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#anyway I read this interesting take a while ago about the very idea of story structure being like
cruelsister-moved2 · 10 months
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usually i kind of hate when a piece of art feels indulgent sorry #earthmoon BUT i hate how often i hear the take that all description in writing needs to serve the Grand Unified Purpose of the work and you can tell its dumb because imagine watching an animated film and saying they shouldnt bother to put any detail in the backgrounds because its not important to the plot or theme 🤔 like it can be one stylistic approach especially in short fiction & can description and details feel pointless and unearned sure but the idea it should only rain if ur character is sad is goofy af and the idea that every element of the world should revolve around ur character and their narrative its giving western individualism
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supernovafics · 4 months
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With your I’ll be there for you series would you be interested in writing about Steve discovering that he has feelings for reader? I think it would be sweet for him to just find even the silliest things she does cute and then him having a little melt down because he realised he’s liked her along. The series is such a great idea! 💭
𝐖𝐇𝐈𝐋𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐖𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐒𝐋𝐄𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐍𝐆
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"i'll be there for you" universe masterlist
pairing: bestfriend!roommate!steve harrington x fem!reader
word count: 4.4k words
warnings: explicit language, alcohol consumption, drunk!steve, mentions of steve's dad being shitty, angst
summary: in which steve’s drunk and you don’t hesitate to cancel a date to take care of him
author's note: thanks for the request! probably from the moment i started this series/universe i knew that i wanted to have steve realize his feelings first so this request was quite literally perfect for that lol. this is slightly “while you were sleeping” by laufey inspired hence the title. the slow burn is finally starting to come to an end !! (i’m both happy and sad about that lmao) anyways enjoy<3333
general note: everything in this universe/series can be read as standalone oneshots but to understand the full “lore” it would prob be best to read the other stuff too<333
.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.
Winter 1986
You were in the middle of debating between a black skirt and a brown plaid one that Robin convinced you to buy when you two went thrifting just a few days ago when the phone rang.
Leaving both options on your bed, you went to the kitchen to answer it, bottomless aside from the stockings you had already put on because of the cold late February weather. 
“Hello?” 
“Hello?”
“Steve?” You recognized his voice for the most part, but he sounded a little different. A little far away, like he was calling from the oldest phone in the universe.
“Oh, hey.” The way he said the simple two words both confused and amused you because it sounded as if he didn’t expect you to be the person on the other end of the line. 
You laughed a bit. “‘Oh, hey’? Don’t sound so disappointed. You called me.”
“I know. Sorry. I meant to call Eddie,” He said, and it was then that you heard what should’ve been obvious from the moment he said “Hello” to you— the way his words weren’t necessarily slurry, just slower than usual. 
He was drunk, and you now recognized the voice that you had become so used to hearing since Steve’s sixteenth birthday when he snuck his dad’s whiskey and you both only had two shots of it before feeling it fully. 
“Why would you call him? Aren’t you two together right now?” You asked, your confusion taking precedence over the amusement you felt in this moment. 
Earlier that day, before you left the apartment to head to your twelve o’clock class, he told you that he was going to tag along with Robin, Vickie, and Eddie to some art show thing after his shift that night at Family Video; you would’ve gone too if you didn’t already have plans for the night. 
“Also, I didn’t know that you could get drunk at an art show,” You added. “I’ll definitely make sure to go next time.” 
“I didn’t go with them,” He told you, and before you could ask where he was, he answered the unspoken question. “I’m actually at a bar right now.” 
Your eyebrows furrowed. “What? Why?” 
“Very long story. Dad shit. What else is new, right?” Steve answered with a breath of a laugh. 
He made his words sound lighthearted and as if whatever happened didn’t really affect him, but you, of course, didn’t see it that way. Without even being with Steve right then, standing in front of him and reading his facial expressions, you still saw through what he was trying to play off as “no big deal.” You’d known him more than long enough to know that anything involving his dad was usually always serious. And whatever shitty things his dad said to him this time around drove Steve to a bar rather than back here to the apartment to frustratingly rant to you, and that only worried you. 
“Which bar are you at?” You asked softly. 
“The only place in town, other than The Hideout, that doesn’t card,” He said and then immediately continued. “But, wait, don’t come here, though. I don’t want you to come get me. That’s why I was trying to call Eddie. I know you have your date tonight.”
Just for a second— actually, probably the entire time you’d been talking to Steve— you’d forgotten about the date, forgotten about the reason why you’d just been debating which skirt to wear, forgotten about what you were supposed to leave for in twenty minutes. And that slightly surprised you because, for the last couple of days, you’d been really excited about it. 
Meeting Jamie felt like a sort of “meet cute” moment that was straight out of a romcom, one that you probably would’ve laughed at because of how cheesy it was. You bumped into him in the hallway on the floor of your apartment. He was your neighbor’s, Miss Johnson’s, nephew, and you learned that even though he went to a college about an hour away, he was trying to visit her more often. He had been in the middle of leaving when you saw him, and you gave a friendly wave and smile at first and he started a conversation with you. You two then spent an hour talking in the hallway before you headed inside your apartment to start studying for a test and he asked for your number, which led to more long conversations over the next few days until he asked you on a date. 
In a way, it startled you how giddy you found yourself feeling about him after only those few days, how easily and quickly you liked him. It was the first crush that you had in a while that didn’t feel completely hopeless. 
But now all of that was the last thing on your mind. It quickly became pushed to the side because you knew that your best friend needed you.
You shook your head in this moment even though Steve couldn’t see you. “No, it’s okay, I’ll come.” 
“No, don’t, don’t. I’ll just call Eddie.”
He’s probably not home right now, was what you wanted to tell Steve, but you refrained from doing so at that moment. Instead, you said, “I’ll call him for you.”
The drunken sigh in relief Steve let out was immediate. “Okay, thanks, I don’t think I have any more change for this payphone, anyway.”
“Okay, just stay put and stop drinking.”
“The bartender already cut me off.”
“Good,” You said before saying a final goodbye to him and hanging up. 
You then picked the phone up again to dial a different number. You, of course, didn’t attempt to call Eddie and you instead called Jamie. He was completely understanding when you told him that you had to cancel the date because of an emergency, and he said that you two could do the dinner and movie on a different night, which you quickly agreed on. 
You put on the brown plaid skirt— quickly deciding that it looked better with the white top you were wearing, anyway— before slipping on a pair of shoes and grabbing your coat, shoving your car keys and wallet into the pockets, and then leaving the apartment. 
.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.
The drive to Webster’s took less than fifteen minutes and the current emptiness of it didn’t surprise you that much. From the handful of times that you’d gone to the place with Steve, Eddie, and Robin, it became a known fact that things didn’t become “lively” until after ten, and it was currently only a little after nine. 
You spotted Steve sitting on a stool at the counter, head down in his folded arms. You sat in the empty seat next to him and tapped the side of his shoulder until he sat up and looked at you. 
“Glad to know you’re alive, Harrington.” 
He smiled at you and you gave him a small smile back, he must have forgotten that he’d told you not to come to the bar. 
“I feel barely alive, actually.”
“Still counts.” 
Steve only looked at you for a moment, taking notice of what you were wearing beneath your unzipped coat. 
“You look nice,” He said and then seemed to realize something and his smile dropped. “Wait, shit, your date. You shouldn’t be here right now.”
“It’s fine. We’re just gonna reschedule it.” 
“I’m sorry.”
You shook your head at him. “No, don’t be. It’s just a first date, anyway. Your drunk ass needing a ride home is obviously more important than that.” 
Steve laughed a bit. “I guess I’ll take that as a compliment?” 
“Yes, you should,” You told him and then watched with furrowed brows as he went to grab the short glass that was in front of him, half full of some dark liquor. He was about to finish what was left in the glass, but you grabbed it from him before he could. “Steve.”
“I still had this from before I called you. I can’t finish it?”
“No, because if you end up throwing up in my car on the drive home, I will have to murder you.”
You looked away from him before he could say anything in response to that and waved at Barry, the usual bartender that you became on a first name basis with after your third time going to Webster’s. Since it was the farthest thing from busy right then, he immediately walked over to you two. 
“Hey, Barry, can he have some water?”
He nodded and filled up a glass, sliding it over to Steve and then looking at you. “Glad to see you here. He’s looked like a sad little lost puppy for the past hour.”
Steve stopped mid-sip to scoff. “That’s very not true.”
“Sorry, but I think I have to believe the only other sober person here,” You said and only smiled at the second annoyed scoff he let out, which was hard to take seriously because of his current drunkenness. 
Barry got called over by a group of people that just walked in and you silently watched Steve take a few sips from his glass. When he set it down, you lightly nudged his knee with yours. “Do you wanna talk about what happened with your dad?” 
Steve simply sighed at first. “He came to Family Video today and went on this huge rant about me and what I’m doing with my life. He thinks my job is shit, and even me going to school part-time isn’t enough. He thinks I’m such a loser in comparison to his friend’s kids who are actually “doing things with their lives.””
You frowned and shook your head. “Fuck him.”   
“Cheers to that,” Steve said with a small laugh and held up his glass of water for a second. “He also said that he wants to set me up with this job at his friend’s insurance company, and I immediately said no to that. I’m still not entirely sure what I wanna do yet, but I know it’s not that— some stupid fucking desk job. Especially not one that’s just given to me by my dad.” 
“He’s an idiot,” You told Steve. “And also his bullshit is not at all worth the hangover you’ll have in the morning.” 
“You might be right about that,” He responded, eyes fixed on his now half-empty glass of water and a small amused smile on his face. “But, it felt good for a second.” 
You poked his arm so that he would look at you. “You could’ve talked to me about all of that instead of coming here.” 
“I didn’t wanna mess up your date by coming home and talking to you about all of this sad shit. I knew that you’d just worry about me and probably not go,” He mumbled. “And I feel like a dumbass for still messing it up.”
“It’s okay. Seriously. Honestly,” You told him and then playfully smiled as you said your next words. “And you know that I would tell you if it wasn’t okay. I’d definitely hold this over you for at least a week, and force you to clean out Harold’s cage and do my laundry that’s been building up for the past week and a half. But you’re drunk and sad, and I’m way too nice to make you do any of those things.” 
He laughed at that, which made you smile wider. “Thank you.” 
“You’re welcome,” You said before you stood up from the stool you’d been sitting in. “Now, come on, let’s get out of here before it starts getting crowded. Can you walk okay?” 
Steve only nodded in response, which was a nonverbal answer that you weren’t sure if you completely trusted, so you stood close to him as he also got up and pulled some cash out of his back pocket and placed it on the counter. 
He then waved at Barry, and you were certain that he probably didn’t mean for it to be so animated and comical, but it very much looked that way. “Goodnight, Barry.”
The bartender laughed a bit when he looked over at you and Steve. “‘Night, guys.” 
Steve started heading toward the door first and you followed just a few steps behind him. When he stumbled a bit before even making it out of the door, you grabbed his hand and moved closer to him so that he could drape his arm around your shoulders, and then one of yours circled around his waist. 
Leading him to your car was a feat in itself, but once he was settled in the passenger seat and you started driving, he rolled his window down completely and had it like that during the entire ride even though it was freezing cold outside, and that was worse than dealing with his stumbling.
When you made it to the apartment building, his balance was actually a bit more coherent so you didn’t need to do more than just hold his hand during the entire walk to the elevators and then down the hallway to the apartment.
You dragged him to your room and he sighed in contentment when he sat down on the side of your bed; he always liked your mattress better than his own for some reason. 
“Wait, don’t fall asleep yet,” You told him before heading over to his room and grabbing a random t-shirt and basketball shorts from one of his drawers. “Here, put this on. I know you’d be mad at me if I let you fall asleep in those jeans.” 
“Thanks,” He mumbled with a yawn as you handed the clothes over to him, and then you went to the kitchen as he started changing. 
You filled a mug with water and then pulled open the drawer that had the bottle of aspirin in it. Neither you nor Steve were really sure why it lived there instead of in one of your bathrooms, where it probably should’ve been, but you two also didn’t make any effort to move it.  
Steve was already asleep and under the covers when you walked back into your room, and you placed the mug and aspirin on the nightstand on his side. You changed into your own pajamas for the night, which simply consisted of an old baggy t-shirt and shorts, before settling in on your side of the bed. 
It was still pretty early for a Friday night, barely even ten o’clock, but you didn’t mind going to bed because you were actually a little tired. Steve was turned and facing away from you, but you still watched him and his even breathing for a bit, making sure he was okay before you quickly drifted off to sleep yourself. 
.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.
Steve didn’t know what time it was when he woke up, but he could tell that it was pretty early because he could see the just sun starting to rise. 
The other things he quickly noticed were that he was in your bed and he had a pounding headache, which was a little confusing at first, but then all of what happened last night started coming back to him. 
The shit with his dad, the bar, the accidental phone call to you, and then you coming to the bar and bringing him home— he remembered it all. 
With a soft groan, Steve slowly sat up in bed, doing his best not to wake you, and then reached over to grab the water and aspirin you left out for him. 
He took the medicine and drank most of the water and then laid back down, turning on his side to face you. Your head was against the pillow and even breaths fell from your slightly parted lips. You looked so peaceful like this, he decided, so pretty.  
Steve thought about you and Jamie, and how happy you had been when you talked about him. Steve also knew how excited you’d been about the date, and even though you had told him that it was okay that you had to cancel it last night, he still felt a little bad about it all. 
He knew that you would probably do anything for him, and that was completely mutual. If the roles had been reversed last night, Steve wouldn’t have thought twice about canceling a date to go pick you up from some dumb bar. And making those sorts of sacrifices for one another never felt like a question, it just always felt like the obvious thing to do. 
It didn’t completely make sense at first, but somehow it was that simple and crystal clear thought that managed to shift something deep down inside of him— it harshly drew the line between best friends and something more. And Steve quickly realized exactly which side he lay on.
Which was confusing because the lines of where your friendship began and ended had always felt so unquestionable— you and him were best friends; nothing more, nothing less. 
But it was different now, it changed, and it was this moment that told him that it actually had been that way for a while; probably since you two moved into the apartment. 
Starting from that day in August your lives became even more intertwined with one another— which didn’t feel entirely possible because of how close you’d been for so long— but it was true. He hadn’t realized how blurry the lines had been getting since then. 
Since you two started beginning your days and ending them in the same home. Since so many nights became spent in each other’s beds; nothing more happening than sleeping and late night talking, but still. Since you two got Harold only a few weeks into living in the apartment, and you both immediately fell into your unserious parental roles in the hamster’s life. Since an unspoken early morning weekend routine fell into place where Steve would make coffee and toast and you’d do the eggs and bacon. Since you two became something equivalent to a married couple that had been together for at least twenty years. 
And then Steve realized that actually maybe this something more had always been there— maybe it had always been so fucking obvious. 
He thought back to the end of Senior year when you two went to each other’s proms and slow danced at the end of the night because you both thought it would be funny, but those moments actually turned into something really sweet and wholesome; and you’d both think back on it during the most randomest of times. 
And then he also thought about smaller things, the parts of your personality that made him feel so goddamn lucky to know you. How you always fiddled with the radio and never settled on a station for longer than a few minutes during perhaps any car ride where Steve was the one driving; something that you’d been doing since the day he got his driver's license and you two went on your first solo car ride together. How pretty much anything you did would only make him smile and playfully roll his eyes or make fun of you. 
Steve wasn’t entirely sure why he was having this sort of “epiphany moment” right here, right now, in your bed as he looked at you peacefully sleeping next to him. 
It, of course, stemmed from you canceling something that he had known you’d been looking forward to for the last couple of days to instead take care of him, he could recognize that. But, what made that so different from everything else you’d done for each other over the years? 
He immediately thought that maybe there was no one straight answer to that question because it wasn’t about what was different. Instead, it was about all of those other moments too. They had slowly built upon each other until it came to this one on this February morning— nine years into your friendship and six and a half months into you two living together— and Steve could finally recognize what it all had meant, and he was ready to accept the truth for what it was too. 
He liked you. More than liked, actually. He loved you, he was in love with you. 
But, you were also his best friend, the most important person in his life, and he didn’t want to be the reason that that ever got messed up. And that thought was what made him finally look away from you and mutter out a soft, “Fuck.”
Steve quickly got out of the bed, and he was surprised, but also completely grateful, that his quick and hasty movements didn’t manage to stir you awake. 
He left your room and went to the kitchen. It was early and he probably should’ve been trying to get a few more hours of sleep, but he wasn’t tired anymore. 
The realization was the only thing on his mind— in a matter of seconds, it managed to completely consume it. 
Everything else that had been happening the past few months finally made complete sense; Steve saw it all in a different way. He now understood why he couldn’t picture any sort of future with Vanessa when he went out with her a few times back in December even though he really did like her, and why he couldn’t see anything with anyone he went out with. Because deep down, he knew that he could only see that with you. It made sense why his dating life had been in such a rut lately and why he didn’t particularly mind it all that much.
When you two would jokingly say that you both were completely okay with ending up “alone together forever,” he realized now that from his side of things, deep down, it had never been a joke. And he wondered if it was the same way for you. 
In an ideal world, the answer would be yes. But, things only felt confusing, and if he was being a thousand percent honest with himself, he didn’t know if that answer was yes in this world.
Steve knew that you really liked Jamie, even in such a short amount of time, so that couldn’t mean that you had any sort of feelings for him. Right? Or maybe you just hadn’t had your own “epiphany moment” yet? Should he tell you about his? Should he tell you about any of what just hit him in the past ten minutes? 
His brain felt as if it was going to fucking explode with all of the questions circling his mind right then, and the coffee he was making failed to distract his thoughts from everything. 
He came to the quick decision that he wouldn’t tell you what he was feeling; it would just be easier that way. There wouldn’t be any way for him to potentially fuck things up between you two if he simply ignored what he was feeling. It was easy to imagine how drastically your friendship would change if he told you everything and you didn’t feel the same. Therefore, he could push it all away to make sure that nothing changed for the worse.
When the coffee was done, he poured some into a fresh mug and took a long sip. Any other time, he couldn’t really stand straight black coffee, but the bitterness tasted good for once; he decided to focus on that instead of anything else. 
Steve wasn’t sure how long he had been leaning back against the counter and sipping from his mug before you came out of your room. It could’ve been one minute or ten; right then, time felt as if it was moving both slow and fast. 
“Hey,” You said, giving him a small smile and rubbing the tiredness out of your eyes. “I’m surprised you’re up already. I definitely expected you to be passed out until at least ten.” 
It felt equivalent to a light switch flipping how quickly Steve felt affected by your smile and simply you in that moment. He’d probably seen you like this a million times before— just waking up and still in your now wrinkled pajamas from the night— but it felt entirely different now. And that was when he knew how fucked he was. 
“Yeah, I, uh, I woke up and couldn’t, um, go back to sleep… So, yeah, just came out here. Made some, um, coffee,” He ultimately responded and then inwardly sighed at how flustered he was right then. He let out a quick laugh. “Sorry, blame the hangover for my inability to say sentences right now.” 
If that was how he was going to act around you from now on, he knew that trying to keep this a secret was probably the most unrealistic idea ever. 
You laughed a bit and nodded, seemingly unfazed by his awkwardness right then, and opened up the fridge. “You think you can stomach eggs and bacon?” 
“Yes to the bacon, but I think I should play it safe and say no to the eggs.” 
“Makes sense,” You said, closing the fridge after grabbing the bacon. You placed the pack on the counter near the stove and then looked at Steve. “You feeling better about all of that dad shit?”
It was almost comical how even though it had been the reason for everything that happened last night, the conversation he had with his dad was the farthest thing from his mind now. 
“I’m good, actually.” 
“Good,” You said, smiling at him and then reaching out to grab his hand and give it a light reassuring squeeze; which, unknown to you, made his heart feel as if it was going to somersault out of his chest. “Remember, the next time this happens, come to me and we both can get drunk here for free. Or we can just run away and join the circus, or whatever it was we agreed on when we were twelve.” 
Steve only nodded and gave you a small smile in response because it felt as if that was all he could do at that moment. If he attempted to say anything, he felt like his words would’ve started or ended with, “I’m in love with you.” 
He changed his decision then. He knew that he had to tell you everything because it wouldn’t be easy to simply bury it down and ignore it. There was no way that he’d be able to keep this from you, at least not for a long time, it was already swallowing him whole. And although he had no idea when or how he would tell you the truth, he made a quick promise to himself that he would do it. 
.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.
let me know ur thoughts<333
(requests are open for stuff you wanna see in the universe/series!🫶🏾)
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matrixbearer2024 · 3 months
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Troubles Unforeseen
Vox x CollegeStudent!Reader
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A/N: Wowowowow- I did not realize my story would be so well received hahaha, I'm honestly grateful you guys like it so much. Anyways- here's the loooong awaited continuation to the series and I hope you all enjoy this installment as much as you've enjoyed the past ones. Happy reading!
A/N: To say this was looong overdue is a friggin understatement since it's literally just been chilling in my drafts like no one's business hahahaha. I'm posting it now so people can start writing ideas about what to do after Reader dies, but go ahead and feel free to keep posting HCs about Reader still being alive. It's an AU at this point and I'll keep writing about it like one HAHAHAHA!
To say Vox paid more attention to you now was slightly an understatement.
You were both practically connected by the hip digitally.
Even your friend group noticed how much time you'd spent just chatting whoever was on the receiving end of your shenanigans.
Not that they knew what kind of peculiar situation was always on the other side of the screen.
In fact, Vox was aware he probably should've been paying more attention to the meeting he was in-
It just so happens that you interested him more than any typical business ever could.
All the more when you'd told him you were getting ready for a party.
"It's just a birthday celebration Vox, it's not like I'm going to a club or anything."
"If there's any booze try not to get shitfaced, or will you drive yourself there?"
You could only giggle at his worry, taking a glance at your phone as it continued to buzz from his messages.
You clipped on the new earrings you'd bought just a few days ago to go with your outfit.
Even if you had gone shopping with your friends-
You still sent Vox pictures, asking what look he preferred.
He was in the middle of spying on Alastor when you once again swiped up all his attention.
Aaaaaand he actually thought you looked great in all of the outfits.
A warm feeling spread through him upon seeing your cheeky grin and silly poses.
Ah whatever, at this point it was nothing new.
But he did finally end up picking the one which bore a striking resemblance to his color scheme.
You didn't even notice at first when you bought the outfit.
Only when you saw the small desktop companion Vox made for you while doing assignments did you realize the subconscious decision your overlord buddy had made.
You teased him about it for a while too, much to his chagrin.
"I'll be with my friends, you don't have anything to worry about."
"The same friends that caused how we met? Doll, I have every right to be concerned."
Vox had nothing against the chaotic nature of your friends.
After all they always brought out the best-
And the worst-
In you, no matter what you were doing.
Even so, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was very... off.
Like an ominous shadow just looming over his shoulder.
He didn't make any mention of it though, thinking he was just being paranoid.
Besides, he didn't want to rain on your parade.
You'd gone the whole nine yards to pretty yourself up for the party.
He wouldn't want your efforts to be in vain.
Vox felt a twinge of jealousy towards the fact others would be able to admire how nice you were in real time, he only had pictures.
Wait what-
Okay, there was definitely something still wrong with him.
"I might not be as active for a few hours because of the party so go and actually focus on the things you gotta do."
"Are you insinuating that I don't do that already?"
"When you spam memes and talk to me nearly all the time can you blame me for not thinking you're always distracted?"
Vox mumbled cursed under his breath, rolling his eyes and glancing back up to check if the boring meeting was over.
Ugh... were they even halfway done discussing this shit?
"Yeah whatever, enjoy your party dollface. Don't get too hammered."
"Hahaha love you too dumbass, I'll keep you updated."
The overlord glitched slightly reading your reply.
His stomach definitely did a flip when he first saw what you typed.
Vox already knew it was probably just a: "I love you as a really close friend" thing-
But that didn't stop his systems from freaking out about it anyhow.
He decided it would be best to stop thinking about it anyways, placing his phone down and finally placing his attention back on the meeting.
Like it should've been the entire time-
Vox didn't really give a fuck though.
On your end, you were going to be picked up by your friends before you all headed to the party.
You guys decided it would be smarter to carpool so most of you guys could actually drink and unwind.
"Heeeeey bitch! Wow! Your outfit slays!"
You rolled your eyes before climbing into shotgun.
"I had some help picking out the look, any good?"
"(Y/N) you are going to break necks with how fast heads will turn, are you kidding me??"
That just reminded you of something Vox said when you showed him the pictures of your completed outfit.
'They're going to turn their heads so fast it'll give them whiplash! You look stunning darling!'
Vox's knack for petnames sometimes embarrassed you, especially when it sometimes seemed a little more than friendly.
Though- that was probably not the case, he was just being the charming idiot TV telecaster that he was with his sweet talk.
You often caught yourself wondering if he ever meant his words, or if it was just the persona Vox played up.
You partly hoped he meant it, even if you didn't know why.
That was until the not-so-subtle snickering of your friends popped the thought bubble you were in.
"Ooookay, what's so funny?"
"Who are you thinking about~? That digital 'friend' of yours?"
You audibly groaned from the situation your friends were insinuating.
They never really believed that you were just chatting with a friend when you were on the phone with Vox.
Despite the multiple times you'd blatantly mentioned that he really was just that.
A friend, a companion-
He wasn't supposed to be anything more than that right?
A blush was creeping up your neck as your friends continued to prod and tease at you for it, fanning your own face slightly to try and calm down the raging embarrassment.
Of course, it would always be fun and games-
Until it wasn't.
Everything happened so fast.
You were just joking with your friends in one moment-
And now you were coughing up blood in the next.
You remembered your friends screaming, some bright headlights, the brakes screeching then metal crunching.
You couldn't even move.
The entire front of the car had been shoved backwards into the front seats.
Even if the paramedics got here in time, you doubted they could save you.
The coppery tang of blood stained your tongue.
You'd gotten all dolled up for the party too.
It's unfortunate that now you'd never be able to go.
Heh... you probably wouldn't even be able to get drunk now either.
Wait-
Oh shit-
Vox!!
You wanted to reach for your phone but both your arms were fucked up in the crash.
The only thing you could really move was your head.
Even then, darkness was already starting to creep into your vision.
It didn't matter how valiantly you fought to keep your eyes open.
You lost too much blood, by the time the paramedics had arrived-
They announced you dead and took you away in a body bag.
The lower half of you had gotten entirely mangled from the accident that you surviving seemed bleak to begin with.
You thought you were done for when you closed your eyes for the final time.
Only when you opened them again- you were somewhere else entirely.
What...?
The skies were blood red, there was practically fire and murder everywhere you turned-
And oh ew- it even smelled like rotten burning corpses.
Where the fuck were you??
Was this supposed to be hell???
You carefully wandered around, hesitating here and there before stumbling across a large building.
Hazbin Hotel...?
Huh, you had no where else to go.
Might as well give it a shot.
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lynaferns · 27 days
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The Forest On The Other Side
Chapter 1: I want to go home.
Ver. [ENGLISH / SPANISH]
A girl gets lost in the forest and finds a misterious gate in the middle of nowhere. At the other side she meets a... very peculiar individual who seems to only want to befriend her and play. Everything seems fine. Until night falls and someone else joins to play...
Again, I appreciate feedback about the english adaptation. English is not my first lenguage and I still mess up sometimes.
This is in some way a more "joyful" story than BIOMáquina, still with its dark themes. I wrote this a year ago. By this I mean I forced myself to get it written down and ended up hating it and burning myself out. A couple of weeks ago I decided to reread it and I though it was pretty ok actually, so I edited it a bit to make it flow better. It used to be written more as a script for the comic I wanted to draw buuuut that didn't happen (cough stressed myself out cough forced myself cough don't force yourself to make content out of a hobby, a hobby is supposed to be for your own fun). I'm not completely satisfied with the final draft but I think is good enough for my first ever fic written.
I originally planned to make it a Y/N thing but that didn't last long. But I keeped the original idea of the first person POV. The Y/N stories I've read has always some narrator telling you what you do insert you in the story. I thought of making the MC the narrator, this way the reader can insert themselves like it's their story or they can read it as if someone else is telling them a story. This is also a bit limiting, since the narration is also the MCs thought process and sometimes I may skip details MC couldn't have seen.
AU, Magical forest, DCA centered, Sun fnaf, Moon fnaf, Elves Sun & Moon, OC, Selfinsert, Character & OC, platonic, friendship, slowburn (kind of), Moon is agresive at first, Moon is also a bit of a gremlin, Protective Sun (I think), OC is a potty mouth, Female Main Character, First person, Angst.
The first post where I showed this AU and my first sketches ideas.
Tumblr archive with all of the art, ideas and anwsered asks.
Youtube Playlist which I'm pretty proud of how it turned out :] It's in a specific order but you can put it on mix.
Note: even though I try to keep things light some things may be triggering for some readers.
CW: Anxiety, Suicide ideation, Implied death, Choking, Non sexual abuse.
Wordcount: 9,700 (It's not rounded, that's literally the number Word tells me it's at lol)
Welp.
Here we are again, in the old village house (yey...). Well, 'I am', my family won't arrive to settle in for another week. They brought me here beforehand a few days ago for organizational reasons. They took a quick look inside before they left to see the state of the house, if it needed any repairs and such, and they headed back to the city. While they finish preparing everything, I take care of the house and text them messages about anything that may be needed for when they return.
We haven't been here in years, the house needs some repairs, and I'm sorry for the spiders, but it could use a deep cleaning. We can't do a deep cleaning but I have been cleaning what I can these last few days, at least so that it looks decent... at first glance.
Well, it's not like anyone is coming to visit.
It's a quiet town, until the kids from the town next door come to make a racket with their bikes. They play in our field, scare away the cats and throw cans around. They are assholes.
Anyways, the people in the village are nice. The adults I mean, the kids I used to play with, I don't get along with them anymore. Some of them aren't kids anymore, we have grown up and are going down different paths. But those who are still kids... they're still interested in the only older kid in the town who listened to them and let them do whatever they wanted, to a certain extent.
I don't want them to come looking for me to go out and play. I've been avoiding them by saying that I'm busy cleaning the house and getting it ready for when my family arrives, but I feel like interacting with them less and less. That's why I'm going out to the woods behind the house to get lost for a while, as always. The kids don't go near the forest so they won't bother me there.
There is an area for tourism and hiking but not many people come, some police cars border the forest from time to time but they never go inside. The reports of missing people in this forest have been coming in for decades, only some lost children have returned but there is no trace of any of the adults who disappeared along with the rest of the children. The areas marked with signs are safe but you can't go out of bounds unless you want to disappear with those people.
And I, who right now am alone and with no one to notice my absence if I go missing, am going to head straight to the forest. Don't you think, I don't want to disappear, I just don't like people and I usually go into the forest but I don't go too far away. As long as I see my house in the distance, I know how to return.
I grab my bag with my sketchbook and pencil case, in case I feel like drawing (probably won't) and step out to the back porch. The outer sliding metal door that protects the inner one is rusty and difficult to open. It would be better to oil it but I don't know when it will be done, considering that the broken railing has had a wooden board tied to it for years. I already sent my mother a message talking about it.
I enter the forest and start walking around. It's hot, of course, it's early summer, but it's quite noticeable after being in the cool inside the brick and stone house. That's the good thing about coming here in summer, the houses are made to stay cold inside and it's great, sometimes I even need to wear a jacket. But outside I'm dying, the trees don't provide enough shade. In fact, some trees are missing. I used to have my routes memorized but time has passed and some paths have changed, some have disappeared and others have formed. I admit that it makes me a little sad... I began to walk absorbed in my thoughts not paying attention to where I was going.
I'm walking away, I should go back. I'm not going to draw anything here anyway, and it's hotter outside than inside so I'm gonna to turn around-
I hear screams and laughter in the distance, the sound of the voices produces me an immediate disgust. It's those kids from the next door village. They must have come to 'investigate' about the disappearances or maybe they don't care and they just came to be idiots-
They're getting closer.
I don't want them to see me. God. Don't let them see me. Anyone but them. They're getting closser. Don't let them see me. I can't go back home now. They're cutting me off. Of all the people who could have found me. It had to be them. No, please. Don't let them see me. I have to go further into the forest, I can't let them see me. They're getting closer. Don't let them see me. I want to leave. I want to leave. I'm getting too far. I want to leave. I don't see my house. I want to leave. I don't see the village. I want to leave. I don't see the kids.
...
...
...
Where am I?
Fuck.
Where am I?
I want to leave.
I want to leave.
I want to leave.
I want to leave.
Now I'm wandering through the forest. I don't want to go back. I want to get out of here. Even though I'm walking in a straight line I feel like I'm going around in circles, and I'm not going to get out of here now. Great. I'm lost. Now what? People who get lost in this forest don't return, no one has returned except for some children.
...
I'm going to disappear.
...
For now I keep walking until something happens. Maybe there's an animal that kills people who get lost, or maybe it's a group of kidnappers, or maybe I should stop giving myself anxiety and focus on getting out of here. Maybe if I find a field or road, or even the tourist area, I'll be able to get out of here and return bordering the fores-
...
There is... colorful graffitis on the trees. Someone has painted eyes, hands, stars and more on the bark of the trees...
What's this?
I don't know where I've come to, I didn't know this was here, in the middle of nowhere in the forest. The trees have red leaves like in autumn even though summer has just started... The first thing I thought was 'climate change's fault' but there is something that stands out in the middle of this entire flat area and it is disturbing me.
In the center there is a kind of circular gate made of stones supported by roots.
Okay, maybe it doesn't sound aaaaas disturbing as, I don't know, a totem with a human figure being impaled or something, but it's giving me a bad vibe. What is this place? Who built a stone arch in the middle of everything and why?
A bird appears flying from behind me and goes through the gate, but nothing comes out on the other side... wait what? how? The bird has crossed the gate, and disappeared behind the stone arch? ...I had to imagine it, it's not possible that that happened. I approach the arch but not before picking up a rock from the ground and throwing it to the other side of the gate.
It's still there.
For some reason the thought of going through the gate makes me uncomfortable, so I go around it.
...
...And the rock? It's not there.
I go back and look from inside the portal.
The rock is there.
...
I look from outside. The rock is not there. I repeat this multiple times. Rock. No rock. Rock. No rock. Rock. No rock... What?
Alright, this is weird, this is VERY weird.
Even though it is clear that this isn't normal, I have to go back, pick up a fallen branch from the ground and pass it through the portal. This time I don't throw it, I've grabbed a branch long enough to see it peek out from the other side of the arch.
...
Welp.
I should be seeing not only the branch, but also my hand sticking out of the side, but I'M NOT SEEING IT. OKAY. OK. ALRIGHT. IT'S CONFIRMED. THIS IS WEIRD.
I'm asleep, right? Or unconscious. I must have passed out from exhaustion from endlessly wandering through the woods and I'm delirious or something. No, wait, it can't be, in my dreams I'm not this aware of what's around me. Where am I?
A breeze begins to pass through the gate. It's getting stronger but not enough to push me. The leaves rise from the ground and float towards the portal, none slipping outside, all entering through the stone arch. Suddenly the breeze that had become wind stops. The leaves fall to the ground.
...
I look back for a moment, as if there was something behind me that could help me make a decision. Grabbing with both hands my bag strap I look back at the portal again. Okay. Alright. This is possibly the death of me. I'm going to cross. I'm going to go to the other side. I'm just one step away from crossing. I wrinkle my face and narrow my eyes before taking the last step.
...
Nothing has happened. Everything seems the same. However, I know it's not the same... Or at least it doesn't feel the same!
Well, I've already crossed. I'm gonna... keep walking, I guess, even though this is scaring me and I don't know if I'll know how to go back. For now I'm moving forward. The red leaves have disappeared several meters ago. It's starting to look like a normal forest, except for the multicolored drawings and handprints that I keep seeing on the trees. In fact, it seems like the trees are taller with every step I take. So high that I can barely see the top. I almost tripped while looking up. Whether this is the same forest I come from, I no longer know.
This was a bad idea. I just hope to find something that'll help me know where I am, a sign or the road if possible.
*cling*
...?
I hit something with my foot. There is a ball attached to a small chain on the ground. Oh, no, wait. *cling diring ding* It's a rusty bell, I think. It doesn't have the typical cross-shaped hole or slot, rather it has several holes in a pattern. It looks like it can be opened.
There's nothing inside.
?
There's nothing? But I could have sworn it had rang. I close it again and shake it.
*...*
Nothing.
I'm going to put it in the bag, it's totally a good idea. I'll think about it later, for now I'm moving on.
I've been walking for a while now and throughout this time I had a constant chill on the back of my neck, as if someone had their eyes on me.
*din dirring* I hear a soft tinkling in the distance.
Okay, I'm not alone, awesome, what do I do now? Do I say hi and risk the potential danger finding me? Do I ignore the sound of bells and keep moving? It's very possible that whatever made that sound is watching me right now...
“Hello?” Still nervous, I try to say hello looking around “...” “Is someone there? H-hello?”
“-HEEEEELLO!”
“AAAAAH-!” I cover my mouth with my hands as I turn to look at what the hell has greeted me back. I take a few steps back while I look at the figure of earthy and sunny tones who responded, he seems as surprised as I am, I think (with the scream I made, normal), at least it looks like he's surprised. He wears a two toned wooden mask... it looks like a sun, with a crescent moon on its right... It gives the impression of two faces merged into one... Damn, he is tall, he's almost doubles my size. He appears to have two skin tones dividing him in half, his right side being the lighter and the left darker, especially the arm, which also has a light-colored tattoo of lines representing a sun symbol that covers from the shoulder to the pectoral and to the middle of the bicep. The right arm is covered by a long fingerless glove that reaches to the shoulder and is tied around the chest. He's wearing baggy pants with leaves coming out of the waist and legs, some... cloth boots? with a long toe bending sharply and curving in a geometric swirl with a bell at the tips, a bag hangs from the waistband of his pants and falls below his hips. His chest and neck are tied by ropes decorated with hanging stones, metals and crystals, he wears a pendant that ends in a carved symbol of a crescent moon with rays. Some of the 'sunrays' on his mask have ropes tied between them holding them in place and some metal dangling. Some red ribbons along with bells hang from his wrists.
“um... Helloooooo.” He greets again, this time he lowers his tone of voice. I manage to react, I turn around and walk away. “¡ah- eh- Wait!” Nope, I'm not going to wait and see what he does with me, I'm leaving. “He-! Hey!” Nope. I quicken my pace and try to get lost among the trees, changing direction every time he appears in my vision angle. “Human? Human-! FRIEND. Can I call you friend?!” Nope, nope, nopnop, nop, nop, nope. “Friend! Hey!” God, no, god, god, no, why are you following me? “Look, I know what you're trying to look for...! And believe me, you're not going to find it~!” How are you still following me? Where do you come from? “Hey! Listen! Why don't we do something else besides running in circles!?” Noooooooooo... “There are TONS of other activities we could do! Like... HOLY MOLY, look at this stick! Do you like sticks!?” Leave me aloneee... “You aren't looking at it! Okay, alright, you don't like sticks, erm... what might be of interest to you...” If I don't look at it it doesn't exist. “Could you help me a little here?” I want to leave... “Look, no matter how much you wander around, you won't find the portal-!”
“STOP—! STOP FOLLOWING ME! LEAVE ME ALONE!” The sudden scream startles him again, making him jump in place. He stands completely still looking at me. I'm leaving before he gets angry.
“B-but I- ...okay.” I thought I heard him say before I left him behind.
It seems that this time he's not following me, finally... Although I'm not calm, he could still be following me and simply not be in sight. Anyway, I think I'm coming back? I hope I am. I want to find that portal as soon as possible and go back to the house- what the fu-? “WHY?”
He's there. Right where I left him. Sitting on a rock. Waiting. “...! I haven't moved from the spot!”
“Yeah- but- WHY?”
“Because I knew you were going to come back here!”
“...What?”
“Is what I was trying to tell you! You can't leave! No matter how hard you try to find the portal, it won't appear before you!” The Sunman exclaimed.
“…” I'm just about to turn around. In fact, I'm already turning around.
“N-No, wait! Please don't go!” I stop in my track and look back at him. He gets off the rock he was sitting on but remains squatting, almost at my height, a little below. I move back, keeping my distance. He puts his hands up. “Look, I'm not doing anything! I won't chase you! Just- ...don't go.”
“…”
“L-look, listen, there's no way it's going to show up! Well, not to you at least. But even if you find it back, it won't work! It only works when it wants to work.”
“...” Let's imagine that I trust what he says “Ok... and when does it want to be working?”
“...” “No idea!”
“...”
“...”
I'm about to collapse on the spot. At least he doesn't seem hostile, for now. “...” “Okay... Good... Great...” “...” “FanTAS-tic.”
“...” “You don't seem like it.”
*ಠ_ಠ* I could only look to the side in frustration in response to that. I looked back at him with concern showing on my face and grabbing the strap of my bag with both hands. “And... what... do you plan to do with me?”
He took his hand to the chin of his mask and with the other he held his elbow in a comical thoughtful pose. “MmmmnnDUN know! What do you plan to do?” He asked so nonchalantly. He ended up sitting on the ground crossing his legs. “You have a good while until the portal opens again...!”
“...”
“...”
“...”
He started swaying. The silence has become uncomfortable for a while now, but I can't organize myself on what to say, and I don't know if I trust him. I don't even know if he's human, although something tells me he's not.
“You could wait here.” He suggested, breaking me out of my thoughts. “Or anywhere else, if you want. I would recommend somewhere high like the treetops (for no particular reason)! If you're going to wait... But wouldn't that be really boring?” There was something in his tone of voice... “Being there... at the top of a tree... waiting... alone... with no friends to hang out with (can I call you a friend?). Aaall on your own until the portal opens again.” He looks aside for a moment “...” And back at me again. “With no one to be with you.” He repeats the head motion “...” “alone...” Wow... I wonder what he's implying, ahem. “Wouldn't you want to have someone...? ...Someone...keeping you company?” Yeah, yeah...
“...” I guess... “I-I guess I wouldn't want to be alon-?”
He rises to his knees. “That's what I thought! Do you want me to accompany you? Only if you want! But can I?” He clasped his hands together as if asking a favor.
“um...”
“Can I?Can I?Can I?Can I?Can I?Can I?Can I?” He approaches, dragging his knees on the ground.
I'm starting to miss personal space. “Okay! Okay, alright...”
“REALLY?” He started hopping and jumping around me. “OH, ohoho hO! Great! Oh, there are TONS of things we could do! Like... Like...!” He moves faster, doing bigger and bigger flips and jumps, it almost seems that he is very light, as if the breeze of air lifted him. “We could paint and decorate trees! Or we can also paint on rocks! Or paint leaves! Or paint us! Oh! We can tell stories! I'm very good at making shadows and puppets.” He moves from place to place with each sentence he says. “We can also play something!” It's moving so fast all I can see is the wind and the leaves it stirs up as it moves. “Anything! Whatever you want!” Finally he stopped in front of me half crouched. “What do ya say?! Hmm! Friend!?”
“Don't... call me like that.” Makes me feel awkward.
“Oh...why not-? Oh true, true! How silly, I don't know your name! What do you call yourself, potential friend?”
“...”
“...” “Aren't... you gonna tell me your name?”
I twist the bag strap “Depends...” I must say I'm a little skeptical about this. “Are there any consequences for telling you my name?”
“...Consequences...?”
“Like... I don't know... Mmm-by telling you my name I become your possession and cannot regain my freedom until... certain conditions are met...”
“...”
“...”
“Why- how-? Where did you get that from!?” It did sound a bit stupid when I said it out loud.
“I dunno- that's what they say in old children's stories about elves and fairies!” I just hope the embarrassment isn't showing on my face.
“Really?” I could feel his deadpan expression behind the mask.
I shrugged.
“...” “Okay... Oh, what if I tell you my name first? Will you tell me yours? It's only fair, I'm Sun!”
“...”
“Can I know your name now?” He asked expectantly.
“...How do I know you're not trying to trick me?”
“...” I must be driving him crazy with this “The only thing I can do with your name is treasure it in my memory.” He put his hands together as if he was carefully holding something and brought them to the forehead of the mask. I gave him a distrustful look. It doesn't seem like it made him desist “Please?”
I grip at my worn out bag strap “...” “ Fern...” I ended up murmuring.
“Hmm? Fern? OH, I like it!” “Sounds like FRIEND.” He emphasized the last word by making a gesture like jazz hands, leaning to the side and moving his head closer to me.
“Yeah... I think you are missing a couple of letters.”
He straightened his posture again. “Nope, I don't think so!”
“You're still not my friend.”
“Oooowwwwwnnnnnggghhh” He lowers his head dramatically until it practically touches the ground “nnnnnnngggghh, alright!” And cartwheels to stand up again “So... what will it be?”
“Hm?”
He straightened his posture and puts his arms on his hips “We have plenty of time, ya? What do you wanna to do?”
“I don't know, what do you want to do-?” Bad mistake.
“Come with me!”
“aaAAAAA-!” Before I knew it, he had grabbed my arm and I was being dragged through the woods. We visited several places and he offered me an activity to do in each of them.
Sun took me to a place where the trees were full of colorful paint “We practice painting on the trees here!” He said.
“Ah.” That explains the crossed out lines and the repeated imperfect shapes. By the look of it is also where he tests the quality of the paint.
“Do you want us to paint something!?”
“Not really...”
“Oh, would you prefer it to be on a rock?”
“Nah.”
“...And in star leaves-?”
“I don't want to paint, Sun.”
“Oh... Well, I can show you more places!”
“OkayyEEEEEE-” And I'm being dragged away again.
He brought me to another area of the forest, the ground here seemed more leveled. Not a single tree was straight, all of them were twisted and even seemed to be hollow. “How about playing something!? Like hide and seek-! No, wait, I can’t let you out of my sight.” He mumbled at the end “And chase?! We can climb a tree and see who reaches the top first! We have a place full of vines and it's perfect for swinging- and jumping from one tree to another-!”
“I don't... really want to move a lot…” With the way he runs without getting tired and me, who doesn't exercise... he would let me dead.
“Oh... well, theeen-”
We arrived at a place full of vegetation and humidity. Sun seemed quite excited... “This place is full of insects! We can look for cool bugs!”
“Mmmmmnoooo... I don't want to.” I had to tell him, trying to show as little disinterest as I could.
“You don't like them?” He sounded a little disappointed hearing my reaction.
“No, I do like them, some of them, but I don't like to touch them.” And I'm terrified of them flying into my face.
“Oh, well, it's okay!” He said brushing it off and we moved on to the next stop.
“I know that bird!” He stopped us on the way to point at a robin high up on a branch.
“ah.” I said as I removed leaves from my hair and clothes, and checked that I still had my glasses.
“He's a little rascal!”
“...” I think the bird is making us the equivalent of 'mooning'.
“Look fish-! Oh, they're gone…” The noise must have scared them away “We can go find more places to look at them if you want!”
“...” “...no, pass...”
“…”
“Look at this stick!” Sun had suddenly sprinted past me, picked up something from the ground, and came back just as fast, showing me the stick as if it were a sword.
“oh.” It's a cool stick, must admit it.
“Do you want to look for more sticks!?”
“No...”
“oh...” He looked at the ground in disappointment.
“Why would we go looking for sticks? There are all over the ground.” Specifically, in this area the ground was all sticks. We are literally just stepping on sticks right now. I don't see the ground.
“Variety!” Sun said pointing at the ground with both hands. A branch is heard falling in the distance.
“That's a deer!” He pointed at the deer passing nearby. The deer stopped to look at us.
“Yeah, I see.”
“We call 'em Adoquín!”
“...Why is it called Adoquí-?”
*THUMP!*
“…”
The deer smacked itself against a tree when trying to run away. It stands still for a minute, processing the hit, looks at a side and then the other, then runs off again but this time avoiding the tree.
Another *thump!* is heard in the distance.
“...” Alright.
“Do you wannaaaa look for pine cones? There will be some fallen around here. Oh! We can also look for mushrooms!”
I keep saying no to everything he suggests and it doesn't look like he's going to run out of ideas to pass the time. In fact, he's very insistent that we do something. I guess at some point I'll have to say yes to something. “...” “...okay...”
“Hmm?! Okay? Okay to what?” His exaggerated surprise offends me but I don't blame him.
“To... I don't know, pine cones?”
“...You don't look very convinced.”
“…”
“…”
“…”
“OKAY! On the hunt for pine cones then!” I startle a little at the sudden shout. He makes a pose pointing in a direction, as if he were leading an expedition.
He takes me through the forest looking for pine cones. We aren't finding many, especially me who's not paying any interest. He tries encouraging me to put more effort into it but I keep looking at my boots.
We passed near a shingle river. I find a pebble at my feet and bend down to pick it up and take a better look. It's like a bluish gray, it has some reddish lines in the shape of waves, it feels good to the touch.
I hear the soft tinkling of a bell and feel a shadow fall beside me. “You like pebbles?” Sun is crouched next to me with his arms full of pine cones.
“…” I nod.
We go down to the river and spend some time collecting pebbles with curious shapes or small details of colors, lines, spots, etc. He comes over to show me one every time he finds weird shapes.
“…”
*rin* This time he's hunched over resting his hands on his knees. “You look… a little down.”
“…”
“Hey... we can do something else if you're tired of the pebbles.”
“...” I drop the pebbles I was looking at on the ground.
“...” He turns his gaze from me to the sky. It hasn't gotten late enough to be getting dark, but it's been a while between the walks we've taken (dragging me from here to there), looking for pine cones and then pebbles in the river. He looks back at me. “Oh, I know! Can I take you to one last place? A better place than the ones I've shown you!”
“…” I got up from the ground and waited for him to start leading to follow him.
We enter the increasingly thick forest. The trees are taller and bigger, in fact, I start to see platforms and bridges lying between the trees, I even see small shanties in them.
“Wait here!” He takes a run and jumps onto one of the trees with bridges. He takes three steps running up the tree, with a jump he pushes himself off and climbs with agility until he reaches the platform and climbs on it. “Just a moment!” It can't be seen from here but I can faintly hear some squeaks. I have no idea of what he's doin-
*rush*
“........eh?”
A rope.
A rope has fallen. At the level of my head.
“.......”
What?
He said he knew a better place.
No. It can't be this.
“Is it at a good height?! Can you reach it?!” He says...
It can't be.
A better place.
He can't be referring to this.
A better place.
A better place. A better place. A better place. A better place.
“Can you put your foot in?!”
“..........” For some reason what he said throws me off. “WAT-?”
“Can you put your foot in the loop and hold on to the rope so I can pull you up!?”
“..............”
“You can't climb trees, can you?! ...or you can?"
… “...” Oh “....It's...It's too high!”
“Okay!” Squeaks are heard and the rope descends to the ground.
I put my foot into the rope as he told me and hold on to it. “O-okay...!”
“Are you ready!?”
“Yes!”
“Okay!”
He begins to pull up the rope (which doesn't tighten around my foot as it supports my weight) and helps me up to the platform. (That's what it was for, obviously, what else would he want? I'm such an...) “Come on!” He says cheerfully, as always, and takes me over the bridges. “You seem tense... Don't tell me you're afraid of heights!”
“S-something like that... it's nothing.” He tilts his head at that but he says nothing. I have an unpleasant sensation in my throat.
We arrived at a high place with a view of waterfalls, I can't see above the trees. We sat on one of the bridges, resting our arms on the rope that serves as a railing and letting our legs hang off the bridge. I've thought about taking out the sketchbook to draw... but I don't really feel like it right now, so I just quietly observe the landscape. It is a better place, yeah.
I feel watched. I turn to look at him ...Of course he was looking at me. I don't even know whether to say something or keep quiet. ...I decide... not to say anything and look to the front.
“You... aren't very talkative, huh.”
“…”
“Not that it's a bad thing! Many people who have come here weren't very talkative at first either.” More people...
“...” “I have… nothing to talk about.” I don't want to talk.
“...” “Well, I do.”
“…”
“If it's okay with you, of course.” He laughed. Although something tells me that he is going to talk anyway.
“…”
“...” “What brings you to the forest?”
“...” Really? “I got lost.”
“Yeah, I already know!” He says between laughs “But what made you get lost?”
“...” “There was a group of kids I didn't want to get close to and I decided to go into the woods to lose them.” He makes a 'hum' sound and looks at me expectantly waiting for me to continue “And... I ended up getting myself lost...”
“...” “Only that?”
“...” “Well, yeah.” What do you mean 'oNlY tHaT'?
“...Mmm...” He places his hand on the chin of the mask.
“...” “What?”
“Nothing!” “...” “You know? You're the first human to visit the forest in a loooong time. For several cycles now…”
“Cycles?”
“Mhm” He nods.
“...What are cycles?”
Sun points to the sky “The turns that the Moon makes in the sky!” He emphasizes by rotating his arm in the air. It's pointing right at the Moon that's visible in the sky.
“Oh...” He uses the lunar cycles to know what day he's in, makes sense. “...” “So no one has been here in a while.”
“That's what I said! Well no, but yes!”
“A-and so the humans who came are still here? Have they been here all this time?”
“Yeah...! Well, no!” He paused. “They're gone!”
“What do you mean they're-?” He didn't let me finish the question.
“They are gone! They 'left'!” It sounded like he had given this answer many times already.
“What do you mean they left-?”
“They 'left'!”
“...” “...You mean...they disappear-?”
“Nope!” “...” “Something like that!” “…” “Mmmore or less…” He hesitated between one answer and another.
It seemed worthless to ask about the missing people. “...okay.” “Can I ask you-?”
“You can ask me anything!” A hint of nervousness escaped his tone.
“...okay. What is this forest?”
“My home! And the home of many other animals.”
“...” “Alright, and... how many are you...? How many of you live here? I mean. You have taken me everywhere and we haven't seen anyone of your…” I make a pointing gesture, spinning my hand around in the air. He can't be human, it doesn't look like he is. “...” “Honestly, I don't know what you are.”
“...” “There's only me... And someone else!” He looks away, as if trying to hide something.
“Oh... and who's that someone?”
“Oh! N-no, don't worry! He’s… just a friend… But it’s not important that you meet him or anything!” He brushes it off making a gesture with his hand. “Uh-um- How about we talk about you!? huh? What things do you like? Earlier, since you said no to everything, I thought you didn't like ANYTHING!” He continued talking without letting me respond. “I didn't know what to do if I ran out of ideas. I started to worry! But at least you're not one of those who spend all day shouting and threatening with a weapon in hand, ahaha...” He let out a nervous laugh.
“Um-”
“Well, you ran away screaming, yes.” He began to gesticulate widely as he complained “Like everyone-! No, not like everyone, some don't run, but those who, apart from running and screaming, attack you...! I mean...!” Something tells me he wasn't going to shut up and I was already half listening. “First they throw rocks at my head, then they insult me and run away. And I have to run after them because I can't just leave a human running around alone! No! I can't! Not in this forest! Anything could happen to them! But they never let me warn them!” He sounded tired. “And when I get them to stop running away from me, they throw things at me again and yell before demanding me to tell them where are they and how to get out of here, and when I explain it, they yell at me even more and accuse me of lying!” He turns to look at me with his hands pointing to his chest. “What reason would I have to lie?!” I don't know if he hasn't noticed or if he's ignoring the deapan I responded with. “UGH! I don't know what to do with those! But anyhow... I'm so glad we found something to do in the end!
“eh?” I snap out of my thoughts. It seems that now he is directing the conversation to me.
“The pebbles!” He sits turning his body towards me, leaving one single leg hanging from the bridge and the other resting on it. He takes out of his pocket some of the pebbles that he had been collecting with me. “I don't know why I assumed you wouldn't want to look for rocks. Maybe because you didn't want to paint them before... You left them back in the river in the end tho, I thought you would keep some.”
“Ah... I don't know. I didn't think I could take them with me.”
“You can keep some of mine!”
“No, it's okay.”
“You sure?”
“Yes.”
“You suuuuure??” He insist.
“Yeees.”
He puts a pebble very close to my face “Suuuuuuuure?” Each 'u' sounding higher than the last.
“...” I push the pebble away from my face “Yeeeees.”
“mmmh... Okay! But I hope you don't regret it later when you don't have a cool rock like these and think 'Oh man, I could have a cool rock right now!'.” After a bad impression of me, he keeps the rocks in his pants. “So... Besides pebbles, what else do you like? Mm? I haven't been able to deduce much from today.”
“Don't know.”
“What do you mean you don't know!? Oh! Is it a secret?” He approaches and starts to whisper, putting his hands to the mask's mouth “I won't tell anyone, promise.”
“No. I don't know.” I looked to the side. “I can't think of anything... so suddenly.”
“ooow...” He slumps a little over the railing, looking sad.
“…” I hesitate whether to say something or not “...Drawing...”
“Mmm?!” He no longer seems sad.
“And listening to music, I guess.” “It's... all I do... most of the time.”
“Really!? Oh! I also like drawing! And music! But is that really all you do all day? Don't you do other kinds of things? Like reading! Or writting. Don't you go out for a walk or play with your friends?” I wrinkle my face at that last bit and he tilts his head in confusion.
“I don't go out.” “I have comics, but I rarely read.”
“Comics?”
“Um... They are stories but instead of narrating what happens there are drawings and only what the characters say is written.”
“...It's a book with drawings?”
“Yeah, but with a lot of drawings on each page, from start to finish.”
“WOAH.” He sounded perplexed. “That's drawing A LOT.”
“Yeah, it is.”
“Ahh, I'd love to see what they look like.” He rested his arm on the railing to hold his head in his hand “Too bad I can't…”
“I didn't bring them anyway.”
“Do you normally carry them around?”
“No, it's just that I didn't bring them to the village with me, I left them at home.”
“...” “Oh!” It seems that something has clicked on him. “You are not from the village.”
“No, I'm from a more urban area. My family used to come to the village every year in the summer, but we stopped coming. Now it seems that we are trying to get back into the habit.” I sighed.
“Why did you stop coming?”
“...That's personal.”
“Oh... okay.” He let a minute of awkward silence pass. “Hey, I can bring some books that I have at home! I think you might be interes-!” He looks away from me to the sunset behind us, the sun is almost gone. “-ted...” I look at the sunset too and then at him with confusion. “...” “...oh...oh-OH, Oh-no!” He stands up abruptly causing the bridge to shake slightly. What could have he seen? “We have to move!” He extends a hand to help me up. “We have to start moving!”
I get up in a hurry on my own, ignoring his hand. “O-okay, to where?”
“Come, run!” Once again he grabs me by the arm and leads me over the bridges between the trees until we reach a tree hut. It's small and dark, it looks like a small shelter. He opens the door and enters “You'll spend the night here, stay inside, do not go out, try to hide well and don't open the windows or doors, okay? Here, there are some blankets. I'll come back later.”
“Wait wait wait! What? What do you mean you'll come back later? What's happening? Why do I have to hide-!?”
“Sssh-ssh-sh” He grabs me and covers my hand with his, his left hand resting on the back of my right hand. He begins to speak in a calmer tone, with a voice that I had not heard him use until now. “It's okay, nothing happens. I have to go, I'll come back, but I can't stay now. You hide, try to rest, I'll be back, I promise.”
“...” I take my hand away from his. “Okay.” “I'll stay, but don't take too long.” Please, I don't want to be here alone.
“Yes. I'll be back.” He affirmed one last time. I watch him run away and disappear among the trees and undergrowth. I enter the small shelter to inspect it.
*TAP TAP TAP* *PLOK* *TAP TAP FOOSSSH! *
…? A noise comes from behind me. I turn around and there's a pebble on the floor.
Okay.
I take out my phones flashlight to see better inside the house. There are what appear to be some trunks, small cabinets, and a trapdoor in the floor, It seems that there are corners and blind spots for the windows where the little moonlight that enters through the cracks cannot reach. It's freezing cold and I haven't brought my jacket. I leave the bag on the floor against the wall, I cover myself with the blanket and curl up in a ball in the most hidden corner I can find. I'm tired, I want to sleep, but I can't close my eyes.
It's been a few hours now.
I can't sleep, I simply can't.
It doesn't look like he's coming back.
*creek*
…?
*rin*
*tap tap, creek*
Sun?
“S-...” I pause before saying a word, I have the feeling I shouldn't speak. I remain silent and wait.
*tap, tap, tap, creeeeeek, tap*
*rin dirrin*
If it were Sun he would have already let me know it is him. That or he's playing a prank on me which isn't funny, but I'd better stay silent. From the shadow I look at the windows. I notice movement through the cracks, something has just passed through the wall next to me.
*dirriring dirring*
I cover myself more with the blanket, back against the wall, I stay as still as I can, I leave a gap between the blankets and the floor to see. A red glow sneaks through the cracks in the window and scans the room.
The glow is gone.
*tap, tap, rin, tap, dirring, tap, tap*
It's on the roof.
*tap, tap, tap...*
It moves again.
*rin *
It sounded on the other side of the wall.
“nghehe...”
It laughed. Why did it laugh? Whatever is on the other side of the wall just let out a laugh that made the hairs on the back of my neck and all over my back rise.
Oh no.
Oh no no no no no no no no.
I have to move. I have to get out of here. I can't stay here.
*creeek*
It came from the door. It's trying to get in.
*rin*
The trapdoor.
*rin dirring*
Where was the trapdoor?
*creek creeeek*
I crawl across the floor making the minimum noise, carefully feeling the floor, looking for the edge of the door.
*tap tap ring dirring*
…!
I found it. I open it carefully. It's too high. I'm at a very high altitude, I don't know if I'll be able to go down.
*rin, creeek...*
Fuck it. I slip through the gap quietly, closing it slowly, but that doesn't stop the door from creaking. I cling to the bark of the tree-
I left my bag. If it comes in and see it it'll know for sure that I have been there-
It doesn't matter now. I have to focus on getting down from the tree without killing myself. My fingers hurt and I can't put my foot down properly because of the soles of my boots. I feel like I'm going to slip at any moment. Somehow I make it to the ground. Still attached to the tree, I look up at the house. I don't see it-
A shadow appears from behind the tree. I press myself against the tree and hold my breath. It's looking for something. When he doesn't seem to look I move to a nearby tree, he moves to another tree, I move to the next, and the next, and the next. We continue like this until I start to get further and further away from him. When I think I've lost him I start running. I hide behind a tree to catch my breath.
I slowly peek out from behind the tree.
*rin*
It sounded above me.
I don't look up, I run.
“nnghehee...” He laughs.
He gives me a few seconds advantage before coming after me. The chase begins.
I run forward as much as I can, I hear his footsteps behind me but I don't look back, there's no time for that. I hear him laughing like a madman as he moves from left to right, from one tree to another, crawling on the ground, trying to confuse me, waiting for me to make the slightest mistake to catch me.
“Ah-” I trip. As soon as I fall to the ground I get up, ripping my stockings and scraping my knees, falling again, my nerves not letting me stand up.
“Nnhehehhehe...” Asshole. He has stopped running, he approaches by walking. I try to keep as much distance as my hands and legs allow me to move. I search desperately with my hand for something on the ground to throw. Finally my hand finds something.
I throw a rock at him “AGH!”
The rock passes by him, flying one or two meters away from him. He hasn't even moved, he didn't move a single muscle to avoid it, he just watches me still from where he is. I hear the nearby *pof* of the rock falling to the ground.
“...”
“...”
I get up and run. He grabs my leg and I fall to the ground again. He won't let me get up, every time I try he throws me to the ground. I struggle, I kick, but I don't break free from his grip. He never stops laughing, he is enjoying this. He drags me closer to him, no matter how much I twists, he doesn't let go. “ACKH-!...Hhhh-hh...-hh-h...” He grabs me by the neck, red pupils stared at me, I'm looking straight into his crescent moon mask (or waning, I don't know. Do you think I care right now?). He raises his free hand and his veins begin to glow a platinum color that extends to his fingertips. The hand approaches my face, I don't know what it's going to do to me, I'm scared, I don't want to look. I close my eyes, cover my face with my hands. I wait.
…?
Nothing's happening. It stopped. Why?
“Mun, nïe.” I hear Sun's voice. I open my hands a little to see what's going on. Indeed, it is Sun, several meters away from us... He looks exhausted. The one with the moon mask stares at him for a moment, until he decides to look at me again while bringing his glowing veiny hand closer. “¡Mun!” The Moonman looks at Sun again “Fehreh.” He seems to speak another language, I don't understand what he says.
“...” “Nïe” For the first time I hear him say something else besides laughing. Even though I can't understand him.
“Fïer pehgïer.” Sun responds.
“...” Moonman remains silent again.
“Bïelïe óubseh góuh...” Sun continues.
“Móu txehb móunsuvïe.” The Moon responds.
“Lïe bóu ¿Sóundïe mïesugïeb fehreh nïe txehtehrlïe?”
The air feels tense. Probably because of the hand grabbing my neck.
“¿Zkaóu fuóunbehb txehtóur tkaehnvïe nïe bóueh mehb zkaóu ïesreh rehuh óunsóurrehveh óun leh suóurreh?” Longest sentence I've heard him say so far.
“...” “Fïer óubseh góuh.” “...” “Vóuyehmóu óuntehrdehrmóu vóu óulleh” Sun takes a step forward “Nïe suóunóu fïer zkaóu ehtehkehr ehbu” Another step forward “Nïe sóunóumïeb fïer zkaóu txehtóurlóub... óubsïe” Another step “Óullïeb bïelïe óubsehn... fóurvuvïeb.”
“...” There's no response from the moon man.
“Behkehb tïemïe óub óubïe.”
“...”
The hand that grabbed my neck now grabs my shirt and yanks it. I grab his wrist as he pulls me to my feet and drags me to Sun, making me stumble. He throws me against him. Sun catches me before I fall over.
“Ska óubpkaóurhïe óub óun gehnïe.” The moon says something as he walks past. Sun puts a hand on his shoulder before letting him go, there's a pause between the two. The Moonman disappears into the trees. Wind and leaves are heard passing by.
He's gone. I feel dizzy. I fall down.
A faint light begins to seep through the cracks, illuminating enough to wake me up and make me open my eyes, I look around. I see my bag propped against the wall. I'm at the shelter where Sun left me.
My body aches, I have a hard time keeping my eyes open, it feels like I've been sleeping on the hard floor. No, wait, there are some blankets underneath me... It's still too hard to sleep well, either that or as I said, it shouldn't help me at all that everything hurts. After a while of staring at the ceiling I try to sit up. I emphasize trying. With every slight effort a pained moan escapes me.
“Oof...” Hurts.
*creek, tap tap tap tap*
Those wood creaks bring back bad memories from last night (which by the way, I'm alive, wow, I just realized), I can't help but cringe at every noise, I hear footsteps approaching, I try to move but the stinging pain prevents me from it.
*creek... *
The door opens.
Triangular shapes appear through the door followed by orange earth tones. “…Oh…!” “Early bird!” Thank god it's Sun and not the other one, or something worse “I didn't expect you up this early!” He says laughingly.
“ah?”
“How are you feeling?” He walks in. When he sets foot inside I lean back, towards the wall. “...” I don't really know why I did that. Sun stands at the door showing confusion with his usual head tilt. “...Arrr...re you okay, Fern?”
“...” I became tense suddenly. I really don't know still if I can trust him? He hasn't done anything to me yet but that doesn't mean that I can trust him. I don't know if he plans to do something with me like whatever that other one, the moon one, was going to do last night. “...ehh...hhh...h...” I can't get a word out, I'm afraid to ask.
“Mm?”
“...” I don't know what to say to him. My eyes go somewhere else.
He enters further into the house, ignoring that I keep my distance from him, leaves a bag he was carrying on the floor and begins to open the windows, letting in the little light of the dawn that is just beginning. He kneels on the floor in front of me with the bag. “Are you hungry?” He opens the bag and takes out an apple “Do you like apples?”
“...”
“No?”
“...”
“Um... I also brought berries... (It's what I had on hand coming here) There are... different types, you can choose” He brings the bag closer to me. I move further away. “uhhh...”
“...” I want to leave.
“You don't like them either...?”
“...” I don't want to eat. I want to leave.
“...”
“*snif... *”
“u-um...!”
“...*snif* *sob*...” I started crying out of nowhere.
“Ahhh...! D-do- don't cry! Ah-I-Um- Ca-can go find other things you might like-!”
I felt ashamed for crying and I put my hands to my face trying to wipe away the tears, but they wouldn't stop coming. “*hic, sniff, snif *” I looked away in an attempt to cover my face. I ended up looking at the floor, letting my hair act as a curtain.
“I can go in a moment!” Sun was already getting up.
“...w-want to leave...” I managed to get a murmur out.
“...W-what? Um...”
“...” *hic, hic *
“O-okay, um... If you aren't hungry... -we can do something else- uh- we can go look for rocks like yesterday in the river!”
“...” I don't want to do anything “...want to leave...”
“O-or we can do something else! Ah-bah-b-b-b- W-won't you like to go draw??! Somewhere, some landscape?! Wherever you want! We can draw together! If you prefer we can look for animals instead of landscapes!”
“...leave...want to...go... *hic, snif *”
“¡D-don't n- uh! ¡L-let's... um- let's not- uh!” He no longer knew how to order his words “H-hey, ¿Why don't we go to-?” He extends his hand towards my arm.
“I want to go home...”
He stops before touching me and removes his hand. “...” “...home?” There is a pause. He remains silent and unmoving. He finally speaks “Do you want…?” His tone became more serious.
“...”
“...to... go see the portal?” I look up slightly, I can't see through the tears and the fogged lenses of my glasses.
“...” I nod my head.
We didn't walk far until the red began to become visible. He brought me back to the portal. The same plain of red leaves and stone arch in the center of it all, as yesterday.
Sun has been quiet the entire time.
He advances towards the portal and stands facing it. He turns. “Come.” He extends his hand towards me. “You can pass through.”
“...”
I advance towards the portal. I stop before crossing. If it doesn't take me back home, what do I do? I don't want to stay.
A breeze begins to come out of the portal. The breeze turns to wind, the leaves rise, they pass through us. It's the same thing that happened yesterday when I went to cross. I turn to face Sun. Motionless, he looks back at me, the leaves pause in the air for a second as if time has stopped, the wind changes. From where the wind and leaves came now they come in, they push me towards the portal. I finally cross it.
Am I in the forest I know? I turn to look at Sun who stayed behind in the portal. “...Sun?” He's not there. I look around. He's not here. I've already crossed the portal, he must have left.
I notice a sudden draft pass by me. It's soft, like someone walking past you. I turn towards the forest, I have to start moving, I don't want to be here another minute.
...The air current that I noticed has lifted some leaves, they reach the trees, between them the wind does something strange, it forms a transparent silhouette. It looks like Sun, I can barely see him but I could swear it's him. The wind figure raises its hand and makes a gesture, it wants me to follow it. When I approach it turns around and walks into the forest, leaving a trail of leaves behind it. I follow the trail of the air current. Sometimes it stops to look at me, making sure I'm still following it. The red-leafed trees and the paintings disappear from view the farther we go. We crossed the forest until we arrived at the entrance of the town, near my house. There is no one on the street. If I walked into the house and pretended nothing had happened, officially no one would have noticed my absence.
I'm not one hundred percent sure if the wind figure that guided me is Sun or not, but I should at least thank him for bringing me back.
The air current has dissipated before I turn around. I look around, there's no one.
I enter the house, go up to my room and throw the bag on the floor. I go to the bathroom to wash. …I feel something strange in my hands but I couldn't say what. Doesn't matter. I change my clothes and get into bed, the tiredness of the previous night makes my body succumb immediately and I fall asleep instantly.
“ah...!” I wake up with my lungs begging for air. I need a moment to calm my breathing. I look at the clock without lifting my head from the pillow.
It is 12 midday. I rub my eyes and from my eyes I move to my face. I'm still tired. My body still aches. I stare at the ceiling.
My bag. I reach out to pick it up from the floor, making strange positions so as not to get out of bed.
I open it and search in the pockets. The bell. I put the bell to my ear. “...” I shake it.
*rin, diring diring*
“...”
I open it.
It's empty.
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For anyone who likes a good alien romance with plot and smut👌👌 I
happily give some recommendations .
There's one which give me Miles Quaritch x reader/oc vibes 😏
Obviously if you love big blue aliens (Na'vi)
You gotta check out Ice Planet Barbarians by Ruby Dixon
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You can also go on the tag #iceplanetbarbarians and you'll find memes and art. It's a big fandom for this series.
There's a spinofff series of this called CORSAIR Brothers
And the first book ADIRON
Has a hilarious hero who's goofy and a himbo. Personal favourite 👌
Next if you want aliens who are very Na'vi like in culture but also don't hesitate to use technology then this one is for you
The Ash Planet Warriors
It's a spin off of the series Garrison Earth.
There are three races here the Vetusian, Jal'zar i.e The Ash Planet Warriors and Humans. The humans and Jal'zar are invaded by the Vetusians.
My favourite book in the spin off is this
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Enemies to loves, political marriage. Here's a summary
I won’t touch her. But I will torment her soul. While the other warlords mate with the daughters of our enemy, I want nothing to do with these political marriages. Fate calls me north, searching for what the shamans say will complete my soul.
Now in the Garrison Earth series the last book is very interesting.
It's the Miles Quaritch x reader/oc fanfics but in a book 👇👀👀
Claimed
I conquered her planet and pillaged her body. Now I’m back for her heart.
A decade ago, I brought war to Solgad, home of the Jal’zar. I sacked the planet and slaughtered the people, all to save my race from extinction. Until one of their female warriors hissed defiance, promising me death at her hands no matter how her body longed for mine.
Each night, she came to end me, only to succumb to the raw urges of her mating heat.Each night, I gave her hungry womb what it needed, the way we coupled neither safe nor sane.
I was the enemy she couldn’t kill.She was the female I couldn’t have.
Together, we unleashed chaos.
Many solar cycles after the occupation, I return to Solgad, searching the ashen plains for her: my soulmate. This time, I will claim the Jal’zar female as mine, and nobody will get in the way.
Not even myself.
If you can, do read the entire series first if you want to know a little back story of the male character.
Now on to a villian from a different series
Zorus from Redeeming Zorus by Laurann Dohner.
Here's an enthusiastic comment about the character
Zorus, You Evil Bigot, M*ther F@cking, Sadistic Bastard!!! I have HATED You for SOOO LONG. Now I have to read your Love Story!!! Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr
Anyway here's what's he's all about: Zorus is a member of the Ruling Council that governs cyborgs. His orders are law and must be obeyed. But Zorus is a sick bastard. He hates humans with a passion, and has been an evil terror to all cyborg males that have attempted to take a human female as a mate. He has gone as far as ordering them to be killed under the pretense that they were Earth Government spies searching for cyborgs.
But in a way his intense hate is justified. It's like if a Na'vi wanted to kill all the humans and Avatars (even the good ones), and all the hybrid children, because of what the RDA has done in Pandora.
Obviously this book is part of a series.
I'm sorry this spiralled into Alien villains but here's the last one
The Fractured Mate
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Comments on the book:
Halian was so damned evil in previous books, I couldn't possibly imagine how he could be redeemable. But DAMN if our author didn't come up with the absolute most genius, creative, plot twist of an explanation!
Again part of a series of many interesting alien characters. Best to read those so you get an idea of how bad Halian is.
Now three other good alien books (not a villain main character)
Heart's Prisoner by Olivia Riley
He's not like anything Lana has ever encountered.
Asset X: Massive, deadly, a little terrifying to say the least. A devilish warrior. And a killer. Captured on a hellish world after attacking a military campsite and now imprisoned in a state-of-the-art cell inside one of the military’s top bases--Lazris.
And Lana has been assigned to "study" him. To learn his secrets and gain his trust, if he is ever allowed to set foot out of his cell. As a top behaviorist, it is the biggest hurdle of her career.
Very alien looking hero and mostly from the FMC point of view so there's a whole lot of mystery around him and what he's thinking. When we talking alien this dude is very alien. Also, it's a slow burn. Definitely no attraction at first sight. Actually we're all terrified 😂
Next is Classified Planet: Turongal of The Darvel Exploratory Systems
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Cottonwood by R.Lee. Smith
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Have you seen District 9? If you haven't please do..one of the best Sci fi alien movies out there. Anyway this book has the same kind of aliens. And a sort of similar plot. It feels like a fanfiction if that movie but it's different from the book too. All the characters are well written and brilliant plot. If 'Hearts Prisoner ' hero is a 7 on the "how alien does he look?" scale, the aliens in this book are a 9.
Argurma Salvager #1 Broken Earth
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☝️ Hero's features inspired by the Predator in Alien vs Predator movies.
Saving Askara #1 Saving Askara
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This has :
First contact
Slow burn (almost all the books i mentioned are slow burn)
Learning the cultures (Ash Planet also is about learning a different culture.)
Anyway these are some of my favorites and the best sci-fi alien romance i love till date ❤️ obviously there'are many more that I've probably forgotten 😅
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carnal-lnstinct · 1 month
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I have a request!!! This is a story i will write someday, but I trust an amazing writer like yourself for this! Vegeta is in situationship with the reader, and realizes one day that he actually cares about her and loves her. In my head, this is an no powers au, and the reader is younger than him and she already is in love with him. I know this is not very specific 😅 but you can work around it however you want and you can ignore the details i gave if they bother you as well! But thank you so much for reading all my vague idea 💗
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Pairing: Vegeta x Reader ( implied afab ) Content: M/18. MINORS DNI. au: modern au / no powers. wealthy!Vegeta. age difference; (40-45!Vegeta x 24-30!Reader). established fuck buddies. pining. A/N: A perfect concept! ♥ This one was a challenge only because I am never good at modernizing Vegeta or focusing on age difference, but I enjoyed this a lot! I’d love to take a crack at this concept again in the future with a better grasp of it.
Too open…Too small…Too thin…A cropped jacket? Really? He seemed to have a look of disgust at them all, impatiently watching your hand ghost over the wares on the wall and immediately feeling his jaw clench from each inappropriate one you dared to show a little interest in. Your smaller hand kept getting swallowed up in his coat sleeves as you moved down the aisle, it was starting to bother him to watch you fidget and constantly adjust in it. He can’t help but notice how you did your best to hold it over your frame while browsing and making this longer than it should have been.
You turn to him when another catches your eye in your favorite color, gauging his favor at the choice, and then moving on to the next when the squint in his eyes says “no”. 
His gaze skims a little further ahead of you as if to speed up this process by handling it himself. One of these coats had to be suitable for you, one that sits well on your shoulders, and the zipper won't bulge or fight to get over your chest. But your neck should still peek, he muses, and be able to breathe without a restricting collar. Your curves shouldn't be hidden under the material…Maybe a scarf to go with-
“—What the hell am I even doing here? You don't need me to buy a simple coat.” Vegeta caught himself and finally spoke up. He turned his nose up at this scenario, a hint of a growl in his tone. “I told you a long time ago to get a better one.” 
He couldn’t wait to throw that in your face. You’re actually impressed he held his tongue for so long and you give him an innocent shrug in response. It was beginning to get hard to read his outburst as anything more than his bark now as he donned that predictable scowl you loved so much. “Sorry. If you want your coat back you can take it now.” The large sleeves easily slide down your smaller arms. 
“Just hurry this up already. It's getting late.” He grimaced, speaking up quickly and stopping you from taking it off so soon. He's annoyed, even though it was his idea to bring you here for a better coat. You figured he was more annoyed with beating the idea in your ear almost every time you met and you continued to show up in your favorite old jacket regardless. You'd argue your old coat was handy! It did keep you warm getting from your front door to your car and vice versa. But then you were reckless and came to his front door without even that, the trek back to your car to get it feeling pointless when you were about to go inside anyway. Vegeta didn’t even say anything to you when the door opened, he just felt the rush of cold air pass the threshold before you and leered at you.
Then his thicker, slightly heavier coat hit your back and shoulders after he left you in the doorway and you understood that you had been lying to yourself for too long. The material was too cozy to not immediately get taken into its soothing warmth, snuggling it and shoving your hands into the deep pockets. Having only a moment to soak it all in, you were then promptly dragged away by the fuming man as he led you to his car. And now you’re here, scanning the coat section of a store you’d never think to set foot in. Still, you’re excited to be here.
Out in public with him, wearing something that belongs to him, needlessly—in your opinion—shopping for a replacement coat with him. You felt deeply acknowledged. Accepted. Your heart is restless in your chest while you try to contain yourself moving up and down the coat aisle. It's not like you had much in common outside of your attraction, so to share more than a few hours sweaty and naked with him was a nice change of pace. It left you wondering if he finally started to see the extent of your feelings for him or if you were just embellishing his generosity to be something more meaningful. He certainly doesn't seem to treat you differently than others aside from what you give each other in private, but there are instances like this that make you feel cared for like no other.
That same scowl watched over you now as you continued to gloss over the selection of coats and took note of the way you shifted your search from fashionable to functional by how you carefully looked over the price tags. Once you’re sure you’ve settled on one after a few meticulous moments, you turn back to him only to see he has moved from where he planted his feet to observe you. You let go of the hanger and move out of the aisle looking around and still fixing his jacket on you. That’s when you found his familiar silhouette at the register already, stuffing something in his pocket. His hand raises to the sales rep stopping them from bagging up the item on the counter and takes it in his hands. He sees you coming out of the aisle and walks up to you.
“Let’s go, we’re done here.”
“But I didn’t find-” Your favorite color fills your sights as he places a coat in your hand. A shade and taper at the waist that blends in with your wardrobe, and material that matched the heavy jacket hanging on your shoulders.
“Put it on.” It sounded like an order, but it’s just his impatience rearing itself again. Regardless, you don’t hesitate to switch the coats. 
The smell, the texture, and a fit that doesn’t bind your shoulders and arms. You rush to a mirror to see it on yourself and gush at your reflection. He found this for you. He bought it for you and was sure to remove the price tag so you wouldn’t gawk at it. There was an emotional twinkle in your eyes when you turned back to him. Of all the things you wanted to say, all rushing to your tongue, “Thank you, Vegeta” is all you were able to get out and clutched the cozy new fabric to yourself. Your heart was pounding and his scowl softened.
Without a word, he gestures his head toward the door with his returned coat under his arm began to head for the exit. You rushed to his side, clinging to his other arm with your face on his shoulder and the biggest smile on your face. Vegeta stiffened at your firm grip but didn’t flinch away, holding the door open for you to exit first, your smaller hands shifting to hold his as he tailed you out the door. 
Once you were back in the car and on the way back to his home, all the words you sat with piled up on the tip of your tongue again and caused you to fidget with his coat in your lap. You tried to distract yourself by scrolling through your phone and giving your feelings a chance to settle, but you couldn’t help stopping to admire the fabric of your new coat and the adorable opalescent fastens at your wrist keeping the sleeves from sliding up and down your arm. It’s too fancy for words. Suddenly inspired, you lift your phone and angle it up at yourself for a selfie in it. A thought crossed your mind, and you leaned over toward the driver’s side intending to capture both of you. You see his eyes flick from the road for a moment and his resting glare becomes more prominent.
“Who is that for?” He asked with his usual condescending tone.
“Me. You don’t mind?” He shrugs in response, uncaring on the matter by your answer and your eyes light up. “Really? You’re okay taking pictures with me?”
“...Do I need to make a face or something?”
You giggle, “No. Just smile with me.” That seemed to be the grueling part by the way his frown stretched skeptically. But he rolled his eyes and complied with a half-hearted smirk for your picture. 
You have teased that his scowl makes him look older, but no one would know by simply looking at him that there is an evident gap between your generations. A man like him had no business giving you the attention he did and that’s probably why the approach to your relationship is so ambiguous. Moreover, unlike you, he comes from old money and most likely has “old money expectations”. There is a sense of entitlement to what he has and what he wants that proves that prestigious background. You could consider yourself as recreational to him as a round of golf or sipping cocktails in an infinity pool but you would just hurt your own feelings thinking like that.
A girl like you had to just be for a bit of fun for him though, right? Young and naive and swearing your independence is solid. But your feelings for him are real. It is his reliable presence and fantastic cock that keep you in contact with him, but also his mysterious allure. You wish you could figure out where you stood between what he has or wants, or if you truly are just a dalliance. Sometimes he treats you like he already has you and expects certain things about you that show his adoration beyond your body, but he's never directly said he wanted you for more than company for a night or two. To buy you something as permanent as a coat felt like a claim over you. He wants you comfortable against the cold even when he’s not around, and he doesn’t hesitate to fix that when you keep putting it off. But the fact of the matter is you’re just going back to his house so you could fuck.
“...Do I-...” Your tone broke and you cleared your throat, hesitating again. You don’t want to ambush him over the matter but you really want to get this off your chest. You glance up from your phone and his head is tilted towards you with his eyes still on the road.
“Speak up.”
“I-It’s nothing.” You quickly answer, shrug, and sit quietly for an endless minute. Then, you swallow your nerves. “...I just didn’t think I meant that much to you to do this.” Your hands slide down the collar of your cozy coat as you grip it and keep your eyes in your lap.
“Tch, It’s just a coat.” Vegeta brushed off the gesture.
“An expensive coat…” You corrected. “You picked this out and made them remove the tag so I can’t see how much to pay you back for it. So… unless I’m just… like your little baby doll now-”
“It’s a coat.” He firmly insisted, then scoffs. “You know how annoying it is to tell you to do something and you don’t do it? You freeze your ass off every time you show up on the entrance camera. What if I was on the other side of the house when you showed up?” 
Waiting in the cold would feel like an eternity, you admitted to yourself. His house isn’t small, further proof of his prestige. “But I know you’re gonna let me in and warm me up. You don’t have to buy me a new coat.”
“And then you’re back out in the cold..” He huffs out a laugh as he shakes his head. “...Freezing in your car waiting for it to warm up again with that thin thing you call a jacket. No.” His driving posture relaxes, the older man's head and spine sinking back against his seat. “...I wanted to. Okay?”
“...Okay.” Your prepared rebuttal of your self-sufficiency falters in response to his suddenly softer tone. The dull pink in your cheeks and the rise of butterflies in response gave him your submission. You stare at him quietly for a moment watching the way his eyes flicked in thought and he finally sighed. 
“I don’t know what I’m doing with you anymore…” Vegeta concedes and he freed a hand from the wheel to rub his forehead. There's an instance where his expression relaxes into one you've never seen, but as he begins to air his grievances his brows furrowed in their familiar way. “I don’t know what you want, you don’t ask me for anything. You only show up when I call, and gone before the sun is up. Is it the house? Do I scare you when we’re not just getting off?”
“No. No. I just thought…” Your breath trembles as you inhale and then you can't stop the words falling out once you let it go. “I don’t know, I just don’t wanna bother you or get in the way of your lifestyle. That’s why we just meet and fuck, right?”
“I want you in the way, damn it! I’m not just tolerating you for an easy fuck.” He suddenly bursts out and speaks in an accusatory tone. “You just don't act like you want more than that.”
It wasn’t as affectionate or romantic as you let your imagination curate it, but without a doubt that was the validation your lovesick heart sought. That's when the car stopped. You were back at his house. Something about his eyes fully on you now makes your thoughts spill like a broken pipe. 
“I couldn't tell if you wanted more than that. We’ve only been doing it since we met. I thought It was much too soon to…fall for you like this..” You confessed, the uncertainty no longer in your voice. 
“Believe it or not, it is more than your body that interests me. If you want to take things slower..”
The corners of your mouth twitch as you try to contain your smile, tightening your lips shut. You suddenly feel shy with this man who makes your eyes well up with tears trying to hold his entire cock in your mouth. Taking it slower means more time out together and you can’t help thinking about the dates you could go on that aren’t just a wine and dine for foreplay. Though you love that. 
You lift your eyes to him and let your smile spread. “It doesn’t have to start tonight…” You suggest, your eyes reflecting the deep attraction you had for him right now. You get a smile in return, not that prideful or crooked smirk but a genuine smile and it makes you bite your lip enticingly. He did buy you a beautiful and comfy coat, after all. You should show your gratitude as you unbuckle your seatbelt and climb over your seat into his waiting arms.
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ebonyslasher · 6 months
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Scary, Spicy, and Sweet? Pt. 2
Synopsis: You work as a new Nurse in Smith's Grove after finding a passion working with mentally ill patients. Impressed with your skills, Dr. Loomis assigns you to the infamous Michael Myers. His terrorizing activities take an odd, sexy turn that surprises you.
This is part 2. This one has 18+ content. Grown folks Only! Read part 1 here.
This is a request from soooo long ago for @hdhhffgjdhdhdbdbd. I do hope that you enjoy.
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Discovering that you were not coming in, set Michael OFF.
Over the past 3 weeks, your reactions have amused him greatly. The shaking in your arms and legs made him chuckle. The short screams from his fake attacks made his cold heart race. However, his focus shifted to other aspects about you. You were very beautiful. Your beauty enhances your scared visage, making you more attractive each day. Your wide nostrils would cutely scrunch when you felt uncomfortable. The way your lips contorted made him want to nibble and suck. Wide mouth screams made him want to cover your mouth with his and dip his tongue into you. Those wonderful eyes of yours would blow up into the cutest way, like a small cat on alert.
Michael could not help but notice your smell. It was always so pleasant. He could not place the scent, but it was light and alluring. It made him inspect your body with increased interest. Your breasts looked delectable. Plump. Sometimes he could see your nipples after a good scare, making his dick jump in excitement. He wanted to watch those hips and ass jiggle as he chased you around, excited to catch his cute little nurse. 
It was only yesterday that he realized that he found you the most adorable person he’s ever seen. These feelings, these thoughts were unlike him. He could not wait to explore these odd feelings with you. And now you took the day off? 
He would make sure you never leave his side again. 
“...Only doing this cause it’s damn 80 an hour….. fucking…. Michael ass Myers, big funky ass self!....and that weird ass doctor…” You mutter as you stomp through each steel double door, clocking into work, yet AGAIN. 
Although you took the offer for extra money, you were still highly upset. You were already running yourself ragged with how often you worked. Surely the hospital was technically breaking some labor laws for allowing this. You should have had a few days off throughout those last few weeks. But that overtime pay was nice. Being aggressive with payments significantly cut down on your student loan debt in the past 7 months.
Still fuming, you make your way towards the nurses station to acquire the stock medication. While typing in the code to access the sedative, an idea pops into your head. Maybe if you administer the medicine as fast as possible, then you could go home sooner. Just stay for a few hours to get enough pay and clock out. Michael would be knocked out anyway and you’d just be sitting around. This was sounding like a good plan. Executing it though could be a problem.
The sedative deposits out of the machine and you read its label. While doing some calculations at your station, a fellow colleague known as Davis Sellers, comes into the area. The man looks distraught. Once he sees you, his shoulders visibly relax. 
“Man, it's like I'm looking at an angel right now.” He sighs out.
“An angel? What’s gotten into you?” You asked, amused.
“That nigga Michael…went crazy as hell. I was getting the medicine ready right? Why I turn around and he looking at me cock eyed??? And then that motherfucker jumped at me ooooo noooo. Man, I was fighting for my damn life in there. Had to yell for backup.” During his story telling you had to look away and stifle your laugh. Sometimes, you hated how he told stories. It's not funny, but it's funny. 
“Damn, well he better get some sense when I get in there. Cause he’s gonna get knocked the fuck out soon!” You replied, faking some confidence to uplift your work friend.
“Ay, good luck. If he tries something just yell. I got you.” David tells you as he comes over to pat your back in solidarity.
“Oh I will. I’m bout to go get this over with right now.” You gather the materials and begin to head out the station. You double back, squinting your eyes in suspicion. You had a feeling that you were forgetting something...the key! A golden, square shaped key sat beside your computer. You grab it, needing it to access Michaels’ room. Ready to get this ordeal over with, you speed walk towards his room. 
Although you were excited, you were very apprehensive. There was unease hovering in the air as you approached his foreboding door. This man, with his sizable muscles and strict determination, was already riled up. David didn’t inform you specifically of how they left him. What exactly you were walking into was unknown, but you were ready to scream at any moment's notice. Standing in front of the door, you hoped that he wouldn’t continue the bull shit. 
Shakily, you use the square key to open the door. And the first thing you see is Michael. He looks pitiful all wrapped up in a white straightjacket, mirroring the ‘crazy’ characters in movies.  ‘Never thought I would see the straightjacket used in real life,’ you thought, slightly amused. The straightjacket looks like it fought for its life as well, scuff marks of unknown origin littering its ragged form. It looked like there was a second straight jacket weirdly wrapped around his muscular legs. How they did that, you didn’t know. As long as he couldn’t move, you were chill. Michael just sat awkwardly on his bed, leaning against the white wall, observing you like always.  
You don’t even mutter a greeting when you turn to the nearest counter to lay your materials onto. You absentmindedly lay the key near the edge of the counter, closest to the door as you begin to open the materials. While doing so, you felt eyes on your form. This makes you turn unconsciously towards the source looking dead set at you. It felt as though he was staring harder than usual. Weirdly enough, it looks like he was…happy? That interpretation was probably very incorrect. But as you approached to observe how you would administer the medicine, there was a gut feeling that you were right. 
The initial dilemma of administering the sedative was the location. ‘Which area would be low risk…?’ The drug had to be administered in his veins, so it could act the fastest. Your two choices were between the leg or arm. ‘
You regard his legs, which were twisted up in a complex fashion in the confining jacket. It would be a high risk to try to tackle that mess to get to one leg. There’s a chance that both legs could get free. He could kick the fuck out of you and try to get out of the room. No bueno. So, the arm it is. 
You look to the nearest arm, on his right side. It’s still a risk, but a better option, since the straight jacket was easier to navigate. Time was of the essence and you had already spent ample time regarding the situation. Excited at the thought of relaxing at your station, you grab his right arm and disassemble the jacket slightly to get to it. His biceps felt strong and smooth underneath. It was nice and a little distracting. A warm fuzzy feeling gathers in your abdomen. Pressing on, you ignore that odd feeling. Now's not the time to notice attractive things about a very dangerous patient. 
Pulling the arm from the jacket, you're surprised that it drops limp onto the mattress. Maybe David gave him a quick sedative while wrestling him? Something to where he couldn’t move fast? Pondering about that doesn’t matter. Getting him fully knocked out was the end goal. You move back to wash and sanitize your hands and some equipment. You manipulate the syringe to slowly take up the medicine. Placing the needle on top, you screw it on and flick the tube to rid of any air bubbles. During the preparation, you could still feel those heavy eyes watching you. Turning back, with the medicine ready, you steel yourself. Sliding towards the Shape, you grab his limp arm.
If you could rewind time, you would have taken the time to question David about all the details of their scuffle. Namely, if he was able to give a quick sedative to Michael before leaving the room. Because suddenly, he grabs your hand, twisting it painfully. You yelp, trying to pull your hand away from his painful grip. As you pull, he lets go, causing you to stumble and drop the medication. Onto the fucking mattress. He grabs it and uses his thumb to bend the needle and crushes the syringe in his palm like it was nothing. The clear liquid sedative leaks from his fist.
You stand awkwardly against the wall. This was terrifying. You want to scream, but your vocal chords stopped working. You mentally yell at your legs to ‘RUN!’ but, your legs are like mush. While your chance to escape was escaping right in front of you, Michael tore off the rest of the jacket. Those jackets are thick and he rips into it easily. Now both his hands were free. The Shape takes those long fingers to tear at the mess around his legs.
It seems like now your dumb legs want to run. You attempt to scramble to the door, but Michael magically grabs you and throws you onto the bed. Fuck. Now, he’s at the door, free to do whatever he likes. And it seems that the first target is you. Your teary eyes stare horrifically at his tall form. His stoic facial expression slowly warps into a small smile. 
You say nothing. Just staring at him, in survival mode to see what he would do next. Maybe, you could dart past him when he moves? But he moves first, twisting slightly to grab that key you sat on the counter. He calmly lifts it and places it on top of the highest cabinet in the room. There is no way you could reach that. Michael stalks forward and in turn you scrunch your eyes closed. You did not want to watch your last moments play out.  
You feel him firmly clasping your arms. It makes you tense and squeak. But nothing happens. A few seconds go by and he's still holding your arm. Actually, he isn't even hurting you. Confused, you flutter your eyes open to look up at Michael, who was looming over you with an unreadable expression. His hands awkwardly slither down your forearms, down to your wrists. He holds the left one in place, and lifts your right hand. He expertly and quickly adjusts his hands around your wrist for more mobility. He pulls your hand and places it on his crotch. Your eyes widen, and his dick pulsates under your palm.
Okay, what the fuck was going on?! Were you going to die?! Where’d this come from?
The absurdity of the situation finally made you speak, “Michael…” You meant for that to be questioning, instead it sounded…pleading? Forthcoming?
He leans forwards, his handsome face coming towards you. His face is blank as he connects his lips to your forehead. ‘Did..he just kiss me?’  Could you even say it was really a kiss? It’s more of a placement of  lips to your forehead. A few seconds pass before he pushes his lips out. You couldn’t even hear the smack. Just feeling soft lips wetting your forehead. Now you're very confused. He is exceedingly soft for an emotionless killer. 
Michael lowers himself to the bed, never taking his eyes off your face. It's unnerving the way he stares at you. What will he do next?
You didn’t have to wonder long, as he takes his hands from your wrists and brings it to your breast. He squeezes experimentally and starts playing with them. Good lord, you were getting sexually assaulted by this awkward ass serial killer. His awkwardness made you want to take over and show him what to do.
Wait, whoa, no. You should feel like going home, out of here, to safety. You did not want this to continue, no matter how his pretty blue eyes looked at your face. He really was handsome though. And those hands felt so good squeezing your eager breast. 
Fuckkkk noooo. No, you were not going to form a weird complex about this man, this monster. You’ve seen how weird those white fangirls were to these killers online, you were not going to go down like this. During your quick morality freak out, you remember that your palm was still on his dick. You start to pull away, but Michael stops. Then you stop. He takes his hands and makes sure to firmly replace your hand on his crotch. So scary. In an effort to try to ensure your survival, you decided to just play along to his exploration. 
You circle your palm, feeling his cock continuously jump. And jump. And jump. You squeeze and feel just how thick he was. Damn. This man was packing. It made you feel hot. ‘Okay stick to the plan,’ you can’t get distracted. You continue as he plays with your breast. He breathes heavily as he comes closer, kissing your forehead again. Making your body and mind feel all confused. This continues for some time, before Michael stops and rips your scrub top open. 
Your boobs pop out, slightly spilling over the old bra you should have thrown away long ago. You gasp as you look down at your ruined shirt. Looking back up, you see those beautiful blue eyes widen, mesmerized by your breast. He looks up at your face, watching your reaction. It felt hypnotizing being looked at with such desire. Michael studies your breast again. It was beginning to feel torturous with him just looking and doing nothing. It’s making you antsy. And it got to the point where you took his hands and put it on your breast. 
This surprises Michael, who ardently caresses the exposed skin in apparent apprehension. You sigh at his touch, fingers interestingly soft for a killer like him. Before you could begin to question your recent actions, he pulls down your bra. Your nipples harden, now exposed to the world inside Michaels’ eyes. Not hesitant any longer, Michael replaces his hand onto your breast and begins to play. You sigh in pleasure at the lovely kneading he was giving. 
But, you want more. The rest of your body began to feel neglected,the desire running through your veins asking for more pleasure. This made you reach for the bottom of his shirt and place your hands under it to rub his abs. Which were heavenly. Every groove of hard muscle excites you more. Your exploration leads you to squeeze his pecs and pinch his nipples. 
Michael is a bit startled by your newfound enthusiasm. But, he was not going to stop your actions. It looks as though he enjoys this new sensation of being touched so gently, his eyes becoming half-lidded in response. Michael’s handsome self has such kissable lips. It spurs you to think about showing him what a real kiss is supposed to be like.
You lean towards his face to plant a kiss on those pink lips. Michael stops, eyes wide from this sensation. You end the kiss and lean back slightly, observing in glee how awkwardly surprised he is. It makes you desire him even more. Kissing him again, you begin to give him a personal tutorial. The man is a quick learner, which is proven when he starts kissing back. It's a bit of a mess of lips colliding, but it starts to tighten up quickly. 
Your moist tongue licks the bottom of his lips slowly, asking for permission inside. He opens his mouth slightly. You thank whoever was caring for him today that his breath smelled fresh. Your tongue enters his mouth and you start to guide your tongue into his mouth. It's a couple of pulses before his tongue slides with yours. Finally, you two were making out. Interchanging between pecks, long kisses, and tongue caressing made you wetter than ever. You could sense the heat pooling in your panties. 
You weren't the only one wet, as you pull away to look at Michaels’ crotch. There lies a big wet stain on the pants of one leg, where his dick uncomfortably pulsed. You wanted him inside you so badly. So so badly. The outline of his big dick makes you moan softly. Michaels ears pick up the sexy sound, making his cock pulse fiercely. He backs up, jumping off of the mattress. You watch in interest to what he does next.
Thankfully for you, he strips his clothing, baring his whole body to you. ‘Oh my god’. It was a crime that a man this dangerious looks so fucking fine. His arms hold bulging biceps that make you drool. The muscles on his long torso are marvelous. His breasts look juicy and abs hard as a rock. Good lord. Your eyes travel down to brown curled wisps that adorned his crotch. His dick was standing prettily between his luscious legs. His pre-cum dripping from his pink head, pooling onto the mattress. Bringing yourself forward, you start crawling seductively on all fours towards him. You make sure to emphasize your hips as you do so. Your head is level with his dick. Through your pretty eyelashes, you look up. He looks down, waiting for you to do whatever you want. You bring your lips to the head and experimentally lick. His cock bounces back onto your tongue, pre cum spilling onto your tastebuds. He tenses in surprise.
You lick around his head and lower your mouth around his dick.He clenches his fist. You go as far down as you can, slightly choking on the amazing girth and length of his cock. He makes a strange strangled noise. You stay there, nostrils flaring as you breathe through your nose. You wait until you feel the saliva gather in your mouth before starting to suck his dick. You start bobbing, the sounds of saliva slushing as you move and suck. Michael curls his toes, and moans low.  Luscious lips cover his cock, saliva drips onto the mattress, on your face, and moves down your neck as you continue. The amount of saliva produced was ludicrous, often causing you to spit more out onto his cock.
Michael could not take this any longer. He brings his hands to your hair and pulls back gently. While your head is bent back, he observes the state of your gorgeous face. Strings of saliva sit upon your face, under your nose and across the bottom half of your cheeks. It's an alluring sight. He bends down to kiss you, bringing his tongue straight into your mouth. The taste of himself doesn’t phase him.
He takes his hands and pushes you back onto the bed, back hitting the mattress. Michael quickly rids you of your pants and panties in one go. You lay there, legs slightly open to give Michael a teasing view.He looks at your pussy, glistening with your wetness. It covers your inner thighs. He brings himself back onto the mattress, taking your legs and spreading them further apart. He stares at your pussy inquisitively. Then looks up at you. 
He does nothing as he interchanges his view of your face and your vagina. This again. It was getting frustating and you were ready to be fucked. 
“Touch me…rub it, please...” you beg. Michael obliges, taking his fingers and rubs right onto the mysterious button poking out at him. It makes you tense up and moan loudly. He quickly rubs it again, addicted to the sounds you were making. You keep moaning, instructing him to put a finger inside. 
It slides inside and its bliss. You plead for more. He adds a second finger, causing your opening to stretch. The moisture inside squelches as he twists. He experimentally rubs around, feeling the soft bumpy inside on your canal. Each movement makes you go crazier, your breath is heavy. 
You scoot away, not wanting his fingers in you anymore. You want something much bigger.
 “I want you inside me,” you state seductively. 
His eyebrows raise. He sits up, cock in full view. You position yourself, legs behind your head ready for missionary. He enters and you both gasp. Michael scrunches his eyebrows while yours raises. The feeling was delicious. He starts moving, eyes desperately glued to your face. The faces you were making were erotic, burning into his memory. Michael didn’t want to miss a moment. Continuous strokes make your soul sing. His cock digs deeper, making you whine. Michael switches his angle and it sends you over. You climax, vagina spasming on his dick. Michael is mesmerized by your intense reaction. 
He doesnt cum, purposefully. He wants to watch you climax beautifully more. It will make his release intense. Michael backs up and leaves the bed. With his strength, he lifts you and places you against the door. Your face and arms smush against the door as he lifts your legs. Michael lines himself up and starts fucking you. His strokes reverberate through your body, causing the door to vibrate. It was then that you remembered where you were. You cover your mouth with one hand to stifle your whines. It’s a challenge, considering Michael is becoming an expert at sex.
It’s still a real struggle to hold everything in as he fucks your second orgasm of the evening. Your eyes roll back and you try to breathe through. Michael pulls out and lifts you back to the bed, plopping your form down onto the mattress. He gently presses your head to the mattress and guides your bottom into the air. Oh, so he wants doggy style. Quickly, you arch your back and fix yourself in the position. Michael stared graciously at your lovely backside. He plunges himself into your heavenly canal.
Michael fucks you at a faster pace in doggystyle. The slaps from the skin contact fill the room. He grabs the back of your neck, squeezing slightly. Taking advantage of the position, you play with your clit. The pleasurable sensation builds up to your third climax. Michael allows this to be his first as you both finish at the same time. You feel Michaels’ dick pulse as he fills you up. He pulls out to watch his semen glide out of your pink hole. 
Satisfied and sore, you fall onto your side. He sits back onto the bed as you catch your breath. You look over and he's observing you. The side of his mouth quirks up in a small smirk. He almost looks happy. Before you could register that interesting reaction, Michael gets up. You twist to watch as he walks over to the top cabinet and gets the key. He places it on the counter. Calmly, The Shape walks back and relaxes on his bed. Taking this as a cue, you get up. However, your legs are jelly. It feels ridiculous trying to hobble over to the counter. During your tumultuous journey, you gather what’s left of your clothes. The pants and panties were in good condition. You note that you had your bra on your body the whole time. But…your shirt. Ah!
Thankfully, you remember that there's extra shirts in a drawer in his room.After pulling down the white shirt, you turn to look at him again.
What could you say? Thanks for the mind blowing sex? You got me a little obsessed? He looks deceptively docile sitting there. His eyes tell you that he wants you to stay. But…you couldn’t. Although you wish you could, so you wouldn’t have to face the reality of what you’ve done. In the meantime, you decide to  approach him, giving him one last kiss on the lips. Gathering the energy to leave, you collect what materials you could and make your way out. You give one last look to your new lover. Even though you leave physically, you know that you’re mentally hooked.
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sgt-morgan · 1 year
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Of Cowboys and Daisies🐎
Summary: Jack is assigned to watch over a mother and her adorable little girl. As they get closer and closer to taking care of their problem, Jack worries he won’t be able to let go.
Warnings: AFAB! Female identifying reader, talks of cannon typical violence, death of a spouse x2, really a fluff piece.
A/N: I wrote this because I have that stupid Tik tok edit song stuck in my noodle.
Masterlist
Follow up fic
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Agent Whiskey wasn’t sure he was going to survive this arrangement. Champ said it was temporary, but his idea of temporary passed about two months ago. It was a fairly simple assignment, and with everything that’s happened, an easy assignment is a lot kinder than getting kicked off the team. So he took the job, even though the rapidly approaching end of it made him want to drink until he couldn’t see straight.
“It’s a simple protection detail.” Champ had shrugged, pulling the file out of his desk and smacking it down in front of him with a sigh. “She’s a youngin’, at least to me anyway. She’s CIA, talented too, once her life is out of the red zone, I’ll probably recruit her. Sharp as a tack, quick as a whip, and she’s got the mouth of a sailor, she’s right up your alley.” Jack studies the files with interest, running a curious finger over the picture of you that was attached to the file. You were a looker for sure, he listened to champ go on, reading over your impressive and extensive file, until he ran across a bit of information that shocked him half to death.
“She’s got a baby?” He huffed, incredulous.
“Yeah, little girl, her names Daisy May, she’s three. She’s sweeter than a peach, got Tequila and Ginger wrapped around her little finger already, and Momma is just as bad.” Champ chuckled, pouring them both a glass of Statesman’s finest while Jack stared at him intent on hearing every detail Champ was willing to offer. “Her late husband was a SEAL. Top ranking, special ops, very high up on the food chain. One day she goes out to grab dinner with the baby, comes back and he’s dead with a note pinned to his chest with her cover details written all over it. Tried to deal with it on her own, then after about two months she pulls the bottle her daddy- former agent Brandy god rest his soul- left her and called us up asking us to make her disappear. So we called our buddies at the CIA, got her cleared, and we’re doing it. She’s our-specifically your- problem until we can take out whoever blew her cover.”
Jack stared at the amber liquid in his glass and thought long and hard about that one. It’s a dark story, indicative of his own. “Where are we keeping her?” He sighs, swirling the liquid once more before shooting it.
“Well son, that’s up to you. If you wanna do a safe house, that’s fine. We can radio y’all in and use satellite to do the rest, or you can use the ranch. Familiar territory for you, plenty of security, and it means we can all look after her and the little one when necessary.” Champ sighs when Jack slides his glass back over to him.
“Where abouts they from?” Jack questions, “They gonna be ok living in a ranch or am I working with city slickers?”
“Oh no, She’s originally from Prestonsburg, she’s Floyd county born and raised. They were living in Texas though. Her husband was a Texan, moved to Austin to be closer to family and all that. She ain’t got anybody but an Aunt back home, but she’s an Eastern Kentucky girl. She grew up riding horses.” Jack’s eyebrows shot up to the brim of his hat at Champs little interlude.
“Well Shoot Champ, you really shot the shit with her huh?” He laughs.
“Her daddy was a friend, and she’s just like him. She’s a good girl, you’ll like her.” Champ nodded him to the door, and Jack took the dismissal in stride. Champ had high hopes, and Jack just hoped he was right.
Reflecting on it now, it’s laughable how skeptical he was. You were a picture of perfection. When he first met you, he knew, and Daisy put the bow on top of the package.
Funnily enough his horse introduced you, Tequila and Ginger were walking you around the distillery grounds, and had stopped to let you show Daisy the horses. He found you standing outside of a stall, specifically the stall of his horse, Coke. Coke is an Appaloosa with a blanket with spots. He’s not normally friendly with newcomers, having a stubborn streak a mile wide, but Jack was shocked to see you stood in front of the Horse’s stall with no issue. You had the baby propped on one hip, with her head on your shoulder and a thumb in her mouth, and Coke’s muzzle resting on the other. You were casually talking to Ginger while Tequila stared on shocked as you fondly stroked the horse’s muzzle. Normally, everyone knew not to turn their back on his horse, unless of course you were him. Coke was known to be a jester, and liked to nip at your hair or push you around with his muzzle, but there he stood, cozying up to a woman he just met today. He stood back and kept watching, seeing what the horse was up to. He heard the horse nicker and huff, moving his head to push towards the baby and you laughed, letting the curious animal nuzzle at the girl.
“Yeah big boy,” you patted his crest as he moved his head off your shoulder to let the baby stroke his muzzle, “yeah- gentle Daisy May, be nice- yeah big boy, that’s my Daisy, you like her? Yeah, that’s the baby, are you a good boy? hmm?” You talked to the horse and he watched as you pulled a sugar cube from the shelf next to the stall and let the girl feed it to Coke. The big horse oh-so-gently took the cube from the girl, tickling her palm and she giggled. The horse huffed through his nose and threw his head a bit and you laughed. “Oh ho ho! Well, you liked that huh? I’d give yah another big boy but I don’t know if your rider would take too kindly to me fattening up such a pretty stallion, bet you make all those pretty broodmares happy huh? Yeah.” You laugh as he whinnies.
“Well, He took a liking to you quick.” Jack called, making himself known and getting closer to the stall. “Ol’ Coke here is usually a temperamental fella.”
“Who, this guy?” You smirk as the horse huffs again at Daisy’s hair making her giggle. “Why no, he’s a sweet fella. Ain’t yah big boy?” The horse bobs his head as if nodding in agreement and Jack chuckles.
“Don’t let him fool yah,” Tequila grumbled, eyeing the horse warily, “That menace picks on anybody that ain’t him.” He pointed at Jack with a glare and Jack chuckled.
“Now don’t be bitter sunshine, you’re just mad that he pushed you into the water trough last summer.” Jack grinned at you with a wink and you laughed. Then the girl on your hip tugged at your hair a bit and whispered in your ear. Like most children though, Daisy was not a good whisperer.
“Mama, wook, Cowboy.” She mumbled around her thumb, pointing to Jack’s Stetson. Oh how his heart melted, he knew he was a goner then and there.
“Oh man,” you gasped, “you’re right! I bet this is his horsey.” You nodded and the girls eyes twinkled with wonder.
“Horsey pwetty.” She nodded sagely, “Ask him mumma, wanna ride him.” She had the biggest eyes, her tiny curls were barely contained by the pigtails her hair was in. She was a pretty little baby, and a carbon copy of her momma, dressed in little denim overalls and a pretty flowered shirt. She was cute, almost too cute, he didn’t know how he’d survive the next month or so with those big eyes pleading with him to give her anything she wanted, he knew he would be too weak to say no, he has a hard time picturing anyone saying no to her, not even her momma. Speaking of the mom, she was beautiful. She had on a beat up Vietnam tiger stripe jungle fatigue with a patch reading ‘Brandy’ rolled up to the elbows. Her T-shirt read ‘Kentucky Strong’ and he recognized it as one of those charity shirts that raised money for the flooding in Eastern Kentucky. She had aviators perched on her nose and two dog tags around her neck, one that was clearly older than the other, one for dad one for her husband if he had to guess. The best thing about the outfit though, was the shorts, those beautiful legs on full display, so good looking he had to pry his eyes off of her with the strength of ten men.
Jack jumped in all at once, “Am I a cowboy sweet baby? What gave me away? Was it the belt buckle?” He playfully tugged on it and gave an exaggerated frown, the girl giggled a no, and he pointed to his boots. “Oh, must’a been my boots!” He kicked up a heel to show off the worn brown leather boots. The girl squealed and laughed again, and you watched delighted that your baby was having so much fun.
“No!” Daisy laughed again clutching her hands together while she giggled. “No it was the hat!”
“Oh! Why silly me!” He breathed a fake sigh of relief, “I forgot it was up there sugar! Can’t be a cowboy without the hat!” The little girl laughed again in delight and he grinned back. Tequila and Ginger stared on shocked, Whiskey hadn’t been this carefree in a while, this little girl was working miracles. “Oh but I’ve gone and forgotten my manners,” Jack smacks his forehead dramatically “I never got your name Little lady! My name is Jack, what yours?” He extended a hand to the girl and she beamed, tucking her tiny hand in his.
“I’m Daisy!” She grinned, shaking his hand.
“Well, ain’t that just first class, you’re as pretty as a flower, so you must be Daisy!” He grinned at the delighted little girl, then whispered to her conspiratorially, “And who’s this?” He pointed at you and Daisy nodded, her mouth an ‘o’.
She introduced you and Jack smiled, tiling his hat to you, “Pretty name for a pretty lady, I’m Jack Daniel’s, code name Whiskey ma’am, pleased to make your acquaintance, and this here’s Coke.” He patted the horse’s flank as he stepped closer to you.
Your smile was just as magnetic as your daughter’s, and Jack felt his knees buckle, “Pleased to meet you Whiskey, Jack and Coke is my favorite combo, so I got high hopes this’ll be a good arrangement.”
And it was, y’all got on like a house on fire, and now he was very used to having you in his home. He hadn’t invited anyone into his space like this since his wife died. He couldn’t find the appeal in it, but there was something about you and this little girl he couldn’t seem to shake.
You were more than willing to tackle any task, and it was one of the things that he enjoyed most about you. In the months you had been there you helped around the Ranch any way you could. Jack had gotten used to doing the chores on his own, but he was suprised by how easily you worked yourself into his routine. It wasn’t a big Ranch, it was near the distillery in Oldham county, right smack in the middle between Louisville and La Grange. The ranch hosted his three horses, six chickens, two barn cats, and about 10 or so cows. In the mornings, you were up just as early as him, you alternated putting on the coffee, then he would deal with the horses (Coke, Julep, and Sazerac. You got a big kick out of their names, and he loved how you chuckled anytime he mentioned them.) and the cows, and you fed the chickens and the barn cats (Tom and Jerry, all the whiskey themed names). When you finished gathering eggs and greeting the cats, he would come back to you bouncing the baby on your hip while cooking breakfast.
“Well, you feed my animals and make my eggs, aren’t you handier than a pocket on a shirt.” He grinned one morning and you rolled your eyes with a chuckle.
“Well Cowboy, someone’s gotta feed you, black coffee and a Marlboro red aren’t breakfast, and they never will be.”
You were also a brilliant agent. Once you were settled, you and Jack started digging into anything you could find about the people who killed your husband, and you proved yourself an invaluable asset in intel gathering. You dug up more in a single hour than some men hoped to find in a lifetime, but it took its toll on you for sure. Day in day out combing over your husband’s files and trappings, staring at the inner mechanisms of his whole life and wonder what it would be like if he was here to finish all of his loose ends. He understood, and he hated that he couldn’t just take the pain for you, but it was a comfort to the both of you to have someone to talk to.
“Oh, the first week after his funeral was hell,” you sighed, playing with your daughters curls as she slept peacefully on your lap in the evening sun, “I kept trying to call him, to vent with him about how scared and tired I was, only to be reminded this wasn’t a deployment or a buissness trip, he was just… gone. Daisy was a mess too, cried for him every night, wouldn’t sleep until I showed her this video of him saying he loved her that he made her when he went on deployment. It broke my heart.” You sniffled and Jack felt his heart ache with sympathy.
“I know all about that hurt,” he sighed, handing you a beer and settling next to you on the big wrap around porch, “I’d keep rolling over and reaching for her in the middle of the night, I’d touch the cold sheets and I’d remember and it would hurt me every time.”
“Oh god yeah, took me weeks before I could truly sleep on my own again, I used to put one of his shirts on his pillow and sleep with it, it was the only way I could get myself to bed.” You sighed, nodding and sipping the drink.
“I used to spray her perfume on her pillow,” Jack nodded, “When I ran out I forced myself to sleep without it, It was months before I could get a full nights rest again.”
“I couldn’t imagine having to deal with all that alone,” you grimaced, “I at least had Daisy, I hate that you’re alone.”
“Well, I was alone, but I’m not anymore, I got you.” He slung an arm around your shoulder and you basked in the sun together until Jack felt you go lax in his grip. You had fallen asleep in his grasp, and he was shocked at how good it felt to have you be so vulnerable around him. It melted something in his chest. What was he gonna do with you.
You and Daisy just kept growing on him. His life was no longer just solitude and shoot outs, now it was a little more tea parties and tag and it was a very welcome change. You both had him wrapped around your fingers, every moment he wasn’t spending working on the project with you, or with Ginger and Tequila at Statesman, he was with you and your little girl.
One evening you were playing a game of tag, when Daisy just about caused them both a heart attack. You were running around and chasing each other in the small creek out the back of the ranch. Daisy was a doll in her little floral one piece, her wet hair plastered to her forehead and her little feet splashing away. You were a sight too, a black bathing suit with a cut out under your breasts showing off an ornamental tattoo that he really just wanted to-
“Come on Dada, catch me!” Time froze when the little girl said it and your jaws dropped, when you finally met each others gaze, you snapped out of it and turned to your daughter.
“No sweetie, that’s-“ you tried but the little girl cut you off.
“I know mumma. It’s otay though, Dada is no here, so this is my OTHER dada. It’s otay to have two dada.” She smiled and meandered to Jack, squeezing him in a hug. The little girl was barely knee high to a grass hopper, but she had hit him with that bombshell so hard she might as well have been a giant. Then, she just toddled off, finding interest in the stream once more, gathering rocks.
“Darlin I’m so sor-“ he began and you waved it away.
“Don’t worry Jack, she’s three. She adores you, and her only other frame of reference for a consistent male presence is her dad. Besides, if she had to pick another father figure, I’d want it to be you.” With that, you went to go stop her from tormenting a frog, and he stood there like a statue. The way you so casually said that amazed him, you put so much unwarranted faith in him, and it made the hardened cowboy turn to mush. Whatever this turns out to be though, one thing is for sure. He would do anything in the world for you and that little girl, and this just drove it home.
Weeks passed and you all just continued to get closer. Daisy asked for him as often as she did for you now when she’s upset, and he was now totally attached to their evening ritual of snuggling on the couch and watching Bluey. Every day you got closer and closer, and every day you found out more and more about your husbands killer, which ultimately led you to today.
Jack had left early, sun not even being up and the morning dew had just barely settled over the grass. Jack had gotten the mission from Ginger last night, and you had prepped and planned with him until he swore the plans were tattooed on the back of his eyelids.
It was over quick, he took them out and got his necessary intel and now you were safe. No blown cover, no second attempt at murder, just efficiency.
You’re free. You could go anywhere you want and you’d be safe. Where would you go? Your aunt was in Pburg, not too far off, a couple of tolerable hours away. Your late husband’s family though… they were in Texas, and that was more of a stretch.
This was miserable, thinking of all the ways you would leave him, though you weren’t even his to begin with. You were never his, you were just his charge, someone he was meant to protect, you and that perfect little girl. He got so caught up in it, he forgot to protect himself, and now he was faced with an old companion he never wanted to see again, loneliness.
He finally pulled up to the ranch, and Coke and the others were grazing in the first paddock near the front of the house, until the clever horse sees him and trots over with something in his teeth. It was a little stuffed rabbit, Coke had it by the ear and dropped it in his outstretched palm. It was like another painful reminder of what comes next. What would he do when his life was no longer bows and bunny rabbits. How would he go back to the way things were before. He sighed and made his way into the house, he was somewhat confused to see the front room totally empty. Normally, you’d be feeding the baby at this time, she would be sat in in the booster seat he’d bought for the kitchen table, in the little pink bib she always wore, probably making a mess, but then she’s squeal and wave at him and tell him to ‘come sit cowboy! I share!’ You’d laugh and tell her he had his own to eat, and she would frown and say ‘mine better!’ Today though, the kitchen was quiet and he felt his heart hammering in his chest, had you already gone? Were you so excited to be rid of him? But no, there was the sound of a shower, his shower specifically. He wandered into his room, and the sight there strengthened his resolve and told him that he needed to buck up and tell you how he feels, because he never wanted to sacrifice this.
Daisy was laying on his pillow, the stuffed horse toy that was an exact replica of Coke was tucked up under her chin, and she contentedly snored away on top of his quilt. The only light in the room was from the lamp on his bedside table, and a sliver leaking out from the cracked door to his bathroom. He carefully tucked the little girls blank is up over her chin, and listened to you humming from the shower. He was used to sharing his bathroom with you, normally you used the one near your room, but when you needed to shower and Daisy was napping, you preferred to use his so you could hear her if she cried. The warm smell of your shampoo was wafting from the bathroom, and your clothes were laid out on his bed. He ran a hand over them with a soft smile, the whole thing just felt so domestic. The sleeping child, the woman in his shower, the three sets of boots by his door, the pictures on his fridge. They all just felt so natural, filling his empty space with the feeling of home.
“Jack? Cowboy? Is that you?” You called from the bathroom.
“Yeah Sugar, it’s me.” He called back softly, padding his way into the bathroom and leaning up against the sink.
“How’d it go Whiskey? Did all go to plan?” He heard the hopefulness in your voice.
“Yeah sweetness, we did it. You’re free.” He could hear you pause at the melancholy in his voice and he was kicking himself. ‘Don’t ruin this for her Jacky, she should be happy.’ He heard the water kick off and handed you your Terry cloth robe and a towel. Once you were decent, you opened the curtain.
“You say that, but why does it sound like you just signed my warrant?” You asked curiously, squeezing the ends of your hair with a towel. He hadn’t realized how comfortable you had gotten around each other, but he supposed he shouldn’t be all that shocked. All the small touches, the snuggles, then tender moments. He was addicted to them now, and he never wanted to kick the habit.
“Well, I reckon you’d wanna get back to your life now there ain’t a target on your back.” He sighs, removing his hat and running a hand through his hair.
“Oh Jack,” you chuckled and his head whipped up when your palms came to rest on his cheeks. “These past few moths have been some of the happiest moments of my life since my husband passed. My daughter loves you, you are so good with her, she’s had nothing but smiles and laughter. You make my days better, you make me happy.” You caressed his cheek and he was hanging on to your every word, staring into those beautiful eyes he dreamed after these days. “I’m sorry I didn’t make it clearer baby, you’ll have to pardon me for that, Lord knows I’ve been a little scattered, but I have my life, it’s right here, with you. That is, if you’ll have me.”
He was stunned, here in his arms he held everything he never thought he’d have when his wife died. A beautiful woman, a sweet baby, laughter, light, and maybe even love. “Oh honey,” he gasped, pulling you in and finally kissing you like he’s wanted to since he saw you that first day in the stables. “Wild horses couldn’t drag me from you and that little girl.” You giggled and kissed him again, and again. When you finally broke away, you grinned up at him, and in this moment if you had asked him to kill an army of a thousand, he would have asked you what time you wanted him home for dinner.
“Well then cowboy? Why don’t you get gussied up and we can celebrate our new beginnings. Together.”
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yancherrysoda · 10 months
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Ephemeral Emancipation
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This takes place one year after the events of Wind God. I had planned to write about what happens a month later and then six months later, but I'm currently out of ideas for those parts.
I'm not sure if sharing this was a good idea, considering that there are two more parts that come before it that I haven't written yet. This might confuse the readers. However, I really enjoyed writing it since I have an inclination towards violent scenes, and since I won't be writing anything very soon, I decided to post it anyway.
Warnings: decapitation, slashes being inflicted on a person
Word count: 5.246
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''I would like to leave this place.''
Venti almost choked on the apple he was munching on. "Huh?"
You shifted from one foot to another as you nervously fiddled with the bottom hem of your shorts and repeated yourself, "I want to go out."
He set the half-eaten apple down on the table and leaned back in his chair, studying your face. The wind stirred his dark locks as he pondered your words. "You know I can't let you leave, right?"
You sighed, knowing this conversation won’t be an easy one. "I know, but I just... I miss the outside world so much. The endless blue skies, the warmth of the sun on my skin, the sound of birds chirping, and the fresh air."
Venti raised an eyebrow and asked, "How is the air outside any different from the air in here?"
You took a deep breath, trying to find the right words to express how you felt. "It's not just about the air; it's about freedom, you know, the thing that you're supposed to represent." You crossed your arms over your chest. "It's about living, rather than just existing."
He brought his fingers up to his chin, contemplating your words. ''I tried my best to make you feel happy in here,'' he said. ''Wasn't that enough?''
As you thought back on the various moments you two had spent together, memories flooded your mind, including the times you had danced under the stars or sat on the swing while he tried to teach you how to play the lyre.
"You don't get it," you said, stepping forward and looking into his eyes. "Maybe this may be enough for you since you don't have the same perception of time as I do—being immortal and all that—but for me, it feels like I'm stuck in a never-ending loop."
You knew that discussing this topic with Venti required a different approach if you wanted to get through to him.
Your thoughts returned to the countless hours you'd spent poring over the books in Lisa's library; pages of Old Mondstadt unfurled like scrolls in front of your eyes, as if presenting you with a plan.
''You know, I've been curious about your past,'' you began, trying to pique Venti's interest. ''I've read stories about Old Mondstadt, but I always wondered what the experience of the people that lived there was like.''
That was true. Being from Mondstadt, you were curious about your city's history and how it evolved over time, but you never knew that the way you would get to briefly experience it was thanks to the situation you found yourself in about a year ago.
Venti's eyes narrowed slightly, the wind rustling his viridian attire. "How come you're suddenly interested in that? You could have asked me about my past a long time ago."
''But a long time ago you wouldn't have let me out!''
''What makes you think I would now?''
You crossed your arms behind your back and looked to the side. "Because I behaved well and followed your rules. I've proven that I can be trusted, didn't I?" you looked back at him. "I thought maybe you could walk me around while you explain its history to me. It would be a nice chance for me to learn more about you and experience the real world once again at the same time."
He sat up straight in his chair, considering your request. "Well, I suppose that could be arranged," he responded. "But only if you promise not to do anything stupid like last time. I'll be keeping a close eye on you."
You nodded eagerly.
He approached you and grabbed you by the waist, pulling you closer to him as a golden mist enveloped you both. You now found yourself standing on a cobblestone path surrounded by stone arches. You inhaled deeply, taking in the crisp, fresh air.
''Is the air different?'' he laughed.
''It's fresher,'' you said simply.
''Oh, come on.''
You looked around. "Well then, tell me something about this place. Since you've been here during its downfall centuries ago, I expect a tour in great detail."
He crossed his arms and looked down at the cobblestones beneath his feet, then at you. "This area was ruled by Decarabian, the God of Storms, who thought he protected the city and its people from the harsh winds that would sweep through," he began. "Back then, the entire Mondstadt region was known for being covered in snow and ice, which made it a difficult place to live in. Decarabian used his powers to form a wind barrier around Old Mondstadt, shielding it from the elements and creating what he thought was a haven for its inhabitants.'' He paused for a moment. ''However, as time passed, people began to realize that they were living in a false sense of security. The wind barrier became a prison, trapping them within its walls and preventing any contact with anything that was on the other side of it," he continued as you both walked along the path.
You hopped onto a fallen pillar, trying to balance yourself. "Reminds me of a certain someone."
Venti chuckled and looked up at you. "Unlike Decarabian, I don't create barriers to, quote on quote, protect people."
"But you decided to kidnap a person and strip them of freedom," you interjected, raising an eyebrow at him.
He sighed, "Do you want to listen to what I have to say or should we go back?"
"Fine, fine," you said, hopping off the pillar and gesturing for him to continue.
-
As you continued walking through the ancient streets of Old Mondstadt, Venti pointed out various landmarks and shared stories of the city's past. He also mentioned the grand tower that is still standing at the heart of the city, where Decarabian would reside.
You listened intently as he spoke, genuinely captivated by the tales of old.
He explained that after centuries of ruling, Decarabian’s people began to question his authority and the validity of his so-called protection. They desired freedom and the ability to explore beyond the confines of the city. Their discontent eventually grew into a rebellion led by a group of individuals who sought to end his reign and free the city from his control—Venti among them.
''Everyone fought against his oppressive rule, even his partner. The rebellion was successful, and Decarabian was overthrown, giving the people of Old Mondstadt the freedom they had longed for,'' he spoke.
"He had a partner?" You raised your eyebrows in surprise. "Did he kidnap her too?"
''...No, and yes, Decarabian had a partner—a mortal who had been by his side through his reign—and who then saw the injustice he had inflicted upon their people. She couldn't bear to stand by his side any longer, and so she joined the rebellion.''
You drew circles on the dirt with your foot, pondering Venti's words, "And how did you become the Anemo Archon?"
''The individuals who led the rebellion were his partner, Amos, a young boy, and me." Venti's gaze turned sorrowful. ''They both perished, leaving me and Andrius—who also fought against Decarabian and who is now one of the Four Winds—as candidates for the position of the new Anemo Archon,'' he paused. ''Andrius was chosen, but he declined the offer, feeling that he was not suited for such a role. He believed that he was unworthy of this position due to his perceived lack of love for humanity that an Archon ought to have, and so the responsibility fell upon me. I accepted the role, not because I believed myself to be the most qualified,'' he said, lifting up a finger. ''But because I believed in freedom and the goodness of humanity, and once I became the Anemo Archon, I vowed to never repeat Decarabian's mistakes and to protect my people. I reshaped the terrain and changed Mondstadt's climate to its current state and then moved everyone to what is now the current City of Freedom,'' he concluded.
You exhaled heavily as the weight of Venti's words settled in your chest. ''What a journey that must have been.''
"What a journey indeed," he replied, a hint of weariness in his eyes. "I'm glad you didn't get to experience such an event."
Both of you came to a halt, taking in the view of the abandoned city.
''You said you took the form of a human, what did you look like before?''
''Ah, before I took the form of a human, I was just a tiny being who lived in the wind. I had no physical form but rather existed as a manifestation of the wind itself,'' he explained with a smile.
"So now you're, what, human-shaped air?" you asked, trying to wrap your head around the concept.
Venti laughed at your question. "That's an interesting way of describing it! I suppose you could say that.''
You simply nodded and resumed your walking.
You spotted a small opening in the rockface—a split in the wall just wide enough to squeeze through it—from which you could see the light shining out. A flicker of doubt crossed your mind, but you needed to take the chance, so you grabbed his hand and started walking towards it, leaving him no time for reaction.
"I don't think we should go there," he voiced, but you kept dragging him.
"It's alright; I promised I wouldn't do anything stupid, didn't I?"
"Is this your idea of not stupid?"
‘’Just for a while, there’s nothing wrong with that. Besides, you're still keeping an eye on me.’’
As you made your way through the narrow opening, the sharp edges scraped against your skin, causing slight discomfort. Venti followed closely behind, his grip on your hand tight.
Finally, you emerged from the darkness and onto a long and wide road amidst tall boulders. The sky overhead was clear blue with puffy white clouds, and the sound of wind around you was but a low hum. The birds soared over the trees and chirped out a song, unlike the melancholic silence of the abandoned city you had just left behind.
You let go of his hand and walked ahead, taking in the beauty of the surroundings. The vibrant swaying grass danced in harmony with the gentle breeze, and although it was pretty similar to what you had in the Serenitea Pot, it somehow felt different.
"Hold on, you're walking too fast!" Venti called out and hurried to catch up to you.
You didn't listen to him; instead, you kept powering forward until you were met with a small beach overlooking a lake that shimmered under the golden rays of the sun. The water stretched out before you like a sparkling mirror, reflecting the hues of the sky and creating a captivating scene.
A gust of wind gently pushed you back onto Venti's chest, causing you to stumble slightly. He grabbed your chin and lifted it up to make you look at him. "I told you not to run off like that."
"Couldn't help it," you shrugged. "What did you expect? I haven't been here in so long."
His hand squeezed your cheeks. "I get it, but please try to stay by my side."
You huffed in annoyance, letting out a loud and long sigh. "Right, I'm supposed to behave, I totally forgot about that."
"Y/N, I'm serious." He was afraid that the two of you would run into someone familiar and that you would take that as an opportunity to run away, so he tried to be cautious.
You wiggled free from his grasp and made your way towards the lake, taking a few steps closer to the water's edge. "You know I most likely won't get to experience being here again, right? You've been very adamant about keeping me confined in that realm, let me at least enjoy this."
He joined you by the shore. "I didn't say you couldn't enjoy this. I just wanted to make sure you were safe."
You snorted, "Safe from who? I don't see anybody else around here other than you."
Looking around, you noticed a wooden boat tethered to a nearby rock and ran up to it, excitedly tugging on the rope to set it free. Venti trailed close behind, a worried expression on his face. "What are you doing?"
You threw the rope to the side and turned to face him. "I want to go on a boat ride, we don't have that luxury in the realm. We won't go far, just a short trip around the lake. Does that sound good, or are you going to baby me again?"
You both then pushed the boat into the water. He reached out to take your hand in his, helping you lift one leg over the side of the boat and then the other. As you settled into the boat, you saw Venti take his place beside you, a small smile playing on his lips.
The boat gently rocked as it sailed across the still surface of the lake, and the sound of the water lapping against the hull gave you a sense of peace that you hadn't felt in a long time.
You felt a sense of liberation wash over you as the boat moved further away from the shore. The wind tossed through your hair, and the warm sun kissed your skin. You closed your eyes and let out a contented sigh, savoring every moment of this brief taste of freedom.
You leaned over the side of the boat and ran your fingers through the cold water. The fish swam lazily beneath the surface, their scales glistening in the sunlight and creating a vibrant display of colors.
Venti watched you with admiration in his eyes. He understood the significance of this moment for you, and despite his reservations, he was captivated by your joy and the way it lit up your face.
The boat continued to drift along the lake, taking you deeper into its embrace. The surrounding landscape was a picturesque panorama of meadows adorned with wildflowers and half-cut mountains in the distance.
Taking a glance at Venti, you saw him look in another direction with a mix of emotions on his face, one of which was predominantly sadness. He wished he could give you more of these moments where you could truly be free, but he also didn't want to risk losing you.
You dipped your hand into the water again and splashed a handful of droplets onto Venti's face, breaking him out of his pensive state.
"Oh, so that's how it's going to be, huh?" he teased, wiping the water off his face with his sleeve.
"Well, I couldn't resist," you replied, splashing some more water in his direction.
"If you're going to play dirty, then I guess I'll have to retaliate," he said, reaching over to splash water back at you.
The boat rocked with your antics, as you two engaged in a water fight, and the tension and sadness that had been lingering in the air vanished, replaced by pure joy and laughter.
You both eventually calmed down, catching your breath and letting the laughter subside. The boat continued its journey across the lake until it arrived on the other side of the shore. You two stepped off drenched but with smiles on your faces.
As you walked on the sand, you talked about everything and nothing at the same time. The conversation flowed effortlessly, as if the water had washed away all the barriers that had been holding you back. While you were talking, you saw a Sunsettia tree a few steps away, its vivid orange fruits hanging from the branches like jewelry. You walked towards it, plucked two of them, and handed one to Venti.
"Here," you said, offering him the Sunsettia fruit.
He took it with a grateful smile. "Thank you. This has been fun, I'm glad I agreed to bring you here."
You smiled back at him. Perhaps thanks to this little adventure, he will let you out more often.
You leaned back against the tree trunk. The soothing rustle of the leaves above provided a calming soundtrack to your conversation.
As the sun began its descent, casting a warm golden glow across the landscape, you felt a gloved hand cover your mouth and push you onto the ground. Looking up, you saw a person wearing a coat and whose face was covered by a mask. You struggled against their grip, but their strength overpowered yours. Panic welled up inside you, and you desperately searched for Venti, only to see that he was apprehended by another masked figure.
The clapping of hands and a voice that sounded like a snake, hissing and ready to strike at any moment, resonated across the air from behind him. ''Well, well, well, what do we have here? A little romantic date interrupted by some unwanted guests?''
You both were lifted from the ground and forced to sit on your knees, hands bound behind your backs. The playful atmosphere had vanished, replaced by a tense and dangerous situation.
Your heart thumped in your chest, and your throat tightened with fear as you looked over your shoulder to see four people standing behind you. You exchanged a quick glance at Venti, who silently tried to reassure you that you would find a way out of this together.
As the voice taunted and threatened, you turned to see a blonde woman in a revealing dress, a cloak draped over her shoulders, and some kind of crown perched on her head.
She approached Venti from behind and grabbed him by the hair, forcing his head back. "You thought you could avoid me, bard?" she sneered, her voice dripping with venom. "No more slipping away, you little rat."
Venti let out a laugh. "What more, O highness, dost thou crave from me? Yet more songs, perchance, to set your spirit free?" he joked.
The woman's grip tightened on Venti's hair, her nails digging into his scalp. "Quit it with the rhymes," she hissed, and her eyes were like flames, scorching everything they touched. "I assure you; this is far from a laughing matter. I already took your Gnosis; maybe I can take something more from you." She let go of his hair and turned to face you.
It looked like Venti had encountered this woman before, and she had some deep-seated vendetta against him.
The masked man who was holding you in place pulled out a dagger and pressed it against your throat, causing you to take a sharp intake of breath. The cold metal glinted ominously in the dying light of the sun, casting a shadow across your face.
Venti shifted uneasily in front of you, his eyes locked on the dagger that threatened your life. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"
''Isn't this the mortal you hold so dear? The one you spent countless days serenading with your songs and that you now hold behind lock and key? How selfish of a God of Freedom,'' the woman mocked, ''I must say, I've never seen such devotion from a God before. It's truly touching,'' she gestured towards the person behind you. "But you're no better than your predecessor.''
Venti's body tightened at the sight of the dagger pressing deeper against your skin. He clenched his fists and said, ''I fucking swear, if you do something to her, you will regret it. I spared you many times before, but my patience is wearing thin. I won't hesitate to kill you and your stupid fatui puppets." His voice trembled with a mix of anger and desperation.
The woman laughed coldly, her eyes narrowing with amusement. "Oh, how bold of you to threaten me, Barbatos. But I think you underestimate the lengths I'm willing to go to get what I want."
As he locked eyes with the woman, his demeanor darkened and his speech took on a more serious tone. "Did you forget who you're dealing with, Rosalyne?"
Her eyes widened at the mention of her name, and she slapped him, the sound echoing throughout the tense atmosphere. Venti's head snapped to the side, but he didn't flinch; his defiance only seemed to fuel her anger.
''Is this how you always greet people? By slapping their faces?'' he laughed sarcastically. "You should be more careful with your actions and words, they leave traces.''
She leaned closer to him. "You don't get to mock me, Barbatos. You see, I would like to know what you would do if I were to end your mortal's life right in front of you. Would you still have the audacity to talk to me like that?''
The fatui behind you retracted the blade from your throat only to twist it around his hand and try to stab you, but you never felt it pierce your skin.
At that, a powerful surge of wind swept through the air, and you heard heavy weights fall to the ground. You looked up to your sides just to see a gruesome scene; the heads of the fatui rolling across the ground and leaving a trail of blood in their wake, their lifeless eyes staring back at you. In horror, you quickly closed your eyes and tried to fight the nauseous feeling in your stomach.
Venti stood tall in the midst of the chaos, as the wind whipped around him, carrying the scent of blood.
''I warned you, didn't I? I warned what would happen if you dared to harm her.'' He spoke with a chilling conviction that sent shivers down your spine.
Rosalyne took a few steps back and attempted to channel her elemental powers through her catalyst in a desperate attempt to regain control of the situation. Venti raised his hand, and a whirlwind formed around him before she could utter a single incantation. The wind blew her off her feet, causing her to collide with a nearby wall. As she collided with the hard surface, she let out a strangled cry of pain, and her body crumbled to the ground.
He stood over her, ''I don't think you're familiar with the expression fuck around and find out, are you?''
She attempted to stand, but her body trembled from pain. "I'm from Mondstadt, you wouldn't harm someone from your nation,'' she panted. "Try to kill me, and I'll make sure your precious little—''
Slashes began to appear on her body as if carved by an unseen force, causing her to scream in agony. Venti's wind continued to slice through her with precision, each cut calculated, inflicting pain but avoiding any fatal blows.
As the wind howled around them and the air was thick with tension, carrying the echoes of Rosalyne's screams, his eyes bore into her writhing form. His once playful and carefree demeanor had morphed into something dark and unyielding.
With one last slash, his wind finally ceased, leaving her broken and bloodied on the ground. Her body twitched and convulsed with each ragged breath she took. "Do me a favor and die here, Rosalyne," he said with a frosty tone, his words lacking any warmth or emotion.
As you stared in disbelief, he turned around and began walking towards you. His steps were heavy, each one echoing in the silence until he came to a halt in front of you. His eyes, now devoid of their usual gleam, were hauntingly intense. He knelt down and gently stroked some of your blood-stained hair; it was gentle, contrasting with the brutality he had displayed moments before.
''We're going home,'' he said, and grabbed you by the wrist to pull you up from the ground. The golden mist from before swirled around you both once more, taking you back to the realm.
You now stood at the entryway of the house. Your heart still pounded from the horrifying events that happened during the evening.
Venti looked you up and down. "Take your clothes off and go bathe. There's blood on you,'' he commanded.
You didn't move, your voice shaky as you spoke, "What did you do?"
His eyes met yours. "What did you want me to do?"
''You murdered those people!''
"Would you have rather died?" he yelled. "I protected you!"
''Yes! ...no, I don't know! You're not supposed to protect me by killing other people!'' You managed to say through labored breaths, ''There must have been another way to handle the situation, we could have found a peaceful resolution, or we could have tried to escape...''
As he listened to your words, his gaze hardened, and his jaw clenched tightly. ''Peaceful resolution? With someone like her?''
"I don't know what you did to her to make her hate you so much, but resorting to violence is not an answer!"
''Enough!'' he snapped, ''You will not be leaving again.''
"Venti," his name escaped your lips.
He shivered. This was the first time you pronounced his name since he brought you here. He wanted you to call his name for so long, but not like this.
You lowered your voice, making it gentle and soothing to try and reach him in his hardened state. "Was a single life above those people?"
''Your life is above those people. You don't realize just how important you're to me, Y/N." He tried to come closer to you, but you stepped back.
You didn't want to continue this conversation anymore. It was futile to reason with him.
-
This whole situation was giving you a horrible night. Every time you were close to falling asleep, you'd toss and turn in bed, replaying the events of the evening in your mind. The images of heads rolling on the floor and that woman's horrifying scream as Venti slashed through her kept flashing before your eyes.
You tensed up as you heard the door creak open, your heart racing once more. You watched Venti stumble into your room as he clumsily made his way over to you. He sat on the bed and leaned in close, his lips almost brushing yours and his breath heavy with the scent of dandelion wine.
You backed down, causing him to fall on you and rest his cheek on your collarbone as he sighed heavily. You nudged him to sit up straight, but he groaned and buried his face deeper into your collarbone, both arms tightly wrapped around you, refusing to let go.
"Y/N..." he murmured, his voice muffled against your skin. His shirt was rumpled and unbuttoned, exposing a teal tattoo on his chest. This was the first time you saw his bare skin in such an intimate way and you couldn't help but trace your fingers over the design, admiring the details and the way it seemed to glow under your touch.
While you lay there, fascinated by the intricate tattoo, you felt Venti slowly lift his head from your collarbone and leave a trail of soft kisses down your neck. The feeling of his lips against your skin sent shivers down your spine, and a rush of warmth flooded your cheeks.
"Hey," you said, placing your fisted hand on his chest and lightly pushing him away. "You should go to bed. You're drunk."
Venti looked up at you, his usually vibrant eyes now hazy and clouded with the effects of alcohol. He let out a small chuckle. "I'm in bed."
''Not in yours...''
He hugged you tighter, ''What does it matter?''
You sighed, trying to come up with an excuse, ''It matters because this bed is not big enough for the both of us.'' That was a lie; the bed was large enough for two people, but you felt uneasy about this situation and wanted to create some distance between yourself and Venti.
He resumed giving you neck kisses as one of his hands made its way underneath your shirt, caressing your bare back. ''I love you, haah... I love you a lot,'' he breathed out. ''Give in to me already.''
"Venti, this is getting out of control." You tried to push him away harder, but his other arm wrapped around your waist and held you firmly in place. "You need to get back to your room."
You attempted to wriggle out of his grasp, but his strength was surprisingly strong for someone who seemed to be so intoxicated. The two of you lay there in a tangled mess of limbs.
You took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. You couldn't help but think about the complicated relationship you shared with him. He kidnapped you and forced you to stay by his side, yet he never treated you badly; in fact, he had shown you nothing but kindness and affection.
A soft snore escaped his lips, and you turned your head to see him knocked out. You scanned his features, taking in the relaxed expression on his face and the way his chest rose and fell with each breath.
-
You woke up the next morning to soft rays of sunshine filtering through the curtains. As you stretched and yawned, you realized that you were no longer tangled with Venti. You turned your head and saw him still peacefully asleep beside you; his messy hair was spread across the pillow, and he was now covered in a blanket, hiding the teal tattoo that had captivated you the night before. You carefully removed your side of the blanket and tried to slip out of bed, but as you did, Venti stirred and his eyes fluttered open. He groaned and rubbed them, looking at you with confusion.
"What am I doing here?" he mumbled, his voice rough and low.
"You came home drunk last night and made your way into my bed," you replied, trying to hide the lingering warmth on your cheeks.
As he propped himself up on his elbows, his expression changed from confusion to realization. He took in the familiar surroundings of your bedroom as he looked around. He then glanced down and saw that his shirt was still on, albeit slightly wrinkled and unbuttoned halfway, causing it to fall loosely off his shoulders.
''Nothing happened,'' you quickly added, hoping he wouldn't misinterpret the situation.
He watched you walk up to the dresser, grab a brush, and run it through your hair while you tried not to look at him. He leaned back against the pillow, one arm behind his head as his hand absentmindedly ran through his messy hair.
''Venti,'' you turned to him, ''The state you were in last night was because of—''
''The fatui,'' he interrupted. ''I made you uncomfortable. I made you fear me,'' he said, looking up at the ceiling. ''I don't want you to see me as a monster, Y/N.''
You didn't say anything, instead, you kept brushing your hair.
''I'm sorry. I can't make it up to you with words alone, but," he paused for a second, "I don't want to lose you. I sacrificed so much in my life. I said goodbye to so many people." His voice faded away, losing its strength and volume. "If I had someone to pray to, I would ask them to let me keep at least one person by my side, just one is enough."
He got out of bed and walked over to you, taking your hands in his and looking you in the eyes. He brought them up to his lips and gently kissed your fingers. "You're everything I have."
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grey-gazania · 2 months
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I'm sorry someone bombarded you with bitchy comments 😭. While my To Read list is lengthy and continually lengthier (actually I think something of yours with her is on it), I'd like to hear more about Ianneth-Fingon-Maedhros if you want to talk about them.
@polutrope
It wasn't really upsetting, just annoying and honestly a little bit funny. This guy left comments on all six chapters of By Love or at Least Free Will, every time I updated the story, just objecting to the entire premise of the story and ranting about how Elves have incorruptible pure souls and are immune to lust. I was sorely tempted to respond with this quote from "Laws & Customs Among the Eldar":
Even when in after days, as the histories reveal, many of the Eldar in Middle-earth became corrupted, and their hearts darkened by the shadow that lies upon Arda, seldom is any tale told of deeds of lust among them.
'Seldom' is not the same thing as 'never', and furthermore, I don't think lust is even a major theme of my story. It's more about conflicting obligations and unruly hearts.
In the end I deleted the comments without responding, because I have a personal policy of not engaging with people who are acting in bad faith. But I have to assume that this guy has no actual hobbies if he spends his time hate-reading entire stories instead of just...closing the window and moving on with his life. Maybe take up crochet, bro? Or volunteer at a soup kitchen? Watch a TV show that you like? Grow some tomatoes? Do something that will be more fulfilling than typing long screeds on AO3. I promise it will make you a happier person.
Anyway. On to the actual topic of your ask! As you've probably noticed, I am very fond of Russingon. However, I am also very fond of Fingon as Gil-galad's father. At first I balanced these two ideas by keeping my Russingon ideas and my Fingon-father-of-Gil-galad ideas in two separate universes, but then I started really fleshing out Gil-galad's mother, and it made me think some thoughts. To repeat something I said to @cuarthol in a comment on AO3:
...half the genesis of Ianneth was seeing so many stories (in multiple fandoms, not just Tolkien) where the woman is written out of a canon or semi-canon couple to make room for a popular M/M ship instead, without the female character being treated with any respect. I decided that the female perspective on that situation would be a nice change of pace and interesting to write.
I'm not trying to point fingers -- I'll readily admit that I have my male faves just like the next gal and that it's fun to make them kiss -- but the wives and girlfriends don't get a lot of love in fandom, do they? And it doesn't help that the legendarium in general tends to be a bit of a sausage fest. So I decided that Fingon would have a wife and be in love with Maedhros. But instead of focusing just on the forbidden love, I was going to focus on the wife's feelings, too.
Ianneth ("bridge-woman") is one of the Northern Sindar, from the community that lives around Lake Mithrim. She's the daughter of Annael (yes, that Annael), whom I've imagined to be one of the more influential leaders among the Northern Sindar, and particularly among the Elves of Mithrim.
Her betrothal to Fingon starts as a political arrangement. Fingolfin loves Fingon dearly, of course, but he's also been hinting for a while now that Fingon really needs to settle down and start having kids so that there will be a strong line of heirs should Fingolfin die. After all, Argon's dead, and Turgon and Aredhel abruptly fucked off to god-knows-where some three hundred years ago and haven't been seen nor heard from since. Your dad needs some grandsons, Fingon, and this also seems like a ripe opportunity to strengthen the Noldor's alliance with the Northern Sindar.
I don't think political marriage is unknown among the Elves of Beleriand. (For one example in the text, see Celegorm trying to marry Luthien to force Doriath into an alliance.) And the quote I drew the title of the aforementioned Fingon/Ianneth story from, also found in "Laws and Customs Among the Eldar," is:
The Eldar wedded only once in life, and for love or at the least by free will upon either part.
Free will could easily mean, "Are we in love? No. But I'll still marry you, for the good of our peoples, and I'll bring some of Dad's soldiers along with me." That sort of thing happened all the time among real-world nobility, so I see no reason why it can't happen among Elven nobility in Beleriand, too.
At any rate, Fingolfin arranges for Fingon to meet the daughters of some of the more powerful leaders of the Northern Sindar, and he's hint-hint-hinting that Fingon really needs to pick one of them to be his wife. Fingon, having been in love with Maedhros since they were young in Valinor, is not exactly keen on this plan. But he goes along with it anyway because he is a dutiful son, he knows that his father is right about needing to strengthen the line of succession, and he also knows that revealing his (quite taboo!) relationship with Maedhros to his father would probably break Fingolfin's heart.
It takes Fingon a while to decide who to court, but he picks Ianneth because he likes her sense of humor; she has the guts to gently tease him at their first meeting, which he finds quite charming. He doesn't think he can love anyone besides Maedhros, but he does look at Ianneth and think, "This is a woman I could grow to care for and whose companionship I think could enjoy."
The trouble begins when, over the course of their courtship, Fingon starts falling in love with Ianneth without falling out of love with Maedhros. And he doesn't know what to do about this. He can't call off the marriage, and he doesn't want to break things off with Maedhros, so he decides to just...keep the whole thing with Maedhros a secret and marry Ianneth anyway. It's not a good decision, but really, are there any options here that won't end with someone getting hurt? I don't think so.
So we have Ianneth, blissfully ignorant of her husband's infidelity (for now); Fingon, in love with two people at once and feeling horribly guilty about it, but unwilling to pick one partner over the other; and Maedhros, resigned to the situation but still hurting because Fingon is no longer his alone.
Maedhros' feelings are complicated by the fact that, once he meets her, he finds that likes Ianneth. It would be easier, he thinks, if he could write her off as just a political necessity for Fingon, but it turns out that she's charming and intelligent and kind, and he can understand why Fingon loves her. His feelings soften further once Ereiniel is born, because Fingon is so happy being a father, and he loves Fingon, so how can he begrudge him that? There's a line from "Famous Blue Raincoat" by Leonard Cohen that I always think of when I'm getting into Maedhros' head at this point:
And thanks for the trouble you took from [his] eyes. I thought it was there for good, so I never tried.
Things tick along about as smoothly as they can for thirteen years, until, in the aftermath of Fingolfin's death during the Dagor Bragollach, as Fingon prepares to send Ianneth and Ereiniel to the Falas for their safety, Ianneth learns his secret. This is understandably devastating for her, and leaves her wondering if Fingon ever really loved her as she loved him, or if his marriage to her was simply a politically expedient sham.
Add to that the fact that she leaves for the Falas less than ten hours after this revelation and spends most of that ten hours either crying or asleep, as she's too upset to really talk to Fingon about what she's discovered, and it leaves her with this horrible knowledge and all the worst thoughts that come from it gnawing at her nearly a full year until Fingon next comes to Eglarest -- time that she spends as the sole caregiver for her young daughter, among strangers in a foreign city, without her mother or her sister or any of her friends who might have theoretically been able to offer her some emotional support.
Theoretically is a key word there, though, because even if, say, her sister had come to Eglarest, Ianneth isn't sure she'd even be able to tell her. For one thing, she can't help feeling ashamed, because infidelity is very rare among Elves, and she can't help thinking that maybe she failed as a wife somehow, and if she'd done something different, Fingon wouldn't have strayed. Then there's the fact that he's the High King of the Noldor, and if this gets out it could cause a crisis in the Noldorin government and possibly tank the alliance between the House of Fingolfin and the Northern Sindar. Ianneth is a practical woman, and she's of the Northern Sindar -- the people who have been living practically on Morgoth's doorstep for centuries, with no Maia queen's magic girdle to protect them. Their alliance with the Noldor is vital, and she would never want to jeopardize it.
So Ianneth is just...completely alone with this pain. She has no one to turn to, no one who can comfort her. And that pain is central to her story, and a not insignificant part of Ereiniel's story, too.
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epickiya722 · 3 months
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I do not know if it was you, or another blogger that made a character analysis of Gojo that made me like the character and discover more about him through the manga.
While I never read the manga before or watched the anime, I had been exposed to it by my friends and some BNHA bloggers. Back then, I found Gojo to be overhyped (discount Kakashi) while liking the animation(?) style, bit still no interest.
BNHA and its Endeavour Redemption arc in the doing was tiring me to the point that I stopped reading it and manga altogether. For mayne six months or so, until now, at least. I randomly found your blog last week , and it got me a new hyper fixation 😃. You got me to start reading JJK (Megan cos playing also helps).
I bought Number 0 and Number 1 of the mangas. Only to remember midway in Number 0 that Walmart Kakashi will be snapped in two like a Kit Kat🥲. I saw that leak in one of the BNHA blogs, and I didn't mind it back then since I wasn't in the fandom, but Lord, now it sucks.
Anyways, all this long rant to say that I like reading your posts.
Gojo, rest in pain, I guess?
Probably was someone else, I don't write much analysis posts about Gojo. I think once or twice I did, I can't recall. Probably reblogged one though you saw!
I don't know, they're really just two different characters to me. Also... I was never really an active reader or watcher of Naruto like that (just very familiar) so when I first saw Gojo, Kakashi didn't register to me at all.
Like, I did not get similar vibes at all. And it actually annoys me that people will be like "He copied Kakashi's flow"! Kakashi ain't the only white haired, face covering character out there with magical eyes, y'all stop. 😆
Even funnier when, by this point, Gojo has probably been unmasked more than he has been wearing something on his face and switches up what he puts on his face. Kakashi been wearing the same mask for...? Also, didn't it take years for Kakashi's whole face to be shown or something? Took like seven episodes for Gojo to show that face.
**
I always been a fan of Megan's music and then when I found out she was into anime I was like "YYYYYEEEEEAAAAH". She cosplayed as Miruko one Halloween and it made my year. I am a former believer that Miruko would vibe to her music.
Just seeing other Black women being unapologetic fans of anime (or anything) does wonders for me and I hate it when people act as if it's such a foreign idea to understand. Honey, we can have interests, too, like everyone else. It's normal.
**
I always try to be careful about spoilers for anything I'm into. Like, I can talk about a chapter that happened two years ago, but I'll still mark as a spoiler because I know some people don't read Mangas or even if they do haven't caught up to that specific part.
That actually what set me off when Usher cosplayed as Gojo because he literally put "rest in peace, Gojo" or something along those lines and the amount of people who weren't even aware of 236... like bro, come on.
I knew it just had to be a marketing tactic because I know damn well Usher ain't seen JJK a day in his life and how convenient it is he comes out with that cosplay around the time when "Daddy's Home" becomes a fairly popular song used in Gojo's edits. I can't go watching one video on YouTube without hearing that song play when Gojo pops up. And even if he has... WHY WOULD YOU TAG IT LIKE THAT?!
Oh, but Megan definitely doesn't know any of the characters she be cosplaying, alright... okay... 🙄
I'm just going off on a whole tangent here, I apologize for that. I've been sick for like three days and just woke up from a nap. 😅
**
Also, thank you! Glad you enjoy my posts!! Anytime anyone says they like reading my posts, I still get shocked. They're really are just random thoughts I been having and really I'm still learning grasping the characters and story myself. And this is just for any. I don't even for them to get read, let alone for anyone to actually agree with me. I guess because, at the end of the day, I really just needed to throw a thought out there before I lose it or keep rethinking about it over and over.
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albywritesfiction · 4 months
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I. Just wanted. To say. I read your last answer where people were asking about Non Revenge Aedric Route and while I get why some would love it, at the end of the day if is your story and I'm sorry but the way you answered ("IS IT OKAY if I say no") just kinda rubbed me the wrong way? I know I might be taking it too seriously but I wanted to say this anyway, just in case. It's always nice when the authors or developers listen to their audience but the reality is, you can't accommodate everyone and I just don't want you to feel pressured. You are the author here and even if you rejected one of my own ideas, you know what's best for your own story. And that includes any number of reasons, even if you just simply don't want to write something, or write it the way someone else asks you.
Sorry if I came off rude, but it's really something that I've noticed among IF writers and just wanted to say that those who want to play your game will play it anyway, regardless of whether you'll write it the way they want or add every single option for every single type of person you could ever think of. It's always 100% ok to say no.
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Ah, I think I've given some of you quite the cause for concern, for which I apologize 😓
The "is it okay to say no" part just came out because I kind of . . . have a hard time saying "no" when it comes to suggestions😅
Case in point: for the orchestra production we're having in Feb, I would've only needed to learn 4 pieces (to be performed by the whole orchestra) by the end of Jan if I had said "no" when I was asked a few months ago to join 4 groups for the auditions we're having this week, so I had to be ready to perform an additional 4 pieces by this Wednesday 😅 And if all goes well, I'll have to play 8 pieces in total for our Feb production 😅
So yeahh, just not very used to saying "no", especially for something that some people seemed pretty interested in having 😅
But I really appreciate the concern and encouragement! And I don't think you came off rude towards me, Anon 1, just straight to the point 😄
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suffarustuffaru · 1 month
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What's your thoughts on Wish Upon a Sin by HoboWizard
like all the other times people have asked me for my opinions on fics, im gonna link the author/fic and explain the fic’s plot really quick - so the link to hobowizard's ao3 profile is here if youre interested in reading his stuff!!
so wish upon a sin, for those who dont know, is a fic where every time subaru dies, he goes back in time (like canon, yes) only - his save point never updates. it's stuck at when he first got isekaied into the fantasy world, meaning that every time he dies he loses a Shit Ton Of Progress. which is an Extremely fascinating plot and hobowizard is one of if not the most qualified writer for an idea That Ambitious HAH.
and that being said. i really really recommend reading hobo's fics in general for sure. ive read the first couple chapters for wish upon a sin Ages ago and 1. i dont have much time for everything anymore rip :< and 2. i struggle with focusing on things sometimes so i often dont read or finish longfics, so thats just the case for me with wish upon a sin and hobo's other longfic (so maybe im not 100% the target audience), but yes ive read the first couple chapters for each of those longfics a while back!! and i cannot recommend them enough.
wish upon a sin is absolutely gonna be the fic for you if you want a Very long fic thats plotty and centered around subaru that Really explores all the different avenues he can take - like this fic has a very strong premise and then explores it to the Absolute fullest!! i cannot praise it enough hah. its really good!!! and ill always be impressed with hobo's work.
i think my only real criticism (and like all the criticism i give for fics i mean it very Lightly, and also hobo's work is really good already so HAH) is that hobo's biggest strength is plot. he's really really good at complex plot and writing very plotty fics!! but there were a few times in the first chapters of wish upon a sin where i personally wished that the story got to slow down a bit and explore subaru's feelings more in depth. its touched on over and over in the story of course, which is great!! but for my own personal taste i couldnt Feel the full emotional impact bc the plot had to keep moving and moving, if that makes sense? :o and this is a pretty small criticism imo too haaah bc hobo's grammar, writing style, plot beats, general characterization, etc are all very solid. and im sure that, as with a lot of long fics, hobo's writing improves even more with every chapter of wish upon a sin so <3 and i can definitely attest to that given hobo's recent fic!!
anyway i know this ask is mainly about wish upon a sin but id like to also shoutout hobo's recent fic, which is a collab with rajvir - people who've been Around on rezero ao3 mightve seen rajvir a bit (he's commented on several fics in the past!) but yeah their fic return of the lion king is a long fic centered on the fourier, felix, crusch trio. which is a rarity in terms of english fic!! its also been updating pretty regularly so if youve liked hobo's work before and you find this fic interesting id recommend checking that out too :o theres soo so many characters in rezero and id love to keep seeing more in depth fic for more of the cast, so this fic is great to see!! :o
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dr-futbol-blog · 6 days
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The Storm/The Eye, Pt. 3
Sheppard and Ford negotiate with the Manarians, and this scene is interesting in that it shows us characters again saying one set of things and having an entirely different conversation underneath. If taken literally, everything they say is very friendly but both parties are actually vying for the upper hand. This exchange is interesting:
Smeadon: You're telling me we can either be your friends or... Sheppard: I much prefer 'friends'. That is of value to me.
In this scene, it is a choice between being a friend or an enemy. But it also tells us that Sheppard values friendship. He values friends over foes, naturally, but it would very much seem that friendship is also something he values in loving relationships also.
Again, there are some strange looks being exchanged in the scene, and these looks tell a story of their own. While here the looks have to do with trust and betrayal, they nonetheless emphasize the importance of looks in reading the narrative of the show. Not recognizing their significance and implications leaves some of the story unappreciated.
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Once they return, Sheppard seems to waltz directly to where McKay and his team are working on the problem (and not, say, Elizabeth's office; Weir and Teyla actually eventually have to follow him there to get the latest scoop). While McKay has just been chewing up his team, snapping at everything and everyone due to his frustration, he's suddenly very sheepish. This is also something we see multiple times especially early on -- McKay's disposition changes entirely when Sheppard walks in.
Clearly, at the very least, he has a lot of respect for the Major. But his team sure has to be getting whiplash from this sudden change in demeanor. In fact, the other people in the room have a hilariously wtf? reaction to Sheppard appearing to come in and give his mission report to McKay ('What's going on? Who's Smeadon? Who are the Manarians? Are we supposed to be taking notes here?').
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My god, that look is almost demure. And my guy isn't even the only one who noticed Sheppard walk in.
Compared with just a moment ago, McKay is like a completely other person. Sheppard actually immediately notices that McKay is being uncharacteristically quiet and not reacting to the thing he came in to tell them, so he attempts to engage him (and very obviously him in particular) right away: "That's not gonna happen, right?"
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This is a question that really didn't need asking and which had the intended purpose of just getting the man to communicate with him.
It's possible that one of the reasons Mckay is so agitated is that he doesn't want to let anyone down, but especially doesn't want to let Sheppard down because he clearly believes in him so much. In fact, this is pretty much confirmed by the fact that when Sheppard, for like the third time in short order expresses his confidence that McKay is going to save the day, it's then that he snaps about not being Superman. If earlier Sheppard indicated to Weir that McKay is setting himself up to be the hero it seems that McKay is actually putting that exact pressure on himself. This just confirms that Sheppard knows McKay pretty damn well by now.
In fact, the whole attempting to rile McKay up about the Superman thing may have been Sheppard trying to get him to loosen up a little bit because he clearly noticed how agitated McKay was, and McKay wasn't really responding to anything he was saying; not in his usual fashion anyway. And while turnabout should be fair play and all, he does look really apologetic about it afterward:
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Point is, McKay is not always "like this" and unlike the others, Sheppard clocked this pretty much immediately walking into the room. McKay wasn't acting like himself which just told Sheppard that this thing was more serious than he wanted to acknowledge. In fact, even Zelenka later clearly comes to notice this as McKay gets excited and animated about their idea to use the storm to power the shield. Sure, he's still abrasive but he is willing to admit when Zelenka has good points.
The Genii plan to take over Atlantis seemed to hinge on the fact that there would be very little personnel left and most of them would be scientists. There was really very little reason for Sheppard to stay behind especially since he seemed suspicious of the Manarians and should have been ensuring the security of the people that were temporarily relocated. There was really no reason for Weir to stay behind either, but she did it as "the captain of the ship". But Sheppard? He stayed for McKay, and that is ultimately what saved them all.
So, instead of scientists, McKay actually has only Sheppard and Weir helping him out in the lab. We get another example of Sheppard short-circuiting McKay's brain:
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The thing is, it's actually a pretty clever, complex question. While McKay is highly intelligent, extremely educated, both broad and deep in his thinking, this is something that it had never occurred to him to think about but once you are presented with the question, it actually both makes sense and seems really obvious.
Sheppard is pushing McKay to think of things he had never thought about. Given that what they are attempting to do is highly dangerous and he is in charge of the security of the city, he needs to know whether he is presenting the theory as a supposition or an explanation. In fact, Sheppard's initial question about why the ancients bothered building lightning rods around the city if they used the shield to protect themselves from storms such as this was also a very good point and displays both his intelligence and quick thinking.
And it shows us how McKay also holds Sheppard in high regard in that he doesn't snap at him but actually tries to explain, even when they are (as he points out) pressed for time, and again tries to make a very complicated explanation simple enough for it to make sense. If Sheppard has been studying him, paying attention to him, McKay also has been learning about Sheppard.
And once more, Sheppard really doesn't need to get this close to McKay for this conversation (that begins and gets on well enough with them being at the opposite ends of the table). He's just drawn there, as if by a magnet. He even places his hand on the table to get just a little bit closer. Sheppard often needs to be touching something when he's near McKay.
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He has been trying to get McKay to connect with him all day with little success probably because there were always other people around. Now, it's just them and Weir.
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Weir who?
It's like they both just suddenly forgot about the impending doom and the "time element to what we're doing here". McKay is in his element, 100%. And if those are not flirty looks Sheppard is sending his way, I don't know what flirting is. Also, immediately as Sheppard starts talking about the theory of relatively, McKay kind of panics and shouts "Elizabeth!" like he a) needed to remind them both that she was there and b) suddenly remembered that they had something real important they were meant to be doing.
Like, if I had to pinpoint the moment when McKay went from respecting and admiring the Major to "Oh no, I'm in trouble!", it would be this:
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Also, the exact moment Elizabeth Weir put two and two together:
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Good thing the expedition has civilian leadership. Gentlemen, this is neither the time nor the place.
Then there's this interesting exchange. Sheppard looks so comically betrayed that he has to do more than the others but this is actually Rodney trusting and believing that Sheppard is much more capable than they put together when it comes to something physical. Also, when contrasted with the previous Genii-episde Underground (S0108) when McKay was still learning the way Sheppard processes information and taking things very literally ("You don't know what 'strange' means?"), here he immediately grasps that Sheppard isn't actually asking for the definition of the word brisk but rather needs to know how fast he is supposed to be moving to get this thing done.
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Given what we've seen of McKay in the past episodes, this is tremendous progress for his character. He is able to discern the implied meaning underneath the literal meaning of the words.
Further, Sheppard seems to have made it to the first station in record time. McKay asks him to run, he runs ("I need you to get there quickly so I can start working on the subroutines"). McKay actually can't believe he's there already:
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Sure, Weir and McKay had both already finished theirs but their stations were closer and reachable by transporter so Sheppard was really quite fast in getting to his first station. And oh, he's so salty about the fact that Elizabeth seems to get to spend time with Rodney now that they've both finished with their stations ("Good for everyone!"; "Glad everyone is having such a good time!")
But here, it seems that it's Sheppard who misunderstands Rodney. When he responds with "Oh, sorry. I've already done mine." Sheppard seems to hear it as a criticism, "Go faster, how are you so slow?" But that's not what McKay was saying, as he was genuinely surprised Sheppard was there already. What he was doing here was just... sharing about his day. He was telling Sheppard he himself was done because he wanted to share that with him (both because he had learned by now that Sheppard needed this kind of information that he might have felt was kind of irrelevant and just, you know, to share). That's what was going on with him; he both wanted to know how Sheppard was doing and to tell him how he himself was doing. It kind of mirrors the whole Superman exchange earlier. Because here, it's Weir chiming in with "Me too!" that drives it into Sheppard as them both calling him slow. Weir was happy that she'd finished the task already, that she was done. But that wasn't what Rodney had been doing earlier. Neither of them can see how the other views them, how high they regard the other.
Continued in Pt. 4 as the Genii finally attack.
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onewomancitadel · 4 months
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A smattering of general updates:
I played Tears of the Kingdom. I didn't really enjoy it. I understand why it was popular though; I'm just not the demographic for these types of video games anymore. I didn't find it creatively rewarding and after a time I sat there thinking 'I would rather be writing right now', and since then I have learnt that writing is made easier by doing things which are not writing, because it makes me miss it. My dad also doesn't really like it but for some reason has played hundreds of hours in it. I don't know either - I think he will take anything called Zelda at this point.
I spectated the Doctor Who David Tennant Special and watched some clips of the new season. I'm not a fan of RTD, and not a DW fan anymore (not for a long time), but it was an interesting study in how studios try to attract old and new fans.
I read a lot of books, and that lie people tell you about all books being good for you is a lie, because a cyberpunk anthology of short stories made me so angry I got heartburn. I think people who say that are saying so because they wish that they could read a lot, in which case I say, yes I think reading is a gift and we should engage with it, however, sometimes I get so physically angry from something stupid/bad I've read because bad writers exist that it gives me actual pain. I am reading Howl's Moving Castle right now and it's very joyful; I am very surprised by the liberties the animated film took! However so far I do think both experiences are worthwhile, and if you enjoyed the Ghibli film, I very much recommend checking out the original book if you want to revisit that world again. The prose is straightforward but a little whimsical, and Howl is very, very funny. I have laughed aloud a few times.
Well, you know I rewatched Dark, and it's funny that during my exile I said 'this is like if RWBY got the ending it deserves' and then, er, I found out it's not renewed yet, and that's still up in the air, which for the entirety of RWBY I have only had one true moment of doubt of such a thing, and that was a while ago.
On that topic, yes, I still ship Jaune/Cinder, believe Cinder's redemption is likely, etc., although there are some more external concerns I would wager now than before. Before I thought it very possible to do without any commercial influence, and it depends what compromises they do or don't end up making or having already made. My analysis of Jaune's arc in V9 may not hold water as much (e.g. if you lean towards the view there were rewrites to cater to growing the audience, or perhaps it's two ideas married? I'm not sure) so I'm going to think about it more, and there always has been a tension in RWBY between what is being expected/baited and what is foreshadowed/said/actually happens.
I figured out how to write again and what was blocking me, so there's that. To talk about it a bit more, since my break I have worked every single day on writing. My key takeaways are that you need a delicate balance of delusion and self-doubt to get anything done - you don't know you can do something until you actually do it - and every excuse I invented for not writing was not the reason I was not writing. I can write with a migraine beginning to set in on an uncomfortable desk where I can't even rest my elbows properly on the end of a bed with no back support without aircon in the middle of summer before I've even taken my hair out from bedtime plaits in my pyjamas. I didn't even expect to get my fic done right before midnight, actually I was like 'well lol that's not going to happen, I'll write anyway though, fuck New Year's' because I wasn't doing anything, and then I finished and looked at the time and was like ooooh. I actually completed my goal! So I'm very proud of that. Anyway writing is breathing, to me, I go crazy if I don't do it, no matter what it is, and every single piece of nonsense advice of productivity was not helpful, ever, but I did figure it out. Also admittedly I got a fire burning under me again because I found out I was actually right about Raven, in which case I took that as a sign from heaven I was on the right track. One should hope.
I am excited about Dune Part Two, yes, although I am trying to avoid Villeneuve talking about the film because I know all the marketing is basically directed at people who aren't Dune fans, and I have to see it for myself to see what it's worth. I enjoyed the first film, and Villeneuve seems excited to direct Dune Messiah, in which case I am willing to do whatever possible to make that happen. Because that's about as complete a story you're going to get in a major motion picture adaptation and it would be So Fucking Good.
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laufire · 23 days
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april reading meme!
BOOKS
We Will Devour The Night by Camilla Andrew. The version I read is available in the author's ko-fi (aninkwellofnectar), and the final version will come during fall of this year. I've talked about this saga before (The Essence of the Equinox), and I still recommend it to those of us who like complex characters (especially female characters), gothic horror, and lush prose. This is a sequel, and I like it even more than the first instalment. It gets deeper into the darkness of the world and it's an amazing read. The third and final part has started been posted on ko-fi as well, for anyone interested.
Why Does He Do That? Inside The Minds of Angry and Controlling Men by Lundy Bancroft. I wish I could make everyone read this book. It wouldn't fix everything, because it runs against a lot of people's deep-seated belief systems, but maybe it would make SOME of them start second-guessing those beliefs... Anyway. A MUST read in terms of abuse and intimate partner violence.
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. I read the book for the first time about 15 years ago, and only reread it now. I loved it even more than the first time. The atmosphere, the revenge tale, the love story between Catherine and Heathcliff, all the ways these families' lives affect the others, how you have to parse through Nelly's account of events... I still wish I could hit Lockwood in the head with a stick lol. Just once. Not even too hard! But hit him in the head, I would xD
COMICS
Batman: Huntress/Spoiler - Blunt Trauma. One of those "it could've been so good if it was good" comics. It would've had to NOT been written by Dixon, of course. His ideas about these two characters are palpable here. He's met real women and girls, I know this, but he's completely failed to take anything from these meetings into account to understand them as people. And boy, does it show in his writing.
Green Lantern: Willworld. I've had this comic in my list for aeons and I moved it up when I found out its author would be writing Jason's upcoming ADITF "what if" story starting July. I really liked this one, and how it showcased Hal's character. It's not a guarantee I'll like his Robin Lives run, because comic writers have biases and blind spots and huge gaps in their knowlege regarding certain characters, but "he seems to be a good writer" is already a huuuuge leg up compared to most modern Jason content lol.
JLA: World Without Grown-ups. This was interesting because I've watched the Young Justice (cartoon) version of this premise, which is VERY different, from the villains to their goals to the handling of the crisis (since the cartoon had an established teen team), down to the emotional beats (the Zataras). They're too different to be compared, tbh. This one was quite fun though, and it made me feel very fond of Bart. Also Tim's parasocial relationship with Jason's memorial made an appearance LOL.
Colin Wilke's appearances. I am MOURNING this kid. He has like 9 appearances (and a couple of them are barely a few pages) but each one is gold. Bring him back. Make HIM Damian's best friend. Integrate him in the storyline!! His character and his dynamic with Damian had so so much potential. I am definitely going to include him in my fics.
Batman: Li'l Gotham. (plus the two stories introducing it in Batman Annual #27 and 'Tec Annual #11). A couple of things conspired (including me finding out there's a version of Colin in this lol) and I ended up reading it while I was sick. It's mostly fun fluff (as opposed to just corny fluff) and a quick read without much meat in it, but a few things nudged the inspiration muscle and Dustin Nguyen's art is adorable.
Batman Tales: Once Upon a Crime. I liked this one more than the above! It follows in that universe (a Gotham where everything is smaller and cuter lol), mixing it with some fairy tale vibes. Pinocchio!Damian is A Concept. Although my favourite story was "The Snow Queen", with Mister Freeze. The art goes into a whole other level in all of these, but especially that one.
Batman: The Chalice. Bruce Wayne receives the Holy Grail. I read this one in my list of Talia appearances and hers is the part that interested me: Ra's wants the Grail to make her immortal, like him, and Talia tells him that she has no desire to live forever. Her words are "Having lived my life in your company, the prospect of eernal life is not the attraction for me it might be for another." There are A LOT of things you can read into that sentence, and one of them, to me, is the idea that death to Talia would be an escape from Ra's, which is... interesting. Sidenote: this one was written by Dixon, who once in a while gets his wired crossed and is not wholly terrible with female characters xD
Ghost/Batgirl. I hadn't heard of Ghost before but I'm kinda curious after reading this mini run. I found a lot of the concepts it worked on (resurrection, mind control, etc.) quite interesting, although I ended up feeling the execution didn't delve too deeply into them. It's an story I might want to reread and pick apart at some point, though.
JLA: Tower of Babel. Yeah, THAT arc lol (also part of my Talia-reading). I also read JLA Secret Files and Origins #3 (in May, though), which shows Talia's whole thoughts on it as she steals the plans + some of the consequences the whole thing has for the other bats whose teammates no longer trust them (Dick, Tim, Barbara) + the wording of Bruce's contingency plans (which btw includes acceptance of lethal methods against Clark lol)... he certainly got off easy after this añsdlkfjasdf. Honestly, imo, the most selfish, cowardly thing he did was walking out before the JLA could tell him they'd voted him out. I know he and the comics probably won't frame it like that afterwards, but that's how it felt to me. The very least he could've done is face his teammates.
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