#but apparently grass pollen is high

[achaotichuman]

Another thing for Elucien, cause that's apparently what my mind has decided to think about, is.

Elain overhearing the IC shit talking Lucien and going fucking insane.

Listen we lacked the standing up for our mate with Cassian, we wanted it, we wanted this man to go insane for his woman and tell Rhysand the fuck off. But he never did. So the people are left craving.

Thing is with Elain and Lucien, Lucien is the one being talked down to, ignored, sidelined, and shit talked about.

So I think what should happen is after some bonding, and learning to think about the future and what it might pertain to her, we should have Elain in a meeting with the IC. Here's how it goes.

Elain is bored. Bored out of her wits end. The meeting drags on forever, the second are dripping by slower than an ice cube melting in snow.

She knows she's only here because her sister wanted to include her. She's only here so as to not upset her sister. Lose-Lose, for everyone involved.

The wall has become less than interesting to look at. The ceiling isn't a place she can stare for the others would look at her strangely, and none of the others she can observe for too long without them snapping for why she's staring.

Bored, bored, bored.

With nothing more to turn to, her mind shifts, and instead of four walls and a roof. She is back in that wonderful open field.

Pollen is around, and trees line the sight, the grass is tall enough to brush her skirts and wildflowers roam freely.

She is as unbound as a butterfly on the breeze. And the air is no longer so potent.

Her eyes are now drawn to one sight only and that is of a banner of red hair. And two mismatched eyes. Dark skin, and a dazzling smile. Elain can't find it in her to look away, but he doesn't seem inclined to turn away his gaze either.

They are close. Close enough to feel the heat of the other, close enough so she can feel his fire lurking under the skin, burning hotter as her hand lifts and brushes the lapel of his jacket.

All of a sudden Elain is back in the four walls and the roof closes her in. She sighs silently and turns her eyes to something of interest. Feyre sitting close to her mate, eyes turned lovingly to his face, never looking away, even as his gaze slides to hers and is filled with a burning, seething passion of lust. It almost disgusts Elain, how every time they look at each other, Feyre looks like her whole world lies in his eyes, and Rhysand just wants to fuck her.

She also supposes it is not her problem. Her sister had chosen the male, even if it wasn't her type of man.

Far from it, Elain had to concede, but she chose not to think too much about that.

Then conversation turned as a familiar name slipped past the lips of the High lord.

"-Lucien Vanserra."

Now Elain sat slightly straighter, a movement that did not go unlocked by the High lords second. Amren narrowed her eyes but was silent. Feyre gave Elain a pitting smile, which Elain found herself wanting to slap off her face.

"We must invite him?" Morrigan asked, her tone snarky and unwanted. Elain's eyes glanced over to her; the blonde slid her gaze to Elain. Morrigan tilted her head like a predator but smiled like prey.

"Yes, we must Morrigan, he is our emissary." Rhysand said.

Emissary, as if he wasn't more than that. Like Elain hadn't heard the stories, hadn't asked about them, or hadn't learned.

Elain felt a deep madness curl in her core. A rage that began to drift to the surface like smoke wafting from a fireplace.

If my mate hadn't gone to the ends of the earth, you wouldn't be alive, Rhysand.

She wanted to say it.

So desperately wanted to say it.

Not yet a cruel voice whispered.

Not yet. Elain murmured back.

"Maybe we should begin to reconsider that." Amren replied smoothly. Elain looked to her, and those eyes that now lacked any power at all.

You're weaker than me now, you serpent, watch your mouth. Elain wished to say.

Not yet.

Rhysand answered her with a cruel, almost mocking tone, mocking in Lucien's direction, "Now why ever is that, Amren?"

"Well, the boy is not necessary for us anymore. Now that the threat of Kosechi is gone. Besides, he'll always wander the world forever, condemned to exile."

Elain turned to Rhysand.

If he says a word against him-

"Perhaps you are right, but the Fox is useful in his ways. And quite entertaining, as soon as we grow bored of him we can toss him away." Rhysand said.

They had the audacity to grin.

Feyre had the fucking audacity to laugh under her breath.

"Repeat."

Her voice snapped through the room like the sound of rope long worn giving out.

"Excuse me?" Rhysand asked, his voice sneering.

"I said, repeat." Elain's teeth were bared, her heart was pounding, her skin was threatening to burst.

"I-" Rhysand laughed, "I do not have to repeat myself-"

"Repeat exactly what you said, Rhysand. Did you or did you not just say that my mate is nothing more than enter-fucking-tainment to you?!" The words spilled from a darkness so deeply entrenched within her that they burned her throat coming out, but she didn't stop the raising of her voice. Nor her feet forcing her to stand, back ram-rod straight. Eyes blazing like never before.

Not even when Hybern had stood over Nesta, prepared to kill her, had she felt such raw, powerful rage.

"Elain, he may be your mate, but be honest he isn't much of a male." Morrigan sneered, Elain snapped her eyes to the blonde. Sitting perfect and poised, looking like a mean doll with her awful scrunched noise and snotty look.

"Go get fucked Morrigan." Elain said, with such a sweet tone that it could have crystalized sugar.

There was a collective gasp, Morrigan's jaw fell, and her hand touched the point above her cleavage.

There was the sound of furniture scraping against the ground, and as Rhysand stood, Elain whirled on him.

The High lord collected darkness at his hands and feet, to anyone they may have run scared and as Rhysand looked down at her, Elain knew that was what he expected her to do.

"Elain that is enou-"

"You! How dare you treat my mate as though as lesser! How dare you deny him like if it weren't for him you wouldn't be dead! You are nothing more than a third of a High lord for the reason that you only prioritize one city above the rest. Whilst my mate works tirelessly day and fucking night to keep several Courts in order!"

Go, the Cauldron said, tell him what is what, beloved one.

"My mate has been nothing but kind and caring and sweet. He does everything you order! He helps this court! If not for him we would have never won the war! If not for him, would Feyre be High lady right now?! Would she have ever made it out alive from Under the Mountain?!"

At the mention of Under the Mountain, Feyre stood and screamed, "You have no idea what went on-"

"Oh but I do, beloved sister!" Elain shouted back, "Do you think me dumb? Do you think me stupid and careless?! I have learned, I have overheard! Gods I have asked! I know that without my mate, you wouldn't be alive! My mate is scarred for helping you! Fucking scarred! Has he not already been scarred enough?!"

"Enough!" Rhysand roared. Darkness pushed in from the four walls.

"It is not enough!" Elain screamed. And the Cauldron did the rest.

Lightning split the sky, drawing shapes in the walls, and the golden glow of the fire bellowed, pushing back the darkness.

And Elain.

Elain began to glow.

Her skin, her hair, her eyes, her very being began to glow.

Her voice was like a raging thunderstorm pouring down. A tiger in a cage lashing at the bars.

There was screaming, someone was crying. Elain didn't care as her eyes were locked in on Rhysand.

"It will never be enough! Until my mate has you begging for his forgiveness! Until I have seen to it that you no longer so much as think a word against him! It will never be enough!"

The power winked out, and like nothing had happened, the glowing stopped, the thunderstorm ceased and the fire went out, leaving them in darkness.

Someone snapped their fingers and the fire returned.

Elain surveyed the damage. Feyre had fallen back into her chair, Morrigan was on the floor, her hair a mess. Amren was standing up and looking terrified. A closer inspection revealed Elain had burned her with a lick of fire across the back of her knuckles.

Cassian was standing in front of Nesta. It was only the eldest Archeron who had not moved from her place beside the door, hands folded gently in her lap, eyes approving.

Elain nodded to her sister, and there was the slightest tilt of the head.

Finish him, Elain. Is what that tilt said.

Elain turned back to Rhysand and licked her lips, throat screaming for cool water.

Elain picked up her skirts and walked closer. Rhysand breathed harshly. Eyes wide and angered.

Fearful.

Elain whispered into the space between them. A world of void and of starlight, "If you ever speak my mates name in a vile manner again, I will not be so kind to you."

She didn't allow them another word as she turned and bowed politely to her eldest sister.

The clicking of her shoes echoed as she left the room quietly.

She heard the screaming of her name, as her youngest sister's mate finally regained his ability to speak.

But by the time the Inner Circle had barrelled out of the meeting room to grab and drag her back in to be punished for her insolence.

She was gone, and the door was left open. Revealing a dark path that led to the city, with no one on it.

#five bucks and a pat on the head and i'll maybe write more of this #that is if anyone even likes it #acotar #elucien #pro elucien #elain x lucien #elain archeron #pro elain archeron #lucien vanserra #pro lucien vanserra #acotar headcanons #acotar au

[schrijverr]

I Dig You 3

Chapter 3 out of 8

Robin is tentatively excited for her first internship: an archaeological dig in the Netherlands, where she has been studying. However, when she gets there, Steve is there too. The dick of their uni that she now has to work with. Great. But being stuck digging for six weeks makes people bond and maybe he isn’t too bad. Maybe he can be her friend.

AKA an archaeology interns, modern, enemies-to-friends stobin au

On AO3.

Ships: none

Warnings: none

~~~~

Chapter 3: Weekend

Living together with Steve is nicer than Robin expected it would be. It isn’t immediately perfect, but it’s nice. They eat together that first night, then turn in, since despite being nearby, it’s still an early morning. Though, Robin suspects Steve scrolls through his phone for a while like she does.

The next morning she is horrified to discover that Steve is an oatmeal person, while he laughs at her expression, telling her it’s healthy, while she tries to explain how oats are the most horrid thing one can do to their mouth.

Luckily, Steve brings bread to work, so Robin has a normal breakfast, before they get ready and get on their bikes.

That day Steve gets whisked away to put seven with Jeroen to learn how to work the GPS. They haven’t seen it in action much, since it’s used to set out a put and to draw the sporen before they get couped, which had already happened in put five and was done by Sjors in put six.

Jeroen promises he’ll show Robin later as well. However, Astrid decides that Steve shouldn’t be the only one learning, so she teaches Robin how to draw the coups, which has been Astrid’s job for most of the dig so far.

The drawing is done on a tablet in a GIS program, Robin hated the GIS course, which is very confusing with computers and maps and all sorts of buttons, so she is terrified. However, she is pleased to discover that inputting data is a lot less difficult than trying to get results from it, so she picks it up quite easily.

Drawing isn’t that difficult. You just draw the coup square and then cut out the feature by measuring along the X-axis on a predetermined height, before sticking the card with the spoornummer in the middle to let everyone know that the coup has been drawn and can be finished.

After doing two coups successfully under supervision, Robin is left to do the others on her own, something she is quite happy with, because she is not built for digging and this is a lot less effort than shoveling dirt.

When Steve returns from put seven after the lunch break, she sends him a smug look as she continues to draw, while he has to dig coups. Though he only gives her a mild pout and an eyeroll. Steve actually likes the digging. Weirdo.

At the end of the day, they bike back together at a more normal pace than the day before, talking about the day.

Steve apparently had to wade through high grass with the GPS on a stick so that they could set it out right for the machine excavator to dig out. Fortunately he doesn’t have a pollen allergy, something Robin checks immediately, since she still vividly remembers the rashes some people had during their fieldschool in first year.

In turn, Robin tells him about the drawing and they both commiserate in their shared failure at GIS, because apparently Steve had been bad at it too. At the time, Robin had been glad not to share the class, but now she mourns the chance of having another buddy to have sat there with her until five as everyone else left early, already done.

Back at the vacation home, Robin graciously lets Steve have the first shower. She is as always covered in dirt and tries to get as much of it off of her, before she enters to wash up. Then, like the day before, they sit outside together and write their reports, before Robin offers to cook.

Steve looks like he wants to take her up on the offer, however, something stops him, because he says: “I mean, I don’t mind doing it, if you’re offering to be polite or-”

“Steve,” she says in a tone that she more often uses to say dingus. “I don’t offer to do shit I don’t wanna do. We’re sharing this thing, right? I’m not a guest. I know how to fucking cook.”

“I- I didn’t mean to-” Steve starts up spluttering, eyes wide.

“I know, I know,” Robin waves him away, though three weeks earlier, she would have been surprised that Steve wasn’t saying he thought she didn’t know how to cook. “Just tell me what you planned, dingus. I’ll cook, you take a nap or something.”

“A nap?” Steve repeats with an incredulous look, before pulling an ‘actually not such a bad idea’-face and saying: “Uhm, pasta again. I don’t mind eating the same, but you can make whatever you want with what there is.”

Robin often eats the same thing three times a week and loves pasta, so she doesn’t mind in the slightest either. So she nods: “Pasta it is,” which earns her a smile from Steve.

Steve doesn’t nap, but Robin finds him slightly dozing when she comes outside with the two plates in her hand. She takes a moment to reflect how easily they have clicked together as Steve wakes himself up so he can dig into the food. She never really clicks easy with someone and it always takes a lot of time to befriend someone, who would have thought that forced proximity to Steve of all people would finally have a click.

The next two days proceed in quite the same fashion. They finish up put six and manage to get a small start on put seven.

Steve finds half of an in tact pot, which is one of the coolest things to date. Robin and Steve get to sit in as Astrid gets the whole pot out with sediment and all, so they can see if there are still traces left of what it used to hold or old bits that could get lost on site without the sediment there.

And then it is weekend.

In the days before the weekend, Steve hasn’t alluded to leaving during the days off, nor asked Robin to leave. Friday is too late to go home yet, so Robin wakes up on Saturday – finally sleeping in for a change – in the vacation home without knowing how welcome she is.

She wakes up at half past ten in the morning, but then stays in bed for another half hour to procrastinate having to confront Steve about how the weekend is going to work.

Gathering her courage, she leaves her room to find Steve already awake, way too awake in fact. He is on the couch, sprawled over it in basketball shorts and a tshirt as he scrolls through his phone, empty oatmeal bowl on the table. Once he sees her he grins: “Good morning, sleeping beauty.”

Deciding that it will be better to play into being just awake, she grouches: “You look way too awake.”

“I have been awake, for quite a while already actually,” Steve informs her cheerfully. “I went on a run. I left you a note, but it seems that wasn’t necessary.”

“A run?” Robin exclaims, unable to help it. “That is insane, what’s wrong with you?”

“I like the exercise,” Steve shrugs.

“Steven, we have been doing physical exercise all week. What do you think digging is?” Robin asks, not able to comprehend what kind of person Steve is.

“Closer to weight training than fitness?” Steve answers, a little confused. “And my name’s not Steven.”

“It’s not?” Robin asks, deciding to let the exercise go, because it is an answer to her question and it does explain how Steve looks at it.

“No, it’s Stefanus,” Steve says. “It’s a Dutch version of Steven though. My mom’s from this old Dutch family, who moved to the US back when New York was still New Amsterdam. They’re really big on their family tree and shit. It’s the reason my dad was okay with me even studying here instead of Yale.”

“You’re Dutch?” Robin is learning all sorts of things about Steve today that are not related to what she came out of her room here to ask.

“Not really, but kind of,” Steve tells her. “We haven’t lived here in like centuries, but recycling names is a big thing, so I got the same name as my great grandfather and like his father before him and then a distant uncle before that and down the line it goes.”

“That’s kind of cool though, in a way,” Robin says, because her parents are both hippies, who don’t have much contact with family, since the rest is pretty conservative. Maybe having a rich history like that would have made her feel less alone and disconnected.

“I mean, I guess, but can you imagine showing up to kindergarten with that name?” Steve laughs, though there’s an edge to it. “I’ve been Steve for way longer.”

Robin is familiar to that feeling, so she knows not to push, instead asking: “So, uhm, this is like totally random and completely unrelated to our conversation – which is a little weird now that I think of it – but I did want to ask this before that conversation started, so it’s not really a deviation as much as going back to the start. Not that you were involved in that, but-”

“Hey, Robin, calm down. It’s alright. Just ask the question,” Steve cuts her off.

“Well, uhm, I was wondering if you’re cool with me hanging around for the weekend or if you want me to fuck off back to The Hague for it?” Robin mumbles out as fast as she can, not meeting Steve’s eyes.

“Of course, I thought that was clear, sorry. It would kind of suck to go home on Saturday morning only to come back on Sunday evening,” Steve says. “Sorry, should have said that.”

“No, it’s okay, I’m just being weird about it and making it a thing,” Robin assures him, waving her hands around as if that will wave her awkwardness away.

“I don’t think you’re being weird about it,” Steve tells her genuinely, throwing her off.

“You don’t?” she asks, because everyone has always told her she’s being weird about things.

“Nah, the whole point of something being unclear is asking clarification, that’s how it works, right?” Steve shrugs. “Anyways, I was planning on doing groceries today, wanna come with or just influence the list?”

“I’ll come with,” Robin says. She doesn’t really like grocery shopping, however, Steve’s attitude has intrigued her and she wants to study him more.

“Cool beans,” Steve smiles, like a dork, before telling her to make breakfast, so she can help make the list.

As it turns out, Steve has A System for his lists, which is writing out the days of the week, then writing what he’ll eat, before turning the ingredients into the list and adding all the other stuff he needs to it. Robin is very impressed.

They have eaten pasta two times and tomato soup the other two. It takes them a bit to figure out where else they overlap, settling on buying potatoes and noodles as well as some mutually agreed upon veggies and meat options.

Steve writes down stuff he wants on his bread and the things he needs for oatmeal, letting Robin add her own stuff for on the bread, before they talk drinks and snacks.

With the list done, they grab grocery bags and get on their bikes. Robin is glad Steve already knows the way, because she is a horrid navigator, thus more than happy to follow after Steve as they bike around the town Robin has been traveling to for the past three weeks, yet has never seen before.

Robin has to swallow when it turns out Steve shops at the Albert Heijn, because of course he does, it’s the fancy grocery store, why would he shop at the Lidl? But Robin isn’t paying for the vacation home and shopping for two is sometimes cheaper than shopping for one. It won’t be more than a 20 euro difference in the end. She can do this.

Steve grabs the cart and gives her an impish grin as he offers: “Want a ride, my lady?” in an over the top accent.

“Oh my god, who taught you that voice,” Robin snorts.

“I did drama for easy credits,” Steve grins, pleased that he made her laugh.

“Of course you did.” Robin pauses for a second, then admits: “Me too,” making the two of them giggle again. Then she says in a similar put upon voice: “I’d love to have a carriage prepared for me, good sir.”

“Shit, for real? Wait, lemme hold this better,” Steve says, as he gets a better grip on the cart so it won’t roll away when she tries to climb in.

Robin wasn’t entirely serious when she took him up on it. She loved riding in the cart, but at some point it got weird for her to do, so she stopped. However, Steve doesn’t think she’s weird and is willing to facilitate, so Robin isn’t going to question it. She’ll likely never come back here, who cares if people think she’s weird. They do regardless.

Climbing in is less easy than she remembers, but she manages and soon is seated in the cart. Once she is in, Steve sets off into the store.

Steve also already knows his way around the store a little and Robin finds that she minds grocery shopping less with him there. He does the navigating around the store and she just has to judge his produce choices and convince him that penne pasta is better than the weird spirally ones. It’s actually quite fun.

They have too much stuff to be allowed in the self checkout, so Robin climbs out while they queue at a regular checkout, so she can help load their groceries on the counter while coming across as a normal person.

When the cashier rattles off a number too quickly for Robin to follow, Steve just smiles and holds up his card as he says: “Pinnen, please,” with an accent on the first word.

Robin isn’t sure if Steve knows how much he needs to pay before it appears on the little machine and a part of her envies him for it, so she quickly focuses on playing Tetris with their groceries to get them all into the bags they brought.

She isn’t sure how they’re getting the two big bags back, however, Steve is really confident in his luggage carrier, because he ploinks one bag on there, asking Robin if the other one can go in her basket. The basket is on the front and is more of a crate really. A popular thing in the Netherlands to easily transport a bag or something. Robin likes it, but it makes it harder to steer and her balance isn’t the best.

“Uhm, yeah, yeah, totally,” she says.

Steve gives her a skeptical look and says: “You don’t sound sure, I think. Just say no if it’s no, that’s alright.”

Robin flushes in embarrassment, then rambles: “Well, you can, but it makes it harder to steer and balance and I’m already not the most graceful, like I’m surprised I haven’t accidentally ruined a spoor by tripping into my coup yet, you know. So, I don’t mind, but the chances of me falling and then you falling and our groceries going, like, everywhere, is definitely bigger.”

“Hm, that makes sense,” Steve nods, then thinks for a second, before he suggests: “We can switch bikes.”

It takes a second before Robin processes, then realizes that might not be so bad. Steve has a ‘girls’ bike too, which doesn’t have the high rung, making it easier to get on, so it’s not that different from her bike and groceries on the back are definitely easier than groceries on the front.

“Yeah, that’ll work,” she smiles, glad that she didn’t fuck this whole thing up. She is also starting to get that Steve likes people being a bit blunt, which is great, because Robin is a horrible liar and good at being blunt.

“Toppie,” Steve says – and who the fuck says toppie? – as he puts his bike on the standard so they can switch.

Steve’s bike is a little tall for her, but not that much and the bike ride back goes off without a hitch.

Robin offers to put the groceries away, telling Steve to send her a Tikkie (a Dutch app for payment requests that is impossible to avoid when hanging around Dutch people, but also convenient). Steve gives her thumbs up at that.

It’s already afternoon by the time they get back, so Robin settles in outside on a chair, slathering herself in sunscreen before cracking open her book. Steve however, puts on headphones and goes to tan on a towel in the grass. It’s peaceful. Nice.

The next day, Robin sleeps in again, while Steve goes on another fucking run. He is a man of many mysteries to her.

They eat breakfast together, before Steve tells her that he’s running by the laundromat today and he doesn’t have enough for a machine, so if she wants to share one. Robin gratefully takes it, she needs to wash her work clothes before the next week.

Robin brings her book to the laundromat, while Steve brings a sudoku book, because he is a grandpa as Robin has discovered.

Naturally she teases him for his sudoku book, however, she attempts one when he is loading up their wash she gets stuck, which means that Steve turns on her, teasing her. It is completely deserved and doesn’t feel malicious. A novel feeling.

As they wait for their clothes, they puzzle and read. Robin often feels uncomfortable in silences, filling them with rambles to get away from the feeling of being awkward or weird. However, it feels comfortable to share the silence with Steve. They’re coexisting, sharing space, instead of not knowing how to talk.

At some points, Robin stops reading to tells Steve about the tomfoolery that has just happened in her book and Steve interrupts her to proudly show her the 4 star sudoku he solved without the aid of help numbers.

That night Robin cooks and Steve does the dishes, because she told him she hates the feeling of the water and the food bits on her hands and he said he doesn’t mind, but is way too impatient for cooking, so it works out.

All in all, spending the weekend with Steve isn’t the worst thing. In fact, it’s one of the nicer weekends Robin has had since coming to the Netherlands.

~~

A/N:

I hate GIS so much and I have so much respect for everyone who is able to work with it, but I was so bad at it, like to the point where the lecturer started laughing whenever I raised my hand because he knew it would be some dumbass question lmao

Fun fact, one of he guys I was on a dig with runs marathons in the weekend for fun, Idk how he does it, but respect xp

I think I made both of them autistic when the plan was to make only Robin a lill autistic and give her anxiety, but idk how neurotypicals communicate so lksdhgflk xp

Fuck, I miss riding in the shopping cart so much, that shit was fun

#rr writing #stranger things #steve harrington #robin buckley #platonic stobin #stobin #archaeologists stobin au #stobin au #OCs

[1eaf-me-alone]

That destroying angel and blackberry for xiao idea you put at the end of your post sounds like a good fic so could I please request that? :)

𝕴𝖓 𝖞𝖔𝖚𝖗 𝖉𝖗𝖊𝖆𝖒𝖘

Character: Xiao

Word count: 1.6k

Genre: hurt/ comfort

Prompt: “you're the only one I care for in this world”

Other: gender neutral reader

warning: implied that reader doesn't want to live

— — — — —

“You’re fired”

“ but “

“GET OUT”

You walked out of the building looking down at the streets. grey, thundery clouds swarmed above you as the rain started to fall from the sky, huge, cold, drops fell onto your skin. You held your hand high up, towards the rain. You shivered, your clothes stuck to your body whilst your hair flattened and clung to your face. Perfect. Just what you needed. You didn't have an umbrella to shelter you from the rain either. You walked miserably in the rain, slow tears falling down your face. 

You wandered along the unstable pavement. Everything around you was a blur, you laughed hysterically at your misfortune, clinging onto a lamp post as more tears fell rapidly down your cheek. 

You walked into your room and slammed the door slumping down into your bed. You didn’t have the energy to do anything.

Everything just wanted you to suffer, everyone wanted you to feel pain. You didn't have anything. No money, no friends, no job. You wailed out your suffering, your face welled up as your cheeks went red. You wouldn't be able to live.

Soon you fell asleep, shutting your eyes and drifting into the world of your dreams 

— —— — — —

You opened your eyes as around you an ethereal world formed in front of you. You walked across the grass and fields, feeling the warmth of the sun against your face. Butterflies fluttered their wings sprinkling pollen, the colourful flowers swayed in the soft breeze of the summer day. 

You squinted your eyes seeing a figure slowly walking toward you. As he came towards you, his features became more apparent. He was rather short, with black hair and turquoise highlights. His eyes were the colour of almond and his arms were decorated in green tattoos which gave off a slight glow. 

The perplexing man walked towards you. Sitting on the grass next to you. 

“Are you ok ?”

You looked at the short man sitting next to you, never having seen him before.

“Who are you? Why are you here?”

The Man gazed into your eyes, taking a comfortable seating position as he levitated slightly in the air.

“My name is Xiao- and I’m here to help you. So tell me, what’s up?”

You let out a shaky breath, closing your eyes to try and prevent the tears from falling. 

“ My friend’s just died, I got fired from my job, I don’t have enough money for the house. Everything seems to be falling apart, everyone is leaving me, no-on cares for me and I’ll be homeless soon. I have no reason to live. 

You felt your face go red as tear drops fell onto the ground, forming massive puddles and holes in the grass. 

“But you have.”

Xiao stood up, linking his arm with yours as he guided you to the waterfall nearby, kneeling as he grabbed a rock and threw it across the river. The water rippled, sending small waves onto the grass. 

“Life is long and full of troubles- death waits after. Everyone knows this-“

A butterfly fluttered onto your hand resting there.

“You can’t give up now when you haven’t even tried. First, you try, and then you may give up. So sort your priorities- get yourself a job, earn some money. Things can’t be bad forever, they won’t be. So try before you fail.”

You hummed in thought, thinking of what he had said. You floated up high into the sky, jumping onto the clouds as you rose In the air. 

“It’s time for you to go back to the waking world”

“But-“

You dropped from the sky, falling to the ground, falling, cascading Into the Earth, into the lava. 

“Will I ever meet you again?” 

“When your eyes close and you dream at night I’ll be there. But I warn you- I'm willing to protect you but don't think about getting close, and stay out of my way, or all that awaits you is regret.” 

— — — — — — 

From then on you came to meet Xiao every evening. Listening to his advice. He helped you forget your pain, your hurt, your sadness. He made you look at the beauty of the world around him. 

You wanted to go to sleep now. You wanted to stay for more and have your worries melt away. You loved how Xiao made you feel. How he comforted you, the way he caressed you, sat next to you, talked to you. You hated how as soon as you awoke you plunged back into harsh reality again. Surviving off of the little food in the fridge, the little money you had left and everything around you is an ugly mess. 

And so, you slowly start spending more time in your dream world. Next to Xiao, next to the parks, and grass and trees. 

But before you knew it you started to fall in love with Xiao. You no longer saw him as someone to be there and listen whilst you dumped all your stuff on him. You began to love him. You wanted to stay, you didn't want to wake up. You were willing to give up your life in the material world to stay with Xiao for he gave you calm and comfort. 

And you couldn’t help but fall in love with him, his hair dusted with turquoise, his pale and angular face- the star that was on his forehead, his amber eyes, his white beaded necklace along his neck. The purple fabric in his clothing. The way he talked to you and helped you. You wanted to stay with him- You wanted to leave your life to stay with Xiao. You loved him. 

— — — — — — — 

You walked along the grassy hills of your dream world,  the leaves of trees cascaded down beautifully. The warm colours of the sunset glowed onto your face. You let out a huge smile as you saw Xiao walk toward you. 

He sat down next to you, taking in a deep breath of air. His hair moved in the wind, whilst his eyes remained closed and at peace. 

“Xiao.”

His eyes opened, revealing a dusty, sandy colour of a desert.

“I’ve been thinking of... Staying here. I'm happy here. My world here is perfect, I don't have any worries, I can forget them here and- and I have you. And we can be together here. “

Xiao stood up, glaring at you- his pupils became slits as his hair moved more wildly in the wind.

“I warned you. You can't stay here with me- you have a proper life in the real world, a life you're yet to fulfil. Being with me in your childlike fantasy is never going to happen. Do YOU understand?

He walked away, swishing his robes and disappearing into the unknown. 

— — — — — — — 

You woke up from your dreams. Your body was shivering and trembling. A cold sweat came down your face as you tried to stand up. There's no use. You lay down on your bed again and closed your eyes trying to sleep - for if you weren't dreaming all your problems would soon be crashing down. 

— — — — — 

You skipped along the long fresh grass, the sun had risen high up into the sky, shining brightly onto the swaying roses. 

“I’ve decided to leave.”

You turned your head around, seeing Xiao in front of you. His expression was solemn as he looked you dead in the eyes.

“Until I stay here you won't be able to live your life as you should. For your good, I must go.”

“You're the only person I care for in this world. “

Your voice slowly became more agitated, as tears started forming on your cheeks. 

“ I don’t care for anyone else but you. Please. No. You can't leave me- I can't bear to have another one leave me- Xiao-”

Xiao walked towards you, breathing in your smell, as he gently leaned in and kissed you. You stopped for a second, as your eyes broadened. Feeling Xiao’s lips against yours, soft and cushiony- a little cold yet smooth against your skin. 

He stepped back, a sad smile lay on his face as he slowly walked away from you. 

“Goodbye.”

He wandered further from you disappearing behind a hill.  Nothing of him remained.

A harsh wind surrounded you, as the rain started to pour down relentlessly. Tears ran down your face quicker than you would stop them. You started to scream, scream for him. Yelling for him to come back your hair whipped around wildly across your face.

“ PLEASE come back”

— — — — — — — — —

You woke up. You felt heavy, your face was fresh from tears. You looked around your bedroom as you stood up from the bed. You examined yourself in the mirror. Huge eye bags rested on your face, your cheeks were sunken, you looked pale, and your clothes smelt dirty and full of sweat. Your cheekbones were more pronounced.

You had been avoiding reality for long enough. It was time to face  it. Whether it was going to be hard or not you had to go through it this time. 

— — — — — 

And after a while, you did start to get better. You found a reasonable job, cleaned your apartment, and bought yourself some food and clothes. You found a new love interest.

But slowly you started to forget Xiao. He became a blur in your memories and then a void. 

You were successful, you were happy, you had a new significant other to care for, a new house a new job. Money which could afford luxuries you previously could never imagine. 

— — — — — — 

Xiao looked down upon you. You finally seemed content. He smiled as he watched you laugh with your new love.

– — — — Hope you enjoyed your stay at the forest!

A/n: went a little creative with this one. (having Xiao as a manifestation of your sub consciousness/ in your dreams. Also Xiao is a little sweeter than in Cannon here.

#Xiao #xiao x y/n #genshin impact #genshin x reader #xiao fluff #xiao hurt/comfort #xiao scenarios #Currently 1 am in the mornknf #Can't tell if I've made a masterpiece or complete rubbish #Probably the second one #Event: into the woods #xiao x reader

[impactplaygrounds]

Top tips for synthetic turf maintenance

Synthetic turf, with its durability and low maintenance requirements, has become a popular choice for residential lawns, commercial landscapes, and sports fields. While it significantly reduces the need for water, mowing, and chemical treatments, maintaining its appearance and longevity requires some care.

Here are top tips for synthetic turf maintenance that will help keep your artificial grass looking its best year-round.

Regular Cleaning Dust, pollen, and other airborne pollutants can accumulate on the surface of synthetic turf over time, dulling its appearance. Use a leaf blower to remove debris and a hose to wash away dust periodically. For areas with heavy foot traffic, a more thorough cleaning may be necessary to prevent matting and ensure the turf fibres stand upright.

Spot Cleaning Spills and Stains Spills and stains are inevitable, especially in areas used for dining or play. Most spills can be easily washed away with water, but for more stubborn stains, a mild detergent solution can be used. It’s important to address spills and stains promptly to prevent them from setting and becoming more difficult to remove.

Brushing the Turf To keep synthetic turf looking its best, regular brushing is recommended. Use a stiff, natural bristle broom or a specialized turf brush to gently fluff the fibres, especially in high-traffic areas where the turf may become matted. Brushing helps to maintain the upright position of the turf fibres, ensuring the surface remains natural-looking and comfortable underfoot.

Weed Control While synthetic turf significantly reduces the growth of weeds, some may sprout along the edges or through the drainage holes. Regularly inspect your turf for weeds and remove them by hand or use a water-based weed killer if necessary. Avoid using harsh chemicals that could damage the turf fibres or the backing material.

Pet Waste Management For pet owners, synthetic turf offers a hygienic and easy-to-clean solution. However, prompt removal and cleaning of pet waste are essential to prevent odours and maintain hygiene. Use water and a mild detergent to clean the area after waste removal. There are also enzyme-based cleaners available that are designed specifically for use on synthetic turf to neutralize odours.

Preventing Damage Protect your synthetic turf from potential damage by avoiding placing sharp objects or heavy equipment on the surface. Furniture and heavy play equipment should be periodically moved to prevent the turf fibres from becoming permanently flattened. Additionally, avoid using barbecues or fire pits directly on the turf, as heat can melt the fibres.

Professional Maintenance Checks While synthetic turf is low maintenance, having a professional maintenance check annually can help extend its lifespan and ensure it remains in top condition. Professionals can identify and rectify any issues, such as minor repairs to the turf or infill adjustments, that may not be immediately apparent to the untrained eye.

Maintaining synthetic turf is straightforward and requires minimal effort compared to natural grass. By following these top tips, you can ensure your synthetic turf remains beautiful, functional, and durable for many years to come.

Whether it’s a residential lawn, commercial landscape, or sports field, proper maintenance is key to maximizing the investment in your synthetic turf.

ORIGINALLY FOUND ON- Source: Impact Playgrounds(https://impactplaygrounds.com.au/top-tips-for-synthetic-turf-maintenance/)

#Artificial Grass #Artificial Grass Installers #Synthetic Turf #Wet Pour Rubber #Playground Equipment

[thedivinemsem]

Birds in trees on todays walk.  Yes, that’s a Bald Eagle.  I don’t think they are nesting in the park, but in late March when DNR stocks the river, I see them fly over pretty regularly looking for a meal.  It’s not often that I catch one just hanging out....and in this case it was only because I happened to see it fly by and just kept checking out the trees.

Which is also how I found this Great Blue Heron perched probably 20 ft up.  That’s out of character for these guys....but since the river was stocked, we’ve had a lot of fishermen out and about, and I’m guessing the heron isn’t much for human company.

Weather has gone from rain and high winds to absolutely magnificent around here.  High of 80 feels like summer has arrived....but I’m not taking it seriously enough to plant any vegetables.  Instead I took the opportunity to powerwash the front of my house.  Quite a bit of paint flaked off in  the process which means I am going to have to get the house painted next winter.  Fortunately, because its stucco, the paint is for aesthetics rather than protection, so I can put it off for a bit.  I also took the opportunity to wash my car, because it’s pollen season so the thing was almost as much yellow as red.

Still going to be nice tomorrow so I left the power washer set up and plan on cleaning at least one of the decks along with picking up all of the branches that have fallen over the past few weeks.  I want to hold off mowing the lawn as long as I can...the city next to me is actually having a no-mow April because leaving the grass alone is apparently good for pollinators and other helpful insects.  So its a good excuse for me to let it go high and maybe choke out some of the weeds.

#greatweather #homeimprovement #nature

[joi-in-the-tardis]

Being unsure if the itching in my face yesterday (and the general feeling of drying out like a mummy... water, give me water!) was me getting sick or allergies and not really caring which it was so long as my nose didn’t feel like the epicenter of an evacuating ant hill... I took a benadryl before bed.  I figured it was fine since I had 7 1/2-8 hours ahead of me to sleep it off.

Good news: I didn’t feel my itchy face last night.  I went down like a darted animal and I don’t think I moved all night (ow).  Face is not itchy right now.

Bad news: I didn’t quite sleep it off.  I think I could sleep two more hours. -_-

Here’s hoping coffee helps.

#i don't generally have problems with allergies #but apparently grass pollen is high? #so maybe that's it #but i could still be getting sick #slowly #come on and lets get it over already if that's the case #joi rambles #joi whinges #adventures with benadryl #do we have to get a memo every time your body does something?

[sp00kworm]

A Fayre (Part 2 )

Pairing: Rakuh (Male Orc) x Gender Neutral Reader

Warnings: Violence, Fighting, Blood and Injury description.

Part 1

Tag List: @silverclawz​

---

---

“Rakuh?” You peered into the workshop with a worried frown, “Your mum is worried.”

Shul had grabbed you as you pulled up into the garages, a great worried frown painting her features as she tucked her hands into her apron. Apparently, she hadn’t seen Rakuh since that morning. It was a Sunday. The garage was closed, except for emergencies, so the two brothers were free to spend their time as they wished on their day off. Usually that meant Rakuh spent his time alone working on his own projects while Xurek whisked himself off to the city for a day socialising.

A grunt of acknowledgement came from further inside the work shed. Typical, you grumbled to yourself as you stepped inside and took your coat off. It was far too warm in the shed with all the metal working. The clang of a hammer smacking against superheated metal drew you into Rakuh’s working room.

“Rakuh?” You cooed as you watched him heavily smack away at one of the final imperfections in a shoulder pauldron, “Shul is worried, and you know if you don’t go and have your lunch she’ll interrupt you and make you mad.”

Rakuh worked the dent free before cooling the metal in a water bucket and pulling his visor free, “Is it lunch time already?” He asked as he reached for his towel to wipe the caked sweat from his face, “Fuck.” He cursed as he wiped his hands on the towel, black smudges staining the fabric.

 “You forgot again, didn’t you?” You joked as you watched Rakuh scrub at his face on another rag and sigh at the sweat and charcoal that came off his skin, “I’m not mad.” You soothed as he looked at you sheepishly, “But we better get inside for lunch before Shul comes and kicks your backside herself.”

“I’m sorry.” Rakuh muttered. He gently cooled the forge off before taking you by the hand and dragging you back towards the house, “You go on inside.” He insisted, “I should go and get a shower out back. Ma won’t let me in the house if I’m treading muck in.”

“You’re not that…” Your eyes widened as he sighed and pulled off his shirt, his chest covered in sweat and metallic grime from the fire and hammer, “Never mind. You go and shower. I’ll let your mum know you’re coming.” Rakuh nodded but before he could run off you reached up to kiss at his cheek. After grumbling and blushing, snatched at your chin and kissed your forehead softly before he disappeared to the small, sheltered shower block back towards the garage. They usually used the outbuilding for showering off after working in the garage, but it served just as well for Rakuh and Gurlog with their other messy hobbies.

You opened the door to the house with a smile and shouted through to the kitchen as you pulled your shoes off by the door, “He’s just having a shower, Shul!” You shouted before tucking your shoes up against the wall.

Shul smacked a pan of vegetables on the side, “That bloody boy!” She cursed softly and apologised before waving you in, “Be a gem and help me plate up? Oh, but first, go and give Gurlog a kick? He’s fallen asleep in front of the rugby, again!” Shul huffed, her greying, black hair swinging in a dangerous, whip tight braid, as she started draining the other pans of water and reached down to take a roasting tin from the oven.

You took a drink in your hands for Gurlog and gently shook the old man by his shoulder, “Shul wants you up, Gurlog.” You smiled and offered him the large cup of herbal tea, “Dinner is ready as well…But it looks like your team lost.” You pointed at the score.

Gurlog cursed, and gave one vicious stomp in annoyance, “Typical! I fall asleep and they lose! They were winning before I dropped off!” He insisted before sitting up and rubbing his eyes, “I’ll be through in a minute. Tell ‘er, before she blows through the roof.” He chuckled before taking a sip of tea.

With a salute you headed back to the kitchen to help Shul begin plating up the large lunch, which was, apparently, a tradition in their household.

 Gurlog sat down at the table with little fanfare and smiled as you placed his roast meat lunch in front of him. Your own lunch was much smaller than all the others but, considering the other three were Orcs, you weren’t too concerned.

Shul sat down and shook her head as Rakuh dashed up the side of the house, fresh bottoms pulled on but his chest bare. As the door opened, Shul leaned back to scowl at her son, “Go and put a shirt on! Then, and only then, will I let you into this kitchen!”

Rakuh growled in the hallway but you smiled as he stomped up the stairs and then back down once again. He reappeared in the kitchen doorway with socks on his feet and a tight-fitting t-shirt on, “Better now Ma?” He asked with a scoff as he sat down next to you at the table, “Is Xurek not eatin’ with us?”

“No, he left and said he was eating out, don’t you remember?” Shul asked before sighing as Rakuh frowned, trying to remember his brother even leaving the house, “I’ll take that as a ‘no’.” She joked.

“I don’t even remember seeing him leave to be honest.” Rakuh grunted as you all started to eat, “I was busy with the pauldrons all morning. I barely remember what breakfast was.”

Shul clicked her tongue.

Gurlog reached out and squeezed at her thigh, “Shul, leave the boy alone. You know exactly what he’s like.” He took his hand back and smiled, “Besides, Xurek really is missing out this time. Its delicious, sweetheart.”

“Thank you, darling.” Shul’s rage seemed to melt as she smiled at her husband.

 “So,” Gurlog chewed a great piece of roasted beef before continuing, “Where are you both off to today?”

“Up to try and spot some of the new fawn from the Red Deer. They’re apparently up towards the west hills. I heard the old salmon fisher talking about it.” Rakuh offered as he sliced up his own food.

Gurlog sighed through his nose, “They’re like vermin those things.” With a scoff he ate another mouthful before commenting, “Not the most romantic thing, Rakuh.”

Shul scowled and kicked Gurlog underneath the dinner table.

Gurlog gave a grunt and a sad look of pain before putting on a fake smile, “But I heard the heather is lookin’ nice.”

“I think it’s a lovely idea.” Shul offered, “Would you like me to pack you both some food? I can make a flask of tea while I’m at it if you’d like?”

Rakuh opened his mouth, scowling, but didn’t get to say a word before you cut him off.

“A flask of tea would be nice, Shul. But don’t worry about the food. I think we’ll both be full until tomorrow!” You nudged Rakuh’s knee.

The male Orc looked down at you before rolling his eyes, “She’s going to make sandwiches for when we get back anyway…”

Shul smiled, “Of course. Sunday supper.” She nodded her head, her earrings clinking, before turning the conversation onto other matters, “Are you going up there to propose, Rakuh?”

Both of you simultaneously chocked on the roasted vegetables.

 Purple Heather was in bloom across the peaty sides of the hills, long stems of grass between the shrubbery stretching towards the sky in a desperate attempt to see the last rays of the summer sun. So high in the dales, most of the weather consisted of rain and wind. The pine trees were thick in the place you pulled over in Rakuh’s truck. The air was damp but sweet with the smell of heather pollen and you stuck your nose out of the window to smell at it. The drizzle dampened your skin as you looked around at the thin outcrops of pine trees. Rakuh was characteristically quiet next to you, looking at the trees, the wipers of the four by four swiping left and right at timed intervals.

“We’re not likely to see them if it rains any harder.” Rakuh whispered as he looked at the treeline, “They don’t like the rain.” He chuckled softly before catching your hand in his own.

Softly, you squeezed his hand, locking your fingers together as you peered out of the window, your coat collar tugged up to keep the breeze out. The trees swayed in the gales from the hills and Rakuh sighed as the weather worsened.

“I don’t think we’ll be seeing any deer today, Rakuh.” You offered with a disappointed smile, “Maybe the weather will be better next week?”

Rakuh huffed, “Typical. The day I bring you to see them they don’t show.” He grumbled with his elbow rested on the car door, looking out at the field.

 Suddenly he perked up, pointed ears alert as he looked out at a set of old dry-stone wall, “Over there.” He whispered as you undid your belt and leaned over to see what the Orc was looking at. There was a long stretch of crumbling dry-stone with hedgerows growing either side. It was a field made for cattle, but beyond the small gate in the middle, a rough, brown coloured hide of a deer poked out, visible through the bars of the gate. You smiled as you perched yourself across Rakuh’s lap, watching the deer’s tail flip left and right before it raised its head. It was a stag, great antlers tall and proud on top of its head as it looked around the fields before it stuck its head back down into the grass it was eating previously.

“Its beautiful.” You cooed softly as Rakuh grunted and pulled you properly into his lap, sitting you across his thighs as you both watched the stag perk up again and slowly walk along the wall, big eyes trained on the car as it headed back towards the trees.

“At least we saw one.” Rakuh rumbled as you watched the white backside of the stag disappear back into the trees.

“We saw a stag, that’s pretty impressive in itself.” You smiled as you peered at the trees before remembering you were spread over Rakuh’s lap.

With a tug, Rakuh stopped you from rushing back to your own seat, “You can stay there if you want?” He blushed a bright cherry colour before placing his hands on the bottom of your back, the fingers rubbing small circles.

 Smiling, you reached up to tug at the septum piercing in his nose. The big gold ring was an easy target, and Rakuh wasn’t fast enough to stop you tugging his face down with the piece of jewellery. You laid a kiss on his lips before he could grumble about something and gave a soft noise as he relaxed against you. Carefully, you traced around the bottom of his tusks and rubbed the soft, sensitive skin as you pulled away from his lips.

“You need to stop surprising me with those.” Rakuh huffed. His cheeks burned with the bright colour of his blood, “I can kiss as well, ya know?” He grumbled before dodging the next tug to his large, thick septum ring. Your hands were pinned in front of you before the Orc took the initiative and pressed you back in a hot kiss. Tusks grazed against your cheeks as you pushed back into the kiss and wound your fingers into the hair at the back of his neck. Ginger strands of hair came loose from the braids and sat between your fingers as you held onto Rakuh tight, determined not to let the male get away from you again. Unfortunately, you were still the first one to break away for air, but as soon as you took a few breaths of air, Rakuh was on you again, his lips pressed to yours as his tongue prodded uncertainly at your lips and licked inside of your mouth. Your tongues met briefly before Rakuh pulled away with a deep grumble, his fingers pinching tightly at your hips and bottom, squeezing the flesh tight before he reached to stroke over your jaw and neck. You looked at the Orc and traced your own fingers over the freckles over his cheeks and nose, playing dot-to-dot with the brown freckles before flicking the golden earrings in his ears and rubbing his beard playfully.

 Rakuh’s teeth clicked as he smiled bright and wide, hugging you to his front as the rain bounced off the road and the car’s windscreen. He adjusted his braid over his shoulder before gripping you tightly to his front again, blushing, embarrassed but happy.

“What did I do to deserve someone like you?” He sighed happily before holding your face in his huge hands and kissing you softly on the nose.

You snagged his nose ring again in order to place just as soft a kiss on Rakuh’s nose, “That’s my line.” You cooed, “You’re just perfect.”

“Hardly. You’re human and…” Rakuh grumbled when you gave him a curious look, “You’re so… Gorgeous. You’re too good for an Orc.” He confessed as his eyebrows furrowed with worry, “No one likes me enough or has ever… ya know, gotten to know me to get this far…”

“Well I have, and I think you’re perfect.” You offered as you took his hands and kissed him again, softly yet resolute.

Rakuh huffed against his seat before kissing you again and nodding, “How about we go to the fayre at the end of the month?” He offered, “My treat. It’s a weekend thing that we do to meet up with distant relatives. Most Orc clans have them. ‘Celebrates our history.”

You nodded as you listened before you grinned at the Orc, “Will I get to see your armour and outift?” You poked him excitedly, “And the kilt?”

Rakuh nodded with a blush as he placed you back into your own seat, “Yeah. The kilt as well.”

“No underwear?” You asked.

“We’ll see.” He grunted as he turned on the engine and put the car into gear.

  Rakuh shouted your name from the bedroom of the house. You were both the last people left. Shul and Gurlog had left with Xurek in tow, revving his motorcycle behind his parents before zooming off in front. Rakuh waved from the bannister as you peered up the stairs.

“Have you gotten dressed?” He asked as he leaned over the bannister. His dark eyes looked you up and down as he frowned, “You’re goin’ in that?”

You shrugged, “Yeah? Does it matter what I go in? Its only a re-enactment fayre, isn’t it?”

Rakuh scoffed at the top of the stairs before waving you up, “Come ‘ere.” He stomped back towards his room to fetch something. As you made it to the top of the stairs, he reappeared with a bag in his hand, “I had Ma help me with the measurements and she did most of the stitching but I added the leather and…Here!” He grunted as he thrust the bag into your hands, “Get into that. I’ll get the car runnin’.” You took the bag from Rakuh and watched him walk down the stairs, the blue and white kilt he had on flapping behind his thighs.

 You peered into the bag after the front door opened and then closed with a resolute bang. There was a whole outfit. The clan tartan adored a sash for you to wear along with other hard-wearing clothing and leather additions. It was a typical outfit for an Orc married to a warrior, except sized down for your human needs. You pulled the blue and white tartan out of the bag and smiled at the soft sash before quickly ducking into the bathroom to change out of your normal clothing and into the new ones. You pulled on the soft leather and cotton before tying the great hanging sash around your waist and shoulder. It was warm underneath the layers but you looked in the bottom of the bag and smiled at the faux fur coat. After you pulled the coat on, you tied it closed with the belt before rushing to the bottom of the stairs and pausing by the door. A pair of boots were sat in front of the door and you quickly threw your sneakers into the bag with the rest of your clothes before putting the boots on and rushing out to the car, locking the door only after a brief afterthought.

 Rakuh smiled at you as you posed beside his side of the car. He whistled jokingly at you as you gave him a spin, “It suits you.”

“Thank you for making it. And Shul! It must have taken you both so long!” You exclaimed as you leaned through the driver’s side window to give him a long kiss, “Its amazing, so thank you.” You cooed at the Orc.

“Anything for you.” Rakuh uttered against your lips before reaching his hand out of the window to smack at your backside, “Come on. We’re gonna be late.”

You yelped at the swat, rubbing your backside through the coat as you walked around the four-by-four and opened the passenger seat. You tucked the house keys into the glove box before fastening your belt and smiling at Rakuh.

“Ma’s got the lunches, so we’re set…I think.” He rubbed his ginger beard before shrugging and reversing off the driveway, “You ready for an Orcish fayre?” Rakuh asked as he shifted into gear and started along the main town road.

“As ready as I’ll ever be!”

 The hills turned into flat farmland after a while of driving along small, one car wide roads. Eventually you joined onto a main road and watched as the beginnings of civilization appeared. You drove through a large town, passing a number of department stores before heading back out into the countryside. The farmers’ fields turned into traffic ridden roads and you listened to Rakuh grumble next to you.

“Fuckin’ hell.” He cursed as the car slowed to a crawl. You both had most of the armour and normal clothes in the back for the way home, so he was sat shirtless in the summer heat, one hand on the wheel and his arm out of the window.

“I’m sure it’ll move.” You offered before you heard a text notification from your phone. You opened your phone and looked at the text message from Shul, “She says the traffic is because of the fayre turn off.” You offered, “But apparently its also because your uncle broke down at the entrance. They’re moving him out of the way now.”

“Fuckin’ typical.” He grunted as he shook his head, “We won’t even have time to get ready properly at this rate!” Rakuh huffed as he pointed his thumb back at the armour and body paint, both of which he had in the back seat for his display fight.

“Don’t panic! We’ll get there in no time.”

 Thirty minutes later the traffic finally let up, and you stretched happily as you finally got out of the car, reaching for the sky as you popped your back.

Rakuh popped open the boot of the car and pulled out your bag for you before he went to collect the paint and armour off the back seat, “Do you think you could help me to get ready?” He asked softly.

You smiled, “Of course.”

“You made it!” Shul’s voice rang out over the carpark and she gasped in glee at your outfit, “Oh he did give it you!” She cooed as she took hold of your face and squashed your cheeks before stepping back to admire the fit, “You know he had me sneaking around with laundry to find sizes and everything!”

Rakuh’s head peered over the roof of the car, “Ma! Shut up!” He was bright red as he scowled at Shul. His mother simply grinned, exposing the pretty bands around her tusks before she snorted at him and went to go and grab your leather pieces and accessories. Rakuh handed them over without protest but rolled his eyes at Shul’s excitement as she tugged you forwards to dress you properly.

“I need…” Rakuh was stopped with a scowl and a growl from his mother as she helped you wear your clothes in the proper orcish fashion.

Shull huffed, “You’ll get your turn.” You heard Gurlog laugh from behind her as he went to go and help Rakuh fasten his armour plates to his body.

 “Is Ma done cooing over you now?” Rakuh asked as he sat down in one of the lawn chairs Gurlog had brought along. He shook his head and opened the bag of paints and accessories with a small smile.

“I think so, but she insisted on putting these on my outfit.” You showed him the tied pieces of bone to your thin leathers and chuckled before pointing to the body paint in his hand, “Do you still need some help with that?” You asked.

“Yeah.” Rakuh nodded and opened the tin with a crinkle of his nose, “You’ll want a brush.” He pointed to the bag, “This stuff stains.”

You rustled in the large bag before finding a brush, “What is it made out of?” You asked as he placed the pot on the camping table.

“Woad. It’s a plant. You mush it all up and it produces a blue dye.” Rakuh sat forwards on the chair and leaned over to expose his back to you, “I brought some designs.” He pulled out a piece of paper with various runes and old tribal designs, “You can paint around the tattoos.”

You looked at the sheet on the table and hummed, “I think I can do something for you.” You smiled as you dipped the brush in the pot of Woad and set to work replicating the three-pronged spirals over Rakuh’s back and shoulders.

 The fayre was in full swing by the time you met up with Xurek by the large animal arena. They were showing a large horse off, the creature easily well over two metres tall. Its fur was brushed to perfection, the black shiny, and its mane was fastened up on its neck in small buns. It trotted around the arena in a big circle as the Orc in the centre whistled.

“They’re not selling any of the pigs this year.” Xurek offered as you both looked into the pen, leaning back as the huge draught horse came running past once more, “Apparently they’ve had a tough breeding season. They’re too small to show and sell yet. Need more time with their Ma.” He grinned as the horse came past again, “A beauty though this girl.”

Rakuh nodded, “Big chest and strong legs.” He scoffed at Xurek’s eyebrow wiggle, “You need to go and chase skirts or somethin’.”

“What else do they show here?” You asked as the horse went up for bidding.

“Usually Pigs, Wargs and Horses but I think they’ll only be Wargs and Horses this year.” Xurek said sadly as the horse was sold for a small fortune.

Rakuh hummed, “The Wargs are usually very expensive. Ma used to breed ‘em before we came along. Ran a big farm up in the hills to stop ‘em killing things. She had a few show winners.” Rakuh smiled brightly as a white and black spotted Warg was brought into the ring.

 You watched the beast snarl lowly as the lead was attached to its harness and it was whistled into action, prowling around the ring in a light walk. Rakuh gave a whistle as the male lumbered past and you watched the pointed ear twist in your direction as burning orange eyes watched Rakuh. Its snort snout opened in another growl as a child rubbed at its fur. The Warg returned to the child and sat by the fence, ignoring commands as the little girl giggled and rubbed at its fur. The beast returned her mile dopily, its tongue hanging from its mouth. All of a sudden, you realised the tall beasts were simply a wolfish great cat, happy for any attention. It shook its head and the pointed fur down its back wiggled before it lumbered around once more and sat low to the ground as the auction began.

“Why don’t you buy a pup?” You asked softly as Rakuh watched the Warg longingly.

He scoffed before replying, “We hardly have enough room to raise a Warg at home.” Rakuh wrapped your arm back through his own as you headed towards the small large holding and display tent for the animals up for sale.

“I’m sure Shul wouldn’t mind if you converted a bit of the garden. Its massive!” You poked at his arm, careful not to poke the Woad stain tattoos on his shoulders.

“Maybe one day.” He offered lamely as you both strolled into the flap of the animal tent.

 There was a lot of horses in stalls, kicking and huffing, others chewing hay, looking at you both boredly as you went through. A small pen housed chickens and the one next to it geese, then ducks flapped around in the end zone. They clucked and quacked loudly. The Wargs were in their own tent, away from the prey animals to stop there being too much stress. You looked in awe at the variation in colours and patterning. Rakuh chuckled at your wonder and steered you closer to the pups. The Warg mother sniffed at you through the pen bars but laid down on her side again as her pups rushed around, jumping over her stomach and snapping at one another. There was one with sandy coloured fur and spots like a cheetah climbing on her belly, whining at her as it began to jump. She rolled and the pup slid off, whimpering pathetically as it landed on the floor in a lump. A lick got it back up and it soon returned to its sand coloured siblings to carry on wrestling.

“They’re adorable.” You cooed as one snapped through the bars at your sash.

Rakuh snorted with laughter, “They’re much more dangerous than they look.” He assured you as they started wrestling again.

“You should have one, Rakuh. It would be good for you.” You teased.

The Orc laid a kiss on your hair, “You are more than enough for me at the moment, love.” He took your arm again as you left the pups with a final coo and took you along the path towards the young males.

 The display matches were brutal.

“Jesus Christ.” Xurek cringed as the male competitor was carried off on a stretcher, his arm entirely in the wrong position. The female, who had battered the other competitor black and blue, rushed over to apologise and help get the Orc to a hospital to reset his arm. There was a commotion as the doctor on site rushed to pop the shoulder back into place.

“Rakuh are you sure this is a good idea?” You asked, fear welling in your gut as the Orc took his mace from your hand before asking for his shield with a curl of his fingers. The heavy, metal, circular shield weighed a ton to you as you passed it to your lover.

He blew hair between his tusks before leaning to give you another kiss to the forehead, “I promise. I’ll be safe. That match went on too long, but that idiot didn’t call it.” He pointed back at the male who was sat in agony with his arm limp by his side, “I’ll stop if I get too badly beaten.”

Xurek laughed from behind you, “Unlikely! You’ve not been beaten yet, nor ‘av you ever yielded!”

You scowled at Rakuh, “Promise me.” You leaned up to kiss his bottom lip, your fingers rubbing at his beard before you tied a strip of cloth around his arm tight, “A good luck token for my knight.”

The Orc blushed and huffed but gave you a nod, “I’m no knight…but I promise. I’ll be careful.”

The announcer hollered from the stand and you tapped his backside with your fingers, “Now get in there and give them what for.”

 Rakuh strode into the ring with confidence, his hair ringing with metallic clicks as his braids waved over his back. The round started as the other Orc entered the ring. The sand kicked up with their circling and instantly you were worried for Rakuh. A long sword was hefted over the other’s shoulder and you looked at Rakuh’s defensive stance as the other Orc strode closer. They were as broad and tall as one another, covered in blue stains of war paint as they circled closer and closer to one another. The first hit came from Rakuh as his mace clipped against the side of the great sword and glanced off with a metallic scrape. The other started his barrage then, driving Rakuh backwards steps with great heavy blows. Rakuh was not small enough to duck or dodge the blows, so he was forced to take them upon his shield and wait, grunting underneath the heavy weight of each strike. Rakuh grunted and stepped two back to avoid a sweep before rushing forwards, glancing the sword from his shield before slamming into the other Orc. The overconfidence sent the other flying backwards, his weapon flying from his grip as he hit the stand with a great thump. Rakuh advanced quickly as the other scrambled for his weapon. As the mace came down, he rolled and snatched for Rakuh’s legs. Rakuh was quick, stepping back, dodging the grab but allowing his opponent time to grab his weapon and defend himself against the next blow of the mace. The two of them separated and growled, circling each other, spinning their weapons before they locked again. Rakuh’s shield shove was dodged, and he feinted into a quick flick of his mace, catching the Orc on the arm. They both locked after that. Rakuh took the tip of the blade to his cheek and a heavy punch to the nose. They both continued pushing against each other before Rakuh’s mace cracked against his leg and the other Orc was sent to the floor.

 “Called!” The announcer threw his hands in the air and gestured for the medics to see to the cuts and bruises.

“Rakuh!” You screamed joyously as he walked out of the ring and you were quick to grab his face, forcing him to drop his weapon and shield in order to hold your hips, “You did amazing.” You smiled and placed your forehead against his own.

“Thank you, love.” He said before pushing you away gently, “Now let me get this seen to, then I’m all yours.” A medic laughed behind the both of you before sitting Rakuh down by the ring, a box in his hands ready to stitch up his lip.

“Broken nose again this year, Rakuh.” She tutted as he pointed at you, “Look here.” He did and growled as she snapped his nose back into place, pushing her fingers against it before she tapped the bone back in place, “It’s nasty but you’ll be fine in a few weeks.” She snapped open a saline bottle and poured it over the slice to his cheek, scolding him for squirming before she took out her stitching equipment and laughed, “Hold his hand for this. He’s always been a big baby.” The elderly medic laughed at Rakuh’s growl and smiled as you took his hand, holding him still as she set to work, putting three stitches into the deep cut to keep it shut before she cleaned it once more and covered it with a patch dressing.

 “Now, you look after him, I’m going to go and check on the other one. He took a very nasty blow to the leg.” She huffed and returned to the ring.

Rakuh scowled after her, “Vicious hag.”

You slapped his arm but kissed at his uninjured cheek as Rakuh sat down with a huff, “How about we get you that puppy to make you feel better?” You joked.

“Har har.” He scoffed before he kissed you more soundly, in a brazen show of confidence. You leaned into the kiss and hummed softly before Rakuh hissed, tugging away in pain. You had bumped his broken nose.

“Sorry.” You stroked his forehead and pouted, “Now I can’t see all your freckles.” You whined as you brushed the tape over his nose and the dressing on his cheek.

“You can see all of these you baby.” Rakuh touched your hand to his cheek and you paused, feeling his heart beating heavily in his chest.

You smiled and helped him up from the chair, “I love you.” You gushed and Rakuh paused.

His breathing caught in his throat as you wound your fingers together, peering up at the giant Orc with nothing but love in your eyes. After all the months together, he still wasn’t used to the adoration in your eyes, “I…” He blushed, his chest turning pink as he reached up to rub at the back of his neck, “I love you too.” He confessed gruffly. You leaned up to give him another kiss and smiled brightly as Rakuh wrapped you tightly in his arms.

#orc x reader #orc x human #orc x you #male orc x reader #male orc x human #monster boyfriend #monster x reader #gender neutral reader #gender neutral #monster boy x reader #monster x gender neutral reader #orc #orcs #monster #monsters #monster bf #monster boy #my writing #writing #monster love #monster x human #monster x you #reader insert

[caleb-wigodast]

Whatever is in Your Heart

Dorian/Dariax

Rating: Explicit

This is the first fic I've written in like over 3 years and it's just 4k worth of smut. Anyway I wanted to write some somft Doriax fucking, so I did. The premise of this fic is a sex pollen flower, so there's some questionable consent with the premise itself, but in the fic I made it clear that they are both very much into it and would be dtf without the sex pollen.

Spoilers for episode 5 of Exandria Unlimited!

(Read it on AO3)

“Whatever is in your heart, this place will know” those words from Fy’ra Rai rang through Dorian’s head as they made their way past the obelisk. A vine sprouted out of nowhere and tripped Dorian, causing him to fall into the radius of the flower emitting a dangerous pollen Orym warned them about. Dariax rushed over to help him to his feet, but he was too late, (or right on time depending on your perspective) The next blast of pollen emitted from the flower coated them both in its intoxicating scent. If this place knew what was in their hearts, it knew their desires, and it clearly wanted them to fulfill those desires...

Dorian coughed and choked on the scent as it filled his lungs, forgetting he can hold his breath indefinitely, and he felt a tingly warmth flow throughout his body that set every nerve alight inside him. Dariax’s hands on his waist felt like fire, it felt magnetic, and he leaned into Dariax as Dariax seemed to do the same.

Dorian blushed, “Are you?”

Dariax stuttered, “y-yeah, you?”

Dorian nodded, he looked to Dariax and saw his face pink with blush as they clung to each other, trying to remain standing. Within a few moments after the pollen took full effect, they felt their knees go weak as they collapsed on the forest floor together, still holding each other in a loose embrace, panting and staring into each other’s eyes with desire and need.

“Are you okaaaaay!?” Opal called out.

Right, the others.

“U-um, yes! We just, got a bit too close is all!” Dorian called back nervously, trying to crawl out of the flower’s radius and back to the group, he could feel Dariax’s eyes on him even as his back was turned.

“Are you sure? You’re not poisoned?” Fy’ra questioned.

“Nah, I think it’s just like a, like an exhaustion thing,” Dariax supplied, stumbling his way over behind Dorian.

“Do you think you’ll be alright to continue?” Orym asked.

“Uh, I might need a bit of a rest, but I wouldn’t want to hold the group up. Besides, Fy’ra, you said that flower was the only dangerous thing here?” Fy’ra nodded and Dorian continued, sitting on a stump “Well, in that case, you all can go ahead. I think Dariax and I are just going to rest here for a bit, if that’s alright with you all, of course.”

They looked at each other nervously, “If you’re sure, we really don’t mind waiting.” Fern reassured.

“Thanks but uh, nah I think we just need to rest by ourselves for now.” Dariax slumped against a nearby tree, not trying at all to hide his massive hard-on.

Opal, of course, noticed this, and checked Dorian too, who brought his legs a bit closer to his chest to hide, she grinned, “I think they’ll be fine guys, lets just keep going!”

Opal ushered the group forward, and Dorian would have to thank her for that later. In the meantime, he was painfully hard in his trousers, so was his crush, and they were both alone in the woods.

The second the others were out of earshot, they locked eyes, gazing intensely, “I don’t want you to agree to something purely of circumstance, or to think I’m doing the same,” Dorian clarified.

Dariax nodded, eyes blank, “I don’t know what that means, I just don’t want you to fuck me just cause we’re both really horny.”

Dorian paused, “yes, that’s… what I mean, and honestly I’d rather it be the other way around.”

“Wait, you mean, you’d want me to fuck you?” Dariax looked a little confused.

Dorian blushed, “only if you’re fully on board!” he insisted, staring at the ground.

“I mean yeah! I just figured since you were taller you’d wanna be the one to top, but hey! I’d love to fuck you!”

Dorian turned an even deeper shade of blue, “Great. Wonderful then.”

“So… do you wanna have sex?”

Dorian, still staring at the ground, nodded, “Yes, Dariax, I would very much like to have sex.”

Dariax pushed himself off from the tree he leaned against and began to close the distance between him and Dorian, “Cool! Anything off limits? Or-?”

“Um,” Dorian’s hands fisted in the fabric of his pants, he was painfully hard and really just wanted to get going, “just don’t degrade me or anything, what about you?”

Dariax took Dorian’s hand, prompting him to stand up as Dariax hopped onto the stump Dorian had been sitting on, making them eye-level. “same for me really, I just want us to both have fun. If anything hurts, just tell me and I’ll stop, yeah?”

Dorian nodded as he moved to press his body close to Dariax, “mhm, yes, good.” His brain was already fuzzy with contact, head swirling as the heat of Dariax’s body enveloped him as their arms wrapped around each other and they desperately held each other close.

Dorian buried his face in Dariax’s neck as they moaned out. Their cocks weren’t quite aligned, Dorian’s was closer to Dariax’s knee and Dariax’s was kind of against Dorian’s abdomen, but it was friction nonetheless, and the pair moaned as they moved to lock lips.

Dorian lost himself in Dariax, forgetting momentarily where they were and what they were doing, all he knew was Dariax and pleasure as he rutted against his thigh and felt his knees get weak at the large bulge against his hip. When Dariax ran his tongue against his lips and pushed in, Dorian let a desperate moan slip out, gripping Dariax’s shirt and kissing back feverishly.

Everything felt so hot and yet they weren’t close enough, Dorian worked at the ties on Dariax’s shirt, pulling them undone and breaking the kiss only momentarily to rip his shirt off over his head. Dariax got the hint and started working on Dorian’s shirt, leaving licks and kisses to each new piece of his smooth blue skin he exposed.

Dorian found it sweet, but he was getting impatient, he moved to untie Dorian’s pants and shove them down his waist as Dariax left a trail of kisses along his shoulders. Dorian moved to pull Dariax’s underwear down too, but of course he wasn’t wearing any, so Dorian was now gripping Dariax’s ass. He let out a groan at that, biting down on Dorian’s shoulder in response.

Dorian moved his hands to explore the hairy dwarven expanse in front of him, roaming and mapping out every spot that made Dariax moan and suck harder on Dorian’s skin. He was gripping his ass again when his delicate fingers brushed against Dariax’s balls, causing him to buck forward into Dorian and let out a high-pitched whine.

Dorian felt his erection strain against his pants, desperate for Dariax as he whimpered the man’s name, he broke away from the kiss and furiously worked to remove his pants, tossing them aside and lying down on the grass. Dariax moved to lie on top of him, hands roaming the soft, tender blue sea of skin before him.

“You’re so pretty, your skin is like the sky,” he gazed at Dorian’s body with awe, Dorian squirmed under the attention, “Can I give you love bites?”

Dorian blushed but nodded, watching as Dariax moved to kiss the tops of his shoulders, using his tongue to trace his collarbone down to his chest, leaving little bites and nips here and there before he reached his nipples, swirling his tongue around one before taking it into his mouth and sucking in earnest.

Dorian let out an undignified noise of pleasure as he felt Dariax’s hand come up to pinch at his other nipple. Dorian let out a string of whines and moans as Dariax alternated between sucking and pinching each of his nipples. Dorian gripped Dariax’s shoulders tightly before moving him off, panting. Dariax stopped immediately to check in, “everything alright?”

Dorian nodded, catching his breath, “Yes, I just- if you keep doing that I’m not going last much longer-“ he grunted out, trying to hold himself back.

Dariax nodded, he took his sweet time trailing kisses and love bites down his chest to his hip bone and making a tapestry of bite marks around his abdomen. Dorian whined, he was getting impatient. He ran his hand through Dariax’s hair to guide him towards his cock, but his fingers got caught on some matted areas and he tugged more forcefully than he intended. He was about to apologize when he heard Dariax whimper and let out a shuddering breath against him.

“Can, can I suck you off?” Dariax asked, staring up at Dorian from between his legs.

Dorian huffed out a laugh, the sight alone making him harder, “as long as you allow me to return the favor.”

Dariax grinned and moved to press a kiss to the base of Dariax’s cock, swirling his tongue around his balls and suckling gently. Dorian moaned out and bit his lip to restrain himself, keeping a hand in Dariax’s hair to tug and pull as he pleased, wishing Dariax would just get on with it already! And he did, Dariax licked a slow stripe up the backside of Dorian’s cock before sucking on the head and taking him further into his mouth, gazing up at Dorian through hooded eyes filled with lust as he swallowed him down.

Dorian panted heavily, fighting to keep his hips down against Dariax’s apparent lack of a gag reflex. He didn’t know a blowjob could feel this good, especially with a beard involved, but it seemed to only add to the sensations. His hand tightened in Dariax’s hair and he felt the other moan around him, unable to control his hips from thrusting into the air, he pulled Dariax off as he caught his breath.

Dariax stopped again, looking at Dorian expectantly, needing to make sure everything was alright before he continued.

“ah- sorry, I can’t. can’t seem to control my hips,” Dorian bit his lip anxiously, “Would it be alright if I-?” he trailed off, unable to make his request out loud.

Dariax understood though, “You can use my throat all you want, buddy, just do what makes you feel good. I’ll let you know if its too much, don’t worry” he gave a reassuring smile with a hint of wickedness behind it.

Dorian flushed and nodded before Dariax went down on him again, he felt the head of his cock hit the back of Dariax’s throat before he swallowed around it, and Dorian let out a shuddering breath.

Dorian cried out Dariax’s name and thrust his hips up into the tight, wet heat of his mouth, hesitating at first but feeling encouraged when Dariax made no protest, only moaned louder and sucked harder. Dorian gripped Dariax’s hair and bucked up into his face, loosing himself in bliss as his hips snapped up against Dariax’s head.

A few minutes in, Dariax took a moment to swallow the precum and spittle that had gathered in his mouth, and that’s what tipped Dorian over the edge, breaking him in the best way and causing his body to shudder with the force of his orgasm. He held Dariax’s head against him the whole time and he swallowed as much as he could, though come inevitably dribbled into his beard as he looked up to admire the dark-blue flushed Dorian who fought to catch his breath.

When Dorian finally came back from his high, he looked down to discover he was hard again. Whatever effect this plant had on them, it certainly wasn’t going away soon. He then noticed the warmth around him and looked to see Dariax snuggled close against his side, holding him.

“Dariax, are you, still…?”

Dariax nodded, “Yeah, but I can take care of myself, don’t worry,”

Dorian scoffed playfully, “I thought you said you’d let me return the favor,” he slid down until his hands were on Dariax’s thighs, holding him to the ground, looking up at him for any signs of discomfort. He found none, Dariax was just staring at him, wide-eyed as he nodded his head, “O-okay, yeah, sure!”

Dorian smirked and used his hands to hold Dariax’s hips to the ground as he lowered his head. Though he was a dwarf, Dariax was decently endowed, and what he lacked in length he made up for in girth, so when Dorian deepthroated him, he didn't have to worry about gagging on his length, just about fitting all of him in his mouth.

Dariax seemed to be enjoying it though, and Dorian was as well, he pressed his face close to Dariax so his nose brushed his public bone and he rested there, breathing shallowly through his nose as Dariax squirmed and groaned beneath him. Dorian swallowed around Dariax’s cock and hollowed his cheeks as he ran his tongue around him, swirling around the base before trailing up to the head, keeping his mouth as far down on Dariax as he could.

After only a few minutes of this, Dorian moved his nails to gently run against Dariax’s taught balls, and Dariax came with a pitiful moan of Dorian’s name. He shuddered all the while Dorian sucked, swallowed, and worked him through his orgasm. When he’d finished and pulled off, Dariax tugged Dorian’s arms up towards him to hold him close. Dariax was a cuddler apparently, but Dorian didn’t mind, what he did mind was that his ass was feeling entirely too empty, and his cock was still painfully hard.

After a few minutes of holding each other and exchanging gentle kisses, Dariax was hard again, and the kisses became hickies and the snuggles became grinding. Dariax was sucking another mark on Dorian’s shoulder as they rubbed their cocks together when Dorian decided he couldn’t wait any longer, “Dariax, please, I need you inside me. Do you have anything, oil, water- anything at all to help with that?”

Dariax kissed the mark he left before nodding, “yeah, I should have something in my pants, just a sec,” he crawled over to his discarded pants and procured a small vial from one of the pockets, he returned to Dorian and squatted between his legs, spreading the substance on some of his fingers before moving to kiss Dorian sweetly, “If at any point it hurts, or it’s too much, you just let me know, yeah?” he spoke softly.

Dorian nodded, heart warmed by how tender Dariax was being, “Yes, just, please. Need you,” he moaned, his hips shifting a bit.

Dariax teased the rim of Dorian’s entrance making him shudder, “I got you buddy,” he moved to close the distance between them and distracted Dorian with a long, slow kiss, waiting to feel his muscles relax before making his first intrusion.

Dorian naturally tensed at the prodding until Dariax swiped his tongue over his lip in a way that turned his brain into putty. He let out a soft moan and relaxed into it, barely noticing when he pushed his finger in completely.

Dariax was sucking on Dorian’s lip when he began gently scissoring him open with three fingers, massaging his inner walls but purposefully avoiding his prostate. Dorian whined and tried to roll his hips back on Dariax’s fingers, but Dariax pulled out his fingers altogether and broke their kiss.

Dorian whined, “Dariax, please!”

“It’s alright, I just- mmm, needed to get myself ready,” Dorian looked up to see Dariax coating his member in the contents of the vial from before. He breathed deeply to steady himself as Dariax moved his legs to hang over his shoulders. “Are you sure you can handle this? I’m a bit big.”

Dorian huffed out a laugh, “modest much?”

“No really, I mean it, the last thing I wanna do is hurt you,” Dariax hovered over Dorian, lining up with his entrance but not breaching it yet.

Dorian looked at Dariax and saw only earnest concern in his eyes, making his heart warm, “Thank you, I’ll be ok, Dariax.”

Dariax smiled, “Alright, I’ve got you buddy,” at that, he slowly began pushing into Dorian. The intrusion felt good, like warm honey spilling into his insides, a sensation filled with pleasure and a little bit of pain, but the good kind. It was the kind of stretch that hurt but felt oh so good at the same time, and it was making Dorian’s head swim.

When Dariax finally bottomed out, Dorian felt like he was flying, he gripped Dariax’s wrist as he adjusted to his size.

Dariax needed a moment to adjust as well, “Fuck,, Doriannn. You’re really tight,, but like, in a super great way. You feel amazing,” he moaned out, biting his lip.

Dorian let out a breathy laugh, “Hah, you were not kidding about your size,” he whimpered, “fuck! you feel incredible!” he cried out, gripping Dariax’s hair to pull him into a searing kiss.

Dariax returned the kiss gladly, a tongue slipping inside Dorian’s mouth as they kissed, trying to battle for dominance as they adjusted. Dariax rolled his hips as he sucked Dorian’s tongue into his mouth, pulling a desperate whimper from him.

Dorian tore away from the kiss panting, “Fuck- Dariax, please move, now!” he begged.

Dariax nodded, holding Dorian’s hand and lacing their fingers together. He slowly slid out and Dorian made a weak moan at the loss, before he was slowly filled up again and felt like he was walking on clouds. This repeated a few times before Dorian decided this angle was no good, and used their held hands to pull Dariax back down for a kiss.

Dariax happily obliged, pressing kisses all over Dorian’s face, his cheeks, his nose, his chin, his jaw, his throat, leaving even more marks here and there. Dorian panted and squirmed under the affection, using the hand not laced with Dariax’s fingers to grip his hair, not guiding, just tugging, and making Dariax moan out.

Dariax continued at the languid pace, brushing against Dorian’s prostate occasionally, the only indicator being a sharp whimper that would burst from the string of moans Dorian sang. He could tell Dariax wanted to take this slow and carefully, and his heart ached for that, but also, the plant sex pollen was still in their system, and he really wanted to come.

Biting his lip and deciding to sacrifice his dignity, he whimpered, “Dariax.. please,, harder.” And he felt Dariax’s breath catch at that, he nodded with his nose pressed against Dorian’s neck as his hips picked up the pace a bit.

Dorian moaned out, shifting his hips up a bit until a sharp gasp made Dariax stop moving, “What’s wrong, are you ok?”

“Fuck yes! There. please, that spot- again, please. Yes, so good!” Dorian cried out helplessly.

Dariax nodded and moved his arm under Dorian’s waist to help keep the angle as he thrust his hips back up against that spot and made Dorian cry out again. Dorian locked his ankles together as he wrapped his legs around Dariax’s waist, desperate for that sensation again.

Dariax kept at that spot, making Dorian cry out and whisper swears and pleas for “more, harder, faster, please, Dariax!” and Dariax was happy to fulfill all his requests. He thrust into Dorian harder, keeping his face near Dorian’s while his hips did most of the work, planting his knees firmly in the ground as he fucked up into Dorian’s ass.

Dorian was nearly in tears from pleasure, his voice raw with the obscene amount of noise he was making. Dariax kept hitting that spot and making him feel so good. He moved his hand from gripping Dariax’s hair to rake his nails down his back, biting down on his neck to return the favor of the many love bites Dariax had given him. Dariax’s hips faltered at that, crying out and quickening his pace even further.

Dariax got a bit rougher at that, he gripped Dorian’s hips hard enough to bruise as he pounded into him, Dorian’s teeth sinking into his skin as his nails made erratic marks all throughout his back. But throughout this all, they were still holding hands, fingers laced together in a tender pairing, a sign of the true intimacy behind what otherwise looked like a desperate chase for pleasure.

Dorian came with a reverent cry of Dariax’s name, clenching around him and pushing Dariax over the edge as well. If Dorian thought he was full before, he felt like he was bursting now. They collapsed to the ground, both covered in come and sweat and feeling utterly exhausted as they came down from their highs.

The stars in Dorian’s eyes faded back to reality as he felt the warm, hairy embrace of Dariax next to him. Dorian moved his arms to hold Dariax close to his chest as they sat for a few moments, just breathing, and enjoying each other’s company.

“You’re like. Really… really hot,,” Dariax broke the silence.

Dorian chuckled, “I could easily say the same for you, Dariax, that was… incredible.”

“You’re tellin me, that was like. The best fuck of my life!” Dariax exclaimed.

Dorian blushed, “Really?” was all he could reply, he knew Dariax got around, so that was a high compliment.

“Yeah,” Dariax looked at him in earnest, “It’s always nice having someone you trust to do stuff with.”

Dorian gave a sincere smile, looking down at their still laced hands, “I’m glad, I feel very much the same,” Dorian moved to kiss Dorian sweetly on the lips, but when he shifted, their- once again, hard cocks brushed against each other, making both men moan out.

Dariax looked down, puzzled and a bit frustrated, “Really? Again? What does this forest want with us…”

Dorian sighed, “well, at the very least it means we can try out more,, things, alternative positions, other methods of arousal?” he arched an eyebrow.

Dariax looked at him blankly, thinking for a second, “I don’t know what that means but I could always try riding you!”

Dorian blushed, sighing fondly to himself “Yes, I think that would be nice.”

Later they would ask what this meant, later they would talk about relationships and first times and much more, but right now, the sex pollen was still working it magic, and the forest wanted them to fulfill their desires.

#critical role #critical hole #doriax #dorian storm #dariax zaveon #exandria unlimited #wigodasts web of words

[obnoxiouslylongandboring]

Sirene

Featuring snapshots of the three most important road trips in Zemo and John's journey of working together.

Le notti a cercare buone stelle

Ritrovarsi in mezzo a strane sorti

Quanto siamo storti

HARKANSA PASS, ROMANIA

John loosened his grip on the steering wheel, leaned back into the leather-clad seat with a sigh. He took his eyes off the road briefly to look at Zemo from his peripheral vision. The wind was whipping through the man's hair, throwing it up into a wild brown halo, strands nearly shining golden where it was struck by the sun. Zemo's face had regained some color since their trip started two hours ago. The shadows had faded from his cheekbones and under his eyes, leaving the barely noticeable smattering of freckles behind. He had started slouching slightly in his seat like a cat, squinting against the setting sun.

The trees were whizzing past them, behind them, in front of them. John had wanted to track some of them down with his eyes, a stray bird there, an oddly shaped trunk there, but they sped away as soon as they came, leaving him disoriented and dizzy.

He asked if Zemo was comfortable, and that seemed to rouse the man out of some daydream, who had to blink several times to get the dazed look out of his eyes and process John's question, before nodding. Zemo seemed to struggle with himself, lips opening and closing wordlessly a few times, then came a hesitant question after a while, torn away by the wind, "Do you need me to take over?"

"At the next stop," John replied. The next stop would be a few hours away, but Zemo didn't need to know that. For good measure, he reached over and gave Zemo a little pinch on the back of the neck just to see the man squirm. "Thanks for asking."

"... Likewise."

John tilted his head slightly to make sure Zemo could see his smile.

The road around them was wide enough only for two cars, and that was enough since not many cars came around this road. The sun was setting, the clouds were low. They were paper-thin wisps in the distance, but dark sinking little pieces of debris above his head that looked like concrete rubble. They were so solid and impenetrable that the sunlight clung to their edges, never sinking in, making them a beautiful red. John thought beautiful, beautiful, beautiful over and over again till he thought he would pass out with the wonder of it all, the landscapes he imagined as a child.

In front of them, the mountains were falling away, the sides of the high cliffs were fading, the layers and layers of dirt and rock giving away. John found himself almost missing what had gone, the stupid little yellow trees perched on the side of cliffs, or the huge huge walls beside him as he drove, like they were carving a path through, and how the rays would slip out from the peaks of the cliffs, would splatter the hood of the car in yellow, and they would play with him, mischievous, slipping away into complete grey one second, and blinding him like a laser the next.

Yellow, yellow, like autumn, stretching up and up so high and high that if he lifted his head up all the way to see the tops, he would lose sight of the road. And he'd be so enraptured and hypnotized, eyes held up to the sky, not paying attention to their direction anymore, maybe not even caring.

The road swerved left and right in staccato in front of him.

"It's odd, John, to choose a road like this..." Zemo says.

"It's odd?"

"Not many roads are like this one. Not many roads, especially not roads to deliver vibranium..." Zemo murmured, trailing off. For a moment, the illusion was shattered and John was reminded of the six kilograms of vibranium in their trunk, his soon-to-be shield.

"Maybe odd wouldn't be the right word for it," The other man rectified. He was smiling. "Magnificent is a more apt description."

So the walls were falling now. Beside him, Zemo sits up a bit straighter, leans forward in anticipation. The moment their view clears, beside him, he hears a shaky gasp of wonder- beautiful, echoing his own thoughts.

Zemo looked like a child seeing fireworks for the first time.

It took a few seconds for him to realize that he had forgotten to revel in his own wonder and joy, or throw up his own love to the light, that first experience, the wonder and mystery beyond every singing of it, as your world opened up and drew you in; one gate closing and one gate opening, in a little bubble, a snow globe. He had missed it. He had missed the half-second that would lift the air from his lungs in a roar.

It wasn't the splendid view that imprinted itself into his retinas, it was another man's joy.

He tastes something bittersweet at the back of his throat.

He put his gaze back to the road, continuing to drive, but then Zemo tugged at him insistently. "Stop, stop," Zemo whispered. So he pressed on the brakes, the car rumbled to a slow stop. Zemo reached over, turns the ignition off, and without any other words he opened the car door and steps out.

The crunch of boots on a rock-and-asphalt road was a welcome relief to the hum of the engine. He moved out of the car, went to stand beside Zemo. And that was when he hears.

Everything was silent. Pure silence. Then it began. The wind started to pick up into a howl over the hills, darting through the trees and bushes, and all the around them there was such a loud overwhelming rush of leaves, the groaning and creaking of trunks, that John felt that the world was nearly trembling apart in his hands. The two of them were so minuscule in the large expanse of landscape, yet he felt completely in control.

And in front of him stretched mountains long and unending and ceaseless, fading away into the clouds, and at the closer slope of the valley, winding down roads, the sides were painted with trees, tall towering spikes of green shooting through the land like needles through a needle cushion, so tall that even in the distance they appeared huge, and if you were to stand under one of them you could not raise your head high enough to see the top, the trunks that you could not wrap your arms around, everywhere you looked half your vision would be smothered by wood and bark and pine needles.

They were the most beautiful brilliant shade of hunter green, like oil paint, a stark contrast to the yellow-green of the soft meadows below. That shade of yellow-green was like if he looked at a grass field of canola flowers and backed away far enough until everything blended together. Down in the winding roads, there was a small little farmhouse, red and dainty, its shadow cast long against the ground by the sun's rays. John was reminded, and he looked back, at his own shadow, both of their shadows. A little smile played on his lips as he realized that their height difference was made more apparent by the sunset.

In the distance, the mountains were the pale shade of blue cast over by the clouds. Blue and golden mixed in with the sunlight. Ah. Maybe he had an epiphany then, for John thought, blue. It was blue that he was smelling, blue and golden in the air all around them. He looked to Zemo again. There was the hazy swirl of pollen in the air, settling on his eyelashes and his nose, blown from the flowers down the valley. He was coated with it, that invisible perfume.

John laughed. "Pretty," he said.

"More than pretty," Zemo said. "It's magnificent."

John smiled wider and wordlessly turns to the horizon again.

The sun touched his skin, his face, leaving his back cold. It was just a saturated red bloom across the horizon line now, fading into the mountains. And it became dark so quickly, so soon, that John was surprised when he looked at Zemo once again and saw that the other man's pupils were black and dilated like a cat's. The trees seemed to grow taller in the darkness, stretched by their shadow. The grass shined wet and oily with the moonlight. The world became a lot bigger, as the blackness of earth merged into the blackness of the sky, spiraling into galaxies and constellations above them.

He pointed to Zemo the Big Dipper, the Cassiopeia, and finds Polaris, the true North. They were stars that he'd trace in the war zones, above the sound of gunfire, to get him home. Then the Orion, and to Mintaka, the first star to rise in the constellation. Through all this, Zemo listened silently, occasionally nodding or asking questions.

He draped a blanket over Zemo's shoulders. He let his hands linger there, tracing the edge of the fabric, then slipped one hand under his purple turtleneck, resting at Zemo's trembling hips. There were bruises there, in the shape of his fingers. Some yellow and fading, some new. This was more intimate than usual, tonight, a new game that Zemo wasn't used to. But it would be back to normal in the morning, and John would remember that there was nothing gentle about Zemo, nothing redeemable for all his cruelty and vengeance and loathing. And Zemo would hurt him, over and over, taking him apart bit by bit, only to lie in bed shaking and shuddering, screaming John's name as he came, snarling hurt me, make me feel it, in a twisted form of self-punishment.

But for now, he could savor the moment. Those pretty eyes hold his own, nearly black in the darkness. John knew they were the true shade of brown, pools of honey in the light.

Maybe poison or aphrodisiac would be more accurate, for who he really was.

He couldn't resist - "Pretty."

John didn't need gentle. He's learned that gentleness is only a disguise for something more insidious. He needed madness and sin. Zemo was both in spades, and pretty as a striking cobra.

"Flattery will get you nowhere," Zemo laughed hoarsely, but pulled him down into a kiss nonetheless.

Inspiration and images were taken from:

Zion National Park, United States (Utah)

Black Canyon of the Gunnison, United States (Colorado)

Trollstigen, Norway

Transfăgărășan road, Romania

Karakoram Highway, China-Pakistan

Images were taken from Google, not owned by me. Harkansa Pass is not a real location.

#walkerbaron #zemo #john walker #baron zemo #landscape #road trip #love and sin #hahahaha #spent 4 hours on this

[psycho-slytherin]

Turtledove

Your love of nature pays off... in an unexpected way.

Request: Could you do fae prince!Jungkook who has stolen you away? 

Pairing: Fae Prince!Jungkook x Reader

WC: 1.5k

Genre: fluff, drabble, idk?

A/N I just like bees, ok? Thanks for the request, anonie!

|mlist|

“Let me be your ruler, ruler, you can call me queen bee…” You sing to yourself as you weed your backyard. You’ve got half a dozen lavender bushes waiting to be planted, but first you’ve got to prepare the soil. Just as you’ve finally yanked out a particularly stubborn nettle, you feel a soft tingle on your skin. A bee has apparently made itself comfortable on your wrist.

“Hey, little lady,” you say with a smile. Maybe this is your signal to take a break from the relentless sun. You’ve never been scared of bees. Even as a child, you always seemed to attract insects and animals. Your mom called it magic; you’re of the opinion that good souls can sense each other. “It’s hot today, huh?” You ask the bee, who buzzes contentedly on your hand as you move back into a shady patch beneath the cherry tree. “You’re gonna like the lavender once it’s all grown up, there’ll be plenty of pollen.” It must be your imagination, but it seems like the bee buzzes more happily at your words. “Well, go on,” you say, waving your hand lightly to encourage its flight. “Get back to your queen, honey- ow!”

Almost in slow motion, you watch the bee press its stinger into the flesh of your palm before looking right into your eyes. The world tilts sideways and everything goes black.

Something cold pokes your cheek and you suppress a groan. You feel dirt and leaves beneath your feet, and something softer, wet– moss?

“Mina, you weren’t supposed to kill it,” an airy, male voice says.

“I didn’t mean to,” a girl whines. “I panicked.”

Your head is killing you, and when you at last open your eyes, you blink weakly. “Where…?”

“Ah, good, it’s awake.” And in front of your eyes is the most beautiful person you’ve ever seen– his hair is a soft forest green, his skin inhumanly perfect, his nose tilted up just slightly and his ears pointed, as though he’s wearing prosthetics. He’s draped in shimmering green-blue robes that seem to move despite the stillness of the air. “I’m sorry for Mina.”

“Who…?” Normally you’d be scared, but the ethereal man in front of you practically radiates calm; against your instincts, you feel yourself relaxing. “Who are you?”

The man opens his mouth but before he can respond, a blue-haired girl– this must be Mina– claps her hands excitedly. “This is his royal highness, heir to the forest fae kingdom, the Crown Prince Jungkook!”

“Thank you, Mina,” the… prince? Responds bemusedly. “This is Mina, my aide, and the one who brought you here.”

You stand up groggily. “Where’s here?” You’re in a forest, certainly: tall trees with broad leaves create a dappled pattern of sunlight on the soft floor. You don’t hear even the hint of civilization. No cars, no chatter, just the occasional bird call.

“Oh, this is my kingdom. And you, human, are my guest.” He snaps his fingers and it’s like reality melts away. Where there were nests or messy branches suddenly appear small treehouses. What you thought was an animal’s burrow transforms into a beautifully decorated hut built into the earth. The messy rocks and moss beneath your feet rearrange themselves into neat paths leading throughout the forest. And right behind the prince, an enormous redwood tree simply becomes a magnificent palace, complete with arching doorways and large windows, perfect except for its size.

“Wo-woah…” you take a step backwards in wonder, suddenly feeling dizzy. You’re hallucinating, right? An allergic reaction to the bee sting? Or you’ve been kidnapped by a very handsome and definitely psycho magician?

Although… You know it’s irrational, but you can’t help but sense goodness in him. And Mina too.

“Am I dreaming?” You whisper, suddenly realizing that those pointy-ear prosthetics look very real.

“You’re not dreaming.” Prince Jungkook draws closer. He smells like clover and rain and lavender. “Human, all your life you have been good to us. The butterflies and bees for whom you planted flowers, the hummingbirds and squirrels you kept well-fed, and the very earth beneath your feet, which was always left fertile and healthy. I have watched you save my subjects from ill-meaning humans, from injuries, from cold.” He reaches out a hand and lightly touches a finger to your chest, right above your heart. You can feel it beat faster in response. “And for that, I shall reward you with a glimpse into my world. Will you come?”

His eyes are a deep green, and staring into them, you feel like your every sense has been heightened. If you’re dreaming, it’s the most intensely sensory dream you can remember. And if not… “Yes.”

The prince’s eyes flash. “This may hurt a little.”

From his finger on your chest you feel warmth spreading throughout your body. “Ah!” What began as a pleasant warmth morphs into pain; You feel a sharp, searing ache shoot through you. Your ears, eyes, and back especially feel as though they’re burning. “Stop it!”

As soon as the words leave your lips, the pain stops and you collapse onto the moss, which seems bigger now. Your body feels inexplicably light, and when you look back at the prince and Mina, your jaw drops.

“Holy– you have wings!” Tossing your confusion to the side– it’s a dream anyways, it doesn’t have to make sense– you bound over to Mina, who indeed stands before you with beautiful blue and black wings fluttering lightly in the breeze. Prince Jungkook’s wings are silver, almost transparent, and yet so bright they practically glow. “Can I…” you reach forward cautiously. “Can I touch them?”

“Gently,” the prince replies.

“But, your highness–” Mina says, falling silent as you lightly stroke the prince’s wing. They seem to emerge from between his shoulder blades, and though you thought they’d be light and fragile, you can feel a strength in the material. You notice the prince tensing slightly at your touch.

“This is all so beautiful.” You finally take a step back and look beyond the fae in front of you. “Oh, wow.”

The burrows and treehouses have grown in size. The palace that seemed awkwardly small now looms over you, impossibly large. In fact, everything seems much bigger now. You stare at your hands and finally notice that they look tiny in comparison to the humble blade of grass beside you. Nothing’s grown– you and the faeries have shrunken.

“Do you remember some fifteen years ago? You were just a child when you found a turtledove with a broken wing.” Prince Jungkook says with a soft smile.

You do remember the incident– you’d come into the house crying, asking your parents to help you bring it inside.

“You spent days and sleepless nights nursing it back to health. And for years the turtledove would return, wouldn’t it, to say hello?”

“Y-Yes. It always slept in the fig tree outside my window.” The dove stopped visiting four or five years later; you figured it had died.

“That turtledove, lovely human, was me. And this is my kingdom.” He gestures, and the silent forest suddenly bursts into chatter, movement, noise. Hundreds of faeries appear as though they’d been there all along, walking or flying, dressed in all manner of tunics and robes. Most seem to be going about their business, running errands, or doing work. Some stop and stare at you, or greet the prince with a bow. The doors to the redwood palace swing open, and you hear an unfamiliar kind of music fill the air.

“Will you join me?” Prince Jungkook asks, a brilliant smile lighting up his features.

You grin mischievously. “That depends, do I get wings too?”

“Oh, Y/n. Look behind you.”

“What?” You crane your neck and yelp in surprise; In your peripheral vision you can see the edges of black-and-yellow wings, the pattern resembling a cross between a monarch butterfly’s and a bee’s. You focus intently on your back muscles and for a brief moment, you see the tips of your wings flutter.

“Er… your highness, can I keep them?” You ask the prince, hurrying to keep up with him and Mina as they enter the palace. The interior is beautiful, perfectly blending the decor in with the natural color of the wood. Patterns and symbols you don’t recognize are carved into the walls, and well-dressed faeries turn to eye you from around the foyer.

“Call me Jungkook. The wings are yours within the fae world– and you are welcome to stay as long as you’d like, princess.”

Your heart seems to glow. You’re a faery, a real faery! Even if it is just a dream… you never want to wake up.

“Jungkook!” You say his name like it’s a ray of sunshine, laughing at the pure delight flowing through you. The prince stands next to you, his wings catching the light of the lanterns. “Jungkook, thank you. Your world is so wonderful. Thank you for bringing me here.”

Jungkook takes your hand and draws it to him, pressing his lips to the back of your hand. “No, thank you. You’re all goodness, princess. Now, let me show you around.”

#fae!jungkook #prince!jungkook #royalty au #jungkook x reader #royal!au #bts #bts oneshot #jungkook oneshot #jeongguk oneshot #jungkook fic #bts fic #bts drabble #bts fluff #bts au #jungkook drabble #jungkook fluff #jungkook au #jungkook prince au #fae!bts

[elylandon]

Part 1 - Chapter 12.1: Quarantine

Summary: You’re running for your life when you cross paths with an ex-bounty hunter and his small, green companion. You never thought you’d find someone throughout the whole galaxy who was as lost as you.

Pairing: The Mandalorian/Din Djarin x Female Reader

Word Count: 5,035 

Rating/Warnings: M for mature content. Swearing, hints of smut, etc. Also soft/domestic Din.

Chapter 12 | Chapter 13 

Note: (Dream AU - Slow Burn)  Thanks for reading! ❤

---

You woke groggily, coming to consciousness as if you were trying to break the surface of water. Light tickled at your eyelids. Natural light. Which wasn’t something that was normally found on the Razor Crest. 

You blinked against that light, and as your vision adjusted, you saw that you were in a room made of wood. The eastern wall was lined with three large windows, all of them open. A balmy spring breeze slid between sheer white curtains, making them sway. 

Where the hell…?

You sat up, confused. It was then that you realized you weren’t sleeping on your uncomfortable cot, but a large, cozy bed dressed in quaint and simple linen. When you glanced over, you took note of the unmade, empty second half of the bed. Apparently, you didn’t sleep in this bed alone.

Okay, seriously. What the hell?

You scrambled out of the bed, and made your way to the door opposite the windows. You had no idea where you were, and you needed to find answers. Best case scenario, Din had found a safe planet to squat on, and you’d apparently forgotten the landing part, the splurging-on-a-cabin part, and the sharing-a-bed-with-him part. Worst case, you had completely imagined the last two months of your life and were at one of Thasar’s many cabins, sharing a bed with one of his many business partners.  

That was highly unlikely, but you had always been rather paranoid. And for good reason, too. 

As you opened the door and swung out into a hallway, you called out a tentative, “Hello?” When you were met with the sound of approaching footsteps, you suddenly wished that you had your blaster on you. Really, what if it wasn’t Din? 

Your heartbeat picked up as the footsteps grew louder. You kept walking down the length of the hall, determined to meet them halfway. A figure turned the corner just as you reached it and you staggered back, heart dropping to the pit of your stomach. It most definitely wasn’t your armor-clad Mandalorian, nor anyone you recognized. 

It was a human man. He looked to be in his late thirties, with short, almost scruffy brown hair, high cheekbones, and brown eyes that were slightly clouded in concern. There was a somewhat patchy beard lining his jaw, and the beginnings of a mustache resting above his plump lips. It was strange how familiar his face was when you had never seen it before. 

However, before you could panic, he spoke, and you realized that you did know that face, just not by sight. 

“What’s wrong, Y/N?”

Your brows came together as you gaped at this man. It was his voice, and it was his face, as you had painted it in your mind after tracing his features only a day ago. But why was he here, standing before you without an inch of beskar, or a helmet-

You suddenly gasped and quickly clapped your hands over your eyes, heart slamming as the magnitude of what you had just done came crashing over you. You had seen his face! Din’s face! His oath, his Creed, all of it broken because of you. You swore under your breath and tried to back up, but Din’s hands caught your wrists. 

“What are you doing? What’s going on?”

“I-I’m so sorry! I saw you. I didn’t m-mean to. I didn’t know it was you coming around the corner, or that you wouldn’t be wearing your helmet. I should have been more careful. Fuck! I’m sorry!”

There was a slight pause before Din slowly said, “I haven’t worn my helmet in over three months, Y/N.”

“W-what?” you stuttered, keeping your eyes covered. For all the good that would do; you had already seen him. 

With some effort, Din gently pulled your hands away from your face, and instructed you to open your eyes, claiming that you had seen his face everyday since he had taken the helmet off for good. 

“I have?” you asked as you looked back up at him, still bewildered. “Why did you stop wearing it?”

Meeting Din’s brown eyes again-- wow, they were just as warm and rich as you had always imagined them-- you found that he was staring at you intensely, brows furrowed, eyes searching. When you asked him that question, his eyes only narrowed further, and the way he was observing you was almost that of suspicion. 

Then, abruptly, he sucked in a sharp breath and his eyes widened as if realizing something. One of his hands let go of your wrist and shot up, smacking against your forehead. You grunted and blinked up at him. 

“Ow, Din, what the hell are you-”

“You’re warm,” was his only explanation. “Come on.” His other hand moved to yours before tugging you along behind him as he moved out of the hall. You dazedly followed after him.

He’d taken off his helmet three months ago? For good? And you’d been living with him since then, seeing his face every day? Why? Why had he stopped wearing his armor? Why were the two of you living here? Why couldn’t you remember any of it?

Din guided you through a small dining area that connected to a spectacular kitchen with pristinely white appliances. The two rooms were separated by a breakfast bar at which Din halted for a moment before laying his hands on your waist and hoisting you onto a bar stool. You let him, at this point just riding along the confusing roller coaster until you got some answers. 

Din reached over and opened the cupboard above one end of the bar and rummaged through what looked like a medicine cabinet. He quickly found what he was looking for and turned back to you, holding it out. It was a thermometer. 

“Here. Put this under your tongue.”

As if you weren’t already completely lost. 

“You want to take my temperature? Why?”

“You thought the cough you’ve been having over the last few days was because of allergies, but now you’re exhibiting signs of confusion and you’re heating up. That’s too many symptoms. We need to see if you have a fever or not.”

“Symptoms of what? And what allergies? I’ve only ever reacted to the pollen on-”

Your words stopped dead in your throat as your head jerked towards the sliding glass door in the dining room. You scrambled off the bar stool and slid around Din, who released his signature sigh of annoyance and followed you as you rushed over to the door. Looking outside, you saw that the cabin was surrounded by a lush forest that seemed so achingly familiar. The trees were tall and looming, birds flitting between branches, moss creeping up their trunks. The sky peeking through them was blue and dotted with white, puffy clouds. Wildflowers and tall grass blanketed the dirt floor, swaying in that spring breeze. Other planets exhibited similar ecosystems, you knew that, but this? None of them ever matched this so completely, nothing ever feeling the same as your childhood home. 

Tears sprung to your eyes, and you tried to breathe, finding that your lungs were having as difficult a time processing this as your brain was. 

Shakily, you said, "Is this… a-are we…" 

You couldn't even finish your thoughts. Was it really possible that you were… back on Earth? You hardly took notice that Din was hovering until he reached around you, snagged your chin between his fingers, and pulled you back to face him. Then, he shoved the thermometer into your mouth. 

"Under your tongue," he demanded, and you were so completely gone, you automatically did as you were told. When Din was satisfied, he nodded. 

“While we wait for that, I’m going to ask you some questions. Just nod yes or no. Afterwards, we’ll try to alleviate some of your confusion, alright?”

You agreed. 

“Are you experiencing any shortness of breath?”

Aside from just this moment as you were silently freaking out about the whole situation, no, you were breathing just fine. You shook your head.

“Body aches? Chills?”

No. 

“Fatigue?”

No. 

“Headaches?”

No.

“Sore throat?”

No. 

The thermometer chirped and Din instantly snatched it from your mouth. You huffed at him, starting to feel a little annoyed. Not only were you confused about where you were, what was going on, and why you were missing three months of your life, but now he was hounding you like you had some unknown ailment. If it was any other moment, his fussing might have been… cute. Now, though? Kind of frustrating, actually.

When he sighed, shoulders relaxing in relief as he inspected the thermometer, you said, “Do I pass, Dr. Djarin?”

He quirked a brow at you, and you were taken aback for a short moment by how fascinating it was to see his reactions in his facial features, and not just in his body language. You shook yourself out of it, though, and waited for your explanation. 

“No fever. And the lack of other symptoms is a good sign. However, this confusion you have is extensive, so I’m going to keep an eye on you until I’m sure it’s not an actual symptom.”

“Again I ask, a symptom of what? What the hell is going on?”

Din gestured for you to sit at the bar again, and asked, “What’s the last thing you remember?” You tried to think of the last thing you did before falling asleep the night before. 

“We were on the Crest, in the cockpit, and you were telling me about one of your bounties. The one that tried to convince you that you were actually after his twin brother.”

“And you fell asleep in your chair.”

“Right!” you exclaimed.

“Even after all those times I told you not to because doing so made you sore.”

“Uh, right,” you murmured sheepishly. 

Din shook his head disapprovingly, then explained how a few days after that, the two of you had been getting sick of searching for someplace safe to go, but realizing that no matter where you went, bounty hunters would soon follow. That was when you suggested Earth. You meant it to be an offhand joke, knowing full well that it was a nearly impossible trek. But that was the point, Din realized. Nobody would be stupid enough to follow a bounty there. 

Din started to explain how exactly the three of you made it to Earth, but that part of the explanation became strangely out of focus for you. No matter how hard you concentrated, you couldn’t seem to comprehend Din’s words, and everything around you blurred. It almost seemed like there was a thick wall of cloudy glass between you, and his words became garbled as they tried to penetrate it. Eventually, you got tired of asking him to repeat himself and motioned for him to continue. 

Din found the intergalactic underground you had been sold to, and converted all the credits you had gathered from looting Thasar’s things into American currency. It actually wound up being quite a considerable amount, and the two of you used it to buy this cabin. Unfortunately, if Din wanted to find work, he couldn’t go around in a full suit of beskar armor. People would think he’d just stepped out of some kind of sci-fi convention, and wouldn’t take him seriously. Unlike anywhere else in the galaxy, Mandalorians just didn’t exist here.

So he put the armor away, and found a job in the nearby city as Earth’s version of a bounty hunter. You held up your part of the job, and watched over the child while he was gone. Only, it wasn’t so much a job anymore. All of it had started to feel rather… domestic. 

It was comfortable, and quaint, and nice… until a few weeks ago, when countries all over the world started shutting down because of some sort of virus pandemic. In order to slow the spread of the virus, everyone was encouraged to stay home and practice social distancing. It was meant to be temporary, but it had gone on for weeks now, with apparently no end in sight. 

“So that’s why you asked me all those questions. The cough, the confusion, and a possible fever are symptoms of this virus, along with all those other things?”

“Yes. Although, at this point, I’m just being paranoid. The three of us have been living here in isolation for so long, if any of us actually had the illness, we would have known it a few weeks ago. I’m just being overly cautious.”

“It sounds serious, I don’t blame you.”

So… that was it. That was the last twelve weeks of your life. You and Din had found a way to travel to Earth, bought a cabin, started living a life far away from the outer reaches of the galaxy, and were now under quarantine from this virus. But, how could you have forgotten all that? How could you have forgotten seeing Din’s face for the first time, or living in this domestic bliss with him for so long? Why was the last thing you could recall the child sitting on your stomach, playing with his silver ball as you fell asleep at an ungodly angle in your co-pilot’s chair to the sound of Din’s rough, modulated voice? Was it really a sign that you were coming down with this illness?

“I still can’t make heads or tails of all this. And if this confusion, this lapse in memory, really is a symptom, shouldn’t I isolate myself even more from the two of you?”

Din shook his head. 

“It wouldn’t matter. The virus sits in your system for weeks without anyone being the wiser. If you’ve had it all this time, which I highly doubt, then we’d have it too.”

“I think we should try to go through the day as normally as possible. Do all the things we’ve been doing since the quarantine started, and see if it jogs your memory.” 

You nodded slowly. “So, what do we do now?”

Din thought about it for a second. 

You glanced around the cozy cabin, hoping something might grab your attention and help you remember. “I don’t have any better ideas. What exactly have we been doing since we’ve been cooped up here?”

“Well,” Din sighed, glancing out the back door. “We normally take this time that the kid is still asleep to get in some target practice and training. But I have a feeling that, with the memory loss, the comfort you’ve been gaining in the last couple months will be gone.”

“What do you mean?” you asked, tilting your head. “I’m comfortable with target practice.”

“With blasters, yes. But we’ve been working with guns in order to blend in better here.” You’re stomach lurched. 

“Oh.” Guns. Blasters were one thing. Zekir had initially helped you get used to them. But guns? The last time you had seen one… you shuddered.

Din’s eyes narrowed, observing you. All those times that he’d done this before, it really had been the weight of his gaze that you were feeling behind that visor. That weight in your chest now, it was still the same. As were the butterflies coming to life in your stomach at his attention. Finally, he nodded, coming to a conclusion. 

“We’ll stick to the simple things for now. No need to jump in the deep end just yet.”

“Alright. How about we do something we’ve done here that we couldn’t ever do on the Razor Crest, or while we planet hopped through space?” He hummed in agreement, understanding where your thoughts were going.

“The kid likes to explore the woods, so we go on walks every day. But we’ll have to wait for him to wake up first.”

“What else?” 

After another pause to think, Din’s lips twitched and morphed into a small, crooked grin. Your heart stuttered just at the sight of it. 

“Binge watching.” 

Just then, that strange blurring moment from before occurred again. One moment you were wondrously staring at Din’s soft smile, the next you were in a living room, standing in front of a bookcase cluttered with music, books, games, and movies. So many movies. There seemed to be a few television shows mixed in as well, with so many unfamiliar titles jumping out at you, all you could do was stare. Clearly being back on Earth had spurred you into experiencing, reading, and seeing everything you had missed in the last ten years. You figured that’s what Din meant by “binge watching.”

“Where do we even start?” you asked incredulously. Din chuckled.

“Honestly, this is more your thing, and I’m just sort of along for the ride. So pick whatever jumps out at you, and I’ll let you know if we’ve watched it or not.”

“Okay. What about this?”

You pulled out a particularly aesthetically pleasing box from the collection and examined the front. Game of Thrones. You were sure you hadn’t seen or heard of it when you were last on Earth, but you always used to enjoy fantasy stories, so it looked interesting enough. However, Din made face, brows and nose scrunching as he shook his head. 

“You’re currently boycotting that one. It’s a show, and we got around four seasons in. You weren’t really enjoying it to begin with; there was a lot of gore and themes you didn’t care for. You were trying to stick with it, though, because you liked the story and some of the characters. But then we got to a particularly gruesome death scene and you haven’t watched it since.”

“Do I even want to know?” you asked, casting him a furtive glance. He shook his head.

“I’m pretty sure your exact words were ‘I could have gone my whole life without seeing that.’”

You shuddered and replaced the box back onto the shelf, then continued browsing. Your eyes fell upon several flashy-looking movies lined up in a row and your jaw dropped. 

“Whoa! Are these all Marvel movies?” Din nodded. “They had only released Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk in this cinematic universe before I left. There has to be twenty other movies here.”

Din reached up and plucked three movies from the collection. The moment you saw their covers a huge smile broke out across your face and you started to bounce with excitement.

“You were pretty excited about those, but, for the sake of what we’re trying to do right now, why don’t we start with something smaller?”

“The Lord of the Rings! Yes, let’s watch those. They’re my-”

“-your favorite, I know. I had to stop you a few times from re-watching them over and over again, including the companion movies. But I think I can make an exception in this case.”

You blinked up at him.

“Companion movies?”

Din full on smirked then, and reached for three other boxes. This time your jaw hit the floor. 

“The Hobbit! No way! They turned that book into a movie too?”

“Three movies, which seems like a bit much, but you weren’t complaining.”

You were absolutely vibrating at this point, and Din had to tell you to stop squirming several times as the two of you settled down to watch The Fellowship of the Ring. Just as the movie was starting, a hesitant cooing had you both glancing over to find the child standing in the living room entrance, ears drooping from sleep. As if you weren’t already full of giddy happiness, seeing him was the frosting on your cake.

As far as you knew, you had just seen him the night before on the Crest. But after everything Din had told you, it suddenly felt like months. You wanted nothing more than to hold him close to your chest, and watch him babble a seemingly elaborate story at you while you pretended to understand it

So you quickly leaned down and scooped him up as he waddled over, and he effectively made himself comfortable by somehow sitting on both of your laps and wriggling into both of your sides. 

“Aawww,” you couldn’t help but croon, softly grazing your finger over one of his ears. 

“Mmm,” Din murmured suspiciously. “He’s buttering you up so you forget the fact that he’s still escaping his room at night.”

“Well it’s definitely working.”

He shot you a disapproving look. Perhaps this was an ongoing problem you kept getting suckered into forgiving by the adorable creature nestled against you. Regardless, you only shrugged and smirked. 

“Give me a break. I’m suffering from a memory lapse here, remember?”

He sighed, and it was both mesmerizing and amusing to see the amount of emotions flit across his features as he did so. So much different than hearing the sound through a filter, and watching his shoulders sag in defeat. You snuggled in closer to him and the child, beaming from ear to ear, and settled in for the long movie. 

The day passed quickly after that. It seemed strange, that bizarre blurring from before bringing moments in and out of focus. 

Din absolutely refusing to let you sit there and watch another eight or so hours of The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The three of you walking through the forest as you watched the child hunt for frogs. Making BLT sandwiches for lunch and enjoying them in the open spring air. Playing hide-and-seek with the child while Din handled work-related things in the study. Finally convincing him to at least start The Two Towers, but dozing through most of it with the child. Baked chicken, potatoes, and string beans for dinner, and angel food cake with strawberries and whipped cream for dessert. Playing Legos with the kid in his room until he grew tired, then reading him to sleep. 

It was such a… vanilla kind of day. That was the only way you could describe it. It was so simple, and blissful, and happy. It was the kind of day you hadn’t experienced in over twenty years, and you couldn’t believe you got to live like this, every day, with your child, and the man you cared so deeply for. You were safe, content, and fulfilled. As if all the fighting you’ve had to do since your parents had passed, all the suffering you’ve had to endure, all the darkness swirling inside of you, it all led to this. 

There was such a clear parting in your life. Before, and after. Before these two had stumbled into your world, all you had been doing was existing. But now? Now you were living. 

When the two of you were alone in your room that night, Din checked your temperature again, and frowned when you still didn’t have a fever. 

“No fever is a good thing, isn’t it?” you asked, shucking off the day’s clothes and changing into an oversized shirt to sleep in. It was in your drawers, but you were pretty sure it actually belonged to Din. 

When you glanced over at him, you found him watching you, but not in a way a woman would like to be watched by her partner as she changed. His eyes were narrowed again, studying your movements warily, once again assessing the changes in you that came with your memory loss. 

“What’s wrong?” you asked him, perplexed. Changing in front of him wasn’t a new thing, even in just your own memories. Even before your relationship together had changed, you had always felt comfortable doing so, as it wasn’t like he was going to see anything he hadn’t seen before. Or see anything others hadn’t seen before him. As long as you shifted in a way that he couldn’t see your scars, it never bothered-

Oh. 

It seemed that, with the memory loss, all the comforts you’d found in your relationship with him over the last few months really were gone. For the entire day, that must have felt strange to him. Maybe even a little sad too. But, of course, he would never admit as much. He was still more concerned about your health than anything else. 

“I just don’t get it,” he muttered. “You’re not sick, and you were fine yesterday. And yet, here you are, missing three months of your life. Nothing we did today helped you remember anything either.” 

With clear frustration, he pulled the blankets back from his side of the bed, and sat, leaning his back against the headboard and crossing his arms. He sighed heavily, thinking. “Maybe it has something to do with your powers.”

“Maybe,” you hummed, then bit your lip, eyes jumping between him and the empty space on the bed, an idea forming in your mind. 

As he seemed to lose himself in his thoughts, you slowly crept closer, and carefully climbed onto your side of the bed.

“I mean, maybe I just need to sleep, and come tomorrow morning, I’ll remember everything.” 

“Hmm,” Din murmured in distracted agreement, still oblivious to your movements. You scooted closer to him still, and it was only when you fully slipped onto his lap, that his focus returned, and those beautifully warm brown eyes snapped up to meet yours. 

“Or maybe,” you started softly, straddling him and laying your hands on his broad shoulders. “There are a few other things we could still try.”

“Y/N,” he began, tone not quite assenting. You raised your brows, head tilting a little as you brushed your fingers up his neck. He visibly swallowed, but his eyes steeled over with resolve. 

“I don’t think-”

“Before you make that argument,” you interrupted. “Let me just ask you this. Whether this happened a day ago in my memory, or a day ago in yours, either way I was okay with it, right?”

“Yes.”

“And you said that if I wanted you to stop, that was all I had to say and you would?”

“Yes.”

“And what did I say in return?” you asked, fingers trailing against his jaw now, remembering the lines you had traced there the last time you had touched his face. Din’s eyes studied you, resolve melting into a blazing fire that sent your insides dancing. Carefully, his large, calloused hands tickled over your bare thighs. 

“That you didn’t want me to stop.”

“I still mean that,” you murmured, moving forward, breath stalling in anticipation. 

The second your lips touched his, Din reacted. He was so fast. Had he always been this fast? One moment you were hovering over him, the next his hands were gripping your thighs, and you yelped as he flipped you onto your back. You blinked up at him dazedly, and his lips twitched, his expression just the tiniest bit smug.

“Still mean it?” he asked. 

“Oh, definitely,” you breathed, reaching up and folding your arms around his shoulders as his mouth crushed yours in a bruising kiss. 

His hands skipped up your thighs and slipped under the hem of your shirt. It quickly dawned on you that, unlike before, he was completely free of armor, and you planned to take full advantage of that. As his hands moved up along your sides, yours glided down over his shoulder blades, taking inventory of each dip and rise of bone, and muscle, and skin, relishing in just how exposed he was, your Mandalorian warrior. 

Not exposed enough, though. His damn shirt was still in the way. 

You grabbed a fistful of the fabric and tugged. Din complied and pulled back for a brief moment to allow you to yank his shirt off. You laughed a little as his face reappeared, a dazzling grin stretching across his face from ear to ear. But then that laugh morphed into a moan as he kissed you again, hungrier than before. His hands found the spot they had left off as he fit himself over you again, and his thumb carefully grazed against the underside of your breast. You writhed, urging him to continue, fingers burying themselves into his disheveled hair, hips moving up to meet his, friction sparking as your core brushed against his-

You jerked upright, gasping, breathing labored as your eyes took in the drastic change of a lit, wooden room, to the dark, metallic surroundings of the Razor Crest. You quickly glanced around, confused and struggling against the strange sensations you were feeling. Your lips felt swollen, your chest light with pure, unabashed happiness, your insides burning from- well, you didn’t really know what, but it wasn’t an unpleasant feeling at least. 

You sat up a little straighter, pulling yourself out of the ungodly position you always seemed to find yourself in when you fell asleep in your co-pilot’s chair, back leaning against one armrest, legs dangled over the other. The child was laying on your stomach, dozing, and you looked up to see Din casting you a curious glance over his shoulder from his own chair.

“Another nightmare?” he asked quietly.

Your brows furrowed together as you tried to remember. 

“N-no. I-I don’t think so. It was a good dream. I just don’t… remember it.”

You reached up and massaged your temples, disappointed that the dream was already slipping away. Why was it that you could remember the nightmares so vividly, but when a nice dream came along, it was gone before you were fully awake to process it? As you tried to recall it, you stretched, groaning at the soreness in your back and neck. You heard Din release a modulated sigh. 

“I keep telling you to stop falling asleep in the chair like that.”

You smirked over at him. 

“Hey, I think you said that in my dream.”

“So you do remember it.”

“Only bits and pieces,” you grumbled. “Like white curtains, The Lord of the Rings, your voice, some kind of global virus…”

“That… doesn’t sound good. At least not that part.”

You shook your head again, giving up. Din studied you for a moment, then said, “Either way, it’s good that you’re awake. I-” he paused, considering. “I received a message while you were asleep.”

“From who?” Again, he hesitated. 

“From the man who originally started me on this path.” Din’s helmet tilted in the child’s direction. “Greef Karga.”

---

Tag List: Please, please, please let me know if I missed you or the tag isn’t working.

@sirianfromsixties @doubtedbus409 @shadowfoxey @knockbeforeyouspeak @ispilledmyink @sinon36​ @im-the-nerdiest-of-them-a11 @imaginebeinlovedbyme @marvelobsessiononastick @pascalisthepunkest @yepimthatperson @stevieharrrr @sunkissed-winter @the-feckless-wonder @fruitsaladtree @adikaofmandalore @irishleesh93 @sevvysaurus @pisss-offf-ghostt @mrsparknuts @marvgrrl @kateb013 @readsalot73 @eli-bourne  @absurdthirst @everythingaboutnothingstuff @leo-moon @notawhitegirlblog @legendofcilla @tastefulmisunderstanding @gracieadorable @depresseddarth66 @fioccodineveautunnale  @earthtokace @weirdowithnobeardo @altarsw @mcakiecorgana​  

#the mandalorian #the mandalorian x reader #din djarin #din djarin x reader #baby yoda

[babiekeiji]

akaashi reacting to his s/o who loves bees sm

akaashi keiji reacting to his s/o who loves bees

a/n: this is just self-indulgent at this point.

akaashi keiji isn’t at all phased when he found out his beau liked only one (1) insect: BEES

though he probably kept on wondering: why bees?????

long story short: they’re small and fuzzy and cute. and they are apparently the building block of the growth of so many plants (seed germination)!

(i am such a nerd. i am so sorry.)

yes. you fucking love bees. BEES GO HARD

he finds out because you guys are tending to your liddle garden

it was initially akaashi who wanted to grow a garden; inflation was making the prices of these mf onions to go up way too high for his liking

so the moment he told you he wanted a garden, you asked, “CAN WE PLANT FLOWERS?????”

(if you’re allergic of course akaashi would go “???? no. you’d die” but then you’d say “hehe that’s why i have you, my charming, strong, flower-planting boyfriend”)

Nevertheless, keiji does relent and tells you yes, we can plant flowers, but on a separate pot.

RREEEEEEEEEEEEE

ff to when you and keiji are finally shopping for seeds; and you seem to be jumping around, looking through numerous racks only to come out with two seed packets

“Only two flowers?” keiji asks, looking at his numerous seed packs.

“i don’t need a lot,” you reply, taking a bunch of pots and a water pot, “i only need these.”

they’re pansies and snapdragons, by the way. these flowers attract bees because they’re full of pollen

but akaashi doesn’t have to know that...

come the day of planting, it’s early morning and keiji has gone to work, prepping his soil for his vegetables

and youre out there

just mf taking out the grass

“mf what are you doing?” akaashi

“i’m trying to get some soil”

“you don’t get soil by doing that. c’mere, have this”

he fills your two big pots with soil, to which you run off to god knows where

he watches you take off with a confused smile on his face before he gets back to work

i’m just imagining keiji work with his hands and a straw hat and overalls and rain boots and his toned arms ... JESUS

ff a few weeks and some of keiji’s plants have started flowering

while yours are already in full bloom

“keiji! they’re so pretty!!” you exclaim as you water your plants.

“you don’t seem to excited?” akaashi

“i’m waiting for the bees.”

“....the.....the bees?”

“yes.”

“????? Why the bees?”

“Bees like these flowers. I like bees.”

Akaashi decides his s/o sure is weird, but he loves them all the same

And now that he knows his love likes bees, he makes sure to take extra good care of their flowers, making sure they’re deweeded a few times a week

One morning he decides to work on his garden while his s/o is on the porch, sleepy as fuck, blanket wrapped around them with a cup of hot chocolate in their hands, only there to keep him company

He decides to check in on their flowers

Lo and behold

THE BEE is in one of them, small, round and fuzzy, flying around their flowers

His s/o’s ears perk up to the sound of buzzing. “IS THAT—?”

He turns his head and nods.

They quickly run beside him and take a look, the bees starting to gather at their flowers.

They start to tear up.

“Why are you crying?” Keiji asks, confused. “I thought you liked bees”

“MF I DO THERE ARE SO MANY OF THEM”

He laughs and pulls them in for a hug

“Thank you for building a garden for my bees.”

“For you? Anything.”

A bee flies past them and they laugh

Bzz bzz 🐝

#haikyuu!! imagines #akaashi keiji #haikyuu x reader #akaashi keiji x reader #akaashi keiji headcanons #haikyuu!! x reader headcanons #I FUCKING LOVE BEES #bees #anime #sports anime #self-insert #i love bees

[questionsonislam]

How did the human species reach today?

Allah created man in the perfect form, gave him superiority over all creatures and made him the vicegerent of the universe. Man needs to maintain this superior characteristic by belief and worshipping. Otherwise, he will lose this vicegerency by falling to the rank of asfal as-safilin (the lowest of the low) and will be lower than animals as the Quran puts it. Belief elevates man to a rank higher than angels but unbelief takes him down to the lowest of the low, to the bottom of Hell.

As a matter of fact, Allah uses the phrase "ahsan at-taqwim (best of the molds)" for man. That the phrase "the best" is used for man means there is nothing better than him.

What does “man being created in the best of moulds” mentioned in the Quran mean?

Stone and soil. Neither nose nor thorn will grow in one of them. The other is a candidate for yielding fruit, becoming man.

Stone can neither go down nor go up in terms of value and honor. However, soil is not like that. If vegetables and fruits grow in it and if they become building blocks in human body, soil attains the highest rank called “ala al-illiyyin (the highest of the high)”.

There is also the other side of the coin. Thorns, snakes, scorpions can also come out of soil as a result of different phases. Thus, the superior talent goes down to the lowest of the low. Stone remains in the peak compared to it.

The Lord of the Realms states the following:

“We have indeed created man in the best of moulds.” (at-Tin, 95/4)

And man keeps the seeds of so many beauties with this superior creation. He is a candidate for understanding, believing, doing deeds, loving, showing compassion and being enlightened. Prophethood emerges from this lofty nature. Saints are the fruits of this nature. Scholars, pious, righteous and generous people, just rulers are all different fruits of this lofty nature at different phases.

“Allah hath purchased of the Believers their persons and their goods; for theirs (in return) is the Garden (of Paradise).” When the verse above is interpreted in Risale-i Nur Collection, an example is given and the following message is included in the example:

“As for the machinery and the tools in the workshop, they will be used in my name and at my workbench. But the price and the fee for their use shall be increased a thousandfold.” (Words)

In a talk, I asked my friends about the price of soil and water and I could not get an answer. When I asked them about the price of bananas, they told me a high price. When soil and water enter a tree, which is a factory of Allah, they come out as bananas and have a high value. Similarly, we give grass to a living factory called cow and we get meat and milk. Sugar beet comes out as sugar from the factory and pollens become honey in the hive.

If man takes lessons from endless paintings of teaching around him and puts his soul and wealth under the command of his Lord, he will attain that rank called the highest of the high and get the honor of becoming a person of Paradise.

When we say soul, we understand man's personal being and when we say wealth, we understand the things entrusted to his personal being to use. In other words, “soul” represents the internal boons granted to man and “wealth” represents the external boons. Both of them are tools of testing that can elevate man to the highest of the high or that can reduce him to the lowest of the low.

Acting upon the fact that the verse starts with soul, let us deal with our soul a bit. The human mind is suitable for being used in anything from physics and chemistry, trade and agriculture to gambling and robbing. Some of them elevate him while others lower him.

Man's heart is like an ocean. It is open to so many positive and negative things from belief and unbelief to justice and cruelty, modesty and pride, obedience and disobedience, love and hatred and pardoning and revenge. The heart has the biggest share in man's elevation to the highest of the high or falling into the lowest of the low.

The faculties and feelings related to the heart are more than the organs of the body. They either elevate man to high ranks or make him fall into pits.

Let us start with love. With this feeling, man loves either his Lord and Creator or his soul and interest. The former is elevation and the latter is decline.

Another one is “the feeling of anxiety”. Man becomes worried about material and worldly problems and desolates his soul because of them. Or, the anxiety of the journey of this world ending in Hell makes him work hard and pray. The former is the highest of the high and the latter is the lowest of the low.

Our five senses should also be evaluated like this. Man can do good deeds or commit sins with them. Good deeds will lead him to the highest ranks and sins to the worst tortures.

The following statement in Risale-i Nur Collection gives a great lesson of reality: “Unbelief destroys human nature, and transforms it from diamonds into coal.” That is, man was created with a nature of diamond expressed as ahsan at-taqwim. If he leaves the line of Allah's consent and true path, he is punished and thrown into the lowest of the low. This falling is symbolized as coal. According to the statements of scientists, the building blocks of diamond and coal are the same; only the form of crystallization is different. Two different natures occur from this difference. Fruits that are opposite to each other can emerge from the same human nature like different words that are written from the same letters: believer-unbeliever, righteous-sinful, just-cruel, modest-conceited, etc.

According to this example,

•Ahsan at-taqwim is “the state of being created with the nature and ability to write the best.”

•Ala al-illiyyin is “the rank of those who can succeed it.”

•Asfal as-safilin is “the big fall and decline of those who write in a wrong way.”

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) says, “The world is the field of the hereafter.” Then, man needs to attain the honor of “ala al-illiyyin” in this world even if like a seed so that this manifestation will be apparent in the hereafter as that lofty rank. Similarly, man will deserve “asfal as-safilin” with the sins he commits so that this deserving will cause that horrible torture

To sum up, both lofty and vile men grow up in this world. Everybody either attains bliss or falls into torture in the hereafter based on their deeds.

#Allah #god #islam #quran #muslim #revert #convert #revert islam #convert islam #reverthelp #revert help #revert help team #help #islam help #converthelp #prayer #salah #muslimah #reminder #pray #dua #hijab #religion #mohammad #new muslim #new convert #new revert #how to convert to islam #convert to islam #welcome to islam

[eldritchsurveys]

1062.

Have you ever started reading a book and wondered if you’d read it before? >> IDK where on earth Lane got this survey from but it is long as balls and I’m taking it as a personal challenge at this point lmao. LET’S GOOO I’ve never had this experience, no. I don’t always remember the content of books I’ve read, but I at least remember the experience of reading them, I guess?

What has been bothering you a lot lately? >> Oof. I don’t know how to explain it here so it makes sense to the average reader, so I won’t bother making sense. I want Bruni to be a real, external entity, so badly, but if he’s not then I need to know. I need to know if I just created him, because I needed to, so I can come to terms with that and figure out what to do about it. I’ve also been bothered lately by just... my inability to form connections, to feel the way I’m supposed to feel about other people. Knowing why I’m like this (and knowing that it’s not some inherent flaw of mine but a direct result of not being emotionally taken care of when I should have been) only helps a little. I feel like there’s no way I’ll ever be able to fix this, and my only truly fulfilling relationships will be Inworld, forever. (I guess that’s better than nothing, though! At least Inworld exists.)

What (or who) have you been missing lately? >> ---

Are you trustworthy? >> I mean, I guess. I don’t know what anyone would be trusting me with.

Did your parents teach that white lies were ok? >> No, even a white lie would have gotten me punished.

Have you ever hallucinated? >> Yes.

Do you sleep with your door open or closed? >> Closed, to keep both the cat and noise out.

What flags do you have in your room, if any? >> None. Sparrow has a pretty neat gay flag on her wall and a regular gay flag on her lamp.

What (or who) is the best thing that ever happened to you? >> Hm.

What is the worst decision you ever made? >> *shrug*

Do you miss college? >> I’ve never been.

Have you ever called a teacher “mom”? >> No.

What is your favorite arcade game? >> In the Groove.

Do you feel neglected? >> Not now. But I sure do feel the ramifications of previous forms of neglect.

What school subject(s) are/were your best? >> ---

Are you allergic to grass? >> Nope.

Do you remember to water plants? >> Sometimes. I managed to kill a spider plant, though, so I’m kind of discouraged when it comes to plants. I’ll let that be Sparrow’s thing, I’m apparently unfit.

What season is your birthday in? >> Spring.

Name 3 creative people you know. >> ---

Name 3 YouTubers you aspire to be like. >> ---

What color was your first car? >> ---

What year did you graduate? >> 2004.

When was the last time you saw the person you currently have feelings for? >> ---

Have you ever been scammed? >> Nah.

Are you allergic to pollen? >> No.

What style of wedding dress do you like best? >> Sparrow’s was pretty neat.

Are you over your first love? >> ---

Do you talk on the phone a lot? >> I never talk on the phone.

Would you rather call or text? >> Obviously text.

Do you always answer your phone? >> What do you think?

When was the last time you went to a party? >> I guess January; the get-together after Elle’s wedding was pretty much a party.

What was the last thing you ate? >> Beans and rice.

What’s the last book you checked out from the library? >> I haven’t checked a book out in a while. I heard about a book recently and it wasn’t on Scribd so I decided to check Libby just on a whim (I’m used to the books I want to read never being available as ebooks in this library’s meager collection) and they had it. So I might check it out. I feel kind of anxious about doing it because my reading habits have been so erratic lately and I’m like “but what if I don’t read it fast enough?” which, like, you know, I just... renew it... but no one said anxiety had to be fuckin logical, you know.

Do you have a twitter? If so, what was the last thing you tweeted? >> No.

Who was the last person you talked to on the phone? >> ---

What’s the last thing you cooked on the stove? >> Eggs.

What color is the cover of the last notebook you used? >> ---

Who was the last person you know to have a birthday? >> Uh... Sparrow, I think.

Who sent the last e-mail you got? >> YES! Magazine.

What song is currently stuck in your head? >> Just some FFXIV music because I just got done playing about an hour ago.

Do you have a favorite shape? >> No.

What color are the sheets on your bed? >> Light grey.

What time do you usually go to bed? >> Between 10 and 11p.

Do you ever use coloring books? >> I’ve done so, but I haven’t lately.

Are you planning on watching the Olympics? >> No.

Do you pronounce the word “often” with or without a “t” in the middle? Hmm. Now that I’ve said it to myself in a few different contexts, it seems I do both. If it’s a one-word answer, like in response to “how much do you get high?” then “often” has a t in it. If it comes in the middle of a sentence and is not the focus, it does not have one. < Yup.

Have you ever been on a trapeze? >> No.

Do you enjoy popping bubble wrap? >> Sometimes. I saved some from a recent package just in case I get the urge, lol. It’s on my desk right now.

Are there any waterfalls near where you live? >> I don’t think so. The landscape isn’t exactly varied here.

Do you like seafood? >> Yes.

Have you ever had to wear a uniform for anything? >> Parochial school.

If so, what did it look like? >> IDK, man, it was a long time ago.

Do you personally know anyone who is an author? >> No.

Do you own a Polaroid camera? >> No.

Do you enjoy baking? >> No.

What’s your favorite type of flower? >> Sunflowers.

Last time (if ever) you were on an airplane, where were you going? >> I was coming home from Houston.

Do you know anyone who is left-handed? >> Sure.

What is something you think is underrated? >> ---

Around what temperature do you consider it to be too hot outside? >> It’s not so much the temperature as the level of humidity, how sunny it is, what time of year it is, etc. There are multiple factors that go into how I experience temperature and the number on the thermometer is only one facet of that.

In what ways do you expect your life to be different one year from now? >> ---

How often do you travel outside of the state/province you live in? >> Not often. Before it was just because it’s expensive and also Sparrow would have to take off work and stuff, and now it’s because of those reasons and also the pandemic.

What’s a hobby you used to have, but don’t anymore? >> ---

What has been your favorite job you’ve had so far? >> Selling merch for local bands at shows.

What’s your favorite kind of salsa/dip to go with tortilla chips? >> Chunky medium-hot salsa.

Do you wash your car by hand or drive through a car wash? >> ---

Where is the farthest north you’ve traveled to? >> This is probably the farthest north I’ve been.

Farthest south? >> I think New Orleans is farther south than Houston, but I don’t feel like looking it up to confirm (or be proven wrong).

East? >> Long Island?

West? >> Colorado.

How often do you run the dishwasher? >> Every couple of days, when it works. (We’re waiting on Maintenance to come fix it, but of course they’re taking their sweet time.)

Do you wash your face at the sink or in the shower? >> I use micellar water, so I just do it in my room. Otherwise I’d do it in the shower because I hate using the sink for that.

Name a stereotype about your gender that you don’t fit. >> Are there agender stereotypes? I haven’t heard of any.

Name a stereotype about your age that you don’t fit. >> Uh... I don’t have kids? Idk.

Do you have any unusual decorations in your home? >> If so, they’re not unusual to me, so...

Do you have any uncommon kitchen appliances, such as espresso machines, waffle irons, etc? >> We do have a waffle iron (Sparrow got one for her birthday). I’m not sure what other kind of appliances are uncommon. Are rice cookers uncommon? I can’t imagine why they would be, they’re so convenient. Unless you just don’t like rice...

What did your parents major/minor in in college, if they went? >> ---

Has either of their careers influenced what career you chose or want to pursue? >> ---

What is the highest level math class you’ve completed? >> Uh... pre-calculus? I don’t remember, man.

How old were you when you learned how to ride a bike? >> I don’t remember. Somewhere between five and eight, I guess. Sounds right.

How old were you when you learned how to swim? >> ---

How do you react when someone is rude to you? >> It depends on the situation.

Have you ever had a friend who was too clingy? >> No.

What kind of natural disaster is most common where you live? >> Blizzard, I’d imagine.

Why is your least favorite season your least favorite? >> ---

Do you have a Netflix account? >> I do.

Have you ever had an animal get into your attic? >> ---

Where is your favorite place to go on vacation? >> I guess New Orleans.

How long does it take to get there? >> About half a day, including layovers and shit. No direct flights from GRR to MSY.

When was the last time you started a “new chapter” of your life? >> ---

What room in your home do you spend the least amount of time in? >> I don’t really know. I was gonna say Sparrow’s room, and then I was gonna say the kitchen, and then I was gonna say the half-bath... I think the half-bath is probably the most reasonable answer?

What is the last random act of kindness you did? >> ---

Do you do anything to reduce the amount of electricity you use? >> I don’t have to reduce it, I barely use any to begin with.

Are you usually open to trying a new food that you aren’t familiar with? >> Yes.

Do you listen to Panic! At The Disco? >> Yes.

Have you ever had a kinky dream about a celebrity? >> Probably. Not necessarily because I wanted to, sometimes dreams just do weird shit like that.

Is there a song you can’t stop listening to atm? >> No.

Has anyone ever told you that they loved you, and you couldn’t say it back? >> I guess that’s a way to put it.

If your Facebook status doesn’t get any likes/comments, does it bother you? >> ---

Which friend do you confide in most? >> ---

Do you wear a cross? >> There’s a small cross on my left earring. But I don’t wear, like, a religious cross.

What is your opinion on Arby’s? >> I’ve only had it once, and that was on the way back from Colorado that one time, when the Greyhound stopped at Arby’s. I don’t remember what the food was like, though. Not even sure why I remember that we stopped there at all.

When you have your own kitchen, how will it be done? >> I mean, this kitchen is “mine”? I don’t live with parents or anything, so...? But I don’t have a choice in how it looks or anything, I didn’t build it.

What is your favorite doughnut? >> Apple cider doughnuts, always.

Do you have a hot tub? If so, where is it located? >> No.

Did you read the Twilight series, or jump on the bandwagon after the movie? >> I read the first book ages ago, didn’t care for it, forgot about it (until it blew up in popularity, of course).

What is your favorite party game? >> ---

Do you or your parents rake your yard? >> ---

Were you pro-Obama? >> I didn’t have an opinion at the time, I was busy trying to survive.

What is your favorite scent from Bath & Body Works? >> ---

What was the last illegal thing you did? >> I don’t remember. Probably something like jaywalking. Or watching Bill & Ted Face the Music on an illegal streaming site. 

Who did you last go to the movies with? >> Sparrow.

What color was the last vehicle you were in? >> Silver.

Do you have any family members in the military right now? >> ---

Is there a ceiling fan in the room you’re in? >> Nope.

When was the last time you wished time would move faster? >> I don’t know.

Are there any owls in your room (as decor, of course)? >> Nope.

Have you ever heard voices? >> Not... in that sense. Like obviously I hear the Inworlders’ voices, but... not quite the same thing, I’m guessing.

Do you believe in angels and demons? >> I have not encountered those kinds of angels and demons. I usually use those words as like... shortcut terms rather than references to the actual Christian concepts or whatever.

Who is the worst neighbor you have ever had? >> ---

Did your Barbies go on dates? >> I don’t recall the specific nature of the social playacting I did with Barbies.

If you’re not straight, who was the first person you came out to? >> I didn’t “come out to” anyone.

Where did you meet your first crush? >> ---

Do you remember the first time your first crush ever said hi to you? >> ---

Do you ever go places with wet hair? >> No.

Who is your favorite little girl? >> ---

What do you want the most in life? >> That’s complicated.

What is a decision you’ve made that changed your entire life? >> I don’t know, man.

Do you ever wonder what kind of person you’d have turned out to be if a certain event never happened to you?  >> Absolutely.

When you’re home alone, do you still shower with the bathroom door closed? >> No. I’ve also showered with the door open even when Sparrow was home, I just usually don’t because it’s not necessary (I just use my phone flashlight in that case so it’s not pitch dark and I don’t kill myself in there). But when I’m alone I just leave the door open for the ambient light. Why don’t I use the bathroom light? Because I have Problems and Disorders. Next question.

If you could have anyone’s singing voice, whose would you choose?  >> I like my own.

What are your top 3 favorite genres of music?  >> ---

Where did you buy your dishes from? >> We generally don’t buy dishes. All of our dishes are from either Sparrow’s sister or the wedding registry.

Do you think Mars will be colonized in your lifetime?  >> I doubt it.

What’s the most expensive thing you’ve bought that turned out to be a waste of money?  >> ---

What’s something you’ve bought that turned out to be way more useful than you anticipated? >> I don’t know.

Have you ever been on a ship?  >> I’ve been on a ferry and a regular boat. Not a ship.

Do you ever take intentional breaks from checking/posting on social media?  >> Just like... off days, I guess. Sometimes I need time to do other stuff and it’s easier to do that when I don’t have the internet wide open and ready to distract me.

Who was Van Halen’s better singer - David Lee Roth, or Sammy Hagar? >> I don’t have a preference.

Which fictional character has the most memorable quotes?  >> *shrug* ???

What’s a class you did not take in school, but now wish you had?  >> ---

Have you ever been to either of your parents’ workplaces?  >> ---

What do you think of the ‘Healthy At Every Size’ movement/philosophy?  >> I don’t have any thoughts about it because I don’t know what exactly said philosophy entails. The phrase itself doesn’t give me enough information to start forming an opinion around.

Have you ever been bitten so hard that their teeth marks were there after? >> Yeah.

Ever been given a hickey? (Love bite)  >> No.

Ever gave one?  >> I don’t think so.

Are you more of an outgoing type or shy type?  >> ---

Do you think it’s weird if guys wear make-up like eyeliner?  >> .... No.........

Are you self conscious? If so what are you self conscious about?  >> I’m self-conscious about being Weird(tm), having Issues and Problems Disorders, and having differing opinions about things that lots of people think a certain way about.

Are you flirty at all?  >> No.

Are you racist at all?  >> I might have perpetuated racist speech and behaviour, sure. I don’t think that means “I am a racist”, I think that means I’ve learned some fucked up shit from other people and hopefully I’ve learned better by now.

Would you ever date a disabled person? (Be honest)  >> ...

If you found a baby randomly by itself what would you do?  >> Call the authorities, I guess. Like... idk??? That’s such a weird situation to be in.

Would you rather adopt or have your own child?  >> ---

What would you class as cheating on someone?  >> I don’t have a personal definition for cheating because the concept does not apply to me or how I do relationships.

Do you try to be politically correct? >> No.

What’s your favorite kind of sea critter?  >> I’m not sure. There are a lot of cool ones.

Have you ever tasted locally-made honey before?  >> Yep! <3

As far as earrings go, would you rather wear hoops or studs? >> Neither, I like the earrings I have.

Do you find P.E. humiliating, or think schools shouldn’t teach it?  >> I found it obnoxious and boring and a waste of time, but that doesn’t mean schools shouldn’t teach it. I just had a bad time with it for my own specific reasons.

Do you recycle?  >> No.

Are you interested in current world issues?  >> Not particularly.

Do you think you are mature, or immature?  >> ...

What kind of career are you interested in? >> ---

Do you own a pair of sunglasses?  >> I own two pairs. I really want a better pair, like an actual good pair of sunglasses and not just cheapo pairs.

Do you use bobby pins, hair clips, or elastic hair ties? Which?  >> No.

How badly do you get acne? (If at all)  >> I don’t.

What’s the best way to cope with a breakup?  >> ---

If someone dislikes you, what is most likely to be the reason?  >> I said something that ticked them off? I don’t smile enough? IDK, dude?

How many text messages do you have in your inbox atm?  >> ---

When was the last time you had a difficult decision to make?  >> I don’t remember.

In school, what subjects do/did you find the most difficult?  >> English.

Do you still speak to the person you had your first kiss with?  >> ---

Where did you meet the last person you swapped numbers with?  >> ---

Who was the last person to add you as a friend on Facebook?  >> One of Elle’s friends that I met at her wedding.

Who was the last person that asked if you were okay?  >> I don’t remember the last time someone asked me that.

What does your handwriting look like?  >> I don’t know how to describe it.

Do you use any products on your hair, other than shampoo and conditioner?  >> I use a tea tree oil on my scalp and that’s about it.

Who were your best friends in primary school? >> ---

Do you still speak to any of them? >> ---

What was the last thing you bought from a vending machine?  >> I don’t remember the last time I used a vending machine.

What color hair did your first crush have?  >> ---

What type of shoes do you find the most comfortable?  >> No shoes.

Are you more masculine or feminine?  >> ---

If you could design your own mug, what would you put on it?  >> I don’t want to design a mug. I like the ones I already have.

What is the best beach you’ve been to?  >> I’ve only been to the NY ones...

What is one thing you physically can’t do?  >> Run a marathon.

Have you ever been to a funeral? >> Yes.

Have you ever visited your state’s capitol building?  >> No.

Have you ever visited your nation’s capitol building?  >> No.

Do/did you have a favorite seat in church?  >> ---

What is your favorite park?  >> I still really love Central Park. And Prospect Park, too.

Have you ever felt an earthquake? >> A very minor aftershock, once.

Do you chew gum regularly?  >> Not anymore, not after Orbit ruined my favourite kind. :(

Where did you go on your first train ride?  >> I think that was to North Carolina when I was 17.

Do you know anyone with a dual citizenship?  >> No.

What sports teams do you root for, if any? (Extra points for Boston fans.) >> ---

Do you dunk your cookies in milk?  >> Nope.

What is something you are confident about?  >> ---

Have you ever been physically addicted to a substance? What?  >> No.

How do you feel about needles?  >> I don’t have any feelings about them, they don’t affect me either way.

What is your favorite accent to listen to?  >> ---

What was the reason you last got dressed up?  >> Halloween.

Have you ever been the subject of cruel rumors? What were they?  >> Maybe at some point, but I don’t remember now.

Do you prefer loose or form-fitting clothing? What about on your preferred gender?  >> I prefer looser clothing. Not baggy, per se, just looser.

What do you do when you are really, really mad?  >> I don’t know, I haven’t been that mad in so long I have no idea what I’d do.

Would you rather go naked than wear fur?  >> Fuck no????

Do you put a line through your 7’s? What about your Z’s?  >> Nah.

What is one thing that someone could do to you that is unforgivable?  >> *shrug*

Are you able to forgive and forget? >> Mehhhh.

Do you like cold pizza? >> I really do not.

What is your favorite fruit?  >> I’m not sure, I like most fruits.

What about your favorite fruit juice, if it differs from solid fruit?  >> ---

Do you like broccoli and cheese? >> No! Leave broccoli alone, christ.

What about potatoes and cheese?  >> Not really?

Have you written a letter by hand, lately? To whom?  >> No.

Toaster or toaster oven?  >> We only have a toaster, but I would love a toaster oven.

What are you most known for?  >> ---

Do you have any reputations? What are they?  >> Er...

Do you wear band shirts? What band was on the last one you wore?  >> I do. I’m not sure what the last one I wore was.

Do you own any hats? Describe them.  >> I have a plain floppy beanie and I have one that says “I don’t need no body” and it has a dancing skeleton on it, lol.

What about masks, you got any? Describe those.  >> Yeah, I have a raven masquerade mask. I forget why.

What was the last thing to leave you speechless?  >> I don’t remember.

Do your parents like your friends? If they don’t, why not?  >> ---

Have you been called a bad influence?  >> I don’t think so.

Describe your favorite pair of socks.  >> I don’t have a favourite, per se, but here’s a fun pair I have: they say “eat, drink, and be spooky” or something very similar and have a fun Halloween design on them.

Have you experienced any life-changing news, events, etc, lately?  >> No.

Have any self-done piercings?  >> Not anymore.

Ever pierced someone else?  >> No.

Do you get distracted easily?  >> By things like sound and motion.

Is talking to strangers enjoyable for you, or stressful?  >> It can really go either way. Sometimes it’s just neutral.

How do you feel about getting new neighbors? >> I don’t care. They’re probably just going to be loud asses too.

How many ceiling fans are in your home?  >> Zero.

Do you tweet your life away? >> I don’t tweet at all.

How do you feel about shameless self promoting? >> I don’t care?

When reading words. like. this. do. you always pause after the periods?  >> Yeah.

What about screaming when reading something IN ALL CAPS?  >> Yes, which is why I hate when people type like that. There’s a popular blogger on this website that makes all their posts in all-caps and I will never fucking understand it. Like, their content is fun sometimes but I can’t really engage with it because I hate the shouty text!

#surveys #survey #random survey #not for reblogging *glare* #i made it through. dear god #(probably because half the questions i didn't even have answers for)

[detectivejigsawpines]

Relatively Relativity-part 4 (The chapter that begins and ends with slumber)

By the time the mini-grunkles’ newfound manic energy wore off, it was almost evening; they slowly staggered back to the front porch, covered in dirt and grass stains, and neither one seeming really capable of staying on his feet for much longer.

“Well...that was fun…” Ford mumbled as he pulled himself up the first step, “...gotta get back to work now…”

“Work?”  Stan blinked a little bewilderedly.  “Whatsis...work...y’speak of?”

He nearly pitched forward and smashed his nose before Dipper hurriedly caught him.  Mabel did the same for Ford; he was asleep before his feet were even off the ground.

“Wow,” Dipper muttered as they carried them inside, “do you think we’re this heavy when we’re our normal size?”

“Who’re ya callin’ fat?” Stan grumbled at him before yawning, and letting his eyes droop shut.

Dipper looked at the sleeping boys thoughtfully.  “...I guess we gotta put them to bed?”

Mabel smiled.  “I know just the place.”  She went over to Grunkle Stan’s big yellow armchair and set Ford down into it, before tugging off his shoes and his jacket for him.  He stirred a little at her fussing, but not enough to actually wake up, just snuggling into the thick padding.

Dipper shrugged, and put Stan on the other side, helping him out of his own coat and shoes.  However, instead of leaning back Stan ended up flopping over, so his head and part of his shoulder landed in Ford’s lap.

“Oops.”

Dipper reached out to straighten him, but Mabel grabbed his arm.

“Don’t you dare move them.”  Her eyes were wide with delight at being in such high levels of cuteness proximity, and her phone was back out.

With a roll of his eyes Dipper went to hang up their coats and then retrieve a blanket, which he draped around both boys.  Then, in the interest of his family’s self-preservation, he went into the kitchen and poured the rest of the Mabel Juice down the sink, before cleaning up the remains of their lunch.

****

By the time he came back Mabel had probably overshot her phone’s storage capacity with the amount of photos she’d taken, and he was forced to drag her away so the boys could sleep undisturbed.

“...So, what do we do now?” Mabel asked as they left the room.  “Do you wanna play cards?  I’m pretty sure old people usually play cards while kids are sleeping.  Or backgammon!  I’ve always wanted to learn how to play backgammon!”

Dipper didn’t answer; he’d paused midstep, his eyes trained on the full-length mirror which Stan (technically Soos, now) kept down here for some reason.

It was the first time he’d really gotten the chance to see what he looked like in his old body; he was mesmerized.  He moved his hand, watching his reflection’s hand move with it, trying to convince himself that this really was his body now.

He hadn’t expected to be so...big.  He’d been startled seeing just his old wrinkly hands, but seeing all of him at once, with his head about three feet higher up than normal and the torso filled out so he actually had shoulders now, was even more of a shock.  Dipper guessed he should count himself lucky that his clothes had grown along with him; he was not in a hurry to see himself naked in addition to being old (ugh, please try to erase that thought, mind).

He didn’t have the imposing posture Ford did, or the amount of muscles either of his grunkles had; but that was probably a given since he hadn’t gone through the same stuff as them.

Gingerly Dipper pulled off his hat, and got a good look at his thick gray hair.  It was only mildly comforting to see that he had a lighter stripe like Ford, so maybe it made him look kind of distinguished.

“...At least there’s no bald spots,” Mabel pointed out, ever the optimist.  She’d been staring at herself too, squeezing her face in an attempt to smooth out some of the wrinkles.  “And look-my braces are gone!”  She pulled back her lips so he could see her (slightly stained, but indeed braces-free) teeth.

Dipper managed a smile.  “Yeah, looks like you won’t be a metal mouth forever.”

“Hey!”  Mabel swatted his arm; they both laughed.

“I dunno if I like being all gray, though,” she admitted after a minute.  “Maybe I should dye it.  Like put in some pink or blue highlights or something.  What do you think?”

“...I think you’d look like one of those horrifying bingo hall grandma stereotypes.”

Mabel blew a raspberry at him.  “You have no appreciation for art!”

They both nearly jumped out of their skin when Soos’s voice asked from behind them, “So what’s the plan, dudes?”

In all the chaos of watching their mini-grunkles dealing with the effects of Mabel Juice, they’d forgotten about the former handyman-now-boss.  And, they realized as they turned around, they’d forgotten about his girlfriend and his grandmother, who were also living here now.

Soos gave the twins an apologetic smile.  “I got Melody and Abuelita caught up on current events so they wouldn’t be shocked when they saw you guys.”  He leaned in and whispered in as conspiratorial a voice as he was capable of, “They’ve both taken like a million pictures of the little Mr. Pineses.”

“Join the club, ladies!” Mabel beamed.  “I’m gonna need to import all of mine into a computer or something to clear up some space!”

Melody giggled.  “I know, right?  They look so precious right now, it’s hard to stop!”

“Yeah, I’m totally including a chapter about this in my fanfiction.”  Soos grinned.  Then he composed himself.  “Seriously though-what’s the plan for getting you dudes back to normal?”

Dipper sighed.  “Well, tomorrow we’re gonna go see if we can find more of those flowers so Grunkle Ford can study them better.  Maybe get some still-active pollen samples or something.”

“Sounds good, sounds good.”  Soos nodded sagely.

“Maybe you oughta wear gas masks or hazmat suits or something so you don’t get affected by them again,” Melody pointed out.

“Ooh, good point.  I’ll remind Grunkle Ford about that when he wakes up.”

“Anything we can do to help?” Abuelita asked.

Dipper smiled at her.  “For now, we probably just need you guys to keep the Shack running like normal.  But if we need anything, we’ll let you know.”

“You got it, dudes.”

****

Luckily Soos was able to lend Dipper some of his pajamas (which were super baggy on him even now, but better than sleeping in his clothes), and Mabel got one of Abuelita’s spare nightgowns, so they both had something to sleep in.

Soos had had the option of turning Stan’s room into his own, since he was Mr. Mystery now, but he hadn’t felt worthy of the honor, so he mostly still slept in the break room, using a new couch that folded out into a bed.  Melody slept in the room that used to hold all the cursed wax figures, and Abuelita had cleaned out another storage room for herself, so the kids were still sleeping in the attic.  Soos promised that they or their mini-grunkles could come wake him up if they needed anything, and the little groups said goodnight to each other before heading to their respective rooms.

Waddles, who apparently had been sleeping on Mabel’s bed all day, was a little startled when he first laid eyes on them, and didn’t seem to recognize his master at first.  But after a minute of sniffing at her hands and skirt, he seemed to realize that she was still herself, and just accepted that she looked a little weird now.  As she got into bed he happily climbed up and snuggled against the crook of her arm, grunting contentedly.

“Goodnight, Dipper!” she called to her brother.

“Night, Mabel.”  He was in the process of writing the day’s events in his journal next to his drawing of the flower, and didn’t bother looking up.

“Don’t stay up all night; you’re a senior citizen now, so you need your beauty sleep.”

“Whatever.”

Truth be told, part of Dipper wasn’t sure if he’d be capable of falling asleep-and not just because his joints kept making funny creaky noises every time he moved.  Too many thoughts kept running around in his brain, worrying about how they were going to fix this, what if they couldn’t, were they going to have to raise their mini-grunkles from now on, what were their parents going to think about all this, what if what if what if...

But when he finished his entry in his journal and turned out the light, he lay back and closed his eyes-

-and the next time he opened them, it was to morning light filtering in through the window.

********

Attaboy, Dipper.  Get some sleep so you’ll stop worrying so much.

#gravity falls #soos ramirez #stan pines #ford pines #dipper pines #mabel pines #melody gravity falls #soos's abuelita #relatively relativity #sleepy boys #sleepy everyone #waddles

[poorlytunedukulele]

Day 9 - Blooming Gardens

I keep making these too long.  AO3 Link or read it under the cut.

July 30, 2953 10:52; The Last City, Earth

Veera pulled in a breath.  Wind chimes tinkled.  She let the breath out.  The fountain burbled.

A horn honked somewhere.  Veera’s eyes opened of their own accord.

The sight was a familiar one.  Veera came here often to mediate.  The small garden at the center of the City was almost a sacred place to her.  She knew every stone, every burble of the fountain, could tell which wind chime was ringing by the tones.  Normally the familiarity was enough to let her block everything out.

But something about it today wasn’t doing it.  Veera sighed and tilted her head upwards.  It was impossible to ignore the Traveler.  It consumed almost the entire sky from this angle.  She could sit here for ages, beseeching the Traveler for answers.  She knew she would not get any- that was the entire point.  The journey, the search, made you stronger.

It also apparently involved a lot of banging your head into the wall.  Veera had yet to kindle even the tiniest tongue of Solar Flame.  Aggravation was not her ally in this.

She needed to go somewhere else, she decided.  Somewhere special.  “Open me a line to Azra?” she asked her Ghost.

July 30, 2953 13:11; Near Mount St. Helens, Old America, Earth

“Beautiful, isn’t it?”

The breeze came, rustling the trees and rippling the grasses.  The two Guardians stood at the edge of a clearing.  The trees to their back provided cool shelter from the sun.  Ahead of them, flowers and reeds baked in the sun.  The clearing was perhaps two hundred meters across, split in half by a rushing river of glacial melt.  There were a few dead tree trunks standing stubbornly in the cleared space.

They stood a few dozen meters away from the river in a clear area in the trees.  It was obviously some old campsite, trampled from use.  The two Guardians had labored briefly to move a bench from the sunken-in fire pit to the edge of the meadow.

Azra put her hands on her hips and surveyed the space.  “We had a camp here… damn, must have been seventy years ago.  Though I’m told Dead End Cure stops by occasionally.  It’s a good spot.”

“This…”  Veera let her senses expand outward, looking for the heat.  High above, the Sun burned in its usual intensity.  Below-

Quite close below, the Earth’s mantle raged.  Very close.  “This is an active volcano,” Veera informed the Hunter.

“Huh.  Always thought that mountain looked funny,” Azra commented dryly, turning to peer behind them like she could make the shape of it through the trees.  “Now that you mention it, I remember Andal saying something about it.”

“You made your camp on an active volcano,” Veera stated incredulously.  “One that could start erupting at any moment and drown you in lava.”

Azra rolled her eyes.  “Like I haven’t fallen in a volcano before.  Plus, they make for good forests.”

“What?”

“See, look at that,” Azra said, pointing to the clearing.  “Ground here is good.  Fertile.  It floods here occasionally, that’s why the trees can’t grow.  But the flowers don’t care.  Everything here is thriving.  Volcanic soil will do that.”

The meadow was indeed a riot of color.  Purples, pinks, reds, and whites stood out among the greenish-yellow grass.  Insects moved between the flowers, dutifully collecting pollen or nectar or whatever it was insects did.  Birds flitted between the tree branches.

“I mean, if you wanted quiet quiet there’s some caves in the mid-southeast, but you said Solar and I immediately thought of this place.  Good Sun and good places to sit.  Mountain’s stayed quiet for seventy years.  Doubt it’s just going to blow up with no warning.”

Veera settled on her bench with some uncertainty.  “What if the Fallen come?”

“Can’t handle a few Fallen?” the Hunter asked teasingly.

“I can handle them,” Veera stated.  “But I am not supposed to be worried about that.”

“Then I’ll keep watch,” Azra said.  “Simple as that.”

Veera took a few minutes to clear her head.  Azra sat perched in a nearby tree, scanning the horizon with a handheld pair of binoculars.

Veera felt for the Sun and for the Mantle.  She meditated on volcanoes.  How her first instinct was to think of the eruption- fire, choking ash, death.  How Azra immediately thought of what came after- rebirth, growth, life.  How one thing could be both burning ruin and the progenitor of thriving abundance.

Something else begged for her attention.  Veera set those thoughts aside and focused on the Azra.  Veera dared steal a glance at the Hunter.  She lounged in her perch, head turning almost lazily as she surveyed their surroundings.  Veera knew what she would be thinking about.  She would look down at the meadow, the life growing there, and think about how nature didn’t need to be cultivated.

No.  She’d be focused on looking out for the Fallen.  She did not shirk her responsibilities.  Veera knew the Hunter could name every flower in that meadow by name, tell her which ones you could eat without getting sick, which ones were in their full bloom and which ones were reaching the end of their season.  She probably had some flower-related story that was hilarious at her own expense.

And she knew Azra could tell if bad weather was coming hours ahead of time, days.  She knew if there was any Fallen nearby- any danger at all, period, she’d know and she’d handle it.

So the Warlock relaxed, and thought of friendship, of trust, of admiration.  She thought of the gentle set to the Hunter’s expression when Veera described her troubles.  She thought about how the Hunter was now spending her afternoon sitting in a tree and watching the wind blow just to help Veera relax.

Tentatively, she touched the idea of catastrophe again.  How may catastrophes had she seen with the Hunter at her side?  The Vault, The Wolves, Crota- even the more mundane dangers, raiding Hive nests and exploring the Ishtar Academy- all of that pain, the danger, the dozens of deaths they’d suffered.

The reward for all of that sat in a tree a dozen meters away.  And if the eruption came again, and Azra needed her like Veera had needed Azra this morning?  She’d set herself ablaze and rise meet it.

Flame bloomed in the Warlock’s hands.

#destcember #destcember2020 #destiny #destiny the game