#shopping for wedding dresses is my new favorite thing to do | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

worldofkuro · 8 months ago

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Painted Smile

Painted Smile XV

Pairing: Alastor x Female! Reader

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Summary: You couldn't wait to meet new friends. What you didn't expect was this smiling little boy, only one year older than you, that would take such a big place in your life.

Notes: Because I wasn't satisfied with the last chapter I decided to post the next one right now. I’m so excited about your thoughts because the plot is finally beginning ! I can’t wait to hear about your theories.

“ It makes your boobs look ugly, another one please !”

You were being tugged behind the curtain already being undressed to put on another dress. Today you were with Alice, in one of the most expensive shops of all New Orleans, to find your wedding dress. It was an exciting, amusing and stressful experience. Alice was being, as usual, honest about the dress you have been trying for almost an hour.

“ Alice, how many more dresses do I need to try? You know we still don’t have a date for the wedding? Alastor’s father is still missing.”

“ What about it? His loss if he misses the wedding. Now, I think I’ve found the perfect dress for you~!”

You laughed behind the curtain. Alice didn’t even know Alastor’s father, she never met him but you have told her once that you didn’t feel comfortable with him and she decided that she would hate him until the end of time. You looked at the dresses you have been trying, a part of you was happy to be here with your best friend and yet you wondered…Were you selfish? You knew Alice was in love with Alyzée but they couldn’t get wed to each other… Were you hurting Alice without being aware of it?

“ Alice–?”

“ This one. This one will fit perfectly your waist, your legs, your shoulder, your chest. For heaven’s sake, I’m the best.” she said looking at her nails. Why were your best friend and your future husband so full of themselves while you were always insecure ! “ Come on, try this one.”

“ Alice.. I’m.. You’re okay?” you asked, taking the dresses off her hands.

“ Yes? Well, I’m still shocked about what you told me about John, but you know what we say, we don’t keep trash around us.”

“ Who is “we”?”

“ Me, Myself and I. Now, try the dress, doll ! I’ll find the shoes!” you laughed as you watched her running away. You sighed with a smile, you were surrounded by amazing people, you should try to be more sure about yourself.

The workers from the stores helped you put on the dress and your shoes. You looked at yourself in the mirror. You felt.. pretty. Really pretty. You smiled at yourself, moving the pans of the dress, loving the movement it was doing.

“ Can I see?”

“ Of course Alice.” you turned around. Since you could remember, Alice always knew how to dress you up. From her Christmas’s Eve’s soirée where she had found that beautiful dress from today, she would always come with outfits from other countries, always being new, unique, something Alastor scoffed most of the time. He was always saying that Alice was running toward the future without being aware of her surroundings. And Alice was always saying that Alastor needed to shut up because he was lucky to look good in anything.

“ Oh my Lord. You look ravishing, my friend!” she clapped her hands together, her eyes whelming up a bit. “ Oh God… I’m… I’m so proud of you.”

“ I haven’t done anything yet.” you laughed nervously.

“ Take the compliment for once. So, what do you think? I , personally, think it’s the perfect dress for you. But what do you think?”

“ This is my favorite too. but the price–”

“ Let me buy it.” you opened your mouth, ready to complain but Alice stopped you with her hand.” I know, I know, you’ve never liked me paying stuff for you, expensive things mostly. But please, just this one, let me buy it. I�� The next time I go into this kind of shop might be for my own wedding, which won’t be filled with laughter and love like we just did. It might be selfish, but just.. I want this moment. I’m sorry–”

“ Okay.” you smiled, almost moved to tears by her comment “ But Alice, for your wedding, no matter with who, I’ll be there. There will be laughter and love, because you won’t be alone in this.”

You saw Alice nodded, wiping some tears from her eyes. You looked at her, your best friend might never be married to the one she loved, but you will never let her feel loveless.

You took off the dress, as Alice went to pay in cash. You joined her once you were dressed with your own clothes and you both walked toward her place. You saluted the butler, who bowed to you.

You both sat down in the huge living room, sighing in relief. You took off your heels, your feet were killing you.

“ By the way, if we need to find Alastor’s father to be able to have your wedding, do you want me to… pull a few strings for you? I could call the best of the best!”

“ No, no. I won’t lie, the fact that he is missing isn’t… bothering me.”

“ I’ll cheer for that. “ she winked at you before asking for wine. You laughed, she always loved Rosé. It wasn’t very strong in alcohol, it had a very good taste but when the alcohol hitted. Dear lord…

You didn’t drink too much, you had to walk back home yourself after all. You smiled when you saw Alice put on Alastor's broadcast even though she was rolling her eyes at the radio sometimes.

“ Are you hearing him? Gosh. I knew you when your voice was cracking, Alastor !” she shouted at the radio.

“ Alastor voice never–”

“ A woman can dream, dear. Gosh, now I hear his voice anywhere I’m going.”

You laughed behind your glass. Alastor was gaining popularity surprisingly quickly, which was good of course. It was the best outcome you could imagine.

“ Now, about my cottage.”

“ Alice, we told you we don’t have the money and you just bought me my wedding dress.”

“ Who is “we” my dear?”

“ Me, Myself and I.” You stuck your tongue at her, making her laugh. Alice was a girl ahead of her time with her manners and way of talking, she always felt like a breeze of fresh air.

“ Well, if you all say so.” She took a sip of a drink before looking at the door, her father making his entrance. You stood up as the big man smiled at you, he always has been nice, never raising his voice, always wanting what’s best for Alice.

“ Oh, good afternoon ladies. Alice, I just wanted to tell you that you might have a date with the son of the–”

“ Yes Daddy, I know, don’t worry I’ll go.” she said, looking away. You saw her father smile sadly before leaving after giving you both candy you used to like when you were younger. You looked at her, worried. Was she going to be okay? “ Don’t look at me like that Doll. It’s going to be the same as usual, I’m going there, bat my pretty eyes and at the end, I’ll just say to Daddy that the man wasn’t what we needed for the family.”

“ How long do you think you can keep this game going?”

She stared at the large windows in silence. Alice was just like a bird in a cage, she felt like freedom, but would never taste it for herself.

“ As long as I can.”

You stayed with her until the sun was setting down. The maid took her to her bedroom as she was sleeping on the sofa. Seems like going on another date was getting harder and harder for her. Was Alyzée aware of it? You sighed as you gave your goodbye, before walking out of the mansion.

You decided to go into a park, walking between the trees. There weren’t a lot of people outside, even though we were in March, the weather was still cold. You stopped when you saw an old man fall not too far from you.

“ Oh sir! Are you alright, let me help you!” you said as you took the cane that had fallen from his hand. You helped him sitting down on a nearby bench.

“ Oh, thank you little lady.”

The man was tall, black with brown eyes, a white beard, he was wearing a hat, helding on his cane, he seemed like he had injured his leg.

“ Do you want me to take a look at your leg? I’m no nurse, but I used to help my father when he came back from war.”

“ Ahh, war. You don’t need to take care of me, little lady.” he smiled warmly at you. “ You look sad yourself, do you need to talk about it with an old man?”

You looked at him, he felt so warm and he was… cute. His aura was gentle, cute like a kid that wanted to learn something new. You haven’t seen your grandfather since he died during the war, you haven’t had the strength to go back to your old country to go to his grave so… Maybe why not indulge yourself and talk with this man?

“ I’m… I want to help a friend, she is in love but can’t marry that person.”

“ Aah, love. And why can’t she?”

“ She had to marry someone from “noble blood”.” you sighed, rolling your eyes. It was bullshit. “ She has no choice.”

“ Mhn… I think she does, little lady. We always have a choice, when you think you don’t have one, it’s because you already made up your mind. “ he smiled at you with eyes that held so much wisdom.

“ But… What if the other choices are more dangerous?” you asked, feeling like you weren’t talking about Alice anymore.

“ Well, little lady. What would you do?”

You stopped talking. You killed to be with the one you wanted. You had a choice and yet..

“ Are you unhappy with the choices you made?”

“ No, but I’m afraid of what it will bring at my door.”

“ Aah.. Si jeunesse savait, si vieillesse pouvait.”

“ What?”

“ You will see, little lady. Your friend is maybe so blinded by what she has to do that she can’t see what she could do. Love is the deadliest poison and yet the sweetest remedy in the world. She should try to think for herself, don’t you think? Would you rather live your whole life in misery or be happy for a short time of your existence? The difference between existing and living is thin, little lady, but it exists.” he nodded before looking at the sky, seeming lost in thoughts.

You stared at this mysterious man. He seemed to be around 60, maybe that is why he seemed so wise. You looked at the sky and gasped when you saw the moon in the sky. It was already dark!

“ Oh, I need to go!” you stood up but before leaving you took the candy from Alice’s father. You smiled at the man, placing the candy in his veiny hands. “ Thank you for that useful advice.” You beamed at him as he looked curiously at the candy before smiling at you. “ Maybe we’ll see each other one day again !”

“ May our ways cross again if needed, little lady, may our ways cross…”

You ran back home, feeling better than when you left Alice’s house. You walked inside and saw your father with Jeff in the living room. They were still trying to understand how Alastor’s father could have disappeared like this. You smiled at the men, walking toward them.

“ Nothing news?”

“ No, my sweet daughter. We are trying, but from the moment he left the bar he wasn’t seen anymore.”

“ I’m sure the wife was having an affair and decided to kill the husband. Classic scenarios.”

“ And how could she have done that?” you sat on the sofa, staring at Jeff with an innocent smile. You almost smirked when you saw him puffing his chest, feeling so much pride in vomiting all the information he should kept away from you.

“ The man came home, drunk. She could easily poison him, hide the body somewhere and end the story.”

“ Mhn… But without a body, you don’t know. What if he was the one having an affair and ran away? From what I understood, he seemed to be someone who drank a lot, maybe he was being ambushed in an alley because we know for a fact he never made it back home.” you smiled at him, your father smiling with pride by your side.

“ That what they say but–”

“ No, that’s what we said. I was there. I’ve never seen this man come back home.” you stared at him down. He shut his mouth. “ You see, I really want to get married and the fact that you are trying to put the blame on my future family in law is getting on my nerves. So please, do me, us, a favor, find out what happened. And if you are unable to, just give up.” you looked at your father. “ I don’t want to wait forever, I want to get married.”

Your father stared at you before kissing your forehead.

“ Alright sweetie, we have a new man who’ll help us in this case. I’ll give him three months, if he doesn’t find anything, I will close the case and we will concentrate on your wedding.” you hugged your father with a happy grin. Finally!

You bid your goodbye before going into your bedroom, getting ready to go to bed. You listened to the noises downstairs, waiting for Jeff to go and your father to go to bed.

You were concentrating so much on trying to hear what was going downstairs that you didn’t notice the shadows behind you. You almost shouted as a gloved hand fell upon your mouth, muffling your screams.

“ You’re such an easy prey, dearest.”

You sighed in relief as you closed your eyes. Alastor was really the quietest being you have ever met, which was surprising when he was the noisiest man on the radio.

You turned your head toward him, looking at his mocking smile. He was so full of himself. You bit his finger before letting it go, going for a hug. He hummed against you.

“ How did you come here?”

“ Well, the windows, dear.”

You scoffed before forcing him to sit on your bed. You sat on his lap and took his hand with yours, playing with his fingers.

“ I have my wedding dress.” you smirked when you felt his whole body tensed underneath you. “ And you won’t see it, because I left it at Alice’s.”

“ Do you really need Alice in your life, dearest?” asked Alastor with an amused voice.

“ Yes! Come on Alastor, be honest with me, you enjoy Alice’s company?”

“ Hah ! I enjoy Alice’s contacts nothing more.” he rolled his eyes, pressing you against his body. “ She is useful and she can be amusing, when she is having problems.” he smirked at you, making you slap his shoulder, trying to contain your laughter. He was such a…

“ Well, I have some news on your father’s case, my dear future husband.” you smiled as you explained what happened with Jeff. You couldn’t help but grin when you saw Alastor beaming with pride as he listen to what you have told the policeman.

“ My, my… So, they think my Mother did it?”

“ For now, we know that we have three months until we are completely free of it.”

“ Have you felt it again?”

You tilted your head.

“ What?”

“ The need to kill.” he asked you, gripping your waist, pressing your body against his. You felt lightheaded.

“ N-N.. Well… I thought for a second.. to kill John.” you saw Alastor’s pupils dilated as he stared at you before kissing your neck. You tilted your head to give him more room.

“ Mhn, interesting, go on, why?”

“ Because he was bad mouthing you.” you tried to contain the anger in your voice, you didn’t want to wake up your parents. “ Who does he think he is?” you rolled your eyes, you were still hurt about what John has said but now you weren’t feeling sadness over it, only anger.

“ Would you like to kill him?”

You looked at Alastor who had his chin against your chest, looking at you in a way too innocent face for the conversation you were having.

“ Alastor, we can’t. There would be too much suspicion on us, we already have your father’s disappearance on us, if we kill John–” he kissed you feverishly making you sigh in the kiss. Oh, how you loved the feeling of Alastor’s lips against yours.

“ Do you hear yourself, darling?” he smiled against your lips. “ In your mind, you are already ready to kill him… ” he sighed against your skin. You stared at him, stroking his cheeks. You wanted to see the Alastor you had seen the first time you killed.

The difference between existing and living is thin, little lady, but it exists.

You kissed Alastor on the nose, with an excited smile.

“ Not now.”

You fell asleep with new marks on your thighs and your neck. When you woke up the next morning, you were already smiling.

You stayed with your mother all morning, spending time with her until you decided to go to Alice’s. You didn’t know when her date was supposed to be, but if you could help her morally before she had to leave, it would be great. You took some pancakes you’ve made and walked toward her mansion, the butler let you enter, escorting you to the living room.

“ Miss Alice shall be here soon.”

You nodded before sitting on the sofa. You put the pancakes on the table and wait until you hear the familiar footsteps of your best friend. You turned your head and smiled at her, as usual, she was beautiful.

“ Hello Alice.” you stood up and you both hugged each other. She sat next to you, holding her head in her hand. “ Mhn, the wine doesn’t taste good the day after, right?” you laughed as she groaned.

“ Please, not so loud…”

“ What a hangover.” you whispered, mockingly. She stuck her tongue at you before digging into your pancakes. “ Well, someone is hungry.”

“ I don’t want this man to think he has a chance with me because I seem eager to eat.”

You smiled, crossing your legs. You told Alice that you needed to wait three more months before finally concentrating on your wedding. You laughed as she let out a sigh of pure relief.

“ Thank God, since when do we stop living because a man disappeared.” she rolled her eyes before eating the last pancake. You look at the butler who came to announce Alice’s date. And like an actress, Alice put on the fakest smile she could conjure, Alastor would be proud. You stood up as a man, looking around 40 came into the living room, he was sweating so much you could see sweat pearling on his forehead.

You gave Alice a look, encouraging her with your eyes before leaving, you even made a face to the butler who nodded at you, with a disgusted face. You laughed before leaving, going out to buy some pastries. You walked to the park, thinking about your weddings. Where should you do it? What about the honeymoons? Did Alastor want children?

You stopped when you saw the same old man from last time, sitting on the bench, smoking a pipe. You grinned and walked toward him.

“ Hello, sir.”

“ Hello, little lady.”

“ Might I sit a moment with you?”

“ It would be my pleasure. You seem happier than yesterday.”

You smiled as you sat next to the man. You felt safe with him, maybe it was because his aura reminded you of your deceased grandfather..? You didn’t know. You began to talk, mostly about what was going on in your life until you began to talk about your wedding.

“ Mhn, you have quite the ring.” the old man said with a little grin. He didn’t have a ring on his fingers, did he never get married?

“ Yes, in less than three months, I will be able to concentrate on my wedding.”

“ Who is the lucky lad?”

“ If you are listening to the radio you might have heard him, his name is Alastor.”

“ Alastor heh..? Quite a name, quite a name…”

You smiled, happy that Alastor was getting a name to himself. You took your box of pastries and held one for your new friend. He thanked you before eating one éclair au chocolat. You smiled as you kept talking with him, the man mostly listening and giving you wise advice.

“ Being too confident is not a good thing, your insecurity might be a blessing on some occasions.”

“ What do you mean?”

“ Don’t be afraid, to feel afraid. The ones who don’t fear are gods, spirits…”

“ But it’s irrational.” you frowned, how many times you felt jealousy when you didn’t need to be.

“ Yes, but it’s instinctive. Here is some wise advice from an old man: trust your feelings. Did they ever betray you in the past, when you needed them, little lady?” he looked at you with a warm smile.

You looked at the ground. Your family always told you, you were sensitive, you would easily be overwhelmed by what you were feeling or what was going on around you.

But when Alastor’s father took the bullets, you didn’t know why, you felt it in your guts that something was going to happen. That’s why you had run outside to find Alastor and that's how you killed his father.

But then, why did you not feel John’s romantic attention towards you ?

“ People who feel a lot are trying to balance themselves by becoming observant. That way, they feel more grounded, they think they are being rational, which can be good sometimes. But you mustn't discard your feelings, you’ll lose yourself like that. You seem like a sensitive little lady, it’s not bad and it’s not good, that's what you seem to be. Why would you want to be like others, they are already busy being themselves.”

“ So.. I should listen to myself more?”

“ It’s a choice you can make. Feeling emotions is a good thing, it connects you to the rest of the world.” he nodded before looking at the sky, smiling warmly. “ And isn’t it beautiful?”

You stared at the man. He was such an.. intense person in a way. Would he talk to you the same way if he knew you had killed someone and you didn’t feel any kind of remorse?

“ What if… by being connected to the world, I might be a bad person?” you whispered.

“ That’s your choice. For some people you will be a bad person no matter what you do, no matter what you think.” he looked at his cane before eating the rest of his éclair au chocolat. “ Soldiers killed during war, the winners are seen as heroes, and the losers as cold blooded killers. Who is right? They all killed people, they all did horrible things and yet they aren’t seen as the same. Your father have killed during the war, right? What made him different from an enemy soldier?”

“ Because… he was fighting for what’s…right..?”

“ Who says?” he tilted his head, always having a gentle expression. He wasn’t judging you, he was just curious about your thoughts.

You couldn’t find an answer to his questions.

You stayed in silence for a moment, thinking about the man’s words. What was strange, was that his words weren't shaking your morals, but it was making you accept them. You had killed, you wanted to kill again, maybe not as strongly as Alastor, but you wouldn’t be opposed to killing again, if it was to protect. You knew it was the difference between you and Alastor, you would kill to protect while you knew Alastor would kill.. Because he wanted to.

And you accepted it, you accepted him, you accepted yourself.

You would be the wife to a murderer, maybe he would kill again, maybe not. You didn’t really care. You would be by his side, as promised.

You opened your eyes, feeling lighter. You didn’t expect to feel burdened by all of this, but maybe, the fact that you were trying to make the wedding happen was a way for you not to think about what happened.

You felt better.

You turned your head toward the man who was looking at the people walking in front of you. They weren’t looking at you, just walking, not even caring about you. You smiled.

“ Thank you. I feel… better.”

“ Is it a good thing?” he asked, amused. You grinned.

“ Well, for my own happiness, yes!”

“ Then, everything is good.”

“ I’m going to meet a friend.. But, can I have your name sir?”

The man stared at you with his usual gentle and wise expression. You waited politely, maybe he thought you were being rude, asking his name out of the blues?

“ Legba.”

You bid your goodbye before walking toward Alice’s home. You were going to encourage her to break free from her chains! She didn’t need to marry a sweaty man, she could handle herself perfectly! You entered the mansion, the butler escorting you once again in the living room. Now, you just need to wait!

You opened your eyes, not even realizing you fell asleep when you heard shouting at the front door. You walked toward the entrance and saw Alice and the sweaty gentleman, your friend was shouting at the man, demanding his departure from her house while he was clearly trying to calm Alice.

“ What is going on?”

“ This man is just a filthy pig! Touching me like I’m some kind of harlot.” she was fuming, trying to contain her rage. What did that man do? The man, who didn’t seem sure of himself became more confident, pointing at Alice.

“ Maybe that’s what you are, kissing the mayor’s daughter like this. What a scoop that would be, unless we come to an agreement of course. I think you would make a darling wife Miss Alice. I’ll let you think about it, and if you need more convincing, I have proof. Now, have a great night ladies.”

And just like that, he left.

Alice closed the door before dropping to her knees, breathing heavily. You took her in your arms, looking for a butler or a maid but nobody was around, which was weird. You tried to calm her but she was panicking.

“ He saw us.. He saw us kiss.. Oh lord, what could happen if he were to open his mouth about it.” she was shaking, nipping at her nails.

You calmly took her hand with yours.

“ Do you have any way to get rid of him?”

She looked at you, seeming torn to speak before sighing.

“ Don’t think I’m a monster but… Most of the richest families have.. people who do their dirty jobs? Sending… assassins or things like that..? I’ve never done that of course, but I feel so trapped right now… Oh, what Alyzée is going to think.”

“ She won’t need to think about it. Use your assassins.” you wondered if you were shocking her. Maybe you were a little too at ease with the idea of killing someone ?

“ No. They would report everything to my father and if they see the proof… My father would know about me and Alyzée.” she sighed, rubbing her face with her hands. You knew it was dangerous, you knew it could backfire but…

“ What about me?”

“ You? What you?”

“ Do you want me to… ?”

Alice stared at you before laughing so hard she was crying. Or was she crying so hard that she was laughing ?You waited for her to calm down before staring at her.

“ Are you serious ?”

“ Seems like she is.”

You both turned around to find Alastor, standing in front of you, the door open.

“ My dear, we don’t talk about taking trash out at the entrance, I taught you better than that.” he smiled widely at you. Alice was looking at you then at Alastor, seeming confused. You sighed before helping your friend standing up. “ Is there a place we could talk about getting rid of the trash?” asked Alastor with a beaming grin.

Alice seemed to come back to herself, and she tugged you to her father’s office. She locked the door behind Alastor, staring at you.

“ Explanation ?”

“ Nothing too serious. You’ve been caught in a big scoop Alice, and you need us to clean the mess you’ve made!” you paled, asking Alastor how did he know, did the bastard already told everyone? “ Oh dear, no, but from Alice’s expression, the only things that could make her so upset would be you or her lovely Alyzée. I took a lucky guess.”

“ Alastor, you are… your father… oh… that explains so much.” Alice let herself drop on her father’s chair. “ So, that’s why you didn’t want me to help to look for his father, because he killed him?” asked Alice, looking at you, confused.

“ We killed him.”

“ Of course you did.” she sighed, putting her head on the desk. “ I need.. a fucking glass of whiskey, I’m not having this conversation sober.” She took a bottle from the cabinet before sitting back in front of you. She poured herself after giving you and Alastor a glass. “ So, let me get this through, you both killed Alastor’s father and now you want to kill the man who knows I’m in love with Alyzée?”

“ Well, Alice, for once you made your brain work. I would almost be shedding a tear if I cared.” said Alastor as he sipped his drink. “ And furthermore, this man is a pig that needs to be slaughtered.”

You felt relaxed. You didn’t know why, but the fact that Alastor was referring to the man as a pig made you feel even less remorse than you could have felt.

“ What are you winning from this?”

“ Nothing–”

“ Doll, I know you don’t want to manipulate me. I know. I’m talking about your murderous husband. He wouldn’t help me freely.”

“ Using your brain for the second time? What a day folks ! It’s simple really, you are at the head of one of the richest families in Louisiana. Having you on my side is a plus.”

“ I’m already at your side–!”

“ No Alice, you could be cutting yourself to prove your faith and I would still doubt you. But a crime, that is a win-win situation. The pig is slaughtered, you are free, my darling and myself are doing what we need and everything is back to normal!” exclaimed Alastor with his usual smile.

“ … Fine.”

As Alice and Alastor were talking about the contract, you felt shivers down your spine. You closed your eyes, trying to comprehend what was happening. You don’t know why but you remembered Legba’s words. You need to trust your instincts. You couldn’t hear Alice and Alastor anymore, you could hear footsteps… You could hear…a shovel digging into the ground.

“ Darling?”

You gasped as you felt Alastor hand on your shoulder. What just happened ? They both were looking at you, worried.

“ I’m okay.. I just.. I’m okay.” you nodded, feeling extremely tired all of the sudden. “ Alastor… Where is your father's corpse?”

“ Six feet underground.”

“ I think.. I think we should check it out.”

“ Why dig up dirt from the past?”

“ Because I think someone is trying to dig him up.”

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the-softest-love-is-ours · 1 year ago

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Idk if this’ll help anyone or if these are even good… just thought of stuff self shipper could do, I guess.

Anywho, here’s a list of things yo,u as a self shipper, can do for fun.

(This will be added onto with time)

Proship/Comship/Anti-Antis DNI

Play Tomodachi Life, make yourself, your main F/O, and then a bunch of family and friends and see how the shenanigans play out.

Play Sims (my choice is 4, but any one will work), same as before but this time you have mods and can control you and your F/O’s however you please.

Make kandi jewelry for each of your F/O’s, whether it’s a bracelet with their name or just a necklace with a color scheme you think fits them.

Purchase something custom from etsy and/or fiverr. These can be care packages, letters, plushies, art pieces, fanfics, maybe you could find someone who does RP asmrs, and my personal favorites an RP or an annotated book.

Look on youtube for asmrs, whether they’re RP, sleeping beside or those muffled playlist scenarios.

For those of is that are age regressor, make a custom deco paci based on your F/O.

Credits to @myselfshipdiary for this one, make a Pinterest board. They can feature fanart, aesthetic images or heck maybe recipes you would cook for them and memes you would show them.

If you have the skills, or heck even if you don’t (life’s too short, try everything, learn new skills), design something based on them. A dress, a cake, a room, a candy platter, a party, an outfit, a plushie, literally anything!

Make a breakfast, lunch, and/or dinner you think they would like! Maybe if you bring your lunch to work, make a bento for yourself that you would send to work with them.

Go on to your online shopping sites and make wishlists of thing you’d think they would want/like.

Do some research on perfume/cologne, and either track down or commission one you think they’d wear. You can do the same for all necessary toiletries if you’d like to take it a step further.

Play around on spotify (or your music service of choice) and make playlists for various scenarios.

Piggybacking of the last one, find a song that you would make their ringtone and think of what their contact name would be in your phone.

Pick out a ring you think would be the engagement/wedding ring they would give you.

Make paper doll's of you/ your self insert and your f/os) along with attachable paper clothes!

If you have access to a printer and a blank notebook/sketchbook along with some glue, you can make a scrapbook with pictures of your f/o(s)! You can also add drawings you made and anything like stickers, washi tape, etc.

This one is digital, edit a transparent of your f/os) into a selfie of yours to make a couples photo! You can print it out and put it in a frame. Also, Dollar Tree sells frames that you can also paint, put stickers on, anything!

There is an app called Social Dummy, create a social media world with you and all your F/O’s on it!

Make perler bead pixel art of your f/o.

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starkwlkr · 1 year ago

Note

Ruby is such an icon‼️

could you do something where her pre-k does a daddy and daughter dance and Charles takes her shopping for a new dress and ruby helps charles get all ready (like the princess he is)😭😭?

beauty and the beast | charles leclerc

When Y/n got an e-mail from Ruby’s school saying that they were going to have a father daughter dance, the first thing she did was make sure Charles was free of anything F1 related. She then texted Charles a screenshot of the e-mail. Charles was far too excited when he got the message. He started to book nail appointments and asked around with his friends who had kids on which shop had the best dresses for little kids. He truly wanted everything to be perfect. He had even asked Pascale if she could do Ruby’s hair for the dance, which she happily accepted.

“Okay, let’s go Ruby Jules, we only have a week until the dance and we still have to get your dress!” Charles called out from the bottom of the stairs.

“I’m a pretty princess! I’m a pretty princess! I’m a pretty princess!” Ruby sang as she walked down the stairs with her little purse that Charles bought for her.

The father daughter duo went to multiple shops in Monte Carlo and by 2 PM, Ruby had finally found the perfect dress. Before they could continue with finding her shoes, they decided to eat so Charles drove to their favorite restaurant.

“There’s this girl in my class and she says her maman is putting makeup on her for the dance.” Ruby told Charles as they ate their lunch.

“If this is your way of asking if you can put makeup on, the answer is no.” Charles replied.

“But it’s glittery! Maman has pretty lipgloss.”

“You can put a little and that’s it.”

Ruby groaned. “When can I put the rest on?”

“When you’re older.” Charles replied.

“Old like you?” Ruby asked honestly.

“Just eat your food.”

The day before the dance came and Ruby was watching the dancing scene from ‘Beauty and The Beast’. She watched Belle’s movements and copied them exactly. She even wore her favorite pink tutu so she could feel like a princess. She wanted to be like Belle so she searched for a pair of her maman’s heels and put the on her tiny feet.

“See? You have to do it like the Beast! You’re noticing right.” Ruby explained to her papa.

“You’re a better dancer than me, Mon amour. I don’t know how to dance.” Charles admitted.

“Grab my hand and I’ll show you.” Ruby reached out to him.

“If I fall, I’m taking you down with me.”

When Y/n got home from grocery shopping, she found Ruby and Charles on the floor giggling. She found it cute until she saw her heels she wore at her wedding on the floor.

“You look so beautiful, Ruby! Let me take a picture so I can send it to your uncles and aunts. Oh, my sweet girl.” Pascale placed a kiss on the girl’s cheek. She had just finished doing Ruby’s hair.

Ruby smiled at Paascale camera and even did a pose. Pascale then called for Charles, who was just done with his tie, to take a picture with his daughter. The father and daughter smiled as Pascale took multiple pictures.

“Papa, can you stand right there?” Ruby pointed to the spot next to Pascale. “Wait, come here, your hair isn’t pretty enough! It has to be likes this!” She ‘fixed’ his hair like she saw her grand-mère do to him thousands of times before.

“Mon amour, it’s fine. Where do you want me to stand?” Ruby pointed again to where she wanted him.

Charles was confused, but he did was he was told. “Grand-mère, take a picture of me like this please!” Ruby then did a couple poses of her own with her tongue sticking out and holding up a peace sign.

“You sneaky girl.”

“You two look so adorable.” Y/n awed at her family. “Hopefully Mathéo has a mother son dance. Is that a thing? It better be.”

“If not, we can always make one right here,” Charles placed a kiss on Y/n’s lips. “We have to go, don’t wait up, this princess and I are going to party all night.”

In reality, by 9:30 PM, they were both knocked out on the sofa since all the dancing and eating many slices of cake tired them out.

liked by carla.brocker, landonorris and 748,890 others

charles_leclerc our first school dance of many!

danielricciardo was landonorris the dj?

y/nleclerc the best dressed in the entire dance <3

arthur_leclerc did you fall? please tell me you did and that someone recorded.

View all 34,477 comments

#inbox <3 #formula 1 #anon #f1 x reader #formula 1 imagine #f1 imagine #f1 x you #charles leclerc #charles leclerc x reader #charles leclerc one shot #charles leclerc imagine #baby leclerc series

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marymary-diva17 · 5 months ago

Text

A marriage of a great deal

Marriage among the ton had been were many things but when it came, to one family the Bridgerton marriage had been purpose to made for love. Not all the members of the family will be given the grace of happy marriage of love, when to came time of them to be married. A marriage that was made without the intention and approval of the one who was, being married off.

Antony “ you shall marry lord Tristan”

Y/n “ brother why have you done this I and Tristan ….”

Antony “ I have arranged the marriage and it shall be done I ready, approved of the proposal and soon the ton will know when we have a party in honor of the marriage”

Y/n “ no I was promised like everyone else a marriage of love, that a marriage that will get me out of the house and away from the family”

Antony “ you will marry Tristan a marriage with him will do o family well, and it will make both house’s powerful in the end”

Y/n “ I will speak to mother about this she will say no right away brother” you and left your brother office and soon walked towards the drawing room.

Antony “ get back here sister we are not done”

Colin “ what is wrong dear sister you seem mad don’t tell me dress, shop was out of your favorite fabric color”

Y/n “ leave me be Colin mother Antony has agreed for a marriage for me with Tristan ”

Daphne “ Tristan that is splendid sister you and him will be perfect”

Y/n “ no sister he married me off to him without knowledge me”

Violet “ dearest I know”

Y/n “ then tell my brother you son he being very rude without asking me …. Do we even know Tristan wants a wife right now”

Benedict “ oh baby sister he needs to marry with the power his family has and money, he can’t stay single forever”

Y/n “ what of you dear brother you and our other brothers who are grown, haven’t done your duties”

Antony “ it different for us sister one of us older kids need to marry, before Daphne and Eloise are present to the ton”

Y/n “ so I most be the one to marry and not you”

Antony “ you are young women who should be married by now and having kids, and your have failed at that no other man might have you .. I spoke wing Tristan father and he agreed his son needs a wife”

Y/n “ Tristan as I remember as siblings as well unmarried as well”

Eloise “ yes why should y/n and Tristan marry when other in their family haven’t”

Antony “ that is not important we need you both to marry and bring a Union and stop this wild behavior you have sister, you need a husband that man is Tristan once you both are married we all will be happy … think about the family you unmarried will bring shame to us all”

Y/n “ …..”

Violet “ dearest I was arranged as well and I found love”

Y/n “ mother you and papa said I could find my husband for love and not force into something”

Violet “ well something there needs to be sacrificed I know your brother, will not marry to any bad lord it Tristan a young man from well know family”

Colin” sister you might be lucky be doesn’t spend much time at gentlemen club or with other women you are lucky one, you could be married to some scandals lord”

Benedict “ man in debt with not wealth for you to spend and he travels as well so you will be lucky to marry him”

Antony “ sister for once do this for the family for us all to find partners, because if you don’t then we are doomed and alone with Tristan family as well … we will be doomed because of you and him … you will marry him or be alone forever”

Violet “ you will find love or some good in this marriage and you will always have a place here my daughter, and not far from us as well … when we plant this wedding you will get to know him better” you didn’t say anything else as it will fall on deaf ears like always, soon the news spread you had gotten spend time with Tristan. Both of you upset on how your families and treated you both for voicing your opinion.

Day of wedding

Violet “ you look beautiful my dear your father will of loved to be here”

Y/n “ yes mother”

Violet “ I know this marriage is not something you wish but your brother and I had thought the best for you, and look where we are now your wedding … you will always be here in London”

Y/n “ yes mother”

Violet “ once you are happily married your siblings will come as well, all of you marriage of love as well I know it and maybe soon grandchildren from you … I will be so happy”

Y/n “ yes mama what ever makes the family happy I will do it”

Violet “ my dear I will …”

Antony “ is the bride ready it time for the wedding”

Violet “ yes she is ready I will see you out” Violet soon left the two siblings alone.

Antony “ it seems like you and Tristan have grown a strong bond, on the end so there was no need to worry after all my sister you shall thank me in the future … with this marriage all our siblings marriage and mine shall me good”

Y/n “ I will do anything for our siblings I and Tristian have made a stronger relationship, and spoke about our future”

Antony “ good you are doing your duty to our family”

Y/n “ yes”Antony and walked you into the chapel and soon gave away to Tristan.

Priest “ do you lord Tristan take this women a your wife”

Tristan “ I do”

Priest “ do you lady y/n take this man as your husband”

Y/n “ I do”

Priest “ then you both shall kiss” Tristan had kissed you and you kissed him back. The wedding party was grand and fun.

Benjamin “ I can’t believe your both were upset about this whole situation, now look at them man and wife”

Tristan” you missed the point dear brother of mine”

Tristan father “ my son this marriage has done our family well look at all that came to, the wedding this union will be good for us all”

William “ maybe if you both have enough kids we all might not have to marry, as we will heirs to take over for us”

Tristan “ what if we have all daughter will that work for you or not bother “

Antony “ you both will have the kids first and we might have them as well, there is future we need to think about for us all”

Violet “ all your children will be love and welcome, in our families good son”

Colin “ with our dear sister married we will be soon married as well, with our sisters relationship with other houses”

Y/n “ only time will tell my brothers”

Eloise “ sister you shall be missed at home please write”

Antony “ she not leaving the county Eloise, she just moving to countryside to make her home … we can see all anytime we wish”

Daphne “ yes sister you most invite us”

Y/n “ yes I will once I and my husband are settled into our new roles”

Violet “ I know you shall do well my girl” the rest of the party had went well, until you will leave with your husband.

Violet “ the carriage will take you to the inn for the night”

Y/n “ yes mother”

Gregory “ I will miss you”

Y/n “ we can write my brother and you all can come see in time”

Hyacinth “ you promise”

Y/n “ yes and if you all ever need help please write to me see we will be apart for sometime”

Eloise “ we will sister and maybe come stay as well “

Tristan “ you are all welcome to come for visit”

Antony “ once you both are settled into your roles we will come see you both, and speak with each as family and maybe getting Reya for the next seasons to come”

Tristan father “ yes that is good”

Tristan “ if we are lucky we can get the rest of siblings in some courting or marriage as well .. it the best for the family”

Lady Danbury “ I can’t wait to see what you and young Tristan will do, I always love the spark the both of you have ..I know both are powerful fires and will do well looking forward to see the future you both forge”

Y/n and Tristan “ thank you”

Antony “ you both should be getting to your honeymoon, and enjoy the months of being newly weddings”

Y/n “ we will brother and I will write when I can”

Violet “ enjoy your time we will be good and I know your father will be proud of you”

Tristan father “ my son your mother will be proud as well”

Tristan “ yes well dear wife we shall leave now come along”

Y/n “ yes my husband” your siblings had given you one last hug, even your mother a hug as well. You had soon gotten into the carriage with your husband. Heading off to an inn on the starts of being newly weds.

Tristan “ y/n I need to have some words with you”

Y/n “sure dinner has arrived as well”

Tristan “ good you remember my uncle at reside in Scotland”

Y/n “ yes joke uncle I remember him very well, what the matter”

Tristan “ he has fallen unwell and has asked me to come to Scotland, to take over his household and lands until he is well … he has made me his heir verse my brothers”

Y/n “ then you shall go see him he has always been there for you”

Tristan “ thank you and he asked me to bring my new wife as well, you with me

Saying it will be good and big enough house for us to stay there… it far better then stay in London at the moment”

Y/n “ I have to agree this whole marriage had been made for us, yes I love and care for you but how everyone had been treated is is awful… then them making jokes on us having kids so they couldn’t it not fair”

Y/n “ I shall not have my children be used a pawns in my brother game of avoiding marriage, and saying I shall be blamed for everything in the end made me sick”

Tristan “ my family wasn’t son nice about it either, I shall not have you or our future kids treated that way … we are no longer pawn in their chess game and are children will not as well … my mother told me to live the life I shall want and not let other control me”

Y/n “ so it seems like we are in agreement we shall go to Scotland and care for you uncle and his household as well”

Tristan “ splendid my dear wife and your brothers and my family, can’t do nothing about it … if wish for scandal and judgment to be placed on them”

Y/n “ now my husband have a meal with me, as you tell me more about this letter form your uncle”the couple had soon sat down for a meal and went into deeper conversation, about Tristan uncle and the move it Scotland. The next day they had left for their new home and land,and there was nothing that could stopped them as they are a married couple living their own lives.

#bridgerton family #bridgerton #colin bridgerton #bridgerton netflix #bridgerton season 3 #bridgerton s3 #bridgerton x sister reader #bridgerton x reader #bridgerton x you #bridgerton x y/n #bridgerton x female reader #bridgerton fandom #bridgerton fanfiction

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justagalwhowrites · 1 year ago

Note

HI BESTIE !!! 🫂

i was wondering how Joel would react to Doc spoiling him ROTTEN after she got that big girl money 🫦 (in the lavender au)

(because i know she will spoil him so much as a thank you for his unwavering support throughout her career 🥹)

OMG Hi Bestie!

I love this ask so so SO much. Joel is so soft with his girls and he deserves all the good things, including his wife treating him to all the best things once she's a big time surgeon.

This is just the perfect prompt for our favorite man's birthday, too! I hope this is just what you were hoping for. Love you!

Spoiled

After years of Joel taking care of you, you take care of Joel. A one shot set in the Lavender AU timeline.

Yes I know it's not a Joel gif but it fits the fic so well I had to.

Pairing: Joel Miller x Female Reader (Joel and Doc from the Lavender AU)

Warnings: Fluff and smut, smut and fluff. No use of Y/N. Minors DNI 18+ only.

Length: 4.4K

It started with a shopping trip in Houston for Sarah’s wedding.

She needed a dress for the rehearsal and her bachelorette party and the malls in Austin just weren’t cutting it.

“I’m telling you,” she said after coming up empty handed on another Saturday spent shopping as the two of you ate salads and drank sweet tea at a patio cafe. “We need to go to Houston. We haven’t found anything for you, either.”

“I can just…” you began, but Sarah cut you off.

“Mom,” she raised her brows. “You do not get to say ‘just’ anything about my wedding, come on.”

You rolled your eyes a little but smiled.

“Alright,” you put your hands up in surrender. “I’ve got the weekend off again in two weeks, I’ll get us a hotel room in Houston and we can shop til we drop.”

“I’m going to get you comfortable with spending some of those big surgeon bucks one of these days,” she said. “You need to treat yourself! Live a little!”

“I live plenty, thank you,” you replied. “And I do it just fine in my Goodwill jeans.”

“Whatever you say,” she smirked a little, flagging down the server and grabbing the bill before you had a chance to fight her on it.

Sarah might have had a point. You’d been an attending for the better part of a year now and the jump in pay had been staggering. You were making more now in a year than you had your entire life - or it felt that way, anyway. You’d already made good progress paying off your student loans but you made quick work of the rest. Joel had asked if you wanted to move - something bigger or better somehow - now that you could easily afford it but you’d just frowned at him, almost hurt.

“This is our home,” you said. “I fell in love with you here, Sarah grew up here, we made Evie here. This is the first place I ever really felt like I belonged, I don’t want to leave.”

Joel just smiled and kissed your forehead.

“Then we’ll stay,” he said. “Moving’s a fuckin’ hassle anyway.”

You’d just been saving money, not really sure what to do with it. You donated some of it, stopped spending time clipping coupons, finally bought a car that was from this decade (but still used). But actually spending it made you anxious. You’d never had money before. You weren’t poor, exactly. You’d always had enough to eat and a roof over your head but you almost never bought new clothes, had never really traveled outside of places that you could easily get to by car. You were pretty sure you’d never even been in a car that wasn’t at least 10 years old before you came to college and your friend Cassie gave you a ride to the store in her new BMW. It was hard to get used to the idea that money could be spent at all, that it wasn’t already earmarked for some bill or, if there was any left, that it had to be saved for a rainy day.

“You gotta actually spend some of that hard earned money on yourself, Baby,” Joel said as you headed outside to meet Sarah for your weekend in Houston. “Buy some ridiculously expensive dress that I’m gonna want to rip off you in seconds or some purse that’s $1,000 for reasons I don’t understand.”

“That’s two mortgage payments,” you said, eyes wide.

“Baby.”

“Right, right,” you nodded. “On a mission, spend money. Got it.”

“On yourself,” he added. “Not Sarah. Or not just Sarah, anyway. You two have fun.”

“You too,” you said, stretching up to kiss him goodbye. “Don’t let Evie con you into giving her candy when she gets home from school.”

“What wild thing and I get up to when you’re not around is none of your business,” he gave you one last peck on the lips. “Now go, stop worryin’, live a little.”

The mall in Houston was almost overwhelming. Not in the crowds way malls sometimes were for you, thank goodness, but with the kinds of stores. There were names you recognized from Cassie’s closet and from some of the trust fund girls in your med school program but you realized quickly you had no concept of what things like this actually cost.

Sarah picked a dress for the rehearsal that was nearly $600 and you choked on the champagne the sales person had given you to sip while Sarah tried on options.

“You really buy $600 dresses?” You gaped at her as you wandered back into the store from the dressing rooms.

“Not all the time,” she shrugged. “But we make good money and sometimes it’s fun to buy something nice.”

She held up a floor length gown to you, the bottom pooling on the ground.

“That’s too long,” you said.

“Well we’d get it tailored,” she laughed a little. “Come on, try it on.”

Another sales person wandered over and offered to set up a fitting room and you snuck a peek at the price tag. Your eyes went wide.

“That dress is $1200!” You whispered at Sarah as you trailed after the attendant.

“And it’s for my wedding,” she replied. “And don’t you have that gala thing every spring for work? You can wear it for that, you need a new dress for that anyway. Plus I’m the bride and I say you have to try it on. You can’t disappoint the bride.”

You sighed and went into the fitting room, feeling utterly out of place in your second hand Levis and vintage top you’d picked up on a shopping trip a few weeks back that felt much more your speed.

But the dress - outside of the length - looked like it had been made for you. The silk hugged your every curve, the neckline dipping just low enough to display just enough cleavage to be sexy but not so much that it would be scandalous. It was simple, no embellishments beyond the structure of the dress and the deep emerald green of the fabric. Normally you’d have scoffed at something so basic fetching such a high price but, now that it was on your body, you understood it. It was like you’d put on a work of art and, in doing so, become art yourself.

“OK you can’t laugh,” you said. “But I’m coming out.”

Sarah was waiting patiently in the little show room attached to your fitting room and you had to hold up the hem of the dress to not trip but she gasped all the same.

“Oh Mom,” her hand went to her mouth, her eyes wide. “You look incredible.”

“Yeah?” You asked, turning in the mirrors to look at yourself from every angle. “I don’t look like I’m playing dress up?”

“Not at all,” she spoke with almost a sense of reverence, looking you up and down. “You’re getting that dress. I’ll buy it for you if you won’t…”

“No, Sarah,” you protested but she pulled out her phone and snapped a picture before you had a chance to really realize what she was doing. “What was that for?”

“I’m sending this to Dad…” her voice trailed off and she took a sip of champagne just as her phone rang. She smirked and answered, putting it on speaker phone. “Speak of the devil. Hey old man, your wife is trying to tell me this dress costs too much.”

“I don’t care if that dress costs $200,000 she’s bringing it home,” Joel said. “She hear me?”

“Yes,” Sarah smiled, a shit eating grin if there ever was one.

“Good,” he said. “Baby, you look so damn amazing I’m about to jump in the truck and drive over there just to see you in that thing in person sooner. Save me a trip, bring it home, alright?”

“Alright,” you sighed.

“Didn’t quite hear that,” Joel said.

“I said alright you dork,” you said a little, grinning in spite of yourself.

“That’s my girl.”

You bought the dress. And a bag that Sarah insisted you needed for work because she was tired of seeing you haul around a canvas tote. And shoes for the dress.

When you passed the jeweler window, you were on the way to the car after spending so much money you were surprised you hadn’t fainted. You stopped, the hanger with the garment bag for the dress hooked in your fingers over your shoulder, and looked at the watch sitting in the window.

It was large and silver but not too ornate, no diamonds or anything like that. The face of the watch was black with elegant white roman numerals on the face.

“What?” Sarah asked, stopping next to you.

“Do you think your dad would like that?” You asked, head cocked a little, still looking at the timepiece through the glass.

“Yeah,” Sarah said after a moment. “Seems like a him watch, if he were going to wear a nice watch, anyway.”

Joel did already have a watch. A simple one with a green strap and silver colored case and a black face. You and Sarah had picked it out together for his birthday one year. She’d been giddy about it, you had to all but beg her to keep it a secret for a few days until it came time to give it to him. He loved the thing, wore it every day, even more than a decade later.

But your career wasn’t the only one that had advanced. Joel was no longer doing the manual labor of a contractor every day. More often than not, he was going to meet with clients and arrange contracts and make plans. For a lot of those meetings, he wore a suit and, for a lot of those meetings, you saw him stick his watch in his pocket before leaving the house instead of putting it on.

“Hard sometimes,” he said when you’d asked him about it. “Fittin’ in with these clients.”

“Let me just…” you doubled back to the entrance to the store and went inside.

The watch was more than you thought it would be. A lot more. So, so much more. You watched as the sale’s person’s eyes went from encouraging and hopeful to let down when you reacted to the price.

“One second,” you smiled sheepishly and pulled out your phone, going into your banking app. Even after spending an arm and a leg on yourself that day, the number in your personal checking account seemed obscenely high. More money than you’d ever had at once until very, very recently. You could afford the watch. You looked at the sales person and smiled.

“I’ll take it.”

You had several very strong cocktails when out to dinner with Sarah that night to make yourself feel a little better about spending thousands of dollars on things like clothes and a watch and she just smiled.

“See, Mom? You spent some money on yourself and the apocalypse did not happen, I think you can actually buy yourself things from time to time.”

“And things for your dad,” you said. “Because he needs nice things, too.”

When you got home, Joel insisted that you model the dress for him.

“It needs to be tailored,” you tried to protest.

“Not for me to take it off you it doesn’t,” he smiled from his spot on the couch, beer in hand.

“Fine,” you said. “But only if you let me model everything I bought and you can’t return any of it.”

“Deal.”

You went to your bedroom and put on the dress and the shoes and took the watch out of the bag, the face almost comically large on your wrist, before going back to the living room, hem of the dress in hand.

“Jesus Christ Baby,” he looked at you, his eyes wide. “You look… fuck me.”

“That is the idea,” you winked. “You like it?”

“Like is a fuckin’ understatement,” he said, getting up and walking around you slowly, his eyes going up and down your body. “You know, Evie’s at a friend’s for two more hours…”

“So you’re not going to make me return anything I have on?” You asked.

“Fuck no.”

“Not this dress?” You started unzipping the side before sliding the straps down your arms.

“Dress stays,” he said, gently tugging it down and exposing your chest, kissing the swell of your breasts.

“What about the shoes?” You asked, putting a sandaled foot out from below the hem. He glanced down, eyes ranging over the straps.

“Those stay, too,” he said, going back to kissing your chest. “Everything you’ve got on stays, already agreed to that.”

“Good,” you said as he made it to your neck. “Even this?”

You held up your wrist, the watch sliding down your arm.

He frowned, looking at it.

“Don’t look like you’re style,” he said. “But if it makes you happy, Baby, keep it.”

“Never said it was for me, Joel,” you smiled a little. You watched him piece it together, taking a moment for him to dawn on him.

“No,” he shook his head, looking from your arm to your face. “No, you were supposed to get stuff for yourself for a change not…”

“I did get stuff for me,” you said. “And I got this for you. Because you’re wearing suits more now and I wanted you to have the watch for that. So really, it is for me.”

He took your wrist gently in one hand, elbow in the other, tilting your arm this way and that to look at the watch in different lights.

“Baby, this…” he shook his head again. “This is too much, this is…”

“Not for you,” you cut him off. “Not after everything you’ve given me. This is not enough. But it’s a start. Besides, you said I got to keep everything I was wearing. You already agreed to it, Miller.”

“Baby,” he sighed.

“Joel,” you smiled a little. “You’re my husband. Let me give you something nice. Please.”

He brought the inside of your wrist to his lips and kissed you there, making your pulse flutter against his mouth.

“Already gave me the best thing there is,” he said. “Anything more feels like I’m stealin’ it.”

“Steal whatever you want, Miller,” you teased. “But you’re keeping the watch.”

Joel ended up wearing the watch often. Not as much as the Sarah watch - and he stuck with the Sarah watch for her wedding - but at least once a week for meetings where he needed to dress up for. Every time you gave him a little knowing smile and every time he rolled his eyes a little before kissing you goodbye. But you had yet to get him to accept anything like it in the years since, Joel trying to dodge everything every time you spent money on him.

So when his birthday was around the corner, you were bound and determined to get him something good.

“Anything you want for your birthday?” You asked as you, Joel and Ellie wandered around a street fair, meandering towards the car show. “Anything you want to do?”

“S’not like it’s a big one,” he shrugged. “Just 56. Would love to see all my girls, of course. Could use some new tongs for the grill.”

“Tongs?” Ellie said, brows raised. “Seriously? Old people are so WEIRD.”

“You know what kiddo?” Joel smiled a little, faking exasperation. “We’ll see how you’re doin’ when you’re pushin’ 60.”

“Ew,” she crinkled her nose and wandered to the first car in the row of vehicles on display. You laughed, strolling along with Joel until he stopped at a beautiful old convertible, giving a low whistle.

“What?” You asked.

“Just a pretty fuckin’ car,” he said, his hands in his pockets as he walked slowly around it. “Always wanted one of these when I was a kid.”

“Yeah?” You asked, getting an idea.

“Neighbor had one,” he nodded. “Let me ride in the back once. Coolest fuckin’ car.”

He looked over every inch of the thing and Ellie caught up with you while he did, pouting a little as she leaned on the door of the car, her chin propped on her folded arms.

“I’m starving,” she groaned. “Can I go get some fries at least?”

“Sure,” you laughed a little, pulling some cash out of your pocket. “Grab me a lemonade, too?”

You watched as she went to the food stands and you and Joel moved on, walking slowly down the row of cars when Ellie caught up with you again, passing you the lemonade. Joel stole a fry from her cup.

“Hey!” She protested. “Go get your own!”

“Might have to,” he said, giving her a wink. “Back in a sec.”

You waited until he was out of earshot before you grabbed Ellie.

“Do me a favor,” you said. “That car we were looking at? The blue one? Can you go talk to the owner and find out what make, model and year it is?”

“I guess,” she frowned. “Why?”

“Because,” you said. “I found something your dad wants besides tongs.”

You went and stood in line with Joel, keeping him distracted while Ellie did recon. She took some pictures of the car and texted you all the information which you texted to Andrew as Joel drove home from the fair.

“Can you help me find this car?” You asked him. “One that’s for sale?”

“Becoming a collector?” He texted back.

“Joel’s birthday,” you added a smilie face emoji.

“Excellent,” he replied. “I’ll find you something, don’t worry.”

It took a few weeks but Andrew found the car. A blue 1967 Mustang Convertible that was being sold down in San Antonio. He went down with you to help you test drive it - you didn’t know a damn thing about cars - and you bought it on the spot.

“He’s going to freak the fuck out,” Andrew said, driving it home since you couldn’t drive stick. “Seriously, you might give the man a heart attack…”

You rolled your eyes but laughed all the same.

“I really hope he loves it,” you said, running your fingers over the dash.

“I’ll take it off your hands if he doesn’t,” Andrew smiled. “Just don’t tell Jess.”

Tommy agreed to store the car in his garage until Joel’s party at his house in two weeks and you were giddy as you drove home, feeling like a kid at Christmas as you tried to keep the car a secret.

By the time the party rolled around, even Ellie was excited and having a hard time holding it together.

“It’s really just a cookout at Tommy’s,” Joel said as the three of you piled in the car to head over. “Not sure why you two are actin’ like we’re going to fuckin’ Six Flags…”

“Tommy’s cooler than you,” Ellie said. “Nice to spend time with someone who isn’t a total dinosaur…”

“Alright, in the car kiddo,” Joel smiled and shook his head a little. “Can’t take you anywhere ’til seatbelts are on, let’s go!”

You texted Tommy that you were on the way and he responded with a picture of the car, shiny in his driveway with a big, red bow on the hood.

“He’s going to lose his mind, Kid,” he texted back. “Please tell Maria I want this same treatment when I’m old.”

“Better put in some work to deserve it, Miller,” you replied, smiling a little.

Joel parked on the street, frowning at the car in Tommy’s driveway.

“When the hell’d Tommy get a Mustang?” He got out, his frown deepening. You almost laughed.

“He didn’t,” you smiled, so big it was like your face was going to crack.

Joel looked confused for half a moment before his mouth dropped open in shock.

“No,” he shook his head. Ellie leaned between the front seats, grinning hugely, “No, no that’s… Baby. No.”

“Suck it up, old man,” Ellie smirked as Sarah and Brandon came out of the house, little Carson making a beeline for the car. Sarah and Brandon waved as Tommy and Maria joined them in the yard. Ellie pulled the keys out of her pocket and dangled them between you and Joel. He took them, staring at them in his hand for a second.

“Should take it before I do,” Tommy hollered and you laughed as you got out of the car and followed an almost dazed Joel toward the Mustang.

He walked, in awe, around the car twice.

“I…” he said but stopped, staring at the convertible for a moment. “I don’t….”

“Do you like it?” You asked, coming up beside him and wrapping your arms around his waist.

“Fuckin’ love it,” he said, immediately looking at you. “But Baby, this is too much, way too much, I can’t…”

“Yes you can,” you smiled up at him. He looked down at you, the awed expression still on his face. “After everything you’ve done for me? For us? Everything you’ve sacrificed, all the ways you take care of me and our girls? The life you gave me? Still not enough, Joel. Not for you.”

He pulled you tight to him and kissed the top of your head.

“I love you,” he said, his voice wet. “So goddamn much, Baby.”

Tommy set up chairs and a table in the front yard so everyone could sit near the car while celebrating Joel. He kept looking over at it in disbelief before looking at you with eyes filled with gratitude and wonder. You couldn’t remember the last time your heart felt quite so full.

You drove Ellie home, following slowly behind Joel in the new convertible.

“OK I know what this shit means,” Ellie said, gesturing between you and Joel after you got home, your husband clutching you to his side. “Try to keep it down and not be gross about it because ugh.”

“Was actually going to see if you wanted to take the car for a spin,” you smiled up at Joel. “Just you and me. Assuming Ellie will behave herself and actually go to bed at a reasonable time.”

“Anything to get away from whatever that is,” Ellie said, smiling a little as she went to her room. You laughed.

“So,” you said, once she closed the door to her room. You looked up at Joel, smiling. “Care to take me for a ride, Mr. Miller?”

He grinned.

“Whatever you say, Mrs. Miller.”

He took you through town slowly, down quiet side streets filled with sleeping people and past businesses that had closed for the night, until the two of you ended up at a large park on the edge of town where things were a little darker and you could see some of the stars.

“I can’t believe you got me a car, Baby,” he said, his hands running over the steering wheel. His smile was so big you could see it even in the dim light of the moon. “It’s really…”

“If you say it’s too much again, Joel, I will go and buy you a second one on principle.”

He laughed at that.

“I was gonna say it was the best gift I’ve ever gotten,” he said, turning to look at you. “Besides you and the girls of course.”

“Oh, of course,” you smiled.

He leaned in and kissed you gently.

“Not sure what I did to deserve you,” he said. “But I sure am grateful for it.”

Your kiss shifted and you started climbing over the center console, Joel taking a second to move his seat all the way back. You bunched your skirt around your hips and settled over him, kissing him harder, more eager.

“I’m pretty damn grateful for you,” you whispered against his mouth, his hands going to your hips. You ground down on him and he moaned, pressing his hard length up against you through his jeans. “And I think the birthday boy should get laid in his dream car.”

“Dream car,” he said, kissing you. “Dream woman.” He kissed you again. “Perfect fuckin’ birthday.”

You unzipped his fly as you kissed him and tucked your panties to the side, notching his cock against your entrance. He moaned as you sank slowly down onto him, taking all of him inside of you, savoring how he filled you.

You started slowly, just grinding him deeper into you as you kissed him, his tongue licking into your mouth.

“You feel fuckin’ amazing Baby,” he moaned, kissing down your throat until he reached your breasts, cleavage bared in your v-neck top. “Always feel so damn good…”

He was thrusting up into you, trying to set his own pace, and you decided to allow that, matching him stroke for stroke as he groaned below you. His hands ranged up your back, pawing at your shirt until be was able to raise it enough to slide below it and get at your skin with a satisfied moan. He clutched you close, so close that you could hardly move over him anymore. Instead, he fucked up into you, making you whimper and your channel tighten around him.

“C’mon Baby,” he grunted, voice strained. “Want you to come for me. All I want now is you to come for me, come all over me, fuck Baby…”

You bit down on his shoulder to keep quiet, the sounds of crickets and cicadas on the air as you came, your sex throbbed around him. You whimpered against him as you came down from your high and he kept working you, his grip on you tightening.

“Fuck Baby,” he gasped. “Feel too good, I’m gonna… fuck… I’m…”

He cut himself off with a groan, thrusting deep and filling you, his grip on you relaxing enough that you could sit up a little. You looked at him in the moonlight his eyes closed, a blissed out look on his face. You smiled a little, brushing his more unruly curls back from his forehead.

“I love you so much, Baby,” he smiled a little, eyes still closed.

“So I did alright for your birthday?” You teased lightly, his softening cock still buried inside you.

He laughed.

“Did perfect,” he tugged you close enough that he could kiss you again, careful to not push you back against the horn. “Perfect fuckin’ birthday, perfect fuckin’ woman, perfect fuckin’ wife.”

“Good,” you smiled, kissing him. “You deserve it, Joel. You deserve the world.”

#fanfic #joel miller x female reader #joel miller x reader #joel miller x you #lavender #joel miller smut #joel miller x oc

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wutheringmights · 4 months ago

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Anyone ask for the commentary yet for the latest chapter >:3 *dies*

You’d be the first!

So this chapter is cursed. Let’s talk about that first.

You probably noticed that my writing output has been in the gutter this year. I have not written half as much as I should have. There are two main reasons why. The first is that I finally decided to get off my ass and have a more enriching personal life. This means a lot more of my evenings and weekends have been spent exploring other hobbies or taking weekend trips. I don’t regret any of those, and they have really improved my life overall (but I do write more when I am a sad little shut-in).

The second, more pressing reason was that there was a very important wedding I was the maid of honor for. That means I have spent a lot of my free time this year planning a bachelorette, a bridal shower, and helping with general wedding prep. I honestly was not nearly as busy as an expert maid of honor would have been, but all of this took up so much of my brain space that I was having trouble being creative. Multiple times, I would go to a coffee shop with plans to write, only to spend the entire time stressing about buying a new dress or researching hotels.

I did not realize how stressed I was about this whole thing until literally this week. The wedding is over now, and I am already biting huge chunks into the upcoming chapter. I just have so much more brain space to write. I feel free.

All that’s to say that this chapter was primarily written the month leading up to the wedding, and my head was Not There. I was struggling to figure the chapter out, and that struggle is reflected in the quality of the prose. For that, I apologize, as inevitable as it was.

I won’t make any major revision to this chapter, but I have plans to redo my proof-reading. There is an egregious number of typos in this chapter, more than I consider acceptable for a one person team of me.

(That being said, my typos have gotten worse this past year; ever since AI was integrated into Grammarly and Google Docs, both have been godawful for helping me fix errors. I appreciate how lenient you all have been with my most blatant mistakes.)

Now that all of that is established, let’s talk about this chapter.

This introduction to Proxi is really, really bad. I am frankly a little embarrassed that I went ahead and published it. While I had a vision for the first few scenes of Link trying to help Proxi and Jakucho’s aid afterwards, I didn’t realize until the day of writing that I actually had 0 plans for how Warriors and Proxi’s first conversation would go.

I am not even joking. I have a bunch of plans for their interactions together afterwards (which will appear next chapter). But their first conversation once Proxi started to get better? None.

So what little they talked together here feels like a waste of space. What’s worse, I don’t even know what I would change the dialogue to in order to fix it. My brain is blank. I don’t know. It’ll probably hit me in a few weeks. This is the trouble with publishing what is essentially the first draft of a story. If my initial ideas are solid, it’s great. But when my brain farts, I’m screwed.

That being said, my favorite part of the past section is that first half where Link frets over how to help Proxi, as well as Jakucho’s speech about the fairies disappearing.

I have been trying to subtly establish this era of Hyrule as being one that is shocking devoid of magic; having Jakucho mourn the loss of fairies and what omen that could mean feels like I am ruining things. Nonetheless, I just really like the idea of Jakucho having this small moment of wonder over seeing a fairy, as well as her verbalizing these fears that darker times are ahead.

I think I just enjoy reading about older people having the same anxieties about the world as younger people. It’s more comforting to me than an all-knowing mentor.

So this chapter has a lot of random names splattered all over the place. Me being me, I stole some of the names from other media and such I enjoy. I’ll point out any fun connections as I find them.

So for Proxi’s list of names for Link, there’s two of note. The first is Grimshaw, which is the name of the male lead from Lightlark. Despite how much I talk about Fourth Wing on this blog, Lightlark is the bad book I am truly passionate about.

The second is Wen-li, which is for Yang Wen-li from Legend of the Galactic Heroes. He’s the character of all time for me, and I will go insane if I think about him for too long.

This Proxi section was supposed to go on a little longer, but by the time it came to write it, I was 100% over this chapter. Luckily, next chapter will be a fresh slate and I can finally deliver on all my promises about Proxi’s return.

I cannot emphasize enough how frustrating it is to know that I fucked up an important character’s return. It’s... sigh. C’est la vie. Whatever.

Onto the present day:

So I have a particular problem with the present day section. The last chapter, this chapter, and the one I am writing now are all the same plot point in my outline. I severely underestimated how long the lead up to a Very Important Event was going to be. No doubt, I have probably made similar mistakes before. But I am trying to finish this story, so any time I have to draw out the pacing, I die a little on the inside.

I think I initially planned to just skim over how Warriors got to the castle, but then I realized that this was the politics stuff that is the supposed bread and butter of the story. But the reason why I wanted to skim over everything was (as Legend pointed out) fucking networking.

What’s worse, I got to this chapter and realized that, realistically, Warriors should have to spend at least a few months building up a cult of personality. This should be a (purposeful) multi-chapter arc. I don’t want to do that, so I tried to really emphasize how much Warriors was using his reputation as the hero and legends surrounding it to his advantage. Does it still feel unrealistic? Yeah, but we’re just going to have to cope with it.

Sevas is named for the male lead in Ava Reid’s Juniper & Thorn, which was sitting on my desk when I realized the priest needed a name.

Colonel Remarque is named for Erich Remarque, author of All Quiet On the Western Front. I think I had made a post name-dropping him around the time I got to this character.

Matthew Thorn... again, Thorn is for Reid’s book. Matthew was just the most bland name I could think of.

Vlad Dubarry... so I was watching both Castlevania and Rose of Versailles and took the first and surname from both respectively.

Between the conversation with the priest, the provost office, and Remarque, I was trying to give out a few more details every time to paint a clear picture without boring the reader by reiterating information over and over again. Unfortunately, I still managed to write three pretty boring scenes.

That being said, I think the friction Remarque offered was interesting to write, even if I had to resist pointing out every single plot hole during it.

So everything from the castle to Spirit being poisoned took me the longest to write. I knew it was boring, but I could not figure out a way to make it more exciting without omitting the networking stuff entirely. I didn’t really hit a stride with this chapter until I got to Spirit being poisoned.

The entire time Spirit was being poisoned, I was rubbing my hands together maniacally. I have been searching for a good moment to have a true poisoning in this story and I finally got it.

Also, I think if this chapter was of higher quality, someone out there would have realized that, for purely medical reasons, Hyrule had to technically give Spirit and smooch on the lips. There should be at least two very silly memes about this. But, alas. The quality.

You can tell I ran into the realization that, realistically, the Royal Guard’s structure would be more complex than I have alluded to previously. Very importantly, you can tell I realized that I should have mentioned the King’s Guard sooner if they were really going to be this powerful subsection of the Royal Guard.

I actually like how the idea that the King’s Guard is only super powerful in matters relating to the king, aka: Castle Town, and is pretty insignificant otherwise. The bureaucratic bullshit that must cause feels very real. But you can tell that I have no idea what rank that would make Endicott. I have been bending over backwards to not state that man’s ranking.

That being said, his absence from Warriors’s social circle until now is kinda important. Put a pin in that. It will come back.

Also, Endicott is a name I stole from Over the Garden Wall. I picked it because it sounds like the name of someone important. I picked Roald at randomed.

I am really happy that a lot of you have been enjoying the growing distrust the Chain has for Spirit. Insert rant about how victims have to remain palatable in order to be emphasized with, and how tragic it is that the only person who seems to understand that is the person who traumatized him in the first place.

I feel like I have been fumbling Time’s character a bit, and his conversation at the floor of Spirit’s bed is me finally getting back on track with him. I enjoyed writing that so much, from him trying to fold the scarf to him being upset that no one has learned their lesson yet, all while still not learning a lesson himself.

There was going to be a comment somewhere that Spirit is in such bad shape in part because his lungs are weak from all that smoking he does, but I honestly don’t know if anyone but Spirit would make that connection.

I also need to put Legend and Midna together more. They can be so snarky, and I want them to keep a running commentary of Warriors and Spirit’s bullshit like they are two sports announcers watching a football game.

I first imagined Spirit and Warriors’s conversation taking place on the parapet, and came to the same realization about the ladders that Spirit had. I’m glad I put them by the moat, though. The bit about the smell is probably my favorite bit of prose in the chapter.

I also really like this conversation between Spirit and Warriors. It’s not as insanity inducing as their past bullshit has been, but it hits a few notes. I like Warriors showing off how much he understands Spirit’s abilities (via the jacket), as well as Spirit’s utter disbelief that Warriors is capable of caring for anyone but himself.

I was also trying really hard to put more of their bullshit into subtext. I have a bad habit of having characters just state what they are feeling out loud, so I am trying to write more coded dialogue. It’s never just about a toaster, etc.

Warriors was also having such a night of self-discovery. First he had a little moment to freak out about how much his sincere attempts to help sound like manipulation. Then he realized that he would probably never be fully exonerated from his past. Big night for him.

Being unable to fully fix your past is part of the reason why I buffer against the idea of Warriors having a redemption arc. That implies a certain amount of undoing that is just not possible. I don’t know if I am putting that well. However, I am concerned that I am letting my Catholic upbringing color my perspective.

That being said, if Catholicism was a thing in Hyrule, Warriors would be that and be plagued by Catholic Guilt

He’s Catholic coded.

Irish Catholic, to be specific. There’s a difference.

Anyway, Four. When Four showed up, I was going to have this bit of dialogue where Spirit would allude to knowing about Vio (and therefore, Four) having a relationship with Shadow. It would have been nestled in a larger, coded bit of dialogue where Four would obliquely imply that he was starting to suspect what the Hot Mess is. I cut it because A) Spirit is so socially inept that he cannot do subtly like that, and B) Spirit’s spirit senses would not give him the ability to know about Shadow.

I also did not want to commit to Four figuring it out first, if at all.

I have so many ideas about what Warriors the Symbol means to the people of Castle Town that I will hopefully be able to elaborate on in this upcoming chapter.

Realistically, Hyrule Castle should probably be more like a fortress. But again, I have been watching The Rose of Versailles, and I just really liked the idea of the castle being this symbol of opulence during a time of poor economics. The people are struggling but the nobles are thriving, babes.

Also, Endicott is so much fun to write. He’s like the true antagonistic version of Lincoln. That man was enjoying making Warriors squirm, and I was having a blast writing it. The sexual favors line? I was utterly delighted.

Realistically, Endicott probably could have been replaced with Whitestone. However, Whitestone is still on the front and I don’t regret putting him there to be Wind’s superior during his short stint as a soldier. (Even if I still think I could have cut out Whitestone in favor of giving Impa more to do.)

I also feel bad for killing Meemaw off so suddenly, but I was enchanted by the idea of her name having to be crossed off because the death was that recent.

I also was going to have Endicott spare Warriors for unknown reasons, with the reveal that Ganondorf had been bribing him coming later in the story, However, I was so worried about this seeming too-easy for Warriors that I decided to reveal that detail early.

Okay, King of Hyrule stuff.

I’m trying to play at this idea of Zelda’s reputation not matching her actual role. Earlier in the story, Warriors describes her as a socialite with no political sense, and Zelda derisively thinks that of herself as well. Then that bit about her being the face of the kingdom is supposed to contradict that perception. She can’t just be a socialite if she had been the mouthpiece of the king since she was a child.

There’s supposed to be multiple mistakes going on here: Warriors assuming the worst of Zelda, a sexist perception of Zelda by society as a whole, and Zelda feeling worthless because she knows she’s just a symbol. Not sure if I conveyed any of that well.

Reuenthal’s dementia was caused in part by a stroke, but he also has a condition called prosopometamorphopsia, which is a form of face blindness where faces become distorted the longer you look at them.

Fun fact is that I generally knew that there was some kind of condition that had made Reuenthal isolate from other people, but I did not pick prosopometamorphopsia until I read this article from the New Yorker. I won’t go as far as to say that I wrote an accurate version of the disorder; I definitely played up the emotional distress it causes for dramatic effect. That is probably problematic, so please do not trust this story as a definitive source on it.

This also went unsaid in the story, but I imagine that because every daughter in the royal family is named Zelda, they probably go more by their middle names. I almost named dropped one of her sisters as Zelda Artemis, just to be mean.

The last line “A week later, everything went to hell” is, admittedly, very silly. I had a whole section describing what that meant written, but it seriously sucked. I am in the process of rewriting it now, and it’s already so much better. Plus, now that I have another chapter to hit these plot points, I can explore a more daring version of my original idea. Very excited for it.

That being said, I would 100% cut off that last line and probably improve the chapter by 3%.

And that’s the chapter! Again, I am so sorry that it was such substandard quality. I promise that the next chapter will be better.

In other news, can I get your opinion on something. Ever since polls came out, I have wanted to do a little census poll on how many people know about CTB, read it, or choose to read it. Just to gage how big the actual audience is.

On one hand, I think it would be interesting. On the other, it’s a practice in vanity that is very antithetical to how hard I try to be nonchalant about everything. I don’t know. Let me know what you think.

#bonus fact is that i will make clearer in the next chapter is that Roald is like 10+ years older than Lincoln #he is 10 years older because the alternative was making him the same age and I would have to confront the question as to whether they ever #dated. that answer was not a no. (canon is that they did not date ever)#WOULD HAVE BEEN HILARIOUS THOUGH #me rambling #lu ctb #ask #linked universe #ctb spoilers #fallenleafofmaple #ctb commentary #director's commentary

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lovingeddiediaz · 8 months ago

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9-1-1 rant. I have a lot of mixed feelings about this season and a lot of them aren’t good. Love this show, I’ve been watching live since season 3 but yikes that finale was a mess imo definitely one of my least favorites for sure. Very underwhelming. The whole season in general was wacky.

I’ve been feeling this way for at least 2 seasons now. I feel like 911 has been trying to fit these LARGE stories that they don’t have time for or are failing to make time for in these episodes. I get that this season was shortened, but if they can’t properly flush out a story in time, they should figure something else out instead of simplifying it and cutting out so many parts that it loses the build up and the emotion and captivation.

So much happens off screen that I feel like should be SHOWN. like we didn’t get to see Chris upset in the moment when he saw the Shannon lookalike, the scene cut out after he said mom. All we see is just him in his bed telling Eddie to go away later. We didn’t see the confrontation with Marisol and Eddie and her leaving, just an offhand comment of her not coming back later. We didn’t see the phone call that had Buck rushing over. We didnt get to see Eddie at his house alone after Chris leaves, just him leaving with his grandparents and boom, cut scene. We didn’t get to see hen or Chim at Bobby’s bedside.

We don’t get to see the aftermath of ANYTHING. The show keeps cutting the scenes just short and it has been pissing me off so much. They’re missing out on so much depth bc they’re doing too goddamn much at once and too quick.

All action, no build up or payoff. Just one thing after another. You don’t even have time to let your emotions settle and follow the characters bc it’s over so soon. You don’t get to worry and grieve alongside the characters. Bobby almost died and then boom he’s fine again like nothing happened. Like what am I supposed to be emotional over? He almost died in the desert just a couple episodes before that and then he was fine, no mention of it again.

Idk it seems like this show has been doing a lot of telling instead of showing when it comes to what are supposed to be emotionally charged scenes, like Buck saying how he was worried he was gonna lose Bobby but we didn’t really see that. All we got was a teary eye when Buck told Eddie he was in the hospital. Didn’t get to see the team actually save bathena in the beginning, so seeing them get the medals held no weight, like cool we’re told they saved them but we didn’t see shit. We didn’t get to see any of the madney wedding buildup like picking flower arrangements and a venue and dress/tuxedo shopping or anything like that, just assume off screen obviously XD

Buck’s sexuality arc being reduced to background noise also sucks. He kissed a man and then they said ok cool good enough moving on now. Not even bothering to deepen/develop his relationship with Tommy (are they even together or are they still going on dates?? No fuckin clue lmao), instead of a meaningful conversation between them in the finale it’s turned into a sexual joke like come ON, besides the first kiss and the second kiss that Buck initiates, their scenes are meaningless imo and that’s sad bc I was so excited for this storyline in the beginning but again, there’s nothing there. No substance.

And don’t even get me started on henren’s storyline. How many times are they gonna recycle the ‘person gets in the way of henren expanding their family’ bullshit before they finally get creative and think of something new? What is that, 3 times now? It’s just annoying at this point lmao I’m over it.

Why is Tim so against happy storylines? I know he said something along the lines of people wouldn’t watch if the characters were happy, but I think that’s bullshit. If you can’t captivate an audience with positive stories then I think you have a skill issue. Big drama and angst doesn’t equal good story telling and writing. Couldn’t even give madney a nice wedding like wtf.

Idk. I hope next season is thought out better.

#911 spoilers #911 on abc #911 abc #911 discourse #911 discussion #evan buckley #henrietta wilson #karen wilson #chimney han #eddie diaz #maddie han #henren #athena grant #bobby nash #buddie #bathena #madney

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wheels-of-despair · 2 years ago

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Ralph Penbury (Timewasters) Masterlist

Worth It

Worth It began as a Valentine's Day one-shot, then blossomed into a three-shot, and now there are officially twenty chapters in the Worth It-verse. This story takes place a little before the Timewasters that we know and love. (Thus thwarting Ralph's heartbreak and demise. Not even a little bit sorry.) Ralph is in his early 20s, and the female reader who's going to give him the love and affection that he deserves is about a year older and unnamed. (No Y/N, just terms of endearment.) Please read the announcement, and then... enjoy!

*Read This Important Series Announcement Before Proceeding!*

Chapter 1 - The Dance Your mother forces you to go to a Valentine's Day dance with a dull date, but Ralph manages to make your night worthwhile.

Chapter 2 - The Bridge Ralph waits for you on the bridge the next day. To say he's nervous would be an understatement.

Chapter 3 - My Good Friend Mary Ralph brings you a present that's also a prop in your masterful plan to keep your mother in the dark.

Chapter 4 - The Most Ordinary Girl in the World Even though you hate shopping, you decide it's time to go see a lady about a dress or twelve.

Chapter 5 - There Is Nothing Wrong With You You and Ralph have a heart-to-heart after the shopping incident.

Chapter 6 - A Great Deal of Bravery A simple act breaks Ralph's brain. A simple phrase breaks yours.

Chapter 7 - One Hundred Kisses Ralph is upset, but luckily, you know one hundred ways to make him better.

Chapter 8 - Are You Still With Me, Ralph? Ralph is down with a cold, but his favorite nurse comes to take care of him.

Chapter 9 - Seven Dreadful Days Ralph has to go away for a few days, and neither of you are sure you'll survive your time apart.

Chapter 10 - Go Easy On Those Pastries Ralph comes home, but your reunion does not go as planned.

Chapter 11 - Questioning Miracles Your secret isn't a secret anymore. Time to face the music.

Chapter 12 - Do You Think He's Still Alive? Ralph meets your father, and you make a decision about your future together.

Chapter 13 - Try Not to Get Trampled Easter picnics aren't generally Ralph's idea of a good time, but if you're there, it can't be but so bad… right?

Chapter 14 - Just the Way You Are Ralph needs some reassurance. You need an axe.

Chapter 15 - All I Want Is You Planning a wedding with two overbearing mothers. What could possibly go wrong?

Chapter 16 - Victoria and I Are Having a Party You're invited to a Penbury Party. Try not to panic.

Chapter 17 - I Think We Should Try That Again So an introvert walks into a crowded Penbury Party…

Chapter 18 - The Feeling Is Mutual Shopping for a wedding dress is so unbearable, you and Ralph decide to do something desperate.

Chapter 19 - Every Single Room What comes after a wedding?

Chapter 20 - Forty-Four Days All good things must come to an end… right?

Worth It: The Honeymoon (Blurbs)

What did Mr. and Mrs. Penbury do during that long honeymoon?

Always Worth It

You didn't think you'd seen the last of the Penburys, did you?

The Other Dance A flashback to Ralph and the future Mrs. Penbury's first kiss at the Christmas Ball.

Christmas in July Mr. and Mrs. Penbury get another chance at a perfect kiss under the mistletoe at an unexpected time of the year.

I Ralph You Ralph learns a hip new word he's not too fond of. His lovely wife must act fast and help him un-learn it.

Escape from Penbury Manor Mr. and Mrs. Penbury attend a Halloween party, but when the sun goes down, it's not all fun and games for the happy couple.

What the Hell is Compressed Yeast? Ralph wakes up in the middle of the night, and you're not next to him like you should be. Where are you, Mrs. Penbury?

Made for This Ralph needs a little reassurance about his impending fatherhood. You're more than happy to give it.

Keeping Us Awake You and Ralph receive a pair of tickets to the Nutcracker Ballet as a Christmas gift, an event neither of you really wants to attend... how ever will you stay awake through such a spectacle?

The Most Amazing Wife in the World Ralph is having a rough day, but his amazing wife knows exactly how to turn things around.

A Valentine's Day Surprise It's not really Valentine's Day without a dance with your one and only, is it? (Happy 1st Anniversary to Worth It!)

Our Sweet Baby Mary First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the Penburys with a... well, you know the rest. (Bonus: There's Something About Mary)

Blurbs Based on Emojis

🥶 - Snow Day 🍆 - Trying New Things 🍫 - One of Everything 💋 - Marking Your Territory

Post-Series Stuff

Thank You for Reading Goodbye Forever? That One Announcement Everyone Ignores

Not Worth It (Other Stuff)

Ralph Deserves a Present Ralph goes snooping and gets an early Christmas present. (Christmas Fluff, but make it suggestive)

Ralphtanic A multi-chapter Worth It AU set on the Titanic!

Home Alone Together Ralph made his family disappear! (A long one-shot set in Penbury Manor at Christmastime, inspired by Home Alone.)

#writings of despair #masterlist #ralph penbury #ralph timewasters #ralph is worth it

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eddieredmayneargentinablog · 3 months ago

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New: "Eddie Redmayne in COSMO interview: "I was never a dreamer".

Cosmopolitan Deutschland, October 8th , 2024, November Issue.

📸 Photo by Dana Scruggs/The NewYorkTimes/Redux/laif

[Translated with Google Translate]

Cosmo is very close to the man. Every month we meet a cool guy for an interview. This time: the British actor who has recently started defending himself with his mobile phone.

Eddie Redmayne is sitting in a plain office on the outskirts of Budapest, a little sun is shining through the window. One floor down is the film studio where he has just finished filming. Known for his versatile roles, such as as a trans woman in "The Danish Girl" or as physicist Stephen Hawking in "The Theory of Everything" (which won him an Oscar!), something new is coming up again. The nighttime car ride scene for his series "The Day of the Jackal" (available to stream from November) is in the can at the time of our meeting, and he has to go back to the set soon. In between, the Brit has time for a decaffeinated coffee and a chat. Considering that we are meeting him in the middle of the working day, he is surprisingly relaxed and in a chatty mood. And there is no need to worry about the large plaster on his right hand: it is part of the costume, just like his dark wool sweater and gold wedding ring...

Interview: Patrick Heidmann in the current November issue of Cosmopolitan (11/24).

Eddie Redmayne in the COSMO interview:

In your new series "The Day of the Jackal" you play a contract killer who is hunted all over Europe. We don't know you like that yet...

I wanted to do something different because I felt like I had spent my entire career up to that point in tweed suits and other historical costumes. It was time for me to arrive in the 20th century. Also, the first film version of "The Jackal" from 1973 is my father's absolute favorite film, we used to watch it together.

What are the strangest things you have learned from your new life as an action hero?

Apparently you should always have a cell phone in your hand that you can use as a weapon if necessary, and a few coins in your pocket that you can throw in someone's face to distract them. A neon yellow safety vest is apparently the best camouflage because people hardly notice you despite the bright color. And what's particularly funny is that all action heroes carry tampons with them. Because if you do get shot, you can use them to stop the bleeding...

Hopefully nothing you need in your everyday life.

But I could tail someone now! I also learned how to use shop windows, car mirrors or reflections on cell phone screens to follow and shake off others. I even had to practice it properly. In the middle of the hustle and bustle of Covent Garden in London, my coach sent me a photo of a person I had to find and tail. Until he then sent me a second photo of someone who was on my tail and who I had to get rid of.

Maybe a good skill to get rid of the paparazzi. Your kids often visit you on set. Do they understand how famous their dad is and what his job is?

Partly. But sometimes it is very confusing for them. They visited me once in Budapest when I was dressed as an old man chain-smoking. The children recognized my voice, but didn't understand that I was actually in the costume and under the make-up prosthetics. I should have thought about how disturbing that must be for them. In the end they just watched the make-up artist remove everything and reveal me underneath. That helped to calm them down.

Speaking of changes, you were already keen to experiment with your look as a teenager, right?

For my very first series, when I was 14, I really wanted to dye my hair peroxide blonde because that's what all my friends were doing at the time. But I'm colorblind - and I sprayed so much of the stuff into my hair that it turned orange. I still remember that in this half-hour TV show, my hair changed color every few minutes because every day of filming I tried in vain to save something from my hair.

Would you have imagined back then that you would have such a career today?

Not necessarily because I never had any ambition for that particular goal, I was never a dreamer. I want to do every job I take on as well as I possibly can - I always work incredibly hard to achieve that. It's all the nicer that it's paid off.

...

#eddie redmayne #eddieredmayne #redmayne #cosmopolitan #the day of the jackal #interview magazine

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mistydeyes · 1 year ago

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OMG THERES 1K OF YOU!! I cannot believe it! Thank you all so much for all the love and support these last few months :) Literally tearing up at how many people love my works. It all started with a silly little pharmacist fic and look at where we are now!

To celebrate, I will be opening up my inbox for some prompts! For the next week, feel free to send me a character, a prompt below, and any other details (ex. female, male, or g/n character) :)

aesthetic prompts 💌 - CLOSED NOW! thank you for all the submissions :)

soft and cute - all fluff!

vase of flowers - they return home to your door with a small bouquet of flowers with rudy

loveseat - shopping for furniture for your shared home

linen tablecloths - hosting a dinner party (one that is pinterest worthy)

orange juice - sick days call for the best care

vintage maps - a spontaneous trip with an event filled itinerary

cherry lip balm - what was your first kiss like? with graves

paper rings - “put this on” “why did you make a ring out of the straw wrapper?”

ramekins of soup - you both are not experienced chefs but you try a new recipe in the kitchen

tuberose- looking at old photo albums and reminiscing on old memories

tote bags - “hey can you hold this for me?” “why do you have so many things?” “it’s not my fault these pockets don’t hold anything”

sugar cubes - they surprise you with your favorite dessert/sweet treat with price

music - “i made you a playlist!”

pearls - a fancy dinner out with expensive clothes and dining

folded sheets - "hi, i'm your neighbor across the hall :)"

gold - a small gifted ring as a token of your love with price

unlit cigarette - meeting in the most unexpected of places

hot chocolate - a warm snowed in cabin with nowhere to go

house plant - “for your new apartment!” “you know i’m not here enough to water that”

pastel bonnets and rattles - “we are NOT naming our child that”

perfume - perfume bottles decorate your bureau and you decide to let them choose your scent for the day with gaz

friendship bracelets - friends don't look at friends that way, is there something between us? with ghost

shower of tears - angst

crystal glasses - a fight ends with shattered wine glasses and someone is left to pick up the pieces with gaz

running mascara - "i can't believe you would say that to me" with the 141

hyacinth - they decide to interrupt the wedding just as you're about to say your vows with ghost

cardigans - "please don't go, please don't leave me" with ghost

sea salt - you can't do this anymore and just need to get away from them

stars - "do you think in another universe things would have worked out for us?"

cubic zirconia - you both come to the realization that your relationship is beyond repair

cold sheets - "can you hold me just one more time?" with soap and gaz

hydrangeas - a sudden death leaves one of you without the other for the rest of time

cocktails - "you need to stop drinking too much" "what do you know?"

graveyard - "please i don't want to die" with price

enlisted - military au

empty cartridges - "I want you to run, I'll cover you!"

uniforms - they sure clean up well as you look at them in their dress uniform with price

cigarette smoke - you share a cigarette (and exchange indirect kisses) while on patrol with ghost

confidential files - you're the newest addition to the team and you recognize a familiar face

jacket - you forgot to pack you winter gear and they're helping you avoid the cold

angel - this time you're their knight in shining armor as you save them with soap | with price

manila folders - "I'm being transferred to another unit"

bandages - you are the only one with the med kit and are tasked with patching them up

barbells - "you're doing it wrong, let me show you"

MREs - "can we switch? this food is absolute shit"

hit the showers (18+) - a prank ends with you getting your clothes and towel stolen with soap

wigs - you get sent undercover with them

hot and seductive - smut (18+)

lace (18+) - “wait for me in the bedroom, i have a surprise”with soap

stained lipstick (18+) - rough kisses in the back of an uber with gaz | with ghost

stolen glaces (18+) - "are you going to kiss me or not?"

tanning lotion (18+) - you just wanted help with an even lotion application but now their touch is venturing elsewhere

black and white photos (18+) - you take a few photos so they can remember you (and your body) while on deployment with price: part i and part ii

fruit juice (18+) - "let's test out that theory about drinking pineapple juice"

morning sun (18+) - you have nowhere to go and decide to spend it in bed ;) with ghost | with gaz | with price

silk (18+) - “you look absolutely gorgeous tonight”

#madebyizzie #cod mwii #mw2 imagine #task force 141 #mw2 #kyle gaz garrick #simon ghost riley #john price #johnny soap mactavish #kyle garrick x reader #simon riley x reader #john price x reader #johnny soap mctavish x reader #call of duty #mw2 headcanons #konig mw2 #alejandro vargas #rodolfo parra

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hevexns-realm · 3 months ago

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I imagine Nazo and Seelkadoom absolutely spoiling Iris with gifts, cuddles and kisses on her birthday 👀👀

You better believe it! 🖤💙🩵💜

Iris usually didn’t celebrate her birthday often when she first came up to the over-world. It was usually just a night where she dressed up a little fancier, and drank for free with a little bit of extra charm towards the guys. Once she started getting expensive gifts on her birthday from some of her regulars, she always made sure she was working on her birthday. This way she could get a lot of expensive gifts and free drinks (not that she doesn’t get free drinks thanks to her regulars.)

This all changed when she met Amy and rouge, and later nazo and seelkadoom, and they found out the reason why she works on her birthdays.

The plan was:

Every year, if Iris decides to work on her birthday. Nazo rents her room out the whole night, and all her friends go and celebrate with her and bring gifts. Whether they’re heartfelt treats made by vanilla, homemade gifts from Amy, or expensive or lavish gifts from Nazo and rouge. This is actually how Iris got the lavish robes! (yk the ones, the ones on Pinterest!) she was gifted a pink one from rouge, and a red wine version from Nazo. Although with rouge’s gift, she got her a bunch of Victoriana’s secrets stuff. Lingerie, their iconic rhinestone set, a bunch of their perfumes, even their iconic bathrobes and their runway shine edition body care set! (Mobius’ version of Victoria’s Secret-)

And for the whole night they celebrated as seelka provided lots of drinks! Although seelka does get her some of her favorite flowers as his gift. After all, he’s aware that she gets flowers. However, he never sees people getting her favorite flowers. So that’s one way he shows his appreciation for her back then.

Nowadays, Iris has two events that happen. A girls day in the daytime, and a sweet night with her partners at night.

During the morning, they spend most of it all cuddled up together and giving each other affections and lovings. Then Iris gets ready for her girls day out with Amy and rouge.

They all go do some shopping and having some fun, while Nazo and seelkadoom really just tag along to help them out with their bags or anything they need help with! (Usually by the end of the day, Iris is usually being carried by one of the two!)

Then at night, they take her to her favorite restaurant of choice and they let her open up their gifts! Or they just take her home and get ready for bed. It all depends on how she feels, but she’ll always get her favorite flowers from seelkadoom, and a pretty necklace, ring, or earrings from Nazo. Needless to say, she’s spoiled rotten by these two-

Although, this year they took it a small step forward. Iris has been gifted some new lingerie, a combined gift from the both of them. Two sets, one to lounge around in when they’re at home, and the other was one she something she was eyeing on for a while. So you better believe her surprise when she got home and saw a bouquet of white roses + forget me nots and the adorable lacy white lingerie set. However, what none of them knew was that the lingerie was part of a wedding collection.. but in the end, they all had a laugh about it and they all end up enjoying a nice bath together. Although there was a question that stirred in the three of them that night.

Iris: “what would you two do in my old situation. With the arranged marriage and all that?”

Seelkadoom: “well.. I honestly didn’t think about it much, probably the same thing you did, just do it the night before to be petty.”

Nazo: “I’d honestly stay for the marriage, wait for them to die or hire someone to assassinate them quietly, take their money, and then run off.”

Seelkadoom: “… that honestly sounds more fun-“

Iris: “why in the hell didn’t I think of that?!”

Nazo: “hey, if he wants me to be in an arranged marriage with someone I don’t know, he better pay for it!” -puts his hands up with a smirk-

All in all, she’d always have an amazing birthday, no matter the energy level, as she always has her friends and lovers with her on that day!

@thebreadmeower @hunniegl4zed

(I’m really sorry this and other asks are taking so long!! I’ve been busy with school and keeping my grades up! But I’ll have more time next weekend!! 🤍🖤🤍🖤)

#headcanons #nazo the hedgehog #alternate universe #sonic the hedgehog #nazo unleashed #nazo #seelkadoom the hedgehog #seelkadoom #sonic oc #iris the hedgesiren #i love nazseelk and their poly relationship with iris y’all have no damn clue #🩵🖤💙💜#amy rose #rouge the bat #polyamourous #polyamory #lgbtq

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meowmeow-motherfucker · 1 year ago

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Covenant- Chapter 5

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

Pairing: Loki x OFC

Warnings: pot smoking, fluff, more fluff, flirting, pining, Asgardian pearl-clutching, more wedding prep and princess lessons, mentions of archaic wedding traditions

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

Back at it again after a break. Thanks as always for coming along on the journey!

Two weeks until the wedding

“Good morning, dear!” Frigga chirped as Claire stepped into the sitting room. It was early morning, the suns rays already casting golden beams on the walls. Outside on the balcony, a songbird praised the sun, its harmonious song adding a cheerful melody to the morning.

“Good morning,” Claire replied, remembering too late she was supposed to curtsy. Behind Frigga, Loki snickered as she gave an awkward bob. Claire glared at him over Frigga’s shoulder, and he grinned.

She looked beautiful today. Her official wardrobe had been completed, and today she wore the first of the dresses in her official court color. The lush fabric lapped at her ankles as she walked toward him, the full skirt accentuating the curves of her waist. The high-necked bodice had no sleeves, her bare arms protected from the early morning chill by a matching stole. Loki spied the ever-present silver band around her bicep.

She looked as though she belonged.

~~~~

The marketplace was busy as usual, crowded with throngs of people scurrying about. The crowd parted as they walked, bowing low to the prince and future princess, as well as the queen walking behind them with her attendants.

“This is so surreal,” Claire giggled, wiping a hand over her face. “We just met two weeks ago and here we are, on our way to pick out wedding rings,” she looked up at him with a shy smile. “If this was happening on Earth, we would have been on hundreds of dates by now.”

“Hundreds?” Loki chuckled. “Exactly what does one do on hundreds of dates?”

“All kinds of things,” Claire replied wistfully. “Skip school to go to the mall, arcade dates, spend the day at Santa Monica pier…”

“What is the mall?”

“Remember what I told you about a lot of stores being separate?”

“Of course.”

“A mall is the opposite. It’s a big building with lots of stores inside.”

“This all seems rather...muddled. Some are together, some are separate...what is the purpose of that?” Loki asked. “What is an arcade date? And this Santa Monica pier?”

“The pier is like the ones here, but instead of docking for boats, the Santa Monica pier has shops and restaurants. There’s a really nice Ferris wheel too. I had my first kiss at the top of that Ferris wheel.” Claire smiled fondly at the memory.

“Sounds dreadfully romantic.”

“It was,” Claire sighed. “It was sunset, the ocean was all sparkly...it seems like a lifetime ago.” she chuckled.

“And which of those was your favorite?” Loki asked.

“Honestly, all of them were nice, but the ones I liked the most were the simple ones. My boyfriend and I used to go to the drive-in on the weekends and hold hands. We didn’t have to talk, it was just nice to be together, you know?”

“I can’t say that I do,” Loki replied somberly, dropping his gaze from her lips. The berry shade she’d chosen to wear today was enchanting. “What was his name?”

“Mateo,” Claire said fondly. “God, I haven’t seen him in...twenty years?” she laughed.

“Not much time for romance while working for S.H.I.E.L.D., I imagine.”

“God, no!” Claire laughed loudly. “Not that I was particularly interested, but everyone gets lonely and a girl has needs.”

“Is that so?” Loki asked with interest. Claire’s eyes darted down to his mouth when he licked his lips. “Do tell.”

“A magician never reveals her secrets,” Claire turned away, a secretive smile tugging at her lips. “You’ll find out eventually anyway.”

“I think you’ll find I can be rather persuasive.” a flash of green pulled her attention back to him, drawing her eyes to the flower he’d manifested in his outstretched hand.

“Isn’t it better to learn from a source that hasn’t been persuaded?” Claire asked as they reached the jeweler’s storefront. Loki graced her with a smile, the flower disappearing.

“Indeed,” he opened the door and gestured for her to step inside. “My lady.”

Inside the store, they were guided to plush chairs and the owner presented tray after tray of rings for them to choose from. Loki and Claire sat side by side, Frigga and her attendants sat behind them offering commentary on the selection.

Many of the rings Claire was shown were too feminine for her taste, or were gaudy or just plain ugly. All of the offerings were gold with green stones, of course, to match Loki’s colors.

Claire felt annoyed that her ring had to be yet another reminder she was signing her life away, but pushed it aside and focused on finding a ring she liked. There were several that were beautiful of course, made with actual gold and sizable emeralds in impressive settings, but Claire had never been one for flashy jewelry. She would wear this ring for the rest of her life- it had to be right.

The owner brought out another tray, this time with less flashy offerings.

“Perhaps Her Majesty will like these better?” the owner said as he placed te tray in front of her. Claire felt an odd twinge as she realized he was talking about her- she still wasn’t used to people treating her special and that title-

“These are different,” Claire replied as she gazed at the tray. The stones were still green, but they were not emeralds. Opaque white stones with delicate tendrils of deep green sat in luxurious settings of gold, some clustered with smaller round diamonds, some with delicate looking details that seemed so fragile they would unravel if you touched them. “Is this moss agate?”

“Excellent eye, madam,” the owner smiled proudly. “My apprentice wished to make some offerings as well- he is not yet skilled enough to work with finer gems, but as nothing has caught your eye yet, I thought…” Claire spied a ring with a large oval cut central stone, flanked by crescent moons and smaller, teardrop shaped ingots of moss agate.

“This is beautiful,” she murmured, lifting it from the tray to inspect it more closely. “What do you think?” she asked Loki.

“Your opinion matters more than mine; you’re the one who will wear it,” Loki replied, but he leaned closer to inspect it nonetheless. “It is lovely.”

“There is another band that my apprentice designed to go with it,” the owner held up a second gold band, this one in a sloping shape to accentuate the first band. The band was decorated along the bottom, with a triquetra in the center and triple moons on each side. The center of the triquetra and the full moons were set with small diamonds, crescent moons solid gold, and tiny emeralds sat within the corner loops of the triquetra. Claire pressed the two bands together on her finger, her heart fluttering at the sight of them. They were absolutely gorgeous. “The knot in the center is not as popular in our culture, but the triquetra represents-”

“Past, present, and future,” Claire smiled at the ring on her hand. Claire had long been a believer that the universe would sends signs if one was simply willing to see them- she felt it was no coincidence that she was presented a wedding ring with the trinity knot on it. Whatever her misgivings about how she got here, this felt like a sign that she was in the right place. “I love it.”

“Is this the one?” Loki asked from beside her. Claire nodded, confident in her choice.

“Yep, this is it.”

“Excellent choice, Your Majesty,” the owner bowed respectfully. He whisked the rings away, Claire’s selection set aside for safekeeping. He returned with a tray of rings for Loki to choose from. Loki was not much for jewelry either, but one of them stood out as a clear match for the ring Claire had chosen.

It was a smooth, thick gold band with a thin seam of moss agate running through the center.

“What do you think?” he asked, offering it to Claire for her appraisal.

“It’s beautiful work,” Claire said, inspecting the ring from all angles. “And it would match mine. It suits you.”

“I like it,” Loki agreed, setting the ring aside on the tray. “This one.”

“Excellent choice, Your Majesty,” the owner said. “We shall have both rings ready in two days’ time.”

“Wonderful,” Frigga said from behind them. “I think it is time for some lunch before our afternoon outing.”

Lunch took place two streets away in an elegant restaurant that made Claire feel out of place. She looked the part, sure, but she still felt like Oliver Twist in a room full of rich people.

“Claire?” she felt the feather-light touch Loki’s hand at her lower back and she looked over to see him looking at her with concern. “Are you alright?”

“Sorry, things just got real,” Claire laughed nervously. “I'm feeling really nervous now.”

“Here,” Loki guided her to a seat, taking the space beside her. “What troubles you?”

“I was just thinking about the-” Claire grimaced, shrinking in on herself. “The wedding night.”

“Oh! I would never force myself on you,” Loki swore, pulling away from her. “You have my word.”

“No, no, that's- that’s not what I'm worried about, I don't feel threatened by you,” Claire said hurriedly, keeping him close with a hand on his arm. “I just remembered that the original plan was for us to-”

“Ah, yes,” Loki ducked his head, a frown marring his handsome features. “The lovely tradition of having witnesses for the consummation is both ancient and disturbing.”

“Yeah,” Claire gave a relieved sigh. “I rejected that part of the treaty real quick.”

“As did I,” Loki replied. “Not that I'm particularly shy, but whenever my mother talked about it I could tell it had bothered her to go through it and I didn’t wish to put you through that.” Their conversation was interrupted as their party was directed to their table. Claire and Loki were seated beside each other, with Frigga on Loki’s other side and the crones opposite them. As they were perusing the menus, Claire leaned over to keep talking to Loki.

“You talked to your mom about sex?”

“I was an inquisitive child!” Loki said defensively. “I also had a very negative outlook on marriage and thought it stupid. Still do,” He admitted, shaking his head. “But she was determined that Thor and I both learned the traditions and all of it, as someday we would have to go through it.” They were interrupted again as a server arrived to take their orders.

“Well that's cool. And for what it's worth, I also think marriage is stupid.”

“Yet here you are.”

“Here I am,” Claire replied. “Though I will admit I am feeling more...optimistic about it.” she smiled warmly as their food arrived, and their private conversation ended as they were roped into conversing with the crones.

~~~~

Frigga’s afternoon outing was a play- a retelling of an ancient tale of love and war. Claire read over the playbill with a mix of excitement and dread. She enjoyed theater, she supposed, in a general sense (S.H.I.E.L.D didn’t give much time off for attending plays) but she didn’t know what to expect from this. She’d come to learn that the Asgardians LOVED telling exaggerated tales of war and men occasionally would write poems for women they wanted to court. Claire was just thankful Loki hadn’t accosted her with a shitty poem- it would have been too difficult not to laugh in his face.

She liked his face, but romantic gestures were pushing it- devastating jawline or not. The thought of being surrounded by the vulturous young ladies of the court, all of them gawking at her while Loki botched iambic pentameter made her want to vomit.

She was grateful that she’d been seated next to Loki for the play though. It made it easier to have private conversation with him.

“Hey, thanks for refusing the consummation thing. It would have been difficult to pretend that I'm innocent.” she whispered.

“Are you not a good actress?” Loki whispered back with a hint of disappointment. “What a pity. I'd thought all of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s agents were professionals.”

“Oh no, I'm very good,” Claire grinned wolfishly. “Just not that good.”

“If there is anything I can do to perhaps...make things easier for you-” Claire snorted, the sound decidedly unladylike.

“I’m not worried,” she smacked his arm with the back of her hand. “I just didn’t want an audience.”

“I see,” Loki paused before leaning closer. “Circumstances being what they are...we will still need to put on a bit of a show.” the low timbre of his voice gave her goosebumps, and Claire shifted in her seat.

“I know, your mom told me,” she murmured back. “I think it's dumb, but apparently putting a couple drops of blood on bed sheets is easier than accepting I'm a sexually liberated woman.”

“Liberated?” Loki parroted.

“Oh yes,” Claire grinned. “I do what I want, when I want. Or I guess more accurately, who.”

“A trait I can admire,” Loki replied with a smirk. “And does my oafish brother make the list? Were you disappointed-”

“Oh no, Thor is nowhere near the list,” Claire pulled a face, shaking her head in disgust. “You are, though.” she winked at him, meeting his gaze boldly as the lights dimmed. Loki's mind went blank, his brows furrowed as her words sank in. It was an unusual thing, to be desired so openly. He was not a stranger to being desired- as a prince, second or not, he was a desirable bedfellow- but more often that not, it was his status and what it afforded them that people were after, not him. His past trysts had been secluded in shadow, for his admirers never shared their affection once the sun rose. All the same, he’d accepted their suits; after all, he was a hedonist by nature and not one to turn away from pleasure.

There was something novel about this odd woman. The labyrinthine societal rules kept most wrapped in layers of deceit like fabric, suffocating any truth before it could fall from their lips. But not Claire- she had not yet been indoctrinated by the ridiculous rules of court, and not once had he sensed that she was lying to him. It was refreshing indeed, and Loki appreciated it more than he could say.

Loki clasped Claire’s hand in his own in the darkness, unwilling to give voice to such vulnerability. Claire settled her other hand on his arm, leaning into his side as the lush red curtain was raised. Rapt silence fell over the room as the play began, and Loki whiled away the first act tracing his thumb over the empty spot on her hand that her ring would soon occupy.

13 days until the wedding

Loki was lost in thought as he walked around the palace. It was now less than two weeks before he would wed, and although his future wife was an intriguing puzzle he longed to unravel, Loki still felt less than giddy about the event. Servants bowed to him respectfully but gave him a wide berth, afraid and unwilling to anger the dark prince. Loki was used to such treatment even before his incursions on Midgard, but he supposed his dark mood did nothing to dampen their fear of him.

He found himself in his mother’s garden, the tall flowers swaying soothingly in the breeze. Some of the flowers in the center of the garden were moving oddly, wiggling rapidly and disturbing the surrounding flowers. Loki ducked under the thick branches to investigate, picking his way to the center of the flower bed.

He found his future wife sitting on the ground, legs crossed in front of her. She had an array of things spread in the dirt in front of her, and she was smoking.

“Uh…hi,” Claire said, exhaling pungent smoke into the space between them. “What’s up?” Confused by her question, Loki looked overhead only to see the canopy of flowers with specks of bright blue sky peeking through.

“The sky?” he wagered. Claire laughed as he sat down in the dirt opposite her. Her shawl lay on the ground beside her, a soft blue that heralded her as a favorite of his mother. The silver band on her bicep matched the soft gray of her dress, sparkling sporadically as the flowers above them danced in the breeze and the sunlight shone through in minuscule rays.

His future wife was rather beautiful, Loki was man enough to admit it. Today her lips were tinted a dark grey which complimented the soft hue of her gown. She was slender in frame but well built from years of working for S.H.I.E.L.D.. In the short time he had known her, Loki had learned she was fierce with her words and her wit. She was shorter than him, but most everyone was. Her unbound hair hung down to her breasts, the thick chocolatey tresses practically concealing them from his gaze. Her eyes intrigued him- she was so young compared to him, but her eyes had seen much. The rich dark blue shade of them made Loki think of the sea, and sapphires. And she was…she was talking to him.

“What?” he asked stupidly. Like a fool, he’d been caught up in being able to actually look at her. They had spent time together of course, but always, always under supervision.

“I asked if you wanted a hit,” Claire repeated, holding out her cigarette to him. It wasn’t like any he’d seen before- the smell wasn’t as offensive and it was clearly hand-rolled in white paper. “It’s good stuff.”

“Is it tobacco?” Loki asked.

“No way, that stuff is nasty,” Claire replied, her nose scrunching adorably in disgust. “It’s pot.”

“I don’t know what that is,” Loki replied, accepting the cigarette and giving it a sniff. “It’s not as offensive as tobacco.”

“You guys don’t have weed here?” Claire asked in astonishment. “Damn, I’ll have to add it to my list of stuff I want brought here.”

“What is it?” Loki asked.

“It’s a plant. There’s different strains and they have different effects, but this is called Granddaddy Purple. It’s to help you relax.”

“Why are you smoking to relax?” Loki asked, even as he smoked from the cigarette. The smoke had a pleasant burn and a pungent aroma.

“Gee, I don’t know, probably because I signed my entire life away,” Claire replied sarcastically, giving him a judgmental stare when Loki choked on the smoke and started to cough. “Dude, don’t- hold it in for a second- wow, you suck at this.” she snickered.

“Believe it or not, I’ve never done this before.” Loki passed the cigarette back to her.

“You’ve never done drugs? Like, at all?” Claire balked, holding the smoke in her lung before exhaling toward the flower canopy. “But you’re- you’re old! You probably witnessed the big bang!”

“That was before my time, actually,” Loki laughed, his mind starting to feel a little hazy. “You’re upset.”

“You bet your ass I’m upset,” Claire’s nose wrinkled as she exhaled sharply. “No offense. It’s not you, it’s them. The crones.”

“I take it lessons are not going well?”

“I mean…” Claire shrugged. “They’re okay, if you like being corrected constantly. Everything I do is wrong, apparently, and I’m hopeless.”

“I’m sure you’re doing fine.”

“I’m really not. Ask your mom,” Claire sighed. “Honestly I wouldn’t be surprised if they sent me home, the way they were talking.”

“You think they would?”

“I don’t know. And I don’t know whether I want them to send me back or keep me here. There’s a lot of variables.”

“I understand. I have...reservations as well.”

“Are we stupid for doing this?” Claire asked, exhaling slowly into the air between them.

“What?”

“I don’t know, sometimes quitting is the best solution to a problem.”

“You wish to leave?”

“Yeah, kind of,” Claire admitted. “I left everything behind to come here. What exactly am I getting out of this?” Loki began to count on his fingers.

“A considerably longer lifespan, immeasurable wealth and respect-”

“More like loneliness and a gilded cage.” Claire muttered.

“-Stability,” Loki countered. “Can I try that again?”

“Please,” Claire scoffed as she passed him the roach. “I’ve never been stable a day in my life.”

“An auspicious match, then,” Loki chuckled, taking a deep hit from the blunt. “Neither have I. At least, not that I remember,” He took another hit before passing it back to her, relaxing back into the grass beneath them. Loki took stock of himself, and he was starting to feel…something. “It takes a moment, doesn’t it?”

“Isn’t it nice?” Claire gave a dreamy sigh as she laid down beside him. “If you want it to hit faster, hold it in your lungs for a few seconds before you exhale,” she coached, giggling when Loki started coughing again. “Coughing also helps.”

“Does it?” Loki managed weakly.

“Oh yeah, it does,” Claire giggled. “It makes me feel all tingly and disconnected.”

“Doesn’t it make you feel…vulnerable?” He glanced over at her.

“I guess so, yeah,” Claire shrugged. “But it’s nice to escape reality for a while.”

“Do all Midgardians smoke this? What did you call it, grandfather purple?”

“Granddaddy,” Claire corrected with a laugh. “And no, not all of us Earthlings smoke the ganja. But there are lots of uses for it.”

“Like what?” Loki asked.

“Like I said, there are different strains for different things. You can smoke it, cook or bake with it, use the fibers to make clothing…this stuff though- it’s mostly for relaxing, but it also makes colors richer, food taste better…sex feel better,” Claire sighed wistfully. Loki looked surprised by her answer. “What?”

“I have never heard a woman speak so freely about such things.” Loki seemed genuinely scandalized by the idea.

“Dude, you’re cute, but you need to loosen up,” Claire cackled, propping herself up on her elbow to look at him. “It’s the 21st century, lots of women have recreational sex.”

“I am not cute,” Loki scoffed, his face scrunching with disgust as he said the word. “I am a god.”

“Yeah, y’are,” Claire said flirtatiously, short bursts of smoke escaping her nose as she giggled. “Maybe cute isn’t the most accurate word, but I stand by it.” Loki thought she looked enchanting, mirthful and sun-dappled beneath the flowers, and the now-familiar churning in his belly returned with a vengeance.

“I will never mistreat you,” he pledged, his eyes never leaving the golden shimmer the sun revealed in her lip polish. “You have my word.”

“I know.” Claire grinned at him.

“Do you?” Loki laughed.

“I fascinate you,” Claire shrugged, offering him another hit from the roach. Loki took it, enjoying the burn and the fuzzy feeling behind his eyes. “That and you think I’m pretty.” Loki snorted, a puff of smoke escaping his nostrils as he glanced over at her with pinkened cheeks.

“A bit of both.” he admitted.

“I knew it.” Claire said smugly.

“You are so self-assured!” Loki crowed indignantly.

“Well I was right, wasn’t I?”

“You were,” Loki agreed softly, turning on his side to stare at her fondly before seeming to come back to himself. “I should go,” he said suddenly, getting up from the grass. He made a show of brushing dirt off of his leathers to hide the flush taking over his face. He’d become overwhelmed with desire to kiss her, and now he was running like a coward. “We’re not supposed to be alone.”

“Right,” Claire rolled her eyes, inhaling from the roach again. “Propriety and whatnot.”

“Oh, she does have sense,” Loki replied sarcastically. “I’d like to leave our reputations intact, if at all possible.”

“Why do you care so much what people think of you?” Claire asked. “We’re getting married in less than two weeks regardless, so who gives a shit?”

“I do,” Loki dusted off his pants. Claire sat back and watched the show, enjoying the way the fabric clung to the muscle of his thighs. “Unless of course you decide to leave.”

“We’re still good, right?” Claire asked, looking him up and down. “Or did I cross a boundary?”

“We are fine,” Loki said shortly. “What was the percentage you gave us the other day?” Claire grinned, exhaling smoke through her nose.

“I predicted a respectable seventy percent, but it’s up to eighty-five now that we’ve smoked pot together.”

“I barely smoked any,” Loki argued weakly. Claire laughed loudly. “Perhaps another time I can try more.”

“Alright, it’s a date,” Claire smiled. “I’ll put in an intergalactic order for more kinds,” she snickered at her joke, which Loki didn’t understand. “Hey, don’t tell anyone where I am, okay? I honestly can’t handle any more princess lessons today.”

“It will be our secret.”

“Awesome,” Claire sighed, relaxing back into the soothing embrace of the grass. “I like secrets.”

~~~~

When Claire eventually emerged from the garden, she had just enough time to meet Frigga for tea. Claire liked the queen, but she was nervous about meeting with her, especially having cut out of princess lessons early that day. Believe it or not, Claire did not find needlepoint compelling. Her knowledge with ropes and knot-tying didn’t exactly translate, and Claire would rather stab her tutor with the needle than use it to make delicate flowers with thread.

Frigga looked radiant as always when Claire arrived. Claire had a passing hope that she didn’t smell like pot as she sat down to tea with her future mother-in-law.

“Hello dear,” Frigga greeted her with a warm smile. She got to her feet and gathered Claire in a warm hug, which never failed to prick at Claire’s heartstrings. “You look well. How are your lessons going?”

“They’re okay.” Claire offered with a shrug. Frigga picked up the tea pot to begin pouring tea.

“Are you certain?” Frigga asked knowingly as she poured Claire a cup of steaming hot tea. “Your tutors are of a different mind, especially your needlepoint instructor.” Shit.

“I mean...I’m definitely struggling. For all my skills, I can’t seem to do anything right here. It’s frustrating.”

“Every new venture is a challenge,” Frigga replied smoothly as she poured her own tea. “I too felt out of sorts when I first came to Asgard.”

“Really?”

“Oh yes,” Frigga smiled fondly at the memory. “Odin and I were betrothed from a very young age, and although I spent most of my youth preparing to take my place as his wife, preparing and doing were very different things. It is understandable that you should feel upset or overwhelmed.”

“I definitely feel overwhelmed,” Claire agreed. “There’s so much for me to learn, and just when I think I have a grip on things, something else gets added. And it’s also very frustrating that ever since I came here, I’m basically viewed for nothing more than my reproductive potential. I have so much more to offer than that and I feel like no one cares.”

“Childbearing is an integral part of our society, Lady Claire. All women have talents, this is true, but through our children our people survive. The children you have with Loki will ensure the alliance between Asgard and Midgard will endure for centuries to come.”

“But isn’t that degrading?” Claire asked sharply. “Not every woman wants to have children. Shouldn’t they be allowed to choose for themselves?”

“Perhaps, but that is not the issue at hand. You do not have the luxury of choosing, dear. You made your choice when you agreed to come here.” Frigga said gently.

“Well maybe I’m having second thoughts,” Claire set her cup down with more force than she meant to, the loud clink drawing a pointed look from Frigga. “This is not what I had in mind.”

“Is leaving truly what you wish?” Frigga asked. She could tell the young woman was discouraged, but much was at risk if she backed out of the treaty.

“I don’t know,” Claire spun her empty tea cup in its saucer instead of meeting the queen’s eyes. “I’m not sure I’m the right person for this. It seems like no matter what I do, it’s not enough.”

“I appreciate this is a tremendous undertaking for you,” Frigga replied gently. “What young women learn over the course of years, you must learn in weeks. I can also appreciate that my son is not the easiest young man to get along with.”

“Right,” Claire grimaced. Frigga knew about their spats; practically everyone in the palace did. “Maybe it would be best if I left.”

“Do you know what happens if you do?”

“I know this is to form an alliance, but Asgard and Earth aren’t on bad terms. There’s no threat of war.”

“There is not, that is correct. There is however, significant threat to Loki. Should this alliance fail, he will be returned to his cell in the dungeons.”

“I thought that was only if it failed after we married.”

“I’m afraid not, dear. I have tried to change the king’s mind, but he will not be swayed.” Frigga pursed her lips behind her tea cup.

“But-” That’s not fair. Why does Odin have it out for Loki? “This isn’t right.”

“No, it is not. One of the hardest aspects of being royalty is that we often must swallow knives to make peace.”

“So if I leave- even if Odin himself says I won’t cut it- Loki goes back?”

“Indeed,” Frigga replied, a sour look upon her face. “I’m sure I don’t need to impress upon you how vital it is that you and this marriage succeed,” she grabbed Claire’s hands in her own. “I am sorry to burden you with such responsibility. But I fear you are the only means I have to save my son,” Claire swallowed nervously. “I would beg you to reconsider. Please.”

Twelve days until the wedding

Claire struggled to sleep the night before, still trying to figure out why Odin was so dead-set on Loki going back to jail. Hadn’t he served enough time?

She wasn’t sure if five years equaled eighty deaths, but it definitely was unfair to release someone from prison only to throw them back in. Somehow Claire doubted whether Asgardian law had the concept of double jeopardy on the books.

After tossing and turning for hours, Claire had examined and re-examined the problem from every possible angle. She’d finally come to a solution- the only solution that didn’t leave her in an ethical quagmire and Loki in a jail cell.

She was going to stay.

Somehow, she would successfully finish her princess lessons and shove her success in her tutor’s faces. She would fulfill the obligations of the treaty and become princess royal of Asgard, and Loki’s wife.

Her mind made up, she’d finally fallen asleep for what seemed like five minutes before Ragna was waking her up for the day. She struggled to stay awake as her hair was brushed to perfection, the promise of seeing Loki at breakfast forcing her from her chambers. He was probably worried sick she was going to leave him to his wretched fate. She had to talk to him.

Except he wasn’t at breakfast. Ignoring the nerves upsetting her stomach, Claire forced herself to eat.

After breakfast, Claire set off with Ragna and a guard under the guise of walking off her meal. Loki was somewhere in the palace, and she was determined to find him.

~~~~

The hallways seemed to grow busier on the lower levels they explored, and Claire followed the crowds. People curtsied and bowed to her as she walked the halls, making her feel like a celebrity. She gave polite nods to everyone they passed, keeping her eyes peeled for any sign of Loki.

A flash of green caught her attention and Claire perked up, scanning the clusters of people for Loki.

There!

Loki stood with his back to her, in an animated discussion with two men she didn’t recognize. Without a thought, she dashed toward Loki, leaving Ragna and Gunnar in the dust. People parted like the red sea as she ran, gawking with dismay at the woman who dared to run.

Loki was in a discussion with two fellow council members when Claire raced up to their group.

“Hey,” she said breathlessly as she pulled him aside. “I’m sorry to interrupt. I need to talk to you.” The council members bowed to her respectfully as her hands clasped around his arm. She seemed genuinely upset, her chest rising and falling rapidly as she fought to catch her breath.

“Are you alright, my lady? Where is your escort?”

“Oh, um...somewhere back there,” Claire gestured over her shoulder. “I promise I’m fine.” Loki’s companions shared a concerned look at her boldness.

“A moment, please,” Loki said to the men he was with before steering her a few feet down the opulent hall. “What troubles you?”

“I wanted to clarify what I said yesterday.”

“My lady, we didn’t see each other yesterday.” Loki squinted at her in warning.

“Right, of course,” Claire winked. “But what I said, about feeling indecisive.”

“I see,” Loki nodded. “Then you have decided-”

“I’m staying.” Claire spoke over him.

“But you-” Loki blanched, clearly confused. “I beg your pardon?”

“I was freaking out,” Claire sighed. “I wasn’t kidding when I said lessons were going badly. It’s my fault...I- you know what, no. I’m not taking blame for this-”

“For what?”

“Everything about this just…” Loki looked concerned as she clenched her fists and growled angrily. “Goes completely against my feminist beliefs. Having to sit there and listen to those old bats go on and on and on about how my entire life is supposed to be about you! I’m supposed to let you make all the decisions about everything! Where we live, how many babies we have, you name it! I’m not supposed to have opinions!?” she threw her hands up questioningly between them.

“I suspect that would be like asking you not to breathe.” Loki joked, regret filling him instantly when Claire’s stormy eyes settled on him.

“If you think for one second that I’m going to be trailing after you like a lost puppy-” she jabbed a finger at his chest plate angrily, and Loki’s eyebrows nearly reached his hairline. “You’ve got another thing coming, pal. Either I walk next to you like an equal or not at all.”

“I would not want you to,” Loki replied slowly. “I apologize for your difficulty. I did not realize-”

“How sexist your culture is?”

“Madam-”

“What?!” Claire huffed. “Are you gonna tell me I’m wrong? Is that too strong of an opinion for you; because it sure is for everyone else.”

“I do not wish for any of those things,” Loki replied, a pinched look on his face. He sighed, glancing with concern at the people milling around them. Many of them gave the engaged couple odd looks at they passed. “It is difficult to discuss this openly here.” Neither of them could say what they really wanted to say with so many others around them, but Claire did not seem to care at all.

“Why? I don’t give a shit. You wanna know the truth?” she asked. “When you totally didn’t see me yesterday, I was fully prepared to cut and run. I had my things packed and ready to go. I was on board with stepping up for my people- I still am- but I draw the line at making myself small so other people can be comfortable.”

“I see.”

“But...then your mom told me what would happen to you if this doesn’t work out, and I don’t think you deserve that,” She placed a hand on his vambrace as she spoke, and Loki stared down at her for a beat, making her think she’d overstepped. He swallowed as she stepped slightly closer and if Claire didn’t know any better, she’d think he was nervous. “I’m still not vibing with all of this, but I think there’s more to you than what I’ve seen. I am trying to be as open about this as possible. I just need to know it’s not for nothing.”

“Thank you,” he said finally. “I still think this endeavor foolish, but it is far preferable to the alternative. That said, you are not alone in your concerns, and I would like to discuss them with you at length,” Loki grimaced as his companions summoned him. Claire offered a faint smile when his expression soured. “I’m afraid I must go. I shall see you soon, Lady Claire. I look forward to discussing this further. Do enjoy the rest of your day, my lady.” He drew her hand into his and pressed a kiss to her knuckles, keeping his intense eyes focused on hers and setting her heart to racing. His lips were soft and warm, his touch gentle. Something in Claire quivered and turned to a puddle as she fought back a swoon. How could something so innocent make her stomach clench and turn her knees to jelly?

She thought about it for the rest of the day.

~~~~

Long after a respectable princess-to-be should have been asleep, Claire sat awake in her apartment going over her notes. What little intelligence S.H.I.E.L.D. possessed on the god who had laid siege to New York lay in front of her. Claire had read the dossier back to front and at this point could likely recite it in her sleep. It was her personal notes that she scrutinized now, unable to make them fall in line with the printed narrative. The Loki written on the page was calculating, grandiose, and malevolent. The Loki she was coming to know was none of those things. Well, he was still grandiose, but Claire figured that was part and parcel of being raised as royalty. The man was literally a god, worshipped for thousands of years. Still worshipped, Claire corrected herself as she thought of his rapid fans who’d pledged their undying loyalty to him before the debris in New York had been cleared.

Claire had done research of her own before her arrival in Asgard, doing countless deep dives of obscure forums and social media, and had managed to unearth a small collection of personal accounts which had yet to be verified. One such account came from a subreddit, posted by a woman living in New York at the time of the attack. The woman claimed that Loki had pushed her aside as a large piece of debris had fallen, sparing her from certain death. If it true, perhaps her husband-to-be was not the monster that the people of Earth thought him to be.

Most of what Claire found was unhelpful. Comments ranging from the typical ‘I can fix him’, ‘he’s just misunderstood’ to pure filth about what the poster would do to the man if given half a minute with him. Claire had originally dismissed them all with a roll of her eyes- she might be a monster fucker, but having witnessed the carnage of New York firsthand she wasn’t ready to ride the man’s dick at the time. Now that she was getting to know him and riding on his dick was a fast-approaching reality, Claire wasn’t too mad about it. The circumstances, sure, but not the getting-to-fuck-one-of-the-hottest-men-in-the-galaxy part. The man was FINE.

And he wasn’t like S.H.I.E.L.D. had thought he would be. Bruce had described him as ‘bag full of cats’, but Claire felt she was beginning to see behind the curtain. Sure he was mischievous, and kind of a dick, but he was thoughtful, and gentlemanly, and at least willing to listen to her concerns about the rampant sexism. And so fucking tall.

Focus, Claire. She fought not to melt at the memory of him kissing her knuckles earlier. For all the smut she consumed, a kiss on the hand was what made her all gooey inside? What was she, twelve?

She blamed the forced separation. In the limited time they spent together, they were watched like hawks in the name of propriety. Would things change after they married? Claire quite liked the intense stirrings their interactions caused, and hoped the feeling remained after the wedding. Her eyes dropped to the hand Loki had kissed, her skin tingling as she remembered the feeling of his lips. She wanted another. Fuck it, she may as well admit she wanted him to kiss up her arm like Gomez Addams. She deserved to be loved like Morticia.

Claire sighed wistfully before pulling herself out of her rose-tinted thoughts. She could daydream about Gomez and Morticia later. For now, she needed to focus. Shaking her head, Claire pulled the dossier back in front of her, rifling through the small stack of photos inside. She’d already seen them several times, but this time she caught something she hadn’t seen before.

In many of the photos, the photo was blurry- having been pulled from subpar traffic cameras or someone’s shaky cell phone. However there was one, from his time aboard the helicarrier, where the image was crystal clear. In this photo, it was clear how haggard Loki was. Just like the times before, Claire noted the dark shadows beneath his sunken eyes, the grayish tint to his alabaster skin and how pale and chapped his lips were. In the margins of the glossy photo paper, Claire had made notes: -not sleeping? -drugs? Anything she could think of to explain his appearance. Prior to meeting him, Claire had had no way of knowing, but the biggest clue had been staring her in the face the whole time. Loki’s eyes were blue in the photo.

Weren’t his eyes green? Claire dropped the photo, thinking back to the times she’d seen him in the past few days. The marketplace, the garden, the hallway that morning, dinner...his eyes had been green each time. No blue whatsoever.

What the hell?

Just as she was scribbling a new note in the margins, a knock on her chamber doors startled her. Wasn’t it a bit late for social calls? Ever cautious, Claire closed the dossier and hid it beneath the couch cushion before she went to the door.

A handmaiden stood waiting, bearing a heavy looking tray of dishes and a cloche. The guard watched from his post beside the door, looking bored.

“The meal you requested, madam.” The handmaiden said, giving her a curtsy.

Claire hadn’t requested shit. She didn’t recognize the woman, but she was still pretty new to the palace. Just as she was about to close the door, the handmaiden winked at her. Claire paused, thinking for a moment that the wink looked familiar. The fuck?

“Right. Yes. Sorry, I must be more tired than I realized. Come in.” The guard relaxed, allowing the handmaiden to step inside and closing the door behind her.

“Do you allow anyone into your chambers, or am I special?” Loki asked from behind her, grinning when Claire whirled to face him.

“You sneaky little shit,” she hissed quietly, looking at the door in alarm. “You can’t be here! The paw patrol will be pissed!”

“Paw patrol?” Loki’s face scrunched in confusion. God damn it, he was cute. And in fewer layers than usual. His leather armor had been exchanged for soft looking leisure clothes, but his long limbs were still covered by dark fabric. “I am not familiar with this band of enforcers,” he set the tray upon the table in front of the couch. “May I sit?” he gestured to the couch.

“Never mind,” Claire sighed. “Yes, please.” his loose collar gaped to the side as he sat down, and Claire was granted a teasing glimpse of his collar bone. “Why are you here? Why is Gunnar not barging in to haul you back out?”

“Because princess lessons are going poorly, and you clearly need the extra help,” Loki sighed, brushing his hair back from his face and exposing a strip of skin at his waist. “As to your second question, the room is cloaked in my magic. Your guard will not be able to hear us. I’m not risking imprisonment again so you can learn how to properly curtsy.”

“Hey, fuck you.” Claire spat. It was nice of him to offer his help, but he didn’t have to be condescending about it.

“Not yet, darling,” Loki brushed off her words, clasping his hands together. “Now then, let’s get started.” He dragged the heavy table closer to them with ease, the fabric of his sleeves barely containing the muscles in his arm as they flexed.

“Oh goody.” Claire said flatly as she sat beside him. Loki shot her a dark look as he reached to pull the cloche off the gilded charger beneath it. He set it aside, letting her see what he’d brought. A small assortment of little sandwiches and what looked like miniature fruit tarts sat on the charger, waiting to be consumed. In front of the charger, he’d arranged a proper place setting and Claire was actually a little impressed.

“This is how the table settings are arranged for state dinners,” he explained, naming each utensil as he touched it. His thigh pressed against hers as he spoke, and Claire struggled to focus on his words instead of the steely muscle she could feel. This was the closest they had ever been and her body was intensely focused on that fact. “You start from the outside and work your way in with each course.”

“Yeah, I know,” Claire replied, pushing away her desire to ride his thigh. God, how good would that feel? “I’m a commoner, not an idiot.”

“Well how was I to know?” Loki chuckled. “Better to start with the basics and work our way up,” I’ve got something he could work up. “Focus darling, or we’ll never finish.” Claire snorted, drawing another ireful glare from her husband-to-be. He waved his hand and the dishes disappeared from the tray, replaced with a scroll of parchment.

“Aw, snacks.” Loki rolled his eyes, returning the charger with another wave of his hand.

“I swear you’re just like Thor,” he shook his head, taking one of the sandwiches for himself before handing it to her. “Now pay attention. This will help you remember the rank of anyone you may meet. It’s very important that you know how to address members of the court and in what order.”

An hour later, Claire was able to recite the flow chart back to Loki and had satisfactorily answered all of his questions on how to address the various nobles.

“Maybe I’m not such a shit princess after all,” Claire remarked as she rolled the scroll back up. The charger rested beside her on the couch, the snacks long devoured. “I’m definitely making flash cards.” Loki grinned.

“It helps to have study materials. No doubt the crones expected you to memorize it after hearing it once.”

“Pretty much.”

“Do you have any questions before I take my leave?” Claire’s eyes flicked to his as he looked up at her.

They were green. So why were they blue in the surveillance photo?

“Why are you helping me?” Loki licked his lips as he considered the question, his brows bunching as he met her gaze again.

“Because regardless of how we got here, our paths are now intertwined,” he said gently. “I will not let you fail, Claire. Even if it means risking life and limb to teach you.”

“Life and limb, huh?”

“Of course,” Loki nodded. “Should you fail, the alliance would be in ruins and you would be sent back to Midgard. I, however, will either be sent back to prison or to the executioner’s block. Most likely the latter.” Claire paled as the weight of their situation crushed her.

“Your mom didn’t tell me that part,” she murmured. “Fuck, I really am a get-out-of-jail-free card.”

“A what?”

“Remind me to introduce you to Monopoly,” Claire smiled weakly. “Actually, that would be a great way to teach you about capitalism.”

“A lesson for another night, I think. You should get some rest.” he got to his feet, gathering the tray in his hands.

“Probably,” Claire agreed as she yawned. She got to her feet as well, her back popping as she stretched. Loki’s eyes trailed over her body, lingering on the curve of her hips. “Will there be more lessons tomorrow night?”

“But of course,” he replied easily, his eyes darting up to meet hers. “I will be sure to bring snacks, since that seems to motivate you.”

“I was hungry!” Claire cried defensively, both of them giggling. “Thank you.”

“Of course,” Loki nodded as he made his way to the door. Suddenly, he wheeled back around to face her. “About what you said earlier-”

“Yes?”

“There are many things I would change, if I could,” Loki pursed his lips. “I may not ever have that power, but I will always treat you as an equal.”

“Wow,” Claire smiled, relief flooding her veins. “Than-”

“An annoying, hot-headed one, but an equal nonetheless.” Loki smirked as she scowled at him with annoyance clear on her face. “A jarl?” he questioned before she could speak.

“My lord.” Claire replied, giving a sarcastic curtsy. A corner of Loki’s mouth curled upward at her cheek.

“The second prince?” he pressed.

“Pain-in-my-ass,” Claire cackled. “Good night.” Loki’s half smile evolved into a full one, and before Claire could blink, the handmaiden from before stood where he’d been.

“Sleep well, my lady.”

#covenant #loki x ofc #loki fic

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