#...wait how old is Bree across the series?

[futchbookslut]

Fucking hell, I wish artists would learn how to draw Bree's hair. Too many artists draw her with wavy hair. Not even loose curls, just straight up waves. Can we maybe learn how to draw actual curls before drawing a character who has explicitly mentioned how important her hair is to her, and how white people react to her hair?

[mccoyyy]

moving this to my new blog so I can pin it again lol

@stregoni-benefici you are completely correct but I just wanted to expand on this a little bit - also i’m putting this under a read more cause this got a lot longer than i originally thought it would be

sexism: smeyers treatment of female characters throughout the entire series is extremely problematic. like you don’t even need to read deep into the books to see that. the backstories of all her female characters all involve some form of trauma and are significantly more violent than the male vampires (Rosalie and Esme enduring physical/sexual assault meanwhile Edward dies of the flu and Emmett gets vibe checked by a bear).

she also creates the idea that a woman isn’t complete without children/being a mother. every female vampire in the series is desperate for children yet can’t, its mentioned in pretty much every book and extreme emphasis is placed on how tragic this is. a female character wanting children isn’t wrong or sexist at all but the way its written in twilight makes it seem like its something a woman has to do in order to be happy and smeyer pretty much cements this idea by making Bella suddenly desperate to have Renesmee despite showing no interest in children/audibly voicing her thoughts against having children in eclipse and the start of breaking dawn (i’m pretty sure Bella has a line of dialogue in the books where she says something like she didn’t realise it was something she wanted/needed until it happened bit I’m not sure I try not to read/think about breaking dawn)

there’s also the way she writes female characters, specifically Rosalie. its mentioned throughout the series that Rosalie has extreme mechanical skills and multiple degrees in STEM fields but its barely ever shown, and instead her characterisation focuses on being obsessed with her looks (first couple pages of this, written by smeyer for new moon), and being a ‘stereotypical bitch’. for the first three books most of her character/dialogue is based on being cold and rude to Bella. She is unnecessarily painted as the villain for having different views on Bella (quite literally) giving up her life and future to be with a man (which is a whole other can of worms). the same is done to the character of Leah in eclipse/breaking dawn. Leah is a woman in the Quileute Tribe, she has been severely affected by the Cullen’s presence in the area and is painted as a character that the reader is supposed to dislike simply because she doesn’t like Bella/the Cullen’s despite having extremely valid reasons not to

anti-Native - smeyers treatment of native tribes is horrendous. she has profited fr years off of of native american culture for years and has done so without any acknowledgements. furthermore, she also demonises native american teens (especially in new moon) by calling them wild, violent, dangerous and out of control and then uses these stereotypes to create a contrast between the self control and patience of the Cullen’s and make them seem more like the good guys, and the wolf pack being lesser. She does this again with the treatment of Jacobs character in new moon and especially eclipse.

Jacob starts off in new moon as Bella’s best friend. he helps Bella come out of a severe depression caused when Edward left at the start of the book. however in eclipse his character makes a complete flip and he becomes moody, temperamental, argumentative and disrespectful of Bella’s boundaries. his character becomes unrecognisable and despite smeyers claims of a love triangle, it is obvious what the outcome will be. I have seen countless instances of people on this site claiming they hate Jacob because he is a dick/disrespectful/just as unhealthy as Edward. this was done on purpose by smeyer as she uses Jacob to make Edward seem like the obvious and correct choice for Bella. if you need more proof of this, take the scene where Jacob kisses Bella without her consent and she breaks her hand when punching him, Edward swoops in and almost gets into a fight with Jacob for touching Bella without her consent. this is an obvious attempt to make Jacob seem like the villain and Edward the white saviour

there’s also the treatment of the native characters by the white characters in the books. multiple times in the series, the native characters are called/compared to dogs/brutes and have a distinct unpleasant smell. I don’t think I need to explain how this is racist. the pack also helps the Cullen’s/saves Bella’s lives and never receive any acknowledgement/are treated any better by the Cullen’s/anyone really. the pack are only ever used as a way to make the Cullen’s look better.

there’s also some pretty obvious similarities to colonisation with the Cullen’s entering Quiluete lands which then forces them to start phasing into wolves (and I’m pretty sure none of the pack actually want to start phasing). also, remember Leah? the only female member of the wolf pack? because of the change she effectively can’t have children? that has implications.

and to top it all off, after doing all that, smeyer has never once addressed this or even acknowledged the Quileute Tribe.

pedophilic - I mean even without mentioning breaking dawn its pretty awful. first of all you’ve got the blatant sexualisation of minors throughout the entire series. Edward is 17 throughout the series and smeyer is writing literal paragraphs about his chiselled abs. Jacob is 16/17 when she has him running about forks topless with a 6 pack. this is way more apparent in the movies but its still a huge issue in the books and lead to Taylor Lautner being confronted by adult fans trying to get him to sign their underwear, and being forced into being shirtless for most of the movies which made him extremely uncomfortable (Elizabeth Reaser (Esme) briefly talks about this in the ID10T podcast on spotify). and just as a reminder, Taylor was 16 when the first one was filmed and 17 for the second.

Breaking Dawn is a whole other can of worms. the glaringly obvious issue is Jacob imprinting on a literal newborn baby. now the concept of imprinting itself has racist elements to it, but its heavily implied in the series that imprinting will inevitably lead to a romantic relationship. Jacob imprinting on Renesmee and waiting until she is old enough to enter into a romantic relationship (never mind the fact that shes ‘old enough’ she will still technically be 5) is pretty much grooming. The same happens with Quil and his imprint, Claire (a two year old) where I’m pretty sure there’s a scene in breaking dawn where Jacob and Leah are watching Quil play with Claire and talking about how Quil isn’t going to date anyone because he and Claire are ‘pretty much inevitable’ (i might be wrong though, like I said I try not to read/think about breaking dawn)

smeyer has also written a spin off book (its like 250 odd pages) called the short second life of Bree Tanner (Bree is that newborn vampire killed after the battle in eclipse by the Volturi btw). In this book, Bree is 15 almost 16, and another character Diego is 18 which is definitely pushing the boundaries of ok. (also as a side note, funny how Bree and Jacob are literally the same age and smeyer states multiple times how Bree deserved better and is only a child (who straight up kills people), yet when it comes to Jacob he has to be a responsible adult and is vilified for every mistake he makes)

racist - smeyer refused to let Catherine Hardwicke (director of the first twilight) have a diverse cast because she ‘imagined them a certain way’ (white) and it was a fight to get Edi Gathegi cast as Laurent and had to compromise with smeyer to make Bella’s friend group more diverse. this woman straight up refused to hire more diverse actors and only agreed to when they were side characters/villains.

Also in the official companion book/guide to twilight, smeyer literally writes that vampire venom makes you white

‘the venom leeches all pigmentation from the skin into a more indestructable vampire form…regardless of original ethnicity a vampires skin will be exceptionally pale’ (official illustrated guide pg.69)

this is a whole lot of bullshit cause she is literally whitewashing characters, but when you pair this with the idea that vampires possess inhuman levels of beauty it becomes extremely problematic and implies that being pale/white is more beautiful than darker skin tones.

also, if we go back to Laurent’s character for a second. so Laurent is one of the only characters who isn’t described as white (in the books he is described as having a pale olive skin tone) and in the first book he comes across as pretty reasonable (warning carlisle about James/Victoria, travels up to Denali and tries out the veggie lifestyle) but in new moon, his characterisation pulls a 180° (sensing a theme here) and is suddenly trying to kill Bella as a favour to Victoria and is Evil™ despite in the first book he literally says to Carlisle he didn’t particularly like travelling with James/Victoria and was only really doing it for convenience. where did this undying loyalty come from? yet again, smeyer is completely disregarding established characterisation in POC characters specifically to villainise them.

and finally, we have Jasper. for some reason (that reason being that she is racist) smeyer decides to make Jasper a confederate soldier in his human life. if you don’t have a lot of knowledge on the american civil war, the confederacy were the side of the US that seceded from the union in order to keep their slaves. Jasper was a confederate soldier, and not just any soldier, but a major. Jasper was a major in an army that fought for 4 years to keep the existence of slavery (and don’t even try to say that slavery wasn’t the root cause of the civil war. states rights aye? states rights to do what). now there’s an argument out there made by certain fans that a lot of people joined the confederate army out of pride/were forced into it cause of conscription to try and head canon the racism away but like that doesn’t matter. there was literally no need to make jasper a confederate in the first place. if she was so desperate to have a civil war vampire then she could have made him a member of the union. its been common knowledge that the confederacy was racist for a long time now, smeyer has absolutely no excuses here.

a lot of these issues overlap and I have probably missed heaps of issues (so feel free to add on) but hope this helps explain why smeyer can *ahem* get tae absolute fuck

[raith-way]

stories i would write if i had 12% more inspiration [1/?]

Fandom: Twilight Series

Main Original Character: Antonia “Toni” Swan

Side Original Characters: Alana Santos, Gabriel Lassiter, Sara Castle

Main Pairings: Toni Swan/Jasper Hale & Bella Swan/Edward Cullen

Side Pairings: Carlisle Cullen/Charlie Swan, Esme Cullen/Tanya Denali, Alice Cullen/Rosalie Hale, Emmett Cullen/Gabriel Lassiter, Jacob Black/Alana Santos, Sam Uley/Leah Clearwater, Paul Lahote/Sara Castle

Summary: Having her younger sister living at home is a dream come true for Toni, even if things do start to get a little stranger in her small sleepy town. She keeps running into Doctor Cullen’s kids, Bella is having nightmares and wakes up speaking riddles, and Toni isn’t a fool. She finally gets Jasper Hale into direct sunlight and has all of her theories proven as his skin changes right before her eyes. Where the sun touches his skin, unhindered by clouds or shade, there’s tendrils of smoke starting to curl through the air. Her sister’s nightmares aren’t just nightmares. This is real. Vampires are real, and everything is going to change.

Part I – Viridian this battleground is deadly but you wear blood well for one so gentle.

Bella returns to Forks, and Toni befriends Jasper Hale. Things are going great, until Bella starts having nightmares and insisting that something horrible is coming for them. Something monstrous. Balancing Bella’s warnings with her every day life gets a little tricky, but having a new friend to talk to about mundane everyday things helps. Until she starts to really listen to what her younger sister is saying. The first time she sees Jasper start to burn in the sun, just small wisps of smoke, she faints. Luckily, vampires have quick reflexes and he saves her from cracking her skull right there behind the diner while on her lunch break. Before she can fully process that Bella is apparently psychic and that Jasper is an actual vampire, there’s a ballgame like Bella dating a vampire is completely normal and then her sister is running away from home. When Toni chases after her sister, who is being chased by a real-life myth, she gets there too late to help her sister and just in time to see the destruction. Vampires save her sister’s life, but that doesn’t mean she has to like all of them. As far as she’s concerned, they’re all on thin fucking ice.

Part II – Amaranthine and this was always your nature to give light in the dark

Toni greets the summer with forgiveness in her heart, and she rekindles her friendship with Jasper. She also still insists on calling him kid, as a petty punishment for stealing off with her sister in the middle of the night. On the night of Bella’s birthday celebration disaster, she tries to comfort Jasper and then tries not to take it too personally when he rebuffs her. The next day, when he stops by the house to tell her that his whole family is leaving, she takes it very personally. That anger is put on the back burner as she searches for her sister, and she’s beyond relieved when Sam comes out of the woods with Bella in his arms. Even if her old friend won’t speak to her or even look her in the eye. With the Cullens gone, Bella’s nightmares reach new heights. This time, Toni listens to every riddled warning. Makes notes to be afraid of the color red and to not be afraid of the moonlight. Thankfully, Bella spending time with Jacob seems to help some. Jacob is the kind of solid support that her sister needs, a normal friend, until he turns out to be a werewolf. Sam and Leah, her high school friends who just stopped talking to her one day, are werewolves. There’s also a guy that keeps coming into the diner and asking after the Cullen family, which puts Toni’s teeth on edge. Then Bella takes off, again, and Toni’s world becomes red. Like the hair that flashes across her vision, the mark on the side of her throat, the matching punctures circling her dad’s wrist, the scarf wound around diner guy’s neck, the shining pendant of one of Bella’s classmates. Suddenly, it seems like no one in their sleepy little town is entirely human. Bella returns, saving one nightmare and walking into another one.

Part III – Titian to shatter when needed

Toni is no longer human, neither is her dad. With a little bit of magic and tragedy, their changing process was halted. Dhampir is what she is now, not quite human and not quite vampire, and she doesn’t have much time to adjust. Her poor dad is still trying to reconcile the whole vampire thing, with Doctor Cullen’s help, and Toni spends most of her time with Jasper while trying to understand what she’s become. Diner guy has become Gabriel and is always around, but she doesn’t care if they’re the same species because he still sets her teeth on edge. (She’s also avoiding her sister, who wants to be a vampire because she’s seen herself as a vampire for years before she ever realized her nightmares were actually visions. Toni doesn’t want to be around for Edward’s brooding when he discovers that Bella doesn’t want to be a vampire for him. Bella wants to be a vampire for Bella, which means talking her out of changing is going to be impossible.) On top of the changes, there’s an army being built and Bella is convinced that there’s going to be a fight. Toni believes her sister, she knows better than to doubt her at this point, and things get even stranger. The vampires and werewolves start working together, Sam and Leah actually start talking to her again, and her (hopefully human) best friend returns to Forks to take over her family’s funeral home. The witch that saved her life won’t glance her way, which gets awkward considering how much time teenaged Alana spends around Jacob and the wolves. Also, Jasper fought in the Civil War? She almost decks him when he mentions being in the south at the time, with plans to claim she was just testing her strength, when he tells her about joining the Union and sneaking into the south to help others escape. The history lessons are fun, almost as fun as punching werewolves in the face, but the fun doesn’t last. The fight arrives, Bella’s nightmares becoming reality once more, and her sister is still so frighteningly fragile. So human. Even Toni and Charlie are practically human next to newborn vampires, but they join the fight anyway. Anything to keep Bella safe, now that they can. The fight ends in their favor, but the fight wasn’t so black-and-white. One vampire is spared, a girl younger than even Bella, and Toni and Charlie are tasked with getting Bree to safety before the Volturi can arrive. They manage their escape, they win the day, and Toni still has to listen to Bella scream at night about the monsters coming to rip them apart.

Part IV – Sable they say that the biggest stars burn brightly and die quickly.

Bella gets engaged, and Toni takes the plunge and kisses Jasper. She’d resisted during all of their tense moments, when they were pressed close and a movie would have had them bridge the gap, and waits until a quiet moment. It’s just the two of them, talking like they always do, and she kisses him like it’s something she’s done a hundred times before. In that moment, the pain of having vampire venom halted in her veins feels almost worth it. To have this moment with her best friend. Bella gets married, Toni gets to laugh at Jacob pulling at his best-man tux, and Jasper makes it look like she knows how to dance. (If she accidentally walks into a room to see her dad crying and the good doctor tenderly wiping his tears away, it’s a secret that she’ll keep for eternity.) While her sister enjoys her honeymoon, Toni gets to learn what makes Jasper laugh and what gets him to say her name in that way that makes her knees feel like jelly. Life is finally peaceful in their quiet sleepy town, until Bella walks into the Cullen’s house with a very visible baby bump a few weeks later. Toni stays by her sister’s side, mainly to attempt to get her to change the awful baby names that she picked out, and she watches as all their alliances start to fall apart. Witches don’t trust the unknown. Werewolves don’t trust the unknown. Vampires don’t trust the unknown. The only problem is, Bella’s baby isn’t an unknown. Alice can’t see the baby, but Bella can and Toni trusts Bella. One night, Bella wakes up laughing and tells Toni that everything is going to be perfect. The baby is going to be healthy, and Bella is going to be what she was always meant to be. Again, Bella is right. Things look dire for a while, her dad can’t go more than half an hour without a panic attack, and then there’s Nessie. (Toni refuses to say the entire name. It’s either Ren or Nessie.) Bella wakes up, and their family is whole. While the others marvel at her sister’s control, Toni isn’t surprised at all. Because this is who Bella was born to be. They get moments of bliss before the nightmares start again, Bella doesn’t need sleep to suffer through nightmares, and the Volturi come for them. For Nessie. Alice. Edward. Jasper. It’s a fight, it’s always a fight, and Toni doesn’t back down. She meets other vampires, what she thinks of as real vampires with their blood red eyes, and snaps her teeth at the ones who think she’s lesser for only being half of what they are. (She believes her human half is what makes her special.) Her only solace is with Jasper, and then the fight comes. Watching lines of black cross the white snow frightens her, but Toni stands her ground next to her family and she fights. They fight, and they win.

Part V – Mazarine achilles was the sun but baby, you were always a supernova

They get to see Nessie grow up, to see their family expand, and Toni is so happy that she feels like she could burst with it. Even Jasper smiles most days, and they start their life together. He shows her all the places she dreamed of seeing and never believed would be possible, and they frequently meet up with other members of their family. Edward and Bella, in France, traveling with Nessie and Bree. Jacob and Alana, in Spain, after the kids have enjoyed their own extended honeymoon. Sam and Leah and Paul and Sara, back in Forks, keeping the quiet town safe. Esme and Tanya and Garrett and Kate, under the beautifully dark Alaskan sky. Alice and Rosalie and Emmett and Gabriel in London, laughing in the streets. Carlisle and Charlie, in Brazil, where Toni and her dad can stay in the sunlight all day long without the fear of burning. Years pass, beautiful memories and beautiful moments, and Toni cherishes Jasper’s every sigh and laugh. When Bella finds her, with tears in her glowing golden eyes, Toni knows that this is it. Bella has dreamed of the monsters that would come for them since they were little girls. They’d glimpsed the monsters, and that had been a mistake. The monsters had seen them in return, knew what to expect and had time to plan, and Toni takes her sister’s hands and promises her that this time will be different. This time, they’ll kill them all and show them what real monsters can do.

Forever Taglist: @jinxsflame @hughstheforcelou @uno-reverse-reversed @hiddenqveendom @asirensrage @ocfairygodmother @jewelswrites-ish

[wanderinginsideabook]

A Grimm Warning by Chris Colfer [Spoiler Review]

**Note: This review is marked as a spoiler because this book is the third novel in the The Land of Stories series

Synopsis: Conner Bailey thinks his fairy-tale adventures are behind him--until he discovers a mysterious clue left by the famous Brothers Grimm. With help from his classmate Bree and the outlandish Mother Goose, Conner sets off on a mission across Europe to crack a two-hundred-year-old code.

Meanwhile, Alex Bailey is training to become the next Fairy Godmother...but her attempts at granting wishes never go as planned. Will she ever be truly ready to lead the Fairy Council?

When all signs point to disaster for the Land of Stories, Conner and Alex must join forces with their friends and enemies to save the day. But nothing can prepare them for the coming battle...or for the secret that will change the twins' lives forever.

Star Rating: 4/5

My Thoughts: I’m having so much with this series! These books are so well written and the characters are so intriguing. I enjoy so much seeing where Colfer takes this story next.

I was really interesting where this book was going to go after the ending of the second novel, and I really like how everything was brought back together again. I felt like it all came together very naturally and wasn’t forced.

I still really like Alex and Conner as protagonists. They’re great by themselves and they’re amazing when they’re together. I also, as always, enjoy getting to see our established side characters and what they’re up to. Colfer also does a great job of introducing new characters and making you instantly connected to them.

After the ending of this novel, I’m really excited to see where the fourth book will go. Cannot wait to continue on with this series!

[jamespotterthefirst]

Hands (Ethan x MC)

Book: Open Heart Book 2 Pairing: Ethan Ramsey x f!MC  (Dr. Lilac Allende) Word count: 581 Prompt: 36. “I really like your hands.”

Ethan drummed his fingers impatiently against the desk of the nurses’ station while Sarah returned. His wait would have been tolerable had it not been for the conversation he was forced to overhear. Not for the first time, Lahela laughed while Danny had the decency to look bashful.  

“No but seriously,” Lahela continued in a tone that suggested he held all knowledge on the subject. “If a girl makes any comment about your hands, she’s super into you. If she puts her hand against yours and says how big your hands are, it’s over, man. She wants you.”

“Sienna does that all the time.”

“See? I can’t make this up.”

Ethan almost scoffed out loud at the absurdity of it all. Thankfully, Sarah returned with his requested labs before he was forced to hear any more of it. He would have never thought about Lahela’s ridiculous observations ever again, had it not been for Lilac, dragging her feet into his office later that evening. 

Ethan glanced up from his laptop to see her slumped shoulders and tired face. Wordlessly, she dropped into the couch next to him, looking as though she was using the last of her energy to manage the simple task. 

“Long day?”

“Coffee,” she groaned. 

Ethan allowed a chuckle, setting his laptop aside and making his way to his coffee machine. She was lucky she looked entirely too cute with her hair splayed across the backrest of the sofa like a halo. Lilac was also lucky he was so besotted with her that he would do anything she asked without protest. 

When he returned with her coffee, she sat up eagerly, looking at him like he was some kind of divine apparition. It made his stomach flip pleasantly, even if he would never admit it out loud. 

“Thank you.”

Her fingers brushed his hand as she accepted the coffee, and to his surprise, they remained there. Lilac examined the meeting point of their hands pensively.

 “I really like your hands,” she commented. 

Ethan remained perfectly still. 

With one hand, Lilac took the steaming cup from him and set it on the coffee table in front of them. With the other hand, the one still touching his, she opened her fingers against his until their palms lay flat against one another. Those eyes he loved so much met his and with a playful smile she said, “Your hands are really b--”

He leaned in to kiss her, the movement brash and desperate. The end of her sentence was lost in a mumble against his lips, her body tense at first but slowly melting against his as the surprise wore off. It was the first kiss they shared since he impulsively kissed her outside his apartment building two nights ago. 

Her responding moan vibrated against his mouth, prompting Ethan to grab her hips and pull her on top of him. Her body responded just as passionately, sliding deliciously against his. In one lush, languid motion, her tongue swept along his bottom lip, robbing Ethan of all remaining sense. 

Then her hips swiveled against his and Ethan all but growled darkly. He invested all his efforts into pulling away from their passionate kiss. 

“Sorry,” he whispered, hazy and breathless. “You’re tired.”

Eyes dark and face bright, she looked anything but. “I’ve never felt more awake.” 

And before Ethan could offer any more protest, she grabbed the hem of her blouse, pulling it over her head. “You're better than coffee, Ethan Ramsey.”

*

50 Ways to Say “I Love You” prompts | Prompts Masterlist

____________

Author’s Note: Thank you @aestheticartsx​ for the prompt! 

Lol this was also inspired by an old tumblr post that said something like “if she puts her hands against yours and says how big they are, she wants to bang.”

Thank you so much for reading these!

Hopefully, I will post the next part of the Pictagram series this week and then “Lovely 3″ next weekend. Fingers crossed. 

I love you guys!

-Bree 

_____________

Please let me know if I need to add/remove you. You might have asked me already but I can barely keep track of my life atm. Sorry!

@openheart12 | @ethandaddyramsey | @aestheticartsx |  @silverlitskies |  @flyawayboo | @paulfwesley | @hatescapsicum | @myusualnerdyself | @thatysn | @choicesyouplayandmore | @chasingrobbie | @trappedinfandoms | @togetherwearerapture | @nooruleman | @axwalker | @parkerattano | @i-bloody-love-drake-walker | @kaavyaethanramsey | @edith-eggs1 | @choices-lurker | @jens-diamondchoices | @tefigranger | @ethanrcmsey | @coffeebeandragon | @senator-adrian-raines-wifey | @binny1985 | @mvalentine | @sanchita012 | @drethanramslay | @ramseysno1rookie | @takeharryandgo | @aworldoffandoms | @desmaranj  | @oofchoices | @ethxnrxmsey | @octobereighth | @kopenheart12 | @lilyvalentine | @honeyandsunfl0wers | @enmchoices | @colossalpainintheass | @rookie-ramsey | @humanpokemon | @apphia12 | @kiara-36 | @eramsey28 |  @custaroonie | @helloblueeyedcat | @dr-ramseys-rookie | @thegreentwin​ | @decadentwinnerjudgedream​ | @jeerapp​ | @doilooklikeiknow​ | @dulceghernandez​

@lion-ess24 | @emotionalswift2 | @the-soot-sprite |  @angela8756

[livlepretre]

God I wanna pick at your brain so much. Its made me cry so many times that I don't even mind anymore. Okay, so, which is the strongest character you've come across in books/movies/shows? And what was the moment that you fell in love with Elena as a character? Also, which incident made you disappointed in her within the first 4 seasons, if any? Please humor me. You've made me discover my hidden interviewer... ❤

Pick away! And 💙💙💙your tears are watering the fic, thank you, it needs them to grow 

Hmmmm I think I’d have to go with Rand al’Thor from the Wheel of Time book series for the first question (soon to be a tv show if covid ever allows them to finish filming season 1!). Rand’s role in the book series is very much so the “chosen one” storyline, which is terribly fun to read but completely horrific and soul-scouring for him to experience, but what really gets me about his character is the emotional depths that the writer plumbs with him. I tend to gravitate toward stories about depression-- not surprising, I’ve had some serious bouts with it myself over the past 15 years-- and there’s just something about the intimacy of Rand’s emotional portrait as he spirals and burns-- his depression, his trauma and ptsd, the friendships that wither and the ones that turn out to be so profound and deep that they will not abandon him, even at the bitter end, the terrible anxiety and stress and anger and all of those things Rand feels that boil along... really truly awful things happen to Rand, and Rand does really truly awful things himself, but I suppose that what I love the very most, and the reason I’m so often misty-eyed whenever I read about Rand in the later books in the series is that there’s this thread of hope-- sometimes so thin it can be totally overlooked-- that runs through the whole thing. Hope that he will prevail, that he will make it over the finish line. Hope that he can figure out how to be a good man (again?). Hope that he will forgive himself. Rand really embodies the mantra that I told myself so often in my darkest times: when you can’t hold on, hold on-- and I can’t recommend going on that journey with him enough. (also in other news he’s a hero that hits all of my villain kinks so I am    L I V I N G for that)

Had to think about this for a bit with Elena-- because the thing is, there were definitely moments where I liked her a lot in season 1-- honestly I usually can’t be compelled to watch a show or read a book unless the main character is my favorite/I at least like them a lot, since, you know, we have to spend most of our time with them-- I really liked her when she slapped Damon during the Halloween party, I really liked her when she drank at the bar with Bree, I really liked her during the whole “steal the grimoire!” and 50′s dance arc. Like I mentioned above, I tend to be really sympathetic to characters who are depressed, and characters who are grieving, so it’s possible I was really predisposed to empathize with her. I think the moment I LOVED her though was in Let The Right One In, when Damon told her to wait in the car and then Elena completely disobeyed him and snuck into the house and saved Stefan herself. That was the first hint that Elena was willing to take HUGE risks, and that she had this uncanny bravery that bordered on suicidal and also it was a stunning display of her loyalty and her love. So, that entire thing just S E N T me. 

The disappointed question is really hard, because so long as the writing is good, I tend to really enjoy it when characters do bad or uncomfortable things-- things which in real life of course would have me on the war path, but which I tend to revel in when I’m watching. For example, if I were to try to judge Elena not as a tv show character but as a person, then definitely the whole thing with Damon would be a disappointment-- she should have wanted nothing to do with him after the way he used Caroline in season 1, and of course, the fact that he’s unstable to the nth degree-- but it’s a vampire tv show and so I have always understood the Damon/Elena thing as embodying the storyline of being seduced into darkness/metaphorical death, and yes, it’s terrible terrible terrible, but Elena is pretty much defenseless against it as a young orphan girl with no parents to guide her or offer her support, and no friends truly capable of it because they are also still kids (and because honestly a 26 year old aunt unused to laying down the law is not a sufficient substitute no matter how hard she tries). There’s a narrative reason why Elena is an orphan and it’s to make her vulnerable to Damon (and to Stefan, whom I think is pretty much as bad, he just pretends he isn’t for his own piece of mind). So, even when she falls in love with Damon, I’m not disappointed-- it’s the storyline I was watching and expecting because it’s a vampire tv show and that is what I signed up for. (I would say I was disappointed in the tv show for failing to make it as disturbing as it should have been though) 

So I think my only real source of disappointment in Elena is in season 4 onwards when basically she drops Stefan off of her romantic radar as soon as she decides they’re breaking up. This was my biggest problem with TVD in general, and where whatever was holding the increasingly fragile storytelling together really started to fall apart. For years I had chomped at the bit for Delena, but I didn’t want just “Damon and Elena get together and that’s that!” I wanted a reversal of the Stefan/Elena/Damon love triangle wherein Damon and Elena would be together but that tension and longing and understanding with Stefan would still exist and make Delena maybe untenable the way that Stelena had been. The show was really built on the complication of not just having a love triangle with both brothers in love with the unfortunately polyamorous girl, but with the brothers having their own relationship to deal with. The problem with knocking the Stefan/Elena leg off of the triangle is that it just made the Damon/Stefan leg shakier and it made the Damon/Elena leg much more boring than it needed to be. 

I guess I do have disappointment in the writing for Elena from the time she is turned into a vampire onward. When she was human, the writers made a huge effort to think of ways to make her a power broker in the group-- she was always negotiating, tricking, daggering, pulling dangerous stunts like slitting her own throat or stabbing herself or falling backwards off of those bleachers in order to trick her adversaries and win. The best thing about Elena was that she had this cunning mind and a ruthless streak that was shockingly cruel and balanced so well against her loving and kind nature. When she became a vampire, they just started having her use super speed and super strength to solve all of her problems instead of having her outwit her opponents and that was dull as dishwater. 

Also I’ve mentioned this before but I am dreadfully disappointed in her grasp of history (but that could be the school system’s fault, they jump all over the place in history class without any rhyme or reason as far as I can tell). I die a little bit inside whenever I have to hear her describe 1492!Katerina as “the sweet peasant girl.” Like, I’m sorry, Elena, how does a sweet peasant girl in 1492 find the resources and connections to travel all the way to England to cover up her scandalous pregnancy? It seems more likely that Katherine’s father was a land owner of some wealth or connection, and it frankly just embarrasses me so much to think of Elijah hearing her say this. (like, this isn’t having a problem with the idea of Katherine as a peasant, it’s just that she so obviously wasn’t that it just comes across as so painfully absurd and ignorant and also weirdly belittling of the peasants, like, oh, this sweet peasant girl, so innocent! so naive to the ways of the world! give! me! a! break!) 

[faraway-wanderer]

QUEER YA READS happy pride month here’s a list of lots of queer YA books!!

-          The Henna Wars- Abida Jaigirdar When Nishat comes out to her parents, they say she can be anyone she wants—as long as she isn’t herself. Because Muslim girls aren’t lesbians. Nishat doesn’t want to hide who she is, but she also doesn’t want to lose her relationship with her family. And her life only gets harder once a childhood friend walks back into her life. Flávia is beautiful and charismatic and Nishat falls for her instantly. Amidst sabotage and school stress, their lives get more tangled—but Nishat can’t quite get rid of her crush on Flávia, and realizes there might be more to her than she realized

-          Red, White and Royal Blue- Casey Mcquinston   First Son Alex Claremont-Diaz is the closest thing to a prince this side of the Atlantic. With his intrepid sister and the Veep’s genius granddaughter, they’re the White House Trio, a beautiful millennial marketing strategy for his mother, President Ellen Claremont. International socialite duties do have downsides—namely, when photos of a confrontation with his longtime nemesis Prince Henry at a royal wedding leak to the tabloids and threaten American/British relations.

-          You should see me in a crown- Leah Johnson Liz Lighty has always believed she's too black, too poor, too awkward to shine in her small, rich, prom-obsessed midwestern town. But it's okay -- Liz has a plan that will get her out of Campbell, Indiana, forever: attend the uber-elite Pennington College, play in their world-famous orchestra, and become a doctor.But when the financial aid she was counting on unexpectedly falls through, Liz's plans come crashing down . . . until she's reminded of her school's scholarship for prom king and queen

-          Tell me How you Really Feel- Aminah Mae Safi Sana Khan is a cheerleader and a straight A student. She's the classic (somewhat obnoxious) overachiever determined to win.Rachel Recht is a wannabe director who's obsesssed with movies and ready to make her own masterpiece. As she's casting her senior film project, she knows she's found the perfect lead - Sana.There's only one problem. Rachel hates Sana. Rachel was the first girl Sana ever asked out, but Rachel thought it was a cruel prank and has detested Sana ever since.

-          Like a love story- Abdi Nazemian It's 1989 in New York City, and for three teens, the world is changing.

-          I Wish You All the Best- Mason Deaver At turns heartbreaking and joyous, I Wish You All the Best is both a celebration of life, friendship, and love, and a shining example of hope in the face of adversity.

-          The Falling in Love Montage- Ciara Smyth Saoirse doesn’t believe in love at first sight or happy endings. If they were real, her mother would still be able to remember her name and not in a care home with early onset dementia. A condition that Saoirse may one day turn out to have inherited. So she’s not looking for a relationship. She doesn’t see the point in igniting any romantic sparks if she’s bound to burn out. But after a chance encounter at an end-of-term house party, Saoirse is about to break her own rules. For a girl with one blue freckle, an irresistible sense of mischief, and a passion for rom-coms.

-          The Fascinators- Andrew Eliopulos Living in a small town where magic is frowned upon, Sam needs his friends James and Delia—and their time together in their school's magic club—to see him through to graduation.But as soon as senior year starts, little cracks in their group begin to show. Sam may or may not be in love with James. Delia is growing more frustrated with their amateur magic club. And James reveals that he got mixed up with some sketchy magickers over the summer, putting a target on all their backs.

-          The Dark Tide- Alicia Jaskina The Wicked Deep meets A Curse So Dark and Lonely in this gripping, dark fairy-tale fantasy about two girls who must choose between saving themselves, each other, or their sinking island city

-          Summer of Salt – Katrina Leno Georgina Fernweh waits with growing impatience for the tingle of magic in her fingers—magic that has been passed down through every woman in her family. Her twin sister, Mary, already shows an ability to defy gravity. But with their eighteenth birthday looming at the end of this summer, Georgina fears her gift will never come.

-          Sawkill Girls- Claire Legrand Marion: the new girl. Awkward and plain, steady and dependable. Weighed down by tragedy and hungry for love she’s sure she’ll never find. Zoey: the pariah. Luckless and lonely, hurting but hiding it. Aching with grief and dreaming of vanished girls. Maybe she’s broken—or maybe everyone else is. Val: the queen bee. Gorgeous and privileged, ruthless and regal. Words like silk and eyes like knives, a heart made of secrets and a mouth full of lies.

-          The Priory of the Orange Tree- Samantha Shannon A world divided. A queendom without an heir. An ancient enemy awakens. The House of Berethnet has ruled Inys for a thousand years. Still unwed, Queen Sabran the Ninth must conceive a daughter to protect her realm from destruction – but assassins are getting closer to her door. Ead Duryan is an outsider at court. Though she has risen to the position of lady-in-waiting, she is loyal to a hidden society of mages. Ead keeps a watchful eye on Sabran, secretly protecting her with forbidden magic. Across the dark sea, Tané has trained to be a dragonrider since she was a child, but is forced to make a choice that could see her life unravel.

-          I was Born for this- Alice Oseman For Angel Rahimi, life is only about one thing: The Ark – a pop-rock trio of teenage boys who are currently taking the world by storm. Being part of The Ark’s fandom has given her everything – her friendships, her dreams, her place in the world. Jimmy Kaga-Ricci owes everything to The Ark too. He’s their frontman – and playing in a band is all he’s ever dreamed of doing. It’s just a shame that recently everything in his life seems to have turned into a bit of a nightmare.

-          Summer Bird Blue  Akemi Dawn Bowman- Bowman’s sophomore novel follows Rumi, a young musician plagued with grief and survivor’s guilt after her younger sister is killed in a car crash. Her mother sends her to liver with her aunt in Hawaii, and is also now mourning the loss of the music she would create with her sister and is unable to recapture her passion. As she navigates her loss, and feelings of abandonment from her mother, Rumi is also starting new relationships with neighbors, one a cute, easygoing surfer boy, and the other a irascible 80-year-old crankypants, while also becoming comfortable with her aromantic and asexual feelings.An immersive aromantic, asexual journey through grief and understanding.

-          Felix Ever after- Kacen Callender   a novel about a transgender teen grappling with identity and self-discovery while falling in love for the first time.

-          The Stars and The Blackness Between Them - Junauda Petrus Audre and Mabel, Black girls who find romance just in time for everything to fall even further apart.

-          By any means necessary- Candice Montgomery By Any Means Neccesary dives into the intersection of race and sexuality through the lens of its main character, Torrey, a gay Black college student.

-          Her Royal Highness -Rachel Hawkins- When Millie Quint discovers her best friend-turned-girlfriend has been kissing someone else, she decides to get as far away from her as possible – by going to boarding school on the opposite side of the globe. The only issue? Millie’s new roomate is the actual princess of Scotland.

-          Tash Hearts Tolstoy - Kathryn Omsbee, Natasha Zelenka (Tash), is a serious fangirl of Leo Tolstoy and a rising YouTube star with her webseries Unhappy Families, a modern-day adaptation of Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina, and Vlog, Tea with Tash. When a famous vlogger gives a shout out to the series, it goes viral. Now she, along with the cast and crew, are finding what it means to be a hit sensation and are managing the adoration, and the trolls, coming their way. Tash, a romantic asexual, has had a long time crush on the hit vlogger star Thom, who, as her online popular grows, so does Thom’s attention. Amidst the fame and romance, Tash is also dealing with her older sister creating distance, her parents announcing a new sibling on the way, college applications, the impending end of the series, and the big “What’s next.”An asexual romantic comedy coming of age.

-          Full Disclosure- Camryn Garratt Camryn Garrett’s debut novel follows a Black, HIV-positive teen as she explores her first romantic relationship. There are few books that discuss what it’s like to live with HIV, especially those that are light, relatable, and told through the lens of a young Black girl.

-          The Black Flamingo- Dean Atta Atta pens a coming-of-age story about a boy accepting his identity as a mixed-race gay teen, but then finds a place where he belongs as a drag artist named The Black Flamingo.

-          Juniper Leaves- Jaz Joyner   Kinky-haired  Juniper Bray used to believe in magic, until she lost her best friend: her grandmother. Now this 15-year-old shy girl is headed to her father's research trip on a farm hundreds of miles away, with a family she barely knows and the opposite of a best friend, her new arch nemesis, Bree Mckinney. As if she wasn't miserable enough. Little does she know the next few months Juniper will discover magical powers she never knew she had, get a crush on a girl she never knew she'd like and well, quite frankly, save the world.

-          Crier’s War - Nina Varela ‘In a world where humans are dominated by superior Automae, one human girl called Ayla takes the role of handmaiden to the Automae Lady Crier in order to help the human rebellion. But to Ayla’s horror, she finds herself falling for Crier.’

-          Queen of Coin and Whispers  Helen Corcoran -When a teenage queen inherits her uncle’s bankrupt kingdom, she brings with her a new spymaster – a girl who only accepted the role to avenge her murdered father. But faced with enemies at every turn, the two learn to rely on no one but each other . . . though it may bring their downfall.

-          Huntress- Malinda Lo – Ill fortune has befallen the land, and two girls have been tasked with the mission of setting things right. As Kaede and Taisin journey to the city of the Fairy Queen, adventure and romance awaits.

-          This Song Is (Not) for You - Laura Nowlin- This is not your usual love triangle. Ramona has been in love with her best friend and bandmate Sam for a long time, Sam has also been in love Ramona. When Tom joins the band, he completes them. Now Ramona is starting to have feelings for Tom, and those feelings are reciprocated. Tom is a romantic asexual, whose asexuality is fully explored

-          Seven Tears at High Tide-  C.B. Lee – After Kevin Luong drops, yup, seven tears into the sea, he ends up rescuing a boy from the waters. It’s love at first sight for Morgan who, unknown to Kevin, is a Selkie.

-          Loveless -Alice Oseman- (out on the 9th July!!) Georgia has never been in love, never kissed anyone, never even had a crush – but as a fanfic-obsessed romantic she’s sure she’ll find her person one day.As she starts university with her best friends, Pip and Jason, in a whole new town far from home, Georgia’s ready to find romance, and with her outgoing roommate on her side and a place in the Shakespeare Society, her ‘teenage dream’ is in sight. But when her romance plan wreaks havoc amongst her friends, Georgia ends up in her own comedy of errors, and she starts to question why love seems so easy for other people but not for her. With new terms thrown at her – asexual, aromantic – Georgia is more uncertain about her feelings than ever.

-          The Last Beginning- Lauren James-  (you probably need to read the next together first which I HIGHLY recommend) Sixteen years ago, after a scandal that rocked the world, teenagers Katherine and Matthew vanished without a trace. Now Clove Sutcliffe is determined to find her long lost relatives.But where do you start looking for a couple who seem to have been reincarnated at every key moment in history? Who were Kate and Matt? Why were they born again and again? And who is the mysterious Ella, who keeps appearing at every turn in Clove's investigation? For Clove, there is a mystery to solve in the past and a love to find in the future, and failure could cost the world everything.

[minniemixe]

Beauty And The Beast

Gangster AU

Stray Kids Fanfic

Chan x Reader

Other Appearances: GOT7 BTS

Genre: Smut, Fluff, Angst

Warnings: Violence, Mentions of stabbing

A/N: So these have been sitting in my drafts for over 7-8 months now, I wasn't really satisfied with what I wrote, around 5 chapters are already written, and since I wrote them a long time ago, Woojin is part of these series, I'm sorry I know he left but I wrote this before he left and I'd have to rewrite the entire story again if I were to remove him. I'm sorry, but please bear with me, he will not be added to my upcoming stray kids series. Thank you 😅😅. I proofread this a few times but if there are any typos please let me know 😊.

Beauty And The Beast Masterlist

Chapter 2

The entire gang was gathered in a hallroom that seemed to be a kind of place where important meetings would be held.

“Let’s get a few things straight. You will answer every question asked honestly, otherwise there will be consequences. You will be trained individually by each member, after general training which is phase one, there will be a test which will determine whether you're the one for field missions or not. Once phase one is complete, you’ll be moved to phase two, in which you will be trained for using weapons, in the end you get to choose the weapon of your choice. Phase three will determine your rank and position among the gang. You can go up in ranking but your position stays the same throughout. And lastly phase four will be a loyalty test. When you pass all four phases will be when we start to trust you. Until then you will be under supervision at all times. You will not be told our real names until you pass all the tests. With that being said lets begin with the introductions” the leader looked at the girl after the speech.

“Let's start from you, tell us your name” he pointed at her

“My name is-” she stopped mid sentence. Taking a look around the room, she realized this was her new life, everything she knows and loves is now her past.

“My name is Moon” the leader looked at her questioningly when she said that

“This is my new life, everything I know and love is now in the past. I can’t go back there, this is a new beginning. So Moon, that’s my name. I’m starting over.” Moon explained

“Fair enough. I’m CB97. I’m the leader. That’s all you need to know for now”

“I’m Woo, second in command, sniper and medic.”

“Lee Know, I do the spying and undercover work”

“SpearB, task force leader and Tech”

“HH, Spy and undercover”

“Freckles, SpearB’s right hand man and undercover”

“J.One, sniper and spy”

“Dandy, Tech leader”

“I’m I.N, I’m with Dandy and Anna”

“El, sniper and spy”

“Bree, Tattoo artist, sniper and task force”

“Anna, Medic and undercover”

“Liv, medic and task force”

“Your training starts tomorrow morning, Bree will be your first trainer. Dismissed.” With that everyone left one by one, leaving Moon by herself, she looked out from the large window to see the foreign land outside. The sky was pitch black, no stars in sight, she thought about how in a way it represented her life, dark and empty. But she was determined to change that, nights aren't always like this, the moon is bound to come out from behind the clouds and light up the dark. With that thought she too left the hall to return to her designated room. As she was opening the door to her room someone called her, she turned around to see HH standing at the door of the room across from hers “yes?” she asked

“You look calm, for someone who just joined a gang” he said

“There’s not much I can do, this is my new life after all” Moon replied

“New life? You’re saying that as if it’s a good thing.” he scoffed before continuing “This new life, is not what you think, this is your worst nightmare, by the time you get a grasp of this so called new life, you’ll be crying for your old life, you shouldn’t have taken your father’s place, he was old he was gonna die anyway, but you, you just bought yourself a one way ticket to hell” he towered over her petite figure, glaring down at her

“I’ll get through it, it can’t be that bad, you’re here, so I don’t see why I can’t be” she looked back at him with fierce eyes, she was determined to prove herself.

“Not that bad? Oh sweetheart we’re going to completely break you and then build you back up. You really think you can take that” he questioned her

“Of Course I can, and it’s not like I have any choice” she gave him a fake smile

“Who said you don’t have a choice?” he asked her, at which she gave him a confused look. He leaned close to her ear and whispered “You can always die” he smirked at her reaction and walked back to his room slamming the door loudly.

“By all means do shoot me in the head then” she sarcastically spoke before going into her own room.

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

Morning came too soon for Moon’s liking, it was like she closed her eyes for one second and morning was here. Getting up from bed, freshening up, she put on a pair of black skinnies and a white t-shirt and made her way downstairs. She was met with 3 pairs of eyes looking at her from across the lounge. “Oh Good you’re awake, Bree is making breakfast, tell her you’re awake so she can make some for you too” Dandy spoke.

“Thank you for the offer but I’ll just have some water, I’m not a breakfast person” Moon replied

“Well starting from today you are, you need the energy for training” El spoke from behind her, making Moon flinch a little from the sudden voice. She nodded her head and made her way to the couch next to Dandy.

“I’m going to help Bree with the breakfast, you all behave” El said, emphasizing on the word ``behave while pointing towards Freckles and Liv, both of them shrugging their shoulders.

Moon sat awkwardly at the side while the other 3 engaged in a conversation.

“In what year were you born?” Liv asked

“Me?” Moon pointed to herself

“Yes you dumbo” she giggled, all eyes now on her.

“2000” Moon answered

“Wait what??? You look so much younger, I thought you were younger than Liv” Dandy said

“Hahaha Thanks, I guess” she awkwardly replied

“Month?” Freckles asked, surprising Moon with his deep voice, how come I didn’t notice last night, she thought to herself

“October, uuh 5th October” she replied

“So you’re older than me and younger then these two by a month” Liv spoke

“Which year were you born in?” Moon questioned

“2002, which means I’m 18” she replied

“Did you have a job before coming here?” Freckles asked

“I own an online business, basically I anonymously do what my clients ask me to do, it could be hacking, it could be designing an entire software, or developing a program, anything related to computers honestly. It’s one of the biggest illegal online platforms. It’s called GhostLand (a/n: I hope this doesn’t already exist and sorry I suck at coming up with nice names)”

“Wait YOU’RE the one who runs GhostLand!?” Dandy exclaimed

“Yes? Why do you sound so surprised?” Moon asked

“Because you may or may not be the one who basically taught me everything I know” Dandy answered

“Wait what? You’re one of my students?” Moon was so surprised at this point

“He’s your student, aren’t you like 16” CB spoke from behind her

“Do I really look that young, I mean I’m not complaining, but 16? I’m 20” Moon turned around to speak

“You’re tiny, that’s why” he said getting closer to her face, smirking at her

Moon’s heartbeat increased due to the close proximity of his face, Damn you’re hot, she thought.

“Looks like I’ll now be giving you lessons in person” Moon spoke, trying to distract herself from the attractive man sitting beside her on the sofa’s arm.

“Wait does that mean she knows more than you” Liv questioned

“Not necessarily, I mean he subscribed with me to learn hacking and creating viruses. In that area I may be the one to know more, because I’m not going to teach him everything that I know, he could potentially use it against me” Moon explained

“Did you know about Dandy’s identity when he became your student, like his real name, age and other things” The leader interrogated

“No, I only knew his username which also happened to be Dandy_Boi”

“And you never did a background check” he questioned

“Anonymity is essential between me and my clients, they don’t know who I am and I don’t ask for their identity either, my only concern is the money I make. The only time I do background check is when they try to hack my server. Which has only been twice, both times with the police.”

“Impressive, you’re not all useless” the leader commented.

“Useless?!?!?!?!? Excuse you but I’m not useless, and you should know that, if I was useless as you claim I am, I wouldn’t be here, I cracked all your security protocols and walked right into your house, if anything your security is useless” Moon was furious, she hated being talked down to.

“Feisty, you’ll fit right in” he patted her head and left, surprising everyone.

“Wow, someone’s the leader’s favorite already” Dandy smiled at Moon.

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

Dodging Bree’s third attack, Moon lost her footing and fell down.

“You’re familiar with a lot of moves” Bree stated

“Well, a girl’s gotta know how to defend herself in this cruel world” Moon answered.

“Are you sure that’s all there is”

“What do you mean?” Moon questioned

“I don’t know, something is fishy about you, I can’t seem to put a finger on it” Bree said

“Yeah? Like what?” Moon threw a punch, “Like your father not being able to pay the debt.” Bree successfully dodged her “You showing up within days of him being taken in” she continued, punching Moon in the stomach “You owning one of the largest online illegal platforms” Bree kicked her leg causing her to fall flat on her back. Moon recovered quickly, getting up she attacked Bree again “Trust me, it’s all just a coincidence”. Bree twisted Moon’s arm and locked it around her neck “See that’s the thing we ca- ooff” Moon elbowed Bree in the side of her stomach catching her off guard. “Trust me? I know, that’s why I’m willing to do anything to earn it” quickly spinning around she kicked Bree in her stomach causing her to stumble back and collide with the wall. “That won’t be easy” Bree said walking towards her “I know” Moon sighed.

“You’re good and fast at learning, You’ll pass phase one quickly” Bree assured the girl

“Thank you, what’s next?” she asked

“Nothing, you’re dismissed for today, we’ve been doing this for more than 5 hours, it’s almost dinner time” Bree told and left the girl alone in the gym.

For the next few days Moon trained with Bree, learning new tricks quickly, the older woman was impressed with how quickly she was adapting. Her next instructor was SpearB. He had a triangular face and he gave off a dark aura, he wasn’t much taller than Moon but he was muscular which made him look much larger than the girl he was training. With him, training wasn’t easy due to the difference in size. With Bree, even though Moon had less experience, both the girls were skinny and there wasn’t much difference in size other than Bree being taller than Moon. However with SpearB, Moon proved to be much weaker than him. Training with him always ended with her in multiple bruises on her body and a split lip every time. After two weeks and an extremely aching body, Moon was finally able to win against SpearB, but not with strength rather by using tricks.

Her next training session was with HH, this wasn’t going to be easy considering neither of them got along with the other. “Today we’re going to be using knives” HH smirked at Moon “Knives??? Isn’t weapon training in phase two?” She asked

“Sweetheart your opponent isn’t going to play fair, if they run out of bullets they’ll fight you with fist and knives. It won’t be a martial arts ring, there will be no rules, you’ll be in a do or die situation, you need to be ready for anything.” he explained

Moon was dreading training with HH, he would cut her with his knife every chance he got, by the end of fifth day Moon had a large scar on her thigh and across her back along with other small cuts around her body. However Moon was learning quickly so she didn’t spare HH either, he too had a small scar across his chest. Today was no different, the two had been training for hours on end, Moon was able to successfully dodge his attacks until he swiped his knife under Moon’s right breast, cutting her and ruining her training bra. “Son of a bitch” Moon cursed. She kicked him in his side, making him stumble. She went to punch him but he grabbed her arm and twisted her around locking her in a chokehold, Moon grabbed her knife that was tucked in the waist of her shorts and cut his forearm, once she was out of his grasp she went to kick him again until he fell, straddling his lap she pinned him to the ground putting her knife against his throat “You’re dead” she spoke. Suddenly she felt pain in her side, she looked down to see the cause, to find his knife stabbed in her waist.

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

A/N: I added a few extra characters (girls) cuz I just thought 9 boys with one girl was kinda overrated.

[hystericalweenie]

Just Another Day at the Office Series - New Experiences

George MacKay x Reader Series

Part Six: Reminiscing

Masterlist

Summary: Y/f/n Y/l/n had found herself stuck in a scenario she’d never thought she’d ever have to face: she’d been catching feelings for a coworker. While she attempted to adapt to her new job and work load, she also had to get used to these new feelings and figure out what the fuck to do with them. George made her want to take risks, she didn’t care about the potentiality of a broken heart with him, because falling in love with him made it seem worth it. Is George falling for Y/n too? Will he be able to reciprocate her feelings?

a/n: I have absolutely no personal experience in magazine/journalism career, so the information in this fic will be provided with the knowledge I have conducted from research. With that being said, please don’t be mad if this is not accurate!!! The boringness of quarantine collaborated with a random burst of inspiration I got, so enjoy the early part!

Warnings: This is a slow burn fic, their relationship won’t happen in one night, so if you’re not into that, check out some of the beautifully written imagines that you can most likely find under the george mackayxreader tag. I might eventually write some of my own too :P At least one person’s saying “fuck” and there’s some sexual! tension! up! in! here!

I watched as George placed his hand on the small of her back, as their waiter led them to their own booth. I felt sick to my stomach and it was obvious to my roommate across from me. We asked for the bill as soon as our waitress returned to our table and we left as soon as we could. I texted him, telling him that I was going to catch up with some college friends, so I wasn't able to have dinner with him that night; seeing him with Faith left me in an extremely uncomfortable state, and I wasn’t exactly sure how to feel.

I silenced my phone and stayed in bed for the rest of the day, laptop on my lap as I attempted to come up with a new pitch for work. The bright light from the screen and the ideas that began flowing from my brain kept me awake until about two in the morning, when I finally convinced myself that I needed to sleep. Even with exhausted eyes and a tired body, my brain continued to replay the moment from the restaurant, reminding me of George’s touch on Faith’s back. The small gesture worried me, ate me alive, until I tossed and turned in my bed for hours before finally drifting off.

The sun kissed my skin, as I lay in the warmth of the light as if it were my blanket, absorbing all of the rays that the sun had to offer. It was a still summer day in Ashland, and I’d been laying in the backyard, just a few feet away from the pond. The blades of grass tickled my exposed skin, gently brushing against the spine of my book that rested in my hands. I could hear the gentle ribbits from the frogs as they softly communicated with each other, hopping on one lilly pad to the other. I was on my stomach, my feet swinging back and forth whilst my eyes scanned the pages in front of me.

“Boo!”

My body jumped, turning quickly to look at my father. I folded the corner of the page over in the small novel, before tossing it aside and getting up. My small ten year old body ran to him, the grass poking through my tube socks. He picked me up as I playfully screamed, pretending to throw me into the pond.

“Daddy, no!” my youthful voice screeched as my cheeks swelled with happiness. 

He finally put me down, squatting to pick the book up that I’d tossed.

“Whatcha’ readin’, doll?” he queried, examining the cover.

“Harry Potter, of course,” I said as-a-matter-of-factly, sitting myself down in front of him.

“Want to know what happens in the end?” he grinned, his eyes lighting up mischievously. 

I covered my ears with the palms of my hands. “No!”

He laughed, standing up and brushing the grass stains and dirt off of his jeans.

“C’mon, mommy’s making some fruit salad with the fruits from the garden, and she needs her favorite little taste-tester,” he informed me, as I uncovered my ears and followed him inside.

My excited feet carried me into the cozy home, shortly behind the tall man. 

“Is she using the plums?” I asked, as the sweet vanilla aroma of the home filled my nostrils.

“Of course, doll,” he answered, smiling at my question.

“And, can I read to you and mom tonight before bed?” I pleaded, my un-groomed eyebrows threading together. “I want to show you guys how good I’ve gotten at reading.”

He turned around, kneeling to my height with a toothy grin on his face.

“Of course doll,” he repeated. He ruffled my head, causing me to stick my tongue out at him. “My little reader, just like your mother. Maybe you’ll be a writer just like her.”

I awoke with tears streaming down my face. Every now and then, I’d get extremely homesick. I reached for my phone, immediately clicking on my mother’s contact information. I held the phone up to my ear, listening to the dial tone before my mother’s voice echoed from the device.

“Hello?”

Her voice was soft and innocent, a reminder of her soul; no matter how much she’d aged, she was still the youthful, sweet woman I knew and loved. 

“Mom,” I croaked, my bottom lip trembling as I remembered the smell of her, the warmth of her touch. I missed her.

“Baby, what’s wrong?” her voice was filled with concern, alert with worry from my emotional state. 

“I miss you, mommy,” my voice cracked, hot tears running down my face as the images from my dream replayed. “I miss you and dad.”

“Oh, doll,” she cooed. “We miss you too, so much.”

My eyes softened at the nickname, the nickname reserved for me and only me–I wondered if George called Faith “love” too. 

I wiped the tears from my cheeks, attempting to collect myself. 

“How are things at home?” I asked, trying to sound normal with my saddened voice.

“Really good,” she revealed. “Your father and I found a frog in the living room last night, Daisy tried to eat it,” she recalled with a laugh.

Her laughter was like music to my ears, reminding me how much I’d missed it. 

“How’s Daisy?” I asked, smiling as I thought about the goldendoodle.

“She misses you,” she confessed with a sigh. “She likes to sleep in your bed almost every night.”

I pouted, thinking about the big furry ball of joy that we’d gotten during my junior year of college. 

“Give her lots of hugs and kisses for me,” I pleaded.

“I will,” she promised.

It was quiet for a moment, both of us reminiscing on the memories we’d shared together at home in Ashland.

“Work’s okay?” she confirmed.

“Yeah, it’s really good,” my mind wandered to the blue-eyed prince of mine, causing me to sigh; he wasn’t mine, and it hurt me that seeing him with Faith made me realize that. 

“Is there a boy?” she observed.

My eyebrows scrunched together at her accurate guess.

“How’d you know?” I admitted, chewing on my lip.

“I can sense everything, doll; I’m your mother.” she softly assured me. “Whoever he is and whatever he’s done, do not let him ruin work for you. You’ve finally got your dream job, and no immature boy can take this away from you.”

I nodded at her words, absorbing them and allowing them to remind me of my worth. 

“You’re right,” I agreed. “Thank you, mom.”

I could hear her smiling from the other line, I could feel the warmth of her motherly love.

“That’s what I’m here for,” she confided. 

Another pause settled between us, unspoken words filling the air.

“I’ll call you soon,” I promised her. “Tell dad I said ‘hi’, and give him a big hug for me?”

“Sure thing, doll,” she agreed. “I love you.”

“I love you,” I told her genuinely, meaning every single syllable with my whole being. 

We both ended the call, as I laid back in my bed, staring up at me ceiling. Calling her was good, it made me feel better about a lot of things. It reminded me of my Oregon roots and the love I had for my parents, and she reminded me that I shouldn’t let George ruin my happiness. Just like she’d said, I’d finally gotten the job of dreams, and there was no way in hell that I could let a man ruin it for me. 

Buzz.

I looked down at my phone.

George: Hey.

Don’t respond, Y/n, what did your mother just tell you?! I reminded myself.

I turned my phone off, holding my head up high as I tried to ignore the itching inside of me that begged to respond to him. 

Buzz.

George: You alright?

Shit. I’d forgotten to turn my read receipts off. Nope, not responding, who cares? He can go and text Faith, clearly she has his interest. I tossed my phone onto the bed and stood up, entering the living room where Bree sat on the sofa, watching a television show with a mug of coffee in her hand. I sat myself down next to her, cuddling up to her body. 

“I love you,” I reminded her, my eyes looking up at her. 

Her eyes met mine, smiling at me before she pressed a kiss to the top of my head.

“Love you too, babe.” One of her hands moved to wrap around me, pulling me close to her as we watched the celebrity talk show. 

“I was going to go out with Valerie and Jason today, if you’d like to join?” she asked, her head turning back to face me. “They miss you a lot.”

Valerie and Jason were two of our friends from college. I shrugged against her.

“I’m not sure if I’m up for that today,” I answered honestly. 

“It might be good for you,” she suggested with a shrug of her own, bringing her mug to her lips.

I didn’t respond, instead focusing my attention back to the television screen. Not long after, she stood up and headed toward her bedroom, presumably getting ready to go out. I dragged myself to the kitchen, grabbing a bagel from one of the cabinets and plopping it into the toaster that’d barely worked anymore. My elbows rested against the countertop, intently waiting for it to pop. Bree came out in a sundress with a jacket, facing me after ruffling her hair.

“You’re sure you don’t want to go out?” she urged, her eyebrows raised and her hands coming to rest on her hips.

“Yes,” I assured her, jumping when the bagel popped out of the toaster unexpectedly.

She snorted at my reaction, shaking her head and walking to the door.

“Text me if you need anything!” she called, closing the door softly behind her. 

I grabbed the bagel, resting it on a plate and searching the refrigerator for cream cheese. 

“Where the fuck is it?” I asked myself, as I moved multiple items around, helplessly searching for the spread.

A knock on the door startled my search, causing me to close the refrigerator door in defeat and walk toward the entrance of my home. 

“What'd you forget, Bree?” I called, predicting her actions. 

I swung the door open, surprised when I saw that it was not Bree.

It had been George, instead, standing at my apartment door.

[purpleheatherdream]

A Happy Halloween Outlander Fan-Fiction Reading List

Trick or Treat! Here’s a Halloween reading list for your enjoyment! 

Witches

Draco (chapter 12 of the Constellations Series) by @kalendraashtar

“Witches all to burn at the stake.”

The Evanora @bonniebird17

The full moon hung over me, giving me the strength to keep me going and I was heading east, leading the witch hunter further away from my home and my sisters.

Part 1

Part 2

An Leabhar Dìlseachd by @thetranquilteal

Claire Fraser had always known she was a witch. Her affinity for healing hinted at it and her ability to time travel confirmed it. What she didn’t know was that she would come into her full power the day she became a mother. Concerned with how her pregnancy is progressing, she's seeks the help of apothecary Master Raymond in the hope that he will be able to teach her how to utilise her newfound power and protect her family from disaster. A canon-divergent AU told through the pages of the Fraser Grimoire ‘The Book of Faith’.

Bewitched by @julesbeauchamp

Jamie and Claire Fraser are like any other young married couple, except for some tiny detail: he's a mortal human being and she's a witch, something which she does not divulge to him until after their wedding.

Jamie just wants them to live a simple, mortal life, to which Claire agrees, meaning no witchcraft and no telling any of their mortal friends and relatives of her being a witch. However, that no witchcraft vow is more difficult to maintain than Claire had expected.

Brujerìa by @julesbeauchamp​

Being a witch was a detail Claire Beauchamp omitted to tell people. She was determined to live her life as normally as possible and she was doing a pretty good job of it. At least until her meeting with a stranger sent her life into a spiral and revealed secrets about her past she never suspected.

The Witch and the Red Man by @lady-o-ren

He was a man meant for a life of loneliness but was relentlessly hunted for the darkness lurking within.

To Kill a Witch by @owlish-peacock36​

Jamie doesn’t know much about women. Even less about the strange Miss Beauchamp. Outlander AU. One-shot.

Three Witches by @westerhos​

An AU where Claire, Jenny, and Geillis are three modern-day witches. A big ole house, a "No Men Allowed Policy", rituals in the woods - the usual witchy norm. When Jamie shows up, things go to hell in a hand basket.

Three Witches Stories by @westerhos​

Little ficlets set in the Three Witches universe, where Claire, Jenny, and Geillis are modern day witch friends with hilarious love lives.

The Thief, the Whore, the Witch, and the Strange Woman by @westerhos​

An Outlander AU in which a 22 year old Claire Beauchamp Randall travels back in time on August 1st (Lughnasadh), 1941/1739. Ellen and Brian Fraser, both alive, offer her shelter in exchange for help in aiding Ellen's recovery. The growing attraction between Claire and Jamie leaves Claire torn, while suspicions arise regarding her past...Soon, it becomes clear that the Frasers know more than they let on.

The White Witch's Gift by @sapphiresassenach

A Christmas gift is given to Jamie and Claire during their twenty-year separation. The gift of each other.

I am a Witch by wongirl

What if after the witch trial when Jamie asks Claire if she is a witch she says yes?

P.S. Don't take it too seriously it's just a bit of fun

This is a Harry Potter/Outlander crossover story.

Witches by @whiskynottea​ at @otheroutlandertales​

1739 -Fort William has a new garrison commander - one who is decided to break the Scots’ spirit. Will Jenny and Claire be able to save the tenants of Lallybroch with their magical powers, while staying safe?

Red Jamie and the White Lady by @takemeawaytocamelot​

Claire Beauchamp is dragged by her best friend and flatmate, Geillis Duncan, to go visit a powerful psychic to prove once and for all that true love exists. Claire is a practical woman and finds the idea of true love pointless. Jamie Fraser is a powerful psychic who can glimpse the future. When he meets Claire, something changes. Like they were destined to find each other.

Legend of the Faerie Wife by DiverseMediums

A legend from the written history of Clan Fraser.

While this is a stand alone story, it is intended to be a companion piece for takemeawayocamelot's Red Jamie and the White Lady. There are no spoilers, but it adds a bit of depth to the brilliance she's creating over there :)

The White Witch by BlackStarNYC

The Scottish matriarchal family—known as the "Thomson Witches"—have a long and forlorn history... As the youngest of the clan, Claire’s life turns to chaos at a young age due to the power she has inherited. Pulled into the 18th century, she becomes bound by love that is threatened to be torn apart by castle intrigue, a 100 year old clan feud, war and a man possessed by a spirit that has haunted her family for centuries.... what could go wrong?

This Life by @calliopemoonbeam​

Claire is a healer from a very young age. She trains in the mystical arts around the world, as well as the traditional medical field. She finds herself in London as a surgical resident in the late 1980s and early 90s. She starts having dreams of a past life. Where will they lead her?

Philomene by @ianmuyrray​

Jenny -- thought dead by the rest of the world -- has lived in quiet exile since her king brother betrayed their family by allying with Black Jack Randall, who is on a mission to weed out any and all women who possess magic. Execution now waits for any woman who shows herself to know and use magical powers, or any woman merely suspected of being magical - no matter her rank, her family, her influence, her children, or her own desire to live.

Jenny was supposed to be the first in the rising storm of murdered women, but, by some miracle, she survived. And has lived in hiding. But now she has been found.

Vampires

Exsanguinate by @owlish-peacock36​

Exsanguinate: to drain of blood

No one ever asked for his name anymore. They gave him a wide berth, avoiding him at all costs. Whispers of rumors filled his ears, closer to the truth than they realized.

Monster. Incubus. Strigoi. Upyr. 

No. His name was Jamie.

Step Into the Night by LadyRevolution

An Outlander AU where Claire didn't fall through the stones, she was on the run from the vampire coven that has been trying to enlist her for centuries. In her reprieve at Castle Leoch, it has been a challenge to both hide her vampirism and stay away from Jamie. He smells good, too good, and for a thousand year old vampire with steel control, that's worrying.

"Ye need blood, Claire, I can tell ye do," Jamie whispered, backing her into a wall, a hand on either side of her head. Breathing heavily, he leaned forward and exposed his neck, "so take it from me." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the moment Claire gave into her desires, her almost black eyes zeroing in on his neck.

Scottish Vampire in Boston by sunshineduckies

After Culloden, Jamie is turned by a vampire with a political agenda. Now he must find his way through his new life without Claire and his new burden, vampirism.

Post-Apocalyptic

Scalamandre by @futurelounging​

An outbreak of a contagion causing violent psychoses across the globe sends the world into chaos and destruction. A scientist and a mountaineer meet in the wilds and join together to try to stop the men behind the madness.

Dawning in Dust by DiverseMediums

The Last War has ended. Civilization is no more. For Claire, solitary wandering is the only way of survival. What if it didn't have to be?

Ghosts

But I love you until the end of time. by   @maybeimdoingsomethingright

With her husband constantly away not long after their marriage, Claire lives mostly alone in their house at the Scottish Highlands. However, she is not exactly alone and there is quite more to this house and her future -or is it her past?- than meets the eye.

Endless-loop theory and ghost!Jamie with a wee spin.

Reaching Through the Veil by @westerhos​

Prompt: Imagine that Jamie somehow travels to Claire's time when Bree is still a baby and drops in on Claire randomly like she does in Voyager.

The Far and Distant Places by @westerhos​

After fighting with Frank, Claire goes to a nearby church for a moment of peace. On her way home, she runs into a certain red-haired Scotsman...

The Haunting at Mrs. Baird's by @frasersridgeforever

The kindly hostess of a bed and breakfast notices some ghostly activity in her establishment, as the culprit sees his wife for the first and last time. A Halloween tale of Mrs. Baird and Jamie’s ghost as the Randalls arrive in Inverness for their second honeymoon.

Through the Magic Lantern by dielle

He didn't know how it worked, how he could float across the flow of the time and be there. - Ghost!Jamie, as seen in the first episode.

Purgatory by suspiciousteapot 

Anonymous asked: what if because Claire's in the future Jamie as a ghost got to see her grow up or see bits and pieces of her life

Ghosts in the Daylight by @owlish-peacock36​

"It's easier to dismiss ghosts in the daylight..." All Jamie wanted was quiet loneliness to work on his novel. But, are we ever truly alone? Ghost AU

Through the Door by @ianmuyrray​

Proper Highland protocol held that the door must be opened at once after a death, to allow the soul to leave. - An Echo in the Bone, Chapter 2, "And Sometimes They Aren't"

Ghost!Jamie AU by Mod Eloise @imagineclaireandjamie​

Story 1

Story 2

Other Magical/Fantastical/Horror Stories  

Scotia by @kalendraashtar​

An AU based in Myths and Legends. Written for the Tumblr 2017 Secret Santa challenge.

There Is More Beneath The Surface (Than We Can See) by   @maybeimdoingsomethingright

When she was young, Claire saved a boy from drowning. Meeting again eleven years later, their worlds are forever changed. (Mermaid)

Thrush by @ianmuyrray

Roger goes sailing to meet mermaid Bree. (Mermaid)

A Fairy's Stone by @sapphiresassenach

Prompt: I was thinking if you could come up with a fanfic where what if Claire actually was Fae and revealed it to Jamie but stated that since she was bound to Jamie because they were soul mates and whatnot and thus she became fairly human when the deal was sealed and whatnot. If you get inspired maybe by this it would be cool to see what you come up with. (Fairy)

An Infinite Variety by orphan_account

Challenge on Infinite Earths, Outlander style 

The Shape We Take by @westerhos

An AU inspired by Black Mirror's slightly dystopian "Hang the DJ," in which a dating app pairs you up until it finds your perfect match.

Just Happen During Halloween

A Costume Party by @sassenachpetals

Jamie and Claire ring in the Halloween holiday by attending a costume party. Claire has surprised Jamie with their couple costume idea and it's one that they'll never forget: Gomez and Morticia Addams…

Across The Hall by @thetranquilteal​​​

Growing up in Scotland, one of Jamie Fraser’s all time favourite things to do was carve turnips on All Hallows Eve. Having recently relocated to the United States of America, Jamie assumes carving pumpkins on Halloween is no different and finds himself in a situation that he never expected.

The Doctor’s Companion by @theministerskat

After coming back through the stones, Roger and Bree get ready for a Halloween party.

Back To You Ficlet - Halloween by @balfeheughlywed

Set in the Back To You world, Jamie and Claire spend their first Halloween together at a costume party; smut ensues.

Halloween At the Ridge by @abbydebeaupreposts

Four Part Halloween Fluff set after MOBY imagining what traditions Jem and Mandy bring with them to Fraser’s Ridge

Halloween Through the Years by @takemeawaytocamelot

Claire and Jamie participate in a costume contest every Halloween.

Year One

Year Two

Year Three

Year Four

Year Six

Halloween, 1955 by @westerhos​

Prompt: After [episode 305] with the making the 'batsuit' scene you should totally do a story about the first time Claire made some sort of costume for Bree.

****If an author whose work is listed is actually on Tumblr but is not tagged, please let me know. 

[the-wotog-collection]

true canon: an explanation

True Canon is set in a typical High Fantasy D&D ye olden age world, with monsters and magic and dragons galore. It started out focused entirely on Eve and Viktor and a few others’ travels through a country called Witherhurst, and as we made more characters and stories and kingdoms, we expanded the scope of WotOG (the original D&D game) to cover all of them, until we had a nice world built up around the characters. Since not all of the stories related to the events of WotOG (and WotOG part 2: Electric Boogaloo), we decided to change the name to True Canon, so we knew which universe for sure was the foundation upon which our Many AU’s Stand. Here’s a quick n dirty timeline, for reference:

(much more under the cut)

-Eve, Viktor, and a few others that aren’t relevant to the story travel around Witherhurst on a job or something from a lady who’s Definitely Not Important At All (Her name is Prenella). At some point Prenella ditches the party and they’re stuck without a cleric for a while

-They make it to a big city, and through shenanigans that include travelling the city for fun and also almost dying to a pack of rabid dogs, Eve convinces Intem to join the party.

-Eve, Vik, and now Intem (plus one more pc) unravel a cult plot, something about the end of the world, blah blah nothing really important there. They end up taking out the cult and fighting Prenella, the cult’s leader, who also happens to be a dragon. Neat.

-After that horrifying ordeal, the party reconvenes and decides, ‘fuck it, let’s go find a new place to travel together’ and thus board a ship that they then steal from the captain (after Intem’s “pet” eats said captain).

-So begins the few years the party spends as pirates.

-Things happen, they end up fighting an eldritch god for world-ending rights, and go on their merry way.

- Intem falls into the role of reluctant (but no less ruthless) pirate captain, with vik as his first mate and eve as navigator (despite the fact that she can’t read. they figure it out)

-This is around the time Intem goes from lilac-haired sunshine boy to disgruntled cynic who’s Done With Your Shit, Viktor.

-Eventually the crew docks, and picks up Therai and Pippin for a while. Eve also brings up the idea of reviving Vik’s old travelling companion, Dante (two bros, chillin in a tavern, no feet apart ‘cause they’re so gay), and Intem’s like “Sure why the fuck not” and they set off to find his grave or whatever.

-Hatch and Xander are in the area and end up getting picked up by the crew.

-Dante gets revived, and for the next year or so, everything is fine.

-Eventually the crew docks near Therai’s old home kingdom, and he dips, taking Pippin, Xander, and Hatch with him (he really only meant to take Pip). They spend a while travelling to his kingdom, Aer-Vinn, and encounter Hatch’s long time (boy)friend Aerglo. He joins the party, at Hatch’s request.

-A little while later (vague time frame I know but exact years don’t matter here), there’s some Good Therai Angst when- Shock! Horror! - they end up stumbling upon Tal, who shares ~history~ with Therai. Not the good kind, mind you. They leave soon after meeting Tal.

-There’s a few more encounters with Therai’s old companion before Tal eventually softens up and joins the party, hell yeah. Warren joins too, because he was nearby and Also shares ~history~ with Therai and Tal. (They were all in a party together before this)

-AT THE SAME TIME THIS IS GOING ON: Rain sets out on a holy mission from their church to prove themselves worthy of being a Paladin of the Church.

-They meet Rosemary along the way, and after a small adventure together, they decide to help Rose out and find Catherine with her, because a while back Rose accidentally turned Catherine into, well, a cat.

-They do find Cat, after she’d gone through some Shit in an alternate dimension featuring a Sun Goddess and her complete mental breakdown. Cat Killed A Goddess (or two, we’ll see how the campaign goes), and made friends with the cousins Mikhail and Valentine. Mikhail doesn’t matter to the timeline right now. 

-Anyway, Rain and Rose find Cat, and settle down in a little seaside village where they work together to turn Cat back into a human.

-They Succeed!!!

-Uh-oh there’s a stranger at the door- Oh! It’s just Rain’s Cleric friend from their church, Rahon! Turns out Rain kinda went MIA and everyone back home is having a Panic, so Rahon’s here to make sure Rain is alive and well, or collect their belongings if they’re not-

-But they’re alive, so Rahon calms down and decides to stay (after sending a message back home, of course), to keep an eye or two on Rain.

-Rain is Delighted :)

-The party (minus kal) were traveling somewhere, kal ended up going the same way, and they ended up in the same city for a while. rahon saw her Up To No Good, so he kept an eye on them and saw them getting stabbed, and decided to nurse her back to health, and thus Kal Joins The Party. Rahon is an absolute sweetheart to them

-Eventually Rose, Cat, and Rain head out to a nearby cave system bc of Reasons, and end up kinda sorta stumbling into a system that leads to this world’s version of the Underdark. They need help navigating, because Fuck These Tunnels Are Confusing, and come across a little hermit drow who’s living his “best” life in his underground hut with tattered clothes and ratty books and cracked glasses.

-He just wants to see the surface but is terrified of how the world will treat him if he goes up alone, so he offers to guide everyone through the Underdark in exchange for them taking him up to the surface. Everyone agrees

-Astralus, little hermit drow lad, does so, and soon finds himself stumbling out into broad daylight. He’s got light sensitivity and everything Burns, but he’s so fucking happy oh my gods. Also he’s crying but it’s okay, he’s kinda really emotional.

-Aster joins the party! And they find out he’s cousins with Rose, who practically adopted him as a brother anyway let’s be real.

-Somehow Val learns of Cat’s whereabouts, and pops by to say hi to his trauma buddy. Cue shock as he sees her as human for the first time. Aster develops an immediate crush, and takes to following Val around like a lost puppy.

-Val is having a Time because, Aster looks just like a person he knew in an alternate universe and things didn’t turn out well for them. Yikes.

-Val joins the party, if only to tease Cat and finally have a place to be for a while

-MEANWHILE: Bree finds an abomination living in the abandoned mineshafts near her village. She decides he could probably use a friend, since the entire village is pretty scared of/hostile towards him, and becomes that friend. She finds out his name is Ve, and he’s a sweetheart. She makes immediate friends and he teaches her sign language, because he Literally Doesn’t Have A Face, he can’t speak.

-A few weeks later, either Ve or Bree decide to leave bc Fuck This Town, except they don’t say Fuck because they’re both softe beans (they both legally cannot say fuck. and i actually had an idea for how they leave ovo). Either way, they leave, and through shenanigans, they pick up Three More Tieflings, what the hell, which is kinda funny because previously, Bree didn’t think tieflings existed at all. 

-Tarvaii and Trancey are travelling together as a Chaotic Mischief Duo, and end up joining the party because Bree made friends

-Same situation with Chaym, though he was alone and depressed because his entire village got massacred. Bree made friends, and Chaym joined the party

-Chaym also ended up teaching Trancey magic, specifically Necromancy, which is kinda really stupid dangerous but it’s fine, Chaym survived, why shouldn’t Trancey? (flawed logic but okay Chaym)

-Cut to a few years later, back with Eve and Co.

-They’re in a tavern, Eve sees a depressed tiefling at the bar. What does she do? Immediately go try to cheer him up.

-She finds out he’d left his pregnant girlfriend on a mission to go help out somewhere, and ended up stuck in a weird place where time passes differently for him. It’s been 26 years, though to him it felt more like a handful of weeks. He’s scared and confused and would very much like to find his family, but he has no idea where he is.

-Eve’s heart breaks bc! he’s so sad and his girlfriend is pregnant and he’s got a family and just wants to get back to them, how could she not want to help? and thus she decides to help the tiefling, Viren, find his family.

-Through a series of events, the find out Viren’s family was living in a beautiful city built into the mountains, that fell quite a few years back. Luckily, his girlfriend left beforehand, and moved to a small mining town, where she gave birth to, and briefly raised, their son. She named him Ve, after his father, who she assumed was dead.

-There was a fire at one point, and Angelica, Viren’s girlfriend, died saving Ve. Viren is absolutely devastated when he finds out, and Eve offers to resurrect Angelica, y’know, bring the family together again, even if for just a short time.

-Vi agrees, and they do so! Woo! Also Eve and co. meet up with Ve for a while so the family really is back together.

-Intem, doing a sneaky trick, makes it so Angelica’s soul keeps the body and just, lives until the body dies, be it natural or unnatural causes. He only tells Eve and Angelica about it, and waits to see how long it takes Viren to realize ‘oh shit I’m not losing my fiance so soon’

-Also Viren and Angelica get engaged! Woo!

-A little while passes, Viren and Anne join the party, and Eve gets pregnant with Intem’s kids. At this point the party’s stopped adventuring, and they all settled down somewhere nice. Anyway Eve’s pregnant and gives birth to twins, Olive and Evergreen (Evan for short), but Olive looks more like Therai than Intem and it’s kinda weird, but nobody really minds because the twins are just, so cute. Also Therai (and co) came back and built the party a nice house, so, yeah.

-Olive and Evan grow up, and Evan takes an interest in Druid Magic. Vik lets Evan access his Giant Library and teaches him general magic stuff. Olive scares her whole ass family by taking an interest in Necromancy, and eventually someone gets in contact with Chaym (and by extension Trancey), and has him come over to teach Olive.

-Olive becomes a necromancer! And then heads off with Evan in tow to start their own life of adventuring. 

-Eve has another kid, Avery, with Therai

-Olive befriends a Whole Ass Dragon, gives him the nickname Jade, and introduces him to Evan. By the time the trio make it back to Jade’s hoard, Avery’s taken on the role of Fighter and heads out into the world to do her own thing. She also meets Clover, another fighter, and they travel together for a while before joining Olive, Evan, and Jade. 

-That’s it, that’s where we stopped on the timeline of True Canon. It’ll go on, of course, but, here’s the general timeline in 4 pages

[otheroutlandertales]

The next part of the series based on the Audrey Niffenegger book The Time Traveler’s Wife. Part 1

Author’s note: Claire is 48 in this part, and in Paris with Jamie while they look for Young Ian.

The Time Traveler’s Family: Part 2

by @abbydebeaupreposts​

Claire came to, her mind sifting through the fog. She could feel boots that were pinching her toes, the heavy covering of a thick skirt on her legs. She experimentally rubbed one knee against the other, noting the absence of the telltale slide of nylon-on-nylon. Taking a deep breath, she felt the push of her stays against her ribs and that at least confirmed she was somewhere in an earlier time.

The melodious peel of church bells vibrated through her chest and with a sudden snap, Claire realized where she was: L’Hôpital des Anges. She mentally chided herself. She hadn’t gone anywhere, she’d only fainted!

It shouldn’t have been hot enough to cause dehydration, but she had walked a good portion of Paris this morning and hadn’t thought to bring any water. On top of that, she’d been far too nervous to eat breakfast this morning.

She hadn’t lied to Jamie . . . exactly . . . she just hadn’t told him that she was also planning on coming here. Provisioning the ship for their journey required them to head out separately in search of supplies and arranging for their safe delivery to the wharf. They were both aware that each day they delayed lessened their chances of catching up to the scoundrels who’d kidnapped Young Ian.

One look at his stressed face when they’d arisen had decided the issue. Claire could not, simply could not utter the name of their daughter knowing how frantic Jamie was to find his nephew. Faith had been gone twenty and more years, but they had the hope of saving Ian. Jamie needed the freedom to direct  his energies on that, not dwell on things long since lost.

Claire’s glass face might have given her away, or perhaps that excellent nose of his might have sniffed out the flowers - she still couldn't believe her luck in finding any this late in the year - that she’d buried under the linen lining of her market basket, but he’d been too preoccupied with organizing his own day to pay too much attention to hers.

Thinking of the flowers, Claire sat up and cast her eyes around for her basket, not finding it, she slowly rose and walked a few paces in a circle. Something in her field of vision was off, her eyes sensing the change before she had time to really process it. Was her mind playing tricks on her? Faith’s stone no longer lay at her feet. A strong gust of wind whipped a loose strand of hair across her face and she realized how warm it was, whenever she was, it definitely wasn’t November.

A sharp jolt of panic sent her stomach plummeting. She willed her breathing to steady, counting the in-and-out rhythm. As she did so, she calmed herself by concentrating on the noises around her. The modern world sounded completely different than the time before.

Claire was reassured by the cadence of carriage wheels on the stone street just the other side of the high enclosure surrounding the cemetery, the clomp of horse hooves, dog barks and goat bleats. At last she was able to think logically. Claire forced herself to acknowledge the truth. Faith's grave was missing because their daughter either hadn't come to be or, more likely, hadn't . . . wasn't . . . yet gone. Jesus H. Roosevelt Christ!

When Jamie suggested coming to Paris in all due haste and seeking help from Jared, Claire had readily agreed, feeling the same sense of urgency to get here as soon as possible.  If anyone had the information they needed and the connections to secure a ship to give chase, it would be Jamie's cousin.  Claire hadn't even stopped to consider the implications of being back on French soil.

Oh God! Claire was sure she didn't have the strength to relive those long ago days and nights full of intrigue, heartbreak and betrayal. It had taken months, if not years, for she and Jamie to both put the past behind them. And they had. They rarely spoke of her, then. And even now, only in the briefest of mentions.

“Red hair like her sister? Like Faith?” Jamie had asked upon seeing Bree’s baby pictures.

Overcome at hearing that name spoken out loud by this man, Claire could only nod, watching as he turned each photo over in his hands, skimming a shaky finger over each line and curve of their daughter’s changing face. When the first one in color leapt from the bundle, he made a low moan in the back of his throat. The one that he used when his feelings - of love, of laughter, of happiness - had robbed him of the power of speech.

Claire had waited more than 7,000 days to hear that sound again and her whole body numbed with the impact. She hadn’t noticed in the busy buzzing of school and work and keeping house, but the truth was it had been years since she felt such a connection to another person. She and Frank never found it again after she returned, that unity of person, but she had it for a brief fleeting time when Brianna was very young, nursing at her breast as they rocked together in the hushed serenity of a 3 AM feeding. That sacred fusion of babe and parent that bonds mother to child in those early days. It was not the same, of course, what she felt for him and what she felt for their daughter, but the way such a deep connection dissolved the individual boundary of self, it was something like it.  

Intimacy. A simple word of staggering complexity. Yet the knowledge of him, of herself, of them filled her senses. The solid edge of his rigid thigh pressed against hers, the sharp unfamiliar scent of him, the savory flavor of his tongue lingering on her lips, the dance of firelight from the hearth against the faded red of his hair and the rush of her heart as it glued itself back together again.

Claire held still, spellbound, as an expression of reverence played across his features. She gently touched his hand and his palm went slack transferring the precious images of Bree into hers and fixing her with a burning look of urgency. He was incapable of doing much else. He kept his head cast downward as Claire told her story after story, drinking in the variety of Brianna’s expressions as she boldly stared out at the world with her father’s eyes . . . the same shape exactly as those of her sister.

Even now, weeks after, Claire had yet to speak of it, to tell Jamie how it felt sitting beside him that day . . . the rightness of feeling them and their daughters together even if only for one moment. “Oh that is quite enough of that, Beauchamp!” she reminded herself. Whether she was in the Paris of 1766 or 1744 made no difference. She knew very well there was nothing she could do to change what happened and torturing herself in the meantime only made it a thousand times worse. Faith would always be a wishful dream, something too precious to become real.

Claire swallowed hard, took a couple of deep breaths and reminded herself that the most important thing she needed to do now was get back to Jamie in his own time. With that goal uppermost in her mind, she was able to leave the cemetery and make her way as unobtrusively as possible through the twisting, turning corridors of L’Hôpital which she navigated by muscle memory.

She had learned over many years of such unexpected travel that one of the most important ways to fit in, even if you landed in the wrong century,  was walking confidently and boldly. The destination wasn’t important - as long as you looked like you belonged, you did.  

Claire reached the great hall, sighing when she didn’t see any sign of Mother Hildegard or Sister Agnes. The front entrance beckoned, the sun was shining on the threshold. But just as she neared, Bouton’s happy yip of greeting stopped her cold and she hesitated, despite knowing better. The soft pitter patter of little nails clicking against the stone approached in double time. Her heart gave a little squeeze and she knew it was her Bouton. That fuzzy, furry face she would know anywhere. She thought about trying to ignore him, but knew from experience that being denied would only result in more insistent barking.

She dropped to her haunches at once and waited for him to roll, then enthusiastically rubbed his belly. The dog abruptly jumped back to all fours a moment before her own ears picked up the sound of boot heels coming down the far stairs. Her friend cocked his ear and tilted his head side to side, watching to see what she would do.

“Sorry, Bouton, I can’t stay. Take good care, I will see you soon.” Claire rose and brushed off her hands, she was across the threshold when something brushed past her. Bouton got in front of her and dropped something at her feet, giving a bark of pride. She bent to retrieve it. A fairly decent hat with which to cover her hair. She smiled at him, feeling warm all over.

“Thank you, mes amis, I couldn’t have asked for a better old chum to run into today,” she told him as she carefully inspected the cloth, and, finding nothing chancy or moving on it, fixed it securely to her head and caught her reflection as she passed by a window. She sighed in relief, seeing how well that one small touch helped her blend in better.

Claire kept walking past the hospital, trying to figure out whether she could use any of the currency quietly clinking in the deep pocket of her skirt. Better not risk it, she decided, taking herself to task for not paying any attention to the coin when Jamie handed it to her. She had no idea if the year was customarily stamped on the money or not and couldn’t very stop and inspect it in public. Besides, she’d already spent a good deal of it purchasing supplies and sending them to the ship before setting out to L’Hôpital. Claire was always conscious of the fact that a solitary woman travelling unescorted in such times would naturally attract attention. She couldn’t pretend to be shopping, not without coin to spend, there were no lending libraries that admitted women patrons . . . Look busy! she reminded herself. Right, but how?

Claire didn’t want to head in the direction of Jared’s home. It was miles away, but she’d inevitably cross to the little district where the apothecary was situated and she might give in to the temptation to visit Master Raymond. He was the one person in Paris, aside from Bouton, who might not be shocked to see her - and her graying hair and the crows feet wrinkling her eyes.  Yet, she was hesitant, remembering his sleight of hand in the star chamber. Was he really her friend? She wasn’t sure and that lack of trust weighed heavily in her mind. Instead, she turned south and focused on letting her thoughts roam freely, almost forcing herself to think about not thinking about the Paris of her youth.

Awareness settled over her as her feet struck manicured grass and her head came up. She was in the park near Jared’s warehouse. She had only strolled along its delightful paths a few times, once with Louise and Mary and a couple of times with Murtagh. Yes, over to the right were the huge blooming shrubs he had delighted in showing her. Claire made her way over toward the riot of pinks and yellows she saw in the distance, nodding and bobbing the occasional murmured greeting as she went. If her out of style clothing was noticed, no one stared, nor said a word.  

She came to a small bench Murtagh showed her all those years ago tucked under the swaying branches of a willow tree and sat down in relief. Her boots were comfortable but she’d walked a great distance. She was thirsty but put that out of her mind, having no way to remedy the need. She closed her eyes and breathed the crisp, clean garden air. The sound of nature surrounded her and peace descended.

Claire must have drifted off for the next she knew the quiet had been broken by the zing of rapiers clashing and the echoing grunts of effort. Two men engaged in some mock battle. In Brianna’s time they’d called it the sport of fencing, but here, in this time, it was practical training. She couldn’t parse out the words themselves but instantly caught the rhythm of the speech. Gaelic, she was sure of it. Claire shot to her feet in blind panic looking around wildly and realized suddenly that the way the branches fell sheltered her completely from the direction of the swordplay.

She couldn't help moving to the edge of the shelter of protection and peeking between the curtain of swaying branches and leaves. An enormous sigh of longing escaped her lips as she caught sight the back of Jamie’s broad back, red hair glinting in the sunlight as he thrust downward. His broadsword clashing with an almighty clang as it struck the one Murtagh held firm using both his hands. Murtagh pulled both arms upwards, causing Jamie to jump back. A good thing too, or his head would  now be laying on the grass beside his feet.

“Fight it that's it, focus . . . Concentrate, lad, no . . . hold on!” Murtagh  encouraged. Their arms were rigid, weapons braced against one another in what looked clear to be a stalemate but Jamie’s arms were shaking badly. Her eyes stayed on his left hand, wrapped in the special compression brace she had fashioned together and which Jamie had faithfully worn everyday since they had left the Abbey.

“Christ, man, I canna do it,” Jamie responded as sweat broke out along his forehead. Claire watched as his knees buckled and he fought to remain engaged in the fight.

“Ye ken how to get out of this, lad, so do it,” Murtagh reminded him. Jamie gave a mighty heave and twisted his body forcing the steel to disengage and readjusting his stance.  The motions of thrust and parry went on for a few minutes more, but Jamie's body remained with its back turned to her.

Suddenly the two men laughed, patted one another on the back and Jamie threw down his weapon, reaching for a bottle of ale resting in the grass at his feet.  She watched, quite startled, as Murtagh shouted then appeared to take a run at the crowd of onlookers that had stopped to gawk at their games. Claire ducked back into the shadows, fearing detection. She didn’t dare move and kept her eyes glued on Murtagh, willing him to stay away from her hiding spot. She held her breath as she watched him retreat back to the hillside to rejoin Jamie. As Murtagh knelt down, Claire caught her first direct view of Jamie’s face and gasped, the sound echoing loudly in the cocoon of her shelter.

He looked good - Jesus-H.-Make-Mine-A-Double-Christ! - better than good. He thrummed with the vitality and self-confidence of a man in his prime. His eyes had lost that haunted aspect that had marked their time in the Abbey and sparkled with amusement at something Murtagh said. His body was sound. She noted that his arm was still tucked up tight to his chest, the fingers splayed and unbending, but that was the only outward sign of his ordeal. Then he smiled and she forgot how to breathe.

Over the years, Claire had forgotten that for all that Paris had been rife with sorrow it had also been the place of Jamie’s rebirth, his healing and in many ways the place of his making. Observing him now, she could see what she’d not noticed, then.

Gone was that impulsive, young man she’d wed. The one who cheerfully told her he hadn’t much to offer a wife, but promised to keep her fed.  As if the only barometer for universal happiness - marital or otherwise - was a full stomach. Given his age and lack of experience with courtship, he’d  likely thought that to be true.

In his place now stood a man who had walked through the very heart of darkness and survived. It had been touch and go and it had taken months and, Claire realized now, it had taken this city - and a chance to test himself by swimming in unfamiliar - if not shark infested - waters that had become his proving ground. Jamie relearned the way of himself and that had allowed them to forge a deeper connection, one that had stayed in tact all these years.

The phrase “egghead and lard bucket” carried on the breeze followed by a “curiously large head” and then she heard the sound of his laugh and she caught a look at his face as his head turned with a smile as bright as the sun.

Tears sprung from her eyes and she pressed her fingers tight against her lips to keep from crying out. Christ, I hope he knew how much I loved him,  that in my restlessness and grief I hope I told him that much, at least. Quite unable to look at Jamie without continuing to fall apart, Claire turned her gaze instead to his companion. He was, per usual, scowling as he kept up a grumbling commentary regarding the olfactory delights of France.

Claire wanted to give him a hug and never let him go. Thank you, thank you, thank you! For being his godfather, for always taking care of him. God, may he be safe, wherever he may be. She prayed. She hoped they would find him one day, that she’d be able to tell him herself how dear he was to them.

As if Jamie had heard her thoughts, he said, “Did I ever thank ye, Murtagh?” Jamie was looking out over the long expanse of high society on parade in the park and not at Murtagh.

“What for?” Murtagh squirmed uncomfortably. Jamie made a scoffing sound. What, indeed.

“For my life? for Claire’s? For our child’s?” Jamie said softly, looking at Murtagh now with an expression of unabashed gratitude. “Willie - afore we left the Abbey - said Dougal  didn't want them to go to Wentworth but ye convinced the rest to join ye.”  

Murtagh scoffed. “Twasna me, yer lady, she did all that,” he said pausing a moment. “Do ye ken we spent weeks searching for ye?”

“What?” Jamie’s eyes widened in astonishment.

“Och, aye, up and doon the coast. I danced,” Murtagh gave him a shaggy browed wiggle when Jamie laughed, “Aye, that’s about what it was like, But Claire, ye should ha’ seen her, man. We tried everything we could ta talk to as many as we could hoping word would spread and ye’d pick up our trail as yer had gone cold about four days after Ian came limping back to Lallybroch. She told fortunes and did the doctoring and when that didna work she wrote songs and joined me on the stage.”

“My Sassenach?” Jamie’s eyes had gone huge. Claire bit the inside of her lip it was difficult for her to imagine it, too, and she’d been there!

“Och, aye, a bonnie-wee-lark is yer woman and stubborn as the day is long, forebye. When we discovered a band of Roma had stolen her song and was driving our crowds away by using it, there was a stramash the likes of which I’ve never seen. When Dougal was inclined no’ to be generous, she did the same to him and it was she that got the lads to agree wi’ that mad scheme.” What Murtagh hadn’t said was that the mad scheme in question, using the coos as a diversion had been his clever idea, but somehow Jamie knew that.

Jamie placed his hand on Murtagh’s shoulder, “As I said, I owe ye much, goistidh.”

“Jamie, ye are as a son to me. I dinna say it often but ye ken my heart.” Murtagh said so quietly Claire had to hold her breath to catch the words. “How are ye doing? Tell me the truth.” Murtagh’s steady gaze stayed on Jamie’s face. For the first time, Jamie looked uncomfortable in his own skin.

“During the day, I’m fine, dinna think of . . . it, hardly at all,” Jamie told him. “Most nights I’m alright as well. I’m no’ overly fond of cavortin’ with the prince, that poppinjay's bannocks arena quite baked all the way through, if ye ask me and spending time wi’ him is tedious, but sometimes it’s . . . easier to be out wi’ him than home.” Jamie sat heavily on his bum and leaned a shoulder into Murtagh’s.

Claire thought about leaving. This was getting far too personal and her throat felt like she’d swallowed broken shards of misery. “She still looks at me as she did before, makes me feel like I hung the moon for her alone and I . . . canna say what it does to my soul to see her shape change day by day wi’ the bairn. God, she deserves so much more than I can give her. It’s still mixed up for me, Claire and Randall and it’s no’ her fault, but mine. I canna get my mind clear. Yet whenever she is near I ache to . . .” The rest of what he said was lost on the wind, his face had turned away from Claire and Murtagh. She saw Murtagh bend his head and could catch a murmuring response but nothing distinctive.  

“Do you think she kens?” Jamie’s face was turned back in her direction and Claire felt lightheaded as she focused on the tender expression in his eyes.

I do, Jamie. Never doubt that. Claire thought as her body started to fly. She sighed in relief and didn’t fight it.

When she came to, she felt the chill in the crisp November air at once and knew she’d returned to the Cemetery of the Angels. She took a few breaths waiting for the dizziness to clear then slowly got to her feet. With enormous relief she spotted her basket leaning against a small stone. She reached inside and pulled the precious bundle of tulips from the bottom of the sack. Still fresh, telling her that not too much time had passed.  

Claire reoriented herself and walked toward Faith’s stone.  She caught a wink of color that defined itself as she moved closer. Her heart tightened like a vice in her chest. A posy of violets, their beautiful deep purple vivid against that cold gray stone, set precisely between the words Faith and Fraser.

But I am not the man you knew these twenty years past. His words to her upon their reunion echoed in her mind. No, she thought, you are so much more. And with a shaky hand, Claire lay her tulips on top of his, their offerings forming a cross.  

Jamie looked up from the scratching of his quill with quiet satisfaction, always pleased when he could get a sentence to go clear across the page neatly, as Claire bustled through the door to their room. “Ach, there ye are, Sassenach, I was just wondering how ye faired wi’ the-” Jamie let out an Eep! of surprise as her body slammed into his, locking him in a full body kiss.

His lips asked questions she wouldn’t answer and he decided to curb his curiosity. She was in a terrible rush to get his shirt off and when she started unlacing his breeks, he responded on an elemental level to the raw desperation of her desire, helping her get her own shirt and then her stays off in short order.

He attempted to stand, to lay her out on the bed and love her properly, but she placed her hands on his shoulders and held him rooted to the chair with a strangled sound that tried for English but emerged as feral.  

“What is it, love?” Jamie crooned softly, “Tell me, my own.” He grabbed her hair in a ponytail and yanked it back hard, forcing her to look him in the eye, at last. He stared at her, refusing to look away or let her do so, either.

Her lips were sunkissed and swollen. She looked like she’d been crying. He bent his mouth and flicked his tongue over the valley between her breasts, tang and salt, outside the contoured trail of his lips he could see her skin covered in grime, evidence of the kind of day she’d had.

He inhaled deeply, thinking how he could maneuver his body lower to further the explorations of his mouth when his brain registered something unexpected. He bent his head again and sniffed, casual at first then picking up more steam, like a pig rooting out a truffle. His nose never failed him. After a minute or so he looked up at her.

“Ye care to tell me why ye smell like new cut grass and it’s November?”

“I saw you this afternoon.” Claire said by way of an explanation, which he’d noticed provided no answer at all.

“And ye didna call out to me?” Jamie’s eyebrows rose trying to figure out where their paths might have intersected on their respective errands. He wondered if maybe she’d gone to see Faith, too? But if so, why did she not say anything?

He knew she’d been uneasy ever since learning of Laoghaire but it had been Ian’s abduction - while trying to bring back the treasure they needed to be free of her - that had opened this particular chasm between them. All of the challenges of living then, to say nothing of its dangers, death and disease, floated across her face as she sat beside him trying to soothe him with reassuring words, while he - useless, helpless man that he was - sat on that hill staring into the gloam long after Ian’s ship had slipped over the horizon - still shaking his head in disbelief.  

Finally, she adjusted his sling and urged him to action. Before setting sail for France, he offered to take her back to Craigh Na Dun. He had to force the words from his lips and his heart hammered in terror waiting for her response. The fact that his suggestion had not been greeted with the kind of shocked protestation he had prayed to hear but more of a “Focus on Ian, we’ll talk of this later,” came back into his memory now.

He should have told her what he had planned that afternoon and asked her to come, too. But when they arose, she’d barely touched their meal, kept fiddling with her basket, pulling out all her wee notations regarding needed supplies for the ship’s surgery. He tried to broach it a couple of times but Claire wouldn’t make eye contact with him and he found he didn’t have the courage to bring it up and risk her upset. If she’d not mentioned it, then he shouldn’t call it to mind, either. They were back to keeping secrets from one another.

Jamie could bear anything in this world except being parted from her again, but the moment his fingers traced the faded letters of Faith’s name, he knew he’d made a terrible mistake and wished he’d spoken of it first thing this morning. When he returned to an empty room, her absence nearly drove him mad.  Her instant need of him upon her return was a much needed balm on his anxious heart.

Claire gave him a shake of the head and a brave little smile that let him know she hadn’t meant she’d seen him today but something else.

“Oh?” He ventured cautiously. He knew what she was and he’d seen it happen a number of times but that was then and it hadn’t happened since she’d been back.

“In the Jardins des plantes,” her gaze was steady but he saw the flicker of deep emotion inside her. It had been over two decades since he’d last been in that park. His mind raced to try and figure out what she needed him to say.  

He finally settled on, “Had ye been back in Paris before today?”

“No!” Claire genuinely seemed horrified at the thought. “I haven’t set foot in France since 1743, and I never intended to do so in my lifetime again. You remember how it works?” She was watching him and when he hesitatingly nodded, she continued, “I can only travel a short distance . . . er . . . geographically speaking, that is, and my actions can’t change what has already happened.”

“Did ye see yerself, then?” Jamie asked her but he didn’t seem as upset as she would’ve thought. As if reading her mind he added, “God, I’d love to see ye round and fat in yer silk and lace again, Sassenach.”

“No, I told you, I saw you . . . oh, and Murtagh.”  

Jamie made an affirmative noise in the back of his throat. “Ye ken, Paris wouldna ha’ been the same wi’ his sunny countenance.”

“Oh, stop, Murtagh is a great travel companion!” Claire laughed.

“Aye, and no one I’d rather have guarding my back. It was an act of grace, seeing that face, wearing gray whiskers and rags, at Ardsmuir. It felt good to be the one caring for him for once. I hope we can find him again, Sassenach and bring him home.”  

“That would be wonderful.”

“Tell me what happened today,” he encouraged.

“I spent the last twenty years not going to the places we shared.  To find myself in Paris, then?” Claire shuddered. “To run into myself and to know? I might have tried to forewarn but then I would have condemned myself dreading new day fearing what would come instead of savoring every day to come. Knowing the future hasn’t helped us avert disaster so far.”

“So ye didna want to run into anyone ye knew and ended up in the park?” Jamie surmised.

“Yes, indeed. Imagine my surprise when I realized you were just on the other side of the willow tree that shielded me from your view. You were so young, Jamie. Full of grace and in great spirits. Murtagh brings out a very playful side of you. I’d forgotten how much fun you had with each other. Then, watching you, I realized how much we had enjoyed being here. All the wonderful things we had found here, too. We were part of history, something so much bigger than ourselves. It was thrilling and full of grand possibilities. I look back on our lives here and can’t believe that was us, at Versailles, dining with the prince, so much beauty and luxury.”

At this Jamie snorted, “Aye, too bad the two of us are more at home in a tent on the moor than in a mansion wi’ servants.”

“That’s true, but I still appreciate everything Jared did for us - and is still willing to do for us. Being here set me on the path to becoming a doctor and helped by giving you a different kind of purpose.” Jamie nodded and Claire continued, “It was here we found Fergus.” Jamie smiled in memory. “Nothing turned out like we’d hoped in Paris but it had been magical and after today, I can look back on it and remember it that way.”

“Swords, was it?” Jamie beamed when he heard her sigh lustily.

“Jamie you looked . . .” Words failed her, she had no other way to tell him but to show him, kissing him passionately with an explosion of soft mewling noises he found deeply gratifying, if only because they echoed the ones she was drawing from his lips.

Jamie let himself be diverted for a good long while. Claire hadn’t responded to his physical presence like this since they were in Edinburgh and he was mightily roused by her reaction. Yet, just as she was about to get completely carried away, he pushed her body back and looked searchingly at her.

“Claire?” he began, and she looked dazed, her cheeks pink from exertion. “Was it . . . that is, I dinna want to make assumptions about how yer feeling nor imply that ye should feel--” it was his turn for pinkened cheeks now.

“Jamie,” Claire held her hand out to him,”Just say it, whatever it is. Trust that I will listen with my heart and try and understand. When things go unsaid . . . that's when trouble starts for us, I think.”  

Jamie nodded and started over, “I ken why ye couldna bear to . . . I dinna blame ye one bit. But I think maybe yer fretting about making that choice - no’ for yerself or me, but for her sake.” Seeing her stunned expression, Jamie started second guessing himself, but he'd gone this far, he needed to finish. “Will ye maybe find some . . . comfort in knowing she wasna alone today? I was wi’ her, brought her a wee posy, told her how much we both love and miss her; asked her to watch o’er her little sister for us. If she’s anything like Jenny, she’ll have been doing it all along.”

“Oh, Jamie,” Claire bit her bottom lip hard willing herself not to burst into tears. How did he manage to cut her wide open and then cauterize the wound in less than five sentences? “I saw your violets when I brought her tulips. That’s where was. I awoke in the cemetery, but her grave wasn’t there.”

“Christ, Claire.” Jamie’s eyes swam with unshed tears. The second Claire reached her hand to his cheek, they spilled over, across her fingers, leaking down the back of her hand.

“I’ve needed to say something to you since Edinburgh, no, it’s not supposed to make you cry harder,” Claire gave him a sobbing hiccup, “You are, and have always been, a wonderful father, Jamie. I never told you that and I should have. I couldn’t think of anything more important than returning to you to make sure you knew it. Thank you, for giving them to me and for keeping our family together.”

“Ye thought that wouldna make me cry? Jesus, Claire, what ye do to me,” he said into her ear as he crushed her to him.

Sometime later, on the edge of sleep, he whispered, “Yer wrong though, Sassenach.”

“Hmmm?” she said in drowsy reply.

“Knowing the future did help. A great deal. Kept Jenny and the bairns alive, kept me from being hanged. It’s maybe true for the big things ye canna change time, for its stubborn and fights back. But in hundreds of small ways, it mattered. Hearing ye speak of our adventures worries me some, though. Do ye think ye can be content once we have Ian in hand just living a quiet life wi’ me in a highland croft?” It was said in a flirty tone but Claire heard the anxiety underneath.

“Yes, but don’t count the chickens in your kale yard just yet, life may have more surprises in store, General Fraser.”  

[mikrowrites]

You Found Me (i)

Tony Stark x Daughter!Reader

*Prequel series to How to Save a Life (htsal)*

Summary: Tony discovers he fathered a child after receiving a very unsettling phone call; Y/N meets her father (takes place 5 years before Iron Man 1).

Warnings: language, drug use, abuse, cigarette use, death, overdose, angst, fluff,

A/N: I ended How to Save a Life, and it ended perfectly. But I missed writing this story, so oops I lied! This is the story of Y/N Stark before Infinity War!

April 15, 2003

Marietta, Georgia

2:08 PM

Y/N L/N didn’t have a dollar to her name.

She was just a three year old girl living in the slums of the Georgian town, usually seen wandering the street playing with items she picked up off the ground or grasping the hand of her mother.

Her skin was S/C, often layered in a coat of grime and cigarette burns. Y/N’s H/C hair always looked slightly gray due to ashes and dirt and dust that would tangle in her hair.

Y/N’s mother was a thin woman, with sunken eyes and cheeks. She always had a cigarette or blunt in her fingers or between her lips. When she would hit her lows, she would tell Y/N about her glory days, how she used to be beautiful and sexy and how Y/N had done this to her, followed by a swift slap across the face or a cigarette butt buried into Y/N’s arm.

Yes, life was a living nightmare for young Y/N. But the young girl had hope. When she was old enough she’d run away, leave, make something of herself.

Y/N had been out playing with some of the neighborhood kids, her knees covered with scratches from the various scuffles and a grin on her face. She pushed open the rickety storm door, tip toeing over broken bottles and used syringes.

“Mama? I’m home?” Her little voice yelled, the girl running into the living room, where her mother laid on the couch. Y/N cautiously stepped forwards, her breath catching in her throat. The little girl let out a whimper, shaking her mother’s shoulders. “Mommy?”

“Mommy wake up!”

————

April 15, 2003

Malibu, California

5:48 PM

Tony Stark had billions of dollars to his name.

He was the CEO of his father’s company, he got all the girls left and right, he had everything.

Yet... nothing.

He had no living family remaining. The closest was his mentor, Obidiah Stane, who helped him run the company, Stark Industries, a massive and successful weapons manufacturer.

Tony was tinkering with one of the cars in his lab in his luxurious Malibu beach home when JARVIS’s crisp English voice cut through the speakers which were blaring Metallica’s Greatest Hits.

“Sir, there is an important telephone call for you.”

Tony tossed his wrench into the toolbox, rolling out from underneath the car. “Great, what now? Better Homes and Gardens?”

“No, sir. The Centigo Memorial Hospital in Marietta, Georgia.”

“Georgia?” Tony grumbled, confused. “This is Tony Stark speaking.”

A female voice responded. “Hello, Mr. Stark. My name is Doctor Bernice Diphalz. I’m a physician at Centigo Memorial. A woman was brought in from heroin overdose a few hours ago. Her name was Y/M/N?”

Tony froze. He knew the name... 1999! She was a girl at a casino who was one of his many one night stands. “I-uh-yes. I know her.”

“I’m very sorry, Mr. Stark. She passed.” The nurse paused for a bit, before proceeding. “She left a three year old daughter, Y/N L/N. The birth certificate says she’s your daughter.”

Tony’s breath caught in his throat. “I-what? I don’t understand.”

“It would possibly be better if you came so we could do a proper DNA test. If the results come back positive, a social worker will discuss Y/N living with you.” Dr. Diphalz responded.

“Wait, hold on, I can’t take care of a kid! Is there anyone else who could take her?”

“Mr. Stark, if you choose to not become guardian, she will be transferred to the nearest foster home.”

Tony let out a groan. “What, like little orphan Annie? Suddenly I’m what, Daddy Warbucks?”

Dr. Diphalz sighed deeply. “If that’s what you’d like to compare it to. The decision is all yours.”

Tony sat back in a chair, head reeling. He was a genius, playboy, billionaire, philanthropist. He couldn’t take care of himself much less a kid. He buried his face in his hands tensing up when a thought came to mind:

What would mom have done?

“Mr. Stark?”

“Uh, yeah. I’ll be there in a few hours.”

“Thank you Mr. Stark.”

The line went dead, leaving Tony in the overwhelming quiet, his neurons firing at a rapid pace. He attempted to swallow the lump in his throat, closing his eyes.

“JARVIS, organize a flight to Marietta, Georgia.”

————

April 15, 2003

Centigo Memorial Hospital - Marietta, Georgia

8:52 PM

Y/N sat on an uncomfortable fleece chair, swinging her little legs back and forth. The air was sterile and full of despair. The little girl’s eyes were redrimmed, she had stopped crying hours ago. A nurse that smelt like coconut and had a pretty smile had stuck a Q-Tip in Y/N’s cheek and walked away an hour ago, the girl was puzzled as to why.

She heard footsteps approaching as another nice nurse lady kneeled in front of her. “Hi Y/N. My name’s Sandra. There’s somebody very special here to see you.”

And then Y/N saw him.

Tony Stark. Her father.

————

April 15, 2003

Centigo Memorial Hospital - Marietta, Georgia

8:52 PM

“Congratulations, it’s a girl.” The doctor joked, showing Tony the results of the DNA test.

Tony ran a hand through his hair. “I-I have a kid?”

“It seems so. Nurse Renolds can introduce you both.” The Doctor gestured to the smiling nurse at the door.

The nurse lead Tony down the hall. “Mr. Stark, I’d like to warn you. Y/N didn’t grow up in a nice neighborhood. Her appearance will be quite... disturbing.”

Tony gave her a look of confusion before stopping in his tracks.

She didn’t even look real. She was covered in grime and dirt, her Y/H/C greasy and knotty. Little pink inflamed scars littered her arms and her clothes were dirty and ripped.

“Hey, there, uh... Y/N?” Tony sat down next to the girl, who sniffed in response. “Did the um, the cops tell you who I am?”

Y/N nodded. “Yeah. Mommy used to talk about you. She said you left us, you didn’t love me.”

Tony clicked his teeth, leaning his head against the wall. “Yeah, well, I hate to disappoint you, kid, but the truth’s been a little... stretched?” The girl looked up at him, the gears in her head obviously turning. “For one, I never knew jack about you. I had only met your mom once.”

“But mommy said-“

“Kid, mommy lied. I’m sorry, it’s rough, but that’s what happened.” Tony noticed the girl’s bottom lip beginning to tremble. He let out a frustrated sigh, running his hand across his face. “Look, I’m sorry, kid. I’m not really-kids aren’t really my thing I’m not used to talking to them-“

“S’okay.” Y/N said, turning slightly towards Tony in her seat. She held out her pinky to him. “Promise you’re not lying?”

Tony hooked his pinky in hers. “Promise.”

Y/N smiled tightly, satisfied. “So... you’re my dad.”

Tony smiled back, trying not to show her genuinely terrified he was.

“Yeah... I’m your dad.”

————

Lost and insecure

You found me, you found me

Lying on the floor

Surrounded, surrounded

Why’d you have to wait?

Where were you, where were you?

Just a little late

You found me, you found me

————

Tag list (htsal): @lovely-bree @isnow-0r-never @peterfromtheavengers @not-jk-rowling @zendeyiiee @meridele473 @ayyidkeither @kit-kat-katie99 @trenzaloures @extrovertedantisocialunicorn @spacetor @the-ordinarylady @lizlil @natashacamillaus @spacequeenstuff @bluegirlusa1 @lilulo-12 @lovely-dreamer19 @jorileychan @ladyaragorn13 @marveltrashaddict @imabookworm31 @insultme-notmyfandoms @let-me-try-mom

Tag list: @letsgetfuckingsuperwholocked @peter-pan-hoe @theinsomniacsblog @ailynalonso15 @wasteddstardust

[hoodoo12]

That Was How

I had this very nice request, and wrote it up.  hello would a story about the bartender meeting the original c-137 rick be ok? Because i'm curious as to how she knew about him and the mind erasing so maybe some backstory?

Anon, I hope you’re still around. I enjoyed writing some backstory very much, and it ties in to some information in an older story called What Evil Lurks in the Heart of Rick.

SFW, Rick c-137/Bartender

⁂

You’d been working in this dive bar for a while now. Nothing fancy, nothing hip; just pulling taps and serving the occasional mixed drink if a tourist accidently wandered in. It was dark and smelled of old cigarettes from the time before smoking wasn’t allowed in public places. You were mostly content.

There were regulars who you knew by name. You liked your job, but some times, you got an itch to do something. Be something more. Your options were limited, however, so you didn’t.

“Hey. I think that guy’s pukin’ in the restroom,” Rob, one of the regulars who shuffled in after his shift so he didn’t have to go home and deal with his family, announced unnecessarily.

You had heard, and the retching from the restroom seemed amplified.

You groaned.

“I’ll give you a free beer to check on him,” you offered hopefully.

“You know you ain’t allowed to give out free beers!”

Frowning, you had to nod. The owner of the place had threatened to terminate you when he found out you’d occasionally given away product to the people who spent a lot of their time here. “They’ll pay for it,” he’d yelled. “Don’t give it away!”

Rob smiled drunkenly at you. “If you pay for another pint, I’ll go . . .”

Your salary didn’t allow you to be that altruistic.

“Never mind,” you sighed, wiping your hands on one of the towels under the bar. “I’ll go see how he is.”

Rob waved at you as you left your workspace. Walking to the establishment’s only restroom, the retching hadn’t stopped. You knocked on the door, lightly. “Hey. Hey. You okay in there?” you asked with your head near the crack between door and doorframe.

Your answer was another bout of retching and the unmistakable sound of liquids hitting the water in the toilet.

“At least he’s not pukin’ on the floor!” Rob called to you gleefully.

Thank heaven for small favors, you guessed. Out loud, you said, “You need help?”

There was a groan in response.

Steeling yourself, you grabbed the doorknob and found it wasn’t locked. Although you half-hoped it would be so maybe the guy inside would have the chance to right himself, at least you wouldn’t have to get out the toolkit and unscrew it to get in. You weren’t incredibly happy about barging in on a vomiting man--that was nowhere in your job description!--but having someone pass out and choke on their own puke wouldn’t be a great alternative either.

“I’m coming in,” you announced.

You followed through, and found the old lanky guy who’d stumbled into the bar earlier hugging the toilet. He’d filled the bowl with pure bile-colored liquid; in your experience you knew that meant he’d been taking in only alcohol for a while, with no food in his stomach to help absorb it.

He looked haggard and pale; his eyes bloodshot and sunken. He had strings of yellow drool dangling from his lower lip. When he picked his head up to look at you, he wiped the back of his forearm and hand across his chin, and managed to smear some of the drool into his hair. Before you could move further into the room, he lifted himself upward enough to vomit into the toilet bowl once more.

When he sat back down on the floor with a groan, some of his color had returned.

“Gotta purge that swill they call Plutonian vodka,” he croaked, as he gave you a weak smile and a wink.

That was how you met Rick Sanchez.

⁂

You’d helped him clean up a little after his little evacuation in the bar’s toilet by offering him actual cloth towels instead of the cheap paper ones available that disintegrated on contact with water. He wiped his face; you swallowed your gorge and wiped his hair. Then you held his arm to assist him back to a bar stool and gave him a glass of water.

He scowled at that and requested a shot of vodka, neat.

“N-n-none of that Plutonian shit!” he’d demanded, as if you acted like you even knew what the hell he was talking about.

Gently you nudged the glass of water closer to him. He stared you down; you stared back, and he finally took it, although he coughed through the first few swallows. Then he asked again for that shot of vodka, pretty please.

Rob looked like he was going to say something. Come to your defense, maybe? Recommend the guy get the hell out? Call the cops? But at the first syllable that tried to come of out his mouth, the old guy whipped around and scowled so hard at him Rob choked off whatever he had thought to say. You saw the new guy’s free arm tense, a little, and Rob glance down.

Your regular customer gulped and in a rush of movement, he pushed away from the bar and stammered he had to get home. He threw a handful of bills on the bar and was gone before you knew it.

The new guy watched him go with narrowed eyes. You had no idea what just happened or what Rob may have seen out of your line of sight on the other side of the bar. Once Rob was gone for good, he turned back to you with a wide smile.

“What’d’ya say, baby? Set me up a drink and I’ll buy you one too.”

You find this guy in the bathroom, puking his guts out, wipe vomit out of his hair; he does something to intimidate a regular patron of this place; and now he wants to buy you a drink? What was next, him crashing on your couch?

Yes. That’s exactly what happened next.

You took him up on his offer to have a single drink with him. He launched into a wild story about his life. None of it made much sense, but he didn’t seem the kind of crazy that was going to end up stabbing you; he seemed the kind of crazy that was full of fun and adventure. He had to be an author. No other person could com up with the outrageous stories he told you. 

When he mentioned that he’d been drifting from place to place recently and was looking for somewhere to crash for the night, you did suggest your couch.  With a smug grin like he’d been waiting for you to offer, he took you up on it.

That was how Rick Sanchez came into your life.

⁂

He wandered in and out of your life randomly. He’d show up at the bar. Occasionally you found him snoring on your couch when you came home. There was never any rhyme or reason to when he would arrive, and he sometimes just disappeared again without explanation either.

Once, when you pinned him down enough to at least have breakfast with you, you mentioned you’d love to read one of his books sometime.

“Books?” he replied, completely baffled.

“Yeah. Can you give me a title or two?”

With his forkful of pancakes halfway to his mouth, he frowned. “I don’t know what the-what the fuck you’re talking about.”

“Your books!” you said in exasperation, as if repeating it was going to make it clear. “All these stories you’re telling me? About different planets and different booze and the interdimensional travel--you have the whole world-building down to an art! Is it like a series or are there standalone novels? Tell me where to start, I can’t wait to read them!”

Rick set his food back onto his plate in a deliberate motion.

“You think that I-I-I am making up everything I’m telling you?” he said in a low, even voice.

You’d never seen him so serious, but you laughed anyway. “Yes! Of course!”

He scowled.

“You’re an idiot,” he announced, and reaching over the table, he grabbed your wrist and dragged you to your feet.

As you cried out in scared protest, Rick pulled a device from the inside of his lab coat and from it, produced a swirling green and yellow circle of opaque light. Ignoring your fright and confusion, he pulled you through it into another world.

That was how your adventures with Rick Sanchez started.

⁂

His visits were still erratic, but when he did deign to take you with him, he showed you things you couldn’t have imagined. Rick was your guide from one end of the galaxy to the next; he escorted you into new dimensions filled with wonder and horror. You visited with unique people living nothing like you’d ever seen. You saw worlds that were nothing like anything on Earth.

You drank with Rick at a hundred different alien bars. You accompanied him to places he had to do ‘business’. Although full of contempt that you were such a tourist and a rube, he introduced you to so much more than your entire life could have been.

You discovered that your life was not even a speck of dust in the scheme of the universe, but instead of being crushed by the knowledge, you only wanted to learn and see more.

You’d become conditioned to get excited at the sound of a portal. You looked forward to seeing his unruly blue hair and boney build. You imagined what it would be like to hug him. You had dreams about what it would be like to be naked with him, in your bed.

That was how you fell in love with Rick Sanchez.

⁂

When you realized that you had deeper feelings for him, you were giddy and nervous and moonstruck. You’d never imagined yourself with an older man; you’d never imagined yourself meeting someone in such a random way who would mean so much to you.

You were just being silly, weren’t you? You couldn’t have fallen in love with this guy who just showed up out of nowhere. Right? It was just the thrill of going on adventures. It was just the idea that he singled you out. Right?! There was no way you were thinking about a serious relationship with him!

The two of you hadn’t slept together. You hadn’t even shared a bed; every time he crashed at your place he passed out on your couch! You’d never had a kiss, never had any intimate touching unless you counted when you held his elbow to help him out of the restroom at the bar.  Rick had never brought up anything of the sort; in fact he scoffed and derided any couple you happened to see on your travels. You’d heard his rant about ‘relationships’ and ‘biological need to breed’ more than once.

But you couldn’t deny that you got a thrill in your stomach whenever he showed up. You knew you were flushed around him, you could feel the heat in your cheeks and your palms felt damp. Sometimes it was hard to hear what he was saying over your pulse pounding in your ears, and the times you were close enough to smell him, it was intoxicating.

You knew he wasn’t celibate. You hoped he wasn’t celibate! Firmly you told yourself the next time he showed up, wanting a place to sleep for the night, you were going to take him to bed. You were going to show him what you thought of him. You were going to give him the best sex of his life!

When he did arrive--unannounced, as usual--at your small apartment two weeks later, he was harried. He was preoccupied and anxious. None of those three things were anything you’d associate with Rick.

Still, you gave him the drink he asked for and, steeling yourself, you told him you wanted to talk to him about something important.

He downed the tumbler of vodka you’d handed him, belched, and took your hand.

“No-no, I’ve got to, I’ve got to--there’s something I have t-to tell you first, baby,” he said.

His touch made butterflies float in your stomach; his words tied them up in knots.

“This is impor-important,” he insisted. “I should’ve told you this a long time ago.”

Your breath caught in your throat. You were glad you opted for a matching, lacy bra and panty set today, because you couldn’t wait for Rick to see you in them, and then for his large hands to strip them from you.

“I’m in big trouble,” Rick continued feverishly, “and I think you are too.”

With no further explanation, he opened a portal and took you someplace new.

It was an apartment. It was only slightly bigger than the one you’d left, and maybe slightly nicer. You looked around, wondering if this was his place finally.

“I hope this is okay. I think it’ll be okay,” he said.

“What?”

Rick waved off your question. “I’ve paid for it, but there’s a monthly fee, like a home owner’s fee you’ll have to cover. There’s amenities like a pool and shit on the first floor, and a grocer’s and stuff nearby. It’ll be perfect for you.”

“Rick, what are you talking about?”

“I got you some clothes and stuff too. In the cl-closet. And extra towels and sheets. I know you like the heavy sheets with the high thread count. I snooped around your place. I know how creepy that sounds.”

None of this made any sense, and your arousal was starting to sour to fear. “Rick--?”

“Come on, I-I-I’ve got something else to show you.”

Before you could protest, he pulled your through another portal.

You stepped out onto a rocky plateau. You could breathe, but the atmosphere was thin because the stars in the sky were crystal clear and it was almost too cold. There was no vegetation. Straining your eyes, you could see the edge of it as well. This wasn’t even a planetoid, this was a desolate chunk of rock drifting through space.

You realized you could see your shadow blinking on and off from a yellow light behind you. Turning, you saw a single building with a flashing neon sign. The words were written in an alien language, but as you stared at them, they started to morph into something you could read.

Before you could fully make them out, however, Rick took your shoulders and turned you to him. 

“I am so sorry, baby,” he said, and he sounded genuinely upset. “The Feds are after me. They got pretty fucking close this time--”

“The Feds?” you interrupted, your gaze inadvertently drawn back to the sign you could almost read now.

“The Galactic Federation!” he said angrily, but that didn’t actually explain anything. “They’re hot on my goddamn tail, and I’m going to have to lay low to shake them off.”

His barely controlled panic finally, really, caught your attention. “What do you mean? What are you talking about, Rick?”

“I’m going to have to live with my family,” he replied, as if that made any sense either. “That’ll keep me safe. But I think you’ve been seen with me, so you may be under surveillance--you might be taken and questioned about me, and that-that . . . that just can’t happen.  The apartment? It’s yours now. They don’t know about it. You should be safe there. And this place? It’s neutral. It’s outside the Federation. I put in a good word for you. I think you’ll like it.”

Unbidden, tears formed in your eyes. “Rick, I don’t understand what you’re saying!”

For the first time since you’d met him, Rick looked remorseful. “I’m sorry, baby.”

From his inside pocket, where he kept his portal gun, he extracted a new device. It was larger and unwieldy, and looked held together with zip ties and some duct tape. He pointed it at you, told you he was sorry again even as you begged him to give you real answers, even as you told him you didn’t care what kind of trouble he was in, you just wanted to be with him, that you thought you loved him, no, please, Rick, please--and you were blinded by a white light as he pulled the trigger.

The world went blank.

When you were finally able to see again, an old man in a lab coat was standing over you, cursing at some unknown piece of equipment in his hand that was smoking and throwing sparks randomly.

“Fucking prototype!” he cursed. “Goddamn piece of shit, falling apart when the fucking trigger was pulled--”

You groaned.

The sound you made drew his attention to you.

“Oh, hey, you okay?” he asked. He sounded like he was feigning concern. “That was some tumble you took!”

He offered you a hand, which you accepted. A tiny thrill nestled in your belly as you stood, but you also felt dizzy. His hand was cool and dry, and even upright, he was much taller than you. His hair was wild spikes of blue, and he wiped a bit of drool off his lower lip. There was an itch in your brain, like some part of you recognized him.

“Do I know you?” you asked, puzzled.

His eyes shifted away from you. “Uh, n-no. Nope! I just happened by when you fell. Here, this key fell out of your pocket. Looks like an apartment key? I had one like that once. The button on top gets you home.”

You accepted it. It did look like a key to a door, and you had to just nod about the button, because there didn’t seem to be any other way to get off this rock.

“And, uh. You said you had an interview. At the Bar?” he continued, waving a hand at the building.

You looked to where he indicated. “The Bar At The End of The Universe”, the yellow neon sign flashed on its roof.

“Yeah, I guess,” you agreed slowly.  You must have hit your head when you fell, because everything was a little blank, but that had to be right. Why else would you be here?

“Well, good luck!” he said, giving you a little push and a nod. A strained smile stretched his face.

“Yeah, okay, thanks.”

You started off towards the door. You had the unmistakable feeling that he was watching you go. When you turned around, you were right.

Still puzzled, you called, “Are you sure I don’t know you?”

The smile, as forced as it was, faded from his face. He looked upset and guilty, but you had no idea why that would be. He just looked so familiar, but he replied quietly,

“No, baby, you don’t know me.”

With that, he waved you on. You studied him a moment more, sure you’d seen him somewhere else, but finally felt awkward enough that you continued to the Bar. You opened the door and walked inside, immediately greeted by a four-armed bouncer who asked your age. Telling him you were here for an interview, he looked you over and directed you to the management.

“We are looking for a new bartender!” you were told. “Rick c-137 put in a good word for you!”

“Rick . . .?” you whispered, mostly to yourself.

“Oh, don’t worry,” you were assured. “He doesn’t come here very often. We get lots of other . . . guests, though.”

The staff who were standing around snickered at that, but you figured that since this was a watering hole for all sorts of aliens, it didn’t mean much.

“With that recommendation, and if you want the job, it’s yours.”

There was a niggling in the back of your mind about this “Rick c-137”, like there was something just out of memory’s reach, but that was neither here nor there at the moment. You warmed to this. You needed a job, and you knew you could bartend, so why not someplace like this?

“I’m Yvonne,” you said, smiling and offering a hand to shake. “People call me You.”

That was how you got a job at The Bar At the End of the Universe.

fin.

[nellie-elizabeth]

Outlander: The Birds & The Bees (4x09)

Finally! Bree and Jamie have met!

Cons:

Something happens when you take these behemoth books and adapt them into a TV show, something I like to call the Les Miserables effect. See the fact that Lizzie sees Roger and Brianna leave together, then later sees that Bree has been hurt, that Bree asks Claire not to tell anyone about Bonnet, that Lizzie sees Roger and tells Jamie and Ian about it... all of these things are from the book, pretty much. But these series of coincidences are cushioned by a lot of other moments, and spread out over several hundred pages of story. But here, all of these plot points have to happen one right after the other, and it starts to seem a little bit... silly. Brianna has sex with a man for the first time, and later that same night is raped, and then finds out she's pregnant. This is some soap-opera stuff, let me tell ya. I guess this isn't a flaw with the episode, more just a consequence of the story being what it is.

I like the actress playing Lizzie just fine, but I still don't really understand why they chose to go this route with the casting. Lizzie should be a tiny little wisp of a girl, one that Bree feels protective over. The change still seems like it's not really adding or enhancing anything, even though the actress is doing a perfectly fine job.

Pros:

Despite the above-mentioned overabundance of plot in this episode, one of the smartest things about it is that it really lingers over the important part. The most vital thing to get across in this episode is that Brianna has been reunited with Claire, and has met Jamie for the first time. The episode needs to linger on this, to really express all of the complicated emotions and relationships going on here, and I feel like it does that very well.

Bree and Jamie just warmed my heart so very much. They did the reunion perfectly. I loved Jamie describing how he always pictured Brianna as a little girl in his head, and Bree starting to cry, and they hug, and it's just... lovely. Later, they go on the bee hunt and get to know each other a little more, and we get the exchange from the books where Jamie tells Brianna she can call him "Da." It's not Gaelic, it's only... simple. I love that so much, and I'm glad it got adapted here. There's a lot of complicated stuff going on in these scenes, because Brianna feels like she's betraying Frank by starting to form a bond with this other father that she only recently discovered. Jamie talks about how grateful he is to Frank, and we can see Brianna coming to accept that she can hold love for both of her fathers in her heart. I think these complicated issues were addressed beautifully... and I love that "Bree" means "Disturbance" in Gaelic. Perfect. Probably the best part is when Jamie tells Claire that Bree called her "Da" and he talks about how she smiles in her sleep... he's just so in love, and he's such a good father. The fact that Jamie Fraser never got to raise a kid from infancy is just kind of heartbreaking, and I love that he surrounds himself with children to call his own (Fergus and Marsali, Young Ian, etc.).

Claire and Brianna have a really fascinating mother/daughter relationship, and I'm still sort of sussing out how I feel about it. In the books, they are quite close, but there are still plenty of instances where we learn that Bree always felt closer to Frank. In the show, I was initially disconcerted because Brianna and Claire have sort of a weird energy about them. They don't seem really all that close. I think they love each other, but I think theirs is a relationship that will develop into a deep friendship now that Brianna is an adult. I think sometimes this happens - children love their mothers and vice versa, but that magical bond isn't what you want it to be. Obviously, Brianna's mother kept a huge secret from her until she was twenty years old. That is bound to color a relationship, and I think we see the legacy of that here, as Claire remains pragmatic when thinking about Brianna's visit. She assumes it to be temporary. She is overjoyed to see her daughter, but assumes she will lose her again soon. That's fascinating.

I really liked the moment when Brianna told Claire that Frank knew she would come through the stones. Frank is a more fascinating character on the show, I think, than he ever was in the books, and the continuing dynamic between Frank, Bree, and Claire, even now that Frank is dead, is really cool to track. We know that Frank was unfaithful to Claire, but in the show's universe, he was acting with Claire's consent. We also know that before he died, Frank was aware that Claire would at some point return to the past to be with Jamie. Imagine living with that! And Brianna now looks back on her childhood and has this completely new understanding of the pain both of her parents have been in for her whole life.

Poor Roger pulls a Ron Weasley, leaving in anger and then trying to come back right away, only to find he's unable. I love that Roger and Bree, despite their terrible fight, both look to make up the next morning. It's only circumstance - and Stephen Bonnet - that prevents them from reuniting immediately and resolving their issues quickly. Again, setting aside the ridiculously coincidental plot, I like that we're seeing Roger and Brianna both as very flawed people who clearly love each other deeply, but aren't entirely sure how to deal with that in their complicated circumstances.

Other small things to mention: we don't get a ton of time with Brianna interacting with Young Ian or Murtagh, but I liked the hints that we saw here. It was cute that Young Ian just took it in stride - he's used to weird stuff happening around Claire. And Murtagh just says "what took you so long?" and instantly adopted her and it was perfect. I hope we get to see more of these relationships develop as we move forward.

That's where I'll stop. Obviously Roger is in a bit of a pickle as we move forward into next week's episode, and despite the silly coincidences leading him to that point, I can't wait to watch Jamie realize his mistake. What a way to meet your son-in-law, man!

8/10

[itsanerdlife]

You Belong to Me 10

(MC Series)

Pairing: Tattoo Artist! Biker! Peter Parker x Single Mom! Reader

Warning: Swearing, mentions of violence, living on the run, angst, panic, guns mentioned, slight violence towards the end.

You work in a diner raising Ade on your own. Peter is in the Saints Revenge MC Club. During a family day at the preschool, they met. Peter runs a shop - St. Skin, when you are in need of a cover up from your past, Peter offers his help. You know better than to get involved with a MC, again. Peter is making promises, you know he can’t keep, not against what wants to get you back into his possession, again. But you don’t want stay away from Peter. But what about the little girl you’re raising the death bed promise you made your sister. Can you risk Ade’s safety letting a biker into their life, risking someone finding the two of you?

Tag List Is Open!!

“Hello Darlin’.” Peter slides into the chair at the counter, grinning at you.

“Well hello.” You laugh, as he leans up on his forearms, leaning across the counter he kisses you quickly. When he settles back into his seat you’re grinning from ear to ear.

Two weeks, two weeks since you’d come clean to Peter, things were good. He stayed at the apartment with you and Ade or you and Ade went to the clubhouse and stayed. The club was watching out for the two of you, those on a need to know bases. Ade couldn’t get enough of Peter being around, when he was away she would sit by the window and watch, anytime she heard the rumble of a motorcycle she would book it for the window to see if it was Peter.

“When do you get off?” He smirks at you.

“My shift ends in about fifteen minutes.” You swat him with the towel in your hand, rolling your eyes at him.

“Pick up short stacks together?” He grins at you.

“You drive?” You wince.

“Okay, one even if we took your death trap I wouldn’t let you drive. Not my style. And I always drive, it’s nice trapping you with me.” He chuckles, winking at you.

“Creeper.” You shake your head.

“What’s wrong with your car?” He changes the subject quickly with a grin.

“It’s making a grinding noise. I had Carrie pick me and Ade up this morning.” You sigh, untying your apron you fold it up placing it in front of Peter.

“I’ll have one of the guys pick it up and bring it over to the shop.” He chuckles, pulling his phone out.

“Shop?” You tip your head.

“Yeah, we own a mechanic shop, well actually it’s Clint’s but it’s a share in the club like St. Skin.” He nods, texting away.

“Right, legal earning.” You nod.

“But still dirty.” He glances up at you a wicked grin parting his lips, you laugh shaking your head as you head for the back to punch out and grab your bag.

“Short stacks.” Peter greets both girls, they look salty with grim looks on their faces. “Babes?” He squats down looking at them.

Sarah throws herself into his arms, Ade wraps her arms around herself. Before you can scoop her up Peter has her right up against his chest, one in each arm as he stands up heading for the truck. He leans against the truck waiting for one of them to speak up, you sigh looking at Ade her brown eyes rimmed with tears as she presses her cheek into Peter’s shoulder. You move to the other side Sarah has the same tear rimmed blue eyes and cheek smooched into Peter’s other shoulder.

“Bad days call for milk shakes and tattoos.” You nod, one hand on each girl’s back you move them in slow circles. Both girls nod, not speaking up, you look at Peter who looks pained, he nods letting you open the door and help him place the girls in their seats.

 “You okay?” Peter pats your thigh pulling you from thought as he drives to St. Skin.

“Just thinking.” You give him a small smile. Ade didn’t have a father figure, and the way she clung to Peter, made your heart melt and hurt at the same time. It was clear he was attached to her as well, but was the smart? Ade involved in the MC life, like you and Bree had been? Were the Saint’s really that different from what you had known? Did Peter really think this could work, with what you were running from?

“Milk shake and tattoo for you too?” He gives you a small smile. The girls quiet in the backseat, both staring out the windows.

“Maybe.” You sigh, running a hand through your hair.

“Alright, spill.” Steve sat on one stool, Sarah in a chair in front of him, her arm palm up as she laid there with her milkshake in the other hand. Peter sat on his stool, Ade in another chair her palm down, milkshake in the other hand. They both looked too little for the chairs made for adults, but they looks content, and as if their day was getting a little better.

“What’s with the long faces short stacks?” Peter looks from Ade to Sarah.

“I don’t have a dad.” Ade gives a deep, sad, pitiful sigh.

“I don’t have a mom.” Sarah gives the same sigh. You, Peter, and Steve stare at each other, holy shit that’s not close to what any of you expected to come out of their mouths.

“What made you say this?” You roll your stool between the girls, looking from one to the other.

“Jackson Bass.” They replied together.

“What did that little maggot say to you?” Your jaw clenches.

“Told me my dad doesn’t want me.” Ade’s eyes on Peter’s marker moving across her skin, you see his hand freeze. You could feel the anger coming off him in waves. You look at Sarah, she sighs.

“My mom doesn’t want me either.” She sighs, her little chest heaves. Steve freezes looking at you, pissed off blue eyes blink back at you.

“You know that’s not true right, Sarah?” Steve softens looking at her.

“Why did mom leave?” Sarah looks at Steve. Oh your heart, you felt for Sarah and Steve.

“She was sick, she wasn’t healthy for you.” Steve sighs, trying to find away to explain that his four year old would understand her mother was an addict and split cause she couldn’t handle being sober.

“Is she going to get better?” Sarah asks softly.

“Maybe one day baby.” Steve nods, Sarah nods in response, letting Steve go back to drawing.

“Do I have a dad, Momma?” Ade surprises you, your mouth opens, but nothing comes out.

“You have the worlds best mom, Ade.” Peter pauses in his drawing, grinning at her. “You have a dad, but he didn’t deserve you or your mom. So, your mom kept you for herself. You get her all to yourself, how cool is that?” Peter smiles.

“And you.” She watches him carefully.

“What?” Peter looks up at her again.

“I have Momma and you. You have Momma and me.” She nods, your heart rips right in two at her words. “That’s what I told Jackson, he said something mean and naughty, so I slapped him.” Ade nods, she’s looking at the walls of pictures.

“You slapped him?” You croak. You look at Steve who has a small smile on his face and you had a feeling it wasn’t from hearing Ade slapped Jackson Bass.

“What did he say?” Peter tips his head watching Ade.

“Momma was a dirty biker whore and I was a bastard.” She gives a sigh. You were out of your stool and snatching the keys to Peter’s truck before you realized your feet were carrying you out of the room and down the hall.

“Y/N?!” Peter shouts after you. “Don’t you do it!” He yells as you rip open the shop door storming out, heading for the parking lot.

You Belong to Me: @mo320     @rileyloves5   @irepeldirt   @sweet-honey15   @letsgetfuckingsuperwholocked   @travelwithwords @lesmiserablememelovingfuck     @yallneedtrek   @pcterpvrker   @petersunderroos   @sarahp879   @i-love-superhero   @lovemarvelousfics   @msshadowboxer   @thinkpretty-blog   @importanttimemachinenerd   @bethanystan   @live-for-the-avengers   @elle88531   @nerdyandexhausted   @buckybarnesappreciationsociety     @live-for-the-fanservice   @mooniessuniverse     @addalaidehoran   @kazuha159   @amandab-ftw   @wintersoldierz107   @youtubehelpsmesurvive     @lovingholland   @mariekoukie6661     @bloodybalerina