#red dwarf fan art request

[professional-termite]

drawing requests are currently closed on this blog (with a few exceptions)

BANNER BY @corvidovis TYSM SILLY!!!!

hi, im Vanderbilt (aka Termite or Termy), formerly E.W.W. Morningstar (Eddie is now hosted solely on @e-w-w-morningstar)! i am an aspiring artist and writer who just wants to be silly goofy online. send me asks, fool around, and have fun on my blog!! i love interacting with people :3 im e_w_woodson on ao3 if you wanna check me out

yes, i am the lightning mcqueen hater (i-hate-mcqueen). please stop sending me lightning mcqueen (send him in if you want, its funny lmao)

dni (not a lot tbh)

bigots (homophobic, transphobic, aphobic, racist, TERF, mysogynist, etc)

pedophiles or zoophiles (if you support pedophilia or zoophilia i will be blocking you immediately)

if i dont like you i will block you. sometimes i do this on vibe alone

fandoms im in/shows and movies ive watched (the list is constantly growing, you can ask if ive watched/read something if you dont see it here)

night at the museum

mouthwashing

arc of a scythe

project hail mary

the martian

life of luxury

scream (the original movie, havent seen the others)

star trek (tng and tos)

haunted mansion (2003 and 2023)

doctor who (just the stuff on disney+)

good omens

fnaf (the games and movies)

downton abbey

bridgerton

stranger things

umbrella academy

the owl house

amphibia

childs play/chucky franchise

beetlejuice the musical

hamilton

loki (not so much a big fan of marvel anymore tho)

warrior cats (i have all the books of the new arc i just havent read them yet lol)

wings of fire

shows/movies im planning on watching:

bbc sherlock (watched up to s3)

psych (watched eps. 1-3)

murder she wrote (yet to start)

only murders in the building (yet to start)

ted lasso (watched eps 1 and 2)

the afterparty (watched s1 a while ago, yet to watch s2)

dead end: paranormal park (watched eps 1 and 2)

bbc ghosts (yet to watch)

red dwarf (yet to watch)

and blogs im involved with/admin for under the cut

my (platonic, gender neutral, we get divorced a lot lmao) CURRENTLY ex-EX-husband, stick, is @/stickbug32

my daughter, tailz, is @/ouppypio

my other other daughter, cherry, is @/cherrysdeadd

my son, squid, is @/five-nights-at-squids

my other son, pine tree, is @/pin3-tr33

my soulsister, lee, is @/creative-soul-22

my internet sibling, toast, is @/iceeericeee

my dad, satan, is @/morningbloodystar

one of my siblings, jay, is @/helphowdoiusethis

my other siblings are echo @/echosghoast, violet @/violet-yimlat, abby @/janeway-lover, eric @/ask-eric-the-disposable-demon and probably more but im too lazy to count

my tags for rp as eddie (before i moved him to @e-w-w-morningstar) are #e.w.w. morningstar and #eddie lore, the tags for casual-wood (derry) are #casual-wood and #d.c.c. and the tags for rping as van the void dweller (the character, not me) is #van lore or #vans void

my art stuff is under #writing adventures with van and #drawing adventures with van (when i remember to tag djgk)

star trek posting is under #trek adventures with van

life of luxury posting is under #luxury adventures with van

oc posting is under #oc adventures with van

fop posting is under #fairly odd adventures with van

most of my original posts are under #random, trying to start using #termite talks for non fandom posts

i am the admin for:

@vans-ghost (van the void dweller)

@jessica-woodson-morningstar (jessica, eddie and vans daughter)

@e-w-w-morningstar (eddie himself)

@novaspacoz (my oc nova)

@tyler-the-destroyer (my oc tyler)

@i-hate-mcqueen (pixar cars sideblog)

@the-real-number-one-van (joke sideblog, was gonna be a personal blog but i havent really used it)

@backup-ominous-threats (but thats a secret if youve read this far shhhh)

@vanderbilt-draws (fandom art blog)

@ensign-navh (star trek oc rp blog)

@cptnjeanlucpicard (picard rp blog)

@lt-cmdr-geordilaforge (geordi rp blog, i cant tag him for some reason BUT HES THERE I SWEAR)

[space-and-nonsense]

Introductory Post!

Hello. This is my new side blog for fandom related stuff including my own fan art which I want to get back into doing. I used to have a main blog on a different account called @floatinginotterspace but I more or less abandoned it several years ago when I got very consumed by mental illness and tried and failed to resurrect it. I decided I wanted to get back into this side of tumblr after following the red dwarf tag and rekindling my excitement. I hope doing this again will cheer me up. The problem is I can’t remember my log in details for that blog so I’ve made this one instead. And maybe a fresh start is nice.

If you like Red Dwarf or any of the other things I am going to mention below please feel free to follow me and please reblog this if you are happy to so I can integrate into the fandom more. Also if you have fan art requests or want to recommend anything you’re most welcome.

A little about me:

I’m Jaye (not my actual name), neurodivergent, 24 years old, and like to use they/them/xe/xem pronouns.

I live in the UK and am a zoology student but am currently on suspension due to health issues.

My main blog is @try-and-try-and-try-again which I mainly use to vent about my health issues (oh dear). That will be the name that comes up if I message you I suppose.

I mainly made this blog for Red Dwarf content after finding to my delight that the fandom is still very active on here. I also love the works of Douglas Adams, Olaf Stapledon, P.G. Wodehouse (especially Jeeves and Wooster) and Studio Ghibli films.

Beyond fiction my main interests are palaeontology, lichen, fungi, wildlife in general and choral music (especially from the Renaissance period).

[dwarfer-mouse]

'A young Arnold is quietly observing Dennis (Dungo) tending to the garden. Though unbeknownst to Arnold, he is actually watching his father at work...'

As requested by @moonie-lunie 🌼

[jackgoodfellow]

DEARLY SMEGGING BELOVED

Rimster wedding day. 💖 These boys are so shaped.

[ID: a digital illustration, in vibrant shades of blue in a cartoonish style showing the Red Dwarf characters Lister and Rimmer getting married, officiated by the Cat, while Kryten and Holly stand to the side as the wedding party and several guests look on.

Kryten is wearing a frilly hat and blouse in "mother of the bride" style. He is holding a handkerchief and crying dramatically.

Lister is wearing a tuxedo without the jacket, shirt partially untucked and bowtie undone. He is wearing his work boots. He is smiling fondly at Rimmer, arms crossed, confident.

Cat stands in the center in a black suit with a priest collar and thigh high white boots. He is wearing blue lipstick eyeliner, as well as silver heart-shaped dangly earrings and a natural hairstyle with gray hair on the temples and a braid in the back. He is posing with his eyes closed in a smug smile, as though he is modeling for a photoshoot.

Rimmer stands with his back very straight and his arms behind his back, wearing a white tuxedo with navy epaulets. He is blushing and smiling nervously at Lister.

To his right, the head of Holly in her female form is present on a screen, which is attached to a stand with wheels. Holly is wearing pearl earrings and her hair is in a neat updo with bangs. To the corner of her screen, there is a basket of rose petals.

The wedding party is standing in front of a large window with criss-crossing lattice, looking out onto the blue and purple starscape of space through the glass.

Small text in the upper left-hand corner reads "Jack D. Goodfellow, 2022"

In the foreground of the image, some wedding guests are visible in the audience, seen from behind as though the viewer were seated behind them. the guests appear to include Hogey the Rogue-y, two of the skutters leaning on each other romantically, Kochanski, and Snacky the snack robot.

The rest of the images are all various crops of the first image for the purpose of making the detail work easier to see.

End ID.]

[tealcicada]

Any art requests?

I like drawing

transformers

steven universe

Bugs

People

Fantasy

Not furries

Bioshock

Portal

Legend of zelda

Avatar atla and lok

Teen titans

Adventure time

RED DWARF

Borderlands

[latte-to-go]

the art of loving you [alcina dimitrescu]

summary ━━━ sometimes, it was difficult for you to tell if what you and lady dimitrescu, or alcina as she has allowed you to call her, had was love. it remained a lingering thought in your mind as her daughters continued to call you their mother’s ‘human play-thing’ and most days, you let it not get to you. but, it was difficult to ignore that fateful night and the lady of the house had easily noticed something was upsetting her little pet.

pairing ━━━ alcina dimitrescu x reader.

words ━━━ 1612

fandom ━━━ resident evil.

warnings ━━━ pure fluff, honestly. but, it has some hints of nsfw vibes but it doesn't go into them.

author's note ━━━ lady dimitrescu owns my heart and I have spent so much time reading fanfics about her that I just needed to write one of my own. who knew a tall sexy vampire lady would be what broke my hiatus and brought me back to tumblr? but, I am here to stay and I am so excited to write more reader inserts! and to continue to fill requests! for now, my requests are open! but, I will probably write a lot more for alcina as well! so, I haven't finished resident evil village yet because of how busy I am with work and that might make the characters a little out of character! but I couldn't wait to write about alcina! hopefully, I will have the game finished soon! some things have been spoiled for me already, but a lot of the game is still unknown because I am still in the very beginning of the game where ethan just gets to the village. but, I still hope you all enjoy this one-shot! it's just fluff between the reader and our lady!

DARK CLOUDS LOOMED AGAINST THE HORIZON, matching the catastrophic thoughts that lingered in the back of your mind as you numbly flipped the pages to the book you had tried so hard to distract yourself with. But, your mind had not retained any of the words written on the yellowed pages as your mind stayed on the woman that held every inch of your heart. With a sigh, you turned your gaze out the window instead. The window pane was cold to the touch, courtesy of the snow that remained a constant of the land.

It had only been two years since you had arrived at Castle Dimitrescu ━━ a mistake, truly. At least, at first, it had been as you stumbled across the maidens that the grandiose home belonged to. It should have been the last night of your life, but the lady of the house had taken a keen interest in you. You had not understood it at first, but you had grown attached to Alcina Dimitrescu and her… mysterious ways. Perhaps, you would even go as far as to call it love at first sight. And, you had thought she had felt the same way with her sweet words and burning touches. But, then doubt had become to creep into the dark crevices of your relationship with the woman.

It was often her daughters teased you, complaining about how they couldn’t stand to hear the beat of your heart. But, their mother had explicitly forbidden them from touching you. Though, you did not feel unsafe around them and had grown to trust and like each of them. But, their words tended to hurt whenever they referred to you as their mother’s play-thing. It was as if there was a timer on your life and it wouldn’t be long till Alcina grew bored of your presence and decided it was your time to join the dead.

“The day has come and gone and you have yet to leave our bedroom,” the regal voice belonging to Alcina echoed throughout the room, startling you at your spot in the window sill. She stood tall with her golden eyes watching your every move, making you hold your breath as you waited for her to speak. With long strides, she quickly reached the window as she looked down at you with an unreadable expression. Regardless of your height, you always dwarfed in comparison to her as she stood taller than most she came across. But, she looked even taller whilst you sat. She leaned down, placing a gentle kiss against your lips. When she pulled back, her gaze met yours. “Has something happened?”

“No,” the word quickly left your lips as your felt your cheeks burn at the sudden closeness. Her scent of her old vintage lavender perfume with hints of blood filled your nose ━━ the old mixture had become a comfort for you. With a clear of your throat, you continued to speak. “Everything is fine.”

A hum left her red lips, seemingly vibrating every sense of your being. With two fingers, she trailed against your jaw as she continued to stare at your parted lips. “You should know better than to lie to me, my darling.”

“I do not wish to bother you with my human problems,” you muttered bitterly, pushing her fingers off your skin. For a moment, her eyes flashed with an unknown emotion but she did not utter a word as she took a step back to create space between the two of you.

“So, something has happened,” Alcina commented, standing to her feet as she towered over you again. It made you feel small in every sense as a wave of tears made their presence known. Hiding them from her was futile as she continued to watch, making you sniffle as you tried to wipe them away. “Tell me, who has hurt you?”

“No one.” It wasn’t like you to throw her daughters underneath the bus because of some harsh words. After all, you needed to be stronger than that.

Her hand reached forward, wiping away the stray tear with her thumb before she caressed your cheek. It took everything in you to not lean into her touch, refusing to place a kiss against her tender skin. Despite your lack of reaction, Alcina moved closer as she took a seat on the window sill. It was difficult due to her size, but she made it work as she continued to run her thumb against your cheek. “Then, why the tears?”

She waited for you to speak, listening to the shaky breaths that left your lips as you tried to gather your thoughts. “I’ve been having doubts,” you confessed, biting the inside of your cheek as you met the woman’s eyes. “About… us.”

“What do you doubt about us?” She asked softly. And, for the first time, you could hear worry in her tone as she slowed her movements. Her sharp gaze had softened, lingering on your saddened expression.

With a deep breath, you took her hand off your cheek as you held it close. Her hands were larger than an average person’s, but you still fit perfectly in them. “I fear that you do not love me the way that I love you,” you whispered, keeping your eyes on your interlocked hands. “I feel as if I am something that you use to pass the time. Someone to warm your bed at night for the time being before you get bored and move to the next.”

“People say I’m heartless,” she started off slowly, taking your words deep into her heart as her gaze flickering to your hands as well. “They call me a monster ━━ a frightening legend that mothers tell their misbehaving children. And, for a long time, I believed in those legends that painted me as a cruel vicious beast. That is, until I met you, my darling.”

Her words made you look up, daring to meet her eyes as she stared at you unblinking. Her beauty had always taken your breath away, making her perfect to you at anything that matters. Still, you remained quiet.

“Perhaps, I did not love you at first,” Alcina confessed, ever so slightly tightening her grip on your hand as she let out a heavy sigh. “But, you came into my life like a storm and I had learned how to dance in the rain. Regardless of what you think, my love for you is true. My darling, you make me feel whole ━━ the missing piece I had unknowingly been searching for.”

“Do you really mean that?” you asked softly, barely finding your voice as you faced the woman. Her words were like honey, dripping sweetness onto your tongue as you tried your hardest to believe her.

Her free hand caressed your cheek, moving closer to you before she left a chaste kiss against your forehead. “Have I ever lied to you before?”

“No, but…”

“Cease your doubts, my love,” Alcina said, staying inches away from your lips as her breath fanned against your cheeks. She whispered your name, letting out a deep sigh as she took in your scent. “What can I do to convince you that my love for you is true? To convince you that I want to spend the rest of our days together? To convince you that my heart yearns for you and only you?”

"Alcina…” you whispered softly, closing your eyes as her lips hovered over the skin of your neck. She didn’t move, waiting for some indication from you. “I love you more than anything in this world and… I wish to spend the rest of my life with you. If you would have me, that is.”

The soft words caused Alcina to open her eyes as she faced you, showing no emotion as usual. It made it hard for you to predict her next move as you waited for her to say anything. But, then a soft smile presented itself to you as she leaned in close. “Of course I would have you, my darling,” she whispered, meeting your eyes. “I would do anything for you.”

Her words brought a smile to your lips, pushing you forward as you engulfed her lips with your own. She was quick to pull you into her lap as she held you close, kissing back with the same intensity that you gave her. It made you feel warm with her love as any doubts you had begun to vanish as she held you. There was no doubt that Alcina Dimitrescu was hopelessly in love with you as you were with her. Yet, the sweet moment had ended too soon.

There was a knock at the door, causing a deep growl to leave Alcina’s lips as she pulled away from yours. It left you breathless as the two of you looked to the door to see Cassandra. She wore a sadistic grin, moving deeper into the room as she regarded the two of you. “Forgive me for interrupting,” she cooed, stealing a glance at your flushed expression with playful vice. “But, he’s back.”

A frown marred your features, causing you to glance back at Alcina and see the irritation blooming. “Who is back?”

With a sigh, Alcina looked to you as she forced a smile to her lips. She moved forward, leaving a chaste kiss against your lips that had become stained the same color as hers. “Only a nuisance that you needn’t worry about,” she whispered softly, moving to stand to her feet. “I shall be back soon, my love.”

At her words, you smiled. “I will be here waiting for your return.”

[ofpineapplesanddawns]

Hey!!! First of all, I’m a hu fan of your work. I really like your fics and your art style is truly amazing. May I request something for Aziraphale x Crowley? A little AU where they know each other pre-Fall, please? Can be a fic or an art, doesn‘t matter. I‘d just like to see what you‘ll do with this little prompt 😊

I don't think I've ever written pre-fall Crowley and Aziraphale, though I do have silly, little headcanons I've kept to myself because reasons.

But sure, I can write something! :D

Heads up, while I love the concept of Crowley having just been a normal angel who asked too many questions, I also love the idea of him being Samael (who is considered the Serpent in some versions of the stories, and can be seen as a different angel to Lucifer). So, for this, I'm going with Samael, the black sheep of the Archangels because he deals with sinners.

On with the fic!

--

Heaven is meant to be the ultimate paradise, that's what all the brochurs that were being printed for the future non-angelic residents to have when they finally arrived. Whenever that would be, God hasn't exactly given anyone a date on when Her big project was gonna be finished.

Not that any of that was Samael's business, really. He was fascinated, completely and utterly fascinated, but he wasn't allowed to work on Project Earth. Mostly because he asked too many annoying questions and the heads of the project kicked him back to star duty.

Which is where the angel found himself now, mixing elements together in a dish, preparing to make what he planning on calling a red dwarf, when he heard a small cough. Samael paused, turning away from his project, to see an angel standing nearby, holding scrolls.

He appeared to be wearing what was considered a 'human corporation', a new project that some angels had volunteered to try out, to see if they could keep their true selves inside of. Samael was currently wearing his, he rather liked having hands, made things easier for him. The other angel seemed to have adjusted to his corporation, even though Samael could sense the energy from him, he was a cherub, and his human head looked kinda cute, in a goofy way.

"Can I help you?" Samael asked, smiling at the stranger.

"Oh, uh... I-I was meant to, I mean," the other angel stammered, looking overwhelmed, "you're Samael, yes? Archangel?"

Samael inwardly winced, he could tell that his title was said with a capital A. He was part of the Higher Circle of angels, special ones picked for special tasks, practically on the highest tier of angels, in a sense. Samael personally hated it, made him feel like such a nark, he wasn't pompous about it like his siblings were.

"Yeah, that's me. Did you need something?"

"Well, I... I work the in the archives, you see," they had archives?, "and while I was sorting about through the scrolls, and coming across a rather lovely bit of poetry someone wrote about something called bees, I found these."

The angel approached him, with caution, and gently set the scrolls down on Samael's work table with such care. The scrolls were of Samael's making, reports and images of his projects out in the universe. He suddenly felt a little embarrassed, oh great, was he in trouble for these? "Is there something wrong with them? Do I have to file 'em correctly or somethin'?"

"Oh no!" The angel shook his head, looking at the Archangel with wide, hazel eyes. They were rather pretty, like a tree, Samael just learned what plants were and already he was liking them, and he was liking those eyes that reminded him of a plant. "No, you didn't file them incorrectly or anything of the sort, I just... wanted to let you know that these are gorgeous!"

Samael felt like a column had been dropped in front of his cart of thought.

"What?"

"Well, as an archivist for Heaven's records and library, oh, I love the library but it needs more content that isn't just someone boasting about their accomplishments, I have to put everything into place! And that means I have to look at what the scrolls have within them, and yours are just... beautiful!"

"What?" Samael repeated.

"Forgive me for gushing," the other angel said, his cheeks pink, "but when I sort and record the works of the star makers, they tend to just write what they did and call it a day, never showing examples. Yes, there are coordinates, but sometimes an angel would like to see the heavens without having to leave his office, yes?"

Samael could only nod and that was the other's cue to continue. "Right, well, I opened up yours and just... oh, these are amazing, it's like I'm right up there, seeing the universe being made! Your attention to detail in your paintings are something else, you should be working on flowers on the Earth project, I bet you could make them look utterly stunning compared to what I've seen now!"

The angel looked at him, giving him the most honest, beautiful smile that Samael had ever seen on anyone before.

And he fell in love instantly.

"You... you really like my stuff?" He found himself say when his brain decided to work again.

"Of course! It's a shame no one talks about you in such a positive light!" Comes with being the future angel of sinners and sin eaters. "You have such passion and love in your work, I'm impressed. I'd love nothing more than to see you in action, to see the real thing!"

The taller angel felt his face burn like a star, but he grinned brightly like one as well. "'Course! I'm in the middle of a new project, if you'd like to watch, uhh..."

"Aziraphale." Said the angel, still smiling. "And I would love to watch."

Aziraphale, one of Raphael's rank, meaning he was good people. But then again, Samael didn't need to know his name to know that fact, the proof was right before him.

"Alright, Aziraphale," Samael smirked, cracking his knuckles, "get yourself comfortable! You're about to see art in the making!"

--

If anyone has ever read any of the content I've made for my Reverse Omens au, then you're probably familiar with Samael.

[elles-writing]

When the worlds collide - Kili x reader - part II

gif not mine

gif not mine

Pairing: Kili x reader

Requested: No

A/N: Second part, hope you enjoy. Also my school started, and we’re not really doing anything just yet. I also do have some imagines in drafts I’ve started writting, but I’ve never posted them, so idk if I’m gonna finish them and then post them at least once a week along with this series (once every two to three days I’d like to post parts of this series as a thank you for 30 followers!)...? Also, I’ve been thinking of maybe drawing some fan arts to this series? Also, I’m writting this in Word, and so far we are on a ten pages, so I’ve decided to cut the end of this one and post something else tomorrow.

warnings: Kili being jealous of Bilbo, some dwarves being a jerks

masterlist   part one  part three 

tags:

@moony-artnstuff​

All of them looked at you with different mix of curiousity, suspicion and hope. You looked over to Gandalf with pleading look to help you, but he was already talking with some of the dwarves, from their angry tone you assumed they weren’t very pleased of where this was going, so you decided to talk, even through you were still a bit shocked, to some of whom weren’t in any discussion.

Which happened to be Bilbo.

He looked very lost and his face held sad and hopeless look. You sighed.

„I’m really sorry for you all, but you, Bilbo, got another shock, didn’t you?“ You asked that hobbit. He jumped up and when he realized it was you, he sadly with sad smile shook his head.

„Yeah, it’s been very...difficult to deal with leaving my home. I’ve been missing it all the time, but I got used to it.“ You offered him a warm smile and patted his shoulder.

„I belive you’ll see your hobbit hole again. I’ll try and help you.“ He gave you a weak smile and nodded.

„Thank you a lot, it’s really nice from you, miss...?“ He looked at you and you realized you didn’t even introduced yourself.

„Oh, my name’s Y/N. I’m Y/N.“

„It’s very nice to meet you, miss Y/N.“ You glanced over and noticed by the corner of your eye Kili’s expression.

Third person pov

Kili have been eyeing you since you’ve let him, Fili and Thorin inside and wanted to learn more about you, especially when you called him by his name. You knew him, but he didn’t knew you, for Mahal’s sake!

The clothes you’ve given to him was dry and comfortable, even if it wasn’t something he was used to back in Middle-Earth. He wanted to talk to you, not only because of being curious of where did you knew his name from – but also because he felt something and wanted, needed to be close to you.

When you started talking, he was watching you, every single move of yours – he could see you were nervous and still a bit pale from shock, but he was hanging on every single word you said (which, he knew, will Fili take advantage of and tease him on every single opportunity he will get).

When you said you thought about a way to explain why do you know all of them, Fili turned to him to affiliate him into discussion, but he noticed the way his brother’s jaw clenched and if looks could kill, Bilbo would be dead.

You and Bilbo were talking about his home and Fili noticed that when you assuringly smiled at Bilbo and placed your hand on his shoulder, Kili averted his gaze, but in a few seconds he looked back at you. Fili chuckled. He’s gonna be teasing him about being jealous of that halfling they were playing pranks at.

It seemed like Kili got back for his prank with horse hairs, which he rubbed over handkief, then gave it to Bilbo, whom couldn’t use it, because he was sneezing all the time.

Now that hobbit got not only your attention, but also you touched him.

Kili was now having a pouting face he did since both Kili and Fili could remember, and Fili chuckled to himself. Kili wouldn’t admit he was jealous, especially because of you and Bilbo talking. And Fili knew that.

He nudged him to ribs and murmed.

„I’m begging you, behave.“ Kili flinched, but his eyes weren’t leaving your face.

„I am behaving.“ Fili chuckled.

„If looks could kill, Bilbo would be dead. That is not behaving.“

„I didn’t do anything!“ He whispered-hissed-yelled. Fili chuckled.

„You look like you want to jump over the table and choke him. Tsk tsk brother.“

„What are you two talking about?“ Kili froze and Fili did too. It was you.

„I-uhm-“ Kili looked to Fili for help. He was doing this rarely, but if he did, Fili knew he was hopeless.

„It was nothing, really.“ He said and inhaled to say something else, but Kili was quicker.

„I, uh, you know my name, right?“

Your pov

„I, uh, you know my name, right?“ Said Kili and you nodded. He was your favourite character, even if you didn’t liked the moments when him and Fili made Bilbo to go against the trolls, or when they were pranking him and making fun of that poor little thing.

„Yeah, I do.“ An awkvard silence came up between you two. You shyly smiled towards him, finding him attractive, and looked over the table. You stood up again.

„Don’t be afraid. Only that...,“ you looked at Gandalf and he nodded.

„I’m not sure how are you going to take it.“ You went to your living room and pulling out a visibly readen book, The Hobbit. It was in the upper shelf, where nobody really paid attention to the books. This book was old and you couldn’t risk if somebody would lose it or destroy it.

You came back to the kitchen and inhaled deeply.

„This is the first thing, but before that I need you to tell me, honestly, what happened before you appeared in-or near-,“ you said, looking over the Durins,

„My house.“

„We were escaping from the Mirkwood,“ Thorin said with a glare shot to Thranduil, whom snorted quietly. Legolas furrowed his brows.

„We were on a feast of starlight,“ He said, being absolutely certain.

„Wasn’t it more of escaping from the goblins?“ Balin looked at Thorin sleepishly. This time it was Bilbo who furrowed his brows.

„I thought we were-“

„Bilbo!“ That was Kili.

„Kili!“ That was Fili.

„You two!“ That was Thorin.

„Dwarves,“ That was Thranduil and Legolas.

„Can you just calm down? Miss Y/N is trying to help us here and you’re making it more difficult than we need it to be.“ Bard got up from his seat. You smiled at him, thankful he stood up for you.

„Thank you, Bard. Okay, so you don’t wanna tell me that. Great. But you’ll understand why I was asking this question,“ you said mysteriously. All of them sat closer now, even if the dwarves would be still arguing it was true.

You sat down, opened the book, deeply inhaled and started reading.

They were shocked, to say at least.

You’ve red a first few pages and let them to ask questions. There was many of them, to say at least.

„How do you know all that?“

„How old is that book?“

„Where is it from?“

„Are you a magician?“

All of the questions, creating live and happy chit-chat, quickly shutted down by Thorin’s gaze, when he stood up and suspiciously stared at you.

„How do we know we can trust you?“ You opened your mouth to answer, but Thranduil’s eye-roll was quicker. You giggled.

„Well, I know your stories. And if you don’t believe me after you’ve seen and heard something from this book – I‘ve got a few editions of them, from different years – you are probably gonna believe me after you’ll see the movies.“ Thorin’s brows furrowed.

„A movies? What is it?“ Balin placed his hand on Thorin’s shoulder and murmed something, before the dwarf king sat down.

„Does she wants to offend us?“ Turned Dwalin (getting angry) to Gandalf.

„You have to believe her, Dwalin. She knows this world, and this is surely nothing that would have the intention to offend any of you.“ He looked also at Thorin while he way saying these words, and he looked back at you and you nodded. Meanwhile, Thranduil shot him a glare and turned to you.

„Alright, so are you going to show us, that, ehm, movie? What is it about?“ He asked the question that any of them was thinking of. You nodded and dramatically inhaled, overhearing Fili’s ‚Is she okay?‘ and smiled inwardly.

„It’s about an introvert being forced to go outside.“ All of their faces fell and you started laughing and shook your head.

„What is introvert?“ Kili asked, bit confused. You decided to tell them about this later.

„Well, actually, it’s about Bilbo, here,“ you patted his shoulder and the hobbit’s eyes grew wide.

„Who was sighed as a burglar by Gandalf to the company of Thorin Oakenshield,“ you looked over the table to find Gandalf nodding and Thorin looking slightely surprised, but pleased.

„To get back the dwarvish kingdom Erebor,“ You looked over the dwarves and noticed Kili’s eyes sparkling and your stomach did a backflip. Oh, these puppy eyes were always a thing you knew you couldn’t resist to.

„From dragon called...“

„Smaug,“ Kili and Fili said at once. You chuckled.

„Now, wait here and you can read the book, the movie is based on it. Just, please,“ You looked especially on Fili and Kili,

„be careful. It’s an old book, I found it in antiquarian bookstore, and red it way too many times, because it’s my favourite edition.“ And left to prepare living room for the movie.

Fili’s pov

„You were unusually quiet,“ I nudged Kili. He just shrugged it off.

„I’m not loud all the time,“ He tried to argue but I only chuckled. I knew him my whole life. I couldn’t unnotice his sudden change of behavior.

„Yes, you are, plus, you’re staring at Master Baggins as if you’d wanted to kill him, again. So, aren’t you going to tell me what’s going on, Kee?“ Kili shook his head and averted his gaze to the table. Then, he mumbled something and refused to meet my gaze.

„Oh, I see,“ I mumbled enough for him to hear it. I tilted towards him.

„You like her and you hate that she’s giving Bilbo more attention than to you.“ Kili did pouted his lips and still refused to meet my gaze. I chuckled.

„I knew, it, I knew it!“ I laughed and Kili was hissing at me.

„Shut, it, just shut up, Fili, she’ll hear-“

[hello-robin-goodfellow]

A Modest Proposal.

Is there anyone who would like to request a fanfic to me? You can sugest themes as well. I’m out of writing ideas and need to practice.

I can write for this fandoms:

*Doctor Who.

*Sesame Street.

*The Muppets.

*Hamlet.

*Romeo and Juliet.

*A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

*Much Ado About Nothing.

*The Last Unicorn.

*The Princess Bride.

*Asterix.

*Hadestown.

*The Wizard of Oz/Wicked.

*Into the Woods.

*Peter Pan.

*Alice in Wonderland.

*The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

*Treasure Planet.

*Beauty and the Beast.

*Cinderella.

*Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

*Little Red Riding Hood.

*Fantasia (1940) and Fantasia 2000 (1999).

Just don’t ask for smutty, beacause i suck at these.

I also would like to know from the fan artists if i can request fan art in exchange for the fics.

[i-am-made-of-memoriies]

Okay, so I’m going to shamelessly post a fic that I wrote for my O.C Amathel. She is not a self-insert ( @spideypan would never forgive me for that), but a completely independent character who is incredibly different from me. This will probably be a two shot (maybe more?), but you never know!

The characters and themes of this story will be a mix of the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings movies and the books, because though I’m not really a fan of the Hobbit movie, some characters have potential!

Summary of the first chapter: Amathel of the Woodland Realm has been sent on a scouting mission with a young and promising silvan elf, Tauriel. Though the scouting mission is Amathel’s priority, she can’t help speaking at length with Tauriel and sharing the trials and tribulations that come with being part of the Mirkwood royal family. 

Amathel closed her eyes briefly, imagining the targets around her, the way her bowstring cut into her fingers, and the weight of the bow in her hand. Breathing in the sweet air of the forest, she opened her eyes and loosed arrow after arrow. Much to her pleasure, each arrow met their mark, impaled deep into the target.

“Sister,” A familiar voice called from behind Amathel, “Father requests your presence.”

She turned to face the voice, meeting the gaze of Legolas, her brother. “Thank you for the message. You may use the field now, if you’d like. I just need to pick up my arrows first.”

“Thank you, but I think I will go for a ride through the forests,” Legolas mused, “I am in need of a quick trip.”

“So be it! I will see you at dinner?”

“Of course.”

Amathel reached the throne room, still clad in her training gear, bow in hand. “You called.”

“Indeed, I did.” Thranduil sat askew on his throne as he often would, nursing a glass of wine in his right hand.

“Is there a task you would like me to perform?” Amathel did not dare make eye contact with Thranduil; from a young age, she had been afraid of her father’s cold aura and had subsequently grown distant from him. After the death of her mother, the distance only grew until she considered herself more of one of Thranduil’s guards than an offspring.

“There is a Silvan elf I would like for you to scout with. She has rising potential and I believe you could help her grow as a hunter.”

“I will gladly take this assignment. What is her name?”

“Tauriel.” Thranduil took a long sip of wine, “You are to meet her in half-and-hour in front of the throne room.”

Amathel nodded in acknowledgment and lifted her bow from the ground. In the time between her meeting with Tauriel, she opted to retire briefly to her room and read. To pass time, Amathel enjoyed the grace of elven poetry. Though she felt duty bound to protecting her people and home, she secretly hoped that she could settle down one day and become a poet. After she was done fighting and killing, she could only hope for a simple life, full of art and peace.

The minutes flew by and before she knew it, the bells of the hour had rung. Grabbing her cloak and bow, Amathel fastened her quiver across her chest and jogged through the meandering hallways of the palace. In front of the grand doors of the throne room, a tall, lean elf stood, checking her arrow tips.

“You must be Tauriel.” Amathel nodded her head as a sign of respect, “I am Amathel, daughter of Thranduil.” Though she uttered those words with frequency, they never failed to feel foreign and leaden on her tongue.

Tauriel nodded back, “Your father has asked us to attend dinner then depart.”

“We are to leave in the evening?” Amathel knew that the woods were the most treacherous during the night; in the darkness, creatures who would not likely show their ugly countenances in the daylight found courage to venture out of their dens.

“I suppose we are,” Tauriel chuckled, “I’m sure the king has his reasons.”

“But of course.”

Dinner was quiet as usual. Amathel’s eldest brother and heir to the throne, Elyon, sat to the right of Thranduil, his posture perfect and his bites dainty. Legolas, the youngest, sat properly as well, glancing towards Amathel every few minutes, as if imploring with his eyes, “who is the girl next to you”.

Finally, Thranduil spoke up, “You may have noticed an addition to the table this evening.”

Legolas nodded, relieved that his question was finally being answered.

“This is Tauriel, a Silvan elf with whom Amathel is to go on a scouting mission.” Thranduil announced, extending a graceful arm to towards Tauriel, “They are to leave tonight.”

“About that,” Amathel began, “I mean this with no disrespect, but why are we to leave at night? Night is when danger is greatest.”

“I trust you to defend yourselves,” Thranduil met Amathel’s gaze, “Perceive this as an exercise.”

Amathel nodded and returned to her meal, taking small sips of her wine. As much as she hated to admit it, she was quite a lightweight, and though she could beat any man or dwarf in a drinking contest of their own ale, she could seldom finish more than a glass of elven wine.

Tauriel, on the other hand, finished her glass in two hearty gulps, thanking the servant that filled her glass again. Amathel watched her intently from the corner of her eye, observing her motions. She was bold, each movement strong, but still beautiful. Her features were delicate, yet defined, and her long, red hair cascaded down her back. Unlike Legolas and Thranduil, Amathel and Elyon possessed darker shades of hair instead of the near-white. This was a feature taken from their late mother. Instead of hair color, Legolas had his mother’s thin face and bright eyes.

The remainder of dinner passed in silence. As soon as Thranduil finished his meal, he stood up, his robes billowing out around him.

“You two may grab supplies and depart within the hour.” He motioned towards Amathel and Tauriel, “Be back by nightfall tomorrow.”

“Of course, my lord.” Tauriel bowed her head respectfully and Amathel followed quickly in suit.

Before the two could leave, Legolas caught Amathel’s wrist. “I saw you looking at her.” He mentioned, his voice full of faux nonchalance.

“Indeed.” Though Amathel was caught off guard, she pretended to expect the question, “I am to go on a scouting mission with her tonight, I’d like to get to know her as well as I can.”

“By gazing at her profile throughout all of dinner?” Legolas teased, a playful smile tugging at the edges of his lips.

Amathel huffed quickly, “I must leave. I’ll see you tomorrow, brother.”

“Be safe.” Legolas, placed his hand on Amathel’s shoulder.

“You know I’ll be fine.”

Amathel and Tauriel set off into the forests just as the sun receded behind the peaks of the mountains.

“Tell me about yourself,” Amathel began a conversation, “My father says that you are a proficient hunter.”

Tauriel chuckled, “I’m sure he exaggerates. I am average at most.”

“I’m sure you’re being modest. Why did you learn archery? If you were male, I wouldn’t have to ask, but for women like us, learning to fight is a choice.”

“I wished to be able to protect those that I love.” Tauriel’s horse moved in perfect synchronization with Amathel’s so that they were able to converse with ease. “Also, growing up alongside my brothers, I hated to be the weak one. Learning to fight only felt natural. And you?”

“I am the daughter of Thranduil,” Amathel chuckled, clenching her fist as she uttered the words, “I could have chosen to live my life as a doted-on princess, but like you, raised alongside two brothers, I loathed being weak.”

“You must be an apt fighter.”

“I am not bad, no, but I do not enjoy killing. One day, I hope to live a life of peace. Though I want peace, I don’t want to be weak; I want to know how to defend myself and my people, but never have to use it.”

“You do not enjoy killing?” Tauriel’s eyes widened, “When your father spoke of you, he mentioned the ease in which you have ended the lives of orcs in the past. He says you are a natural.”

“I suppose he would. I spent little time with him while I was younger.” Amathel remembered the first time she had to kill an orc. She had never fought anyone in open combat, only regulated training matches. While on a ride through the forest with one of the elven generals that was in charge of her training, they came across a few errant orcs.

Amathel remembered the terrifying faces of the orcs getting closer to her. Quickly, they would be too close to hit them with arrows and she’d be forced to resort to close combat. She could run away and let the general deal with the orcs. There were few enough for that to be possible; but if he reported back to her father that Amathel was a coward, she’d only be asserting her weakness compared to her brothers. By the time she had mustered enough courage to fight back, the orc was in close combat range. Amathel had been trained extensively with a sword. Unlike her brothers, who preferred daggers, she had chosen a sword.

Unsheathing her blade, she pivoted on her heel, her moves circular and flowy, typical of elven fighters. With well-practiced ease, she parried the blows from the orcs, finally getting into a position to finish it. Holding her breath, she ducked under the orc’s messy blow and plunged the blade into the chink of its armor. Caught by surprise, it stumbled back, allowing Amathel to strike it over the head with the butt of her sword. The orc crumpled to the ground, bleeding black blood over the grass, its body completely motionless.

By the time Amathel had killed a single orc, the elven general had taken out the rest of them.

“Are you alright?” He ran over to where Amathel was frozen, leaning heavily on her sword.

“I killed it.” She murmured, her voice shaking. Glancing at the corpse again, a wave of nausea and dizziness overcame her. Her body heaved as she retched violently, disgusted in what she had done.

“I will take you home to your father now, you are not well.” The general helped her to her feet.

“I am fine!” She pushed the general’s hand away, standing on her own, “It was my first kill, that’s all. I can go on. I need not to return home.” Amathel was afraid that her father would quickly deem her a coward and disallow her from training further. She refused to be seen as weak; not in the eyes of her father.

“I will take you word, then. We continue now.”

“Amathel?” Tauriel’s voice snapped her back into reality.

“Ah yes, my apologies! I was merely spacing out for a moment.” Amathel waved her hand dismissing Tauriel’s concern, “Ah, what was I saying? Right! I truly do dislike killing. The first time I killed an orc, I threw up, in fact.”

“Oh! Well I’m sorry to take you on a fighting mission, then.” Tauriel looked concerned. She expected Amathel to be a stone-cold killer, trained extensively in warfare. Instead, she seemed to be quite the pacifist.

“Worry not! As long as there is danger, I have no qualms against fighting it. I can only hope for a peaceful future.”

“Good, for the orcs have become more bold.” Tauriel’s tone grew serious, “They now venture further into the forest.”

“We will take out as many as we can,” Amathel agreed, “We are nearly at the border of the forest.”

“Shall we make camp and begin scouting?” Tauriel suggested, motioning to the pack on the side of her horse.

Amathel nodded, dismounting her horse gracefully, landing on the ground without a sound. Unpacking the supplies from her horse, she gazed at Tauriel inconspicuously. Amathel noticed how graceful Tauriel was in all movements, as if dancing; the more Amathel observed, the more enthralled she was by Tauriel. Not only was she graceful in movement and speech, but she was strong of will and similar to Amathel herself. Maybe Legolas had a point. Amathel was interested.

After placing her bedroll on the ground, she beckoned Tauriel to sit beside her.

“Tell me of your childhood.” Her voice was quiet and inviting.

“But, we must scout.” Tauriel appeared opposed to the idea. Behind the determination in her eyes, Amathel could spot a yearning for conversation.

“We can spare a minute.” Amathel chuckled, “We will be efficient.”

Tauriel capitulated, settling onto the bedroll, her legs crossed. “My family is small,” she began, gazing off indefinitely, “Very typical, in fact. My father was a royal guard, which provided some privilege, and my mother stayed home and cared for me and my siblings. My brothers were ambitious children. They aspired to be royal guards like my father, training in archery as soon as they could grasp a bow. My parents encouraged it. Strong sons make a prosperous family. They were not nearly as enthusiastic when I expressed interest in warfare. They allowed it nonetheless. My first few centuries were uneventful, sweet childhood. After I was old enough to marry, my parents encouraged it. I refused and found my own way. Though they weren’t pleased, they respected my opinion. That is all.” She smiled softly, looking to Amathel, whose eyes had not left her face. “And you?”

Troubled childhoods were a token of one of royal lineage. If your father was Thranduil of the Mirkwood elves, life was that much more exciting. “I am the middle child.” Amathel started with the obvious fact. As a middle child, she had neither the privilege of the first-born nor the intrigue of the youngest. “My older brother, Elyon, was the perfect heir, similar to father in his sense of...superiority. Though, I will admit, he lacked father’s flamboyance. Before Legolas was born, I spent most of my time with my mother, following her everywhere. Though she was the queen, she was independent and strong. I admired that. Once Legolas was born, I had a playfellow. We got along splendidly; both of us despised the stuffy haughtiness of the palace and would often embark on long rides through the forests. It was nice. Mother died when Legolas was still young. Father never spoke of it, he didn’t spare us the details. All we knew was that she had died. That is all.”

Tauriel simply nodded, her brows creased, as if trying to formulate a response.

Breaking the tension in the air, Amathel stood up. “Let’s scout.”

“Yes, good plan,” Tauriel replied, flustered. Quickly, she assembled her supplies and fastened her quiver over her chest. Signalling to Amathel, she ran deeper into the forest.

[gusgus48]

Hobbit Modern AU Ideas

Modern AU –

fili racecar driver - https://gusgus48.tumblr.com/post/169317228648/fili-racecar-driver

Being a writer and fili, the biggest racer around takes your brainstorming for your novel as your exposing his private moments. Cue the apologies and attempts to make it up to you.

X Thranduil

Death threats - https://gusgus48.tumblr.com/post/178575054578/death-threats-idea

A habit of yours to calm down finds you drug before the King when your angered words come to light. Humor is found in the fumble but you are not to be released just yet as your safety cannot be guaranteed.

 Muse - https://gusgus48.tumblr.com/post/174860431823/muse

You find yourself unknowingly as a muse for an artist in your life. This Is brought to your attention when the crew collecting his art for a show claims the wrong collection, the one all centered around you.

X Thorin

Holiday Pay Idea - https://gusgus48.tumblr.com/post/179959419773/holiday-pay-idea

Your attempt at helping out a coworker lands you as his intended and meeting the family over the holidays.

 Cruise Idea - https://blankdblank.tumblr.com/post/177171050044/cruise-idea

You and Thorin both get sent on a couples cruise alone. Easy enough to hide right? Wrong one of the directors for the entertainment takes enjoyment at flaunting lone passengers the whole cruise, hearing this you both come to an agreement that takes quite a turn.

 Thorin x reader in highschool - https://gusgus48.tumblr.com/post/169394392648/thorin-x-reader-in-highschool-you-dont-speak

Going to the same high school with the Durins. You have a crush on Thorin but what he took as an invitation to attend a dance as a group was turned down. He attends anyway only to learn you didn’t go at all. The young prince has to find a way to make it up to you.

X Dwalin

Writer - https://gusgus48.tumblr.com/post/174861184993/writer

Being your neighbor’s favorite author and they swoop in for secrets.

 Mr Fabulous - https://gusgus48.tumblr.com/post/175646270903/mr-fabulous

Your giant grimacing neighbor, with whom you share a love for tiny fuzzy animals turns out to be quite a dynamic character.

No Pairing Yet

Crush Comics - https://gusgus48.tumblr.com/post/169317279943/crush-comics

Making comics about your crush and their interactions with you in your daily lives.

 Fave band member loves your fan videos of their songs, searches for you - https://gusgus48.tumblr.com/post/169383389338/youre-in-love-with-a-bandsinger-always

Your habit of singing to your favorite band’s music is recorded and shared to the world by your younger sibling. Turns out the band loves those videos and your voice and awkward dancing through chores or cooking always brightens their mood and keeps them going. Their new album is almost ready, all they’re missing is a female singer, one person comes to mind. They post it to the world and it takes everything you can manage to keep your sibling from sharing who you are, only they’re not your only threat to your anonymity.

 Radio - https://gusgus48.tumblr.com/post/172444731033/radio

Filling in on the radio one day lands you a full time gig, one that you use to sneak messages to your long time penpal, who just so happens to be a member of the band you love and the station has kept you from meeting for years. Possibly with the fans help two star crossed lovers could finally get their happily ever after. - Requested

 Stuck in a storm - https://gusgus48.tumblr.com/post/174860909963/storm

You are stuck trying to interview a notoriously private clan. When your job is on the line in these terrible circumstances they take pity on you not realizing you would never accept it.

 Here comes the Bride - https://gusgus48.tumblr.com/post/174861139468/here-comes-the-bride

Filling in for your identical relative on a gown fitting a certain prince charming comes racing in on his white steed to ensure no one steals you away.

 Challenge - https://gusgus48.tumblr.com/post/174920589228/challenge

A drunken challenge for your hand is long since thought forgotten only to pop up one day when completed.

 Field Trip Buddies - https://gusgus48.tumblr.com/post/175197096628/field-trip-buddies

Being a volunteer on a field trip and getting to know your relative’s favorite regular volunteer.

 Camp Counselor - https://gusgus48.tumblr.com/post/178244588228/modern-durin-au-camp-counselors

Obvious, summer camp au.

Superstitious Idea - https://gusgus48.tumblr.com/post/178795004908/superstitious-idea

You have habits in the office but the new Dwarves moved to your floor come up with some interesting reasons behind them.

Sharing is Caring Idea - https://gusgus48.tumblr.com/post/179958415523/sharing-is-caring-idea

Coming to the aid of an actor/character when you both only need part of each of the items on your lists.

Possible Series

X Thorin Modern AU

Durins - Soccer/Rugby AU - https://gusgus48.tumblr.com/post/169316283943/durins-soccerrugby-au

Durins form a prof Rugby team. OC is on a college soccer team and unknowingly forms a bond with two of their relatives. Soon enough they find themselves moving in with her and her four wards, baby brother and three cousins she is the guardian of. The tapes the relatives send bring the Durins to being your biggest fans. (Your country – soccer is not big, theirs you easily become famous for your skills.)

 Durins Hockey Au - https://gusgus48.tumblr.com/post/169318714293/durins-hockey-au

Being the top female hockey player and pairs figure skater with your cousin. Your Brother(twin) gets signed to the best hockey team around, the captain of which is your biggest fan. Your teams play the same venues different times so you travel together, feelings are formed and along the way an assumed marriage is brought to light only to have said lover boy racing to claim you when he learns the truth.  - Requested

 Pen Pal - https://blankdblank.tumblr.com/post/177169884209/pen-pal-idea

As a child Thorin still was a force to be reckoned with. Claiming a contract with his pen pal to marry when old enough silencing his elders on choosing for him. Well, you’re all grown up and heart broken at the cruel behavior of those around you, time to see if that contract is still valid I suppose.

 Who’s the daddy? – modern thorin/fenrir x reader - https://gusgus48.tumblr.com/post/172235275403/whos-the-daddy

A one night stand with the identical brothers leaves you expecting. But unwelcome among his clan after the death of one the other chooses exile to care for you and their child.

 Cologne - https://gusgus48.tumblr.com/post/177246296128/random-cologne-idea

Being at odds with your coworker, who is in a jealous rage at the cologne you come into work wearing each day, something he realizes has a much deeper significance to you when you are seen breaking down in your bosses’ office.

 Bachelor/Bachelorette AU - https://gusgus48.tumblr.com/post/177450852493/bachelorbachelorette-au

Being signed up on Bachelor with one of the young Durins, the twist, this season has a Survivor element to it. Final three rolls around and the man on his knee is not the man you were signed up to be won over by.

 Bear Reserve - https://gusgus48.tumblr.com/post/177621378168/kinda-have-a-story-idea

The new detectives in town soon find some haunted houses are better left unexposed to the towns they are housed in, wishing to keep the treasures within to themselves, but secrets were meant to be exposed. This one is just right in front of everyone’s nose.

 The Replacement - https://gusgus48.tumblr.com/post/177724191048/the-replacement

Your Cousin once again flaked on her contracted role in a popular Dwarf tv crime show, good thing she’s got an identical Cousin right? At least that’s what the director believes.

Prison Break - https://gusgus48.tumblr.com/post/178315239783/prison-break

Being a guard in a High level prison. Getting to know the new prisoners your belief in good vs evil are tested and you are faced with a choice, do what is right or do what you’re trained to do.

Sunny Side up – https://gusgus48.tumblr.com/post/180169411908/sunny-side-up

Staying at your Cousin’s house through your floor being switched out, he shares with his Boyfriend and Boyfriend’s Cousin. One thing he didn’t mention, they’re kinda sorta nudists.

Red Belt Idea - https://gusgus48.tumblr.com/post/181399622698/red-belt-idea

Meeting your soulmate and when you try to focus on work magical belts bind you together.

 X Thranduil Modern AU

Thranduil Soulmate - https://gusgus48.tumblr.com/post/169394526418/thranduil-soulmate

When you find your soulmate you can hear and feel after your heart starts beating for the first time. In a senseless existence you find a way to stun everyone by mastering several instruments and singing, a chance encounter with your mate gives you a blurry glimpse of what you are both missing. In your years apart he grows to quite a fulfilling career as a news anchor even without being able to hear, also learning to speak without others knowing his set back. Years pass and after a few chance encounters you manage to slip him your email, growing to learn one another you fall for one another only to finally hear each other on your path into the same elevator.

 Convenience - https://blankdblank.tumblr.com/post/177190641469/convenience-idea

Forming a marriage of convenience to protect his Son’s best friend takes a turn a few years down the line when he learns his Wife truly does love him and has all along causing him to nearly break your heart at his aloof demeanor. *cracks knuckles* time for some romance. Someone is getting wooed.

 Death’s Flower Shop - https://blankdblank.tumblr.com/post/178654618699/modern-thranduil-idea

Modern Thranduil idea, soulmates, the dead are collected by flower delivery people, a chance encounter saves the lands of a King and the people inside. (Please just read the story, not even a page long, hard to summarize properly)

Save the whales - https://gusgus48.tumblr.com/post/180169676853/save-the-whales

Staying at leg’s for the night, they have a shower sharing rule (keep it running to save water for the next guy bit) Thranduil’s waiting on the other side of the curtain half asleep.

[dwarfer-mouse]

A.J. Rimmer BSc, SSc

As requested by @apeshit-mode 😉

[lastbluetardis]

And Babies Make Five and Six (7/16)

Summary: Sometimes the things we want the most stay just out of reach. But after an extra helping of heartache as they try for a third baby, James and Rose are blessed with double the joy.

Trigger warning for infertility for select chapters–this is one of those chapters.

Ten x Rose AU

This chapter: NSFW, 10700 words (it’s a doozy...I hope you like it!!)

Betaed by the marvelous @chocolatequeennk. I seriously could not have finished this chapter if it wasn’t for her. She is utterly amazing. This is also for @doctorroseprompts because it is a Doctor x Rose fic.

AO3 | TSP | FF | Perfectly Matched Series

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“Knock knock.”

Rose looked up as her ajar office door opened fully and James stepped into the room. He had a disposable coffee thermos from their local coffee shop in one hand and a brown paper bag in the other. She stood up to greet him.

“I got you a caramel mocha,” he said, setting the cup on her desk, “and a raspberry cream cheese Danish. Which may or may not have a small bite taken out of it.”

“I wonder how that happened,” Rose said dryly.

“No idea,” he answered. “But there’s a piece of a chocolate chip muffin in there as reparations.”

Rose giggled at him, and she stepped up to him to take the bag from him. She set it on her desk and wrapped her arms around his waist.

“I love you,” she said, resting her head against his chest. His heart thumped comfortingly against her cheek as his arms came up to return the embrace. “Thank you for the coffee and pastry.”

“Of course,” he replied, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “How are you feeling?”

Rose sighed. Physically, she felt fine. Her period wasn’t too bad this cycle. But emotionally? It was getting harder to believe that “there was always next month”.

“Okay,” she finally said. “I’m just frustrated.”

“I know.” He kissed her forehead again and murmured, “We’ll try again. There’s always next month.”

We say that every month, but it still hasn’t happened yet. Rose swallowed down the remark, knowing James was just trying to lift her spirits. She appreciated his efforts, even if it was becoming difficult to stay positive.

“Remember to pick up the cake after work,” she said instead.

“Yep, I put a reminder in my phone,” he said, stepping away from her. “Our little baby is three this weekend. Can you believe it?”

Though she knew he didn’t mean to, her chest hurt at the reminder of how old their baby was. She wasn’t a baby anymore, and hadn’t been for a while.

But Rose smiled and said, “I know. Where has the time gone?”

“Not sure. But speaking of time, I need to be off.” He leaned down and pressed a parting kiss to her lips before he breezed out of her office.

Sianin’s birthday didn’t start off as well as they would have hoped. She’d wet the bed overnight and had tried to hide the soiled sheets and jammies at the bottom of the laundry pile, leaving the room smelling rank until James and Rose realized what had happened.

“Sweetheart, why didn’t you come wake us?” Rose asked as James tossed the sheets into the washer. “We’re not angry or upset with you.”

“I’m a big girl,” Sianin said, her bottom lip wobbling. “I’m three. Big girls don’t wee in bed. I wanna be a big girl!”

Rose scooped Sianin up into her arms and cuddled her close.

“You’re still my big girl,” Rose promised, nuzzling her nose into Sianin’s hair.

“Big girls don’t wee in bed!” she wailed.

“It was an accident,” Rose soothed. “Even big girls have accidents sometimes.”

They eventually managed to calm Sianin, and by the time her birthday party started at noon, her earlier distress was long forgotten.

She seemed to enjoy her party, but wasn’t a fan of being the center of attention. They often found her sitting quietly bedside Ainsley, eating food or playing with a new toy she’d been given, and they decided to leave her be for the most part—it was her day, after all.

But when all the guests departed, save for Robert and Jackie who were staying for dinner, they had a hard time getting her to go down for her afternoon nap.

“I’m a big girl,” she said stubbornly, even as her eyes glazed over with how exhausted she was. “Big girls don’t take naps!”

“Sure they do,” James cajoled. “I take naps all the time.”

Sianin appraised him carefully then said, “You’re not a big girl.”

“Okay, then what about Mummy?” he said. “She takes naps.”

“Mummy’s not a big girl,” she said.

“She’s not?” James asked, furrowing his brow. “What is Mummy, then?”

“She’s Mummy!” Sianin said with a broad smile.

James rubbed his fingertips into his eyes and said, “I still say you need to take your afternoon nap.”

“No, I’m a big girl!”

She then turned and sprinted away from him and to Robert, where he was sitting on the couch and watching the exchange with amusement.

“Grandad, I’m a big girl,” she said solemnly.

“Indeed you are,” he said.

“An’ big girls don’t take naps,” she said.

“Hmm… do big girls still cuddle with their old Grandad?” he asked, holding his arms out for her.

She grinned and clambered onto the sofa to give him a hug.

“Yeah,” she said, tucking her head into his shoulder.

Robert tightened his arms around her and rubbed her back gently.

“Isn’t this so nice?” he whispered to her.

“Uh huh,” she said, her voice going faint as she tried to fight off sleep.

“You don’t have to nap,” Robert said, “but do you want to cuddle with Grandad for a little while longer? Grandad loves cuddling with you.”

“Yeah,” she murmured, and James watched his daughter’s eyes flutter shut.

She wrenched them open and wiggled around to keep herself awake. But after a few more minutes, she slumped against Robert and was completely out.

“You’re on nap duty from now on,” James said, grabbing a blanket from the opposite end of the couch. He draped it over Sianin, praying she wouldn’t notice the change in weight. She stayed asleep, and James left her in the arms of her grandfather as he went to help Rose clean up from the party.

Shortly after Sianin’s birthday, Rose received the news that her place of employment was being restructured. There would be a round of layoffs in early April, and while Rose was fairly confident that she would be retained, there was still a small part of her that was worried she would be out of a job.

So when she was called into Lindsey’s office at the end of a Friday, her heart sank. However, Rose was surprised to hear that she wasn’t being laid off, but rather promoted. Lindsey was being promoted to the head of the company, which meant her job as supervisor was open.

“Everything will still be relatively the same,” Lindsey explained. “You’ll still work under me, but you’ll be in charge of handling customer requests and giving out the assignments to your team.”

“Will I still be able to take photos and do my art?” Rose asked, because that was what she loved most about her job.

“Of course,” Lindsey said. “Perhaps to a lesser extent, but you will have the freedom to take the jobs that interest you the most.”

After taking the weekend to talk to James and think about whether she wanted the supervisory role, she decided to go for it, and agreed to the promotion on Monday morning.

The entire month of April passed in a blur for Rose as she adapted to her new position. The number of projects she took diminished to about half of what she’d been doing before, and instead, she was often busy running from one meeting to another while also making sure the people working under her were getting their deadlines in on time.

She didn’t hate her new job, but she wasn’t in love with it yet, and she hoped that it would calm down over the next several months as everyone adjusted to the restructuring of the company.

She barely realized the date until she breezed into the kitchen one morning and saw a vase of dark red roses sitting on the table. They confused her for a second until James stepped up to her, his hair mussed and his eyes still bleary with sleep, with a soft smile on his face.

“Happy birthday, my love,” he said, wrapping his arms around her waist.

She leaned into his embrace, and for half a minute, the rest of the world and all of its responsibilities faded until it was just her and James.

Her stomach gurgled at the smell of eggs and bacon, and she stepped away from him with the intention of scarfing down a few bites before heading into the office.

“I thought you might like a breakfast burrito,” James said, watching as she snitched a piece of bacon from the pan. “If you give me another minute, I’ll have it all ready to go for you.”

Rose’s chest warmed. James had been so supportive and patient as she made the transition to her new job role, and he often woke up with her alarm rather than his own—which was set for nearly an hour later—to make sure she got something to eat before she left the house.

She watched him move around the kitchen, pouring a bit of milk and honey into a steaming thermos, before turning to the stove. Rose noticed the eggs had bits of sweet pepper and onion mixed in, and she watched him scoop them onto the center of a tortilla shell before he lay three pieces of bacon on top. He then rolled it up and wrapped it in aluminum foil for her.

“My birthday girl’s birthday breakfast,” he exclaimed happily, looking so pleased with himself.

She took the burrito from him and set it on the table before she stepped up to him to brush a kiss across his lips.

“I love you so much,” she whispered. “You’re incredible. Thank you.”

He hummed happily and pecked another kiss to her lips.

“Nothing but the best for you,” he said. “Have a good day, love.”

She blew him a kiss and gathered her breakfast, purse, and keys and headed out the door.

oOoOo

A week after Rose’s birthday, James stared at his work email, an uncomfortable knot settling in his stomach. He’d been invited to Switzerland at the end of July… but the dates fells precisely during Rose’s fertile cycle. He felt guilty for making them miss an entire cycle, but that feeling was dwarfed in comparison to the relief flooding through him. If he wasn’t there to make love with her, there was absolutely no chance at conception, and therefore no chance of him failing her again.

A new kind of guilt overcame him then. They were trying for a baby, yet here he was, relieved that he was off the hook for the month. Rose, bless her, was being so strong. He knew their lack of pregnancy was weighing hard on her, but she still soldiered on and kept trying month after month. Hopefully she wouldn’t be too upset to know they couldn’t try that month.

Though as the weeks passed and the end of his school term drew nearer and he still hadn’t told Rose about the conference, James knew he was out of time. He blurted it out to her one night as they did laundry together.

“There’s this conference,” James said as he helped her sort the socks on the bed, “and my boss wants me to go. It’s in Switzerland.”

“Brilliant,” she said. “When is it?”

“Next month.” He steeled himself with a deep breath before he said, “The twenty-third through the thirty-first. We’re flying out Sunday morning, and we’ll get back the following Monday evening. A week. The conference is only five days but the other people going on the trip wanted a few days to sight-see.”

“Oh. Right. The twenty-third through the thirty-first?”

“I know that’s around the time you’ll be ovulating, and I’m so sorry, Rose. You know what, I’ll just tell them I want to come back that Friday instead.”

“No, no,” she protested immediately. “No, James, it’s fine. Really.”

“But I’m making us miss an entire month,” he said.

“We’ve been trying to get pregnant for two years,” she said flatly. “Missing one month won’t ruin our already shitty odds.”

He winced, and she sighed.

“Sorry,” she muttered, rubbing her fingers into her eyes. “I shouldn’t have said that.” She took another deep breath and said, “Don’t feel guilty, James. Please. This is going to be an amazing opportunity for you.” She paused for a moment, then asked, “When did you find out about the conference?”

Taking his time to find Sianin’s matching rainbow sock, James stared at the pile of clothes as he said, “Since a little after your birthday.”

“You’ve known for over a month?” she said flatly. “James!”

He cringed. “I was worried you’d be upset with me for missing an ovulation cycle.”

“Of course I’m not upset about that! I’m more upset that you’ve known for a month that I’ll be in charge of our kids by myself for over a week, and that you’re missing Donna’s wedding.”

James snapped his head up to look at her. “No, that’s not in July, is it?”

Rose nodded. “Was supposed to be at Christmastime. But then Donna’s granddad got sick, remember? Make sure you call her and tell her you won’t be there.”

After a few minutes of silence as they finished folding the laundry, James said, “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about the conference when I first found out about it.”

Rose sighed. “We tell each other everything.”

James stepped around the bed until he was close enough to take her hand.

“I’m really sorry,” he said earnestly. “Really. I was just nervous, is all.” He licked his lips and debated telling her that he’d been warring with his guilt about being happy that they were missing a cycle. The words were on the tip of his tongue, but then he swallowed them back. Surely it was okay that they took a break with trying to make a baby? It would give her a break, too. She wouldn’t be worrying about getting her period, and she wouldn’t have that moment of disappointment when it came. He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Me coming back early from the conference probably wouldn’t have done much good, would it?”

Rose furrowed her brows up at him.

“For your ovulation cycle,” he prompted. “There’s only a small chance of conception at the end of the cycle anyway.”

He turned and picked up the pile of Ainsley’s clothes, missing the way Rose’s face grew tight.

The next month flew by, and before they knew it, James was readying his things for his trip to Switzerland. Ainsley was enthusiastic about helping him pack. She’d helped him make a list of the things to take, and she read off the items for him to tuck into his suitcase.

When the morning of his flight came, Ainsley helped lug his suitcase to the front door before she threw her arms around him.

“Do you have to go for a whole week?” she asked, nuzzling her face into his hip.

James picked her up and held her tight. “Unfortunately yes. But you and Mummy and Sianin will have lots of fun together. And you’ll get to go to Chiswick next weekend for Auntie Donna’s wedding. Won’t that be fun?”

She sighed. “I guess.”

“I’ll be back before you know it,” James whispered, stroking his fingers through Ainsley’s soft hair. “Next Monday when it’s time for supper, I’ll be home.”

“D’you promise?” she asked, pulling back to look at him.

“Cross my heart,” he said, making an X over his chest.

She smiled at him and leaned in for one last hug. He pressed a long kiss to her hair before he set her on her feet again and turned to say goodbye to the rest of his family. Rose had a sleepy Sianin in her arms, and she passed their three-year-old off to him.

“Morning Sianin sweetheart,” he cooed as Sianin dug her face into his shoulder and yawned.

“Morning. I’m still sleepy, Daddy,” she mumbled, rubbing her fist into her eyes.

“I know. You’re not a morning person, are you?”

“Nope.” She yawned again and kept her head tucked against his shoulder.

“Daddy’s got to go away for a week, remember?” he said, rubbing her back.

“Yup,” she said. “Bye bye, Daddy.”

A little piece of his heart twinged. He knew Sianin would miss him, but to hear her dismiss him so casually hurt.

“Bye bye, darling,” he murmured, hugging her tight. “I love you so much.”

“I love you, Daddy.” She finally lifted her head off his shoulder and beamed at him before she leaned forward and pressed a long kiss to his cheek. “Love you sooooo much!”

He laughed and held her closer to pepper kisses across her face.

“Time for Daddy to go,” he said. “I’ll see you in one week.”

“In one week,” Sianin said, nodding. “Bye bye, Daddy.”

He set his youngest on the floor and turned to Rose. He’d said his goodbyes to her in private, both last night and earlier that morning. But it still hurt to leave her for a week.

“I’ll let you know when I get to the airport,” he promised, opening his arms for her. He wrapped his arms loosely around her and linked his hands at the small of her back. “And when I get on the plane. And then when I land. Are you all set here? Dad should be stopping by later this afternoon.”

“James, we’ll be fine,” she assured. “This isn’t the first time I’ve been left alone with our daughters.”

“No, I know. But it is the first time I’ve been gone for so long,” he said.

“I know, but we’ll be fine,” she promised. “You go have fun with science.”

James snorted a laugh into her hair. “I love you.” He kissed the top of her head, then pulled back to kiss her lips. Her hand came up to cradle the back of his neck, and he hummed against her mouth.

“I love you, too,” she murmured, pulling out of the kiss when she heard the beep of a car horn. “That’ll be your taxi.”

She stepped away from him and rested a hand each on Ainsley’s shoulder and the top of Sianin’s head as James gathered his briefcase and his suitcase.

“Bye, love,” she said, pressing her lips into a thin smile as he opened their front door.

He gave them all one last smile before he shut the door behind him. Rose sighed softly; her heart ached with loneliness at the prospect of not seeing James for a week. He was a comforting presence for her, and she already missed him.

But a small piece of her heart couldn’t help the relief at him being gone the week of her ovulation. There was no possible potential for pregnancy, so she got a respite this cycle; there was no way for her to fail him this month.

Shaking herself out of that train of thought, Rose looked down at her daughters and put on a smile and asked if they wanted to help her make a big special breakfast.

The week without James passed by relatively uneventfully. Robert helped out with dropping the girls off at school and daycare in the mornings, and he often joined them for dinner.

That Friday, Rose packed the kids up into the car and drove with Robert to Chiswick for Donna and Lee’s wedding. Rose wished James could have been there, as she ached to dance with him among the other couples on the dance floor. But she made her rounds with friends and family, and she laughed as the girls danced with everyone too.

She took her daughters sightseeing in London, and they stayed with her mum overnight before driving back home on Sunday. Everyone was restless that evening, impatient for James to come home. Ainsley and Sianin both slept in bed with Rose, and they’d awoken early the next morning, excited that Daddy would be home at suppertime that night.

Rose was nearly as impatient as her daughters for James to come home. She’d missed him. To make matters worse, it was a slow day at work for her—a rarity of late—and she found herself checking the clock every couple of minutes.

Two hours before her workday ended, a surprise knocked on her door.

“Working hard, or hardly working?”

Rose snapped her head up from where she was playing a game on her phone as James’s beaming face poked through her office door. She jumped up from her seat and ran into his waiting arms.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, clutching him tightly to her. He smelled clean and fresh, and his damp hair let her know he’d just taken a shower.

“I came to surprise my beautiful wife,” he answered, rocking them gently from side to side.

“Consider me surprised.” She let go of him and leaned back to look up at him. “But you weren’t supposed to get in ‘til tonight!”

“I managed to catch an earlier flight out,” James said. He tilted his head down to bump the tip of his nose against hers. “I missed you.”

He brushed his lips against hers, and Rose let her eyes flutter shut as she wrapped her hand around the nape of his neck to hold him closer. His breath was minty fresh, and it made her slightly self-conscious to taste the garlic from her salad dressing at lunch. But when his tongue flicked against her lower lip, she forgot all about it and melted into the kiss.

They kept it relatively chaste, as they were in Rose’s office and the door was open, but after not kissing James for a week, pleasure and heat pooled into her belly. She ached to dig her fingers into his hair and deepen the kiss, but she resisted. Popping her lips away from his, she rubbed her fingertips across the fine hairs at the back of his neck and said, “I missed you, too.”

“We don’t have to pick the girls up for another two hours,” he whispered, pressing his lips to her forehead. “D’you want to go home and maybe make our kisses a little more not safe for work?”

“Hmm, I should check with my boss,” Rose said seriously.

“Maybe I should have a word with her,” James murmured, nuzzling the tip of his nose against hers. “I think I could probably persuade her.”

He slotted his lips against hers in a gentle, tender kiss.

“Consider her persuaded,” Rose teased. “Let me just let my team know I’m heading out early.”

Rose ran her fingers through her hair to make sure it hadn’t gotten mussed, and she checked her lipstick against the reflection of her phone. Judging that she looked presentable, she just about skipped to the row of cubicles down the hall.

She told them she was taking the rest of the afternoon off and gave them the freedom to leave if all of their work was done. She then turned on her heel and moved back to her office, where James was smiling eagerly at her.

She saved her work and shut down her computer in record time, then she grabbed James’s hand and tugged him to the car park.

“Did you drive?” she asked, scanning her eyes across the lot.

“Nope! I went home from the airport and dropped off my suitcase then took a shower and caught a taxi here.”

“How presumptuous of you that I would be able to take the afternoon off,” Rose teased, poking his ribs.

Rose drove them home, where they spent the next two hours reuniting in body and soul. His touch made her burn from the inside out in ways she hadn’t felt in a long time. Despite how much she’d missed him, she thought their week apart had done them good. It had given them a break from the stress of trying to conceive, and Rose thought James seemed more at ease as he moved with her as they made love slowly and tenderly.

Afterward, as they basked in the afterglow, they talked quietly about their week. James told her about the conference and how he’d met some really interesting people with fascinating research projects. Rose told him about Donna and Lee’s wedding, her day exploring London with the kids, and how excited the girls were to see him tonight.

But their words soon faded as they gave in to the absent kisses and touches, and they got in another round of lovemaking before they drove to the daycare to collect their children.

Rose could feel James vibrating with excitement as their linked hands swung between them as they walked into the building.

Sianin was playing with toy trucks with a few of her friends and she didn’t notice them at first. But when a daycare aide crouched down beside her and pointed to them, she spotted James and she broke into a wide grin.

“Daddy!” she screamed, abandoning her toys to sprint to him.

He crouched down and caught her little body in his arms and stood with her.

“Daddy, you’re home! I missed you! I love you!”

She squeezed her arms around his neck as James buried his nose into Sianin’s shoulder. Rose’s heart flipped with love as she watched her husband cuddle their daughter. He was so in love with and devoted to their children; she couldn’t have asked the universe for a better soulmate or a better parenting partner.

James kept Sianin in his arms and listened as she told him all about her week as they walked through the building and to the room that contained the six- and seven-year-olds.

Ainsley spotted them right away, and she shouted for James as she ran to him. Rose watched him swing Sianin further onto one hip as he opened his other arm for Ainsley. She crashed into his side, and he pressed a hard kiss to the top of her head before he bent down and hoisted her into his other arm.

Rose saw his arms trembling with the weight of holding up both kids at once, but he looked so happy and content as he peppered Ainsley and Sianin with kisses.

He eventually set them on their feet again and reached down to hold their hands as they walked outside.

“It looks like a nice day for ice cream, don’t you think?” Rose asked as the late July sun beat down on their heads.

That suggestion was met with vehement agreement from not only the girls, but James as well, and she grinned at her daft soulmate as she led the way to the ice cream shop a few blocks away.

Everybody was in a great mood when they got home that afternoon, and they spent the rest of the evening cuddling with each other as they played board games. Rose let James take the lead with putting their daughters to bed, knowing he missed going through the nighttime routine, and as he bathed their daughters then tucked them into bed, Rose ran a bath for them to enjoy.

As she lit candles in the bathroom and used some of the bubble bath mixture and scented oils they’d gotten in Bora Bora, she wondered if James would be interested in her impromptu date night. They’d made love twice that afternoon, and he might be tired from flying in. But when she told him she’d prepared a bath for them, his eyes darkened and he dragged her towards their bathroom then eventually to their bed after the water turned cool.

The heat of their desire blazed hotter for the next few weeks, and they reveled in it. Between their ongoing struggles to make a baby and the stress of Rose’s new job, their intimacy had slowed to a once-a-week occurrence. But now they found themselves making love multiple times a week and loving the restoration of their physical relationship.

However, the appearance of Rose’s period in September shattered the magic, and it left them both feeling worse than before. They offered each other hugs and the reassurance that there was always next month, but the words left a dry taste in their mouths, and once again their desire for sex cooled.

Especially for Rose.

The evening after her period ended found her and James snogging in their bed after they’d put the kids to bed. She loved snogging James. She loved feeling his arms wrapped around her and his lips moving all across her body as he whispered words of love and adoration into her skin.

But when his hands began to wander down her stomach and dipped down the front of her knickers, she popped her lips away from the splotchy red mark she was making on James’s neck.

“Wait, love,” she said, touching his forearm.

He hummed and looked up at her with dark eyes as he took his hand away from her.

“I’m not in the mood for that tonight,” she said apologetically.

James’s face fell a little, and Rose cringed.

“I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s fine,” he whispered, pressing a parting kiss to her forehead. “I’m glad you told me.”

“Wait.” She placed her hands at his ribs to keep him on top of her. “Can’t we keep going like this?”

“Rose, no offense, and no pressure, but I’m really turned on right now,” he admitted, his cheeks going pink. “It’s not fair of you to ask me to keep making out when…”

“No, I know, but, I dunno, I could lend you a hand, maybe?”

She tentatively reached out to palm the front of his boxers, where he was hard and straining.

“I thought you didn’t want to,” he said, furrowing his brows.

“Just because I don’t feel in the mood to get off doesn’t mean I don’t want to help you get off,” she said. “So is it okay if we keep going? And focus on you tonight?”

James hesitated for a moment before he nodded and carefully settled his weight back on top of her.

“Are you sure?” he asked, looking her in the eye.

“Positive,” she said, smiling reassuringly at him.

“Will you tell me if you change your mind?” he asked. “Change your mind in either direction: if you want to stop completely or if you want me to get you off too.”

“Of course,” she said. “Now can I go back to snogging my husband?”

He let out a giggle, and he ducked down to catch her lips in his. She buried her hands into his hair, ruffling it and scratching at his scalp as he rocked his hips into hers. She could feel how hard he was, and a thrill shot through her. She loved these moments when he would get more and more aroused just from her kisses and touches.

“Let’s get your pants off,” she murmured into his lips.

He nodded dumbly then rolled away from her. He wiggled around on the mattress, seemingly all thumbs as he worked his boxers down his legs. She rolled onto her side and propped herself up on her elbow as she watched him. His muscles rippled with his movements, and soon his erection sprung free from his pants. It had gotten slightly caught on the elastic, and it bobbed a few times before settling against his stomach.

James eventually kicked his pants to the floor, then reclined back against the pillows, waiting for her to make a move.

“You’re beautiful,” she said, smiling down at him.

His cheeks tinged pink as he grinned at her. His smile slipped a little as he asked, “You’re sure you want to do this?”

“What would you do if I said no?” she asked.

“I’d go to the loo and have a wank then come have a cuddle,” he answered.

“What’s the difference between you getting yourself off and me getting you off?” she asked.

He shrugged. She shook her head at her daft soulmate and rolled closer to him.

“I like getting you off,” she said, resting her hand on his chest. His heart was beating a little too fast in his chest, and she rubbed her thumb through his chest hair. “Like how you love going down on me or making me come with your clever fingers before we get to the main event. I’m sure over the years I’ve racked up more orgasms than you.”

“Which is how I like it,” James answered, sounding smug.

Rose chuckled. “I appreciate it, too. But tonight we’re gonna even up the playing field a bit.”

She leaned over and pressed her lips against his as her hand wandered down his stomach. She felt his breath catch in anticipation, and she grinned as she instead moved her hand to the side to scratch lightly at his hips.

He exhaled impatiently. “Tease.”

“Maybe just a little,” she said, kissing him again.

He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and guided her mouth back to his. He sucked at her top lip in a catch and release rhythm that was familiar and felt amazing. She swiped her tongue against his as it tried to sweep through her mouth.

She nearly forgot about her hand, still resting on his hip, until he arched into her touch.

“Please, love,” he panted. “You’re killing me.”

She pecked a kiss of apology to his lips, then covered his cock with her hand. He let out a low groan and thrust up. She wrapped her fingers around him, loving the feel of him. He was so hot and hard, and the skin was so smooth.

She set a slow, steady rhythm as she continued kissing him. Their kisses were sloppy and uncoordinated, and he sometimes forgot to keep kissing her when he was lost to a particularly potent pulse of pleasure. But Rose didn’t mind. She loved watching him lose concentration. She loved that she could make him so singularly focused on his arousal.

Even though James was the only one being pleasured, Rose couldn’t help the goosebumps that prickled across her skin at how intimate this was. Making love wasn’t just about sharing the act of intercourse with James. In her eyes, they were making love right now. The only thing she could think about in this moment was how very much she loved her husband, and how loved she was by him. Apart from the pleasure he was feeling, she knew James was feeling the same way.

He was an incredibly selfless lover, and always saw to her needs before his own. It was nice to turn the tables and make this all about him.

“C-can you go a bit faster?” he asked.

She nodded even though he couldn’t see, and she sped up the motions of her hand. His whimpers grew higher pitched and he couldn’t seem to keep his hips still.

She pressed kisses to the side of his mouth as she worked him harder and faster.

“Oh, Rose… Oh, God…”

She smirked against his cheek as she waited for the inevitable.

“Come for me, James,” she whispered when his breathing turned erratic. “I love you.”

He whined, then his whole body stiffened. He sucked in a sharp breath and Rose really focused on the motions of her hand to make this good for him. He exhaled on a loud moan as the first spurt of semen hit his stomach, and she gave him a gentle squeeze on the next upstroke that made him moan even louder.

“Oh, God,” he sighed raggedly.

“Good?” she asked innocently.

“So bloody brilliant.” His eyes were still closed, but he managed to turn his head and catch her lips in his.

She stroked him slowly as she followed along to his lazy kisses. He hummed happily against her lips as she stopped stroking his cock but kept her hand loosely around it.

“I love you,” he murmured, sounding adorably sleepy.

“I love you, too, James.”

“Thank you for this,” he said.

“You’re very welcome,” she said, finally letting him go to reach across him for the tissues. She grabbed a handful and cleaned off her hand, then his belly and cock. “I love making you come, James. You know that.”

“I know. I love making you come, too.”

“I know you do. Next time. Promise.”

As it turned out, “next time” was the following week. James was waiting for Rose after she tucked the girls into bed with a glass of wine and a flickering candle on the coffee table.

“How about a movie night?” he asked, nodding towards the TV.

She nodded and settled in beside him, tucking the blanket around their hips as she rested her cheek against his chest. They decided on a mindless rom-com they’d seen dozens of times. When James’s fingertips snuck under her shirt to stroke her skin and he whispered the lines into her ear along with soft kisses, Rose knew he was hoping they would make love that night.

It had been a while since they’d made love, and Rose suddenly found herself craving that intimacy with James, even if she didn’t feel particularly turned on. She was just entering her fertile period, and so this would be the first night of several that they would make love. Maybe this month they’d get lucky—her stomach flip-flopped at the thought of another failure.

Resolutely pushing that thought out of her head, Rose took the glass of wine out of his hand and finished the last swallow before setting it on their coffee table. She then pushed the blanket to the floor and moved to straddle his thighs. He hummed and rested his hands at her bum as she leaned down to catch his lips in a kiss.

They spent the remaining thirty minutes of the movie snogging. James was obviously very aroused, but while kissing him felt amazing, Rose felt no sense of urgency to achieve orgasm, and knew that there was a good chance she wouldn’t come when they eventually retired to their room.

Rose smiled against his shoulder as he fumbled around for the remote control as the credits rolled.

“Can you clean up in here, and I’ll go get ready?” Rose said, lifting herself off of him.

He nodded wordlessly, and Rose pressed a parting kiss to his brow and moved to their bedroom. She shed her clothes and threw them in the general vicinity of their hamper then rooted through her bedside table for the bottle of lubricant.

James stepped into the bedroom and closed and locked the door behind him right as she was finishing up. When he saw what she was doing, though, his face fell.

“Just being thorough,” Rose assured, holding her hand out for him. “C’mere, love.”

“Do you want to make love?” he asked, still standing at the door.

“Yes,” she said firmly. “Please, James.”

He nodded and stripped off his clothes, leaving a trail as he walked to their bed. His erection had wilted slightly, and Rose reclined against their pillows and let her thighs fall open to make room for him.

She worked him back to full hardness as she kissed him. She nibbled at his bottom lip and scraped her nails across his scalp as he palmed her breasts. Feeling so much of his skin against hers felt so good and comforting, but she still felt no arousal even as he worshiped her breasts. Her heart pounded a little too quickly for comfort. She wanted to be aroused, because she knew he took an ego hit whenever she didn’t come when they made love. But she couldn’t seem to make her mind not focus on the fact that she was fertile and that maybe this time she would succeed in getting pregnant.

“Are you ready?” he murmured against her collarbone.

“Yeah.” She gave him one last slow stroke before lining him up. She tilted her hips up as he pressed forward, and he let out a breathy moan as he was sheathed inside of her.

He moved lazily inside of her, and Rose wrapped her arms around him to hug him tight as she enjoyed his gentle motions. Her heart squeezed in her chest like it always did when she made love with James.

“I love you so much,” she whispered into his ear.

“I love you, too.” He let out a hiss as his hips arched forward. “God, I love you. You feel so good, love. So good.”

Rose smiled as James began to lose himself to his pleasure. His grunts turned strained and his rhythm turned sloppy as he got closer to orgasm. She tightened her muscles around him, hoping to help him along. She closed her eyes and tried to let the soft pleasure she was feeling from his movements deepen. But she couldn’t seem to get her body interested in coming.

James sucked in a breath and Rose gripped his bum tightly to pull him closer. He pressed his hips tightly to hers as he throbbed his release deep inside of her as he let out his held breath on a low moan. The sound made warmth flood through Rose. She loved this. She loved seeing him get consumed by the pleasure she was making him feel. She loved the feel of him releasing inside of her. She loved how his body trembled above her and his breath was hot and humid against her cheek as he panted.

He pulsed weakly inside of her as he came down from his high. Rose turned her head and pressed long, lazy kisses to his jaw as he breathed heavily. He moved until their lips could meet.

“You didn’t come,” he murmured against her lips. He lifted himself up on his forearm to look down at her. He reached up and brushed a few strands of hair away from her face.

“I know. I didn’t need to.” He frowned and tried to ignore the bruise to his ego. “It felt really great, but I already knew I probably wasn’t going to come tonight.”

“You said you wanted to make love,” he mumbled.

“And I did want to,” she said. She reached up and carded her fingers through his hair. “I would have told you if I didn’t. I always tell you if I don’t want to. I can still enjoy sex even if I don’t come.”

James sighed, and he pulled out of her to settle next to her. She cuddled into his side and tucked her head under his chin. He knew his wife well enough by now to know that she didn’t always orgasm when they made love, and also that she wasn’t shy about asking him to finish her off if he came too soon.

But it seemed like Rose’s orgasms were more elusive than ever. He wasn’t orgasming so quickly that Rose didn’t have time to get off, was he? He suddenly remembered that Rose hadn’t even been turned on when they’d gotten into bed, despite making out on the couch for a half hour beforehand.

His stomach sank. Had he neglected her needs? He thought he’d paid attention to all of her erogenous zones, but he honestly couldn’t remember. Kissing Rose was second nature after all these years, and his lips and hands tended to wander aimlessly. It always seemed to work before, but maybe he’d gotten lazy.

He leaned down and pressed a kiss to the crown of her head and swore to himself to focus on her when they made love the following evening.

He was true to his vow and when he and Rose retired to their bedroom immediately after putting the girls to bed, he made it his personal mission to kiss every inch of her body. He hadn’t shaved in a couple days, and he used his scruff to his advantage to scrape it against all of the places he knew Rose was most sensitive. Particularly the soft skin of her inner thighs. While it took a little longer than usual, she was soon wet and squirming beneath his ministrations. He finished her off with his mouth and fingers, and pride swelled through his chest as she cried out his name and clenched her fingers into his hair.

But that was the last time she had an orgasm that week. Though they made love four more nights, Rose didn’t come. She assured him that she was completely fine with it, but James couldn’t help the crippling guilt and insecurities that were welling up inside of him.

Rose could see how hurt James was every time they made love and she didn’t come, and it only made her feel worse about herself. Especially when her period arrived two weeks later, indicating another failure. She was failing him in two regards, now: she couldn’t conceive a baby, and she couldn’t even make love with him properly.

Her confidence dwindled the longer she went without feeling aroused by James’s touches, and she grew nervous every time he tried to initiate intimacy. He always stopped when she told him to, but she hated to keep rejecting him. It was killing her to see his disappointment. She was disappointed in herself, too.

She tried to pretend to be interested in making love with him. She kissed him with every ounce of passion in her body, pouring all of the love she had for him into her touches. She often needed to use lubricant when they made love, and Rose reassured him that this was a common issue women had as they got older. She put all of her energy into making sure James still felt good when they made love, and she made sure to gasp and moan for him as he moved in a way that sent sharper pleasure through her.

But it was exhausting to pretend. She felt so inadequate and she hated herself.

Their sex life slowed to a pace it had never been at before. They made love only when Rose was fertile, it seemed, and the anxiety and pressure to make the most of those five precious days made it impossible for Rose to enjoy making love.

When her fertile window was over, they stopped not only making love, but their movie nights were strictly that: they watched a film and cuddled on the couch and pecked a chaste kiss to each other’s lips when the film was done and they moved to get ready for bed.

It had been nearly three weeks since they’d had sex, though not without effort on James’s part. He’d made advances, but Rose hadn’t been in the mood to even watch him get lost to pleasure.

But after every rejection, Rose felt worse. So when he nuzzled up behind her one night and pressed small suckling kisses to the join of her neck and shoulder, she leaned back into his touch and hoped she could get away with giving him a blow job. He hadn’t had one in a while and she knew he loved them.

“Yeah?” he asked as she rolled over onto her back.

She smiled at him and nodded, deciding she’d tell him in a few minutes that she’d prefer to get him off with her mouth and hands. For now, she coaxed him on top of her and tugged him down for a kiss.

This she could do. It always felt nice to kiss James, but she hadn’t done it in a while. It felt rude to snog him without wanting to let it progress to further intimacy.

“I love you,” he mumbled against his lips. “So much, Rose.”

The words made tears prickle behind her eyes, and she tightened her hold around him. She loved him so much, and it was excruciating to know she was disappointing him in so many ways.

As he began to rut his erection against her, a knock sounded on their door.

“Dammit,” James grumbled, rolling off of her.

Rose breathed a silent sigh of relief that was immediately followed by raging guilt. “Sorry, love,” she whispered.

She climbed off their bed and padded to the door, where she saw a sweat-soaked Ainsley standing on the other side.

“I had a bad dream,” she whimpered.

“Oh, you did?” Rose asked, kneeling down to wrap Ainsley in a hug. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. Let’s go get a drink of water, then Mummy will come cuddle with you in bed.”

Ainsley nodded, and Rose didn’t look back at James before she closed the door and guided Ainsley to the kitchen.

“Do you want to talk about your dream?” Rose asked, filling a glass with cool water. She stole a sip before handing it to Ainsley.

Rose saw the way Ainsley’s hands were trembling as she took tiny sips from the cup.

“You were gone,” she whimpered. “You and Daddy and Sianin were all gone and I was all alone and didn’t know where you went and you never came back!”

Rose’s heart ached, and she stepped up to her daughter. Ainsley set her cup on the table and threw her arms around Rose’s neck.

“Shh, it’s okay,” Rose whispered. “It’s okay, sweetheart. It was just a nasty dream.” She picked Ainsley up and then sat in the vacated chair to hold Ainsley in her lap. Her daughter tucked her face into Rose’s chest as she sniffled. “Breathe, baby. Just breathe. You’re okay. You’re safe and I’m right here. Me and Daddy and Sianin are all still right here. We would never ever leave you. Okay? Never. I love you so much, Ainsley. I could never imagine leaving you anywhere. Nor would Daddy. Or Gran or Grandad or Uncle Mickey or Auntie Donna. You are so loved by so many people.”

Rose continued to speak gentle reassurances until Ainsley’s tears dried.

“All better,” Rose murmured, kissing the top of Ainsley’s head. “Drink a little bit more water and then we’ll go back to bed.”

After Ainsley had finished her water, Rose set the cup in the sink and carried Ainsley to her bedroom.

“Let’s get some new jammies,” Rose said, seeing her daughter’s sleep shirt was damp with sweat.

When Ainsley was in fresh pajamas, Rose guided her into bed, then she squeezed herself onto the mattress.

Ainsley fell asleep within minutes, but Rose stayed in her daughter’s bed. The whole ordeal had taken no more than twenty minutes, so she knew James would probably still be awake. He’d also probably want to pick up where they’d gotten interrupted. Anxiety coiled in her gut at the prospect, and so Rose ignored it and instead cuddled closer to her daughter and fell asleep.

The next morning, she awoke in Ainsley’s bed with a crick in her neck from being curled around her daughter in such a small bed. She heard the floorboards of the hallway creak, indicating James was awake.

She slipped out of Ainsley’s bed and tucked the blankets around her daughter’s shoulders before walking to the kitchen to greet her husband.

“I’m sorry about last night,” she said, stepping up to him and wrapping her arms around his waist.

“It’s fine,” he said.

He didn’t sound upset, but Rose still felt the need to explain.

“Ainsley had a really bad dream that she’d been abandoned by us. I couldn’t bear to leave her alone for the night.”

James turned in her arms and cupped her cheeks. “Rose, it’s fine. Of course it’s fine. Our daughter needed you.” He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Is she all right?”

“Yeah, she slept like a rock for the rest of the night. She’s still asleep.”

James nodded, and he dropped his hands to fiddle with the hem of his shirt. He looked nervous, and Rose already knew what he was going to say.

“D’you think… can we try again tonight?” he asked shyly.

She smiled and rocked up onto her tiptoes to brush her lips across his. “Of course.”

He beamed at her, his shyness gone, and he pressed a smacking kiss to her lips before saying something about getting a shower while the coffee brewed.

When he was gone, her shoulders slumped. She wanted to be excited to make love with him tonight, but all she felt was a hard knot in her stomach. But why did she feel so distraught? Usually her infertile periods put her at ease and were the times she could enjoy intimacy with James, so why was she already dreading tonight? She wasn’t ovulating. There was absolutely no chance of conceiving a baby.

Her heart hardened.

Because James still could father a child right now. He was fully fertile but she had no egg for him to fertilize. She was the limiting half of this equation. The nature of her biology kept her from getting pregnant for at least 80% of the month, and she hated that. Her body was physically incapable of conceiving a child right now, and it hurt so much to know that. It hurt even worse that her body couldn’t even perform its natural function to conceive a child during one of those five days when she was fertile.

Before she was crippled by a sense of inadequacy and the ever-present feelings of failure, Rose stood up from the kitchen table and gathered the ingredients from the fridge to make breakfast for her family.

oOoOo

The twenty-seventh of October found Rose, as usual, walking with her arms full of food towards James’s office for their annual birthday lunch together. This year he’d asked her to get a pizza for them to share.

She knocked on his open office door and saw him already walking towards her.

“I smelled you coming,” he said, ushering her into his office. He shut the door behind her, then pulled a chair up beside his behind his desk. When she was seated, he opened the lid to the box and grabbed a slice.

The conversation was sparse as they ate, and James hated the tension he could feel between the two of them.

“So, Ainsley’s birthday is coming up,” he said lightly.

“Yep.”

He bit back a sigh and forced the conversation to keep going.

“We should start thinking about a party,” he said. “If she doesn’t want it at the house, where else might she like to go?”

“She couldn’t stop talking about how fun William’s birthday party was,” Rose said. “His mums took a group of them laser tagging, remember? We could ask if she wanted to do something like that.”

“I suppose.” James frowned. “That kind of leaves Sianin out, though. She’s too little to go laser tagging.”

“It’s Ainsley’s birthday party,” Rose reminded him. “We can still have a family party, with Mum and Dad.”

They chatted about planning a birthday party and agreed to talk with Ainsley that evening about whether she wanted a party at home or somewhere else.

As always, Rose let him keep the leftovers so he would have something to heat up for lunch tomorrow. She picked up the empty pizza box then leaned down to peck a kiss to his lips.

“See you tonight,” she said.

That night, as the family sat down with cake and ice cream, they brought up the subject of a birthday party with Ainsley. At first, she didn’t seem to have too many opinions.

“It doesn’t matter,” she said, shrugging.

Knowing their daughter wouldn’t ask for something if she thought she was being an inconvenience, James and Rose continued to lightly toss out ideas.

“What about something like William’s mums did for him last month?” James asked, and he glanced up at Rose when he saw Ainsley’s eyes light up.

“Laser tagging?” Ainsley asked.

“Is that something you might want to do?” Rose asked.

“Yeah!” she said excitedly.

“Okay, then Daddy and I will start making the arrangements, and you can put together a list of friends you want to come,” Rose said.

She and James worked diligently for the next few days to make all of the arrangements. They’d cut it finer than in past years; usually by James’s birthday, they had the whole party planned. But nevertheless, by Halloween, they’d booked the laser tag facility and had sent invitations to Ainsley’s friends.

The morning of Ainsley’s birthday party heralded the start of Rose’s period. James’s heart broke as he watched Rose put all of the energy into making it a great day for their daughter, and he knew she was trying to ignore this month’s disappointment. When he tried to talk to her alone, she politely but firmly told him she didn’t want to talk about it until after the party.

The party was a hit. They chaperoned Ainsley and six of her friends to the laser tag facility, and while the kids played, they set up the party room they’d reserved with balloons and other decorations. The pizza arrived ten minutes before the kids were scheduled to be done, and James and Rose fretted one last time over the appearance of everything until excited, chattering voices echoed down the hall and they were soon overrun by children.

Ainsley had a great time, and that made it all worth the exhaustion of planning and supervising the party. Rose floated around the room with her camera, taking many photographs of their daughter, both alone and with her friends.

On the drive home, Ainsley fell asleep in the car for the first time in a long time, and James lifted her out of the seat and carried her inside. She woke up when Sianin sprinted to them, wanting to play with her big sister. For the rest of the evening, the girls played together as James and Rose decompressed from their busy afternoon.

“D’you wanna talk about it now?” James asked as he settled beside Rose and her laptop to peruse through the photos she’d taken.

“Talk about what?” she said absently. She landed on a picture of Ainsley beaming in front of her birthday cake. The candles reflected in her big blue eyes and shadows danced across her lightly-freckled face. Her smile revealed the huge gap in her teeth from where her second front tooth had fallen out, the first since losing her other front tooth when she’d toppled the dresser on herself when she was a year and a half. “Oh, I love this one.”

“I do too,” he said, trying to stifle his irritation at her obvious deflection. “Rose, you know what I’m talking about.”

“Well, what’s there to talk about?” she asked, her voice thin. “I got my period. I’m not pregnant. We’ll try again. It’s the same old story, James.”

He huffed out a breath. Why didn’t she want to talk to him about this? Surely she was as upset as he was. In fact, he knew she was. So why was she trying to act like she wasn’t hurting?

A cold weight settled in his stomach.

Was she upset with him? He was upset with himself, but surely Rose wasn’t. There wasn’t anything more he could do, was there? He supposed he could try to eat a little better. And while he still played golf every other Sunday, he didn’t get much exercise otherwise. Maybe he should take up jogging. Rose took a jog most mornings. Maybe he could join her?

But she seemed to like the alone time of jogging. Actually, she seemed to like alone time most of the time. It hurt to watch his wife withdrawing away from him, and he didn’t know how to make her stop.

Because what if he confronted her about it and she told him that she’d just… fallen out of love with him? His lungs felt twisted in on themselves. Could that happen? Could soulmates fall out of love with each other? Surely the whole point of soulmates was to find the person to spend the rest of your forever with.

“I love you,” he blurted out, still feeling like he couldn’t quite breathe properly.

Rose looked over at him, her brows furrowed. She reached over and took his hand in hers. The feel of her soft, warm skin against his grounded him, and he didn’t feel like his head was spinning as fast.

“I love you, too,” she said gently. She gave his fingers a squeeze and kept her hand clasped with his as she scrolled through the rest of the photos.

The longer they sat together, the better James began to feel. Of course Rose was still in love with him. She would always be in love with him. And he would always be in love with her.

James and Rose, together. Forever. As it should be.

oOoOo

James’s hips jerked involuntarily as his orgasm swept through him. It wasn’t an intense one by any means, but it was at least an ejaculation. When it stopped, Rose lifted herself off of him and lay down on her side of the bed, facing away from him.

The usual warm buzz left behind from an orgasm was nearly nonexistent. He hadn’t had a pleasurable orgasm in longer than he cared to admit. And Rose hadn’t had an orgasm in…

He desperately tried to abandon that thought, but of course his brain wouldn’t let it go.

Two months. It had been two months since he’d last made Rose come.

Although Rose would have me think it had only been one month, he grumbled. He remembered the first night she’d faked it, but how stupid did she think he was? Did she think he didn’t know what she looked like when she came? He’d watched her tip over in pleasure thousands of times over the last fourteen years.

He’d been too insecure to ask her about it, but ever since that night, he’d been plagued with the question of why she thought she had to fake her orgasm.

Because you can’t make her come.

His stomach coiled uncomfortably at that thought. Had he lost his touch? Was he truly so unsatisfactory in bed? Of course he was. He came in less than five minutes nowadays. Nowhere near long enough for Rose to enjoy it. Quick in, thrust a few times, come, pull out, fall asleep. Wham bam thank you ma’am.

Tears burned behind his eyes. Why couldn’t he satisfy his wife anymore? Why couldn’t his sperm just do their job and get her pregnant? Why did he keep failing her?

He quietly slipped out of bed, not wanting to disturb her, and he walked to the kitchen for a glass of water. He downed the entire glass before he decided he was in the mood for something a little stronger. He grabbed a bottle of whiskey and took a long pull straight from the bottle.

It was no wonder Rose didn’t initiate sex with him outside of her ovulation cycle. Sex had become so underwhelming, why would she want to endure it when she didn’t have to?

No. Surely he could still satisfy her. He could. He knew he could.

He took another swig from the bottle before he capped it and put it away. Then he pulled out his laptop. As it fired up, he thought of the most romantic destinations he could. They still hadn’t decided where to go for their anniversary. They’d discussed staying local, since they’d splurged the year before, but James was desperate to rekindle the spark in their relationship. He loved his wife—God, he loved her so much—but the sheer apathy he was feeling right now about their relationship terrified him. They needed to go away, just the two of them. They hadn’t done that in so long.

James scrolled through the Internet before finally landing on Paris. Yes. Where better celebrate their anniversary than in the city of love?

The next morning, James eagerly showed his travel plans to Rose. She didn’t look nearly as excited as he wanted her to, and so he did what he did best: he rambled.

“It’ll be fun! There are so many places to sightsee. Loads of museums. Vineyards and wineries! Wine tasting! Loads of great restaurants.” He then took a breath before he finally admitted, “Rose, I think we need this. It feels like we’ve been so busy this autumn that we never just take time to enjoy each other. This’ll be good for us.”

She finally sighed, then nodded. “Yeah. This will be good for us.”

He grinned at her and felt a little hope for them as he booked their five-day long holiday in Paris.

<-- Ch6 | Ch8 -->

[bigbenalpha]

I’ve been DMing, sessions 12 & 13

A few new players have joined up over the past two sessions so they were a bit shorter and therefore lumped into one post. So, two short sessions mean one longer post. The large town/small city of Midvale had tasked the party with venturing into the sewers to unblock the flood gate mechanisms and keep the city from flooding due to a sudden and powerful storm that blew down out of the mountains. The party ran afoul of a vampire lady who charmed three of them and set them to fight their friends. She was defeated and the party made it’s way to the area with the gate controls. The gated were being being blocked by a huge cocoon which burst, releasing two hungry otyughs. As the fight progressed the flood waters rose higher but the beasts were defeated and the flood gates opened just in time. Sadly, the party’s goblin rogue was swept away by the flood waters. He may still be alive deep in an underground cavern but who knows. 

Back on the surface the party made haste to the city watch house with the corpses of two vampires. Guard Captain Gita Biwachandra was highly alarmed that the undead were at large in her city. She quickly sent for help from local clerics and Telamon suggested she could also send for help from the Vistani who were camped outside of town. Glim and Nora discovered that Tina, the vampire, had a bag of holding. They were able to retrieve a journal which seemed to be written in thieve’s cant. There were also a few letters written in common that indicated Tina was tasked to find an enemy for a powerful individual who may have been a former patron of hers. Glim had the bright idea to turn the bag inside out and quickly wished he hadn’t.

In addition to large pile of random things three flamesskulls rolled out and instantly attacked.  The fight was fast but brutal. The party got in many good hits but one of the skulls let loose a fireball that dropped half the party. Fortunately Captain Gita and her guards were able to help destroy the cackling, undead heads. Unfortunately Ogner wasn’t able to be revived.

Captain Gita supplied the party with heals and the certificate for services from a local bath house, Tyman’s Grotto. She assured the party that Ogner would be looked after until the clerics arrived, so, weary, singed and covered in sewer water the party made its way to a much needed bath.

Baths, massages and laundry services were provided and the party seemed to regain some composure. Kainos offered his apologies to Vallik for the way he treated the albino gnoll when he joined the party. Kik made an ass of himself by hitting on a red dragonborn lady named Ruby. Glim and Corvid made an early exit to get back to the watch house and prepare a prank for Ogner upon his revival. Nora opted to visit the theater instead of heading back to the watch house. The theater was still closed so she headed to the Dandy Trout for some drinks.  As the party headed back to the watch house, along with Ruby, we called it quits there. Picking up immediately where we left off, most of the party arrived back at the watch house and discovered two vistani vardos parked out side. Inside, Baba Sarya, Marta, Elena, Florio, and several unknown vistani were consulting with Captain Gita about the vampire corpses. The journal was given to Florio to translate. He confirmed that Tina was tracking down somebody but never wrote the name. The journal went back several years, detailing her exploits as an undead rogue. There was no other evidence of any vampires in town. Clerics of Lathander finally arrived and the consensus was that the bodies had to be burned. Glim requested one of Tina’s hands so he could make a Hand of Glory. Baba Sarya was equal parts alarmed and amused but she didn’t stop him. Her “sisters” (daughter-in-law Marta, cousin Tilde, and Baba Rosa, a more distant cousin) were shocked but deferred to Sarya. The clerics said that they would be able to revive poor Stan (the city worker killed and turned by Tina) and that they would do the same for Ogner, minus the burning.  Examining his body - which was surprisingly naked except for a broken helmet and slathered in oil - the clerics determined that he wasn’t actually dead.  Baba Sarya and her wise sisters confirmed it. Something arcane was keeping Ogner in a coma. The clerics took Ogner and the vampire bodies back to their temple. 

Back at the Dandy Trout, Nora joined a friendly card game and made the acquaintance of Honoree’ Beaudreau, a handsome and charming cardsharp. The game was also joined by a Drow lady named... Imyir? My bad, I forgot to write it down. Bad DM.  Nora also caught the attention of a bard, but more importantly that caught the attention of his his jealous fans. He announced his name as Morrisey.  It’s really tweaking my OCD that I can’t find any art of him on a par with the other pics. Stoopid Morrisey fans. 

*art my moz65 on deviantArt

Meanwhile, in The Burrows, an inn catering to dwarfs, halflings, and gnomes, Brood noticed a few clerics of Lathander get some shocking news. Sneaking closer he heard the word “vampires” and stealthily followed them out.  He managed to keep to the shadows for the most part but the many sets of eyes in the party, especially the very alert vistani, saw him near the temple. He was quickly interrogated and threatened by the city guard if he ever mentioned vampires to any townsfolk. He agreed. Small talk was made while the clerics, vistani and Telamon. The bodies were decapitated, fangs extracted, mouths stuffed with herbs, holy oils applied, then the bonfire was lit. while the clerics prayed.

Glim and Brood made their way back to the Burrows. They introduced each other to their pets - Glim’s owl and mastiff, Brood’s panther. The rest of the party returned to the Dandy trout. Nora and... Ymeir? (bad DM) made it out of the poker game with a few extra coins and started a drinking game. They were good and toasty when the party showed up. Morrisey paid more attention to Nora from the stage, to the annoyance of one of his fans in particular. He winked, Nora blew a kiss, he caught it, rubbed it in his pompadour and threw her flowers from his collar and belt in one, fluid, practiced move without missing a dance step or a song note. The Alpha Fangirl fumed and stormed out. Ruby engaged in some arm wrestling while the rest of the party drank. And that’s where we stopped.

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[nerdychef-jean]

What do we ask for? What are the requests? Are you a good friend?

Well as far as the requests go, I do art, photo edits and writing. Mainly Thomas sanders stuff but can do many others. I am a fan of many many things so more than likely I will have at least some idea of what you are requesting. My pesronal big ones is anything Disney, some anime, Star Wars, Star Trek, Doctor who, torchwood, marvel, DC, red dwarf, Repo! The genetic opera, and supernatural.And I try to be a good friend, I personally LOVE new friends! And I always try to be there and listen when someone is in need.

[thomasroach]

Top RPG News Of The Week: February 24th (Bard’s Tale 4, Warhammer Chaosbane, Path of Exile and More!)

The post Top RPG News Of The Week: February 24th (Bard’s Tale 4, Warhammer Chaosbane, Path of Exile and More!) appeared first on Fextralife.

..Happy weekend from Fextralife! If you’ve been too busy to keep up on the latest in the games we cover or are looking for a refresher we’ve got you covered! Here’s a bite-sized version of the Top RPG news of the week. Taste all the latest news across the Fextralife Wiki Network.

Check out the video above and read on for the text!

Razer Game Store

Last year Razer opened their own digital game store called the Razer Game Store, aiming to provide another platforms for gamers to purchase titles. After 10 months of operation Razer are calling quits.

In a statement on the gaming store website Razer shares the closure of Razer Game Store. As of February 28th, 2019 at 01:00 PST, the online store front will be closing its digital doors. In the short announcement the reason for the closure is due to the company’s “realignment plans”.

Those who may be worried about their existing pre-orders can feel reassured, as according to the website FAQs those pre-orders will still be carried out. While games that have been purchased for other platforms such as Steam, Origin or UPlay will still be valid as long you have redeemed your code prior to the closing date of the Razer Game Store on February 28th which was also stated in their FAQs.

To read more about this news find it here in: Razer’s Game Store Closes After 10 Months.

The Bard’s Tale 4

Developer InXile has announced they will launching an extended, enhanced version of it’s RPG The Bard’s Tale 4: Barrows Deep in June this year.

The additions for the enhanced version of The Bard’s Tale IV: Barrows Deep will be so extensive that it will be known as the Director’s Cut edition. In a Kickstarter backer post, InXile’s Paul Marzagalli has explained the extent of the director’s cut version.

Patch 2.0 or the Director’s Cut is slated for June this year, it will feature a number of updates and additions to the game. One major feature is the Royal Necropolis of Haernhold dungeon, players will travel to Kinestia. Players will be able “to uncover the nature of Tarjan’s treachery and undo the catastrophe that has befallen the tomb of the dwarves’ greatest hero, Gaerwyn”.

The Bard’s Tale 4 patch 2.0. sets to bring master-crafted gear, Dwarfen Weapons, new character portraits, a brand new intro, improved level art and a quality of life improvement in the form of inventory filtering which has been much requested by players. Those who aren’t keen on puzzles can opt to bypass them by using the new Song of Exploration.

Patch 2.0 The Director’s Cut is set to release in June 2019.

To read more about this news find it here in: The Bard’s Tale 4 To Get Major Director’s Cut Update In June.

Darkest Dungeon 2

Developer Red Hook Studios have shared a new trailer for their upcoming sequel to their Lovecraftian inspired RPG Darkest Dungeon.

The RPG Darkest Dungeon is a cosmic horror title based around exploring dangerous environments, seeking loot and battling the many creatures that lurk in the world. Adventuring isn’t taken lightly as each encounter with these horrific monsters will drive the explorers closer and closer towards madness. Characters in their party would gain unfortunate negative effects which would cause further challenges.

In an article by PC Gamer, Red Hook explored a few details about the upcoming instalment. Fans will be glad to know that the combat system will be returning in the sequel with a “significant tune-up mechanically”, but the game gets “a completely different metagame structure”.

For now there is no release date set for Darkest Dungeon 2 but you can sign up for Red Hook Studios’ mailing list to get news and updates for Darkest Dungeon 2. The original Darkest Dungeon is available on PC, Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One and PS Vita.

To read more about this news find it here in: Darkest Dungeon 2 Announced By Red Hook.

Sekiro

We’re edging ever closer to the launch of Sekiro, in just over a month the new FromSoftware IP will be released. Until then, the developer is ready to tease more of the epic bosses that will grace the game, this time featuring Lady Butterfly in their latest trailer.

Sharing another enemy from Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, on the Playstation Youtube channel we get a glimpse of boss Lady Butterfly. While this appears to be an elderly woman, she is not to be underestimated, armed with twin daggers she’s definitely a cut above the rest. Her movements are fluid and agile, with a snap of her fingers she summons her deadly weapons with ease.

She can also attack from heights, unlike Sekiro who will need to physically grapple structures using his prosthetic arm, Lady Butterfly seems to stand on “illusions” mid-air, which look like thin wires, making her quite an aerial boss.

Players will have to come up with strategies to beat this boss, while being wary of combat features including Posture which depletes as you strike your enemies as well as perform finishers. If you want to know more about combat you can find out more in our Sekiro Gameplay And Hands-On Gameplay And Impressions.

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice will be releasing on March 22nd 2019 on Playstation 4, Xbox One and PC.

To read more about this news find it here in: Sekiro Gets New Trailer Featuring Lady Butterfly.

The Outer Worlds

New details revealing The Outer Worlds loading screens shows that choices made in-game will not only affect narrative but will be echoed in the loading screens.

Obsidian have shared a few more details about the plot of their upcoming sci-fi RPG The Outer Worlds. We had learnt that the title would not follow the usual open-world structure, instead of having one entire world to roam, but two planets that exist on the Halcyon System. One planet called Terra and one called Monarch, but these two worlds do not get along.

Essentially the people in Terra do not like the people who live on Monarch, so they make propaganda films “to sell to the people why it’s bad there.”

These artworks really reflect the situation between Terra and Monarch, and the loading screens will definitely remind you that these worlds run by corporations are not harmonious. Player’s choices will affect the artwork shown during loading screens, reminding players of their actions.

To read more about this news find it here in: The Outer Worlds To Feature Loading Screen Art That Corresponds With Player Choices

Haven

The developer The Game Bakers of the action beat’em up Furi announces a sci-fi adventure RPG called Haven.

A new project has been teased in a short trailer featuring the sci-fi project Haven, described as an adventure RPG that is “about everyday love, rebelling against the rules and also, food”. A game that can be played “solo or with a special someone”. The narrative follows a pair of lovers who escaped to a lost planet and “The only thing that matters to them is to stay together”.

According to the Steam page, The Game Bakers have been working on this game for over a year and are ready to reveal a teaser trailer that shows the couple effortlessly gliding in front of a mountainous backdrop, taking a quick smooch before carry on their exploration. While the video is short, is does preview the romantic storyline.

But it’s not all long stares and hand holding, screenshots from the developers website reveal that there are beasts to battle and campsites to setup.

Haven is set to release on Steam in 2020 and console at a later date.

To read more about this news find it here in: Furi Developers Tease A Romantic Adventure RPG Haven.

Warhammer Chaosbane

The upcoming ARPG Warhammer: Chaosbane gets a new trailer featuring the merciless Dwarf Slayer in action.

A new video features the character Bragi Axebiter, a dwarf that wields yes you guessed it dual axes. Known for his survival through fights against trolls, he now earns himself the name of Dwarf Slayer.

The feature shows him spinning his way through mobs taking down numerous foes with ease using his double axes. The backstory of this fighter shares that although he doesn’t want to go on living, he will not end his life dishonourably but instead charging into new fights to earn himself a heroic death.

Axebiter himself talks about a few of his abilities which include calling on his ancestors for power and blood lust which releases powerful spinning axes in all directions.

Players can literally take Bragi Axebiter for a spin when Warhammer Chaosbane releases on June 4th, those who order the special edition will have early access on May 31st. Chaosbane releases on Xbox One, PS4 and PC.

To read more about this news find it here in: Warhammer: Chaosbane Gets New Trailer Featuring Dwarf Slayer.

Top Selling Games January 2019

The NPD Group a marketing research company reveals that in the United States both Kingdom Hearts 3 and Resident Evil 2 did really well upon their release hitting the best selling games in January. The Kingdom Hearts franchise has had a history of chart topping since April 2006, when Kingdom Hearts 2 was released. KH3 set a new record for their own franchise reaching 2.5 times more sales than KH2, they also managed to ship 5 million copies worldwide.

Capcom’s Resident Evil 2 also had a good launch, making three times more in sales revenue than the original game. Resident Evil 2 the original launched back in January 1998. While the RE2 remake didn’t quite claim top spot for the month, they still gain second place for January.

Other close contenders for the beginning of year included New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe and Call of Duty Black Ops IIII. Red Dead Redemption 2 is still in the top 10 for January as well.

To read more about this news find it here in: Kingdom Hearts 3 And Resident Evil 2 Make Best Selling Games For January 2019.

Path of Exile

Fans of the RPG free-to-play game Path of Exile have been awaiting its release, first being announced for a launch in December last year and then postponed to a February launch. We now get news that the PS4 release will launch in March 2019 and find out more of why its been postponed.

The release was intended to launch following the last expansion Betrayal in December but was delayed. In an article by Gamespot with Managing Director of Grinding Gear Games, we learn more about why the release has been delayed.

According to the article the developers decided to hold the release for PS4 to give it some more time. While the game is well on it’s way according to Wilson, the team felt further improvements could be made. As the process to release games on PS4 can be quite drawn out, the date for release has now been set for March. The console debut release will have all the DLCs currently available including Synthesis which releases on March 8th for other platforms.

Path of Exile is now expected to release on PS4 in March 2019.

To read more about this news find it here in: Path Of Exile PS4 Release Delayed Until March 2019.

Well, that’s it for the Week in Wikis. Please join us next week for yet another great week of gaming! Remember to check out our VIP program for some exclusive supporter benefits, and budding writers should take advantage of our Become an Author initiative! Thanks again for being a part of this great community. Keep checking in with us for news, reviews, YouTube streams and vids, and general wiki goodness!

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The post Top RPG News Of The Week: February 24th (Bard’s Tale 4, Warhammer Chaosbane, Path of Exile and More!) appeared first on Fextralife.

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