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asmutwriter · 1 month ago

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The Gangsta's Wife (Part 16)

DESCRIPTION: You and your husband both struggle to go back to sleep after your son wakes you up

A/N: I wrote this part ages ago and I am aware that it is slightly out of character for both Tommy and Flo but also it was just too cute not to keep!

WORD COUNT: 4099

From Beginning / Previous / Next / Master List

WARNINGS: Smoking, children, jokes about murder, use of 'sir' in both sexual and non sexual way, mildy ooc Tommy, slight declaration of feelings but not really, smut, swearing, fingering, p in v, choking, brief praise, overstimulation (f receiving), creampie, aftercare, soft dom Tommy, sub reader

DISCLAIMERS

This is fiction. Please always talk to your partner before doing anything and make sure they are ok with what you are doing beforehand

This story does not follow the timeline of the show

It was the very early hours of Christmas Eve Eve. The 23rd of December 1922. You hear the distant cry of Charlie. Letting out a soft mumble as you get up. Unsure of the time. Hoping his cries might falter but two minutes pass and he's still wailing at the top of his lungs. You swing your legs out the bed. Sleepily walking along the corridor. Going and creaking the door quietly open before walking into his room. You smile at him. “Hey there little man”. You pick up the crying boy. Popping him onto your hip. Hushing him as you start to sing softly. Not anything in particular. More just your thoughts in a musical manner.

Thankfully it works as he drifts back off to sleep. You place him back down into his crib. Silently going back along to bed. Climbing in next to your sleeping husband. Turning your back as you try and let sleep back into your mind.

“Is he ok?” You hear Thomas speak softly next to you. You hum in agreement. Turning so you face him. His head turned towards you as his body lay flat on the bed. You bring your hands up. Tucking them both under your cheek as you look at him.

“I think he had a bad dream and just needed comforting. He’s gone back to sleep now”. He nods. Quiet fills the room. “Tom?” You whisper his name.

“Mhmm?”

“Sorry. I just wanted to see if you were asleep yet or not”. Silence filling the room once again. You shut your eyes. Trying to will yourself to sleep. 5 minutes. 10 minutes. 20. 40. You let out an annoyed huff as you hear the grandfather clock downstairs chime. You'd been trying to sleep for an hour and have had no luck.

“Can't sleep either love?” You look at Thomas. His eyes remain closed as you nod.

“I've been trying but my stupid brain wont shut off”. He opens his eyes. Sitting up. The blanket falling from his bare torso and going around his waist. He leans over. Lighting the oil lamp by the edge of his bed. Going into the top drawer by his bed. He pulls out a pack of cards. You sit up. Crossing your legs as you bring the blanket over the top of them. Your nightdress covering your torso. Watching as he shuffles. He starts dealing out the cards.

“We used to play this during France”. Once he'd laid out the cards he goes back into the top drawer. Taking out a pack of cigarettes. Taking one out he places it at the top of the cards. Putting the pack back on top of the bedside table. “Everyone would put in one cigarette. Whoever won would keep the bunch”.

“What game is it?”

“Solitaire. Do you know how to play?” You nod. He motions his hand towards you. A gesture indicating for you to start. You proceed in picking up the relevant cards. Talking as you play.

“I used to play with my dad when I was younger”. You flip over various cards. Chatting as you take it in turns. “I was so shit”

“He never let you win?”

“Oh no. He believed that a child should always earn their win. That you should never just give them it. So I lost every single time”. You smile. Glancing at him briefly before refocusing on the cards. “I was 9 when I managed to beat him. The look he gave me was priceless. I'd pay good money to re-see that look on his face”. Your smile softens. “He'd be proud of me”

“What for?”

“The fact I've just won”. You place the cards in the correct places. Finishing off the sets as you gleefully smile at him. Causing him to laugh.

“You sly woman”. You look at him and cheekily smile. Picking up the cigarette and placing it into your mouth unlit.

“Best out of three?” you speak with it hanging on your lip. Picking up the cards and starting to shuffle. Dealing them out. He grabs out another cigarette. Reaching into the drawer once again. Taking out some matches. Striking one of them. You lean forward. Letting him light the end for you before he lights his own. Wafting the lit match in a quick motion to put out the flame. He places the rest of the pack at the top of the bed.

“Winner gets the rest of the pack”

“You do spoil me Mr Shelby”. He smiles. Taking out the smoke from his lips. The two of you playing quieter as you both concentrate. The sound of cards moving and the air being filled with smoke as the night goes on. He smiles as he wins the second round. Holding what's left of the stick in one hand as he picks the cards up. Placing it back into his mouth as he deals them out. Snubbing his smoke next to the one you'd discarded a while ago.

Only a few cards remain unturned. You bite at your bottom lip. Shaking your head as you turn the next card over. Scanning over the remaining few quickly. “You're turn”. He moves a couple of cards. Turning over the next one. Smiling as he proceeds to turn over the rest and complete the four sets. Winning. You let out an annoyed groan. “Well done”. His eyes come up to look at you. Smiling as your gaze meets his.

“You are a good player. You're dad taught you well”. You scratch the back of your head. Smiling at the notion.

“We should be sleeping”. You pick up the card.

“Are you tired?”

“No. But we should at least try. Your brothers and Ada are coming round tomorrow evening and I haven't even started on the house yet. I'm so behind with everything and I don't even know how” You start shuffling the deck. Looking towards him as you shuffle. "What time are they coming?"

“Midday. With Polly”

“I thought Polly was coming Christmas eve?” He nods. Picking up the pack of cigerettes and placing them back onto his night table. You watch him. “Thomas?”

“She felt left out of the family gathering. She doesn't understand why her niece and nephews get to be here and she can't be”

“The main reason for that being because your brothers and sister don't hate me"

"Polly doesn't hate you"

"You're right. She doesn't hate me. She despises me and my very existence" he lets out a soft chuckle. "I'm surprised she hasn’t killed me yet”.

“She won't kill you”

“I saw her digging a hole a couple of weeks ago. I'm sure she's planning of disposing my body into it”. He tries not to laugh. Running his thumb over his bottom lip as he smiles at you. “Its not funny” you say. A smile creeping onto your lips. “Is she bringing her son?” He nods. Leaning backwards as he watches you. Head resting against the headboard of the bed.

“Even though she really doesn’t want him around us”

“Why? I thought she'd be happy to have her two families mixing”

“She wants Michael to stay a child. A good boy that she can mother. If he hangs around us for to long then he’ll become corrupted. Or that's what she's worried about”. His eyes flick down. Watching the cards in your hands. “I think they're shuffled enough”. You smile. Scooting forward slightly as you lean towards him. Kneeling upwards. Fanning the deck out.

“Pick a card”. You looks at you. Amusement in his eyes as he tries not to smile. “Come on. You know you want to”. You smile at him. Eyes going to the cards before back to his. He sighs. Leaning forward again. He picks a card. You look away slightly as you push the cards back to form a deck. “Look at it. Once you’ve memorised it put it back into the deck”. You hold the cards towards him. Feeling him push the item back into the pack. You look back. Looking at him. “Hmm”. You go closer to him. Straddling the ends of his legs as you lean towards him slightly. Amusement on his lips as his eyes remain unmoving. You squint at him. Over emphasizing the trick. You shake your head.

“You're good at keeping a poker face”. You lean backwards again. Taking out the two jokers left inside the packet. Holding them both up in one hand. “Luckily I have some help”. You place one on top. The other on the bottom. Both facing upwards. “These two are going to help me find your card”. His eyes go down. Holding the pack top and bottom with your thumb and middle finger. Holding it semi tightly as you chuck 51 cards into the other hand. Three cards remaining in your right. The two jokers facing upwards as one remains face down.

You place them onto the bed. The deck of cards next to it. Joker either side of the still unseen card. “Do you remember your card?” He nods. “What was your card good sir?”

“Eight of hearts”. You take the bottom of the card. Turning it. His amused look turning into a full smile as his card sits between the two jokers. Eyes going back up to yours as you neatly place the card back on top of the deck. “How did you learn to do magic?”

“My mum-" you correct yourself "step mum taught me. She was very magical in herself. She would show me and my sisters magic tricks all the time. Not just card ones either. She could make coins disappear”

“Coins disappear?” You nod. Smiling at him. Taking off your wedding ring.

“I have the ring in my hand – she would use a coin though”. You swiftly move. Keeping your hands up as it vanishes from your grip. He furrows his brow. Genuinely bewildered. His eyes looking over every surface he can see near you. Your smile grows as you bring your hand up. ‘Finding’ the item in his ear. Pulling your hand back as you hold it between your fingers. His face grows with a mixture of emotions. “I told you. I'm magic”. You wiggle your eyebrows at him. He laughs softly. Watching as you put the ring back onto your finger. “She would call it ‘Moneda Fantasma’. Translates to Phantom Coin. But it sounds cooler in Spanish”. He smiles. Nodding in agreement.

“Do you have any other tricks?”

“Of course”

“Show me”. You pick up the pack of cards. Putting the jokers to the side. Shuffling once again. Fanning them out. He takes a card. Looking at it. You move the deck closer to him. He puts the card back in.

“Would you be so kind to shuffle for me?” You hold the deck towards him. He takes them. Sitting up more as he shuffles. Passing them back to you once they’ve been shuffled. You take them. Placing them onto his lap. “Because it did so well last time” Flipping over the top card of the deck. The eight of hearts again. “He's going to help us find your card this time”. You turn the card back over. “We give him some time to search for you card before we ask him back to the top of the deck”. You tap the deck three times before turning the top card. Queen of spades. “Is this your card?” He nods again. Smiling as you pick the cards up. Placing them onto his side table. “Can you do any parlous tricks?”

“I can read peoples minds”. You raise your brow. You shuffle closer. Now sitting just below his knees. Causing him to smile.

“Show me. Please”. He rubs the gap between his eyebrows. Picking up the cards. His turn to fan them out. You pick up a card. Nine of diamonds. You put both your hands over it as you hold it close to your chest. You watch as he places the deck of cards back onto his side table. He leans closer to you. His hands resting gently onto your thighs as he keeps heavy eye contact with you. You try and remain deadpan as you look into his eyes. The soft blue digging into your core.

“It’s a high number… Not quite a royal but not far off of one”. He pauses. “No. Not quite a ten. I'd say a eight or nine though. Now is it a red or a black?” Pauses again. A soft sigh of air escaping him. “Is it the nine of diamonds?” Your jaw drops. Turning the card to face him. His eyes looking down as a smile comes over his lips. Looking back up at you. “Told you I could read minds”. You shake your head.

“How the hell do you do that?”

“Magic” he smiles. His eyes widen as he says the word. Causing you to smile as you cock your head. He smiles too. You lean over him. Placing your card onto the top of the deck. Holding onto his shoulder as you lean to keep balance. Sitting back up straight you lean back onto your heals. Still straddling his legs as his hands remain on you. You yawn. Covering your mouth with both hands as your eyes screw shut. Lifting your arms up as you stretch. He watches you. Eyes fixed on your features as you bring your hands down.

Feeling his hand move. Going to the back of your neck. Pulling you into him as his lips meet yours. You let out a satisfied hum into the kiss. Your hands going up as you cradle his face between your palms. His other hand moves from your thigh. Going to your lower back as he pulls you fully onto his lap. You chest pressed firmly against his.

His hand from the back of your neck move downwards. Trailing down the length of your spine. Slotting itself between your shoulder blades as he holds you flush against him. Moving your hands to wrap around his shoulders. Pulling away slightly. Faces no more then an inch away from each other. He moves his hand from your spine. Bringing it down. Lifting up the end of your silk nightdress. Letting it pool around your waist. Your eyes fixated onto his as he looks up at you. Moving one of your hands from around him to move down. Holding the clothing up as his fingers move delicately across the skin.

A small whine leaves your lips as he traces his finger over your clit. A faint smile coming over his face as he starts making small circles onto the nub. Your hand gripping the fabric as the other digs into the flesh of his shoulder. Imprinting your nails into the skin. You lull your head to the side. Your mouth parting as soft moans leave your lips. Fluttering your eyes shut. Feeling the ecstasy building inside of you. His hand moving on your core. Feeling him push a digit into your cunt.

“Fuck”. You breath out the cuss. Your hands go to the back of his neck. Tilting your head back. He kisses your throat. Curling his fingers inside of you as his thumb works on your clit. Your pussy fluttering around him. You let out a broken moan. Putting your head forward as you capture his lips with yours. Kissing him as your high begins to build. He brings his hand from your hip to the back of your neck. Holding it as your lips mould together. His fingers bringing you closer and closer to the edge. "Please. Please sir". You murmur against his lips. Feeling him smiling against your skin. Feeling his eyes watching you as you come undone onto his fingers. A slow yet intense orgasm filling your body. He continues moving inside of you. Helping you ride out the high before he removes the digits. Kissing your neck again. Moving the strap of your dress off of your shoulder.

“Tommy?” Your voice quiet against the still room. He moves. Eyes able to watch yours. You feel your cheeks reddening at the unasked question.

“I-I-” You stutter out the words. Your voice going into an even quieter whisper before you speak. Eyes falling to his shoulder. "Can you... make love to me... please...". Your voice so small as those words hit his ears. Eyes glancing back up. His features remain soft as he looks at you. Not saying a word. You'd have thought that after two years of marriage you could read him better. Your cheeks go a darker shade of crimson. Shit. Why did you have to say that? Why couldn’t you have been a normal person and just said ‘put your cock in me’ or ‘I want to fuck’. Worried you'd ruined the moment with your question you look down fully. Shaking your head slightly.

“Shit" you mutter. "I'm sorry” you whisper an apology. Shaking your head. Silently cursing at yourself. Going to move off of his lap. His hands move to your hips. Gripping them. Holding you in place as he senses you movements. He stays silent. Not making a sound as he pulls you upwards. You reposition your hands onto his shoulders. Moving your legs so you're straddling him more. An arm moves around your hips. Holding you close as the other releases himself from his confines. Feeling him line the tip to your entrance. Letting you slowly sink down onto him.

A loud moan leaving your lips as he fills you. His hands go to the bottom of your night dress. Pulling the item up and over your body. Tossing it to the side. His hands run over your body. Fingers rough compared to the sweet touch of the pads dancing over your skin. Crossing your stomach. Over your chest. Down your arms. Worshiping your every curve. His eyes staying on yours. One hand going to your lower back. The other to your hip. Gently starting to move you. A slow yet intimate pace as you feel him fitting so perfectly inside of you.

He leans forward. Lips capturing yours. Your hand goes to his cheek. The other remaining on his shoulder. Your delicate noises being lost into the kiss. His hand moves from your hip. Finding where the two of your meet. Using his middle finger to rub small circles onto your clit.

“Shit”. You mutter. Moving your head into his shoulder. His hand moves from your back. Hips and fingers still working as he tenderly takes your jaw. Moving your head from his shoulder. Moving down to rest around your throat. No pressure against it. Just resting. Holding you there.

“Keep your eyes on me”. You nod. Meeting his ocean eyes. A blush creeping across your face as you keep eye contact with him. His face smiles as he watches you. The hand that was on his cheek goes to his wrist. Holding it close to you as he keeps you watching him. Feeling your high building up once again. His work inside of you plus his fingers making your orgasm build up quickly. You fight to keep your eyes on him. The adorable determined expression on your face causing him to smile. Leaning forward as he kisses you.

“Cum for me sweetheart. Let me feel you”. You let out a stifled moan. Eyes rolling back as you grind against him a couple more times. Letting the action push your orgasm over the edge. Your hands gripping onto him. Legs pushing together. “Good girl”. He coos. The praise going straight to your core. Causing you to let out a mild whine. He kisses you again. Hand still wrapped around your throat as he keeps your entire body from collapsing. Body trembling as he continues his work on your stimulated cunt.

“Please. Please Thomas”

“Just a little longer” he grunts. His gaze going down to where you two meet. “Fuck”. He mutters. His hand tightens around your throat. Feeling the bluntness of his nails digging into the skin. His hand moves from your cunt. Gripping at the flesh of your thigh. A grunt escapes his lips. Stilling your body as he cums. His seed spilling into you. You smile at the feeling. Eyes rolling into your head as you give out a satisfied moan. You gently grind against him. Helping him ride out his high. He leans back onto the headboard. Breathing deeply as he watches you. His hand falling from your throat to your leg. Resting onto it. His fingers gently dancing onto the bare skin.

“Ok… I'm tired again now”. You open your eyes. Sleepily smiling at him. He lets out a soft chuckle as you muster up the energy to move off of his lap. You let out a soft groan. Lifting yourself off of him. Sitting next to him. He continues watching you. You push your legs together as you start to feel his seed come out of your hole. He notices your mild discomfort. Adjusting his underwear. Putting himself away before he stands up. Grabbing a small hand towel. Coming and sitting back next to you. You go to take it from him but he just shakes his head.

“Lie down”. He speaks. Voice demanding yet soft. You take a few seconds to process his words but you do as he asks. His hands gently parting your legs as he wipes the juices from between your legs. You watch the feared and dangerous gangsta care for your body. A small smile coming over your feature. Quickly shaking the warm and fuzzy feeling.

Once he's cleaned you up he gets under the covers. Covering your naked frame with them. He grabs out a cigarette. Lighting the end of it. He remains sat up as you watch his face. Leaning his head back as he looks towards the ceiling. Removing the stick as he exhales. You bring a hand out. Motioning at the item. He chuckles and shakes his head.

“I won this”. He looks at you and smiles. You playfully glare at him as he draws a drag from it. Bringing it down. Letting you take it from his grip. Taking a puff of it. Retracting it from your lips as you place it back into his hand. Breathing the smoke out as you talk.

“God I'm going to miss the silence tomorrow with everyone here”. He nods. Cigarette resting between his index and middle finger.

“What time are your sisters coming?”

“Elizabeth has told me she's seeing someone in the morning so she’ll come round in the afternoon”. You turn to face him. Rolling your body. Moving the bed covers to make yourself decent as you rest your cheek onto your hands. “I think she's seeing a male acquaintance”

“Yeah?” You nod.

“She's been sneaking off a lot recently. Plus she doesn’t come round as often”

“Maybe she's just getting older?”

“Maybe…” you run your thumb over your lips as you think. “I think she's seeing one of your Peaky men”

“What makes you think that?” He looks at you. Amusement on his features at your theorising.

“I don’t know. I just think she is”

“Which one?”

“Edward. The younger one who delivered our groceries whilst we were at the safe house”. He nods. Pushing his lips together as he draws another drag. “He comes round here a lot more often then any of the others. Especially when my sister is here”. You rub your face with your hand. Shrugging. “I might be wrong though”

“Have you ever been wrong about your theories?”

“Once I thought someone was having an affair. Tried blackmailing her. Turns out she just had a new dog but her husband was allergic so she kept it a secret”. He laughs. “It made for a very awkward family meal”. You yawn. Covering your mouth with the back of your hand.

“You should get some rest”. You nod. Noticing his unmoving nature as he takes another draw from his cigarette. Hesitating a moment before reaching your hand out. Gently placing your hand on his wrist. Rubbing your thumb over the veins.

“You should sleep too”. His eyes glance to the affection. Moving he snuffs out the cigarette. You retract your hand. Placing it back to rest under your cheek. Watching as he puts the lamp out beside him. Going further under the covers. The bed covers come halfway up his torso. His arm going up and resting behind his head. Shutting your eyes as his breathing starts to deepen. Letting sleep take over you both.

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@whorecrux-of-slytherin @kkrenae @ireallydontcareanymorebrooo @frozenhuntress67 @sagemastah @meadows58

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eurydicees · 3 months ago

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Also, I just saw you’re 23, I am too! It’s rough out here. Another idea: any characters, what’s it like being 23? Where are they at this point? I feel like hq shows that as being sooo grown up but like I’m just a big teenager right?? Idk just rambling

being 23 is so rough sometimes lmfao. i've got friends from high school getting married and friends from college having early life crises. i'm working full time and living alone but tbh mostly feel like i'm playing at house rn more than i am living on my own. whatever. it's fine. early 20s is just a silly time of life. anyways i don't have a fic for u but i Do have a headcanon list.

in no particular order, haikyuu characters as stupid things i've done in my early twenties:

atsumu: having a brother who is a chef does not prevent him from forgetting to take the cheese packet out of the mac and cheese box and dumping that into boiling water with the pasta.

udai: does not remember the last time he ate a vegetable.

oikawa: friends all went to a party without him and his coping method was getting so so so wasted on white rum and falling asleep on the living room carpet immediately after giving another friend a tarot card reading saying their breakup is imminent (to be fair, it was. but it was still kinda rude).

iwaizumi: after class, was led to a private stairwell by a friend, jokes "haha are you taking me to a hidden location to kill me." and then received a love confession. proceeded to say "uh. i'll think about it." then did finger guns. and said "im just gonna. go" and then fucking. ran. like not exaggerating, ran.

kageyama: went on a date. did Not At All Know it was a date, despite the very very obvious flirting. yes this was the same person as in the previous bullet point. don't look at me like that.

akaashi: took a 100 level class senior year and did not pay attention to a single lecture. instead wrote thousands of words of fanfiction in the classroom every day.

atsumu (again): another cooking one. i just think he'd be a terrible cook. sorry. anyways. "it's been 20 min, why isn't this scallion pancake im pan frying cooking yet?" (<- did not turn on the stove burner.)

yachi: hm the light in this room doesn't work. guess i'll just learn to see in the dark instead of inconveniencing anyone by asking to fix it.

akaashi (again): completely fell in love at first sight, but fast forward five months and it actually somehow worked out? however the five months were filled with the most insufferable pining possible, which could have been resolved so so so easily. also started talking about marriage, like, six months in.

bokuto: got sad. went out into a raging snowstorm in socks and no jacket. laid down in the snow for a long time. somehow, miraculously, didn't get a cold afterwards?

akaashi and/or yachi: changed majors and career paths because a pretty upperclassman asked them to. (i am very happy in my chosen path but jesus christ THAT was why i did it?)

hinata: flew from coast to coast of the country, then drove halfway back to the midwest in the span of three days. started a new job on the fourth day. didn't sign a lease on an apartment until the fifth day.

semi: skipped a day of work to drive four hours there and four hours back for a fall out boy concert. totally worth it but driving at 4am after a concert wasn’t the smartest thing ever to be done.

kuroo: started reading homestuck in the year of our lord 2024. this is an attempt to remain in contact with long distance friendships (by doing a bookclub) but jesus fucking christ dude.

ok this is getting too long and i needed to be ready for work, like 15 min ago lol. maybe i'll write more of these later, but i hope you enjoy these and my silly disasters are a little comforting :)

#ask #haikyuu #haikyuu!!#hq!!#im not tagging all those characters lmfao #but anyways. it's been an eventful three years.#i hope you enjoy and that your 20s are going okay<3

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judgeanon · 6 months ago

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It Sure Has Been a Wild Couple of Days to be a Lady Shiva Fan

(Art by Skylar Partridge)

So after only showing up for a backup story in DETECTIVE COMICS a few months ago and for a few pages in the last issues of BATGIRLS back in January, turns out that Lady Shiva is gonna be a major part of not one, but two different series come November. Putting my thoughts under the jump 'cause they might be long:

First, there's an all-new BATGIRL ongoing written by Tate Brombal and drawn by Takeshi Miyazawa. I'm not really familiar with either of them, but I'm gonna try to check some of their work in the weekend. As for the plot:

When a deadly group of assassins shows up to kill Cassandra Cain, Lady Shiva must come to the rescue, and they’re forced to put their complicated past aside and work together as mother and daughter to ensure they make it out alive. Unfortunately, things are never as easy as they seem, and Batgirl must embark on a jaw-dropping, martial-arts filled adventure in her quest for truth and justice…and revenge?! This is a Batgirl unlike any other so don’t miss the opportunity to dive into the psyche of one of Gotham City’s deadliest fighters, while exploring her deep and complex relationship with her mother.

Here's the thing: while I am overjoyed that after Bryan Hill's OUTSIDERS we've pretty much exorcised the idea of Shiva as a zealous, card-carrying member of the League of Assassins, I've been a little bothered by how literally every single big Shiva appearance afterwards has revolved around Cass. Even in that weird short stint leading a new Birds of Prey team, her motivation was somehow gaining Cass' trust for... reasons. So I'm glad Shiva's no longer an LoA flunky, but I'm concerned with how she seems so tied at the hip with Cass -- especially since Cass does get to have stories that don't involve Shiva at all.

But at the same time, I do think there's a lot of meat on that bone, meat that, in my eye, nobody has really sank their teeth in yet. Hill tried but he was working within a team book, and Cloonan and Conrad just sorta teased it. This one, however, feels like a story about Shiva and Cass built from the ground up, with all the room necessary for some actual development from the two. This is them not as a subplot or as a tease for future stories, but as The Story. And while that may go in a bunch of different ways, I'm definitely interested to see what way this will go.

Annnd then there's Tom King and Ryan Sook's BLACK CANARY: BEST OF THE BEST, which I'm... a little less interested in.

Black Canary faces her toughest opponent yet, Lady Shiva, in a battle to determine who is the single greatest hand-to-hand fighter in the DC Universe. To make it to the final round, Black Canary will need all her fighting skill and ability, plus additional training from some of DC’s most accomplished fighters, including Batman, Wildcat, and even her mother, the original Black Canary!

Yeaaaaah, I just... I'm not feeling this one. There's not any real mention of a plot here, not a lot to really grab on to other than vibes, and the vibes are just weird. It's weird how Dinah is fighting to determine who's the best fighter, something that to me isn't really a huge part of her character. It's weird that, from the preview pages, they're fighting in like a Vegas casino, in a ring, with an audience. It's weird that there's three trainers mentioned and none of them are Cass, who not only has beaten Shiva before but has trained with Dinah at least twice in canon. And this being tumblr, let me say it's also weird that this is a story about a white woman training with three white people to beat up an Asian woman in martial arts.

It's a six issue mini and the short solicit and weirdness is clearly meant to pique curiosity. But I'm dreading how much this all sounds like it's using Shiva to put Dinah in a pedestal, to show how strong and resilient and stubborn she can be. Even if it goes for a ROCKY ending of "Lost the fight but won at life", unless Shiva is written very thoughtfully, it feels like she's just gonna be there for the sake of Dinah's character. And I dunno if I trust King to write Shiva with any real thought.

So that's kinda where I'm at. Neither of these are a full Shiva solo, and one of them fills me with dread, but it's been a real rush to have two major Shiva-related projects like these be revealed one after the other. And with 2025 being the 50th anniversary of her debut, hey, who knows? Maybe this is just paving the road for something special. Hope springs eternal, no?

#DC #Comics #Lady Shiva #Batgirl #Black Canary

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skippygiraffee · 7 months ago

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dragon and history nerd raihan x art and pokemon battling nerd leon. thoughts?

Thank you for the ask!! I have a lot of thoughts on these two, SPECIFICALLY in the realm of their interests outside of battling (even though with Leon I think that can get a bit muddled). But I'll put them under a read more since it might get long >:3c

With Raihan, once I started looking into him as a character more, I found his fascination and love of history in the canon parts of the story (which to me always fall in the game and manga, as the anime does deviate and seem to have its own canon), and clearly he has a reverence and interest in Galarian history, despite battling in the tapestry vault. I've always pictured him as the sleeper intellect of the group, where it's obvious with someone like Sonia, but Raihan rolls up to the function listing off Galarian history facts like it's a Top 10 video. Honing in on that, I personally think Raihan's an architectural nerd kind of guy, where he's interested in Galar's historical castles, buildings, their style changes through the eras, ect. And of course this guy is the Dragon Type guy to end all Dragon Type guys. I don't think anyone who isn't locked in on every single aspect of how they work would also be able to manipulate the weather like that, while also giving other gym leaders, notably Kabu, help and recommendations on other Pokemon that aren't Dragon Types (they're Tor-colleagues!!). How that looks has been warped by my many hours of fic reading and talking with @beammeupbroadway about the subject, but I genuinely think he's interested mainly in two aspects: 1. the preservation of Dragon Type habitats in Galar and 2. ethical breeding and raising of Dragon Types for rehabilitation, training, or release into the wild. Raihan prides himself on the care and upkeep of his dragons, spending a lot of his free time dedicated to further research of that topic, all so he can keep up to date with it. I'm also a pretty big proponent of Raihan being the kind of guy who lets his Pokemon free roam around his living space, as it's also their space, and therefore it's a very dragon type friendly place.

Also, I know the ask says that Leon is the art nerd, but I genuinely think that's more Raihain, though I think Leon has an appreciation for it (I'll get into that). Raihan's thing is partly to do with his love of history and architecture, which turned into a deep appreciation and understanding of art, and Galarian artistic movements, while also being the selfie/Pokegram guy. As an example:

The back of his League Card made me laugh the first time I read it, because I do think he takes very stereotypical artsy pictures, uploads them, and confuses people because I don't think people quite get the vision or reference he's making.

For Leon, battling nerd goes way beyond just being on the pitch. I think canon has my back for that, with the Battle Tower, the two tournaments he's organized, and just his general love of the sport of it all. And, for once, I will credit the anime with showcasing that, where his battle with Ash was one of the few times I think it got Leon's characterization pretty well. More than that, Leon to me found his love of battling early, adapts easily, and at least always seems eager to watch a match, if not participate himself. I know Twilight Wings shows Hop watching reruns of matches, but I think Leon would as well. Sometimes his own, but often older matches, when they were first being recorded. Depending on how far back Mustard was Champion, some of those old matches (though Pokemon tech has always been something I'm iffy about in the timeline, and have been since I was a young kid). It's something he's genuinely hype about, and something he loves, to the point his experiences with Rose and being Champion couldn't kill that for him, and it's part of why I love him as a character. Cycling back to the art thing, I don't personally see Leon as an art nerd exactly, but I think he appreciates art. Kind of guy to like weird pieces of art in a museum and get weirdly attached to them. Museum dates between the two is just Raihan telling Leon why a painting is historically significant, and Leon staring at it like he's rewiring his brain. But, if you ask my opinion on his other big hobby, I think he's an avid reader. As Champion I don't think he had time for it, and I have a whole other tangent I'll save about my thoughts on his education, but I think he loves reading. If it's in book form, the topic could almost not matter, he would probably read it if it's well written.

How this all comes together? Both of them as a couple? First off, I don't think they stop talking, ever. They say goodnight, snuggle in bed, but one of them is still rattling on about whatever thing is stuck in their brain until sleep takes them. Second, when I think of them in my mind palace, they're always partaking in their hobbies together. Raihan is cleaning his dragons, caring for them, Leon is right there helping him, learning all that he can about it. Leon is working out his latest battle line up for whatever he wants to test out, Raihan is the guinea pig, happily, each and every single time. They're sitting in the sun, Leon reading his book and Raihan is posting his latest batch of pictures. Together, I think they have a lot of angst potential, but at the end of the day I think they settle into life where once they figure out how to channel all of the years of being made to be rivals and opposite the other, they come together in a harmony that works. I always picture them on very secluded dates, Raihan dragging Leon out to check on the dragon nests, or Leon begging Raihan to go get lost with him, or in those museums looking at old shit because why not? They have the time, each other, and they've spent years getting to know the other in battle, why not give the same energy and determination in life?

Honestly, going further in on this, my headcanon for Raihan, when he stops being a gym leader, is that he becomes a History Professor of some flavor. That isn't original, but I agree with it full stop. And I think Leon keeps up his battling facilities until it stops being fun for him, whenever that is. And they support the other, and it's nice to think about <3

#raileon #truerivalshipping #kbdn #champion leon #gym leader raihan #pokemon swsh #this feels like me once again rambling sdkljfskljdf but I do enjoy talking about these guys a lot #extra headcanon in the tags: I think Leon wears reading glasses and Raihan wears glasses in general just around the house #and they're always putting on each other's glasses because they bought the same frame shape #I also had my Leon and Raihan plushes sitting next to me as I typed this like I needed their approval skjdfskljf #but thank you again <3 I love the swsh cast with my whole heart

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edennill-archived · 7 months ago

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If Tolkien characters had Tumblr blogs part 2:

part 1

Finduilas:

url: waitingtothewind

pfp: drawing of a fictional crush in pastel colours (babygirl fulfills her royal duty to exercise patronage over artists by comissioning reams of fanart lol)

bio: ✧˖･* princess finduilas of nargothrond :) ✧˖･* 47 ✧˖･* poetry appreciator ✧˖･* romantic at heart ✧˖･* girl of many fandoms ✧˖･* favourite animal: doggos ✧˖･* favourite food: strawberry juice ✧˖･* and if I had a voice that could make mountains melt I would walk over stars just to see how it felt ✧˖･*

title: ₓ˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚.˚◦○˚ ୧ .˚ₓ

has a very pink custom theme with a fancy font. runs a fandom/aesthetic blog and stays clear of discourse. writes really good meta that is quite popular and poems that get notes in the single digits. doesn't really know how to deal with anon hate. participates in every tag game she comes across.

Maeglin:

url: keeps changing it between @molelol and @twilitdark because he likes small animals, but wants to sound edgy.

pfp: keeps changing it between a baby mole and the kind of very dark photo where you can't really see what it's supposed to be.

bio: M / not a minor

title: the dark under the trees

guards his personal info incredibly closely (a good practice, but how much of it is due to his father having been so controlling that he learned secrecy early on is up for discussion). rarely posts, mostly reblogs photos and shitposts. vaguely vents about his idril/tuor/gondolin/treason problems. when he gets into discussions with people he can be uncomfortably fierce, has sent anon hate on occasion.

Celebrimbor:

url: craftingsilver

pfp: red eight pointed star (default variation, not technically fëanorian) on yellow background

bio: older/younger than you think | look I've seen the Trees that's enough | Noldorin jewelsmith | male

title: time and soul, wrought and tempered

mostly posts and reblogs crafting tiktoks and tips, sometimes adds a dash of science, philosophy or something personal. has made a resolution to filter out any posts pertaining to his family on his dashboard and keeps to it almost till the end. shows a strong sense of humour and has gathered quite a following.

Idril:

url: celebrin-does-things

pfp: blurred photo of her with her back to the camera

bio: 500s - architect, wife and mother - everyone is welcome

title: "ammë, there's winter in my boots"

started off as a miscellaneous blog, but shifted to being mostly about Eärendil's shenanigans. she vaguely vents about maeglin/gondolin/cousin's treason sometimes, but still comes off as way more laid back than irl. hardly used her tumblr before her son was born and still treats it mostly as a place to document things he has said + a way to talk with like three treasured mutuals. the architect part in bio is mostly a ruse because she has only ever completed one or two projects but can hardly reveal she's a princess, can she? (before the fall of nargothrond if she got on tumblr it was to nag Finduilas to remove her personal info from bio hah)

@eri-pl, this is in part because you asked (a while ago, sorry), though I'm afraid I don't have much to say about all your suggestions. I prefer not to get into Sauron's headspace actually, but the idea of him having access to social media is horrifying lol. And Pharazon has all the worst characteristics of Reddit atheists, non-ironic modern white supremacists and racist trolls rolled into one with the added horror of the new unsavoury state cult. Míriel is not allowed a sim card🙁😬

also I'm just now realising I tagged a compatriot in something I wrote at 3 am so if you have time stamps on you now know my messed up sleep schedule and if you don't I've just told you lol but never mind.

#I didn't do her here because she's a few generations up but findis is absolutely a fandom old #just fyi lol #my post #Silmarillion #silm #modern au #not really but that's the simplest way to put it #Finduilas #maeglin #Celebrimbor #idril #tolkien #númenor #dashboard simulator

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yggdraseed · 1 year ago

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My Deal with Giselle Gewelle

So, let me preface this by saying that I'm trans. I'm not saying that to invalidate the feelings of other trans people, just to specify that mine isn't some outsider's perspective. There's also spoilers for Bleach: TYBW, but I'm guessing that there aren't a lot of interested parties left who don't know about this. You probably also know this goes into transphobia, necrophilia, and rape, but if you don't, uh... trigger warning! Reader beware, you're in for a scare!

Recently, an episode of Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War came out in which noted bitchy asshole who uses too much product Yumichika Ayasegawa misgendered darling, sweet murderous trans babygirl Giselle Gewelle. It's also implied that upon necromancing Bambietta's corpse, Giselle had sex with her, probably against her will. That's all pretty fucked up, and I want to talk about it.

I started my transition about ten years ago, and exposure to trans or gender non-conforming anime and manga characters in general went a long way towards me accepting I was trans. Looking back, Giselle was one of the most significant characters to me at that early stage. I've always loved her design, and she was the first legit trans character I ever really saw and resonated with in anime and manga.

Get this: there used to be this thing in Shonen Jump's manga line-up called the Big Three. The most influential, bestselling manga in the bunch. One Piece, Naruto, and Bleach. And you wanna know something? Bleach was the first one to have a trans woman character. We can debate whether or not Giselle was good representation, but you know what? At the time, the closest we ever got was Haku pulling the "Oh, by the way, I'm a boy" card in Naruto's first major arc back in the early 2000s and a constant bombardment of okama jokes in One Piece. Okama is a derogatory term for gay men and drag queens, and for a long time, Oda could not get enough of making jokes about big, hairy men in women's clothing.

Now there was also Alluka Zoldyck in Hunter X Hunter, but the vast stretches of time Hunter X Hunter spends on hiatus makes it unclear to me whether she or Giselle came first. But within the Big Three - a designation which doesn't mean much now, but meant a ton back then - Giselle was first. Hunter X Hunter was never quite considered part of the Big 3. But either way, I think Alluka is the better character in terms of how her being trans is written. She's cute, she's precious, she's perfect in every way, and I'll make you pay if you say a single bad thing about her.

Years and years later, Oda would go on to write Kikunojo and Yamato. I still have complicated thoughts about Yamato as trans rep, but Kiku is great trans rep for being a relatively minor character. Oda has also phased the okama jokes out of the story over time. Jujutsu Kaisen also has a subtle, but well-handled example of a trans woman in Kirara Hoshi. She doesn't get nearly enough time in the story, and her identity hasn't been explored yet, but I hope GeGe will unpack that before the story's conclusion.

I tell you all of that so you realize that even if Giselle could have been handled better, Kubo was the first of the Big 3 authors to even try to write a trans girl. Not a femboy, not an okama - a trans woman/girl. He also gave us Charlotte Cuulhorne, and while Charlotte's depiction flirts with being just an okama gag and nothing more, she's so fabulous and so positive in her outlook on life that I can't bring myself to be mad.

So let's look at Giselle as a character. She's very cute, with her big eyes and goofy, purposefully adorable mannerisms. None of the other Sternritter girls try to be cute in quite the way Giselle does. Meninas likes cute things, but doesn't act cute, and that's as close as it gets. Unlike the other Femritters, Giselle wears clothes that cover up as much as possible. Even Liltotto's outfit shows off her shoulders and thighs some; Giselle keeps her shoulders and neck completely covered by a baggy sweater, and her legs covered by tights. Kubo drew a swimsuit picture with the Bambis all together, and he opted to put Giselle in a swimsuit with a skirt. It's pretty apparent that Giselle has concerns about how she looks and covers up as much as she can out of dysphoria. As a card-carrying member of the big jacket-long pants-closed toe shoes gang, I can tell you that when you're not very progressed with your transition, it's like that.

I think you can also make the argument that part of why Giselle acts so cutesy is because of her insecurities and feeling like she has to make up for them by being extra, overtly feminine and adorable. It's like that.

There's not a doubt in my mind that Kubo intended for Giselle to be trans. But is she good trans rep? Probably not, but she might not be as bad as she's made out to be.

People who criticize how Giselle is depicted as a trans character have two or three go-to arguments. Three points of interest to say that she's being written in a transphobic way.

1.) Yumichika scopes her out as trans and misgenders her.

2.) Charlotte says she and Giselle have a lot in common.

3.) The most damning: what Giselle does to Bambietta.

So, I've never liked people using Yumichika as a litmus test for how Kubo feels about trans people. Let me explain something to you: Yumichika is a bitch, an asshole, and the consummate gadfly. One of his defining traits is his awful personality and his inability to resist saying cruel, petty things to others. He's awful to Charlotte and he's awful to GiGi, and he's pretty much awful to anyone besides Ikkaku and Kenpachi, but especially Charlotte and GiGi.

Yumichika is an allegory for a closeted gay man. He has this deep admiration, respect, loyalty, and arguably love for Kenpachi and Ikkaku that's led him to stay in the 11th Division even though it's not where his talents are best put to work. He's adept at kido and his zanpakuto is based in kido, but he refuses to use the former or reveal the latter to his squad because he doesn't want them to reject him. The 11th Division is the manly man squad, all testosterone and sweat and bulging muscles and... ahem. Sorry, I got a little carried away. It's all very erotic. Anyways, Yumichika wants to be close to the men with whom he shares a bond of emotion and martial loyalty alike, and he refuses to embrace his gifts because of it. He's afraid his friends in the boys' club will kick him out for having interests and inclinations that most of them look down on.

I think you can make the argument that Yumichika hates Charlotte and Giselle precisely because they're being true to themselves, meaning they've made a leap he hasn't yet. He's too scared of what might happen if he doesn't keep the lie going about his zanpakuto, and he resents Giselle and Charlotte because they overcame a similar fear of rejection. And he expresses that by rejecting their truth, i.e., misgendering them. This is the interpretation I like the best. It's a sad fact that lots of gay men, closeted or otherwise, refuse to accept trans women.

Charlotte says she and Giselle have a lot in common, and honestly, I don't think this is transphobic either. If you choose to read Charlotte as a trans woman who isn't stereotypically feminine, but is true to herself, then what she's stating is just a fact. She and Giselle may not look the same, and Giselle may have an easier time passing, but they're both trans women if you ask me. And I think Giselle reacting with discomfort isn't innaccurate, either. Charlotte's confidence is admirable in some ways, but I think it sets of Giselle's alarm bells that she's going to be outed and rejected. Lots of trans women - myself included - are haunted by this fear that we'll never pass, never be accepted, or will be incapable of retaining our desired presentation as we get older. It's like that.

So, that brings us to the Bambietta Incident. Not quite as wide-reaching as the Shibuya Incident, but about as traumatizing for some, apparently. Full disclosure, I don't believe any heinous acts should be censored from fiction. If it makes you uncomfortable or awakens traumatic memories, then I'm sympathetic to that, but I do not believe that the right answer is to sanitize every work of fiction of every immoral act that could have that effect. You know where your limits are, so don't count on authors to protect you. Most of them won't, and I think you're stronger and smarter and more able to navigate a world with fictitious depictions like that in it than you realize.

I'm not gonna sugarcoat it, Giselle probably sexually assaulted Bambi. And is that right of her to do? Fuck no, it isn't. But nobody's really debating if that's right or wrong. The problem is that if you look at it a certain way, this is just reinforcing the old, awful stereotype of trans women being predators in disguise. Lots of shitty writers have done that, and it sucks.

However, those depictions assume that trans women are predators, by definition. Or at least sexual deviants. We could go down the rabbit hole of how sexual deviancy has historically been defined by people who use sex as a form of control anyway, but I'm not well-read enough to do that and - well, you've seen how long this post is. Be honest, you wouldn't want me to even try.

The point is that a depiction like that assumes trans woman = deviant. I don't want to make that logical leap here, because that means you need to assume that Kubo wrote Giselle with the intention that she assaulted Bambi because she's trans. I'm not a mind reader, so I'm uncomfortable with acting like I can know Kubo's intentions. It's a bad look to us in the Western sphere of the anime fandom, but I'm not sure how Kubo saw it. He might have not realized how it would look until that chapter was out there and he couldn't undo it, but given the fact they kept it in the anime, he either probably doesn't see a problem with it or there were other rewrites he saw as more important to allocate his mental energies to. Writing Bleach burned this man out, so I'll cut him some slack if so.

My point is, I'm not sure if you can say for sure that the story intends you to believe that Giselle assaulted Bambi because she's trans. When you look at it, Kubo seems to have a more in-depth understanding of trans people than some of you might have first realized. And I mean, shit man, he gave her biology manipulation powers. Every trans girl's first pick for super powers is shapeshifting or some form of biology manipulation. He knows. He's onto us. He's familiar with our ways. The jig is up, girls.

Looking at the broader scope of the narrative, Bleach is littered with characters who perform heinous actions and are not just shoved out the "All Villains Die" airlock. Chief example being Mayuri. The man committed war crimes, experiments on human beings, turns his own subordinates into bombs, and is heavily implied to have performed some very sexual deeds to reconstitute his daughter Nemu after Szayel parasitized her. Yet he still saves the day multiple times and he isn't gotten rid of, because he's more useful to the side of overall good alive than dead. Bleach is one of very few series to have characters who perform heinous deeds and still be treated as humans, rather than reducing them to those deeds and nothing else.

Plus, nobody really treats it as an issue with Kubo's writing that Bambietta killed one of her own fellow Quincies in cold blood just to vent her frustrations. I think because it's sexual and because Giselle is trans, she ends up being the lightning rod when... let's be honest, compared to what some of the Shinigami have done, what Giselle did is kind of quaint. She even helps rescue Candice and I think Meninas after they're taken captive by Mayuri in the novels, and she's considering releasing Bambietta from her control.

Given what we've seen, I think it's less accurate to pick on Giselle and try to say she's a case of Kubo being transphobic, and more accurate to say that living in the Shadow Realm under Yhwach's cruel, exploitative regime has made all the Sternritters fucked up in their own unique, vibrant ways. And for that matter, Kubo never kills her off. He clearly likes her enough to want her to still be around after the end of the series.

When you look at how Kubo draws Giselle in the manga and in illustrations after the manga's conclusion, you can tell he enjoys himself when he's drawing her. He always lavishes her facial expressions with detail, and you can feel love radiating off the page. That's more than you can say for a lot of the Quincies. I think Kubo was overjoyed to not have to draw PePe and his Vollständig anymore.

So like, yeah, Giselle is my problematic fave transgender character. And I don't think she's even as problematic as people's kneejerk reactions are to think she is. If you disagree, I don't care, I don't value your opinion. Particularly if you're not trans. If you're an ally, then that's sweet and all, but never try to speak for trans people about depictions of trans characters. If you are trans and Giselle made you uncomfortable, then I'm sorry you feel that way.

#giselle gewelle #bleach #bleach tybw #tybw #tybw spoilers #bleach spoilers #transgender #problematic fave #if you misgender charlotte cuulhorne then god will take seven years off your life and make you go bald #fuck yumichika #but he still has a fresh style #giselle's little dance when she made dead boy dance party skeletons attack ichigo watered my crops and cleared my skin

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ravenkinnie · 9 months ago

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For the character ranking thing, jinx, caitlyn, ellie, raven, cassandra cain

5 ellie - I loved the show I like the games but when I know a character first through my grilfriend I consider them a blorb9 in law, like claire redfield and alice liddell are also my blorbos in law. my girlfriend could take them in the divorce and for the rest of my life I would resent seeing any mention of these games because I'm a scorpio so that lowers ellies ranking

4 raven - I love raven, her and batman are my ogs, they both changed something permanently in my elementary school brain and it never recovered. however, i hate modern raven so much, like fellow mutual momo strongest raven fan warrior is able to keep up but I dont have her powerful autism so i only feel hate and i wish dc the worst for that. god i fucking hate bbrae too i would stage a coup at the hq just to fix raven. I wish somebody brought back the new teen titans design, keep the saris and keep everything, just make her desi, people will complain and get over it like they got over miles and we got spiderverse out of that so. take her out of the titans cause im sorry, I'm a titans fan but this is a sinking ship, every book is a heavier flop than the previous one, im going to save my girl. have her cameo in other shit and be like omg im on my own whatever and test her dynamic with other characters, find her a new place in dc universe and then i think you could have a banger team book on your hands because she does the best in teams. I do selfishly wish that place was more near magic users books because i think that would be so much more slay for her to show her powers than having her faint all the time because she could easily defeat a divorcee in spandex and we have 20 pages to fill

3 caitlyn - caitlyn is my OG main which you might not realise because in so jinxpilled these days but I played her through high school (never left bronze <3 still haven't left bronze <3). so you can only imagine my joy when they made her a 6'1 dyke with a tooth gap AND they kept her big boobs, I've been winning ever since. I think I'm one of like five caitlyn stans maybe tho, every caitvi shipper seems to either like vi more or want to fuck vi more and outside caitvi circles no one really likes caitlyn. which is fair because she's rich and a cop so i can't defend her but I like that she's always struggling because of her own stupidity and is constantly challenged. when someone says she's wrong and she does that frowny face, she's so sexy to me, I love a stubborn bitch. she's also autistic to me, I'm just saying it because no one ever has caitlyn headcanons. I also LOVE league caitlyn, i think league caitlyn is 80% of the reason why domme mommy caitlyn is so popular because she IS a domme mommy. fantastic legend of runeterra card too

2 jinx - i know its a travesty she's not #1 but the tea is, i just didnt like her in like 2014 dhshsj i don't like jokeresque characters usually, i think it's a noring iverused tropes that only pretends to be interesting with fake depth and quirky randomness, I'm sorry. but you CAN make it good and i think arcane gave her such a strong comeback for me, I'm fond of league jinx too now, like I've grown to appreciate her even if I dont find her OG release that good. jinx gets the best promo materials tho, maybe outside of KDA girlies. GREAT legends of runeterra card, i maxed out her skill in the path of champions and I've played with many other decks in this game so believe me when I say, level 3 jinx is so OP its baffling. play her path of champions before they nerf her cause they just nerfed her in league a lil shshjsis. I have to stop typing because i took an edible and i could talk about jinx all day like the way they balance her storyline perfectly, the fact that every storyline goes back to jinx, her energy like im biased but sorry she is a scene stealer. her potential, the way every single dynamic she has with every character could be so good BECAUSE she has those plot connections, also i think her voice lines and arcane dialogue are really good, she has a very distinct style of speaking. both voice acting in the game and the show are great (pls look up her death voicelines they are so funny) but ella purnell??? I had no clue who she was before arcane and now i watch everything she's in. get jinxed was made by djerv which is a GREAT band too

1 cassandra cain - she is forever my dc rising star like i see who you are, i see your potential and i will blow up dc headquarters for you. I'm keeping her at #1 cause she deserves it but I'm so sorry when I recommend you the solo and the art looks like that, in my head it doesn't, love is blind. PLEASE look up the batgirl vs joker issue drawn by bill sienkiewicz tho, she is so beautiful in it kiss kiss. she is literally just if batman served extreme levels of cunt in every move. her backstory is batshit, she is my favorite portrayal of suicidality because it proves you can write those themes without being corny as fuck, just like jinx she has great fascinating dynamics with every other character. unlike jinx, it's because she stands out, she's barely connected to other characters which I think makes her kind of cooler like she's this super weird shadowy being you're kind of friends or coworkers with. pure cuntress

and the thing that hurts the most is that if that solo launched with modern art now I think it would find a good market because hear me out. every comic book is cursed now because no one knows how to write dialogue or understand cinematography or design but they sure know how to write monologues so you lose eyesight trying to read a lot of words about nothing on tiny panels. which cass' solo does not do becauee the dialogue is quite minimal even later on, it relies on visually striking and easy to read panels which are fantastically shareable on social media to entice people to read the book. plus I just watched mad max furiosa in the cinema and I was thinking we really have a trend of feral young women with an older mentor figure that sucks as a person and cass. CASS HAS THREE. and a cunty as fuck mother. I know this shit would sell and if it found a good market maybe it wouldn't end so fucking badly

give me five ships, characters, or shows and I will rank them from my favorite to my least favorite.

#mine #arcane #jinx #cassandra cain #dc #im so sorry im just full of passion

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gofancyninjaworld · 9 months ago

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Started watching Mob Psycho 100. About 5 episodes in and yeah, I get why this show is so popular. It's good, even real good, so far. Mob is a good protagonist and the animation has been really impressive.

I also recently started reading One Punch Man and it's fine. I like the art and every now and again it gives me a chuckle. But ultimately I think OPM has a fairly conservative world view that makes me hard to enjoy it as anything more than easy fluff. It's all about the power of the individual and has some really questionable class politics in places. I know it's not intended for a deep read, but I can't help it. I'm glad I'm reading it through the library instead of buying individual volumes. I think I'm like 21 volumes into it.

Back to MP100, I'm still early so I can't say for sure yet, but I feel like it is the better written and realized of the two. I'm a sucker for the monster-of-the-week style format and so far it has been nailing while also developing the characters pretty well.

I gotta say, I'm impressed. I'm usually pretty cautious around checking out popular things since I tend to not enjoy them. So far that's not the case here.

First, I'm glad that your library has a lot of the OPM volumes: it's great for the series and a very wise way to read. If I didn't have my library cards, I'd be perma-broke and out of space in my home. :D

Second, I hope by now that you've finished reading Mob Psycho 100. I think it's a fantastic work and while there's a part of me that hankers for ONE to find something more he wants to say in that world and tell another story, a bigger part of me really respects that he's known how to tell 'a big story of a small step' and end there. It is one of the best coming-of-age stories I've read or watched. If you haven't checked out the anime, DO! It is incredibly well-realised, imaginative, and every season builds better on the previous.

Yes, now that you mention it, One-Punch Man does feel more conservative than Mob Psycho 100 in *some* ways. Whereas the latter is about middle schoolers exploring how to shape themselves, OPM is about the challenge of having a sense of purpose as an adult and balancing act of being an individual and being part of society. And no one quite knows what they're doing...

The various kids in MP100 may have challenges as small as getting someone to sign up for a school club or as big as stopping a would-be megalomaniac from taking over Japan, but they're free to focus on those problems. Their parents keep a roof over their heads, cook dinner, draw up budgets, pay bills, and prompt them to do homework. Their schools give them a ready-made social context in which to interact repeatedly and shape their goals. They're free to be children and it's precious.

OPM, almost everyone is an adult, and adult life is both less and more structured than that of childhood. There's a lot more to balance, you don't have infinite energy, time, or resources, and if you get it wrong, life gets super hard. We get Saitama: he's become the strongest man in the world thanks to his singular focus on being so strong that he can send any enemy flying with a single punch -- and he's also homeless (he's squatting in an abandoned apartment), with no post-secondary qualifications, no steady job (he's held lots of menial jobs, keeping them only long enough to quit and live off them so he can be a hero). The idealism of being a hero may get you thanked, but thanks don't pay the rent: that's why the Hero Association came to exist, in order to enable people motivated to be heroes to actually focus on it. It'd be a short story if Genos hadn't introduced Saitama to the HA.

Those checks and compromises necessary to survive and thrive in society do give OPM a more conservative feel. However, on the other side, there's no one telling you how far you can go. Difficult as it is, there's more scope for self-actualisation for the characters in OPM than there is for those in MP100. And there's no one way to do it. Swings and roundabouts.

Not sure how OPM will end yet, but so far, I'm still finding it compelling.

Given how long this has been in my inbox, I have no idea if you will read this. If you do (and I hope you do), thank you. Thank you for an awesome ask.

#One Punch Man #Mob Psycho 100 #asks #two great works looking at challenges of different life stages #a vital part of being a teenager is exploring who you want to become #part of being an adult is making peace with the world around you #also part of being one is working out how to be true to yourself and push to do things that actualise you #there's no perfect state: only a balancing act #better late than never

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ghost-proofbaby · 7 months ago

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fic authors self rec game

When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let's spread the self-love 💞

thank you so so much for the tag @thecreelhouse <3

the shire is burning (eddie munson x oc) - ao3 linked

shire will always, always, always have a very near and dear space in my heart. it is the proudest i have ever been of any fanfic i've ever written, and one of my only works i can consistently reread and admit to myself that i wholeheartedly enjoy. it's not perfect, it's not everyone's cup of tea due to being an OC fic, but it's my baby. i sat down in a booth at denny's one night in 2022, said i wanted to write an eddie munson fanfiction, and did it. i think it's my best work for capturing canon eddie, and any time i reread any bit of it, i just get the warm fuzzies all over. there are so many wonderful memories attached to it (from writing it, to experiences it led me to), and it brought me so many friends in this fandom that i love very dearly. i just love it, and even if i have to drag myself across the finish line, i will be finishing the sequel/fix it fic for willow and eddie. their love story is one i'll probably get to carry with me forever, which is pretty fucking neat, all things considered. <3

2. the moon will sing (astarion ancunin x oc) - ao3 linked/tumblr here

the moon will sing (i loved you like a sun) is still a fic currently in progress, but i really enjoy the concept, and i'm really excited to see where i take it! just like shire was my ultimate love letter to eddie munson, this fic is my ultimate love letter to astarion <3 it's got just as many, if not more, moving parts and i like the challenge it presents to me as a writer. i've always been the type to know every single experience my characters go through (both borrowed loves and original characters), and having to write a character with a strange sort of amnesia has presented a wonderful stretch for muscles i didn't use previously. it's also been really interesting writing astarion, because as a character, he's pretty different from eddie (who is my easiest character to write due to practice). he's canonically a wild card, a whole bundle of contradictions, and i constantly find myself making notes along the way in these drafts to overexplain and remind myself of his motives. i just really love it. i just really love him <3

3. house song (eddie munson x fem!reader)

this is from my 1k celebration, and it's definitely one that didn't get much attention. and probably for good reason. it has little to no dialogue, it has little to no actual interaction between eddie and reader. at the end of the day, it's long form poetry at best, and a nuisance of an elongated metaphor at worst. but i am really proud of it still. i had an entire version of eddie set up in my head, an entire reader with her own backstory, and whenever i reread it, i think that really shines through. it was a quiet softness about the boy we all still continue to love, even two years later, and i think it even perfectly shows why i still love him as the years pass. just a love note, rather than a full love letter.

people (fictional and real) don't always make good homes, but i think eddie munson might just be the exception. and that's why i stick around.

4. sweet like honey (steve harrington x fem!reader)

now for one from my 3k celebration! and i don't think this list would be complete without some sort of smut. i once had this fic quoted back to me from a friend (who i fucking adore with all my heart), and i didn't even recognize it as my own. it's no love letter to steve harrington (that one is in the works, trust me), but it's fun, and it hits all the right spots for me. i like steve harrington putting up a cocky bastard exterior only to be cracked wide open to find all that softness inside. this fic doesn't quite crack him open, but it definitely showcases that image of 'king steve' that i think we all enjoy fantasizing about a lot <3

this last one is hard. very, very hard. i have three fics that still come to mind that i'd love to put on this list, because in a strange turn of events, being in this fandom has taught me to love my writing far more than any fandom before. it's taught me my words are worth something. not in a money way, but in a 'i have something to say, a story to tell, that is worth yelling to the void - regardless of how many people will listen' way. and i've just been lucky so many of you have been willing to listen.

i'm giving honorable mentions right now to twenty four hours (because how could i not? for all the hell it gave me writing wise, i still like it, ya know?) and kissing lessons. the latter didn't make the list solely because i'm so new to writing robin, and it was a really tough subject matter for me despite being such a sweet fic. it's hard sometimes to love what you make out of a bad thing, even if the end product is something far more beautiful and healing than the reality of it all.

anyways, enough yapping.

5. who could stay? (you could stay.) - eddie munson x reader

this was one of the scariest fics to ever post. it was a request, and it was something i knew all too well, and it was putting a lot of myself into a reader. most of my fics that are this personal/include so much of myself never leave the google drive (and i have a few). half the time as i wrote it, it felt like just another diary entry. the other half, it felt like i was making some momentous mistake and shouldn't project so much of myself onto someone's request. but you know what happened? instead, all of you who have read it and showed it any love cradled it carefully in your hands and said "i see you" or "i am you", and reminded me it's alright. sometimes experiences are unique, sometimes experiences are factory-born. either way, posting this fic taught me i'm not always alone. and sometimes that isn't a great feeling (we all want to feel special, right?), but sometimes... it's a nice feeling. a giant group hug over the internet. i've definitely written similar fics in the same vein as this one since, and i don't know if i'll ever post them, but it proved to me that if i do choose to post them - it's safe. or at least, as safe as the internet can get. basically it was one giant lovely reminder of the space i've managed to create here on my blog and the type of people i've managed to attract to this corner of the internet, and i'm grateful for it. <3

alright. this was one of the hardest things i've ever done (i've obviously led a very privileged life). i'm gonna shut up now and reread some old writing because i feel like i just chose my favorite kids and now i need to reassure all my silly fics that i also adore that i totally still love them just in a different way.

no pressure tags: @andvys @hellfire--cult @hellfirenacht @lokis-army-77 @rosewaterandivy @take-everything-you-can and anyone else who wants to partake, because we all need to show our fics a lil love. you're your first reader, first and foremost <3

#tag games #good lord i yapped too much #i just like talking about my writing too much #i'm sorry in advance AAAAA

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linkspooky · 10 months ago

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Hi! I love your meta btw, your recent posts reminded me that yu gi oh exist lol i used to watch it as a kid but I don't remember anything so I wanted to ask you what's the best watch order and (maybe) your general opinion about the various spinoff

Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters: I'd recommend watching this one first because every spin-off after this one either recycles archetypes, or subverts tropes from the original so it'll enhance your viewing experience.

Afterwards, the simplest is release order. GX -> 5DS are in the same continuity as Duel Monsters, and they have a crossover Film Bonds Beyond Time.

Zexal's basically a standalone it has no connection to the previous, but I'd reccomend watching it after Duel Monsters because there are a lot of references in plot and tropes to the original.

You need to have watched GX, 5DS, and Zexal to understand Arc-V because they reference settings and characters from the original series. It's basically every single Yu-Gi-Oh! Series fights in a Denny's Parkinglot.

You don't need to see any previous series to watch Vrains.

You need to watch Sevens before Go!Rush because the main character of Sevens shows up in Go!Rush, and Go!Rush is a prequel sort of kind of.

As for my general opinions and reccomendations, below the cut:

Duel Monsters is the original and sets the standard. I think the manga is better on this one because it acknowledges Death-T, which I think is crucial for Kaiba's development. He did more than just steal one of Yugi's Grandpas cards. The arc of the main characters Yugi and Yami with Yugi learning confidence and Yami unlearning arrogance is really good, especially in the manga where Yami starts out as a lowkey serial killer. Battle City and Duelist Kingdom are also two really good tournament arcs, Battle City in particular is probably the best Tournament Arc in the Series.

Yu-Gi-Oh GX! Is my personal favorite but it's a mess. I've once heard it described as "GX is two seasons of absurdist nonsense, and then a complete emotional breakdown." In my opinion there's a lot of good foreshadowing and buildup for what will happen in Season 3, and Season 3 is one of the best shonen deconstruction arcs especially of it's main protagonist in anything ever.

Honestly the worst part of Season 1 and 2 for me isn't even the pacing, it's that it recycles plot points from Yu-Gi-Oh! but less good. The Seven Shadow riders just do shadow duels because they did that in original Yu-Gi-Oh, there are three super powerful cards like the Egyptian God Cards. In season 2 there's a villain with a split personality like Marik, and the Genex tournament is really bad plotless meandering tournament arc compared to Battle City.

Season 3 is also masterful at utilizing things that were foreshadowed in the past 3 seasons, especially in regards to Judai's flaws which have been swept under the rug until now.

I think YGO GX is one of the best casts, and also one of the best at balancing screentime of its cast so characters show up when they're relevant and disappear when they're not relevant, and every major character has an arc. However, it's very much the Judai show, and if you're invested in a character that's not Judai you'll likely think your fave didn't get used to their fullest potential.

Yu-Gi-Oh 5DS has one of the best beginnings of any Yu-Gi-Oh series and it's excellent at building Fortune Cup -> Dark Signer and jacking up tension. Dark Signer, Barian Arc and Gx Season 3 are probably my top 3 arcs. I won't talk about it much because I don't want to spoil.

Season 2 is still good, and the ending is excellent as well as the villains, but the pacing becomes abysmal due to production issues. Carly and Aki are probably the two best female characters in all of Yu-Gi-Oh, and all their screentime and relevance gets erased. If you watch Yu-Gi-Oh for the duels, the relay duels suck and last 3 whole seasons and nobody gets to win a duel if they're not Yusei Fudo. As someone who really enjoyed Yusei in season 1, him becoming a perfect hero who always saves the day and never makes mistakes and never gets challenged signifcantly by the narrative because he's always right makes him super uninteresting. I want to clarify I think Yusei is still a character with depth and character flaws, but the narrative doesn't challenge him on this flaws. Aporia and Z-One do a lot to redeem Season 2 though and it ends on a real highpoint.

Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal is probably the highest quality Yu-Gi-Oh series overall, especially since there's no drop in quality ever it ends on it's highest point. Shark is probably the single best written character in all of Yu-Gi-Oh! and Vector is the best written villain.

I actually don't have much to say on Zexal because I don't want to spoil what's good about it. My only complaint is that it's cast is padded with way too many characters who do nothing. You could cut Yuma's entire friend group and lose absolutely nothing. The female characters in Zexal are abysmal too, the worst in any series. The characters with arcs though are all good and iconic.

It's also the only show that manages the ambiguity where none of the villains are actually villains, almost every single character has a sympathetic reason for what they're doing even the ones that are wrapped up in revenge plots. It gives a really interesting challenge to Yuma the pacifist protagonist who doesn't want to pick sides. Yuma's up there with Judai too in top ten protagonists.

Arc-V.... I think you can still have fun with Arc-V, but the Z-arc plotline just was not a good idea and it makes the show fundamentally flawed because everything from episode 20 onwards is built around the Z-Arc plotline.

Vrains has some solid ideas and themes. I especially love the emergent ai ideas that are present with the ignis and bohmann it's one of my favorite topics in science fiction. I've got two main problems number. I enjoy playmaker as a character, but much like Yusei I feel like over time he's not as challenged as character by his narrative. THough, the final season does a lot to rectify that.

Vrains second and biggest problem is that it plays it really safe after the production disaster that was Arc-V. Which means the first two seasons while enjoyable enough feel kind of by the numbers at times. The third season is amazing though, but it suffers from the series being cut short so it's only about 20 episodes. Still ending on a high note is always a good thing.

Sevens is kind of the closest to a slice-of-life Yu-Gi-Oh which makes it hard to compare to the other series. I do enjoy the main cast of characters, but to be honest it's really hard to get invested for me personally, when every arc is just "I hate Rush Duels. I'm going to try to destroy Rush Duels. Nevermind, Rush duels are awesome actually." Every. Single. Arc.

I'm only 16 episodes into Go-Rush and it's not finished yet, but my main take so far is: Yudias! Yudias! Yudias!

#askspookies #Spooky Speaks

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cellythefloshie · 2 years ago

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;; All I Want Dedicated to @callsign-denmark for her birthday bingo

Summary: This year, to make it easy on her family, Claire is celebrating her birthday in Raleigh. She would prefer a more private event, something just for family, but when your brother was the Captain of an NHL team: family extended to a roster of 21 she barely knew - including goaltender Frederick Andersen. M's Bingo Card Tropes: Whirl-wind romance, Captain’s sister, FreeSpace - children/babies (Claire's nieces and nephews), “Let’s celebrate tonight”, “please stay”, Summer Birthday Kinks & TW: age gap, love at first sight, soulmates, in public (briefly), thigh riding, alcohol consumption (no mentions of intoxication), sundress season, virginity/first time, size kink/height difference (5'2 & 6'4), vaginal fingering, praise kink, unprotected sex (are we even going to pretend to be surprised by this?), implied heels kink, pet name: flower. Original Character: Claire is the baby sister of the Staal family. Face Claim: Dove Cameron. Word Count: 8.6k+ A/N: Happy birthday girlie! I hope that this little (ha) story I've put together for you fulfils your birthday bingo dreams and more! Also, damn you! The sinful things I thought about this man while writing this. There is no going back after this one. And full disclosure this was based solely on like 1 interview I watched and a handful of pictures on the internet because I know next to nothing about Freddie BUT I like to think I did a pretty damn good job with him. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to celebrate your day with you! 🎉

Playlist.

Claire didn’t like big birthday parties, but when you were a Staal you didn’t get much of a choice in the matter. Her parents were always in attendance, then came her four older brothers, and with them their wives, and their children. You would think that it would have stopped there, but when your brothers all played in the NHL - and when one happened to be the Captain of the team in the very city she was holding her little get-together - players or two were bound to show up as family. Claire didn’t mind all that much, she liked the guys Jordan played with and it always made for an entertaining night - even if that meant feeling like a bystander at her own birthday party.

Without knowing for sure just how many people would show up, her parents had taken the opportunity to reserve a private patio as her restaurant of choice - and it made Claire all the more sound with her choice to wear the light and flowy blue sundress patterned with daisies. It had been a dress she had been looking for an excuse to wear. The skirt of the dress stopped just above her knees, and the bodice was fitted to show her figure without being too heavy on her skin. The Carolina heat would weigh on her enough throughout the evening, she didn’t need an uncomfortable outfit to ruin her night. Instead, she would leave that to her shoes.

Claire was small. Standing merely 5’2, she had been dwarfed by every single one of her brothers who stood at 6’4. The moment she had stopped growing, she had committed to a lifetime of being someone who had to wear heels. She wore them wherever she needed them, no matter how uncomfortable or impractical they may be, and had mastered the art of walking and running in them. Which was already coming in handy as the night was young as she was chasing around her all too energetic nieces and nephews.

For the most part, the 12 children, varying in ages, could entertain themselves - or were glued to the hips of their mothers as they were too young or too shy to venture out onto the open patio space around the table. But Claire, she had a reputation to uphold. As the youngest child, who was proudly single, she was the embodiment of the Fun Aunt. She spoiled them with gifts and wasn’t one to shy away from being a little too rambunctious - even if that meant drawing a little too much attention as everyone arrived.

“Look who we have here,” the voice had Claire perking up from where her nieces and nephews came at her in an onslaught of affection, demanding to be picked up and swung around or carried on her back, “an overgrown child.”

The playful jab had her beaming, a smile bright as a ray of sunshine as her eyes fell on the culprit, “Brady!”

Skjei had only been on Carolina for a few seasons, but with his history playing with the Rangers alongside her brother Marc, he was a familiar face at family gatherings. “You made it,” she lowered one of the children back to the ground, giving the others a quick apology as she excused herself to greet the Carolina Hurricanes defenceman to her party.

“Of course,” he smiled, his arms opening wide to welcome Claire into his embrace, “biggest bash of the off-season, when have I ever missed it?”

For a moment, she pondered in his arms. Lips pursed her head tilted from side to side. She couldn’t quite remember the last time she had a birthday without him being there. Marc had invited him all the way back in Skjei’s rookie season when it had been her sweet sixteen. She had a schoolgirl crush on him back then, but now she couldn’t look at him without seeing more than another brother.

“Never, ever,” she decided after a moment and stepped back from his hold, “so what did you get me?”

Brady scoffed as if she had offended him, “You mean I’m not enough?” Claire shook her head slowly, bouncing her feet with anticipation as she held her hands behind her back. She looked misleadingly sweet, and innocent when in reality she was far from it. “Alright, alright, you got me. Mom took it from me when I got in. You’ll know it’s from me when you open it.”

“Oh, so it’s a good one,” Claire laughed.

“They always are, aren’t they?”

“Of course,” she pushed his chest playfully before leaning off to the side to look around him, “didn’t drag the team along with you this time?”

“Not many of the guys back in town yet,” he hummed, looked back over his shoulder to where the brothers had gathered, “just Derek and Freddie-”

Claire perked up, “who?”

She knew who, well kind of. Frederick Andersen had been the team’s primary goaltender - except when his injuries had plagued the season - since was signed back in 2021. And while it had been years since that initial contract, she had yet to meet him. Which was a damn shame, because from what she could tell he was gorgeous.

“You haven’t met Freddie?” Brady raised a brow, his arm around to cradle your back as you both turned in place to try to find him in the crowd. Which wasn’t all that difficult when he towered as tall as her brothers. Her eyes settled on him as he stood by the table with her brother Jordan, and glass in his hand as the two of them shared conversation. Just the sight of the towering Danish goaltender left her stomach aflutter with butterflies. He really was gorgeous with his strawberry blonde hair that was slicked back like James Dean and a smile that left her weak in the knees.

“Com’on then, let’s go meet him,” Brady’s words were a mere echo in her mind as he pressed against her lower back to ease her into her stride.

She followed his guidance carefully, her every stride bringing her closer to Freddie, and giving her eyes something more to admire. First, she noticed the stubble that framed those lips that she was sure could talk her into anything. Then, was how his t-shirt hung off the strength of his shoulders peaked at his chest before hanging loose around his west. Her eyes travelled down over his hips and she had half the mind to stop there but then she saw her thighs. Claire was left near salivating that how they tested the elasticity of his denim jeans. She had no doubt that they were thick - strong and it only left her wishing he had been wearing shorts just so she could indulge in the sight of them. To see how they flexed when he walked, or how they would spread over his seat as he sat-

“Earth to Claire!” Her mind had been lost, her gaze up on the watercolour skies as her mind wondered only for Jordan’s humoured tone to cut through and end any sinful thought that threatened to overtake her. “You alright there kiddo?”

Claire wrinkled her nose, at the nickname. She was very much a grown woman now, and it was still a nickname she could shake thanks to being the baby of the family. Yet, she didn’t fight him on it and instead spoke out in a soft, apologetic hum, “I’m sorry, I must have just gotten distracted. The sky is just beautiful right now, isn’t it.”

“She is,” the unfamiliar voice left her head snapping in its direction. The two, simple words had slipped from Freddie’s lips, and she couldn’t help but wonder if she had heard them right. Surely, her mind was playing tricks on her and he had said it and not she. Right?

“What was that?” she cocked her head at him, her bright blue eyes raising to meet the sweet chocolate hue of his stare for the first time. Claire had only meant to indulge herself in a quick glance, but the moment her eyes found his her stare was locked for his gaze was down on her as well. The air around her seemed to be lost, her lungs suffocating on the mere presence of him as she waited for even a single word to leave his perfect lips.

Claire watched as his smile waivered on his lips, curling from a small smirk to a wider grin before settling back into that smug smirk again. She knew in an instant that he wasn’t going to get the answer she was looking for. Instead, she was met by the reach of his large hand, and let his lips part in a simple introduction, “Freddie.”

Her brows were drawn together at the offer - a handshake, really? What was this? A business meeting? Yet, she humoured him, her hand left feeling dainty as it was consumed by his touch. It engulfed her like the overwhelming embrace of an ocean wave. Lungs struggled to take even a single breath as the warmth of his touch consumed every inch of her body. Then, she was lost in his gaze, drawing in every bit of his attention and drowning in it. Claire held his hand for too long, she knew it and she was sure her brother had noticed too, and yet her touch on his hand remained as she finally manages a slow and steady breath before saying nothing more than her own name.

“The birthday girl,” Freddie hummed out, and her stomach fluttered.

Something told Claire that he could call her anything and she would be left swooning.

“That’s right,” Claire hummed her fingers still lingering on his, failing to let go of his hand, “and I think that means you have to get me a drink.”

Claire hadn’t meant to be so flirtatious with her words, especially not with her brother and Brady standing right there. Yet it left her lips so shamelessly, and her boldness hasn’t failed her.

Gripping her fingers between his own, Freddie drew her in just close enough to wrap her arm around his so that she held onto the breadth of his forearm so he could guide her off to the bar - leaving Jordan and Brady behind them before either could interject. Her delicate fingers gripped gently at his strength, her heart both dreading having to let go of him and racing at just how he felt between her touch. Touching him felt like the first sip of water after days of needing to drink. It was unlike anything Claire had ever felt from something so simple and it left her breathless as she came to the bar.

His words were an echo in her mind as he ordered his drink, and then his gaze came down on her again, patiently waiting for her to tell him just what she liked to drink.

“Paloma, please,” she muttered sweetly, her hand still on his arm as she looked only to him with little acknowledgement to the bartender.

And when their order was made, and they were left to stand and wait patiently at the bar, Freddie turned so that he was facing her fully and his towering frame leaned up against the bar. The casual tilt brought him a little closer to her level, giving her a good look at the smirk on his lips and the glimmer in her eyes. For a moment, neither of them spoke and just stared. Claire with undoubtedly smitten with him - and maybe if she believed in love at first sight, this would be it. Because the way he stared at her with those sweet brown eyes of his had her convinced that he was feeling it all too.

“So, birthday girl,” Freddie finally hummed as his frosted glass of amber liquor was placed down in front of him and alongside it the grapefruit garnish contrasted it with its femininity, “what are we drinking to?”

Her hand reached out, tracking hold of the glass before raising it between them, “To my brother for having such generous teammates.”

Freddie chuckled lowly, his large hand wrapping around his glass before he raised it between them. Together they took a shallow sip, their eyes locked. It was almost enough to make her choke, but she managed a slow breath and maintained her composure.

“Now, hard question,” Claire hummed, taking a small step in, “How’d I get so lucky to have you as a guest at my party?”

She watched as his smile grew as he stole another sip of his drink, “contract negotiations,” he answered simply.

“I think that means we will have to toast to Don as well.”

“We can save that one for when I sign.”

“Which means I’ll need your phone number,” she bit her tongue as she realized what she had just so blatantly done. She could feel her cheeks flush with colour, her heart thundering with regret. Claire knew better than to hit on her brother’s teammates. For their sanity and her own - and the safety of the poor player who even wanted to take the risk of toying with her heart. Yet, she persisted, “You know, so we can celebrate.”

Placing his glass down, Freddie dipped his hand into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out his cell phone before it joined his drink in the bar. His silent question asked Claire to put her number in his phone.

Claire glanced to the side, across the patio to where her brothers were talking with Derek and Brady. What they didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them. Placing her drink down, she took his phone in both hands and typed in her name and number before hanging it back to him. Claire had expected him to tuck the phone away but took the time to text her quickly. Sending her phone into a dreamy chime with the notification. It was a sound she had come to hate, but now it excited her.

“You think I gave you a fake number?” She teased him gently.

“No, no,” Freddie chuckled, his head shaking slowly, “not at all, I-”

His words were broken by the clamour of children’s footsteps as her nieces and nephews stormed the table for dinner. “I think that our queue,” Claire’s words were a half sigh as she drew her hand back from his forearm. The moment she released him from her gentle touch it was as if she were a battery that had been charged but her current was beginning to fade. It was a feeling unlike any other she had felt before, and her gaze on him lingered for a moment as she wondered if he felt it too.

Managing a smile she stepped back and fell into stride towards the table, leaving Freddie at the bar behind her. Her lips moved in a silent What the fuck? as her mind couldn’t quite comprehend what had just happened, and what she had just let herself do. She carried her Paloma in one hand, while the other reached up to push her blonde hair from her face. It stayed there, her fingers knotted in her hair at the crown of her head as she moved to sit at the head of the table.

Seat by seat the table was filled until a single seat was left to be taken at her side, and one person remained standing. Claire held her breath as the patio chair was dragged against the ground and filled by Freddie who had come to the table with a fresh drink for them both. He placed it down in front of her without a thought or a look in her direction, leaving her jaw slacked in disbelief - but she was quick to press her lips firm together when she noticed her nephew mimicking her as he sat opposite to Freddie.

Claire’s lips curled up into a smile as her nephew grinned at the realization that he had been caught. “You gotta be on your best behaviour mister,” she told her nephew, leaning in to smile at him, but it only made him laugh. While it was her birthday she got stuck sitting at the kid’s end of the table. If the kid was old enough to eat without the help of their parents they were exiled to her end of the table, which often featured at least one of her brother’s wives, but tonight the Carolina goaltender had filled their place.

“I’m not joking,” Claire claimed, and it only had her nephew grinning a troublemaker’s grin, “we got a guest with us, Mr. Andersen. You don’t want to scare him away do you?”

Holy fuck. She thought. Mr. Andersen. It felt so weird, yet so good on her tongue and it left her head spiralling as she helped her nephew with his menu. Freddie Andersen. Frederick Andersen. Mrs. Frederick Andersen. The thought left her feeling giddy as the name echoed in her mind as if she were a schoolgirl scrawling his name across her notebook. That’s what this had to be, a schoolgirl crush of an infatuation. It was the only explanation for it all.

With that thought, she tried to put all she had felt for him that evening behind her. To forget the anomaly that was her intense pull to him - but there was no ignoring him as he sat right beside her with the spread of his legs just enough to graze against her leg beneath the table. There was no ignoring how easy the casual conversation came between them, or just how good he was with her nieces and nephews when their antics carried out throughout the dinner service. Freddie fit in so effortlessly, so flawlessly that it was as if he had been there the whole time. That fact left Claire dreading having to say goodbye.

It was a heavy weight in her stomach as she stood at the door of the restaurant, thanking her family and friends for coming. Her nieces and nephews were the first to accept their hugs, sad that they had to say goodbye to their Auntie Claire, but they were tired and didn’t put up much of a fight when they were told to get in the car. The crowd thinned and soon she was left with her parents, and with Freddie who lingered back by the door. She watched him out of the corner of her eye as she told her parents she wanted to take a walk before heading back to the hotel. To go on without her, and when they left her she stood alone with a single gift bag in her hand. Then, she looked straight at Freddie.

“Did you think I was going to let you run off before I got to say goodbye?” Claire called out to him, her casual stride carrying him toward him.

He met her halfway, a smile on his lips, “quite the opposite, actually.”

Claire beamed. He had been waiting to catch her alone.

“Let's celebrate tonight, just the two of us?” Claire asked him slowly, her hand dipping into the bag to brandish a bottle of Canadian whiskey that Brady had given her for her birthday.

His eyes seemed to flicker with the light of a flame as his hand dinner into the pocket of his trousers. Drawing out his keys he held them up for her to see, “Where do you want to go?”

“I have a room at the Residence Inn,” Claire told him, with a smile and let him lead the way to his car.

Upon arriving at the hotel, and with his car taken care of by the valet, Claire lead him through the hotel but did not go up to her room. The night was too beautiful to waste it in bed, and it would have been much too forward - though she wouldn’t have complained if that was all Freddie had wanted from her - instead, she lead him out to the darkened patio. It was closed, but she slipped beneath the half-assed barricade and crawled up onto one of the loungers in the corner just out of sight of the security camera she was sure hadn’t worked in the first place.

Chuckling, Freddie followed her lead - much more gracefully than she had expected - and sprawled out on the lounger across from her. The seat was too short for him, his foot handing off the end even as he was seated up at an angle. Claire could help but stare as he sat there, his auburn hair hanging down over his forehead and his clothes so relaxed on his frame. So effortlessly handsome, she admired him as she reached into her gift bag and grew out the bottle. Manicured fingers picked at the plastic that sealed the bottle, and she let it fall to the ground before twisting the cap free. She took the first, long sip and let the whiskey burn its way through her body before holding it out for Freddie to take.

His large hand wrapped around the neck of the body, his fingers grazing over the skin of her hand for a moment before she could pull back. Claire could still feel the ghost of his touch as she lay back and stared up at the sky. Just beyond an awning, and around the sun umbrella they had forgotten to close when their service had come to an eye, the night sky was filled with the glimmer of stars. They were faint, drowned out by the city light, but she could see them there. She watched as they sparkled, her eyes trying to planets from stars from satellites as the two of them passed the bottle back a forth. Sipping it from occasion before it was forgotten on the ground between them and conversation prevailed.

They spoke of their careers. They spoke of home, of family and friends. They talked about their hobbies, their similarities and their differences slowly becoming clear - and not once did her magnetic draw to him waiver. The more they talked, the more she knew, the more it grew. Claire wanted to be near him, to feel him, to know him for more than his mind and his soul but his body too. It was a craving, one that consumed her so fully it was almost debilitating as she pushed up from where she lay on the lounger.

Reaching down, Claire pushed her heels from her feet with a single hand before her feet met the cold concrete. She stepped around the open bottle of whiskey and took two tip-toeing steps to reach where Freddie sat no more than an arm’s reach away. And he must have been watching her, waiting for her, as she was greeted with the slow embrace of his hands around her waist as she climbed onto the seat with him.

His fingers wrinkled her dress, causing the flimsy fabric to rise around her thighs as he guided her up into his lap. Claire’s knees rested on each side of a single thigh, the soft fabric of his trousers brushing over the sensitive skin of her inner thigh as she seated herself down. She near shuddered as she felt his muscle flex between her legs, the thick quadricep pressing up against the thin fabric of her panties and the apex between her thighs. There she sat, her full lips parted in a breathy part as she reached out to trace her fingers over the thin cotton of his t-shirt. Claire craved to lean in, to steal that breath of air between them but she hesitated as her bright eyes were heavy and gazed over every angle of his face right down to the swell of his lip as he took the lower lobe between his teeth in restraint.

“Freddie I,” she gasped out gently, “I don’t normally do anything like this…”

Claire wanted that to be clear. She wasn’t some temptress that made it her mission to sleep with her brother’s teammates nor was she someone who let a man steal more than a kiss on the first date. But with what she was feeling, she wanted to chase the highs of being in his company even if that meant breaking the unwritten rules of being the Captain’s baby sister.

His head shook slowly, a small smile creeping up onto his lips as one of his hands left her waist to reach up. Freddie’s warm palm met her cheek carefully, his thumb stroking over her lips and feeling her every nervous breath.

“You and me both,” he finally said as his thumb dropped to her chin, “this is the exact opposite of what I should be doing if I want to be staying on the roster, but-”

“But?”

“I just can’t shake this feeling,” Freddie hummed, pushing up from the recliner to straighten up just enough that the tips of their nose graze. He didn’t have to say any more than that. She knew exactly what he was speaking to because she was feeling it too. “I would very much like to kiss you, Claire.”

“If you kiss me I might not be able to stop,” Claire cautioned, her gaze shifting down to the golden cross that hung from her neck.

The Staal family was strong in their faith, and she had yet to truly give herself to any man. With all that she was feeling, her skin already ablaze with just the overwhelming thought of it all, Claire knew the risk that would come from just a single kiss from his lips. She needed him to know what this would mean to her if she left it spiral. She needed to know that he was willing to carry the heavy weight of being her first with him.

His perfect lips parted in a breath of a curse as his thick fingers dragged down the angles of her neck. Freddie’s touch was featherlight, but it left a burning path in its wake as he reached her collarbone and the dainty necklace that hung from her neck. Two fingers stroked over the chain before taking hold of the small cross that was no bigger than the pad of his thumb.

“Claire,” her name was almost a groan on his lips as he studied the cross with eyes that seemed to darken in the night, “you’ve never-”

She couldn’t answer, the embarrassment of it all in her throat. She had always thought she would have waited until marriage, but she had never wanted anyone more than she wanted him in that moment and she hadn’t even kissed him yet. Instead, all she could do was shake her head.

“Fuck,” he cursed again, but it sounded more like a hymn now, “You’re going to get me into so much trouble, you know that?”

His hand splayed out, holding her gently around her throat after dropping the cross to rest just above her cleaved. With that hold, he drew Claire in, his mouth meeting hers in the kiss she had been craving from him all evening. Any suffocating feeling that had lingered after being void of his touch at dinner had been eliminated the moment his lips met hers. Freddie’s kiss breathed life into her unlike any kiss had before, and Claire felt whole.

It had started out in a chaste drag of his lips over her own, firm and curious, but it ignited a spark that neither of them could ignore. It drew her in further, her lips parting to welcome the intensity of his kiss, and Claire was melting into him. The world around them was lost as Claire gripped his t-shirt in her fists, and with a single hand, Freddie was pulling her in so that she was flush against him. Freddie’s warmth radiated against her, consuming her as she let one leg fall over the edge of the lounger to ground himself. With one leg anchoring him, Claire could feel his hands travelling down over the subtle curves of her body. His palms stroked over the dip of her waist and down further still as he gripped at her hips. Fingers wrinkled her pale dress, inching its skirt up a little higher as he shifted her position on his thigh just right. And with the careful guidance of his hands, Freddie dragged her clothed cunt over the thick expanse of his thigh.

The friction left Claire gasping against his lips as she kissed him. Her hands released his shirt, dropping the now wrinkled fabric, before reaching to gasp at the strength of his shoulders. With that hold, Claire anchored herself to him, and let her hips roll in his steady guidance. She could feel each flex of his thigh, and each tug of her panties as they caught on the fabric of his trousers. It pushed the fabric back and forth, forcing the structured hem one way or the other leaving it to tease the most sensitive parts of her and expose her delicate skin to the pleasure of his thigh. Each desperate roll of her hips was almost enough to leave her reeling, her legs threatening to tremble as her arousal seeped into his trousers and undoubtedly could be felt against his skin.

“Freddie,” she mewled against his lips, his kiss dragging down across her jaw and coaxing a feeble moan before he pulled back just enough to look at her, “My room’s on the third floor.”

“Are you sure?” Freddie asked slowly, his large hand raising from her hip carefully and reaching out to stroke over her swollen lips.

“I’m sure they won’t want us doing it out here on the patio,” when she spoke, her lips dragged against his fingertips - the mere touch of him sent a smile to blossom over her lips.

“Yeah,” Freddie breathed out, “Yeah, you’re right.”

Standing up slowly, Claire ran her hands down over the skirt of her dress to smooth out each wrinkle before reaching down to collect the bottle. She cradled it in her hold and watched out of the corner of her eye as Freddie stood - towering - and awkwardly shifted his trouser with the hope to hide the stiffness of his cock as it tested the confined of his trousers. In the dark, it wasn’t all that noticeable, but in the light of the hotel room lobby, she was sure someone was bound to notice.

“Here, take this,” Claire thought quickly as she reached for the gift bag and placed the bottle inside before handing it to him. It wasn’t a big bag, but maybe it would be enough of a distraction.

Looking up from his half-untucked shirt and the leather belt buckle around his waist Freddie offered her a smile and a quick thanks before the two of them snuck off the patio and into the hotel lobby. It was so late in the night that not even the front desk clerk greeted them, making it a quick and easy walk to the elevator that would take them up.

Claire stood on one side of the elevator, her thighs pressed firm together as her panties were still askew, and Freddie stood across from her with the gift bag strategically held in front of him and his eyes locked on her. Leaning her head back to rest against the wall of the elevator, Claire watched him in return, her mind racing faster than she could register a single clear thought - and before she could even try to fathom one, the elevator chimed as they reached the third floor.

Quick strides carried her out into the hallway and only grew quicker as she left her own arousal dripping down the inside of her leg. Her strides stuttered as she came to the door, her fingers fumbling with the key card for a moment before she was pushing her way in through the door.

Freddie was quick to come in right behind her, the warmth of his body against her back as he dropped the gift bag - and the bottle of whiskey - to the floor with a hollow thud leaving his hands free to take to her body. Hands splayed over the curves of her waist, drawing her back into him so she could feel the stiffness of his cock against her back. Her eyes fluttered shut at the feeling, her head almost feeling dizzy as she felt him lean in just enough to mutter against her ear.

“I’m only going to ask this one more time,” Freddie hummed, the rush of his words hot against the shell of her ear, “are you sure? Do you want me to be the first to fuck you, Claire?”

Claire could only nod, her lips slightly parted as she took a steady breath, her mind confused fully by how big he felt pressed up against him. Even while wearing her two-inch heels, Freddie towered a foot taller than her and was so big, so strong. He made her feel small, that at any moment he could pick her up and take her as he pleased and yet, he was taking his time with her. His touch was so cautious, so careful and tender. This wasn’t just going to be a quick fuck. She knew it, and with the way he was touching her - and the way they had been acting all night - he knew it too but neither of them could call it what it was.

“I need you to say it, Claire,” Freddie prompted her again, his long arm reaching down the length of her body to tug up the skirt of her dress. He drew it up by the hand full, revealing every inch of skin along her thigh and bearing her panties to him. She could feel the vibration of his hum against her back, his two thick fingers dragging over the white lace hem that rested inches below her belly button.

“Yes,” came the ghost of the word, “Yes, I’m sure.”

His two fingers dipped into the thin fabric, his fingertips dragging over her smooth flesh and did not stop until they came to rest over her clit. It seemed to sting with desperation, screaming for the pleasure that would come from the pleasure of his touch. Yet, all she could feel was the subtle accidental graze that came with the angling of her own hips.

“Freddie,” his name was a gentle whine on her lips, her head turning to glance back at him.

“Has a man ever touched you here?” he hummed into her hair as his finger pressed into her clit, a gentle pressure that almost left her teetering uneasily in her heels.

“No,” she gasped simply, her petite body leaning back against his as her eyes shut.

Freddie’s fingers stroked in slow, agonizing circles as he spoke again, “Have you ever touched yourself here, Flower?”

Her cheeks flushed red hot at the question, and her knees weak as the nickname was assigned to her by his tongue. Claire nodded slowly, her blonde hair becoming a mess between her head and his chest, and she held her breath as he dipped her fingers lower into the crotch of her panties. Blindly he fixed them just right, trapping his touch between the thin lace and the wet warmth of her cunt - then as his fingertips traced the slick entrance of her core, Claire took in a sharp inhale.

“What about here, Flower?” Freddie breathed into her hair, each word hot as it was spoken.

“No,” Claire’s lips quivered, “never.”

“You’ve been such a good girl,” he praised her gently, “waiting so patiently for me.” The cockiness in his tone left the corner of her lips curling as she leaned back into his strength. His free arm welcome her, wrapping so effortlessly around her waist to keep her firm to him as she gazed up at him through her thick lashes. “I’m going to take my time with you, Flower. Spoil you on your birthday, would you like that?”

Claire nodded.

“Good, girl,” Freddie hummed as he slipped his hands from her panties and let the skirt of her sundress fall back down her legs, “lay down on the bed. Leave everything on for me.”

She took careful strides as she moved for the bed, her legs left feeling weak from the mere absence of him and only found relief when she was crawling up into the comfort of the bed. Settling among the pillows, Claire bent one leg and she reached for the thin strap that fastened her heels around her ankle.

“Ah, Ah,” Freddie tutted, “leave everything on for me, Flower.”

Her fingers froze and eased back against the pillow as her eyes fell on him. Freddie still stood by the door, the glow of the hallway light streaming in and illuminating his silhouette in a halo of light. He had watched her crawl up to the bed without moving from his place, admiring her. It was only as she sat frozen by his words that he took casual, long strides, that carried him to the foot of the bed and tugged his t-shirt off his back and up over his head. Claire couldn’t stop herself from letting her eyes wander. Trailing up from the belt of his trousers where the waist of his boxers played peek-a-boo, and up and over the strength of his body. Her gaze didn’t stop until they had settled on his softened features, and how they were framed by what was now a mess of his hair.

Her bright eyes fixated on the contrast of his darker as Freddie settled himself at the foot of the bed. It shifted under his weight as he crawled up just a bit high so that he knelt just between her feet. All the while holding her gaze, Freddie took hold of her gently by one of her ankles. He guided it up carefully, placing it on the strength of his shoulder, before turning his head just enough to kiss the inside of her ankle. The action, so sweet and tender, left Claire melting back into the pillows - and her arousal only continued to puddle as he kissed his way up. Up along the length of her calf, his hand guiding her leg up and over to rest along the stench of her back leaving the heel of her pump to drag over his flesh. Up around the curve of her knee was his large hand began to push up the skirt of her daisy sundress. Up over the delicate flesh of her inner thigh where his every breath left her core aching in the anticipation of feeling him.

As he reached the apex of her thigh, she could feel Freddie hesitate, his hot breath flooding over the damp fabric of her panties. His every hot breath only primed her for the feeling of a single, thick finger dipping into her panties. Hooking it around the soaking fabric and drawing it down her legs so that she was rid of them fully and her glistening cunt was left bare for him.

Claire could hear Freddie as he let out a steady hum, his hands leaving her dress to pool around her waist to explore the flesh that was exposed to him. A single palm rested over her pelvis, his warmth radiating over her as his thumb reached down to stroke slowly over her clit. It unearthed a desperate whine from her lips, one that was choked back into silence as she felt his fingers glide down over her lower lips and stroked around the entrance of her core.

“Such a beautiful flower,” he spoke into the soft skin of her thigh, “so wet and ready to be fucked - but first, I’m going to make sure you can handle me. Get you nice and ready for me, so we’re going to start with just one finger, alright, Flower?”

“Yes, Freddie, please,” she pleaded with him, her hips wiggling with anticipation but his one hand kept her pinned firmly to the bed.

“Patience, Flower,” he reminded her gently with another kiss to her thigh, “you’ll have all of me before the night is over.” His words were a promise as he stroked over her slick entrance one last time before easing the tip of his middle finger inside of her.

Claire’s lips parted in a quiet gasp as she looked down over the curves of her own body to watch as Freddie worked between her legs. He watched looking up at her instead his eyes were focused on her cunt, at how well her core took his finger and left his skin glistening with her desire for him. The friction of his fingers alone was enough to send her head back to the pillows, her heart racing from every agonizing stroke.

“So good, Flower,” Freddie praised her, “I’m going to use a second finger now.”

The pressure of the second finger left her biting down on her lower lip as her core stretched out to accommodate him. It was a burning pleasure, her legs weak as one remained draped over his shoulder with her heel digging into the muscle of his back. The pleasure sent her hands to the sheets, her hands gripping at the fabric until her knuckles were white - then came his praise and it only sent her head spinning further into her pleasure.

“That’s it” he hummed, “you’re taking my fingers so well, Flower, and so pretty while you’re doing it too.” He kissed the inside of her thigh again, the pressure of the pleasure building like the raging storm inside her until he withdrew his fingers one final time and left her void before she would reach the peak of her pleasure. “Taking my fingers so well, I think you’re ready for my cock, Flower.”

Claire's chest was weak with nerves as she pushed up onto her elbows to watch as Freddie eased her leg from his shoulder and moved to stand at the foot of the bed. She watched as he kicked off his shoes - his fingers that were once inside her now in his mouth as he did so - before his hands dropped to his pants where his erection had tented in his pants. There was nothing discrete about it now, and there would have been no hiding it behind a gift bag if they needed to now. She watched as his hands worked his belt free, and pushed his trousers down until he was left in nothing but his boxers. But not even those stayed on as he hooked his thumbs around the waistband and pushed them down to join his pants on the floor. He stood there bare to her, her eyes left to wander.

From floor to ceiling and back down again, Claire’s lips were left agape at the sight of him. Freddie was big. From his height to his hands to his cock, there was nothing that failed to impress her about his size. Everything about him made her feel small, especially as he crawled back up the length of the bed until he was hovering over her with a single knee between her legs.

“Let’s get that dress off of you,” Freddie hummed as he hovered over her, his hand coming down to her shoulder to push one of the straps down over her shoulder carefully. The gentle touch has her sitting up just enough for her hands to work on her dress. She couldn’t get it off her body fast enough, the zipper just out of her reach and left to Freddie’s gentle touch before Claire could discard the fabric on the floor and was left in nothing but her heels as she lay out on the bed beneath him.

Her chest rose and fell in nervous breaths as she felt her eyes skirt over her body as it was now fully exposed to him. Claire held her breath at the touch of his hands as they explored the newly exposed skin, his hands caressing each exposed breast and his thumb teasing each pert nipple with a teasing smile. “Every inch of you is just so fucking perfect,” he muttered, his neck craning as to put a sweet kiss against her shoulder and when he pulled back his expression was soft as he gazed down at her, “Eyes on me, I want to see the look on your face as you take my cock.”

Biting her lip, Claire nodded desperately as Freddie pushed up onto his knees. He settled himself between her thighs, his careful touch spreading her legs just enough for him before they reached down for his cock. Her eyes were fixated on his face, and his slack-jawed expression as he dragged the tip of his cock over her slick cunt. His eyes almost shut at the feeling, his body shuddering with a heavy breath as the head of his cock kissed her entrance.

The pressure of the mere tip of his cock left Claire wincing. It was much thicker than the breadth of his two fingers, the girth of him stretching her core out with the mere first inch of him that tore through the final piece of her that marked her virginity. “Stay nice and relaxed for me, Flower,” Freddie breathed out, his one hand reaching out to stroke over the swell of her hip, “it’s going to feel tight, might even hurt just a little, but it’s going to feel so good. I promise you.”

Claire gave off a desperate nod, her breath hitching as she felt him ease in just a little more of him. She could feel the slick of her core on the inside of her thighs, his cock coaxing more from her with each careful plunge. Any discomfort that came from accommodating his cock soon dissolved into pleasure, leaving Claire arching her back to angle her hips, finding just where she liked having them angled and digging her heels into the mattress.

“That’s it,” Freddie cooed, his hand gliding down the back of her thigh to grasp her behind her knee. He lifted her leg up to rest against his hip, her calf coming to rest along the back of his thigh as he eased himself in so close to his limit. “So close to taking all of me,” he added as he leaned in, kissing his way over the angle of her jaw and to her lips that were so desperate to be kissed.

Her lips welcomed his with a breathy, open-mouthed kiss as her bright eyes fell shut - and while she couldn’t see him she could feel all of him. The sweet embrace of his lips as they swallowed each of her feeble moans. The flex of his arms as they drew her petite body flush to his. His legs and how they were tangled with her. And finally, his cock as it delved deep and deeper still inside her until she burned with a throbbing pleasure, unlike anything she had ever felt.

“Freddie,” Claire mumbled desperately against his lips, her arms reaching around his to grip his back.

“That’s it,” he cooed, drawing back just enough to rest his forehead against hers and to bring a hand up to stroke over her cheek, his own lips parting in a ghost of a moan, “you feel how good it feels to - ah - fuck,” his words were broken by his own groan the waves of her pleasure all so consuming that he could feel it too.

Together, they were a symphony of heavy breaths and lingering touches. Their kisses were messy and desperate, mixed with soft moans and low, guttural groans that were punctuated by one final trust that flooded her core and left her feeling full - as if the piece of her she didn’t know she was missing had finally found her.

The feeling left Claire panting as she lay out on the bed, her eyes training on Freddie’s features until he had drawn back to leave her nothing more than the darkened ceiling. She could have sworn she was seeing stars, or even colours, as she was consumed by the euphoria that Freddie had brought her two. Her gaze was almost tired as she felt him moving down the bed and to where his clothes rested on the floor. Head lulling to the side, Claire’s heart thundered in her chest, her stomach weak at the thoughts that were all too consuming now, was he leaving?

Biting her lip she was as he jumped into his boxer, her eyes burning with the threat of tears as any emotion now was almost too much, and then she said it, her words quick - almost fearful - as she sat up and clutch a nearby pillow to her chest, “please say.”

“Hey,” Freddie sighed, his tone instantly reassuring as he braced himself against the bed so that he was at eye level with her, “I’m not going anywhere. I’m just going to go grab a warm cloth, and help you get cleaned up, okay?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Claire nodded, her words a breath, “I’m sorry. Okay.”

Settling back into the bed, Clare’s hands came up to cover her face as the weight of it all hit her. She wasn’t a virgin anymore - that thought made her smile. She had lost her virginity to her brother’s teammate - that was what made her nervous. If Jordan or any of her brother’s found out, there was no telling how they would react - and her poor father would probably have a stroke if he learned she had done anything out of wedlock.

The thoughts left her stomach uneasy as Freddie returned to the bedroom with a warm, damp cloth. He ran it carefully over the inside of her legs, before dropping the rag to rest over her knees as she pulled her heel-clad feet into his lap to finally remove them. It was then she spoke, her throat weak from moaning, “Are you scared of my brother?”

Freddie shook his head, his smile returning to his lips, “no, are you?”

A chuckle rocked Claire’s shoulders as she reached her hand up to push her hair from her face, “I’m scared of what he will do to you if he ever finds out.”

“We don’t have to tell him at this happened,” he told her gently, his hand dropping one show to the floor, and then the other before he lay beside her.

Large hands tugged the blanket around them before he reached out to draw her in close to him. Even now that she had him, all of him, there was nothing like being touched by him. She craved it, thrived under it and now that she had it, she didn’t want to know what it was like to be without it. “But, I can’t pretend nothing happened tonight, Claire. I don’t know what’s happened tonight, but I don’t want it to stop. It’s like-” “Like you’ve found something you didn’t know you were missing?” Claire cut in, earning a gentle nod from him as he leaned in to place a firm kiss on her lips one last time before letting his eyes flutter shut.

Laying content in his arms, with sleep sure to take them both soon, Claire didn’t know what was to come of them come morning. But what she did know was that she would have to thank the team’s general manager, for she would have never met Freddie if it weren’t for him - and that was the best gift she could have asked for on her birthday.

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