#marsh is on his way to pick her up its all good

[cosmerelists]

If Cosmere Characters Had Real-World Jobs (But Not The Obvious Ones)

In this list, I wanted to try to give Cosmere characters jobs in our world while avoiding the jobs that would be the most obvious picks--like, for example, the real world equivalent of whatever their canon job is.

1. Kaladin: Professional Football Player

It's a dangerous job that Kaladin's dad would scoff at, but the other kids in town think it's really cool and also the recruiters are coming through town and, I mean, he's really good at football.

2. Lirin: Public Defender

If we avoid the obvious job (doctor), then Lirin still needs a job where he is doing good, but it's pretty thankless and the general public are suspicious and think he might actually be evil somehow. So I figure: public defender. He's highly educated, helping people who need it, and just getting nothing but grief as a result. Worst of all, his smart son wants to be a FOOTBALL player!

3. Marsh: Masseuse

I feel like people who are good at hemalurgy know about the body and its pressure points and things like that. And frankly, "acupuncturist" felt too on the nose.

4. Shallan: Park Ranger

Shallan HATES to be confined, so no way she's going into an office job. Plus, she likes nature and animals, but I'm trying to avoid the more obvious jobs (like botanist or ecologist). It's just too bad that Shallan is SO bad at staring a campfire, though.

5. Navani: Wedding Planner

Navani is VERY good at managing people and events, as seen when she had to manage everything while Gavilar was off plotting. She's also very organized and literally invented wristwatches. So I think she's be very good at this job.

6. Elend: Grad Student

This one may be too obvious, but I figure something like "politician" or "philosopher" are more obvious. But to me, Elend has major grad student energy.

7. Nale: Insurance Adjuster

Nale is a cop, of course, through and through. But if he wasn't a cop, then he'd need some other job where he uses the rules to screw people over. So I see him as, like, an evil insurance guy who's denying people medical coverage because the company wants him to.

8. Blackthorn-Era Dalinar: Debt Collector

If flashback Dalinar couldn't make a living mowing people down in battle and had to find a less obvious job, then I could see him being the guy to hunt down people and demand money they don't have. He doesn't really care about the money. He just likes the hunt.

9. Adolin: eSports Player

It's a job where you can head-to-head battle people and your dad is vaguely puzzled and thinks you should be doing something more important with your life.

10. Lightsong: Customer Service Agent

In canon, Lightsong's job is to face down a huge line of people and tell them "no" in response to them asking for something they want. So, I mean, I feel like that's equivalent to one of those shitty customer service jobs where you're not really allowed to help people (until, of course, Lightsong goes rogue and does start helping people, but that's another story...)

11. Stormfather: Bus Driver

He has his route, and he's not deviating from it. And if you miss the bus, he's not stopping. He's not going back. You can try to run, but you will not catch up to him.

12. Tress: Mechanic

As a Sprouter, Tress had to figure out how each of the spores worked and how to use them. I just feel like she'd be good at diagnosing issues in machinery and then fixing them.

13. Steris: Programmer

She's precise, she's smart, she likes rules. I think coding would suit her.

14. Yumi: Waitress

She could stack the plates SO high.

15. Marasi: Investigative Reporter

Which, honestly, is what I wish she had been rather than being a cop like in canon. I think it would suit her! She'd get to research, investigate, find the truth...

16. Kelsier: Motivational Speaker

He tells you about the power of smiling no matter what, so that you are never defeated. He tells you to carry something small, some memento or photo, to help you find your motivation. You tells you that no goal is out of reach--you just have to find the right people and the right steps to move forward. And he tells you that the most important thing is to survive.

#cosmere #cosmerelists #Kaladin #Lirin #Shallan #Adolin #Kelsier #Marasi #Yumi #Tress #Stormfather #Lightsong #Dalinar #Elend #Nale #Marsh #Steris #Navani

[angel-gone-south]

Stan Marsh/Feminine!GN!Reader:

Shitfuck Downtown

ok. so i have no idea why the title is that. It was like 2? am when i wrote that plan list i think. this is so silly

cw: vomit, feminine reader (pronouns still ‘you’ or ‘they’)

【☆】★【☆】

You huffed. This was bullshit. Your mom had sent you to live with your cousin, Rebecca, in South Park. The state of Colorado put a sour taste in your mouth.

But here you were, stuck shopping with your cousin and her stupid airheaded friend, Bebe. (You promised you meant that in the best way possible. Mostly.) You felt a little guilty at the jealousy that brewed a little, but held both feelings down with an iron fist. You were not ruining your cousin’s chances: you saw how she looked at that girl.

So, you were a third wheel sometimes. But when you weren't, Bebe was really sweet, and helped you pick out some new clothes for when school starts the next week. They were cute! Some skirts with some leggings for underneath and cute graphic tees and some long sleeves that complimented your complexion. No wonder Red liked this girl so much, she was fashion-forward, people-smart, and gorgeous.

They went into the in-mall Red Robin, and you ditched so they could have a cute date. After putting your shit in Red's car, you puttered around the mall more.

【☆】★【☆】

Eventually you found a nice place and sat, wallet under your thigh as you sipped at a milkshake you'd gotten. You were perched gracefully, one thigh slung over the other, skirt flowing just over your knees.

Not so graceful, however, was the group of boys who walked up beside you. One wolf whistled, clapping another on the back.

"Maybe they can help you get over your elementary school girl, Stanley." His toothy smile earned him a glare from the boy he'd knocked to his knees in front of you with a hit.

"Shut up Kenny!" He clapped a large hand over his mouth, scrambling to stand and dashing towards the nearest bathroom. The whistler smirked at his fleeting form, turning towards you.

"Don't worry, sweets, that means he likes you."

【☆】★【☆】

You went home with Red soon after that, absolutely rocked by that encounter. Her response to you was only laughter when you'd told her, so you huffed and laid on your bed.

Your phone pinged, and you rolled on to your stomach with your feet pointed in the air, stockings still on but skirt exchanged in favor of short shorts. It was the group text your cousin had made with you and her girlfriends.

redpunk: im so srs rn guys (nickname) saw stan at the mall 2day. redpunk: he puked LOOOOL babe-ayy: wht?!?! srs?!? dam wendy hes finally off yr hype train!! wends: Thank goodness lol nickiboardgamez: kenny told clyde and clyde is telling, like EVERYONE that stan has a crush on the new kid heidihippie: woooow real romantic redpunk: its fkn grody!! STANLEY MARSH w my cousin?? unthinkable. he does not even meet the bar for good enough sanriomarj!!: aw shucks, it's kinda cute! what do you think, (name)? (username): uhhh idek who tf he is lol? all ik is he dated wendy off n on since elem. babe-ayy: so real. is he like, cute tho? wends: Lighten up Bebe! They don't have to say (username): no shez good. idk? i mean yeah hes cute but what if he was just sick? we dont even kno if hes ACTUALLY into me lolol babe-ayy: 🙄🙄🙄 ik ur new here but babe-ayy: he only pukes when he sees someone he likes (username): first time 4 everythin? redpunk: 🙄🙄🙄

You hummed. We would just have to see on Monday, wouldn't we?

【☆】★【☆】

#south park x y/n #south park #south park fanfiction #south park gay #south park x reader #south park x you #emeto #stan marsh #stan marsh x reader #stan marsh x you #stan marsh x y/n #stan x reader #south park stan #sp stan marsh #sp stan #➳ Mail’s In!♡

[bretongirlwrites]

News reaches Leyawiin much as anything else does: hobbling along the battered old road; repulsed at the first when the lounging Count and all his surrounders do not listen; and fading at last with the dark sullied rainwater, falls into perilous bachlein, and goes back into the swamp-lights. These to the Imperial City are the backwaters, border-lands which do not matter; and it takes so damn long to ride even to Bravil, that were something to happen to Bravil, – and things do on the alarming regular, – then those in Leyawiin may perceiving flickering over the horizon, sit tight and half-happy, in the knowledge that a marsh is as good as a barricade; and that even whatever is interested in Bravil, – should not find anything worth taking from Leyawiin. 

That is how the Count sees it: when unmoving as his city, he does whatever he damn well wants, because news in the returning sense will meet a similar fate, and Leyawiin will still be an island in the marsh. He does not listen to messengers, or more outwardly inclined nobles, and most especially not to falsely-titled upstarts telling him to muster a blighted army or face destruction by thrice-damned fire-born bastards from the city-roasting hell-spit pits of Oblivion. Something about Bruma. Bruma is hundreds of miles away. Maybe thousands. It doesn’t matter. Except to the upstart gnashing her tusks at him and tiresomely un-arrested despite the sword.

It’s Mazoga. Sir Mazoga. And she has a bone to pick again. Leyawiin doesn’t get an imaginative expletive like Oblivion. Just this fucking hell-hole’s gonna be slurped into the ground and bloody disappear. Colourful as the marshes.

‘It has not been slurped into the marsh,’ says Count Caro, ‘for thousands of years. I hardly think, –’

‘No, you’re right, you don’t,’ says Mazoga, who has in his place done so much thinking, that her hand itches to do. ‘Bruma doesn’t lie. Does a whole bunch of other bloody things, but if they say there’s daedra, there’s daedra. We need a damn army.’

‘I have things more important to be worried about,’ says the Count, ‘than ludicrous things that will probably not happen. I might just as probably, prepare for the High Chancellor to put on a tutu and dance a jig on the roof of, –’

The Count like anyone else, actually has no idea what the High Chancellor does in his free time; and though he calls Leyawiin an island, fears the man’s judgement; so falls silent. A silence which, naturally, is filled by Mazoga’s outpourings. 

‘Look, stuck-arse,’ she says, – the Count flinching, cannot quite bring himself to do anything, lest that sword come out, – ‘if you don’t do anything, I will.’

‘Oh! will you now.’

‘I did something,’ says she with feeling, ‘when my friend was killed; I did something, when I found their fucking camp. Got that little stranger to do something, too. Remember that? Remember that? I can get stuff done, I can persuade people, –’

‘You are entirely failing,’ yawns the Count, ‘to persuade me.’

Because he is on an island, because he’s always been on an island. Because he can do what he damn well wants, and what he wants, is a hot bath and a racy novel and about one hundred percent fewer orcs in his throne-room. – On reflexion, the burly one guarding his crockery-collection can stay. – Because he has heard the news from Bruma. Bruma was weeks ago. The news got here by the usual route; damn near sank on the way, judging by the messenger; he’s always said, – because he doesn’t want to move, because he can’t believe it lest he be obliged, – that even a creature from the bowels of Oblivion would turn up bedraggled and covered in pond-weed at the gates, and collapse like a Five Claws drunkard into a bachlein. Wouldn’t even need stabbing. Mazoga’s sword is remarkably close, –

Mazoga’s finger in his face. Would prod him, slap him, gods know what, if touching his Lordship, – and he sometimes, gods damn it, wished it extended to Alessia, – weren’t as punishable as pissing in the damn crockery-cabinet. – Which has its own law for a reason, apparently. – Mazoga says something more, it’s mostly expletive, – 

‘All right,’ says she at last: ‘all right.’

Takes a step backwards. Marius breathes more easily. 

‘If you won’t do it,’ says she, ‘then I will.’

Though she is trembling, though her face is darkening, she does not reach for her sword. Rather she looks about the room, this wondrous stagnant room, and shouting, rouses all the guards. 

‘I’ll do it. I’ll raise an army. I’ll go into the fires of Oblivion, I’ll come back scorched and battered and gods know what, but I’ll do it. If the daedra attack Leyawiin, they’ll fucking regret it. You can stick your arse to your gods-damned throne all you want. Pretend it’s some bloody island, –’

Now that he sees her more clearly, he notices for the first time, the horse rampant on her armour. Is it new? She clutches it naturally, when she puts a hand to her breast. The guards pay more attention than they ever have. 

‘It’s my city as well, – Count.’ The Count knows what insult she meant to put in the word, but does not react. ‘I’m not doing this because I’m some dumb-arse hero. I’m doing it because, – because it’s worth defending. This mess. This hell-hole. It’s my city.’

She’s run out of words, – at last. Lowers her hand from the horse. Stumbles a bit on the carpet, looks half reverently at the banners that quiver in her wake; then scornful, back at the Count on his ancient unshifting throne. 

‘For what it’s worth,’ she adds, quietly. 

‘If you are going to make all this racket,’ says the Count quite voiceless, ‘then you can do it outside.’

‘I bloody well will,’ says Mazoga, – thinks of Leyawiin damp and ugly and filled, and filled, with people it doesn’t deserve, – ‘I bloody well will. And when the daedra are defeated, –’

It might not come. But it might. It might. It damn well might. Mazoga, as bidden, goes outside. Marches out, Leyawiin-green cloak fluttering; and even in the gloom, her armour shining, – her armour shining.

#breton girl writes #oblivion #mazoga the orc #didn't know how to put bachle in english. have only ever seen them in freiburg. idk why i thought they needed to be in leyawiin #i suppose they're just drains #also like. ive never put so many swear words in a piece. it's kind of dangerously fun

[tparker48]

The science fair was on the rise as Percy readied his machine to tranform objects into anything they wanted. Designed in a replica of a photo booth, he tested its performance on soup cans burrowed from the cafeteria, turning their metal husks to fluffy marsh mellows. The work was a success in the main run, but the objects it creates still kept its original detail. He learned that the hard way after taking a bite out of one of the soft desserts, ravioli flavored is never a good sweetener.

He worked hard in his laboratory to perfect his invention, musk and sweat nearly overcoming him as he worked at the wires. Before he knew it, the science fair had arrived. He set up shop near the bleachers, watching his fellow students haul their own inventions to the displays at the front of the stadium. He mingled with those near the booth, sharing his anticipation of who might win. But commotion drawed his attention, turning toward the entrance. A student was on the floor, surrounded by papers from her binder. And standing over her was the bully from his class. Jesse.

"the boss doesn't take kindly to ladies who don't pay the toll. think your nerdy fair is a free ticket? Think again."

"This fair is a free right! You have no say in the matter!" the student replied.

"Oh ho, how wrong you are sweetheart."

a whistle came from a group of jocks across the room, a huskier member standing out from the crowd. "Jesse, forget the twig!" he barked, holding a sack of money from a student caught in his fist. "We've more than enough, Let's scram before security shows up."

"Yes Baco!" He straightened his jacket, stepping over the papers the student reached for. "Consider yourself lucky, tuts. But don't think I won't be back for ya later." he kicked the papers away, joining the rest of the pack as they moved to the other outskirts of the stadium.

the student raced to scatter her papers mumbling to herself as she searched for her binder. Percy leaned at her side, picking her binder for her to put her papers in. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, its nothing, just another day." she said.

"I know Jesse, this isn't his particular mugging. wait here,I'll fetch security and-"

She held up a palm. "No no, it's fine. you shouldn't have to go through all that stress." She grabbed the rest of her papers, and the binder before she walked toward the booths. "I should get my booth ready."

"hey wait." he spoke, his voice falling on deaf ears as she disappeared into the crowd of students. He turned his gaze to the laughter of the jocks, Jesse following behind Baco.

That coward, running through the stadium like a hound off a leash, trampling over others hard work. least of all, he has a student fearful of the consequences if they do talk. It was uncanny. horrid. and he was going to do something about it.

He prepared the rest of his table, before following the jocks around the stadium. He hid through the display as students camouflaged his movements, watching the herd of muscle squeeze their way through the halls. Hiding behind an inflatable globe, he noticed Baco talking to Jesse, before he went into the hall and Jesse went off to the other booths. The big guy would be too hard to tend to, but he felt he'd be able to hit two birds with one stone. For the time being, he'll follow Jesse.

catching him at one of the booths near the stage, he managed to lure him toward his table, promising the oaf a hot date that was eager to take a photo with his manliness. He barfed at the words he spewed, but it sufficed as they arrived his booth, a photo machine resting next to it.

Jesse drooled at the mouth. "And she's in there you said."

"Yup, she's in there waiting for you. Just watch your ste-" an arm shoved Percy into the table.

"Yeah yeah, nerd sure. Hey babe, I hear your lookin' for a man." he darted inside. shuffling rang around the machine, Jesse groans following before the curtain. "I see you like a lot of hair, them dread locks ya got or..Hey!" he held a mop in his hand, thrashing it about. "What gives ya nerd?! There's no lady in here at all!"

"No, but an idiot is." he twisted the knob of his invention, the wires glowing as it traveled toward the machine. There was a bright flash, Jesse's arms snapping behind the curtain before he scowled at the incoming sparks. Students from the other booths looked his way, Percy sharing their gaze before raising a finger to his mouth.

They moved along, the sparks from the machine ceasing as smoke simmered from the curtain. Percy drew it back, and fanned the inside. the booth was completely empty, the seat untouched as piles of clothes stacked upon the floor. Sitting on top, would be a jock strap. it throbbed absently, like a fish fresh from water. He bent down and gazed at the slim wear, peaking inside to Jesse's face sticking out from the rubbery funnel.

"What the hell did you do to me?!" he garbled.

"I made you into something that won't be bothering students anymore. Not so tough looking for a pair of underwear is it?"

"You nerd! you think I'm going to just sit here and let you do this?!" the the jockstrap flailed. "When the Boss finds out what you've done, your ass is grass."

"Unfortunately, you're right about your boss finding out about this. But I think I know how to get them off my trail, and get back for the other fellow nerds your bullies tortured. But first.." he place Jesse onto the table, pulling a few more of his tools from his pocket. "Let's get you ready for a test run."

-----------------------

Minutes go by as Jesse flailed in efforts to flee from the towering nerd, clamps from the tables keeping him from hopping off. Cold, round metal hinges squeezed into his rubbery end, fingers rotating them the bulky edge held his mouth open. Not a moment later, the nerd was finished, holding him toward the mirror for hims to gaze at himself. He looked like he was corked, his lips sealed with straps as they jangled as a little key jangled a above him.

"There, that should keep you from spoiling the fun." Percy traced a finger at his genius. Jesse didn't have time, before he was stuffed into his pocket, the chatting crowd growing soft before metal doors opened.

Where was he taking him? Doesn't he know he's a sitting duck when the boss gets a hold of him? He listened as the nerd traversed through the hallway, before another set of doors opened, and chattering ensued.

"To think those pipsqueaks had decent packed a lot this time. those piss ants are walking piggy banks today." A deeper voice pierced the fabric. Its tone, he recognized it from anywhere. Its the boss!

The pocket grinded against as his voice grew soft, a door creaking open before fingers pinched at his form. Dragged out, he was placed inside a locker. Hot girl magazines decorated the metal walls, a jockstrap hanging from a string overhead. Odd, it had the exact chain as him, the same texture, size. almost as if it were..fit for him.

"Good, I managed to the brand right." Percy hands. Fondled at the slim where. "Baco always did have a thing for keeping these around. But I think it't time he tried something new." He unclamped its restraints, hoisting Jesse into them.

"Wha a yu talken abou?!" He garbled through his filter.

"It's not rocket science, you can put two and two together. Every time that oaf comes back here, he comes in alone to fetch his wares."

Comes to fetch his wares?..No, he doesn't mean his..creaks came muffled from down the hall, Percy peaking out of the pathway.

"Show time." He closed the door, leaving Jesse inside the locker.

He thrashed along the string suspending him in the air. Dread flowing through his flaps at the doom that was to come. Baco wasn't keen on them watching his business, and didn't want to find out what it was without the bosses blessing. Commotion came from the pathway, Jesse looking between the slanted lines.

An arm slammed Percy to the opposite lockers, a jock in a leather Jacket stepping closer. "What do you think you're doing in my lockers, numbnuts." He growled, lifting him off his feet.

"I was just looking around. Sorry Baco, honest." Percy said.

"The balls you have to come in here, I should rock your lights out right now. But fortunately you got me in a good mood" he jerked Percy to his locker, Jesse falling from the string. "Fetch my favorite jockstrap, I feeling romantic right. now"

Jesse flopped in a panic, his back end folding against the walls. "Yes sir, right away." the panel opened as Percy looked inside, He and Jesse sharing glances. the transformed jock shook his head in disapproval, the nerd denying his pleas as a fist shrouded his gaze.

His eyes folded in on themleves, pinched as he swayed from side to side. His limbs wouldn't obey, flailing in the wind like a slim sheet of paper. He tried to speak, but his voice came out garbled once more. The palm opened to Baco looming overhead, a finger loosening at his shorts to the ground.

His eyes widened as he gazed upon his boss' wares. Greasy green stains damped the sides of his inner thigh, the patches of the fabric holding his cock on the brink of snapping free. He slipped the used wares off with ease, kicking them to his locker.

"Set them on the floor." He placed his hands on his hips, watching as Percy nodded at his command.

Jesse's face stretched, widening to fill the the blocky feet before he was pulled upward. the thighs climbed on both sides of him, filling the holes with its muscles as it reached the giant jock's waist. He panned toward the swinging trunk between his legs, the lint sticking to its skin revealing themselves before it jammed into his mouth. the damp skin touched his tongue, a sour taste invading it. it was like eating a corn dog that was dunked in a pool of dish water and then mixed with sweat. He writhed to get it out of his mouth, but it jammed deeper as Percy wrapped the reins along Baco's waist.

the jock grabbed his crotch with a fist, sending heavy gropes that twisted Jesse's mouth. "that's a good boy, I want my cock nice and snug like it's in a chick's mouth."

Percy narrowed his gaze, tightening the straps harder against his waist. by his third tug, the cock outlined the center of the jockstrap, the very slit visible between the above the jangled key. "There, it's do-"

a palm met the back of his head, thrusting him to the far locker. "About time, now beat it. I got chicks to see." He marched down the walkway, putting on his shorts as he tucked Jesse inside.

"A..Ha.." Jesse garbled, the thick thighs grinding the cock to the back of his mouth. It was soggy, greasy as it grazed his rubbery ends. how was he going to get Baco's attention like this? he could chew on..hell no, he wasn't going to result to that. Being this close to the boss' cock is enough without him trying to rip him a new one. He tried to speak again, widening his mouth to bypass the girth of the fleshy organ.

the metal contraption unlatched, his tongue reaching out from its rubbery pocket. Good, he got his tongue out. He moved it to the side of the contraption, flicking at the metal gear keeping his mouth open. but another gear unlatched as it drew his tongue against the skin, grazing his taste buds against the meaty ball stamping over him. He winced, pulling his tongue away from the bouncing sack. "Wha tha?!"

a mic squeaked from the metal device, a nasaly voice speaking through. "Almost forgot how rough Baco rough, gonna have a headache after hitting the locker, but Its worth once I reap the award from the sidelines."

Jesse's face scrunching, fighting the gears in efforts to free his tongue. "by now you've noticed my little trinkets have activated, that should get you two of you set on things. let's see, you've already tasted his cock, but how about a more different flavor."

The gear turned, folding his tongue to the slanted slit crowning the cock, and jammed its way through it. Creamy fluid dosed into his tongue, Jesse's eyes bulging as his senses cried for relief. But latches from the contraption forced the head into his mouth.

"Ah the cock slit, the world's filthiest tube known to man, that should get you just the right taste for the job. Heh, if if doesn't sour it first." His tongue squished deeper into the fleshy tube, its length bulging with his tongue as it climbed to the base.

"Oh fff..the hell's going on in there?" Baco moaned from the outside. the fabric smashed against his member, the rounded head squishing into Jesse's eyes before they were rubbed in place. "Is there a worm in there or something?" he yanked the fabric back, but the gears of the metal latched on, vacuuming the cock back into Jesse. they gagged almost in sync, Baco prancing around as Jesse did his best to cough up the bulky sausage.

"Quite the ball dance you two are having over there. I have a feeling the two of you are going to be like that for a long time."

"Why.. yu litta.."

"Tata Jesse, this nerd's got a science fair to go too."

The mic next to him sizzled, vaporizing into particle as smoke simmered through him. Baco's fist returned, stamping him out in efforts to take the undergarments off. Jesse winced at its bombardment, creamy fluid sweeping through his tongue before a puddle filled his mouth.

"Percy!" he scowled, before his voice softend.

**********************************

Baco's grunts echoed around the science fair, knockig into the posters at the entrance as he muttered to himself. other student's stared upon him like a madman, eering themselves away from the stumbling jock. but Percy was nothing interested in his flounders, his finger twirling at the trigger in his hand. but he looked to his left as the student from before readied her booth, approaching her from the side.

"Getting along well?" he asked her.

"Oh, hello again. yes, thing's have been going smoothly so far."

"Glad to hear, so about that guy from earlier, Jesse you recall?" He asked, her head nodding softly. "Well turns out he turned a new leaf."

"On such short notice?"

"I know right. you could say he was above the knees when he mention, hehe. would you care to try out an invention of mine?" he brought over a smaller inventiion of his, a small hair dryer with a nozzle attached to it.

"A hair dryer?"

"Well, from the outside at least." he leaned over the table, brushing against the nozzle. "This bute is called the romantic mood swings. R.M.S for short."

"Fascinating, what does it do?"

"Why Im glad you ask, it is normally designed for making frequencies, but I've modified it to make it more..functional. Let me give me a demonstration, see that jock over there?" He pointed toward Baco, wrestling with his shorts, swearing at the staff that came near him.

she clutched at her binder. "Isn't that the boss that Jesse mentioned."

"He's grumpy up close, but that's because he doesn't have the right motivation. but with this device, all i gotta do is prepare and say," he twisted at the machine's knob. "moan."

the jock jolted from his seat, his hips bucking forward. "Oh no, not a..a..again!" his body hunched over the bench ,his shorts becoming damp in the process.

"See? it works like a charm."

"That's amazing, I've never seen such an invention like this."

"Why thank you, thank you very much."

"To think bodily functions will respond with a twist of a knob. How did you come up with this idea."

He paused for a moment as he gazed at the blundering jock. looking at his shorts, he could almost imagine the drench Jesse was going through, all thanks to his lovely invention. he tucked the actual trigger in his cloak, pressing absently at it from the outside. the dryer gimmick was a last second choice, but it was the best he came up with. "A scientist never reveals his secrets." he winked.

#object tf #musk #unaware

[missuswalker]

I LOVED the Kyle dating headcanons!! Chefs kiss!! Could you do something like that for Kenny? (Sfw + Nsfw)

thanks ❤️

the kenny pookies made it 😱😱 😼

relationship headcanons || kenny mccormick x fem reader

✮ summary: "oh hi kihnney 🥰 whut are yew doin 😻 whuut are you doin kihnney?? 🧐 .... kihnney, whut are you gowin to plunche 😰🪠" as your boyfriend ✮ warnings: nsfw content, reminder that characters are aged up

sfw (but is it ever really sfw with kenny? kidding, he's precious)

okay, kenny was definitely a playboy for a bit, but when he saw you, he was like "wait a damn minute..."

thought he was just horny at first but then started having a little crush on you

since he wasn't really like that a lot before, he was actually a little shy

I KNOW GUYS, I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE THINKING

"oh no kenny wouldnt be shy no way 😻 in everything else he's so bold 😰"

WELL THIS ISNT EVERYTHING ELSE, LISTEN

since he actually liked you, he was nervous to fuck up

works extra shifts to buy you your favorite flowers

but doesn't know your favorite flowers

so he lets the walmart employee with big boobs pick out which bouquet to get since she was obviously very knowledgable

actually doesn't hit on her though, his mind stays on you

when he asks you out, he totally says everything a little backward

"so wanna date? i've been liking you, and here's flowers"

looked very confident in himself though, you can't say no to that face

pulls out a nokia to ask for your number

kidding, he probably has butters's old iphone 6 or something

wowwee he's quick to action

takes you on a date immediately

to your house

he pays for pizza though, he's trying his best

you say i love you first, no room for debate

he gets so happy and tells EVERYONE.

"me and y/n love each other 😏😏😏😏"

moans in your ear while you're sleeping because he's the big spoon

thinks it's hilarious when you wake up like "😟"

gets a boner from it though bc he thinks about you being the one that moaned

he like, cups your tit with his hand while he's dead asleep, like he could be snoring and all of the sudden he's groping you

nsfw

i can hear the meowing from here guys, quiet down

can be anything you want him to be

sweet, rough, randy marsh, you name it and he's got it down

likes missionary and cowgirl because he can see your sweet face (your tits)

EATS YOU OUT LIKE HE'S STARVING

...he probably is actually

anyways, he likes doggy style less than you'd expect because he can't see your face as well (tits)

will fuck you in the mirror though and make you watch

sexting

in the same room

when you're right next to each other

mid dirty talker

its all basic

"shit, you feel so good, princess"

he can't form coherent thoughts when he's balls deep inside, though

when you guys are just hanging out it's insane

"i want you to cum around my cock while i fuck you senseless" "can you not say that in front of kids" "fuck them kids"

sends you dick pics when you tell him you're going to sleep

a/n: i got carried away with kenny and kyle, i need to make pt 2s for the others (i can't help it guys)

not proofread

#kenny mccormick x reader #kenny mccormick #x reader #south park #south park x reader headcanons #kenny is so yummy #kinda want him to pound me in his princess outfit #what who said that 😨 wasnt me

[thevampirelevi]

Adventureland | Part II

Masterlist

"Da Vinci's Dream." (part 2/7)

cw: vampire!eddie x fem!reader, mentions of grief, loneliness

wc: 2.8k+

You had not the faintest idea that you were being followed. Not that you should, given your humanly lack of any survival instincts whatsoever. Eddie really couldn’t fathom one good reason why a girl would travel into an abandoned theme park alone, let alone at night.

Sure, when he first picked up on your scent, the sun had technically not exited stage left yet, but still. Though to your credit, you hadn’t actually been the first to come here - only the first to do so in the late hours of the evening, not to mention the first in so long. Has no one warned you to stay away? Any other visitor wouldn’t have much of a story to tell, but they should at least remember ‘Adventureland’ being the last thing they saw before everything faded to black. Given the fact that the numbers in loiterers were dwindling ever since Eddie first made a home here, he’d considered it message received. Eddie’s methods as of late were calculated and meticulous, and definitely far less fatal than his fledgling days. They also served a secondary purpose now, and that was keeping the at least somewhat abandoned Adventureland, well, abandoned.

Yet it seemed that you were very steadfast on getting in the way of that. Eddie pondered making a run for the breaker box, already having memorized its location just outside the ‘Tunnel of Love,’ but there was a familiar light to your eyes that had him second guessing whether or not you were actually new to this neck of the woods. His sudden and painstaking hunger also had him immersed in your every move at the moment, so one could say that he felt he was almost owed a second look at you. Just a peek, nothing more.

You carefully stepped over the fissures in the pathway where weeds were sprouting through, polyester sleeves stretched over your knuckles and hugging your chest.

Now you were walking somewhat aimlessly, it only becoming clearer and clearer that your beloved memories were merely just something of the past. Seeing Adventureland in its neglected state was beginning to eat away at you, in a similar fashion to how weather ate away at seemingly any and everything it could within fairgrounds, ironically starting with what you made out to be now barren concession stands. They seemed to have the worst of it. Instead of smelling the rich sugar and old oil of fried dough, you had to turn your nose away from the musty smell of mold, mildew, and wood rot.

You were just starting to come around to the idea of admitting defeat when a wind chime-like sound made you look toward the opposite way you’d been walking down a crossroad. As soon as you saw the swings, a swarm of memories invaded your inner thoughts instantaneously.

It was your favorite ride as a kid, and pretty much the only ride your mother wouldn’t mind spending two, three tickets on in just a day. It overlooked ‘Lover’s Lake,’ though this side of it was now more comparable to a marsh. The paint on the swaying seats now chipping to reveal the same metal as the handlebars and chains holding the swings to the ceiling of the carousel, but it was in surprisingly good condition in contrast to any other rollercoaster you’d seen in here so far. It was almost like being there a decade ago all over again.

You’d finally been tall enough to ride this one. Never being a fan of heights, your mother kept her promise of holding your hand from her own seat the entire time, the momentum pushing you both to and fro out of sync with all of the other passengers and making you knock into each other - erupting bouts of giggles from the pair of you. Watching the reflection of the summer sunset on the ripples of the lake from way above was something special. Later on there had been time for just one more ride before the park closed, and the carousel now being fully lit up like a Christmas tree made you pull your mother’s arm all the way back to the line. You both spread your arms out like wings instead of holding hands that time, imagining you were flying.

The lonesome lurching of your heart suddenly pulled you away from your thoughts as you somberly looked onward. Coming here on Valentine’s Day of all days, especially having brought no one with you (having nobody to bring, actually) was now undeniably a mistake. Your face was so cold that you didn’t even feel the tears fall, so dark that you also didn’t notice your crying distorting your vision. You whipped around and turned on your heel so fast you’d almost lost your footing…

If not for two large hands bracing your shoulders as you knocked into something very statue-like.

Those hands were so cold, so unmoving, that it hadn’t fully registered to you that you had bumped into another person until your eyes adjusted to see two large eyes staring back at you.

⋆⋅☆⋅⋆───── ⋆⋅˚ʚ♡ɞ˚⋅⋆ ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆

Almost as if a reflection in one another’s mirror, you both jumped back with widened eyes, startled.

Several literal beats passed before Eddie could remember how to make the sounds escape his mouth, it’d been so long since he’d last spoken.

“Sorry,” he started, trying to focus more on the rasp of his own voice than the drumming of your quickening heart. “Didn’t mean to scare you…”

“S’okay, you looked equally scared yourself,” you sniffled, offering a weak smile. Clearly you didn’t spend enough time in the big city to undo the conditioning of being a waitress with ready and chipper responses, and to know not to talk to strangers.

“People don’t really come here anymore,” said the man. When you’d first, literally, run into him there was something very youthful about his eyes from what you could make out in the dark. However now upon hearing his voice, the slight ruggedness of it, he seemed much older. It almost sounded like he’d just come back from a smoke.

At the thought of that, you honestly could use one yourself right about now to calm your nerves upon remembering that you were now in this abandoned theme park, at night, with no one or nothing to protect you, now engaging in chit chat with this strange (and strangely good looking) man.

Almost as if sensing your unease, the stranger took a few steps away from you, luckily putting himself under direct moonlight. It must have been a full moon tonight, this giving you more of a view of nearly all of his features even from where he stood towering over you.

His skin pale and hiding the faintest blush across his cheekbones, maybe from the cold or perhaps because he was just as flustered as you. The softness of his eyes returning made you feel less like you were transfixed in conversation with a complete and total stranger, the dark curls cascading onto his brow adding to the depth of his eyes. Now it was starting to feel more like a meet-cute.

“Are you lost-”

“Do I know you-”

Both of your words come out crashing together. You wipe whatever tears remaining with the sleeve of your sweater jacket, feeling slightly shy.

“Sorry, it’s just that you look kind of familiar,” you finish. “But maybe that’s just me hoping for a familiar face, I mean, I might be kind of lost..”

At your words he cracks a smile, dimples piercing through his alabaster skin and making the corners of his eyes slightly wrinkle. This immediately puts you at ease in a way you didn’t anticipate.

“Yeah I mean, no offense, but I kinda figured you didn’t intend on exploring Hawkins’ biggest junkyard all by your lonesome.” He folds his arms across his chest, looking you up and down. He heard your heart flutter as he surveyed you. “Lucky for you, I’m one hell of a tour guide. Name’s Eddie.”

Eddie extends his ring-clad right hand to you.

“Y/N.”

Both the coolness of the metal and his skin make you jolt for the second time since meeting. He quickly drops your hand and clears his throat.

“So, where were you headed?”

It’s your turn to blush again this time, “Oh- I meant to come here, it’s just…Not what I was expecting, I guess,” you clarify. “It’s only been a year since I was here last, I wasn’t expecting it to be…”

“Abandoned?” Eddie chimes in. So the rumors hadn’t in fact reached your ears yet.

“Yeah,” you let out a shaky laugh, looking around the both of you. “It’s seeming more like ‘land’ than ‘adventure’ this time around.”

He laughs again, a warm sound. “Well, sorry to disappoint. Things have changed a lot ‘round here.”

“Yeah?” you urge him to continue.

He looks at the ground suddenly, “Yeah, it’s a long story…Hey are you staying in town? I could help you home, if you want.”

You don’t understand why it seems that he’s trying to change the subject suddenly, but honestly it makes you even more curious.

“I have time,” you smile. “I traveled all the way here, might as well learn who let the place go.”

Eddie’s eyes meet yours finally, pondering briefly before he speaks again, “Alright, I guess I did sign myself up for being a tour guide.”

⋆⋅☆⋅⋆───── ⋆⋅˚ʚ♡ɞ˚⋅⋆ ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆

Eddie was having a hard time keeping to a human’s pace so unexpectedly, being much more used to his usual gait. Furthermore, the new revelations you were making had you walking even slower as you remained deep in thought the more that he shared.

And what he did tell you still wasn’t the whole story, either.

“A record breaking earthquake?” You echo his words from earlier.

Eddie nods his head, “This town’s been through a lot this past year you could say, still trying to recover. Lots of things had to be rebuilt and people lost their houses so, this side of the tracks is pretty much forgotten about.”

“That’s so sad,” you say softly, thinking aloud.

“Eh, I’m sure they’ll get around to it eventually, power’s still on after all. We’re not completely forsaken yet.”

You stop walking, “The power’s still on?”

“Yeah, I come here often. A lot of these rides can still be booted up,” he notices immediately how your heart picks up a different tune, in addition he could practically smell what he could only assume was excitement though it seems you were trying to hide it. “As long as you have the key that is. Which I do…What was that ride you were looking at? Da Vinci’s Dream?”

You nod your head, suddenly more enthused, “It was my favorite when I used to come here as a kid.”

“It’s one of the safe ones, I could probably ride it with you if you’re interested?”

Eddie can tell you can no longer contain your newfound excitement.

⋆⋅☆⋅⋆───── ⋆⋅˚ʚ♡ɞ˚⋅⋆ ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆

You had picked out your seat on the outer edge of the circle of swings, feet rocking above the ground as you waited while Eddie located the power boxes to Adventureland.

He made good time, as not long after you’d gotten settled in your seat, all of the lights around you flickered to life and the calliope began playing its familiar tune without missing a single note as if waiting to serenade you once again after all of these years.

You looked around you in amazement, in awe of how well the fluorescence of the butterscotch haze spilling all around you hid the uninhibited nature of Adventureland and added a mellowness that was definitely not there a half hour ago.

As you’re taking it all in, you feel the row of chairs being pushed forward ever so slightly. There now making his way through the gate is your newfangled friend, light dancing in his eyes as he excitedly strides to the swing adjacent to yours, gracefully ducking the others as he does so. Just as the ride begins to lift, he clammers in his seat in a manner too fast for your eyes to follow. That contagious smile of his eclipses his face once again as he holds up his hands, what looks to be a ‘Midland Ready Rescue’ radio in one and a thumbs up in the other.

“That old speaker up there doesn’t work but I figured we still needed some music,” he proclaims, not even slightly out of breath. “Stations never play any thrash but, it’ll do.”

Just as he gives the handheld to you, the ride begins to pick up speed as you ascend higher and higher off the ground. You fiddle around with the buttons briefly before finally picking up a signal that doesn’t feed you static. You keep a firm grip on the device in your dominant hand as you close your eyes and stretch out those wings you haven’t used in so long.

Eddie’s eyes were on you the whole time, watching with wonder as something pure and childlike broke out of you, almost making him think one of the cherubs on the plafond above had come to life and taken your place. When the journey seemed to slow, you let your eyes open and finally brought your arms down, but the ride only continued backwards.

Eddie could hear you laughing before the sound left your lips. It was interesting, he’d never had the pleasure of witnessing that ever before.

He couldn’t help joining in with you, thankful to both whom or whatever was still keeping the currents flowing to ‘Forgotten-Land’ and also his quick witted idea of giving you the experience of having what was left of the amusement park all to yourself.

You keep the Ready-Rescue clutched to your belly, slightly muffling a recognizable (at least to you) Crowded House song. Da Vinci’s dream was ending as the coaster made its final merry-go-round.

You dare a glance to the man next to you, finding that he was already looking your way with watchful doe eyes.

You wait for a pause in the lyrics, “Thank you,” you breathed. Eddie’s smile deepens in return. “So much.”

The scuffed soles of his maybe-once-white Reeboks reach the ground before your feet did, him swiftly lifting the safety bar of his swing and exiting the ride. He holds out one fair hand to help you off.

The electricity reverberating between your palms didn’t shock you, but it sent many a chill down your spine and had you feeling as if you’d shuffled across a carpet charged with static friction while you held his hand longer than the first time, trying to find your balance on tingling feet.

“Are you cold Eddie??” you practically yelped.

He drops your hand in the same manner as before, clasping his rings together and bringing his fists to his flushed lips, huffing a cloud of air over them. You watch this action too closely. “Sorry, I’m very anemic,” he chuckles, “Blood doesn’t circulate very well.”

Eddie leans over the waiting area railing and turns the key to the killswitch, darkening the square where the ride was held. You’re walking ahead of him. You collapse on a nearby bench, killing the radio and turning your knees in his direction, lost in thought as your eyes trail his approaching silhouette.

Once he reaches you, your mind has finally decided that you do recognize him.

⋆⋅☆⋅⋆───── ⋆⋅˚ʚ♡ɞ˚⋅⋆ ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆

“You were at my mother’s funeral,” you had announced.

Eddie stilled for a moment before his features softened as he took a cautious seat next to you, but feeling an island away.

You continued, “It was this time last year. Practically every student she’s ever had showed up. Were you one of them, Eddie?”

Realization flashes across his face in remembrance, “Mrs.L/N..Of course,” his words were as soft as his expression, almost whispering. “She was my art teacher.”

You nodded, sighing. “Hawkins Elementary.”

“I’m sorry,” Eddie offered earnestly. He paused, tiptoeing the topic, “D’you miss her? Is that…Is that why you were crying earlier..?”

You nodded your head silently, looking at a moth trapped in a flickering street lamp a few feet away. Eddie took both of your hands in his, forgetting once again just how close he couldn’t be to you. You didn’t mind. You let your eyes meet his, your icy exterior melting under his warm gaze except for in the spot where his fingertip drew circles into your palm, iron rings conducting the feeling.

His hair was longer, only further deepening the depth of the shadows under his eyes - also a new feature since the last time you briefly saw him - coal colored ringlets framing his angel face. What was the same; the black he was dressed in top to bottom apart from his shoes both then at the funeral and then again sitting next to you after all this time, and the sympathetic look in his eyes was all the same too whether in quick or lingering glances. He stood apart from everyone else, in the abyss of his eyes it didn’t feel like pity, it felt like understanding.

It was those same abysmal brown-black eyes that would stare back at you in every dream you dreamt on Motel 6 pillows since you first walked into Adventureland one lonely Valentine’s Day. Since you first met Eddie Munson.

⋆⋅☆⋅⋆───── ⋆⋅˚ʚ♡ɞ˚⋅⋆ ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆

an: this chapter was so long so pls give me some grace if it seems to go in and out of first person pov lol

- levi

#eddie munson x reader #eddie x reader #vampire!eddie x fem!reader #vampire!eddie #eddie munson x fem!reader #eddie munson x female reader #eddie munson x you #eddie x female reader #eddie x fem!reader #eddie x you #x reader #y/n #adventureland #stranger things eddie #stranger things #eddie munson fanfiction #eddie munson fanfic

[octoagentmiles]

octonauts ATLA au 🤲

Barnacles is an EXTREMELY powerful waterbender from the North Pole, with a strong love for icebending—he defaults to it most of the time. He can use all subforms of waterbending, but they're a bit harder.

Kwazii's the Avatar, but he's still a pirate AND he's a natural firebender, so he still has that "scary and dangerous" reputation. He's afraid of using his firebending, because he hates it. Barnacles is teaching him waterbending, and he's pretty good at it. So far he sucks at earthbending, and his airbending is okay, but if he gets worked up it can accidentally come out as fire... which, yeah.

Peso is an airbender, and the first one in his family. He's not very skilled at bending, and he can't fly very well, and sometimes wishes he was a waterbender, like Barnacles. That way he'd be "stronger", and could utilize its healing abilities. He has an epiphany later on in the middle of S3 that makes him realize how powerful he really is, and he learns to fly :)

Tweak is an earthbender, which she inherited from her dad (maybe*). Like Barnacles, she has a love and preference for a specific subtype—in her case it's metalbending. She's very good at it. It's how she builds GUPs so fast.

Shellington is a waterbender. He doesn't use it very much, mainly because he's Not Great at controlling it—so you'll either end up getting lightly spit on or completely drenched in a tsunami by accident.

Dashi is a non-bender (with water tribe ancestry), which puts her at a disadvantage during some missions. However! She has all of her skills from the Canon Universe, plus the extra adaptiveness seen in non-benders in ATLA (Sokka, Suki, etc).

Inkling is also a non-bender, but he has studied the elements and different bending techniques his whole life. He's Kwazii's Monk Gyatso but with less dying.

Octoagents! 👇

Calico Jack is Kwazii's Uncle Iroh. I needn't explain further. His main goal is to teach Kwazii to be less afraid of his firebending.

Natquik is a waterbender, who taught Barnacles everything he knows. He got his penchant for icebending from him. He pretty much invented it. He survived Antarctica by ✨ Becoming One With The Ice™ ✨. He doesn't just study icequakes, he can make them. He can probably spiritbend.

*I'm TORN between making Marsh be an earthbender or a waterbender. If he's an earthbender, then he can't metalbend like Tweak can, but he's still very strong. Like, scarily strong 👀. IF HE'S A WATERBENDER, then he's a swampbender, full stop.

Tracker is an airbender, mainly because of how he's clearly paralleling Peso's arc in AnB. He was the only airbender in his Polar Scouts troop, and he got picked on for it a bit—but Barnacles thought it was cool as heck, and that's how they became friends.

Do I need to explain Paani being a waterbender? No I do not. He's probably VERY powerful, but very chillax about it. He successfully freaks out everyone who witnesses him bend every time. He can part the seas like freaking Moses.

Pearl is a waterbender like Shellington; she's not super strong, but she has a LOT more control over it than he does. Peri will be a waterbender as well, but he hasn't unlocked it yet. He's trying very hard because he wants to be like his mum and uncle SO badly.

Min could easily be a bender of any kind and it would make sense, but I kinda wanna say she's a non-bender. Just cuz ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

Earthbender Ryla. That's all. It makes it a lot easier to get out of caves when she's stuck. She's very casual about it. So casual, that most people either forget or don't even realize she's a bender until it comes up. Then they're like "oh yeah." as she literally moves mountains.

Airbender Pinto, who has no clue how to control it. Whenever he gets frustrated with himself, he accidentally creates small tornadoes. He can also fly! He likes to brag about it. a lot. mainly to Peso.

Waterbender Koshi, who hasn't discovered that about herself yet. She's in for a fun time when she figures it out. Remember how happy she was when she got her Octowatch? Yeah :) 10x that. I also imagine their family is full of late bloomers, but because of Dashi she has pretty low expectations for herself right now.

#can you guess what im rewatching ? ✨ xD #👀👀 what if 👉👈 someone drew this 😳 haha jk........... unless 😳 #octonauts #marsh being an earthbender is mainly because this entire post was inspired by watching the feuding tribes episode of atla #and the tour guide reminding me of marsh. #anyway rip to the dashi fans but sokka and uncle bumi are my favs so i promise my decision for her was made with love 🫶🤣 #avatar kwazii avatar kwazii Avatar Kwazii AVATAR KWAZII #i am right #ty for your time #octonauts au #self indulgent post time #ps worldbuilding stuff: #most birds descend from the air temples‚ but penguins are weird so they're usually waterbenders if they're benders at all– #which is why peso is an airbender‚ plus the first one in his family to bend at all #pinto came right after him‚ but since peso would've been off being an octonaut he didn't have anyone around to mentor him #also pirates have mixed ancestry from every nation. but the majority of pirates Don't Like the avatar so uh yeah rip kwazii iykwim– #he might be the first avatar to be a pirate in history just bc i think that'd be neat for the ✨ story ✨ #also bianca and hugo would both be waterbenders too btw #one of the cubs is a non-bender but idk who. maybe orson. #ALSO the airbenders were never wiped out in this au #the War™ never really happened but firebenders are still Scary bc of the whole Fire Is Destruction thing #idrk what the Story of this au is except for like— kwazii is the avatar. he was abandoned by his family. he joins the octonauts to help-- #--bring peace to the world + nature etc. so basically the canon plot of the og show but with magic ✨ /hj #long post #surprised i haven't hit the tag limit yet #ok byebye end post

[angelicyouth]

Youth ; Chapter 9

⇢ pairing: kenny mccormick x marsh!reader x craig tucker

⇢ synopsis: ❝Growing up with the boys as the sole girl of the group, it was only natural for them to grow protective over their pseudo-little sister as the years went by.❞

⇢ [AO3 link] ; [series masterlist] ; [previous] ; [next]

“And guess what? She did it anyway!”

“No way… Did they get caught?” Clyde is so deeply immersed in the blonde’s story that he doesn’t notice that the filling from his taco is currently falling out of its hard shell. It sadly crumbles onto the porcelain plate in front of him, his hand suspended in midair.

“Yeah, but get this…” Butters intentionally pauses to build up the suspense, glancing around the table to look at everyone’s eager faces. Our bodies lean forward in anticipation for his next words, mouths slightly parted in disbelief.

“It was her sister that caught them!” He mischievously grins, finally delivering the gossip everyone has been desperately vying for.

“Ack!” Tweek yelps in surprise, his knee loudly coming up to harshly make contact with the underside of the metal table that we’re all currently situated at.

Everyone leans their bodies away to properly sit in our chairs as we process the information that has been dramatically revealed. These types of outings are a common occurrence between the four of us as we like to go out and get boba when we have the time to catch up on the intricacies of not only our lives, but other people’s. These days are usually held during the middle of the week, a sort of pick-me-up to get us through the remaining days.

We’re seated outside of a plaza with a string of stores around us, an umbrella over our heads to block the bright rays of sunshine that have decided to bless South Park today. I sip on my favorite drink, my usual order, while Clyde opts for a fruit tea that he’s been craving for the past few days. Butters and Tweek have chosen their own flavors of milk tea to accompany their boba, all of us slightly tuckered out from our little shopping trip. Butters lost his eraser and needed a new one while Clyde wanted to buy a new jacket that he has been eyeing recently.

It’s quiet for a moment as everyone resumes eating their slightly cold food, having neglected it for Butters’ story. Tweek extends a shaky arm out to feed me a bite of a new item on the menu of the restaurant we elected to eat at today. The blonde stepped out of his comfort zone and impressed all of us by ordering it, overcoming his paranoia for anything outside of the regular. I do the same in thanks, feeding him a piece of his favorite vegetable that adorns my dish.

“You know… You seem different lately.”

“Hmm?” I distractedly mumble around a mouthful of food, Butters bringing a napkin to softly dab at the corner of my lips.

“A good different! You seem a lot more… Happy lately?” The brunette continues, watching me with squinted eyes and a comical hand to his chin as he tries to grasp onto the correct word to describe his recent observation.

“Yeah! I agree with Clyde. You’re like… Glowing! Ain’t she, Tweek?” The barista nods along with Butters’ words when he gently nudges him. When the twitchy teen agrees, the blonde beams proudly at the descriptive word he came up with.

“Yeah. You’ve always been pretty but lately you look even more beautiful.” I playfully bat my hand at the coffee lover’s arm but he chuckles and quickly holds on to my fingers, interlocking them together and squeezing our joined hands before letting go.

I begin to blush at their compliments and frantically wave my hands in denial at their sudden attention. I want to so badly tell them about Kenny and Craig but know that I can’t yet. The boys watch my reaction, tender smiles on their faces as they all speak up about what they’re thinking at the same time.

“Pretty.”

・ ─ ・ ⋯ ・ ─ ⊹ ♡₊˚๑

“So if you die, do you think they send in a backup soulmate? That’s what Clyde said but then Butters told me that-“

“… I meant questions about our history exam, N/N.”

Kyle and I weave through the swarm of students during the current passing period, leisurely making our way over to my locker. I hug his arm close to my chest, intertwining our fingers together. When we make it to our stop, he protectively stands behind me as a barrier from the pushing students while I carefully input my locker combination.

Once opened, my eyebrows lift up in surprise and my lips slightly part before an excited grin begins to grow on my face. Artistically presented in the confines of my locker is an envelope with a cute sticker sealing its contents away. In the surrounding area is a decoration of pretty flower petals sprinkled all around, their colors standing out against the light blue of the surrounding metal cage.

The letter is addressed to my princess in glitter of my favorite color with a cute heart drawn next to it. I feel my cheeks begin to heat up at the term of endearment, automatically knowing who this pleasant surprise is from. When I gently open the envelope so as to not rip the sticker that keeps it sealed, I pull out a piece of folded letter paper decorated with hand drawn hearts.

Opening it reveals the cutest border around it, adorably accompanying the words carefully written in it. Curving along the body of writing is a single flower, its stem cut short and another cute sticker keeping it stuck to the page. It reads:

have you ever met someone you think about every night and day?

someone so beautiful, it’s breathtaking and words just aren’t enough to say?

that someone is you, a gift from the angels that made you in heaven.

the girl that i’ve dreamed about, ever since i was seven.

please take this flower, and wear it on your ear.

if you agree to go on a date with me, on a day almost here.

A hand reaches out from behind me, grabbing my required textbooks and switching them out with the ones in my backpack. I still have both hands lightly gripped onto the letter of love, re-reading it over and over again with a smile threatening to overtake my whole entire face.

Kyle snorts with a roll of his eyes at my dazed expression, zipping my backpack up and closing my locker door for me. He leans against the row of cool metal as he patiently watches me.

“He forced me to help him write a poem. It took him three days, N/N. Three days of him refusing to leave my house until he could come up with the ‘perfect words’. He even slept over, N/N. Fucking Christ.”

The curly haired teen hefts a tired sigh as he rakes a hand against red tresses, probably from how done he is at watching our antics as the only one that knows about us. Gently grabbing my arm, he nudges me to start moving along with him down the hallways.

He throws an arm over my shoulders, guiding me through the sea of students as my undivided attention is still solely on the note. I feel him wave at someone he knows, shooting a soft greeting over my head.

When we make it to the door of our current class, he has us lean against the hallway walls until it’s closer to the end of the passing period. He scans my lovestruck face, taking in my giddy smile before rolling his eyes for the nth time.

“… He didn’t even take any of my suggestions. He wrote it all by himself in the end.” He mutters in annoyance, his eyebrows furrowing as he idly watches people pass by us. One of the few late stragglers rushing in the hallways almost trips and he chuckles under his breath.

My head finally lifts itself up, away from the declarations of written love to make eye contact with the taller teen. He sees the soft blush decorating my cheeks and the small smile on my face. He sighs in endearance for his little sister’s happiness, a corner of his lips quirking up into a fond smile.

“So…? Are you gonna say yes?” He lightly jokes, a playful smirk on his face at already knowing the answer. A large hand reaches out to push away strands of raven locks behind my ear in preparation for my obvious acceptance.

I wordlessly hand him the piece of paper and he carefully removes the beautiful flower attached to it. He steps in front of me to place it in the indicated location, tucking the token of affection into tufts of silky hair. His fingers linger there for a moment as he softly compliments me.

“Pretty. Just don’t beat yourself up too much, okay? You deserve all of their love and more. I love you.” He smiles at me, kissing my forehead in reassurance before taking a step back.

I beam up at him and take his hand, stepping through the doorframe into the classroom. And when Kenny sees the flower peeking through my hair hours later during lunch, he’ll lightly caress the gift decorating my head with an excited grin.

・ ─ ・ ⋯ ・ ─ ⊹ ♡₊˚๑

“This shit is starting to burn.” My brother complains, staring at himself from his seated position in front of the bathroom mirror. His eyebrows furrow at the pain and I slap his ring adorned fingers from attempting to scratch at his scalp for what seems to be the millionth time.

“Quit being such a little bitch, holy shit. You asked for this.” I squint my eyes in both concentration and irritation, purposefully tugging on the locks of hair in my grip.

“Ow! You’re such a fucking asshole!” He reaches an arm behind his figure to blindly hit me but I just take a step back and roll my eyes.

Music plays in the background of the bathroom, the pungent odor of bleach sharply burning our noses. The plastic, oversized gloves that came in the packaging crinkles against my hand, itchy, as I apply one last layer of the pale substance on slowly color changing locks.

Once satisfied with the even application, I hop onto the counter and check the time on my phone, making mental note of when we would need to wash it off. My brother lazily taps at his phone, a cigarette languidly hanging out of his mouth as he quietly sings along with the lyrics playing from the speakers. I unwrap a lollipop and stick it into my mouth, my dangling feet leisurely swinging back and forth.

Stan sighs, smoke listlessly pouring out of his mouth as I wrinkle my nose at the combination of harsh smells invading my nostrils. “Man. I wish I was 9 and in my goth phase again. Life was so much easier.”

I snort, tying my hair up in preparation for when I have to help my brother wash his hair. “You could’ve fooled me with all your damn whining. Are you sure you’re not still in your emo phase, Raven?”

“Listen here, you little shit. I-“ Cutting him off with a smirk on my face, I mimic his words with an annoying pitch to my voice.

“Whatever emo boy, let’s wash this shit off of your hair. You can rant about death and despair over the bathtub.” I playfully grab a handful of his hair and tug it in the direction of the shower, loudly laughing when the teen screeches and tries to swat his hands at me.

・ ─ ・ ⋯ ・ ─ ⊹ ♡₊˚๑

Fingers lightly drag along the side of my face, gently caressing my cheeks before pushing away stray strands of hair behind my ear. My face unconsciously follows the source of warmth when it pulls away, nuzzling myself into what seems to be the palm of a hand.

Deep chuckling softly reverberates from above me as my eyes slowly flutter open, fighting the last dredges of sleep trying to desperately pull me back in. Adjusting my eyes to the darkness, I’m greeted with the sight of Kenny smiling down at me with a tender smile on his face.

“Morning, beautiful. Have a good nap?” He softly coos at me as I yawn, sleepily nodding to his question as I stretch out my legs from underneath my blanket.

I fell asleep after washing my brother’s hair in an attempt to rid myself of the headache the smell of bleach caused me. I lazily smile up at the handsome blonde, burrowing myself closer to his figure.

“What’re you doing here?” I whisper back, delighted at the surprise visit.

“Wanted to kidnap my princess for a few hours until I saw Sleeping Beauty. Was gonna let you sleep it out and try again on a different day.” His fingers lightly skim over the skin of my cheeks, an expression of endearment showing as he does so.

I smile in excitement, extending my arms towards the blonde and making grabby hands at him. He smirks as he gently pulls my body up, settling my form on his waist as he brings me to my closet. Once I’m sufficiently bundled up for the cold, he takes my hand and we softly giggle to each other like children as we unnecessarily sneak around the dark hallways to the front door.

We walk for a while, admiring the stars above us and watching wisps of white clouds leave our lips from the freezing weather. I squeeze our interlocked fingers tighter when I glance to my right, seeing Kenny already smiling at me during the story I was currently regaling. He brings our joined hands to his mouth, trying to warm it up with puffs of warm air and rubbing them together before he guides it to the inside of his jacket’s pocket.

We come across a metal fence, the blonde assisting me over it. When it's his turn, I watch him in awe when he flawlessly hefts his body over it with no assistance. He picks the lock of a door on the side of a building and brings our hands back together when we begin to climb a flight of stairs. My nerves are drumming in excitement the closer we get to the top, impatient to see where the teen is taking me.

When there’s no more steps to be climbed, he stops me before we can push past a door that indicates restricted access to the rooftop, in vivid red letters. He shoots me a mischievous grin before he takes off his parka, gently helping me pull my arms through the well loved jacket and pulling down its hood to cover my eyes.

I can feel the cold air that signals that we’re outside again, the blonde having me sit down at a spot. I can hear him rummage through his backpack and I quirk an eyebrow when I hear the tuning of a radio. His body settles behind mine, both legs around me before he grants me my vision back.

I gasp in elation when I see that from the rooftop we’re sitting on, we can see one of the screens at the local drive-in movie theater. The radio beside us plays the correct sound in time to the images of the screen, a blanket thrown over Kenny’s shoulders and my frame as he hugs me for warmth.

I turn my head towards him so that I can smile at him, and he smiles back before reaching into his backpack to pull out all of my favorite snacks and candies, bottles of my favorite drinks quickly following behind them.

He presses a soft kiss to my cheek before settling my body against his chest, the movie about to begin. I bite my lips in a futile attempt at preventing them from growing wider, Kenny seeing and laughing. His arms around my waist lightly squeezes me against him and the movie begins to play.

・ ─ ・ ⋯ ・ ─ ⊹ ♡₊˚๑

As the moving images slowly fade away to black and the quiet night surrounds the two of us in its embrace, I turn my head to smile softly at the blonde. My hands reach out to gently squeeze at the ones draped around my figure, happy with the film he took me to see.

The horror movie was extremely fun to watch, whispers being exchanged throughout the whole duration of the film as we criticized the decisions of the characters or gave running commentary on the plot. It was nice to hear the blonde form theories, people usually underestimating the teen due to his background and not giving the chance to know how intelligent he really is.

Him talking so closely near me caused a smile to grow on my face whenever I heard the deep rumble of his voice and his chest. Little wisps of air frequently escaped his lips to softly hit the shell of my ear after each word. Not only from that, but a grin would form from the small squeezes he’d give me every time I’d gasp at new plot developments, or from his proud praises whenever I guessed something correctly before it even happens.  

When there’s a lull in the conversation, the both of us appreciating the view that our height provides us, I feel a soft kiss being placed on the crown of my head. My heart stutters in my chest at the tender love the blonde presents me with, my body turning around in his hold so that I can face him.

He settles me into his lap and stops me before I can say anything, his hands reaching into his bag for one last treat. In his possession is an arrangement of my favorite flowers as the central piece, my hands slightly shaking in affection as I accept the proffered gift.

I admire them for a moment, bringing my nose closer to smell the fragrant scent emitting from them. A gentle smile on my face forms when I remember his promise of a bouquet. I feel overwhelmed with emotions of love for the person in front of me, mentally thanking whatever higher deity decided to bless me with this adoration.

After watching my reaction, he reaches forward to take my hand, slowly raising it to his lips. He presses a soft kiss against my knuckles before moving slowly along until he reaches my inner wrist. Right there, next to where the charm of the bracelet he made me lays, I can feel a smile against my skin. He lingers there for a moment longer before raising his eyes to meet mine.

“Did you like your surprise?” He mumbles against my hand, nuzzling his face closer to the beating pulse of my wrist.

“Of course I did. As long as I’m with you, Ken, I’d love anything.” I feel so endeared for the being in front of me, my face heating up at the rush of emotions coursing through my veins.

He chuckles in happiness and it makes me feel so warm inside that he did the best to show me a good time despite his financial restraints. I’d truly do anything and go anywhere if it meant having the blonde by my side. No matter the circumstances, no matter the consequences.

“You deserve the whole world, beautiful. And I’m so glad that I’m the guy that will give it to you. Well… One of them.” He smirks down at me, lightly brushing his fingers against my sides in jest as I giggle and try to get away from him.

Once I’ve settled back down after his teasing, he takes the moment to carefully watch my face. A large hand slowly comes up, softly tucking away strands of hair that fell in front of my eyes from his tickling. Even when his task is done, his touch lingers by my cheek, caressing me so softly that it almost feels nonexistent. He lowers his head, resting it against the crook of my neck so close that I can feel his smile.

“It truly is an honor being in your presence. Did you know, you shine so brightly that it actually burns being close to you? You are so untouchable in the fact that your whole being is so precious and breathtaking. And I know it might sound excessive but I truly feel like I will do anything to help you achieve happiness.” His voice is so low, so tender and gentle. Every word he says allows a puff of breath to lightly hit my collarbone, eliciting a chain reaction of goosebumps dancing along my arms.

“I’ve been thinking, and I think I can compare your existence in my life as the sunlight that helped lead me, the little seed, grow into a sprout. I say a sprout instead of a flower because I still have so much more growing to do and I don’t think I can be a flower when you are a whole garden.” The thumb on my face begins to softly soothe my warm cheeks.

“I’ll be with you even when you outgrow me. Even when you grow to be a whole entire field.” There's a smile so visible in my low voice, my hand reaches up to lay itself across his hand on my face.

He chuckles at my words, detaching himself from his solace within my neck. He watches me for a moment longer, his one arm around my waist tightening and his normally crystal-like eyes growing dark with clear want.

“Be careful with what you ask for, Princess.”

He swallows any oncoming words I may have said, his lips hurriedly seeking my own pair out. The noise of surprise that escapes my mouth causes me to feel the fucking smile on the blonde’s face as he hungrily devours me. He pulls me in tighter by the waist, the hand still on my face angling my head better to slot our lips more efficiently. He's like a starving man, and I'm surprised at his enthusiasm until I remember the words from his letter.

the girl that i’ve dreamed about, ever since i was seven.

The palm on my cheek becomes firmer, sliding down to the base of my neck so that long fingers can tangle into the back of my hair. I shiver at the eager insistence of the teen, his lips gently urging mine open and coaxing me into a heated kiss.

He’s greedy, tongue feverishly working against mine as I preen into his soft mouth. My hands fumble to gain some purchase, holding onto the blonde’s shoulders as he delightedly hums into my mouth. My head begins to spin, every point of contact between us gives off a steady burn.

The ache in my chest starts to quickly grow, my body begging the blonde to relieve it with his touch. His other hand joins the one already at my waist, cool fingers sliding beneath my shirt to slowly drag over my sides.

Teeth tug at my lower lip and I whine, slightly tightening my hold on the blonde and moving my hands to pull at his hair. He deeply groans as his fingers dig into my skin, holding me even closer against him and not allowing any space for me to move.

He chuckles in amusement between us when I eagerly match his rhythm, before he gently pulls away and I desperately try to chase the sensation. His eyes are half lidded as he lazily shoots me a smug smile, our heavy breathing sounds between us along with my rapidly thrumming pulse in my ears. He presses a teasing kiss to my forehead, my nose scrunching up in indignation before a hand shoots out from under my shirt to grab onto my hair.

He pulls my head further back as his face dives into the depths of my neck, a sharp intake of breath resounds from me. I hiss as he nips at my exposed skin, his tongue quickly darting over the abused spot to soothe it before I can feel the slight suction of his mouth. The feeling of his lips and the heat of his breath on wet skin causes my eyes to flutter shut at his movements.

“You like that, Princess?” He mumbles against the length of my neck, languidly lapping at the presented skin before him.

I whine in response, overwhelmed with all the sensations I’m experiencing.

“Yeah? I don't hear you, beautiful.”

When my rapid breathing is all that comes out of me, his hold at my waist grows firmer, unsatisfied with my response. He tsks at the lack of communication, me being unable to verbally express what the blonde is currently doing to me. His hands slide down to the back of my thighs and I feel myself softly moan as he pushes up against me.

I can feel how hard he is through the material of his pants as he smiles into my neck.

“Kenny.”

“Yes, Princess?” His voice sounds all too knowing, insistent in teasing me. His voice is low and the resonating sound of it sends shivers throughout my whole entire body.

“Don’t tease.” Frustration leaks through my voice as I beg.

He handsomely laughs and I clench my thighs at the attractive sound, his hands sliding from my thighs to my ass. He lazily watches me, his face so close to mine but purposefully not giving me what I want. I grow impatient and before I can make up my mind, I hook a leg around his waist to flip us to the side. This causes my back to lay against the rough material of the roof, pieces of rubble painfully digging through the fabric of my jacket.

With the blonde hovering over me, I use the leg still wrapped around his waist to bring his larger body closer to mine. His grin grows wide at the quick turn of events, impressed at my sudden display of dominance before he moves again. The friction is much welcomed as he leans his forehead against mine, our rapid breaths mingling with one another.

In retribution, he gathers both of my wrists in one of his hands and brings them up over my head. I bite my lips, excited, and surge my head forward to pull him back in for a kiss. With less than an inch between our lips, a beam of light shines on us.

A worker from the drive-in stares up at us with a flashlight in his hands, his lips are slightly parted at catching us. Before he can yell at us for watching the movie for free and for trespassing the adjacent building, Kenny lets out a loud laugh before he helps me to my feet. The blonde quickly gathers our things into his backpack and tugs me back to the stairwell. He doesn't forget to flash a middle finger at the interruption.

The sounds of our elated laughter and our shoes rapidly meeting the pavement of the stairwell echoes out into the night.

・ ─ ・ ⋯ ・ ─ ⊹ ♡₊˚๑

“Are you fucking groping me, you damn homo?!” Cartman shrieks when he feels a hand lightly slide into the back pocket of his pants, jumping away from the intrusion.

Kenny snickers, a smirk on his face as Kyle rolls his eyes. “My bad, dude. Thought you were N/N.”

“Dude.” Stan pipes up from his position at the front of our group with furrowed brows, his eyes never looking away from the screen of his phone. Kyle tugs on the inattentive teen to prevent him from falling off the curb of the sidewalk, lest he gets buried in a snowpile.

The blonde casually makes his way back over to my side, stealthily flashing me Cartman’s wallet from the pocket of his parka. He mischievously whispers, a wink accompanying his words.

“Order whatever you want, babe. Food is on me today.”

I giggle as Craig snorts from my other side, his hand in the back pocket of my jeans as he slightly tugs me closer to his side away from the blonde thief. The boys spontaneously decided on a day out to the amusement park when news broke out that none of our parents would be needing their cars this weekend.

My brother and Tolkien are currently looking at tickets online and are deciding between North Park Funland, previously known as Cartmanland when we were younger, or the Denver Amusement Park. Swayed by Cartman’s demand for nostalgia (and his annoying whining) to go to his former namesake, the group relents at the larger teen’s choice.

Having chosen our destination, the boys divide into two different cars. Stan has our mom’s car with Kyle obviously being the given passenger for his vehicle. This leaves the rest of the boys to get into a heated argument on seating arrangements as the combined number of seats is still lacking an extra seat.

But before the guys can further debate, Craig pulls me onto his lap in my brother’s car. This causes Stan to splutter and vehemently refuse to settle with this decision. Everyone rolls their eyes and collectively tells him to shut the fuck up for once, wanting to leave already. Clyde and Butters quickly calls dibs to tag along in the back with us and soon we are on our way.

The scenery passes by as music resounds throughout the car, Clyde insistent on being on the AUX. The rest of the boys bag on his music tastes but he only turns up the volume louder in spite. All too soon, we become compliant to the songs the brunette wants to play to avoid our eardrums from bursting. He and Butters loudly sing along to the melody, dramatically dancing to every beat and giving the curly haired teen at the front a headache.

I giggle along with their antics until I feel one of the hands wrapped around my waist slide down to my inner thigh, my eyebrows quirking up as I make eye contact with Craig in the rearview mirror. He responds with a lifted eyebrow of his own before he gently squeezes the purchase of skin he has access to. I glance around to see if anyone else can see us before I lightly bring my elbow back to hit him in the side for teasing me when my own brother is in the car, but he only smirks.

I roll my eyes and decidedly ignore him as Clyde asks a stupid question, my mouth opening to laugh at him. I continue to ignore the ravenette under me anytime he squeezes or pokes me for attention. He sighs near one of my ears before intertwining all of our fingers together, my eyes darting up to catch a peek of his reflection.

He moodily looks out of the window with a pout on his face. The downward quirk of his lips is so miniscule that it would’ve been hard to see had I not been looking for it. I smile in fondness and quickly squeeze our joined hands together. His head moves towards my direction so quickly in excitement that I can’t help but to let out a small laugh under my breath.

Cute.

#south park #south park x reader #craig tucker x reader #kenny mccormick #craig tucker #south park fanfiction #kenny mccormick x reader #lalawrites

[moonshotsx]

there was nothing left but the scent of a flower - sashnetra (flower shop au)

tattoo artist and the flower shop owner, a tale as old as time

-

"Uh, it looks like someone finally bought up the old store".

Sasha lifted her eyes from the flower arrangement she was working on when she heard her apprentice speak.

"Really?"

"A tattoo shop? That's interesting, pretty sure it's the first one in this area," Marcia continued, "Oh! Is that a duckling as a logo? That's so cute!"

"A duck as a tattoo shop logo? That's a first," Sasha commented with a chuckle, her attention back towards the job at hand. She had a few hours to finish it before the client was supposed to pick it up.

"It's got a scar over one of its eyes, to be fair, very intimidating," Marcia teased before her attention was captured by someone walking out of the shop, "Oh my god, is that the new owner? She's hot!"

That caught Sasha's attention as well.

She quickly made her way to the window where Marcia had been standing, sneaking a look over the tall apprentice.

Marcia didn't lie. A stunning brunette was just outside the building in just a white tank top and jeans. She was too far away to properly get a look at her features, but Sasha was enjoying the view regardless.

The way her muscles flexed as the mysterious woman leaned to clean the window was making her all-

"I know she's hot, but you can stop drooling on my shoulder, Sash," Marcia's voice brought her back to reality, realizing just how long she had been staring with her mouth open.

"Mind your business, girlie," she hit Marcia's shoulder playfully only prompting a laugh from the latter.

"Yes, mom," she showed her tongue before adding, "You should go greet her, you're the owner here, isn't that good etiquette?"

"We are far too busy today with all those deadlines just days away, we have at least twenty more orders to satisfy just today," Sasha reasoned as she made her way back to the flower arrangement she had been working on.

"C'mon, how long it's going to take you to say hi to her? I'll cover up for you," Marcia showed off her impeccable smile that only made the florist more suspicious.

"You being so adamant about me meeting with the new tattoo shop owner surely has nothing to do with how you were telling me to 'please get laid, you've been so stressed that I can cut your tension with a butter knife'?" Sasha made air quotes with her fingers as she repeated their conversation from the week prior.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Marcia said in a sing-song tone, twirling around to the register.

Sasha narrowed her eyes, slightly shaking her head, "You're something else, Marsh," she exhaled loudly, "But, fine, I'll go greet her once I'm done with this arrangement. You'll take care of the register and the three clients that are supposed to pick up their orders this afternoon, got it?".

"Works for me," Marcia gave her the thumb's up before skipping her way to the back to get the already finished flower arrangements, a smirk plastered on her face.

Once left alone, Sasha sighed again, "I'm not that desperate to get laid, am I?"

-

Just a little over an hour later, Sasha found herself in front of the tattoo shop's door as she was greeted with an embossed logo on the glass and the sign 'We're Open!'.

She checked herself out for a moment on the window before walking inside, the sound of a tiny bell ringing to announce her arrival.

"Hello?"

It was clear the shop was still finishing up the last details before an official opening. Some framed pictures and artworks were leaning against the freshly unboxed furniture, ready to be nailed to the rich purple walls.

The only thing already hung up was a neon version of the duck logo Marcia had been talking about, quite the statement piece, Sasha might add.

Her snooping around was interrupted by a muted thud coming from under the desk, followed by a muttered curse.

"Are you alright, baby?" Sasha asked as she furrowed her brows.

At first only two eyes peeked from the check-in desk, one of them sporting a scar similar to the one of the duckling.

"Yep, all fine, just caught me a bit off guard while I was connecting a few cables for the computer here," the brunette from earlier started explaining and Sasha couldn't help but be fixated on her beauty.

The ticking of the wall clock laying on the couch in the entrance of the shop filled the silence left for a few moments before the tattoo artist spoke up again.

"Oh, wait, I didn't introduce myself," she blurted out, "Sorry, my mind has been all over the place, "Hi! I'm Anetra, welcome to the 'Lost Duckling' tattoo shop. How can I help you out?"

Sasha shook the extended hand, taking in the roughness of Anetra's hand and loving it.

"I'm Sasha, I own the flower shop right in front of your shop? 'Mother Flower'?" She replied with a soft smile, "I just wanted to properly welcome you in to the neighborhood".

"Oh, yeah, I saw it when I was checking out the place, you did a wonderful job with it. Even from the outside, it looks like a flower paradise!"

"I'm liking what you've done so far with your place too, 'Lost Duckling', you said?"

Anetra blushed, "Yeah, I just put together a childhood obsession with ducks and the story of my life to come up with that," she let out a nervous chuckle and scratched the back of her head.

"I never felt like I belonged growing up, you know being mixed at first, then coming out didn't help," she continued explaining herself, "So, I kind of always felt like a lost duckling trying to find my way in the world, you know?"

Before Sasha had any time to reply, Anetra shook her head, "God, I'm so sorry, trauma dumping on a first meeting isn't the best look," she whined before adding, "It's just... you got a calming aura about you, I feel like I can tell you everything," she blurted out, only to be stopped by Sasha's had on hers.

"It's okay," Sasha said, "You're not the first one to tell me that. I'm glad you feel safe around me," she paused, "I really hope that you'll find your place one day".

Anything more she wanted to add was stopped in its tracks when her phone started ringing.

Sasha looked down to see the number of one of her clients, she knew she had to answer.

"It was a pleasure to meet you, Anetra. Feel free to come by the shop any time," Sasha waved the brunette goodbye before answering her phone, "Hi, this is Sasha Colby, how can I help you?".

Anetra watched as Sasha exited her shop, giving her a tiny wave before the door closed behind her.

"Yeah, I think I might have found my place," she muttered to herself with a smile.

#fic prompt #sashnetra #flower shop au

[mynamesaplant]

Love is a Cold Bowl of Soup (Part One)

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I've been working on this one for a bit. I hope you enjoy!! Thanks to Monsoon-of-Art for the beta! Don't want to read it on Tumblr? I have it on AO3!

Summary: Akari's been tasked to find some ingredients for soup and learns to ask for help from the people in her life.

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-Sootfoot root -Medicinal leeks -Vegetable broth -Moomoo milk -Wild garlic -Crunchy Salt -Pep-Up plant

Akari didn’t know exactly that the professor had in mind when he asked her and Rei to go find these things, but it seemed to be some sort of recipe. She followed in the wake of the man clad in Security Corp red, dividing her attention between the list and the path they trekked.

A grimace came to her face as she recalled the last time the professor had tried to be adventurous with foreign recipes and native ingredients. The poor captain had been sick for almost two days. Akari hadn’t fared too well herself, but she powered through like always.

Now the professor was on this new kick, and he was gleefully cryptic about it - needless to say, it worried everyone. They all knew Laventon meant well, but nobody wanted to be decommissioned by some toxic concoction.

Akari herself was already constructing her excuses. She was nervous about battling Ingo on the Path of Solitude (battling Ingo usually scared the daylights out of her- he was so tough!) and couldn’t stomach anything or Wanda had mysteriously disappeared again (Akari knew she would perform a vanishing act the second the noxious smell of whatever the professor was cooking wafted down the hall). It couldn’t be directly Pokémon related, because then the professor would be inclined to accompany the Survey Corps’ top member.

Akari’s breath began to pick up with a sharp incline that preceded that pass to the highlands basecamp. She was caked in mud from trudging through the marshes in search of some halfway decent Sootfoot. The professor said he needed about thirty or so.

“About this big.”

He had said, holding out his fist so she could get a sense of what he needed. The leeks had been easy. The fieldlands were teaming with them. Akari had also gathered the vegetables that Beni needed to make the professor’s broth. She had sent those back with some of the Security Corp as they were headed back to town, that way Beni could get started right away. With all his hemming and hawing, Akari was surprised he agreed at all, she had definitely heard him mumble something about how a new spate of food poisoning would affect business at the Wall Flower.

She couldn’t blame the old man, the influx of customers who were too terrified of any of the food served in Galaxy Hall usually meant they were streaming into his restaurant, which was good for business but bad for his back.

Akari’s eyes quickly flicked to the peak of Mount Coronet when they reached basecamp. She couldn’t help it. It was so strange to see the sky above it so empty. Not that she wasn’t glad that all she saw was blue sky, but it still made her chest tighten to think of all that happened up there.

Dialga and Palkia, Volo and Giratina - suddenly she was very conscious of the Arc phone resting heavily on her hip and its sudden weight made her shiver. Her invitation from the being who put her here was still fresh in her mind. Ever since she completed Cogita’s request to catch Enamorus, she had felt a draw toward the peak as her curiosity ate at her.

Why?

Why was she here? Why her? These questions still took up a corner of her mind, solid and unbearable to contemplate. Akari would lie very still at night and just stare above her without seeing. Not so much in Jubilife with a roof over her head. When she found herself under a blanket of stars, bathed in moonlight with a cool breeze rustling her unbound hair, she asked herself why and she could feel tears sting her eyes.

She asked an uncaring cosmos why she was here, and she was met with silence. A silent, dark phone. A dreamless, restless sleep. The silence spoke volumes, so Akari learned to stop asking… But not completely.

Her hands curled into fists as she refitted her pack and exchanged her Pokémon for ones that would be more suited to battles in the highlands. Akari’s selection included Samurott, Yanmega, Roserade, Froslass, Alakazam, and Arcanine. Samurott looked over her shoulder while Akari rummaged through the trunk containing her possessions, grabbing some extra balls and potions.

She was still trying to find some Cherrim to jump out at her from the trees and she might as well try to find as many shaking trees as possible while she was here. Last time she had come to the highland, she had spent over a month there trying to get Nosepass to jump out from ore deposits and had almost given up on multiple occasions.

Her Pokémon nudged her side carefully, doing his best not to gore her and his diligence earned him an affectionate scratch on the cheek. He grumbled his approval, offering her a playful nip which made her sour expression disappear. She thanked the Security Corp, returned her Samurott to the confines of his ball, and withdrew her flute from her belt.

The instrument had undergone a drastic change not too long ago. Although her fellow Galaxy Team members didn’t seem to notice anything strange in her flute, Akari brought it hesitantly to her lips and just as quickly lowered it.

Adaman had taught her how to use the Celestica flute, the wardens had guided her through the familiar melodies that all the Nobles seemed to respond to, but nobody taught her about this instrument. It still sounded like the original, the music still possessed its haunting and echoey tone, but this blue flute held no resemblance to the one she had been gifted.

Akari hadn’t shown a soul this new flute. She was afraid how any of them would react. She exhaled and brought the flute to her lips, playing Lord Wyrdeer’s song. Despite her hand placement feeling weird and the notes quivering with uncertainty, the lord of the field still answered her call. She could see him trotting up the pass, appearing out of the mist with a small bob of his great head, acknowledging Akari as she clambered up onto his back and patting his neck in reply. Without prompting, the noble took off in the direction of Wayward Cave.

The lady of the cliffs snickered, exchanging a few unintelligible words with Lord Wyrdeer right before he took his leave. Lady Sneasler tousled the girl’s hair and then summarily dumped Akari into her basket so she could haul the surveyor up and down the cliffs to collect salt. Akari really only needed a few chunks of salt, but she found the rocking motion soothing as Sneasler scrambled around the rock face with ease. She gave no direction after collecting all she needed and Sneasler chirped with delight when Akari gave her free reign to go where she wanted.

What was the professor going to make? It seemed to be some kind of soup, but no kind of soup she had ever heard of. Maybe it was Galarian or something? They had some very strange ideas about food and flavors sometimes… At the bottom of Clamberclaw Cliffs, she saw herself out of the basket and turned to thank the Pokémon, but the noble was already taking her leave. She did at least turn to acknowledge Akari’s announcement of thanks, dangling by one paw and snorted before hauling herself over the lip of the cliff.

On her own once again and suddenly not really in the mood to head back to any of the basecamps, Akari started wandering.

She wanted to keep her mind clear, forcing her eyes in front of her rather than on the looming peak above her. Looming was the right word, wasn’t it? It felt overbearing, like unseen eyes were burning into her and invisible hands were grabbing at her.

Come find me. Face me.

No.

Not yet.

She wasn’t ready.

Her work wasn’t done. The Pokédex was unfinished. So many people still needed her help. She folded her arms and half hunched, trudging along. She had fallen from the sky almost two years ago. She had almost resigned herself to the fact that Hisui was her home now.

Ingo had been here for seven years and still held a glimmer of hope that he might someday at least remember home. He held no delusions about returning. He had built his life, he cemented himself in his community, but he never quite gave up on the life he couldn’t quite recall.

Akari had done likewise.

She grew roots. People liked her. People relied on her. She couldn’t let them down… She sniffled, feeling her legs wobble because the weight of the world hadn’t been quite removed from her shoulders. It was a terrible burden.

“Why did you do this to me?”

She asked, voice trembling as badly as her shoulders with how hard she tried to hold in her sobs.

Akari tried so hard not to cry in front of others. Only a few people had caught her - she did her best to hide herself away when she got weepy - and they had tried to offer her comfort, tried to be supportive, but nobody really understood. Not the full extent of it. Akari couldn’t explain. She barely understood herself. An enigmatic force took her from her room in her pajamas and told her to complete a task. She was trying while more and more got piled on to her shoulders. It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t right!

Laventon had clucked sympathetically when she had burst into tears after learning she was tasked with dealing with Lord Kleavor. He wrapped an arm around her, offering her a clean handkerchief from his pocket that Akari took with shaking hands.

His presence at her side felt warm and comforting, like when she had a tough day and her mother wrapped up in her arms, kissing the top of her head while she murmured that it was okay. He still didn’t know this teenager well enough to provide her the comfort she really needed, but he tried. He was one of the few she actually sought out when things really started to weigh on her, but not recently.

Not with this.

Rei had nervously shifted on his feet when he found Akari crying in her bed, still in her sleepwear and hair a tangled mess. She had been up half the night tossing and turning, suffocating under the weight of her responsibility. He didn’t know what to say, but quickly obeyed when she barked out at him to get out, especially with her then team at the time (Dewott, Lopunny, Stunky, Staravia, Drifblim, and Tangela) bullying him out the door.

He waited outside and awkwardly slapped her on the shoulder, his encouraging smile more of a grimace than anything else. She had resolved at the time not to cry in front of anyone else, no matter how much it hurt. Not too long after that resolution, the sky began to bleed.

Mai had seen her cry when she had been banished and she tucked a strand of hair behind Akari’s ear while she tried to stave her own tears. She held the gasping girl tight and apologized over and over again.

The warden’s heart went out to this poor girl, but there was nothing she could do with her. Not directly. Mai was the first person to tell Akari she was sorry. Not a soul in Hisui had said it as earnestly as Mai had, and it only served to make her sob harder.

She just wanted someone to treat her like the kid she was for one damn second. Not a savior. Not an outsider. Just a teenager.

Akari had buried her face in Mai’s shoulder and just stayed with the warden until not a drop remained. There was nothing the clans could do for her. Akari took her leave. Volo found her not a few hours later.

Cogita knew the most about Akari’s situation, even without her telling the woman much. Akari got the impression that Cogita knew a lot more than she let on, just like Volo, and she was as transparent as she could be with the mysterious woman.

She had spoken to her gently, calling her ‘lost one’ but not unkindly. She offered Akari a cup of tea, just like the professor did on bad days, which only made her tears grow hotter in her anguish. The life she was trying to build for herself as she tried to make the best of her situation was so abruptly and harshly torn from her that she didn’t know what to do but cry in front of this perfect stranger.

Cogita had been sensible enough to give her some space but nudged the warm cup closer to her hands in a silent encouragement to drink.

When she had been granted permission to return to Jubilife and she was able to convince herself that she could come back in relative safety, Akari started battling at the dojo more often. She didn’t want to be caught off guard again and she reasoned that by having a strong body like Captain Zisu’s and strong Pokémon like Warden Ingo’s then she wouldn’t fear being banished again.

Not without a fight at least.

She found herself battling Ingo as often as she trained with Zisu. Akari wasn’t always victorious, but the warden was always aiming her towards victory.

After one particularly grueling battle, one that had seen the change from an orange dusk to a blue-black evening, Ingo had ended up as the victor.

Gliscor had made a beeline for his trainer, screeching happily with the outcome and Ingo chuckled, scrubbing the Pokémon’s cheeks before turning to Akari. Her face had been cast down, her Abomasnow lay a few feet away, but she made no move to return her or aid her Pokémon in any fashion. It was very unlike Akari.

Ingo had already launched into a rousing speech, but his words faltered as the number of inconsistencies started to add up in his mind. The girl’s hands were curled into shaking fists at her sides. Her shoulders were quivering. She bowed her head lower, trying in vain to scramble for a ball that her trembling fingers couldn’t manage to grip, only just managing to flip the lock on the ball to have her Pokémon return to her.

“Miss Akari?”

She cringed, jerking away like she was burned. Was she crying? Because she lost? She had never cried before, but this seemed different somehow.

Ingo did not consider himself a warm and fuzzy kind of guy, but something stirred in his mind when he saw young Akari crying and trying to hide that fact from him. She rubbed at her obscured eyes with her sleeve, trying to sniffle quietly - the sight felt oddly familiar.

He was frozen for a moment, a not so clear memory coming to him because he had done this. He had comforted someone else -someone very close to him- many times before his arrival to Hisui. He returned his Pokémon and reached Akari in two strides, he started to reach for her but hesitated.

“Come this way, Akari.”

Ingo coaxed her gently, hand extended. He didn’t want to grab her, despite the ghost of an impulse to hug her tightly seizing him, he knew not to infringe on other’s space like that. Not without permission. Akari looked up at him through tear flecked lashes, her mouth drawn into a tight grimace as she attempted not to burst into tears. She took his hand easily.

Zisu was on her break with the other dojo regulars at the Wallflower, so he ushered her inside the empty building and sat her on a bench. He resisted the urge to interrogate her, she would only rebuff him until she stormed away to seek the safety and privacy of her quarters.

She hid her face in her hands, body heaving with silent sobs with her shoulders tensed up by her ears. He asked her if it was okay to hold her and she jerked her head, making a small noise of assent. Tears dribbled from the cracks between Akari’s fingers - she didn’t even know what had brought on the sudden waterworks.

She felt a sudden weight being draped over her shoulders, it startled Akari enough to look up as the warden took a seat beside her.

His coat was sun bleached and torn, but still retained heat and deflected all sorts of precipitation well and she was grateful for it on this cool autumn evening. She drew the lapels in tighter and remained huddled there for a moment, keeping her eyes firmly on the ground. Ingo didn’t ask why.

He just let her cry and occasionally rubbed her back between shoulder blades in an encouraging sort of way, like he was silently telling her it was okay to cry.

It was okay to feel sad or overwhelmed or scared or whatever she was feeling. She was safe and he was there if she wanted to talk about it. Although, that thought hadn’t quite clicked for Akari yet as she hiccuped an apology.

“I’m sorry. I… I don’t know why I’m crying.”

“We don’t always have to know exactly why we feel a certain way. Just that we feel it and that we be allowed to express ourselves. You don’t have to apologize for it.”

The words had a soothing effect, she leaned against his side and Ingo didn’t budge. There was an old ache in his heart because he knew he shared a similar sentiment before. 

The warden only left her side to light a few lanterns in the dark interior of the dojo and to brew some tea, otherwise Ingo remained steadfast at her side. The sound of brook running through Jubilife and the distant chirps of Kricketots harmonizing soothed the girl, eventually her breathing evened out and tear tracks down her cheeks had dried.

She thanked him.

She didn’t explain, but she thanked him for just being there for her.

There were no prying eyes this time, no one to bear witness to these tears. Nobody to console the girl that fell from the sky. They were kind, but it had taken so long to get there.

It had taken so long to feel safe when she was thrown into this situation. She had performed every painstaking task - she had the scars to prove each and every one. She endured and she had been thanked, but it didn’t feel like enough.

Did that make her selfish?

Did that make her petty?

Why should a seventeen-year-old have to consider such things?

A long snout nudged into her cheek. Her Samourott insisted for her attention, rumbling out his concern as he nosed her again. She felt something cool snuggling into one side and something thorny jabbing her other side, Froslass and Roserade offering their comfort.

Arcanine’s warm muzzle nudged her other cheek, whimpering and gently nipping at her hands to lick at her face.

Yanmega’s bristly, twig-like legs rested on her shoulders, his thorax running the length of her back, with every buzz of his wings making her vision blur.

Alakazam sat in front of her, the Pokémon’s hands extended Akari could see between her fingers, holding out for her to take hold of them. Samarott also started trying to nip at her hands, trying to pry her hands away, and finally Akari relented.

Her Pokémon surrounded her, and she felt a knot in her chest loosen. Air suddenly found its way into her lungs. The tightness in her throat eased. She was loved. Even so far away from her home, her true home, Akari was loved.

Her Pokémon loved her. They stuck by her through and through on this whole journey. They had their own scars to prove it. She was loved.

Irida and Adaman loved her. They risked everything to help her. They were like the older siblings she never had.

The captain loved her… In her own special way. When she got banished, the captain gave her the tools and encouragement necessary to save them all because she believed in Akari. She told the girl that she expected her back in one piece, which was probably the closest Akari would ever get to hearing motherly concern from her captain.

Professor Laventon loved her. He watched every moment of her progress with beaming pride.

Yes, it had hurt. It hurt that nobody seemed to trust her. It hurt that nobody seemed to have any sympathy for the teenager. It hurt that Arceus didn’t answer when she asked why.

It hurt to think that she would never see her mom again. Her best friend who she had made plans to go to lunch with next week. Her dad was going to visit from overseas next month. Her little Glameow she named Glitter.

Akari was allowed to mourn and cry and be upset about the injustice of it all, but she shouldn’t have to hide that pain.

When she resolved not to cry, to keep her pain to herself, she isolated herself from those around her.

How could they possibly understand?

Well, how could they understand unless she opened up and explained it to them? She had only ever done that with Cogita and the woman hadn’t overstepped her boundaries but she was wholly sympathetic to Akari’s case. How could she expect these people to understand if she didn’t give them the whole story?

Akari thanked all her Pokémon and returned them to their balls. She pushed the heels over her hands into her burning eyes and stood very still for a moment.

She had been wrong.

Trust is a two-way street, and she didn’t trust the Galaxy Team or the clans to understand her plight. She had never given them a chance.

“Still…”

Like all people who were trying to be emotionally vulnerable, Akari was hesitant to do so. She knew who to talk to first and she just so happened to have to make a delivery to him.

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#pokemon #legends of arceus #pla #pokemon legends arceus #pokemon: legends arceus #pokemon legends: arceus #p:la #pl:a #pkmn #warden ingo #warden mai #clan leader irida #clan leader adaman #pokemon irida #pokemon adaman #pokemon warden ingo #pokemon warden mai #cogita #legends arceus #pokemon cogita #pokemon volo #volo #pokemon akari #pokemon rei #pokemon professor laventon #professor laventon #pokemon laventon #pokemon cyllene #captain cyllene #pla volo

[sonsofichor]

The Mark of Wolves - Red Rising fic

Drabble I

Drabble II

Lea

Waking up from a dreamless sleep, I open my eyes to the sight of Cassius snoring quietly on the durobag next to me.

I keep still, taking a moment to just watch the rise and fall of his chest. I can hear the regular breaths of two others in the room. The last member of our party of five is missing.

After Fitchner left yesterday, and Cassius didn’t come back, Roque and I had made our way back to the fort. Whatever the medBots had shot in me was prime stuff because I completed the trek on my own two feet, although I was half-asleep by the time Roque pushed me down on my pellet.

Cassius and the girls must’ve returned after us.

Sunlight streams through the window. It's the fourth day at the Institute. It’s my first morning—the first since what feels like forever, but has only been a day or two. Like so much else, I understand the concept of mornings and what they entail, but I can’t conjure up images to go with them. I’m curious what they look like.

Rubbing the last vestiges of sleep from my eyes, I sit up and survey the room. Quinn and Roque are resting on their own durobags. Lea’s durobag between them is empty.

My headache is completely gone and my sight is clear and sharp. A night’s sleep has done me good. My muscles are still sore, but I feel light and well-rested.

I find Lea in what once might have been the kitchen, preparing a simple breakfast of fruits, some bread and jam.

“Darrow, good morning!” She smiles brightly. “How are you feeling?”

“Prime. But hungry,” I admit, “This looks delicious. May I?”

“Of course! You’re the one who brought us bread, after all.” She recounts Orientation Day, how Cassius and I fought Ceres students, and how we’d succeeded in bringing some of the food during our escape. “Fortunately, we found these here.”

She shows me a clear durobag filled with a rustic survival box of iodine, the last of our food, a compass, rope, a toothbrush, and sulfur matches. So supplies have been hidden about the valley. Something tells me there are more important items hidden in the countryside than little survivor kits. Weapons? Transportation? Armor? Technology? 

They can’t mean for us to make war with sticks and stones and metal tools. And if they don’t want us to kill each other, stun weapons must soon replace our metal ones.

I don’t know how the damn game is even played. So, information. I ask, “How big is the Institute?”

Lea picks the compass and I follow her outside. She puts the compass down in front of her when the needle points her feet north, picks a stick and starts drawing shapes on the ground.

My eyes narrow and then widen in realization.

She is drawing me a map.

A mountain range to the west. To the southeast, the woods. Dividing the two is a lush plain split by a massive southbound river, the Argos, and its tributaries. Farther south, past the plains and rivers, the ground dips away into bushes. “Marshes,” Lea explains. 

Two rivers in a forested valley split our northern territory, which is at the edge of a vast wilderness. They form a V pointing southwest to the lowlands, where they eventually form one tributary to the Argos. Surrounding the valley are the highlands.

She draws two towers and a castle. “This is where our House is located. This is Phobos.” It lies in the far southwest of our territory. The second tower stands northwest where the two rivers meet in the valley to form their V. It crowns a distant dwarf mountain range. “And here is Deimos.”

The eastern river is called the Furor. The western, which runs just south of our castle, is the Metas. A single bridge spans the Metas. An enemy would have to cross it to enter between the V into the valley and strike northeast across easy, wooded ground to reach our castle.

In the southern plains, another castle. House Ceres. They might be exposed but they have crops and orchards inside their castewalls. No siege will bother them.

I commit the map to memory and thank Lea. She smiles sweetly. Everything about her is soft and sweet. She reminds me of fruit. Of the peaches we just ate. She’s so different from athletic Cassius, bold Quinn, even dependable Roque. What is someone like her doing here? 

When she wants to go out and gather more food, I offer to accompany her.

She blinks rapidly, mouth opening and closing a few times. I’ve surprised her again.

We go south. 

Yesterday, I was too busy putting one foot in front of the other to notice the beauty of the place. Now, I let my eyes rove. I drink up the world.

Lea teaches me the names of birds, of insects, and plants and trees. Shows me how to distinguish between the poisonous and edible mushrooms and berries. 

On our way back, we decide to take a short break in a small clearing. Sitting side by side, she tells me how to read the time by watching the position of the sun in the sky. It’s hard, mainly because I don’t like looking up.

On Mars, the stars shine bright during the day too. I squint at the star-speckled sky and don’t know why the sight of its vastness makes my stomach tie itself in a knot.

It’s so beautiful it terrifies me.

Lea falls quiet and eventually dozes off on my shoulder. I sit here a while, listening to the passerine birds. I close my eyes. 

The world is strange and frightening and resplendent. So different from the void in my head, the hollowness in my chest. It feels like someone’s cut me open and scraped out everything that gave my life shape. 

My thoughts confuse me. They send me conflicting messages.  I cannot trust my instincts. Flee. Kill. Run. Fight. I have so many questions. They fill my head. A buzzing hivemind. 

I don’t know which one’s worse; the noise, or the pressing emptiness.

I think only in the present, live only for the close future. The past is gone, except for sudden spikes of feelings—fear, grief, rage, mostly—that leave my heart a stuttering mess. I keep wanting to claw out of my skin, wishing for someone to split my head open and sort through the chaos in there.

But it’s not all bad.

I might not fully have recovered, but I’m on my way there. Lea’s head is a comforting weight on my shoulder. The sun beats strongly overhead. The wind is refreshingly cool on my skin. My friends are waiting for me.

It feels bloody good to know where you are in the world.

#red rising fanfic #red rising fic #darrow au andromedus #lea #cassius au bellona #if you wanna know how i see these two #imagine a big mean dog and a sweet little kitty #btw there're some chunks missing from the drabble but #i'll add them later in chapter 2 on ao3

[c-midori]

The Octonauts Mermaid AU

MELTDOWN

"Think about it, think about it. What IS that? Thing’s gotta be endangered and I MIGHT have killed it. UGH."

Yuma was sweating a lot. Not only did they catch something they didn’t recognize, but it was starting to bleed out. After quickly sanitizing their paws, the coyote slowly put down the fishing rod and ran over to this turnip-looking creature.

"It’s a good thing dad knew how to get these stuck hooks out. Just gotta push down on this, and…" Yuma firmly but worryingly yanked it out of its tail. Almost immediately, where blood ran down, the flesh rebuilt itself immediately, like there was never anything there to begin with. Weird feature, but definitely came in handy in an area like this.

Yuma had to figure out what they were gonna do now. The Meomiverse was WEIRD, they got that. But even in the Meomiverse, something this simple yet so complex was beyond belief for the coyote.

There turned out to be another injury: a bruise on the back of this creature’s head. And unlike the fishhook wound, it was barely recovering.

"It’s those panels from earlier. You must’ve gotten hit," Yuma shook their head. "I can’t let you go back into the open ocean in a condition like this… Ah, fuck it."

Obviously, this coyote had the medical record of a western school nurse. They left the creature near the shore, fall flat on its face with an ice pack sitting on its head with only gravity holding it up. To them, that was good enough, but they’d never compare to Peso, that was for sure.

"It’ll find its way home eventually. I can’t even be bothered… I need rest."

Obviously again, Yuma didn’t understand the importance of that thing.

A certain otter did, though. And when he woke up tomorrow morning, it probably wasn’t gonna be pretty when he realized.

Not that he HAD to know this kind of thing. Nor would he notice.

~~~~

Tracker silently stared at Paani, slowly squirming around in the inflatable pool that the bear brought with him. Ever since he heard the word "mermaids", he had made some last-minute packing decisions, and this was one of the only good ones, even if he didn’t realize it until now.

Yeshi walked over to Tracker, munching on another one of his macarons. Of course, packing his whole messenger bag full of them was just as stupid, but at least it would keep him fed for his time here. He was more than happy to share some with Tracker as well.

Not like either knew how long they’d be here anyways. Maybe until the new year, even.

Suddenly, a ringing came from the cockpit. Everyone down here, even Orson and Ursa, knew it was Ryla calling back. As soon as they all heard it, Ranger Marsh immediately picked up in excitement.

"Well, that was certainly quicker than I expected!" The bunny waved. "How’s it going down there-"

"OI! Ranger, this is AMAZING!" Ryla exclaimed. "Everyone’s down here, and there’s NO legs but mine! Like… Say hello, everybody!"

As the wombat faced her Octo-Watch at the others, Marsh’s eyes widened greatly, now at a loss for words. It really was the others. Dashi was there, as were Pearl and Bianca, all in the launch bay. Maybe he could even see Tweak if she was awake.

"NATQUIK! Oh me, oh my, oh YES!" He ran for him immediately, excitement flowing through his veins. "IT'S REAL! REAL, I TELL YOU! LOOK! LOOK!”

The shouting from her Pa started to get Tweak's attention. She was tired from replacing the windshield on the GUP-A, but she could’ve sworn she suddenly woke up just by hearing him so… delighted.

He really had to be waiting for her. There wasn’t any reason to keep him so. As she looked back at the GUP, she knew there was no time to waste, like Barnacles said.

Natquik trudged into the cockpit, one paw on his face, the other being dragged by Marsh. He knew something was clearly up but he couldn’t figure it out.

And so, he opened his eyes, and gasped.

"Oi, Natquik! You seem groggy, sorry about that… But I’ve got some good news for you!" Ryla waved to him through the screen, feeling a little less wild than earlier. The fox, now wide awake, paid full attention, calmer than he ever was through these days.

"From what I’ve seen, everyone is, as expected, alive. And yes, like what Barnacles did say, they all DID become mermaids. It’s been about half a week since the whole thing started, but I suppose the Octonauts managed to tidy up the site rather quickly. Dashi and I have gone around the Octopod and everything seems good. What’s going on up there? Any new plans?"

Natquik slowly shook his head in shame. Ryla was being so enthusiastic, meanwhile, here he was standing like a dumb idiot with nothing to do. He had been too busy with other things which he started to realize were just wasting his time.

"Aw, shucks. I managed to get some samples of what got everyone turned, which Shellington labeled 'lesirena' or some dingus. Gotta admit, it’s a fitting name. Me and these blokes are just fixing up the GUP-A and I’ll be on my way!"

"Hang on, what was that about Shellington?" The fox’s mind went blank.

"Yeah, he was working on an experiment a month ago," Ryla explained, courtesy of Dashi. "He forgot to put it away and it spilled everywhere. I’m sure Paani told you already, seeing as he IS there with you guys."

He wasn’t listening. He was just thinking, now that he wasn’t losing his mind. He needed to figure out this… revelation he thought he just had.

"Oi, you oughta be tired… Welp, mate, I’ll see you around. ‘Scuse me as I finish up here… BYE!!!"

"Nat? You feelin’ okay?" Marsh noted the random silence, and tapped on his shoulder. "You seem scared."

"As a matter of fact… yes I am." Natquik quietly sighed, now starting to figure out WHY he was feeling so agitated. "Can we go talk on the roof?"

"Sure thing, Nat."

~~~~

As Ryla drove the now-dry GUP-A into the open ocean, Tweak felt a little embarrassed not being able to say hello, but her tail kept sparkling with electricity as she believed she still had a chance to see HIM again.

"Alright, y’all." She swam over to the others. "This thing is ready to roll! Bianca, Ryla, load the vials in the back. And BE CAREFUL."

The merbear held on tightly to the box of them, handing them over to the wombat, who set it on the seat next to her. From there, Tweak figured it would be smooth sailing. Just get the contained lesirena to shore, make sure it was put in a safe area, and leave this GUP floating on the surface for any future usage, if that was needed.

However, Ryla had other ideas after that. Ideas that would change her life. Ideas with irreversible effects.

The only obstacle she had to overcome was the fox in charge above the surface.

Natquik.

~~~~

The Americas weren’t as affected by the 3/30/21 "Ring Of Fire" earthquakes and tsunamis as the Far East was, yet the tide still ran high. The cold temperatures were completely unrelated. They bothered no one, not even Marsh who only knew the heat. He was laying on cold metal anyways.

"So, like, what’s on your mind?" He looked over at Natquik, staring at the distant lights of Guadalupe's communities before looking back at him.

"Ah, right. Well, I suppose I should explain it all," said the fox, as he took a deep breath.

It turns out, he feared not that the Octonauts were mermaids, but that they were on their own. They were almost completely uncontactable, too.

"You see, Marsh, and maybe this would make sense for you, ever since I first noticed what happened, I was sent into a silent panic. Just worrying for the safety of the Octonauts, the people who brought us together… not knowing just WHAT could’ve happened."

Well, no wonder, Marsh thought. He knew how that felt. And sadly, unlike the Octonauts, he never heard from his wife ever again.

Perhaps this was just the sign of a new beginning.

"What do you suppose we do?" The bunny’s ears drooped. "I’d imagine both of us got an idea, but I can’t think faster than you can say buncha munchy crunchy carrots… I promise we can do this, Nat. Just come up with your ideas, I’ll come up with mine.

"Thank you, Marsh… I best sleep now. I'm tired and resting helps calm me down." The fox wrapped his arms around the Ranger, before climbing down.

Marsh stayed on the rooftop, waiting for anything to show up on the shore. He felt so warm inside from that gentle fox hug.

"Eccentric severe tumors… he’s actually so sweet." He felt a little drowsy, having gone deep in thought. Staying up here wasn’t a big problem, so he could ponder all night if he wanted.

Ryla stood in front of the Octoray. She had to think this through. As much as she DID want to do this for her friends, she knew the consequences would be HUGE, especially considering how everyone up here would react. But it wasn’t exactly like she cared, because she had the other side’s problem on her mind more.

That short, sweet time she had with her best friends really meant a lot to her. To go back to the surface after just a mere 30 minutes of seeing how they turned (so wonderfully) didn't feel right. Surely everyone cared when she visited the Octopod. It wasn’t fair that she would only be a blip on the radar for them from now on.

If visiting Dashi wasn’t big enough, then getting a TAIL of her own was. She was going to be dead-set on that new plan, even if it was something only SHE knew.

The wombat looked back at the GUP-A, still with the box inside. She decided to take it out and bring it to the back of the aircraft, for the sake of making this thing quick.

As Ryla stepped inside, she took a look at the three others who were staying in the cargo bay. Yeshi was doing absolutely nothing, Tracker was quietly typing away on his laptop, and Paani was asleep.

Would any of them care if she ran away to live down there? Obviously not Paani; he was literally the thing she wanted to be, excluding the permission. Perhaps they’d pass it off as something of no concern. It wasn’t them to decide if she could go or not. Maybe they even felt the same way, but Ryla wanted the sea to herself for now, so she didn’t ask.

Natquik just couldn’t. He really wanted to get some rest, but he just didn’t feel like it. Within seconds, things could turn nasty, and that was something he had to watch for. As such, he always wore his Octo-Watch, keeping one eye open for any calls.

And that’s when the knocking came in. The fox worryingly opened up, only to let out a sigh of relief after his vision adjusted, to see Ryla standing there.

"Yeah, I���m back," the wombat blushed in embarrassment. She stood there, taking off her helmet. She knew she wasn’t gonna need that anymore.

The fox looked at Ryla, a little concerned. She had an uncertain gaze on her face, was trembling a little, and definitely had something on her mind.

She wanted to tell him the truth. But was it really worth it? Did she really want to stress this fox out, when he ALREADY was? Like Marsh waiting for Tweak, she knew Dashi was waiting for her, but…

"Professor, listen to me." Ryla sighed, drooping her ears in regret, which slowly faded in. "My mates are all happy with it… the whole mermaid thing."

Natquik knew she was about to say something in particular, and so he kept his mouth shut. Not that it was a red flag, but…

"If you’re not happy with, that’s okay. But you can’t just pressure that on others. I know this whole thing is painful, but just hear me out, mate-"

"No, it’s not that. If anything, I like how they've ended up…" The fox sighed. Of course, Ryla was away while he collected his mind, so she didn't understand yet. "It's that I don't want them getting hurt, hence why I brought Paani here."

Fair dinkum, the wombat thought. Perhaps the transformative stuff she gathered wasn’t for some kind of vaccine anymore, but rather… No, not yet. Not until she got the green light, which seemed distant beyond belief… unless she simply asked. So, here went nothing.

"Oh! Uh, mate, I brought over those samples you wanted earlier. Do you still need them?"

"I suppose not." Natquik sighed in regret, having made her work so hard. "Try to keep them for… I don’t even know what to use them for. Just don’t let anyone else touch them or my new plans will be IMPOSSIBLE."

New plans? Impossible? Seems legit. How much of an impact could one less person have anyways?

To Ryla, not much, and or none at all.

"Alright… hang on, you said not to let anyone else touch 'em!" She eagerly gasped. "Does that mean I can just go and-"

He wasn’t sure how to feel about it, but Natquik knew what the wombat wanted to do. No one ever came up to him and asked if they could go. He worried a lot, he really did. But if it was something Ryla really wanted… he wasn’t gonna stop her.

"You know what? Knock yourself out. Just don’t say a WORD about it," yawned Natquik with sincerity and a smile, slamming his eyes shut immediately after.

It was 1 in the morning, and at this very time, he HAD to sleep. Otherwise he’d only feel awful all day, which was NOT alright.

Now it was probably just Ryla who was awake at this point. For her, that was perfect. The door was open, no one was out to close it, and there wouldn't be any more waiting.

Of course, she did have to mind that the fox didn’t explicitly say she could do WHATEVER she wanted, but he DID also say not to "let anyone ELSE touch them". That didn’t include herself. Good sign. She knew what to do. At least, not to do it yet. She’d have to give it some time, and at the same time she needed to finish this before the sun rises again.

For now, she held on to one of the fifty little vials, waiting for the golden minute. It was gonna strike any moment.

Actually, no, fuck that, she wasn’t waiting. Ryla ran off after a few seconds, and stood at the edge of the water, staring at her own reflection.

"It’s okay, Ryla. Just stay close to the shore. That way, if anyone gets worried, I’ll come back immediately," The wombat told herself, before taking off her suit, now useless, leaving her with the only tank top she bothered to bring.

It was still hard to pick. She did the research. Did she really have to stay up here any longer? She WAS a cave diver. Her old friend was down there. They were more than happy to see each other again. All that was basic logic, of course, so was it enough to make her want to change?

"You just gotta SEE yourself in it! Believe you can DO this! Just close your eyes… just imagine…" Ryla convinced herself again and again, giving herself these pep talks like there was no time left for her to live.

And that’s when it finally hit her. There truly wasn’t anymore reason to stay up here. She was only 22, but she already felt complete. She’d have achieved her goals about 3 years ago, even if it ended in pain.

"It’s like… I’m going home." Ryla laughed hard, the more she thought about it. "Bonza! It’s perfect! IT'S PERFECT!"

"ALRIGHT!" She downed the vial, and ran for the water. "That’s IT! HERE I COME!"

With a big jump, she made a swan dive into the deeper waters, letting herself be swept away from the island. Within seconds, she could feel her whole lower body change, and she was LOVING it! Her legs immediately melted and morphed, taking the form of a long, silvery needlefish tail that swayed FAR from her waist!

"YEAH! That was AWESOME!" Ryla shouted, cheerfully laughing at her new form. "And crikey, that was FAST!" She dashed down, making her way all back to the Octopod.

She didn’t care about land anymore. All she wanted was to be with her friends, all as mermaids, FOREVER, much to the dismay of anyone still up there.

"Thanks for everything, Natty… All this time, I oughta just ask you~!"

~~~~

As the sun started to rise, approximately 7 AM, Shellington was terrified. He woke up only 5 minutes ago and he could’ve SWORN Tunip was here, with him and Kwazii last night, but now he had just vanished from thin air.

Sure, he could’ve probably just went back to the Octopod, but in an area like this that would be near impossible for someone like him. Could be in HUGE danger as well, which, for Shellington, was NOT GOOD AT ALL. He loved that little guy with ALL his tail.

"C’mon! Tunip’s gotta be somewhere!" He circled around his resting spot, trying to see if he could identify him from a distance, while keeping Kwazii safe as well.

The sea otter’s worry started to actually wake up the kitten. He even lifted his eyepatch up, trying to make sure he wasn’t hallucinating, up until the merotter was right in front of him.

"Shellington? What’s wrong? Ye seem shaken," asked Kwazii, trying to comfort him like last time.

"Oh! Uh, well… Tunip’s missing." He said in an uneasy tone, still looking around, just hoping the Vegimal would show up completely fine. "Know anything about where he is?"

Kwazii shook his head, having been in a sleep just as deep as the otter’s. Maybe Tunip was just playing with the two, but even that couldn’t just be true.

And just when matters couldn’t get worse, right in front of the two little mermaids was one big tiger shark. They had infiltrated on his territory, and he was NOT happy.

"What are ye staring at?!" Came a little confrontation from the kitten. "Can’t handle two mermaids enjoying themselves?" He leaned over and looked the shark right in the snout.

"Nuh-uh," the shark quietly whispered before preparing to charge at Kwazii.

At that, Shellington already wasn’t taking any chances. He grabbed the cat’s arm and tried to swim away as fast as he could, trying to outrun this angry thing, which was STILL catching up even after a minute. Even worse, he didn’t know where he was going and could be headed for another territory of ANOTHER shark. The only upside would be if that distracted the one chasing them right now.

"Ye can give up now! Me boyfriend is hauling me and he’s still going a tad faster than ye ever will," teased Kwazii with a swish of his fin, still holding onto the otter’s paw.

"Lemon, you haven’t seen my TRUE POWER," the tiger shark bitched. "If anything, I’m merely having mercy for you two. In fact, you know what? I think I’ll just… AMBUSH YOU TWO IN A MATTER OF SECONDS I SWEAR TO-"

And that’s when it came outta nowhere. A hefty fluke slammed against the shark’s snout, causing him to flip over like a water bottle in 2017, and retreat almost immediately after.

Shellington rapidly stopped, and looked behind him, watching the sore loser turn around, piss, and make a swim for it. Neither him nor Kwazii hit him, so who did?

"You two okay?"

It was Bianca, just floating there like nothing happened. She managed to stop that fucking shark with a single swing of her TAIL.

Kwazii… awkwardly nodded. He was quite impressed by how fast this issue was resolved. Bianca was just as strong as ever, and that, Pearl definitely liked.

"Yeah, it’s not best to go far out there…" the polar bear giggled. "…especially when you’re ALSO a shark."

"Fair point, fair point," Shellington said, still worried. "Have you seen Tunip by any chance?"

Just by the mentioning of his name, the vegimal showed up RIGHT behind Kwazii, announcing his return with a loud

"Bree!"

"Yeow! There ye are!" The kitten thrashed his tail in surprise. "We DID doubt ye would make it back here, but aye, it’s good to be back!"

Shellington started to think. Everyone was safe again, all thanks to Bianca, which DID make sense, but why didn’t something feel right about… Tunip? That little guy didn’t know this part of the sea, and he would’ve been toast already. After all, tiger sharks WERE mostly nocturnal, and if Tunip was in that one’s territory as well while he and Kwazii were asleep, then probably managed to get back to the Octopod early, then how did he not get hurt?

Unless… it then dawned on him. Something, or someone, must’ve led him back to home base. But it’s not like anyone else had been out of the area THAT far. Someone must’ve gone and tracked Tunip down. If anyone were to know, it was probably Bianca. So, the otter simply asked.

“Well, I did meet Ryla… this one wombat that Dashi is REALLY good friends with. They go far back. I could have sworn I saw her again today. Couldn’t get enough, it seems…”

Now THAT made sense. Shellington HAD went to sleep a little nearer to the coast, so if Ryla made it here, it’s probable that Tunip followed her.

But enough stressing over that. At least he WAS safe, again. And he WAS holding Kwazii’s paw earlier.

Wait, since when was Ryla here?

~~~~

Natquik just sat on the floor of the cockpit. His mind had run off elsewhere some time ago, but at least he had a… somewhat good rest. He wasn’t sure how everyone would react when they found out he let Ryla go. He, like everyone else, didn’t want things to go bad again. After all, it had happened so much and that was NOT happening again, for the sake of everyone’s safety up HERE as well.

“It can’t be that hard. We’ll just have to haul everyone into here, and send them to a safer area,” he sighed. “I just don’t know when we’ll TRULY get this done. And besides, what about the Octopod? Of course, we could leave it here, leave it to be an artificial reef… yes yes, that makes complete sense… Well, unless Barnacles wants something else. I know he’s proud of being captain for 13 years now.”

“Blin, if only I could see him right now.”

As the fox kept thinking out loud, Ranger Marsh was already awake and got down from the roof. He slowly walked inside, not having suspected anything from earlier.

“I heard you musing from the cargo bay. Something wrong, Nat?” He called out to the fox. Natquik moved his head and saw him. That distinctive hat. That fabulous mustache. That beautifully gruff voice.

All packed into one man. One man who was working with him on this whole idea. And now, the more Natquik thought of it…

“Nat?”

Oh shit, he thought. This was a little embarrassing. Big fox was thinking a lot about the big bunny, meanwhile he was standing right over him.

“Oh! Ranger!” Natquik immediately pulled his hood over his head. “I am very sorry… Just thinking about my ideas for helping out the Octonauts through and through.”

Marsh nodded. That made sense. You should never forget the important things. And luckily, for himself, he remembered things VERY well, even after a good night’s sleep on a roof. He had the knowledge. The knowledge of a… Ranger Marsh.

“You seemed a bit flustered when I walked in,” the bunny admitted. “Wanna talk about it again?”

With his feelings becoming more prevalent, Natquik knew this would be a little more difficult than usual.

He had more than his plans to explain.

“Weather’s great today, isn’t it?” Marsh stretched his arms, as he approached the coast. “Good thing I’ve got this towel. Don’t wanna get those pants dirty, huh?”

The Ranger and the Professor sat down, looking towards the blue sky. Natquik still felt a little shook, but knew he was ready to tell his plans.

“Well, I figured it doesn't have to be that hard after all,” the fox blushed. “It’s how we get them into the Octoray is what I need to figure out. But making sure they’re all, or mostly all, safely contained, and brought safely to an area off the coast of Vancouver Island, is the bare minimum I’m looking for.”

Clearly, Natquik thought faster and better when he wasn’t really stressed. Of course, there was the typical little (bit) stutter every few 8 words or so, but even that went out the window when he started speaking right now.

That confidence was something he only had when around people he knew and cared for, like Barnacles, for instance.

But now, Natquik was out of words. It worried him a lot. Realizing that he was so enthusiastic, like he should be, but he just couldn’t say anything.

It wasn’t that he was out of ideas, though. No, he still had many more things on his mind.

And all of them pointed to Marsh.

“Natquik?” The bunny looked at him, having gone all timid. His hood was up again, and he was visibly shaking.

“Natquik?”

“I just have… so many personal thoughts. I’m sorry.” Natquik looked back at him, the fur on his face gone pink. “I don’t mean to act like this, but I just have so many confessions. Promise this won’t impact you in any way?”

Marsh nodded. He didn’t mind at all. After all, he was a single man, one who had to leave his wife after a few years with Tweak. No, his wife wasn’t bad in a way, no, it was actually a good marriage in those 5 years. Yet, she had to leave. There were things in Boston waiting for her, but Marsh had to keep working down here. So, they decided to just… move on, divorce, and stay friends.

It’s been 16 years since. They still talked every now and then, but apart from that it was radio silence. So now, Marsh was practically on his own.

“I’ve been so worried about it. I’m just looking back at… you know, all the work you and I have done before. Even before this.” Natquik continued his explanation.

“Yeah, it’s all been wild and fun. Little scary, too.” The bunny laughed. “Good times, all in all. What about ‘em, Nat?”

“Do you think this is a sign? Like, I don’t think we’ve ever been this close before. Something about you, something about me…” The fox looked at Marsh, slowly inching closer to his face. “In fact, I had been thinking about you on the way to Florida.”

“Aw, so I see…” The bunny smiled. “You know, you’ve been feeling much calmer lately. Yeshi did tell me how things were going, and I just hope all is well. And I mean that truly.”

“T-thank you.”

“Hey,” Marsh looked to his left. “Ryla left the GUP-A here. Think we can head over there ourselves?”

“Absolutely.”

~~~~

Ryla silently floated in the engine room, eyes closed in bliss knowing that she REALLY was here, now a mermaid like those she loved.

She wondered if anyone was aware she came back. She DID make her way down here at a late time and DID get the attention of Tunip. A bunch of sleep schedules were definitely fucked up beyong recognition, so there HAD to be a night owl down here.

Barnacles? No, not at all. Kwazii? Was nowhere to be seen at this time. Peso? Chilean medics needed to sleep as well. Ryla couldn’t think of anyone. But someone apart from Tunip HAD to be awake, Octonaut or Octo-NOT.

It was almost 9 now. Surely this was when at least 2 other folks were awake. Maybe Dashi. Probably not.

There was no reason to just wait here. As much of a nice home it made for Ryla, she knew she’d have to look around more. Maybe revisit Min, and all that jazz.

She opened the door, eagerly swishing her tail fin as her eyes were exposed to the seas in wonderful daylight. Surely, when everyone saw her, they’d be delighted.

It definitely felt weird swimming down here without her suit. Clad in nothing but this tank top was certainly an experience she last had about… oh, just a few 11 years ago, a little while before she joined the Wombat Divers Association-

“Ryla? I thought you were back on the-”

The wombat immediately recognized Tweak’s voice and rapidly turned around, giving a pose, a peace sign, and a blep on her face.

Probably not a common way to greet someone, but Ryla HAD to make an entrance somehow, and needless to say, it… kinda worked. Needless to say, this would’ve worked better with Dashi.

“I never did realize just howwww… uh, nevermind,” The bunny awkwardly blushed, just looking at the wombat with all her might. “You decided to come back, huh?”

Ryla proudly nodded. “All for you blokes. And, like, MATE, look at this thing! It’s LONG! It’s SHINY! It’s GOOOOOD!” She swam down to Tweak, and hugged her tightly. “Now, you’d know where every other dingus is, hm~?”

The bunny shrugged and laughed. “Well, obviously! We are floating RIGHT behind it~! But if you wanna narrow it down… Dashi’s in the launch bay and she’s in a pretty good mood like me, so-”

ZOOM!

Ryla immediately darted towards the Octo-Hatch, with literally nothing else on her mind but her favorite dachshund. Tweak caught up, and was a little exhausted when she finally made it to the outer wall.

“Well, at least Shellington isn’t crashing the GUP-D again and again.” She caught her breath, sparks flying off her tail, before using the last of her energy to get inside.

Needless to say, Dashi would be one happy doggo with both of her favorite folks.

Meanwhile, the GUP-A continued to descend through the Pacific, making little noise. The two crew, Natquik and Marsh, kept their focus ahead of them, enjoying the ride while it lasted.

The Arctic fox still felt a bit flustered, not only because of these feelings he had for Marsh, but also because of Ryla. If the bunny found out about her transformation, Natquik could potentially lose his chances with him.

It wasn’t like he had to explicitly tell the Ranger. Would he even believe him? Probably not. It would take the wombat herself, if anything.

His thoughts were interrupted by a penguin swimming past them, and,

“NAT! Nat! Did you see that?! That’s PESO!” Marsh excitedly shouted, paws and face against the windshield. “Oh me, oh my, it’s even better in person!”

His happiness was becoming infectious, as Natquik realized. And was that a good thing? Actually, yes. No reason to be so down when his crush was enjoying all of this.

So, he decided to lighten up for once in his life, speeding up with the bunny, as they prepared to make a circle around the site. For all they knew, they were gonna see the coolest shit in their life. EVER.

~~~~

This was getting old. Yeshi wasn’t sugarcoating it anymore. He, Tracker and Paani had been waiting here for too long. Periwinkle too, but it wasn’t like he was being affected as much. Was there even any reason to keep track on the time? It’s not like anything would happen. Natquik and Marsh had left, having taken the GUP-A to wherever.

“I think we should just… get you guys home,” the dachshund sighed. “Our ‘leader’ has officially lost it. Are either of you even alive?”

Paani could barely say a word. This little pool was a big change from the sea and he wanted to GET OUT at this point. He missed Kwazii and Shellington. He missed playing with all those creatures. He missed the salty smell, too.

“Well, that’s my answer. We’re dead, mate. Beyond dead if anything. Go to your graves, gentlemen.” Yeshi looked around, feeling just as lost. He was running out of macarons, too. What a nightmare.

Tracker sighed, knowing they couldn’t just leave Natquik behind. He also watched from the cockpit earlier when the fox and Marsh took control of the GUP, and from that, he seemed to be doing better than earlier, actually. And besides, he had always been his best, if not, one of his best friends.

The least that could be done now was to just… let Paani back into the water, and maybe enjoy what this island had to offer… like they had anything.

The two others remembered that the macaque would have to slowly be reimmersed in seawater, because just dumping him in all of it outta nowhere would be probably lethal for him. He couldn't handle a sudden change like that, even if he desired water of all sorts.

Tracker rushed out and scooped up as much as he could, getting it into his Hydro Flask (which was decked out in tens of stickers) AND his ushanka JUST like he did back in 2021 or whatever. He then passed it over to Yeshi, who carefully poured some of the hat’s contents into the temporary residence of Paani: the same inflatable pool from last night.

This felt a big dystopian. It was like feeding an orca in a tank just mere inches its size. Something commonplace OUTSIDE of the Meomiverse. Yet, it was helping the manta ray, little by little. As the saltiness started to come back, he could feel himself becoming slowly rejuvenated, feeling a little more alive. Still not enough to move any limb, but his breathing was more audible, and he COULD talk quietly now.

“Thanks, you two…” Paani moaned as his vision grew clearer again. He could’ve sworn he was ACTUALLY dead, but even that was a load of rubbish. He knew things were totally fine now, and so did Tracker, as he was now preparing to tidy the place before Natquik returned.

Yeshi would also stay and help, but lately he was questioning the whereabouts of his little sister. It wasn’t like she went far, but this island WAS quite big, so his worry was justified.

What if she actually took to the sea? What if SHE was a mermaid right now? She WAS probably old enough for it. Periwinkle obviously wasn’t, but Orson and Ursa… give it a few months and they’d be eligible for it.

Nah, that was wack. Koshi would NEVER do that, right? Right, that was something out of his nightmares. Maybe she just went with Natquik.

~~~~

“Shit. You’re actually back?”

The dachshund puppy nodded, looking up at Yuma. She had remembered last night and was genuinely enjoying having this coyote around.

Now, it wasn’t TERRIBLE having Koshi around, but Yuma didn’t think she’d be around for THIS long. She was no local, so there was that, but… the coyote just preferred their parents and no one else. Perhaps it was because they never had a REAL friend since 2016, not after that one embarrassing Pine they got themselves into.

It was just day 2 seeing her, but Koshi actually seemed like a perfect friend to Yuma. Like, yeah, they still had to keep that secrecy, but they knew they could actually TRUST the dachshund. After all, she was of rather high status. Quite above Yuma, but neither minded the difference.

“Yuma? Is your head in the CLOUDS again?” Koshi looked at the coyote, who indeed was thinking through all of the factors in this… new friendship. It was foreign to them; an interaction like this was something that hadn’t happened in so long for them.

“…yes.” The coyote embarrassingly nodded, before holding the puppy’s paw and softly smiling at her. “You’re a great friend, you know… I never really had one until now.”

Ironic for a coyote to say to a little weenie dog, but Yuma really meant what they said. They couldn’t even remember the last time they really spoke to someone apart from the usual “hi, bye” and generic small talk, until they saw Koshi on that beach.

Now, you might ask: why was Yuma headed to that very beach anyways? Did they know about her to begin with? No, but first off…

Yuma did travel to this part of the island a lot. It was a spot no one gave a damn about, which was perfect. Whilst it felt like getting baked in summer, that was the whole point. The coyote hated hiking through inclined spots, and this little spot where the Octoray had landed? Oh, bestie, it was A FUCKING BLESSING for them.

Now, with the big slightly damaged ship being in the way, you’d think Yuma would be quite upset. But that’s also why they were at their favorite spot. It was flying past their community and descending towards the other side, which definitely intrigued the coyote. And so, they hopped into the Daihatsu, floored it, and from there, what could’ve been a SUPER heated argument, which Yuma never wanted to get into, ended up just questioning Koshi’s existence on those very grains of sand.

And that, my besties, is why these two are now standing next to each other. Koshi was like an insider for the coyote, and would explain some basics like the Vegimals and leaked flavors of kelp cakes, all talked about over a bag of seaweed chips.

Yuma never did mention catching what turned out to be Tunip. That would be awful. This was a new beginning. They didn’t want it to end already.

~~~~

"Wow," Tracker’s voice echoed through the cargo bay. “We… really left a mess. I’m only about 5 minutes in and that’s in THIS one corner.” He continued to sweep around the territory he called his own for some time, making sure little to no dust was left, all in the name of Natquik.

“We?” Periwinkle looked at the polar bear and shook his head. “More like you three. I just sat here… waiting for mom to come back.” He looked around, knowing he was more alone… than ever before.

Tracker was a little confused. Surely he’d have known about the news. Sure, Periwinkle was nothing more than a little kid, but you’d think he’d be aware that his mother was alive, well, and snuggling the big, warm, squishy, furry chest of Captain Barnacles’ twin sister, which even Ryla couldn’t top. Which didn’t bother HER, as Dashi found that wombat’s to still be nicely big and just as cushy, and good enough for her and Tweak. One happy love triangle under the sea.

And yes, that wombat’s Tim Tams were EXACTLY what the angry Floridian bunny girl was awkward over earlier. That’s what happens when you’ve worn nothing but a tight suit for every time you were around the Octonauts. But now you’re a mermaid and you don’t need it anymore. So now you just have that tank top with an unspecified design on it. The HHgregg logo? A frame from one of the HHgregg commercials? HH himself? Maybe. I dunno, I haven’t drawn Ryla yet.

Right, that’s enough. I’m getting bored.

“O-okay then, uwu…” Tracker shook his head, “You just hold tight, and…” proceeded to point the broom at the otter, “…maybe go upstairs so you don’t get…” approached him slowly with a squinted look, “…in my way.”

Periwinkle was totally innocent. He was scared during those arguments on the Octoray. Yet, he DID have a bit of beef with some folks for how young he was. Which was kinda typical, in all honesty. His brain wasn’t fully developed, for one thing. Regardless, he managed to get up and slowly walked upstairs with slight difficulty, which Tracker paid no attention to.

Paani still felt half-dead, waiting for the next dose of salt water which he didn’t exactly need just yet. He definitely had a lot to say now, fortunately.

“So,” he looked over at Tracker, “what’s the plan after you clean this whole area? Has Natquik said anything about… you know?”

The bear shook his head. Sure, Natquik did tell him NOW that he was out at sea, but even he himself didn’t know when he’d be back. No ETA, nothing. But he definitely would be back before 8 or something.

“Knowing him, he’s probably looking through every nook and cranny in that place,” Tracker told himself, as he made sure there was no dust in this very corner, “but so am I, so no debating on that… Hey, I just remembered something. Why did Ryla leave last night?”

That was a GOOD question. Where DID that wombat go? Last night, she just left through the ramp here and never came back. Did SHE get turned? Yeshi would question that if he was here… he WAS outside but that wasn’t the point. What was HE doing anyways?

“Tracker, look at me in the eyes when I’m talking to you.”

Coming back inside, that’s what.

The polar twink was a little surprised, the dachshund having just come out of nowhere even though he spent a solid 25 minutes on the sand. Was that motorcycle he modified even useful? Yeah, it was a ride of his own, but did it even have a point other than being fast transportation to band practice? Probably not.

But then, Tracker caught sight of what Yeshi was HOLDING. That being Ryla’s suit and helmet. And THAT really confused him. It made him worried as well.

“N-no way! And you found that… where?” He shuddered, knowing the possibilities of just what could’ve happened, good OR bad..

“On the beach, poking out of the sand like she tried to bury it,” Yeshi replied. “It’s strange. Ryla NEVER takes off her suit, does she? So why did I just find it there?”

Tracker shrugged, obviously not knowing that either. He was still more focused on cleaning up this whole area.

“You know what? I’ll go set this in the cockpit. If anyone’s to figure it out, it’s Natquik,” the dachshund told him, as he was starting to head upstairs before stopping for a moment. “You know what I’m also concerned over? The fact that you took 30 minutes deep cleaning ONE corner of this area. I appreciate the dedication, Tracker, but I’d hate for you to tire yourself out.” He ran up, left the wombat’s gear there, and rushed back downstairs. “Extra paws never hurt anyone.”

What a coincidence. Tracker DID need some assistance. ACTUAL assistance, as Paani was just emotional support. Not that it was bad, no, it was great, but having another critter sweeping with him was a big boost. Unfortunately, the macaque couldn’t do that, because, well, he was a mermaid. And mermaids don’t have legs. So they can’t sweep. Duh.

So, while the polar bear worked on one side, the dachshund worked on the other. Paani was in the center, watching as this went on for a little while. It was almost like watching figure skating on TV, as the two other Octo-Agents worked in such synchronization. Which was pretty funny, but still… splashing.

Because Tracker was already heavy at work, he was definitely starting to slow down. He had about 85 percent of his half done, and as much as he wanted to keep going, his arms were tired, and at this point, he was slowly losing his grip on the stick of the mop.

“Tracker, I think you need a break,” Paani called over to him. “Yeshi has a point and you’re probably going to make yourself sick if you don’t stop for even a minute-

And at that very moment, as the polar bear looked at the monkey, he bumped into the wall, and fell back… right where Ryla left those vials earlier. Fortunately, none of them shattered, but hitting the ground definitely hurt regardless.

“…That wouldn’t happen if I could still walk.” Paani shook his head. “At least I AM a mermaid…”

Tracker looked at him again, now a little discouraged by his own mishap. The contents of the crate he fell onto were scattered around him. And just when he thought he was close to finishing.

Yeshi stopped working, and rushed over to help the polar bear get up. However, he stopped almost immediately, noticing all the vials on the ground. The glass was definitely weakened, and even a single tap could actually break them, so the dachshund had to watch his step.

“Get away from there, you two!” Paani then shouted, trying to reach his arms at theirs. “If they break, you’re going to get turned into a-“

Alas, poor Tracker having realized he DID break one vial, right on his back. It was all over his jacket, and by the time Yeshi managed to get to him, it was already too late.

“Are you kidding me,” the dachshund grumbled under his breath. “Tracker, DON’T move… I can’t believe I actually have to do this… I’m getting Natquik.”

As the polar bear readjusted his glasses, he tried to figure out whatever the vocalist said and looked around. His eyes went to him, then Paani, and then himself. Don’t move? Or what? Now what happened? He checked himself, and… well, this was not what he expected.

The thick, gray and white tail of a narwhal.

~~~~~~

At the time, the professor and ranger, donning helmets like the ones the Octonauts had, were down where the garden pod ended up. It was only a bit recognizable at this point, now looking like a flattened can of nacho cheese. Surely it all wasn’t lost, though. At least, that’s what the vegimals were hoping.

“Right… this place looks like a MESS,” Marsh announced. “If we’re gonna help you little guys salvage any supplies left in here, then we gotta move all this metal and glass first…” the bunny paused, looking over at the Octopod, “…which I could get done easily if I knew where Tweak was. She’d find a way faster than I can say… good cloud, I hope she’s okay.”

Tunip definitely understood the bunny’s worry. Like him, he knew nothing about Shellington’s whereabouts shortly after the Octopod crashed. And whilst he DID want to help, he was nothing but some fishy vegetable thing “voiced” by a Michigander mouse with a “pooter”.

Surely the other mermaids here would show themselves. Tunip did know Tweak was working on the other GUPs for… preservation purposes, and also for repairs after what happened on 3/30/21. He did NOT want to think of THAT, so he went back to looking for where to start moving all this junk out of the way.

“Yes, yes… first, we’ll have to move the roof off,” Natquik spoke up, still surveying the wreckage. “If it doesn’t bother all of us to do so, of course.”

Convinced almost immediately, the Vegimals went to the sides of the pod, slowly and carefully lifting it, just enough to not scrape any other wreckage off. This was definitely heavy, but at least they had some assistance from these two strong folks.

“…Oh me, oh my,” Marsh gasped, looking at what was below. Not only was it an absolute mess in here, but clearly TONS of other creatures were making their homes here, and they had been rudely interrupted.

Seeing all of this made the Ranger quite sad, even if this was a good use for… what was left of the Octopod. To think this was really the end, even if the Octonauts were alive and well.

He didn’t even bother to slide back on the roof. He just sulked, floating over the “apartment complex” of little creatures like shrimp that found their way into this artificial reef. They all looked up at him, as he winced a little.

Before he could really break down, however, a voice rang out. “Ey! Ranger!” It was Natquik. He’d have gone back into the GUP-A, trying to warn him of this distress call he was getting. “What are you doing?!”

The bunny snapped out of his daze, and haphazardly swam back into the ship. Natquik asked him why he wasn’t making a noise or a move earlier, but all his friend could give was a sad look in the eyes.

“What’s wrong? What did you see there?” The fox tried again, tilting his head a bit. That seemed to have ended up in vain, up until Marsh took a small breath, and smiled.

“…we can talk about it later. Pick up the call.”

Almost immediately, the two were met with the sound of Tracker panting, worried as could be. Now, this guy wasn’t taken seriously every time, but there was no Top Gear in the background, so you KNEW this was bad.

“Professor, please come back here NOW! It’s SERIOUS! PLEASE! I can’t even explain how terrible this is, I CAN’T!”

Albeit the lack of specification in what was wrong, the fox did as he was asked, even in utter repulse. He sped up the GUP, making sure it was at its fastest, to get to the surface ASAP. Of course, he was always concerned about Tracker, but…

“…I didn’t even get to see Barnacles.”

~~~~

Within minutes of the call, despite the short delay, Nat came real close to running the GUP aground, having gotten a full grasp of the true fear this invoked. He wasted no time just RUNNING out of there and looking for how to open the cargo bay in fits of hesitation.

“Tracker, are you able to let us in?”

Marsh caught up with the fox, who calmly replied to the polar bear above on his near-obsolete Octo-Watch. Even if he still had the Octopod in his mind, he had to stay strong. Time wasn’t running out any time soon, anyways!

“You came back fast…” Yeshi spoke up, as he opened the door. “I really do hate to stop your work out of nowhere, but this IS pretty bad. Watch your step.”

As the professor composed himself, he and the ranger stepped on board, and now they were looking at the aftermath of Tracker’s accident. Yeshi had barricaded Tracker to avoid getting anyone else transformed, so the polar bear was left soaking up the mess he made, not moving a muscle like the beached whale he was.

“What’s that behind you?” Natquik asked, noticing the worried expression on the dachshund’s face which didn’t change at the fox’s question.

“Are you hiding something?” The professor twitched an ear, now growing suspicious. He tilted to the sides of the vocalist, but he mimicked his movements without a hitch or a sound, which frustrated him.

Yeshi wanted to warn him about what he was hiding, but it was pretty much too late for that. Natquik was getting pretty annoyed, so he decided not to intervene any further and just let the fox find out for himself, stepping aside.

Natquik sighed, as he walked past the dachshund. Not sure what that thing was about, but oh well. This fox had worse to deal with right now. Was it something upstairs, or was it…

And then, he saw what this was about. The moment he looked at Tracker—who quietly sobbed under the fin of Paani—his mind went blank.

This kind of thing was beyond sobering. Knowing it was merely irreversible. Knowing everything in their lives had led them to this. All Natquik could do now was look back on every year he spent working with Tracker on his side before today.

When he'd first joined in 2007, none of the other Polar Scouts expected much out of him, but it only took 4 months for him to show just how important he was, especially after one troop went missing near Greenland, and because he was the first to get their distress signal, they returned to their base without injury within 12 hours.

2014 was when his career as an Emergency Post Operator really took off. After Barnacles and his sister were nearly lost, as were a few other residents of Melville Island, Tracker was just as fast to respond. And that kept going! He was slowly, but steadily becoming a role model for nearly every Polar Scout…

And then? There came his PEAK in 2021, after a near-death experience during the Ring of Fire disaster, when he was swept away in Alaska and ended up with Yeshi for the first time, the two which had to make their way all the way back to Canada… he made the greatest decision in his life. The MOMENT he became an Octo-Agent… Straight up, he threw a SICK-ASS PARTY AT THE BUNKER NEAR HIS POST. NATQUIK WAS THERE, mind you. And he was PROUD.

All those days, all those years… all those moments, those memories, good and bad… Even though Natquik had met Tracker at 8, he had wondered about his life before, from the night he was born in 1999. Everything began from something, that was for sure.

24 years of life, and they all led to him becoming half narwhal. How messed up was that?

Enough to make the professor go “блять.”

And then, he passed out in his own tears.

“Nat!” Marsh ran over to him, shocked. “C’mon, get up… Oh me, oh my… Tracker, what have you gotten yourself into?”

The polar bear was a whale, so of course he could breathe a little easier. Yet, he felt like he was drying out. And so did Yeshi, who could only watch and wait for Koshi to return.

Periwinkle slowly watched his step as he walked downstairs to see the commotion. Needless to say, the beef he had with Tracker was cooked medium, just how I like it. This time, he said no words, only looking at everyone as to say “congrats, we all fucked up.”

“Ranger,” Paani looked up, with his tired eyes. “Get us to the H2O. NOW.”

“SILENCE,” the bunny said in the most gruff voice he’d ever done. “Can’t you see what’s happened to… NAT?!”

Natquik groaned as he slowly opened his eyes to see the bunny. He shook his head in disbelief over what had happened, which he remembered quite well.

“Ah, ranger,” he sighed. “That was terrible… Help me up.”

Reaching for the fox’s paw, Marsh looked over at Paani and Tracker, making sure they understood what this was about. They were going to RESPECT this.

“It’s just unfathomable to see you in such pain,” the bunny said. “I know that feeling. I really do… I’ve been where you’ve been. I’ve witnessed terrible, terrible things… and while my family lives in happiness… I can never forget getting caught in Cristobal ‘96, for instance. Thought THAT was it for me…”

Yes, yes, Natquik thought. He and Marsh, like Tracker, went through so much to lead to all of this as well. For so much love he had for him, he wanted to shower this bunny with all of it. There really was no denying it anymore. With each other, the fox knew they had a chance of getting through this whole thing… even if it once seemed impossible.

“…Yes, yes…” the professor took a deep breath, his voice gone confident. “I think I’m ready to do this… are you~?”

“Absolutely!”

It took a little bit of time to get the two mermaids out of the Octoray, but with the area safe by the time the fox recovered, the pace took off and now everyone was staring at the coast.

“Well, folks, we made it… despite your directions,” Ranger Marsh chuckled. “How do you feel, My Melody and Kuromi?”

"We’re alright!" Paani replied in enthusiasm. "I mean, none of us are perfect… nobody is. But hey, we’ve all had those moments! Me, for instance!" He laughed, even if his comment did come off as a little rude.

"That gives me an idea,” The bunny’s ears perked up. “Let’s all watch the stars and talk about it. Let off some steam. I’m sure I could list more than you!"

"Oh, no! I’m in first place when it comes to that!" The macaque jokingly argued, posing like he wanted every sailor on the Pacific Ocean.

"Okay, ARIEL,” the ranger laughed, making sure Natquik was doing alright like he deserved. He was purring a bit, so that was good. Hopefully that would stay that way.

As time went by, the sun was completely down, and nearly everyone was giggling and laughing over each other’s little mishaps, like that time Yeshi mixed nattō into his soup, which left him in a food coma. Or maybe the time Tracker was trying to watch Neon Genesis Evangelion and ended up playing The Cruel Angel’s Thesis over the entire PA system of Mackenzie King Island at 2 in the morning. Maybe even the time Paani cut up all of his ties on purpose. No one even knew he wore ties before.

Professor Natquik, however, didn’t say a single word. He was in the same sitting position from when he first reached the coast, and… he’d have stopped purring now. Could be trouble, so Marsh tugged his arm making sure he was fine.

“What happened?” He calmly asked, so as to not startle him. “Now what’s on your mind?”

“I don’t know,” Natquik shook his head in recurring worry. It wasn’t Tracker or Paani, though. No, it was something definitely more obvious. This had been the case earlier, and while he was feeling better over it, he was falling into depression again.

“I’m thinking of Barnacles. That’s all.” He put his head down in regret, knowing this wasn’t good for him. It would leave him feeling unwell again. Right now wasn’t a time to stress out, so why was he?

Of course, Barnacles WAS practically his son, so he did have a reason to worry, even if he was away from him most of the time.

But with what happened, the polar bear was of his greatest concern. And now, he didn’t feel like waiting any longer.

“I’m sorry, Marsh. I still don’t understand it… It’s like I’ll never see him again. He’s down there… probably better without me, but… You know what, I suppose that’s normal. Take Tracker, for example… He’s growing up, and I’m more than proud of him. Gone so far, above and below the surface…”

“I’ve always wanted to tell him that.”

And then, came another voice. One that lived in Natquik’s heart ever since the day he called it his son’s. One that had grown up so broken, yet so proud. One that deserved so much love, so much care, so much joy… just like who he himself had found.

“I’m right here.”

The fox looked up, and there he was.

Barnacles. It was BARNACLES.

#alternate universe #alternative universe #reclaimed by nature #octonauts au #mermaid au #octonauts mermaid au #octonauts

[boxwinebaddie]

metalhead stan is so important to me he is such a loser but in the best way possible i just know he tried to dedicate mascara by deftones to kyle thinking it was romantic until kyle was like “what the fuck does this mean” so he just sighed and put on taylor swift

and as a Huge metal fan myself hes so deftones coded maybe i am biased because i like projecting onto my favorite characters and theyre my fav band but i think koi no yokan would be his fav album and he would worship her like a GOD

no literally i love metal head stan so much!!! stan is my boy failure son through and through ( yes all my stans are boy failures regardless of how they present do w that information what u will )

readmore bc im wordy but i got so excited abt this ask

also like i dont know that much abt music or feel strongly abt it but all i know as a stanley marsh expert is that he likes his music LOUD and metal is loud and he really likes metal and punk shows bc its cathartic and its louder than all the doubts and anxieties and depressions inside his head and moshing is a really good way to get his stress out...metal show stan is my hero

also i think its really cute that ( at least in my fanfic ) its canon that kyle gets dragged to punk shows w him bc obviously kyle would not miss an opportunity to observe stan in his natural emo boy habitat ( even if he complains the whole time ) and holds all of stans stuff when he goes in the pit and stan EVERY TIME WITHOUT FAIL HOLDS KYLES HAND AND SQUEEZES IT BEFORE HE GOES IN THE MOSH PIT khdlksahdals SO CUTE TO ME kyle is in LOVE omg

but as far as deftones and koi no yokan goes ABSOLUTELY

also u mentioned kyle being like wtf and putting on tswizz and

ok so i think especially in PEP!STYLE even tho their music tastes are so different they are litcherally so obsessed w eachother that they are like ok u like this and i like u i actually love u so im going to explore the things u like

and stan just listens to the cure and easy listening fleetwood mac taylor swift music

and kyle is listening to macceferty deftones modern baseball metallica trying to understand eachother

and stan is waiting for kyle at basketball practice and kyle is like give me an ear and stan is like no u wouldnt like it stop it and kyles like shut up bitch give me an ear bud bitch!!!!!! and its just like TAYLOR SWIFT

AND HES LIKE STANLEY RW MARSH ARE YOU LISTENING TO TAYLOR SWIFT

and hes like SHUT UP!!! maybe...dont look at me like ok her slower stuff is whatever but like i like the one where shes like lighting a match on that guys pick up truck or thinks that guy is trouble or that haunted one is ok ( he does like all the loud angty ones ) and hes like oh my god kiss me kiss me

and another time!!!

and stan gets in the car w kyle and its playing MASCARA and kyle is like fuck hold on trying to change the radio station and hes like KYLE WERE U JUST LISTENING TO DEFTONES and hes like...no...i mean maybe!!! i wanted to see why u like it!!! and i get why its romantic now

and hes like kyle u dont have to lie to me its ok and hes like no!! its actually I LIKE IT and i do think its romantic i made a list and ANALYZES it for him

so they accidentally like eachothers music and go to eachothers concerts like stan in the mosh pit and kyle jamming to tswizz and theyre both there together supportive........im crying i luv my boys

they just....ur honor they are literally in love idk

-uncle nina

#theyre so cute to me bc they have opposite music tastes #but they love each other so much they are listening to eachothers music #and trying to see it from their eyes #and accidentally like it #its so cute to me #i love them #soulmates truly

[magnuficent76]

No pressure but like. If you wanted an excuse to talk more about your ocs' (hypothetical) Pokémon (teams). This is it oooo ooo

(<- would really like to hear more if you have ideas for what mons your ocs would have bc I seem to now be so in love with the concept) (but no pressure)

Oh Beetle, you know me all too well and you just know I will absolutely talk more about random Pokémon on this blog. Here we have the Solar Years guys and their mons !

BALTAZAR (They don't have a main type because they're just a farmer, but back in their elite 5 days they were probably grass/dragon)

- Torterra [It's just a big fuggin lad !!!! A huge guy !!! It's nice and steady and good for a guy who's lived in a farm for most of their life. I like to think they would let kids ride it around too :]]

- Tangrowth [Its a huge guy with crazy hair. I just can see Balt with a Pokemon like this so clearly its insane. I love this Pokémon too so ofc im giving it to my favorite little guy !!!]

- Salamence [Probably was the symbol of his old elite 5 team, but once that crashed and burned.... yeah, they don't like talking too much about it. This guy brings back bitter memories, but Balt does his best to separate them from the team itself. Its better for both of them.]

- Haxorous (shiny) [Same as salamence, but even more so. It makes Balt feel bad that he ever put these poor guys in harm's way by battling with them as hard as he did, but he already apologized like a thousand times for it so they already forgiven him don't worry. Honestly probably a huge baby, given Hax was given to him when he was young <3 they grew up together !!]

- Leavanny [I just think Baltazar deserves a buddy okay !!! Its a silly little lady !!! Also Sewaddle is adorable and I love the idea of Balt finding a grub in their garden and taking care of it instead of throwing it out okay. Grab that Grub]

LUIS (ice/fighting or ice/dark. Are you surprised that the angry ice guy is angry and ice. Probably training to be elite 5, and getting pretty fucking close to it)

- Walrein [This is Luis' starter simply because I just think the Vibes are fit. Probably just picked up a spheal in his youngin days and it stayed with him forever !... this sounds a lot sadder now, huh..]

- Sneasel -> Weaville [Angry and competitive little fellow with a fondness for stealing ? Why, that's just exactly like Luis !! He didn't even have to try to catch this guy, it just showed up one day and then stuck around because Luis kept giving it bacon bits. Now they're the bestest smuggest buddies...together ♡]

- Annihalape [No surprise here huh. This Pokémon follows literally the same premise as Luis' whole story: Got so fucking mad it dies and comes back wrong. Luis saw this Pokémon for the first time and is like you just like me fr (takes good care of it to project)]

- Krookodile [It has cool ass sunglasses and it kicks a whole lot of ass on the battlefield. Luis gets it primarily for aesthetics but secondarily for its sheer power. More than happy to kill for any of his mons but especially this guy]

ANDROMEDA (Fairy/Fire gym trainer !)

- Volcarona [That's her starter right here. It slays cunt and its also a gorgeous little thing !! Just like xem fr fr !!]

- Flareon [Matches with Sylveon because they were from the same litter ! Evolved to keep Andromeda safe because this fuckin idiot keeps getting himself in situations and shit. Extremely defensive of everything but mainly because of the first thing- just a really well trained guard dog that forgot how to have fun. Still very soft and silly]

- Sylveon [Matches with Flareon because they're from the same litter ! LOVES Andromeda to death and it is absolutely mutual ! Most spoiled ever !!! Also insanely brutal. don't worry about it though 🙏]

- Alcremie [Just a sweet lil thang. I like to think this one is mostly for aesthetics but its still really well cared for]

MARSH (FIRE FIRE FIRE FIRE FIYAAAAHHH]

- Quilava [Starter Pokémon. I think the angry looking and explosive personality just sold it to him. He wants to evolve it SO bad but they're both still working on it.]

- Houndour [Its a fire ouppy... he has to have the fire ouppy. They're both young and growing up together but they'll both be the most destructive hounds ever just you fuckin' wait <3]

#magocs #my oc stuff #original character #the pokemon teams saga #magoriginals #my writing #solar years #oc: baltazar #oc: luis #oc: andromeda #oc: marsh #audience participation #tysm for the ask !!

[m3rricat]

You Do Not Have To Be Good - Ch. 2

Story summary: Four months after the defeat of the Netherbrain, Astarion finds himself stuck in the mire of his past and all the anger and despair that comes with it. While wrestling with her traveling-companion-turned-lover’s misery, Cat makes an impulsive decision that sets off their first falling-out. This post-game short story is told alongside the full in-game story of the evolving relationship between Cat (the not-a-bard) and Astarion (needs no introduction) which varies from canon. Told from both POVs.

Chapter Masterlist

Chapter 2: Cat finds herself at the dark heart of it; then, bite night re-imagined, in which Astarion accidentally gives almost as much as he gets.

Pairing: Astarion x female Tav

Chapter Content Warnings: gore, brief description of flaying

Word Count: 4572

Read on AO3

No matter where Cat stands in this heap of a city, she always knows where it is. It presses just barely on the base of her skull when she picks through greens at the grocer stall. When she winds through the market-day throngs on her way back home. When she lays her head down and tries to sleep—it tugs at her from where it squats to the east.

Cazador’s former palace is a certified ruin now. A strike from a nautiloid during the last battle had sheared through the roof of the main structure, disintegrating much of the dilapidated attic space and exposing the floors below to the elements. No distant relative of the Szarrs, if they still lived, had sought to claim it, and no one else seemed keen to try. Standing as it does practically within the wall between the upper and lower city, it is far too close to the unwashed masses to be at all attractive to anyone who could afford it. And so it sits, empty. Patiently moldering.

The structure haunts her subconscious because the horrors that were inflicted within it consume Cat’s waking mind. What an idiot she had been to think that Astarion had left it behind. At all. To think that he could just slough it off like dead skin and be reborn perfectly content. This past month it feels like she has been living with two of him, and neither the one stuck fast in 200 years of torment nor the one who sometimes manages to dig his way out is happy. More than wearing on her patience, it is wearing out her heart. Which makes her feel more guilty.

Because Cat knows. She knows that the place that makes you gets its claws in you, and they’re forever. She’s had a couple decades to learn to live with them. Most of the time she can ignore where they’re hooked into her, but now and then something will jerk them under her skin, and it all comes flooding in, like high tide on the marsh. And in all her senses she is thrown back there: the ubiquitous perfume of decay in her nose, and in her ear, the seabirds’ cries mingled with her father’s drunken sobs.

The past that dogs Astarion is not hers to claim. And yet, Cat feels it dogging her all the same. Dragging his mind away from the present, from her, more and more. She hates it with a sharpness that sticks in her throat. She wants it to manifest before her, for that sneering terror Cazador to re-form so she can beat him to death again with all the rage and despair that has built up like grit in her body since they had killed him. When she thought they had killed him for good.

Cat wakes directly from her fantasy of snapping the vampire lord’s skinny neck to find herself staring up at the pockmarked doors of his palace, grocery basket still hanging on her arm. The massive doors sit at crooked angles, half off their hinges, forming a slim gap only just large enough to slip through.

She doesn’t remember how her feet carried her here. How she must have veered from her weekly shopping run a good half-mile away to this ruin, which stands behind an abandoned guard post and wrought iron gate. Really, she should get back—she has some fresh crab in her basket that would not keep, and a composition waiting for her that she must make some progress (any progress) on, so she can finally bring some income.

Cat’s eyes continue to range over the blunt edifice of the palace. What gestures towards greenery the groundskeepers had maintained around the entrance were long dead. Four months ago, the only other time she had been here herself, the plants here were already withering. Because the master within had better things for his servants to prepare.

But she had seen this place, too, when it had been meticulously maintained with flowers for every season. She had seen it through his eyes that time Violet and Aurelia had dragged him back screaming his throat raw the morning he had been caught trying to save that one man from Cazador’s clutches. They had shoved him out of the shadow of the doorway to let the rising sun start the torture he would endure for as long as his master willed. He remembered seeing the colors of the flowers by the stairs, emerging in the dawning light as his extremities began to crack and crumble. There was one, a morning glory, which twisted open just as his eye alighted on it. The deep, almost electric indigo of it seared itself into his mind, and he clung to the memory of it when he was sealed in the smothering dark for that next year.

Cat wipes her eyes and plunges through the gap.

~

It is the wee hours of the morning a few days after Cat thought she and Astarion had come to an understanding, and the words ‘I knew it’ are feebly winding through the dull roar drowning out her mind.

In her dreams that night, the marshes were filled with blood, which was not unusual. But this time the metallic stench of it in her nose almost made her wretch. She was about to wade out into the red-tinged blackness when she felt a prick on her neck. Her first thought was that a bird had alighted on her shoulder, that it was pecking at her—

Cat jerks awake. Something next to her jerks.

Before her mind can fully register anything, her body manages to teleport several feet away on all fours, like a spooked horse. The thing does not follow. It stays wallowing in the dirt by her bedroll—outside tonight, as it was her turn to forego the privacy a tent since they did not have enough for all.

Cat’s heart is beating clear out of her chest as she scrambles to her feet while her eyes adjust with her smidgen of darkvision. She peers at it. It looks like a mangled corpse huddled on the ground. Without warning, it groans. And then it speaks.

“Ca—at…please,” Astarion’s voice wheezes out of its throat as if through a punctured bellows.

The second thing Cat recognizes is the shirt. Those insipid frills that he so very casually leaves untied (revealing what? A pale, skinny chest?). Only half the shirt still clings to him—the right half is gone completely, torn off, and a good chunk of his right arm with it. Or—eugh. It isn’t a clean chunk of it gone. It has been gnawed on, bones crunched, splinters poking through the gore that remains. The whole thing hangs at a sickening angle from the few tendons that still connect it to his shoulder. Her eyes drag to his torso, which is black with blood, slashed to ribbons through his shirt—and then his face. She does not want to look. His one remaining eye glints in the darkness. The other side of his face is a red ruin, cheek torn clear through. Her stomach roils.

His mouth lolls open, revealing what she has been strongly suspecting since the beginning—fangs gleaming like a beacon amidst the wreck of his form.

Cat had of course noticed his pallor when they met. His eyes. That what little of his canines she saw seemed unusually long. But after he threatened and cajoled her on the beach by the smoldering wreckage, she had still decided to keep him on. Maybe wandering through clouds of smoke from burning, rotting ship-flesh simply did not allow one to think straight, but she vaguely remembers wanting to stick with other tadpoled folks for safety. And to observe them for early warning signs.

Astarion had been standing on that beach under a cloudless sky in the afternoon sun. That had to rule vampirism out. Didn’t it? Cat had put her questions aside, but evidence to the contrary continued to pile up day after day. They lived cheek to jowl, and yet she never saw food pass his lips. And on a couple early mornings, she had watched him saunter into camp and, on closer inspection, noticed a few rust-colored specks on his otherwise spotless self.

Cat has pondered what to do—clearly, if Astarion was a vampire of all things, he had decided to keep his feedings away from the group, which seemed to indicate he meant no harm. But before Cat could resolve on anything, her plan to get a quick cure from the Gith crèche was dashed by a squadron of Gith and a red dragon (mostly the dragon), so she scrambled to begin plotting a Plan B.

The animated corpse that is Astarion lurches toward Cat, startling her back to the present. A nauseating gurgle sounds from his throat. It seems whatever air was in his lungs has leaked out, and they are too perforated to hold more.

Cat shivers in her loosely-tied stays and shift against the chill of the night as her mind tries to wrap around what is happening, tries to decide what the hells she should do. Astarion flings his good arm out, levers on top of it, and tries to crawl. His face is canted up toward her, his mouth working wordlessly.

That is when she feels the tadpole tickle at her brain. After a moment it starts to thrash, sending a painful jolt through her skull down into her spine. She hears words in her mind, but they sound too far off to make them out. They echo, and then stop. Astarion continues to stare up at her, body trembling with the effort. Now his teeth clench in something like frustration. He bows his head. Then, with no build-up, the worm in Cat’s brain lashes ferociously, flinging her into the abyss.

Eyes. Red, glowing balefully. They are your universe. The impulse in your limbs, your dead brain. There is nothing that came before them. Nothing else that will come after. And as they commanded, you bite down with an unfamiliar mouth into a writhing handful of fur and bone and muscle. Your tongue laps greedily at the rivulets of blood you manage to squeeze—

—squeeze the scream from your mouth as your master unhurriedly peels the skin from your fingers, then fillets them to the bone as the flesh tries to grow back against the relentless violence, all the while murmuring praises for the sweetness of your sobs—

—sobs that tear from your parchment-dry throat as your mind tries to recall color, any color; it has been years, surely, that you have been in the close press of the dark, and you shiver as your splintered mind conjures up flickering images of the most vibrant blue-purple, so beautiful it must have been a dream—

—dream, no more than that, your mind so used to the leering stares raking across your perfect skin that will soon turn to pawing and groping and pulling and penetrating; the violations that cannot reach you, you tell yourself, not matter how deep they get—

Cat falls down and down, her mind catching on the random spikes of horror that stab through him like lightning. A handful are scenes so clear she shudders from the sharp immediacy of their feeling, but nearly all are mere scraps of images or sensations she cannot make sense of. The tide of deep, aching misery is ever-present.

Just as Cat feels she is about to hit the bottom, she braces herself. But the impact doesn’t come. She opens her eyes, finding herself on her own two feet. She stands in the morning mists of the group’s campsite from several days ago, on the cliffs overlooking the beach. Where Astarion had called her dour. He is in front of her, standing, looking east at the sky just starting to lighten. She does not stand in his place now, but she feels the tightness in his chest as if it is her own. The refusal in his mind to let himself hope for anything, but the inability to deny the joy he feels at seeing this for the first time his body can remember.

Cat steps towards him. He whips around—his expression quickly turns from wide-eyed wonder to narrow annoyance as he sees her.

“I need your blood,” he snaps.

Cat’s mind races. Blood? Why would he—and then she remembers exactly where she is. It feels like she has been buffeted through his mind for ages. But no, the real her was standing in front of chewed-up him somewhere outside of here.

Cat tries to form words. “But—healing. I’ll get Shadowheart—”

“No,” he retorts like a whip. “I need to regenerate—but this damn tadpole is slowing it down. I haven’t gotten enough blood, between the fighting and everything else. Please,” he says through gritted teeth. The crest of the rising sun throws him into relief, blinding Cat—

—the chill of the night and the bloody smell of Astarion’s body come rushing back as Cat opens her eyes. She has fallen to her hands and knees. Astarion is where he was, and he is looking back at her, but he can barely keep his head up.

Cat swallows. She tries to make her mind work. Despite his protests, Shadowheart should be able to heal him, surely? But then a thought occurs to her—but can healing spells heal him, being as he is… undead? She can’t recall if she ever saw anyone use one on him before now. And Shadowheart herself also said that her own powers have been severely weakened by the worm. And Astarion needs something powerful—

… Fine.

She sighs. This is about to top the list of gravely stupid things she has done in her life.

Cat half-rises, takes the couple steps to her bedroll, and sits down in front of Astarion. She looks at her wrist. It is the first spot she thinks of to... donate. But her head suddenly fills with visions of an over-eager Astarion chomping down on the delicate tendons and mutilating them, rendering her more useless than usual without the ability to perform.

Where else? Elbow? Same problem. Where were other major veins, close to the surface? She can only think of her neck. Gods damn it all to hell.

She hardens her voice as she speaks at last. “Fine. I’ll give you some. But take more than you need, or try to bite without asking again—and you’re done.”

Astarion can’t say anything, but Cat decides to take his blink—one eye, like a morbid wink—as confirmation. Now comes the messy part.

She is not going to lay down for this. No way, no how. So she goes about gathering him upright as she kneels on her bedroll. Despite how excruciating it must be, he doesn’t so much as whimper. Not even when, trying not to hurl, she picks up his ruined arm to keep it with him out of fear that the bit of his shoulder still clinging to it will give way. She moves it slowly onto his lap. Then she puts her arm around him, pulls him toward her, then decides to shift toward him instead after she finds that easier. In the end she holds him against herself in a sticky embrace.

Then she sets about maneuvering his head. First he lolls it to her left side. “N—nuh-uh. Not there. That side—that side’s for violins only,” she half-whispers. Her inane words almost makes her laugh.  Except they don’t, because what she doesn’t say is also he can’t feed from that side because it would leak out of the side of his face where he has no face.

So she lays his intact left cheek down on her right shoulder. She half-expects to feel his breath, but of course there is none. She’s holding a dead body, after all.

He just sits there in corpse-wrong stillness. She half wonders if he has, well, died-died. So she ventures, “Go on, then. Get this over with.”

The sudden tickle of his nose sends a shiver through her. It’s searching, sounding for the vein. And then the touch of his lips, almost shockingly soft.

Well, this is it, you stupid girl. This is when you have to fish or cut bait.

Her arms clutch at his back at the same moment his fangs slide so easily into her neck.

It’s like plunging into a cold ocean, but after the initial shock it turns to deliciously warm bathwater. She hears herself let out a moan that if she was in her right mind would have made her die of embarrassment on the spot.

But she doesn’t. Because all the tension Cat has been carrying for eight damn years is leaking out her neck with the blood. She feels fuzzy, like the edges of her are melting into Astarion whose attentions are getting more and more forceful as her blood wakes him up. There is a twinge of panic deep in her mind, but the signal from it is taking its sweet time hitting her consciousness. So instead she wraps her arms around him tighter, greedy for the irresistible comfort suffusing her body. She feels as if Astarion is melting into her at the same time, the sense of him as something separate beginning to tangle with herself. She sighs contentedly.

Cat doesn’t know how long it’s been when she finally feels the spark of fear surface, the flood of adrenaline as she realizes what is happening. Her first instinct is to wrench her body away, but Astarion feels very latched on, and she fears that if she tears him off he will come away with a chunk of her neck.

So she winds one hand in his hair and says as loud as she dares, voice cracking right in his ear, “Astarion, enough—”

His sucking falters. She tugs as sharply as she can with her weakening arm. “Off. N-now.”

He groans, and for a moment Cat fears he is about to bite deeper. But his jaw hinges open. He goes to raise his head, then sets his forehead on her shoulder instead, breathing slow and shuddering, blood dripping from his mouth.

Cat is hit with a sudden wooziness and sways, clutching at him for balance, setting her own head against his shoulder out of necessity. In the haze of her blood loss, everything seems barely real.

“Are you all better now?” she mumbles into his collarbone, suddenly giddy.

With effort, he raises his head. Cat tries to do the same, but her skull is still too damn heavy. She turns it against his shoulder instead, looking up at him. Her blood coats his mouth and his chin, black and glossy. Looking at it gives her a strange feeling she can’t place. From her vantage point, she starts to see muscle crawl back over his cheekbone and jaw, followed by a layer of pearly skin. Her hand raises unconsciously to touch the new cheek, but thankfully her sane mind intervenes in time to stop it.

“Y—you seem. Unruffled,” he manages to cough up. His face is blank as his newly-mended eye rolls down to look at her. Cat feels him stiffen under where her cheek lies, but he does not attempt to push her away.

“Oh, well. You’re not my first dead person—I mean,” she shakes her head against his shoulder. “You’re not the first dead person I’ve seen. May be the nicest-looking, though. Not so bloated.” She shrieks inwardly at her daft babbling.

He finally makes an expression, blanching. “Bloated!? I’m bloated—?”

“Nnno, you’re not,” she practically wails, jerking upright. She sways where she sits, her head pounding. “It’s—my mind is. A bit blurry. I mean not bloated. Not waterlogged at all.”

He glares at her as he shifts back and sits on the ground. Cat notices his arm. “Oh! Thank gods, I was worried about that.”

Astarion clutches it to him and hisses, “and it almost was as good as gone thanks to you needing so much hand-holding!  In my state I could barely control that damn tadpole to send you a simple message, and instead you—” He cuts himself off. His eyes rake her face. “What did you see?”

“Where?”

“Don’t play dumb. In my—head. I could feel you snooping all around before I finally found you. What did you see?”

The giddiness has fully worn off now. Cat regards Astarion tensed before her, looking less dead but still a mess. She tries to choose her words carefully, fighting the clearing fog in her head. “I—I saw a lot of. Of pieces. A few longer, but most were just snatches, things I couldn’t—” she stops. Starts again. “I can’t put it all together. I know he—Szarr was your master. Guess those old rumors were true, huh?” she mutters as the thought occurs to her. “You’re his… spawn, right? And he tortured you. Made you… eat rats.”

Astarion’s glare is still wary. “That is the short version. Yes. But you saw more than that. I know you did.”

“Yes,” Cat begins slowly. Astarion feels like a cornered animal in front of her, angry and terrified by turns. She doesn’t want to voice them, but… “Do you want me to tell you? What I saw?”’

He grits his teeth, looking away. “I—no,” he says bitterly, in the end. “The only thing worse than you seeing my memories would be to have you recount them to me.”

Cat is at a loss. Astarion appears to be as well; he still won’t meet her eyes. At last, she says, for want of anything better to offer: “Astarion. I won’t tell anyone. It’s your business, and I didn’t mean to pry.”

He looks up at her. The edge of his anger has abated slightly. But he is still irritated. “Well—fine. I suppose there’s little else I can do short of. Well.” He stops abruptly. Then something seems to occur to him. “And. I suppose I should thank you, anyway. For this.”

Cat quirks a brow. “You mean me letting a man I just found out was a hungry vampire bite my neck with no idea if I’d make it out alive? Yeah. Probably.”

“Exactly. There you go then,” he says breezily, waving his hand in dismissal.

Cat feels a prickle of anger, but it is somehow trumped by amusement. She snorts. “Gods but you are stingy. What the hells happened to fuck you up so bad, anyway?”

“Oh, it was—a bear. Set my sights too high.” He shakes his head, annoyed. “Like I said in my—my head, I’ve been starving. It’s one thing to live on rats when you’re… more sedentary. But all these battles day after day—what I could scrounge in the woods hasn’t been enough.”

“So you went after a damn bear?” Cat gapes. “Why didn’t you just say something to me?”

“Oh, you think we had something special, did you, bonding over Cazador?” Astarion retorts, spitting out his master’s name. “When you didn’t even know what he really was. Please. I had no reason to believe you wouldn’t kick me out right there. Or stake me.”

Fair enough. Maybe. Cat drops it and moves on to her next burning question. “So how did you manage to get away from it, then?”

“It,” he pauses, and something like embarrassment flits over his face. “it chewed on me a bit, but it seemed to decide I wasn’t worth the trouble. Ultimately.”

Cat grins. “Ah. I guess a vampire wouldn’t taste that good.”

“I’ll have you know I taste delightful,” Astarion snaps back, with a slight sultry lilt. Something in it triggers Cat’s brain to recall that memory—when he was… presented, and hungry eyes appraised him.

“What’s that look for?”

Cat blinks. “What?”

“That stupid sad look. I don’t want your damn pity,” Astarion practically snarls, his hackles back up again.

Cat tries to settle her face. “I… can’t help it. Anyone with a heart would.” His eyes burn with hate. It’s hard for Cat to keep his gaze, but she does, and says as evenly as she can, “but I don’t think you’re pitiable.”

“There’s no difference!”

“Yes there is! The fact that you still have your—your sanity after that? How long has it been?”

 He looks at her sullenly. “…200 years. Give or take.”

“Hells,” she breathes. “Not pathetic at all.”

Astarion shifts his seat irritatedly and looks away. He is quiet for a moment. Then he swings back toward Cat. “I still don’t like this. You know too much about me and I barely know a thing about you. Where in the hells are you from? This place where harpies abound and apparently bloated corpses as well?”

Cat’s jaw sets. After a few moments, she says, “on the Winding Water.”

Astarion clicks his tongue. “The river that’s five hundred miles long? More specific, if you please.”

Cat sighs. “The end of it.”

“The—oh, you mean the Delta?” he cackles with a jarring shift of emotion. “Oh, that explains the drawl as well. My dearest Cat, approximately how many blood feuds are you involved in right now? Ten? Twenty?”

He likes having something on her, Cat can see. She feels irritation at his sudden smugness. She might snap back at him with any one of a hundred things. But that would be conceding he had gotten under her skin at all—and Cat hates admitting defeat at the best of times. So instead she sits back on her hands and retorts with a pointed drawl, “Oh, darlin’. I know you can do better than that.”

“What?”

“Come on. Hit me. I’ll let you know if I haven’t heard it before.”

Astarion smiles with all his teeth and leans forward. “Well, that delicious moan you let out when I bit you made me think you might be attracted to me, but I now know that cannot be the case, sadly. Since I’m not your cousin.”

Cat smiles crookedly despite herself. “Better. Unoriginal, but better.”

“Tough crowd, I see.”

“Discerning.”

Astarion concedes with a nod. “Discerning. I shall endeavor to improve my material for you in the future, Cat of the Delta. Now, if you’ll excuse me—I look a horror, and I should probably wash off before we tell our fellows the good news in the morning.” He stands up carefully. Turns. His words were light, but his body is all tension.

As he moves, Cat’s eyes absently notice his half-exposed back. A partial wheel of a pattern drawn on it. Scars. A sensation flickers through her, one that had been a brief screaming flash—a careful, dragging slice near his spine, while the rest of his back felt as if it were aflame.

 Her eyes water with the echo of the pain. She looks up at him, a few steps away now. The impulse grabs her. “if anyone has a problem with you, they can leave,” she blurts out.

Astarion turns around. Looks at her silently for a moment. “Thank you,” he says at last, curtly, and then walks away in the direction of the river on the other side of camp.

#astarion #bg3 #baldur's gate 3 #astarion fanfic #astarion x tav #astarion x female tav

[themosleyreview]

The Mosley Review: Expendables 4

I believe we're all familiar with the term "too little, too late" correct? Well that's especially true for this installment of a dying now dead franchise. The first film was campy fun with a healthy amount of blood, guts and a promise that was to see the action legends of the past come together in a massive film. That promise was fulfilled and then we got a sequel that doubled down. The second film improved on everything the first film did and fulfilled the dream of seeing the big 3 action stars of the 80's together on screen gunning down goons in the most explosive and violent way possible. Then the franchise went completely off the rails with its PG-13 third entry. The franchise really lost its identity by trying to pander to the younger audience by watering down the best elements of the franchise and over crowding the film with the popular stars at the time. Now comes this entry that desperately tries to get back on track with it being the hyper violent action driven vehicle it started out as. Well, it got the violence part right but after that, we are treated to one of the dumbest, lackluster and uninteresting action films I've seen in quite some time. Not only are most of the action scenes so boring, the characters themselves are tired and should have retired along time ago. The novelty this franchise used to be have was all but drained from this sequel and I was so sad watching it happen.

Sylvester Stallone returns as Barney Ross and he still has the same charm as the character. He finally admits he's starting to get too old for his life style and is gone shortly after for most of the film. Jason Statham returns as his best friend Lee Christmas and he continues to be a fun character. The chemistry between them was the heart of the franchise and it continues here for the most part. Megan Fox joins the franchise as Lee's new girlfriend and CIA operator, Gina. Megan has done good work before, but this was by far her worst performance as she only is there for eye candy and delivering the worst onscreen chemistry I've ever seen between two "lovers". Randy Couture returns as Toll Road and he still does the same thing he's done since the first film. He delivers many random facts that somehow returns to him talking about his ear. Dolph Lundgren returns as Gunner Jensen and I still enjoy seeing his character go through many life changes. The character has shown real progress since his drunken days in the original and I liked that he has controlled that demon. Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson joins the team as Easy Day and he does his job. There really wasn't anything special about the character and he typically just fades into the background even when he's front and center. The great Tony Jaa joins the team as a former Expendable, Decha. There was a fun story that surrounded the character even though it was nothing you haven't seen before. I still enjoyed his presence on screen and when he gets to fighting, its still a joy to watch. Jacob Scipio joins as the son of former Expendable Galgo, Galan. He tries to capture that same energy that Antonio Banderas had in the previous film and that's basically it. Andy Garcia was all over the place as CIA Agent Marsh. He delivers his trademark charm in the beginning and the swings for the fences by the end of the film. He truly was having fun with the character and you could tell. The amazing Iko Uwais was the main protagonist of the film, Suarto Rahmat and what a waste. Sure he gets to show his amazing martial arts prowess, but that’s all. He wasn't menacing or even really that much of a threat once you get to the heart of his plot. He almost felt like a F1 racer stuck in the bus lane in a school pick up area. He never really got to open up against a worthy opponent.

The score by Guillaume Roussel was nothing special. It was a decent backing track to the action in the film and accents the few emotional moments in the film. The action in the film was somewhat decent, but truly lacked the joyous feel of playing with your favorite action figures the others had. It all felt cheaply made and even more so with over use of CGI for a franchise known for its practical stunts. The extreme close ups in the middle of all the fights truly showed the lack of skill in filming and design of action sequences. This film really knocked the genre back a few decades and I was sorely disappointed and bored. Honestly, if you have any curiosity in seeing this hopefully final chapter, don't waste your money and wait for streaming. This is undoubtedly one of the worst films of 2023. Let me know what you thought of the film or my review in the comments below. Thanks for reading!

#expendables 4 #sylvester stallone #jason statham #dolph lundgren #randy couture #curtis jackson #megan fox #tony jaa #iko uwais