#I’M FLINGING MYSELF INTO OUTER SPACE

[the-travelling-witch]

I wanna have a fashion show with Childe I just know he would love it

oh he would!! whether you mean like an actual fashion show, runway and everything, or a casual “fashion show” at home, he’s all for it

if it’s a professional one and your perhaps a model, he’s your biggest fan; doesn’t matter if he’s in the audience or walking himself, that’s your hypeman right there; definitely compliments you on your walk and expression and goes looking for the most flattering photos taken of you

but there’s something domestic about a private fashion show after a shopping trip; yes, he was there when you bought all your outfits, even helped you decide on what to get or handed you stuff he thought would look good on you (+ somebody had to swipe their credit card and he’d be damned if it was you), yet he still insists you show him everything again when your at home

you already know, childe is making it rain compliments on you and the best thing about it is that you know he means every last one; he asks you to do a little twirl and when you face him again, his hands are already on your hips, appraising the fabric between his finger tips before pulling you down into his lap to give his pretty baby a well deserved kiss

[rahleeyah]

Finally was able to watch the finales and have been profusely staring at gifs for the last 2 hours and okay listen I’m gonna drop a hot take on the diner shooting scene.

To me, it looks like Liv grabs El’s forearm and wrist (🥵) but she doesn’t actually put her finger on the trigger with his. So, I don’t think they took the literal shot together.

Imo: he’s lying on the ground, with his eyes shut tight, can’t see a single damn thing, his gun pointed straight ahead but he has no clue what he’s aiming at, and he trusts her that much to physically hold his arm in place and fire when she tells him to, into a chaotic crowd of civilians. He had that much faith in her that he pulled the trigger, flat on his back, with his eyes closed, fully trusting that Liv would have him hit the target. (And fatally in the forehead, no less.)

Like. She grabbed his arm with both hands, said, “right here. Fire. Now,” and he said, “yes, ma’am,” and did. not. stutter.

Elliot fired a gun with his eyes closed bc he knew Liv wouldn’t let him miss. That’s my hot take and it’s so delicious I am flinging myself into outer space

I was like so sure that I saw her little finger on top of his BUT my eyes have failed me before so since I was gonna try to make some gifs this weekend anyway I grabbed the episodes this afternoon and after a very nice dinner and a cuddle I sat down and took caps of the whole thing and made some very sloppy very slow gifs and I think we may have a definitive answer:

yeah fam I think it's just his finger and I think it's exactly as insane as you and @stability6313 have pointed out - she aims the gun, and he pulls the trigger. her pointer finger is likely lying along his - force of habit, in terms of where she's positioned her hands - and she may have given him a little bit of a press, but whether she did or not, he is moving on absolutely nothing more than his faith in her.

[firebirdsdaughter]

I FINISHED DAY ONE…

… I’m throwing this up here so I can fling myself into bed and I’ll fix up the tags later, but I DID DAY ONE.

Now I just gotta do the rest.

***

“You’re hurt.” Fingers brushed his cheek, followed by another, inhuman touch—one he’d felt before, what felt like years ago. Back then, he had immediately flinched away from the sensation, like an armoured, leathery tail sliding across the scratch on his cheek. But now he even leaned into the sensation. Perhaps the idea of magic in general still made his stomach churn and hairs stand on end, but this wasn’t just any magic—it was Horobi’s, a trail of shimmering purple stretching out from his fingers in the shape of his familiar’s tail. The half Fae, the jewel of Amatsu’s crown. The new dream he’d found where it wasn’t supposed to be. “… That’s better.” Horobi’s hand stayed on his cheek, lingering over the faint scar that remained of his cut. “Healing still isn’t my forte… At least, not physical injuries.”

Fuwa couldn’t resist a chuckle at the incredibly ordinary, self conscious expression on Horobi’s inhumanly beautiful face, usually bearing a look far more arch or mysterious. Reaching up, he caught the long, elegant fingers in his. “It’s fine, it’s just a scratch.” The half Fae gave him a disapproving look, but didn’t argue—not even when Fuwa reached forward to wrap an arm around his waist and pull him closer. “You’re healing is fine, Dream.” Gently pulling Horobi’s hand away from his face to hold it to his chest. The half Fae made to look away, but Vulcan quickly dove forward, drawing him in to a kiss instead, shifting to wrap both arms around him. He kept it up until he felt the half Fae relaxing into his arms, then  pulled away just enough to lean their foreheads together. “Especially since I’m not planning to be poisoned.”

A soft push, but Horobi was strong enough to actually shove him away if he wanted space, so Fuwa just pulled closer. “Don’t tease about that,” The half Fae hissed, “There’s too much of a chance.”

Vulcan sighed, still smiling a bit despite himself, but gave Horobi another kiss on the cheek, “I promise, I’ll be careful.”

Those wide, hypnotic eyes fixed on his face with all the sincerity and concern they could muster, so much it started a ball of warmth in his ribs, “Please. I don’t care what he does to me, but if he hurts you…”

“Dream-”

Fuwa was interrupted by the tower bells, pealing their ominous tune across the castle grounds to herald its master’s return. In a matter of moments, Horobi had slipped out of his arms, already a few paces away, pulling the outer robe of his gown closer around himself. Everything about his bearing had shifted, and his gaze was already fixed in the direction of the gates.

“Wait!” Vulcan called the word as loud as he dared, though all the other attendants were likely busy with the king’s arrival—thankfully, the half Fae stopped, though he didn’t quite turn, “Can we…”

A silence, but by now he knew well how much Horobi liked silence— “… He’s a heavy sleeper after long trips,” The half Fae said softly, “I can be at the tree by the time the moon is highest.”

“I’ll be there.”

Horobi was gone the moment the last syllable left his mouth.

***

I’m going to bed now.

[eivorsjawline]

Endless (teaser) Kassandra x F!Reader

Tw: cluttered spaces, alcohol and smoking

Summary: Here's a little teaser for something I'm working on. Let me know if you enjoy it <3

You weren’t sure why you went out tonight in the first place.

Maybe It was to test if you’ve become frigid after all the time you’ve spent being single. Sure, there have been flings and there have been heartbreaks. Whether or not you experienced true love was another story. All you knew was that the alcohol was flowing like an IV on drip and whatever you were sipping on was good enough to make you wanna dance. The club was on the good side of town, the entrance lined with fine leather seats and perfectly dim lighting. You took a seat at the bar and ordered a couple of shots to loosen up, downing the bitter taste as quickly as possible. A rush of heat ran through your body and gave you a light buzz. You wore one of your best clubbing outfits and knew damn well it was all eyes on you.

It had been a while since you felt confident enough to go out, hard work pays off and life had been treating you good. The VIP lounge could be seen from up high, full of the most exclusive and rich in town. There were plenty of people in the club but you noticed one in particular. There was a woman with a golden tan complexion dressed in a pure white button shirt, dark dress pants and a head full of medium-length wavy brunette hair. She sat with her ankle propped up on her knee and you saw enough to make out her pristine figure through the gaps in the railing. A bulky Mediterranean man was sitting across from her making conversation but for some reason, she wasn’t paying attention. She was watching you from afar, looking you up and down. This one was far too fine to let slip away and so you thought to yourself, If she wants something to look at I’ll give her something to look at.

You motioned to the bartender for another shot and drank it fast before heading out onto the dance floor. The crowd was a fight to get through, you had to plow and shove anyone in your way. You found yourself right in the middle, not a care in the world if you were the center of attention or not. You let the music use your body as a human catalyst, the rhythm running through you. Closing your eyes and letting your body speak for itself, you let go and lost all care. It was your night and no one would be getting in the way of that. A moment of clarity struck you and you checked to see if the peculiar woman was staring at you and sure enough, your eyes met. Time seemed to slow down as she continued to watch you in bewilderment, the neon lights flickered and swayed as you did all in one harmonious rhapsody. You cut the moment short and turned away from her, your liquid courage for some reason ran dry. Perhaps, at that moment you realized how attracted you were to her after getting a better glimpse at one another.

At this age and still catching crushes? Get a grip, girl.

You brushed it off and continued on the dancefloor, shaking your nerves out. At least you both had some distance between you, the pitter-patter of your heart could continue in peace. You told yourself she probably just wanted to hook up and if she knew better she’d stay far away. Love wasn’t particularly a goal of yours at the moment, you enjoyed being free and independent. Still, you looked over to sneak another glimpse of her but couldn't find her. You weren’t sure whether to feel relieved you couldn't make a bigger fool out of yourself than you already have or upset she probably wasn’t interested after all.

Pfft, forget her anyways.

You continued until you felt someone tap on your shoulder, It was her cocking a grin and starting to dance with you. The sneaky thing must have left the lounge and came down here while you were in la-la land. She had a couple of faint scars on her face and dark, almost copper eyes. There was an intensity to them, one that you had never seen before. They say the eyes are the window to the soul and there was something about hers that you couldn’t quite place your finger on. Either way, you continued dancing inching a bit closer to let her know you were comfortable with her. She placed her hands on your hips and you thought you could melt into a mess of a puddle right there. Her eyes traced you up and down, examining you just like yours were at her.

You turned around and faced your back to her chest, the stranger moving in closer to you. At this point, you weren’t sure whose sweat belonged to who. There was no space left in between you at this point, her hands traced your skin and the outline of your body. There was a connection between the two of you, one you couldn’t explain. The sexual attraction on your end was intense, all you wanted was more and more. The both of you were having fun and you realized you were nowhere near, “frigid”. The mess of your bodies colliding there was enough to form a hot pit in your lower abdomen. The both of you danced there, bumping, grinding and laughing for a couple of songs until she leaned in to talk into your ear over the loud music.

“You should come with me outside, it's too loud in here!”

You don't know why but you agreed and followed her to the patio. The moonlight shined down on her, you could make out the figure of her body even better. My god, she was ripped and toned. There was not a single flaw on the woman's body, she was a goddess of some sort. She dug around in her pocket and pulled out a cigarette, holding it to her lips and lighting it. The muscles and veins on her lower arms stuck out as her thick, arched eyebrows pursed together. She was carved by the gods themselves, you wondered why you caught her interest in the first place. She inhaled and a puff of smoke escaped between her perfectly shaped lips. She offered you a cigarette and you accepted even though you don’t smoke.

Why the hell not? You figured.

“What's your name anyway?”

“Kassandra… You?”

She had a husky deep voice as if she wasn’t already irresistible enough. You replied and told her your name. The more the two of you made small talk, you noticed a thick accent. You wanted to say It was Greek but didn’t wanna be wrong at the same time. She lifted her cigarette for another inhale and you noticed a beautiful gold ring on her finger. Wasn't on the ring finger so you knew it was nothing special, she was decked in gold jewelry from her ears to her wrist anyways. Examining her outer appearance again, you could tell she had some money. Her entire outfit was designer, whether it was her belt, shoes, shirt, or even her socks probably. It seems you were too obvious with your spying when she tilted her head towards you to say more.

“I'm an archaeologist and head curator of a sort, been all over the place but I’m from Greece.”

You explained that you were the creative director for a magazine company. It wasn’t that you necessarily hated your job but you always felt like you should be doing more than that. Whatever you had to say she showed a genuine interest in it, It felt good to have someone listen. The talk was stimulating enough for you to stay and talk to her, usually, people struggle to hold a conversation at all but Kassandra was free. Her aura was almost intimidating, enough to keep drawing you in and eager to learn more about her.

What the hell have I got myself into?

[lulaypp]

Note: While this is meant as a mini follow-up of my Three Dark Walls And A Collar, it can be read seperately.

Warnings: Panic, Flashbacks, Mentioned Nightmares, Referrenced Torture, Injuries

----

Nightmares were common for them. Far from pleasant, but definitely not a rarity.

Jason bit his lip as he panted, his chest sore as he tried to control his rapid breaths. The night light by his bed softly illuminated the room enough to stave off part of his panic as he fumbled to untangle himself from his sheets.

It had been a week after Black Mask had caught him. Dick and Alfred had deemed Jason well enough to leave the med bay but not the manor, which was fine by him. At least he got to stay in his own room without people crowding around him all day long. But as peaceful as the solitude was, it made nightmares a bit harder to wrangle down. Even so, it was nothing he wasn't used to. He had been living alone with his nightmares for years.

But it would be easier without the rain and flapping branches outside, a storm brewing quick and heavy.

His breaths and heartrate were still running fast by the time he settled under the blanket again. His healing ribs were protesting at his movements and curled up position, but he stubbornly tucked his knees to his chest. He kept his eyes on his dim nightlight, trying to ignore the non-existent smell of mud, the shadow that clung to the far walls and the solid pressure on his neck.

The rain pattered heavily onto the window and he could almost hear the sound of the drops hitting the earth and grass despite being indoors and far too high up. Nearby tree branches rapped against each other and onto the brick walls as the wind swept them back and forth. If the pitch is heightened up a notch and the sound sharpened, it could almost sound like-

Jason sucked in a breath, blinking away images of a glass wall standing far too close and pulled the sheets tighter around him. It frustrated him to no end that the effects of his short-lived captivity still lingered in his mind, randomly throwing him to little fits of panic. He understood that it was natural and normal, even for his insane family of vigilantes and ex-assassins-in-training, but it always bugged him.

He could hardly stand any sort of sharp clicking anymore. He discovered that the hard way after he was helping Dick looking over a case and he had been idly fiddling with a retractable pen. He had been putting it back together after dismantling it when there was a strong pressure on his neck and the pen’s clicks grew louder. On hindsight, he felt rather foolish for accidentally triggering himself, but at least he knew that now and avoided all computers and clicking stationaries.

In the privacy of his bedroom, he allowed himself a soft whimper, trying to will himself back to sleep yet attempting to stay away from it with equal measure. He was exhausted, but he was tired of nightmares. At the most, if he got tired in the morning, he'll get a nap once the storm blows over. Maybe Damian would be generous enough to be a pillow.

Thunder split the tapping at his window and he jumped, burrowing further into his thick blanket. His chest was throbbing horribly and the injuries littering his arms were aching. His still-kind-of-broken fingers screamed from where he was clutching at the sheets, but he didn't let up his tight grip.

His neck hadn't yet healed. It probably had suffered the worst damage, along with his throat. The collar had left burns from where the metal had charged volts straight onto his skin and his trachea had been mangled after suffering repeated strangling pressure. It wasn't as bad now, but Alfred had insisted to leave it bandage-wrapped to help the healing process. No one mentioned the fact that it also deterred Jason from accidentally clawing at the burns and scratches, be it during his nightmares, panic attacks or absentmindedly. He didn't quite appreciate having something around his neck, but he understood the benefits.

His sight was blurring slightly and he hoped that it was sleep finally coming to take him again. Until he realised that it was just his breathing running out of control. Air was shallowly entering his lungs at a quick pace, his neck turning fiery.

He squeezed his eyes shut and slowly worked himself back from near-hyperventilation. The noise outside was really starting to get into him. He doubted he could get any sleep right now. Especially not a decent one.

With his mind made up, he gathered his large, fluffy blanket more firmly around himself and shuffled out of bed. He gingerly rested his weight onto his injured ankle before slowly making his way to the door and out into the corridor, a headache slowly brewing the longer he stayed up. After a short pause at the top of the stairs to catch his breath and right his tilting vision, he carefully limped down and crossed multiple winding hallways before finally reaching the kitchen. Which was, unfortunately, occupied.

His headache was reaching a brain-pinching level and he had been too focused on not tripping over his blanket and his own feet that he didn't realise the other person, jumping when a deep voice greeted him.

"Jason? Are you supposed to be up?"

Jason blinked at the hazy figure approaching him. "Bruce? When did you get back?" As far as he was aware, Bruce was supposed to be on an outer space mission with Justice League and wasn't due back until a few days. Maybe Jason was actually asleep and dreaming.

He let Bruce push him onto one of the stools at the kitchen island. Bruce took a seat right beside him before answering, "Just over an hour ago. What are you doing up this late?"

Jason scowled, realising that he probably looked a little pathetic, childishly wrapping himself in his fluffy blanket. "'m not a kid." His throat decided now to remind him that talking was still not a wise thing to do. "'s'not like it is that late either."

"It is four in the morning and you are injured. You're not shouldn't walk around with a sprained ankle."

Just because that was true, didn't mean that Jason would agree, even if his leg did. "That was days back. Besides, it is not like you can judge how badly I'm hurt and what I can and not do just by staring at me for-"

"I read the reports, Jay. Damian told me what happened last week which is why I came back early."

"At least I'm not stupid enough to fling myself back onto the streets." Jason rolled his eyes, huffing as he leaned against the counter. He tried to ignore the blooming warmth bubbling inside him at the thought of Bruce coming back from space just because he was hurt. "I'm fine and old enough to take care of myself, old man."

Bruce's lips were pressed into an unhappy line but he let the silence reign over them. Jason had forgotten why had he thought going downstairs it was a good idea, regretting it now that his head and leg were throbbing.

Just as he was weighing the pros and cons of getting up to make himself tea, Bruce spoke up.

"Is there any reason why you decided to come down to the kitchen?"

Too tired to make up a lie or to deflect, Jason mumbled as he tried to make himself comfortable with his head on the counter top, legs tucked under himself and the blanket firmly covering him. "Couldn't sleep." The marble tile was cool against his forehead and he closed his eyes, burying his nose into his soft blanket.

He didn't see Bruce coming closer, but fingers were running lightly through his hair. While they were nice, it also meant that the man definitely noticed the supressed jump when a loud thunder cracked and rumbled. The sound made him aware of the noise again, the insistent pattering of rain drops.

The blanket around him shifted slightly before Bruce said, "C'mon. Let's get somewhere more comfortable."

Jason didn't quite feel like moving, finally finding a position comfortable enough that his ribs wouldn't protest, his back wouldn't hurt and he wouldn't fall off the small stool, so he stayed put. But the decision was made for him when he was ripped away from the counter. He blinked in surprise, taking a while to realise that Bruce was lifting him up before leaving the kitchen.

He wriggled in Bruce's arms. "Bruce, put me down. I'm an adult and heavier than you are. You don't get to carry me."

Bruce only held tighter the more Jason struggled. "Well maybe I don't get to carry you, but you get to be carried and seeing as I am the only one around..." Bruce was obviously hiding a teasing smile.

Jason huffed, resigned to the relative comfort, and closed his eyes. Just as he thought sleep might come to him, another lightning split the darkness of the hallway as thunder shook the windows they passed. He pressed his head into Bruce shoulder, heart running loud in his ears. Dirt was tacky on his tongue and bandages around his neck felt suffocating. His chest ached worse with the effort to keep his breathing even and his head was spinning. His fingers reached up to assure himself that the thing strangling him wasn't metal.

Something squeezing his shoulder startled him. It was Bruce's hand rubbing and lightly patting, the angle awkward from where it crept up from under Jason's shoulder. He felt momentarily embarrassed at the thought of Bruce noticing his spiralling panic but the feeling was gone when the thundering outside kicked up again.

"How was space?" He probably shouldn't be making small talk with his sore throat, but he really wanted something to overlap the storm.

Bruce must have caught up on that as he started talking. A lot for a man whose native languages were incoherent grunts and growls. "It wasn't really eventful. I don't really see why I was brought along since it was a negotiation mission and the Lanterns and Clark could have handled that on their own, but I assumed that they wanted me for the budget handling."

As Bruce went on about funding and budgets, Jason closed his eyes, paying little attention to the words but wholly to the voice and tone. He never thought he'd ever willingly listen to Bruce drone on about finances of all things, yet here he was feeling comforted by it.

By the time Bruce stopped, Jason was already in a half-asleep daze. He felt himself getting lowered and blinked slowly to take in his surroundings. It was darker now, but the blurry silhouette of Bruce pulled him back from any rising fear. The sound of the storm was also gone. Where were they?

His blanket was pulled away from his loosening grip and he was about to protest when it was adjusted to properly drape over him. "Where're we?" he mumbled. The surface under him didn't feel like a bed so it couldn't be his or Bruce's room. And the place lacked any windows. Not to mention that it had to be deep enough in the manor to block out the noise of thunder.

"Theatre room." Bruce was hovering somewhere in front of him, fingers running through his hair.

"Oh." That made sense. The theatre room was designed to be relatively soundproof.

His eyes were slipping close when a kiss was pressed to his forehead. Call it placebo, but he felt his headache starting to clear away from that one gesture. He let out a contented sigh, melting into the figurative warmth around him.

"Sleep, chum. I'll be right here." Bruce shifted closer, pulling off what felt like a makeshift hug while still keeping his carding fingers as he started humming a tune.

Jason heard himself mumbling something in response as he pressed into Bruce's shoulder, eyes closing and breaths evening out.

[dearestdaffodils]

Season 1, Episode 6: PARCEL 9

Warnings: mentions of drug use, swearing, John B being a dick, Sarah Cameron slander

There are only three kinds of relationships in the animal kingdom. The first is commensalism. One example… fish finding hiding spots in coral reefs. Fish profit, but life for the coral doesn’t change. Then, there’s mutualism… a relationship where both animals benefit from each other. The tricky thing about animals is you don’t always know what kind of relationship you’re in. Which brings me to relationship number three. The parasitic. 

🏄 🌊 🚌 🏄 🌊 🚌 🏄 🌊 🚌 🏄 🌊 🚌  🏄 🌊 🚌 🏄 ���� 🚌 🏄 🌊 🚌 🏄 🌊 🚌 🏄 🌊 🚌

“I can’t believe you’re mooching off the Camerons.” I scoff, scribbling my name on John B’s cast. 

“I’m not mooching. I’m living there because Ward bailed me out. It’s better than foster care, which is where I could’ve gone if Ward hadn’t stepped in.” John B sighs. 

“Thanks for leaving me to deal with foster care on my own, by the way.” I huff, shoving the pen into his chest harshly. 

“Ward vouched for you too, you know.” John B rolls his eyes. 

“I’m not staying in Kook castle.” I wrinkle my nose. “I’m staying with JJ.” 

“Hey, so do you have a membership to the clubs now?” Pope pipes up from my right.

“I don’t know, Pope.” JB huffs, slouching back in his chair. 

“What about those golf carts they drive around? You get one of them?” Pope leans forward in interest. 

“Does it come with a sweater-vest, or do you have to buy one on your own?” JJ smirks. 

“John B, you promised,” Kie mutters, her voice full of hurt. “You said you weren’t with her. Just own it. She got you.”

John B sighs, giving her a tired look. 

“Look, if you wanna hang out with her, that’s fine.” Kie picks at her nails. “But I’m letting you know now that I’m not doing anything with Sarah.” 

“I second that.” I hum, glancing at Kie.

“Do you guys see her here?” John B says angrily. “No, right. Okay. A little focus would be fantastic.” 

Silence settles over our group for a split second before JJ breaks it. “We’ve got the map, right?” 

John B carefully pulls it out of his bag, setting it across his lap. 

JJ peers over his shoulder, tilting his head. “It’s out of whack cause the guy was ganja’d when he drew it.” 

“It’s cause the coast has changed.” I snort, shoving JJ gently. 

“So we just look for landmarks that haven’t changed,” Pope mutters, taking the map from John B. “What about the old forts?” 

“Battery Jasper.” Kie hums. “We’re in Battery. Right here.” She points. 

“So if this is parcel nine, then it’s somewhere northeast of here.” I look at the map. 

“Somewhere here.” Kie circles a section of the map with her pointer finger. 

“Right.” Pope squints at the map. 

“Over there?” I furrow my eyebrows.

“Guys, that’s not Tannyhill, that’s a subdivision.” JJ takes his hat off, scratching his head.

“Tannyhill Plantation was the entire island. It got sold into smaller pieces over time.” I set my hands on my hips, squinting at the horizon.

🏄 🌊 🚌 🏄 🌊 🚌 🏄 🌊 🚌 🏄 🌊 🚌  🏄 🌊 🚌 🏄 🌊 🚌 🏄 🌊 🚌 🏄 🌊 🚌 🏄 🌊 🚌

“No way.” I shake my head, looking out the window of the van. “Not the Crain house.” 

“Are you kidding me?” Kie huffs. 

“Worst-case scenario.” John B shrugs.

“Why’d it have to be here of all places?” I shudder, staring at the stone wall. 

“I heard that Mrs. Crain buried her husband’s head on the property,” JJ mutters, glancing around the van. 

“Look, you guys know whose house this is, right?” Kie hisses, pushing plants out of our way. 

“Oh, yeah. No, I do.” JJ huffs. 

“Honestly, I don’t really believe any of the stories of this place.” Kie shrugs. 

“Which stories have you heard?” I whisper.

“The one where she killed her husband with an axe and that she’s been holed up ever since. On certain nights, when the moon is full… you can see her in the window!” Kie shrieks, laughing. 

“Kie, that’s not funny.” I huff. “It’s all true.” 

“I swear this is all real.” JJ nods. “I knew Hollis. Jeez!” 

“You knew Hollis Crain?” I whisper. 

“She was my babysitter. She told me all about it.” JJ murmurs. “Told me the truth… about her mother and what happened in this house. So as a kid, she heard all the stories that her mother killed her father, and… she was a murderer and all. Hollis didn’t believe it. Until that night. When Hollis was six years old, she heard her parents arguing downstairs. So she goes downstairs to see her mom washing her hands in a sink… full of blood. Her mother just says that she cut her finger. The next morning, she says her father and her split up. But then, Hollis noticed something.” 

I shudder, pushing branches out of the way. 

“Her mother going into the parlor constantly, in and out and in and out with plastic bags.” JJ whispers. “Weeks pass, and Hollis decides to use the outhouse. And as she’s using it, she looks down, and there, in the outhouse, is her father’s head, looking straight back at her.” 

“God, you’re so full of shit.” Kie scoffs. 

🏄 🌊 🚌 🏄 🌊 🚌 🏄 🌊 🚌 🏄 🌊 🚌  🏄 🌊 🚌 🏄 🌊 🚌 🏄 🌊 🚌 🏄 🌊 🚌 🏄 🌊 🚌

The Crain property is hands down the scariest place on the island. Under the house? I’d rather live in a horror movie than go under there again. 

“Down came Mrs. Crain. And cut off all our heads.” JJ sings under his breath as we make our way further into the crawl space. “Up came the sun and dried up all the blood…” 

“Can you stop?” I huff, shoving him. “See any water?”

“Another dead end?” Kie sighs.

“There’s not even water on the pipes,” JJ mutters. “There’s no water here. Not a dropamino.” 

“Know why we didn’t find it?” Kie huffs angrily. “Bad karma.” 

“Oh, god. Here we go.” John B rolls his eyes.

“You know, we had a good thing going.” Kie snaps. “And then you decide to rope in Barbie, and now the trail’s gone dry. Coincidence? Probably not.” 

“This is exactly why I didn’t wanna tell you about Sarah.” John B growls. 

“What the hell’s the deal with you two?” Pope frowns. 

“Nothing!” Kie huffs. 

“Nothing? Is it because I kissed you?” John B frowns. “Is that the problem?” 

Kie furrows her brows, raising her hand and slapping John B across the face. “Stop treating me like I’m some girl that’s obsessed with you instead of your best friend who’s actually trying to look out for you.” 

“Did you… hit me?” John B murmurs. 

“Skeeter.” Kie states plainly, holding up her hand. 

🏄 🌊 🚌 🏄 🌊 🚌 🏄 🌊 🚌 🏄 🌊 🚌  🏄 🌊 🚌 🏄 🌊 🚌 🏄 🌊 🚌 🏄 🌊 🚌 🏄 🌊 🚌

By now I should have learned that nothing good comes from JJ and John B having ideas. Which is how Kie and I got stuck on a boat in the middle of the marsh with Sarah Cameron. Head bitch herself. 

It's also how Kie, Sarah, and I ended up high as kites. 

“Hey, guys…” Sarah’s voice rises out of the dark. 

I groan, lightly smacking my head against the floor of the boat. “Enough of the ‘Hey, guys!’ bullshit!” 

“Why’d you do it?” Sarah looks at Kie. 

“You know why.” Kie huffs. “You were my best friend and then the next thing I know, you’re telling everyone I called the cops on your party.” 

“You were getting too close,” Sarah mutters. “When people get close to me, I feel trapped. And I bail.” 

Kie bites her lip, staring at the water.

“Hey, Sarah,” I speak up.

“Hey, Y/N,” Sarah whispers.

“Promise you won’t bail on John B.” I murmur. 

🏄 🌊 🚌 🏄 🌊 🚌 🏄 🌊 🚌 🏄 🌊 🚌  🏄 🌊 🚌 🏄 🌊 🚌 🏄 🌊 🚌 🏄 🌊 🚌 🏄 🌊 🚌

I’ll never know how exactly we all get ourselves into these situations. But running from a blind, crazy lady is pretty exciting. 

Running through the Crain yard, dodging gunshots, I race toward the van. “Everyone in!” I shout, throwing open the doors. Flinging myself into the driver’s seat, I start the car. 

Everyone else piles in, landing on top of each other as I drive off. “Anyone shot?” 

“No, no, we’re all good.” John B pants. 

“You smell like ass.” Kie and Sarah groan. 

“That bitch is possessed.” I huff

“That bitch can’t aim.” Sarah laughs. “Thank god for that.” 

“No way!” JJ gasps. “You didn’t!” He looks at John B.

“I did!” John B grins, holding up the gold bar. 

We all cheer, banging on the roof and sides of the van. 

“Full Kook! Full Kook!” JJ screams.

permanent taglist: 

@deathbythousandcuts @hazzy @sunnymfskies @marauderskeeper​

outer banks taglist:

@kwbaby24​

[jawusa]

Goldie’s Adventures on the Moon - Day 3

Chapter 3: Is it love, when so easily said goodbye? 

Ever since Mom's passed away, I always woke up with tears. She used to wake me up for school in the mornings - something that not everyone would do. My mom was by far the best mom out there! But something was strange on that day, I wasn't thinking about Mom when I woke up. I wasn't thinking about how she used to cook pancakes with me in the mornings. I wasn't thinking about how we'd sometimes go hiking around town. I wasn't even thinking about how she'd read me to sleep when I was a little kid. On that day, I was actually thinking about... uhmm about that cute boy whom I met just two days ago? And I didn't wake up with tears, but with a stange feeling of joy! I actually woke up with a smile after such a long time of grieving! 

Dad, Rhett and I decided to go to the Lunar Zen Garden on that day! Actually, we went there... because my Dad's seen this place with Rhett yesterday while I was spending some time in Hua's clothier and they really wanted me to check that place out. They'd say it's the best place for me to find happiness! They'd tell me to toss a coin in that shrine thingy and wish something! At first, I didn't really approve of what I was supposed to do - but I guess, it really did some magic on me? Because of the things... which came about later on that day... that day was kinda strange, though!

But I really loved the garden, though! It was so beautifully decorated with those tiny bridges and canals... and those cherry trees! Oh my! I really had a great time raking the zen garden! It felt so relaxing - but forreal! 

Rhett came to check on me every now and then, but I kept on shooing him away... he just... couldn't see that I was trying to concentrate and find my inner peace? Sheesh! He was playing some mahjong - or what was that game called again? - with Dad and those natives. Sometimes they ask me whether I'd like to join them, but there was this guy I kinda thought looked weird with such a top hat and Asian looking clothing... some people know him as the Unsavory Charlatan - that name already scared me off! But Dad and Rhett were still going for the game... (btw, I couldn't take a picture of him, he'd avoid being on camera for some reason... but he was playing with those other natives on the other table!) 

Anyway, I was soo into medidating, that I completely forgot what was all around me. For one second, I even forgot where I was... I couldn't hear anything... I couldn't see anything... I couldn't even feel anything, not even the ground! It felt like I was levitating forreal! But... hold on, I felt something observing me from the other side... I felt something smiling at me... I felt... I felt something approaching me... I felt... I felt... I... "Hey, OMG you're Goldie! What a surprise to see you around here! How are things with you?" 

I... could literally just... GOSHH! Ground, pleasee, PLEASEE swallow me?! That was soo embarrassing... and when I looked around, I saw his friend (with whom he had played chess before... all the time?)! He was smiling at me... mischievously? "Hehe, I've seen you raking, then medidating..." "Ooh, so.. you've literally seen everything?" "Hey... you didn't do that bad... let's just... have this moment together!" *grabs hand OMG and then, YOU GUYS, he GRABBED my hand... OMG, I... I didn't even know what to say at that moment! At first I was afraid... I was petrified! 

"Goldie, I've been trying to say this to you ever since I've first met you... ever since I've first seen you, ... ever since Day 1, but uhmm..." 

"I think I have a crush on you, Goldie! Your eyes are so beautiful! I... I'm so into you, I can barely breathe! "Uhmm... Qiu, I..." "I've been waiting and waiting for you to make a move... before I make a move!"

And then, he really kissed my lips! OMG, that was my first kiss... and I'd never imagine it to be in a romantic zen garden... in outer space! They say you never forget your very first kiss, and now I can see why! Either way, it was lovely! "So, uhmm... now you know, how I feel towards you, Goldie!" "Awww, you're soo romantic! I think I have a crush on you, too! I was shy to tell you this as well... and actually, I didn't even know myself what was going on... because I've never been this shy before, I'm actually an outgoing girl, I never had to struggle to find the words and it's so strange... I couldn't even... " "Lemme hug you one last time, babe!" *Goldie blushes 

Dad and Rhett must have probably seen me when I had my first kiss... they smiled at me... my Dad even winked at me, but we didn't say any words. It was just this... awkward moment where nobody would talk... and all! I was getting hungry... and just asked my Dad whether we'd go for a dinner soon? Since it was already getting too late... he just nodded and kept on smiling... which was even WEIRDER than it was before!

Anyway, later on that day, we went to dine in a traditional tea house/restaurant! They didn't have my favorite hamburgers on their menu, but they had other fancy-looking meals... which I haven't heard of before! I couldn't really choose, because literally EVERYTHING seemed foreign to me! But I could remember ordering something... which looked like a salmon on the menu! Not that I tried it before, but it looked somewhat familiar to what I'm used to, so I went for it! The salmon was... good! Though, I wasn't sure, why Rhett decided to eat on a different table! Maybe he did that on purpose, so I could have some "daddy & daughter" time? I don't know... but Dad told me something... out of blue. All of sudden, he was like: "Girl, I'm so glad to see you happy again! I told you, you'd be happy after tossing a coin or two into that shrine..." At that moment, I understood why he kept insisting me on tossing that coin into that shrine thingy when we first arrived at the Lunar Zen Garden... 

By the time we finished our dinner, the sun still hadn't set yet, and Rhett insisted on visiting the spa & gym... he's heard that they have these hot springs, which he REALLY wanted to try out... I mean, I couldn't blame him! After all, I was curious to see what these moon geysirs were all about! Thankfully, we had a great time spending time together as a family! I just noticed how I missed that in the past, but for the first time after all of these years, I wish that Candy were here as well! Things were about to improve between I and Rhett, too! I was getting along with all of them! Back in my miserable days, I'd always reject Rhett - remember the "silly" attempts of him trying to talk to me through my childhood teddy bear... GOSH, he was trying to cheer me up and I acted like an idiot! "Uhmm, Rhett? I'd like to tell you something..." "What?" "Well, now that I think, I really appreciate all the effort you've done for me! Like... you know, to cheer me up with the teddy bear and all..." "Yeah, I remember... it was probably a bad idea. I thought it'd work since as a kid, it did..." "Well, I'm a teenager now..." "True." "But hey, at least you tried to cheer me up... and to tell the truth, it does cheer me up, now that I think you tried to do something for me! Thanks for that!" "You're welcome, but look behind you! Isn't that your new boyfriend?" 

I turned my head... and OMG, it was him indeed! It was Q! And when I looked upon him... he winked at me! "So, I bet you guys want some privacy, right?" "Daaad... I'm..." "I know what you mean, Goldie! I've felt this way many times when I had my first fling in the hot tub!" *winks at Qiu and Goldie 

It kinda felt bizarre when my Dad had to give away way too much info... and it made me feel very AWKWARD at that moment! Like FORREAL! They all were into something... all of these boys! I just couldn't... understand them! Q didn't even seem to be irritated or something... I just hope he does forget about what my Dad just decided to reveal? It was a steamy atmosphere, though... with him! But not just with him, I mean... it was literally steamy, what else would you expect at the hot springs? So... that "steamy" term applies well here! Either way... I really enjoyed this steamy moment with... uhm, him? As always, kinda... Dad and Rhett would tell me that they'd be "out for fun" again... like on the other days. They never really told me where they'd go, but it had always to do with nightlife venues... kinda? Anyway, I couldn't blame them anymore... I mean, I'm a grown-up girl now and I don't need their company all the time! As much as I wanted to be left "alone" with Q, I guess... they wanted to have some time off on their own, too! 

But... my, oh, my! Those dance moves! LOL! Even I could dance better... I mean, Rhett's got something still, but Dad, he really sucks at dancing! But he thinks he can dance, he can jive! But at least, he's having the time of his life! And I'm happy for him... and Rhett, too! In the past, I'd be mad at him for moving on too fast, but he's right! We can't be stuck in sorrow FOREVER! One day, we just... have to break free and be happy again!

If I were to choose which day my favourite day was on the moon... I guess, it'd be this one here? I just had my first kiss? OMG, how cool's that?! And did you hear what he said? He just confessed his feelings to me... and I could finally do as well! I WASN'T expecting ANY of this! This is soooo GREAT! OMG! I'm literally melting! Alright, enough is enough... lol! But I could literally be raving about him all day long! I felt SO flattered when he confessed his feelings... Oh, wait, I have to tell this Hua! And Virginia, my best friend back in Widespot, too! Maybe this would even encourage her to confess her feelings to Woddy, too! I mean, she's told me once that she's a crush on that Woody boy? Why did I forget that? HOW could I forget that?! They don't even know what just happened today! Hold on, dear diary, let me text to them real quick...

[pernatius]

Lost in Space Part 5: Ch 1

Summary: An unnamed Space Explorer must come to terms with the fate of the universe resting in her hands. 

Part 1: ch 1, ch 2, ch 3, ch 4, ch 5

Part 4: ch 1, ch 2, ch 3, ch 4, ch 5

————————

The lights attracted me and in the process, they blinded me from the darkness that awaited ahead. They tempted me, tricking me, towards what its people have gotten sickened of. Of why its people want to run away from such a place with so much beauty. Of why its people want to escape from it, but can’t because this is all they know. Leaving would mean entering a new path towards a new world. Leaving would mean entering the unknown. As far as I know, the unknown is just a cruel, faceless power. Forget what I said earlier. It’s brought me more harm than good. This despise is something I’ve grown to feel, something that has strengthened as I scrape the bottom of my foot across this brick wall. I could’ve seen the squishy, sticky, and stinky substance easily with my newfound height, but as soon as I entered the city I was toppled and nearly suffocated by a bustling crowd. It felt as if that serpent from S1Y’s planet wrapped its body around me, squeezing me and tightening its hold every time I conjured the strength to try to fight free. I didn’t even get to scream for mercy, but at least it ended as quickly as it came. 

I’m sitting on a piece of some cracked sidewalk with my head against the part of the wall where I didn’t viciously scrub my foot, which is stained with pieces of the substance, as I watch the sea of people I managed to swim past go to who knows where. I could assume some headed towards whatever job they had by their attire and the tiresome look within their eyes. Others I guessed were heading home after finishing school by their attire and their youthful, innocent faces as well. However, in their eyes, I could see they’re being molded. I could see the tiresomeness building within them too. This causes my heart to sink as they spread their gloominess to me. Speaking of gloominess, above the city are dark grey clouds looming overhead. I, unsurprisingly, assumed too quickly. This place is a different world, but it’s the same story. Lowering my head, so that my eyes are looking at the insect crawling under my crossed legs, the figure with whom I have built an unlabeled relationship appears in front of me. They mimic my posture but are looking right at me and are of course not phased by the several people walking through them. 

Sighing, I look up to meet their eyes. I note how they’re as black as coal. They’re as empty as an abyss. They’re as empty as outer space. At least they have my face, my face before it became cubic, so I didn’t jump that much. I’ve known this figure for a while. I’ve known them for too long. Realizing this, I chuckle. I brush my hand to where my hair is supposed to be, but I imagined my fingers gliding between the strands. I’ve become insane, I concluded. Maybe I always have. Whether this is true or not, maybe it’s for the best. I take it as the universe getting back at me. When they speak, I also realize I have yet to become comfortable with hearing my voice come out of their mouth. Well, technically it’s my mouth. My mind? Anyways, “You were never the one to give up so easily. Why have you now?”

I am frustrated. I am tired. Most importantly I am hungry. So, I shout, “Because I was stupid back then! I was naïve!” 

I could only imagine how the people around us reacted. Some Vector...Some Vection? Some other names not related to Vecta?...However, as Licata’s people are labeled, I’m still shouting at nothing. Clearly, I am done. Clearly, I am out of my mind. So, in the corners of my sight, I see people go around us and make sure the distance between me and them is more than enough for them to make it out unscathed if I am to suddenly pride myself on my insanity. Seeing how I’ve made a fool out of myself, I lower both my shoulders and head. 

Quietly, I continue, “I knew what was out there. I’m sure she knew, but it’s only until recently I understand. That she understood too. It all came running at me. Ashley is right. What business do I think that I, a mere human, can fix both the intergalactic issue and personal issues I’ve created,” I sigh for the second time within my depressive state, “And I wanted to find Saamuki? It’s only a matter of time before she finds out about Mikrovos. I failed her. I failed Earth. I failed Ashley. I failed myself.”

“No, you haven’t,” an unknown voice answered in the figure’s place. Turning to it, as my ghostly twin disappears, I see an elderly woman draped in one too many layers of fabric that covered just about every inch of her except her face. This and along with her hunchback causes her to look a whole lot shorter than she actually is. 

All four of her eyes squinted at me, causing me to question, “Are you talking to me?”

“Please, dearie, come with me.”

“But I don’t know y-” 

Before I can finish she grabs my arm and leads me into the very building I was just leaning against. Somehow for someone of her stature, specifically with the lack of muscle, she can move me without much effort. Once we’re inside she lets go of my arm and proceeds to water a potted plant. The bucket’s water rains onto the plant’s leaves. Tiny droplets of water drip off of the leaves, but most are motioned by the leaves to slide down its stem. Whereby touching the dirt is then absorbed. 

I don’t know how much time I have until she turns back around. So, I don’t waste any more time and I reach for the gun hiding underneath my cloak. Again, this elderly woman remains to surprise me because she tells me, “There is no need to get rash. Although, I understand why you want to make such an attempt. I am sorry for my ill-mannered action earlier, but I worried about your safety.” I raised my eyebrow. Well, if I did have one I would’ve. “As you were bickering with yourself, there was a being outside that took interest in you. A being that has ties to those you are currently incapable of dealing with.”

“Right. Well, I’m sure they wouldn’t try to do anything in such a large crowd. It was pure luck that I got past them, but I guess I have to thank you for your consideration anyway.”

Inching towards the door and reaching for its handle, she turns around to face me. The wood beneath us creaks because of her movement. “It’s only natural for those that have escaped from death one too many times think they can, but unknowing to them, now escaping will be their death. While not as sophisticated as the rest of the universe, humans are still remarkable beings.” I fling my hand away from the doorknob. “They have accomplished so much, but they aren’t unstoppable. Even those with a godly presence can be killed as well. You will come to terms with that, human.” 

Gun pressed against her forehead, she doesn’t flinch. “You know I’m a human.”

“While you should be careful of your own voice I have known about that part of you for some time now. I’ve known about it even before you stumbled onto my homeworld, but I did not bring you here for trouble. If I was I would’ve done so already.”

“Why? What’s your goal? Why are you sounding like you’re trying to help me?”

“That’s because I am.” She smiles, which causes my grip to shake. That type of smile isn’t new to me. She continues, “Understandably so, you have many questions now awaiting for me to answer. More is being formed the more I speak. Youth does that.”

“Just get to the point. I don’t have the time nor the patience.”

“You’ve been hurt, dearie.” The woman reaches out. Her hand is above my left cheek, parallel to my arm that’s holding the gun. Without me stopping her, she places her hand on me. I flinch, but too quickly I let the affection get to me.

“Because of it, you’ve lost yourself, or so you would like to believe. I am a friend of Saamuki’s sister. Just like her sister, I have an extraordinary gift, but sometimes it’s a curse. It’s greatly reduced my years,” she continued.

Regaining my grip on the gun, “How-How do I know you’re not lying?”

“You don’t. I am a stranger to you, but I have known of you ever since you came to be. Believe what you wish, but if you want to believe your judgment rather than my words then pull the trigger. However, you already know those that are on the verge of death do not lie. My declining health is no secret.”

“If you dare to do anything problematic I won’t hesitate to shoot.”

“Of course.”

“Now what do you mean you’re a friend of Saamuki’s sister? How exactly does that have to do with saving me?”

“As you already know, her sister has passed. While that is true, her spirit has not. She had gotten word about your possible future and its correlation to the universe’s fate. Not too long ago she contacted me. We weren’t that close. We were rivals at one point. At first, I didn’t believe her. No, I didn’t want to believe her. When I saw them looking at you that’s when I chose to believe her. That’s when I knew what might’ve happened may have happened.”

“What do you mean possible future? What do I have to do with the fate of the universe? And who’s them?”

She coughs before answering, “The universe is no longer what it once was. Centuries ago the universe was at peace. Because of this, it wasn’t prepared. It was naïve. One being split themselves into several. On that day they became the ruler of the universe. Scattered throughout his kingdom are their Watchers. Watchers take notes of the cracks in the walls and report them back to the Lords. One of those cracks is a human, millions of lightyears away from her homeworld. It is that very human that will free the universe from the Lords’ reign.”

“That’s some nice lore there, but me? You said it yourself. I’m a human, one that’s definitely incapable of doing a universe-wide coup d'état. These Watchers have to be far stronger than anything I’ve ever had to face. So, there’s no way I’m able to do the impossible you’re asking me.”

“Correction, I said that you’re currently incapable.”

“I’ve only made it this far because I had people with me. They did the work. Not me, but when I tried to I got my ass kicked. So, I’m not some messiah. I’m just a human who’s lost in space.” 

“We only claim we are lost when we have become blind.”

“That’s a lot coming from you.”

“I could see much more than you think I can. I can see you are hungry.” With that, my stomach growls, and I can feel my face heat up in embarrassment because of it. “I’ll whip us both some lunch.”

I let her walk away and head into a room behind a curtain. With her leaving me alone, I notice the place’s details. Her home, I assume it is, is small. It’s nearly claustrophobic. Candles float above and bookshelves have been stacked on either side of me. They touch the roof, but that’s not saying much considering I have to slouch just enough for my crown not to touch the candles. The bookshelves, though not grand, held a couple of hundred books at one point. They’ve scattered all over her home over time. A handful rest in a pile next to my left foot. Many of them lean against the feet of the bookshelves. The rest have been stacked into a makeshift table for the potted plant. Dust sparkles in nearly every inch of this place. Cobwebs as well, but they’re not as prominent. 

The old woman motions for me to join her in the other room. Maybe I felt bad because I got the hint that I'm the first living person that’s talked to her in a while. Maybe it was because I’ve been hungry for the past half hour. Whatever the case I follow. Besides, whatever she cooked smells too good not to try. Although, as I should know by now, with every step towards heaven there’s always something that’ll make me slip back into hell.  

[dulcetminds]

some (concept) playlists

find my spotify here ✨ & my fandom character/ship playlists

this page is updated monthly!!!!

💫 monthly, yearly & get to know me playlists:

 monthly mixtape: updated daily and refreshed every month with no correlation to anything what so ever.

twentytwenty: a song for each day of the year

the soundtrack to my life

my favourites

pass the aux cord, fool: car vibes

🍾🌉 playlists based off cliché concepts:

coming of age indie romcom soundtrack: cigeratte burns on film, a first kiss that tastes like beer and chapstick, and laughter falling on train tracks

not another coming of age soundtrack: red party cups and the never-ending feeling of nostalgia

Mother Nature reclaims: a soft apocalypse mix

tragedy in the dark: set in the 90's, you're driving at night on the highway, passing under street signs and street lights that illuminate your lovers tired face as they trace circles on your thigh

rise up!: (a futuristic teenage rebellion playlist) you live in a world full of holograms and plastic food, the government is corrupt and somewhere out there is a bunch of rebels that are fighting back

an angels kiss in spring: it’s the roaring 40′s and you hit the town in bold red lipstick, curled hair, flared dresses & traditional swing

a wispy field of sunshine: there's something alluring about falling in love under the sun, sipping on raspberry lemonade & kissing someone who tastes like chapstick

the air is fresh out here: i am lost beneath the earth; dirt and moss fill my lungs and i cough up ivy and rose petals as the trees whisper my name so soft, it gets caught in the wing of a butterfly floating by

3am dancing with my lover: fairylights are hung low around the kitchen, my lover has tired eyes full of wonder and we trip over our own two feet, laughter pumping our hearts alive

the last dancers at midnight: my prom could have been better so we're gonna visualise it like a teen romance movie; tired feet, starry eyes & a tender kiss under the disco ball in your high-schools' hall

even my phone misses your call: 'hey, this is [redacted] please leave your message after the beep!' 

you’re so nice to come home to: finally moving into a small apartment with your lover; succulents adorn the windowsills and you both have a love for vintage polaroids and dream catchers — a dreamers dream

I've been in love with you forever: best friends that live next door to each other & know one another like the back of their hand, connected windows, rooftop talks, sleepovers, & everything that comes along with we're best friends & i don't want that to change but i am definitely in love with you

found you in this life: my mother once told me that some of the people we meet in this life, we knew in a past life and it’s up to us to decide where it goes from here

raspberry stains: spring flings includes squashing raspberries between finger & thumb, and dancing under the sun

rollerskating disco rink fever: we're twelve years young & there's a disco ball highlighting our hair as we dance the night away & i'm pretty sure we've happened to scuff the linoleum floor

endless summer afternoon: hopping from shadow to shadow, blisters on our feet; summer, summer, summer!

summer ate me alive: and I want nothing more than to sleep through the next three seasons

ragtag band of misfits from the year ‘87: group of four trying to solve the murder mystery of their late best friend / everyone’s hiding something / he might be in love with the boy he’s known since childhood

[our hands are brushing against each other as we walk]: i want to slow dance with you in the middle of the street

hey, new kid!: its highschool and life is full of rumours and giggling girls & boys with sharp teeth and then english class rolls around ━━ and did the principal just introduce a new student?

🧚🏻‍♀️ specific concept playlists (mostly based on moments and emotions that I've experienced & can’t get over):

head’s a buzz!: stoned out of my mind, I'm pretty sure I met the girl of my dreams last night

 I should be sleeping: but i am walking aimlessly under street lights trying to forget your face, your taste, your voice; with vodka stained cheeks and chipped nail polish

pity party for two: the sudden realisation that the future is scary and we're two lost souls stuck in love with people who helped us grow

we’re under the same stars: It’s talking under the stars till the sun breaks through the trees with him, who makes your stomach ache full of laughter and although the wind is cold against your skin and the sleeping bag is thin, he burns just as brightly as the stars in the night sky, and you want to exist between 3 and 4am forever.

I fell in love for one night: he kissed my shoulder & held me tight

moments left unsaid: I love every part of you when it’s loud, when it’s silent, when you don’t know it at all (basically falling in love with your friends in the moment over the smallest of things like the way they dip their head back to laugh or hide their smile behind their hand or when they slow down waiting for you to catch up or pull you aside to ask if you’re doing okay, etc)

angel in disguise: can angels fall in love?

skate park shenanigans: I spent a the hours 8-11pm at a skatepark with my friends and we don’t even skate but this is the specific energy those hours gave off

you’re dreaming beside me: & I’m dreaming of you

how to be soft, sad & content at 4pm

I wish we could live forever: knowing someone you love is gonna die is the one of the hardest things you’re ever gonna witness

remember when we were in love?: 2015: yellow. open roads. a boy. a girl. my house. high school musical. clouds. stars. a pillow. sunflowers. beauty and the beast. skype calls. a bear. / 2017: a girl. blue, blue, blue. / 2019: a girl. a boy. picnics. skateboards. burgers. your house. an empty promise.

the pretty reckless: my friends fall in love too easily

the ceiling is staring back at me: it’s 1am and I'm thinking about everything and anything

me against the world, vol. 1

me & my apathetic brain: basically Russian roulette with I’ll die anyway by girl in red & just a girl by no doubt

🏳️‍🌈🌈 lgbt+ playlists:

this is for the gays!: for pride month 2019, gay bops to rock your socks to

all I see is her: girls r great!

we should fall in love or something: just kidding... haha... unless?

I don’t wanna b ur friend, I wanna kiss ur neck: yeah, it’s based off I wanna be your girlfriend by girl in red & also my ex but we’re gonna take the former

please look at me the same!: my bisexual teen angst

🦋🏹 ‘old groovy, 70′s, 80′s, 90′s etc music’ playlists:

butterfly dust: old time music that goes together

groovy, groovy: 70′s, 80′s, 90′s

lovestrucklovestruck: nothing goes wrong when you live in your head

she’s gold dipped & cherry wine kisses

funky glow

🥁🍒 genre specific playlists:

metamorphic: rock n roll

devils advocate: it’s like white noise before you enter hell (mostly ghostemane)

you’re not indie till: you skate, own a pair of hot converses, have good fashion taste, drink ice coffee and and and

monsters live amongst us: hiding in plain sight, the people we call our friends / a horror pop playlist

hazy affection: anxiety reducing songs and study beats

softly, sweetly: relax your eyes & dream of simpler times

bubblegum pop: the radio is overrated but here we are

glazed eyes, cherry skies

darkness looms overhead

magic under fingernails / under veins

state of mind: kinda like rap but not, definitely an easy listen to while stoned

moon rockets: fly me to outer space where we’ll become another star in the night sky.

dream & folk pop

my dreams reach the stars: my mind is far away from here / starry-eyed and captivated

local neighbourhood party: songs I'd bang my head to at a party

heavenly hymns

fluorescent heartbeats

take me away, into the night

if you see me listening to this, look away: literally Disney musicals mainly Disney’s descendants & zombies

autumnal breeze: a mix of bedroom pop & 80′s tunes

blueberry feelings: is this soundlcoud or tiktok?

untamed glory: the songs dont vibe together as well as they should but i guess thats ironic given the name of this mixtape

all strung up: my favourite female pop songs & then there's sunflower, vol. 6 by harry styles

candyfloss kisses: baby pop

and that’s on tiktok luv: literally what it says

candle lit afternoons: candles + rain = a gentle quiet in it’s purest form

tenderness: soft, quiet, yielding; murmurs at dusk & the playing of hair

my bed is the warmest place: for rainy days & the chill in your nose

🚀🍁🍓 playlists to listen to when your doing this specific thing:

classic picnic bitch: (cute songs that give me picnic vibes) and we bond over a pack of UNO cards and strawberry-filled desserts

beach bums, baby!: a beach-y playlist

hotboxing ur friends car: get high w/ me!

🥺💫🌞🌻🤩🐝 playlists to grow & fall in love with yourself to:

falling in love w/ myself !!!!!: I'm still learning how I work

then I defy you, stars!

seventeen: I made this when I was seventeen and getting over my first heartbreak and realising that I should never wait for people who can only give half back

no negative vibes here!

💌💖 my romance / love centred playlists:

dancing in my room to the sound of you, you, you (middle school crush vibes)

love cluster: and i guess there are lot of love songs out there but there are also a lot of songs that aren't about love that got me feeling like i'm in love so which is it

lovelorn: (a unrequited love playlist) and we yearn for the hearts we cannot hold; lovelorn, lovelorn, lovelorn

our love has gone cold: I love & I loved

whimsical lovers falling out of love

baby boy blues: fell in love for a day with a boy whose smile is contagious and ever-lasting

you gave me panic attacks & I called it love: unsure if you’re in an unhealthy relationship? leave them.

regret in the simplest of forms: I could have loved you / I think a small part of me did

my favourite ‘what if’: soulmates who weren’t meant to be

seeking love among cruel hearts: perhaps we were friends first and lovers second. but then perhaps this is what lovers are.

it’s a long way down from your window: everyone’s favourite secret relationship trope

heartbreak hotel

i’m yearning for his heart while he gives me his body: I love you, don’t you love me too?

make out w/ me?: songs I'd kill to make out with someone too

miss you forever: sad pop love letter

I liked you better in my dreams: the idea of them has taken root in your mind and it’s much different to how they really are

little bit in love with u: alterous attraction? we KNOW her

drowsy cacophony of love

tracing you back to the roots of my house: I'm sifting through the memories of us, where did we go wrong?

love; a choice or a feeling?: and it is both I suppose, it is a feeling, it’s happiness and soft giggles, faint blush. and then it is a choice, a choice to stay with them or leave. it is a choice to not only love them, but yourself too.

tenderly, tragically: this used to be a collab playlist with someone who loved me fully and unconditionally, things have changed since, but this is whats left; it's our story compiled into a playlist

second chance at love: you make me hard, but she makes me weak

lonely in love: (it was supposed to be just casual sex but fuck, I think I'm in love with you)

silent lovers: skinny love (n.) a type of love where two people are in love with each other but are too shy to admit it

my first love: they say your first love never dies, and love, they’re right

my lover is a liar: victim to broken promises and false truths by a boy who died when he gave me his heart

love locket type of love: I loved you in secret !!

the charms of love: don’t fall in love with the moment & think your in love with the girl! (yes, she’s american by the 1975 lyrics)

almost lovers

💸💄💅🏻⛓ playlists that give off bad bitch energy:

rich girl$: my cash flow will never ever end

kiss the boys n make em die!: femme fatale, girl revolution, girl power

GIRLS. FOOD. GEAR: loosely inspired by people by the 1975

girl, interrupted

you’re like a rhinestone pick-up line: picture this — a girl with a hard attitude that you can’t just seem to get off your mind

back on my bullshit: just got my heartbroken; revamped!

👻👽 my halloween inspired playlists:

hallohalloween: basic halloween playlist

 the fae know my name: humans beware the manic pixies & lip curling fae for although they don't lie they are cunning creatures with kind eyes!

frothy vampire chick meets soft green witch: red fanged lover & a green house full of potions, spells & succulents

sirens lament: sharp teeth hidden under a pretty face

murder at the casino: (in breaking news: monster hunters just cant seem to catch a break!)

the howling

witchy renaissance

fuckin vampires, man!

🥀 if I were series (playlists that only feature one artist based off something specific):

if I were to dance in a faerie ring to hozier songs: maybe I want to fall in love with a faerie and be under Hozier’s rule

if I were to live my teenage years to Lorde songs

if I were to get high by the beach to skeggs songs: BIG greening out energy

 if I were to fall in love to tom rosenthal songs: tom rosenthal songs that make me feel like I'm in love!!

if I were to reminisce about heartbreak to LANY songs:

Hogwarts Houses:

🌻 Hufflepuff

🥊 Gryffindor

🐍 Slytherin

📘 Ravenclaw

[starsailorstories]

A Soundtrack Pick for Every Short Story I Posted in 2019

From Out of the Shadows | Magpie to the Morning (2013 version)//Neko Case

“Come on sorrow, take your own advice. Thundering and lightening gets you rain. You’re on a top-secret mission, a Cousteau expedition to find a diamond at the bottom of the drain.”

The umbralis bows her head. “I’ve never let myself think about any other life. I’m so lucky to have what I do. I…luck runs out, one day.” Bolt pats a few stray hairs into place, and she raises her chin in response to the guiding touch. “I want to do my duty. But I think that…that maybe it shouldn’t be my duty to die. Not even for her will, or for–or for–” Her hand covers the silver moon badge beside her factory insignia, as if it were a bullet wound. “I want to come back someday. I suppose I don’t really know when.”

The braid released, she turns to face Bolt’s voice as she replies, “If you want my advice, well–I’d say come when you’re ready, but nobody’s ever ready.” She sits still a moment, her gaze aside, before she meets the unit’s unveiled eyes again. “Come the first time they break your heart. It will happen. And you’ll know.” 

Playing Telephone | The Station - Oneohtrixpointnever

“Oh the whole station’s gonna burn down. Oh the whole station’s gonna burn down. Oh the whole station’s gonna burn down. Oh the whole station’s gonna burn down.”

She drew the glass under her veils to cup it to her light, closing her eyes to wait for the telltale, just-audible sizzle. In this miniature atrium of silence she could steal one thought fully formed.

Maybe these people were the sum of their loyalty, their diligence, their patience and attention and above all their willingness to work, just as the teachers who’d done her factory program had claimed she was. But they were also the sum of their habitation, transportation, education, and elocution--the sum of their building crews, their hospitals and libraries, and the fuel in their ships and the air in their cabins. 

She placed the heated glass in the far stem of the vaporizer and turned it, with practiced grace, to inhale the first hot whiff of steam, sparing the guests its bite, covering the mouthpiece with her fingertip as she moved again to offer it to them.

She was the sum of a door, a vase, a sofa, a safe, a wall clock, a stand for parasols, and a row of green-windowed doors. 

She watched the three traders lean in, taking the delicate glasswork in gold-ringed hands and oddly wet lips. They were separated from her by circumstance, by species and age and galactic cartography. But most of the things that got someone behind those green windows were just things.

Embarkation Stories | Expectations - Belle & Sebastian

“Hey, you’ve been used. Are you calm, settle down. Write a song, I’ll sing along. Soon you will know that you are sane. You’re on top of the world again.”

What made the rebels fight the immovable for their world?

What makes the crowd in the square sing of their fight?

What wavers the voice of an outer-disk girl who’s made it?

What makes the bellhop genuflect to a one-word dismissal?

Loyalty, easily divided by the chancest of circumstances.

7 Rooms | Flowers (Eurydice’s Song) - Anais Mitchell

“Dreams are sweet, until they’re not. Men are kind, until they aren’t. Flowers bloom, until they rot and fall apart. Is anybody listening? I open my mouth and nothing comes out. Nothing, nothing’s gonna wake me up now.”

Her gaze fell on lux directly, and it settled like a physical thing: heavy, but only for its preciousness; grave, but only for its importance; like an official standard weight that everything would be measured against. She accepted it in unexpressed raptures, understanding that it was her greatest dignity and her best shot. Knowing she would be carrying it for a long, long time.

Unravel You | Four Five (I Will Survive) - Ava Luna

“Maybe your heart ain’t what it used to be, and maybe your devastating beauty’s something I won’t survive--but I’ll be damned if I don’t try.”

“Oh.” Her voice was intolerably soft. Their hands were still touching. The ex-umbralis’s suddenly floated just above: “You’ve got a little bit of something here.” Her fingertip lit again, trying to brush a microscopic bit of fiber--the last evidence of the unraveled end--from her knuckle.

The captain’s yanked her hand back as if she’d been bitten. “Gah! You’re too gentle, I can’t stand it when you’re so gentle,” she cried.

“Well that’s all very well--I didn’t even get it. It’s stuck in your static. Give me your hand again.”

She drew it to half an inch before her mouth, tautening her veils against chin with her other hand. The instant saw her lips contract and rest; the tiniest puff of air skipped across the space between. The raveling flew away. The captain’s shivered.

The Supernova Monologues | Help Me Mary - Liz Phair

“As they egg me on, and keep me mad, they play me like a pit bull in a basement...”

There was a time—cycles, turns—I was twitching in my sleep. For the first time since the first week my face stung again. For the first time ever I noticed that I was biting my tongue at every touch. I couldn’t tell you what had changed. I just reached a natural end, like a planet going through a polar shift. Like a sun, burning her final iron.

I remembered the way the visionary fought—with a staff like a fulcrum she’d take down yellowjackets three times her size. I made my weapon, or something that’d pass for one. Bare foot to broom head. In any second I could steal, any second out from the grind of her eyes, I learned. From the day I began forward, I was fighting a war of attrition. When they said go fetch I brought back the vacuum’s fury. When they said jump I grew ten feet tall instead.

The Bernino Interview | The Louder I Call The Faster It Runs - Wye Oak

“Like any other day, we will make the bed--thinking, ‘It is dead, it is finally dead.’“

1: Well maybe it does piss me off. I’ve barely shaken the crash off yet and you come asking me to elaborate my moral dilemmas.

2: I think you should tell the truth even if you don’t believe anyone will listen. Don’t you think you’d be less frustrated watching things change if you were changing something too?

Rise and Shine | A Cannon - Regina Spektor

“Bare feet on the cobblestone streets, then the beach, then a splash on my ankles, my knees, then my thighs, and my eyes opened wide--I threw myself right into the sea.”

That is the first time it occurs to her: the world outside is just there. It won’t melt if she tries to touch it. She won’t burn if it touches her. She shrinks back physically from the thought, one of those phantom reactions that makes the supervisors say she’s touched by the void. She is, of course, but not in the way they think.

An Education | Love Yourself (Reprise) - Sufjan Stevens

….“If you don’t know things, fear is all you have. I realized that, seeing how different she was from me. The imperial vocivographer, I mean.”

“I don’t think they’re any less smart than we are,” the girl says suddenly. “But they live in a tiny little world. And there’s a big universe out there.”

Letters From Tropovoxia | Sixteen Tons (Cover) - My Terrible Friend

“I was born one morning when the sun didn’t shine. I picked up my shovel and I walked to the mine. Loaded sixteen tons of number nine coal, and the straw-boss said well bless my soul. You load sixteen tons, and what do you get? Another day older and deeper in debt...”

“As to the latest turns of events out there, I don’t see any reason to worry. Clones can be a great deal like schoolchildren--in a sea of barely formed personalities, a single beam of confidence draws every eye. Your orator is a queen bee, nothing more. You’ll get one every few shipments. With your and the foremaidens’ guidance, she can work in your favor with the others--they see her as worth paying attention to, so they may be persuaded to see her as worth imitating. I trust you’ll understand what I’m driving at. Otherwise, let them have their little lives…”

Two Can Play | Mutiny, I Promise You - The New Pornographers

“What’s the weight of the world worth to ya, kid?”

They settle in the two seats, under the high slanted windows and under the stars behind them. Rugsy seems to sigh her indignation out, visibly flinging it from her shoulders, and then, a few moments later, starts to laugh under her breath. “Well,” Dialtone says over her, replacing the hairs disturbed by her ecstatic performance in a compact mirror pulled from an invisible dress pocket, “that was messy.”

“That was, unequivocally, the best thing we’ve ever done.”

“We had our fun, probably at great expense.”

“I love watching you lie to the feds. It’s like a chamber concert from a virtuoso.”

Very briefly, flattered light blossoms over Dialtone’s face. She comports it sour again. “In which I’m forced to incorporate the sound of you banging two washbasins together.”

“Hey! That story got them gone.”

“The execution of it got them gone.” Dialtone heaves a sigh. “You have the boldness required to sell an audacious claim. It’s no small feat for an ex-umbralis.”

Void Song | Generator (First Floor) - Freelance Whales

“We keep on churning and the lights inside your house come on. And in our native language, we are chanting ancient songs. And when we quiet down the house chants on without us.”

It occurs to her that over the afternoon of preparation, they’ve come to understand that she’s let them be part of something important, even if she never let it slip. They don’t want to disappoint her. She wishes she would ever say that she almost came out here and did this alone, and that is what would have counted as doing it wrong.

[cloudbattrolls]

Senseless

Etuuya Vannyn | Present Night | OLSC Headquarters

It’s rude to sit with one’s feet on a desk, especially if it’s someone else’s, but at least you’re not getting any dirt on it. There are lines.

Even with your snit of a boss.

Does Karina think she can drop this on you and everything’s just fine? Does she think yelling at you is acceptable when you told her to run? To save herself and the other trolls on the ship?

How long has she known Firebird would do this? Was that the only reason OLSC accepted you, because the wretched harpy decided you were going to be her new best friend whether you liked it or not?

The teal is lucky you haven’t left worms on everything, but that’s beneath you. Barely. 

Her chair isn’t as comfortable as you’d expect. Shouldn’t she have something nice and plush? You spin around in it a few times, unimpressed. It’s a gray one that moves well, but you could use more back support. You’ve still got bones, after all.

When she walks in through the sliding glass doors to her office, there isn’t the look of affronted shock you were hoping for. She seems more...resigned. Her long hair looks disheveled, and she’s blinking more often than usual.

“You didn’t hurt the guards, did you?”

“I persuaded them it’d be in their best interests to let me pass. Glad they at least bothered interrogating me, though. We do so need better security.”

If Karina registers the barb as a dig at the two assassin incidents, she doesn’t show it. 

“What do you want, Vannyn?”

You smooth back a few loose strands of wavy hair that hang between your horns and eye her, bright green pupils staring into teal slits. 

“What don’t I want, miss Tulais? You’ve been dodging most of my questions like a bad girl, and I feel I’m entitled to a little information after what I went through.”

“I stopped you from getting burned to death.” She snaps, but then sighs. “I don’t have time for this. Please leave.”

“Well, since you asked so nicely...”

She perks up slightly, her lowered ears lifting a bit.

“No. I’m staying put. Don’t even think of pulling your laser on me. I’m wearing armor underneath these clothes modeled after the piece of yours I borrowed.”

You toss the breastplate you tore off at her. She catches it, barely, leaning to the side and nearly falling as she does. 

“Here. Happy wriggling day.”

You give her a moment to put it back in her sylladex. Her hand slips the first time.

Extending one leg and then the other, you get up from her chair in an exaggerated motion and then stand by it, waving a hand as you offer it to her.

“I think you need it more than I do. Go on.”

She gives you a look, then scans the chair. With slow steps she goes and sits down as you go around to the other side of the desk and pull up one of the other, sadly non-spinny chairs.

“You don’t make any sense sometimes.” She accuses you, leaning back in it. “You’re a complete pain, then a perfect gentletroll, then obnoxious again.”

Lips twitching up in a slight smile, you tap one foot against the ground.

“I could say the same for you. You try to shove romanticized nonsense in my ears while knowing very well you need to arm yourself around me.”

Your voice hardens as you continue.

“You claim to want to make a better society for trolls, that this company has been working toward that very goal for sweeps, and yet I find out you’ve been in the pocket of your crazy ancestor all this time. Is this the truth of the Outer Limits Settlement Company, miss Tulais? Providing more sparky minions for dear, sweet Firebird?”

She opens her mouth, but you wave a finger and plow onward, cutting her off.

“And I never asked you to save me. If you had any sense you would’ve left me to bur - ”

“Stop it.”

Her voice is so harsh, yet cracks on those two words. She looks close to tears, her shoulders hunched up by her chin as she wraps her arms around herself. 

Gracious. You knew she was tired, but this level of stress? Why is she still in the office?

“I don’t want to hear about how I should’ve left you to die. You’re so stupid.”

Okay, that’s really not the response you were expecting.

You pause, trying to figure out how to address this particular brand of malarkey.

“I doubt Firebird would have actually killed me. She clearly wants me on her side for something. Don’t you think those ship trolls deserved a shot at not being forcibly turned into lava people?”

“Vannyn, she’s been doing it for over six hundred sweeps. Maybe longer, I don’t know.” The teal retorts, exhausted and exasperated as she flings her open palms up. “There’s so much I don’t know about her. All she ever gave me until I was nine were basic commands, and when she finally took me to space, she just expected me to accept everything I saw. Yes, she probably intends to convert some of the company trolls, but does it matter? Isn’t that a small price to pay for living free of the Empire? It’s not like they’re dead, or forced to serve in Fleet.”

You study her face, keeping your own expression neutral. Karina notices, and stares back, though her ears flick back and forth with discomfort.

“You actually believe what you’re saying, or you really want to.” You muse. “I guess you didn’t know she sent the assassins after me.”

The tealblood laughs.

She laughs for such a long time it’s a little disturbing.

“Twenty-eight.”

“Sorry?”

“She’s sent twenty-eight assassins after me. The ones I could confirm were sent by her, anyway. Jarron probably was. I didn’t know she’d sent that pair after you, but it doesn’t surprise me.”

Your eyes narrow.

“If she really wanted you culled - ”

“Idiot. She’s testing me. The other Tulaises died because they weren’t good enough, and I won’t let that happen. I’m better than they are.”

You blink once, twice, three times.

Isn’t that interesting.

“Did they all lead OLSC too?” You ask, neutral and casual as if inquiring after the weather.

“Some of them tried.” She says scornfully, and doesn’t this just explain so much. 

“So Firebird’s agreed to let you lead the new colony then?”

She sniffs in some sort of offense, though heaven only knows where it comes from.

“Obviously.”

“Lovely. So what does she want, then? What’s her goal?”

“Who cares? She’s not going to tell me. Maybe she just wants enough spark trolls to have as her own colony, and that’s it. She’s never talked about anything else.”

Your lip curls.

“You refuse to worry about it because you refuse to bother to find out, is that it?”

She makes an offended squawking noise, and for a moment reminds you of her ancestor.

“I’m not worrying about it because it’s pointless. Who’s going to stop her? You? That went so well.”

Sarcasm drips from her voice and you examine your claws, wiggling your fingers in the office’s dim light.

“I nearly killed her.”

A mild note of petulance can be found in your tone.

“Don’t try it again. We’re both dead if you do, and even if you’re stupid enough to want to die, don’t drag me down with you.” 

You roll your eyes, drumming both feet against the floor now.

“I don’t want to die.” 

Most of the time.

“But my life isn’t as important as that of most trolls. If I died, it’d do the world a favor.”

“Would it really?” says the teal in a voice that’s both bored and annoyed. “I felt bad for you at first, but then I realized you’re just kind of stupid. So what if you’re a monster? You’re controllable enough. You could’ve ripped my throat out that time at the party, and you didn’t.”

You hiss. Again, always this, the thing you like the least about Karina Tulais.

“I still nearly ate two trolls, and now one’s also a drinker because you wouldn’t let me cull them!”

“Wester’s doing a lot better now. They want to talk to you.”

The office is so quiet, and you’re so still, that you can hear Karina’s breathing. 

“To what? Yell at me?” You manage. “I suppose they’re entitled.”

She snorts.

“You’re not their favorite person.” She admits, to which you make exaggerated gasping noises of shock, hand clutched at imaginary pearls. “Actually, they want to ask about what it’s been like for you as a drinker. We explained to them you’re not a cavern jade and won’t cull them for being a mutant, and that the drinker thing was an accident. It took a while, but they believe us now. They’re adjusting pretty well.”

You have no pusher, no speedy beat of activity, but there’s a strange trembling in your body, something that feels like adrenaline, or the power rush from drinking blood, except it makes you want to run, not fight.

“What do they want to know?”

Though your voice is oddly hoarse, you at least manage to get the words out. 

“How to have relationships with people again. They’ve been messaging their kismesis and friends by text, but they’re worried about meeting them in person.”

Cynical laughter rolls out of you and you lean back, pressing your fingertips together.

“And they think I can help them with that? I don’t have relationships, Uunive aside. I have people who tolerate me because I’m useful. Either because they don’t know the truth, or...”

You think of a face with psiionic scars, a face that crosses your mind so much more than it ought to.

“...or because they’re too well intentioned for their own good.” You finish. “I can’t help this troll.”

Karina’s ears flick in what you think is irritation as her lips pull back, yet her voice is more curious than annoyed.

“I’m not going to make Tierel’s mistake. I’m just going to ask you: is that really how they feel? You broke into my office before with that obnoxious note and then left to go see that woman. Obviously you care about her a lot, and if she wanted you over, she cares about you.”

“Claire.” You say in a determinedly neutral voice. “Only cares about me because she thinks she should. She has me around because she’s desperate, and because I’m useful for sparring. She’s seen me ripped apart and put myself back together in front of her - could she be friends with that? No! It makes no sense, and it’s not true. It cannot be true. You are just as silly as Tierel.”

Your claws dig into the chair and there are irregular beats from the rapid tapping of your shoes against the floor, as your ears press against your skull. Stupid trembling. Where is that even coming from? You don’t have a pusher. You don’t have blood, and you barely have nerves except in your skin. Isn’t the only good thing about not having a fleshy body is that it doesn’t do inconvenient things?

She studies you, your boss with her glowing flower tattoos shining softly on her neck and shoulders, and you have no idea what you’re supposed to say.

“At least consider it, Vannyn. Don’t you owe them that?”

You get up and turn to walk out, then stop.

“I think I owe them not ruining their life further.”

You walk out down the halls, hands in your pockets, past the guards you talked (with the support of some helpful visual aids) into letting you pass. They eye you with suspicion.

Good. 

Karina. Tierel. Even Rivali, the night Wester was turned. What’s gotten into all of them, all this stupid sentimentality about you?

You’re not a troll with some mildly embarrassing and difficult condition. You’re a full-fledged bloodsucking undead who’s only kept in check by constant self-restraint and weaponry. 

Trolls do not care for things that disgust and disturb them. It’s against nature and common sense. 

Flicking your phone out, you check the chat, wondering what everyone’s been up to. Hopefully less dreary conversation topics than this. 

It’s a fun place, and nothing like this will ever come up, and it will be great. Hurrah. 

You ignore the slight, remaining shaking in your body. 

END

[purkinje-effect]

The Anatomy of Melancholy, 47

Table of Contents. Second Instar, Chapter 14. Go to previous. Go to next. I think everybody just needs a moment to yell at the top of their lungs at this point.

_______________________

Ick parked the Riverhawk right outside the loading dock of Boott Mills, and idled the engine while Sticks, Angel and ‘Choly separated from him to enter. The chemist didn’t notice his own shivering or hard frown as they inspected the rows of textile equipment in search of stock or freight. The corner of the far wall nearest the waterfront had collapsed, but they paid it little mind.

The three of them happened upon the quadrant of the mill which contained different equipment from the rest. Sticks mentally skimmed the workbenches and looms.

“Property of the S.C.Y.T.H.E. Program,” the ghoul murmured. “Never learned what that stands for.”

“You said the government had mills in Lowell crafting military fabrics? That’s what this is?”

“One of these crates has got to have at least one bolt of ballistics fiber ready to ship out,” the ghoul continued. He set down his flamer to start popping open the steamer-style metal crates one at a time, to rummage through contents.

“This is such a strange departure from our standard fare as of late, Mister Hawthorne. I’m so glad Mister Carey is getting some fresh air. He cooped himself up something awful for the longest. Only went out for business. He’s not handling all this mess so well.”

Sticks threw back down whatever he’d picked up to toss up his hands and halt the train of thought.

“Just... stop. Stop. I can’t handle this nonsense anymore. You’ve got to be fucking with me. You can’t be standing in front of me like this. You and your damn Handy.” Sticks’s head drifted side to side in semblance to denial. “If you hadn’t taken that spill by the river this morning, your coat would be titanium white spotless. You can’t possibly be two hundred fifty years old. Your ghost wouldn’t have come all this way to haunt my ass. Would he? I probably deserve it.” He snarled a scoff. “You’re not really here! So are you leading me to my death like a pelt, or are you trying to show me the way?”

‘Choly could only glare onward to him in fresh hurt. He couldn’t pinpoint what had set Sticks off at a different timing than his own disillusionment. Sticks gawked at him with an incredulous anticipation, nearly as though ‘Choly himself wore a mask he could remove and end the charade now that he’d been called out on it.

The chemist began to sweat at the recognition that dozens of dog-sized crabs had poured in through the opening in the outer wall, following the volume of the ghoul’s voice. An ankle-biter rushed Sticks’s leg and when it chomped down, he kicked it and whirled around to retrieve his weapon. In an instant an arc of flames erupted forward to fend off the crustaceans, who squealed in frustration at the sudden burst of heat. The ghoul yelled, furious, and let out a second spray.

“We shouldn’t use fire in here!” ‘Choly yelled after him, eyeing the various tanks and barrels scattered along the walls of the open space. “Especially since we haven’t retrieved the fabric yet!”

Angel, all circular saws, zoomed ahead of Sticks and set to cutting down the hatchlings. Meanwhile, the ghoul doubled back, desperate to locate their proverbial treasure chest. The scent of the hatchlings’ guts drew the attention of a matron crab, who lingered enraged at the opening in the wall. She couldn’t get more than her claw inside, but that was enough to send broken pieces of textile equipment flying. Angel fired its lasers at the matron, while ‘Choly tried to shoot it full of pencils.

Sticks ran for the loading dock and tossed his flamer on the truck mount, and yelled for Ick to follow him. The Furrier and ghoul doubled back to the military textile equipment to retrieve the crate which took the both of them to carry. The ghoul prodded Ick against their better judgment to load up as many S.C.Y.T.H.E. crates as they possibly could. Despite the chemist and Handy’s best efforts, the matron crab had not budged. But the ghoul could tell she’d gotten herself stuck.

“‘Choly, I think we’ll do best using fire after all,” Sticks bellowed. He pointed for Ick to grab one of the QUARPEL aerosol tanks. “Fling it! Hard as you can!”

The tank hit the cinder block rubble just inside the wall, and not the crab. But Sticks grinned anyway, motioning for the group to retreat to the loaded down truck. He leaped up to aim his flamer, and with a concentrated stream he ignited the textile coating chemical which had splattered all over the crab’s claw. As they sped off, the crab shrieked and battered more of the wall down. The flames spread through the work floor and several more tanks burst immediately. From the bridge, the team could see the crab had taken residence in a delivery van. Another tank of volatile chemicals burst, and the van flew into the river, divorced of its inhabitant.

When they heard a third series of explosions, they all unclenched in the confidence the crab would not be following them. They slowed across the bridge to weave back across it, laughing like crazy.

“So this is where you briefly consider keepin’ whatever it is we’re haulin’ for ourselves,” Ick joked. “Pitch to split it fifty-fifty. What good’s a couple hundred pounds of military fabric gonna do any of us on his own, though?”

“Represents a goddamn chance in hell against the Devils,” Sticks insisted, not even entertaining the nostalgia of pulling a con. His head still ran hot as he watched ‘Choly following behind the Riverhawk.

Much of Voire had gathered up to gawk down the street at the plume of smoke the four of them had caused. The Riverhawk pulled up to the reservoir house. Ick and Sticks tossed off the crates for Bones, who scrambled down the embankment to become a giggling tangle of limbs with the old mummy.

Sticks fell back to check on ‘Choly as the chemist dismounted and observed at a distance. Ick told Bones all about their blowing up the crab matron.

“God,” ‘Choly blurted out to the ghoul, “I can’t even begin to imagine what’s under those masks, though. If it’s even half as beautiful as you--”

“--You’ll get to see everyone’s faces if you really have to. Once they get to their goddamn communal orgy.” Sticks stewed at the comparison abutted to such tactlessness. ‘Choly’s face practically fell off. “You seem to respond better to bluntness. Yeah. They get all naked and pile together in the middle of town. And then once they’ve worn themselves out, they dress themselves in all new clothes. I don’t want to spoil the fun for you, but it gets real messy.”

The chemist sniffed, appreciating that the Furriers crowded around Ick and not either of them at the moment.

“...You said something about an original formula?” He squinted up into the partly cloudy late afternoon sky. “I’m going to assume that one of the things that preoccupied Olivia all these years was refining X-Cell past its prototype stage? Addiction rate was godawful with that stuff, if memory serves.” He trailed off into a raunchy scoff. “An X-Cell enhanced orgy. Now that must be something.”

“I’m not some history textbook,” Sticks snipped. “I can appreciate that you’re here, but I don’t know the first goddamn thing about babysitting. You’re the first messenger she’s sent my way that I’ve given half a shit if they survived the trip to Voire.”

“...Angel, does this make the third or fourth time this week now I’ve nearly died?” ‘Choly didn’t blink, or wait for an answer, as he turned to face the ghoul. “Lexington burned because of me. Concord’s laden with gore. I gave myself acute radiation sickness getting frisky with a feral ghoul in Sanctuary. Bloodbugs stabbed me in the chest in Billerica. I got chased by flaming Assaultrons on my way on base. I could have gotten eaten by Merrilurks in Pawtucketville. And now I was nearly in an explosion in Lowell trying to escape a crab as big as a delivery truck. All in what I can only strongly believe was a week. Time’s trying to catch up to me. It’s all happening at once...” He crinkled his nose to adjust his glasses. “...I thought you said the Furriers were good folk.”

Sticks didn’t know what to say, wearing a mental flinch on his face.

“They thought you were a tribute because the confused and unfamiliar face is almost always expendable. I was negligent. The fact I can’t just offer you up for them to rip up for parts is the reason we had to run this extra errand for them, to be honest with you.”

“--Wait, you give half a shit that I’m still in one piece?”

“Half a-- Tch, yes. Yes, I do. If it’s really you,” Sticks warmed, “it’s the bee’s knees. Don’t know anybody who stands a better chance than you at setting the General straight. She’s gotten too twisted up in her own head. Lost track of reality. I’m surprised she could even accurately assess the Rust Devils are this much of a threat. ...Though, her paranoia has caused a false alarm before. And Angel’s the first robot I’ve noticed cross the Merrimack since I got here in 2090. Maybe we won’t have that big a problem.”

“You’re expecting me to get her out of her head when I can’t even get out of mine?” ‘Choly ugly laughed at him, slapping himself in the chest for emphasis. “I don’t know if I’m me. I don’t know what I am anymore!”

“You’re a dumb fuck who’s been through nine circles of hell. Kind of fitting, I guess, that they turned a war criminal into a popsicle. Told you before, I’m not the same guy I was before the bomb. Something tells me it’s unfair to imagine that despite everything, you’re that much more yourself for it.”

‘Choly looked around as the Furriers dispersed back to their houses. The sun was starting to set, splashing chartreuse and orange across the sky. Ick and Bones still lingered.

“We’re staying the night in Voire, aren’t we?” he frowned.

“We head out at daybreak. Too dangerous to travel the waterways at night. That’s when the Merrilurks come out to hunt.” Sticks’s face scrunched up in displeasure. “Damn waste of crab meat to have to blow up the mill.”

“Still got those MREs...” ‘Choly deadpanned.

“Sooner eat my good hand.” Sticks started off toward the reservoir house. “Besides, we’re guests of honor for the night. Abiding Bones’s wishes is all the proof the Furriers need to know we’re good for the other half of the promise.”

“Promise of...” The chemist trailed off in a prurient lyric and a broken, sloppy grin.

“Haven’t changed one bit.”

Sticks stepped inside with Bones to speak in private, leaving ‘Choly, Angel, and Ick alone a spell. The mummy Furrier looked on expectantly at the chemist, and eventually took a hand in both his own.

“He’s not acting it, but I promise you Sticks is over the moon to have you back. Give him time to cool down. He’s having as much trouble accepting it as seems you are.” Ick leaned in. “Where you been all this time, anyway?”

“...On ice.” He sniffed, withdrawing his hand. “You really think you’re too old to participate in the Unfolding?”

“Depends. You think you’re too old to participate?”

‘Choly doubled his face into both hands to sputter and cough at what he could only take as flirtation, all things considered. Sticks came out right after, and pulled down his welding goggles to look between them in confusion.

“So what can I do to help prepare dinner?” the ghoul insisted, nudging the four of them along back to Ick’s place.

“Oh!” Angel cried. “Do let me help you, Mister Ick!”

“A robot in the kitchen? ...Why the hell not.”

After a meal of roasted pelt and tatoes, the two slept in Ick’s garage in the back of the Riverhawk, on bedding of layers of leather and fur the Furrier had supplied them. Despite the chaos of the day, ‘Choly passed out immediately.

He shot awake in the middle of the night, the only lingering residue of the nightmare the memory of the sentiment that he’d become one of Deenwood’s enlisted. He panicked in the momentary disconnect of not recognizing where he’d fallen asleep, only to realize Sticks slept soundly feet away from him. His breathing evened out, but his mind went wild questioning the morality of supplying the Furriers with the same chems their ancestors had been subjected to through grueling human experimentation. He appeased himself only with the reassurance that he really didn’t have the full story just yet, and he wished the flamer mount didn’t separate him from curling up beside the man he thought he’d lost two hundred years ago.

Go to Next »»»

[shewhohangsoutincemeteries]

florence frickin’ nightingale

Rocket Raccoon x Reader

Summary: bedridden and miserable, you’re stuck on the milano when it reaches port. quill, anxious to avoid contracting the same virus, leaves you in rocket’s slightly less than willing care.

Characters/Pairings: rocket x reader, peter quill, baby groot

Warnings: minor swearing

Word Count: 2,619

MARVEL MASTERLIST

“Why have I gotta be the one to take care of her?” Rocket growled, flinging a socket wrench towards his tool hit a few feet away. It hit the side and bounced to the floor with an echoing clatter, and you grimaced as the sound bounced through your skull. “Look at her, she’s disgusting!”

“Thanks, buddy.” You said weakly, wiping at your sweat-sheened forehead with the back of your sleeve, despite the fact that you were shivering. You’d spent the last three days hugging the toilet, emptying your stomach into the bowl or dry-heaving every fifteen minutes or so. You were pale, shaking, with chapped lips and swaddled in about three different blankets, damp hair sticking to your forehead. A bucket sat in standby next to your seat.

“Look, man, Drax and Gamora have got shit to do at this port, and I can’t stay with her.” Peter said, standing as far away from you as he physically could. He’d practically thrown himself out of his chair the first time you’d thrown up, and he’d spent the last three days avoiding you like the plague. It would have been hilarious – it had been to Rocket and Drax – the big, bad Star Lord falling on his ass, if you hadn’t been too busy tossing your cookies into the kitchen sink. “I’m the only one who can get sick from what she’s got. Do you really want two of us walking around looking like that?”

“Still here, Quill. And my ears work fine,” you grumbled. “You guys are really doing wonders for my self-esteem.”

Between them and Drax’s constant, thoughtless comments about your current appearance, and the frequency at which you threw up, you’d spent the first night sleeping fitfully on the bathroom floor, and last night had been spent curled up in the chair you sat in now rather than in the bunk you shared with Drax and Gamora. She’d surprised you the first night; after it became apparent you weren’t leaving the bathroom, she’d brought you the pillow and a blanket from your bunk. She’d still been reluctant to come near you, but her concern had touched you all the same.

You felt a tug at the hem of your blanket, and you smiled. Ignoring the way your stomach lurched and your head throbbed as you moved, you bent down to scoop Groot into your lap. He had dragged a picture-book bigger than him along with him, and you brought that up too.

Peter spared you an apologetic glance, but backed up slightly when you gagged, hand wavering towards the bucket. “See, Groot’s not grossed out.”

“Groot would sit on the lap of an A’askvariian if it meant gettin’ a story out of it.” Rocket argued, and you threw your pillow at him. It fell short, and he looked from it to you with an unimpressed arch of his furry brow. “What if she gets him sick?”

“He’s a tree, Rocket.” Peter replied drily. “He’ll be fine.”

“I can look after myself, Quill.” You assured him, irritated. Ever since you’d joined the Guardians on the Milano, you’d made it a point to carry your own weight, especially when Rocket had insisted to Quill that they didn’t need any “dead weight takin’ up space”. You’d proved yourself an asset enough times for the team to accept you, and your independent streak, quick wit and the way Groot had taken to you so quickly had actually made you one of Rocket’s favorite members of the crew. Not that he’d ever say it out loud.

“You can barely move.”

“So?” You shrugged. “Hand me a blaster and I’ll shoot anyone who comes in. They gotta get past me to steal the ship anyway.”

Rocket snickered. “You ain’t exactly formidable lookin’ in that get-up, doll.”

You frowned down at your old shorts and oversized tee-shirt. Between them, your blanket-cocoon and greasy hair, he probably had a point. “Then hand me a bomb.”

Now, he laughed.

“See, you guys are getting along great. You’ll be fine!” Peter said, gesturing between the two of you.

“I told you, I can look after myself.” You repeated. “It’s just a stomach bug. Although if someone cou-could exp—” your stomach heaved, and you grabbed for the bucket, almost knocking Groot off your lap as you clutched it to your chest. After a few minutes, you’d brought up nothing but bile, and you set it aside, wiping your mouth. Both Quill and Rocket looked repulsed. “…could explain how I ended up with a Terran virus in outer-frickin’-space, that would be great.”

“I am Groot.” Came the affronted response, and you grimaced, patting him gently on the head.

“Sorry, sprout.”

Peter pointed at you. “See? Terran! I’m the most at risk of getting sick! And I’m the only one who knows what to get her to help her get better. So, I gotta go.” He started backing towards the cargo bay. “And you gotta stay. Sorry, man.”

“Quill—!” Rocket shouted.

“I’ll be back later, bye!” He called out behind him.

“Asshole,” Rocket muttered, shaking his head. He tossed another tool towards the box, and you winced as it hit the floor. His ear flicked at your sharp intake of breath, and he turned his eyes to you with a sigh. “You alright, humie?”

You shrugged but otherwise ignored him. Rocket thinking you couldn’t take care of yourself was the last thing you needed. Instead, you lifted Groot carefully from your lap and set him on the table in front of you. “I’ll read to you later, okay, buddy?”

“I am Groot?”

“Promise.” You held out your pinkie finger, and he wrapped his whole tiny fist around it. You shook it up and down gently, and he grinned.

“I am Groot!” He jumped from the table to the chair, and then down to the floor, running to join Rocket on the other side of the room. You watched him go with the beginnings of an affectionate smile on your lips. Even when you’re feeling like shit, there was nothing that little plant could do that wouldn’t make you smile.

“Yeah, I heard what she said,” Rocket snapped back at him, but there was no venom in his tone. “I’m standing right here; I ain’t deaf.”

You snickered, and Rocket cast you another glance. “Just get Rocket to bring the book in later, okay, sprout?”

“I am Groot!”

Rocket grunted in response, turning his back to you and rifling through a box of spare parts as you headed to your bunk, blankets around your shoulders and bucket in hand.

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

Any hope for sleep was lost when your stomach refused to settle, so you just squeezed your eyes shut and curled yourself into the fetal position. You were lying there for maybe an hour or so before you heard the door of your bunk slide open and the scurry of tiny wooden footsteps across the floor.

“See, she’s sleepin’.” Rocket said quietly. “I told you, she’s gonna be fine, can we go?”

“Rocket?” you asked quietly, voice drowsy. You opened your eyes blearily, and the room shifts, your stomach rolling with it. You swallowed thickly. “What are you doing in here?”

A tug at the blankets announced Groot’s appearance on your bed, his tiny frame barely making a dent in the mattress as he clambered over your hip to stand by your face. He pet your cheek to ensure he had your attention, and you blew a puff of air at him, making him laugh.

“I am Groot.”

“She’s tryin’ to sleep, Groot. You woke her up.”

“No, no it’s fine.” You replied. “I heard sleep-deprivation is actually great for your mental health.”

You struggled to sit up, and frowned when Rocket hit the lights, and he quickly returned the room to relative darkness. Enough light came from the corridor for you to see the two of them, and you knew with Rocket’s superior eyesight, it made no difference.

“Thanks.”

“You slept at all the last few days?”

You shrugged. “A few minutes, here and there. Blood sugar is low, so I don’t really have the energy for anything else.”

“Are you…” Rocket cleared his throat, his voice uncertain. “How you feelin’?”

You looked up in surprise as Groot settled himself between your legs. “Huh?”

“I mean, if you feel like you’re gonna hurl again, I’ll get Groot outta the way.”

You coughed a laugh. “Thanks for the concern. It’s okay. I haven’t eaten in like, two days, so there’s nothing to come up anyhow.”

Rocket frowned. “Right.”

“I am Groot!”

You raised a brow at the tiny plant in your lap. “Really? How’d he know that, Groot?”

“I am Groot.”

“He’s been keeping an eye on me, huh?” You turned your eyes on Rocket, and he rolled his eyes.

“One day you’re gonna tell me why the little snitch always picks your side.” He groused, holding out a bottle of water and a clear sleeve of crackers. “I just figured, it’d help you feel better. Quicker that happens, the quicker I don’t have to play babysitter anymore.”

“How touching.” You said snidely as you held out your hands for them.

Rocket moved to the edge of the bed, pushing them almost impatiently into your hands. “It’s not a big deal. It’s the same crap Quill eats whenever he’s hungover.”

You took a tentative sip of water, and when your belly didn’t protest, you gulped down another mouthful. “Oh, it’s a big deal. Rocket, the hardened bounty-hunter bringing me crackers to help settle my stomach? You’re like Florence frickin’ Nightingale, you big softie.”

“Bite me, Y/N.”

You snickered, stopping when he turned away. “Sorry. Seriously, Rocket. Thanks.”

“Hey, I wouldn’t even be in here if Groot didn’t want his damn story.”

“I am Groot.”

“It was not my idea!”

“I am Groot.”

“I did not say I was worried, I—”

“Rocket?”

He looked up at you, ears twitching. “What?”

“Thank you.”

You could see the hint of a smile catch at the side of his mouth for a moment, but he shrugged, huffing a sigh and dropping the picture book in your lap in front of Groot. “’s nothing. You just, uh… you just send Groot out if you need anything else. Or if he’s buggin’ ya.”

“Will do.” A shiver wracked your body, and you pulled the blankets tighter around you, careful not to unseat Groot. You stomach swirled suddenly, and you groaned. You managed to get the bucket under your mouth just as the water came up again. “Damn it.”

“You okay?”

You sighed, lying back down and closing your eyes. “I feel like shit.”

“No offence, humie, but you look like shit.”

“Cheers.”

He chuckled, and with the greatest of hesitations, he stepped forward and touched a tentative paw to your cheek. Your eyes snapped open. Rocket didn’t touch. He didn’t touch anyone, save for Groot. He drew his paw away quickly when he saw your eyes on him. “Sorry, I just… you’re burnin’ up.”

“’s okay. You’re really warm.” You mumbled, turning on your side. Groot scrambled out of the way, coming to sit on your pillow. He, copying Rocket, touched your cheek.

“I am Groot?”

“Because I feel cold, Groot.” You told him, tugging the blankets higher. “That’s what happens when Terrans get sick. They feel hot to touch, but it’s like they’ve been sitting in the snow for an hour. ‘s called a fever.”

“Quill said somethin’ ‘bout that. You’re not supposed to bundle up.”

“This ship is freezing,” you mumble, hands tightening on the blanket’s edge. “I’ll die.”

“You won’t die.” Rocket said with an eye-roll, tugging at the blankets. “God, are all you humies this dramatic?”

“Most of us, yeah. Just be grateful it’s me and not Quill.” You pointed out, pouting as he pulled them out of your grasp and onto the floor. You curled back up into a loose fetal position. “He’d be bitching and moaning so much none of us would have gotten any sleep the last few days.”

Rocket frowned as you began to shiver. “You really are cold, aren’t ya?”

“What was your first hint?” You asked through chattering teeth.

“God, you humies are a frickin’ pain.” He muttered. He sighed, waving a paw at you. “Move over.”

“What?”

“Just do it, will ya? Before I change my mind.”

Confused, you shuffled back awkwardly, careful not to touch the cool metal wall behind you. Rocket waited for you to settle again before removing his toolbelt.

“You breathe a word of this to any of the crew and I’ll shoot you.” He warned, climbing up onto the mattress beside you. He curled up beside you, his body conforming to the curve of yours. His back pressed against your stomach and your thighs, his head settling under the pillow where Groot sat. “That means you too, little man.” He huffed.

“I am Groot.”

“Yeah, yeah. You keep your opinions to yourself.”

Already you could feel the heat of his body warming your own, better than the blankets had. You reached out to gently stroke your fingers through the fur behind his ears. He tensed for a moment, before you felt him relax under your touch. He sighed lightly, and you continued, slowly.

“And don’t go gettin’ any ideas either. This is a one-time deal.”

“Rocket, you sweet-talker.”

“Hilarious, you are.”

You closed your eyes. “That’s why you love me.”

The scoff he let out came out more as a puff. “Keep dreamin’, humie.”

“Don’t worry,” you whispered, lulled by his rhythmic breathing against your belly. You felt Groot settle himself by your chest, his hand gripping the collar of your shirt. “It’s our little secret. Promise.”

“Just shut up and sleep, will you?” His voice was quiet, and despite his words, his tone sounded more amused than annoyed.

“’Kay.”

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

You woke up a couple of hours later to the sound of Drax’s booming voice announcing the others’ return to the ship. You jolted slightly, your fingers still buried in the fur of Rocket’s neck. He jerked up immediately, reminding you of a dog that had heard an intruder. Ears upright, his lips pulled back in the smallest of snarls before he remembered where he was. Shaking himself, he pulled away from you, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. You could see where his fur was damp from your sweat, and he ran his paws through the fur at the side of his face to straighten it.

He paused when he cast a glance back at you and saw you watching.

“Hey.”

“Hey,” he replied, his voice was hoarse, like he’d fallen asleep too, and he cleared his throat. “You feelin’ better?”

You nodded, sitting up. You scooped the still-sleeping Groot up against your chest as you did. His hand was still affixed to your shirt. “A little. I should probably try to eat something.”

He nodded, ears twitching again. He could hear the others. “I should, uh… Quill’s gonna need a hand takin’ off. Can barely handle this thing without me.”

You smirked, rolling your eyes. “Amazing how he managed to keep it one piece all those years before you showed up.”

“Luck.” Rocket shot back as he jumped to the floor, and you laughed. He smiled back at you, scratching at the back of his head. “A real laugh. You must be feelin’ better.”

“Yeah,” you assured him, nodding. “Thank you, Rocket.”

“’s nothin’.”

You shook your head, leaning over to scratch behind his ear again. Gentle, but quick. He leaned his head into your palm slightly as you did. “It’s not nothing. Thank you.”

He nodded awkwardly, still smiling. “You’re welcome, Y/N.”

.

.

.

[stormybear30]

Heart of glass

I found him exactly where I expected to find him, sitting at the bar wasting his life away. I could tell he’d been there for a while by the half empty bottle of alcohol sitting in front of him but something seemed off. He looked different, looked as if he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. The normal cowboy swagger was gone as he attempted to pour another shot, not even bothering to argue with Maria when she jerked the bottle out of his hand before hiding it behind the bar. His shoulders seemed to sag when she went off on him before leaving to help another customer. He looked tired and aged, looking so much older then his twenty seven years. I felt bad for him because it was clear that he was hiding a secret, a secret that I now knew and yet it didn’t last long as I clutched the backpack I was holding tighter to my body and walked over towards him. “We need to talk” I said by way of introduction, trying not to cave as exhausted brown eyes looked over at me.

“Not today Alex…please” I heard him say as he rubbed at his temple. “I just can’t deal with anymore shit today”

I felt bad for about a second once again because I had never seen him look so haggard before but then I remembered the huge secret he had been keeping from me and I decided to push past being nice. “Well you can either talk to me about what I have in this bag now or I can put it in your spaceship and then you can fly by and speak to me about it later…either way we are having this conversation” I watched his eyes grow huge for a brief second before surrender gave in and he pushed himself off the barstool. No words were spoken as we walked out of the Dancing Pony towards the parking lot. “I’ll drive” I said as I walked towards my car, silence still following us as he followed me. He didn’t look at me once as I drove out to the cabin. In fact he sat stone still, his eyes closed, looking almost statue like. He still remained silent once we pulled up in front of my home, his body taunt like a guitar string. “Have a seat” I directed as I pointed toward a chair located in the living area once we entered the cabin. He still didn’t say a word or bat an eye as he fell heavily onto the chair, once again looking as if he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. “I know what you are” I decided to just dive in, watching him flinch before turning exhausted eyes up at me. Once again my anger lessened at just how broken he seemed to be. There were tears brimming in his eyes and a look of pure resignation. “Why didn’t you tell me?” I questioned sitting on the coffee table in front of him.

“What did you want me to say Alex?” He finally spoke quietly after a few seconds. “Hi there. My name is Michael Guerin and I’m an alien from outer space” There was no sarcasm in his voice just a tiredness that I already knew he had been living with for a very long time. “The truth is that we don’t know where we can from. We don’t really know what we are or why we were put here and it’s been exhausting keeping this secret for years. I wanted to tell you back then because I…” I watched as he swallowed hard, closing his eyes as he rubbed at his temple once again. “I wanted to tell you because that summer when we were together was the best time of my life and you meant more to me than anything else in this world…anything”

I was taken back by his words because as I looked deeply into his eyes I could see just how much he loved me and how heavily this secret had been weighing on him. I felt horrible for every little thing I had done to hurt him since I had come back to Roswell and everything I had done even before I left. I knew he was an alien being and yet as he continued to look at me none of that mattered because he was also the man that meant everything to me from the very first time he had kissed me. Tears burned my eyes at just how much of an asshole I had been and how much I had hurt him each and every time that he showed any love or kindness to me. I was angry at myself because I had gone looking for him after learning from my father that he was in fact an alien being, only to try and hurt him again with my anger at keeping such a huge secret from me. “I’m sorry…” I muttered, feeling a bit tired myself as I let out a breath I hadn’t even known I was holding.

“I’m just relieved that you finally know” He replied softly, with a shrug of his shoulders. “Use that information as you will” He looked scared and beaten down as he slouched back into the cushion of the chair.

“And what do you think I will do with it?” I questioned in confusion.

“I don’t know Alex” He shot back quickly but with no heat to those words. “Turn us over to Daddy or maybe even the government” I was taken aback for a second but then quickly realized that I hadn’t given him any reason to trust me or think that I wouldn’t do that to him.

“Michael…” I tried to speak but he cut me off as he sat forward.

“Look Alex…I don’t know how much you know and I get that you feel that I have wronged you by not telling you, but you’ve never really given me any reason to trust you” His words hurt and yet they were so truthful. “When we were kids I wanted to run away with you. I loved you that much that I wanted to leave all the bull shit with this town behind…wanted to leave my family behind and start a new life with you. You have no idea the hell I was going through with Max and Isobel at that time. We made a promise to keep an eye on Isobel and our secret at all cost but I was willing to give that all up to start a new life with you” He had tears in his eyes and guilt written across his face as he looked up at me. “We hardly knew each other but I loved you that much. I thought you felt the same way too but then you made your grand announcement about joining the military and wouldn’t even consider leaving with me”

“I wanted to” I decided to be truthful myself because I knew he deserved it. “When you asked me to run away with you I wanted to say yes so badly. I wanted to leave this town and my father behind me. I had these amazing dreams of you and I busking our way from town to town and just having a grand adventure. You have to know that I wanted nothing more then to just be with you”

“No Alex,I never knew that. I never knew any of that because after you fucked me that last time, you broke my heart and told me that you couldn’t be with me anymore and that you were leaving for boot camp the next morning. You told me that what we had was nothing more then a fling and that you never wanted to see me again” I had no response as I watched him jerk himself off of the chair before storming over to the other side of the room. “You have no idea how much you hurt me that night. I was already dealing with the guilt and the pain about even considering leaving Max and Isobel, but then you just crushed my soul with your rejection”

“I know” I replied as I recalled the night that I broke Michael Guerin’s heart. “I got home that night after leaving you and felt absolutely gutted because I knew I had hurt you”

“Yeah…well it’s something that your great at” He shot out before I could finish. The sarcasm wasn’t lost on me as I turned to face him.

“I know I hurt you Michael but I did it because I was scared. I admit I was scared because the feelings I had for you were so new and overwhelming, but I also did it because I was terrified that if my father found out about us once again that he would do more then just break your hand” It was time to tell him my own secret as I got up and walked across to the opposite side of the room. “When I got home that night my father and two of my brothers were waiting for me. My mind was preoccupied with what I had done to you so I didn’t see it coming”

“See what?” He asked as he rushed over to where I stood, the look of concern on his face causing me to break down because I had never spoken about what had transpired that night to anyone. “What did they do to you?”

It took me a few minutes to compose myself as I moved away from him because even though he hadn’t touched me, his closeness was just too much. “My brothers bound and gagged me and threw me in the back of my father’s truck. We drove for what felt like hours before pulling up before this small shack. There was a man waiting inside for us. A man that claimed he could rid me of my evil ways…my perversions and make me into a real man. My father never said a word to me the entire time we drove there but his parting words made me realize that my original fears were true. He told me that if I ever saw you again that he would destroy you, that he would make you pay for turning me into a pervert. The look on his face was pure delight and it scared me to my very core. I really don’t know how long I was there but I was continually tortured while he constantly quoted bible scripture at me. I remember wanting to die but you were the one thing that kept me from giving up. Afterwards my brother’s and father picked me up and dropped me off at boot camp and the rest is history” I shrugged, too exhausted to even begin telling him my war stories. “I came back with the intentions of never speaking to you again but then…well I took one look at you and I knew that wasn’t going to happen” I tried to laugh it off but I could tell he wasn’t having it as he glared at me from across the room.

“If you had just run away with me none of that would have happened” He growled as he strode across the room before pulling me into his arms.

“There wasn’t anywhere that we could have gone that my father wouldn’t have found us. I wanted to leave with you but I knew that he would have found us eventually and I couldn’t live with myself if he had hurt you any more then he already had” Exhaustion consumed me as I wrapped my arms around his waist, burying my nose against his neck.

“Did he hurt you…like hurt hurt you?” I heard him question, holding me a bit tighter as he waited for me to respond.

“He didn’t violate me if that’s what you mean. Oh he tortured the hell out of me but he never did anything sexual” I answered, his grip on me tightening even more but I didn’t mind because at that time it didn’t feel tight enough. “Michael…I know we still have a lot to talk about and I may be jumping to conclusions in that we can move forward from this and become more” I didn’t know how to ask if we could move past everything in the past and in the future and be lovers, boyfriends, partners, because I wanted nothing more then to be his everything and he be mine. I didn’t care that he was an alien from another planet and that I was sure he still had many secrets to tell me because none of that mattered to me anymore. I just wanted to be with him in every and any way that I could be.

“Yeah…” I heard him whisper against my ear. “But I’m exhausted and I know you are to. Let’s go lay down for a bit and then we can talk some more later” I reluctantly let him go as I took his hand and led him into my bedroom. Each of us took turns getting ready, removing our clothes down to our underwear before climbing onto the bed. We laid there for a long time just looking at each other before he reached out and traced his fingers down the side of my face. “You look exactly the same as you did back then” He said as his fingers lingered right below my bottom lip. “When I saw you that first day at my trailer I was immediately brought back to high school. You were my first guy crush long before our first kiss” He had a small smile upon his face that made him look so sexy that I couldn’t help but lean forward and kiss him. It wasn’t like our more recent kisses that were hot and heated. That kiss was slow and lazy and more amazing then any of the others. “That was nice” He said with a bigger smile as he leaned forward and kissed me again. “Rest now, more of this later” He teased as he nudged his nose against my cheek before giving me another quick one. I wanted to continue to kiss him but as he pulled back with a yawn I knew that he was exhausted and needed some rest. I didn’t fight him as he shifted onto his back tugging me along with him. I plastered myself as close to his body as I could, lying my head on his chest. His skin was warm and comforting as I closed my eyes and cherished the closeness. “We are going to get through this” I heard him whisper as the sound of his heart beating within his chest lulled me to sleep.

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #177

“i get pretty just to fuck my face up.”

What’s your favorite flavor of ice pop? Strawberry or watermelon. Do you like animal print? What’s your favorite print? Not particularly, but I suppose jaguar. What do you think of foot tattoos? Surprisingly, not a big fan. It's gotta be cute, well-placed, and small. Did your senior class in high school have a class trip? Where did you go? Maybe? I don't remember. What do you normally order at Dunkin Donuts? Chocolate frosted. What do you drink with dinner? It varies. Can be soda, water, milk... Peanuts or sunflower seeds? I don't like either. What is your favorite grocery store to shop at, and how often do you shop for groceries? Sam's Club totally has the best deals, but I don't make the shopping calls here. Who is your favorite character from the last movie you watched? Uhhh the super paranoid lady whose actress is a legend. Where did you have your first kiss? What about your last kiss? His bed; airport. What is the last thing you spoke to your father about? Phone bill. Who do you feel you have the most in common with? Sara. Who in your life causes you the most stress or negative feelings? Myself. Have you ever apologized to someone, but didn’t mean it? I'm sure at some point. What is the one thing that you can’t resist? Reese's, I sometimes cannooooot tell myself no to a Mtn. Dew Voltage, wanting to pet an animal even if it's dangerous, and uhhh I'm sure there's more. Have you ever done another person's homework for money? No. If you could play any piece of music on an instrument, what would it be? Teach me the ending piece from WKM on the piano so I could ruin myself further than just listening to it already does. Have you ever treated someone like they were nothing? I don't believe so. If you could ask 5 questions and get an exact answer, what would you ask? Oh yikes, deep one. Um... 1.) what is the cure for cancer, 2.) cure for Alzheimer's/dementia, 3.) cure for HIV/AIDS, 4.) how can/is it even possible to obtain world peace, and 5.) will I be stable in the future are what come to mind first. Does it frighten you when animals get into fights? I GET VERY SCARED FOR THE ANIMALS. When you were little did you touch just about everything in the store? YUP YUP YUP. Do you ever leave your drinks out in the open at a party? N/A, but I absolutely would not. Ever suffered from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder? Yes. Who is someone you’ll always hate? No one I personally know. How many people do you trust 100 percent? Just one. I would include Mom, but I know she lies about Dad. Do you think you could survive a month of solitary confinement? NO, I really think I'd lose it and kill myself. Do you often start books, yet never finish them? I don't read, but I'd do that if I didn't like it. When was the last time you felt abandoned by someone? Idr. Does the sight of blood gross you out? No. Have you ever gone through a red light? No. Do you fail to stop for stop signs, sometimes? No. What is your favorite eye color in the opposite sex? Blue. When you are sad, do you cheer yourself up, or look to others? It depends, but I usually begin with the former. During which year of your life were you the most unhappy? 2016 can been damned by God themselves. Have you ever seen a bluejay in person? Yes. Have you ever eaten grass/leaves? Probably as a kid. Do you typically like green-colored candies? Yeah! Apple flavor is the bomb.com. Who is the most energetic and happy person you know of? Ryder, my nephew. Who makes you smile the most often? Sara Jane. :') How do you express your happiness? I'm louder, more talkative, goofier. When was the last time you did a good deed? Uhhh idk. It's a tiny thing, but I suppose you could count me getting my old man bub with arthritis up on the bed when he wanted up. What songs make you happy? Lots... Do you like to sing? Sometimes, but I'm not good at it. Where is somewhere that holds fond memories for you? Ummm the little pond behind the community college where we took our first prom photos. That whole day was just extremely magical, and passing it is a severe PTSD trigger so if for whatever reason we're driving past there, Mom goes around it. I did pass it a few months back when I was taking pictures of flowers around the college and I was okay, probably because I didn't even glance at it. What do you think of the gothic stereotype? # A E S T H E T I C Have you ever encountered a black widow? Yup. What scares you, more than anything else? Ending up alone/losing all those I love. Has an animal ever peed on you? Lol yeah...  Pet rodents have multiple times when getting them accustomed to being held, a puppy probably has, and Venus (my snake) did once after I held her for like an hour, aha. Couldn't be mad at that angel, she was obviously so comfy. What would make a cool substitute color for the sun? Pink. Is purple a good color for a car? Sure. Do you prefer green or purple/red grapes? Purple; crisper. What is something you like that is sour? Warheads. What was the spiciest thing you’ve ever eaten? Some hot wings at BWW with one of the hottest sauces. When was the last time you had a real deep chat? Idk, I'm sure something with Sara. Who did you last see on webcam? I've no idea. Have you ever discovered something gross in your food at McDonalds? No. What’s your favorite flavor of Ramen? I only like the spicy chicken Yakisoba ones. Have you ever spent the night in jail? No. Name a really popular television show you never got into: Ha, a lot. Game of Thrones, for one, but I'd be willing to give it a second chance via more episodes and a different attitude and actually kinda want to. Sara, add that to our list. Do you listen to any unsigned bands/singers? Who? No, I don't believe so. I need to start listening to my old friend's band, though, because I really want to support them; they work so hard and are very serious about taking their band somewhere. Nova Mortis if you're interested and like heavy metal. What do you find really interesting? THE PARANORMAL, for one. Genetics, psychology, fossils, abandoned buildings and shacks, natural selection and evolution, outer space, differences in languages and cultures, and so much more. Who is your favorite video game character? Spyro! What kind of pictures do you post on Facebook/Instagram/Snapchat most frequently? I like never post pictures, but selfies on FB, then I have two photography Instagrams. Do you remember the first person you felt sexually attracted to? Seriously, Jason. Have you ever been on vacation with a significant other? No. Is there anything on your bucket list that you’re hoping to cross off soon? A lot of things, but. Probably won't be soon as many include travel. Of all of your friends’ significant others, who do you get along with best? And least? Sam's wife Kieley is an absolute doll; least, idk. What would your life be like if you had married your first love? HAHAHAHAHA I REEEEEAAAAALLY DON'T WANT TO PICTURE THAT KNOWING NOW HE DIDN'T/DOESN'T BELIEVE IN ME AND CAN'T COMMUNICATE FOR SHIT. What is the most difficult or time-consuming thing you’ve ever cooked? Would you make it again? N/A Have you ever had a platonic friend that everyone insisted you should be in a relationship with? Girt, hardcore. Eventually did, but we know how that went. Is there anything about a person’s sexual past that might stop you from wanting to date them? Yup: if they've assaulted someone, prostitution is involved, casual flings/one-night stands have happened, being/have been a porn star, cheated before. If someone asked your closest friends/family members what career path might suit you best, what do you think they would say? Like, everyone will answer that question with "vet." Have you ever considered “unplugging”/taking a significant period of time away from technology? lol nope I doubt I'd last a day with no technology. Do you use a photo editor? Lightroom, Photoshop, sometimes PhotoScape. Is your dad overweight? Quite the opposite. Ever been honked at? Yeah. Which do you prefer, doctor or dentist? Dentist; I'm never nervous for them. Name two things you put whipped cream on? I haaaate whipped cream. Texture thing. Favorite thing you’ve ever painted? Two meerkats grooming, done on a huge thing of burlap. What’s your favorite type of sushi? Never tried, never will. Have you ever had an ulcer? No. What’s the name of the most recent baby a friend has had? Scarlett. Have you ever taken medication to help you fall asleep faster? Yup. I had a long insomnia streak where I physically couldn't sleep without Melatonin. What is your current favorite song? I'm hooked on "The Bottom is a Rock" by Mother Mother rn. If you had to move to another country, where would you move? Canada. Do you have a balcony? No. Are you jealous of anyone, even mildly? If so, who? Yeah, my sisters, as well as some real successful friends. Have you ever done a craft you saw in a magazine? No. Have you ever made a recipe you found in a magazine? No. Who is a singer that has given you chills? Celine Dion, Loreena McKennitt, Sebastian Bach, David Draiman, and Amy Lee off the top of my head. What act would you perform in a talent show? I wouldn't, I got nothin'. What area are you the most gifted in, do you think? Um... writing, I guess? Which style of wedding dress is your favorite? BALLGOWN BITCH Do you enjoy editing videos? Ye! Do you enjoy editing photos? Yup. Who do you think is the most attractive actor? I see u Jason Momoa. Have you ever been caught doing something REAL embarrassing by your parents? I don't believe so. Do you believe in reincarnation? No. Do you have any of your neighbors as friends on Facebook? No. When was the last time you thought about sex, or sexual things? Ummm within the past few days probably, at least briefly? Are there any flowers planted outside your house? We have a tall bush that sprouts big, pink flowers, if that counts. Does anyone in your family smoke? Dad. What was the very first election you voted in? I haven't yet. Do you have a drone? No. Are you the type that’s too ashamed to ask for or use directions? No, rather too shy. Were you tired when you woke up this morning? YEAH. I slept like shit and had to get up early for a VR assessment. You overhear two people gossiping about you; what do you do? I feel like I'd say something sarcastic to them. Or be more mature about it and ask why. Or cry. Are you proud of who you are? Eh, only in certain areas... Is your vision good? I can barely read the line below the big "E." So no lmao. Are you a legal adult? Yeah but idk how. Has anyone ever called you a flirt? No. What was the last compliment your received? The assessment lady at VR loved my hair. Do you know any sign language? No. Who was the last person to give you a gift? Sara, on our anniversary. Do you trust the media? HAHAHAHAHAHAHA BITCH NO. If you could kill off one species of animal, which would it be? Can gnats like????? not???????? Idk if they have a single useful function????????? What kind of cookies are your favorite? Chocolate chip. Who’d you last say I love you to? My mom. What’s the most overpaid job in your opinion? I'm not educated on this enough to give you an informed answer. What’s the last thing you wrote down? Working out a math problem during the assessment. When’s the last time you didn’t sleep in your own bed? Over a month ago. When’s the last time you heard a gunshot? Idk. Who’d you get mad at last? Myself. What’s the last thing that annoyed you? Bentley wouldn't listen. When’s the last time you gave someone advice? I think yesterday? Do you think you’re lucky, unlucky, or neither? Neither. Who did you last disappoint? Myself. Do you enjoy learning? Of course!!!! I mean there're subjects I have no interest in and don't enjoy, but learning as a whole is great. People say you learn something new every day, so what did you learn today? Well it was nothing big, but that I could return Miku before she got hurt since Mitsu didn't appreciate a new "buddy." Yes or no: eyebrow piercings? They can look super badass or awful depending on your face and eyebrow thickness imo. When I say The Beatles, what is the first song that comes to mind? "Yellow Submarine" even tho I hate that song???? In your opinion, what is the very worst type of weather? Hot and humid, especially with no breeze. Just no. You can only listen to 1 band for the rest of your life, who do you pick? DON'T MAKE ME. What is something that you had to learn the hard way? DON'T. THINK. A RELATIONSHIP. IS WITHOUT A SINGLE CHANCE. OF. SOMEONE. LEAVING. EVEN. IN THE MOST "SECURE" ONES. When was the last time you felt like your heart was actually breaking? Ahhhh I'm not sure. Either something with Mom or Sara. Who was the last person you cried in front of? Mom. If your ex called you right now, would you answer? I don't have his number, so I wouldn't answer. Who was the last person you had a deep conversation with? Sara. Do you want your tongue pierced? It is. 10/10 recommend for cute factor, but 0/10 for the healing process and pain asjfawiwo. Mine's through the very tip of my tongue and because that area is so sensitive, it was so painful that I became immediately nauseous. Pain didn't entirely vanish for almost two weeks. BUT I have zero regrets, so worth it. Is there something that happened in your past you hate talking about? Yeah. What’s one thing in your life that you wish you could change? Financial position. Have you ever been in a perfect relationship? Ha, don't ever believe those exist. Do you still talk to the person who broke your heart the most? Nope. Have you ever done something sexual that you regret? Ummm I don't believe so. Well, I don't know if I'd take back going all the way or whatever the fuck that was, maybe I would. idk Ever had a person who was obsessed with you so much that it scared you? No. Can you drive, and if you can, do you like it? I'm capable, but I don't enjoy it at all. Have you ever said anything to the last person you kissed that you regret? Yeah, being in a shit mood and/or being impulsive with my words. Do you like french fries? Who the FUCK sayin no to this. Have you ever ate so much you puked? No. Do you care about what others think of your physical appearance? To some degree/in certain aspects. Would you rather eat cookies or brownies? Probs brownies. Have you ever played a drinking game? Which ones? No. Are you good with managing your finances? I don't. Not in that position yet. What is the closest pizza place to your house? Domino's. Do you have any silly nicknames or pet names? Hmmmm no. Are you any good at drawing? Some things. Is there anything unusual about your house? No. Can you maintain a text conversation or do you run out of things to say? I think I'm good at keeping *text* convos going, surprisingly. Do you find it hard to talk to strangers, even people who work in stores? YEAH!!!!!!! Have you ever tasted goat’s milk? No. Did you ever take classes for a musical instrument when you were younger? Yup. Band member all through middle school, stopped after my junior year of HS. Do you snore when you sleep? No, but I talk a loooot. Who is the first person who broke your heart? Dad. Do you know anyone who has fought in a war? Jason's dad was in the Navy. What religion are you? Theist, which basically just entails me believing there's a god/goddess/some sorta beginning deity, but hell if I know anything about them. I make my own guesses. Who is the last person you gave a ride to, and where did you take them? I don't have a license or my own car. What is the last thing you untruthfully denied? Hm. I'm not sure. Have you ever ridden on a real train? No. Name ONE good memory about your last ex? He's absolutely hilarious and I miss hanging out more! Would you consider yourself dishonest? Not gonna bullshit and claim I never am, but in general, no. Do you tend to let people break through your walls easily? HAHA YEAH RIGHT. What are you superstitious about? Nothing. What is the coolest thing you can do? Oh boy, hell if I know. I know from experience people are often surprised how even skittish animals/pets seem to be drawn to me; does that count? Is there anyone you want to hook up with that you haven’t? Not my thing.

[vamprefaggot]

technically its called The World bc i’m revising an assignment but i’m calling it Watching The Stars Fall

eeeee i’m proud of myself

warnings: uhhh guns? someone gets kidnapped? idk its gay and i love it

Aatami had been planning the little outing for weeks, managing to convince the colony leader to lend them one of the light skimmers used to travel between cities. They chose a spot, a few decas outside of the large city they and Madara lived in, a lone hill covered in the pastel red grass that covered the Beta planet.

The picnic basket was filled with Madara’s favourite foods, all of which Aatami knew from their three years together. Imported fruits and chocolates, some of which were horrendously expensive, as well as a few home-grown plants that had been bred from the original seeds the settlers had brought, were all paid for out of Aatami’s pocket.

Good thing being a sentry was a high paying job. There wasn’t really anything to guard against, not that far out into the void, but the colony still wanted protection and not many would apply for the position. It required too many hours, that could be better spent in the many recreational centres spread around the globe. Aatami liked it, however, seeing as it required immense physical fitness and working out was a good way to come up with ideas for the architecture project they had in mind.

---

Aatami giggled as they lead their grinning(and blindfolded) lover out of the small craft.

“Don’t trip yourself, you spatula,” Aatami teased, pulling Madara in for a quick kiss and untying her blindfold. “We’re here.”

Madara gazed around the wide space with wide eyes. A grin tugged at her lips, and she eventually refocused on her grinning companion.

“This is absolutely lovely, Tami,” Madara’s warm caramel eyes sparkled in the filtered sunlight, and Aatami wanted to melt.

“I thought we could have a little picnic up here, seeing as it’s your day off and I need to protect you.”

“Protect me, my ass.” Madara wrinkled her nose. “Just because the colony leader is my father…”

“Well, you never know. And you never know if the picnic basket I brought is deadly, or just delicious.”

Madara groaned, but there was a twinkle in her eye that gave her away.

“You sap.”

Aatami grinned before hauling the basket out of the small ship and grabbing their lover’s hand.

“Come on, we don’t have all day.”

“Technically, we do,” Madara protested, blowing a strand of her fluffy black hair out of her face.

“Shush, you.”

Madara allowed herself to be lead up the hill and under the vibrantly coloured tree, laughing and settling herself on the blanket Aatami spread for the two of them. She reacted with delight at the feast of delicacies in the basket, and Aatami couldn’t stop smiling.

The sun was past its zenith when Aatami finally pulled in a breath and rolled onto their stomach.

“Madara, I have a question for you.”

Madara responded with a noncommittal noise from under her arms, which were crossed over her face.

“It’s important.”

Madara lifted one arm to peer at the serious face beside her, and upon seeing that Aatami did indeed look serious, lifted her arms off her face and boosted herself up on her elbows.

“Yeah?”

“Will you marry me?”

Madara pretended to ponder for a second, before grinning broadly.

“Of course, my love.” Aatami’s face split open with a smile, and they pulled a small blue box out of the bottom of the picnic basket. They snapped it open to reveal two thin silver bands, and Madara gasped. “They’re gorgeous, oh my goodness.”

“Just like you,” Aatami said with a wink, and Madara looked like she was considering taking back her agreement before starting to giggle.

“You’re so cheesy, it’s…”

Madara bit her lips to hide her smile.

“Grate.”

Aatami groaned loudly, flopping over onto their back and flinging an arm over their eyes.

“That was so bad, Madara.”

“I know,” Madara said, and settled back down into her former position, but keeping her hand up for Aatami to slide the ring on. They grinned when at the silver band, sparkling next to their  sweethearts dark skin.

“It looks wonderful.”

“Thank you, love.” Madara smiled and placed her arm back over her face with a happy sigh and Aatami settled down next to her

“You’re-”

They were interrupted by the distant scream of a broken crystal engine, and Aatami sat up abruptly to stare into the darkening sky for the source. The ship, a silver and blue Baudouin ship, was trailing smoke and plummeting towards the ground rapidly.

Madara had joined Aatami in peering up into the sky, worry causing her brow to furrow. The ship’s outer appearance flickered, briefly turning into a black and jagged war-ship.

Aatami scrambled to their feet when it became apparent that the ship was heading towards the couple.

“Madara, we should run now.” Aatami’s voice was urgent, but Madara seemed to be frozen where she stood. “Madara, Madara please-” Aatami started tugging at her sleeve, but Madara couldn’t seem to look away from the rapidly falling ship.

It flickered once more, for longer, and Aatami paled at the sight of the ominous and deadly looking machinery. A massive photon cannon was balanced on the top, and smaller blasters were fastened along the bottom. Fire danced along the harsh edges, making it seem all the more nightmarish, and the deep red light lit up Madara’s face.

Madara was finally shaken from her reverie when it crashed into the massive field in front of them, skidding to a halt close to the bottom of the hill and smashing the small cruiser they brought.

The doors on the hull of the now un-flickered ship slid open and a Baudouin sentry stumbled out, the long tail characteristic of the species twitching around his ankles. Smoke poured from the door and drifted off his leather-esque armour,  dark grey and poisonous looking.

Madara screamed, and the tall beast looked directly at them before dragging the massive gun in his hand up to face them. He shouted something back into the ship, and turned back to Madara and Aatami before pulling the trigger.

Time slowed for Aatami as a large grappling hook, trailing a heavy metal cord, closed the distance between the sentry and Madara. Aatami watched in horror as the metal smashed through Madaras arm and caught, dragging her fiance forward and down.

Screams filled the air, and bullets rained down towards Aatami as the dropped to their knees. Burning pain filled their arm as one of the bullets found its mark, but they didn’t even notice as the sentry shouted something in Galra and ran back into the ship. Madaras screams cut off abruptly when the door shut, and tears started to stream down Aatami’s face, just before full sobs shook them.

Twilight fell, and it was late into the night when the leader of the colony found them, still alone on top of the hill, tears dried on their face and blood clotted around the bullet wound on their arm. The colony leader didn’t say anything, simply lead the poor sentry to the ship and, eventually, into the infirmary.

Aatami could only stare at the silver band on their finger, dully reflecting their tear-streaked face. It was supposed to be a symbol of love, not loss, and yet there they were.

Madara was probably dead, but the sentry didn’t kill her immediately, so there was a possibility she was still alive. And Aatami would take any possibility if it meant that Madara was still alive, even if it was the slimmest possible bit of hope.

Aatami looked up from the ring and stared dead into the eyes of the colony leader, who was sat across from them.

“I’m going to get her back.”