#local news updates

[champstorymedia]

Trending Topics: The Stories Everyone is Talking About Today

Keeping up with the latest news and trends can be a challenge in today’s fast-paced world. From breaking news to viral stories, there’s always something new to discover. In this article, we will explore the trending topics that everyone is talking about today. Stay informed and join the conversation! Section 1: Celebrity Gossip Celebrity gossip is always a hot topic, with fans eager to learn…

[sensitiveheartless]

(The rest is under the readmore!)

(Next part) ->

[telekitnetic-art]

🐉🪵 happy lunar new year! 🌘🐉

have a wood dragon formline that became an impulse color design assignment for class. Also did two variations of gold texture because I wasn't sure which one I liked better.

[sayruq]

[episodes-without-incident]

11/30/2023:

0 episodes since Drawfee last referenced Cats (2019)

0 episodes since Drawfee last referenced Everytime We Touch (2005)

[bookofmormonmemes]

STOP normalizing the grind and START normalizing going and doing the things which the Lord hath commanded; for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he comma

i regret to inform you that the original context of this quote probably did involve a significant amount of The Grind. like in that specific instance of needing to go bribe, swindle, and murder his way to acquiring them plates, nephi was probably very much a friend of hustle culture.

which is to say.........when normalizing the grind...........do not forget. the crime

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - just RELAX BL, you're stressing me out

Organized, in each category, by ones I'm enjoying most at the top. However, I've put quite a few on hold for travel reasons.

Oct 2023 Wk 3

Ongoing Series - Thai

Dangerous Romance (Fri YT) ep 10 of 12 - Boyfriends are cute boyfriends. Reconciliation with daddy and then major brother drama. How exciting. Gah but that closing scene, these two are such great actors! 

Naughty Babe (Sat YT) ep 8 fin - A perfectly serviceable final episode. I did love the red Chinese-style wedding to go with the “hia.” Also, just a little Thai 'poke poke poke' at China. 

Final thoughts?

This is a nice addendum to Cutie Pie, but it’s relatively incomprehensible even if you’ve watched that previous installment. I can’t imagine it will make any sense at all if you haven’t. Frankly, the most impressive thing about this show was the makeup team. MaxNat give excellent chemistry, all the high heat is well done, and the friendships are adorable, even if the story is nonsensical. It’s fine, I’m relieved it was only 8 eps. I enjoyed it for the pair but I will probably never rewatch. A weak 8/10

My Universe (Sun iQIYI) Lucky Love ep 9 of 24 -Heartbroken (drunk) gay boy meets (fights) sister’s new chef. I love the femme bestie. Adorbs. This one seems pretty good actually. I like all the shots of Bangkok’s actual traffic. POV is a bit of a sad sack tho. 

Absolute Zero (Thai Weds iQIYI) ep 4 of 12 - There is something clever about this narrative in the way that they are each each other’s first and second loves, but also age gap kinda creepy (Thailand maybe leave this one for Japan?)

Venus in the Sky (Tues iQIYI) 8 of 10 eps - So much whiny gay drama babies. However, it also manages to be painfully slow, through the simple act of having 90% of the show be boys sitting around staring at their phones. Then it suddenly got way higher heat than I expected. Honestly, this could’ve ended at 8 sps. I don’t see how extending the show is going to improve it in any way.

Only Friends (Sat YT) ep 11 of 12 (not a BL but I'm watching it anyway) - I don’t have faith in any couple. One of my favorite things about this show is watching how many boys Mark can kiss. I know everyone is focusing on Neo, but seriously baby boy got game. Meanwhile Boston’s dick must be made of self-lubing steal pipe; I remain entirely uninterested is TopMew; Mew’s fam demonstrate why a gay boy should never take advice from straight women; and the slut-shaming agenda continues. NO SINGING. No character in this show is happy when Boeing turns up, but the rest of us trash-loving muckrakers are thrilled.

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

If It’s With You AKA Even If I Fall In Love With You AKA Kimi to nara Koi wo Shite Mite mo’ (Japan Gaga) ep 3 of 5 - Oh it is so cute and so sweet and so aching. I really did not want the confession to happen, even though I knew it had to. There is an element of torture to this one that only Japan can execute with such precise softness.

You Are Mine (Taiwan Fri Viki) eps 7 of 10 - I remain charmed. But while the me of 2018 would have thought this one of the best BLs ever, the me of now is finding it a bit dated and nostalgic.

Bon Appetit (Korea Weds iQIYI) 7-8fin - Romance between an office worker and the man from his past next door who cooks well. It was a very sweet and cute tale of food as love in the All the Liquors family of KBL. I’m not wild about it, I did enjoy it, I was happy to have it show up on my dash, but ultimately it will simply become one of the KBL crowd. 8/10 

Kiseki: Dear to Me (Taiwan Tues Viki & iQIYI) ep 10 of 13(?) - another one where they are separated for most of the show. Although the sides are giving win. 

Bump Up Business (Korea Gaga) 1-2 of 8 - from Idol Romance staring OnlyOneOf's Nine & Mill, this released as a movie in July in SK but is now being recut/reissued as a series. Love story between a trainee who is about to debut and a celebrity plagued by scandal. After that OmegaX Shoulder bullshizz business I am very wary of this show, but this pair is already better cast.

Out of the mouths of OnlyOneOf (!!!) babes...

As to the show? I don’t know. I mean I love the idea, am nervous about Korea (with that bubble) doing a meta critique of the BL industry, with K-pop idols, using an existing group. It just seems like there’s a lot of mines in this small field, and it could go horribly horribly wrong. I am enjoying it, but also anxious the whole time I’m watching it for culture/market reasons. That said, I did pretty much ask for this exact show. So I can't complain, now can I?  

Mr Cinderella 2 (Vietnam Sat YT) ep 5 of ? - I honestly don’t entirely understand what is going on. But it all seems to be the Psychotic Pretty Kitty’s fault. Oo caught in the act of drug-induced cheating - DRAMA. Dung should cut his losses and leave - cute doctor husband or not. Lovely kiss from the sides. I gotta say, this cast is hella pretty. I’m not mad that this team is kind of turning into GMMTV Vietnam.

It's Airing But...

I Feel You Linger in the Air (Fri grey) ep 8 of 12 - I will try to watch 8-12 and do a series review when I get back in November but... not sure I will be able to. Fingers crossed.

Love in Translation (Sat iQIYI) ep 8fin - completed, my final thoughts in Nov.

What Did You Eat Yesterday Season 2 AKA Kinou Nani Tabeta? Season 2 (Japan Fri Gaga) ep 1 of 10 - I find this series more fun to binge, so I'm waiting until it completes its run.

I Cannot Reach You AKA I Can't Reach You AKA Kimi ni wa Todokanai (Japan Tues Netflix-Japan & ????) - in classic JBL fashion, I Cannot Reach You could not be reached. 

Can I Buy Your Love From A Vending Machine? AKA Sono Koi, Jihanki de Kaemasu ka? (Japan cinema release in-country only) - This one is a movie from Japan so in customary fashion who tf knows when (or if) it will get international distribution. Salaryman Ayumu Koiwai just can't tear his eyes away from the strong, muscular man as he checks on the stocks of the vending machine in his office.

One Room Angel (Japan Gaga) - Yukinori, a convenience store clerk was accidentally stabbed by a thug and nearly died. He returns home to find an angel waiting for him. The drama is an adaptation based on Harada’s manga of the same name (which I did not like). With only five episodes and a good chance this won’t end happily, I am going to wait and let you tell me how it goes. Binge it when it is complete if it's safe.

In Case You Missed It

GMMTV posted their initial 2024 line up, here's my round up of the BLs. It includes 2 JBL adaptations, 2 KBL adaptations (that they aren't admitting to) and vampires. If you want to know how I did on the predictions that's here and the answer is: very badly indeed.

I am watching the Y Journey: Stay Like a Local series. But they are essentially tourist board long-form advertisements. I enjoy the promo aspect with regards to the food. And seeing some of my favorite pairs do interesting other things is kinda fun. But the whole thing feels disingenuous when gay marriage is still not legal and it’s essentially the Thai government (making these ads) who is stopping that from happening. I have a similar feeling to iQIYI as a content provider. It’s not queerbaiting in the original sense of the term, but it’s pretty gross to use gay for advertising with a nationalistic propaganda agenda, when being gay is still not legal in your country. Yes I struggle to reconcile myself with this on the regular, and it’s an ongoing hypocritical struggle for my tiny withered tired old heart.

All that said, this week's installment, He’s Not Happy, did make me want to rewatch Make a Wish. There’s no kissing in this series but JudoFluke kiss beautifully, so If you haven’t seen Make a Wish, it’s very good and I recommend tracking it down.

Next Week Looks Like This

Upcoming October BL

10/26 My Dear Gangster Oppa (Thai iQIYI) 8 eps - nerd retreats from the world into an online game and makes friends with a little group, they meat in real life, one of them is hot, they fall in love, hottie turns out to be a gangster. Trailer

10/31 SHADOW (Thai Gaga) - this is a horror BL featuring ghosts and other paranormal elements in a high school setting. I'm not wild about Thai horror (or horror at all). It features Singto (who did paranormal BL He's Coming to Me) opposite Fluke N (who's done a couple horror's before). Also Fiat. Dan suffers from sleep paralysis, and in his dreams he sees a shadow that suffocates him. It gets worse when he transfers schools.

2023 forthcoming BL master post (see comments, some are inaccurate, NOT KEPT UPDATED).

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

We stan consent and talking about sex during sex. Thank you Venus in the Sky.

I guess Ray's getting his 3some? Only Friends

Dangerous Romance hitting up some old school tropes.

Naughty Babe giving us our beloved domesticity and tiny gay families. @heretherebedork you happy?

(Last week)

[hoxooster]

What my Payday 3 experience has been like for the past year:

Just in case anybody was wondering about that.

[fanfictionjumbler]

Me with people who played the new Investigations 2 localization instead of the fan translation explaining that it's Justine Courtney and Raymond Shields, not Verity Gavelle and Eddie Fender:

[champstorymedia]

From Politics to Entertainment: Catch Up on Today's Top Headlines

Introduction: In today’s fast-paced world, staying informed about the latest news is crucial. From political developments to updates in the entertainment industry, there is always something new happening that captures our attention. In this article, we will explore today’s top headlines, covering a wide range of topics to keep you in the know. Political Updates Politics is a field that is…

[frogayyyy]

6 more weeks........

things can only get better 💀

[brown-little-robin]

🥱...

[reliquiaenfr]

this is The Most unawakened familiars i've had at once in years. like. you don't understand. i've been collecting familiars since 2014, i've been on top of them all since then, normally i have between 8 and 14 unawakened familiars depending on updates, it's as low as two sometimes. i've not had more than like idk 20 or so unawakened familiars at a time since 2015. and now FORTY SEVEN? and the two fiona ones i can't have yet? forty nine???? and we'll be getting at least two more next weekend for the fest (probably two anyway) for a total of 51? pls let me rest i'm tired

[labellefleur-sauvage]

The Highland Fox and the English Rose

Read on AO3. Tumblr Masterlist (with fic summary)

XXX

Chapter 6: I'd shelter thee, I'd shelter thee

Elain knew her husband was a formidable man. She watched with bated breath from a nearby cave nestled in the hillside as he took down the final man threatening them. Lucien looked so strong, so comfortable with a sword in his hand and so competent fighting that she nearly missed noticing him stumble and stagger to his feet when it was all done.

He was hurt, Elain realized with a twisting stomach. He was hurt and yelling something, the noise muffled in the rain. Lucien needed her.

So she ran from her shelter for her husband. 

Lucien was a tall man, but lean; she hadn’t expected him to be so heavy as he leaned against her. She had to stop several times in the deluge when his weight became too much for her body to bear. 

Eventually she got them both back to the cave and she’d inelegantly thrown him to the dry ground so she could catch her breath. It was only then that Elain realized Lucien hadn’t been wearing a red shirt that day.

Panic that Elain had never felt before gripped her lungs. She couldn’t lose Lucien now. They were finally starting to learn about each other, and slightly annoyed as she was to admit it, Elain liked what she knew of Lucien: funny, secretly soft hearted, kind and clever.

And apparently very skilled with a sword.

To lose him now, when it was just the two of them in the middle of the Scottish Highlands, where she had no idea where she was and if she could trust anyone around her…Elain couldn’t dwell on that.

Elain took a calming breath. What would Feyre and Nesta do?

Feyre would have charged into the fight right next to Lucien with nothing more than her bow and maybe Lucien’s dirk. Elain winced. Alright, maybe thinking of Feyre wouldn’t help her right now.

Nesta, on the other hand, would have pulled Elain aside just like she did countless times during their childhood when Feyre was small and came crying to her sisters each time she got hurt out in the woods. Elain learned how to clean and care for basic wounds from Nesta, who had been patching Feyre up after her adventures for years after their mother died. 

She thought of those experiences now as she glanced at Lucien laying still on the dirt before her. It was just like when Feyre fell from the giant oak tree in their back garden and a sharp branch sliced a gash up the entirety of her thigh. Elain could do this.

“Oh shit,” Elain whispered as she tore Lucien’s shirt off and stared at the gaping wound on the back of his shoulder. This made Feyre’s past wounds look like kitten scratches. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.” She forced down her breakfast that was threatening to make a reappearance and took another calming breath.

First she needed to clean the wound. Elain gathered their one pot with rainwater and dug through their packs for some clean cloths. After that it was muscle memory: keep the wound clear, disinfect if possible, then bandage it up.

That was yesterday, and Lucien still hadn’t awoken. She’d left him bare chested, rather than trying to wrestle a shirt on him and undue her hard work. She’d cleaned his face as best she could—the blood didn’t appear to be his—and debated on whether to remove the brown eyepatch covering his eye. In the end, she left it alone; it seemed too personal. Elain checked on him constantly. He was slightly warm, which worried her, but his breathing was deep and regular.

She hadn’t managed to build a fire, so Elain covered him with their blankets, nibbled on a barley cake covered with the honey Lucien had bought her and waited. It hadn’t stopped raining since yesterday, making up for the relatively clear few days they had had before. To pass the time, Elain checked on the animals—the donkey kept itself curled at the front of the cave, while Ajax, stubborn beast that he was, seemed fine in the rain—took stock of their supplies, checked on Lucien, dried out their clothes, checked on Lucien, tried looking over the maps in his bag, checked on Lucien…

A queasy feeling slid through her gut. Elain had never been responsible for anything before in her life, and here she was, cold and damp and dirty, trying to save her husband’s life with nothing but rainwater, some old rags and her own stubborn determination. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt so small. 

Elain closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to focus on anything but her anxiety. She looked around at her surroundings. 

Despite the lack of fire, and Lucien sleeping like the dead, it was strangely cozy in the cave, especially with her thick shawl wrapped around her. Elain gazed out onto the landscape before her. The sky was gray but it was light enough out that she could see the deep, lush grass blanketing the hill and valley below. A tall, ancient forest covered the rocky crags across the way. She hadn’t noticed, but flowering bushes lined the dirt road, paving the way for weary travelers to and from Drumnadrochit.

Scotland was a truly beautiful country, with its wild landscape. She hadn’t been lying to Lucien when she told him she could stare at Loch Ness for ages. Elain needed to remember this, while it was fresh. She was about to reach for her pack when Lucien groaned behind her. Whipping around, she saw him try to sit up and fail.

“Careful!” she cried, rushing over to kneel beside him. “Your shoulder is still weak. There was only so much I could do.”

He looked at her blearily, his normally brown skin dull and his eye unfocused. “Elain?”

“Who else would it be?”

“Ye stayed?”

Elain’s heart ached at the small joy in his voice, and for making him think she would abandon him. “Of course. I told you before I have no idea where I’m at,” she teased, trying to make her voice lighter than what she felt. 

Lucien chuckled weakly. “We’ll spend so much time looking at the maps ye’ll ken Scotland like the back of yer hand soon enough.” He looked at their surroundings. “Where are we?”

“A cave overlooking the main road.”

“What happened? I remember the three men but nothing else.”

“You collapsed on the road and I dragged you up here. You’re much heavier than you look, I’ll have you know.”

Lucien ran a hand over his face, lingering to scrub at his eyepatch. “How long–?”

“Just over a day, I think.”

“Fuck,” Lucien groaned, swiping a hand over his face again, and Elain couldn’t help but look at the way his chest and arms flexed at the motion, despite how injured he was. “Fuck. Right. We need to pack and leave now.”

“In your condition?” Elain scoffed. “Can you even raise your arm above your shoulder?”

“I don’t need to raise my arm to steer Ajax,” Lucien shot back, standing up. He instantly swayed on the spot and leaned against the wall of the cave, his face ashen.

“You can’t even stand up, how do you expect to stay on a moving horse for hours?” Elain asked, rushing to support him. “Just stop being so stubborn for once and listen to me.”

“I’m stubborn?” Lucien laughed unsteadily, letting Elain lay him back down on his sleeping roll. “Yer the stubborn one. Insisting ye come along with me, sassing me along the way.”

Elain smirked at him. “Maybe I’m rubbing off on you.”

Lucien sighed dreamily, his eye closed. “Aye, maybe ye are, my sweet wife. I certainly wouldn’t mind other parts of ye rubbing on me.”

Elain snorted. “You’re delirious with pain.”

“I’m delirious with want for ye, and how mad I am that one of my few shirts is presumably ruined.”

Elain choked on a laugh. “You are down a shirt. And don’t go flailing your arm about. I don’t want my stitches to break.”

“Ye stitched me up? With what?”

“I found a sewing kit in your bag. The needle wasn’t the sharpest–“

“Aye, I can tell.”

“But I made do with what I could,” she ended with a pointed look that dared him to complain.

Lucien got the hint. “Ye did, and I thank ye,” he said. Lucien looked down to his bandaged shoulder and chest. “How bad is it?”

“Er, I’m not a doctor, but there was quite a bit of blood. The wound was fairly large and I think it may have pierced your muscle, though perhaps not too deep.”

Lucien raised an eyebrow. “Ye ken quite a bit about wounds and healing.”

Elain gave him a wry grin. “I got quite a bit of practice patching Feyre up from her many misguided adventures growing up. Yours isn’t the first cut I’ve stitched.”

“And I’m verra thankful.” He stopped to observe Elain for a moment. “Are ye alright? Have ye been eating and sleeping? Has anyone found us?”

“I’m fine,” she said soothingly, brushing his long, sweaty hair away from his face and seeing the panic in his eyes. “I haven’t seen anyone else outside at all.”

“Good, good,” he said, laying down fully and closing his eye. Elain thought he had fallen back asleep, and was turning to resume her vigil overlooking the valley when Lucien spoke again, his voice serious. “Now do ya ken why I wanted ye to dress up like a boy on the road?”

Elain paused. “They would have attacked us either way.”

“Maybe, maybe no’. If they thought ye were a lad, they would have probably killed ye before they realized ye were a lass and done much worse to ye,” Lucien said darkly, and Elain’s stomach clenched. 

“Well, you took care of them,” Elain said shakily, carefully dabbling a dry rag against Lucien’s sweaty and warm brow. “But maybe it wouldn’t be a terrible idea for me to learn how to handle a dirk. Just in case.”

“I was just about to suggest that,” Lucien said weakly. “We can start tomorrow. I’m a little tired at the moment, if ye haven’t noticed.”

Elain laughed feebly. “That sounds lovely, Lucien. Sleep. I’ve got you.”

His fever broke the next day. Elain didn’t realize how nervous she had been about that until Lucien woke up and insisted on leaving, tottering about the small cave and gathering their supplies like a baby just learning how to walk. Elain put her foot down, arguing that he risked injuring himself further and causing even more delays. 

Lucien relented, but he was still determined to make good use of their time. When it had finally stopped raining, he asked Elain to gather the driest twigs she could find, then taught her how to build a rough fire for warmth. 

“I’ll teach ye how to bank a fire later,” Lucien said when their small flame near the mouth of the cave was lit. “I doona think we’ll be here tomorrow to get much use out of it.”

“You want to leave tomorrow? You can’t be serious.”

“We’ll go slow, but aye, the sooner we can get on our way, the better.”

Elain tutted, annoyed that she was having this daily battle. “You’re still weak from your wound and need to recover.”

“My mother—“

“Your mother would rather her son save her in one piece, slightly late but healthy, rather than sick and injured, or not at all because you ignored your body’s need for rest.”

Lucien scowled.

“Just a few more days,” Elain said in her firmest voice. “Then we’ll be on our way. I don’t want to hear anymore about it.”

“Ye drive a hard bargain.” He sighed. “Fine. A few more days for me to rest—not that I need it, mind—then we’re off.”

Elain beamed. “Good.”

“Aye, good, great, fine. If we have time then, I’ll teach ye how to bank the fire, lest my good bits shrivel up in this cold.”

XXX

“Tell me about her.”

Lucien looked up. He and Elain were sitting around the low fire they’d built and banked, covered in blankets and shawls and eating a simple dinner of bread and honey as they watched the last beams of sunlight fade over the valley before them. 

It was rather cozy, if not for the screaming wound in his shoulder that made life utter agony.

Aye, perhaps Elain had the right idea of resting.

She’d done a valiant job caring for him, considering they’d had few supplies and were holed up in a small, dirty cave somewhere outside the equally small, dirty town of Drumnadrochit. It took considerable strength to carry him, and for her to do that in the pouring rain, when she must have been terrified out of her mind, showed a type of strength, not just physical, that Lucien had only suspected his wife of having. Elain was a proper English lass, aye, but she apparently hadn’t lived an entirely soft life and didn’t mind getting her hands dirty or doing hard work. 

Lucien would still rather get his hands on her, though. The low glow of the fire gleamed off her curls, turning her brown hair into an almost auburn shade, hints of red scattered throughout. Her soft skin positively glowed, the heat suffusing her cheeks with warmth. And her eyes, always lovely, always so bright—

“Lucien.”

He shook his head. “Er, tell ye about who?”

“Your mother.” Elain had a soft smile on her even softer looking lips. “You know, the women we’re doing all this for.”

Lucien deflated. Guilt that had been gnawing at him in various amounts over the past year, but which had gone several quiet over the past few days with Elain, roared back to life. All of this pain and misery was for his mother, and he’d barely thought about her in the time since they’d left Castle Macpherson, too enraptured with Elain and everything about her. 

In his defense, if his mother knew he was now married, she’d demand that Lucien focus entirely on his wife and forget her, that his duty as a husband superseded his duty as a son, or perhaps even laird. But after everything his mother had done for him, he refused to let her rot in some convent in the north.

“Aileen Macpherson, now Vanserra, is a force.” Lucien chuckled softly. “I ken ye’ll like each other.” Elain smiled softly at that, so Lucien went on. “Her great-grandfather was the old Laird on her mother’s side, so she was never in line, but she used to tell me stories of growing up in the castle.”

“She grew up in Castle Macpherson?”

“Aye, and based on what she told me, she had a grand time.” Lucien smiled, remembering the way his mother would light up when talking about her childhood. “Climbing trees in the woods, swimming in the loch right outside the castle, going on walks in the mountains with her parents… Her parents coddled her, by her own admission, and let her get away with a great many things other lasses her age wouldno’ have done. She loved the Highlands, and wanted to stay here.”

Elain raised an eyebrow. “But?”

Lucien sighed. He ran a hand down his face. Dougal gave him a careful shave twice a week back at the castle–the man had a very steady grip, despite his age–and without the maintenance from the castle’s steward, a short, even coating of hair covered the lower half of his face “My grandparents urged her to make the most advantageous match she could. Laird Beron Vanserra in the Lowlands was newly appointed, looking for a wife, and well, that was that.”

Elain took the hint. “You don’t think she loves your father.”

It took everything in Lucien to not correct her. “She loves her sons, the ones that remain, anyway.” A good deflection, based on the way Elain’s eyebrows shot towards her forehead. “But Clan Vanserra smothered her.”

“So what is your mother really like?”

Lucien reclined back and put his good arm behind his head. “She loves morning walks right as the sun is coming up, when the dew has barely settled over the grass and heather. She has the best shortbread recipe that’s been handed down for generations, and we used to invade the kitchen every Sunday to bake together. She doesno’ care for horses—“ Lucien heard Elain mumble something appreciatively under her breath, and he grinned—“and she has the quickest wit and mind that would put every man in the Clan to shame.” The smile slid from Lucien’s face. “She’s kind, and brave, and has untold love for others. She deserves better than a son who’s wasted a year to save her.”

A warm hand was over his damaged arm, and Lucien looked up to see Elain smiling softly at him. “I think your mother is very proud and happy of the man you’ve become, and is thankful beyond imagining that you’re devoting so much of your time to rescue her, even at the cost of potentially ruining your own new marriage,” she teased. 

Lucien knew she was right and to his horror, he felt tears gathering in the corner of his eye. Blinking quickly, he grinned. “I’m sure she’ll give me a lashing when she learns I brought my sweet English wife across the Highlands to rescue her. She’ll be questioning my sanity.”

“True,” Elain hummed thoughtfully, her hand still placed over his, her thumb rubbing the back of his hand. “Even if I insisted, it wasn’t the smartest decision. Though I get the sense that Eris might be smarter than you.”

He made a noise of disgust, even as he carefully shifted his hand to better hold hers. “I thought ye said I was to rest and relax to recover, and there ye go, getting me agitated and mentioning my snake of a brother.”

“A little agitation won’t kill you.”

Lucien swept his lowered gaze across Elain’s face, paying particular attention to her plush lips, before bringing his heated gaze to her eyes. To his delight, he saw the same warmth and hunger in his wife’s eyes that was no doubt reflected in his. He moved his hand slowly up her wrist and forearm. “Aye, but I can think of something that might calm me down…”

Elain leaned towards him. Lucien could feel her pulse beating erratically against the petal-thin skin of her wrist. Her small tongue wetted her lower lip and he swallowed, his heart threatening to claw itself out of his chest with how hard it was beating. She was so close.

“A good night’s rest and a hearty breakfast.”

Like he’d been thrown head first in Loch Ness, coldness radiated from the hand that was no longer holding Elain. Lucien spluttered as she stepped back from him and winked, though her cheeks were stained red that couldn’t be from the fire. “You’re looking a bit peaky. It might be best that you turn in for the evening.”

Lucien watched Elain as she got ready for bed and murmured a soft ‘good night’ to him later, before wrapping herself in her blankets and falling asleep soon after. He watched her for quite some time, willing his heart rate and erection to settle.

Christ above, he wanted his wife like he’d never wanted anything in his life up till now. Every need and want he’d ever experienced—whisky, a good meal, friends, the very air around him—was insignificant to the desire to feel Elain moving against him, touching him, knowing him. He’d give anything to graze her: his sword, his title, his other damned eye, just for a moment’s pleasure of touching her. 

There was more to Elain than just her body, Lucien knew, but matters of the heart were never his specialty, though he tried to think less with the brain between his legs the more he aged. He knew enough of his wife to know she wanted him too, and Lucien was determined to get his wife in his arms, even if he had to stab himself to get there.

XXX

Lucien had declared himself as fit as ever on their fourth day in the cave, and that they needed to leave the next day to resume their journey. Although Elain objected, saying that he certainly wasn’t back to normal, Lucien refused to budge, so she begrudgingly agreed. 

She was a bit disappointed, however. The past several days had been spent leisurely getting to know Lucien, doing simple chores, fusing over her husband and flirting with him, all in equal measure. It had all been slow and gentle and uncomplicated, and being back on the road would bring an end to their easy cohabitation. Elain dreaded it, wishing she could keep them together, just as they were, in this cave, just for another day.

But Elain was already accustomed to the single raised eyebrow on Lucien’s face and what it meant: their conversation was no longer up for negotiation, and he had made up his mind.

She would have to break him of that look if she was going to be married to him.

Fine!” Elain snapped after arguing with him over the course of the morning. “You had better show me all of your maps then, in case I need to navigate. Seeing as how you’re still not fully recovered and I fully expect you to fall off the horse at some point!”

They spent the afternoon pouring over Lucien’s maps and journals, where he kept meticulous notes and plans on his primary routes, towns to restock in, places to avoid, and even acceptable caves, woods and hunting cabins to stay in.

“Ye did good finding this cave,” Lucien said later that night, dragging a chunk of bread through his bowl of soup. Elain had suggested a bean and potato stew for dinner to take advantage of their fire, and he had agreed wholeheartedly. “I imagine it wasno’ the easiest to spot.”

“Ajax practically led me here,” Elain admitted. 

Lucien snorted. “That damned horse can be as sharp as a blade and stubborn as a jackass within the span of a minute.”

“Wonder who he takes after,” Elain said drolly, smirking at the annoyed glance Lucien sent her. 

By the time they finished dinner it was raining; Lucien gathered their bowls and rinsed everything in the rain and Elain took them from him with a dry cloth.

“Everything all packed for an early start tomorrow? Clothes dried as well as they can be, maps and papers put away?”

“Yes,” Elain replied, carefully packing the dry dishes. “We’ll just need to roll up our beds and blankets and be off.”

“Grand,” Lucien sighed. “Are ye doing anything else the rest of the evening?”

“I was going to bake some bread and sew an entirely new silk dress.” She snorted at Lucien’s confused look. “Of course I’m not doing anything else tonight!”

“Wonderful. Want to come sit on my lap and pass the night getting to know yer husband?” Lucien was sitting on the ground, leaning against the cave wall, his thick legs slightly spread under his kilt. “Since ye have nothing else planned for this lovely evening,” Lucien added smugly, seeing the shocked expression on Elain’s face.

Where did this come from? “I, uh, your shoulder,” Elain stuttered, too flummoxed by Lucien’s sudden boldness and the fire in his eye. “I don’t want to hurt—“

“I only need one arm for what I want to do to ye,” Lucien rumbled, his eye flickering with desire.

Elain, drawn like a moth to Lucien’s confidence and light, walked towards her husband. He reached out his good arm and pulled her onto his lap, her knees on either side of his hips.

“This is very sudden of you,” Elain said, gasping when one of his hands squeezed her hip and his lips pecked her collarbones. 

“It shouldnae’ be a surprise that I want ye.”

Elain bit her lip. Want. Her husband wanted her. She was drawn to Lucien, and wanted to know more of him, but physical intimacy was the last thing that had been on her mind for the past several days. Elain had desired him before, but the prospect of something more happening hadn’t seemed quite so real as what was happening now. Did she want to be with Lucien in such a way, still so relatively soon after their lives were forced together, and while still learning more about him? It was the next step in their relationship, and might complicate the easy camaraderie they’d built over the past few days. What if he was rough, or she did something wrong, or was too awkward?

“I can see ye thinking, lass.”

Lucien was staring at her with a small smile on his lips, his eye bright. She flushed. “Well, you’ve suddenly given me quite a bit to think about.”

He hummed and gently ran his hands over her hips. “Let me help to quiet yer mind, then.” Cradling her jaw with his good hand, Lucien finally brought Elain’s lips to his. 

Elain melted, her fears instantly waylaid. Lucien’s lips were a bit chapped, and both of their breaths tasted faintly of their dinner, but neither seemed to mind. He was slow with her, letting her learn the shape of his mouth while he did the same with hers. His short beard, the hair coming in the same violent shade as the hair on his head, tickled her face. She stiffened slightly as his good arm grazed her bottom, but relaxed as he murmured soothingly against her lips. All of the fight left her as Elain moved against Lucien. 

They kissed, and kissed, and kissed, and Elain felt her desire grow. Just as Elain was wondering how to progress beyond kisses, Lucien’s hand trailed down her chest and lightly stroked a peaked nipple through her dress. Elain gasped as Lucien’s throaty chuckles caressed her ear.

“Can ye get bare for me again? Like on our wedding night?” he whispered.

Elain arched a playful eyebrow. “That right is solely reserved for deserving husbands or when I’ve had a cup or two of ale.”

“Hm, just yer lower half, then. I’ll make it worth yer while. Promise.”

“What are you going to do?”

“You’ve been so good to me, taking care of me, cleaning my wounds. I want to take care of ye now.” A hand skimmed over the skin on her inner thigh under her dress, while his lips trailed down the long column of her throat. “Show my wife how much I appreciate everything she’s done for me.”

Elain shivered. “Can’t you do that while I’m clothed?”

Lucien sighed wistfully. “Aye, but I wanted to see that lovely body of yours.” The hand on her thigh reached forward and stroked the gusset of her knickers covering her wet heat. “Properly show ye how thankful I am.”

She gasped as he touched her center through her undergarments. “Surely you must be tired after a long day recovering?”

“Fuck, Elain, stop being so stubborn and let me touch ye, please.”

Like she could stop him at this point, but she appreciated that Lucien still asked, and thrilled that he wanted her. “I suppose, if you think you have the strength for it.”

“I’ll show ye what I have the strength for, when I’m all healed,” he promised against her lips, plunging his tongue in her mouth at the same time a thick finger shoved her undergarments aside and swiped across her slick folds.

“Fuck,” they groaned in unison. Elain thought she had more to moan about as Lucien’s finger danced around her entrance before traveling up her slit to circle the small bud between her legs. Lightning raced up her spine and she gasped at the pleasure his single finger accomplished in just a few moments.

“Christ above, Elain, yer soaked,” Lucien moaned into her neck, his finger continuing to circle her bud. “All this just from some kissing?”

“I think you’re just as affected as me,” she gasped, raising and lowering her hips to lightly grind against the hard and insistent bulge that had formed underneath her.

“Aye, that’s how much I want ye, what having ye in my arms, making such amazing sounds, does to me.”

“Don’t stop,” Elain gasped, his clever finger teasing her bud. “Don’t stop, don’t stop–!”

“Do ye want more?”

Elain couldn’t comprehend how anything of value could be added to this, but she trusted Lucien, and was curious as to his plans. She nodded her head, then immediately cried out when his finger left her aching bud.

“No, why–oh!”

Lucien’s finger that had been bringing her such pleasure slipped into her entrance. It was a strange feeling.

“Relax for me, just like that.” Lucien gently worked his finger deeper and deeper inside her until his palm met her flesh. “How is that?”

“It feels… different,” Elain said, wiggling her hips. Lucien groaned beneath her. “I liked what you were doing before.”

“So, like this?”

Elain gasped as his thumb began circling her bud and the finger inside her withdrew before re-entering her slick channel. The combination–a finger touching her sensitive bud and another moving within her–felt even better than before.

“Oh yes! Just like that!”

Lucien kissed her neck. “I’m verra glad that bastard got my left shoulder and not my right. This would be much more difficult if I didnae have my sword hand.”

“Oh, I’m glad as well,” Elain replied breathlessly, rocking her hips over Lucien’s hand and gripping his uninjured shoulder. 

“That’s it,” Lucien said encouragingly from below her, his eye half lidded. “Ride my hand, Elain.”

Elain groaned, rocking her hips faster, chasing the peak she was climbing towards. She could feel a trickle of sweat sliding down her back. In front of her, Lucien looked equally as flushed. ���I need, I need…”

“Do ye need more?”

Elain nodded feebly then gasped as she felt another of Lucien’s fingers prod her entrance. She was ready this time: with an easy roll of her hips, Elain took both digits within her tight channel.

“Just like that, Elain,” Lucien moaned underneath her. His thumb resumed its place on her tender bud. His eye was bright not only with arousal but something even more complex: tenderness, happiness, and pride. “Take me, just like that. You’ll look so pretty riding my cock one day.”

Elain whimpered at the feeling of his fingers working her folds and his words and threw her head back. His two digits were already so thick inside her, stretching her–what would his length be like? Her stomach fluttered at the idea.

“Mo leannan,” Lucien murmured sweetly against her lips. “Can I move yer skirt, so I can see that pretty little quim of yers?”

Elain bunched her skirt at her waist and looked down. The angle was wrong, and the fabric in her hand prevented her from seeing anything, but Lucien apparently was able to see: he glanced down between them and went slack-jawed, his eye blown out.

“Crivvens,” he croaked, enraptured by the scene between her legs. “Tha thu cho breagha. Chan urrainn dhomh feitheamh gus mo bheul a chuir ort.”

Spurred on by the way he growled whatever he was saying to her, Elain continued moving her hips over Lucien, fighting the muscles screaming in her legs. Seeing her desperation, Lucien thrust his fingers inside of her every time she lowered herself towards him. 

It was the dirtiest thing she had ever done, the wet sounds of her excitement flooding their small and cozy cave and urging both of them on. 

And as Lucien awkwardly gripped her closer to him with his bad arm and continued whispering heated Gaelic in her ear, his thumb and digits working her center, Elain fell apart in his arms. Pleasure like she’d never known before raced throughout her body, lighting every nerve ending aflame as Lucien’s desire and heat consumed her.

She slumped in his hold as Lucien worked her down, gradually stilling his fingers inside her and resting his thumb besides her bud. He kissed her and brushed her center again,  huckling softly as Elain twitched in his arms.

“I’m feeling very well taken care of, thank you,” Elain panted raggedly. 

“Good.” Lucien kissed her temple. “Ye deserve it.”

Elain warmed at his words. “And what about you? I should show you how thankful I am that you saved me.” Her small hands trailed down his chest, reaching the red hair that began below his belly button and trailed beneath his kilt before his hand covered hers.

“Ye never have to do anything to thank me for that,” Lucien said, kissing her softly. “I’ll always save you.”

“Oh Lucien…”

“Besides, showing my appreciation for ye took all the energy I had,” he admitted, blushing. “I doona think I’ll be able to stay awake long enough to let ye explore me, ye ken?”

“Ah.” She subtly swiveled her hips, no longer feeling his hardness beneath her. “Maybe after you’ve taught me how to defend myself we can… spend some more time together, like this?”

“And which weapon of mine will ye be handling?” Lucien asked, wriggling his eyebrows and grinning.

Elain scoffed. “One second thought, I could probably do what you just did by myself–“

“Aye, but I guarantee ye only I can make ye feel that good.”

Elain swallowed and looked up at Lucien, the now familiar heat she felt whenever she was around him flaring–

“Will ye lay near me, when we sleep?”

Any remaining arousal fled her as she looked at Lucien’s drooping eye and the exhaustion lining his face. Recovering from a stab wound took a lot of energy–energy that he’d just exerted for her.

“Of course,” Elain murmured, banking the fire and gathering their blankets. Lucien settled down and let her curl into him, her head resting on his good shoulder. He was asleep before she finished wishing him a good night. 

Lucien was a good man and husband, Elain realized, watching her husband’s face soften in sleep. He protected her, listened to her, cared for her in some way, made her laugh, and clearly wanted to pleasure her.

Maybe she should have given him more of a chance at the castle.

Or maybe they needed to be alone, together, for an extended period of time, away from everyone they knew and what was expected of each of them.

But that was a quandary for another day. Elain let the warmth from Lucien’s body lull her into the best night's sleep she had had on the road.

[sharmakanika]

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[tj-crochets]

Crafting update: - the scrap quilt top is done but I've made zero progress on actually quilting it - I did get to the local quilt shop to get some batting this weekend though! - I also got some fabric. Shrinking my fabric stash is going...not great lol (it's super cute fabric though and I am excited) - I made a Large Mothman plushie body! it still needs wings, eyes, antennae, and maybe arms, but it's coming along - I also made chicken and dumplings! with extra veggies because there were veggies in the fridge to use up - I'm working on crocheting some scarves, because my brother learned to crochet and wants to make the whole family matching scarves for christmas but there's a lot of us and it's a short timeline so I'm making some of them too