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user2772636 · 3 months

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Douzième Fille

12th girl

××《☆》××

Having to be in pairs for a group project, two people with mixed feelings work together to create a presentation. Going into eachothers houses is easy until a certain cat wants to play cupid. Feelings erupt, and miscommunication has to be endured. A soccer game in the rain might prove that Descamps listens more than he should.

===

Joseph Descamps x Reader

Warnings: bullying (poor pichon), boys being boys, very confusing feelings, angst bcs of achilles and patroclus (maybe even joseph and reader???), miscommunication in the enemies to lovers department, swearing

This chapter has references to The Song of Achilles book (ik its not the right timeline, but we have to do this for the angst so bare w me)

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Chapter three: He is half my soul, as the poets say

===

The scores of our exams are being published. I sit in my seat, eyes scanning the numbers and fingertips smoothing out the paper. Most of them are in the ranges of 12-16, which is good enough for me.

"As you know, this is a school where we like to experiment with new methods. Next week, we are going to try a new approach." I look up from my papers, interested in the proposal of something new.

"You're going to prepare a presentation, working in pairs. You'll be working with the classmate sitting next to you, and then you'll present your work in class together. And for a sense of free will, you can present about any subject. How does that sound?"

I look to the girl next to me. Her name was Louise. She's quiet most of the time and keeps to herself. I smile softly. She smiles back.

The teacher clears his throat, eyes on Descamps and Dupin. "You two, of which I already expect a chaotic presentation, will be paired with someone else." His eyes land on me and Louise. Please, no.

"Descamps and Pardine, Louise and Dupin. Please remember your partner." I internally groan, placing my head into my hands. I look to my side, already seeing Louise and Dupin waving to each other, Louise giggling. I groan again. I don't look at Descamps. He doesn't, either.

Pichon raises his hand. "What if we're sitting alone?" The class laughs. I look at Pichon in pity.

"Well, you can work with Ms. Sabiani." The teacher says in response.

"Look. Pichon is blushing. He's turned pink like a pig." Dupin says, and the class laughs again. Even Louise giggles. She likes him, it's obvious, but what is there to like? I roll my eyes.

"That's enough, Dupin." The teacher shouts at him, the smile on his face gone. Annick raises her hand.

"Do we really have to work in pairs?" She asks.

"That's the whole point." He answers. "And I'm warning you, half a pair's work will result in half the grade."

××《☆》××

As I walk down the stairs, I look up when I hear pigs oinking. I wasn't wrong. Descamps' group of friends are pigs.

When I spot Simone and Michèle in the bench under the tree, our usual spot, I make my way to them.

"Help me gain some decency to go up to Descamps and not punch him in the face." I groan as I sit on the bench with them.

"It's unfortunate for you. Our teacher could've picked anyone else." Michèle says, pity in her voice.

"Should I go talk to him now or later?" They don't answer because they see Descamps make his way towards us.

I fight the urge to start an argument with him. About anything, really. Just to get him to stay a bit longer. I clear my throat at the thought.

"Your place?" He says, now standing infront of us, hands in his pockets. I nod once, and he walks away.

"Thank god that was over quick." Something deep inside me knew I didn't mean that.

Jean Pierre walks towards us with a book in hand. I look at Simone with a teasing smile, but there's something in her eyes I can't really tell. Like she knows something.

"Here, this is yours." He hands Michèle the book. "I put it in my bag by mistake." Michèle thanks him. He walks away with a 'see you later'.

Michèle continues to complain to us about her grades. Simone sighs, mind floating away. I look at her confused. I'll ask her about it later.

I look towards Applebaum. We make eye contact, and I smile. He looks away, fear in his eyes. What's up with everyone today?

××《☆》××

In one of those rare moments, my parents are home for dinner. We sit in the dining table, enjoying our food.

"Someone's coming over tomorrow. I know you won't be here, but I thought it'd be better if you knew." I tell them, handing small bits of food to George.

"Oh? What will you be doing?" My father asks, cutting his food into smaller pieces.

"Group project. We'll probably just stay in my room." I pet George as he eats his food.

"Are we going to meet her even after the project?" My mother says, looking up from her food.

"He, actually. And no." This makes them pause, silence surronding the room. My father clears his throat.

"A boy? And both of you will be in your room?" He says, placing his elbows on the table.

I take time to process this. "Papa, no. It's not like that." I turn red in my seat. "Trust me, it's just a project. Nothing else."

"Of course we trust you. It's just, you know. You're a teen, and teens go through... stuff." My mother says, stuttering a bit. I cover my face with my hands.

"Mama, please don't make it weird." I groan.

"No, it's perfectly normal for your age. If you want, we can forget about it-" I cut her off.

"Yes, please. Forget about it." I cut my food aggressively, face as warm as my plate.

We stay quiet as we finish the rest of our dinner.

××《☆》××

"The league of nations, L.O.N..." I fade the rest of the discussion out, watching the way the sun rests on the trees leaves, the birds tending to themselves. Last nights conversation clouds my mind, and I catch myself smiling for no reason.

I sigh every time, biting my lip in my own embarrassment. I glance at Descamps. He's focusing on the lesson for once. Nothing will happen at my place, right?

He feels my gaze on him and gently turns his head. His eye meets mine, and there's a small quirk on the corner of his lip.

"Quiet at the back." Ms. Giraud calls out suddenly.

Descamps looks away. I purse my lips, something stirring in my chest. My breathing is faster, and I feel warmer. Have I gotten sick already?

Annick walks into the room, hair tousled and frizzy. Ms. Giraud shouts at her, and my ear drums are about to explode.

Ms. Giraud gives Annick detention, and with every word Annick said back, an hour or two more.

Ms. Giraud continues to piss me off every second of the day with her strictness and very clear jealousy towards Annick. She finally continues the discussion, and I (annoyingly) decide to finally listen.

××《☆》××

I wait right outside the gate for Descamps. He comes running to the gate but slows down when he sees me, acting like he wasn't just leaping to get here.

"Hey." He says, acting nonchalant. He even has his hand in his pocket.

"Hi. Let's get going." I keep my face blank as I lead the way to my place. We walk in silence, listening to our footsteps next to each other.

Once we make it to my flat's building, I go up the steps, stopping in front of my door and unlocking it.

We step inside, the flat looking warm with the sunlight entering through the windows. I lock my door and drop the keys on my kitchen counter.

"Your coat?" I reach my hands out. He throws his coat to me, the heaviness of it making me stumble. I scowl but hang it anyway.

"Head to my room. Down the hallway to the right." I say as I grab a few supplies from my father's office.

"Want me in your bed already?" He calls out once he's inside. I hear a yelp.

I run to my room. "Descamps, are you okay?" I ask worriedly. He stares at George.

"What is that?" He points to George, who's currently walking toward me. I bend down and pet him, planting a kiss on his head.

"This is George." I carry George and craddle him like a baby. I walk towards Descamps with the furball in my arms. I rock him slowly.

"You can touch him if you want. He doesn't bite." I smile at the orange cat, then look up at Descamps. He's staring at me with the most soft look I've seen him wear. My heart thumps in my chest.

He clears his throat, hand going up shakily to pet George. George purrs when Descamps pets him. There's now a smile on Descamps face, as warm as his stare.

I bite my lip at the proximity. I memorise as much as I can about him.

The way he was breathing, like he was on a bed so soft he could sink into it. The way he smelt like faded cigarette smoke and expensive cologne. The way his bones moved under his skin as he bent over to take a closer look at George. The number of times he's blinked, the number of times he's laughed under his breath.

I dive deeper into my trance as he looks up at me. The way he stared now is so different from the way he did all those times before. Like we knew something that we haven't acknowledged yet. Or chose not to.

Something falls in the kitchen, and we snap back to reality. My face warms up, the lighting from the windows making it clearer.

Descamps walks away from me, clearing his throat again. "The cat's ugly." This makes me snap my head to his direction.

"What did you just say?" My brows furrow, defensive of the cat sleeping in my arms.

He rolls his eye. "Nothing. Let's get the project started, I guess." I glare at him for a couple more seconds, then I gently place George down on the bed, excusing myself to get more stuff from my father's office.

When I'm halfway to my room, I hear whispering. I peek at the slit on my door, wondering what was happening behind it.

Descamps is petting George, whispering words as if he's hushing a baby to sleep.

My aura softens, and my heart bursts with admiration. I accidentally drop something and curse to myself. Descamps hears the thud on the floor and pushes himself away from George. George continues to sleep.

I open the door then close it gently. "Let's get started."

××《☆》××

"Do you have suggestions?" I ask Descamps. He doesn't answer, his head turned to the side. I sigh.

Before I could say anything, he talks. "What's that?" He nods to the book on my shelf. It was a copy of the story of Achilles and Patroclus, with a notebook strapped on the front.

"It's nothing important." I shake my head. He purses his lips in thought.

"Can I see it?" His question catches me off guard, his head finally turning to look at me. No one's ever showed interest in my books or notes. I stay quiet, then after a while, I nod.

He gets up from the bed and grabs the book. He takes the string that attaches the notebook to the copy off. He scans the back of the book and hums.

"We can base the project off of this, if you don't mind." He holds up the paperback and the notebook. I'm stunned in my place.

"It's really not that interesting-"

"It must be if you had a whole notebook dedicated to it." There isn't even a teasing tone when he said that. He meant it genuinely.

"Fine." I sigh, grabbing the notebook from his grasp.

"Good." "Great." "Amazing." "Piss off." "Whatever."

"Mind if you read it to me?" He says. "I have a feeling I'll understand better when you say it, since it's your work."

I nod, hesitantly. I opened the first page of my notebook. Most of the stuff I've written in it is a summary and a review of the book.

He leans back on my pillows. I let him. I started to read.

"Patroclus was a young prince, exiled from his kingdom for accidentally killing a boy, and was taken in by their neighbouring king, King Peleus."

George purrs as I pet him. I shift to a more comfortable sitting position. Descamps' eyes are on me.

"When Patroclus first saw Achilles, it was in a competition run by Patroclus' father. He described Achilles as if he was looking at a painting made with precision and grace." I flip the page. George walks over to Descamps' lap. I huff, ignoring it.

"When they met and officially talked, Patroclus thought he'd hated Achilles. Achilles and his beauty, his speed, his perfection. In the years that pass, they grow to be attached to the other." George meows. The meow that indicates he wants petting.

I pause my reading, and Descamps looks at me confused. "Why'd you stop?"

"George wants pets." Descamps makes an 'oh' sound and pets George. He meows again.

"Maybe he wants you." Descamps says, petting the fur baby on his lap. I sigh and lean in close to pet George. With the uncomfortable position, I shift to sit beside Descamps on the bed. I clear my throat and pet George. I continue to read.

"They knew everything about each other. What they'd prefer, like how I like the rain too much to cover it with an umbrella, but know I'll get sick without it. That's how the two worked. They knew every detail, every routine, every habit, every movement. A love you'd have to fight the gods for."

A page is flipped, smoothing out of paper echoes in the room.

"Achilles and Patroclus loved each other with every inch of their heart and soul. Quoting the book, Patroclus states, 'He is half my soul, as the poets say'. Along with the famous paragraph." My eyes switch to the next page.

Descamps shifts in his place, leaning back on the pillows, looking at the pages where I'm reading off of. I start to relax, leaning back, too. George purrs.

"I could recognise him by touch alone, by smell; I would know him blind, by the way his breaths came and his feet struck the earth. I would know him in death, at the end of the world."

I take a glance at Descamps, and he's already looking at me. George snores in his sleep, making the aura of the room warmer. More comfortable.

His eye dropped to my lips, and I could've sworn I was hearing a heartbeat as fast as the wind at fall. I glance at his, pink and soft, like a cushion ready for rest.

When we lean in, slowly, too slow, my heart drops as he pulls away and stretches. I furrow my eyebrows, a dread of realisation. He's been toying with me. I close my notebook and gather my things.

"Where are you off to?" He asks. I don't answer him.

"Hey," He grabs my arm. I take it back from him. "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing." I say coldly. "I'll finish this project myself."

"What? No. This is a group project remember?"

"I can't keep doing this. You're too hard to work with." I stack the books and materials in my arms.

"We haven't even gotten anything done yet." He flops his hands in the air.

"Exactly. You're too distracting."

"What did I do? I've been quiet the whole time."

"Yeah, well, that's the problem. You're too quiet. You aren't suggesting things."

"What does that have to do with anything?" He raises his voice.

"Just shut up, okay? Just leave. I told you I'll finish the project by myself." I get up from the bed, heading to my father's office.

"But I don't get why you're suddenly mad!" He stands up, following me.

"You don't have to know. Just leave me alone, okay?"

"Fucking fine. You're being too stubborn anyways. Do all the work. Getting pissed off for no fucking reason." He grabs his coat from the rack, putting it on. He doesn't even glance at me, opening and shutting the door with a loud slam.

I even out my breathing. It was going fine. Then I think to myself, what was? Me and Descamps, going fine? I laugh at the thought. I hated that boy. I hated him with my whole heart. My mind travels to the notes I was just reading.

Patroclus had thought he hated Achilles in the start, too. I shake the thought out of my head, slipping against the wall to sit on the floor, knees to my chest.

I hear tapping on the floor boards. I look to my side to see George, meowing softly. I take a deep breath in, then reach my hand out to pet him.

I hate him. And I know I do. He lingers in my mind like a fog in the mountains. The way his aura had softened, his smile, his warmth. I hated the thought of him, but then he smiled, and like Achilles, his face was like the sun.

××《☆》××

Night comes, and I lay in my bed, windows slightly open for the wind to come through. I'm restless, not getting a blink of sleep. I'm halfway through the project already. If Descamps had helped, it'd take longer, I think to myself, trying to still feel angry.

I don't feel angry at all anymore. There's a sort of regret in me for pushing him away. But at the same time, it's what he deserved. We had leaned in, and I didn't even know what I was expecting. I should've expected him to pull away, but what was he going to do in the first place?

Was he going to whisper in my ear? If so, what would he whisper to me? Was he going to say something about how I write, how I speak? A thought so blurry pops up in my head, and I brush it off. But it felt warm, so safe, so soft. There was a scent stuck in my head as I reminisced on the thought, trying to figure out what I was thinking.

I fall asleep in the process, dreaming about the thought instead. Limbs touching, bending, adjusting. I taste cigarettes and strawberries. I smell smoke and expensive perfume. I feel something soft against my lips, hands cupping my face, my neck, my head, and my waist.

He felt warm, tall, and heavy against me. I hold onto the dream, relaxing.

××《☆》××

I wake up, sweat coating my skin. George sits on the window sill, the sun making him shine like gold. I sit up and stretch. I get off my bed and head to my bathroom.

My hair is messy, and I have a bit of dried drool on the corner of my mouth. I wash my face to give myself some energy. I take my clothes off lazily, tying my hair up and getting inside my shower.

Once I finish, I comb and fix my hair, head to the kitchen for a quick breakfast, grab my things for school, including the unfinished project, and head to the front door.

A stack of paper tied with string greets me. I furrow my eyebrows. There's no note. I squat down and pick it up. I instantly know who it's from.

It's an essay about Achilles and Patroclus, detailed and opinionated. Written on the last piece of paper, sitting at the bottom of the stack, it reads, "I bought a copy. Finished it for you."

I stood still, processing the words, flipping through the papers to double check if they're authentic. I let out a scoff of surprise. My head snaps to a nearby clock. I'm going to be late if I don't start walking now.

My feet carry me to the front gates of Voltaire, the familiar faces and light chatter calming me. I spot Simone and Michèle, and I make my way to them.

××《☆》××

Rain starts to fall. The rain always brought me comfort. The different sounds it made when hitting different objects, the way it sways with the wind, the smell it gives the grass after.

I lag behind Simone and Michèle as they make their way to the field. I look for my satchel, then remember I'd forgotten my umbrella. I curse to myself, finding the satchel. It felt heavier than usual. I look inside, then see a clear umbrella. I open it and twist it around, gaping in awe. There's a note in the bag. I open to read it.

"Don't get sick from what you love." The note said.

There's only one person I've told about my love for rain.

I head outside, hiding my red face once I see a drenched one-eyed boy. I smile to Simone and Michèle, spotting them seated on a bench. I glance behind me as I sit down, finding an eye already looking at me with a small smile. His smile drops, and he looks away when I catch him. I purse my lips.

We watch the match, getting my mind off of the boy with ash brown hair. Once the match finishes, we all make our way home. I look up, seeing the rain pattering against the clear umbrella. I smile, watching the water droplets slip off the plastic, hearing the pattering of rain.

××《☆》××

The next day, I repeat my routine. I thoroughly read through Descamps' essay, rewritting it to fit in with mine. I should be thankful, and I am, but Descamps is making my head hurt with the way he acts. I walked to school, going subject after subject, until our presentation finally came.

Earlier, I'd slipped him the script, tucking it in his bag. I hope silently that he's memorised it.

Annick and Pichon are presenting in front of the class. I smiled softly, impressed by the presentation, and refreshed with the dynamic of the two. If only things had gone differently with Descamps, we could've been good friends. But we aren't. I don't think we ever will.

Once they finish, our teacher calls me and Descamps to the front. My anxiousness radiates off my body. Simone and Michèle give me a reassuring look. I nod at them slightly.

My eyes meet Descamps, and we're standing at the front of the class. They're quiet, and my eyes scan all of them. Surprisingly, Descamps starts.

"Me and Pardine are going to present the story of Achilles and Patroclus and the debate of their relationship; romantic or platonic?" Descamps looks at me, his hand hovering at the small of my back for support.

I start, and faster than I thought, I finish the presentation. The room claps, as they do with the others. I glance at Descamps but see him already walking back to his seat. My smile dropped slowly, remembering I was still on his bad side, and vice versa.

I walk back to my seat quietly. I don't even hear the score because my mind is too occupied with the thought of him. Would we stay angry at eachother always? At the same time, it shouldn't matter. I hate him. Right?

I shake my head. I hate him, surely. I should. I dig deep in my head for a reason. Bullying Pichon and Michèle, toying with my feelings (feelings I'm not aware whether it's good or bad), the way he acts, and smells, and feels when he's near.

I fucking hate him. I really do. I hate him, I repeat in my head. I hate him, I hate him, I hate him.

Then, like earlier, something inside me knows I don't mean it.

At the end of the day, I make peace with solitude. My mind wanders, and I notice that every time it does, they always end up with the face of a one-eyed boy.

Sure, Descamps gave me a finished essay for our project, and sure, he gave me an umbrella that was clear so I could see the rain. So what? I still hate him. Maybe just a little less now.

××《☆》××

End- Chapter three: He is half my soul, as the poets say.

Next- Chapter four: Flashy Magazines

××《☆》××

End of chapter three. Rollercoaster of emotions this one. It's a bit shorter than usual because i took out a bunch of the scenes in the series to focus on the emotions of reader and hopefully u guys get what im trying to give. Thanks for reading, requests r open, and see u next chapter!!!

#joseph descamps x reader #joseph descamps #mixte1963 #michèle magnan #simone palladino #jean pierre magnan #alain laubrac #enemies to lovers #fanfic #reader insert #slow burn #x reader

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olivexii · 2 months

Text

⁀➷ ┄─ ˑ IV . ☆ ──ㅤ Knee Socks

Joseph Descamps x reader

Chapter 4

Masterlist

Warnings: Smoking

┌── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──┐

“What’s going on between you and Descamps?” Simone asked me as we walked to school. The weather was worse than the last couple of weeks, clouds looming over and turning everything gray.

“What do you mean?”

“Some people saw you walking with him after school yesterday.”

“Oh right. I didn’t have an umbrella, so he let me use his. There’s nothing going on.” I reassured her.

“Good. Stay away from him, he’s bad news.” Michèle warned as we neared the school, pupils now flooding around us.

I didn’t respond to them, only focusing on not walking into someone. Simone was looking off towards Jean-Pierre, I guessed she was happy that he only got off with a warning, but there was something else in that look.

“Why are you looking at Jean-Pierre like that?” I whispered so Simone so Michèle wouldn’t hear.

“W-what?”

“You’re looking at him funny.”

“I’m not.” She stuttered out, a mix of happiness and concern on her face as she looked between me and the older boy.

“Do you like him?”

“Do I like him? I’ve barely spoke to him why would I like him!” She whispered.

“You compared him to Alain Delon the other day.”

“Yeah but… Just don’t tell anyone, please.” She turned to look at me, holding her pinky out.

“I wouldn’t do that to you.” I replied connecting our fingers.

“Thank you Y/N.” She smiled.

As we walked past Jean-Pierre and his friends, Simone kept turning around and smiling at him, Michèle completely oblivious.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

The previous week we had been doing multiple, beginning of term tests. Revision for it took up most of my time, meaning I hadn’t been able to go out a lot, only rarely for errands.

“Laubrac, some progress. That’s 4.” The teacher said as he handed the marked tests back. Most of the class laughed at this, while some remained silent.

I averaged in most classes, earning between 12-15, which I was proud of considering I didn’t really pay attention in some of the classes.

Annick usually scored higher than everyone, as well as Felbec. They both always came top of the class. Descamps however, didn’t do as well, scoring around 7 or 8 on every test.

The teachers forgave him though, considering he had lost an eye and experienced trauma. The bandage was soon replaced with a brown eye patch, which suited him more.

The next class I zoned out in, watching as the rain dropped down the window and made a soft patting sound.

“You are all going to prepare a presentation, but in pairs.”

My head snapped towards the teacher at this. Presenting in front of a class, especially with boys in the room, is horrible.

“I’m going to be picking these pairs, because if you were to work with your friend, you will get nothing done.” The teacher says as he looks towards Descamps and Dupin, who just laughed in response.

“Every pair of students will then present their work to the class.” I internally groaned at this, anxiety already building up inside of me. The teacher then began listing names off of the register.

“Sabiani and Pichon?” This pair made the class laugh, especially the boys in the back corner of the room, knowing they were going to bully Pichon because of it.

“Hey look, Pichon’s blushing. He’s turned pink like a pig!”

“That’s enough, Dupin.” The teacher called, sounding fed up of them.

“Do we have to work together in pairs, sir?” Annick raised her hand, Pichon looking at her in sadness.

“That’s the whole point of this exercise, and most importantly, your pair’s average, will be your grade.”

He then continued to rattle off some more names. Michèle was partnered with a random boy, and Simone was partnered with Applebaum.

“L/N and Descamps?”

I internally groaned again at this, picking at my fingernails before slowly looking back at Descamps. He had a small smirk plastered on his face, looking at Dupin before turning to look at me.

I wasn’t happy to be working with Descamps, knowing I would probably be the only one getting work done. But I wasn’t disappointed either, this way I get to know him a bit more.

“How does that sound?” The teacher asked happily once he had partnered everyone up.

Nobody replied, some looking at their partner and smiling while others just faces the front, not amused.

The bell rang, and everyone scrambled to grab their things.

“I feel sorry for you Y/N, having to work with Descamps. Surely you can ask to change?” Simone said as we walked down the school stairs, heading for break.

“I’m sure it will be fine. He won’t do any work anyway, so I can do the presentation on whatever I want.” I smiled back.

“Yeah, I guess that’s an advantage.” Michèle shrugged as we went to sit down on the benches outside.

“Me and Simone are going to ask if we can work together. We don’t really feel comfortable working with a boy after what happened a couple of weeks ago.” Michèle said, fiddling with her hands on her lap.

“I don’t blame you, I don’t feel comfortable either but, it’s either Descamps or a random boy I don’t know.” I shrugged and they agreed with me.

Michèle starts talking, while Simone smiles, looking into the distance. I look in the direction she is, and Jean-Pierre is walking towards us, a book in his hand.

“Here, this is yours.” He says to Michèle, holding it out to her, “I put it in my bag by mistake.”

“Thanks.” The girl smiles.

“Bye then.” He walks away abruptly, Simone’s smile fading when he didn’t even glance at her.

“English isn’t the problem for me, it’s maths.” Michelè begins to rant, “I got three out of twenty on the last test.”

“Three out of twenty isn’t so bad.” Simone sighs, still looking at Jean-pierre. I nudge her slightly with my elbow, smiling.

“L/N. Can we talk?” A voice comes from behind. All three of us turn around at the same time. Descamps is stood there, not looking at the other two, just me.

“Uhm sure.” I say wearily, looking at the other two girls, who are just glaring the boy down. He starts to walk away, and I stand up to follow him, leaving my bag with the two girls.

Once we made it a fair distance from Simone and Michèle he turns to me, leaning his back against the wall that we walked towards.

“We’ll have to go to your place, for the project.” He says, not looking at me, just pulling a cigarette and lighter out of his pocket.

“Why mine?” I ask, pulling my cardigan closer to my body, the September air hitting me.

“Because we can’t go to mine.” He blows smoke, looking straight ahead.

“Why?”

“Because. We can’t go to mine.” He says more sternly this time.

“We can’t go to mine either.”

“Why not?” He turns to me.

“My brother, he doesn’t like it when I have boys in the house. My mother is the same.” I cross my arms over my chest and look up at him.

“What? What if you tell them it’s for a school project.”

“I don’t know how they’ll feel.” I shrug.

“Oh well. Meet me after school. We can go straight to yours.” He turns away to take another drag of his cigarette and blow the smoke away from me.

“Okay, by the school gates?”

“Yes.”

I nod at him awkwardly.

“Is there anything else you wanted to say, or is that it?” I ask him, tilting my head.

He hesitates for a moment, before mumbling that he had nothing else to say, and walks off towards his friends.

I stand there for a few seconds, watching him, before turning on my heel and walking back towards the two girls on the bench.

“What was that about?” They asked once I had sat down.

“Nothing, just the project.” I shook my head, still thinking about the interaction.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

Like he said, Joseph was sat on a wall by the school gates, smoking again. As I approached him he turned to me and threw the cigarette away, stomping on it once he had came down from the wall.

“Sorry if you waited long, I was talking with Simone and Michèle.”

“It’s fine, had the chance to have a cigarette anyway.” He nodded, “Are we going?”

“Yeah.”

Everyone had left by now. The streets were silent except for the occasional rumble of a passing car.

“So, what did you want to do the project on?” I asked, turning to him as we walked up my street.

“Not sure, you can figure that out.” He replied, looking between his feet and the street ahead.

“Okay. Are you going to do anything in this project?”

“If you tell me to.” He replied, smirking at the ground.

“Descamps you have to do something, it can’t just be me that would be unfair.” I said when we approached my house.

“I will do something. I’ll be emotional support for you.”

“Oh, as if you know what emotional support is.” I laughed, opening the door, “Michael!”

My brother came out from the kitchen as we stood in the doorway.

“This is Descamps. We have to do a project for French.” I told him.

“Why are you with a boy?” He asked, chewing on an apple.

“We got paired up by the teacher.” I shuffled on my feet, gripping my bag tighter.

“Right, okay. Keep your door open and both of you don’t sit on the bed at the same time.” Michael replied, pointing his finger between us as he glared Descamps down.

“Yeah I know.” I sighed and walked past him, Descamps closing the front door and following.

“Door open!” My brother called as we walked up the stairs.

“I know!”

As I walked into my room, setting my bag down on a chair, taking my cardigan off and putting it on the back of the chair as well. Joseph stood in the doorway, looking around.

“What are you doing?” I asked, turning around to him and leaning my hand on my chair.

“You live here?”

“Yes…”

“You look like you do.” He said, taking his jacket off.

“Is that supposed to be an insult?” I took his jacket off of him and hung it on a hook with my cardigans.

“No.” He replied simply, turning around to slightly shut the door, leaving about a 4 inch gap.

“So,” He turned to me, “What do you want to do the project on?”

“Camus?”

“Sounds good.”

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

After about 15 minutes of me researching books and writing notes, Descamps finally spoke up.

“Why do you hang around with Michèle?” He said, leaning against the headboard of my bed.

“What?” I replied, sitting on the floor and leaning against the bed frame, open books scattered around me.

“I don’t get why you like her so much.”

“She’s my friend.”

“She’s an attention seeker. You don’t deserve to be around people like that.”

“She’s not an attention seeker.” I sigh, looking up at him and putting down the book I was holding.

“Did you see the way she was dressed on the first day.”

“It was a hot day. Anyway you could have ignored her but you decided to pour water all over her.”

“She’ll get over it.” He said, sitting up more and looking away from me.

I continue to look at him before picking up the book and going back to reading.

“He only got off with a warning.”

“Hm?” I hummed, not looking up from my book.

“Jean-Pierre. He only got off with a warning, while I’m stuck with an eye patch for the rest of my life.”

I turn around fully to face him, leaning my arm on the top of the bed by his legs.

“Yeah it’s not fair, I get that. You have every right to be mad at him. Besides, you look cool with an eye patch.”

“You think?” He turns to look at me, smiling and sitting up more.

“Yeah, it suits you.”

He laughs and gets up from the bed, moving a few books to the side to sit next to me on the floor.

“You should sit on the bed for a bit, the floor can get uncomfortable.”

“Won’t you be uncomfortable though?”

“No, I’ll be fine.” He shook his head and looks down at his lap.

“Thank you.” I say, putting my hand on his shoulder to pull myself up and going to lean against the wall, my legs now a few inches away from the back of his head.

“Is there anything I could do?” He says, turning around to look at me.

“Umm… I guess you could make a few notes on the context of L'etranger. I was going to do that next anyway.” I replied, sitting up and leaning down to pick up a book and give it to him.

He takes the book as I stand up. Walking over to my desk to get a pen and some paper for him, I feel his eyes following me. I smile slightly and turn around.

“Here.” I say, handing him the stuff.

“Thanks.” He takes them and opens the book.

I go to sit down next to him on the floor, picking up my own book and carrying on reading.

“Aren’t you going to sit on the bed?” He turned to me.

“I’m making sure you don’t mess the project up. It goes towards my grade as well.” I reply, leaning my head against my bed frame.

“R-right.” The boy says, maintaining eye contact with me but not saying anything else.

“Y/N?” I hear from down the corridor, my mother’s footsteps becoming louder, before she enters the room. “Your brother said you’re working on a project with a boy.”

“Y-yes. This is Joseph Descamps.” I say, sitting up straight.

Descamps stands up and goes to shake my mother’s hand, “Hello.”

“Are you staying for dinner?” She asks.

He turns to look at me questioningly, and I give him a nod.

“If that’s alright.” He looks back around.

“Yes that’s fine. It’s nice to know Y/N is actually making friends and she’s not just hauled up in her room like she always is.”

I feel my face turn red at this and rest my head against the palm of my hand. Joseph turns around laughing at me, putting his hands in his pockets as my mother walks away.

“I like her.” He carries on laughing as he goes to sit down next to me, closer this time.

My face goes even redder at the close distance between us, and I try to distract myself by reading.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

“So, Joseph, have you lived here for a while?” My mother asks, trying to break the silence around the table while we eat.

“Yeah, my whole life, in two different houses though. The first one was just outside of the city, but now I live a few streets down from here.” He replies after swallowing a mouthful of carrots.

“That’s nice. I’m guessing you like it here then.”

“Yeah, sometimes.” He replies, before turning his head to me, asking me to say something so he could get a break.

“How was work?” I ask my mother.

“It was alright, a lot of customers at the shop.”

I nod, not knowing what to say next. My brother, sat across from Joseph doesn’t say anything, just eating his food and staring down the boy across from him, making the whole situation more awkward.

When we had finished eating, I took all of the plates to the kitchen, offering to help my mother clean up.

“Should I go pack away the books upstairs?” Joseph asks me.

“Yeah, thank you. I think we’ve done enough for today.” I smile, which he returns and starts making his way up the stairs.

I clean everything up for a few minutes before making my way upstairs. Descamps is sat down, stacking all of the books neatly at the foot of my bed.

“Thank you.” I smile at him.

He looks up at me standing over him before holding his hand out to me. I take it and pull him up.

“I should probably get going now, it’s getting dark.” He says, walking past me to my door and taking his coat off the hook.

“I’ll walk you.”

“You don’t have to.”

“I have nothing better to do.” Walking to grab my cardigan, I notice it’s not in its usual place, placed on the seat of the chair instead of the back of it. Weird.

I put it on anyway and turn to Joseph, who’s stood watching me.

“C’mon.” He says, and walks out of my room. I smile at him behind his back.

Once we made our way downstairs we go to my mother.

“Thank you for the meal madam.” Descamps says as he sticks his hand out towards her.

“You’re welcome. You’ll have to come over again, I have a lot more questions to ask you.” She smiles, shaking his hand as he laughs.

“Let’s go before it’s dark.” I tell him, smiling at my mother as I gently grab the boys arm and walk towards the door.

We exchange goodbyes, and as soon as I close the door behind me I let out a sigh.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, I’m just tired.”

“Are you sure.” He says, stepping towards me.

“I’m sure. Let’s get going, it’s getting dark.”

“Want to get rid of me that easily?” He smiles.

“Yes.” I say sarcastically, laughing as we start to walk.

After a few minutes I notice we had gotten closer to each other, our shoulders almost touching. I look up at him, admiring his face underneath the golden street laps. Why is he so horrible to Michèle, but completely fine with me?

The boy turns to look at me, and I quickly look away, now focusing on my shoes as he laughs quietly to himself.

“This is my house.” He says and stops outside of a brown door. He turns to me, not saying anything.

“Oh, you don’t live that far away.”

He shakes his head, still looking at me.

“I’ll see you tomorrow.” I start, not knowing what else to say.

“See you tomorrow.” He replies, smiling as he goes to open his door.

Quickly, I stand on my toes and kiss his cheek before quickly turning around and walking away, not wanting to see how he reacted.

After walking a few feet, I turn my head back, and he’s still stood there looking at me, hand on the doorknob, and a blush on his face.

I smile to myself and carry on walking home.

└── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──┘

A/N: how on earth do i put a submission box on my profile i don’t know how to use tumblr 😭

#joseph descamps #joseph descamps x reader #mixte1963 #x reader #reader insert #vassili schneider #fem reader #enemies to lovers

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fictional-detective-tournament · 7 months

Text

List of accepted characters:

This will be updated as I review submissions.

Lord El Melloi II/Waver Velvet from the Fate series

Ranpo Edogawa from Bungo Stray Dogs

Atsushi Nakajima from Bungo Stray Dogs

Osamu Dazai from Bungo Stray Dogs

Doppo Kunikida from Bungo Stray Dogs

Kenji Miyazawa from Bungo Stray Dogs

Junichiro Tanizaki from Bungo Stray Dogs

Kyoka Izumi from Bungo Stray Dogs

Akiko Yosano from Bungo Stray Dogs

Yukito Ayatsuji from Bungo Stray Dogs: Another Story

Ryuu Amakusa from Tantei Gakuen Q

Kyuu Renjo from Tantei Gakuen Q

Megumi Minami from Tantei Gakuen Q

Kintarou Tooyama from Tantei Gakuen Q

Kazuma Narusawa from Tantei Gakuen Q

Lady Love Dies from Paradise Killer

Shinichi Kudo/Conan Edogawa from Detective Conan

Shenanigan Swift from The Swifts: A Dictionary of Scoundrels

Phenomena Swift from The Swifts: A Dictionary of Scoundrels

Erf from The Swifts: A Dictionary of Scoundrels

Tsukauchi Naomasa from Boku no Hero Academia

Carlton Lassiter from Psych

Juliet O'Hara from Psych

Damien Darkblood from Invincible (The TV adaptation)

Shawn Spencer from Psych

Nick Valentine from Fallout 4

Will Graham from Hannibal

Goro Akechi from Persona 5

Neal Caffrey from White Collar

Erin Lindsay from Chicago PD

Aniq Adjaye from The Afterparty

Detective Danner from The Afterparty

Hank Voight from Chicago PD

Antonio Dawson from Chicago PD

Bruce Wayne/Batman from DC Comics

Tim Drake from DC Comics

Julia Argent from Carmen Sandiego

Alvin Olinsky from Chicago PD

Chase Devineaux from Carmen Sandiego

Shikanoin Heizou from Genshin Impact

Beverly Katz from Hannibal

Sam Vimes from Discworld

Herlock Sholmes from The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles

Columbo from Columbo

Hercule Poirot from the Hercule Poirot series

Dick Gumshoe from Ace Attorney

Jay Halstead from Chicago PD

Kim Burgess from Chicago PD

Kevin Atwater from Chicago PD

Adam Ruzek from Chicago PD

Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg from the Commissaire Adamsberg series

Sean Roman from Chicago PD

Llewellyn Watts from Murdoch Mysteries

Sheldon Jin from Chicago PD

Parker Pyne from Parker Pyne Investigates

Karen Vick from Psych

Keith Mars from Veronica Mars

Harley Quin from The Mysterious Mr. Quinn

Ariadne Oliver from the works of Agatha Christie

Burton Guster from Psych

James Gordon from DC Comics

Veronica Mars from Veronica Mars

Nancy Drew from Nancy Drew

Henry Spencer from Psych

Vinnie Van Lowe from Veronica Mars

Chloe Decker from Lucifer

Dan Espinoza from Lucifer

Peter Burke from White Collar

Clinton Jones from White Collar

Reese Hughes from White Collar

Verges from Much Ado About Nothing

Auguste Dupin from the Dark Tales series

Blue from Blue’s Clues

Françoise Dupont from Fantômette

Renee Montoya from DC Comics

Kostas Charitos from the Kostas Charitos Series

Gertrude Loveday from the Ryder and Loveday series

Phryne Fisher from Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries

Raquel Murillo from Money Heist

Miss Jane Marple from the works of Agatha Christie

Javert from Les Misérables

Inspector Gadget from Inspector Gadget

Patrick Jane from Mentalist

Daisy Day from Anansi Boys

Joss Carter from Person of Interest

Arthur Lester from Malevolent

Sherlock Holmes from Sherlock Holmes

Juno Steel from the Penumbral Podcast

Lilly Rush from Cold Case

Sherlock Holmes from the Beekeeper’s Picnic

Koichi Zenigata from Lupin III

Loki from Mythical Detective Loki Ragnarok

Hildibrand Manderville from Final Fantasy XIV

Shotaro Hidari from Kamen Rider W

Terezi Pyrope from Homestuck

Hershel Layton from the Professor Layton series

Shuichi Saihara from Danganronpa

Miles "Tails" Prower from The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog

Kyoko Kirigiri from Danganronpa

Adrian Monk from Monk

Nightbeat from Transformers

L from Death Note

Dale Vandermeer from the Rusty Lake series

Yuma Kokohead from Master Detective Archives: Raincode

Vivia Twilight from Master Detective Archives: Raincode

Saguru Hakuba from Magic Kaito

Benoit Blanc from the Knives Out series

Inspector Cabanela from Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective

Phoenix Wright from Ace Attorney

Nagito Komaeda from Danganronpa

Looker from Pokemon

Kaname Date from AI: The Somnium Files

Makoto Naegi from Danganronpa

Heiji Hattori from Detective Conan

Masumi Sera from Detective Conan

Little Red Riding Hood from Once Upon a Crime

Enola Holmes from Enola Holmes

Detective Pikachu from Detective Pikachu

Tom Barnaby from Midsomer Murders

Riz Gukgak from Fantasy High

Seiji Nanatsuki from Special 7: Special Crime Investigation Unit

Shiori Ichinose from Special 7: Special Crime Investigation Unit

Makoto Date from Yakuza

Richard Castle from Castle

Nick Burkhardt from Grimm

Dr Temperance Brennan from Bones

Catherine Chandler from Beauty and the Beast

Sokka from Avatar: the Last Airbender

Yagami Takayuki from Judgement

Workaholic Detective from Process of Elimination

Stone from City of Angels

Angus McDonald from The Adventure Zone

Gina Lestrade from The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles

Bobby Bronson from Roar

Cellbit from QSMP

Hunch Curios from Mentopolis

Hazel Wong from Murder Most Unladylike

Frog Detective from the Frog Detective Series

Victorique de Blois from Gosick

Gabriel Utterson from The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Sherlock Holmes from BBC Sherlock

Jacques Clouseau from Pink Panther

Olivia Dunham from Fringe

Joseph Rouletabille from the Rouletabille series

Daisy Wells from Murder Most Unladylike

Pippa Fitz-Amobi from A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder series

Lisbeth Salander from the Millennium series

Wato Hojo from Process of Elimination

Ideal Detective from Process of Elimination

Renegade Detective from Process of Elimination

Techie Detective from Process of Elimination

Bookworm Detective from Process of Elimination

Posh Detective from Process of Elimination

Doleful Detective from Process of Elimination

Gourmet Detective from Process of Elimination

Rowdy Detective from Process of Elimination

Mystic Detective from Process of Elimination

Downtown Detective from Process of Elimination

Armor Detective from Process of Elimination

Halara Nightmare from Master Detective Archives: Raincode

Mashita Satoru from Spirit Hunter: Death Mark

Dogberry from Much Ado About Nothing

Shi Qiang from The Three Body Problem

Azuma Tsuyuri from Clock Over Orquesta

Cherry Ames from the Cherry Ames series

Leroy "Encyclopedia" Brown from the Encyclopedia Brown series

Lobster Cop from the Frog Detective Series

Sandra the Fairytale Detective from Sandra the Fairytale Detective

Geronimo Stilton from the Geronimo Stilton series

Paul Prospero from The Vanishing of Ethan Carter

Elijah Baley from the Robot series

Dirk Gently from Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency

Suiri from Pop'n Music Lapistoria

Joan Watson from Elementary

Roquier from Puyo Puyo Quest

Holly Short from Artemis Fowl

Jo Martinez from Forever

Alex Parrish from Quantico

Cristóbal Cuevas from Cable Girls

Oskar Rheinhart from Vienna Blood

Emily Prentiss from Criminal Minds

Jane Doe from Blindspot

Dick Grayson from DC Comics

Ziva David from NCIS

Nell Jones from NCIS: Los Angeles

Lou Ransone from 9-1-1

Megan Hunt from Body of Proof

Cal Lightman from Lie to Me

Carrie Wells from Unforgettable

Spy Rise from Skylanders: SWAP Force

Flavia de Luce from the Flavia de Luce series

Camille Bordey from Death in Paradise

Florence Cassel from Death in Paradise

Jessica Jones from Jessica Jones

Charlie Eppes from Numb3rs

Elizabeth Keen from The Blacklist

James Hathaway from Lewis

Vern Loomis from Why Women Kill

Erika Furudo from Umineko

Sissel from Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective

Lafcadio Boone from The Sexy Brutale

Lynne from Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective

Mabel Mora from Only Murders in the Building

Oliver Putnam from Only Murders in the Building

Charles Haden Savage from Only Murders in the Building

Jowd from Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective

Scooby Doo from Scooby Doo

Daphne from Scooby Doo

Fred from Scooby Doo

Velma from Scooby Doo

Shaggy from Scooby Doo

Naoto Shirogane from Persona 4

Fenton Hardy from the Hardy Boys

Ema Skye from Ace Attorney

Natsuko Aki from Re: Cutie Honey

Naomi Misora from Death Note

Sakurako Kujou from Beautiful Bones -Sakurako's Investigation-

MaoMao from the Apothecary Diaries

Vic Sage/The Question from DC Comics

Detective Chimp from DC Comics

Madame Vastra from Doctor Who

Terry from Rune Factory 5

Cecil from Rune Factory 5

Chromedome from Transformers

Xie Lian from Heaven Official’s Blessing

Phosphophyllite from Houseki no Kuni

Sam Spud from Between the Lions

Dana Scully from the X-Files

Fox Mulder from the X-Files

Sherlock Holmes from Elementary

Barbie from the Detective Barbie series

Bill Stork from Hoodwinked

Nicky Flippers from Hoodwinked

Hercule Poirot from Agatha Christie's Great Detectives Poirot and Marple

Ross Sylibus from Armitage III

Kansuke Yamato from Detective Conan

Kirill Vrubel from Double Decker! Doug & Kirill

Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation

Spencer Reed from Criminal Minds

Harrier Du Bois from Disco Elysium

Mário Fofoca from Elas Por Elas

Roxy Hunter from the Roxy Hunter series

Dr. Thomas Silkstone from the Dr. Thomas Silkstone series

Endeavour Morse from the Endeavor series

Vera Stanhope from Vera

Kristin Sims from the Brokenwood Mysteries

Brenda Johnson from The Closer

Rex from Hudson and Rex

Alec Hardy from Broadchurch

Billie Webber from Unit 42

Hannah Zeiler from Murder by the Lake

Sherlock Holmes from Moriarty the Patriot

Helena Wayne from DC Comics

Angel from Angel: The Series and Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Nick Knight from Forever Knight

Navia from Genshin Impact

Luo Wenzhou from Mo Du

Brother Cadfael from the Brother Cadfael Chronicles

Miss Maud Silver from the Miss Silver series

Fei Du from Mo Du

Mitsuko Hoshino from My Dear Detective: Mitsuko's Case Files

Saku Yoshida from My Dear Detective: Mitsuko's Case Files

Jake Peralta from Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Steven Stone from Pokémon

Anthony Lockwood from Lockwood and Co.

Thea Stilton from the Thea Stilton series

Saito Yakumo from Psychic Detective Yakumo

Dipper Pines from Gravity Falls

Pennington from Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door

Jessica Fletcher from Murder She Wrote

Tetsuo Tsutsumi from Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo

Jun Erio from Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo

Richter Kai from Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo

Abe Lincoln from Who Killed Markiplier?

Steve Carella from the 87th Precinct Series

C. Auguste Dupin from the works of Edgar Allen Poe

Gesicht from Pluto

#fictional detective tournament #accepted characters

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garadinervi · 2 years

Photo

«XX Siècle», Nouvelle série, [XXX Année], No. 30, Panorama 68**, Directed by Gualtieri di San Lazzaro, Imprimerie Amilcare Pizzi, Paris and Milano, June 1968 [Libreria El Astillero, Cantabria. Studio Bibliografico Marini, Bari-Roma]. Texts by Pierre Courthion, Dore Ashton, Eugène Ionesco, Maurizio Fagiolo, Zoran Krzisnik, A. Nakov, Jean Dypréau, Jacques Dupin, Marino Marini, Julien Alvard among others. Two original lithographs Marino Marini and Maurice Estève. Cover Art by Alberto Magnelli

#graphic design #art #lithograph #magazine #cover #magazine cover #xx siècle #gualtieri di san lazzaro #maurice estève #marino marini #alberto magnelli #imprimerie amilcare pizzi #1960s

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by-lalani · 3 months

Text

currently writing a joseph descamps fic and bruh, the show covers next to none of the school year lmao

my fic has more of my imagination than actual canon at this point, and i’m dying lololol

lowkey losing the plot BUT WE’LL GET BACK TO EPISODE 3 SOON😭

(currently at chapter 16 and episode 3 is nowhere in sight)

someone save the characters from me and my random plot lines

#writing #creative writing #mixte1963 #voltaire high #joseph descamps #jean dupin #charles vergoux #jean pierre magnan #mixte 1963 #french

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visndcaitswhore · 1 month

Text

Amavi|| Ch.3

(I forgot to publish this here, I'm sorry.)

"So, who deserves to be class president?"

"Annick." Gabrielle whispered, at Giaruds question, loud enough for Pichon to hear her since he was still forced to sit next to the 'pretty boy' and the boy turned to look at her. Her words had been filled with spite, and considering the fact she wasn't even doing him the favor of acknowladging him, keeping her eyes on the board, he assumed it was also directed at him.

But when two people lifted their hands, and one of them was Descamps she slowly turned to look at Pichon. The boy had never felt so nervous in his life like he did under her glare "What did you do?" she hissed

"This isn't my fault." he whispered back, lacking her bite "Besides you don't want me to be class president."

"Oh, so Annick is stupid for giving you the date out of everyone?"

"Annick is not stupid"

"Bravo, great observation." she mock clapped without making any sound

Now Pichon was about to give a snide remark back, not understanding what her problem is. Besides, he actually believed Annick was the smartest one of their classmates so she deserved the title better than anyone, just because that wasn't allowed doesn't mean it was his fault but then Giraud spoke up making them whip their heads forward again, paying their full attention.

Felbec gave the wrong answer (to which Gabrielle smiled), that left Descamps, who obviously had the right answer but just when both Pichon and Gabrielle thought that that was it and where about to resume their fight the teacher asked;

"And where did you get that information?"

Seeing an opportunity, Gabrielle started nudging Pichon with her elbow, starting off lightly but when he wouldn't budge she got more forceful till he finally got up, otherwise she might have beat him up.

"I gave him the date."

Now, Pichon was officially the class president. The entire class was looking at him, Gabrielle looked at Annick who met her gaze, clearly this was bittersweet for her. She took it all with grace, of course, but at least Pichon was president. The blonde had chosen him, at the end of the day. At least she got to do that.

It was a victory.

Then there was Descamps, and by extension Gabrielle who, simply put, experienced a failure. Because Jean-Pierre simply got a slap on the wrist that was never going to actually affect his grades, or his future. Far better than a missing eye.

When word got out, the class had just ended and everyone had already packed up their supplies, looking forward to going home. Simone came up to Gabrielle anouncing the news, throwing her arms around her in excitement. Such was her excitement, that she failed to recognise Gabrielle's bewilderment at the fact. Even when she didn't feel her hug back, the Algerian did not pay any mind for she pulled back quickly, running off to find Michele.

That left Descamps, Dupin and Gabrielle in the classroom. All of them had moved past the shock, now only feeling the unfairness of the situation.

Why did this wound Gabrielle? Did it affect her pride, because she had bet on the losing side? Or was it simply due to the fact that at the end of the day she just knew Joseph the longest?

The Magnan siblings weren't her friends, but neither was Joseph. He hadn't been for a long time.

That was your decision.

Then her mind settled on a reason she liked more: Unfairness.

"And to think I wanted to complain about Giraud." Now she knew that she had to simply endure using the boys toilets and being called a boy on a daily basis. Thinking about how this might be her school life till graduation (if she made it that long), made her grind her teeth, her fist slamming on the table next to her. Dupin was the only one to jump at the sudden outburst, but he was more confused than startled when his best friend said;

"Maybe if she takes your eye out they will give her 8 days expulsion." Joseph spat out, eyebrows furrowed. Gabrielle was taken aback by the sudden urge to smooth over the lines between his brows so she just grab her stuff and stormed out.

The blonde simply watched her walk away.

"Do you know each other?" Dupin finally asked, once the girl was gone. He had spent the better part of their 'conversation' (if one could even call it that) watching the two. It was curious. He was certain his best friend was into someone for a while but there is simply no way... He was checking her out that's for sure but that didn't mean anything.

"She is my neighbor."

On his way home, Joseph was contemplanting murder. Especially because as he walked home his blind side became more obvious than ever before. He wasn't used to it, and it made him furious that he had to get used it because this would be his life from now on. It still hadn't sunk in completely, sometimes he woke up and forgot, or hoped that it was a dream. That he would wake up and be whole again. And his mother would not look at him with those sad eyes, as if looking at him pained her.

He assumed it did. Everyone looked at him weird now.

The only ones who did not offer words of pity were Dupin and Gabrielle. Strange how the latter wasn't even his friend anymore, yet he felt her as close as before.

'It makes you look tough. Lot's of girls go for that'

'How will you get through with all the girls checking you out?'

Joseph paused wondering if it was strange that the two mirrored each other so clearly. Is it weird he chose to be close to people with similar personalities? He had a type, maybe. People who knew he didn't need pity.

One of these people he found leaning on the wall next to her house door. Her bag was leaning on the wall next to her feet, and she didn't show any signs of actually wanting to go in. Not that he found it strange, she did this everyday after school. For some quite, perhaps. Joseph reconned it was difficult to get that with a six year old in the house. The youngest Blanc daughter was for sure spirited, talkative and absolutely obsessed with her eldest sister. She was a cute kid, the blonde had to admit, but exhausting like all kids.

Joseph walked over to her, leaning on the wall right next to her. She didn't say anything, neither did he. And since she didn't wish him to leave, he just lit a cigarette, passing it over to Gabrielle who accepted it. The next minutes were spend in piece when there was the sound of something breaking in the house.

The boy watched her with a smile as she closed her eyes in exasperation when a small "Oops." was heard from the room right above them.

Gabrielle's room.

"That was mine."

He laughed at her tone "You can't even scold her, she is cute."

"I can and I will."

One thing Joseph would never complain about was being an only child. As if being able to read his thoughts, Gabrielle glared at him "Lucky bastard."

Chewing at the inside of her cheek, which was already quite scarred, Gabrielle was trying to answer one question till she couldn't hold back anymore "Why did Pichon give you the date?" She just had to know. The two boys didn't even like each other so this was weird and she couldn't ask Pichon

"Maybe I found out by myself" he countered making her scoff

"Not even Pichon found out by himself."

"Sabiani." he immediately said, slightly catching her by suprise. Joseph had a brain for being an asshole, and for hitting on girls. Sometimes she forgot he could use it for other reasons as well.

"He wanted me to stop fucking with Applebaum." he admitted with as a shrug. Gabrielle scowled at the mention. Applebaum was one person she actually wanted Joseph to be an asshole to. He was just... weird. The way he stared at their chest was ten times worse than that of her other classmates. It was like that's all he saw, nothing else.

"I don't like Applebaum. He looks at us weird. The girls I mean."

The blonde gave her a look and she explained "I know you all stare at us. But when we talk to the rest of you at least you have the decency to look at our faces. He is just.... " a disgusted scowl was all she could do to describe how he made her feel. It was a disgust that went beyond words, it rooted in every girls bones and it was a certain disgust they would all feel at some point. Feeling like they were the disgusting ones.

"With Pichon being your friend ,"he basically spat out the word "you could always ask him to stop it."

Gabrielle turned her entire body to face him and he did not shy away from her disbelieving gaze.

"Pichon is not my fucking friend."

"Do you always whisper to your non-friends this close?" To prove a point he stepped closer, inching his face closer to Gabrielle's who, as he expected held her ground. "Go on. Demonstrate."

"Careful, the last time you acted all high and mighty you lost an eye."

Both of them stubborn and head strong, none of them wanted to be the first to back down or break eye contact. To do so would mean failure, and as the day had proven they were sore losers.

Another crushing sound made Gabrielle whip her head to the side, trying to decipher what else had gotten damaged. She realized quite quickly that it propably wasn't hers when the reality downed on her. He had been close, so close, that when she had turned her head at the sound her nose almost grazed his. She should've taken a step back, she definitely had space, but she didn't.

Listening to her own advice, Gabrielle took a step back even though Joseph wasn't as close anymore. No amount of distance seemed good enough at the moment- she needed him to dissapear from her sight. Swiftly she fished four cigarettes from her pocket, held them to his chest (totally unnecessary, she knew it), grabbed her stuff and got inside the house.

Joseph just stood there, holding the cigarettes to his chest with one thing in his mind: Applebaum's life was going to be hell from now on.

It's not like he was going to honor the deal with Pichon, especially seeing as he didn't become class president. Besides, Applebaum was the easiest person one could mess with, it's not like he had much going for him. Though he had originally his sights set on Pichon, who seemed to be getting far too close with Gabrielle for his liking.

Killing two birds with one stone didn't sound so bad.

"Stay out of my room!" Gabrielle screamed at the top of her lungs before slamming the door behind her, ignoring her mum's protests to her behavior. She needed to think - No, in fact, she knew exactly what she wanted- to not be around Descamps. Just because she had two conversations with him doesn't mean she wanted to be his fucking friend.

"No more being friendly with Jose- fuck,- with Descamps."

"Tomorrow you are helping your dad with the shop!" her mums voice bellowed around the house

"I have school!" Gabrielle reminded, her tone matching her mums. It was a miracle that the house was still standing with their voices shaking its core.

"Not tomorrow." The finality in her mothers voice did not allow any arguements to be raised.

Gabrielle's fist connected with the wooden door behind her, the stinging in her hand going unnoticed by the girl who simply sighed.

Helping out her dad in the store meant waking up at 4 o'clock sharp, grabbing breakfast in silence since both she and her dad were too out of it yet to be able to converse with anything other than grunts. Get dressed, quickly because her dad was waiting at the door with their stuff and a hat in hand which he put on Gabrielle's head when she came down.

The silence followed them throughout the day but none of them seemed to mind. On the contrary, Gabrielle found peace more in her fathers quite than in any word they could ex-change. It's not that they understood each other in some soul type of way, like Gabrielle had read plenty of times in poetry. They had just grown used to each other, family was like that. Not some complex understanding and over complicated talks, simply understanding and love after years of spending them together.

The girl was pleased with the calmness of the day.

Said calmness did not last because in the evening there was a knock at the door and when the girl went to open it, cursing God for making her get up after just having the opportunity to lay down after a bath, and cursing it even harder when on the other side of her door was Descamps and Dupin with matching mischievious expressions. Gabrielle, in her shock, womdered if this is how she and her sisters looked to their parents when they got in trouble.

"We are your partners for a project."

#joseph descamps #mixte1963 #annick mixte1963 #voltaire high #simone mixte #fanfic #ao3 #wattpad #amavi mixte #dupin mixte1963 #alain laubrac

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inconsistentcharacterizationcomp · 11 months

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Inconsistent Characterization Comp.

Judging Criteria

This was copied from the submission/judging rules (that's why the numbers are bad)

0. Standard tournament rules: be polite, et cetera.

1. Inconsistent characterization must be present past the first part- no Early Installment Weirdness.

4. Liberty is reserved to add more rules

5. Inconsistency must be in canon, not fandom misinterpreting. That's a separate thing.

6. Character development is not inconsistency.

7. Do not do a Squimbus v. Pikachu; don't vote for one character that doesn't really fit it over a character you don't know.

Match links below the cut. The winner of Quat A will face off against Quat B; same for C and D. The winner of Oct 1 will face off against Oct 2 for that Quat.

Quat A

Oct 1

Bruce Wayne v. Mindy St. Clare

Victor Veloci v. Maki Harukawa

Wheatley v. Odysseus

Jean-Luc Picard v. Doug Heffernan

Oct 2

Erwin Caruso v. Touraine

Lucifer v. Ronin

Gwen v. Eric Foreman

Daenerys Targaryen v. Lotor

Quat B

Oct 1

Shadow the Hedgehog v. André Harris

Jamie Lannister v. Apollo Justice

Quinn Fabray v. Princess Audrey

Kathryn Janeway v. Max

Oct 2

Rodger Blair v. James Ironwood

Loki v. Danny Phantom

Chloe Bourgeois v. Accelerator

Hollyleaf v. Puff Puff Humbert

Quat C

Oct 1

The Doctor v. Talia Al Ghul

Blaine Anderson v. Chandra Nalaar

Phoenix Wright v. Sky

Marinette Dupin-Cheng v. Clint Barton

Oct 2

Miles 'Tails' Prower v. Britta Perry

Brambleclaw v. Akane Kurashiki

Rolf 'Max' Maxwell v. Rafael Barba

Julian Bashir v. Duncan

Quat D

Oct 1

Dean Winchester v. Justice

Cersei Lannister v. Lusamine

Neil 'Buzz' Buzzmati v. Kreacher Pierson

Thaddeus (Thad) Thawne II v. Amy Rose

Oct 2

Fiona Flagstaff v. Alya Cessaire

Wednesday Addams v. Gawain

Jason Todd v. Rumpelstiltskin

Clear Sky v. Erik Lehnsherr

#inconsistent characterization comp #tournament info #tournament bracket

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rockislandadultreads · 1 year

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Book Recommendations: New Historical Mysteries

A Dangerous Business by Jane Smiley

Monterey, 1851. Ever since her husband was killed in a bar fight, Eliza Ripple has been working in a brothel. It seems like a better life, at least at first. The madam, Mrs. Parks, is kind, the men are (relatively) well behaved, and Eliza has attained what few women have: financial security. But when the dead bodies of young women start appearing outside of town, a darkness descends that she can’t resist confronting. Side by side with her friend Jean, and inspired by her reading, especially by Edgar Allan Poe’s detective Dupin, Eliza pieces together an array of clues to try to catch the killer, all the while juggling clients who begin to seem more and more suspicious.

Eliza and Jean are determined not just to survive, but to find their way in a lawless town on the fringes of the Wild West - a bewitching combination of beauty and danger - as what will become the Civil War looms on the horizon. As Mrs. Parks says, “Everyone knows that this is a dangerous business, but between you and me, being a woman is a dangerous business, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise …”

The Christie Affair by Nina de Gramont

“A long time ago, in another country, I nearly killed a woman. It’s a particular feeling, the urge to murder. It takes over your body so completely, it’s like a divine force, grabbing hold of your will, your limbs, your psyche. There’s a joy to it. In retrospect, it’s frightening, but I daresay in the moment it feels sweet. The way justice feels sweet.”

The greatest mystery wasn’t Agatha Christie’s disappearance in those eleven infamous days, it’s what she discovered.

London, 1925: In a world of townhomes and tennis matches, socialites and shooting parties, Miss Nan O’Dea became Archie Christie’s mistress, luring him away from his devoted and well-known wife, Agatha Christie.

The question is, why? Why destroy another woman’s marriage, why hatch a plot years in the making, and why murder? How was Nan O’Dea so intricately tied to those eleven mysterious days that Agatha Christie went missing?

Wild Irish Rose by Rhys Bowen

New York, 1907: Now that she’s no longer a private detective - at least not officially - Molly Murphy Sullivan is looking forward to a time of settled tranquility with friends and family. Back in New York, where her own story began, Molly decides to accompany some friends to Ellis Island to help distribute clothing to those in need. This journey quickly stirs up memories for Molly. When you’re far from home and see people from your country, every face looks like a family member.

That evening Molly’s policeman husband, Daniel, is late returning home. He comes with a tale to tell: there was a murder on Ellis Island that day, and the main suspect is the spitting image of Molly. The circumstances are eerily similar to when Molly herself arrived on Ellis Island, and she can’t help but feel a sense of fate. Molly was meant to be there that day so that she can clear this woman’s name.

This is the 18th volume in the “Molly Murphy” series.

Three Debts Paid by Anne Perry

A serial killer is roaming the streets of London, and Daniel Pitt's university chum Ian, now a member of the police, is leading the search. The murders are keeping his mind occupied, but when Ian learns that their old professor, Nicholas Wolford, has been charged with plagiarism, he takes the time to personally ask Daniel to defend their beloved teacher. For help catching who Londoners are now calling the Rainy Day Slasher, Ian also enlists Daniel's good friend Miriam fford Croft, now back from school and a fully qualified pathologist.

As the murders continue, Miriam can't help but notice inexplicable links that have been overlooked by Daniel and Ian. In their concern to defend their former professor, are the two university friends blind to a far worse crime that has been committed?

This is the fifth volume in the “Daniel Pitt” series.

#historical mystery #historical fiction #mystery #fiction #Library Books #reading recommendations #Reading Recs #book recommendations #Book recs #TBR pile #tbrpile #to read #Want To Read #Booklr #book tumblr #book blog #library blog

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mediaevalmusereads · 8 months

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A Dangerous Business. By Jane Smiley. Knopf, 2022.

Rating: 2/5 stars

Genre: historical fiction, mystery

Series: N/A

Summary: Monterey, 1851. Ever since her husband was killed in a bar fight, Eliza Ripple has been working in a brothel. It seems like a better life, at least at first. The madam, Mrs. Parks, is kind, the men are (relatively) well behaved, and Eliza has attained what few women have: financial security. But when the dead bodies of young women start appearing outside of town, a darkness descends that she can’t resist confronting. Side by side with her friend Jean, and inspired by her reading, especially by Edgar Allan Poe’s detective Dupin, Eliza pieces together an array of clues to try to catch the killer, all the while juggling clients who begin to seem more and more suspicious.

Eliza and Jean are determined not just to survive, but to find their way in a lawless town on the fringes of the Wild West—a bewitching combination of beauty and danger—as what will become the Civil War looms on the horizon. As Mrs. Parks says, “Everyone knows that this is a dangerous business, but between you and me, being a woman is a dangerous business, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise …”

***Full review below.***

Content Warnings: sexual content (including underage sex), spousal abuse, gore

Overview: I saw this book on a list of best historical fiction, and the premise seemed intriguing, so I picked it up. A duo of lady inspectors? Inspired by Edgar Allen Poe? Solving crimes in 1850s California? Sign me up! Unfortunately, I quickly found that it was nearly impossible to connect with the characters of this book, and even worse, I couldn't get invested in the plot. The reason had everything to do with Smiley's prose. I constantly felt like I was being held at arm's length and being told instead of shown everything in the narrative. On top of all that, I found Smiley's word choice to be too simple for my tastes and her syntax a bit awkward, so for those reasons, this book only gets 2 stars from me.

Writing: As I said above, Smiley's prose style did not resonate with me. Part of the reason was because Smiley was more interested in telling instead of showing, and another was that a lot of the character's thoughts and feelings were so mediated that I felt kept at arm's length. Smiley had the tendency to tell the reader point blank what characters were thinking and feeling ("Eliza was sad"), which meant that I didn't feel trusted to put things together on my own. Smiley also seemed to like using phrases like "Eliza thought that..." or "Eliza sae that..." Combined, these techniques gave me the impression that I was reading something almost middle grade or YA, but the story is very much for adults.

Moreover, there were some technical things about Smiley's prose that just didn't feel very well done. For one thing, Smiley uses a lot of very simple, basic descriptions - things like "her skin was dry" or "the body was wrinkled." There was little done to evoke an emotional response; everything was matter-of-fact and overly simplistic. Unfortunately, this also meant there was no mood, suspense, or anything else to keep me invested in the story.

Lastly, the simplistic word choice also meant that a lot of dialogue felt stiff. Whenever characters would converse, something didn't quite feel natural, and moreover, I never got the sense that Smiley was building any sort of emotional intimacy (not even between Eliza and Jean). As a result, it was incredibly difficult to feel invested in character relationships.

Plot: The plot of this book follows Eliza Ripple, a twenty-something year old prostitute who works to solve a series of murders in Monterey, CA in the 1850s.

What I appreciated about this plot was the way Smiley didn't demonize sex work. Eliza and her friend Jean (a fellow prostitute) seem very happy as sex workers, and it allows them an independence that they didn't have before. Eliza in particular finds it very liberating after being subject to abuse from her late husband, and I appreciated that her madam, Mrs. Parks, was supportive and didn't force them to take clients they didn't want.

That being said, there wasn't much else about the plot to get me hooked. There isn't a sense of urgency or suspense when Eliza is investigating the murders, which means that they don't feel very consequential or have much effect on Eliza's life (other than being a curiosity). Indeed, more time is spent showcasing Eliza's day to day life than her investigation, so the murders themselves didn't instill in me a sense of dread or make me feel Eliza was in any danger.

Moreover, the way Eliza goes about solving the mystery isn't exactly clever, which meant that I felt like Smiley was creating a mystery for younger readers. Eliza seems to go after "clues" that don't make much sense and she has little justification for doing so (for example, she sees a man hitting his wife so she decides to look for his footprints - why? What about him possibly connects him to the victims, especially when spousal abuse is common in this world?).

Lastly, I kept feeling like Smiley was trying to make some kind of commentary, either about being a woman or about slavery, but both topics were handled so simplistically that the effort didn't quite feel genuine. Characters talk about being women or about the morality of slavery, but the plot doesn't quite explore any of these topics (so, for example, the murders could be a commentary on misogyny in sex work, but Smiley doesn't really look too far into that). This also made a lot of the book feel YA or middle grade, since the message was so simple and without nuance.

Characters: Eliza, our protagonist, is sympathetic in that she is the victim of spousal abuse, but other than that, it was difficult to feel connected to her. Because of the prose style, I didn't feel like I was being invited to experience the world along with Eliza, but instead, I was being told about it and with very little emotional effect. On top of that, Eliza didn't strike me as particularly intelligent or clever, so I didn't quite understand why she was the one to solve the mystery of the Monterey murders. It wasn't even justified by saying her job makes her more "street smart," so to speak. Instead, she felt rather naive and depended on her friend, Jean, to navigate the world.

TL;DR: A Dangerous Business suffers greatly from an abundance of telling over showing, a poorly constructed mystery, and a not very bright protagonist. Though I appreciated that sex work was respected and that the novel tried to say something about women and slavery, none of the themes ultimately landed because the novel felt simply constructed, as if for a much younger audience.

Jean, Eliza's friend, is a little more interesting because she has the courage and agency to go after "clues" herself. Jean claims to be able to see ghosts and is incredibly curious about the murders to the point where she pursues leads on her own. Compared to Eliza, who goes to places to look for footprints for no reason, Jean has motivations that feel a bit more logical, and I think I would have much preffered a story where Jean was the Sherlock to Eliza's Watson.

Secondary characters were ok. I found the variety of Eliza's clients to be somewhat interesting, but Smiley didn't seem to be interested in using that variety to make a grander point or integrate it into a thematic aspect of the novel. Mrs. Parks, the madam, was fine, if a little boring. It's hard to really say whether or not any secondary character is well done because the prose and the plot are so simplistic that the characters feel listless.

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