#I have to hike those supplies when they come in and it's A LOT

[ellethespaceunicorn]

The Howling in Claw Creek Forest, Chapter Two

Chapter Two: The Cabin in the Woods

Rating: Mature, 18+, Minors - DNI

Pairing: Werewolf!Walter Marshall x Reader

Word Count: 3K

Series Summary: You live in a small town called Claw Creek, surrounded by a deep, dark forest. Since you were a kid, an urban legend of the creature in the woods has been told. If the distant howls at night and mutilated livestock are anything to go by, you fear the stories to be true.

Chapter Summary: You search the woods for the house you were taken to that night. It’s been hours and you’re lost. Your phone has no service, it is getting dark, and your dumbass didn’t tell anyone you were going on an adventure.

Warnings: mutual pining

A/N: A special thank you to @peyton-warren for being my lovely beta and soundboard for this. I really hope y’all enjoy this one. It was a tough one to write, Walter was so feisty!

Dividers by me

Support/Reblog banner by me

Cover Art by me

Series Masterlist

My Masterlist

When you arrived at the hospital, you had another nurse and colleague check out your head injury on your next shift. Armed with a clean bill of health and a brain bursting with unanswered questions, you try to go about your day. 

The entirety of your workday was spent having coworkers break you out of a trance. Every few minutes, you’d gaze off into nothingness until those around you noticed and snapped their fingers in front of your face. You kept thinking about the wolf and Walter, trying to piece the two together. 

After work, you change your clothes and put on your hiking boots. Even though the drive from the cabin to Liv’s house was short, that was in a vehicle. On foot, you will need to cover a lot of ground. You decided against driving your car down the road that splits the forest. 

If you parked at the entrance to the forest near the park grounds, you could easily sneak back to your car and bypass the curfew checkpoint at the tree line. Not that you planned on being out until nightfall. 

Parking your car in the gravel-filled lot, you tighten your scarf around your neck and start your journey into the woods. Walking takes you about ten minutes to get to the clearing where you and Olivia enjoyed wine coolers. It didn’t seem like it took you this long to get to the clearing a couple of days ago, but you don’t stay long enough to dwell on it.

Retracing your steps, you walk for another few minutes in search of the tree with the giant roots jutting out from the forest floor. After ten minutes of wandering, you think about giving up because daylight is in short supply. Looking down at your phone, you curse when you see the battery percentage looking back at you. Eleven percent wouldn’t get you far should you need to make an urgent call or use the flashlight since you forgot to bring one.

After another few minutes of traipsing through the forest, you trip over a large root and accidentally find your tree. Following the roots, you find the little alcove that you had planned to hide in during your game with Liv. You notice the setting sun as you turn to sit on the higher roots. 

Taking out your phone, you realize that it had shut off due to low power. Shoving it back in your pocket, you stand up and wipe a hand down your face. You’re pissed off, cold, and now have no way to contact anyone should you need to. Anger boils your blood as you stand in the now-dark forest.

Pacing for a few seconds doesn’t calm you down. You start to hear all the little nocturnal animals coming alive and usually, you would find this peaceful. However, you would give anything to hear a certain howl. But it’s just crickets, frogs, and owls out tonight.

You don’t know what else to do but…

“Fuck. Fuck! Fuuuuuuuuuck!” You scream out into the void, it would seem.

Until you hear a response in the form of a huff behind you. 

When you turn around, you're only a little surprised to see the same wolf from before walking toward you. You stand still until it stops about a foot from you. You look down and study its paws, large enough to rip your throat out. But the wolf just sits down as a dog would and looks up at you before yawning, showing off its sharp teeth and long dusty-mauve tongue. 

If this were a dog, you would have reached out a hand to pet it. But the sheer size of it was enough to keep your hands to yourself. You didn't have to think about that for long before the wolf was back on all fours walking around you and nudging at your leg as it started to walk away. It doesn't make it far before it turns around to look at you.

"Oh, am I supposed to follow you or something?" You feel silly asking the wolf a question, but only less so when it huffs in response, "Okay. Following a wolf wasn't on the itinerary. But it isn't attacking me so whatever," You finish, mostly to yourself.

Following the wolf, you notice you are going in a completely different direction through the forest. Of course, the last time you were here was an inebriated adventure but you could've sworn you would go right instead of left. Either way, you're putting your faith in a four-legged carnivore so you stop thinking about what should or shouldn't be happening.

A light in the distance can be seen through the trees and once you reach it, you find yourself in front of a medium-sized cabin. There is a light at the little fence encircling the property. The black Ford F-150 that Walter drove is parked to the side in the driveway. You have to admit you didn't expect to see this place look so...normal. It almost looks quaint.

You shuffle on your feet and are suddenly too nervous to propel you forward. Whining at your side reminds you that you aren't alone. You absentmindedly reach your hand out to stroke the wolf's fur. Thick, coarse fur slides through your fingers. Glowing, yellow eyes look into yours and your fear starts to dissipate. The wolf licks at your hand and then takes off around the back of the cabin.

You think about shouting after it or running after it, but instead, you walk up to the fencing. You could swear you hear a door being closed in the back of the cabin, but you can't be sure and you don't want to snoop. Opening the latch to the gate, you walk through the front yard dragging your feet. Your fight or flight response makes an appearance when you hear movement in the house. 

'It's now or never,' you think, raising your hand to knock on the door. 

Three sharp knocks and you shove your hands in your pockets, waiting for the door to be opened. You jump at the sound of something crashing to the ground and soon the light above the door is turned on. You hold up a hand over your eyes as the harsh fluorescent beams down on you in the dark of night. The door is opened and you take your hand down to see Walter standing there. You’re once again under the spell of him.

He stands tall at about 6’1", and his hair is a disheveled mess but it only adds to the sex appeal. His brows are scrunched together and it doesn’t look like he needs you at his doorstep right now by the scowl across his pretty pink lips. He’s shirtless, sweaty, breathing hard, and smells like a wet dog. The denim shorts he wears are tattered at the ends and his defined calves are on display. His bare feet are a bit dirty as if he’s been running barefoot.

Your eyes shoot back up to his, a faint glow makes his blue eyes look almost golden. He blinks a few times and the glow is gone, aquamarine replaces gold. 

You run through a mental checklist. Wet dog smell, check. Frayed shorts that were probably thrown on in a hurry, check. Golden eyes, check. You feel so stupid thinking about the last item. Walter’s hair color is the same as the wolf that brought you here. 

“Are you going to come in or are you going to just stare at me like I’m a–”

“Werewolf?” You blurt out, cutting off Walter’s sentence.

“Just come in, and I can explain everything,” He opens the door and steps aside to let you in, but you don’t move, “I won’t hurt you, I promise. Please come in?” 

His sincere tone and pleading eyes get the better of you. You sigh, chewing the inside of your cheek. Walking in, you step just inside the living room, giving Walter enough space to close the door behind you. You notice a side table knocked over, a lamp, and small knickknacks on the floor next to it. You turn back to look at him and his face is that of a kicked puppy.

Of course, it is.

“Look, I didn’t–”

“As much as I want to have this conversation right now, I can’t get over how much you smell. I’m gonna need you to take care of that ASAP. Go get clean and I’ll tidy up. And where is the kitchen? I need coffee if I’m gonna have this conversation sober.” You say, taking off your coat and laying on the back of the couch.

Walter walks you to the kitchen and watches as you busy yourself with the coffee maker. You tell him politely to get out of his kitchen and go shower. He opens his mouth to talk but closes it when he sees your eyebrows raise and your hand go to your hip. He simply nods and walks away. You hear him walk up the stairs and soon the faint sound of a shower being turned on before a door is closed.

You fill the coffee maker with grounds and water, setting it then make your way to the living room. Picking up the end table, you turn it right side up and set it on its legs. You bend down to pick up the figurines from the floor. You’re not surprised when they turn out to be two wolves, the larger one made of light wood and the smaller wolf a dark mahogany.

You hear the coffee maker sputtering and go in to check on it. Pulling out two mugs from their spot in the corner cabinet, you fill one and leave one for Walter, not sure if he even wants coffee so late at night. Did werewolves even drink coffee?

So, that’s it. You’re just entertaining the idea that werewolves not only exist but that you’re in a cabin with one. In the back of your mind, your grandfather’s tale of the Claw Creek creature demands attention. You were going over it when you heard footsteps coming down the stairs.

You bring your mug to your mouth to take a sip when Walter appears in the doorway, just as beautiful as when you saw him for the first time. His wet hair curls around his ears. He’s wearing a tighter-than-necessary heather gray henley, the front of it holding onto his pecs for dear life while the sleeves are pulled up to show off muscular forearms. A pair of jeans hug his meaty legs and boots cover his feet.

“You stare a lot.” His words break you out of your ogling and you finally pull down the mug from your lips.

“Don’t flatter yourself, Wolfie,” you comment, suddenly hyperaware that you may have just said something rude.

Walter’s chuckle surprises you, and you’re put at ease, “Wolfie?” He challenges, walking toward you.

You shrug your shoulders and stand your ground, looking up at him as he stops in front of you. He nods to the coffee maker and you step back to let him make a cup for himself. He takes a sip and hums at the flavor. He turns to ask you about it and you answer before he can open his mouth.

“Cinnamon. Just a few shakes and it takes away the sharp bitterness. Now, if you’re done talking about coffee, can we talk about how you can turn into a wolf?” Your frustration peeks through and Walter nods, leading you back into the living room.

Once you get to the couch, you set down your coffee on the table in front of you and turn to face Walter. He takes the cue and starts to speak.

“So, what do you want to know? Do you want me to go through my entire lifetime? It’s quite long, so far. Or start where I was attacked and bitten by someone I thought was a friend? Should I dispel werewolf myths about uncontrollable shifting during the full moon?” He rambles on, probably trying to confuse you or overwhelm you. 

Luckily, you’re already overwhelmed so his attempt is in vain.

“I have a couple of questions. The first one is: Do you eat people? The second one is: Could you follow my scent to find me?” you offer, pulling your leg up to sit on it while leaning against the back of the couch.

“I don’t eat people. I don’t think Werewolves as a whole, ever eat people. Attack? Sure. But no, I don’t crave human flesh,” he pauses, looking down at his hands, “How’d you know about the scent thing?” He’s suddenly super interested in his fingernails.

“I didn’t know about the scent thing. You just confirmed a hunch, is all,” You reach for your mug, bringing it closer to your lips before taking a sip, “One more question and I’ll release you from the hot seat. Are you safe out here? Like, I mean, with the animal mutilations in the town, they were talking about sending hunters out to look for whatever was doing it.”

“That wasn’t me, just so you know. I’m safe out here. I actually live in town, I just come here to shift and get some time away. No one comes out this way. This used to be an abandoned shack, but I fixed it up over the past years. Got electricity going and made it...wait. You care if I’m safe out here?” he presses, a toothy grin showing off his sharp canines.

“You saved my life, I can’t care about your wellbeing? I’m being nice, don’t push it, Wolfie,” you snap, a little harsher than you meant to. You did feel lied to, but he was being honest with you. You shake your head before insisting, “I’m sorry, I just...this is a lot. And I need you to know that I was really pissed off with you in the beginning, but I know why you didn’t tell me. Safety and all that. Maybe you can drive me back to my car so I can start the drive back home?” You were cut off by an intense yawn that came out of nowhere.

“Speaking of safety, you look like you’re ready to fall over. You’ve had all of about two sips of coffee and that yawn almost unhinged your jaw a bit there. Just, I won’t be able to sleep if I know you’re tired behind the wheel,” he admits, turning concerned eyes on you.

“You know, as a wolf, using puppy dog eyes on me should be considered unfair. And how do I know this is not some elaborate excuse to get me into your bed so you can have your way with me, huh?” you huff, squinting at him as his eyes glimmer in the low light of the room.

“Do you want me to have my way with you?” he leans back, head over his shoulder, and crosses his arms over his broad chest.

Your hand flies out to slap his bicep. You figure that was easier than giving him the answer that was on the tip of your tongue.

He rolls his eyes and gets up from the couch, pointing to your coffee cup in your hand and motioning for you to give it to him. He takes both of your unfinished cups to the kitchen and when he comes back, he heads for the stairs. “You coming, pup?”

“Pup? Is that because I called you Wolfie?” You stand up from the couch, tilting your head at him before walking to follow him up the steps.

“I don’t know, give me time and I’ll think of something better.” He winks at you and smiles when you duck your head.

Once Walter shows you to his bedroom, you don’t hide your urge to look over everything in the room while he leans against the open door. You almost get upset when you see that his bedspread isn’t a large picture of a wolf’s face. Somehow you thought it would just fit in with his vibe. But the midnight blue damask comforter that covers the bed is actually way more fitting.

“Wait, where are you gonna sleep if I sleep in here?” You question as you sit on the bed and take off your boots.

“I figured I would sleep on the couch. I don’t need much sleep anyway. Unless that was an invitation…?” he smirks and is surprised when you look to be thinking it over.

“Can you stay in here ‘til I fall asleep? I don’t want to be alone.” you confess, looking everywhere but who you were talking to. You can’t believe the words coming out of your mouth, but you also know you won’t sleep in a bed that’s not yours all by your lonesome.

“Are you alright? I mean, of course, you’re not. What am I saying?” he rambles, coming into the room fully and hunching his shoulders so he can seem less intimidating.

Walter walks over to the bed, pulls back the bedspread, and motions for you to crawl under the covers. Once you are comfortable, he turns on a low light on his dresser and turns off the overhead light of the room. Coming back to the bed, he sits at the edge and toes off his boots before you pull him to lie down next to you.

Turning to face him as he lays on his back, you stare at his face as he looks up at the ceiling. You’re interlacing your fingers so that you don’t reach out and trace his jawline when a thought pops into your head.

“When’s the last time you had a woman in your bed?” You breathe, mentally kicking yourself for not thinking longer before you voice your thoughts.

“It’s been a while. Years. I don’t really...mingle much.” He murmurs, eyes never moving from one particular spot.

You refuse to acknowledge the “lone wolf” analogy, instead, you steady yourself before putting a hand on his. “Thank you for saving me, Walter. Goodnight.” Taking your hand back, you close your eyes and let tiredness take its course.

“You’re welcome.” His soft voice is barely above a whisper, but it’s the last thing you hear before you’re fully asleep.

To be continued…

A/N:  Wow, you mean to tell me I got these two folks in bed together and they’re both dressed still? What?! Don’t hate me!

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[photo1030]

Leather and Lace - Chapter 20: All The Little Things 

Summary: Arthur takes note of all the little things you do for him and tries to decide if he’s ready to take your relationship to the next level. 

Warning: 18+ please. Minors - DNI; NSFW - This one is a bit longer than I planned, sorry!

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*This beautiful images comes from the always stunning @foundynnel

*Beta-read by the wonderfully supportive @readingcoco (Thank you for herding in my thoughts, my friend!)

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It’s been a few weeks since you and Arthur proclaimed your affections for each other and you have quickly settled into a comfortable routine. With Arthur being a senior member of the gang, and with you as his woman, you feel that you need to step up and contribute more to the Van Der Linde Gang. And Dutch and Ms. Grimshaw couldn’t be more thrilled. 

The gang must always come first - that is what Arthur has instilled in you and it’s what you have come to adopt as your own adage too. You feel that same sense of belonging and responsibility for these people and finally begin to truly understand Arthur’s unrelenting loyalty to them. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link, and as long as the gang does well, the people within it will prosper. 

You are quickly becoming more embedded into this rag-tag group than you had ever thought you would. It’s not just a group of random individuals or a place for you to hide for safety, they are your family now, just as they are Arthur’s. These are the people who comfort you when you need it, and protect you as one of their own. They laugh with you; they yell and stomp angrily with you. You affectionately think of them and pick-up little gifts that will make their day, and you are rewarded with their love and appreciation in return. This is what Arthur is devoutly devoted to, this sense of belonging. For this is much more than a gang of lawbreakers. These people chose each other, which is a bond tighter than most blood relatives. 

The sun is just climbing into its zenith in the autumn sky, desperately trying to break its radiant beams through the gray, overcast clouds to shine down upon the earth below. You and Tilly rumble into camp on a wagon, having just come back from town with a load full of supplies. Mr. Pearson greets you as the old wooden vehicle creaks to a halt. He waddles over and peers his chubby face over the side. The cook is thrilled, seeing an extra crate of potatoes, two more tins of lard and a sack of grain more than he expected you to return with. 

“I guess battin’ those eyelashes of yours at the store owner goes a lot further than I thought,” the portly man teases you as he grabs some of the items from the back of the wagon. 

You beam back at him with a smile of pride as you hike up your skirt into your hand and climb down from the wagon seat. “What is it they say? ‘Catch more flies with honey than vinegar?’”, you hum.

“Well, don’t be surprised if I start sending you out more often, then. We’ll probably get further along with your pretty face than mine.” Pearson’s round figure vibrates slightly with the laughter of his own joke.

“Just let me know what you need, I’ll be happy to help.” Suddenly you halt dead in your tracks, realizing that you’ve just repeated one of Arthur’s sayings. Tilly is right:  you and Arthur are already starting to act like an old married couple. The phrase causes you to shake your head before moving back to the wagon to grab more of the items to unpack.

You pick up one of the smaller boxes and turn to head over to the tables where the men lazily sit about, discussing random topics and enjoying a brief moment of peace and quiet. Arthur and Hosea sit, each relaxing with a cigarette in hand, listening to Dutch carry on about something that he's read recently. He’s been obsessed with “An American Eden” by Evelyn Miller lately and takes it upon himself to “preach its teachings”, as it were, to whomever is within the sound of his voice to hear it. The small group of men currently around him are not what you’d call “high-brow” and his philosophy lessons tends to fall on deaf ears sometimes. 

“Hello, boys!” you sing as you saunter over, being met with a collection of head-nods and grins of acknowledgement.

As you grab their attention, you proceed to hand-out a few thoughtful extras that you pilfered in town. You toss a package of new guitar strings to Javier who snatches them out of the air with one of his nimble hands. 

“Gracias, mi amor!” he beams happily as he examines the small bundle in his hands. “Where did you come across these?”

“Don’t you worry about it. I have my ways,” you smirk with an accompanying wink.

You reach over to hand a new book to Hosea with a smile, and offer a premium cigar to Dutch, who gratefully accepts your gift with appreciative eyes. Placing the empty box on the table, you look over at Arthur. “Oh, and by the way, Arthur, I think I saw that jack-rabbit you’re chasing in town today.”

Arthur’s head perks up right away. “The Petersen bounty?”

“Yeah. He was over by the brothel. By the looks of it, he’ll be holed up there for a while,” you say nonchalantly as you pull an apple out of your skirt pocket and rub its red skin against your sleeve before biting into the crisp, juicy fruit. 

“Well shit, why are you just telling me this now?” Arthur huffs impatiently as he quickly gets up and starts moving towards the horses.

“Like I said, he’s in no hurry.” You shrug. “Do I get a finder’s fee for my part?” you call after him with a grin as you watch him pull Buck from the hitching posts. 

Arthur just waves you off as he slides his dusty boot into the stirrup and hastily slings up into Buck’s saddle, taking off for town. 

—---------------------------------------------------

The flames of the evening’s campfire pop and crackle softly as they roll and crawl over the slightly damp wood. The aroma of heady oak permeates the air and the smoky plumes rise and dance up towards the night sky. You and Arthur sit alone on the ground by the fire, leaning back against a log with a blanket wrapped over your legs. The night is quiet as the stars sparkle overhead. Most people are playing cards at one of the tables, or have drifted off to their tents for the evening. 

The fire offers its warmth and golden glow, creating a soft ambiance. Arthur pulls you in for a gentle, absentminded kiss, and you find yourselves wholly content with each other, forgetting that the rest of the world exists as lovers often do. Your lips run languidly, with no urgency or demand as if working of their own accord. You start to gently rake your fingers across Arthur’s chest, slowly flexing to curl around the worn fabric of his faded brown shirt and occasionally reaching up to caress along his neck and chin. The feeling of his skin radiates through your fingertips and down into the palm of your soft hand. Eyes rolling shut, you smile into his mouth in blissful happiness as his arms lovingly and protectively envelop you. 

Arthur’s strong hand sits on your hip, lightly grasping at the supple flesh hidden under the fabric of your skirt. He loves the feeling of your skin on his, it doesn’t matter what the scenario is. Whether it’s his fingers grazing yours when he hands you a cup of fresh-brewed coffee, or when his hips are pounding into yours in the throws of passion, or even just as it is now when the softest of kisses land upon his chapped lips: the feeling of you against him is like electricity pulsing throughout his entire body, bringing him to life, just like that weird story by Mary Shelley that you read to him.  

It’s a rare thing for the two of you to be left alone in camp like this. Usually you have to hide away if you want any sort of privacy. But truth be told, the rest of the gang is respectfully giving the two of you some space. It’s nice not having a bitter and angry Arthur around all of the time. Ever since you publicly claimed him in the middle of camp as yours, he hasn’t been as snarky or barking at people like he usually does. And of course, people will do anything for you. The demands of daytime chores and responsibilities are one thing, but the calm evenings are left for you two. Sure, not every night is as peaceful as this, so you revel in the rare moment of solitude when the two of you can get it. 

Arthur’s lips eventually part from yours to leave a trail of delicate kisses under your jaw and down your neck, hitting that favorite spot of his. The place behind your ear is where the softest skin he has found on your body is hidden. That spot always tastes so heavenly to him and draws that little breathless noise from you that drives him wild. 

Arthur’s nose buries into your hair, picking up the floral notes of the soap you use to wash it with. You giggle and nuzzle him as your hands come up to cradle his head, your fingers entwined into the locks of his hair, hugging him to you as your nose wrinkles in merriment when his beard stubble delightfully tickles your sensitive skin. 

And suddenly, as you roll your body closer into his, before you can even think twice about it, the words just float from your lips like a dandelion seed being carried on a summer breeze. 

“I love you, Arthur.” Your voice is a breathless sigh of utter contentment, a melody singing through the air.

You haven’t seen his face yet, but feel his movements halt as his whole body goes rigid against you. Arthur slowly pulls his face from your neck and looks at you, speechless, with shocked and confused eyes, face flushed a shade of scarlet to rival the fire in front of you.

But you quickly place your fingers over his lips as if to hush any sort of protest he may have. “Now before you go crazy, Arthur, you don’t have to say it back. I simply said it because I wanted to, because it felt right just now.” You give him a soft and reassuring smile, amused by his reaction as he continues to stare at you, blinking quietly. You can tell he wants to say something in return, but can’t find the words as his mouth begins to work, but no sound comes out. 

“It’s okay, Arthur,” you giggle. “Really. I didn’t tell you that to hear it back. I just wanted to make sure you know it. And you can say it if, and when, you’re ready.”

You pause to give him a moment to answer, to make sure he understands that you have no demand of him, but you can see that he is still troubled and finding it hard to articulate what he needs to say. You honestly do not need him to say it back to you. How he treats you is how he feels about you, regardless of words stated or not. Words are used to manipulate people. His actions show you everything you need to know. So thankfully, you put him out of his misery by leaning over to kiss the corner of his mouth as he continues to look at you dumbstruck.

“Don’t get too worked up over it, Arthur.” You pat his cheek affectionately as a look of empathy sits upon your face. “I don’t need you having a heart attack over it. Like I said, you don’t have to say it back. I just wanted you to know where my heart lies.” 

Arthur’s forehead creases as he watches you stand up, brushing the dried leaves out of your skirt before reaching down for your blanket. You bend over to catch his scarred chin in your fingertips. “Goodnight, Arthur,” you whisper and kiss him again. You give him an impish little grin before heading over to your tent for the night. 

You leave Arthur still sitting speechless on the ground, a troubled look settled upon his handsome face as he watches your lovely form fade into the darkness of night before disappearing from view altogether as you close your tent. 

—-----------------------------------------------------

In the days that follow, Dutch announces that he is going to move the camp again. You are all sitting around the fire when he proceeds with an impassioned speech about moving south just outside of a town called Blackwater. 

You watch Dutch as he presents himself to the group, noting how he carries himself in front of others. He is charismatic and passionate, a natural-born leader. Since you have known the dark-haired devil, he has always had a dramatic and commanding presence, drawing his people to him with his idealism and wit. 

You find it amusing how Dutch’s boldness and optimism is a perfect compliment to Hosea’s skeptical wisdom. The two of them together make quite the dynamic duo, two sides of the same coin. Sometimes you wonder at the true nature of their relationship. Are they “brothers”, just as Arthur and John are, or is there more there, smoldering under the surface like hot coals left after a raging fire has burned down? Both men had their lady-loves in their lives, and both were left devastated when these sparks of light were extinguished in their otherwise dark lives. But you can’t help but wonder if there was ever more to Dutch and Hosea’s relationship than meets the eye. The “curious couple and their unruly sons.” The very idea of it makes you regard them with a softer spot in your heart.

The gang is preparing to go to work and the new location has some hot tips emanating from it. The camp is abuzz with packing and planning with everyone sprinting about and working on their assigned tasks. Arthur and Hosea are discussing a real estate tip around West Elizabeth, while Micah and Dutch have their own plan…something about a ferry boat. 

Arthur and Hosea wander to sit at one of the campfires, away from distractions, and are busy discussing their tip and planning for the new move when Hosea casually asks Arthur about you.

“So…how’s things going with (Y/N)?” He gives Arthur a sly smile with that twinkle in his eye. Hosea has been silently observing the budding courtship from the beginning, carefully watching for any signs of discord that would need to be nipped in the bud before trouble brews. 

A slight pink dusts Arthur’s face at the older man’s inquiry, visible even under his week-old beard. A sheepish little grin tugs at the corner of his mouth as he purses his lips in thought. 

“Have you ever wanted to listen to every word someone says, even about the smallest thing in the world just so you can see their face light up and hear their voice?” 

Hosea gives a light-hearted chuckle as he brings his cigarette to his wrinkled lips. “Yeah, that girl broke down those walls of yours without you even noticing she was doin’ it, didn’t she?”

But the smile slowly drips from Arthur’s face as a dark cloud settles over his features. A deep and sad sigh pushes its way from his broad chest under his worn beige jacket. His eyes relax their focus and stray to look out over the camp as he absentmindedly chews on his bottom lip. Hosea notices the change in mood and immediately fears the worst. 

“Ah, shit, what did you do?” accuses the old man in disappointment.

“Nothing!” Arthur counters defensively as his face snaps back to Hosea’s attention. But he is met with the clever fox’s skeptical scowl. Arthur hesitates to share what’s on his mind, afraid that once he verbalizes the phrase again, it will become all too real. 

“She…she told me that she loves me,” Arthur admits quietly, before letting his gaze float to the worn leather of his boots, his toe poking at the grass.

Like a switch has been pulled, Hosea’s face lights up like a Christmas tree. “Well, that’s great news, my boy!” He claps Arthur on the shoulder in congratulations. “Although I could’ve told you that after the first week she was here with us.” But when Arthur doesn't return his friend’s enthusiasm, Hosea’s smile quickly turns down again in confusion, eying him up cautiously. “What’s the matter?”

“I don’t know.”

“What, are you tellin’ me that you don’t love her?” Hosea asks incredulously, his face drawing up in disbelief. 

“No, I wasn’t sayin’ that at all,” pouts Arthur. “‘Cause I do,” he says with a slight, yet definitive nod. The man fidgets slightly, his hands suddenly sweaty and shaky as he finally admits outloud what he’s known internally for awhile. A short, yet sharp exhale escapes him, as the statement is now out there, exposing his fragile heart for the first time in a long while. 

“Well, then I fail to see the problem,” presses Hosea with a flippant wave of his hand in exasperation.

Arthur fidgets with the cigarette in his fingers, slowly rolling it between his thumb and index finger. “What if she realizes that she doesn’t? Love me, I mean?” He catches Hosea’s eye. “What if she wakes up one mornin’ and decides she don’t want me no more?” He turns his gaze outward, focusing on nothing again. “Wouldn’t be the first time.”

Arthur cringes when he hears his own voice whining about being loved, bitching about the same thing he said to Marston a few weeks ago. Yes, it’s sooo horrible to have a wonderful woman love me. He thinks sarcastically. God, I’m pathetic.

“I suppose I see your point.” Hosea nods his head in understanding, as Arthur’s worry becomes all too clear. “So what if she does one day? Hmm?” The old man waves his hand dismissively in the air. “But, what if it turns out that (Y/N) wants to be with you forever?” Hosea squints at Arthur. “Don't you think she’s worth the gamble?”

Arthur turns his pained eyes back to his old friend. “I can’t go through that again, Hosea. I just…I can’t do it.” He leans out on his elbows onto his thighs, head swimming with ever-present self-doubt, coupled with the desperate yearning for the love and acceptance he’s craved since he was a child. 

“Arthur, if (Y/N) tells you she loves you, you better believe her.” Hosea points his weathered, crooked finger at Arthur, poking him in the chest. “Don’t be afraid to start over. You may like your new story better this time around. (Y/N) ain’t like that other one,” he grumbles, his jaw clenching slightly without even needing to mention Mary by name. 

“No, I suppose you’re right. She surely ain’t.” Arthur sits quietly for a moment, mulling over Hosea’s words. Hosea always has a way of getting him to see reason, always had since Arthur was a kid. Hosea could quiet his mind with just the simplest words. Arthur takes another deep drag of his cigarette before that roguish little grin pops up again. “You know…if I somehow manage not to screw this up, Hosea…I’m gonna marry her.”

The admission makes the old man’s heart almost burst with happiness as he huffs out a laugh and pats Arthur’s shoulder again in approval. “God willing, I’ll live long enough to see that.”

The two men share a soft chuckle between them. They have been through so much together to get to this point in their lives and the idea of hope and love in the future gives them a feeling of contentment that is rare for their kind of life.

Arthur wants you, of that, there is no doubt. After Mary and Eliza, ‘love’ was just a word to Arthur, some meaningless string of letters that he’d hear from Mary-Beth as she read her silly stories. Four little characters that created an empty and almost cold feeling for him. L.O.V.E

But now, the word has taken a whole new form in you. You are his definition of desire. Arthur never knew how engulfing the flames of love could be until now, until you uttered those three simple little words to him. You are the only thing that could have brought him back to life with your hands, your lips, your soul. Arthur would journey to the ends of the earth to keep you in his life. He misses you from the moment you separate. All he knows is that nothing else makes as much sense to him as loving you. This is what it feels like to fall and not know, or care, where you land. 

You have no idea the depth of how you affect Arthur, how you calm the chaos in his head and still the tornado of thoughts that threaten his sanity. When he holds you in his arms, you become the eye of his storm, the center that is safe while the gale rages wildly around him. 

When two souls fall in love, there is nothing else but the yearning to be close to each other. The very presence that is felt through a hand held close, a voice heard drifting into one’s ear, or even that slightest smile that you know is only for you. Souls do not have clocks or calendars; they do not function with the idea of time or distance. Devoted souls only know it feels right once they have found each other. Like a magnet to steel, beloved hearts will always be drawn to each other with that force of nature that is undeniable. 

—----------------------------------------------------------------

“Uh oh”, whispers Abigail. Her brunette head pops up as she watches with trepidation from where you both pack supplies into one of the wagons. 

You lift your head to follow her sightline and see Micah and Arthur arguing again. The two of them have been at it for the last few days as the plans to move out of the area are beginning to be set into motion. You wonder how Dutch could put his trust in two men who are so drastically different. It follows suit that Micah will run his mouth with Arthur getting a few verbal, sarcastic jabs in here and there. But it usually ends with Arthur simply towering over the much smaller man until he shrinks down into submission in fear of an iron fist landing into that filthy mouth of his. 

This latest fight seems to be in regards to the competing jobs which have been planned for once you all move down towards Blackwater. Arthur wants nothing to do with this ferry job that Micah is pushing, citing it to be reckless and overreaching. The gang has been in the law’s cross-hairs for some time now and he and Hosea both think sticking to smaller, more reliable jobs is best right now. But Micah has been pitching a more grandiose scheme, arguing that the gang needs to strike bold and quick, garnering as much money as you can so you can start to move away from the civilization that is slowly strangling the gang. Unfortunately for Arthur, Micah seems to be like an earworm, burrowing into Dutch’s brain and playing on his already inflated ego.

You and Abigail observe with baited breath to see how far this current argument will go. But it appears Micah is not backing down this time, continuing to push Arthur to the limits of his patience. Suddenly, in a bold move of newfound courage, Micah steps up right in Arthur’s face, almost nose to nose. The cool autumn air is sucked sharply into your lungs as you gasp and your whole body freezes in apprehension, adrenaline like a knife suddenly thrown into your belly. 

“(Y/N)…” Abigail warns, placing her hand on your forearm. But you are already ahead of her, quick to stride over to the feuding men. As you get closer, a small group begins to gather as the yelling continues to escalate. 

“I’d take a step back and reconsider myself if I were you, Micah,” John smirks with a half-hearted warning from where he sits off to the side, sharpening his knife. John knows full-well that it is only a matter of time before this gets physical, as Arthur has little patience. He has seen Arthur pummel men into a pulp for less offensive actions. But truth be told, John would love to see Micah get his ass beat by Arthur. Hell, he’d even consider paying for it. 

Arthur isn’t saying much but you can tell by the heaving of his chest and the scowl etched into his face that he’s a bomb seconds away from exploding. His broad shoulders set hard as stone as Arthur stands even straighter, towering over Micah. His large hands slowly curl into themselves, fists clenched tight like boulders at the end of his pulsing forearms.

Carefully, you approach the two men from the side, watching them closely and trying to gauge how much time you have before Arthur’s fuse burns to the end of the powder-keg. The tension in the air builds uncomfortably, causing a knot to settle in your stomach. 

“Arthur?'' You call his name softly, trying not to startle him. You tilt your head to look up into his face, trying to catch his attention, but Arthur’s icy stare is trained only on Micah. But then you notice that Micah’s hand is hovering at his side, fingers flexing over his gun in its holster. 

This has now elevated to a precarious situation that needs to be diffused quickly and delicately. You don’t understand why no one else is stepping in to break this up, but assume it’s probably to avoid getting caught in the crossfire. Out of everyone in the gang, these are probably the two men that you absolutely would not want to tangle with. 

Dutch, conveniently, is not around for this show, which may be why Micah is suddenly so bold to openly challenge Arthur like this. While he likes showing off for Dutch, Micah knows he can push the envelope when the leader of the gang is not around, as if trying to insert himself into that coveted role. Over Arthur’s dead body, that is. 

When Arthur still doesn’t answer you, you inch even closer. Carefully, your arm lifts and moves fluidly across Arthur’s chest to lay your hand against his cheek. You calmly say his name again, “Arthur.” 

The simple act cuts to the outlaw instantly as he blinks out of his angry trance and turns to look at you, confused as if he hadn’t even noticed you were standing there. 

Once you catch his attention, you offer Arthur the softest of smiles, your eyes bright and sparkling, distracting him from the weasel that is his ire at the moment.

“Come with me, please.” Your request is quiet yet authoritative.

“What for?!” he snaps, the fury radiating off of him as you can feel how his whole body is flexed and rigid.

A slow and deep exhale emanates from you as you intensely hold his gaze. “Would you rather go for a walk with me..alone…by the river where it’s peaceful and quiet? Or sit here and argue with Micah Bell?” 

You can see Arthur’s mind trying to process your words, his anger and frustration wrestling with your simple logic.

 “Fine,” he barks, not really directing his venom at you.

Arthur reluctantly lets you snake your arm around his and turn him away from Micah. It’s like trying to pull a tree out of the ground with your bare hands. But Micah will not be dismissed so easily. His eyes narrow as he stares you down, just as you begin to maneuver Arthur away. 

“Oh sure, run and hide behind a skirt!" Micah teases. “Pretty damn sad, Morgan!”

“Shut your damn mouth, Micah, or I will shut it for you. Permanently!” Arthur’s voice booms through the camp as his finger points in Micah’s direction to accent his point. Arthur’s eyes lock coldly with Micah’s as he cranes his neck to shoot Micah one last heated glare before he continues to walk away with you.

“Come on, you,” you delicately chide Arthur, your arm and hands tightening around his bicep just a bit more, eager to get the two of them separated as fast as you can. 

Behind you, Micah stands pouting as the two of you walk away. A pain clicks in his chest as he watches how you handle Arthur. He sucks his lip between his jagged teeth, jaw clamping down on the tender skin. He’s irritated to no end with Arthur, but even more so, with your infatuation with the man. A pang of jealousy cuts deep into Micah as his fists clench open and closed as they still hover over his holster at his side.

“Micah’s got a point. Looks like Arthur’s gone soft on us,” Bill snarks as he stands with his thumbs hanging on his gunbelt.

“I’d like to see you tell him that to his face, Bill,” John quips. 

“Mock all you want, gentlemen,” adds Javier, waving his hand towards Micah and Bill. “But the fact of the matter is, that man is taking that woman to bed tonight.” And he points in your direction. “You two have fun all by yourselves in your tents later.”

“Shut up, Javier,” mumbles Bill. But Micah only stands in angry silence before spinning on his heels and heading off in a huff to get a whiskey bottle from one of the supply wagons to sulk.

The wind kicks up a bit, biting at your cheeks as you walk down the path out of the camp. Arthur is heatedly silent as you walk. It is little wonder to you why so many find him so intimidating and fearsome. 

Passing by the hitching posts, your gray Gypsy gets antsy, whinnying and stomping the ground in a tantrum at the possibility of being left behind. “Ugh, are you acting ornery today, too?” you huff as if scolding a child. “Alright, come on. You can come along, too.” You quickly grab Blue to follow, as he’s been pent up quite a bit lately and is itching to move about. 

You lead Arthur, with your horse in tow, as the path takes you down to the river’s edge. The soft lapping of the water against the sandy edge of the bank offers a calm and welcomed change of scenery. And it is here that you turn Arthur loose, letting him vent loudly, while you simply agree with everything he says, replying occasionally with “I know” and “I get it”. 

“Goddamn fool! Don’t know his ass from a hole in the ground!” shouts Arthur, waving his arms around.

“I know,” you reply calmly as you rub your hand along Blue’s nose and face. The horse nickers softly and nudges into you, like a cat purring in your hands as you watch Arthur pace back and forth in frustration like a wild animal in a cage. 

“And Dutch is gonna go along with it?! Just like that?” He flashes his intense blue eyes at you. 

“I know, it’s crazy,” you shake your head at him.

“Are they even thinkin’ ‘bout the rest o’ us?”

You just shrug. “I don’t get it, either,” you say calmly.

Arthur momentarily stops in his ranting and looks at you, finally taking a moment to breathe. Why you are not as heated as he is is beyond him. “Is that all you’re gonna say?” 

“Well, I figured I’d let you carry-on and wear yourself out and when it’s my turn to yell, you just point and then I’ll go.” You cross your arms over your chest and give him a little smirk. 

But Arthur’s face holds anything but amusement, as he firmly plants his hands on his hips in frustration. “I ain't in the mood for jokes, (Y/N),” he grits out slowly. 

A grin creeps its way across your face. “I bet I could get you to laugh.” 

“I doubt it,” he grumbles with a slight eye roll.

Squinting slightly in challenge with a teasing look, you walk over to him, placing your hands on his ribs before letting them slowly drift down to his waist. He raises an eyebrow at you but is quickly disappointed when your hands divert from his waistline to reach into his satchel and dig around until you pull out his leather gloves. Confused, Arthur’s eyes follow you as you saunter over to Blue and step up towards his great head, stopping to place each glove over one of the horse’s ears. As your horse twitches his ears, the gloves appear to be hands waving back and forth at you. 

“Huh…Huh?” You point at Blue, a huge grin erupting over your face, clearly pleased with yourself and your childish little distraction. 

Arthur just stares at you blankly, totally taken aback at your adolescent behavior. “You’re ridiculous,” he snorts with an eye roll to the heavens.

“Oh, come on, that’s funny and you know it!” you snicker, hugging Blue’s neck affectionately. 

Arthur rolls his eyes skyward once more, pinching the bridge of his nose and shaking his head at your nonsense as he finally ambles over to you. “You drive me crazy, you know that?” he huffs. 

Knowing he’s been beaten, Arthur sighs with resignation, wrapping you up against his barrel chest and bear-hugging you tightly. Your glittering laugh gets muffled by his chest as your arms hook under his to return his embrace. Arthur pulls back for a moment, collecting your happy little face into his giant hands, and looks down at you. But all he can do is shake his head once more before hugging you again, placing his chin atop of your head. 

Amazingly, you were right: he has forgotten all about Micah Bell. 

Later, after you’ve gotten Arthur to calm down enough to safely be around other people again, the two of you are tucked away in his tent. He sits on the cot, scribbling something in his journal, as you stand in front of his shaving mirror, unpinning your hair and getting ready to retire for the evening. 

“Oh, I forgot to tell you, I found something for you!” Your face lights up with excitement as you spin around back to his table and pick up one of the items sitting there. You eagerly shove a small aluminum tin into his face, hardly able to contain yourself. Arthur peers inside, curious what it is that has you so worked up. 

“Cherries?” he questions, surprised to see the little jeweled fruit inside. 

“Yeah! I found a cherry tree that the birds hadn’t gotten into yet, so I picked some for you. I remember you telling me that your mother used to make cherry cobbler for you as a kid. So I was going to try and make you some.” You look down at the tin of deep red fruit, shaking it a bit and watching them roll about. “I’ll have to mix these with some that we’ve jarred up, so it probably won’t be as good as hers,” you admit, mouth twisting a bit in disappointment, “but we’ll see.” You look back at him with a simple smile and shrug before turning to set the tin back down on the table. 

Arthur stares at you, thinking back to the other night at the fire when you whispered those lovely little words to him. His mind rolls over how you treat him, how you care for him, how you’ve made him your focus like no one ever has before. 

“Hey, you”, he mutters softly. 

You lift your face back to him, eyebrows arched awaiting him to continue. “Hmm?” 

The outlaw reaches out with his calloused hand and gently wraps it around your bicep, pulling you over to him. You stand between Arthur’s knees as he holds your hips and stares up at your angelic face. You lean over and kiss his forehead, his eyes fluttering closed as you run your fingers through his hair. After a moment, his eyes slowly open again, drinking you in. And Arthur realizes as he stares into your beautiful eyes that he has fallen in love with all of the millions of simple little things that you do, things that you do all of the time, and don’t even realize you’re doing them. 

“I love you, (Y/N).” 

You smile brightly down at him as his gravelly voice utters those amazing words so softly from his lips. You observe the seriousness in his face, so earnest in his declaration, as if he is trying to convince you of it. Arthur waits for your reply, hoping he hasn’t taken too long to tell you, fearing you’ve had second thoughts. 

After a brief moment you lean forward and kiss the tip of his nose. “I know,” you whisper, raising an eyebrow with that smart look you get. 

“I mean it”, he insists. “I never wanted more ‘til I had you. And I’m sorry I didn’t say it sooner.” His hands grasp a bit tighter as if he’s afraid you’ll walk away from him. “I suppose I was just too afraid to let myself go there again.” 

“It’s not love that you’re afraid of, Arthur. It’s that the next person that you love will be like the person who left you broken.” You cup your hands around his face, your thumbs drawing against the weathered skin of his cheeks. “I promise, I won’t do that to you.” 

Arthur’s eyebrows crease even further, that shadow of worry cascading over his face again. “(Y/N), I can’t give you the life you want, the life that you deserve.” 

“Are we doing this again?” you ask with a tinge of admonishment. “Arthur, I don't want someone who will promise me the world. I want someone who will hold me when I need it; who will bring me coffee in the morning; who will pull the blanket over me on cold nights when I’m sleeping. I want someone who will love me the same as I love them: madly, uncontrollably, inconveniently, and, yeah, maybe even foolishly.” A bright smile illuminates your face. “And I think you’re just the fool I’ve been waiting for.”

This makes a small chuckle break from his stern face as he shakes his head.

You pull his stubbled face in closer to yours. “I don’t care how complicated this gets, Arthur. I still want you.”

He lifts his hands from your hips and wraps them around your wrists as you continue to hold his face. “Maybe I’m afraid because you mean more to me than anyone ever has. I don’t want to mess that up.”

“Just keep doing what you’re doing, and you won’t mess it up, Arthur.”

You watch the idea of it settle over Arthur, wrapping him up like a warm blanket and just as comforting as one, too. The tension in his shoulders ebbs away and his eyes soften and twinkle, making them rival the bluest ocean. 

He smiles up at you again. “Say it.” 

“What?”

“Say it again for me, would ya? Say you love me.” Arthur beams up at you as he wraps his arms completely around your hips, pulling you in and holding you tightly.

“I love you, Arthur Morgan. More than you can ever know or even comprehend.” You lean your face in close again, hovering sweetly over his. “We can do this, Arthur. I promise.” 

“Yeah, we can.”

—--------------------

The next day, Arthur, Charles and Javier have gone into town to get more supplies and stop for a round of poker and a quick drink. A quick drink soon turns into many. And many drinks turns into an argument with the locals. One that ends with the boys coming home victorious, but pretty banged up. Even as drunk as they were, the Van Der Linde gang is not a group of men to be messed with. 

Charles and Javier come back with mostly superficial wounds, black eyes and bruised ribs. Arthur, of course, always seems to carry the brunt of the trauma in these situations. If he’s not taking on the largest brawler, he’s dealing with more than one man at a time. Either way, Arthur is always the one to come home more torn up than the others.

But thankfully, you now have Arthur safely in your med tent, stitching up a shallow knife laceration in his side as he sits quiet and guilty. Arthur sheepishly avoids your eyes, as you are unusually silent about the situation, a clear indication that you are not happy about it. You tug on the thread of his stitches a little too aggressively as short huffs emanate from your nose in frustration.

“What if you get tired of this?” Arthur grumbles as he watches how you carefully pull the thread through his red and inflamed skin, wincing slightly as the needle pushes into his flesh over and over again. 

“Of what? Patching holes in you that you get from being reckless and stupid? Or seeing you without your shirt on? Because those are two totally different things,” you quip as your eyes briefly dart up to meet his before going back to your handiwork.

“You know what I mean.”

“Well, I do hate seeing you all busted up and bleeding,” you frown. Your delicate fingers dance across the damaged skin, deftly folding the thread around your fingertips with expert precision.

“It ain’t so bad. If you think I look bad, you should see the other guy’s knuckles,” Arthur jokes.

“Funny,” you deadpan.

“You ain’t the only one who’s funny, you know.” He pokes his long finger into your ribs in jest, making you squirm as you try to keep your hands steady.

“Point taken.” You continue to fuss, cleaning his wound and scrutinizing the stitchwork. “I will always take care of you, Arthur. I promise.” 

“And I will always be reckless and stupid,” he snickers. 

An exasperated sigh escapes you. “That wasn’t the point.” 

“Nope, can’t go back on your promise now,” he gloats.

—--------------------------------

You wake in the middle of the night in your tent, cold and lonely. Arthur was still out of camp when you went to bed tonight, but you miss him terribly. Sometimes when you are separated, you get this overwhelming feeling of emptiness without him. Maybe it is the ever-impending threat of danger that you live in. Or maybe it is that you just love him so much that it hurts to be apart. 

Still half asleep, you meander out of your tent and quietly pad over to Arthur’s, hoping to find him there. When you get to his tent and pull back the opening, you find him asleep on his cot. He still has his boots on, too, which means he came home and just plopped down and passed out. (Usually he will stop by your tent upon returning to camp, but you figure he was either too tired or didn’t want to disturb you.)

You smile with a great sense of relief and slip inside the tent, affixing the tent door down behind you again in privacy. You tiptoe over to the cot and carefully crawl onto the bedding. You snuggle-up next to Arthur’s side, lifting his arm and wrapping it around yourself as you rest your head on his chest. Once settled, you breathe out a sigh of contentment, nuzzling your face into his chest and eager to feel the warmth that radiates off of him. Within moments, you are back asleep, tucked safely under Arthur’s arm.

But while you fall back to sleep, Arthur is awake for the next hour that follows. He stirs at the feeling of your delicate hand around his wrist when you settle in next to him, but he has a hard time going back to sleep now. As you lay there together, Arthur listens to your peaceful breathing and inhales your flowery scent. He relishes the feeling of your weight on his chest and your feline-like body up against him. As he lays in the soothing darkness, his gaze lands on your gently sleeping form laying upon him. He observes how your chest steadily rises and falls with each delicate breath. He notices how you have carefully entwined your leg around his own, and your fingers gracefully splay across his beating heart. Arthur realizes that he has in his grasp what he’s always wanted:  someone to come home to, someone waiting for just him. And he doesn’t want to miss a single moment that he gets to hold you like this. 

When Arthur eventually shifts his weight, it causes you to stir from your comforted slumber. A large and deep yawn escapes you as you roll your eyes up to meet his blue orbs gazing down at you. A sleepy grin blooms across your face when you see that he is awake. 

Arthur softly runs the back of his dirt-stained knuckles against your cheek. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“No, it’s alright. I should probably be getting up anyway.” You sigh with a slight pang of disappointment as you roll yourself up and stand off the cot. 

“Aw c’mon, stay with me,” Arthur whines, catching your hand and holding it tightly. 

“All night?”

“Yeah, all night,” he insists. “It ain’t like people don’t know what we’re up to in here. And either way, it’s none of their business anyway.” He rolls onto his side, propping his head up with one hand as he continues to hold yours, playing with your fingers and drawing his thumb over the back of your hand.

“Do you really want to roll over and wake up with my face smashed into yours?” you tease.

“More than anything.” Arthur tugs you back down to him and kisses the corner of your eye, making you giggle. ”I’ll make it worth your while,” he utters out in a sultry tone, causing your knees to go weak. Your only response is a flutter of your eyelashes and a deep kiss to his pillowy lips as you climb back onto his cot. 

Arthur shifts his body and wraps his muscled arm around you to usher you back down, pinning you under him. A quiet hum escapes into the quiet, still air as he quickly deepens the kiss, his tongue pushing past your sweet lips. You hungrily reciprocate his affection, your hand gliding from his cheek to the back of his head as your fingers card through his hair. The feeling of your fingernails gently scraping along his scalp sends shivers throughout his whole tired body. Slowly, your knee bends, rubbing your leg against his much larger frame, indicating that you want more. 

Arthur’s hand roams freely and greedily over your sumptuous body as his palm firmly clamps over your breast, massaging the tender flesh before his mouth encompasses it over the thin cotton of your nightgown. Your chin floats back at the feeling of him touching you, your mind already lost in an incoherent fog. He works his way from your breast to your sternum, and proceeds to leave a trail of kisses and caresses down your figure. And as things go, your heat begins to tingle and ache with dire need. The anticipation is wreaking havoc with you, drawing soft whines and moans from your throat. 

The delicious sounds emanating from you set Arthur ablaze inside. He quickly sits up onto his knees as he begins to impatiently pull at your nightgown. But instead of just pushing it up, he yanks the obstructing article up and over your head. With the top half of your body exposed, Arthur makes quick work of your bloomers, folding your legs up in front of him so he can work the fabric down your lovely calves and over your feet. 

You are now completely bare to him, your large, shining eyes staring up at him as he looms over you like a predator. Arthur’s own eyes are filled with a divine mixture of love and lust, just for you. Your arms stretch out to him as a silent plea for him to continue. With a smirk, Arthur is quick to pull his shirt over his head and undo the buttons of his trousers and union suit underneath. You reach up and clumsily tug at the sleeves of his undergarment, exposing his chest to the cold night air. He has no time to strip himself down completely, as once his hard cock springs free from its confines, it is very clear he is ready to get things moving along. 

Arthur covers your body with his own once more, slowly rocking back and forth with a hypnotic motion. Your leg snakes around his backside in response, your heel digging into his thigh. Hot, steamy breaths cover each other’s faces from the barrage of wet heated kisses as the intimacy quickly escalates. Arthur’s hand drifts down between your two bodies to seek out your tender folds. A sharp moan jumps from your lips as the pads of his fingers sublimely rake across the delicate skin between your legs and your pelvis jerks up to grind against his palm. 

“Christ Almighty,” Arthur pants with his lips crushed against your temple.

“I know”, you sigh in agreement. 

A deep and guttural groan erupts from his chest, filled with want and desire for you. Feeling how your slick coats his fingers already, Arthur reluctantly withdraws his fingers to give himself a few quick pumps of his cock, using your wetness to lubricate himself. He rolls his hips to align his large body at your entrance, looking down at where your hips conjoin. Your hands find their way under his arms and grasp tightly to the flesh of his back, urging him to move forward and to do it quickly. Arthur’s chin lifts to meet your gaze, finding your mouth gaped and eyes heavy-lidded with wondrous longing as his name falls as a whimper from your kiss-swollen lips.

He hastily pushes himself into you, his usual slow and careful pace forgotten about. The feeling of his thick cock being roughly shoved into you makes you cry out, but you are quickly muffled with his scorching mouth over top of yours. Arthur is quick to start a fast pace, as his hips snap sharply into yours, rutting deeply into your core. The velvety walls of your cunt flutter tightly around him when you feel his length twitching inside you. The grinding is euphoric, sending waves of pleasure shooting throughout your bodies. The way the two of you sync up in the throws of passion is glorious, transcending any pleasure either of you have ever known. 

Arthur proceeds to sit back up onto his knees so he can fully take in the vision of you, your body shuddering beneath him from his force. The cot creaks beneath you as the very strength of its joints is being tested. He wraps his hands around your soft thighs for leverage as he observes how his cock glides in and out of you. Your back lifts off of the cot, arching to angle your pelvis towards him, eager for him to fill you even more, if that is even possible. Your hands seek out his thick wrists, slightly pulling yourself towards him to match his motion. When your head drops back against the canvas of the cot again, Arthur immediately falls forward to suck on your exposed jugular, leaving slight bite marks that pinch your overly sensitive skin. 

“You are so fucking amazing,” he garbles into your skin. “I don’t ever want to leave this tent.”

His burly body covers yours once again, encasing you under his muscled limbs as his arm snakes around your head, his face tucked tightly into your neck. 

“Then we won’t,” you whisper. You turn your face towards his, your bottom teeth dragging across the plump skin of his earlobe, your panting hissing in his ear as he continues to rock into you. You can taste the saltiness of his skin and the faint notes of earthy musk from being out all day in the elements as your tongue flicks at the bare skin of his shoulder as you attempt to muffle your moans into the muscle there. Your whole naked body feels as if it’s on fire with every inch of it touching him right now. The sound of your beloved outlaw grunting lustfully into your ear erases any and all other outside distractions or thoughts. And as his torso lurches back and forth over you, you feel that oh-so lovely lightning barrling its way towards your climax. 

“Whatever you do, don’t stop now,” you whine. Your arms encircle Arthur even tighter as you await that rapturous feeling that you know is coming. 

As usual, your whole body clamps down around him when your climax hits. Your wanton squeaks and moans are a bewitching melody in Arthur’s mind. The already-tight walls of your cunt restrict around his hefty cock, drawing out a brief whimper from him, pushing him to his own orgasm as he pulls himself out of you and rubs himself against your stomach in search of that friction needed to finish. 

Arthur instinctively clutches you to himself when he climaxes with an almost bone-crushing pressure. You tremble slightly, more from the overstimulation than from the damp night air encompassing you. You curl up into him, clinging desperately to his frame. Your fingertips dig into the valley of his spine, the soft chestnut colored hair that decorates his back sticking to his skin with a thin layer of sweat. The two of you have been together quite a few times by now, but every damn time it is exquisite, just as if it was the first time all over again.

The feeling of Arthur’s chest rapidly rising and falling beneath your arms mesmerizes you as you feel the very life of him coursing through your hands while you lay there wrapped up in each other. You can feel his heartbeat against your cheek as you nestle your face into that coveted space where his massive shoulder and neck meet. The weight of Arthur on top of you is so comforting. Where some may consider Arthur’s sheer bulk smothering, you find it calming. You wonder how he could ever think you are not safe when you’re with him, as that is always where you feel the most secure.

Your hips are always a bit sore after making love to Arthur, not used to opening up so wide to accommodate such a large man, but you snicker as you tell yourself that you’ll just have to do it more often to get used to it. The more you are together, the more comfortable and relaxed you become, giving in to the sweet intoxicating feeling of the other. The societal shame and guilt that often gets attributed to the act of sex have long been discarded. You two are no longer self conscious about being too loud, and are no longer hiding your bodies from each other in fear of rejection. Playful giggles of excitement, needy and eager hands, and exploratory kisses are the norm for you two now. 

Both fully expended and exhausted, Arthur hands you one of his towels to clean your stomach of his pearly spend that scatters across your skin. Once you toss the soiled linen to the side, Arthur shifts his body lower so he can lay his head onto your chest and pulls his blanket up and over the two of you. Your lips lay against the crown of his head as you play with the thick waves of hair while your fingertips drag along his forearm that tightly holds you to him. And within moments, you are both fast asleep again. 

—---------------------------------------------

After breakfast, you finish washing up the last of the dirty dishes, drying your hands on your short apron as you head over to the horses to give them the vegetable scraps. Arthur is already over there, throwing down some grain and fresh water for the lot. He catches your eye as you approach, giving you a smile and nod as you return his gaze with a blushing grin, the memory of last night still fresh in your mind as well as between your thighs. 

Arthur watches you as you toss the greens into the horses’ buckets, laughing lightly as they push each other to get to you. “Alright, piglets, hold on. There’s enough to go around.” You lovingly pat Taimia on the neck, as she is the best behaved out of all of these “spoiled children”. Arthur draws on the cigarette that hangs from his mouth, his eyes hovering over you. He squints slightly as he fidgets with the cigarette between his thumb and forefinger, his thoughts kicking around in his head since last night.

“Hey, so I’ve been doin’ some thinkin’...” he starts nervously, his voice hesitant as he tosses the butt into the grass. 

You look over your shoulder back to Arthur as you try to keep Blue from nipping at your pockets, looking for treats. “Yeah?”

 “When we setup the new camp in a few days, what if you put your things in my tent?” He averts his gaze from yours for a second, unsure of how you will react to his suggestion.

But you simply give him a quizzical look. “What do you mean?”

Arthur takes a tentative breath before he elaborates. “You know, move your things over and, um…stay there.”

It takes a moment to register, but the idea of it causes a huge smile to slowly spread across your face from ear to ear. “Arthur Morgan, are you asking me to share your tent with you?” Your cheeks flush like a brilliant rose and you nibble your bottom lip with excitement.

Arthur reciprocates with a big grin of his own. “I kinda like the idea of waking up next to you every mornin’.” He swaggers over closer to you. “Although you do snore, though.”

“I do not!” you exclaim in playful offense, your hands planting onto your hips.

“Yeah, you do. It’s cute, though,” he snickers. “Like a cat meowing.” He proceeds to imitate a snore/meow sound as he pulls you to him by your waist. 

You slap his arm as you playfully scowl at him. “You’re an idiot.”

“Yeah, but I’m your idiot.” Arthur arches an eyebrow at you as he ducks his head to kiss under your jawline. 

“Yeah, I guess so,” smirking as you roll your eyes. “I'm kind of already invested in you and all.”

“It kinda works out nice that way. You’re mine and I’m yours.”

Your effervescent giggle makes Arthur’s heart melt. “I’ll take that deal.”

Arthur cups his hand around your cheek, his thumb pushing your chin up so he can look into your glittering eyes. “I’ll ride with you through all the bullshit, Y/N, just as long as you don’t bullshit me. Fair?”

Your delicate hands run up his chest and push over his strong shoulders where your fingers lace together behind his neck. “I can only make you two promises, Arthur:  That I will never hurt you in the way that I, myself, have been hurt, and that I will love you in the ways that you, yourself, have never been loved.” 

You stare into those sapphire eyes of his, trying not to get distracted by the full-range of emotions he has dammed up behind them, emotions that you have only just begun to unleash. “I don't want to just be with you, Arthur. I want to live and love with you. I want to experience every single thing, stupid or great, that our time on this Earth is willing to give us together.” 

A deep and relaxing breath is pulled into Arthur’s lungs and released, taking with it any of the anxiety and doubt that he’s been fostering over this new thing, this new beginning that you have gifted him and that he cannot wait to start.

“Just be with me now and we’ll figure out the details later, I suppose,” he hums. He leans down to catch the rose petals of your lips into a delicate kiss. Your eyes float close and you smile into his mouth. The kiss is not too short, nor too long, but just perfect, as it carries all of the affection you both hold within it.

Arthur pulls back from you, and cradles your face in both of his large hands, staring down at your happy, sparkling expression. 

“In my life full of wrongs, Y/N,  you’re the thing that’s right in it. And I don’t want to miss a minute of it.” 

#arthur morgan #rdr2 #red dead redemption 2 #arthur morgan x reader #arthur morgan x female reader #rdr2 fanfic #arthur morgan x f!reader #arthur morgan rdr2 #arthur morgan x reader smut

[thewritingmagician2022]

Exploring the Devildom - Brothers and Datebables

This comes from a request I received: I am weak, have little stamina and have little to no experience exploring or hiking. That said, I would want to see all the best parts of the devildom! I love animals big and small, land or sea. I may not swim the best but seeing the colorful creatures fill me with joy. Also I bet there are dragons and I want one! *Begging sheep eyes* Buy me dragon, plz. Could I request a weak MC who wants to do more exploring and sightseeing but can't quite keep up with the brothers (and maybe date-ables)?

Lucifer

Lucifer doesn’t have much time for exploring the Devildom; there are other far more important matters to tend to. He normally passes that kind of interaction off to his brothers but you manage to catch his attention with your questions, especially once he hears you asking about dragons. Of course the Devildom has dragons and no, you are absolutely not going near any of them. Do you really think he’s going to let you near dragons? Stop those puppy dog eyes this instant. There’s no chance in Hell - 

Okay, so maybe he’s going to show you some dragons because it’s a good learning experience or something, not because you kept begging him. Dragons are pretty rare, even in the Devildom, but they do have conservation areas where they keep some of the most endangered species of dragons to help promote population regrowth. After enough begging, he’ll take you out there one day. The area is huge (it has to be because dragons are very big, at the least species you’re getting to see) and it takes an awful lot of walking around. Luckily, Lucifer has enough tact to not comment on your obvious weariness and you get plenty of times for breaks when you stop to admire the dragons. You can’t get very close to them for your own safety, no matter how much you plead with Lucifer, but he does manage to get you a tour of the breeding facilities where all the eggs are being cared for. You get to touch several of them and even get the honor of taking home a beautiful pearlescent piece of shell that’s several inches long and, in the bright light, you can see through it almost like a piece of glass. It’s a perfect excursion and Lucifer knows he’s going to have to bring you back sometime again.

Mammon

If you want Mammon to show you around the Devildom, he would be happiest driving you around along the coast in one of his custom cars and going to a bar or party along the beach. That’s about as outdoorsy as he likes to get but if you’re the one asking him to explore more, he’ll do it. If Mammon’s recent story is to be believed, he’s not someone who is great with outdoorsy adventures. He could barely handle carrying your picnic supplies but he doesn’t let his lack of athleticism stop him. He’s also one of the brothers least likely to care about your inability to handle lots of physical activity. He needs the breaks almost as much as you do and you too can complain to each other about the effort while you struggle to catch your breath. 

Mammon’s going to introduce you to all the aviary aspects of the Devildom when you’re out together. His familiars are crows after all; he’s got an in with the birds and is always able to get them to gather around you guys, like little groupies. Crows, ravens, nightingales, eagles, hummingbirds, cardinals, etc. You’ve seen birds of every kind of color and pattern, heard the most beautiful songs and trills and coos, fed them seeds and meats that you bring on your trips even when the bags are already too heavy to be comfortable. You’ve even seen a phoenix once, high up in the sky during one of your picnics by the lake, and the tendrils of gold and red trailing after it are one of the most mesmerizing things you’ve ever seen - well worth the exhaustion of the hike.

Levi

Getting Levi to leave the house is no easy task. He would much prefer to be home in his own room than actually going out and exploring the Devildom. The only way to really get him out of there is by begging him to take you to the beach to meet Lotan. Levi can’t refuse a beach trip, especially when you’re ready to coo over his pet. Normally Levi would be nervous about taking you anywhere, worried about it being a date or if you’re going to be bored or disappointed and is he really the best demon to be showing you anything but this is sort of his second home and he feels much more confident. He’s happy to lead you right into the water to get an up close view of Lotan and all of the different oceanic creatures the Devildom offer.

Swimming may be a little difficult in the ocean but with Levi there to keep you afloat, you don’t need to worry. Levi is a strong swimmer and is happy (and terrified) to be carrying you through the water and helping you float so you don’t spend too much energy that you don’t have. He’s going to keep you safe from everything and he knows all of the secrets of the ocean. He can name all of the coral and plants, the stones, the fish. He’s almost as animated as he gets when he speaks about his anime. By the time you’re done for the day, you know more about the marine life here than you do at home. 

Satan

In true Satan fashion, he shows you all around the bookstores, galleries, and museums that the Devildom has to offer. He complains that it doesn’t have nearly as many as it should and he has quite the critical eye for the things that are displayed. Half the time, he has more extensive knowledge of the exhibits than the signs convey and he ends up explaining each piece to you. The best part about this is that he’s happy to settle you onto any nearby seat (even if he has to scare people off of it) and spend time talking about what you’ve seen so that you have time to rest because he knows just how much walking goes into this. 

He makes sure to take you the natural history museum too because he knows how much you love animals and nature. He points out the animals that are similar to the ones found on Earth and explains what makes them different, and he is happy to do any interactive exhibits that you may life, even if he normally wouldn’t. He for sure buys you some sort of cat or book based item from the gift shop to commemorate your time together. 

Asmo

Asmo would love to show you around the Devildom! However, like Mammon, he’s not a huge fan of the outdoors and he’s certainly not gallivanting around with animals aside from the stray photoshoot. He’ll end up showing you the downtown city center. Of course his favorite places tend to be stores where he drags you around to shop and, when you get tired, he’ll seat you in a dressing room where you can watch him try on different outfits and give your opinions. 

Asmo is also going to take you to the “coolest” places at the time whether it’s a club, arcade, cafe, exhibition, etc. He wants you to experience all of the most popular things the Devildom has to offer and, with all of his fans regularly following you guys around, someone is always around to carry your things or fetch you table/bench as needed so you never have to worry about being forced to stand for too long. 

Beel

Beel is going to show you around all of the best restaurants, cafes, and dessert shops around the Devildom has to offer. He is allowed into any establishment he likes because he buys them out entirely so he’s definitely a VIP customer. This means you never have to stand around waiting for a table, you’re sat down almost immediately. These outings are very easy on you, though the food may not always sit very well considering most of it is made out of ingredients that you don’t have on Earth. 

Beel will happily give you piggy back ride around town too as you travel from restaurant to restaurant. If you try to complain about burdening him, he’ll brush you off and mention how good it is for him to walk and lift after eating all of that food. You’re just helping him build up his appetite so he can truly appreciate the next place you guys stop at. Honestly, you’re the one doing him a favor.

Belphie

Belphie’s favorite thing to show you is the stars. Yes, the observatory at the House of Lamentation is great for an indoor view for when it’s cold or rainy or you’re just not interested in going outside. However, there are much better views to be had if you take the time to go find them, especially in the open fields far away from the city heart of the Devildom. Belphie bribes Beel into driving you guys out to the fields, the car packed with snacks and blankets and pillows while you’re bundled up in your comfiest pajamas. You guys set up your little area and lay there for hours, watching the sky change. 

This far from the lights, you’re able to see so much more. You can see so many stars and constellations, the ones Belphie’s told you about before and new ones, as well as glimpses of other planets and galaxies. He tells you all sorts of stories, myths and legends of the Devildom, and even opens up about how it compares to the starry views in the celestial realm. It’s mesmerizing in the deep darkness of the Devildom and Belphie holds your hand to make sure it’s not too overwhelming. You may end up falling asleep out there with him and it’s some of the best sleep you’ve ever had. 

Diavolo

Diavolo has very little free time to explore and enjoy the Devildom, which is such a shame considering it’s the place he’s set to rule. Having you on the exchange program here, asking to learn more about this place and see more of what it has to offer, creates the perfect excuse for Diavolo to get out of the palace. The place Diavolo is going to bring you is the botanical gardens. Now, they’re not quite as pristine and impressive as the gardens at the palace (Barbatos does a wonderful job there) but there is more diversity and it all feels more organic. It gives you both the chance to learn more about the beauties and dangers of this realm, and it’s an incredibly romantic and sweet backdrop for your time together. 

The gardens are huge, sprawling over many acres, and Diavolo is aware of your limitations. With that in mind, he happily hires a little carriage to take you both around the area and you can get out of it for a closer look whenever the urge strikes you. This means you’re able to see so much more than you normally would and you get to make friends with the lovely horses that pull your carriage, offering them some of the safe vegetation as a reward for their hard work. Diavolo takes note of your favorite flowers and plants and when he gets back to the castle, he instructs Barbatos to create your own personal little garden you can visit whenever you like. 

Barbatos

Barbatos likes to take you with him while he runs his errands. He has so little free time that, unfortunately, he can’t take you out on a date more often than not but he still wants to spend time together. He compromises by bringing you with him when he can. One of his favorite places to take you is on his forest forage trips. He regularly goes out to collect fresh ingredients for both his teas and his treats. He finds so many leaves, berries, and other vegetation during your trips that you find yourself learning so much. You’ve never even seen half of these ingredients before and Barbatos delights in teaching you all about them: where they came from, how they grow, how to identity them, what they’re used for. He gives you your own basket to carry as well (it’s very light, mind you, even when it’s full and you assume there has to be some kind of enchantment on it). 

 Like with everything else, Barbatos always seem to know when you need to rest without you even saying anything. He walks so slowly through the forest with you that you know he probably does these trips in half the time or less when he’s alone and he is quick to point out pretty views you may want to take in, urging you to take a seat on a nearby log or rock for a while and enjoy. Additionally, Barbatos always packs a little picnic for you both as well so you can make a day of it. He loves to set you up in the middle of a clearing where you can lay on the soft blanket and eat your snacks and rehydrate. Occasionally he’ll wander off to gather some more ingredients while you rest and when you’re all recovered, he walks you back to the palace where he has a car waiting to bring you back to the House of Lamentation. 

Solomon

Solomon is like your own personal tour guide of the Devildom, if your tour guide took you to illegal places and was paid under the table that is. There’s nothing Solomon loves more than taking little “field trips” with you around the Devildom, often citing how it relates to something you’re studying in your classes at RAD or how it will help him with teaching you magic. He takes you to all sorts of places that you’re almost definitely not supposed to be in: old caverns, castle ruins from a long gone dynasty, decrepit crypts with old rulers held inside, etc. Every place he takes you has a story that he loves to tell you. As a man who has experienced most of history, Solomon finds great job in telling his first hand accounts of things to you (though sometimes you’re entirely sure how much is fact and how much is fiction).

This means a lot of travel and while Solomon, the immortal and impervious bastard, may be able to get around easily but you can’t. Solomon knows that though and he makes these excursions as accessible as possible. That means portals when you’re traveling great distances so you don’t have to walk too much or things as simple as summoning a bench for you to rest on when you’re tired. He also absolutely loves to use his magic to float you along; he never warns you either, one second you’re slowly trudging along and the next thing you know you’re hovering 3 feet off the ground, carried forward by an invisible wind. It’s amazing and the fun of it helps make up for any negative feelings you may associate with needing the extra help. 

Simeon

Simeon has to admit that he hasn’t seen as much of the Devildom as he should have considering how long he’s been here. He’s been to the stores and festivals, and he’s been pretty content keeping to the RAD campus outside of that. When he hears that you want to learn more about the Devildom, especially the wildlife, he sees it as a perfect opportunity to take you to the zoo. You guys decide to take Luke as well, correctly assuming that he would be thrilled to ‘oh’ and ‘ah’ over all of the animals.

The zoo is quite large and, to make things easier for you, Simeon is happy to get you a scooter or wheelchair and push you around. Honestly, he loves the idea of these devices and Luke will absolutely sit on your lap or hang onto the back of handle bars so he can ride around with you. If you do walk, he’s willing to sit down at the exhibits whenever you need and sometimes will suggest it even before you can bring it up. (He’s talked to Luke privately beforehand about not running off and making you guys chase him so there’s worries there) He also brings you to every animal show, both because it’s amazing to see what these animals can be trained to do but also so that you get enough rest throughout the day. You guys read the signs and histories posted outside each exhibit and turns into quite the educational day. You three end up buying plushies of your favorite animals to take home as a souvenir.

#obey me #obey me asks #obey me imagines #obey me headcanons #obey me brothers #obey me Datebables #Lucifer #mammon #asmo #Levi #satan #beel #belphie #diavolo #barbatos #simeon #Solomon

[thealienfantasy]

Alien Fantasy-File 4: Lost in the clouds.

1 Day since impact (8:00 P.M. Terran time):

The Azonians unfortunately got to my ship and we had to make an emergency exit. We were able to make it to the escape pods in time and i've crash landed on a foggy region. i think i must've landed on one of the mountains, cause all i see is sky and clouds for miles. I'm currently setting up camp in a nearby cavern. I've been traversing these mountains for a few hours now and i haven't seen any lifeforms during that time. I think i've found a safe spot for now.

2 Days since impact (1:00 P.M. Terran Time):

I'm still hiking down these mountains. I don't know if my eyes are playing tricks on me. but i see a lot of islands in the sky. are they floating? There's no way. They're pretty distant. I'm pretty sure those clouds are just obscuring the rocks that hold them up.

I've set up an S.O.S. signal and right now i'm just waiting for someone to come pick me up. Hopefully they can still see through all these clouds.

3:00 A.M. Terran Time

I think i saw a something falling from the planet's atmosphere. must've been a ship. Looks like the fight against the Azonians is still going. i couldn't keep up with the ship. It disappeared into the clouds as quickly as it came. I would tail it, but i'm still trapped on this mountain and unfortunately, i see nothing below me. No paths, no water, No anything. just clouds.

Speaking off water. The supply i salvaged from the pod is starting to run low. i have to be a lot more sparing. hopefully i can find a source soon...

3 Days since impact (9:00 A.M. Terran Time):

I've been continuing my hike down this mountain. I'm not someone who suffers from altitude sickness, but man.  I'd be lying if i didn't say i get anxious every time a look down and see nothing but clouds. Some of the paths i've been taking have been pretty narrow. One miss step means game over. that is if there's ground below these clouds. It'd be a whole other matter if these clouds were just a bottomless pit. 

The good news is, the risk of crossing these paths was worth it. I seem to have come across some kind of garden. But i'm not seeing anything here. 

There's also some weird looking fruit hanging from the trees. I'm getting a little hungry and i have to be even more conservative with my food supply. Surely they won't notice if i take one.

9:20 A.M. Terran time

I heard something coming from behind the bushes. upon inspection, i found a weird looking ring laying on the floor. It kinda looked like a Halo of sorts.

Wait...did i die and go to heaven?

Nah..no fucking way!

Things started getting weird when the ring began glowing. a sparkle emanated from it and it created a line. like the sparkles were some kind of thread connected to the ring. I followed it and i came across this small creature. It seemed to have a set of 4 wings. But no talons. It's face looked weird too. at least i think that's it's face. There's an eye at the center looking straight at me. it's kinda creeping me out honestly.

The thread of sparkles seemed to be connected to this creature. Did the ring belong to it? I gently laid the ring next to the creature and one of the wings snatched it. The creature looked at me with it's sole eyes and began squirming. it was then that i noticed some weird green appendage sticking out from it's body. Some green liquid seemed to be pouring out of it.

Was it blood? God forbid if it's something else.

Still, the creature seemed in pain. At least that what i gathered from the way it struggled to move. I'll check by med-kit and see if there's anything i can do to help it.

4 Days since impact (9:00 A.M. Terran Time):

The creature is currently resting in my sleeping bag. I was able to bandage it's appendage. right now i'm just walking around the garden trying to figure out what my next move is.

I can still see explosions going off in the sky. I think the fight is still going. I can't really make out what kind of ship's are up there. Still no sign of anyone who owns this garden. I'm not really sure how much more fruit i could realistically take without the owner thinking they were robbed.

Hopefully i won't be around for when they find out.

The fruit has the same texture and crunch as an apple, but it looks like it was made out of iron and it's shaped so... weird.

Oh. looks like the creature is starting to wake up. 

I pulled a pocket knife from by bag and used it to cut the fruit. I don't know if the creature is capable of eating this, but i don't really have anything else to feed it. It seems to like it though. It jolted awake and flapped towards me upon seeing the piece. 

What's weird is. i don't see any orifices on it's body. Maybe underneath it's feathers? i don't know. but hey, it seems to have eaten it. I give it another piece and it happily took it once more.

I ran my hand through it's feathers. they feel pretty soft. It made a weird noise when i did it though. I quickly retracted my hand, but to my surprise it began flapping it's wings and hovering towards my hands. 

I guess it didn't mind me petting it? i ran my hand through its feathers once more and it made that weird noise again. but it's not really moving as if trying to break free. so i guess it doesn't mind.

Another thing i've noticed. The ring i found yesterday is now attached to that weird green appendage of its. (Tail maybe? i still can't tell.) I guess it must've been some kind of accessory to it.

Is it a wild animal? or is it an intelligent life form? my mind is leaning more towards wild animal. but i gotta remember i crash landed on a whole other planet here.

7 Days since impact (2:00 P.M. Terran Time):

I'm still at the garden. Still no sign of the owner. I've been debating the past few days on whether or not that thing might be the owner. 

For starters. Every time i wake up. i would have at least 3 of those weird fruit in front of my face. Considering the trees look more empty. yeah, it's definitely getting them from there.

For another, it's still here with me. it definitely could've left by now. but it's still here. Maybe it's just keeping me company. But between that and the fact and it doesn't seem to have any issue taking the fruits from the tree....

On another note. I still keep seeing explosions in the sky. Just yesterday i  saw few more ships falling from the sky. Those are definitely Azonian ships. But they keep disappearing into the clouds.

i wonder. IS there anything below these clouds?

9 Days since impact (5:00 A.M. Terran Time):

I heard a loud crashing noise just now. I think a ship might've crash landed here in the garden. I took one look at the creature before i decided to head out. Hopefully it won't mind if i leave for a bit.

5:03 A.M. Terran time

CRAP! Azonian ships! And there's at least 5 of them. I'm on my own here. I have a rifle, but it's back at the tent. I think one of them spotted me right as i was escaping. There's no way i can take them on right now.

At this moment i'm scrambling to pick up all the necessary things. i had to stop the creature from flying out of the tent. 

We quickly snuck out and we successfully by passed most of the Azonians. I decided to avoid killing them for now. The garden doesn't really have any reliable hiding spots and the sound of the shots will draw attention for sure. We have to continue our escape.

But then it hit me..

I'm stuck on a floating island.

How am i supposed to get off? 

I can hear the Azonians chanting and marching closer. I guess i better brace myself.

At least that's what was going through my mind at first. To my surprise, The creature clung onto my back. i could feel SOMETHING gripping me. No different from a bird grabbing you with it's talons. But the creature has no visible talons. so what gives?

I didn't really have time to wonder. Because to my shock, the creature effortlessly lifted me off the ground (Equipment and everything!) and we began flying away. I made the mistake of looking down at the bottomless pit full of clouds and had to tear my eyes away from it. What my eyes instead landed on where the Azonians watching us fly away. One of them tried to take a shot at us, but thankfully the creature was able to maneuver us out of the way.

10 Days since impact (1:00 A.M. Terran Time):

We landed on a nearby island. I thanked the creature for saving me by hugging it and caressing it. Hopefully it understood the gesture. i took this opportunity to check if it had talons but. nope, nothing. i don't feel anything.

I decided to ignore it for now. Looking at this creature just raises far more questions than it answers.

Right now we're in what looks like a shrine of sorts. I see a lot of flowing water here. I filled a bottle and looked back at the creature. it doesn't seem to mind. I reached in my back and took out a tablet. Right as i was about to put it in the bottle, the creature flapped it's wings and knocked it out of my hands. it then proceeded to jump up and down. It flew up and pushed my arm towards my face. almost as if it was urging me to drink it as is.

...I don't know how safe that is. It has a weird color. 

But the creature seems to be urging me.

Hopefully i won't regret this.

11 Days since impact (2:00 P.M. Terran Time):

Right now, I'm sitting in the middle of the shrine contemplating where i should hide.  I woke up today and the creature was nowhere to be found. i tried looking all over, but i couldn't find it.

I only got more concerned when i saw a few Azonians patrolling the shrine. I have my rifle with me and this shrine overs much more coverage than the garden did. I hid on top of one of the pillars and waited. 

One of the Azonian foot-soldiers entered the shrine, looking around. i know it's me they wanted. Taking a deep breath, i took aim and fired at it's head. It went down in a second. Another entered and i quickly took my shot too. Once i was sure no others were coming, i made my way down the shrine.

I saw some smoke coming from further up ahead. must've been where their ship crash landed. i made my way over there and sure enough, i saw their ship. They had a cage in the middle where they were keeping the creature trapped.

I stayed hidden. Reloading my weapon. Right as they seemed to be getting ready to board the cage onto their ship, I pulled the trigger on what seemed to be the leader. (He was the only one with a different accessory.)

I was able to get in a few good shots on the others, but a the rest seemed to quickly scatter. I took this opportunity to fire at the lock of the cage, allowing the creature to break free. I quickly retreated back to the center of the shrine before the other Azonians could spot me. I looked around to see if the creature had followed me when i felt something land on my head. I opened my arms and the creature landed in them, eyeing me.

It then flew onto my back and once more began flying us away to another place.

12 Days since impact (1:00 P.M. Terran Time):

We made it to another island. this one seemed to have more trees than the others, an easy place to take cover and lay low for a while. A good thing too, cause the creature looked so exhausted. It had a few scratches and looked more disheveled. i'm sure the capture had something to do with that.

I once more tended it's wounds using my medkit and then we took a moment to rest. there was more of that fruit here in the trees. but this time we seemed to be in the wild. surely nobody will have any complaints about us taking those right?

The creature made a noise again. I looked at it and it landed in my hand before flying and landing in front of me. It put something in my hand. A ring?

It looked just like the one it had on it's tail. i looked at it and then back at the creature. it then began brushing up against my leg. i smiled and ran my hands through it again. It's been a bit hectic. but at least i have company.

13 Days since impact (6:00 A.M. Terran Time):

I woke up today and my heard nearly stopped once more. the creature was gone. again.

Just like last time, i began looking around. my rifle clutched in my hand. i ran for minutes and minutes. but i didn't see any sign of the creature.

*BUMP*

I bumped into someone. i quickly pointed my rifle at it.

"WOAH! EASY! EASY!"

Wait...It's speaking in...

Now that i'm taking a closer look. 

Yes... that the Rescue Team's Uniform.

"Are you okay?" The team member asked. "Please,lower the weapon.

6:00 A.M. Terran time

Turns out they're here because of the S.O.S. signal. Happy to see rescue came at least. I guess the Azonians DID slow them down a bit.

Right now we were getting ready to return home. As we were boarding the ship and preparing things for lift off, i looked around. Still no sign of the creature. Am i really about to leave it without saying goodbye?

I took a look at the ring it game me. It seemed to be glowing. I don't really know if it's because of the sun or if it's supposed to do that....

The team shouted at me to come aboard. i took one last look. Maybe it returned to it's garden...

..Oh well.

I mean we've only been together for a few days...

6:10 A.M. Terran time

Everything is going haywire right now. Looks like the Azonian ships spotted us and the rescue team is currently engaged in combat. Right now were just being evasive and dodging. It's working well right now, but for how long?

What's strange is, the ring i got seems to be glowing much brighter now. And a trail has appeared. just like the first time i found that other ring. I didn't have time to ponder what was going on, as i heard several explosions go off outside the ship. i peeked out of the window and watched as several Azonian ships went down. The rescue team pulled up the monitor to see where the blasts came from. They saw something in the clouds. it was obstructed by the clouds, and as such, the only thing visible was it's silhouette. It was roughly the same size as our ship, but it had several giant wings. surrounded by what seemed to be a bunch of winged soldiers.

The trail of the ring was pointed towards them. Could it be?

I once again didn't get to dwell on it. The rescue team's ship kicked into overdrive and exited the planet's atmosphere before the Azonians had a chance to recover. Soon enough, the cloudy planet was nothing but a distant ball in the reaches of space. More questions began to creep up as i looked at the ring. the trail slowly faded away, but it was still glowing.

Just what the hell was up with that planet and it's creatures?

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

A few days had passed and an alien had landed in the garden. they looked more. humanoid. it's wings were much bigger. the green appendage was much larger and had spikes coming out of it. It's face seemed to be completely obscured by feathers, but there was a noticeable eye poking through them. The creature munched on the gardens fruit as it slowly hovered around the garden itself.

It then closed it's wings and focused. it's body slowly glowing and it's surrounding slowly morphing. Soon the alien was in a different location. it seemed to be the inside of a house. one completely unfamiliar to them.

It looked around and it's eyes landed on the person it was seeking. An indescribable feeling went through the alien's mind as it saw that they were wearing the ring they gave them. The alien extended it's wings, trying to reach out to them.

"H-Huh?!" The one holding the rifle turned around. feeling someone touching them. It them looked around in confusion. nobody was there. 

"God, i've only been trapped there for what. 11 days? i shouldn't be feeling this paranoid." the one holding the weapon said. it them cocked the weapon before heading out. The alien felt themselves being pulled alongside the one holding their present. A satisfied noise seemed to escape the alien as it's surroundings slowly began to morph back into the garden it knew as it's home.

The alien looked at it's bandaged wing. and then at the sky. the alien didn't know if they would ever see each other in person again. But as long as that person had that ring, they would always have a way to watch over them.

#humans are space fae #humans are weird #humans are space orcs #aliens #science #fantasy #The Alien Fantasy

[stampvamp]

Hello saw that asks were open and I'm having LOT brainrot

Maybe Climber and Karl x gn reader who likes to give them little gifts like rocks they've found or other shiny objects to show their affection

(Could be separate romantic hcs or poly hcs with them it's up to u and what you're comfy with!)

of course! This is such a cute request thank you so much!! Feel free to request me more after this!! :) So cute of a request Anon!!

To those wanting to request, REQUESTS ARE STILL OPEN

(separate Karl and Climber the poly version didn’t save… 😭)

Karl

You couldn’t believe the building that once held up so many memories crashed only a week ago. The memories only saved by rubbish, as you hiked against the piles solemnly. The moon guiding you as darkness consumed the area around you. You could still smell the strong cigarette smell, you could still see the hard concrete floors. Your thoughts crashed down, and so did you landing on a cold piece of metal.

“Huh…?” The warmth of your mouth expelling a cloud from your lips, the cold air danced around you. A strong ache in your left legs had prominently showed itself, you looked around. Had anyone witnessed it?

The cold wash of embarrassment flooded your senses, scraping yourself off the metal you had fallen over. A pale pink stone sat prettily on the grimy blanket. It was smooth, and the moonlight had hit it was such brilliance.

Taking it into your hand, you had completely forgotten about your injuries. Only the reaction of your dear boyfriend, Karl. Standing up, the ran off the piles. Ash jamming itself inside of the soles of your shoes but you didn’t care. You had only cared about the pretty pink stone and giving it to your lover. The smooth pebble felt soft in your hands, maneuvering it around your palms.

Your lover grasped the sheet music, holding it up for further inspection. The accidentals followed by a change in the key intrigues him greatly. Well, not as greatly as his lover running towards him with something rested into their hands.

“Karl-! I’ve found something amongst the rubbish!” You chirped, stopping yourself with your heel as he faced him. A warm smile spread to his face as he lent down to kiss your excited form. He set the bow down in its case where his violin laid.

“Darling, what’s gotten you in such a way-?” He commented, laughing mid sentence at your energy. He had loved it when you got excited. Your hands unfolded at the question, the small pretty pink rock sat in your palms. It shined as you turned it over with a flick of your thumb.

“I want you to have it, Karl,-“ His gaze averted to you, placing his rough hands onto your shoulders. His mind swelled up with the thought of ways of affection.

“Are you sure? You really seem to enjoy it, I wouldn’t want to take that away from you..” You interrupted him with a kiss, pulling away from him as he handed him the rose colored stone.

“It’s beautiful,” He adorned, his hand collected the object in his hand. You quickly smiled before running off, presumably to look upon more rubbish.

Bending down, Karl unzipped his violin case. Everything was neat, the rosin in its place and the bow hair untouched. His finger unhatched the smallest compartment, where small brown bag sat. He pinched the end of the string letting it unravel itself. The pebble fell amid the beautiful ornaments you had gave him over the years. Something so beautiful was given to him by someone even more beautiful than the things they supplied for him.

Climber

Climber sat in the back of an dark alleyway. He had sown himself together more than he could think. Of course, you being beside him at all times were the usually the one doing the attaching.

He missed you terribly, he didn’t know why. You are only gone for five minutes to hit up the store that had sowing materials. Certainly he wasn’t that clingy.

“Climber, I’m back!”

Your voice snapped him out of his thoughts as he practically jumped. You had come back with the materials as promised. The olive green bag stuck to your side as you approached him gleefully.

“Is the stitching in your arm doing any better?” You questioned him, taking his severed limb into your soft caring hands. Climber slumped his one attached shoulder before leaning against the cold brick wall behind him.

“Stay still..” You instructed, narrowing your eyes to poke the sowing needle into his fabric. He groaned, trying to loosen his pain. You pulled the needle, successfully attaching his loose limb back into him.

“Better?” You questioned, cocking your head slightly to the left.

“Yes…a lot actually-“ he muttered, his head dropping onto your shoulder. His eyes soon wandered to the small brown bag, a multitude of items could be spotted. A small tray of mints with small tissues, nudged into the small compartment. Lotion and a bag of different flavored gummies. Your hand reached into it, snapping him out of his thoughts. He opened his mouth to apologize, but a green crystal entered his hands.

“I looked at it, and thought of you.” The crystal was smooth around his fingers as the edges were coarse and rigid around his thumbs.

“Woah-? Really..? This is really cool-! Thank you so much!” The burst of warmth invaded his thoughts and mind. Wrapping his arms around your form as you giggled into his shoulder.

“Not so rough on your arms-! If you hug me any tighter they’ll for sure rip-!” You exclaimed, his arms loosened as he looked at you. His smile and his different shaped eyes adoring every aspect of you.

“If my arms were to rip, I would rather them rip because I was loving you.” Your hand reached for his head, hitting him as you giggled.

“Oh god you’re so cheesy”

“A-and you’re so perfect!”

-

a/n: thank you for reading!! I’m sorry for procrastinating and taking a long time, I’ve been studying for exams… 😭 Again Anon, awesome request! I hope more of you are able to give me requests! I loved writing them!!

#castle of nations karl #castles of nations #law of talos karl #karl lot #x reader #law of talos #fanficfion #climberlot #climberxreader

[lunarsilkscreen]

Value of Money

"When demand on [currency] goes up, its value goes down." - shameless self quote

I've written at length about the axiom I'm claiming to have invented. Now; I wanna go into the chain of events that lead to this axiom.

Many will decry Bernie Sander's and the Democrats, and socialists, and liberal media for using [minimum wage increase] as a key position. This is because arguably; the price of the things that those living on minimum wage might buy will increase in value.

Like food stuffs; which doesn't increase in purchase rates when consumers have more money to spend. It increases in price when it costs more to produce. However; a lot of food {nearly half in America} goes to waste (it goes bad before use). Which suggests; that farmers overproduce expecting that most of their produce goes to waste.

This ensures that ingredients are really available when you or I go to purchase them. Prices on unprocessed raw ingredients and bulk foodstuffs remain fairly stagnant. Because most prices that Farmers have to pay are to their corporate overlords, like Monsanto, or their local credit Union. (And to a lesser extent property taxes on land zoned for agriculture)

What we are seeing now isn't a price hike on the low end raw ingredients; but on processed foods, sodas, alcohol, fish, meat and dairy.

Why is this?

Well; we must first ask: why are those working minimum wage jobs asking for wage increases at all?

This has to do with the total cost of living. Electric and water prices remain a concern for your average person; and since the entire world is digital now; electricity usage rates are at an all time high.

Then the fact that the housing market is at an all time high, and prices to rent, along with discerning landlords; means that the bottleneck is at these prices (housing) overall, and to a lesser extent; prices of food that pay money to individuals who work in the supply chain after it leaves the farm.

Brand new video games after all are still 15-60$. So it's not entertainment's fault. Tesla might've increased the cost of their newest car; but that's more likely because Tesla's sales overall have dropped.

The value of money drops when demand on it increases.

What causes higher demand on currency? One could say that it's greedy people being greedy. Asking for more money because they can and that's it. They want the latest iPhone and Tesla Truck! Every year! (As opposed to when you need to buy one and can afford new)

It's not that. It's Debt. When the bank comes knocking, then the Lendees (the ones who borrowed money) need to pay it back; and before you go off on college students who are still working minimum wage because jobs can't afford to hire them; remember--This is affecting corporations like Tesla, Apple, Google, and Disney

All of who have cut back spending, and are still having trouble meeting their obligations.

(But record profits!)

Profits include money made over money spent, but not necessarily money borrowed. Because money borrowed is an operating cost. With a monthly payment to repay the loan; record profits could be made, and the company still needs to worry about paying back that loan.

Which means they (the corporations) expect sales to continue decreasing.

The National Debt (the amount of money currently in circulation, including bonds and other obligations) is *not* the same as the cumulative debt in the nation (the total amount of debt held by individuals and company's and any-entity-else the banks have lent to) which is a far more important indicator.

The National Debt goes down as tax money is collected and returned to the federal government. But the cumulative debt only goes down as people make a profit, and pay theirs back. This includes workers at minimum wage (who need to afford homes and a vehicle to get to work on time, or a bus pass if they live near a bus station that also goes to their place of work.)

Web search about the ease (or difficulty) to get a loan right now returns results like this article from CNN that talks about the decrease of loans being given out. Loan rejections are up for people with low indicator of default (failure to make payments.)

The banks aren't giving money as freely because they also have met their limits. And so we have this [inflation] issue. Debts can't be paid, so people raise prices in order to pay their debts on time; rising prices mean less sales, less sales mean more defaults, and the cycle continues.

Which again suggests outright; demand on currency is high. Demand on goods? Very low. Luxury Goods? Even lower.

Will increasing minimum wage help? Will forgiving debts? Will we be able to escape this black hole? Find out on the next episode of; "Somehow the entire world is in debt to itself, and it can't pay itself back."

[strux-the-entity]

Okay okay. I know I'm edgy and all but like. I have to say something when it comes to Welcome to the Table. And that is about my boy Coco. Or well headcanons and ideas of Colorado.

When it comes to Colorado he's always been portrayed as a edgy hoodie wearing weed man, even though there's a lot more to him than that. He would also be the type of person who loves the outdoors and wildlife just as much as a zoologist or wildlife expert. He would be your guy to go camping or exploring with and you would be fine. He technically would be a great outdoor survivalist too. With camping, fishing, hiking, climbing, swimming, kayaking and a lot of other fun things. Ngl now that I think about it he would probably have his cryptid form be something of a ram horned werewolf since grey wolves and big Horn sheep are apart of the big native animal range of his, and the fact he used to be a silver mine-

OH! Speaking of silver mines. This made me think of something else. Another reason for why he's always high 24/7. Okay so back in 1961 when he became a state this was after the Civil War. 1861 he was entirely a Spain to Mexico Territory along with Texas, California, Utah, Arizona, Mexico, parts of Kansas, Wyoming and Oklahoma, those guys got taken by America at that point, but anyways. Oh fun fact Colorado is Spanish for "Colored Red" or uh "Reddish" anyways I need to focus. But anyways. Colorado at that time was stuck between Union and Confederacy to the point he was helping both sides. Supplying Silver and Men to the Union and supplying Gold and Men to the Confederacy. In that term Colorado being split among his people into 2 groups would who I would call as "Colounion" and "Confederado" He was split into 2 different people of the two sides. And of course the 2 would fight with themselves. Colo being the calm and collected half while Rado was the unhinged and slightly derange maniac. Probably very deranged since he would probably murder people with a GIANT PICKAXE, he used it for mining. But it's fiiiine. Anyways. When the War ended you could say the 2 got forced back as 1 person aka "Colorado"

But because of such dividence while Colorado was a single person body wise. You could say he had a well. . Split personality. Though Colo was the one always at free roam, Rado was being kept restrained and dormant because we don't need a maniac loose. But that's probably why Coco is always high 24/7 because being around the 2 sides 24/7 he doesn't need Colo and Rado fighting against each other. It's also why he probably doesn't talk to his own cities and all because the only 2 he can hear is Colo and Rado. Whether they're bickering or fighting, it often gives him horrible headaches. Be like Jesus don't take the wheel give it to Satan instead- OH WAIT that was a mistake we're heading to hell anyways- but what would happen if Rado ended up taking full control. . Eugh. A giant Pickaxe weilding unhinhed maniac? That definitely would be a good angst drawing or story. . . Point is. I like to think that Coco boy had a split personality among his own personality and that Confederado was not told about to tye other states. Aight. I shall die now

#wttt #welcome to the table #send help for my sanity #raaaaaaaah

[xbunny-k]

The Actor & I: PART FOURTEEN – A Coworker with a Girlfriend May I add…

This is part FOURTEEN of a very long, SLOW BURN series on Austin Butler and a Production Assistant on set of Elvis (2022).

Masterlist here!

Anything italicized is main character’s thoughts!

Warnings: Fluff, eventual Spoilers for Elvis (2022), mild language (If i missed anything, please comment so i can add!)

Tags: @manddor @pumkiinpasties​ @its-funny-til-its-not​ @karamelcoveredolicity @butlerstyles @feral4austinbutler @mirandastuckinthe80s @emilykolchivans @atombombbibunny @francescababy @starry-night-20 @yeetfack-blog @milaa24 @londonalozzy @xo-aurora @chaoticbilly @mamaspresley (Let me know if you’d like to be added!)

Please, if you like this, share it, comment, like it and enjoy! xx

I wake up on Saturday without an alarm, but still pretty early. I lay in bed, going over the events of last night. I was so mad at him for disappearing for a few days and then I just let him hang out and play Scrabble last night? Am I so desperate? Does he think I’m desperate? I just wanted to be there for him… and let him be there for me… I sigh and decide to stop overthinking and head to the gym.

After I work out, I take a long shower and then quickly get ready for the day. I text my best friend, Kelsey, and then head to the kitchen to make a coffee. Kelsey texts back right away wanting all the scoop on my previous night with Austin Butler… at my apartment… alone. She’s headed over so I decide to make a lot of coffee and make us some breakfast.

As soon as Kels comes through the door, I tell her everything and I mean… everything. Every glance, every word exchanged that I can remember. I want her honest opinion on my behavior and what she thinks of the situation.

“Ana, can I be honest with you,” Kels stares at me while sipping her coffee. I glare at her, “Kelsey, I literally told you all that expecting only an honest response…” She laughs, “Ana, he definitely likes you, but I’m not sure if he’s fighting it because he has a girlfriend or because of your work relationship. Which it sounds like is going to on for years… so I’d definitely be careful for both of those reasons….”

I look at her and sigh. She’s right. Not only does he have a very serious girlfriend… You’re going to be working with him. In close proximity. For years. I smile a defeated smile and look down at my coffee, “You’re right, it’s just… difficult. He’s so….” She cuts me off, “Gorgeous, tall, hot, sexy…” I laugh, “Yeah yeah yeah. Are you able to help me with my car now that I’ve supplied you on celebrity insight.” She laughs and nods.

After taking my car into the shop, they actually tell me it’ll only be a few hours before I can come pick it up and I feel relieved. I spend the day with Kels running errands and we go on a hike waiting on my car to be ready. When we get to the top of Runyon Canyon, I feel my phone vibrating with a text and pull it out. I smile and I can feel my cheeks warm. It’s Austin.

Kelsey looks at me and laughs, “it’s him, isn’t it? You can’t blush like that about a coworker!! A coworker with a girlfriend may I add!!” Her face turns serious, and I know she’s right. I look down at my phone and use my hand to block the sun so I can read the text.

“My Scrabble partner never texted me about her car… :(“

My face falls. He was waiting on me to text him? I immediately feel guilty after everything he did for me the previous night and I ignore my instinct of “he has a girlfriend… he’s your coworker…” and lean into he’s my friend.

“Aus, I’m so sorry! My best friend I was supposed to hang out with last night showed up this morning so we could catch up. Good news though, my car will be ready today! It’s not a lost cause…. Like your Scrabble skills :P”

I hope my text makes up for the day of no messages. I cannot believe he spent the day waiting on a text from me? Ana, get a grip. He was definitely busy. As I go to put my phone away, I feel a text notification.

“Oh, Ana, it is SO on you better buy an extra Scrabble board because my new words will burn the board.”

I laugh and Kelsey stares at me. “He isn’t texting back right away, is he,” she asks and I nod. She looks at me and just says, “Be careful… I don’t want this to get in the way of a good move for your career. You just started there.” She’s right as much as I want to tell her to shut up. I mean there’s nothing wrong with being friends… As I go to respond, I get another text from Austin.

“I’m so happy for you your car is fine. Now that I know that you have such an amazing car, I expect a drive somewhere together soon.”

He wants to go somewhere with me? As I’m getting excited about taking a drive with him up the PCH, reality creeps in. He has a girlfriend… of almost ten years… and he’s your coworker… practically your boss… I sigh and look over at my best friend who can clearly see my thoughts on my face.

“Let me answer him and let’s go around again. I need the extra kick in the butt,” I giggle at my best friend, and she smiles. I pull out my phone to send one more text to Austin.

“You got it boss ;)”

As I hit send, I wonder if the wink was too much, but I put my phone back in my small bag and resume our hike. After we finish a second lap on Runyon Canyon, we head back to Kelsey’s car, and I get the call from the auto shop that my car is ready. After a long, fun day, I get back to my apartment and immediately take another shower as that hike got me quite dusty. As I’m getting ready out of the shower and changing into shorts and a tank, I grab my phone and see I have three texts from Austin…

Three texts… I start to wonder if I’m doing anything wrong and usually that means, yes. I sigh and head to the kitchen to get a glass of wine as I open Austin’s texts.

“Oh, after you boss me around about Scrabble, I’m the boss now? Oh, it is on Ana.”

“I actually do wanna talk to you about last night. I feel I owe you an explanation…”

Oh no, he owes ME an explanation? I definitely crossed a line. Oh no.

“If you can, give me a call?”

My heart sinks a bit. What did I do? I take a gulp of my wine and text Austin.

“Are you free now?”

#austin butler #austin butler fanfiction #austin butler elvis #elvis movie #elvis #elvis 2022 #fan fic #fan fiction #austin butler fic #austin butler x reader

[day0walkersdrafts]

They’d upgraded from the supply closet.

Not that his room on base is all that luxurious. It’s tiny, the bed’s a fucking twin and the paint on the walls is chipping a little. He’d forgotten to clean before she got there, so his clothes are still strewn about haphazardly, waiting for a Staff Sergeant to come by and scream at him for it. The stereo he’d managed to smuggle on base with Benson one night (bless the fucking guy, he’d do anything for a free pack of cigarettes) was the only noteworthy part of the room. In his opinion anyway.

The CD’s were stacked lovingly on top of it, in a very specific order. And he slides a case off to hold it up to her.

“Hybrid Theory,” he says, throwing her a smile over his shoulder. “My freshmen year repeat.” Then he shuffles the CD’s a little more, picking up a case. “Or, Weezer. By Weezer.” He turns then with the CD’s in his hands. Lark had been focused looking at the music, but looking at her on the bed completely spools whatever thoughts he’d had into shredded ribbons floating away from him. He holds up one more CD case. “Smash by Offspring, too.”

“You were a very angsty teenager, huh?” She’s laying there in one of his Shadow shirts. The thick cotton kind that he’s supposed to wear on off days; regulation black and stiff. It fits on her differently than him, and she’s comfortably tugged it up a little too to show off that little tattoo underneath the swell of her breasts. His eyes linger there before falling lower. She’d not put any pants back on, just her underwear.

They’d had sex an hour ago and she was still there. In his room. Still listening to him take her through every album that he could reference as points in his life. I listened to this band when my boyfriend broke up with me. I listened to them when I got kicked out. This was a CD I was allowed to have in jail. And she’d listened to him, humming with delight if she knew the band. Commenting on those she was interested in; picking out a playlist because the stereo could switch between three CD’s.

She’s still there. And it makes his heart flip a little in his chest. Lark puts the CD’s down on the stereo. It causes some of them to slip a little, nearly fall off, but he’s crossing to the bed now.

“I’m still kind of angsty,” he admits, with a playfully dark grin.

“Kind of?” She teases back and it makes Lark wrap a hand around her ankle. She gives him one warning arch of an eyebrow and then he yanks. She makes a squeak of a sound that’s high pitched and pretty. He pulls her down more—she feels like nothing its so easy to pull her toward him. He watches that shirt hike up higher and higher, sits just perfectly to obscure more of her skin. Matilda’s arms wind back above her, spine lifting a bit from the bed as she adjusts for comfort. Or to make him insane.

She’s good at doing that. Does that a lot. Teases him until he has to pin down her hands, or hold her arm behind her back and kiss her shoulder and get a little rough with a thrust. She’d not expected him; he relished in that, because sure, it wasn’t obvious he could be like this in bed. Lark knew he looked soft—knew most people found him cute and endearing and sweet. And Lark had liked flipping Matilda over on the bed and pulling her hips back and kissing her spine.

At the end of the day, though, he’s still bludgeoned by her.

Lark moves until he’s kneeling at the end of the bed and hooks a leg of hers over his shoulder. He kisses beside her knee, glancing toward her and grinning against her skin. Matilda’s hand floats up, soothes back his black hair. She bites her lip in that way, that fucking way. His mouth moves a hungry, but slow pursuit over her thigh. The warmth of her body makes his feel painful.

He thinks she’s going to break his heart; that it’s inevitable. Because, he likes her. Not a small amount, not an easy feeling to ignore or tuck away. She’s not a distraction for him the way he might be for her. Lark likes listening to her talk, likes asking her questions about her art, likes getting to see her smile, likes stealing things for her that even money can’t buy on base. He likes losing sleep to make sure no one on base ever fucking bothers her.

He doesn’t know how much of him she might like. If it’s just the way his arms are stronger than they look and can hold her body close in an embrace, devouring her with a kiss that makes them both pant. Or if she actually likes listening to him talk about music, isn’t just indulging him--if there are things she gets caught up on, when looking at him the way he does looking at her.

Larks teeth finally touch the fabric of her panties, tug them a little bit as he looks up at her. Matilda’s beautiful pale face has gone slightly pink in expectation, in anticipation of where his mouth will go next and—

A hand bangs at the door. It makes Lark jump—it makes Matilda jump too, her heel accidentally colliding against his shoulder and sending him backward. He scrambles up from the floor, his heart racing into his throat.

“Fuck,” he whispers, turning to her and yanking the blanket to cover her, tuck it around her as she looks at him with giant eyes.

“Tanaka!” He pauses entirely when he hears the voice. Lark’s hands are fisted into the blanket, looking down at Matilda. It’s a shame those pink cheeks are going to waste. “W-Why is your door locked, man?” His body sags forward, hands catching and bracing themselves on the mattress as he shuts his eyes.

“Why are you trying to get into my room, Benson?”

“Wh-Why? Jacking off? Oh fuck, you are, aren’t you? You try that trick I told you? Sitting on your left hand ‘til its numb?” Matilda’s nose scrunches in disgust (still manages to look pretty doing that too) and Lark slowly puts his forehead down on her shoulder.

“Benny, what the fuck do you want, dude?”

“Corporal says we gotta do smoke tests with Unit Six. Sink’s out until his st-stupid wrist isn’t broken.”

There is an irony to Xavier inadvertently getting in the way of his time with Matilda. I’m not letting him sneak off to find that fucking medic next time we’re in field, Lark thinks sourly as he pulls back from Matilda. He kneels on the bed a minute. She looks up at him, with a smirk of an expression. His hand cups her cheek, thumb brushing over her lower lip.

“Are-are you still jack—”

“Ben, I will be out in a fucking second, relax!” He waits a beat to see if Benson will say anything else awful before leaning back down. Lark’s still holding her cheek when he mumbles to her. “You can stay here, if you want.” Her eyes narrow a little, almost suspiciously—and he likes that about her. Wants to tell her he does, but is afraid it’ll come out wrong but, it’s that she is suspicious about him at all that he thinks shes fucking brilliant. Sometimes she tangles him up so easily, he forgets where he is, what this place is.

Matilda never seems to forget, and he appreciates her. Keeps him sort of grounded too.

“You want me to just lay here, bored, while you go ‘smoke test’.” She makes quotations in the air with her slim pretty fingers. He grins crooked and reaches under the bed until his hands find the iPad he’d gotten jailbroken by Nomi.

“Smoke tests are when you—actually, listen,” he plops it onto the bed. “You don’t need to know what smoke tests are, they’re not as fun as they sound. Just—if you wanted to stay here, while I’m gone.” Lark pulls back, slides from the bed. He stands there for a moment before he reaches for the shirt she’d almost torn off him when they’d gotten into the room. “You could. I’d like if you did.”

Matilda puts a finger on the iPad and slowly slides it her way. Her pretty eyes are lidded, aloof. But she smiles, underneath that all. It’s a real smile too. Lark darts in to plant a kiss on her knee before he tugs his jacket off the desk chair. When he opens the door (and shuts it behind him very quickly) Benny is standing in the hallway.

“Works li-like a charm right? Ol’ numb left hand?”

—

It goes on for longer than it’s supposed to. Smoke tests are easy; it’s just an assimilation of another teams patterns. Stiles team is supposed to mimic Unit One, supposed to fall into line with theirs and mesh. But Shadows rarely ever mesh well. As good of a Sergeant as Stiles is, as fantastic as she is, actually; heads butt non stop. Benny gets into a fight with Anderson and Xavier has to pull them apart by their scruffs like mange ridden dogs. Lark can’t get a response on comms from Fontaine because Fontaine’s a piece of shit.

And Xavier’s anxious; that energy rolls off him, permeates the entire training. Switches himself from boot to boot, gets testy quicker than usual, gets mean faster too. Yells more than he should, aggravates Stiles into telling him to quiet down. It’s a miserable event that leaves every operator stormy as they walk away.

It’s because he wont be in the field. Lark walks the long hallway to the private side of the base. Wont be able to find that medic. Wont be able to keep him safe. He pauses in front of his door. For some reason, Lark imagines Matilda on the field. He thinks of concrete splattering up from sniper rifles and he thinks of gunpowder residue that sticks to the skin and doesn’t come off for days. The smell of blood. It makes his stomach turn over and he puts the key to his room in. Wonders if its better to find her there or not and knows which one is right and which one his heart wants.

When he gently opens the door, just wide enough for him to slip in, he’s shocked to find the lights off. Lark stumbles a little bit in the dark, getting the door locked behind him.

“Hm?”

Her voice makes his heart skip over a beat, the rhythm coming undone and picking up speed and tempo.

“Just me,” Lark says softly into the dark of his room. He can barely make out the figure of her in his bed. She’s sitting up slightly and then hearing his voice, settles back down. He stands there for a long moment, entirely unsure of what to do until he finally sits at the desk and begins unlacing his boots. He’s slow about it, like he’s trying to put his thoughts together and can’t. His mouth feels so dry for some reason. The drills had been long and hard but Xavier had been a fucking dog about refilling canteens.

When he finally gets his boots off, his shirt comes next. Then his tactical pants. Lark slowly kneels on the bed. It’s a twin, but she’s slim—they’re both slim. And she’s turned onto her side, tucked closer to the wall.

“You said I could—”

“Yeah,” he replies quickly. Then he clears his throat. His hand finds her thigh, drags up her waist. “Yeah, no—I mean, yes. I wanted you to stay.” Her laugh is such a gentle sound in the darkness. He slowly lays down beside her and as he does, she turns to face him. One of her long legs hitches up over his hip and pulls his body toward her. Lark’s sore, will probably be sore for a few days, from all that running, climbing, jumping, arguing, feeding off Xavier’s horrible anxiety about his medic. Lark’s anxiety about his—her.

“I was having a cool dream,” she mumbles, sleep still in her voice. Sleep more. Safe here.

“Was I in it?” He laughs, bringing an arm around her ribs, smoothing a hand down her lower back. He feels her shiver. Bundle closer.

“We were at the beach,” she starts, sighing content in her half sleep. We. Lark listens to the rest of it, listens to her voice dwindle to nothing but breathing as she falls asleep again. He should sleep too; he has to be up early, has to report in for hanger duty because they don’t actually have enough flight staff and Benny had volun-told him to work alongside him. He should sleep because he’s tired, and he needs it, but he’s been good at putting off sleep for her. Makes her mad that he does; makes her snap a little at him and he likes it because it means shes feeling something for him. Even if it’s annoyance.

—

The next time they’re in the field, Xavier looks at Lark with raised brows. For a red head, he has these oddly defined, dark brows, expressive with them. His hair isn’t that sort of ginger orange glow, but this real deep, almost amber color that seems unnatural in genetics. Reminds Lark of the dyed hair Matilda had before she’d been made to subdue her personality the way they all did for the Shadows.

“Give me like—” Xavier hunches closer, big green eyes docile in a way he never looks. His comms are switched off, he’s tugging at his tactical mic to give it the slip. “Like not even half an hour.”

You could stay, he’d told her. And she had—and it had become sort of regular. Not all the time, but Lark didn’t go to sleep alone all that often anymore. He looks at Xavier, that nervous sort of pinch to his face that means he’s worried as much as he is excited—because it havdn’t been his Extraction Unit running these last couple weeks, had it?

“Tell him he fucking owes me,” Lark says in a flat voice and Xavier doesn’t even wait for the full sentence to get out before he’s skidding around the corner of a building. Lark stands there, looking out the vantage point they’re posted at. 

He tries to find a song to sing, in his head, shuffles through the old routine of finding a melody first to hum; but his brain is full of a conversation instead, one he’d had with her before leaving. Something mundane, but he settles on thinking of her voice instead. Hums not a tune, just a hum as he remembers the tuck of her hair behind her ear almost slipping out, a strand that would fall gracefully and touch her collarbone if it did.

#lark #matilda #lark x matilda

[madi2112]

Go hiking with me! Part 4

The Hike:

This hike was more of a test then an actual hike.

When I go hiking it usually is to see or do something specific.

A scenic route. A lake or river. A waterfall or view of a waterfall. Something along those lines.

This hike didn't really have any of those. The was a lakeview towards the end but that was secondary.

Testing how I would endure a long hike with a full backpack was the motivation behind this hike. Plus a twist at the end of the hike as well.

By a "full backpack" I mean just that. In today's instance it was 30lbs worth of gear and supplies.

Is this something I could do?

Would it completely wipe me out?

Is it something I would want to do again?

These questions needing answering so I loaded up all the new gear I've been getting these last couple of months and went about finding out.

I headed off to Lake Louisa State Park in Clermont just 35 minutes from me.

Close enough in case the experiment was a disaster but far enough away to feel "out there".

I parked relatively close to my final destination and headed into the wilderness. Everything I needed in my 55L pack pack.

<headed on to the Lake Louisa Park Loop Trail>

After a couple of hours I needed a rest as the hot Florida sun was taking its toll. While it wasn't as hot as it has been, it was still in the 80's. Luckily a light breeze made it bit more bearable.

One of the best things I bought for hiking was a lightweight collapsible chair. It weights less then 2 pounds and means and place can be a nice rest area.

This is the second time I've used it and I love it!

<A nice break area>

Then about the 2/3 mark the lakes came into view.

Fatigue started hitting me about 85% of the way but I fought throught it and completed my hike to the end.

The Wildlife:

A few creatures did make an appearance on the trail.

A hawk on an bent tree over the path. A couple of turtles 🐢 and lots of gorgeous orange butterflies.

The Stats:

Overall, a decent hike. I didn't think I could do 8 miles with a 30 pound pack on. But I did!!

I did learn a could of things on the trail though.

I drink more water then I anticipated. The day was very warm, the exercise level was high and with my "special" situation (Cancer forcing the removal of my urinary track) water went right through me (and out again to an external system) meaning staying hydrated was difficult.

But the real test was yet to come....

~Madison

[justfandomwritings]

stopping by to say hello 👋

and i have a question about Jake and Addie. What does Addie do? Like hobbies, career etc. I just had auditions for my company’s production of the nutcracker so I was curious to know if you had any idea as to what Addie enjoys doing. That’s all!

Love you love you love you 😍

-Ada 🩰

Hi Ada!

Congratulations on your audition and good luck! I hope it went well!

Most of Addie's hobbies revolve around her adventurous, outgoing nature. The nickname adrenaline (addie) comes about when she's a kid because of how hyperactive she is and how she's always up to something. She's constantly a mess, constantly running around outside, constantly getting in trouble with Jake. She's full of adrenaline, more than she's an adrenaline junkie, and her hobbies reflect that sort of personality.

She's adventurous and outgoing in that she's not afraid to put herself out there in any capacity and try something new and different, not that she wants to be an adrenaline junkie (I think this in part because having a friend like Jake around would fill anyone with the confidence to go out and try something new because the fear of failure isn't as overwhelming when a friend like that has your back so unconditionally.) and a lot of her hobbies revolve around that lack of fear.

Conveniently, I was just telling a friend that Addie would've been in theater in high school. She likes acting and putting on a show in large part because (being adventurous) Addie loves to mix things up much the way actors get to switch between being themselves and the characters and (being outgoing) put herself out there. Also, as long as Jake was there to support her, she wouldn't be worried about messing up or making a fool of herself. She would be able to go out and give it her all without fear. This would've been a hobby that, for her, died out in high school because she just didn't have the time anymore in college, but she'd definitely still call it a hobby of hers if you asked because she loved it and still appreciates it deeply.

She also strikes me as the type of person whose tried a little bit of everything. We all know that friend (or are that friend) who picks up a hobby for a month or two, buys all of the supplies, learns the basics, starts getting decent at it but stops because they don't want to put in the effort to master it or because they got bored? That's Addie.

Acting sticks through most of high school because by its very nature you're always switching things up, but Addie will have tried lots of other hobbies during and after high school/college/into adulthood.

If you can name it, she's probably tried it at some point. She took a boxing class for a while; Jake tried to teach her to fly; she copied a lot of Bob Ross painting tutorials, etc. etc.

Drawing, hiking, and cooking would've had big college phases because they're comparatively cheap hobbies. There are abandoned sketchbooks with half-finished drawings of Jake in them scattered throughout Addie's house; she has lots of pictures on hikes with Jake where she's a hunched over, out of breath, mess, but he somehow still looks picturesque even when drenched in sweat. Jake was the guinea pig for many a disgusting, failed recipe in the early days, but with some practice and access to the Seresin family cookbook, Addie would've got pretty decent at that.

She wouldn't consider it a hobby, but Jake will have taught her to play pool at some point in college. And when she goes out with her girlfriends she will always make a point to lure some poor schmucks in who underestimate her and take all their money. Jake will always be very proud of her for doing so. He also will have tried to teach her darts, but that will have ended catastrophically while she's actually pretty damn good at pool.

In the aftermath of college, when Jake leaves for the Navy, she'll pick up slightly more meticulous hobbies to keep her mind off his absence; those won't last too long either. She will learn the basics of chess, thinking its a very involved hobby that will require a lot of her brain power and keep her mind off Jake, but she'll give it up relatively quickly because she only wants to take her mind off Jake in theory not in practice. She buys a pottery wheel. She's shit at it, but she doesn't care because she likes making a mess and smashing some clay when she's angry (who doesn't). She'll also get back into theater a bit, mostly helping out community theaters behind the scenes rather than doing the acting because helping make sets takes a lot of time and that occupies her mind from the sad parts of Jake being gone while reminding her of the good times when he was there.

At all stages of life, she loves a roadtrip (whether you consider that a hobby is up to you, but I do); she takes a lot of them with Jake. The change of scenery, weird obscure sites along the way, dropping everything to go see the world's largest (insert something weird and unnecessary here) all appeal to a sense of adventure that isn't particularly outdoorsy or particularly adrenaline inducing. She goes on them less as an adult because she always wishes Jake were there.

As an adult that has a paycheck, she'll also have bought a nice camera. This is one of the few hobbies that really sticks. Not that she tries very hard to be good at it or considers it a hobby. She doesn't care about the quality of her pictures. She cares about the preservation of the moments she took the pictures. All of her weird extraneous hobbies are preserved for all time. All of her weird roadtrip destinations are documented. She sends a lot of pictures to Jake over the years, and he keeps them all.

She also is a letter writer. Hard core. Every picture comes with a letter. She writes letters to him almost constantly. Letters are a huge part of her friendship with Jake. (Again, not sure if you'd count that as a hobby, but it's part of her.)

#jake and addie #also addie works remotely #in finance for Jake’s dads old company #the Seresin’s own the majority but they don’t manage operations #so they didn’t get addie the job #it was just a happy coincidence #and now addie is actually the one poised to know what’s going on in the family business #she keeps an eye on things for them on the downlow #she’s v good at her job she didn’t need help getting the job

[lampmanliveblogs]

Them's the Breaks, Kid Addendum

So here it is, the long-awaited follow-up post to episode fifteen that I promised you oh so long ago. A whole two days ago. Time sure flies, huh?

To be honest though, I don’t have a whole lot to say here. The only thing of note that I caught while rewatching the episode that I didn’t catch the first time through were Gilbert and Harvey’s first appearances. Harvey can be seen in the establishing shot of the IFWOT and Gilbert can be seen standing in line to get his badge.

There is more stuff I noticed and that I’m going to talk about, but a lot of that was brought up in several asks that I got sent, so I’ll bring those things up there. For now, I’ll talk a bit about my thoughts on the episode overall.

I was quite surprised that we actually got an origin for how Eda and Raine met. I figured they probably met at school, got along, and then things developed from there. Which I would have been fine with it if that was the case, but it was a pleasant surprise to see the Raeda origins (I think that’s the ship name?). I of course enjoy the love story between Eda and Raine and seeing how it all started was nice.

Like I said in the proper liveblog, seeing just how well Eda and Raine clicked with each other really helped cement just how deep that bond of friendship and love was… as well as add to the tragedy of their breakup and the sweetness of their reunion… and then the tragedy of Raine having to keep Eda away because they don’t want to risk her getting hurt.

We also got to see a bit of Hieronymus Bump and what he was like as the vice-principal of Hexside. Even back then he was trying to help his student flourish like some kind of responsible adult or something.

We go to see young Terra and turns out she was always Like That. Way too enthusiastic at the prospect of murder. She’s also held the position of Head Witch of the Plant Coven for over thirty years now, which is pretty impressive. 

We got to see a few new glyph combos Luz has learned… including two in particular that should remind her of a certain tyrant she’s met. And although she’ll definitely refuse to use the petrification combo and probably the hellish hand thing combo, the wind and water fountain combos seem useful. A whirlwind has several uses in battle and while the water fountain might not have many applications in combat, I pointed out that it can be used to supply clean drinkable water if need be. That’s enormously useful. You know, if you’re in a desert or on a hike or something.

Oh, and let’s not forget that we in this episode finally got to that scene my sister has been talking about for so long! The reveal of the traitors! Raine has been using their whistling to cast subtle bard spells to alter Terra’s terrible tea. And they’re working with Darius on a plan to stop the Day of Unity.

Now, during the reveal, I said that I wasn’t sure about Eberwolf if he(?) was in on it. But when I talked to my sister she implied that he is, so I’ll be working under that assumption from now on.

Like I said I would, I went back and rewatched Eda’s Requiem and part of Follies at the Coven Day Parade. Let’s start with Follies.

With the new context of Raine actually not being under mind control, some of their actions and the things they say take on a slightly new meaning. The seeming inconsistencies in their memories that I was confused about for example. Raine telling Eda to leave and maybe travel for a bit also makes a lot of sense; the entire point of all this was to keep her safe. I will say this though, Raine is a really good actor cause they didn’t break character even once, only coming close to it once Eda had left when they teared up a little.

As for Eda’s Requiem… I wanted to see if I could find any hints towards Darius and Eberwolf being the traitors and aside from one little detail I’m going to talk about in the answer to an ask, I found… not much else.

Assuming that I’m right in my suspicion that Eberwolf is in on the whole ”overthrow the Emperor” thing, then it doesn’t really make a whole lot of sense for the two of them to go after Raine to capture them. They’d want to recruit them for the cause. There are a few possibilities.

One possibility is that Belos knew or figured out Raine was a traitor. Thus, they had to make it look like Raine was under mind control in order to get them close to Belos and be of use to their plans again. A bit of a risky gambit, but hey, it worked (hopefully… you never know with these evil Emperor types, this might all be part of his masterplan).

Another possibility is that they were being watched (and knew it) by Kikimora, who did show up soon after they captured Raine. Thus they couldn’t afford to let them escape or the like, lest they draw suspicion upon themselves.

Whatever the case, I’ll probably find out in time. The end of the season is drawing ever nearer. The Day of Unity comes and your world is already lost and all that.

Whatever the case, I’ll probably find out in time. The end of the season is drawing nearer and the Day of Unity fast approaches. Let’s hope our heroes can figure out a plan in time…

Wow, this actually ended up being a bit longer than I thought. Still, like I’ve said multiple times throughout, there are more things to be said and I will say those things in response to some asks and comments I’ve gotten. Which I will get to… tomorrow.

(i should also get around to updating the masterlist and adding all the links and stuff… meh, I’ll do it tomorrow too)

So until next time, take care of the planet Earth and remember that anything can happen in space!

<--Previous Episode: Reaching Out

Masterlist

Next Episode: Hollow Mind-->

#the owl house #liveblog #the owl house liveblog #toh s2e15 #them's the breaks kid

[trainingforfandom]

Bakugo Katsuki

Bakugo is probably a very advanced gym-goer and trains for ‘his sport’. He also is very knowledgeable on all aspects of his training. Though he is a student, it might not be perfectly optimized due to demands on his time, and because it’s basically impossible to perfect workout programming. Even the pros change their workout plenty as new knowledge comes out. A few aspects he might utilize include: Effective reps, 2x a week per muscle group, and since hiking is labeled as one of his favorite activities: bouldering. Bakugo’s muscles of emphasis are in his chest, shoulders, back, and arms, these are the muscles that put up with a lot of abuse from his explosions and help him execute strong hand to hand maneuvers. But, this is Bakugo we’re talking about; he's not likely to neglect a single muscle group in his body. While it might seem a little strange that he isn’t about ‘out-voluming’ Deku, he understands the value of rest (dude sleeps at like 8pm every night, fun fact Einstein also prioritized rest which is probably why he was so productive) and doesn’t want to go catabolic, the body and mind grow while resting. Another ‘weird thing’ is a lack of quirk training, that is part of school, not even PE, I’d assume this is a straight up subject/class. As mentioned previously Bakugou just goes to class and is able to understand material very easily and apply it without many qualms, however, he probably does some extra reading for the classes ahead and some challenge questions which do take time. 

Diet: Spice… I wouldn’t eat spicy food before working out, if you can then go ahead by all means. Leaving it for a nice post workout meal would go great. Bakugo is lean and appears to have considerable bulk over Todoroki and Deku. He isn’t the type to bulk and cut, but rather ‘maingain’, his calorie burn being a hero student allows him to eat greasier, richer food (how he isn’t pimply I’ll never understand). In general I’d imagine he eats clean, easily digestible food for breakfast and lunch, then gets a majority of his calories and spice fix in his evening meal. Now ‘mainganing’, he probably eats about 1g of protein for every lb of bodyweight (2.2g for every kg), and doesn’t count other macros, in terms of calories he's maybe 200 kcal above what he expends leaving room for what HE wants, cake and candies are in constant supply let’s be honest. If you’d like, try one of those ‘increasing my spice tolerance’ challenges off the side, or make a single meal spicier than usual, keep some ice cream on the side too for the aftermath. Depending on your goals, adjust kcal intake. 

Recovery: Bakugo is very advanced and efficient so he chooses to destroy himself on days when he works out, and rests very hard on days when he doesn’t. I am no expert on being a jack of all trades and master of all like Bakugo, so just have some patience with extremely average me, attempting to theorize how people like this manage. Bakugo would definitely prefer hot baths and saunas for recovery and is fortunate enough to receive any sports medicine treatments he wants or needs. He probably stretches too, every morning, because he needs to be flexible too. 

Here’s one, do it either morning or night: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QR0JKN1NmV8 

If you are short on time this one works too: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1a7URy4pLfw 

It goes without saying, you might want to do a Week A PE on Mon, Wed Fri then a Week B Upper/Lower split. Anime people are… built different. This is a fair amount of variety, but the volume is reasonably low to safely combine with the PE program (not recommended). 

PE Program: https://at.tumblr.com/trainingforfandom/when-i-eventually-get-around-to-posting-the-bnha/qz8ywl2lrpc7

* Note on Effective Reps: Firstly you can do less, start out 2-3. These reps are a result of failing and then forcing reps which is why all of these exercises are on machines which can easily be dropped. For example this is how it should be done: Warm up the muscle with very light weights, then pick a moderate weight and fail with it, aim to fail between 10-20 reps, take a 30 second rest and then try to get to five, say you fail at 3 because you are tired, take another 30 second rest and crank out the last 2. 

Monday: PE + Upper Body 

(Warmup: 2x15) 1 x Failure + 5 x Effective reps  Lat Pulldown

(Warmup: 2x15) 1 x Failure + 5 x Effective reps Plate Loaded/Machine Row 

3 x 10 Incline Bench Press (relatively light weight) 

7 x 3 Overhead Press 

2 x Failure Headbanger Chin Ups 

2 x Failure Explosive Push Ups 

1 x Failure Drop Set Lateral Raises (Ex: Fail 30 lb after 10 reps → Fail 25 lb after 10 reps → Fail 20 lb after 8 reps, ‘cruise the rack’ as far as you feel like. PLEASE RE-RACK YOUR WEIGHTS WITH EVERY CHANGE) 

Tuesday: Lower Body 

(Warmup: 2x15) 1 x Failure + 5 x Effective reps Hack Squats 

4 x 3 Hang Cleans 

3 x 10 Romanian Deadlifts 

3 x 8 Seiza → Box Jump 

2 x 15 per side (30 per side total)  Shrimp Squat 

Wednesday: PE + Upper Body 

(Warmup: 2x15) 1 x Failure + 5 x Effective reps Plate Loaded/Machine Chest Press 

(Warmup: 2x15) 1 x Failure + 5 x Effective reps Machine Shoulder Press 

7 x 3 Pendlay Row 

2 x Failure Explosive Pull Ups/Front Lever Progression 

2 x Failure Drag Curls

3 x 10 Cable Crossover 

3 x 10 Dumbbell Rear delt flye 

Thursday: OFF

Friday: PE +  Lower Body (Done during the weight room portion of PE while constructively shitting on Todoroki and Deku’s weight room workouts, a bit sad since I’m the author of those workouts) 

(Warmup: 2x15) 1 x Failure + 5 x Effective reps Leg Press 

3 x 10 Barbell Squats 

7 x 3 Nordic Curls (Negative if needed) 

3 x 10 Weighted Split Squat 

2 x Failure (aim to fail around 10 -15 reps ) Leg Extension

Saturday Bouldering/Hiking/Calisthenics day (Choose 1 Option) 

Bouldering Classes (I can’t help you much here, it's great for all the Bakugo muscles, try it if you wish. 

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Hiking: A long walk would also suffice 

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Calisthenics: 

2 x Failure Pull Ups 

30 Sec (per arm) One Arm Dead Hangs Progression 

3 x 5 Muscle Ups (Split into Pull Ups and Dips)  

Parallel Bar Work: 2-3 chosen movements for about 10-15 mins http://www.gymdrills4profs.com/gymnastics-events/skill-drills-parallel-bars/gymnastics-parallel-bars-swing.php 

Sunday: OFF

I'll be honest, offending all the fan-people here: None of us would ACTUALLY be friends with Bakugo. If anyone treated others like that in real life, no matter how smart, and talented, no one in their right mind would like them out of anything but fear. I’m very glad his character is maturing and learning to see humor, but maintaining his distinctive grit. 

#bakugou katsuki #bnha bakugou #mha bakugo katsuki #mha bakugou #bakugo #bakugou #boku no hero academia #my hero academia #bnha bakugo katsuki #workout #anime workout #anime #health #fitness

[mariacallous]

As Senate Democrats were getting ready for the final votes on their big health care and climate legislation late last week, their Republican counterparts seemed prepared to make one last, desperate stand: They were going to force votes on an array of controversial amendments, pull out every available procedural delay and rouse their supporters at the grassroots level, all in the hopes of breaking Democratic unanimity or, absent that, making the final vote on the legislation as politically painful as possible.

It was going to be a familiar ritual; there had been similar spectacles in the past. On Capitol Hill, staff, advocates and journalists hunkered down and checked supplies ― my indefatigable colleague Igor Bobic said he was stocking up on Red Bull and Girl Scout Cookies ― and the only question was whether it would last until Monday or Tuesday, or maybe even longer if one of the wavering Democratic senators had second thoughts or new demands.

But by Saturday evening, it was clear the Republicans’ hearts weren’t in it.

They passed up an opportunity to demand a reading of the bill, which alone would have taken several hours, and they eventually agreed to tighten the time of debate on each amendment. During the proceedings, GOP leaders put out press releases, throwing out familiar arguments about Democratic tax hikes supposedly killing the economy or reforms to prescription drug prices supposedly killing Medicare. But the whole effort had a bland, perfunctory feel to it ― this was nothing like the emotional outbursts during the final days of debate over the Affordable Care Act.

It was actually hard to find coverage of the legislation at outlets like FoxNews.com and Breitbart, at least based on my spot checks over the weekend.

In the end, the bill passed with relatively little drama on Sunday afternoon, leaving Democrats to celebrate and Republicans to make a hasty exit for the airports, so they could get a start on the August recess. (Here’s the full HuffPost writeup, if you missed it, and here’s Chris D’Angelo’s explainer on the all-important climate provisions.)

The timing may help explain why the GOP response was so lethargic. With temperatures in the 90s and likely to approach 100 in the coming days, nobody wanted to stay in Washington. But I think the listless final pushback on Democratic legislation was also emblematic of the GOP’s posture throughout this debate, going back to when President Joe Biden and Democratic leaders first laid out their legislative agenda early last year.

Remember, those early proposals were a lot more ambitious than what Democrats ultimately passed. “Build Back Better,” as they used to call it, included not just major action on climate and health care but also new entitlements for child care and home care, not to mention what would have arguably been the biggest anti-poverty initiatives in decades. But Republicans never attacked these plans as vigorously as they went after previous Democratic initiatives.

So what gives? Why have Republicans offered such weak resistance to this sweeping, potentially historic piece of Democratic legislation? A few theories come to mind ― including one that may say a lot about the state of the Republican Party, now that it’s been fully Trumpified.

[pcttrailsidereader]

Another PCT Speed Record Breaks

An excerpt from Grayson Haver Currin's story in Outside online about Josh Perry's self-supported PCT speed record.

An enduring speed record on the Pacific Crest Trail has fallen. On Sunday, August 7, at 8:56 P.M., Josh Perry—a 27-year-old British hiker —reached the Canadian border, finishing the 2,650-mile trail just 55 days, 16 hours, and 54 minutes after he departed the trail’s starting point near the U.S. border with Mexico.

His staggering time cut the 2009 male self-supported record of Scott Williamson by nearly ten days; Perry shaved five days off the overall self-supported record famously set by Heather “Anish” Anderson in 2013, a feat so impressive it survived a decade of near-constant attempts to beat it. (His record has not been officially verified, but an official at Fastest Known Times said Tuesday she expected it to be.) Anderson’s achievement, which established her as one of the world’s most wowing endurance athletes, is the very thing that lured Perry into long-distance hiking.

Perhaps most impressive of all, Perry finished within just four days of the supported record set last year by Timothy Olson, the Adidas-sponsored ultra-running superstar who slept most nights in a roadside RV with hot meals and sports massages. Being self-supported, Perry mailed himself shoes and supplies in advance and hiked into towns to pick them up. He did not get in a car to reach supplies or accept substantial assistance until Tuesday afternoon, when he emerged from the woods of northern Washington with a new record to his name. Besting Olson’s Fastest Known Time (FKT) was Perry’s true motivation.

“It is incredibly bittersweet, heartbreaking, to put so much effort into something for six weeks and come up short,” Perry said Tuesday afternoon from a hiker hostel in Mazama, the idyllic Cascade outpost closest to the finish. “This time doesn’t represent the best of what I can do. It represents the best of what I could do under the circumstances.”

Perry is talking about the reality of record-setting and thru-hiking at large in this era of escalated wildfires. He cruised for the PCT’s first 1,700 miles in California, finishing the state faster than any other recorded hiker—34 days, 3 hours, and 59 minutes. He shuffled or jogged many of those miles, setting a pace so aggressive he often slept six hours a night. (Those attempting FKTs sometimes deal with only two hours of sleep for days at a time.)

But in Oregon, a trail closure that remains in effect since the 2020 Lionshead Fire near Mount Jefferson forced Perry to find an alternate route that approximated the PCT. He followed badly overgrown trails on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation, and the brush was so thick that he spent seven hours bushwhacking for seven miles. He fell on wet rock scrambles, bruised ribs when he collided into a tree, and suffered a heatstroke after finally walking along a road in temperatures well above 100 degrees. Delirious and dehydrated, he began vomiting and defecating on himself. His condition was so bad that he momentarily decided to quit.

Perry’s decision to get on the PCT at all this year represents a remarkable personal commitment to keep going. In 2019, after setting a self-supported FKT on Vermont’s Long Trail, and before doing the same on the Arizona Trail, Perry made a southbound run on the PCT record. After clocking 49 miles per day for about 1,000 miles, he was stung by a wasp, unaware that he was allergic. Three days later, he collapsed on trail and had to be carried into town by three other hikers.

And then, just last year, Perry had a mental breakdown related to money that resulted in a suicide attempt. He survived, and as he considered the options for his future, he soon resolved to try for the record again this year. “Long-distance hiking is what I have done my entire adult life,” said Perry, who was born in Birmingham, moved around a lot as a child, and has spent about half of each year on trail since turning 18. “So when it came down to decide what I was going to do this year, the healthiest option was to go for a hike.”

Perry had big adventures planned for the end of his PCT hike—running the Colorado Trail, for instance, and hiking in the Olympic and Cascade mountains. But on Tuesday afternoon, he said those likely wouldn’t happen. He was simply delighted to have cleaned his cut, cracked feet completely for the first time in two weeks. He recounted a litany of overuse injuries, including muscles afflicted with tendinitis, and webs of bruises from exhausted falls in Washington state. For several hundred miles, he even carried a sealed role of duct tape to bind his right quadricep together should it tear, as he feared it might. “I cannot imagine putting a pair of climbing shoes on my feet right now,” he said.

#Fastest Known Time #speed records #Josh Perry

[basil-touche]

27, 61, and 57 for the unusual asks!!

27. Do you have a job? What do you do?

I work in a discount shop as a part-time supervisor. Been doing it for about 4 years now (although covid meant I was in and out of isolation for my own safety for about a year so it doesn't quite feel that long). It's pretty decent in regards to it being a retail environment. It's part of a chain but it's in a garden centre a little way out of my hometown and I think that's what makes it better than my last job (which was not great to put it mildly). It just feels a bit more laid back than being on a high street and a lot of the routine maintence is on the GC itself to sort out, so there's less to worry about on that front.

The shop sells a range of items, kids toys & books, books for adults, craft, stationery etc. I also get 25% off most stock as well (sometimes they do 50% off events for staff which is super useful when it comes to present buying or stocking up on art supplies) and I bought a lot of the supplies for craft projects I post on here from work.

It's not a job I want to do forever. Now that I've recovered from my teenage years (those few years were fucking awful) I'm learning to drive (just bought my first car today!) and once I've passed I'm thinking of going back to college. Thinking about what I actually want to do in this life. I'm really into reading atm and have the urge to write as well as recently getting back into art. So history, english and art seem like possible paths to take, but there's no rushing these things.

57. Do you take shampoo and conditioner bottles from hotels? 

As a kid I used to get really annoyed with my Mum when she would take shampoo and conditioner bottles from hotels we would stay at. I thought she was stealing them. Wasn't until I was older that I learned that hotel staff will just throw away all the bottles, regardless whether or not they had been used. I think it's kinda a legal requirement to keep things sanitary? Kinda like how in resturants, you get given a knife & fork for your meal, they still wash your knife even if you never touched it. Better to be safe than sorry (or sued, I suppose).

So to actually answer the question, yes I do now. It's rather useful to have them for the next time I'm on holiday. And I'd rather not cause unnecessary waste.

61. Have you ever peed in the woods? 

A couple of times, yes. Moreso as a kid. Surprising, when I go on my longer walks in the summer, sometimes travelling 10 miles in a day, I never feel the need to relieve myself. I guess because my body is using all my energy during the hike. I can't actually remember the last time I peed in the woods (and quite honestly, I prefer to use an actual toliet if I can help it).

#asks #ask meme #replies #basil's notes #rainy-circle #thanks for being paitent with this #had to go collect my new car today