried to help her father and her. But at least there would be some causality, some "if only I did X differently" there, some control. It would at least give her some importance in her killers' eyes, however perverse - some reason as to why she's the one lying there lifeless. But nope - they had no idea of what she and her father meant to Fan Xian, the injustice he tried to right with them, they just needed a brothel worker to kill and grabbed one at random.

And oh, how bleak. How utterly bleak. Fan Xian tried to help her father redeem her and the old man died. And Fan Xian then had her freed after he got control of things, because that way even if the old man is dead, at least it wasn't in vain, his daughter is free. And now we find out she was never freed because yes she had her papers, she probably had money on top. But as Wang Qinian points out - as a former prostitute with no family where could she go, what could she do for a living? She stayed in the brothel and continued because that was the only way of life she had left.

There was no salvation or happy ending for anyone in the Jin family.

And look at this - look at his monumental rage:

It's pretty gorgeously ironic that when he first got to the capital and saw that stele about all men being equal left by his mother, he said this is a great sentiment but he doesn't have the courage to take on the whole world, he just wants a peaceful life. And yet we watch how he inexorably takes up that mantle without ever having planned to - because he cannot stand aside. He, like his mother, is one person taking on the basics of feudal society. Hopefully unlike her, he emerges alive.

(Honestly, the more this drama goes on, the more it reminds me of Hu Ge's The Myth with which is shares a number of themes. Fan Xian has a lot more plot armor but the desire to bash your head against the wall of history no matter how futile because you cannot live with your conscience otherwise is very much the same.)

And the coda with the second prince - my God!

#cdrama #zhang ruoyun #joy of life 2 #liu duan duan

[cherr-22]

TNGDH 24

I held up my hand to my forehead and looked up at the sky. The sun shined brightly with not a single cloud in sight.

“The weather is good.”

A wide smile spread across my face as I admired the beautiful, warm Blake estate today.

Pure white bricks laid neatly in rows and stalls lined up on both sides. Behind them were simple shops run by the people.

That’s right. Shops.

I admired the coin purse hanging by my side. It’s heavy. According to Kyle, I would have plenty of money even after saying ‘give me everything from here to there’ right now. 

While I didn’t plan on spending that much, isn’t good to have a lot? Even as Bae Soohyun I couldn’t enjoy such a luxury.

……To be more accurate, I died just before I got the chance to do so.

“Let’s go, porter.”

I shook my head to clear my thoughts and turned to Kyle. He was dressed lighter than usual and was looking down at me with his eyebrow raised at me.

There’s no point in giving me that look. Of course I’d call you a porter. It’s not like you would call this a date. In the first place, you’re the one who wanted to tag along.

I turned around ignoring his stunned reaction and lifted up the heavy coin purse.

No matter what, I’m going to use this all. I won’t die before these are all spent.

This is something I realized after dying once, but money should be spent while it’s in your pocket. I’ll show you what it means to earn like a Northern prince and spend like a hamster. 

“Slowly.”

He grabbed the back of my neck before I could run off.

I frowned and scrutinized him. In my mouth held a piece of jerky I received at the stall selling dried meat.

“…….”

“Whad. Whad ah yoo looing ah.”

What. What are you looking at.

“……Nothing. Keep eating.”

Wow. This is absolutely crazy. How on earth did they make this sauce? Can a taste like this even exist?

Must buy it now.

I bought two packs of jerky. As I took out a shiny gold coin, Kyle held onto my bags.

Nibbling on the jerky, I headed for the next shop. Here they sold a ‘bracelet that can make you healthy just by wearing it!’. That was what was written on a thick piece of paper next to it.

<Shocking news! Beneficial mana energy is flowing out!>

……What is this, a germanium bracelet or something? The color seems similar too…… this is obviously a scam.

On the other hand, Kyle who was standing next to me held the bracelet up with interest.

“Are there any sizes suitable for a hamster?”

As if there would be any.

In the first place, don’t think about buying one. That energy or whatever. Mana stone or whatever. Oh dear, this is giving me a headache.

‘Maybe I should’ve pretended that there are special demonic beasts with rare constitution that don’t develop mana stones.’

I sighed as I dragged him to the next shop. He would’ve put an order down for the hamster bracelet if we stayed there for even a minute longer.

“Let’s see. Where can I buy clothes.”

“The cape is very warm! Thick and light!”

“Scarves, buy scarves here!”

“Delicious demonic beast meat skewers!”

“Buy one get one free bag of peanut crackers!”

The lively atmosphere of the market brightened my mood.

I bought everything that looked good. The shopping bags drooping off of the Grand Duke’s arms- ah, no don’t do that. Hang the bags on your left arm, not your precious right arm.

“Shoes made from the tough leather of a Northern elephant!”

“Have a look at these pants! Even the Blake knights wear these as training uniforms!”

Obviously I can’t hold back on these.

“Here are sweet and sour tangerine candy. Come see handmade candy made by a craftsman with 30 years of experience!”

This, can’t hold back on this either.

“These are crepes. We’re selling for only one more day to commemorate for the festival!”

Definitely can’t hold back.

“This sure is great.”

The money was spent rapidly, and the once heavy coin purse felt lighter and lighter over time. Both of Kyle’s arms were fully occupied with my shopping bags.

“What’s wrong?”

I asked while holding crepes in both hands. Kyle replied calmly.

“You are more easy to satisfy than I thought.”

I’m about to sell out all the shops and yet you call me frugal.

As expected of the Grand Duke of the North, this kind of spending must be nothing compared to what he spends on a single hamster. Would I have to buy the entire shop to surprise you?

“Today, I will treat you. Would you like some of this crepe? There’s raspberry inside.”

I bought one for myself because it looked delicious but suddenly felt bad seeing the porter work hard all day long. Ah, such a kind heart I have.

He stretched out his neck forward slightly.

“I have no open hands to hold it myself.”

“……Ah. You’re right.”

Both hands were filled with bags. My bags. I did bring him as a porter but……

Still, isn’t he the owner of this land and the ruler of the North? He has been following me behind silently, but the eyes of the shop owners would pop out whenever they recognized him.

“There’s no other choice.”

After contemplating a bit, I raised one of my arm to hold the crepe in front of Kyle’s mouth.

He remained still, as if this kind of situation was new to him. What else do you expect me to do. Should I go buy another arm for you somewhere instead?

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Because it’s unexpected.”

Kyle lowered his head and took a bite out of the crepe. An entire corner disappeared in an instant. ……Was it that tiring to hold the bags?

“It’s my first time to be directly fed like this.”

[First time~ It’s his first time! 〜(￣▽￣〜)(〜￣▽￣)〜]

Stop celebrating.

“It’s not like you’re a demonic beast. Why couldn’t you be fed like this.”

“They find me difficult usually.”

“You wouldn’t be difficult if they interact with you everyday.”

I said as if it were nothing special.

He may be a solemn duke in front of others, but to me, he was just a hamster otaku who kissed me everywhere with no reservation. It would be even weirder if I still found him difficult to be with.

“Have we been seeing each other everyday?”

Oops.

“……Recently we have. We saw each other yesterday and the day before yesterday.”

I kept my arm held up for him to eat the crepe and then turned to my share of the crepe in my other hand. Let’s see. Cranberry whipped cream made from goat milk……

“Too sour!”

Kyle flinched upon hearing my cry.

“……Is this your first time having whipped cream?”

“No, I’ve had them plenty of times. Whipped cream should be fluffy and savory, and yet why does this taste like this? And to add sour cranberries on top of that. It makes it twice as sour!”

Kyle tilted his head in confusion and took another bite out of the crepe.

“Whipped cream usually taste like this.”

Seeing him, I bit into mine again.

Sour as expected.

“No. Crepes are usually supposed to be so sweet that it makes your mouth ticklish to be delicious.”

This guy knows nothing. The cloud-like fluffiness is the charm of whipped cream, and yet he doesn’t believe me.

At 9:30PM, I used to have a piece of fresh cream cake delivered from the cafe near my office. It was always the last order since the shop closed at 10:00PM. Roughly once a month, I would have it on a hard day to melt away my fatigue.

Those were hard times, but thinking about it now felt like old memories.

“Is that so…….”

Kyle held a serious expression.

“If you don’t like it, you should throw it away and eat something else.”

“What are you talking about? How wasteful. Besides, just because it’s sour doesn’t mean I can’t eat it.”

“Alright. Eat a lot.”

He finished the crepe and lightly squeezed my wrist to examine it.

“Small and skinny.”

What bullshit is he saying. I’m slightly bigger than the average Korean. I’ve never been told I was small. Especially with one insole in my shoe, my height reached 180 centimeters tall. A thin insole of course, not the thick one.

“Are you sure it’s not just you being too big?”

He let out a low chuckle.

“Eat lots of meat. Even with me protecting you, your body must be in good condition to go out on the reconnaissance. In the Blake territory, even the support units receive martial arts training, not just the knights and soldiers.

Kyle asked as I finished off my crepe.

“Do you have any weapons you can use?”

“No.”

“Any specialties?”

“……Ummm…… language?”

C language is also a language after all.

### programming language

“Besides that.”

“Eating a lot?”

In the case that I failed to develop the game, the lady who worked at the restaurant I frequented said I should try doing a mukbang.

### Mukbang is a live-stream where viewers watch the host eat

“Haaa…….”

He sighed deeply.

What’s wrong. Do I seem like luggage burden now that you think about it?

But consider yourself lucky. As long as I have the system with me, your future will be bright. It may sound odd, but just believe in me.

“Is there something wrong?”

I asked in a provocative tone.

“Are you already worried that you won’t be able to protect me?”

The nickname ‘Loser of the North’ would probably spread throughout the land if that were the case. It’s not like he gained fame as the ‘Bloody Grand Duke’ by killing innocent people. If he can’t protect even a single civilian, he would have to step down from his position as the lord.

His eyebrows furrowed upon hearing my provocation and laughed as if he were intrigued.

“You sure know how to provoke someone.”

“Thank you for the complement.”

Office workers usually fight well. Fighting with clients, fighting with their boss, fighting with overtime… I won’t lose to anyone anywhere.

“Where should I move this to?”

After busily walking around eating this and that, we ended up at the front of the Blake castle. He glanced at me as if to say that I would have to climb the stairs myself this time. I know, I know. It’s not like I don’t have legs.

I trudged up the stairs as slow as a turtle.

“I’ll be shoving them into an unused storage room.”

“Not the servant’s dorm room?”

“Yes. There are no space left for me. I was only able to go there in the past because Sen was with me.”

“…….”

How would I put all these bags into the break room of the servant’s dorm without putting up with the others’ stares?

I’ve been meeting with Kyle in the break room until now since I didn’t want to meet him in his study. Now that Sen has left, no matter how thick-faced I may be, staying there would be too much.

“I’ll get you a room.”

Kyle said it as if it were nothing. You can give away a room just by saying you’ll give me a room?

“……Huh? Really?”

“You must’ve forgotten, but you are also one of the castle’s people.”

Oh right.

“I request a room with a big window.”

If I’m going to receive one, I should get a good one while I have the chance.

With that, the items I bought from the stores today piled up high in my newly assigned room.

As expected, the world revolves around money.

--------------------------------------------------------

Previous Chapter / Next Chapter

T/N: I will not be able to post a chapter for next week so this is an early chapter, plus a bonus chapter 25 as an apology!

#tngdh

[namazunomegami]

prince!toji x imperial concubine!reader

a/n: Part 3 of my drabble series is finished!! I'm not a Toji simp but writing him was a surprisingly easy process. And for the love of god I just can't finish Gojo it's so hard to handle him in this specific setting.

Sorry Toji girlies but I just can't imagine him as an emperor in the AU, but being a disgraced prince goes sooo well with his character. Hope you'll enjoy this part as much as I did while working on it!

Likes and reblogs are still appreciated <33

wc: 1060, I got carried away with the exposition

cw: Toji is a dick, smut, period accurate euphemism for an orgasm, angsty ending

credits: My one and only @notveryrussian did the proofreading again, thank u darl <33

MDNI, if you do, I'm gonna block you so hard you'll feel it in your next life

When an emperor dies, his mandate dies with him. The death of a god can shake the whole realm, it shakes the whole family. Anomalies start to happen because heaven’s throne shouldn’t stay vacant for long.

Toji almost lost the last bit of his sanity when he was summoned to the capital. It’s sickening that the court wanted him to go back to the palace and pay his respects to the recently deceased Naobito. Another blow to his already wounded pride. They want him to venerate the uncle who cast him out of the family, who banished him to a rural town to live in conditions so unfitting for his rank, with no support on top of all of that. Luckily, he’s familiar with many shortcuts to easy money.

The embalmed corpse of the late emperor is his only delight. The spacious halls and courtyards of the palaces, the carvings, the decorative paintings, thangkas, the ginormous, lush gardens made him yearn for that small house he was sent to. This place just wasn’t home anymore. Those related to him weren’t family anymore. They get through with the funeral rites, the relatives and the officials will settle the line of succession, and then he’ll leave, he has no other reason to stay here. He has no hopes to be chosen as emperor. Naobito and Jinichi already did so much damage to his name. Maybe the rest of the family just want something to gossip about for a few years, that’s why they called him back.

It’s all so tiring. The vigils, the march to the tomb, the prayers the monks recite, the offerings. He has nothing to give, not even an incense stick or a plate of fruits. He endures the rites in silence, he has no pleasant memories to reflect upon or kind words to say about him much to his cousins’ dismay. He wants to tear everything to pieces, burn the whole city down and piss on the ruins because that’s what Naobito always deserved.

After the funeral, the whole palace descends into chaos. Naobito failed to appoint an heir, every one of his kids has an equal chance to inherit the throne and the whole court sits in the Hall of Mental Cultivation to argue about the distribution of wealth, the army, and the provinces between the family. They’re like jackals, bickering over the meat on a rotten corpse.

Before he planned to sneak into the Hall of Three Rarities to look at (and maybe steal) some of the relics, the issue of the concubines was brought up.

You’re a lovely little bunch. Naobito wasn’t a man known for his gentleness, the mutual torment made you stick together, support each other. Just the thought of it makes his cold heart fill with a strange kind of comfort. You’re all so lost, having no idea what will happen to you, who will have ownership over you. You out of all of them pray every night that Naoya will never be crowned emperor. You’d rather escape, beg for money and crumbs of dry bread on the streets before you’d let him touch you.

Maybe your prejudice towards the royal family and your gut feeling was wrong this time. He’s not like any other member of his family. He’s rough around the edges but treats you all with an odd form of kindness. You and the other concubines soon grew to like his company. They await him during leisure time to serve him tea, sing to him, you even dusted off your guzheng to play an ancient melody. With each passing day, the concubines are glowing more and more, melting in his presence. He has them wrapped around his fingers and you start thinking about whether you’re an exception or not.

It’s too late to realize that you’re not.

You walk back to the Palace of Eternal Harmony together after you picked some plums in the gardens. You’re not suspecting anything. It’s already dusk, he just wants to protect you, right? He notices your hairpin, an exquisite and costly thing with dangling pearls and jewels embedded into the flower petals shaped with gold. Naobito must have liked you, he says. You shake your head and confess that you weren’t a particular favorite of his. He has seen you only for a few nights, and you don’t know how but he manages to get all the details out of you. He’s not surprised that Naobito didn’t care about your pleasure, or if he’d caused you any pain and then just threw you away like a used toy.

What a perfect match, a disgraced nephew and an unfavored concubine.

He doesn’t care about the rules in the concubine’s quarters, he lets himself into your small room. You serve him the plums just to hide your own flusteredness. He splits the fruit in half with ease and offers it back to you, handfeeding you. Drips of sweet juice stream down on your chin. There’s depravity and starvation in your eyes. Poor soul, maybe even you can’t remember the last time you were touched. He pities you.

He’s so unlike Naobito.

He has the patience to prepare you, gives you time to adjust to him. This is your first time laying on your back, belly up, every inch of you revealed to him. It makes you feel vulnerable but at least he’s looking at you. Right in the face as your features distort in pleasure. You finally experience what the older consorts called “cloud and rain”. A nice name, you think, but it’s not the right idiom to describe what you’re feeling. It’s like ascension to another plane of existence. A rumble. Rippling warmth. Overflowing joy.

You’re too absorbed in the afterglow to notice how cold he is. The sweat sticking to his skin, the tips of his fingers, everything is so cold about him. But maybe you can warm his heart up. If only he would take you with him after the succession crisis is solved. Get away from this horrid place, let you two finally heal.

But when you wake up he’s gone. He has taken your hairpin, maybe as a memento or to put a price tag on it. The only thing that remains is his seed inside of you. You feel ruined, just like he intended with everything Naobito ever owned.

#jujutsu kaisen #jjk #jujutsu kaisen x reader #jjk drabbles #toji fushiguro x reader #meesa writes

[star-girl69]

hello addie. can i place an order for aemond x reader. With fluff vibes and angst? where aemond is really in love with the reader, who is a noblewoman of a great house, she has ambition for the throne, and marries aemond only for power, but in the end she admits that she grew up to love him

i love this ask so much tbh… ok i’m pretty sure i stayed true to the ask but idk 🙏🙏 i hope you all like this and also idk if aemond is immune to fire but let’s just pretend (also this is not beta’d) (title is ofc from the fabulous lana del rey)

also thank you so so so much for requesting!!!!

no warnings i think, tell me if i missed something!

Money, Power, Glory

—-

All your life, all you had wanted was to be powerful. Ever since your father had died and your brother, Jason, became Lord of Casterly Rock you had become addicted to the taste of it. Since he hasn’t found a wife yet, (some part of you thinks he is still holding out for Princess Rhaenyra, even though she is happily married) you had been named the honorary Lady of Casterly Rock.

You hosted and organized dinners for the bannermen lords, made sure that new tapestry got to the library, selected the flowers to go in the foyer, and more things that piled on by the day. But that rush. Maybe ordering people around shouldn’t be that fun, but you didn’t care. You liked the power. The money. The glory. Some part of you considered breaking the norms, becoming a knight. That was ridiculous. While some were up for that treacherous path, you decided to go the path more traveled. Unfortunately, the only way a woman can move up in the world.

You decided to marry.

—-

After many months at court, befriending Queen Alicent, establishing yourself as a dutiful lady, you had gotten what you wanted. A marriage.

While Aegon was the heir, he was already married to Helaena. The second son was your best option. But accidents happened all the time. You had more power than ever before, and you would be happy, if not for this pain in your side.

You loathed Aemond.

You weren’t sure why, really, but just something about him annoyed you to no end. Maybe it was his ridiculous smirk, his obnoxious sword fighting skills, or his eyepatch. Maybe it was his powerful dragon, or the way his arms felt around your waist when you danced at feasts. You almost slapped yourself. Aemond was attractive, in some odd way, you supposed, but you swore not to fall in love with him. You would not settle until you were the Queen of the Seven Kingdoms.

Speaking of Aemond, your eyes flicked up to your maid as she announced him.

“Lady Y/N,” That ridiculous smirk. “I was hoping you would accompany me to the dragonpit?”

Unknown to you, Aemond knew all about your little game. He was smart, and to his trained eye, he saw right through you. You wanted money, power, glory. He could give it to you, if only you fell in love with him.

From the first day you had come to court, he noticed you. He fell in love with you. He wasn’t embarrassed to admit it. He was absolutely whipped for you, and would do anything you asked.

But Aemond wanted to be wanted. To be loved. So, he swore he would give you everything you ever wanted. After you fell in love with him.

Plus, he liked a challenge.

“Of course, My Prince.” Gods, your voice was intoxicating.

—-

The walk continued in relative silence to the dragonpit, and you took Aemond’s arm. You would never admit it, but his arms were quite nice and muscled. You liked holding onto them. But you were not falling in love with him, obviously. He was just a means to an end. But your bed felt awfully cold as of late.

“I have something to show you.” His voice snapped you out of your reverie, as he led you to a room inside of the pit.

You weren’t quite sure what you were seeing at first. Then, it hit you. Dragon eggs.

“I claimed them, for our future children. It is Targaryen custom for dragon eggs to be placed in a newborns cradle, so that they may hatch and grow with them.”

You nodded.

Why did this gesture make you… you weren’t quite sure of the feeling in your stomach. Almost if your heart was squeezing in joy, your stomach filled with something fluttery. For him to think about your future children made you want to take him right here and now.

He’s just a means to an end, you reminded yourself.

Yes, the gesture was sweet, but meant nothing. He wanted heirs just as any other man did.

“You like them?” He took your hand, bringing you closer. A large fire burned, and the dragon eggs sat on metal braziers just next to the fire, keeping them warm. You were sure that if you touched one of them, your hand would come away horribly scarred. He grabbed one.

“Aemond!” You jumped back, but he simply laughed.

“Fire does not hurt a dragon, my sweet wife.”

“Oh. Yes. I-“ You trailed off, suddenly feeling quite embarrassed.

“This one is my favorite.” He held it out to you. It was a beautiful egg. A deep red, with scatterings of black scales throughout. The color almost reminded you of blood.

“It’s beautiful.”

“I’m leaving, tonight.” He spoke the words quickly, not looking at you. As if he could not bear it. He placed the egg back on the brazier.

“Oh. Where? How long?” Why did you care?

“Pentos. A few weeks.”

“I see.” You took a breath. “I wish you safe travels, husband.” He looked back at you with a smirk.

“Will you miss me?”

“Of course. You are my husband.” Maybe some part of you found that it wasn’t a lie.

He stepped closer, placed a hand on your face. You almost jumped back, but didn’t want to be rude and hurt him. Lightly, as if he was balancing a tower of feathers, he pressed a kiss to your cheek, corner of his lips touching yours. You almost gasped in shock.

Almost gasped at the feeling in your stomach, the desire, the need for more.

“I’ll see you soon, my sweet wife.”

Then he turned and left.

You blinked, not knowing what to make of the desire in your stomach. The yearning in your heart.

A guard walked in.

“I’m here to escort you back to the palace, Lady Y/N.” You nodded, eyes wild.

“Yes. Yes, thank you.” He gestured to the open door, and you walked through, something changed.

—-

The trip did not take a few weeks. He was gone for months.

You loathed they way you worried about him. Every morning, asking Alicent if she had news of his return when she took breakfast with you and Helaena. Every morning was the same answer. She wasn’t sure.

Finally, one day, after Alicent had left, leaving you with the same answer, Helaena placed a hand on your arm. You had always been fond of her. She was one of the few people in the Red Keep, in King’s Landing, even, who was genuinely kind. She had no ulterior motive, no knife up her sleeve. It was refreshing.

“Y/N,” She started, voice mystical in that Helaena-way, “it is alright to fall in love with him.” You almost spat out your tea.

“I- I don’t know what you’re talking about, Princess.”

She smiled. “I have dreams, Lady Y/N. You know this?” You nodded. You had heard about dragon dreamers, men and women of Targaryen blood who could see glimpses of the future. “I have seen great things for you, good sister. You will have what you desire.” With that, she turned back to her pastry.

It brought you some comfort, you supposed. The only question was, what did you desire? The throne, or Aemond?

—-

Each day you grew more frustrated with your husband. Why couldn’t he just return?

Your days grew boring without him. Your nights were cold. Desire from the day he had kissed you still rested in your stomach. You were miserable.

So, one night, while it was storming outside, and you heard the unmistakable sound of Vhagar’s roar, you jumped out of bed.

Your guards chased after you as you ran to the dragonpit. You were relieved, angry, sad.

“My lady! It is not safe,” One of them shouted. Rain poured down, thunder cracked above. You stood in front of Vhagar. A guard grabbed you by the arm, and you tried to pull away from him.

“Get your hands off of my wife!” You almost cried in relief when Aemond appeared from behind Vhagar. “Leave us.” The guards shuffled away.

“Aemond…” You whispered.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” It all came rushing back as he placed his hands on your shoulders, meant to be comforting.

“How dare you!” You wrench yourself away from him, tears falling, mixing with rain. He looks shocked.

“What have I done to upset you?” You are filled with rage, animal instinct. You descend upon him, weak fists hitting at his chest. He lets you. After realizing you’re getting no reaction out of him, you stop.

“You left me!”

He realizes what has happened then.

“Oh, my love. I’m sorry.” His hands caress your face, bring you closer. You fold into his chest, and realize maybe you had always loved him. You just did not want to admit it. You desired him, and power.

Perhaps you were meant to be together, and your drive for power was a means to an end. A means to him.

“Do not leave again.”

“I won’t. I’ll tell my mother, I’ll stay with you.” He breathes you in. You smell of rain, of some flowery scent. “Do you know how long I have loved you? Since you came here. Whatever you want, I will give it to you. As long as you love me, as long as you are mine. I will give you money, power, glory. Books, jewelry, dresses.” He is almost begging. “Just say you will love me, Y/N, please.”

“You would do all that- for me?”

“More.”

You are not sure how to answer him. How to thank him. Everything you have ever wanted is resting in front of you now, and it is all because of him.

You press your lips to his. Besides for your wedding, this is only time you have truly kissed him. You fumble, inexperienced. You want him to take away the desire in your stomach. You want him to make it better.

“It’s alright,” He whispers, tucking a stray strand of hair behind your ear. “We have all the time in the world.”

That night, he lays you in your bed, arms wrapped tight. You lay your head on his chest, thinking about how his heartbeat is the sweetest sound in the world.

You fall asleep thinking of money, power, glory. All that he will give you. Some part of you thinks you might love him, just for that.

—-

#aemond targaryen x reader #aemond x reader #aemond targaryen #house of the dragon

[melonminnie]

BUT ILL KNOW!.. I’ll know (Various characters x fem! Reader)

INCLUDING ! : Alteris takar , Tristan Valentine, Esteban hermano

SUMMARY: How I think they’d react if you died 🫶

ALTERIS TAKAR the current emperor.

Alteris was never one with emotion, even when he met you, it could be said that maybe for the short amount of time that you existed.

He was able to feel love for the first time again.

At first the emperor would push you away from him, Maybe he’d relax one moment the second he’d be screaming at you to go away.

Of course as any person you were deeply hurt by his actions but understanding why he kept such a walk around people, you’d leave him be.

Smiling after every curse that came out of his mouth towards you, you knew he didn’t mean it as he never acted this way until you came along.

it was hatred, Now Alteris realized it, perhaps maybe he’d liked you just maybe a tiny bit for him to feel guilty after what he said to you.

and so he planned the most extravagant apology he could think of, with the help of tan.

Alteris planned to apologize to you no he planned to confess to you, His heart finally filled with the warmth he never knew he needed.

And so he got ready and waited, waited and waited, With time passing Alteris slumped against a chair and sighed.

He realized how much he wronged you. Two knights slowly approached the defeated emperor shakened slightly.

“your majesty,” the bowed their head as the man’s blue eyes wandered to them giving them permission to speak.

“Her majesty, Y/N has now been pronounced dead an assassination attempt ” one of the two declared, Alteris’s eyes slowly started showing its true colors. Sadness, Alteris was sad and so he would stay sad eventually he’ll move on get a family and he’ll open his heart to another.

TRISTAN, former Duke of Valentine

Tristan was known as a tease when he was seen with you, Which was most of the time.

he smiled warmly around you, you two being friends sense childhood had grown into companions and nothing more.

You growing up to become one of the most beloved people of the empire, One whom everyone desired to be with money and fame, Adorable children and a faithful husband.

But nonetheless nobody liked your relationship with Tristan, As the two of you were married people still let rumors spill in between the cracks.

“Tristan why would I make up such rumors about the two of us?,” the girl cried desperately, The Valentine household had a name to keep and to him you were ruining his hard work.

The duke sighed slightly, “Y/n, go home please” Tristan said, Y/n was hurt as this was the first time she’d ever seen her best friend plead.

And to her nonetheless it made her tear up, “Fine!, I’ll go but..” she trailed off, “Please tell me we will still be friends no?” She said tears filling her eyes.

“What you want to believe is what you want” he replied, “Now go,” he pushed her without any room for conversation.

The two of course had grown apart within time, As y/ns children grew older her letters being rejected she no longer needed to remember a bad memory.

Needing to fulfill her duty as a mother, she’d left behind something she assumed would never be fixed.

‘Y/N F/N THE VISCOUNTESS FOUND DEAD IN THE FOREST’

without ever even contacting you again, you had disappeared it hurt him truly as he hadn’t apologized to you.

not even once and you definitely to him deserved an apology.

ESTEBAN HERMANO current emperor of the hermano country

Being the first empress was of course stressing in every way possible, but you made it work if it meant that you’d have to sit idly starring into space.

Esteban loved you as much as you loved him to protect you from the public eye.

Even when the two of you divorced after the birth of the crown prince, it was known that the two of you were very friendly with each other.

So when he heard that the former empress had been murdered he was shocked yet he refused to believe the rumor.

Of course he did find out that the rumor was true a very long time after the actual rumor.

He wanted to at least be sad that you died, yet he was not able too.

#-Azuwritess #manhwa x reader #fanfic #manwah #becoming the villains family #becoming the villains family x reader #Manhwa x reader #manhwa #my mother got married by contract #my mother got a contract marriage #historic manhwa #Lyrica x reader #historical manhwa #Alteris x fem reader #alteris takar #baby tyrant #baby tyrant x reader #esteban x fem reader #tristan x reader #Btvf x reader #Born a princess Manhwa #born a princess x reader #baby tyrant manhwa

[thegreymoon]

The Story of Minglan

This is the episode when we finally get the OTP™ Wedding, yes? Yes?? YESSS???

Nobody tell me otherwise, I AM EXCITED!! 🎉🎉

***

Aww, Gu Tingye would dote on you if you didn't bring in a cent!

He's rich enough for the both of you.

***

Aww, baby 😢

Her ideas of what she dares to expect are so low at this point, that they are underground.

Gu Tingye has his work cut out for spoiling her.

***

I'm not crying, you're crying 😭

***

LOL, he finally gets a happy and respectable daughter wedding 😂

No drunk underage son trying to gamble betrothal geese away. No daughter pregnant before marriage. No secret liaison that would be disastrous for his family if word got out.

Just an advantageous high-rank marriage with a nobleman that will elevate the entire family sky-high!

Not that he deserves it. But Minglan does, so I will suffer this collateral damage gladly.

***

Oh my god 😭😭

How many times will this drama have me sobbing 😭😭

***

Somebody needs to hand me a handkerchief too 😭😭

I am bawling here like a baby, I can't see properly from the tears 😭😭

***

Xiaotao thinking of the important things on this monumental day 😅

Such as lunch 😂😂

***

She's so cute, OMG 😭

Anyway, I think that I can now safely say that Minglan is possibly my favourite female character ever!

***

LMAO, please don't tell me he married Cousin Cao after all 🙄

So spineless.

***

Oh, he didn't?? 👀

She got her hopes up for nothing, LMAO.

I'm afraid I will have to go forth reluctantly respecting He Hongwen after all, now that Minglan is safely married to who she should be.

***

LOL, yeah, no.

***

Somebody, please explain to me who these two people are 😭

Are they new?

All of a sudden, they are having dialogue in this episode and acting like they are important and I can't remember seeing either of them before.

***

LMAO, is that the actual Crown Prince standing with Nanny and Shitou? 🤣🤣

***

LMAO, his entire family is so miserable 🤣🤣

***

It's not fair that the two of them just get dinner while everyone else gets alcohol 🤣🤣

Anyway, Rongjie remains cute.

***

LMAO, truly a match made in heaven 🤣🤣

You two deserve each other, in every sense 🤣🤣

***

LMAO, Rongjie fell asleep in their marital bed, cockblocking like a pro! 🤣🤣

***

Also, the second hand embarrassment is killing me 🤣🤣 When her stomach started growling, I died 🤣🤣

***

Aww, looks like no sex is happening tonight and she's disappointed 🤣

***

LMAO, this is a Xiaotao-approved husband, making sure his wife is fed! 🤣🤣

Also, there is still hope for sex!

***

LMAO, are those bruises on her forehead from that headdress?

Also, how did she get her hair up like that when she had bangs just yesterday?

***

LMAO, finish dinner?? 👀

Jokes aside, it's good to know that he is not, in the words of TXJ, an irresponsible husband 🤣🤣

***

There had better be sex toys in that chest 😑

***

Oh, OK, so it's money.

So, I guess the second best thing 🙄

***

LMAO, so instead of sex on their wedding night, he gives her a goddamn job 😂

Smack him, Minglan!

#the story of minglan #tsoml spoilers #tsoml ep40

[devilfic]

❝hard-knock life❞

plot: even with the riddler locked away in arkham, his followers manage to haunt bruce to this day. thankfully, you’re more than willing to help your fiancé tie up all his loose ends... even if they are a bit ridiculous. or four times the riddler’s followers make a threat on bruce’s life and the one time alfred shoots them for it. pairing: battinson!bruce wayne x gn!reader. cw: humor, fluff, established relationship, you and bruce are engaged, I use “fiancé” gender-neutrally, generally silly but some angst, serious but cartoonishly awful attempts at violence, guns, excessive use of the word “goon”, based off this post by @emma-d-klutz​. words: 3.5k.

a/n: I just can’t stop thinking about this post

Bruce figures he could look a little more concerned right now.

One goon holds a phone up to his face—so that he can see himself on screen—while two more have his arms arrested in their grip. The comments on the live stream are moving too fast, but he imagines they’re not worth reading.

The goon holding the phone laughs through his mask, clearly amused by Bruce’s lack of emotion, “Look at the little Gotham prince trying to put on a brave face. Won’t be so brave in a minute now, will you?” 

Bruce assumes they’re referring to their comrade in arms a few feet away, readying a pistol, but he can’t look long; he feels a harsh kick to the backs of his knees and he kneels against the gravel. This close to the docks, they could dispose of his body in the river after his swift execution. Was it weird to be offended by their choice? He was kind of offended. Almost as offended as he was when he’d figured out their plan two days ago.

“I can offer you money,” Bruce recites, your idea, unenthusiastically, “anything. Anything you want.”

The goons laugh. The one holding the pistol steps forward and places the barrel against Bruce’s temple. “Anything we want, huh? Why don’t you tell our audience how you should’ve just died when the Riddler gave you a chance? What a glorious death you would have had.”

Bruce wants to tell them that it’s not exactly his fault Edward didn’t make sure he was home before trying to kill him. He imagined that would just anger them more. Bruce takes a deep breath.

The safety on the gun clicks off when a heavy fog starts crawling toward them from beneath a nearby dumpster. Some of the goons exclaim in confusion and the executioner points toward the smoke.

“What the fuck is that?” The cameraman yells, turning to film the steadily approaching fog. It’s thick and moving quickly, starting to crowd around the Riddler’s followers like a dramatic omen. It isn’t long before Bruce can’t see a foot in front of him. His arms flex, waiting for the telltale sound of his namesake.

A sudden chorus of chirping overhead has Bruce ducking, the trigger-happy goon shooting off into the sky as black wings speckle the fog. 

The two holding Bruce still are suddenly forced off of him. There’s the sound of violent fighting in the midst of the fog but Bruce is more focused on the shooter, his position given away only by the bullets he shoots off with reckless abandon. Mapping his position on the docks, Bruce takes a violent leap forward and feels himself collide into him, dragging his much smaller body forward and forward and forward until-

Splash!

Bruce can’t see it through the fog, but he hears the goon hit the railing and fall into the river below soon after.

“Shit, shit, shit! We’ve been ambushed!” The one filming is the last one standing. He scrambles nearby, trying to find an escape. Within the fog, a dark figure approaches him, and Bruce can just make out the sound of their opponent’s nose getting crushed by the weight of the attacker’s palm. The phone falls out of the goon’s hand when he collapses, unconscious. 

Shortly after, the wind carries away the remaining fog and Bruce walks into the clear night where he sees you perched behind the dumpster, giving him a thumbs up over the machine that sputters out white haze. “Did we do it?” You ask, giddy. 

Alfred walks out of the fog next. It was a miracle Alfred could even see in the Batsuit. It dwarfed him. “I believe we did. Are you alright, Master Bruce?”

“Alright” was a stretch for what tonight’s events had done to his mood, though he’s thankful he doesn’t have a bullet-sized hole where his oncoming migraine should be. Bruce is just happy to have pulled this off in the first place. “Peachy,” he grits through his teeth, “is the stream still going?”

Alfred hums, wiping some of the goon’s blood off his knuckles, “No, I think enough has been seen tonight. The GCPD will be on their way shortly.”

That was a relief. Their theatrics weren’t all for nothing. With luck, tonight’s failed execution would serve as a warning to the Riddler’s remaining followers: Bruce Wayne was untouchable, and any attempt on his life would result in the same fate. Maybe now they’d stop trying to kidnap him off the street.

They, in fact, did not stop.

Alfred had taken the necessary precautions to ensure Bruce did not die in the following days after the docks incident, and with the added threat of paparazzi flooding the tower, Bruce was confined inside until further notice. As far as anyone was concerned, Bruce Wayne was taking some vacation time after a “harrowing” threat on his life. It only made sense. No business engagements for two weeks, at least.

This vacation was, of course, not for the Batman.

Bruce had a wedding to be planning for God’s sake, and yet here he was, perched in the shadows, watching as five squirrelly idiots set up shop across from Wayne Tower... to snipe him, they’d said online.

This was the other downside of the Riddler’s fans gunning for revenge on the Batman: Bruce had to spend ungodly hours on their forums combing for new threats on his life. Most of them were half-baked plans too big to pull off, but the few that weren’t were constantly on his radar.

It wasn’t that Bruce was afraid for his own life, though. He was afraid for yours. The Batman could walk off a bullet wound and Bruce Wayne had fortified his body against most attacks. You, on the other hand, were painfully mortal. One well-aimed shot from a sniper rifle and he’d lose you.

“Looking awfully severe tonight, Mr. Wayne.”

Bruce cracks a half-smile when your voice crackles to life in his ear, right on cue. You must’ve been getting into position. Bruce makes sure his voice is low enough that the goons can’t hear him from his perch. “You don’t have to do this, you know.”

You really, really didn’t. He could easily wipe out these five on his own with only a few injuries sustained, but you had worried over the guns and convinced him he’d need all the help he could get. Even if it was just a measly distraction, “Don’t worry. Batman will protect me.” You sing.

Your shadow passes a window and one of the goons lines up a shot for you. He propels himself down onto the sniper’s back, knocking him out cold.

There’s considerably fewer goons tonight than there were upon his kidnapping, which Bruce finds amusing. Maybe he could get a few hours of patrol in after thwarting this second attempt on his life. Maybe you’d still be awake by the time he got home, and he could pull you away from poring over wedding plans to celebrate a job well done-

Away in his own mind, he isn’t prepared for the butt of a rifle cracking up against the cowl. In the time it had taken him to run away with his thoughts, he’d downed four of them already. He slowly turns. No hurry.

The goon flinches back, eyes wide behind the non-prescription frames slipping off his nose. If Bruce’s ears weren’t still ringing from the hit, he might have went for the temple and called it a night. But again, no hurry.

Bruce grapples the man by the front of his coat and dangles him over the ledge of the building. Softly, he hears you gasp over the comm line, “You’re not gonna drop him, are you?”

Instead of answering you, Bruce gives the goon a good shake, “This won’t end well for you.”

The goon is shivering in Bruce’s grasp, clutching onto his wrist for dear life, swatting at air to get leverage. Bruce extends his arm out further and two voices exclaim this time. “Y-You betrayed him! You betrayed the Riddler!” The voice that comes out of the man is squeaky, almost young. Bruce frowns. “The Waynes will pay for what they’ve done to Gotham!”

“Are those your words or his?”

He falters some, unsure, and obviously it isn’t Bruce’s job to play therapist. He doesn’t know what this kid is getting out of working for the Riddler, what lies he’s been fed. All he knows is that someone had pointed a gun at his fiancé and tonight could have gone very differently if he hadn’t been ready.

But this kid wasn’t the one holding the gun. “I’m giving you a warning: leave the Waynes alone,” Bruce drags him close enough for their eyes to meet, “there won’t be a second warning.”

The goon all but scrambles onto his feet the second Bruce drops him back onto solid ground, having only that second to gather his bearings before Bruce brings his fist down onto his head, knocking him out with the rest of his friends. Tying their wrists behind their backs is quick work, as is piling their worrying amount of weaponry far, far from reach. One quick request to Gordon for cleanup is the icing on the cake.

Bruce is scaling his way down the building when you chime in once more, “You alright, handsome? I hope these guys aren’t getting to you.”

Getting to him was an overstatement. They had to pose an actual threat to get to him, “I wasn’t going to drop him.”

“You were thinking about it, but you would’ve caught him right after. Are you heading out for patrol?”

His lip twitch is the only sign of argument against you because you unfortunately know him well. Bruce slips into the shadow of an alleyway, scanning the street for any other surprises. “Maybe... maybe later. I’m heading back to the tower.”

He hears you make a little noise on the other end, watches your figure outlined in the glass by the lamplight. It’s dark out and you’re high up, but somehow, he feels like you find him down there anyway, “You better take off that suit before you track gutter water through my house, Mr. Wayne.”

Bruce can’t help it. He laughs, “I thought you liked it when the suit stays on.”

You had made it a priority, if you were to marry Bruce, that he make time for date night.

Obviously, with being the CEO of Wayne Enterprises and Batman, you didn’t expect him to always have time to spare. That was the compromise you’d made long before he’d gotten down on one knee. However, for his sake (”-and the sake of Gotham!” you’d added, just to be safe), break time was a must. An hour at least, maybe two if you were lucky. He didn’t even have to spend it conscious. You’d spent plenty a night with his head on your chest and your fingers carding through his hair, reading a book or telling him about your day.

Tonight would have been the same had you not convinced him to come out in disguises. With a little prompting, you two had had a great night on the town. You’d all but forgotten the hectic past week.

And then you both had walked into the penthouse, giggling through the front door, only to find Alfred lugging a dead body across the living room floor. “He’s not dead.” Alfred assured. A body, then.

Bruce rushes in front of you, “Jesus, Alfred. What happened?”

The butler looks far too nonchalant for the scene, but you do notice the lack of a blood trail.

“I was making tea. Enjoying a quiet night to myself, I was, when I heard glass shatter from the other room. Lo and behold, I find one of these Riddler clowns climbing through the window.”

“Sixty floors off the ground? How’d he even make it?” Your voice is riddled with wonder. Climbing gear attached to the corpse- body shows a considerable effort. You notice as well, after a moment of disbelief, that there’s a barely concealed handgun sticking out of Alfred’s waistband. In all your time living here, you’d never seen a weapon like that in the Wayne household. Bruce’s hatred of guns had made sure of that. “Did you shoot him, Alfred?”

Bruce tenses up too, then bristles when he sees what you’re looking at. Alfred even looks a little sheepish and drops the body altogether to hide it. “You shot him?”

Alfred gulps, “Yes... with a rubber bullet, not a real one.”

“And you do that often? Shoot people?”

“Of course not, Bruce.”

“So you just happened to have a gun on you-”

“Someone was breaking in!”

“-while you were making tea-”

“And the gun is not real.”

“-I can’t imagine what else you’ve got hidden away in this house. What, am I going to find a grenade in the coffee grinder tomorrow morning?”

You inch yourself closer to the incapacitated man on the ground, the bridge of his clear frames caved in on themselves. You can see a worrisome bruise between his eyes. Just to be safe, you check the man’s pulse to confirm that Alfred really hadn’t killed him. Sure enough, he hadn’t lied, but brain damage wasn’t entirely off the table yet.

Alfred scoffs, folding his arms over his ruffled vest, “I don’t use bloody grenades. And I haven’t shot a real bullet in years! Most of the guns I own are entirely non-lethal.”

“Most? How many do you have?” Bruce accuses.

A moment passes. “You’ll never find them all.”

The bickering continues at an even louder volume after that. Bruce is furious that Alfred never told him about the guns and Alfred, the military-bred man that he is, was struggling hard not to just say that he was a grown man who could do what he wanted and be done with it.

As (oddly) endearing as it was to see the father and son bickering, you couldn’t let Alfred get in trouble on your watch.

“Um, Bruce,” you interject, catching both of the men’s attention, “to be fair to Alfred, this guy was carrying a real gun with real bullets. If Alfred didn’t have his weapon, this could’ve gone way worse. He saved the day.”

Alfred, as smug as an English gentleman could be, turned his attention back to Bruce.

The news had slowly but surely sobered Bruce up. One more look at the goon on the floor had dried up all the frustration, leaving him thoroughly exhausted, “...he didn’t hurt you, did he?”

“The shattered window is unfortunate, but I can call the repairmen in the morning. I trust you two have nothing as exciting to report.” A shared look between yourself and Bruce has Alfred nodding, discussion supposedly ended. “Very well. Then I shall retire for the night. Unless you’d like to raid my belongings for suspiciously sharp pencils... Master Bruce?”

All the fire in him had been extinguished. Bruce shakes his head and Alfred makes his leave, “What about the guy?” He yells after the retreating butler.

Alfred’s bedroom door shuts shortly after. It appeared date night had officially come to a close.

Bruce had been vehemently against a police detail for himself. It was you and Alfred that really needed it, he’d insisted, but Lieutenant Gordon had a brain that worked like anyone else’s and understood that the man with the hit on him needed it most. And so, much to his chagrin, he’d been hunkered down in Wayne Tower for the last few days, sneaking out as the Bat only when absolutely sure he wouldn’t get caught.

As his future spouse-to-be, you were the one who had to cover for him. But sometimes, no amount of lying could account for his missing presence in the penthouse, and so the Bat had to be put on the back burner until further notice... and it was driving him insane.

The police were in the kitchen, in his study, outside your shared bedroom, and on every floor of Wayne Tower. The media was still abuzz of the latest failed assassination attempt. There were too many eyes on him, it was making him itch.

That’s why, on the rare occasion that you could both pull it off, you helped him into the terminus elevator, helped hide his hair beneath his hat and hood, and sent him off on his bike before any one could question where you and Bruce had gotten off to. Pre-newlywed stuff. It was the honeymoon before the honeymoon, Alfred had joked once.

And of course, the one time you could get him out of the house successfully, he gets kidnapped.

It’s embarrassing standing next to Alfred as the police detail watches the news feed on the living room TV. Bruce was tied to a chair in the middle of the frame, three goons including the cameraman huddled around him and attempting to get a rise out of him. Threats that he’d heard a thousand times over had become stale at this point. Left out too long. If you weren’t so ashamed that you’d unwittingly helped him get kidnapped again, you’d be laughing at the unimpressed look he was giving the camera.

The bright side was that one, they seemed to not have found his suit and two, the goons had dwindled even more in number. Perhaps they were finally giving up?

“Citizens of Gotham, Bruce Wayne has been a hard man to get in touch with. But that doesn’t matter: the Riddler’s righteous justice will be delivered this day!” The cameraman declares, poking Bruce’s chest with a baton. Bruce barely moves. The cameraman sounds as put off by this as you feel, “Uh... any last words, Wayne?”

One of the officers is furiously working with a dispatcher to locate where the video is broadcasting from. Another in the corner is snickering behind her coffee cup. You’re not sure why you relate to them both.

Your future husband looks so done with the situation that you’re reassured he’s in no real danger, but you can’t fathom why he let himself get caught if that was the case. Surely, he would’ve taken them out just fine on his own. There were only three of them.

Another goon nudges his head with the barrel of his gun, yet Bruce does not flinch, “Speak up! The world is watching!”

Wordlessly, Bruce shifts in his seat once, twice, and brings his once bound hands to his front completely freed. You swore you heard a collective gasp across the nation.

The men in the room with Bruce look just as shocked as he reaches for the gun aiming (wobbling) at his head and gently covers the barrel of it with his palm, weaseling it out of the goon’s hand. The magazine falls to the floor shortly after and the gun is discarded across the room. When Bruce approaches the cameraman, the camera jerks back.

The phone is yanked away by Bruce. Before the live shuts off, you hear him speak for the first and only time since the broadcast started, “This is getting embarrassing.”

An uneasy quiet settles over the room after that. When Bruce comes home later that evening, escorted in a cop car, he looks absolutely pitiful. Your open arms are more than appreciated.

It’s been a long few weeks.

Wayne Enterprises was in a tizzy trying to get media under control. First the police, then the paparazzi, and now it felt like he’d gone from slipping from place to place unnoticed to being the talk of the town. It had made being Batman significantly harder, but it had also made him significantly more irritable.

Between you and... well, you, the only thing keeping him sane was currently asleep upstairs. After the last kidnapping debacle, it seemed that all the Riddler’s followers had been scared off, so at the very least, the police presence had dwindled down to a select few. He’d been given the go-ahead to take his own trash out, even. Promised he just needed some fresh air. A few hundred dollars thrown the night guard’s way and he was standing out in the cold at the back of Wayne Tower, in just a “I survived my trip to Gotham!” t-shirt and a pair of boxers, holding a trash bag.

The one Riddler clone standing across from him almost looks too afraid to stumble out of the shadows and recite their spiel. He’d be too tired to listen, anyway.

“Go home,” Bruce grumbles, tossing the bag into the dumpster, making no effort to try to appear like more of a threat than he really was. He didn’t even have mace on him, “I won’t even mention it.”

The stalker waits in the shadows for a few beats, practically shaking, unsure of himself. Bruce stares, unblinking. At the very least, if he took too long coming back up, they’d probably send someone down to check on him. This guy had a chance to get at least one shot off if he wanted. Bruce had survived three at one time, once.

After the world’s most unimpressive standoff, the goon turns around and starts walking home.

It’s been a long few weeks.

taglist: @yikes-buddy​ @alexxavicry​ @moonlightreader649​

#bruce wayne x reader #bruce wayne scenarios #bruce wayne imagine #bruce wayne one shot #bruce wayne fic #bruce wayne fluff #bruce wayne #batman x reader #batman scenarios #batman imagine #batman one shot #batman fic #the batman #batman fluff #battinson x reader #battinson #mjwrites #dc

[ystrike1]

Crowning My Feral Prince - By Salted Man (8/10)

This started out as a novel, but the girls in the webtoon look alot more cute. Too cute. The men however are insanely good looking. In my humble opinion these are some of the best male character designs available. There's no harem. There's just a nice variety of attractive men. The humor in this is also above average.

Controversy. How I hate thee. Having a mentally disabled love interest is always a grey area, but thankfully our heroine doesn't see him as a love interest at first.

The setting of this story takes place in a novel, about a doomed country. Trixie is a stupid noble girl who caused trouble and married a commoner just because he kissed her ass. That commoner just wanted her money. When she got disowned she was abused forever. That was her punishment as a minor villain that bullied the protagonist.

In this tragic setting the country is doomed because the only legitimate prince is mad. He seems to think he is a dog. He's weirdly strong. He crawls around on all fours. His relatives constantly try to assassinate him, because he's a liability. The power vaccum his mental illness causes is what gives the protagonist and her love interest a chance to shine.

Trixie becomes that prince's servant to get away from her abusive husband. She reincarnated. She was a Korean dog lover, who was raising an abused shelter dog when she died. She's really good with misbehaving dogs.

At the beginning we get a hint. It's very kinky. Prince Leone is completely subservient to her, his master. He says he will take care of her forever after she socializes him.

Submissive yanderes are pretty rare, so I gave this a chance. Trixie and Leone have a good, but highly dependent relationship. Trixie seems to think of herself as a mother figure, but from the start the prince loved her. He hated himself, because he couldn't speak to her or act like the man she deserved.

He also murders 15 assassins in minutes and gets stabbed to protect Trixie. He is super devoted and super abnormal, but the problem is the mental illness. We don't know why he thinks he's a wolf yet. He had a bad childhood, sure, but the actual truth behind his beastly nature is...not even hinted it. It's been 27 chapters. I love rough looking character designs. I love wiry, wild looking men with glowing eyes. When Leone is in beast mode he looks awesome, but I also kinda wanna know why he didn't learn how to communicate. He has lots of loyal allies. All of them are desperately protecting him from his murderous family.

Alder, a knight, left his fiancee behind to save Leone when he was a boy. He has guarded the prince ever since, because he loves the Imperial family. The side characters are good, funny, and sweet. There's a weird comedic edge to this. Leona behaves like a dog. When he wants Trixie he tugs on her skirt...with his teeth. He tries to hunt rabbits to get her attention.

....and...

Trixie brings in an etiquette teacher named Luton. Luton knows Leone loves Trixie. He uses Trixie to motivate Leone. He also uses jealousy to motivate Leone. Again, a lot of this is presented as cute....but Trixie sleeps in a cage with Leone. The yandere vibes are there and his total submission scene in chapter one is really.... hardcore.

Beast Leone is scary. He really is. Alder has to use money to convince Trixie to stay, but she also does care about the prince. She wants him to earn his throne. She also thinks they are friends, but he thinks about how he can impress her every day. It's been 27 chapters and only Luton knows Leone is in love with her.... because he's so beastly that he refuses to wear shirts...and he howls. I don't blame her but the story is pretty slow. Also the dog training is interesting and...wholesome????

#yandere #male yandere #yandere male #yandere boy #recommendations #recs #rec #recommended #webtoon #Crowning My Feral Prince

[maggiec70]

what did Louise Lannes do then for you to have such a low opinion of her?

Why I Dislike/Disapprove of/Loathe/Condemn The Lovely Louise

!800 – 1809: Greed, Pettiness, and Bargain-Basement Bourgeois Mentality

She had the intellectual curiosity of a housefly and the education of the lowest of the bourgeoisie. Not surprising since her mother home-schooled her in the basics, and she had one year only with Madame Campan.

She was greedy and overly fond of collecting trinkets, ornaments, and similar items of no particular quality or style. She demanded, with some degree of shrill relentlessness, plenty of money to pay for all her crap.

She was often unrelenting in her demands for all sorts of things: that her brother be promoted to Lannes’ premier aide-de-camp; that her brother-in-law be promoted to head of V Corps’ engineers; that her father be given a higher-paying, more prestigious position in the imperial bureaucracy. She managed to give blatant nepotism a bad name.

She refused to be social. Ever. She hated the Imperial Court functions and refused to go, using the kinds as an excuse. She didn’t want Lannes to go either, and when he went because Napoleon expected him to, she engaged in monumental pouts. The myths that she was always so lovely, graceful, and sweet on these occasions were just that—myths.

She had two close—unhealthily close—friends, the slimy Dr. Corvisart, whom her equally slimy father introduced to Napoleon, and a second-rate perennially off-duty chevalier. No women friends of any rank. Just as well, because according to almost all the extant memoirs, no woman of any rank liked her, apparently able to see through the “I’m so sweet and demur” act.

She never went to Lectoure, Lannes’ hometown, and threw a real bitch fit when he wanted to go or went without her “approval” simply because he wanted to see his father and his siblings, and a lot of friends.

She insisted if they visited anyone, carting the kids with them, it was only and always to see her family. Full stop.

1809-1822: Treachery, Treason, Malfeasance, and Suspicious Death

She had to deal with claims from Lannes’ first wife, the much-maligned Polette Meric, on behalf of her son, Jean-Claude, until Naps ended that by a sharp letter to Cambaceres.

She actually went to the Tuileries to demand that Naps grant—posthumously, of course—the title “Prince of Seviers” so she could be a for-real princess just like Mesdames Massena, Berthier, and so forth and so on. She threw a significant shit-storm when Naps refused, and he reminded her that Lannes never applied for the letters patent because he didn’t care about the title, so she shouldn’t either.

No one—literally, no one other than Naps—thought she was a suitable choice for Marie-Louise. The historical record is replete with examples from the folks surrounding Marie-Louise, who was no winner herself.

She and her partner in crime, Dr. Corvisart, worked to insinuate themselves into M-L’s life so that when 1814 arrived, they could work to keep her away from Naps.

She made sure, as her letters show, that M-L and Naps II went back to Vienna, accompanied by her soon-to-be lover, Count Neipperg.

She offered her mansion that Lannes had bought and paid for to Wellesley for his headquarters. He refused, graciously, it is said.

Her parents immediately pledged their loyalty to Louis XVIII.

She lawyered up for the next legal battle with Polette, now that Naps was out of the picture.

She went into higher gear after Waterloo, now with nothing to stop her other than Jean-Claude’s attorney, who began to show that her marriage and Lannes’ divorce from Polette were riddled with illegal points.

Jean-Claude died in mysterious circumstances in November 1817. He had never been ill, and died three days after contracting an unknown illness. This has always been suspicious for obvious reasons.

She packed up the kids and went to Lectoure in 1818—she stayed in Auch, however, about 20 miles south—and, in a large PR event, donated Lannes’ house to the town. She never returned nor allowed any of the kids to return.

To be fair, which I always try to do regarding interpreting historical facts and figures, read Regis Bob-Crepy’s bio of Louise. His family married into hers back in the day before she married Lannes, and he is remarkably talented in glorifying his view of Louise. Besides the sheer comedic value for me, the best thing about his book is the letters he uses, which were/are maintained in the family’s hands and never before shared. Of course, we cannot know if others shed a different light on the subject. Given the family’s cavalier and almost criminal way they have treated anything to do with Lannes, his possessions, or his legacy, opting instead for celebrating their ties with the de Broglies and the Berthiers, I can almost guarantee that any shred of anything detrimental about Louise disappeared ages ago.

I have often sneered at the men who wrote biographies and articles about Lannes buying the Louise myth in its totality. But then, the poor dears simply can’t see things that are very clear to us.

Hope this answers your question.

#bad louise lannes #jean lannes