#but yeah I just love the heck out of arthur.

[tymptir]

there is a beautiful song by two steps from hell that, for me, amazingly encompasses Arthur's somewhat "exotic", mysterious, but at the same time powerful Dornish nature especially amongst the people at court . . . ironically, it's called " Starfall ".

[goldenn-moments]

merlin: pretends so hard he's not a sorcerer arthur believes him

arthur, who's soulmate is Definitely a socerer, rolling up his sleeves: well if no one else is gonna do it, I'll just do it myself

Merthur fanfiction idea

Soulmate AU were everybody has a mark on their body (it can be something both of them have/will have in common, or just something that represents the other half). The mark is in the color of the eyes the other half has (it can be anything else, but the color is important)

Arthur has a coin (or something else) with is gold. He knows what it means.

His soulmate is a sorcerer.

At first he was scared, but it forced him to look at magic in a different way.

After some time with Merlin as his manservent by his side he started to fall in love with the boy.

But Merlin didn't want to show him his soulmate mark. So Arthur thought it could be possible Merlin was his soulmate.

But Merlin wasn't a sorcerer...

So Arthur started to talk with Merlin about magic, everytime there was a magic attack he asked Merlin for help. He even gave him a magic book he found in the old library.

He wanted to turn Merlin into a sorcerer.

Merlin is confused and scared. Does Arthur know?

Of course Merlin has a blue coin on his skin, but was afraid Arthur wouldn't accept him as his soulmate.

[softrozene]

Being Romantic with Their S/O

Anon asked: Hello! Just found your blog and what you’ve written looks great. Could I request romantic headcanons or Javier and Kieran with their s/o please?

rdr2 masterlist

Oh heck yeah, lovely anon. I hope this is to your liking!

Originally published on January 14, 2020

Javier, Kieran x Reader (Gender-Neutral/Nonbinary)

Warnings: none

Javier Escuella -

He is a dreamsicle

Listen- I see this man as a mix of Arthur and Charles when it comes to relationships

If you remember the bar scene early on in the game Javier and Charles was a smooth motherfucker until Arthur ruined it lmao

Anyway- I bring up Arthur because in a real relationship Javier wouldn’t be as smooth. Why? This man is passionate in relationships and he wouldn’t want to mess this up with you

Sooooo that’s when the nerves come in- He second guesses himself- He calls in his inner Arthur and becomes an absolute fool but he will do that all with passion and no regrets

He will 100% do small PDA if you allow that

Since he’s one of the more quiet fellows though, he would be watching you work as you do your chores in camp

100/10 writes songs for you in his native language

Will sing them for the group since they have no idea what the heck they are about

And he will only translate when both of you are alone

He’s the one who is so incredibly soft with you and as soon as someone else comes into the proximity he’ll flip a switch and glare daggers into them- yearning for their demise since his special time with you one-on-one comes to a halt

If you bring drinks into this- he would be a sleepy/grumpy drunk

He wouldn’t care where he is or who is there he will climb onto your lap and pass the heck out

I also imagine in that sleepy/grumpy drunken haze he would be professing his love for you for like the tenth time in a row

Would melt if you just call him Javi

He’s up most nights so he would have no problem playing/singing a soft lullaby for you if you need it

Kieran Duffy -

Is straight-up a puppy with you

If it won’t cause you any inconvenience he would follow you around camp and just bask in your presence since he really can’t do much

It would be his honor to help you around

He would show you how he takes care of the horses, how he talks to them, just be a total cutie about it

Would have his self-doubts about having you- Is he good enough? Do you still think he has ties to the O’Driscolls? Do you trust him? – He would never bring this up though, you would have to bring it up and reassure him

He wouldn’t do PDA- He doesn’t want you to receive any harsh words that the others may joke

That and he doesn’t feel worthy, probably wouldn’t for quite a while : (

Whenever you are near him, he can’t help but be all smiles

Honestly feels like he’s at home here with the Van Der Linde gang if you’re by his side

Will gain courage with you as his pillar of support

Is gentle/sweet with his words and would always give you praise in whatever you do

Always has a compliment for you every five minutes

Thinks you are the most amazing person he’s ever come by

When he gets used to the relationship he would be brave and initiate touches

Once he gets used to the idea that you are actually is and he is yours, he will be even more head over heels in love

He knows all of your likes and dislikes and will always have a small gift waiting for you on your bed

Will always give you cheek and forehead kisses upon greeting you

Will love to share his newfound dreams and hopes of the future he envisions with you

He will malfunction if you share your thoughts of the future being with him

Will honestly think this is a dream for the most part

Overall, a good soft boi who deserves all the happiness

[otomiyaa]

Reality

Arthur x Eames (Inception)

[Fic Reupload] - This ship came by on my dashboard and I was like GASP, I've got a fic with those! You'd say this one's ancient but it's from 2020.

Summary: Eames wants to tickle Arthur, and more. In reality, not just in his dreams. That is all. (Also on AO3)

Word Count: 1.8K

His laughter was gorgeous, he thought. His face as he laughed was adorable, he thought. The sound of his laughter was like music, he thought. He also thought that this was all he could work with, for now: Eames and his very own imagination.

“Eheheames! S-stop!” Smirking, Eames pinned Arthur down and tickled his sides.

“Thought you could get away from me, hm? Did you really think so?” Eames teased as his fingers traced the other man’s abs, sneaking under his shirt and poking him anywhere to make him yelp and giggle.

“Nohoho!” Arthur writhed and squirmed to get away from his fingers, but he found something new to tickle with each turn and twist.

“Don’t think so darling,” he taunted when Arthur managed to squirm away juuust a little, and he caught him again and practically almost dove under his shirt to get more skin to feel, and different sorts of laughter to hear.

Ever since meeting Arthur again, it was all he could think and dream of. Heck, it was only a dream. Not reality. Who was Eames kidding? Himself, of course. 

Oh. And Ariadne, it seemed. 

His breath got caught in his throat and he staggered back upon seeing her familiar face as she stepped towards them. With his attacker caught off guard, the adorable giggling Arthur sped away and managed to escape to wherever. Out of sight, at least.

“Mr. Eames?” Eames knew this Ariadne was real. No projection. Very real. He smiled, sighing as he caught his breath.

“Well hello there,” he said, raising his hands in defense. She cocked her head, looking curious and confused about what she just saw, a smile on her face. Well duh.

“Was that..?” She pointed in the direction where Arthur ran off to, and Eames choked out an awkward laugh.

“That? Oh. No, that wasn’t Arthur. No. My projection of him. You see….” He canceled his explanation and glared at her.

“I mean, what are you doing here?” he asked her, cutting off his own explanation. She shrugged.

“I came back to work on some of the layouts. I think I missed some details in the hotel level, and Fischer has to believe it’s real and… Well yeah. I didn’t expect you to still be in here. I thought maybe you were working on our case and came to check,” Ariadne said.

“And I didn’t expect you to be so nosy,” Eames said, still partially breathless from his struggle just now. Thank God he wasn’t dreaming of… other things this time. Guilty of that? Yeah, guilty. 

A smile appeared on Ariadne’s face.

“But honestly, that looked like fun. You should do it for real sometime. Arthur could use a laugh,” she said. Eames blinked.

“Eh that - you mean, yes. Yes - yes - you’re right! He does deserve to laugh some, doesn’t he? I thought so too. Which was why I was trying it out in my dream first. But I guess we can only imagine what his laughter sounds like. What did you think? Believable?” he asked. Ariadne shrugged and thought for a bit while Eames collected his thoughts and calmed down from that insane ramble.

Holy shit. None of that was really true. He came here to tickle Arthur and get off on that shit. He loved the idea of him laughing and writhing at his mercy. Those were the dreams he longed to live in everyday.

It was the only thing that could make him, a renowned Forger, blush and feel embarrassed. To an extent that he didn’t see it was as simple as Ariadne suggested. He could tickle him for real, not just in his dreams. He could tickle him, and it wouldn’t necessarily be weird. If he could control his crotch and every horny vein in his body that is.

“Sorry, what did you say?” he said when Ariadne looked at him with questioning eyes. She laughed charmingly.

“I said, I expect his laugh to be a little more… I don’t know. Pitchy? I could be wrong.”

Eames couldn’t hold back a laugh of his own. “So that’s how you see him?”

He ended up going with her, waking back up again and hearing her out some more. He felt comfortable to talk to her about Arthur. He had an idea she might suspect his intentions, or at least she might have seen a glimpse, but then again she never said anything about it. 

So that evening, they talked about Arthur, for how long he knew him and when they first met, about his serious demeanour, what his real laughter would sound like, and whether he would be ticklish, and if yes, where exactly.

It was the next day when he saw his chance. He was in the building with Arthur and Ariadne, Cobb was working on something with Yusuf, and he could see from the smirk on Ariadne’s face that she just wanted him to try it, and he was thankful for it. For he, Eames himself had been longing to do this for such a long time without wanting it to get too weird.

“Hey, Arthur,” he said to the Point Man who stood hovered over their dream level layouts, studying something.

“Eames,” Arthur said absentmindly, not looking up from his work. Eames smirked and wiggled his eyebrows at Ariadne.

“Look over there,” Eames said casually as he pointed at something random in the distance. He wanted to snicker when Arthut fell for it, looking up to see nothing.

“Wha-?” His moment of distraction was Eames’ chance to sneak an arm around his middle and he instantly clawed at his unprotected side. Arthur jolted heavily in response, a gasp escaping his lips.

“Eames what the -” They struggled for a moment, knocking a few things over as they staggered a little before Eames managed to wrestle him down. 

“Asshole! Get off, the fuck are you.. Hngh!” Arthur jolted again when Eames pinched his hipbone, and he smirked down at him. 

“Tougher than we thought, hm?" Eames looked up at Ariadne who was simply smirking. Sure, Eames had never thought how easy it’d be to hide his guilty desire under the excuse of a simple wish to tease the ever so serious Point Man and make him laugh. Anyone would feel the same.

“EAmes! GEheet ohohoff!” Arthur’s voice shook, the first few giggles broke through his defense, but he remained tough. 

“Ah come on now. Let us hear something nice, Arthur!” Eames teased, and he moved up again and poked at Arthur’s side. Arthur’s body jumped but failed to get out of Eames’ reach, and he hungrily began to claw at both his sides, five fingers clawing at each side. Arthur threw his head back and laughed.

“Fuhuhuck! AHah! I hahaate you!” he cried out. Eames raised his eyebrows.

“Do you now?” he raised his head and winked at Ariadne who looked totally entertained.

“Looks like both of us were kind of right,” she said. His laughter was not exactly like Eames had imagined, it couldn’t really be called pitchy either. though at times Eames would hit a certain sensitive area and Arthur went like “Eeheh!” which sounded totally squeaky.

“Stahahap! The hehehell!” Still confused and overwhelmed by the sudden tickle assault, Arthur continued to squirm and struggle, but Eames was by far not done with him. He tried to ignore his own racing heart and the heat in his body as his hands tugged Arthur’s shirt out of his pants and dove right under.

“GAhah! Eheheames!” Arthur warned, arching his back as he tried to escape ten fingers that crawled over his bare skin now. Eames laughed along with him.

“Yes, darling?” he teased, and he could hear his own voice sounding a bit wheezy as well. He wiggled his fingers against Arthur’s warm skin, tickling his stomach, his belly, his sides and ribs, anywhere he could reach and anywhere he thought could make him let out more of that beautiful laughter.

Arthur’s arms went from flailing helplessly to waving in his direction in weak attempts to knock him off, and at some point he was desperately trying to pry his hands off.

“Quihihit it dahahamnh it!” Arthur laughed. Eames chuckled and looked back up again, then around him. Ariadne was gone. Where had she gone? He looked around a few more times. She really was gone. They were alone right now. In his moment of distraction, he lost some of his control over the hysterical Point Man who by now shoved him away - hard - and managed to roll away.

“Fuck Eames, quit messing around!” Arthur warned angrily as he staggered away from him, but with renewed motivation and strength, Eames went after him and pounced very easily. 

“AHAhah! Shihihit!” In an instant, he had Arthur under him again. He aimed further up this time: his armpits, and Arthur looked shocked, offended and overall awfully ticklish all at the same time by having such a spot tickled by the plotting Forger. 

Shoving one of Arthur’s prying hands out of the way and pushing it up over his head, Eames scribbled at his defenseless underarm, making Arthur howl adorably.

“See, darling? You can be cute. Some more of this and that eternal frown that grew on your forehead’s all gone,” Eames teased breathlessly. 

“Stahahap! Eames -stop!” Well, both Eames and Ariadne had probably never guessed the Point Man to be this ticklish. Eames had wished to try a lot more, but his crush seemed to have reached his limit by far, so he reluctantly ceased the attack, but he remained on top of him as they both caught their breaths.

“You’re a dick,” Arthur managed to say between heavy breaths. Eames nodded.

“Yeah. And?” he said. Arthur looked as if he was blushing, but Eames knew his face probably colored because of all that forced laughter. He shook his head.

“Just… a dick,” Arthur finished. Eames shrugged.

“Yep. Alrighty then.” He finally got up and moved off him, helping him up and patting his shoulder. Even that innocent touch made Arthur flinch and giggle, and Eames melted right on the spot. 

“Damn Arthur,” he hissed, and he pulled him closer and kissed him on the lips. All of his control slipped away in that very last moment. Arthur froze at first, but Eames was happily surprised to feel him respond in a positive way. With surprising strength for someone just tickled to death, Arthur pushed him back against the wall and kissed him back.

Their lips locked, tongues touching, feeling and exploring, and they shared a long, lustful and heated kiss. After which Arthur pulled back, and whispered against Eames’ lips: “Still a dick.” He then very quickly walked away. Eames couldn’t keep the smug smile away from his face. Damn that was good.

“Hey, where are you going?” he called out after Arthur who seemed in quite a hurry to leave, and he went after him. If this was his reality, how had he been living with only his dreams so far? He had some reality to catch up to!

[writting-stuff-sometimes]

Christmas time - Charles x fem reader

Summary: You return home for Christmas and fin yourself spending it with and old lover and his family.

Warnings: None, just fluff and some angst.

AN: From the topic, you might know since when I've been working on this but I finally decided to finish it, I was going to wait till Christmas to publish it but what the heck. As you can see I have a thing for exes, writing here it's cheaper than therapy. As always feedback it's appreciated, accepting requests, and let me know if you would like to be added to the tag list.

Christmas had always been a confusing time for you, you thought of it as too cheese but at the same time you could spend a whole weekend just watching and crying over Christmas movies, so now that you were coming back home for the holidays after being away for so long, it felt as if you were in one of them.

You had been living in the US for 5 years, and like in all those stupid chick flicks, you had moved to the other side of the world because you wanted to escape your life after a painful breakup and the US was far enough from everyone you knew, and a certain sport your ex was part of. You were supposed to be studying there for 2 years but then the pandemic hit and you got stuck, you found a job that started as a part time but eventually became full time.

"Mom, are you serious? isn't Christmas a holiday you're supposed to spend with family?" you said as you struggle to wrap a present.

"What are you talking about? The Leclerc's are family! Don't you remember how many vacations we've spend together? the summers at the lake and winters up in the cabin? You, Lorenzo and Charles in your onesies playing in the snow as baby Arthur followed all of you around?"

Now you were kind of getting why you felt how you felt about christmas, your mom was in love with the holiday and it was cute but exhausting at the same time.

"Have you talk to them? I heard they went to the US a couple of times this year" In her defense, she had no idea you and Charles had been dating for a few months, actually as far as you knew only your best friend and Lorenzo knew about it after they found you making out in his kitchen one night after a party.

"No, we lost track of each other after I moved" you lied and returned to your wrapping task, actually Charles did try reaching out to you when he found out you moved and again when he went to race there, but you had all rights to ignore his calls and messages, the day you broke up he had been an ass.

_____________

The fight started when you confronted him about some pictures of him at a nightclub in Austria, you had no problem with him having fun after a stressful weekend, the girl grinding her ass against his body, his hand on her waist and the fact that it wasn't the first time this had happened, was the problem.

"It was a fan, I didn't want to be rude", Clearly this superstar status had gone to his head. "They don't know I have a girlfriend! You want me to be rude?"

"And who decided we shouldn't tell anyone?"

"You know why I don't want them to..."

"Yeah, yeah protecting our privacy, I would buy that story if you weren't going around the fucking world letting girls grind against you every five fucking minutes!"

"Well, I don't know what to tell you, I won't change my mind about it" The defiant look on his face told you everything you needed to know and now it was your turn to make a decision.

"Don't worry, you don't have to lie to your fans anymore" You stormed out of his room, that was the last time you spoke to each other.

You cried for weeks, you actually loved him but seeing pictures of him with a different girl at parties and nightclubs after every race weekend was just too painful. It only took you a couple of weeks to realize that staying in Monaco was a bad idea, his face and name were all over the place. One day, like a miracle fallen from the sky, one of your teachers told you about a scholarship to study in the US, you didn't think it twice and applied, and two months later you were boarding a plane to New York.

A couple of days after you arrived to the US, Charles tried every posible way of getting in touch with you, but you sticked to your decision and ignored all his messages.

You couldn't actually say you had fallen out of love, the good moments had been amazing and those you would cherish forever. _______

"I don't have anything to wear tho" it was a lame excuse but you really wanted to escape the awkward christmas weekend your mom had planned.

"Oh, don't worry about it, I bought you a cute dress, it's in your closet!"

You finished loading the van with the tons of things your mom wanted to take for the weekend-long stay at the Lecrerc's cabin and finally went upstairs to deal with the stress of seeing your ex, you threw yourself on your childhood bed and closed your eyes.

"Hi sweety, can I come in?" Your dad knocked on your door.

"Dad! Of course" You rushed to hug him

"I missed you so much" he said as he kissed your head.

"Miss you too"

"You need to come more often" he brushed your hair like he used to when you were little.

"I know, I wish I could"

"Honey, don't forget to try on the dress" Your mom yelled from downstairs and you sight in exhaustion, you loved your mom but spending the holidays with your ex and his family wasn't on your list for a great christmas.

"I know, but Pascale has been really nice to your mom now that you've been away, you know how much she misses you"

"I was expecting to be just with you guys"

"C'mon sweety, this will be fun. Aren't you excited to see a certain Leclerc?" a mischievous smile on your dad's face made your heart fall to your feet.

"What are you talking about?" you almost choked on your own saliva.

"Darling, we all knew about your crush on Lorenzo, it was endearing" you unclenched your jaw when you heard Lorenzo's name. Your dad wasn't wrong tho when you were like 5 or 6 you had a crush on your friend's big brother; it was natural, you used to spend a lot of time at their house, and he was older and very attractive.

"That was a long time a go, dad" You smiled at the memory.

"I know, but it will be nice to spend some time all together, specially after they lost Hervé and our only daughter decided to move so far away" He looked at you with such loving eyes, you could just say yes with your head "Your mom's been quiet for too long, let me go see what that lady is up to" he hugged you again and left your room.

You walked to your closet and took the dress cover bag.

"Are you serious?" you couldn't help to say out loud as you took the red body con dress from the hanger. It was a beautiful, but it being ferrari red felt like life was mocking you. You took a couple of calming breaths as you tried to accept that you were fucked, the only "party" attire in your suitcase wasn't exactly family gathering material and it was too late to go shopping, that dress was your only option.

The next morning before the sun was up you were already in the back of your mom's van on your way to the country side, it was a two hour drive to the Leclerc's cabin, you tried to catch some sleep and fight the jet lag, but anxiety wouldn't let you and before you knew it you were parking next to a red alfa romeo.

"Oh my God!! Y/n!!! darling, what a wonderful surprise" a surprised Pascale rushed to hug you as soon as you got off the van.

"Hi, it's nice to see you too" You hugged her back, you did really like Pascale, she had always been like a second mother.

As she turned to greet your dad, you turned to your mother.

"They didn't knew I was coming?" You asked in a low voice.

"No, I wanted for it to be a cute surprise" Your mom said with a big smile and then turned to hug her best friend.

"Come on in, the boys are going to be so happy to see you" She took you by the shoulders and dragged you inside the house as you pulled your suitcase.

"I wouldn't bet on it" you thought to yourself.

"Boys! come help with the bags!" She yelled as she entered the house "Wait 'till they see you!, want something to drink?" She pulled you inside the kitchen.

"Mom, where are we putting tomorrow's dinner thi..." Charles cut himself off and stopped in the middle of the kitchen entrance when he saw you.

"Mate, move! you're in the way" Arthur pushed Charles to the side walking in with a couple of bags "Y/N!" the youngest Leclerc let the bags fall over the kitchen table and rushed to hug you.

"Hi, Art" You said almost out of breath from the tight hug. "Oh my, you look so grown up!"

"Don't be fooled, it's just the outside" Said Lorenzo as he entered the kitchen with more bags, setting them on the table and pushing Arthur away to hug you "It's so nice to see you"

"Same" You hugged him back.

"This is a Christmas miracle" Lorenzo said as he turned to look at Charles with a cheeky grin on his face, he knew exactly what was happening and he found it incredibly amusing "I'm so glad I didn't skip christmas this year" He whispered as he walked past Charles.

"Shut up" Charles whispered back.

"Hi, Y/n" Charles left the bags on the floor, walked towards you and got his arms around your body as you shily hugged him back, his scent and body heat felt so familiar like it had been just a couple of days since the last time you two had been cuddling in his bed. "It's nice to see you," he said against your ear, his soft warm breath brushing your neck giving you goosebumps.

"It's nice to see you too"

You could feel Lorenzo's sight on you as he was bitting his cheek trying not to burst out laughing at the awkwardness between you two, thank God it was only him who noticed.

All of you finished unloading the van and tried to organize the sleeping situation.

"I can totally sleep on the couch, Pascale, don't worry about it" You said as soon as she offered to give you Charles' room.

"Oh no darling, you're not sleeping on the couch, Charles can sleep with Lorenzo or with Arthur, don't worry about it"

"But..."

"Don't even try, you won't convince her, let me" Said Charles taking your bag from your hand and walked up the stairs.

You followed him to his room. As soon as you walked in a thousand memories rushed trough your mind, during your relationship you had gone up to that cabin a few times, it was the only place you two could be alone.

"Thanks" You said in a low voice when he left your bag on his bed.

"You're welcome" He turned to look at you, you held his gaze a couple of seconds before his beautiful green eyes got your heart rushing a thousand miles and you had to look somewhere else trying to catch your breath, you walked to his closet to hang the dress bag.

"I called you, several times"

"I know" You said as you awkwardly played with the plastic material.

"I wanted to..."

"Mate, mom is calling you" Arthur walked in startling both of you.

"I'll be right there"

"Now" Said Arthur and walked down the stairs.

"We should go" you nervously said and followed Art downstairs.

Your mom, Pascale, Enzo and yourself prepared lunch as your dad talked to Arthur and Charles about the last racing season.

The whole group sat to have lunch, Pascale asked you about your life in New York, your apartment, your job, your friends.

"...and is there a special someone?" your mom's friend asked with a mischievous grin on her face, you noticed how Charles tensed at the question and Lorenzo noticed too.

"Yeah, are you breaking many hearts?" Lorenzo added, softly kicking his brother under the table, Charles flipped him off discretely as he "scratched" his cheek.

"Not as many as you Enzo, are you still dating Adrianne?" You diverted the attention successfully.

After lunch everyone moved to sit outside around the deck fireplace, night came and it started snowing which meant it was time to go to sleep, there was a lot to do the next morning.

You laid in Charles's bed, his scent was as intoxicating as it was soothing, you couldn't lie, you missed that smell, once you even ended up dating a guy just because he used the same cologne.

After an hour of trying to fall asleep and failing miserably at it, you gave up and decided to go prepare yourself a hot cup of tea. You got your robe on and walked down to the kitchen.

You prepared your tea and went to sit outside by the fireplace, the snow had stopped, it was cold but a couple of logs were still burning to give just enough heat to make it enjoyable.

"You're going to catch a cold" Charles' voice scared you, making you spill some hot tea over your hand.

"Ahhh, ouch"

"Shit!" Charles rushed to your side taking some snow from one of the chairs, he kneeled in front of you and placed the snow over your hand. "I'm sorry, I didn't meant to scare you" he turned to look at you.

"It's ok" He kept his hand on yours, and you stood still for a while as the snow melted between your hands.

"I'm sorry" he said again.

"It's ok, it wasn't that hot anymore"

"I'm not talking about the tea" his voice in that low pitch that let you know this was a serious matter.

"Charles, you don't need to... I don't...I'm.." You had no idea what to say, you had rehearsed this conversation a thousand times in your head and had worked amazing responses to every possible apology or complaint, but having him right there, kneeling in front of you with his hand caressing yours was just too much for your brain to process, you couldn't even look at him.

"Listen, I was an asshole, I let stupid ideas get to my head, I did a lot of stupid things, and I've regretted them every single day since the moment you walked out my door."

"Y/n" he took your chin and made you look up at him "I'm sorry, I've missed you so fucking much" your chest moved faster, no coherent thought in your mind.

"It's getting cold, we should go inside" you removed your hand from his and walked directly to his room without looking back. You were overwhelmed, you still had feelings for him, but it had been too long, you had a life in New York. It broke your heart to think that maybe you had wasted your only chance to be with him.

It was around 3 or 4 am when you finally cried yourself to sleep.

A soft knock on the door woke you up.

"Come in" you sat on the bed and tried to fix your hair.

"Good morning" Lorenzo walked in the room, a tray in his hands with a cup of coffee and a couple pancakes.

"Hi, thanks" You took the tray from his hands and took a small sip of coffee, it was so good.

"You're welcome, I figured that after staying up late you could use some breakfast in bed" You looked at him confused.

"My window it's right above the deck"

"Oh, sorry about that"

"Don't worry about it. But, he really is sorry, you have no idea how many times he begged for me to call you, he knew you would answer my calls, but to be honest I didn't think he deserved you then"

"And now?"

"I've been to New York, it ain't that cool, and I would love to see you around Monaco and the tracks more often" He winked at you and walked out of the room.

You had your breakfast in bed as you tried to figure out what the fuck were you supposed to do with what you felt and what Lorenzo had told you. It was almost noon, you had a shower and finally walked downstairs to help with the Christmas preparations for that evening.

The smell coming from the kitchen was amazing, your mom and Pascale were the greatest cooks you've ever met, actually, their food was one of the things you missed the most after you moved.

"Oh, I almost forgot, I ordered some bread from the town and I think we might need a couple more wine bottles" Pascale said as she looked at a message on her phone.

"I can go pick it up" You offered, you were used to being questioned by your mom every time you called home, but now there were two of them bombarding you with a ton of questions, making you feel a bit overwhelmed, so a lonely trip to the village seemed like a great way to take a breather.

"Darling, I don't know, you haven't driven on this side of the road for a while, and the road might be snowed" If only your mother knew how many times you had taken Charles's car out for a spin and done pretty reckless stunts.

"I can drive you" Charles offered walking in the kitchen.

"Yes, let Charles drive you" Great, it had gone from bad to worse.

"But...ok" You knew trying to convince your mom to let you go on your own was a lost cause and saying no to the offer would seem weird and offensive, you took your jacket and walked outside.

You both were so nervous, the only sound in the car was the music coming from the speakers, you couldn't help to look at him out of the corner of your eye, he was tense as he kept a tight grip on the steering wheel and you found it incredibly attractive, one of the things you enjoyed the most when dating Charles was looking at him as he was driving, the way his hands worked the steering wheel and his sight focused on the road was something that turned you on.

You finally got to the village and walked inside a small store, you split the list of things and walked your own way to get them all.

"Y/n?" someone called your name behind you.

"Oh my, Ed, hi!" You hugged the guy standing behind you, he had been one of your uni classmates.

"It's so nice to see you, how's everything, how's New York?"

"It's good, how are you?"

"Same old, same old, how long are you going to be here? We should go get a coffee or something"

"Y/n" Charles spoke before you could answer "Two chardonnays should be good? we have 3 merlots at home" He said showing the two wine bottles he was holding in his left hand, as his right arm grabbed you nonchalantly by the waist.

"Oh, sorry mate, hi, Charles" Charles left the wine bottles in the shopping cart and extended his hand to shake Ed's but kept his arm around you.

"Hi, no worries, you are... Charles Leclerc"

"Yeah"

"Wow, uhm, big fan"

"Thanks" Charles smiled at your friend, from the outside this all seemed innocent and nice, but you knew he was marking his territory. "We need to hurry, we still need to stop by the bakery" He said looking at you in a way that made your heart skip a beat, it had been so long since he had looked at you in that way.

"I should go too, I still got some presents to buy, it was nice to see you y/n, and nice to meet you Charles, good luck on the next season"

"Thanks, mate, appreciated" Charles shook his hand, and as you took a step forward to kiss your friend goodbye, his arm never left your body. When Ed was out of sight you turned to look at Charles inquisitively as he took the spices from your hand and placed them in the tiny shopping cart.

"Let's go" He pushed the cart as if nothing had happened and walked to the register.

"Stop looking at me like that" he finally said as you were on the drive back to the cabin.

"That was low"

"I don't know what you're talking about" he faked innocence.

"Make him think we're together, that was low"

"You went with it, didn't you?" You instantly blushed at his comment.

"I did it just so you wouldn't look like a fool"

A soft breathy laugh left his mouth as he turned to stop in a hiking trail parking lot.

"What are you doing?" you asked confused as he turned off the car.

"Come" he got off the car, confused you did as he said, he leaned against the hood of the car and you walked towards him.

"Charles?" You asked as you stood a safe distance from him, your arms crossed over your chest.

"We need to talk"

"Charles, please, I..." You rubbed your eyes in slight despair, you were pretty much in the middle of nowhere there was no escaping from him this time.

"Please, just listen to me, if when I'm done you don't want to talk about it anymore, we'll get in the car and we never talk about this ever again, but right now, just listen to me, ok?" his beautiful green eyes made you weak and you couldn't say no.

"Ok"

"Y/n, I really am sorry, I swear nothing happened with any of those girls, I never cheated on you..."

"Charles..."

"Shut... up!" His voice was a soft growl as he took you by your arms and pulled you a little closer to him, you stared into his eyes, frozen "Please, listen to me, I know I've said I'm sorry like a million times in the last 24 hours, but I really feel like I owe you so many apologies. I was an asshole, I could try to explain myself but at the end of the day I was young and stupid, and I let this "famous driver" shit get to my head, I lost myself, and on the way, I ended up losing the most amazing and wonderful woman ever. I pushed you away and you had all right to kick me out of your life, but please, if there's just one small part of you that would like to try this again, please, I'm begging you, just give me one more chance, please"

You felt your heart rush, you had thought about this moment a million times, and 90% of them the answer was negative, not because you didn't love him, but because you could see how happy he was without you, winning races, taking pictures with fans, partying with the rest of the drivers, having the freedom he seemed to miss when he was with you.

"Y/N?"

"How do I know this isn't going to end up badly? You've been single for the last 5 years, are you sure you want to give up all you have?"

"I'm not the same idiot you left 5 years ago, I swear, I don't need anyone but you, I don't WANT anyone but you" He pulled you closer, his arms around your waist in a tight hug as you keep your arms crossed over your chest trying to put as much distance between you two. "I know I'm asking for a lot, you have a life somewhere else and I swear I wouldn't be asking for another chance if I didn't actually mean it, I swear on everything that's sacred for me, that I'm going to do my best to make this work and make you the happiest girl in the world, but please give me another chance"

"Are you sure this isn't just the holiday blues? what if I hadn't come this Christmas, would you feel the same?" Your rational side fighting hard against the side that just wanted to wrap your arms around his neck and kiss him.

"Do you really think I just came up with this?" A soft smile escaped his lips as he unhooked one of his arms from around your waist and took his cell phone from his jacket, he clicked around for a bit, then turned the screen towards you as he slowly scrolled through the screen, there were dozens of undelivered messages, you could only catch a few words but most of them were of how much he missed you and begging for you to forgive him and come back. "The last one is from last week, I've missed you every day for five years"

You turned to look at him, this movement from your head making the tears that flooded your eyes fall down your cheeks. He got his phone inside his jacket and cleaned your tears with his fingers.

"I love you, y/n, and you can say no, I don't want to force you to do anything, you don't even have to give me an answer right now, but just think about it, ok?"

You couldn't talk and you just nodded your head.

"Good, now let's go, it's getting dark" He leaned in and kissed your lips so softly that if your eyes had been closed you would have doubted it ever happen. He led you to the passenger seat, opened the door for you, and then went to get inside the car.

You drove in silence again, you knew your answer but were you making the right decision?

As he pulled next to your parent's van you fixed yourself as much as you could.

"Darling, what took you so long?" Pascale walked towards you to help with the bags.

"Sorry, I found an old friend and caught up talking" You excused yourself before Charle could say anything.

As the boys helped with setting the table and bringing in more wood for the fireplace, you couldn't help to notice how good was the relationship between your dad and the Leclerc boys, he had turned into their father figure and it filled your heart, you knew this kind of relationship between your dad and any other guy in your life was going to be impossible. Tears started forming in your eyes again.

"All done" you said setting the last couple of cookies on the cooling rack "I'm going to get dressed" You quickly removed the apron and rushed upstairs before anyone could notice your watery eyes.

As you walked inside the bedroom you saw a small red box on the bed, you took it and opened it slowly to find a beautiful gold tuberose necklace and a handwritten note inside.

"I've had this for years and I finally got the chance to give it to you, I remember that night you called our love a "Tuberose love" because it seemed it only bloomed hidden in the dark, but this is a gold tuberose, it can bloom day or night, as long as it's around your neck.

I love you, always,

Charles"

You cried and held the beautiful necklace in your hand.

You showered and got ready, you looked at yourself in the mirror, the red dress looked better than you ever imagined, maybe that Ferrari red wasn't a bad idea after all, maybe that color could grow on you again. You got the necklace around your neck, the gold piece shining perfectly over the fabric.

"Come on kids, it's time" Your dad yelled from downstairs, you took a last deep breath and walked down to meet everyone.

Charles' eyes lit up as soon as he saw you enter the dining room, his sight focused on the gold detail hanging from your neck and he couldn't help to smile, he pulled the chair by his side and gestured you to take a seat next to him.

You sat by his side as everyone else took their places, he looked around and you took his hand under the table, he turned to look at you and you noticed his eyes were red as if he was about to cry.

"All good?" you whispered worried

"Never been better" he smiled and gave your hand a little squeeze.

You had dinner, the best Christmas dinner to date.

It was close to 3 am when the parents decided it had been enough for them and left for bed, Lorenzo and Arthur went to get some more wood and Charles took the chance to sit next to you on the living room floor, putting a blanket over your bodies as he placed his arm around your shoulders.

"Thanks" you said taking the necklace and looking at it.

"You're welcome, I'm glad you liked it" He kissed your hair.

"I love it... not as much as I love you, tho" You finally said, his face turned fast to look at you as you turned to look at him.

"So... you...uhm" He stutter

"Did I just make Charles Leclerc stutter?" you smiled teasingly.

"Shut up" he said as he took your face and pulled you in for a kiss, that kiss you had waited for so long.

"What the hell?" Arthur yelled as he dropped the logs on the living room floor.

"Well, this time it can't be a secret, this one can't keep his mouth shut" Said Lorenzo leaving the logs next to the fireplace.

"This time? why am I always the last one to find this shit out!?, You have a lot of explaining to do" Said Arthur inquisitively as he sat across from you.

Tag List: @wtrmlnsgr94, @ricsaigaslec

[valerileygreen]

Arthur used to believe his destiny was written in the stars. More specifically, he believed the stars were his destiny, ever since he first learned about them and fell in love.

He was just a little boy when his father first took him stargazing, showing him the constellations and telling him the stories behind them. That night Arthur learned about a brilliant star named Arcturus, and maybe it was just how similar their names were but he felt a connection. He thought it was a sign.

The memory comes back to Arthur now, as he’s tucked safely against Eames’ side (finally, finally) in the aftermath of inception, with Eames’ fingers gently tracing the outline of his tattoo.

“I wouldn’t have pegged you for the tattoo type, darling.” Eames breaks the blissful silence between them.

“I'm not really.” Arthur shrugs non-committally. “There's just the one.” 

“Oh yes, I’m well aware of that, pet, rest assured. What does it mean?”

And Arthur feels suddenly uncharacteristically shy, which seems incongruous at this point, with Eames. Eames, who is inarguably the person who knows him best now, but maybe that’s the point. For all he knows about him, Eames doesn’t know this part of Arthur, the bright-eyed little boy who fell in love with the stars. It’s a part of him that feels so distant and yet so intimate, and Arthur feels weirdly protective of that boy that was him, that still is him in some way. So he deflects. He shifts his head a little and raises an eyebrow, trying for nonchalance. “It’s just a constellation.”

But of course, he knows that Eames would never be fooled, his reluctance in full display for the forger’s sharp eyes to catch. If anything, it’s only going to fuel his interest, turning a passing curiosity into an intriguing mystery. 

“Yeah, I can see that, thank you very much.” Eames states somewhat sarcastically. “But why? Knowing you, you didn’t just get it for the heck of it. Unless you were just young and stupid.” A shit-eating smirk spreads on Eames’ face. “Oh, it's that, innit? Darling, you sho- Ow!” 

A well-aimed swat to the stomach cuts him off. “Shut up Eames!”

“I'm just saying, it's nothing to be embarrassed about. I have a couple of those myself.”

Arthur snorts. “Why am I not surprised? But no, I was just young. Impulsive maybe. But I don't regret it. It’s a good token.”

“Ah, so there is a reason behind it.” Eames smiles, still with a teasing lilt in his tone, satisfied. But then he must read something on Arthur’s face, because he turns serious, tightening his arm around his shoulders a bit, as if to ease the tension seeping in, his voice softer. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, you know?”

Arthur knows it. He knows that if he says he doesn’t want to talk about it Eames would respect it and back down, for now at least. And part of him wants to go along with it, they’ve just gotten together, it’s too soon to reveal so much about themselves, no matter how harmless it is, and he’s not sure if he’s ready for that kind of vulnerability yet. On the other hand, this here is just the culmination of years of getting to know each other, flirting and dancing around each other, and after everything they went through together there’s no one he trusts more, in or out of dreamshare. And, he thinks, if he wants something more to come out of this, maybe he should take a little leap of faith.

He takes a deep breath and smiles slightly. “No, it’s okay. It’s a bit silly really. This is a constellation named Bootes.” At Eames’ low inquiring sound he huffs a short laugh. “I suppose it may not be one of the best known in itself, but it has a star…” Arthur shifts to point at a spot in his tattoo. “See this big star here? Its name is Arcturus and it's the fourth brightest star in the sky.”

“Arcturus? Oh. Oh, darling, are you telling me you have your own star in the sky?”

Arthur can’t help the light blush spreading on his face, that was actually kind of the point. “No. No, it's not like that. It just- it speaks to me. I got the tattoo just before the Army. I wanted something to remind myself that it was just temporary, that there was more to the world and I shouldn't stop dreaming. And, name or not, Arcturus is my favourite star.” He shakes his head wistfully. “It’s ironic in retrospect.”

“Maybe a little bit. But I think it worked splendidly, don't you? Look at you now, dreaming for work. Your younger self would be proud.” Eames muses while running his hand through Arthur’s wild hair. 

“Mm, perhaps.” Arthur concedes, slowly but surely melting to Eames’ touch. “I just like astronomy, really. Enough to entertain the idea of making a career out of it at a point. But then life happened. The war happened, and Project Somnacin happened. And here we are.”

“Here we are. And what a bloody good place is here.” Eames grins.

Arthur gives a contented sigh. “It really is.” 

“So, while we’re in the mood, care to tell me more about your star?”

Arthur hesitates just a fraction of a moment, but Eames just keeps looking at him as if really interested and petting his hair, and so he relaxes fully. While still a little self-conscious at first, he grows more excited as he loses himself in the story. He tells Eames everything he knows about it and its myths; that Arcturus means ‘Guardian of the Bear’, the Ursa Major; that Bootes is the Herdsman driving that same constellation around the North Pole. 

Eames is utterly fascinated by this adorably nerdy side of Arthur, always so practical and in control but finally letting himself loose with him. It feels precious, and Eames feels a surge of fondness as Arthur tries and mostly fails to explain his bond with those stars. He knows though.

“You may deny it, but I believe it really is your star, you know. It fits who and what you are perfectly. You’re naturally protective, and as a pointman it's practically in your job prescription to plan and guide and direct and take care of your team, like Bootes and Arcturus do for the Bear.”

Arthur freezes in surprise, but then a slow smile lights up his face as all the dots connect, and he kisses Eames. 

“Does this mean you’ll take me see the real Arcturus soon?” Eames asks with a laugh after breaking the kiss.

Arthur beams as he answers. “It’s a date.”

Bootes, the Herdsman. Arcturus the Guardian. Arthur the Pointman. Arthur’s destiny was always written in the stars.

[fumblingmusings]

so sorry for the bother! may you recommend me some usuk fics? I have no qualms with any genre but I'll be honest, I fear I won't be able to read fics past 50k due to lack of free time

Heck yeah you can! I have a few bookmarked on my Ao3 page - do recommend you have a look there as well as everything below!

I do like a long fic, but I have some one shots as well that I like to come back to. A few of these are a bit old and call back to a different time in fandom, so be mindful of that. Some are ones that everyone has read. Some are explicit, some have attitudes and approaches towards nationhood that haven't aged that great or weren’t that well conceived of to begin with etc., etc...

So essentially... use your discretion.

There is more. There is a lot more. Maybe I'll make a part two or something. But for now…. here's a monster.

Under the Read More as there is lots of links and words.

*****

Tinstars

So Complicated (One-Shot)

It comes every year. Its influence is ubiquitous, seeping into every facet of society like a toxin. The greatest of men crumble to their knees in its wake. You can’t run, or beg, or plead. It has no empathy, no mercy. It will tear out your soul and consume you, piece by wretched piece, until there is nothing left. So basically, it’s Valentine’s Day and something weird happens and then England is there.

Strange Powers (Multi-Chapter)

America thought it would be funny to turn the device on himself. What’s the worst that could happen? Y’know, aside from accidentally falling in love with your friend. A continuation of “America’s strange invention” from the end of Comic Diary 8.

Tinstars manages to write both funny and heartwarming scenes at the same time, and keeps very close to canon characterisation whilst they're at it. Their America is such a goddamn weirdo. The romance scenes are soft, and England is proactive and bamboozled by how bizarre his chosen partner apparently is. Just classic good fic.

*****

PennyLane

Born on the Fourth of July (One-Shot)

It’s America’s Bicentennial and the celebration is going to be epic. Despite England’s bouts of ill health he suffers during this time of the year, he knows his duty, and his duty is to attend the festivities and play his part. But this celebration doesn’t turn out as either America or England thought it would. (Set during America’s Bi-Centennial, 1976)

All Roads Lead (One-Shot)

It’s WWII, and England is a prisoner in a German POW camp. America’s mission it to rescue him before the Germans discover who he really is.

Obviously Penny had to be on this list. She has also written two great human au fics, but I like my canon historical fics just a wee bit more. Arthur is almost always in some form of distress and in need of some...healing attention (cough cough) in these fics, but never to the point of outright wimpiness. Just excellently written and characterised fics.

*****

Smoochy-Ryoko

Chiaroscuro (One-Shot)

Alfred often hides his sadness and fear under a carefree mask and that Arthur is the only one who really understands. Aka Arthur spoils Alfred, the fic.

There's gonna probably be a lot of oldie but goodies on this list, and this is the first. It is weird reading these fics back from 2011 and realising how much of the political landscape has changed for sure. Regardless, Arthur defends Alfred, runs him a bath, and they snuggle. Perfect!

*****

Skuratsukikage

Where the Shadows Are (Two-Parter)

A night in England's house, 1947. Sometimes it feels like the war is never over. Language, mentions of war, dealing with a psychological disorder (PTSD), established relationship.

If Life's a Dance, Sometimes You Miss a Step (One-Shot)

America and England have a real fight despite their committed relationship. 

They do not get brought up in recommendation posts anymore which is a shame because their writing is impeccable. They have a huge catalogue of fic all on Livejournal, so I recommend having a peruse and seeing what catches your eye!

*****

RobinRocks

Paper Crown Kings and Pinwheel Queens (Multi-Chapter)

"What is a nation without humanity?" "I don't know," England said flatly. "Spades. Supremacy. Sickness …The thing that ate him." Cardverse without Cardverse: in which the suits are weapons rather than kingdoms.

Lavender's Blue (One-Shot)

The Suit Kingdom exists as a manufactured barrier between the bloodied human and dying fairy realms as the twentieth century slides ever closer to a second war. The story of a human king, his fairy queen and the worlds between them.

A is For (Multi-Chapter)

Alfie. Which Arthur totally called him last night. And thus begins Alfred's quest to get him to say it again. Set in the early 1950s, after the war.

I feel like this one is divisive nowadays. She is a very good writer technically, but oftentimes her Arthur and Alfred (especially her Arthur - who is often obtuse the point where plots move at a snail's pace because he just won't be honest to Alfred and it can genuinely be infuriating) can cross over into completely unlikeable and unsympathetic. That may be the point but... ymmv on where your limit of empathy for those boys are. I tend to think you'll have better luck with her one-shots or smaller multi-chapters. She also has an incredibly creative mind for aus, no-one quite comes up with off the wall fantasy like she does. A if For is by far her most conventional fic, along with 1912 and 1915, I think her most famous ones about the Titanic and Lusitania. Lavender's Blue was supposed to be a multi-chapter but what we got was an excellent one-shot (fairy Arthur guys... fairy Arthur!!!), and the the twist at the end of Paper Crown Kings and Pinwheel Queens still makes me go what the fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu a decade later.

*****

StarDropDream

Highway Cloudbusting (Multi-Chapter Three Volume Fic)

Sick of politics and business as usual, England decides to indulge a rare moment of spontaneity and go on a roadtrip. He should have known that America would want to tag along. And they both should have known that the trip would set them down a path they couldn't turn away from. / Just because you confess your feelings doesn't mean everything will fall into place from there - and England and America both have things they need to understand and accept about themselves and each other. / "I want to hold your hand".

Coffee and Cigarettes / With a Hole in My Heart (One-Shots)

Alfred made a promise to himself that he would never surrender to anyone, never relinquish his control. / Arthur was afraid to give himself completely to Alfred. These two fics mirror each other with the same concept but placed on each person in a different universe: how to get the boys to bottom. It's far more emotive than it sounds.

I mean... not to throw my hat into the ring but StarDropDream is the best USUK writer the fandom has ever had (oh yes I said it)! Her characterisations are spot on, the emotions will, if the time is right, actually have you choking up, and the sex is... nice. :| I have already spoken about Lying in that Sound Tonight and on and on it goes. They are just brilliant. Their long fics are the exact right kind of little plot lots of feelings, and their one shots are snapshots of something that you know is so much deeper. Just honestly, go through their catalogue for Arthur and Alfred, great stuff.

*****

Miaou Jones

Darts of Pleasure (Three One Shots)

Arthur could have Alfred's brilliance and warmth in his life—if only he could let himself. / Alfred remembers the very first time he and Arthur got together, with a closing reflection on the events from the beginning of Amsterdam. / In many ways and with many words, even if not those exact three, Arthur tells Alfred he loves him.

If you want smut they're the author for you! Phew! And they even do the unforgivable and make it either A) Hot as hell or B) Emotive as fuck. I also very much enjoy Star Light, Star Bright, but I won't recommend it here, as whilst USUK is the emotional centre of the fic, it involves Arthur and Ivan sleeping together at Potsdam and the framing of it is deliberately dubious.

*****

ElapsingSpiral

Al and Artie do Blackpool (Multi-Chapter)

It’s time for Arthur’s annual holiday, only money is a tad short: Blackpool it is then. Still, if Arthur’s going to England’s Capital City for Tackiness, he’s taking somebody else down with him. Poor Alfred.

Dating Advice for Germans and Americans (Multi-Chapter)

Ludwig and Alfred have one thing in common: questionable taste in the people they turn to for expert dating advice.

These two fics are set in the same universe but don't have to be read in order to understand what's going on. It's blindingly obvious that the author is British on account on how scary accurate Arthur is characterised. Their one shots of him taking Alfred to a greasy cafe or a car boot sale are sweet and nostalgic, but these two longer fics are incredible, and I feel like they never got the attention they deserved, even when they were published in 2009/10. The GerIta in Dating Advice is also incredible, and the contrast between the way Ludwig and Feli have issues versus Alfred and Arthur is so well done. Ludwig and Arthur's friendship being based on pragmatism before they realise that they actually get along (to the point where Feli thinks there's an affair going on) is well written too.

Arthur is incredibly love sick in these stories, desperate to be loved and be wanted for himself and the incidents which split him and Alfred apart are genuinely heartbreaking because he doesn't really do anything massively wrong. It's this legacy of shit behaviour that people won't cut him a break, and Alfred is the one who has a learning curve of understanding that Arthur really wants is to belong to someone, and how him asking for the same in return is not the red flag Alfred thinks it is.

The fics are also bloody hilarious. Incredibly dry. Tragically their Livejournal was deleted where there were many other fics (the GerIta... gone T_T) but alas. Gone into the void. Hmm. I suppose you can tell which one is my favourite right? I just want more people to read these ones. Please.

*****

Orestiad

for all e̶͎̾t̷̟̅ë̸̠r̵̺̐n̸̡i̵̦̓t̵̘̓y̶̲ (One-Shot)

A few months into their 4-year long exploration mission, Alfred is starting to form an unhealthy attachment to the ship’s AI.

This one fucked with me. They set up like four different ways you know it's going to go tits up. We've all seen Space Odyssey. Arthur as an AI is begging for trouble. The Kill Switch that Alfred is the only one with access to. Arthur getting attached to Alfred. It's all going to go downhill. And then it swerves in a brilliant parallel to earlier in the fic and it's like, oh no there truly is no fate worse than being loved by something not human is there. God or otherwise.

*****

Rierin

Written in the Stars (One-Shot)

Alfred wakes up after an assassination attempt to find Arthur at his bedside. He's told he and Arthur are engaged— but the last thing Alfred remembers is the Revolutionary War, and all he feels for Arthur is anger and resentment bordering on hatred.

Amnesia fic make Abbie go brrrrrrr. Genuinely not much to it than that. Arthur is so wonderfully pathetic in this fic and I mean that in the best possible way.

*****

Kink Meme Fills

The frustration here is I literally just copied and pasted a bunch of responses onto my pc for my own personal consumption without noting the original web url like a fool so excuse me whilst these listings are a bit more haphazard. I would have a nosey through the USUK livejournal page which indexed them up until Part 22. They are missing the later ones and ones that were back filled, so I would also go through the Finished Fills List and - if you feel like really going through it - the plain old Fills List.

Listen. Somewhere in those hundreds of pages is a fill where the entire Commonwealth catches wind that Arthur is pining after Alfred. Antigua is the first to figure it out; Canada is last. Someone went to the effort of writing all (well, at the time, some more nations have joined recently) the nations of the Commonwealth reacting, including Scotland who gets metaphorically possessed by the spirit of Arthur Conan Doyle and goes hunting for his missing brother who is being held captive by Oz and Zee. Some nations don't care because they are well within their rights not to care a fig what England does, some are aggressively supportive because honeymoon tourism and many just wish the America and England would spit it out and put everyone out of enduring their misery. I have it saved on my computer, but lord knows where it is in the depths of the Kink Meme. It's a sweet one. Worth sifting for... Good luck.

Whew! Okay. I'll call it quits there. Big boy. Hope there's something of interest in here! Old and new!

[rottenbrainstuff]

Hey guess who didn’t hate the new Joker movie? (No spoilers)

So I went and saw it last night cause I needed something to do with someone I didn’t really want to spend time with, and I couldn’t think of something to do together. Look I don’t know, why don’t we go see Joker, it’s getting bad reviews so maybe we could go laugh at how bad it is or something?

So that’s what we did.

And then yeah I dunno. I didn’t hate it. I kind of liked it?

Maybe the trick was to go fully prepared to hate it, and then anything in it that was good went above my expectations. Maybe the trick was that I knew the movie made fans mad, so as I was watching it, I was entertained thinking about how joker fanboys would be hating it.

I don’t know what to say. I found it interesting. The first movie was technically quite well made, but made me deeply uncomfortable. I liked this one better. I liked the surreal quality. I watch musicals, I watch movies with songs in them. The music reminded me a lot of Dancer in the Dark. I don’t feel like the songs were “for no reason” as some have complained. I liked the beginning. I had a hard time liking Arthur in the first movie, but I was much more on board here, much more on his side. I loved the score, loved the malevolent cello, and there are some shockingly beautiful shots.

You guys are probably too young to know this, in fact *I* am almost too young to know this, but back in the day, movies used to begin with a random cartoon tacked on the beginning. I had no idea there was a cartoon with this movie too, and I thought that was super neato. I was also a bit surprised at the animation: 2D looney-toons style animation is basically a lost art at this point, and I had no idea who the heck they got to make that. Credits revealed: it was Sylvain Chomet. (Triplets of Belleville, the illusionist) Of course it was. That was a neat surprise that I hadn’t heard anyone mention.

Unpopular opinion: I actually really just do not like Harley Quinn as a character. Ever. She is, at best, annoying to me. Even in Birds of Prey, I just didn’t really enjoy it. I enjoyed her in this movie. This is the first time ever, ever, that I have ever seen Harley Quinn and was actually interested in her. Whatever I was expecting, it was NOT this. I was absolutely fascinated by how different her dynamic with Arthur was. I won’t give away spoilers but dang, yeah, that was not what I was expecting and I really liked that.

I can see why fans are mad at this movie. Tbh sometimes I felt like it was made specifically to make people mad, or that it was made as a snarky response to the creepy joker fanboys who turned the first movie into their brand new Fight Club. I found that amusing. As I was watching it I was entertained thinking about how much it made people mad. I think it made me more willing to be on the movie’s side. Some people have said Joaquin Phoenix phoned in his performance here but I do not agree.

Unfortunately….

Nothing can save the ending, which is an absolute fucking mess. The whole thing starts to unravel and meander with the trial, and then we have an egregious case of multiple-ending-syndrome a la LOTR. I was very bored by the end and really wanting things to wrap up, and that is such a huge shame. I feel like a few rewrites could have tightened up the last third and turned it into a proper big ol gut punch, but instead it rambled on and on to the point where I didn’t know or even care what it was trying to do anymore, and those songs that I liked initially, I started to groan instead because I didn’t want another song, I wanted them to hurry up and end the movie.

So yeah. I don’t know. Picked out the movie 100% expecting it to be dogshit, had a legit fun time instead. I do not regret using up my tickets.

(NOTE: hilariously, every single YouTube review I have seen pronounces the title differently, and incorrectly. Not sure why, I thought folie a deux was a psychiatric term that was generally familiar? Guess not. It’s pronounced foh-LEE ah DUH, with the U in deux being pronounced like the U in put. I have heard some extremely creative pronunciations! I find it amusing!)

[scarfacemarston]

"Who would get into a fight to defend the other's honor? Who tends to the other's wounds?" for Abigail/female reader? If you feel like writing it ❤️

Good question! If you want an actual scenario or hc's, let me know. I think this counts as more of a meta?? Abigail is constantly tending to people's wounds. lol I know she helped with John and Arthur, and she helps with Hosea and, of course, Jack. Her love is getting the same treatment, but I'd say a bit more tenderly. She's less likely to chastise another woman - and by chastise, I mean the loving exasperation of something like "Oh, you're going to be the death of me! You need to be more careful!" type of thing. It's not that she thinks her partner needs to be treated more tenderly; she just tends to act a little softer around women partners. She just feels safer and less judged. As for protecting you? Heck yeah! "If they put as much as one bruise on him, I'll bring the fires of hell on them myself!" - About Jack, but I firmly believe that would include you. (And John in Canon) She does not mess around. She's had to be scrappy and survive the streets and, she doesn't like to, but she's definitely killed before and would do so again if it was to save your life. (Like with Arthur, If she's that protective with Arthur, imagine her with you!). She's definitely the type to say, "You come back home to me now, ya hear?" any time you leave camp for something potentially dangerous or go out of town. Her heart can't take the idea of losing someone else in her life.

[lovable-chica]

When Amber’ Tail Catches on Fire: A TTTE Steam Beasts Au Short)

Amber: “Sets up a Camp Fire Near The Fishing Village”

Snowy: Why are we doing a camp near the fishing village anyway?

Amber: For Fun😏

Snowy: You are Such a Stubborn Idiot!

Amber: Just Shut Up…

Snowy: Grrrr! “Starts Fighting Her”

“Both of them fight until Amber’s Tail Touch the Fire”

Snowy: “Gasp” Amber?! Your Tail!

Amber: “Looks at it and Panics” AAAAH IT BURNS HELP ME!!

“Meanwhile in the Fishing Village, Arthur just got back till he heard at scream in the distance”

Arthur: Huh? Driver What is That Noise?

Driver: I Don’t Know Arthur

“Then They Saw Amber running out of the woods screaming my tail is on Fire!! Then Falls into the water”

Arthur: Amber?!

“Then Her Walks up to the water to see if Amber is Alright”

Snowy: Amber!! Oh my Gosh!!

Amber: “Gets out of the water coughing” Bleh!!

Snowy: are You Ok?

Amber: Yeah, But I’m Soaking Wet

Arthur: I’ll you with that “Stands up and Nests On Amber”

Amber: WTH!(Heck) That’s not how you dry me!!

Snowy: “Laughs” Oh Lord..

THE END

Note: The TTTE Monster Au belongs to @steam-beasts so this post is for her, btw love your Au and Art Gurl!!

[crossovernonshipstournament]

Propaganda

Team Three Men and a Baby:

I still don't have propaganda for them so um. James and Boyd are having a day out in Duckburg (everything weird that happens in DTLS happens in Duckburg. Duckburg is weirder than the Cities, comparatively speaking) when they meet Arthur and Stanley and invite them to join them. Probably something weird happens involving aliens. Maybe they all go off hitchhiking together idk.

Team Baddie Besties:

Basically I was like "yknow who Lancer reminds me of. Bowser Jr" and then realized that Bowser would TOTALLY emotionally adopt Lancer after learning Spade King is a sucky dad. Anyway Lance and Jr love going around causing problems together, Jr gets to try out Lance's bike and Lance gets a ride in the Koopa Clown car. They (and sometimes Susie) like to prank Mario and friends a lot and I just think they would be such good friends = It was your average day in Hometown, Mushroom Kingdom. Bowser Junior, who wanted to practice wreaking havoc, showed up to ruin just that. He crashed into Hometown riding his clown car, causing trouble through town as he went. Bored, he broke into the school while class was in session, and there he noticed something strange about the storage closet at the end of the hall. ~ "Huh… is this a warp zone? I bet it goes somewhere super cool…" Unable to resist temptation, Junior opened the door and stepped inside, only to fall right through the floor- and that was how Junior found Castle Town. = Lancer, meanwhile, was languishing in his boredom. Sure, the jack of spades had ways of entertaining himself, but he wanted to do them with Susie, who was still in school. "How long is this going to TAKE?!" he would shout, every time his splat noises compilation ended and Susie still wasn't there yet. ~ "HEY!" = Lancer sat up and looked down to see a kid who looked like a turtle. Or was that a turtle who looked like a kid? Whatever it was, it was pointing at him. ~ "What is this place?!" Junior demanded, glaring as threateningly as he could at the other kid (which wasn't very threatening at all, even though he didn't realize that). "Castle Town! Are you a Lightner?!" Lancer was thrilled. Something was happening! He didn't have to be bored anymore! ~ Junior had no idea what a Lightner was, but to him it sounded like an insult. "No, I'm a prince! The first son of the GREAT and EVIL King Bowser!!! So don't mess with me, unless you want me and my papa to gang up on you!" ! "You're an evil prince with an eviler dad? I'M an evil prince with an eviler dad!!!" ~ >:0 "No way! Do you wanna go be evil together?!" "Heck yeah!!!" = That was how it started. The pair of prankster princes exchanged names and high fives, running off into Castle Town to carry out their improvised evil plots. Ralsei would be in for a surprise.

[aceofwhump]

I was just wondering, do you consider it counting as whump if the whumpee actually dies? I have never been sure, myself.

Sure! I absolutely count character deaths as whump. Whether temporary or not I don't see why it could be seen as whump. Heck I have a whole tag for character death. I know some people enjoy the whump much less if the character dies of it but yeah it's still whump. I love a good temporary character death myself. Like the Doctor, Loki, Rory Williams, Killian Jones, Henry Morgan, Daniel Jackson, Klaus Hargreeves. All have great death scenes. And there's definitely a few permanent death scenes I consider whump and enjoy. Tony Stark's rips my heart out every time but damn is it a good scene. Or Thorin's death in The Hobbit. Arthur Pendragon at the end of BBC Merlin. All fantastic

So yeah I totally count character deaths as whump :)

[lunapwrites]

for the headcanon meme!

♥ - family headcanon for remus

∇ -. old age/aging headcanon for james :(

♒ - cooking/food headcanon for sirius

☼ - appearance headcanon for all three

Oh heck yeah

Family Headcanon - Remus - I have MANY THOUGHTS. But here's probably my favorite one that shows up in like... all my fics:

When Remus was bitten and Lyall explained what that meant for his future, Hope took it upon herself to teach Remus how to do for himself (figuring that if society was going to shun her sweet boy then society could hang; he wouldn't need them anyway.) So as a result, Remus like... knows how to make and mend his own clothes, and how to grow his own food, and even down to making his own household products. Hope went full crunchy on him and he loved her for it lol. (It also saved his life.) Lyall on the other hand stuck with the "you just need to be the best and then maybe they'll accept you" school of thought, which led to Remus spending most of his childhood struggling to meet ever-increasing expectations and chasing approval he was never going to get. So... trauma! Thanks dad!

Old Age/Aging Headcanon - James - OK so truthfully I've not given this one much thought because... I just can't make my brain see him past 21. I keep mentally replacing him with his son lol. BUT:

Ends up emanating Arthur Weasley energy. Just... delighted with everything that his children and grandchildren do. Goes grey surprisingly early (not as early as Remus, but still has a good bit of salt and pepper going on at his temples by the time he hits 40.) Absolutely ends up being the old guy who is giggling with childish delight every time he gets the opportunity to light fireworks -- especially if Remus and Sirius are there. Gets breakfast with them every Sunday at some dingy little cafe in London where they have been going since the 80's and all the staff know their names (and love them.) Just wholesome.

Cooking/Food Headcanon - Sirius - I do in fact have one for this!

Okay so kind of looping back to my post from ages ago about Jellybean Capitalism Sirius is an absolute slut for citrus fruits. He will never ever get scurvy because he is mainlining orange juice like it's his job. (He also likes regular fruits but like. Citrus is his JAM.) Eats orange marmalade on his toast, which Remus hates. Also has a baby mouth when it comes to spices, and will typically default to butter chicken when they get Indian. Can cook breakfast and simple dinners without burning them... usually.

Appearance Headcanon - Remus, James, Sirius - OH MAN MY FAVORITE.

For everyone's sanity I am restricting this to ONE blurb.

Remus and Sirius both have curls (Remus has looser, frizzier ones.) James has wavy hair but it's also stupid thick. Sirius has little moles. Remus has very faint freckles. James has the darkest hair of the three (actually black) and has hazel eyes (obvs.) Sirius' hair is more of a very dark brown, and his eyes are a grey color I can only describe as "vaguely unsettling." Remus is basically if beige gained sentience and put on a ratty sweater; light brown hair that's almost dirty blond, but isn't, and hazel eyes that are a different/lighter shade than James. Just... beige. They're all tall, but Remus has the other two edged out by like. 2 inches. Not obvious though bc his posture is trash.

These were fun, thank you! :)

From this ask meme if anyone is interested.

[dontfightmecauseillcry]

DP X BBC Merlin

Let me just make this clear I’ve NEVER stopped being in the Merlin Fandom

But lately, there this surge of Merlin content on Tik Tok and Pintrest, I think someone said its cause the finally that broke us was on or near Christmas?(Haven’t been here THAT long) And I’ve also been reading timcharg’s Merlin rewrite on AO3 so that’s what happened to me for my brain to do this and the fact that crossovers have me in a choke hold

If you look at my stuff, you’ll see that I’m hipper fixated on DP so that’s self explanatory... anyways

------

Sooo We all know Danny is a sarcastic piece of **** right? Well so is Merlin, Now image the two of them be friends, Danny would cover for Merlin so much weither he’s a servant, knight or villager. The chaos Merlin could achieve would be glorious. No to mention him joining Merlin. Heck Danny could pass as Merlin’s back from traveling brother as some lame excuse (or rebirth) and Hunith would totally play along

The part I want to focus on is Knight. 

Danny bored out of his mind decides to pick a random portal in the GZ and go through it, he has nothing to lose, his friends and family have long since peacefully past away so why not. ( would like to point out he has not aged since he was lets say 25, his prime, so that he’s closer in age to the rest of them)

He ends up in the BBC Merlin world and finds out that the Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the round table are true if a little wrong from what he knows since he didn’t read those books, but everyone has heard to Excalibur (Imagine Danny reaction to Merlin pulling the story out of his ***). He decides to keep away from Camelot but fate hates him and he meets Gwiane while traveling. Daniel Nightingale, likes to be called Danny, reminds Gwiane of Merlin so much he can’t help but befriend him.

Danny realized that fate dragged him into this mess when Gwiane askes him for help one day and all of a sudden he’s helping prince Arthur? And then he’s being asked to fight and be knighted and he just can’t say no to Prince Arthur freaking Pendragon! 

After everything has settled down he feels something off about Merlin and Merlin feels something off about Danny. *Insert Big confrontation/ reveal* And Danny joins Lancelot in the “we know” club and they both tag team in covering for Merlin. Why doesn’t Danny tell Gwiane? He knows what its like to have that big of a secret and if Merlin doesn’t want him tell he won’t, though he does say it would be a good idea (insert the hc that the knights know and are pretending not to to make Merlin more comfortable)

Ok sooo now that Danny is here, lets save Lancelot! 

He calls bs on the veil NEEDING a sacrifice to close it. Sure a sacrifice would close it if there weren’t any alternatives (like him not being there) but would the veil needs is power to close, (and that’s what souls are, energy/fuel/power) luckily he has power. It would probably take a lot out of him and he would be in a short coma but no body dies! He wouldn’t tell anyone his plan either to not over complicate things. Merlin knocking out Arthur to stop him sacrificing himself, Lance sneaking away so Merlin doesn’t sacrifice himself, Danny pushing away Lance and closing the veil himself and knocking out. 

Danny makes up some bs excuse on why he’s still alive, “The veil needs a sacrifice, but it doesn’t necessarily mean a human one guys! The lady probably gets a kick out of killing people when they don’t need to die. Oh, how I figured it out? Ahhh- to be honest I didn’t know it would work,,, ummm I sacrificed my ability to read yeah totally, lady was so mad it worked too, ha! Even if I did die I would have gladly done it :)”

Danny says that since he never gave up his ability to learn, he could relearn how to read, loop holes baby! He uses this as the primary cover for Merlin. “Where were you last night””Teaching Sir Danny how to read”. Danny would love troll everyone. If Danny didn’t tell Merlin and Lancelot about being half dead he would have by now.

This is all my brain has got! Hope you enjoyed my brains shenanigans. I just think Danny would have fun in Camelot

[bluecatwriter]

jonmina, holward (if you have done them already, helward)

Joke's on you, I'm answering all three because no one can stop me! :D JonMina (Jonathan Harker/Mina Harker)— HECK YEAH! 1. What made you ship it? Jonathan and Mina embody a whole bunch of tropes I absolutely love— childhood friends-turned-lovers, young married couple facing The Horrors, a very stable, respectful, and loving relationship that's mostly buffeted by outside forces, etc. I was in love with them even before I met Mina in the story. 2. What are your favorite things about the ship? I'm a really big fan of romantic partners who are genuinely best friends and deeply in love, looking out for each other as they face conflict together. I'll admit a lot of this is a sort of self-insert enjoyment: my spouse and I have been married ten years but are frequently mistaken for newlyweds because we're super annoying affectionate. I love angst and conflict as much as the next person, but sometimes I just want a couple whose love is one of the great stabilizing forces in the story, and I adore Jonathan and Mina for that.   3. Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship? Jonathan avoiding the oath to kill Mina and vowing instead to follow her into vampire hell instead is incredibly romantic (and hot as hell), but I don't see it as an unqualified good decision, and in fact see it as one of the few times he won't respect Mina's choice in a situation. It's pretty much the only decision Jonathan is capable of making at that point, given what he's been through and how he feels— but it still denies Mina's agency in the situation, which makes for an interesting tension. I think that tension makes their relationship even more compelling! Holward (Arthur Holmwood/Jack Seward)— Yup! 1. What made you ship it? I always thought their friendship was sweet (I'm a sucker for dudes comforting other dudes when they're crying, even if it's just a repressed manly squeeze on the shoulder like Jack manages at Lucy's funeral), but it wasn't until I wrote a fic about them (Words and Voice Fail Me) that I came to appreciate their romantic potential. 2. What are your favorite things about the ship? They're a classic sunshiny-golden-retriever paired with a sullen-wet-cat dynamic, which is always fun, but on a more serious note they're just complementary in many ways: Arthur tends not to overthink things while Jack runs in mental circles all the time, Arthur's used to abundance while Jack is in more of a scarcity mindset, and Arthur is very emotionally open while Jack is repressed. But sometimes Arthur really does need to think more carefully, not assume that everything will go his way, and keep his emotions in check a bit more, so Jack is helpful for him, too. They're a good match. I think they're sweet. 3. Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship? I honestly don't know enough fandom discourse to know which opinions are controversial. ;) Helward (Abraham Van Helsing/Jack Seward)— OH YES 1. What made you ship it? A vast amalgam of Tumblr posts, plus reading the text itself. This is one of those ships that feels absolutely canon to me— any version of the story without Jack and Van Helsing at least pining for each other feels like an AU at this point.  2. What are your favorite things about the ship? There are so many different ways to write/headcanon it! There are tons of potential obstacles between them— whether Van Helsing's marriage, the age gap, the former student/teacher dynamic, the internalized homophobia, you name it— and so many different possibilities for how their relationship can play out. It seems that no matter which way it goes, there's always a lot of delicious tension and pining and angst.  3. Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship? I've never seen a version of Helward that I didn't like in some way, so I think my opinions are pretty mainstream… considering that there's, like, seven of us who ship it in the first place. ;)

[kirklandsheartsecrets]

Arthur having a badass occult detective for a girlfriend, basically a detective who uses black magic in order to solve paranormal crimes. Like do you know this Netflix show called Trese? I kinda wanna believe that she'd be his type of woman because you know, she's a detective and a magic user.

As someone who's one of those things and a huge fan of the other, I can imagine him being a huge fanboy over her.

It's giving JJK and at the same time just detective vibes and i'm here for it. The trailer was really good!

Since i haven't watched and cannot right now i won't put this into headcanons, sorry.

However, i do agree with your statement.

Heck yeah he would love it, paranormal crimes solved using magic and at the same time just the mysteries going around.

Any kind of powerful girl boss women out there works!

He is a big Agatha Christie reader, he's got the knowledge, so having a s/o who's into magic and at the same time some type of badass detective is refreshing for him.

Give him the chills, the blood, the fights whilst at the same time the paranormal events LEADING UP to the answer.

yes. huge fanboy.