#Valmont is still boring

[babeluda]

It is 7 September, and Mother Volanges has finally grown some guts (and some awareness).

I suspect it's the Marquise who tipped her off as part of a ploy; for some reason, I can't buy that she suddenly paid attention to her daughter and found her behaviour suspiciously erratic.

#Valmont is still boring #and my brain has decided it wants Sophie Carnay to be from les Malheurs de Sophie #I don't know if they're contemporaries but comtesse de ségur & choderlos de laclos are definitely on opposite ends of the morality spectrum #and brain loves the absurd hilarity of that #dangerous liaisons #dangerous liaisons daily #les chroniques de choderlos #les liaisons dangereuses

[slasherscream]

crazy ass boy gang reactions when someone tries to hit on youu??

crazy ass boys gang + someone tries to hit on you 

billy loomis: He takes this SO personally. Acts as if everyone in Target should just know that you're his girlfriend. Has no emotional regulation ability so you have to defuse the situation or he will start a physical fight over a respectful compliment.

josh washington: As long as nothing disrespectful was said or you weren’t catcalled Josh is calm because (excluding insanely stressful mental health circumstances) he’s a calm, easy-going guy. He’ll walk up and say you’re taken and the conversation ends there. He’s a big beefy guy who looks way too confident and relaxed. People assume he can fight so even assholes leave you two alone.

stu macher: Is trying to pretend he’s cool with it but he gets angry very quickly. His masculinity? Fragile. Tested. Only course of action left is to overreact. He’s so obnoxious while rebuffing the advance that someone who isn’t even quick to violence would definitely want to beat his ass. He wins the fight but it ruins your date night. You both go home pissed off.

jd/jason dean: Materializes from the shadows behind you and tells the person you’re taken. He may not be the tallest or biggest looking guy but literally no one looks at him and thinks he’s fully sane. You are left alone and your date goes on peacefully. JD knows you’re attractive and doesn’t blame you for the attention you get. He’s toxic enough in other ways to make up for being normal about this one thing so don’t worry about the relationship getting boring <3.

kevin khatchadourian: Is built different and blames you for being hit on. As soon as he gets rid of the scum that you attracted he turns to look at you. He doesn’t have to say a word with the look on his face. That ice cold anger. It’s enough to make you go perfectly still, waiting for his next move. “Can’t get enough attention, huh?” He doesn’t give you the chance to respond, already busy walking back to the car. Hurry up and follow him if you know what’s good for you.

nathan prescott: Immediately shoves the guy away. Lowkey other guy might not have even been flirting with you. He was probably a classmate asking for your number so you can team up on a big school project. The guy will rightfully try and fight back but you have to beg him to walk away since it never just ends with one fight when it comes to Nathan. You don’t even have the energy to be mad about this anymore, it happens so often. Rest in peace.

sebastian valmont: Depends on if it’s a random stranger or someone you know. If it’s a random stranger he keeps it cordial and sweet, if a little bitchy, “Sorry, taken.” and drags you away. If it’s someone you know he walks up and is just obnoxious enough that the other person gets the hint but not obnoxious enough for you to say he was being rude. Master of social manipulation.

david mccall: One word: aggressive. David hides this side of himself from you so it will come as a complete shock when he walks up and drags the other person by the front of their shirt, murmuring something to them you can’t hear. It makes the stranger’s face go ashen though and they run away without looking back at either of you. David turns to you, face still twisted in anger until he sees how nervous you are. It’s like a mask slides back into place. “Honey, baby, relax. I just thought he was scaring you. Everything’s fine. I’ll never let anything happen to you.”

sparrow!ben hargreeves: Wishes he could convincingly pull off “not bothered” but it bothers him so much. The way to bring out how much he cares about you is anyone encroaching on his “territory”. You’ll be pushed behind him protectively while he snaps at the other man to get lost. He watches them go and only looks away when they’re through the door. Is so humiliated that he openly showed he cares that he can’t look you in the eyes afterwards.

like my writing? support me through my cashapp or kofi! both are slasherscream.

#billy loomis x reader #stu macher x reader #jd x reader #nathan prescott x reader #kevin khatchadourian x reader #josh washington x reader #ben hargreeves x reader #david mccall x reader #sebastian valmont x reader #crazy ass boys gang

[haveyoureadthispoll]

The complex moral ambiguities of seduction and revenge make Les Liaisons dangereuses (1782) one of the most scandalous and controversial novels in European literature. Its prime movers, the Vicomte de Valmont and the Marquise de Merteuil--gifted, wealthy, and bored--form an unholy alliance and turn seduction into a game. And they play this game with such wit and style that it is impossible not to admire them, until they discover mysterious rules that they cannot understand. In the ensuing battle there can be no winners, and the innocent suffer with the guilty. This new translation gives Laclos a modern voice, and readers will be able to judge whether the novel is as "diabolical" and "infamous" as its critics have claimed, or whether it has much to tell us about a world we still inhabit.

#polls #book: les liaisons dangereuses #author: pierre choderlos de laclos #genre: classics #year: 1700s

[tazzy-zooming]

More S10 M4. Because it’s still in the neurons.

What happened here is the fault of my family. I, clearly never having done anything to hurt Five previously, am clearly innocent.

It started because I wanted to practice portraits. So I thought it’d be fun to draw Five in Valmont’s prison. It was then suggested maybe by me maybe by someone else that maybe something fun would be if Valmont changed her eye color (for a mix of reasons, brown eyes are boring (he might think) and he likes their action adventure group vibe when he can experience it/it’s a good way for him to assert “ownership” of Five by changing something fundamental about her that she holds dear just because he feels like it. Especially since her eyes are the exact same as her older brother’s and he died when they were young and this is the one piece of him she still has. It’s a piece of Valmont being cruel in a way that’s casual and fun to him but devastating to someone else). So I did that. Then my mom wanted me to change her hair color too. So I did. This was the result.

The second one is Five with her normal hair color because how will you dye the hair of someone constantly trying to bite you? And the biting attempts are violent and constant.

Other hair color variants:

#zombies run #zr #runner five #zombies run! #zrs10 #zrs10 spoilers

[dorkylittleweirdo]

Feel free to delete this if ur not feelin it or ignore any boring questions lmao. I know u've gone off ZR but I always loved reading ur opinions sooooo:

How do you think Peter/5 would ring in the new year? Is it different to how Simon/5 would do it? 🥰

Any headcanons for how Tom and 5 might get together? (and why does everyone sleep on this?! It's SO GOOD and he's so good! 😭)

Lastly how would 5 seduce RSB's boss at the end of s9? 👀👀👀 Because sugar baby!5 is a trope the ZR fandom needs and honestly? It's what 5 deserves 😏

Peter/Five vs Simon/Five would definitely be different. Both would have a nihilistic sort of approach to it for sure but it would be in a somewhat joking way. Simon and Five would definitely wanna get down and dirty and mess around most of the day, whereas Peter and Five would be more soft and gentle together and just want to be around each other. Simon and Five would drunk a little too much then wanna go on some dumb run just for the chaos and vibes, but Peter and Five have already been through far too much to want to leave the safety of their room and would just want to stay in each other’s arms all day without having to risk life and limb like they usually do

I always imagined Tom and Five having a close friendship that leads into being lovers. Five visiting Tom in baby jail when nobody else would bc they understand what it's like to not be able to trust yourself or your mind and have others look at you like you're a dangerous monster who could snap and hurt them at any moment. They start hanging out more once Tom is a bit more stable and they become the only people the other can trust bc they still can't trust themselves. They confide in each other and help each other recover, and once they're both mentally healthy enough, they talk about starting a relationship, share a kiss, continue to be the most supportive partners together

And honestly Five getting with Valmont is a key point in my corruption arc au lmao (plus the fact that in my universe they've already fucked) so it's not hard for them to get Valmont to trust them and their intentions. He's someone they know and like, plus he's gotta treat them better than Abel does, so as long as Peter will also be safe bc he's a victim of Abel too, they're more than willing to work with him and maybe form something of a relationship with him. And Ernie too bc he's adorable actually and I love him

#zombies run #zr #peter/five #simon/five #tom/five #brent valmont #van ark #clone ark #ernie #zr spoilers

[milarvela]

This episode was pretty much filler. Cliched chess and tedious discussion of rules. What’s the matter? Someone forgot there needed to be seven episodes? The big attempted murder, or whatever it can be called in vampire terms, happened last week, and this week we get a ridiculous reconciliation, then Claudia decides to leave, she and Louis say their goodbyes, but Lestat brings her back because they need the murder plotting to happen next week, not as a revenge for last week’s incident, which actually would’ve made sense, but because the moronic, whiny, useless twosome feel like they’re slaves. Huh?

Nobody forced them to take Lestat back in the first place. What the fuck is the matter with them? They demand a woman Lestat says he loves should be killed, but whine about being his slaves. Well, seems to me Louis is Claudia’s slave if somebody must be one. Poor guy makes Brad Pitt’s version look like a very chipper, independently thinking chap in comparison. Lol, how was he ever a successful businessman?

And of course it makes zero sense for Lestat to go after Claudia, he should’ve been pleased she left, as Louis had nothing against it either. Fragile Louis? Where did that come from? And let’s not forget four-finger Antoinette’s idiocy either. Couldn’t Lestat just have brought back the ring? Chopped somebody else’s finger? And why did he want the moronic twosome to find out she was alive and he was still seeing her? Or did I misunderstand something? Louis says he’s not going to let Lestat know he knows about her but if Lestat wanted them to find out, he must know they know. I don’t get it.

Thank fuck for Daniel and the doctor. Kind of bored with present day Louis now too, especially his drawling speech, it’s starting to annoy me like the Malkovich-as-Valmont wannabe’s, whose English doesn’t seem to improve at all. Speaking of which, I needed to listen very carefully to hear the difference between Claudia’s endure and enjoy. Well, I endured the tedious three and enjoyed the brief moments with Daniel (and the doctor). 

#Interview with the Vampire

[narastories]

I’m still hung up on the Anna Valmont situation btw

Just the sheer shamelessness of Nic’s manipulation here is... *chef’s kiss* Can you imagine another supernatural baddie thinking of this? Anna Valmont is a vanilla mortal. She’s obviously no threat. I doubt she would even register as a blip on other player’s radar. Especially not with how many of each other they cross on a regular basis.

Sure she’s a good con-woman and she started trading information on the supernatural side of things, but come on, any faerie or vampire would step over her and wouldn’t even cross their mind to work this angle.

Not Nicodemus. He knows that if he gives her one chance to get back at him (and the hope of actually managing that in the form of one Harry Dresden, plus a good chunk of cash) she will try. And he makes part of the plan hinge on the assumption that Anna Valmont still hates him enough to try and screw him over. After ten years. Even though he’s waaaay above her weight class.

Un-fucking-believable.

And Valmont - I love her, she’s just as fucking crazy. She knows from experience that if Nicodemus Archleone offers you a job, the sensible thing is to crawl into a hole and disappear for a week. Except this motherfucker (sorry daughterfucker) killed her two best friends so you can bet your ass she’s going to try and get revenge. And make some good money while doing so.

This is amazing.

I also think they should bang it out in a storage closet. #sorrynotsorry It wouldn’t change a thing but it would be hot.

Come on, half the crew fucked off to run errands, do you think Nicodemus didn’t get bored and didn’t go around poking at the people who remained there for the day?

#all I'm saying you could fit some good fanfic in here #can you tell I'm enjoying this book? #nara's dresden phase #skin game #nara comments on skin game #anna valmont #nicodemus archleone

[descaslibrary]

Have you found or read a book that is so much better in the movie version? Let me start with this book. Les Liaisons dangereuses or Dangerous Liaisons is written by a French novelist Pierre Chordelos de Laclos. It starts with two ex-lovers and amorous: Marquise de Merteuil and the Vicomte de Valmont. The Marquise asks the Vicomte a hand to corrupt the young Cécile de Volanges who's returned from the convent. The Marquise wants the Vicomte to seduce Mlle. de Volanges because she's about married her ex-lover - Chevalier Danceny. The Vicomte at first refuses the request saying it's too easy and he's rather seduce the virtuous wife Mme. de Tourvel. Yet the Marquise says that if he can hit Mme. de Tourvel and provide her a written proof, she will spend a night with the Marquise. de Valmont has not only succeeded with the young Cécile but also Mme. de Tourvel. Yet he also realises that he starts falling in love with de Tourvel.Marquise who finds out about it is full of rage. She contacts Danceny and tells him about the affair between his fiancee and de Valmont. Both of Danceny and de Valmont go into a duel. De Valmont is seriously wounded from the duel but he managed to show the letter that explains the involvement of de Merteuil. The letters are able to ruin the Marquise's reputation. So, she leaves the city to live in a countryside where she gets smallpox. She can survive but she's lost her greatest asset of seduction: her beauty. Meanwhile, the young and dishonoured Cécile is returned to the convent while Mme. de Tourvel died because of the fever. This is my second reading of this book. I am having a collab reading with my darling @theprinceinflorence this time. I still find some difficulty to engage myself into the story. For a piece of classic-erotic-lit-work, I don't find the book erotic at all. I get bored still after reading half of the book but was able to finish it. The story is so monotone. Written in the similar style, John Cleland's Fanny Hill is way better than Laclos'. I found that the movie is way better than the book. Glenn Close, the actor is stunning and the young Uma Thurman is adorable. The book? Ah okay! The movie? It's exquisite!! Des ✨ (at Bangkok Thailand) https://www.instagram.com/p/CexrCLzLl4f/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[5lazarus]

The Most Boring Sex Party in All Orlais

Josephine and Leliana both admit the night they met ended with someone's smallclothes pinned to the Chanter's Board--but what happened right before?

Josephine says, “I have played the Game before, and understand its cutthroat stakes. But I must admit, I never thought I would witness the opening salvo of a coup at the most boring sex party of all Orlais.”

Read on Archive of Our Own here.

It goes without saying, but nsfw elements.

The food is bad and the shoes are worse. Leliana registers and catalogues the strain in Celene’s courtiers eyes as she des her rounds through the ballroom. The Game between the heirs to Florian is not going well, that Justinia already knew, but now Leliana can confirm that Celene is losing her backers. She wanders back towards the gardens, gathering halla statues as she goes. As she places them into the locks of the Fumeur, she catches a flash of bright silk. Quickly she draws her knife. The harlequin backs away, hands up, and whistles. “Do I get a prize?” she asks drily. The harlequin disappears in a plume of black smoke: no. Leliana wrinkles her nose. Someone is buying black powder from the Qunari, then. They’d certainly be interested in prolonging the incipient civil war, but are they actively planning an invasion of Orlais? She had heard a rumor from Cyril de Montfort, who of course would take the throne if both the Valmont line and the de Chalons line failed. Deep in thought, Leliana unlocks the door to the Fumeur, and drifts into the smoke. “Do you often go stepdancing, Lady Mantillon?” a maskless woman asks. She is very expensively dressed in Antivan colors, exquisitely tailored to let her move quickly. She has a stiletto at her waist. Leliana checks out her shoes: elegant leather boots with a tapered toe and a sharp lyrium crystal at the ankle. Intriguing: the scion of a merchant family, probably, trained as a bard.

Lady Mantillon pauses to allow a stream of blue smoke out of her mask. “I never miss a step,” she says. Leliana translates: she is sleeping with both of her stepchildren and her whole family knows it. How scandalous. But why is she advertising it? Why did the bard bring it up?

The woman grins. “Then allow me to ask your hand for the next dance, my Lady. I am fond of this fad from Ferelden.”

The Lady’s first husband, of which there were nine, died in the war between Ferelden and Orlais. Leliana almost smiles. What a gambit! And with the Dowager herself! She is interested, now. There is more to this Game than the jockeying of an Antivan merchant house to fame.

The Dowager smokes. “Sister Nightingale, would you care to join us? It is more enjoyable a troi. May I introduce you to Josephine Montilyet, heir to Yves Montilyet of the eponymous house.”

Josephine makes an exquisite butterfly curtsey. “It is an honor to meet a hero of the Fifth Blight,” she says.

Leliana giggles, delighted. “And it is an honor to meet such a dashing merchant-prince,” she returns, and makes the same curtsey. She likes the curve of her waist and the curls artistically tumbling from her very proper bun—Antivan naturalism at the court of Orlais. Josephine’s eyes linger similarly as her naked face, painted to look like she naturally has that rose-glow, and travel down.

“I adore your shoes,” Josephine says. “Inscribed Antivan leather?” She grins. “And the masterwork is masterfully done—what Circle did you commission?”

Leliana thinks, I like you, and the Dowager does too.

The Dowager takes them dancing in the Royal Apartments. Leliana tastes the old magic, ripped from the elves but still pulsing in the walls and locks of the oldest wing of the palace. Halamshiral was the capital of the Dales, and the humans have constructed their revelries on the bones of the old elvhen empire—sometimes literally. Josephine shivers as they pass through a suddenly cold hallway.

The Dowager looks amused. “Old ghosts, my dear,” she says. “But long dead. The wards are kept strong here. We keep a court magician.”

“Of course,” Josephine says. “In Antiva our places run hot instead.”

The Dowager laughs melodiously. “Too hot a summer parches the harvest.”

“Too cool a spring blanches the grain,” Josephine responds.

Leliana adds, “But a warm breezes soothes both the fevered brow and the chilled laborer, tilling for the harvest.” She is not quite sure she has her farming metaphors correct, but that is fine, because it is not like any of these women have ever had to even look at a plough.

One of the halla-gated doors suddenly flares with blue light, etching out words that whisper the language of the dead. The door opens, and there stands an elf-woman in House Valmont livery. She is studiously neat. She bows deeply, and moves to let them through. Leliana glances at her as she passes; she is radiating heat, and behind her mask her face is set in the relaxed smugness of the well-fucked. Josephine catches Leliana’s eye. She noticed it too. It will doubtless be a most interesting night.

The blue silk cools the walls of the Valmont drawing room, painted most exquisitely with lions that blink dismissively at the trio as they enter. Josephine steps closer to price them out, ever the Antivan.

“How much?” Leliana asks, amused.

Josephine glances at her. “How do you want me to price it? How much the weavers were paid, and then the painters of the Circle? The sailors of the ship that bore it? The middlemen, who raised their prices? Or how much the Empress paid for it?”

She’s never heard a merchant price their wares by how much the craftsmen were paid—only to complain, for overweening costs of labor. “Do you know how much the Empress paid?”

“It was a gift,” Lady Mantillon interrupts. “From her cousin, Florianne de Chalons. Briala!” Then the glowing servingwoman is there again, appearing on silent feet. Leliana is startled. She’s quieter than a harlequin! “Prepare for le ménage. I will bring les fleurs de la cour.” She turns to Josephine, her mask leering a smile. “I will have quite a show for you, ma chérie.” She sprinkles her sentences with Orlesian to remind them both than Common is a mere courtesy, and the language of Orlais shall haves its day. “While my niece is otherwise occupied.”

Briala’s Valmont-livery mask does not hide the slight smug curl of her lips. Leliana narrows her eyes. Briala bows silently and exits. Lady Mantillon follows her. Leliana immediately takes this as an invitation to browse, and begins rummaging.

“Lady Nightingale!” Josephine says, faux-scandalized. “Are you…snooping?”

“Don’t you want to know, too?” Leliana opens a jewelry box and finds a plain pewter locket, elvhen-make. “Look, isn’t this interesting?” When she tries to pry it open it stings her fingertips. “Hmm. Well, the implication is more useful than the truth.” She puts it back.

“What do you mean?” Josephine asks. “Surely you don’t—“

The Dowager Countess reenters, followed by les fleurs de la cour: Celene’s ladies-in-waiting. The Ladies Couteau, Colombe, and Fleur come in their blue silk finery and shining masks, with their own minor court of musicians and friends, and the party really begins.

There is, of course, the music, by a man who calls himself ZITHER!, the Virtuoso. His manipulation of the Fade through his enchanted lute leaves them all a little high and dancing a bit harder than their thin noble blood would normally permit. Leliana is watching one of Celene’s ladies-in-waiting—Couteau, by the giggle—paint the naked chest of Florianne de Chalons with real gold. Another is smoking opium, a pursuit Leliana once enjoyed. A trio is fucking lazily on a couch; one of them comes up for air to wink at her and wave. Leliana considers it, then discards the idea. The music is not quite right for a quadrille.

Josephine says, “Why isn’t the empress here? And where did the Dowager go?”

“Don’t you have a fortune to make?” Leliana says.

Josephine says, “Yes, and that is why I am asking: why isn’t the empress at a soiree in her own apartments? Why is it everyone but her? And what does the Dowager have to do with it?”

She has a point. Perhaps the opium-smoke in the air has addled her wits. Justinia needs her to be sharp, her knife in the dark, and so Leliana steels herself and refocuses, breaking herself away from the spell of the music.

“Well, then,” she says. “Then let’s snoop, Lady Montilyet.”

Josephine mock-bows. “After you, Sister Nightingale.”

She likes her, she really does. Leliana grins and leads the way. People notice them leaving, of course. This is Orlais and this is the Great Game. They will have to return after a reasonable delay before the bad gossip begins to circulate, but Leliana is confident in finding enough interesting secrets to satisfy even the bitchiest Comte. They pad silently down a long hallway. Leliana sees a flash of movement in a mirror and stops. Facing a bust of Prince Reynaud is a harlequin.

“Really?” Josephine whispers, unimpressed. “You’d think the Royal Apartments would be off-limits to this game.”

“Shh,” Leliana says. “I hear if you surprise three you get a prize.” Promptly she jumps on the harlequin, who whirls around, throwing their hands up.

“Don’t whistle!” Josephine whispers at them urgently. “We’re snooping.”

The harlequin’s eyes dart from Leliana to Josephine to the window, and then they disappear in a puff of smoke. Leliana sniffs at it curiously: more black powder. So Celene’s spymaster is dealing with the Qunari. Justinia will have to nip that in the bud.

Josephine says, “What do you think the prize will be? The Empress’s favor?”

Leliana thinks: an aversion of an Exalted March on Orlais, if their nobles continue to tie themselves to the Ben-Hassrath; the eventual admission to elves into the Chantry matriarchy, if Celene can stay perched on her throne for another twenty years and Justinia thirty; mages like ZITHER! walking freely in the streets of Halamshiral, without templar guards.

She says, “I hope it is something better than a handkerchief.”

Josephine says, “I can ruin a marriage with a well-placed handkerchief. What could I do with the empress’s?”

Leliana laughs aloud. “I like you,” she says. “You’re fun.”

“I wouldn’t play the Game if I didn’t enjoy it,” Josephine smiles. “Come, you said we were snooping?” Then a door at the end of the passage is thrown open, and light comes flooding in. Leliana crouches behind the statue the harlequin had claimed; Josephine tangles herself up in the curtains. Perhaps they are not so sober as they thought they were.

Celene’s voice sings, “Je t’aime, ma douce petite nymphe. Reviens vite!” The elvhen serving-woman hurries up the hall with a crumb-covered silver tea set in her hands, hair a little too perfectly arranged. She’s grinning to herself. Leliana turns to watch her leave. She’s not wearing underwear.

The doors close, Briala leaves, and Leliana says, “Josie, I don’t think the empress has any more favors to give.”

Josephine says, gleefully scandalized, “Are those her panties?”

“Mine!” Leliana says, and pounces. They were caught under the door; Leliana carefully coaxes them out, understanding that the just-fucked empress is lazing on the other side and it wouldn’t do to get caught. She waves them triumphantly at Josephine. Josephine looks back up the hall and gestures at her to hurry up—the gossiping is about to start, and they wouldn’t want to lose the Dowager’s approval for ditching her party. Leliana stows the panties in her pockets, and quickly, both of them giggling to each other, they return to le ménage.

“I’m bored,” Lady Colombe says. “Let’s do something dangerous.” The Comte du Brac stops licking her feet.

“We could sneak into the dog lord ambassador’s quarters and throw her a party,” Lady Couteau suggests. She is stroking, achingly slowly, ZITHER!’s tumescent cock.

“Please,” ZITHER! says. “A bit faster.”

This is one of the dullest orgies Leliana has ever attended. “What about the Chantry?” she says suddenly. In the background, Lady Fleur continues to peg Cyril de Montfort, who moans enthusiastically. This is certainly one way to keep the next heir to the throne in line, Leliana thinks.

“The Chantry?” Lady Colombe says. “Sister Nightingale, what do you mean?”

“Wax,” Leliana says. “It’s deserted before Lauds. And playing with Andraste’s own flame is both delectable and dangerous.”

There is a moment of silence, and then Lady Fleur yells in triumph as Cyril de Montfort finally, loudly, messily comes undone.

“The Chantry it is,” Lady Couteau says. She wraps her hand a little tighter around ZITHER!’s cock, who moans happily. “I can lead you there. Do you think you can last?”

“Yes, my lady,” he gasps. “Please.”

Lady Couteau smirks. “I do always like it when they beg,” she tells Leliana confidingly.

With some help from the sober servants—Celene’s maid Briala nowhere to be found—they bundle the nobles towards the Chantry. Lady Couteau leads ZITHER! by a string she has attached to a cock ring. They stumble through the well-trimmed hedges of the royal gardens towards the chapel. Everyone who matters is with them. Everyone else is asleep or having more fun. Cyril de Montfort is wearing Lady Fleur’s delightful leather contraption on his forehead. It does not make the orgy more fun.

“This is the dullest sex party I have been to,” Josephine whispers to Leliana. Leliana concurs.

“At least we have the empress’s panties,” Leliana says. She takes them out. “Or her serving maid’s.” They pause in the shrubbery, as the others enter the chapel, to study them properly. They are infinitely sensible, but Celene is a sensible woman, and made of finely woven cotton from northern Antiva. Leliana wonders if they could be Briala’s, but one cannot gad about in silk every day, even if one is the empress of Orlais. Alas, there is no trace of hair to mark to whom the panties belong.

“So,” Josephine says, “they’re either the empress, or the elvhen serving maid she is having a passionate affair with, an affair so passionate she abandons us to the most boring sex party of Orlais. What do we do with them?”

A noblewoman in exquisite shoes walks down the cobbled lane before the shrubbery and stops before the Chanter’s Board. Leliana and Josephine stop: if she goes inside, what revelries will she interrupt? If anything, the scandal would be that the ladies-in-waiting to the empress were so dull. They watch her pin something to the board. She turns around and smiles at them in the shadows. She raises her hands and whistles like a harlequin, and disappears in a cloud of blackpowder smoke.

“The Dowager Mantillon,” Josephine breathes. She takes Leliana’s hand. “All this time—truly the master of the Game!”

They scramble out of the bushes to check what she has pinned to the board. An exquisite piece of silk, on which House Valmont crest embroidered along with sigils against menstrual cramps and conception, flutters in the early dawn breeze.

“Those have to be Celene’s,” Josephine says. “But why did the Dowager want us to find them?”

“A gift for Justinia,” Leliana says. “House Valmont totters as its heir spends her time indulging her passions with a serving girl. The Dowager wants the Chantry to intercede.”

Josephine says, “I have played the Game before, and understand its cutthroat stakes. But I must admit, I never thought I would witness the opening salvo of a coup at the most boring sex party of all Orlais.”

#dragon age fanfiction #dragon age fanfic #josephine & leliana #josephine #leliana #fanfic

[vlmcnt]

* ◟⋄ ♡ ― aròn piper , 22 , cis-male , cruel intentions ╱ did you see that ? it was SEBASTIAN VALMONT heading through the gates ! did you know that they have lived in calderstone gate for EIGHT YEARS and work there as HEIR (UNEMPLOYED). i don’t know about you but whenever i see them i think of SILK BATHROBES, LUXURY CARS, DISHES OF MARASCHINO CHERRIES, & SECRETS KEPT BEHIND A LEATHER-BOUND JOURNAL and the fact that people describe them as DEBONAIR & CUNNING just make me want to get to know them more ! 

stats

full name: sebastian leon valmont 

nicknames: prefers sebastian, but is okay with names like bas or seb by the few people he’s close to

age & birthday: 22, june 20th 

gender & pronouns: cis-male, he/him

sexual & romantic orientation: panseuxal, panromantic 

hometown: manhattan, ny 

personality traits: debonair, cunning, abrasive, flirtatious, secretive, hedonistic, witty, focused, brooding, reflective, charismatic, orderly, intelligent, libidinous, sarcastic, articulate, pretentious, determined, passionate, vengeful, conceited, possessive, judgmental, arrogant, clever, stubborn

( wanted connections. )

biography

for the most part, i’m going to do my best to keep sebastian as close to his canon self as possible (with a few exceptions of lines/moments in the movie that were a little... iffy lol) but for those who aren’t familiar with the character, here’s a quick rundown of the important information, as well as a few of my own headcanons:

sebastian was born an only child into a ridiculously wealthy family, and as a result, was incredibly spoiled from birth. he lives his luxurious lifestyle to the fullest, without consequences or remorse for the toes he happens to step on along the way to getting what he wants. 

(parental death tw/cancer tw) when he was eleven years old, his mother (who sebastian was very close with), passed away from cancer only a couple months after receiving the diagnosis. very shortly after his mother’s death, sebastian's father had already moved on - which is something sebastian still holds resentment towards him for. 

strong bonds aren’t something sebastian has a lot of, as most of his relationships are pretty disposable to him. he doesn’t get attached easily, which probably traces back to the loss of his mother, but he would tell you that it’s because most people aren’t worthy of his time. he does, however, have a couple close friends, that he would take a bullet for... at least if it was in a non-lethal part of his body. 

sebastian is very intelligent. he was always considered to be a “gifted child”, and he made straight a’s in school without having to put in much effort. unfortunately for those around him, he tends to use his smarts for not much more than revenge, or just causing harm to others for shits and giggles. a bored sebastian - which is typically his default state - is a dangerous thing to be around. 

every since graduating from high school, sebastian has spent his time doing not much else besides enjoying the playboy life: sleeping around, partying, spending way too much money... really just indulging in all the finer things in life. though he has aspirations, such as becoming a writer, the fear of not being not only perfect at something, but the best at it, has stopped him from actually making an attempt at writing anything that’s not his daily thoughts in his journal. rejection and failure are not things sebastian takes easily, and he’s an incredibly sore loser. he plays to win, even if that means fighting dirty or cheating to get there. 

note: though i am more than down for a sebastian/kathryn connection (if we happen to get a kathryn), it will either need to be fully platonic steb-siblings, or a similar dynamic to the movie, but with them as family friends/roommates/etc., rather than having a familial relationship. 

#calderstone.intro

[vicantii]

Greetings! From a Slightly Worse Time.

Hello! I don’t know how I managed to get back on my Tumblr here but somehow I did and I completely forgot that 2 years ago I made a letter to my past self from 4 years ago. I wonder what made me do it then as well. Maybe I should have written it down. Right now it’s my day off and I got bored of watching League of Legends so here I am. Let’s update my life a bit, shall we?

I am currently a mechanic at a dairy industrial plant in Orlando, FL. I was promised to be a PLC technician and engineer but it’s been 18 months and that hasn’t really come to fruition yet. Sucks, but hey, maybe I just need a bit more time. Or maybe I need to find a new job. It seems that my career path has taken me to the path of PLC Programming and Networking, at least with this company. Not what I expected, but still interesting nonetheless.

We got this stupid coronavirus running rampant at the moment and it pretty much ruined all of my 2020 plans. I wanted to visit my boyfriend IRL (which I’ll talk about further in this blog post thingy), go to Chara Expo 2020 and visit my Fandori friends, and do a road trip with my other IRL friends. I hope the next time I read this in 2022 the whole pandemic goes away and I can just look back and laugh at it. Cause right now this virus is making life jaded.

I see that I almost bought a house two years ago. Haha, that was a little naive of me. I believe a few months after I made that post I got fired from my job. I dodged a bullet there, huh. That’s when I realized how fragile jobs are and how it’s important to understand your commitment and longevity to a job before you commit to anything long term, such as buying a house. I made a hella lot of money back then, but now not so much. I guess I humbled myself a bit in that respect, that’s good. So instead I now live in Orlando, FL renting a 3/2 house with some roommates. I’ve had cool, nice roommates and I also had questionable, shady roommates. It’s tough being independent but I knew it was never going to be easy. 

I also see that I was going through some dark, depressing times. Well that’s nothing new, and nothing really changed honestly. Work still makes me depressed at times and I still have a bad habit of overthinking things to the point of depression. It’s not nearly as bad as back in 2016, but it’s still present and I still want to get rid of it for sure. Depression is a bitch but I don’t let it bring me down anymore.

One positive thing that HAS happened though is I got myself a boyfriend!!! 

I’ve always had issues with my sexuality starting from college and the people I surrounded myself with certainly made me repress my sexual identity. However, moving away from them and meeting new faces while living independently allowed me to let myself be me. I experimented a bit back in 2019 with a certain friend of mine but that didn’t work out. Now in 2020 I can proudly say that I’m bisexual and that I’m in love with a wonderful person that I hold dearly. I get warm feelings whenever I talk to him and knowing he’s always there is the best feeling I can have. 

Alrighty, I need to wake up pretty early for work tomorrow. I can’t believe I have to work weekends. What a pain in the ass, but it is what it is. 

My name is Roneal Valmonte. I’ve thrown away the username “Derp” or “King Derp” or any of its iterations and now I simply go by “Vicanti”. I am 26 years old with a BSEE with an IRL focus on Industrial Automation and PLC Programming. I’ll catch up with you again in a couple years, perhaps? Until then, take care!

#Derp Derping #personal

[slasherscream]

I just got an idea, could you do a Crazy Ass Boys Gang reaction to finding out that the reader is a model.

crazy ass boys gang + reader is a model

billy loomis: He's so naturally possessive that his brain broke when he found out. It'll be worse if he found out from someone else and not you. He knows you're beautiful/handsome enough to be a model. He's just not crazy about you being plastered on magazine covers and billboards. You're his, not the world's. Still, he knows what fame tastes like (even though in his case it's more like infamy) and he'd never ask you to stop for him. He'll just pout if you do anything risqué. He likes to go to shoots with you so he can stand around and be your scary guard dog.

josh washington: Is completely fine with it. Knows that it doesn't change your relationship at all, so why should he care? Besides, now you have something new in common. You're both going to wind up in the entertainment industry (him as a director and you as a model)! If you weren't an Instagram model before, you could be one now with how many pictures he takes of you throughout the day. He just thinks you're so photogenic babe!

stu macher: Pervert. Immediately his brain goes to the raunchy and vulgar. Asks if you’ve done any nude photo shoots before. Give him a snarky reply like, "Yeah and all your buddies saw it." and watch how he is suddenly not so gung-ho about the concept. Now that you've opened his mind to the fact that other people are seeing you in various states of being sexy and desirable, he also goes to every single photo shoot. He hypes you up during them at least (by which I mean he is a distracting nuisance).

jd/jason dean: Does not like it, but you love it, so he tolerates it. He goes to all your shoots as well. He wanders around studios like a malicious shadow entity, daring anyone to admire you for too long. He also tags along to business events or parties. One day someone is going to like his intense dark look and want to take pictures of him. He'll only agree if you're part of the shoot as well, that way there's an industry trail of you being an item. It helps to soothe his territorial nature.

kevin khatchadourian: At first, he finds you typical just because of your good looks. Whether you’re entirely conventionally attractive or uniquely so you’re an irritant either way. Once he learns there’s more to you than meets the eye, he becomes possessive over your personhood. You’re not sure if Kevin loves you, but you know he wants to own you. You being a model, a public figure whose job is to be available for consumption, leaves him repulsed on his best day. He hates the way he has to hover over you in your day-to-day life. It erases any ambiguity about the way he feels for you. It’s hard to act superior and apathetic when you’re playing someone’s shadow, quietly seething as you hang on their arm and dare someone to try and charm them away.

nathan prescott: You're his muse, plain and simple. You met because the photography and modeling classes you were both part of collaborated on doing an assignment together, so he knew you were a model from the start. The pictures he takes of you are markedly not his usual style. There's still a darkness to them, but it's clear that whoever is behind the lens is fond of the person on the other end. He is surprisingly neutral and not jealous about you being a model. It’s the artist in him.

sebastian valmont: Has dated a sickening number of models before you so this is nothing new to him. He knows the ins and outs of the industry. If you need help advancing your career, he’s exactly who you need to be attached to. With his inheritance he’ll never have to work a day in his life if he doesn’t want to. Still, he’s too easily bored to do nothing. While he’s waiting to inherent his father’s many businesses, he’ll spend his days working as your manager. No one could take better care of you than him, after all.

david mccall: Pretends he’s okay with it but is not okay with it. He plays the role of supportive boyfriend like a professional though. You’d never know how he feels unless he gets fed up and drops the act. He comes to every shoot with you, every party, dinner, or lunch. You’re never left on your own. He can’t trust any of the sleazeballs in this industry. You’re so innocent. You’re not like any of these other people. You need to be protected. He’s basically your bodyguard and is very involved in your career. He puts his foot down and doesn’t let you do any naked or sultry partner shoots. It’s his one rule. Don’t ignore it.

like my writing? support me through my cashapp or kofi! both are slasherscream.

#billy loomis x reader #stu macher x reader #jd x reader #josh washington x reader #kevin khatchadourian x reader #sebastian valmont x reader #nathan prescott x reader #david mccall x reader #crazy ass boys gang #Scream 1996 #until dawn #fear 1996 #we need to talk about kevin #life is strange #heathers #most of them fucking *nicki minaj voice* hate hate HATE this

[altusmage]

BATTLE SENTENCE STARTERS

@valmont-lion​ asked ; “How many did we lose?”

a heavy sigh escaped the necromancer, exhaustion from the long battle slowly setting in. though he tried not to let it show, it was obvious in the nuances of his demeanour — the way his movements were a little more languid than usual, the way he leaned a little more of his weight on his staff when stood still. his appearance, too, was slightly battle-worn; a thin layer of muck, grime and blood mixed with sweat, coated his skin, his perfectly quaffed hair laying a little flatter than usual, some stray strands sticking to his forehead. he bore a few visible guts, though nothing that would not heal completely. 

          ❝ I cannot say for definite... ❞ too many. ❝ perhaps the commander will have a more accurate report? ❞

#valmont-lion #⊹ · ( answered ) * . oh the nonsense you speak.

[scbincx]

𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭  𝐬𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐚.

[ ESTER EXPOSITO, 22, CISFEMALE, SHE/HER ] welcome to the du pont institute for the young & gifted, [ SABINA MARQUEZ ]. you have been accepted as a [ REGULAR ] student from [ SPAIN ], going into your [ SENIOR YEAR ] and majoring in [ INT'L BUSINESS MANAGEMENT ]. your peers at the institute say that you are [ ASTUTE & SELF-ASSURED ], but being [ VEXING & CONNIVING ] may be the reason why the police are asking about you. did you think they wouldn’t find out that you were michael’s [ GIRLFRIEND ]? [ ADMIN J, 23, CISFEMALE, SHE/HER, EST ]

hi friends! jocey here with my first bby, sabina. i’m just gonna get this out of the way right now - apologizing in advance for all that is sabina because she’s truly just the worst™. lol anyways, gimme a like or hmu on discord if you’d like to plot with my little demon child!

name : sabina isabella maria marquez nickname : friends call her sab age : twenty-two sexuality : bisexual hometown : madrid, spain major : int’l business management, minor in entrepreneurship extracurriculars : student council president, business leaders of tmrw, du pont editor, honour society, model UN (spain)

━  the marquez family is known to have a bit of a controversial reputation, mostly surrounding how they made their fortune. what started out as a small delivery company in the canary islands decades ago has now expanded to a global empire of sorts. officially, marquez enterprises is a shipping company that controls the major ports in spain, and owns several businesses throughout europe and latin america.

━  but off the books? well, let’s just say there may be rumours that they’re involved in some shady business and have quite a few shady interesting contacts from all around the world, from politicians to some less than savoury people. regardless, it’s common knowledge that the marquezes are filthy dirty rich, enjoy living extravagantly and lavishly, and are practically seen as spanish royalty in the social scene.

━  as the eldest born to the head of the marquez empire, sabina was always groomed to take over marquez enterprises one day. she has a younger brother, though he shows no interest (or any capabilities, for that matter) in even being a part of it. then there are all of her cousins who want the seat - her seat - at the head of the table for themselves, like her cousin cristiano. well, over her dead body. and even from the grave, she would never let that happen because this was her birthright. while most kids dreamt of flying to the moon or being a princess, sabina always knew she was going to rule the world marquez empire one day.

━  sabina is her parents’ daughter in every way possible. they taught her everything legal and illegal that she needed to know in order to be successful in life. but some things even they couldn’t quite explain themselves. like when three-year-old sabina stole all the crayons in daycare to force other kids to buy them back with their snacks. from a young age, she quickly learned that tricking people into giving her what she wanted out of their own dumb free will was so much more satisfying than stealing it from under their noses. she may be named after a saint, but anyone will tell you she is anything but.

━  a hustler with an alpha bitch mentality, she’s always outsmarting people and outsmarting the system to get things to work in her favour. and when that didn’t work, no one could ever say no to a big fat wad of cash. because sabina marquez never loses. she doesn’t just play the game, she owns it, makes the rules and wins. every. damn. time. sabina strongly believes that playing by the rules was for suckers and if you weren’t the best, then you were nothing at all. and sometimes being the best required playing dirty. if she has to ruin someone else’s life to get her way, then she will gladly pour a jug of gasoline, light a match and enjoy watching it go up in flames. hell, sometimes she’ll do that just for the fun of it anyways. and if that’s what she does for her own enjoyment, then you do not wanna know what she does when she���s pissed off.

━  with that mentality, it’s no surprise that sabina easily became the top student of her program and student council president. though she may have lied and cheated her way to the top on several occasions, there’s no denying that she’s fucking brilliant. yes, she could have done it the right way, but where’s the fun in that? if anything, pulling off all the lying, cheating and scheming proved just how smart she really was. and maybe that’s why michael fell for her. 

━  sabina always thought she was too good for michael. in fact, too good for almost anyone at this school. the whole golden boy, mr. popular act was boring and cliche, and she saw right through it. and yet somehow, almost as if it’d happened overnight, michael had won her over and they were quickly known as du pont’s ‘it’ couple. everyone envied them and wanted to be them. they couldn’t be a more perfect couple and she was the perfect girlfriend - sweet, adoring, supportive. in fact, so perfect that no one ever knew that deep down, sabina had never hated anyone more in her life than michael fucking valmont. and she couldn’t be happier now that he’s dead.

WANTED CONNECTIONS.

BEST FRIEND  ━  someone who can put up with sabina’s awfulness, or maybe they’re just as awful as she is. this is probably one of the few people she’s actually relatively nice to (at least, by her standards) and will always have their back. possibly even one of the few people she’ll ever let her guard down for. preferably m/nb tbh bcuz she tends to be a bigger bitch to girls cuz they’re obvs more threatening than dumb boys are lol.  taken by simon bexley, cade harrington, sofia gonzalez-cortes MORAL CONSCIENCE  ━  does sabina even have a moral compass? your guess is as good as mine. this is someone she is more likely to listen to and could try to sway her from doing, y’know, ~*just sabine things*~. kind of the angel on her shoulder? often tries to get her to be nicer and overall be a decent human being.  taken by grant winter-grandview EXES  ━  either she dumped him/her, or she was dumped (in which case, rip my friend). maybe there are lingering feelings. who knows?? could be interesting if they’re very different from sabina and that’s why it didn’t work out despite the chemistry or whatever. RIVALS/ENEMIES  ━  ho’boy. homegirl can piss off a lot of people just for shits and giggles, nor does she care to be likeable and personable, so i’m sure she’s got a hella long list of enemies/people she rubs the wrong way. also people she’s sabotaged and manipulated to get her way? plz.  taken by adelaide montserrat, alice coltell, saylor winter-grandview, daisy kennedy CHILDHOOD FRIEND  ━  self-explan. they’ve known each other since they were kids and their parents are likely friends.  taken by madelyn vasquez UNWANTED CHILD  ━  sabina somehow ended up being this person’s very reluctant mom friend. she hates it, she does not want to deal with them, and yet she’ll still go pick up their drunk ass at 4am. she’s all about tough love, so while she may be super harsh and hard on them, she does it out of love and because she cares. not that she’d ever admit caring.  taken by nicollo fernez, james thompson UNLIKELY/ACCIDENTAL FRIENDS  ━  they shouldn’t get along, but somehow, they just do and their friendship works. not typically someone sabina would see herself being friends with, but somehow an accidental friendship of sorts developed.  taken by aurora van der berg, crimson cooper SECRET FLING  ━  the person sabina cheated on michael with. it’s definitely more than a one-time hook-up, but not quite a relationship yet either. she cares about them a lot more than she’d ever care to admit out loud, but it shows through her actions.  taken by william acher CAT & MOUSE  ━  the more sabina can’t have something, the more she’s driven to go after it, even if it’s just to prove a point. and that point is that she’s always right and she always wins. so she’ll flirt, sweet talk and pull out all the stops just to get them to admit that they’re wrong about her. could also work the other way - the more they want her to cave, the more she’ll push and fight it.  taken by gabriel johnson

okay, that’s all i can think of off the top of my head. some plots i’m open for multiple characters to fill, unless it has been crossed out. and ofc, i’m always open to new ideas too!

#dupont.intro #intro. ( sabina marquez. )

[leonsfm-blog]

╰   * ✶ . ever notice leon nam kinda looks like kim jongin? they’ve got 6.3m followers on instagram, but that’s no surprise. their instagram bio says they identify as cismale and go by he/him. they just turned twenty three, right? word around la is they’re kinda volatile and heedless, but you couldn’t tell online. does it matter when your family’s net worth is $355m? ❪ r, she/her, est ❫

hey i’m rachel !  i won’t lie, i haven’t joined a tumblr rp in years so if i mess something up, that’s why. i’m super excited to start everything off when i recover from being at work all day rip. my discord is tired of being employed (again)#5480 if you’d like to talk there (sorry the name is so long i just really hate working). anyway, i’ll shut up now and get to some basics about leon :

his parents started off really loosely based around the beckhams, but that kinda got away from me. his dad is still a very well known soccer player (from seoul), his mother is a famous actress who steered more into the business side of hollywood as she got older

his father only really stayed in the us for his mother, and really had no choice when leon was born. he wanted to keep leon away from his mother’s lifestyle but realized that wouldn’t happen, so instead he tried to keep leon humble throughout his childhood. it succeeded for a bit until he hit high school and had a little more freedom to learn how fun being rich could be. 

by the time he’d graduated, he’d quit soccer and fallen into more dangerous habits. his father, who’d slowly grown to detest his wife’s lifestyle, ended up leaving his mother. she sort of fell apart and he had to try to pull it together to be there for her, but that really just meant suppressing his own feelings

ummmmm so basically now he really has no one keeping him in check / humble so he’s fully acting out. seeing how his father slowly started to hate the woman he called the love of his life, leon’s given up on trying to really connect with people. 

to make it simple, he’s comparable to sebastian valmont/kwon sihyun (tempted), but a little more of a smartass. he’ll play with people just to start drama / to get a reaction. he’s discreet and calculated, which leaves him to come off as cold, but when you look closer you realize he’s just a bored rich kid looking to avoid making the same mistakes as his parents. when he forgets to act like a douche, you see more of the comical and sensitive side he desperately tries to hide

he’s super protective when he does grow to care for people, it just takes a long time. he doesn’t trust easily either, so once you break it, you usually can't earn it back 

idk what else to add, this was horrible but i’m rush typing this. NMXNMXNMZMNXNMZXMNMN there’s more info in the muse tab, but i’m really gonna get a better feel for him once we start so for now this is probably fine ! 

also for connections, i’d love anything but especially stuff from his past — someone he played, someone he might’ve had genuine feelings for, old friends, etc ! idk i'm typing this after a 9 hour shift my brain isn't working. im me and we can come up with something better <3

#❰ ⋆ 𝐎 𝐎 𝐂 𝐏 𝐎 𝐒 𝐓 𝐒 ╱ . #opuintro #man this is so late. im quitting (my job) #i will send/respond to ims when my brain starts working <3

[gerec]

Dangerous Liaisons 

Charles Xavier as Vicomte de Valmont Erik Lehnsherr as Marquise de Merteuil James ‘Logan’ Howlett as Madame de Tourvel

This is a little ficlet I wrote for my darling @widgenstain, who is celebrating a big birthday today!!! I hope you like this, and I hope you’re having a wonderful day :D :D :D

No warnings except for mild internalized homophobia mentioned. Approx. 1300 words. Also this takes place in England not France just because lol.

Edwards appeared as Erik stepped through the parlour doors, having just returned from a brisk walk about the manor grounds.

“Sir, the Viscount is here. Shall I show him in?”

Erik frowned as he stripped his gloves absently, mulling over the plan he’d been weighing these past few days. His pride had been wounded dearly and his patience tested, and Erik was keen to answer Sebastian’s insult with appropriate retribution. But involving the likes of Xavier added potential risk to Erik’s calculated outcome, and he would have to be very careful indeed with the way he presented his proposal.

“Yes. Have him meet me in the library.”

It had been three days since his lover broke the news to him while they were still in bed; that he was newly engaged to the Countess Frost’s young ward, Jean Grey, and soon to be married. Sebastian had brushed off Erik’s indignation with cool amusement, and all the callousness of a man of privilege used to taking – and discarding – as he pleased. The novelty of being a first and only male lover had worn off after a year together, along with his once fascination over Erik’s ability to control and manipulate metal.  

No, Erik held no true devotion to Sebastian Shaw, but he was certainly not some frivolous, empty-headed thing either to be tossed aside with no worry or consequences.

By the time he entered the library, Charles had already made himself comfortable, sprawled laconically into his favorite chair before the chess set they frequented. He looked delightfully handsome as always, dressed in a dark waistcoat that highlighted his sharp blue eyes, and a smile that managed to be both utterly charming and filthy in turn.

Of course that was precisely the appeal of Charles Xavier, an unrepentant scoundrel that rather enjoyed his hard earned reputation. And though Erik was reluctantly attracted to the man’s incisive wit and wicked manner – and Charles thrilled at his own hard edges and cold calculations – neither had any true capacity for feelings, nor the inclination to delve beyond the surface of their unorthodox friendship.  

“My dear Earl Lehnsherr,” Charles drawled, “I came as soon as you summoned me. Have you come to your senses, hmm? Now that you’ve lost that dreadful bore Sebastian Shaw, will you finally let me take you to bed? Show you exactly how it is to pleasure a man of your…stature?”

Erik laughed. Trust Xavier to offer sex as a social greeting. “You will find it not so easy to garner an invitation to my bed, Xavier.”

Charles shrugged good-naturedly, and took the glass of claret Erik offered with a sly grin. “No indeed it is not, though you can’t fault a fellow for trying.”

He took his usual seat across from Xavier then, and took a slow, pointed sip of his wine. “I have a proposition for you.”

“Oh?” Charles asked with a playful arch of his brow, “is there to be a quest then, to go on? A monster to slay before I’m given your delectable arse as my just reward?”

“Delectable yes,” Erik conceded, returning Charles’ smouldering grin with a wink. “But sadly, mine is not up for the taking. I am referring to the pretty and virginal Jean Grey, the little telepath Sebastian is planning to marry.”

The smile on Charles’ face slipped just a little, before he rolled his eyes and downed the entirety of his glass in one go. “Let me guess. You want me to seduce her and take her to bed as revenge for Shaw’s insult against you. Erik, darling, I expected a more devious plan than to fuck a girl too young and stupid to know better. It’s entirely beneath me to accept a task that lacks any interest or challenge. You wound me.”

Erik rubbed his forehead and sighed. “I would happily gut Sebastian Shaw if I could, Charles, as well you know. But this at least will injure his pride if nothing else, to expect a virgin and get a trollop for a bride. What if I offered you the next two shipments of bordeaux I’m expecting, direct from my vineyard in France? As thanks for your…’assistance’?”

Charles shook his head. “It’s not that I don’t want to help you, darling, but I do have a reputation to uphold. While I don’t deny that Frost’s ward is appealingly lithesome, I’ve had more than my fair share of such delicate flowers. Besides, I’ve recently set my sights on another, much worthier target to pursue.”

In spite of his annoyance at being denied, Erik couldn’t help but be intrigued by Charles’ obvious excitement. As a telepath of great power and little care for decency or morals, Xavier found amusement as quickly as he lost interest within the stifling restrictions of upper English society. To garner such eagerness must mean…“Who is it this time? Which poor, unsuspecting soul have you decided to ruin with your nefarious ways?”

He refilled their glasses, and watched as Charles practically beamed with an almost boyish enthusiasm. “You’ve heard of Captain James Howlett, yes? Newly returned to London, having retired from a decorated career in His Majesty’s army?”

Erik nodded. Howlett was a man of few words, unrefined and definitely unsuited to life amongst the aristocracy. A war hero and a widower, and Erik allowed, an exceptionally fine physical specimen.

“Didn’t he have a wife, Charles? Even you can’t hope to capture the attentions of a man interested only in those of the female persuasion? ”

“Ah but that’s the thing,” Charles answered, eyes drawn to the purple-red liquid as he swirled his glass absently, “I’ve read his mind, Erik, and seen the very heart of him. He desires it so, the touch of a man, but cannot yet admit the truth of it even to himself. It’s buried deep, his longing for a man’s affections, beneath layers upon layers of teachings and propriety and self-loathing. Imagine what a triumph it would be, my friend, to break through all that armor? And make him crave that which he believes to be a mortal sin?”

It was…genius, Erik conceded, and indeed a worthier prey than the inexperienced Jean Grey, though he doubted even the venerable talents of the Viscount could sway a man such as Howlett. “Some things are beyond even your capabilities, Charles, or do you mean to use your telepathy on him? To make him amenable to your advances?”

Charles’ eyes flashed, and his lips thinned a little as he replied, “I have no need to resort to mind tricks. Mark my words, Earl Lehnsherr – I shall have him, and make him beg me for it in turn.”

“And I say that you will not,” Erik teased, thrilling in the way Charles’ eyes narrowed at the obvious challenge. “I shall make you a wager, so certain I am of your failure – if you succeed, I will allow you into my bed, and do to me as you wish for as much and as long as you wish it.”

Charles tossed his head back and laughed. “I will happily take your wager, and be all the more determined with such a promised reward!”

“You will have to provide written proof of the affair,” Erik warned, even as he returned Charles’ triumphant smile with a grin of his own. “In the Captain’s own words or the deal is off.”

“Done,” Charles promised, not even the slightest bit concerned with the additional requirement. He leaned forward and set his hand on Erik’s knee, an impish grin on his face as he asked, “Shall we seal it with a kiss?”

“You shall get your kiss after the wager is won and not a moment before,” he replied, and chuckled as Charles flopped back with an exaggerated sigh. “But it would not hurt to toast your new venture. To you—”

“To Captain Howlett, and your delectable arse—”

Erik smiled. “May the best man win.”

#cherik #xavierine #dangerous liaisons au #gerec writes #gerec's edit #internalized homophobia #still have powers #regency au