#;;I had trouble with coming up with them because of a huge writer's block

[harocat]

Anon here who is trying to cope with MAPPA being assholes by planning out a teenage years YoI fic (dunno if I'll ever write it, but hey, it's the first thing to break my years-long writer's block, at least). Anyway, I was wondering: if Yagudin and Plushenko didn't exist, how do you think the Russian men's figure skating would have looked in 05/06? Basically, Plushenko can't be around for obvious reasons, and since Yagudin is a bastard I might exclude him as well, so what would that look like?

YEAH. In a world without homophobia Yagudin simply would never have existed.

Victor would probably have looked up to skaters like Ilia Kulik and Alexei Urmanov growing up. He may have looked up to Viktor Petrenko too. He would have been stepping onto the scene right after Alexander Abt was the top Russian skater. Alexander was mega-talented, but super inconsistent and could never break through to the very top.

Victor's domestic competition at the time would have been Ilia Klimkin, who I don't think he'd have had much trouble surpassing. Russian men would definitely have been in kind of a dearth from 1999-2006 without Yags and Plush there, so it stands to reason that in YOIverse, Rusfed would probably have seen someone as promising as Victor as like, the second coming lol.

During the Soviet Era, Russia's medals mostly came from pairs and ice dance, without the kind of dominant men we saw from them in the 90s and 2000s, so if he were looking back before his time, there's a decent chance he'd be admiring American, Canadian, and British skaters. I feel like Stephane would have been the it boy at the time Victor started competing, and I have to think teen Victor may have had a bit of a crush.

If Yags and Plush weren't there, the quad race may have been sped up by Timothy Goebel winning Olympic gold in 2002 with his quad salchow, quad toe, and three quad fs. No one else had close to that level of difficulty, but since even with that tech, Tim was still placing below Plush and Yags, it stands to reason that perhaps the rest of the field wasn't rushing to catch up. This would track with YOI, where the quad race does seem to be a bit ahead of where it was in real life in fall of 2016.

In my mind there was a very dominant man (or multiple men) in YOIverse from the mid-2000s to 2012ish, and he was from Asia, Australia, Africa, or the Americas (fun thought: maybe this was when Japan really broke out in men's singles in YOIverse). The reason I say this is because despite Victor being a senior in 2006, he did not win his first world title or GPF title until he began his streak in 2012. However, we know he was winning European titles, so there must have been at least one (or more) huge skaters that he just couldn't break through at worldwide ISU championship level. Being said, he was obviously already a huge star by then, so apparently the lack of those did not halt his popularity!

#anonymous #yoi text

[dinuxia-bhm]

Hi, it's me again... Back from the dead...

Listen I know Christmas is over, and we're halfway into the first month of the New Year, but I still want to finish this Christmas fic. Better late than never I guess... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I'm really sorry about the delay. I've been suffering from a serious writer's block. That's when I realized I suck at writing romance. I've done my best thoughts. Hope you'll like it And thank to @sharksinflowercrowns again for inspiring this fic and everything else...

Deck the Halls of Wittebane Manor...

CHAPTER FIVE…

"LUZ!" A purple haired girl came running towards Luz as soon as she entered the market with her brother, on the next day.

"Sweet potato!" Luz immediately held out her arms as her girlfriend practically launched herself into them. "Oh I'm so happy to see you!"

Hunter stood there nearby, watching the romantic reunion of the two girlfriends. Luz and her girlfriend, Amity, were always like this. It was a little too romantic for his liking. He rolled his eyes seeing them being so mushy but a hint of an affectionate smile remained on his face.

"Alright girls, this is where I take your leave." He cleared his throat, partly to remind them that he was still standing there. "You can go wherever you want and do whatever you like as long as you don't cause any trouble. I'm heading off to get some supplies for the renovation. Good bye." He waved slightly and started walking away in the opposite direction.

Amity sighed, rolling her eyes. "Good to see you too, Hunter." She said sarcastically, still holding onto her girlfriend.

"Don't mind him… You know how he is." Luz shrugged watching her brother disappear into the crowd. "Now come on, we have so much to do!" She dragged a giggling Amity into the Bonesborough marketplace.

Hunter continued to walk ahead with his hands in his pockets. He casually looked around to see if he could find anything for the house. The entire marketplace was quite overwhelming.

Today the market was even more crowded than the last time he was here. Shopkeepers trying to sell their special Christmas merchandise, people rushing to buy last minute Christmas presents, a choir singing in the corner of the street, together with the endless chattering of people gave him a bit of a headache. The sooner he finishes today's work the better. He didn't want to be here for too long.

Once again he happened to walk past the town Christmas tree. This time he didn't stop to get a peek of the top. Instead, he stopped to look around in hopes of finding an adorable little bespectacled figure carrying a small Christmas tree. Unfortunately, she was nowhere to be seen. He had no idea why he felt kinda sad or even why he thought she would be here another day. But most of all, he was confused why he wanted to see her again.

Of course she offered her help to decorate the house. But the house wouldn't be ready for decorating for at least two more days. He kept telling himself that it was only because his sense of gratitude encouraged him to return her favor. Yes, even before she actually did him a favor. Yes, that was definitely it. Everyone does that. Right?

He shook his head to clear thoughts and proceeded on his quest for seasonal decorations. Admittedly, Hunter had never ever done this before, but how hard can it be? He was there when his mom and sisters decorated the house back in Gravesfield, and he also helped a bit. Now he just had to do the same thing but without guidance. That's not a big deal at all. He huffed in determination.

'Ok, let's see. What do we need for Christmas?' He questioned himself in his mind. As if the universe heard his thoughts, he came across a huge Christmas tree sale, before he finished his thought. "Yup. A Christmas tree."

He checked out the trees for a couple of moments before heading inside the store which seemed to have put up the sale. Sure enough, it was a flower shop. He heard the bells chiming as he opened the door and came to stand near the front desk.

"Just a minute!” An all too familiar voice came from the inside of the shop and for some reason, a stupid grin spread across Hunter's face as he recognized it.

"Seasonal greetings! Welcome to Parks' Gardens. How may I help y- Oh my gosh, Hunter!" It was Willow who came to the front desk from the back of the shop. She seemed so excited to see him. That just made him smile even more.

"I can't believe you're here. I mean, of course you're here. You're staying here for Christmas after all." She chuckled lightheartedly. "But you're here. In my shop. I certainly wasn't expecting… Hunter, are you ok?" Her happy and bubbly tone changed into a concerned one when she noticed that Hunter wasn't responding to anything. He seemed to have frozen on the spot. And it was certainly not because of the cold weather outside.

"Oh, uhhh- yeah! Yeah…" Hunter broke out of his trance when he recognized the concern in her voice. He saw that her head was tilted in confusion. That's when he remembered he had been wordlessly staring at her. "I wasn't expecting to see you either." He nervously added. Why on earth was he feeling nervous?

She giggled softly covering her mouth with her hand. Her laugh sounded like music to his ears. She was so freaking adorable. He was very proud of the fact that he had been the one to cause such a reaction in her. He wished nothing more in his life than to hear her laugh again.

"Ok…" She said between giggles. "So as I was saying… What brings you here?"

"Oh yeah…" Hunter remembered why he actually came there in the first place. "I was looking for Christmas decorations… you know, for my house. Yeah… for the house."

"Oh right… You saw the Christmas trees, of course." She shook her head as if she was expecting something else as an answer, but she had to be satisfied with this one. "So, did you pick one?"

"Wait. We're supposed to pick one?" Hunter was genuinely confused. To him, all the trees looked the same. Why would he have to pick one?

"Well yeah… Of course you pick a tree." Willow shrugged as if that was the most obvious thing in the world. "I mean you don't necessarily have to do that… If you don't have things like height or space to consider. But selecting a Christmas tree can also be like selecting a pet, you know." She walked ahead, opening the door, heading outside to the Christmas tree sale. "Well, at least to me." She shrugged standing in front of a huge tree.

Hunter did not understand a word she said. Partly because she wasn't quite making sense and partly because he was distracted looking at her inspect her Christmas trees.

She continued to explain as Hunter came closer to her. "A Christmas tree symbolizes life and immortality. When you put up a Christmas tree in your house, it brings joy and a sort of lively vibe to your house. It's a very important duty for the tree to make sure it brings that feel to wherever it's kept. So it's sort of like you're bestowing it the responsibility of bringing the Christmas spirit to your house. You should trust the tree for that."

"Are you saying that Christmas trees are like people? Like a soldier with a duty to fulfill?" Hunter looked up at a tree and a weirdly graphic image of a walking talking tree crossed his mind.

"No silly…” Willow giggled. "It's not exactly like that. But I do like to think that all plants are like people. I've always felt this weird connection with plants. Like, I would talk to them. I would take care of them and they're kinda like my friends." She said looking around and absentmindedly twirling in the middle of the field full of Christmas trees.

Hunter was flabbergasted at the sight in front of him. The falling snow, the green trees, the faint glow of Christmas lights and in the middle of all this, Willow. She looked so at peace within the trees. Truly in her element. Heat rose to his face and his ears and cheeks became red. Yet, he couldn't help but smile looking at the beauty in front of him.

"So…" Willow approached him again, making him realize what he was doing. "Have you picked a tree yet?" She asked eagerly.

"Oh yeah… Of course, I was picking trees. Normal Christmas shopping stuff." He smiled a bit before pointing at a random tree. "That one right there."

Willow looked over to where he was pointing and to his surprise, she giggled again. Goodness she had to stop doing that around him. At this pace he was pretty sure he's gonna die of cardiac arrest or something. "Are you sure? Because that's not a Christmas tree."

"What! Really?” He turned around a bit to look at the tree he chose. Sure enough, it was not a tree at all. He pointed at the cut out sign shaped like a tree which was kept outside the shop in order to advertise the sale. Hunter mentally facepalmed. He definitely looked so stupid right now. He didn't know why it was happening. But when he's with Willow, he can't really seem to pay attention to anything else but her and only her.

"Is this your first time getting a tree?" She asked, interrupting his train of thoughts.

"Yeah… I've never really done this before." He scratched the back of his neck nervously. It was not entirely untrue, but something told him that even if he had done Christmas shopping before, with Willow around he wouldn't have been able to choose a tree.

"Alright then, can I pick a tree for you?” She asked, looking up at him with a gentle smile.

Hunter nodded and she proceeded to look around to find the perfect tree for him. He watched her fondly, as if she was the most precious thing in the world, not understanding why he was feeling that way. After a couple of minutes she waved at Hunter to come over to where she was standing.

"So, what do you think?” She asked, pointing at a tree she picked out for him.

"I think it's perfect." He automatically replied, even before looking at it. "I mean, you're the expert. So if you think it's good, then it's perfect." He added thoughtfully.

"Ok then… Can you take it with you or should I deliver it to your place later today?"

"Oh yeah, I didn't drive here today. I just came for a walk with my sister who wanted to meet her girlfriend." He rolled his eyes at himself for not bringing his car today. "Sorry… if it trouble-"

"You apologize too much." She shook her head and she giggled again. She was in a roll. She couldn't remember the last time she smiled much around someone. "You don't have to worry. It's standard procedure. We deliver it to your doorstep." She said playfully in a generic advertising tone.

"Oh that's great. Thank you so much." He said pulling out his wallet and taking out his business card. Before handing it over to her he took out a pen from inside his jacket and scribbled something in the back of it. "So uhhh, here's my card. It has my number if you want to contact me." He gave her his card and she silently pocketed it. "It also has my address written in the back of it. And also my personal phone number, in case the one in the front was busy." He added sheepishly and as if on cue his phone started ringing. "That's the one ringing right now. Excuse me for a minute." He answered the call as she waited for him to finish it.

After a while he put his phone back in his pocket and turned to face her. "Sorry, that was my sister. She said she was going home after shopping and she wanted my help to carry bags." He rolled his eyes. "I wish I could stick around but I kinda have to go now." He said apologetically.

"That's alright. I'll make sure to have this tree delivered in no time." She reassured him walking back to the entrance of the shop with him. "By the way, are you still up for decorating the town?"

"Of course!" He answered immediately, regretting how loud his voice sounded. "Sorry, I mean, yes… Yes I am." He cleared his throat to seem nonchalant. "Just give me a call when you need me." He said walking to the streets into the market. "See you soon. Byeeeee" He waved as he disappeared into the crowded marketplace.

Willow smiled as she walked into her shop, closing the door behind her. She reached into her pocket and took out the card he gave her. Her smile disappeared as her jaw dropped in shock as she recognized the name on the card.

#huntlow #the owl house #willow park #hunter the golden guard #toh willow #toh hunter #winter toh #hunter toh #willow toh #wintery junk #christmas fluff

[makimaki-typing]

Hi! This blog is so pretty and aesthetic omg-

May I request some dating fluff headcanons for Nagito, Mikan, and Chihiro(all separately)?

. . . ⇢ ˗ˏˋ Nagito, Mikan, Chihiro x GN!Reader - Headcanons ࿐ྂ

ﾟ    — ➴ These three... /pos

. . . ⇢ ˗ˏˋ Nagito ࿐ྂ

ﾟ    — ➴ He lets you play with his hair. A lot.

ﾟ    — ➴ He plays with your hair, too.

ﾟ    — ➴ He likes to give a good amount of PDA, but prefers more private areas.

ﾟ    — ➴ Cuddles. Now.

ﾟ    — ➴ He likes to rant about how you give him more hope than he ever thought he could have.

ﾟ    — ➴ He likes to spoil you (like buy you things you just mentioned about wanting once).

ﾟ    — ➴ He gets matching things that have ”Hope” on it (not realizing some say “ho” + “pe”).

. . . ⇢ ˗ˏˋ Mikan ࿐ྂ

ﾟ    — ➴ She‘s a bit over protective, but in a good way (like making sure you don’t get hurt too much.)

ﾟ    — ➴ She let’s you decorate some extra white bandaids she has, and keeps those separate from her regular ones.

ﾟ    — ➴ She occasionally talks about patients she had, and answers any questions you have.

ﾟ    — ➴ The two of you take walks a lot, holding hands, and sometimes stopping to sit down.

ﾟ    — ➴ She makes the two of you have a self-care day, and you make her not work a lot that day.

. . . ⇢ ˗ˏˋ Chihiro ࿐ྂ

ﾟ    — ➴ They like to program gifts for you.

ﾟ    — ➴ They show you some programming things they know, and are fine if you don’t understand it.

ﾟ    — ➴ They get flustered a lot, and attempt to flirt back with you.

ﾟ    — ➴ You two have movie nights, and both pick a movie every other week.

#ﾟ — ➴ Nyeh... #ﾟ — ➴ I want to be useful for my friends... #ﾟ — ➴ Atua has spoken~! #nagito #nagito komaeda #mikan #mikan tsumiki #chihiro #chihiro fujisaki #nagito x reader #mikan x reader #chihiro x reader #thh x reader #sdr2 x reader #x reader #danganronpa x reader #danganronpa #fluff hcs #;;Sorry they're short #;;I had trouble with coming up with them because of a huge writer's block #;;..Especially with Chihiro..-

[animeomegas]

What about the OM!Boys?

How would they react to their Alpha having a pup already (from a past relatuonship)?

Btw yeah. Writer's block is a bitch

Feel free to turn down!

Most to least happy about their alpha having a pup already:

LOVES IT:

Diavolo - He absolutely adores pups! He isn't the best with all types of pups because he's very excitable with them, so he might have some trouble with shy pups, but he still loves them!! Also! It means you might be ready sooner to give him pups and an heir.

Simeon - It's not really a surprise he'd be this high when he pretty much raises Luke. He finds it very attractive when people are good with pups. And your pup and Luke would be so cute together, no matter the age difference!! We love a blended family!

Beel - He is a bit nervous, but as long as the pup isn't scared of him, he actually adores hanging out with them and protecting them. He's a very sweet person with a protective streak a mile wide and it doesn't take long for the pup to be included in that protection.

Barbatos - He likes pups a lot more than he lets on. He loves to teach and guide, so having a pup around is fun for him. He also really likes it that you have a big commitment in your life, because it makes him feel like you understand why he's busy with his duties for Diavolo.

Mammon - At first, he pretends to find them annoying, and then he does find it annoying when he wants to spend time with you, but this pup is always there... but he's such a natural big brother, and I really get the vibe that kids think Mammon is cool, so he preens at the praise and really, really comes to love the pup.

DOESN'T MIND:

Satan - He actually quite likes older pups, but he's not a huge fan of really young ones, so I put him here on the ranking. He's very neutral honestly, he just takes the fact that you have a pup as information about you, it doesn't mean much to him.

Lucifer - He does get a bit stressed when he finds out you have a pup because... pups don't normally like him, toddler or teens or anything in between. Satan is the closest thing he has to raising a child, and Satan despises him. But! As long as you do a really good job of mediating and building their relationship, Lucifer finds he quite likes it actually. He can sometimes be found rocking a younger pup to the sound of his cursed records, or helping an older pup with their homework.

Solomon - He's not exactly thrilled, but also, he doesn't have to raise the pup, so he's chill. As long as you parent them well and keep them away from his dangerous experiments, he enjoys them being around sometimes. You can't really trust him to do the mundane tasks, but he's like the weird, fun uncle. He brings the pup back from a day out, and the pup had the best day of their life, but as they recount it, it's just safety hazard after safety hazard.

HATES IT:

Asmo - No! Pups are gross! :( He wants you to be spontaneous. He wants someone who can drop everything to go out clubbing, or get a makeover or go shopping. Someone with a pup is not that person. Asmo really likes pups when they're like dolls. He finds it cute to dress them up, but after that, count him out. They're just too sticky and clingy, and they always pull on his hair! Not to mention the sleep deprivation will give him under eye bags!!!

Levi - He's way too jealous and insecure for this. Someone gave you that pup.... and even if they're dead, what if you love them more than him?? You probably do.... Also, he doesn't want the pup touching things in his room, they're expensive!!! And what if the pup is older, then Levi gets too shy to speak to them, and they probably hate him too and they're going to make you leave him, because you love them more than him! He doesn't take it very well.

Belphie - Do I have to explain why Mr. Sleepy doesn't like pups? Because they cry. In the middle of his nap. Sometimes they even cry because they have to take a nap, and Belphie doesn't understand that behaviour at all! And even if they're older... they constantly want your attention and you have to get up all the time when you're cuddling together and Belphie hates hates hates that. He doesn't want any pups near him. He's surprisingly okay with his own pups (mainly because they sleep a lot!), but he really doesn't like anyone else's.

#obey me #levi #satan #asmo #mammon #beel #lucifer #belphie #alpha!reader #headcanons #a/b/o #omegaverse #reader insert

[ignitedbynatsu]

He Makes You Feel Insecure ~ Natsu

A/N: Woowie it has been a while hasn’t it 😅 Writers block can be a bitch but I think I have a few more ideas for the other boys. Let me know who you want me to write for next!!

warnings: insecurities (he makes you feel like you feel like your magic isn’t compatible, cursing

genre: angst to fluff

Other versions:

Gray ~ Laxus ~ Cobra/Erik ~ Bickslow ~ Gajeel ~ Jellal ~ Freed ~ Sting ~ Rogue

🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

Tension had been running high for Natsu when his fire attacks had been cancelled one after the other by the wind magic user, but when you were the one that accidentally nullified his attack with your water magic, that’s when he completely snapped.

You had taken note of the rising irritation in your boyfriend's behaviour, and you thought that he hadn’t noticed the attack coming his way so in the heat of the moment you decided to step in. As a result, your water extinguished his flames and you both could dodge his attack your opponent’s attack just in time.

“Natsu, I’m so sorry-“ “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

You were a bit taken back by his sudden tone as he had never yelled at you before. He took notice of your sudden state of shock, but that wasn’t enough to prevent the vicious word from coming from his mouth “Why the fuck did you think that was a good idea? Don’t you see that you’re a nuisance to me? All you do is fuck up my fire and get in my way. I don’t want your magic near me, can you get that through your thick skull?”

“Natsu!” Erza called out to the stressed fire dragon slayer “This is not the time nor the place”

“I won’t get in your way next time” You whispered before heading over to help Lucy with her opponent.

After a while, you overpowered your foes and were now on a train making your way back to Magnolia. You sat next to Lucy, while Carla and Wendy were seated in front of you. Natsu, Gray, Erza and Happy were seated in the boot next to yours.

“(Y/N)” Natsu whined “I’m dying, please help me” You usually summoned some water in the palm of your hand and let it softly swirl against his forehead. For some reason, it helped with the nauseous feeling, and you were about to give in until you realized his words from earlier. He wanted your magic nowhere near him. What if you somehow fucked up and splashed water all over him. You did not want to be yelled at again.

“Tell Natsu I’m asleep or something” You mumbled lowly, so only Lucy could hear, while you laid your head on her shoulder. She gave you a sad smile, knowing the outburst was still fresh on your mind. She complied, making Natsu groan in response but eventually gave up. He didn’t look too much in it as he knew how tired you could get from these jobs.

Once out of the train, you didn’t spare Natsu a second look. You walked in front of everyone, but Erza quickly caught up to walk next to you, while the other looked after the two Dragon Slayers that were still feeling a bit nauseous from the train ride “Are you okay?”

“Of course! Why wouldn’t I be?” You asked.

Erza clicked her tongue as she looked at you from the corner of her eyes, absolutely not believing the lie that just fell from your tongue “Natsu was way out of line”

“He was just stressed, it can happen to the best of us” You shrugged it off, hoping that if you treated it lightly it wouldn’t weight down later in your mind.

“Still not an excuse to work it out on you” She pointed out.

“I know, thank you for caring, but really Erza, I promise I’m okay.” You gave her a small genuine smile which she returned.

You didn’t return to the guild as the others did, instead, you went home, telling the others you were too tired from the mission to deal with the shenanigans from Fairy Tail. Natsu offered to walk you home, but you kindly denied it, leaving him a bit confused. He realized he should probably give you some space since he lashed out at you. He made a mental note to apologize next thing in the morning when he’d see you.

“(Y/N)! Baby!” Natsu ran over to you and hugged you tightly while spinning you around making you squeal in surprise “put me down, Natsu”

“Only if you forgive me for what happened yesterday,” he said.

“I forgive you. You were stressed, I get it, it’s no big deal” You forgave him.

“I knew you’d understand, you’re the best” He kissed your cheek as he placed you back on your feet “anyway Happy and I found this job and-“

“I think I’m gonna take a day off, still feel a little tired from yesterday, you can go, though, have fun” you cut him off before he could fully explain the mission.

“Alright, make sure you take care of yourself today! I’ll be home as soon as I can, so we can cuddle” He kissed your forehead before turning to the Exceed “Let’s go Happy! Let’s go ask if Lucy wants to join”

That’s how the following weeks went. You always found an excuse to not join Natsu and Happy on the job. Sure you had forgiven him for his outburst since he was under a lot of stress. He shouldn’t have taken it out on you, but you also knew it could happen to the best of us when you’ve hit your limit. However, you couldn’t help but see some truth in his words.

Your magic was not compatible and made you doubt yourself. You associated yourself strongly with your magic, as every wizard did, so I made you think if you and Natsu were suited for each other. After all, that was one of the many reasons why Natsu and Gray shared such a peculiar friendship.

You had often heard of the saying that opposites attracted, but nothing could be further from the truth. The human race is a narcissistic species and wants nothing more than finding themselves in their significant others. Huge differences might be exciting and fun at first but are bound to break in the long run.

“(Y/N), you wanna go on a mission with us?” Natsu asked as you stood in front of the board with job applications.

“Can’t, I promised Gajeel I-“ You started to explain but cut yourself off when Natsu threw you over his shoulder “Natsu! Let me go! Natsu!”

“No we need to talk,” He said in a serious tone, making you stop struggling against his grip and let him take you outside, so you could talk in private.

“What do you wanna talk about?” You asked softly as you took notice of the sincere expression on his face.

“Why are you avoiding me?” He asked as his black orbs were searching for answers in your eyes.

“I am not” you deflected his question, but you breaking eye contact as soon as the words past your lips proved you were lying.

“Ever since that day I lashed out at you, you haven’t gone on a mission with me” He pressed.

“That’s not true” you denied once again which made him frown. Why were you dishonest with him?

“Okay, when was the last time we went on a job together?” He asked. Your silence was a clear answer and you both knew it. Your gaze averted to the ground, but he refused to let you shy away from him as he placed a finger under your chin to tilt your head back up until your eyes meet once again. His hand softly from underneath your chin to lay on your cheek “are you still upset with me?”

Your heart shattered at how vulnerable he was right now. His playful antics long replaced by guilt that had been slowly eating away at him for the past days. “No, of course not”

“Then please tell me what I did wrong. I can’t stand the thought of me deliberately hurting you. Please tell me what’s troubling you, so I can fix it” He pleaded.

“Do you-“ You paused to collect your thoughts “do you think we’re right for each other?”

“What do you mean?” 

“That day you said my magic was a nuisance. It got me thinking and you were right. You have to evade my magic so often, and it's all because it isn’t compatible with one another. I just didn’t want to be more of a hinder than I already was, that’s why I started to join others on their jobs just so I wouldn’t mess up yours. I just sometimes wonder if my magic isn’t the only thing that isn’t compatible with you.” You frowned as you hear yourself your insecurities out loud.

“Hey, no, stop. What I said that day was completely out of line. I took my frustration and took them out on you and I shouldn’t have. I have no excuse for how I acted that day. You didn’t deserve it, and I’m sorry for making you feel bad. So what if we’re a little different. I thought you always liked a good challenge?” He apologized.

“Sure I like the thrill of our relationship, but it doesn’t take away from the fact our magic isn’t suitable for one another. I just think we’re setting ourselves up for failure. A challenge is fun for a little while but we both know that stability is what you need if you want a relationship to survive in the long run” You explained.

“Then we’ll defy those odds. I’ll show everyone and especially you that you don’t need something like psychology to prove if a relationship will work or not. Please let me prove to you how much I can love you and let me prove to you that I’ll eventually become that stability you crave.” He vowed. “I always thought you weren’t one to be quick on giving up when things get rough”

“I’m not, I just don’t want to put my heart out there if I know from the start it’ll only get broken” You uttered somberly.

“I promise you it won’t. I’ll love you with every fiber in my body until the day I die. I will never make you doubt yourself or our relationship again” He told you, sincerity audible in his voice.

You smiled softly at him as your arms sneaked around his waist while your head laid on his chest. His arms immediately reacted at your touch, shielding you away from the world as his lips planted a soft kiss on your head “I love you”

#fairy tail #fairy tail imagine #fairy tail imagines #natsu dragneel #natsu dragneel imagine #natsu dragon slayer #fairy tail natsu #natsu #fairy tail lucy #fairy tail gray #gray fullbuster #fairy tail x reader #lucy heartfilia #laxus dreyar #lucy heartifilla #natsu x reader #natsu dragneel imagines #natsu dragneel x reader #fairy tail x angst #fairy tail one shot #fairy tail jellal #laxus #erza scarlette #natsu x angst #gray x reader #fairy tail gajeel

[pennylanefics]

Protective - Isaac Lahey

a/n: i finally wrote something!! though i’m not entirely happy with how this turned out :/ i’ve been dealing with writers block and i spent the entire week trying to write this, and still don’t like it that much 🤷🏼‍♀️

•••

Months after the pack got rid of one threat to Beacon Hills, another one came along as if it was the new normal. You found out a few days after the pack found out, mainly because you don’t really like being involved with everything.

Scott stopped you during school one day and told you everything you needed to know. Who they attacked, how they attacked, where in Beacon Hills was dangerous at the moment, and to reach out to him or anyone else if anything happened.

You were doing fine for the time being, but there was one person worried about you. Isaac has had a crush on you since you met at his first lacrosse game sophomore year. He just never acted on it, and kept you around as a friend.

But when there was an attack by the creature on your street, he knew he had to do something to protect you.

A couple nights after the attack, you were fast asleep in your room, having passed out earlier than usual after finishing loads of homework. Isaac had snuck out of Scott’s house and made his way to yours. Since he didn’t want to disturb your parents, he climbed through your window, which was unlocked.

“Oh, you’re going to be in trouble for not locking this,” he mumbles to himself. He makes it inside with ease and breathes out a sigh of relief when he sees that you’re still fast asleep.

He closes and locks the window, kicking his shoes off and taking a seat in the chair across from your bed. His eyes linger on your figure, roaming from your hair splayed across the pillow, to your eyelashes against your cheek.

A smile spreads across his face as he takes you in. He’s never been so in love with someone and the idea that the creature could have come into your house a few nights ago instead of the one down the street terrified him.

Isaac stayed awake for about an hour, reading a book from your collection that you’ve told him about before. When he felt his eyes starting to droop, he marked the page with a bookmark and set it down on your desk. Curling up in the chair, he falls asleep right away.

The following morning, you wake up at around eight in the morning. As you sit up, a small scream escapes your throat upon seeing your friend sitting in your room. This awakes him, making him jump out of the chair, falling to the floor.

“Isaac? How the hell did you get in here?” He stands, fixing his shirt that got twisted from sleeping.

“You,” he starts, walking over to you, “left your window unlocked.” His finger taps your nose teasingly, making you scrunch it.

“I had it open because it was raining earlier and I enjoy the sound and smell of it.” He chuckles and hugs you tightly, resting his head on yours.

“Now the important question: what are you doing here?” You say, pulling back from his body but staying in his arms. His expression falters a little and he lets go of you to take a seat on your bed.

“A couple nights ago, the creatures that are currently here attacked someone in their own home, a few houses down from yours,” he whispers, afraid to tell you that part. You feel a shiver run through your body upon hearing that, and you sit down to let it sink in.

“Well,” you murmur, speechless and a little scared now.

“It’ll be okay. Scott and Derek think they have an idea of who this person is, why they’re here, and why they’re only targeting non supernaturals.”

“So, I’m not even safe in my own home?” Your voice comes out as soft as ever, your mind racing with every worst case scenario possible.

“If you want, uh, I mean, you don’t have to, I can either stay here with you until they’re gone, or you can stay with Scott and I,” he offers.

“I couldn’t stay with you guys, that’s too much, I wouldn’t want to intrude. And what about my parents?”

“So then, I could stay with you guys every other day? Again, you don’t have to agree, it’s an offer I’m willing to make, if it’d make you feel safer?”

You think for a moment before looking over at Isaac with a small grin on your lips. He matches your expression.

“I’d like that,” you respond. “You can stay here whenever you want.”

“What about every night?” He pushes. A giggle escapes your throat and you lean against him.

“Of course.” There’s a pause in the conversation as Isaac fights with his mind on whether to admit his feelings now or not.

“Um, since we’re going to be spending a lot more time together, there’s something I want to tell you,” he starts.

“Okay,” you respond, pushing him to continue.

“I’ve had a small, well, maybe not so small, crush on you since we first met. There’s something about you that just captivates me, and I think you’re incredible.”

He goes on about what he likes about you, what qualities he particularly finds attractive, everything, and by the end of his little speech, your smile is so wide, your cheeks start to hurt.

“How come you’ve never said anything?” You wonder. Isaac blushes and turns forward.

“I just never did anything about it. And Lydia told me that you were interested in someone else at the time, so I didn’t want to ruin that for you.”

“Yeah, that person turned out to be a huge asshole, so it’s an upgrade from them to you.”

“You like me too?” His head whips up back to you.

“Uh huh. I thought it was obvious.”

“It wasn’t,” he chuckles. You smile and lean your head against his shoulder.

“We can’t tell my parents, though. They’ll flip if they find out you’re staying here, in my room.”

“They don’t like you having boys in your room?” He teases. You shove his shoulder playfully.

“Friends, they don’t mind. Like Scott and Stiles are fine. But you? They know I have a crush on you, so if I tell them you’re sleeping here every night, it won’t turn out well.”

“Ah. I guess that makes sense.”

You two continued talking for the rest of the afternoon, and right before dinner, Isaac went back to Scott’s for dinner with them and to gather a few things.

“Hey, we’re turning in for the night,” your mom pops her head into your room.

“Alright. Goodnight.” She leaves moments later and as soon as you hear her walk back downstairs, you text Isaac that he’s good to come over.

Twenty minutes later, Isaac comes crawling through your window, a duffle bag dangling from his shoulder. Unfortunately, this time he doesn’t do it so gracefully. He slips off the ledge and falls to the floor, his bag landing on top of him.

A groan falls from his lips as you laugh loudly. When he finally regains his composure, his eyes narrow at you and you immediately stop laughing. But moments later, he breaks the act and can’t help but smile.

After changing into a comfier pair of clothing, Isaac crawls into bed with you and pulls you close to his chest right away.

“Is there any new information on whoever’s attacking people?” You wonder.

“Yeah, but it’s late and I don’t want to...frighten you with it. So we’ll talk about it in the morning. I just wanna lay here and hold you and kiss you-”

“You know, you have yet to kiss me,” you mention. Isaac smiles widely and leans down to capture your lips.

“Just like I’ve imagined,” he whispers against your lips.

#isaac lahey #isaac lahey imagines #isaac lahey x reader #isaac lahey imagine #daniel sharman #teen wolf #teen wolf imagines #imagines #fanfiction #fanfic

[technowoah]

hey hey hey! i really really really love ur works and wanna reuwest a purpled x reader one. also since purpled said hes only comfy with his character what about the reader losing their last cannon life to dream and purpled gets really really sad until like- a month later, she comes back from hell. kinda like c!jacks revival. If your not comfy with this pls ignore <3

My Mission

Purpled is still trying to figure out how to deal with your death, but before he can you come back.

- Platonic Purpled x Revived!Reader

- Anon Requested!

- blurb

- italics = flashback (except the last few lines)

- the "hes" out of italics are referring to Purpled.

⚠︎: slight swearing, angst to fluff-ish, gore, no dsmp spoilers.

An// I know this is late but I'm having major writers block lol ✌🏾😛 I hope you like it love!

The night was cold as he sat on a hill away from the kingdom Dream had made himself. The tall grass flowed around him like a blanket on his bed he wish he could be in right now, but he chose this, he chose to be here. His blonde hair whipped around his face harshly, but he didnt bother move it out of his eyes he could still see the destination ahead of him.

The kingdom looking like a bright star the fell to the ground. He used to love sitting and watching the lights of the kingdom at night flicker like a fallen star that still had its glow. The small smile he had on his face fell when his mind reminded him of the tragedy a month ago.

The night was cold and dark and that couldn't resemble how he was feeling right now. Anger, resentment, betrayed flowed through his heart. He wanted revenge.

The swords were already shined and ready for blood, arrows sharpened to the point, and potions made to kill the second it envelopes you. Months of preparation was right there next to him, ready to be finally used.

He wanted revenge for his best friend.

He left the kingdom for an hour grabbing every weapon he had before finding a place he used to go with his best friend.

----------------

"The kingdom looks beautiful!" You said while standing up in the tall grass.

Purpled had taken you to a far away spot out of the dsmp kingdom just for fun.

"I know, I come here often when I want to clear my head." Purpled said while sitting down in the hill letting the grass tickle his skin.

It was the middle of the say and almost sun down. You two had hiked up away from the kingdom and up a semi huge hill that gave a great view of the lights.

"How did you find this place?" You smiled to the boy sitting down to the side of you.

"Just was hiking I guess!" He laughed. "Well I was looking for more caves outside of the kingdom and stood on this hill, and looked back and saw the beautiful view."

"Now this is your spot now?" You smiled and nodded.

"I mean it's our spot now. You're the only other person who knows about it." Purpled motioned for his friend to sit down and you did.

"Great." You smiled at him and he shared that smile.

"Great."

------------------

He finally stood up from his spot on the hill and made his way back to the kingdom, weapons at his mercy and ready to be used.

The walk back to the kingdom was long, but he wasnt in a rush. He just wanted to keep his mind calm before he finally faced the man who he wanted to kill. The man whos blood should be on his arrows and swords he just sharpened for this occasion.

He walks with purpose and in stride. He always does, he was always busy around the kingdom. Making something new or not even saying what he was doing, no one would want to cross his path because no one would want to know what trouble he was gettng himself into. But they always knew he would come put alive in the end.

He walked along the prime path keeping his gaze forward. He sped up his walk trying to get to the place he needs to go faster to get this feeling out of his body. Sadly him staring straight ahead made him bump shoulders with someone passing by. He didn't have the time to look back and stop, but a familiar voice made him stop.

"Hey! Watch where the fuck you are going!"

Damn it.

He tried to walk away, but he heard the footsteps get closer and the protests get louder.

"Hey asshole! You know Im talking to you Purpled?! Stop!"

"What do you want Quackity?!"

"Damn it took that long for you to turn around?!" The scarred man laughed as the blonde started at him blankly.

Quackity had a small smirk on his face before he looked around to make sure no one else is spying on them. Quackity chuckled while crossing his arms looking at the impatient blonde infront of him.

"What. Do. You. Want. Shouldn't you be in Las Nevadas?" He scoffed.

"I should! I should. But I heard about your little predicament." Quackity still had that taunting smile on his face.

"I wouldn't call it a predicament I would call it a missi-"

"A mission. Yeah I know, that's what you call every thing now-a-days." Quackity shook his head in disbelief. "Even when your best friend dies..Its a damn misson."

Purpled stayed quiet and let the older man talk. He didn't need to hear this, but at least this will hunor him before his miss- plans.

"Its a shame! It really is. But you know what Purpled?" Quackity's voice got quieter.

"If this is about Las Nevadas, you should leave. I have more pressing matters to attend to."

"I bet you do." Quackity looked away from the blonde. "Its a shame that you dont even know where Dream is to kill him."

--------------

"Y/N! Get out of my way!"

"I will not let you hurt him!"

"Get out of his way!"

Purpled was injured, pretty badly at that. He was clutching his side in pain where a arrow had struck him. His face had long cuts across it, and so did his body. The only way you could see the cuts along his body is because the cuts Dream had made tore through his clothes.

Purpled looked like he couldn't stand back up. You didn't want to know why they were fighting so brutally, you only showed up when Dream stood above Purpled about to take the final blow, sword clutched tightly in-between his hands.

The only thing you saw was that and you ran in the middle of the two blocking Dream from doing anymore damage to Purpled. Now the two men are yelling at you to get out of Dream's way.

"You're really stubborn aren't you?" Dream dropped his sword to his side, but still kept that tight grip on the handle.

"For my friends, yeah I am." You said with your head held high looking at the masked man.

"Y/N." Purpled groaned behind you. "Go, please."

You turned your whole body around to face him. He couldn't get up, still kneeling on the ground he tried to move and stand to his full height. It was impossible for him to do so. You saw a keep gash where his knee is. Dream must've stabbed his knee, through his knee.

"You stay down! I can handle this!"

"Where is your armor?! Huh?! Where is all your gear?! You're vulnerable!"

"You are too!"

"As much as this pains me to see the two bestest friends fight, Move." Dream said sternly while placing a rough hand on your shoulder.

"Dream get your hand off of them!" Purpled yelled.

"At this point you cannot tell me what to do." Dream chuckled. "This state that you're in! Its pathetic!"

Purpled hung his head low while Dream kept on running his mouth.

"Y/N! Do you even want to know why we're even fighting?! Its all his-"

"I dont want to know. Frankly I dont care just stop hurting him." Your words came out calmer than you wanted because you really were vulnerable at this point.

"I haven't even finished the job, my misson." Dream scoffed.

"If you wanto to finish "your mission" go through me first." You said while finding Purpled's sword on the ground next to him and gripping it tightly just like Dream.

"Y/N stop this!"

"Fine then."

Dream had grabbed your shoulder again so hard it could leave a bruise and brought your shoulders forward. You didn't have any time to react and the next thing you saw when you looked down was his sword going through your stomach. It hurt to breathe, and you felt yourself coughing up blood onto the grass beneath you. He had finally let go of your shoulder and you fell to your side letting your body go numb.

"NO DREAM!" Purpled tried to reach you, but ended up getting kicked down by Dream.

"Im done with you now. Its no point. I thought killing you would be better, but watching you suffer after your best friend gets killed is good enough for me."

"My mission is done, and they were right. You are vulnerable."

-------------

"Where is he then?" He asked trying not to sound rushed.

"You would like to know huh? Well Let me tell you about this thing I have first. I mean if you want to know where Dream is for your little mission" Quackity proposed and he stayed quiet waiting for the older man's response.

"I have this book, it was given to me by an old ally of mine. It has all of the lives of everyone in it. The whole book is filled with names and if they are dead or not-"

"Where are you going with this?" He interrupted.

"Im saying that not everyone knows of Y/N's death. Its not any big headlines. So I read this book often and I so happened to see their name and underneath it, it said they were dead."

"And?"

"I have a proposal-"

"No." He started to walk away leaving Quackity to stand and yell at the younger one.

"Oh come on! Dont you want your friend back?!" Quackity yelled as the other walked away briskly.

"Fine! You'll owe me!"

----------

It was over. He ended up back on the same hill again, but this time it was pitch black and the only light available was the light in the stars and the light from the kingdom. He could hear faint noises of mobs in the distance, but they didn't dare come near him.

His eyes started to water and his vision began to get blurry. He didn't kill Dream, he couldn't. That's not what you would've wanted.

Dream was right all along. He was vulnerable, he was always vulnerable.

He closed his eyes letting tears drop onto his cheeks. He was upset that he couldn't fulfill his mission, the one thing he knew he could do for the one he misses the most in life. He failed. And now Dream is sitting somewhere, he didn't even take Quackity's proposal. He didn't even know what Dream was to kil him.

Still, even if he wasnt discouraged, he would've still tried to hunt Dream down. He didn't care if it took him months to a year, he didn't care if it killed him. One day.

He looked out to the kingdom once more with eyes full of tears. The kingdom now looking like a ball of light and not as detailed.

"Purpled?"

He sighed brushing the call off, he was hearing things.

"Hey, Purpled."

He shook his head with his hands cupping his face. He was convincing himself that his head was playing tricks on him because there is no one that could be out here at this time.

"I thought I would get a warmer welcome than this."

He felt the grass moving beside him and he quickly turned his head to his right where he saw the person he wanted to the most. You.

It was you, but you had a white streak in your hair, your stomach still had a bigger scar still on it. It was you, it was finally you. He hesitated before reaching out to hug you, there was some tall grass in between you two but it didn't matter, he had you back. You had to feel tears fall on your back because he was crying, he tried to keep his sobs quiet but they slipped out.

"Are you okay?" He asked while sniffing.

"Im alive now. Thats progress." You responded hesitantly before continuing. "I wanted to stay dead. I mean it had to be my time right? I was in hell and I don't know why. Why was I there?!"

You started sobbing on his shirt as well and you took a big breath before starting to talk again.

"And then I just showed up not that far from here. It was horrible, like an out of body experience. I dont know who brought me back either! But now I found you here and Im okay enough." You smiled with tiredness in your eyes as you pulled away from the long hug.

"I tried to kill Dream." He confessed.

"Because of me?"

He hummed in agreement "I couldn't, thats not what you would've wanted."

"Why would you know what I wanted?" You asked the blonde. "I was dead for a month."

"You wanted me to kill him?" He asked with a bit of excitement in his voice.

"Consider this a new mission." You smiled while standing up and him following suit.

"My mission." He whispered while looking at the ground. "It'll take a while, but we'll get him. I promise."

You two locked pinkie fingers together to seal the promise. A promise that would be sealed to the end of time. No matter how long or who dies, he never fails a mission.

"Oh! Also, I have a note for you." You handed him a small torn note that you found lying next to you when you reappeared.

--------------

Dear Purpled,

You're welcome. They're here now.

Remember that favor I never got to ask you?

I suppose you should listen to me now.

Q

#mcyt blurb #mcyt x reader #mcyt fluff #mcyt angst #mcyt headcanons #dream smp x reader #purpled x reader #purpled imagine #platonic mcyt x reader #mcyt platonic #mcyt x you #mcyt fanfiction #purpled fluff #purpled angst #mcyt x platonic reader #mcyt x y/n #mcyt x oc #dream smp x y/n #dream smp x you #dream smp x oc

[i-draws-dinosaurs]

WWD2020: Placerias hesternus

Heyyy who remembers WWD2020? Y’know, that thing I started doing this year then suddenly stopped doing and now we’re almost finished with 2020 and I haven’t finished the first episode? Yeah that. I did disappear for several months cause of tech troubles, not being able to access tumblr and just plain ol writer’s block but now I’m back on the horse and ready to go babey!!

So anyways, here’s the second-to-last species from Episode 1: New Blood!

General:

Placerias was a huge tusked herbivore and one of the last of the large non-mammalian synapsids. Now, WWD does a thing that’s since fallen out of practice by calling them “mammal-like reptiles”, which is a term some of y’all may be more familiar with. The thing about that though is that Placerias and its relatives were not reptiles. Like, not at all.

Synapsids, the group that includes modern mammals and also Placerias and the more famous Dimetrodon, was a group that branched off from the earliest land vertebrates more than 300 million years ago. Reptiles branched off at about the same time but from a different ancestor, so “mammal-like reptile”.... basically means nothing. These days we use the rather clunky “non-mammalian synapsid”, but we also use “stem-mammal” which is a lot nicer!

Anatomy:

So, these stem-mammals have quite different anatomy to things like dinosaurs, and I will admit that I am nowhere near an expert on them! But from what I can tell, the WWD Placerias gets it pretty right! My main critique is that they’re a little more upright than what they should be? Real life Placerias were a little more,,,, sausagey. Long fat body, short stumpy legs, that kinda deal.

I’m gonna sound like a broken record on this eventually but I think this is the first time it’s come up properly? But the Placerias in WWD are very skinny. This is one where I’m like, kinda ok with it in the show because in the context of the episode, these animals are living through a drought. However, I’d doubt that a healthy living Placerias would’ve been showing so much rib. Again….. sausagey.

The feet though, are actually really good!! This is the kind of animal where a lot of people would probably just slap some elephant feet on and call it a day, but clearly the WWD team put in the work and gave it flatter, individually-separated toes! I always love to highlight good points like this because WWD is really good dammit and it’s great to see moments where they really nail the anatomy.

Look at those flat feet! Love that for them.

Skin/Colouration:

Again… more good stuff!! Mammalian-type skin, which Placerias probably had, isn’t great at producing a wide range of colours, so the drab greyish-yellowish colour is totally plausible (if not particularly pleasant to look at)! One thing that I would like to see though, is hair. Hair in some form has existed since the Permian, and I think it makes sense for something a mammalian as Placerias so have at least a little fuzz, as a treat. WWD’s Placerias is stark naked, but I’ve given mine some patches of scruffy hair. 

One other cool thing that’s missing though is that the family group Placerias belongs to, the uh… stahleckeriidae, had some pretty prominent rough eyebrow ridges. It’s kinda unclear what these were used for, but it’s a neat little detail that I’ve added in to the new design!

So, that’s Placerias! Like many kids, I’m sure, this weird creature was my very first introduction to the wrid and wonderful world of synapsids, and I think the WWD team did a pretty thoroughly good job with this chunky lad! Only one more animal to go for New Blood, then it’s on to the next episode, Time of Titans!

#placerias #WWD2020 #walking with dinosaurs #walking with dinosaurs 2020 #palaeoart #paleoart #palaeontology #paleontology #not a dinosaur #synapsid #triassic #palaeoblr #digital art

[jamiemackenziefraser]

All That Was Fair 

Chapter 27: Fraser Publishing Part 2

Summary: Claire and Jamie finish out their day at work

Read on AO3

Read chp 27 on tumblr below the cut

Previous, master list, next

a/n: A huge thank you to my friend @isthisclever (/isthiscleverr on twitter ;) ) for being an amazing beta for this chapter and also dealing with my writer's block/overall overthinking <3. Go check out her story "The Other Side," which one of my favs and is almost completed, ahh! While you're at it, maybe just stalk her whole AO3 page.

Thank you so much for your patience, lovely readers. I managed to get past the writer's block, and this 5k if what just sorta happened after a month of not writing. Hope you like it!!

*

Chapter 27: Fraser Publishing Part 2

The air felt heavy despite the fresh scents and slight breeze. Hand in hand with Claire, Jamie walked slowly around the trail that wound its way in a meandering circle around the park. If he was being honest, he was stalling, trying to give them both time to gather themselves before going back to Fraser Publishing. Jamie couldn't ignore the grief tugging at his insides, but he forced it down deep, praying that Claire couldn’t feel it from where she held onto his hand like it was her lifeline. 

Oh Christ, if she could feel how his grief was eating him up inside...

A cloud hung over them for a long while, but Jamie was trying his best to reassure Claire with comforting touches and sweet words.Gradually, her face began to lift, and he caught sight of the spark of his faerie beneath the sheen of guilt and lost potential blanketing her face. It was still clearly on her mind, though, and Jamie couldn’t shake the discomfort that he was trying to shove itself forward from the pit of his stomach and the back of his mind. 

It was well past lunchtime and when he should have taken her back, but he couldn’t seem to bring himself to force her to go inside when she still seemed so… off.

Apparently that was the right decision because at one random moment, Claire stopped him and abruptly pulled him into a hug. 

“What was that for, my wee faerie?” Jamie asked, brushing a few stray curls away from her forehead after holding her for a long moment. 

“I love you,” she said simply. 

There clearly was more on her mind. In that moment, he didn’t know whether to push her or to leave her be. He tilted his head down, catching her gaze, praying silently that he was making the right decision. 

“What’s botherin’ ye, a leannan?” he asked. He slipped his fingers under her chin and lifted her face higher so he could press a soft kiss to her lips. 

“I just..” she started, but cut herself off to take a deep breath. “I just… I don’t know how to tell you how I’m feeling, Jamie. I’m sad. But also I’m so, so happy. I want to be with you, be happy with you—” she tugged on his hand which was still gripping hers “—forever. I just… want it to last, I suppose?” 

“It will, Sassenach,” he assured in an exhale. “It will, lass. 

“I,” her eyes filled with unshed tears, and Jamie wished he could take them all in the palm of his hand and keep them from spilling from her eyes. She didn’t cry, though, just blinked watery eyes up at him. “I know we haven’t talked much about… the rest of our lives… but— talking about not having babies today just made me think. Maybe... maybe I’m not meant to be forever for you?” 

Jamie’s heart dropped below his toes, sinking down through the grass beneath his feet and likely down into the very core of the earth. He could barely force the words out through his suddenly raw throat when he asked shakily, “Do… do you no’ want that, Claire?” 

She shook her head so violently that the curls swished back and forth over her face. The expression of horror at the question eased Jamie considerably, and her answer fully assuaged the rest of the rising panic. 

“I do want that, Jamie. From the second I ran to you from that hill I knew it was forever. I love you more than the life that was mine. I just… if that’s not what’s best for you, I wouldn’t take the rest of your life from you. Your dreams.” It was her turn to raise a hand to his face, cupping his cheek with oceans of tender, selfless concern swimming in her eyes. 

“It’s always been forever for me, Sassenach,” he told her firmly, voice low. He believed it with every bone in his body. “And I told you before, I have no life but you, Claire.” 

She blinked, and he could tell she was trying very hard not to break down into tears. 

If he could have, he would have gotten down on one knee and proposed to her then and there. He knew it was forever, and he wanted desperately to share that with her, but there were conversations that needed to be had and preparations to be made before he could.

He let go of her hand and raised both to her face. He held her between his hands, cradling his whole entire world between his palms. Beseeching her to listen, he held her gaze for a long moment. 

“I dinna have to be an empath like you to ken that ye’re still feelin’ guilty, mo ghraidh,” he said. “Please, listen to me. I wouldna tell ye this if it werena true.” He took a breath. “If you could gi’ up yer old life, yer people, yer home… for me... it is nothin’ for me to no’ be able to have biological children. I would trade everything I have to keep ye. Everything. And I wouldna think twice. I want ye forever, Sassenach, whatever that means.” 

Her cheek was so soft under his fingers, and he was startled to find wetness there. He glanced up to her eyes to find that she’d finally lost her control and tears were escaping to roll down her face. 

“Please, dinna cry anymore,” he pleaded, “I canna bear for ye to be in pain.” 

“I’m not crying because I’m sad, Jamie,” she whispered. “I’m crying because I love you.” 

***

Walking back inside Fraser’s Publishing some time later, Claire seemed much more at peace. She no longer visibly waged war inside herself, and Jamie felt like he could finally breathe. The heartache they’d shared was far from over, but at least its troubles for that day could be left outside in the park. 

As they came inside, they were greeted by Mrs. Crook, who immediately beckoned them over to her desk with an eager wave. 

“Claire, darling! I have some homemade cookies I thought ye might like to try…” 

“That’s verra kind, but she has food allergies, Mrs. Crook. She doesna accept food from anyone,” Jamie quickly cut in. 

“Oh, well,” Mrs. Crook looked back toward Claire again. “I saw ye wi’ the Murray weans earlier, dear. Maybe ye would be interested in seein’ some photographs of my darling grandbairns?” 

The woman was clearly desperate to bond with Claire, and Jamie couldn’t help but feel proud to see how much of an impression his lass had made. Claire shot him a quick smile, giving him a nod and a look that said “I’ll be alright.” 

“I’ll meet ye back in my office,” Jamie said, leaning down to press a quick kiss to the top of her curls. 

Before she could even reply to him, Mrs. Crook had snagged her arm and was herding her over to her desk, Claire good-naturedly following while blowing Jamie a kiss. 

Leaving the ladies in peace, Jamie started toward his office. Before he’d even made it out of the reception area, however, he found himself face-to-face with Geneva Dunsany, forcing him to grind to a halt. 

Geneva was one of the lower level staff members in marketing and a relatively new hire. Jamie usually only hired people he knew personally, but John had insisted on her as a favor to her father, a longtime family friend. Jamie didn’t know much about her other than that she was competent enough at her job that he never had to interact much. 

But here in front of him stood the dark-haired lass, her face caked in makeup that was a shade too dark and her fake lashes blinking up at him. 

“I wondered if I might have a moment,” she asked. 

Jamie spared a glance behind him, checking that Claire was alright. Upon seeing her chatting away with Mrs. Crook over a picture on the reception desk (and hopefully not in immediate danger of revealing her secret), he turned back to Geneva. 

“Of course. What can I do for ye?” 

“I had a question about… Well, I thought I might ask you to have a look over some quarterly reports I’ve completed.”

As she was speaking, Jamie shot another look over his shoulder. He couldn’t help but worry about Claire when she wasn’t by his side, and he was impatient to get her tucked safely away in his office so he could finally get some real work done. 

Geneva was clearly displeased by his less than courteous behavior. 

“Mr. Fraser,” she sighed. 

He turned back toward her, reminding himself of his dedication to his company— as distracted as he was, an employee didn’t deserve to be treated like this. 

Geneva was already speaking again. “I was wondering if perhaps later today you could come by my office? Or I could come to yours?” 

“Ms. Dunsany, I’m afraid I’m verra busy at the moment and I’ve lost a fair bit of time already… Perhaps ye could take it up wi’ John instead?” 

“But…” her response faded from his attention as a familiar wee hand suddenly wrapped itself around his bicep and a body pressed flush against his side. 

At Claire’s sudden appearance, Geneva cut herself off mid sentence, her painted mouth falling open into a disgruntled “o.” 

“Hi, my love,” Claire all but purred to Jamie, giving his arm a squeeze. She tugged him slightly downward, enough so that she could stand on her tiptoes and press a kiss to his cheek. 

Jamie was left bewildered as one of her hands snaked over to plant itself firmly on the center of his chest and rub back and forth. 

“Hi, mo ghraidh, ehm—” he struggled to find words as Claire gave him another kiss, this time to his shoulder. He could barely focus his mind as it seemed her hands were everywhere at once: stroking his chest, rubbing his arm. What the devil had gotten into her? 

He finally remembered what he was trying to do, and managed out a weak, “This is Geneva, our…” her job title flew out the window as Claire’s hand went from his chest to hook into one of his belt loops on the opposite side, effectively stopping his heart and his brain in one simple motion. 

“Geneva, this is Claire,” the words burst out in a rush with zero brain cells behind them as he desperately tried to fulfill his social duties in the face of his girlfriend’s advances. 

He lowered his head to try to catch a glance at Claire’s face, to make eye contact and glean some sort of clue about what had gotten into her, but he found she wasn’t even looking at him. Instead, her eyes were fixed straight ahead, right on Geneva. 

“Hello,” Geneva said, a hint of disapproval in her voice. She took a step back from them as her eyes flicked up and down. 

“Hello,” Claire replied, but her tone made Jamie start. Never before had he heard his faerie— his joyful, bubbly, loves-everyone-without-discrimination faerie— sound so cold. Her voice was low and steady, without even a hint of smile. 

Jamie’s brain went on high alert as Geneva reached a hand out for a handshake. They had rehearsed this in the car (not that Claire’d had a chance to use it yet with all the hugs she’d been giving out), but Jamie was worried that all the training had gone from her mind when she had apparently lost her marbles. 

However, Claire removed her right hand from where it had been placed over Jamie’s stomach to reach out and clasp Geneva’s while keeping herself firmly glued to Jamie’s side. 

He could feel her stiffen against him the moment the two lasses made contact, and then, as if a rubber band had been snapped, Claire withdrew her hand and turned to Jamie with a jerk.  

“I need something from your… room, darling,” she said forcefully, clearly forgetting the word for office. 

“Of course, a leannan, what do ye—”

Before he could finish getting out his question, Claire was stepping in front of him to drag him away. He allowed himself to be tugged off by his faerie, leaving behind a nonplussed and rather displeased looking Geneva. 

When they got down the hall to his office, Claire all but shoved him inside. Jamie stumbled through as Claire shut the door behind them. He was just beginning to ask, “What the devil has gotten into ye—?” when Claire was suddenly on top of him, her lips claiming his so insistently that it was almost an attack rather than a kiss.

His words were muffled by her lips, and he found himself getting shoved up against a wall as she took his mouth. All protestations died in his throat and her strange behavior was wiped from his mind as her kiss clouded his senses, filling him so entirely. He let her tangle her fingers in the curls at the nape of his neck, pulling him down to her, and he didn’t resist even as she tugged hard and her tongue swiped into his mouth. 

He was fairly certain that she would be the death of him, but he was more than willing to die of asphyxiation if it meant that her lips wouldn’t leave his. Her mouth pressed hot against his, demanding and consuming. Still, as his lungs screamed for air, and he urgently squeezed her waist where his hands were resting. 

She tore her lips away, gasping for breath, and then stood there, panting. She was quite a sight. Her hair was mussed, lips puffy, and her eyes held a hard look, darker than he’d ever seen them before. 

What the hell?

“What— what was that?” Jamie gasped, barely able to find his breath. Claire had clearly stolen it from him during that heated kiss, right along with his wits and perhaps even his free will.  

“You’re mine,” Claire said hotly, drawing closer again so her body could press against his as she said it. Her eyes blazed as they locked with Jamie, as if daring him to disagree. 

“Of course I’m yours, mo nighean donn, but what brought this on?” 

Claire had been in the process of leaning in to trail a line of kisses down his neck when he spoke, and she halted on her second kiss to draw back with a huff. 

Clearly bothered, she looked almost dangerous as she said in a low voice, “Geneva. She wants you.” 

“What?” it was almost a laugh as Jamie reacted to her claim. 

Claire took a tiny step back so she could properly meet his eyes, and then said, very resolutely, “She does, Jamie. I touched her, I know. I could tell even before I felt it that she wanted you.” 

Jamie’s mouth fell open at this revelation. He knew better than to protest, and upon hearing her confirmation, he realized that Geneva had been rather forward lately, but that didn’t mean she… 

Looking at Claire’s heated expression, it clearly did. His lass was inflamed. Her cheeks were flushed, pupils dilated, and her jaw clenched tightly. 

Jamie couldn’t help it as a smirk began to turn up the corner of his lips and a warm feeling of something akin to satisfaction spread in his chest. 

“So ye’re tellin’ me… that whole scene outside, and then you all but attackin’ me in here… was because ye were jealous?” 

“Well,” Claire shifted on her feet slightly, for the first time in several minutes breaking free from her severe look, “yes. You’re mine, and she—”

“Aye, I’m yers, mo ghraidh, no doubt about it,” he confirmed without hesitation, making sure she knew it was the absolute truth of his heart, “jes’ as ye’re mine.” 

He couldn’t help but smile though as the pieces all fell into place. She’d seen him from across the room and gotten jealous, so she had marched on over to stake her claim on him before demonstrating her power by stealing him away, only to kiss the living daylights out of him. It all made sense now. Her behavior wasn’t random. It was possessive. 

“You’re enjoying this!” Claire exclaimed, looking up at him with an open mouth. She was trying to sound appalled, but he could see the smile she was trying to smother turning up the corners of her lips. 

The laughter bubbled up from his chest, and he grabbed her around the waist to pull her against him as he chuckled. “Ye’re too much, mo nighean donn. And it only makes me love ye more and more.” 

Despite herself, she started laughing too, grabbing his shoulders as he hauled her against him. 

“I suppose it was rather… petty,” she admitted, biting her lip. 

“Mmmm, the way ye kissed me, though. I think I wish more lassies would take a fancy to me jes’ to get that reaction from ye again…”

She smacked him lightly on the chest, but she was still smiling as he leaned down to peck her on the lips. 

“You don’t need silly girls to want you in order to get me to kiss you like that…” Claire teased, standing on her tiptoes so she could hover her lips over his. 

“Oh, is that so? What must I do, then?” 

“Absolutely nothing,” she breathed. 

And then her lips were on his again, and she showed him exactly how little he had to do. 

*

Jamie lost another solid twenty minutes of work time due to the makeout session with Claire that ended up with him pressed against his desk and Claire doing her darndest to make him lose every ounce of self control he’d ever possessed. He’d never been more grateful in his life that his office window had blinds and a locking door. 

As nice as it was to have the very enjoyable attentions of his love, he had wasted so much of the day away already, and there was work to be done. He reluctantly detached his faerie, pulling her away by the waist while she murmured a protest. 

Jamie swiped a thumb over her puffy lips as she pouted at him, resisting the urge to laugh. 

How he loved her with his whole heart. 

“Sorry, Sassenach, I really hafta finish up some work before everyone leaves for the day, and at this rate, I willna ever be able to stop kissin’ ye.” 

She caught his fingers in a quick kiss before she frowned. “I don’t understand why all of you are so caught up with ‘work’,” she commented with distaste. 

“I’m beginnin’ to agree wi’ ye, Sassenach,” Jamie snorted. The temptation to throw everything out the window and pay attention to absolutely nothing save this alluring creature in front of him was nearly enough to drive him mad. But Jamie loved his work, cared about his business, and he had to have some self control— what few scraps remained. 

“Why dinna ye look through some of my books on the shelves while I work? I ken ye canna read the words, but there are some verra beautiful illustrations— uh, pictures, drawings— in some of them.” 

Jamie cursed himself for not bringing adequate entertainment for her. Although, beyond Adso, the space heater, and the garden— well, and him, of course— Jamie wasn’t sure what exactly entertained Claire. 

She agreed with only a brief pout, and Jamie could finally let out the breath he’d been holding when she was safely across the room, browsing the bookshelf. Feeling his heart rate finally descend (was it safe for it to be that elevated for that long?) he settled down in front of his computer. 

He managed to get a good chunk of work done while Claire busied herself with flipping through nearly every book he owned. It turned out that it was an excellent idea, as she seemed well entertained. Every once in a while, Jamie would hear a gasp and have to look up to see the adorable expression of wonder on Claire’s face as she discovered another illustration. It was mainly the kids books, he noticed, that really wowed her. Likely because she could follow the story based on the pictures, and she grew absorbed. Before long, there was a semi-circle of opened books surrounding her on the floor. It warmed him to notice that she never closed them— always leaving them open when she found an illustration she particularly liked, as if she wanted to go back and see it again. 

Despite her fascination and apparent entertainment, it was what felt like a short time later when Jamie was interrupted from deep concentration by a hand sliding up his arm to rest on his shoulder. 

“Claire, what are ye—?” he started, but was cut off when both of her hands smoothed over his shoulders. 

“You’re so tense,” came her smooth voice startlingly close to his ear. 

“Aye,”  he said, rolling his shoulders, “I tend tae carry my stress there when I’m workin.” 

“I don’t want you to be tense.” Her breath tickled his ear, and a shiver rolled down his spine. Warm hands began kneading into his shoulders, digging into the soreness of the muscles. Her touch was the perfect mix of gentle and strong, pulling the tension from his body. He couldn’t help the sigh that fell from his lips. 

Her hands didn’t let up their work, but she sometimes paused to smooth over his shoulders in broad strokes. Without meaning to, his hands fell away from the keyboard and his head tilted back. His eyes were closed in relaxation… when had he closed his eyes? 

He realized distantly that Claire was murmuring soothing words above him. 

“Does that feel good? Let out the tension, darling. There. I’ve got you.”

She hit a particularly tense knot, but the magic of her fingers had it loosening after only a second. 

“Oh Lord,” he breathed, feeling like he was in a trance. “Ye’re so good at this. I—”

His eyes suddenly popped open and he bolted up in his chair, “Christ, lass. Ye’re doin’ yer best tae distract me from my work, are ye no’?” 

“Shhh, don’t worry about it, just relax, my love,” she murmured into his ear, pressing down on his shoulders to get him to sit back in his chair again. 

He was onto her game now, though, and reached up to grab her hand and still her. 

“I have tae work, lass.” 

“I’m not stopping you,” she replied. 

The hand he hadn’t seized stroked over his shoulder. Feeling unequipped to the task of arguing with her, Jamie simply let go and brought his hands back to the keyboard. 

Alright, Fraser. This is a simple game. If you stop giving her attention, she’ll get bored and leave ye be. 

He focused all this attention on the computer screen, ignoring her as she continued her ministrations. It wasn’t the best job, but he managed to type out a few sentences before suddenly there were soft lips tracing the shell of his ear. 

Another shiver ran down his spine, and there was a slight tug of teeth on his earlobe before she kissed it again, soothing the spot with a flutter of breath. 

“Sassenach,” he said in a warning tone. 

“What? I’m not stopping you,” she replied innocently before stooping lower to brush her lips— just barely— down his throat. 

“Ye ken verra well that ye are,” he sighed, the sound turning from frustration to pleasure as she hit a particular spot that made his stomach twist. 

Her fingers were tracing just barely under his shirt, tucking themselves inside the collar. She didn’t seem to be listening, or maybe it was just that she didn’t care, because she refused to respond to the protestation. Instead, she breathed out, “Do you know you have beautiful collarbones?” 

“I didna ken, and I thank ye for the observation. May I return to my work now?” Jamie asked, trying to keep the pleading from his tone. 

She hummed to herself, “I’m not standing in your way.” 

Okay. So maybe he wasn’t quite strong enough to ignore it. And she was in no mood to free him from her clutches on her own accord. 

Swivelling so abruptly in his chair that Claire nearly fell over backward in surprise, he faced her. He took her hands in his and brushed his thumbs over the back of her knuckles. 

“Listen, lass. There’s no way I’ll get anythin’ done while ye’re toyin’ wi’ me, and I still have much to do. So let me make ye a deal. Gi’ me one hour wi’out interruptions, and I’ll… well…” Jamie found himself at a loss for bargaining chips. Ifrinn. The lass had him so well in the palm of her hand that he already gave her whatever she wanted. He decided to flip it and open it up to her. “What do ye want? In return?” 

Her eyes flashed with excitement and a twinkle of mischief. Jamie braced himself for some devious declaration or demand for a game that would prove tortuous for his self control, but instead of anything like that, Claire surprised him by smugly requesting, “I want one hour in front of the heater.” 

Jamie nearly laughed out loud. He’d come to realize that the lass thought that the space heater was a precious, exhaustible commodity, not some piece of junk hooked up to electricity. He hadn’t wanted to disavow her of that notion for fear that she’d spend every waking second in front of it instead of with him, and it seemed now it was going to play the situation to his advantage. 

“I think I may be able tae make that happen,” he said slowly, keeping his cards close to his chest. 

“With you!” she added quickly, narrowing her eyes, “for the full hour.” 

“Do we have a deal then?” he asked, putting on his best business face. 

“We have a deal,” Claire nodded primly. 

Rather than a handshake, Jamie opted for a quick peck of lips. As Claire drew away and made to head back toward the bookshelf on the opposite corner of the room, she looked like a cat that got the cream.

Better luck next time, lass. If you wanna bargain, better come knowing what’s of value. 

Feeling smug in his own right, Jamie returned to his work. This time, it wasn’t his girlfriend’s hands on him distracting his mind. Rather, it was the unshakable feeling of fondness that filled his stomach and warmed him to his toes. 

***

“Hey, Jamie?” Claire asked, breaking the silence about 45 minutes into the agreed hour. 

“What is it, a leannan?” 

He tore his gaze from his computer to find Claire looking up at him from where she sat on the floor at the foot of the bookshelf. Her arms were wrapped around her middle, and she looked so wee curled up in the corner, shooting him a troubled gaze with eyes that were round as a doe’s. 

“I’m cold.”

Brows furrowing, he abandoned his work— in the middle of a sentence no less— and went to her. She was shivering, despite it being rather balmy in his office. 

His wee faerie, typical. 

“Here, lass.” Jamie stripped off his suit jacket to wrap around her shoulders. She took it gratefully, her hands brushing Jamie’s at the edges. That bit of contact jolted through him, shattering any notions of him returning to his work straight away, and he fell to his knees beside her so he could wrap her in a hug. 

She melted instantly into his arms, laying her head on his shoulder. He smoothed his hands up and down her back, and it was at that moment that he felt her shivering. 

“Christ, lass, ye really are cold,” he burst out in concern. 

“It’s cold,” she repeated, shifting herself within his arms to burrow closer. 

“It’s no’ this cold,” he breathed. 

She didn’t say anything, just trembled against him. She withdrew her hands from around his middle and instead tucked them against his chest between where their bodies were pressed together. 

Jamie bit his bottom lip and repositioned himself to get comfortable. It seemed he was in for a longer break from his work than expected. His heart was beginning to beat faster as anxiety for his love rose in his chest. 

“This is more than temperature, a ghraidh,” he said softly. 

She shook her head where it laid on his shoulder but made no move to raise it and look at him. 

“Ye were fine all mornin’,” he noted quietly as his brain began working in earnest. 

“I’m fine now,” Claire insisted, her voice muffled from where her mouth pressed against Jamie’s shoulder. 

“I dinna think ye are,” Jamie finally said out loud, admitting the fear that had been rattling around inside of him for days now. He’d watched the little things add up, even worried over them, but every time he managed to convince himself it was nothing. Even just this morning he’d thought perhaps everything was in his head. Now, however, it was just another item to add to the growing list that was too long to be coincidence. 

“I told you, Jamie. It’s nothing,” Claire said, her voice gaining an edge to it. “I can feel you worrying.” 

Jamie swallowed thickly. A rush of guilt washed over him, and he wondered whether she could feel that too. Gah! It was impossible not to feel things, especially when it came to her. It was terrifying to know she could read them, and that what he was feeling could make things worse for her. 

“This isna nothin’ Sassenach, but I dinna ken—”

Claire sat up abruptly, pushing herself away from him with two hands planted firmly on his chest until she had gained her distance. Irritation was rising in her as warm spots on her cheeks, and her eyes flashed a darker shade of gold. 

“Don’t tell me about me like you know better than I do,” she said, brows drawing together in frustration. 

“I’m no’, I just—” 

Jamie reached for her, but she batted his hands away. 

“I’m telling you, it’s nothing. If you were tired of trying to warm me up, you could have just said something.” 

She was moving backward now, attempting to put more distance between them, but Jamie reached out to grasp her upper arm, holding her still. Her head whipped toward him, eyes hard and ready to lash out, but Jamie spoke before she could. 

“Please, dinna go,” was all he could think to say. 

It wasn’t like she was actually going to storm out of his office— at least he hoped not— but it still hurt for her to tear herself away like that. He didn’t want to fight.  

Something— perhaps it was his pleading tone, the look on his face, or maybe she could actually feel his distress— made her freeze and give him her attention. 

“I’m sorry if I made ye feel like ye werena my priority, mo ghraidh, because ye are. Always. I would abandon work entirely jes’ tae hold ye in my arms, for however long ye wanted. I’m jes’ worried, lass, I dinna mean to presume I ken more than you do about yer own body. I’m sorry. Please, lass, come here to me?” 

Claire’s eyes filled with tears. She remained stock still, her eyes locked with Jamie’s. There was a long moment where he watched the moisture gather in her eyes and the gears turn in her head as she fought within herself, and then she broke the stillness. She did come to him then, scrambling up into his lap and throwing her arms around him. A wet face pressed into the crook of his neck, and Jamie quickly brought his arms up to hold her, pressing her face into him and feeling relief course through him. 

“I’m sorry,” she said, “I don’t know why I lashed out at you, Jamie. I didn’t mean that.”

“Hush, hush, it’s okay, a leannan,” Jamie soothed, carding his fingers through her curls and rocking her back and forth. “Ye’ve had a long day. Ye’ve felt yer share of heartache, met so many new people and seen so many new things, and ye’re tired. Why dinna we head home now, aye?” 

She drew back, blinking tears away from her eyelashes. “Maybe just in a moment?” 

“Of course, Sassenach.” Jamie didn’t need to be an empath to know that she needed a second to gather herself together before she could face the task of exiting the building and encountering whatever people went along with that. 

“Hey, I love you,” Jamie added softly, petting her hair, pulling it back away from her neck over and over. He stretched his thumb so he could smooth over the long muscle of her neck, feeling the soft skin and wishing he were at an angle that he could press a kiss there. 

“I love you, too,” came her quiet response.

***

a/n: Important Update:

Hey friends! So I may be going off the grid a bit later in June, not 100% sure yet. There probably will end up being a brief hiatus for this story, and I wish I could tell you exactly what it will look like, but I don't know yet. I will keep you posted here. Thank you so much for your flexibility and investment in the story, and I'll do my best not to leave you at cliffhangers. While I still have time left, be prepared that updates may get a bit more frequent.

I don’t remember if I’ve announced it on here yet, but I also want to officially say that an Arc III is in the works! I’ve already started writing a bit on it because I’m so excited about it. So don’t worry, even if there is a brief hiatus, there is lots of story left. Thank you for sticking with me!!!

Next

#wooohooo finally managed to write it!!! #all that was fair #claire x jamie #outlander fanfiction #update #fae claire

[mylordshesacactus]

Unasked-For Writing Tip Of The Day: Action Sequences

Fight scenes, chase sequences, etc. A bunch of people recently have said how much they enjoy me and @alexkablob‘s action writing, and frankly, when we first started writing together we both DREADED action scenes because we weren’t good at them and didn’t have any experience in making them good.

So, here’s the breakthrough we had, because I think it’ll help a lot of people.

If you think you suck at action scenes, what’s actually happening is probably that you’re not writing action scenes that interest you.

I’m serious. If you struggle to write an action sequence, it’s probably not that you’re just “not good at action”. What’s happening is probably that you got to the point in your script/outline/etc where you know there needs to be a fight scene and the only thing you have going for it is “right, I need....a fight scene”.

So here’s the solution: Make it more interesting.

This isn’t me being like....tough love or anything, either. This isn’t “make it more interesting to the reader”. Make it more interesting to YOU. Change something about the scene. If it feels like a slog to get through, if you’re confused or you keep losing track of where people are or you’re bored...change it. Make it not boring. Put a twist in.

Some of the most memorable examples of things we’ve personally done, to help illustrate this.

A generic chase scene through back alleys was going to get repetitive and we were inevitably going to lose track of where everyone was. Well...this was set in the Coruscant underworld. There was no reason to treat it like a modern city layout. We worked in 3D instead, and made it a chase sequence through falling-apart, rusty catwalks and fire escapes. It opened up infinitely more possibilities.

A generic dogfight in space becomes much more interesting when you made the decision earlier in the story to put the protagonists in a ship that doesn’t have any weapons.

At one point, we were going to have no choice but to just have a bog-standard 1v2 lightsaber duel in the middle of an open, featureless plain. So we had the protagonists’ crash-landing throw up a massive white dust cloud! Suddenly, an attack could come from any direction at any time; the featureless plain meant there was nothing for the protagonists to get their back to. Suddenly the miles of featureless grey dust that had promised a really boring writing experience became a) a palpable source of tension, and b) a fascinating playground for us as writers. 

I talked about this at length in another post but, at one point we were just...not really at all excited about the next chapter in a project. It was a 5+1 layout, so we had to get through #4 in order to get to the nemesis battle in 5 that was the climax of the piece; but chapter 4 was just not shaping up to be fun to write. We liked the symbolism of it, but it was going to be a long sequence of the protagnists slowly getting overwhelmed by swarming demons and it was so. repetitive. We knew we needed something to fill the climax of that chapter, and wanted a boss fight...but all the “boss fight” options from canon had been DONE in canon. Finally, we had the lightning-bolt idea of a giant demon walrus (this...makes sense in context). This also gave us the opportunity to figure out how a giant walrus would get into an ice cave, the answer naturally ending up “from under the ice, of course”. And then THAT gave us a pitch-dark ice cavern with a massive hole in the floor, covered in thin ice under which was the freezing black Arctic ocean...

What we’d dreaded as a boring filler chapter ended up being our favorite fight sequence we’ve ever written.

Once we needed to have a ship boarded by Klingons who would then be repelled. Writing a straight firefight wasn’t our idea of fun, and it also didn’t feel like a good payoff; we wanted the Klingons to feel like a genuine threat, and if the solution was “shoot them until they go away” then that victory isn’t satisfying. So we made the B-plot of that episode “the artificial gravity is glitching” and then, in the climax, had the Chief Engineer kill all the lights on the ship. We got a zero-G battle in pitch blackness and it was very, very cool.

You get the idea.

The point is, don’t write action sequences you don’t care about! If YOU’RE not interested in what’s happening...trust me, it always shows. If you’re writing a fight or any other kind of action sequence and you can’t keep track of what’s happening, people keep “teleporting” all over the scene (this is a HUGE PROBLEM in action sequences--you NEED to always be aware of where everyone is in relation to each other and the environment) or it just feels repetitive...change it!

Change things until you find that one little tweak that makes the scene sing for you.

(Fun fact: Literally every piece of “how to write an action sequence” advice also works for sex scenes. And, even better, vice versa.)

Because here’s the thing. When you find that one detail that makes you go “oh, fuck yes I want to see this scene” all the things you’re struggling with...just kind of go away.

Having trouble with blocking (keeping track of where people are in the scene in relation to the rest of it)? Not anymore. Once you get that lightning-bolt detail, the trick here is that the scene becomes cinematic to you. You can SEE what you’re trying to describe, this has suddenly become REAL and visceral. You don’t forget about major players and their locations because you’re equally invested in every part of the sequence--or else, change things until you are.

That repetitive slog and the difficulty conveying the action...well, the purpose of changing things around is so that it no longer feels repetitive. And actions you’re EXCITED about describing flow so much easier.

Basically...if you’re not invested in the action, don’t write it until you are. Find something that makes you suddenly interested. Change the setting, change the setup, change the resources the protagonist has access to. Have them break an arm in the preceding scene and suddenly have to compensate for that during the action. Use the environment to both help and hinder your protagonists--either is great, but BOTH is even better.

You’re not bad at writing action--you just need to write action sequences you like.

[anon-rebel-writes]

Something Simple

Hi! Hey! How’s it going? Good? That’s so good!

So I’ve been gone...Ha ha. I feel like I should have an excuse ready, and an apology, and a promise to do better in the future. But honestly, I don’t have...any of those.

Well I do have an apology, I’m sorry that I’ve been gone and kinda just left the internet. I don’t really look at social media as much as I used to (which honestly is super good for mental health, but kinda sucky if you do stuff on social media :P)

I haven’t had a ton of ideas lately, and when I do, I get frustrated with myself because it’s not the most amazing piece that I’ve ever worked on. I had a serious talk with my girlfriend (she’s seriously the majority of my inspiration for most of my works) and she said something that gave me an epiphany.

Sometimes you just have to make some sucky tea until you make the best tea of your life :) (I swear that makes more sense if you read the story lol)

I like domestic fluff. I like short and simple stories. So that’s what this is! I don’t wanna waste my time waiting fro inspiration to strike when I can make something to get me through writer’s block! So if you don’t mind my wacky schedule, I hope you enjoy this simple piece :)

It begins under the cut! <3 Ao3 Link

This should be easy.

It used to be easy for him when he was younger. When he was five, Luka would listen to the waves on the boat and hear a unique tune out of it. At eleven, his mom told him about an old tale she heard and he wrote lyrics based on it. Sixteen, Juleka would idly pluck her bass and he’d come up with three different songs just from the sound. Music was natural to him.

Now it was hard. Nothing inspired him. He was supposed to be a musical guy. How could this tear him down so easily! Maybe his life was too good now. No problems to sing about, no unrequited love songs, no daddy issues. His life was great! What happened to him?

After his dad came back into his life, he appreciated their little relationship. They would jam out and have fun, although it was still awkward to call him ‘dad’, it still seemed fine. He found out a lot of weird stuff with magic and identities when he was younger, but it led to Marinette confessing a huge secret to him. Misunderstandings got cleared up and they ended up reigniting their romantic relationship. After proposing to her last year, they got an apartment that was perfect for them.

Everything was perfect, really. Maybe that was the problem, everything was perfect. Juleka did tease him lately about “losing his edge”. Was his edge gone? His blue dyed hair was barely visible nowadays, any tattoos he got during university were usually covered up by his vast collection of MDC sweaters, even his ear piercings were replaced with whatever colored ones matched his outfit that day!

Maybe he was getting old. He was getting engaged to one of the sweetest people in the world, maybe her sugar-like sweetness rubbed off on him.

Was his music destined to be lost to the winds forever? Did all the talent leave his blood the moment he started settling into a domestic life? Juleka seemed to keep her musical charm, she still did small gigs with Rose in coffee shops every now and then. Ivan even toured around with his new band after university.

All Luka did now was make instruments. Was that even close to musical? His dad supported his career decision, despite intense protests. His in-laws helped him open a little shop. Everything was so easy and simple.

Even now, he waited for Marinette to come home so they could finish watching 'Halloween Wars'. He spends his nights watching reality television. Who has he become?!

It clearly led him here, on his couch, guitar in hand, with no progress being made. He wanted to make something fantastic. Something that Marinette would hear and be reminded of the songs he used to write for her. Luka would sing to her and he would tell himself how he “still has it”.

But nothing came out. No tune, no music, no notes, no lyrics, nothing. Luka sighed and put his guitar on the side of the couch and decided to take his mind off of music, at least for now. A little break should be good! Looking across the living room, he realized the utter mess he made.

Music sheets were scattered across the coffee table, pencils somehow found their way to the floor. Maybe he should clean up, just to have a clean environment to work in.

…

Or maybe he should make himself some tea. Tea always gets creative juices flowing! Not cleaning up, nope. That’s what people do when they’re avoiding stuff and Luka Couffaine does not avoid stuff! Especially not cleaning messes that look like a natural disaster hit his living room. Nope, not avoiding.

So that’s where Marinette found the love of her life two hours later after work. In the kitchen, making tea, warzone in the living room and his heart clearly broken. Opening the apartment door and seeing the utter chaos made her remember just who she was about to marry, but going into the kitchen and seeing the look of despair on his face when he realized they had no honey for his tea was just plain sad.

She took off her shoes and coat and walked over to where he stood, hunched over the counter, staring deeply into his bitter tea. Her arms wrapped around his middle and she let her head rest between his shoulder blades. “Lu? You okay?”

Instead of answering, Luka gently stirred the tea with a spoon and shook his head. “...we forgot to buy honey.”

“And…that’s the only reason you seem upset?”

One quick glance over to the living room definitely made her question if honey was truly the culprit. Then again this wouldn’t be the first time a Couffaine had caused trouble for something small. She’d never forget the shape of the boat after the Captain had lost her favorite headband.

“I… can’t make music anymore.”

Marinette slowly let go of his midsection and turned him to face her. She squinted at his face, trying to see if this was an elaborate joke. “Uh- No offense, but that doesn’t seem possible. I mean… music is second nature to you.”

“You don’t get it. I lost my edge! I’m not cool anymore. I don’t have daddy issues, or love issues, or school issues, or work issues, or-”

“Yeah yeah, you were an angsty boy. But music didn’t come from you because you were edgy. Music is just a part of who you are. Whether you have issues or not. And believe me, the songs you used to write for me were anything but edgy.”

Luka sighed and grabbed his cup of bitter tea. He looked in it and gave it to Marinette. “This tea sucks. It’s like my music. It doesn’t have that ‘umph’ that it needs to be good.” She looked into the cup and decided to take a sip. She let the flavor sit on her tongue for a bit and stared back into the cup, thinking to herself for a second.

“The tea isn’t great, I’ll give you that. But that doesn’t mean it’s bad. It’s just… simple. Nothing too extraordinary, nothing too disgusting. It just tastes like tea. And maybe you just need to make simple tea every once in a while before you can go back to making your delicious Luka juice.”

He chuckled at her analogy and took the tea cup back to give it one last sip. Honestly Marinette was right, although she always tended to be right about these things, the tea wasn’t awful. It wasn’t his favorite, but not every song is his favorite either.

She gave him a kiss on his cheek before heading over to their bedroom.

Luka decided to move back over to the living room to clean the area up a little bit. He put away the massive amount of paper and took most of the pencils from the area, leaving only one sheet of music, his guitar, and a single pencil.

He let out a deep sigh and sat back down on the couch, grabbing his guitar. He sat back and stared down at the music sheet on the table. “Something simple, huh?”

#Pro Lukamari #lukanette #marinette dupain cheng #luka couffaine #domestic fluff #fluff #tea #creative block #music #happy ending #complete

[sky-scribbles]

Fanfic ask game for procrastinating on writing (very accurate, since I should really be working on either the Aeor Fic or my dissertation right now). Tagged by @essektheylyss and @saturdaysky - tysm, this is very fun! <3

1) How many works do you have on AO3?

28! I only really started posting regularly on AO3 after I got into writing for CR, so there’s a modest amount there right now.

2) What’s your total AO3 word count?

~126000; probably going to be a lot more by the time the Aeor Fic is finished!.

3) How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

Only three on AO3 - Critrole, obviously, plus some from my Star Wars: The Old Republic days and a single lonely Dragon Age fic. I’ve written for some other fandoms in the past (Elder Scrolls, mainly).

4) What are your top five fics by kudos?

Show me where my skin begins: Shadowgast; a study of Essek’s touch starvation and the important of touch between him and Caleb as their relationship develops.

My reasons for defying reason: Oneshot looking at Essek’s friendships with each of the Nein in turn, and the Nein’s different love languages.

I shine only with the light you gave me: The wizards slow dance at a fancy Dynasty ball, and Essek negotiates Den dynamics.

I’ll use you as a focal point: Essek summons a familiar, and as he adjusts to life with her, she helps him speedrun his character arc.

How to struggle gracefully: The Mighty Nein and Essek have dinner with Deirta Thelyss, as told through Veth’s perspective. Feat. Veth unpacking some of her own issues and her relationship with Essek

5) Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

Not as much as I’d like to anymore; my current health issues mean I have trouble writing at all, let alone replying to comments... but when I’m functioning better, I do try to reply to as many as I can! I absolutely love seeing people’s insights and hearing their thoughts; you guys make every second of writer’s block worth it! <3

6) What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Hmm, I really don’t know! I’m generally an angst with a happy ending person, so I tend to round things off hopefully. I’d say that The scars that silence carved on me maybe qualifies, because from Essek’s perspective, it ends somewhat ambiguously - but the reader obviously knows that he’s about to get tackle-hugged by a little blue tiefling the moment after the fic ends.

7) Do you write crossovers? If so what is the craziest one you’ve written?

Not really. My Inquisitor!Essek AU is about the closest I’ve got, but I’m not sure I’d ever write anything or it.

8) Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Not since I was about fourteen, thankfully! I’ve had the odd ‘I hate [x character/fandom] but I love this story’ comment here and there.

9) Do you write smut? If so what kind?

Not really. I’ve occasionally strayed into very vaguely nsfw stuff, but I don’t think I’d enjoy writing real smut, nor do I have any confidence that I’d do so halfway decently!

10) Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of!

11) Have you ever had a fic translated?

I did once, many years ago back when I was writing Elder Scrolls stuff.

12) Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No, but I’m definitely not opposed to the idea!

13) What’s your all time favourite ship?

My fic history says Shadowgast, for sure, and I can see them being a love of mine for a very long time.

14) What’s a WIP you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

Nothing that’s posted, thankfully, but I’d truly love to finish the one that currently sits under the working title of ‘the Essek and soup fic’. I’m very fond of it, but just don’t seem to be able to make work beyond its first scene. (Maybe I’ll post that as a standalone someday.)

15) What are your writing strengths?

I like to think I’ve got a good sense for prose rhythm? When I’m proofreading, I can generally count on a voice in my head to be saying ‘this sentence needs to be x length’, or ‘this sentence needs another adjective in it to carry the right emotional weight’, and to tell me when something just feels right and flows nicely.

16) What are your writing weaknesses?

I think I have a bit of a tendency to want to include everything - every interesting thought and bit of character exploration that I come up with in the planning process. Also, plotting! The reason I’ve generally stuck to oneshots is because I find writing lengthier plots really, really hard; sooner or later I just get stumped, thinking ‘ok, but what happens now?’ There’s a reason planning the Aeor fic has taken several months!

17) What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

It’s not something I’d do myself, mostly because I really wouldn’t want to mess up another language in a fic - but I’ve seen it really suit certain stories before.

18) What was the first fandom you wrote for?

It is... really hard to remember that far back, but probably either Skyrim or Torchwood. I did not do so well, but I did it :’D

19) What’s your favourite fic you’ve written?

Show me where my skin begins has a special place in my heart for being such huge fun to write and for being a truly feelgood fic. Familiar (like my mirror years ago) will always be important to me just for being my first CR fic and my entry point, as it were, to the CR fandom.

... but I really do hve a soft spot for The scars that silence carved on me, a study of Essek’s growth between 99 and 124. It’ll never be one of my most popular fics - the Nein don’t even appear in it - but I just loved taking Essek through all of these little changes, bridging the gap between the negotations and his reunion with his friends. And there are some scenes and lines in here I’m really proud of.

I think just about everyone I’d love to tag for this has already been tagged, so consider this an open tag for anyone who’d like to do this!

#this was a lot of fun! ty again #... and I should really get back to work on the aeor fic now #tag meme #writing meme #critical role

[fangirl-ramblings]

Pairing: Arthur x gn!reader

Characters: Reader, Simon Pearson, Mary Linton, Arthur Morgan

Word count: 3306

Summary: You and Arthur have recently made your relationship official by moving into his tent...but is he really into you...or is he still holding onto his past?

Notes: SFW, Angst leading to fluff

After requesting several wonderful stories from one of my favourite writers and people, I was super honoured to have the chance to be able to write something for the super talented and lovely @littlestarofthewest -  Merry Christmas from your secret santa 😘😘

Also a huge thank you to @horsegirl1h (who helped me plot this out) @verai-marcel (for wrangling in all my stupid grammatical mistakes) & @mileycyprus-hill who took a quick look over this and gave me a much better character note on how to improve Arthur's feelings in this story and give me a far better title I could ever think of myself. Thank you all 😘

~* Tumblr Masterlist | Stories on AO3 *~

The First Shall Be Forgotten

You slowly opened your eyes, only to find the cot next to you still empty. It was fairly late when you'd finally taken yourself off to bed last night, but you had found yourself unable to keep your eyes open as you'd sat around the scout fire. Your hope of Arthur riding back into camp and joining you in lying down for the night had turned into a wishful dream of waking up with his strong arms wrapped around you, but it turns out it was just that - merely a pleasant dream. 

It was only a few months since you'd started dating, with most of that time spent being inseparable, but lately you noticed that Arthur was staying away from camp longer and longer. Yes - the events of Blackwater had changed the gang's luck and the likes of Dutch and Strauss kept giving Arthur more and more tasks to do, but you'd felt like that most of these jobs could be done well before nightfall. Surely Arthur wasn't avoiding you because he was bored of you already….could he?

You sat upright, shaking your head free of any more of those nasty thoughts, quickly making the decision that you should get dressed and help out around camp before Miss Grimshaw marched over to berate you for wasting so much time idling about.

There was a chill floating in the air this morning in camp and so you found yourself shivering as you looked around for your light jacket. Opening your shared trunk, you proceeded to pile a mixture of both yours and Arthur's clothes on to the cot in your quest to find your missing coat. Though you soon found yourself distracted as you lifted one of Arthur's shirts up, tutting to yourself as you saw just how worn and dirt stained they all were. You swore that that man would wear these offending items until they fell apart on him...and some were close to doing so, judging by how often they'd been patched up.

   "Ah, there you are," Pearson's cheerful voice booming from behind you, making you jump out of your skin, "I need a helping hand gathering supplies in town and was wondering if you could come along with me for the ride"

   "Me? Surely there's someone more capable about?" Although Valentine was only a short ride away, the idea of being Mr. Pearson's captive audience for that short length of time was not high on your list of priorities for the day. 

   "Well, I don't know if you noticed but we are stretched a little thin on the ground right now," his hands gesturing to the almost empty camp area in front of you, "Mr. Smith & Mr. Escuella are yet to return from Blackwater with young Sean and, as you well know, Mr. Morgan is still yet to return from wherever he has took himself off to. As for the girls..." you tried to stifle a chuckle as he trailed off to glance nervously over at where Tilly, Mary-Beth and Karen were currently sitting at their wagon, making sure they couldn't hear this conversation, "...I'd rather not ask them. Uncle told me of the trouble they got up to on their last visit into Valentine."

You couldn't help but burst out laughing at Pearson's fear of trying to keep three excited young women from creating chaos. "Sorry, sorry," you apologised, wiping your eyes as he looked at you with confusion, "Well...since you have no other options, I'll join you. I've been wanting to pick Arthur up a new shirt anyways." Spotting your jacket at the bottom of the truck, you quickly threw it on, leaving all the other clothes heaped on the bed, "Shall we go now then?"

"Goddamit, why does there have to be a train in the station?" you grumbled as Pearson pulled the horses to a stop at the crossing, which was blocked by one of the carriages belonging to the offending train. After being waylaid by the shop boy slowly loading the wagon with all the goods Pearson had chosen for camp - not that any of these ingredients would do much to improve his cooking, you cruelly thought to yourself - your head was starting to ache from listening to Pearson's constant tall tales. All you had wanted to do was get back to camp and sleep off your headache, but that didn't seem to be happening anytime soon, thanks to this stupid train.

   "I know what you mean, I was hoping to get back and make a start on preparing supper," Pearson sighed before suddenly cheering up, "But, hey, at least it gives me more time to tell you about my time at sea. There was this other time..."

Internally, you found yourself groaning, trying to zone out the older man as he recounted yet another story, that this time seemed to involve him somehow, inexplicably fighting a walrus -  single-handedly -  to save his crew.

You glanced around, finding yourself admiring all the different horses hitched up around the station...until a familiar sight caught your eye.

   "Hey isn't that Brutus?" you interrupted Pearson mid-sentence, gesturing towards the big, black Shire horse that Hosea had gifted Arthur a few weeks ago. Arthur had rarely named his horses after losing his beloved Boudicca in Blackwater and was more than content to just refer to this one as "Boy", but after overhearing Hosea called this giant a brute, you'd jokingly suggested the name Brutus, a name that had tickled Arthur and agreed it was the perfect name for this beast.

Put out a little by the fact you had rudely interrupted him just as the story was getting good, Pearson grudgingly glanced over to the direction in which you were pointing.

   "Er, it does look like it. So anyway after I killed the Walrus with nothing but my bare hands…" 

   'So this is where you've gotten to Morgan,' you thought to yourself, once again not listening to Pearson's story. 'Here's hoping you're on your way home too.'

Smiling to yourself that your lover would hopefully be by your side once more, you absent-mindedly found yourself scanning the crowd of people that was starting to thin out as they slowly stepped onto the carriages...until you saw him standing with his back to you.

A smile started to creep over your face as you recognised Arthur's dirty blond hair, broad frame and filthy blue shirt. Just the fact you could see how dirty it was from this distance made you glad that you'd made the decision to buy him a new one now, as that one needed throwing out, never mind a good wash. Anybody would think that man spent most of his time rolling around in the mud than riding a horse around.

With his hands on his gun belt, he shifted his weight to one side and the smile on your face was replaced with a look of confusion as a young lady was revealed to be standing next to him, deep in an intimate conversation.

Unconsciously scowling at her, you were unable to shake the feeling that you've seen her somewhere before, but for the life of you, you couldn't quite place where.

You squinted your eyes to try and focus your vision on her delicate features before a feeling of rage bubbled up from your stomach as she kissed Arthur's cheek, in a way that suggested more than just friendship.

"And I'll tell you - I used that walrus meat to feed a crew of 50...and not one of them complained the way you and the rest of camp do about my cooking" Pearson waffled on down your ear, distracting you from your thoughts about this mysterious woman and how you wanted to jump down and throttle her. Instead you suddenly had the urge to wrap your hands around the cook's neck. 

Turning to face him, you barked, "Maybe being at sea for weeks at end with no food makes people more appreciative of the slop you always manage to serve up - no matter the ingredients." 

You instantly felt regret as the words left your mouth and you saw the hurt in the older man's eyes.

   "Christ, I'm sorry Mr. Pearson. I didn’t mean to take it out on you..." You paused, thinking about telling him about what you just saw, but you doubted this old sea dog would give a damn about your love life and so explained "I just have a real bad headache and it's put me in a bad mood."

He nodded softly and turned away so you wouldn't see him wipe the sting of the tears from his eyes.

Feeling guilty from the hurt you just caused, you looked away to the source of your own pain, only to find Arthur had disappeared from the platform and the train was now pulling out the station. Had he gotten on board with his mystery woman? Gone off to start a new life with her and left you and the outlaw life behind him? These thoughts rattled around your head as Pearson told the horses to giddy up and the pair of you headed back to camp in an awkward silence.

Jumping down from the wagon, you helped Pearson unload the wagon - still with an uneasy tension in the air, before you tried to broker the peace between you both by offering to help prepare the next meal as a peace offering.

   "No, it's quite okay," Pearson patted you shoulder to show there was no hard feelings, "You go sleep off that sore head of yours"

You nodded appreciatively, finding yourself thanking him and apologising once more as you picked up the wrapped parcel containing Arthur's new shirt, and headed back to your tent. 

As you walked over, you rolled your eyes in annoyance at yourself as you caught sight of the mess you'd left behind this morning. Picking the mountain of clothes up, you threw them in straight at the trunk at the end of the cot, surprising yourself as you heard a loud clatter of something hitting the side of the chest and then dropping onto the floor.

Peering over, you saw that a few shirts and a pair of trousers had missed their target and were now scattered over the floor... alongside a wooden photoframe, laying face down on the ground, that definitely wasn't there before.

Picking it up, you recognised the image of a younger, but still very handsome version of Arthur standing on the left.

'You've always been a good-looking bastard haven't you?' half smiling as you took in his handsome features, 'No wonder you have a long list of admirers to spend all your time instead of me.'

Well before you and Arthur had started dating, you had seen this photograph before. You recalled picking it up from his bedside table back then too, in order to get a closer look of how attractive Arthur's always been.

But sometime between then and making your relationship official, Arthur must have removed it and hidden it out of sight from you. Just as you were about to ask yourself why, you spotted who else was in the picture.

   'No…no it can't be,' you thought to yourself as you stared at the beautiful, dark haired woman standing next to him in the image. But, as much as you didn’t want it to be, it certainly was. Looking straight back at you was a younger version of the same woman from the train station…the same woman who had ripped Arthur's heart out and tore it into a million pieces all those years ago when she called off their engagement - Mary.

Time seemed to slow down as your mind went into overdrive. Did he simply remove the picture as a thoughtful gesture so you wouldn't wake up to a younger Arthur and his ex-fiancee looking at you…or did he hide it because he still loved her and her alone? Were you just a stopgap - something to fill the emptiness in his heart until she came back to him? Is that the real reason Arthur had hidden the picture and not gotten rid of it completely? So once he had managed to win her back, he could toss you aside and place it once more on his bedside to stare lovingly at while he held her in his arms?

You hadn’t realise you were crying or just how hard you were gripping the frame until you heard the sudden sound of glass cracking and a mix of your blood and tears began to streak all over her stupid, perfect face. Standing frozen to the spot, you stared and stared at her image, slowly disappearing under the physical manifestations of your hurt and betrayal, until you heard Arthur bellow out your name as he rode back into camp.

   "Hey you. Boy, did I sure miss you while I was gone," he cheerfully greeted you as he strode towards you, "I tell you, there's some strange sights out there that I've been dyin' to tell you all 'bout."

   "Tell me?" you snarled, acting the wounded animal you currently felt like, "Don't you have other people you'd rather spend your time with?"

   "What? What's got into you?" 

Your heart panged as you saw the hurt cross his face as he saw how upset you were. 

"Listen, if this 'bout me spendin' so much time from camp recently, then I am sorry - but I did miss you somethin' fierce y'know" he assured you, placing his arms around your waist.

   "Just like you've missed Mary for all these years?" Just saying her name out loud felt like you had tasted venom on your lips and needed to quickly spit it out.

"Mary? Where's all this comin' from?" He flustered, averting his eyes downwards as not to meet your steely gaze. Upon seeing you holding the photograph, he exclaimed, "Christ alive, you're bleedin'. Here lemme fix you up."

"I'm fine," you snapped at him, pulling your hand away from his gentle touch. Any other time, this small act of affection - the big mean outlaw gently cradling your hand in his - would have made you melt on the spot, but today your inner rage wasn't having any of it. Instead you blurted out, "I saw you. At the train station…with her."

Realising he had been caught out and couldn't bluff his way out of this sorry mess, he sat down on the cot and tried to explain.

   "Okay, yeah, I was at the train station with her, but it really ain't what you think…"

   "I saw her kiss you."

  "You mean when she kissed my cheek? That was her sayin' goodbye. Her and her brother are headin' back East to find their father."

You sat next to him, the photograph still in your hands.

   "Still doesn't explain why you were with her in the first place."

   "No it doesn't, does it." He sighed, running his hand down his face. "I was on my way back to camp, ridin' through Valentine when I thought I'd check and see if there was any post. Lo' and behold there was just the one - a letter from Mary askin' if I could help with a small problem of hers."

   "So you must have been in contact with her if she knew you were in town."

He shook his head. "No. No, she'd recognised the girls after their last trip into town and wrote to me on the off-chance I was also in the area."

   "Why?"

"Her kid brother, Jamie, he'd gone and got himself mixed up in this weird cult up in Cumberland Forest. Christ, you shoulda seen them all listenin' on as this lunatic spouted some nonsense about turtles or somethin'," laughing, he patted his leg until he saw your stony expression still waiting for the answer to your question.

   "Get to the point please, Arthur."

   "You're right, sorry," he said as he nodded, "Jamie was the only one in her family who stood up for me and I owed it to *him*, not Mary, him -  to help get him away from those crazy fools."

You fidgeted slightly next to him. You wanted to believe him, but he seemed to be avoiding the main topic of conversation.

   "So say I believe you about your reasonings for helping her…why did you keep a picture of her?"

Silence filled the air for a second before he simply answered. "I shoved it in there so you wouldn't have to keep lookin' at it when we lay together...and I guess I forgot all 'bout it."

You looked away as more tears fell down your cheeks. Gently placing his hand under your chin, Arthur turned your face to face his, looking deep into your eyes he told you, 

   "You’re overthinking – I’m yours. That’s all I want to be.”

   "Prove it." You pleaded.

   "Okay then...this should show you she's nothin' to me now." He took the broken frame from your grasp and carefully removed the picture from the frame, lingering for a moment before crumpling it up in his hand and walking towards the campfire.

Though his stride was purposeful, you couldn't help but feel he faltered once more as he looked at the flames, but those fears disappeared as he turned to look back at you with a warmth in his eyes and a smile stretching wide across his face. Looking straight at you, his hand opened and the picture fell into the flames, where it lay for a few moments as it slowly rendered into nothing but a pile of ashes.

Making his way back over to you, he picked you up and spun you around his arms.

   "I'm all yours...are you mine?"

Bonus scene: Arthur's POV

He slowly removed the picture from the frame, partly being careful not to cut himself on broken shards of glass and partly because he wanted to make sure he was making the right decision. He was convinced that after Mary called it all off between them, he'd never smile, let alone love again. But then you'd walked into his life and brought light back into the darkness he'd found himself in.

But maybe there was a reason he'd held on to this photograph for all this time - a reminder of the good times that existed between them. Heartbreak has a funny way of erasing those memories, but seeing the woman you once considered the love of your life in person has an equally funny way of making those feelings rush back.

But no, the heartache he'd felt for all these years outweighed the fleeting moments of happiness he'd felt with Mary. And that kiss on the cheek to say goodbye that she'd given him at the train station? It certainly didn't give him butterflies like it used too. Looking at her image one last time, he crumpled it up and walked over to the campfire.

Though he had confidently strode over to flames, he once more had doubts he was right to finally let Mary go. Turning to face you, everything suddenly became very clear in Arthur's mind. Everything he ever wanted: someone who loved the group of people he considered family, as well as loving him for the man he was - despite his faults, someone who was willing to stick with him through thick and thin, make him laugh when he was down, and never fail to make him smile, that special someone he wanted to grow old with with...he already had that with you.

Without thinking, he opened his hand and let the battered photograph waft downwards, enveloped by the flames and turning to nothingness as he made his way back over to you, picking you up and spinning you around his arms.

   "I'm all yours...are you mine?"

#arthur morgan x reader #rdr2 fanfic #merry christmas #(i hope this copied over correctly 🙈🤣) #rdr secret santa 2020 #secret santa gift

[funkymbtifiction]

Hey I’m having trouble with my type and was hoping you can help me narrow it down from: istj , intj or istp...

Erm. INFP. Let's discuss.

So my main flaws include two things: adapting and actualizing. <- a common problem with Fi-doms/Te inferiors who use Ne. The latter (actualizing) actually indicates inferior Te, because ITJs are proactive in establishing plans and going after what they want. No idea is worth having if you can't do something about it, and TeFi is self-motivated.

I have difficulties with sudden changes in ideas and/or plans. When I am with my esfj conworker, we will have an established plan of how we will go about certain management projects for our work. Specifically, we will list out as discuss: data points, timelines follow up questions for our superiors and expectations. <- this shows you are capable of using Te.

However, after we discuss our plans, she’ll mention a totally new point or observation that we intellectually missed or did not consider post presentation. Or she will deviate from our previous plans and pivot into new ideas or avenues if it’s for the greater good. Usually, I’m so stark in my mind about our plans/mission from point a to b to c, that I immediately get frustrated at myself for not thinking about an alternative factor. I get “stuck” and any deviation from what I already established mentally can cause me pause. <- This sounded ISTJ at first, and it IS SiTe, but what you added later rules out ISTJ.

As well, she’s way better at problem solving than I am. When I reach a block or obstacle, I get overwhelmed and try to find out the reasons why we cannot overcome it. <- inferior Te.

I kind of have this inability to really delve into the perspective of others and to consistently reach out of my head to do so is taxing. I prefer to be in my own mental realm that is not beseeched by others. As a result however, I’m pretty bad at actualizing plans. I’m more of a: note taker, idea person or behind the scenes person who will brainstorm different ideas but I seem to lack the necessary “present energy” to be the one to take action or start if that makes sense. I guess I lack inertia. <- not ISTJ. This indicates weak Te, because you can't decide what to do with something once you brainstorm it. There's no strong Te energy to take you forward and actualize an idea / make it real. (There might be a core 9 mixed in here, also; inertia.)

When I go out to to tasks, I tend to go into my own head and imagine a scenario that is much different than what is happening such as a sketch, comic or idea. Anything to distract myself from the present. Hence why it can be difficult to really engage in more objective tasks. It takes too much energy for me to adapt and fully take advantage of opportunities. <- this rules out Se/ISP, and shows me you're an intuitive, specifically an INFP who prefers their inner mental landscape to the outside world. Avoidance of tasks (again, inferior Te) in favor of fantasies like you outline below:

I mentally drift to the y what if’s such as: what if other people had powers, what would other people’s dynamics be, or if i could live out life in an anime or if I could be a doctor, engineer or Astronaut, even though I have no desire to delve into any of these professions. I’ll even create a mental scape where i have plot points, character driven arcs and designs that i immediately relate to the real world in an intertwined level with my perspective reality. My mind kind of goes into these non sense scenarios that I forget where I am or what I’m doing. This is usually brought on by a stranger I see wearing a yellow jacket and I immediately thing oh wow what they had photokinesis or mirror based based powers and instantly create a whole new identity for this person instead of seeing them for the person they are. It why I crave to become a writer or Animator; Relating to real if is difficult and being in my own mental realms is key for me. <- Fi and Ne / INFP behavior.

It really is until that I’m at work or doing a task that I can be more present but that does not last long. <- weak Si and Te

I care deeply for others but I would also say that I’m not emotionally charged. I dislike disappointing people don’t get new wrong but the constant checking in and expectations are overwhelming and I have a bad habit of not contacting others for awhile. I get told that i am a bit cold but it’s really not something that bothers me (I actually find it humorous because while I don’t show it, I can be a huge ball of emotion). I can be insecure about not reading situations correctly or not saying the right thing but i try my best. <- Fi-dom. Not sure how you fit in with others, being relatively unconcerned with not matching them emotionally, but also a bit anxious about socializing, intense emotions that don't show, leading others to find you "cold" -- the "still waters run deep" of an IFP.

#question #infp #mbti

[belit0]

1000k Commission [Uchiha Obito x Fem Coffy Reader] @obitobrigade

Obito x reader(coffy) pregnant, him giving belly kisses while setting up the nursery. It can be nsfw,fluffy or however your imagination goes with it😊

[Writer: Honey, I'm so sorry for the delay. I wanted to challenge myself and write more than just sexy content and ended up falling into writer's block :(. Hope you like this, it's nothing I would typically write! I don't consider myself good with fluff, but I wanted to do it for you because I know you like it :/ ]

Commissions are open! [Sasuke / Itachi / Shisui / Obito / Izuna / Madara / Indra]

On a beautiful autumn afternoon, the Uchiha is carrying a giant television on the stairs, trying to reach the first floor without the device falling in the process.

At the end of these, she waits for him, holding her huge belly with both hands while caressing it, and questions with her eyes the stupidity her man is trying to do.

"Tobito..."

"What, Coffy. What?"

"We talked about this, didn't we?"

"We talked about this, yes, and you heard my completely valid points about why we needed a TV in the nursery!"

"So, you suppose it's relevant when you have to squeeze in two cots as well? Think about it, love..."

"Perfectly relevant. They're twins. Twins. And we have no idea how to look after them! I have no idea how to look after them! I need therapy while I take on that responsibility."

"And your therapy is a TV..."

"Leave me alone."

With no choice before the stubborn Uchiha blood in that man's veins, the only thing left to do was to allow him trouble with the device on the stairs, while Coffy rescued herself in bed, necessary with such an advanced pregnancy.

Eventually, the gigantic TV came to the baby's room, where the basic decorations were already in place. The painting was a simple matter, Obito insisted that he wanted a neutral tone even though both newborns were boys, and some furniture was already in place.

The man's next challenge, however, brought an unexpected mental complication.

Nails in the walls.

The Uchiha had never been involved in such tasks before, they were not really his thing. In his childhood, he preferred to be the one holding the lantern while Madara fixed everything. But now, on the verge of becoming a father, it was time to face the unknown, put on his trousers, and leave everything finished for the end of the day.

Taking one of the small metal objects and the hammer, he positioned himself against the wall, calculating firmly the trajectory of the blow.

"Now... just... FUCK"

The nail bent after the weight hit it, leaving it as a hook and becoming useless to Obito's goal.

How hard would it be to hang up some damn childish pictures?

Taking another nail, he tried again, only to bang his fingers in the process and end up knocking the hammer to the ground.

Okay, plan two. If that method didn't work, he had another way.

Double-sided tape.

Why didn't I think of it before... thought Uchiha as he cut piece by piece and removed the safety label, revealing the glue and placing it behind the paintings that were to adorn the walls.

Everything was wonderful and impeccable, the enormous television occupying half of the room, the two cradles tightened in a corner, two holes in the wall from the failed nails, and a hand with ice from the blow of the hammer.

But all wonderful and impeccable!

And so, Obito was ready to close the door and finish the task. Until the hanging pictures suddenly gave way, falling abruptly and crashing to the ground, making crystals fly in all directions. Of course, the tape did not hold, and the lazy solution was not successful.

Completely exhausted by his failure, he went to where Coffy was resting and dropped heavily next to her on the bed.

"I'm so done with this parenting thing.”

"Love, we haven't even started...”

She laughed, stroking his hair, and appreciating the man's real frustration.

"Let me remind you why all this is worthwhile. Go on, put your hands, feel them, listen..."

With delicacy, as if something that would break at the slightest touch, he placed his ear against her belly, hoping to feel his unborn children.

A kick caught him off guard, making the skin on her belly stretch and come down quickly, as if something was trying to reach him from the other side, to greet him, to touch him.

"Did you see that?! Baby it looks like your skin is going to break! Are you okay?!"

"It's normal, honey, they're trying to greet Daddy!"

"You have too much energy kids, stop moving like that, you're making mommy crazy!"

The Uchiha spoke to the belly as if he could really see his children as if he had them in front of him and was dealing with them. A touch of concern for his wife's comfort shone through his pupils, as well as pure love and care for the little humans he was somehow holding in his hands at that moment.

"They are not, love, in fact, it is one of the best sensations in the world. I have a feeling that they will be as intense as you..."

"Hey, watch your mouth woman, just because you have this giant yoga ball attached to your body doesn't mean I can't put you in your place."

With a seductive smile, Obito joined his lips with Coffy's, consummating that beautiful bond with his children in the middle.

If he didn't believe that having sex during pregnancy is something strange, he would have destroyed his girl there and now.

Separating from his kiss, curiosity overcame Coffy as she collected all the strange noises and dirty words she heard from the bed while he was working.

"Obito..."

"Hm?"

"How bad is the mess you left in the baby's room?"

"Do you want me to be honest or do you want this moment to continue?"

Not daring to listen to her answer, he held her tightly and directed her head to his neck, while the two of them curled up in the only position she could tolerate at this point.

"Anyway, I will trick Shisui into coming to clean up by promising him a beer or something... You don't have to worry."

"Was it the TV exploding the noise of broken glass I heard earlier?"

"What?! Are you crazy, honey?! Do you think I'm that stupid?! Geez."

#obito uchiha x reader #uchiha obito x reader #obito uchiha #uchiha obito #ko fi commissions #obito x reader #obito scenario #obito imagine #naruto shippuden #naruto imagines #naruto x reader #obito

[shinidamachu]

Do you have thoughts on the Aang/Ozai showdown at the end?

Zuko: please. The real hero is a random rock the Avatar.

The final battle was amazing, from an animation poin of view. The colors, the fighting sequence, the symbolism, Aang finally mastering all elements. Just very exciting and satisfying to watch, because it was something that the audience was hoping for since episode one. And they delivered it.

From a writing point of view, though? It was less of a showdown and more of a cop-out. See, I'm not saying, by any means, that Aang should have killed Ozai. Quite the opposite. Not only because it was a children's show. Not only because Aang was a traumatized, non violent, 12 years old. But also because it made sense for the character and for the core themes of the show.

Don't get me wrong, Ozai one hundred per cent deserved to die. Aang himself stated that the world would be a better place without Ozai in it. I just don't think he should be the one to do it. At the same time, is on his hands that Ozai's fate lays and no one else can make that decision for him.

So if killing Ozai off could turn him into a Fire Nation martyr anyway and Aang refuses to do so because of his pacifist principles, what's the other option to defeat the guy and end the war? The authors went with energy bending and, honestly, I thought it was brilliant for a series of reasons.

First, ending Ozai's life seems like the obvious choice, an easy way out. I love the concept of Aang refusing to do what's expected of him and choosing instead to finish the war on his own terms, without compromising who he is, because in theory, that would mean he would have to go out of his way to find a different solution, in a perfect shout out to Bumi's words in The King Of Omashu: "you must master the four elements and confront the Fire Lord. And when you do, I hope you will think like a mad genius."

Second, in a show where bending is intimately related to one's very being, the questions begs to be raised: how much taking someone's bending away is better, more ethical or less cruel than actively killing them? Because it's a fundamental part of who they are, of their soul. Ty Lee had the abiliity to block chis, temporarily making people unable to bend. And it was a terrifying thing for the people she used the technique on.

Lastly, it ends the "killing Ozai would turn him into a Fire Nation martyr" for good, because (ATLA COMICS SPOILER ALERT) Aang let him leave without his bending and a significant amount of people still worshipped the guy to the point of planning coups on the down low and sending Zuko death threats left and right, so we basically got the same result, but Ozai remained an ever present threat to the peace Aang fought to achieve.

The problem, as people smarter and more eloquent than I have pointed out countless times, wasn't the energy bending solution, it was the way it was introduced and then executed.

Aang: hey! Look at these weird Lion Turtle things.

Looking back now, this scene from The Library was obviously foreshadowing the finale, so the Lion Turtle reveal wasn't pulled out of thin air. It had a purpose. Considering that this episode, from Book Two, mentioned the Lion Turtle, who would later teach Aang how to energy bend and that The Guru, also from Book Two, introduced the arc of Aang having to let go of his attachment to Katara in order to master the Avatar State, I can only assume that the original intentions of the writers were very clear:

Aang doesn't want to kill Ozai but he also doesn't want to let go of Katara. That's the catch! To "energy bend" his way out of murder, he has to master the Avatar State. His conflict here, is much greater than before because now Katara is a factor in the equation as well. He either kills Ozai, keeps his attachment and gives up the Avatar State or he masters it, defeats Ozai by removing his bending but has to let go of Katara in the process. It's awesome because it's the hardest possible choice a character like Aang could be forced to make. And we knew he would ultimately do the right thing, but regardless of what he decides, he still loses something important to him, he still has to make a huge sacrifice.

Of course, none of that happens. This was the first and only time the Lion Turtle was brought up. The “letting Katara go” arc was unceremoniously killed alongside Aang the second Azula shot that lightning in Ba Sing Se, but differently from the Avatar, whom Katara ressurrected, it was never brought back. And it’s a shame. Because The Library was the perfect episode to expand on the Lion Turtle and energy bending mystery. 

And the finale? It was the perfect episode for Aang to do what he failed to do in Ba Sing Se: to let Katara go and achieve the Avatar State by his own merits, sacrificing something he wanted for the greater good. The way he hid into a cocoon of rocks? It would have been a great call out to the little crystal tent he made in his fight with Azula when he decided to give the Guru’s advices a try. And it would also symbolize rebirth in the same way Katara breaking him out of the iceberg did. Because now he had finally reached the other side of the river and he is no longer the same person he once was.

But the narrative decided, instead, to rob Aang from any growth, from any substancial change, from any interesting arc. They went with the “love is the most important thing” approach to justify him honlding on to Katara. And I could have bought it if they hadn’t been so dishonest about it.

First: if you love someone, you let them go. Attachment and love are two very different things. No one ever told Aang to stop loving Katara. He was told to let her go. And it makes sense because he was attached to her in a way that wasn’t healthy for either of them, and was keeping him from achieving his full spiritual potential, something he should care a little more about, given his upbring.

Second, in the person of Iroh, arguably the wisest character in the show, Aang is told that he is right for choosing love over power. But this is a false equivalence because it’s not what Aang is doing. The scene makes it look like he is seeking power for the sake of power. That’s not the case. The Avatar State is an inherent power, meaning Aang already has it. It’s part of who he is. He just needs to unblock it and learn how to control it. And he has to do that not for personal gain, but to put an end in the war.

A war that took almost everything from Katara, the person he loves. Aside from Aang himself, she is the person who would benefit the most from him learning to control the Avatar State, since she is the one who has to calm him down every time he accidentaly triggers it and winning the war is a very personal goal of her. Now, this is just conjecture but I firmly believe that even if Katara was secretly in love with Aang (which I don’t buy), she would be the first to tell his it’s okay to let her go. But alas, she wasn’t even aware of this conflict. A conflict she played a key part in.

That being said, I do think that the Ozai dillema was introduced too late. It should have been explored before the Day of Black Sun, giving Aang plenty of time to search for a different solution. It also never made sense to me why killing Ozai wasn’t a problem then. Apparently the explanation that I was supposed to stick with is that Aang was naive. He didn’t know people expected him to kill the Fire Lord until Zuko asked him what he would do when he faced Ozai, since violence wasn’t the answer. But I honestly struggle to accept this because, yes, Aang was naive. 

But not that naive. Not at that point. After episodes like The Siege of the North and The Avatar State, I just don’t buy he didn’t know what people wanted him to do. Plus, Aang has an evasive fighting style, based on always being one step ahead of his opponent. To do that, he has to plan beforehand. What was his plan to confront Ozai in the Day of Black Sun, after everything he went through? Talk to him? Arrest the guy? If that’s the case, shouldn’t it at least be discussed with the gang? It’s never addressed.

Then comes the finale. Aang’s moment of truth. The event we’ve all been hoping for. The one that will turn him into a legend. And Aang is losing. He can’t win without killing Ozai or controling the Avatar State to take his bending away. What will he sacrifice to become a hero? His morals or his attachment? Answer: neither! Because the writers decided he should have everything without give up nothing. So they miraculously make a convenently sharped rock hit the exact right spot in the perfect time unblock his chakra, allowing him to enter the Avatar State.

I’m not even gonna talk about how this is most definitely not how chakras work, because it’s not really my place. But I am gonna talk about the tragic (not to say hilarious) fact that, by trying to make Aang have his cake and eat it too, the writers ultimately made a fucking rock the responsible for Aang’s success. Not his cleverness, not his hard work, not his altruism: a rock. If that rock wasn’t there, in the right place, at the right time, then what? Would Aang finally have done what he had to do, or would he be killed, allowing the war to continue?

That’s my issue with it. That, and the fact that they had no trouble addressing delicate topics, but didn’t have enough courage to let the 12 years old protagonist end up alone. Because, of course, children can’t understand the hero not getting the girl. Right?

RIGHT?

Aang managed to defeat Ozai and get the girl even though there was a whole season dedicated to build up an arc in which he would have to let her go to succed. Even though their last one on one interaction before their last kiss was Aang screaming at her and storming off, while Katara reprimended him for walking away from the issue. Even if he had been acting more and more possessive and entitled when it came to her affection. Even if Katara had shown no real interest in him that way before she suddenly does. But what do I know? Maybe she was hit by a magic rock too.

Aang and Katara happened at the cost of Aang’s character development. Fandom might think the rival ship was harmed the most by it, but that’s not true. Aang was. And it’s really sad. He is an amazing character and he deserved to be the hero of his own story, to have his beliefs tested and to come out of his journey irrevocably changed, not locked inside a plot armor.

#ATLA #Sidmailing #Avatar The Last Airbender