#Fern took a photo
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f-e-r-n-i-t-o · 29 days ago
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My friends dog:
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foldingfittedsheets · 8 months ago
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The greatest insult I’ve ever been dealt was my father-in-law dismissively telling me, a born and bred Pacific Northwester, that there was nothing interesting to photograph in forests.
“It’s all just green,” he complained.
Every patient my betrothed has relayed this to has audibly gasped in outrage.
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cithaerons · 2 years ago
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it sucks because i often don’t get things i really want to have that would mean a lot to me and/or feel guilty about the things i do own because i’m just so bad at taking care of things…. i ruin everything, even things i care about a lot
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fen-the-space-dragon · 29 days ago
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I think I’ve picked the right path for my life when I get to go outside and see all this cool stuff
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And then I get to go back inside and listen to a dnd podcast while looking through trail cam photos and find that in addition to bikers (so many bikers. Do not set a camera up to look for animals near a trail) there was a coyote!!
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Really glad I decided to make a different decision cuz last year I was sitting inside staring at code I didn’t understand all day. Now I get to go outside and regardless of if I’m outside or inside I get to look at critters and cool plants all day :D
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alithographica · 2 years ago
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As promised, welcome to
Fun biology in TOTK’s designs
I'll keep this post updated as I go through the game. I'm going to skip the more general identifiable things like apples (they're based on apples!) because there are tons of more unusual species to talk about.
Overall, the really interesting thing I've noticed is that many of the more unique Earth-based lifeforms in TOTK are super ancient, like predating dinosaurs ancient, which is a really cool tie-in to the overall time-hopping plotline of TOTK. Specifically, they're found in the new areas (caves, depths) while the surface remains a bit more normal.
(There will be no plot spoilers in this post, and also I've barely gotten into the plot because I'm spending all my time wandering, so shhh no spoilers in the tags for like a month please.)
Most recent additions: More lilies, irises, wild ginger, spiny bones, pigeon extravaganza, plus added some more real photo comparisons to old stuff.
PLANTS
Bryophytes my beloved. Bryophytes are among the earliest land plants, waaaay predating flowers and even seeds. In our world, they’re small by necessity—they lack vascular systems to help move water around like other plants, so they have to stay small and moist (hence their frequency in caves in TOTK—though they do need some light in real life.)
In TOTK they’re quite large and I think that’s very sexy and art directors should give us big bryophytes more often
Anyway, there are three types of bryophytes: mosses, liverworts, and hornworts. First image pair is a moss, second is a liverwort. Those red-brown and palm-tree-like structures, respectively, are their reproductive structures.
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Real liverwort photo © Graham Calow, NatureSpotUK
Not yet spotted: Hornworts! Did they forget the third bryophyte sister :(
I think these next guys are probably lycopods (specifically club moss, which is not a true bryophyte moss, thanks science.) Very old, but vascular, so they're a bit more evolutionarily recent than bryophytes.
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Real photo © Gloria Hanley Schoenholtz, virginiawildflowers
All the enormous curly-topped trees in the depths: Ferns! They curl like that until they unfurl. Another very old plant, though younger than bryophytes and lycopods.
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Real photo via The Cosmonaut, Wikipedia
Brightblooms and some of the other giant plants in the depths: Possibly based on a cycad? Again, a very ancient plant lineage. At this point, evolutionarily, they've developed seeds—that giant cone in the center is called a strobilus, and that's the seed structure.
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These next few plants are angiosperms, meaning they produce flowers. Angiosperms are a more recent evolutionary lineage—still many millions of years old, but it took a while to develop flowers as a reproductive tactic.
Sundelions (left) are a fun recolor of a lily. There are also some scenery lilies (right) in various places—there are yellow ones that spring up when you turn on a lightroot (which gives them literal and thematic connection to the surface) and several other varieties, including tiger lilies, throughout Hyrule. Fun note, the sundelions appear to only have 5 stamen, while other lilies in the game (correctly) have 6. Seems to be an intentional decision to make it a more distinct fantasy species.
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These next ones are Peruvian lilies/Alstroemeria, just used as a scenery plant but a very fun inclusion. Fun fact, not true lilies, so they're not deadly to cats like true lilies are.
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Real photo © Dick Culbert, Wikipedia
Plum trees: These are also called out as plum trees in game! There's a journal in Kakariko that refers to the plum orchards.
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Okay I'm a little proud of figuring this one out. Bomb flowers blend a few botanical references. Superficially, the fruit resembles a type of seed pod called a capsule—specifically it's very similar to a poppy capsule. The little red thing in the center is a nice addition to resemble both a flower stigma (reproductive part that leads to the ovary) and a bomb fuse. Now, poppy capsules disperse their seeds via wind, but there are other plants who do explode their seeds outwards as a dispersal tactic! This is called explosive dehiscence.
There is one tree in particular called the sandbox tree, AKA monkey-no-climb or dynamite tree (yes, really.) Their capsules look more like little pumpkins, but are known for violently exploding when ripe—they can launch seeds at 150 miles per hour (250 km/h) and spread them roughly 200 feet (60 m) away. The photo comparison is a poppy capsule but you should def go look up dynamite tree videos.
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Real photo © PommeGrenade, pixabay
Fire fruits (and the other elemental fruits) grow on the same generic plant that looks kind of like it has grape leaves. Fire fruits resemble a specific botanical thing too though—the black netting is a papery calyx (part of the flower) seen in a nightshade genus, Physalis (golden berries, tomatillos, etc.)
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Real photo © Helene Rogers, Alamy
I think this stuff is an Asarum, AKA wild ginger. I was actually puzzling over it until I walked past some today and went HEY
Not sure of the exact species but they're very green and heart-shaped and love being dense and low to the ground.
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Real photo via David Stang, Wikipedia
Irises: Love irises, one of my favorite flowers and words, very happy to see them in game.
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MISCELLANEA
Cup lichen! Lichen is not a plant, but a symbiotic structure of an algae + a fungi. Cup lichen is just a type of lichen formation that has a kind of vertical cup-like structure.
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Real photo via Bernard Spragg
Geology crossover! Go look carefully at some of the whiter walls in the depths—they look like they have fossils of coral and other undersea hard-structured animals in them.
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ANIMALS
Sticky lizards: Based on Diplocaulus, a very early (now extinct) amphibian! Their skulls are wacky. We're not sure whether the long sides stood out separately or were smoothly connected to the body by skin flaps, but the separate arrow-like shape is the most popular rendition.
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Deep firefly: Might be a stretch because it could just be a multi-winged fantasy critter, but I think the "wings" and antennae are very reminiscent of Anomalocaris, an ancient aquatic arthropod.
Update: Other folks in the notes/tags have pointed out that they're probably based on a cryptid that's especially popular in Japan: skyfish AKA rods! They show up in photos and people think they're an alien lifeform. In reality, they're an optical blur created when a lower quality video captures intermittent flaps of an insect's wings, leaving sort of a many-winged smear in the photo. Thanks to all who left info!
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Little frox: Another stretch because it totally could just be a Hinox-like frog, but every time I see the little ones I can't help but think of like...Ichthyostega, Mastodonsaurus, Eryops, and other early amphibians. They were pretty hefty—little frox size or bigger—and had with little waddling legs. This is less "I think it's definitely this" and more "it makes me happy when I picture frox as primitive amphibians."
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I haven't detailed many of the scenery animals around Hyrule because most are identifiable with the camera function—it'll tell you that a certain animal is a heron or porgy, for example, and those groups are real, even though the exact species is made up. But I think the pigeons are fun because they're all crested pigeons. Pink-necked green pigeons may have also been the inspiration for the color palettes on the wood and rainbow pigeons.
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Both pigeon photos via JJ Harrison, Wikipedia
Spiny bones: Not a specific critter, but those spiny bones that you can find lying around Eldin Canyon are vertebrae—possibly from the same thing that left those big rib cages around? The top spike is the spinous process where muscles attach, the littler spikes on the side are the transverse and articular processes. The dark O in the center is the spinal cord.
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Also I made a friend who finally recognizes my purpose in Hyrule.
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That's all I've got for now! Will add more as I keep playing.
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startrekfangirl2233-writes · 6 months ago
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Lens Flare
Jake 'Hangman' Seresin x Reader
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Description: Over the past three months, your career has grown by leaps and bounds. Yet at the same time, you can't help feeling dissatisfied. A lot of your feelings stem from what you did the last time you saw him. Jake Seresin. Lieutenant Jake Seresin. It had been fun, in the hangar, under the dead of night - passionate and hot. So too had been the video you filmed and the pictures you'd snapped. But hindsight, well, maybe there is a reason why they say "Hindsight is Twenty-Twenty". Because Jake hasn't called, despite how badly you want him to. A new assignment in North Island might have the potential to change everything for Jake and our Shutterbug, including how they approach everything they hold dear.
Warnings: Once again, this is just some porn with plot. The feral plot bunnies ran away with me, I fear.
Word Count: 8502
A/N: Hiya everyone! I'm baaack! Enjoy this sequel to my fic Photo Finish. It's just as smutty and gorgeous as the last one!
This fic is brought to you all by the constant support of @horseshoegirl, @sarahsmi13s and @desert-fern. You're all my heroes and I love you to bits for keeping me from ditching this story before it even started! I couldn't have written it without you!
AO3: Cross-posted Here!
Wattpad: Cross-posted Here!
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An old photography teacher of yours once told you never to submit photos with lens flares to any publication, magazine or contest. He considered lens flares the biggest mistake for a rookie photographer. He’d declared, quite adamantly in front of your entire class, using your pictures as examples, how lens flares made photos look cheap and low quality. Given his dislike of the trick of light, he’s also taught you a plethora of tricks to prevent them. Over the many, many years since you left his class, you’ve started to relax and deviate from the rigid rules of photography he once taught you. For a large portion of your career, you've been photographing subjects which cannot be posed in a studio, which helps. Every snick and whir of your camera feels like you are letting go of rules and embracing your art.
You’ve always heard wildlife photography has a tendency to relax photographers' attitudes. It’s a truth you’re very thankful you had the chance to experience. After all, there are no rules when it’s just you, your camera and what feels like the entire world a hair's-breadth away from your camera lens. It’s hard to be frustrated with the sun glancing across your camera lens when it highlights fox kits gamboling in dewy spring grass. Or elk on a frost-bitten winter morning with clouds of their breath dissipating into the clear air. Those pictures were once-in-a-lifetime shots, perfect in their imperfection and richer with the sparkling halos of light.
Being back in New York after years of traveling has made you appreciate the photographs you took even more. Now you feel like you can fully appreciate the wilderness in them. New York is wild in an entirely different way. It’s louder, greyer, more populous, yet just as vibrant. In New York, you’ve been able to capture human nature, snapping minuscule interactions between people who are always in a hurry and always moving. But you also have to work to make enough money to fund your passions. Not having to travel helped bring some stability to your passions. But of all of the things you thought you'd be photographing, fashion models and clothes were never an option. In a way, photographing fashion and fashion models is capturing another kind of wild animal in your lens sights. Models and designers are wholly proprietary and protective over what they consider theirs, whether their clothing or their aesthetic appearance. You’ve had to shoot and reshoot, as well as touch up your photos more than you've ever had to before. Of course, in this case, your primary objective is to make the models and the clothes they are wearing look otherworldly and incredible. 
At first, the thrill of doing something new was alluring and exciting. But after a year, trapped in New York City, doing the same thing and working with the same people day in and day out, you can’t help but miss wildlife photography. It's like a persistent ache below your breast bone, something calling you back to the life you lived before. You're missing traveling in arid deserts and verdant forests even more now. And then the US Navy came calling. Now, while you miss the wilderness, you think you might just miss something else, more.
It’s late, half-past three in the early hours of the morning, and you’re sitting out on the balcony attached to your overpriced shoebox of an apartment. You’ve found yourself sitting out here more and more as the summer heat turns into the cool of fall. Your balcony is so small there’s only room for a single chair, and your feet are propped up on the wrought iron railing. New York’s the city which never sleeps and the crackle and groan of the city resonates around you. Your oldest camera, a Canon you bought in college with the pennies and dollars you’d saved from tips earned from waitressing, sits on your lap. All night, you’ve been trying and failing to chase away how unsettled you’ve been feeling by peering through the viewfinder and trying to see things from a different perspective. 
But it hasn’t worked. You've been feeling discomfited of late, unsettled and restless. Maybe your listlessness has something to do with your next assignment. You can’t lie, not even to yourself no matter how hard you try. It has everything to do with your next assignment. You should be excited. You should be asleep, because at least if you were asleep, the time would pass sooner. For once, you will not be photographing a new designer collection. In the morning, you're flying to San Diego to take pictures at North Island Naval Base for a follow-up piece sanctioned by the US Navy. Your team is joining you, which should be a comfort, albeit slight and slim. There will be more planes to photograph and possibly shots you can take from within the cockpit or from up in the air.
It took three months to publish the article on the US Navy’s newest hotshot aviation squadron. There had been countless revisions and rounds of approval with the US Navy's Office of Public Relations to greenlight the endeavor. It's been exactly the same amount of time since you met the Dagger Squadron, too - only three months after you edited the photographs, focusing maybe a little too much on one face in particular. Three months after you took the biggest risk of your life, professionally and personally. Three months after you made a sex tape with a client. It doesn’t help that he was a memorable client, too - and how you haven’t been able to forget him.
It's only been two weeks since the magazine hit newsstands with your picture of the Daggers in all their finery near one of the jets on the front cover. Everywhere you go, it seems you see their faces - his face. Your phone has been ringing off the hook ever since. Everyone wants you to take professional portraits of their clients. But your phone has never had the voice you so desperately want to hear on the other end of the line. It's a nationally distributed magazine, after all, and like everything nowadays, published both physically and digitally. The magazine had also mailed special copies to each member of the squadron which was your subject. So he has to have seen it. So why hasn't he called? It's the one question on your mind. It may be the only question on your mind, but it's far from the only thought in your mind. 
Chances are, he doesn’t want to talk to you at all. After all, why would he want to?
You couldn't silence the thoughts if you tried - and you have tried, repeatedly. Getting drunk made you maudlin, going out had you seeing his face in every stranger’s and getting laid had made you wish you were with him rather than anyone else. Over and over again you’ve found yourself thinking about those last few moments with him, agonizing over every detail, from the kisses and touches to the last time you saw him. Maybe you hadn’t been entirely clear in your note to him. You can recall the note as if you wrote it yesterday, the note you'd affixed to the flash drive you handed him.
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Sure, you told him to call you when he was in New York next. But really, you wanted him to call you, period. Or text you. Something, anything to show you’re lingering in his memory in the same way he lingers in yours. You thought your dalliance had been memorable enough. You hoped you were memorable enough. After all, it's not every day you let a man fuck you up against his jet and record it, forget a man you’ve known only for a few days. Maybe it’s a little silly how attached you’ve gotten to him, given the short time frame, after what should have been completely meaningless sex. 
But it’s not meaningless anymore, at least not to you, after how many times you've seen the video since you last saw him. Your camera hadn’t hidden a single thing when you made your little home movie all those nights ago. You’ve seen how his hands had been gentle, his eyes soft. Your entire countenance had been beckoning, beguiling in the throes of passion, needy in a way you’ve never let yourself be before with anyone else. He’s also spoiled you for any other man on the planet - or at least in New York. You haven’t hit the same heights since him, and a part of you is sure you never will again. And now you have to enter the lion’s den, venture right into enemy territory with your head held high and only a camera to shield your too-hungry gaze.
A thump on the railing drags you out of your reverie. Your neighbor’s escape-artist black cat makes himself at home on the railing, paws flexing as his tail lashes through the humid night air. Like you’re in a dream, you lift up the camera and peer through the viewfinder. Tonight, everything seems to be coming back to lens flares. The neon lights fracture in your camera lens, softening the visage of the cat on the railing, green eyes luminescent. With reflexes born of years of wildlife photography, partially stunted after nearly a year of fashion photography, you depress the shutter with a soft snick and a near-silent whir. What you’re left with is a long exposed image - neon lights blurring in the background as one shines behind the cat’s head. Even his fur is blurred, only green eyes in focus, piercing into your soul. It’s perfect, as expected, and you hope it’s an omen for the days to come while you’re in San Diego.
Green eyes, different from those of your neighbor’s cat, haunt you, even more, the following day as you pile out of one of the minivans the studio rented for you and your team, as well as all of your equipment, on the tarmac at North Island. The humid, sticky air stinks of jet fuel and salt water. The wind brushes past you, snatching at your hair and ripping your sun hat right off your head. It's hot as it brushes by, providing no relief to the insistent heat.
Your team just laughs as you chase, bedraggled and exhausted, after your hat. The wind pushes you towards the hangars at the end of the tarmac, colossal doors thrown open while rows of jets stand gleaming. For the first time, you think you understand why Jake is so in love with being up in the air in his jet, how close to the elements he must be with adrenaline coursing through his system. You raise the camera resting against your chest, leaving your hat to fly where it wants, because you have to capture this.
When your camera focuses, you start snapping with abandon, capturing the sun-drenched metal and heat waves rising off of the pavement.  You’re not sure what pictures the editors will select to go with the article the journalist is going to write. Regardless, you’re stealing the time to take some filler shots now, when it’s bright out still, and blindingly golden outside. Your team is far behind you, still clustered by the cars, as you trail between the shining metal hawks, cockpits closed and emblazoned with names and callsigns. Your heart stutters in your chest when you see his jet, the text dark and fresh, announcing he’s been promoted. So, he's still operating out of Naval Air Station North Island. 
Faintly, you can hear voices emanating from one of the open hangars, so you creep closer, your old Canon camera clutched to your chest like it can protect you. Twenty-four of the US Navy's best aviators are saturated in gold, settled in creaking plastic chairs. Jake’s at the podium, laser pointer in hand, completely relaxed as he talks about things you couldn’t understand if you tried. The light glints across his face, catching angelically on the burnished strands of his hair. A singular fluffy lock has broken free of his hair gel’s hold, trailing softly across his forehead. It makes your fingers ache to push it back into place. But you can’t, because you won’t interrupt or embarrass him. So you take pictures instead, breathlessly, silently, framing the aviators limned in gold like they’re deities waiting to go to war.
You’re not sure when it happens, but he sees you - bright green eyes colliding with yours, a nearly imperceptible frown creasing his brow before the skin smooths. He doesn’t look happy to see you. In a way, it makes sense. You were just a one-night stand, something sexy to indulge in - not someone he'd want to keep forever. The look lances through you, skewering you in place as the wind and sun stick your blouse to your back. He doesn’t acknowledge you but for one curiously blank look, and you’re mortified as you walk silently back to your crew, who are now grouped around the jets in awe.
As expected, Adam and Lea, your stylists extraordinaire, are already scribbling away. Lea's flicking through the tablet in her hands. If you were a betting woman, you'd bet good money they are already planning outfits to take advantage of the blue, gold and white theme of North Island.
“Hey, Boss!” Amy, your assistant, is nearly bouncing in place with her excitement. You're not sure how she's so energetic despite the heat and the hours of travel. “Our liaison should be joining us soon. They'll give us a tour of the base and then show us where we'll be setting up shop this week.”
She doesn’t notice how frozen your smile feels and how mechanic your nods are. All you can think about is Jake. He must have known, right? What are the chances he didn’t know you were coming to North Island to take more pictures? There must have been some briefing or notice informing the aviators why you're here. After all, you’re here to photograph the Dagger Squadron. Then why was his face so blank when he saw you earlier? Thinking about him is driving you crazy, but you're not sure you can stop. All you want is to know whether he could ever feel as strongly for you as you do for him.
When your liaison walks up ten minutes later, you’re pleasantly surprised to see you have not one liaison, but two. Neither of your Navy appointed liaisons is Jake, something which you should have expected, but you were still hoping for regardless. Lieutenant Commanders Trace and Floyd are smiling from ear-to-ear as they greet your team by name. Lea and Katie seem especially enthused at seeing the soft-spoken bespectacled WSO again. Lieutenant Commander Trace is her same unflappable, cool, collected self. Her presence and dry sense of humor has you in stitches as you and your team follow behind her like a herd of ducklings. There are familiar faces around what seems like every corner of the base. But none of the faces are the face you still want to see so desperately.
Jake Seresin shows up again as you’re oooh-ing and ahh-ing over the big hanger, burnished yellow, orange, red and pink in the light of the sun. You’ve got your camera up to your face, lips pursed in concentration, eyes squinting as you peer myopically through the viewfinder. It's his voice you hear first. Just hearing it, with the same rough timber, makes you remember what he told you, before you fell into his arms and headfirst into this situation with Jake Seresin.
God, baby. You killed me this morning. Wearing that pretty little skirt and those high heels. I wanted to bend you over and fuck you until you were leaking my cum.
It’s not a good sign, is it? How you’re unable to even look at his face without giving yourself away. The evidence of your feelings must be on your face, which feels uncomfortably hot. The heat is completely unrelated to San Diego's sky-high temperature and you shy away from eye-contact when you pivot and face the rest of your team, and the trio of Lieutenant Commanders. The sight of him hits you in your solar plexus, robbing your breath and leaving your palms uncomfortably clammy.
“Hi.” 
It’s a quiet greeting, your voice swallowed by the sight of him. It feels like your tongue is two times bigger than it should be in your mouth, unwieldy as you force it to move like you want it to. He doesn’t hear you, or even acknowledge you standing there waiting for him to notice you. Standing there, you finally realize how big a gulf there is between you and Lieutenant Commander Jake Seresin.
It's a sharp contrast. He's standing there in his khaki uniform crisp and new, blond hair dark at his temples from the shower he must have taken. In contrast, your shirt is covered in wrinkles, your hair is frizzy with flyaways escaping your braid and your worn jeans are butter soft but have definitely seen better days. He ignores you for the rest of the afternoon. It hurts, of course it does, when he doesn’t notice you in the same way you notice him. But you have a job to do. You can’t - you won’t - jeopardize your career for a man, not even a man as beautiful as he is.
The now-trio of Lieutenant Commanders shows you the Officer’s ready room, where you'll be setting up for the interviews. Each member of your team is also given a badge on a lanyard allowing you limited access to certain areas of base. Soon enough, you're left to survey the ready room and prepare your team for the days ahead.
“I know it's been a long day already for you all.” Your smile is a little wry as you continue, “It's been a long day for me too. All I want is to unwind and get out of these heels!”
You let the scattered chuckles from your team peter out before continuing.
“Before I can do so, we need to sync up on what we're going to be focusing on over the next few days.”
“First and foremost on our list? Getting pictures of the Daggers while they are being interviewed. The interviewer is an old friend of Admiral Kazansky's and will be spotlighting each of the Daggers. As a part of the interview, we will be expected to get photos of each member of the squadron in their flight suits, their khaki uniforms and their dress uniforms.”
You raise your hands up to stall any questions. “I'm aware this isn't exactly the type of photo shoot we're used to. Katie, you’ll be on hand to help with their make-up during the interview. We're keeping it light and subtle. For the interview photos, we want the aviator's uniforms and medals to shine.” 
“Seb and Kris - the two of you will be measuring the light levels in this room during various times of day and setting up artificial studio lights as necessary. I'll also need you both to check on the lighting situation in the big hangar we were in with the desks and the United States flag on the wall.”
“Adam and Lea, it may not sound like it yet, but I will need you both on your A-games. By special request of Admiral Mitchell, we've been asked to stage a beach bonfire. He wants this interview to echo the beginnings of this squadron. They became a team on the beach and now they are a family. I'm thinking we need cozy textiles and bright winter-toned colors. I'll leave the color palette to you both. All I ask is we have a cohesive palette for the squadron as a whole. As always, measurements for the aviators are included in this dossier. One of the minivans is yours. Our office in San Diego knows to expect you both.”
It doesn’t surprise you at all when Adam and Lea make a beeline for the doors as soon as you’re done with them. You’ve worked with them both long enough to know how they operate. They’ll be downtown and looking through the clothing on display before you can blink.
“Ames, while I run point with the admirals,  you'll be sourcing the beachfront we can use for the bonfire. I'm not sure who you'll need permission from, but there might be a bar owner who can give us permission.”
Before long, it feels like you're the only island of calm in the entirety of base. Seb and Kris wander in and out of the room, measuring the light and carting in and out lighting equipment. Even the teleconference you have with the Admirals, both of whom are in Hawaii, due to fly back in a couple of days, goes smoothly.
Over the next few days, you find yourself building on the rapport you created with 6 of the aviators in the Dagger squad in the following days. You also meet the other half of the Dagger Squad. But at the same time you are building a relationship with the other Daggers, it feels like you're losing the relationship you once had with Jake.
The only time you see him during the four days of interviews and pictures is when he is being interviewed. Even then, he spends more time chatting with Amy and Katie than you. Even when you address him directly, he's silent, content to play puppet to your puppet master and then disappearing to an area off base you don't have access to. It hurts, and you’re starting to get weird looks from the other Daggers. They’re all too polite, or too cognizant of their positions in the Navy to ask you any prying questions. At least, until the bonfire.
It hadn’t been difficult to organize at all, in the end. All Amy needed to do was speak to the proprietress of The Hard Deck, a little bar a few miles off base. Penny had been more than happy to hand over the usage of the beach outside her bar for the night. The combination of good food, even better alcohol, and of course, no interviews relaxed the Daggers enough for you to get the candid shots the magazine was looking for. Halos of light spark across your screen with each snap you take - lens flares sparking to life, again and again.
“Why aren’t you hanging out with Jake?”
The question makes you jump and nearly chuck your lens cap into the bonfire. You fumble awkwardly as you try to collect your composure.
“Lieutenant Commander Trace. What can I do for you?”
Your voice is a little shaky as you wheel around and face her.
“You don’t have to do anything for me!” She’s smiling at your discomfort, something wicked curling her lips. “And anyways, didn’t I tell you to call me Natasha three months ago?”
 You’re smiling despite yourself at her antics.
“It’s good to see you again, Natasha.”
“Forget about me. Why aren’t you talking to Jake?” 
You should have known she wouldn’t be able to let it go.
“Three months ago, you could barely keep your eyes off of him and the same was true of him. He went out of his way to chat you up every chance he got. And now? Something happened between the two of you after we all left the hangar, and now neither of you is talking. You were fine when you showed us the pictures the next day. But now?”
You shrug, lifting your camera up to snap another couple of pictures of the squadron having fun.
“Oh my god. I can’t with the two of you. Either you walk over there and talk to him, or I’m going to get him to talk to you!”
You grab her arm before she can march away.
“I can’t, Natasha.”
You try grabbing for her, but before you can, she’s already gone. His eyes cut over to yours the more she speaks, and you’re not sure you like the way he’s glancing over at you. Your heart is in your throat as he skirts around the bonfire and sidles up to you.
“What are you doing here? Natasha has this crazy idea you’re heads over heels for me, but the way you’ve been acting says differently. So what are you doing here?”
His voice is so quiet you can barely hear it over the crackling bonfire. His face doesn’t change its expression once the entire time he’s speaking to you, barring one tiny, blink-and-you-miss-it smirk. Once again, you have to thank Adam and Lea for their work because the Lieutenant Commander looks good enough to eat in his sweater and butter-soft jeans. But you know he's not happy to see you. The disappearing act he's been pulling ever since he saw you outside the hangar four days ago is proof.
“You know what I’m doing here, Jake.” 
“You're taking photos for another article. I know, I know.”
His smirk deepens, eyes twinkling maddeningly as he prowls closer to you.
“But between you and me, it’s just the official excuse, isn't it?” He tugs at a strand of your hair, reeling you closer to him. “But unofficially, I bet you want more of me. Maybe you want to make yourself another home movie? See my handprint on your ass cheeks again?”
His words have heat rising to your face, never mind how your skin already feels too toasty from how you've been huddling near the bonfire all night to keep yourself warm. Form-fitting dresses are not beachwear, especially not in late November. But you’re dressing to impress, wearing sharp blazers and business frocks. Add to the dress the camera and purse you’ve got over your shoulder, and you’re definitely not equipped for the beach.
“How do you know what I want?”
Your voice is thready and light, and your head spins the closer he gets to you. It's weird. You've been aching to have him this close to you all week, but now, when he is actually close to you again, you feel like it's too much, like he's too much. Every night in your hotel room, you've been coaching yourself to ignore him. You’ve had to in order to compartmentalize and be professional while on base. Yet, after only a few minutes in his presence, all your defenses are shredded like tissue paper.
“Because you're looking at me like this.”
Wafts of fragrant wood smoke drift by you and him as you stand mere inches away from each other. You can’t refute his statement. Not even a little bit, not even at all. You've never been able to mask your emotions, wearing your heart on your sleeve and your feelings in the pursed set of your mouth and the raise of your eyebrows. But you’re still not sure what you can say. If he’d propositioned you with the same vulnerable look in his eyes the first day you were in North Island, when he first saw you again, you would have folded like a cheap lawn chair. Then, you probably would have been more than content to pass on your expensive hotel room and make his lonely base apartment a little warmer. But he didn’t, and you’re not sure you can take the risk anymore.
Jake’s shoulders hunch, sinking into the impossibly soft cashmere of the sweater at your lack of response.
“I…” His smirk flattens, something like his Hangman mask taking its place. His shoulders never drop past his ears the longer you stand there with him at arm’s reach and pretend like you’re having a blast at this beach photoshoot turned bonfire party.
“I’ve read this all wrong, haven’t I?”
His sigh is gusty and almost too loud. “I was waiting for you to say something, because I’ve been dying to see you again. But then you ran away when you were taking pictures of the Top Gun class. Afterward, I - I didn’t know how to say I missed you, which is weird, I know. We only knew each other for a singular night.”
If your jaw isn’t on the floor already, you know it will be soon. Already, you’ve been getting too many questioning glances from your team and the Dagger Squadron. Then there is Natasha’s well-meaning meddling from a few minutes ago. Even the admirals have glanced over every once in a while at you and the normally cocky Lieutenant Commander standing in near silence. It’s not a conscious thought which has you whirling around in the silky sand and snagging a hand into his sleeve. You’re not sure why you’re doing it. All you know is if you’re having this out now, you need to have it out in private where it will not be injurious to your career or his.
Thankfully, Jake doesn't fight you as you pull him towards a corner of the parking lot. Your face feels flushed, and your chest heaves with panic at the thought someone could know what you and Jake did.
“I…” 
You cover his mouth with your hand, pretending the feeling of his skin on your hands doesn't burn, like you’re not completely aware of the masculine heat emanating from his skin. For several long moments, you stand in the shadows between two pick-up trucks in the parking lot. Each of your muscles is tense, waiting for someone to realize you've disappeared with Jake Seresin, of all people. You don’t want to think about the possibilities they were assuming. The prickling, uneasy sensation doesn't pass with the moments but does fade a little.
“What was that about, huh?”
You just glare in response.
“I thought it was better to have this conversation where we were less likely to be overheard, is all.” 
Your voice is prim, and your nose is tipped upward. It's obvious Jake doesn't feel the same way you do about this conversation, if he’s asking you questions like this.
“C'mon, sugar. If you wanted to let me down, you could have just said it by the bonfire. I promise I won't harass you.” His brow is furrowed as he thinks through all the implications of your statement. “Then or now.”
“I…” You fling your hands upwards, feeling this sudden urge to rage at the stars above you. How have things gotten so twisted? In your head and between you and Jake? 
“I don't want to let you down, Jake.”
You growl, then, because you know what you feel, but the words aren't coming out of your mouth the right way. He's patiently waiting for you to figure it out, lips pressed into a thin line, and green eyes scorching through you.
“I’m not rejecting you, Jake. When I came to North Island Naval Base and saw you standing in front of the lectern, I wanted you to smile when you saw me. I wanted some indication you felt the same way I did. I also wanted to kiss you, but it wouldn’t have helped then.”
You're smiling again, just a slight curve to your lips, a smile Jake is mirroring.
“Then you pretended I didn't exist. You pretended I was just someone you worked with before. Not someone who you were intimate with. Not someone whose life you changed with your stupid smile and your piercing eyes and your big, gentle hands. I…” 
To your embarrassment, you're sniffling and fighting back tears. “I didn't know why, or how to deal with it, so I just pushed back all my feelings. I pretended the same thing you did, and tried to ignore how much it hurt.”
“Fuck.” The quiet expletive echoes around you. “I messed this up, didn't I?”
He's pacing now, back and forth in front of you, shoes sliding through the gravel as he marches. He's ruffling his hair, face scrunched up in anguish at your words.
“I haven't been able to stop thinking about you. I've watched our video so many times, I know my favorite parts. Fuck, sweetheart, I even took the picture of your ass with my handprints on it with me when we were deployed a month ago. I was nearly given so many demerits because of how hot that picture is.”
Your heart seems like it’s going to burst out of your chest, beating as hard as it is. 
“So why didn’t you call?” The same plaintive, sad tone is in your voice again.
“What could I have said?” He’s finally stopped pacing back and forth at least. He flings his hands out from his hips “Sweetheart, I want you, I need you. I wish I could fly to New York right now to taste you again?”
You have to snicker at the sarcastic, sardonic note in his voice. 
“It’s a little melodramatic, but I would have taken it.” 
Just as quickly as you snicker, the laugh peters away into a gentle sigh. “All you had to do was tell me you missed me, Jake. All I wanted was for you to tell me you wanted to see me again.”
“Would it have mattered if I did?” 
He’s stepped closer again, close enough you can feel the heat of his skin against yours. One of his big hands cradles your jaw as he looms over you.
“I asked you a question, pretty girl.” There’s a smirk on his face as he ghosts his lips over yours.
“Why would my answer matter then?” You’re not sure where the sass is coming from, but it’s making Jake smirk even more. “Knowing the decision you made?”
Thankfully, you don’t have to think of a response with a brain wholly occupied by the man drawing you into his arms. You melt into the kiss like it's something visceral you've been missing. His hair still feels the same against the pads of your fingers, golden silk, as you wrap your arms around his neck. He still tastes like you remember, too, cinnamon and smoky spice intermingling on your tongue as he licks into your mouth. Your heart sings when he gently positions your camera so it isn’t crushed between the two of you.
You whimper when he pulls away, chasing after his mouth like you're addicted to it. He still kisses like he flies, you note dimly, thoughts far away. The car at your back is cool, the metal searing into your skin as the sun has long since set. But the cold temperature of the car has nothing on the man crowding you up against it. His eyes are lidded, gaze hot as he takes in the sight of you. The dual temperatures are enough to make you shudder.
“Look at you, darling.” His hands are just as hot as his gaze as he trails his hands down your sides. “A single kiss, and you’re aching for me.”
You can’t deny the effects this man has on you. In truth, the time for denial would have been some time before you made the movie at the hangar. You’re so far down this path there isn’t a way to turn back. 
“You want me just as much.” 
Your voice is quieter than the rush of the waves, yet loud enough you can see the impact as they hit his ears. He’s still just as fit as he was three months ago, all hard, hot muscle as he presses up against you, cedar and plum wafting through the air off his skin. You can feel the jut of him against your hip as he muscles you even further against the car, spreading you out like a meal he wants to eat. He transfixes you with a glare when he pulls away, even as he smirks at your breathy moan. You watch, eyes lidded, as he opens the truck door and sets your things on the broad seat. You’re panting with need when he comes back to you, body shivering as he leans into you again. His hands find their home against the curve of your waist, fingers still nimble as they focus on tracing your curves in a way which might be driving you just a little mad. You almost wish you were wearing a blouse and skirt again like last time, because at least then you could feel his hands spread across your ribcage, searing their heat into your bones.
You’re lost in him, utterly captivated by the way his tongue tangles with yours, the way he makes you moan. Unlike the rough, claiming kisses of your first sexual encounter with Jake Seresin, these kisses are tender and sweet. They’re searching and tasting, like he’s trying to learn what makes you tick and what makes you moan. In truth, it feels like he’s trying to take you apart only to put you together again. This time, you’re not sure you’ll ever be the same, forever changed by the man in your arms. 
“Fuck…” The word is an exhale pressed to your pulse-point, sticky, sweet, and blindingly hot. “Baby, let me take you somewhere other than this dusty, dirty parking lot. I think I really need to see you spread out on my bed this time.”
“Yes, please.” The words leave you in a strung out moan as you tug him closer, fisting your hands in his hair and sweater as you see fit. You’re past caring so long as he’s pressed so perfectly against you.
When he finally steps back from you, you’re gratified to see he looks just as rumpled and debauched as you feel. For a few moments, you stand there, drinking him in, hands aching to draw him close again, to touch him again. He takes your hand, entwining his fingers and yours. His hand dwarfs yours, skin slightly rough as his hand cradles yours. You let him lead you to the truck and help you in, because a part of you isn’t sure you’re going to be able to let him go even when you have to.
It’s silent, but for the sounds of the road as he starts his pickup, one hand never leaving its spot on your thigh. Your hands find the camera again, snapping with abandon the vista blurring past the windows and the man driving you. The streetlights halo through the lens view, speckling the pictures with circles of golden-butter light. It seems like time slips past in a slow trickle. You’re still looking through the camera when the engine cuts off, the sounds of the night trickling slowly back into your ears.
Jake’s eyes sear through you when you carefully gather your camera and bag up, legs shaky from that look alone as you step onto the pavement. His hand finds yours again, as you follow his broad back up a flight of stairs and through an unassuming white paneled front door. You’re surrounded by the cedar and plum of his cologne as you step in, the scent lightly drifting through the air. Jake crowds you against the door as soon as it closes, hands divesting you of your things even as his mouth slants over yours again. The heat sparking between you ignites again, a flame bursting to life in your chest, fed by the soft moans leaving his lips as you kiss him with wild abandon.
For much of the way to his bed, your eyes are closed. You trust Jake to lead you the right way, not to hurt you as you stumble and shudder your way through the apartment in his arms. His lips don’t leave yours once, moans ripping out of your mouth as he leaves you breathless. He’s far from quiet too, softly grunting when you tug on the hair at the nape of his neck, gasping open mouthed into yours as you rub at his bulge. Arousal bubbles in your veins, crashing over and through you. You squeal when he pushes you onto his bed, the mattress so firm it's almost hard as you bounce against it. Your hands shake as you fight with your clothes. Adrenalin makes you clumsy as you nudge your shoes off and fight futilely with the zipper at your back. Eventually you give up, choosing to lean back on your palms. When you look up, Jake’s staring down at you, eyes trailing from the curve of your mostly exposed legs up to your chest and back down again. He’s got his lower lips between his teeth, brow furrowed as he shrugs the sweater off.
Once again, you remind yourself to thank Lea for her work, because if you thought the shirt looked good buttoned up, it looks even better as it slips off his arms. He’s still wearing his dog tags, the silver chain glinting in the moonlight through the windows as he prowls over you.
“You’re still prettier than the pictures you take, baby.”
You feel like you are barely breathing as Jake licks into your mouth. The heat of his body grounds you, the points of contact just enough to tell you this is real.
“Breathe, beautiful.” His hands draw you up until you’re kneeling on the bed, your hands on his shoulders as you peer up into his eyes. Your resulting exhale is shaky as you drag in breaths with just enough oxygen to keep your head from spinning.
“Let’s get you out of this pretty dress, huh?”
“Jake.” His name falls out of your mouth like a prayer. His hands are practiced, sure as they drag the zipper down from the nape of your neck to the base of your spine. The fabric of your dress gapes forward until it’s around your waist.
Jake's eyes seem to glow in the moonlight as he takes in the simple black bra you're wearing, hands tender and hot as they drag over your bare skin, mouth wet and sharp as he drags his teeth across your collar bones.
“Mmm, baby.” His moan has you gasping, your body listing into his as he purrs the words into your skin. “I'm going to make you feel so good.”
When he lets go of you, your nipples are firm peaks in the cool air. When he removed your bra, you're not sure. All you know is you want him, desperately, urgently. Your panties feel like too much material as they cling to you, the gusset damp. Your hands are clumsy as you wrench the dress off, shaking as you peel your panties away from your skin, you flush as Jake's chuckles echo in your ears.
Divested of your clothes, you're faced with one of the prettiest sights of your life. Because, Jake’s standing there, with his belt unbuckled, and the jeans unbuttoned. His cock bulges out through the v-shaped opening, and your mouth waters as you look him over.
“God, Jake, please.” Your voice is a whine as you reach for him, fingers resting against his taut abdomen, back arched as you wait on all fours.
“I’ve got you baby.” 
His promises drip over your bare skin like hot and gentle summer rain. Your eyes close as he cups your jaw, the rustle of fabric foretelling his bare skin joining yours on the bed. You let him position you where he wants, drugged by the sensations of his big hands. You steal the opportunity to kiss him again, palms splayed over his pecs, and the cool chain of his dog tags brushing against your fingers. Falling into him is too easy. It’s just a series of kisses, a sweet tangle of tongues as you let him cradle you in his arms. Sparks of need, of want traverse your moon-stained skin, hips canting against his thigh in need.
“How long has it been since you’ve cum, sweetheart?” 
There’s amusement in his tone as you wrap your arms around his neck, breasts pillowed against his chest as you nudge his nose with your own.
“Just a couple of days ago.”
His chuckle makes you pout. 
“And how did you cum?”
He rolls you over, ghosting a kiss over your lips as he peers down at you. “Was it some guy you brought home? Who didn’t know how to make these pretty moans spill out of your mouth? Did he make you think of me the whole time?”
When you moan, it’s because he’s pressing into you, the stretch of him making your toes curl.
“N-no.” You screw your eyes up, trying to string the words together. “It was just me. With a vibrator, watching our video.”
“Fuck, there’s my good girl. Waiting for your Lieutenant Commander to make you scream, right?”
You’re so far beyond words all you can do is tug him down, fisting your hand in his hair until you can kiss him again. He’s just as eager to pull you in, hitching your legs up until they’re propped over his arms, keeping you spread open as he pistons his hips until you see stars. 
“Please, please, please.” 
You’re babbling, your orgasm crashing over you with each sharp thrust. Your moans intertwine with Jake’s guttural grunts as his hips stutter at their steady pace. It feels like you’ve been set on fire when you cum, pulsing waves of heat washing over your body. Jake’s shivering as he slumps over you, blanketing your body with his. His hair is sweat-damp as you card your fingers through the fluffy strands.
“Missed you, Jay.” 
“Missed you too, sweetheart.” The words are languid and soft, syrupy and sweet. 
It feels like you could fall in love with Lieutenant Commander Jake Seresin as he gathers you in his arms for what must be the hundredth time tonight to clean you up. Every glimpse of the man you see when he's not putting on his Hangman mask intrigues you more. There's a gentleness to him when he's like this, a secret softness shining past his imposing exterior. You want to know more. You have to know more. 
The realization of how little time you have left with Jake eviscerates you. Only two days left. Two days to love this man as much as you can. You can’t tell him how close you are to falling for him. Looking at his apartment, you have a feeling it would just scare him away. His apartment is almost austere, the off-white walls blending into the pale cream carpet on the floor. Everything is bare, with no pictures on the walls and no personality. It’s a trend throughout the entire space, everywhere but the bedroom. There's a cheery quilt at the foot of the bed. It's the only vibrant color in the apartment, the one thing which screams home.
“It's pathetic, isn't it?”  You jump at his words, gripping at the footboard of the bed in an effort to keep from falling.
“It's not pathetic, Jay. Just…” You turn, clad in the soft tee he'd pulled over you after the shower. “Just different than I expected.”
“I know what it looks like, sweetheart.” The same sad soft tone is in his voice again. “It looks like I don’t have any roots. Like I’m scared to let people in.”
He slides his arms around your waist, pressing a kiss on your shoulder, his golden hair dripping as he nuzzles into the crook of your neck. “Maybe that is the truth.” 
Your heart breaks a little at the soft surety in his voice, even as he does his best impression of a koala around you.
“Because like it or not, I’m going to leave one day. I’ll have to leave one day. Another deployment. Another mission. And chances are, I may not be coming home.”
You clutch at him tighter, because right now, you’re not sure you can think about him not being in San Diego the next time you’re here.
“I was okay with my reality.”
When you wrestle your way out of his grip, you’re maybe a little too rough, evidenced by the grimace on his face as you walk away. You’re not sure where you’re going but away has to be enough. You’re not sure you can face him after he’s said something like this. After all, here you are, ready to risk it all in a sultry cross-country romance, ready to give your heart to him, possibly years of your life to him. Then there he is, admitting so callously he might not be coming home one day.
You’re staring unseeingly at the stars when he slides his arms around you again.
“Are you okay, Shutterbug?” 
You lean back into him, because he feels perfect against you still.
“Shutterbug is new.” You’re trying to change the subject, because if he’s insistent about it, you’re going to explode.
“Nuh-uh.” His hands turn you around until you’re looking at him again. “Tell me what’s bothering you, pretty girl.”
“You’re so callous about how you’re ready to never come home again! Why would you say that to me, Jake? I’m ready to risk everything for you. A cross-country relationship, half here, half in New York or really, wherever it’s convenient for us to meet. If you’re not willing to do the same, then what is the point of what we just did?”
You’re choking back a sob as you stand in front of him. Your eyes are screwed closed, hands wringing the hem of the t-shirt clothing you. 
“Why does it matter that you missed me, and that I missed you?”
“It matters, because, sweetheart, you didn’t let me finish what I was going to say.”
Your arms wrap around his waist easily as he tugs you closer.
“I was going to say, I was okay never coming home before you. You’ve been running around in my head, the center of every thought, the subject of my every dream for three months. You kept me going when we were deployed, too. All I wanted was to come home safe so I could fly out to New York and see you again.”
“Now, at least I know I’ll be welcome when I come by.”
You’re smiling from ear to ear as you kiss the underside of his jaw.
“Yeah, you will be.”
You're still smiling as you walk into the Officer's Ready Room at North Island the next morning. You've got the same swagger you had in your step the first time you and Jake crashed together. Only this time, you have his phone number on your phone and the promise of a romantic dinner for two tonight. You'd be lying if you said you weren't still worried about the long distance relationship, spending half your life in New York and half here. But more than anything, you're ready for the challenge and excited to. At least you know who you're going home to - and, he knows who he is coming home to, as well.
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Taglist:
@desert-fern @horseshoegirl @sarahsmi13s @teacupsandtopgun @dakotakazansky @roosterforme @beyondthesefourwalls @cherrycola27 @thedroneranger @a-reader-and-a-writer @hookslove1592 @mshistorylover @hangmanssunnies @kmc1989 @chaoticassidy
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I DO NOT CONSENT TO HAVE MY WORK POSTED, TRANSLATED, OR PUBLISHED ON ANY SITES OTHER THAN ON AO3, ON WATTPAD, OR ON TUMBLR BY ME. IF YOU SEE MY WORKS ANYWHERE OTHER THAN AO3, ON WATTPAD, OR TUMBLR, THEN THEY HAVE BEEN POSTED WITHOUT MY PERMISSION AND I WILL BE WORKING TO TAKE THEM DOWN.
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stephiramona · 3 days ago
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The tale of two cities according to Heiko and Stephi - Part 500
Unbelievable! This is the 500th part of our "Tales"! So Heiko and I thought that something special was needed.
But first of all, we want to thank you. You are fantastic, and without you and your comments, this wouldn't have been the same.
In the past years we have visited each other a few times, and this week we both wrote something about what we think the biggest differences of our hometowns are.
Let's start with Heiko's text and the photo (the first one) he took in Munich:
Today is our 500th Tale, which is pretty unbelievable. Yet, I admit that we are repeating ourselves a lot when it comes to the seasons (watch our for Christmas time) and we might even have repeated ourselves in some subjects. Still, we are doing the Tales for almost 10 years, a feat neither Stephi nor myself would have ever thought we would accomplish.
We also visited the other person’s city a couple of times and there are some differences about them. Picking out one, I would say that Munich is just bigger and you really need some time to explore the city. It just looked vaster to me. It seemed that you always need e tram or train to get to another spot. In Cologne, on one of Stephi’s trip, we went on foot and within a couple of hours I was able to show her the heart of the city with some of the most important places. I admit that if we took a tram, we would have been able to see other spots as well that are not in the center but more on the fringes, but you can spend a couple of days in Cologne by foot and see a lot of great and important places. I never had that feeling in Munich as the tourist attractions and other cool places were further apart.
Basically, you can spend a day in Cologne and see a lot of the city. I don’t think that would have been able in Munich. Yet, it’s well worth to spend more days in Cologne and go into some local pubs to get to know the people of the city and it’s flair. That will pass you by when you are only in the center that is usually crowded with tourists.
Another difference are the temperatures I experienced. Today it was cold and windy in Cologne. But I have never felt temperatures like on that trip in January 2017. That was cold and could have served as my own personal hell.
My picture from Munich is from that cold January trip and I am trying to show the vastness of the city.
Other things are petty similar though. I have seen some cool parks in Munich in which people hang out. The same is true for Cologne.
Since I spend most time with Stephi and Pete (and Fern on one trip), I didn’t get know other people from Munich. But according to Stephi, the people are pretty cool and open minded, other than the impression you get from Bavarian’s politicians and the way people vote. Cologne also praises itself for being open minded and I usually find that to be true.
I could probably go on for a while but I still want to thank you for sticking with us, reading our Tales and responding from time to time. I rarely respond but I really do appreciate your comments and feedback, read and enjoy it. Thank you all very much.
Now to my text and the photo I took in Cologne:
I think, Cologne and Munich are both great but very different cities. During my visits to Cologne, I was most impressed by the cathedral and the river Rhine. We inhabitants of Munich love our cathedral but - if I'm honest - the "Frauenkirche" isn't very impressive. At least not as impressive as the "Kölner Dom". Munich has a sweet little river, the Isar. It's nice for swimming and for spending some quality time. The river Rhine is way bigger and more impressive, but it's not a good idea to swim in it. I guess, you can't have everything. In my opinion, both rivers belong to the highlights of our respective hometowns, but in a different way.
Munich is close to the mountains and has beautiful surroundings. If you ever visit Munich you should take the time to visit the surroundings as well. Munich and Cologne look very different but the biggest differences for me are the people. When I was in Cologne, I found the citizens so nice, and refreshing, funny, and honest. During my first visit to Cologne, I took a taxi and the taxi driver wasn't only funny, he even wanted to share his breaktime snack with me and offered some radishes. I can't imagine something like that happening in Munich. Munich's citizens are more stiff and not as open as the ones of Cologne are.
Have you ever visited both cities? What do you think are the most differences of our hometowns?
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quaritchsbunny · 1 year ago
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Tsu’tey as a Yandere - 2/2 (hc styled fic)
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Link to part 1
Wc: 3.5k
Warnings/Tags: tsutey x f!Reader, human!reader, yandere behavior, stalking, obsessive behavior, mentions of mating as a tradition, traditional yandere kidnapping, Tsutey refers to the reader as mate, reader gets stranded for 0.2 seconds 
A/N: Agh I’ve been busy but here’s the second part! Hope you guys like ti as much as the first, thank you so much for reading <33
- previously: “You smile one last time, clicking a save to the photo of Tsutey before you go back to the lens to take a photo of the moss. Your second night in the cave was spent munching on puffed grain, huddled in the musky pine scented blanket as you dreamed of beaded neck covers and toned blue arms.”-
-Days passed by like this, with the basket always being dropped off when you were unaware. Fruits, puffed grains, seasoned vegetables, and fresh food was being offered to you in the sharp contrast to the frozen microwave meals you used to be issued with the RDA. You didn’t mind it at all. Your capturer would often write you small notes with clumsy English, because you had no pen, you couldn’t write back, but you often said your responses out loud knowing he could probably hear you anyways. 
-Over some time, you learned that his name was Tsutey, he was a part of the omaticaya clan and shouldered a lot of responsibility, somewhere in the back of your mind you briefly remember Dr.Augustine mentioning him during your training to be a ambitious kid, maybe that’s where he learned English. Slowly, you found comfort with him being the only person you were interacting with, you guys were both givers, people who scooped out the purest of their heart to give to others just to have it crushed in front of them, you guys both enjoyed the nature of pandora, the color red, and actions of service as a love language.    
-Oftentimes, you would leave your camera in the basket for him to take pictures of his life, you would get back snapshots of the navi clan, silly mishap photos where he clicked too early and caught only his arm and a blurry shot of a basket, and more hints of his body. You often teased him, joking that you wished the camera had a front lens so that you can see his face, though you knew he wasn’t ready for that. You tried to make things for him as a return for his hospitality and care, many sorry excuses of flower crowns were used from the material you can find off the forest floor, as well as a bark that you carved his name into with a small heart next to it using a sharp stone.
-Tsutey would slowly find smaller ways to embed you more into his life too, he took a sample of colorful hair beads to you one day and let you pick your favorite (of course, you picked red, like the color his heart that belonged solely to you now), the next day, that coral red irregular shaped bead was strewn all throughout his hair.  
-Visits became more and less guarded, oftentimes you could see the whisk of a blue tail as baskets were dropped off or a baritone deep, hearty laugh as you told him about your life as a human before he took you. You even slowly picked up on some navi for him, though you can hear the smile in his words as you experimentally taste the foreign words on your tongue
-Tsutey had rarely gone back to the tribe now except to sleep, many members were getting worried that the most talented warrior seemed to always be absent, leaving early morning and coming back at night, but eventually they had accepted that he deserved a much needed break and stopped trying to pester him
-Every day before Tsutey dropped off your basket of necessities, he would go scavenging in the forest for anything pretty to try to impress you with how much he can offer,  his mate deserved the cave to be filled with treasures after all. Countless times your basket would be loaded with riverstones that glowed in the dark, rare flowers, and pretty ferns. You took a picture of them all and kept your little collection of treasures near your sleeping corner of the cave and looked at them often whenever Tsutey wasn’t there to hear or watch you
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Seeing how much you treasured and adorned his offerings, Tsutey decided to make the ultimate romantic proposal, a hand woven bracelet with beads he carved himself. The craft had taken Tsutey a long time, not staying as long as he usually would after dropping off baskets to return to the village and learn to weave the intricacy. It was woven with soft bark and infused with essential oils, embracing the red beads tsutey hand carved. After many days, you find the accessory layed elegantly in the basket flourishing of your favorite fruits. This was the final offering, if you accepted, Tsutey would officially stop hiding you in this circle in the forest and take you as his mate. 
You picked it up in wonder, “tsutey” you whisper, “did you make this”? You say, eyes wide as you slip the bracelet on without a second thought. The way you looked at the bracelet, Tsutey could only imagine what those eyes would feel like on him
Tsutey’s heart almost stops at how willingly you take his offering, and he hums, almost desperately in response. “Took me a while” he says, accented english brittle with emotion
“I love it” you smile, twirling the bracelet around happily. It was like an indirect touch, like his fingers that worked on the bracelet on your wrist. Tsutey was barely able to leave the top cave that night, staying up late to talk to you, when he finally got the words “mate” out, his heart was pumping at the speed of light, when he sees a gleeful smile and blush on your face as you nod, he knew right there that this is what he has been looking for, what all those years of giving returned him.
The night ended with a “oel ngati kameie'' as tsutey gleefully whisked back to his hut, he finally had a mate! He’s not alone any more, he has you. You’re his, all his. He finally has something to himself, almost for the first time in life. He never had to battle or prove to be worth your attention, you never asked more of him than he happily offered. His smile while staring at the light woven ceilings of his hut that night was unimaginable, soon, you would be here with him!
Sleep was difficult for the pair of mates, excited about their future with each other
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You woke up early the next day, a bit restless after Tsutey’s proposal to be mates with you. Does that mean you finally get to see him? Will you be with his clan? How would it work between you two as a human and navi? Would his clan accept you?
Questions raced through your mind and you couldn’t stop thinking about the man who had seen compassion and a piece of himself in you that one night, and maybe his method and approach was wrong, but falling for him and your past month with him has made you feel the most fulfilling source of calmness in contrast to the rushed yet mundane days in the lab
You waited excitedly for Tsutey to come, he promised he would reveal himself today and take you back to hometree, you played with the bracelet he gave you, fingers looping through the beads he carved himself.
It was a rainy day, and after missing Tsutey’s usual morning basket, you begin to grow a bit worried, he had never even showed up late once. Was he okay? Was he injured? Did he finally forget about you?
The wind blew through the cave and whisked away the white lab coat you had been laying out front, you had taken it off a while ago when nights became warmer. The coat landed a bit far out into the patch of forest, muttering a curse to yourself, you stepped out of the cave, the rain showering you immediately, as you trooped through the squleching mud to pick up your lab coat, stained from blowing straight into a wet puddle, nontheless, you reach down to pick it up, as you do, the bracelet Tsutey endearingly made blows right off your arm with the wind’s cruel angles and flown straight past the stone boulders. You yelp in panic, chasing after it with your soaked lab coat still in your arms.
Without thinking twice you slip out between the stone boulders Tsutey set, eyes manically looking for the coral red beaded accessory that was still being whipped away consistently by the wind, blowing fast and higher as you chased it through the muddled greens of the pandora forest until the loop caught on a tree
You stumble forward, tiptoeing to reach just enough to feel the bracelet and attempt to snatch it down, your abdomen hurted from the stretch and you huff, the bracelet barely budged, wiggling on the branch as if to tantalize you for your stupidity. You groan, jumping higher with no help from the wind that seemed to prevent all chances of you getting your beloved bracelet back. You try to climb the tree, but with your wet hands and soaked lab coat weighing you down it was no use
A low growl resembling the thunder that sounded in the sky however, noticed you that your bracelet was the least of your troubles now. You back up against the tree defensively, trying to discern the source and direction of the sound as you see a flash of a matte black mammal. Your eyes look desperately in the direction where you came from, but the cave and the circular stone boulders seem to be completely out of sight, you cling to the bark of your tree, short of breath as you pray that you can at least see tsutey one last time before becoming stranded again
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Tsutey woke up late that day, oversleeping due to being so happy about becoming your mate. When he saw the time and the darkening sky, his heart dropped. His poor mate! All alone in the cave, she hasn’t even had breakfast yet and she was braving the storm out by herself! He hurriedly stuffed whatever edible foods he could find into the basket before he rushed off in the direction of the forest. But not before being stopped by one of the clan members
“Tsutey, we need you to lead a hunt today at eclipse, our hunting parties have been lost in strategy without you, you cannot keep neglecting this anymore” The male says sternly
Tsutey growled, frustrated and just wanting to get to his mate who could very much be in danger “Oh yes, now that you need me for hunt parties you can check up on me, what happened to asking or caring about me as anything other than this clans warrior” he says coldly, hoping to cut the conversation short
“Tsutey this tribe needs you, you’ve been neglecting your duties for a month, all you’ve been doing is filling up baskets and taking the clan’s fruit, we are really short on-” The male presses again but is cut off with a swift turn of tsuteys head, eyes in slits as he vocalized his frustration
“You know what I’m short on? How much I can keep giving until you guys can see that I’m a living, breathing navi and not a hunting machine or a ikran trainer. I’ve served this clan for my whole life and suddenly when it comes to me it only takes and takes, but when I take some fruits and grains it becomes outrageous.  if you need hunts, give me something other than your reliance and demand.” He articulates, the emotions he’s been compiling for years spilling out as the clan begins to circle around him.
“And for your information” Tsutey whips his head away from him, focusing on his path to your spot again as his grip around the basket tightens “I haven’t been neglecting, I’ve been doing what normal male navi do at this age which is finding a mate.”
Tsutey’s path to his spot seemed a lot longer in the rain that day, by the time he reached your cave, he didn’t care about revealing himself as he hurriedly rushed to the mouth, basket in hand as his eyes widened. Only the barren grey walls, and your collection of the treasures and trinkets he’s brought you, but you weren’t there. Your lab coat was gone too
Tsutey hurriedly chased after the footsteps you left in the mud, and when he saw that you stepped out of the boulder, his heart seized in rage. How dare you? After all he has done for you? Were you just a taker too? Was all the reassurance and time you gave him fake?
He shook his thoughts away, no, it couldn’t be, where would you go even if you did escape? And he knew you liked him, he smelled your pheromones last night while you guys talked. So where were you?
As the viperwolf approaches you, you swallow thickly, you knew it was carnivorous and you could only hope it didnt have any appetite for human blood as you closed your eyes, mud squelching underneath you as you took a deep breath, preparing it to be your last
You feel nothing but suddenly there's a splash of mud and a sudden grunt, before you hear the viperwolf far far away yelping, you open your eyes and see flashes of blue before you, angrily circling you as he approaches, keeping you pinned against the tree
“Tsutey?” you breath out nervously, he seemed angry and it definitely wasnt the way you wanted to see his reveal, but even with his furrowed eyes your heart softened as he approached you
“Are you insane? '' He breathed out heavily, voice almost breaking as toned arms pinned you agains the trunk of the tree. “What were you out here for! Could die!” He exclaimed, voice almost breaking as his thick english resounded through the forest, the rain water trailing down his arms
You tear up, your eyes burning as you try to explain the situation but your words fail you, you cover your face with your hands, humiliated at the situation
Tsutey’s tensed shoulders drop when he hears your tears, eyes widening when he sees your wrist, the bracelet gone. What did this mean? Did he scare you that much? Did you reject him? Did you-
His eyes follow your fingers as you point up silently while hiccuping, to the bracelet hung high on the branch, turning slightly in the wind. His chest sinks, he had misunderstood you horribly, you must’ve chased all the way out here because it got blown away during the storm.
Tsutey silently reaches his one arm up while gently snaking the other around your waist, pulling you into his torso as he retrieves the bracelet for you, gently clasping it around your wrist.
“Sorry” he says quietly, his voice sounding of bass as he holds your wet lab suit for you and gently cradles you in his arms. His body immediately relaxes when it feels yours, though much shorter and smaller, he almost melts into you, caressing your hair gently. “Lets go to home tree now, mate, sorry” he mutters again, leaning down to look in your eyes as he picks you up effortlessly and begins to walk back to the cave to collect his basket and the little belongings you had to transport
You sniffle and nod, all frustration evaporating when you feel yourself carried by him, you gulp nervously, taking in his face as you held eye contact with him the entire time back to the cave, as you two began to drift into warm conversation as blankets were folded and your trinklets were loaded into the familiar basket. You shyly trace your eyes over the angular, cat like face and tsutey felt your heart beat louder, his arms holding you slightly tighter as his heart jumped in glee.
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-The walk back to hometree was quiet, but in a good way, in the way that you knew things would be alright. You played with the scrunchie on tsutey’s hand (well technically, your scrunche) as the rain slowly calmed down.
-When you had finally arrived at the base, you felt nervous. Navi were not extremely harmonious with humans at this time and you looked down as tsutey walked you proudly around the clan like it was a normal day. After taking you to eytucan, the leader, he sighed in defeat. Knowing that both his daughters were previously promised to Tsutey, and that Tsutey had his potential mate taken away both times, he felt bad if he couldn’t let Tsutey be happy at least once with who he wanted. The Tsahik examined you for a while before determining that eywa welcomed you to a place in a clan, and just like that, Tsutey strolled out of the hut, uncaring for any other clan member’s opinions, commentaries about your human form, or awkward gawking as he held you and led you straight to his hut
-Not many words are exchanged, and not many are needed, as long as Tsutey had you. For the first time that night, you two ate dinner together at the union, where you met the infamous avatar Jake Sully and enjoyed your fruits and grains to the fullest without a mysterious delivery from Tsutey. Tsutey admired you wordlessly as you peeled fruits and conversed with clan members in fluent navi (credit to him) like you were born to be a part of this, you had slipped into his life so perfectly, so seamlessly that he months of isolation at the cave seemed pointless. His tail flicks happily before wrapping around your waist, the smooth slide of your cotton lab coat (still wet from the rain and mud) reminding him to give you new navi clothes
-That night was the best night you two have slept in a long time, with the dirt and the grime from the rain properly washed from you (tsutey took you to your first ever river bath, it was revolutionary) and Tsuteys wide, pink, cat like nostrils breathing calmly against your scalp, relaxing as your phermones filled his nose as his palms smoothed over your body, snoozing away peacefully with the feeling of your tiny body swathed by his
-Soon, you became an irreplaceable constant in Tsutey’s life as he faded back into his usual role, training young navi, hunting, and being a warrior but with new motivation not only to protect the home he had but for you. And knowing he’d come back to his warm, home-like hut with your belongings scuttered along with his bows and arrows, and that you’d never ask or demand more of him, that as soon as the eclipse sets into the night everyday all you would give him is your love, his rage and constant giving was finally reciprocated
-He would take you on ikran rides, making sure to share his world with you as much as you gave him your love, the deep rumbles of his chest against your back as he held you tight and soared through the pandora skies as you tell him about your daily experiences in the clan
-New beaded navi clothes would be adorned on you, though he still loved the way you looked in a lab coat, the signature coral bead of tsutey’s choosing against your bare hips had a addicting effect on tsutey
-Tsutey would be so proud the day he officially mated with you, with eywa as witness in front of the tree of souls, although tsaheylu couldn’t be formed, that night as you both stood under the holy tree the love and sense of belonging to eachohter had never been stronger
-Tsutey who would have a hard time (even harder after you guys became mated) watching how lovable and admirable you are, easily earning hearts, friendships, and disgustingly clingy eyes of other members of the tribe. Tsutey who would constantly have a tail around your waist and leave scatters of love bites across the exposed skin your navi adornments allowed, the red blooms reminding the clan of who the cute human belonged to
-Tsutey who would fight every last RDA soldier, plunging the knife deep into their sorry flesh, for they were the ones who kept you away for so long, until you stumbled into his arms like a present from the earth, and now they were here trying to take more of what he loved, his home.
-Tsutey who doesn’t care if he comes back to your shared hut bathed in blood because he knew you’d understand, he was only protecting you from the many evils of the world who wanted to take you for the unlimited love you had to give, and they were extremely undeserving. Deep down, even Tsutey felt undeserving, but he would never tell you that.
-Tsutey who still brings back little trinkets, fresh flowers, and anything pretty he stumbles upon during his time out, holding it behind his back and when you approach him with a long desired hug after he’s been out, Tsutey who will always think of you as his treasure.
-Tsutey who knew that every bit that he gave will always be returned in some way, every time he protected and isolated you from the undeserving greed of others for your own good was returned with your love, every time he glared at the clan members who stared at you for seconds too long menancingly on a hunt would be returned with that same member’s own scorn around you the next time, arms burning from Tsutey’s lesson to them
- Tsutey who now learned that he didn’t have to scour every bit out of himself to prove that he was worthy of something or to convince someone to say, who learned that what belonged to him will always find its way, just like you did all those nights ago when you stumbled into his heart with your doting of the direhourse. Knowing that your love would stay without asking for anything from him in return.
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jungle-angel · 10 months ago
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Morning Makeouts (Bob Floyd x Reader)
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Summary: The Bob Floyd Fuckfest Saga continues (lol)
Tagging: @floydsmuse @attapullman @sylviebell
Warnings: SMUT!!!! No minors allowed.......like ever (lol)
You and Bob were immensely enjoying your little vacation as always, taking every opportunity to enjoy it at its fullest as well as each other's company. Never in your lives had you and Bob felt so close as you did on that little island paradise in the Florida Keys. Of course you missed being at your home in Montana, but you had desperately needed a break from the mundane, every day goings on.
"Alright, look at me," Bob instructed, adjusting his camera. "There we go sweetheart, PERFECT!"
There you were, right in the ferns in the backyard of the beach cottage where no one stood a chance of seeing you, butt naked with Jimmy, your blue and yellow parrot perched on your wrist. He flapped his wings, just as Bob had begun snapping one photo after another, capturing the perfect image for your new photo album.
"Thank you my sweetpea," Bob said, taking you right in his arms and kissing you.
"Anything for you Bob," you answered, kissing him back. "Truth be told, that was actually alot of fun."
You and Bob were both a giggling mess as you kissed each other, unaware of how far you were stepping back until you both tumbled into the soft little sand pit in the middle of the bushes.
"Sorry baby," he apologized.
"Nope, you're ok Bob," you laughed as he looked down at you.
You could see his eyes darkening as he leaned his head down and kissed you sweetly, drawing a moan from your throat. It wasn't long before you felt his weight on top of you, the kissing growing more heated as something fell from the tree branch and hit the ground with a *THUMP!*.
"No worries (y/n), just a mango," Bob chuckled.
You laughed, but the look in Bob's eyes told you he was up to something, especially when he bit into the mango. "Bob what are you doing?" you laughed.
"Shhhh, just let me for a second?" he whispered.
You felt the cool, sticky juice dripping onto your sternum and down your exposed breasts. Before long you felt Bob dragging his tongue all over your curves and down to your navel where he licked up the mango juice, leaving little love bits and kisses in its wake. The pleasurable moans that came from you were what kept him at it, working his tongue like an artist's brush, swirling around your nipples and up to the soft spots on your neck.
"Mmmm......my turn," you purred.
Bob's eyes went wide but he gladly obliged as you helped remove his shirt and his jeans. You couldn't get over how perfect he looked in the early morning sunlight, his pale skin made soft in the glow of the sun. His boxers were the only thing left that had imprisoned his throbbing hard-on, coming off and being tossed aside with the rest of his clothes. You had almost forgotten how big your husband actually was until you saw his cock standing hard and ready.
"There we go sweetpea," he cooed. "Just.....just a little bit.....oh....there we go......there.....oh honey look at you, taking me so well......that's it, there's a good girl......right there now......good girl."
You moaned happily as his cock gently eased its way into your aching entrance, one little inch at a time. Soon you were sitting pretty right on him, your hips adjusting to his length.
You watched with pleasure as Bob's features took on a scrunkly, laughing look as the mango juice dripped onto his chest. You gladly returned the favor he had given before, licking up the juice as Bob pushed his chest a little closer to your face. Your tongue swirled around his nipples until they became hard, pointed little peaks, kissing the undersides of his tits.
You both came at the same time, Bob thrusting his length as deep in as he could possibly go. You lay skin to skin with each other on that warm patch of sand, gently feeling each other's bodies beneath the warm Florida sunshine.
"Think we should go for a sea bath later?" Bob asked.
"If it gets the ungodly amount of mango juice off of us, then I say yes," you laughed.
Bob kissed you sweetly, holding you against him. It was mornings like this that he lived for most, when it was just the two of you.
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the-really-lonely-mountain · 11 months ago
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Along for The Ride - Part 1
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Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5
Summary: Transported to Middle Earth, you must Join Thorin Oakenshield's Company as they travel to reclaim Erebor! OR: My take on the classic 'modern girl in Middle Earth' troupe. With this first installment, we are following the first movie of The Hobbit trilogy, and falling in love with Kili on the way! Slow burn with this one y'all, nothing spicy till the next work I'm afraid.
Tags: Kili / Reader, Reader-Insert, Slow Burn, Modern Character in Middle Earth, During The Hobbit, How Do I Tag, Canon-Typical Violence, Kíli Is a Little Shit (Tolkien), wrote this while I had covid, in like 4 days lol, implied soulmates, Dwarf Culture & Customs, Freeform, Holding Hands, Cuddling & Snuggling, Sleepy Cuddles, Protective Thorin Oakenshield Company Members, Dwalin & Thorin Oakenshield Friendship, Fluff and Humor, Domestic Fluff, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Where In Middle-Earth Is Gandalf?, Hair Braiding, Dwarf Courting, My First Tumblr Fic, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Fíli & Kíli & Thorin Live, Thorin Oakenshield Lives, Fíli Lives (Tolkien), Kíli Lives (Tolkien)
Word Count: 6,292
A/N: I was utterly appalled by the lack of Kili writers on here and Ao3. Y'all who write for Kili, I've been eating your crumbs like it's the shit (cause it is) for weeks, but one can't be sustained on crumbs alone so I've prepared a feast!! This is the first fic I've ever wanted to post, please be gentle. Comments, Likes, and Reblogs are loved and treasured!!
Tagging the amazing Kili writers I've been living off of for the past few weeks and who have inspired me so they might share in the feast as well lol go check out their stuff too: @mikathemonster, @cowboybeepboop, @littleenglishfangirl, @ethereal-inquisitor, @sweetpeakili
Photo credit: @immawriteyouthings
Divider credit: @cafekitsune
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You were having one of those days that made you want to run away from everything. Instead, you walked on the golf course behind your house after hours; no phone, no umbrella, no bag this time, just you. You had what you could fit from your hands in your jean pockets as you walked the grassy field. Something twinkled and caught your eye on the far side of the fairway, there was a sparkle in the ferns. You walked over and began looking through the underbrush. Your hand grazed a smooth stick with a mangled end that encased a gem. You picked it up hoping for a better look but were transported to another world instead!
You appeared in the new world holding the staff. You were standing beside an older fellow with a pointy hat and long grey beard. You looked around and saw many other gruff, burly-looking men sitting in an encampment. They looked as confused as you. You did the only thing you could think of doing at that moment.
You turned around and took off running as fast as you could.
The wizard whose staff you were running away with asked the younger dwarves in his company to fetch you for him. They ran after you as quick as the wind. You dodged trees and hurdled bushes, making an all-around great effort. You were slowing down though. You stopped for a moment to catch your breath and plan. A twig snapped in the distance; quick footsteps closed in on you. You took off again. You needed a place to hide, a moment to think for God's sake. You were afforded no such luxuries. They were gaining, you were tiring. In your drained haste, you tripped on a bush which sent you stumbling and struggling to regain your footing given your momentum. You finally fell and scampered to take cover behind the roots of a great tree. Their footfalls grew slower and drew nearer. They were so close you could hear their words now.
“…She’s hiding, Fili,” one said much closer than you expected them to be.
You tried your best to steady your breathing. Your heartbeat was so loud you knew they could hear it.
“Stop scaring her Kili,” The other chastised. “You know she’s got to be scared half to death”. He walked past you, studying the ground. The other came up the other side of the tree doing the same.
You gripped the staff preparing yourself to be found. They turned in unison following the same tracks and looked up at you simultaneously. They were both panting but not as hard as you. Fili, the elder and more experienced of the two knelt where he stood a few yards from your curled trembling form.
“My name is Fili” He put his hand on his chest and motioned to the man next to him, “This is my brother Kili. We mean no harm to you.” He kept his distance and showed his empty hands. You stayed firmly pressed against the tree trunk, your chest heaving rapidly and your eyes as large as saucers. They could have tackled you, beaten you, or done any number of terrible violating things, but they kept their distance and spoke softly.
“What’s your name?” Kili asked, with a charming smile as he crouched beside his brother.
“Y/N,” you said in a shaky freaked-out tone.
“Y/N, that’s our friend wizard’s staff,” Fili said, “If anyone can figure out how you got here, he can.”
“But you gotta come back to camp with us,” Kili said reaching out his hand as a peace offering. So many horrible things could happen to you in the wild of this new world, but even more on top of that could if you didn’t go with them.
“How can I trust you?” You asked them. They looked at each other.
“How can we trust you?” Kili threw back at you with a suspicious look and recoiled his hand.
“Touche” you nodded returning his look.
“Seems we are at an impasse then,” Fili huffed at his brother, “You want to get home, and our wizard can do that. The only way that can happen is if you come with us back to our camp. We can only offer you our word and promise on our honor as dwarven princes that you will not be harmed by any in our company.”
You thought for a moment and nibbled at your lip, “You promise?” you looked up at Kili this time.
Kili looked you deep in the eyes, and very seriously said: “No harm will ever come to you, on my honor as a prince.”
You nodded at this, “Very well”, and tried to stand up but were stuck against the tree. The 2 men easily lifted you back to your feet. You followed them back to the camp.
You tried your best to hide behind Kili as you approached the wizard smoking a pipe. You peeked from around his shoulder at the other men in the camp. They were looking at you.
“Please sit, my dear,” The wizard said to you, motioning to the rest of the long log beside him “We have much to discuss.”
Your legs wouldn’t move you from behind the dwarf. You were still quite afraid.
“She seems to have taken a liking to you Kili,” the wizard said to him. The rest of the company let out a soft chuckle of agreement. You couldn’t see it from your angle, but Kili smiled and nodded.
“Sit down child, we aren’t going to hurt you,” One of the dwarves sitting across the fire said. You took a deep breath to gather your courage. One false move by any of the others would have you bolting again.
You moved from behind Kili and sat beside the wizard still clutching the staff.
“May I take that from you?” the wizard politely asked. You handed it to him. He explained how this type of thing had happened to a couple of his wizard friends before, but he didn’t know the remedy or spell to undo it or how to prevent it from happening again. You sat quietly listening and nodding. He explained to you and the rest of the company that he was leaving to travel to his friend and inquire about your predicament. In the meantime, he convinced the company and its leader, Thorin you came to know, to keep you in the company as an innocent bystander to help around the camp and whatnot till Gandalf (the wizard) could figure out what to do with you. Gandalf gave you a small sack of coins, instructing you to get a bag, a bedroll, clothes, and any other necessities you’ll need at the next town.
As the fire died down so did the company. They got out their bedrolls and sleeping gear like a synchronized unit and as quickly as they started, they were all asleep snoring softly. Kili had first watch and was sitting on the ground next to you leaning against the log you were on. You slid onto the ground next to him curled with your knees to your chest. He looked over at you. You looked over at him.
“I don’t know what to do now,” you said not hiding the waver in your voice very well, “I’m so scared.” You couldn’t hold back the tears anymore. You cried into your hands as quietly as possible, so you didn’t disturb and anger the others. If you had looked at Kili, you would have seen him in a slight panic and at a loss for what to do, he didn’t know how to console crying women. You sobbed into your hands knowing you just needed to let it all out then you’d be fine. Kili looked at the fire and put his hand on your back. Physical contact of any kind back home was next to nonexistent, it felt nice to know he was trying his best to comfort you. After a few minutes of uncontrollable sobbing and hiccups wracking through you, you began calming down. When you were able to breathe properly, you wiped your face even though tears kept falling. You sniffled and rested your chin on your knees letting the tears fall silently now.
“Do you feel better?” Kili guessed in a soft tone and rubbed his hand on your back.
You nodded at him, “Yes” You took a deep breath and wiped the tears from your eyes as best you could, “Thank you” You looked at him and smiled a little. He smiled and nodded too, still concerned but returned his hand to his lap. You sniffled and looked at the fire.
“Really though I don’t know what I’m doing,” you said. “I’ve never been camping before,” you paused to think. “I don’t know how to fight or use a sword or make a fire or hunt or-or—” You were working yourself up and starting to cry again. Kili cut you off before you could start sobbing hysterically again.
“WOAH! Woah!!” alarmed, he put his hand on your back again, “It’s ok. Calm down.” he said harshly, “Take a deep breath, that seemed to help last time,” He mumbled the last part under his breath. That made you smile despite yourself.
“You don’t know how to console someone, do you?” You took a deep breath and wiped your eyes. He shook his head and took his hand from you. “Seems we’re both out of our depth then,” you said making the mood a bit lighter.
“In my defense, I was raised in a pack of manly men,” He smiled fondly “It’s a wonder my mother got through to me at all.”
“So, you do have a mother,” you said, making him look at you quizzically “I assumed you were raised by wolves,” You shrugged. He laughed and you couldn’t help but smile.
“You’re not completely wrong about that,” He smiled, looking over at the men across the fire. There was a momentary silence. “We’ll teach you those things, how to fight, how to make a fire, all that,” He looked over at you, “I mean who knows how long Gandalf will be, and you’d have to be pretty stupid not to pick up a thing or two even from this bunch.” You smiled and nodded; this calmed your nerves a little. A moment of silence fell between you again.
“Is it ok if I stay up with you?” you innocently asked, “I’m not very tired.”
“Sure,” he said casually, “May I ask about your life back in your world?”
“OK,” You nodded.
“What do you do?” he asked, you gave him a weird look. “Like for a living, how do you make money, how do you spend your days?”
“I’m a student at university at the moment.” He looked at you confused this time. “I spend my days studying at a desk, it’s boring and dull” You quickly summed up.
“Ooohh,” He said, “No wonder you couldn’t run for shit,” He laughed.
You scoffed, “So rude,” You huffed, failing to hide your smile. He was glad you were cheering up a bit.
“If it’s so boring and dull, why don’t you do something else?” He asked, naive to your world and its ways.
“It’s…complicated” you sighed “I have to study to do what I want to do for work even though I don’t want to work or study or do any of that, but I have to make money somehow because I need money to do stuff and buy things because the world I live in is shitty that way and it’s so frustrating sometimes,” you gritted your teeth to make your point.
“Well, what do you want to do then?” he asked, trying to understand your strange world.
“Sit on the beach,” You said without hesitation “…Listen to the waves…sleep on a blanket in the sun,” you sighed wistfully. “Die happy and rich.”
“That does sound nice” He agreed “I’ve never seen a tropical ocean before, the seas near the Blue Mountains are all frozen over.”
“Surely there’s a beach somewhere in this world,” You refused to believe the universe sent you to a world without a beach.
“There is! I’ve heard stories of Southern Gondor, where the sun makes the sand hotter than forges, and the water falls over the horizon in every direction.”
“That sounds like the beaches from back home,” You felt a little bad for him. You’d been practically raised at the beach because it was the only free thing to do in your hometown.
“May I ask a question?” you asked this time.
“Of course,” He shifted to lean against the log and face you.
“What are you guys doing?” you gestured to the camp around you.
“We are on a quest!” He said proudly, “A quest to take back our ancestral home from the dread dragon Smaug,” he said in a sinister voice. He explained about Erebor and the dragon and Thorin to catch you up. You listened, nodded, and took it all in, asking questions and giggling at his jokes. He was a decent storyteller.
“And I’m just along for the ride I guess,” you said deflated about your role in all this.
“If it’s any consolation, you’re quite good company,” He indulged; Kili always got so lonely on watch.
“Yay!” you said over a yawn, “I’d hate to bore any of you,” you replied, genuinely fearing your stories may never measure up to theirs. You leaned over and laid on the soft grass, curled in a ball with your arm as a pillow. You tried not to shiver from the cool evening breeze. You heard some shuffling of fabric, and then a blanket fluttered on top of you. You looked at Kili who smiled and said: “I’m quite the furnace at night, I’ll be fine without it,” he reassured.
“Thank you,” you said over another yawn. You didn’t expect to fall asleep but the next thing you knew it was early morning and you were awoken by the clanging of pots and spoons. You sat up and looked around to get your bearings.
‘Still in the same strange world’ you thought not fully awake. Kili appeared, greeted you good morning, and handed you a bowl of white goo he called porridge. You thanked him and ate your breakfast in silence like the rest of the company. While the men packed up the camp you were tasked with washing the dishes in a nearby stream. You were struck by the beauty of the incredible woods around you even in the dim morning light. You returned to camp and put the dishes in their bag, which was taken by one of your new companions. You felt out of place without a task among everyone who knew what to do. Balin saw you standing in the middle of the camp looking lost. He asked Thorin what they were to do about their lack of an extra pony for you. They decided you could ride with Kili seeing as he was the lightest (next to Bilbo) and his pony could take the weight and because you seemed the most comfortable with him. The old dwarf with a white-grey beard curled up at the ends approached you with as much of a nonthreatening air as he could muster.
“Good morning, my dear!” He greeted you with a chipper smile. “My name is Balin”
“Good morning,” you replied. “I don't quite know what I’m to be doing,” you said sheepishly.
“That’s ok lass, it’ll come with time,” he reassured, “For now, you’ll ride with Kili so you can see if he needs help getting ready.”
“Ok,” You nodded and started walking in Kili’s direction. You stopped in front of his pony and petted its nose and down its neck. “I’ve been told that I’m to ride with you,” you said timidly looking at him adjust his saddle. Kili looked at you and nodded.
“I’ll be happy to have a lovely conversation again” He smiled and looked back at his saddle, making the final arrangements.
He turned to you and said, “I’ll give you a leg up,” And jabbed a thumb at his pony. You nodded and approached the animal. You put your hands on the ponies back and bent your leg waiting for him to help. He leaned forward so he could whisper in your ear: “Wrong leg”. You blushed quite profusely at that and switched legs. He heaved you with such strength he nearly threw you over the other side of the pony. You made yourself comfortable behind the saddle before he hooked his foot in the stirrup and carefully mounted so he didn’t knock you off.
“You ok?” he asked over his shoulder.
“Yep!” you smiled. He nodded. You were excited to see new lands even though you feared what they harbored.
“If you need to hold on to me when we get going you can,” he said, making you both blush despite yourselves.
A few moments later Thorin called out: “Company ready?” in a deep booming voice, “Aye!” They all replied in unison. “Company, move out!” He bellowed and urged his pony forward. The rest followed behind him one by one. When your animal lurched forward you grabbed Kili's waist for dear life. The company was silent till they got to the end of the forest. You had your cheek pressed against Kili’s shoulder and your chest against his back. The fur of his coat was very soft against your face as you turned your head to look over his other shoulder. You yawned but didn’t realize you did it right next to his ear and breathed down his neck. He determinedly kept his eyes on the pony ahead of him to keep the blush rising in his chest at bay.
“You can take a nap if you need to,” he said over his shoulder in a soft voice for only you to hear.
“That sounds like a good idea,” You yawned again. You buried your face in the soft spare fabric of the hood on his back and cuddled closer to him to rest your head on his shoulder. You closed your eyes and sleep swiftly took you. He knew this because he could feel your breathing slow on the back of his neck. He was happy you could sleep and couldn’t help his smile. You shifted now and then, turning your head one way then a while later turning it the other. Kili tried not to talk or move too much in fear of waking your delicate slumber. By midday, you felt very well rested. You took a deep breath and released your grasp on Kili to stretch your arms above your head, arching your back to wake yourself up. You quickly slipped your arms around him again, so you didn’t fall.
“Good morning!” He chirped, “Well afternoon really,” he corrected with a smile, “Sleep well?”
“Mhm,” You hummed against his shoulder “I haven’t slept that well in a long time,” you said thinking back on the restless weeks before your arrival in Middle Earth.
“Good,” He nodded. “Happy I could be of service.”
“Yes, you make quite the comfortable bed,” you replied.
An easy silence settled between you for a while. You contentedly watched the landscape pass by while he kept the pony on the path.
“What’s a good weapon for a beginner?” You asked knowing you needed to start wrapping your head around the fact that you could be stuck here forever and needed to protect yourself. He thought about that for a few moments.
“I’d have to say a bow,” He shrugged, “I don’t know honestly, lemme ask Fili,” he kicked up his pony to walk faster to be next to his brother. “What is the best weapon for a beginner?” He asked him. Fili glanced at you and thought for a moment.
“Hmm I think a sword would be easiest,” He replied, contradicting his brother.
“A sword?!” Kili said incredulously “No that’s one of the harder ones,” He swatted his hand as if to swipe the words from the air.
Fili scoffed “For you maybe,” he said barely keeping his teasing smile under control “But not to the rest of us, my weapon-challenged brother.” That made you giggle. Kili huffed and pulled his horse back, so he wasn’t beside his brother anymore.
“Are you that bad with a sword?” you asked, trying not to laugh too much.
“No!” he exclaimed, “I’m just better with a bow and arrows,” he pouted.
‘Awe he’s so cute when he pouts’ Your thought took you by surprise.
“Perhaps you can teach me, Archer,” Your voice was lower than you intended, making you both blush. Your breath ghosted over his ear making him shiver just a little. He turned his head to look at you over his shoulder, his face so close to yours. He looked at your lips then deep into your eyes holding eye contact.
“Maybe I will,” he said in a deep gruff whisper that made you gasp and goosebumps rush over your skin. He turned back and smiled; proud he could get a rise out of you. You huffed and distanced yourself from him by leaning back, needing the space to calm down.
As night drew closer, Thorin led the company to the edge of a forest and found a shallow cave, more like a cliff overhang to make camp for the night. He told Fili and Kili to take care of the ponies and Oin and Gloin to make the fire. After the meals had been handed out Thorin told you to take Fili and Kili a bowl. You walked through the forest and found them looking at a downed tree in panicked awe.
“Something took 4 of the ponies,” Fili said to you, hoping you’d have the answer to their predicament.
“Yes, and…” you nodded at them trying not to panic yourself “What are you going to do about it since it’s your problem?”
The brothers decided to see what took the ponies and if they could handle it themselves, no need to worry Thorin, right? You followed them as they tracked the pony-nappers. Kili hid behind a tree and peeked around, you hid behind him and peeked over his shoulder. 3 large trolls were something to worry about, and a sight that made that dreadful feeling drop from your chest into your stomach. Your grip on Kili’s coat tightened.
He turned to you and said in barely a whisper, “Go back to camp and tell Thorin”.
Fili was immediately against it, huffing and puffing from behind his tree. Kili shrugged and motioned with hands as if to say, ‘What else would you have us do?!’ Fili huffed again and snuck around the tree. He tried to cut the rope fence with his sword, but he took too long. The trolls caught him. They were deciding ways to eat him when Kili looked at you in alarm and told you to go back to camp. You ran as fast as you could.
“Ponies! Big grey troll things took the ponies!” You said out of breath pointing the way you just came “Fili…in…danger”. Thorin cursed in dwarfish and rallied the company. Balin told you to keep your distance, so you didn’t get caught in the fight.
The dwarves fought bravely but were captured. Bilbo bid for more time while you thought of a plan. You heard the trolls complain about daylight coming and that gave you an idea. You saw the trolls had made camp in the shade cast by a large boulder. You wedged a branch under the rock and used the leverage to try to roll it. It was very heavy, and you were not. It took everything in your power to push the branch to roll the boulder down the ditch edge it rested on. The trolls were washed in sunlight, turning them to stone and freeing the company. They cheered when you stepped over the branch and into the clearing. You helped them from their confines and smiled and blushed when they praised your good job.
Back at camp the company gathered their things and discussed what to do now. Fili suddenly hushed the company.
“Warg howls in the distance,” He whispered to Thorin “They are coming!”
“RUN!” Thorin yelled at the company. Following Thorin everyone started running. You all ran as fast as you could onto a hilly plane sprinkled with trees and boulders. You ran and ran till the Wargs finally caught up. They began to encircle you. The company fought the beasts, taking them down as still more came at them. You went to hide behind the rock formation but fell into it instead. You climbed out as the Wargs were closing in.
“Down here!” you called “There’s a passage this way!” you slid down to make room for the others. Thorin was the last one, as he slid down a horn was blown near the entrance to the passage.
“I can’t see where it leads, do we follow?” One of the dwarves asked.
“Yes! We follow!” Thorin barged through the dwarves and led the company through the narrow pass. You all walked for a few minutes, but then Thorin rounded a corner and slowed as he realized where he’d unwittingly led the company. The rest kept walking around him, but Bilbo stopped and said in admiration: “Rivendell”. You stopped as well to take in the view before you. It was the most beautiful thing you had ever seen. A small town on the side of a mountain with water flowing from beneath some of the glittering structures.
As Thorin led the company over a bridge, you grabbed Kili’s arm to steady yourself as you looked around and took in the ornate statues and architecture of the front steps of a large building. A man much taller than you or the dwarves approached the group.
“We would like to speak to Lord Elrond,” Thorin said through gritted teeth. He was swallowing his pride for the betterment of the quest, that much was clear through his clenched fists and tense shoulders.
“Lord Elrond isn’t here,” The elf said regretfully.
“Then where is he?” Thorin’s patience was growing thin. A horn was sounded on the other side of the bridge you’d just crossed. Everyone turned to see a group of horses galloping towards them. The dwarves began shouting in dwarfish and closing ranks with their weapons ready for battle. You were pushed into the very center of the circle as tall horses and riders circled you. They stopped suddenly and the one on a black horse dismounted.
“My Lord Elrond,” The elf who first approached you said with a bow.
“Lindir” Elrond bowed his head at him then turned to the leader of your group, “Welcome Thorin son of Thrain,” He looked over the dwarf “You have your grandfather's bearings.”
“I’m afraid I know you only from the stories my grandfather told me,” Thorin was doing his best to be polite. (You were later informed that the stories were mostly about him being a ninny.)
“I’d like to offer you and your company a taste of our elfish hospitality,” Elrond said with a warm smile.
“Does that mean we’ll eat?!” Bombur called from the back. The company chuckled at him.
“Yes Bombur, that means we’ll eat” Dori replied. The company cheered at the prospect of a full belly and a warm hearth.
Not long after, you were sat next to Bilbo and Kili at a large table. The salad appetizers were very good despite the dwarves not liking green food very much. You giggled at their jokes about how bad the music was or how they wanted chips and meat. Thorin was sat at another table across from Elrond discussing something you couldn’t hear, but you could tell it pained Thorin to be in the other man's presence.
You turned to Kili beside you. “Thorin looks constipated,” you said in a low voice barely containing your laughter “He can’t even pretend to be enjoying this”. Kili looked over at his uncle and laughed with you.
When the meals were served there was boisterous laughter and general dwarfish shenanigans, the usual at any merry dwarfish gathering. Bilbo looked like he was having PTSD from when they were doing the same at his house at the beginning of the quest. At the end of the meal, Thorin and Balin disappeared with Elrond to discuss a map. You asked Kili if he would escort you to the markets with as much innocent girlish need as you could muster to solidify your security. He agreed and walked with you through the corridors and to the market. He helped you get a fair price on a bag, a blanket, and a bedroll. The next thing you needed was clothes to blend in.
“What do the women around here wear exactly?” You asked him. He shrugged.
“It depends, I guess” He had his hands shoved in his pockets as he followed you around the clothing stalls like a puppy.
“Gee, that’s a big help.” You teased.
After some more wandering you found a stall selling clothes that looked your size. You purchased a dark blue form-fitting tunic that stopped above your knees and had slits on the sides that went up to your hips. It paired very nicely with the brown pants and brown coat with dark blue highlights you bought as well. Kili helped barter with the merchants since you didn’t know the fair price of things here. In another section of the market, you bought spools of black, blue, and pink thread. You put your belongings in your new bag.
“Are we done?” Kili asked, sounding slightly annoyed. He was ready to go back to the others and be away from so many elves. You sighed and rolled your eyes playfully and nodded. He led you through the busy crowded markets by holding your hand. You were thankful he was in front of you so he couldn’t see your blush. You made it back to the group, who had set up camp in a courtyard garden at the end of a hallway. Just as you arrived two female and two male elves came down the hallway.
One of the males stepped forward, “The bathhouse is ready for you now” he said to the group.
“Bath?! We don’t need no stinkin’ bath!” Exclaimed a dwarf from behind the fire. The rest heartily agreed, not ready to drop their pants on elvish soil it seemed.
“I’d like a bath” you timidly said, not wanting to make a fuss but very much wanting to be clean.
“Very good mistress dwarf, if you’ll follow us,” one of the female elves said. You were tense as you followed the four elves down the corridor, not sure what you were doing.
“You best go with her lad,” Dori said to Kili, “You never know what an elf might try to pull.” He glared at the back of the elves as they walked away. Kili nodded and ran after you.
“Y/N!” He called making you and the elves stop.
“Oh, change your mind, Kili?” You asked with an innocent smile, happy to have his company.
“Yeah, I guess so.” He smiled too.
You were led to a large door that opened into a covered hot spring that flowed over the balcony to create an assumably gorgeous waterfall. Columns lined the outer edge of the room which was split down the middle by a cloth partition. The male elves walked to one side of the divider with Kili in tow, while the females walked to the other. The elves asked that you wash under the heated shower of water off to the side before entering the hot springs. They left you to your own devices.
“I’ve never seen anything like this have you?” You asked Kili across the large room.
“No” He smiled at the wonder in your voice from seeing new things and making discoveries. He thought it was very cute.
You placed your bag and new clothes on the vanity in the corner. You undressed and stepped under the warm shower. You used the bar of soap you found to wash your hair and body. It was the best-smelling soap you’d ever had the pleasure of experiencing.
“Hey, Kee?” You hollered.
“Yeah?” He yelled back.
“Do you plan on keeping your soap?”
“No…Why?”
“I’ll take it then. I’ll need extra anyway,” And you were so happy you did. That soap made your hair silky smooth and stronger than ever. You rinsed the suds away then stepped into the hot springs.
It felt luxurious. You couldn’t help but moan a little as the heat pulled every knot and tense muscle from you. Relaxed, you floated in the steamy water.
“You still there Kili?” you asked suddenly nervous he’d left you.
“Yeah, I’m here” He replied, “We shouldn’t take too much longer though, Thorin could be back any minute and who knows what kind of a mood he’ll be in.”
That made you enjoy the bath a little faster. Not long after you began drying off and getting dressed. You took the hairbrush and beads and other miscellaneous hair trinkets that were on the vanity. You looked in the mirror at your new outfit. It fit as you thought, though a little snugger in some places than others, hugging your curves to allow for movement yet still baggy for breathability and insulation. Overall, a nice ensemble.
“Ready Y/N?” Kili asked from across the partition.
“Yeah, you can come over, I’m just packing my things.” You replied, folding your old clothes, and putting them in your bag with the rest of your things.
“Here’s the soap” He handed it to you.
“Thanks!” You smiled at him; you simply wrote his flushed cheeks off to the hot water. When you stood, he was able to get a much better look at you in your new clothes.
“A perfect fit I see” He smiled, looking you up and down. He couldn’t help but imagine what you’d look like wearing nothing but his tunic. A line of thought he blushed at and quickly willed away.
“Does it look alright? I don’t know how it’s supposed to fit” You fussed with the hems and the folds trying to make them lay better. He grabbed your hand to make you stop fidgeting.
“You look great,” he said with a genuine smile. You smiled and nodded your appreciation.
You walked back to camp, making moneyless bets on what mood Thorin would be in when he returned.
As you approached Fili saw you in your new outfit and said, “Well look at this…” Making the rest of the company look at you too, “Our wee lass looks like a bona fide middle earther now!” They cheered at your near-complete indoctrination.
“Now she just needs to learn how to fight like one.” Bofur quipped from beside the fire.
“Then I wouldn’t need any of you to protect me!” You put the back of your hand to your forehead feigning a damsel in distress, making the company laugh. You sat on the ground beside the long chair Kili was now examining his weapons in and leaned against it. You held out a stone fish figurine to him.
“As a thank you for helping me” you cleared your throat “…And for being my friend.” You couldn’t meet his eyes, but you knew he was smiling a little around his reed pipe. He took it from your open hands. You know it wasn’t much but it’s all you could offer.
“Maybe one day you can return it to the ocean,” you said, referring to your previous conversation.
“Maybe I will,” he smiled down at you with genuine fondness.
“Bombur!” Bofur called before throwing a sausage to his cousin. The table, which took skilled elfin craftsman months, even years to craft and carve out of solid wood, collapsed under the massive weight of Bombur. Everyone erupted in laughter, it was nice to be part of the group and share in the merriment.
~~
Thorin stopped Balin on their way back to the camp, “We should leave her here,” He said, “She is a liability.”
Balin had a terrible sinking feeling in his round tummy when he thought of splitting you up.
“So what if she is, Thorin?” Balin said near pleading. “Have you ever seen your nephew that happy or open with a girl that quick before? I’ve never seen the lad so engaged in a conversation that didn’t have to do with weapons before last night. So what if she dies on our quest, at least we gave them a chance to happen, and if fate finds their pairing favorable it will all work out!” Balin was desperate to keep you and the young prince together if only to keep the sinking feeling at bay.
Thorin huffed, “Very well, but her blood is not on my hands,” He walked away and into the camp.
~~
Thorin and Balin returned, and the tone became slightly more serious—slightly. The company settled and laid their bedrolls in the grassy parts of the garden. You laid yours out as well and prepped for sleep by removing your shoes and coat. The night was warm enough that your blanket would suffice. You looked up at the stars wondering if any of the constellations were the same as back home. You cuddled your coat to your chest relishing the feel of the soft fabric. The low conversation between Fili and Kili, while they sat on watch across the fire, lulled you to sleep.
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Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5
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f-e-r-n-i-t-o · 21 days ago
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Last cosplay photo for a bit lol
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onefleshonepod · 5 months ago
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ID: A digital collage of "The World" tarot card as Alecto from the Locked Tomb series. At the top is an image of Papatūānuku from a wood sculpture by Ken Blum and Brian Woodward in Nelson, Aotearoa. In the middle is a vintage illustration of the earth showing Aotearoa, with a photo of a reconstruction waka named Hinemoana sailing off of this earth to the right. At the bottom is a vintage illustration of a mother elephant nursing her baby by Jacques de Sève. The background is pale green, blue, and pink, with stars and galaxies framing the images. The collage features vintage illustrations of Aotearoa ferns and plants by Georgina Burne Hetley. The left side of the card shows the upright meaning of The World and reads, "Fulfillment | Harmony | Belonging | Wholeness | Conclusions" in all caps. Worked into the collage on the left side is the Nona the Ninth quote "John loved her. She was John’s cavalier. She loved John. For she so loved the world that she had given them John. For the world so loved John that she had been given. For John had so loved her that he had made her she. For John had loved the world." The right side of the card shows the reversed reading and reads "Incompleteness | Lack of closure | Stagnation | Inertia" in all caps. Worked into the collage on the right side is the Nona the Ninth quote "And so Alecto took that iron sword, and with one hand pierced John’s chest with it, even to the heart."
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goddessmelon · 1 year ago
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Lawrence Oleander x (gender neutral) Reader- Tease
CW: Teasing, sexual content, touching, restraining, oral sex
You went too far.
It’s a Saturday night… though probably late enough to be more like a Sunday morning. You know because it’s one of his nights off. Rain falls lightly against the building, and you kneel to peer out the window to watch droplets slide down the window, heaving a soft sigh of boredom to yourself. A few feet from you, your captor, provider, twisted-love interest (but oh, what are labels?) sits on the floor, his lower back propped up against the metal and mattress of his shoddy futon, and hunched over a thick book. It’s an encyclopedia of some sort that you’ve seen him read from before, the pages lightly water damaged but the bleeding colors not bothering him at all. You watch him as his eyes trail across the page slowly, fixing on an image here and there, his fingers idly tracing the shapes on the paper including the areas that bled. You think you can even catch a hint of a smile here and there. 
You can’t help but love moments like these; Lawrence wasn’t exactly a relaxed individual. Ever since he decided to keep you, even after breaking one of your legs and the other foot in a fit of what he considered love and protection, he still seemed constantly on edge by one thing or another: you, work, the outside world, or whatever else went on in his constantly brewing headspace. Seeing him relaxed was nice in a way, but deep down, a slightly meaner part of you wanted to take that mild tranquility away from him yourself, just as he took it away from you all too often. It wasn’t a good idea but… where did all your good ideas get you anyway? He was totally unpredictable. And sitting around with nothing to do, you felt like testing the waters. 
So, you sit against the wall to face him fully, holding your head up in your hands and holding a smile. For a while he’s too entranced in his literature to notice, but before he turns a page he looks at you. His lazy eyes meet yours and widen instantly, darting to the floor at your feet as if the eye contact alone equated to touching a burning stove momentarily. His face instantly looks a little flushed and he presses his lips in a fine line. “Stop that,” he says in a voice that must have meant to sound decisive but in reality came out a tad shaky.  
“What?” you ask innocently, still looking at his eyes through his downturned lashes. He looks up at you again to check if you had listened to him but upon seeing that you did not, turns to instead look back at his book, his face burning even brighter than before. 
“Y-You… you know what!” he sounds frustrated, flustered, voice rising just a bit before falling into silence again. 
“I just think you look pretty,” you say honestly, smiling again though sweating a bit internally. You never know what makes him flip. 
“Don’t.” He presses his forehead into the palm of his hand, sounding genuinely upset, yet still red in the face. He sounds serious enough for you to drop it though… for now. 
But you have some ideas of ways to make him tick. Frankly, it didn’t seem to even matter what you did and what you believed to be something “good” or “bad” for him. Obedience, silence, and acceptance were generally what he needed from you but even then, too much of a good thing drew him to scary extremes. Where would this bring him? 
So you let him read, but after a few minutes, he exhales sharply and closes the book, standing up swiftly. He must not be able to focus anymore. It wasn’t uncommon for the scatterbrained lunatic to drop something the second it no longer “felt right.” He goes into the kitchen abruptly and starts to brew something- you hear the water running as you watch his back while he works quietly. In the meantime you end up looking at his plant book yourself, flipping through the photos and diagrams idly. This page on poppies is pretty well loved… you notice a dogear and pull it open to a section on ferns. Some stuff about true leaves… reproduce through spores… a set of diagrams…whatever. 
Soon enough, he’s walking back over to you, two cups of steaming liquid in his hands. He sits on the bed this time, his legs a few feet from your head, and holds out one of the cups. “I… want to go to sleep soon,” he says, offering the drink to you. You recognize the familiar scent of lavender radiating from the liquid as you gingerly take the cup from him, alongside something else you couldn’t put your finger on. He’s been making both of you simple herbal teas rather than whatever it was before now that you were somewhat settled in, for lack of a better term. Probably still not completely legal in terms of ingredients, but it wasn’t something that would knock you out on the spot. 
You nod in response as you start drinking the tea, enjoying the lightly sweetened mix with what was probably a little bit of honey. Still kind of bitter, but it was a flavor that was growing on you. In between sips you peer over at him, watching as he stares forward with dull eyes as he downs the hot liquid, as if the temperature hardly bothers him. With another mischievous thought, you scoot slightly over and lean onto his legs. He jumps at first, gulping down what he had in his mouth, but after a quick look at you doesn’t make an effort to move. He seems stiff, though. Even though you’ve been physically intimate before, he can never seem to calm down, unless he is the one initiating. It’s cute, in a way… and it’s why you feel this sudden urge to tease him. When he’s looking away again, you reach an arm up and begin to trail it down his thigh lightly, only to yelp when he grabs your wrist, hard, holding up your arm with little effort as he stares at you. You can feel his glare even as you look away with a whimper. Realizing your pain, he drops your wrist and you let your arm fall weakly to the floor. For a moment you both just sit there quietly, until you break the silence. “It’s okay, you didn’t hurt me.”
You look at each other shortly, before he replies quietly. “I… don’t know what you’re… nnn…” Your gaze trails down his body to the obvious tent forming in his sweatpants. When he notices where your eyes are, he clears his throat and puts his hands in his lap to hide it, eyebrows furrowed and face flushed again. 
Before giving him the chance to do anything else, you start to limp-crawl away toward the bathroom. “Well! I’ll be getting ready for bed!” you stammer awkwardly. You can’t see if he reacts any further since you quickly shut the door behind you then climb to sit on the toilet, breathing heavily. God, he was so easy to mess with, but you were afraid of what the consequences of your actions could be. After all, taking it out on you wasn’t ideal with how rough and insensitive he was but… you shook your head as you pictured his flushed face again. You couldn’t help but want to see where this went. Removing the unholy thoughts from your head, you start to freshen up, brushing your teeth and washing your face. 
After enough time to calm yourself down and what you hope is enough time for him, you push open the door to find him standing there before you, causing you to make a surprised noise. Unphased, he holds out a large t-shirt toward you, watching your hands. “Here… it’s clean.” It was not an unusual act; since you mentioned once that his clothes were comfortable, he’s been giving you a pair most nights to sleep in and washing what you came in that first day occasionally enough for you to continue wearing during both of your odd waking hours.  
You take the oversized clothing and thank him in a soft voice, quickly changing into the shirt as usual and… also as usual, asking him about the shorts in his other hand, “can you help me?” 
Normally, he didn’t think anything of it, and since he didn’t, eventually, neither did you. He loves when you need his help with things, and while you probably can do it yourself at this point, he never let you after the first time he watched you struggle and in pain over your freshly broken bones. He always thinks he knows you better and, at this point, you just ask because you can tell it makes him happy. 
But today, with still a blush over his face, he looks reluctant. 
“I… can do it myself,” you start to say, noticing him standing there unmoving.
“No, you can’t,” he says, quickly moving to his usual position on his knees before you. With you looking at the wall and him at the ground, you both go through your usual act of you shimmying out of your pants while he helps pull it off your legs so you don’t have to bend down and then delicately placing your legs into the new pantholes. Today, though, it’s much more tense. You’re blushing, and so is he. Shit, you didn’t even have to try with this one, but now it was weird for you too. Even when it’s said and done, he stands up and clutches his arm with that same uncomfortable energy as before. You hear him swallow loudly as he appears to debate something internally. “I can… b-bring you to bed… so you don’t have to, um,” he gestures toward your legs.
Of course, you could still sort of crawl by only putting weight on the unbroken knee and, as much as he enjoyed to see you struggle without him sometimes, sometimes he was offering (actually, usually skipping the asking part) to carry you to where you needed to go, whenever he was in a mood.
Tonight is apparently one of those nights, and so when you nod your head, he sheepishly hooks one arm under your legs and another under your back and carefully hoists you up off of the toilet. You bury your face into him so as to not have to meet eyes and can feel his heart pounding for the few seconds he takes to bring you over to his futon. His hand squeezes your thigh as he involuntarily shudders before bending over to place you down in your spot beside the wall and climbing in next to you. With no room for personal space and no desire to give you any, he wraps his arms around you tightly, tighter than usual, and you listen to his heavy breathing. Silently, you press in closer to him, grazing his crotch with your butt “unintentionally” and intertwining your non-broken leg with one of his. You notice his breathing becoming raggedy and pretend not to notice any other changes your action causes. When he doesn’t move, you whisper your goodnights with a racing heart yourself, and eventually are able to fall asleep with the help of the tea. 
-----------------
When you wake up, Lawrence is sleeping like the dead behind you, quietly breathing against your ears. Turning around in his now loosened grip and propping yourself up by an elbow, you survey his sleeping face. He looks peaceful, but the dark circles stamped against his eyes darker than normal have you wondering how much he even slept at all. His hair was messy, his lips were bitten, and on top of that…
You look down under the covers to try to determine if what you thought was pressing into your stomach was what you thought it was, or just his hip bone. Not being able to see much, you slowly, rather shyly, dive a hand into the sheets to confirm… and your stomach turns over when you feel him hard in his sleep. Very lightly, you run a few fingers along their landing point back to your stomach, until, to your dismay, his eyes snap open. Lawrence shoots to an upright position and when you start to let out a startled shriek, one of his hands flies to your mouth and the other grabs both of your wrists, forcing you to drop to your back against the mattress. His pupils shake as he stares at you, his face burning. But it wasn’t just from shyness, he looked angry. “Y-You! I’ve had enough of this! I…” he shakes his head and releases the hand against your mouth. “I-I haven’t been able to sleep, or just… fucking… relax, because of you.” Hearing him curse startled you, not that he never did it, but he must have genuinely been pissed off.   
“I…” you start, as if to apologize, but he suddenly gets up and, grabbing your shoulders, forces you upright and glares down hard at you. He then looks toward the chair in the center of the room, and your heart sinks. “W-Wait!”
Lawrence ignores your protest and easily lifts you out of the bed under your arms to roughly place you down in the wooden chair. You know better than to fight back as he tapes your ankles and wrists to the chair, and can’t help but wince with the little care he applies to your poorly “healed” leg and foot. When he gets back to his feet, he looms above you looking calmer, albeit still frustrated, with a thoughtful look on his face. “Th-then… we’ll just see how you like it… when you, err, I-” he groans, as if trying to say what he wanted was a challenge. 
You feel the tension in your shoulders loosen when he proclaims his intentions. He looks… vengeful? But the violent glint in his eyes that’s usually there when you find yourself in the chair isn’t there. 
He doesn’t say anything else as he stands, as if calculating what to do, then smirks slightly. He double checks that your arms are sealed and quickly dips around the corner with purpose. “Lawrence?” you call out softly, and though he doesn’t say anything, he quickly comes back before you with some kind of bandage wrap in his hands. “..What’s that for?”
Not answering your question, he bends down to your level and, looking past your gaze, starts wrapping the soft material around your head at eye level, effectively blindfolding you. Again, you call out, “what are you doing? Lawrence?”
Feeling slightly anxious with your sight taken away, you don’t feel any better when the only response given to you is a thoughtful hum as Lawrence stands somewhere before you. After a few moments of the following silence, you start to feel his cold, clammy hands, running through the hair not behind the thick bandage. Your breath catches in your throat as one starts to trail down your neck in a featherlight touch, gasping when his fingernails eventually graze your shoulder. His other hand runs down the side of your face and stops at your lips. His thumb and forefinger grasp gently at them and you swallow. For a moment, he allows your saliva to just barely wet his thumb as his other hand runs down your arm to grasp your own, lifted just slightly against the tight tape. He rubs circles into your palms in a way that can only be described as sensual, and when you start to softly pant against the tip of his thumb, he sighs contentedly.
“I know what makes you tick,” he says finally, decidedly. Both hands lower further to your chest, though still clothed, and he gives your nipples a gentle squeeze through the fabric. You let out a yelp, much to his supposed satisfaction, as this makes him momentarily squeeze a little harder before releasing you fully. 
“And I’m not done yet… I want you to…” he struggles to find the right words. “I want you to know h-how it feels.” The way he puts it is negative, but you only hope for him to touch you more. Your insides were fluttering from his carefully calculated strokes and grasps. You wonder if he had wanted you to touch him more, too, though knew he���d never admit it if it were the case. In the end he was taking out his frustrations on you. And you couldn’t help but want more of it. 
You open your mouth as if to say something but quickly stop when you feel Lawrence’s hands grip your sides just above your hips. His hands roam as they hike up your shirt just slightly, and you shudder as you feel him drag his fingers across the skin of your belly by the nails. He must be kneeling at this point but you can’t seem to get a feel for where he is while focusing so intently on his touch. You bite your lip when his hands drop lower, running over your thighs and then moving inward to your nether regions. You start to gasp slightly, “Lawr-”
He quickly covers your mouth and coos, “shh, just relax.” When you nod your head, he begins to palm your most sensitive area, definitely noticing the evidence of your arousal even through your clothing. When you whimper into his hand, he begins to press harder, rubbing you up and down rhythmically yet never dipping inside your clothing. You try to get his attention but he doesn’t uncover your mouth and continues to tease you from the outside, methodically testing your limits. When the mix of pleasure and intense desire for more becomes dizzying, he finally releases the hand blocking your mouth and, lightening his touches on your lower areas to gentle strokes, leans in so that you can feel his breath on your neck. “How does it feel? How does it feel to b-be messed with like this?” he interrogates you though never lets up, awaiting your answer.
“G-Good,” you moan out, bucking your hips further into his hand as much as the chair will allow you, feeling controlled by arousal brought upon you. “Please… I want…”
But before you can finish talking, he removes himself from you again, much to your dismay. You can hear the sound of metal clinking softly as well as the subtle movement of fabric. No time is given to you to ask anything more before he starts to cut the tape off of your legs swiftly, followed by your wrists. As soon as you’re freed he pulls you out of the chair by your underarms and places you on your knees, leaving the blindfolding bandages around your eyes. You wince at the weight placed onto your hurt leg, but when you instinctively try to lower your body he straightens you back up and mutters something about staying still. Then he pinches your nose and, when you open your mouth to breathe, feel his long, throbbing cock push into your mouth, causing you to let out a surprised garble against him. He moves to hold your head in his hands as he continues stuffing himself down your throat until your nose brushes against the hairs of his crotch, making it difficult for you to breathe. You weakly take in air through your nose, sex still throbbing, and he speaks to you again in a wistful voice. “You… you take my breath away. S-Sometimes, it’s hard to deal with. So now…” his voice stays matter-of-fact. “I’ll take away yours.” 
Gripping your head securely, he starts to rock his hips against you, thrusting himself in and out of your mouth slowly, at first, but very quickly picking up the pace, though never pulling out enough to let you take in a breath. His fingers tousle your hair as he scrambles to find a place to grab onto as he continues to plunge his dick down your throat repeatedly, his breathing becoming more irregular by the second. Your eyes water and the desire to gag plagues you, but your body isn’t given the chance. 
Feeling dizzy from the lack of oxygen, you use your free arms to try to push him away, but he only responds by pushing even harder, moaning quietly above you. “Don’t… stop…” he breathes out in a heated pant, though leaving you no choice in the matter either way, his body rolling into you again and again. His hold on your head gets harder, pulling at your hair painfully. He ignores the tears that roll down your face from the intensity of his movements and the pain it’s causing you. His breath hitches as you notice his thrusting becoming more needy and erratic. You keep trying to breathe, struggling against him still, fearing that he may actually cause you to pass out. He must be getting close, and with what effort you could muster to get him there faster, you stroke your tongue along the underside of his cock as it slides through your mouth. He gasps out loud, provoking you to work harder, tears still falling from your eyes and collecting with drool that drizzled from your mouth around his massive size in what must be a horribly messy scene, but all you can focus on was trying to get him to finish, and the way it was making you feel. 
Lawrence’s moaning and gasping sounds grow louder and you feel his manhood become even stiffer than it already was. He was moving in strokes as long and fast as he could get. The man pounding into your mouth gave you no warnings as he bottomed out in your throat, pulling your head against him as far as it could go just before his cock started to throb as he came to a shuddering orgasm. Your stomach lurched as he came heavily down your throat, gasping for breath. His knees buckled as he finished, and he stayed in that position until the throbbing fully stopped. With a contented sigh, he pulls himself out from your mouth and continues to gently hold your head up as you start coughing and sputtering, gasping for air. Your arousal now even greater than before, you moved a hand to grasp at him yourself, but he let you go and took a step back. 
“Lawrence,” you moan, still breathing intensely. “Please, I need you to…”
“I have to go,” he says over you, seeming to have collected himself already. He spoke in a self satisfied manner, as he continued, “I need to… get some things from the store before work.” He brushes sweat-slick hair from your face gently, and coos, “you’ll be okay.”
“W-Wait, but I-” you start, but he comes around and takes a hold of your wrists from behind and begins to tape them together behind your back.
“You won’t need these, either,” he hums, preventing any way for you to be able to touch yourself when he leaves. You grind hopelessly against your good foot with a needy cry, but the only sound you can hear is the opening and closing of the apartment door behind him. He leaves you kneeling on the floor, blindfolded with tied wrists, with no indication of when he’d be back. 
You knew it before, but he ground it into you this time. Lawrence was a grudge-holder, and he always got his revenge.
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edupunkn00b · 3 months ago
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One Last Time Around
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Photo CC 4.0
Written for the @extremetimedchallengeexchange. Prompt: Platonic Sides in a human AU. Found family, dystopia, happy moments in a not-so-happy situation a plus. No fluff, no crack, no romance.
WC: 2414 - Rated: T - CW: Major Character Death implied off-screen, dystopia & post-apocalyptic -
“Is that a bicycle?”
Patton’s sudden question pulled the group from their thoughts and they stopped their trek through the underbrush. Six pairs of eyes followed the boy’s excited pointing. Remus was closest and gave his shoulder a little squeeze. “Not quite, buddy,” he grinned. His cheeks ached at the movement and his voice was scratchy. How long had they been walking? “That’s an old ferris wheel.”
“Really?” Patton wiggled, jostling his hoodie and momentarily hiding the bright yellow warning light on the fever chip at the back of his neck. He turned to look back at Logan. “Like the one Fern rode at the county fair?”
Ever the teacher, Logan crouched down and smiled at the boy like he was a star pupil. “Yes, Pat. Precisely.” Fingers twitching on his shoulder straps, Remus just knew it took everything Logan had to not whip the book out of his pack right there.
The remnants of that morning’s rain still dripping from the trees was a powerful deterrent.
“Can we get closer?” he asked, eyes now trained on Virge.
He already had his tracker out. He frowned, pulling his hood lower and shielding the screen from glare as he peered down at the splashes of color. “There’s no-one around,” he said after tapping at the screen. “Some warm spots… way too small for people. Racoons, probably.” Virge looked up at Janus’ sharp inhale and shook his head, both sets of eyes snagging on Patton’s bandaged hand. “Triple checked. None of ‘em have fevers.”
When Virge’s scanner pinged, they’d dropped to the ground, hoods pulled down and masks up. Virge was the only one who’d moved, pulling out the scanner and muting the quiet alert, intent on the screen. He made a cutting motion with his hand and they stayed down, barely breathing. Waiting.
It had taken more than an hour for a sick baby’s wails to announce the family’s proximity. They’d stayed under cover as the family passed less than a hundred yards from their hiding spot.
Not everyone waited before shooting like Lucas and Janus did.
Thank fuck for the old weather beacons still in orbit. The damn things would outlast them all. And with nobody left in mission control, there was no-one to turn off Virge’s credentials—genuine or borrowed—and stop him from drinking up all the data those satellites still rained down with every pass.
Returning Janus’ curt nod, Virge shrugged and powered down the device before stowing it away in his pocket. “It’s clean. That infected family we saw yesterday didn’t come from here.”
Hope dancing in his eyes as he grinned at each of them in turn, Patton bounced on his toes. “So we can?”
Lucas’ thumb brushed over the safety on his M70 and looked to Janus.
Binoculars raised, Janus peered between the trees. “There’s a parking lot…” The team held their collective breathe. At best, a full parking lot meant the fair would be full of the dead. At worst…
“Deserted,” he said at last. “It looks like they hadn’t quite finished setting up. There’s stuff on pallets in the back lot. Maybe something useful, even.” After one more look, he lowered the binoculars, a glint in his eyes. “It’s safer than the City,” he said, seeking Ro’s gaze.
Ro was staring at the back of Patton’s neck and when he looked up, his eyes were wet. “Yeah,” he said, and cleared his throat, a smile plastered over his face. “Books are great,” he added with a bow to Logan. “But you should see it for yourself.”
~
The sun hadn’t yet breached the highest trees by the time they reached the edge of the fairgrounds. What was left of them, at least. Scraggly ragweed had grown up through the cracks in the asphalt, most of it not even taller than Patton. He was cautious before touching any, inspecting the flowers first to be sure it wasn’t hogweed.
His cries had been what had made them find him. It was early days, back when they thought the only ones left were the immune. Back before the mutations hit. There’d still been birdsong back then.
He and Ro had been the ones to find the little boy. Hands and mouth raw from trying to eat the flowers, he’d sat crying in the middle of a patch of the towering weeds. Older than he looked even back then, the “throwaway” monitoring chip they stuck on infants hung loose on his forehead. All the hospitals must have gone to shit before his parents could get him in to have it properly removed after his first birthday.
Patton had sat there, just fucking bawling. Alone. But instead of recoiling from them, tall scruffy strangers, the little boy had reached for them, that now familiar hope in his big teary eyes.
Remus had kept just enough sense to check the back of the kid’s neck for a fever chip. Its bright green glow bounced off the faded note duct-taped to his dirty sweater.
His name is Patton. Please take care of him when I’m gone. Bless you. - Lynne
“Wow…” Patton stood beneath the ferris wheel, staring at the sunlight glinting of the top car. The wheel was huge, a good three or four hundred feet up in the air. It had been made of solid durasteel, too. Not a speck of rust anywhere on it and the rotors, sealed to keep out dust and shit had done a good job of keeping out the weeds.
Remus whistled. This county had had serious money. Back when magic numbers in a digital bank statement meant anything, anyway.
“We clear,” Virge reported, coming back from checking the perimeter with Lucas. “There’s no-one for miles.”
“And there’s a generator,” Lucas said, coming back from checking the perimeter. “Solar,” he added, unable or unwilling to suppress a grin. “Betcha last watch Lo and Virge can get it working.”
“That’s a loser’s bet,” Remus laughed, pointing to the tool belt already clipped to Virge’s belt. “You’ve already had a crack at it, haven’t you?”
“I will admit,” Logan murmured. “It would be gratifying to charge my tablet.”
Patton’s bright eyes followed the conversation, stitching together what else they might get to work with a little juice.
“Go for it. Ro, you take Pat around to explore.” Patton grinned and grabbed Ro’s hand and took off down the row of carnival games before he could say another word.
“I’ll go with them,” Lucas said before catching up.
“Okay, while you two see if you can get those generators going,” he nodded to Logan and Virge, “Me and Jay’ll see supplies there might be. Meet back in one hour.”
“Or sooner,” Logan said, eyes following Patton down the row of games.
“Or sooner,” he agreed. “Electric lights would be a good signal you did it.”
Janus waited until they’d disappeared on the other side of the trailers before finally voicing what they’d all seen that morning. “How long?”
Remus let his eyes close and swallowed back the growing lump in his throat before taking a deep breath. He let it out slowly, then opened them, heading toward the stacks of pallets wrapped in frayed plasti wrap. “Depends on the variant,” he said as they walked. “The kid dodged whatever got his mother, and he’s still below one-oh-two, but everyone I saw had been bad enough for the ER, it’s not necessarily—”
“How long, Dr. Prince?” Janus asked again.
Stopping, Remus sighed. “If he goes red…” He shook his head. “A day? Two?”
Janus’ jaw twitched, but he nodded. “Understood.”
~
The first two pallets turned out to hold nothing but folding chairs and more fencing. On the third, though, he and Jay hit the jackpot.
“Thank fuck for sodium benzoate!” Remus muttered, turning over a sealed package of ‘beef’ jerky.
Janus chuckled, shoving handfuls of powdered milk packets for some fancy ass ice cream maker into an empty duffle bag. Powdered Gatorade went next. “Wasn’t that stuff supposed to be bad for you, Doc?”
“Starvation’s worse,” he said, grabbing all four cases before tugging Janus’ sleeve. “Hey, look at the bottom layer.”
They stared together case after case of bottled water. “Plastic’s bad for a lotta stuff. It’s good for us right now, though.”
Before Janus could answer, warped music doppled out of a nearby speaker, quickly balancing out into a jaunty melody. They looked back at the fair. A merry-go-round had started up and LEDs in a rainbow of colors twinkled from every structure.
“Holy fuck, they did it!” Remus muttered, shaking his head. “C’mon, we’ll let the others load up, too, But first…” 
They both stilled when the faint sound of Patton’s excited cheers carried over the music. “But first him.”
“Yeah.”
~
They managed to get Patton to slow down long enough to have some Gatorade and a few bites of food before he was back on his feet, pulling Lucas and Janus toward the carnival games. “I’m not hungry,” he said, smiling up at them. “Please? I saw a game with big rifles just like yours! Let’s try it!”
Lucas ruffled his hair and nodded. “Alright,” he said. “Those games are rigged but I’ll teach you how to aim around it.”
When they returned about an hour later, Patton walked a little slower and he didn’t fight Remus’ suggestion to take a break before leading Ro off to a Test Your Strength game. The others sat quietly and listened to his peals of laughter each time Ro’s hits sent the little ball up to the top.
The mirror maze was next, and Logan and Virge pointed out all the little tricks for finding his way through. The trio emerged, victorious, with Logan and Virge swinging Patton back and forth like they’d done back when he was tiny.
“Will you ride the Ferris Wheel with me?” he asked, holding out a hand to Remus.
“You two are the logical pairing,” Logan said, quieter than he usually was in Teacher mode.
Patton nodded, turning and pointing at the cars. “Logan explained how it has to stay balanced. We’re just right to be in the same car.” 
“Each of you will need to join them in alternating cars,” Logan said when they’d reached the loading area. “Ah, I will man the controls, if you don’t mind.”
“It’s okay to be scared of heights,” Patton said, reaching over to squeeze his hand.
Logan’s eyes widened before he smiled and cupped Patton’s cheek. “You notice everything, don’t you?”
With an answering giggle, he patted the back of his hand and nodded.
“Well, that means me and Jay in one car, right?” Virge said, looking around the group.
“Yes,” Logan nodded. “And Lucas and Roman will balance it all out.”
“Which color car do you want to ride in?” Remus asked, giving Patton’s hand a little squeeze.  
“The blue one!” he said, pointing. 
“Blue it is,” Logan replied and worked the controls. He opened the door to the first car to stop, nodding to Virge and Janus. 
They ruffled Patton’s hair as passed. “See you in a bit, Kid,” Virge murmured and climbed in.
Logan let a few empty cars slowly trail past before loading in Ro and Lucas. Lucas rubbed his head and Ro bent to hug him. “I’ve never been on a Ferris Wheel, either, you know.”
“Really?” Patton asked, eyes big.
“Really,” Ro whispered. His adam’s apple bobbed, but he kept his smile.
With a little laugh, Patton shooed him into a car.
Finally, the blue car stopped and Logan opened the door. “All aboard,” he said. “Tell me about everything you see up there.”
“I will!” Patton grinned and clambered inside.
Logan’s hand tightened on the handle and Remus’ boots stuttered on the platform. Blood roared in his ears and he swallowed hard, lips curled up into his best smile.
Half-obscured by the back of his hoodie, Patton’s fever chip glowed red.
“All aboard,” Logan said again, quieter.
Remus cleared his throat and pushed on a smile. “Hey, make room for me,” he laughed into the mostly empty car.
Giggling at his joke, Patton scooted a bit over on the bench. His choice had been lucky. Most of the cars had benches on either side, requiring two riders to sit face-to face. The blue car held a single swiveling bench so the riders could sit side-by-side.
As their car began the lift, a little laugh spilled from his lips. “I can see the river from here!” he said. “Oh! And look at all those flowers on the other side!”
They took in the sights, the music fading as they got closer to the wheel’s zenith. Patton pointed out every detail, smile bright, even as his voice faded and he shook his head. 
“Hey, Buddy, you okay?” Remus squeezed his hand. It was so hot.
“I’m okay,” he said, still grinning though he shivered. Remus pulled a blanket from his pack and wrapped it around Patton’s shoulders.
“Better?” Remus asked.
“Better. But you feel cold,” he said, touching Remus’ hand. “You sure you don’t need it?”
“I’m good, Buddy,” Remus said, passing Patton a canteen. “Drink a little, yeah?”
Dutifully, Patton sipped at the water, then handed it back when the wheel began to descend. “Everything’s so pretty up here!” he said before waving to Roman and Lucas when their car slipped into view. 
Slowly they came back down, but before Logan opened their car, Patton asked, loud enough for all to hear. “Can we go again?”
“Try and stop me!” Lucas called back. Ro and Virge gave thumbs up and Janus said something too quiet to hear. His smile was all the answer Patton needed.  
“The wheel is in good condition,” Logan responded, looking to Remus for his answer. "It is more than adequate for several more rounds."
“As many times as you want, Buddy,” he said, wrapping his arm around him. The boy curled into the hold, clapping his hands twice before letting them fall to his lap.
“Thank you, Logan!” Patton called back through the open windows as the wheel began to move again. Feet swaying with the movement of the car, he grinned and held Remus hand, sliding close again. “Thank you, Virge!” he called. “Thank you Jay and Lucas and Roman!” Finally, he turned his sweet little face up to Remus. Patton leaned heavily against shoulder, cheeks bright red with fever. “Thank you so much, Re. This is the best day ever!”
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callsign-phoenix · 1 year ago
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I wrote this as a part of my falltober fics, I hope you like it!
It is a Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin x gn!reader imagine.
Thank you @sunlightmurdock for help with the idea and @famfan-1034 for proofreading!
Day 16: Hay ride
Warnings: none
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You had never even had to think about looking for a relationship, because from a very young age you and Jake Seresin had been inseparable.
He had told you he’d marry you sitting in the sandbox in kindergarten and continued to say so all through elementary school.
When middle school came around he was a little more quiet about his feelings but at the beginning of high school he finally asked you out, on a very awkward and nervous first date.
It had been clear to everyone that you would spend your lives together and just like their expectations you were married young, leading a busy but loving life together.
While you did live together and both of you loved your lives the romance of those first years slowly decreased.
Not because you didn’t love each other, that much was obvious, but with the both of you working full time jobs there was less and less free time to spend together.
When fall came around Jake was usually more clingy, because it reminded him of the time you had started to date.
It had been the most beautiful time of year and you were grateful for every memory, the colorful leaves, hay rides and hand holding, the quick stolen kisses and hugs that lasted as long as possible.
When you returned from work one afternoon your husband was already waiting for you.
A loving smile on his face and a gleam in his eyes, even though he had had a long day.
“I have a surprise for you, sweetheart,” he said, and off you went in his car, to a destination unknown.
It didn’t take long until you arrived and you were greeted with the sight of a fall fair, one just like the one you had been to on your first official date.
You were mesmerized and followed him wherever he led you, just wanting to stay close to him.
You had some pumpkin pie, took pictures at the photo booth and played pumpkin bowling, all of which you had done when you were younger.
On top of that you allowed yourselves some hot apple cider, and went on a hay ride just like the one on your first date.
This time Jake had asked the farmer driving you to take a break at a very scenic still gold glowing field.
He must have paid him for it because the man left you alone, going off somewhere to give you privacy.
While you kept sitting on the bale of hay Jake sprawled out to rest his head in your lap, just like he had done countless times when you were still growing up.
You immediately moved to run your hands through his hair, noting how it was the same color as the hay below.
“I know we haven’t been able to go on dates because we’re both busy with work, but I want to remedy that,” he said with a low voice, a little lazy from the comfortable position and the cider still warming your stomachs.
You smiled and went on to tell him it was alright but he just sent you a look that yet loving, silenced you.
“I’d love to ask you to go out with me again, properly, like once a week to dinner, or another date activity,” he said and you reached out to caress the side of his face, excitement and happiness flowing through you at how thoughtful your husband was.
“Thank you, honey. I’d love that,” you replied, rewarding him with a heated and thankful kiss.
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awkwardwhims · 7 months ago
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[Day Ten] Group Outing
Okay my plan was to let everyone have a wholesome fun time together at the beach. I didn't initiate any sort of interactions; I let them do their own things & just watched to see what would happen. Let's just say - there's alot of jealousy in this house & unfortunately most of the relationships took a hit.
More photos under the cut to see how things took a turn…
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Things were still going okay... Fern was just in a super flirty mood & wanted to kiss everyone. I lowkey thought Gabriel was coming over after Fern & Rowan kissed to get mad but it was fine. They all just told jokes & laughed. Andy had zero hard feelings when Fern kissed Rowan right in front of her.
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This is where things went wrong. Amara came over & Fern autonomously kissed her hands in front of basically everyone (except Mike, he was busy doing the BlicBlock dance in the water). My notifications were going a little wacky because everyone except for Andy (who was too interested in the random sim digging in the sand); Merle, Rowan & Gabriel all had a self discovery for jealousy pop up (which I declined tbh). But they were all very upset. This is when Fern decided to wrap it up & took everyone back to the mansion.
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