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verai-marcel · 3 years

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Of Dragons and Love (RDR2 Fanfic, Arthur x F!Reader, 18+)

Summary: Arthur didn't want to come to Strawberry, didn't want to help a certain sniveling rat escape his cell. So he decides to explore the town instead and runs into a mysterious woman whom he can't let go.

Author’s Notes: I’m gonna take a moment and lean hard on my heritage to pull some inspiration from an old Cantonese opera. And we're gonna leave Micah in his cell because nuts to that guy. So pretend this takes place in chapter two when Arthur was supposed to go rescue him, but decided to do a side quest instead. This was written for the RDR Mini Bang! @rdrbigbang

Tags: Arthur x F!Reader, spoilers, Chinese mythology-inspired, alternate timeline, mild exophilia, insta-love, magic, smut, HEA

Word Count: 6,378

Accompanying Artwork: @danger-r-98-5 has made some wonderful art for this fic!

AO3 Link is here.

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Arthur stepped into the small town of Strawberry and immediately wanted to turn around. He could pretend Micah was dead. He could just bide his time and wait for him to hang.

As he rode through the small town, he passed the small jail and kept going to the visitor's center. Seeing the map of the nearby area tacked onto the wall next to the entrance, he hitched his horse and walked over to take a better look.

"Welcome to Strawberry, good sir!"

Arthur flicked a tired glance at the boisterous man before continuing his casual perusal of the map, waiting to see if he would leave. When the man remained beside him, he sighed, exasperated.

"Hullo," he said without looking at the other man.

"Are you here for business or pleasure?"

"Uh, just passin' through." It sure as hell wasn't for pleasure, and his business was his own.

"Ah, I see. Well, please keep us in mind if you ever want to spend a day relaxing in our lovely town. This hotel is the coziest in West Elizabeth," the man boasted, gesturing behind him. "And the scenic Mount Shann and Owanjila Dam aren't too far from here."

"Alright."

"And Big Valley, just past the mountains, is a beautiful place to hunt and camp."

"Uh huh."

When Arthur continued to look at the map without any further inclination towards interacting with him, the man gave up on his sales pitch. "Well, I'll be inside if you have any questions."

"Ayup."

Finally alone, Arthur focused on the path that would take him to Owanjila. He'd been meaning to do a bit of fishing and commune with nature. Seemed like as good a place as any.

Anything to postpone the reason he came here.

***

You weren't sure how you lived so long, not knowing what you were. You had been living with your mother for two decades, not knowing who your father was. Your mother didn't talk about him, and the one time you asked, she had simply said one thing.

"He disappeared."

You didn't know what that meant exactly, and she did not explain.

Until one day, on your twentieth birthday, he appeared. A large, scary looking man came to your door. Your mother paled and tried not to react, but when he held out a necklace and told her how sorry he was for leaving her alone, she broke down and cried.

You found out that when she was young, your mother lived in a small house by a waterfall that fed a large lake. There was a growing town not too far from there, where she worked as a waitress.

One day, on the other side of the lake, a group of Chinese workers made camp as they worked on the railway that was coming through town. They were not welcomed in the town by most people, but your mother took pity on them and sold them food and other groceries, for a delivery fee.

Somehow, your father had caught her eye, and they developed a secret relationship. When her parents discovered the love letter your father had written to your mother, she was kicked out of the house, without anything of hers to take with her. When your mother had gone to the camp to look for your father, it had been abandoned, the workers having left hours earlier to the next site.

Broken hearted, your mother had thrown the necklace he had gifted her into the lake and left town, moving to Strawberry and giving birth to you. You had grown up here, made friends, had a few short dalliances with boys here while you grew up.

Strawberry was a small town, but there was a creek running through it, and when you had free time, which was not often these days, you loved to follow the creek to a waterfall and watch the water. You always felt an affinity with the water, felt like it always pulled at your very soul. You had learned how to swim with ease; your mother had said you were like a fish.

Your father explained why he had left, and why he had finally come back.

"I am a Dragon," he had said. "Great-great grand-nephew of the Dragon King of the North Sea."

He was an immortal creature, drawn to the belief of his people in a foreign land, looking for something to comfort them while they worked in dangerous conditions to make money to send home to their families. He protected them, guided them, and thus, had to follow where they went. When the camp left suddenly, he had no time to say goodbye and was nearly dragged away, the pull of his people’s belief taking him with them.

But now he was free, his people having finished their jobs. They had dispersed, either leaving for China or moving to San Francisco, where other Dragon Gods held domain and took over the belief of his former followers. So he started looking for his long lost love, who still cared for him deep in her heart, and traced the thread of emotion leading back to her.

He promised to take care of you and your mother from now on, and he made good on his promise. For the past five years, he had worked alongside the two of you, making your small farm plot healthy and fertile.

It helped that he could make the sky rain whenever you needed it.

He had also trained you in your small powers. Because you had been untrained for so long, your powers were weak, but over time, and with practice, they grew steadily stronger. You could breathe underwater. You could swim faster than humanly possible. And while you couldn't transform into a dragon, your hair became teal and your skin could shift into a bluish-grey tint. It was a bit unsettling the first time you did it in the mirror.

But your most favorite power of all was the ability to shape nearby water to your will. At first, you could only move a small amount of water in a mug. But over time, you could move water in pitchers, basins, buckets, barrels, and even water troughs for animals.

At this point, if you entered a pond, you could easily create ripples and small waves just by focusing on your energy and sending it outwards from you.

Five years had passed since he had come back, and you had learned so much. Your life was so peaceful now that it came as no surprise when your parents announced that they wanted to move back to their hometown. Of course something had to change; that was the only constant in life, after all.

But you didn’t want to leave. You loved Strawberry. This was your home.

Your father had let out a breath, then smiled, much to your surprise.

“Owanjila does not have a spirit to guard it, since it’s a new body of water. Perhaps… you can become its guardian.”

“But I’m half-human,” you had said.

“So is Owanjila,” he said.

You nodded and smiled. Now you knew why he had been training you so hard all these years.

***

Arthur was pleasantly relaxed for the first time in a long time. He had spent all day fishing and gathering herbs after he set up a small campsite tucked away in the thicker part of the forest. It was quiet on this side of the lake, since all the travelers would go across the dam to take in the scenery. He was glad he picked a spot that was farthest from, for he didn’t have the energy to even say hello.

With a couple of large fish, he made his way back to his campsite, cooked up a fine meal with his freshly picked herbs, and spent some time writing and drawing before looking up at the stars before he fell asleep, the campfire quietly dying as his snores melded with the rest of the night.

***

It had been three months since your parents had left you here. They had sold the small farm and used the money to help you fix up a small abandoned fishing cabin out here on the far side of the lake, where you could hunt and gather on your own, trading furs and fish in town. Ever since you had become the guardian, the fish had spawned much more frequently and grew faster than normal, keeping you well fed. You figured it was a side-effect of the lake having a guardian spirit now.

You looked at your hands; yesterday, you had tripped on a step as you walked back from town, getting some small cuts on the palms of your hands as they had scraped against the gravel. Today, they had healed so quickly that there were no scars; you had never healed so quickly before. You wondered if your powers were growing and had walked into town earlier today to send a letter to your folks, letting them know what had happened.

It was late; the moon was high in the sky, and as bright as the electric lights in St Denis. You were roused from your sleep by the pull of the moon, and knew that it was time.

You took off your clothes and set them on your front porch. Walking to the water’s edge, you slipped into the water without a sound, the liquid embracing you as if you were an old friend.

“Hello, Owanjila,” you whispered as you walked deeper and deeper until you were completely submerged. Then you transformed, your skin turning bluish-grey, your hair shifting to a beautiful teal, and your gills appearing near your collarbone. You kicked your legs and swam gracefully through the water, spinning and twirling as you joyfully moved through the water as easily as you could walk on land.

Once you reached the middle of the lake, you bolted upwards, your legs kicking in unison with such speed and power that you broke the surface easily, your body shooting into the air. You let out a whoop of excitement, for it was only during full moons that you could fly this high out of the water; you had certainly tried other times. For a moment, the starry sky and the bright moon seemed impossibly close, and you held out your hands as if you could gather them all up and hold them tight forever.

Flipping backwards, you extended your hands in front of you and dove back into the water with barely a splash.

***

“Huh, whuzzah,” Arthur muttered as he was jolted awake by the sound of someone yelling. Immediately on alert, Arthur reached for his pistol and carefully made his way out of the tent, looking around. Seeing nothing but trees and rocks after circling his campsite twice, he was about to go back into his tent.

Another yell echoed through the trees. It didn’t sound like anyone in danger, more like… elation?

His curiosity piqued, he quietly made his way towards the lake, following the sounds of the water sloshing around as if someone was swimming. Coming to the shoreline, he saw the full moon, reflected in the water, with ripples circling from the center of the reflection.

Unable to stop himself, Arthur found a nearby rock and climbed it to better see the center of the lake. Squatting down, he peered out at the water.

Something shot out of the water at breakneck speed, surprising him enough that he fell onto his ass.

For a split second, he saw everything clearly.

He saw her nude form, water glistening off her skin, the moon bathing her in a silvery light. He saw the look of ecstasy on her face as she looked up at the moon.

He saw her eyes as they met his.

Arthur’s heart skipped a beat.

Then she was gone, diving back into the water like an arrow, hardly disturbing the surface.

Sitting up, he crawled to the edge of the rock and peered at the spot, waiting for her to return. Part of him wondered if he had imagined it, and part of him hoped she was real. He had felt like he had seen something so evanescently ephemeral that his heart fluttered like a child seeing fireworks. He wanted to experience that sparkling feeling again and again.

When his knees ached and his joints complained, he finally gave up, climbed off the rock, and returned to his tent. He closed his eyes and tried to sleep, but it didn’t come quickly as his heart continued to race. When he finally managed to nod off, his dreams were filled with a mysterious woman with an expression so filled with euphoria that he could almost taste her joy.

***

You were mortified. A man was camping around your lake and you hadn’t noticed? Granted, you were in town most of the day trying to sell some rabbit pelts, and then you had written your letter at the post office since you had run out of ink and bought some at the general store and didn’t want to walk all the way back to your cabin.

But still, you hadn’t noticed. You supposed it was because he had no ill intent. It wasn’t that you could sense people, that wasn’t how your power worked; it was more you could feel out harmful intentions. People who came and went on the dam were usually harmless tourists and you took no notice of them. But occasionally that greedy mayor would come up here and consider building some cheap cabins out on the lake as tourist traps, and you would cause the lake to be extra choppy that day, splashing water on him if you were nearby. It was usually enough to change his mind.

You stayed at the bottom of the lake, waiting long enough before you slowly swam up again, moving towards the edge of the lake before you poked your head up from the water.

He was gone.

You sighed in relief and swam back to your cabin, looking around once more before getting out and back onto your porch. Grabbing your clothes, you got inside and dried off, thinking of the man’s shocked expression.

But what came to your mind most of all was that in the moonlight, you had managed to make eye contact. In that moment, your heart had pounded like you had seen something beautiful.

Despite your embarrassment at being caught naked and in your half-dragon form, you wanted to see him in the daylight. You wanted to find out who he was, and why your heart had finally moved after all these years.

***

Arthur came out of his tent, bleary eyed as he yawned. He hadn’t gotten a whole lot of sleep, but he was, for better or for worse, used to it. The sound of a crackling of a fire and the sight of a figure sitting with their back turned was also something he was used to.

Until he realized that the fire had gone out last night and he had come to this place alone. Reaching for his pistol, he stopped when he heard her speak.

“I mean you no harm.”

Arthur, suspicious, for people who had said that to him before often would turn around and shoot him, put a hand on his pistol, but left it in its holster. Coming out of his tent and rising to his full height, he walked around to face the woman at his campfire.

When she looked up at him, he felt like he was hit with an arrow.

Those same eyes from last night met his, and he felt like the whole world slowed and became silent. All he saw was her, and he didn’t care about anything else.

***

His eyes were beautiful, like gemstones sparkling in the morning light. His hair was tousled from sleep, but it made you think of him in bed next to you. You swallowed. Why were you thinking of waking up next to him? You barely knew him!

But you couldn’t ignore the heat in your veins as your eyes traveled down his body. His very tall, muscular body. Oh gods, you felt your heartbeat quicken as you suddenly had a mental image of him climbing over you, his naked body above yours, his big hands holding your hips as he thrust—

“Can I help you, miss?” the man finally asked, his voice rough from sleep. His voice was like whiskey, flowing smoothly over your body and making you burn with need. He swallowed, and you watched his Adam’s apple bob up and down in his throat. Oh, to lick that sun-kissed skin…

You shook your head, both in answer to him and to clear the lustful images from your head. “I’m alright, I just wanted to share your campfire.”

***

“Oh?” Arthur asked, sitting down beside her to hide his body’s reaction to meeting her eyes. When he had met her gaze, he was hit hard with desire, the sudden image of her beneath him, legs spread, her expression of ecstasy for him and him alone.

For a brief moment, he wanted to take her, to guide her to the ground and thrust wildly inside of her like an animal.

But instead he reeled himself in; he wasn’t that kind of man. He didn’t even know why he had such a visceral reaction to her. All he knew was that she was sitting here with him now, and she was beautiful. When she turned away, he felt like he was suddenly lost, and wished for her to look at him once more with those mysterious eyes. He observed her as she poked the fire with a stick, wondering what she was thinking.

“So, uh, you live around here?” he asked, berating himself immediately for such an awkward question.

“I do, just down the shoreline,” she replied.

“Oh.”

She turned to meet his gaze, and he felt it once more. A pull, stronger than any he had ever known, as if she was hypnotizing him with just one look. Unable to stop himself, he leaned in closer, her lips beckoning him.

“What are you doing?” she asked curiously.

The spell broken, Arthur quickly leaned back and sputtered, “I, uh, I don’t know, to be honest.”

The woman smiled at him, and he felt his entire world light up with fireworks.

“What’s your name?”

“Arthur.”

“Nice to meet you, Arthur.”

She told him her name, and he repeated it just so he could say it out loud. He loved the way her name rolled off his tongue. He had shivered with desire from the way she had said her name.

“So you saw me last night,” she said after a few moments.

He smiled nervously as guilt wracked him. “Uh, yup. I’m sorry, I didn’ mean to peek.”

“It’s alright, I should’ve been more careful,” she said, a wry grin on her face. “Usually no one camps here.”

Silence stretched between them as Arthur wondered what he should say, if anything.

She brought up her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs. “And there’s not much to look at anyway,” she said self-deprecatingly.

“You were beautiful,” he blurted out suddenly. He couldn’t believe she’d think that. He wanted to burn the sight of her coming out of the water into his memories so he’d never forget.

She turned her head to look at him, and he felt the pull once more, but it was tinged with melancholy. It made his heart clench. He reached out and put an arm around her, pulling her into his chest, desperate to ease the pain. “Yer beautiful,” he repeated.

***

Surrounded by warmth, you sank into his chest and breathed in his scent. His natural musk, layered with balsam and leather, was soothing to you, made you feel safe and protected. No other man had affected you like this. Was this how your parents had fallen for each other? Was it an instant attraction?

You had been taught to follow your instincts, and something about this man made you want to keep him forever. To hold him tight and never let him go.

So you reached back out to him, wrapping your arms around his broad torso. Looking up at him, meeting his surprised expression, you leaned forward and kissed him. His lips were chapped but pliable as you pushed forward, pressing your body against his.

You were met with a startled grunt. He let you go and backed away, like a shy lady from an all too amorous man.

“Y-you barely know me,” he said, his voice dropping to a whisper.

“Sorry,” you said, shrinking back on yourself. Maybe you misread him, maybe he was just saying you were beautiful to make you feel better. Maybe you were just lonely and wanted to connect with him, the first man who had made you feel something in years.

“Look,” he said, leaning forward again, “it’s not that I don’t want to, I just think, well, maybe we git to know each other a bit more first before, uh, well…” He trailed off, gesturing blandly.

You laughed. Of course. He was shy. Standing up, you reached out to him. “Will you stay a while? My cabin is small but it’ll protect you from the elements better than your tent. And it’ll be warmer at night too.”

Arthur stared at your hand for a moment before standing up on his own. “Alright. I’ll pack up first.”

***

Arthur wasn’t sure how he was convinced to stay in a cabin with a woman he hardly knew, but every time he met her eyes, everything else fell away and all he wanted was to be with her.

He wasn’t sure how much time passed, maybe a few days, maybe weeks. But he had never been so content to just fish and hunt and spend time with his sweet lady. He learned about her parents, who had been small-time farmers near Strawberry before they moved to her mother’s hometown, leaving her to live on her own. When he had asked why, she had said it was because she loved it here and didn’t want to leave.

He understood why; after the first few days of just roaming the land, living off its bounty, he was quite content to just stay and forget his troubles. She would go into town and sell his furs and pelts, and when he wasn’t hunting, he would help upgrade her little cabin, fixing up small things here and there to make her more comfortable.

He had insisted on sleeping on his bedroll on the floor beside her bed, at least for now. He felt like he was working up the courage to bed her, even though she clearly had given him an open invitation to her bed.

Every night he thought about it.

And every night, he trudged to his bedroll and slept beside her bed like a faithful pet dog.

***

14 days had passed. The new moon would be out tonight, and you were itching to go for a swim.

But with Arthur here, you hesitated. He had seen you that first night, sure. But he hadn’t seen you clearly. He hadn’t seen your skin and hair color change, your gills at your collarbone, your preternaturally fast swimming.

As you stood at the end of your little fishing dock that was connected to the porch of your cabin, you sighed. Watching the setting sun streak its beautiful orange rays across the water, you internally debated if you should show him so you could freely act as the guardian once more. You had been feeling stifled as of late, only able to use your powers while he was out hunting, and only in secret in case he might come out of the forest at any given time.

“What’s the matter, darlin’?”

You smiled. He had started calling you his darling or his sweetheart after a week of gentle caresses as he walked by, or even a casual kiss on the cheek as you went into town on an errand. No matter how much he said it, you melted every time. It was endearing and charming to you, even though they were simple words. The way he said them, the love and care he put into those pet names, was everything you wanted to hear.

Turning to Arthur, you saw that he was dressed in his usual blue shirt and black ranch pants, looking concerned. Seeing the care he had for your well-being made you come to a decision. He deserved the truth of you.

“I need to show you something.”

***

Arthur swallowed as his sweet lady began to disrobe right there on the dock. He was shocked to a standstill, unable to move as he saw every inch of beautiful skin exposed to his view. His pants grew tight, his throat dry, and his internal instinct to protect surged through him.

“Darlin’, what’re you…”

He couldn’t utter another sound as he watched her usual skin shimmer and then shift to a blue-grey tint. Her hair became teal colored, and slits appeared above her collarbone.

“Gills,” she said as she pointed at them, shrugging shyly. “I’m a dragon spirit. Or half of one.”

Arthur could only nod in both shock and awe. He had suspected she was hiding something, but he would have never guessed it was something like this. He took in her form, human and yet not, familiar and yet bizarre. But still beautiful, wonderful, her.

“Do… do I disgust you?”

“No!” Arthur said, quickly taking two steps to stand in front of her. “Yer still the most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen.”

Seeing her smile shyly and look away, his need to assure her only grew stronger. “That why you could swim so good?” he asked, reaching up to caress her neck, right above her gills.

She nodded again.

“What’d you mean by half?” he asked, curious.

“My father, he was a dragon, the great-great grand nephew of the Dragon King of the North Sea.”

Arthur nodded. “Oh. Okay then.” He didn’t understand what that meant, but it sounded a bit important.

She tittered. “I don’t really know how important that is either,” she said, answering the unspoken question. “But I can swim real fast, breathe underwater, and I can control water a little bit,” she said, her excitement growing with each word. She turned to the water and put out her hand.

Ripples started to appear, and they grew into small waves, rolling across the surface of the lake.

She turned back to him, a happy glow to her eyes. “I’m so glad you’re not disgusted by me.”

“I’d never be,” he replied, pulling her into his arms. His gaze traveled along her face, admiring her hair color, her bluish-grey skin, and the gills at her neck, before looking at her smile, full of self-confidence. She was radiant and it made her all the more alluring.

“You’re beautiful, no matter what.”

***

This time when you kissed Arthur, he kissed you back, unafraid, bold, confident. He quickly took over, his fingers gripping the back of your head as he pulled your body closer to his. You felt the rough fabric of his shirt sliding along your sensitive nipples and moaned softly.

He suddenly wrapped one arm around your waist and one around your ass before picking you up with ease.

“I need you darlin’,” he murmured before turning from the dock and walking determinedly towards your cabin. He maneuvered you inside and shut the door, not wanting any interruptions. Laying you down on the bed, he stepped away to light the lantern before returning to you, taking off his hat and flinging it aside.

You shifted back to your human colors, your gills disappearing.

“Yer magical,” Arthur whispered before resting his forehead against yours and closing his eyes, a wry grin on his face. You kissed him back, smiling in return, acknowledging his silly word choice and accepting his sentiment for what it was: a compliment. He shared your gaze for a few moments before kissing you back as he unbuttoned his shirt, leaving it open while he climbed over you. You could feel his impatience as he pressed his bare chest against yours, his kisses heating up and becoming demanding.

“Arthur,” you breathed as he moved down to kiss your neck, his lips tracing lines where your gills had been.

“Why’d I wait this long,” he muttered, mostly to himself, as he ran his fingers from your hip up your belly. His touch was feather-light, almost ticklish as he skimmed the underside of your breast before tracing circles around your areola.

You writhed, whimpering softly. He looked at you, keeping his gaze locked with yours as he leaned down and took your nipple into his mouth.

"Oh, yes," you moaned as his tongue played with you, distracting you just long enough for his other hand to caress the inside of your thighs. You parted your legs eagerly.

You felt Arthur smile against your skin before he switched to your other breast, giving you the same pleasure as his hand slid between your legs, his fingers exploring your slit.

"This honey fer me, darlin'?" he asked in a low, husky voice.

"All for you," you whispered.

He let out a soft growl of satisfaction before dipping a finger inside of you. Your hips lifted up towards his touch. Moving away from your breast, he kissed his way up your neck, to your cheeks, then to your lips once more. He took his time tasting you, his tongue languidly caressing yours as his fingers delved inside of you, his thumb brushing against your bud, each stroke driving you higher and higher towards your peak that was approaching rapidly.

You moaned his name, muffled as it was by his mouth on yours. He growled in return, pumping his fingers faster, his thumb stroking you with determination.

"Ah, ah, Arthur!" you cried out as you climaxed. As you felt the pleasure zip through your veins, you buzzed with power for a moment before it faded.

You didn't have time to think about it, for Arthur climbed off the bed and took off the rest of his clothes. He was such a big man, with muscles from hard work, scars from a rough life, and a dangerous grace to him. He had power and knew how to use it.

And right now, he wanted to make you release over and over again.

He climbed over you, just like in your fantasies, and spread your legs, wrapping them around his waist. Taking his hard length in his hand, he slid the tip around your entrance, slicking himself up as he watched you tremble beneath him.

"You sure 'bout this, darlin'?" he murmured, a slight tremor in his voice, as if he was holding back. He didn't stop sliding the head of his cock along your slit, up and down in a slow rhythm.

"Yes, yes please Arthur, just take me!" you begged. He was driving you mad with his gentle strokes. You lifted your hips up, causing the tip of him to slip inside.

"So needy, sweet girl," he crooned before he pushed forward, driving himself deeper inside of you.

You writhed and winced as your body stretched around his girth. He was sweating, holding himself steady as he waited for you to regain your breath before inching forward some more. Patiently, Arthur watched your every reaction, taking great care to control his movements until his hips finally came flush with yours.

He murmured your name, his lips brushing against yours before he kissed you. His hands cradled your face as he grinded against you, the heat of his body warming you up like a thick quilt. Deepening the kiss, he angled your head so he could devour you. A low moan escaped him as his hips shifted, building a steady rhythm of short thrusts.

"More, Arthur," you said when he finally let you take a breath.

"I'll give you whatever you need," he replied before lifting himself up, letting the cool air touch your body. He pulled his cock out almost all the way and waited for an eternal moment while he stared into your eyes, the lust blowing out his pupils.

Then he slammed back inside of you.

Your pleasure-filled yell was stopped short by Arthur's swift uptick in pace. He was hammering his cock inside of your tight, wet channel, and he couldn't get enough. Not saying a word, he only moaned and panted as he drove into you relentlessly, taking just a split second to adjust his angle before continuing.

"So good," he moaned before he got up onto his haunches, taking your hips in his big hands, his fingers digging into your flesh as he fucked you like a man possessed. He growled, a feral sound of pleasure, before he reached down and stroked your clit.

"Need… to… see… you… let go…" he panted.

You tightened your legs around his waist, meeting his thrusts with your own enthusiastic motions, reaching for your breasts and playing with your nipples before him.

"Oh darlin', you look so pretty like that," he grit out, his face contorted in an effort to control his desires. He was so close. So very close.

"Give me everything!" you gasped, your body shaking, on the edge of a precipice so high that you almost felt fear.

Feeling your body grip him so tightly, Arthur let out a passionate shout before he spilled inside of you. His eyes were wild as he stared at you, his mouth open as he drew in breath after ragged breath. He moaned as he thrust one last time before crushing his hips to yours, keeping his shaft inside of you for as long as possible.

As he spent himself inside of you, you felt your core suddenly overflow with ecstasy, your body shuddering as you came around his thick cock. At the same time, your power unleashed, making your body glow a bluish hue.

"Darlin'!?" Arthur panicked, sounding winded, his brow creased with worry.

The power that had unlocked within you gave your vision a strange overlay of colors. And within the warm orange glow of Arthur was a black cloud in his chest. You reached out through the haze of your afterglow and pulled at it.

He gasped and coughed.

You pulled again. Now that you had touched it, you knew it was bad. It needed to get out of his system before it did permanent damage.

Arthur grasped his chest. "What…" he trailed off as he coughed a few more times before you managed to heave out the black cloud from his lungs. You quickly quashed it in your hands.

Looking up at him, you put your hands on his cheeks and kissed him, pouring the last of the glowing power inside of him. On some instinctual level, you knew you had healed him of something. Whether it was an old lingering illness or a new one that was just about to form, it was now gone from his system.

When you finally pulled away, Arthur looked bewildered. For a few seconds, or a few minutes, you weren’t sure how slow or fast time was flowing, the two of you could only stare at each other, lost in that foggy place between dreams and reality.

"What'd you pull outta me?" Arthur finally asked, still a little breathless.

"Something bad. An illness, I think,” you replied. You took a deep breath before squeezing his hand. “Whatever it was, it will no longer hurt you."

Arthur smiled and pressed his forehead against yours. "Thank you, sweetheart."

***

Arthur left a day later, telling you that he'd be back once he had taken care of some people.

You didn't see him for a long time.

Four months passed before you saw him again. He looked ragged, skinnier, as if he had been through hell and back. But when he saw you, he rushed over and fell into your arms, holding you tight as if you were the only real thing in his world.

***

He told you everything. He confessed that he had been the one to help that criminal escape and shot up the town. That he had been chased all over three states with his gang. That he had stolen money from several trains. That he had been on a ship that had sunk and was stranded on an island for days before finding a way back.

He told you about John. He told you about how he had helped him escape the Pinkertons, had ran with him all the way down the mountain before telling him where to meet his family. Then Arthur had set off, the long way around through the wilds of Ambarino so he could lose the men who were chasing him, just so he could get safely back to you.

You saw now that his eyes were unclouded, having seen his world for what it was. You saw pain and regret in his eyes, but you also saw understanding and a clarity that was not there before. He appeared to have finally found wisdom at a heavy price.

After he had told you everything, you cooked him a meal of steamed fish and herbs. He ate quietly, as if his confession had stolen all of his words from him.

He finished his meal and sat in silence for a few minutes before looking towards you. "I ain't a good man—"

You shushed him. "You are more good than not, Arthur," you said. "We all make mistakes. You were just trying to do your best. That's all any of us can do."

Reaching for his hand across the table, you grasped it and pulled it to your chest, placing it over your heart. "Will you stay?"

Arthur smiled hesitantly. "You… still want me?"

You stood up and leaned across the table to kiss him. "I'll always want you, Arthur. I love you."

He kissed you back. When he looked at you, his gaze full of gratitude. "I love you too, my sweet darlin'. Thank you fer believin' in me."

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

End Notes: I had to end it on a sappy note, of course. Hope you enjoyed that little romp with some folklore!

#rdrbigbang2021 #arthur x F!reader #rdr2 fanfic #arthur morgan #rdr2 #fanfic #writing #nsft #lemon fanfic

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muffintonic · 3 years

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Alright, I think i’m done BOTW 2 spamming for today. Anywho, time for some thoughts in general!

1) I hated how the shrines in BOTW were so cold and dark compared to the bright and lively nature outside (I wish they had all looked like the Master Trials challenge where there were trees and stuff incorporated inside), so I hope if we’re forced to have dungeons they’ll be more like the Wind Waker ones. 2) I hope they don’t make us use the grappling hook or anything like in Wind Waker to move around the sky islands (I hated that mechanic). 3) I’m probably one of the few people who wanted less Zelda and more of the Champions in HWAOC since i’m only really attached to BOTW (and we saw a fair amount of Tetra in Wind Waker)/apparently Zelda’s been sidelined in all the other games, so i’m hoping in vain that we get more Champions material in BOTW 2. Also, Link could stand to have some more cutscenes centered around him as well (the few we got in some of the sidequests in BOTW were great). 4) I only really somewhat care about Riju and Sidon, so I won’t mind if the new gang gets sidelined in BOTW 2 (I still think Nintendo wasted the found family/band of brothers aspect on the dead characters--I love them so much and they’re all I want!! The problem is, they’re dead and I don’t really care all that much about their replacements!!! I dunno, maybe i’m hampered by the fact that I can replay the original champions’ memories whenever I want/read their diaries, but I can’t rewatch the new gang’s cutscenes AKA i’ve forgotten their characterization since they don’t talk to me much now that the game’s over). It’d be great if they have some weaving storylines in BOTW 2 that will get me more invested in them, but currently i’m not that interested. 5) Speaking of which, I know it’s 100% not going to happen, but goddang if I don’t want the Champions to have been returned to life. Nintendo totally squandered HWAOC by not making it a true prequel/canon to BOTW (the Champions Ballad confirmed that the Divine Beasts had trials in order to be synced to the champs, so the new gen use of them wouldn’t have happened without that + Mipha thought Link had changed in BOTW yet says in HWAOC that he hasn’t changed + some scenes like “Champion Revali’s Song” never happened at all/got replaced with alternative scenes that really changed some dynamics + basically all of Revali’s time-relative characterization from his diary/pre-100 years of solitude got thrown out + I feel like Daruk got totally sidelined), so i’m still craving that Champions content. Also, I feel like it’s totally unfair that Zelda came out of 100 years totally unaged while everyone else died. Life seems to really suck for people in the LoZ universe who aren’t chosen by divine powers. 6) They’d better keep it open world and non-linear. I can’t go back to being forced to backtrack/trudge through things, I just can’t. BOTW was everything i’ve ever dreamed about in a game (truly open world + non-linear + interactive + meaningful story + lots of outfits + beautiful landscapes) with Skyrim previously being the only thing that came close to what I wanted, so I really hope BOTW 2 doesn’t deviate too much from that. 7) I really liked Kass in BOTW, but i’m not sure what direction they’d go with him in BOTW 2/i’d be fine if he sat BOTW 2 out. I worked so hard to complete all his quests in BOTW so he’d go back home to his family, GODDANGIT, KASS. 8) Someone mentioned that since the first trailer had underground aspects, we’re probably going to be playing as Zelda with the Slate there, and I agree. They didn’t make a playable model for her in HWAOC for nothing. 9) I want to be able to stable the deer and bears and stuff, but I know that won’t happen. Being able to ride the moose and rhino things from the Hebra area probably won’t happen either, but I want to ride them!!! 10) I hope there’ll be at least a few new buildings and stuff in the towns/they’ve started construction on some areas in Central Hyrule, but I guess that’ll depend on how long it’s been in-universe since BOTW. Or maybe not, considering how there’s still Karson and Hudson even though Bolson retired from Bolson Construction--insta-towns like Tarrey Town could totally be feasible if they wanted! 11) I have one foot in the camp that believes there’ll be time shenanigans in BOTW 2. HWAOC totally threw me off with it being an alternate timeline, so i’m not sure whether we’re going to be experiencing that again or time travel itself, but I definitely won’t be surprised this time around if Nintendo goes that route again (and it would be super interesting to see the Link from 10,000 years ago). I’m not entirely convinced that the Link we see exploring the sky in the second trailer isn’t our Link, mainly because he seems to still have on the blue boxers from BOTW. 12) I also heard that maybe this will be the last LoZ game ever since something something Demise something Skyward Sword something something lore from games i’ve only vaguely looked into (i’ve only ever played BOTW --> Wind Waker --> HWAOC)??? If so, it kind of sucks that I came in just when they started making games with playstyles palatable to me (I had to look up every single thing when playing Wind Waker, but BOTW let me solve things according to MY logic/I missed being able to explore in HWAOC), but at least it’ll end on a super high note/I won’t experience later disappointment, I guess. If BOTW 2 involves breaking the reincarnation cycle for the Triforcers, I would be really surprised. (On a related note, Nintendo making Ganondorf good would also be a 100% shock to me, but it would be great to end on that as a subversion. Yes, I want them to bring back the semi-complicated Ganondorf from Wind Waker.) 13) I hope they don’t rush releasing it. I heard they pushed back BOTW originally (I got it in 2019), but it came out fantastic for it! I know COVID’s been affecting things, so I really hope they’re treating their staff right and are mindful of crunch. 14) I want even more outfits (there seem to be at least two new ones, if the variant of the Hylian Tunic crossed with Link’s Champion’s Tunic counts). Give me all the outfits!!! Also, I hope we get even more hair variations in addition to the hair down option (which is all i’ve ever wanted since I saw the mod that altered the Ancient Helmet). 15) I wonder if we’re going to get a bonus for having both BOTW and HWAOC save data. 16) I wonder if we’re going to be keeping the Champions’ skills. I’m going to miss being super overpowered, if not. 17) I hope Nintendo doesn’t cave in and make surfaces climbable in the rain. Having that limiter is more realistic and Link would otherwise be too overpowered with a super climbing ability. 18) I liked BOTW’s scattered music that got more noticeable in populated areas because it was fitting for the post-apocalyptical/nature aspect. Hearing your footsteps in an open field and the buzzing of insects was super nice and prevented me from getting music fatigue (which i’d probably experience since whenever I play BOTW it’s for 5-10 hours at a time). I hope Nintendo either keeps that or makes audio options. 19) I heard that BOTW 2 is going to be super dark or something, and i’m okay with dark, but not GRIMdark, so I hope it doesn’t go that far. From what we’ve seen in the second trailer it still looks beautiful, but I hope it doesn’t do that thing that some games do where after the midpoint/a certain story point all the scenery permanently changes to be dark and scary (that’ll seriously hamper post-game playability for me if so). 20) If they expand on the Zonai, that would be super cool! Doubly cool if the time travel shenanigans involve them/ancient Link being one! 21) I kind of want windstorms to be a weather feature. We had lightning, heat, and cold, but no wind! No, I don’t count the wind geysers and the occasional breeze in Tabantha. 22) I want a chest in my house to hold more weapons than just the gear mounts. BOTW only had enough mounts for the champions’ gear, but it also had rare items like the Kite Shield and Forest Dweller’s Sword that you can’t get anymore once you use them up! 23) I want to be able to stable my horses at my house. What’s the point of that little area if you can’t stable your horse there! 24) Speaking of Link’s house: where is Zelda going to live? If the castle’s not reconstructed, it’d be neat if Link adds an extension to his house for her. 25) I hope they open up part-time jobs (think Mabinogi) as an option to earn rupees. Having to hunt for Luminous Stone deposits or feed Trott to make money can be such a chore. I think some of BOTW’s minigames/sidequests might count as those, but those minigames were either frustrating if your goal is to earn money (since most of them cost money to play in the first place and the mechanics weren’t always easy), or didn’t earn that much in general. 26) I wonder if Kilton is going to have updated items since the monsters seem to have changed. 27) I want to be able to dive underwater (mainly so I can explore the beautiful reefs over at Lurelin). A dive meter like the one from Super Mario Sunshine would be cool. Also, it’d doubly be neat if you had a separate stamina wheel for swimming and could permanently upgrade your swim/diving stamina (the speed+ swimming items just consumed your stamina faster, which was a pain)! 28) It’s definitely too late for this, but it’s a shame that the Hylians have so many face/body/hair and outfit variations, but the Zora, Rito, and Gorons don’t. The Gerudo were kind of okay with the hair and body variations, but the other races seemed to have a serious copy-paste problem. I guess technically some of the more important NPCs (ones with quests/cutscene triggers) had different coloring, but they were severely lacking in clothing variation. Also, the only old Rito was the elder??? At least the Gorons and Zora had some old folks besides their leader walking around. Very weird, but I don’t think BOTW 2 can fix any of this. 29) I wonder how they’re going to do the final boss battle, considering how epic/cinematic the BOTW 2x battle was. What can top fighting (on horseback, no less) a giant, flaming boar made out of malice? 30) I wonder what the Yiga are going to be up to, considering how Ganondorf seems to be somewhat kicking in BOTW 2.

#in other words: BOTW 2 HYPE REAL #i'm still going to queue things so there'll probably another BOTW 2 glut from me in a few days bwaha #(and probably some general BOTW stuff because MAN am i hyped)#i'm so glad i got into BOTW in 2019 because there's been content for me every year since and i am Living #botw 2

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jo-dracona · 3 years

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Thought:

We’ve seen Castiel fight quite a bit, he’s actually decent at it, and he has plenty of cool abilities that we see him use like once and never again. He can shoot lightning down from the sky, twist knives that he’s not touching, and he’s obviously pretty good with a dagger/knife because Angel Blades. So, here’s my Supernatural Better Ending idea.

So, after the confession Dean and Sam fight like hell to get Cas back. But, they make a rule: No more of this self-sacrifice garbage. It always gets us into more trouble than we were in before, and it hurts us all. So, we get Cas back by any means necessary, except that. Spells, trickery, killing demons, angels, reapers, all powerful creatures we’ve never even heard of, whatever, just not ourselves.

And they succeed!! It was... oooohhh my god it was fucking hard. The boys need a fucking nap.

After said nap, they sit down and discuss what they all want, and what they’re gonna do next.

Dean says that hunting is really the only thing he’s ever known, it’s what he does best. Sam got a year off to think and feel what living in the real world is like, but Dean’s never really done that, and he doesn’t really want to. He likes kicking in the door of abandoned factories and killing whatever ghoul or ghost is traumatizing or killing the local townspeople.

Sam says that he’s really tired, even after that nap. He wants to live a normal life, and he feels like he’s got the chance because for once it feels like the world isn’t hunting them down, or that he needs to go hunt someone else down to go save them. He’s got a knack for fixing things, for making things work and tick, and well... there’s this girl... But, there will always be this little voice in the back of my head saying that there’s lives to be saved, there’s ghosts to be killed, so maybe I can still help out?

Cas says, he’s not really sure what he wants, other than to be with them (it goes unsaid but they all know he has a uhhh preference if he “must” choose between them)

And Dean pipes up that, well “we’ve seen you fight Cas and you’re pretty good at it, a bit stiff” Sam snickers a bit “but, uh, you can handle yourself quite well.” He snickers again. “You can use an Angel Blade, I’ve seen you shoot lightning down from the sky in the past. Why don’t you come with me on my monster hunting trips?”

“Would I have to learn how to use a gun?”

“It might be good to know, but there’s other ways of fighting that work almost as well.”

“Alright, I... like the sound of that” Cas says, as he cracks a little bit of a side-smile.

Dean, on a bit of a roll, says “and Sam, you’ve always been more partial to research anyway, would you wanna be our...” he pauses for a moment, because this is an emotionally charged title he’s about to offer Sam, and a lot of memories and feelings come flooding back. He smiles warmly and with pride, but undertones of sorrow creep in. “Our new Bobby? I mean, like, part-time since you want a mostly normal life, right?”

Sam, seeming a bit taken aback by this proposition “d- uh- y-yeah! I’d- I’d be glad to do that! Oh and uh, I was thinking, since I’m good at fixing things and making things work, well, I could maybe design you two some new tools. I mean, we’ve got salt pellets for the shotgun and iron tools, and silver bullets, but there’s gotta be other ways to further simplify those kinds of techniques, make them more efficient.”

Dean face lowers a bit and he seems... sceptical. He’s always been one for tradition, “if ain’t broke don’t fix it” is a very old phrase and I think he’s a fan.

“Of course, never to the point where hunting would be un-fun. The danger is part of it! But, I wanna keep the number of hits you- two- (he pauses and gestures to Cas, getting used to this new dynamic) take before you kill whatever you’re hunting to a minimum, right?”

Cas, having been just kind of standing, listening mostly in silence until now, says “yes that would be good. Also, since the main weapon I use is an Angel Blade, would it be possible for us to get other, similarly styled blades for me to use? Because, as powerful as an Angel Blade is, it only kills some supernatural beings other than demons and angels.”

“Uh, yeah I’m sure we could get you that. I don’t think I could make it but I can definitely look into it.”

And then they go, they get right into a decent rhythm (I’m not technically caught up so the details of what’s going on with Sam are going to be lacking.) Sam goes and talks to his girl, tells her that he’s going to be living a mostly normal life from now on, just with a bit of research and a bit of tinkering. He gets a job as the local plumber, but also does work on cars, on electrical things. He’s kinda known around town as the fix-it guy. If you’ve got a problem or somethings broken, he’s a pretty safe bet. In his off time he designs this heavy cloth rope that’s been soaked in salt-brine and then dried, leaving it full of salt, so that you can more easily encircle a room with it. It works best for ghosts because they’re mostly incorporeal. He designs a little box, kind of like a craft supplies box, with a series of small tools and materials in each spot. Gold, silver, copper, a coin of each, a piece of iron, and all sorts of other little pieces of equipment and ingredients.

We jump to Cas and Dean, in The Car, having a laugh when Dean’s phone rings. Sam says he’s got a lead and that he has some stuff he wants them to try out while they’re there. He gives them the rundown and say he’ll mail the package to the local shitty motel.

Normal Supernatural episode stuff happens, they follow the lead, get the package, find the house, and get to work. And we get to see Dean and Cas dance-fight their way through like 12 ghosts. They flow around the room with such synchronicity, despite the difference in pace between their weapons of choice, shotgun and throwing daggers. A beautiful sweeping shot around the room of them annihilating ghost after ghost after ghost. The only interruption being that Dean takes just a second too long reloading and gets scratched across his left cheek. Cas quite promptly stabs that ghost in the back, and the room falls silent.

“I think we got them all.” Cas says, without looking around the room, eyes fixed on Dean.

“Thanks, Cas” Dean says in a near-whisper

“No worries. Let’s go get that patched up.”

Cut to Dean sitting on the edge of the trunk, with Cas patching up his cut. Can’t Cas heal people? Well... they prefer this ritual to magic-y insta healing, it’s not as fun. Cas will make sure it won’t scar, however. Cas finishes bandaging him up, and makes one more good press on it to smooth it out, leaving his hand gingerly on Dean’s cheek.

“There we go, all cleaned up.” He says, smiling and looking over Dean’s face once more, just to make sure that’s the only scratch, or is he looking for more personal reasons? Maybe both?

Dean was kinda looking off in the distance while Cas patched him up, but now he looks right into his eyes. He grabs onto Cas’s caressing hand gently, smiles ever-so softly and leans in and kisses him. It is the exact kind of kiss you would expect from Dean Winchester, if any kiss could be described as “gruff”, this would be it.

They both let go after a long moment, Cas’s eyes are full of so much: shock, confusion, excitement, joy, and for a split second, fear, thinking he might just get sent back to turbo hell the empty.

Dean however, simply has a cheeky grin on his face with a touch of embarrassment. “Y’know... we haven’t had a chance to talk much since you got back.”

“Uh- Dean- I...” it looks as though Cas’s mind is going about a trillion miles a second.

Dean revels in his love’s adorable awkwardness, that often shines through even if he isn’t the only one in his vessel, even if he hasn’t spoken, damn he’s the cutest. “I wish I coulda done that sooner. I just... felt I wasn’t ready. That one had to be 100% on my terms.”

Cas wants to say something, anything, but just- there’s so much happening in his brain right now he can’t- he just- ah! This is amazing but he just cannot get any words out.

“Hey uhh, you good there buddy? Did I short-circuit you?”

“I think maybe, yeah!” Cas finally says with a chortle and this expression of relief and excitement and at least a little bit of embarrassment.

We cut to the next scene, back at Sam’s house, giving reviews and suggestions about his inventions.

“Okay okay, I can probably fix that by adjusting the drying time based on the humidity, and you’ll probably need to keep it in an air tight container from now on.”

“Yeah I was uhh... a little distracted when we put it away last. Sorry about that.”

“It’s alright Cas, it’s good to know that proper storage matters for this one.”

Suddenly, a bunch of pinging comes from Sam’s computer.

“What’s that?” asks the ever-paranoid Dean.

“I set up a series of notifications on my computer to go off if it found any news article that had a series of key words. This seems like a big one, vampires most likely, telling by the key words it found. You guys down?”

“Always.” They say, in tandom. Somewhat surprised, they glance at eachother a moment.

Sam raises his eyebrows. His face then says the word “anyways” without him making a sound.

“The article says it happened in [town], [state]. A man was killed in the...” Cas and Dean step around the desk and Dean leans in to look at the laptop, both hands on the desk, Cas leans in slightly and looks intently as well. They begin to discuss, likely speculating what type of vampire and what to do as the camera pans back and up in an arc as Sam’s voice fades, Carry On Wayward Son begins to play (because it has to) and it fades to black.

(Honestly wanted to write that last scene as if it was far later, well after the kiss, so that I could mention an Easter egg, that would be for eagle eyed viewers if this was an actual episode, where Cas and Dean both had wedding bands. Couldn’t figure out how to make it work though, and not seems like a big, weird jump.)

#destiel #spnedit #spn rewrite #spn #supernatural #spn fix it #spn fic #whoopsies I just write destiel fanfic +extras for the last 2.5 hours.#long post #destiel fanfic #casdean #deancas #fanfic

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fandomsentertainment · 6 years

Text

So I went off on a tangent sorry about that lol

Percy can warm his hot chocolate when it gets cold and make insta Popsicles for Estelle

He’s always the last to take a shower in the morning because the cold water doesn’t bother him.

Winter is the Jackson-Blofis kids favorite time of year. After watching Frozen Estelle begs Percy to “Do the magic! Do the magic!” At first he’s not sure he knows how but they go to Central Park after a snowfall and find a private space all to themselves for him to practice.

He learns how to control snow and ice much better. He creates slides and ice they can skate on in the meadows. He learns how to control the temperature of water to the extent that he can keep the air warm with steam while he and Estelle skate on their makeshift rinks.

He becomes a little obsessed with controlling the phasing of water more. He learns to hold all three phases of water in a single glass. He learns to make miniature hurricanes and thunderstorms in the palm of his hand. He learns to mold little figurines for Estelle out of water and freeze them as gifts for her.

One day she asks him to make her mermaid dance and he is thrilled to discover he can make the little ice figure around in the air to make it look likes she’s swimming.

One day they watch Avatar the last Airbender and Percy is enchanted by Katara. He learns that he can use water as a literal weapon and shield. He started off using it like a whip, a living coil of water that could reach as far as he wanted and do exactly as he commands. Then he learn he can fashion weapons out of ice. Monsters quickly learn that as long as there is water around, Percy Jackson is armed.

But Percy takes it a step further when he sees Katara and Toph escape the wooden prison by water ending sweat. He learns to manifest water. At first he is simply absorbing moisture from the air but soon he learns to create water from nothing. With a wave of his hand he can manifest the water and then form a dagger from it in seconds. Monsters quickly learn, Percy Jackson is Always armed.

The first time he created a sentient being he killed it. Estelle and him were playing with her ice mermaid as usual. Percy was focused on making it as realistic as possible when suddenly it began to glow a light blue. Estelle was delighted but Percy had his eyes closed in concentration. It wasn’t until the mermaid dropped out of the air and into his lap, gasping and withering around that he realized it had come to life. But like real mermaids of the sea she could not survive out of water. By the time he shook out of his shock and got her submerged in water she had already passed in what he knew was extricating pain.

He went to his father for advice after that, carrying the tiny creature in some satin his mother gave him for her. His father was shocked when he found out the extent of Percy’s powers. He was so proud of the accomplishment he didn’t realize how devastated Percy was about unintentionally killing his little creation. Poseidon brought the mermaid back to life for him along with some advice on the art of creation.

Before Percy left he warned him to not let all his abilities be public knowledge, it was better to be underestimated. What he didn’t tell Percy that the ability to fashion and create life was something only the gods could do. The fact a demigod had that ability without the restrictions of being a deity would not sit well with the other Gods, especially Zeus.

Percy went to buy a large tank and some friendly fish from his local pet store and had it all ready for when Estelle arrived from school. They named her Elsa and took very good care of her.

The first time he bloodbended was accidental too. They were at the park on a warm summer day eating Popsicle sticks Percy had made out of a carton of orange juice. Percy ran into an old friend and was chatting while Estelle played. Neither of them noticed the dog. Estelle was rather fond of animals so naturally she tried to pet the animal not noticing all the warning signs. When it mauled her Percy felt as if the very blood in his vines had boiled and busted. The dog had Estelle’s arm in its jaw for all of five seconds before it became a soup of blood, fur and bone on the forest floor. Estelle was okay and bandaged and cleaned up at home

Sally sat Percy down to have a Long talk about the weight and responsibilities of his powers. He completely understood and agreed that bloodbending was an Off Menu power.

But he was still intrigued by bloodbending on a smaller level. He started off practicing on himself. He could make his skin move around and wiggle his ears using his powers, soon he learned that he could change certain things about his body. He fixed his teeth himself, he toned his tan lines and made his hair instantly as long or as short as he wanted.

It came as a surprised to no one in the Jackson-Blofis household that he later figured out how to shape shift. But he still kept it small. A few pounds of muscle here, take off a few pound of fat there. He could quicken and lower his own metabolism with ease. He could control how much adrenaline was coursing through his body as he pleased. He began actually reading up on biology to see how much he was able to control.

It was one night when he went out looking for Estelle - who had stormed off angry about something - that he was nearly killed. He had been looking for an hour unaware she had already come home when the mortal approached him with a gun demanding all his money. Of course he didn’t bring any money out to look for his sister but the guy didn’t believe him. Honestly Percy didn’t expect the guy to Actually shoot and when he did Percy was more upset at the fact that he was actually shot then the fact that he was in danger.

The man had run off and Percy not liking hospitals went back home for ambrosia. But the bullet had hit an artery and he was bleeding heavily. He collapsed halfway home panicked and not sure how to stop the bleeding. That’s when he remembered his mermaid and how Estelle said she glowed before coming to life. He manifested some water in his hand and willed it to glow. He put it to his chest and the water latched to him, stopping the bleeding and numbing the pain. By the time he got home he wound had nearly finished healing. Sally watched in awe as the last few bits of water fused and merged with his skin.

After that he started keeping jugs of this strange glowing life giving water in his house. He carried a water bottle of it around with him all the time. It was a safer alternative to ambrosia and mortals could use it too. He would go to CHB and CJ and fill large barrels with this water which he named katara (cause he’s a HUGE nerd at the end of the day)

Pretty soon katara became more popular than ambrosia among demigods and mortal in the know. They found that if they added regular water to katara it would gain the properties of katara. Pretty soon a pool was built at both camps to house katara. Percy was glad to see his creation helping so many people but he had unfortunately caught the gods attention.

He was called to Olympus and questioned about what he was trying to do with this “katara”. He told it how it was. He had accidently created it so he gave it to other people as well. He wasn’t even making a profit off of it which he easily could if he wanted too.

The gods in reality didn’t have a problem with katara, they knew it was helpful and did nothing but benefit people. The underlying message in calling upon Perseus Jackson was to let him know he was being observed and to warn him to watch himself.

Percy understand that message loud and clear, but he really didn’t give a fuck. He especially didn’t give a fuck when he made his own island in the Gulf of Mexico. Grover actually helped him with that. Grover created a list of endangered species that needed a safe haven from human intervention and would coexist well. Hazel helped them create a barrier similar to the barriers at the camps around the island. Percy set to work with making the water surrounding the island rich with katara. And in a few months they had a lush and beautiful island that Percy dubbed the Garden of Me.

Poseidon actually came to visit Percy’s island and he was surprised when he saw his son, asleep in a field of rare flowers glowing with dormant power. Of course only a god could see that glow from within. Poseidon began to realize his son was unintentionally becoming an immortal at the least, a powerful god at the most. That’s when he decided to train Percy.

He taught him how to mold and shape lifeforms that already existed to help with Grover’s cause of saving the Wild. He taught him the limits and devastating abilities Percy contained. He showed him how to properly shapeshift into anything he wanted without having to alter his original form. He taught him how to materialize not only water but other liquids and water based materials.

Percy reveled in his new found powers. He not only got to spend time with his father but being TAUGHT was sooo much better than just figuring it out on his own. He found that he and his father are actually pretty similar and get along really well.

As for Annabeth at first she was worried about the path Percy was going down with his powers but she is realized to see him focus his powers on the creation of his little island. Well, not so little anymore. Percy continued to expand the island to accommodate the now hundreds of endangered species of plants and animals residing there. As far as the outside world was concerned some of these animals had gone extinct, but they lived peacefully on Garden of Me. Now the island was nearly 200,000 sq miles and took up most of the Gulf of Mexico. Annabeth could only guess how Hermes managed to explain that to the mortals.

Annabeth and Percy spend a lot of their free time on the island. In fact the whole Jackson-Blofis household do. Afterall the island is big enough to house a small nation. But Percy and Annabeth still love the idea of having an entire island to themselves to do whatever they want. When Annabeth gets pregnant Percy nearly erupts one of his rivers with joy. Although marriage had never been on their minds (they kind of just assumed they would just always be together regardless) they decide to get married on their private island.

It was a wedding that rivaled even the gods weddings. Mortals, demigods, gods, nymphs, satyrs, dryads, cyclopes and more all came to the celebration that lasted nearly an entire week. At first Percy was nervous about inviting so many people. Afterall it wasn’t just an island but a sanctuary for plants and animals that didn’t exist anywhere else on Earth. But Grover ensured Percy he and his helpers would take care of crowd control. Annabeth and Percy honeymooned in one of the beautiful underwater caves on the island while their wedding raged on for days. Clean up was a bitch but the next few weeks were the happiest of their lives.

That was of course, until the war began. Oddly enough it was a war between mortals but it had devastating implications. The threat of nuclear war had never been so real between the US and Korea. Percy and Annabeth (now 5 months pregnant) anxiously moved their mortal families to the island and offered sanctuary to their friends as well. Percy strengthened the barrier to his island and discussed with Grover about making a pop up second island to house other animal species that would be devastated by the event of nuclear war. In the end He, Grover and Annabeth decided a second island was a necessity.

It was enormous. Nearly 600,000 sq miles and hugged the shared coast of California and Mexico. The plan was to evacuate the camps. A third of the island would be used as a third camp safe from the war of mortals. This part of the island would have everyday animals and plants. Cows, pigs, horses, dogs, foxes, bats, vegetables, fruits, grains etc. It would serve as a human sanctuary while the other ⅔ of the island would be reserved for other endangered species. The planning was intense. They had to be careful to keep species that would compete to extinction seperate, they had to avoid invasive plants and animals or at the least keep them contained. And they had to explain to people why they’re pet cats were Absolutely NOT allowed on the island. (Cats are one of the deadliest animals of earth accounting for the majority of extinctions among small animals).

The gods were helpful too. They could see the danger the mortal war posed to the demigods and knew they needed demigods. The only god that as far as Percy was concerned was not being helpful was his father. Poseidon insisted Perceus took up godhood, but Percy had a family on the way and he couldn’t imagine a life where he continued to exist without them. Poseidon tried to convince him to just make Annabeth immortal as well, after all that's what he did to his wife. But Percy didn’t want to think about it. He just wanted to focus on keeping everyone alive.

That’s when the boats began to arrive. People in California fleeing the conflict but with no funds for now overpriced flight began to take boats and try to cross the borders of Mexico, Guatemala, and El Salvador. But Percy’s island was only a few hundred miles off shore. The boat that got lost on the way down the coast ended up on the second island. Percy couldn’t turn them away.

Despite all their preparation they weren’t ready for when the first missile struck. In fact no one was ready. Everyone expected the obvious targets. Major cities, military bases, maybe even the white house. No one could have guessed their target was the top left corner of Wyoming, where the Yellowstone National Park sat unassuming. No one could have guessed anyone would be that crazy.

The explosion was deafening. Even from the second island they could see as the cloud of sulfuric ash umbrellaed out in all directions. They could hear the continued explosions from the volcano itself. The gods did nothing. They would not interfere with mortal activity unless it directly threatened them. All the inhabitants of the island could do was sit and listen to the sounds of millions dying, and watch the cloud of ash choke the sky.

#percy jackson #percy is awesome #percabeth #Percy #dark percy #Hazel Levesque #grover underwood #PJO #Percy Jackon and the Olympians #annabeth chase #Sally Jackson #Sally Blofis #sally is a demigod #poseidon #water bending #katara #Avatar The Last Airbender #bloodbending #blood of olympus

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shirlleycoyle · 5 years

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Stop Blaming Instagram For Ruining The Great Outdoors

In one of the first Instagram posts by the popular account @publiclandshateyou, spray-painted graffiti is scrawled across a cliff face at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, a protected landscape in Arizona.

“People need to earn the right to visit the world’s beautiful places,” the post declares, admonishing the perpetrators as “numbskulls.”

The vigilante Instagram account sprung up last year, and has quickly been joined by many others like it, all of which shame people for bad behavior outside. Influencers, geotagging, selfies—these are the enemies of our public lands, they say. The thinking is that, by posting some beautiful wilderness on Instagram, influencers are inspiring people to take trips to the same Insta-worthy spots, which inevitably become overrun by the masses. A slew of articles have hit the internet in recent years, all making the same argument: Instagram is ruining the great outdoors.

The New Republic put it bluntly:

“Instagram users who love the outdoors have a habit of ruining the wild places they touch—a perverse irony that seems lost on them. It is now axiomatic that a locale of stunning natural beauty will quickly degrade into a morass of crowding once it is posted on the platform as a pristine image. The herd instinct kicks in, and other users who also want to be photographed in those same lovely landscapes converge with their own cameras and Instagram accounts and followers—ad infinitum, ad nauseam.”

It’s tempting to blame social media for the degradation of public lands. And it may play a part: Instagram and other platforms are likely contributing to the increase in visitation at many of America’s (and the world’s) most beautiful, formerly secluded spots. Even if every hiker is well-behaved, the increase in visitation is taking a toll on some of these areas.

But popularity-via-social media is only one of the many challenges facing public lands in an age when humans have explored nearly every corner of the planet. Instead of blaming lakeside selfie takers, we should confront the real problems facing public lands: adjacent land use, extractive activities like mining and oil and natural gas drilling, an air of exclusivity, a hostile presidential administration, lack of funding for conservation and protection, climate change, and a lack of education about the aforementioned challenges.

Social Media Makes The Outdoors Less Exclusive

Many of the public faces of the environmental movement are white and wealthy. Many of these people grew up taking weekend trips to natural areas. It’s easy to believe that it’s cheap and easy to just go outside, but there are many barriers to entry for outdoor activities like hiking, rock climbing, skiing, kayaking, etc.: gear is expensive, many natural areas are inaccessible via public transit, and it can be hard to know where to go. Instagram has made the last challenge a bit easier to overcome. It’s easy to scroll an Instagram hashtag or geotag for inspiration about where to visit, which is of course core to the Instagram-is-ruining-the-outdoors argument.

But Instagram has also allowed people who have traditionally been excluded from the outdoor community to find others who look like them enjoying public lands. Users such as @pattiegonia, a backpacking drag queen focusing on inclusivity outdoors, have thousands of followers. Pattie uses her platform to teach her followers how to treat public lands, but does so in a way rooted in positivity rather than shaming.

Organizations have also sprung up to spread inclusivity and stewardship on social media. One prominent Instagram account is @latinooutdoors, which uses social media to encourage Latino families to go outside and get involved in conservation.

Last year, the Forest Service released a paper outlining how Latino Outdoors is increasing diversity on public lands using social media.

“Latino Outdoors promotes a shared diverse narrative in the conversation about the nation’s changing meaning of outdoor experiences within an increasingly diverse society,” the Forest Service report said.

Christian La Mont, the social media coordinator for Latino Outdoors, said Instagram is a powerful tool for conservation. Even if people overcome financial barriers to going outside, many traditionally marginalized people often don’t feel welcome. A passion for conservation starts with a passion for the beauty of the outdoors, and a photo on social media can spark that passion.

“You start with the connection and then you work on the stewardship aspect,” La Mont said. “Did you feel it? Did you connect? Now, what can you do to protect it?”

Dana Watts, the executive director of the Leave No Trace Center for Environmental Ethics, agreed that social media can be used to teach stewardship. To meet the challenges of a social media era, Leave No Trace released social media guidelines last year, helping people share their experiences outside in a responsible way.

Danielle Williams, founder of the blog and Instagram @melaninbasecamp, said that we should focus on “calling people in, not calling them out” on Instagram, using the platform to invite rather than shame new hikers.

“Conservation needs conservationists” Williams said. “We need the next generation, and they happen to take selfies. Please don’t try to shut them out.”

Social Media Isn’t To Blame—Lack of Support for Public Lands Is

Steve, the pseudonymous creator of @publiclandshateyou, said that what he and some other long-time outdoor enthusiasts worry about is that their favorite spots will be “ruined” by hordes of oblivious people. Places that used to be secret local spots are now being overloaded without the ability to properly manage the influx.

Steve said that he spends most of his time online calling people out privately on Instagram. Most of those interactions, he said, are amicable.

“It’s okay for people to go out and make mistakes, I’ve made plenty of those,” Steve told me. “I don’t have a problem if someone admits that they’re wrong and tries to self-correct.”

For those with a lot of followers who don’t “self-correct,” Steve feels comfortable calling out their actions on his account. Though Steve said he wants his account to focus on accountability, some accuse him of facilitating bullying, as some of his followers have threatened or harassed the influencers he’s called out. As his account has grown, Steve set guidelines for proper use online, blocking people he sees engaged in such bad behavior.

The tricky balance between encouraging visitation and prioritizing conservation isn’t a new concern—it’s always been central to the mission of public lands. That mission is being jeopardized now more by understaffing and a lack of funding than by Instagram posts.

According to Sheila Faalasli, social media manager at the National Parks Conservation Association, many park services are in disrepair due to budget constraints, and it would cost almost $12 billion to fix them all. These necessary repairs have been deferred for years because of lack of funding. On top of that, the Parks are working with an estimated 14 percent fewer staff and accommodating approximately 14 percent higher visitation from 2011 to 2018, Faalasli said.

“The Park Service is being stretched thin,” Faalasli said in an email.

Faalasli said that social media, rather than causing bad behaviour on public lands, is making it easier to see the waste and degradation already plaguing our parks.

When posts on platforms such as Instagram highlighted that trash had piled up in some national parks during the last government shutdown, Faalasli said that many volunteers showed up with trash bags.

How Land Managers Are Responding To Instagram

Faced by an unprecedented array of challenges, these parks require creative solutions from land managers. Some particularly Instagrammable locations are already finding ways to deal with the influx of influencers. One controversial solution is encouraging people not to geotag their Instagram posts, meaning their exact location isn’t posted to Instagram.

The “Keep Jackson Hole Wild” campaign encourages visitors not to geotag specific locations. Instead, the park created a generic geotag that reads “Tag Responsibly, Keep Jackson Hole Wild.”

The campaign was a response to a surge in visitation to Delta Lake, which is found at the end of a steep, unmarked trail that includes trudging through a boulder field. It’s a hard, dangerous hike, and land managers were worried that inexperienced people would get injured or otherwise have a negative experience if they tried to get there.

“We want people to have an intentional, meaningful experience,” said Kate Sollitt, executive director of the Jackson Hole Travel and Tourism Board. “We find that positive experience more common when people seek local knowledge rather than following a pin.”

She emphasized that the campaign isn’t designed to be exclusive, and they want as many stewards of public lands as possible.

Others, though, see these anti-geotagging efforts as an extension of the kind of gatekeeping that kept people of color out of parks for so long.

Williams wrote a piece arguing that everyone should keep geotagging specific locations. If people are concerned about a fragile ecosystem, she said, they should include conservation information in their posts. Or they could not share it on Instagram at all, instead of “playing keepaway” by advertising its beauty but not its location.

Jennifer Lindenauer, who works on social media and inclusion at the major outdoor retailer REI, falls somewhere in the middle of the geotagging debate. She says that the organization generally tags the park rather than the specific trail in social media posts, but freely shares additional information if anyone asks.

“It’s not our job to be the gatekeepers and decide who gets to go outside and where,” Lindenauer said. “We don’t want to presume to know who is and isn’t taking care of that land.”

Others advocate for expanding the permit system, controlling how many can visit a given destination any day. Hanging Lake, a picturesque destination in White River National Forest in Colorado, is trying this tactic. It, too, has exploded in popularity in the last few years, a boom that rangers partially attribute to social media.

What used to be a local favorite was seeing upwards of 1,200 visitors a day, according to ranger Aaron Mayville. There is just one tiny parking lot, and it got so crowded that people were getting in fistfights over spots, Mayville said.

This year, the park rolled out a quota and permit system, requiring people to pay and reserve their trip in advance. Now, only 615 people are allowed each day.

“The future of visitation is only growing. It’s forcing land managers like myself to really look at our tools,” Mayville said. “Rather than trying to push people to other places or trying to discourage use, we’re trying to educate people.”

Whose Lands?

For much of American history, we’ve been happy to pave our cities and dump ash into the air, so long as we could escape to a pristine mountain pass on the weekends. This lifestyle is antithetical to the ideal of stewardship-focused societies, in which all land is respected and used sustainably.

America’s long-standing experiment with public lands has been among our most well-intentioned, but most mainstream environmentalism ignored that those parks were built on stolen land.

“Conservation did not start with the Antiquities Act,” Williams said, referring to the first legal protection of natural resources in the United States. “You need to have indigenous people involved in these conversations too.”

That’s another reason she supports geotagging: it can help determine whose land you’re standing on. An app called Native Land uses your geolocation to tell you what tribe owned that land before the U.S. government did.

You don’t need to “earn” the right to visit public lands—that’s the entire reason for their existence. Public lands belong to everyone. Now that social media is inviting more people into the outdoors, we need to grapple with how to make a parks system that really works for everyone. That starts with funding and a focus on stewardship, not with shaming.

“When I was explaining the problems to my mom, she said ‘es tu parque, cuídalo,’” La Mont said. “It’s your park, take care of it.”

Stop Blaming Instagram For Ruining The Great Outdoors syndicated from https://triviaqaweb.wordpress.com/feed/

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chocolate-brownies · 6 years

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There are a lot of ways to define wellness. Renowned yoga teacher Elena Brower defines it as “your ability to respond rather than to react;” Dr. Mark Hyman says it’s the integrated care of every aspect of ourselves: Physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and relational. Wellness activist Kerri Kelly believes that “wellness is the culture of how we take care of ourselves and one another.”

However you define it, one thing is certain: Around the world, people are becoming increasingly interested in what it means to be well. And while we wholeheartedly disagree with the idea that wellness necessitates consumerism—you do not need expensive cushions, treatments, or infused juices to be well—a not-so-deep dive into social media reveals that superfood smoothie bowls, cupping marks, and guided meditations are definitely having a moment. Wellness, that is, is trending. And it’s not just in the US: Around the world, teachers, practitioners, and consumers are redefining mindful living through buying choices they make every day.

In celebration of Passport—your ticket to an unlimited number of the 50+ Wanderlust events around the world—we’re taking a deeper-than-social-media dive into worldwide wellness trends looking toward 2019. Journey with us as we stretch our scope and explore both the similarities and differences in our global community.

This week: What’s trending in wellness in Australia.

Accessibility to Adaptogens and Ayurvedic Eating

There’s been a buzz around adaptogens, gut-health, and Ayurvedic diets for some time now, but it’s recently become much more mainstream in Australia.   According to Good Food, an Australian food-focused website, a 2017 APS Stress and Wellbeing Survey revealed that, “Australians anxiety levels are the highest they’ve been in five years.” Enter: foods and supplements that can help fix that.   Through the introduction and incorporation of mood-boosting, stress-relieving ingredients, food can become a valued source for mind-body connection.

Restaurants, cafes, and bloggers, have been popping up from coast to coast to help Aussies navigate a new way of healing the body, and in turn the mind, from the inside out. On the menu, and on the blogs? Adaptogens and superfoods. These eateries and influencers have been making these new ingredients, and new information, both more accessible and easier to digest (in more ways than one).   Reece Carter, dubbed the “Garden Pharmacist” in Australia, helps to break down the mystery around adaptogens, gut-healthy foods, and how to create healthy masterpieces at home on his blog.

For those who are looking to get started in simple, small, ways—like swapping their coffee for a chaga latte instead, or experimenting with Ayurvedic eating—they can now turn to restaurants and cafes for mindfully crafted meals. Places like Nalinis Ayurvedic Kitchen, which was featured on Good Food, and Matcha Mylk Bar offer up a host of adtopgen-laden, superfood-stuffed, ayurvedic-diet-friendly, whole-food menu options.

Now that Australians have been introduced to these powerful elixirs, we’re curious to see what the coming years’ APS Stress and Wellbeing Surveys will reveal. Until then, keep the turmeric, chaga, and moringa coming.

Native Traditions and Utilizing Nature for Healing

Australia is looking to it’s aboriginal people to bring past healing traditions to the present. Tradition holds a special, sacred space in Australia, and honoring the culture of Australia’s Aboriginal people is becoming more and more apparent. One showing of this is the inclusion of a thousands year old practice, the smoking ceremony, in Australia Day celebrations.

Yuin Elder Uncle Max Harrison helps to explain the tradition of smoking ceremonies on the Australia Day website. In a video, Max says that smoking ceremonies can be “a gesture of good will, bringing people together, and healing, there’s smoking when there’s a burial, there’s smoking when there’s a celebration, and there’s smoking for clearance and healing also…” adding, “it’s not just about lighting up a fire, it’s about how we light that fire.”

Many of the traditional ceremonies of the Aboriginal people call upon elements found in nature that are native to Australia—from bush leaves to different types of tree bark and wood. Various elements are used during the practice depending on what the desired outcome is of the ceremony.

Some wellness spas throughout Australia have adopted similar practices. In honoring the importance of culture, treatments offered weave in traditional practices of Aboriginal people, like utilizing natural ingredients from native plants—desert salts, clays, and scented emu bush for healing and wellness.

Photo by David Clode

Food Foraging

Clearly turning to the elements isn’t a new concept for Australians when it comes to wellness, what with so many amazing resources within reach. Foraging through nature for food is a practice that’s recently been picking up steam, though. Amy Taylor-Kabbaz of Happy Mama told us that, “Chefs are using native plants and ingredients found in the wild and it’s really gaining popularity.”   Workshops are even offered to help people find ingredients out in nature to incorporate into meals, and healing remedies.

Amy let us know that foraging workshops are offered in Sydney by Diego Bonetto. One such workshop offered by Diego is a wild food and medicine workshop that promises to help attendees “learn how to identify plants and forage for wild food and medicine.”   These workshops can be a great jumping point to learning to forage on one’s own. This new knowledge offers up the opportunity to then be able to take advantage of all of the delicious and nutritious native plants nearby that have been overlooked.

Finding Friends through Fitness

Technology and fitness have a way of bringing people together—and Aussies are no exception to this trend. A simple Insta search turns up hundreds of inspirational Australia-based wellness leaders who are motivating and uniting the masses. Kayla Itsines, with over 10 million followers worldwide is likely the most well-known, bringing together millions of people with her fitness guides. Just take a look at the #BBG hashtag, and you’ll find millions of devoted followers who are enthusiastically cheering for, and encouraging, each other from across the globe.

We also can’t get enough of yoga-couple Claudine and Honza Lafond, who run YogaBeyond, transplants who now call Australia home. Through their wide-reaching Insta platform (492K followers), they organize yoga retreats and hiking excursions. Others have even found ways to turn technology into a real-world tool. Australia native Colin Tilini, for example, built the GymBud app to allow users to connect with fellow fitness enthusiasts to book trainings together and keep motivation high.

Natural and Reef-Safe Products

Recent news revealed that Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is experiencing bleaching as a result of exposure to toxic ingredients. Turns out, those damage-causing toxic ingredients can be found in many sunscreens. Locals and visitors alike have taken heed of these recent discoveries and are now opting for reef safe sunscreen to protect their skin, as well as the beloved reefs. Some places in the world have even gone so far as to ban sunscreens that have the potential to harm the reef.

If you want to jump on this reef-saving, skin-protecting bandwagon stick to mineral-based sunscreens, and keep an eye out for ingredients that can be especially harmful to coral like Oxybenzone, Octinoxate (aka octyl methoxycinnamate).

But, it doesn’t stop at the reefs. Australians are also taking steps in the beauty industry to alter their impact on animals, the environment, and themselves, too.

Potentially harmful chemicals and ingredients like sulfates, parabens, propylene glycol, methylisothiazolinone (aka MIT), and triclosan are now banned from Australian cosmetic products entirely. Many cosmetic brands are also adhering to cruelty free, and sustainable practices. Sourcing natural, organic, and even local ingredients, using eco-friendly, recyclable packaging, and ensuring that products are dermatologically tested, and not tested on animals are practices that are increasing in popularity.

The beauty industry can certainly be tricky to navigate—but Australians are lucky to have a plethora of organic and clean beauty bloggers to help them cut through the BS. Our favorite is The Nourished Life, which not only breaks down brands, but explores what different types of products can do (did you know exactly how a “serum” works? Yeah, neither did we).

Wellness is a state of being and a way of living. For some, a wellness practice could be laying in a hammock, listening to a podcast, watching the clouds roll by; for others it’s bounding up a 14,000-foot summit, blood pumping, adrenaline screaming. There’s no wrong path to take on the journey to mind-body wellness, and there are countless interesting and inspiring trends within the wellness world to get you there.   We hope this series will bring new practices, new experiences, and new thoughts around wellness, and how to find the perfect recipe of what works for you—wherever you are in your wellness journey, and wherever you are in the world.

—

Maggie Peikon is a New York native, writer, and sufferer of insatiable wanderlust. An avid endorphin seeker she has a constant need to be moving, seeking adventure in all she does. She is a lover of travel, daydreaming, fitness, thunderstorms, and her dog, Finley. Despite the fact that she has to take medication daily due to a thyroidectomy, Maggie still believes that laughter will always be the best medicine. Follow her musings on Instagram and Twitter.

The post Wellness Down Under: 2019 Aussie Trends to Watch appeared first on Wanderlust.

#sleep sounds #sleep music #white noise app #nature sounds #relaxing sounds #rain sounds for sleeping

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