#jac in the beanstalk society

[justatinybunwriting]

Jac was caught stealing some candy, and Richard is figuring out just what to do to teach her a lesson. Luckily Jac came prepared. "I have this spoon! And I'm not afraid to use it!!"

Happy Valentine's Day for those who celebrate it! For these two, they're only in it for the candy. And it's just another excuse for Richard to be ornery if Jac doesn't bop him with the spoon first xD

#oc: richard #oc: jac #sfw giant #giant oc #jac in the beanstalk society #bun does art #old art #valentine's 2023

[justatinybunwriting]

Cozy

Art and story inspired by this prompt list!

Bo and Jac are spending a quiet evening relaxing the time away in the former's house. Before this scene above took place however, the smaller human was rattled- unusually for her- though thankfully, Bo was able find a solution to help his sister calm down.

Full story below the cut

Jac watched the fire grow as the chopped up timber was set ablaze. She was awe stricken by how massive it had gotten in such a short time, though her sense of wonder grew to a sliver of uncertainty as the light of the flame began to cloud her thoughts. It was just the right fit for a fireplace in a giant household, but for the perspective of a human like Jac, there was enough of an inferno to completely engulf the likes of a building more scaled to her size.

"There, that should do it." Bo said as he tossed the last of the firewood that was needed. "That'll certainly keep us comfortable for the evening... You all right?"

Jac was at a safe distance on top of Bo's single seated couch. The furniture was facing the fireplace, so Jac couldn't help but stare at the flames as she gripped her nails into the fabric. As he made his way over to his chair, Bo could instantly tell that something was off. For Jac seemed to be in a trance like state, gazing without blinking but a few times that minute at the caged flame. It took the waving of the giant's hand right in front of her face to get her to finally snap out of it.

"Hello~? Earth to Jac? Can you read me!"

Jac literally shook her head, her hair whipping side to side.

"Were you daydreaming again?" Asked Bo.

"S...sorta? I guess?"

Jac took a deep breath and explained what she was seeing from her own point of view. Her words steadily opened the Bunyan giant's eyes.

"Oh. I'm... sorry if this is scaring you."

"Wha? Nononono it's not anyone's fault. It just.. feels weird I guess."

"Well after hearing that, I don't blame you. But doncha worry about a thing. That fire's not going anywhere past that point, so you'll be safe without a doubt."

"Yeah, I guess that should be obvious."

Bo could tell that his adopted sister was still wary, which was far from par for her. Without a second thought, he was on the move. The older brother stepped into the kitchen for just a moment to whip up some instant cocoa. As the microwave heated their drinks, he pulled out a couple of cookies to add as toppings. Right before he heard the ping, he pulled out the tiniest miniature glass he could find in the cabinet. Slowly and as gingerly as he could, he poured the hot brew of chocolate and cream into the tiny cup. He then shaved a little bit of the vanilla crumbles into her drink- not as fancy as he would have liked but it would have to do.

In a few short minutes, Bo was back with the drinks at hand, taking extra measures to stabilize his sister's helping.

"There you go sweet pea. Sorry, I tried to add your cookie in just the right amount but it broke."

"Well, I guess that's just how the cookie crumbles."

That got a chuckle out of the Bunyan giant. Jac then looked at the mug with a big smile on her face.

"But yeah, it's the thought that counts."

Bo sat down on his couch and brought Jac over to his chest. The human then proceeded to walk over to the crook of his arm where she settled down. As soon as she took the first sip, Jac perked right up- the sugar gave her a much needed boost. It was just the right amount- not enough to be overbearing as was the case when she consumed most other giant confections. Bo really knew how to make it work.

The two drank in silence as they took their time to soak in the warmth of their brew. After Bo was about half way done, he finally spoke.

"I used to be terrified of fires as a kid. Especially after what happened to my mom."

"Yeah.." Jac replied quietly, "I can imagine."

"But, I got over it. And now I volunteer to help stop small fires in the human district if there is ever a need. So what I'm saying is, if I can get over it so can you. Cause you're the bravest, most toughest person I know."

"I'm not as strong as you. C'mon!" Jac laughed.

"Not physically, of course! But you know what I mean. It'll take time, so don't feel bad about it. For now, you've got me to keep you safe."

"Since you fight these things sometimes, I guess I don't have to worry."

"Mmmhm!"

Jac asked Bo to set the cup aside as she began to nestle deeper into the folds of her brother's shirt. She was a lot more relaxed now that she was literally on top of her big brother, and she could finally bask under the warmth and the soft glow of the very thing she had gotten so worked up over just minutes before.

The two continued to relax for the rest of the lazy evening in that very spot. It wasn't long before Jac had drifted to a sound slumber.

#sfw giant #oc: jac #oc: bo #jac in the beanstalk society #short story #bun does art #bun does writing

[justatinybunwriting]

Midnight Rendezvous

Continuing the miniseries that was based on the promptober list that @/Bittykimmy13 made.

This is part 4 of Forlorn

<<Previous Chapter

A tantalizing aroma filled the air as the expertly carved steaks was finally served. While the cuisine was delightful to the senses, the two friends paid little mind to it at first as they focused instead on each other in their small, yet still important chatter. These talks were short lived yet welcomed, for long, awkward pauses often followed between each sentence. But as time went on their wariness lessened, and the atmosphere would gradually turn into a welcoming calm.

Richard barely touched his plate, despite a Wile giant's typical response to fresh, grade-A meat. This wasn't something that Jac took lightly, for she assumed since he got here that the shrunken Wile had neglected his appetite for far too long.

"Eat up," Jac reminded. "You're beginning to look like skin and bones under that suit! You can't hide that from me.."

"No I don't..." Richard mumbled.

Jac then cuts out a large piece of beef and shoved it into his mouth.

"Good, right?"

Richard was annoyed by this gesture but ultimately couldn't refuse. After the swallow, his eyelids sprung upward, and at long last his stomach trembled desperately for more. He leered at the still sizzling meat for a few seconds before he started to dig into it quite menacingly. While he was more than ready to forgo utensils in favor of sinking his teeth into it literally, he knew that maintaining a proper form was the safer option in a place like this. He still looked less than humble, to put it gently, and Jac couldn't help but crack a smile at the sight of him destroying his meal.

"This is barely enough to satisfy you." She laughed.

Wiping his mouth, the Wile gave out a toothy, yet softer than normal grin.

"I have work arounds. Even so... to be honest... I had considered staying in this size for a little while longer."

"Wha, really? Wouldn't... that take up a lot of energy?"

"I'll be okay. If Beta Wiles can handle it, then I shouldn't have a problem."

"It's... not like you though... Is there some other reason for this?"

Richard lowered his napkin and stared blankly at his empty plate. He was still taking his time to say anything, for his overwhelming guilt showed no signs of stopping anytime soon. Even the smallest of words required careful consideration, and Jac understood this. Although she appreciated this approach, she was far from fond of it.

"Please... you don't have to be scared of me. Do you think that every little thing you say is going to make me angry?"

"...No... It's not that..."

"You're afraid of messing up, even if it's by accident... is that it?"

"Yeah." Richard sighed. "Is it... ok if I ask you something?"

"Sure."

Richard sighed and spoke as softly as he could.

"I... would like to go somewhere in the human district. Since... I'm in the proper height to actually be allowed inside now, haha. I would, like to walk with you... and talk, and listen... If, that's okay of course."

Jac was quiet for a moment, yet she never looked away from the shrunken Wile's face. She rose to her feet before she placed a hand over his forehead.

"You don't seem warmer than usual."

"I'm fine..." Richard grumbled.

"Well... to answer your question I... don't mind that at all if I gotta be honest. But, I don't want you to be uncomfortable for my sake! We can always do something in your true height, and on a separate night if you're too tired. It's not a big deal."

"Jac, I want this. It's the main reason why I... well..."

Jac cocked an eyebrow and pondered for a minute. Surely there was no foul play here, after all her best friend was clearly too afraid to do anything remotely manipulative. Her caution was warranted, but ultimately trust paved the way to her final decision.

"Well, if it isn't that much harder for you, then... yeah. I would like that."

Richard could not express the relief he felt upon hearing those words. For the first time in forever it seemed, he was finally able to crack a proper smile.

..........

After Jac ate her fill, the duo left Frederico's upon Jac's insistence with paying half of the bill. A small squabble between these two over money duties was nothing new, and after a few minutes they were able to laugh it off without much worry.

They walked for some ways in a quiet street, the stars obscured by the giant streetlights a hundred feet above. Jac never enjoyed walking beneath them, and secretly wished that she could ride under the crook of the giant's neck to avoid these flickering annoyances altogether. Her focus then turned to Richard, who was already feeling the strain of walking without, at least by his normal standard, covering much ground.

"Are you sure you're ok?"

"Yeah! I... need a bit of a workout. So, uh... where were we heading to again?"

"Shi...su... I forget the name. But it's a garden located on the other side of town. The view is fantastic at night, and every time I visit I always wished that you could be there to see it."

"That sounds great." Richard replied, his thoughts enamored by the visuals described.

"We have to take the monorail to get there, but it's open to the public all night. Think that'll be all right with you?"

"Yeah! Let's go then."

He reached out but suddenly stopped midway, his hand shaking subtly in the air. Jac gave him a puzzled look before he decided to pull back.

"I'm sorry." He sighed.

"For what?"

Jac then took out her own hand and grabbed his, which caused him to panic for a split second.

"C'mon! We haven't got all night!" She chuckled.

Jac had virtually pulled Richard for a few steps before he finally followed along. They continued like this for over a minute with the latter not knowing what to say or how to feel about it. Realizing this, Jac slowed down her pace.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"Is... this ok?"

"What do you mean?"

"The... hand..."

Jac looked down at her hand, which held a firm grip on Richard's digits. His was loose, however, and she realized then that they were still trembling.

"You don't... like this?"

"No! I... uh, I'm not used to it."

"That's okay. I'm sorry."

Jac then let go of the Wile's palm and walked a little ways ahead of him.

"Nonono! It's fine!" Richard said. "It just... caught me off guard."

"Yeah, I... should have given you a warning."

"Don't say that..."

The two strolled for a few moments before Jac broke the silence.

"I... always wanted to hold your hand. I just thought it would be kinda neat, that's all."

"So... that's, ok with you?"

"Yeah! Of course! Why didn't you think it would be?"

Richard didn't reply straight away, though Jac was able to put the pieces together on her own.

"I see... that's, why I decided to stop. If you're not comfortable with that, then--"

"Nono, I'm not... it's... hard to explain."

"It's confusing, right?"

"Yeah... I suppose so."

"It's okay." Jac sighed through her nose before continuing. "Society instilled the idea of holding hands as being more than just a thing that friends would do... Just know that... I personally don't agree with that."

As soon as they were finally away from the lamp posts, Jac breathed a loud sigh of relief before looking up into the night sky.

"I don't mind it personally, and I will hold hands with any friend who allows it. I also don't mind a lot of stuff that... people think is romantic. Like snuggles... and kisses."

Richard lowered his head, and started laughing between low energy breaths.

"Now I'm really confused."

"I get that a lot, don't worry. That's what it means to be a part of a spectrum. Some aromantic folks don't like those things but for me, personally, I don't mind! I don't see those actions, by themselves, as romantic. There's, more to it than that... that would make me uncomfortable."

"I want to learn." Richard said calmly. "Teach me... what is okay, and what isn't... so that I don't... make those mistakes again."

"I will. It's my fault for not explaining these things to you a long time ago. Though, to be fair, I was learning a lot of this myself, on my own..."

The two friends didn't say much to each other before they reached the railway station, but they both enjoyed each other's company with quaint smiles that never faded. They went off topic to talk about this and that while they waited, but in what felt like only a moment it was already time to step on board.

Jac flashed her card and went through the turnstile quickly, but before Richard could do the same a alarm was sounded along with red lights that flashed from the gate itself. Jac turned towards him and saw the distressed look on his face, his eyes dilated in the light as if he was a cornered animal. While there were only a few people who boarded the midnight express, there were a couple among them that stared down the young man.

"Wile giant..." One voice uttered.

Jac leered back to find whoever it was, but gave up quickly to return to her friend, the bars of the gate separating them by a couple of feet.

"Anti... Wile giant zone..." Richard grumbled.

"I'm sorry, Rich... I had no idea."

"It's... whatever. They probably think I'm going to grow into my full height while on board. While, excessive... it does happen suddenly sometimes, so... I can see why they'd be cautious about that."

"I see..."

Jac wasn't about to give up just yet. She pulled a brochure from the shelves and rushed back to the gates while flipping through the pages swiftly. And sure enough she found a map of the city and the places where the human and giant districts are segmented apart from each other. Using her finger as a guide, she gave Richard instructions for the next course of action.

"If you size up, you should be able to meet up with me before the monorail arrives right around... here! To the north east."

Jac grabbed her pen and made broad circles around the rendezvous spot. She then shoved the papers to his hands and squeezed them tightly.

"Think you can handle that?"

"Yeah," Richard sighed. "I'll be fine."

"You'll have to shrink again..."

"I know. But, I want to see this through."

"Okay."

Just then the monorail horn blasted, which instantly sent Jac running.

"I'll wait for you there!" She shouted.

She stepped in just before the doors shut, and within a few seconds the vehicle began to stir. Richard stayed put in his spot as he watched the monorail depart, waving goodbye to his friend inside even though it was unlikely that she could see him from his position.

Richard was saddened, yet a new sense of determination began to emerge from within. As soon as he stepped out, he hurried to the giant border and immediately sized up when his shoe touched the pavement. As always he had to kneel down to allow air back in his lungs, and during this time a passing security guard stepped in.

"You okay?" The man shouted.

Richard looked back at the Beansprout who was standing mere inches from his leg.

"I'm fine," he sputtered. "I wasn't going to do anything in there, I promise."

"I figured." The guard replied.

As the human walked away, he turned his head back and hollered.

"Go get her."

"Uh, thanks... She's, a good friend."

"Nevertheless! Good luck out there."

"...I appreciate that. Thank you."

Richard then got up, and began to brisk walk towards the path to the northern Sprout border. He uttered a spell under his breath, and the minuscule brochure in his hand grew in relative proportion to his current height. The molecular structure was thankfully in tact, and Richard was able to read the map as intended, with Jac's pen mark as a highlight.

"Thank god that worked." Richard sighed. "Ok Jac, I'm on my way. I'll be there in no time."

#sfw giant #oc: jac #oc: richard #jac in the beanstalk society #bun does writing #writing prompt #promptober #promptober 2023

[justatinybunwriting]

Regret

A part of a miniseries based on a promptober list made by @/Bittykimmy13

This is part 3 of Forlorn

<<Previous chapter

The cool night's breeze helped to ease the two friends out of the awkward silence they had started off with. After a few instances of clearing their throats, they both spoke at the same time.

"There's something I want to--"

"I have to tell you outright that--"

"...You go first." Richard said.

Jac gave out a deep sigh through her nose before she pulled a piece of paper from her coat. She unfolded it and pushed it in front of the shrunken Wile giant.

"Read." She commanded. "I was going to send this via message, but you saved me the trouble by... getting smaller, heh."

"Hm? What's this?"

"I... don't really have it in me to say these things out loud. So I wrote down my thoughts here."

Richard paused for a second before he carefully looked over the hand written notes, and in no less than a moment's notice his eyes widened upon discerning its contents. Various events from within the past eight or so months began to replay in his mind, though through the lens of the human they went very differently from how he remembered it.

"Wait... What? I thought...?"

Jac flattened her lips as she tried her best to shift her eyes away from her friend. She side glanced towards the musicians who continued to play a gorgeous piece with their fiddles, as Richard continued down the written notes slowly.

"I... didn't know... I, always thought you enjoyed our games..."

"To an extent, yes. But... lately the cat and mouse chases have become, well..."

"Jac, I... You, said yourself that you didn't mind--"

"Of course you always force me to have it your way in the end!" Jac exclaimed. "Your excuse is always 'oh, I can sense that you're only pretending to not want this right now' blah blah! I mean... it's just not as simple as that, okay? Sure I... think about it, positively sometimes. And yet I..."

"Jac...?"

There was a genuine nervous hitch in Richard's voice, which had drained all the confidence Jac had built up to that point.

"I... I just..."

Before long Jac grew quiet, as she felt her old habits tear at her numbingly once more. The strong desire to hold back her feelings in favor of silent acceptance was relentlessly pounding the back of her mind, but she quickly managed to fight the impeding sands that had sought to pull her in. The young woman seized this momentum by shifting priority to her right hand. And with a click of a pen and a rip of a new notebook sheet, she went straight to work.

Jac was internally grateful that Richard was as patient as he was with her on this night. An improvement, she admitted, but none too surprising. She looked up at last towards the shrunken Wile, who appeared perplexed and equally frightened. Not that he would show off the latter outright, his best friend could discern and recognize his body language regardless. She handed over the freshly jotted notes, which Richard accepted with renewed hesitation. His eyes darted side to side in quick succession, until they finally landed at a crucial part.

"So you...?"

But before the Wile could say another word, he double checked what he had just read. And in that moment, his face fell.

"Do you understand now?" Jac uttered. "I used to enjoy the running and the cropping and everything else in between! But after a while..."

"It had become too much... It was, no longer fun..."

Jac nodded.

"I... overdid it?"

Jac nodded again.

"I mean... I like teasing... it's all part of the game! But, I had no idea that that would actually..."

"It's... not the teasing I hate. It's how you've gone about doing it lately that's the issue here... You see..."

Again, she made her case known on paper when her voice failed her. But no matter what format she spoke in, to Richard the message was received just as loud and clear.

"Lately you have a tendency to twist my words to get what you want. This is especially true when..."

The shrunken Wile then paused before he retorted in his own tongue.

"Huh? Push my height around? What does that mean?"

"You... would lift me up in the air and give me no room to leave on my own terms, for one! I can think of a bunch of other examples, but judging by the look on your face, I think you get the idea."

"I..."

Ultimately however, Richard was left without any more words to convey.

"Keep reading." Jac said. "You'll get a better idea what I mean then."

With another long breath, Richard continued down the original notes, as he took in the numerous occasions where Jac's boundaries were loyally crossed. Many fond memories had become shattered under the weight of his renewed understanding, which brought the shrunken Wile into an even deeper pit of despair. His eyes sunk as an unyielding sense of guilt had begun to claw into the sides of his heart. Each revelation caused him to steadily furl into himself, so much so that he was on the verge of falling off of his chair.

Jac understood that look, and felt as though she needed to intervene before he would be swept away by his emotions.

"I know that Wile giants need to chase. Need to crop... it's something that you can't really help. And I was all for helping you... which was, one of the reasons why I didn't say anything at first."

"You... didn't list the graduation party..."

"Huh?"

The fact that night was brought up had caught the human off guard, though she was able to shake off the initial shock relatively quickly.

"Funny you should mention that. To tell you the truth I, honestly enjoyed it that time. The biggest difference then was... was..."

Infuriated by her increasing nerves, Jac kicked an invisible stone before she reached for her pen a third time. Richard's hand was visibly shaking as he accepted this particular set of freshly made notes. He wasn't sure why, but he had already sensed that he wouldn't be ready to swallow the pill that was to come. Nevertheless, he sucked in a breath and braced for impact, for despite everything he endured so far he wanted more than ever to listen and soak in every word. He understood that in order to make things right, he needed to man up.

Another deep sigh followed, before the Wile opened his eyes and read out the rest of her sentence.

"You weren't rough back then... You were gentle, sweet, and caring... before, during, and after our play times... You weren't selfish, and was a lot more considerate about my own needs. And most of all you weren't posses... sive... you weren't controlling...?"

Richard momentarily grew silent before he continued.

"This was the worst of your offenses. Before I even realized it, you have gone so far as to isolate me from my other Wile giant friends. You try your best to cover up your je... je... but you can't hide it from me anymore--"

"Jealousy?" Richard quipped, his voice a shadow of its former self. "Jac! Since when have I..."

The look on Jac's face when he said this forced him to stop midway. The human then proceeded to write on her notepad again, though in the process she stopped and contemplated her options. In a moment's time, she dropped the pen.

"You've changed." Jac spoke flatly. Her nervousness was largely apparent, though she chose to push through. "The Richard I knew... from that time is, different from the one sitting here right now."

"I don't understand..." Richard admitted. "I'm, still me?"

Jac lowered her head. "You may not realize it. But..."

Jac gulped a few times, but numbingly continued to voice her displeasure. The more she spoke, the more her confidence gradually increased.

"Remember when we broke up? You... said to me then, that you were... fine with it. I gave my reason, and you told me that you were in full support of that... But... think about it for a second, Rich! What was the one thing you held me back from doing above everything else? The one thing that, for gawd sakes you told me you never thought about in a romantic sense? And yet every time the mere thought of anyone else giving chase and..."

"And why would they?" Richard cut in. "Why would you even consider letting someone else do tha--"

"You're just proving my point!" Jac exclaimed.

Richard's eyes had shot open, though this time he was clearly vexed. Towards what Jac couldn't tell. Jac sensed that their surrounding might have overheard the anger in her voice, though in truth the background chatters had all but drowned it out. In any case, she drew in another breath and continued to speak in a quieter, yet firm tone.

"Never had I once thought of it in that light, and I never will. But deep down you didn't want anyone else to nom me. That right belonged to you and you alone. Why should it matter, why should you feel such unwarranted envy? Unless..."

Jac took a moment to breath, before finishing her sentence.

"You haven't moved on."

Richard stopped dead on his tracks. He opened his mouth, but no matter how hard he tried, not a single retort, counter nor defense had made its way out. He barely understood why those fours words sent chills through much of his nervous system, yet he could only express guilt ten times the amount as before the further it sunk in.

And with that muted response, mist began to form in Jac's eyes.

"You still love me. In that way... And despite me being very clear back then... when I told you I'm aromantic... you decided... to push through anyway. Against my wishes... I don't know if it's due to frustration... but you started to take it out on me... without even noticing it seems! And I haven't been comfortable since..."

"Jac..."

These words made the shrunken Wile quiver at his very core. Despite being torn apart by them, he chose to let her continue without contest.

"The reason why it's been tough these past few months... was because, subconsciously or not, you chose to satisfy your own desires at my expense! You couldn't get what you wanted from me, so you chose to do all those things... by taking advantage of the fact that I've felt sorry for you! You never thought about how I had felt. Even when you claimed you did... everything was skewed towards how you saw fit. And as a result, you've overstepped my boundaries over... and over again."

Nothing was said for a few minutes as tears began to flow down their faces. Jac took notice of the way the Wile clenched his fists, and she could feel the heat that was starting to seep from his bubbling rage. Her own anger and sadness paved way for a greater sense of fear, and she stumbled a little as she tried to get the rest of her words out.

"It's... my fault too... I should have said something a long time ago... I may have been worse off because I chose to remain silent. I was too scared of... hurting you... and that was dumb on my part. You... never really asked for my opinion anyway... so I thought... it wouldn't have amounted to--"

All of a sudden Richard rose up from his seat. Jac pushed back against her own spontaneously as she readied herself for the inevitable shout, but what came out of his mouth was the last thing she would have expected.

"You were scared of hurting me? But I wounded up hurting you!! How is that better?! How could... I have been so..."

Jac looked up and saw the face of a miserable man, the wrinkles of his brow crumpled up into a hundred knots, his eyes stinging from the hot tears that fell along with his head to the floor. He banged his fists on the tiles, which alerted the attention of staff inside the restaurant. But none of that mattered now.

"I'm so sorry... for everything, Jac... How...? How did I not see this for so long? Why was I... so stupid?! Idiot!! I'm such an idiot!!"

A guttural sound escaped his mouth as he started to physically throw fists in the air. His suit came undone slightly as he continued to bellow profanities at himself. Jac halted security who came to check in, as she dove to be by his side in spite of his increasing ferocity. She watched and waited mere inches from the shrunken giant as his growls and temperament gradually lessened over a good while.

She didn't say this at first, but deep down Jac felt this was the best possible outcome she could have foreseen. She was afraid of the Richard that would snap back, who would fight with every tooth and nail. But this... wasn't him. He wouldn't do that at this delicate moment, she realized. For instead, even in his moderately feral state, she saw a broken down man who thought of himself as a monster. Which made her even more terrible for taking a stand, even though she knew it was right.

Jac held a hand to Richard's back, which caused him to jolt his head up. His eyes were a narrow catlike slit for a split second before he registered his friend's face, his pupils quickly softening to it's former state. It was very apparent to Jac that the Wile was fearful, maybe as much as she was just moments prior. And to that, she could only respond with a humble acknowledgement back. They stared at each other, nearly without blinking, until at last the shrunken Wile finally croaked.

"I'm... appalled at myself... no apology can make up for what I have done..."

"It's a first step..." Jac cried. "And your eyes are open now. It'll take time but... I want to give you another chance."

"...Really...?"

Jac took a moment before she nodded.

"I like you too much, for all the good things. And it... would be wrong of me if I didn't give you a chance... to save this friendship. After you've shown me, that you actually cared to listen..."

"But... I was so toxic to you... worst still, I was too dumb to even... notice..."

"You were... yeah..."

"Then why...?"

"I won't forget all the good. I won't forget the bad either but... if you work on it, and promise me that you will genuinely make the effort to change, then... I don't mind sticking around. And waiting to see the improved Richard for myself."

"Why are you so... willing to accept me back?"

"I don't know! Maybe I'm dumb too. Will you accept that for an answer?"

"...No... Maybe..."

"Good." Jac smiled. "Now then..."

Jac looked back at the empty table just as catering was about to ride into the balcony.

"I think we should try to make the best of tonight. You went through a lot of pain because of me, and I'm sorry for that... So I, want the rest of the night to go well at least."

"Nonono, please! Don't be."

Richard pulled himself up and brushed his coat. He tried to reach out to do the same for Jac, but hesitated at the last moment. Jac realized then that her words had actually come out in her brush with adrenaline, and with her luck that was likely the only time that would ever happen.

Maybe it was fate, weird...

They returned to their seats as silent as a mouse, waiting for the other to speak first. It was Richard who finally broke the monotony.

"I promise... I'll make it up to you. Tonight, and every night after this."

"You don't have to make a big show of it. Just... being you is enough."

"Aside from... that side of me." Richard shuttered.

"Obviously."

The first chuckle came since their discussion began, a welcome feeling to break the tension however brief. Food was far from their minds at this point in time, but they were just relived that the storms that weighed heavily on their shoulders had finally started to lift.

Next Chapter >>

#oc: jac #oc: richard #jac in the beanstalk society #bun does writing #october prompts #promptober #promptober 2023

[justatinybunwriting]

Serenade

Day 7 of the promptober list that @/Bittykimmy13 made and the second part of Forlorn

Several days had came and went with no response to messages, no phone calls or emails. Even a letter would have given the Wile giant a much needed sigh of relief, anything that could get him out of this agonizing hole that he was sinking deeper into. Ever since Jac left, Richard had spent his every waking moment feeling utterly miserable and hot to the touch. Everything else he had to do to get through the day- work, transportation, etc.- was overshadowed by the scene of his best friend walking away, which played in a constant loop in his head over and over again.

Jac...

He barely ate. He bathed minimally, and his nights were restless with turbulent thoughts. That looming dread of losing his best friend... of what that could mean and, what he considered doing if it ever came to that point. He was weakening by the hour, yet he chose not to care.

Jac meanwhile was faring no better. The revelation of that night had infected her mind and it was difficult for her to maintain self control. She released her pent up emotions by lashing out violently at her pillow on numerous occasions. But in a few days time, even that feeling had passed, and in its place was a sense of hopelessness, resentment and despair.

And yet, nothing that Richard had said surprised her, nor did it cause her to outright hate him. She started to miss the parts of him that she loved, yet each time she tried to look back on them she was reminded of the side of him that, in her words, sucked.

Deep down I knew... that he still sees me this way. No matter how much time had passed...

She wanted dearly for things to go back the way they were, but not if he couldn't past her being a romantic partner. The very thought of that gave her cold chills that crawled up to the base of her neck. But at the same time, she knew that if she continued down her current path, she would never get the closure she desperately wanted. Something needed to be done, and soon.

Jac called her friends and told them her side of the story, and they all basically reacted to her the same way.

"We've gone through this before, Jac..." Aiden replied worriedly. "You have a tendency to bottle up your thoughts, and that's probably why he's been acting this way these past few months. You need to set boundaries, by letting him know what is ok and what isn't, you see what I'm saying?"

"You gotta stand up for yourself!" Jillian exclaimed. "Show him who's boss! You told him you don't like him being all lovey dovey, right? If he doesn't respect that, accidental or not, you need to reinforce that you can't accept that part of him! By not giving him the time of day until he learns to accept that change!"

Jac's response was always the same.

"I know that... It's... it's just not that easy for me. It's always been hard to confront people, even when that person is my best friend, sometimes... Even when I know damn well that being silent is possibly the most unhealthy thing I could do. It's better than getting hurt in the process... and seeing him get hurt because of me..."

"You have to at least try. Otherwise, you'll never know the truth." Aiden said. His voice was mildly choked up from the other line. "I know how much your friendship with Richard means to you. And if you cared that much and want it to last, then... you need to talk to him. And be upfront with how you feel."

"It's never easy Jac, and it never will be." Jillian replied. "But you gotta start off by practicing talking things through, no matter how hard it is. It's the best thing you can do to protect yourself, and to hopefully see a positive response if he's willing. You gonna be pouring rain nonstop otherwise. Doing nothing will lead to nothing. So the best thing you can do, is to let him know what's up."

While brunt at times, Jac was nevertheless grateful to hear these words. When she hung up, her resolve was strengthened to the point where- for a moment- she could not wait to dial the first contact saved on her phone. But just before her finger landed on the call button, she abruptly stopped. Her second guessing had caught up with her, and threatened to dampen her momentum with a new wave of dread. After a couple of moments of wallowing in a constant loop of asking herself "I'm ready for this?" She paused and stirred up a different question: "why am I not using my energy to actually put my brain into action?" Slowly but most certainly, a plan began to take shape, which helped in turn to boost her confidence to sky high levels. After a few minutes of refining her new master strategy, Jac took a deep breath, and began typing.

As soon as he heard that notification, the one designated just for Jac, Richard dropped what he was doing and grabbed his phone in the speed of a bullet.

"Meet me tonight."

The Wile giant texted back.

"Where?"

After a minute long pause which felt like hours, Richard got the fateful reply that elevated his spirits profoundly.

"I don't care. Wherever you decide. How's that?"

Richard could not help but put on a pathetic smile.

"Sounds good. I'll text back soon!"

As cryptic as that seemed, Jac accepted his response in silence. It took a while to sink in, but she too started to feel a heavy weight being lifted from her shoulders.

..............

"Meet me outside Frederico's Fine Dining."

That five star Italian restaurant across town... I haven't been there in ages.

Jac was admittedly cautious, but followed the Wile's direction without complaint. She was hoping that she didn't have to dress up for the occasion, but the Wile had went through the trouble of reserving a spot in the balcony just for the two of them, so she couldn't walk in with her every day attire. Just to rub it in his face, she chose to go in the clothes she would wear when attending a job interview- nothing more or less.

When she arrived at the designated spot, she was greeted by a single, human sized dining table, with candles near the edge of the balcony that illuminated her path. The star filled night was crystal clear, and the picture perfect scene was topped off with paid musicians who played a somber serenade with their violins.

He went all out...

Jac wasn't sure what to make of this just yet. Was this a love-struck friend's last ditch effort to profess his feelings for her? Or was it, in her own eyes, something more meaningful?

It took a few minutes before she spotted him off the distance. Sure enough he was in a suit and tie, but nothing like Jac was expecting. If her hunch was right, he too was wearing the same clothes that he wore for his own job interview. Which drew out a light chuckle from the human.

Richard's ears perked up as he turned his attention to the side of the building, and when their tired eyes met he was overwhelmed with emotions of every kind.

"You came..." He cried.

Jac said nothing at first, as the Wile giant walked up to meet her face to face. His top half was all she could see from her vantage point.

"I was worried that you might have... uh..."

"I was the one who texted you, you know." Jac snapped back, though she made sure to lower her voice after that. "I wouldn't have if I didn't wanted to see you..."

The two took in each other for a moment before any more words were exchanged. Jac noticed right away the Wile's slightly rough shave, as well as the horrendous dark spots that had formed under his eyes.

"You look like you got hit by a train."

"Sounds about right..." Richard replied. "You look, nice."

"Thanks, I guess."

Jac looked back at the table and placed her hands on her hips. "I don't know what the deal is here, but seriously Richard? You couldn't even get us mixed seating?"

"I can explain! See..."

Jac could tell his heart was racing, but she decided to give him time to allow air to flow back in his lungs.

"For one, mixed tables were booked. And second, and most importantly!... I... thought I should even the playing field a bit. At a time like this, I figured that perhaps I'm a bit too imposing as... I am now. So maybe..."

Jac's eyes opened widely at the implication of what he meant.

"First of all. I don't really care about your size, you know this. But... at the same time, I don't mind seeing all of you at once. It would help right now... I think. But, are you sure?"

"Positive." Richard answered nervously.

Richard backed up until he nearly reached the street.

"Stand back!"

"WAIT!!" Jac exclaimed.

Richard hit the ground running as a bluish white light began to flow from his back, and he leaped towards the the air just as the rest of his body glowed in an intense flash. He had shrunken midair into the size of a human just as he had made a grand entrance- by sliding across the balcony floor before plummeting against a wall. The music screeched to a halt as Jac rushed to be by his side.

"Oh my gaaawd!! Are you okay?!"

The Wile laid painfully on his side, but he tried his best to open his eyes for her.

"I... did not think this through..."

"Of course not!! What the hell was that?!" Jac yelled. "You could have gotten yourself killed..."

"Nonsense, I... could have maybe done that a little bit better, but I'm still here, heheh..."

As Jac aided Richard in as he slowly pulled himself up, as she brushed off the dirt that had clung to his suit during the incident. He still ached a bit, but it was nothing that his unfailing determination couldn't ignore. That, along with the other implications of what this could possibly mean, had begun to scare Jac slightly.

"Why though?" Jac uttered, as she looked down at her feet. "I know how much you hate being this size. So why do this now?"

"I... wanted to talk with you eye to eye. I know! We do that normally. But I wanted to see you... like this. To talk to you while seeing every bit of you upclose, and to really give you the opportunity to speak without a barrier or... even punch me in the gut if you have to!"

Jac held a hand to her mouth. "Don't give me any ideas."

"You'd like that, huh."

"Yeah.." Jac giggled slightly. "But, I think you've gone through enough pain tonight. I will warn you now though, that if you say anything that warrants it, then..."

"Then don't hold back. I mean it."

A pause followed, although this time the duo never looked away from each other's faces. Jac sighed and gave the shrunken Wile a rather cocky smile.

"You forgot one thing."

"What's that?"

"You... can hold me in this size."

Richard took a step back in surprise. "I-Is that allowed?!"

"Maybe... but you gotta earn it."

The two friends walked slowly over to the dinner table, as the sweet melody resumed in the background once again. Jac was quick to pull up her menu, but her mind drew a blank when she scanned the offerings. She glanced over at Richard and saw that he wasn't paying attention either, as his hand strummed atop the unopened book.

"How long do you think the food will take?" Jac asked.

"An hour, maybe? Frederico's has the best cuisine this side of town, but they're not known for their fast service."

"Perfect. That's all the time we need to have this discussion."

Richard nodded slightly and gave his first smile of the night. With enough time allowed, maybe things will go the way the two of them had hoped after all.

Next Chapter>>

#things are getting better I promise xD #oc: jac #oc: richard #sfw giant #bun does writing #jac in the beanstalk society #angst

[justatinybunwriting]

Forlorn (rewrite)

Notes: Day 6 of this year's promptlist that @bittykimmy13 made is forlorn, so I felt it was time to revisit an old prompt I had made back in 2021. The previous version was very rushed so I wanted to do a slight do-over x3

(Cw for angst and brief mentions of mouthplay)

What began as a quiet afternoon in Richard's house would turn into the scene of a near fatal incident, the casualty being that of a long held friendship.

It all started simply enough when Jac recalled an event that she could have sworn was recorded on her phone. After three thorough scans of her photo gallery however, she had proven that this was not the case. With no where else to turn she begged the Wile giant to let her investigate his device, which resulted in the latter giving her a sharp eye roll in return.

"First of all, that was a weird way of asking," Richard replied. "And, well... of course I'll help you out. We'll look for it, together." He was quick to add.

The brunette sat on the single seated sofa with Jac firmly perched on his left arm, as a perfect view of the much too large screen was placed right before her. Throughout the next hour, they swiped past several hundred images of various historic events in their lives, stopping every few seconds to reminisce and giggle at their findings.

"Is it this one?" He asked. The selected photo showed the two of them as older teens as they posed in front of a water slide at an amusement park.

Jac shook her head. "That's not it... It was a little further back I think. We were still in high school and you took a selfie of us just as you fell backwards into a pool."

"That was an accident..." Richard mumbled.

"It was definitely on purpose! No one could have made such a clean dive." Jac laughed.

"Do you think I wanted to hit the water directly on my back? I slipped on a pool toy some Sprout had left on the side. My shoulder blades were aching for days..."

Memories of times gone by filled their heads in ways they had not expected as the Wile giant continued to scroll backwards in his saved files. Some were precious little moments that helped to shape their lives for the better, and others were from times that the two could barely recognize.

As their search went on, Richard began to develop a sense of yearning. His brain fluttered back to the days of his youth, a period where he did not have to worry as much about careers, social expectations and the often unrealistic baggage that came with living in such a hostile world. He projected himself into these cherished moments as they were pulled up into view, like the joy of seeing the first snow of winter, or the pleasant day before their graduation, and the many moonlit nights he would spend together with his dearest friend.

"Hey, what's this folder?... Bittersweet..."

Richard was startled back into reality when Jac spoke those very words, and he swiftly grabbed his phone from her reach.

"Hey!" The human protested.

"What were you doing looking through my stuff?"

"You were fixing to fall asleep, so I thought I could continue the search on my own. Why are you being so huffy about that?"

"...You're right..."

Richard sat back down and returned the phone on his lap.

"I'm sorry... I honestly don't know how to explain this to you."

"You can try. We're best friends! You don't have to keep secrets from me!"

"It's just..." Richard paused before he gave a out a long sigh. "I just don't think I should be sharing this. It's a bit too... personal."

In an alternate universe he would have shown her, boldly and unapologetically perhaps, but this Richard knew the complications of what would come from it if he did reveal its contents. Still that did not stop Jac from trying to put two and two together.

"Is it pics of that girl that you met in college?"

"NO! Why would I have that? I want nothing to do with her!"

"Biggs, you know I don't really care about who you were dating. We discussed this."

"Yeah, but really Jac? That person?"

"Well, maybe I was a bit off... But you know I'll keep second guessing until I get it right."

"You're so nosy..."

Truth is... you say you don't care about anyone I date, but I can't be too sure in this case...

They both silently agreed to drop the topic for now. And since Richard was wide awake as a result, he went straight back to his search. After a few expected stops along the way, Jac was suddenly bursting into laughter.

"What the hell is going on here?" She heckled.

The photo in question was taken in front of a display that was carved in the likeness of a shark. In front was a younger Richard who looked back at it with the appearance of utter shock. That coupled with the cups of beverages that was suspended in midair just below his outstretched hands made this the perfect comedy scene for the tiny woman, as it was enough to cause her to fall backwards. Richard, on the other hand, looked upon this child version of himself with disdain.

"Oh dear God, why is this even here?"

He was just about to aim for the delete button, when Jac lunged herself onto the Wile's index finger. She wrapped her arms around it in an attempt to pull it back.

"What are you doing? You can't erase that! It's a part of history!"

"Well there's some portions of 'history' that's best left unseen!"

And with that it was unceremoniously trashed, which had made Jac rather upset.

"C'mon, was it really that bad to see your old self with renewed eyes? You won't see me deleting old photos, no matter how much of a pain it is to relive those moments sometimes..."

Jac paused before she continued her sentence, "I still hold onto them. Like it or not, it's just one of those things that I don't want to let go of..."

The two friends then grew silent for a short while, though the Wile giant's curiosity had perked up upon hearing Jac's words. To the point where he felt the urge to test their authenticity. He quickly shook off that notion however, beating himself mentally for even thinking such a thing, and shifted focus back to his phone.

"Well, not in this case. Pout all you want Jac, but I think it should be lost to the sands of time."

Jac had to fold her arms and puff her cheeks to that remark.

We'll just see about that.

For what seemed like the rest of the afternoon, the two friends continued to laugh and share their thoughts about the photos that were on display. They would eventually find the image Jac was searching for, a far from interesting picture of the two in front of a public swimming pool, at least when compared to the far more interesting pictures that had equally tugged for their attention.

As the sun began to set, the Wile giant had set off to a brief visit to dreamland once more. Now's my chance, Jac thought as she carefully pulled the phone from his loosened hand with all her might. With a flick of her hand she pulled the glorious shark photo out of the trashcan, placing it back, as she considered in her mind, to where it belonged. In the process she had come across that peculiar folder again. The word Bittersweet called to her like a dinner bell, yet she could not bring herself to go against Richard's wishes.

"It's nothing... there has to be a good reason for him not wanting to show me..."

She stared at the file for some time however, and the more she pondered the more her inquisitiveness had started to get the better of her. The human peered back at the Wile, who had his head reared back with drool pouring slightly over his mouth. Jac thought it was now or never, and she would keep it with her to her grave if she had to.

After one last brawl with hesitation, she opened the folder and peered at its contents. And almost immediately she began to regret her decision. Some of these images she held fondly to this day, like the dances they had made in the various prom nights they had over the years, and the dinners that occupied the light of the full moon. But others gradually made her sick to her stomach, like the photos of Richard swooning and the two of them sealing a lip to lip kiss. Which was then followed by a picture of her being sucked between his lips, which shot open a memory she would rather forget of their tongues embracing while she was inside.

"J... Jac...?"

A very drowsy Richard began to stir, but before he could fully process what happened, Jac gave out an involuntary shriek that torpedoed his eyelids open. Jac hopped onto the screen and pushed the back button just as she was being scooped into his hands.

"What happened?" He asked. "Why are you...?"

It did not take long for the Wile to put the pieces together on his own, as evident by the bright tomato red that Jac tried desperately to hide.

"Jac, I... how could you..."

"I'm sorry..."

Tears started to form from the base of her eyes as the giant breathed harshly through his nose.

"I know I didn't tell you outright not to, but... that's a serious overstep of my privacy, Jac. I thought I could trust you to not look through my secret files, especially when I said--"

"I was dumb, ok? I, let my... feelings get the better of me..."

"It's ok..." Richard sighed after a long pause. "I'm not mad... it's just...I really didn't want you to see all of that... To be honest, I should be the one apologizing."

"W-What for?"

"For not giving you an explanation and... holding onto these photos to begin with. I've considered deleting these... after a while. But yet, I just... can't bring myself to do it! Every time I've considered it, I worry that I may regret it later..."

"Nonono, you're good!" Jac said quickly with a higher voice, "It just... caught me off guard... Like, I said earlier... no matter how uncomfortable and gross some of the past makes me feel, you shouldn't erase history."

Hearing Jac describe their past dates in that way was like jabbing a blade through Richard's heart. His eyes began to cloud ever so slightly, which Jac immediately took notice of. Her face cooled off slightly, but in its place her mouth had flattened.

"Do you... still look at them fondly?"

"W-what?"

"Be honest with me. Even though we broke up our romantic ties... does all of that, still... mean something to you? Aside from just, a memory."

Richard didn't know what to say after that, and a long uncomfortable silence followed. Jac's expression darkened afterwards, which caused Richard to react in a pained tone.

"Of course not! I don't want to ruin what we have now. You know that."

"Even though you still love me... in that way?"

"I... uh..."

Jac gave out a long sigh.

"It explains a lot honestly."

"Jac..."

"Even though I told you this isn't what I want... What I had envisioned our future to be..."

Richard chose not to stop her from going down his pant leg as she started to walk away.

"I need time if that's okay."

"I'm sorry Jac..."

Nothing else was said between the two as the human retreated to another room. The Wile giant then sat silently for some time, and pondered about what he could have done differently. Everything that they went through today... the memories they held so deep, the treasures that they both shared... stood a very good chance of falling apart. He needed to act, and soon, if he stood a chance at repairing the opened wounds.

Richard rushed over to the other room, before he checked all of her usual hiding spots. Not a single sound could be heard, nor any trace of her presence. It was then he had realized that she had long left the house...

Next Chapter>>

#gt #sfw giant #oc: jac #oc: richard #bun does writing #jac in the beanstalk society #angst #angst writing #there is a part two coming so stay tuned

[justatinybunwriting]

Dreaming of you

#Bun does art #artists on tumblr #original work #Original character #oc: jac #oc: richard #Jac in the Beanstalk Society #Sfw giant #Dreaming #sleepover

[justatinybunwriting]

On the Edge 1

Chapter one: Warmth

There was nothing that Jac wanted more than to slam everything within her reach against the wall. But the energy to do even this was nonexistent.

Clocking out of work could not come soon enough, for Jac was desperate to step as far away from the chocolate factory as fast as her legs could carry her. After kicking a pebble or six, and releasing a long withheld sigh, the young woman was finally able to relax somewhat after a series of long and listless days. She remained ever vigilant for some time afterward, as she quickly traveled by foot and train until she was absolutely certain that the company building was completely out of her range of sight.

She knew the risks going into a work environment like this- operating massive candy making machines alongside giants is labor intensive and always a hazardous business. But until relatively recently, Jac felt right at home at her workplace. She used to believe that she had won the golden ticket, as she loved to help create new confectioneries while getting to sample some giant sized chocolates every day as a bonus "treat."

Though the happier moments were all but a distant memory, despite these events occurring just months prior. Since then, Jac's job had become a hellish and inescapable milieu that she was forced to endure with each passing weekday. Any and every effort to lessen the load off of her shoulders had been met with deafened ears by her superiors, so she gradually stopped speaking out altogether. Despite the deepening shadow that plagued the weight of her problems, she felt she had no other choice than to push through it.

Jac had finally arrived part way to the front of the human district of the city, though she hesitated to step past the entry gate. In these past few days, exhaustion helped to prevent her from achieving anything productive, for she would collapse immediately upon arrival to her apartment. Sleep being her one escape from the reality that was, at this point in time, her every waking moment..

But with barely any positive interaction with another hominid-being in almost a week, the young woman very much wanted for this night to be different. Spending a few hours with at least one good friend would be a splendid opportunity to lift her dampened spirits. And she knew exactly who to call. Sure it ran the risk of getting herself nommed in the process, but it was certainly a better alternative than having to feel guilty about wasting what little precious time she had. She wanted to feel good at least once, dang it!

Jac pulled her phone out and pressed on the first contact that appeared on screen. Despite her repeated attempts however, Richard failed to pick up her call.

'Probably working late shift again...' Jac sighed.

Jac was disinterested in standing in wait for the Wile giant to show up in the wee hours of the morning, so she opted to let herself into his home anyway. She had the key fob installed in her phone after all, so it was only a matter of stepping inside whenever she very well pleased.

So with a hop aboard a monorail that passed through the bustling Beanstalk metropolis, Jac was brought stealthily enough to the neighborhood where Richard's house stood. With no effort whatsoever, she unlocked the door to the human sized entrance and walked in. She was already thinking ahead with plans to dive straight into the oversized chips that were left on the counter. Indeed, the young woman was feeling better just being in the comfort of a safe and familiar abode.

The house was dark as expected, but a simple clapping of the hands caused the lights to flicker to life. What she saw just seconds later caused her jaw to drop. Her utter shock enveloped every part of her body like a raging storm, and when she shot back to focus she had to cover her mouth so not to let out a yelp.

Sprawled on the hard linoleum floor was Richard, his head face down and still in his work uniform. Jac raced to get upclose to her giant friend and instantly dove into action by shuffling her way through the fabric that was blocking his neck. She pressed a hand against a vain, and once she felt the strong and steady rhythm of his beating heart ag allowed the smaller human a sigh of relief like one she has never had. A slight, nasally snore confirmed her suspicions.

Sensing that all was well from what she could gauge, Jac looked at the giant with pity. She sincerely hoped that he didn't collapse on the floor as soon as he stepped foot into the foyer. But then again it did not surprise her.

Jac tutted and shook her head. She barely had the ability to get the Wile to move without screaming into his ear, but that was out of the question. Even if she was less considerate, the human was too tired to budge, and the heat that radiated from the giant's body didn't help matters at all. It reminded Jac of just how sleep deprived she was, and her drowsiness had increased tenfold with each passing minute. Tried as she might, she couldn't keep her head up.

Sure enough, Jac was well on her way to slumber land, nestled against the crane of Richard's neck with the latter none the wiser. It wasn't the most comfortable position in the world, but Jac felt more at home here than she had in her own place for some time. And for that she was internally grateful.

#Promptober #oc: jac #oc: richard #sfw giant #jac in the beanstalk society #bun writes

[justatinybunwriting]

Quilt

The 25th entry and the last of the short stories I wrote from this list.

When Jac goes to visit the family farm on a colder day, there's one thing that she looks forward to more than anything else. It was surprisingly not her dad's wonderful singing, nor was it hanging out with the vegetable sheep herd and sleeping on their wool (though that would be a close second). That distinction belongs to staying in the living room and wrapping herself all around with her favorite quilt.

This luxurious fabric was hand knitted by the green man himself from the fleece of the very vegetable lambs that he had raised. It used to be a part of a much larger throw that had decorated the sofa for more than a decade. But after seeing that his adopted daughter loved it so much, Gerald decided that it would be better for her to have a piece of it to claim for herself. So he had cut off a portion and presented it to her one fateful dawn- and the young woman had been enamored with it ever since.

Jac was so comfortably snug in the center of her thick, warm veil atop her resting place on the back of the couch. Her figure reminded Gerald of a chrysalis, for the tiny human remained completely still in that exact position all throughout the morning. He knew she was awake, but he was also aware that she would not be getting up anytime soon.

"I'd be careful if I were you, Jac!" Her father teased, "I wouldn't be surprised if you will turn into a butterfly in a few more days."

"You know what?" Jac finally spoke in a muffled voice. "Let's test that theory."

"I never saw a giant butterfly before, so I'm sure that would be truly remarkable!" Gerald replied. "I bet you'll become a very beautiful one."

"Thanks dad." And with that, she was done speaking for at least another hour.

As the day rolled by and the nature giant was mostly done with his early chores, he sat down to relax with a nice cup of joe next to the human cocoon. While she failed to notice his presence at first, Jac listened intently as more and more sounds began to perk up her ears. The creak of a tin opened, which was immediately followed by a plastic wrapper unzipping, that would then unleash a sweet yet tart smell that tickled at her nose. Jac slowly turned her head around to witness the majesty that was her dad's famous cookies, her eyes then widened to about the size of an owl's.

"Well! That got your attention," Gerald said with a soft chuckle. "You want some?"

Jac gave an audible gulp that even the giant was able to hear. But as soon as she unfurled the quilt that had protected her small body, she was quickly reminded of why she had it on in the first place. After merely a moment exposed to the surrounding air, which in turn caused her to shiver quite a bit, Jac backed up and took refuge underneath the safety of her quilted shield once again.

"I think I'm good for now." She said.

"Are you sure..?" Was Gerald's response.

"Yeah..." Jac was reluctant, but she had mostly made up her mind.

"Well, that's too bad. I suppose I'll just have to eat the last remaining ones myself. Wouldn't want to let good food go to waste after all."

One by one, the noise of soft crunching slowly reverberated through Jac's skull, which had made it excruciatingly difficult for her to ignore. The thought of missing out on this rare treat pained her, and it wasn't long before she had to take back her initial decision. Gerald patiently waited as Jac's inner turbulence was swirling around in her mind. After a time however, he felt that he needed to speak up.

"Why don't you come on down here and help yourself? A bit of exercise will do you good! Besides," The green giant was hesitant to suggest this but he thought it would be the next best solution. "You can always go back to that spot when you're done."

"Deal!" Jac exclaimed in lightning speed.

As much as Jac would have hoped to keep herself from tripping over her blanket as she made her way to the seat, this proved to be next to impossible for the tiny human. Thankfully, Gerald offered to lend a helping hand quite literally, so that she can enjoy feasting on a part of a cookie without the need to unwrap herself from the safety of her fluffy cocoon.

Nothing could beat devouring one of the most delicious sweets that Jac has ever tasted while simultaneously being nice and snuggly with the best quality quilt that she owns. Gerald watched in silence as his adopted daughter happily chewed away like a rodent, and during this time he had a good thought.

"Why don't you take that blanket home with you? I know how much you like it, so it would only seem natural I think."

Jac nearly dropped the cookie she was holding and swung her head to face her father much too quickly. "This is part of a set with the other quilts isn't it? I'd hate to break it up after all this time."

"Doncha worry about it. I never cared about keeping a complete set or any of that hullabaloo. It's yours Jac. Feel free to take it and do whatever you please with it."

It took a little bit for Jac to fully realize just how happy she actually was by that statement. With a great big hug to her pops, she thanked him wholeheartedly for the gift.

"I promise I'll take good care of it!" She said excitedly.

"So long as you remember to go to work and exercise and get out of bed every once in a while then I'm fine with it." Gerald suggested.

"Sure thing dad."

Somehow her father couldn't believe that, but he went along with it with a slight sigh.

#bun does writing #oc: jac #oc: gerald #sfw giant #jac in the beanstalk society #reupload #short story

[justatinybunwriting]

Lullaby

Prompt 22 focuses on a rare moment when Jac is feeling particularly small, thankfully Richard is there to help her to drive away the sads, at least for a little while.

'Child, you are my little ray of light

Like a fire that glows in the darkest night.

If you find me I will hold you tight

Never letting go

I promise I'll be there for you.'

Jac had awoken to the voice of her mother as she whispered into the young woman's ear- her sound echoed with such clarity that she almost thought it was real. But much to her despair, that couldn't be further from the truth. As she gradually opened her eyes, she realized the full moon was still shining through the curtains as she found herself within the shelter of Richard's hand. The Wile giant was sound asleep, yet he had subconsciously brought her up to his chest. On an ordinary night, his would have provided maximum comfort for the smaller human, but this time she was unable to feel the joy that this level of affection would normally bring.

Jac couldn't shake off the feeling that was began to well up from within her chest. It had been months since she had relapses of the visions of her mother in dreams, so for one to just show up unexpectedly and with that particular song no less? This had put a damper in her spirits and unearthed unspeakable anxiety that was shaking her to the very pit of her core. She had fought hard to weather her fluctuating emotions, but in the end, she was unable to hold back hot, stinging tears.

Richard steadily opened his eyelids by the sound of Jac's various gasps and wheezes. He looked down at the small woman who was curled up in the dip of his right palm, his eyes gradually shedding off some of their drowsiness as he began to realize that she was actually crying. The Wile giant's keen ears was able to pick up on her sobs despite the tiny human's best efforts to try and hide them.

"What's wrong?" He spoke softly, his tired voice still lingering.

Jac was too wrapped up in her own thoughts to pay mind to what was said, although she did quiet down somewhat. Perhaps she just chose to not answer him.

Richard wasn't surprised to see her like this, but he could never get used to it. This exact scenario would play out every once in a while for about as long as he could remember; the trigger was apparently always the same, but he was never given the details as to exactly why. After seeing what this has been doing to Jac, and always getting the same dodging reaction whenever he had brought it up, over time he felt that it was better not to question it. Or perhaps he had become too afraid to ask.

Instead, Richard brought his other hand behind the one that held Jac. He then slowly but surely placed her all the way against his chest, his hands completely covering her up as she was nestled onto the fabric of his shirt. He then began to start humming a sweet melody of his own.

The tune was pleasant, as gentle as the giant could muster with his voice. With variables ranging from a cheerful, upbeat track to a quiet, more graceful sound, Richard had many a song to hum to. After a few short minutes, Jac's sorrow had begun to dissipate, as she listened intently to the giant's voice as her mind spawned new visuals that tapped into her imagination. It wasn't long before she finally spoke.

"What are these songs? They all sound so... refreshing."

"They're Wile giant hymns," Richard whispered, "passed down from generations. They have different meanings but nowadays they're more commonly used for lullabies."

"Do you know the lyrics?" Jac yawned, as she wiped the remaining liquid off of her eyes and nose.

"I know of some. Many of them are probably difficult to comprehend for you, but I'll try to think of one that I can sing."

Richard paused for a moment, before he found one that he thought would be easy enough to share with the human. He cleared his throat, and began in a near whisper.

"Why are you crying dear child

The heavens bring the stars and the moon

The wolf in the forest, the birds in the trees,

the night flies dance in the twilight

there is much to see"

"What do the words mean?" Asked Jac, her eyelids getting heavier by the minute.

"I did say that they were cryptic," Richard chuckled, "but yeah... I think it's meant to be interpreted in different ways. But I personally think it means that even if there is stuff in the world that makes you feel sad, there's still enough beauty in this planet to not want to... give up."

There was a hint of concern in Jac's face, which the Wile giant picked up on right away.

"I'm sorry. It's just... this was one of the many things I've used as a coping mechanism growing up."

"It's okay, I understand."

Jac looked down on the indents of the giant's hand momentarily. Her mind was drifting once more, but this time with a new resolve.

'Perhaps that's what mother was trying to tell me all along.'

The beginning of new tears started to form on the base of her eyes. Richard realized what was happening and worried that it could have been his own fault, but instead of dwelling on it he chose to switch focus onto a more pleasant tune.

"Ode to the bush warbler building his nest

sweet songs that he sings, the cherry he brings

on route to gather many food in his crop

bring them home to seven mouths without stop."

That got a laugh out of the smaller woman, which brought a sense of relief to the giant.

"Is that a real Wile giant song?"

"No, you got me. I just made it up on the fly."

"That wasn't too bad though for something you thought up in a few seconds. You should record that!"

"Nah, I had already forgotten most of it."

The two friends laughed it out, before Richard continued to come up with different songs to hum. The new tunes ranged from an array of Japanese folk songs to popular music slowed to an almost music box pace. Jac chose to quietly listen through the rest of this special little concert that her friend made just for her, but it wasn't long before she fell back into the world of dreams again- this time with the clouds from before long gone, bringing with it clearer skies. Shortly after Richard followed suit while in the middle of a tune- he had apparently sung himself to sleep.

#bun does writing #oc: jac #oc: richard #sfw giant #jac in the beanstalk society #add jac's mom to the list of mysteries regarding her past #main series

[justatinybunwriting]

Melody

The 16th writing prompt

Synopsis: Jac becomes mesmerized and drawn to the sound of a magical song, it's mysterious power said to soothe beasts and make flowers bloom.

The morning announced it's arrival with a brilliant orange that blanketed the entire eastern sky. Jac was early to rise, which was typically unusual when it came to weekends. But what prompted the young woman to remove the crust particles from her eyes was a sound so soothing, yet breathtaking that it resonated throughout the family farm. A nostalgic feeling welled up over her, and she was eager to watch and listen as the voice continued to echo across the fields and into the canopy of the resting trees.

It came from none other than her stepfather, Gerald B. Fincher, who was singing a hymn that had been past down through generations of the Green Men since ancient times. It took on a strong baritone for much of the first half, with it bridging to a surprising yet seamless higher note which Jac describes as fluffy and 'light as air.' The song looped continuously as soon as the alto reached its climax, a true endless tune that only ceases when the vocalist deemed it so. The human woman understood not a single word of it but that didn't deter her from becoming completely enamored by it's sound.

The best part of being a spectator of her pop's "concert of the fields" so to speak is observing the reactions from the farm animals and the surrounding nature. The Green Man's primary stock and trade are the fleece of giant vegetable sheep, and every morning he rounds up a herd of nearly a hundred of them simply by the calls of his song. The very melody seems to hypnotically tame the entire masses as they never fail to follow his every move- no need for a shepherd dog if he can do everything himself. What intrigued Jac the most was that he never seemed to tire or take breaks to catch his breath, working till the morning's end largely without ceasing his tune. That to her was an amazing accomplishment all by itself.

Unfortunately for the young woman, her stepfather stopped at the midst as soon as he spotted her in the clearing. He had successfully herded the sheep into their grazing pasture, so there was no need for him to continue anyway at this point. Jac however, was kicking herself internally for not making a better effort to hide.

"Good morning Jac! You're up early." Her stepdad said.

"Mornin' pops..." Jac said plainly. "You... don't have to stop, you know... because of me..."

"What do you mean?"

"Your song! I love listening to it."

"Oh!" Traces of a blush could be seen on his cheeks, but he kept focus on his work as he continued to speak. "Well, my song isn't like other giant's, you see... My voice is carried through the wind, so it vibrates across the fields and travels far and wide! If I see you're close by, I couldn't possibly resume knowing that it could potentially hurt your ears."

"I know dad." Jac tried her best not to groan, but traces of this could be heard from her voice. "I could get out of your way then.."

"Now, now..."

Gerald walked over to the human and bent down with the equivalent of a couple of yards away from her. Compared to the common giants his frame was enormous at a whopping ninety feet, so while despite trusting her dad just about as much as Richard and Bo, it still amazes her just how big he is in comparison.

"If you want to leave, then I'm not going to stop you." He said "But it's been a long time since I've seen you round the farm. I could use your company, even if only for a short time. It would give me a much needed break to clear my throat after all."

Jac considered his words. After awhile she would nod, and while she was dissatisfied by not hearing the song for the duration of their union, she was certain that she would be given the opportunity again when the time came for the sheep to return to their pens. So without further delay, Jac hopped on to the hand that was presented to her, which would then lift her slowly and steadily before she was placed on the giant's shoulder.

For the next hour or so, the two would talk about this and that while Gerald kept a watchful eye on the herd. Jac couldn't help but bring up the hymn after the topical subjects had run dry, and while her stepdad was hesitant to bring up the details surrounding it at first, he figured that it likely wouldn't matter if he told her at least some of what he knew. He trusted his own daughter to keep it just between the two of them.

"I mentioned to you before that my father taught me when I was a growing boy," he explained, "The song has deep meaning to us Nature Giants, and is one of many that hold the primary source of magic for our own kind. When we utter it, the breeze will carry it adrift, making sick and dying flowers healthy again. When we sing it out loud, it's like a gust that travels across distant lands, or so I've been told. This has the power to tame beasts as you have seen, as well as hold other positive benefits."

"That's amazing! I guess that the second one worked on me too?"

"I wish it would calm humans down the way it does with you." Gerald laughed. "But I'm glad you think it's worth listening to."

"Of course! You're the best singer I know!"

"Oh please! You flatter me! You should have heard my grandmother, she was one of the best vocalists of our town! Folks from all around would gather to hear her voice."

The elder giant then had a darker expression over him, his eyes contemplating deeper thoughts that made him silent for a minute. Jac's smile slowly fell upon realizing this, and she asked him if there was anything the matter. The Nature Giant declined to elaborate at first, but he decided to ease her into the details bit by bit.

"Jac, it's important that you don't speak a word to this to anyone."

"Uh... sure thing. I promise."

After a long sigh, her stepfather spoke.

"The lyrics to our songs are from a giant language from this part of the world that is widely believed to have gone extinct." As Gerald told his story, he took momentary pauses to wipe the hint of tears in his eyes. "Not even I know the meaning behind them. I wish I had asked my grandparents or the elders about about it, but they have all left this world now..."

Jac's eyes began to water as well. This is the first she's heard of this and it contradicted some of her previous thoughts.

"I thought Nature giants can live for a millennia or more. That's what I, heard.."

"That was the case for a time.." Her father spoke with his voice hung low. "But... not sure if it's true or not... but I have a theory that since we are similar to the plants and trees, I suspect that it may be to do with the ever increasing presence of pollution in our planet. While we pretend that nothing's wrong when we speak to everyone else, I suspect that there aren't very many of us left..."

"That's terrible!" Jac exclaimed. "Why do you want to keep that a secret? Don't you think that there's folks that could help you in some way?"

"I don't want to be held captive in a greenhouse!"

Jac was shaken by the words that came out of his mouth, as well as the pained anger that fueled the volume of that last statement. To his fright, Gerald put a hand to the tiny woman's back and began to stroke her ever so gently.

"I'm sorry.."

"It's okay dad. I'm just... I don't know what to say..."

"I was just as shocked as you were when I first heard about it. Simply put, it's a domed city where they house small populations of green giants in at least one other country, to try to 'preserve their lifespan' under a controlled environment, or so they claim. They provide good food, good housing, but... I hate to think that I'd be forced to stay stuck in one place for the rest of my life. To me that sounds no better than a prison." He shook his head. "If keeping my freedom to go wherever I please means that I will whither away sooner than so be it. I don't want to be cooped up like that. I'm sorry."

After that there was silence, as the two tried to comfort each other the best they could. Afterwards what little conversation they had were small and light, as in what ice cream flavors they will be having after the workload had mostly been accomplished. While the topic was never brought up again, the gravity of the revelation weighed down on Jac for the rest of the day.

Soon it came time for the older Green Man to round up his herd. Jac was placed far enough away from the fields and the barnyard as Gerald thought was acceptable, which got a complaint from the smaller woman, though she chose not to dwell on it. Soon enough, the song was heard once more from a distance, which Jac couldn't help but get a closer look towards but only slightly. As she watched her stepfather exercise his vocal chords and move the massive crowd of rams and ewes into their pens, a new sense of realization clouded Jac's mind.

The day her father passes away, the song will likely die with him.

With a wipe to her eyes, Jac sought to appreciate the moment to the fullest and never failed to look away until the last sheep was brought in and the tune was done for the day. And she would continue to enjoy listening to the concert of the fields for many more years thereafter.

#bun does writing #main series #oc: jac #oc: gerald #jac in the beanstalk society #sfw giant #gerald is a gentle soul #I should do more with him in the future x3

[justatinybunwriting]

A good ol game of cat and mouse >:3

#oc: richard #oc: jac #sfw giant #jac in the beanstalk society #bun does art #Forgot to post this earlier #whoops lol

[justatinybunwriting]

Slice

Prompt 21 from this list!

Synopsis: Jac is set on getting a piece of the pie, quite literally. Little did she know, a certain Wile giant would catch her in the act.

Mild cw for some snackish teasing

Jac's eyes glistened as she beheld a marvelous sight. Her mind was in a wistful, dream-like state and her mouth watered after breathing in its freshly baked scent. A pumpkin pie fit for several giants sat atop the window sill. Steam swirled over its hot, flaky crust, which hinted that it had been brought straight out from the oven. If it were a dream, Jac would have been floating in midair as if she were pulled by its soft, hypnotic spell. Jac's mind was made up- she was cooking up a nefarious strategy, one that would involve extra cunning to pull off successfully.

After several attempts, Jac had managed to throw a bed sheet over a chair that was conveniently placed near the window. After she lowered the other end of the sheet rope by tying it around a weighted anchor, the little daredevil then proceeded to climb up the wobbly path, making sure to maintain a firm grip during her ascent. After she had gotten onto the seat, she climbed the rest of the way up via the handle and hopped squarely on the sill with a shaky landing. Her prize was within her sights, and the only thing left for her to do was feast. And with that, she made quick work of it.

It wasn't long however, before she heard a sudden creek from the door. With her mouth still filled with pumpkin pie, Jac slowly turned her head around. She was expecting Bo to check in on her and possibly give her a lecture about eating the sweet pastry when he asked her specifically not to until it cooled. Instead, someone else had walked in, and upon realizing who it was, this caused the tiny human to swallow hastily in panic.

"Well well well, what do we have here..?" Richard spoke in a sing song manner, no doubt amused by this scene. He scanned the hand prints that had been scattered all over the pastry, as well as the small crater that Jac had already chewed off of.

"A mouse!" He teased, "What a surprise."

"Richard!" Jac yelped slightly, "I wasn't expecting you to come over today!" Tried as she might, she wasn't able to hide her nervous laughter. "Where's Bo?"

"I dunno! He wasn't in here when I came in, so he must have gone out for some reason."

"Oh..." Jac replied disappointingly.

She had felt it in her bones and in the soft, slow tone of Richard's voice- the Wile giant was getting hungry, but it wasn't the pie he was after.

"Jac, you seem to be stuck! Let me help you out.." He spoke darkly with a gentle, yet just as grim smile.

Jac gulped. "I, think I'm good."

"No you're not!"

"...Why's that?"

"I feel like you're missing something..."

Without further warning, Richard made a quick-draw of a can of whipped cream that he had pulled from the counter just a moment before. Jac was given no time to react as she was sprayed head to shoe along with a quarter of the pumpkin treat that she was standing on top of.

With the tiny human secured in place for the time being, Richard gathered a safety knife and began to carve a slice for himself, the one of course with his sweet cherry on board. As the Wile giant carried his plate over to the dining table, Jac tried all she could to persuade him to change his mind, no matter how small of a percentage that would be.

"Bo's going to come in any moment, you know that right?" Jac protested as she attempted in vain to wipe away the thick coating of white sugar.

"Don't you worry about a thing, my Cherry," Richard crooned, "I'll be sure to make it quick before he even comes back!"

With that statement, the giant had begun to scoop up the pie with his spoon bit by bit, deliberately aiming it close to Jac so that it seemed to barely miss her by mere inches. Jac wasn't amused by this act of false intimidation at first, but her grumps had soon desolved into laughter as Richard began to lick the heavy cream off of her. Whether she giggled as an involuntary reaction simply because she was ticklish, or this was due to her secretly enjoying this weird form of affection is anyone's guess. To Richard it appeared to be a bit of both, which was more than enough of an excuse to keep up with his gentle slurps.

Within the excitement, they failed to hear the heavy footsteps as they made their approach to the dining room.

"A-hem"

The two friends were startled to a halt. They immediately looked behind them with their mouths hanging agape, where they find Bo who stood near the entrance with his arms crossed. He had the look of disappointment with just a hint of seething rage within his stare. Richard stammered to put his utensils down as he simultaneously bolted from his chair. Jac had a more nuanced response, but she still couldn't hide the blush of embarrassment from her cheeks.

"Well...?" Bo said coldly.

This time Richard was the one who chuckled nervously. "Oh hi! Didn't, hear you come in!"

"Care to explain...?" Bo was looming over the smaller Wile at this point.

"Well, um, you see..." Richard gulped. "I came to check up on Jac to see if she was okay, and I found her on top of this pie. And... well, I see that she's perfectly fine! So... now that I've confirmed this I'll best be on my way! I'll see you later okay Jac? Bye!"

Richard would then ease his way past Jac's big brother before he brisk walked the rest of the way out the front door. With that out of the way, Bo faced Jac and sighed.

"Why do you let him get away with this?"

"Well, for one it's in a Wile giant's nature, and two... well..." Jac was hesitant to admit anything else but Bo had gotten the message, much to his visible displeasure.

"I'll never be able to understand.." he sighed yet again. "You're not helping this case yourself little lady, if you haven't been munching on that pumpkin pie..."

"I'm sure he would have had a different excuse," Jac said. "Well, on days when I don't feel like dealing with him, I should visit you more often, haha."

"Sounds like a plan." Bo replied with a slight smile.

#tw tongue #bun does writing #oc: jac #oc: richard #oc: bo #short blurb #jac in the beanstalk society #sfw giant

[justatinybunwriting]

Haunted 8

Chapter 8: Moonlight

Synopsis: After the events of the previous chapter, Jac and Aiden wind up in the haunted woods where they would have an encounter with both of the spirits face to face.

CW for some heavy themes and strong language

<<Previous chapter

Jac placed the glass oval stone on the hollow that was situated at the center of the cursed snag. Just being near this hideous plant had made the hair on her skin crawl uncontrollably- the rancorous aura that remained still oozed strong but was lessened greatly by the fresh cinders that continued to flare between the crevices of the wood. With no further delays, the young woman stepped back and stood just a few feet away from the tree, with her three friends watching close by.

"You can do it Jac!" Jillian said, "I believe in you!"

Richard and Aiden shared in her sentiment. Jac looked back at them one more time with a quaint smile before she sat on the ground and began to concentrate. She then called for The Witch of the Dawn to assist her with the final spell. The glowing butterfly manifested itself within the confines of the jewel, and with its arrival a voice as vibrant as sunshine echoed in Jac's mind.

"You must repeat this incantation exactly the way I tell it, and you mustn't stop until I deem it safe to do so. Now, are you ready?"

Jac affirmed her commitment and vowed to do whatever it takes. And with that, the light of her eyes glowed a bright yellow momentarily, before she closed them shut and began her chant. The words were intangible to anyone including the one who spoke it aloud; the lyrics carried with it a divine meaning that felt like a reflection of a language from a far distant past. Jac continously looped the spell, and with every passing minute, the miasma that had been blown to the edge of the field would gradually lift. And concurrently the unseen spirits had grown weak and dim. A strange sensation washed over Jac as time went on, for she began to feel almost lighter than air. Nevertheless she carried on without ceasing, voicing the purification hymn until the voice in her head had come to a complete stop.

When she slowly opened her eyes, Jac had found herself in a strange, misty forest. Everything that surrounded her, from the trees off the distance to the grass beneath her feet, were colored a dusty white. The only object that seemed as natural as she could discern was the full moon that lit up the night sky, it's light being the one thing that was able to cut through the thick blanket of fog.

"W-Where am I...?" Jac gasped lightly.

"I wish I knew..." Said a familiar voice from behind.

Jac twirled her head back to find, as she had been expecting at this point, Aiden standing with his hand behind his neck.

"Where's Richard and Jill?" Jac cried out.

"I think we left them at the yard..." Aiden spoke with a dampened mood. "It's always something else, isn't it..."

"Yeah..." Jac said as she raised an eyebrow.

Even she was starting to grow suspicious about Aiden's sudden appearance basically everywhere that had involved the supernatural.

"I guess we have no choice but to look for a way out... Notice anything strange?"

"Of course.. Everything is..." Aiden replied worriedly.

"That's reassuring." Jac sighed.

The two friends decided to walk down a path in hopes of finding something- anything- that could send them back. After trekking past the leafy groves quietly for some time, Jac decided that it was about time that she had a little talk.

"Aiden, I..." Jac spoke before she hesitated. She then steeled herself before saying the next words. "I think you know more than you're letting on."

"How so?" The shrunken Wile returned with a slight unevenness to his voice.

"About ghosts and all kinds of weird spooky stuff!" Jac exclaimed. "You don't need to hide any of that from us, especially if you think it could help in any way. So tell me, is there anything else you know about all of this that you haven't told us yet?"

"I, honestly... wish I had an answer to that." Aiden gave a deep, long sigh through his nose before he had the courage to continue. "It's not like I understand entirely what's going on, but I know that since a certain point in my life, I've been able to see and affect stuff that others can't. To me it's like the normal things you witness every day, so it surprises me... and sucks when I find out that others don't... and are afraid of me for it."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't sweat it okay?"

"Is that why Jillian...?"

Aiden's demeanor changed when he heard her name, and he stopped walking momentarily was he took a deep breath. "I did something the other day that scared the living daylights out of her."

"What the heck did you do?!"

"I..."

Suddenly, a burst of wind left the two friends with a bitter chill. Jac felt it was best to get a move on so they hurried to wherever they could find shelter, using the moon as their guide. They eventually made there way towards the center of the forest, which had trees standing in an aligned circle at the edge of a large square. What they found there left them in a state of shock, and caused Jac to quiver all around. Near breathless, she spoke.

"What the hell... is that?"

Aiden meanwhile was cowering down on his knees. All of the visions from those sleepless nights had manifested themselves in the form he saw before him- it was all of his worse nightmares come true, and the Beta Wile was desperately holding back from releasing the ferality that was trying it's damndest to claw it's way out. Before them was the titanic Portuguese man-of-war like monster- the swarm of evil spirits that have merged to form a single entity- restrained with strange otherworldly chains to the hollowed tree that they were all too familiar with. And standing right in front of this catastrophe of a creature was The Witch of the Dawn, who was looking upon it with content in her eyes.

Not even a moment later, Aiden felt a gut wrenching sensation in his body that caused him to wince even further. He then threw up a strange, smoky blob that floated up like a magnet to fuse with the rest of the spirits. While helpless to do anything about their situation, the combined entity were seething with infernal rage.

"Thank you for bringing me the last of the spirits," The witch said with a calm, gentle voice, "As well as for completing the task, Jac. No one else would have accomplished this so spectacularly. You are deserving of a gift worthy of a god."

She turned back to the multi eyed fiends and added. "It appears that there are only 107 of them left. Or so I heard, one of them was completely eliminated from existence. Which, I won't lie, makes my job easier."

'He was a natural born leader!' A female voice cried.

'When we get out of these chains, Phoebe,' shouted a male voice, 'mark our words, we will burn you to a crisp as you did so mercilessly to our comrade! We'll make sure you'll suffer!'

"Oh pipe down, you ingrates." The Witch huffed. "You all will get what you want, so there's no need to complain."

"Wait, WHAT?!" Aiden screeched.

"W- What's, going on?" Jac asked fearfully, "What are you talking about? What even is this place? And why is...?"

"So many questions Jac! But I suppose you of all people should know." The Witch walked up to the shaken up woman and held a hand to her cheek.

"I will need a new body to complete my resurrection," The Witch spoke with a soft, almost motherly tone, "but in order to do this I would need a powerful source of energy that would sustain me for a long time, as well as a sacrifice."

"This demon will provide that energy source. They will ultimately get what they want in the end in an immortal host, but rest assured they will have no control over us, and their influential powers will be no more. My devine essence will eventually eat away at them bit by bit."

The foul spirits leered at the holy woman at that remark, but that was all they were really able to do.

"And what is this... sacrifice?" Jac was near petrified.

What she didn't realize was that her being frozen in place was not of her own doing, and without warning an unseen force slowly lifted the young woman into the air with a tight grip between her chest and neck. Jac's airway was obstructed and she struggled to utter a word, let alone breathe. All the while the witch looked at her with a blank, expressionless face.

"JAAAAAC!!" Cried Aiden as he rushed in to try to help. In that instance white tree roots exploded from the earth and latched onto the shrunken Wile giant, wrapping themselves like a snake's coils around his entire body. He let out an obscene bone curling scream as he realized that he was reliving his prolific night terrors in real time. The tree roots drew him closer to the evil spirits, who wasted no time swallowing him whole into the massive blob of their gaseous form.

"A...A...id... en..."

Jac stuttered as hot streams of tears began to roll down her cheeks. Try as she might, her efforts to escape from her position was fruitless.

"Don't worry..." The Witch remarked. "He'll just regenerate like his kind are known for. This makes him the perfect scapegoat. That lucky bastard."

As those very words were spoken, the evil spirits all wailed in otherworldly fashion as they were slowly being vacuumed into the glass jewel. The Witch then approached Jac with the magical ornament at hand and wrapped it around the hapless woman's neck.

"The task is complete. As soon as you awaken, you will be immortal, for I would be reborn as you."

Jac's eyes shot open as she heard that statement, but the witch tried to lessen the blow by wrapping her arms around her. Jac tried with all her might to struggle out of her grasp but it was no use.

"I'm sorry for keeping this from you before, but I knew you would object to it. But don't fret, I'll let your soul have control over our body frequently. We'll take turns! I made a promise to the Bean that I wouldn't harm you, and I'll keep my word, especially after all you've done for me."

Jac was able to gather as much strength as she could to shout just about all she thought about the matter, all while hyperventilating between words.

"YOU... YOU USED ME!!"

"Immortality is a blessing. You should be honored."

"YOU USED ME!!"

"I can't thank you enough for everything you've done for me."

"ENOUGH WITH THAT BULLSHIT, DAMMIT! YOU'RE NOT EVEN LISTENING! YOU!...USED!...ME!!! YOU USED ALL OF US!!!"

At that precise point in time a dazzling white light engulfed the two, which completely overtake the entire witch's domain in a matter of minutes. Reality was calling for their return together, and Jac was screaming to the top of her lungs all the while.

Next chapter>>

#oc: jac #oc: aiden #not gt #haunted #jac in the beanstalk society #writblr #bun writes #oh crap

[justatinybunwriting]

Haunted 1

Author's notes: This is part 1 of a Halloween themed story that I posted on Deviantart last year. The prompts are the remaining ones from the 31 day challenge from that time. One reason why I haven't uploaded this before on my previous account was because aside from the last couple of chapters, this story has no g/t. Since I'm no longer limiting myself with this blog, I can post any of the stories I want with my ocs regardless of the theme. So expect to see more "regular" stuff in the future alongside the giant tiny shenanigans x3

Synopsis: Jac and Aiden visits a haunted mansion on a scavenger hunt, where the latter discovers some of it's dark history

CW for some darker themes

With a slight push, the door opened with a loud creeeeeek 

Jac slowly made her way inside the abandoned house, taking care to not make a peep as she searched around for the next clue for their scavenger hunt. Switching on her flashlight, she was grossed out by the sheets of cobwebs and dust that largely blanketed the rooms. Some of which still had furniture that feel like relics of days gone by. 

"C'mon!" Jac spoke in a harsh whisper "Let's just find the paper so we can get outta here. Stat!" 

"A-xhoo" 

Lagging far behind her was Aiden, whose sinuses have flared up through the roof. "I don't like this place. It gives me the creeps..." 

"Well, the sooner we can find that paper, the sooner we can get going!" 

"Aren't we kinda, like... trespassing? Someone might still own this joint..." 

Jac was mostly wrapped up in her path on finding the missing clue. She was more determined to beat this game they've gotten swept up in; in her mind, there was no time to get concerned over something silly like this place being supposedly haunted.

Unfortunately for the shrunken Wile, Aiden wasn't able to do anything but focus on the eeriness of the house as a whole. When he wasn't clattering his teeth and firmly rooted in wherever place he chose to just... stand on, he was sneezing up a storm from all the dust that Jac had kicked up as she continued to dive deep into her search. 

"What are you doing? Help me out by looking around in any of the other rooms!" 

"Uh, yeah! I'm on it!" 

Aiden was actually grateful to have gotten away from that dust cloud. The nearest entrance carried him to a large living room that housed shelving that was filled to the brim with rows of old books. On the furthest corner, there was a grand piano that appeared to be playing on its own. 

Wait... 

That was probably a prank the guys who set up the scavenger hunt made.

'It's a joke. No doubt about that one. Yep.' 

Just then, Aiden spotted something sticking out from the top of the piano- a small white sheet of paper. The Beta Wile was just about to lift the lid to gain access to it when he heard a voice reverberating from behind him. It felt like it was breathing down his neck. 

"I wouldn't do that if I were you!" 

Aiden dropped the piano lid and squealed at the top of his lungs. The older gentleman from behind covered his ears and shouted, "What in tar nation's!!! Get a hold of yourself, young man!!" 

Aiden spun around and came face to face with the fellow who came up from behind, a time worn man who greeted him by tipping his black cowboy hat. The latter took a moment to recover his piercing eardrums before speaking. 

"Mornin' to ya, laddy." He spoke in a ruffled yet strong voice, "I wasn't expecting any guests in this fine hour." 

Aiden let out a long breath, holding his hand to his chest to calm his thumping heart. "Oh thank goodness. I had no idea anyone lived here." 

"Who? Me? Naw.. I wouldn't dream of it. I just own this plot of land here and I come over to check in on it every now and again." 

"Uh! I'm sorry for barging in like this-" 

"No need for that now. I could use some company. Gets kinda lonely for me when I'm here." 

At that moment the room was lit with a bright orange glow that shone from the large windows that took up half of the room. The sunrise looked marvelous from this view; Aiden couldn't help but stare at it in wonder for a bit. 

"It sure is pretty from up these hills" the older man said. "I had no idea we were in this house for so long..." 

"Don't worry about it. You're welcome to stay as long as you like." 

Aiden was scanning the yard outside when he spotted a small skinny tree from a distance. The bark appeared to have been charred from a fire, and not a single leave adorned its branches. Aiden's eyes narrowed to a pencil slit, and he started to shiver at the tip of his shoulders. The landowner took notice of this. 

"While you're here, would you like for me to give you a rundown of the history of this place? I promise I won't take up too much of your time." 

That snapped Aiden back into focus. "Uhh.. sure? I don't see why not." 

The older gentleman gave out a long sigh through his nose before he proceeded. "Well this estate used to be owned by a very wealthy man. A cruel and wicked man who had used his money to carry out all sorts of fornication and what have you. Folks who worked for him would tell strange accounts of him harboring evil spirits... But I'm getting ahead of myself." 

He looked down at the piano, its tune continuing to play. "One day he brought home a woman who looked to be the prime of her youth. She was a sweet person, whose beauty matched both her appearance and her personality. He made her into the model wife- she cooked and cleaned and did everything for his needs. She loved him and he made himself to be the model man for her, only for her to discover that he was still craving other women behind her back. Before long, she confronted him about it. And that's when he--" 

The man began to sweat, and shook his head while pinching his eyes. Aiden watched this and drooped somewhat. He had sensed where this was going. The landowner turned his head to the sullen tree and finally spoke. 

"That tree right there? The man hung himself on it after he murdered his wife." 

The Wile opened his eyes widely when he heard that revelation, his stare never parting from the tree in question as the man went on. "That tree had lost all its luster and it hasn't grown any leaves since that time. Rumors spread of the man having housed as many as 108 unclean spirits within him during his life, which have now taken root in this entire area. But who can say if any of that holds any truth to it or not." The man then gave one more sigh. "Pardon me for taking up your time with this sad story." 

"Oh? Oh no. It was... eye opening. To say the least. It gives me more of a good reason to want to get out of here as soon as I can." 

"Do you believe in spirits?" 

"I... wish I didn't." 

The man had to laugh at that reaction. "Well, that's an honest answer! You seem to be mighty keen to them, that's for sure! All right then, that's fine by me if you want to get going. But before you do..." 

The man then picked up the piece of paper that had flung out of the piano before and handed it to the young Wile. "You'll be needing this, right?" 

Aiden had completely forgotten about what he had came for at that exact moment, but he was grateful to see the poorly handwritten sticky note when it was given. 

"Oh! Yeah. Thank you!" 

"I'd be careful with following the instructions for that if I were you." 

"Huh?" 

"Aiden!! What the hell!?" 

Aiden whipped around to see Jac covered in a fine coat of dust bunnies, panting and looking kind of beat. 

"Wha? Wha happened?" He replied. 

"I heard you scream!" 

"I did?!" 

"Yeah! Like a little girl!" 

"Hey! And... uhhh.. I didn't just now? The last time was about... maybe, ten minutes ago?" 

"No it wasn't! You had just come in here like a minute ago and then you screamed enough to scare the ghosts away!" 

Aiden took notice of what she had said, and it had just occurred to him at that point that the room was dark in the dead of night. 

"W-wait.... what time is it?" 

"It's half past midnight!" 

Aiden's face colored white momentarily as he was trying to wrap his head around those words. He looked down on his right hand to make sure that he hadn't been hallucinating. Sure enough... 

"You found it! Thank you so much Aiden!" 

"Y-yeah." 

Jac pulled the paper from his hands and held the flashlight onto it. 

Your next clue is in the graveyard next to Bartleby's tombstone 

Jac let out a very long groan. 

"I'm tired. We'll pick this up another time. Let's--" 

Aiden was ignoring much of what was being said, for he was transfixed to what he was seeing when he turned his head to the side where the old man had stood. Or rather, what he doesn't see. He retraced the man's steps in his mind multiple times and followed him as he made his way towards the windows and the side of the grand piano. Dust had covered much of the floor with a blanket of gray, disturbed by the shoe prints of the two visitors as they snooped around. However, no footprints were left where the man stood... 

"Aiden? Are you ok...?" 

Aiden remained silent. 

Jac took on a more comforting approach once she took this as an answer. "I'm sorry I brought you along into this. Let's go home okay?" 

"Y...yeah..." 

Jac patted Aiden on the back and helped him along as they made their way out. As soon as they closed the front door behind them, the piano, which had continuously played its tune on a loop, had finally stopped.

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#bun writes #oc: jac #oc: aiden #scary stories #halloween theme #haunted mansion #writblr #writing community #old writing #multichapter #jac in the beanstalk society #non canon maybe

[justatinybunwriting]

Aiden

A Beta Wile Giant, which are known for preferring to be shapeshifters rather than full on giant. He is basically a hippie who enjoys being free from the constraints of every day life. Due to this, he can't hold a job and he has a tendency to drift from place to place, though he rarely strays far from home. He is a long time friend of Jac's from his second year of high school forward, and along with Richard, they stick to each other through and through.

While most Wile giants form Links with their companion Wiles or other human/oids, Aiden has yet to find his match. He specializes in fire magic, which is a very uncommon magical element among Wiles. Despite being mild mannered and chicken hearted usually, he isn't above turning partially feral if he thinks it'll be beneficial in some way, which is in stark contrast to Richard who tries to avoid this completely.

You can read a more detailed (admittedly long) bio of Aiden here!

#my ocs #original character #oc: aiden #character bio #jac in the beanstalk society #sfw giant #bun draws