#guest blogging full course

[bishnoseo]

WHAT IS GUEST POSTING?

For many bloggers the term ‘guest posting’ instantly causes the hackles to rise. Perhaps you’re one of them? To you ‘guest posting’ is all about dodgy companies spamming your inbox with endless requests to provide a ‘high quality guest post’ in return for a backlink… usually on a topic that has nothing to do with what you normally blog about… Almost certainly it won’t be ‘high quality’, the link will be to some dodgy company and the fee (if there is one) will be low. While these scammers might call this practice ‘guest posting’. This is not guest posting. This is the old black hat SEO tactic of paying for links… and that’s not at all what guest posting is all about. So what exactly is guest posting? Guest posting is, quite simply, where a blogger writes a blog post for another blogger’s site. This kind of guest posting is totally legitimate and has many positive benefits: to both the guest and the host.

#seomarketing #seoservices #seoexpert #seoexpertmeaning #whatisseo #WHATISGUESTPOSTING #IsSEOspecialistagoodjob #searchengineoptimization #whatissearchengineoptimization(seo) #whatisguestpostinginseo #guestpostingsites #digitalmarketing #guestpostidyafree #guest blogging course #guest blogging seo #guest blogging tips #guest blogging #guest blogging full course #semrush paid guest posting #guestblogging #guest blogging for seo #how to do guest blogging #guest blogging business #semrush guest post #guest blogging sites #guest blogging hacks #smart guest blogging #semrush paid guest post #guest blogging in hindi #guest blogging tactics

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Three AI insights for hard-charging, future-oriented smartypantses

MERE HOURS REMAIN for the Kickstarter for the audiobook for The Bezzle, the sequel to Red Team Blues, narrated by @wilwheaton! You can pre-order the audiobook and ebook, DRM free, as well as the hardcover, signed or unsigned. There’s also bundles with Red Team Blues in ebook, audio or paperback.

Living in the age of AI hype makes demands on all of us to come up with smartypants prognostications about how AI is about to change everything forever, and wow, it's pretty amazing, huh?

AI pitchmen don't make it easy. They like to pile on the cognitive dissonance and demand that we all somehow resolve it. This is a thing cult leaders do, too – tell blatant and obvious lies to their followers. When a cult follower repeats the lie to others, they are demonstrating their loyalty, both to the leader and to themselves.

Over and over, the claims of AI pitchmen turn out to be blatant lies. This has been the case since at least the age of the Mechanical Turk, the 18th chess-playing automaton that was actually just a chess player crammed into the base of an elaborate puppet that was exhibited as an autonomous, intelligent robot.

The most prominent Mechanical Turk huckster is Elon Musk, who habitually, blatantly and repeatedly lies about AI. He's been promising "full self driving" Telsas in "one to two years" for more than a decade. Periodically, he'll "demonstrate" a car that's in full-self driving mode – which then turns out to be canned, recorded demo:

https://www.reuters.com/technology/tesla-video-promoting-self-driving-was-staged-engineer-testifies-2023-01-17/

Musk even trotted an autonomous, humanoid robot on-stage at an investor presentation, failing to mention that this mechanical marvel was just a person in a robot suit:

https://www.siliconrepublic.com/machines/elon-musk-tesla-robot-optimus-ai

Now, Musk has announced that his junk-science neural interface company, Neuralink, has made the leap to implanting neural interface chips in a human brain. As Joan Westenberg writes, the press have repeated this claim as presumptively true, despite its wild implausibility:

https://joanwestenberg.com/blog/elon-musk-lies

Neuralink, after all, is a company notorious for mutilating primates in pursuit of showy, meaningless demos:

https://www.wired.com/story/elon-musk-pcrm-neuralink-monkey-deaths/

I'm perfectly willing to believe that Musk would risk someone else's life to help him with this nonsense, because he doesn't see other people as real and deserving of compassion or empathy. But he's also profoundly lazy and is accustomed to a world that unquestioningly swallows his most outlandish pronouncements, so Occam's Razor dictates that the most likely explanation here is that he just made it up.

The odds that there's a human being beta-testing Musk's neural interface with the only brain they will ever have aren't zero. But I give it the same odds as the Raelians' claim to have cloned a human being:

https://edition.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/01/03/cf.opinion.rael/

The human-in-a-robot-suit gambit is everywhere in AI hype. Cruise, GM's disgraced "robot taxi" company, had 1.5 remote operators for every one of the cars on the road. They used AI to replace a single, low-waged driver with 1.5 high-waged, specialized technicians. Truly, it was a marvel.

Globalization is key to maintaining the guy-in-a-robot-suit phenomenon. Globalization gives AI pitchmen access to millions of low-waged workers who can pretend to be software programs, allowing us to pretend to have transcended the capitalism's exploitation trap. This is also a very old pattern – just a couple decades after the Mechanical Turk toured Europe, Thomas Jefferson returned from the continent with the dumbwaiter. Jefferson refined and installed these marvels, announcing to his dinner guests that they allowed him to replace his "servants" (that is, his slaves). Dumbwaiters don't replace slaves, of course – they just keep them out of sight:

https://www.stuartmcmillen.com/blog/behind-the-dumbwaiter/

So much AI turns out to be low-waged people in a call center in the Global South pretending to be robots that Indian techies have a joke about it: "AI stands for 'absent Indian'":

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/29/pay-no-attention/#to-the-little-man-behind-the-curtain

A reader wrote to me this week. They're a multi-decade veteran of Amazon who had a fascinating tale about the launch of Amazon Go, the "fully automated" Amazon retail outlets that let you wander around, pick up goods and walk out again, while AI-enabled cameras totted up the goods in your basket and charged your card for them.

According to this reader, the AI cameras didn't work any better than Tesla's full-self driving mode, and had to be backstopped by a minimum of three camera operators in an Indian call center, "so that there could be a quorum system for deciding on a customer's activity – three autopilots good, two autopilots bad."

Amazon got a ton of press from the launch of the Amazon Go stores. A lot of it was very favorable, of course: Mister Market is insatiably horny for firing human beings and replacing them with robots, so any announcement that you've got a human-replacing robot is a surefire way to make Line Go Up. But there was also plenty of critical press about this – pieces that took Amazon to task for replacing human beings with robots.

What was missing from the criticism? Articles that said that Amazon was probably lying about its robots, that it had replaced low-waged clerks in the USA with even-lower-waged camera-jockeys in India.

Which is a shame, because that criticism would have hit Amazon where it hurts, right there in the ole Line Go Up. Amazon's stock price boost off the back of the Amazon Go announcements represented the market's bet that Amazon would evert out of cyberspace and fill all of our physical retail corridors with monopolistic robot stores, moated with IP that prevented other retailers from similarly slashing their wage bills. That unbridgeable moat would guarantee Amazon generations of monopoly rents, which it would share with any shareholders who piled into the stock at that moment.

See the difference? Criticize Amazon for its devastatingly effective automation and you help Amazon sell stock to suckers, which makes Amazon executives richer. Criticize Amazon for lying about its automation, and you clobber the personal net worth of the executives who spun up this lie, because their portfolios are full of Amazon stock:

https://sts-news.medium.com/youre-doing-it-wrong-notes-on-criticism-and-technology-hype-18b08b4307e5

Amazon Go didn't go. The hundreds of Amazon Go stores we were promised never materialized. There's an embarrassing rump of 25 of these things still around, which will doubtless be quietly shuttered in the years to come. But Amazon Go wasn't a failure. It allowed its architects to pocket massive capital gains on the way to building generational wealth and establishing a new permanent aristocracy of habitual bullshitters dressed up as high-tech wizards.

"Wizard" is the right word for it. The high-tech sector pretends to be science fiction, but it's usually fantasy. For a generation, America's largest tech firms peddled the dream of imminently establishing colonies on distant worlds or even traveling to other solar systems, something that is still so far in our future that it might well never come to pass:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/09/astrobezzle/#send-robots-instead

During the Space Age, we got the same kind of performative bullshit. On The Well David Gans mentioned hearing a promo on SiriusXM for a radio show with "the first AI co-host." To this, Craig L Maudlin replied, "Reminds me of fins on automobiles."

Yup, that's exactly it. An AI radio co-host is to artificial intelligence as a Cadillac Eldorado Biaritz tail-fin is to interstellar rocketry.

Back the Kickstarter for the audiobook of The Bezzle here!

If you’d like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here’s a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/31/neural-interface-beta-tester/#tailfins

#pluralistic #elon musk #neuralink #potemkin ai #neural interface beta-tester #full self driving #mechanical turks #ai #amazon #amazon go #clm #joan westenberg

[temis-de-leon]

Replaced MC AU/AU - Part 3

Characters: demon brothers, Diavolo, Barbatos, male! MC and crushing! male! NES (MC x NES)

How’s it gonna be , Intro – Part 0 , Part 1 , Part 2

Masterlist

You can read about this MC and this NES here!

CW: Solomon is mentioned, jealous and mean brothers, black cat x golden retriever behavior i think, one single kiss, a bit ambiguous at the end, not very angsty really, NES x MC centered

A/N: my favourite version of NES and MC by far, I enjoyed writing this a lot. However, my pc came out as homophobic and decided not to connect to any WiFi for this chapter, so I won't be able to update the links nor the masterlist until next week. Also, some people aren't properly tagged once again because I can't find their blogs for some reason?? So so sorry for that, but I don't know what to do about it.

.

NES was… someone they didn't expect. Unknowingly infuriating, always distracted and too unbothered to care about any of his surroundings. He was a disaster that enjoyed living in disaster and, if they weren't threatened by his presence, Satan and Belphegor would love his insolence.

Barbatos remembered an occasion, one moment from the second week of NES's attendance at RAD, where Lucifer gave him an earful for his ‘impropriety and insulting attitude towards the uniform’. Mammon had been there too, shirt out of his pants and jacket nowhere near closed, backing his brother up.

NES’s pristine appearance lasted only two periods before MC saw him chocking under his tie and laughed at him in sympathy. After that, he'd only wear the uniform ‘the Lucifer way’ if MC was there to eventually mess up the outfit.

And how could the eldest brother object to that?

“They need to loosen up, Lucifer”

MC always had the last word.

Solomon found the situation hilarious. Witnessing the brothers competing against each other in search of MC's attention was one thing, but adding NES to the equation? Yes, Barbatos had to somewhat agree. It was funny.

Who had been cooking for hours in the kitchen if not NES trying to make a quick snack for his fellow human? And who was the first one to leave the House of Lamentation each morning, already waiting next to MC’s seat by the time everyone else arrived?

Mammon called him a simp. Asmo liked to call them both the kettle and the pot.

And while, yes, Lucifer was the one and only Avatar of Pride, none of the brothers were able to admit just how big of a deal NES was becoming.

When would it be too late?

.

.

The Demon Prince's birthday arrived and the mandatory celebration was as grandiose as one could expect. Everything was bright and full of laughter, the streets cramped with food stalls, demons and witches alike throwing mesmerizing magic tricks for the children, acrobats, costumes, music…

At one point MC considered handcuffing himself to NES. Even Luke was easier to manage!

Fortunately, Beel ended up finding him playing darts with a succubus and her partners. Unfortunately, MC seemed to be the only one who wanted to check if he was okay.

It was becoming… draining.

Not NES, of course. Sure, he was a handful, but none of his mistakes were intentional. Everything he did came from naiveness and ignorance, being new to the Devildom, and what he lacked in common sense he made up in enthusiasm.

At least he didn't steal his valuables and he’d never threatened to kill him or eat his heart, something MC still thought about frequently. The worst thing NES ever did to him was throw them both to the ground when he tried to slide on the floor at full speed. And he still apologized for that from time to time.

Did the brothers ever apologize for all the things they did or said? The way they used to look at him? He couldn't remember.

Now they were doing the exact same thing to NES. Treating him like an unwanted guest instead of the roommate they insisted on having, turning down every single one of his ideas, including the good ones, and very passively threatening him in a condescending tone, as if they could impress MC with that.

Maybe it was a demon thing? Or rather regular jealousy brought to a dangerous level?

Whatever the reason, MC didn't waste any time sitting them in the living room and chewing the hell out of them, something that enraged Lucifer and put a strain in their relationship, still making it difficult to make small talk, but of course none of them would back down. The rest of the brothers weren't so obvious showing their annoyance, but it was still there.

The good thing was that, as long as MC was there, NES wouldn't be the receiving end of any bullshit. The bad thing was that MC didn't know what was going on behind his back. And NES, bless his soul, was never willing to tell him if any of them made him uncomfortable.

It was draining and NES gave him a sense of peace, but the brothers missed him and they wanted to monopolize his time, but MC wanted to spend time with his new friend and that made the brothers angry and jealous, which made MC anxious, which made NES worry.

Every factor made the situation worse. The brothers were too much, NES was too good for the Devildom and MC was too done with everything.

However, the time passed surprisingly fast as they sang Happy Birthday to Diavolo, eating in the midst of it all, dancing with each other and talking like they used to do before the ridiculous ordeal, albeit with a subtle tension that limited their topics of conversation.

They even ignored NES! Which was better than any other option!

So, once the voices toned down and the guests divided themselves into small groups, MC forced himself to whisk Diavolo away for a moment and have a serious talk, Barbatos following close and listening with a curious glance.

That proved to be nothing but a waste of time.

“It's too soon to take conclusions, MC. I'm sure the brothers just need time. After all, remember your first year here!”

He did remember. That's why he was so worried.

And why did Diavolo talk to him like that? He was 100% sure Lucifer insulted NES to no end anytime he had more than one horn of Demonus. What did they call NES in the privacy of their office? What did they think while they talked to him and faked respect? What were they plotting when they looked MC in the eyes and promised him they wouldn't threaten NES anymore?

Too many lies.

“Alo?”

But then… NES smiled so easily… Like none of that bothered him. Luckily, MC didn't mind caring in his behalf. He wondered if being able to save someone from the fate he had last year was the root of all his actions.

“You look so worried, you're gonna get all wrinkly! Not like you'd look bad, but if you're going to have wrinkles, won't you rather have them in your eyes? Like, from smiling too much, you know?”

He did smile then, imitating NES’s caring expression.

“There you are, handsome! You're gonna be the envy of all in 90 years!”

“Do you really think I'm going to live that much?”

“God, I hope so”

They laughed softly, but it still sounded too loud. MC looked out for the brothers, checking their positions in the ballroom before grabbing NES’s hand and dragging him to one of the balconies. He preferred not having the moment tarnished.

“Good idea! Too hot in there…"

“Don't lie to me”

“Wha…?”

MC stared at him quite sternly, although trying not to look to much like Lucifer, but he needed an answer.

“Do they still bother you? Do they threaten you? Do they ignore you? What do they do?”

“Whoa, whoa, MC. Here comes the frown again…”

He raised his hands, caressing MC’s frown until it softened. His touch was warm and soft and it made MC lean towards him, not wanting it to end. When he opened his eyes again, unknowingly closing them before, NES stayed in that position.

There was silence for a few seconds, interrupted only by the violins, the harps, the pianos and other instruments serenading them under the moonlight. NES could only stare at MC’s lips for a fragment of a second before someone grabbed the scruff of their necks with poorly hidden aggressiveness and brought them back to the ballroom.

MC raised his gaze in fury, bending down to help NES get up again. He expected to see red eyes and black feathers, but, to his surprise, what stared back at him were purple eyes and a long bovine tail.

He wanted to scream at him, to ask what the actual fuck was wrong with him. Would he had acted the same if it was one of his brothers instead of NES? Would he had such hate in his eyes?

But people were staring, very obviously amused at the sight of two humans being put back in place.

MC would have to wait.

.

.

“NES! What happened?!”

MC watched as the boy waved at him, hanging upside down where Mammon usually spent countless hours. His arms were tied behind his back and the rope covered his body in a way that surely left no room for the blood to circulate properly. His head already looked dangerously red and MC knew he couldn't leave him there for too long unless he wanted him to have permanent damage.

“I think I failed my last test, but I don't really remember”

“What do you mean you don't remember?”

“Well, I'm very dizzy right now, but I'm sure it's okay. Lucifer will get me out of here soon enough”

Or he won't.

MC sighed, cursing in silence before studying the thick ropes and the tight knots. He knew he wouldn't be able to untie him by hand and he wouldn't be surprised if the kitchen suddenly lacked knives, no doubt the result of Lucifer's pettiness and sadism.

“Wait for me here, okay? I have to get something to cut the ropes…”

“Wait, wait! MC!”

He turned around, patiently staring at his loopy smile and cloudy eyes. He couldn't wait for too long, but maybe he could indulge a couple of minutes.

“What?”

NES briefly looked away, his embarrassment gaining MC’s attention. Now that was a rare sight.

“Have you seen Spiderman?”

His heart stopped for a second and he felt his cheeks getting hot. His hand, previously grasping his hip, fell to his side and made him lose balance.

“You can say no, of course. We can forget about this and I won't get offended. A little sad maybe, but I can manage. I like you too much to stop liking you for a kiss. Does that sound weird? You get me, right?”

His rambling gave MC the opportunity to go down a couple of steps in the staircase and align his face in front of NES’s. The position was weird and staring at his chin was an experience he didn't know he would get the chance to live, but he didn't care.

It wasn't until he finally kissed him mid-sentence that he noticed a figure peeking around the corner, eyes staring without blinking and jealousy ready to made itself known.

Accepting the challenge, MC closed his eyes and grasped NES’s hair, pulling him closer and deepening the kiss.

Dinner that night would be fucking awkward.

.

.

.

Taglist: : @stfuchaase @k1-an @meggs-wonderland @kkeromenoo @va109 @marvelous-maniac @cruzerforce4256 @blarsh @marathedemonoverlord @junni-berry @arylleb @b-a-m-2006 @jonielunar @piercedddriver @cosmidaydreaming @bluegrey02 @anxious-chick

#obey me #obey me! shall we date? #om! shall we date #om! swd #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me leviathan #obey me satan #obey me asmodeus #obey me beelzebub #obey me belphegor #obey me diavolo #obey me barbatos #obey me mc #obey me reader #obey me oc #obey me male mc #obey me x male reader #obey me x male mc #obey me hurt/comfort #replaced mc au

[chxrryhansen]

౨ৎ˚₊✩‧₊ Cherry’s Concepts 7/50

Character; Ari Levinson

Kink; Public sex

Dialogue; “Beg for it.”

Requested by; Anon <3

As always, this blog contains 18+ content only, your media consumption is your own responsibility, all dark content will be labled as such. Please read at your own risk.

₊♡₊˚ 🍒・₊✧

“I warned you not to run that bratty mouth of yours.” Ari shakes his head, his low voice echoing in your ears.

Your hands were placed against the glass in front of you, looking down you could see other guests mingling in the garden from your eagle view. Your back bent at an awkward angle, as you stood with your legs spread, quivering slightly in anticipation.

Suddenly his thick hand rains down on your ass with three quick, hard spanks, you cry out as you feel your skin become flustered due to his sudden strikes, your knees caving as he wraps his arm around your stomach to hold you in place from behind.

He shushes you “Are you gonna’ be a good girl and let daddy fuck you? Not that you deserve it after flaunting your slutty little body for all those men to see.”

“m’ sorry daddy i promise i’ll be so good for you.” you cried out, your arousal leaking down your thighs, dripping onto the floor. You thought Ari would give you enough curtesy to not point it out but of course you thought wrong.

“Oh poor girl, all needy for daddy, you want daddy to put his fat cock in you?” he asked mockingly.

You nodded rapidly, tears now streaming down your cheeks in desperation. His thumb wiped a tear from your face, lifting it towards your mouth for you to suck. He chuckled

“Beg for it.”

“Please daddy, wan’ you so bad, need you inside me all the time. Love how full you make me, please please please..I-I’ll die if you don’t fuck me-“ your words cut off with a pornographic moan as he pushed his bulbous tip inside you, stretching your walls, with one deep thrust Ari bottomed out inside your pussy.

You moaned at how full of him you were, feeling each and every vein of his thick length, his tip kissing your cervix.

“Such a fuckin’ whore, writhing on my cock when any one of those people could look up and see your slutty body gettin’ used by me.”

Ari began thrusting, his thick shaft pummelling your insides making you clench around him, crying out in ecstasy.

His hand covered your mouth while he whispered lowly in your ear “Better keep that pretty mouth shut unless you wanna’ get caught sweet girl.”

#chxrrys concepts #chris evans #chris evans x reader #chris evans fanfic #chris evans smut #rafe cameron #ari levinson #ari levinson x reader #ari levinson smut #ari levinson fanfic

[strwbrythoughts]

a topic worth discussing | alhaitham

Alhaitham comes home to you (and Kaveh, much to his dismay) with a traveler and their flying companion in tow.

Divider by @/osqrie

My original work from my main blog, revised and reposted here.

As the front door of the quaint house opened, the traveler expected everything else other than a person -who is not Kaveh- greeting Alhaitham with a huge smile on their face.

"Sweetheart, you're home!" said person exclaimed, putting their arms around the man. The person captured Alhaitham in a sweet embrace. What was more surprising to the two observers was definitely the fact that Alhaitham made no effort to push them away with disdain; he reciprocated the hug quite happily.

"I'm home, indeed," he whispered into your ear, the sheer love he had for you evident in his voice. The hug was cut short and interrupted quite rudely by a certain flying emergency food's question. "Uh, so...who is this, Alhaitham?"

"Oh, you brought guests home! Welcome, welcome. I apologise for not noticing you sooner," you exclaimed, pulling yourself away from your beloved. "I am [Y/N], Alhaitham's spouse! My dearest here rarely brings any guests home, so please make yourself comfortable here." I smiled at the two guests behind him before disappearing into the kitchen.

The golden-haired traveler and their companion's eyes looked as if they were about to blow out from their eye sockets. The Acting Grand Sage of the Sumeru Akademiya never seemed to be lacking of surprises; rather, he was full of them. This action of theirs, no matter how much they tried to hide it, had not gone unnoticed by the subject of their interest.

"You can stop being surprised, you know," said Alhaitham with a small chuckle that could only be heard if one was close enough to him. "Though, I can't blame you for your shock; surely you didn't expect me, out of all people, to be married, hm?" His question was only responded to with awkward chuckles and eyes averted to the floor.

"Hey Alhaitham, help me with this painting I'm trying to- oh hey, traveler, Paimon!" A voice barged into the awkward conversation that took place in the living room. Kaveh's sudden interruption had no doubt brought some sort of shame to Alhaitham. An embarrassed sight left his lips before replying, "Now, you can either have a seat and behave; or you can leave this room without a word."

Before the architect could retaliate and respond with a snarky reply, a sweet voice cut him to it. "Oh dear, don't be so harsh on Kaveh, will you? Here, have some of these, it will re-energise you just right, after such a long day," you interrupted, setting down a tray filled with a teapot and a few teacups onto the table, enough for the guests, your husband and Kaveh. As you poured some tea into each cup, a fragrant and relaxing aroma filled the cozy living space. It was as if it had the power to calm all the inhabitants of the room.

No words were exchanged whilst everyone except you enjoyed the tea you had brewed, a look of bliss present on each of their faces. Truly, your amazing skills at brewing tea was one of the things Alhaitham loved about you, though it was not the only reason he fell in love with you. If he were to list down what made him fall for you so hard, he'd have filled the House of Daena with books that contained each and every reason, all explained with elaborate details.

The moment of silence was soon broken by none other than Kaveh. "Thank you for this, [Y/N]. Your tea never fail to calm me down after a long and stressful day." You shot your usual sweet smile at him. "Of course! Nothing makes me happier than helping people relax."

You didn't know if it was your imagination or not, but you could've sworn Kaveh shot a smirk at your husband, who sent him the slightest glare. Oh, these two's antics will never find an end, will they?

Deciding to ignore the two men, you turned to your two respectable guests. "So, you are the renowned traveler who is traversing across the seven nations, and you are their honourable companion, Paimon. Correct?" You inquired to your guests in an attempt to start a small conversation, as to not let them feel awkward.

The traveler merely nodded while Paimon replied to you for the both of them, "Yep, yep, you're absolutely right! But don't worry about us, let's talk about you! You are Alhaitham's spouse? That's super cool! When did you two get married?" You were slightly caught off guard, since you didn't expect such question to come from her.

"Ah, curiouser than a cat, are you?" Paimon merely let out a giggle at that. "Well, we actually got married last year after dating for a few years, when we were still in the Akademiya as students," you responded with a smile. The shiny glint in the traveler and Paimon's eyes told you that their interest was very much piqued. "Wow, that's really unexpected!"

"I think it's rather rude of you to say that I, of all people, would be quite the shocker to the whole of Teyvat if I were to get married," your husband interrupted, tone as sharp as ever. Before you could gently chide him, Kaveh spoke his mind first, "Well, I don't think it's unreasonable for others to think like that, no? What with your aloof and 'I don't care what others think of me' personality going on."

Alhaitham merely glanced at Kaveh before he decided to roast his roommate. "Well, despite not having the best personality others would expect from me, at least I have the financial freedom to have a nice house that was originally meant for my spouse and I only." You knew an agitated Kaveh would start a fight, and so you decided to shoo them away to another room. "An argument is coming up and we all know it; so please, kindly leave the living room." No disagreement was expressed towards your statement, and both men stood up to continue where they left off in the library instead.

A sigh left your lips. "I'm utterly sorry you had to see such an unsightly display like that. Please, continue asking me more questions if you still have them?" The traveler and Paimon assured you that they had already withessed one of their arguments back in the House of Daena at the Akademiya, and were more amused than annoyed by it. You could only chuckle at that.

"Anyway," Paimon started, her -and to a certain extent, the traveler's- want to satiate their curiosity regarding you and Alhaitham's marriage was quite strong. "How'd you manage to get him to fall in love? As far as Paimon can see, he doesn't seem like he has the abilities to feel any empathy, let alone love." You let out a hearty laugh at her words, even though it was not the first time you heard such things from other people regarding your husband.

"Well, Paimon, you should know that love is one of the most mysterious emotions for humankind. It can appear in anyone at anytime and anywhere, even to the most stoic and rational people. Pure love cannot be suppressed easily, and it is necessary for one to act according to the love they feel, lest they hurt emotionally or in the worst cases, die."

Paimon shor a confused glance at the traveler who nodded with understanding at your words. "Uh, well, Paimon was not expecting such a logical answer...are all people from the Akademiya like this? All of you talk like you're writing an academic paper or something!" You grinned at the little flying companion. Truly, she never failed to amuse anyone with her blunt words and thoughts.

"Well, if it can satisfy you much better than my previous answer, I can tell you how we started having a crush on each other, all those years ago," you said, the grin still stuck on your lips. "Ooh! Please do, Paimon and the traveler would love to hear it!" The small glint in their eyes had been replaced with stars that shone quite brightly. Quite a comical sight.

Before you could open your mouth to begin your story, a familiar pair of arms enveloped you into a back hug, well, they enveloped your shoulders it seemed, as you were sitting. Ah, it seemed that the two arguing men had finally became tired of arguing. "Must you barge into other people's love lives? Is that really all that you can entertain yourselves with these days?" Alhaitham questioned, annoyed that others kept trying to know his very much private love life.

Paimon pouted, bringing out the childlike attitude she sometimes had. "Hey, [Y/N] wasn't forced to tell us, so why are you saying that as if we coerced them into this?!" "Come now, the stoic and rational Akademiya's Acting Grand Sage's love life is definitely a topic worth discussing and you know it," Kaveh chimed in, indirectly supporting Paimon.

"Come honey, we should take a stroll around Razan Garden tonight. I'm sure the darkness of the night will only ensure that the plants glow even more magnificently than ever," Alhaitham interlaced his fingers with yours, pulling you up from your seat and ultimately ignoring Kaveh and his guests.

"Come back, you two!" Annoyed voices called out to the two of you. You looked back but your husband's hand on your waist was proof that he had no desire to entertain them any longer. You could merely shoot a small, apologetic smile as Alhaitham opened the door of the house.

"See ya."

Thank you for reading! <3

#genshin impact #genshin impact x reader #alhaitham #alhaitham x reader #al haitham #al haitham x reader #writing #writers on tumblr #berry writes

[wardenparker]

Hummingbird Has Landed, ch 3

Marcus Pike x female reader Co-written with @absurdthirst

After the debacle of his failed engagement and relocating to Washington to take charge of his task force, newly minted Special Agent Marcus Pike is ready to get back out into the dating pool once more. A slew of bad dates has him feeling a little down, and he takes an old friend up on an invitation to get away and get his head on straight. Imagine his surprise when he finds not only fresh air, but his soulmate as well - hiding in plain sight but in the unlikeliest of places.

Rating: Mature, but this blog is always 18+ Word Count: 11.1k Warnings: *Blanket warnings for this series: occasional mention of American politics, pregnant character, food/alcohol consumption, mentions of clothing/regulated dressing for occasions, mentions of therapy because we believe in self care here, reader is in a previous relationship, love triangle* Disagreeing amongst partners, disappointments, unexpected turns, denial of feelings, unwanted revelations. Summary: It's Valentine's Day and no one's date seems to be going quite the way they expected. Notes: Apologies for the posting delay, my lovelies! Please enjoy 💖

Ch1 ~ Ch 2

When you still haven't heard from Marcus the next day, you're really pretending not to be bothered by it. You go about your work as usual, take care of your guests, manage a few nibbles of lunch, and work through the Valentine's check-ins with Malachi to make sure that everything goes smoothly. The whole day is chaotic and the inn is completely sold out, and yet you can't stop glancing down at your phone to see if you've gotten a text back.

You've just slipped into the kitchen after your shift to see Sydney after her spa-and-afternoon-tea date when the restaurant's hostess on duty comes in with a reservation slip to add to the board. The restaurant is basically fully booked now, with a few last minute cancellations and reservations working themselves out throughout the day, and a part of you wishes you could just stay here tonight and keep working, but you promised Sam. And you promised your mother's office that there would be social media updates tonight. This date might as well be public, so there is no backing out now.

“Hey babe!” Sydney grins as she looks up from the cake she is decorating, the piping bag in her hand full of dark chocolate buttercream. “Checking in before going to get ready?”

“Yup. Just came in to say hi and check the last minute reservations.” You take the slip from Sydney’s hostess with a flourish to tack it up on the board, and immediately make some sort of inhuman squawking noise that has your best friend whirling around in the kitchen.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” She demands, rushing over to the board. From the noise you made, it’s either incredibly good or incredibly bad.

“Nothing’s wrong.” Not technically, anyway. But you hand over the slip with obvious discomfort — or maybe a tinge of something else deeper and darker — on your face. “It’s…I guess…Marcus has a date tonight.”

“What? Oh…” she takes the slip and reads it, frowning slightly as she looks up to see you fidgeting and looking away from the paper. “Well, um, I guess that means he will be here and it’s good that you are going out with Sam.”

The frown that has formed on your face cuts deep, and you put down the empty mug you had grabbed to pour yourself a late afternoon cup of coffee with a slam. “Of course it’s a good thing.” You state unequivocally, not wanting to deal with or admit to the burning feeling in your chest. “He’s my boyfriend. It’s a very good thing.”

Sydney doesn’t comment, just pins the reservation to the allotted slot: 7 pm for two. There’s a note on the reservation to have a bottle of champagne brought to the table with dessert, so she’s not sure what to make of that. It seems unlikely that he’s taking his mother or sister out for a romantic meal.

“I have to get changed.” Comes the unnecessary announcement as you pace a little square around the corner of the kitchen only to end up facing Sydney again. “I just wanted to say hi, and I hope you and Juan had a good day.” Before this…intrusion into your thoughts, you had wanted to know everything. Every single thing they ate at tea and did at the spa. Now you feel like throwing up from pure discomfort.

“We did.” It seems wrong to rub it in your face right now, since you seem to be having some sort of reaction to the idea that Marcus would book a date here. She has to wonder if there’s meaning behind it, or if he had just imagined bringing someone here because it was a wonderful little place. The dining room of the restaurant is intimate, perfect for romance, especially tonight with the lights lower and the decor that had been brought out for the holiday.

“Good. I—okay. I’m going to go up, then. Malachi has a full reservation book and there’s an extra bellhop on tonight for the full house.” Sweeping out of the room is probably an overstatement, but you certainly move fast enough that Agent Bailey has to hop to in order to keep up with you as you head for the back stairs. Suddenly you have all the nervous energy in the world to walk all the way up to your apartment instead of taking the elevator.

“Okay…bye.” Sydney calls out, eyes wide at the dramatic exit and she pulls out her phone to send a quick text to her husband.

You might have tried a little harder than was strictly necessary to look good tonight. Not because Marcus might see you — that doesn’t make any sense — but to try to shut up all the whirling thoughts in your head about your loyalties and your attachments. You’ve been with Sam for almost a full year. It’s eleven months next week. And he deserves your complete attention. So if he gets you in your best little black dress and the earrings he gave you for your last birthday? That’s good, too.

Sam is nothing if not punctual, actually showing up fifteen minutes before you needed to leave. One of his office aides had run out to get you some flowers, now in hand, and he smiles widely when he sees you. “Wow.” He hums, whistling appreciatively. “I feel underdressed.” He jokes, wearing a smart suit like he normally does.

“You haven’t been underdressed since the day you were born.” Sam is perpetually put together, so you have definitely stepped up your game from the jeans and cheeky blouses that would normally have been good date clothes in the past. “Hi honey.”

“Hey, sweetheart.” He offers you the flowers with a smile. “You look incredible. These are only half as beautiful as you.”

“Thank you, honey.” The large bouquet is all red and pink buds, clearly done up for the holiday, and you let the day’s earlier tension roll off your shoulders as you inhale the sweet scent. “Let me put these in the vase in my office and we can get going?” Upstairs in your place they’re beautiful, but downstairs means anyone who sticks their head in your office will see them.

“Of course.” He nods and looks towards Agent Bailey. “Happy Valentine’s Day, Agent Bailey.” He tells her politely. “Would you mind following us to the restaurant tonight?”

“No surprise stops, Congressman?” Following behind isn’t unusual, but Bailey still had to do her job. Any unexpected additions to the night just complicate matters.

His smile tightens slightly. “Just the itinerary you have planned out.” He comments, slightly irked that he has to have plans approved through the Secret Service. It’s not exactly his idea of pleasant.

“Ready to go?” It only takes a moment to get your flowers in water, and you reach for Sam’s hand. After spending your time getting ready reminding yourself to focus on your relationship and stop being so wishy-washy, you’re trying to put your best everything forward for tonight.

“Absolutely.” Sam smiles broadly, his shoulders rolling back and he puffs his chest out proudly. “Let’s go get romantic.”

The restaurant that was picked out is small and welcoming, a  homespun but upscale bistro owned by a couple from New Orleans that moved up to Maryland sometime during the raising of their children. You had read the website while you were getting ready for tonight. The place boasts an impressive menu and a fan favorite étouffée, as well as an entire family working every aspect of the restaurant. From what you can tell, it looks like a perfect date spot. When you pull up it’s brimming over with people, too, which makes you even more excited. Busy means tasty, of course.

“Well this looks promising.” Sam comments, looking over at you. “What did you say the menu was?” He hadn’t really paid attention to where it was, just that you had said it was a good choice for a dinner out and photographs. You know how to work PR from your mother’s campaign, something he admires.

“New American through a New Orleans lens.” That’s what the website had said, and you could swear you already hear jazz pouring out the front door.

“Interesting.” He doesn’t particularly care for spicy foods, his stomach never agrees with it, but he trusts your judgement. “It’s perfect for the photographer and I’m assuming there’s some heartwarming backstory to the place?”

“Family owned and family run.” You can practically hear the silent commentary in his head, and you touch his arm as he holds the door for you. “I read the reviews in advance. Not everything is spicy. Don’t worry.”

“You know me too well.” He throws you a grateful look and leans forward to open the door for you to enter the bistro.

“Good evening.” The hostess at the front of the restaurant knows exactly who you are, just like everyone working tonight does. Just like their entire family does. Getting a visit from the Secret Service and having a discreetly placed photographer arrive just a little while ago gives the whole night an extra flare of the unbelievable. With two menus in her hand, she smiles a shaky, bright grin. “Please come right this way.”

Sam’s hand is on your back, knowing that a lot of eyes are turning from the staff to the patrons. It’s expected when your significant other is a recognizable face. He doesn’t miss that they put you and him at a table in the middle of the room.

There are small vases of red carnations on every table, and candles, and neat purple tablecloths that look like they have been given a little extra pressing for the occasion. You thank the girl politely and smile, not thrilled to have all eyes on you but already knowing that there is nothing you can do about it.

Sam is the one to pull out your chair and help you sit down before he pulls his own chair out. “Shall we order a bottle of wine?” He asks. “Or would that not look good?”

“How about a half bottle?” You suggest, showing him the part of drinks menu that lists half bottles. “Celebratory but responsible.”

“Perfect.” Same agrees, knowing. It wouldn’t be a positive image to have drinking and driving be recorded.

“Whatever you want to choose.” He’s pickier than you are in general, and definitely about wine, so it’s up to him.

He smiles at you in gratitude and immediately dives into the wine list to see what they have available.

“Oysters Rockefeller to start?” As a Maryland boy he loves seafood, and there’s some sort of odd determination in your mind to prove to yourself that your focus is entirely on Sam.

“Absolutely.” He agrees while wholeheartedly and when your server approaches, he finds in a polite smile to give them.

He orders the wine and your appetizer, and beams a smile at the flustered waitress before the two of you are left — sort of — alone again. Agent Bailey has gone to sit with the designated White House photographer at a separate, discreet table. It leaves the two of you to pretend that this is just as normal a date night as any other. “So,” you hum, looking over the menu. “How was work?”

“It was good.” He had kept his office hours short today, like most of the House, so he could get out on time. Plenty of other members had plans or just didn’t show up at all today. “Worked on the bill I want to introduce.”

“How close are you to having the draft done?” The House Judiciary Committee has been an important posting for him, and though you can’t claim to understand the nuance of every single detail of the bill he has been working on, you know that it is a big offering to make from such a new member of the committee.

“First draft is almost complete.” He tells you proudly. “Only a few more hours of work to be honest. My team has been working hard on it.”

“The first bill you’re sponsoring yourself is a big deal. I’m glad you’re proud of it.” Given how much of his work is paperwork and legal-ease, it’s good to have something tangible to work on and be proud of. Certainly not everyone who works in the government can say the same.

“Thank you.” He smiles, leaning back as the waiter comes back with the glasses of wine. “Hopefully it’s just the first of many.”

"I hope so, too." He has high hopes for his career, and you know he'll work hard for it. There's just the tiny voice in the back of your head reminding you that he might not value your success as highly that is bothering you. Still, you raise your glass to him and smile. "Happy Valentine's Day."

“Happy Valentine’s Day, darling.” Sam smiles and taps his glass to yours before taking a sip. “Have you given any thought to my proposal?”

“I thought we could talk about it tonight?” The mention of a proposal specifically makes you shiver in a way you didn’t know you could shiver, but here you are. “Starting with…the logistics of it all.”

He admires the practicality of your statement and nods. “What are your concerns?” He can hear that you have them and hopes that the two of you can come to some kind of agreement. He’s negotiated a lot in his position and knows there is always give and take for things to work.

“I…” He’s practical. Pragmatic. And you know that. It’s something that you have always said you liked about him because it balances against your tendency to dream. “I want to move forward. Take another step.” In your impulse, you reach across the table and take his hand. “But I’m not sure I’m ready yet. So I’d like to do it slowly.”

“Maybe a drawer for when you stay over?” He offers, lifting a brow. “Space for a toothbrush?”

“That’s kind of what I was thinking, yeah.” A relieved smile spreads, glad to see that he isn’t upset at your still moving slowly in this relationship. Moving too fast in the past is what you blame some very serious relationship failures on. “Maybe try to see each other more than just once a week? Work permitting, of course. I know we’re both busy.”

“That was kind of the point of moving in together.” Sam reminds you, although he’s not put out by it. “Maybe we can, but you will have to spend less time at the inn.” He hums. “You are always there. You even live there.”

"I know." That's on you, and you know it. But you still shift in your seat like you've been called to the principle's office. "I have to cut back on late nights. Malachi is more than capable of running the place any time of day and the new night manager is doing really well."

Sam nods, it’s a conversation that he’s had with you several times but nothing has changed so far. “I understand being passionate about your work.” He reminds you with a smile, reaching for your hand. “But I also want you to be passionate about other things too.” He squeezes your fingers. “Maybe kids, one day?”

"You know I want kids." That is never something that you have hemmed or hawed about. Wanting a marriage and a family is something you were pretty up front about. "Kids, a dog, the whole white picket fence thing."

“I know.” It’s a good thing too, because he wants the same thing. Although he knows that can’t really happen if you are running yourself ragged at the inn. “Just wanted to make sure that was still the case.” He jokes.

"It is." Your fingers squeeze his gently. "I haven't changed my mind about what I want."

“That’s good.” Sam smiles and feels a little better about the fact you aren’t jumping at the chance to move in with him. He had expected less resistance if he was honest with himself.

"So the next time I come over I'll bring some things to keep at your place?" A little bag of work clothes and duplicate toiletries at his house sounds positively quaint, but very sweet.

“If that’s what you want.” He agrees, leaning back again when the waiter comes with the appetizer. “Are you still planning on staying tonight?”

You pause long enough to thank the waiter and for both of you to order your entrees and have a sip of your wine after the waiter goes again. "Of course I was planning on it. It's what we talked about. But...I felt like packing a bag to bring over tonight felt a little...presumptuous? I didn't want to jinx it."

“Nothing presumptuous about it.” Sam disagrees with a smile, knowing he would have loved if you had started bringing things over. “But we will do things on your schedule, as long as our end goal is the same.”

End goal. That part still bags at you a little and you still aren’t sure if you’re overreacting. Marcus seemed to agree with us, and so did Sydney…and it’s making you wonder. But will it ruin the night to make a fuss over it? There’s really no way to tell. “I want to make sure we’re on the same page about all of it.” You decide, making sure there is no worry or waver in your voice as you reach for an oyster. It’s just a conversation. Just a conversation with your boyfriend. No big deal. Just clearing the air.

“Good.” There’s a moment’s pause where the two of you start to split the appetizer, each of you tasting it and Sam hums in approval. “I say we live together for at least a year.” He looks up at you. “What do you think?”

“At least a year before what?” The clarification seems important, since the two of you seem to have slightly different expectations. It’s slight, but it’s there.

Sam chuckles slightly. “Before the next step?” He asks playfully, shrugging slightly.

“That makes sense.” But not knowing exactly what he meant makes you feel a little foolish, so you huff a laugh and have another sip of wine. “Of course. That makes perfect sense.”

“You seem off tonight.” Sam tilts his head curiously. “Fight with Sydney? Never thought I would see that.”

“No, god no, nothing like that.” A fight with Sydney is about the farthest thing from the truth. The trouble is…you can’t really tell Sam the truth. It would be a ticking time bomb in the middle of your relationship. To not only think that you might have met your soulmate but to suddenly find yourself caring immensely about what that could mean? Hell, even being attracted to him? It would be a disaster. And you can’t blame him because you would feel exactly the same way if Sam came to you after meeting the girl that the universe says is his perfect match. Instead? All you can really do is make an excuse. “I haven’t really been feeling myself for the past few days.” That is very much true. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t let it affect tonight.”

“Don’t worry about that.” Sam’s brows pull down. “Do we need to ask them to box up our meals? The photographer can take their photos now and we can go home if you aren’t up for a night out.” Despite his own views of how the night would go, he would never drag you around if you’d rather be in bed sleeping.

It’s sweet of him to offer, but you know he would be disappointed. And, unfortunately, no amount of sleep is going to pull you out of the Marcus-shaped funk you have found yourself in. No, sleep won’t help. And tonight is supposed to be about you and Sam, so it’s going to be. “That’s okay,” you assure him, shaking your head and promising yourself that the smile on your face won’t falter again tonight. “I’d rather spend tonight celebrating with you.”

“Okay, if you’re sure.” He’s giving you a doubtful look, but he doesn’t call the waiter over. “Maybe it’s just that you need a night away.” He suggests. “I have a late morning scheduled so we can sleep in.”

“Unfortunately, I have an early morning.” You bite your lip, knowing he’ll hate that. “We have a big event tomorrow night and they’re showing up early in the day. Early bird check in, venue set up, all of it.”

Sam is quiet for a minute and then looks down at his plate again. “Well, I guess that can’t be helped.”

"It's all hands on deck right away." And suddenly you feel horribly guilty about it, even though it's your job. It's something you do out of love and a deep passion for the industry that you've chosen to work in. But a morning of just sleeping in sounds so nice.

“You don’t need to explain.” It’s not like you would change your plans anyway, but it definitely sours the idea he had for the next morning. “You have priorities.”

“Yes, I do. Just like you would if you had a day full of meetings to handle.” He sounds cold, and it bothers you so much more than you would have thought. Like you’d had disappointed your parents with a bad grade on your report card instead of telling your partner than you’re anticipating a demanding work day. “I would support you if that was the case, so I don’t understand why you seem so upset with me.”

“Because we had talked about it.” Sam reminds you. “Two days ago.” He clenches his jaw and takes a breath before releasing it. “You’re right, you have work and it’s important.” He agrees. “Forget I said anything.”

“We did talk about it two days ago. And we talked about me staying over, but not about doing anything the next day. Because I told you weeks ago when this group booked their party that it was going to be a big deal.” Barely managing not to drop your fork in the table, your eyes drop to your lap and you can feel the pressure of disappointment driving at the backs of your eyes like fire and you have to take a deep breath to steady yourself. “I feel like we haven’t been communicating as well as we used to.”

“After we talked about you staying over, I asked if you wanted to have a lazy morning and you said ‘sounds good’.” Sam realizes you had told him about the booking. “We got our signals crossed. It happens. We will need to work on it.”

“Yeah.” You nod, quietly sitting back in your chair again while being very aware of the pairs of eyes that have all turned to witness the First Daughter argue with her boyfriend over their romantic Valentine’s dinner. Fuck. Mom’s going to kill me. “Yeah,” you agree with a vague nod of your head. “We’re just a little off. We’ll work on it.”

“It’s okay.” Sam promises with a smile, reaching out and taking your hand again. He doesn’t want you to be photographed looking unhappy, because then rumors would fly. Public figures aren’t allowed to have bad moments. “We will make the best of tonight.” He tells you. “Or…we can go back to your apartment if you’d prefer?” He offers. “That way you can sleep a little longer?”

"You normally hate staying at my apartment." The water pressure is better at his house, you'll give him that. And the bed is bigger. But the breakfast at your place is far superior every single time.

“I know, but I also know that you have an early morning and I would like to compromise.” He offers.

His hand fits around yours, anchoring you to the table and to him, and you remind yourself to breath. A miscommunication isn't an argument. And even if it is, an argument isn't the end of the world. "I would really like that," you agree, squeezing his hand just a touch. Trying to show him silently how much you appreciate that he's willing to bend a little for you. It has never bothered you that you go to him — stay at his place, attend his work and social events, usually let him pick restaurants for dates as well. But it's nice to feel a little give in your direction as well.

“Alright, then it’s settled.” He nods quickly and smiles at you. “We will have to swing by my house to pick up a change of clothes though.”

"We can do that." You'll tell Agent Bailey after dinner, and the message will get relayed. It will all be fine. Whatever is causing this gap between you and Sam, you'll figure it out. Starting with a little bit of compromise. "And tonight we'll clean out a drawer for you at my place. We'll each have a drawer."

It’s on the tip if his tongue to refuse, to remind you he doesn’t like staying at your place. It’s too busy and he likes privacy in his home, not people coming and going at all times. “It’s a plan.” He decides to say instead, happy that the meal is coming out.

The restaurant is busy tonight, full up with reservations for dates and girls’ nights out. Tables are packed full and the kitchen is bustling, but Malachi sits calmly at the reception desk making sure that all of the inn’s reservations for the night are being taken care of to the best of his ability. The less you have to worry about tomorrow with that incoming party, the better.

Marcus smiles as he walks up to the desk, guiding Vanessa up with a warm hand on her lower back. He hadn’t wanted to be alone, especially on Valentine’s Day, so he had once again tried one of the dating apps. Tinder Without Marks was kind of the opposite of Mate Marks and he appreciated that. There wasn’t any emphasis on tattoos or scars, just on personalities. He had been talking to Vanessa since you had bailed on his offer of dinner and tonight was the first date. “Reservation for Pike.” He greets Malachi warmly.

"Special Agent Pike!" Malachi was not going to forget that face or those shoulders anytime soon, and he smiles genuinely for what seems like the first time all night. Holidays are always a lot of extra running around. "Reservation for the restaurant tonight?" He would have noticed the name if the FBI agent had reserved a room at the inn. He definitely would have noticed that.

“Yes.” Marcus nods and smiles. “How are you Malachi?” He remembers the concierge’s name and greets him like a friend. “I knew that coming here would be a fantastic treat.”

“And…Miss D’Amario.” When the concierge’s eyes light on the woman beside Special Agent Pike, he nearly bursts out laughing. This is going to be the biggest gossip amongst the staff. Multiple staffs. “Does chef know to expect you? Or should I let her know?”

Marcus tilts his head and looks at Vanessa. “I didn’t realize you’ve been here before.” He had told her where he had made reservations, but she hadn’t said. “Do you come often?”

“Once or twice.” She admits with a sheepish smile as Malachi comes out from behind the desk to escort them into the restaurant. “Usually just to run errands. My boss…he comes here a lot.”

“Interesting coincidence.” Marcus muses as the two of them follow Malachi. “You never actually said who you worked for.” He reminds her.

She hadn’t. That’s true. Because on a dating website all kinds of information can get taken out of context or photoshopped into other things. All she had said before now is that she works on Capitol Hill. “Congressman Chase.” She tells her date, a little more secure in handing this information over after having looked into him and agreeing to this dinner. A girl can never be too careful, after all. “I’m the senior aide in his office.”

To his credit, Marcus doesn’t freeze, although his eyes blow wide. He can hear Malachi snicker quietly, although the agent isn’t sure why. Even though he doesn’t have anything against the congressman, the knowledge that she is his senior aide dulls the excitement of the date almost immediately. “I met him just the other day.” Marcus admits. “My friend and former colleague is the event planner here.”

“You know Juan?” Vanessa seems to ease immediately, the tension of meeting a stranger off the Internet soothing with the knowledge that Juan Badillo is an excellent judge of character. “Okay. So you know who owns the inn, then. And why I’m running errands here fairly often.” She smiles when Marcus pulls out her chair for her and thanks him before sitting. “I’ve always wanted to try the restaurant but never have a chance.”

Marcus smiles and nods, even though he’s not exactly sure how this dynamic would work. “Then it’s a good thing I got reservations here.” He tells her and picks up the menu. “Do you want some wine? I think I would like some.”

“That sounds great.” She nods happily, not catching the change in his demeanor even in the last few seconds.

He’s still not going to be rude. Vanessa is a lovely woman, and he shouldn’t feel guilty for being here on a date with her. Not even if you know her and she works for your boyfriend. “Are you a red, white or rosé kind of woman?” He asks, scanning the selections and looking back up at her.

“Usually white. But if you like red I’m happy to try something new.” Vanessa is happy to let Marcus take the lead, not feeling strong enough one way or the other to have a preference.

“There’s a wonderful Prosecco on the menu.” Marcus offers, lifting his brows. “It’s Valentine’s Day after all, and we aren’t alone. We should celebrate.”

"Perfect." Her smile spreads again and she sits back, looking over the menu and regarding the man across from her. "So what department of the FBI are you in? We haven't really talked about work yet."

“Art Crimes.” He supplies wondering where you and Sam are. A discreet glance around the restaurant was a relief and a disappointment not to come up with you. “I’m actually the head of the department.”

"So...is that forgeries and thieves? Like in caper movies?" Vanessa sounds suitably impressed even though it isn't the part of FBI work that gets glorified on tv or in movies. "I didn't know that was a whole department on its own. You must have a lot of responsibility."

“It’s a lot of paperwork.” Marcus admits. “Although I’m sure you have plenty yourself.” He chuckles. “I wish that it was like the movies, or that show White Collar that was on a few years ago. I could use a Neal Caffery sometimes.”

"Oh, I don't think I've ever seen it. I guess I have a little homework to do." On whatever the show is, plus on art as a whole. Art class or art history...museums in general aren't really Vanessa's thing. It just never seemed very practical. "Paperwork is okay when there's a rhythm to it. Sometimes I even turn on music quietly in the office while I'm copying and filing. It's really helpful even though it's kind of a no-no."

“Why would that be a no-no?” He wonders if Sam is a stick in the mud. “Most of the time, I encourage my team to listen to music, it helps engage your mind.”

"We try not to have anything on in the office that could interfere with being understood on the phone," she explains, like it's some kind of party line or sage advice that has been handed down to her. "Staying on message is important. And it's hard to stay on message if you can't be heard."

“And what’s your message?” He asks, finding it slightly intense, but he’s not the politician.

"Right now, our message is about serving our community. Working to bring business into our district without threatening existing small businesses, and making sure that we take safety standards into account." Obviously very proud of her work, Vanessa sits up straight in her chair and folds her hands in her lap with the air of someone being interviewed. "The Congressman is paving his own path and we're all on board for the ride."

“I see.” He can approve of such a message, admire it even. The congressman is obviously working for the best of his district and there is something noble about that. “That’s a good message to have.”

“It really is.” When Vanessa nods, it’s eager. “He’s on the fast track to the White House. It’s a privilege to get to work for him now.”

“A fast track, you say?” Marcus works so hard to keep from frowning, not liking the way that it makes it seem as if you are a steppingstone for Sam. Even though that shouldn’t bother him as much as it does.

“Absolutely.” She pauses long enough for the waiter to return for their drink order and explain the beautiful Valentine’s prix fixe menu before leaving them be again for a few minutes. “Congressman Chase has seven more years to be the youngest president ever elected, and he can do it.”

“That’s a lofty ambition.” Marcus agrees, wondering how much of dating the current president’s daughter is included in those plans for the White House.

“It’s going to be great.” She laughs, not the least self-conscious, but shrugs her shoulders. “I like my job a lot. Sorry if I get carried away a little.”

“Nothing to be sorry for.” Marcus waves that away, although he’s sure he sees hero worship in Vanessa’s eyes, and perhaps a crush on her boss. Nothing wrong with that unless they are being inappropriate and he can’t see the congressman doing that with his ambitions. Some congressmen, sure, but not Sam. “I wish a lot more people enjoyed their jobs like that.”

“It makes hard work worth it,” she agrees, though she does demure and tuck a stray hair behind her ear. “You…must love art? To be so involved with those crimes specifically?”

“I have come to really appreciate it.” Marcus tells her. “I never really stopped to look and think about much art before, but some weekends, I enjoy going through the museums for pleasure and not trying to research a piece.”

"DC is a very good place if you like museums." Even if she's not very big on them herself, she knows that to be absolutely true. It's where she ends up bringing family whenever they visit, so she has seen quite a few of the Smithsonian museums by now. She'd just rather be at a game.

“They are nice. Especially if a game gets rained out.” Marcus agrees, leaning back when the waiter comes back with the first course. “Thank you.” He hums and looks up at Vanessa. “This looks amazing.”

“It really does.” Vanessa looks as delighted as Marcus does and she offers him a sincere smile. “I’m very glad you decided to ask me out tonight.”

“I am too.” He smiles at her even if he feels guilty that he’s not as glad has he had been before he realized the connection to Sam Chase and therefore….you. He picks up his Prosecco and holds it up. “To positive first dates.”

“Absolutely.” Their glasses make lovely clink as they tap together and Vanessa smiles again, very glad that she decided to take this step to try to get over the crush she has on her boss.

“Looks like the inn is fairly packed tonight.” Sam hums as he pulls into the employee only portion of the oyster shell parking lot. He’s not upset for you business-wise, but he wished there weren’t so many people there.

“The night manager had the idea to keep our sitting room open for some live music, and it seems like people have stayed. It must have been a success.” The rooms aren’t sold out tonight because there are early check-ins for that party in the morning, but managing to keep people in house and engaged is a huge deal.

“Interesting concept.” Sam’s not really sure if that would attract the kind of clientele that you want here, but he’s a politician, not an inn owner. “Hopefully not too late?” He asks, wondering if it will be noisy into the late night. That’s not romantic.

“It should be over soon,” you promise him, seeing that your watch reads almost eleven o’clock.

“Good.” Once out of the car, he rushes around the hood and wraps his arm around your waist. “I don’t want them to interrupt our plans for tonight.”

“Nothing’s going to interrupt us.” Heading for the back door, you can pop right into the elevator to head upstairs without having to interrupt anything that’s going on or get sidetracked by Malachi. You just want to take a peak into the sitting room but that’s all. “And you can sleep in, in the morning after I’ve tired you out.”

"Is that a promise?" Sam asks playfully, allowing you to lead him away from the elevator and down the hall.

"Absolutely." The rest of the date had smoothed out, being a relatively quiet and pleasant night Now that you're back at the inn with a bag of Sam's things to stash away in your bureau, you're feeling a little bit flirtier and more upbeat. "And when you come downstairs after you finally drag that excellent butt out of bed, I'll have Syd make you some breakfast."

“I do love her breakfasts.” Sam groans, smirking at you playfully. “So you are planning on wearing me out completely?” He squeezes your waist and looks ahead towards the music.

"I'd say you deserve a night of intensely deep sleep, and I intend to make sure you get it." There is a little line waiting for the elevator as guests start to go up to their rooms for the night, so you hang back with Sam and look toward the sitting room instead. The music coming through is atmospheric and sweet and you are right about to lean your head on Sam's chest while you wait — when you spot someone unexpected in the sitting room.

Marcus had decided that just because Vanessa works for Sam doesn’t mean that he can’t have a nice night with her. The music had sounded lovely floating from the sitting room and he had asked if she wanted to stay. Now, they are dancing and he hasn’t thought about you in at least five minutes.

It's not exactly a gasp, but you end up trying to swallow whatever noise of surprise you were going to make when you spotted Marcus with his date in the the other room — and instead of keeping your reaction to yourself you end up choking on your own damn spit and coughing hard enough to worry Sam.

“Are you alright?” Sam pats your back and leans in with a worried look on his face while you wave him away. “What’s—” he glances around the room and immediately stiffens. “What is he doing with Vanessa?” He asks, his voice bristled with a slight anger he can’t shake.

"Vanessa?" You hadn't even seen who he was with, just choked at the sight of Marcus enjoying a quiet, romantic moment with another woman — something which you know shouldn't bother you but it had been a whole five minutes since the last time you thought about him so apparently that is your maximum. "Like your aide Vanessa?"

“How does he know her?” Sam ignores the question, staring holes into the FBI agent that is currently slow dancing with said aide and making her beam up at him in a way that has Sam wanting to drag her away from him.

"I don't know." He's practically fuming, and your forehead furrows as you turn your eyes back from the couple in the other room to Sam beside you. "Why does it matter?"

“I find it funny—” his tone definitely says otherwise, “that this man just magically shows up, gets invited to a game night and is now cozying up to my top aide.” Sam knows that he’s already been tagged by the DNC as a rising star, his own seat on the council is indicative of that, and now there’s this FBI that is showing up everywhere.

"He's friends with Juan." The defense in your voice is impossible to miss, and you cross your arms defiantly over your chest like you're waiting for him to pick a fight. "Maybe they were introduced by a mutual friend? Met in a coffee shop? Found each other on a dating app? Who knows?"

“And they just happened to book your inn as a date?” He scoffs slightly, unable to believe that fanciful tale and narrows his eyes as Marcus twirls Vanessa around and pulls her back against him.

"Why don't you go interrupt them and find out if you're so curious?" This has taken a very deep turn for the worse, and you can only be glad that the last guests waiting for the elevator near you have gone up so you're more or less alone now. Of course Agent Bailey is nearby, but she never comments.

“No.” He wants to. That’s the problem, and he knows it’s not a good move. Frowning, he turns away from the dancing couple. “Let’s go upstairs. The music is horrible.”

It's not. At all. But this isn't about the music and both of you know that silently even if it isn't said out loud. Sam jams his thumb in the 'Up' button for the elevator again but you say nothing, glancing back at the sitting room one more time to wonder if Sam is upset about the date that is happening for the same reason you are. And if he is...what does that mean for the two of you?

Once upstairs, Sam steps out of the elevator and sighs. “Can we just have the apartment to ourselves?” He directs his question to Agent Bailey, not looking at you.

There are certain protocols that have to be upheld, and Agent Bailey looks to you before starting them. “Ma’am?”

In your mind it’s awfully rude, knowing that asking her to sit in the hallway means hours and hours of uncomfortable sitting, but you also know that Sam is…in less than a good mood right now. And while you’re cranky too, you would rather try to smooth things over if you can. “If…you wouldn’t mind?”

“Please stay here.” Bailey directs you both. She’ll do a sweep of the apartment to make sure no one is waiting for you, and then she’ll take a chair into the hallway. She won’t say so, but she doesn’t mind not hearing a fight if it happens. Or the makeup sex. Neither one is her favorite.

Once you two are alone, Sam sets his bag down, aware that the mood of the evening is ruined and it’s his fault. “Do you want me to leave?” He asks, not even sure if he wants to stay at this point. Especially if Vanessa and that agent will also be spending the night under this roof. He’s not happy to see his best aide here, and usually he’s always happy to see her.

“Can you explain to me why you’re so upset?” It’s definitely uncomfortable, this tension that hangs in the air now, and you try not to let your eyes drop to the right before going back to him. You didn’t do anything wrong. You were just surprised. He’s the one who got mad.

“It’s— I’m not—” There’s not a rational reason why he’s upset, and logically he knows this. “I don’t like the fact this man seems to be everywhere.” You had told him about meeting Marcus at the market and it seems as if he’s suddenly everywhere when a few weeks ago, no one knew this man was even in the area. “Strange in my eyes.”

“It’s just a coincidence.” That’s what you’ve told yourself, anyway. It has nothing at all — nothing whatsoever — to do with the universe putting you into situations where you’ll bump into each other. Not at all. “The Secret Service did a background check on him. He’s totally clear.”

“Then I guess I’m just overreacting.” Sam sighs and wipes a hand down his face. “I should go.” He knows that if he stays, the night won’t proceed like it was planned and he’s better off going home. You don’t seem too happy with him. “Unless you want me to stay?”

What you want, and what you should do, and what seems like the healthiest decision for your mental health all are different things. You should tell him to stay, brush it off, and try to salvage the evening. You want to go downstairs and interrupt that damn date to find out if Marcus Pike is as good a dancer as he seemed to be in the small space of the sitting room. But what’s best for your mental health? Is probably neither of those things. “Maybe I can come over this weekend and we can try to have a less stressful night at your place instead?”

Sam is silent for a moment and then nods. Understanding that something has fundamentally shifted in your relationship and trying to figure out what that might mean for the future. “Sounds good.” He agrees and looks at his bag before picking it up. “I’m sorry about how the night ended.”

“So am I.” The air between you feels different. Colder or heavier or just more tense, but you won’t back down just for the comfort of having him next to you in bed tonight. That isn’t fair to either of you.

Instead of a romantic kiss, Sam leans in and presses his lips to your cheek. “I’ll text you when I get home.” He promises, stepping back and frowning slightly before nodding. He had honestly expected you to change your mind, but he won’t beg to stay, knowing it’s not the best idea.

“Get home safe.” A long moment passes with thick air hanging between you before Sam nods again and opens the door, stepping out of your apartment and back in to the elevator. “It’s just us tonight,” you tell Agent Bailey, who comes back into the room the moment she hears the door. “The Congressman has gone home for the night.” And of referring to him by his title instead of his name isn’t a big fucking clue to you right then and there, it should be.

It’s not surprising, given the way the evening has turned sour, but it’s not her place to say anything. “Very well.” She nods. “If you need anything, let me know.” She intends to stay outside and let you sulk if you need to. She hadn’t missed ’the Congressman’ title instead of Sam.

“You can stay inside.” Banishing your Secret Service detail to the hallway is one more thing that rubbed you the wrong way. “I’m just going to go to bed. But the coffee you like…the vanilla caramel one? It in the cupboard above the coffee maker. Any time you want to make some.”

“Thank you.” The couch you don’t mind her sitting on is a lot more comfortable than the chair in hallway and she appreciates that you don’t mind her using the bathroom either. “Is there anything you need before you go to bed?”

“No.” You’re too afraid to ask if you did wrong by letting Sam go home, so you don’t even consider it. “Tomorrow’s an early morning. Agent Sisson coming to relieve you early?”

“Five.” She nods. “If you need to be up earlier, I will be here.”

"I won't be up until after that." Unless you can't sleep, which is a serious possibility considering how poorly the night went and how half of your thoughts are currently downstairs in the sitting room. "So I'll see you tomorrow, Agent Bailey."

“Goodnight, ma’am.” It’s best to keep things formal, although she feels bad that your evening did not end up like it was supposed to. And incredibly interested in the reaction of the congressman to Marcus Pike’s presence.

"Good night." Going to your room alone isn't what you wanted for tonight, but it feels like it's for the best. All you can do now is hope that you sleep.

The next morning is a flurry of activity, but Sydney notices that you aren’t rushing in from the parking lot when you come into the kitchen, looking like you didn’t get much sleep last night. “Good morning sunshine.” She teases, reaching for the coffee pot to pour you a cup.

Teasing barely earns her a grumble in return, but you gratefully accept the cup of coffee she pours you and turn to doctor it immediately. “That early check-in group should be here in a half hour.”

“I already have a breakfast spread ready for them.” She motions to the counter and the baskets she has already started filling with baked goods. The bowl of fresh fruit is inside a hollowed-out watermelon. “I couldn’t sleep.” She explains. “Indigestion.”

“There’s a joke in there about swallowing too much cum, but I’m too tired to make it.” You huff though, trying for a smile for your best friend. “It looks great, Syd. Thank you for working so hard.”

She sees through you instantly and frowns, moving around the counter and wiping her hands on the ever present rag tucked into the pocket of her chef’s jacket. “What’s wrong?” She asks, feeling your forehead and looking like an over anxious mother hen worrying over her baby. “Are you not feeling good? Juan, Malachi and I can handle this if you need us to.”

“Not a chance.” Considering you never take sick days even when you’re actually sick, there is no way you would make your team handle a big event without you. “It’s nothing. I just…had a bad night. That’s all.”

“Everything alright?” She frowns, tutting at your stubbornness and moving over to the espresso machine to give you a shot to help boost you up.

“Sam and I had a little…series of tiffs,” you admit with a sigh. There is a pan of her fresh baked broscia nearby and the Sicilian brioche-style bread is calming to you to be crammed full with jam and butter so you grab one still warm. “We got into it at the restaurant over me having to be at work early today and then again later when he flipped out about Marcus being here on his date.”

“Marcus?” Her head whips around and she gives you an utterly confused look. “One, why was he here? Two, why was Sam upset about that?”

“He must have stayed after dinner. For the musician that Malachi brought in.” Sam had been cranky about it, but you thought the singer at the piano had been lovely. “He…uh…Marcus, that is…did you see who his date was? When they came in for dinner last night?”

“I didn’t see, it was crazy in the kitchen, but Malachi told me that it was Vanessa.” She huffs. “How the hell do they know each other?”

“I don’t know. But the same question made Sam so upset that he ended up leaving my apartment last night instead of staying over.” The best you can do is shrug your shoulders. Because as much as it bothers you? You know why it does. There’s no mystery there, only guilt. “He thinks there’s something suspicious about Marcus, apparently.”

“Something suspicious about Marcus Pike?” She chokes out, trying not to laugh at the absurdity of it. “The FBI agent? The man who was an Eagle Scout?” She and Juan had pulled that nugget of information out of him at game night.

“Because apparently, he’s ‘suddenly everywhere’ when none of us had seen him before.” Jam and butter join your bread roll and you sigh a little at the comfort of it. “I think it’s just confirmation bias. Like we probably were in the same places as him before, we just didn’t know to look for him.”

“Well…Juan would have recognized him.” Syd reminds you. “So that’s not exactly true, but I understand what you mean.” She sighs and hesitates for a moment. “Do you think it’s him or because he was with Vanessa?” She knows the other woman has a crush on Sam, it’s obvious from the hero worship stars in her eyes when she’s around. She knows Sam isn’t the type to cheat, but maybe there’s some feelings there that are repressed.

“I feel like that didn’t help.” Coffee and a little breakfast is helping. You can think a little straighter even if you don’t like the thoughts. “I know Vanessa has a thing for him. It’s not subtle. But before now I didn’t think there was cause for concern the other way.”

“It could be that Sam thinks that Vanessa could give away information that he could use if Marcus wanted to cause problems between you and Sam.” She rationalizes. “Slightly conspiracy theorist in my mind, but I could see how it could be construed.” Sydney enjoys playing Devil’s advocate, even if she likes Marcus and doesn’t think he is angling for anything.

“Before last week, I didn’t think there were problems between me and Sam.” It’s disconcerting to realize, as you stand here and talk through it with your best friend, that your relationship has not been as steady as you once thought. “Now? I don’t know.”

“Other than his overreaction, what makes you think that?” She asks, aware that you’ve been a little edgy lately but every relationship has ups and downs at times.

“He seems…really agitated lately. Much more upset than usual about having an agent around. Last night he wanted Agent Bailey to sit out in the hall while we slept, how does that make sense? And making comments about the future of our relationship to other people?” To Vanessa’s parents, now that you think about it. It sometimes slips your mind that his most trustworthy aide is also the only daughter of one of his largest donors. “Everything just feels on edge.”

“Have you talked about all this? Like really sat down and talked?” She frowns, not liking what she is hearing, although it could just be a case of miscommunication.

“Before now there hasn’t really been a reason.” Or at least, there hasn’t been such an obvious compilation of reasons. “And considering he never texted me back when he got home last night, now I’m wondering if he’ll be willing to sit down and hash things out.”

“I’m sorry.” She slides the shot of espresso over and reaches for your hand. “I like Sam, but if it doesn’t work out, it’s better to find out now, than down the road.”

“With the whole soulmate thing and now this kind of…weird accumulation of things?” You shake your head and just sort of shrug awkwardly. “I feel discouraged in a way that I really wasn’t expecting.”

“I’m sorry.” Immediately feeling guilty, Sydney’s shoulders drop and she bites her lip. “I shouldn’t have teased you about finding out what kind of hummingbird tattoo he has.” She hadn’t expected it to cause so many problems, or for you to be so resistant to it. Before Sam, you would have demanded to see the tattoo right away just to disprove the soulmate theory. “What can I do to help you?”

“Honey, you’re growing a literal human. You have enough to deal with.” It’s disheartening, and confusing, and frankly you’re shocked that you’re so willing to throw up your hands. That’s not like you at all.

“That doesn’t mean I can’t and won’t be there for my best friend.” She argues, frowning at you. “Your shit is my shit, remember? I’ll be expecting you to do a rotation getting up with the baby.” She jokes, wanting you to laugh a little.

"If we still lived together, I absolutely would." Being in this apartment upstairs is actually the first time you've ever lived alone — taking over the role of caretaker for the inn when Sydney moved out of the apartment you had been renting in Old Town to buy a house with her soulmate. "At this point I feel like I'm between a rock and a hard place...and one of those blockages is purely made up of how confused I am over...just feeling like I want to throw in the towel instead of working things out. That's not who I am. Or not who I have been."

“Honey, sometimes you just…don’t want to work things out. That doesn’t make you a failure.” She hums. “You might just realize that you have different goals.”

"But why do I feel that way?" There's only a few bites of your bun left and you know that today is going to be a peckish day. You tend to nibble when you're worried. "Is it just because I'm having doubts? And why am I even having doubts? It's...soulmates never mattered to me before this."

“Maybe it’s because of the man and not the soulmate aspect?” She probes gently. “Let me ask you this….if you weren’t in a relationship with Sam, would you be interested in Marcus. Even without the soulmate possibility?”

"I—" It feels dirty. A kind of guilt you really don't like and makes your skin crawl. But this isn't a situation you're going to lie about. Not when you're literally asking your best friend for help. "I mean...probably. Yeah."

“Then you should step back. From Marcus or Sam, that decision is yours. But some space might be needed to figure out what you are feeling.” Syd suggests.

"All the social media shit from our date last night is going to go viral really fast if anyone gets a whiff that we've broken up." Just as astonishing as the idea that you would even consider ending things, it's alarming how fast your heart knows the right decision to make. Or at least what you perceive as right in this moment. "It's going to be a shitshow..."

Sydney doesn’t comment on the fact that it seems like you’ve made up your mind, just humming. “Take it slow. It doesn’t have to be some kind of announcement.”

"The last thing I want is to have to make an announcement." The end of your coffee cup comes all too soon, and you fill it up again with a sigh. This morning is going to be a lot for many different reasons. "Syd...you would stop me if you thought I was making the wrong choice, right?"

“I would definitely try to talk to you.” She promises. “I like Sam, I really do, but if you don’t see yourself marrying him, well—” she shrugs. “Just give yourself a week, how about that?”

"Have I really reached the point in my life where it's not worth staying with someone that I don't see myself marrying?" That is a fairly rude awakening because of how honest it is, and you stifle a groan in one hand. "You're right, and I know you're right. But the State Dinner for the Spanish royal visit is in just over a week. The last thing I want is to have to go to that alone."

“To make it fair, give yourself that time.” She tells you. “Give him an honest try and if you still can’t see it, then you have your answer because Sam is the type to want marriage.”

"I want to get married, too." You always have. Ever since you were little. You reveled in family weddings and dreaming in your own big day. You had even talked to Marcus about it at the market. But whenever the future comes up with Sam, it ends up feeling tense now. "I just...it's a lot to even think about, Syd. You and Juan just...you're so good together. I don't think I'll ever get that lucky."

“I think you will.” She encourages. “My relationship with Juan isn’t without work.” She reminds you. “We still have to communicate and work through issues.”

"But it's worth it because you love each other so much." The sentence is out of your mouth before you have a chance to really sit on what you're saying, and just seconds after you hear yourself say it, your shoulders fall in defeat. "Oh...fuck..."

“What is it?” She asks, frowning at the way you just seemed to deflate.

"It's worth it for you and Juan to work through your issues because you love each other so much." Repeating the phrase makes it hurt all the more, because you didn't realize until this exact moment that it doesn't apply to you. At least, not anymore. "I...don't think I feel the same way..."

“Oh honey.” Her expression softens and she is immediately around the counter again, this time pulling you in for a big hug.

"I'm okay," you insist, through very obvious tears that announce the contrary. "I'm okay." You have to be. You have work to do, and you can't greet a large family party here to announce and celebrate an engagement with runny mascara. "I...have to be okay."

“Listen.” She lets you go and takes your shoulder to look you in the eyes. “You are going upstairs. Ahhh.” She stops you when you start to protest. “Take ten minutes, take an hour, take all day, but take some time to yourself before you start running around dealing with the very obvious results of love.” She tells you. “I can get them started with food and then Juan can take over to take them to the venue.” She shakes her head, huffing when you open your mouth again. “No, I’m not listening. Now go.”

"I'll be back in ten minutes." The best thing you can do for yourself today is keep busy, but she's right that you need to have a clear head for things to go well. "I just...I didn't know this was going to happen today. Or ever."

“I know, babe.” She squeezes you again and sighs. “But I’m here for you. Completely.”

"Thank you, love." Squeezing her tight against you as much as you can, you steal your second coffee away with you from the kitchen and head back upstairs with Agent Sisson following behind.

Sydney sighs as she looks at the door you disappear through for a moment before turning back to her work. The best way she can help you right now, is to make sure the incoming clients are happy.

Walking out through the back hall, you clutch your mug of coffee and try to hang onto a thread of dignity until you get back upstairs. There are more tears pressing at the back of your eyes and you absolutely do not want them shed in public. The elevator is in use, apparently, and you jam your finger in the button a second time for good measure before blowing out a sigh. What a great fucking Valentine’s last night turned out to be, and what a terrible fucking day this is looking like…

The little toiletry kits provided in the rooms are a godsend and both Marcus and Vanessa quickly clean up after the alarm had woken them. “Can’t believe we drank so much and we don’t have hangovers.” Marcus hums, riding the elevator down to get a quick breakfast with his Valentine’s date. They had ended up finishing a bottle and then having another few glasses while dancing. Feeling too drunk to safely get home, the night manager had agreed to let them take one of the rooms on the promise they would check out early. He has been grateful and eagerly agreed. “How about you?”

“Normally I would say I’m still drunk,” Vanessa admits with a sheepish laugh. “But I’m okay. I think it’s just a miracle and I’m not in the habit of questioning those. Though I could use some breakfast.”

“I’ll get you fed and then get you home so you won’t be late to work.” Marcus promises. He will be late, but he had already told his team to come in late, so it’s just paperwork that he’s missing.

“In case no one has ever told you before, you are a consummate caretaker.” It makes a girl like Vanessa feel very special, who spend her working hours caring for someone else and her downtime making sure to live up to her parents’ expectations, and while Marcus Pike isn’t quite her dream man — he’s handsome and sweet and she would be stupid to ignore that.

"I like to make sure people are happy and safe around me." Marcus shrugs off the praise with a small grin. "I took you from your house, it's only right I deliver you back to it." He hums as the elevator stops and dings before the doors open. "Now to get you fed."

When the elevator doors slide open in front of you, the most unwelcome sight in the world is waiting. The vision of Marcus Pike and Vanessa D’Amario in the same clothing you saw them wearing last night, looking refreshed and giddy huddled together in one corner of the elevator car makes you want to turn on your heel and flee back into the kitchen. And you probably would, if you weren’t rooted to the spot in shock and trying to remember how to breathe.

Vanessa murmurs your name in surprise. "I—I didn't expect to see you here this morning!" Her eyes dart around, almost nervously as she expects Sam to pop up. "I—uh, is Congressman Chase here?" She asks, "I thought— he said that you had a date." Normally dates between you and Sam included sleepovers.

“He’s not here.” You won’t invite questions by giving extra information, but when your feet remember how to work, you step out of the way to let them off the elevator. “I—um—I was just headed upstairs.” Sam is going to be in a very foul mood if he’s coming off a bad night and Vanessa walks in looking freshly fucked, and that almost makes you sob all over again. “N—nice to see you, Vanessa. Marcus.”

Marcus can't even do more than just nod and lift his hand and wave slightly, feeling foolish as he watches the doors slide closed and your eyes meet his in a kind of silent agony. "Well," Vanessa giggles and Marcus can't help the way that he swallows guiltily, like he's done something wrong. "I guess that's one way for my boss to learn I had a date."

______

Master Tags: @pixiedurango @chattychell @winter-fox-queen @lady-himbo @artsymaddie @princess76179 @paintballkid711 @missminkylove @pedrosbrat @ew-erin @sarahjkl82-blog @sharkbait77 @justanotherblonde23 @lv7867 @recklesswit @mylittlesenaar @f0rever15elf @gallowsjoker @steeevienicks @athalien @sherala007 @skvatnavle @thatpinkshirt @jaime1110 @girlimjusttryingtoreadfanfics @goodgriefitsawildworld @greeneyedblondie44 @littlemousedroid @harriedandharassed @churchill356 @ajathegreats-blog @haylzcyon   @beardsanddetectives @kirsteng42 @ladykatakuri @adancedivasmom @madiebear @tanzthompson @emilianamason @bigsdinger @xocalliexo @pedr0swh0r3 @avaleineandafryingpan @charlyrmv @avidreader73 @iceclaw101 @loveslide @elegantduckturtle @becsworld @julesonrecord @its-nebuleuse @itsrubberbisquit @mikeyswifie @guelyury @lizzie-cakes @for-a-longlongtime @vabeachazn @purplerain04 @weho2kcmo @madnessofadaydreamer

HHL: @haileymorelikestupid @anoverwhelmingdin @storiesofthefandomlovers @missladym1981 @babeincolor @storiesofthefandomlovers

My Masterlist!

#Pedro Pascal #Pedro Pascal character fanfiction #Pedro Pascal fanfic #Marcus Pike #Marcus Pike x you #Marcus Pike x reader #Marcus Pike x female reader #Marcus Pike x f!reader #The Mentalist #soulmate au #First Daughter reader #Juan Badillo #Graceland #Juan Badillo x f!OC #Juan Badillo x OC #love triangle

[bigcutiejazz]

Hey Honey,

I had the most interesting dream.....

I dreamt I was at home and had been cleaning all day, so I deserved a drink! Mai Tai is one of my favorites and I decided I should have one.... then I got a call from my husband *wink* saying he was bringing company home with him, so I needed to make some appetizers. So, of course being the best wife, I got up and made some for the guests but I just couldn't stop eating them as I made them. They were just so delicious and perfectly bite size. A whole bunch just magically disappeared into my greedy belly.

But then I woke up from the dream with a grumbling belly, so I got up and went for middle of the night snacks. I don't know what my dream means but I definitely like the idea of you coming home to me with a full belly to be rubbed and enjoyed. What do you think? Would you bring home extra snacks as dessert? Or am I the dessert?

xoxo, Jazz

HTTPS://jazz.bigcuties.com

Www.bigcuties.com/blog

[kaisers-house-of-desires]

Do you think it would be possible for me to request Ganondorf x masculine hyrulian readerwith size difference + whatever other kinks you wish to add?

I adore reading your fics for those of us who use masculine, nonbinary, and neopronouns! So far, I've probably read almost all of them, and look forward to what ideas you have in mind for this! Thank you for such a wonderful set of stories!

Of course that's possible! I'm quite the fan of size differences myself, especially with our Great Demon King~

Thank you for your kind words, guest! It's an honor to serve this community.

Title: A Hylian's Fantasy

Characters: Ganondorf x m!reader

Contains: size difference, roleplay, restraints, fingering, slight degradation,

Fandom: Legend of Zelda

Full request below the cut

All characters are 18+

MINORS, FEM ALIGNED, AGELESS/BLANK BLOGS DNI

Reblogs > likes

It was times like these that you forgot just how terrifyingly tall the Demon King was.

The demon king had destroyed your tent, having ripped the shelter from its stakes and tossing it aside. You were lucky to escape the crumpled fabric just in time, quickly standing to your feet with sword in hand.

Now you stood just some feet away from him, your hand clenching tightly to your sword as the other gripped the steel shield. You weren't sure how he found you or why he was even after you.

"I see you found me," you stated, getting into fighting stance. "Care to explain why you're always on my ass?"

"How vulgar." Ganon chuckled darkly, not even fearing you. "Not even a 'hello?'"

"Not unless you explain why you've been tailing me!" At least the few times he's spotted you, you've managed to make an escape, but this time, it seemed like he wanted to fight.

"Do you really think I owe you any explanation?" Ganon tilted his head, looking down at you both literally and figuratively. "You are a nothing pesky Hylian, but I simply require your services for something."

"Could have stated that before..." you huffed, not once faltering your stance. "But as if I'd work with you!"

"Oh my dear..."

"...it's not about working with me." You didn't realize he had moved behind you. You whirled around only to realize just where he stood. Your head ended up just below his chest, and you had to crane your neck up just to see his face. You were about to jump back when the flat of his blade kept you still.

"Come, let's take a little walk."

---

Ganon led you back to an enemy enclosure, one that was gussied up more like a shelter than a hideaway. He fastened a set of shackles on your wrists behind your back after taking your items, leaving you with nothing but the basic attire you wore.

"Gh...so...what's the Demon King need with a 'pesky Hylian' like me?" you asked, adjusting to the restraints."

"Oh it's quite simple, really. There's actually something...special about you." Ganon tilted your head up, forcing your gaze to meet his. "Yes...very special."

You shook your head away, glaring at him.

Ganon merely chuckled, setting himself on the cot that resided in the shelter. He beckoned you over, and though hesitating, you stepped over. He reached for you, grabbing and setting you on his lap. Despite the both of you sitting up, you still felt small compared to him. His form was massive, and you straddling him felt like an accomplishment given your shorter stature. One of his large hands caressed your body, slowly slipping down to the hem of your pants.

"See...I think you'd be perfect as a new...toy for me~" At his words, his hand slipped in, past your boxers as well, and gripped one of your cheeks.

You gasped as red tinted your face, writhing lightly. "A-As if I'd ever--!"

"Ah ah ah...you haven't even given it a chance~" One of his fingers carefully worked its way into your ass, making you gasp and rest yourself on his chest. His fingers were larger than average, and you swore it felt like someone shoved their dick in you straight away. You moaned softly once he began to move, body subconsciously rocking against his finger. "Ah see~? And you almost didn't want it~"

It honestly felt too good to pass up, not to mention with how pent up you were. You welcomed his finger, even urging him for more.

"P-Please...~ J-Just a little more~"

If one finger wasn't enough for you, then two it'll be. Ganon added a second, steadily thrusting them. You practically bounced against his fingers, burying your face into his neck to muffle your moans. He kept this up for a moment until he deemed you ready, carefully taking his fingers out of your ass to literally rip your pants off your body, tearing them at the seams. Though you didn't seem to mind, for you knew what was about to come.

After a small bit of maneuvering, Ganon's cock sprang from his bottoms, pressing flush against your ass. It was enough to get you to sigh out, teasing it with gentle hip gyrations.

"My...someone is quite needy, isn't he?" Ganon teased, lifting you up to position you over his cock.

You shuddered at the fact he could lift you with ease, but again, you didn't mind. Your mind was too blissed out to even care at the moment. In fact, you were begging him to fill you.

How could he deny such an adorable, broken man? Well he spared no second, pulling you down while thrusting up at the same time, filling you to the brim. You arched back, broken moans filling the air as Ganon could clearly see the bulge forming from your stomach. He chuckled at the sight.

"Such a mess you are now~ Look at you~" Without wasting another moment Ganon began to move, thrusting at a steady speed as to not break you so soon.

Ganon was a lot but nothing you couldn't handle, or rather, you would be made to handle it, but not that you were complaining. His cock filled and stretched you so much, you didn't have a single complaint. It felt so heavenly, so blissful. At this point, you'd gladly be a toy for him.

"G-Ganon~!!"

"That's it, that's a good boy~ You're taking my cock so well for a worthless little Hylian~"

You found yourself once again resting on his chest, unable to form proper thoughts from the feeling of him stretching you open so wide. All you could do was call for him, call for the Demon King and tell him how good he felt deep inside of you.

Your chanting and praise seemed to really aid him, as he could feel himself about to cum very soon.

"Come on~ Just like that~ Cum with me~"

You didn't need to be told twice, as when he ordered it, you came with a muffled shriek, your body quaking against him.

---

The two of you laid on the cot after cleaning up. Your shirt was a mess so you had borrowed a portion of Ganon's top wear, but that didn't mean much as you laid on top of him under the blankets.

"So...did that satisfy all your little fantasies?" Ganon asked, rubbing your back in a soothing way.

You nodded tiredly, snuggling into your king. "It was perfect~"

The two of you had had this planned out for some time. You were a traveler that Ganon sought after, and he'd do anything in his power to make sure you were his.

"Though you fell a little to easily~" Ganon teased.

"Oh hush." You gave him a light hit to the chest. "How could I not with how big your fingers are~?"

Ganon simply gave a soft chuckle before rubbing your head. "Rest up. We'll get home later."

#kaisers house of desires #x reader #x male reader #x male y/n #x male smut #male reader #the legend of zelda #legend of zelda #tloz #ganon x male reader #ganon #ganon x reader #loz ganon #ganondorf #ganondorf x reader

[ironboyxs]

Unseen Hearts

Fandom: Stray Kids

Pairing: Felix x Male Reader

Word Count: 4652

Summary: Y/N is a young actor and singer on the rise who has great admiration for Stray Kids, especially a certain member with a huskier voice.

p.s. this is the first time I write about kpop on this blog, I hope you like it! In fact, I was extremely inspired because I've never written so much! and another thing: I mention a Korean ideogram in the story, I tried to do my research but my Korean is terrible, forgive any mistakes. and always remembering REQUESTS ARE OPEN, in the pinned there are the fandons for which I write

You never thought you would be in a serious relationship with a K-pop artist. Of course, you've been a fan of Korean culture since you were 13 and a friend introduced you to the concept of K-pop, dramas and all the rest.

You were lucky enough to have well-off parents who let you study Korean from the age of 13 because you had become completely obsessed with everything about Korea.

But obviously your life didn't revolve around just that, of course you went to shows whenever you could, once you even got a trip to South Korea as a gift to go to a fan meeting.

But one thing that the idol life showed you was that you also wanted to be an artist, you were in doubt between acting and music. After all, you were good at both. In school plays you always got the lead.

Your mother played the piano and from a very early age taught you everything she knew about music, so one of your hobbies, and also a form of therapy, was writing songs.

When you were 18, a family friend who worked for Netflix knew he had a casting call that was a perfect fit for you. You took the test, with zero faith that you would pass.

But it ended up happening, the series was about a fantasy world, four wizard friends fighting an evil entity, you had a lot of fun recording the first season, you made incredible friends, but you never thought the series would be successful.

Until it exploded. And it became the number 1 series on Netflix, with everyone talking about it. And obviously you and your co-stars started doing press tours.

Jimmy Fallon Show

- Hey guys! Welcome back to the Tonight Show! Today we have a very special guest, a talented young man who is having great success with the new Netflix series: Witchbound Chronicles. Let's welcome the amazing Y/N! How are you, Y/N?

- Hi Jimmy! I'm great, thanks for having me here.

- It's a pleasure to have you. Firstly, congratulations on the success of your series! What has the experience been like seeing your face everywhere?

- It's surreal, Jimmy. I never imagined things would happen so quickly. I'm just enjoying every moment.

- This is amazing! Tell us a little about the series. What can fans expect?

- Well, the series is called "Witchbound Chronicles" and it takes place in a completely new world full of magic, fantastic creatures and lots of exciting twists. I play one of the main characters, a young man named Ethan, who discovers he has incredible magical abilities.

- This looks amazing! And what was the audition process like to get the role?

- It was a little crazy, actually. I auditioned without much expectation, and when I got the call that I had gotten the role, I couldn't believe it. It was a dream come true.

- And what was it like working with the cast and crew?

- Everyone was incredible. The cast is very talented, and the team behind the cameras did an incredible job bringing this magical world to life. I learned a lot from all of them.

- I'm sure fans would love to know if there are any funny or interesting behind-the-scenes stories you can share.

- Oh, definitely! One day, we were filming a scene with intense special effects, and one of the animatronics that plays the magical creatures ended up going out of control. It was hilarious to see everyone running for cover, but in the end, everything worked out, and the scene was incredible.

- And what can we expect from the future, Y/N? More projects on the small screen or maybe even the big screen?

- Absolutely, Jimmy! I love acting, and I hope to continue exploring different roles and challenges. Who knows what the future holds, right?

- Hey Y/N, our research team made some interesting discoveries on your social media. It seems like you're a big K-pop fan, is that right?

- Oh yes, Jimmy! I'm completely obsessed with K-pop, it's one of my passions.

- This is amazing! Any specific groups or artists that you really admire?

- For sure! I'm a big fan of Stray Kids.

- Oh, and our team also noticed that you have a certain “bias” as they say in K-pop at Felix! You've been expressing your crush on Felix a lot on social media. Any funny stories or embarrassing moments related to this?

- Well, now that you mention that this is public I would say that all my posts about Felix are kind of funny and embarrassing, actually. I try to keep it light and humorous, but of course, my friends always tease me a little about it.

- That is great! And if Felix or any of the Stray Kids were watching right now, what would you say to them?

- Wow, that's a tough question. I guess I would say how much they mean to me as an artist and as a person. Their work really inspires me, and I really admire their talent.

- I hope Felix sees this and who knows, maybe you can meet one day!

Some time later, on a live that Felix was doing, a fan asked if he had seen this interview.

Chat: Felix, did you see Jimmy Fallon's interview with Y/N, the actor from the series "Witchbound Chronicles"?

- Oh yeah! I saw! It was amazing. I couldn't stop smiling throughout the entire interview.

Chat: Y/N mentioned that he's a big fan of Stray Kids and that he has a crush on you. What was your reaction when you watched this?

- Oh, really? This is so cool! I was very flattered to learn that he is a Stray Kids fan. I think it's an honor when talented people like our work.

Chat: Would you have a message to send to Y/N?

For sure! Y/N, if you're watching, thank you so much for your support! It's amazing to know that you enjoy our work, and who knows, maybe one day we can meet. Keep being amazing!

Chat: It would be great to see a collaboration between Stray Kids and the series' soundtrack, wouldn't it?

- Absolutely! We would love it! Who knows what the future holds for us, right? Let's hope something like this happens.

Meanwhile at your house

- Y/N did you watch Felix's last live? - Your sister came running to ask you.

- No, I saw the notification but I was busy so I couldn't watch it.

- You NEED to see this excerpt!

Your sister takes the phone to you with a cut from the live stream where Felix Yongbok Lee is simply talking about you, and of course you completely freak out!

- MY GOD! FELIX KNOWS I EXIST!

- Imagine if you could meet him in person?

You stop and reflect for a second

- What is it? - Your sister asks.

- My Twitter account simply has 1001 posts about how handsome and hot I think he is! I need to deprive that now!

- Wow, but it's great that he knows you have a crush on him!

- He already knows because of that stupid interview, I don't need to be embarrassed anymore! - You run out to get your cell phone.

A while later on a gossip page

“Recently Y/N S/N deprived his Twitter account and opened a new one saying that it would be his professional account. Does the young actor have something to hide?”

/-/

Months later, with the end of recording the first season of the series, and the end of the press conferences, you feel that it is time to return to music. You had loved that whole period of recording and promoting the series but you felt the urge to write about it all, to put it all in the form of music, and deep in your heart, you wanted to write about something, something that you thought was really silly. actually, but your mother always told you that music was made to express all your feelings.

Unseen Hearts

🎶 Unseen hearts, a world apart,

In the shadows, you're the spark.

A crush so sweet, yet out of reach,

Dreams we chase, lessons we teach. 🎶

- This song is AMAZING! - A music producer friend of your mother said when he heard it.

- Did you really think so? I think it's no big deal.

- Is beautiful! What was the inspiration?

- Ah, silly thing, you know... stupid youthful passion - You said with a bit of shame.

- Y/N, I know you've been wanting to combine acting and music for so long, Bobby can give you that opportunity. – Your mother said

- You have so much potential Y/N. - Said Bobby, the producer and owner of the record company you were now part of.

- Now, ideas for a music video?

The Unseen Hearts video was a success, number 1 in views on YouTube. The clip takes place in a magical setting, reminiscent of the world of the series that you are part of. Include enchanted forests, ancient ruins and mystical locations, having a sense of magic and mystery. The story of the music video centers on you, showing your magical journey in search of your unreachable crush. Throughout the clip you searche for a masked figure who wears a necklace with the Korean character:  리

Comments on Twitter

🌟 Just watched the "Unseen Hearts" music video by @Y/NActorOfficial and I'm absolutely enchanted! The magical symbolism and emotional depth in every scene got me hooked. Matt's talent is truly spellbinding! 🔮💖 #UnseenHearts #Y/NMagic

✨ The "Unseen Hearts" music video is a masterpiece! 🎬✨ Y/N's portrayal of an unattainable crush, wrapped in magical elements, is pure art. The visuals, the symbolism – everything is on point! 🌌🎶 #WitchboundChronicles #MagicalMusic

🌌 Theory time! What if the "Unseen Hearts" video is a metaphor for the struggles we face in expressing our feelings? The crush, shrouded in magic, symbolizes the elusive nature of emotions. Y/N's journey represents the pursuit of self-discovery. 🧐💭 #UnseenHeartsTheory

📜 Lyric interpretation theory: What if the lyrics in "Unseen Hearts" reflect Y/N's emotions towards Felix? The masked figure embodies the lyrical expression of an unspoken crush, with the ideogram pendant serving as a musical symbol of admiration. 🎤💔 #LyricConnection #UnseenHeartsEmotion

🎵 Melodic connection theory: The musical journey in "Unseen Hearts" might represent Y/N's emotional connection to Felix. The masked figure, with Felix's ideogram, is the elusive muse driving the rhythm of Y/N's heart. 🎭💖 #MusicalMuse #UnseenHeartsMelody

//

The Kelly Clarkson Show

- Hey guys! We're here with the talented Y/N, who recently released the amazing music video "Unseen Hearts." Y/N, first, I want to say that the music video is amazing, but everyone is wondering: what is the meaning behind it?

- Hi Kelly! First of all, thank you for the compliment. You know, "Unseen Hearts" is a magical journey, an exploration of emotions and personal challenges. I wanted to convey the idea of pursuing something that seems unattainable, but at the same time, it is an experience of self-discovery.

- Oh, this is fascinating! And many fans are curious about the character that appears in the clip. Can you tell us more about this?

- Of course, Kelly. The ideogram is an artistic representation, a kind of personal symbol. It's a way to add a layer of mystery to the story, allowing each person to find their own meaning in the song and video.

- I get it, I love this enigmatic approach! And what would you say to fans speculating about the music video?

- Well, it's amazing to see the enthusiasm of the fans and the different interpretations they are creating. The beauty of art is in its subjectivity, right? I love seeing the theories and stories that people are coming up with. It's a gift to see how music resonates in unique ways for everyone.

//

Live from Felix a few days later

Chat: Hi, Felix! Did you see Y/N's new video, "Unseen Hearts"? What did you think?

- Oh, sure! I watched it, and I have to say Y/N did an amazing job. The magical atmosphere, the emotional narrative, everything was very well done. I really liked.

Chat: And the music? Do you think it has some connection with you? After all, the character with your name appears in the clip!

- Well, it's interesting, right? I think art is interpretive, and each person can have their own vision. If music is an artistic expression, it's hard to say exactly what it means to Y/N. But I loved seeing how fans are creating their own theories and stories around it.

Chat: We are really curious! Do you think Y/N might have been inspired by you for the song?

- You know, Y/N is an incredible artist, and I'm just one of the many artists who can inspire him. I think the beauty of music is its ability to connect with different experiences and emotions. If Y/N found inspiration in something we experienced, it's an honor.

Chat: Hey Felix, we know Y/N mentioned he's a Stray Kids fan. Do you think he could have a crush on you?

- Oh, really? That's kind of funny to think about. I think it's always flattering to know that people admire our work, whether as artists or as people. And well, I don't really know about that. I'm grateful for the fans' support and affection, but personal relationships are something private, right? Let's focus on the music and Y/N's work, which is incredible.

Chat: We're just kidding, Felix! But seriously, what was it like for you to see your character in his video?

It was a pleasant surprise, for sure! Y/N is a talented artist, and it was cool to see that special touch in the video. I think he did a wonderful job of creating something unique and meaningful.

//

A few weeks later you are invited to perform at the Billboard Music Awards, it would be your first time performing Unseen Hearts in front of such a large audience, you were nervous obviously, but something made you even more nervous.

- Y/N you have no idea what I discovered! - Bobby, who was now your manager, called you excitedly.

- What was it?

- So I was organizing your participation in this year's BMAs, and you know who will be there, STRAY KIDS! They will also participate

You froze, you had followed the news, given interviews, seen Felix's live and knew that everyone already knew the obvious, you had burst out writing a song about the crush you had on a boy you saw once at a fan meeting.

- Y/N… are you there? - Bobby asked from the other side.

- I'm sorry, I just got a little distracted.

- I thought you would be more excited.

- Yes, I'm excited, of course, it's going to be really cool - You said a little disconcerted.

- Now are you ready for the big news?

- My God, is there more?

- It has! So the organization was talking to me, and they asked me if you would be willing to sit at the same table as them, you know, you speak Korean, so you can help the members who don't speak it to fit in.

- BOBBY WHAT DID YOU ANSWER?

- I confirmed your place with them of course, I thought you would love it!

- ARE YOU TELLING ME I'M GOING TO COME FACE TO FACE WITH THE GUY I WROTE A SONG ABOUT?????

- Wait, was the song really about Felix?

- My God Bobby, I thought you were my manager and paid attention to the nuances.

You wanted to pass out obviously.

//

Billboard Music Awards Day - Red carpet.

- Hi Matt! We are excited to see your performance today. What can we expect from this presentation?

- Hello! I'm looking forward to the night, it's going to be amazing. The performance will be full of energy, with a touch of magic and emotion. I hope everyone enjoys it!

- Good luck! Now, we've heard rumors that you and Stray Kids have a special connection. Any future collaborations on the horizon?

- Well, I'm a big fan of Stray Kids, they're so talented. Who knows what the future holds? I'm always open to surprising collaborations. - You say with a bright smile

- Hmm, intriguing! And regarding the "Unseen Hearts" video, many fans speculate about the inspiration behind it. Any subliminal messages?

- Ah, "Unseen Hearts" is an emotional journey, an exploration of personal feelings and challenges. Fan interpretations are fascinating, and I like to leave the song open to different meanings.

- What about the ideograms? We saw Felix from Stray Kids in the video. Any special meaning? - The interviewer asks with an insinuating smile

- Ideograms are like artistic elements, each one can find its own meaning. Sometimes it's just a way to add a special touch to the visual narrative. - You say, wanting to curse yourself for when you had the brilliant idea of putting one of the ideograms of Felix's name in the music video

Interview with Stray Kids

- And we're here with Stray Kids! You guys are killing it as always. We're curious to know, are there any secret collaborations you have in mind? Maybe something with our dear Y/N, who is also here today?

- Well, you know, we are always open to new musical experiences. Y/N is an amazing artist, so who knows what could happen in the future? - Felix responds.

- Interesting! And speaking of collaborations, we saw Felix's character in Y/N's "Unseen Hearts" video. Any idea what this could mean?

- It seems like Y/N wanted to add a special touch to the video. I don't know if there's a deeper meaning, but it's an honor to be included in his art in some way. - Felix says smiling

- What if we talk about the music itself? Any thoughts on "Unseen Hearts"? - The interviewer says wanting to provoke.

- Of course, we all watched the clip and were impressed. The song has a unique vibe, and Y/N's performance is engaging. It's great to see artists exploring different styles. - Bang Chan responds

- It seems like there are a lot of secrets being kept! Speaking of secrets, do you have any future projects that you haven't revealed yet?

- Well, we never reveal all our secrets, do we? You can expect more surprises in the future. - Hyunjin responds, ending the interview.

//

Later, after the red carpet, you have to face reality and go to your seat next to the members of Stray Kids. You're dying of embarrassment, not only because you meet artists you admire so much, but because you know what the topic of the moment is.

You greet everyone in Korean, trying to be as polite as possible, they are all incredibly kind to you.

When it's time to sit down, it's as if fate hates you, and of course your seat was next to Felix.

- I really enjoyed your series on Netflix. - Felix said trying to start a conversation.

- Serious? Didn't you find it a little too fanciful?

- It's too fanciful, but I like things like that, it's really cool.

- Thank you very much - You said blushing.

He looked incredibly handsome that night, you were trying very hard not to stare.

- I really liked Unseen Hearts too, it's a beautiful song.

- Oh thank you, but it doesn't even compare to your work, I'm still quite an amateur. - You always had this habit of diminishing yourself.

- Hey don't say that, your work is incredible. - He takes a strand of your hair and puts it back. - Your eyes are very E/C

He immediately takes his hand out of your hair and apologizes. There was a slight awkward atmosphere but the touch of his fingers in your hair were still there. “You’re not living a fanfic, focus on reality”, you forced yourself to think.

You didn't want to do it but you had to, you didn't want them to keep bothering the boy because of the damn ideogram in the clip.

- Look at the clip, and the ideogram, I'm sorry they keep disturbing you with this, I saw some of your lives and how embarrassed you were.

- Hey no, I thought it was really cool! Was it really a reference for me?

You look down, well, there was no point in lying anymore, right? At least you would leave with the knowledge that your idol would never see you as anything more

- Yes, it was, but you know we all have crushes on famous people, don't worry, it doesn't mean anything big.

- What a shame - He said looking down

What? - You were shocked.

- I wouldn't mind, you know, if it was a genuine crush.

You didn't have time to respond because Bobby came to call you to say that you needed to get ready for your presentation. You ran away with your heart racing, what did that mean, what did Felix mean?

//

- Ladies and gentlemen, singing Unseen Hearts Y/N S/N

On the Billboard Music Awards stage, the "Unseen Hearts" moment begins with you positioned center stage, radiating a magnetic presence. The mesmerizing melody fills the room, creating a magical atmosphere that captures everyone's attention.

The scenery is full of fantastic elements, as you immerse yourself in the performance, conveying the emotion of the music through each note. The audience, enveloped by the magic of the presentation, watches attentively.

During the performance, the camera occasionally cuts to the audience, where Felix from Stray Kids is sitting. His eyes meet at various moments, creating a visual connection that transcends the stage. You, while singing, exchange intense glances with Felix in the audience, conveying deep emotions and a unique harmony.

The exchange of glances is loaded with meaning, as if you were sharing your story not only with the audience, but also with Felix. Every facial expression reflects the intensity of the song, as your eyes meet Felix's, conveying a silent, emotional narrative.

At the end of the performance, the audience bursts into applause, recognizing the beauty and emotion of the performance. You, as you come down from the stage, exchange a final look with Felix, a moment that remains suspended in the air before being lost in the effervescence of the applause.

On twitter

🌟 The exchange of looks between Y/N and Felix during "Unseen Hearts" at the #BBMAs was simply magical! This emotional connection transcended the stage. ✨🎶 #UnseenHeartsMagic

😍 I can't get over the intensity of the looks between Y/N and Felix during the performance! Their chemistry is palpable, and "Unseen Hearts" became even more special. 🔥💖 #BBMAs # Y/N xFelixMoment

🧙‍♂️ I'm absolutely delighted with the performance of "Unseen Hearts" at the #BBMAs. The looks between Y/N and Felix added an extra layer of magic to the performance! 🌈🔮 #EnchantedConnection

🎭 "Unseen Hearts" at the #BBMAs was an emotional journey! The looks between Y/N and Felix brought a unique depth to the presentation. A masterpiece of connection and magic. 🌌🎶 #MysticalPerformance

🤩 The performance of "Unseen Hearts" at the #BBMAs was a visual and emotional spectacle! Y/N and Felix exchanging looks made everything even more captivating. 😊💫 #KPopMagicMoment

😭 I cried at the beauty of the performance of "Unseen Hearts". The intensity of the looks between Y/N and Felix is heartbreaking. A unique emotional experience. 💔🌟 #BBMAs #EmotionalJourney

🎶 The chemistry between Y/N and Felix during "Unseen Hearts" at the #BBMAs is something that cannot be described in words. A perfect fusion of music, emotion and connection. Angry! 👏🌈 #MusicalAlchemy

🌀 "Unseen Hearts" at #BBMAs left my soul vibrating. The looks between Y/N and Felix transcended the stage, creating a unique and magical experience. 🔮✨ #MysticVibes #UnseenHeartsVibes

//

You couldn't believe what had just happened, you had performed Unseen Hearts in front of hundreds of people but it was as if you could only see Felix, you were completely embarrassed by it. How could you be so unprofessional to stare at the boy like that? What would they say about you? What would they say about him?

A knock on the dressing room door makes you stand up. It was the boys from Stray Kids and you quickly rushed to open it.

- Y/N, man, you just killed it on stage! It was amazing! - Bang Chan says hugging you.

You're grateful for the compliment, but a wave of self-consciousness hits you. Did they notice your distraction? Did they notice the prolonged glances in Felix's direction?

- Oh, thanks, Chan! I'm glad you liked it. - You say smiling, trying to hide it.

- Did you see the audience? Everyone was mesmerized. It looks like you worked some real magic up there! - Jeongin says.

Everyone laughs, and you join in the laughter, trying to keep your self-critical thoughts away.

- Y/N, that performance was incredible. You brought such a unique energy to the song. - Felix says with a shy smile.

- And I think our friend here needs to speak to you in private. - Changbin says leading the others to leave the room.

Okay, you thought: now he's going to say that what I did was horrible, that it could cause gossip and horrible repercussions for his career. And so you will have ruined the mere chance of having a friendship with someone you admire.

But his response was very different from what you imagined.

- Yeah… I wanted to ask… if you want to go out with me, do you know after the awards?

The initial perplexity is replaced by a mixture of relief and surprise. You expected the worst, but here Felix is, not mentioning anything about the intense stares, but rather extending an invitation to hang out.

- Wow, of course, I would love to! It would be amazing. - You smile trying to hide your surprise.

Felix seems to relax a little, like he's relieved by his answer.

- Great so! Will be cool. The awards are going to be incredible, but I think after that we can relax a little, what do you think?

- I will love it!

- Excellent! See you after the awards, then. - He says with a dazzling smile

He turns to leave the dressing room, and you stay there, processing the unexpected turn of events. What seemed like a potential uncomfortable situation turned into an invitation to hang out. Perhaps the intense looks were perceived differently by Felix.

Later that night…

"Y/N from 'Unseen Hearts' and Felix from Stray Kids spotted holding hands after the Billboard Music Awards!"

"The beginning of a new ship? Y/N and Felix, moments of romance after the awards."

"Fans are ecstatic over photos of Y/N and Felix together. Could this be the start of a new friendship or something more?"

And on Twitter…

😱 Holding hands? This is real? Y/N and Felix together? I'm freaking out! 😍🥰 # #Y/NxFelix  #UnseenHeartsLove

🚢 Is a new ship being born? The internet needs to know! 😏🚀 # Y/Nlix #ShipSpeculation

🌟 The friendship between Y/N and Felix is so beautiful! We loved seeing the two together. 🤝💖 #FriendshipGoals # Y/NAndFelix

🧐 Holding hands? Are we all witnessing the beginning of something special? 🤔🌈 # Y/NAndFelix #SpeculationsRising

📸 Exclusive photos of Matt and Felix leaving the event. Are we seeing the birth of a new partnership? 🤝💫 #CelebrityNews # Y/NFelixMoments

📚 What do you think of a fanfic based on these photos? 😏💕 # Y/NlixFanfic #ShippingDreams

And so maybe Unseen Hearts weren't so unseen...

#x male reader #male reader insert #gay #fanfic #stray kids #stray kids x male reader #stray kids imagine #felix x male reader #lee felix #lee felix x male reader #kpop

[heich0e]

tags: smut, f!reader, oral (f!receiving), slight exhibitionism, slight coercion (reader is reluctant but easily swayed), mentions of slightly toxic relationship dynamic, this was inspired by @andypantsx3 and @mydiluc so credit where credit is due!!, word count 2.4k, 18+ MINORS AND AGELESS BLOGS DO NOT INTERACT

the door to the spare bedroom in your apartment (that in the past few years has doubled as a makeshift office, a storage room, and has very seldom actually hosted a guest) creaks open, and out of pure instinct you temporarily turn off the video feed from your end of the zoom call. 

"i'm bored," eren pouts, slumping against the doorframe with his hands shoved into the front pocket of his hoodie.

"eren, i'm in a meeting," you whisper, even though your microphone has been muted for the majority of the video conference (and will likely remain that way until it concludes.)

"you're always in meetings," he complains, slinking a little bit further into the spare room and closer to you.

"eren, that's because i have a job," you sigh, pinching the bridge of your nose, "meetings are part of being employed."

eren makes an indignant little sound. his lips flattening in what you recognize as offence. 

"baby, i didn't mean it like that," you say softly, remorse seeping into your words. 

eren doesn't work. he's supported by his family, old old money, and has been picking away at a master's degree for the past few years that with every passing day you wonder if he'll ever actually finish--not that you'd ever tell him that, and not that it really matters considering he technically never has to work a day in his life and he'll still have more wealth to his name than most people could ever hope to accumulate. 

you didn't grow up in a family like eren's. didn't have the same privileges and safeguards and assurances that he's had all his life. you went to university on a scholarship. worked your ass off to maintain it. fought for competitive internships that would make you more appealing to prospective employers, and graduated with a good GPA that sweetened the deal. 

you met eren in your sophomore year, though his reputation absolutely preceded him–he was well known among the students not only for his family's name (the same name on multiple buildings across campus), but his good looks and his charm made him a bit notorious. you knew he didn't take school particularly seriously, but loved partying. and after a long (relentless) pursuit on his part that spanned the better part of the fall term, you finally agreed to a date after he half-jokingly threatened to enrol in all the same courses as you the following semester (a threat which, to this day, you're uncertain was really much of a joke at all.)

and now it's been years since the two of you got together. to the point that it's hard to remember a time without him at all. 

but those differences in your upbringings, in your work ethics, are still something that the two of you often have to work through. eren would prefer you didn't work at all--or at least didn't work quite so hard, or quite so much--but you enjoy working. sure the job you'd snagged as a new grad wasn't the most lucrative position, but it was entry level at a great company and there was opportunity for advancement which you planned to take full advantaged of. it was a competitive opening in your field and you'd managed to get the job all on your own--even in spite of eren begging you to let him ask his dad to call in a favour on your behalf.

eren sees no issue in using his family name in his (and those closest to him's) best interest. you'd prefer to earn things on your own merit.

the fundamental divide between the two of you.

eren eyes you mistrustfully from the edge of your desk, still sulking from your comment. 

"i really didn't mean it like that," you insist, reaching out towards him. "i just meant that there are parts of having a job you can't change."

eren slinks into your grasp, letting you wind your arms around his waist and burrow your face into his tummy from your seat in your desk chair. the video call in the background hasn't made much progress since you tuned it out, so you're not overly worried about what you might be missing. 

the soft material of eren's hoodie brushes against your cheeks, and his hands cradle the back of your head to hold you against him. 

"i know you didn't mean it like that," eren hums above you, and you tilt your face up so your chin rests just above his navel so you can peek up at him. "i just feel like i never see you anymore."

"eren we see each other every day," you reply, brow furrowing in confusion. you work hybrid in-office/work from home, and with eren picking away leisurely at his masters dissertation his days are mostly spent at home "researching" (playing video games.)

"but you're always so busy," eren pouts, his large hands cupping your cheeks. his thumbs stroke the hollows below your eyes. "you work so hard."

you tilt your face into his touch, your cheek squishing against his palm. he presses a little firmer against either one of your cheeks until your lips pucker, and chuckles softly to himself -- a quiet little 'heh'.

"is your call boring?" eren asks, his eyes sliding to the computer screen in front of you where the call is continuing. 

"ah widd'l," you say, your cheeks still smushed together in his hands. he eases up his grip, brushing some hair back from your face. you sigh, turning in your desk chair and looking back to your computer. "i haven't even really said much. i never do in these meetings since it's mainly advertising and marketing execs, but attendance is mandatory for my team." 

"so you don't have to say anything?"

you hum, reaching forward and clicking on the chat box to see what new messages have popped up since you've been distracted. there are a few links in the conversation and you click to open them in a new window to review after the call concludes. 

eren crouches down beside you, dragging your chair back slightly from the desk. 

"eren, what are you doing?" you ask him, flushing as he pushes your knees apart and squeezes his broad frame in between them. from the waist up you’re dressed in normal work clothes, but you hadn’t bothered to put on proper bottoms that morning so all you have on your lower half is a silky pair of pyjama shorts (one of the perks of working from home.)

“i wanna give you head,” he says, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. he reaches for the waistband of your shorts but you stop him with a hand on either wrist.

“eren!” you hiss, your eyes flickering to your screen again just to double—triple—check that your mic is muted and your camera is really properly off. it is, but it still brings you little comfort with the faces of your company’s executives plastered across your computer screen.

“what?” he asks, pouting. he rests his cheek against the plushness of your thigh. “why can’t i?” 

“i’m working. i’m in a meeting.”

“that you don’t need to talk in, and that your camera is off for,” he counters, his lithe fingers snaking up the leg of your teeny tiny shorts—he grins when he realizes you’re not wearing panties underneath. his breath is hot and humid on your skin, and the look in his eyes makes your stomach feel tight. 

“eren, i can’t—” 

“you don’t have to do anything,” he smoothly interrupts, the tip of his finger stroking softly up your slit underneath your shorts. “just let me take care of you, my professional, hardworking girl.”

eren was blessed with a silver tongue to go along with the silver spoon he’d been raised with in his mouth. you know you shouldn’t. that it would be an egregious act of misconduct to go along with what he’s saying. but before you can even think to refuse him your silky shorts are hanging off your ankle and your legs are looped over his broad shoulders, slumped back in your desk chair as eren licks long, broad stripes through the sopping wet petals of your pussy. 

“eren, eren—!“ you choke on a pealing moan, your fingers tangling in his soft hair and tugging firmly against the strands. he’s always so slow to take you apart, so dilligent in the way he presses his tongue against you, so methodical about the way that he skirts around your clit—brushing it but never giving it quite the stimulation you want—which only makes you more desperate and needy for him.

just the way he likes you.

“you taste so good,” he murmurs against your cunt, wet and sloppy as he drags his tongue up to collect your slick and his spit along it. he swallows animatedly, like he’s making a big show of it. “do you know how good you taste?”

you shake your head in a trembling little show of dissent. 

he hums. “so good. sweetest little pussy on earth.”

he dips his fingertips inside of you, letting you get just a taste of the stretch before he’s pulling them out again. he holds them up to your face so you can see the shine of fluid clinging to his skin, down to the first knuckle. 

“taste it, baby.”

he presses against your lips and you welcome the digits in. you wouldn’t call the taste sweet by any stretch of the imagination. there’s a headiness to it. a tang. something familiar to the taste that’s not unpleasant. 

eren pushes his fingers back so far in your mouth that you almost choke, but there’s something familiar in this too—you’re used to the prodding at the back of your tongue, the sudden intrusion just at the opening of your throat. he likes teasing you like this. dominating you in such a subtle way it feels like more of a game. you moan, and as your head tips back eren finally sucks hard against your neglected clit. 

your toes curl as they hover over the planes of his back, your spine bending and lifting your chest up towards the ceiling as it bows. eren slips his fingers, now soaked in your spit, back out from between your lips—leaving a little trail of saliva down your chin. eren rubs his slick fingertips against the swell of your clit, rubbing quick circles against it. 

the heat in the pit of your stomach kindles, the knot tightening in your core. 

“you gonna cum?” eren asks, pressing a contrastingly chaste kiss to your trembling thigh. “you gonna cum for me—“

“miss reader?” 

your last name shocks you like a splash of ice water across a circuit board.

both you and eren freeze, your eyes snapping to the computer in front of you. 

the call has gone quiet, and the senior ad executive is looking expectantly to the screen. 

“miss reader are you still there?” the executive repeats. 

frantically you push eren away from you, snapping your legs closed and pulling yourself up to the computer in your chair. you unmute your microphone after clearing your throat. 

“hello?” you say, your voice fluttery and flustered. “i’m here!”

the executive relaxes slightly, chuckling. “thought we’d lost you there!” 

“sorry, sorry,” you apologize, your shaking hands pressed over your eyes. “i’m having, um, some issues with my internet connection. keeping my camera off is helping but the call is still a little laggy on my end.”

the executive hums. “no worries, it happens to us all. just wondering if you have any updates on this quarter’s numbers?” 

you swallow, eyes flickering to eren who’s seated on the ground next to you, leaning against your desk with a sly grin on his face, palming at his cock through his sweatpants. 

“yes, of course,”—you nod even though your camera is still off, instinct more than logic—“the data is still raw, and we haven’t had a chance to properly analyze it yet since it’s still early, but i can forward the spreadsheet to everyone after the call?” 

you watch your colleagues all nod or make small noises of agreement from their sides of the screen.

“ok, sounds good. we’ll keep an eye out for it,” the advertising manager nods, and you see the end of his pen swivelling in the corner of the screen as he makes a note out of frame of his webcam. “now, moving onto the issue from last week’s meeting—“

you slam you mute button on once more, slumping back in your chair in relief. you toss your arm over your eyes, a throbbing between your temples the echoes the dull, unsatisfied ache between your legs. 

“good job, baby,” eren laughs, running a comforting hand up your bare thigh, fingertips kneading into the flesh. “you barely sounded like you were just about to cum.”

“eren, that wasn’t funny.”

eren pulls your chair back from your desk again, pressing a kiss to one knee and then the other. 

“i’m sorry,” he says softly, you pull your arm away from your eyes to peek down at him. he’s looking up at you with a wide-eyed, beseeching gaze. he rests his chin in the valley between your knees. “i didn’t mean to upset you.”

you sigh lightly. 

“i’m not upset,” you murmur, touching his cheek gently. he reaches up and places his hand over yours as it cups his face. “it was just stressful.”

eren tilts his face so he can press a kiss to your palm, then pulls your hand a little closer so he can press another to your wrist where your pulse pounds arrhythmically. 

“i know,—” 

eren nods as he peeks up at you through his lashes, the green of his gaze cool and comforting. the hand that’s not holding yours to his lips snakes easily between your knees, easing them ever so slightly apart. 

your breath hitches as the cool air catches on the remnants of spit and arousal that have smeared messily along your upper thighs. your stomach clenches. 

“—so just sit back and let me make it up to you.”

#eren x reader #eren x you #eren yeager x reader #eren yeager x you #aot writing #aot fic #writing

[martinfreemanspotter]

A busy month with a few highlights like the Dish podcast and, of course, the release of season 2 of The Responder.

May 1st

Martin was the guest star on the Dish podcast, together with Tony Schumacher.

Also available as full video.

May 4th

A new interview in The Standard about season 2 of The Responder.

May 5th

The Responder is back! S2 is now available on BBC iPlayer.

May 6th

Tons of great reviews for s2 of The Repsonder, a short promo clip and a new project for Martin.

Also, a short tribute to Bernard Hill.

May 7th

Martin and the crew attend a special screening of The Responder in Liverpool.

May 9th

Martin was on the BBC The One Show.

May 12th

BAFTA time! Martin presented the award for Supporting Actress. And he looked great on the Red Carpet, of course. ( x ) thanks to @a-freemaniac ( x ) ( x )

May 13th

New lovely pics from last night ( x ) ( x ), a new red carpet video, Rachel sharing pics. 🥳 Also, this video.

Aaaand this video. So much. Woohoo.

May 14th

We finally learned which role Martin will play in the upcoming Momo film.

May 16th

The official Bafta photo has been released.

May 17th

Martin will read 1984 on BBC RADIO 4 soon.

May 21st

Martin Freeman attended The Prince's Trust and TKMaxx & Homesense Awards 2024.

May 22nd

Martin met King Charles today.

May 26th

We got to see a few BTS bits from The Responder and Rachel showed us Martin's backside.

Wow, that took a while to put together. Good! We can never have enough Martin.

Also, a shoutout to @a-freemaniac , who did an excellent job in providing us with new content when I was too busy running around London and with other RL commitments- please check out her blog!

Please let me know if you want to get tagged. 🙂

@missdeliadili

 @oetkb12​

 @macgyvershe

 @emaster875

 @jobooksncoffee

 @sunnysidesidra

 @sherlockwatsons

 @xeniawatson

 @procrastinatorasfuck  

 @ratherbethedragon

 @your-local-comedy-lawyer

 @female-frodo-totally

 @raphinsocks​

 @randomwholocker

 @whatnext2020

 @ribjork

 @cortinita

 @a-freemaniac

 @chinike

 @lilianaperezmx-blog

#martin freeman spotter #martin freeman #martin monthly #the responder #the responder 2 #baftas 2024

[meowmeow-motherfucker]

Covenant- Chapter 10

Summary: With the five year anniversary of the attack on New York approaching, Odin and Fury come to the agreement that an arranged marriage between Asgard and Earth would show good faith toward all future interactions. When Odin refuses Jane’s candidacy, Agent Coulson is tasked with finding a suitable wife for the prince of Asgard.

Pairing: Loki x OFC Claire Fisher

Word count: 13k (prepare drinks and snackies as always)

Chapter warnings: I...I don't really have much for this one. It's 13k of Claire and Loki being horny on main for each other. Dirty talk, oral (f receiving), p in v, somewhat public sex (there are guards outside the room), with a sprinkling of domestic fluff and bickering.

Taglist: @lokisgoodgirl @gigglingtiggerv2 @icytrickster17 @mysteriouslyfriedjellyfish @lokislilkitten @justjoanne242 @amlocked @ddmariegirl @mags-04-blog @sharris8 @meepycheep @iamlokisgloriouspurpose @the-fantasy-loving-angel @jaidenhawke @smolvenger @ladymischief11

Please let me know if you'd like to be added to the taglist! Thanks for coming along on this journey with me! Buckle up gang :D

Read this fic on AO3.

“Alone at last, little wife.” Loki purred as the heavy door to his- their chambers closed behind them. Claire smiled over her shoulder at him, the feral look in his eyes sending a thrill up her spine.

“Without breaking the rules, you mean,” she laughed as he pulled her flush against his chest. She draped her arm over his as he buried his face in her hair, kissing at the hairline behind her ear. “You gonna show me around?” she asked, drumming her fingers on his metal vambrace.

“You want a tour?” he seemed surprised.

“Of course,” Claire replied. “After all, you got to see my living quarters. I’m curious.” she felt him exhale against her skin, and he released his hold on her.

“Very well,” he chuckled before gesturing to the room they stood in. “As you can see, this is the sitting room,” he indicated the plush couches in front of the fireplace. A healthy fire crackled in the grate, throwing dazzling light on the lavish dining table and chairs in the southeast corner. Claire could already imagine having intimate breakfasts there. Tall windows bracketed the fireplace, looking out onto the city below. Beyond the windows, Claire could make out a railing. “Whenever I- or we, rather- have guests, this is where we will meet with them.”

“Is there a balcony?”

“There is,” Loki replied. “Would you like to see it?” he purred in her ear.

“Yes please,” Claire grinned, enjoying the feel of his thumbs as they brushed the backs of her arms. “I’m sure you have an amazing view.”

“It is quite stunning,” Loki replied, taking her by the hand to lead her out onto the balcony. Claire leaned over the railing, drinking in the view. The city lay spread out far below, faint strains of music from the still on-going feast drifting up on the gentle breeze. Small dots of light twinkled in the city beyond like stars in the sky. The moon was almost full, shining down on the people below. “Are you pleased?” The touch at her waist was gentle, long fingers casting through her gown to the sensitive flesh beneath.

“It’s beautiful.”

“The balcony extends around this corner to the bed chamber,” Loki said. “Would you like to see it?”

“Is that the next stop on the tour?” Claire asked flirtatiously, turning to face him.

“It can be,” Loki smirked. “Unless of course, you have something else in mind. You did say you were debating.”

“Well,” Claire sighed, running her hands up his arms. “Look who paid attention.” Loki grinned as she linked her hands behind his neck.

“I must admit I’m curious how your thoughts align with mine.”

“Then lead the way,” Claire smiled. “Although…” she murmured, eyes glinting mischievously as she glanced at the wall beside the balcony door. “The wall looks nice. And since we already know you can pick me up...”

“I agree, but for the future, little wife, not tonight.”

“Aw,” Claire tutted. “Well that’s okay. I had other plans anyway.” she winked at him, giggling when he backed her against the wall and sealed his mouth to hers. Long fingers dug into her hips, bunching the smooth fabric at her waist so tight Claire feared it might rip. His ceremonial leathers creaked as she pulled him as close as possible.

Finally.

At long last they could act on the desire they’d held back for so many weeks. Teeth gnashed as Loki pressed against her from hip to shoulder, his large hand cupping her face as he kissed her possessively. Claire threaded her fingers in the hair at his nape, gasping into his mouth as he reached down and brought one of her thighs up and over his hip. His fingers explored beneath the fabric, marveling at the feel of her bare flesh as he opened her to him.

Loki growled deep in his throat as he dug his fingers into her thigh, the cool night air raising goosebumps on her bare flesh as he pressed against her intimately. Claire gasped at the feel of him, a thin beading of sweat gathering at her neck as Loki rolled his hips against her core.

“Loki-”

“Shall we go inside, little wife?”

“Yes please.” Claire pleaded, dotting the sharp line of his jaw with heated kisses.

“You don’t wish to continue the tour?” he pressed against her once again, grinning with delight when she whimpered and dug her little nails into him.

“Show me later,” she nipped the lobe of his ear, his leathers creaking as she tightened her grip. “Loki…”

“A poor husband I would be if I did not see to my wife’s needs,” he captured her lips in a dizzying kiss before hefting her into his arms. Claire wrapped her arms around his shoulders, her soft lips teasing at his collar as he carried her along the balcony to the double doors around the corner. Her deft fingers worked beneath his collar, and Loki staggered as she sucked a mark into the sensitive curve of his neck. “Let me walk, woman, or we won’t get far.”

“Walk faster then!” Claire protested, laughing when Loki pressed her against the wall once more. He sank his weight onto her, adoring the feel of her hands in his hair as he mapped her thighs with his hands. He groaned as chills ran down his spine, grabbing handfuls of her ass as she pulled him closer with her powerful thighs. One of her hands skimmed down between them and began working to open his trousers.

“Damn it-” she muttered when she couldn’t find the clasp. He was wearing too many clothes!

“What do you need, little wife?” Loki couldn’t help but tease her. He pressed a kiss against her neck, enjoying the way she trembled around him.

“Your dick,” Claire teased, rolling her hips against his and making him gasp. “Please.”

“I like hearing you beg for me,” Loki murmured, reaching for the door knob to let them inside. He held her against him with an arm around her waist and kicked the door shut behind them. “But you’ll need to wait just a little while longer.”

“Whyyyy?” Claire complained as he carried her further into the room. The massive bed took up a large part of the room, along with two armoires, and two room dividers. Claire spied her vanity tucked behind one of the dividers. A fireplace cast flickering shadows on everything, but Claire could also see two dark doors branching off of the room.

“Because…” Loki shuddered as sharp teeth clamped down on his pulse point, sending chills racing along his spine. “Such a menace,” he grunted as his wife’s luscious thighs squeezed his waist. Her eyes had become glazed with desire, the heat between her legs calling to him like a beacon. A lesser man would have given into temptation and thrown her on the bed by now. Her wicked mouth was trailing bites down to his collar bone, dissolving his restraint with each little nip. “We have-business to attend to-before we forget ourselves.” The bed was looking more tempting by the second.

“Right,” Claire pulled away slightly, her chest heaving as she tried to focus on not ripping Loki’s clothes to shreds. “How are we doing this?”

“I have several ideas, but please-” Loki pleaded, his hands curling into fists as he fought the urge to rip her dress clean off her delectable body. “You still wish for the contraceptive we discussed, yes?”

“For now, yes please.” Claire replied. “Do you need anything from me?”

“Not at all. It’s already completed,” Loki shook his head, a small smile flitting across his face. “It seems we were meant to continue the tour. I’ve just realized I forgot the vials in my study.”

“You have a study?” Claire asked. “You really are an old man.” she snickered, undeterred by the annoyed look Loki shot her.

“I shall not dignify that with a response.”

“Technically you just did,” Claire smiled as Loki clenched his jaw in frustration. “You like me. You said so.” Loki huffed, his green eyes rolling so forcefully Claire half expected them to pop out of his skull and roll away.

“This way, you absolute menace.” he replied, a muscle ticking in his jaw as he fought the smile that threatened. He led Claire out into the sitting room, opening another door to their right.

Bookshelves lined the walls from floor to ceiling, an ornate wooden desk standing sentry in the center of the room. Two windows flanked a door immediately behind the desk, the balcony and railing visible in the moon light beyond. Loki crossed the room, pulling a small box from a high shelf. The golden box glowed in the dim fire light coming from the small fire burning in the fireplace, the delicate whorls of its design appearing to ripple as Loki opened the box and showed her the contents. Inside on the plush green velvet, lay two glass potion bottles- both small in size. One was tall and slender, the other bulbous with a slender neck. An eerie blue glow emanated from the bottles, not phasing Loki in the slightest as he handed her the bulbous bottle and took the slender one for himself.

“You made these?”

“I did,” Loki confirmed, fingers clasping hers as she turned the bottle this way and that. “You will need to drink it in its entirety. There may be some discomfort.”

“Will I die?”

“What?” Loki looked concerned. “No, of course not. You won’t be harmed at all, I swear it.”

“I was being sarcastic, mischief, it’s fine,” Claire downed the blue liquid in one gulp, grimacing as it fizzled and burned its way down her throat. Her throat burned like she’d swallowed freshly dispensed Coke, making her cough as the burn settled in her belly and made her eyes water. “See? No biggie.” she managed. “Why do you have one?”

“You thought I would put the onus solely on you?” Loki asked, one perfect brow castigating her. How he was able to convey so much in an eyebrow was annoying, honestly. Everything about the man was perfect.

“Um...yes?” Claire said, even as his perfect lips sealed around the bottle and its contents disappeared into his waiting mouth.

“Forgive the trite saying, but it does take two, yes?” Loki’s eye twitched as he fought a grimace. “Norns, I forgot how foul this tastes.”

“Well, yes, but...still unexpected. Male birth control is practically unheard of on Earth.”

“That defies logic. Men have the capability of impregnating-” Claire gagged, holding up a hand to stop him.

“Don’t say impregnating-”

“Well it’s true,” Loki shrugged. “It seems illogical, and frankly, idiotic, to prescribe birth control to women when they can only carry one pregnancy per year-” Loki paused. “Unless your species is more prolific than I’ve been led to believe.”

“No, no, you’re right,” Claire nodded, swallowing against the rising burn in her belly. “Twins are always a possibility, but that still only counts as one.”

“Oh gods, twins,” Loki paled, sitting on the edge of his desk. “I hadn’t thought of that.”

“Well, at least we don’t have to worry about that for a while, but-” Claire blanched, his face paling. The burning was inching its way up Claire’s esophagus, and her concern was steadily growing. “Loki?”

“Yes?”

“Is it supposed to keep burning? It feels like heartburn but-” a loud burp escaped her, relieving the burning sensation in her throat only to cause a new burning in her cheeks. “Ugh, why does it taste like broccoli?!” Claire cringed, groaning as she shook her head. “This is probably the least attractive thing I could be doing- stop laughing!”

“I am sorry,” Loki didn’t sound sorry at all, the ass. “I am used to the odd side effects seidr can incur, but broccoli is new.”

“This isn’t how I thought this was going to go,” Claire found herself laughing despite her embarrassment. “Can I- I’d like to brush my teeth please. I am not kissing you with broccoli mouth.”

“Of course! Your things were brought over during the ceremony,” Loki said as he led Claire back to the expansive bedroom, showing her the armoire just inside the door. “This armoire is yours. All of your things are inside. Your toiletries will have already been placed in the en suite, through that door there.”

“Awesome. This is the easiest move I’ve ever had,” Claire joked, quickly searching out her things in the bathroom. She scrubbed her teeth clean quickly, glad to be rid of the odd burning. Hopefully no other weird side effects would crop up. “You’d better fucking work. We are not having any babies yet.” she poked at her lower belly with meaning. Not that she doubted Loki’s skill, but it never hurt to be too cautious right?

She left the bathroom, finding Loki waiting patiently.

“Do you feel better?” he asked. Claire nodded, fingers digging into his shoulders as Loki’s mouth latched onto her collarbone. His arms wrapped around her like a favorite blanket, warm and comforting and perfect. “Shall I help you select something for bed?” he murmured against her skin, making her knees weak as he sucked a mark at the hollow of her throat. Claire had worried the mood was spoiled by her broccoli burps, but found her desire returning twofold as his hand teased the small of her back.

“I- have something picked out already- hng-” Claire shuddered as his large hands clutched at her possessively, bunching the fabric of her dress at her hips as his mouth traveled down her chest to tease the valley between her breasts. Her pussy clenched in anticipation, soaking the already damp material of her panties. “Help me out of my dress?”

“I’d be delighted,” Strong arms lifted her, cradling her against his chest as her arms wound around his shoulders once more. He carried her behind one of the dividers, turning her before he set her on her feet so that her back pressed against his chest. “To think you have looked like this all day, and everyone deigned to keep you hidden from me. I should have them all flogged,” Loki groaned appreciatively as he watched his hands roam her figure in the mirror. His large hands squeezed her breasts before sinking down to her hips. Claire whimpered as his hands squeezed her flesh, sending a fresh wave of desire through her. His pupils were dilated, eyes flooded with desire for her. Loki unclasped her necklace and set it atop the vanity, breath warming her skin as he nosed at the newly exposed flesh. “These jewels suit you,” he murmured, lips once again exploring the sensitive expanse of her throat as her head fell back against his shoulder. One of his hands caressed the column of her neck as the other skimmed down the fabric of her dress. Claire cried out as his hand cupped her sex, the friction and tantalizing heat making her all but froth at the mouth. “You should always be adorned so. On my honor, you’ll want for nothing.” he promised, admiring the sight they made in the mirror as he pressed kisses along her neck. She shivered in his grip, making him smile.

“I don’t need jewels,” Claire mewled, her body arching into his touch. “Just need you.”

“You have me, little wife,” Loki pledged. “Shall I leave you to dress?”

“You haven’t undressed me yet,” Claire sassed him. “Care to fix that?”

“You’re right,” Loki smiled. “Allow me.”

“O-okay,” Claire managed. Her head was still spinning like a top. Loki chuckled as he helped her balance, sinking down to gather the hem of her dress in his hands. Slowly, gently, he brought the material up her body, savoring every dip and curve of her form as his hands traveled up her legs to her hips, her chest, and finally up and over her shoulders. Claire shivered as the cool air met her exposed flesh, goosebumps erupting in the absence of fabric and Loki’s hands. The chill was short lived, as Loki let her dress fall from his hands and pulled her against him, heat from his body seeping into her as his eyes roamed her exposed flesh with a fervor that made her heart skip a beat. Fingers dug into her hips greedily, thumbs mapping the hollows of her hips as his mouth traced her collar bone.

“You are stunning.”

“And you’re overdressed.” Claire murmured as Loki captured her lips.

“So I am.” Loki’s breath warmed her skin as he buried his face in her neck, inhaling her scent as his fingers teased along her lower back. Her hands found the release on his epaulets, sending his cape cascading to the floor behind them. Her nimble fingers brushed his hair back when it fell in his face.

“What happened to your helmet?” In between their second and third dance, the golden horns had disappeared.

“Astrid will have collected it and sent it to be polished,” Loki murmured, pleasant shivers coursing down his spine as her fingers teased the hairs at the back of his neck. “Why do you ask?”

“I think the horns are sexy. They seem like they’d make great hand holds.” Loki’s stomach clenched as Claire winked at him. Impatience growing, Loki undid the strap over his chest and let it fall to the floor.

“We shall have to test that theory.” he said as he shrugged off his overcoat and let it fall as well, the butter soft leather hissing as it pooled at their feet.

“I’ve always wondered what this is for.” Claire muttered, running a finger along the gold swoop on his chest.

“It is meant to protect my heart,” Loki explained. “It unclasps here,” he showed her the discreet fastenings at the shoulders of his leather tunic. “The tunic unlaces on the sides.”

“Oooo let me?” Claire asked, reaching for the tight lacing on the side closest to her.

“Of course,” Claire stepped closer, her fingers making quick work of the lacing that bound him. It fit him snugly, as did everything he wore. Claire couldn’t help but admire the craftsmanship of the garment, eyes traveling along the stitching as her fingers worked. Unable to resist touching him any longer, Claire slipped her hand in the space created between the leather and fabric. Loki was silent as she leaned against him, letting her explore the dips and peaks of muscle with her hand. A breathless gasp escaped him as her fingers teased along the rise of his pants, and a smile bloomed when he glanced at her with hunger. As much as she wished to explore further, she slowed. He was still far too dressed. “Would you prefer I walk in front of you? You didn’t like it when I walked up behind you earlier.”

Loki was surprised by the question. No one ever asked him such things.

“Please.” Claire crossed to his other side without a word, unlacing the other side of his leather tunic quickly.

“I’m guessing this goes over your head?”

“It does.”

“Alright, handsome, arms up,” Claire lifted the tunic over his head, the firm leather creaking as she set it to the side. “Better?”

“Much, thank you.”

“What comes next?”

“Who,” Loki corrected, grinning when she scrunched her face in confusion. He licked at her lips, swallowing her confused ‘huh?’ as his fingertips dug into her soft skin. He dropped the kiss, dipping his face into the full swell of her breasts and sucking mouthfuls of each between his teeth. He eased himself to the floor, digits trailing along her flesh in tender worship. The fingers she’d settled on his shoulders twitched, quiet moans escaping her as he placed light, teasing kisses just above her panty line. “Your question should be: ‘who comes next’. And the answer is: you.”

Deft fingers inched between her thighs, setting her nerves ablaze through the thin material of her panties. The hand on her hip grazed over the inked whorls of her tattoo as he held her steady, clearly curious but singularly focused on his task.

His fingers swept her panties to the side, exploring her wet heat with practiced ease and making her breath catch in her throat. Her clit bloomed under his touch, demanding attention. Claire relaxed in his grip as his hand moved deeper between her thighs, her feet shuffling apart to allow his better access as he teased her flesh with kisses. His long fingers sank deep into her channel, deep-rooted pleasure electrifying her as he began to stroke her inner walls, stealing her breath and making her clamp down on his shoulder for a semblance of control.

“Loki-” His breathless chuckle against her belly told her he’d heard her pathetic mewl, and another finger joined the first. Her head fell back, the sight of her her heaving chest giving Loki a delightful view when he glanced up to see her overwhelmed with pleasure. A slight adjustment exposed her pussy to his gaze, and gods, she was everything he could have hoped for. “Please…”

“Please what, little wife?” he asked, knowing full well what the beauty in his grasp wanted, and that he’d give it to her, along with anything else she desired. “You want my mouth on you? Or perhaps you wish to stop?”

“Don’t you fucking dare-fuck!” she trailed off in a breathless moan as he latched onto her clit, lavishing the delicate bud with a swirl of his tongue. He growled as her fingers buried in his hair, pulling him even closer as he found the most sensitive spot deep inside her. “Oh my god!” she gasped, her thighs trembling as he took her apart.

Yes, He praised as she gushed around his fingers. Come for your god and make me yours.

“I can’t- Loki!” Claire warned, her legs quickly losing their ability to hold her upright.

“I meant what I said-” Loki’s arm shifted, circling her waist to keep her upright as she slumped against him. “I will not let you fall.” Her nails dug into his shoulder as his thumb circled her clit once more, making her twitch in his grasp. She muttered something unintelligible, the fingers still buried in his hair grabbing a fistful as her glazed eyes met his. “What were you planning to wear to bed?”

“It’s a sur-priiiiisedon’tdothat!” Claire twisted in his arms as his fingers trailed up her spine, her oversensitive nerves protesting the light touch. Loki’s hand withdrew instantly, coming to rest at her elbows.

“Do you wish to stop?”

“Nooooo,” Claire whined. “Just really sensitive. Need...five minutes…” Loki grinned indulgently, his eyes going soft at her pleas.

“Very well, little wife. I will leave you to put on your surprise.” his eyes roved over her form hungrily before he stepped away, disappearing from her view with a satisfied strut.

Loki: 1, Claire: 0

Getting dressed on shaky legs proved a difficult challenge. Claire learned she needed extra support in order to step into the bottom half of her ensemble, and moving her head too quickly brought her dizziness back in full force.

She managed to get dressed, stealing out from behind the divider and making her way to the sprawling bed with shaky legs. She could make out the sounds of Loki getting changed in his private dressing area. As she climbed onto the bed to wait, she couldn’t help but wonder what Asgardian pajamas looked like.

~~~~

He could still taste her on his tongue. Her needy cries, the way she’d clung to him…

He was desperate for more.

He left his discarded clothing in heaps on the floor, uncaring for once about tidiness. As he selected his night clothes he heard Claire settle on his bed and hurried his movements, eager to taste her again. A flick of his wrist brought the fire back to life, casting long shadows upon the walls as he stepped out from behind the partition.

And what a sight greeted him. Claire knelt on the large bed, hands on her thighs as she waited for him.

“Hey mischief.” she said softly, a catlike grin lighting her face.

“Hello menace,” Loki returned the smile, coming to a stop at the foot of the bed. “What is this?”

“Part two of my super secret plan to seduce you. What do you think?” she held her arms out to sides, allowing him to inspect her. Sheer black leggings covered her legs from ankle to thigh, with a gap before the undergarments around her waist and hips. A halter style top adorned her chest, with a low cut neckline that let him see the tattoo between her breasts. Fabric covered her arms as well, from her biceps to her wrists. Loki was intrigued to see loops of the fabric around her middle fingers, accenting the new wedding ring on her left hand. The black sheer fabric lent her skin a warm glow in the firelight, tantalizing him with hints at what he knew he would find underneath.

“It suits you,” he purred. “Although I despise it on principle for hiding your body from me.”

“Not hiding- enhancing,” Claire corrected, grinning wolfishly. “You said you wondered how my thoughts aligned with yours.”

“I did indeed.” the dark rumble of his voice sent shivers down Claire’s spine.

“I’ve decided I’d like to play a game.”

“You wish to play a game?”

“Yep.”

“Now?” Loki balked.

“Mm-hmm.” Loki’s eyes lingered on the swell of her breasts, the way the black fabric clung to her thighs and hips like a lover’s grasp. He burned with desire at the sight- his fingers itched to trail down her soft skin to explore her hidden depths more thoroughly. But...he’d waited this long- what was a little while longer?

“Very well, little wife, what shall we play?”

“About that,” Claire squirmed with excitement, and Loki had a passing thought that she meant to pull out Monopoly. Surely she wouldn’t- how could she expect him to focus on strategy with so much luscious skin on display? “I want the rematch you promised me.”

“Now?” he found himself repeating.

“Yes,” Claire grinned, “But there are rules- sexy rules.” Loki huffed in chagrin, throwing up his hands in defeat when she did not concede.

“I’m listening.”

“Every time you pin me, you get to remove one piece of this,” she held her arms out again, accentuating the gesture with a roll of her hips. “Every time I pin you, I get to remove one piece of clothing from you.”

“You’ll yield again, little wife.” dark promise dripped from each guttural syllable, and Claire’s pussy throbbed impatiently.

“Since you’re so confident…” Claire bit her lower lip as she gazed up at him with anticipation. “You should give me an advantage.”

“Oh, I like this,” Loki chuckled darkly, pulling his under shirt over his head and mussing his hair. “Satisfied?” the garment fell to the floor in a heap

“Not yet,” Claire grinned. “C’mere.” Loki knelt on the bed in front of her, body poised to attack.

“A moment, please,” he asked, large hands cupping her face to press a toe-curling kiss to her lips. He pressed against her deliciously, his body heat seeping through the thin material as she trailed her hands up his thighs to tug at his hips. Claire rose up on her knees, hands mapping the defined muscles of his back as his slow, deliberate kisses made her dizzy. Loki released her, his thumb caressing her lower lip gently. “I have wanted to do that since you walked into the temple,” he confessed. “Now we may play your game.”

“And here I thought you were trying to distract me,” Claire smiled. “Trying to lull me into a false sense of security so you could stab me in the back.” she snickered.

“That’s such a boring form of betrayal,” Loki said gruffly as he trailed his hands over the dips and curves of her body. “I’d never stab anyone in the back. I would simply-” his hands clasped around her thighs, and quick like a viper, he pulled her legs out from under her and sent her sprawling onto the bed. Claire’s breath escaped her with a quick oof and before she could fight back, he’d pinned her to the bed. “Lay them flat upon it.”

“Shit.” Loki laughed heartily as Claire realized her miscalculation.

“What’s happened, menace? Your carefully calculated plan hasn’t worked?” he asked, his smile splitting his face as he fingered the edge of fabric covering her arm. “I’ll take my trophy now, if you please.” Claire clicked her tongue in annoyance.

“Oh fine,” she grumbled. “Can we adjust real quick?” she asked, moving her legs to wrap around his waist when he lifted off of her. “Thanks.” she murmured as he pulled the fabric from her arms and tossed it aside.

“Of course,” Loki muttered under his breath when his eyes landed on her bicep tattoo. “’I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep’- what is your obsession with Robert Frost?”

“It’s motivating!” Claire protested, fingering the lines of text on her arm. The line, from the famous poem Stopping by Dark Woods at Midnight, had struck a deep chord in Claire at a young age. After her mothers death, she had wanted to give up. But the burning need to bring her mother’s killer to justice pushed her to keep going on her darkest days.

“If you insist,” Loki replied with a shake of his head. “What now, little wife? Do we need to reset?”

“No need,” Claire grinned, turning him onto his back with a quick maneuver and lowering herself onto his lap, directly over his groin. A choked gasp escaped Loki as she ground her barely dressed center on the hardened length inside his pants. “Doin’ okay there, mischief?”

“Gods, you are such a menace,” Loki grunted through clenched teeth, grinding his hips upward as he chased sweet friction. “Though I can hardly-unf- complain.” his fingers dug into her hips, promising marks to delight her for days to come. Claire ran her hands up his chest, settling her weight above him.

“I win.” she said smugly. Loki chuckled, wrapping his arms around her back.

“How about a draw?” he tugged the sheer top over her head, leaving her bare from the waist up. Above him, Claire gasped dramatically.

“You cheated!” Loki mimicked her gasp, rolling them over to tuck her into his side.

“God of mischief!” Claire couldn’t even be mad at him, because he distracted her with a burning kiss. “I could kiss you for an age,” his velvety voice rumbled deep within his chest, raising goosebumps along Claire’s neck and arms as he mouthed a line of kisses down her throat. His large hands clutched at her sides, long fingers digging into her ribs as he explored her soft skin. Claire dug her fingers into the meat of his shoulders, sighing as his kisses bloomed heat across her chest. Claire decided she enjoyed Loki’s kisses- he mapped her skin like a foreign soil, his lips and tongue calling her desire forth from its slumber as her skin warmed. They were just as she’d hoped, as focused and intense as he was in other areas, and her clit bloomed with promise. Loki palmed her breast, melting Claire’s core and sending a pulse of desire through her body. He paused, pulling back slightly to inspect her nipple, frowning slightly in confusion at the little silver balls he saw there.. “Is this- is this metal?”

“Oh yeah,” Claire laughed. “Surprise, my nipnops are pierced.”

“I…have never seen anything like this in all my life,” Loki admitted, exploring her tender flesh with his thumb. “Is this a custom on Midgard?”

“I guess?” Claire replied, arching her back to press her breasts further into his hands. “Lots of people have piercings but it’s not like a right of passage. It’s-ah-personal preference.”

“How in the nine did I miss these last night?” Loki murmured to himself as he rubbed gentle circles over her delicate nubs with his thumb. “Fascinating.”

“To be fair, you were kinda distracted,” Claire offered, enjoying the pleasurable shivers his actions were sending up her spine. “You know, it’s super fun when hot guys put them in their mouth.”

“Is that so?” Claire whimpered a confirmation as he did as she asked, her hands tightening around his shoulders. Her hands slid down his arms, grasping his biceps as he lowered her back onto the pillows. She welcomed his weight as he continued his exploration of her nipples, his tongue navigating around her piercings with delightful precision. She brushed his long dark hair out of the way as he released her nipple with a wet pop. “Are there any more piercings I should know about?” he asked as his long fingers played with the metal balls.

“It’s no fun if I tell you.” Claire teased. Loki chuckled, pinching her taut nipple between his fingers and making her gasp.

“I suppose it’s not,” he mused. “Though I can only imagine where I might find it if I do.”

“You’re a smart man,” Claire panted, writhing as his fingers tightened. “I’m sure you can figure it out.”

“Indeed,” Loki purred, leaving heated trails on her flesh as his hands moved lower. “But first I wish to inspect this,” His warm hands grasped her hips, turning her so he could see the tattoo that graced her hip and thigh. “This drawing-” Claire bit her lip as he tugged the material at her hips clean off. Loki hummed, tracing the delicate, tiny leaves at the top of her tattoo with his fingertip, seemingly unaware that she was in danger of creating a puddle on the bed sheets. “This flower…it does not come off?”

“No, it’s permanent.”

“What sort of ink is permanent?” Loki murmured, following the whorls of the design with his fingers and making Claire’s brain short circuit. Her clit was throbbing with need under his prolonged attention, and she was starting to feel impatient.

“It gets injected under the skin. We have special artists-” Claire whimpered as his large hand clamped around her hip, kneading the flesh appreciatively. “We go to that draw on our skin with a needle.”

“And this is done willingly?” Claire nodded.

“It can take a while, too. Large pieces like mine usually take several hours. Mine took six hours total- two for the line work and then four more for the color.”

“I would not have guessed mortals were capable of withstanding such torture.” Loki mused, manipulating her skin to move the flowers as he drank in the sight of her tattoo. “You are full of surprises, little wife.”

“I try. But it’s not that painful- some places hurt worse than others, but it’s kinda nice, actually.”

“Nice,” Loki scoffed to himself. “I see,” he muttered, tracing his fingertips over her satin panties to the lower edge of her tattoo at the top of her thigh. “The detail is exquisite, I must admit. My scars look nothing like this.”

“Yeah, the artist I went to is very talented- wait, your scars?” Claire lifted her head to ask. Loki put a large hand between her breasts, urging her to lay back down.

“It is irrelevant,” he waved her concerns off, trailing his hand down her smooth skin and setting her nerves on fire. His finger hooked on the material on her thighs, giving them a gentle tug and making her pussy clench with anticipation. “These are impeding my appreciation of your body, little wife. May I remove them?” Claire opened her legs, letting him slip the flimsy material down her thighs. The drag of the material combined with his fingers had Claire biting her lip, a delighted sigh escaping her as his mouth began to explore the revealed flesh. His lips resumed their work from earlier, heated breaths warming her skin as he held her to him with strong hands. Claire felt her body going lax under his attentions, her core growing slick with need as he pressed hot kisses to the tender flesh of her inner thigh.

The first touch of his fingers to her sex was like a jolt of electricity, making her restless and impatient. It had been so long since she’d been intimate with anyone; she was half expecting Loki to complain about finding cobwebs between her folds. Claire was woman enough to admit she’d been thinking what it would be like to feel those gorgeous hands of his on her, specifically his long slender fingers in her pussy.

“No more metal?” her husband remarked, a hint of a smirk coloring his velvety voice. “I am almost disappointed.”

“I’ll admit I thought about it,” Claire managed to say as his thumb made lazy circles on her clit. “Supposedly it makes orgasms feel even better.”

“That is a delightful thought,” Loki said coolly, as if he wasn’t driving her mad with his finger teasing her folds. “One we can discuss further at another time. No more thoughts tonight, little wife.” he slipped a finger inside her slick channel, eyes going dark with desire as she moaned. Her hands dug into the sheets as he pleasured her, hips squirming as her body begged for more.

His lips closed around her clit as a second finger joined the first, and Claire stopped thinking. His broad shoulders rasped delightfully against her inner thighs as he settled on his stomach, wrapping an arm around her thigh as he pressed open mouthed kisses to her sex. Her thighs squeezed his body, feet bracketing his ribs as waves of pleasure wracked her body. Loki grinned as her desperate sounds reached his ears, his other hand holding her in place as she pleaded for more. Her delightful gasps and moans turned into breathless wails as her orgasm approached.

“Oh fuck-” Claire gasped, fingers closing around a fistful of Loki’s hair as her body wound tight. Loki’s eyes flitted up to see a delightful sight: Claire’s face was flushed, bottom lip drawn between her teeth as her hands grasped her breasts. Chest filled with pride, Loki sealed his lips around her clit and pumped her sex faster. “Loki!” the needful cry of his name had him grinding his cock on the bed. He groaned as her release soaked his chin, burning with the desire to seat himself inside her and make it happen again.

He worked her through her orgasm, waiting for her trembling to subside before sliding his body up and over hers. He shed his pants quickly, kicking them aside before returning to Claire’s side. Her flushed skin had pebbled over and she was beginning to tremble more from cold than his touch.

“Forgive me if i seem impatient, little wife,” Loki murmured against her skin as she curled around him seeking warmth. “I have thought of little else but burying myself in your cunt since your delightful display last night,” Claire had lost the ability to form words after her second orgasm, able only to offer a choked moan in response. “Has it been on your mind as well?” He asked as he palmed himself, smiling knowingly when her fingers dug into the plush blanket beneath them. His long fingers pumped the column of flesh between his legs leisurely, green eyes traversing the length of her sprawled body hungrily.

His cock sat heavy between them on her belly, and he hissed as her dainty hand closed around it. Just the feel of it in her hand made Claire's mouth water.

“Impressive.” Claire murmured, tugging him down to her level by the nape as he sank his fingers inside her aching pussy.

“It’s all for you, little wife.” he managed as she worked him in time with his hand. His fingers found the secret spot deep within her and she gushed again, thighs quaking around him as she mewled.

“I feared you would be a bore, but imagine my surprise-” Loki grunted, taking his lip between his teeth as she circled the tip of his cock with her thumb. “You are intriguing-and beautiful-” another grunt as she squeezed him. “And you are merciless with a blade,” he gasped as he captured her lips. Breathless gasps filled the space between them as they clung to each other and sought revelation. “Are you ready, little wife?” Claire whimpered below him, gyrating her hips in desperate search of friction. “Say it.” Loki pleaded breathlessly as he settled between her thighs.

“Give,” Claire beckoned to him with grabby hands. “Please.”

“Surely you can do better than that.” Loki chuckled, taunting her with a slow drag of his hips.

“Give me a break,” Claire fought a shiver as her sweat began to cool without him next to her. “You broke my brain.”

“Have I?” Loki shifted again, making her whine. “How rude of me.” Good god, his cock was impressive. Long, thick, and heavy, it nearly reached her belly button. Loki shifted, his heated skin rubbing against the senstive inner thighs as he pressed as close to her as he could.

What do you know? It did reach.

“Quit teasing. You've been eye-fucking me for days.” Loki withdrew his fingers, leaving her empty as she trembled. He reached up to pluck at her pebbled nipples as he lined up his cock with her entrance.

“So I have.” Loki took his cock in hand again, teasing her soaked entrance with the tip to coat himself in her wetness. One hand closed around her thigh, making Claire shiver as the head of his cock slipped inside her. His thumb still toyed with her clit, keeping her right on the precipice as he worked himself deeper.

“Stop fucking teasing me, I swear to god-fuck!” Claire spilled over the edge, her back bowing as she trembled through the onslaught of pleasure. Deep in the throes of her orgasm, Claire tugged at Loki with desperation and he obliged, seating himself fully inside her and making her eyes roll back.

Long and thick, Loki’s cock was perfect- as if handcrafted by master craftsmen in the art of female pleasure. She felt so full; each careful thrust threatened to make her eyes roll back in her head. Loki grabbed her hips and pulled her closer, opening her thighs further to press even deeper. Flesh met flesh and Loki groaned, leaning over to capture Claire’s lips with his own. Claire whimpered into his mouth as her walls clenched around him. His weight pressed her into the soft bed as his strong arms caged her in, breathless kisses collecting her sighs like tokens with each thrust of his hips. All Claire could do was hold on.

She’d thought about this a lot in the recent weeks- the decadent slide of Loki’s skin on hers, the overwhelming pleasure as Loki’s cock worked in and out of her weeping sex- but her imagination fell flat as every nerve in her body flared to life under Loki’s skilled hands.

Her fingers wrapped around the thick muscles of his biceps, enjoying the way they flexed as he moved. His long hair swayed as he moved, eyes closed as he groaned appreciatively and buried his face in her neck, pressing heated kisses to the skin there. Her silken pussy was so tight and welcoming, and if Loki had his way, he would spent an eternity between her thighs. Loki kissed her ravenously, looping one of her legs over his arm and hiking it higher. Claire brushed his hair back, anchoring his mouth to hers as he brought her close to orgasm again.

Holy fuck, she could get used to this. If this was her marital duties, it would not be a hardship.

“Enjoying yourself?” Loki asked, sounding slightly winded. Claire wasn’t able to form a response, as he timed his question with a slow drag of his hips. Claire brought his mouth back to hers, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. Christ, the strength of him. “Come for me again, little wife.” he pleaded against her mouth, enjoying the sting of her nails in his flesh as she fell apart around him.

Loki ran his hands down her delectable curves, lifting her bottom half and squeezing her thick thighs together before slipping back inside her. Claire spasmed around him, her hands grasping at his thighs as her breasts bounced with each thrust of his hips.

“Oh fuck- oh, you’re so deep-” Claire panted, her legs trembling in Loki’s grasp. Loki groaned, throwing his head back as he bottomed out. The wet slap of skin filled the room as he fucked her with abandon, the pair of them submitting to pure animal instinct as they chased the end.

They worked together in perfect harmony, hands grasping flushed skin and sweat mingling as heated words and kisses were exchanged.

Claire thought she might explode at any moment. Loki surprised her by pulling out, leaving her empty and desperate with need. She moaned as Loki pushed her knees toward her chest, legs high in the air as he slipped his cock back between her folds. He teased her with small thrusts, caressing her labia and clit with his cock. Claire squealed when he finally slid back inside, chills creeping down her spine as the head of his cock struck her g-spot, the veins and ridges of his perfect cock hitting every sweet spot inside her.

“Oh god-” Claire sobbed as Loki’s targeted thrusts inched her toward the finish line.

“Yes,” Loki groaned, grinding his pelvis against hers. “Uh...du føler deg...så bra.”

“Fuck…” Claire whimpered as he thrust again, sending a shock wave through her body. “Yes- right there!” she gasped, clinging to him for dear life as he hit her g-spot again and again. Above her Loki was panting hard as he chased his end, his breathless grunts primal as he drove deep inside her. Claire snaked her hand between their bodies, her clit throbbing as she worked herself to completion.

“Uhgh- gods, yes!” Loki gasped as he burst, Claire’s orgasm triggering his own. Her fluttering walls clenched so tight Loki saw stars, her silken muscles wringing every last drop of his spend from him. Loki felt as though the breath had been driven from his body, his lungs burning as his higher brain came back online. Claire was still spasming around him, the tight heat of her slick channel rippling with each ragged breath she drew. “Are you alright?” Eyes still closed, Claire nodded, her wild hair fanned out like a halo on the pillows.

Loki pulled out slowly, releasing her legs from their contorted position. He dotted a kiss to the inside of her knee as he massaged her thigh. Though she’d clearly enjoyed herself, he worried he may have been a bit overzealous.

“You don’t have to do that.” Claire murmured, one tired eye cracking open to peer up at him.

“Simply a precaution,” he replied absently, releasing one leg to massage the other. Claire watched on in a daze, exhaustion from the day and several great orgasms catching up with her. Loki watched her chest rise and fall as she lay comfortably among the pillows, blue eyes drooping and unfocused as she fought sleep. A small smile played at his lips as he reached for the blankets to cover her up. A pearl of his spend glistened upon Claire’s sex, and Loki abandoned the blankets to brush his thumb through the mess. “You make a beautiful sight, little wife,” Claire jerked when he thumbed her clit, a breathless gasp escaping her kiss-swollen lips as her tired body perked up at the promise of added pleasure. “Forgive me, I could not resist.”

“S’okay,” Claire murmured. “Wanna be the big spoon?” Claire asked as Loki brought the covers up around them.

“Pardon?” Loki looked up at her as though she’d grown a second head.

“C’mere,” Claire chuckled. She turned away from him to lay on her side, and tugged him closer so that he lay directly behind her. “Like this.”

“Ah, I see,” Loki said as he slid his arm around her middle, holding her solidly against him. Fuck, being caged in by all that muscle was nice. “I think in this instance you would be the tea spoon and I am the soup spoon.” he remarked, making Claire laugh.

“Something like that,” she nestled deeper under the covers, enjoying the warmth and feel of his soft skin against hers. “It’s been a while since I’ve cuddled with anyone. It’s nice.”

“It is.” Loki said softly behind her.

“Been a while for you too?” Claire guessed. Loki shifted, his thigh pressing against the back of hers.

“Most of my bed partners did not wish to stay, or I did not wish them to stay,” his hand settled on the swell of her hip, kneading the soft flesh. “I could not say when this happened last.”

“Yeah, me neither.” Claire sighed as his hand wrapped around her middle again. His breath teased the back of her neck, the steady pace of his breathing comforting as he held her.

“How are you feeling?” Loki asked, studying the rise and fall of her shoulder as she breathed. It still felt surreal to be with her, without worry of being discovered. Her skin was soft and supple against his, and her decadent perfume still lingered. He already held such affection for her.

“Good,” Claire chuckled as he squeezed her gently. “Sore, but good,” Loki hummed behind her, his breathing beginning to even out. “Loki?”

“Hmm?”

“You surprised me too,” Claire murmured. “People kept warning me about you. I’m glad they were wrong.” Oh.

“Thank you.” Loki wanted to say more, but his throat was oddly...tight?

“You know, it’s kinda funny...women back home complain about how awful their husbands are, especially when they’re pregnant, but I have a feeling you’ll be great.”

“Men on Midgard truly have no idea how to treat women, do they?”

“Nah, they suck.”

“Things are different here,” Loki rose up on his elbow. “Here, men- or the decent ones, at least- respect women. I understand you have concerns about-”

“A lot of things-”

“Yes, and I can appreciate that. But the social contract is different here. The men protect, and provide, and women-”

“Have the babies.” Loki huffed a laugh; he could practically see her roll her eyes.

“Obviously, little wife,” he chuckled. “But it’s more than that. Here, women are respected for their ability to bring life into the world. Without you, there is no future.”

“God damn right there’s no future,” Claire grumbled, making Loki laugh louder. “That sounds...not so bad.”

“Get some rest, little wife. When we decide the time is right, I will look after you.” Loki settled back into the pillows, grinning when she rolled over to cuddle with him. She hitched one leg over his, hugging him with one arm as she rested her head on his chest.

“I’ll hold you to that,” she murmured, glancing up at him as he wrapped his arm around her. “Good night.” she let her tired eyes fall closed and wiggled closer. She could hear his heartbeat now, and his body heat was soothing. So comfy...

“Good night.” The excitement of the day (and night) caught up with Loki, and he drifted into a peaceful sleep.

~~~~

Loki wasn’t sure how long he slept, but he came awake when he felt Claire stirring beside him. Loki was a light sleeper to begin with, and having a new person (however welcome) in his bed was going to take some getting used to.

In the dim light remaining from the fireplace, he saw Claire’s form as she got to her feet.

“Are you alright?” he asked in concern when several of her joints popped.

“Yeah I'm okay,” Claire chuckled as she rummaged in the dark for clothing. “It was just my hip.”

“Are you certain?” Claire laughed quietly as she pulled a night dress from her armoire. Claire laughed as she slipped the night dress over her head.

“My guy, you literally bent me in half, my joints are gonna make some noise,” she tugged the fabric down over her hips as she yawned. “I promise I'm fine. Did I wake you?”

“I’m a light sleeper.”

“I am not,” Claire chuckled. “Usually once I’m out, I’m out, but I'm kinda hungry. Can we go get a snack?”

“Of course,” Loki got out of bed and pulled a pair of loose pants up over his hips. “We can have Astrid bring something.”

“Oh no, that's okay. What I want is really easy and I can make it myself. Can you show me where the kitchen is?”

“You wish to make it yourself?” Loki asked skeptically.

“Yeah, it's just toast. I don't want to wake someone up to make it for me. Please?” Though he was still confused, Loki relented and pulled on a loose pair of pants and a tunic. He helped Claire find her slippers before stepping into his own, and they set off to the kitchens together. Loki led Claire down the torch-lit hallways, ignoring the questioning looks they got from the guards they passed.

The kitchen was several floors below theirs, tucked behind the great hall. Though the large hearth still crackled merrily, the room spread out before them like a ghost town. The warm sepia-toned walls danced with distorted shadows of the various pieces of equipment strewn about the room. A dark alcove branched off one side of the room, the walls lined end to end with crowded shelves. Bundles of herbs hung from the ceiling of the alcove, lending an earthy smell to the room.

“Normally there are cooks here, but it's rather late, so we have the room to ourselves.”

“Let's get to work then.” Claire grinned, eyes scanning the room for a toaster. Or bread. Or anything she recognized. Claire barely recognized anything. There were familiar looking pots and pans suspended above the prep table in the center of the room, and utensils in a vase on a nearby counter. “Um...”

“What do you need, little wife?” Loki asked indulgently.

“Bread, butter, cinnamon and sugar. Also a toaster,” Loki looked at her strangely. “Do you guys not have toasters here?”

“What is its purpose?”

“...making toast...”

“It only has one purpose?”

“Well you can put other stuff in it like poptarts-” Loki grimaced, a memory of Thor sharing a poptart with him arising unbidden. “Not a fan?” Claire decided it might be best to start with the shelves.

“They are far too sweet for my taste,” Loki followed after her, his hand drifting across her lower back as he walk behind her. At the other end of the shelves, he began opening jars to find what she needed. As a prince he'd never prepared meals for himself except on the battlefield, and even then it was rare. He was as lost as Claire, both of them opening jars and frowning at the contents before moving on the next. “Perhaps it would have been faster to wake someone.” Loki chuckled as they struggled to locate everything Claire needed.

“Maybe,” she admitted guiltily. “Normally I'd have this made by now. Sorry I made you get out of bed.”

“It's alright,” Loki replied. His gaze dropped to the tantalizing cleavage her loose gown showed. The full swell of her breasts were visible, the outline of her piercings just barely visible through the fabric. “I struggle with sleep at times. Besides, the view is enjoyable.” Claire snorted.

“Still?” She asked with a laugh.

“Of course. I told you we would have fun, did I not?” Loki winked at her, proudly presenting a jar of...sugar bricks?

“You did.” Claire replied, butterflies coming back to life in her belly. Loki had already fulfilled his promise multiple times.

“Of course, if you are sore-”

“Well yeah, but the good kind,” Claire laughed. “You know I'm kinda surprised.” she glanced over at him, his lithe form covered mostly in shadow. Bathed in darkness, with only his eyes reflecting light, he almost looked like a cryptid lying in wait for her. Being a frost giant, Claire supposed, he technically was a cryptid.

A really hot cryptid.

“About what?” Loki’s smooth voice pulled her from her thoughts, and Claire turned back to the shelves grateful he couldn’t see her blushing.

“You not liking poptarts. I kinda pegged you as having a sweet tooth. Aha!” Claire set aside the jar of cinnamon sticks, wondering where she'd find something to grind them.

“I like some sweets, but not those horrible things. They are too...” Loki paused as he searched for the right word. Together they took the jars to the prep table. “Artificial.”

“Oh for sure, especially if it’s made in the States. We like our sugar,” Claire laughed as Loki left her side to search the collection of tools on the counters. “Have you tried anything else from earth?”

“Apart from the honey between your thighs, I have not.” Loki said, sliding the bread he'd found down the table to Claire. She gaped at him, giggling when he smirked unapologetically. He looked every inch like the cat who ate the canary. It was a well-deserved look.

“Okay point for you, that was smooth as fuck,” She flicked the towel covering the bread in his direction, sending a cloud of flour into the air. She spied a familiar looking block of wood and pulled a knife from it, pointing at him with the tip of it. “Do you want any?”

“In the kitchen?” Loki chuckled, his voice light with a glimmer of mischief. “How daring.”

“I meant the bread, mischief,” Claire cackled. “I'm open to the other thing too, but let me get this in the oven first. Er...on the fire?” she guessed as she realized there was no oven, only the crackling fire and the assortment of pots above their heads.

“Very well, I will try whatever it is you're making.”

“It's great, you'll see. Is there a cookie sheet?” With another search of the kitchen, the couple was able to find something resembling a cookie sheet and put the bread over the fire to toast. Loki helped her gather the butter from the larder under the floor. Claire thought she would find the archaic food prep annoying, but found she enjoyed the simplicity of it. It was nice, making something simple with someone she cared about. Claire and Loki chatted as they worked to grind the cinnamon sticks and pulverize the sugar bricks. The soft bread, Loki explained, was baked fresh every morning with flour from locally grown wheat, eggs from nearby farms and salt from mines in the south. Claire was astonished there were no preservatives or chemicals, and said as such. She didn't have an answer for Loki's confused 'why would there be?'.

“Still nothing?” Loki asked as she poked at the dubious looking almost-toast.

“I think it needs a few more minutes.” Claire poked the bread once more for good measure before pushing the griddle pan back over the fire.

“Excellent.” Loki cleared a space on the prep table before grabbing her by the waist and lifting her like a sack of flour. Loki's large hands traveled from her hips, grasping at the swell of her breasts as he captured her lips. Claire parted her legs to let him step closer, winding her arms around his broad shoulders as his tongue massaged hers. He grasped at her greedily, tugging her hips toward the edge before tugging her dress down to bare her chest. Loki’s mouth latched onto her nipple, suckling like a man dying of thirst and sending a throb of pleasure directly to her clit. Claire ground against the firm counter beneath her as Loki switched his attention to her other nipple. Her spine bowed as strong hands at her back pulled her bodily into him. Cool air assaulted her flushed skin as he released her, kissing a heated path up to her neck.

Claire urged him along, slinging one leg over his hip and pulling him closer as he captured her mouth. His teeth teased her lower lip as he pulled back, rough hands skating down her thighs as he dropped to his knees. Claire offered passing thanks to any deities listening that she hadn't put panties on.

Loki's broad shoulders forced her thighs apart, his large hands digging into her thighs as heated kisses marked a path along her flesh. Claire cried out when he licked a wide stripe along her sex. His hands tightened their grip, pulling her just to the counter’s edge as he took her clit between his lips, spelling out pledges of devotion with his tongue. She was sweet like honey, just as he'd said, with a slight tang from his earlier release. Her core was already molten, her silken muscles clenching as he pleasured her. Glass jars clanked together noisily as Claire’s hands searched for purpose on the slick surface beneath her, her panting breaths echoing as she basked in his attention. Loki looked up at her, his cock twitching at the sight he beheld.

His new wife was a vision, her eyes closed in rapture with her head back, her desperate sounds filling the air. Her long, tussled hair was wavy from her wedding braids, the strands floating around her as she writhed. The scintillating metal of her piercings was largely obscured by the silky strands, but the sight was enough to spur Loki on. This delectable creature was his. To bed...to breed. He dug his fingers deeper into her flesh, pulling her more firmly against his mouth with a groan. He was determined to wring every possible ounce of pleasure from her body. A choked gasp tumbled from Claire's lips as she dug her fingers into his mussed hair. She pulled him deeper into her slit, the ridge of his nose pressing against her clit as he suckled her tender flesh.

“Please-”

“Come for me, little wife,” He pleaded, lapping at her clit and making her thighs tremble around him. “I would wear your honey on my skin.”

“Oh my god,” Claire sobbed, her body jerking as her orgasm slammed into her like a linebacker. Loki suckled her clit as she bucked, holding her in place as he tortured her with pleasure. “Loki-” “Delicious.” Loki praised, rubbing her hips with his thumbs as he kissed her heated flesh. He rose leisurely, licking his lips as he ghosted his hands over her curves. Claire pulled him down to kiss him passionately, crossing her ankles behind his back.

“Fuck me, please.” she begged breathlessly against his mouth, pulling him closer with a needful moan. The heat of her called to him like a siren, his cock straining to fill her again.

“You should eat first,” he grunted. “You need your energy, darling,” Claire groaned against his skin, continuing to pepper convincing kisses along his neck. “I will happily bed you again once you've eaten.” He bargained.

“Alright, fine. Can you grab the toast? I don’t think my legs will hold me up right now.” Loki dutifully retrieved the toast from the fire, and together they slathered the slices with butter before sprinkling sugar and cinnamon over the top. Loki grabbed the plate in one hand, setting Claire back on her feet with an arm around her waist.

“Come, let's get you fed so I can devour you.”

“Mmm yes please,” Claire let Loki guide her out to the great hall, which was blissfully quiet and dark. Out on the terrace, they ate on a stone bench, shoulder to shoulder beneath the stars. The moon shone full and bright overhead, and Claire marveled at the beauty above them. Glittering stars decorated the backdrop of nebulae and swirling galaxies like confetti on a tabletop. “It's beautiful here,” Claire sighed happily, dusting crumbs from her fingers as she leaned against Loki. She'd consumed her toast quickly, her tired body needing the energy just as Loki had said. Loki hadn't complained about the toast once, so she assumed he liked it. “I've never seen anything like it.”

“If you'd like, I can take you to the observatory so you can see them up close.” Loki promised.

“I'd love that,” Claire smiled. “Did you like the toast? It's not too sweet?”

“I quite like it,” Loki said. “It is sweet, but not overwhelmingly so like your planets accursed poptarts.”

“My mom used to make this for me a lot growing up. It's a comfort food.”

“Comfort food? That's not an expression we have here.”

“Really?” Loki nodded. “It's something familiar and full of love that makes you feel safe and warm. Like a hug you can eat,” Claire smiled warmly. “What's your favorite thing to eat?”

“Almond cake,” Loki sighed wistfully. “I haven't had it in years. But it reminds me of being a boy, and how simple things were then.”

“See? Comfort food. I ate so much of this stuff when I was a kid.”

“I can see why,” Loki said. “It is delicious. Though not as delicious as you.” he praised, raising her chin with his fingers to kiss her swollen lips.

“So smooth...” Claire sighed.

“Shall we to bed, little wife?”

“Yes, please,” Claire begged, fingers digging into his shoulders as she clung to him. While Loki was fixated on her mouth, she slung a leg across his thighs and mounted him, settling her weight in his lap. “Want you.”

“Darling if you don't let me get up, I won't be able to take you to bed,” Loki chuckled.

“So don't. That pillar looks nice.”

“Another night, darling. Our first night shouldn't be spent where others can easily spy.” Claire groaned in protest, but allowed him to steer her back into the kitchen. Loki set their plate on the empty counter space he'd cleared earlier, the memory sending a thrill through Claire's body. The report she'd received had been a great start, but clearly Loki was into more than the report entailed. He seemed like a service top, and judging by his hand on the small of her back, he couldn't keep his hands off of her. Claire knew just how skilled those hands were and had zero complaints, even though the feminist in her piped up that she was more than capable of walking on her own. Claire took his hand in hers as they walked back, enjoying the way his hand dwarfed hers. The guard outside their door opened the massive door for them when they returned, closing it after them when they crossed the threshold.

Loki pulled her against him the instant they reached the bedroom, large hands roaming over her body as he buried his face in her neck. Claire dug her fingers into his arm as he anchored her body against his, a whimper falling from her lips as he teased her labia through the fabric of her gown.

Pulling free of his grasp, Claire pushed Loki onto the bed. Though surprised, he quickly recovered when she climbed in his lap and kissed him. Clothes were discarded quickly between kisses and before he knew it, Loki lay at Claire’s mercy on his back. Settling on her haunches, Claire ran her fingertips along the length of his torso. Luscious alabaster muscle lay beneath her fingertips, perfectly aligned like a decadent mosaic of masculinity.

“Are you satisfied, little wife?” Loki asked with amusement, her hands sliding down his chest as he sat up. “Or would you like to inspect me more?”

“Hey, I let you inspect me the first go 'round,” Claire replied, pushing him back down. “Fair is fair.” Loki laughed, smiling wolfishly as her fingers teased the trail of dark hair leading to his cock.

“Apologies, my lady,” he relented, threading his fingers together behind his head. “You're completely right.” If she wanted control, he'd let her have it. Loki was delighted to find Claire had a sexual appetite to match his own. He'd hoped of course, that this marriage wouldn't lead to a complete derailment of his life, but this was an intriguing development that he hadn't forseen.

He hissed as her plush lips closed around his nipple, her fingers continuing to map out the rippling muscles beneath her. She released him from her mouth, leaving a line of bites and soothing kisses on his skin as her mouth followed the trail her hands had marked. She straddled a thigh, shifting her weight to press her bare sex against him.

“What happened here?” She asked softly, her finger ghosting along the faded scar on his abdomen.

“An injury from battle. It's old.” Loki replied casually.

“Older than me?” Claire guessed teasingly. Loki snorted dryly.

“Twice over at least, if not more.”

“You're pretty hot for an old man.” Claire groaned appreciatively as he pressed his thigh against her harder.

“I assume that to mean you find me attractive.”

“Bingo,” Claire sighed, draping her hair over one shoulder. She moved her hips, grinding her wet heat against the meat of his thigh, leaving a trail of arousal on his skin as she leaned down to kiss the flesh beneath her palms. “Wouldn't be this wet for just any old man.”

“I'm truly touched.” Loki hummed, sitting up to grasp her hips and pull her closer. Claire shushed him, cupping his face as she kissed him fervently. Loki's grip tightened on her hips, his cock straining toward her heat like a compass finds true north. Claire slid an arm around his shoulders, pressing against him to fully straddle his thighs. Loki's hands moved to her ass, guiding her down onto his cock as they shared open-mouthed kisses. The couple moaned in unison as she settled against him, fully seated on his dick. “Du tar meg så godt,” Loki murmured, his forehead resting against hers as she rolled her hips. “Like you were made for me.” he groaned, overcome with pleasure as Claire took control and began to ride him.

“Fuck, you feel so good,” Claire moaned, tits bouncing as she fucked herself on his dick. Loki could feel her wetness on his lower belly, the slick mess squelching as their bodies collided again and again. “You're so deep, holy shit. Kiss me.” Her hand found the base of his skull, pulling him in for a heated kiss. Loki groaned into her mouth, thrusting into her heat and making her tremble around him. Claire’s body went lax and she melted into him, her pleasured moan muffled against his shoulder as she gushed all over his cock.

“Faen-” Loki’s body jerked as she nearly ended him. She clung to him like a koala as she caught her breath, and Loki was content to let her. “Are you satisfied? Hmm?” Loki asked, kissing her shoulder as he brushed her sweat-damp hair to the side.

“Not yet,” Loki grunted when Claire pushed him back onto the pillows. “Ever had a girl on top?” She asked breathlessly. Gods, her breasts were hypnotizing as they moved with each decadent roll of her hips.

“Not like you.” Loki praised, eyes half lidded as he gazed up at her with awe. Claire laughed breathlessly as she leaned back, resting her hands upon his thighs as she rolled her hips. Loki bit his lip as he watched his cock disappear into her slick channel with each pass of her hips, driving his desire to the boiling point.

He'd bedded many, but all his partners had touched him with reverence for his title, his body. As such they let him direct the pleasure, which was enjoyable, but this...Claire took her pleasure in her own hand, without shame or waiting for him to gift it to her.

Loki liked this give and take they'd found so naturally, and wondered if it would always be like this. Gods, how many times had he had her this night? Loki had lost count. Above him, Claire began to bounce, pulling a ragged moan from his chest as his balls tightened. He grasped at her hips, driving his hips up into her and giving himself over to the pleasure she gave him.

“I'm gonna come again, oh god,” Claire wailed, her head falling back in abandon.

“Do it,” Loki commanded breathlessly. “Let the guards hear how well your husband fucks you.” Claire whimpered, her hips jerking as she fell apart. Her hips shuddered and she cried out, bracing her arms on his thighs as her pussy squeezed him like a vice. Loki continued to thrust, chasing his release within the valhalla between her thighs.

“Fuck. Yes. Loki!” Claire's broken cries broke the dam inside him and he pulled her down onto his cock as he came, a breathless, jagged shout of completion escaping him. Claire's hips still moved, her clit rubbing against his pubic bone as they both fought to catch their breath.

Loki’s bones had stopped working. He wanted to move, to return the soft kitten kisses his wife was dotting along his hairline, but his strength was depleted.

“You okay?” Claire asked, her hand soothing his heated brow as she looked at him with concern. “Did you die?”

“No, I haven’t died-”

“Well you can’t blame a girl for worrying. You are-”

“Yes, yes, I am old,” Loki huffed, trying and failing to summon the strength to turn onto his side and unseat her. “Honestly, woman.” Claire’s unrepentant giggles made him roll his eyes even as he checked her over.

“You’re cute when you’re grumpy.”

“We should probably go to sleep. You're going to be very sore come morning.” Ignoring her comment, Loki massaged her hips where his fingers had no doubt left marks on her delicate flesh.

“Worth it,” Claire moaned as she slumped forward onto his chest. She'd made no move to pull off of him, his cock still deep inside her well-fucked cunt. “I think I'm gonna like having a sexy husband.” She said sleepily, pressing her sweat-slicked body against his as she wove her arms around his neck between the pillows. “Can we cuddle?”

“Shall I be the soup spoon?” Loki asked as he pressed a breathless kiss to her temple.

“Mmm yes,” Claire sighed, moaning as Loki rolled them onto their sides. A trickle of wetness trailed from her pussy when he pulled out, and she whimpered when Loki's fingers trailed through the mess. “I like the way you hold me.” she admitted as she edged closer to sleep.

“Do you like the mess we made, little wife?”

“Yes. So hot,” Claire mumbled, making a small noise of complaint when Loki shifted her to put his arm beneath her. “M'not ready for babies yet, but fuck, I like the practice.”

“As do I,” Loki purred as he brushed her wild hair from her face. Another kiss found the bolt of her jaw as he molded his chest to her back, nestling within the blankets beside her. “As do I.”

Translations: (Norwegian)

Du føler deg så bra- You feel so good

Du tar meg så godt- You take me so well

Faen- fuck

#covenant #loki fic #loki x ofc #meowmeow writes #sorry it took so long

[babyjakes]

captain's orders. [blurb.]

〈 disclaimer: this blog posts content not suitable for individuals under the age of 18. minors are strictly prohibited from viewing, sharing, or interacting with this blog. for more information on this blog's commitment to protecting minors, read our full statement here. 〉

event | feb '23 blurb night

summary | steve dotes on you when your period's causing you pain.

pairing | bf!steve rogers x reader

warnings | reader's having period cramps, meds mention (ibuprofen), stevie is the cutest and i love him, tummy rubs hehe :'-), just soooo fluffy and cute and sweet <333

word count | 380

requested by anon | Have you done a period cramps hurt / comfort before? That would be so soft. Maybe Stucky comforting her? She always needs to be in one of their arms at all times. 🥺

an | this is such a cute idea, thanks for sending in sweet nonnie!!! hope it's okay i just went with stevie for this one, tbh i haven't been writing any seb liiike at all not even bucky so :^) here is sweet amazing wonderful perfect bf!stevie for you!!! with a guest appearance by bestie!sam hehe <333

Steve can't help but frown down at you in concern; you're clearly in pain as you writhe against him, struggling to find a position that's comfortable. "Here- let's use this, doll," he suggests as he reaches over and grabs a pillow to place beside him, easing your head down against it as he lays your midsection over his lap. Sighing at the small sense of relief the new arrangement brings, you wrap your arm around the man's own as he brings a gentle hand down to rub over your tummy. "There you go, good girl. Just relax."

Your gaze travels warily over to the generic white pill bottle sitting on the coffee table. Reading your mind, Steve asks, "Those kickin' in yet?"

"Not yet," you mumble, but you're not surprised. It was less than ten minutes ago that you took them- all you can do now is wait.

"You want me to grab you an ice pack? Or maybe warm you up something to drink?" the kind man offers as his gentle hand draws circles over your tender skin. Shaking your head, you turn a little to look at him better.

"Jus' wanna stay here with you, please," you request shyly. At your timid words, Steve's face softens with affection.

"Of course, doll. You don't even have to ask- gonna stay right here with you, darlin'. Wanna take care of my best girl." At the sight of you laying so unguarded in his lap, with your smaller arms wrapped around his, and big eyes blinking up at him so mildly, Steve can't cope with the thought of leaving you alone, not even for a moment. With his free hand, he reaches into his back pocket, pulling out his phone.

"What's up?" you ask with a raised brow.

"Just texting Sam, gonna have him run to the store for us. You need some chocolate, and something nice for a bath later. And- we're almost out of pain meds." Smiling at the man, you bring his hand up to your lips to kiss his fingers gently. Steve pauses to smile at you, rubbing your cheek lovingly. "Was gonna go myself, but there's no way I could leave you now. You're stayin' right here, young lady, 'til you're feelin' all better. Captain's orders."

#eun's writing #captain's orders #eun's blurb nights #feb ‘23 blurb night #steve rogers #steve rogers fanfiction #steve rogers x reader #steve rogers x y/n #bf!steve rogers #steve rogers blurb #steve rogers drabble #steve rogers headcanon #steve rogers imagine #steve rogers one shot #captain america #marvel #mcu #avengers #hurt/comfort #chris evans #chris evans fanfiction

[archiveikemen]

"Black Wedding" Story Event: Chapter 2

William's Route

I do not own any of the Ikemen Series content being uploaded on this blog, everything belongs to CYBIRD. Please support them by playing their games and buying stories. Not 100% accurate, expect mistakes.

read this before interacting with my posts

William: You should be more selfish, my bride.

William lifted my chin with his fingers and smiled.

The alluring smile that always lured out my deepest desires never failed to drive me crazy.

William: … Ah, is it too early to call you my “bride”?

Kate: No, I want you to call me… anything you want.

Kate: Whether you call me your lover, partner, or bride… as long as it means something special to you, it'll make me happy.

William: Fufu… then I shall call you my bride.

He caressed my cheek with the fingers that were on my chin.

Kate: … Okay, Will.

I snuggled up against his fingers, drawn in by his loving gaze —

William: That’s why we’re here.

Will gently pulled his hand away from me.

(... I can’t do this.)

The passion in his red eyes nearly made me forget that we were on a mission.

William: Pardon us. My lover and I are obsessed with each other.

My heart was completely stolen by William.

(Is this what you meant by “show off to our hearts content”?)

I finally understood that he meant to say that instead of putting up an act, we would show our true feelings and be affectionate without holding back.

(That’s why he said it’s alright to just behave as usual.)

(But for some reason… this feels more embarrassing than I thought it would.)

While I was still looking down at my feet with my cheeks burning, a cultist cleared his throat.

Cultist: … Thank you for showing me that intimate exchange.

William: It's an honour to receive your praise.

Cultist: However, in order to ascertain that our guests are truly in love, they are required to complete 1 day of voluntary work. Will that be alright?

William: Yes, of course. It will be our pleasure.

…

The “voluntary work” consisted of simple tasks such as cleaning the church grounds and gardening.

Except that we were constantly being watched.

Kate: What’s that, Will?

William: Astrantia. It survives well in the cold, but not in the heat.

Kate: Fufufu, I’ll learn so much about flowers while walking with you.

In the church’s backyard, the flowers were in full bloom and there were many animals being kept.

I watered the flowers while watching the ducks swimming in the pond, and the sheep in their enclosure.

Kate: Hey, Will.

William: … Hm?

(Uh…)

The moment I looked up, I forgot what I had initially intended to say to him.

A robin was perched on Will’s shoulder.

Kate: It’s adorable…! What’s the matter with this little one?

William: It came when you weren’t looking.

William: It’s an honour for me to be chosen as its perch to rest on.

The robin chirped happily when Will gently patted it with his finger.

Kate: It seems like you’re communicating with it.

William: It might get itself captured if it lets its guard down like this.

Kate: Maybe it chose you because it thought you were a kind person who would look after it, instead of capturing it.

William: Fufu, I see.

(Hm…?)

Will turned his gaze away from the robin and towards me.

William: I’m sure that… it could fly around freely, but it’s choosing to stay here of its own will.

William: I can’t help treating it with affection while it’s within my reach.

Those words made my heart race because it felt like they were directed at me, and not the robin on his shoulder.

Kate: … Which “robin” are you talking about?

William: Which one do you think I am?

Kate: … Both?

William: That’s my bride. You’re right.

Will gently stroked my hair like he did with the robin, and kissed me on the forehead as a reward.

(Will is being sweeter than usual today because we have to “show off”.)

(It makes me happy, but… I might forget that we’re on a mission again and feel weird.)

William: Oops.

Just then, the robin flapped its wings and flew away.

It stopped on a signboard hanging at the sheep enclosure.

Kate: “A domesticated animal”...?

Kate: … I guess that means they’re safe?

William: I suppose.

William: An exclusive space that’s peaceful, controlled, and has no one going against them.

William: The herd of sheep surrounded by fences are the same as this church.

William: An ideal place for people who desire control.

After Will muttered those words, the cultist who was standing at the edge of the garden approached us.

William: … It seems that we’ve proved to be worthy of your acknowledgement.

Cultist: Yes, that’s right! The two of you are acknowledged to be a couple who are truly in love with each other.

(...!)

Cultist: Your wedding ceremony shall be held tomorrow.

William: … Ah, certainly.

Kate: Thank you.

(That means… tomorrow…)

(The Founder will be condemned for his sins on the spot at the wedding ceremony.)

As I watched the cultist leave, Will said invitingly in a melodious tone.

William: Well then.

William: I should give this little robin over here who’s still within my reach a nice dress.

…

Afterwards, Will brought me to a tailor he was well-acquainted with.

(Wow…)

The wedding dresses that the store clerks had laid out for me were so dazzling that I couldn't help squinting my eyes when I saw them.

Kate: W-Will… I can’t make up my mind with so many to choose from…!

William: Ahaha, you can pick whichever you like. You don’t have to worry about the time, just do as you wish.

William: Oh, but of course… if you want me to choose for you, I’ll gladly oblige.

(... Have him choose a dress for me?)

I wondered what kind of dress William would choose for the wedding.

Kate: In that case… can you pick one out for me?

William: Hmm… let's see…

Like he was selecting a flower from a field of colourful flowers, Will chose a wedding dress for me.

(Wow… it’s gorgeous.)

The dress Will chose was jet black with intricate embroidery.

Kate: It��s wonderful…

I reached out for it, and the soft fabric running through my fingers felt satisfying to touch.

Kate: Oh… but it’s not red in colour.

William: Haha, did it surprise you?

Kate: Previously, you said that the colour red suited me…

He narrowed his eyes while I struggled to figure out the reason behind his decision.

William: I’m the only one who should know what colour suits you best.

William: Even if the other person is God, they’re unworthy of knowing what colour you look most beautiful in.

(Ah… I see.)

The very moment I decided to love Will, I had accepted the sin, the punishment — and even the inevitable death that awaited me.

(I swore my life to him.)

The blood that flowed through my body would be the one to dye his destruction red.

(Will swore to see that with his own eyes till the very end.)

If we were to have a real wedding…

Who to and what would we, who live in the darkness, swear?

The answer was clear.

(We’ll swear ourselves to each other… not anyone else.)

(We’ll swear to love each other till the end.)

We would pledge nothing to no one else.

That was our form of unwavering love.

Kate: … I’m happy to hear that, Will.

William: That’s great. I’m looking forward to our wedding ceremony tomorrow.

…

On the day of our “wedding” — I left our room wearing the black wedding dress Will had chosen for me.

Kate: … Will.

William: …

When Will looked at me, I thought I saw his red eyes widen a little.

Kate: What do you think…? Does it look good on me?

William: … Yeah, it looks great on you.

William: You looked so amazing that I couldn’t speak.

Kate: Fufu… you being at a loss for words is a very precious moment.

William: I hope you know that’s how gorgeous you look right now.

Kate: Yes, I got it.

Will smiled and extended a hand to me.

Feeling intoxicated from that sweet happiness, I took his hand.

As long as I was with him, no matter what happens in the future, I would have no regrets.

Even if it was the endless darkness that awaited us in the sacred place behind this door.

William: Come, we shall vow our love to each other, my bride from the darkness.

…

When we walked through the chapel together, we saw an unfamiliar man standing at the altar.

(This man is…)

The long-haired man wore glasses and had a gentle aura, he was the one who committed those murders.

Founder: Pleased to make your acquaintance. I am Amor, the representative of Amour.

Amor: The two of you have been acknowledged by my believers to be a couple that's truly in love with each other.

Amor: Congratulations, lovebirds.

William • Kate: …

Amor: Upon making your vows in this sacred place, you shall have eternal love bestowed upon you.

Amor: Do you vow to love and cherish each other through the good times and the bad, whether you’re rich or poor, in sickness and in health, and until death separates you?

(We—)

William • Kate: I don’t.

#ikemen villains #ikemen series #cybird ikemen #cybird otome #otome #ikevil story event #niki translates

[7grandmel]

Todays rip: 16/05/2024

Kass' Theme

Season 4 Episode 1 Featured on: SECOND WIND ~ SiIvaGunner: King for Another Day Tournament Original Soundtrack VOL. 2

Ripped by wolfman1405 feat. Buta Big Band

Requested by sabybeal! (Request Form)

Now, Wolfman1405 is certainly not a new name to be featured here on this blog. Be it with Sunday Morning, Theme of HoBART, and most recently Haltmanna feat. Rob Thomas of Matchbox 20, I've spilled many words on just how excellent of a contributor the guy is, how distinct his jazzy sound, sultry voice, and love for music truly is amidst the channel's sea of contributors. Yet through all of those posts and more, I'm somehow yet to write a post about Wolfman1405's most distinct trait - the rips involving his own full-on Jazz ensemble, the Buta Big Band. With Kass' Theme, it felt as if the group was finally able to show their full potential on the big stage - a no-nonsense, non-shitpost cover of a beautiful piece of Nintendo music.

I briefly mentioned back on Sunday Morning that contestants like Adam Levine never really felt destined for the big leagues - the idea that some contestants just *felt* like they wouldn't be able to make it to the top. The contestants of this rip, Nintendo Power, felt pretty similar to me - as good as their setlist was, it wasn't all too different from the type of music SiIvaGunner usually uploads, that being primarily Nintendo-focused. But their presence did of course feel very welcome althesame - it gave the team ample room to show just how far they could PUSH that Nintendo-centric focus the channel already had with genuine all-cylinders effort put in. That was, as I've ruminated on many times, a huge part of what made KFAD so incredible: it was, to put it in the corniest way possible, SiIvaGunner's Avengers moment, of so many rippers from the channel's history coming together to give it their absolute all for this one event. Frequent rippers, infrequent rippers, old legends like Triple-Q and guest contributors like GaMetal on Ink That or DM DOKURO on September. And in the middle of all this sat Wolfman1405 - contributing a half dozen rips to the event, with Kass' Theme in particular showing perhaps the full power he possesses.

It helps, of course, that Kass' Theme is one we all have collectively swooned for since the release of Breath of the Wild in 2017. Hell, later in that very same year, during Season 2, SiIvaGunner themselves contributed a full-on Fusion Collab in the titular Kass' Theme Fusion Collab - a listen that, fittingly enough, begins with Wolfman1405's very own piano playing. Kass' Theme, two years later, then truly feels like a full circle moment, and above all else like a huge flex from the part of the Buta Big Band. It's Kass' Theme, sure, but filled with personality around every corner, evident from the word go as the ensemble leads into the titular song with a snippet from the main The Legend of Zelda theme completely seamlessly, borderline mandela-effecting me into believing that it had always been a remix of said theme all along. Kass' Theme isn't a very long piece of music, but the rip journeys through so many different takes and rhythms to the tune in its runtime - a trumpet-lead at one section, the full band in another, a section broken up by drum beats, and what I believe to be a trombone solo halfway through it all. As a former trombone player (Mel fun fact of the day!) I can't help but admire it, both on principle alone but also for just how well it manages to fit this new take on the song.

There's layers to dissect at every turn with Kass' Theme, and even as it turns almost entirely into freestyle toward the arrangement's end, it never loses the soul of what it's adapting - and, of course, never stops sounding fantastic. It's that sheer quality that makes Wolfman1405's rips stand as tall as they do, that touch for finesse born from such a good understanding of music - and, perhaps most obviously ad most importantly, a love of the SiIvaGunner channel. It all reminds me of rips like Because I Love You - there's no bit, no punchline, no irony, naught but the love of genuinely good music, to be expressed as earnestly as possible with an audience of fans who are damn near bound to accept that sincerity with open arms. Kass' Theme is an absolute slam dunk for the Buta Big Band, and one of the MANY reasons I love Wolfman1405's contributions to SiIvaGunner - and hey, if you're interested in his work outside of the channel, may I recommend his two independantly-produced singles, Distance and Atlanta?

#todays siivagunner #season 4 episode 1 #siivagunner #siiva #wolfman1405 #Alejandro Espinosa #buta big band #Youtube #kfad #nintendo #breath of the wild #tloz #tloz botw #botw #nintendo switch #zelda #zelda music #zelda series #jazz arrangement #jazz

[girlytips]

Where in the world is Ribon?

As you've noticed, for the last about three months, the blog has gone back and forth between guest writers and queue. The blog was moved (without my knowledge) and longform writing stopped. Recently, girly.zyoshi also went on break. So where have I been? Is this the end of Ribon-tan and girly kei tips?

Short answer: No. I'm not quitting girly tips, and I don't intend to any time soon. That being said, some things will be changing.

When I started girly-kei-tips, it was a spin off blog of girly-kei-otd, in the style of old school jfashion blogs like fairykeitips, lolitatips, menheratips, etc. I'd been wearing Girly and lurking in the "larme kei" community for years, but what finally pushed me to gather resources for people looking to get into the style was the overwhelming influx of misinformation about a select few substyles and silhouettes. The jfashion community has grown in the years since tiktok, and with it has grown the number of newbies and misinformation- as well as a new "veterans correcting incorrect info is elitist gatekeeping" sort of idea circulating, at first most prevalent with baby gyaru, then lolitas, and now with menhera and Girly. I wanted to find a way to teach people new to jfashion about Girly and create a community of wearers that was as active as the "larme kei" communities of the mid 2010s were. So after an interest poll on girly-kei-otd, I wrote my first major article about the (at the time) current misconceptions newcomers to Girly had.

It circulated much faster than I expected it to! Of course, since posting that I have been bombarded with harassment, from simply reblogging with such creative stantwt-esque rebuttals as "me when i lie" to attempted doxxing, death threats, and full blown conspiracies trying to assert that I'm actually like 10 other people, not really mentally ill, hate Japan, dont really wear jfashion, etc. However, that's never effected me as much as seeing the information I translated and broke down reaching platforms I'm not even on, and encouraging people who were new to or had stepped back from Girly to rejoin the community! This only motivated me to keep going, so I did!

However, no amount of passion for something can entirely combat the reality that I am a mentally ill and disabled person who has been juggling recovery, university, a job, an irl social life, and suddenly being thrust into the position of "spokesperson for the Girly community". I became incredibly burnt out due to the sheer amount of having to repeat myself over and over, as well as a lack of energy due to struggles with mental and physical health entirely unrelated to the project. When I had an unrelated severe bpd episode, I knew I needed to temporarily step back. I had two friends who run their own jfashion projects take over for me so I could focus on survival and recovery- but it had an unintended consequence.

Unfortunately, the most common conspiracy theory used to devalue any information I give or agree with is that I am the entire Girly community, and the menhera community as well. So, when the responses from my blog seemed less like Ribon and more like runners of other popular blogs, this seemed to validate that belief in some. On top of that, language barrier issues as well as differences in opinion lead to seemingly contradictory information coming out of girly tips. Suddenly, every time I was meant to come back, I had to deal with another misunderstanding, edit another post, freak out thinking my blog was deleted when it was actually moved- no one was being malicious, there were just too many chefs in the kitchen, so to speak. This just made my mental state deteriorate even more, and make me feel even more unfit to resume activities.

This level of burnout lead me to take the extended break that I took, and starting girly.zyoshi really helped me get out of that rut- but then Instagram began to not show our posts. Apparently, this is common with kaiwai accounts- frequent posts with similar hashtags get marked as spam. After discussions with customer support, the solution was to take a break from posting so that the account doesn't get nuked before starting back over. Unfortunately, combined with my absence from the blog, this made it look as though I had abandoned my projects entirely.

So, what now? Well, I'm going to be back to making original posts and answering questions again. However, to prevent a burnout from happening again, it's never going to go back to the insane frequency of original articles I was putting out in the beginning months. The kaiwai account is also resuming activity- but limited to 2 or 3 posts a week! And yes, the Discord, which was deleted many months ago, will be staying down. To make up for this lack of original content, I'll continue to leave the blog running a daily queue as well between posts.

While I have the opportunity to do so, I'd also like to make one thing clear, AGAIN. I do not hate mentally ill people. I do not hate people who "fit" the landmine stereotype. This is a fact that seems to have been overlooked in favor of the "don't listen to that person, they just hate people who struggle" approach to combatting the information I provide. I also do not condone harassment, EVER. I don't care what for. Before deleting the Discord due to member safety concerns, I had to re-enforce that rule many times. Someone identifying as jirai or spreading the misinformation that jirai is a fashion or a movement is ABSOLUTELY not an excuse fo make fun of them. If you came to the conclusion that it is justified to bully people who post misinformation because of my blog, you have severely misread the purpose of my blog and I do not want you here.

I myself am severely mentally ill. I struggle with many aspects of illness that are the most fetishized in the landmine lifestyle. I have diagnosed BPD, as well as a severe dissociative disorder and cPTSD. I am not against mentally ill people doing their best to survive. I am not "anti" anyone's coping mechanisms- after all, even bad coping mechanisms are better than no coping mechanisms and can be the difference between life and death. I do not have anything against people like me- people who struggle to maintain healthy relationships, who struggle with chronic suicidal ideation, who have mood swings, etc. I have nothing against people who are stuck in unhealthy lifestyles because the alternative is death. My issue is the trying to make struggling with these illnesses and living dangerous lifestlyes cute and trendy- which is what the Japanese jirai scene is all about. Wherever you are in life- if it's living a "landmine lifestyle" of binge drinking and unsafe work, or if you're coping healthily, or somewhere in between- it's okay. You're okay, and I'm proud of you. What's not okay is trying to sanitize what the lifestyle and term are- they aren't feminist, they aren't safe and fun, they aren't cute and desirable. And it's also not okay to try to spread misinformation about fashions to try to support this Western fanfiction that there is a feminist fashion and culture movement called landmine about freeing mentally ill girls by denying that Girly/girly kei exists.

I hope this helps explain some things, but I haven't proofread. So please, if you have any questions, anon asks are on for the time being. Thanks so much for your support, and I'm excited to see you in a text post I have in the works! -Ribon

#girly kei #jfashion #ガーリー系 #ガーリー #ribon tan #update