#colibri writes

[celestial-sphere-press]

Fanbinding: Like a Wildfire Burning by @werewolves-are-real

It's illogical to deprive the body of necessary nutrition, but old habits can be hard to break.

Before I left for the holidays back in Dec, I made a whole bunch of books, and four of them were for and in-person meet-up for a class with other Renegaders!

I bound "Like a Wildfire Burning" (on Ao3) for @pleasantboatpress since they love Star Trek & Spock. It's a Spock-centric fic, focused on his struggle with an eating disorder and being caught between two cultures.

For design, I researched to translate "Wildfire burning" into Vulcan and then how to write it in Vulcan calligraphy (back). The fabric is Colibri copper, and the endpapers are a chiyogami I picked up down in Kyoto. I found a great smoke vector that I was able to play with for the title and first pages. I went for a gold splatter on the edges.

Honestly though the best part of making this book has been being able to meet and hang out with manda in person!!

#fanbinding #celestial sphere press #ficbinding #star trek #spock #spirk #star trekking across the universe #renegade greece trip 1.0

[finalfrontierpublishing]

So it's been a while since i posted any books - mostly because i've been hiding my progress like a little sneak.

I just finished this bind last night of The Desert Storm by @blue-sunshine-mauve-morning, or really it's volume 1 out of like ??? 15, maybe. Please take whatever i say with a pinch of salt (I have had 0 sleep for more than 24 hours, and that tends to make me a little very sleep-deprivation drunk a.k.a. unhinged). Okay, on to thoughts! The Desert Storm was foisted onto me by @celestial-sphere-press who told me under no uncertain terms that I WOULD FUCKING LOVE THIS SHIT. Well, I did. This more than 1 million word epic about Ben Fuckin' Kenobi is pretty much god-tier fanfiction. It reads like a goddamn novel. I can never think of canon again without thinking that this good shit should be canon. I read it and then consumed half of it within a week, and I have zero regrets. @blue-sunshine-mauve-morning, i absolutely love you and love your writing. It is the best thing since sliced bread. It is better than sliced bread.

I also had the benefit of @celestial-sphere-press saying, hey would you want to use the typeset? MY GOD, i am grateful. I love this fic, i would have typeset it if it hadn't been typeset but Des did such a beautiful job that i am absolutely in awe and thankful that she and the author allowed others to use it. Look at it - it's so beautiful. I only had to think hey, i just gotta design the cover and et cetera and so the book happened.

Please also check out @celestial-sphere-press 's amazing post here and here, who is the only person i know who's started and is almost complete in fanbinding this epic, and is also making an author a copy of the entire series.

Some stats, if you will.

96215 words || 380 pages

Title font: Ghaomiec

I took some inspiration from starblight bindery's lovely desert scape as well as this amazing cover of Dune which i own. I love that the landscape emanates Dune vibes while being oh so Tattooine - just sand and heat, relentless loneliness and melancholy. This fic centres around Obi-Wan Infinite Sadness Kenobi so it needed SAD VIBES TM, which i tried to deliver in desolate landscape form.

Also thank the heavens for Renegade members, who in a masterful stroke of Group Buy Saves Money, managed to source extra-out-of-production colours of Colibri and help a fair number of us get really cool limited edition versions of bookcloth. I am now a proud owner of a lorge stash of Duo and Colibri of which i am now sitting on like a shifty dragon with a hoarding problem. Good luck getting your bookcloth now, Folio Society, ha ha (gloating)! This particular bookcloth is Colibri Copper which has been wholly stashed for The Desert Storm series. I am leaning on transitioning to Malachite for Rise and Fall when I get to it.

The front cover design was done with a stock image and converted to a PNG, which i then fiddled with and did some HTV magic with. It was remarkably easier to weed than expected. I tried something new and ironed the design on the naked bookcloth first before gluing it to the boards, which was a new challenge in making sure everything was aligned.

Endpapers are marbled endpapers (Renato Crepaldi) which I got from Hollanders, which perfectly fit the colour scheme of the bind. The only hiccup was as I was cutting, I realized the sheet was running in the opposite direction of his usual papers and half the size, and only yielded 3 A5 size endpapers and so my heart went noooooooooo. oh well. i guess i will use it for quartos.

Endbands are my favourite - silk in 3 colours in the french doublecore style (as i was binding this i did not have the mental capacity to handle the difficulty of 4 strands). the truth is i usually only can do 4 when I have higher brain function and am willing to spend 80% of my time unraveling it from getting tangled.

I also forgot to mention I had mild fuck-ups, I got glue on the front endpaper which I had to hastily remove with wet cloth, and the back square is preposterously bad but I'm ignoring it for now.

Anyway, i've actually managed to complete a few other binds which have not been mentioned here as they've all been gifts/ surprises or event books in some form. I am SO EXCITED, also because I am travelling in the latter half of July to San Diego and L.A. and I get to meet some bookbinding friends in the flesh. Renegade is fucking amazing y'all. I am ready to embrace these crazy lads who have enabled me for the last 1 year, even when i'm the solitary (1) weirdo from my country of origin in the server. Also... potentially bookbinding trip early next year??? I am enthused.

#bookbinding #fanbinding #renegade bindery #my books #star wars #clone wars #obi-wan kenobi #ben kenobi #ben naasade #infinite sadness #the desert storm #the ben naasade epic

[keirawantstocry]

🐦‍⬛ hola, I am back for more lovebirds.

Jaiden and Baghera together in a field under the setting sun. Jaiden sitting with her knees drawn in close to her chest watching the sun sink below the horizon while Baghera weaves flowers together to make a flower crown. As the sun is about to disappear into the night, Baghera places the crown on Jaiden's head and wraps an arm around her. Jaiden leaning into her, sighing and quietly saying "i miss him,,"

Baghera kissing her forehead lightly, "I know mon colibri, I know"

YOU! 

I feel like you're writing your own fics in my dms! Why am I even here! 

-

Baghera's hands felt permanently blood stained some days. Making good things helped. Empanada had taught her how to braid little flowers together into flower crowns. It quickly became her new favorite hobby. 

Currently she sat side by side with Jaiden as they watched the sun set over the horizon. 

She finished looping together a few daisies before placing it gently on Jaiden's head, and looping her arm around her. 

They leaned in close together, taking in each other's warmth as the chill swept over the land due to the final lack of the sun. Jaiden started to shake and Baghera heard her a soft sob rip out of her. 

“I miss him.” 

“I know mon colibri, I know.” Baghera snuck her hand around to tilt Jaiden's head towards her to press a kiss to her forehead. “But we move on, oui? We go on every day. Continue on. Live for our loved ones. Continue for them.” 

Jaiden sighed and leaned in even closer to Baghera. “Yeah, you're right. Thank you, love.”

#/pos btw #i love u #my writing #fanfiction #qsmp #q!baghera #q!jaiden #q!lovebirds

[twobirdsflytogether]

This was supposed to be a small birdduo/lovebird drabble,,,,,it is now over 500 words and I kinda want to continue it/add it to my ao3 collection.

Anywho, onto the thing! ⬇️

Waking in their shared nest, Jaiden yawns and tries stretching the sleepiness away. Extending her wings as she does, fluttering them a bit, her tail swaying as well.

Looking around, she spots Baghera sitting on the ground messing with her backpacks. She lets out a small mrrp to catch the duck's attention.

Baghera turns at the sound, “ah, Bonjour ma chérie! I was just getting ready to explore with Pomme. Do you want to come with us?”

“No…thanks though” Jaiden quietly chirps in avian.

“Okay. Well, message me if you need anything or if you change your mind when you wake up a bit more.” Baghera leans into the nest and softly kisses Jaiden's cheek.

She stands, grabbing her bags and opens the door. Turning back to look at Jaiden, “À plus, mon colibri!” and off she goes.

Shortly after Baghera's departure Jaiden leaves the nest. Still rubbing the sleep from her eyes she shivers slightly.

‘hmm, guess it's going to be a jacket day’, she thinks to herself as she goes to the closet.

Opening it and spotting one of Baghera's gray sweaters, she quickly grabs it, chuckling softly to herself. Putting it on, struggling a bit to find the slits on the back and to fit her wings through them. Straightening a few feathers and taking out her warpstone, nodding at herself ready to head out.

The purple particles fade around her as she arrives in ‘girl village’. Spotting Foolish and Leo chatting with Tina, Bagi, and Em. Foolish looks over and they wave to each other at the same time, making them both laugh as she walks over. She greets them all and asks whats up, sparking Foolish and Tina to start rambling about the latest drama, Bagi cutting in every once in a while to add her thoughts on whatever is being said.

Em looks over at Leo then back towards her mama, then back to Leo. Leo does the same, they nod to each other and walk a bit away to sign to each other without their parents seeing. Jaiden looks over to see them shaking tiny clawed paws seemingly reaching some sort of agreement.

Jaiden crouches down as Em walks to her curling her tail in front of her legs, the little dragon having a determined look on her face, so she wants to be at the same level as her new daughter.

Stopping to make sure all the adults could see what she's about to write on a sign, placing

“Hey mama Jaiden.

Isn't that Tia Baghera's sweater?

:3”

Foolish, Tina, and Bagi immediately read it. And collectively point out ‘yeah, isn't that Baghera's?’ and start to ask about it.

Jaiden flustered, her feathers puffing up a bit, tail flicking around, stuttering out “I have no clue what you're talking about, anyways- um” trying to quickly change topics, “Hey Foolish what's your next build plan?”

Behind the shark-totem, Leo falls over with a roaring laughter and Em lets out little chirping giggles. Foolish smirks at what the dragonlings just did, mentally noting to tease Jaiden about it later, but starts talking about his next build plan.

Bagi covers her mouth suppressing a small laugh at Jaidens reaction, taking out a book to write it down. The moment her pen touches paper, she sees Jaiden's ears change from pointed elf-like to something similar to a cats, one facing Foolish and the kids nodding along to what he says, the other towards her twitching slightly whenever she starts to write. She notes this down too.

#qsmp jaiden #q!jaiden #qsmp baghera #q!baghera #qsmp birdduo #birdduo #bird duo #qsmp lovebirds #jaiden x baghera #qsmpshipping #ficlet #fic wip #dont like dont interact #qsmp love birds #q!love birds #twobirdsflytogether post

[karoviesart]

The great fairies from the wonderful @colibrie ‘s fic “Fragments of Fate”.  It’s a story based on art  I did a while back and we have decided to collaborate on it with me doing art and Colibrie writing the story. These are the great fairies introduced in chapter 4. Dinal, Noryu, and Fera

#great fairies #art #digital art #linked universe au #fantasy au #mythical creatures au

[hwaitham]

ଘ(੭ˊᵕˋ)੭ ੈ♡‧₊˚ à la fleur la plus douce, à l'agneau le plus gentil, à la fée la plus délicate <33 sobs coco my love (ó﹏ò｡) thank you ENDLESSLY for the generous & kind words in the tags of my writing debut!! my heart melted when i read all of the super sweet things you said & i did in fact shed the happiest of tears ૮꒰っ˕‹̥̥̥ ꒱ა the world & myself are not worthy of all of the love & kindness you continue to show & the fact that you believe in me as much as you do is a feelin thats simply indescribable & one that i wouldn't trade for anyth in the whole universe ૮꒰ྀི∩´ ᵕ `∩꒱ྀིა words will never do the justice of explaining how much your reblog, tags, & overall love & support across the entirety of the city of lovers has meant to me & will cont to mean to me <333 you are a true beacon of positivity & love on this site & in this lifetime ໒꒰ྀི´ ˘ ` ꒱ྀིა i am the luckiest girl in the whole world bc i get to know someone as amazing as you!! ilysm bby <33

à mon plus mignon colibri, à mon plus joli flocon de neige, à mon plus cher conte de fées ! my dear , u have Nothing at all to thank me for ₍^ › ༝ ‹ ྀི ^₎ʃ . . i am just happie to be able to love you + praise you n' make you smile ! ! ILU2 ! ! ! soooo mawch babie :3 . . m mirroring dese words right back to you , bcos how lucky n grateful am i to hav met someone with such a tender soul such as yourself . . && i know da other ppl in ur life feel dis way too ! ! ♡

#( ˶˘ ³˘(｡˃ ᵕ ˂｡ ྀི) #' my first favorite place in the city is anywhere i’m with you ' #'m fine . 'm normal . i deffies dont thimk abt dat line So Often . . . >< ehee

[cregan-starks]

rules: make a 24-hour poll with the names of your WIPs, let it run, then write one sentence for every vote the winner got.

tagged by: @lavendertales tysm, hon!! 🧡

no pressure tags: @revolution-starter @axreliono @mandaloresson @pedropascalsx @moonlight-prose @hausofmamadas @fairysluna @ashlingnarcos

Beholden summary: Beholden follows Agent Magnussen’s journey with the DEA during the War on Drugs, spanning from Félix Gallardo’s reign in Mexico to Escobar and the Cali godfathers in Colombia, and beyond.

#tag games #polls #writing #fanfic #narcos #narcos: mexico #narcos mexico #narcos mx #narcos fanfiction #narcos fic

[lookbluesoup]

Fic writing has been so, so slow lately. It's been an insane week and I've been exhausted. But I'm amusing myself nonetheless and thought I'd share a piece of WIP:

Steel clashed, the hard shock of X'rhun's impact sending her down on one knee and off-balance. “Fuck off, ye ass-bastard!” She snarled, shoving her weight and her rage forward to force enough room to stand.  His blade was a voidsent hummingbird, almost too fast to see, and in moments he had her giving up ground, “Really? I’ve heard better expletives from you seven pints in! I’m insulted by the lack of creativity.” Startled, angry, Lyrha shrieked like a voidsent herself and sprang backward again as far as she could manage. Her focus glowed red and a scatter of hot energy crystalized between them, sending crimson shards toward X’rhun like arrows. “Godsdamn-Pink-Feathered-Colibri-Shit!” He dodged left, closing in, and she summoned the wind with more hiss than whistle.  Lyrha blinked. In the wake of her hurricane nothing stood, and her ears pricked at the thought she may have managed to knock him off the roof.  She heard the wind whistle back, pupils expanding as her fur stood on end and she bolted to the side, narrowly avoiding the skin-ripping tornado he thrust down on her from above. The force of it yanked hard at her clothes and sent stinging dust airward.  Steel followed. He landed with a clash, grinning viciously, “Your sword, Lass. Let it do the speaking!” Feet and fists, tails and blades, they spun a savage dance across the moonlit spine of the town.  A misaimed – no, dodged – verflare from Lyrha set someone’s hung laundry aflame, which X’rhun extinguished immediately in a hiss of summoned water, without losing his footing against her an ilm. That only made her angrier. 

#wow look at that blossoming romance #wip #my wip #ffxiv #text

[wo-bu-hui-shuo-zhongwen]

Langblr reactivation challenge

Day 5: Find a video in your target language and watch it as many times as you need to in order to understand it. Make a post about the video. What was it about? Did you like the video? Was it difficult to understand? Make sure you link the video. Try to write your answers in your target language, but if you can’t that’s okay!

Ce video s’agit d’architecture en Maroc et le mouvement écologique. La architecte invitée au programme est une spécialiste d’architecture écologique et professeure a l’universite Rabat en Maroc. Elle dit que l’architecture écologique est une architecture la mois consommatrice et la plus performante et près de nature. Elle souligne que les problèmes de la climatisation et de la chauffage. Elle introduit les simulations écologiques et performant pour améliorer les constructions

Les medinas, espèce d’architecture marocain, est une example d’architecture écologique; les bâtiments sont construits des matériaux locaux, ont des dessins qui ventilée naturellement comme les patios, sont construits de la terre qui peut-être très performante pour

La présentatrice demande si l’architecture écologique se limite d’etre construire pour les elites et pas pour tous les citoyens. L’architecte insists que il y a toujours en Maroc une manque de connaissance d’architecture écologiques et il faut qu’on apprend a la publique l’urgence de la crise climatique. Le tourisme aussi s’avance vers l’ecotourisme, donc les lodges autonomes et les autres bâtiments verts vont devenir le point de départ pour architecture en Maroc.

vocabulaires:

le colibri hummingbird

le brasier inferno

le mieux-etre greater well-being, improved standard of living

la consommatrice / le consommateur consumer

induit induced

s’étaler to spread out

la couche d’ozone ozone layer

doubles par voie ?

le frein brake

le défi challenge

la facture bill

onéreuse / onéreux costly

le manque de competences lack of competence

exercer to train, exercise

serein serene dispassionate

l*e citoyen lambda* ordinary citizen

sensibiliser (qqn à qch) to raise awareness (of something)

son altesse her higness

l’échafaudages (m) scaffolding

l’arrosage (m) watering

l’assainissement (m) sanitization ; stablizing

l’affirmer haut et fort to state (qch) loud and clear

alimenté(e) (en eau, électricité) to be supplied (with …)

la voile sailing

le commanditaire silent partner

guérir to recover

rectifier le tir (corriger le tir) to make adjustments

#langblr challenge #langblr reactivation challenge #langblr #study motivation #studyblr #Youtube #french vocab #french

[disturbed-magpie]

I got sidetracked writing this. May continue it, may not. But cliffhanger right before the smut begins is always a choice >:]

Jaiden getting awkward boners, typically just going away for a bit for it to calm down or to quickly jerk off to make it go away.

One day she sneaks away from a group conversation, sitting against a tree far away from the group. Simply trying to wait for it to go down, but focusing so much on it makes her feel more needy and ignorant to her surroundings. Not noticing Baghera had followed her.

Baghera can see the strain in Jaiden's pants, watching the distracted woman palm at herself, watching the way her breath is ragged. Smirking at how shes gone unnoticed, approaching quietly, "Salute colibri, do you want help with that?"

Jaiden yelping, jumping and scrabbling from her spot, landing on her back elbows propping her up. Her boner even more obvious now. Stuttering trying to respond, breath hitching as Baghera lowers herself to the ground, kneeling between her legs gripping both of her thighs, smirking down at her. Feeling her cock twitch within their confines and face buring, leaning on one elbow and covering her face with the free hand, hesitantly nodding.

"ah, use your words oiseau. I need you to say 'yes'", Baghera says with a very teasing tone, purposefully ghosting a hand over Jaiden's crotch, giggle at how she whines and pushes her hips up at the brush.

"ah- please, please Baghera"

Baghera leans over and kisses her forehead muttering "good girl", giggling again at the reaction those words have on Jaiden. "You like that dont you? Being my good girl?" Jaiden nods incredibly fast.

#disturbed magpie.text #jaid.hera #🪶/🦆

[celestial-sphere-press]

Fanfiction Writer's Appreciation Day #2:

The Sun Swings East by @feybarn

Over and over, Obi-Wan woke up and wished he hadn't. Palpatine wouldn't stop until Obi-Wan had Fallen, wouldn't stop until Obi-Wan gave Palpatine a shattered galaxy in payment for his release.

I was consumed by the theme for this book - I wanted so bad to bring the sunrise motif into it, and I also wanted to bring back the inset mirror design. I leaned a lot harder into the hexagon shapes on this one too, and I stole the work printer for color printing for a steadily progressing sunrise.

I got super lucky that I had 4 colors of Colibri bookcloth I was able to layer to create the effect on the cover, with the sun coming over the eastern horizon. And then of course I had to give it some gradient endbands and marbled endpapers to match!

I was also very lucky to be allowed to include art by @wrennette and @lucife56 in this copy, as well as a bonus "All Those Little Things" codexwan chaser. Thank you to all of you - KJ_Feybarn, wrennette, lucife56 - all of your beautiful creations and how they interact is what makes fandom such a fantastic place. But since it is FFWAD - thank you KJ_Feybarn, for your striking and inspiring writing!

Photos of the interior typeset and how I've incorporated the fan art can be found here.

#fanbinding #bookbinding #renegadelovesfic #ffwad #the sun swings east #star wars: the clone wars #codexwan #obi wan kenobi #commander cody #captain rex #star wars #late bc USPS was being very bad about timelines

[storyxonline]

Beach Sunrise New Release by Julie Carobini

Prior to writing the Beach House Romance series, I surveyed my readers to ask which tropes they enjoyed the most. And that’s what I ended up writing! These are trope-heavy reads, about 200 pages long, set in the fictional town of Colibri Beach on the California coast. They are clean and inspirational, with lots of sibling interaction. Today, especially for my InspyRomance readers, I’m giving…

View On WordPress

[animaux-magazine]

Blog pour les amoureux des animaux !

Les animaux sont des créatures incroyables qui peuplent notre planète. Il existe une grande variété d'espèces animales, chacune ayant des caractéristiques uniques. Les animaux peuvent être classés en différentes catégories telles que les mammifères, les reptiles, les poissons, les oiseaux, etc. Chaque catégorie a ses propres caractéristiques distinctes.

Les mammifères sont une catégorie d'animaux qui nourrissent leurs petits avec du lait. Ils sont également capables de réguler leur propre température corporelle. Les mammifères sont incroyablement diversifiés et comprennent des animaux tels que les lions, les tigres, les ours, les éléphants et les dauphins.

Les reptiles sont une autre catégorie d'animaux qui sont souvent mal compris. Les reptiles comprennent des animaux tels que les serpents, les lézards, les crocodiles et les tortues. Bien que certains reptiles puissent sembler effrayants, ils sont des créatures fascinantes qui ont leur propre place dans notre monde.

Les oiseaux sont une autre catégorie d'animaux qui ont des caractéristiques uniques. Les oiseaux ont des plumes et sont capables de voler. Ils sont également incroyablement diversifiés et comprennent des animaux tels que les aigles, les faucons, les pingouins et les colibris.

Les poissons sont une autre catégorie d'animaux qui ont des caractéristiques uniques. Les poissons ont des branchies et sont capables de respirer sous l'eau. Ils sont également incroyablement diversifiés et comprennent des animaux tels que les requins, les poissons-clowns, les piranhas et les thons.

Les animaux ont évolué au fil du temps pour s'adapter à leur environnement. Les animaux de la jungle ont des caractéristiques différentes de celles des animaux des zones désertiques ou des animaux marins. Cela leur permet de survivre dans des environnements souvent hostiles.

#animal #animaux #chiens #chats #cute animals #blog #blogger #animal blog

[immoren]

Almost wrote colibri instead of humming bird and then went to check what's humming bird in different languages and it looks like colibri would've been statistically more normal thing to write

#personal

[lovecolibri]

If Time Is Money, I’ll Spend It All For You

Let the fluff fest commence! 

On the actual date of their “birthday”, Alex attends the Pod Squad Birthday Bash at Max’s house along with Liz and Kyle, complete with beer, wine, and games played in non-couples-only pairs. The evening is full of laughter, joking around, and friendly ribbing, only ending when the rest of the group (mostly Michael and Liz, who are tired of losing) decide Alex and Isobel are too powerful on a team together and shut everything down.

As soon as they get back to Alex’s house, Alex hands Michael a card, trying to will away the slight flush on his cheeks. Kyle was the one to insist it be done as a surprise, and now Alex is cursing his name as Michael reads the card and the little handmade ticket inside.

“Alex? What’s this?” He asks, nose scrunched in adorable confusion. “This little ticket just says ‘redeemable for one Birthday Weekend Getaway with Alex Manes’. What does that mean?”

Alex takes a deep breath and makes his pitch.

“You know I have an appointment in Albuquerque tomorrow and I thought, if you wanted to, you could come with, and spend the weekend there. With me. Together.”

Alex feels his words start to rush together as Michael continues to stare at him without speaking. “I have an idea for a birthday surprise on Friday, b-but we don’t have to do it if you don’t want to, and it doesn’t have to be this weekend. I cleared it with Sanders but we can do a different day. I don’t know why I let Kyle talk me into that stupid tick—umph!”

His slightly panicked rambling is abruptly cut off as Michael surges forward and kisses him senseless. After a moment, Michael pulls back, resting his forehead against Alex’s and closing his eyes.

“Of course I want to come with you to Albuquerque. I want to do whatever you have planned and if it turns out to be terrible, we can blame it on Kyle, deal?” Alex nods wordlessly in agreement.

“Good. Now, I had some ideas on how I wanted to spend my birthday evening and exactly none of them involve talking about Kyle,” Michael kisses him gently, “Or being upright,” a deeper kiss this time, “Or clothed,” which is whispered directly into Alex’s ear, and Michael smirks at the shiver that runs through Alex at the words.

“Mmmm,” Alex murmurs. “Well, it is your birthday, after all. Lead the way, cowboy.”

“Yee-haw,” Michael jokes as he backs down the hallway, Alex in tow.

***

“Babe….” Alex murmurs for the fifth time, trying valiantly to get his exhausted, snuggly, octopus of a boyfriend out of bed in the morning while Michael obstructs him at every turn, distracting him with hands, tongue, and filthy words whispered low in his ears until finally, he gives in. Post-birthday morning blowjobs are indeed a reasonable request. He wants to get on the road as soon as possible so he can make the three-hour drive with enough time to get them checked into the hotel before heading to his appointment, but he can’t deny Michael anything when he asks so sweetly. Not after so many years of living in limbo, both of them either afraid or unable in turns to speak the truth of what they truly wanted.

It means he has to rush through their shower, leaving Michael to wash his own hair and call in their breakfast order to Arturo while he finishes packing their bags and loading the SUV, but the smile he got from Michael when he caved made the mad dash to get on the road totally worth it.

Two hours and forty minutes later (thanks to Alex taking a few liberties with the posted speed limits on empty stretches of rural highway) they are checking into the hotel with enough time for them to relax and for Alex to stretch a bit before having to get back in the car for the (at least twenty-minutes with traffic) drive to the VA hospital. Alex normally stays much closer, but he wanted to splurge for a nicer hotel for this special weekend and that choice is about to pay off.

“Is that—“ Michael gapes around them in wonder. “Alex, is that a fountain?” he shout-whispers excitedly as they approach the entrance into what Alex knows (having spent an evening researching hotels with Kyle) is an enclosed oasis in the middle of the hotel.

All the rooms are built around a central courtyard area that, in practicality, functions as a dining space for the hotel’s breakfast and snack bar but, in deference to aesthetic, is cleverly set up with planter beds between the table areas. The planters are full of trees and small plants, each balcony spills greenery, and nine stories up, the ceiling is topped by glass pyramids to let the light in, giving it an open, airy feeling. Alex has seen enough pictures that he doesn’t feel like he’s missing anything by focusing on Michael instead, watching closely to catch the moment they pass the fountain and fully enter the indoor courtyard and Michael’s eyes widen almost comically. He stops in his tracks, scanning up, up, up, eyes-catching at the sunlight glinting off the glass roof.

Alex can’t help but lean up and brush a kiss to Michael’s cheek with a whispered “happy birthday” before linking their fingers with a coy smile and tugging him along to the elevator. As soon as they start walking, the spell breaks and Michael is talking a mile a minute about the trials of growing trees like this indoors in contained boxes, and Alex listens politely until the elevator doors close and he pulls Michael in for a kiss, unable to stop himself.

“Mmmmm. If I knew babbling about indoor gardening got you going, I would have drug you along with me on my monthly trips to save Isobel’s houseplants long before now.”

“Maybe I just like seeing you happy and excited,” Alex chuckles a little breathlessly. Michael’s eyes soften a bit at that until Alex adds, “Besides, there is NO way I am risking Isobel walking in on us having sex anywhere in her house. We’d never hear the end of it, and guaranteed she would make us pay to have a professional cleaning service come in.”

Michael throws his head back and loud, joyous laughter erupts. Alex just has to kiss him again. And keep kissing him, even when the elevator doors open and they stumble out into the hallway, making out and giggling like teenagers the whole way to their room. And for a few minutes after, leaning against the door just enjoying the leisurely pace. Alex stops them before they get too carried away though. He has been waiting to show Michael this room since he booked it, and he doesn’t want to wait anymore.

As soon as they walk into the living room of the suite, Michael stops dead, mouth opening and closing, but suddenly Alex is worried he’s misstepped and this is too much. Too over the top. That Michael will feel overwhelmed, or upset by the pointless extravagance. Alex didn’t even realize he’d already built up a defense until he’s running it over in his mind—he used his status as a disabled veteran to get the best value from his military discount, he has never used his hotel points, on and on down a list of logical reasons why this isn’t a big deal, but before he can spill out his justifications, Michael turns to him with a small smile and look of wonder on his face.

“Did you—Did you get this whole suite for—for me? For us? For my birthday?” He asks. And all of Alex’s excuses die on his tongue at that look. Because no matter what story he could spin, the truth is he’s been wanting to put that look on Michael’s Guerin’s face since they were seventeen years old.

“Yes, I got this fancy room for you. For us. For your birthday,” Alex says, punctuating each statement with a soft kiss.

At that, Michael positively lights up and smacks a loud kiss on Alex’s cheek in return before running through the whole suite, fingers brushing across every surface he passes, while Alex trails behind. When Alex catches up in the bathroom, Michael begins pointing out all the amenities, starting with the tiny wall-mounted blow-dryer and little soaps before moving on to the large standing shower (“with room for two, Alex!”) and soaker jacuzzi tub in the corner that earns Alex a “sexy” eyebrow-wiggle and full-body shimmy, causing him to release an unexpected, delighted giggle at Michael’s antics. Michael flashes him a megawatt smile then makes his way back to the living area to bounce once on each of the chairs and across the sofa, hopping up to kneel on a barstool and goggle over the top of the breakfast bar, complete with an espresso machine, mini-fridge, and microwave (“we could stay for days and never have to get dressed or leave!”), then finally returning to the bedroom and throwing himself onto the bed with a huff, spread-eagle like a child.

Alex is so enamored and in love that the comparison of the nightly rate here versus his normal hotel fly right out of his mind. He decides then and there that he and Michael are going to start taking more vacations, even if it’s just to Albuquerque when he has appointments. He does, after all, get a military discount and needs to use those rewards points.

***

The appointment goes better than expected. While necessary, and infinitely easier than when he first started, Alex is still not entirely comfortable and tends to dreads coming, willing the appointment to be over as quickly as possible. But somehow, with Michael there beside him being quietly supportive, it’s not quite as bad.

They stop for ice cream and fries on the way back to the hotel and eat at a table outside, just enjoying the day and each other’s company. Alex had planned to maybe go out again for dinner, but after they get back to the room, Michael wants to try everything out (including the mini-bar) and actually moans at how comfortable the king-size bed is.

“Baaaabe,” Michael whines out, making grabby hands at Alex from across the room. “I know you’re tired after that appointment. Come snuggle me!”

“You can’t fool me, Michael. You just want to check some more things off your birthday wish list in that hotel bed,” Alex retorts with mock severity, undercut by the smile he can’t keep off his face.

“Noooo, I just want snuggles, I swear!”

Alex shakes his head but a small, fond giggle sneaks out anyway. Whiskey might wind Michael up, but rum makes him soft and clingy, which Alex has to admit was in the back of his mind when he picked which tiny bottle to empty into their drinks. It doesn’t hurt that he feels soft and clingy as well, his trauma always more in the forefront of his brain after these appointments, and petting Michael’s hair sounds perfect right now.

Slowly, Alex saunters through the doorway into the bedroom, pausing the crank the air conditioner up, allowing the temperature to drop as he slowly peels off his t-shirt, cracking a smile at the way Michael’s eyes go wide and his mouth goes a little slack. He shimmies his way out of his pants before sitting to remove his prosthetic, and that seems to be the impetus for Michael’s brain to catch up because he bounds off the bed already halfway out of his shirt. By the time Alex is sliding back towards the head of the bed, Michael is down to his briefs as well, bouncing a bit on his toes and waiting for Alex to get settled. Alex pats the bed for Michael to join him as soon as he’s comfortable, but the second his hand shifts, Michael is on the move and Alex barely gets a single pat in before Michael is plastered to his side, throwing a heavy thigh over Alex’s legs, an arm locking around his chest, and his face mushed into Alex’s neck, a contented sigh brushing across Alex’s skin as soon as Michael is settled. Alex runs one grounding hand up and down Michael’s back while the other settles in his hair, both of them laying gentle kisses wherever they can reach without moving until they both slip into a light doze.

They end up ordering room service for dinner and dessert, along with a bottle of champagne which they consume in decadence in the jacuzzi tub with the lights turned low and Nora Jones softly crooning in the background, content to explore each other rather than the city tonight.

***

“Aleeeeex” Michael groans sleepily into the phone. “Where are you? I was planning on spending this morning in bed, continuing down my list of birthday requests. I was hoping to get you to do that thing with your tongue—”

“Michael,” Alex cuts him off, although he can’t quite keep the amusement (and maybe slight breathlessness) out of his voice. “We have a big day today. Get dressed, and come have breakfast with me downstairs.”

“Mmmrumph,” is the only reply, muffled, as Michael’s face is likely buried into the fluffy hotel pillow like it was when Alex left this morning.

“If you make it here, dressed, and ready to go out for the day in say, 10 minutes? We can talk about the tongue thing,” Alex adds with a smirk, then lets out a small laugh at the curious noise Michael makes at the other end of the line. He can picture Michael’s face and riotous morning curls and he’s hit with a bolt of longing,

“Tick tock, cowboy,” he murmurs letting his voice drop low, then lets out another soft laugh at the sound of Michael scrambling out of bed before the phone clicks off.

Alex scrolls through his phone, sipping his coffee and keeping an eye on his watch. At nine minutes and fifty-two seconds, Michael comes careening into the breakfast bar area, panting and out of breath with his curls still leaving damp spots on his t-shirt

Alex looks up at him with a raised brow, and Michael’s entire face lights up with a smile. Alex feels a blush creep up his cheeks at how happy Michael looks just to see him, and a smile of his own breaks out in response.

“Did I make it?” Michael askes still panting slightly and damn if that isn’t giving Alex ideas… He shakes his head slightly to clear it and gives Michael another smile.

“Just under the wire. I’m impressed.”

Michael continues to beam at him as he saunters closer, turning with Alex to look at the various breakfast items laid out before them. Michael lets out a low whistle at the sight. “When you said ‘hotel breakfast’ I was expecting single-serving cereal boxes and old, crusty bagels. This is…” he trails off, looking over the options. On the counter in front of them, there are, of course, multiple cereal options in dispensers and an array of very fresh-looking pastries to choose from, along with a small glass-fronted fridge filled with yogurts in various flavors, and a bowl of fresh fruit. But what seems to have caught Michael’s attention, is the long hot bar that holds trays brimming with fluffy eggs, crispy bacon, sausage links, piles of hash browns, stacks of pancakes, white gravy, and large, fluffy biscuits. To top it off, there are two waffle makers at the end, next to canisters holding regular and blueberry batter.

Michael looks back at Alex with a large grin and a wink, then grabs two plates and makes the rounds, meeting Alex at the end of the bar (who has his own much smaller plate of food) and walking together to pick out a table in the jungle-like eating area.

They are surrounded by boisterous children they can hear giggling through the foliage, tired parents staring blankly into their coffee, and business people reading over newspapers. Michael is digging into his food and chattering away, pointing with his fork to make a point. It’s all so domestic and normal that it makes Alex’s heart ache.

“…and then, after my skin turned green, I decided I should probably quit eating things sketchy strangers gave me in the park.”

“Wait, what?!” Alex responds, shocked. “Why would you­—Gueri—Michael! What were you thinking?” he finally manages to hiss out, his worry taking over for a moment until he sees the smug grin on Michael’s face.

“Glad to see you’re paying attention again, Captain,” Michael says with affection. Alex just rolls his eyes, and downs the rest of his coffee.

“Very funny,” he responds, but he’s smiling ruefully as he says it, and rubs his leg against Michael’s under the table as a gesture of goodwill. Michael flashes him a soft, slightly bashful smile.

“This is…This is really nice Alex,” he says quietly before tucking back into his food. Alex reaches across the table and squeezes his hand.

“It really is. Now, go back to the actual story you were telling me before.”

Michael looks down at his watch and is about to open his mouth but Alex stops him with another squeeze of his hand.

“We have plenty of time, Michael.”

Michael’s grin is wide and bright and Alex thinks they could do nothing but sit here all day and it would probably still rank on his list of Best Days Ever.

***

“Are you going to tell me where we’re going?” Michael asks as they sit at a red light about 5 minutes into the drive which has so far passed in silence as Alex worries about Michael’s reaction to his surprise.

Alex takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. “I don’t want to…to upset you in any way. And—and this isn’t me being patronizing, or—or trying to make you feel…” Alex trails off helplessly and clenches his fingers tightly on the steering wheel as the light turns green and they start to move again.

“Hey,” Michael responds softly, placing a gentle hand on Alex’s thigh. “I know whatever you have planned was done with the best of intentions. I promise if it’s something I’m uncomfortable with, I’ll let you know and there will be no hard feelings. Or rather,” He says with a grin, “I will direct them all towards Kyle.”

Alex lets out a huff of laughter and glances fondly at Michael before focusing back on the road. He squeezes Michael’s hand in his own, bringing the knuckles of Michael’s healed left hand to his lips for a quick kiss. “It’s the Explora science museum,” Alex says, sparing a glance towards Michael’s face to take in his wide-eyed stare. “But it’s not just like, a science museum. It’s all hands-on and interactive science experiments and while it is geared towards kids, I’ve heard it can be fun for adults too. I figured we could wander around and you can explain any exhibits I don’t understand, and I know it’s not the same as having a family to take you when you were younger, but it seemed like a really fun experience we could share and­­—" He finally cuts himself off, forcing the words down and chances a glance to the side at Michael’s face. Much to his horror, Michael’s eyes are full of tears.

“Oh god, Michael, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean—"

“No, no Alex, it’s okay!” Michael interrupts with a small huff. He reaches up to rub his eyes with the heels of his hands and lets out a long breath. “I’m just, overwhelmed.”

Alex tightens his hands on the steering wheel and does his best to keep focused on turning onto the correct street, then navigating the parking lot. Once the car is parked, he takes a deep breath, then shifts so he can look Michael in the eye, as he tangles their fingers together.

“I couldn’t stop thinking about that height chart in the barn at the Long farm and how you must have missed so many childhood experiences or not had people you loved around to do them with you. I just wanted us to have a light and easy day, doing something fun together that I thought you would enjoy.”

Michael's eyes are still swimming and as a tear falls down his cheek Alex reaches up and wipes it away with his thumb. Cradling Michael’s face, he gives in to the urge to soothe him with a soft, chaste kiss. Pressing their foreheads together he whispers “We don’t have to go in. We don’t have to stay if it’s too much.”

But Michael just pulls away with a bright, if slightly wobbly smile. “Alex, being with you is never too much. This is the most thoughtful thing anyone has ever done for me and I am so excited to spend the day with you, no matter what we do.”

Alex squeezes Michael’s hand and indulges in one more gentle kiss, before pulling away and getting out of the car.

{Read the rest on Ao3}

#colibri writes #if time is money #if time is money i'll spend it all for you #roswell nm #malex #malex fic #alex manes #michael guerin #no hurt all comfort #fluffy fluffy fluff fic #soft boys are soft

[sisters-sideblog]

Yesterday in a shared discord server, @colibrie sent everyone well-wishes to the tune of "I gift you with the mental image of grumpy legend in times bunny hood."

Of course I had to write it.

~~~

“I am not wearing that.”

“But it’ll make you go fast!”

“I don’t care.” 

Raised voices filtered in from the direction of one of the barns on Malon and Time’s ranch. Twilight and Warriors exchanged a glance. Twilight settled the saddle he’d been carrying outside to detail in the sunlight across a fence rail; the bucket of cleaning tools in Warriors’ hands joined it on the ground nearby. They turned to look. 

There came Wind and Legend, stalking out from among the buildings behind them. Well. Legend was stalking, every footfall driven into the ground with emphasis to convey his irritation. Wind hustled to keep up with him, holding up something yellow between them.

“Doesn’t that belong to Time?” Warriors questioned, sotto voce. 

Twilight nodded, unable to tear his eyes away from the small scene of chaos working its way towards them.

“But Legend! You like going fast! Otherwise you wouldn’t wear those boots all the time!”

“I. Don’t. Care.” 

“Don’t you want to see how much speed you get with this and your boots? We’re in the perfect place to try!” Wind flung out a hand towards the acres of rolling pastureland around them. 

A flicker of temptation escaped ever so briefly from behind Legend’s grumpy expression. All three of them saw it. Wind leaned in, eyes sharpening and grin growing, his prey in sight. 

Warriors chose that moment to contribute his opinion. “Aw. You should try it, Legend, it’d be cute.”

It was precisely the wrong thing to say to get Legend to agree. Probably why he said it. Twilight leaned back against the fence, arms crossed, as Wind shot Warriors a filthy look and jumped right back to his wheedling. 

Warriors liked to tease too much. Wind relied on persistence. But Twilight knew the way to Legend’s heart. He cut across Wind’s carefree tone with one single, clear sentence. “Do it and I’ll let you try out my Ball-and-Chain.”

Wind’s jaw snapped shut. Legend wavered. Warriors chortled. “That thing weighs more than he does.” 

“Titan Mitts,” Legend fired back, but he was thinking now. Wind went quiet, visibly quivering with anticipation. The trailing ears on the hood flopped over his hands, dancing in the air as he tried to hold himself still. Legend narrowed his eyes at Twilight, shifting his weight to one hip. “Smash and bash isn’t really my style. I want to try out that other thing. What did you call it? The Dominion Rod.” 

Confusion from Warriors and Wind. Twilight didn’t let himself react outwardly. Hook, line, and sinker. “We’ll have to find something it’ll work on, first.”

Legend huffed. “Just no funny business about following through with your end of the bargain.” He tugged his hat off, tucking it through his belt, and extended a hand towards Wind. Wind cheered. 

The hood slapped down into Legend’s palm. Legend glared at them all, glanced down and gave the object in question a withering look for good measure. Then he visibly steeled himself and put the thing on. 

Before meeting Legend, Twilight had only heard of the creature it was meant to depict in myth, illustrations in the margins of books. Having met Legend and witnessed his other form, Twilight found the sight of two long yellow ears jutting proudly above Legend’s head even more rewarding. They looked almost as soft as Legend’s true fur. There was an added element of hilarity in how they arched above his Hylian head, permanently upright in an adorable imitation of Legend showing interest or concentration when he wore the real things. Twilight fought back a smile. 

Wind and Warriors weren't quite so discreet. 

Warriors coughed into his fist, doing a poor job of disguising his laughter. Wind whipped out his Pictobox, snapping off a quick picture before Legend had time to react. 

Legend’s expression went positively black, aggravation replacing the reluctant goodwill in a heartbeat. He reached up to tug the hood back off, to Wind’s immediate protests. “What about following through on your end of the deal? You have to test it!” The Pictobox vanished back into Wind’s hip pouch in favor of Wind tugging Legend’s hands away from his head. Their shouts rose up to carry over the peaceful ranch again, but Twilight didn’t much care about the outcome of the argument. So far as he was concerned, seeing Legend wearing adorable yellow bunny ears was reward enough for having to go hunt around for a statue the Dominion Rod would work on. 

Too bad Sky wasn't here to see this. Twilight would have liked to share the joke.

#legend #wind #twilight #warriors #linked universe #myfic #wind didn't steal the bunny hood #he told time exactly why he wanted it #and time gave it to him on the assurance there would be pictures