#‘’woke up’’ and decided that this vine is literally them
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vinceymakesblogs · 2 years ago
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It’s currently 2 am and i am SO sleep deprived
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phoenix-bleh · 9 months ago
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A: Oh, I have an idea for Shadow Milk cookie and y/n
I give Shadow Milk Cookie HYPNOTISM.
(please 🙂).
He’s too powerful at this point and hypnotism is definitely a power he would have.
Let's make this a fic
part 2 is here!!
You, Gingerbrave and his friends with Pure Vanilla were on a mission to find White Lily Cookie. Your time in Beast Yeast was overwhelming but you managed. You all did find White Lily and woke her up, but unfortunately “that didn’t magically solve all our problems” according to Wizard Cookie because now there was a big crack right in the middle of the Silver Tree.
There were now blue glowing eyes and two large hands spilling out of the tree from the rift. “Ooooooh! I see that those pesky little vine shackles that have held us captive for oh so, so, SO long…. Are gone!” The voice from the tree laughed that sent shivers down everyone's spine “whoa. That was deeply unpleasant…”
The knights of the tree started to desperately fight against it  in hopes that this awful predicament can be resolved before things get terribly out of hand.
You and the other decided to help and fight against it as well. After some time the large hands retreated back into the tree and everyone sighed in relief. That however was very short lived when the rift in the tree got even bigger than it did before. 
“OOOOHHHHHhhh doesn’t this fresh air just feel, DIVINE!”
A huge figure popped out of the tree and loomed over everyone. You couldn’t believe it, no one did. “Oh, I see I have quite the audience here!” This wasn’t supposed to happen at all. “I'm SO TERRIBLY sorry to have kept you waiting!” He stared down at all of you “But now the wait is over…your favorite trickster is here!” It was him, you couldn’t believe it was him. How doomed were all of you gonna be? “Shadow Milk Cookie!”
He grinned and examined everyone below him. You all just stood there in shock of what was happening. His eyes then landed on you and you swear that his smile got even wider. “Oh what do we have here?” Uh oh. He grabbed you by the back of your shirt and lifted you up to his face. Your friends were calling for you but you could barely hear them because of how high up you were.
“LET ME GO! PUT ME DOWN RIGHT NOW!” you shouted at him and started punching the air in an attempt to get him to drop you “Hehe you’re a feisty one aren't you?” He tilted his head at you with the same wide smile on his face. He then placed you on his hand and used his other hand he was previously holding you with to tilt your head up at him.  
“What’s a cute lil cookie like yourself doing in a place like this hm? I must say you caught my eyes. How about you join me in my plan on world domination?” You stare at him in disbelief. Why in the world would someone like him say something like that about you. He’s obviously lying; he is literally the embodiment of deceit. You continue looking at him not noticing the swirls in his eyes.
Why couldn’t you look away?
Were you really considering his offer? What he’s saying couldn’t be true….but what if it was true? I mean you had a boring life already, maybe you could spice it up a bit. Wait but you can’t betray your friends like that! But in the end would it even matter? Maybe you should just accept his offer-
Before you could finish your thought something had hit Shadow Milk Cookie in the head and he dropped you. You fell into Mercury Knight Cookies arms and he flew you back down to the ground with the rest. You shook your head realizing that those weren't your thoughts at all and he almost tricked you! “Thank you.” You told him “Of course, but no time to talk, we gotta get out of here!” He grabbed your hand and you all ran off.
“UGH you flying little PEST!!”
....to be continue?
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coal15 · 2 months ago
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Because Happy Fandom
In the interest of spreading positive vibes, I'm working on the 2nd chapter of I Never Do This so I decided to post a sample. It's Bucktommy. Explicit but also has the gushy romantic feels scattered amidst the smut. The following sample is smut-free, but if you follow the link to Ch.1 you'll find yourself tits deep in obscene material. You're welcome.
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Tommy grinned when Evan’s lips pressed against the nape of his neck.  “Good morning.”
“I woke up alone,” Buck pouted. “How dare you.” 
“Will a Denver omelet earn me forgiveness?” Tommy asked, swiveling sideways to reveal a cutting board and a half chopped bell pepper.
“I’m listening.”
“Light on ham, heavy on veggies, average amount of cheese. With a side of beautiful sliced tomatoes I just picked off the vine. They turned out really great this year.” Tommy smiled and mmm’d into long, gentle a good morning kiss. 
“I’m gonna get spoiled dating you, aren’t I?” Buck sighed, sounding so love-drunk he may as well have had little cartoon hearts floating around his head.
“Oh, absolutely. I try to spoil all my guests, especially the cute ones.” 
Buck gave him a quick nuzzle and stepped aside so he could get back cutting peppers. “Wanna point me to the cheese grater?” The chance to help prepping a meal in Tommy’s kitchen made him feel all giddy. ‘Kid-with-an-extra-helping-of-dessert’ giddy.
Tommy tapped his bare foot against the cabinet door behind him. “Grater's in there. And you might have to dig around a little for the cheese, I’m terrible at keeping my refrigerator organized.”
Normally the sight of veggies, condiments, leftovers and so-forth scattered around a fridge all willy-nilly would awaken Clipboard Buck with a vengeance, but this time he just shrugged and made a mental note to tackle it later. “Are these green beans from your garden?” he asked, pushing aside an overfilled bag to reveal a block of sharp cheddar. The block sat between a takeout container and a bottle of ketchup, but Buck kept his attention riveted to Denver omelets and Tommy.
“No, they’re from my neighbor Cathy down the road.”
On the counter next to the knife block were four cutting boards of descending size held upright by a cat figurine wearing a chef’s hat and apron holding a whisk. It was impossible not to notice how much the kitschy object clashed with the rest of Tommy’s decor, so Buck figured it must have sentimental value. The thought gave him a soft, warm feeling. “It took me a minute to escape your hall by the way.” He teased after selecting a cutting board and getting to work.
“Uuuugh, sorry.” Tommy cringed. “I should have thought to label the doors with post-its before you woke up, I literally do that every time I host an event. It’s the only thing I really don’t like about this house. But I’ve got major renovations planned and that nightmare is getting fixed as soon as I’ve got enough money saved up.”
"Do you wanna hire a crew or go diy?” Buck asked whilst imagining Tommy wearing a toolbelt . . . maybe taking a big sledgehammer to a wall, all covered in sweat and drywall dust and wearing beat up old work clothes with streaks and splatters of dry paint all over them from past projects. And, and maybe the jeans hang really low. Like barely perched on his hips so just the slightest nudge might–
“Woohoo!” Tommy whistled, waving a hand in front of his face.
“Oh!” Buck flinched and cleared his throat. “Hi, yeah. I’m, I’m back–did you say diy?”
"I did." Tommy chirped.
"Neat. I'm, uh, happy to help out if you want."
"I will keep that in mind."
The couple returned to their self assigned tasks, chopping, grating, and frequently sneaking glances at eachother.
Buck tried to maintain focus on grating cheese, but found himself increasingly morning-horny, which was slowing down progress more and more. The sense of arousal surprised him. He had never really been a morning sex kind of a guy–then again, he’d also never been a ‘fucks other men and likes it’ kind of guy a until recently. He supposed this was just his season of revelations. Morning horny. Okay. What to do with that energy? Huh. “Soooo . . . we’ve officially had sex in both of our beds now.”
“God Evan, you say that like there’s a bingo card!”
“There could be bingo cards.” Buck gazed sidelong at Tommy with a sly grin that seemed to broadcast certain intentions.
Let’s play.
****To read the 1st Chapter go HERE
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andi-dromeda · 5 months ago
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This is a rough idea of what their god forms could be. I’m sure they have many though and definitely too many for me to draw.
I gave Grant sheep eyes, sheep horns, a wolf tail and a wolf cut to show his sheep and wolf thing. Then for the Hunter I decided to give him a scythe.
Tara’s hair is supposed to look like sea foam, I gave her vines for her earth connections and then to show her sky stuff I gave her lots of stars and one eye to be sun-like and one eye to be moon-like. @autisticrosewilson said that so I did that because they are very smart and have good taste.
@autisticrosewilson also talked about Jason being the most split of the three and having other versions of himself following him around and whilst he can hear them, he can’t see them. He also just generally can’t see magic that well. Until they all ascend, some massive part of their powers is kept from them. Jason can’t see magic correctly and has something like the mist from Percy Jackson going on. To him they’re certainly in new outfits but Tara’s just wearing a sundress, some heels, a slinky on both legs and a top hat. Then Grant’s just wearing a crop top, a mini skirt and some sandals. He’s enjoying the view but is aware he isn’t seeing what’s really there.
Tara’s vines aren’t glowing because the way she’s held back is she can’t use any of her sea and sky powers. She’s limited to just earth until she ascends.
Grant has bad hearing when it comes to magic but most crucially danger. Sheep have similar hearing to humans but wolves have amazing hearing. As a god he’d have super hearing on par if not better than superman’s but he can’t access it until he ascends. His bad hearing was one of the things that made his first death kind of inevitable as a mercenary. If it hadn’t been the serum that killed him, it would’ve been him not being able to hear threats. At some point Slade started to think Grant as a kid just kept ignoring him but in reality until Slade got close enough Grant couldn’t hear a thing. (Because Slade sucked!)
For Jason’s design I kind of just slapped Shera together with a slightly altered colour palette and I was done. @autisticrosewilson mentioned Jason’s birds being robins and shrikes so I decided to give him grey, see through wings.
Then you have the Ghost and the Robin. I didn’t read Gotham war because I’m a Jason fan and whilst I can enjoy angst, I can’t stand DC fucking him over all the time and never having anything get resolved. However, I did enjoy the artists using his hood to completely cover his face in darkness and just showing the whites of his domino. For Robin I just copied his Robin costume pretty much. I drew both of them with smaller lines to make them look less there, if you get me? They’re both holding weighing scales which is Jason’s thing.
Tara has a harp because she plays with the strings of fate. Grant has a scythe because I thought he deserved it. Jason got scales because justice stuff but also I thought it’d be funny if he ever tried to use them for baking. I know those are different scales but I think Jason deserves to use his scales and all blades for dumb stuff.
Also Grant has yellow eyes. Tara has one yellow, one white. Jason has white eyes but black and white to resemble his domino masks. Even with a bare face, his masks and personas have become such a part of him that now he’s got domino eyes. In my au, Jason started off with brown eyes. After dying, his eyes went kind of grey. I’m a golden Lazarus pit truther especially because in lost days the Lazarus pit is literally gold so when he crawled out his eyes were gold but after a week or so they went green. After he died again by the batarang Bruce threw, he woke up with blue eyes and he figured it was the universe mocking him for wanting his father’s love. The only thing he will ever have of Bruce is his training, his trauma, his hatred and his eyes. Also, whenever he uses the all blades, his eyes go black because the all caste have fully black eyes and white hair. When he ascends or whenever he gets close to ascending, his eyes go black and white.
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lollytea · 10 months ago
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please please my dear tell me a story of one of Willow's murders
I'm gonna copy and paste down some of the idea from the DMs from a while ago. I'll only steal the messages I wrote, which is why they might look disorganised. Cuz I'm replying to something another person said. Anyway forgive it for being sloppy, you know how it is with DMs:
- We had the hc that having a galdorstone for a heart might tamper with Hunter's blood. Like the liquid would be imbued with an unstable amount of magic.
Its considered extremely dangerous to work with grimwalker blood. Raine and the rest of the lab experimented with a literal DROP that Hunter donated once and it made shit fucking explode. Its just WAY too much to handle.
But obviously, that's not gonna stop some people from trying to get a hold of it. It's considered extremely valuable. It will sell for SO MUCH at the night market.
Obviously anybody who's willing to risk everyone else's safety to get hold of an absolutely lethal substance and possibly harm/capture Hunter to bleed him dry, would obviously be an absolutely depraved awful person. Just vile.
However, people do not go after Hunter as often as one might think. It definitely happens every once in a while tho.
Willow is up early tending to her garden, letting Hunter sleep in an extra few hours before he has to go to work. She's taken the baby from her cradle so she doesnt cry and wake up Papa and now has her sleeping in a sling against Willow's chest, soothed by the sound of Mama's heartbeat.
Willow's whole garden abruptly shifts in a way only she can notice and she lifts her head, alerted to the apparent disturbance. She recognizes the signal. It means there's an intruder.
Willow approaches the back yard where there is a man who tried to break in by their window but was immediately snatched and restrained by vines.
Willow quickly deduces who he is by rooting around in his pockets and discovering his identifications, weapons, vials, ropes and sleep potions.
"Let me guess," Willow says softly. "You're here for my husband,"
Said husband continues to sleep on peacefully, as does the baby curled up against her breast. The baby doesn't wake because Willow's heartbeat remains steady.
The Boiling Isles doesn't have Coven Scouts anymore. There's no longer a police form. Meaning, it's easier to get away with crimes. You won't go to jail. However you might get slaughtered in cold blood if you pick the wrong target.
Willow thinks about strangling him until his organs pop but she decides against it.
She won't kill him.
Instead she smothers his mouth shut in vines so he can't scream. (The two loves of her life are sleeping ssshhhh)
She sprouts the plants that Hunter was always deeply fascinated with. The ones that sizzle and boil and devour flesh.
She has it slither up the intruders body, leeching against his left leg, his right arm, his back, his collarbone. The acidic spit stings like a nightmare. It takes chunks out of him.
He'll live. He's in immense pain and no healing magic will ever fix that but he'll survive. He'll never forget the mistake he made in threatening her family tho.
Willow lets him go and sends him off. She gives him very firm instructions.
"Your friends, partners, whoever put this stupid idea in your head, you go back and you tell them I went easy on you. Consider yourself a warning to them. You will never attempt to touch that man. Do you understand me?"
- I like the thought she wouldn't have tortured him quite so severely if they didn't have a baby. Like No. You won't touch her husband. You won't touch her baby's Papa. They're starting a family together and she will melt you from the inside out if you try to get in their way
- As soon as she fucking renders a guy to a gasping wreck because of the excruciating pain she put him through, she calmly strolls back into the house, into their room and sits down by her husband.
She pecks his lips and she hears him groan.
"It's about time you woke up," She says, tenderly brushing back his hair.
Eyes still closed, Hunter raises a hand and searches around for hers. He finds it and presses her palm against his cheek.
"Okay...I'm up...I'm up...." He mumbles, still half asleep.
He has no idea. And he probably won't. He's not adverse to his wife *handling* problems like these. He just asks that she not tell him the details. Makes him nauseous
- It's the reason she has absolutely no mercy. Her methods are not only ruthless but strategic. There are people who want to harm her husband and she wants them feeling just as helpless, haunted and traumatized by her actions as she was in that graveyard all those years ago.
She needs them scared of her. She need them to shit themselves in fear over the IDEA of ever going near Hunter again. She kills some intruders. But mostly she mangles them and sends them running so people understand the kind of pain she could put them through too.
She wants them scared. Because *she's* scared. She's scared of being the princess who loses the prince. So she becomes the fire breathing dragon instead.
She often wants to hold him in her arms for a very long time. Even if he's reading or carving or typing some fanfic on his laptop she'll cuddle him from behind. He doesn't always know what she needs comfort from but he's familiar with how she acts when she needs it. So he let's her hold him
Its when Hunter is holding their baby in his arms, talking softly to her, allowing her to seize hold of his finger, that Willow is like "We are going to have a happy peaceful future together if it kills me"
- Willow gets no joy out of killing people but it doesn't make her uncomfortable in the way that it does to Hunter.
When Willow was little and her powers were out of control, she always worried that one day she could seriously hurt somebody and not mean to.
But that's not the case anymore. Sometimes she kills somebody. And she *does* mean to. Everything that's keeping Willow sane and stable and in control of herself are her friends and family. Meaning she will do whatever it takes to strike down any threat to them. She doesn't CARE. She realizes that some people are beyond redemption and if she kills, she kills.
Hunter, meanwhile, has reservations about killing, no matter how vile the person is. Like he is absolutely capable of it. He's strong and tough and powerful. HOWEVER the grimwalker trauma is rooted deep. Its a really troubling thought to shake off, knowing you were literally *constructed* to slaughter witches. It's an act of defiance that he never sheds a witch's blood *once.* If he's ever forced to, it would probably send him spiraling. But like. He's not all "nooo Willow everybody deserves to live." He understands killing as self defense. He just doesn't want to be the one doing it. If he's ever around when Willow has to do it, he turns the other way so he doesn't have to see.
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downingg2001 · 11 months ago
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Little something I’m working on (because I start a million little Elain stories and I never finish them).
Elain summoned truth teller, the dagger easily falling into her hands before she plunged it into her heart before anyone had the chance to stop her.
Shadows wiping around her as she cried out, and an ear shattered scream cracked across the library. Something so un- human. Something worse than a sirens screech. That was no where near close to describe the sound that caused her eardrums to burst and eyes to bleed.
The Caldron was displeased with her. And the choice she just made. The invisible thread that only she seemed to be able to see begun to flicker. But it didn’t break as if it was trying to tighten its hold on her. Wrapping itself around Elain’s neck like ivory vines.
Suffocating and unbearable. That was all she felt.
No!
She would sever the mating bond. The false bond had become a thorn in her side and one she was willing to cut out no matter how much she would bleed in the process. She pulled Azriel’s dagger out of her chest with a cry and pulled on the string that was attached between her and the collapsed fox on the floor. With a swift movement she cut the string, Truthteller glowing in her hands. It’s raw power all consuming and dark just like its master.
The cauldron screeched again and Elain dropped to her knees and cried out again, covering her blown ears.
How dare she reject her gift from the claudron!
Elain didn’t know how but she understood its rage. Untill it changed into something else.
Hurt.
Why did she just ask? The cauldron would do whatever the sweet seer asked of it.
And then another emotion.
It was proud. Content with whatever it had decided on. It still loved her.
If that’s what you could call it.
Elain didn’t know. But she supposed something like the claudron, who could grant powers and gifts could have emotions…
Or maybe she was delusional from the blood loss. Another thing Elain didn’t know, but she did know is that she felt free for the first time since she had been turned into fae. She could breath, (not literally with the blood that was filling her lungs) but a weight had been lifted.
And she also felt awfully tired. She felt her head hit something rough, it felt like sandpaper in her skin but there was a softness there as well.
Azriel. She knew it was him. Could smell cedar and jasmine on him.
She tried to lookup through her eyelashes but everything seemed to be tinted red and it felt heavy. She just wanted to sleep. She reached out a cupped the hand that cradled her head. She just wanted to touch him.
She couldn’t hear what he was saying.
But she knew it was her name as she watched his lips. As he shook and yelled something over his shoulder.
She smiled. It’s was okay. He was here with her.
She closed her eyes and welcomed whatever dreams would plague her because he would be there when she eventually woke up.
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fellowshipofthenoodles · 9 months ago
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Hello! I was the one with the new crestie who stays hidden, I wanna say thank you for the ideas, I'll definitely be putting a few more things in his terrarium in hopes he comes out (i didnt want to put too much in since I was afraid he'd get too overwhelmed since I literally doubled the size of his enclosure from his past owners and doubled the decor). I did get him to eat some pangea by slightly disturbing his plant until I saw his head poke out and I spoon fed him, he didn't eat much but I did that yesterday night and the night before then, I'll try it again tonight. Him being a shy crestie would've been my first thought but when I was putting some more hides in there and some more vines only 3 ish days after I got him he woke up and came to investigate, he didn't seem to be spooked at all, so I just got really worried when he went from a curious investigator to hiding almost 24/7.
Hopefully some extra stuff will help! Since he has a much bigger space than he was used to then extra decor is definitely helpful, he might be needing extra cover to feel secure since bigger space means more open space which can be more overwhelming than having more/new things
I’m glad you’ve been getting him to eat! Try not to feed him directly too often since otherwise he’ll just rely on you to feed him and it’ll take him longer to decide to seek out food on his own when you stop. Also if he’s over 8 months old then make sure to only feed every other day rather than every day. Ours get fed every 2-3 days 😊 cresties are often overweight since so many people will feed them daily
Good luck and we’d love to keep hearing updates about him! ♥️
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garbagevanfleet · 3 years ago
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Brightest Blue (series)
PART FIFTEEN (final chapter)
Pairing: Josh & female!Reader Warnings:  18+ ONLY, sexual content, alcohol, feelings Summary: Things are changing. New state. New school. New roommate. You just pray things are going to click into place. Notes: What an odd feeling this is. I love writing fics, but when you work so long and hard on something, it’s hard to let it go. I’m really pleased with how it turned out though, and I’m so incredibly grateful to everyone that read it and interacted with it. A big thank you to my editor, @lantern-inthenight​ for sticking with me through it, and thank you again to everyone on my taglist. 
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MASTERPOST
taglist: @valleyd0ll​ @satingrass-maidensfair​ @guitarfingers​ @thebohemianpenguin​ @peaceisouranthem​ @oblvions​ @hansonobsessed @myownparadise96​ @anditsmywholeheart​ @kill-fear-the-power-of-lies​ @bigblack-catattack​​  @dharma-divine​
There was a plant in the Kiszka house that you couldn’t stop looking at - you found yourself making your way to the kitchen, just so you could peek in on it. It was a Christmas cactus placed on the south-facing window sill above the sink, spilling out of the sides of its terra cotta pot in long tendrils. 
Shapely, dark green, and perfectly healthy - it was the perfect metaphor for the household that loved it. The fuchsia pink buds on the tips of every trailing vine were promising to open every day since you’d arrived, and - perfectly on queue - the first one opened on Christmas Eve. It had been tightly closed when you greeted it in the morning as you sipped your cup of coffee, but by the time the family was snacking on a veggie tray and cocktail weenies at lunchtime, it was fully open, facing the floor in a way that reminded you of a ballerina’s tutu. 
“You like this thing, huh?” Josh had asked, audible to just you over the lively conversation and music filling the kitchen and dining room. He was standing closely behind your right shoulder, charmingly trying to get the same view of the cactus that you were - as if that could help him appreciate it better. 
“Isn’t it lovely?” you replied, turning your head and realizing at the same time that you could kiss his cheek if you leaned in closer. The two of you shared a lingering look that you put an end to just before you could start feeling physically warm.
He hummed in consideration after a moment. “It’s pretty,” he agreed and then smiled weakly. “It kinda just looks like another plant to me though, if I’m being honest.”
You turned to face him then, giving him a warm look. “There’s a lot of beauty to be found in things that other people don’t know to consider. It gives you kind of a selfish satisfaction.”
The slightly suggestive tone you’d taken put a puzzled smile on his face. He gave you a look that somehow perfectly let you know that he’d be back to pry at the deeper meaning of this conversation later when you were alone. 
“We got this for Christmas for my mom one year when we were little kids. Sam and Ronnie liked the color.” He smiled at it past your shoulder. “It used to be so tiny.” 
It certainly wasn’t anymore. As a matter of fact, it was currently threatening to take over the whole sill - swallow up the little knick-knacks peppered around it. 
“It’s really happy,” you agreed. 
+++
Dinner that night was photo-worthy. Laid out on the table were dishes upon dishes of different comfort foods, each with its own oversized serving spoon. Jake had been trying to make homemade bread through the entirety of your time there - the first night was his very first time making it and it was a little raw, then the next night it seemed a little hard, then the next it looked a little overcooked and dense. Tonight, however, it looked worthy of a cooking magazine cover.
PERFECT BREAD ON THE SIXTH TRY! it would read triumphantly.  
No one had a claim on any of the specific spots at the dining table, so it was free game - which was how you were able to finagle your way into sitting between Jake and Sam for that evening’s meal. You liked them a lot, for the record, but you had been thinking a lot about your earlier interaction with Josh, and that was the reason for your chosen position. 
You wanted to stare at him without arousing suspicion - or rather, any more suspicion than was already present amongst the six of you. 
He had given you a questioning look as he sat directly across the table from you, scooting his chair in until he could rest his elbows on the wood. You offered him a reassuring smile as you settled in, but secretly you reveling in the fact it’d seem awfully non-platonic if he questioned your choice out loud. 
While you ate, he only caught you looking at him once, to which he responded by playfully poking his tongue out at you. Otherwise, you listened intently to a story that Sam was telling you about a fated time he found a designer jacket in a truck stop bathroom and it fit perfectly. You also chatted lightly with Jake - who was sitting to your right - about each of your classes and he graciously listened to you gripe at length about the weather and its lack of consistency, which was obviously very kind of him.
When dinner was over, the family changed into their pajamas before meeting in the living room with their wine to sit around the tree and open one present each of their choosing. It went around in a circle, starting with Josh who received a new cutting board and a set of knives that his mom jokingly assured him he couldn’t have until he was ready to go back to Ann Arbor. You were unabashedly visibly excited to be able to use a knife that could cut without having to use a sawing motion.
Jake had unknowingly chosen to open the present you got for him, which was a leather-bound journal and fountain pen that cost more than you wanted to admit but after you saw it at the store, you couldn’t stop thinking about it. You had felt incredibly cool while purchasing it, so in a way, it was kind of a gift for you too. 
The gift you opened was a wool sweater from Josh’s parents and when you lovingly clutched the forest green fabric to your chest, it was a genuine gesture. You reminded them that they didn’t have to get you anything, but thanked them profusely when they informed you that you were being silly.
After the designated presents were opened, warm conversation was had as the Rudolph Christmas movie played quietly in the background. It was one of your holiday favorites though, so you probably paid more attention to it than the rest of the family. 
Once 10 pm hit, there was a sharp rise in the frequency of yawns, and shortly after that people started turning in, one by one. Everyone was wished a good night, knowing that when they woke up again, it would be Christmas. 
After Jake turned in around 11:30, you and Josh were the last ones standing - or sitting rather. 
You were sitting next to each other on the sofa, about a foot apart because despite Jake having been privy to your relationship, it was just good practice when any member of his family was around. 
As soon as Jake’s bedroom door was closed, Josh seemed to visibly relax his muscles, though his fingers still fidgeted with his jeans every few moments.
“Are you liking being home?” you asked and then took a sip of wine, already knowing what he was going to say. 
He gave you a low, pained-sounding hum through a grimacing smile. “We should have just told my family what the nature of our relationship was - I don’t think I can handle not touching you much longer.”
 “M’kay, couple things to address here,” you started through an amused smirk. “You were able to handle not touching me for months - I think you can handle literally one and a half more days. And two-”
He cut you off with a finger against your lips. “Yeah, but had I known you wanted me to, it would have made a lot of difference.”
You pressed a kiss to the digit before he quickly pulled it away with an accusatory squint in his eye. 
“And secondly,” you tried again pointedly. “What would you have told them? ‘Hey guys, I have very very fuzzy boundaries with my roommate and that often results in us sleeping together, both literally and as a euphemism’?”
He shot you a teasing smirk. “Cute. You’re very cute,” he said sarcastically. 
After a very long, comfortable silence, you spoke again, voice low and hushed. “So, can I scoot closer to you now?” 
He looked over at you from out of the corner of his eye, still holding that smirk. “Please do.”
You shuffled until your thigh was touching his.
Of course, you had missed it right away, but you hadn’t really realized how much you’d missed being physically close to him until you caught the now-familiar scent of his cologne. 
Another comfortable silence fell upon the room, quiet enough that all you could hear was the quiet crackling of the logs in the stone fireplace.
“Can I kiss you too?” you asked, looking over at him through the sheer curtain of your hair. 
He looked like he was truly mulling it over as his eyes flicked down the hall to his siblings’ rooms, and then across the living room and up the set of stairs to his parents’ room. After a second, he let out a huff and said, “Fuck it.”
He reached over and tugged on your various limbs until you were sitting in his lap, face to face. 
It had been so forbidden to you up until then, that when he leaned in and caught your lips, you let out a groan under your breath. 
“I missed you,” he breathed, almost directly against your mouth. “I love knowing you in any aspect, but I’ve been burning for this.”
 It made the heat rise to your cheeks, as well as your lap - but you couldn’t let him know he’d turned you on so easily, so you replied breathily with, “That’s an awfully fancy way of telling me you’re horny, babe.”
He was biting back a laugh for a split second before, grabbing your hips a little tighter to gain back what dominance you had borrowed from him with your teasing. 
You pressed your luck. “Really, very eloquent.”
A look of contemplation flashed over his features as he was obviously deciding what to do next. He lifted you with little effort and then pressed you firmly backward until your shoulders hit the seat of the couch. Then he crawled over you and stared down into your eyes triumphantly. 
“Aren’t you worried about someone coming out here?” you challenged through a grin. 
He leaned in until he could drag his teeth across your cheekbone, making your skin prickle. “I don’t care anymore,” he replied, and then - in a show of brutal honesty - pressed his crotch against your hip and ground down just enough to show you how hard he was. 
Your breath caught in your throat, and involuntarily, you bucked up against him.
You kissed him so forcefully that it was almost more like just mashing your mouths together for a long moment. His hand slipped down between your bodies until his fingers brushed over your navel, the ticklish feeling making the muscles jump under the touch. It was the anticipation of his next move that fucked you up the most.
He was dragging his fingers lower, just about to dip under the band of your pajama pants when he seemed to have a moment of clarity and pulled his hand away altogether. You frowned at him, pushing your hips up to meet his hand instead, to which he responded by placing his palm on your stomach and pressing you back down with a laugh. 
“Let’s go to my room,” he suggested.
“No, wait.” You gave him the softest eyes you could. “It’s so romantic out here right now - the lights on the tree, the fire, the soft couch. Would you just kiss me here for a bit?”
The look on his face could only be described as enamored. He stared at your face for a few long seconds before you finally asked if he was alright. 
“I’m lucky to have you.”
He said it under his breath, so sincerely and honestly, that you weren’t sure how to respond until you could catch up with your thoughts. You cupped his jaw in your right palm, raking your fingers through his hair and he careened your touch in a way that had you feeling like a melting scoop of ice cream.
 “You know, I sometimes think about how poorly the whole ‘moving across the country to a place you’ve never been for school’ thing could have gone. There were so many variables that had to click into place, and somehow I still ended up living with a person that,” You paused to brush your thumb against his cheekbone, hoping to portray your meaning through your touch. “Might be a literal angel.” 
He raked his front teeth over his bottom lip subconsciously as he consumed the compliment. You could see his brain chewing it over as he snickered a laugh. 
“Though, I think angels are supposed to deliver good tidings and not black eyes,” you teased. 
You couldn’t name the look he adopted then, but it seemed somewhere between solemn and proud reminiscence. The frown forming on your features was not lost on him, and you quickly spoke before he could change the subject. 
“What’s wrong?” 
He hummed and met your eyes. “I never wanted you to find out about that,” he said like an admission.
“What do you mean?”
“There were a lot of things I did to get your attention, but that was completely reactionary. I’ve never been a violent person - well, to anyone but my siblings anyway-”
You huffed a laugh at him but nodded for him to continue. 
“You were right,” He met your eyes with an intense sincerity. “I am a lover. Not a fighter.”
“I know,” you whispered as you brushed a stray curl from his forehead. “But you must have known I would find out, right?”
“I wasn’t thinking about that at the time, but yeah - in retrospect - of course, you’d find out. But I did it. I sought him out and it just-”  He bit his lip for a second to take a pause. “I saw him and all I could think about was you crying on my shoulder that night.”
You didn’t say anything. You just let him gather his thoughts as the crackling of the fire served as a placeholder in his silence. 
“He’s lucky he only got a black eye because I wanted to kill him for touching you.”
 It was clear after a moment that he was waiting for you to respond, possibly even hoping for validation at such a vulnerable moment. 
“If I’m being honest, Josh, I still can’t believe you could do that - I can’t even imagine you yelling at someone in a way that was anywhere near serious.” 
He stared at you for a few long beats, and you watched the reflection of the Christmas lights twinkle like stars speckled over the dark canvas of his eyes.
 “Yeah, well,” he started, just above a whisper. His brows were tipped into a look of contemplation - the spacing of his words making you think that he wasn’t sure how to proceed. “You do crazy things to protect the people you love.” 
It wasn’t voluntary in any way when your breathing stopped, it just happened - like your lungs were locked up for a few long seconds as you waited for one of you to say something. 
“You’re my best friend,” he said like a confession, looking more serious than you’d ever seen him. “And I love you.” 
Undeniably, your face was peachy pink - you could feel it tingling warm. You weren’t sure what to do with your hands, but you knew you wanted to touch him. His skin tightened around his jaw when you ghosted your fingers over it.
“You love me?” 
He nodded at you, a small but confident motion. “You fill a lot of different positions in my life. I’m not in love with you yet - I don’t think - but I want your permission to be.”
Without wasting another second, you caught his lips in an earnest kiss, your chest feeling like it might implode. It only lasted for a moment before he was pulling you back up until you were sitting in his lap.  
“Was that romantic enough for you?” he asked, trying to shade his voice with humor but it came out sounding breathless instead. 
“I literally can’t imagine anything more romantic,” you agreed with a weak laugh and then teased, “Unless you proposed. You’re not going to propose, are you?”
He adopted a disbelieving smirk. “Do you want me to? I’m sure I can fashion a ring out of something. Maybe there’s a cock ring joke in there somewhere-”
You rolled your eyes playfully and cut him off with, “Please shut up and take me to bed. Right now, okay?”
He ushered you off of him with a breathy laugh before gently nudging you in the general direction of his room. “Hurry along then.” 
The two of you padded quietly down the hall, shutting the door without making a peep. 
The only light in his room was what you could see of the Christmas lights that framed the front door, casting a white-gold glow over the setting.
When he laid you out over the bed, it was significantly gentler than you were expecting as was the kiss he placed - first on your cheek and then your jaw and down your neck to your throat.
His hands slipped under your pajama top, tugging lighting at the buttons on it from the inside and letting his fingers make the skin across your navel tighten. Instinctively, your fingers tangled into his hair, keeping him close enough that the pointed tip of his nose was resting on your sternum. The warm humidity of his breath hitting your skin was both calming and exciting at the same time in a way you couldn’t describe if you tried. His fingers worked to undo your top with relative ease, sliding it off of your chest after. 
You eyed the way his bicep flexed as he held all of his weight on it, and wrapped your fingers around it to give it a squeeze. He reacted by dragging his teeth across your breast with just enough sting to make your hips lift off the bed. The way he sucked one of your nipples into his mouth and rolled it around with his tongue made you squirm, fingers flexing into his tense skin. A tingly, warm feeling set over you as you wrapped your legs around his hips and sat up to shrug your shirt off. 
“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to this,” he stated simply as he ran his fingers down your bare chest. 
You hummed at him through a smile, pinching his chin in your fingers and tilting his head up until he had to look you in the eyes. He gave you a grin as he bit his bottom lip and then leaned in to press a kiss against your cheek. In your heart, you knew the gesture had you blushing, but it was confirmed for you when he smugly rubbed his thumb across your cheekbone. 
The chill in the room made your newly-naked skin prickle as he tossed your pajama pants to the floor, followed quickly by his own. With all of your clothing discarded into a pile, he pulled you up onto your knees, cupped both sides of your jaw with his hands, and tugged your face closer until your noses were touching. You listened to his shaky breathing for a moment before you dug your fingers into his hips, pulling him back over you as you laid out on the bed. 
You knew your nails were digging into his skin - probably a little too deeply - as he pushed into you, one of his hands wrapped around your thigh to keep it hitched over his hip. This was confirmed for you when you heard him suck in a breath that sounded more like a hiss, though you got the feeling that he liked the sting of it. 
Through the entirety of the time he was fucking you, he barely pulled his body away from you at all, instead opting to just rock himself against you until you were near tears. The biggest challenge was barely making a sound as you reached your peak, your face buried in the humid crook of his neck and shoulder. 
You weren’t positive how much time had passed, but as you laid together, post-orgasm, you realized just how exhausted you were. 
Neither of you had said a word for quite a while, so it sounded too loud when you spoke into the dark room. 
“Are you going back to the living room?” you whispered. 
“Nah, fuck it. I’m not going anywhere,” he replied, nuzzling the top of his nose into your hair as you laid, half on his bare chest. Just before you fell asleep you remembered the very first night you slept in his bed, and how much had changed since then - and how much had not really changed at all. 
+++
You had meant to set an alarm - really. But you hadn’t gotten around to it the night before, which is why when you came stumbling out of the bedroom with Josh close behind you, you were met with a few pairs of eyes staring at you from the living room. Trying not to look like the most guilty human on earth, you ducked your head and quickly made your retreat to the bathroom. Neither of you said a word as you brushed your teeth together, sneaking playful glances at each other in the mirror. 
By the time you had both showered - Josh first and then you second - and changed into your clothes for the day, it was 9:30. You both found the dining room table hosting his entire family and enough breakfast food piled on top of the worn wood to satisfy a small army. 
The two spots that they saved for you were next to each other, so you settled in and tried to prepare for the most awkward meal of your life thus far. 
“You almost made it to the end,” Jake quipped, apparently happy as hell to deliver the first blow. 
You watched Josh’s eyes flick up at him, delivering him a chilly look. 
“Okay, it wasn’t really a secret before, but it’s definitely not anymore,” Jake finished, rolling his eyes as the bowl of scrambled eggs was passed to him. 
Josh poured himself a glass of orange juice and then gestured for your glass too. “If I were in the living room last night, Santa wouldn’t have come. Really, you have me to thank for the gifts you receive today.” He finished filling your glass and set the carton back down before continuing. “And I’ll take that thank you in the form of you shutting up and minding your own business.”  
 Jake snorted a laugh as he dished himself out some breakfast. He opened his mouth to tease Josh further, but when he looked up and met your eyes, he let the next remark die on his lips - instead just settling for a smug smirk. 
No one mentioned anything else about it, but as the meal went on, you realized that you really had nothing to be ashamed of. You brushed your fingers against Josh’s under the table and then let him lace them together as his sister was telling a story about the best gift she’d ever received. You didn’t share a look with him, but you didn’t have to as his thumb swiped over the top of your hand, over and over. 
After breakfast was eaten and presents were opened, Josh found you on your way out of the restroom and motioned for you to follow him to his room. 
“I have something for you,” he started as he took your hand and sat you on the bed. You crossed your hands in your lap, settling into your spot with a smile. He closed the door behind him and then lifted the bag he’d packed from home onto the dresser. 
He pulled out a little box like a magician would pull a rabbit from his hat, and then held it out for you to take. 
“It really isn’t much, because we obviously don’t have a lot of money, but after what you did for Penny- Well. I wanted to do something meaningful too,” he explained sheepishly. 
The box was wrapped in mint green foil and marked with your name on a brown paper tag. 
You took a lot of care removing the wrapping, and gently opened the top of the box as you held his eyes. 
Inside was a 4-inch terra cotta pot, decorated with delicately painted sunflowers on a white background.
“It’s obviously not perfect-” he started, but you didn’t let him finish before you set the pot on his bedspread and wrapped your arms around his neck.
“It’s perfect,” you stated simply. 
+++
He slept with you again that night, this time sparing any sneaky behavior - and this time, when the two of you emerged from his room, no one even batted an eye. It took you only a few moments to pack your things up, but over an hour to say all of your goodbyes. 
You watched as his mother hugged him again, just like she had when he’d arrived - tightly, like she could barely stand to let him leave. This time, she hugged you too, nearly just as warmly. 
Josh helped you get your bags into the trunk of your car, being decidedly less gentle with Jake’s belongings, and the two of you crawled into the front seats as Jake was ribbing his much taller younger brother at the front door. 
“Hey, I got you this. I looked it up on my phone and the wiki page said I could just rip it off, so I did,” he explained as he placed a long arm of the Christmas cactus into your lap. 
You look at it for a long moment, your chest feeling tight. 
He must have mistaken your silence for apprehension, because he continued on, letting a concerned tone shade his words. “It said it wouldn’t hurt the plant and that it would eventually just grow roots. Is that right? So you can have one of your own, you know? Since you liked it so much. You could even use the little pot.”
You let your eyes meet his as you tried to choke back the feeling in your throat that was threatening tears. Embarrassingly, your voice was a little shaky when you stated, “I love you too.”
He looked completely stunned, but he only had a moment to fix his expression before Jake was opening the back door and sliding effortlessly in. 
“You guys good to go?” Jake asked as he leaned forward and snatched the aux cable from where it was rested on the center console. 
You gave Josh an expectant smile, but when it was clear that he wasn’t going to respond, you leaned over and pressed a kiss against his lips, prompting him to say through a beaming grin, “Let’s go home.”  
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fernisworm · 3 years ago
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Hi👋 can I request a karl heisenberg with an s/o that gained poison Ivy like powers after mother miranda infected them with the cadou?
[an;
Okay but like I quite enjoyed this??? It sounded really cute?? I hope you don’t mind the way I interpreted this ability ^^;
And tysm for requesting!! Hope you enjoy :))
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❀ Characters: Karl Heisenberg x Gender Neutral! Poison Ivy! Reader
❀ Warnings: (Accidental) plant murder
✿ You can find all my stories here!
✿ My requests guide is here! (And you can place a request here!)
-
🌿 You had actually been with Heisenberg a little while before Mother Miranda subjected you to being another Cadou experiment
🌿 She actually kinda manipulated you into it tbh
🌿 “Oh yeah well I think Heisenberg would think it’s really cool that you also had cool abilities from the Cadou :]”
🌿 When you told him about it he was kinda pissed
🌿 But then again it was a very Mother Miranda thing to do smh
🌿 He was glad that at least now you could defend yourself if he wasn’t around
🌿 It was actually quite funny the way that you both found out about your Cadou powers
🌿 It had happened overnight and unfortunately Karl had been sleeping beside you at the time
🌿 The bed was literally encased with poison ivy vines (he woke up scratching like an absolute dog)
🌿 Thankfully the rash wasn’t too bad and he was mostly just itchy (probably due to Heisenberg being enhanced by the Cadou) but he was mad nonetheless
🌿 It didn’t take you long to master your abilities, but that didn’t mean there weren’t plenty of bumps and rashes along the way
🌿 Karl made sure to keep bottles of poison ivy treatment on hand at all times
🌿 Thankfully, you were no longer affected by poison ivy due to your new powers and often helped Heisenberg treat the rashes that  you accidentally gave him  he got
🌿 He likes to brag to the other lords about you
🌿 “Oh, yeah? Well (Y/n) has super epic plant powers that are way cooler than all of you nerds 😎🖕🖕”
🌿 Unfortunately inside the factory you feel really disconnected from nature (a big part of your new abilities)
🌿 You started putting pot plants around you room and just the factory in general tbh
🌿 Then you found out that Karl is literally cursed
🌿 Every plant of yours he touches literally dies sometime in the near future
🌿 Don’t even get me STARTED on that one time you went away for the weekend and you asked him to water your plants
🌿 How do you over-water a plant THAT badly 
🌿 It was two days Karl
🌿 Even the ones he didn’t water died wtf
🌿 It was plant genocide on a massive scale
🌿 It’s safe to say you’ve encouraged him to stop touching your plants
🌿 You convinced him to make another room in the factory specifically so you could do some gardening
🌿 He really doesn’t get it (the whole ‘gardening’ thing) but tries to be tolerant for you
🌿 Heisenberg also doesn’t understand what you mean when you tell him “no I don’t want you to turn my vegetable patch into a bioweapon”
🌿 Like yeah okay (Y/n) he knows that’s secretly EXACTLY what you want
🌿 After some more consideration and careful thought he decided you might appreciate something else instead
🌿 He surprised you with little robots that he programmed to automatically water/take care of your plants since there’s so many of them around the factory 
🌿 And you always look so tired having to run to every corner of the building to care for them 👉👈
🌿 After a while Karl started to notice random sprouts popping up in the floor (it’s literally made of metal where tf are they coming from)
🌿 Not long after that you two realised that they were literal poison ivy bushes 
🌿 Vines of ivy started growing from the roof too
🌿 Karl didn’t mind the regular ivy vines but the poison ivy had to go
🌿 He was NOT spending another 2 weeks getting over a poison ivy rash, girl
🌿 You discovered that you can grow/recede plants at your own will
🌿 But even then sometimes plants will grow without you realising and it’s still entirely bc of you 
🌿 You try your hardest to keep them in check tho and Karl appreciates that :)
🌿 He’d never admit it but he thinks the random vines hanging from the ceiling look badass and he wants more of them
🌿 “Oh sorry, I didn’t realise there were still vines growing in your workshop. I’ll just get rid of those for y-”
🌿 “NO NO NO LEAVE THEM i mean uhhh nah it’s cool they can stay or whatever i guess 🙄”
🌿 One time when you two had a fight you accidentally grew a giant plant that ripped through half the factory and took Karl with it 
🌿 “AAAAAAAAAaAAAᴬᴬᴬᴬᴬᴬᴬᴬᴬᴬᴬᴬᵃᵃᵃᵃᵃᵃᵃᵃᵃ”
🌿 As apologetic as you were it was still hilarious 
🌿 Although your control of plants is primarily ivy you’ve been working on controlling other plants too
🌿 Karl tries to help you but there isn’t a lot he can do lmao, it’s more support than anything
🌿 But to help with your combat abilities he built special robots/targets that you can rip apart safely until you get used to fighting with your powers
🌿 You discovered that your vines are actually tougher than regular ivy vines so they make good restraints 👁️👁️
🌿 Your powers seem to be more defence than offence, but as always Karl’s trying his best to help you with that
🌿 Because of your fondness of plants he tried to pick some for you once
🌿 He thought he was picking nice flowers but ended up handing you a bouquet of dandelion weeds; both of the the flower variety and just straight up dandelion fluff
🌿 There were a lot of daisies in there too (still technically weeds)
🌿 In Karl’s defence he’d never had to pick flowers before
🌿 You thought it was cute tho and put them in a vase :]
🌿 But also you just didn’t have the heart to tell him that they were weeds, he seemed so proud of himself
🌿 “Hey babe uh, I picked you some flowers or whatever it isn’t a big deal I already know u love them 😎😎 ᵈ⁻ᵈᵒ ʸᵒᵘ ˡᵒᵛᵉ ᵗʰᵉᵐ? ʸᵒᵘ ᵈᵒ ˡⁱᵏᵉ ᵗʰᵉᵐ, ʳⁱᵍʰᵗ? 🥺👉👈”
🌿 You thought it was funny that you were able to keep his weed-bouquet alive despite him being cursed with all your other plants
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angel-anoetic · 3 years ago
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Hey! 🌿 here, I've been having Jack Manifold brain rot recently. He's so pretty and genuine and has such a nice singing voice. And then I was struck with this idea of Jack and Reader being reincarnated souls of dryads who waltz to save the world when the egg takes over and reset the timeline minus the corruption that happened and only Foolish remembers (because he's a god) even if you don't write it, thank you for writing all of my requests, it means a lot to me! ❤️
hey hey 🌿! i too have had jack manifold brain rot or it might be the gender envy but anyways- his voice is so pretty. Anon, you always give me the best writing prompts to and i always love writing your requests! i hope you enjoy !!
Don't forget to like to save, and reblog to share
c!JackManifold x gn!Reader - Saving Souls
genre: /rom, soulmates almost (?), fantasy, Dreamsmp au
warnings: none! (let me know if i missed anything)
masterlist <3
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The first time you had noticed any kind of power, you were maybe 5 years old. It wasn't too obvious at first, things that could be passed off as mere coincidence Leaves seemingly following you, flowers turning to face you.
But you couldn't ignore the big signs, the bigger things. Vines growing around you, the flowers you picked immediately sprouting a few more in their place.
It scared you, but over time you got used to it. It gave you something to do on the hot summer days and cold winter nights. Spring gave you the most power and let them flourish, literally and metaphorically.
It had been some years ago when you met a young man who went by the name Jack Manifold. It was a nice day and you decided to cross the river that surrounded your home when you came upon a field of flowers after walking for a few minutes.
There were so many that you could feel their energy fill your veins. But there was something else. Someone. An energy that matched your own, too powerful to be a plant or a part of the Earth. Then he appeared, seemingly from nowhere. A tree a few yards away suddenly a boy.
From there had blossomed, no pun intended a friendship and relationship that held so much power. You two had grown and helped each other through work through the cons of your powers. Learned how to control them before they controlled you.
So one day when you received a message from an old friend regarding a certain evil that had taken over his friends and one of his homes, you couldn't ignore his call.
You and Jack showed up a few days later, and after a brief meeting with Foolish, you considered your options as you and Jack walked to the Egg's resting place.
"Maybe we could find if its core, and if we're lucky it'll be plant-based. Or Foolish did say that there are lots of vines and other plants surrounding it. We can just bury it so deep it won't be a problem ever again."
"No, Foolish wants it gone, and I think we should exhaust all of our options, whether we destroy the Egg or not."
As you two made your way to the Egg, people began to stop and consider the new visitors. Some looked tired, others just seemed angry or upset.
Then you two found it. The entrance to its resting place. Its red color illuminating what otherwise would have been a darkroom underneath the SMP. Vines and some other plants that you weren't sure you had ever seen.
"Oh my god." You looked at Jack, his eyes glowing against the room's tainted glow.
"What is it?"
"This is worse than what I would have expected, Y/N. These plants...I've only seen them once before in a very bad place. But it could work to our advantage."
You both made your way down the stairs, the sight of the Egg pushing beyond what you could have ever imagined. It stood tall, and the pure energy and heat that it gave off were almost enough to make anyone tired.
You began to feel a sense of panic rising in you, your hands slightly shaking at the sight of the object.
You felt the energy rushing out, towards the palm of your hands as a small flutter of energy found its way to the ground. As soon as the small seeds touched the ground, they grew into enormous green and white flowers.
A terrible scream suddenly emitted from the room, one that neither of you could hardly understand.
"Y/N, do that again."
"W-What?"
"The flowers, help them grow, just like those."
You focused on the type of flower, seeing it in your mind, then three more sprouted out of the original one.
Another scream filled the room.
"Alright, I have a plan. I'm not sure it will work but I do know it's worth a chance."
You couldn't look away from the Egg. It was like a monster staring you down, one that you were seconds away from fighting.
Jack turned to you, grabbing your face gently, rubbing his thumb against your cheek.
"Hey," he whispered, "It's alright. We are gonna take care of this in no time and help so many people. And we're gonna come out of it together. Okay?"
You nodded, grabbing his hands with your own, leaning into his energy.
"Alright, the plan is simple. I am going to try and manipulate these plants and grow the ones you just did. The Egg, it doesn't like the sight or the addition of plants that aren't connected to it. So while I'm carrying that out you need to start making something to protect us. I don't care what it is, how big it is, as long as it's strong enough to get us through a really bad thing. Can you do that for me?"
"I can do that."
You both smiled until Jack spoke. "Then let's do this."
Jack picked one of the flowers and one of the crimson plants that encased the room. He placed them gently together in front of the Egg and began to focus on transforming them into whatever he could.
You on the other hand began to pull together whatever plant matter you could find. Some pieces of wood and plants you had never even seen in your life still seemed to bend your will with just a little resistance. A small burrow was slowly being formed around you. When you looked up you could already see Jack had formed a large hybrid of the red and white plant which was now surrounding the Egg in a spiral.
The screams returned, nearly knocking Jack off his feet. He was a mess, the focus combined with the pure power that he needed to do what he needed was taking its toll slowly but surely.
Eventually, the Egg's screams, while still loud, became weaker, and a sudden rumbling came from the ground around you both.
"Jack! Jack get in here!" You screamed from your makeshift plant and wood bunker.
"Just a minute!" He continued his work, the vines and leaves already infiltrating the Egg's core.
You looked up, the ceiling above you caving in slowly. Right above Jack.
All he felt was the large vine wrap around his waist, then a harsh pull as he fell next to you within the bunker, moments away from the boulder that nearly crushed him.
"Keep going! It's not over yet."
You turned your attention away from the bunker and began to help Jack. The screams had to be the worst part. Your ears were basically going numb. You weren't even sure if Jack could hear your encouragements or if you were even talking.
All you know is that both of you were trying, the shaking of the ground was strong, and a sudden bright light was exploding from the Egg.
Then silence.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You were the first to wake up. The ringing was still in your ears, but less powerful and daunting. Jack was situated against you, sleeping peacefully.
You leaned back against your arms and tried to shake him awake. Eventually, he stirred up, and you were able to clear away your shared 'bunker'.
After you made your way back up you saw the change immediately. The skies seemed happier. People were less scared to move about town.
You and Jack walked around, people greeting you as you did. You spotted Foolish atop a hill.
When you finally met him up there he smiled.
"Y/N, thank you so much. It happened. Whatever you two did...it worked." The tears filled his eyes as he engulfed both you and Jack in a hug.
"I don't know what you did, but no one here even seems to know what happened. It's like they went to bed and woke up new people. A fresh start."
You laughed. "That's great Foolish. I'm happy we could help. It was all Jack in the end."
You both turned to each other, the light in both of your eyes new.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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steve0discusses · 3 years ago
Text
Yugioh S5 Ep 19: Yugi and the Only Neck Accessory He Didn’t Really Want to Wear
Been busy! Hopefully stuff will open up soon as I’m taking a hiatus on a different quarantine project and will be finishing painting the entire roof of my car this week? One can hope. Sanding the rust off the whole top of a car takes a long time it turns out?
Also, fun Yugioh fact, I recently painted a book cover for an author who is older so she’s never seen the show, and she looked at my tumblr, saw my Duke Devlin fanart and was like “That’s him. That’s my main character. OMG. You captured him perfectly!” and I was like “Ma’am that is Duke Devlin, hence the single dice earring on his lobes there, but we can work with this.” and now a spiritual Duke Devlin is on the cover of a Wuxia-style fantasy trilogy on the Vella. Had to give him a top knot and delete the eyeliner for Wuxia reasons but uh, that’s just Duke.
So long story short, fanart can get you work, don’t even worry about posting that stuff online because most people don’t even know it’s fanart anyway and older ladies freakin love it.
Back in Yugioh, the team was doing their best to navigate a map through the woods and they do about as well as they normally do.
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And inside Tristan lifted up the floorboards and was like “I found the only way out, this is it, this is the only way.”
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And they ended up in something that has a color scheme I would actually associate with a jungle. Finally. We have finally left California (in order to go to another Hell.)
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Youknow, when we went to California, we visited Hell, and when we went to India, we also took a stop at the nearest death destination. There’s just so much death on this show and sometimes I forget because there’s been a ghost in our party for so freakin long it’s been normalized.
(read more death imagery under the cut)
Joey freaks out at a flock of crows and reveals in this episode something I never realized about him before.
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Like I’m not always the perfect observer as I’m sure you’ve noticed, but I love that this is canon for probably only this episode, but I will never forget it for the entirety of this series.
You go on hating birds, Joey.
Bro was like “Maybe it’s a deep cut about Mai Valentine because she’s a harpy lady” but eh...pretty sure we spent like an entire season of Joey telling us that Mai was a good experience? Would be incredibly funny if immediately after all of S4, Joey was like “You know what? Screw Mai, guys.”
So my thoughts...it’s probably just a literal bird experience. Like I had a friend who hated deer because once she went to a petting zoo, got some pellets to feed the deer, but her finger was sticking up, so when the deer came over to nibble on some pellets her finger went up it’s nose by accident. She was so disgusted by this event that was entirely her fault, that she brought up how much she hated deer basically whenever we saw one.
So like...maybe Joey fed a bird wrong at a petting zoo. I can see him getting bit by a parrot because he was too Joey Wheeler.
But now that we’re in a graveyard neighborhood, Pharaoh decides to hop out because there’s a lot of ghosts here and he needs to practice socializing with his peers.
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So that’s just a Yugioh monster doing the ostrich dance, right? Like this is a meme from like 2010 but on Yugioh in 2003(4?)
Good to see the Ostrich dance here in the land before Vine.
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So they pull out their Pokemon to do some antics, Tea looked like she was about to do something useful, and Yami does a yump across time and space to get her as far away from playing (not)cards as quickly as possible and y’all...sure was a position these animators animated.
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Holy crap.
And I was going off about that scene last season where they woke up in the same bed like...
...have these two been together this entire time? Like together together?
They’re like...way more comfortable than you’d figure they’d be considering Yugi nearly passes out every time he gets a hug. But Yami just like....How long has this been going on? As long as Joey’s fear of birds?
Like obviously this show would never cover what the hell Yugi may be thinking about this overreaching move here, because we’re gonna gloss right over that, and just run away up a flight of stairs. No one mentions this ever again. Which is mind blowing for an anime to do. I think in most anime I watch, the kids would be like “ahh ahhhh I bumped into a booooob!” like it does for I want to say every other episode of My Hero Academia. But in Yugioh, they saw that low hanging fruit and they were like “we expect a higher level of maturity out of our audience. Now here’s a fleet of ostrich dancing tree monsters with faces for crotches.”
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They decided to sprint up this flight of stairs, and it enough of a slope to deter the monsters who are only unbalanced weird legs.
I want us to take a moment and admire this background painting. I can’t unsee the rocks that are all the same size, just piled on top of eachother. Did Alexander the Great just plop rocks here--or was the mountain made up of tons of similarly shaped boulders?
Like there’s a lot of nice bg’s in this arc, don’t get me wrong, but this one...I’m just trying to wrap my head around the logic of it.
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At the top, they meet a pantheon, that is immediately blocked by this wall, because if this arc had a tagline, it’s “Yugi gets inconvenienced every 4 seconds.”
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Bro was like “Clearly they would have pushed it over if Tea wasn’t slacking off” and like...she is actually. Look at her. Only used one hand? Slacker.
Joey was disappointed he couldn’t push over a massive wall, and the team decided not to analyze how much Joey Wheeler thinks of his own strength and instead fixate on these statues.
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Usually in anthro characters they kinda look birdlike but act human. But what about an anthro that’s just a bird? Like human torso, but can turn his head 180 degrees? Yugioh made me ask this question.
And then Joey was like “wait, there may be a solution that isn’t just to use brute strength!”
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Youknow it is a bummer that Kaiba couldn’t witness Joey own a dragon while he himself only has a robot jet dragon. Although, the jet is probably faster, stronger and overall...better than this baby dragon. It would have been great for Kaiba to witness Joey under-utilize this dragon and forget he has it for like huge swatches of the episode.
And then Grandpa pulled some body horror out of nowhere.
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Wow.
I mean that is really gross.
I guess Grandpa can’t use Blue eyes, because Kaiba ripped it up, Grandpa can’t use Exodia because Weevil tossed it off a boat, and grandpa can’t use the card that’s just a building because...it’s a building.
So instead Grandpa has a bunch of meat and bones that look like something out of Doom. It’s probably from a more obscure Konami property, but I forget which.
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I’ve seen Tristan hold back Joey in this hold, first time it’s been Tea.
So much shipping in this episode, it’s wild.
It’s also wild how low my standards are for what could possibly be shipping when it comes to Yugioh because of how freakin tepid all of these characters are, which as I’ve brought up before, I really don’t mind.
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So Yugi decides that because Grandpa was folding his arms like one monster and it made a gem light up or something, to just do the video game thing and use the giant ass statues as clues.
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Why was this arc not a video game? Like parts of it really feel like it was meant to be.
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So Yugi falls down a hole, where the walls cave in like it’s that dumpster in Star Wars but like...it barely phases him.
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Also...Yugi might be able to see in the dark. It’s never been brought up but like...the more I think about it...has Yugi ever struggled to see without the lights on?
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After Joey disappoints everyone, he confronts death.
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And Pharaoh and Yugi decide to solve the puzzle of “how do I get out of this trap dungeon room” which, honestly, is probably what they’re doing every time they hang out in the brain pyramid.
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So they summon their mascot monster, and surprisingly the show decided its ability to fly cannot help them out here.
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Kuriboh manages to become enough of a doormat to push Yami up to the stone and they end up in a set of weird cuts that ended in this?
Like seriously it was like flashes of light and then they were just...up here like this.
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Hey like...
Alexander the Great, my man...
Were you planning to put that stone in the middle of a exhaust vent hoping someone would touch it? Because there’s no way anyone would rationally have done that. You would need to fly to do it. This is the world’s worst DM.
Like Yugioh pulls a lot of fantasy nonsense but this arc is a lot more like a “it’s a kid’s show, just go with it.” arc than most of them. It’s not a bad vibe, necessarily, it’s just not the vibe I’m used to.
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So once I witnessed maybe the most boring conversation I’ve ever witnessed about corn (this was on a twitch stream, by the way, a guy was playing an interesting game, and then a guest came on and started talking about corn and plants for 2 hours) and they would not shut up about how all taxonomy is wrong because there are no such thing as trees and how all animals are labelled incorrectly, and then they started comparing it to like all sorts of mushrooms and phytoplankton as you would if you clearly got a little bit high before dumping your corn knowledge on a twitch stream.
Anyway, after that bizarre experience I suffered so I could learn how to play an obscure video game, I think I can safely say, that while I know everyone here thinks a bird can’t be a dog. If you’re a high biologist: a bird is absolutely a dog. Apparently you can just do that if you’re the most boring biologist alive and no one will argue with you because to do that would involve talking to you. We’ll just say a bird is a dog and no one can fight me or I will talk about the corn book that this guest on this twitch chat was thinking about renting from the library about the different types of corn mutations inherent in freakin Indiana. Therefore, Joey’s fear of birds and dogs is same.
So they use Dark Magician to save them from the statues, and Yugi busts into the pantheon again because they got to open this casket before a time limit that I kind of forgot about, tbh.
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And inside the casket, is...this thing!
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(enjoy this line on the bottom of the image I don’t feel like fixing it)
And you may say to yourself...it looks like it’s just floating in mid-air, that’s silly, and so I want to introduce you to the next panel where you can see that it is...quite literally...just floating in the air like a video game.
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and it just slurps itself onto Yugi before he can be like “nonono.”
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Wasn’t there some horror movie where you were stuck in some sort of body brace that slowly tortures you (was that Saw?) This has that vibes. Like man that looks uncomfortable to wear over a jacket and two belts and a collar that is another belt.
That and I...I gotta appreciate that Yugi popped his collar while wearing body armor and chunky necklace. What 00′s fashion appreciation right there.
Bit like...this isn’t breathable, right? Like Yugi’s gonna finally take this thing off and his jacket will just be completely soaked in sweat?
Anyway, that’s it for this post, next week we’ll see if Yugi can walk through a doorway in that thing.
Also, I can’t bring up the ostrich dance without sharing the vines of my generation
youtube
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mysticalmusicwhispers · 3 years ago
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lovers’ dreams
Summary: “A day fit for a spring dream.” And then he kisses Roshan, and they become lost in each other.
Characters: India (Aditya), China, Iran/Persia (Roshan, genderfluid). Human names used. Indran, Churan, and Indchu for ships!
Notes: 100% distilled surrealism! This was supposed to be a writing exercise that ran away from me rip. There are many footnotes that explain Many things. Enjoy!
also on AO3! (there are bonus thoughts and explanations there for anyone who’s interested or slightly confused 😅. everything necessary for you to understand the story is here too but I ramble about my thoughts going into the piece on AO3 lol)
———
The willow’s drooping branches hide Yao’s face like a beaded curtain, a bride’s sheer red veil. The spring breeze snakes through the tree, and the sound of wedding suona—sorna rings through the silence. A flutter of phoenix wings brushes past their ear, a whisper on the wind. Roshan walks languidly until they are in front of Yao; it takes a minute—it takes a month. Yao’s face is sharp and his eyes glint, like the jade in his belt. But the kiss is soft when they take his lips in theirs, and it tastes of the rose’s tender petals. The clean sweetness of flowers is warm against Roshan’s face and the fragrance of tea drifts into their nostrils. 
Yao pulls away, and Roshan opens their eyes to polished jade thorns sprouting up from the earth around them—crisp green, sharp-tipped; elegant, dangerous. So these are the fruits of our love. It is fitting. They lean to kiss Yao again, and this time, a laugh peals through the air when they part. It is not Roshan’s, and it isn’t Yao’s. But it is clear as spring water and tinkles like a bell, a joyous sound, and it makes Yao smile—a smile that is gentle, calculating; sweet, dangerous. A copper coin hides in the corner of his lips. “A day fit for a spring dream.” And then he kisses Roshan, and they become lost in each other.
When Roshan opens their eyes again, Yao is gone. They are standing in nothingness, a shell of a dream. A liminal plane. A wedding song echoes in the empty space, loud and cheerful, although there are no musicians to be seen playing the dohol, the sorna. Then sprung from the air, a mirror of fate, Aayeneh-ye Bakh, with its customary candelabras flanking it, and with their dots of golden light—miniature suns, sparkling stars. Its face shimmers, clear and gleaming: a pond on a full moon night—and in it, Yao stands, his reflection bright, splendid robes shimmering like gold scales and fine silk. Roshan reaches out a hand, and pulls him into a kiss.
“Welcome back, my dear.”
———
It is sunset, and a chill brushes past Yao’s shoulders and winds through his hair. The sky burns red, and fork tongued flames lick at the sun. A world bathed in fire, on the cusp of night. A lotus pond sits before him, and a figure is at its edge—Aditya, adorned in gold, the perfect figure of a prince. He, a dream of glittering palaces and beady emeralds, bright against the glow of the setting sun, sharp against the bloody sky. He holds a lotus blossom out, and Yao takes it. It is pure, tender in his calloused hands. A drop of blood drips from a petal. He lets it float into the water, and Aditya watches with him as the peach pink petals drop before their eyes—the lotus head balloons, then falls with the weight of seeds; it withers, a shell of its fruit. Divine beauty is short lived—seasons turn with the winds of change.  
Aditya loops an arm around him, bare skin on bare skin, the warmth of the sun hanging around them like a curtain. Their lips meet. The kiss is long, and lingers even after Yao pulls away; it is slightly bitter, but how could it not be? Aditya’s eyes are like black tea, and Yao tastes acrid lily bulbs. The sky has faded into burnt orange, the aftermath of a blaze. Autumn leaves fall from ginkgo trees, golden yellow, bright with memories of the past. Aditya closes his eyes, and Yao watches him sink into a dream.
The scene shifts before his eyes. The lotus pond morphs into a giant chessboard, and they are on opposite sides. Aditya plays white. Cream colored pawns meet chocolate brown knights, and they watch as kings rise and fall, as steady as the spinning of the world. Chariots race and elephants trumpet; the cavalry fight with long swords and bows, and the peasants use polearms, raised fists. Yao meets Aditya’s eyes, warm but gleaming with an ambition that has never gone away. He nods to his neighbor to the west, to his rival, lover, partner, equal. Aditya smiles.
“So we meet again.”
———
It is afternoon, and the sun is warm on his face. Roshan sits on a bench in the courtyard, holding a cup of coffee in one hand, a pomegranate in the other. Aditya nestles into their side, and they give him a feather light cheek kiss, gift him a wisp of air. They hold out the pomegranate, offers it, and Aditya takes a bite. Roshan takes the other half. They watch as the fruit regrows, seeds become jewels, glittering rubies in folds of red fabric. Roshan holds one up to the light with a critical eye. They spread tawny wings, amber eagle eyes alight with the pride of the past present future. A lion and the sun. The wings disappear—a trick of the light, reality fallen away. Then they hold up the cup of coffee.
“For you.” Aditya smiles, and offers a cup of black tea in return.
We have shared many things, and fought over equally many. How will it be in the future? He takes a sip, and falls through the cup.
A cemetery of swords surrounds them, a memory of things gone by. Afternoon sunlight filters through the trees, winds into Roshan’s hair. Idly peaceful. Flowers sprout through the earth; wither; climb up the rusted metal once again. A vine of roses twists around the hilt of a ceremonial spear, supple and full against cool, glinting steel. The leaves flicker, green yellow dead green again. Its blossom is still fresh red, like passion, like their love, pooling around them like a million memories, a still night in the river of time. Aditya looks at Roshan, different yet the same, a reflection of what they once were. Familiar, always, despite the changing tides and shifting dreams.
———
Notes
this part might actually be longer than the fic itself rip 😔 reminder that there’s extra rambling on ao3 lol
Suona/sorna: suona (唢呐) is a traditional wind instrument often played at wedding and funeral processions in northern China! (also used in Southeast China + Taiwan) It’s very loud and has a super brassy sound, but personally I think it sounds alright! The instrument came from Central Asia and is also used at weddings in Iran (where it’s spelled sorna/sarna), where it’s played with a dohol, a large cylindrical drum.
Phoenixes: wedding imagery in China, where a dragon symbolizes the groom and the phoenix the bride. There’s also an analogue to the phoenix in Persian mythology, a simurgh, which is a benevolent creature that is said to purify the land, roosts in the Tree of Knowledge, and apparently has seen the world be destroyed 3 times. Can symbolize healing, divinity, wisdom, and life. (the simurgh symbolism doesn't have much relevance to the fic but I thought it was incredibly interesting to read about lol)
Spring dream: very loosely referencing the Chinese phrase 一场春梦 (yi chang chun meng), which literally translates to an episode of a spring dream. It means the feeling that past predictions or events were actually totally wrong and fruitless, like you expected something (probably really good), but then woke up to reality not being up to your expectations? I can’t translate 😔
Mirror of Fate: In traditional Iranian weddings, a large, elaborate table with flowers and food and different spices is set up (sofreh aghd). A mirror of fate and 2 candelabras are also placed in the center of the table. The mirror represents how fate brought the bride and groom together, and the candelabras represent light and fire. The mirror is there so that when the groom looks into it, the first thing he should see is his betrothed's reflection.
Lotus blossoms: in China and India and many other parts of Asia, lotuses represent purity (they grow from dark mud but the flowers are pure white/pink), the divine, elegance, spiritual promise, the good part of humanity. so, a lotus with a drop of blood in Yao’s hands would be interesting.
Lily bulbs: this is purely self projection but lily bulbs (baihe) are used in Chinese medicine and I despise them. They're not super bitter but they taste starchy, bland, and off. Also lilies and lotuses are pretty similar and I thought that would be interesting :>
Chess: idk if I need a note for this but chess originated as an Indian game called Chaturanga and spread over to China and Iran, among many other places in Asia.
Tea and Coffee: nothing really special about this besides that Iranians Really Like tea. Decided to make India drink coffee instead for contrast; realistically he’d also be drinking tea lol
Eagle eyes: the Iranian/Persian symbol of the Faravahar, from Zoroastrianism has wings that are supposed to be eagle wings (I think? correct me if it’s just unspecified). You’ve probably seen it; it depicts a man with spread wings, half kneeling in a side view. Nowadays it’s also a symbol of Iranian culture, history, and national pride, besides being representative of Zoroastrianism.
Rose: national flower of Iran, and obv I don’t need to explain the other rose connotations. Also I’ve fully adopted the hc that Roshan and all their stuff smells like roses so that’s there too.
Lion and the sun: getting lazy with the explanations, but the short version is that it was a very important Iranian national symbol for many reasons, moreso tied to the state than culture (imo); it was also on the national flag up till the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Although I’m still debating how much Roshan is associated with the state, I also think sun and lion imagery fits them (glory, golden days, pride and courage). It’s super interesting, go search it up if you wanna read more!
This whole fic was somewhat inspired by this one, and the indchu bit was also somewhat inspired by this fanart.
If you made it down here, you have all my gratitude. Feedback is welcome and appreciated! Thanks for reading <3
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huaxxian · 4 years ago
Text
Stone Skipping || CH2 ; 𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘨 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳'𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯
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Half a year had passed since [name] and Senku had been revived at the very same day. Experiments were conducted, their home slightly improved, but the two had still made no other progress with the revival serum. Despite that, neither had given up, instead opting to continue trying.
The two teenagers had been gathering sticks in an area near their home, each having an axe of their own. “[nickname],” Senku looks down at their form, who sat in the very same branch he was standing on. Said person looked up at him, tilting their head. “You brought the basket, right?” They nodded in response, silently pointing at the basket below their branch. He nodded thankfully, adjusting the sticks gathered in his arms.
He could see them move to take it from his grasp, but he gave a pointed look, saying, “Don’t you dare take it. I already made you carry three other baskets back home.” A pout overtook their face, but nonetheless, they nodded and sat back down as he cut even more sticks from the upper branches.
rustle, rustle
step, step, step
[name] perked up at the sounds, turning their head to look past Senku’s form. Not even a moment later, an oh-so-ever-familiar form popped from the bushes as he pushed it aside, breathing heavily. The smile on their face widened as Taiju’s eyes widened at the sight of the duo. “S-Senku..! [nickname]!” His eyes teared up.
I found them! They’re alive!
From beside the shorter teenager, Senku smirked at him. “Kukuku, so you finally woke up, eh? You great big oaf, stop making your sibling worry for so long. You don’t want to see them with white hair so quickly, now do you?” He quickly moved down from the tree, offering his hand to [name] after, helping them down.
Immediately upon the teenager’s safe landing on the floor, Taiju started wailing, opening his arms to hurriedly give a hug their way. Not even concerned in the slightest, all [name] did was open their arms, beaming right back.
"You're alive, you're alive!! Senku, [nickname]! I c-can't believe it.."
Well, if [name] wasn't the slightest bit concerned, Senku most definitely was. Placing a foot on his face, the male hurriedly pushed the shortest out of Taiju's way, which ended up being behind him. "Don't hug either of us when you're buck naked, idiot! I'll fucking kill you!" [name] gave his back a pat, shaking their head. "Sen-chan, don't be too mean. You know it's completely just how Tai-chan is." They smiled, turning to the said person. "It's nice to see you after so long.. I would give you a hug, but.. I don't think Sen-chan would let me."
Taiju returned his sibling figure's smile. "It's okay! I get it.." He scratches his head sheepishly, laughing it off. "I think?" They giggled in response, motioning their head to follow them, which he did. Starting their trek back home, Senku spoke, "As of today, it's October 5th, in the year 5738 AD. How long you planning on sleeping in, huh?"
He pointed at [name], who was beside him, skipping as they went. "We've been awake and working for over a half a year now." Taiju blinked in surprise, the information slowly processing in his brain as seconds passed. "Huh?" The brawn of the group looked over to the other brain, confusion evident on his face. "How does Senku know just precisely what the date is..?"
[name] closed their eyes and smiled at him. "Sen-chan just counted, is all." Senku picked at his ear, scoffing. "As if there's another way of keeping track."
Another slow moment of processing.
"..So then, inside that darkness.. the whole time, you.." He glanced at [name] once more. "Did you too..?" His tone of voice had softened considerably, and so had his features. They shook their head. "It was just him, and I knew even then." They smiled and looked forward as Senku pushed aside the branches ahead of them.
"Even if I was able to wake up through sheer willpower alone.. If I were to wake up without means of survival in the midst of winter and with no food supply, it'd be game over. That's why, in order to survive, it was essential that I start in spring."
"That's also precisely why Sen-chan needs an accurate calendar," [name] added, "He wouldn't be able to know otherwise, and luck would be too much of a risk to depend on." Taiju placed a hand under his chin, opening his mouth to ask another question when Senku jerked his head to the front. "Hey, we're here. Don't just stand around gawking, get your ass over here and help out."
Brown eyes widened in astonishment. It wasn't no fancy house, but it was stable and enough. A simple rack made of sticks and vines leaned on the tree's huge trunk, holding several stone spears. "I haven't had enough manpower. [nickname] was of great help, but I didn't want to burn them out than what was necessary. That'd be stupid, I'd be working the only other person in this world death. It took up to an entire day of just drawing up life and survival plans on my own, while they hunted for food and materials. To progress forward into some kind of civilization from here.." He trailed off, glancing behind him to where the two stood, listening to his explanation.
"We've been waiting for you all this time," Taiju pointed to himself, confusion heavily lacing his face. "Yes, you, damnit Taiju. We waited for you because we were both ten billion percent sure that you were alive!" [name] walked forward, now beside the scientist. "You decided to tell Yuzu-chan about your feelings prior to the petrification, and we both knew Tai-chan well enough to know that you wouldn't give up after deciding so."
"Especially not after being cut off in the middle of a man's resolve," he huffed and smirked. "You weren't ball-less to the point of giving up and throwing in the towel after just a measly thousand years!"
Taiju looked down, clenching his fist. It was silent for a few seconds, but as always, with them, it doesn't last long. The fiery determination they had gotten accustomed to seeing had returned ten-fold, and they could only stare as he agreed.
"You're damned right!"
The scientist of the quartet looked over at his assistant. "Can ya get him some damn clothes already?" His nose scrunched in disgust as he pointed shakily at the muscular student, earning a confused and completely innocent look in return. [name] laughed at his obvious disgruntlement, nodding. "I'll go get clothes for Tai-chan!" They waved before carefully climbing their so-called ladder and hurrying inside.
◇─◇──◇─────◇──◇─◇
It didn't take long before Taiju had gotten his clothes, and before [name] was forced to rest by the one and only scientist of the group. The two had bickered back and forth repeatedly; Senku insisted that they take a break, since they apparently wouldn't be getting a lot even with Taiju around. Despite his confusion, Taiju agreed with this, making them reach a compromise.
[name] would rest just as the two wanted them to, but not up in the hut. Instead, they'd be napping on a covered area on the ground near the fire Senku was trying to make.
"When we need to use our heads.. I'll leave the thinking up to the two of you, Senku." Taiju glanced at his napping sibling. "And when we need to use our bodies.. you leave that to me." Senku glanced over as well. They looked comfortable enough, not at all irritated by the grass or the fire crackling nearby. Sleeping like a baby, they simultaneously thought, amused.
Senku turned towards Taiju once more. The time humanity took to climb from the stone age to our previous civilization.. was two million years. But, we're going to dash all the way back to the top all at once. "We'll take back the world and I'll identify the scientific cause on why we turned into stone, and how we were revived.. with the help of [name]."
Careful not to shout as he usually does, Taiju nodded and added, "And then.. I'll save Yuzuriha!"
"Three high school kids.. are going to build civilization from zero. We'll become the Adam and Eve of this world." Senku smirked widely, standing up and placing his hands on his waist. "Now, things are starting to get exciting!"
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
The two were calm and quite frankly, inspired by each other's goals, only to panic as [name] sleepily moved around, adjusting their place during their sleep. They covered each other's mouths and stared worriedly down at the shortest of them three, but fortunately, they didn't wake up. Taiju and Senku looked at each other and nodded, vowing not to cause anymore noise.
Senku pointed at their tree house and mouthed, "Bring them up." The other caught on to this instantly and carefully scooped them up in his arms, making sure that they were comfortable and left asleep. Then, without much difficulty, Taiju brought them upstairs, his friend following in tow. He placed them down on their make-shift bed, pulling the extra animal skin they had used as a blanket over them not long after, patting their head affectionately.
Taiju blinked and turned to Senku. "Wait, so was it just you guys this whole time?" The male in question raised his eyebrow. "Yeah, it's just been us." Taiju stared at him, expecting him to say something. "Why are you staring at me like that for??" He opened his mouth, pointing as he whispered, "You didn't tell them about your fee—"
Senku quickly put a zip on his mouth, grumbling.
◇─◇──◇─────◇──◇─◇
The next morning, [name] had woken up to Senku and Taiju still sleeping. It must be pretty early still.. They pushed the blanket away from their form, standing up silently. The teen carefully walked down the ladder, keeping an eye out on the two until they were out of their vision. A yawn escaped their mouth as they stretched their arms and shoulders, shaking their head as they did. What to do..?
[eye color] eyes looked around. They could go hunting for food like mushrooms and animals, but it would be more efficient for Taiju to do it, because he was literal brawn. Though, maybe I should come with Tai-chan later on if he does end up gathering food.. He might take poisonous mushrooms along. [name] could make more jars or baskets, but Senku would most definitely scold them for working too hard. Again.
Honestly, they can't see what he's talking about.
So instead, they opted to walk towards the high school primate's statue. If they could remember correctly, which they could, Tsukasa Shishio's statue was not too far from Yuzuriha and the camphor tree.
True to their memory, it really wasn't far. No animals in sight, nor any other statues in his area. Nature's green, green, and more green is all that could be seen. Pretty, [name] smiled to themselves, gathering the bunch of dahlias and other flowers into their arms. Without much struggle at all, they weaved the bunch into a gorgeous flower crown, one that would surely fit snugly on Tsukasa's head.
They brought it on the male's head, fixing the vines and the petals softly, making sure that his vision wasn't obscured whatsoever. Next, they took a few steps back, admiring their work. As I thought, it does fit Tsuka-chan. [name] nodded in approval and sat down on a nearby root, humming a song they especially liked from back then.
I wonder how everything became like this.. A time-lapse would be interesting to see.
They looked down on the dirt. It was devoid of rocks, unlike the last few areas they've been in. Upon realizing, the teen immediately takes a stick and begins drawing on the ground. Three pairs of nubs.. three heads too. Leek for hair, spiky hair, wavy hair.. Rocket ship. Proud, they grinned and tilted their head, staring down at their work.
It wasn't the best of art, of course. It was merely three little chubby figures that represented the trio that they so deeply treasured. Their proud green faded, and soon, a frown had taken its place. Something's missing.. Quickly, [name] erased the rocket ship outline with their foot to make space. Then, without a shadow of a doubt, they added one more figure.
Long hair and buffy arms.. It's Tsuka-chan!
The grin from before returned anew. The rocket ship outline was quickly drawn again, and for this time, they were satisfied.
"I wonder if Tai-chan is already awake.. or Sen-chan.." They yawned and stood up, brushing away the not-so imaginary dirt around of their skirt. [eye color] eyes glanced behind to check on the statue one last time before smiling. "I'll see you soon, Tsuka-chan.."
With that, they turned back, walking back home.
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When they had arrived, the two were already awake and kicking, arranging their respective areas. Taiju had noticed them first, and with a happy shout, had alerted Senku as well. "You're back," the scientist nodded towards them in greeting. In contrast to his reaction, Taiju immediately got down from their little hut and bounded towards his sibling, hugging them tightly.
"Keep hugging them like that and they'll run out of air, you big idiot." Senku retorted as he followed suit, albeit less enthusiastically and more calmly. [name] only smiled in return, patting the taller on the back. "Big oaf, you up for gathering food?" Enthusiastically, the male in mention nodded his head, quickly taking a basket from nearby. [eye color] eyes glanced at the scientist, as if waiting.
Feeling their expectant stare, Senku snickered and picked at his ear with his pinky. "Of course, you're joining him too [nickname]. Keep him out of trouble, and make sure the idiot doesn't get himself attacked or poisoned." He pressed a hand against his mouth, as if trying to block the snickers.
Not that he was actually trying, though. It was actually the opposite.
Satisfied and amused, [name] closed their eyes and smiled, taking a basket as well. Taiju immediately dashes off, leaving a trail of dust behind him, and causing it to spread everywhere. [name] coughed and looked away from all the sand and dust before waving at the scientist. "We'll make sure not to take too long, Sen-chan.."
Senku gave another nod before turning away. The [hair color]-haired teen hurried, and with some effort, was able to catch Taiju before he could get too far from them.
"[nickname], what should we gather first?" [eye color] eyes looked around cautiously, taking in the environment. From what they could tell, there were some pigs nearby. The rustling as well as their familiar grunts is what gave it away. They quickly pressed a finger to their mouth, to which Taiju immediately silenced himself, waiting for their next order.
"There are pigs nearby. We don't know where the mushrooms are at right now, and since the pigs seem to be a closer choice, let's go with that.." [name] spoke as softly as they could, but loud enough for Taiju to still understand their message. He nodded in determination and moved to single-handedly take any pig on, but stopped as they placed a pale hand on their arm, halting him in his position. He looked towards his sibling in confusion, tilting his head.
[name] smiled at him and shook their head, motioning him to stay still, so he did. Taiju watched curiously as the teen quietly grabbed onto a branch and pulled their upper body up, causing them to now stand. Surprisingly enough, despite all the movement, the rustle of leaves seemed natural, as if it was just a rustle of the wind and not a teenager climbing a tree. He could only watch as [name] looked down at him from their position above, saying, "Please stay here, Tai-chan.. I'll bring them to you, so brace yourself to catch one or two, okay?"
Taiju beamed up at them. "Okay." He responded, lowering his stance and opening his arms wide. His sibling smiled at his determination and switched from tree to tree, getting closer to the area of the pigs, as evidenced by the growing sound of grunts. Few adults.. few young ones, [name] mused to themselves. Some squeals were pitched, but majority weren't.
I can't overwhelm Tai-chan with too many pigs. I can't trap them when they're this close either. The very best I can do is to get one or two younger pigs.. But how do I? They glanced around. They moved to another tree, one that was to the left of the pigs. Tai-chan is to the right. The pigs can't move to the north, there's no entrance or exit there. It's blocked. [name] quickly stood still and observed keenly from above.
There were four adults, but only two piglets to be seen. Sen-chan would be satisfied with one, or at the very most, two of them.
And so, they formulated a plan.
Without further a do, they dropped from the tree, not bothering to cover the noise. The pigs became alert, and soon enough, their eyes had caught on to the teen's form. They grew increasingly loud in sound and scattered, moving towards their left, the other remaining direction for escape. Quickly reacting, [name] ran towards the two mini-groups (stomping and making loud noise with their feet all the while), forcing the piglets to separate from their adults. This time, they moved towards Taiju's direction, just as they had planned.
[name] immediately began creating even more noise, as well as increasing their speed. In panic, the pigs hurried even closer towards Taiju's direction.
Any moment now. [eye color] eyes made contact with familiar brown ones, and they nodded. Taiju shouted as he tackled the two piglets into his grasp, making the shorter of the two smile and stop abruptly. With heavy breathing, they helped him place one piglet in each of their baskets.
"That was a good idea, [nickname]!" Taiju laughed and gave them a particularly hard pat on the back in congratulations, causing them to lose all the air they had regained and double over, coughing all the while.
"Ack— I'm sorry [nickname]!!"
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
"Wow, you guys got so much," Senku stared down at the two's baskets, which now sat on the floor. "You got some crazy cheats going with your endurance there, Taiju.." He trailed off as he glanced to his assistant. "You didn't just dash wherever did you? [nickname] looks like they went through a hurricane." The scientist laughed as he pointed at them.
He wasn't wrong there. The poor [hair color]-haired teen had their hair all over their face, with tangles way more than they'd like. Leaves, petals, and even sand had gotten into their hair as well; Senku could only wonder what the hell Taiju had put them through to come back this haggard. [name] only smiled patiently as Taiju turned red in embarrassment, causing him to laugh even more.
"He did exactly that, actually.." Their words only made Taiju shout apologies, to which they shook their head at in amusement. "I couldn't stop him at all, sorry Sen-chan.." They chuckled and jokingly bowed their head in apology. Senku snickered again and walked towards them, patting away all the sand away from their hair. He removed the leaves and petals along the way, tugging gently at the strands that had gotten tangled.
"Don't you worry about it at all. I can't blame you when he's like this." He ignored Taiju's pouting at the side and only continued fixing his [hair color]-haired friend's head. It didn't take much arranging to actually clean [name] up, and soon enough, all was well. They smiled at him gratefully and he returned it slightly before backing away and moving towards the baskets.
Taiju watched in curiosity as he sat on the ground, expecting him to do something completely different, only to see him blatantly separating what they had found. [name], on the other hand, watched in amusement at their brother's reaction as Senku began listing them all off. "Amanita virosa, poisonous! Hypsizygus tessellatus, brown clamshell, edible! Amanita muscaria, Fly agaric, poisonous! Can't you just tell that thing's no good?! It looks like it came from Mario!"
With every mentioned name, Taiju's confused and aghast expression worsened, making them chuckle. "Calm down, Sen-chan.. That was a pretty good haul for the first time. I'm sure Tai-chan will take that into mind next time?" The two looked over to him. One stare was filled with doubt, and the other was one of utter patience and belief. Taiju doesn't respond, only choosing to blink at them in confusion. Senku sighed, "He probably won't, you know. Oh well, I'll bid you good luck when the time comes."
The scientist takes a few of the edible mushrooms and placed them on the sticks over the fire. The trio surrounded the fire they had made in silence, waiting for Senku's word. He first handed a decent-sized one over to Taiju, then proceeded to give an even bigger mushroom to the other teen. [name] blinked slowly as Senku gave them a stern glance. "Get some more fat in your bones, you look like you could get blown away by the wind any moment now."
From beside the [hair color]-haired teen, Taiju also added, "You always ate too less during lunch time too! Get some more food!" He immediately begins handing more mushrooms over to them, with Senku following right away. "I don't think I can stomach t-this much, you two.." [name] gently pushed the food away and just stuck with the one the scientist had given them. "But, I guess I can try eating this one at least..?" they smiled.
It wasn't the best compromise, but it satisfied the two males enough to leave them alone for now. Taiju took the first bite, making [name] and Senku stare expectantly. "D-Delicious!" He shouted in glee, "What'd you season these with?!" Senku grinned and begin taking normal-sized bites into his food as well.
"Just regular old salt that [nickname] and I extracted from the sea water. With just salt added, humans can eat just about anything. Salt is also indispensable when preserving food, and probably was the primitive man's greatest discovery." He explained. Taiju, upon finishing his mushroom, thanked the male whole-heartedly. "For all the things things I'd never be able to figure out! Both of you. I'll repay you in kind with determination and strength!"
He then finished his food and stood up, puffing his chest out in determination. Without even a warning, he took a basket and scurried off, shouting, "All right!! Time to go gather on the back side!"
Senku had opened his mouth to tell him that it was okay, but he had already been too far from their sight. He shook his head and turned to his side, where they sat with an amused smile and a still completely unfinished mushroom. "I don't get how you can keep up with him. He has too much stamina, he has got to be cheating with something." He grumbled, and gathered the sticks his friend had left into his hands. "Should you really be asking me that, Sen-chan? You have known them longer than I have, if anything, I'm surprised you've survived this long.." [name] chuckled and continued eating.
"Speaking of which, the back side is near towards the cave where you came from, right, Sen-chan?" The scientist hummed in confirmation. "Yeah, why?" He glanced over his shoulder, seeing them stand up and brush away any dirt that could have gotten on their skirt. "Maybe we should follow Tai-chan, he might assume there's someone else out there aside from us if he sees the pot.." Not expecting it, Senku let out an amused scoff. "I wouldn't be surprised if he did, he is a big oaf after all. Sure, let's go. His mind can go to absurd places and it'd be easier to explain when we're there."
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[ Author's Note ] // So far, these are all the chapters I've pulled from quotev. As of this very moment, I'm working on two separate chapters: a 100-hearts special, and the next regular chapter. For those of you who found this in Tumblr, I made a poll before on what the readers would like for the special. As it turns out, 'Crossover Traveling' won. No one really expressed what they wanted aside from my friends, who I asked personally. I ended up choosing Kimetsu no Yaiba as your destination. That's all for this note, thank you so much for reading, and for your time!
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lovelivingmydreams · 4 years ago
Text
Paper Flowers: Everyone falls
But it’s getting up that matters.
People try their best. And sometimes that isn’t enough. But that doesn’t mean one should give up. This week Thomas had a bad night and tensions rose high. Join me in the morning after.
And with the fanders a little pick me up was just what the doctor ordered.
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As usual Virgil woke up to Princey singing at the top of his lungs.
This morning's opening number was 'how far I'll go,' from Moana.
Virgil sighed. Today was going to be a long day. He'd expected as much. After yesterday...
Thomas had gone out with Joan to a party. There'd been a really cute guy. It had been fun and he was charming, a fellow actor even. Things were going so well... until, somehow, they had started talking about social media... YouTube and vine among them. This guy did not like the creator community. And he was very vocal about it. Something about attention seeking talentless idiots giving theater a bad name.
Luckily they made a clean getaway. Roman had played it off last night until he knocked at Virgil's backdoor.
Virgil hadn't needed an explanation. He'd gathered his first aid kit and came into the meadow to tend to Roman's injuries. Roman hadn't wanted to talk last night, so Virgil hadn't pushed him. Hadn't even made him promise to go to Patton if he wasn't feeling better in the morning. Roman usually didn't mind letting Patton look after him, but something told Virgil that he'd come to him for a reason.
He looked at himself in the mirror. "Let's get this over with."
He made his way downstairs for breakfast. He was the first to arrive. Aside from Patton that is.
"Virgil! You're up!" Clearly seeing Virgil was not what Patton expected first thing in the morning.
"Didn't have any other choice with Princey belting Moana in the next room," he grumbled.
Patton visibly relaxed at that. "Roman's singing... good. That's good."
Virgil was pretty sure he was the only one who ever heard Roman sing in his room. He didn't know if it was his heightened senses or something else, but no one ever seemed to complain about it. He'd never confronted Princey with it. First because he was sure Roman would sing even louder the next morning out of spite, and now because he kind of liked hearing a friendly voice first thing in the morning.
Virgil huffed and mumbled something about a bad night as he made himself a cup of chamomile, he needed to calm himself down. He did not like being here this early. Patton was too chipper in general and there was no one to distract him now.
"How did you sleep anxiety?" There it was.
The question, which normally came so easily when directed at anyone else was loaded with tension.
Virgil decided to stick with a shrug. Hoping that would be enough to let Patton feel like he'd met his quota of showing interest in him today. The answer was complicated. He'd been exhausted by the time he was done panicking last night. Especially since he'd tried not to show Princey too much of his worries while patching him up. He was having a rough enough time.
So once he did fall asleep he slept like the dead so to speak. It just took ages to get there.
Once his cup was in his hand he stalked to his seat he got some cereal and started eating. He could feel Patton struggle with something.
"I can practically hear you thinking. If you have something to say, just say it," he huffed, not looking up.
He heard a deep intake of breath.
"You were a bit too hard on Thomas last night."
Of course. Well at least he wasn't tiptoeing around him anymore. Before Patton dragged him to dinner that first time he would be so extremely careful when telling him to soften up. Like he was going to attack him if he said the wrong thing.
"We've established that I do what I do and don't care if you like it or not. Thomas needed to consider these things. You might've wanted him to forget that conversation ever happened but that isn't how real life works," he stated. Thomas had to be aware people thought those things to not get as hurt by meeting someone like that again. Pretending that if was a fluke and didn't matter was not right.
"Good morning Patton... Anxiety. Unusual to see you at the breakfast table,” Logan greeted calmly as he, made his way to the tea kettle. Virgil jumped at the chance to change the topic.
"Am I seriously the only one who heard Princey perform for his teddy bears this morning or what?" Virgil groaned. Logan cocked his head curiously. "Interesting... do you often hear things we do in private?" What? Where did that come from?
"I'm not eavesdropping! I literally woke up from the noise!" he seethed. He knew they didn't like him but did they have to assume everything he said or did had malicious intent?
Logan simply finished making his tea and toast before sitting down.
"Apologies that was perhaps not properly phrased. I just meant to ask if this was a first time or if your hearing simply automatically bypasses the barriers between the rooms all the time."
Oh, Virgil relaxed at that. Log
 Oh. Virgil relaxed a little embarrassed he made such a big deal over it. Great job anxiety. Just another reason they would never truly accept you as s friend. Not that he was hoping for that. He was fine. He shrugged. "Princey sings every morning. Sometimes I hear typing from your room." Understatement. It sounded like the keys were about to be chattered under Logan's speed and force whenever he heard it.
"And..." Suddenly he changed his mind, this was all probably really private. He was anxiety. He figured he picked up Princey's singing in the morning no matter what mood he was in because part of him was listening for any noises whether in the real world or Thomas' mind. But the rest… that might be them under stress and he shouldn't expose any of them like that without permission. But asking Pat's permission now would prove he cared and it would out the fact that Patton was hiding stuff.  "Just stuff," he shrugged dismissively getting back to his cereal.
Logan did not get the hint. "I see... would you..."
"Can we keep the third degree for some other time? I'm really not in the mood!" he groaned.
And just then the whole reason he was subjecting himself to this came in. With a smile plastered on his face and a grand gesture. "Good...!"
"No!”Vigrgil exclaimed turning to Roman, hiding his face from the others allowing him a chance to check him over. He seemed alright. But just to be safe. “Especially you! Just shut up! I don't want to hear another word this morning! I came down so I wouldn't have to deal with anyone trying to drag me down for family breakfast or whatever. So let's just eat in freaking silence alright!?" He shouted. He wasn't really that upset. But Princey might still not be up for Patton fussing over him. So Virgil hoped that for once Patton being scared of upsetting him came through in a good way.
“If you insist on making noise, hum or something. Just so long as you shut up for once!” And with that Virgil sat back down and started eating.
He could hear Patton ready himself for a reprimand but it didn't come. He assumed either Logan or Roman had stopped him. Roman sat down and hummed ‘Poor unfortunate souls'. A silent acknowledgment of what Virgil had done.
Breakfast was silent, and Virgil made sure to eat slow enough for Roman to be done before him so he could make a clean getaway. Logan finished first and left without a word.
Roman was next and went straight to the field. Virgil was a little happy to feel his key vibrate in an almost melodious rhythm. Roman's way of inviting him to hang out if and when he felt like it.
He finished his tea and got up. Planning to go straight to the meadow and check prince over. But Patton had other plans.
“Anxiety we need to talk.” Quite possibly one of the worst thing to say to literal anxiety, but okay.
“I feel like I made it clear that we were done. I don’t tell you how to do your thing. So you should do me the same favor,” he huffed before starting to walk away.
“Why didn't you answer Logan's question earlier?” The moral side blurted out.
Virgil, paused, he hadn't expected that. He didn't let that ruin his devil may care act though.  “Didn't feel like it,” he shrugged.
“If that was all, I have to go and contemplate the futility of our existence,” he drawled with a salute.
He hadn't even fully turned around yet before Patton spoke again. Rushed as if trying to get it out before he could think about it. “Did you hear?”
Virgil froze. He knew what Patton probably wanted to remain secret above all else. What he might've worried Virgil overheard with his heightened senses.
He'd almost checked in on him last night, but then realized Patton wouldn't want assurance from him of all sides . What could he even say?
Logan was out too, and Roman was in no shape to take on another side’s troubles.
“Depends…” he turned back to face Patton his face still carefully controlled though he allowed himself to be sincere. “Do you like…” Ugh. He was going to kill Roman for hammering on about giving the others a chance. “Want to talk about it, or something?”
Patton looked surprised. He was silent for a moment, like he was actually considering it.
But Virgil could see how uncomfortable Patton was. Of course. Of course he didn't want to talk about it. Not to Anxiety at least. He hated how much that hurt. What did he expect?
“Then I guess I have no clue what you mean,” Virgil continued casually as he disappeared up the stairs. Not even waiting to get through his room before opening a door with his key. It was risky he knew, but he needed to be somewhere no one could bother him.
“Virgil, you came.” No one except Princey. But he was a special case. Virgil smirked at Roman as he walked over to sit beside him. The relief in Roman's voice and face was unmistakable.
“Of course I did idiot. You didn’t think I was actually mad at you right? We've had enough fights for you to know the difference I’d say,” he teased as he leaned back a little to study the clouds.
“Yeah, I just… I would have understood if you really needed a break. I know eating with us can be stressful, and I left you by yourself…” Virgil sighed, knowing what princey was getting at.
“How are you?” he asked instead glancing at the royal by his side. Trying to spot any sign of his injuries bothering him.
Roman sighed and rolled his eyes. “I’m fine. I took of the bandages this morning and they didn’t need replacing. But thank. Not having to pretend everything was perfectly fine this morning… I needed that. How did you know?” Roman wondered, allowing himself to be distracted for a moment.
“You only sing ‘I want’ songs and power ballads first thing in the morning when you are really down. I was honestly relieved it wasn’t ‘Go the distance’ or ‘Defying gravity’. I honestly don’t know what I would’ve done then.” Not letting Princey force himself to put on a show during breakfast for the others was one thing. But making him stay in bed would be tricky to pull off without letting the others in on what he was doing.
“You… Hear me sing… And you know my mood by what songs I pick?”
Roman sounded moved for some reason.
“Yeah, I think it has to do with being on alert in the morning or something. And I can hear you the others in your rooms when you guys are… Anxious I guess. Logan was a nightmare during finals,” he jests.
“And I learned your mood playlist because it was useful to know when to avoid you and when I could push your buttons a little. I just use my knowledge for good now I guess.”
Roman gave him a playful push. “Aw, don’t lie. You were secretly worried about me when I sang my sad Roman Playlists,” he teased.
Virgil just rolled his eyes. “Whatever.”
“Patton didn’t give you a hard time over this did he? Because I can talk to him later and get him to lay off, I can make an excuse…”
Virgil waved him off. “I’d never let you straight up lie to Patton for me Ro. You know that. And. He just… I let it slip that I heard you singing in your room. You know, to make them think all is fine and dandy. And Logan pointed out that we’re not supposed to hear what happens in each other’s rooms and wondered if I overheard stuff more often. I dodged the question and Patton wanted to know why. Wanted to know what I heard from his room.” It wasn’t exactly what was said but Patton was allowed choose who else knew how badly last night had upset him. Plus Roman would feel guilty if he knew. Virgil curled in on himself and stared ahead as he remembered how the conversation had ended.
“I… Tried to offer to listen if there was something he needed to vent about or something.” He averted his gaze, he didn’t want to even catch a glimpse of Roman’s pity. “Didn’t go well. Not that I expected him to open up to me of all sides. But… I don’t know…”
“It hurts none the less,” Roman said empathically. Virgil chanced a glance and was relieved his friend seemed understanding instead of sorry.
He relaxed a little. “Yeah…” he admitted.
He expected Roman to come to Patton’s defense. To explain why the moral side acted that way, and how good his intentions were.
But instead. “I’m proud of you for trying though. I know that wasn’t easy for you.”
Virgil chuckled. “Thanks,” he allowed.
They sat in comfortable silence for a while.
“Wanna do each other’s nails while we brainstorm something fun for Thomas to do to give him a boost?” Virgil suggested casually after a while.
Roman shot up and ran to his room to get his stuff. Virgil couldn’t help but laugh. That was a yes.
 Today was awful. Everything just insisted on going wrong!
You let yourself fall on your bed and pick up your phone hoping to find some kind of escape.
You see a new video from Thomas Sanders. Oh, those are usually funny. Maybe it’ll be a prank or a storytime…
You tap the video and see Thomas pointing at the camera.
“Hey you!” The camera goes up and down and shows the prince smiling at you.
“You gorgeous human being!” he declares grandly. Up and down it goes and the teacher character is looking at you with arms crossed and his head cocked a proud smile on his face.
“You are so smart,” he states with certainty.
This time the camera returns to the dad character his arms close to his chest hands balled in fists near his face, huge goofy grin on his face.
“You are unique!”
And then sleep! Looking like he’s taping in the middle of a party. “Take a nap gurl! You deserve it!”
And lastly the nemesis. He too has his arms folded in front of him but he looks at you with a strange sort of stern yet gentle look.
“You deserve love and respect. No matter what others say,” he tells you seriously.
And damn it. Why did that mean so much!? Maybe just because you kind of needed to hear that right now. Maybe you will have a quick nap.
But not before liking and sharing. Even sending it to a few friends to make them smile.
Next: The little things
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vividly-aflame · 3 years ago
Text
No use to have you around
@whumptober2021 Day 1 : All thrust up and still nowhere to go
@whumptober-archive
Fandom: BoBoiBoy Galaxy
cw: a little bleeding, torture, self loathing
Summary: Where Boboiboy felt stressed lately, resulting in his fire elemental to take over his body when he’s asleep and wreak havoc like the first time he came to be. Boboiboy tried to do something about it.
“Stop.” Blaze managed to groan out with a hoarse voice. “please.”
Recently, Boboiboy have been feeling more stressed than usual and the only solution he could think of is getting rid of one of his elemental, Blaze, who has been causing problems since the day he exists. Although he has been useful in some scenarios, Boboiboy don’t think it’s worth it to keep him.
So here they are, all of the seven elementals thinking of ways to get rid of the fire elemental. Blaze tied to a tree with Duri’s thorn vines. It prickles Blaze’s skin and draws a little bit of blood. Every movement that Blaze took is awfully painful that he given up on escaping hours ago. Burning it is no use since the other could quickly trap him again.
“I’m not even the cause of his stress.” All eyes snapped onto Blaze. “His stress is the cause of me.” He managed.
“Gempa, I don’t think this is a good idea.” Taufan commented.
“Well even if we can’t kill him, we could tie him up so he doesn’t go around doing his shenanigans. Or at the very least we can keep him weak enough.” Gempa replied. Taufan and Duri gave Gempa a surprised look. It isn’t like him to actively want to hurt others, only if it’s to protect his friends and family. Do Gempa not see Blaze as his family? For god’s sake, they’re literally the same person!
“Maybe that’s enough for today Gempa…” Duri quietly said as he began untying his thorns. Blaze began to feel relieved as he fell to the ground half conscious. Duri quickly helped him out by lifting him up. Taufan gave Gempa a sort of disappointed look before he goes to help Blaze too.
“Well it certainly helped with Boboiboy’s, and in turn, our problems, but only in a very short time. The problem will come back worse.” Solar stated.
“We will figure it out later, it’s getting late. We should reform before our friends find us like this.” Gempa said with an almost guilty look in his eyes. All of them except for Blaze (he was actually unconscious) nods and started to reform, leaving only an orange clothed boy in the middle of the woods.
Boboiboy heard the sound of rustling bush behind him and instantly turned around.
“Oh my god, Boboiboy, there you are! We were worried sick!” Cried Yaya. He could also see Ying behind her.
“Eheh sorry. Just trying to get somethings off of my mind.” Boboiboy had the decency to look sheepish. That something is Blaze actually he thought.
“Haiya, you literally went missing for almost three hours!” Ying said angrily but also seems a bit worried.
“I said I’m sorry-”
“It’s fine. Now let’s head back to our camping spot. Gopal has made dinner.”
When they finally arrived at their camping place, a plate of food is instantly shoved to him.
“I’ve made rice with fish curry! It’s my dad’s authentic recipe.” Gopal excitedly exclaimed. Boboiboy didn’t have the heart to not eat it with how proud Gopal actually look although he doesn’t have the appetite. With a small smile, he took the plate, sits on the ground and began eating.
After they all have eaten and Boboiboy and Yaya pray together, they goes to each of their tent to sleep except for Boboiboy. He’s sitting down by a tree. He’s afraid to sleep because of Blaze. What if Blaze takes over while he sleeps and burn down the tents and everyone inside? What if he burned down the whole forest? Even the whole planet!
Maybe he should tie himself on the ground or on this tree to avoid Blaze running loose. Wait no, he could just burn the ropes. Maybe use his earth powers to trap himself? Maybe he could just dig up his own grave. Have the ground literally swallow him. Huh. This is the second time he wants to dig his own grave. What’s with him with graves?
“Boboiboy?”
“Ah!” Boboiboy yelped. Actually yelped. He looks to the direction of the voice to see Fang.
“I thought you were sleeping?” Boboiboy said confused.
“I were.”
“So why are you not?”
“Don’t know but I should be asking you, why you’re not asleep.”
Boboiboy look at his hands which is currently fidgeting.
“It’s stupid.”
“If it keeps you up all night, I don’t think it’s stupid.”
“It’s about Blaze.”
“That’s the stupidest thing I’ve heard.”
“Hey!” Boboiboy look at Fang, pretending to look betrayed.
Fang snickered. “I’m just messing with you.” He sat next to Boboiboy. “So want to tell me the problem? I’m all ears.”
“Blaze has been acting up again…”
“I’ve noticed. You’re stressed and if you keep thinking about it, it would make him more active.” Fang exclaimed. “But if you really don’t want your fire powers, you could just ask Ochobot to take it back.” Fang casually said as if that’s not the most hardest choice to make.
“But I don’t want it gone!” Boboiboy stared at Fang, surprisingly. “I’ll admit although it’s chaotic and sometimes hard to control, it is useful in some situations. I only want Blaze himself gone but not my fire power! And I don’t want you to think I like to hoard all of these powers but-” Boboiboy abruptly stoped. He didn’t actually know why he wants to keep his fire powers. He is perfectly fine with at most, three powers so why do he need four more? “I don’t actually know why I keep them…”
Fang stared at him with a blank expression. “You do need them. Each of them has their own unique trait for every situation. Yes it would be selfish to want all seven of the powers but you’re using them for good. It would be better to give all seven powers to you rather than giving them to seven bad people each.”
“Huh, never thought of that.”
“Yeah, and as for you stressing out and stuff, maybe you should ask admiral for a month long break. Maybe ask for your friends to get it too. And before you said we need to protect the station, you need to remember that we’re teens and we shouldn’t take responsibility of a whole space organisation and thousands of people’s life. We didn’t even finish high school!
“Touché.”
“Sometimes being selfish is a good thing.”
“…”
“Welp!” Fang suddenly got up with a loud clap. “Yaya brought you a weighted blanket. She said it may help with your anxiety and stress so I better see you actually sleep tonight.” With that, Fang began to walk inside of his tent and continue sleeping.
Boboiboy sat there for a minute before deciding to go to his tent. After all, he wouldn’t want to disappoint his friends. Maybe he could play a calming music or sound with his phone while he’s sleeping. He entered the tent and saw a galaxy themed blanket folded in the corner. That must be the weighted blanket Fang talked about. It was actually pretty comfortable and soothe his mind. He started to succumb to sleep.
The next morning when he woke up he doesn’t have any vivid memory about burning stuff and his friends are also safe. Huh guess worrying about his problems just make it worse.
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jamiemackenziefraser · 4 years ago
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All That Was Fair
Chapter 7: Under His Protection
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Work Summary: Jamie Fraser is hiking near some strange stones when he comes across an unconscious lass. Determined to help her, Jamie’s life is turned completely upside down as he takes her in. The only issue... she’s not human.
Chapter 7 Summary: Claire confronts various emotions; tensions rise.
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A/n: Hold onto your hats, we’re taking a dive into Claire’s POV!
Chapter 7: Under His Protection 
***
Claire woke slowly, her brain struggling against the mire of unconsciousness, swimming lazily to the surface. As she cracked her eyes open and took in the darkness, confusion and anxiety gripped her like vines coiling around her ankles. 
Where was she? 
The material under her cheek was strange, and she certainly wasn’t on the ground with the familiar feeling of brush and grass against her cheek. Whatever she was lying on was soft and had a lot of give. 
She nearly started to panic, but then she became aware of the feeling of arms wrapped around her and her body securely anchored to that of the warm one behind her. 
While her brain, still clouded with sleep, struggled to identify who the arms belonged to, it was her heart that fondly sighed, “Jamie.” 
And then she felt it. 
Safety— warring against the uncertainty. 
Awareness came back to her with that, and she remembered all the events of the previous few days. Here she was, in this strange human’s house, in his arms even, forever cut off from her home. 
The grief washed over her anew. Her whole world had been tilted upside down in mere minutes, the repercussions of touching the stones still revealing themselves. But she could feel in her bones that she was lost, never to return. 
The thought terrified her. 
Tears pricked at her eyes and her heart leapt suddenly to her throat. She tried to swallow the lump, to force it back down, but she felt the pressure inside her building— fit to burst into another meltdown over all she’d lost. 
So she turned to the one thing she could— both figuratively and literally. 
She rolled over so she was facing Jamie. In sleep, his arms instinctively shifted with her so he was still holding on to her, clutching her body to himself. As he settled back in, his breathing a reassuring rhythm, he pulled her even closer with a soft hum.  
He looked so peaceful that she hesitated to wake him. But tears were dripping from her eyes now, and she felt so alone that she wanted him— awake with all his gentleness and quick reassurances— desperately. In a tremulous, barely there voice, she whispered, “Jamie?” 
It took only a second for his eyes to open and fix on her. They were beautiful eyes, she thought— blue like the sky on a sunny day. Those eyes held such kindness, such soft compassion. They had been one of the first things that made Claire know he was a good man. 
As soon as Jamie saw her face, which must have been wet with tears by now, he let out a pained sound. His big hands let go of her and untwined from her body so that he could lift them to cup her cheeks, the thumbs swiping at the falling tears. 
“What’s wrong, mo nighean donn?” he asked, his face soft with concern. 
The tenderness there made Claire’s breath hitch and the silent tears fall even faster. 
“I— I’m sorry—” she suddenly felt very foolish to have woken him, without even a good reason, “I just… woke up scared. And then I remembered...” 
There was a mere second for her to berate herself over her behavior before understanding crossed Jamie’s face and assuaged Claire’s embarrassment. Jamie had an amazing knack for making her feel that he understood and hurt with her without making her feel pitied. This kind of empathy was something Claire had never really experienced before she met him. 
It was with that empathy that he met the tide of her grief.
“Come here,” he said softly. 
He pulled her closer and his hand settled on the back of her head to press her face into the crook of his neck. She went willingly. The skin of his neck felt warm and silky under her teary eyes, and she let more drops fall onto the offered canvas of his body. She wasn’t actively crying like she had the previous day when the realization hit her, just quietly addressing her loss, releasing pent up tears that seemed to have been inside her all night. The nighttime was when fears always preyed, darkness and loneliness reminding one of their greatest insecurities, but she was lucky not to be alone. 
Both of his arms encircled her, but one of his hands was free enough to rub comforting circles into her back. His hands were so big, she marveled at the feeling and strength of them— so reassuring. Grounding her. 
“I’m sorry,” she murmured. Her lips barely brushed the skin of his collarbone as she spoke. 
“Dinna be sorry,” his deep voice was a vibration in his chest that she could feel from how she laid on him, pressed so tightly against his body, “I’m here.” 
That made her feel a thousand times better. As much turmoil as she’d been through in the past couple of days, he was her light— her anchor. She somehow trusted him with everything inside her. 
She’d known him to be trustworthy from the first time she touched him. Before that, when he’d knelt a short ways away from her on the moor, she’d noticed the kindness in his eyes, the truth in his words, and the deference in his posture that indicated he meant her no harm. That all made her less wary. But the first time she’d truly known was when she’d touched his face and felt that warm rush of security and gentleness, more powerful than she’d ever felt before. There was a connection between them that was completely novel to Claire but nonetheless reassuring. From that second on, Jamie had been hers, and she his. 
As she wept against him now, she couldn’t help but believe his earnest words. Everything would be okay. As long as he was there to hold her, to protect her, she could survive. 
Comfort. 
He continued to embrace her long after her tears had dried. With infinite patience, he simply offered his body to her, wrapping himself around her as if he could block out her pain. She was loathe to move away from him and the safety he provided, but the sun was up— light was filtering through the window indicating late morning— and she needed to face the day. 
She lifted her face from his shoulder and locked eyes with him. 
“Thank you,” she said softly. She hoped he knew all the unspoken things those words held— thank you for saving me, for caring for me, for holding together my broken pieces, for letting me drop into your life like this and never complaining once…
He must have known, because he gave her a smile that made her knees feel like jelly and said simply but with a weight of regard, “ye’re welcome.” 
They got up slowly. Claire parted from Jamie reluctantly, but sat up nonetheless, allowing him to stretch and then set off. Watching him, all the high emotions from the night before seemed to dissipate, and she was left feeling more like herself again. Jamie seemed to have a routine that he followed every morning, and Claire followed him, interested to watch what exactly he was doing. 
First, he padded sleepily to the little place with the “shower”, scratching the back of his head where some of his beautiful red curls were sticking up adorably. He’d left the “door” open, but Claire wasn’t entirely sure he knew she was there as he made the water appear (she still had no idea how it did that!) and put a small stick thing under it. Then, he raised the stick and started to rub it inside his mouth. She recoiled a little in disgust, wondering if this was something like “eating”, but upon closer inspection, it seemed to be something different entirely. It lasted only another few seconds before he leaned down and washed his face under the little waterfall. When he straightened up again, his eyes met hers in the strange reflective surface, and he turned suddenly toward her. 
“Claire!” he exclaimed, “I didna realize ye were there. Ehm… I hafta take a shower. Would you mind givin’ me a bit of time?” His eyebrows were raised apologetically as he thrust a thumb in the direction of the “shower.” 
With a nod and a smile she hoped looked reassuring, she said, “Of course!” 
She didn’t want to impose on him, and he’d been spending nearly every second with her. He was obviously reluctant to leave her on her own, but she wanted him to know that she’d be fine. 
He gave her a nod, still looking a bit guilty, and then shut the bathroom door, separating them. A second later, she heard the sound of rain and figured he was beginning the shower. 
Left to her own devices, she headed down. She was still a little hesitant about descending the odd hill that led down to the other level— the blocky shapes on it seemed easy to slip on— but she held tightly to the little trees that lined either side. 
When she’d finally made it down, the grey “cheetie” Adso was sitting in the middle of the place Jamie called “the living room” and looking up at her with big green eyes. 
“Hello my friend!” she exclaimed happily as she sat down to run her fingers through his soft fur. He rumbled beneath her hands, making her giggle a little, and she spent a few moments completely absorbed with Jamie’s companion. He must have been loyal to Jamie— she thought— to choose to spend all his time inside with him instead of out on the moors. 
As she stroked his soft fur, thoughts of her future crept into her mind, unbidden. Thinking more than a few days ahead was complete madness, so she limited herself to worrying about this day and its troubles. Jamie would honor his promise and take care of her, but if she was going to be here for any amount of time, she needed to really start learning about this world. She didn’t particularly care for the feeling of helplessness that was her ever-present companion; she wanted to become competent and hopefully one day reciprocate Jamie’s care. With a hardening resolve, she decided that today she would be brave. She would learn everything Jamie would teach her and take as many steps as she could toward her new life. 
It wasn’t long before Adso grew bored of her. Just as she had made up her mind, he abruptly hopped to his feet and pranced off, tail flicking in goodbye. 
Claire wasn’t sure what to do next. She would have liked to go back and feel the warm wind (what was it Jamie had called it— “space heater”?), but she wasn’t sure how much heat it could possibly have trapped inside of it and thought probably best to save it. Glancing around the room in search of inspiration, her gaze fell on the window. 
It was a beautiful day— the sun illuminating the terrain with its bright colors, not even a hint of the usual Scottish greys of clouds and drizzle. It was the perfect opportunity to tend to Jamie’s plants (which were sorely in need of a good touch). And if doing something she was good at helped her to feel more competent and useful in this world, all the better for it. 
She headed outside right away. Kneeling down in the dirt, the slight tension inside her eased. She was in her element. Her hands instinctively reached for the plants, classifying to herself, cataloguing their needs in her brain, and simply touching in order to better sense them. 
It wasn’t long before she grew lost in her endeavors. There were some invasive plants— dreadful, malicious things that didn’t even belong in Scotland, she knew— that she began to pull up and toss aside. Their roots were strong, but she could feel them choking the life from the others and pulled hard. Her hands grew dirty in her efforts but she didn’t mind; it was only evidence of her making a difference. The sun rose even higher in the sky as she worked, but she was paying no attention to anything around her. She finally felt a sense of value again as she freed the plants from the choking hold of the invaders.
Her tranquility was suddenly shattered when a loud bang came from the direction of the house. Claire jolted upright, dropping her weeds, and her head whipped toward it. 
Jamie stood just outside, his fiery hair aglow in the sun but beautiful blue eyes blown wide in panic and fixed on her. Seeing his tension, she thought for an instant that something was terribly wrong. Was something after him? Come to harm them? She had no idea the dangers of the human world. 
But then he was suddenly racing toward her, eyes never leaving her the whole time. He fell on his knees beside her and scooped her into an embrace. Bewildered, she didn’t resist as he clutched her to his chest, hugging so tightly it was nearly hard to breathe. 
“Christ, lass!” he burst out, “I looked everywhere for ye and couldna find ye. I thought maybe ye’d run off or somethin’d happened and—” He was breathless as he spoke, and Claire could feel his chest heaving against her as he tried to calm himself down. 
“I was only out here,” was all she could think to say. 
Jamie pulled back a little so he could look down at her, but made no move to let her go. She didn’t particularly mind— she liked being in his arms and wished he’d hold her all the time, but she was disturbed by how upset he seemed. He studied her for a long moment, eyes sweeping over her as if ensuring she was alright. 
“Ifrinn,” he muttered suddenly, face softening from an expression of frantic worry into a more gentle concern, “ye’re shakin’ like a leaf. How long have ye been out here, a nighean? And wi’ out a coat? Ye’re cold as ice.” 
Claire wasn’t sure what a “coat” was, but at his words, she realized that she was freezing. He was right— her whole body trembled in that odd way it had ever since she’d touched the stones. She furrowed her brow in discomfort. The cold was the worst. 
Jamie was muttering something under his breath and rubbing his hands up and down her arms. On one pass, they traveled further down and caught her hands in his, heedless of the dirt caked on them. He squeezed, and Claire was taken aback at just how warm they were. 
“Come now. Inside,” he told her, his tone indicating there was no room for argument. 
He all but hauled her up and tugged her toward the house. Her hand was clasped in his, so the tension that lingered in his body was apparent to her. 
The moment they were inside, Jamie whirled to face her. He snagged the soft fabric (what was it called again— blankit?) from the couch and, facing her all the while, raised his arms over her head to wrap it around her shoulders. The forceful movement of him swaddling her brought her closer to him, and he pulled the edges tight together so she was wrapped completely. Her trembling hadn’t eased in the slightest, if anything it was getting worse now that she was back in the warmth of the house, so she was grateful for the comfort. 
But that sense of gratitude didn’t stay long. 
“Christ, lass,” Jamie was saying, voice giving way to frustration, “ye canna go wanderin’ like that.” 
His hands waved wildly in a grand gesture of “wandering”, as if she had walked all the way back to her forest instead of just out back. 
“I was only just outside,” Claire protested. 
She took a step backward so Jamie wasn’t so close to her. She didn’t like the emotions radiating from him. He seemed red to her, like the heat of the sun— energy roaring within. 
“Aye, but ye didna say a word about it tae me first. Anythin’ could have happened to ye,” Jamie shot back. 
Claire felt her nerves fraying at the tone of his voice. 
“I’m capable of taking care of myself,” she spat, bristling. 
“Are ye, then?” His tone teetering just into the realm of mocking, “Because—”
That put her over the edge. She dropped the blanket from her shoulders and stalked back toward him, fire in her belly. 
“You treat me like I’m just some foolish child! Like I’m this fragile thing about to break if I’m alone for one moment. I may not know everything about your world, but I’ve taken care of myself my whole life. I don’t need you!” The last words burst from her mouth in her fury, lashing out with a shot aimed right at his heart. 
But the moment she said them, she wished she could grab them out of the air and shove them back in. Jamie seemed to instantly crumple. It was as if she’d struck him with her fists rather than her words, the “I don’t need you” a killing blow. He deflated, all the tight muscles in his shoulders uncoiling as he slumped back against the couch heavily and slid a little further down to sit on it. His big blue eyes looked up at her with the most heartbroken expression she’d seem in her life. And it tore her to pieces. 
Even worse… to know it was her that had caused him such anguish. 
“I ken ye can take care of yerself…” he said, very softly, all the fight completely gone out of him, “I’m sorry that I made ye feel like I didna think that. It’s jes’ that I was sae worrit when I couldna find ye, I thought I’d maybe lost ye forever and… I overreacted.”
Nearly the exact same way Jamie had gone limp after her words tore through him, his soft confession knocked all the air from her lungs. Any remaining fight in her was gone, leaving only the hollow feeling of regret. 
She hesitantly knelt down in front of him. After his declaration, he’d braced his elbows on his knees and buried his face in his hands. As she settled herself between his legs, she gently took both of his wrists and forced him to raise his head to look at her. 
“I’m sorry,” she breathed, that being the most important thing that she was dying to ensure he knew, “I overreacted too. The truth is... it scares me how much I do need you—” 
His beautiful eyes peered searchingly into hers, as if desperate for a confirmation on her face that she was telling him the truth. She couldn’t help but reach a hand up and lightly cup his cheek, caressing his face softly. Her touch was fueled by a yearning to feel close to him again as much as to comfort him. 
From the second she’d met him, she’d felt a connection to him down to her very soul. They were bonded, the two of them. And now she’d found herself falling for him. And in the face of that— and the desperate need for him that scared her to her core— she’d lashed out. 
“I dinna ken why…” Jamie started, very slowly, “but ever since I found ye on that hill, I’ve felt this… compulsion… to keep ye safe. To care for ye and protect ye from anythin’ that might steal that bonny smile from yer face. I’m sorry that I went too far. I wish I could jes’ tuck ye into my coat like a wee cheetie and carry ye with me against my chest, but I ken that’s no’ what ye need. I’ve been selfish, Sassenach. If I coddled ye, it was only because I needed it, not you. But I wasna lookin’ to see how it hurt you. Ye’re incredibly brave, mo nighean donn, and strong. Dinna ever believe otherwise, or think that I believe otherwise…” 
Tears shimmered in his eyes, and she felt a matching sheen in her own. The pressure was building inside her, a lump in her throat matching the coil in her belly. 
It surprised her when the next words came tumbling out of her mouth, a hasty confession she hadn’t meant to see the light of day—
“I don’t feel very brave.” 
It was the truth, of course. She’d been a mess this whole time. Unable to bear the weight of separation from her people, clinging to Jamie as her lifeline. Without him, she would have surely shattered…
She was interrupted from these thoughts by Jamie sliding down onto the floor in front of her so they knelt face-to-face. His big hands came up to cradle her jaw, forcing her to meet his eyes. Then, he began to speak, somehow achieving the perfect balance of firm conviction and gentleness. 
“But ye are, a nighean. Ye are here, and ye’re still goin’. That’s brave.” 
His words hung in the air— short, simple, but as poignant as a stone throw. 
She nodded, too choked up to give any further reply. 
It was then that he hugged her. Smashed her to his chest, his arms wrapping around her middle, solid as trees, and holding her to him as if he was scared she would disappear if he didn’t hold on tight enough. Her own arms had been trapped between them during his sudden movement, but she managed to wriggle them free to bring them around his shoulders and embrace him in return. 
She felt anchored suddenly— as if she’d been floating in the sky, subject to the fancies of the wind, before this strange man had suddenly reached up and pulled her back down to solid ground. 
All thoughts of the home that had been lost suddenly disappeared from her mind as Jamie held her. Because it was thoughts of her new home— her home with him— and the hope that accompanied them that filled her mind instead. 
“You know… I think I’d actually quite like to be a cheetie wrapped in your coat,” she tremulously joked, her voice muffled from how her mouth was pressed into the fabric at his shoulder. 
Jamie let out a laugh that vibrated through him and into her— a clear, unrestrained sound like the way the loch ripples when a stone plunks into it. She wished to herself that she could hear it forever— to spare him from any pain like the kind she’d just inflicted upon him. 
In that moment, she knew she loved him. 
***
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