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certainlynotasimp · 10 months

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Hii, i think a good idea for a one shot could be that there's a canon event where the spiderperson!reader have to do the iconic Spiderman kiss in their universe, like Spiderman 3 (toby's one) with Gwen stacy or whoever you want, but they are in a relationship with Miguel LMAOOO btw im sorry if there's something wrong with the grammar, english is not my first language <3

Rewrite the Stars

((Miguel O’Hara x Female! Reader))

A/N: A non Sunny x Miggy post? How odd for me lol. I’m so sorry this is super late and to everyone whose requested, I’m working slowly but surely on y’all’s stuff. If you wanna read some stuff in the meantime, here’s the Masterlist and feel free to join my discord.

A/N: I tried doing the you/yours pronoun thing because this isn’t a Sunny fanfic but I really don’t like it lol.

Warnings: Jealous Miguel?, Unrequited/Forbidden? Love, Female Reader/Female Pronouns, Barely use of Y/N, and no Spanish this time ((I’m trying to find a new translator and hopefully an editor))

The universe.

One of life’s greatest mysteries. A mass of stars and galaxies that housed so many lives within its many pockets. The lives of so many people whose lives were already written within its cloudy arms and their ends cemented in its pools of nothingness.

A beautiful cycle of cruelty and destiny.

A cycle that was the reason for your utter misery as you sat at a bar listening to your dimension’s Ben Riley blabber on about some football game you cared nothing about.

His oblivious brown eyes sparkled at the fascination with the game as his dimpled smile accentuates his sharp jawline. The warm lights from above caused a healthy glow to bounce off of his shaggy blonde hair, almost making him look like an angel. You can see why Spiderverse assigned him as your love interest.

In your earth’s canon, you were a typical woman who had gotten bit by a radioactive spider during a high school field trip and you spent your entire high school experience thrashing goons instead of chasing boys. Even helped take down some aliens with the Fantastic Four and the Avengers at times before college finals. Spiderwoman was New York’s beloved hero and the cockiness of being its one and only SpiderWoman quickly got into her head.

That was until six months ago.

Six months ago, you were fighting the Vulture over the Empire State Building when another, more mutated version of the same villain appeared. They both decided in your state of delirium over the doubles that you would be a good plaything.

~~~~~~~~~~

“Hey, I didn’t ask for a combo with my chicken!” A feminine spider’s voice screeches as she avoids the hooked talons of the erratic variant.

The two villains took turns flying menacingly around the scope of buildings to throw the hero off of their location while the other swooped in and tries to rip her throat out.

As she attempts to escape the feathered monster, its companion would come and slice away the web of salvation, continuing the vicious cycle.

Blood blinded her vision as the loud ringing at the base of her skull grew louder. The causes of that annoying alarm grasp their razor claws into her shoulders before sweeping her exhausted body into the air with a victorious snarl.

‘I guess this is the end…’

As the heavens draw closer to her doom, her life hanging up by the slicing of her muscles and bones, a glimmer of fate happens. The warmth of a flash barely registers as the first ache disappears with a startled squeak and a burly force. The sudden change in feeling takes her breath away as she suddenly begins to plummet below.

Her eyes quickly adjusting to the suffocating drop, she can see that one of the Vultures was now fighting an even more prominent blue figure, his howls of pain and unintelligible cursing heard from the stumbling brawl.

As the flash from her familiar foe reaches around the building, she shoots her web at him and used him as a glider.

“Time to ground you, birdie!” She yells as she throws the villain through a window. Catching her grip on the building, she looks at her new foe in the sky and the wind is knocked out of her from the sight.

The man who saved her was in a futuristic spider suit with his mask now off. His dark hair flutters in the wind as the setting sun makes his tanned skin glow. His red eyes glare at the wiggling mutant as his full lips pull back into a snarl. His jaws open revealing a set of large fans before he plunged them into the mutant.

Who the hell is that?

~~~~~~~~~

“(Y/N)?…” Ben frowns as he realizes his date was lost in her thoughts.

You snapped out of your head and fake an apologetic smile. “Sorry, I was remembering something….”

That wasn’t a complete lie. You remembered the day you met Miguel O’Hara. The Spiderman of the year 2099 and the leader of the inter-dimensional Spider Society. The anomaly that had come into your world had brought the two together and you were recruited due to your stubbornness, much to Miguel’s annoyance.

~~~~~~~~~

“No.” His annoyance dripped from these words as he glares down at you. You were caught in wonder at the idea of there being other Spidermen and that they worked together to stop the collapse of the entire universe. The thought seemed too good to be true that you just had to ask if you could join until those red eyes shot your dream through the heart.

“What do you mean ‘No’?” You ask in disbelief. Your own eyes glared deep into his soul as your hands balled into fists. “I’m a Spiderman just like you! How could you-!”

“You are not like me.” He coldly snaps at you, your ranting briefly interrupted as the man towers over you. His clawed hand grasps your face as his glare sets a spark of fury down in your chest.

“You will never be like me and you will never-!” “Is that our new recruit?” A smooth British accent appears behind Miguel as a spiked-headed Spiderman peeks around his bulking figure.

“No, she’s-” The tall punk pulls you away from Miguel with a mischievous laugh as he introduces himself. “Ello, love, my name is Hobie. Hobie Brown.” He leans down with a sly smirk as his mischievous attitude infests your being like a plague. “Just play along, mate. Let’s riffle this wanker’s undies.” He whispers as you giggle.

“Nice to meet you, Hobie.” I allow a sly smirk to slide onto my face as I look back at the now very annoyed Miguel. “My name is (Y/N) and I’m happy to join.”

~~~~~~~~

The distant sound of screams filters through the bar as the distinct sound of a car being tossed into another building.

Looking at my gizmo disguised as a watch, you realized that the canon event was starting.

~~~~~~~~

“You did well today,” Miguel admits under his breath. Looking at him in shock, you realize that he wasn’t scowling like he normally was. He had a softer expression, his eyes shining with approval as his lips quirked into a mimic of a smile.

The mission had almost gone rouge with the escape of a prowler and him hiding low in a crowded dimension. Despite the obvious danger, Miguel opted to go alone like usual, but his lack of spider sense caused him to get caught up in a trap. Talons and Fangs don’t really help if you can’t exactly move around to use them, so he ended up taking serious blows.

Luckily, you managed to get there and tumble with the villain long enough for the others to rescue Miguel, and the team managed to recapture the prowler. Of course all of them looked pretty bad injuries wise, but the look Miguel had as you sat there bandaging up his wounds made it worth it for some odd reason.

“Thanks Boss.”

~~~~~~~~

June 27th : SpiderWoman of Earth 648 will rescue love interest, Ben Riley, from an attack against The Rhino….

The roaring of the mechanical beast fills the panicked screams of the patrons as the sinking feeling falls in your chest. Ben is quick to play the hero like any guy would as he grabs your arm and drags you out towards the emergency exit. Just like the timeline said it would.

You use the chaos to your advantage as you pretend to trip and get lost in the crowd of people struggling to escape from the emergency exit.

~~~~~~~~~

“What do you mean by that?!” I snapped at an irritated Miguel.

Lyla was surprisingly quiet as she watched the duo argue. Miguel whips around at you as his ruby eyes scorched into yours. His talons point at you accusingly as he reiterates your next canon event.

“On June 27th, you are going to be out on a date with Ben Riley. The Rhino is gonna attack that street and you’re gonna save everyone, and afterwards you’re gonna have to kiss him.” His frustration evident as his permanent frown creases.

You stare into his eyes in defiance as you coldly utter, “No. I’m not gonna kiss Ben Riley.”

“And why not? He’s your love interest!” Miguel exclaims, obviously more furious than before. “You’re the Peter to his MJ. You gotta kiss him because you’re destined to be.”

“I don’t love him! I don’t even like his whiny ass!” You snap as you felt your frustrated tears roll down your face.

It’s true. Before you joined this team, you would have been thrilled that you were destined to be with Campus Hunk Ben Riley. He was everything you could ever want from a guy. He was good looking, sensitive, athletic, and social able. The all around good guy you would be proud to bring home to your folks.

But…

Sharp grasp on your shoulder alerts your attention back to Miguel as he slams you back against the desk. His eyes burning embers as he glares down at you.

~~~~~~~~~~

Changing into your spidersuit, you began to fight The Rhino with a distracted daze in your movements.

The memory from a week prior burning in your mind as you sloppily avoided cars and harsh blows. After a few well timed flips and back kicks, the brute decides to throw a large street cleaning truck towards the alleyway. Just like Lyla predicted when she handed you the file.

The Rhino is gonna throw a street cleaner towards the alleyway where Ben is. SpiderWoman will stop the truck before impact and sling it back towards The Rhino ending the fight.

~~~~~~~

“And why is it that you are being so difficult?!” He snaps as his fangs glimmer from his scowl. A cute trait you used to love about him until it was pointed at you. “You are no better than a spoiled child with how you are acting so you better have a good fucking reason!”

You growl back at him with a tear rolling down your enraged face.

He had no right to argue with you about your life, not when he’s the one making it difficult.

~~~~~~~

Shooting a web out towards the buildings, you catapulted yourself into the air and landed in front of the truck. Quickly reusing the web with some enforcements, the truck was bounced back to the The Rhino. The enormous foe gets trampled by the machinery as the crowd cheers for SpiderWoman’s dreaded victory.

“Way to go SpiderWoman!!” A familiar voice joins the crowd as I see Ben on the ground, obviously he either tripped or fell back to avoid the truck. You offer a hand towards him as you thank him softly.

“Thank you.” I faked the smile in my voice as the crowd disappears, leaving the two of you in the alley way.

~~~~~

Finally snapping at him, you yell out in fury,

“BECAUSE HE’S NOT YOU!”

With a frustrated slap to Miguel’s face, you run past him and escaped back to your dimension, heartbroken over how the events to come and what just happened that despite everything you couldn’t change fate.

No matter how many times you fell asleep during long nights talking on his observation deck. No matter how many playful sparring matches turn into flirty comments. Not even the little gestures of bringing the grumpy spider his coffee and him bringing you some sweets during meetings could change that the star already written your path.

You fell in love with a man who isn’t meant to be yours.

~~~~~

It’s been a week since that fight and you still haven’t seen or heard from him. It hurt to know that your confession was brushed aside while you had to continue the continuity. You half at least expected him to be here to make sure you at least followed through with the canon event.

“Would you like a swing home?” I offer just like I’m supposed to. The moment that was meant to be a nervous beginning to a love story felt like the beginning of heartache as I watched a blush form on his face.

“Sure,” he answered before a flash of realization that his date was suddenly not with him. Another trait you wouldn’t have noticed if you were as in love with him as you were suppose to be.

“Hey my date isn’t here…I think she got hurt or lost during the panic.” His concern caused a pang of guilt to stab her in the chest.

Recovering quickly, you shoot out some webbing and playfully hang upside down infront of him. “Well I guess that swinging date will have to be postponed.”

“Wait it was gonna be a-!”

Quickly, you pulled down the mask enough to deliver a quick peck to his rambling mouth. You force out a giggle as he stood looking at you flabbergasted.

“See ya, Riley.” You swing off as the man bumbled to even ask how you knew his name.

Lyla just said it was a kiss, not a what kind of kiss.

With a heavy heart, you swing back home as you tried to remember that this was all for the sake of the canon. That Miguel didn’t care for you the way you did for him. You tried your hardest to tell your aching heart that those past few months were you just making too much out of nothing.

You mournfully entered your apartment through the bathroom window you normally kept unlocked . You stripped away the skin tight fabric before wrapping yourself in the familiar comfort of your robe as you exited the room into a dim lit living room.

You heart stick in your chest as you see Miguel standing there in your living room in his bright blue spider suit and a beautiful spring lily in his hand.

“Miguel? What are you doing here?…” You ask as yoy warily approach him, scared he’s gonna do something to you.

He shakes his head, refusing to answer as he hands you the flower. It’s soft white petals shining in the pale moonlight as you smile fondly at it. They were your favorite flower. Something you told Miguel a million times before.

Before you could thank him for the kind gesture, a soft thump above you alrets you to look up. A spindle of glowing webbing cascaded down the ceiling with the large spiderman now suspended upside down from it. His free hand caresses the side of your face as his eyes stared softly into yours.

“I can’t change the canon, mi amor…” he whispers sadly before mischief lights up his molten gaze. “But we certainly can try to rewrite the stars for us.”

An excited nod from you causes his chest to rumble as he pulls you into a slow passionate kiss.

You were glad this is a canon event for spider men despite it not going as planned.

#miguel o’hara x reader #spiderman 2099 #spiderman #spiderman across the spiderverse #spiderman 2099 x reader #spiderman into the spiderverse #miguel ohara #miguel o’hara #across the spiderverse #fanfic

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xreaderbooks · 6 months

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Paradise on Earth (21)

Chapter: 21. Poguelandia

Pair: JJ Maybank x Routledge! Reader

Summary: island paradise fades into memory when you and the pogues are rescued by a strange man

Warnings: language, violence, jealousy, kidnapping, plane crash, animal cruelty (i guess), guns, allusions to murder, let me know if I'm missing anything.

Word Count: 7.2k

a/n: idk if you guys listen to lana but i feel like jj x y/n are so 'chemtrails over the country club' coded

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Chapter 20 | Series Masterlist | Navigation | Next Chapter

You once believed that the Outerbanks were as close to peace and paradise as you would ever get. The waves on the beach, tanning on the boat, and beers that tasted like shit but were a refreshing lifesaver on a hotter-than-hell day. You were wrong.

Poguelandia was your Paradise on Earth.

You were aware of how insane it must be to be glad you were stuck on an island with absolutely no way of getting back to modern civilization, but the whole experience of this place was out of body. You were in the most ideal situation of your current stranded status.

You weren't alone, you had your family with you, with your combined strengths and skills you were all able to build a system on how to survive.

The first week was full of prep, foraging fresh fruit, gathering coconuts and wood, figuring out how to boil fresh water, and weaving a shelter from when it rains out of leaves and long sticks.

JJ made sure to claim the island with a flag made out of his white T-shirt and ash from the fires you all made to keep warm during the night. He climbed high up on top of a palm tree to tie the flag. Just as he said he would, it read 'Poguelandia' with a chicken laying back with its arms (wings) behind its head, chillin' in a coconut bra and Crocs, smoking a joint.

Sure, fresh water was a bitch and a half to make and food came straight out of the ocean but when you thought about it- the only difference between Poguelandia and the OBX was that the Chateau was a slightly more stable shelter. Well, that and here you had free food.

In all honesty, if there was a boat that miraculously did find a way to this island that could take you all home, you weren't sure if you would want to leave.

The only person whom you shared this confession with was JJ. He confessed he felt the same.

On week two with no sign of life, the reality of the situation slowly creeps its way into the group's minds, with plenty of time to think about what you wanted from life, if there was one past Poguelandia- this was what you wanted. The life JJ's described to you a million times before.

The boards were the only thing lacking, however, JJ was prepared to chop down a tree with his pocket knife and make one through trial and error.

Late one night, the others were fast asleep, you had taken a nap earlier during the day and were the last one still up, you took a walk to the beach and let the cool water trickle over your feet. You stood there with your eyes closed until you felt yourself shiver from the cold.

You were thinking about curling up by the dying fire and willing yourself to sleep, that was until you flinched at the 'Hey dude' you heard to your left.

"Hey," You replied once your heart calmed. "Thought you were knocked out."

"I was but then I felt someone was missing," He nudged you with his elbow. "Had to make sure you weren't eaten by a jaguar or something."

"I'm pretty sure if there was a jaguar here, we would know by now."

"Or would we? They really got that sneak attack down pact," He spoke in a knowing tone.

You nudged him back with two fingers on his shoulders, "Then I suggest we get hunting." JJ looked like a God in sunlight, but under the moon with the view of the water it made you want to kiss the life out of him. Neither of you ever acknowledged the moments in the dark of night during the summer when John B was presumed dead, you knew he didn't want to.

It was in the back of your mind constantly these days, you no longer pushed back on the thoughts that told you he possibly wanted more, you could file everything under him being a protective best friend and that he was only looking out for you cause he didn't want to see you get hurt, John B would kill him if he could've prevented something from hurting you. Including himself, a voice in your head urged you to consider.

"What?" JJ asked, a nervous smile peeking through. You blinked, realizing you'd been staring at him.

"Nothing. Sorry," You shook your head with a smile of your own. You both stood in silence for a minute before you gathered the courage to ask him, "If we had a way of getting off this island, would you?"

"Hell no," He responded without hesitation. "Nah, I mean, would you?"

You scoffed out a laugh, "No, Yes. No." It was a dream you didn't want to wake up from, waking up would be coming back to reality, realistically you couldn't stay here in this moment forever but it will be engraved in your mind for the rest of your life.

"I get it," He shrugged.

"Do you?" You questioned with no other underlying connotation but hope. He had nothing in the OBX, other than problems, disappearing off of the face of the earth was in his favor. You had... well, you had John B and the Chateau. Was it worth going back for the latter?

"Nah, not really, we've been living here." JJ spread his arms out and turned in a circle to compliment the island. "Best life I've lived on this here, Poguelandia."

"Yeah," You fixed your gaze back on the water.

"But you, I guess, you'd wanna go back to school or something," JJ sniffed.

You raised your eyes to look at him, he thought that you were concerned about school? With all that you've been through, that was the last thing on your mind, that's probably on top two of Pope's list. You supposed that if you were talking about reasons to go back, if you had to, finishing school would have to be a priority in getting your life together.

"J, fuck school."

He barked out a laugh til he was wheezing, hands on his knees, face red (from what you could see with the darkness), clutching his stomach as he gathered himself. "Fuck school." He nodded and coughed out the rest of his amusement.

"This was the goal, wasn't it? To stay, I want to stay."

"Yeah you do," He grinned. "If the lady wants to stay, we'll stay."

The deal was sealed with the handshake made years ago, on the last side bump and snap you both stood looking at each other for a second longer than necessary.

"I thought it'd be weird if I just said that I wanted to stay, we have no reason to go back, at least you and I don't."

"Now you know I got you, you stay, I stay. The rest of them can fuck off," He turned back to see everyone still asleep. "Not really, they should stay too, but you get what I mean."

"Yeah, dude."

Something slithered past your foot in the water and you jumped.

"Oh my fucking god!" You squealed, stepping away from the water and onto the safety of the beach sand. "Did you feel that?"

JJ bent a little, reaching his finger into the water, "What, this?" He splashed water up at you.

"JJ!" You giggled and kicked water at him in revenge. "Your ass is mine."

"Promise?" A bigger splash came your way.

~~~

You, Kie, and JJ were carving wood into spears to hunt for fish when Kie brought up the same topic you and JJ were talking about a couple of weeks ago. She thought aloud about potentially being rescued.

"Rescue?" JJ scoffed, "From what, Paradise? I'm not going back."

Kie glanced at you with an amused smile and continued to stare at JJ as he admired the island.

"Look around, we got everything we need, right here." JJ sent you a quick wink, causing you to smile knowingly as you finished wrapping the sharp rock around the rigid stick.

"Just like we talked about," Kie mused. You were taken aback slightly at the romanticism behind her tone.

With a nod of his head, JJ agreed, "Exactly."

The time on the island has given you time to reflect and accept what's always been there, and you are no longer going to deny the attraction in Kie's eyes when she looks at JJ. There had been a shift in the dynamic and you weren't sure how this would end. Last you checked, JJ was in love with Kie, Kie never batted a lash at that fact, you were in love with JJ- something you never openly confessed to anyone except Kiara. It's not like you needed to anyway, they all more or less knew.

"We ready to provide for the family?" JJ hops up and twirls the sharp stick.

"Let's do it," You dust off your shorts.

"Let's go kill something!" JJ practically skipped in excitement at the thought of action.

Kie cringed, "You don't have to say it like that."

"That's exactly what we're gonna do."

"It sounds barbaric," Kie didn't like the idea of killing an innocent creature but even she had to admit that surviving on fruit was simply not enough.

"Circle of life, Kie, unless you want to eat coconuts forever" JJ's mention of the fruit made your stomach turn.

"After the past month, I think I'm good on coconuts," She admitted.

The three of you traveled to the west side of the beach where there was known to be constant active sea life, as noted by JJ. He instructed you both on how to stand and how to stab the spear into the water, you and Kie practiced until JJ said he saw something moving.

"Remember, watch your shadow, they see that and they're gone" JJ warned you both. "Here we go."

You weren't entirely confident in your newly acquired skills but it was your nerves or your dinner, and you were starved.

You spotted something in the water, silver and gliding smoothly in its environment. "Guys, look!"

"It's a skate," JJ confirmed, "Get 'em."

"Got it!" You went in for the kill but it swam away faster than you could stab. "Kie, he's coming toward you."

"I can't," She hesitated. "I really can't."

JJ follows the fish and spears the stick into the water with a grunt, "Damn it, I missed it. Where is it?"

You snorted, "So do we all just suck at-" Before you could finish your sentence, Kie lifted the makeshift spear with the skate at the end of it.

"Oh my god," She exclaimed and jumped into JJ's arms.

"You did it!" You cheered her on despite the jealousy gnawing away at you.

JJ hugged her back with one arm, "We're having skate tonight!"

Your nose wrinkled at the blood that dripped from the fish, "Full Pogue." You murmured.

"Full pogue!" JJ repeated in a loud shout.

~~~

You came back heroes to the rest. Cheers echoed when you came back with protein.

You sat around in a circle with adequately full stomachs, a game of truth or dare started not too long ago, it went back to Sarah whose turn it was to ask.

"John B, truth or dare?" She took the hat made out of leaves and tossed it to your brother who chose truth. "If you could do it all again... what would you do differently?"

Your mouth formed an 'o' as you nodded, the question was a good one, you knew everyone had plenty of things they'd do differently from the beginning.

"Get the gold before Ward did," JJ spoke.

"Hide the cross a little better," Pope stated after.

"Not yell 'murderer' at Ward, maybe," Kie side glanced at you guiltily, her shoulders hunched in a shrug.

"Steal a couple of bottles of rum before we jumped off the boat," John B answered.

"Yeah, why didn't you do that, actually?" JJ whose back was facing the group had turned to ask him.

"Cause I was running for my life, maybe," John B looked at you all for help jokingly.

You chuckled, "I'd probably not sleep with Rafe." You winced at your own confession. Sarah's eyebrows shot up.

"Hold up," She let out a laugh of disbelief and straightened on her place on the log, "When was this?"

"Feels like long ago, at this point," You released a stressful sigh.

"Yeah, we've all made some crazy ass choices," Kie came to defend.

"I guess we're even now," Sarah eased back into her seat. "You're taste is despicable though."

You couldn't help but look at JJ for a second, to see if he had any reaction, he kept quiet and continued drawing random patterns in the sand with a stick.

Cleo broke the slight tension that was creeping its way in, "I would look both ways before crossing the street."

"Yeah, my bad," John B laughed.

"You're turn, chief." Cleo focuses on John B to ask the next person. He turns to Kie and asks her to pick, plopping the hat onto her head.

She chose, "Truth."

"If you could go to your parent's house on figure eight this instant, would you do it?"

She deliberates for a short while, "No chance."

"Seconded," Sarah agrees.

"Hear, hear," JJ lifts his coconut.

"The shower's tempting though."

You groaned at the thought of a shower, "I could use a good shower right now."

Kie throws the hat JJ's way, it falls to the sand before he picks it up, "JJ. Truth or dare."

"I mean, do you even need to ask?" He fixes it on his head.

She points to the highest cliff in view, "Big jump. Nobody's done it yet, dare."

There wasn't a hint of hesitation in his expression as he went straight up the cliff. The rest of you waited down below cheering him on as you saw his small figure standing on the edge of the rock.

"There he goes," You say to no one in particular.

Kie stands to the right of you with her arms crossed, shaking her head with a smirk, "He's not gonna do it."

"Oh, you think I'm not gonna do it?" Somehow JJ heard her from all the way on top. Part of you thought he wouldn't either, he's been up there for a few minutes now as if he calculating the height and the possibility of him dying from the rocks below, though you couldn't recall when was the last time he cared.

"He's gonna do it," Pope counters. "It's highly dangerous, zero reward? He's doing it."

JJ howled to the ocean, exerting the energy he would need to jump. He took several steps back before going into a run and his body hit the waves.

He swam to meet you all on the shore, Pope and John B tackled him into the water as soon as he was able to walk away from the waves that were calling to the group.

While the boys drowned themselves, you and the girls ran into the water, letting it cool you down from the heat of the day.

You didn't know the guys were done with their mini wrestling match, and let out a surprised scream at a pair of arms circling your waist from behind you and lifting you out of the water to then be body slammed in.

JJ emerged at the same time you did, you parted the hair from your face as you came up and launched yourself at him in an attempt to 'drown' him. It didn't last very long, his arms were around you once more and carried you bridal style out of the water, following the group back to the shelter.

"I actually thought I was gonna die, I'ma be honest!" He admitted.

"You looked like you were gonna die," Pope told him. "I thought you were gonna die."

"You can put me down now, thanks," You glared at him with no real malice. Your arms were still wrapped around his neck.

He shook his head, "Nah, I'm good."

You rolled your eyes, and only missed his warmth a little when he set you back on the ground to walk back where the others were already starting a fire for the night.

Silence befell the group as the sun went down and the sky grew dark, the lighthearted fun turned into a peaceful calm as you all sat around the pit of burning embers.

~~~

"Y/n, wake up," You felt your shoulder being pushed. You shoved the hand away from you, you had found a comfortable position a couple of hours ago in your sleep, you were in deep. "Come on."

With an irritated huff of your breath, you wiped the sleep from your eye and saw that mostly everyone was gone, Sarah was hovering above you. You sat up quickly, and your eyes widened at the sound of the blades of a plane.

You walked over to the figures of your John B, Kie, Sarah, and JJ. The latter looked back to you with a frown, an astute look at what lies ahead if the plane heard the shouts of your brother.

His voice cracked from how loud he was trying to make himself shout, "We're right here!" He waved with his arms stretched high.

Pope and Cleo were gone, and you knew that they went to start the signal fire Pope thought to build. Piles and piles of dried leaves and wood to a fire for whomever to see, smoke, an SOS.

You and JJ shared a frown, neither of you wanted to move. You couldn't help but notice Sarah's lack of enthusiasm as well, it didn't matter, none of you could stay.

John B wanted out, and Sarah would follow him anywhere. Kiara had her parents, and so did Pope, Cleo had nothing to lose either way.

You felt guilty for not feeling the sense of emergency the others did, dread overwhelmed you. Kie, and John B, screaming at the top of their lungs. The sound of disappointment as the plane flew into the distance, panic from almost being rescued became relief.

It came back soon again as the others noticed it turned back around.

"He's going to the pond," John B announced. "Come on, come on."

You grudgingly went along behind them, as JJ and Sarah did. John B and Sarah were the first ones to the plane. Cleo and Pope are close behind with Kiara trailing them.

JJ held your wrist as you were going to follow, you halted your steps and turned your neck to see that JJ had his head down, jaw set, he didn't want to leave.

You knew, and you didn't want to either, you twisted your wrist out of his grasp and abruptly brought him in for a hug.

"I know," You whispered in his ear. He gave you one tight squeeze and let you go.

"Come on," He encouraged you to come along with the quietest voice.

Pope, Cleo, and John B let out exhilarated cheers as they approached the man who opened the cargo door.

"What do we got here?" The man had a dark striped linen shirt, red shorts, and sandals. A hat dangled from his neck underneath his long brown hair tied back into a low ponytail, and aviator sunglasses to complete the look.

You thought it was a bit odd for a guy to just so happen to fly by the area when in the month that you've been here there hasn't been a peek of air traffic.

"Oh, you know, just a couple of castaways." John B always the leader, responded casually.

"Well, I'll cross that off the grocery list," A southern accent came through. You didn't like that you couldn't see his eyes behind his glasses. "Hold on, I got just the thing for y'all."

John B appeared to be hopeful, beside him, Sarah had said nothing. It didn't seem like she trusted this guy either. "Hey no, Look at this guy, you think he works for your dad?"

"Two things you need on a deserted island-" The guy continued.

"It's okay," You heard him try to convince Sarah when she shook her head in denial of his words. You didn't know if this guy worked for her dad or not but there was something off about him.

"First aid and rum," He brought out a red kit and a bottle, tossing the glass full of liquid at Sarah who let it fall into the water, Pope caught the red box easily. "So, what's the story? You guys sank a boat?"

"Jumped off one," John B shrugged. "Her dad's."

You narrowed your eyes sharply at the back of John B's head, he shouldn't be giving this guy a lick of information, but he was practically giving it all away. What if he was working for Sarah's dad?

"In-laws, man," The guy drawled out. "They're tough. Well, have no fear, Jimmy's here."

"Well, all hail Jimmy, guys!" Cleo declared. "Let's go."

"Welcome aboard the Flying Fish, y'all, I'm Jimmy Portis." He introduced himself as the group boarded the small plane. "I'll be your captain today, now, is this all? Seven of you?"

"Yeah, is that okay?"

You tuned out their conversation and hung back with JJ, not willing to go back but you knew that John B would drag you back over his shoulder if he had to. You'd like to believe that he'd accept it if you wanted to stay behind but the truth was you only had each other. He wouldn't leave you and you... you can't just leave him.

Your footsteps felt heavy while walking up the steps of the cramped plane, you said a silent goodbye to Poguelandia.

~~~

You sat in the back of the plane, across from Kie atop a box, it gave you flashbacks of the shipping container. Though this is much less spacious.

"What were you doing all the way out here?" You elevated the tone of your voice so it could be carried to the front of the plane for Jimmy to hear.

"I got a little guide outfit in Saint Vincent, I was spotting fish," He replies.

You didn't know much about fishing or fishing seasons but his story didn't feel right. He was flying a plane to spot fish, alone?

"What were spotting?" JJ asked a follow-up question. He was crouched behind the co-pilot seat.

"You know, the usual, Wahoo."

John B's head lifted and he caught JJ's eye, moving his head slightly, the small shake of his head was enough to tell you that what that Jimmy guy said wasn't right.

"I'd hang on to something, get a little spicy on takeoff," Portis warns you and puts on the headset.

You grab ahold of a hanging handle as the plane takes off.

The radio is rattling off stats you had no comprehension of, you were all officially in the air.

JJ beckons you all the move forward, so you all scoot to the front to hear him.

"Wahoo don't run in September," He affirms. "Ever, alright? So whoever this man is, he's not a fisherman."

"Maybe the run just starts earlier out here," Pope suggests.

"You sure about that?" The expression on JJ's face said it was highly doubtful. "In the Caribbean?"

"No, I know what this is, he's working for my dad and he's probably been looking for us the entire time," said Sarah.

"We gotta find out, start looking for some sort of clues," JJ trails off when he spots the bag hanging from the back of Jimmy Portis' seat. He signs for John B to distract the pilot while he- the certified Klepto- gets to snooping.

John B taps on the man's left shoulder as John B is behind him and gets him to look over while JJ works to the right of him. He begins to chat up the pilot with questions about his life and JJ digs through the bag, pulling out a book titled 'The loss of El Dorado'.

He opened the cover to find a picture of the coastal venture, the ship you had all escaped from.

Sarah grabs the picture and shows John B, "This is the boat we were on, with Eberhimi and the cross."

"So he was looking for us," Cleo said more than asked.

"He's working for my dad."

The aircraft shook suddenly, making you jump where you sat.

"Y'all better hold something, we got some unexpected turbulence up here!" Jimmy cautions you all.

You look out the window to see the mainland in view, "Guys, whatever's happening is happening fast."

"That looks like Barbados, I've been there with Terrence," Cleo recognizes.

"There's six of us, one of him, you know vote." JJ, as always, suggests violence. "We storm the cockpit."

"No, w

"Who's gonna fly the plane, dumbass?" John B rationalized.

"I've seen Pope fly simulators."

Pope stutters, "I crop-dusted for my uncle last summer, this is not the same thing."

"We are going to die," You accepted your fate.

Kie speaks up, "No we are not, and we don't have time to pretend that's a real option."

"Do you have an idea?" JJ snarks back.

"Something safe."

"Why don't we just wait until the plane lands somewhere safe and then we sneak out," Pope forms a plan. "If somebody comes to mess with us, we mad-dog them."

Nobody protested the idea, it seemed generally solid. Kie told JJ to put the stuff taken out of Jimmy's bag back before he noticed but as he was in the process of doing so, John B's distraction didn't work so well the second time and he turned his head, catching JJ in his bag.

"The hell are you doing?" Jimmy shoved JJ out and JJ pushed back, he was fighting with one hand and lost control of the plane.

You didn't have time to think, the plane was going down, and everybody flew to the front as the Flying Fish dove straight into the water.

The plane was filling up quickly, already halfway full, you coughed up water as you pulled yourself up from one of the hanging handles.

John B kicked open the door, and immediately protested, "Oh no, no, no, no. They don't look friendly."

"No, they look very unfriendly," Pope looked out next to John B.

"We gotta go."

The vessel was sinking fast, John B was helping everybody get out, Cleo went first, then Sarah, Pope dove out after, and JJ next.

"Y/n, come on!" John B yelled.

Your leg got caught on one of the ropes, "I'm going."

"What's wrong?" Kie panics looking at you.

"I got it, it's okay, go." You were busy trying to untangle your foot. You heard JJ call out for you guys to hurry before it sunk.

"Hang on!" She yells back at them and helps you.

"Shit," You curse, the rope that was tied around your ankle had given cut you from what you assumed was when the plane went down. It was twisted twice around your foot but you were both able to set it free. "Got it, Kie, let's go."

"Portis," She swims to the man who was unconscious, "Help me get him out."

Fuck, you curse mentally, this thing was sinking fast. You already wasted time trying to set yourself free, now you had to help out the guy who kidnapped you guys.

You and Kie carried him out with the help of the water, you were both struggling to swim yourself until you reached the shore with no sign of the others.

You grunted as you dropped your half of the man to the sand, two locals came to help.

Your ankle now stung with a medium-sized gash was sliced around half of your leg. You coughed out the salty water you swallowed while swimming with the man who was now alive.

"Thank you," His bloodshot red eyes looked at both you and Kie as he expressed his gratitude.

"You lied to us," Kie growled. "Who are you?"

"Kie," You saw men coming in ATV's. "We need to go."

You were tired of running, but what would happen if you didn't was worse.

"Shit," She hisses. "Let's go."

You ran ignoring the stinging sensation of the cut, the adrenaline helping you out, the panic and anxiety set in, and that made you feel more than the open wound spilling blood.

"Over here," you found an old wooden boat painted blue, rusty oil containers that could shield you from view. You both hid in between them, catching your breath for a good couple of seconds before you were found.

A man crouching down to look and Kie punched him, and you both ran. There were four men with vests and guns, two on either side. You went one way, she went the other, and you ran straight into them. By the sounds of the struggle, Kie got caught too.

You flailed your arms and tried to push down his arms from where they were around your waist but it was no use. You kicked your legs, and your elbow hit something but that made the man's arms crush you in his hold.

"Let go of me!" You screamed and growled. The other man grabbed your legs with no remorse for the cut. You didn't stop moving, you scratched the man who held you in his arms deep enough to draw blood.

"Fucking bitch!" He squeezed until you felt a deep pain in your ribs.

They didn't stop moving until they had you on the back of a trunk with your hands tied behind your back.

Kie was there, shivering in her place, you stopped fighting once you saw her. You supposed now you would have to accept whatever was going to happen together.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"Fucking amazing," You grumbled. "Are you?"

"Never been better."

And who else showed his face other than Jimmy Portis?

"We saved you," Kie snarled.

"I know, I know, I'm sorry" He looked weak and spineless. "I'm gonna try to help you guys, okay? I swear, I didn't know it was gonna be like this. Look, if you don't fight, if you just do what they say, these guys probably won't hurt you."

He didn't know it was gonna be like this; meaning he was not high up on whatever fucked up chain this was, which meant his promise of helping meant nothing.

"What did Ward promise you?"

"Who?" He gave Kie a quizzical stare. "Just take my advice, do what they say. Good luck."

Another man with a vest sat in front of you both, giving you a hard glare, probably a buddy of the one who grabbed you. If the whole no-fighting thing was true, you were screwed, then again it didn't matter what you did- if he didn't know who Ward was then that meant you didn't know what you were dealing with and you were screwed anyway.

~~~

The anxiety pumping through your chest was overstimulating. Your body was shivering intensely, at first it was from the initial shock of the surfacing from the fresh water. Now you were sure the events of the day were catching up to you, putting a physical strain on your body, but you fought through it.

You observed the roads your kidnappers had taken, memorizing as many details as you could for when you would eventually escape. With Kie by your side, the both of you could surely find your way through this town.

The truck slowed to a stop, the driver rolled down his window to talk to an armed guard with an intimidating German Shepherd. One quick look and one of the two men standing in front of the gate, lifted it for the truck to go through.

You looked around at your surroundings and noticed this place was heavily guarded, practically a fortress. Miles and miles of land with men stationed not five minutes away from each other.

The estate was several stories high, again- guards posted everywhere. You and Kie were yanked to the front door, and let in by a housekeeper.

To the right of the foyer, you immediately notice the artifacts enclosed in glass cases.

"Take them upstairs, Orinoco room for this one-" The Housekeeper instructs the guard who grips Kie's bicep and takes her up. "Nazas room for that one."

The same man who you scratched snatched you similarly to how the other one did Kie, with more unnecessary force than needed in your opinion. "Up."

"Y/n?" Kie's neck turned to you.

"I'm right behind you," You reassured her.

He took you to a room next to Kiara's, he tossed you inside with a sneer, slamming the door behind himself without a word.

"Hey!" You yelled. "What the hell am I here for?"

No response.

You pounded on the door to hopefully get an answer, "Who do you work for? Why do they want us here?"

You grumbled to yourself taking in the room they stuffed you in, you were scared you admitted to yourself. They could have at least kept you both together, you knew they probably wouldn't do that since they could clearly care less about your comfort after kidnapping you...

The room had three windows with a nook, floral printed curtains, walls painted a coral color. The four-poster bed facing the door, your brows scrunched in confusion at the open wardrobe to the left of the bed with hanging identical red dresses. You walked over to it and plucked the note with the words 'pick your size' written.

The question 'What the fuck?' just gets deeper and deeper. You aggressively crumbled up the paper into a ball and threw it at the door.

You sighed and walked to the open door next to the one the guard shut, walking in, there was a mirror and a sink with a shower to the left. You took one look at yourself and winced at the difference you saw from the girl you were.

Aged, matured, whatever you wanted to call it- that was you. You stood straighter, your hair was frizzed and you were darker than your normal tan from the sun you took on Kildare. Your nose and cheeks were tinted red; burnt.

Your shoulder slumped from exhaustion, hold it together, you told yourself. You can break down later.

~~~

The shower was reviving, you felt refreshed your hair felt soft again, and you relished in the feeling of being clean and slipped on one of the dresses that were in your size. You were impressed with the size range the mysterious nabber had. They even had several pairs of heels to match, you released a laugh and felt delirious, this was unreal.

You admired yourself from different angles and did a double-take when you saw a third door. You went for it and turned the knob, it was unlocked, it creaked open and you gasped.

Kie's room. There she sat in a dress the same as yours, color and style, down to the heel. She had her head clutched in her hands, lifting her head up at the sound of the door.

"Kie, oh my god," You strode over to her with arms outstretched. She mimicked you into an embrace. It was comforting to know you weren't entirely alone anymore.

She sighed into you, "Did the guy tell you anything?"

You pulled away and shook your head with pursed lips, "No, did he?" You asked if her guard gave her any information.

"Dinner, at eight."

"Oh yeah? Just a casual sit-down dinner while holding us hostage," You replied sarcastically. "Sounds like an entertaining night."

"At least we have adjoining rooms," Her lips twitched upwards. "If Ward wasn't the one searching for us then who is this guy?"

"Didn't know we had so many enemies," You took the liberty to sit on the edge of her bed.

"Should we even be surprised at this point?" She rolled her eyes.

"Nope."

Your heart felt heavy.

~~~

A knock on Kie's door startled you both out of the reminiscent conversation you were having about the island, life in high school and how you both thought last year's summer was gonna go before this whole mess started.

The maid from earlier appeared you both scrambled out of the bed and fixed your dresses. You glanced at each other, you linked arms as you walked down the steps, and you resisted the urge to take Kie and run through the front doors where you knew you'd be shot down the minute you stepped foot out of the perimeter.

She directed you both to the dining room, a man was standing with his back to you, serving himself a glass of an amber liquid.

"Excuse me?" Kie spoke first in a shy tone.

The man turned and your stomach sank, Rafe. It was Rafe who stood there, in a white button-down shirt and blue blazer. His hair was buzzed, and you felt your heart in your throat.

"You," You hissed, marching up to him. "You were behind this."

Rafe sized you up, flashing one look at Kie, "Y/n, what?"

"I knew it had to be you and Ward," Kie jeered at him, a few steps behind you.

"What are you talking about?" He faced you both head-on, "Are you trying to weasel in on my deal, is that what's going on?"

"I wondered if your little reunion would cause sparks, you know," A voice cut through from a room to the right of the dining table. A tanned man with a beard smirked as he strolled over to you three.

"Who are you?" Rafe stepped forward.

"Me?" The man in the grey suit pointed to himself. "My name is Carlos Singh, it's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Cameron. Ms. Carrera, and Ms. Routeledge, I do apologize for the rough tactics in bringing you here. But, please, come sit down."

Apology not accepted? You wanted to say but refrained from doing so, the air around him was not in the least bit friendly or open and inviting though it sounded like he was trying to be.

"Come now, I don't bite," He waved you all forward.

You dared to walk through the threshold first, sitting on a sturdy chair that felt expensive underneath you, Kie sat next to you with a round coffee table in between both seats.

Your eyes stayed narrowed at Rafe as he followed suit, visibly stressed, rubbing the lines on his forehead. "Rough tactics, what about me?"

Singh poured himself a drink, "Yes, Mr. Cameron, false pretenses. But the ends justify the means, I'm afraid. Sit down, we have a lot to talk about."

Rafe takes the chair across from you, leaving the one next to him, open.

"Why are we here?" Kie tensed.

"Well, Ms. Carrera, Routledge, Mr. Cameron, we share certain interests. Objectives."

"Is this not about the cross?" Rafe interrupts.

"It is, tangentially, it is about the cross." He confirms, "It's also about something much, much bigger than the cross by order of magnitude."

The man stood in front of a painting, "The completion of a grand quest. You see, the story goes that four hundred fifty years ago- a Spanish soldier came out of the Orinoco Basin with a few gold beads, and when they asked the Spanish soldiers where the beads came from the Spanish soldier replied he got them from a peaceful indigenous tribe who lived in a city of gold. El Dorado.

"And for the next four hundred and fifty years, people tried to find that gold. They tried." Singh picked up a knife from the desk cabinet below the painting. "Conquistadors, knights, captains of ships, tribes; entire nations. All fighting each other in a race for the end of the rainbow, thousands of lives laid on the pyre of gold fever, and it falls to me."

"It falls to me to complete the task," Singh strolled over to you, knife in hand. Your eyes never strayed from the hands that handled it. "To bring full circle a quest that has gone on for almost five hundred years, perhaps the greatest quest in the history of the western hemisphere. You three, are going to play a part in that."

"Ms. Routledge, daughter of a man who was interested in making history, don't think I don't know you're family history."

You cleared your throat, "Past, present, future. They all kind of mesh together in my head sometimes, you know."

"Yeah, I didn't listen to a word you said, okay?" Rafe chimed in, "How much are you gonna keep philosophizing?"

"You are direct, aren't you, Mr. Cameron?"

"What do you need from us?" Kie asked.

"I've come to believe that you and your friends are in possession of something that can help me get what I want."

"Which is?" You couldn't think of something he could possibly want.

"An old manuscript, a diary, actually."

You kept your features neutral, giving away nothing, "A diary?"

You were starting to notice a pattern with people who talked, thought, and associated with the cross. All greedy fanatics.

"We don't know anything about a diary," Kie shrugged casually.

"How else could you have learned that the cross was on the Royal Merchant."

"We would help you if we could but we can't."

"I was hoping you wouldn't say that you know, because unfortunately, I don't believe you. you and your friend here," He pointed to Rafe, "Couldn't have found the cross without it."

"He's not our friend," You clarified.

"We can't all be friends," Singh's tone was grim. You didn't want to know what was gonna happen, knowing you couldn't give him what you wanted- even if you wanted to the diary was in Kildare.

"This is ridiculous," Rafe stands, "Okay, I'm out. I don't know anything about a diary."

He walks backward with hands half raised in surrender to then face one of the many, many guards in the house, gun across his vested chest.

"Do I look like a fool to you, Mr. Cameron?" Singh grew dangerously impatient with Rafe. "You have the cross, their friends had the cross at one point, so one of you has the diary."

Rafe's eyes bore into yours, you let him, your own gaze unwavering.

"And if you really don't know, then I suggest you convince your friend to tell me, once I have the diary- you'll be free to leave." He lightens his tone before it darkens again.

He leads you three up the stairs and into Kie's room, "I must warn you though, I am not a man of infinite patience. You have one day, go to the window for a little demonstration." He pats Rafe on the shoulder before exiting.

You heard the click of the lock, solidifying the trap. You clenched your fists, fingers cracking to help with the anxiety at what you were going to witness.

Rafe protests and yanks at the doorknob, Kie comes up behind you as you open the curtain, and then Rafe joins you on the other side.

You heard shouts, and then Jimmy Portis being dragged by another guy.

"Who is he?" Rafe being this close to your ear made you shuffle closer to Kie.

"It's Jimmy Portis, we know him," Kie responds for you.

You felt a stab of guilt, "He must've been trying to help us."

Singh looked up at the window where the three of you stood watching, he had a handgun, making it obvious of his intention. He walked out of view where Jimmy was, there was a cock of the gun clicking, and not a second later came the booming shot fired.

~~~

a/n: SEASON 3!!! thank you all for your love and patience, i love you all, let me know what you think

let me know if you'd like to be tagged :)

@jbassettjmaybank - @deanwherescas - @thtbwltts - @nerdypartytrashpsychic - @random-girl-army - @wisegirlies - @instabull - @sexyfoxlady - @bubs-world - @sdawn03 - @mendesclines - @obx-pogues-4-life - @mentalforfics - @p-prettybitch - @namacissi - @dczedhee - @inkandpen22 - @royalavenger - @ayeitsjustmee - @80strashbag - @onlyangel-444 - @freds-slut - @poppet05 - @itsjuststaticnoises - @ahnneyong - @lovepizza567 - @jasminfelling - @rana03 - @loki-loveer - @rana030 - @lostinatimeline - @boldlypessimistic - @clinelyn - @a-j-stuffs - @yunhobug - @syd223sworld - @strawberry--fawn - @mysticalavenuecheesecake - @itsmytimetoodream - @natashtessabeth12 - @thatsthewaythechrissycrumbles - @chervbs - @or-was-it-just-a-dream - @newbooksmell777 - @afterzonee - @hana-1235 - @ilovesteveharrngton - @s1Ingwns - @jesssssmaybankk - @auspicious-manner - @mirellef2001

if your name is cross that means tumblr won't allow me to tag you, i'm sorry :/

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veganymph · 9 months

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compassion for animals doesn’t stop at not eating meat or dairy. it doesn’t stop at buying cruelty free makeup and skincare. it doesn’t stop at donating your ugg boots and leather coats. you must care for the animals you dislike too. you must care for the big hairy spiders and scary cockroaches and creepy sea creatures and slimy snakes. you have to tell people that their jokes about never giving up bacon and cheese aren’t funny. that their first thought when you say ‘spider’ is murder. you must extend your love beyond cows and chickens and pretty animals.

#my post #vegan #veganism #go vegan #vegan alternatives #plant based #climate change #climate crisis #animals

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ao-ihinata · 2 months

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Orion conflicted because he can't tell if he wants to consume el in a romantic/sexual " I want us to become one " sort of way or as food sort of way because el is the equivalent of organic free range, raised stress free, cruelty free chicken

#fyp #never thought the day I compare el to a chicken #el and orion #el higgins #orion lake #a deadly education #the last graduate #the golden enclaves #the scholomance #naomi novik

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headspace-hotel · 1 year

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Bums me out that people are being so combative with you about dairy and ethical farming. The overwhelming majority of examples of inhumane practices are coming from huge factory farms and it’s like yes, we agree! Industrial farming is bad! Let’s seek out ways to decrease the negative impacts and find alternatives!

If your goal as a vegan is to reduce animal cruelty and environmental impact, can’t we talk about harm reduction? It’s much better for the environment, for the animals, and for people to source their food locally from small farmers using sustainable and humane practices. And as much as you may hate industrial farming, I do believe that consumer advocacy in buying free range eggs, grass fed and organic meats, etc has resulted in improved quality of life for those animals relative to before those things were popular.

You will not be very effective advocating for change if you reject all incremental improvements for not being perfect enough.

the problem is that there are too many people whose only relationship with the agricultural system is "consumer of a product" and when you say things like "buying locally grown food from small farmers" they are thinking of it like. "Buy Product with the veneer of being more environmentally friendly, when it's probably just as bad"

no I mean we should be able to go to a farmer's market and talk to the guy who raised or grew that food. I mean keeping goats and chickens in your back yard and growing your own garden, and giving eggs to all your neighbors. I mean community gardens where everyone helps nurture and grow their own food and watches the plants that will feed them physically emerge from the ground. I mean food forests. i mean People Coming Together Within Their Own Communities to produce food for the community.

we were part of an ecosystem long before we were part of an economy

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edosianorchids901 · 10 months

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Thy Soft Response

While AO3 is down, I'll be sharing a short daily fic here in the interests of both keeping my mental health stable and providing stories to tide everyone over ❤️

T, 832 words

Sometimes, nightmares still fucked up Crowley’s sleep. Flashes of cruelty, of torture. Of humans doing terrible things to each other. Of humans, other demons, or angels doing horrible things to him.

This had been one of those nights. He’d barely managed any sleep, the terror invading every time he dropped off.

But when he startled awake again, drenched in sweat, it was to gentle murmuring. Words of love whispered into kisses against his brow, his temple, his cheek. Plump fingers skating across the bare skin of his arm, tracing little hearts.

Although the screams of the nightmares still clung to him, echoing in the past, Crowley smiled into the well-padded softness of Aziraphale’s chest. “Angel.”

“It’s me, my dear, right here. You’re perfectly safe.” The warm fingers slid down, brushing against the back of his hand in a familiar question. Crowley turned his hand over into the reassuring, calming hold. “Goodness, this has been a difficult night for you. More bad dreams?”

“Yeah, s’ not ideal. But you know me, love a good dose of adrenaline first thing in the morning.” Crowley managed to put a sardonic note in his voice. It kept out the quavering fear that still lurked nearby.

“I think there are better ways of cultivating adrenaline, dear boy.” Aziraphale tickled his side, very gently. Just enough to make him grin and wriggle in protest, not enough to make him panic. “We could indulge in some of those overdramatic car chases, if you like. Or something with spaceships.”

“Hn.” Normally, Crowley was always onboard with Bond, sci-fi, or any fun action film. But he still felt a little fragile right now. And after a decade of marriage to Aziraphale, it was getting easier to admit to his moments of vulnerability and let his angel take care of him.

Although he wasn’t sure what sounded better than a film. There were loads of options, tons of things that would probably make him feel calmer. The trouble was picking from those countless options.

But Aziraphale just held him as he thought about it, fingers twining with Crowley’s. Another sweet, tender kiss against his brow turned into a whispered, barely audible, “I love you.”

Smiling, Crowley snuggled closer. He tugged his hand free in favor of wrapping his arms around Aziraphale’s softness and holding onto him. He was so warm, so real.

The strong arms gathered Crowley closer, and he shut his eyes with a long breath. Aziraphale was tracing hearts with one finger again, this time in the small of his back. It almost tickled, but not quite.

The best thing about thing, about these quiet moments, was that Crowley could feel Aziraphale’s love at full strength. He always felt it, a field of devotion and affection that blanketed the whole of the cottage and its grounds. But here, in the stillness with nothing to distract them, it was strong enough to chase away any troubles, any fears.

Even the nightmares seemed far away now, far in the past. Lingering fear evaporated in the face of Aziraphale’s steadfast love. There was nothing for Crowley to be scared of now, not when he was in his husband’s arms.

“Not sure what I wanna do,” he finally said as he tried to think through some options.

Could go out in the garden together, pick flowers for each other and laugh at the antics of their ducks and chickens. Or they could take the Bentley for a drive, maybe go to the beach and collect seashells. Or they could head out on the walking trails that adjoined the property, vanish into the gorgeous hills of the South Downs, and walk hand in hand all damn day.

Aziraphale hummed contentedly as Crowley snuggled closer. “Well, it is rather obvious to me what you’d like to do, if I may make a suggestion?”

“Mm,” Crowley agreed.

Aziraphale brushed light, careful kisses to his head, his neck. One hand slid up, curling protectively around the back of Crowley’s neck and holding him close. “I think you wish to stay right here for the time being. There’s no need for you to try sleeping again, with how badly that’s been going, but you are welcome to as many snuggles as you can bear.”

“Hhhngh. I can bear a lot of snuggles.” Cheeks warming with faint embarrassment, Crowley buried his face in the softness of Aziraphale’s neck. “I don’t really feel like talking. Is that okay?”

“Of course it’s okay, my dearest,” Aziraphale said with an earnestness that banished any lingering doubts or insecurities. “You must never feel as though you’re obligated to chatter away, or to do anything that you don’t want to do.”

Crowley didn’t feel obligated at all, and he demonstrated that by kissing Aziraphale’s shoulder in thanks rather than answering. He curled up in the reassuring embrace, closing his eyes. The screams of the nightmares still echoed, far off in the distance, but in time they would fade away and be replaced by peaceful quiet.

#good omens #ineffable husbands #crowley #aziraphale #emotional hurt/comfort

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shywhumpauthor · 10 months

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Pet/Prisioner Whumpee is woken up one day as Whumper barges into their room/cell, armed with not a weapon but a fresh stack of somewhat nice clothes.

They are gentle—maybe not gentle, but they certainly aren’t as brutal as usual—getting Whumpee out and to a bathroom, scrubbing the dirt and blood off their skin and combing the tangles from their hair.

Whumpee is confused, but they don’t dare question it, fearing that a single wrong word would send Whumper back to their typical cruelty. They sit as still as they can as they are basically pampered, and by the end their hair is trimmed and soft, face clean, teeth brushed, some concealing foundation dabbed under their eyes to hide the dark circles and across their skin to cover the scars. The shirt they were dressed in was nice and soft, long sleeves neatly rolled to their wrists, such a stark contrast to the ragged t-shirt they wore in the basement.

Hell, they’re even given a meal afterwards—not some flimsy soup or oatmeal but a sturdy meal, with vegetables, rice, chicken, and even a cup of tea on the side. They’re so lost within the warm feeling, they don’t even notice the haze their mind begins to lapse into. They stop questioning why and settle into the comfort, not even bothering to fight Whumper as they fit a pair of restraints around their wrists. They weren’t anything like the cuffs Whumpee was used to—the ones that would leave awful bruises around their arms, but thick straps that were tight enough that they couldn’t slip their hands free, but not so much so that their fingertips started to turn numb.

They are barely thinking at all as Whumper loads them into the backseat of a car, their long term captor’s fingers raising gently to their neck to unbuckle the heavy leather collar that sat around the base of their throat, tossing it to the front seat.

Whumpee only blinks as Whumper’s hands raise to their cheeks, then to their hair, smoothing down the locks one final time.

“Oh, Whumpee…” Whumper murmurs, trailing their thumb over a scar on Whumpee’s cheekbone, now made indistinguishable by the makeup. “You better pray that someone’s willing to take you.”

Then Whumper shut the door, and the person who got into the drivers seat a minute later was unfamiliar.

————————————————

Read this however you wish, I just wanted to say that it was written with like a “sold to an auction” sort of vibe in mind

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stagbeetleboy · 6 months

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Wait this isn’t being mean but why do vegans think eating eggs hurt chickens? The ones you buy aren’t fertilized. They will never hatch into a chick.

If it’s a concern about the treatment of the hens you can always buy local. I raise chickens, I can give you cruelty free eggs.

I’m asking bc I’m genuinely curious.

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inquisimer · 1 month

Note

happy Friday! sending you “his actions speak for themselves” for Neria 👀

happy dadwc friday and ty for the prompt! Some surana & anders circa da2 for this one :3

for @dadrunkwriting

“He’s here, you know.”

Neria didn’t even look up from where she was braiding elfroot, tongue poked out in concentration. “Who is?”

“Your pretty boy Templar, of course.”

That gave her pause and her finger froze on the twisted herb stems as she stared over at Anders. His feigned nonchalance confused her; she puzzled over it as she waited for him to look at her, but he kept his head bent over whatever new draft or plan he was sketching out.

In the meantime, Neria’s heart and mind caught up to what he’d said. Cullen was here, in Kirkwall, probably no more than an hour’s walk from the clinic. Did he remember her? Did he want to see her? Did he miss her, miss their chats and company? Perhaps she could—

“He’s at the Gallows.”

Reality slammed into Neria like a cold wave off the Waking Sea. It washed over her idealistic hopes and carried away the pleasant, comfortable memories she liked to reminisce. If Cullen was here, of course he was in the Gallows. Because he was a Templar, and Templars guarded the mages. And if he was here, that meant he was complicit in all that Anders was fighting against. He was complicit in Karl’s death, and so many others. All of the small, frightened faces that she and Anders ushered out through the Underground, Cullen would see imprisoned, slaughtered, Tranquil.

But—there was hope. Slowly, she resumed her braiding and, in a carefully measured voice, she asked, “Do you know if he’s with Thrask?”

Her heart sank at Anders’ answering scoff. “Don’t be ridiculous. He’s the Knight Commanders little lapdog, from everything I’ve heard and seen. You should have heard what he said to Hawke, when she barely defended her sister to him—harsher than Greagoir ever was with us, to say the least.”

Neria frowned. It didn’t seem right. She’d known Cullen, as well as a mage could know any Templar that guarded them, enough to know his name, at least. To know of his family and his fears and his wishes for the future. She could not imagine his soft face and gentle curls twisted in such cruelty, lashing out with such animosity.

“‘Mages aren’t people like you and me, Hawke’,” Anders quoted, sourly dunking his quill back into the inkpot. “‘They cannot be trusted.’”

“Maker that’s…something’s not right, then.” Neria shook her head, somewhat unable to reconcile what Anders was telling her with what she remembered. Not that she thought Anders would lie to her, but her own memory was hardly so fallible either.

Anders cocked his head. “Didn’t Solona write you?”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

He swore under his breath, pushing greasy hair out of his eyes as he shook his head. “She was supposed to write you. To tell you,” he muttered. “Of all the things to chicken out on.”

“Tell me what?”

“Well—it’s—I can’t explain as well as she could. Which is why she was supposed to tell you.”

“But you know.” Neria fastened a piece of twine around her elfroot braid and set it on the stack. She folded her arms across her chest and waited.

Anders bit his lip. “Well. You know how Uldred was when we escaped?”

“Batshit and loony?”

“Yeah. So apparently someone ticked him off at Ostagar and he made a deal with Loghain—that idiot believed the Teryn would free them if the Circle helped him take over Ferelden.”

“As if.”

“Exactly. But, so, he decided the thing to do was, once he got back from Ostagar, summon a fuck load of demons and take over the tower with blood magic.”

On instinct, Neria went very still. The scars on her forearms, long healed, blazed as though they were fresh wounds. Anders’ gaze didn’t even flick toward them, but she felt the inexplicable, undeserved guilt just the same.

But—she’d heard no news about Kinloch Hold being destroyed. No annulment, no major catastrophe. And surely the Chantry would have blared any major success far and wide as propaganda.

“So what happened?”

“Solona, of course. What else?” Anders snorted. “She showed up with her Warden treaties, as angelic as if she’d never been gone in the first place. Greagoir was already wrapped around her finger and he fell right back into that. She did right by as many as she could. Of course—“ he swallowed hard, voice and face falling, “—she didn’t get there right away. Things were already…chaotic and out of control. Not everyone made it. Either Uldred or the demons got…far too many of them.”

It was like the world had fallen out from under Neria. She couldn’t stop herself imagining her home—not quite beloved, but comfortable, familiar, all she’d known for almost two decades—strewn with the blood of those she’d loved, her comrades and companions.

How easily it could have been her, if Anders hadn’t dragged her up out of complacency.

A shudder wracked through her and she reached for more elfroot to busy her hands.

“Hey, she saved a lot of them,” Anders said softly. “More than Greagoir would have, at any rate.”

“Of course she did. That’s what Sol does. She saves people.” Neria flicked her wrist against the once-enchanted bracelet, wished she had enough talent to will it back to life. She missed her friend. “So what does this all have to do with Cullen? He was there, I assume?”

“He was unlucky, to hear Solona tell it.” Anders scowled. “I don’t wonder if he was more than unlucky, if this maliciousness was just waiting to be unlocked. It’s not as if the handful of other survivors were nearly as vicious as he was—“

“Get to the point,” Neria cut him off tersely. If this shit-talking was deserved, well, she would let him ramble on and tune him out. But she’d rather know for sure, to sate the growing anxiety in her chest.

“They found him tortured, bloody and beaten, teased by a demon for days, maybe weeks.” Anders tapped his quill on the edge of the pot, dripping the excess away. “He asked them to kill every mage there, just in case. And even after the tower was cleared and Uldred dead, he asked them the same, again. Irving was whole and well, everyone else battered but sound of mind, and he would have killed them all, just in case.”

“Why are you telling me this?” Neria whispered. These feelings coursing through her, she didn’t know them. What was she supposed to feel? Horror? Sorrow? Anger? She felt all of them at once, just in case she chose wrong. Clearly, Anders wanted her to disavow Cullen, to throw herself headlong into their work and forget whatever connection they had before. But—how could she?

“Because if I just told you that he was a twat, you wouldn’t believe me. You wouldn’t change about him. His actions speak for themselves, Ria—he’s everything we’re fighting against.”

Neria shook her head, even as Anders’ gaze hardened with anger, frustration. “No. It’s just—it’s a defense, or something. He went through trauma as well! He was so kind and open, and not just with me. It can’t all have gone away. It’s there, somewhere.”

“Does it matter?” Anders challenged. “If he’s putting mages to the brand and the blade left and write, does it matter if there’s something good underneath?”

Neria tossed another elfroot braid onto the stack. “Careful, wisp. People have said the same about mages, before.”

“Without anything to back it up! I have proof, with him.”

“And the Chantry has blood mages!” Neria cried. “You’re looking for proof, because you don’t want to think there’s anything good left in him. But what if there is? What then?”

“If the proof wasn’t there, I wouldn’t have found anything while I was looking.”

“People change,” Neria said stubbornly. “And I’m not having this debate with you, wisp. What were you trying to achieve? I’m not going near the Gallows, anyway. I’m helping with the underground, anyway. Were you just trying to make me as angry as you are?”

Anders’ eyes flashed blue and she knew she’d hit the nail on the head.

“Sorry to disappoint,” she bit out, tying the elfroot a bit too tight; the bundle snapped in half and the shreds of it fluttered to the floor around her shaking hands. “I don’t get angry. I just leave.”

She threw the remnants of the ruined braid in his direction, shoved her muddled thoughts aside, and did just that.

She left.

#my writing #dadwc #dragon age fanfic #anders #oc: neria surana lavellan #surana & anders #neria & anders #neria x cullen #da2 #dao #dragon age #ws: the ties we choose

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